LOST ON VENUS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 282, 27 November 1937, Page 19 (Supplement)

LOST ON VENUS

TH« STORY TILL NOW. a? VSSl'•"•BK" to iu '"habitants and i!- "'•PWhically to a friend, MaVftTii 0- '" hi " own WOPd » : Jja ran* i n i ov , wlth th beautif , I Ouara, daughter of . King" They ara captured b, 8«or, tha Jong of n\Sktnl. TL h ° " «P e '^«nting g in making a new race by taking blood from hi. victim., whom he maintain. as living corpse. 2-R r ? nd " " "eautiful girl, Nalte, who toll, him that Ouara *"• ™*» a - "*"* «nd Napier £f? «S, ,t u away ■ nd come t» t"» k.'i?. .V' 00 ' £"'"« befriended Jjfora an examining board to (m.rmjno whether they are fit to live. Kantum Shogan, ohiof of the board, invited me to be sealed; and Kro Shan aat at my right, Herlak at my left. "Carson Napier," commenced Kantnm Shogan, "our examination of you discovers that you are not without merit. Physically you approach that perfection toward which our race is constantly striving; intellectually y OU are alert but ill trained—you haw no culture. While that might be remedied, I regret to

CREATOR OF TARZAN.

advwe yon that yon possess inherent psychological faults that, if transmitted to your progeny or allowed to contaminate others through your association with you. would work inestimable wrong on future generations. You are the unfortunate victim of inherited repressions, complexes, and fears. With deep regret, therefore, wo could but conclude that it would best serve the interests of humanity were you destroyed." So T was to die! After all that I had passed through it verged upon the ridiculous that I should come all this long way just to die! It made me smile. "Why do you smile?" inquired a member of the hoard. "Does death seem an amusing thing to you?" "I smile," I replied, "when perhaps I should weep—weep at the thought of all the toil and knowledge and energy that were wasted to transport me twenty-six million miles just to die." "Twenty-six million miles!" exclaimed a member of the board. "What do you mean?" "1 mean that T came here from another world twenty-six million miles from Amtor,** I replied, "a world much further advanced in some respects than yours." Nevtr Heard of the Sun Every member of the board evinced keen interest in my statement. "Von say that Amtor i« not the only world?" demanded Kantnm Shogan. "that there is another?'' "The heavens are filled with countless worlds," I replied. Kantum Shogan said: "Our examination of you may have, been faulty in that it presumed that we possessed the sum total of available human knowledge. Now it appenrs that you may possess knowledge of such importance as to outweigh the biological inadequacies inherent in you. Our final decision as to your future will depend upon the outcome of this further questioning." As I explained the solar system and drew diagrams of it for them, I saw the keen interest and the ready understanding with which they grasped all that I said.

Now, for the first time, they were listening to an explanation of the phenomena of the transition from day to night and from night to day, of the seasons, of the tides. Their vision restrict. . by the cloud envelopes that constantly enshroud Venus, they had been able to see nothing upon which to base a planetary theory; and so it is not strange that astj-onomy was an unknown science to them, that the sun and the stars did not exist for them.

For four hours they listened to me and questioned me; then they instructed Ero Shan and Heriak to withdraw to an anteroom with me and wait there until we were again summoned.

In less than 15 minutes we were recalled.

"It is our unanimous opinion." announced Kantum Shogan, "that your value to humanity far outweighs the danger that it incurs from your inherited defects. You are to live and enjoy the freedom of Havatoo. Your duties will consist in instructing others in that new science which you call astronomy and applying it for the welfare of humanity." "Before I go, may I ask what is to become of the girl Nalte, who was taken with me yesterday?" I inquired. "She was considered fit to remain in the yorgan section of Havatoo," he replied. "When her duties have been definitely determined and her living quarters assigned her, I will let you know where you may find her."

The War Game

I often talked with Ero Shan about Duarc. I wanted to cross the river to Kormor and search for her, but he convinced me that it would be suicidal to attempt it. "If I had an aeroplane." I said, "I would find a way to search Kormor." "What is an aeroplane?" asked Ero Shan, and when I explained it, he became very much interested, as flying has never been developed in Amtor, at least in those portions of which I am familiar. One evening when I returned to the house I now shared with Ero Shan, I found a message awaiting me. It was from an under clerk of the board of examiners, and gave me the address of the house in which Nalte lived. Nalte was glad to see rue, and as I wished to visit with her alone I asked her to come for a ride with me. "I am glad that you passed your examination successfully," I said as we started toward the Korgan Lat. Nalte laifghed. "I just squeezed through," she admitted. "I wonder what they would say back in Andoo if they knew that I, the daughter of their jong, was considered fit only to scrub floors in Havatoo!" I received a summons to call upon Korgan Kan turn Mohar, the warrior physicist who had arranged for the (examination of Xfllte and me the day that Ero Shan had brought us to the city.

By EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Ho had on his de<=k sketches of airships that I had made for Ero Shan. "Those," he said, pointing to the .sketches, "were brought to me by Ero Shan, who explained them as best he could. I am much interested, and would know more concerning these ships that sail through the air." For an hour I talked to him and answered his questions. '•('an you build one of these ships for me?'' he demanded. I told him that I could, but that it might require long experimentation to adapt their motors and 'materials to the requirements of a successful aeroplane. I was given a factory, and on the advice, of the Sanjong, which took a deep interest in both this new venture into aeronautics and the, to them, new science of astronomy, I divided my time between the two. In tho geat stadium at least once a month men tight with wild beasts or with one another to the death, and oneo a year the great war frame is played. Ero Shan, Gara Lo, Xalte and I attended this year's game together. The great stadium, seating 200,000 people, was crajomed to capacity.

to the field at each end marched ltvO men, naked but for white G strings at one end of the field, 100 men naked but for red G strings at the other end of tho field. They carried short swords and shields. Then two small cars were driven on to tho field. Each contained a driver and a young woman; that is, they looked young. Of course they miglit have l>cen anywhere from 18 to 300 years old, for the people of Havatoo do not age after maturity in appearance.

One of the cars was red, the other white. The red car attached itself to the contingent wearing the red G strings. tho white car to the whites. I leaned toward Ero Shan. "Tell us something of the idea of the game," I begged. "It is simple,** he replied. "Thev contend for 15 vir (that is equivalent to 60 minutes of earth time), and the fiido that captures the opponent's queen oftener is the winner." The reds formed a wedge with its apex toward the whites and charged. In the melee that ensued I saw three men killed and more than a dozen wounded, hut the whites held their queen. When a queen was pressed too closclv her rur turned and fled, the rearguard coming up to repel the enemy. "~ %hc tide of battle moved up and down the field. Sometimes the whiten seemed about to capture the red queen, again their own was in great danger. There were many individual duels and a display of marvellous swordsmanship throughout.

IJ>ut the whole thin? seemed so out of harmony with oil that I had heretofore seen in Havatoo that T could find no explanation for it. Here was the highest type of culture and civilisation that man might imagine suddenly reverting to barbarism.

At last the red queen foil into the hands of the -whites, but only after the last of her defenders had fallen. Of the 200 men who took part in the game not one came through unwounded; 50 were killed on the field, and 10 men died of their wounds later. Unique Aeroplane I asked Ero Shan how such a navagp and brutal exhibition could be tolerated, much less enjoyed, by the inhabitants of Havatoo. "Wo have few wars," he replied. "For ages war was man's natural state. T(. {rave expression to the spirit of adventure that is a part of his inheritance. Our psychologist* discovered that man must have some outlet for this age-old urge. I was now working on my aeroplane with the keenest enthusiasm, for I now saw rapidly taking form such a ship as,, I truly believe, might be built nowhere in the universe other than in Havatoo. Here I had at my disposal materials that only the chemists of Havatoo might produce, synthetic wood and «teel fabric that offered incalculable strength and durability combined with negligible weight.

I had also the element, vik-ro. undiscovered on earth, and the substance, lor, to furnish fuel for my engine. Fuel for the life of my ship could be held in the palm of my hand.

At last the aeroplane was finished! I spent the final afternoon checking it. over carefully with my large corps of assistants. On the morrow it was to be wheeled out through the Tag kum voo Klookantam for my trial flight.

