Collected Tales (Jerry eBooks)

by Leslie F Stone

  SLOWLY the world grew larger, and with it their vision was narrowed down to the small area to which they were descending. Northward from their line of descent they saw a mighty mountain range which Moura estimated to be higher than anything on Earth or Abrui, while to their left glistened the waters of a great orange ocean. As they sank closer, the mountains obscured the view beyond, and slowly the water receded in the opposite direction. Below was now a piece of what appeared to be wild jungle, and, as they drew even nearer, they could see in the glow of their lights the strange unearthly coloring of the vegetation: reds, yellows, purples, blacks and deep violets in their most garish hues! A small river shone out from between giant, wide-leaved trees and was a reddish yellow in color. Beside the river Moura descried a small clearing, large enough for the bulk of the Yodverl, and there they made their first landing upon Kal!

  Ubca came running into the pilot-room. In scientific terms he gave his report of the atmospheric content of the planet, and from it Elsie was able to gather that it was identical with that of Abrui, a little denser than that of Earth, but almost the counterpart of the air content in the Yodverl itself. Moura grinned joyously.

  “I hardly expected such good news as that, Tor. Would you suggest now that we shut off our gravity to learn what this world has to offer us? Of course, we shall have to keep the gravity machines running at all times for us here, but now it would be interesting to learn just what effect the gravity of this big world will have upon us and what we shall have to do, so that we can be comfortable once we leave the ship.”

  Ubca agreed that the idea was a good one, and Moura moved over to the switch that was to shut off the power of the electro-magnetic machine. Everyone seemed to hold his breath, and all eyes were glued to the dial that recorded the reduction of that power. It reached zero! Nothing happened. No one moved. They waited for the change that was to come, the feeling of so much added weight. But it did not come. Ezra-weit was the first to move; he clapped his hands and laughed up at his elders. It was enough to break the tension. Everyone commenced lifting his feet, only to find that there was some difference. Everyone felt lighter than usual! They felt as though twenty to thirty pounds had been taken from them.

  Shaking his head, Moura turned again to his dials and manipulated them, believing that something was wrong with the mechanism, yet everything seemed normal. No one, however, dared express the thought that had come to their minds; it was too unbelievable. Elsie was the first to speak. “Let us go outside; we can tell better out there!”

  Moura nodded in assent and led the way to the door in the side of the ship that had not been opened in eight long years. Standing on either side of the doorway, they waited for the first breath of fresh air, and when it came to them, laden with heavy perfumes and the warm, dank breath of the fetid jungle air, their gladness knew no bounds, breathing in deep, lung-filling draughts of air. And even when they had stepped upon the red soil underfoot, feeling unusually light and supple, they could not realize their good fortune, but stood around eyeing each other in the twilight.

  Moura was grinning now with the relief and enjoyment at the trick Nature had played upon them, and he sought to explain this new phenomenon to his companions. “It appears,” he said, “that the Universe still has some new facts to teach us, my friends. Strange though it seems, we are standing on a world many times larger than our own worlds, and yet we find its surface gravity less than that of our planets. There seems but one explanation . . . and that is that the mass of this world is much less than that of either Earth or Abrui! I should venture to say that we will find none of the heavier metals upon this world; no lead, iron or nickel. It may even mean that this planet has a hollow core!” Ubca nodded his head in affirmation. “Luck is with us, Sa Dak, as our earthly friends would say.”

  “Let us trust that it presages good for our expedition. However, I would suggest that we return to the ship again, for we do not wish to wear thin the cloth of our good fortune. We cannot know what dangers may lurk in these shadows about us, and we must be cautious above all else! Come . . .”

  Elsie had no wish to return to the stuffiness of the Yodverl, for the one taste of the sweet, fresh night air had whetted her appetite for more, but dutifully she took Ezra’s hand and returned with the others to their quarters.

  Inside again, Moura turned to the company. “A few hours’ rest now would be beneficial to all, much as I know you wish to explore further. The world outside will wait for us. Come . . .”

  The door was shut, and in a few minutes all was quiet throughout the ship of the Void.

  CHAPTER VII

  Beasts of Kal

  SEVERAL hours later the Solarites, as they now designated themselves, awoke from their nap to find the brilliant light of Alpha Centauri’s first sun shining brightly down upon the Yodverl. Hardly pausing for food, they all came hurrying to the door to pile pell-mell into the new world they had discovered. As they came outside, Moura advised that none of them try sampling either fruit or water until it had been properly analyzed, and that they should not step far from the Yodverl. “I think,” he added, “that you are going to be surprised at the forms of life you will see, especially that of the creatures who apparently possess the ruling intelligence. I have spoken of them to you as men, but in truth you will, I fear, think differently of them. You know I only caught a glimpse of them once and was unable to classify what type of life they belonged to simply because I was more interested in the mind than in the body; but I recall their strange, unmanlike shapes of which I have never seen the equal.”

  “But they are intelligent beings, aren’t they?” inquired Ubca.

  The other nodded, “Very!”

