Astounding Science Fiction Stories Vol 1

by Anthology

  At last they reached a little clearing at the foot of a low hill and paused for a moment to enjoy the rest which they so sorely needed. Doctor Dumont, much too old for such strenuous exercise, sank down exhausted upon a moss-covered stone, breathing in hoarse gasps. Irene, sitting beside him, tried to smile bravely, but the dark circles under her pretty eyes and a pinched look around her mouth and nostrils told more plainly than words what she was suffering.

  Hardin shook his tousled head and groaned to himself. Even his iron muscles were beginning to sag under the strain, and he knew that his wife and her uncle had neither the strength nor the endurance to keep going much longer. Worn out by their recent hardships and terror, already faint from lack of food, and with the fear of the ape-men constantly on their minds, they had struggled gamely for many hours. Now, however, they were weakening fast, and without food and rest Hardin feared that they would never reach the lake, much less regain possession of the Condor.

  Nevertheless, they must hurry on. Utterly tired though they were, they had to reach some place of safety before the Bamangani attacked them in force, or they were doomed. Furious at the loss of two of their warriors, the ape-men would show no mercy; and, although he and Batu were both well armed, Hardin knew that they could not hope to resist successfully in the open. Even as it was, he could not understand why the attack had been withheld for so long.

  Forcing himself to grin cheerfully, Hardin walked over to where the old scientist and his niece were sitting.

  Irene smiled up at him bravely. "What now?" she asked. "Will they--do you think they're following us?"

  Her husband nodded. "I suppose so," he answered, "although it's impossible to see anything through these trees. They're evidently afraid of our rifles, however, and so long as they do not attack us in a body we can hold our own. I'm afraid they're waiting for darkness. We must try to reach the shore before them. If we can do so, perhaps Batu and I can drive them out of the Condor with our rifles, and once we can get aboard again we're perfectly safe. The beach really isn't so very far away, you know; it's just this awful going that makes it seem so."

  He turned to look back over the way they had come, straining his eyes for a glimpse of the dreaded Bamangani, but he could see no sign of movement anywhere. This did not encourage him much, however. A hundred of the ape-men might be creeping upon them at that very instant and still be invisible in the dense verdure. In fact, he was very sure that they were being watched, watched as a cat watches a mouse until she is ready to make her final pounce. Already, the ape-men had delayed longer than he expected, they might strike at any moment now, and when they did---

  He was aroused by a light touch on his arm, and he turned to see Batu standing at his elbow. Of them all, the Dyak was by far the least weary. His wiry, muscular figure, trained by a lifetime of exposure, was proof against all ordinary fatigue, even the past few years of city life had not softened it, and while the others rested he had been scouting on both sides of the trail and examining the hillside beyond them.

  When his employer turned to look at him, he grinned exultantly. "Not much longer now, tuan," he said. "There is a cave and water on the other side of this hill. We can rest there, then go to lake in night, maybe. Bamangani not move much in night. Cave very fine place to hide. Sure, Mike!"

  "A cave, eh?" Hardin exclaimed joyfully. "The very thing! You're a wonder, Batu! I don't know what we'd do without you. Come on, folks." He stooped to help Doctor Dumont to his feet, and Irene sprang up almost gayly.

  A couple of minutes later they were following Batu around the base of the hill. They had almost circled it, when there was a chorus of wild yells from the jungle behind them and a volley of short spears whizzed over their heads.

  Like lightning Hardin whirled about and crouched, rifle at shoulder. A dozen squat, hairy figures were jumping about just within the edge of the trees. Hardin fired four shots in quick succession, saw two of the ape-men fall and another hastily drop his club; then the rest scattered and disappeared.

  "Run for the cave! Quick!" the banker cried, over his shoulder. "I can hold them. Hurry!"

  He swept the jungle with another quick look, saw that the savages had disappeared completely, and turned to follow his companions. When he did so he groaned aloud.

