XXXVI
AN ALLY, AND SOLID GROUND
The soldier replied unhesitatingly: "It is the Day of Life, my lord.Others call it the 'first of the Sixteen Days.' Still others, simply theDay of the Prophet, or Jarados."
"When will it be?"
"Soon. It is but two days hence. And with the going down of the sun onthat day the Fulfilment is to begin, and the Life is to come. Hence thecrowd below, my lord; yet they are nothing compared with the crowds thattoday are pressing their way from all D'Hartia and Kospia towards theMahovisal."
"All because of the Day?"
"And to see YOU, my lord."
"All believers in the Jarados?"
"All truly; but they do not all believe in your lordship. There aremany sects, including the Bars, that consider you an imposter; but therest--perhaps the most--believe you the Herald of the Day. All want tosee you, for whatever motive."
"These Bars; who are they?"
"The military priesthood, my lord. As priests they teach a literalinterpretation of the prophecy; as soldiers they maintain their ownaggrandisement. To be more specific, my lord, it is they who accuse youof being one of the false ones."
"Why?"
"Because it is written in the prophecy, my lord, that we may expectimpostors, and that we are to slay them."
"Then this coming contest with the Senestro--" beginning to sense thedrift of things.
"Yes, my lord; it will be a physical contest, in which the best mandestroys the other!"
The guard was a tall, finely made and truly handsome chap of perhapsthirty-five. Watson liked the clear blue of his eyes and the opennessof his manner. At the same time he felt that he was being weighed andbalanced.
"My lord is not afraid?"
"Not at all! I was just thinking--when does this kill take place?"
"Two days hence, my lord; on the first of the Sixteen Sacred Days."
And thus Chick found a staunch friend. The soldier's name, he learned,was "the Jan Lucar." He was supreme in command of the royal guards; andChick soon came to feel that the man would as cheerfully lay down hislife for him, Watson, as for the queen herself. All told, Chick was ableto store away in his memory a few very important facts:
First, that the Aradna did not like the Senestro.
Second, that the Jan Lucar hated the great Bar because of the prince'sambition to wed the queen and her cousin, the Nervina; also because ofhis selfish, autocratic ways.
Next, that were the Nervina on hand she would thwart the Senestro; forshe was a very learned woman, as advanced as the Rhamda Avec himself.But that she was a queen first and a scholar afterwards; her motive ingoing through the Blind Spot was to take care of the political welfareof her people, her purposes were as high as Rhamda Avec's, but partookof statesmanship rather than spirituality.
Finally, that the Rhamdas were perfectly willing for the coming contestto take place, on the evening of the Day of the Prophet, in the Templeof the Bell and Leaf.
"Jan Lucar," Watson felt prompted to say, "you need have no fear as tothe outcome of the ordeal, whatever it may be. With your faith in me,I cannot fail. For the present, I need books, papers, scientific data.Moreover, I want to see the outside of this building."
The guardsman bowed. "The data is possible, my lord, but as to leavingthe building--I must consult the queen and the Rhamda Geos first."
"But I said MUST" Watson dared to say. "I must go out into your world,see your cities, your lands, rivers, mountains, before I do aught else.I must be sure!"
The other bowed again. He was visibly impressed.
"What you ask, my lord, is full of danger. You must not be seen inthe streets--yet. Untold bloodshed would ensue inevitably. To half theThomahlians you are sacred, and to the other half an impostor. I repeat,my lord, that I must see the Geos and the queen."
Another bow and the Jan disappeared, to return in a few moments with theGeos.
"The Jan has told me, my lord, that you would go out."
"If possible. I want to see your world."
"I think it can be arranged. Is your lordship ready to go?"
"Presently." Watson laid a hand on the big globe he had already puzzledover. "This represents the Thomahlia?"
"Yes, my lord."
"How long is your day, Geos?"
"Twenty-four hours."
"I mean, how many revolutions in one circuit of the sun, in oneyear-circle?"
As he uttered the question Chick held his breath. It had suddenly struckhim that he had touched an extremely definite point. The answer mightPLACE him!
"You mean, my lord, how long is a circle in term of days?"
"Yes!"
"Three hundred and sixty-five and a fraction, my lord."
Watson was dumbfounded. Could there be, in all the universe, anotherworld with precisely the same revolution period? But he could not affordto show his concern. He said:
"Tell me, have you a moon?"
"Yes; it has a cycle of about twenty-eight days."
Watson drew a deep breath. Inconceivable though it appeared, he wasstill on his own earth. For a moment he pondered, wondering if he hadbeen caught up in tangle of time-displacement. Could it be that, insteadof living in the present, he had somehow become entangled in the past orin the future?
If so--and by now he was so accustomed to the unusual that he consideredthis staggering possibility with equanimity--if the time coefficient wasat fault, then how to account for the picture of the professor, in thatleaf? Had they both been the victims of a ghastly cosmic joke?
There was but one way to find out.
"Come! Lead the way, Geos; let us take a look at your world!"
The Blind Spot Page 38