by Alex Raymond
Two branches over, in a fork of the tree, Flash was opening his rucksack. “How’s biscuits and water sound for breakfast, Tun?”
The mist was thinning as the sun came up. The birds had been chittering for an hour or more and several new kinds of insects were up and about.
“I recall we borrowed a quantity of dried beef from the good captain’s larders,” said the lion man.
“That’s going to be lunch.”
“A lion man must start the day with more than schoolboy’s fare.” He reached out a knobby hand. “I’ll take my share of the meat now, Flash.” After he had devoted several minutes to his breakfast, Tun asked, “What is it you plan to do now, my friend?”
“I have to find out what’s become of Dale,” replied Flash. “So I have to reach the capital and reconnoiter.”
“You will have a tough time of it,” observed the lion man as his tail flicked at the hovering insects. “Though I know well by this time you can handle yourself, yet to go up against merciless Ming single-handed—it is a difficult path you have chosen.”
“It’s what I have to do,” said Flash. “You’re welcome to come along.”
Tun shook his shaggy head. “Would that I could. But for a lion man to show himself in the capital would mean death, death sudden and sure. This tail of mine is most difficult to disguise.” He scratched at his mane of yellow hair. “Since you have brought up the subject, Flash, I’ll tell you I have been giving this some thought during the night. I think my best course lies in rejoining my people. There is little or no chance to raise the kind of support we need in these parts.”
Swinging down out of the tree, Flash asked, “How far must you travel to rejoin them?”
“The country of the lion men lies a hundred miles to the south of us.” After swallowing the last of his dried beef, the lion man jumped down to the soggy ground. “The best plan for my people is to unite with Prince Barin against Ming.”
“Who is Prince Barin? I’ve heard him mentioned quite a lot.” Flash adjusted his knapsack on his back.
Tun pointed. “A half day’s march will bring us to a disreputable riverside town named Tintura,” he said. “Though I promised to guide you all the way to the capital, Flash, I feel I had better part with you there and return to my own land.” He started walking, tromping down the profuse giant ferns and scarlet flowers which grew in his path. “As to Prince Barin, he is the rightful ruler of this part of Mongo. Ming’s coup forced his father from the throne and executed him. Barin was then still a baby. He is still only in his late twenties, I’d guess. He lives in exile in the Forest Kingdom of Arboria, where he has steadily been gathering followers. As more and more men find they cannot live under Ming’s rule, they slip away to join Barin.”
Flash swatted two bright blue flies off his forearm. “Would Barin be a better ruler than Ming?”
“Aye,” said Tun. “He’s an honest young fellow, believes in a fairly democratic form of government. The sad state the empire had fallen into was not his fault, but rather that of his late father and his advisers. From all I hear, Barin rules his forest domain justly and well.”
“You sound as though you have some reservations.”
“Not myself,” said Tun, “but many of my fellow lion men. We are a fierce lot, as I have told you, and many of us tend to be stubborn and absolute in our thinking. We would prefer a true democracy rather than the democratic monarchy of a man like Prince Barin.”
“Do you believe the best way of overthrowing Ming now is by joining forces with Barin and his followers?”
“Exactly, my friend.” Tun slapped Flash on the back. “You have grasped a good deal about our political situation during your short stay on Mongo.”
“Politics is politics throughout the universe.”
“Aye, and even history teaches us that—” He shot a restraining hand out to halt his companion. Tun tilted his head back, sniffing at the still somewhat misty air. “An odd thing.” He pointed to his right.
Flash looked in that direction. “Something over there?”
After one more sniff, the lion man said, “Aye, something I didn’t expect out here in the middle of this wretched swamp. It seems to have had some sort of accident.” Beckoning Flash to follow, he barged through a thicket of tall clattering bamboo.
Flash noticed the odor now. “There’s been a fire,” he said. “It’s still smoldering.”
