by Unknown
Nan shook her head. "You don't think we're in any danger from thesebeasts, do you?"
Carruthers said nothing for the moment. Instead, he looked sharply inall directions and saw nothing. "Let's push on till we come to somekind of a shelter. Perhaps we'll find people much like ourselves."
Down the path they hurried, glancing curiously right and left atunknown flowers and trees. A bird with brilliant feathers skimmedabove their heads, uttering shrill cries. Other voices from the birdsand animals in the woods took up the cry. The woods grew denser asthey pushed into the unknown.
In the woods at their right a rodent squeaked as some larger animalpounced upon it. Presently they came to a pool of water roughlyseventy feet across. While they knelt to quench their thirst they sawtwo young deer eyeing them from the far side. Soft feet patteredbehind the kneeling couple. Carruthers half whirled as he rose to hisfeet and peered into the jungle behind him.
A blur of reddish brown vanished behind a tree. Man or animalCarruthers couldn't determine. He grasped Nanette by the arm andpulled her back to the path.
"Quick!" he whispered. "There's someone or something following us. I'msure of it now."
* * * * *
Nanette's voice trembled slightly. "What is it, Aaron?"
"I don't know." He turned his head again. This time he saw the thingthat was following. A low ejaculation of alarm escaped his lips. Agigantic ape! The mouth of the creature sagged grotesquely, revealingtwo rows of yellow fangs. And its orange colored eyes were burningcoals set close together. Carruthers sucked in a deep breath.
"Run, Nan," he gritted. "I'll try and scare him away."
Simultaneously with the scream of fright from the startled girl, ahuge mountain of grayish flesh and bones blocked the downward slope ofthe path. Carruthers paled as he turned and faced the new menace.
Coming directly toward them he saw an immense animal so great in sizethat it seemed to shut out the light. A prehistoric dinosaur! It cameslowly and leisurely, swinging its great red mouth from side to side.Other denizens in the woods, sensing the presence of the huge killer,fled in a panic of alarm. Their shrill cries increased the terror thatfroze the hearts of the two earth people.
Nanette clung to her companion in abject terror, unable to move. Herfear stricken eyes were wild and staring as the mountain of fleshpushed towards them.
The animal's long neck arched far in front of its body, and its long,pointed tail remained out of sight within the trees.
Carruthers backed off the path into the underbrush, dragging the girlafter him. The jaws of the huge animal opened wide with anticipation.Lumberingly he turned from the path and followed. Trees crashed beforeits gigantic bulk. The woods became a bedlam of snapping branches.
The horrified scream of the girl ended in a gurgling sigh. She toppledto the ground in a dead faint. Carruthers flung himself beside hercrumpled body and gathered it into his arms. A quick glance he threwat the spot where he had last seen the gigantic ape. The animal was nolonger there. It had disappeared.
The man's lips became a hard, straight line. Even as he straightenedto his feet the leaves and branches of an overturned tree whipped hisface. The red mouthed dinosaur was perilously near. So close thatCarruthers could smell its great, glistening body. The odor was muskyand foul.
Stumbling blindly he attempted to widen the distance between himselfand his pursuer. But the hungry dinosaur pounded steadily on itscourse. There was no getting away from it. Its beady eyes sought outits prey and its keen smell told it exactly where the earth beingswere.
On and on staggered Carruthers. The extra burden of the girl hamperedhis movements. Unseen roots tripped him time and time again. Each timehe scrambled to his feet and picked up the unconscious girl. Briarstore at his clothing and stung his hands.
The underbrush was thickening. A warm, dank smell clung to thevegetation now almost tropical in nature. Beads of sweat rolled downthe man's forehead and into his eyes. But the horrible fear of thosered, dripping jaws spurred him to renewed efforts.
He doubled to the left, hoping to throw the animal off his tracks. Theundergrowth seemed to thin out at this point. Renewed hope flowedthrough the young scientist's blood. He stumbled on blindly, scarcewatching where his feet were taking him. A sigh of relief came to hislips. Ahead of him he saw a clearing. His stride lengthened and hebroke into a shambling run.