  Ten paces away, Doctor Dumont was lying flat on his face with a spear sticking out of his shoulder. Irene was stooping over him, and beyond them Batu, who had been some distance in the lead, was running back. Half a dozen long strides carried Hardin to the wounded man, whom he picked up as easily as if he had been a child.

  "The cave, Irene! Run to the cave, quick!" he gasped. "I've got him!" She turned to run obediently, and he staggered off after her.

  CHAPTER V.

  - THE WARNING GIVEN.

  LUCKILY the way was not far and Hardin's marksmanship seemed to have momentarily demoralized the ape-men, for they gave no further evidence of their presence as the fugitives skirted the hill and plunged into a mass of vines, through which Batu led the way. Beyond the vines was an opening in the rocky hillside, so narrow that Hardin could barely get his burden through it; but beyond its mouth the cave widened, forming a lofty chamber.

  When he had placed the wounded scientist on the sandy floor Hardin sprang back to the entrance again, rifle in hand, ready to help Batu check another rush of the ape-men, but they made none. They were either badly rattled by his shooting, or, what was more likely, they were resolved to play a waiting game now that they had run their quarry to cover, for not one of them could be seen in the clearing. Satisfied that they were safe for the time being, Hardin left Batu on guard and went back to his wife.

  She was kneeling beside her uncle, who still lay where Hardin had placed him. She had withdrawn the spear and was baring the wound for examination. Hardin looked at it critically. It was an ugly-looking gash, and it bled profusely, but the spear had not penetrated very deeply, having glanced on the bone at the top of the shoulder. Unless the spear had been poisoned, it was by no means a fatal hurt, but owing to the wounded man's age and exhausted condition it was serious.

  Hardin helped Irene wash the cut with cold water from a little spring which bubbled up near the mouth of the cave and bandage it as best she could. When the biologist had recovered consciousness and had been made as comfortable as was possible, the banker made his first real examination of their shelter.

  He found that they were in a rock-walled chamber about twenty-feet square, very lofty, and with a bottom of hard, clean sand. It was lighted from a narrow cleft high up in the roof so that it was not much more gloomy than the jungle had been. Owing to the narrow entrance and the mass of vines which grew over it, it could be easily defended from within by men as well armed as himself and Batu. Barring the one serious drawback--their total lack of food--they were in a position to withstand a long siege.

  "This really isn't half bad," Hardin declared, after he had finished his survey of the place. "We're well sheltered and we have all the fresh water we can use. One man with a gun could hold this cave against a thousand savages. All we've got to do is to think up a scheme to get the Condor back again, and that should be fairly simple after it is dark."

  "I don't see how," said Irene. "This awful jungle is bad enough in full daylight; after dark it will be hopeless. The Bamangani are at home in it, and at night you can't see to shoot. I know you will do your best, Tom, and I have every confidence in you; but I'm afraid--terribly afraid! I wish we had never come here at all."

  "I shall never leave this island alive," Doctor Dumont chimed in weakly. "My strength has gone. Whatever happens to the rest of you, I am doomed. If you see a chance after it is dark, you must take it and leave me here. I can never travel as far as the lake. I should only hinder you."

  Hardin grinned and shook his head. "Nonsense!" he said. "Things are never as bad as they look, and we've all been in worse holes than this before now. You're all right--only tired out, doctor. A good rest will make you right as rain. You must brace up. Don't
forget that Batu is with us. He knows this country like a book and he has the eyes of an owl. We'll all be back on board the Condor before dawn to-morrow. I'm sure of it!"

  Confidently as he spoke, however, the banker was inwardly much worried at the turn things had taken. He realized that, although the coming night might give them a certain advantage in their efforts to slip through the ranks of the ape-men and regain the seaplane, it also would be against them to a great extent.

