"What are you doing here?" repeated the old woman querulously. "Get out of my house, accursed corpses! I'll have none of the spawn of Skor's evil brain in my house!"
I looked at her in astonishment. "Aren't you dead?" I demanded.
"Of course I'm not dead!" she snapped.
"Neither are we," I told her.
"Eh? Not dead?" She came closer. "Let me see your eyes. No, they do not look like dead eyes; but they say that Skor has found some foul way in which to put a false light of life into dead eyes."
"We are not dead," I insisted.
"Then what are you doing in Kormor? I thought that I knew all of the living men and women here, and I do not know you. Are the women alive too?"
"Yes, we are all alive." I thought quickly. I wondered if I might trust her with our secret and seek her aid. She evidently hated Skor, and we were already in her power if she wished to denounce us. I felt that we could not be much worse off in any event. "We were prisoners of Skor. We escaped. We want to get out of the city. We are at your mercy. Will you help us?—or will you turn us over to Skor?"
"I won't turn you over to Skor," she snapped. "I wouldn't turn a dead mistal over to that fiend; but I don't know how I can help you. You can't get out of Kormor. The dead sentries along the wall never sleep."
"I got into Kormor without being seen by a sentry," I said. "If I could only find the house I could get out again."
"What house?" she demanded.
"The house at the end of the tunnel that runs under Gerlat kum Rov to Havatoo."
"A tunnel to Havatoo! I never heard of such a thing. Are you sure?"
"I came through it last night."
She shook her head. "None of us ever heard of it—and if we who live here cannot find it, how could you, a stranger, hope to? But I'll help as much as I can. At least I can hide you and give you food. We always help one another here in Kormor, we who are alive."
"How many of you are there?" I asked.
"A few," she replied. "Skor has not succeeded in hunting us all down yet. We live a mean life, always hiding; but it is life. If he found us he would make us like those others."
The old woman came closer. "I cannot believe that you are alive," she said. "Perhaps you are tricking me." She touched my face, and then ran her palms over the upper part of my body. "You are warm," she said, and then she felt my pulse. "Yes, you are alive."
Similarly she examined Duare and Nalte, and at last she was convinced that we had told her the truth. "Come," she said, "I will take you to a better place than this. You will be more comfortable. I do not use this house very often."
She led us down stairs and out into a yard at the rear of which stood another house. It was a mean house, poorly furnished. She took us into a back room and told us to remain there.
"I suppose you want food," she said.
"And water," added Nalte. "I have had none since yesterday evening."
"You poor thing," said the old woman. "I'll get it for you. How young and pretty you are. Once I was young and pretty too."
"Why have you aged?" I asked. "I thought that all the people of Amtor held the secret of longevity."
"Aye, but how may one obtain the serum in Kormor? We had it once, before Skor came; but he took it away from us. He said that he would create a new race that would not require it, for they would never grow old. The effects of my last inoculation have worn off, and now I am growing old and shall die. It is not so bad to die—if Skor does not find one's corpse. We of the living here bury our dead in secret beneath the floors of our houses. My mate and our two children lie beneath this floor. But I must go and fetch food and water for you. I shall not be gone long." And with that, she left us.
"Poor old creature," said Nalte. "She has nothing to look forward to except the grave, with the chance that Skor may rob her of even that poor future."
"How strange she looked!" There was a shocked expression in Duare's eyes as she spoke. "So that is old age! I never saw it before. That is the way I should look some day, were it not for the serum! How ghastly! Oh, I should rather die than be like that. Old age! Oh, how terrible!"
Here was a unique experience. I was witnessing the reactions of a nineteen-year-old girl who had never before seen the ravages of old age, and I could not but wonder if the subconscious effect of old age on youth accustomed to seeing it was not similar. But these meditations were interrupted by the return of the old woman, and I caught a new insight into the character of Duare.
As the old woman entered the room, her arms laden, Duare ran forward and took the things from her. "You should have let me come with you and help you," she said. "I am younger and stronger."
Then she placed the food and water upon a table, and with a sweet smile she put an arm about the withered shoulders of the old crone and drew her toward a bench. "Sit down," she said. "Nalte and I will prepare the food. You just sit here and rest until it is ready, and then we shall all eat together."
The old woman looked at her in astonishment for a moment and then burst into tears. Duare dropped to the bench beside her and put her arms about her.
"Why do you cry?" she asked.
"I don't know why I cry," sobbed the old creature. "I feel like singing, but I cry. It has been so long since I have heard kind words, since any one has cared whether I was happy or sad, tired or rested."
I saw the tears come to Duare's eyes and to Nalte's, and they had to busy themselves with the preparation of the food to hide their emotions.
That night a dozen of the living of Kormor came to the house of Kroona, the old woman who had befriended us. They were all very old, some of them older than Kroona. They laughed at Kroona's fears that Skor wanted them; and pointed out, as evidently they had many times before, that if it was old bodies Skor wanted, he long since could have found them, for their old age was ample evidence that they were of the living. But Kroona insisted that they were all in danger; and I soon realized that it was her pet obsession, without which she would probably be more miserable than she was with it. She got a great thrill out of leading a life of constant danger and hiding first in one house and then in another.
