VENUS CALLING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21521, 19 June 1933, Page 15

VENUS CALLING

CHAPTER ll.—(Continued)

Esther Hamilton gasped. " My dearest Dacia, you simply can't," slio gasped, distractedly. " supposing—" " We won't," Dacia stated definitely.

She slipped off her pvjama coat and stretched luxuriously. " You know perfectly well there's not a man within fifty miles. That was the ono thing that made me buy this shack and the island from Sylvia Latimer before sho and her husband rushed off to Japan. If there'd been even a left-over pair of trousers from last season I'd not have bought this place." " But there's that place at the other end of the lake." " Belonging to that Lister man, the chemist." Dacia completed her disrobing and stood unashamed, glorying in the kiss df sunshine, letting the warm breath, of the morning seep in at every

pore. " From all I heard from Sylvia

he's scarcely human, and, anyway, he's never come up hero yet, she said. He's five hundred miles away at this preciso moment, my darling Essie. Take off that naughty little nightie and I'll race you to the beach." " But—" .Esther looked admiringly at the other's lithe figure, completely revealed —"but I couldn't. It might ' "Take off that—bauble!" Dacia commanded, remorselessly. u lf you don't—" Esther shivered again. Gingerly she drew out ono arm, then the other. " You're perfectly capable of tearing it off, I know," sho agreed, without enthusiasm. " You've guessed it first time." " When I agreed to come with you on this freak holiday in the wilds I didn't expect to bo bullied." Esther dropped the ridiculously frilly thing around her toes and glowered at her friend, half vexed, half shy. " But then—" " it's for your own good, dear." Dacia gently prodded a well-padded rib. " You're getting atrociously adipose." Esther skipped free of the little pile of lace and ribbon, and, as runs a startled deer, raced downhill for the water. She reached the grassy edge of it just half a second before Dacia. The splashes of their arrival were, in fact, almost simultaneous. The water was delicious. Long hot days had followed on the heels of days of equal heat; the waters of shallow Lake Rototapu, cradled from qooling airs by their circlet of wooded hills, had grown almost tepid. The pair settled down to a steady, swinging stroke that carried them well out from their island sanctuary. Dacia turned over and lay luxuriously on her back, resting on the lake's warm breast, staring into the far blue depths of the cloudless sky. "This does me," sho observed, contentedly, wriggling her toes in the sunshine. "This is my world, Essie. As it was in the beginning—with no men around to make trouble." "There had to be men," Esther observed, placidly. Sho, too, was comfortably on her back. "Even in the beginning there were. At least, I've always understood so. If there hadn't been, don't you see " "No, I don't," Dacia snapped. Her eyes were very bright. "That's all—biological bunk! In the beginning there were beasts —and glorious young gods. I've no objection to glorious young gods, Essie. In fact I've always rather wanted to meet one. But I never have. There aren't any left in the whole round world. The bqasts have survived. They wear pants and pretty collars now—but there are no more gods." "Listen!" Esther called, insistently. "What's that noise?"

From far off, down the length of the lake came a faint buzzing, as of a wasp in the distance. The volume of it deepened; clearly the wasp was winging in their direction.

"It sounds," Esther began, anxiously

"Mighty like a motor," Dacia finished, but did not move. A frown crept over her pretty face. "That means " Esther listened again. Quite definitely.it was the noise of a motor they heard. They could catch its sputter as the engine gathered speed. "That means men." She turned swiftly and struck out for shore. "Not necessarily." Dacia lay perfectly still, save for tho lazy wiggling of her toes. A smile chased her frown away, as the sun displaces a cloud. "Not absolutely necessarily, darling. There is always the ten thousandth chance that a god out of tho old, old days may have survived."

"There it is," Esther called excitedly, "at the far end of the lake." She struck out savagely for home and clothing—even the frilly nightie. "It's an aeroplane. No, it isn't; it's not like any plane, but it flies. Hurry, Dacia, the wretched thing's corning this way." "Let it," Dacia called easily and continued her too exercises.

But as tho drone of the engine grew nearer and louder, even Dacia Hatrick, who despised all men as beasts, made some light concessions to convention. She turned over gently and, with* no trace of hurry, slipped steadily towards shore. Half way there she dropped down, trod water and for the first time surveyed the mechanical intrusion upon their peaceful solitude.

"Esther's right. That's the quceFost sort of plane I ever saw," sho muttered, resentfully. Sho faced around to note what had become of her companion and her resentment died in a deep chuckle. That young person, huddled near the water's edge, stared first at the curious thing above the lake, then with clearly visible yearning at the lull path to tho cabin—and clothes.

" 'Fraid to make the dash au naturel," Dacia soliloquised, delightedly, "and just as 'fraid to stay where she is." Watching tho problem work out on the beach, sho forgot altogether her own position. " Wonder what she'll do? "

Esther provided the solution without delay. Panic-stricken, sho dashed for a low clump of scrub a dozen yards from shore and cowered in its green shelter. She was about fifty per cent as well hidden as if sho remained under water —but at least her blushes were hidden.

" Good for you, Essie, long as you'ro satisfied," Dacia murmured joyfully. " Me—l'm no ostrich, so I'll just stand pat and see what happens."

She focmssed all her attention on tho curious craft above and its uncanny evolutions. For uncanny they seemed to her. The thing was quite small — like an elongated dinner dish —silvercoloured, about as long, she guessed, as a small row boat. It had no wings and none of the usual aeroplane trappings. In fact, beyond two squatting men and the motor that had first attracted the swimmers' attention, there seemed nothing but an aerial skimming dish. " By the great three-eyed Tuatara! " she. ejaculated, borrowing an expression of her lamented parent. " This is a new ono on me —and everybody else, too. I guess."

