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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd9af60 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68483 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68483) diff --git a/old/68483-0.txt b/old/68483-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b435cc3..0000000 --- a/old/68483-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5665 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The time-raider, by Edmond Hamilton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The time-raider - -Author: Edmond Hamilton - -Release Date: July 9, 2022 [eBook #68483] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME-RAIDER *** - - - - - - The TIME-RAIDER - - By EDMOND HAMILTON - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Weird Tales October, November December 1927 and January 1928. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - -[Illustration: "He dangled helplessly in the thing's embrace."] - - - - - _CHAPTER 1_ - - THE CANNELL MYSTERY - - -In beginning this account of our great adventure, it must be understood -that I attempt no complete history of the matter. There will be gaps, -many gaps, in the continuity of my story, for that story remains, after -all, simply a record of my own contacts with the Raider, and with those -people whose lives he entered and darkened. So that my tale here is -necessarily one of personal experience, except for a few places where I -have summarized general knowledge. - -Besides this history of what I may term the more human side of our -experience, Dr. Lantin has dealt with its scientific aspects in his -epochal work on time-displacement and in our joint monograph on -electronic acceleration. Although several salient features of the -affair have been omitted, for reasons that will figure later, yet the -two works mentioned and the present record give a broad outline of the -whole matter, from the beginning. - -From the beginning! But where was that beginning? Ages back in the -past, or ages ahead in the future? To place the true beginning of it -all would be to know much about it that we do not know. So I start at -the point where the matter definitely entered my own life and world. -And that point, that event, is the Cannell Mystery, as it was then -termed. - -You will find it in the newspapers of the day, the bare facts wrapped -in clouds of speculation. Professor Ferdinand Cannell, of New York, -disappearing inexplicably in the jungles of Indo-China, vanishing from -the world of men as though blotted out. - -At that time, Cannell was undoubtedly one of the very greatest of -living archeologists. Nominally attached to a great New York museum, -he was really a free-lance student and excavator, roaming about the -world in search of proof for his numerous and startling theories. His -first fame had been established by his researches into the Dravidian -remnants in lower India, and he had followed that brilliant achievement -by another as great, the monumental Warren Society investigation into -the walled ruins of Zimbabwe, in South Africa. - -With two such successes behind him, Cannell then boldly proposed to -make the subject of his next researches the mighty ruined city of -Angkor, in the heart of the Cambodian jungle. Angkor has long been a -colossal challenge to modern wisdom, a gigantic, towered metropolis of -gray stone, once noisy with the life of swarming millions, but silent -and dead now, unutterably dead. A thousand years the huge ruin has lain -in the jungle, wrapped in silence, inhabited only by snakes and bats -and tigers. Its past, the history of its builders, has been a vast -enigma always, which Cannell had determined to solve. - -So he sailed for Hongkong, and Dr. Lantin and I were on the dock when -his ship cleared. My own acquaintance with Cannell was recent, but -Lantin and he had been close friends for years. Their friendship dated -back to their university days, and had continued after they diverged -into different lines of work, Cannell's taking him to the remnants of -past peoples, while Lantin's interest in radio-chemistry had brought -him to the great New York laboratories of the Downe Foundation, with -myself as his laboratory assistant. - -For all their warm friendship, there was a strong contrast between -the two men. Cannell was the younger by a few years, a blond giant -of thirty-five or thirty-six, with snapping blue eyes and a habit of -talking with machine-gun rapidity. Altogether the antithesis of Dr. -Lantin, who was dark, medium of stature and quiet of manner, with -friendly gray eyes that could take on the glint of steel, at times. - -Together we had waved farewell to Cannell and a few weeks later had -received a cable from Saigon, in Indo-China, briefly announcing his -arrival. He had then proceeded up the Mekong River into the wilderness -of the interior, and finally over a network of winding creeks to Angkor -itself. The latter stage of the journey was made in canoes, some seven -or eight natives poling along Cannell and his outfit, but no other -white man was in the party. - -No more was heard of the venture until a week later, when the natives -of Cannell's party straggled into a little up-river village, without -him. They explained, volubly, that on the third night after reaching -Angkor, the white man had been seized and carried away by the devils -of the ruins. None of them had actually seen this but they had heard -his scream, from a distance, and when they conquered their fears enough -to search the ruins, had found no trace of him. It was clear that -the powerful spirits of the dead city were angered, and had snatched -away the white man who dared to disturb them, so the terror-stricken -natives had at once fled from the place with all speed. - -On hearing this tale, several French planters made their way to Angkor, -forcing the unwilling natives to accompany them, but they found no -trace of Cannell, who seemed to have vanished completely. His tent and -outfit were found, quite undisturbed, which tended to corroborate the -natives' story regarding their sudden flight. - -So when the little search-party returned, it was advanced as its -opinion that Cannell had been seized and carried away by a roving -tiger, his scream and disappearance being interpreted by the natives -as a visitation of demons, since they were known to be extremely -superstitious in regard to the dead city. While this explanation was -faulty enough, it seemed the only rational one available, and was -accepted by the authorities at Saigon. - -And so the matter rested. Cannell's only relatives had been distant -connections, and except for Lantin he had had scarcely one intimate -friend, so after the first shock of surprize his passing caused little -stir. The newspapers speculated briefly, and the archeological journals -expressed regrets, referring to his splendid achievements. But that was -all. New stars soon rose to fill his place in the scientific firmament. -And Cannell was forgotten. - -Time drove on. Days ... months ... years.... - - - - - _CHAPTER 2_ - - CANNELL'S STORY - - -I pass to that June night, over three years after Cannell's -disappearance, when my own part in the drama may be said to begin. -Lantin and I were working late in our laboratory at the Foundation, -when we were interrupted by the telephone bell. We had reached a -critical point in our experiment, and as Lantin hurried over to the -instrument, I heard him muttering threats to have it removed. I did not -catch his first answer, but after a minute's silence he flung out a -single word, in a strange voice, that startled me. - -"Cannell!" - -At once I hastened over to his side, and as I did so, he turned toward -me a face eloquent of astonishment, still holding the receiver to his -ear. "I'll be there in ten minutes!" he shouted into the instrument, -then hung up and turned to face my excited questions. - -"Good God, Wheeler," he cried, "it's Cannell!" - -"What?" I asked, stupidly, dumfounded by the assertion. - -"Cannell," he repeated, "at my apartment. He says to meet him there at -once. Where could he have been, these three years?" - -But I was already reaching for my hat and a moment later we were on the -street outside, hailing a cruising taxi. Lantin's bachelor home was in -the west 70's, a little roof-bungalow set on top of a big apartment -building, and we sped up the avenue toward it with the highest legal -speed. - -Lantin did not speak at all, on the way. He was plainly highly excited, -but my own agitation was fast calming. After all, I thought, the -thing might be a stupid practical joke, though an unforgivable one to -perpetrate. Still, if Lantin had recognized the voice--Before I -could ask him about that, the cab stopped, and we hastened into the -building, to the elevator. - -When the cage stopped at its highest point in the building, Lantin was -instantly out and striding eagerly across the foyer of his apartment. -He flung the door open, then stopped short. Standing behind him, I -peered over his shoulder into the room inside. There was a man there, a -man who jumped to his feet and came quickly toward us. It was Cannell, -I saw at once. Cannell--but changed. - -His face was drawn and haggard, and instead of his former impatient, -challenging expression, it bore the impress of an unearthly fear. A -fear that showed even in the tense, half-crouching position of his -body, as he came across the room toward us, searching our faces with -his burning eyes. He came closer, gripped Lantin's hands, struggled to -speak. - -"Thank God you came, Lantin!" he cried, chokingly. - -We stood speechless, and with a sudden reaction of feeling he stepped -back and sank wearily into a chair, running his hand tiredly over his -eyes. Lantin found his voice then for the first time. - -"Where have you been, man?" he shouted. "Three years! For God's sake, -Cannell, what happened to you? Where were you all that time?" - -Cannell gazed up at us, strangely, somberly, a brooding darkness -settling on his face. "All that time?" he repeated, musingly. "Three -years? Three years to you, perhaps, but not to me. But not to me." - -A sudden glance flashed between Lantin and myself. Was the man mad? Did -that account for his strange disappearance? - -Cannell saw and interpreted that glance. "I know what you're thinking," -he told us, "and sometimes I think you're right, that I really am -crazy. I would be better off if I were," he concluded, darkly. But -before we could comment on his strange words, his mood changed abruptly -and he motioned us to chairs beside him, bending toward us in sudden -eagerness. - -"But you two," he said, "I can tell you what I saw, what happened. I -could not tell others--no! They would never have believed, and it may -be that even you will not. But it is all truth--truth, I tell you!" -And on the last words his voice rose to a high-pitched, ragged scream. -Then, mastering his shattered nerves with an effort, he went on. - -"You know why I went to Angkor, what I planned to do there. I went -up the Mekong by steamer, then hired natives to take me the rest of -the way in canoes. Up winding waterways they took me, through narrow -creeks and old canals, and out over a great lake, in which a forest lay -submerged. Then up another creek and finally by bullock-cart to Angkor -itself. - -"There is no use trying to describe the place to you. I have seen most -of the great ruins of the past and the great buildings of the present, -but Angkor towers above them all, the most magnificent thing ever built -by the hands of men. It is a vast city of carven gray stone, a city -whose lacelike sculptured walls and crenelated battlements have looked -down for a thousand years on nothing but the jungle that hems it in, -and the silence and death that lie incarnate in itself. Literally acres -of ruined buildings, square miles of crumbling stone, and set in the -heart of that great mass of remnants, the palace, Angkor Thom, a great -ruin whose courts and walls and terraces lie as desolate and broken as -the city around them. - -"A deep moat surrounds the city, and out over it leads a great -causeway, built of huge blocks of stone, a wide, level highway that -leads through the jungle for a short distance to the supreme glory of -the place, Angkor Wat, the gigantic temple. Unlike the palace and city, -the temple has not fallen into ruins but remains nearly the same as it -must have been when the city was living and splendid. It towers up to -a tremendous height, its dark, frowning walls looming far above the -green jungle around it. When I walked into it for the first time, the -mighty grandeur of the place was so awesome and compelling that I felt -presumptuous--ashamed. The stifling, brooding silence seemed to flow -down on me like a tangible wave, humbling me, dwarfing me. - -"I spent my first two days in a superficial exploration of the palace -and city, wandering through the miles of crumbling streets and fallen -buildings. But I pass over that to the third day, when I started my -examination of Angkor Wat. All of that day I spent in the temple, -alone, for the natives feared to venture into it. Along its marching -walls life-sized figures were carved in exquisite relief, warriors, -kings and elephants, battles and ceremonies, literally miles of -lavished, delicate sculptures. I lingered with them, absorbed, until -the sun had set and the swift tropical darkness was descending, then -abruptly came to a realization of my surroundings and started for my -camp. - -"Through the deepening shadows of the temple's halls I went, stumbling -here and there against fallen stones, and finally came with a slight -sensation of relief to the stone-paved courtyard in front of the -edifice, from which the great causeway led back to the city and to my -camp. It was quite dark, now, but I stopped for a moment there, since -the moon was just rising and the scene was one of perfect beauty--the -calm moonlight flooding over the silent ruins, the dark, looming walls -behind me, the black shadows that lay across the silver-lit courtyard. -For minutes I stood there, fascinated, but finally turned to go. - -"I walked across the courtyard, then stopped abruptly and looked up. -A strange sound had come to my ears from above, a sound that was like -distant, shrill whistling. It hung for a moment, faint and eery, then -grew much louder, like a score of men whistling piercingly in different -keys, varied, tumultuous. I half expected to see birds passing above, -but there were none. The air had been heavy and still for hours, but -now a puff of wind smote me, a little, buffeting breeze that changed -suddenly to a hard wind and then to a raging gale that whipped the -sun-helmet off my head and nearly twisted me from my feet. And with -that sudden change, the whistling chorus above had changed also, had -waxed to a raging tumult of wind-shrieks, piercing, tempestuous! -Abruptly, now, there flashed into being in the air forty feet above -me--a thing! - -"It was a swirling mass of dense gray vapor, looking in the moonlight -much like a drifting cloud of steam. But this smoky mass was alive -with motion of its own, spinning and interlacing, and from it came the -shrill chorus and the raging winds. And, too, I saw that somewhere -inside those shifting mists glowed three little circles of green light, -one set above the other two, three tiny, radiant orbs whose brilliance -stood out even in the mellow moonlight. - - * * * * * - -"Abruptly, as I stared up at the thing, those three circles of vivid -green luminescence changed to purple, no less brilliant. And at the -same instant, there came a change to the spinning mists around them. -Those mists seemed to contract, to shrink, to solidify, and then they -had vanished and in place of them hung a thing of solid matter, a -mass of what seemed to be gray, resilient flesh, and at the center -of which hung steadily the little triangle of purple lights. Nor was -this solid mass any more unchanging than the misty one had been, for -it seemed to have no one form, flashing with incredible speed through -a myriad half-glimpsed shapes. It folded and unfolded, contracted, -elongated, spun and writhed, a protean changing of shapes that my eyes -could scarcely follow. But always the three little orbs of purple hung -unchanged at its center. - -"Scarcely more than a minute had elapsed since the thing first had -appeared above me, and now as I gazed up at it, stupefied, I sensed -dimly that the whistling sounds and the winds had died away. Then, -before my dazed mind could fully comprehend the strangeness of the -creature that hung in the air above me, that creature floated swiftly -down beside me, so near that I could have touched it. And out from -the changing, inchoate mass of it reached a long, twisting tentacle, -straight toward me! - -"I staggered weakly back, and screamed. But that arm circled and -gripped me, then pulled me in toward the central mass of the thing. -It was cold to the touch, an utter, numbing cold, like the chill of -something from outer space, utterly alien to our earth and life. -That cold shock stabbed through me and paralyzed me, and I dangled -helplessly in the thing's grip, while at its center, seen, somehow, -_through_ the mass of the thing, the triangle of purple orbs seemed to -watch me. - -"All this had been enacted in a few moments, and now the inexplicable -thing that held me began to rise again, to float up some distance -above the ground. It still gripped me tightly, and now the purple orbs -changed again to brilliant green, while again the solid, twisting mass -of the thing changed, expanding and swirling, until it was again the -drifting, spinning mass of vapor which I had first glimpsed. I floated -in those mists, gripped as tightly as ever by their unseen holds, and -now began again the shrill, piercing whistling, from all around me, -while a rising torrent of wind roared around the thing that held me. - -"At the same time, glancing up, I saw the moon racing across the sky -above with incredible speed, bounding across the zenith like a shooting -star and sinking down in the west. Hardly had it disappeared when -there was an up-gush of gray light from the eastern horizon, and then -the sun leapt up, red and flaming, and hurtled across the sky with even -greater speed. I caught a glimpse of Angkor beneath, bathed in tropical -sunlight. And a half-minute before it had been deepest night! - -"A deadly sickness seized me, and while I strove against it the sun -raced down into the west and it was night again, with the shining -moon again flashing across the sky with nightmare speed. Again it -disappeared and again the sun sprang up and rocketed headlong across -the zenith. And for the first time there came to my numbed brain some -realization of what was happening. - -"This inexplicable thing that held me--this being of changing mists and -vapors--was taking me on through time. It was whirling me on into the -future, with some undreamed-of power of its own. - -"The sun was racing across the sky with comet speed, now, a streak of -golden light, and day and night followed each other like the flipped -leaves of a book, faster and faster. In a few minutes they had become -indistinguishable, had merged into a green twilight in which I could -see but dimly the ground below. And even as we thus sped on through -time, with ever-increasing speed, the thing that held me began to move -through space also, and I caught a glimpse of ruined Angkor sliding -away from beneath me. - -"The thundering roar of the winds grew even louder as we moved -simultaneously through time and space. I caught fragmentary glimpses -of land flashing by beneath, with tremendous speed. And all the while -I hung there in the grip of the thing, held by the smoky mist-spirals, -swinging helplessly around and around the three circles of radiant -green light at the thing's center. - -"With a sudden surge of desperate courage, I tried to move in the -remorseless grip that prisoned me, endeavored to raise my right hand to -my belt, putting all my force into the effort. Slowly my hand came up, -inch by inch, struggling against the unseen grip of iron that grasped -me. It came up, with infinite slowness, until it was high enough to -grasp the automatic in my belt-holster. I clasped the pistol's stock -and threw off the safety catch, then, with another great effort, swung -up the pistol until it pointed directly at the triangle of radiant -orbs, and pulled the trigger. - -"The report snapped out thinly above the thundering of the winds. And -instantly the grip of the unseen, vaporous arms around me relaxed, -releasing me utterly, and I plunged down through space. - -"Down I fell, all of a hundred feet, and struck water, sinking down and -down into it, ever more slowly, then hurtling up to the surface again, -gasping for air. It was night, and above was no sign of the thing that -had held me, so I judged that it had gone on into time. The water I -swam in was salt, and I knew from the long, easy swells that I was in -the open sea. There was no shore in sight, nor any sign of one, so I -wasted no effort in swimming but strove only to keep afloat. - - * * * * * - -"For over two hours I floated, treading water easily, and had just -decided that it would be best to give over my useless efforts and sink -down to rest and peace, when a spark of light showed on the horizon, -a spark too low to be a star. It grew larger, coming nearer, until I -could make it out as one of the upper lights of a ship. In the course -it was following, it would pass me at some distance, so I struck out in -a direction that would bring me across its path. - -"My hours in the water had told on my strength, though, and my -progress was so slow that the ship had nearly passed me when I came -within hailing distance of it. There were few lights on its decks, and -no answer to my frantic cries. But when it had passed a little beyond -me, I heard voices shouting and the rattle of a boat's tackle. I knew -then that I was saved. - -"The ship proved to be an oil-tanker, bound from Hongkong to Galveston. -And as I found out, it had picked me up in the open Pacific, at a spot -some three hundred miles east of Manila. The thing that held me had -carried me that far, in space. - -"I represented myself as the sole survivor of a wrecked tramp-steamer, -and was not questioned overmuch. I dared not tell my story to those -sailors, lest they prison me as a mad-man. I asked them a few discreet -questions, though, and received an answer to one that staggered me. For -I was no longer in my own year, the year in which I had been seized -there at Angkor. I was in a year three years later! Three years! And it -had seemed only a few minutes to me. I had been carried on, that far, -into time. - -"I took my place as one of the crew, on the voyage to Galveston, and -worked my passage, though I was hard put to it to uphold my assertion -that I was a seaman. We sailed on, forging across the Pacific and -heading toward Panama. A night came when we were only a few hundred -miles west of the canal. I was stretched in a forecastle bunk, vainly -trying to sleep away the haunting fears that still filled me. The -night was quite calm, with only the throb of the engines and the -slap of waves on the hull breaking the silence. Then, faint and far, -but sounding to me like the thunder of doom, came a distant, eery -whistling, a piercing chorus that I knew well. - -"It grew, it waxed to a tumult of roaring winds, while I lay crouched -in the bunk, trembling. It seemed to swoop down on the deck above, and -there rang out a great scream, a shriek of horror that burned into -my brain. The roaring winds began to lessen, to draw away. I ran up -onto the deck and looked wildly around. To the north, a little above -and beyond the ship, was a hazy mass that I glimpsed vaguely in the -moonlight, and that suddenly disappeared, still heading straight north. -And the whistling chorus of winds died away. - -"I sank down on the deck, sick at heart. For I knew what I had seen, -knew that half-glimpsed thing to be the thing that had seized me at -Angkor, and from which I had freed myself. Two of the watch, the -only men on deck at the time, were missing, and all around me the -sailors who had poured up onto the deck were speculating as to their -disappearance, and the cause of the sudden, roaring winds. But I told -them nothing. I knew well that the thing that had snatched me away -before had come again to seize me, tracking me down, God knows how, -perhaps by some mystic mark or brand that its grip had sealed upon me. -I knew that it had come for me, and not finding me, had taken the two -men on deck at the time. But I said nothing. - -"It was finally agreed by the ship's officers to report the event as -the loss of two sailors, swept overboard by a sudden gale. It went down -in the ship's log, thus, and we sailed on. But the crew was fearful, -whispering.... - -"The ship came safe to Galveston, though. The wages due me as a seaman -were enough to get me to New York. I came at once to your apartment, -and the rest you know. - -"What is that thing that seized me, that enigmatic Raider through time? -God alone knows, if even He is aware of its existence. But I know that -it swept down on me through time and seized me, that it flashed with -me through those three years in almost as few minutes. And I know that -it has marked me for its victim and will come for me again, maybe in -pure revenge for that shot of mine that released me. - -"Where is there refuge from a thing like that, that can speed through -time and space at will? Twice I have escaped it, but I fear I can not -escape it again, when it comes to claim me. And sooner or later, it -will come!" - - - - - _CHAPTER 3_ - - THE RAIDER - - -A silence hung over the room when Cannell ceased to speak. I drew a -long breath and turned to Lantin, my brain awhirl, but already he was -calmly questioning the archeologist. - -"This thing you call the Raider," he began; "I don't understand your -description very well, Cannell. Do you mean that it was just misty gas -or vapor, able to change into solid form at will, and change back? And, -withal, a living, intelligent thing?" - -"I mean just that," Cannell told him. "The thing is undoubtedly a -sentient, living being of extraordinary intelligence and powers, able -to assume either a solid or gaseous form. The phenomenon of the three -shining orbs, changing from green to purple and back, is connected -with that change in form, I assume. And at the same time I believe -that triangle of the three lights to be the center of the thing's -consciousness and intelligence, its brain and sense organs. - -"Such a thing is not impossible, Lantin," he went on. "You and I, -intelligent, living creatures, are composed of solid and liquid -elements, but there is no real reason why life and intelligence could -not be present in an entirely gaseous creature. And as I believe, -this creature only assumes the gaseous form when it is traveling -through time. The winds that accompany its passage through time are -undoubtedly caused by the fact that as it flashes on into a different -time, it leaves in the atmosphere a sudden vacuum, and the surrounding -atmosphere rushing in to fill this vacuum causes the gusts of wind." - -"But where could the thing come from?" Lantin objected. "Where was it -taking you?" - -Cannell's face darkened. "I believe that it comes from the far future," -he said slowly. "Who can say what manner of creatures will inhabit -earth a million years from now? And it may be that this thing, a being -of some future age, has discovered a way to travel through time and -now sweeps back at will, snatching up luckless humans in every age. -The purpose of these raids, who can say? Maybe for victims or slaves -or food even. It is all a mystery, even to myself. One thing alone is -clear to me, that the thing does come from some future time, since it -was speeding back into the future with me when I escaped it." - -I found a chance to interject a query. "But how?" I asked. "That's what -interests me, the method of traveling through time at will. I've heard -theories on that subject, but this actual accomplishment, this power -to race into past or future--have you no idea as to how that is done, -Cannell?" - -He considered before answering. "The transformation into a gaseous -form when time-traveling is a significant detail," he said. "I have an -inkling of what power the Raider utilizes to speed through time. I was -in the thing's grip only for a few minutes, but I noticed some things, -even in that short time, that set me thinking, afterward. I formed a -rough theory concerning the method of time-traveling, and on the voyage -home I jotted down some notes concerning it, intending to investigate -the matter later." - -Reaching into an inside pocket, he brought forth a little packet of -soiled envelopes and folded sheets. "My own idea about it--" he -began, then suddenly broke off speaking and sat motionless, listening -tensely. Astonished, we listened likewise, but the only sound was the -far dim roar of the city below, and the curtains at the open French -windows, billowing gently in a soft breeze. From an adjoining room came -the faint chime of a clock. - -Relief dropped on Cannell's face, and its tense outlines relaxed. "I -thought I heard--" he murmured, then abruptly stopped and jumped -to his feet, his eyes wild. My heart gave a sudden great throb, for -through the open windows came the sound of a high, thin whistling, far -and faint and crystal-clear, an eery chorus of piercing knife-blades -of sound, that shrilled out louder and louder, swelling to a roaring -tumult of wind-sounds. The window-curtains whipped up madly, in a -buffeting gale, as through the windows came a breath of icy air. - -Abruptly the lights of the room went out, plunging us into darkness. -There was a shout from Lantin: "The switch!" and I heard him running -toward it. Outside the wind-shrieks had risen to a thundering bellow, -and there were cries and running feet, somewhere in the building below -us. A dark, erect figure appeared in the open window, silhouetted -blackly against the brilliant lights of the distant streets. It poised -there a moment, then passed out onto the outside roof, walking stiffly -and unhumanly, like a puppet pulled by unseen strings. - -"Cannell!" I cried; "get back!" I raced across the room toward the -window, and in the darkness collided with Lantin, who was making for -the same objective. We staggered, recovered our balance, rushed -together to the window, and then recoiled. - -Standing at the roof's edge, darkly outlined against the city's -splendid brilliance, was Cannell, and down upon him from the upper air -was dropping--what? A changing, inchoate shape of gray, at the center -of which burned a little triangle of three radiant circles of purple -light, one above the other two. In the moment that the thing swept -down on Cannell, the roaring winds hushed for an instant, and we saw a -writhing, shapeless arm reach out from the central mass, grip Cannell -and draw him in. The gray mass hung for a moment, then the purple -lights flashed into green, and at the same time the thing had changed -into a swirling cloud of dense gray vapor, the three green orbs at -its center, and the roaring winds shouting again with renewed power. -The thing rose swiftly above the roof, holding Cannell, hung for a -moment above us, a tornado of whistling winds, then vanished like a -clicked-off cinema scene. - -But as it disappeared before our eyes, as its raging, piercing winds -died away to a mere whisper, out from the empty air where it had been -rang an eery, fading cry, Cannell's voice, coming faintly down through -time. - -"Lantin! Follow--follow--" - -Then the last word, coming dimly to us like a ghostly echo out of space -and time, but with a world of fear and horror in it: - -"The Raider!" - - - - - _CHAPTER 4_ - - INTO TIME - - -"And you really mean to try it?" I asked incredulously. - -"I do," Lantin quietly replied. "I am going to find that secret of -time-traveling and go after Cannell." - -I stared at him doubtfully. A day had passed since we had seen Cannell -seized by the misty shape of horror he called the Raider, and now, in -the same room in Lantin's apartment, we were discussing what we had -seen. After the first hours of dazed terror following the seizure of -Cannell, I had fallen to sleep on a couch in that room, and when I woke -in late afternoon, the whole thing seemed only a tortured nightmare. - -"It seems impossible," I told Lantin. "We saw Cannell taken, yes, and -we saw--the Raider. But after all, we have no proof that he was taken -into time. That thing, the Raider, may have merely thrown a veil of -invisibility around itself, and thus vanished. A crazy idea, I admit, -but not as wild as this one of time-traveling." - -"You do not believe your own words, Wheeler," answered my friend. "You -heard Cannell's story, and in your heart you believe it. I believe -it utterly, for it is the only way of accounting for that three-year -disappearance. You noticed that Cannell seemed no older, after those -three years? And then, as further proof, came the thing he described to -us, the Raider itself." - -"We saw that," I admitted, "but all argument aside, Lantin, this idea -of moving through time at will seems absurd. Of course, I've heard -fantastic ideas on the subject, but how could anyone really tamper with -time, the most unalterable and remorseless quantity in life?" - -Lantin considered me before replying. "Such an achievement is beyond -our present science," he conceded, "but it may be quite possible to the -science of the future. You see my meaning? Remember, Wheeler, it is -only within the last few years that our science has learned anything at -all about time. Previously it was considered one of the last mysteries, -never to be investigated or explained. But now, with the recent work -of Einstein and Lorentz and Minkowski, we are beginning to learn -something about this time. We have learned, for instance, that it is -only another dimension of space itself, and that the four dimensions of -any object are thus length, breadth, thickness, and _duration_. - -"We know now that time is not fixed and unchangeable, but relative and -varying, that the time of Venus is not the time of earth, and that the -time of Sirius is different from either. And remember, all of this we -have learned within the last few years. - -"What, then, may not be learned in the next thousand years, the next -ten thousand, the next million? Is it not reasonable to suggest that -men will advance farther and farther in their knowledge concerning this -elusive thing, time, until they finally will advance so far that they -will be able to _control_ time, to travel in it at will, and thus sweep -back from their own day, back to our present age? Is it not possible -that men can do this, in some century to come?" - -"That _men_ can do this?" I repeated. "_Men_, you say, but the thing -we saw was no man, Lantin. That thing, the Raider, was very far from -human." - -"It is so," he admitted, "but that proves nothing. The Raider may be -some thing of the far future, either a strange product of ages of -change and evolution, or a visitor from another planet, racing through -time and snatching up victims in every age and land. You remember that -Cannell was seized at Angkor? And a thousand years ago, Angkor was a -mighty city, and who knows but the Raider was speeding back to the days -of Angkor's life and greatness, when it chanced on Cannell there? It is -a strange business, Wheeler; but one thing I am certain of, and that is -that the Raider does come from some time far in the future, and that it -has taken Cannell back with it to that time." - -"But the method," I insisted, "the method of traveling through time? -How is that accomplished? Cannell spoke of a theory he had concerning -it. And he gave you those notes--" - -"I've examined those notes," Lantin said, "and rough and fragmentary -as they are, I think that in them lies the secret of time-traveling. -Cannell knew something of modern science, Wheeler, and the conclusions -he drew concerning the Raider are significant. It was his theory that -as time is the fourth dimension of matter, there is no basic reason why -we can't move at will along that dimension. We can move as we wish in -the other three, up-and-down, right-and-left, and back-and-forward, so -why not in the fourth, that is, sooner-or-later? - -"And his idea, as expressed in his notes, was that the Raider's -movement along the time-dimension was based on electronic acceleration. -You know the electronic system as well as I, and realize that the -smallest division of matter, the atom, is nothing but a number of -electrons, or particles of electricity, revolving around a nucleus. -Cannell believed, and I think he was right, that that movement of -electrons is the basis of the movement along the time-dimension. - -"To make you understand that, let me take an example. Suppose all -motion on earth stopped entirely, so that there was not the least bit -of visible motion in earth or heavens. Sun, moon, stars, ships, clocks, -trains, rivers, people, every form of motion stopping completely, so -that the earth was a completely motionless world. Then would it not be -a timeless world also? In other words, without change there would be -no such thing as time, for time depends on and is measured by change. -So that all movement along the fourth or time-dimension is intimately -related to movement along the other three or space-dimensions. - -"It is exactly the same with a single, isolated object. Take a metal -ball, for instance. It moves steadily along the time-dimension, _from_ -the past _toward_ the future, only because the electrons that compose -it are constantly moving along the space-dimensions, are constantly -revolving around their nucleus, at the same unvarying speed. If you -stopped that revolving of electrons, the ball of metal would become -static, timeless, would cease to move along the time-dimension. But -suppose instead of stopping the electronic movement, you accelerated -it, speeded it up? Then the ball of metal whose electronic activity was -thus accelerated would move on through time _faster_. Everything around -it would still move along the time-dimension at the same rate, but it -would be going faster, would speed on into the future, ahead of the -things around it. And the more its electronic motion was accelerated, -the farther into the future it would go. - -"In the same way, if the electronic motion was reversed, the metal -ball would go _backward_ along the time-dimension, would speed back -into the past. Thus you see how such a principle could be applied -practically and enable one to speed into past or future at will, simply -by accelerating or reversing the motion of the electrons making up his -vehicle, or car." - -"It seems reasonable," I admitted, "but the difficulty remains, for -how could the movement of electrons be thus accelerated or reversed -at will? Why, no man has ever even seen an electron, or ever will, -they're so infinitesimally tiny. Then how affect their speeds, their -directions?" - -"You mention a difficulty," Lantin replied, "but it could be overcome, -Wheeler. As you say, no man has ever seen an electron, but for all -that, men have done some strange things with electrons. They have shot -them through films of water-vapor and have thus been able to record -their speeds and courses, without seeing the actual electrons. And -just recently, an American scientist was able to change the course of -electronic motion entirely, and shoot a stream of electrons in any -direction at will, the so-called cathode rays. When that has been done, -it doesn't seem altogether impossible to change their motion in another -way, by accelerating or reversing it." - -"But there's another thing, Lantin," I said; "even though you achieved -the impossible and found a way of time-traveling, how would you find -Cannell? How could you find him, without knowing what age or what place -the Raider has taken him to? It seems like hunting for a needle in a -haystack, a thousand times magnified in difficulty." - -Without answering, Lantin went to a cabinet and brought forth a big -globe, which he placed on the table before me. "I have a theory on -that, too," he said. "Note the lines I've drawn on this globe," he -added, indicating some long black pencil-lines that had been drawn on -the round surface in the region of the Pacific Ocean. - -"Cannell was seized at Angkor, as we know, and he was dropped in the -open Pacific at a point a few hundred miles east of Manila. I have -marked that point with a dot here, for Cannell learned the latitude -and longitude of the spot and jotted it down. Now is it not reasonable -to suppose that when the Raider dropped Cannell, through the pain or -surprize of his shot, it was progressing in a straight line toward -its own base, or home, or lair? Of course, it was moving through time -also, but in space it was probably heading straight toward its home. So -if we draw a straight line from Angkor to this dot, on the globe, and -then continue that line straight across the globe, it's reasonable to -assume that somewhere along that continued line is the Raider's home. - -"Now, you heard Cannell say that when the thing came to the ship -and fled away with the two sailors it seized, it was heading due -north when it vanished from sight. So from this dot west of Panama, -representing the ship's position, I have drawn another line straight -north. You see, the same reasoning applies here, for the thing would -again head straight toward its lair with its victims. The two lines -cross each other, as you see, in southern Illinois. And if my theory is -correct, somewhere near that point of crossing is the Raider's home, -though in what age I do not know. So if one could find the secret of -time-traveling, and speed into the future, hovering near that spot, -there is a chance that you would find the Raider--and his victims. It -is a long chance, of course, but the only one." - -I was silent, pondering the things he had said. But I felt the question -in his eyes, and sensed his appeal before he voiced it. - -"And you, Wheeler, will you help me? Together we can do this, can find -this secret of time-traveling and go after Cannell, follow him as he -cried for me to do. I know that he was not your close friend, as he was -mine, but I am asking you to help, nevertheless, for you are the only -one I can go to for aid. Who would credit the thing we saw, if I told -it? But you saw, and you know, you understand. And if we could work on -this together--" - -Without replying, I stepped to the window and looked out, inwardly -struggling for an answer. While we talked, night had fallen, and again -the brilliant lights of the city had blossomed, like burgeoning flowers -of flame. A day had passed since we had seen Cannell seized, from this -same window. Just twenty-four hours! - -I must have spoken my thought aloud, for Lantin, who had come up and -was standing beside me, repeated it. "Just twenty-four hours--to us, -Wheeler. But how long to Cannell, I wonder? Where is he tonight, do -you think; what thousands, what tens of thousands of years ahead? And -wondering if we will come after him, if we will save him--" - -He stopped, but the thought persisted. Where _was_ Cannell, now? Caught -in some web of utter evil, far in the future, some unholy lair of that -hellish thing, the Raider? I remembered the fear on Cannell's face, the -fear in my own heart when the Raider had flashed down on us. Could I -venture against such a creature, even though we found the way to cross -time? Would I dare to pit myself against a being like that? - -There at the window I battled my own fear, and when I finally turned, -it was to extend my hand to Lantin. - -"I'm with you," I told him shortly; "if we can discover the secret of -the Raider's power, we'll follow Cannell--into time!" - - - - - _CHAPTER 5_ - - THE BUILDING OF THE TIME-CAR - - -It is not my intention to relate here the details of the work that -occupied our attention in the following weeks. It has been dealt -with at length in two technical treatises by Lantin and myself. The -theoretical side of our work has been very fully discussed in those -two books, but the concrete details are purposely slurred over. The -most valuable part of our achievement, the time-wave itself, is hardly -mentioned in them. - -There is a reason for this, and that reason is the firm intention of -Dr. Lantin and myself not to impart any information that would enable -anyone to duplicate our own experiment. Thus it is of necessity that -parts of this present record are vague and indefinite. - -I may say, though, unquestionably, that without the notes that were -left us by Cannell, we could never have achieved the success we did -achieve. Those notes, brief and unsatisfactory as they were, were -yet enough to set our feet on the right path, in our quest of the -time-traveling secret. To us, then, the problem was one of accelerating -electronic activity, and all our experiments were directed toward that -goal. - -Fortunately, Lantin had virtually a free hand at the Foundation, and we -were able to use the matchless resources of its great laboratories to -further our quest. Working constantly together and maintaining complete -secrecy regarding the object of our experiments, we sought for some -force capable of controlling the movement and speed of electrons, at -will. - -The weeks dragged by, and we seemed no nearer success than ever. And at -the Foundation, some curiosity was being evinced regarding our work, -which ill-fitted with our desires. We had made trial of every form -of vibration, it seemed, and all without success, for none affected -the electronic movement in the way we wished. In the end, it was by a -combination of electro-magnetic waves and light rays that we finally -achieved success. - -I say "we," but it was Lantin's triumph. He had the inspiration to -combine high-frequency Hertzian vibrations and light-rays, merging the -two dissimilar vibrations into a single wave, which we called "the -time wave" and which had power to affect the very electronic structure -of matter, all electronic movement within its radius being stimulated -and accelerated by it. And with it, we proved the correctness of -Cannell's theory, for when we turned the wave upon small objects on -the laboratory table, they vanished, reappearing a few seconds later, -having been driven into the future for those few seconds by the force -of the time-wave. - -By reversing the action of the wave, the electronic movement was -reversed also, and thus the basis of our needs was found and we had a -force that could sweep all things in its radius into past or future at -will. Then it was that Lantin began to speak of a car, a car containing -a time-wave projector powerful enough to convey the car and all its -occupants into past or future. It was vitally necessary, he thought, -that such a car should be able to move in space, as well as time, and -to acquire this power we had recourse to a discovery accidentally made -in the course of our experiments. - -In our efforts to change the movement of electrons, we had found that -when a stream of them was shot out in a concentrated ray, in any one -direction, it produced an invisible but powerful repulsion. It was -on this fact that Lantin relied to move our car in space, directing -electron-streams toward the ground to raise and hold us in space, and -directing other rays obliquely down toward earth, to move the car from -side to side in any direction. - -The work went on. Six weeks after the seizure of Cannell, our car was -nearing completion, and a strange-appearing vehicle it was. It was a -short, thick cylinder of steel, tapering to a point at each end, its -greatest diameter some five feet and with a total length of fifteen, -from point to point. Windows of heavy glass were set at regular -intervals along its length, and entrance into the car's interior was -through a circular door or manhole in its upper surface, the car being -quite air-tight when this was closed. - -Inside, the cylinder's bottom was flat-decked and covered with -upholstery, since the small diameter of the cylinder made it necessary -for us to either sit or lie on that floor, when operating the car. The -time-wave apparatus, covered by a metal shield, was placed in the fore -end of the cylinder, with the mechanism that produced the repulsion ray -beside it. A small, square switch-board held the centered controls of -both these. - -In the back end of the car was an oxygen-producing apparatus, which -gave us independence of outside air for some hours, though normally our -car was intended to be ventilated from the outside. A small heater held -place beside this, and it was our intention to place what equipment we -took with us in that end of the car. - -Complete, the car weighed several thousand pounds. We had kept to -secrecy in the making of it, having the main shell and other parts of -it made for us by different firms, and assembling them in a room of -Lantin's apartment. The actuating mechanisms we installed ourselves, -and finally the car lay complete on the roof of the building, secured -from prying eyes or hands by a padlocked cover of heavy wood. - -One trial we made of the car's abilities, testing its power to move in -space. Waiting until darkness concealed our trial, we entered the car -and rose easily some five hundred feet above the city, the heavy car -easily upheld and moved by the powerful repulsion rays. Then, circling -once or twice, Lantin pointed the car east and opened up the power. A -whistling gale rose outside as we rocketed across the Atlantic with -tremendous speed, attaining a velocity of almost five hundred miles an -hour, speeding through the atmosphere like a pointed bullet. We made no -trial of the time-wave apparatus, postponing that until our real start, -and returned to the roof of Lantin's apartment building without being -sighted. - -In a few days after that test flight, we had gathered our outfit and -placed it in the car. Besides a complete but very compact camping -outfit, we carried compressed foods that would be sufficient for a -long period to keep us from starving. Our weapons were two high-power -repeating rifles, with ample ammunition. Besides the rifles, we each -carried a heavy automatic in a belt-holster. - -Our last preparation was to stow away in the car apparatus with -which it would be possible to construct a duplicate of the time-wave -mechanism of the car. We intended taking no chance of being stranded in -some age of the future. - -Every detail of the car's working mechanism was given a final test -and found satisfactory, a leave of absence from the Foundation was -asked for and granted, and so, at last, two months after the seizure -of Cannell, our preparations were completed and we stood on the very -threshold of our unparalleled adventure. - - - - - _CHAPTER 6_ - - INTO THE FUTURE - - -"Zero hour, Wheeler," said Lantin, who stood in the car itself, his -head projecting through the round manhole in its upper side. Our -strange vehicle lay ready for its flight into the future, on the -apartment building's roof, for this was the night we had chosen for our -departure. - -I paused at the roof's edge to glance for a last time at the ever-new -panorama of the metropolis around us. Though moonless, the sky above -was brilliant, flecked with blazing stars, but even these were dimmed -by the great up-gush of white light from the city's streets. A soft -little breeze fanned my face as I looked out. Down in the bay, there -was a great hooting of tugs as a big liner went out to sea. And in the -river, a battleship's great search-lights stabbed and circled. - -I turned away, reluctantly enough, and followed Lantin into the car. -Crouched on the padded floor, in a half-sitting, half-lying position, -he was already giving the car's machinery a last inspection, and at his -command I clanged shut the round metal door that sealed the entrance. I -then took up a position on the floor beside him. - -His hands were moving over the gleaming controlling switches, -searching, pulling, twisting. Abruptly something clicked under his -fingers and the car rose smoothly in the air some fifty feet above the -roof and hung motionless. There was a curious little humming now, that -seemed to come from the floor beneath us, caused, as I knew, by the -invisible streams of electronic force that lifted and held us. - -Under the pressure of a little wind, the car drifted a short distance -sidewise, and now hung directly over the streets. I glanced down -through the dead-light in the floor of the car, and saw that from the -height we had already attained, autos and pedestrians were but tiny -specks moving in the blurred glare of the street-lights. - -Without turning, Lantin spoke. "We'd better try the power of the -time-wave," he said, "before going any distance in space." - -I nodded, and again his hands moved over the car's intricate controls. -He turned a large knob, and a rising, purring whine filled the car, -while outside there was a growing roar of sudden wind. At the same time -there came to me a staggering sensation of falling, and for a moment -I seemed to be plunging helplessly down into unfathomable abysses. It -lasted but an instant, and when my mind cleared, I heard the winds -outside the car shouting with higher and higher intensity, caused, as -I knew, by our swift passage through time. - -I looked down into the streets below, and for a second could see no -obvious changes, then noted that the autos and people seemed to have -suddenly vanished. In place of them were misty blurs of undefined -motion, and even these vanished as our progress on through time grew -greater. The winking electric signs of the city had ceased to flash on -and off, and appeared to be steadily illuminated. - -I looked up, through one of the glasses in the car's top surface, and -then gasped, prepared as I was for what I saw. The whole firmament was -moving, its starry hosts moving slowly but visibly toward the west. -Steadily it turned, and in hardly more than a minute a gray light began -to grow over the eastern horizon, flushing swiftly to rose. Then, from -the center of the growing light, sprang up the sun, crimson and mighty, -leaping up above the horizon in a single bound, it seemed, and moving -swiftly, ever more swiftly, up toward the zenith. - -The winds had steadily risen to a cyclonic gale, and now I heard -Lantin's voice, striving to make itself heard above them. - -"We're going through time all right," he shouted, his voice thin and -piping in sound, above the roar of the gale. "We may as well head west -now, too." - -I did not answer, but saw the buildings and streets below slide away to -the east, as the car moved off in the opposite direction. By now the -sun had traversed its whole circuit in the sky and was tumbling down -behind the western heights. Before we had crossed above the Hudson, -darkness had plunged down upon us, and as we rocketed over the Jersey -meadows, I saw the stars again wheeling across the sky, but much faster -than before. Our time-speed was steadily accelerating, now, as Lantin -turned on more and more of the time-wave's power, and I knew that -shortly we would be racing through the years with lightning speed. - -Again the cycle of darkness and dawn was repeated, with the sun -hurtling across the sky faster and faster, while the winds of our -double progress through time and space were deafening. Day and night -followed each other so rapidly that I could obtain but vague glimpses -of the ground below us. We were progressing through space at the rate -of