A World Called Crimson
Page 8
galaxy may be in danger!"
Charlie sighed. "I don't understand much of your galaxy. Robin knows theencyclopedia--she would understand. And I--I only want to know Robin issafe." He took a deep breath and said: "She always threatened to go tothe Land of the Cyclopes."
"Then take us there at once," Captain Purcell said....
* * * * *
If he shouted and cried now, he would go insane. He knew that. He triedto hold his fear in check. He was being swung pendulum-like in anenormous hand as the one-eyed giant loped along. Robin shared theclenched-fist prison with him. Her hair streamed in the wind as the hugearm swung the huge hand in time with the giant's enormous strides.
"Does it eat people?" he managed to ask Robin. He had to shout becausethe wind created by the creature's movement was considerable. The groundspun giddily far, far below them, whirling patches of green, of yellow,of brown.
"We made them to eat people. Like in the book. We were just children.It seemed--it seemed so thrilling."
The Cyclops loped along, uprooting saplings. After a while it began toclimb a rocky slope and from the heights Glaudot could see the shores ofan unknown sea. Then the Cyclops reached a cave entrance and rolledaside a huge boulder and took his prisoners within.
Glaudot heard the bleating of sheep.
* * * * *
"Why, it's a fortune in jewels!" Captain Purcell exclaimed. They hadfound the glade in the forest, where Robin had created a king's ransomfor Glaudot. The men gathered around, many of them struck dumb by thesight of all this wealth.
Charlie said: "Captain, look."
Purcell went over to him and saw the wide swathe cut through the forestand curving out of sight. "What went through there?" he gasped.
"A Cyclops," Charlie said grimly. "A Cyclops has them. Captain, we'vegot to hurry. Listen, there are two horses now. I could create horsesfor all of us, but all these men coming up would probably be seen by theCyclops. You come on foot with your men. Let one of them come with meon the stallions." As he spoke Charlie unslung the Mannlicher and put itdown.
"Oh, you want our more modern weapons?" Purcell asked.
Charlie shook his head. "For fun, Robin and I made the Cyclopesinvulnerable to any kind of attack except the kind mentioned in theencyclopedia--putting out their single eye with a stake. To protect allthe other people we created, we made the Cyclopes so they'd never wantto leave their homeland. So if we can get Robin and your man Glaudotfree, they'll be safe. Now, who's the volunteer?"
"I'm already on horseback," Chandler said. Charlie nodded and mountedthe second roan stallion.
"My men will be coming as fast as they can march," Captain Purcell said.
Charlie nodded. He did not bother to tell the captain that a Cyclopscould cover in a few minutes ground a marching party could not hope tocover in as many hours. He set off at a swift gallop with Chandler.
* * * * *
"Will he eat us now?" said Glaudot. Strangely, he was not afraid. Theunexpected nature of their impending demise he almost found amusing.
Robin shook her head. "I don't think so. He'll probably drink himself tosleep. We made the Cyclopes great drunkards."
The Cyclops, his tree-trunk sized walking stick leaning against thewall, was reclining and drinking from a huge bowl of wine. The cave wastorchlit. Seventy or eighty sheep milled about, settling for the nightafter three of their number had supplied a meal for the giant, who hadeaten them raw.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" demanded Glaudot, whose dreams ofgalactic conquest were fading before the spectre of being eaten alive.
"Reserve your strength until he sleeps," Robin said. "Of course there'ssomething we can do."
"Yes? What?"
"His walking stick. You see the end comes almost to a point? We hardenit in the fire--and put his eye out. Then, in the morning, when heunrolls the stone from the cave-entrance and blindly leads his flockout, we hide among the sheep and make our escape. At least that's how ithappens in the encyclopedia."
Glaudot swallowed hard. He had never had a great deal of physicalcourage....
Just then they heard a great fluttering, groaning sound. Robin said:"You see, he's asleep. He's snoring."
"I--I don't think I could possibly--"
"He's liable to want us for breakfast. Come on."
They got up swiftly and silently, and crept to the walking stick. It wasthe size of a young tree. It would be heavy, perhaps too heavy for themto handle.
"Easy now," Robin said. She nimbly climbed the ledges on the cave-walland tipped the great walking stick, then leaped down and grabbed thefront end as Glaudot got a grip on the rear of the big pole.
"Heavy," Glaudot said.
"But not too heavy, I--I think."
"Try to lift it," said Glaudot.
They tried. Together they could barely get it overhead.
"Try to poke it at something," Glaudot said.
They could not. Robin sighed. They put it down slowly, quietly. It wouldtake more than the two of them. It would take them and two or three moremen to do the job.
"We wait," Glaudot said bleakly.
Robin stared up in frustration at the smoke hole, through which smokefrom the Cyclops's fire poured out into the gathering night. It washopelessly over their head, although help could reach them through itfrom the outside. But how could they possibly expect help to come...?
"We wait," Glaudot said again, hopelessly.
"For breakfast," Robin said.
Glaudot broke suddenly. "I don't want to die!" he cried. "I don't wantto die ..."
* * * * *
The feeblest of Crimson's three suns came over the horizon, lighting thelandscape with the illumination of three or four full moons on Earth.
"I told you I smelled smoke!" Charlie cried, pointing triumphantly atthe thin tendril of smoke that rose through the cooling air against theweak sunlight.
"Is it a campfire?" Chandler asked.
"Chimney hole, probably. Come on."
They left the two stallions grazing at the base of the rocky escarpment.They began to climb. Once Chandler stumbled and went sliding down therocky slope, but Charlie caught his arm, all but wrenching it from thesocket. Charlie thought: we have to hurry. Their lives may depend on it.Already we may be too late....
The smoke from the chimney hole was acrid. It was very strong now.Suddenly Charlie could feel the slightly increased slope of the rocks.The slope was precipitous now, almost perpendicular.
"I can't--can't go much further!" Chandler groaned.
"We've got to, man. We've got to."
* * * * *
"He's waking," said Robin.
Glaudot had broken completely. The confident would-be conqueror wasreduced to trembling and whining now. "M-maybe he's hungry. Oh, God,maybe he's hungry ..."
But the Cyclops only turned over in its sleep and began to snore again.The fire had burned low. The sheep were resting. Robin thought ofCharlie, probably many miles away. There would be a late moonrisetonight, she thought. They often spoke of the feeblest of Crimson'sthree suns as the moon, although it really wasn't. Then dawn would come.If the Cyclops were hungry and wanted a change in diet ...
* * * * *
"But you'll choke to death going down there," Chandler protested.
"It's only a chimney hole. Nobody's going to choke to death."
"Can you see down it?"
"No. Too much smoke."
"Then how do you know how far we'll have to fall?"
"I don't. I'll have to take the chance. You don't have to, though."
"I'll go where you go. That's what I volunteered for."
"Good. It's almost morning, so the fire's probably almost burned downfrom now. If you land in the embers, jump aside quickly. Youunderstand?"
"Yes," Chandler said.
Without another word, Charlie
suddenly lowered himself into the smokeand let go.
* * * * *
Dim fiery light lit the cave. He alighted in embers and quickly jumpedclear. Embers flew. A ram bleated. Charlie saw the enormous sleepingbulk of the Cyclops against one wall of the cave. He heard somethingbehind him, and whirled. It was Chandler. More sparks flew. The sheepbleated again, louder this time.
Robin and a spaceman who was probably Glaudot came toward them. Therewas amazement on Robin's face. Glaudot looked like a child in the gripof terror he couldn't quite understand.
Charlie held Robin close for a moment.