LOST ON VENUS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 270, 13 November 1937, Page 17 (Supplement)

LOST ON VENUS

THE STORY TILL NOW. CARSON NAPIER had set out by rocket for Mars, but had been drawn by gravitation on to Venus, known to id inhabitants as Armor. His adventures are revealed telepathically to a friend, and •re told in his own words. Ha falls in love with the beautiful Duare, daughter of a king. They are captured by Thorians, and then by Bkor, the Jong of Morov and spend a night in a fortress. In Carson's room a trap-door opens and a girl's face appears. Ha climbs into his fellow prisoner's room. Despite her dishevelled and frightened appearance, I found her even more beautiful than I had at first thought her; and as her fine even met mine in mutual appraisement, my fears of treachery vanished. 1 was sure that no duplicity lurked behind that lovely countenance." "You need not doubt me," she said, as though she had read my thoughts, "though I cannot wonder you doubt everyone in this terrible place." "Then how can you trust me?" I asked. "You know nothing of me." "I know enough," she replied. "From that window I saw you when you and your companion came yesterday with Skor, ami I knew that he had two more victims. I heard them bring you to the room below last night. I did not know which one of you it was. I wanted to warn you then, but 1 am *o afraid of Skor. I walked the floor for a long time trying to decide what to do." "Then it was you I heard walking?" "Yes. Then I heard them come again; I heard sounds of a scuffle and Skor's awful laugh. I thought .they had killed you, if it were you, or taken the girl away, if it were she whom they had imprisoned in- the room below. I hope

she got away safely, but 1 am afraid there can be little hope of that." "Got away? What do you meant" I demanded. "She escaped very early this morning. I do not know how she got out of her room, but from the window I saw her croaa the outer courtyard. She climbed the wall on the river side, and she must have dropped into the river. I did not sec her again." "Duare has escaped 1 You are sure it was she?" "It wai the beautiful girl who came here with you yesterday. About an hour after she got away Skor must have discovered that she was gone. He came out of the castle in a terrible rage. He took with him all of the miserable creatures that watch the gate and all hi* fierce kazars and set out in pursuit. Possibly never again may we have such an opportunity to escape." No One Watching: Kazan Are Cone "Have you a plan?" "Yes," she replied. "With the rope we can lower ourselves to the castle roof and from there to the There is no one watching the gate; the kazars are gone. There are only three or four of Skor's retainers left in the castle, and they are not very alert when he is not here." "I have my weapon*," I reminded her. "Skor did not take them away from me, and if any of his people try to stop us I will kill them." "You cannot kill them," she whispered, shuddering. "What do you mean?" I demanded. "Because they are already dead." | I looked at her In astonishment a* slowly the meaning of her words filtered to my shocked brain to explain the pitiful creatures that had filled me with such disgust on the previous day. "But," I exclaimed, "how can they be dead? I saw them move about and obey the commands of Skor." "I do not know," she replied; "it is Skor's terrible secret. Presently you will be a* they, if we do not escape; and the girl who came with you, and I—after a while. He will keep us a

little longer in the flesh for the purpose of his experiment**. Every day he take* a little blood from me. He is seeking the secret of life. He says that he can reproduce body cells, and with these he has instilled synthetic life into the poor creatures that he ha* resurrected from the grave. But it is only a parody on life; no blood flows in those dead vein* and the dead minds are animated only by the thoughts that Skor transmits to them by some occult, telepathic means. "But what he most desires is the power to reproduce germ cells and thus propagate a new race of beings fashioned according to his own specifications. That is why he takes blood from mej that is why he wanted the girl you call Duare. When our blood has become so depleted that death is near, he will kill us and we will be like these others. But he would not keep us here; h« would take us to the' city where he rules as Jong. Here he keeps only a few poor, degraded specimens, but he says that in Kormor he ha* many fine ones."

Kept Her Only To Draw Blood

"So he is a jong? I doubted it." "He has made himself a jong and created his own siibjects." "And he kept you only to draw blood from you ?"