  With the exception of Batu, none of them were used to jungle travel, and after dark the jungle is well-nigh impassable. Even the savages seldom move about after nightfall. Nevertheless, he felt that their only chance lay in slipping away from the cave before the Bamangani attacked it in force, which they surely would do some time during the night. By daylight he and Batu would have no trouble in defending themselves, for then they could see to shoot, but in the dark everything was changed. Then the advantage would lie with the ape-men.

  Hardin scowled thoughtfully as he lighted his pipe and joined the Dyak at the mouth of the cave. He was face to face with a very knotty problem, a problem which seemed more complex the deeper he probed into it. Since the Condor had been captured by the ape-men it would be necessary for the fugitives not only to escape from the cave and make their way through the jungle in the dark, but also to recapture the seaplane, which, for all they could tell to the contrary, might be occupied by at least a score of their enemies.

  On the face of it, the task looked impossible, and yet, since they had no alternative, it must be attempted. Failure meant death or worse for them all, for the Bamangani had already demonstrated the fact that they were not to be argued with. Contrary to all expectation, they had chosen to adopt a hostile attitude from the very beginning, and now that several of their number had been killed or wounded there was no hope that they could be pacified. The only course open to the fugitives lay in the recapture of their seaplane and flight from the island before starvation and lack of ammunition made them fall an easy prey to their enemies.

  Satisfied that there was no immediate danger of attack and anxious to get all the rest he could, before night came, Hardin directed Batu to warn him instantly of any new move on the part of the ape-men and lay down on the sand.

  Irene and her uncle, utterly worn out, were already dozing, he was glad to note; Batu alone seemed to be perfectly fresh. In common with most primitive people the Dyak possessed the doglike faculty of conquering fatigue so long as there was excitement or danger in the air, but the moment it ceased he would drop down wherever he was and sleep for hours.

  It seemed to Hardin that he had just dropped off when he was aroused by a light touch on his cheek. He sat up instantly to find the Dyak stooping over him.

  "Bamangani are coming, tuan," Batu whispered.

  CHAPTER VI.

  - FIGHTING FOR LIFE.

  CLUTCHING his rifle, Hardin went to the mouth of the cave and peered through the vines. He must have slept longer than he thought, for he found that the shadows were already lengthening--in another hour or so it would be dark. At first he saw nothing of the ape-men, but at last he made them out in the bushes at the opposite edge of the clearing.

  There must have been fifty of them, and they were gathered in a half circle around their chief, who was talking earnestly. In the dim light they looked more like apes than men, with their squat figures and long arms; had it not been for the weapons they carried one might have sworn that he witnessed a council of gorillas.

  As he watched them the banker wondered why they did not wait for darkness before they made their attack; he did not know that twilight and dawn were their favorite hours for charging an enemy.

  They came on at length in a scattering formation, darting across the clearing with almost incredible rapidity, and as silently as shadows. The two men waited patiently until they were less than twenty yards away before they opened fire. At that range their rifles exacted a terrible toll. It was almost impossible to miss, and by the time the apemen broke and ran for cover nine of them were writhing on the ground and two more lay perfectly still.

  Hardin chuckled grimly. "We've sent a few of them where they'll have to be good, anyhow, Batu," he said as they reloaded their weapons. "They'll not forget that lesson in a hurry. I wish they'd stay out in the open; we'd account for the whole lot in short order."

  "Sure, Mike!" Batu exclaimed, showing his white teeth in a wide grin. "They're afraid now, tuan, but they're very mad. They will not go away. Killing them is like killing flies--two more come back for every one you kill. But they not come back now until it's dark and the moon rises."

  "You think they'll wait for the moon, eh? Good! That will give us time to slip away and start for the beach. The moon won't rise until about ten o'clock. What do you think, Batu? Think we can make it?"

  "It's not very far, tuan," the Dyak answered, "but it will be hard walking in the dark. Doctor Dumont is hurt, too. That's bad. But it's the only thing we can do, and we must try."

  "Of course." Hardin nodded. "It's our only chance. I hope they haven't injured the plane. If they have, we'll be up against it."

