'Then let us go to Norro,' decided the Professor. What in particular have we to fear?'
Vargo explained. Norro was a planetoid of some size, one of the largest that had been charted, the reason being, perhaps, it had a comfortable atmosphere. There was water that could be drunk in small quantities, and a rich growth of vegetation that produced grain, fruit and vegetables, although unfortunately most of these were poisonous to anyone not accustomed to them. The people were vegetarian, rather larger than themselves in size and of tremendous strength. Their bodies being covered with fine hair they wore no clothes except girdles of leaves, beautifully woven. They spoke a strange language which no one had been able to learn and lived in holes in the ground.
'Why?' asked the Professor.
`Because there are many animals, all what you call carnivorous. They are the danger.'
'What are these animals?'
'We have no names for them. There are many sorts. All are large and covered with fur, some black, some yellow, some red. They hunt in packs.
Sometimes after eating the fallen over-ripe fruit of a certain tree they go mad and tear each other to pieces. The people, who at any time can only go out many together, must then barricade themselves in their holes.'
'What an extraordinary state of affairs,' murmured Tiger. 'How did the animals come to get the upper hand?'
The people, being vegetarians, never killed them, and so they must have increased out of all proportion. We don't know. That is only what we suppose.'
Yet the men are strong?'
'Very strong. Fustor, who has been among them, says he has seen one take a nut, which he could not break with a stone, and crush it flat between his fingers.'
'We must get samples of this fruit for analysis, to see from what they derive their strength,' declared the Professor. If we knew it would be of benefit at home.'
I'm not so sure of that,' said Toby softly.
'Anyway, let us go to Norro by all means,' asserted the Professor. It promises to be a most interesting port of call. It rather looks, Group-Captain, as if you may need a rifle.'
It was evident when, some time later, they drew near to the big planetoid, all that Vargo had said of its luxuriant verdure was true. Had it not been for a curving horizon they might have been approaching a fertile section of Earth. They saw woods, open plains and lakes, but no seas or rivers. In general the country might best be described as rolling; that is to say, there were low hills but no mountains. No deserts or rocky areas could be seen, the surface everywhere being hidden under a blanket of vegetation, timber or grass.
Some small objects could be seen moving on the open places, but whether men or animals could not yet be distinguished.
Borron took the ship to one of the larger plains, which lay at the foot of some sharply rising ground, with deep forest on either side. Very soon it was to turn out that no worse spot could have been chosen, although the Professor might have argued that it was the best spot. From the point of view of observing the state of affairs that prevailed it was certainly a good spot, although when the ship touched down there was not a living creature in sight. But these conditions did not last long.
Vargo checked the test-valve, and satisfied with the result, opened the double doors, slowly, letting in a breath of sweet but cold air that brought with it a faint indefinable aroma which, after the artificial atmosphere in the ship Rex found wonderfully refreshing.
One by one they filed out, Tiger taking his rifle, to stand knee deep in lush grass and a riot of wild flowers none of which Rex was able to recognize. Nothing moved. The air was dead mill. Not a sound broke a queer, attentive silence. To Rex, but for a perceptible chill, they might have been standing in an English water-meadow on a summer's day.
Indeed, he found it hard to believe that this was not so until his eyes made out some unfamiliar tropical-looking fruits on a nearby tree. What delighted him more than anything was a blue sky overhead, instead of black skies where there was no atmosphere. He had to say to himself, 'I am standing on a star,' in order to convince himself of it.
Suddenly Vargo pointed. All eyes switched to the point indicated. Fifty or so yards away something stirred. A heavy log was being moved aside.
Then, from the aperture, stepped a man; a big man, not only tall but broad-shouldered. He had long, yellowish hair, a beard of the same colour, and wore what at first glance appeared to be a tight-fitting camel-hair robe caught in at the waist with a multicoloured kilt. Then, remembering Vargo's description, Rex realized that the robe was in fact hair - not fur, but the sort of hair some men have on their chests, although in this case it covered the entire body. Behind, in the recesses of the hole from which the man had emerged, Rex could see other faces, peering out.
Vargo held up his right hand. The man moved forward. Others followed, slowly, as if not quite sure of themselves, or the new arrivals. And in spite of all that Vargo had said Rex gazed at them with mixed sensations of wonder, compassion, and admiration - the latter because as physical spedmens they were magnificent, none being less than seven feet tall.
How this matter would have ended had there been no interruption is a matter for speculation; but when the men were no more than halfway, with the visitors strolling to meet them, there suddenly broke out, at no great distance, such a pandemonium that both parties, after a brief halt, retired, the natives in haste, the visitors more slowly. The source of the sound was not for a minute revealed, but it obviously came from somewhere inside the nearest forest The air vibrated with a terrible roaring, so that to Rex it sounded like nothing so much as feeding time in the lion house at the zoo.