a hundred and fifty miles an hour, holding an even altitude of a -mile above the earth's surface. - -Soon day and night had merged, had given way to a perpetual greenish -dusk through which we raced with nightmare speed. I glanced at the -dials that recorded our progress and position in time, and noted that -already we had gone ahead almost four months into the future, while -our progress was now doubling every few minutes. Passing over northern -Pennsylvania, I saw the ground below turning to a blotched, patchy -gray, the composite impression of weeks of snow and ice, below. The -gray soon faded, changed to green, with the coming of spring. The -cycle of green and white was repeated, again and again, until we were -speeding through the years too swiftly to see it, and white and green -had merged into a drab color that hung over all the landscape below. - -By the time we passed over western Ohio, our car was racing into the -future with a speed of nearly ten years a minute. At this speed, we saw -little of human activities below. There were blurred, vague outlines of -cities now and then, but these were only hazy, indefinite masses that -passed from view as we fled on westward in the car. - -Soon, though, Lantin slowed the car's progress through space and began -to give close attention to the physical features of the country below -us. He consulted maps constantly, now, and finally, after a number of -stops and starts, brought the car to rest, in space, above the juncture -of two small rivers. Hanging there, we still sped on through time, -and above the winds Lantin shouted, "Stop there," pointing to the -maps he held and then down toward the ground below. I understood his -meaning, and knew that he had reached the spot in Illinois which he had -calculated to be the Raider's home. - -Intently we scanned the ground beneath the car. Gray and splotchy as it -appeared, from alternate summer and winter, yet there were nowhere any -buildings or signs of life, nothing but the two little rivers and the -rolling fields that extended away to the horizon. - -A glance at the dials told me that we had progressed through time some -twelve thousand years, since our start. I heard Lantin utter a low -exclamation, and looked up to see him gazing intently toward the north, -through one of the side windows. Moving over beside him, I looked also, -and saw, away on the distant northern horizon, a speck of gleaming -white. We were still racing on through time, and as we watched, that -white spot spread, expanded, grew to a thick line of dazzling white -that lay across all the north horizon. - -The white expanse grew still, coming nearer and nearer toward us, -rolling slowly south and covering all the country it passed over with a -blanket of whiteness. It came nearer toward us, moving with very slow -speed, considering the rapidity of our progress in time. Now, above the -shrill winds around us, there came the dull, grinding roar of the white -blanket's passage. South rolled the gleaming sheet, until it had almost -reached the ground directly beneath the car. I recognized, now, the -material of that gleaming expanse. - -"Ice!" I shouted in Lantin's ear, and he started, glanced down toward -it, then nodded. A moment he studied the grinding wave below, then -leaned over and shouted a single word in my ear: - -"Glacier!" - -The word was like a blinding flood of light on my thoughts. A glacier! -And that was the meaning of this white tide from the north, this vast, -resistless flood of ice that was rolling south over the world as it -had rolled ages before. The mightiest force on earth, and the slowest, -moving with deliberate, unswerving steadiness, calm and majestic, -carving mountains and valleys, changing the very face of the earth. It -had swept down over the earth before, had forced primeval man down to -the very equator before it receded, and now the thing was re-enacting -itself before my eyes. Fascinated, I watched the white masses forging -south. - - * * * * * - -While we hung high above it, the gleaming, solid flood rolled on -until it had obscured the last speck of land on the southern horizon, -so that as far as we could see stretched nothing but the glistening -fields of ice. The air in the car had become suddenly bitter cold, and -as frost and rime began to congeal on the windows, I hastened over to -the heating apparatus and switched it on. The glasses cleared soon, -and we sped on into the future, but the white expanse below us seemed -changeless. - -I plucked at Lantin's sleeve, and when he turned, shouted to him, "Go -back?", pointing to the gleaming frozen masses below. - -"No!" he yelled, over the roar of the gale; "I'm going to circle a bit." - -With the words, he snapped off the time-wave, and we came to a rest, in -time. The dials now registered a little over fifteen thousand years, -and with our stopping, the winds outside the car died away and we had -a chance to converse in normal tones. - -"Nothing but ice here," said Lantin, "and we can't tell how long it -will last. I think the best plan would be to sweep around in a great -circle, and look for any signs of the Raider's presence. If we see -nothing we can go on into time and stop every few hundred years to -circle again." - -I agreed, and we put the idea into effect at once, rising to a height -of nearly two miles and then racing away to the west in a curving -course that would eventually bring us back to our starting point. As -we sped on, both Lantin and myself were at the observation windows, -scanning the landscape in every direction, but only boundless fields of -ice met our eyes. - -We reached a point some two hundred miles north of our starting -position, and had begun to curve back toward that position, when Lantin -uttered a sudden exclamation and hastily stopped the car's progress. - -"Look!" he cried, excitedly, pointing away to the north. - -At first I could see only the glaring ice, when I gazed in that -direction, but gradually my eyes made out a distant spot of black -against the horizon. Before I could comment on it, Lantin headed the -car around and opened up on the power so that we shot north toward that -distant spot with full speed. - -On we went, until the spot had changed to a thick line, and its color -from black to green. And as we neared it, we saw that there the ice -ended, and beyond it were green fields and hills and valleys, with -patches of gnarled, stunted trees here and there. - -On we fled, still north, until the ice-fields had faded from view -behind us, and the chilling cold we had felt above them had given -way to a summer warmth. And the first dwarfed trees had changed to -towering giants of the forest, though mostly the country below us was -open fields and ranges of green-clad hills. - -"I can't understand it," I told Lantin. "Who ever heard of a warm, -semi-tropical country like this existing farther north than fields of -glacial ice?" - -"It is strange," he admitted, "but it's understandable, at that. You -remember the explorer who found that warm, sunken valley in Alaska, -somewhere? It was heated by steam, literally, for the interior fires -of the earth had in some way bulged up near the surface of the ground, -there, and their heat acting on the valley's springs and rivers made it -a great steam-heated depression of almost tropical warmth. Probably the -same thing has happened here, a shift of the earth's interior forcing -up part of its inner molten core, the heat of which would counteract -the glacier and keep it from covering this section of the country. -Strange things happen under the earth's surface, Wheeler." - -"You may be right," I said, "but there's no life here, Lantin. No--" -I broke off, suddenly, staring out of the car's western windows. The -western sky was glowing, for it was near to sunset, and there, far -away, standing out black against the brilliant sky, was a city. - -It was a city of enchantment, seen from our car. The jagged, serrated -outline of its buildings loomed blackly against the glowing light, -like the skyline of New York at the same hour. The buildings were all -square and solid in appearance, and at the center of them there rose -one building that towered far above the others, to a mighty height, -its straight, perpendicular sides and flat roof standing up above the -others, frowningly, brutally dominating them. - -There was a gasp at my side, and I turned to see that Lantin was also -gazing at the outline of the distant city. He had brought the car to -rest, and together we looked away toward that metropolis of the future. - -"We must go there," I said rapidly. "Spy out the place from a distance, -learn what we can about it. Do you think that it is the home of the -Raider?" - -"It may be," he said, "but we must be careful, Wheeler. It wouldn't do -to enter that place blindly, not knowing what manner of people inhabit -it. Nor can we risk having the car destroyed or taken from us, as it's -our only way to get back to our own time. The best plan would be to -hide the car some distance from the city, and then go nearer on foot, -learning as much as we can about the place before venturing inside." - -And so we decided. Starting the car again, we sped along low over the -ground, and finally, some five miles away from the city, came across a -little range of rugged hills which appeared quite wild and uninhabited, -like all the rest of the country we had traversed so far. On the slope -of one of these hills was a little, shelflike clearing, patched with -small trees, and we selected this for our hiding place, bringing the -car gently down to rest on the ground there. - -We stepped out, cramped and stiff from our hours in the car, and then -proceeded at once to hide it, breaking off big branches from the trees -around us and planting them in the ground in such fashion that any -casual passer-by would never have suspected the car's existence. When -it was concealed to Lantin's satisfaction, we made a hasty meal from -the food brought with us, and then prepared for our trip toward the -city. - -The rifles we left in the car, as they were too heavy and cumbersome to -carry through the thick underbrush that lined the slopes around us, but -we looked to the pistols in our belts, which were of almost as heavy a -caliber as the rifles. Then, with a last look at the car, we made our -way down the slope to the bottom of the little valley which was formed -by two low ranges of hills, on one of the slopes of which our car lay -hidden. - -We followed this valley north for some distance, the hills on each side -leveling down to mere dunes as we approached its ends. A thick little -wood lay directly across the end of it, and through this we forced our -way, as quietly as possible. It gradually grew thinner, and then with a -sudden shock we emerged from it into open fields. - -Instinctively, we looked first toward the west. The sun was -setting, now, and we saw that the city was not of wide extent, not -extraordinarily large, but that the buildings that made it up were -very large and were closely grouped together. And above them all rose -the titanic central pile, an edifice that we judged to be all of two -thousand feet in height, and half that in width. - -Behind us there was a sudden yelping shout, and we turned quickly and -then shrank back. Across the open fields toward us was running a group -of men, a score or more in number, men in brazen armor and helmets, -who carried spears and swords and who were bearing down on us with -their lances outstretched toward us. Their eyes were gleaming, and they -uttered wolflike shouts as they came on. - -Flight was impossible, so close were they, so I jerked forth the pistol -in my belt and fired hastily at the oncoming men. Too hastily, in fact, -for the shot went wild and the mechanism of the pistol jammed before -I could fire again. Lantin's pistol barked behind me, and one of the -men in front staggered and went down, with a neat hole drilled through -his armor, but the rest never hesitated, and before Lantin could fire -again, they were upon us. - - - - - _CHAPTER 7_ - - THE CITY OF CYLINDERS - - -I had a confused vision of bronzed, black-bearded faces leaping toward -me, and I know that I struck out with my pistol-butt at these, but the -weapon was knocked from my grasp by a blow on the wrist, my hands were -seized from behind and pinioned, and I waited for the spear-thrust that -I expected. - -It did not come. Those who held me turned to one who was evidently -their leader, a tall man with armor more rich than that of the others, -who carried no spear. They spoke to him, in a tongue strange to my -ears, evidently asking questions concerning our disposal. This leader -came nearer and inspected me, felt my muscles for a moment, then -snapped out a brief order. He made similar inspection of Lantin, gave -another order, and then the men behind me pushed me forward, toward -the city in the west, a prod from a spear-handle emphasizing their -commands. Lantin was similarly treated, walking beside me, but when I -attempted to speak to him, another prod from behind warned me that no -conversation between us was allowed. - -So we marched on toward the city, our captors talking and jesting in -their own language. Twilight was descending on the land, now, darkening -quickly, and as we drew nearer toward the city, lights flared out -here and there on its heights, steady and brilliant lights of red and -yellow. And high above all these shone a single flashing beam of vivid -purple, which I knew must be placed on the top of the big building we -had seen from a distance. - -We struck a road, smooth and wide and hard-surfaced, and marched along -it. In the broad fields on either side of this road were what appeared -to be great machines of some sort, that seemed to be rooting in the -ground, with a panting, throbbing sound, but I could see these only -dimly in the thickening dusk. And, too, we began to pass other men like -those who had captured us, bronzed, bearded men in the same armor, -who looked at us curiously and called out jests and greetings to our -captors. - -Buildings began to line the road, and I saw that all of these were of -the same design, all being in the form of an erect cylinder, quite -windowless and unbroken of surface, except for a single open entrance -in their lower part. They were of white stone, I thought, glimmering -faintly in the twilight, and were of many differing sizes, but whatever -the size, all that we saw were of the same shape and proportions, that -of a thick cylinder, standing erect. - -Out of the doorways of these buildings streamed ruddy light, and now -and then we passed one from which came shouting or laughter. More -and more of the armored men met and passed us. And there were other -men, not in armor, men black and brown and white and yellow, who were -clad in a single robe of white cloth and who walked stiffly, like -automatons. I shuddered as one of them brushed against me in passing, -for he had come near enough for me to glimpse his face, and it was -utterly repellent in the blankness of its expression. The eyes held no -intelligence at all, staring straight ahead or turning mechanically -from side to side, while the stiff movements, the rigid carriage of the -body and the obliviousness to all around them made these men seem more -dead than alive. All, or nearly all, were carrying tools or vessels of -some sort, and it was easy to see that they were slaves. - -I noticed now, scattered here and there among the buildings, little -towers of metal on the top of which were placed globes of a gleaming -material like glass. The towers were found at even intervals along the -road, and each one could not have been less than thirty feet in height, -much like a miniature Eiffel Tower, while the shining globe on top of -each must have been five feet in diameter. Awhile I puzzled over their -nature and purpose, but forgot even these in the wonder of the city we -were now entering. - -There was no wall or definite dividing line between the city and the -suburbs around it. As we went on, the buildings grew thicker, larger, -and the road became a street, a wide street that led directly toward -the looming central pile, which I now saw was of the same cylindrical -shape as all of the other buildings here. The white cylindrical -buildings now were set farther back from the road, or street, and were -very much closer to each other. - -Overhead, aircraft were buzzing to and fro, flickering swiftly across -the sky. They seemed to rise from and alight on the roofs of the -cylindrical buildings, so that I could not glimpse their occupants. - -There were throngs passing us in the street now, without attention, -crowds of the armored guards and the white-robed slaves. The street -itself was illuminated by glowing bulbs, set on top of metal pillars -along the way, which emitted a ruddy, pulsating light. It was the same -ruddy light that streamed out of the entrances of the buildings we -passed, but how it was produced I could not conjecture. - - * * * * * - -My mind swung sharply back to my own predicament, when our captors -suddenly halted in the street before a large building that was set some -distance back from the street, in a smooth expanse of green lawn. A -brief order was given and two of the guards seized me by my shoulders -and hustled me toward the building I have spoken of, while the rest -marched on down the street toward the gigantic central edifice, taking -Lantin with them. I saw him looking back as he went, and would have -given much to have been able to call out to him, but my guards gave me -no chance to do so, pushing me ahead of them toward the building in -front of us. - -A high-arched entrance cut into the curving wall of the building, which -was one of the largest I had yet noted. Through this open door led a -broad flight of low steps, but my guards did not enter that way, taking -me some distance around the building's side to a smaller door that was -set in the wall close to the ground. Pushed ahead of them, I stumbled -inside and found myself in a long, smooth-walled corridor, down which -we went. - -There were closed doors here and there along the hall's length, and in -front of the last one lounged three or four of the guards, who looked -up incuriously as we approached. My captors spoke a few words to these, -who nodded, and unlocked the door they guarded. A rough shove sent me -staggering through the door, and as I pitched forward on my face, I -heard it clang shut behind me. - -I rose to my feet and looked around. The room itself was quite -unremarkable, about twenty feet square, walled with smooth stone, and -windowless, being lit by several of the ruddy-glowing bulbs that were -set in the ceiling. But the score or more of men who were in the room, -and who had started up at my sudden entrance, were of intense interest -to me. - -Sinking down onto a bench against the wall, I regarded them. They were -extraordinary in appearance and expression. All were dressed in ragged -and torn costumes of cloth, save for one hulking fellow who wore a -tunic of tanned skins. I was surprized to see that all of them carried -sword or dagger at their belts, and some big battle-axes. Brown-skinned -and white-skinned, with one or two blacks, they were a fierce-faced -company, and after scrutinizing me for a second, went on pacing back -and forth across the room, for all the world like a den of caged -tigers. They spoke little, and glared as they passed one another. - -While I stared at them, one of their number came up and seated himself -beside me. He was a slender, dark-haired young man, dressed in a ragged -coat of bottle-green trimmed in silver, with very tight knee-breeches -of the same material. Like the rest, he was hatless, and carried at his -belt a long, slender rapier. He caught my glance at his garments, and -smiled in so winning a fashion that I smiled back, involuntarily. Then -a wave of sudden warmth surged through me, for he spoke in English. - -"Burn me," he drawled, in a soft, languid voice, "I don't blame you for -eyeing my clothes, but then, y'see, the tailors here are cursed poor." - -I leaned toward him, eagerly. "You speak English!" I cried. "Then -how did you get here? What is this place, this city? And what are we -brought here for?" - -At my rush of questions he drew back a little, frowning in a puzzled -manner. "What are we brought here for?" he repeated. "Why, man, you -know as well as I do, why we're here." - -"Not I!" I said, and his frown deepened, as he doubtfully considered me. - -"But you're from the pit," he said, "the same as the rest of us," and -he waved a hand toward the others in the room. - -"The pit!" I repeated, puzzled, and he must have seen from my -expression that I did not understand him. An odd, calculating -light leaped into his eyes. "You are not of the guards," he said, -half-musingly, "and you say you are not of the pit. But if you came -from outside--" - -"I was captured," I told him, "outside the city, and brought here. But -why?" - -"You're here to fight," he said, shortly, and I started. - -"Fight! With whom?" - -"Why, with these," he answered, indicating again the score of men in -the room. "This is--" - -Before he could finish the sentence, there was a sudden clanging of -metal and the door of the room swung open. A guard stepped in and -gave brief orders in his own tongue. At once the men around me began -to file out of the room, into the corridor. As I passed out, beside -my new-found friend, I saw that in the hall a heavy force of the -guards awaited us, some fifty men being ranged along its length. We -passed together down the corridor's length, but instead of leaving -the building by the door I had entered, we turned to the right and -proceeded up a long flight of steps, the guards following and -preceding us, in two separate companies. - -As we went up those steps, I turned to my companion and asked him, "You -are English, aren't you?" - -He nodded, and made a graceful half-bow. "Viscount Charles Denham, at -your service," he said in a low voice, "captain in the armies of his -Majesty, King George the Third." - -The words were like a thunderclap in my ears. A soldier of King George -the Third? A man of a hundred and fifty years before my own time? And -here, fifteen thousand years in the future, in this strange city! And -these other prisoners, these strange, ragged figures! - -But before I could collect my dazed thoughts, our company was marching -up the last few steps. Over the shoulders of those in front of me I -saw the walls of a great room, and the crimson light of the glowing -bulbs that illuminated it. There was a sound of crystal music, and -laughter--a high, ringing laughter that was very different from the -coarse mirth of the guards. Then we were surmounting the very last -steps, marching up and over them.... - -[Illustration: "Held in its shapeless form were men, who hung helpless -in its grasp."] - - - - - _CHAPTER 8_ - - THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY - - -A harsh order from the guards ahead halted us, and I had time to -survey the room in which we stood. It was a circular room, at the edge -of which we were grouped. From where we stood, the walls swept away -in a great curve on either side, meeting directly opposite us, as it -seemed, some ninety feet away. The floor of the room was of smooth, -black stone, resembling marble, while the curving walls were of the -same white material as the building's exterior. A hundred feet above -the floor was a ceiling of white, and I saw at a glance that this one -great hall occupied the whole lower half of the cylindrical building's -interior, the upper half, no doubt, being divided into smaller -apartments. Set in walls and ceiling were many of the glowing bulbs, -and from these a cascade of ruddy light poured down on the people in -the room. - -There must have been nearly a hundred of these people, men and women. -They lay on couches along the room's edge, with long, curving tables of -green metal before them, like the banquet halls of the ancient Romans. -A shock went through me as I looked at the feasters, for they were -unlike any of the people I had seen as I entered the city. These people -were all tall and perfectly proportioned, and all were golden-haired, -men and women alike. They were attired in short robes or tunics of -brilliantly colored silks, and some wore circlets of flashing gems. - -With a sudden shock it came to me that these were the first women I had -seen in all this city, for there had been none among the guards and -slaves outside. But before I could ponder this fact, it was swept from -my mind by my wonder at the other things in the room. - -The feasters, I saw, were engaged in drinking from transparent goblets -which held brightly colored liquids. I could see no solid food of any -kind on the tables, but there were many urns and flagons and amphoræ -filled with the bright fluids. Long lines of the white-robed, stiffly -marching slaves passed and repassed behind the couches of the feasters, -with metal trays holding other glass and metal vessels, which they -placed on the tables. - -Two other things I noted before my brief survey of the place was -interrupted. One was that among the laughing, shouting people at the -tables there was not one face that would not be called beautiful. All -seemed youthful, with the beauty of youth, and its high spirits, yet -an impression of evil came to me as I watched them. I sensed, beneath -their jesting and laughing, a cold, indolent _heartlessness_. - -The other thing I noted was the source of the crystalline music. Across -the room from me, in an alcove, were the musicians, slaves who operated -an intricate instrument which allowed water to fall on thin plates of -metal, in single drops or streamlets, producing a tumultuous chiming -like a storm of silver bells, wild and clear and sweet, and for all its -tempestuousness, oddly harmonious. - -My companions had been surveying the scene, like myself, but it was -evident from the expressions on their faces that it was not new to -them. I wondered for what purpose we had been brought there, and -remembering the Englishman's interrupted explanation, turned to speak -to him. But as I did so, came another interruption, and with it my -answer. - -One of the men at the tables rose and uttered a brief order, and at -once a great black slave strode across the room, seized a mace of -metal, and with it struck a tremendous blow on a hanging brazen gong. -At once the chatter and song at the tables stopped, and all eyes were -turned toward ourselves. I felt their gaze sweeping over us, and -involuntarily shuddered. Then, beside us, the captain of the guards -barked out an order, that sounded across the silence like a whiplash. -And at once two of the men who stood beside me strode out to the center -of the room, to the wide, clear floor there, and stood facing each -other. - -There was a rippling whisper through the spectators at the tables, a -murmur of pleasurable excitement. Without heeding it, the two men at -the room's center inspected each other with fierce eyes. - -One of the two was a proud, dark-faced figure, high-nosed and -gleaming-eyed, dressed in torn, flowing robe and with a tightly -twisted turban on his head. He jerked from his belt a long, curved -scimitar and whirled it above his head, giving vent to a ragged, -high-pitched yell of defiance. An Arab, I thought, maybe one of the -very hordes that had carried the green banner of the Prophet over three -continents like a whirlwind. He was a fierce enough spectacle, as he -shook his gleaming blade aloft, but his opponent was a fit one, a -gigantic Northman in leathern jerkin, whose blue eyes gleamed as he too -sprang forward, brandishing aloft a great ax in one hand, and carrying -a small, circular shield in the other. - -With weapons upraised, the two cautiously neared each other, circling -like wary tigers, searching for an opening. I turned away, and saw that -the feasters were wholly intent now on the two opponents, and in that -moment I understood the meaning of the Englishman in saying that we -had been brought here to fight. For it was so, and all in our ragged, -fierce group would no doubt be forced to fight and slay one another -to amuse the indolent spectators at the tables, as the gladiators of -ancient Rome had struck each other down in the great games. And what of -myself? - -There was a sudden great shout from the tables, and I turned my -attention back to the struggle at the center of the floor. The Arab's -blade had darted past his opponent's shield and had wounded the latter -in the shoulder with a flashing down-stroke. But the leather-clad giant -was not beaten. Though blood was streaming down from his shoulder now, -he said no word, only lifted his shield higher and circled around the -other, with ax still poised ready to strike. The tense silence had been -broken by that first shout and now those at the tables were calling out -to the two fighters, warnings and advice, I supposed, and were laying -wagers on the result of the fight. - -Suddenly the Arab again darted in, and again his blade slashed the -other's arm, but as he stepped swiftly back, his foot slipped on the -blood that smeared the smooth floor, and he staggered for a moment, -striving to regain his balance. In an instant the uplifted ax crashed -down through his skull and he fell like a dropped weight, his own -spouting arteries adding to the red stains on the floor. The other -stepped back, panting, and a great shout of applause crashed out from -the spectators at the tables. The Northman rejoined our group, slaves -rushed out and cleared the floor, and at a command, two more of our -number rushed onto the floor and faced each other with drawn swords. - -The circling and darting of the former duel was repeated, and in a few -minutes one of the two lay dead and the other was limping back to us, -bleeding. And another pair took their place. - -For the fifth combat, the young Englishman beside me was called onto -the floor, with a small Japanese in ancient, quilted armor as his -opponent. The Japanese was armed with two short, broad-bladed swords, -with which he chopped and slashed at his opponent, while Denham had -but his thin, fragile-looking rapier. Yet he evaded all the sweeps and -thrusts of his adversary's blades, and with a sudden lightning stab -of the needlelike rapier he ended the duel, unscathed. He came back -toward us, jauntily, unheedful of the great applause that followed his -feat. I gripped his hand warmly, for in the short time I had known him, -a sudden sympathy had sprung up between us, born of the fact of our -mutual race and language, in this strange city. - - * * * * * - -There were but few of us left now who had not already fought, and at -an order from the leader of the guards, one of these stepped out on -the floor, a lithe, snaky Italian, with beady black eyes and an evil -smile. The captain of the guard snapped out another order, looking at -me, but I could not understand and looked around helplessly. His face -flushed dark with anger, and he started wrathfully toward me, but the -Englishman intervened, with rapid explanations. - -"You are to fight Talerri," he said, indicating the Italian, and a wave -of icy cold swept over me for a moment, then receded. "Here, take my -sword," he continued, drawing and handing it to me, "and be fearful -of foul fighting. Talerri was one of Cæsar Borgia's bravos and is a -dangerous swordsman, full of treacherous tricks." - -Half dazed, I gripped the rapier's hilt and walked out to face the -Italian. "Good luck!" called Denham, behind me, but I did not look back. - -As I strode out to where the Italian awaited me, I dimly saw the -curving walls, the ruddy lights, and the white faces of those at the -tables, turned toward me. The whole scene misted before my eyes, then -cleared, and into my vision came the face of Talerri, who was regarding -me with a derisive smile. And the realization came to me, coldly and -clearly, that unless I killed my opponent, he would kill me. - -I raised the blade in my hand. I had been a skilful fencer in my days -at the university, but had not handled a foil for years. Yet the long, -slender rapier was much like a foil itself, and as I twirled it in my -grasp, some little confidence came to me. I glanced back momentarily, -and saw Denham smiling encouragingly at me. And now the Italian -advanced toward me, the same hateful smile passing over his face as he -saw me raise the rapier to meet him. - -At the first clash of our blades, I knew myself facing a master of -swordsmanship, one who was doubtless in constant practise. So I threw -all my efforts into staving off his first lightning rushes, though to -this day I wonder that I was able to do so. His point seemed to stab at -me simultaneously from a dozen different positions, and I parried more -by instinct than by design. As it was, his blade passed twice through -my shirt, so close was it. But after that first series of flashing -rushes, the Italian drew back for a moment and we circled warily. - -Again he came on, with a lightning feint at my heart. As my rapier -flashed down to foil the stroke, his own stabbed upward, in a straight -thrust intended to pierce through my left eye to the brain. It was a -stab that could not be parried, but instinctively I swerved my head -aside from that flashing point, and missing the eye, his blade grazed -along the left side of my forehead, sending a stream of blood trickling -down my cheek. At sight of that red stream, a shout of approval crashed -out from the tables. - -But now anger was rising in me, and ceasing to stand only on the -defensive, I thrust out savagely at my opponent. He gave back a little -under my unexpected attack, but suddenly I felt very tired, and knew -that the combat must end soon if it was to end in my favor. As I thrust -and parried there, the walls and lights and faces around me faded from -view, and replacing them came the long, sky-lighted gymnasium where I -had learned to fence. I seemed to hear the clicking foils and stamping -feet there, and the voice of our trim little instructor explaining the -most difficult of all thrusts, the time-thrust. Steadiness and accuracy -were the very foundations of that difficult play, I knew, and it would -be sheer madness for one as weary and rusty at sword-play as myself to -try it, but as we surged back and forth on the smooth floor, I decided -that it was my only chance, for the Italian was pressing me ever more -closely. - -Watching for a favorable opportunity, I dropped my guard for a single -instant, leaving my heart exposed. Instantly Talerri's blade darted in -like a striking serpent, his whole body behind that straight stab. My -own rapier was extended toward him, and in the split-second before his -point touched me, my own blade clicked gently against his, deflecting -it to one side where it passed harmlessly by me, while the momentum -of his leaping rush brought him right onto my outstretched rapier, -spitting him. I felt the blade rip through him as through a man of -sawdust, the hilt rapping against his ribs. I jerked it forth and he -choked, gasped, and fell to the floor dead. - -There was a shattering roar of applause from all around, and tired -and sickened, I stumbled back to the group of fellow captives at the -floor's edge, where Denham greeted me eagerly. While he congratulated -me on my victory, the others in the group looked at me with something -of respect on their fierce faces. - -Weary from the hours on the time-car, and half-nauseated by the -bloodshed I had seen and taken part in, I sank down onto a step and -watched without interest the remaining two combats. When these were -finished, another order was given and we were hurried back down the -stairs up which we had come. Conducting us down a different corridor, -the guards separated us, thrusting us in pairs into small cells along -the corridor. - -I had hoped to be placed in the same cell as Denham, for I wanted much -to speak further with him, but luck was against me and I was paired -off with the blond giant who had killed the Arab in the first combat. -A vicious shove sent us reeling into the little room, and behind me I -heard the thick metal door clang shut. - - - - - _CHAPTER 9_ - - PRISONED - - -For ten days I lay in that little cell, prisoned with the big -Northman. At my first inspection of the place, I saw that there was no -possibility of escape, for the walls were of smooth stone, and the only -opening in them was that of a two-inch pipe that served to ventilate -the cell. There was no window, as we think of it, yet the room was -light enough in the daytime, for as the sun rose, the side of the cell -facing on the building's outer wall became invisible, allowing plenty -of light to enter. This explained a fact that had puzzled me, the -absence of windows on the exteriors of the cylindrical buildings of the -city. Evidently the people of the city treated the outside walls of -their buildings in such a manner that in daylight they were invisible -from the inside, while perfectly opaque when viewed from without. - -I had other evidence of the scientific attainments of these people in -the food that was furnished us twice each day. That food was nothing -but a clear golden liquid, with a slight oily flavor but otherwise -tasteless. Yet I found that it contained all the food-elements -necessary for the human body, since in all my time in this strange city -I had no other food, and never felt need of any other. - -I found my cell-mate a dull enough companion. He was morose and fierce -in disposition, and very suspicious of me. I think that he considered -me a spy. I found that he knew a little English, a strange, archaic -English, but enough for us to carry on a broken conversation. To all my -eager questions, though, the fellow replied with a cold stare. By this -time I felt convinced that Lantin and I had found in this city the home -of the Raider, since the fact of Denham's presence and that of these -other men of many times and races admitted of no other explanation. -Yet when I asked the Norseman how he had come here, or if he had ever -seen the Raider, he kept to a gloomy silence, and I cursed my luck in -being confined with such a suspicious companion. - -One service, though, he did do for me, and that was to teach me the -strange language used by the guards and masters of the city around me. -That tongue, I learned, was the Kanlar tongue, while the bright-haired -master-race of the city were Kanlars. The language itself was not -hard to learn, and in the long hours I lay imprisoned I acquired -considerable facility in expressing myself in it. - -Sometimes, too, the Norseman would break his silence, and growing -excited with his own words, would tell me long, interminable stories of -the wild adventures he had taken part in, the shield-ringed ships that -he had sailed in, to leave fire and death along peaceful coasts, the -long list of men he had slaughtered. His cold eyes burned as he related -tales of butchery that appalled me, but when I ventured to interject -a single question he would regard me stonily and then relapse into -silence again. - -The days went by, and through the transparent wall I watched night give -way to dawn, dawn to noon, and noon to dusk and night. Much I thought -of Lantin in those days. I wondered what fate had been his in the -gigantic central building, whether he was alive or dead. Wondered, too, -if I would ever find that out, for it was evident that we were being -reserved for another gladiatorial battle, and I was not confident of -coming through again unscathed. - -One thing occurred, in those days of imprisonment, which still makes -me shudder, sometimes, at the memory of it. The transparent side of -our cell faced a smooth expanse of green lawn, with gardens beyond it, -and most of my time I spent lounging against it, looking out. Very -few people passed by there, now and then a few slaves, but scarcely -ever any of the Kanlar people. So on the eighth day of my confinement, -when I saw a slave approaching from a distance, I moved over to the -invisible wall and watched him. - -He was carrying a tool that looked much like a common garden-hoe, -and walked toward me with that stiff, rigid movement that marked the -white-robed slaves. He came closer, I glanced at his face, then reeled -back against the side of the cell. For it was Talerri! - -It was the Italian I had killed eight days before, garbed as a slave -and walking with the same inhuman, puppetlike motion that all these -strange servants used. He came closer toward me, so that I could see -his staring eyes, then, with an angular movement, he turned aside and -passed from view along the building's side. - -For hours I puzzled over it, rejecting with a certain panic fear the -one explanation that came to mind. I knew that I had killed the Italian -that night, for my sword had pierced clean through his heart. Yet here -he was, working as a slave for the Kanlars. And what of the other -slaves, then, these rigid, staring-eyed figures? Were they too--? - -For hours I speculated on the thing, but could find no rational -explanation for it, nor would the Norseman enlighten me. Finally I gave -it up as a mystery beyond me, and strove to banish it from my mind. - -Two more days dragged out, days that were like weeks to me. I felt that -I must soon go mad, if I were longer imprisoned. And then, sharply -ending the monotony of dreary hours, there came a summons, a summons -that in the end proved to be a call to an adventure utterly undreamed -of by Lantin or myself. - - - - - _CHAPTER 10_ - - THE TEMPLE OF THE RAIDER - - -All that day I had sensed a tense activity outside, and many times -there was the tramp of feet down the corridor outside our cell, as -companies of the guards came and went. As sunset came, I stood beside -the transparent wall and watched its brilliant colors fade from the sky. - -Overhead, now, the aircraft of the Kanlars were flickering continuously -past, all heading toward the giant cylinder that stood at the city's -center, and when I scrambled up a little higher against the wall, to -get a glimpse of the street, I saw that that street was crowded with -masses of the armored guards and the staring-eyed slaves, all pressing -on toward the same building. - -Darkness came, and the noise of activity outside died away, so that -it seemed that all the city around us was deserted, nor was there -any sound from the building above us. For all of two hours after the -darkness, we sat there, listening, waiting. Once I thought I heard a -distant ringing music, but decided that my ears had been deceived. -Then, abruptly, there was the stamp of sandals on the floor of the -corridor, and we heard the doors of the cells along it being opened. - -Our own was flung wide, as we rose, and I saw that a score of the -guards waited outside, their leader ordering us to come out, which we -were glad enough to do. Once in the corridor, I found Denham and the -others of the group I had met before, shackled to each other, wrist to -wrist, in a single file. The Northman and myself were fettered to the -end of the line, and then we set out, a long file of guards on each -side of us, marching us down the corridor and outside the building. - -The big street up which I had come before was utterly deserted, as we -turned into it. I looked back along its length, lit with the crimson -bulbs, a winding serpent of red light that stretched away out into -the country beyond the city, out to where our time-car lay hidden in -the hills. At the thought of it, so fierce a desire seized me to win -back to it, and my own time, that had I not been shackled I would have -made a break for freedom down the empty street. But as it was, I had -no choice, and followed the others in our fettered line down the wide -street toward the gigantic cylindrical building at its end. - -That great pile seemed to loom higher and higher as we drew near it. -Brilliant, winking lights along its sides outlined it against the gloom -of night, a huge, erect cylinder of smooth stone, its flat top all of -a thousand feet in width, and nearly a half-mile above the ground. -Obscured as the immense edifice was by the darkness, yet the vague -glimpses I got of its sky-flung walls staggered me. And we were being -marched directly toward it. - -A quarter-mile from the building, the flat street we followed ended, -changed to a wide, smooth ramp that led up toward the giant edifice -in a slight upward slant. We went up that ramp, the guards still on -either side, till we stood under the very shadow of the gigantic, -perpendicular walls, and now I saw that the ramp led up to and through -a wide, high-arched entrance cut in the building's side, much like the -entrance of the cylindrical building where I had been prisoned. - -We passed up and through that arched entrance, and were in a long -tunnel, similarly arched, and cut through solid, seamless stone. It was -a hundred feet in length, and as we passed on down its length it came -to me that this must be the thickness of the great building's sides. -The idea was too prodigious for speculation, even, and I shook it off, -peering ahead toward the tunnel's end, where a ruddy light flooding -down from above marked that end. - -A few moments, and we had reached the tunnel's mouth, and emerged from -it into the vast cylinder's interior. I swept one startled glance -around that interior, then felt myself staggering, reeling, falling. -The immensity of the place was soul-shaking, bearing down on me with a -weight that seemed physical, crushing my thoughts down into nothing but -dazed awe and terror. - -I had imagined the building's interior to be divided, partitioned into -apartments, but instead, the whole interior was one titanic room, -shaped by the outside walls and roof, its sides looming up, dimly and -vaguely, into a hazy darkness that hid their upper parts from view. -Along the sides were many of the light-emitting bulbs, but these -merely burned red holes in the dimness that surrounded the building's -interior, rather than illuminated it. - -Starting at the wall, and extending twenty feet out toward the center -of the room, the floor was of black stone, a flat, continuous ring -of smooth material that circled the whole room. Inside of this ring -was the real floor, a single, huge disk of burnished metal, smooth as -ice and as seamless, over nine hundred feet in diameter. And except -for ourselves, who stood on the black ring near the entrance, there -was nothing whatever on black circle or burnished floor, no people, -tables, altar, nothing but the immense expanse of smooth metal and the -comparatively thin black circle that surrounded it. - -I looked up, and saw for the first time the people of the city. Cut -in the thickness of the prodigious walls of the building were broad -balconies, one above the other, ringing the building's interior as far -up as I could see in the haze that hung above, and in these balconies -were the dwellers of the city, Kanlars, guards and slaves. The lowest -balcony, which was only a few feet above the floor, jutted forth in -a smaller square gallery, a little away from where I stood, and in -this projecting square sat three of the bright-haired Kanlars, the -oldest-appearing men I had yet seen among them, two garbed in long -robes of solid crimson while the other's garment was of deepest black. -They sat there calmly, looking away across the big floor toward the -great hall's other side. This lowest gallery, and the three directly -above it, were filled with the Kanlars, while in the unnumbered -galleries above these were the armored guards and the slaves. The only -entrance to these galleries that I could see was a single narrow, -winding stairway, a spiral stairway that began on the black circle of -stone near the wall and slanted up from balcony to balcony, circling -the building's sides several times as it spiraled up, and evidently -leading up to the very roof of the place. - -While I surveyed the scene, other ragged groups like our own had -entered, escorted by guards, until a considerable number of us had -been collected there near the entrance. Now one of the crimson-robed -figures who sat in the gallery that jutted out from the lowest balcony, -rose and uttered an order. My knowledge of the Kanlar language was too -rudimentary for me to understand him, but when he had finished and -resumed his seat, a delighted murmur swept over the massed crowds in -the balconies. - -Before I had time to speculate, the captain of the guards who watched -us snapped out brief orders, and immediately eight of our number ran -out of the center of the metal floor, where they at once drew their -weapons and faced each other, in four individual combats. - -In a few minutes, the four duels were over, but only three of the -contestants came back from the floor's center. To my surprize, then, -instead of being re-shackled to the rest of us, the three were handed -armor and weapons like that of the other guards, which they donned at -once. I began to understand now the purpose of these combats. Evidently -the bravest fighters were weeded out in preliminary duels, such as I -had taken part in, and the survivors of these first battles were then -pitted against each other, the victors being adjudged worthy to enter -the company of the guards. But where were these ragged fighters brought -from? - -The combats went on, always eight men battling at once, and I saw that -our number was growing smaller very rapidly. Neither Denham nor I had -yet been called on to fight, but my heart was beating rapidly, for I -expected each time to be among the next eight. The blades clashed on, -at the floor's center, and group after group went out from us, either -to return and don the armor of the guards or to be dragged off the -floor by slaves, dead or dying. The Kanlars in the lower balconies -laughed and chatted as the ragged fighters on the floor slew each -other, the massed guards above shouted their approval at each shrewd -blow, and the fighting continued until finally but ten of our number -were left, and by a freak of chance, both Denham and I were of that ten. - -The fights on the floor ended, one by one, and swiftly the guards -unshackled eight of our number and thrust them out onto the floor. -I stood appalled. For the two who were left were myself and the -Englishman! - -While the swords clicked and flashed out on the floor, I stood in a -daze, dismayed at the ironical trick which fate had played me. Of -all the men in the city, I must fight the one whom alone I knew -and liked. In a space of seconds, it seemed, the four fights on the -floor had ended, and the fetters on my wrists were loosed. Together, -hesitantly, Denham and I walked out onto the floor. Shouts of applause -and encouragement came down from the balconies, for ours was the last -fight, and the spectators wanted an exciting one. - - * * * * * - -Standing there at the very center of the huge building, Denham and I -faced each other. Simultaneously we grasped the hilts of our rapiers, -half drew them, and then, with a common impulse, slammed the blades -back down into their sheaths. Without speaking, my companion stepped -over and flung an arm across my shoulders, then tilted up his head and -favored the spectators in the balconies with an insolent stare. - -A howl of rage went up as it became evident that we would not fight -each other. A torrent of taunts and execrations poured down on us from -above, but we continued to lounge, arm in arm, as nonchalantly as -possible. - -Out from the black edge of the floor rushed a half-dozen of the guards, -who seized us and hurried us off the floor, amid a storm of abuse from -above. Instead of returning with us to the entrance, the guards led us -toward the bottom of the spiraling stair and there stationed themselves -beside us. - -The angry cries in the balconies silenced, now, and a strange stillness -filled the great hall. Music began, single, thrilling notes, like -dropping peals of sound. Swiftly the lights began to dim, the glowing -bulbs in the walls waning until all things in the vast room were -wrapped in shadowy dusk. - -The chiming music ceased, and over all that mighty fane was absolute -silence, with no sound from Kanlars, guards or slaves. Then, in the -little projecting gallery where he sat, the black-robed oldster rose -and spoke. - -His deep, heavy voice rolled out over the vast room with awesome -effect, breaking as it did the unearthly silence. He was chanting, -uttering an invocation or prayer. The words came to my ears, thick and -blurred, so that I understood few of them. But the effect was one of -utter solemnity--the darkness, the massed, silent crowds above, and -that one deep voice speaking on, rising and falling. - -For minutes the voice rumbled on, then abruptly ceased. There was -another full minute of the strange silence, and a tremendous ringing -note sounded. Even after it had died, the echoes of it beat in my -ears like ghostly carillons of tiny, elfin chimes. And as it died -away, there was a heavy, grating sound and the whole vast metal floor -abruptly sank down some six feet into what appeared to be a gigantic -smooth-walled shaft, then slid sidewise with another grating jar, -vanishing into some aperture prepared for it. And where the floor had -been was now a tremendous circular abyss, a straight-sided pit of such -titanic depth that, looking down into it, I fell weakly to my knees and -was seized with sudden nausea. - -I stood on the very edge of the abyss, on the ring of black flooring -that was its rim. And down from that rim, the stone sides of the great -shaft fell smoothly to an unguessed depth. Far, far below, I seemed to -see glimmering lights that winked faintly. And I saw, too, that the -spiral staircase which circled the great room's interior from floor to -roof continued on down beneath the floor and circled around and around -this circular chasm in the same way, winding down into the unguessed -depths below. - -I felt Denham pulling me back from the edge of the shaft, beside -which I lay. Dimly I realized that all in the great building were now -chanting, rolling forth the same invocation as the black-robed leader. -Far above, now, at the very ceiling or roof of the cylinder, a light -burgeoned out, a burning purple beam that clove its light down through -the dim haze and shadows around it. A moment it hung there, then there -was a faint sigh of wind, a puff of icy air, and down, straight down -from the vast hall's roof, there raced like a misty plummet--the Raider! - -It flashed down until it hung on a level with myself, in midair, -poised at the very center of the circular abyss and floating there -effortlessly. It hung there, its gray mass changing, fluxing, -interlacing, while at its center hung the three little orbs of purple -light, steady and unwinking. From all the massed thousands on the -balconies a sigh of worship went up. - -The chant rolled out, louder, fiercer, and through it sounded another -single ringing note. There was another whistle of wind, and the three -purple orbs of the Raider flashed to green, while the solid but fluxing -mass of it changed to a spinning cloud of gray vapor, that swirled -rapidly around the central lights. Another fierce gust of wind smote -me, and abruptly the Raider had vanished. - -Up in the balconies the chant went on, repeated again and again. I saw -a sea of white faces above, all turned down toward the spot where the -Raider had disappeared. Minutes passed. The chanting went on, low, vast -and deep-toned. - -Came another buffeting breeze, a tempest of shrill wind-sounds, and -with startling suddenness the Raider reappeared, flashing back into -being at the same spot where it had vanished, above the center of the -abyss. Again the green orbs changed to purple, and its cloudy mass -contracted to the shifting but solid form it had occupied before. But -now, held in its shapeless self, were men, who hung helpless in its -grasp. It drifted over to the marble edge of the abyss, and loosed the -men it held, then moved back to the pit's center. - -The chanting swelled out, exultant, and I saw the men thus loosed -struggle to their feet and look around with utter awe and terror. They -were five in number, three in short white tunics who looked like men of -ancient Greece, the other two wizened little figures with dark skin and -long, wispy mustaches, either Huns or Tartars. - -Again a ringing note cut through the chanting, and as if in obedience -the Raider rose, floated up toward the vast hall's roof, whence it had -come. It disappeared there, the purple light burned for a moment and -vanished, and the chanting finally ceased. - -The bulbs glowed out, at once, and light filled the place. The crowds -in the balconies began to leave, streaming down the narrow staircase -toward the floor. Before they reached it, however, guards had reached -and fettered the five men the Raider had left on the pit's edge, and -they now brought them over and shackled them also to Denham and me. - -Our little group stood now on the very edge of the abysmal shaft. Some -twenty feet below us there was a little landing, from which the stair -started, spiraling down and around the shaft, into the darkness below. -I wondered momentarily how the landing was reached, but my wonder -ceased as a guard touched a lever in the wall, causing a little metal -stair to unfold swiftly from the side of the shaft itself, a light -little series of steps that connected the black marble ring of flooring -with the landing below. - -At an order from the guards we stepped onto it, down it to the landing -and on down the spiral stair, which was cut in the solid rock of the -great shaft's sides. Looking back, I saw the steps down which we had -come fold back into the wall, and a moment later the light from above -was shut out as the great metal floor of the temple swung back into -position above us with a grating clash. - -Our only light now was from bulbs set in the smooth wall along the -down-winding stair, and these gave hardly enough light to show us -the next steps. A low wall about a yard in height, pierced with an -ornamental design of openings, was our only protection from the abyss -on our left. Yet the guards still marched us on, around and around the -great shaft, in a tremendous, falling spiral, down, down.... - - - - - _CHAPTER 11_ - - THE CITY OF THE PIT - - -Soon a dim pearly light began to show far below us, a light that -puzzled me. In the world above, I knew, it must be dawn, but how this -was connected with the growing light below, if it was so connected, -baffled me. - -And now we reached the end of the shaft down whose sides we had come. -It ended abruptly, and below on each side lay a great open space, -obscured by drifting clouds of mist. But the stair did not end with -the shaft. It dropped straight on down, a free, unsupported spiral -of gleaming metal, winding down into the obscuring mists that hid -its lower length. It was an eery thing to see, that gigantic twisted -stairway, like a great corkscrew, vanishing down into the mists, like -some pathway of the gods from heaven to earth. And it could hardly have -been hung there by less than gods, I thought. No metal or material ever -known to me would have been able thus to hold its unsupported weight in -the form of this stair, yet there it was, seemingly tossed there in -godlike indifference to the laws of mechanics. In its way, it was as -great a wonder as the great building above. As that thought came to me, -the light around us began to grow, to redden like the sunrise, and the -mists cleared, drifted away in masses, vanished. And there, beneath me, -lay the pit. - -I can only describe that pit by saying that it was like the inside of -a round, squat bottle, the neck of the bottle being the shaft down -which I had come. This great cavern below me was roughly circular in -shape, all of four miles in diameter, and a mile from its level floor -to its glowing roof. For that roof was glowing. Looking up at it as we -marched on down, I saw that set in it were scores of brilliant globes -of glass, from which a flood of growing light, golden light, sunlight, -_daylight_, was pouring down. - -I saw now that the spiral stair down which we marched reached down to -the pit's floor, and touched it near its center. And I saw, too, that -all of the great cavern's floor, from one towering side to another, -was covered with mass on mass of white, roofless buildings, of all -shapes, covering the floor of the pit and huddling closely beneath the -perpendicular walls of smooth rock. - -At the center of this great mass of buildings, directly below us, was -a great open clearing, or plaza, and it was there that the stairway -touched the pit's floor. And from this plaza, clear to the circling -walls, nine streets branched out, radiating in every direction like the -spokes of a wheel. Along those streets moved great masses of men, and -these were the dwellers in the city, the people of the pit. - -So it was that I looked first on the city of the pit, the city of -the Raider, and its people, over whom his shadow had been cast. And, -looking, I wondered if there in the massed crowds below were Lantin -and Cannell, and if it were possible to find them, here. - -Again our guards ordered us forward, and we marched on. But now only -a low wall on each side protected us from the abyss, and there was no -wall on the right side against which to cling. But our guards seemed to -mind this not at all, and I judged that they had made many trips up and -down the stair, to be thus hardened to its dangers. - -As we descended, Denham explained to me in a low voice the origin of -the lights on the roof. These were merely lenses of a kind, he said, -which diffused into the cavern real sunlight brought from above. I had -already seen and puzzled at the glass globes set on pedestals through -the city of cylinders above, but now saw their purpose. Those globes -received the sunlight, transmitted it in some unknown fashion down to -the globes on the roof, which gave it forth again. Thus it was that day -and night in the pit were the same as in the world above, and the light -there waxed and waned in accordance with the rising and setting of the -sun which these people never saw. - -We drew closer and closer toward the ground, and now I saw that at -the stair's end, where it touched and debouched on the pit's floor, -it was closed by a high, heavy gate of metal, barred and spiked, and -that on our own side of this gate was a force of some fifty of the -guards, armed with long spears and also with curious little cylinders -of shining metal which they carried in their belts, and which I guessed -were weapons of a kind unknown to myself. - -As we came down toward them, these guards drew aside and unlocked the -big gate. Our own captors unshackled us, and then pushed us through it -unceremoniously, so that we stood in the clearing or plaza. And the -gate was quickly shut and locked behind us. - -Standing there, I forgot all else in the fascination of the scene -around me. Across the open plaza, which was smoothly floored with -stone, a great multitude of people were coming and going, and it was -that shifting throng that held my gaze. For in it were men of every -race and land and time, men of the far past and men of my own time, -all seized and brought here by the Raider to mix and mingle in one -vast, variegated throng. Even that first glance showed me that there -must be thousands, tens of thousands of men prisoned in this gigantic -under-city, and it showed me, too, that even as among the guards -and slaves above, there were no women. All were comparatively young -men, few being over middle age, and nearly all had the appearance of -warriors. - -Men of a thousand different centuries passed and repassed there before -my eyes, men who had been flashed through the ages and brought there by -the same alien being that had seized Cannell before my eyes, and that -had seized, only a few hours before, the five newcomers who had come -down the great stair with Denham and me. - -For these, these crowds and masses of men that choked the streets and -squares and buildings of this city of hell, these were the spoils of -the Raider, gathered together for some unholy purpose of his own, and -prisoned here in the pit, far beneath the city of the Kanlars. In a -living panorama of the past, they streamed by me, a brilliant, barbaric -throng. - -Many of them were unknown in race to me, but many others I could -recognize by their dress or features. There were Egyptians, -shaven-headed men in long white robes, strangely aloof and silent in -that noisy gathering. They carried short swords and bows, and I noticed -that every one of the figures that passed before me wore weapons of -some sort. I saw Assyrians, here and there, ravagers of the ancient -world, wolf-faced, black-bearded men with burning eyes, clad in strange -armor. - -Three courtly, spade-bearded Spaniards sauntered by, carrying -themselves as proudly as on the day when their galleons ruled the seas. -A hulking, shock-headed savage clad in evil-smelling skins shambled by, -with a giant gnarled club in his hand, his receding brow and jutting -jaw proclaiming him a troglodyte, a man of the world's dawn. And right -behind him came two stern-faced men in medieval armor, with the cross -of the Crusaders blazoned on their battered shields. - -Indians passed, with bow and tomahawk, hawk-faced and alert. -Clear-skinned Greeks, laughing at some jest of their own. Chinese, -quiet and inscrutable, whose eyes narrowed even further as they caught -sight of the two wizened Tartars who had come down the stair with us. -A tall frontiersman in suit of buckskin, with bowie knife in his belt, -strode past, conversing with a helmed Phoenician sea-captain. And -everywhere, clustering always together in little groups, were Romans, -legionaries in tunic, breastplate and helmet, with bronze short-swords, -who looked contemptuously on all other races in the passing throng. - - * * * * * - -A hand descended on my shoulder, and I turned, startled, to find that I -had completely forgotten the Englishman, Denham, who stood behind me. - -"Deuced strange, at first, isn't it?" he asked, smilingly, gesturing -toward the moving pageant of the past, around us. Before I could -answer, he went on, "You'd best come with me, now." - -"Where?" I asked. - -"Why, to my own barracks," he answered. "That's what these buildings -are for, you know, but as a newcomer, you'd be in trouble here in a -minute, without someone to answer for you. And, too, I want you to meet -my own friends." - -He looked at me more sharply. "I take it that you're no great friend -of--" and he stopped, raising his eyes eloquently upward. - -"The Raider?" I asked, and when he nodded I said, "Not I! I'm here to -find a man--two men." - -"Find a single man here?" asked Denham, sweeping his hand around the -crowded streets in a hopeless gesture. "It's impossible! And what would -you do when you found him? Escape? That, too, is impossible. How would -you get up the stair, through the city of the Kanlars? And even if you -achieved the impossible and did get through, there would be no place -to go, for all around the city above is nothing but wild, uninhabited -country where they would easily hunt you down." - -"No matter," I told him; "once I got clear of the city above, I could -make good my escape." - -He looked at me with sudden interest. "So," he murmured; "and perhaps -if my friends and I could help you--," but then he checked himself. -"I must see them," he said, "before saying more." - -I nodded, a new line of thought opening up to me, and then with Denham -leading, we went on down one of the branching streets. In that street -was a replica of the noisy, motley throng that filled the plaza, -and their cries filled the air with a babel of a thousand different -tongues. I noted, though, that many spoke in the language of the -Kanlars, and guessed that it was that tongue which served more or less -as a means of communication between the thousands gathered here, a -supposition I later found to be correct. - -Most of the buildings along the street seemed to be the barracks Denham -had spoken of, housing the city's occupants, though some of them -appeared to be wine-shops of a sort, judging from the drunken men who -reeled out of them. An inquiry to my companion elicited the information -that the only food of the city was the same golden liquid which had -been furnished me above, and which I learned was made artificially -directly from the soil itself. Thus the cycle of foodstuffs in my own -time, where a plant draws its substance from the soil and is then -eaten, or where an animal feeds on the plants sprung from the soil, to -be eaten by us in turn, was entirely eliminated by the Kanlars, who -manufactured their food directly from the soil itself, recasting the -chemical composition of it to produce the yellow fluid. This yellow -liquid, I learned, was made by slaves in the city above and was piped -down to the city below and dispensed to the hordes there in the little -buildings which I had assumed to be wine-shops. It seemed that while -the stuff was a perfect food when taken in small quantities, yet when -an excess was drunk it produced a violent intoxication. And as it was -dispensed freely, it was not wonderful that there were great debauches -of drunkenness in this under-metropolis. - -One result of that we saw, for all along the street there was fighting, -deadly battles between men of far-differing times and races. There was -no interference in these combats, for there were none of the guards or -Kanlars through all the city, the occupants being left to fight their -own battles on the principle of the survival of the fittest. An excited -ring of spectators was gathered round each combat, shouting at and -cheering the opponents, not dispersing until the fighting was over. As -we passed the scene of one such duel, I saw the victor dragging away -the body of his late enemy. - -"Where is he taking it?" I asked of Denham, motioning toward the -receding figure. - -"To the bottom of the stair," was his answer. "There is an iron rule -that in any battle where a man is killed, the victor must carry the -body of his opponent to the stair and hand it over to the guards there." - -"But why?" I asked. "For burial above?" - -Denham smiled grimly. "You saw the slaves in the city above," he -said, "but did you notice how strange they were, how glassy-eyed and -stiff-moving?" - -When I nodded, he said, "Well, the slaves of the city above are men who -have been killed here in the under-city." - -At my exclamation of horror, he repeated his statement. "Man," he -exclaimed, "you do not know the power of the Kanlars. With the wisdom -that is theirs, such an accomplishment is child's-play." - -"But how done?" I asked. - -"Ask them," he answered darkly. "In some way they are able to bring -back the breath of life into the dead men, to repair the wounds that -killed them. They can make them live again, but not even the Kanlars -can bring back their souls. They are just living, walking bodies, whom -the Kanlars are able to control and to force to work their will in all -things. Dead-alive, and slaves to the Kanlars!" - -I shuddered deeply, for the idea was soul-sickening. Yet I knew now -that Denham spoke truth, for I remembered how from my cell in the city -above I had seen Talerri, garbed as a slave, Talerri, whom I had killed -myself. It was an invention that would have aroused pride in the fiends -of lowest hell, thus to raise dead men back to life and use them as -servants. And I knew that this was but one of the dark evils that lay -concealed under the rule of the laughing, bright-haired Kanlars. - - * * * * * - -While we talked we had been moving along the crowded street toward the -distant wall of the pit. Finally, very near that wall, Denham turned -in at a low, long building that was of white stone, and roofless, like -most others in the city. I followed him inside, and looked around -curiously. - -The building's interior was a single large room, shaded from the light -above by a suspended awning of green cloth. Ranged along the walls was -a triple tier of metal bunks, in some of which lay cloth and fur robes. -There was a long metal table at the room's center, and lounging in -chairs around it, and in the bunks, were a score of men who looked up -without interest as we entered. - -Denham greeted them, and in reply they grunted lazily, looking at me -incuriously. I followed my companion to the farther end of the room, -where he seated himself in one of the bunks and motioned me to join him. - -"My friends aren't here now," he said, "but they'll return before long." - -A sudden curiosity prompted my next question. "How did you get here, -Denham?" I asked. "Was it--the Raider?" - -"Naturally," he answered. "It was the Raider, as you call it, that -brought us all here, curse him. It was in the Colonial rebellion he got -me." - -"The American rebellion?" I asked, striving to understand his -Eighteenth Century allusions. - -"Of course," he answered. "We were quartered in Philadelphia, under -that old fool, Howe. He liked the city, y'know, the bottle and the -ladies. But the rest of us were itching for fight, and since we -couldn't fight the rebels, we soon took to fighting one another. - -"There was a ball one night, and toward the end of it I began to have a -few words with a Hessian attached to our staff. We were both a little -scrambled, by then. Curse me if there weren't some fine cellars there! -But as to the German, he and I got hotter and hotter, until he finally -made the assertion that our commander was a fool. Personally, that was -my opinion also, but I couldn't allow the Dutchman to say so, and the -upshot of it was that we left the ball together and adjourned to an -open field near by to resume the argument, with our swords. - -"Before we had made a half-dozen passes, there was a hellish sound of -wind, a big, gray cloud with burning green eyes seemed to drop down on -us from above, and then the bottom dropped out of the world. When we -came to our senses, we were standing up there in the big temple, with a -dozen others. Of course, we didn't know then that we had been brought -on through time, but we knew it was a damned strange place. - -"They brought us down here, down the stair, and as soon as we were -turned loose here, we resumed our dispute, borrowing swords from two -bystanders. By luck, I pinked him. There was a big crowd around, -cheering us on, and it was then that I met D'Alord, who is one of the -friends I mentioned." - -As Denham finished his story, I began to feel a sudden, utter -weariness, for I had not slept for many hours. I yawned and rubbed my -eyes, and at once Denham jumped up. - -"Why, take the bunk, man," he ordered me. "Go ahead and sleep." - -"But what of Lantin," I asked, "my friend? He's somewhere in the city -here, I'm sure, and I must find him." - -Denham shook his head doubtfully. "What does he look like?" he asked. - -When I had described Lantin to him, his face cleared a little, I -thought. "An elderly man, you said?" he questioned, and when I nodded, -he continued, "That should make it easier to find him, then. There are -hardly any but young men here, so your friend would be more conspicuous -and easily located. But you go ahead and sleep, and I'll find my -friends and look for your companion. If anyone can find him, we can." - -I tried to thank him, but he waved my words aside with a smile and -walked out of the room. I sank back in the bunk and closed my eyes. -As drowsiness overcame me, there came to my ears the dull sound of -voices of the men in the room, with now and then a shout or bellow of -laughter. And even these faded from hearing as I sank, contentedly -enough, down into the green depths of sleep. - - - - - _CHAPTER 12_ - - PLANS FOR ESCAPE - - -Golden light again streamed through the windows when I finally woke, -and I realized that in my utter weariness I must have slept the clock -twice round. I swung out of the bunk and stood up, stretching. - -There was only one man in the long room besides myself, a man who sat -at the table, some distance away from me. As I looked at him he turned, -saw me, and jumped up and hurried over toward me. - -"Lantin!" I cried, extending my hands. He gripped them, his eyes -sparkling. - -"Where have you been?" I asked eagerly. "Were you in the city here all -the time?" - -"All the time since I left you," he affirmed. "They brought me directly -here, Wheeler, and of course when I got here I knew at once that we had -found the Raider's lair. Your friend Denham found me, a few hours ago, -and told me where you were, but when I came here I saw that you were -sleeping and didn't waken you." - -"You should have," I told him. "But where is Denham now?" - -"He'll be here soon," replied my friend. "He said he would go after his -friends, who were helping him to look for me, and bring them here." - -"But what of Cannell, Lantin?" I asked. "You have seen nothing of him -in your stay here?" - -His face clouded. "Nothing," he admitted. "I have searched for him, but -how is one to find a single man in this city of thousands? And we do -not even know that he is here, Wheeler. For all we know, he may have -been killed long ago in some brawl here." - -"Don't give up hope," I told him. "With Denham to help us, we have a -far better chance to find him." - -Lantin shook his head doubtfully, but before he could answer, our -conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Denham and his three -friends. As they came up to us, I gazed with mounting interest at the -trio of strange companions who accompanied the Englishman. - -One of them was patently a Roman, a short, sturdy man with swarthy, -stern-set features, attired in armor and helmet. The man beside him -was brown-skinned and long-haired, with eagle black eyes, dressed in -spotted skins, quilted cotton armor, and head-dress of feathers. He -carried a curious long sword, or weapon, whose edges were serrated, or -saw-toothed, and the weapon gave me the clue to his identity. I had -seen swords exactly like it brought out of the Aztec ruins in Mexico. - -But it was the third man who caught and held my gaze. He was a figure -of romance, a slouch-hatted, wide-booted trooper, long sword rattling -at his heels, laughing, dare-devil eyes, and white teeth gleaming -behind a fierce black mustache. As I surveyed him, rather rudely I -think, he smiled at me and exclaimed, in execrable English: "_Mordieu_, -is this the lad who killed that pig, Talerri?" - -When Denham nodded, he thrust forth his hand impulsively, and I was -glad to take it. And then Denham made introduction. "The Chevalier -Raoul D'Alord," he said, indicating the laughing trooper, who swept -me a grand bow. "One time captain in the armies of Henry Quatre, King -of Navarre and France, but now a lodger in our pleasant city," and he -laughed at the wry face the Frenchman made. - -"This is Ixtil, Cacique of Tlacopan," he went on, indicating the wild -brown figure in the middle, and I looked at him with renewed interest, -now that my surmise had proved correct. An Aztec! One of the fierce -hordes who had swept away Maya and Toltec forever, only to be crushed -in turn by ruthless, steel-shod Cortez. The chieftain bowed to me, -gravely and silently, but did not speak. - -Denham turned to the remaining figure. "Fabrius Arminius," he said, -"formerly centurion in the legions of Tiberius Cæsar," and the Roman -stiffly inclined his head. Then, at Denham's suggestion, we seated -ourselves around the end of the long table. - -"D'Alord speaks English as well as I do," said Denham, "and between -us we taught it to Ixtil and Fabrius, so you can speak freely. I have -told my friends that you are, like ourselves, ready for an attempt at -escaping. Naturally, though, they would like to hear it from your own -lips." - -"It is so," I assured them. "Lantin and I came here to find a certain -man, and if we can find him, we'll take him out of here in spite of -the Raider." - -"The Raider?" queried D'Alord, and Denham interjected a brief -explanation. "He means--_him_," he told the Frenchman, jerking a thumb -upward. - -The trooper laughed. "_Sacré_, that's a name for the beast! Eh, -Fabrius?" - -The Roman nodded, silently, and Denham came back to the subject. "For -some time," he went on, "we four have considered different plans for -escaping, but none has been practical. There are so many obstacles. It -will be necessary to get up the stair, avoiding the guards at bottom -and top. Once up, it will be necessary to pass through the city of the -cylinders, though that should not be too difficult. But once out of the -city, what then? How cross the ice?" - -"We are talking at cross purposes," I said. "You must remember, Denham, -that I know next to nothing about this place. Why have all these men -been collected in this under-city? Does anyone know, except the Raider? -What is the purpose of it all?" - -"You do not know?" asked Denham, in surprize. "I thought you would, by -now. These men, these thousands of warriors in the city here around -you, have been gathered here by the Raider to act as his armies, his -mercenaries, to pour down in hordes upon the cities of the enemies of -the Kanlars, and destroy those enemies utterly, which the Kanlars are -too few in number to do." - -I gasped with astonishment. Denham went on. "You tell him, Fabrius," he -said, addressing the Roman. "You have been here longer than any of us." - -The centurion spoke, in a slurred, accented English. "Some things I -have heard," he said, "but whether true or not, I can not say. There -was a man here I knew when first I was brought here, a Persian. Before -he was killed (for he was killed in a drunken brawl) he told me that -once, in the city above, one of the Kanlars had become drunk and had -babbled to him the story of his race. - -"As you know, endless fields of ice lie around this land where is the -Kanlar's city. Well, the Persian said that these fields of ice were not -endless, that far to the south there were other green lands and in them -a mighty people and a mighty city, named Kom. He said that long ago the -Kanlars lived in this city, and were of its people, but that trouble -had risen between them and the other people of Kom, _because of the -Raider_. More than this he did not know, but said that because of this -trouble, the Kanlars had fled from the city, with the Raider leading -them, and coming north in their air-boats over the ice-fields, had -found this green, uninhabited land, set in the ice. Its existence had -never been suspected by those in Kom, who thought that the ice extended -clear north to the very edge of earth. - -"So the Kanlars had settled here and had built the city of cylinders, -which lies above us. But still they planned to sweep back on Kom, and -annihilate all there. But this they could not do, being too few in -number. So the Raider, who is their god and their king, spoke to them -and said that he would bring them men from every age of earth's past -to be their servants, to fight for them at will. The Raider could -travel at will through time--ask me not how!--and he swept back through -the centuries and brought men by the thousands to the Kanlars, young -warriors to fight their battles for them. - -"There was a great cavern far beneath the city of the Kanlars, a great -hollow space formed by inside shiftings of the young earth, and in -this the Kanlars prisoned the men brought by the Raider, piercing a -shaft down to it from their temple above, and placing in that shaft the -stairway down which you came, under the direction of the Raider. They -chose from among their prisoners some to be guards of the others, and -those killed in battle here they brought back to seeming life by their -arts of hell, and used as slaves. - -"So, steadily, the hordes here in the pit have grown in number, until -scarcely more could be contained here. Soon there will be enough to -suit the purpose of the Raider and then they will be loosed and hurled -south to carry fire and death to the cities beyond the ice, to Kom and -the people of Kom, who can have no knowledge whatever of the peril that -hangs over them. Up on the great roof of the temple, which is the home -of the Raider, there are scores of great flying-platforms which the -Kanlars have been constructing. They have made strange weapons, too, -and so when their hour strikes, they will open the gates here and allow -the hordes to pour up the stair, up to the roof of the temple, where -they will crowd into the flying-platforms, under the leadership of the -Kanlars, and race south over the ice to rain down death and destruction -on Kom. And thus will the Raider and the Kanlars be revenged upon the -people who cast them out." - - * * * * * - -Fabrius stopped, and I looked at Lantin, then back toward the Roman. -Was this the true secret of the Raider's activity? - -"But will the hordes here do this?" I asked. "Will they follow the -Kanlars, and obey them?" - -Fabrius laughed shortly, and D'Alord replied for him. "Ha, friend," -he said to me, "you are new here, and do not know these men. They are -evil, I tell you. They boast always of what they will do when they are -loosed on Kom, for they know that soon they are to be thus loosed. -Some subtle poison from the Raider's self has entered into them, I -think. They are like tigers waiting to be freed upon a helpless prey." - -"It is so," said Lantin, "for short a time as I have been here, I have -found that this is so. There is no hope from the hordes here in the -pit, for they will follow the Raider to a man." - -There was a silence after that. Suddenly Denham spoke. "I think it -would be possible for some of us, at least, to get out of the pit -here," he said, "for I have a plan that would effect that much. But -what then? Do you suppose it would be possible to get up to the roof of -the temple and steal one of the flying-platforms you speak of? Or steal -one of the Kanlars' air-boats? If we could do that, we could fly south -over the ice-fields and warn the cities there of their peril, get their -aid and come back and crush the Raider and these damned Kanlars." - -For the first time, the Aztec spoke, shaking his head. "It can not be -done," he said, speaking in precise, queerly clipped English. "I was to -the roof of the temple once, and know. The only way to get to that roof -is by the narrow stairway that spirals up the inside of the temple. And -that stairway leads directly through the lair of the Raider!" - -"But what can we do, then?" asked the Englishman. "It would be folly to -try to steal one of the Kanlars' air-boats, for they always rise from -and alight on the roofs of buildings, and we could never get to them -unobserved." - -Lantin broke into the silence that ensued. "But suppose there was an -air-boat hidden back in the hills, outside the city," he said; "that -would make things easier, wouldn't it?" - -When they assented, he went on quickly, "Wheeler and I have such a -machine hidden," he said, "and it was on it that we came here from our -own time." - -They looked up eagerly, incredulously. "Do you mean that you came into -this age from your own time on a machine?" asked Denham. "That you came -yourselves, and were not brought here by the Raider, like all the rest -of us?" - -Lantin nodded affirmation, and then went on to describe briefly the -seizure of Cannell, our pursuit through time, and our subsequent -capture outside the city by the guards. They listened, fascinated, -and when he had finished, D'Alord asked, with something of awe in his -voice, "And you made this machine yourselves? You found the secret of -the Raider's time-traveling?" - -"It is so," Lantin told them; "we made the time-car and then came after -Cannell." - -"God!" exclaimed the trooper, "what a chance for freedom! If we could -all win free of this pit, escape from the city to your car, we could -get back to our own times in it. Back to France!" - -"No!" said Denham, decisively. "In the first place not all of us can -escape from the pit. I have a plan by which some of us can, but the -rest must stay here. And another thing, even if we each got back to our -own time, D'Alord, who knows but that the Raider would come back and -recapture us, as he did this Cannell they tell of? For all we know, the -Raider may have placed on us some sign or mark by means of which he -could track us down through the ages again. And until he is destroyed, -it will be of no use to return to our own times." - -"But what to do, then?" asked the Frenchman. - -"This," said Denham. "We four will help Lantin and Wheeler to escape -from the pit. Only two can succeed in escaping, by my plan, for more -would be noticed in the city above, and we four will be needed to give -them their start up the stair, how, I will explain later. And since -only one or two can escape, Lantin and Wheeler must be the ones to make -the attempt, since they alone know how to operate their machine, and -know where it is hidden. - -"If they can reach their car, they will speed south across the ice, -warn the people of Kom of the plans of the Kanlars, and come back with -a force sufficient to crush the Raider and the Kanlars forever, and -then they can rescue us four from the pit." - -"The plan is good," approved the Roman. "We four must stay while they -go. When do you plan to make the attempt?" he asked Denham. - -"We must wait until the night will be moonless," he said, "for the -darkness will favor the attempt. The eighth night from today would be -best." - -"But your plan," asked the impatient Frenchman; "how do you plan to get -up the stair?" - -"In this manner," explained the Englishman; "we must make a -grappling-hook of heavy metal, and a long, strong rope. On the night we -select for the attempt, we four will assemble at the lower gate of the -stair, while Lantin and Wheeler take up a position at the plaza's edge, -directly under the lowest curve of the spiral stair. Then, by shouting -or fighting, we four shall create a riot around the gate, to draw the -attention of the guards inside. When the excitement is at its highest, -and when the people around the position of Lantin and Wheeler have run -toward the riot, as they always do here, then Wheeler will fling up the -grappling-hook toward the curving stair above him. If fortune favors -us, the hook will catch, he can ascend the rope and pull up Lantin, and -the two can then proceed on up the stair, being above the gate and its -guards." - -"But the guards above?" D'Alord objected. "How pass them? And what -of the metal floor of the temple, which covers the shaft? It will be -closed, and how will they get through it?" - -"No," said Denham, "for if we start a sufficiently large riot at the -gate of the stair, the guards behind it will become alarmed and call -for help from above. They have a system of signaling with those above -and if they think the hordes here are going to attack the gate, those -above will open the shaft by swinging aside the temple floor, and will -send guards down to repel the attack on the gates. The shaft being -open, and the guards gone, Lantin and Wheeler should have no trouble -getting out and through the city, to their car." - -"But we will meet the guards coming down the stair!" I cried. - -"Not so," Denham assured me, "for when there is a call for aid from -their fellows below, the guards above don't descend by the stair, -since it would take them too long. They unreel great ropes or cables, -drop them over the shaft's edge so that they hang clear to the stair's -bottom, and then attach a sort of harness to themselves, join that -harness to the cables with special pulleys, and slide down to the -stair's bottom in a few minutes. Twice, since I have been here, there -have been riots around the gate, and each time the guards above came -whizzing down in that way, to repel the riot." - -"Whatever else they are," added D'Alord, "there are no cowards among -the guards. No one ever called me craven yet, but _ventre-de-biche_, -I'd look twice before sliding down a rope into this hell." - -"Yet what if some of the guards did come down the stair?" I asked. - -Denham shook his head. "I do not think they will do so," he said. - -"Yet if they did?" I insisted. - -He shrugged his shoulders. "Why, then you would meet them on the -stair." - -We looked at each other, a little grimly, I think, and then there was -a shattering roar of laughter from D'Alord. "Why borrow trouble?" -he cried. "Take your sword with you, lad, and if you meet anyone on -the stair, have at him. If you are the stronger, you will kill your -enemies, and if your enemies are the stronger, they will kill you. What -more is there to it?" - -I could not help laughing, ruefully, as did the rest, but Lantin -suddenly sobered. - -"But Cannell?" he asked. "What of my friend? We came here to rescue -him, you know, and can't leave without him." - -"There are eight days yet in which to find him," Denham pointed out, -"and if you can not find him in that time, we four will try to locate -him after you and Wheeler have escaped. If he's here in the pit, we'll -have him with us by the time you come back." - - * * * * * - -Our conversation was abruptly broken off by the entrance of a number -of the room's occupants, who regarded our little group with suspicious -stares. - -"We'd best break up," Denham whispered, "for we don't want it to get -abroad that we're planning something." - -So, rising, we sauntered out of the room into the street. Outside a -hot sunlight was pouring down from the glass globes in the roof, so -strongly that one could not look up at that roof directly, any more -than one can look directly at the sun. Whatever method the Kanlars had -devised to collect and bring so far underground the light and heat of -the sun, it was a wonderfully efficient one. - -Behind us loomed the gray-rock wall of the pit, and before us, -stretching away for miles to the opposite wall, were the masses of -white buildings that housed the city's teeming thousands. And at the -central plaza, the titanic, gleaming spiral of the metal stairway rose -vastly up toward the black, round shaft that pierced the cavern's roof, -its winding turn on turn glinting in the light like a huge, upraised -serpent of metal. - -In the shifting, noisy throng that pressed by us along the street, that -swirled aimlessly through streets and buildings, I sensed a quality of -expectation, of eager, restless waiting. Even I, new to the city as I -was, could feel the unwonted excitement that pulsed from the passing -crowds. And I saw that my companions felt it likewise. - -A grizzled seaman in stained, shapeless clothes, who might have sailed -with Drake or Hawkins, stopped in front of us. - -"Ho, comrade!" he cried to Denham; "hast heard the news?" - -"News! What news?" asked Denham, his brows drawing together. - -"An hour ago," said the other, "the guards sent word through the city -to sharpen all swords, to get all weapons ready. I tell thee, lad, it's -soon we'll be dropping down on Kom, to loot it from end to end. Split -me, they're going to loose us ere long," and with an anticipatory, -gloating chuckle, the seaman passed on. - -Denham turned to us, his face suddenly white. "You heard?" he asked. -"That means that we have little time left for action. We dare not wait -now until the moonless nights. We'll have to take our chance on the -first night that it's cloudy above, for then it will be darker here. -And if we fail in our attempt, it means these hordes of devils here -flashing down to make a hell of an unwarned, unprotected city. For the -Raider is getting ready to strike!" - - - - - _CHAPTER 13_ - - IN THE PIT - - -The hours, the days, that followed, I remember now as one remembers a -particularly vivid dream, for even at the time, I seemed to see all -in the city around me through the haze of assured impossibility that -surrounds a dream. And, although I can well understand how the city in -the pit was a very hell on earth to those long confined in it, yet to -me during the next few days it was a city of wonder. - -There was little to do but wander through it. Each day we waited -tensely for night, but always when night came there came with it a -flood of soft light that poured down revealingly from the roof, the -moonlight of the earth above brought down to us by the glass globes -above and in the roof. Had it been cloudy above, it would have been -dark enough here in the pit to chance an attempt, but to do so in the -brilliant light was out of the question. And we dared take no more -chances than necessary, since if discovered, we should doubtless never -live to make another attempt. - -So in the eight days that followed, while Denham and his friends -fretted impatiently at the delay, I spent the time roaming through -the city, usually with one or all of the four friends as guide. When -possible, we preferred to keep together, since thus we made up a strong -little company whose five swords deterred many truculent souls from -attacking us. - -Even so, we were twice involved in combats, from both of which we -managed to emerge victorious, though not unscathed. It was a bloody -enough society, there in the city of the pit, a wilder life almost than -that of roaming wolves, yet it had a fierce, free charm that stirred -me, at times. A product of civilization, myself, I was thrown now -into a life where strength and skill with weapons were the measure -of a man, and where all disputes were settled with swords. Cooped as -we were in the crowded pit, yet we were untrammeled by any form of -law or etiquette, and I soon learned to swagger as boldly and scowl -as ferociously as any fire-eater in the pit. And, too, in constant -practise with my friends, I learned sword-play well. - -I came to love my four new-found friends, in those days. Four men, out -of four different centuries, and different in temperament as they were, -yet strong bonds of friendship sprang up between them and myself, and -Lantin also. - -From the beginning, I had felt attracted to Denham, for he was more -of my own time and way of thinking than the rest. Fastidious, elegant -even, in manner, and of an indolent disposition naturally, yet he was -terribly quick in battle, his slim rapier flashing out resistlessly -even while he yawned in his opponent's face. He was a good bit of a -fop, and it was a source of constant mirth to us to watch him cleaning -and patching his ragged suit, and anxiously assuring himself of the fit -of the torn coat. But at all our jests, he would smile quietly, and go -on with his work. - -A great deal different was D'Alord, though he attracted me as much. -Swearing, laughing, shouting, he was never quiet, never still, and even -in the cramped pit lived with a magnificent gusto that was enviable. -He was very quick to take offense, and the rest of us had trouble -always in keeping him from embroiling us in some senseless quarrel, but -he was as quick to forget the cause of offense, and was incapable of -holding a grudge. More than the rest of us, he loved fighting for its -own sake, and was so much in his element in the pit that he sometimes -declared that if it were not for the lack of wine and women, he would -be content to stay in the pit forever. - -Some few years older than the rest of us was the Roman, who had -followed the insignia of his legion over all the distant frontiers of -the Empire, from Parthia to Britain. He was never excited, and never -unprepared, a calm, fearless veteran, who made me understand something -of the greatness of his people, who reared up the greatest empire in -history, and stamped their language and their customs on half the world. - -Strangest of the four, perhaps, was the Aztec. Quiet, even gentle, when -not provoked; yet I have never seen such tigerish fury as he exhibited -in battle. He had a great name as a fighter, even in that city of -warriors, and was feared by the most fearless. He could handle his -saw-toothed sword with wonderful skill and quickness, and I shuddered -at the gashing wounds he inflicted with it. As staunch and faithful -a friend as I have ever had or seen, yet to those he hated he was a -terrible enemy. - -Always, while we five roamed through the city, we searched for Cannell, -but found him not. I began to think that, after all, Cannell was not in -the pit, for though it was possible we had missed him in the swirling -hordes, it was equally possible that he had been killed in some combat -here or above, and that he now walked dead-alive through the city of -the Kanlars as one of the ghastly, white-robed slaves. - -But Lantin would not believe that. He searched from dawn to darkness -of each day, and was not discouraged when he failed to find his -friend. He did not accompany us five in our rambles through the city, -preferring to search alone, and though we were fearful for his safety, -he was never molested. His obvious elderliness, and the gentleness and -inoffensiveness of his nature, served to protect him from the constant -bullying and fighting that went on in the pit. - -The days dragged past, and working in odd hours when we were not -noticed, we managed to make a metal grappling-hook and a long rope. -The hook was much like a triple fishing-hook, large enough to catch on -the wall of the stair, and was hammered out from pieces wrenched from -metal chairs. The rope, a long and very strong one, was braided from -long strips of torn cloth, and was knotted to make easier an ascent -along its length. Both rope and hook lay concealed beneath the bunk of -D'Alord, in a cunningly contrived little hiding place there. - -So we came at last to the eighth day, the night of which would be -moonless on the earth above, with consequent darkness below. As the day -wore on, we grew increasingly nervous, with the exception of Fabrius, -who appeared as imperturbable as ever. Finally the light from the -roof waned and died, and a thick darkness settled down on the city, a -darkness relieved only by one or two of the glowing red bulbs that -were set around the gate of the stair, and along the nine streets. - -An hour passed, and another, and another. Then Denham rose from his -bunk and sauntered leisurely out of the room, followed in a few minutes -by D'Alord and the Aztec. By now the bunks were filled with snoring -sleepers, but as the two went across the room to the door, none of -these stirred, so Lantin, Fabrius and I followed, the Roman carrying -the hook and rope concealed under his cloak. - -We stepped from the dark room into a street almost equally dark, the -ruddy bulbs set sparsely along its length accentuating rather than -dispersing the blackness. A few drunken stragglers were wandering along -the street, but most of the city's thousands were slumbering in the -many buildings, for few were abroad in the pit at night. - -Denham, D'Alord and Ixtil were awaiting us outside, and without -speaking, our entire little party moved rapidly down the dark street, -toward the plaza and the great stair. - - - - - _CHAPTER 14_ - - UP THE STAIR - - -When we entered the broad clearing of the plaza, we found it almost -entirely deserted. Above us loomed the winding, spiral stair, and where -that stair touched the pit's floor, we saw the blaze of ruddy light -that illuminated the high, barred gate of the stair. Keeping well -within the shadows, we passed toward the farther edge of the plaza, -and in the darkness there, Lantin and I took up our position directly -beneath the lowest curve of the spiral stairway, which hung in the air -some thirty feet above our heads. Even where we stood, we could hear -the tramp of feet around the stair's curve, as guards came and went, -constantly patrolling the lower part of the airy pathway. And, too, we -heard the chatter and broken laughter of the other guards massed inside -the gate. - -Speaking in whispers, Denham said, "Be ready to make your attempt at -any moment now. But be sure that all the guards on the stair have come -down to the gateway before you try it." - -"If we get out and come back with aid," I said, rapidly, "where will we -find you?" - -He reflected for a moment, then said, "You know that tall barracks -building at the northern edge of the pit, right under the wall?" - -"The one that is roofed?" I asked, and he nodded. "Yes, that's the one. -Well, we four will spend all our nights on that roof from now on. You -could come straight down the shaft, in your flying-car, and pick us up -from that roof in the darkness without the knowledge of any here in the -pit. But first, go and get aid from the people of Kom, as we planned." - -"And Cannell?" said Lantin. "You will look for him?" - -"Never fear," answered D'Alord, "we'll find him for you." - -The calm voice of Fabrius broke into our speech. "It is time to do -our part at the gate," he said to Denham, and the Englishman nodded. -"Good-bye," he told us. "I know you'll do your best." A warm hand-clasp -from each, and then they had slipped away into the shadows. - -For a minute or so, Lantin and I stood silent, listening to the tramp -of feet on the stair above us, and then a sudden high-pitched cry broke -on our ears from the center of the plaza. It was D'Alord's voice, and -he was shouting at the top of his lungs, "Out, comrades, out! We are -to be loosed on Kom tonight!" - -The cry rang out over the silent city, and then was repeated, but -louder, the Frenchman's three friends adding their voices to his. There -was an uneasy murmur from the guards at the gate, and one among them -called to the Frenchman, whom they could not see in the darkness, to -cease his shouting. - -He went on with the cry, unheeding, and now, out of the buildings along -the branching streets, men were pouring, running toward the plaza. They -heard D'Alord's cry and took it up, thinking that his statement was a -true one, and repeating it. - -"Loose us on Kom tonight!" they bellowed, rushing toward the gate of -the stair and pressing against it. Away across the great clearing, we -saw a sea of faces around the ruddy lighted gate, pressing against it -and against the high wall that balustraded the stair's length for the -first few yards. And from all around, from all of the nine branching -streets, came others, sword in hand, afire to be led out to loot the -city whose riches had been many times described to them. - -They beat against the barred gate in one buffeting wave of solid -humanity, in eager hope of freedom and pillage. Their cry rose up like -that of a single, vast voice, but in a thousand different tongues. - -"Loose us tonight! Loose us on Kom tonight!" - -There were anxious cries from the guards on the stair as the great mob -battered at the gate. Those of the guards who patrolled the stair's -upper part ran down swiftly to aid their fellows in holding the gate. -It was this that Lantin and I awaited, and at once I grasped the metal -grappling-hook, whirled it round my head by the attached rope, and then -sent it hurtling through the air toward the edge of the stair above us. - -It struck the outside of the stair's low wall with a loud clang that -brought my heart to my throat, and that I feared would attract the -attention of the guards at the gate, even over the clamor of the crowd. -But the hook had not caught and fell down beside me. - -Before I could throw it again there was a warning whisper from Lantin, -and in a moment a solid group of some fifty men rushed by us, heading -toward the riot at the gate, news of which had evidently penetrated -to the city's farthest reaches. They raced by, not seeing us in the -darkness, and after them came four or five single stragglers who -likewise passed us without stopping. Then, the coast again being clear -for the moment, I slung up the hook again, with more force than before, -and felt a throb of relief when it caught, slid a little along the edge -of the stair-wall, and then caught again. - -I tried the rope hastily, but it held firm, so I hastily began to climb -up it, by means of the thick knots along its length. Scrambling up -with panicky swiftness, I reached the rail, pulled myself over, and -lay gasping for a moment on the stair. Then, leaning over the rail, I -signaled to Lantin, whom I could see but dimly in the darkness. Bracing -myself against the wall of the stair, I pulled in the rope until -after a seeming eternity my friend's head appeared above the wall. He -scrambled over, and then, winding the rope around my body and tossing -the hook as far away as possible, I stood for a moment motionless. - -Across the plaza, and below us, was the gate, flooded with crimson -light and alive with activity. The mobs of the city's dwellers were -pressing against the gate, while the guards were repelling them by -thrusting through the bars with their long spears. And from all the -long streets that stretched away into the darkness there came the -sound of many running feet, and the cries of excited men. Certainly the -riot which our friends had kindled to aid us was no mean one. - - * * * * * - -A moment only I watched the scene below, then turned, and with Lantin -beside me, began the long climb up the spiral stair. - -As we toiled up along the steeply slanting spiral, the clamor at the -gates below gradually lessened in volume as we drew away from it. That -the riot below had not yet been quelled, though, was evident, for -before we had been on the stair ten minutes, a tiny beam of blue light -flashed out at the gate, a narrow little shaft of azure light that -clove up to the shaft above us, and seemed to stab straight up to the -metal cover of that shaft. - -I remembered Denham's words concerning the signaling of the guards, -and wondered if that was the cause of the little light. In a minute it -vanished, but as we raced on up around the great spiral, a faint sound -came down to us from far above, a grating clash of metal that we could -barely hear. - -"The temple floor!" I cried to Lantin. "They've swung it aside! They've -uncovered the shaft of the stairway!" - -He did not answer, out of breath from the toilsome climb. Before many -more minutes had passed, we had progressed half-way from the floor of -the cavern to its roof, up the stair. Abruptly something hissed down -from above through the circle of the spiral stair. The hissing was -repeated, and now I saw that it had been caused by a number of thick -ropes that had been dropped from above, and that now swung free at the -center of the stairway's spiral. - -I grasped Lantin, flung myself flat on the stair, pulling him down with -me. And not a moment too soon, for peering cautiously over the low -wall, I saw dark shapes flashing down along those swinging cables, in -long strings, one after another. When they had passed, we jumped to our -feet and sped on. - -"The guards from above," I told my companion. "Let's hope that all -above have gone down." - -On we raced, around and around the spiral, ever upward. The sound of -the riot in the pit had faded from our ears by now, and we came to the -roof of the cavern, and the shaft that pierced it. On we went, the wall -of the shaft on our left side now, and we hugged that wall closely as -we sped up the narrow pathway. - -I judged that we had traversed two-thirds of the stair's length, when -Lantin suddenly halted. When I turned, he held up a warning hand, -listening intently. - -"Hear it?" he asked, in a low voice. - -I listened tensely, and in a moment heard the sound that had halted -him. It was a rhythmic, regular thudding, and seemed to come from a -point some distance above us, and across the shaft from