Tun forged ahead through intricacies of vine and branch. “It was a vehicle of some sort, judging by the smell of the smoke. Perhaps even a flying machine. We’ll go cautiously from here on, my friend, as it is quite near.”
Slowly, they eased through the swamp, through the hanging shaggy vines, over the damp ground.
“There it is,” whispered Tun.
Fifty yards ahead was a silver flying ship. It had crashed here in the swamp and the engine had caught fire. The nose end of the ruined ship was gutted, a blistered black. Jagged cracks filled the windows of the control cabin.
“No chance of patching it up for our own use,” said Flash.
“Nay, though I had hoped perhaps.” The lion man nodded at the wreck. “You see the insignia there on the door?”
There was a golden sunburst painted on the now dented side of the craft. “Royal Police?”
“That is Ming’s symbol. This ship belonged to someone from the palace.”
“We’d better check to make sure there’s no one inside.”
“They probably jumped before the crash,” said the lion man. “But let us investigate.”
They had traveled only another twenty yards when, far off in the swamp, a girl screamed.
CHAPTER 15
Ming stroked one bony hand across the sunburst emblem on his cloak. Hunched forward in the ornately carved chair, he watched the glass wall of the room. It was one-way glass, allowing the emperor to see what was going on in the green cubicle beyond. “Very lovely,” he muttered, “a very attractive young woman.”
Standing beside Ming’s chair was the burly Captain Hakes. “Aye, the moment I saw her, I said to myself—”
“Yes, yes,” interrupted the gaunt emperor. His eyes narrowed further as he studied Dale Arden in the interrogation room.
The slim, dark-haired girl was alone at the moment. Hakes and his underlings had just left her after a long session of questioning. She sat slackly in the straight metal chair, her head drooped to one side, eyes closed. Her right arm dangled limply down and the left leg of her jumpsuit was torn, showing a long bloody scratch beneath.
“You were,” said Ming, stroking his wispy beard, “perhaps a shade too zealous in your questioning of the girl.”
“My zeal has never been criticized before, sir. It is my belief—”
Ming waved him impatiently to silence. “Still she seems to have withstood the ordeal rather well. She will make a splendid addition to Princess Aura’s ladies-in-waiting.” A quick barking laugh escaped his thin lips.
“Exactly what I told myself when first I espied her.”
“Yes, I’m sure you did, Hakes.” Ming pushed himself up from his chair. “I do not wish to do this lovely creature any permanent harm, yet I must know more about this planet she claims to come from, more about why she is on Mongo.”
“They mean us no good, I am certain.”
“No one means Ming any good,” said the gaunt man. “It is one of the prices a man must pay for attaining the heights. I will venture to see if I can persuade her to talk a little more.”
“Do you wish my help, sir?”
“No, Captain. We have passed beyond your type of inquiry.” He moved across the observation room to a parlor. When he touched one spidery hand to the panel, it slid aside.
Dale lifted her head when she heard the panel shut after him.
“I fear you have been put through an unpleasant ordeal, my dear,” said Ming as he approached. “Honor me by accepting my most humble apologies.”
“Who,” she paused to take a breath. “Who are you?”<
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“I am Ming,” he answered with a thin smile. “Ruler of the New Empire and potential ruler of the entire planet.”
“Then it’s on your orders I was brought here and questioned.”
“Nay, not at all. As soon as word reached me of what had been done, I hastened here and put a stop to it.”
“I’ve been here several hours.”
“Regrettably, the affairs of empire weigh heavily on my shoulders. It is one crisis after another and I only just now was free to be told of your plight, my dear.” Ming seated himself in the room’s other chair, steepled his fingers, and watched her. “I am here now, however, hoping you will accept my most sincere and cordial welcome to Mongo.”
“When will I be released from here?”
“From this specific room? At once,” he said. “Though I fear I must ask you to remain my guest in the palace for a time.”
“As a prisoner.”