  Elsie paid the two no heed, for her eyes were upon the strange world about her, its vivid coloring, its trees unlike anything she knew on earth, growths that were unreal in appearance, unreal in their gigantic shapes, for what was particularly arresting in their appearance was their size, flowers that were a foot across, fruits that would have fed all six Solarites, and left more than enough for the next meal. The trees themselves grew to large proportions, rising from a hundred to two hundred feet above their head, the lowliest bush easily six feet in height, the grass-like growths around their feet being knee high. It was as if Nature had been most lavish here, giving out life in mighty proportions, a world not intended for pygmies. It was the same with the colors, the garish, strident, raw yellows, greens, reds, blues, purples, oranges and violets. Nor was there any shading of the tones, but each color bright and clear as the light from the yellow sun was clear and brilliant.

  And in looking about, drinking it all in, Elsie had but a single desire. “I want to eat a piece of fresh fruit that has not had its life refrigerated out of it, and to drink fresh water that has not been so filtered that it is absolutely without taste,” was her thought.

  Young Ezra was also taking in the exotic wonders of their surroundings, clinging all the while to his mother’s hand, wondering at the strange fragrance that lay heavy on the sweet, fresh air. His eyes were wide as saucers, but unlike his mother he refrained from touching the flowers that grew in their path as Elsie led him toward the yellow stream that flowed ten yards from where the Yodverl lay. Urto was also bound for the stream with a jug to fill with water for testing, and Nancy and Ubca were already busy plucking some of the mammoth berries, an inch across, that grew on a spreading vine near the Yodverl door. Samples of grass, leaves and soil were taken alike into the laboratory, and of all the specimens they put to test only two, a berry and a long, pear-shaped fruit, eight inches long, were found to be poisonous. Moura, however, insisted that all the water used from the stream should be filtered before either drinking it, cooking or bathing with it. It was sweet water and very cold, as though it came from the mountains.

  Now, the small herd of mitu, the Abruian cow, numbering five, were brought outdoors and picketed several yards beyond the Yodverl and out of reach of the poisonous fruits, of which luckily there were only three tr
ees that bore them in the clearing. The mitu went about the business of eating the soft lush grass as unconcerned as though they had not traveled almost twenty-six trillion miles through Space to procure it.

  IN the meanwhile the three men made a complete circuit of the clearing to determine whether or not any dangers lurked about, peering as far as they could into the thickness of the forest of great trees without losing sight of the two women and the child behind them. Finding nothing to disturb them, they returned but urged Elsie and Nancy not to venture too far from the Yodverl at any time.

  “I believe we will make this our headquarters for some little time, for I have an experiment I wish to try out here, and it depends on how long it will take as to what duration our stay here will be,” said Moura.

  “But . . . what of this man . . . this creature you came to seek, Moura?” Elsie wanted to know, woman-like.

  Moura smiled. “He . . . has to do with this experiment, my dear. This is a vast world and we have no way of knowing where he may be, even though we find the cities of his people. There is but one thing for me to do and that is to attempt to seek him out and entice him to find us! I am already acquainted with the structure of his brain, and if he still lives I think I can make him understand our want. If not, then we must have recourse to the task of discovering him.”

  Elsie had never been unable to understand Moura’s need of seeking out this strange creature across the void of Space, but like Ubca she no longer questioned him about anything, following his leadership blindly, content only that her life was intertwined with his. She had no doubt but that Moura would accomplish his purpose, bring this stranger to them, but what was to follow? . . . Well, that lay with heaven.

  Now she called his attention to something that had troubled her ever since they had landed on the planet, Kal. “Don’t you find this world . . . strangely silent, lifeless?” she queried.

  Moura looked up in surprise from his contemplation of a black flower growing on a vine at his feet. “Why, what can you mean? There seems to be an overabundance of life,” and he waved his hand to encompass all the growths of the jungle and the clearing.

  Elsie nodded. “I do not mean that. Of course, there is life, the trees, the flowers, the moving water, the winds . . . but to me there is something lacking. Can’t you notice it . . . the absence of insects? Why, here in all this fecundity it should be swarming with life, under foot and in the air, ants, caterpillars, bees, butterflies . . . all the myriad life that abounds on Earth.”

  Moura glanced at her in puzzlement. Then he shook his head. “Ah, yes, I recall that you have spoken of such things before, and sometimes your books mention them, but to me I do not find this lack, since on Abrui there is no life of this type! As you know, on Abrui there are perhaps no more than six varieties of animals, and one type of bird life. Insects are wholly unknown there, and possibly it is the same here.” He smiled broadly. “And from what I have heard you mention of some of the varieties, the mosquitoes, the flies, the deadly termites and others, I believe we are indeed fortunate.”

  “Well, it seems strange just the same. See, not even a bird in the sky, and I have been unable to discover any type of life in the creek here; no fish, I am certain . . . not even worms in the mud!”

  The man laughed. “You have been unusually observant. I haven’t noticed the absence of these things, yet.”