us. - -"The guards!" he whispered. "Some of them are coming down the stair!" - -All the blood drove from my heart at the thought, for we were caught -on the airy stairway without chance to advance or retreat. And every -minute that I stood there in indecision, the tramping feet of the -guards were nearing me. Why they were descending by the stair instead -of the ropes, I could not guess, though it may have been that they -had already started down the stair before the alarm from below. But -whatever the reason, they were coming nearer and nearer, until finally -they were directly across the shaft, coming around the down-slanting -curve of the stairway toward us. - -My brain, momentarily stupefied by the oncoming deadly peril, again -acted, and with frantic speed I unrolled the rope that was wound round -my body. The low wall that protected the stair's right side was pierced -at regular intervals with circular, ornamental openings, and swiftly I -passed the rope through one of these and tied it securely, then tied -its other end into a double loop. At once Lantin saw my purpose, and -with a muttered "Good!" he set his foot in one of the loops, while I -did the same with the other. - -Swiftly the tramping feet were coming around the curve toward us, -though in the murky darkness of the shaft we could make out nothing. -Feet in the loops at the rope's end, we grasped the low wall of the -stair and gently swung ourselves over it. Then, hanging above the -abyss, we lowered ourselves until we swung some twenty feet below the -stair, floating gently back and forth at the rope's end, with nearly -two miles of space below us. - -The marching guards came quickly around the stair's curve, and I held -my breath as they passed the place where our rope was tied. If one but -felt it and slashed carelessly with a knife, we would hurtle down to -death on the floor of the pit, far below. But the guards passed on, and -I could plainly hear the command of their leader to move faster, as -they went by us. - -Waiting until they had progressed to the opposite side of the shaft, -Lantin and I began to pull ourselves up. Slowly, toilsomely, we fought -our way upward until our hands gripped the stair's rail and we were -able to scramble over it onto the steps. - -As I rolled over the wall onto those steps, the hilt of my rapier -struck the metal stairway with a loud jar. Appalled, I lay tense for -minutes, but there was no sound to indicate the guards had heard, and -we could hear their marching footsteps dying away below. - -I rose to my feet, then, breathing hard. "A near shave, that," I told -Lantin, who was also struggling to regain his breath. "If those guards -had caught us on the stair, it would have been all up with us." Untying -the rope from the wall, I again wound it round my body, and stepped up -to where Lantin awaited me. - -He was looking back the way we had come, peering into the darkness. As -I stepped up toward him he cried suddenly, "Look out, Wheeler!" and -as I instinctively threw myself flat on the stairway, a heavy knife -hurtled out of the air behind me and passed over me, striking the wall. -I jumped to my feet and turned, ripping out my sword. - -Five steps down the stair from us a guard was standing, a tall, -dark-faced fellow whom I could just see in the nightmare blackness -of the shaft. In a flash, I knew that the clang of my rapier on the -stairway had been heard, by this fellow at least, and that he had come -back to investigate and had found us. - -The man below me uttered a hoarse cry, and ran straight up toward me, -his long spear aimed at my heart. But by now my own rapier was out, -and avoiding the spear by a quick sidestep, I thrust with my blade at -his throat, where no armor protected him. The stab was a true one, and -he sank to the stair with a choking, terrible cry that rang out eerily -there in the vast dark shaft. From far below his cry was answered. -There was no time to lose, and we pressed on up the stair. - -But now there were cries from below, and a bugle peal came up toward -us. It was evident that the alarm had been sounded by the cry of the -guard I had killed, and that we were being pursued. - -I knew that we were very near to the stair's top, by then, but although -we knew the metal cover of the shaft was not in place, there was no -light from the great opening above us, the great temple being as dark -as the shaft below it. - -"Pray God there are no guards at the top of the stair," I cried to -Lantin, as we sped upward. He did not answer, and from his agonized -breathing I knew that he was out of wind from our long, torturing -climb. And, away across the shaft now, there was a chorus of shouts as -the guards beneath raced after us. Their cries halted for a moment, and -by this I knew that they had found the body of the man I had killed. -Then, with yelps of rage, they sped on after us. - - * * * * * - -We staggered drunkenly up the last curve of the stair. Out of the -darkness appeared the little collapsible stairway which joined the -temple's black ring of flooring with the great spiral on which we -stood. There was no sign of the presence of any guards around or above -it, so I jerked out the sword at my belt, and clasping it in one hand, -strode cautiously up the little stair until I stood on the black -flooring that was the rim of the shaft up which we had come. - -Dense darkness reigned in the gigantic building, and the complete -silence in it showed me that it was deserted. Lantin was beside me now, -and the cries of the pursuing guards were ringing up the shaft ever -louder, as they neared us. I sprang to the building's wall, clawing -frantically along its side. - -Abruptly my hands encountered the thick lever I was searching for, and -as I jerked it down as far as it would go, I sobbed with relief. There -was a loud click, and the little collapsible stair swung up and folded -into an aperture in the wall. - -"That will hold them on the stair, for a time," I told my friend, who -had come up to me and was grasping my arm. As we raced around the wall -to the building's entrance and exit, I explained in a few words what I -had done. It was well for us, too, that I had remembered how the little -stair was folded and unfolded, for as we sped down the tunneled gateway -to the outside air, there came a shout of baffled rage from behind us, -as the guards on the stair found their progress thus stopped. - -Speeding down the arched tunnel through the temple's great wall, we -emerged at last into the open air. For a moment, heedless of the clamor -in the temple behind us, we stood with swelling hearts, breathing in -the free air, expanding, almost, there beneath the limitless sky, after -our sojourn in the cramped cavern below. - -Darkness reigned over the city of the Kanlars, a darkness intensified -by the absence of moon or stars above. From where we stood, the broad -street, plashed with ruddy light from the glowing bulbs along its -length, stretched away to the east, piercing the mass of winking lights -that betokened the city's presence. Even from where we stood, we could -see that there were many of the guards in the street, and there was no -chance of our passing them unchallenged. - -I turned to Lantin, but before I could speak we both shrank back into -the temple's entrance. Footsteps were sounding on the ground near us, -coming toward us along the outside of the temple's wall! - -We crouched against the wall of the tunneled entrance, hearing the -footsteps come nearer. From the temple behind us came the faint, -raging clamor of the guards on the stair, who were still blocked by my -stratagem. Then two figures appeared in the entrance of the tunnel, two -ghostly white figures who were advancing through the darkness. - -"Slaves!" muttered Lantin, and from the white robes and stiff -movements, I saw that he had guessed the identity of the two aright. -They walked on toward us, then passed us, at arm's length, walking -stiffly, mechanically, past us. Whether or not they saw us, I can not -say, though if they had glimpsed us, I doubt whether their soulless -natures would have understood the significance of our presence there. -At any rate, they passed us by, and proceeded on down the tunnel. - -My sword was in my hand, and grasping it by the blade six inches or -more beneath the hilt, I stole quickly down the tunnel after the -white-robed figures. As quietly as possible, I hastened after them, -and in a moment the heavy hilt of my rapier swung down on their skulls -in two swift blows, and they slumped to the floor. A low call brought -Lantin to my side, and we hastily pulled the long white robes from the -two on the floor, and put them on over our own clothing. I shuddered -with deep loathing, in the process, for these two men on the floor were -icy-cold to the touch. Dead-alive, and slaves to the Kanlars! I hoped, -at least, that my blows had released them from their dreadful servitude. - -Disguised now by the white garments, we hastened again out of the -tunnel and down the broad ramp into the red-lit street. We passed some -distance along that street before we came near to any of the guards, -and when we did so, we changed our pace, walking stiffly and rigidly, -eyes staring straight ahead, striving to give to our faces the blank, -deathly expression of the faces of the slaves. - -We were unchallenged, the guards passing us without giving us more than -a casual glance. And as we passed group after group of the armored men, -we began to breathe easier, though we still kept to our unlifelike walk -and expression. - - * * * * * - -As we drew farther toward the city's edge, the street became more -deserted. The buildings began to lessen in size and frequency, and we -were not far from the spot where the red lights along the street ended -and it became a road. - -Abruptly, I clutched Lantin's arm. From far behind us, from the temple -whence we had fled, there rose a great ringing sound, a vast bell-note -that echoed out over all the city clearly. It was repeated, and now, -from far behind us also, came a dim, angry clamor, a score or more of -raging shouts, through which there cut the clear note of a bugle. - -"The guards!" I whispered to Lantin, tensely. "Someone has found them -there on the stair! They're after us!" - -"Faster," he muttered to me, without turning. "We're almost out of the -city." - -It was so, in truth, for we were nearing the end of the street's -lighted part, while on each side the buildings were becoming fewer. We -had met no one on the street for the last few minutes, and as we passed -under the last of the glowing bulbs, I turned and cried to my friend, -"Out of the city, Lantin!" - -He caught his breath, turned to me, his face livid, and whispered, "For -God's sake, Wheeler, be still! That guard over there is watching us!" - -My heart contracted suddenly, as I looked toward the left of the street -and saw the man he referred to, a guard in full armor who stood at the -doorway of a small building and regarded us suspiciously. No doubt his -attention had been aroused by the spectacle of one slave talking to -another, and I cursed my folly in crying out to Lantin. - -We passed on, hearts thumping, into the darkness that lay beyond the -lane of crimson light. Once safe within it, we swiftly shed the white -robes, whose length hampered our movements, and then set out along the -road at a rapid trot. - -Away back in the city, the disturbed, angry clamor of our pursuers -lessened, faded. We were in open country now, and as the road soon -ended, we fled on over the long, grassy swells toward the east, toward -the hills and the valley where our time-car was hidden. - -"Safe!" I exulted, as we stumbled on through the thick darkness. -"They'll never even know what direction we took." - -"They will if the guard who saw us talking tells them what he saw," -replied Lantin, and I sobered. - -"Even then--" I began, but broke off suddenly, and looked back. -"Lantin!" I shouted. "Lantin!" - -Out of the city toward us were streaming a hundred or more men, -carrying with them on long poles many of the flashing red light-giving -bulbs, whose crimson rays struck down and glinted on the armor and -spear-points of the men who carried them. Over a mile behind, yet the -gap between us was fast decreasing as they came straight on toward us. - -"The grass!" I gasped, as we stumbled on; "they can track us easily by -it!" - -The grass over which we ran was high and seemingly very dry and -brittle, so that at every step we crushed down great masses of it -into a trail that a child could have followed. And a great, wolflike -shouting came from behind, as our pursuers struck our track. - -On we ran, lungs laboring and hearts near to bursting, but steadily the -guards behind us drew nearer until they were within a half-mile of us. -By that time, we knew that we must be drawing near to the valley where -our car was concealed, and then it was that our real race began. - -I heard Lantin's breath coming in great sobs, and knew that he was -almost winded. The long climb up the stair from the pit and the flight -through the city had sapped his strength, and his endurance was near -its breaking point. - -Through the darkness, a darker mass loomed up, and as we sped toward -it, it showed itself to us as the little wood that lay across the -valley's mouth. More by blind chance than by design, I think, we had -come straight toward our objective, and now we struggled through the -thicket with frantic bursts of speed. - -We emerged from the wood into the open valley, and as we did so, Lantin -sank to the ground. - -"Go on, Wheeler," he gasped. "You can get to the car and get away. I -can't go farther." - -I looked back, and saw that our pursuers were advancing in a broad -line through the wood, carrying forward a chain of the ruddy lights so -that we might not hide from them in the shadows. There was no grass -beneath the trees, and they could not track us in that way, but came on -swiftly, for all that, shouting to each other mirthfully. - -"I can't leave you here," I told Lantin. "If you stay, I stay." - -"Go on!" he ordered. "You can make it, without me. Hurry!" - -I glanced back, hesitated a moment, then swiftly stooped and swung an -arm under Lantin's shoulders, half lifting him to his feet. Then, half -dragging, half carrying him, I toiled up the valley toward our hidden -car. - -I did not look back, but long rays of red light stabbed past me as our -pursuers and their lights emerged from the wood. By that crimson glare -they saw me, for a savage cry went up. A few strides and I was at the -spot on the valley's bottom, on the slope above which lay the time-car. -With fast-waning strength, I started up that slope. - -Down the valley toward me bounded a score of men, spears and swords -gleaming in the light of the bulb-torches behind them. Dragging Lantin -on, blind with sweat and every muscle straining to its utmost power, I -toiled up the slope, more like a goaded, maddened beast than a human -being, while Lantin still besought me to drop him and save myself. - -And up the slope after me raced the shouting guards, a hundred yards -behind and gaining every second. I burst through the screen of boughs -around our car, and sobbed with relief to see that it was still there, -untouched. I spun open the circular door in its top, and dropped Lantin -inside. I had just placed my feet inside the opening, when a dozen of -the armored guards burst through the screen of branches, their red -bulb-torches illuminating the little clearing with crimson light. - -They stopped short on seeing me, some fifteen feet away. The three -nearest me raised their right arms above their heads, a heavy spear -poised in each. Then, like leaping metal serpents, the three heavy, -dagger-pointed weapons flashed through the air toward me. - -But in that split-second there came the click of a switch from the -interior of the car, a gust of sudden wind smote me, and then the -guards, torches, and even the three spears in midair had vanished, and -the car, Lantin and I were speeding on into time. - - - - - _CHAPTER 15_ - - OVER THE ICE - - -We had flashed through two days and nights before Lantin judged -it safe to stop our progress in time. By then, we had started the -space-movement mechanism, and had sent the car up to a height of a mile -above the ground. Once there, we snapped off the time-wave, and hung in -midair, motionless in both time and space. - -It was early morning now, bright and sunny, and peering down over the -car's side to the valley below, I could see no sign of life. In the two -days through which we had passed so quickly, it was evident that the -guards had given up searching for us and had returned to the city. I -wondered how they explained to themselves our sudden disappearance. - -I slid down into the car's interior, now, and closed the circular -door above me. Sinking down on the padded floor with utter weariness, -I tried to express to Lantin my thanks for saving my life, since had -he acted a fraction of a second later, I should have been struck down -by the flashing spears of our pursuers. But Lantin would not hear -me, declaring that alone he would have been unable ever to reach the -car, and so, conscious that without the other each of us would have -perished, we let the matter rest. - -In a few minutes, Lantin returned to the controls, and swinging the car -in a great circle, pointed it south, opening up the power gradually -until we were racing down toward the southern horizon with our highest -speed. Soon, far ahead, the glistening ice came into view, and in a few -minutes after that the green land behind us had dwindled to a speck -against the ice, and then vanished. High above the ground, we sped -across the endless ice, splitting the air like a meteor. - -Hour after hour we fled on, across the gleaming fields of whiteness. -The cold air had forced us to turn on the heater of the car, and -even with it, we were none too warm. Below, from horizon to horizon, -billowed the frozen fields, with here and there a white dune or hill to -break the monotony of the landscape. - -Finally, in midafternoon, a thickening line of black showed against -the southern horizon. We reduced our speed, and sinking closer to the -ground, sped down toward the black line. - -It seemed to grow as we came nearer, loomed larger and larger, until at -last we hung above the black mass, gazing down at it in silent awe. And -it was a wall. - -But what a wall! A gigantic, mountain-high and mountain-thick barrier -of solid black metal, extending as far as we could see, from the -eastern to the western horizon. A colossal barrier of metal, all of a -mile and a half in height, with a thickness at the bottom of nearly a -mile and at the top of half that much. A smooth-sided, dully gleaming -mass beside which the walls of mighty Babylon would have been toylike, -microscopic. - -And with that wall, the ice stopped. On the northern side of the -barrier, the fields of ice stretched away as far as the eye could -reach. But on its southern side there was no ice. Grass of dull green, -and small trees, gnarled and twisted by the glacier's cold, lay to the -wall's south, a vista of rolling, bleak plains that extended down to -the southern horizon. - -Hanging above the mighty, flat-topped barrier, we surveyed it, -stupefied. All around us was no sign of life. No sound, no movement. -Only the white expanse to the north, the green one to the south, and -between them, separating and defining them, the titanic wall. - -Lantin spoke, excitedly. "You see its purpose, Wheeler? It has been -built here as a dam to hold back the glacier, to stem the tides of ice. -But _how_ built? To think that men can do things like that!" - -I saw now that Lantin spoke aright, and that it was to dam the -engulfing, southward-flowing ice that the wall had been built. And I -was struck with awe at the achievement. What were the great Chinese -wall and Martian canals, to this? Here in the far future, fifteen -thousand years ahead of our own time, we were seeing another step in -the conquest of nature by man. He had leveled mountains and turned -rivers, and here, below us, had thrust forth a hand and halted the -resistless glaciers. - -An hour we hung above the colossal barrier, fascinated, and then -remembered our mission and sped again south. - - * * * * * - -As we rocketed on, we could see no sign of life below, nothing but the -bleak arctic plains with here and there some sparse vegetation. - -Again Lantin cried out, and when I looked south, I discerned an odd -flicker of light, a seeming hesitating wavering of the air. We sped -down toward it, dropping down again to a scant mile above the ground. - -Far ahead showed expanses of bright green, and as we drew nearer, I saw -that there were small patches of white against the green, oddly regular -in shape. As we sped on, these white blotches changed to buildings, -and the green to verdant lawns and gardens, in which they were set. -Again Lantin stopped the car, while we looked down, puzzled. For in a -straight line from east to west, was the boundary, the limit, of the -gardens and the buildings. North of that line were the cold, wind-swept -plains and stunted, arctic vegetation, while south of the same -invisible line, seemingly only a few feet from the bleak tundras, began -the luxuriant, tropical gardens, stretching away south as far as the -eye could see. And also the elusive flicker of light seemed to begin -at the same point, and to be present everywhere south of it. If you -have ever seen the flicker of heated air above railway tracks or hot -sand, on a warm afternoon, you will understand me. It was like that, an -elusive, fleeting wavering in the air, below us. - -"I can't understand it," said Lantin, pointing down to the invisible -line which separated arctic world from tropic. "Gardens like those, -only a few feet away from the cold plain." - -"It's beyond me," I told him. "Another thing, Lantin, the car is as -cold as ever, even with the heater functioning. Yet down there the -country looks tropical." - -He shook his head, and starting the car, we sped on south, as cold -as we had been above the glacier, while below was a landscape that -reminded me of Florida, in my own time. Set in the lawns and gardens, -the white buildings became more numerous as we sped on. We could see -that they were of varying shapes, some cone-shaped, others cubical, -while still others were spherical, like great globes of white stone -sunk a little in the earth. The cone-shaped buildings were the most -numerous, I saw, though there were many of the other designs. But -nowhere was there a building that was cylindrical. - -Ever and again our eyes caught that inexplicable flicker in the air -below us. We were flying with reduced speed, now, less than a mile -above the ground, and beneath us the lawns and gardens had disappeared, -giving way to the crowded buildings of a great city. In the broad -streets of that city were tiny, moving figures, and many vehicles -seemed to flash continually along the wide avenues. But there was no -sign of aircraft. - -Always the buildings grew larger, and it was plain that we were -approaching the city's center. Away ahead of us a great cone began to -loom up gigantically, an immense, cone-shaped building that was fully -as large as the temple of the Raider, back in the city of the Kanlars. -We changed our course, headed down toward the colossal center building. -As we drew nearer, we saw that it was smooth and unbroken of side, and -at its top it was truncated, flattened, the summit of the cone forming -a flat, circular platform a few hundred feet in diameter. We glimpsed -this much, and then Lantin sent the car down on a long slant toward the -cone's flat summit. - -"We'll land there," he said. "This city is Kom, without doubt." - -I nodded but did not answer, for my attention was engaged by something -else. As we slanted smoothly down toward the cone, with moderate -speed, I noticed that the strange flicker of light that had puzzled -us seemed to be growing plainer, stronger, nearer. It apparently hung -steady above the cone, a few rods over its summit. And as we rushed -down toward that summit, the truth struck me, and the nature of the odd -flickering was clear to me in a sudden flash of intuition. - -"Lantin!" I screamed. "That flicker! It's a roof, a transparent roof! -Stop the car!" - -His face livid, he reached toward the space-mechanism control, but -before ever his hand touched it, there was an ear-splitting crash, I -was thrown violently forward in the car, and as my head hit its steel -wall with stunning force, something seemed to explode in my brain, and -consciousness left me. - - - - - _CHAPTER 16_ - - BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF KOM - - -Through a throbbing, pain-racked darkness, light came down to me, -stronger and stronger. There was a dull, monotonous sound that seemed -to float down to me from great heights. I turned, struggled, opened my -eyes. - -I was lying on a soft mat, set on a low, narrow platform of metal. -Above me was a high, white ceiling, and as I half-raised myself on one -arm, I was able to survey the rest of the room in which I lay. - -It was a bright, airy room, white-walled and sunny. At one end of it -were high, open windows, without glass or shutter, and through them -streamed the sunlight and the soft air. Except for the bed on which I -lay, and two metal chairs of simple design, the room was quite bare, -but it was an austere, clean bareness that was pleasing to the eye. - -Now memory rushed back to me, and sudden fear came with it. Where was -Lantin? Had he survived the crash? I began to struggle up from my -reclining position, but sank back for a moment as a door in one of the -walls slid aside, and a man entered the room. - -Tall and commanding of appearance, with dark hair and clear youthful -face, yet something about the eyes stamped him as a man of middle age, -almost elderly. He was dressed in a short white tunic, bordered with -three narrow stripes of purple. When he perceived that I was awake and -regarding him, he paused for a moment in surprize, then came on toward -me. - -A friendly smile illumined his face as he spoke to me, in the Kanlar -tongue. - -"You are awake, Wheelaire? And your friend, too, has just awakened." - -"Lantin!" I exclaimed. "He is all right? He was not hurt?" - -The other smiled. "No more than yourself. Would you like to see him?" - -I assented eagerly, and made to rise, but he pushed me back. "It is not -needful," he said, and reaching down to the foot of the metal platform -on which I lay, he touched a concealed button. At once, the platform -rose gently from its supports until it swung in the air four feet above -the floor. When my new-found friend laid his hand on its edge, it moved -gently through the air under the impetus of a slight push. - -He saw my astonishment, and explained, "The metal is clorium, the same -material we once used for our air-boats. It is weightless, under the -influence of certain forces." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "My -name is Kethra." - -Pushing my platform easily through the air before him, he was moving -toward the door of the room when I stopped him with a gesture. "Can -I look from the window there a moment?" I asked, indicating the high -openings. By way of answer, he stepped over to the window in question, -his hand on my platform's edge bringing me there also. I raised myself, -gazed eagerly out. - -I saw at once that I must be near the top of the great cone-shaped -building we had been making for when we crashed. Below, and all around, -the white buildings extended to the horizons, looking like thousands -of huge geometry-models cast down indiscriminately, cones and spheres -and cubes. High above them as I was, yet I could discern swift movement -in the streets, crowds of pedestrians surging to and fro, flashing -vehicles of strange design, that followed the broad thoroughfares, -rising in the air here and there to pass over each other. Glancing away -down the long, slanting side of the cone near whose summit I stood, I -saw at its base other great crowds, who massed and swirled aimlessly -around the building. I turned to Kethra. - -"And this is Kom?" I said. - -He nodded. "It is Kom." - -I pointed toward the teeming crowds that eddied around the building's -base. "You must count your people here by the millions?" I queried. - -His face grew somber as he too looked down at the masses of humanity -below. "It is seldom there are crowds like that," he said. "But this -is a time of great events, and our people gather around this building, -which is the seat of the Council of Kom, that they may learn what -decisions have been made." - -He turned from the window, face solemn and unsmiling now, and with a -slight push sent my platform drifting toward and through the door. -Conducting me down a long corridor, he turned in at another room, -similar in every detail to the one I had just left. And there, standing -up and gazing down through an open window as I had just done, was -Lantin. - -He turned and saw me, came toward me anxiously. At a touch from Kethra, -my platform sank down to the floor, and assisted by my friend, I rose -weakly to my feet. - -"You're all right, Wheeler?" he asked quickly. I assured him that I -was, for the weakness and dizziness I had felt were rapidly leaving -me. Lantin laughed ruefully. "What a fool's trick of mine, to smash -straight down into that roof!" He pointed upward, toward the blue sky, -and walking over to the window beside him, I looked up curiously. - -There was the same flicker in the sky that I had noticed from above, -an elusive, wavering flash of light that I knew now was caused by the -sunlight glinting off the flat, transparent roof. - -"The roof," I said to Kethra, "does it cover all the city?" - -"All of Kom lies beneath it," he said. "Without it, could we live like -this?" He swept an arm around in a wide gesture that included the soft, -warm air, the open windows, and the white city below, laced with the -greenery of gardens. - -"But how is it built?" I asked. "How supported? Is it glass, or what -material?" - -"It's no material at all," he replied, astoundingly. "It's force." - -I looked at him, a little incredulously. "Force? It was solid enough -when we crashed into it." - -"Yes, it is force," he smiled. "That's the reason it is almost -invisible, from above or below. It is a perpetual sheet of electric -force, drawn over the city from end to end. It is so designed and -projected, from a ring of stations around the city, that it excludes -some vibrations of the ether, and allows others to enter. For instance, -it excludes the vibrations called matter, such as air, or such as your -car. All of the city's air is pumped in through special vents in the -force-shield. On the other hand, it allows the vibrations of light and -of radiant heat to enter, and so our city is lighted and heated by the -sun itself. Without such a shield, we would be living in a city as -bleak and cold as the plains that surround it." - -"So we crashed into an invisible field of force," I said, and shook my -head. "Well, it seemed solid enough when we hit it." - -"The most powerful force in the world could not crash through it," -said Kethra, "and it is fortunate that you were not going at high -speed or you would have been annihilated. As it was, we found you both -lying unconscious in your car, up on the force-shield, and as we can -neutralize it at will, at given spots, we were able to bring you down -to the city." - -"But the car!" I cried. "It is not destroyed, is it? It was not -completely smashed?" - -He shook his head. "It was hardly damaged at all," he assured us. "The -point, or prow, was bent back, but that has already been repaired." -He paused a moment, then said an astounding thing. "The car does you -credit, in its design. It is too bad that, after making it and coming -so far into the future, you have been unable to find your friend." - -I gasped and looked at Lantin. His face reflected utmost surprize, and -he said, "I didn't tell him, Wheeler. I'll swear I didn't." - -Kethra smiled. "Neither of you told me," he said. "But you have lain -unconscious for a day, and in that time we learned all your story, my -friends, and learned how you came here to warn us of the peril beyond -the ice, that peril of an evil being, whom you call the Raider." - -"But how?" I asked helplessly. - -In answer, he touched a button set in the wall, and motioned us to -seat ourselves in the chairs beside the window. A green-robed servant -entered, in a moment, with a metal cabinet. He handed this to Kethra, -and then departed. - - * * * * * - -The cabinet was an oblong box of black metal, a yard or more in its -greatest length. Our companion touched a stud in the floor with his -sandaled foot, and a small square section of the floor sprang up on -four legs, or supports, forming a little table. Setting the cabinet on -this table, our friend opened it. - -Inside was a small, gleaming apparatus, consisting of a squat little -box on which was set a small horn like that of a radio loud-speaker, -but much smaller. From the box a flexible cord led, splitting at -its end into three separate cords, each of which was metal-tipped. -Setting this on the table, Kethra then drew from the cabinet three or -four small, shapeless objects, gray and withered and deeply wrinkled, -smaller in size than a baseball, the nature of which I could not guess. - -He turned to us, now. "This mechanism," he said, indicating the -gleaming apparatus, "is what we call a brain-reader. As you know, the -brain preserves in its convolutions an indelible, unchangeable record -of every word and action. When we remember a thing, we simply refer -to that record, which we call memory, but which is in reality a very -tiny change, but a lasting one. And this apparatus, when connected to -a human brain by way of the nervous system, reads, from the myriad -convolutions of that brain, the record of memory which is stamped on -those convolutions." - -With a swift movement, he fastened three clamps of metal to his body, -one above the forehead, one around the neck, and the other along his -spine. "These clamps make direct contact to the nervous system, through -the skin," he explained, "and to them I attach the three cords from the -brain-reader," suiting the action to the word. This done, he snapped -a switch in the little box beneath the horn, and at once a nasal, -metallic voice began to speak from that horn, in the Kanlar tongue. - -Kethra's own voice came to us above the twanging one from the -brain-reader. "It is giving a record of my experiences within the last -few hours," he explained, "and will go back farther and farther as it -continues, back to my very first memory, if allowed to run. Or I can -use it to concentrate on any given period of my own life, and it will -read with unvarying accuracy the impressions and sensations of my brain -during that period. A mechanical, perfect memory," and he snapped off -the switch and removed the clamps from his body. - -"Nor does its usefulness stop there," he added, while we stared -dumfoundedly at the little mechanism. "Here," he went on, picking -up one of the withered gray objects, "is a human brain, the brain -of one of the great men of our people, who died five centuries ago. -And yet every memory and every thought and sensation in his life, -imprinted unchangeably on his brain, is available to us by using the -brain-reader." - -He rapidly fitted over the withered brain a hollow hemisphere of -metal, and attached to it the cords from the apparatus. A snap of the -switch, and again the same nasal voice broke the silence, from the -horn, speaking in the Kanlar tongue, and reading steadily on from the -brain it was connected with, reciting the inmost thoughts and ideas -and aspirations of a man dead for five hundred years. I shuddered, -involuntarily, and Kethra snapped off the apparatus. - -"It seems strange to you," he said, "but you will see the wisdom of -such an apparatus. When a great man dies, a man of mental ability -above the rest of us, his brain is removed, especially prepared, and -then filed and indexed in a building reserved for that purpose. There -are thousands of brains preserved there, and every one of them is -available at all times, by means of the brain-reader, to aid us with -its knowledge, its experience, its memories. Thus when a man dies among -us, his intelligence does not die, but remains as a record for us to -consult at will, a record of that man's ideas and achievements." - -"And while we were unconscious," I broke in, "you used the brain-reader -on us? Learned our story, learned why we came here?" - -"It is so," he said, and his face darkened. "We sought to know who -you might be, the first strangers ever to approach us. And from the -brain-reader came your amazing tale, and we know all that you came to -tell us, concerning that creature of evil you term the Raider. And it -is that knowledge that has brought those crowds below to await the -decision of the Council." - -"But the Raider?" I cried. "_What_ is it, Kethra? Do you know?" - -"I know," he said simply, and a brooding expression dropped on his -face. "I know," he repeated, "and all here in Kom know. And that you -too may know, who have had dealings with this same Raider, I will -relate to you what we do know. Soon the council meets, and you will be -questioned further. But now--" - -He was silent a moment, then spoke in a voice vibrant and low-toned. - - * * * * * - -"The history of the Kanlars," he began, "the people of the cylinders, -the evil ones whose doom draws near. Know, men of the past, that ages -ago, though not so far back as your own time, our people dwelt in -four mighty cities, each of which was nearly as large as Kom itself. -There was no ice-flood from the north, then, and the country around -those cities was green and fair, yet none lived in that country, all -preferring the gayer life of the vast towns. Long ago, the people had -learned to make their food from the soil direct, as we do today, and so -there was no need of tilling the land, or living on it. And so, into -the four great cities had drifted all the people in this land. - -"In each city, the buildings were constructed of a different design. -Here in Kom, all of the buildings were cone-shaped, and thus this -became known as Kom, the city of cones, and we, the dwellers in it, as -the people of the cones. Another city was the city of cubes, another -the city of spheres, and still another the city of cylinders. - -"Each of these four cities was free and independent, each ruled by a -council selected by its inhabitants. And being thus independent, there -arose rivalry between the cities, and fierce jealousy. Each strove to -outdo the others, in their scientific achievements, and each strove to -keep its blood from intermixing with the others. Thus in the city of -cylinders, the Kanlars, or people of the cylinders, gradually evolved -into a bright-haired race, while in Kom, the Khluns, or people of the -cones, were a dark-haired race. And the other two cities differed -likewise from each other and the rest. - -"Ages passed, and then down from the north rolled a mighty tide of ice, -sweeping over the whole land and submerging all under its frozen flood. -It rolled down toward the four cities, and finally had forged south -until it was at the gates of the city of cubes. In desperation, the -people of the cubes appealed to those in Kom for shelter, and it was -granted them. They came down to Kom, every one, and the ice rolled over -and hid the city of cubes. Next it engulfed the city of spheres, and -its people likewise found refuge in Kom, which was the most southern of -all the four cities. And finally, the ice-tide swept over the city of -cylinders, and its people, the Kanlars, were forced to seek refuge in -Kom also, though they liked it not. - -"But the ice did not stop. It came on, ever south, until it threatened -to cover Kom also, and leave our people homeless and shelterless. So, -taking counsel among themselves, the people of Kom set out to stop the -progress of the glacial sheet. - -"They kindled great uprisings far beneath the earth's surface, until -the tortured earth heaved up in a great wall across the ice-flood's -path. And then, that this wall of earth might not be swept away, the -scientists of Kom showed them a way by which every kind of material -could be transmuted at will into other elements, by a recasting of its -electronic structure. And, using this power, the people of Kom smoothed -the gigantic barrier they had created, and then, using the instruments -their scientists had devised for them, they turned on the great wall -a ray that changed it to metal by its power of element-transmutation. -It was finished, and when the ice rolled down to this smooth -mountain-range of metal, it was checked, halted. Far away, on either -side, it rolled on and engulfed the country, but the wall so dammed it -that it could not progress farther toward the city. - -"Yet the cold of the glacier was not halted by the wall, and to combat -that cold, the great shield of force was devised that stretches over -all Kom, and into which you crashed in your car. It admitted the sun's -light and heat, but excluded the cold winds from the glacier. And thus, -having thwarted nature itself, the troubles of the people of Kom were -seemingly at an end. - -"The people of the other three cities settled down contentedly enough -in Kom, and each people built their own type of dwelling, cube or -sphere or cylinder. And all mixed, intermarried, and mingled in race, -with the exception of the Kanlars, the people of the cylinders. These -still held apart, though unobtrusively. - -"And as the years went by, the scientists of Kom came to more and -more wisdom. They found ways to strengthen their own bodies, so that -they lived for great stretches of time, as we do yet. They sent their -explorers out to other planets, they cast their vision out to the -farthest stars. They learned to create life, and they learned to -conquer death, almost. The flight of the soul from the body they could -not control, for there is a wisdom above man's, but the body itself -they could retain as moving and lifelike as in life itself, though -soulless. - -"It seemed, indeed, that no other steps of wisdom remained up which to -climb. And then, without the knowledge of the other people, the Kanlar -scientists set themselves to conquer the secret of time. Unable to find -a way of controlling time themselves, of moving in it at will, they -created a monstrous, undreamed-of thing, a thing of shapeless, inchoate -body, which was yet living, and which could transform itself, at will, -into mists and vapors, and in that gaseous form could travel at will -through time. And this thing the Kanlars made, setting in it three orbs -of light that were its organs of sense and its seat of intelligence, -and this thing is the same that you now call the Raider. - -"This, indeed, happened in my own lifetime, a scant score of years ago. -And when the Kanlars brought their creation before the supreme council -of Kom, I was a member of that council. - -"They explained the power of their creation, they showed its life, its -intelligence. And they proposed to the council a plan which possession -of the Raider made possible. - -"They pointed out that since the Raider could travel at will through -time, it could whirl back into the past, or into the future, and seize -people from every age, bringing them back to our own time to be our -slaves. Always there had been none but free people in our cities, nor -were slaves needed, since nearly all of our work was done by machinery, -yet such was the evil plan of the Kanlars. - -"The council rejected the plan in horror. And it also warned the -Kanlars that unless they destroyed the thing they had made, the council -would hunt it out and destroy it itself. The Kanlars left in rage, and -took with them the Raider, but later they promised to destroy it within -a certain period of time, saying that they desired to study it further -before doing so. - -"So for a time they kept the Raider, and it grew swiftly in power and -intelligence, until it became a deity to the Kanlars, a being whose -every word to them was law. Again the council warned them to destroy -their creation, and again they agreed to do so. But in secret, on a -night soon after, every one of the Kanlars assembled on their air-boats -and fled from the city, taking with them the Raider. - -"We could not know where they had gone, but sent out many scouts to -search for them. And when all our scouts had returned without finding -trace of them, we decided that they had fled with their evil god to -another planet, and so the matter rested. We had always thought that -the ice-fields in the north extended clear to the pole, and could not -know of the land there where the Kanlars had gone. - -"But now, with the knowledge the brain-reader gleaned from you while -you were unconscious, all the people in Kom know the peril that hangs -over them, know that the Raider and the Kanlars have gathered thousands -of fierce warriors from all ages, and that they plan to sweep down and -loot our city and kill its people. So the council meets, now, to decide -what course of action we will take." - -Kethra finished, and I silently pondered his amazing story, but Lantin -broke in with a query. "Two things puzzle me," he said; "how is it -that you speak the same tongue as the Kanlars, and why are there no -cylindrical buildings in the city below? You spoke of each people -building its own design of dwellings here, but there are no cylinders." - -"When the Kanlars fled," Kethra explained, "the cylinders were -demolished, for none of the other peoples would then live in them. As -to our language, it was always the same, for all the four cities. You -call it the Kanlar tongue because you heard it first from them, but it -is equally the language of the people of Kom." - - * * * * * - -Before we could ask more questions, a single bell-note sounded from a -corner of the room. "The council," murmured Kethra; "you are summoned -before it." - -He motioned us out of the room and led us down the corridor outside, -toward a small elevator that was curiously familiar in appearance, -there in that building of the future. A lever was touched and we -flashed silently down a long shaft, past level after level of the -great cone's interior. The car stopped, and we stepped out of it into -a small antechamber. Following Kethra across it, we strode through a -high, arched entrance, into a great amphitheater, a semicircular room -with bank on bank of rising tiers of seats. In each seat was a man -attired like Kethra, and the gaze of all was instantly focused on us as -we entered. On a dais at the semicircle's center sat four men, older -than the others, and there was another chair beside the four, which was -empty. A servant swiftly placed two collapsible seats on the dais, on -which Lantin and I seated ourselves. Then Kethra strode to the front of -the dais and began to address the assemblage. - -He spoke in an even, unraised voice, but from the expressions on the -faces of the council members it was easy to see that his words were of -intense interest to them. He reviewed the history of Kom, which he had -already briefly recounted to us, and then pointed out the peril that -threatened the city. He concluded with a strong plea that the people of -Kom should take the offensive and strike at the Kanlars and the Raider -in their own city, rather than let the battle come to Kom. - -When he had finished, there were many questions as to the means to be -employed for the battle. It seemed that air-boats had not been used -greatly of late in Kom, because of the difficulty of flying beneath the -great roof of force, and thus it would be hard to transport a force -over the ice-fields in any short space of time. - -But Kethra waved aside these objections. A great fleet of air-boats -could be made in a few days, he declared, if the people of Kom -turned their energies toward it. As to weapons, the scientists of Kom -could design these, and they would also be made in great numbers, as -effective as possible. - -A solidly built, white-haired man in a lower row stood up and -exclaimed, "But what of the Raider?" (I give our own equivalent of -the unpronounceable term used by the people of Kom for that being). -"Remember he is powerful, how powerful we can not even guess. And, if -hard-pressed, he can flee into time and bide his time to strike at us -again, with or without the Kanlars." - -"Not so," replied Kethra. "When we build our air-boats, we will equip -each with the time-traveling apparatus invented by these two men, which -is installed in their own car. Thus equipped, our air-boats will be -able to pursue the Raider into time and destroy him, should he flee -there." - -There were other objections, other questions, but Kethra overrode them -all. It was plain that he was intent on following his plan of striking -at the Kanlars unexpectedly, instead, of awaiting their attack, and he -finally won the council over to his side. We were called on twice to -furnish information on pertinent points, and finally, after hours of -debate, the council voted by a large majority to build with all speed -a great fleet of air-boats, equipped for time-traveling, like our own -car. As soon as completed, and provided with weapons by the scientists, -the entire force was to speed north under the leadership of Kethra, -drop unexpectedly upon the city of the cylinders, and crush the Kanlars -and the Raider forever. - - - - - _CHAPTER 17_ - - THE BATTLE--AND AFTER - - -Six days after that momentous meeting of the council, a mighty fleet -of air-boats rose and circled above the city. The character of the -invisible force-shield above the city had been altered to allow the -passage of any air-boat through it, and now no less than five hundred -of the air-boats hovered over Kom. In design they were much like the -ones I had vaguely glimpsed in the city of cylinders, long and flat and -narrow, pointed at either end and with a low wall around their sides -for the protection of their occupants. - -The people of Kom had worked wonders in those six days, thus to -construct half a thousand of the flying cars, and to equip them with -a time-wave apparatus like our own. Every car was thus equipped, the -apparatus on each being a direct copy of that in our own car. Lantin -and I still clung to our own car, however, which had been overhauled -for us by the scientists of Kom after our crash, and which was unhurt -by the collision. And most of our time, during that period, had been -engaged in directing the manufacture of the time-traveling apparatus, -and teaching a selected few the operation of it. These few, in turn, -taught many others, and by the time we were ready for our start, there -was at least one man on each air-boat who understood the time-wave -mechanism. - -The plans of our expedition were simple enough. We were to drop down -on the city of cylinders, destroy it utterly, and annihilate both the -Kanlars and the Raider, if possible. I think that in reality none of -the members of our expedition had any real desire to meet the Raider, -but I knew that in spite of the fear they had of him, they would obey -the orders of Kethra without faltering. - -I knew but little of the weapons which the scientists of Kom had -furnished to the occupants of the air-boats. Kethra had spoken to us -of a sound-ray, an intense beam of sound-vibrations which, directed -on some object, could be changed in frequency until it matched that -object's frequency of vibration, which would result in the destruction -of the thing so focused on. It was the principle of two tuning-forks, -which will cause each other to vibrate across a great distance, if of -the same period of vibration. I had heard mention of other weapons, -also, designed to combat the Raider, but had seen none of these. - -Now, as the great fleet hovered and circled above the white city of -Kom, with our own time-car poised above the fleet, a single large -air-boat drove up through the mass of the others and hung beside us. -It was the car of Kethra, a long, black one, and near its pointed prow -stood the white-robed leader himself. - -He bent, spoke an order into a mouthpiece, and then his car slanted up -and northward, with swiftly increasing speed, while the great fleet -below did likewise, his order being communicated by a form of radio -to every air-boat. Still hanging beside the car of Kethra, our own -time-car raced along, since we were to guide the fleet toward the city -of cylinders. - -By the time Kom had disappeared behind us, the fleet was flying almost -two miles high, in wedge-shaped formation, with our time-car and the -air-boat of Kethra at the wedge's apex. - -It was late morning when we flashed high over the colossal metal wall -that held back the ice-flood. It soon vanished behind us, and we were -again flashing north across the ice-fields. - -The sun's rays slanting down almost vertically on the ice far below set -up a dazzling glare that was almost blinding. Looking back, I saw an -air-boat behind and below us crash into the one ahead of it, and both -plunged down to destruction on the ice. Some half-dozen cars spiraled -down toward the wreckage, but the main body of the fleet swept on, -unheeding of such accidents. - - * * * * * - -All of that day the fleet raced on, while, in the time-car, Lantin -slowed our pace to keep beside them. Sunset came, an arctic sunset, -with a crimson globe of fire falling down behind the boundless steppes -of ice, suffusing the sky with a glare like blood. Abruptly Lantin -uttered a low exclamation, seized binoculars and gazed north through -the window beside him. - -I sprang to his side, and when he handed me the glasses I saw, far -ahead, a little cluster of black dots that stood out jet-black against -the crimson sunset. But already Kethra too had seen them, and a score -of cars leaped forward from the main body of the fleet, in pursuit, our -own time-car among them. - -We flashed up toward them, and they grew in size, resolved themselves -into air-boats much like those around us. As we neared them, they -turned and fled north. Two of them, much swifter than the others, were -out of sight almost in a second, safely beyond our pursuit, but the -others, seven in number, saw that escape was impossible, so they turned -to fight. - -For a moment, the fight was on their side, for they turned quite -unexpectedly and raced straight toward us, in a solid mass. Lantin's -hands flashed over the controls and our car slanted up above the -onrushing seven with the speed of lightning, but as it did so a blue -flash leapt from the foremost of them and barely missed us. - -The air-boats behind us were not so fortunate, for as the streaks of -blue light from the enemy touched them, four plunged down to the ice, -in flames. The seven attackers, unscathed thus far, passed under them -in a swooping dip, turned, and came racing back for another blow. - -But now the surprize of our forces was gone, and they struck back. A -sudden sound smote our ears, even in the time-car, a low thrumming -sound that rose in pitch higher and higher. I could see the men on our -air-boats pointing blunt-nosed metal objects toward the oncoming cars -of the enemy, and abruptly the significance of it struck me, and I -understood that they were using the sound-ray Kethra had mentioned. - -The seven air-boats rushed on toward our own, and I had a flashing -glimpse of their decks, crowded with armored guards and with a few of -the brilliant-robed Kanlars directing them. Blue flashes leapt again -from the seven, and two more of the air-boats of Kom cometed