* * * * *
Then it was he saw, towering walls rising up on both sides ofhim--steep walls that he could never scale, even if alone. He tried tochange his course, but the huge bulk of the pursuing dinosaureffectively blocked his path. There was no alternative but to push onand pray for an opening in the rugged cliffs.
Abruptly a sigh of despair escaped his lips. The walls of the canyonnarrowed suddenly, and across it stretched a wall of bare rock. Herealized too late that he had returned to the base of the plateauwhere he had spent the night. The grim, towering walls hemmed him incompletely from three sides. At the fourth side bulked the dinosaur,coming slowly, ponderously.
Beady eyes peered down cunningly at the helpless man and woman.Confident now that its prey couldn't escape, it extended its huge bulkacross the narrow canyon for a leisurely killing.
Carruthers glared at the monster with fear-distended eyes. In hisheart he realized that there was no escape. He had no means ofdefense, no way to combat the huge monster but flight. And even thatwas now denied him.
Closer and closer inched the killer until its great, red mouthappeared like the fire box of a huge boiler. Hot breath fanned theman's cheek. The nauseous odor of the beast made his stomach wrench.He dropped to his knees close to the inert figure of the girl andglared vengefully into the beady eyes.
The gaping mouth at the end of a long, supple neck jerked forward.Carruthers dragged the girl away just in time to escape the gnashingteeth. The dinosaur stamped angrily.
Once again Carruthers felt its hot breath beating upon his face. Hecringed at the thought of this kind of death. No one would ever knowhow it happened. Not even his closest friend, Karl Danzig! What a messthings were. Why didn't the red mouth of the mighty dinosaur closeover him and crush out life? Why must he kneel in torture?
From near at hand a piercing scream rang through the air. A harshscream. A terrifying scream!
* * * * *
Carruthers raised his head. The dinosaur had twisted around to glarehatefully at the disturber of its meal. Other screams splintered theforest air. And as the kneeling man watched he saw the great red apewho had been dodging his footsteps a short time before, slouch betweenthe dinosaur's hulking body and the wall of the cliff. Behind it cameothers--black mammals with curving arms that dragged along the ground.
Their fangs were bared. They were in an ugly mood. Arriving in frontof the dinosaur and less than four feet from the earth man and woman,the leader silenced its followers with a low growl and turned inconcentrated fury upon the dinosaur. Its long arms drummed a throbbingtattoo upon its hairy chest.
The dinosaur bellowed protestingly against the attitude of the apesand gorillas. The ape leader protested with equal violence. Thedinosaur shifted uneasily, wagging its heavy head from side to side.On all sides came deep growls from the mammals.
Carruthers watched all this display torn between doubt and fear. Whichside would win? How could the apes and gorillas, huge as they were,hope to force the dinosaur away? But the apes were masters. This muchwas apparent. Inch by inch the dinosaur backed away, glaringvengefully. And having reached a spot where it could turn around itdid so. Presently the ground trembled as it made off through thesteaming jungle. The leader of the mammals turned and faced the earthpeople. Long, searching minutes passed. Its close set eyes seemed tobe studying them.
* * * * *
Nanette stirred and opened her eyes. The sight of the anthropoidscaused her to recoil.
"Steady, Nan," spoke Carruthers softly.
Other apes and gorillas gathered around the giant red animal. Theydisplayed no hostility, only an intense intere
st. One by one theysquatted before the earth people until they formed a half circle,reaching from the one wall of the rocky plateau to the other.
While they sat there it began to grow dark. Carruthers removed hiswatch and ventured a glance at it. Daylight had lasted less then threehours. An hour for twilight, then it would be dark. Evidently thecycle around the nucleus of the atom took approximately ten hours.
Nanette sat up. "Aaron!"
He answered without removing his eyes from the red ape less then fourfeet away. "Don't look at me, Nan. Concentrate on the big, red fellow.He's evidently in control. If we act the least bit frightened theymight decide to destroy us."
"What are they waiting for? Why don't they go away?"
"We'll know before long. I imagine they're trying to figure out who weare and what we are doing on their tiny planet."
Darkness descended rapidly. Overhead, a small moon rose majesticallyin the heavens and started its journey through the night. Its faintlight revealed the fact that the apes showed no intentions of leaving.They still squatted before the earth people, in a half circle ofstaring brown eyes.