That evening I determined to indulge in a little relaxation; and I called Xalte on the wireless, transmitterless, receiverless communicating system that is one of the wonders of Havatoo. I asked her if she would take dinner with me, and she accepted with a display of pleasure that warmed my heart. I described to her how I would fly. "You will never fly over the great trees of Amtor," she- stated emphatically. She referred to the gigantic trees that raise their lofty tips 5000 feet above the surface of Amtor to drink the moisture from the inner cloud envelope. "Yes; possibly I shall fly even above those," I replied, "though I will admit that flying blind in that solid bank of cloud does not appeal to me." "We could fly to Andoo," I said. "I have been thinking of that ever since I started to build the ship." "To Andoo!" she exclaimed. "Home! Oh, Carson, if we only could!" "Rut we can—that is if we can find Andoo." "I think that you are the best friend that I ever had," she said, and then she looked up at me quickly and laughed, "Do you know," she continued, "there wa* a long time that I thought that I loved you." "That would have been a great honour, Xalte." "I tried to hide it because I knew that you loved Duaxe; and now recently

Ero Shan has been coming to see me, and I know that I did not know before what love was." "You love Ero Shan?" "Yes." "I am glad. He is a splendid fellow. I know that you will both be happy." "But Ero Shan does not love me." "How do you know that he doesn't?" "If he loved me he would tell me," she said. "Sometimes I think that he believes that I belong to you. We came hero together, yon know; and we have been much together since. But if he loved me, he would not be able to hide it." We had finished our dinner, and I suggested that we drive about the city for a while and then go to a concert. "Let's take a little walk instead of driving," suggested Xalte. We followed the walkway along Havatoo Lat to a quiet street that extended away from the river. We had proceeded but a short distance from Havatoo Lat when I heard a door that we had passed open behind us and footsteps on the walkway. Someone seized me roughly from behind, and as I wheeled about I saw another man grab Xalte, clap a hand over her mouth and drag her into the doorway from which the two had come. I had tripped my assailant and was on top of him when several men dragged me from him. They were shocked and angry because of this unseemly disturbance on a street in Havatoo; and they.placed us under arrest.

We were bundled into a large car and whisked away to the Sera Tertum. Five men were hastily summoned; they were judge, jury and Court of last resort. One of the judges asked ns our names, and two clerks brought forth books in which they commenced to search. One of the clerks, evidently having found what he sought, laid his book open before the judges; the other was still searching. From the open book one of the judges rend aloud my official record since I had come to Havatoo, including the result of the examination that I had undergone and its embarrassing finding. A judge asked me to state my case. In a few brief words I told of the unprovoked attack upon us and the abduction of Xalte, and in conclusion I said, "Instead of wasting time trying me for being the victim of this unwar" ranted attack and defending myself against my assailant, you should be helping mo search for the girl who has been stolen." "The peace of Havatoo is of more importance than the life of any individual," replied a judge. The second clerk now approached the judges. "The name of the prisoner who calls himself Mai Un does not appear in the records of Havatoo." All eyes turned toward my assailant, Mai Un, and for the first time I had a good look at him under a bright light. I wheeled toward the judges. "I understand it all novr," I cried." "AVhen I first eame to Havatoo I was told that there were few bad men in the city; but that occasionally, none knew how-, bad men came from the city of Kormor across the river and stole men and women from Havatoo. This man is from Kormor. He is not a living man; he is a corpse. He and his companion sought to steal Xalte and me for Skor!" The judges made a few simple but effective tests upon Mai T'n. Then the spokesman for the tribunal announced: "Mai T'n. you will be decapitated and cremated forthwith. Ca.rson Xapier. you are exonerated with honour. You are free. You may conduct a search for your companion and call upon any citizen of Havatoo to assist you in any way that you desire assistance." City of the Dead Naturally, the first person I thought of in my extremity was Ero Shan. I found him, and when I told him what had happened he went very white. "There is no time to be lost!" he cried. "Can you find that house again?" I told him that I could. "That doorway is indelibly burned into my memory."

A moment later we were speeding toward the place where I had lost Xalte.

"You have all my sympathy, my friend," said Ero Shan. "To have lost the woman you love, and such a woman!"

"We are only the best of friends," I replied. "Xalte does not love me."

Ero Shan made no reply; he but drove swiftly on in silence. When we readied our destination there was no one ill the house.

"They must have taken Xalte to some other house," said Ero Shan. "It will be necessary to make a search, and only under the authority of the Sanjon'g itself may the home of a citizen be searched. Come! We will go and get that authoritv."

"You go," I said. "I will remain here. We should keep a careful watch on this house."

"You are right." he replied. "I shall not he gone long."

After Ero Shan's departure I commenced a careful investigation of the premises. I was examining a small hole in a wall on the lowest floor when, inserting a forefinger in this hole, I discovered a latch. I tripped it; and with slight pressure a panel swung toward me, revealing a dark a.perture.

(To be continued.)