But they were all of one opinion that we were in great danger, and the dear old things pledged themselves to help us in every way they could—to bring us food and water and hide us from our enemies. That was all that they could do, for none of them believed that it was possible to escape from Kormor.
Early the following morning a very old man, one of the visitors of the previous evening, hobbled into the house. He was perturbed and greatly excited. His palsied hands were trembling. "They are searching the city for you," he whispered. "There is a terrible story of what you did to Skor and of what Skor will do to you when he finds you. All night and all day last night he lay bound and helpless where you left him; then one of his creatures found and released him. Now the whole city is being scoured for you. They may be here any minute."
"What can we do?" asked Duare. "Where can we hide?"
"You can do nothing," said the old man, "but wait until they come. There is no place in all Kormor that they will not search."
"We can do something," said Nalte; then she turned to our informant. "Can you get us paints such as the corpses use to make themselves appear like living men?"
"Yes," said the old man.
"Well, go quickly and fetch them," urged Nalte.
The old man hobbled out of the room, mumbling to himself.
"It is the only way, Nalte," I cried. "I believe that if he returns in time we can fool them; dead men are not very bright."
It seemed a long time before the old man came back; but he came finally, and he brought a large box of make-up with him. It was quite an elaborate affair which he said that he had obtained from a friend of his, a living man, whose craft was applying the make-up to corpses.
Quickly Nalte went to work on Duare and soon had transformed her into an old woman with lines and wrinkles and hollows. The hair was the most difficult problem to solve, bu
t we finally succeeded in approximating the results we desired, though we used up all of the cosmetician's white pigment, rubbing it into our hair.
Duare and I together worked on Nalte, for we knew that we had no time to spare, the old man having brought word when he returned with the make-up that the searchers were working in the next block and coming our way; then Nalte and Duare transformed me into a very sad-looking old man.
Kroona said that we should each have some task that we could be performing when the searchers arrived, to that we might appear natural. She gave Duare and Nalte some old rags which they might pretend to be fashioning into garments, and she sent me out into the yard to dig a hole. It was fortunate that she did so, because the association of ideas resulting reminded me that I must hide Skor's sword. Were that found we were doomed.
I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth and carried it out into the yard with me, and you may take my word for it that I dug one hole there in record time. When I had covered the sword with dirt I started digging another hole beside it and threw that dirt also on the spot above the weapon.
I had just finished when the yard gate was thrown open and a score of dead men came shuffling in. "We are looking for the strangers who escaped from the palace," said one. "Are they here?"
I cupped my hand behind my ear and said, "Eh?"
The fellow repeated his question, shouting very loud, and again I did the same thing and said, "Eh?" Then he gave up and went on into the house, followed by the others.
I heard them searching in there, and every instant I expected to hear cries of excitement when one of them discovered and pierced the thin disguises of Duare and Nalte.
Chapter 20—Under Suspicion
SKOR'S CREATURES searched Kroona's house far more carefully than they would have searched that of one of their own kind, for Skor must have assumed that of all the people in Kormor the living would be most likely to aid the living; but at last they came out and went away. And I sat down on the pile of dirt I had dug and mopped the perspiration from my forehead, nor was it the sweat of toil. I think that for fifteen minutes I had come as near to sweating blood as a man can.
When I went into the house I found Duare, Nalte, and Kroona just sitting there in dazed silence. They couldn't seem to realize that we had passed through the ordeal successfully.
"Well," I said, "that's over."
My voice seemed to break the spell.
"Do you know what saved us?" demanded Nalte.
"Why, our disguises, of course," I replied.
"Yes," she admitted, "they helped, but our real salvation was the stupidity of the searchers. They scarcely looked at us. They were hunting for somebody who was hidden, and because we were not hiding they didn't give us a second thought."
"Do you think we might remove the paint now?" asked Duare. "It is very uncomfortable."
"I think we should not remove it at all," I replied. "As we know, they won't find us in this search; so Skor may order another search, and next time we may not have time to disguise ourselves even if we are lucky enough to get the materials again."
"I suppose you are right," said Duare, "and after all the discomfort is not much by comparison to what we have already gone through."
"The disguises have one advantage," said Nalte. "We can move about more freely without danger of detection. We won't have to sit in this stuffy little back room all the time, and I for one am going to the front of the house and get a breath of fresh air."
It was not a bad suggestion, and Duare and I joined Nalte while Kroona went about some household duties. The front room on the second floor, to which we went, overlooked the street. We could hear the searchers ransacking the house next door, and we could see the pedestrians shuffling along the dusty street.
Suddenly Nalte seized my arm and pointed. "See that man?" she exclaimed in an excited whisper.
Shuffling along the street was a large corpse painted in the semblance of life. His trappings were finer than those ordinarily seen in Kormor. Only his peculiar gait revealed to the initiated eye the fact that he was not as alive as we.