down in -bursts of fire, but now, as the seven dipped again under the air-boats -of the Khluns, the thrumming, high-pitched sound increased sharply in -intensity, and I saw five of the seven Kanlar cars literally break -up into small pieces and fall, tumbling down toward the ice-fields -below them in a shower of men and small pieces of metal. It was the -power of sound, which causes a steam-whistle to shake a house to its -foundations, a thousand times amplified by the apparatus devised by the -men of Kom. - -The remaining two air-boats of the Kanlars attempted to flee, but in -a moment they too broke up and fell, as the men of Kom altered the -vibration-frequency of their apparatus to affect the two remaining cars. - -Behind us, now, the great main fleet of our air-boats was coming up, -and there was a short halt in midair. Kethra's air-boat swept up beside -us, and I opened the door in the top of our time-car, and stood up to -hear him. - -"Those were scouts," he cried to us, "a patrol of the Kanlars' -air-boats. And two got away! They'll warn the Kanlars of our coming." - -"But what do you intend to do?" I asked. "You'll not give up the -attack?" - -"No!" he shouted. "We'll go on, and meet them if they come out. But -there will be no surprize now." - -"But what of our friends?" I asked. "We were to rescue them from the -pit." - -"We'll send an air-boat for them," he said. "It can speed up to the -city of cylinders, and since the Kanlars will come down to meet us now, -it can sink down into the shaft you spoke of without interference, and -get your friends. I will need you with me, to guide us to the city of -Kanlars, in case their fleet doesn't come out to meet us." - -And so we swiftly decided. At an order from Kethra, an air-boat slanted -up toward us and hung beside us. We gave the pilot of it, and his two -assistants, precise information that would enable them to reach the -temple and get down to the pit, where they could rescue our comrades -from the roof-top where they would be awaiting us. The pilot was -instructed to race up toward the city of cylinders in a wide circle, -to avoid meeting any of the Kanlars' air-boats, and when the city was -deserted by guards and Kanlars, as we were confident it would be, he -could easily penetrate to the temple and the pit. He promised to carry -out our instructions faithfully, and sped away into the gathering dusk -toward the northwest. - - * * * * * - -Night was falling now, and with an order from Kethra, the fleet again -began to move, speeding toward the north, but going warily now, -with a fringe of swift scouts flying above and far ahead, and with -Kethra's car and our own soaring at the point of the fleet's triangular -formation. - -On we sped, into the darkness, showing no lights and progressing -entirely by compass. Midnight came and passed, while we raced north -over the limitless ice-fields, and it began to seem that the Kanlars -had no stomach for fighting, now that we had come to attack them. I -relieved Lantin at the controls of our car, an hour after midnight, and -while he caught a little sleep on the car's floor, we soared smoothly -on. - -The soundless, mighty fleet of air-boats moving steadily along behind -me, the monotonous, endless ice below, and the hour after hour that -passed without any attack materializing, all of these smoothed down -the fears in my mind and lulled me into a temporary lassitude. Half -drowsing at the controls of the car, I kept beside the air-boat of -Kethra, speeding on into the thick darkness. A glance at a dial told -me that we were within a hundred miles of the ice-field's end, and the -thought pulled me up somehow from the sudden weariness that had gripped -me. Then, a half-mile ahead of me, there was a blinding glare of azure -light, a crash that came loudly to my ears even from that distance, and -then silence. - -Through the mighty fleet behind me pulsed a sudden murmuring sound, a -whisper of excitement, of expectancy. Lantin, aroused by the crash, -jumped up and was at my side. - -"One of the scouts," I cried to him; "the Kanlars are attacking them, -and one was destroyed." - -Even as I spoke, two more blue flashes jetted out of the darkness -ahead, and two air-boats that were racing back to us went down in -flames. And then, rushing toward us out of the darkness, came the -Kanlar fleet. - -In the very van of our own fleet, I had a twisted, misty vision -of myriad dark shapes that rushed toward us; then, instinctively, -I slanted our time-car up and sped up above the battle. We were -weaponless, for the sound-rays could not have been used through the -walls of our closed car, and so to remain in the very center of the -conflict was to invite purposeless destruction. - -For a moment, the world was filled with crashing sounds, as the two -oncoming fleets met, their air-boats crashing here and there into -air-boats of the opposing fleet. Then the battle resolved itself with -sudden decision into myriad individual combats. - -Stretching far away into the night, all around us, lay the two fleets, -inextricably mixed and mingled with each other, and incapable of -acting in two single units. Flashes of blue lightning burned from the -air-boats of the Kanlars, and car after car of the Khluns was going -down to death on the ice two miles below. By the light of the flashes, -and the ensuing flames, the scene below us was ghastly, the air-boats, -filled with brazen-armored guards and bright-robed Kanlars, or with -the white-clad Khluns, grappling there in midair, plunging down to -destruction, or swooping giddily upon one another. There was a chorus -of humming sounds that rose even above the roar of the battle, and here -and there the air-boats of the Kanlars were disintegrating and falling, -spilling forth their occupants in midair. It was well that the Khluns -had constructed their own air-boats of a material immune to their own -sound-rays, since mixed as the battle was, many of their cars would -have been downed by their own allies' weapons. - -The battle had met and joined in less than a minute, while we hung -above it. So far the fighting had been even, but now a thing occurred -that tipped the scale in the Kanlars' favor. - -Without warning, every air-boat of the Khluns suddenly glowed with -misty light. Shouts of surprize and rage came up to us. The cars of the -Kanlars were as dark as ever, and now, swooping out of the darkness -upon the shining air-boats of the men of Kom, they sent them reeling -down in flames by the dozens. - -"Look!" cried Lantin, pointing up through the window in the car's top. - -Far above, high over even our own car, were some twenty round, glowing -circles of light, a light that was identical with the misty light that -glowed from the cars of the Khluns. - -"The Kanlars!" Lantin shouted. "There are air-boats up there, with -apparatus that makes the Khluns' cars shine, while their own remain -dark! They must be destroyed, or it is all over with our forces!" - -I looked around for Kethra, but he was lost to view in the battle -that raged below. Nor was there any of our allies' cars around us, so -I turned our own time-car and sent it racing up toward those glowing -circles above. - -Straight toward them we sped, with the power opened wide, and I braced -myself for the shock. Our car struck the first glowing circle with a -staggering shock, and ripped through the air-boat above it as if it -were paper. We slanted on up, and looking down, I saw the car we had -struck reeling down toward the battle below, broken and afire. I turned -our car, hovered like a poised hawk for a second, and then flashed down -again on the line of air-boats. - -A dozen flashes of blue flame burned up toward me, but the tremendous -swiftness of our car carried us out of line before they reached us. -Flashing down on a long slant, I pointed the car's steel prow toward -the center of the line of cars, and this time we plowed across two of -them in our resistless, ramming swoop. - -As we sped away into the darkness, I heard other crashes behind -me, and when I again turned the car, it was to see the last of the -Kanlar air-boats carrying those glowing circles go tumbling down to -destruction. For below us the Khluns had seen and guessed the meaning -of our attack, and had sped up to finish off those who had escaped us. -And with the destruction of that score of hovering Kanlar cars, the -strange glowing light that emanated from each of the Khlun cars ceased. -What that light was, we never knew. Undoubtedly the Kanlars had devised -some method of causing our own air-boats to become light-emitting, -while theirs remained dark. Possibly a ray like the fluorescent "black -light" of the World War, from which they had guarded their own cars -by special means. Whatever the nature of it, the light was a deadly -weapon in such a night battle, causing the Khluns' air-boats to stand -out as shining marks for the blue flashes, while the cars of the -Kanlars hovered invisibly about them in the darkness. But now, with -the disappearance of that light, the battle tipped in favor of the men -of Kom. Their deadly sound-rays filled the air with thrumming, and in -groups, in masses, the air-boats of the enemy disintegrated, broke up, -poured down to earth in a mixed shower of men and metal. Finally but -a scant thirty cars remained of the Kanlar fleet, while around them -circled almost two hundred of the Khlun air-boats, striking at them -with the deadly sound-ray. - -As we hovered above the battle, a single air-boat drove up toward us, -and I saw that in it was Kethra. He stopped his car beside our own, and -I opened the door of our car, while Lantin leaned out and shouted to -him. - -"You've won!" cried Lantin, pointing down to the night below us, where -the thrumming of sound-rays and jetting flashes of blue showed the -dwindling conflict. - -"We've won," he replied, "but where is the Raider?" - -"Lurking in the temple," replied Lantin, "and it is there we must go -now, to rescue our friends and destroy the Raider." - -"We'll do that," replied Kethra, "but first--" Abruptly he stopped -speaking, and seemed to be listening tensely. I, too, was listening, -and over the crash of air-boats and the humming sound-rays a sound came -to my ears that beat in them like the drums of doom. - -A little whisper of wind, a whisper that grew swiftly louder, that -shrieked, that roared, that bellowed. Up from beneath came a gust of -wind of such force that our car heeled around under it, and with it -came a piercing whistling to our ears, an eery chorus of wind-shrieks -that changed to a thundering gale. Then, a hundred feet below us, there -flashed into being--the Raider! - - * * * * * - -A moment he hung below us, a thing of whirling mists, the three orbs of -green glowing radiantly through the darkness. Then he had dropped down -onto the battle, expanded, extended his own misty form until it held -within it the score of air-boats in which were the survivors of the -Kanlars' forces. - -A second it continued thus, its vaporous form enveloping the remaining -cars of the Kanlars, and then, out from the green, radiant triangle -of orbs there burst flash on flash of green light, aimed at the -surrounding cars of the Khluns. The cars touched by that green light -vanished, simply disappeared from view, leaving a little cloud of -radiant sparks which dimmed and vanished likewise. - -There was a great shout from behind us, and down toward the Raider, -from the car of Kethra, there dropped a thing like a black, enveloping -net, queerly tenuous-seeming in the one glimpse of it I had. It was -like a net of black force, dropping down on the Raider, but before it -reached its objective, the Raider and the cars it held within it had -abruptly vanished. - -"The Raider!" cried Kethra. "He's gone on into time, with the surviving -Kanlars! Follow, follow, follow!" - -From the scores of air-boats below us came a savage yell, and there was -a second's pause, a second's silence, and then our car was struck by a -gale that nearly overturned it, and we hung alone in space. Kethra and -his air-boats had followed the Raider on into time, with the time-wave -apparatus we had showed them how to use. I knew, too, that at that -moment half the air-boats were speeding into the past and half into the -future, in search of the Raider, for that had been our plan in case we -had need to pursue the Raider into time. - -"Shut the car-door!" I cried to Lantin. "We'll follow, too." - -"Wait!" he shouted, his head out of the circular door, peering away to -the north. - -The gray light of dawn was welling up in the east, and by it I saw, -away to the north, a black speck that rushed down toward us. It raced -on, and now I saw that it was a Khlun air-boat. It sped on toward us, -and now I recognized it as the one we had dispatched to rescue our four -friends from the pit. - -The car sped on toward us, and I saw that on it were the pilot and his -two aides, but not our friends. Even before the pilot shouted to us a -premonition of disaster filled me. - -"The pit!" cried the pilot, bringing his car up beside us. - -"What of the pit?" I shouted. "What of our friends?" - -"They're safe, for the time," he answered, "but the hordes are coming -out of the pit!" - -"What?" I yelled. - -"They're coming out," he repeated. "I went straight to the Kanlar city, -as you had instructed, and found that the Kanlar fleet had sped south -to meet you. The city was in confusion, with all of the Kanlars and the -guards gone with the fleet, and only the slaves and the women still -there. I took my car straight into the temple, and found the shaft open -that leads down to the pit. I went down that shaft, and picked your -four friends up from the roof you designated, and they told me that -after all the guards on the stair had left, with the fleet, the hordes -in the pit began battering at the gate of the stair. I saw them doing -that, hovering above them in the darkness. They are mad, thirsty for -loot and blood and battle. They cry among themselves that they will -seize the flying-platforms on top of the temple and go south to loot -Kom." - -I gasped. The merciless hordes of the pit, sweeping down on unprotected -Kom! I knew that there were men in the pit capable of operating the -flying-platforms, if they reached them. They would sweep down upon -the city beyond the ice in an avalanche of death and destruction. And -Kethra and all his men were somewhere in time, pursuing and battling -the Raider! - -"Where did you leave our friends?" cried Lantin. - -"At the pit's edge, in the temple," answered the other, and we -exchanged swift glances, the same thought coming to us at the same time. - -"They asked to be left there," added the pilot. - -Lantin spoke swiftly to him. "Go after Kethra!" he told him. "You have -the time-wave apparatus on your air-boat?" And when the other nodded, -he said, "Then go on into time and bring back Kethra and his forces! If -the hordes get to the temple's top and seize the flying-platforms, it -is the end for all at Kom!" - -The pilot hesitated. "And you?" - -"Wheeler and I are for the temple," Lantin told him; "with our friends, -we'll try to hold the hordes in the pit until you come back with Kethra -and his forces. Go, man!" - -The pilot cried assent, clicked a switch, and his car had disappeared, -speeding into time after Kethra and his men. And now, under my control, -our own car sped north toward the city of cylinders. - - * * * * * - -I think that of all our trips in the car, we attained our highest speed -then. Rocketing low above the ground, the landscape beneath us, the -endless billows of ice, seemed to pass beneath us in a white blur. We -shot across the sky like a comet, and in a few minutes the green land -of the Kanlars' country replaced the ice, and then there hove into view -the gleaming white city of cylinders. - -I swept down toward the great cylinder that was the temple, and brought -the car to earth in the shelter of a little clump of trees outside the -great building. We sprang out, raced up the ramp, and down the tunneled -entrance into the temple's interior. - -The metal floor was not in place, and before us yawned the abyss that -was the shaft leading down to the pit. Away across the temple, standing -on the ring of black flooring that was the shaft's rim, was a group -of men, seemingly tiny, toylike figures there in the empty temple's -immensity. We ran around the black rim toward them. - -It was Denham and his three companions, and they ran forward to meet -us, gripped our hands warmly. - -"Where are your forces?" asked Denham. "Where are the people of Kom? -The hordes are getting ready to come up from the pit, man! Listen," he -commanded, and I walked to the shaft's edge and looked down. - -From far below, muffled by the great distance, yet coming with force to -my ears, there rose a dim roar, the savage shout of thousands of mad -warriors. And above that dull roaring there was the clangor of metal -smiting on metal. - -"They're beating down the gate," Denham said, "and in a few minutes -they'll be pouring up that stair. But where is the aid you were to -bring?" - -In a few words I explained the battle we had taken part in, and the -pursuit of the Raider into time by Kethra and his men. "We must hold -them in the pit, somehow," I told them, "until Kethra and his forces -come back. If those hordes once get to the temple's roof and seize the -flying-platforms, it means hideous death for all at Kom!" - -"Couldn't you close the metal floor of the temple?" suggested Lantin. -"Swing it back in place and close the shaft?" - -"But how?" asked Denham. "We've searched but can't find the secret of -the floor, or how it is moved." - -"But the collapsible stair!" I put in; "you can fold that back! Lantin -and I did, the night we escaped!" - -"Look!" ordered Denham, pointing toward the spot where the little -folding stair had been. I looked, and despair rushed over me. For the -stair had been removed, and instead of it, steps had been cut into the -side of the shaft itself, leading from the spiral stairway in the shaft -to the ring of black flooring on which we stood. - -"The guards must have cut those steps after you escaped," said Denham, -"probably because they would not allow anyone to play on them again the -trick you did. We heard of your exploit, in the pit." - -Up from the shaft was coming now an increasing clamor, and the -battering on the gate far below had increased in fierceness. - -"But how, then, are we to hold them in the pit?" I asked, despairingly. -"A messenger has gone into time after Kethra and his forces, and if we -could only check these hordes until he comes--" - -Abruptly the Aztec spoke, calmly, gravely. "We are five," he said, -"five strong swords. And the stair is narrow." - -There was a moment of silence, for the idea he broached was stunning in -its audacity. Then D'Alord laughed in sheer delight. "Good!" he cried. -"Why, 'twill be easy! Ixtil is right. We are five blades here, and the -stair is narrow. We'll show them sword-play, eh?" - -A sudden reckless excitement burned through me like fire. "Good -enough!" I cried. The Roman broke in on us. "Down the stair, then, at -once! We'll meet them at the very bottom, if possible, and then when -they do force us back up, it will give us a long enough delay for the -aid you speak of to get here." - -We ran toward the steps cut in the shaft, but Denham halted us by an -exclamation. "Look!" he cried, pointing some distance along the wall of -the temple. "There are suits of the guards' armor, hanging up. We'll -need them, before we are through today!" - -We saw the wisdom of his suggestion, and hastily acted on it, donning -suits of the brazen armor and helmets to match. The Roman alone, who -was already attired very similarly, did not join us. - -And now we rushed toward the steps in the shaft's side, and down them -to the beginning of the spiral stair. Down the stair we ran, recklessly -throwing ourselves around the curves of that airy, high-flung pathway. -Looking down, I saw that the light in the pit was growing, as the dawn -began to flame in the world above, and I glimpsed vaguely through the -rising mists a great horde that eddied and swirled about the bottom of -the stairway. Up to our ears, stronger and stronger, came the clanging -of heavy metal objects striking the barred gate, while there rose at -the same time a savage roar from the pit's blood-thirsty hordes. - -We raced on, down and down until I was near to dropping with -exhaustion. And still the Roman sternly spurred us forward, with the -cheering assurance that the farther down we went, the farther up the -hordes would need to press us back. Finally we reached the fourth curve -of the spiral stair above the ground, a height of perhaps two thousand -feet above the pit's floor. And there the Roman halted us. - -"We'll make our stand here," he said. The clangor and the roaring -below were deafening, now, and for a few minutes we lay upon the steps -exhausted, then rose to our feet, one by one. Fabrius stood a step -below the rest of us, his heavy shortsword in his hand, calmly looking -down toward the pit. I drew my own rapier, my heart thumping wildly, -but I strove to appear as calm as the Roman. Denham, with elaborate -unmindfulness of the roaring mobs below, drew forth a snuff-box -containing a few grains of the brown powder, and offered us each in -turn a pinch, which we refused, then daintily took some himself. - -"Ha, Ixtil," cried D'Alord, slapping the Aztec on the back gleefully, -"this should be a better fight even than those in the pit, eh?" The -chieftain smiled darkly, shifting his saw-toothed sword from hand to -hand, but made no other answer, and the Frenchman turned to me. - -"What of him?" he demanded, pointing to Lantin. "He has no sword." - -I turned in dismay, for I had forgotten my friend, almost. "You'd best -go back up to the temple's top," I told him. "Wait for the coming of -Kethra, and guide him down to us. You can be no good here, you know, so -don't risk yourself." - -The others seconded my suggestion, warmly urging Lantin to return to -the temple's top and await the aid from Kethra, but he refused. "I have -this," he said, showing us an automatic which he had snatched up when -we sprang from the time-car. Finally we compromised by placing him on -the stair some distance behind and above us, where he could use the few -but precious shots in his weapon when it was most necessary to do so. - -Now we turned from him, for with a sudden mighty clang the great gate -below went down. There was a tremendous shout, a savage roar of -triumph, and then the tramping of thousands of feet as the hordes in -the pit flooded toward the overturned gate and raced up the stair. - - * * * * * - -Looking down, we saw them ascending toward us, coming in such -close-packed order that many were crowded from the low-walled stair -and dashed down to death below. But still they came on, a bellowing, -blood-thirsty mob, until they were winding around the stair just across -the spiral from us. - -Denham drew his sword, now, and we stepped down so that we stood in a -single line across the stair, the Roman at the center, with D'Alord and -Ixtil on his left side and Denham and me on the other. - -And now the hordes surged around the bend of the stair, racing up -toward us. A sudden cry went up from them as they glimpsed us, and -momentarily the human wave sucked back, and the close-packed mob -halted. A moment there was silence, while they stared up at us. I -stole a glance at my companions. The face of Fabrius was stern but -unperturbed, and he gripped his sword firmly, eyeing the mob below -with eagle gaze. D'Alord's face was darkly flushed, his eyes gleaming. -Ixtil leaned forward in a tense, tigerish crouch, while Denham, beside -me, lounged negligently, leaning on his rapier and regarding the crowd -below us with a mocking, contemptuous smile. - -Only a moment that silence lasted, while the hordes gazed up at us. -Then, as they saw that we were but five, a beastlike roar went up and -they raced up toward us, vying for the honor of slaying us. - -Up, up they came, a sea of ragged figures, a storm of flashing weapons. -A catlike Egyptian and a giant Chinaman were first of that mob, with -behind them the massed weight of the hordes in the pit, pushing up -from far below, to win up to the flying-platforms that would carry them -to the loot of Kom. - -As though in a dream, I saw the fierce faces coming up toward us, -and then there was a clash of steel on steel that brought me to my -senses. D'Alord and Fabrius had each leapt forward a step and with two -strokes that were like darting flashes of lightning had struck down the -Egyptian and the Chinaman. Over their bodies came the others, and for -an instant the air seemed thick with darting sword-blades, at which I -whirled and thrust and parried. - -A brutal-faced man in medieval chain-armor was my nearest opponent, -and as I realized the fact, he swung up his heavy sword for a crashing -stroke. But while he raised the cumbrous weapon, I darted out my rapier -and he fell with a spreading red stain at his throat. A white-robed, -sallow man thrust at me with a long spear, over his body, but the sword -of the Roman flashed down and cut the head from the spear, then flashed -again and the man went down. A dozen blades glinted off my armor and -helmet, and I thrust out savagely and blindly, felt the blade pierce -through flesh and blood, once, twice. And now, shaken by our first -fierce resistance, the mob fell back a little, while we stood panting, -surveying the scene of that first clash. - -At our feet lay a dozen or more men, dead or dying. As yet none of us -had been wounded, with the exception of D'Alord, who was bleeding from -a cut on the back of his wrist. The narrowness of the stairway had been -our salvation, since only a few men at a time could come at us, and -these were hampered by the press of those behind them. - -But I saw that the battle had only begun. The mob was again surging -up toward us, more fiercely than before. I glanced back up the stair, -but there was no sign of Kethra's forces. Then I turned my attention -back to the oncoming hordes, for already our blades were clashing with -theirs. - -A succession of savage faces appeared before me, confused and changing, -and I thrust until my wrist was tired to numbness. I heard, even above -the clash of blades and shouts of our opponents, the voice of D'Alord, -who was mocking his opponents in rapid French, disparaging their skill -and crying out when he beat down their guard. And, soaring high over -all the other sounds of the battle, rose a weird, piercing cry, the -battle-cry of the Aztec. - -"Alalala!" he shouted. "Alalala! Alalala!" - -The stairs at our feet became slippery with blood, choked with bodies, -and we gave back a few steps. This gave us further advantage, for we -stood on firm, dry footing, while those who came at us slipped and -fell on the smooth metal of the steps below us, smeared as it was with -the life-blood of their fellows. Yet they came on, ever on, forced us -around and around the spiral, up, up, ever up the stair. - -We were forced up until we had entered the shaft and the wall on our -right gave us added support. In the semi-darkness of the shaft, too, -it was harder for those coming at us to see us, while they were more -plainly visible to us against the light of the pit below. - -A ragged, squint-eyed little man crept under the legs of those battling -us, and jabbed at me with a javelin. In the confusion of battle we had -shifted in position until I was now next to the low wall that kept us -from the abyss. Now, as the javelin stabbed up at me, I stooped swiftly -beside the low barrier, and with a flashing stroke across his neck, -finished my squint-eyed opponent. But as I started to rise again, a -great figure loomed above me, a giant black who swung up above his -head a heavy, horn-hafted ax. He was standing on the low wall itself, -balancing himself for a crashing down-stroke of the ax, which I could -not resist. - -He uttered a fierce cry, whirled the ax about over his head, and swung -it down toward me, but as his arm started that downward motion there -was a sharp crack from the stair above, and he toppled down into the -abyss. In the very nick of time, Lantin's shot had saved me. - -But on came the hordes, pushing us up and up by sheer weight of -numbers, until it seemed madness that five men should thus stand -against thousands. Around and around the up-spiraling stair they forced -us, so that sometimes we fought on one side of the shaft and sometimes -on another. Now and then, sated with fighting, they would draw back for -a few moments, and this gave us precious intervals of rest, but always -they came on again, always they pushed us up. Man after man of them -hurtled down to death in the pit, for as the hordes came on they threw -their own dead and dying over the rail into the abyss, so that the -stair might be unencumbered. - -We were very near to the temple floor by now, and I was bleeding from a -dozen flesh-wounds, nor were the rest of us in better case. Ixtil had -a great cut in one cheek, and Fabrius had been wounded in the leg by -a thrown spear. D'Alord, too, was a bloody figure, and had ceased to -jeer at his adversaries, fighting now in grim silence. Alone among us, -Denham remained virtually unscathed, and he fought on unchanged. His -slender, needlelike rapier flashed here and there with wonderful speed -and precision, always stabbing at the exact right spot, with the exact -force needed. And he still smiled scornfully as his blade dealt death. - -A half-dozen times Lantin's pistol had saved one of us from death, -barking out a grim message when we were pressed too close. But now we -were becoming ever more weary, were being pressed ever more swiftly up -by fresh opponents, with the weight of the hordes behind them. All down -the great spiral, clear to the floor of the pit, the stair was crowded -with the hordes, pressing us ever upward, their own weight and numbers -hampering with deadly effect those who were nearest us, and who were -pushed forward with no chance for choosing their thrusts. - -At last we reached the stair's end, and stood on the black ring of -flooring around the abyss. When we could no longer hold them from -emerging onto that flooring, we suddenly turned and ran toward the -other spiral stair which circled the interior of the cylindrical -temple, winding from balcony to balcony up to the building's roof. - -And there our fight began anew, for when the hordes emerged into -the temple they did not stream outside into the city, as I had -hoped, but continued to press us up toward the roof, where were the -flying-platforms that would carry them to the rich loot of mighty Kom. -They could have had freedom, but it was not enough. They were thirsty -for the riches awaiting them at Kom. So not a man of them left the -temple, all combining to force us up the narrow stair that spiraled up -the temple's interior, a replica of the one in the shaft, though much -smaller, and the only road to the building's roof. - -They were pressing us closely, now, and we could hardly keep to our -feet. Then, a hundred feet from the ceiling of the great building, -a shout of triumph went up from the hordes, for D'Alord went down, -stunned by a blow on the head from a great mace. Fabrius rushed forward -to drag him back, and was himself struck down by a blow from the same -club. It seemed that our fight was over, then and there, when there -came a sharp rattle of shots from behind and some six or seven of our -opponents went down, felled by the last shots of Lantin's pistol. - -Involuntarily the mob fell back for a few steps, and we seized the -opportunity to drag D'Alord and the Roman to their feet. Fabrius was -unhurt and D'Alord had only been stunned, quickly reviving. And now, -as the mob below hung for a moment hesitant, not knowing how many more -shots Lantin had at his disposal, two men sprang out of their number -and faced us. - -One was a lithe, brown-skinned Malay, who waved a gleaming kris aloft -and called to the rest to resume the attack. But the other it was -who held my gaze, a blond giant with long, waving hair, who shouted -fiercely and waved a battle-ax aloft, calling to his companions to -follow him to the attack. - -It was Cannell! - -Cannell, for whom we had come across the centuries! Cannell, whom we -had seen seized by the Raider and taken, whom we had searched for in -vain in the city of the pit. There was a great, half-healed wound on -his temple, and his eyes were alight with blood-lust, so that I could -see that he knew us not. - -I was brushed aside, and someone sped by me from above. It was Lantin, -and before we could stop him he had passed us and had raced down the -intervening steps toward Cannell, his face alight at seeing the friend -we had come through time to rescue. - -"Cannell!" he cried, rushing toward him with hands outstretched. We -looked in that instant to see him slain, but no blow was struck, the -mob seeming paralyzed by astonishment. I saw Lantin reach out to -Cannell, saw the blood-lust leave him; his eyes cleared as he looked at -Lantin, the past coming back to him over his time in the bloody pit. - -He dropped his ax and took a step toward Lantin, his face alight with -recognition. Then we uttered a helpless groan, for the Malay, who stood -at the low rail behind Lantin, had recovered from his surprize and now -swept up his curved blade over Lantin's head. - -I shouted, and started down toward Lantin, but knew myself too late to -ward off that blow. Cannell looked, saw the upflung, menacing blade, -and uttered a great shout. He had no weapon in his hand, but with one -great bound he leapt up toward the Malay, gripped him in his arms, -and then the two swayed, toppled, fell, hurtled down into the abyss, -twisting and turning, locked in a death-grip, down through the temple's -interior, down into the darkness of the vast shaft below, down to the -pit-floor far beneath. - -I was down to Lantin now, grasped him and dragged him back, and before -the massed hordes recovered from their astonishment, he was behind -us. They turned now, saw, and howled their rage, racing up toward our -waiting swords. - -A torrent of raging swords, they pushed us up until we stood at the -stair's end. Behind us was a high, vaulted room, and at its other side -the stair continued, leading still up. We turned, ran across that room, -the triumphant horde behind us, and when we reached the stair at the -room's other side, turned again and faced them. - -Up through a half-dozen such rooms they forced us, through dim, great -halls with patterns of fire on their walls, with unguessed, looming -mysteries lurking in their shadows, vaguely glimpsed by me as we ran -through them. The lair of the Raider, those dim halls, I knew. And, at -last, the narrow stair from one of them emerged onto the roof itself, -and we stood at the point where that stair opened onto the great, flat -roof, barring the way of the hordes in our final stand. - -Behind us, on the great expanse of the roof, were low-walled, oval -platforms of metal, great of size, stacked one upon another. Enough -flying-platforms, I knew, to carry all the hordes below us down to -the loot of Kom. And the foremost of our opponents saw them also, and -yelled with savage triumph. - -If we had fought fiercely before, we battled like supermen now, in -a last spurt of energy. Our swords clicked and flashed like swift -shuttles, weaving strands of death from enemy to enemy, as we used all -the mad strength of despair to hold back the hordes for a last moment. - -"_Mordieu!_" shouted D'Alord. "This is the end, comrades!" - -I turned to answer him, then halted. From above, from the sun-flooded -air of early morning, had sounded a long, rising shriek of wind, a -piercing whistle of a rising gale. A fierce burst of wind struck us, -and cold, ice-cold, flooded through my heart. There was a thundering -of wind-sounds above, another buffeting gust of cold air, and then -appeared abruptly, a hundred feet above us, the Raider! - -"God!" muttered Lantin, behind me. The blades of our enemies and -ourselves had ceased to clash, and with a common impulse we gazed up. -The Raider's swirling mists contracted suddenly, his three orbs of -green changed to purple, and he drifted gently, tauntingly, down toward -us. - - * * * * * - -A howl of triumph went up from the hordes on the stair. Away down and -around the spiraling stairway it went, down all their packed masses, -down into the shaft to the pit itself, all taking up and passing on -that savage, exultant shout. - -For we had lost. Kethra had lost. The Raider had somehow eluded him, in -time, and had come back to destroy us and to loose his hordes on the -flying-platforms, to send them down to Kom in a rain of death, while -Kethra vainly searched time for the Raider. We had lost. - -Slowly, slowly, the Raider came down toward us, while the hordes below -us watched with delighted expectancy. Spinning, twisting, it sank down -until it hung a scant twenty feet above us, and we waited, helpless, -for the destroying flashes from the central orbs. - -Suddenly D'Alord stepped forward, and uttering a yell of defiance, he -picked a sword from the floor, whirled it around his head and sent it -hurtling spear-wise up toward the Raider. - -It fell back, missed by yards. And now the gray, shapeless mass of the -Raider spun and laced with inconceivable rapidity, while down upon us -darted flash on flash of purple, destroying fire, from the central orbs. - -The flashes fell short! Between us and the Raider was hanging a veil -of transparent black, a tenuous black net that was suspended in midair -above us, and against which the purple flashes splashed and stopped. -I turned swiftly, and a little behind and above me was hovering the -air-boat of Kethra. It moved toward us, and we stepped on it. And in -that same instant, there appeared in the air all around us, above and -around the temple and the Raider, score on score of the air-boats, -crowded with the men of Kom. - -From them darted a hundred black nets like the one that hung before -us. The black veils closed upon the Raider, contracted, and while he -spun and changed and twisted with mad speed, the veils contracted -still until they were a black ball five feet across, in which he was -prisoned. Then, from Kethra's air-boat and from all around us, there -darted flash on flash of orange flame, which struck the black ball, -burned fiercely for a moment, and then vanished. In the air there -drifted only a shining mist, and then that too was swept away! - -Now, from all the hovering air-boats came the thrumming of the -sound-rays, directed at the temple and the city, from all the scores of -cars that hung above that city. The ground beneath pitched, heaved up -torturedly, and then the city collapsed, sank down with a thundering, -ear-splitting roar into the great pit that lay beneath, the earth over -the cavern being shattered by the disintegrating vibrations of the -sound-rays. - -All the city, with the great temple below us, crashed down, and -vanished in a mighty cloud of dust. The dust hung, cleared, -disappeared. And beneath lay nothing but a great depression in the -earth, a vast, raw bowl in the earth's surface, with here and there -a white fragment showing in the brown earth. Under that huge sunken -bowl, I well knew, lay the city of the cylinders, with its Kanlars and -soulless slaves, and under it, too, lay the city of the pit, and the -people of the pit, the thousands of fierce warriors who had pressed us -up the stair so savagely, seeking to carry destruction and death down -to a peaceful city. - -Standing there on Kethra's car, we surveyed the scene in silence. And -there was silence all around us, for from all the massed cars came no -word or shout, the men on them gazing down into the torn depression -below as though loth to believe that their victory was won at last, the -evil menace of the Raider crushed forever. So we looked, there in the -hushed silence. - -In the east, the sun was rising higher ... higher.... - - - - - _CHAPTER 18_ - - EIGHT MINUTES! - - -It was hours later, toward the end of the hot, brilliant afternoon, -that we parted at last from Kethra and his men. On the green earth -around that brown pit where once had stood the city of cylinders, the -Khlun air-boats were resting, ready for their long flight homeward -across the ice. Our own time-car lay behind us, for in that tense -moment before the city had collapsed under the sound-rays' vibrations, -a hovering air-boat had spied our car in the little glade where we had -left it, and had managed to raise it from the ground before the crash. -And now, with our four friends, we stood beside it, bidding Kethra -farewell. - -We had heard from him the story, as amazing as our own, of what had -befallen his forces when they pursued the Raider into the future, how -they had chased him almost to the world's end, indeed, pursuing him -into time so far that the sun grew old and small, and the world a world -of death and twilight; of how they had forced the Raider to desert the -Kanlar cars it held, which they had destroyed; and of how it had eluded -them in time and come racing back to confront us on the temple's roof. -He told, too, of how the messenger sent through time by Lantin and -me had finally found him and brought him back in the nick of time to -destroy Raider, hordes and city. - -Kethra, and all his men, had pressed us to return with them to Kom, -but we refused. An intolerable nostalgia, a longing for our own time, -filled us, and our four friends were as eager to return to their own -centuries as we were. And so, standing with them beside our time-car, -we bade our friends of Kom farewell. - -"You do wisely, men of the past," said Kethra. "It is not good that a -man should leave his own time and venture into others. The secret of -time-traveling is an evil secret. And when our fleet has returned to -Kom, every car in it will be stripped of the time-wave apparatus, and -all those time-wave mechanisms will be destroyed by us. For now that -our end has been accomplished, and the Raider destroyed, none of us -will ever again venture into past or future." - -"You speak truth," said Lantin, sadly; "for though we came on through -the ages ourselves, we could not save our friend. And when we have -returned our four friends here to their own ages, and reached ours -again, we too will destroy this car. And the secret of time-traveling -will remain with us, a secret." - -We each grasped Kethra's hand, waved farewell to the hundreds in the -air-boats on the ground around us, and then entered our own car. With -our four friends, its interior was crowded, but there was enough room -for Lantin to manipulate the controls, and so the car rose swiftly, -circled for a moment above the air-boats on the ground, then fled -swiftly toward the southwest. - -Behind us the green, warm land of the Kanlars faded to a speck against -the ice, and as we sped on, we moved through time also, passing swiftly -into the past. - - * * * * * - -Three hours later we hung above a vast highland country, having -penetrated into the past to the year 1520, four hundred years before -our own time. And below us hung the white city of Tenochtitlan, -metropolis of the Aztec people. - -We slanted down toward it, through the darkness, for we had come to -it at night. Toward the city's edge was the glimmer of a broad lake, -and from great pyramids flashed burning fires of crimson. In its dark -streets was a stir of movement, and up to us came the roar of a fierce -battle, with cries of wounded, and twang of bows, and here and there -the roar of an arquebus or cannon. - -Ixtil leaned toward the window, gazed down with tense interest. "It is -my people," he said, turning to us, "my city, my time." - -And so, swooping down upon the city through the concealing darkness, we -halted the car on a flat, white roof, and Ixtil stepped out. He turned, -and with more emotion than I had ever yet seen upon his fierce face, -bade us farewell. - -D'Alord, Denham, Fabrius, each wrung his hand silently, and then the -Aztec turned to me. He drew the saw-edged sword from his belt, and -handed it to me, hilt-foremost. - -"Take it," he told me. "I can give you nothing else, and it may remind -you of our fight on the stair, comrade, when you have reached your own -time." - -I took the weapon, stammered my thanks, and he inclined his head -gravely, then turned and sped from the roof, down through the building -to the battle in the street below, racing toward it with fierce haste. - -D'Alord broke the silence that followed. "What a fighter!" he -exclaimed. "And now he is gone. Well, on, friends!" - -So we rose again from the roof, above the body-choked streets, where we -knew the conquistadors of Cortez strove with the city's people. The car -rose high, and then raced east with the power opened to the last notch. - -In the hours that followed, as we rocketed over the gray Atlantic at -a speed of nearly ten miles a minute, we were again speeding into the -past, back still farther, so that when the green, leg-shaped peninsula -of Italy lay beneath us, we had gone back to the First Century of the -Christian era, as nearly as possible to the year which Fabrius claimed -as his own. - -We left him there, on a bare, grassy hilltop outside the city of Rome. -Before parting, he too unbuckled his heavy shortsword and handed it to -me. "Ixtil gave you his sword," he said, "and when it is your car that -has brought me back to my own world, I can do no less." He stepped back -and said simply, "_Vale!_" and then we had sped on into time and left -him. - -We turned, now, in time, sped on to the first year of the Seventeenth -Century, and in space fled north till we hung over southern France. And -with D'Alord guiding our course from the window, exclaiming at every -familiar landmark on the ground below, we came finally to the little -village where he desired to be left. - -"'Twas there I was stationed when the Raider seized me, curse him!" he -told us; "so set me down outside it." - -Again the car came down to the ground, in a field beyond the village, -just at sunrise. D'Alord opened the car's door, then hesitated. - -"_Sacré!_" he exclaimed. "When I was in the pit I was afire to get back -to my own time, but now I half wish that we could have stayed together, -comrades. But Kethra was right. Every man to his own time." - -He drew and regarded his long, heavy sword. "It's for you, comrade," -he told me. "Like Ixtil and Fabrius, it's all I can give you. Though I -don't think you'll need it to make you remember our fight on the stair, -eh?" His laugh rang out. "_Dieu_, what a fight was that!" - -He grasped the hands of Denham and of Lantin and me, and with forced -gayety slapped us on the back, then sprang quickly out of the car, and -stood beside it. I closed the door, and our car rose swiftly above the -field. And looking down, I saw the receding figure of D'Alord, still -standing where we had left him, waving his hat toward us in a final -gesture of farewell, the wind of dawn blowing through his hair. - -And so we left him, and raising the car high above the earth, sped back -again across the broad Atlantic. And too, we came on farther into time -until when we came into view of the New Jersey coasts, we had come on -into time a space of almost two hundred years, for the dials registered -the fact that our car had reached the year 1777, when Denham had been -seized by the Raider. - -We had offered to land him in England, but he had refused. "I'm a -soldier," he told us, "and it would be desertion. Let me down at -Philadelphia, or near it." So the car planed down through the darkness -to a field beyond Camden, and there came to rest in deep snow, for we -had stopped our time-progress in the dead of winter, and at night. - -Denham stepped out of the car, and we followed him. There was no moon, -but the stars above were brilliant, the sheen of their light reflected -from the glistening, silent fields around us. It was bitterly cold, and -we shivered, standing there. - -"And so the last of us part," said Denham. "Curse me if I like it, -either. Think of it, Wheeler: Ixtil and Fabrius and D'Alord are already -dead and dust, have been for centuries." - -"They're not, Denham," I said. "They're only separated from us by time, -as well as space. At least we have learned one thing, that time is -largely a delusion, after all, and that the men of one age are not much -different from those of another." - -"It's so," he said. "And I never had better friends than Ixtil and -D'Alord and Fabrius, and Lantin and you. We've seen some things -together, since we met in the city of cylinders, Wheeler. Well, we -shan't meet again. And so--good-bye." - -He shook my hand, and Lantin's, and then, like the other three, drew -and handed to me his slender rapier. - -"You have four swords now, Wheeler. And each from a different time. -It may be that they'll remind you of all we went through together, in -the city of cylinders and in the pit below it. I am only sorry that -we could not find your friend Cannell in time to save him. But it was -fate." - -"It was fate," Lantin repeated, "and he died nobly. So, in a measure, I -am content." - -Lantin and I stepped back into our car, now. Outside, as we rose above -the ground, Denham called to us again. - -"Good-bye, Wheeler! Good-bye, Lantin!" - -I answered, waving to him at the car's window, and thus we left him, -a dark, dwindling figure against the starlit fields of snow. We raced -north, now, and sped on toward our own time, back to the year, the -month, the day, when we had started. We swept down upon pinnacled -Manhattan, through the warm darkness of the summer night, and after -hovering for a time above the perplexing maze of buildings, sank gently -down upon the roof from which we had started. - -The car stopped, and we stepped out on the roof, looking around us -strangely. The scene was the same as when we had left, the panorama -of the city's lights around us, the brilliant stars above, and the -stabbing search-lights of the anchored battleship. - -Lantin stepped across the roof into his apartment. He snapped on the -lights, then called to me. When I entered the room and stood beside -him, he pointed mutely toward a clock above the fireplace. I looked, -and a strange feeling swept over me. - -We had made our momentous start from the roof at 10 o'clock exactly, -when we had first ventured into time. And now it was but eight minutes -past 10, but eight minutes later in that same night. - -Eight minutes! - -We had gone on into the future fifteen thousand years, had lain for -days imprisoned, in the city of the cylinders and the city of the pit. -We had met our friends of the pit, had planned and executed our daring -escape, had fled madly to our car, pursued by the guards, and had -then flashed south across countless leagues of ice. We had stayed for -days at Kom, amid the wonders of Kom, had raced back north with the -great fleet of Kethra, had met and battled the Kanlars, and had held -the ravening thousands of the pit in check upon the great stair, with -our friends. We had seen the Raider destroyed, had sped back in time -to hang above the wonder-city of the Aztecs, while Aztec and Spaniard -battled in the streets below us. Had sped across the world to Rome, -in the days of its imperial glory, back through time to Seventeenth -Century France, and so on to our own land, to stop once and part with -the last of our friends and then speed down to the very roof from which -we had made our start. From the far past to the far future, we had -ranged through time, from the Rome of the Cæsars to the mighty city of -the Khluns. - -Eight minutes! - - - - - _EPILOGUE_ - - -So our great adventure ended, and so this record of it comes to a -close. We destroyed the time-car, and burned all of our written records -of the experiments connected with it. For never again, through the -knowledge that we gathered, shall men venture into time. - -Yet because we felt that some part of what we had learned belonged to -the world of science, Lantin and I, in this history and in our two -technical works, have striven to record part of what we saw and did. -Reading, men will not be able to build time-cars for themselves, but -they may gain suggestions and do work that will make better our own -life, our own world. - -Lantin and I live quietly enough, now, sharing a small Long Island -cottage. Yet for all our work at the Foundation, and our contacts with -our friends there, I do not think that either of us takes much interest -in the world around us, or in our fellow-men. I think that the day's -best hours, for each of us, are those of evening, when we can sit -quietly together, recalling to mind the things we saw and did in that -far time which the world will not see for fifteen thousand years to -come. - -We speak often of that strange being of alien terror which we called -the Raider. Speak, too, of the Kanlars and their city of cylinders, of -the barbaric city of the pit, and the Babel-like hordes that filled -it, of Kom and the men of Kom. And sometimes, gazing musingly into our -fireplace in the length of the winter evenings, Lantin will speak of -Cannell, whom we crossed a hundred centuries to rescue, and who plunged -down to a voluntary death to save his friend. - -Always, though, sooner or later, there comes a halt to our speech and -we look up with a common impulse to a spot where a sheaf of four swords -is fastened to the wall. Four strange weapons, from four different ages. - -One is a thick shortsword of bronze, its edges scarred and dented. -Another is a saw-toothed weapon, the like of which you may see in more -than one museum, but which I saw flashing in deadly action. The third -blade is a long one, a silver fleur-de-lys inlaid upon its heavy hilt. -And the last is a slender, flexible rapier, which took toll of half a -hundred lives in our last mad battle. - -Where are they now, our four friends, who stood with us on the great -stair when six men held back thousands, who planned and fought and bled -with us until together we brought about the destruction of the Kanlars -and the Raider? Shall we ever see them again? - -I do not know. But one thing I do know, that was known even to the -supreme wisdom of Kethra and the men of Kom. And that is that there is -a power above man's, a wisdom above his, secrets that will never be -his. So if, on the other side of death, there lies a timeless world, -we'll yet foregather there with our four friends, strike hands in -friendship once again, and range that world together, as once we ranged -through time. - - - THE END - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME-RAIDER *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The time-raider</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Edmond Hamilton</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 9, 2022 [eBook #68483]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME-RAIDER ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc1.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The TIME-RAIDER</h1> - -<h2>By EDMOND HAMILTON</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Weird Tales October, November December 1927 and January 1928.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"He dangled helplessly in the thing's embrace."</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 1</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE CANNELL MYSTERY</p> - - -<p>In beginning this account of our great adventure, it must be understood -that I attempt no complete history of the matter. There will be gaps, -many gaps, in the continuity of my story, for that story remains, after -all, simply a record of my own contacts with the Raider, and with those -people whose lives he entered and darkened. So that my tale here is -necessarily one of personal experience, except for a few places where I -have summarized general knowledge.