"Yes. Ho is not like other men; he is not human-." "How long have you been here?" "A long time. I am still aliye because Skor has been away most of the time in Kormor." With the rope we lowered ourselves to the castle roof below, a distance of about twenty feet; then we crossed the roof quickly to the edge overlooking the outer courtyard into which ,we expected to descend." There wn* no one in tight, and I was just about to lower thn girl over the edge when a loud shout from behind startled us. Turning, we saw three of Skor's creatures looking at us from an upper window of the castle on the opposite side of the inner court. They left the window, and we could hear them shouting through the castle. ''They were not the servants; they were three of his armed men. I thought they had all accompanied him, but I was wrong." I said nothing, but I seized her hand and started toward the far end of the castle roof. A sudden hope had flared within me, born of an idea suggested by what the girl had told me of Duare's escape. We ran as fast as we could, and when we reached the edge, we looked down upon the river lapping the castle wall two storeys below. I passed the rope about the girl's waist. She asked no question. (prickly she climbed over the low parapet, and I commenced lowering her toward the river. Hideous mouthings arose behind me. I turned and saw three dead men running toward me across the roof. Then

I lowered away so rapidly that the rope burned my fingers. I heard a pplash, and the rope went slack in my fingers. I glanced behind. The nearest of the creatures was already extending his hands to seize me. I sprang to.the top of the parapet and leaped. As I rose to the surface of the river, I looked about for the girl. I saw her head rise above the surface of the water a short distance below me. Swiftly I struck out for her. She went down again just before I reached her, but I dived for her and brought her to the surface. She was still conscious but almost out. Dragging the girl with me, I struck out for the opposite shore. She lay very quiet and I began to fear that she was dead. I reached the bank and dragged the girl out on to a little patch of pale violet grass and set to work to resusitate her, but even an I commenced she opened her eyes. | "I shall be all right in a minute," she said weakly. "I was so frightened." "Don't you know how to swim?" I asked. She shook her head. "No." "And you let me lower you into the river without telling me!" I was amazed by the bravery of her act. "There was nothing else to be done," she said simply. "Had I told you, you would not have lowered me, and we both should have been recaptured. My country is a mountainous district," she added, "where the streams are torrents and there is little swimming." "And where is that?" I asked. "Oh, it is very far," she replied. "I do not even know where." "Ho* did you happen to get into Skor's country?" "During a war In my country I was captured with others by the enemy. They carried us down out of the mountains into a great plain. One night two of us escaped. My companion was a soldier who had been long in the service of my father. He tried to return me to my country but we became lost. We came to a great river. Here were people who lived in boats always, Ashing. They sought to capture us, and my companion was killed defend- i ing me. I escaped in a boat and t drifted for many days. Then Skor 1 was hunting near and saw me. I ' have been here a long time." g|

For some time we moved cautiously downstream in silence. My mind was filled with thoughts of Duare and apprehension for her safety yet occasionally it reverted to the girl at my side; and I could not but recall her courage during our escape and her generous willingness to delay her own flight that wc might search for Duare. It was apparent that her charac f or formed a trinity of loveliness with ner form and face. And I did not even know her name!

"Do you know," I asked, "that we do not know one another's name?" and then I told her mine.

"Carson Napier!" she repeated. "That is a strange name."

"And what is yours T"

"Nalte voo jan kum Baltoo," she replied, which means Nalte, the daughter of Baltoo. "The people call me Voo Jan (The Daughter), but my frfends call me Nalte."

"And which am I to call you?" I asked.

She looked at me in surprise. "Why, Nalte, of course."

"I am honoured by being included among your friends."

"But are you not my best, my only friend now in all Amtor?"

I had to admit that her reasoning was sound, since as far as all the rest of Anitor was concerned, we were the only two people on the cloud-dirt planet, and we were certainly not enemies.

During the afternoon of the second day of our search for Duare, Nalte and I tame to the big river that Duare and I had seen from the summit of the escarpment, the same river down which Xfllte had drifted into the dutches of Skor.

Upon its broad expanse, from where it swept majestically into sight around a low promontory to where it disappeared again beyond a curve downstream, there was no sign of life, nor on either bank—only the girl, Nalte, and I.

We built a raft and drifted with the current, and then, at last, as we swung around a headland, we saw two cities. One lay upon the left bank of the river, the other on the right directly opposite.

Nalte nodded toward the city on the left bank. "That must be Kormor; this is about the location that Skor told me his city occupied."

"And the other? What is thr V I asked.

She shook her head. "Skor never men tioned another city."