Reaching the door of the ship the visitors stopped to await developments, as did, Rex noticed, the natives, one of whom stood with the log under his arm presumably to block the cave should this become necessary. It was at this point that Rex noticed more cave entrances farther along the bank, with their owners standing just outside, watching and waiting in the manner of rabbits at the entrances to their burrows when a dog appears on the scene. Had the picture not con tained elements of tragedy, this reversal of roles, human beings taking the part of rabbits, would not have been without a humorous aspect.
But such thoughts as these were banished from his mind in a flash when the scene burst into life and action as a 'still' photograph might switch to a movie.
From out of the timber, running at unbelievable speed, their long hair flying, came a party of Norroans, making for their homes. That they were flying from some peril was evident, yet they ran without panic, as men who had done the same thing before. They had obviously been gathering fruit, for some still carried baskets, and although certain of the contents were lost in the haste of their ffight they did not abandon their loads. Rex admired their courage and tenacity all the more when the pursuit arrived on the scene.
From the trees now burst a pack of animals the like of which he had never imagined, much less seen. Their furry bodies, the size and colour of lions, were those of cats; and had their heads been in keeping there would have been nothing really remarkable about them. But they were not.
They were long, with pointed muzzles, like those of wolves; and while the result was a mammal that might have occurred on Earth the unfamiliar mixture of cat and dog gave them a particularly horrible appearance.
Clamouring like hounds in full cry they made a noise that was something between a howl and a roar; and again, it was the unnatural quality of this that helped to make the picture one of fantasy rather than reality.
It was soon clear that the horrid pack would claim at least one victim, a man whose greying beard suggested that he was older than the rest, and for that reason had fallen a little behind. Fast overtaking him was the leader of the nightmare beasts.
Rex, who had been spellbound as he watched helplessly, jumped when his father shouted, 'Mind yourself!' and then dropped on one knee, rifle to shoulder, with the obvious intention of taking a hand. The range was comparatively short, less than a hundred yards, but ev
en so, to hit such a fast-moving target with a single bullet, would, Rex feared, call for finer marksmanship than could be expected in the circumstances. In any case he thought Tiger would be too late to do any good, for only a few feet separated the beast from its prey. But he had reckoned without the man who now treated the spectators to an exhibition of strength and agility that left Rex gasping.
As if reali7ing that he was about to be overtaken the old man turned in a flash, dropped his basket and crouched, hands in front of him. When the beast sprang, fangs bared, he caught it in mid air, and straightening his legs, hurled it such a distance that Rex could not believe his eyes; for, even taking reduced gravity into account, the beast on Earth would not have weighed less than five hundred pounds. Yet the man had flung it aside as if it might have been a kitten.
For a split second, as it landed, it offered a sitting target. Tiger's rifle cracked. The brute reared up, obviously hit; but it came on, limping, after the man, who, apparently noticing the spacecraft for the first time, and perceiving that it was nearer than his burrow, turned towards it. Tiger fired again. The beast sprang high, fell, and lay kicking, whereupon its companions instantly rushed upon it in the manner of wolves and began tearing it to pieces. This brief delay undoubtedly saved the man, who reached the ship just ahead of his pursuers. They dragged him in.
Borron, who must have been watching, now acted with great presence of mind; for the doors were open, and for a few seconds there was danger of at least one of the brutes getting inside. Indeed, in a desperate spring, one got its forepaws on the step; but Tiger fired into the slavering mouth and it fell off. The energy then came on and the ship swung clear of the ground.
'All right! Hold her there, Borron!' yelled Tiger, when the ship had risen perhaps fifty feet, with the doors still open, for the need to close them had passed. Then lying down, he began, one by one, to liquidate the howling pack. As Toby remarked, it would have been hard to imagine a more fantastic spectacle. The final touch was provided when the ravening creatures began fighting each other.
Borron now took the ship slowly towards the caves in which the Norroans had their homes - obviously, from their uniformity and regularity, artificial ones - with the evident intention of putting down the man they had rescued. This the old fellow must have realized, and from the fuss he kicked up he did not approve. What he said in his own language - if a series of clicks and rattles in his throat could be called a language -
no one knew; but his actions were eloquent. It was clear that he wanted to go the other way.
'What do you suppose this is all about?' the Professor asked Vargo.
'If we go in the direction towards which he is pointing we may find out,'
replied Vargo.
Borron complied, still keeping low and taking the ship towards the trees.
It did not take them long to discover the reason for the old man's anxiety. Some of his companions had been 'treed' - in the tree, presumably, from which they had been picking fruit. Somewhat surprisingly their besiegers at the foot of the tree were not the dog-cats that had pursued the rest of the party. They were small, black, yellow-spotted animals, something like miniature leopards. But what they lacked in size they made up for in numbers. There must have been hundreds, spitting and snarling as they glared with baleful eyes at three men sitting on the topmost branch.
