To this proposal they all agreed.
For their camp they could find no better place than where they were. The terrain was the same everywhere as far as they could see on their side of the planetoid. There was no cover, not even a tree. Thinking of a gully or a cave they looked at the massif, but even.
as they considered walking to it a great shoulder of rock broke away and went crashing down in a ground-shaking landslide. A cloud of dust went up. Some of the boulders, bounced far across the pale-coloured pumice-stone. It was clear that in the proximity of the big rock mass was no place to settle down.
At Vargo's suggestion the party broke into three groups to explore the ground more quickly. The Andoans went to the left. The original ship's crew, with the exception of Vargo, went to the right. Vargo led the rest straight forward.
The S1113. was now well above the horizon, and while it was smaller than when seen from Earth - they were of course farther away from it - its rays, unopposed by a wide belt of atmo-sphere, were both bright and warm.
Later in the day they became fierce enough to cause the Professor to warn the others to beware of sunstroke.
Rex's party found no water. They could see where there had been some in the deep hollows, suggesting a slight rain-fall, but the soft rock, as porous as blotting paper, had absorbed it. Being soft it was dangerous stuff to walk on, often breaking away under the slightest pressure to the risk of broken limbs. Eventually, with the sun falling again towards the horizon, the party turned back without finding water, food, or anything else of interest. They could see the other two parties also returning.
They got back to their base to find the ground crawling with crabs.
Rex looked at them with disgust. Sleeping here isn't going to be funny if those little horrors start crawling over us,' he muttered. If they come out at sunset they may stay around all night.'
'The question is, what do they live on?' said Toby.
No one attempted to guess the answer, for at this juncture the other two parties arrived, the Andoans to report, through Vargo, that they had found nothing, and the Minoans to make the astonishing assertion that there were little men on the planet.
Everyone stared. 'Little men?' echoed the Professor. They say so,' said Vargo.
'What exactly do they mean by little men?' demanded the Professor.
Vargo put the question, and receiving a reply held a hand about two feet above the ground to indicate the height of the men.
Tiger laughed - a trifle uneasily. It isn't true,' he declared.
Vargo said these men had no hair on their bodies. They walked upright, and leapt from rock to rock with great agility.
It looks as if you've got another new species for your list, Professor,'
said Toby.
I'll believe in these midget men when I see one,' stated Rex recklessly.
Toby pointed. 'Take a look,' said he, in a curious voice. They all turned in the direction indicated.
Standing bolt upright on a slab of rock about twenty yards away was one of the 'little men'.
That isn't a man, it's a monkey!' cried Rex. But his voice lacked conviction. 'At least,' he added dubiously, I hope it's a monkey.'
The truth was, the creature looked as much like a minia-ture man as a monkey, possibly because it had no hair - and no tail.
14 Out of
the frying-pan • • •
Instead of fur, as would be expected of a normal monkey, the creature had a light brown leathery-looking skin. Its eyes, regarding them with an interest as great as their own, were dark, and steady with a disconcerting intelligence. In. its hand it held either a long slither of rock or a petrified stick. All these factors gave it a horribly human appearance.
The ordy thing against it being human was its size. Had it been as tall as a man Rex would have had no hesitatdon in believing it to be one - of sorts. Perhaps a very primitive form of savage.
Beyond it, a veritable army of the creatures could be seen approaching from the direction of the massif.
'Well, we've seen some monstrosities, but that one is the tops,' asserted Toby.
The animal looked directly at him and chattered something that sounded like a string of words.
'Heavens above!' exclaimed the Professor.
believe it's
talking.'
'The crabs don't like his language, anyway,' remarked Tiger. 'Look at them!'
Every crab was digging itself into the sand with un-believable speed.
don't know that I quite like this,' said Tiger seriously, picking up his rifle. 'These little horrors may be small, but if the whole mob came for us things would look ugly.'
No one answered. What Tiger had said was all too true.
Fear of such a situation passed as the leader of the band now revealed why he had come to the sand - and why the crabs were removing themselves from the surface of it with the greatest possible speed.
Running forward with nimble agility the monkey snatched up a crab by the claw, dexterously avoiding the gaping pincers, and hurled it against a rock with such force that the shell split wide open. Taking it up again the monkey tore it into two halves. This exposed the meat in the shell, as was the intention, for it was promptly scooped out and eaten. Then, to the astonishment of the beholders, the monkey cracked the claws between two pieces of rock and ate the contents of those, too.
The noise of this operation must have told its companions what was going on, for they now rushed forward, and in an orgy of splintering shells, snarling and spitting, there began a feast that was not pretty to watch.
So that's the idea,' said Tiger. 'Well, at least we know what they eat,'
he added whimsically.