</p> - -<p>Besides this history of what I may term the more human side of our -experience, Dr. Lantin has dealt with its scientific aspects in his -epochal work on time-displacement and in our joint monograph on -electronic acceleration. Although several salient features of the -affair have been omitted, for reasons that will figure later, yet the -two works mentioned and the present record give a broad outline of the -whole matter, from the beginning.</p> - -<p>From the beginning! But where was that beginning? Ages back in the -past, or ages ahead in the future? To place the true beginning of it -all would be to know much about it that we do not know. So I start at -the point where the matter definitely entered my own life and world. -And that point, that event, is the Cannell Mystery, as it was then -termed.</p> - -<p>You will find it in the newspapers of the day, the bare facts wrapped -in clouds of speculation. Professor Ferdinand Cannell, of New York, -disappearing inexplicably in the jungles of Indo-China, vanishing from -the world of men as though blotted out.</p> - -<p>At that time, Cannell was undoubtedly one of the very greatest of -living archeologists. Nominally attached to a great New York museum, -he was really a free-lance student and excavator, roaming about the -world in search of proof for his numerous and startling theories. His -first fame had been established by his researches into the Dravidian -remnants in lower India, and he had followed that brilliant achievement -by another as great, the monumental Warren Society investigation into -the walled ruins of Zimbabwe, in South Africa.</p> - -<p>With two such successes behind him, Cannell then boldly proposed to -make the subject of his next researches the mighty ruined city of -Angkor, in the heart of the Cambodian jungle. Angkor has long been a -colossal challenge to modern wisdom, a gigantic, towered metropolis of -gray stone, once noisy with the life of swarming millions, but silent -and dead now, unutterably dead. A thousand years the huge ruin has lain -in the jungle, wrapped in silence, inhabited only by snakes and bats -and tigers. Its past, the history of its builders, has been a vast -enigma always, which Cannell had determined to solve.</p> - -<p>So he sailed for Hongkong, and Dr. Lantin and I were on the dock when -his ship cleared. My own acquaintance with Cannell was recent, but -Lantin and he had been close friends for years. Their friendship dated -back to their university days, and had continued after they diverged -into different lines of work, Cannell's taking him to the remnants of -past peoples, while Lantin's interest in radio-chemistry had brought -him to the great New York laboratories of the Downe Foundation, with -myself as his laboratory assistant.</p> - -<p>For all their warm friendship, there was a strong contrast between -the two men. Cannell was the younger by a few years, a blond giant -of thirty-five or thirty-six, with snapping blue eyes and a habit of -talking with machine-gun rapidity. Altogether the antithesis of Dr. -Lantin, who was dark, medium of stature and quiet of manner, with -friendly gray eyes that could take on the glint of steel, at times.</p> - -<p>Together we had waved farewell to Cannell and a few weeks later had -received a cable from Saigon, in Indo-China, briefly announcing his -arrival. He had then proceeded up the Mekong River into the wilderness -of the interior, and finally over a network of winding creeks to Angkor -itself. The latter stage of the journey was made in canoes, some seven -or eight natives poling along Cannell and his outfit, but no other -white man was in the party.</p> - -<p>No more was heard of the venture until a week later, when the natives -of Cannell's party straggled into a little up-river village, without -him. They explained, volubly, that on the third night after reaching -Angkor, the white man had been seized and carried away by the devils -of the ruins. None of them had actually seen this but they had heard -his scream, from a distance, and when they conquered their fears enough -to search the ruins, had found no trace of him. It was clear that -the powerful spirits of the dead city were angered, and had snatched -away the white man who dared to disturb them, so the terror-stricken -natives had at once fled from the place with all speed.</p> - -<p>On hearing this tale, several French planters made their way to Angkor, -forcing the unwilling natives to accompany them, but they found no -trace of Cannell, who seemed to have vanished completely. His tent and -outfit were found, quite undisturbed, which tended to corroborate the -natives' story regarding their sudden flight.</p> - -<p>So when the little search-party returned, it was advanced as its -opinion that Cannell had been seized and carried away by a roving -tiger, his scream and disappearance being interpreted by the natives -as a visitation of demons, since they were known to be extremely -superstitious in regard to the dead city. While this explanation was -faulty enough, it seemed the only rational one available, and was -accepted by the authorities at Saigon.</p> - -<p>And so the matter rested. Cannell's only relatives had been distant -connections, and except for Lantin he had had scarcely one intimate -friend, so after the first shock of surprize his passing caused little -stir. The newspapers speculated briefly, and the archeological journals -expressed regrets, referring to his splendid achievements. But that was -all. New stars soon rose to fill his place in the scientific firmament. -And Cannell was forgotten.</p> - -<p>Time drove on. Days ... months ... years....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 2</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">CANNELL'S STORY</p> - - -<p>I pass to that June night, over three years after Cannell's -disappearance, when my own part in the drama may be said to begin. -Lantin and I were working late in our laboratory at the Foundation, -when we were interrupted by the telephone bell. We had reached a -critical point in our experiment, and as Lantin hurried over to the -instrument, I heard him muttering threats to have it removed. I did not -catch his first answer, but after a minute's silence he flung out a -single word, in a strange voice, that startled me.</p> - -<p>"Cannell!"</p> - -<p>At once I hastened over to his side, and as I did so, he turned toward -me a face eloquent of astonishment, still holding the receiver to his -ear. "I'll be there in ten minutes!" he shouted into the instrument, -then hung up and turned to face my excited questions.</p> - -<p>"Good God, Wheeler," he cried, "it's Cannell!"</p> - -<p>"What?" I asked, stupidly, dumfounded by the assertion.</p> - -<p>"Cannell," he repeated, "at my apartment. He says to meet him there at -once. Where could he have been, these three years?"</p> - -<p>But I was already reaching for my hat and a moment later we were on the -street outside, hailing a cruising taxi. Lantin's bachelor home was in -the west 70's, a little roof-bungalow set on top of a big apartment -building, and we sped up the avenue toward it with the highest legal -speed.</p> - -<p>Lantin did not speak at all, on the way. He was plainly highly excited, -but my own agitation was fast calming. After all, I thought, the -thing might be a stupid practical joke, though an unforgivable one to -perpetrate. Still, if Lantin had recognized the voice—Before I -could ask him about that, the cab stopped, and we hastened into the -building, to the elevator.</p> - -<p>When the cage stopped at its highest point in the building, Lantin was -instantly out and striding eagerly across the foyer of his apartment. -He flung the door open, then stopped short. Standing behind him, I -peered over his shoulder into the room inside. There was a man there, a -man who jumped to his feet and came quickly toward us. It was Cannell, -I saw at once. Cannell—but changed.</p> - -<p>His face was drawn and haggard, and instead of his former impatient, -challenging expression, it bore the impress of an unearthly fear. A -fear that showed even in the tense, half-crouching position of his -body, as he came across the room toward us, searching our faces with -his burning eyes. He came closer, gripped Lantin's hands, struggled to -speak.</p> - -<p>"Thank God you came, Lantin!" he cried, chokingly.</p> - -<p>We stood speechless, and with a sudden reaction of feeling he stepped -back and sank wearily into a chair, running his hand tiredly over his -eyes. Lantin found his voice then for the first time.</p> - -<p>"Where have you been, man?" he shouted. "Three years! For God's sake, -Cannell, what happened to you? Where were you all that time?"</p> - -<p>Cannell gazed up at us, strangely, somberly, a brooding darkness -settling on his face. "All that time?" he repeated, musingly. "Three -years? Three years to you, perhaps, but not to me. But not to me."</p> - -<p>A sudden glance flashed between Lantin and myself. Was the man mad? Did -that account for his strange disappearance?</p> - -<p>Cannell saw and interpreted that glance. "I know what you're thinking," -he told us, "and sometimes I think you're right, that I really am -crazy. I would be better off if I were," he concluded, darkly. But -before we could comment on his strange words, his mood changed abruptly -and he motioned us to chairs beside him, bending toward us in sudden -eagerness.</p> - -<p>"But you two," he said, "I can tell you what I saw, what happened. I -could not tell others—no! They would never have believed, and it may -be that even you will not. But it is all truth—truth, I tell you!" -And on the last words his voice rose to a high-pitched, ragged scream. -Then, mastering his shattered nerves with an effort, he went on.</p> - -<p>"You know why I went to Angkor, what I planned to do there. I went -up the Mekong by steamer, then hired natives to take me the rest of -the way in canoes. Up winding waterways they took me, through narrow -creeks and old canals, and out over a great lake, in which a forest lay -submerged. Then up another creek and finally by bullock-cart to Angkor -itself.</p> - -<p>"There is no use trying to describe the place to you. I have seen most -of the great ruins of the past and the great buildings of the present, -but Angkor towers above them all, the most magnificent thing ever built -by the hands of men. It is a vast city of carven gray stone, a city -whose lacelike sculptured walls and crenelated battlements have looked -down for a thousand years on nothing but the jungle that hems it in, -and the silence and death that lie incarnate in itself. Literally acres -of ruined buildings, square miles of crumbling stone, and set in the -heart of that great mass of remnants, the palace, Angkor Thom, a great -ruin whose courts and walls and terraces lie as desolate and broken as -the city around them.</p> - -<p>"A deep moat surrounds the city, and out over it leads a great -causeway, built of huge blocks of stone, a wide, level highway that -leads through the jungle for a short distance to the supreme glory of -the place, Angkor Wat, the gigantic temple. Unlike the palace and city, -the temple has not fallen into ruins but remains nearly the same as it -must have been when the city was living and splendid. It towers up to -a tremendous height, its dark, frowning walls looming far above the -green jungle around it. When I walked into it for the first time, the -mighty grandeur of the place was so awesome and compelling that I felt -presumptuous—ashamed. The stifling, brooding silence seemed to flow -down on me like a tangible wave, humbling me, dwarfing me.</p> - -<p>"I spent my first two days in a superficial exploration of the palace -and city, wandering through the miles of crumbling streets and fallen -buildings. But I pass over that to the third day, when I started my -examination of Angkor Wat. All of that day I spent in the temple, -alone, for the natives feared to venture into it. Along its marching -walls life-sized figures were carved in exquisite relief, warriors, -kings and elephants, battles and ceremonies, literally miles of -lavished, delicate sculptures. I lingered with them, absorbed, until -the sun had set and the swift tropical darkness was descending, then -abruptly came to a realization of my surroundings and started for my -camp.</p> - -<p>"Through the deepening shadows of the temple's halls I went, stumbling -here and there against fallen stones, and finally came with a slight -sensation of relief to the stone-paved courtyard in front of the -edifice, from which the great causeway led back to the city and to my -camp. It was quite dark, now, but I stopped for a moment there, since -the moon was just rising and the scene was one of perfect beauty—the -calm moonlight flooding over the silent ruins, the dark, looming walls -behind me, the black shadows that lay across the silver-lit courtyard. -For minutes I stood there, fascinated, but finally turned to go.</p> - -<p>"I walked across the courtyard, then stopped abruptly and looked up. -A strange sound had come to my ears from above, a sound that was like -distant, shrill whistling. It hung for a moment, faint and eery, then -grew much louder, like a score of men whistling piercingly in different -keys, varied, tumultuous. I half expected to see birds passing above, -but there were none. The air had been heavy and still for hours, but -now a puff of wind smote me, a little, buffeting breeze that changed -suddenly to a hard wind and then to a raging gale that whipped the -sun-helmet off my head and nearly twisted me from my feet. And with -that sudden change, the whistling chorus above had changed also, had -waxed to a raging tumult of wind-shrieks, piercing, tempestuous! -Abruptly, now, there flashed into being in the air forty feet above -me—a thing!</p> - -<p>"It was a swirling mass of dense gray vapor, looking in the moonlight -much like a drifting cloud of steam. But this smoky mass was alive -with motion of its own, spinning and interlacing, and from it came the -shrill chorus and the raging winds. And, too, I saw that somewhere -inside those shifting mists glowed three little circles of green light, -one set above the other two, three tiny, radiant orbs whose brilliance -stood out even in the mellow moonlight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Abruptly, as I stared up at the thing, those three circles of vivid -green luminescence changed to purple, no less brilliant. And at the -same instant, there came a change to the spinning mists around them. -Those mists seemed to contract, to shrink, to solidify, and then they -had vanished and in place of them hung a thing of solid matter, a -mass of what seemed to be gray, resilient flesh, and at the center -of which hung steadily the little triangle of purple lights. Nor was -this solid mass any more unchanging than the misty one had been, for -it seemed to have no one form, flashing with incredible speed through -a myriad half-glimpsed shapes. It folded and unfolded, contracted, -elongated, spun and writhed, a protean changing of shapes that my eyes -could scarcely follow. But always the three little orbs of purple hung -unchanged at its center.</p> - -<p>"Scarcely more than a minute had elapsed since the thing first had -appeared above me, and now as I gazed up at it, stupefied, I sensed -dimly that the whistling sounds and the winds had died away. Then, -before my dazed mind could fully comprehend the strangeness of the -creature that hung in the air above me, that creature floated swiftly -down beside me, so near that I could have touched it. And out from -the changing, inchoate mass of it reached a long, twisting tentacle, -straight toward me!</p> - -<p>"I staggered weakly back, and screamed. But that arm circled and -gripped me, then pulled me in toward the central mass of the thing. -It was cold to the touch, an utter, numbing cold, like the chill of -something from outer space, utterly alien to our earth and life. -That cold shock stabbed through me and paralyzed me, and I dangled -helplessly in the thing's grip, while at its center, seen, somehow, -<i>through</i> the mass of the thing, the triangle of purple orbs seemed to -watch me.</p> - -<p>"All this had been enacted in a few moments, and now the inexplicable -thing that held me began to rise again, to float up some distance -above the ground. It still gripped me tightly, and now the purple orbs -changed again to brilliant green, while again the solid, twisting mass -of the thing changed, expanding and swirling, until it was again the -drifting, spinning mass of vapor which I had first glimpsed. I floated -in those mists, gripped as tightly as ever by their unseen holds, and -now began again the shrill, piercing whistling, from all around me, -while a rising torrent of wind roared around the thing that held me.</p> - -<p>"At the same time, glancing up, I saw the moon racing across the sky -above with incredible speed, bounding across the zenith like a shooting -star and sinking down in the west. Hardly had it disappeared when -there was an up-gush of gray light from the eastern horizon, and then -the sun leapt up, red and flaming, and hurtled across the sky with even -greater speed. I caught a glimpse of Angkor beneath, bathed in tropical -sunlight. And a half-minute before it had been deepest night!</p> - -<p>"A deadly sickness seized me, and while I strove against it the sun -raced down into the west and it was night again, with the shining -moon again flashing across the sky with nightmare speed. Again it -disappeared and again the sun sprang up and rocketed headlong across -the zenith. And for the first time there came to my numbed brain some -realization of what was happening.</p> - -<p>"This inexplicable thing that held me—this being of changing mists and -vapors—was taking me on through time. It was whirling me on into the -future, with some undreamed-of power of its own.</p> - -<p>"The sun was racing across the sky with comet speed, now, a streak of -golden light, and day and night followed each other like the flipped -leaves of a book, faster and faster. In a few minutes they had become -indistinguishable, had merged into a green twilight in which I could -see but dimly the ground below. And even as we thus sped on through -time, with ever-increasing speed, the thing that held me began to move -through space also, and I caught a glimpse of ruined Angkor sliding -away from beneath me.</p> - -<p>"The thundering roar of the winds grew even louder as we moved -simultaneously through time and space. I caught fragmentary glimpses -of land flashing by beneath, with tremendous speed. And all the while -I hung there in the grip of the thing, held by the smoky mist-spirals, -swinging helplessly around and around the three circles of radiant -green light at the thing's center.</p> - -<p>"With a sudden surge of desperate courage, I tried to move in the -remorseless grip that prisoned me, endeavored to raise my right hand to -my belt, putting all my force into the effort. Slowly my hand came up, -inch by inch, struggling against the unseen grip of iron that grasped -me. It came up, with infinite slowness, until it was high enough to -grasp the automatic in my belt-holster. I clasped the pistol's stock -and threw off the safety catch, then, with another great effort, swung -up the pistol until it pointed directly at the triangle of radiant -orbs, and pulled the trigger.</p> - -<p>"The report snapped out thinly above the thundering of the winds. And -instantly the grip of the unseen, vaporous arms around me relaxed, -releasing me utterly, and I plunged down through space.</p> - -<p>"Down I fell, all of a hundred feet, and struck water, sinking down and -down into it, ever more slowly, then hurtling up to the surface again, -gasping for air. It was night, and above was no sign of the thing that -had held me, so I judged that it had gone on into time. The water I -swam in was salt, and I knew from the long, easy swells that I was in -the open sea. There was no shore in sight, nor any sign of one, so I -wasted no effort in swimming but strove only to keep afloat.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"For over two hours I floated, treading water easily, and had just -decided that it would be best to give over my useless efforts and sink -down to rest and peace, when a spark of light showed on the horizon, -a spark too low to be a star. It grew larger, coming nearer, until I -could make it out as one of the upper lights of a ship. In the course -it was following, it would pass me at some distance, so I struck out in -a direction that would bring me across its path.</p> - -<p>"My hours in the water had told on my strength, though, and my -progress was so slow that the ship had nearly passed me when I came -within hailing distance of it. There were few lights on its decks, and -no answer to my frantic cries. But when it had passed a little beyond -me, I heard voices shouting and the rattle of a boat's tackle. I knew -then that I was saved.</p> - -<p>"The ship proved to be an oil-tanker, bound from Hongkong to Galveston. -And as I found out, it had picked me up in the open Pacific, at a spot -some three hundred miles east of Manila. The thing that held me had -carried me that far, in space.</p> - -<p>"I represented myself as the sole survivor of a wrecked tramp-steamer, -and was not questioned overmuch. I dared not tell my story to those -sailors, lest they prison me as a mad-man. I asked them a few discreet -questions, though, and received an answer to one that staggered me. For -I was no longer in my own year, the year in which I had been seized -there at Angkor. I was in a year three years later! Three years! And it -had seemed only a few minutes to me. I had been carried on, that far, -into time.</p> - -<p>"I took my place as one of the crew, on the voyage to Galveston, and -worked my passage, though I was hard put to it to uphold my assertion -that I was a seaman. We sailed on, forging across the Pacific and -heading toward Panama. A night came when we were only a few hundred -miles west of the canal. I was stretched in a forecastle bunk, vainly -trying to sleep away the haunting fears that still filled me. The -night was quite calm, with only the throb of the engines and the -slap of waves on the hull breaking the silence. Then, faint and far, -but sounding to me like the thunder of doom, came a distant, eery -whistling, a piercing chorus that I knew well.</p> - -<p>"It grew, it waxed to a tumult of roaring winds, while I lay crouched -in the bunk, trembling. It seemed to swoop down on the deck above, and -there rang out a great scream, a shriek of horror that burned into -my brain. The roaring winds began to lessen, to draw away. I ran up -onto the deck and looked wildly around. To the north, a little above -and beyond the ship, was a hazy mass that I glimpsed vaguely in the -moonlight, and that suddenly disappeared, still heading straight north. -And the whistling chorus of winds died away.</p> - -<p>"I sank down on the deck, sick at heart. For I knew what I had seen, -knew that half-glimpsed thing to be the thing that had seized me at -Angkor, and from which I had freed myself. Two of the watch, the -only men on deck at the time, were missing, and all around me the -sailors who had poured up onto the deck were speculating as to their -disappearance, and the cause of the sudden, roaring winds. But I told -them nothing. I knew well that the thing that had snatched me away -before had come again to seize me, tracking me down, God knows how, -perhaps by some mystic mark or brand that its grip had sealed upon me. -I knew that it had come for me, and not finding me, had taken the two -men on deck at the time. But I said nothing.</p> - -<p>"It was finally agreed by the ship's officers to report the event as -the loss of two sailors, swept overboard by a sudden gale. It went down -in the ship's log, thus, and we sailed on. But the crew was fearful, -whispering....</p> - -<p>"The ship came safe to Galveston, though. The wages due me as a seaman -were enough to get me to New York. I came at once to your apartment, -and the rest you know.</p> - -<p>"What is that thing that seized me, that enigmatic Raider through time? -God alone knows, if even He is aware of its existence. But I know that -it swept down on me through time and seized me, that it flashed with -me through those three years in almost as few minutes. And I know that -it has marked me for its victim and will come for me again, maybe in -pure revenge for that shot of mine that released me.</p> - -<p>"Where is there refuge from a thing like that, that can speed through -time and space at will? Twice I have escaped it, but I fear I can not -escape it again, when it comes to claim me. And sooner or later, it -will come!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 3</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE RAIDER</p> - - -<p>A silence hung over the room when Cannell ceased to speak. I drew a -long breath and turned to Lantin, my brain awhirl, but already he was -calmly questioning the archeologist.</p> - -<p>"This thing you call the Raider," he began; "I don't understand your -description very well, Cannell. Do you mean that it was just misty gas -or vapor, able to change into solid form at will, and change back? And, -withal, a living, intelligent thing?"</p> - -<p>"I mean just that," Cannell told him. "The thing is undoubtedly a -sentient, living being of extraordinary intelligence and powers, able -to assume either a solid or gaseous form. The phenomenon of the three -shining orbs, changing from green to purple and back, is connected -with that change in form, I assume. And at the same time I believe -that triangle of the three lights to be the center of the thing's -consciousness and intelligence, its brain and sense organs.</p> - -<p>"Such a thing is not impossible, Lantin," he went on. "You and I, -intelligent, living creatures, are composed of solid and liquid -elements, but there is no real reason why life and intelligence could -not be present in an entirely gaseous creature. And as I believe, -this creature only assumes the gaseous form when it is traveling -through time. The winds that accompany its passage through time are -undoubtedly caused by the fact that as it flashes on into a different -time, it leaves in the atmosphere a sudden vacuum, and the surrounding -atmosphere rushing in to fill this vacuum causes the gusts of wind."</p> - -<p>"But where could the thing come from?" Lantin objected. "Where was it -taking you?"</p> - -<p>Cannell's face darkened. "I believe that it comes from the far future," -he said slowly. "Who can say what manner of creatures will inhabit -earth a million years from now? And it may be that this thing, a being -of some future age, has discovered a way to travel through time and -now sweeps back at will, snatching up luckless humans in every age. -The purpose of these raids, who can say? Maybe for victims or slaves -or food even. It is all a mystery, even to myself. One thing alone is -clear to me, that the thing does come from some future time, since it -was speeding back into the future with me when I escaped it."</p> - -<p>I found a chance to interject a query. "But how?" I asked. "That's what -interests me, the method of traveling through time at will. I've heard -theories on that subject, but this actual accomplishment, this power -to race into past or future—have you no idea as to how that is done, -Cannell?"</p> - -<p>He considered before answering. "The transformation into a gaseous -form when time-traveling is a significant detail," he said. "I have an -inkling of what power the Raider utilizes to speed through time. I was -in the thing's grip only for a few minutes, but I noticed some things, -even in that short time, that set me thinking, afterward. I formed a -rough theory concerning the method of time-traveling, and on the voyage -home I jotted down some notes concerning it, intending to investigate -the matter later."</p> - -<p>Reaching into an inside pocket, he brought forth a little packet of -soiled envelopes and folded sheets. "My own idea about it—" he -began, then suddenly broke off speaking and sat motionless, listening -tensely. Astonished, we listened likewise, but the only sound was the -far dim roar of the city below, and the curtains at the open French -windows, billowing gently in a soft breeze. From an adjoining room came -the faint chime of a clock.</p> - -<p>Relief dropped on Cannell's face, and its tense outlines relaxed. "I -thought I heard—" he murmured, then abruptly stopped and jumped -to his feet, his eyes wild. My heart gave a sudden great throb, for -through the open windows came the sound of a high, thin whistling, far -and faint and crystal-clear, an eery chorus of piercing knife-blades -of sound, that shrilled out louder and louder, swelling to a roaring -tumult of wind-sounds. The window-curtains whipped up madly, in a -buffeting gale, as through the windows came a breath of icy air.</p> - -<p>Abruptly the lights of the room went out, plunging us into darkness. -There was a shout from Lantin: "The switch!" and I heard him running -toward it. Outside the wind-shrieks had risen to a thundering bellow, -and there were cries and running feet, somewhere in the building below -us. A dark, erect figure appeared in the open window, silhouetted -blackly against the brilliant lights of the distant streets. It poised -there a moment, then passed out onto the outside roof, walking stiffly -and unhumanly, like a puppet pulled by unseen strings.</p> - -<p>"Cannell!" I cried; "get back!" I raced across the room toward the -window, and in the darkness collided with Lantin, who was making for -the same objective. We staggered, recovered our balance, rushed -together to the window, and then recoiled.</p> - -<p>Standing at the roof's edge, darkly outlined against the city's -splendid brilliance, was Cannell, and down upon him from the upper air -was dropping—what? A changing, inchoate shape of gray, at the center -of which burned a little triangle of three radiant circles of purple -light, one above the other two. In the moment that the thing swept -down on Cannell, the roaring winds hushed for an instant, and we saw a -writhing, shapeless arm reach out from the central mass, grip Cannell -and draw him in. The gray mass hung for a moment, then the purple -lights flashed into green, and at the same time the thing had changed -into a swirling cloud of dense gray vapor, the three green orbs at -its center, and the roaring winds shouting again with renewed power. -The thing rose swiftly above the roof, holding Cannell, hung for a -moment above us, a tornado of whistling winds, then vanished like a -clicked-off cinema scene.</p> - -<p>But as it disappeared before our eyes, as its raging, piercing winds -died away to a mere whisper, out from the empty air where it had been -rang an eery, fading cry, Cannell's voice, coming faintly down through -time.</p> - -<p>"Lantin! Follow—follow—"</p> - -<p>Then the last word, coming dimly to us like a ghostly echo out of space -and time, but with a world of fear and horror in it:</p> - -<p>"The Raider!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 4</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">INTO TIME</p> - - -<p>"And you really mean to try it?" I asked incredulously.</p> - -<p>"I do," Lantin quietly replied. "I am going to find that secret of -time-traveling and go after Cannell."</p> - -<p>I stared at him doubtfully. A day had passed since we had seen Cannell -seized by the misty shape of horror he called the Raider, and now, in -the same room in Lantin's apartment, we were discussing what we had -seen. After the first hours of dazed terror following the seizure of -Cannell, I had fallen to sleep on a couch in that room, and when I woke -in late afternoon, the whole thing seemed only a tortured nightmare.</p> - -<p>"It seems impossible," I told Lantin. "We saw Cannell taken, yes, and -we saw—the Raider. But after all, we have no proof that he was taken -into time. That thing, the Raider, may have merely thrown a veil of -invisibility around itself, and thus vanished. A crazy idea, I admit, -but not as wild as this one of time-traveling."</p> - -<p>"You do not believe your own words, Wheeler," answered my friend. "You -heard Cannell's story, and in your heart you believe it. I believe -it utterly, for it is the only way of accounting for that three-year -disappearance. You noticed that Cannell seemed no older, after those -three years? And then, as further proof, came the thing he described to -us, the Raider itself."</p> - -<p>"We saw that," I admitted, "but all argument aside, Lantin, this idea -of moving through time at will seems absurd. Of course, I've heard -fantastic ideas on the subject, but how could anyone really tamper with -time, the most unalterable and remorseless quantity in life?"</p> - -<p>Lantin considered me before replying. "Such an achievement is beyond -our present science," he conceded, "but it may be quite possible to the -science of the future. You see my meaning? Remember, Wheeler, it is -only within the last few years that our science has learned anything at -all about time. Previously it was considered one of the last mysteries, -never to be investigated or explained. But now, with the recent work -of Einstein and Lorentz and Minkowski, we are beginning to learn -something about this time. We have learned, for instance, that it is -only another dimension of space itself, and that the four dimensions of -any object are thus length, breadth, thickness, and <i>duration</i>.</p> - -<p>"We know now that time is not fixed and unchangeable, but relative and -varying, that the time of Venus is not the time of earth, and that the -time of Sirius is different from either. And remember, all of this we -have learned within the last few years.</p> - -<p>"What, then, may not be learned in the next thousand years, the next -ten thousand, the next million? Is it not reasonable to suggest that -men will advance farther and farther in their knowledge concerning this -elusive thing, time, until they finally will advance so far that they -will be able to <i>control</i> time, to travel in it at will, and thus sweep -back from their own day, back to our present age? Is it not possible -that men can do this, in some century to come?"</p> - -<p>"That <i>men</i> can do this?" I repeated. "<i>Men</i>, you say, but the thing -we saw was no man, Lantin. That thing, the Raider, was very far from -human."</p> - -<p>"It is so," he admitted, "but that proves nothing. The Raider may be -some thing of the far future, either a strange product of ages of -change and evolution, or a visitor from another planet, racing through -time and snatching up victims in every age and land. You remember that -Cannell was seized at Angkor? And a thousand years ago, Angkor was a -mighty city, and who knows but the Raider was speeding back to the days -of Angkor's life and greatness, when it chanced on Cannell there? It is -a strange business, Wheeler; but one thing I am certain of, and that is -that the Raider does come from some time far in the future, and that it -has taken Cannell back with it to that time."</p> - -<p>"But the method," I insisted, "the method of traveling through time? -How is that accomplished? Cannell spoke of a theory he had concerning -it. And he gave you those notes—"</p> - -<p>"I've examined those notes," Lantin said, "and rough and fragmentary -as they are, I think that in them lies the secret of time-traveling. -Cannell knew something of modern science, Wheeler, and the conclusions -he drew concerning the Raider are significant. It was his theory that -as time is the fourth dimension of matter, there is no basic reason why -we can't move at will along that dimension. We can move as we wish in -the other three, up-and-down, right-and-left, and back-and-forward, so -why not in the fourth, that is, sooner-or-later?</p> - -<p>"And his idea, as expressed in his notes, was that the Raider's -movement along the time-dimension was based on electronic acceleration. -You know the electronic system as well as I, and realize that the -smallest division of matter, the atom, is nothing but a number of -electrons, or particles of electricity, revolving around a nucleus. -Cannell believed, and I think he was right, that that movement of -electrons is the basis of the movement along the time-dimension.</p> - -<p>"To make you understand that, let me take an example. Suppose all -motion on earth stopped entirely, so that there was not the least bit -of visible motion in earth or heavens. Sun, moon, stars, ships, clocks, -trains, rivers, people, every form of motion stopping completely, so -that the earth was a completely motionless world. Then would it not be -a timeless world also? In other words, without change there would be -no such thing as time, for time depends on and is measured by change. -So that all movement along the fourth or time-dimension is intimately -related to movement along the other three or space-dimensions.</p> - -<p>"It is exactly the same with a single, isolated object. Take a metal -ball, for instance. It moves steadily along the time-dimension, <i>from</i> -the past <i>toward</i> the future, only because the electrons that compose -it are constantly moving along the space-dimensions, are constantly -revolving around their nucleus, at the same unvarying speed. If you -stopped that revolving of electrons, the ball of metal would become -static, timeless, would cease to move along the time-dimension. But -suppose instead of stopping the electronic movement, you accelerated -it, speeded it up? Then the ball of metal whose electronic activity was -thus accelerated would move on through time <i>faster</i>. Everything around -it would still move along the time-dimension at the same rate, but it -would be going faster, would speed on into the future, ahead of the -things around it. And the more its electronic motion was accelerated, -the farther into the future it would go.</p> - -<p>"In the same way, if the electronic motion was reversed, the metal -ball would go <i>backward</i> along the time-dimension, would speed back -into the past. Thus you see how such a principle could be applied -practically and enable one to speed into past or future at will, simply -by accelerating or reversing the motion of the electrons making up his -vehicle, or car."</p> - -<p>"It seems reasonable," I admitted, "but the difficulty remains, for -how could the movement of electrons be thus accelerated or reversed -at will? Why, no man has ever even seen an electron, or ever will, -they're so infinitesimally tiny. Then how affect their speeds, their -directions?"</p> - -<p>"You mention a difficulty," Lantin replied, "but it could be overcome, -Wheeler. As you say, no man has ever seen an electron, but for all -that, men have done some strange things with electrons. They have shot -them through films of water-vapor and have thus been able to record -their speeds and courses, without seeing the actual electrons. And -just recently, an American scientist was able to change the course of -electronic motion entirely, and shoot a stream of electrons in any -direction at will, the so-called cathode rays. When that has been done, -it doesn't seem altogether impossible to change their motion in another -way, by accelerating or reversing it."</p> - -<p>"But there's another thing, Lantin," I said; "even though you achieved -the impossible and found a way of time-traveling, how would you find -Cannell? How could you find him, without knowing what age or what place -the Raider has taken him to? It seems like hunting for a needle in a -haystack, a thousand times magnified in difficulty."</p> - -<p>Without answering, Lantin went to a cabinet and brought forth a big -globe, which he placed on the table before me. "I have a theory on -that, too," he said. "Note the lines I've drawn on this globe," he -added, indicating some long black pencil-lines that had been drawn on -the round surface in the region of the Pacific Ocean.</p> - -<p>"Cannell was seized at Angkor, as we know, and he was dropped in the -open Pacific at a point a few hundred miles east of Manila. I have -marked that point with a dot here, for Cannell learned the latitude -and longitude of the spot and jotted it down. Now is it not reasonable -to suppose that when the Raider dropped Cannell, through the pain or -surprize of his shot, it was progressing in a straight line toward -its own base, or home, or lair? Of course, it was moving through time -also, but in space it was probably heading straight toward its home. So -if we draw a straight line from Angkor to this dot, on the globe, and -then continue that line straight across the globe, it's reasonable to -assume that somewhere along that continued line is the Raider's home.</p> - -<p>"Now, you heard Cannell say that when the thing came to the ship -and fled away with the two sailors it seized, it was heading due -north when it vanished from sight. So from this dot west of Panama, -representing the ship's position, I have drawn another line straight -north. You see, the same reasoning applies here, for the thing would -again head straight toward its lair with its victims. The two lines -cross each other, as you see, in southern Illinois. And if my theory is -correct, somewhere near that point of crossing is the Raider's home, -though in what age I do not know. So if one could find the secret of -time-traveling, and speed into the future, hovering near that spot, -there is a chance that you would find the Raider—and his victims. It -is a long chance, of course, but the only one."</p> - -<p>I was silent, pondering the things he had said. But I felt the question -in his eyes, and sensed his appeal before he voiced it.</p> - -<p>"And you, Wheeler, will you help me? Together we can do this, can find -this secret of time-traveling and go after Cannell, follow him as he -cried for me to do. I know that he was not your close friend, as he was -mine, but I am asking you to help, nevertheless, for you are the only -one I can go to for aid. Who would credit the thing we saw, if I told -it? But you saw, and you know, you understand. And if we could work on -this together—"</p> - -<p>Without replying, I stepped to the window and looked out, inwardly -struggling for an answer. While we talked, night had fallen, and again -the brilliant lights of the city had blossomed, like burgeoning flowers -of flame. A day had passed since we had seen Cannell seized, from this -same window. Just twenty-four hours!</p> - -<p>I must have spoken my thought aloud, for Lantin, who had come up and -was standing beside me, repeated it. "Just twenty-four hours—to us, -Wheeler. But how long to Cannell, I wonder? Where is he tonight, do -you think; what thousands, what tens of thousands of years ahead? And -wondering if we will come after him, if we will save him—"</p> - -<p>He stopped, but the thought persisted. Where <i>was</i> Cannell, now? Caught -in some web of utter evil, far in the future, some unholy lair of that -hellish thing, the Raider? I remembered the fear on Cannell's face, the -fear in my own heart when the Raider had flashed down on us. Could I -venture against such a creature, even though we found the way to cross -time? Would I dare to pit myself against a being like that?</p> - -<p>There at the window I battled my own fear, and when I finally turned, -it was to extend my hand to Lantin.</p> - -<p>"I'm with you," I told him shortly; "if we can discover the secret of -the Raider's power, we'll follow Cannell—into time!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 5</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE BUILDING OF THE TIME-CAR</p> - - -<p>It is not my intention to relate here the details of the work that -occupied our attention in the following weeks. It has been dealt -with at length in two technical treatises by Lantin and myself. The -theoretical side of our work has been very fully discussed in those -two books, but the concrete details are purposely slurred over. The -most valuable part of our achievement, the time-wave itself, is hardly -mentioned in them.</p> - -<p>There is a reason for this, and that reason is the firm intention of -Dr. Lantin and myself not to impart any information that would enable -anyone to duplicate our own experiment. Thus it is of necessity that -parts of this present record are vague and indefinite.</p> - -<p>I may say, though, unquestionably, that without the notes that were -left us by Cannell, we could never have achieved the success we did -achieve. Those notes, brief and unsatisfactory as they were, were -yet enough to set our feet on the right path, in our quest of the -time-traveling secret. To us, then, the problem was one of accelerating -electronic activity, and all our experiments were directed toward that -goal.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, Lantin had virtually a free hand at the Foundation, and we -were able to use the matchless resources of its great laboratories to -further our quest. Working constantly together and maintaining complete -secrecy regarding the object of our experiments, we sought for some -force capable of controlling the movement and speed of electrons, at -will.</p> - -<p>The weeks dragged by, and we seemed no nearer success than ever. And at -the Foundation, some curiosity was being evinced regarding our work, -which ill-fitted with our desires. We had made trial of every form -of vibration, it seemed, and all without success, for none affected -the electronic movement in the way we wished. In the end, it was by a -combination of electro-magnetic waves and light rays that we finally -achieved success.</p> - -<p>I say "we," but it was Lantin's triumph. He had the inspiration to -combine high-frequency Hertzian vibrations and light-rays, merging the -two dissimilar vibrations into a single wave, which we called "the -time wave" and which had power to affect the very electronic structure -of matter, all electronic movement within its radius being stimulated -and accelerated by it. And with it, we proved the correctness of -Cannell's theory, for when we turned the wave upon small objects on -the laboratory table, they vanished, reappearing a few seconds later, -having been driven into the future for those few seconds by the force -of the time-wave.</p> - -<p>By reversing the action of the wave, the electronic movement was -reversed also, and thus the basis of our needs was found and we had a -force that could sweep all things in its radius into past or future at -will. Then it was that Lantin began to speak of a car, a car containing -a time-wave projector powerful enough to convey the car and all its -occupants into past or future. It was vitally necessary, he thought, -that such a car should be able to move in space, as well as time, and -to acquire this power we had recourse to a discovery accidentally made -in the course of our experiments.</p> - -<p>In our efforts to change the movement of electrons, we had found that -when a stream of them was shot out in a concentrated ray, in any one -direction, it produced an invisible but powerful repulsion. It was -on this fact that Lantin relied to move our car in space, directing -electron-streams toward the ground to raise and hold us in space, and -directing other rays obliquely down toward earth, to move the car from -side to side in any direction.</p> - -<p>The work went on. Six weeks after the seizure of Cannell, our car was -nearing completion, and a strange-appearing vehicle it was. It was a -short, thick cylinder of steel, tapering to a point at each end, its -greatest diameter some five feet and with a total length of fifteen, -from point to point. Windows of heavy glass were set at regular -intervals along its length, and entrance into the car's interior was -through a circular door or manhole in its upper surface, the car being -quite air-tight when this was closed.</p> - -<p>Inside, the cylinder's bottom was flat-decked and covered with -upholstery, since the small diameter of the cylinder made it necessary -for us to either sit or lie on that floor, when operating the car. The -time-wave apparatus, covered by a metal shield, was placed in the fore -end of the cylinder, with the mechanism that produced the repulsion ray -beside it. A small, square switch-board held the centered controls of -both these.</p> - -<p>In the back end of the car was an oxygen-producing apparatus, which -gave us independence of outside air for some hours, though normally our -car was intended to be ventilated from the outside. A small heater held -place beside this, and it was our intention to place what equipment we -took with us in that end of the car.</p> - -<p>Complete, the car weighed several thousand pounds. We had kept to -secrecy in the making of it, having the main shell and other parts of -it made for us by different firms, and assembling them in a room of -Lantin's apartment. The actuating mechanisms we installed ourselves, -and finally the car lay complete on the roof of the building, secured -from prying eyes or hands by a padlocked cover of heavy wood.</p> - -<p>One trial we made of the car's abilities, testing its power to move in -space. Waiting until darkness concealed our trial, we entered the car -and rose easily some five hundred feet above the city, the heavy car -easily upheld and moved by the powerful repulsion rays. Then, circling -once or twice, Lantin pointed the car east and opened up the power. A -whistling gale rose outside as we rocketed across the Atlantic with -tremendous speed, attaining a velocity of almost five hundred miles an -hour, speeding through the atmosphere like a pointed bullet. We made no -trial of the time-wave apparatus, postponing that until our real start, -and returned to the roof of Lantin's apartment building without being -sighted.</p> - -<p>In a few days after that test flight, we had gathered our outfit and -placed it in the car. Besides a complete but very compact camping -outfit, we carried compressed foods that would be sufficient for a -long period to keep us from starving. Our weapons were two high-power -repeating rifles, with ample ammunition. Besides the rifles, we each -carried a heavy automatic in a belt-holster.</p> - -<p>Our last preparation was to stow away in the car apparatus with -which it would be possible to construct a duplicate of the time-wave -mechanism of the car. We intended taking no chance of being stranded in -some age of the future.</p> - -<p>Every detail of the car's working mechanism was given a final test -and found satisfactory, a leave of absence from the Foundation was -asked for and granted, and so, at last, two months after the seizure -of Cannell, our preparations were completed and we stood on the very -threshold of our unparalleled adventure.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 6</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">INTO THE FUTURE</p> - - -<p>"Zero hour, Wheeler," said Lantin, who stood in the car itself, his -head projecting through the round manhole in its upper side. Our -strange vehicle lay ready for its flight into the future, on the -apartment building's roof, for this was the night we had chosen for our -departure.</p> - -<p>I paused at the roof's edge to glance for a last time at the ever-new -panorama of the metropolis around us. Though moonless, the sky above -was brilliant, flecked with blazing stars, but even these were dimmed -by the great up-gush of white light from the city's streets. A soft -little breeze fanned my face as I looked out. Down in the bay, there -was a great hooting of tugs as a big liner went out to sea. And in the -river, a battleship's great search-lights stabbed and circled.</p> - -<p>I turned away, reluctantly enough, and followed Lantin into the car. -Crouched on the padded floor, in a half-sitting, half-lying position, -he was already giving the car's machinery a last inspection, and at his -command I clanged shut the round metal door that sealed the entrance. I -then took up a position on the floor beside him.</p> - -<p>His hands were moving over the gleaming controlling switches, -searching, pulling, twisting. Abruptly something clicked under his -fingers and the car rose smoothly in the air some fifty feet above the -roof and hung motionless. There was a curious little humming now, that -seemed to come from the floor beneath us, caused, as I knew, by the -invisible streams of electronic force that lifted and held us.</p> - -<p>Under the pressure of a little wind, the car drifted a short distance -sidewise, and now hung directly over the streets. I glanced down -through the dead-light in the floor of the car, and saw that from the -height we had already attained, autos and pedestrians were but tiny -specks moving in the blurred glare of the street-lights.</p> - -<p>Without turning, Lantin spoke. "We'd better try the power of the -time-wave," he said, "before going any distance in space."</p> - -<p>I nodded, and again his hands moved over the car's intricate controls. -He turned a large knob, and a rising, purring whine filled the car, -while outside there was a growing roar of sudden wind. At the same time -there came to me a staggering sensation of falling, and for a moment -I seemed to be plunging helplessly down into unfathomable abysses. It -lasted but an instant, and when my mind cleared, I heard the winds -outside the car shouting with higher and higher intensity, caused, as -I knew, by our swift passage through time.</p> - -<p>I looked down into the streets below, and for a second could see no -obvious changes, then noted that the autos and people seemed to have -suddenly vanished. In place of them were misty blurs of undefined -motion, and even these vanished as our progress on through time grew -greater. The winking electric signs of the city had ceased to flash on -and off, and appeared to be steadily illuminated.</p> - -<p>I looked up, through one of the glasses in the car's top surface, and -then gasped, prepared as I was for what I saw. The whole firmament was -moving, its starry hosts moving slowly but visibly toward the west. -Steadily it turned, and in hardly more than a minute a gray light began -to grow over the eastern horizon, flushing swiftly to rose. Then, from -the center of the growing light, sprang up the sun, crimson and mighty, -leaping up above the horizon in a single bound, it seemed, and moving -swiftly, ever more swiftly, up toward the zenith.</p> - -<p>The winds had steadily risen to a cyclonic gale, and now I heard -Lantin's voice, striving to make itself heard above them.</p> - -<p>"We're going through time all right," he shouted, his voice thin and -piping in sound, above the roar of the gale. "We may as well head west -now, too."</p> - -<p>I did not answer, but saw the buildings and streets below slide away to -the east, as the car moved off in the opposite direction. By now the -sun had traversed its whole circuit in the sky and was tumbling down -behind the western heights. Before we had crossed above the Hudson, -darkness had plunged down upon us, and as we rocketed over the Jersey -meadows, I saw the stars again wheeling across the sky, but much faster -than before. Our time-speed was steadily accelerating, now, as Lantin -turned on more and more of the time-wave's power, and I knew that -shortly we would be racing through the years with lightning speed.