As we came down toward the quay of Kormor, a email boat pushed out into the river. It contained three men, two of whom were rowing while the third stood in the bow. That they were pulling out to intercept us appeared quite evident.

By EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS CREATOR OF TARZAN.

"They are Skor's men," said Nalte, with a shudder.

"Keep away, or 111 kill you I" I cried, fitting an arrow to my bow.

The fellow laughed—a dry, mirthless laugh. Then it was that I saw his eyes, and a cold chill swept over me. They were the dead eyes of a corpse!

I loosened an arrow. It drove straight through the creature's che6t, but it only laughed.

I turned again toward the approaching boat. Its bow was already within a foot of the raft. Before the fellow standing in it could grasp my intention I leaped upon him. He struck at me with his dead, hands; his dead fingers clutched for my throat. But my attack had been too quick and unexpected. I had carried him off his balance, and threw him overboard.

The two other creatures had been rowing with their backs toward the bow and were unaware that any danger threatened them until I crashed upon their leader. As he went overboard, the nearer of the others rose and turned upon me. His. skin, too, was painted in the semblance of life, but those dead eyes could not be changed.

With a horrid, inarticulate scream he leapt for me. I met his rush with a right to the jaw that would have knocked a living man down for a long count; and while, of course, I couldn't knock the thing out, I did knock it overboard.

**/ sprang to (he top of the parapet and leaped."

A quick glance at the two in the water convinced me that my guess had not been amiss—like their fellows at the castle, the two could not swim and were floating helplessly down stream with the current. But there was still another, and it was stepping across the thwarts toward me. I leaped for it, and locked my right arm about its head from above. The back of its neck was snug against my armpit as I seized my own right wrist with my left hand and locked my hold tighter. Then I swung quickly around, straightening up as I did so and, incidentally, nearly capsizing the boat. The creature lost its footing as I swung it about; its arms flailed wildly, as with a last mighty surge I released my hold and sent it tumbling into the river. Like the others, it floated away, apparently helpless.

A few yards away, the raft was drifting with Nalte wide-eyed and tense with excitement. Seizing an oar I brought the boat alongside and, extending a hand, assisted Nalte over the side.

Following Nalte's suggestion ,we drifted slowly downstream. We soon passed Kormor, but the white city on the right bank extended on for a couple of miles farther. Its full length along the river front was fully five miles, and along all that length was the broad quay backed by a gleaming white wall pierced by ar. occasional gate.

Just below the city the river turned to the right, and almost immediately the cliffs shut off our view of both cities.

There came to my ears faintly an insistent sound —a distant roaring.

"It must be the falls that Skor told me of," said Nalte.

The current had carried us closer to the right bank at this point, and just ahead of us I saw a small stream emptying into the river. There was an open forest on the farther side of the stream and scattered trees on the nearer. It appeared an ideal location for a camp.

We made the shore easily and I ran the boat into the mouth of the small stream.

"Now," I said, "the thing that in terests me most at present is food."

"Where are you going to hunt?" said Nalte. "That forest on the other side of this little stream looks as though it should be filled with game."

She was facing the forest as she spoke,* while my back was toward it. Suddenly the expression of her face changed, and she seized my arm with a little cry of alarm. "Look, Carson! What is that? - '

As I turned at Nalte's warning cry, I thought I saw something dodge behind low bushes somewhere on the opposite bank.

"What was it, Nalte?" I demanded.

"Oh, it couldn't be what I thought I saw," she whispered excitedly. "I must be mistaken." "What did you think you saw?" "There's* another—there—look!" she cried. And then I saw it. It stepped from behind the bole of a large tree and stood eyeing us, its fan-is bared in a snarl. If was a man that went on four feet

like a beast. Its hind legs were short, and it walked on its hind toes, the heels corresponding with the hocks of animals. Its hands were more human, and it walked flat on the palms of them in front. Its nose was flat, its mouth broad, and its heavy, undershot jaws were armed with powerful teeth. Its skin was white and almost hairless except upon its head and jowls.

"You don't know what they are?" I asked Nalte.

"We have heard of them in Andoo, but no ene ever believed that they existed. They are called zangans. If the stories I have heard are true, they are terribly ferocious. They hunt in packs and devour men as well as beasts."

Zangan means beast-man, and no better word could have been coined to describe the creature that faced us across that little stream in far Noobol. And now others came Blinking into view from the shelter of bushes and from behind the boles of trees.

