by Ray Cummings
CHAPTER XXI.
ANOTHER LIGHT-RAY!
The news that Mercer and Anina had been left in the Twilight Countrycompletely dumfounded Miela and me. "Something was wrong," Mercer hadsaid. And then they had insisted on staying there, and had sent the girlsback to tell me to come over.
We could make nothing of it, nor did the half hour of argument into whichwe immediately plunged further enlighten us. That flaw in our plans whichhad dawned on Mercer so suddenly and clearly certainly never occurred tous, for all it was seemingly so obvious.
We were interrupted--having reached no conclusion whatever except that wewould go over that evening as Mercer had directed--by the arrival of thepolice chief to see me. He was a little man, curiously thin and wizenedfor a Mercutian, with wide pantaloons, a shirt, short jacket and littletriangular cocked hat. His face seemed pointed, like a ferret. Hismovements were rapid, his roving glance peculiarly alert.
He bowed before me obsequiously. He would obey me to the letter, I couldsee that at once from his manner; though, had I impressed him as beinglike my predecessor, I did not doubt but that he would do as he pleasedupon occasion.
I toyed with the little light-ray cylinder in my hand quite casuallythrough the brief interview, and I saw he was thoroughly impressed, for heseemed unable to take his eyes from it.
"Where are your men just now?" I asked.
He raised his hands deprecatingly and poured out a flood of words to Mielawhen my question was translated to him.
"He himself was sleeping," she said to me when he had paused for breath."His third watch was on patrol about the city. Then from the castle camethe king's guards, fleeing in haste. Those of the police they met theytold that evil men were in the castle with the light-ray, and all whorepresented the city's authority would be killed."
"That was a lie," I interrupted. "There was no light-ray here then."
Miela nodded. "It was what Baar's men had told them to say, I think."
"And then what happened to the police?"
"Then they left their posts about the city. Some fled; others went backand reported what they had heard."
"And it never occurred to any of them to come up here and try to stop thedisturbance? Curious policemen, these!"
"It is too deadly--the light-ray," said Miela. "They were afraid. And thenthe alarm bell began ringing. They sent for Ano, here, to ask him whatthey should do. And then you sent for him. He has his men at the policebuilding, in waiting. And he comes to you at the risk of his life, and nowasks your commands."
Thus did my chief of police explain satisfactorily to himself, and withgreat protestations of loyalty to his trust, how it came about that he andhis men did nothing while their king was being murdered and another put inhis place.
Recriminations seemed useless. He stood bowing and scraping before me,eager only to obey my slightest wish.
"Tell him, Miela, how Baar's men captured Lua. Have the city, thoroughlysearched--Baar's house particularly. Tell him _I_ killed Baar's wife. Havethat slave woman sent home to me.
"Tell him to capture Baar and any of his known associates. If he does,have him report to me at once. Say to him that I must have word of Lua--orI'll have a new chief of police by to-morrow. For the rest, have his menpatrol the city as usual."
I spoke as sternly as I could, and the little man received my words withvoluble protestations of extreme activity on his part.
When he had bowed himself out I smiled at Miela hopelessly.
"This has got to be a mighty different government before we can ever hopeto accomplish anything against Tao." Tao was not worrying me for themoment. Lua must be found, and I had no idea of relying entirely upon thislittle chief of police to find her. And Mercer needed me, too, this veryevening.
I stood up wearily and put my arm about Miela's shoulders. Her little bodydrooped against mine, her head resting on my shoulder. There was littleabout us then, as we stood there dispirited and physically tired out, thatwould have commended respect from our subjects.
"We _must_ get some sleep, Miela," I said. "Things will look verydifferent to us then."
It must have been mid-afternoon when we awoke. Ano was at hand to reportthat Baar and his men, and all the king's guards, must have fled the city.Of Lua he had, so far, found no trace. Baar's slave woman was in thecastle, waiting our commands. The girl who had brought us Mercer's messagewas also waiting to ask us when we wanted her and the other girls for thetrip back to the Twilight Country.
"Right away," I exclaimed. "I'm not going to take any chances with Mercer.We'll start at once."
The girl flew away to get her friends and the platform, which had beenleft in the garden of Miela's home. I planned to start openly from thecastle roof; there was now no need of maintaining secrecy.
The disappearance of Lua was alarming. Equally so was the possible dangerinto which Mercer might have blundered. In Lua's case there did not seemmuch I could do personally at that moment. Before starting I arranged withthe aged councilors to call a meeting the following morning of allgovernment officials.
"Could we get Fuero to come, Miela?"
She shook her head positively. "His oath would forbid it."