"Yes, I see him," I replied. "What about him?"
"He is the man that abducted me from Havatoo!"
"Are you sure?" I demanded.
"Absolutely," replied Nalte. "As long as I live I shall never forget that face."
A plan, perhaps I had better call it an inspiration, shot into my mind. "I am going to follow him," I said. "I shall be back soon; hope for the best." I turned and hurried from the room.
* * * * *
A moment later I was in the street. The fellow was only a short distance ahead of me. If my guess was correct he would lead me eventually to the entrance to the tunnel that led to Havatoo. Perhaps not today, but if I learned where he lived today; then some other day.
His gait was more rapid than that of the average Kormoran, and he walked as though with a definite purpose in view. I judged that he was one of Skor's more successful experiments and that for this reason he had been chosen as one of the jong's agents in Havatoo, where the ordinary run of Kormoran corpses could not long have passed themselves off as living men.
As I followed him I noted carefully every detail of the street in which we were; so that I would not again be unable to return to my starting point. When presently he turned into a street leading toward the river my hopes rose, and I noted carefully the buildings at the intersection.
Near the river the fellow turned into a small alley, followed it to the next street, and then turned again toward the river. Directly ahead of us, even before he turned into it, I saw and recognized the building beneath which lay the Kormor end of the tunnel.
At the gateway leading into the yard before the house the man turned for the first time and looked behind him, I presume to see if he was being observed. Then he saw me.
There was nothing for me to do but keep on toward him. I kept my eyes on the ground and paid no attention to him as I approached him, though I could almost feel his gaze upon me. It seemed an eternity before I reached him. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief as I passed him, then he spoke to me.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I am looking for another house to live in," I cackled. "The doors and the windows have all fallen off mine."
"There are no houses here for you," he snapped. Your kind is not allowed in this district. Get out of here and never let me see you here again."
"Yes," I replied meekly, and turned back.
To my great joy he let me go, and a moment later I had turned into the alley and was hidden from his view. But I had learned what I wanted to know, and my blood was tingling with happiness. Now only the worst of ill fortune could prevent me guiding Duare and Nalte back to the safety of Havatoo.
As I made my way through the streets of Kormor toward the house of Kroona my mind was filled with thoughts and plans for escape. I was determined to leave as soon as darkness fell, and already I was looking forward to and planning on what I should do upon my return to Havatoo.
As I entered Kroona's house I saw immediately, even before any one had a chance to speak, that something was amiss. Duare and Nalte rushed toward me, and it was evident that both were perturbed. Kroona and the old man who had brought us the pigments with which we had disguised ourselves were cackling together excitedly.
"At last you are back!" cried Nalte. "We thought that you would never come."
"Perhaps it is not too late even now," said Duare.
"I wanted them to come with me and let me hide them," croaked Kroona, "but neither one of them would leave without you. They said that if you were to be taken then they would be taken too."
"What in the world are you all talking about?" I demanded. What has happened?"
"It is soon told," said the old man who had brought us the make-up. "The cosmetician from whom I borrowed the materials to change you into old people has betrayed us in order to curry favor with Skor. A man heard him tell his servant to go to the palace and
inform Skor that he would lead Skor's men to this hiding place of yours. The man was a friend of mine and came and told me. Skor's men may be here at any minute now."
* * * * *
I thought rapidly; then I turned to Duare and Nalte. "Get your make-up off as quickly as you can," I directed, "and I will do the same."
"But then we shall be lost for certain," exclaimed Duare.
"On the contrary," I replied as I commenced to remove the pigment from my blond head.
"They will know us at once without our disguises," insisted Duare, but I was glad to see that both she and Nalte were following my example and removing the paint from their hair and faces.
"Our own youth will be the best disguise we can adopt in this emergency," I explained. "These creatures of Skor are none too intelligent, and having been sent to find three fugitives who have disguised themselves as very old people they will be looking only for those who appear very old. If we can get out of the house before they come I think we have a good chance to avoid detection."
We worked rapidly and soon had the last vestiges of our disguises removed; then we thanked Kroona and the old man, bid them good-by, and left the house. As we entered the street we saw a body of warriors approaching from the direction of the palace.
"We were not quite in time," said Nalte. "Shall we turn and run for it?"
"No," I replied. "That would only arouse their suspicions immediately and they would pursue and most certainly overtake us. Come! We shall go and meet them."
"What!" demanded Duare in astonishment. "Are we going to give ourselves up?"
"By no means," I replied. "We are going to take a great chance, but there is no alternative. If they see three people walking away from them they will investigate, and if they do that we may be recognized; but if they see us approaching them they will believe that we do not fear anything from them and will be convinced therefore that we are not those whom they seek. Walk with the shuffling gait of the dead, and keep your eyes on the ground. Duare, you walk ahead, Nalte a few paces behind you; I shall cross to the other side of the street. By separating we shall attract less attention; they are looking for three people whom they expect to find together."
Lost on Venus v-2 Page 18