Whatever fear Carruthers had felt towards the animals died away."They're harmless," he told Nanette. "Get some sleep if you can."
* * * * *
Long after the tired girl had drifted into slumber Carruthers sat withhis back against the wall, mentally trying to figure the whole thingout. The dinosaur was real enough. Yet the apemen had frightened itaway, in fact had compelled it to go without actually engaging incombat. No question about it. The anthropoids were in control. But whocontrolled them?
Quite suddenly his eyes snapped open. Daylight had come again. He musthave fallen asleep. The shrill chatter of the apeman came to his ears.The red ape leader shuffled to his feet and looked from the earthpeople to the spot in the jungle whence came the chatter. Abruptly heopened his mouth and emitted a flood of gibberish sounds.
The gorillas and apes at his side flattened their bodies against therocky walls in attitudes of expectant waiting.
"What's happening?" gasped the girl.
"There's no telling," whispered Aaron. "It must be someone orsomething of importance. Note the expressions of awe and reverence onthe faces of the apemen. My God, Nanette, look!"
Out of the depths of the jungle emerged seven white beings--human oranimal it was impossible to tell. They were huge creatures with thebodies of men. Erect of carriage, almost human in looks, theycontrasted strangely with the red apes and the black gorillas. Six ofthem appeared to act as bodyguard for the seventh.
As they reached the space in front of the two earth people, thebodyguard stepped aside. The seventh white one came to a dead stop.Long and intently he stared at the man and girl crouched against thewall. And the scrutiny seemed to please him, for he smiled.
Carruthers eyed the figure uneasily. He saw what seemed to be a mandressed in a long, fibrous garment. With white hair and beard, it wasa strange figure indeed for an apeman. He saw also that the eyes werewell spaced, a mark of intelligence. The forehead was high and broad.And as Carruthers mentally studied the creature, strange and bizarrethoughts crossed his mind.
* * * * *
The mouth of the white apeman twitched as if he were going to speak.The heavy lips parted. A single word came to Carruthers' ear--"Man?"
Carruthers nodded. "We are from the earth."
The lips of the apeman moved painfully as if speech came with theutmost of difficulty. "The prophecy of the Great One has beenfulfilled even as it has been written."
The red apes and black gorillas allowed their eyes to wander fromtheir white leader to the two earth people. And their faces reflectedthe supernatural awe with which they regarded the earth people.
"It's uncanny that an animal can speak our language," breathedNanette.
As if he hadn't heard her, Carruthers spoke again. "We are from theearth," he repeated. "We have been on your world many hours, and weare both hungry and thirsty."
"Words come hard," came from the lips of the white bearded one. "Ihave not used them for years."
"And who are you?" asked Carruthers.
The white bearded one paused as if to recall some distant echo fromthe past. "I am the last of the tribe of Esau. But come! This is noplace for speech. Long have I and my followers waited for this hour."
* * * * *
Without another word he swung around. The six guards enclosed his agedbody in a hollow square and the procession moved away. They came aftera short journey to a natural opening leading to the heart of theplateau. The apes and gorillas, with the exception of the red leader,remained outside. The remainder of the party pushed through a tortuoustunnel until they reached a cavernous opening directly beneath theplateau. Vertical openings in the walls furnished light and air. Thewhite chieftain spoke in a strange tongue to his followers, and theyinstantly prepared three couches in a far corner of the cavern.
As the earth people seated themselves on the skins that made up thecouch they were both conscious of a far-away rumbling like peals ofthunder. Not having seen any signs of a storm outside Carruthersturned inquiringly on the aged chieftain.
The old man's eyes were shadowed with grim foreboding. "I have orderedsomething to refresh you and your companion," he said. "Eat first, myfriends. We will talk later."
The six body-guards left the main cavern. Presently they returned withlarge trays made of fanlike leaves resembling the palmetto. Freshfruits and uncooked vegetables formed the bulk of the meal. In silencethey ate. After the litter had been cleared away the guards withdrewwith the exception of the giant red ape, who crouched near the openingto the tunnel.