In a few minutes the party was surrounded with hundreds of monkeys all busily engaged with what, from the old shells littered about, was a regular meal.
There was one touch of comedy to enliven the rather disgusting proceedings. Rex had admired the adroit way the monkeys avoided the menacing claws as they picked up the crabs, due, no doubt to long practice. But it seemed they were not beyond making a mistake, for with a shriek of anguish one sprang high into the air with a crab hanging on its hand. And apparently the crab had no intention of letting go.
It was the fury of the monkey that was so funny. Howling and cursing it leapt about trying to shake the thing off - and a monkey is never so funny as when it loses its temper.
This one did. It succeeded finally in releasing itself from what must have been a painful handshake by the simple expedient of bashing the crab on an outcrop of rock with enough force to kill it. For some time the wretched monkey sat nursing its injured hand, alternately sobbing and mouthing with rage. The others paid not the slightest attention, from which it could be presumed that such misadventures were not un-common.
There was this about it. To everyone's relief they paid no attention to the invaders of their domain - at any rate, not until the banquet was over when the leader came near and surveyed them with undisguised curiosity. It also had a good look at the heap of stores, as if suspecting the nature of the contents. But it made no attempt to interfere, and after a while retired to a high rock from which to watch over the proceedings.
I don't think they'll worry us,' decided Tiger.
Our policy is to leave them severely alone,' said the Pro-fessor. On no account must we do anything to antagonize them, for their numbers alone could create a nasty situation.'
As things turned out this was easier said than done.
Darkness came swiftly, and everyone disposed himself as he thought best to pass the short night. Rex did not get much sleep. Not only was it intensely cold but the monkeys re-mained in the vicinity, so that all night long the cracking and crunching of shells went on. To him the miracle was, with this sort of thing going on day after day, how any crabs sur-vived. It struck him, revolting though the idea was at first, that, if the monkeys could eat the crabs without ill effects, they might eat them, too, to eke out the rations. The monkeys retired
, just before dawn, to the massif where it seemed they spent most of the day.
The next day was a repetition of the first, except that the monkeys - Rex preferred to think of them as monkeys al-though their hairless skins made them look even more human than the common run of monkeys - showed a greater interest in them.
If, originally, they had had any fears, they no longer had them, for they advanced uncomfortably close when they saw the visitors eating. It seemed that they had enough intelli-gence to know that the food came from the heap of stores, for such an interest did they take in them that Tiger had to shoo the precocious little beasts away. They did not go far. Sitting in a closely packed circle, they held, judging from the noise, something in the nature of a conference, the leader addressing the crowd with the fiery eloquence of a soap-box orator in Hyde Park.
The next day they were even more daring, and it was with some difficulty that they were driven off. By now it was clear to everyone that unless the ship returned soon there was going to be trouble.
I'm afraid we shall have to give these interfering little rascals a lesson,' opined Tiger, irritably, for he had narrowly escaped being bitten in the calf of the leg by a monkey that had refused to budge when ordered to leave the stores.
His fears were confirmed the very next day when a monkey, more audacious than the rest, made a grab at the Professor's camera, which had been left lying on the ground after he had used it. It would have got away with it, too, had not Rex snatched up a stone, and throwing it scored a hit. The monkey dropped his loot, but that was far from being the end of the affair. Not only did the little wretch pick up the stone and throw it back but several of his near companions found missiles and employed the same method of retaliation, so that for a little while pieces of rock, fortunately mostly small, fairly rained about the camp. Tiger was all for showing the throwers that he could handle larger pieces with greater accuracy, but the Professor ordered him to desist.
'We must avoid war if we can,' he declared. 'All reprisals do is invite fresh reprisals. As a military man, Group-Captain, you should know that.'
also know that attack is the best method of defence,' answered Tiger curtly.
Tut-tut. Let us not argue about it,' requested the Pro-fessor. 'Let us try pacifist methods first.'
The incident was sufficient to show that if the monkeys really attacked in force, with determination, things would be very awkward indeed, to say the least; and Rex, for one, began to hope that the return of the ship would not be long delayed. Aside from the monkeys, although the Andoans and Minoans consumed very little, the supplies of food and water were getting perilously low.
The next day the monkeys arrived earlier than usual, and from the noise they made as they approached it was clear that they were in a nasty mood and bent on mischief. They paid no attention to the crabs but advanced purposefully in a body towards the invaders.
It was reckoned there were not fewer than two hundred of them. Tiger said if they came too close he would fire a shot from his rifle to see if the report had any effect. He had only a handful of cartridges, so if the worst came to the worst there would be no question of destroying the entire army.
Vargo and the Professor agreed that this was all they could do.
Standing upright the monkeys continued to advance, and as they drew near extended their order, the flanks swinging round into a crescent formation. There was no longer any doubt as to what was intended.