The queer thing was flying low, not twenty feet above water-level and coming steadily closer to where, sunk to the chin, Dacia watched, fascinated. Suddenly the engine sputtered and was silent. The silver dish moved slowly, more slowly, toward her, and, astonishingly, maintained height. As sho watched, very gently it settled down, nearer, still nearer, to the water, till without splash or any fuss at all it

By FRANK H. BODLE Author of "The Te Kooti Trail'*

AN ODYSSEY OF SPACE

(COPYRIGHT)

rested lightly on the surface of the lake, a dozen feet from Dacia's head. Ono of the men stood up —the tall, thin one with the heavy glasses. " It works! " ho exulted. "By Jupiter, it works! " " Certainly does," the other man agreed with enthusiasm. " When you shut off the engine, she could have hovered for a year, but I eased her down. Hollo, who the dev—" He leaned forward, pointing to the head beside their craft. " Hello, yourself! " Dacia called back, all her indignation against these intruders evaporated in the wonder of their coming. " Who aro you, anyway? I'm —" " My godfather's great-aunt! " The other man, the fair-haired one, stood up and stared at all that was visible of the lady, who, fifteen minutes earlier, had set out from the shore, in Grecian costume. " It's Circe! " CHAPTER 111. GUESTS, INVITED —AND NOT " Have you had anything to eat this morning? " Dacia inquired gravely, disregarding tho classical allusion for tho time being. " No." The tall man spoko for tho pair on The Dish. "As a matter of fact, we haven't, but—" "Then, please go away, right away, for fifteen minutes. Then come and join us at breakfast —on tho island there." Dacia looked tho pair over critically. They did not look altogether—beasts, and, beyond all doubt, their contrivance was marvellous. " You can, I suppose, rise from tho water? " "Like Aphrodite from the foam! ' r The eyes behind the thick glasses twinkled. " But —" " Well," Dacia went on evenly, " a certain amount of explanation seems ?ieccssary, on both sides. If these take as long as I expect, there's always the chance I may find this water turning cold, perhaps even get cramps." " Won't you come aboard? " The younger man bent forward, eagerly. " We could land you where you wanted on the island."

" Thank you." Dacia hesitated, as if considering the proposal from all angles. " I think perhaps not. No. Not for tho moment. If you come back in fifteen minutes —"

" Very good." The tall man stooped and touched something on the floor of his craft. Astonishingly, with the engine still silent. The Dish swayed, hesitated, then rose in a single verticil leap thirty feet into tho air. " We'll be back in a quarter of an hour." Blue Eyes leaned over the side of the boat and waved an revoir. "We'll run down the other end and try for some fish." Ho spun the wheel. The engine coughed, caught step and the Dish swung round for the far end of the lake.

Dacia remained discreetly submerged for some time, then sprinted for the shore. She chuckled as she neared the grassy bank. Esther had emerged from her none too leafy retreat and, glancing neither to right nor left, dashed frantically for the cabin. Her burst of speed on that hill path, though, unfortunately, lacking an official timekeeper, was superhuman. It must have shattered endless records. She was fully dressed and dabbing at her coiffure when Dacia ran briskly in. " They're coming to breakfast," Dacia announced, towelling vigorously. She tossed the towel on her bunk and snatched up her garments. " W-what's that? " Esther's mouth sagged wide open. " 1 thought you said —" " They'll be here in fifteen, no. ten minutes." Dacia went on with her highvoltage dressing. " Light tho fire, darling, while I toss on these remaining rags. And brew some of your notorious coffee—l do love to hear it and you boil over."

" But, inv gracious, Dacia, didn't I bear you say that all men were beasts and if so much as even a single pair of—"

" I did not. Entirely your mistake, darling." Dacia twisted her damp hair into a knob.l " What I suggested, if you'll cast back your memory, is that one in ten thousand might not be. That's quite different, isn't it? I'll set the table. And Essie dear. I take back all the nasty things I said about—adipose. You're an athlete, an Olympic champion: Deerfoot has nothing on you."

" Don't Dacia, please." Esther's face was fiery. "It was terrible. I felt—"

" Never mind, Essie, you looked lovelv." Dacia patted her friend's shoulder. " I never knew what the poetry of motion looked like before. My only regret about the whole business is that the kodak was out of action. You get the idea—' Make a living record of your happy holidays.' " Esther stamped her foot, angrily. If you don't—"

"Very well, darling, I will." Dacia spread the cloth on their small table. " I promise to do the best I can. I'll make a realistic memory sketch of that —divine dash of yours. We'll call it ' Flight ' shall we? And if you contract tho bonds of holy matrimony, why I'll present it to your husband as a wedding gift." " Now you listen to me a moment, Dacia Hatrick. If you mention that—disgraceful thing to me or anyone else again, I'll tell those men, when they come, that you stayed behind to talk to them with not a stitch of a rag to your back."

" Why embitter their young lives, dear one? " Dacia set out cups, saucers, knives and forks. " They asked mo to .come aboard, you know. After careful thought, I declined. They'd regret that all thoir days, wouldn't they?" Esther collapsed into a chair. " That you declined—or that they asked you? " she demanded, chokingly. Dacia considered. " I meant tho latter, really," sho explained, easily. " But since you drag in that other aspect, well, I'll agree they might suffer remorse on both counts. Not to cloud their horizon, we'll change the subject. I'll merely mention in passing that should you, by mistake, mention my bathing costume, I might bo compelled to ask, in a spirit of purely scientific enquiry, whether they noticed bold gleams of whiteness in tho scrub near the shore. Because I did." " I believo that's their engino now," Esther said hurriedly. (To bo continued daily)