suffered his worst loss. Withsterility, woman felt their reason for existence was no longerjustified. And so they died, one by one, until now there was no recordof any.
* * * * *
These were the thoughts of Bly Stanton as he plodded over the ridge ofanother dune. Then, all thoughts were wiped from his mind. He dropped tohis knees at the sight of the blaze in the hollow between two dunesdirectly below.
Their proximity to the fire and the light of the moon combined to maketheir features readily discernible. There was no mistaking the Mongoloidfeatures of Himlo men. And if that was not enough, two of them weredressed in garments of fur which would have identified them immediately.The wind was coming from their direction, so Bly was safe for themoment. They had keen senses of smell, and had the wind been otherwise,Bly would have been discovered.
He retreated like some huge beetle, on all fours, backward, as if he hadbeen suddenly confronted by a larger beetle. When he had traveled somefew yards and saw only the serrated ridge of sand interposed between himand the sky, he rose, turned, and started for the edge of the water.
Though he felt no fear of these men, Bly found it the better part ofdiscretion to move swiftly from their path. He ran at a trot, a longlope which covered ground with a minimum of effort. The whole of thenight went by, and still Bly Stanton moved in the easy pace he had sethimself. The dawn found his lean figure bounding along the edge of thesand.
Hunger forced him to pause, then, and seek food. There was wild fruit ontrees a half mile inland. He ate some apples, and washed down the meagermeal with water from a spring. Then he found shelter and lay down tosleep. Travel by night, he reasoned, was the best way.
The sound of voices awakened him. They were voices the timbre of whichhe had never heard before. He parted the brush under which he had lainthrough the day, and peered out cautiously. His eyes widened at thesight they saw. Strange creatures, a tribe of which he knew nothing,squatted in the sand a hundred feet from the water. They woretight-fitting garments which hugged their bodies so tightly that everycurve was clearly outlined. And they had figures which were not familiarto Stanton.
It was not strange, for these were women.
* * * * *
Had Bly Stanton been less interested in what he was seeing and morealert to what was closer at hand, he would perhaps have escaped thenoose which suddenly slipped over his shoulders and pinioned his armsneatly to his side. Bodies encased in metal jackets leaped upon him andmade useless his struggles. He was jerked to his feet, and voicesshouted to others below to come forward. He understood the words, forthey were speaking in the same tongue that was his.
They flung themselves upon him from all sides and boundhim hand and foot]
There was a Naila, a Valis, another called simply She, and a tall strongwoman, older than the rest, called Mary. Mary seemed to be the leader,or at least the one with the most authority. It was to her Bly wasbrought.
"Mary," one of the guards said, "the first of what we hoped to find."
The woman looked at the man appraisingly. He was the first she had everseen. He seemed of good stock. She was quick to note he wore no weapons.It surprised her, for even if he had no enemies, there would be wildanimals about.
"Yes," Mary said softly, "the first. Then the book was true. There _are_men in this world." She made a sound of laughter deep in her throat,stopped, then said to Bly, "We have come a long way. Do you talk? Canyou tell me whether there are others like you?"
"Like me and different," Bly replied.
The women exchanged glances.
Mary spoke again: "How do you mean?"
It did not take long for Bly Stanton to tell the history of the threehundred men of his group, and that of the Mongoloid Himlo men, the lastof the invaders who were the remnants of those who came across fromAsia. All the while he spoke, his senses were full of these women. Therewas a long silence when he finished his tale.
"The books did not lie then," the one called Naila said. "And what aboutchildren...?" her voice faded.
"The last of the great bombs did irreparable damage," Mary said. "But wewill talk of that later. You have told us that there is a battle to thedeath between you and these Himlos. Then why are you unarmed? Where areyour weapons?"
It was the first time Bly had been asked the question directly. And itwas the first time he had to think about it. He let his mind assemblethe facts in their proper order, and after a while he spoke:
"I do not _know_ why, except that I no longer want to know either thetouch or feel of a sword or knife. I do not want to harm anyone. Nor canI explain why I feel this way."
Suddenly one of the women made a sound of horror. They turned to her andsaw she was staring in fascination at the torn part of Stanton's shirtwhere the sword blade had entered. Mary and several others gatheredcloser, and Mary parted the fabric to see the wound better.
"Look!" she exclaimed in wonder. "How deep it is."
For the first time, then, Bly Stanton saw the wound for what it was, adeath wound. He wondered--had he become immortal?--not in the sense heknew, but in actuality, where death even by violence was not the end.
He put out his hand and said: "Let me have a blade."
Without hesitation, Mary handed him the blade which hung at her rightside. Placing the point against the flesh, he put both hands about thehilt and plunged it deep into him with all his strength, until only thehilt was to be seen.
Miraculously, he felt no pain. The blade when Stanton withdrew the steelshowed virgin as it had entered, and not a drop of crimson dyed theentrance it had made in the flesh.
One of the women put into words what they all felt: "This is magic.Death is gone forever now."
_It was in that very instant that the soul of Miotis entered into thebody of Bly Stanton._
* * * * *
Stanton felt a sudden elation. More, a consciousness of vast powers. Hewas immune to death. But were his companions? He looked Mary full in theeyes as he said: "It seems that nothing can kill me now, even violence.What of you?"
She knew what he meant. And with as little hesitation as he had shown,did what he did with the blade in her fingers. Her face in an instantbecame a grotesque mask of pain and horror. A fountain of blood pouredfrom the self-inflicted wound. She tried to say something as she sank toher knees, but nothing came out.
"Only he is immortal," Naila said, awed. "For look! Mary is alreadygone. Hail immortal...."
It was the acknowledgement of his supremacy.
He took advantage of it on the instant. "Good. I can use you all. Wemust first rid ourselves of these men, my enemies. Come, call the othersof your tribe and I will lead you to them."
He knew without being told that there were many more of these women. Forsurely not so few would have come, armed as they were, into a strangeland. At his words, several of them sped around a headland which hid thecove beyond. Naila took his arm and led him forward. His eyes widenedwhen he saw the four sailing ships in the large bay beyond the headland.
There were five hundred women all armed and all ready and willing, whenthey heard the situation, to do his bidding. Nor did he take long togive his commands.
Daylight was breaking when they came to the tunnel which was theheadquarters for the tribe from which Bly Stanton had come. He deployedhis forces with the greatest of care, making sure the surprise would becomplete when he came out. Then he entered. He knew at this hour thathis men would be asleep. He was right. There were two hundred of thewomen with him, and these he placed all along the tunnel length, tellingthem to hide in the recesses along the walls.
* * * * *
His voice awakened his men. They crowded round him when he clamberedover the barricade, and at the sight of the sword in the place where heusually carried it smiles broke on their lips.
"Bly! We have you with us again," Mark exclaimed.
"But of course," Bly said. "It must hav
e been the knock on the head Igot in the fight with the Himlos. But now it's clear. And I have newsfor you. We can get rid of our enemies in one fell swoop. They are asfoolish as we. They too sleep in the daytime. Does that mean anything toyou?"
"Are you sure?" Mark asked.
"Certain. I have seen them."
"Then let us wait no longer. By the time they come to their senses, itwill be too late."
And it was. Only not as Mark had thought. For the immortal Stanton hadbecome battle-crazed, and whether loyal comrade or enemy, he knew onlyto kill violently. It was Stanton himself who delivered the death blowto his good friend. The rest of his group fell easy prey to the women,who were even more savage than Stanton. It wasn't until it was all overthat Bly noticed what his women companions had done. Each and every oneof them carried a trophy hung in her belt, a horrible thing which leakedblood. They had cut the heads from those they
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