“Nay, as a guest,” replied Ming. “You must understand, my dear, your advent is a rare and wondrous thing. To have a visitor from a distant planet in our midst is most unusual. Earth, did you say it is called? Yes, to have a visitor from Earth is a marvelous thing for us all. There is much we can learn from you.”
“I know. Your police have been trying to learn things from me for hours.”
“Again, I must apologize. Some of my Royal Police can be overzealous at times,” said Ming. “You are unaware of the unsettled conditions which exist in this part of the empire. There is much radicalism abroad, much fanatical opposition to my government. When harsh measures are resorted to by us, it is only because we have been provoked by the excesses of our opponents. This, of course, does not excuse the unfortunate experience you have undergone, my dear.”
Dale sat up straighter. “I don’t think I can quite accept your explanation,” she said. “Your police told me many young girls were brought here to the palace, at your request. As to their ultimate fate, I imagine—”
“Yes, imagination is what it is,” said the emperor. “You will find no more sedate a man in all the New Empire. I will have to punish any officer who has been telling ribald tales about palace life.”
“I’ll be more convinced when I am free to come and go as I please.”
“Soon enough, my dear, soon enough.” Ming smiled. “After all, you are a stranger here, entirely alone. Mongo will take some getting used to and I am perfectly willing to undertake the task of familiarizing you with my domain. Indeed, who is better qualified than I?”
“Very thoughtful of you.”
“You are alone, aren’t you?”
“By now one of your police must have told you we’re a team of three.”
“Only three?”
“As I told the captain over and over, only three.”
Ming nodded slowly. “And your purpose in coming here?”
“To find out what Mongo is like,” Dale answered. “We’re financed by the PlanExpIo Foundation to survey the remote planets which have not yet been touched by the official space programs of the major nations of Earth.”
“Your planet is not yet ruled by one man, by an emperor or king?”
“No.”
“Sad,” said Ming. “Sad.” He rubbed his fingertips across his sharp chin. “Who are the two who accompanied you, and where are they now?”
“Our ship was about to crash,” Dale said. “Two of us jumped before that happened, the third stayed with the craft to try and save it.”
“So you do not actually know the fate of your ship?”
“No.”
“Let us hope it found its way to a safe landing. Even now my men are searching for it.”
“Is there any word?”
“Alas, there is not.” Ming leaned closer, watching the girl through half-closed eyes. “Who was the man who stayed with the ship?”
“His name is Flash Gordon.”
“Flash Gordon, eh? I should like very much to meet him.”
“I have a feeling you will ” said Dale.
Morning brought rain to the hills. Dr. Zarkov was the first to rise. He’d been sleeping with his broad back against the trunk of a dry tree. The thin leafless branches couldn’t keep the rain off him. He rose, shaking his head so the drops of rain which had collected on his beard would disperse. Massaging his spine with his rough hands, he went over to talk to Brother Igon.
Igon had taken the last shift of standing guard. “Nothing unusual to report,” he said, yawning.
“They howled most of the night.”
“Perhaps your reputation has already reached the hill country,” said Igon, chuckling. “The wolf people may be afraid to attack.”
Zarkov rubbed his hands together and looked round at the rocky hills. “I’d like to come back here sometimes and see if I can trap a couple of them. I’ve heard rumors and tales of shape-changers on a good many planets, but I’ve yet to come face to face with one.” Remembering that he was again wearing a robe with a hood, he tugged the hood up so it protected his head from the rain.
“We’ll reach our aircraiser in a few more hours,” said Igon. “That rescue operation of yours, though certainly worthwhile, has put us somewhat behind schedule.”
Rubbing his hands together again, Zarkov said, “I’m anxious to take a look at this weapon that’s giving you trouble. I should be able to see where you lads went wrong.”
Arms tucked up into opposite sleeves, Brother Anmar approached. “Good morrow, Zarkov. I trust you slept well.”