'Lucky for those chaps that the little darlings below can't climb trees,'
observed Toby.
'Dear me! Dear me!' exclaimed the Professor. 'What a perfectly appalling place to live, for ever hunted by predatory animals. It would need more cartidges than you have brought with you, Group-Captain, to dispose of that horde. What can we do to help those poor fellows?'
Borron answered the question. It was perfectly simple. He lowered the ship to the top of the tree and the men, under the instructions of the Norroan already aboard, clambered in.
Borron then took the ship to the mouth of the nearest cave, landed, and put them off.
Their countrymen, who must have been watching from behind their log-barred doorways, came out with loud, uncouth cries of welcome. At least, Rex hoped they were cries of welcome, for the noise was alarming, and this the size and appearance of the strange star-dwellers did nothing to alleviate.
However, all went well. The Norroans showed no signs of gratitude for what their visitors had done. Their attitude seemed to indicate that such adventures were an everyday affair, and narrow escapes as much a part of their existence as they must be for creatures that live in holes on Earth. But then, the Norroans were a primitive people, not to be judged by Earthly standards of culture. That is not to say they were a 'missing link'
type. They were definitely human beings, as were the people of Lin; and this clear dividing line between men and animals struck Rex as significant. It could not, he thought, be mere accident. It could only be the purpose of the Creator of all things.
The fruit that had been dropped was collected and brought in, the collectors keeping a watchful eye on the woods. The Professor chose some specimens. He also took measurements, and photographs, the people obviously having no idea of what he was doing. There were some queer-looking nuts in one of the baskets. Rex found them impossible to break. A smiling boy cracked one for him with a finger and thumb. But Rex already knew from the effortless way the people handled the tree trunks that guarded their homes that their strength had not been exaggerated.
One surprising thing, considering the conditions in which they lived, was the absence of any sort of weapon beyond pointed sticks. If metals occurred in the ground either they had not been discovered or the people had not learned how to utilize them. They had not even invented the most common of all weapons - the bow and arrow. While the Professor was inspecting a cave dwelling Rex made one for them - to their great delight. It was not a powerful one, but it revealed the principle, and he hoped they would have the sense to develop it for use against the beasts which, although they did not appear to realize it, must have made their lives one long tribulation. Many of the men had frightful scars, clearly the result of encounters with the beasts; but there were no signs of sickness.
Perhaps the most astonishing thing was their ignorance of fire, although being vegetarians they would not need it for cooking purposes. They could manage without it.
It was Tiger who pointed out the absence of smoke or ashes near the dwellings. To ascertain if they understood fire he lighted one, and the question was answered when they tried to pick it up, burning their fingers. Tiger showed them how to keep the fire burning by feeding it with sticks.
There was no cultivation. Apparently the Norroans were sufficiently well provided by nature.
The visitors stayed about two hours, not venturing far from the ship. The Professor took a sample of water for analysis at a later date, thinking it might throw light on the Norroans' uncommon physique and strength.
Conversation being impossible nothing more could be learned, so when Vargo
suggested they should be moving on no one demurred. They entered the ship to a barbaric chorus of howls. The doors were closed and the Tavona went on its way.
7 The little beasts of
Ku nd
The inhabitants of Kund, their next port of call, were, stated Vargo, as unlike the people of Norro as it was possible to imagine. They were small. They were vicious. And they were cannibals, although this, he conceded, was not entirely their fault. They had to eat each other in order to live, because there was very little else, this being due in part to the nature of the planetoid and in part to overcrowding. Their skins varied in colour from blue-black to white, with many intermediate shades.
In fact, their skins changed colour according to where they lived from time to time.
There was a reason for this, a reason as logical as sun tan on a white skin on Earth. The cause was the same.
In the first place the little planet had no orbit. By some curious freak of gravity it remained practically stationary in space. Secondly, i
t had ceased to revolve.
As the Professor presently pointed out, there was nothing unique about this. Mercury, the planet nearest the sun, did not revolve, always having the same face turned towards the sun. In the same way Earth's Moon always had the same side turned to its parent, Earth.
Thus was it, apparently, with Kund. The result was, on the side facing the sun it was always light. The other side was always dark. There was a dividing zone of perpetual twilight. The side facing the sun was mostly desert and produced only an insignificant vegetation. The sunless side was not much better, being, naturally, extremely cold. The most productive area was the intermediate zone, for both animal and vegetable life.
The effect of these odd conditions was not really surprising.
They had produced two tribes, and these were always at war with each other, each tribe striving to gain control of the best - the intermediate
- land. Sometimes one side had the advantage, sometimes the other. Always faced with starvation both sides ate their casualties and any prisoners they took - a state of affairs not unknown on Earth.
03 Now To The Stars Page 6