</p> - -<p>Again the cycle of darkness and dawn was repeated, with the sun -hurtling across the sky faster and faster, while the winds of our -double progress through time and space were deafening. Day and night -followed each other so rapidly that I could obtain but vague glimpses -of the ground below us. We were progressing through space at the rate -of a hundred and fifty miles an hour, holding an even altitude of a -mile above the earth's surface.</p> - -<p>Soon day and night had merged, had given way to a perpetual greenish -dusk through which we raced with nightmare speed. I glanced at the -dials that recorded our progress and position in time, and noted that -already we had gone ahead almost four months into the future, while -our progress was now doubling every few minutes. Passing over northern -Pennsylvania, I saw the ground below turning to a blotched, patchy -gray, the composite impression of weeks of snow and ice, below. The -gray soon faded, changed to green, with the coming of spring. The -cycle of green and white was repeated, again and again, until we were -speeding through the years too swiftly to see it, and white and green -had merged into a drab color that hung over all the landscape below.</p> - -<p>By the time we passed over western Ohio, our car was racing into the -future with a speed of nearly ten years a minute. At this speed, we saw -little of human activities below. There were blurred, vague outlines of -cities now and then, but these were only hazy, indefinite masses that -passed from view as we fled on westward in the car.</p> - -<p>Soon, though, Lantin slowed the car's progress through space and began -to give close attention to the physical features of the country below -us. He consulted maps constantly, now, and finally, after a number of -stops and starts, brought the car to rest, in space, above the juncture -of two small rivers. Hanging there, we still sped on through time, -and above the winds Lantin shouted, "Stop there," pointing to the -maps he held and then down toward the ground below. I understood his -meaning, and knew that he had reached the spot in Illinois which he had -calculated to be the Raider's home.</p> - -<p>Intently we scanned the ground beneath the car. Gray and splotchy as it -appeared, from alternate summer and winter, yet there were nowhere any -buildings or signs of life, nothing but the two little rivers and the -rolling fields that extended away to the horizon.</p> - -<p>A glance at the dials told me that we had progressed through time some -twelve thousand years, since our start. I heard Lantin utter a low -exclamation, and looked up to see him gazing intently toward the north, -through one of the side windows. Moving over beside him, I looked also, -and saw, away on the distant northern horizon, a speck of gleaming -white. We were still racing on through time, and as we watched, that -white spot spread, expanded, grew to a thick line of dazzling white -that lay across all the north horizon.</p> - -<p>The white expanse grew still, coming nearer and nearer toward us, -rolling slowly south and covering all the country it passed over with a -blanket of whiteness. It came nearer toward us, moving with very slow -speed, considering the rapidity of our progress in time. Now, above the -shrill winds around us, there came the dull, grinding roar of the white -blanket's passage. South rolled the gleaming sheet, until it had almost -reached the ground directly beneath the car. I recognized, now, the -material of that gleaming expanse.</p> - -<p>"Ice!" I shouted in Lantin's ear, and he started, glanced down toward -it, then nodded. A moment he studied the grinding wave below, then -leaned over and shouted a single word in my ear:</p> - -<p>"Glacier!"</p> - -<p>The word was like a blinding flood of light on my thoughts. A glacier! -And that was the meaning of this white tide from the north, this vast, -resistless flood of ice that was rolling south over the world as it -had rolled ages before. The mightiest force on earth, and the slowest, -moving with deliberate, unswerving steadiness, calm and majestic, -carving mountains and valleys, changing the very face of the earth. It -had swept down over the earth before, had forced primeval man down to -the very equator before it receded, and now the thing was re-enacting -itself before my eyes. Fascinated, I watched the white masses forging -south.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>While we hung high above it, the gleaming, solid flood rolled on -until it had obscured the last speck of land on the southern horizon, -so that as far as we could see stretched nothing but the glistening -fields of ice. The air in the car had become suddenly bitter cold, and -as frost and rime began to congeal on the windows, I hastened over to -the heating apparatus and switched it on. The glasses cleared soon, -and we sped on into the future, but the white expanse below us seemed -changeless.</p> - -<p>I plucked at Lantin's sleeve, and when he turned, shouted to him, "Go -back?", pointing to the gleaming frozen masses below.</p> - -<p>"No!" he yelled, over the roar of the gale; "I'm going to circle a bit."</p> - -<p>With the words, he snapped off the time-wave, and we came to a rest, in -time. The dials now registered a little over fifteen thousand years, -and with our stopping, the winds outside the car died away and we had -a chance to converse in normal tones.</p> - -<p>"Nothing but ice here," said Lantin, "and we can't tell how long it -will last. I think the best plan would be to sweep around in a great -circle, and look for any signs of the Raider's presence. If we see -nothing we can go on into time and stop every few hundred years to -circle again."</p> - -<p>I agreed, and we put the idea into effect at once, rising to a height -of nearly two miles and then racing away to the west in a curving -course that would eventually bring us back to our starting point. As -we sped on, both Lantin and myself were at the observation windows, -scanning the landscape in every direction, but only boundless fields of -ice met our eyes.</p> - -<p>We reached a point some two hundred miles north of our starting -position, and had begun to curve back toward that position, when Lantin -uttered a sudden exclamation and hastily stopped the car's progress.</p> - -<p>"Look!" he cried, excitedly, pointing away to the north.</p> - -<p>At first I could see only the glaring ice, when I gazed in that -direction, but gradually my eyes made out a distant spot of black -against the horizon. Before I could comment on it, Lantin headed the -car around and opened up on the power so that we shot north toward that -distant spot with full speed.</p> - -<p>On we went, until the spot had changed to a thick line, and its color -from black to green. And as we neared it, we saw that there the ice -ended, and beyond it were green fields and hills and valleys, with -patches of gnarled, stunted trees here and there.</p> - -<p>On we fled, still north, until the ice-fields had faded from view -behind us, and the chilling cold we had felt above them had given -way to a summer warmth. And the first dwarfed trees had changed to -towering giants of the forest, though mostly the country below us was -open fields and ranges of green-clad hills.</p> - -<p>"I can't understand it," I told Lantin. "Who ever heard of a warm, -semi-tropical country like this existing farther north than fields of -glacial ice?"</p> - -<p>"It is strange," he admitted, "but it's understandable, at that. You -remember the explorer who found that warm, sunken valley in Alaska, -somewhere? It was heated by steam, literally, for the interior fires -of the earth had in some way bulged up near the surface of the ground, -there, and their heat acting on the valley's springs and rivers made it -a great steam-heated depression of almost tropical warmth. Probably the -same thing has happened here, a shift of the earth's interior forcing -up part of its inner molten core, the heat of which would counteract -the glacier and keep it from covering this section of the country. -Strange things happen under the earth's surface, Wheeler."</p> - -<p>"You may be right," I said, "but there's no life here, Lantin. No—" -I broke off, suddenly, staring out of the car's western windows. The -western sky was glowing, for it was near to sunset, and there, far -away, standing out black against the brilliant sky, was a city.</p> - -<p>It was a city of enchantment, seen from our car. The jagged, serrated -outline of its buildings loomed blackly against the glowing light, -like the skyline of New York at the same hour. The buildings were all -square and solid in appearance, and at the center of them there rose -one building that towered far above the others, to a mighty height, -its straight, perpendicular sides and flat roof standing up above the -others, frowningly, brutally dominating them.</p> - -<p>There was a gasp at my side, and I turned to see that Lantin was also -gazing at the outline of the distant city. He had brought the car to -rest, and together we looked away toward that metropolis of the future.</p> - -<p>"We must go there," I said rapidly. "Spy out the place from a distance, -learn what we can about it. Do you think that it is the home of the -Raider?"</p> - -<p>"It may be," he said, "but we must be careful, Wheeler. It wouldn't do -to enter that place blindly, not knowing what manner of people inhabit -it. Nor can we risk having the car destroyed or taken from us, as it's -our only way to get back to our own time. The best plan would be to -hide the car some distance from the city, and then go nearer on foot, -learning as much as we can about the place before venturing inside."</p> - -<p>And so we decided. Starting the car again, we sped along low over the -ground, and finally, some five miles away from the city, came across a -little range of rugged hills which appeared quite wild and uninhabited, -like all the rest of the country we had traversed so far. On the slope -of one of these hills was a little, shelflike clearing, patched with -small trees, and we selected this for our hiding place, bringing the -car gently down to rest on the ground there.</p> - -<p>We stepped out, cramped and stiff from our hours in the car, and then -proceeded at once to hide it, breaking off big branches from the trees -around us and planting them in the ground in such fashion that any -casual passer-by would never have suspected the car's existence. When -it was concealed to Lantin's satisfaction, we made a hasty meal from -the food brought with us, and then prepared for our trip toward the -city.</p> - -<p>The rifles we left in the car, as they were too heavy and cumbersome to -carry through the thick underbrush that lined the slopes around us, but -we looked to the pistols in our belts, which were of almost as heavy a -caliber as the rifles. Then, with a last look at the car, we made our -way down the slope to the bottom of the little valley which was formed -by two low ranges of hills, on one of the slopes of which our car lay -hidden.</p> - -<p>We followed this valley north for some distance, the hills on each side -leveling down to mere dunes as we approached its ends. A thick little -wood lay directly across the end of it, and through this we forced our -way, as quietly as possible. It gradually grew thinner, and then with a -sudden shock we emerged from it into open fields.</p> - -<p>Instinctively, we looked first toward the west. The sun was -setting, now, and we saw that the city was not of wide extent, not -extraordinarily large, but that the buildings that made it up were -very large and were closely grouped together. And above them all rose -the titanic central pile, an edifice that we judged to be all of two -thousand feet in height, and half that in width.</p> - -<p>Behind us there was a sudden yelping shout, and we turned quickly and -then shrank back. Across the open fields toward us was running a group -of men, a score or more in number, men in brazen armor and helmets, -who carried spears and swords and who were bearing down on us with -their lances outstretched toward us. Their eyes were gleaming, and they -uttered wolflike shouts as they came on.</p> - -<p>Flight was impossible, so close were they, so I jerked forth the pistol -in my belt and fired hastily at the oncoming men. Too hastily, in fact, -for the shot went wild and the mechanism of the pistol jammed before -I could fire again. Lantin's pistol barked behind me, and one of the -men in front staggered and went down, with a neat hole drilled through -his armor, but the rest never hesitated, and before Lantin could fire -again, they were upon us.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 7</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE CITY OF CYLINDERS</p> - - -<p>I had a confused vision of bronzed, black-bearded faces leaping toward -me, and I know that I struck out with my pistol-butt at these, but the -weapon was knocked from my grasp by a blow on the wrist, my hands were -seized from behind and pinioned, and I waited for the spear-thrust that -I expected.</p> - -<p>It did not come. Those who held me turned to one who was evidently -their leader, a tall man with armor more rich than that of the others, -who carried no spear. They spoke to him, in a tongue strange to my -ears, evidently asking questions concerning our disposal. This leader -came nearer and inspected me, felt my muscles for a moment, then -snapped out a brief order. He made similar inspection of Lantin, gave -another order, and then the men behind me pushed me forward, toward -the city in the west, a prod from a spear-handle emphasizing their -commands. Lantin was similarly treated, walking beside me, but when I -attempted to speak to him, another prod from behind warned me that no -conversation between us was allowed.</p> - -<p>So we marched on toward the city, our captors talking and jesting in -their own language. Twilight was descending on the land, now, darkening -quickly, and as we drew nearer toward the city, lights flared out -here and there on its heights, steady and brilliant lights of red and -yellow. And high above all these shone a single flashing beam of vivid -purple, which I knew must be placed on the top of the big building we -had seen from a distance.</p> - -<p>We struck a road, smooth and wide and hard-surfaced, and marched along -it. In the broad fields on either side of this road were what appeared -to be great machines of some sort, that seemed to be rooting in the -ground, with a panting, throbbing sound, but I could see these only -dimly in the thickening dusk. And, too, we began to pass other men like -those who had captured us, bronzed, bearded men in the same armor, -who looked at us curiously and called out jests and greetings to our -captors.</p> - -<p>Buildings began to line the road, and I saw that all of these were of -the same design, all being in the form of an erect cylinder, quite -windowless and unbroken of surface, except for a single open entrance -in their lower part. They were of white stone, I thought, glimmering -faintly in the twilight, and were of many differing sizes, but whatever -the size, all that we saw were of the same shape and proportions, that -of a thick cylinder, standing erect.</p> - -<p>Out of the doorways of these buildings streamed ruddy light, and now -and then we passed one from which came shouting or laughter. More -and more of the armored men met and passed us. And there were other -men, not in armor, men black and brown and white and yellow, who were -clad in a single robe of white cloth and who walked stiffly, like -automatons. I shuddered as one of them brushed against me in passing, -for he had come near enough for me to glimpse his face, and it was -utterly repellent in the blankness of its expression. The eyes held no -intelligence at all, staring straight ahead or turning mechanically -from side to side, while the stiff movements, the rigid carriage of the -body and the obliviousness to all around them made these men seem more -dead than alive. All, or nearly all, were carrying tools or vessels of -some sort, and it was easy to see that they were slaves.</p> - -<p>I noticed now, scattered here and there among the buildings, little -towers of metal on the top of which were placed globes of a gleaming -material like glass. The towers were found at even intervals along the -road, and each one could not have been less than thirty feet in height, -much like a miniature Eiffel Tower, while the shining globe on top of -each must have been five feet in diameter. Awhile I puzzled over their -nature and purpose, but forgot even these in the wonder of the city we -were now entering.</p> - -<p>There was no wall or definite dividing line between the city and the -suburbs around it. As we went on, the buildings grew thicker, larger, -and the road became a street, a wide street that led directly toward -the looming central pile, which I now saw was of the same cylindrical -shape as all of the other buildings here. The white cylindrical -buildings now were set farther back from the road, or street, and were -very much closer to each other.</p> - -<p>Overhead, aircraft were buzzing to and fro, flickering swiftly across -the sky. They seemed to rise from and alight on the roofs of the -cylindrical buildings, so that I could not glimpse their occupants.</p> - -<p>There were throngs passing us in the street now, without attention, -crowds of the armored guards and the white-robed slaves. The street -itself was illuminated by glowing bulbs, set on top of metal pillars -along the way, which emitted a ruddy, pulsating light. It was the same -ruddy light that streamed out of the entrances of the buildings we -passed, but how it was produced I could not conjecture.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>My mind swung sharply back to my own predicament, when our captors -suddenly halted in the street before a large building that was set some -distance back from the street, in a smooth expanse of green lawn. A -brief order was given and two of the guards seized me by my shoulders -and hustled me toward the building I have spoken of, while the rest -marched on down the street toward the gigantic central edifice, taking -Lantin with them. I saw him looking back as he went, and would have -given much to have been able to call out to him, but my guards gave me -no chance to do so, pushing me ahead of them toward the building in -front of us.</p> - -<p>A high-arched entrance cut into the curving wall of the building, which -was one of the largest I had yet noted. Through this open door led a -broad flight of low steps, but my guards did not enter that way, taking -me some distance around the building's side to a smaller door that was -set in the wall close to the ground. Pushed ahead of them, I stumbled -inside and found myself in a long, smooth-walled corridor, down which -we went.</p> - -<p>There were closed doors here and there along the hall's length, and in -front of the last one lounged three or four of the guards, who looked -up incuriously as we approached. My captors spoke a few words to these, -who nodded, and unlocked the door they guarded. A rough shove sent me -staggering through the door, and as I pitched forward on my face, I -heard it clang shut behind me.</p> - -<p>I rose to my feet and looked around. The room itself was quite -unremarkable, about twenty feet square, walled with smooth stone, and -windowless, being lit by several of the ruddy-glowing bulbs that were -set in the ceiling. But the score or more of men who were in the room, -and who had started up at my sudden entrance, were of intense interest -to me.</p> - -<p>Sinking down onto a bench against the wall, I regarded them. They were -extraordinary in appearance and expression. All were dressed in ragged -and torn costumes of cloth, save for one hulking fellow who wore a -tunic of tanned skins. I was surprized to see that all of them carried -sword or dagger at their belts, and some big battle-axes. Brown-skinned -and white-skinned, with one or two blacks, they were a fierce-faced -company, and after scrutinizing me for a second, went on pacing back -and forth across the room, for all the world like a den of caged -tigers. They spoke little, and glared as they passed one another.</p> - -<p>While I stared at them, one of their number came up and seated himself -beside me. He was a slender, dark-haired young man, dressed in a ragged -coat of bottle-green trimmed in silver, with very tight knee-breeches -of the same material. Like the rest, he was hatless, and carried at his -belt a long, slender rapier. He caught my glance at his garments, and -smiled in so winning a fashion that I smiled back, involuntarily. Then -a wave of sudden warmth surged through me, for he spoke in English.</p> - -<p>"Burn me," he drawled, in a soft, languid voice, "I don't blame you for -eyeing my clothes, but then, y'see, the tailors here are cursed poor."</p> - -<p>I leaned toward him, eagerly. "You speak English!" I cried. "Then -how did you get here? What is this place, this city? And what are we -brought here for?"</p> - -<p>At my rush of questions he drew back a little, frowning in a puzzled -manner. "What are we brought here for?" he repeated. "Why, man, you -know as well as I do, why we're here."</p> - -<p>"Not I!" I said, and his frown deepened, as he doubtfully considered me.</p> - -<p>"But you're from the pit," he said, "the same as the rest of us," and -he waved a hand toward the others in the room.</p> - -<p>"The pit!" I repeated, puzzled, and he must have seen from my -expression that I did not understand him. An odd, calculating -light leaped into his eyes. "You are not of the guards," he said, -half-musingly, "and you say you are not of the pit. But if you came -from outside—"</p> - -<p>"I was captured," I told him, "outside the city, and brought here. But -why?"</p> - -<p>"You're here to fight," he said, shortly, and I started.</p> - -<p>"Fight! With whom?"</p> - -<p>"Why, with these," he answered, indicating again the score of men in -the room. "This is—"</p> - -<p>Before he could finish the sentence, there was a sudden clanging of -metal and the door of the room swung open. A guard stepped in and -gave brief orders in his own tongue. At once the men around me began -to file out of the room, into the corridor. As I passed out, beside -my new-found friend, I saw that in the hall a heavy force of the -guards awaited us, some fifty men being ranged along its length. We -passed together down the corridor's length, but instead of leaving -the building by the door I had entered, we turned to the right and -proceeded up a long flight of steps, the guards following and -preceding us, in two separate companies.</p> - -<p>As we went up those steps, I turned to my companion and asked him, "You -are English, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>He nodded, and made a graceful half-bow. "Viscount Charles Denham, at -your service," he said in a low voice, "captain in the armies of his -Majesty, King George the Third."</p> - -<p>The words were like a thunderclap in my ears. A soldier of King George -the Third? A man of a hundred and fifty years before my own time? And -here, fifteen thousand years in the future, in this strange city! And -these other prisoners, these strange, ragged figures!</p> - -<p>But before I could collect my dazed thoughts, our company was marching -up the last few steps. Over the shoulders of those in front of me I -saw the walls of a great room, and the crimson light of the glowing -bulbs that illuminated it. There was a sound of crystal music, and -laughter—a high, ringing laughter that was very different from the -coarse mirth of the guards. Then we were surmounting the very last -steps, marching up and over them....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illusc2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"Held in its shapeless form were men, who hung helpless in its grasp."</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 8</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY</p> - - -<p>A harsh order from the guards ahead halted us, and I had time to -survey the room in which we stood. It was a circular room, at the edge -of which we were grouped. From where we stood, the walls swept away -in a great curve on either side, meeting directly opposite us, as it -seemed, some ninety feet away. The floor of the room was of smooth, -black stone, resembling marble, while the curving walls were of the -same white material as the building's exterior. A hundred feet above -the floor was a ceiling of white, and I saw at a glance that this one -great hall occupied the whole lower half of the cylindrical building's -interior, the upper half, no doubt, being divided into smaller -apartments. Set in walls and ceiling were many of the glowing bulbs, -and from these a cascade of ruddy light poured down on the people in -the room.</p> - -<p>There must have been nearly a hundred of these people, men and women. -They lay on couches along the room's edge, with long, curving tables of -green metal before them, like the banquet halls of the ancient Romans. -A shock went through me as I looked at the feasters, for they were -unlike any of the people I had seen as I entered the city. These people -were all tall and perfectly proportioned, and all were golden-haired, -men and women alike. They were attired in short robes or tunics of -brilliantly colored silks, and some wore circlets of flashing gems.</p> - -<p>With a sudden shock it came to me that these were the first women I had -seen in all this city, for there had been none among the guards and -slaves outside. But before I could ponder this fact, it was swept from -my mind by my wonder at the other things in the room.</p> - -<p>The feasters, I saw, were engaged in drinking from transparent goblets -which held brightly colored liquids. I could see no solid food of any -kind on the tables, but there were many urns and flagons and amphoræ -filled with the bright fluids. Long lines of the white-robed, stiffly -marching slaves passed and repassed behind the couches of the feasters, -with metal trays holding other glass and metal vessels, which they -placed on the tables.</p> - -<p>Two other things I noted before my brief survey of the place was -interrupted. One was that among the laughing, shouting people at the -tables there was not one face that would not be called beautiful. All -seemed youthful, with the beauty of youth, and its high spirits, yet -an impression of evil came to me as I watched them. I sensed, beneath -their jesting and laughing, a cold, indolent <i>heartlessness</i>.</p> - -<p>The other thing I noted was the source of the crystalline music. Across -the room from me, in an alcove, were the musicians, slaves who operated -an intricate instrument which allowed water to fall on thin plates of -metal, in single drops or streamlets, producing a tumultuous chiming -like a storm of silver bells, wild and clear and sweet, and for all its -tempestuousness, oddly harmonious.</p> - -<p>My companions had been surveying the scene, like myself, but it was -evident from the expressions on their faces that it was not new to -them. I wondered for what purpose we had been brought there, and -remembering the Englishman's interrupted explanation, turned to speak -to him. But as I did so, came another interruption, and with it my -answer.</p> - -<p>One of the men at the tables rose and uttered a brief order, and at -once a great black slave strode across the room, seized a mace of -metal, and with it struck a tremendous blow on a hanging brazen gong. -At once the chatter and song at the tables stopped, and all eyes were -turned toward ourselves. I felt their gaze sweeping over us, and -involuntarily shuddered. Then, beside us, the captain of the guards -barked out an order, that sounded across the silence like a whiplash. -And at once two of the men who stood beside me strode out to the center -of the room, to the wide, clear floor there, and stood facing each -other.</p> - -<p>There was a rippling whisper through the spectators at the tables, a -murmur of pleasurable excitement. Without heeding it, the two men at -the room's center inspected each other with fierce eyes.</p> - -<p>One of the two was a proud, dark-faced figure, high-nosed and -gleaming-eyed, dressed in torn, flowing robe and with a tightly -twisted turban on his head. He jerked from his belt a long, curved -scimitar and whirled it above his head, giving vent to a ragged, -high-pitched yell of defiance. An Arab, I thought, maybe one of the -very hordes that had carried the green banner of the Prophet over three -continents like a whirlwind. He was a fierce enough spectacle, as he -shook his gleaming blade aloft, but his opponent was a fit one, a -gigantic Northman in leathern jerkin, whose blue eyes gleamed as he too -sprang forward, brandishing aloft a great ax in one hand, and carrying -a small, circular shield in the other.</p> - -<p>With weapons upraised, the two cautiously neared each other, circling -like wary tigers, searching for an opening. I turned away, and saw that -the feasters were wholly intent now on the two opponents, and in that -moment I understood the meaning of the Englishman in saying that we -had been brought here to fight. For it was so, and all in our ragged, -fierce group would no doubt be forced to fight and slay one another -to amuse the indolent spectators at the tables, as the gladiators of -ancient Rome had struck each other down in the great games. And what of -myself?</p> - -<p>There was a sudden great shout from the tables, and I turned my -attention back to the struggle at the center of the floor. The Arab's -blade had darted past his opponent's shield and had wounded the latter -in the shoulder with a flashing down-stroke. But the leather-clad giant -was not beaten. Though blood was streaming down from his shoulder now, -he said no word, only lifted his shield higher and circled around the -other, with ax still poised ready to strike. The tense silence had been -broken by that first shout and now those at the tables were calling out -to the two fighters, warnings and advice, I supposed, and were laying -wagers on the result of the fight.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the Arab again darted in, and again his blade slashed the -other's arm, but as he stepped swiftly back, his foot slipped on the -blood that smeared the smooth floor, and he staggered for a moment, -striving to regain his balance. In an instant the uplifted ax crashed -down through his skull and he fell like a dropped weight, his own -spouting arteries adding to the red stains on the floor. The other -stepped back, panting, and a great shout of applause crashed out from -the spectators at the tables. The Northman rejoined our group, slaves -rushed out and cleared the floor, and at a command, two more of our -number rushed onto the floor and faced each other with drawn swords.</p> - -<p>The circling and darting of the former duel was repeated, and in a few -minutes one of the two lay dead and the other was limping back to us, -bleeding. And another pair took their place.</p> - -<p>For the fifth combat, the young Englishman beside me was called onto -the floor, with a small Japanese in ancient, quilted armor as his -opponent. The Japanese was armed with two short, broad-bladed swords, -with which he chopped and slashed at his opponent, while Denham had -but his thin, fragile-looking rapier. Yet he evaded all the sweeps and -thrusts of his adversary's blades, and with a sudden lightning stab -of the needlelike rapier he ended the duel, unscathed. He came back -toward us, jauntily, unheedful of the great applause that followed his -feat. I gripped his hand warmly, for in the short time I had known him, -a sudden sympathy had sprung up between us, born of the fact of our -mutual race and language, in this strange city.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There were but few of us left now who had not already fought, and at -an order from the leader of the guards, one of these stepped out on -the floor, a lithe, snaky Italian, with beady black eyes and an evil -smile. The captain of the guard snapped out another order, looking at -me, but I could not understand and looked around helplessly. His face -flushed dark with anger, and he started wrathfully toward me, but the -Englishman intervened, with rapid explanations.</p> - -<p>"You are to fight Talerri," he said, indicating the Italian, and a wave -of icy cold swept over me for a moment, then receded. "Here, take my -sword," he continued, drawing and handing it to me, "and be fearful -of foul fighting. Talerri was one of Cæsar Borgia's bravos and is a -dangerous swordsman, full of treacherous tricks."</p> - -<p>Half dazed, I gripped the rapier's hilt and walked out to face the -Italian. "Good luck!" called Denham, behind me, but I did not look back.</p> - -<p>As I strode out to where the Italian awaited me, I dimly saw the -curving walls, the ruddy lights, and the white faces of those at the -tables, turned toward me. The whole scene misted before my eyes, then -cleared, and into my vision came the face of Talerri, who was regarding -me with a derisive smile. And the realization came to me, coldly and -clearly, that unless I killed my opponent, he would kill me.</p> - -<p>I raised the blade in my hand. I had been a skilful fencer in my days -at the university, but had not handled a foil for years. Yet the long, -slender rapier was much like a foil itself, and as I twirled it in my -grasp, some little confidence came to me. I glanced back momentarily, -and saw Denham smiling encouragingly at me. And now the Italian -advanced toward me, the same hateful smile passing over his face as he -saw me raise the rapier to meet him.</p> - -<p>At the first clash of our blades, I knew myself facing a master of -swordsmanship, one who was doubtless in constant practise. So I threw -all my efforts into staving off his first lightning rushes, though to -this day I wonder that I was able to do so. His point seemed to stab at -me simultaneously from a dozen different positions, and I parried more -by instinct than by design. As it was, his blade passed twice through -my shirt, so close was it. But after that first series of flashing -rushes, the Italian drew back for a moment and we circled warily.</p> - -<p>Again he came on, with a lightning feint at my heart. As my rapier -flashed down to foil the stroke, his own stabbed upward, in a straight -thrust intended to pierce through my left eye to the brain. It was a -stab that could not be parried, but instinctively I swerved my head -aside from that flashing point, and missing the eye, his blade grazed -along the left side of my forehead, sending a stream of blood trickling -down my cheek. At sight of that red stream, a shout of approval crashed -out from the tables.</p> - -<p>But now anger was rising in me, and ceasing to stand only on the -defensive, I thrust out savagely at my opponent. He gave back a little -under my unexpected attack, but suddenly I felt very tired, and knew -that the combat must end soon if it was to end in my favor. As I thrust -and parried there, the walls and lights and faces around me faded from -view, and replacing them came the long, sky-lighted gymnasium where I -had learned to fence. I seemed to hear the clicking foils and stamping -feet there, and the voice of our trim little instructor explaining the -most difficult of all thrusts, the time-thrust. Steadiness and accuracy -were the very foundations of that difficult play, I knew, and it would -be sheer madness for one as weary and rusty at sword-play as myself to -try it, but as we surged back and forth on the smooth floor, I decided -that it was my only chance, for the Italian was pressing me ever more -closely.</p> - -<p>Watching for a favorable opportunity, I dropped my guard for a single -instant, leaving my heart exposed. Instantly Talerri's blade darted in -like a striking serpent, his whole body behind that straight stab. My -own rapier was extended toward him, and in the split-second before his -point touched me, my own blade clicked gently against his, deflecting -it to one side where it passed harmlessly by me, while the momentum -of his leaping rush brought him right onto my outstretched rapier, -spitting him. I felt the blade rip through him as through a man of -sawdust, the hilt rapping against his ribs. I jerked it forth and he -choked, gasped, and fell to the floor dead.</p> - -<p>There was a shattering roar of applause from all around, and tired -and sickened, I stumbled back to the group of fellow captives at the -floor's edge, where Denham greeted me eagerly. While he congratulated -me on my victory, the others in the group looked at me with something -of respect on their fierce faces.</p> - -<p>Weary from the hours on the time-car, and half-nauseated by the -bloodshed I had seen and taken part in, I sank down onto a step and -watched without interest the remaining two combats. When these were -finished, another order was given and we were hurried back down the -stairs up which we had come. Conducting us down a different corridor, -the guards separated us, thrusting us in pairs into small cells along -the corridor.</p> - -<p>I had hoped to be placed in the same cell as Denham, for I wanted much -to speak further with him, but luck was against me and I was paired -off with the blond giant who had killed the Arab in the first combat. -A vicious shove sent us reeling into the little room, and behind me I -heard the thick metal door clang shut.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 9</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">PRISONED</p> - - -<p>For ten days I lay in that little cell, prisoned with the big -Northman. At my first inspection of the place, I saw that there was no -possibility of escape, for the walls were of smooth stone, and the only -opening in them was that of a two-inch pipe that served to ventilate -the cell. There was no window, as we think of it, yet the room was -light enough in the daytime, for as the sun rose, the side of the cell -facing on the building's outer wall became invisible, allowing plenty -of light to enter. This explained a fact that had puzzled me, the -absence of windows on the exteriors of the cylindrical buildings of the -city. Evidently the people of the city treated the outside walls of -their buildings in such a manner that in daylight they were invisible -from the inside, while perfectly opaque when viewed from without.</p> - -<p>I had other evidence of the scientific attainments of these people in -the food that was furnished us twice each day. That food was nothing -but a clear golden liquid, with a slight oily flavor but otherwise -tasteless. Yet I found that it contained all the food-elements -necessary for the human body, since in all my time in this strange city -I had no other food, and never felt need of any other.</p> - -<p>I found my cell-mate a dull enough companion. He was morose and fierce -in disposition, and very suspicious of me. I think that he considered -me a spy. I found that he knew a little English, a strange, archaic -English, but enough for us to carry on a broken conversation. To all my -eager questions, though, the fellow replied with a cold stare. By this -time I felt convinced that Lantin and I had found in this city the home -of the Raider, since the fact of Denham's presence and that of these -other men of many times and races admitted of no other explanation. -Yet when I asked the Norseman how he had come here, or if he had ever -seen the Raider, he kept to a gloomy silence, and I cursed my luck in -being confined with such a suspicious companion.</p> - -<p>One service, though, he did do for me, and that was to teach me the -strange language used by the guards and masters of the city around me. -That tongue, I learned, was the Kanlar tongue, while the bright-haired -master-race of the city were Kanlars. The language itself was not -hard to learn, and in the long hours I lay imprisoned I acquired -considerable facility in expressing myself in it.</p> - -<p>Sometimes, too, the Norseman would break his silence, and growing -excited with his own words, would tell me long, interminable stories of -the wild adventures he had taken part in, the shield-ringed ships that -he had sailed in, to leave fire and death along peaceful coasts, the -long list of men he had slaughtered. His cold eyes burned as he related -tales of butchery that appalled me, but when I ventured to interject -a single question he would regard me stonily and then relapse into -silence again.</p> - -<p>The days went by, and through the transparent wall I watched night give -way to dawn, dawn to noon, and noon to dusk and night. Much I thought -of Lantin in those days. I wondered what fate had been his in the -gigantic central building, whether he was alive or dead. Wondered, too, -if I would ever find that out, for it was evident that we were being -reserved for another gladiatorial battle, and I was not confident of -coming through again unscathed.</p> - -<p>One thing occurred, in those days of imprisonment, which still makes -me shudder, sometimes, at the memory of it. The transparent side of -our cell faced a smooth expanse of green lawn, with gardens beyond it, -and most of my time I spent lounging against it, looking out. Very -few people passed by there, now and then a few slaves, but scarcely -ever any of the Kanlar people. So on the eighth day of my confinement, -when I saw a slave approaching from a distance, I moved over to the -invisible wall and watched him.</p> - -<p>He was carrying a tool that looked much like a common garden-hoe, -and walked toward me with that stiff, rigid movement that marked the -white-robed slaves. He came closer, I glanced at his face, then reeled -back against the side of the cell. For it was Talerri!</p> - -<p>It was the Italian I had killed eight days before, garbed as a slave -and walking with the same inhuman, puppetlike motion that all these -strange servants used. He came closer toward me, so that I could see -his staring eyes, then, with an angular movement, he turned aside and -passed from view along the building's side.</p> - -<p>For hours I puzzled over it, rejecting with a certain panic fear the -one explanation that came to mind. I knew that I had killed the Italian -that night, for my sword had pierced clean through his heart. Yet here -he was, working as a slave for the Kanlars. And what of the other -slaves, then, these rigid, staring-eyed figures? Were they too—?</p> - -<p>For hours I speculated on the thing, but could find no rational -explanation for it, nor would the Norseman enlighten me. Finally I gave -it up as a mystery beyond me, and strove to banish it from my mind.</p> - -<p>Two more days dragged out, days that were like weeks to me. I felt that -I must soon go mad, if I were longer imprisoned. And then, sharply -ending the monotony of dreary hours, there came a summons, a summons -that in the end proved to be a call to an adventure utterly undreamed -of by Lantin or myself.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 10</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE TEMPLE OF THE RAIDER</p> - - -<p>All that day I had sensed a tense activity outside, and many times -there was the tramp of feet down the corridor outside our cell, as -companies of the guards came and went. As sunset came, I stood beside -the transparent wall and watched its brilliant colors fade from the sky.</p> - -<p>Overhead, now, the aircraft of the Kanlars were flickering continuously -past, all heading toward the giant cylinder that stood at the city's -center, and when I scrambled up a little higher against the wall, to -get a glimpse of the street, I saw that that street was crowded with -masses of the armored guards and the staring-eyed slaves, all pressing -on toward the same building.</p> - -<p>Darkness came, and the noise of activity outside died away, so that -it seemed that all the city around us was deserted, nor was there -any sound from the building above us. For all of two hours after the -darkness, we sat there, listening, waiting. Once I thought I heard a -distant ringing music, but decided that my ears had been deceived. -Then, abruptly, there was the stamp of sandals on the floor of the -corridor, and we heard the doors of the cells along it being opened.</p> - -<p>Our own was flung wide, as we rose, and I saw that a score of the -guards waited outside, their leader ordering us to come out, which we -were glad enough to do. Once in the corridor, I found Denham and the -others of the group I had met before, shackled to each other, wrist to -wrist, in a single file. The Northman and myself were fettered to the -end of the line, and then we set out, a long file of guards on each -side of us, marching us down the corridor and outside the building.</p> - -<p>The big street up which I had come before was utterly deserted, as we -turned into it. I looked back along its length, lit with the crimson -bulbs, a winding serpent of red light that stretched away out into -the country beyond the city, out to where our time-car lay hidden in -the hills. At the thought of it, so fierce a desire seized me to win -back to it, and my own time, that had I not been shackled I would have -made a break for freedom down the empty street. But as it was, I had -no choice, and followed the others in our fettered line down the wide -street toward the gigantic cylindrical building at its end.</p> - -<p>That great pile seemed to loom higher and higher as we drew near it. -Brilliant, winking lights along its sides outlined it against the gloom -of night, a huge, erect cylinder of smooth stone, its flat top all of -a thousand feet in width, and nearly a half-mile above the ground. -Obscured as the immense edifice was by the darkness, yet the vague -glimpses I got of its sky-flung walls staggered me. And we were being -marched directly toward it.</p> - -<p>A quarter-mile from the building, the flat street we followed ended, -changed to a wide, smooth ramp that led up toward the giant edifice -in a slight upward slant. We went up that ramp, the guards still on -either side, till we stood under the very shadow of the gigantic, -perpendicular walls, and now I saw that the ramp led up to and through -a wide, high-arched entrance cut in the building's side, much like the -entrance of the cylindrical building where I had been prisoned.</p> - -<p>We passed up and through that arched entrance, and were in a long -tunnel, similarly arched, and cut through solid, seamless stone. It was -a hundred feet in length, and as we passed on down its length it came -to me that this must be the thickness of the great building's sides. -The idea was too prodigious for speculation, even, and I shook it off, -peering ahead toward the tunnel's end, where a ruddy light flooding -down from above marked that end.</p> - -<p>A few moments, and we had reached the tunnel's mouth, and emerged from -it into the vast cylinder's interior. I swept one startled glance -around that interior, then felt myself staggering, reeling, falling. -The immensity of the place was soul-shaking, bearing down on me with a -weight that seemed physical, crushing my thoughts down into nothing but -dazed awe and terror.</p> - -<p>I had imagined the building's interior to be divided, partitioned into -apartments, but instead, the whole interior was one titanic room, -shaped by the outside walls and roof, its sides looming up, dimly and -vaguely, into a hazy darkness that hid their upper parts from view. -Along the sides were many of the light-emitting bulbs, but these -merely burned red holes in the dimness that surrounded the building's -interior, rather than illuminated it.</p> - -<p>Starting at the wall, and extending twenty feet out toward the center -of the room, the floor was of black stone, a flat, continuous ring -of smooth material that circled the whole room. Inside of this ring -was the real floor, a single, huge disk of burnished metal, smooth as -ice and as seamless, over nine hundred feet in diameter. And except -for ourselves, who stood on the black ring near the entrance, there -was nothing whatever on black circle or burnished floor, no people, -tables, altar, nothing but the immense expanse of smooth metal and the -comparatively thin black circle that surrounded it.</p> - -<p>I looked up, and saw for the first time the people of the city. Cut -in the thickness of the prodigious walls of the building were broad -balconies, one above the other, ringing the building's interior as far -up as I could see in the haze that hung above, and in these balconies -were the dwellers of the city, Kanlars, guards and slaves. The lowest -balcony, which was only a few feet above the floor, jutted forth in -a smaller square gallery, a little away from where I stood, and in -this projecting square sat three of the bright-haired Kanlars, the -oldest-appearing men I had yet seen among them, two garbed in long -robes of solid crimson while the other's garment was of deepest black. -They sat there calmly, looking away across the big floor toward the -great hall's other side. This lowest gallery, and the three directly -above it, were filled with the Kanlars, while in the unnumbered -galleries above these were the armored guards and the slaves. The only -entrance to these galleries that I could see was a single narrow, -winding stairway, a spiral stairway that began on the black circle of -stone near the wall and slanted up from balcony to balcony, circling -the building's sides several times as it spiraled up, and evidently -leading up to the very roof of the place.</p> - -<p>While I surveyed the scene, other ragged groups like our own had -entered, escorted by guards, until a considerable number of us had -been collected there near the entrance. Now one of the crimson-robed -figures who sat in the gallery that jutted out from the lowest balcony, -rose and uttered an order. My knowledge of the Kanlar language was too -rudimentary for me to understand him, but when he had finished and -resumed his seat, a delighted murmur swept over the massed crowds in -the balconies.</p> - -<p>Before I had time to speculate, the captain of the guards who watched -us snapped out brief orders, and immediately eight of our number ran -out of the center of the metal floor, where they at once drew their -weapons and faced each other, in four individual combats.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes, the four duels were over, but only three of the -contestants came back from the floor's center. To my surprize, then, -instead of being re-shackled to the rest of us, the three were handed -armor and weapons like that of the other guards, which they donned at -once. I began to understand now the purpose of these combats. Evidently -the bravest fighters were weeded out in preliminary duels, such as I -had taken part in, and the survivors of these first battles were then -pitted against each other, the victors being adjudged worthy to enter -the company of the guards. But where were these ragged fighters brought -from?</p> - -<p>The combats went on, always eight men battling at once, and I saw that -our number was growing smaller very rapidly. Neither Denham nor I had -yet been called on to fight, but my heart was beating rapidly, for I -expected each time to be among the next eight. The blades clashed on, -at the floor's center, and group after group went out from us, either -to return and don the armor of the guards or to be dragged off the -floor by slaves, dead or dying. The Kanlars in the lower balconies -laughed and chatted as the ragged fighters on the floor slew each -other, the massed guards above shouted their approval at each shrewd -blow, and the fighting continued until finally but ten of our number -were left, and by a freak of chance, both Denham and I were of that ten.</p> - -<p>The fights on the floor ended, one by one, and swiftly the guards -unshackled eight of our number and thrust them out onto the floor. -I stood appalled. For the two who were left were myself and the -Englishman!</p> - -<p>While the swords clicked and flashed out on the floor, I stood in a -daze, dismayed at the ironical trick which fate had played me. Of -all the men in the city, I must fight the one whom alone I knew -and liked. In a space of seconds, it seemed, the four fights on the -floor had ended, and the fetters on my wrists were loosed. Together, -hesitantly, Denham and I walked out onto the floor. Shouts of applause -and encouragement came down from the balconies, for ours was the last -fight, and the spectators wanted an exciting one.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Standing there at the very center of the huge building, Denham and I -faced each other. Simultaneously we grasped the hilts of our rapiers, -half drew them, and then, with a common impulse, slammed the blades -back down into their sheaths. Without speaking, my companion stepped -over and flung an arm across my shoulders, then tilted up his head and -favored the spectators in the balconies with an insolent stare.</p> - -<p>A howl of rage went up as it became evident that we would not fight -each other. A torrent of taunts and execrations poured down on us from -above, but we continued to lounge, arm in arm, as nonchalantly as -possible.</p> - -<p>Out from the black edge of the floor rushed a half-dozen of the guards, -who seized us and hurried us off the floor, amid a storm of abuse from -above. Instead of returning with us to the entrance, the guards led us -toward the bottom of the spiraling stair and there stationed themselves -beside us.</p> - -<p>The angry cries in the balconies silenced, now, and a strange stillness -filled the great hall. Music began, single, thrilling notes, like -dropping peals of sound. Swiftly the lights began to dim, the glowing -bulbs in the walls waning until all things in the vast room were -wrapped in shadowy dusk.</p> - -<p>The chiming music ceased, and over all that mighty fane was absolute -silence, with no sound from Kanlars, guards or slaves. Then, in the -little projecting gallery where he sat, the black-robed oldster rose -and spoke.</p> - -<p>His deep, heavy voice rolled out over the vast room with awesome -effect, breaking as it did the unearthly silence. He was chanting, -uttering an invocation or prayer. The words came to my ears, thick and -blurred, so that I understood few of them. But the effect was one of -utter solemnity—the darkness, the massed, silent crowds above, and -that one deep voice speaking on, rising and falling.</p> - -<p>For minutes the voice rumbled on, then abruptly ceased. There was -another full minute of the strange silence, and a tremendous ringing -note sounded. Even after it had died, the echoes of it beat in my -ears like ghostly carillons of tiny, elfin chimes. And as it died -away, there was a heavy, grating sound and the whole vast metal floor -abruptly sank down some six feet into what appeared to be a gigantic -smooth-walled shaft, then slid sidewise with another grating jar, -vanishing into some aperture prepared for it. And where the floor had -been was now a tremendous circular abyss, a straight-sided pit of such -titanic depth that, looking down into it, I fell weakly to my knees and -was seized with sudden nausea.</p> - -<p>I stood on the very edge of the abyss, on the ring of black flooring -that was its rim. And down from that rim, the stone sides of the great -shaft fell smoothly to an unguessed depth. Far, far below, I seemed to -see glimmering lights that winked faintly. And I saw, too, that the -spiral staircase which circled the great room's interior from floor to -roof continued on down beneath the floor and circled around and around -this circular chasm in the same way, winding down into the unguessed -depths below.