I wouldn't let them get too close or it may be too late to do anything,'
said Toby.
Tiger waited until the front rank was not more than thirty yards away; then, raising the rifle to his shoulder, he took quick aim at a rock and fired.
The shot had the desired effect or so at first it seemed. The report and the shrill whine of the ricocheting bullet as it struck the rock sent the whole pack tearing away in a blind panic. But they did not go far, having the intelligence, per-haps, to realize that the noise had done them no injury. At a distance of a hundred yards they formed in a circle round their leader to discuss the matter or so it seemed from the chat-tering.
The conference lasted for about half an hour, when, as if a decision had been reached, the horde began again to approach.
It looks as if I shall have to give the little fools a sterner lesson,'
opined Tiger reluctantly.
These are no ordinary monkeys,' declared Toby. They really work things out. If the pugnacious little devils make a serious charge we've had it.'
The truth of this was all too apparent, for as Rex perceived, the weakness of the defenders lay in the fact that they had only one weapon between them the rifle. Even with cudgels it might have been possible to drive off the attacking force, causing such casualties as to make the monkeys think again about what they were doing. With nothing in his hands Rex had never felt so helpless. It is true there were some pieces of rock lying about but it was mostly small stuff, light and flimsy at that.
Again Tiger raised his rifle. Again it cracked. A monkey in the front rank leapt high into the air, and fell, howling. Dead silence fell on the monkey army; and the sudden hush, after the noise, seemed to carry an even more sinister threat. The only sound was the moaning of the wounded beast.
'That has stopped 'em for a bit,' said Tiger. wish they'd go away. This is a bit too much like murder for my liking.'
Some monkeys picked up their wounded comrade and carried him to the rear.
The rest remained where they were, clearly in a state of indecision.
I'm afraid they'll come on again when they've recovered from the shock you've given them,' said the Professor. If our position was not so vulnerable the whole thing would be quite ridiculous.'
Another half-hour passed without any change. Tiger did not shoot again.
The sun was now nearing the horizon.
I hope they're not waiting till it's dark,' said Rex, in, a worried voice. They seem to be able to see in the dark. How about moving everything nearer to that dry grass. By setting fire to it we should be able to see what we are doing - and what game the moakeys get up to.'
It was agreed that this was a good idea and the stores were accordingly moved nearer to the grass - an operation that was watched by the monkeys with profound interest. By the time the job was done darkness was closing in. An un-comfortable silence fell. There was of course no moonlight as moonlight is understood on Earth, but a faint light was cast by some distant stars, and planetoids that were still catching the Sun. Gentle rustling sounds from the direction of the enemy position revealed that the monkeys were moving.
If they come with a rush they'll be on us before we see them,' said Tiger.
I was thinking the same thing,' returned the Professor. 'You'd better put a light to the grass.'
Tiger complied, and the effect surpassed all expectations, for more reasons than one. In the first place the grass blazed up as if it had at one time been soaked in kerosene, so that all hands had to put in some quick work to save the stores. The second effect, just as surprising, was the behaviour of the monkeys. They acted as if the mere sight of fire had sent them crazy. They certainly knew what fire was, possibly as a result of living on volcanic ground, for without waiting for the flames to get near them they fled, screaming and shrieking in paroxysms of terror.
Nobody spoke until the din of the rout had died away in the distance.
Then Tiger, turning to the others with an expression of astonishment on his face, remarked: 'Well, that certainly did the trick. What the dickens came over them?'
They may have more reason to be afraid than we suspect,' averred the Professor thoughtfully.
Nobody paid much attention to this observation at the time. 'They all stood by the stores watching the flames spread-ing literally like wildfire. A lurid glow lit up the sky. Clouds of black smoke billowed upwards. The landscape became an inferno.
I've heard of setting the world on fare and I seem to have done that,'
joked Tiger.
That,
I think, is what you have done,' returned the Pro-fessor uneasily.
If you have, my dear fellow, it will be noth-ing to joke about.'
It took Rex a moment to fully grasp the peril. You mean, if the smoke comes down it will choke us?'
'And if it goes up to form a blanket round the whole globe how will Borron find us? He may not even look for us, supposing us to have perished in the conflagration.'
'That's a nasty thought,' said Toby. 'Lucky we made camp on the sand, and not amongst the grass,' he added, as tongues of flame began licking up the face of the massif. 'No wonder the monkeys were scared. Great Scott !
Look at that,' he concluded, as the summit of the massif became wrapped for a moment in a sheet of blue flame.
Those clouds we saw must have been hydrogen,' stated the Professor. It looks as if we've jumped out of the monkey-pan into the fire.'
03 Now To The Stars Page 13