Wo had already walked a little distanco from the spot where I had moored our craft, and as we turned to retrace our steps I saw several of the zangans enter the water on the opposite side and approach the boat, They were much closer to it than we, and long before I could untie it and drag it into deeper water they could be upon us. "It is too late," cried Nalte.

Like Human Tigers With Snarling Lips

"Let's fall back slowly to that little rise of ground behind us," I said. "Perhaps I can hold them off there."

We retreated slowly, watching zangans as they crossed the stream toward us. When they came out on shore, they shook themselves as dogs do, and then they came slinking after us again. They reminded me of tigers—human tigers— and their gait was much that of a stalking tiger as they approached with flattened heads and snarling lips.

There were about 20 of them, mostly males; but there were a couple of females and two or three half-grown cubs.

From above us and behind us on the mound came a sudden cracking hum that was like the noise of an X-ray machine makes. I knew what it was even withthe evidence of the crumbling bodies of the zangans dropping to the ground before us —it was the hum of the R-ray rifle of Amtor!

I wheeled and looked np toward the summit of the mound. There stood a dozen men pouring streams of the destructive rays upon the pack. It lasted for but a few seconds, but not one of the ferocious beast escaped death. Then one of our rescuers (or were they our eaptors) come toward us.

He, like his companions, was & man of almost perfect physique with a handsome, intelligent face. My first impression was that if these were fair examples of the citizens of that white city from which I assumed they had come, we must have stumbled upon an Olympus inhabited solely by gods.

He who approached us wore the customary G string and military harness; of the men of Amtor. His trappings were handsome, and I guessed from the insignia on the fillet that encircled his brow that he was an officer. "You had a close call," he said pleasantly. "Rather too close for comfort," I replied. "We have you to thank for our lives."

"I am glad that I arrived' in time. I happened to be on the river wall as you drifted past, and saw your encounter with the men from Kormor. My interest was aroused; and, knowing that you were headed for trouble down river on account of the falls. T gathered some of my men and hurried down to try to warn you."

Better Qualities To Improve Race

"A rather unusual interest in strangers for a man of Amtor," I said, "but I assure you that I appreciate it even if I do not understand it."

He laughed shortly. "It was the way you handled those three creatures of Skor," he explained. "I saw possibilities in such a man, and we are always looking for better qualities to infuse into the blood af Havatoo. But come, let me introduce myself. lam Ero Shan."

"And this is Nalte of Andoo," I replied, "and I am Carson Napier of California."

"I have heard of Andoo„" he acknowledged. "They raise exceptionally fine people there, but I hfI.TC never heard of your country. In fact, I have never seen a man before with blue eyes and vellow hair."

"May I ask," I inquired, "if we return as guests or as pv'-nners?"

He smiled. "Will that make any difference—as to whether «you return with me or not?"

I glanced up at the armed men behind him and grinned. "None," I replied.

"Let us be friends," he said. "You will find in Havatoo, justice. If you deserve to remain as a guest, you will be treated as a guest —if not—" he shrugged.

As we reached the top of the little hillock we saw, just behind/ it, a long, low car with transverse seats and no top. The severity of its streamlines and its lack of ornamentation suggested that it was a militarv car.

As we entered the rear seat with Ero Shan his men took their places in the forward spats. F.ro Shan spoke a word of command, and the car moved forward. The driver was too far from me to permit me to see how he controlled the car, which moved forward over the uneven ground smoothly and swiftly.

Presently as we topped a rise of ground we saw the city of Havatoo lying white and beautiful before us. From our elevation I could see that it was built in the shape of a half circle, with the flat side lying along the water front, and it was entirelv walled.

As we were halted at the gate by the soldiers on guard, I saw emblazoned above the portal in the characters of the universal Amtorian language, "Tag Knm Yoo Klambad" (Gate of the Psychologists).

Beyond the gate we entered a broad, straight avenue that ran directly toward the centre of the water front. It was filled with traffic—cars of various sizes and shapes, running swiftly and quietly. There was nothing but vehicular traffic on this level, pedestrians being accommodated on walkways at the- level of the second storeys of the buildings, which were connected by viaducts at all intersections. There was practically no noise—and traffic regulated itself. I asked Era Shan about it. (To be continued'