"I am glad you have come," began the old chieftain, "but sorry, too.Our planet, or rather the higher forms of life upon it, are doomed."
* * * * *
Again there came to the ears of the earth people that far-off beat ofsound that seemed to shake the ground. They looked to the whitebearded leader for explanation.
"Ah, you hear it too," murmured the other. "For centuries, we of thegreat tribe of Esau have fought for the supremacy of our littleworld--ever since the Great One appeared in our midst and instructedus in world knowledge."
"And this Great One, as you call him," spoke Carruthers. "Who was he?"
"He was from your world. I never saw him. He comes to me as a legend.For years he toiled among us, teaching and instructing until wemastered his language. He called himself Dahlgren. Later he ruled allthe tribes. We of the Esau line he made into leaders because of ourhigher intelligence. The tribes of Zaku were trained for war. Perhapsyou have noticed the chief of all the Zakus. He is crouching nowbeside the entrance to our inner walls. He is Marbo, and his followerslive in the jungles."
"And does he talk as you do?"
The white chieftain shook his head. "No. Only we of the Esau tribehave mastered speech. Not counting the women of our tribe thatcomprise our numbers we are only seven in all."
"I owe Marbo my life as does also my companion," said Carruthers.
"Marbo looks upon you earth people as gods," spoke the old chieftain."He and his followers will protect you with their lives."
"And who rules over and beyond?" questioned Carruthers, waving his armto cover the remaining portion of the electron.
"There is no rule beyond except that of force. The Great One calledthem by name, Morosaurus, Diplodocus, the Horned Ceratosaurus, andmany others whose names I have long forgotten. They are our enemieswhom we cannot destroy. And their numbers increase from year to yearand are slowly backing us upon our last stronghold."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Carruthers, feeling a quiverof apprehension along his spine.
* * * * *
Slowly, the old chieftain shook his head. "Nothing whatever. Marbo andhis followers can control one or two, but when the herds begin to pushon into our territory, we are doomed. Even now their rumblings andbellowings come through the jungles. Their thirst and hunger for fleshis enormous."
Carruthers turned u
pon the girl. "The old chief's words explaineverything, Nan. Professor Dahlgren has been here and gone. He lived alifetime in the span of a few hours earth-time. Now it looks as if wewere destined to follow in his footsteps."
"I'm not afraid," said the girl. "Nothing can be worse than what wehave already passed through." And her eyes softened as she placed hersmall hands within those of Carruthers. "We have each other, Aaron."
He smiled reassuringly and turned to the old chieftain. "I amCarruthers, a friend and assistant to Dahlgren. The girl here isNanette."
The chieftain smiled gravely. "And I am Zark. Welcome to my kingdom,Carruthers and Nanette. We need you here. Now tell me of your world,for long have I waited for a follower of the great Dahlgren to appearbefore my people."
Throughout the remainder of the day Carruthers talked. The shafts oflight paled at the end of the short day. Night came, bringing with ita sense of security against the increasing hordes that thundered andtrumpeted beyond the borders of the jungle.
In the morning Zark instructed Marbo to remain close to Carruthers atall times. So the young scientist left the cavern and ascended thepath leading to the top of the plateau. He looked at his watch andcompared the second hand with the nucleus atom sailing across theheavens to estimate its speed.
* * * * *
Days passed as he made his observations. Meanwhile he had searched andfound the exact spot wherein he and Nanette had first stepped footonto the electron. This spot he carefully marked off with a ring ofhuge boulders carried up by the followers of Marbo. Then he began tocalculate upon his pad. There must be no mistakes. He and Nanette mustbe within the magic circle at the estimated time.
Between times he helped Nanette construct their living quarters in thecavern. Zark had furnished them with skins and furs with which tocover the walls. Carruthers made a fireplace of stones and restoredthe lost art of fire to Zark, Marbo and their followers.
Days slipped by like minutes. Short days filled with excursions intothe jungles. Carruthers' face soon bristled with a stubble of beard.This lengthened with time. Sharp thorns tore their clothes to ribbons.Nanette, womanlike, cried many times during the nights because of thelack of a mirror and a comb for her untidy hair.