“I always sleep well,” he boomed. “Any place, any time, any position. After I clear up some of your more urgent problems I’ll teach you how to control the portion of your brain which is in charge of sleep. Then you can turn it off and on.”
“You slept soundly,” asked Igon, “yet heard the howling?”
“Once you have your sleep gimmick under control,” replied Zarkov, “you can snooze and listen to what’s going on around you at the same time. And you won’t foul up the dream mechanism with the Zarkov method.”
“Would you care for a frugal breakfast before we continue our journey?” asked Anmar.
“That I would.”
Less than two hours later, they were nearing a forest area. The trees resembled Earth pines and oaks, but were considerably taller. Dozens of golden gulls were circling above the high treetops.
“Were not too distant from one of the tributaries of the Great River,” said Brother Anmar, “which is why there are so many seagulls in the sky.”
The rain had ceased and the sun was showing again.
“You’ve got the aircruiser in this forest?” asked Zarkov.
“Aye, we are nearly to it.”
They rode into the woods, using a wide weedy trail.
Finally, Anmar said, “We will see the clearing after this next turning. The ship is hidden in a barn behind the cottage. You’ll meet several more sorcerers here, for they have been guarding the craft.”
They rounded the turn and saw the clearing. The cottage was of unfinished shingles and thatch, the barn of whitewashed planking. There was no one to be seen.
“We’re here!” called Anmar.
But no one answered.
CHAPTER 16
Tun tore aside vines and brush with his huge hands. “We are getting closer,” he announced. “Over this way, my friend.”
“Easy now,” said Flash as he followed in the lion man’s wake. “This could be some kind of trap.”
“Nay, I think not. Those cries for help sounded too real,” said Tun. “I’ve heard a good many in my day and I can tell the real from the false. Aye, yonder is the girl!”
Clinging to a low branch of a gnarled tree by her hands and feet was an auburn-haired girl. Her tight-fitting two-piece flying suit was torn and muddied.
Watching the girl from below was a giant salamander, similar to the ones Flash had encountered on his way to the Heart & Arrow Inn. This one, however, was even larger and was a dull gray in color with patches of milky red. It, too, had fan
gs and a long flickering tongue. Its jaws were wide open, the forked tongue whipping toward the dangling girl.
“Help me!” cried the girl. “Is there anyone around? Does anyone hear me?”
“Your fears are over, missy,” called out the lion man. To Flash, he added, “Let me see if I can handle this fellow with the help of this marvelous pistol of yours.”
Before Flash could reply, Tun went stomping off toward the huge creature.
The salamander made a moist, fluttering noise as it watched the girl, waiting for her to let go of the branch and fall within range.
“Hey, you ugly brute,” shouted Tun when he was near the beast’s right side.
The giant head lowered and inspected the approaching lion man.
“You’ll cause no more trouble in these parts.” Tun began to draw out the blaster.
The creature all at once thrashed out with its great long tail.
The tail slammed hard into the lion man’s stomach, knocking the wind from him. Gasping, gagging, Tun went careening backwards. The pistol spun free of his hand as he landed hard on his back.
The salamander turned its attention to him, lowering its head.
A second later, its head was turning to soot. Flash had used his own blaster to dispatch the salamander.
“Thank,” panted Tun, “you, my friend.” He elbowed himself across the mossy ground.
The body of the giant salamander swayed, then tumbled over sideways. The jungle shook.
“Can’t hold . . .” The girl lost her grip on the branch.
Sprinting, Flash caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. Setting her upright gently, he asked, “Were you alone in the ship?”
She brushed back her long hair, smiling faintly at him. “Yes, I was alone,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about rescuing anyone else. If I hadn’t been stupid enough to lose my gun while I was jumping free of the flying ship . . . well, thank you. Is your friend badly hurt?”
“Not a bit, missy,” said Tun as he trotted over to join them. “A lion man is hard to kill, though now and again you can knock the breath from him.”