  Batu shook his head thoughtfully. "I don't think so," he said. "Bamangani think it very much taboo, that flying thing. Maybe there won't be any one on board at all to-night, but they'll be on the shore near by. We must go very careful, tuan."

  The light faded at last, and the clearing beyond the mouth of the cave became as black as a pot of ink. Except for a faint breeze which rustled through the trees and vines there was no sound as Hardin helped Doctor Dumont to his feet and whispered to Irene to follow Batu out of the cave.

  Those few hours of rest had done the old scientist a world of good. Supported by Hardin's arm, he stepped out gamely into the night, once more ready to fight for the life which is so dear to both young and old.

  There was no sign of the ape-men as the four people crept cautiously around the edge of the clearing, holding their breaths in fear and trembling lest some false step warn their enemies of what they were attempting. On the black night it was impossible to see a yard; they could only keep in touch with each other by holding hands, but they were thankful for this, for they knew that the darkness would hide them from the eyes of the ape-men, until they could reach the shelter of the trees.

  Slowly and cautiously they crept along, and as fate would have it they met with no obstruction or hindrance until the brushing of leaves against their faces and hands told them that they were entering the jungle.

  Now it was that the Dyak's marvelous memory for locality came into play. Without him they could not have gone a hundred feet, for their course lay through the very thickest portion of the jungle, impassable save for the narrow game trails, which Batu seemed to have a most uncanny instinct for picking out. With unerring judgment he kept going in a definite direction, and his companions followed him blindly.

  Occasionally he was at fault, but never for long at a time, and he did not pause until they were fully a quarter of a mile from the cave. Here, in what seemed to be a slightly less dense section of the jungle, he halted to permit Doctor Dumont and Irene to rest for a minute.

  "What now, Batu?" asked Hardin.

  "We're getting near the lake, tuan," the Dyak answered. "I can smell the water, and I think the beach is a little to the right of us. We must be very still until we know where Bamangani are camped. There used to be a deep cut in the bank here somewhere that went down to the water, but that was many years ago, and it is very dark now. The land has changed; there is no path here; the vines are very thick."

  This was a serious matter, for one misstep in such a labyrinth might mean utter ruin, and since they must reach the lake before the moon rose they had little time to search. For a few minutes they discussed the point in whispers, and at last decided to push straight on through the vines in the hope that they would reach the water before going far.

  They were starting to do this, when Irene, who had been silent until then, suggested that they should first go a littl
e way on that side where the trees seemed thinnest, on the chance of finding a path. This seemed reasonable, so they turned to the left and began their march again.

  They had not gone very far before Batu gave vent to a little grunt of delight. "The path is here, tuan," he whispered. "It is the old trail I spoke of, filled up with vines and very rough, but it will take us to the water not far from the beach."

  Following their guide, the three others let themselves over the edge of a kind of bank and slid down for about the height of a tall man until their feet touched solid ground. Here they found themselves standing in a trench about a yard wide--in reality an old game trail worn down by countless feet and winter rains until it had sunk far below the level of the surrounding soil. This trench sloped sharply in what Batu told them was the direction of the lake.

  Very slowly and carefully, feeling each step before they took it, they descended this sunken path, twisting in and out between the lianas as best they could. They had gone a considerable distance, and Doctor Dumont, whose wound pained him severely, was beginning to falter in his stride, when suddenly the vines and trees seemed to fall away and they stepped out beneath the open sky.

  "The lake!" Irene whispered joyfully. "Oh, Tommy, we've reached the shore at last!"

  Her husband squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Of course," he said. "Thank God for it, dear. Now if we can only get aboard the plane!"

  "Hush, tuan," the Dyak's whisper came back to them. "Bamangani must be near us somewhere. Crouch down near bushes until we can find out where they are."

  Accordingly, they huddled together beneath some overhanging limbs on the edge of the narrow fringe of beach which lay between the trees and the water, while Batu slipped off into the night to reconnoiter their surroundings.