"Well, tell the councilors to call also any of the city's prominent men.I've got to get some good men with me. I can't do it all alone."
Miela smiled at me quizzically as I said this: "You have forgotten ourwomen and their help, my husband?"
I had, in very truth, for the moment.
"We'll need them, too," I said. "Tell these girls who carry us to-night tocall all those who went with us to the mountains--a meeting to-morrow atthis time--here on the castle roof."
"To the Water City we must go," Miela said. "There Tao's men are verystrong, our girls report. And to-day there was a fight among the people,and several were killed."
"But we must go armed, Miela, with more than one light-ray. I shall seethis Fuero to-morrow. After all, he's the key-note to the whole thing."
We started from the castle roof, Miela sitting with me this time on theplatform. Flying low, we passed over the maze of bayous, and in whatseemed an incredibly short time we were out over the sea. I had now noidea what we might be called upon to do, or how long we would be gone, forall my specific plans for the next day; so we started as well prepared aspossible.
The precious light-ray cylinder I held in my hand. We had a number ofblankets, enough food for us all for two days of careful rationing, aknife or two, and a heavy, sharp-edged metal implement like an ax.
It seemed hardly more than half an hour before a great black cloud hadspread over the whole sky, and we ran into the worst storm I have everencountered. The wind came up suddenly, and we fought our way directlyinto it. Lightning flashed about us, and then came the rain, slanting downin great sheets.
We were still flying low. The mirror surface of the sea was now lashedwith waves, extraordinarily high, whose white tops blew away in longstreaks of scud. The girls fought sturdily against the wind and rain,carrying us steadily up until after a while I could not see the waterbelow.
We were in the storm perhaps an hour altogether. Then we passed up andbeyond it; and emerged again into that gray vacancy, with a waste ofstorm-lashed water far beneath us.
The Twilight Country shore was still below the horizon, and it was aconsiderable time before we sighted it. Miela and I sat quiet, wrapped ina blanket, which, wet as it was, offered some protection against thebiting wind. The girls seemed exhausted from their long struggle againstthe storm, and I was glad for them when we finally landed.
This was the place, they said, where Mercer and Anina had set Tao's menfree, and where the two were standing when the girls had left with theplatform. I looked about, and saw on the beach the pieces of cut cord withwhich the men had been bound.
Of Mercer and Anina there was no sign. We waited until well after the timeof the evening meal, and still Mercer and Anina did not arrive. Weconcluded, of course, that they had followed Tao's men up the trail forsome r
eason, and we expected it would be Anina who would come back to tellus where Mercer was.
"Let us go up a little distance," Miela suggested finally. "They cannottell what the hour is. They may be near here now, coming back."
The girls were rested and warmed now, and we started off again with theplatform. We flew low over the treetops, following the trail as best wecould, but in the semi-darkness we could see very little from above. Aftera time we gave it up and returned to the shore.
Again we waited, now very much alarmed. And then finally we decided toreturn to the Great City for the night. Anina might have missed us someway, we thought, and flown directly home. She might be there waiting forus when we arrived. If not, we would return again with several hundredgirls, and with them scour the country carefully back as near the LoneCity as we dared go.
With our hearts heavy with apprehension we started back across thechannel. Lua, Mercer and Anina were separated from us. All had beencaptured, perhaps, by our enemies! Things were, indeed, in a very bad way.
Without unusual incident we sighted the Light Country shore. Three girlswere winging their way swiftly toward us.
"They wish to speak with us, Alan," said Miela. "From the Great City theyseem to come. Perhaps it is Anina."
Our hopes were soon dispelled, for Anina was not one of them; they werethree of the girls we had directed to patrol the seacoast.
When they neared us Miela flew off the platform and joined them. Theycircled about for a time, flying close together, then Miela left them andreturned to me, while they hovered overhead. Her face was clouded withanxiety as she alighted beside me.
"They were near the Water City a short time ago. And they say thelight-ray is being used there. They saw it flashing up, and dared not gocloser."
The light-ray in the Water City! My heart sunk with dismay. The cylinder Iheld in my hand I had thought the only one in use in all the LightCountry. With it I felt supreme. And now they had it also in the WaterCity!
One of the girls flung up her hand suddenly and called to Miela.
"See, Alan--a boat!"
I looked down to where Miela pointed. The sea was still rough from thestorm, but no longer lashed into fury. Coming toward us, close inshore andfrom the direction of the Water City, I saw a boat speeding along over thespent waves. And as I looked, a narrow beam of light, green, shading intored, shot up from the boat and hung wavering in the air like a littlesearch-light striving to pierce the gray mist of the sky!