  “But don’t you see, Moura dear, that the lack of these things is unusually strange to me. On our world we believe in the origin of the species, the evolution of one life from another. Wherefore, if there are no such things as fish, birds, insects, what kind of life is there on this world? You tell me that even on your world you believe man originated out of the waters of your sphere, that you have two species of ape-like creatures from which your scientists have been able to trace exactly your origin, since unlike us on Earth you possess the missing links. And you have fish in your waters and a mammal that still lives in the water. Why, then, is this water entirely devoid of life? Can it be that the creatures inhabiting this world, that you saw through the telescopes, all came from the water, leaving none of their kin behind?”

  Moura was thoughtful.

  “But then, this water may be unique in that no life swims beneath its surface. There are other waters, oceans and lakes that we spied in landing When we get the chance we will investigate them and perhaps find our answer. But come, let us not bother our heads over it for the present, anyaka;[2] we have declared a holiday from such weighty questions for the future. Ah, Urto calls us to luncheon. Let us learn what strange dishes he has concocted for us today!”

  Responding to the mood that claimed him, Moura caught Ezra in his arms and tossing him to his shoulder ran with Elsie to the Yodverl.

  MOURA had said that this was a holiday, and the party had so accepted this descent to the new planet. The whole long day was spent in enjoying the bounty of nature, each one putting in his time as he felt called upon. Ezra continued to stay close to his mother, still fearful of the bounty of life about him, walking gingerly on the warm, resilient earth, drawing back from the spring of the grass as they plunged through it, holding himself away from the leaves and branches of the shrubs and bushes so plentiful in the clearing. It was several days before he ventured to touch anything, although Elsie tried to impress upon him that it was quite all right to feel at home there. Instead, it was all like a mystifying dream to him. He was familiar enough with the plants that grew about the pool in the atol and those that bordered his mother’s room, but they were vastly different than these gargantuan growths. Elsie tried to entice him into a playful mood, to romp about and explore the clearing, but all he would do was to cling to her hand.

  Later, when the strangeness wore off, he was to find something new to interest him every minute, but he cried the first time that Elsie stood him on the banks of the river and suggested that he wade there, knowing that there were no dangers from snakes, insects or fish. She had to take off her own sandals to show him that it was safe and enjoyable to do so, knowing it was safer here than it had been for her, a child on the African veldt. Of course, the boy waded and swam in the pool in the atol, but he feared the strange yellow water, just as he feared this world without the comfort of the walls he was accustomed to all his short life.

  So two quiet days passed. Elsie had no other thought in her head now except the joy of this new freedom after the eight long years of enforced incarceration. Now she felt the length of those years and realized how far from home she was. It seemed incredulously impossible, as though it were a dream. Only the strange colors of the vegetation and the sight of her pretty child told her it was not a dream.

  She had dropped to the short beach beside the water and stretched her full length on the soft grass, that was purplish in color, with Ezra at her side, staring up into the clear, bright sky above. Urto and Nancy were picking a basketful of a bean-like growth which had been found to be edible and rather tasty. Ubca had walked to the edge of the clearing to study the trees that grew on the edge, while Moura paced back and forth in front of the Yodverl’s door, deep in thought. Nearby, where the grass grew high so that they were almost hidden from view, the mitu were grazing and chewing their cud. Altogether it was a very peaceable scene. Then the beauty of it was broken as they experienced their first tragedy on Kal.

  None of them heard it creeping through the long grass, for it crept with the stealth of a cat, and only when it grabbed one of the mitu and carried it up into the sky were they aware of what had happened, then in wonder they stared at the large shape bearing the squealing cow aloft. It was different from anything they had seen—a body five feet in length, with six hairy legs, grasping the mitu, and a pair of gauzy, almost transparent, wings. That was all they saw, for it had winged above the trees and disappeared above them so rapidly they could not distinguish more of its features, and now they were more concerned with the rest of the herd, which in its terror was tugging at the cords, rearing and plunging in the attempt to run and
put distance between itself and the strange marauder.

  Everyone came on a run to discover what had happened and to quiet the frightened beasts; then commenced to try to piece a more detailed picture of the thief from the various impressions. Moura, who had been closer than the others, recalled the hideous head with great staring eyes and the color of the body, which was orange, with three or four black stripes across the back.

  The incident, however, taught them what they had to fear, and thereafter none of them dared to move about without one of the torch-like weapons that shot a radium ray with a pinkish beam that disintegrated matter. Ezra was ordered to stay close to the ship and not to go afield unless accompanied by one of the adults.

  Moura reasoned that the beast would return for more of the easily captured prey, and when it came the following day Ubca brought it down, only in doing so he used but a third of the power of the radium ray, so that the creature was only stunned, and they could examine it before the full power of the weapon swept it into oblivion. Elsie was the one who classified it.

  “Why, it’s nothing more than a tremendous bee,” she cried in appalled surprise. She pointed out its features to the men, and after a little study concluded that it was a drone, since it had neither the pollen baskets nor wax pockets of the worker. In Africa she had kept two hives of bees and knew something of their habits.

  Now, making sure that the creature was dead, Moura split it open with the ray, so they could examine its stomach content. They found partially digested flesh and blood and the undigested bones of the mitu it had killed, and by the state of the matter they concluded that the beast was not carnivorous by instinct and had only stolen the mitu out of pique, but on finding the flesh to its liking had returned again for more, even though at the time it must have been suffering from a bad stomach-ache!