</p> - -<p>I felt Denham pulling me back from the edge of the shaft, beside -which I lay. Dimly I realized that all in the great building were now -chanting, rolling forth the same invocation as the black-robed leader. -Far above, now, at the very ceiling or roof of the cylinder, a light -burgeoned out, a burning purple beam that clove its light down through -the dim haze and shadows around it. A moment it hung there, then there -was a faint sigh of wind, a puff of icy air, and down, straight down -from the vast hall's roof, there raced like a misty plummet—the Raider!</p> - -<p>It flashed down until it hung on a level with myself, in midair, -poised at the very center of the circular abyss and floating there -effortlessly. It hung there, its gray mass changing, fluxing, -interlacing, while at its center hung the three little orbs of purple -light, steady and unwinking. From all the massed thousands on the -balconies a sigh of worship went up.</p> - -<p>The chant rolled out, louder, fiercer, and through it sounded another -single ringing note. There was another whistle of wind, and the three -purple orbs of the Raider flashed to green, while the solid but fluxing -mass of it changed to a spinning cloud of gray vapor, that swirled -rapidly around the central lights. Another fierce gust of wind smote -me, and abruptly the Raider had vanished.</p> - -<p>Up in the balconies the chant went on, repeated again and again. I saw -a sea of white faces above, all turned down toward the spot where the -Raider had disappeared. Minutes passed. The chanting went on, low, vast -and deep-toned.</p> - -<p>Came another buffeting breeze, a tempest of shrill wind-sounds, and -with startling suddenness the Raider reappeared, flashing back into -being at the same spot where it had vanished, above the center of the -abyss. Again the green orbs changed to purple, and its cloudy mass -contracted to the shifting but solid form it had occupied before. But -now, held in its shapeless self, were men, who hung helpless in its -grasp. It drifted over to the marble edge of the abyss, and loosed the -men it held, then moved back to the pit's center.</p> - -<p>The chanting swelled out, exultant, and I saw the men thus loosed -struggle to their feet and look around with utter awe and terror. They -were five in number, three in short white tunics who looked like men of -ancient Greece, the other two wizened little figures with dark skin and -long, wispy mustaches, either Huns or Tartars.</p> - -<p>Again a ringing note cut through the chanting, and as if in obedience -the Raider rose, floated up toward the vast hall's roof, whence it had -come. It disappeared there, the purple light burned for a moment and -vanished, and the chanting finally ceased.</p> - -<p>The bulbs glowed out, at once, and light filled the place. The crowds -in the balconies began to leave, streaming down the narrow staircase -toward the floor. Before they reached it, however, guards had reached -and fettered the five men the Raider had left on the pit's edge, and -they now brought them over and shackled them also to Denham and me.</p> - -<p>Our little group stood now on the very edge of the abysmal shaft. Some -twenty feet below us there was a little landing, from which the stair -started, spiraling down and around the shaft, into the darkness below. -I wondered momentarily how the landing was reached, but my wonder -ceased as a guard touched a lever in the wall, causing a little metal -stair to unfold swiftly from the side of the shaft itself, a light -little series of steps that connected the black marble ring of flooring -with the landing below.</p> - -<p>At an order from the guards we stepped onto it, down it to the landing -and on down the spiral stair, which was cut in the solid rock of the -great shaft's sides. Looking back, I saw the steps down which we had -come fold back into the wall, and a moment later the light from above -was shut out as the great metal floor of the temple swung back into -position above us with a grating clash.</p> - -<p>Our only light now was from bulbs set in the smooth wall along the -down-winding stair, and these gave hardly enough light to show us -the next steps. A low wall about a yard in height, pierced with an -ornamental design of openings, was our only protection from the abyss -on our left. Yet the guards still marched us on, around and around the -great shaft, in a tremendous, falling spiral, down, down....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 11</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE CITY OF THE PIT</p> - - -<p>Soon a dim pearly light began to show far below us, a light that -puzzled me. In the world above, I knew, it must be dawn, but how this -was connected with the growing light below, if it was so connected, -baffled me.</p> - -<p>And now we reached the end of the shaft down whose sides we had come. -It ended abruptly, and below on each side lay a great open space, -obscured by drifting clouds of mist. But the stair did not end with -the shaft. It dropped straight on down, a free, unsupported spiral -of gleaming metal, winding down into the obscuring mists that hid -its lower length. It was an eery thing to see, that gigantic twisted -stairway, like a great corkscrew, vanishing down into the mists, like -some pathway of the gods from heaven to earth. And it could hardly have -been hung there by less than gods, I thought. No metal or material ever -known to me would have been able thus to hold its unsupported weight in -the form of this stair, yet there it was, seemingly tossed there in -godlike indifference to the laws of mechanics. In its way, it was as -great a wonder as the great building above. As that thought came to me, -the light around us began to grow, to redden like the sunrise, and the -mists cleared, drifted away in masses, vanished. And there, beneath me, -lay the pit.</p> - -<p>I can only describe that pit by saying that it was like the inside of -a round, squat bottle, the neck of the bottle being the shaft down -which I had come. This great cavern below me was roughly circular in -shape, all of four miles in diameter, and a mile from its level floor -to its glowing roof. For that roof was glowing. Looking up at it as we -marched on down, I saw that set in it were scores of brilliant globes -of glass, from which a flood of growing light, golden light, sunlight, -<i>daylight</i>, was pouring down.</p> - -<p>I saw now that the spiral stair down which we marched reached down to -the pit's floor, and touched it near its center. And I saw, too, that -all of the great cavern's floor, from one towering side to another, -was covered with mass on mass of white, roofless buildings, of all -shapes, covering the floor of the pit and huddling closely beneath the -perpendicular walls of smooth rock.</p> - -<p>At the center of this great mass of buildings, directly below us, was -a great open clearing, or plaza, and it was there that the stairway -touched the pit's floor. And from this plaza, clear to the circling -walls, nine streets branched out, radiating in every direction like the -spokes of a wheel. Along those streets moved great masses of men, and -these were the dwellers in the city, the people of the pit.</p> - -<p>So it was that I looked first on the city of the pit, the city of -the Raider, and its people, over whom his shadow had been cast. And, -looking, I wondered if there in the massed crowds below were Lantin -and Cannell, and if it were possible to find them, here.</p> - -<p>Again our guards ordered us forward, and we marched on. But now only -a low wall on each side protected us from the abyss, and there was no -wall on the right side against which to cling. But our guards seemed to -mind this not at all, and I judged that they had made many trips up and -down the stair, to be thus hardened to its dangers.</p> - -<p>As we descended, Denham explained to me in a low voice the origin of -the lights on the roof. These were merely lenses of a kind, he said, -which diffused into the cavern real sunlight brought from above. I had -already seen and puzzled at the glass globes set on pedestals through -the city of cylinders above, but now saw their purpose. Those globes -received the sunlight, transmitted it in some unknown fashion down to -the globes on the roof, which gave it forth again. Thus it was that day -and night in the pit were the same as in the world above, and the light -there waxed and waned in accordance with the rising and setting of the -sun which these people never saw.</p> - -<p>We drew closer and closer toward the ground, and now I saw that at -the stair's end, where it touched and debouched on the pit's floor, -it was closed by a high, heavy gate of metal, barred and spiked, and -that on our own side of this gate was a force of some fifty of the -guards, armed with long spears and also with curious little cylinders -of shining metal which they carried in their belts, and which I guessed -were weapons of a kind unknown to myself.</p> - -<p>As we came down toward them, these guards drew aside and unlocked the -big gate. Our own captors unshackled us, and then pushed us through it -unceremoniously, so that we stood in the clearing or plaza. And the -gate was quickly shut and locked behind us.</p> - -<p>Standing there, I forgot all else in the fascination of the scene -around me. Across the open plaza, which was smoothly floored with -stone, a great multitude of people were coming and going, and it was -that shifting throng that held my gaze. For in it were men of every -race and land and time, men of the far past and men of my own time, -all seized and brought here by the Raider to mix and mingle in one -vast, variegated throng. Even that first glance showed me that there -must be thousands, tens of thousands of men prisoned in this gigantic -under-city, and it showed me, too, that even as among the guards -and slaves above, there were no women. All were comparatively young -men, few being over middle age, and nearly all had the appearance of -warriors.</p> - -<p>Men of a thousand different centuries passed and repassed there before -my eyes, men who had been flashed through the ages and brought there by -the same alien being that had seized Cannell before my eyes, and that -had seized, only a few hours before, the five newcomers who had come -down the great stair with Denham and me.</p> - -<p>For these, these crowds and masses of men that choked the streets and -squares and buildings of this city of hell, these were the spoils of -the Raider, gathered together for some unholy purpose of his own, and -prisoned here in the pit, far beneath the city of the Kanlars. In a -living panorama of the past, they streamed by me, a brilliant, barbaric -throng.</p> - -<p>Many of them were unknown in race to me, but many others I could -recognize by their dress or features. There were Egyptians, -shaven-headed men in long white robes, strangely aloof and silent in -that noisy gathering. They carried short swords and bows, and I noticed -that every one of the figures that passed before me wore weapons of -some sort. I saw Assyrians, here and there, ravagers of the ancient -world, wolf-faced, black-bearded men with burning eyes, clad in strange -armor.</p> - -<p>Three courtly, spade-bearded Spaniards sauntered by, carrying -themselves as proudly as on the day when their galleons ruled the seas. -A hulking, shock-headed savage clad in evil-smelling skins shambled by, -with a giant gnarled club in his hand, his receding brow and jutting -jaw proclaiming him a troglodyte, a man of the world's dawn. And right -behind him came two stern-faced men in medieval armor, with the cross -of the Crusaders blazoned on their battered shields.</p> - -<p>Indians passed, with bow and tomahawk, hawk-faced and alert. -Clear-skinned Greeks, laughing at some jest of their own. Chinese, -quiet and inscrutable, whose eyes narrowed even further as they caught -sight of the two wizened Tartars who had come down the stair with us. -A tall frontiersman in suit of buckskin, with bowie knife in his belt, -strode past, conversing with a helmed Phoenician sea-captain. And -everywhere, clustering always together in little groups, were Romans, -legionaries in tunic, breastplate and helmet, with bronze short-swords, -who looked contemptuously on all other races in the passing throng.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A hand descended on my shoulder, and I turned, startled, to find that I -had completely forgotten the Englishman, Denham, who stood behind me.</p> - -<p>"Deuced strange, at first, isn't it?" he asked, smilingly, gesturing -toward the moving pageant of the past, around us. Before I could -answer, he went on, "You'd best come with me, now."</p> - -<p>"Where?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"Why, to my own barracks," he answered. "That's what these buildings -are for, you know, but as a newcomer, you'd be in trouble here in a -minute, without someone to answer for you. And, too, I want you to meet -my own friends."</p> - -<p>He looked at me more sharply. "I take it that you're no great friend -of—" and he stopped, raising his eyes eloquently upward.</p> - -<p>"The Raider?" I asked, and when he nodded I said, "Not I! I'm here to -find a man—two men."</p> - -<p>"Find a single man here?" asked Denham, sweeping his hand around the -crowded streets in a hopeless gesture. "It's impossible! And what would -you do when you found him? Escape? That, too, is impossible. How would -you get up the stair, through the city of the Kanlars? And even if you -achieved the impossible and did get through, there would be no place -to go, for all around the city above is nothing but wild, uninhabited -country where they would easily hunt you down."</p> - -<p>"No matter," I told him; "once I got clear of the city above, I could -make good my escape."</p> - -<p>He looked at me with sudden interest. "So," he murmured; "and perhaps -if my friends and I could help you—," but then he checked himself. -"I must see them," he said, "before saying more."</p> - -<p>I nodded, a new line of thought opening up to me, and then with Denham -leading, we went on down one of the branching streets. In that street -was a replica of the noisy, motley throng that filled the plaza, -and their cries filled the air with a babel of a thousand different -tongues. I noted, though, that many spoke in the language of the -Kanlars, and guessed that it was that tongue which served more or less -as a means of communication between the thousands gathered here, a -supposition I later found to be correct.</p> - -<p>Most of the buildings along the street seemed to be the barracks Denham -had spoken of, housing the city's occupants, though some of them -appeared to be wine-shops of a sort, judging from the drunken men who -reeled out of them. An inquiry to my companion elicited the information -that the only food of the city was the same golden liquid which had -been furnished me above, and which I learned was made artificially -directly from the soil itself. Thus the cycle of foodstuffs in my own -time, where a plant draws its substance from the soil and is then -eaten, or where an animal feeds on the plants sprung from the soil, to -be eaten by us in turn, was entirely eliminated by the Kanlars, who -manufactured their food directly from the soil itself, recasting the -chemical composition of it to produce the yellow fluid. This yellow -liquid, I learned, was made by slaves in the city above and was piped -down to the city below and dispensed to the hordes there in the little -buildings which I had assumed to be wine-shops. It seemed that while -the stuff was a perfect food when taken in small quantities, yet when -an excess was drunk it produced a violent intoxication. And as it was -dispensed freely, it was not wonderful that there were great debauches -of drunkenness in this under-metropolis.</p> - -<p>One result of that we saw, for all along the street there was fighting, -deadly battles between men of far-differing times and races. There was -no interference in these combats, for there were none of the guards or -Kanlars through all the city, the occupants being left to fight their -own battles on the principle of the survival of the fittest. An excited -ring of spectators was gathered round each combat, shouting at and -cheering the opponents, not dispersing until the fighting was over. As -we passed the scene of one such duel, I saw the victor dragging away -the body of his late enemy.</p> - -<p>"Where is he taking it?" I asked of Denham, motioning toward the -receding figure.</p> - -<p>"To the bottom of the stair," was his answer. "There is an iron rule -that in any battle where a man is killed, the victor must carry the -body of his opponent to the stair and hand it over to the guards there."</p> - -<p>"But why?" I asked. "For burial above?"</p> - -<p>Denham smiled grimly. "You saw the slaves in the city above," he -said, "but did you notice how strange they were, how glassy-eyed and -stiff-moving?"</p> - -<p>When I nodded, he said, "Well, the slaves of the city above are men who -have been killed here in the under-city."</p> - -<p>At my exclamation of horror, he repeated his statement. "Man," he -exclaimed, "you do not know the power of the Kanlars. With the wisdom -that is theirs, such an accomplishment is child's-play."</p> - -<p>"But how done?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"Ask them," he answered darkly. "In some way they are able to bring -back the breath of life into the dead men, to repair the wounds that -killed them. They can make them live again, but not even the Kanlars -can bring back their souls. They are just living, walking bodies, whom -the Kanlars are able to control and to force to work their will in all -things. Dead-alive, and slaves to the Kanlars!"</p> - -<p>I shuddered deeply, for the idea was soul-sickening. Yet I knew now -that Denham spoke truth, for I remembered how from my cell in the city -above I had seen Talerri, garbed as a slave, Talerri, whom I had killed -myself. It was an invention that would have aroused pride in the fiends -of lowest hell, thus to raise dead men back to life and use them as -servants. And I knew that this was but one of the dark evils that lay -concealed under the rule of the laughing, bright-haired Kanlars.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>While we talked we had been moving along the crowded street toward the -distant wall of the pit. Finally, very near that wall, Denham turned -in at a low, long building that was of white stone, and roofless, like -most others in the city. I followed him inside, and looked around -curiously.</p> - -<p>The building's interior was a single large room, shaded from the light -above by a suspended awning of green cloth. Ranged along the walls was -a triple tier of metal bunks, in some of which lay cloth and fur robes. -There was a long metal table at the room's center, and lounging in -chairs around it, and in the bunks, were a score of men who looked up -without interest as we entered.</p> - -<p>Denham greeted them, and in reply they grunted lazily, looking at me -incuriously. I followed my companion to the farther end of the room, -where he seated himself in one of the bunks and motioned me to join him.</p> - -<p>"My friends aren't here now," he said, "but they'll return before long."</p> - -<p>A sudden curiosity prompted my next question. "How did you get here, -Denham?" I asked. "Was it—the Raider?"</p> - -<p>"Naturally," he answered. "It was the Raider, as you call it, that -brought us all here, curse him. It was in the Colonial rebellion he got -me."</p> - -<p>"The American rebellion?" I asked, striving to understand his -Eighteenth Century allusions.</p> - -<p>"Of course," he answered. "We were quartered in Philadelphia, under -that old fool, Howe. He liked the city, y'know, the bottle and the -ladies. But the rest of us were itching for fight, and since we -couldn't fight the rebels, we soon took to fighting one another.</p> - -<p>"There was a ball one night, and toward the end of it I began to have a -few words with a Hessian attached to our staff. We were both a little -scrambled, by then. Curse me if there weren't some fine cellars there! -But as to the German, he and I got hotter and hotter, until he finally -made the assertion that our commander was a fool. Personally, that was -my opinion also, but I couldn't allow the Dutchman to say so, and the -upshot of it was that we left the ball together and adjourned to an -open field near by to resume the argument, with our swords.</p> - -<p>"Before we had made a half-dozen passes, there was a hellish sound of -wind, a big, gray cloud with burning green eyes seemed to drop down on -us from above, and then the bottom dropped out of the world. When we -came to our senses, we were standing up there in the big temple, with a -dozen others. Of course, we didn't know then that we had been brought -on through time, but we knew it was a damned strange place.</p> - -<p>"They brought us down here, down the stair, and as soon as we were -turned loose here, we resumed our dispute, borrowing swords from two -bystanders. By luck, I pinked him. There was a big crowd around, -cheering us on, and it was then that I met D'Alord, who is one of the -friends I mentioned."</p> - -<p>As Denham finished his story, I began to feel a sudden, utter -weariness, for I had not slept for many hours. I yawned and rubbed my -eyes, and at once Denham jumped up.</p> - -<p>"Why, take the bunk, man," he ordered me. "Go ahead and sleep."</p> - -<p>"But what of Lantin," I asked, "my friend? He's somewhere in the city -here, I'm sure, and I must find him."</p> - -<p>Denham shook his head doubtfully. "What does he look like?" he asked.</p> - -<p>When I had described Lantin to him, his face cleared a little, I -thought. "An elderly man, you said?" he questioned, and when I nodded, -he continued, "That should make it easier to find him, then. There are -hardly any but young men here, so your friend would be more conspicuous -and easily located. But you go ahead and sleep, and I'll find my -friends and look for your companion. If anyone can find him, we can."</p> - -<p>I tried to thank him, but he waved my words aside with a smile and -walked out of the room. I sank back in the bunk and closed my eyes. -As drowsiness overcame me, there came to my ears the dull sound of -voices of the men in the room, with now and then a shout or bellow of -laughter. And even these faded from hearing as I sank, contentedly -enough, down into the green depths of sleep.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 12</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">PLANS FOR ESCAPE</p> - - -<p>Golden light again streamed through the windows when I finally woke, -and I realized that in my utter weariness I must have slept the clock -twice round. I swung out of the bunk and stood up, stretching.</p> - -<p>There was only one man in the long room besides myself, a man who sat -at the table, some distance away from me. As I looked at him he turned, -saw me, and jumped up and hurried over toward me.</p> - -<p>"Lantin!" I cried, extending my hands. He gripped them, his eyes -sparkling.</p> - -<p>"Where have you been?" I asked eagerly. "Were you in the city here all -the time?"</p> - -<p>"All the time since I left you," he affirmed. "They brought me directly -here, Wheeler, and of course when I got here I knew at once that we had -found the Raider's lair. Your friend Denham found me, a few hours ago, -and told me where you were, but when I came here I saw that you were -sleeping and didn't waken you."</p> - -<p>"You should have," I told him. "But where is Denham now?"</p> - -<p>"He'll be here soon," replied my friend. "He said he would go after his -friends, who were helping him to look for me, and bring them here."</p> - -<p>"But what of Cannell, Lantin?" I asked. "You have seen nothing of him -in your stay here?"</p> - -<p>His face clouded. "Nothing," he admitted. "I have searched for him, but -how is one to find a single man in this city of thousands? And we do -not even know that he is here, Wheeler. For all we know, he may have -been killed long ago in some brawl here."</p> - -<p>"Don't give up hope," I told him. "With Denham to help us, we have a -far better chance to find him."</p> - -<p>Lantin shook his head doubtfully, but before he could answer, our -conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Denham and his three -friends. As they came up to us, I gazed with mounting interest at the -trio of strange companions who accompanied the Englishman.</p> - -<p>One of them was patently a Roman, a short, sturdy man with swarthy, -stern-set features, attired in armor and helmet. The man beside him -was brown-skinned and long-haired, with eagle black eyes, dressed in -spotted skins, quilted cotton armor, and head-dress of feathers. He -carried a curious long sword, or weapon, whose edges were serrated, or -saw-toothed, and the weapon gave me the clue to his identity. I had -seen swords exactly like it brought out of the Aztec ruins in Mexico.</p> - -<p>But it was the third man who caught and held my gaze. He was a figure -of romance, a slouch-hatted, wide-booted trooper, long sword rattling -at his heels, laughing, dare-devil eyes, and white teeth gleaming -behind a fierce black mustache. As I surveyed him, rather rudely I -think, he smiled at me and exclaimed, in execrable English: "<i>Mordieu</i>, -is this the lad who killed that pig, Talerri?"</p> - -<p>When Denham nodded, he thrust forth his hand impulsively, and I was -glad to take it. And then Denham made introduction. "The Chevalier -Raoul D'Alord," he said, indicating the laughing trooper, who swept -me a grand bow. "One time captain in the armies of Henry Quatre, King -of Navarre and France, but now a lodger in our pleasant city," and he -laughed at the wry face the Frenchman made.</p> - -<p>"This is Ixtil, Cacique of Tlacopan," he went on, indicating the wild -brown figure in the middle, and I looked at him with renewed interest, -now that my surmise had proved correct. An Aztec! One of the fierce -hordes who had swept away Maya and Toltec forever, only to be crushed -in turn by ruthless, steel-shod Cortez. The chieftain bowed to me, -gravely and silently, but did not speak.</p> - -<p>Denham turned to the remaining figure. "Fabrius Arminius," he said, -"formerly centurion in the legions of Tiberius Cæsar," and the Roman -stiffly inclined his head. Then, at Denham's suggestion, we seated -ourselves around the end of the long table.</p> - -<p>"D'Alord speaks English as well as I do," said Denham, "and between -us we taught it to Ixtil and Fabrius, so you can speak freely. I have -told my friends that you are, like ourselves, ready for an attempt at -escaping. Naturally, though, they would like to hear it from your own -lips."</p> - -<p>"It is so," I assured them. "Lantin and I came here to find a certain -man, and if we can find him, we'll take him out of here in spite of -the Raider."</p> - -<p>"The Raider?" queried D'Alord, and Denham interjected a brief -explanation. "He means—<i>him</i>," he told the Frenchman, jerking a thumb -upward.</p> - -<p>The trooper laughed. "<i>Sacré</i>, that's a name for the beast! Eh, -Fabrius?"</p> - -<p>The Roman nodded, silently, and Denham came back to the subject. "For -some time," he went on, "we four have considered different plans for -escaping, but none has been practical. There are so many obstacles. It -will be necessary to get up the stair, avoiding the guards at bottom -and top. Once up, it will be necessary to pass through the city of the -cylinders, though that should not be too difficult. But once out of the -city, what then? How cross the ice?"</p> - -<p>"We are talking at cross purposes," I said. "You must remember, Denham, -that I know next to nothing about this place. Why have all these men -been collected in this under-city? Does anyone know, except the Raider? -What is the purpose of it all?"</p> - -<p>"You do not know?" asked Denham, in surprize. "I thought you would, by -now. These men, these thousands of warriors in the city here around -you, have been gathered here by the Raider to act as his armies, his -mercenaries, to pour down in hordes upon the cities of the enemies of -the Kanlars, and destroy those enemies utterly, which the Kanlars are -too few in number to do."</p> - -<p>I gasped with astonishment. Denham went on. "You tell him, Fabrius," he -said, addressing the Roman. "You have been here longer than any of us."</p> - -<p>The centurion spoke, in a slurred, accented English. "Some things I -have heard," he said, "but whether true or not, I can not say. There -was a man here I knew when first I was brought here, a Persian. Before -he was killed (for he was killed in a drunken brawl) he told me that -once, in the city above, one of the Kanlars had become drunk and had -babbled to him the story of his race.</p> - -<p>"As you know, endless fields of ice lie around this land where is the -Kanlar's city. Well, the Persian said that these fields of ice were not -endless, that far to the south there were other green lands and in them -a mighty people and a mighty city, named Kom. He said that long ago the -Kanlars lived in this city, and were of its people, but that trouble -had risen between them and the other people of Kom, <i>because of the -Raider</i>. More than this he did not know, but said that because of this -trouble, the Kanlars had fled from the city, with the Raider leading -them, and coming north in their air-boats over the ice-fields, had -found this green, uninhabited land, set in the ice. Its existence had -never been suspected by those in Kom, who thought that the ice extended -clear north to the very edge of earth.</p> - -<p>"So the Kanlars had settled here and had built the city of cylinders, -which lies above us. But still they planned to sweep back on Kom, and -annihilate all there. But this they could not do, being too few in -number. So the Raider, who is their god and their king, spoke to them -and said that he would bring them men from every age of earth's past -to be their servants, to fight for them at will. The Raider could -travel at will through time—ask me not how!—and he swept back through -the centuries and brought men by the thousands to the Kanlars, young -warriors to fight their battles for them.</p> - -<p>"There was a great cavern far beneath the city of the Kanlars, a great -hollow space formed by inside shiftings of the young earth, and in -this the Kanlars prisoned the men brought by the Raider, piercing a -shaft down to it from their temple above, and placing in that shaft the -stairway down which you came, under the direction of the Raider. They -chose from among their prisoners some to be guards of the others, and -those killed in battle here they brought back to seeming life by their -arts of hell, and used as slaves.</p> - -<p>"So, steadily, the hordes here in the pit have grown in number, until -scarcely more could be contained here. Soon there will be enough to -suit the purpose of the Raider and then they will be loosed and hurled -south to carry fire and death to the cities beyond the ice, to Kom and -the people of Kom, who can have no knowledge whatever of the peril that -hangs over them. Up on the great roof of the temple, which is the home -of the Raider, there are scores of great flying-platforms which the -Kanlars have been constructing. They have made strange weapons, too, -and so when their hour strikes, they will open the gates here and allow -the hordes to pour up the stair, up to the roof of the temple, where -they will crowd into the flying-platforms, under the leadership of the -Kanlars, and race south over the ice to rain down death and destruction -on Kom. And thus will the Raider and the Kanlars be revenged upon the -people who cast them out."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Fabrius stopped, and I looked at Lantin, then back toward the Roman. -Was this the true secret of the Raider's activity?</p> - -<p>"But will the hordes here do this?" I asked. "Will they follow the -Kanlars, and obey them?"</p> - -<p>Fabrius laughed shortly, and D'Alord replied for him. "Ha, friend," -he said to me, "you are new here, and do not know these men. They are -evil, I tell you. They boast always of what they will do when they are -loosed on Kom, for they know that soon they are to be thus loosed. -Some subtle poison from the Raider's self has entered into them, I -think. They are like tigers waiting to be freed upon a helpless prey."</p> - -<p>"It is so," said Lantin, "for short a time as I have been here, I have -found that this is so. There is no hope from the hordes here in the -pit, for they will follow the Raider to a man."</p> - -<p>There was a silence after that. Suddenly Denham spoke. "I think it -would be possible for some of us, at least, to get out of the pit -here," he said, "for I have a plan that would effect that much. But -what then? Do you suppose it would be possible to get up to the roof of -the temple and steal one of the flying-platforms you speak of? Or steal -one of the Kanlars' air-boats? If we could do that, we could fly south -over the ice-fields and warn the cities there of their peril, get their -aid and come back and crush the Raider and these damned Kanlars."</p> - -<p>For the first time, the Aztec spoke, shaking his head. "It can not be -done," he said, speaking in precise, queerly clipped English. "I was to -the roof of the temple once, and know. The only way to get to that roof -is by the narrow stairway that spirals up the inside of the temple. And -that stairway leads directly through the lair of the Raider!"</p> - -<p>"But what can we do, then?" asked the Englishman. "It would be folly to -try to steal one of the Kanlars' air-boats, for they always rise from -and alight on the roofs of buildings, and we could never get to them -unobserved."</p> - -<p>Lantin broke into the silence that ensued. "But suppose there was an -air-boat hidden back in the hills, outside the city," he said; "that -would make things easier, wouldn't it?"</p> - -<p>When they assented, he went on quickly, "Wheeler and I have such a -machine hidden," he said, "and it was on it that we came here from our -own time."</p> - -<p>They looked up eagerly, incredulously. "Do you mean that you came into -this age from your own time on a machine?" asked Denham. "That you came -yourselves, and were not brought here by the Raider, like all the rest -of us?"</p> - -<p>Lantin nodded affirmation, and then went on to describe briefly the -seizure of Cannell, our pursuit through time, and our subsequent -capture outside the city by the guards. They listened, fascinated, -and when he had finished, D'Alord asked, with something of awe in his -voice, "And you made this machine yourselves? You found the secret of -the Raider's time-traveling?"</p> - -<p>"It is so," Lantin told them; "we made the time-car and then came after -Cannell."</p> - -<p>"God!" exclaimed the trooper, "what a chance for freedom! If we could -all win free of this pit, escape from the city to your car, we could -get back to our own times in it. Back to France!"</p> - -<p>"No!" said Denham, decisively. "In the first place not all of us can -escape from the pit. I have a plan by which some of us can, but the -rest must stay here. And another thing, even if we each got back to our -own time, D'Alord, who knows but that the Raider would come back and -recapture us, as he did this Cannell they tell of? For all we know, the -Raider may have placed on us some sign or mark by means of which he -could track us down through the ages again. And until he is destroyed, -it will be of no use to return to our own times."</p> - -<p>"But what to do, then?" asked the Frenchman.</p> - -<p>"This," said Denham. "We four will help Lantin and Wheeler to escape -from the pit. Only two can succeed in escaping, by my plan, for more -would be noticed in the city above, and we four will be needed to give -them their start up the stair, how, I will explain later. And since -only one or two can escape, Lantin and Wheeler must be the ones to make -the attempt, since they alone know how to operate their machine, and -know where it is hidden.</p> - -<p>"If they can reach their car, they will speed south across the ice, -warn the people of Kom of the plans of the Kanlars, and come back with -a force sufficient to crush the Raider and the Kanlars forever, and -then they can rescue us four from the pit."</p> - -<p>"The plan is good," approved the Roman. "We four must stay while they -go. When do you plan to make the attempt?" he asked Denham.</p> - -<p>"We must wait until the night will be moonless," he said, "for the -darkness will favor the attempt. The eighth night from today would be -best."</p> - -<p>"But your plan," asked the impatient Frenchman; "how do you plan to get -up the stair?"</p> - -<p>"In this manner," explained the Englishman; "we must make a -grappling-hook of heavy metal, and a long, strong rope. On the night we -select for the attempt, we four will assemble at the lower gate of the -stair, while Lantin and Wheeler take up a position at the plaza's edge, -directly under the lowest curve of the spiral stair. Then, by shouting -or fighting, we four shall create a riot around the gate, to draw the -attention of the guards inside. When the excitement is at its highest, -and when the people around the position of Lantin and Wheeler have run -toward the riot, as they always do here, then Wheeler will fling up the -grappling-hook toward the curving stair above him. If fortune favors -us, the hook will catch, he can ascend the rope and pull up Lantin, and -the two can then proceed on up the stair, being above the gate and its -guards."</p> - -<p>"But the guards above?" D'Alord objected. "How pass them? And what -of the metal floor of the temple, which covers the shaft? It will be -closed, and how will they get through it?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Denham, "for if we start a sufficiently large riot at the -gate of the stair, the guards behind it will become alarmed and call -for help from above. They have a system of signaling with those above -and if they think the hordes here are going to attack the gate, those -above will open the shaft by swinging aside the temple floor, and will -send guards down to repel the attack on the gates. The shaft being -open, and the guards gone, Lantin and Wheeler should have no trouble -getting out and through the city, to their car."</p> - -<p>"But we will meet the guards coming down the stair!" I cried.</p> - -<p>"Not so," Denham assured me, "for when there is a call for aid from -their fellows below, the guards above don't descend by the stair, -since it would take them too long. They unreel great ropes or cables, -drop them over the shaft's edge so that they hang clear to the stair's -bottom, and then attach a sort of harness to themselves, join that -harness to the cables with special pulleys, and slide down to the -stair's bottom in a few minutes. Twice, since I have been here, there -have been riots around the gate, and each time the guards above came -whizzing down in that way, to repel the riot."</p> - -<p>"Whatever else they are," added D'Alord, "there are no cowards among -the guards. No one ever called me craven yet, but <i>ventre-de-biche</i>, -I'd look twice before sliding down a rope into this hell."</p> - -<p>"Yet what if some of the guards did come down the stair?" I asked.</p> - -<p>Denham shook his head. "I do not think they will do so," he said.</p> - -<p>"Yet if they did?" I insisted.</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders. "Why, then you would meet them on the -stair."</p> - -<p>We looked at each other, a little grimly, I think, and then there was -a shattering roar of laughter from D'Alord. "Why borrow trouble?" -he cried. "Take your sword with you, lad, and if you meet anyone on -the stair, have at him. If you are the stronger, you will kill your -enemies, and if your enemies are the stronger, they will kill you. What -more is there to it?"</p> - -<p>I could not help laughing, ruefully, as did the rest, but Lantin -suddenly sobered.</p> - -<p>"But Cannell?" he asked. "What of my friend? We came here to rescue -him, you know, and can't leave without him."</p> - -<p>"There are eight days yet in which to find him," Denham pointed out, -"and if you can not find him in that time, we four will try to locate -him after you and Wheeler have escaped. If he's here in the pit, we'll -have him with us by the time you come back."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Our conversation was abruptly broken off by the entrance of a number -of the room's occupants, who regarded our little group with suspicious -stares.</p> - -<p>"We'd best break up," Denham whispered, "for we don't want it to get -abroad that we're planning something."</p> - -<p>So, rising, we sauntered out of the room into the street. Outside a -hot sunlight was pouring down from the glass globes in the roof, so -strongly that one could not look up at that roof directly, any more -than one can look directly at the sun. Whatever method the Kanlars had -devised to collect and bring so far underground the light and heat of -the sun, it was a wonderfully efficient one.</p> - -<p>Behind us loomed the gray-rock wall of the pit, and before us, -stretching away for miles to the opposite wall, were the masses of -white buildings that housed the city's teeming thousands. And at the -central plaza, the titanic, gleaming spiral of the metal stairway rose -vastly up toward the black, round shaft that pierced the cavern's roof, -its winding turn on turn glinting in the light like a huge, upraised -serpent of metal.</p> - -<p>In the shifting, noisy throng that pressed by us along the street, that -swirled aimlessly through streets and buildings, I sensed a quality of -expectation, of eager, restless waiting. Even I, new to the city as I -was, could feel the unwonted excitement that pulsed from the passing -crowds. And I saw that my companions felt it likewise.</p> - -<p>A grizzled seaman in stained, shapeless clothes, who might have sailed -with Drake or Hawkins, stopped in front of us.</p> - -<p>"Ho, comrade!" he cried to Denham; "hast heard the news?"</p> - -<p>"News! What news?" asked Denham, his brows drawing together.</p> - -<p>"An hour ago," said the other, "the guards sent word through the city -to sharpen all swords, to get all weapons ready. I tell thee, lad, it's -soon we'll be dropping down on Kom, to loot it from end to end. Split -me, they're going to loose us ere long," and with an anticipatory, -gloating chuckle, the seaman passed on.</p> - -<p>Denham turned to us, his face suddenly white. "You heard?" he asked. -"That means that we have little time left for action. We dare not wait -now until the moonless nights. We'll have to take our chance on the -first night that it's cloudy above, for then it will be darker here. -And if we fail in our attempt, it means these hordes of devils here -flashing down to make a hell of an unwarned, unprotected city. For the -Raider is getting ready to strike!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 13</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">IN THE PIT</p> - - -<p>The hours, the days, that followed, I remember now as one remembers a -particularly vivid dream, for even at the time, I seemed to see all -in the city around me through the haze of assured impossibility that -surrounds a dream. And, although I can well understand how the city in -the pit was a very hell on earth to those long confined in it, yet to -me during the next few days it was a city of wonder.</p> - -<p>There was little to do but wander through it. Each day we waited -tensely for night, but always when night came there came with it a -flood of soft light that poured down revealingly from the roof, the -moonlight of the earth above brought down to us by the glass globes -above and in the roof. Had it been cloudy above, it would have been -dark enough here in the pit to chance an attempt, but to do so in the -brilliant light was out of the question. And we dared take no more -chances than necessary, since if discovered, we should doubtless never -live to make another attempt.</p> - -<p>So in the eight days that followed, while Denham and his friends -fretted impatiently at the delay, I spent the time roaming through -the city, usually with one or all of the four friends as guide. When -possible, we preferred to keep together, since thus we made up a strong -little company whose five swords deterred many truculent souls from -attacking us.</p> - -<p>Even so, we were twice involved in combats, from both of which we -managed to emerge victorious, though not unscathed. It was a bloody -enough society, there in the city of the pit, a wilder life almost than -that of roaming wolves, yet it had a fierce, free charm that stirred -me, at times. A product of civilization, myself, I was thrown now -into a life where strength and skill with weapons were the measure -of a man, and where all disputes were settled with swords. Cooped as -we were in the crowded pit, yet we were untrammeled by any form of -law or etiquette, and I soon learned to swagger as boldly and scowl -as ferociously as any fire-eater in the pit. And, too, in constant -practise with my friends, I learned sword-play well.</p> - -<p>I came to love my four new-found friends, in those days. Four men, out -of four different centuries, and different in temperament as they were, -yet strong bonds of friendship sprang up between them and myself, and -Lantin also.</p> - -<p>From the beginning, I had felt attracted to Denham, for he was more -of my own time and way of thinking than the rest. Fastidious, elegant -even, in manner, and of an indolent disposition naturally, yet he was -terribly quick in battle, his slim rapier flashing out resistlessly -even while he yawned in his opponent's face. He was a good bit of a -fop, and it was a source of constant mirth to us to watch him cleaning -and patching his ragged suit, and anxiously assuring himself of the fit -of the torn coat. But at all our jests, he would smile quietly, and go -on with his work.</p> - -<p>A great deal different was D'Alord, though he attracted me as much. -Swearing, laughing, shouting, he was never quiet, never still, and even -in the cramped pit lived with a magnificent gusto that was enviable. -He was very quick to take offense, and the rest of us had trouble -always in keeping him from embroiling us in some senseless quarrel, but -he was as quick to forget the cause of offense, and was incapable of -holding a grudge. More than the rest of us, he loved fighting for its -own sake, and was so much in his element in the pit that he sometimes -declared that if it were not for the lack of wine and women, he would -be content to stay in the pit forever.</p> - -<p>Some few years older than the rest of us was the Roman, who had -followed the insignia of his legion over all the distant frontiers of -the Empire, from Parthia to Britain. He was never excited, and never -unprepared, a calm, fearless veteran, who made me understand something -of the greatness of his people, who reared up the greatest empire in -history, and stamped their language and their customs on half the world.</p> - -<p>Strangest of the four, perhaps, was the Aztec. Quiet, even gentle, when -not provoked; yet I have never seen such tigerish fury as he exhibited -in battle. He had a great name as a fighter, even in that city of -warriors, and was feared by the most fearless. He could handle his -saw-toothed sword with wonderful skill and quickness, and I shuddered -at the gashing wounds he inflicted with it. As staunch and faithful -a friend as I have ever had or seen, yet to those he hated he was a -terrible enemy.</p> - -<p>Always, while we five roamed through the city, we searched for Cannell, -but found him not. I began to think that, after all, Cannell was not in -the pit, for though it was possible we had missed him in the swirling -hordes, it was equally possible that he had been killed in some combat -here or above, and that he now walked dead-alive through the city of -the Kanlars as one of the ghastly, white-robed slaves.</p> - -<p>But Lantin would not believe that. He searched from dawn to darkness -of each day, and was not discouraged when he failed to find his -friend. He did not accompany us five in our rambles through the city, -preferring to search alone, and though we were fearful for his safety, -he was never molested. His obvious elderliness, and the gentleness and -inoffensiveness of his nature, served to protect him from the constant -bullying and fighting that went on in the pit.</p> - -<p>The days dragged past, and working in odd hours when we were not -noticed, we managed to make a metal grappling-hook and a long rope. -The hook was much like a triple fishing-hook, large enough to catch on -the wall of the stair, and was hammered out from pieces wrenched from -metal chairs. The rope, a long and very strong one, was braided from -long strips of torn cloth, and was knotted to make easier an ascent -along its length. Both rope and hook lay concealed beneath the bunk of -D'Alord, in a cunningly contrived little hiding place there.</p> - -<p>So we came at last to the eighth day, the night of which would be -moonless on the earth above, with consequent darkness below. As the day -wore on, we grew increasingly nervous, with the exception of Fabrius, -who appeared as imperturbable as ever. Finally the light from the -roof waned and died, and a thick darkness settled down on the city, a -darkness relieved only by one or two of the glowing red bulbs that -were set around the gate of the stair, and along the nine streets.</p> - -<p>An hour passed, and another, and another. Then Denham rose from his -bunk and sauntered leisurely out of the room, followed in a few minutes -by D'Alord and the Aztec. By now the bunks were filled with snoring -sleepers, but as the two went across the room to the door, none of -these stirred, so Lantin, Fabrius and I followed, the Roman carrying -the hook and rope concealed under his cloak.</p> - -<p>We stepped from the dark room into a street almost equally dark, the -ruddy bulbs set sparsely along its length accentuating rather than -dispersing the blackness. A few drunken stragglers were wandering along -the street, but most of the city's thousands were slumbering in the -many buildings, for few were abroad in the pit at night.</p> - -<p>Denham, D'Alord and Ixtil were awaiting us outside, and without -speaking, our entire little party moved rapidly down the dark street, -toward the plaza and the great stair.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illusc3.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 14</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">UP THE STAIR</p> - - -<p>When we entered the broad clearing of the plaza, we found it almost -entirely deserted. Above us loomed the winding, spiral stair, and where -that stair touched the pit's floor, we saw the blaze of ruddy light -that illuminated the high, barred gate of the stair. Keeping well -within the shadows, we passed toward the farther edge of the plaza, -and in the darkness there, Lantin and I took up our position directly -beneath the lowest curve of the spiral stairway, which hung in the air -some thirty feet above our heads. Even where we stood, we could hear -the tramp of feet around the stair's curve, as guards came and went, -constantly patrolling the lower part of the airy pathway. And, too, we -heard the chatter and broken laughter of the other guards massed inside -the gate.</p> - -<p>Speaking in whispers, Denham said, "Be ready to make your attempt at -any moment now. But be sure that all the guards on the stair have come -down to the gateway before you try it."</p> - -<p>"If we get out and come back with aid," I said, rapidly, "where will we -find you?"</p> - -<p>He reflected for a moment, then said, "You know that tall barracks -building at the northern edge of the pit, right under the wall?"</p> - -<p>"The one that is roofed?" I asked, and he nodded. "Yes, that's the one. -Well, we four will spend all our nights on that roof from now on. You -could come straight down the shaft, in your flying-car, and pick us up -from that roof in the darkness without the knowledge of any here in the -pit. But first, go and get aid from the people of Kom, as we planned."</p> - -<p>"And Cannell?" said Lantin. "You will look for him?"</p> - -<p>"Never fear," answered D'Alord, "we'll find him for you."</p> - -<p>The calm voice of Fabrius broke into our speech. "It is time to do -our part at the gate," he said to Denham, and the Englishman nodded. -"Good-bye," he told us. "I know you'll do your best." A warm hand-clasp -from each, and then they had slipped away into the shadows.</p> - -<p>For a minute or so, Lantin and I stood silent, listening to the tramp -of feet on the stair above us, and then a sudden high-pitched cry broke -on our ears from the center of the plaza. It was D'Alord's voice, and -he was shouting at the top of his lungs, "Out, comrades, out! We are -to be loosed on Kom tonight!"</p> - -<p>The cry rang out over the silent city, and then was repeated, but -louder, the Frenchman's three friends adding their voices to his. There -was an uneasy murmur from the guards at the gate, and one among them -called to the Frenchman, whom they could not see in the darkness, to -cease his shouting.</p> - -<p>He went on with the cry, unheeding, and now, out of the buildings along -the branching streets, men were pouring, running toward the plaza. They -heard D'Alord's cry and took it up, thinking that his statement was a -true one, and repeating it.</p> - -<p>"Loose us on Kom tonight!" they bellowed, rushing toward the gate of -the stair and pressing against it. Away across the great clearing, we -saw a sea of faces around the ruddy lighted gate, pressing against it -and against the high wall that balustraded the stair's length for the -first few yards. And from all around, from all of the nine branching -streets, came others, sword in hand, afire to be led out to loot the -city whose riches had been many times described to them.</p> - -<p>They beat against the barred gate in one buffeting wave of solid -humanity, in eager hope of freedom and pillage. Their cry rose up like -that of a single, vast voice, but in a thousand different tongues.</p> - -<p>"Loose us tonight! Loose us on Kom tonight!"</p> - -<p>There were anxious cries from the guards on the stair as the great mob -battered at the gate. Those of the guards who patrolled the stair's -upper part ran down swiftly to aid their fellows in holding the gate. -It was this that Lantin and I awaited, and at once I grasped the metal -grappling-hook, whirled it round my head by the attached rope, and then -sent it hurtling through the air toward the edge of the stair above us.</p> - -<p>It struck the outside of the stair's low wall with a loud clang that -brought my heart to my throat, and that I feared would attract the -attention of the guards at the gate, even over the clamor of the crowd. -But the hook had not caught and fell down beside me.</p> - -<p>Before I could throw it again there was a warning whisper from Lantin, -and in a moment a solid group of some fifty men rushed by us, heading -toward the riot at the gate, news of which had evidently penetrated -to the city's farthest reaches. They raced by, not seeing us in the -darkness, and after them came four or five single stragglers who -likewise passed us without stopping. Then, the coast again being clear -for the moment, I slung up the hook again, with more force than before, -and felt a throb of relief when it caught, slid a little along the edge -of the stair-wall, and then caught again.</p> - -<p>I tried the rope hastily, but it held firm, so I hastily began to climb -up it, by means of the thick knots along its length. Scrambling up -with panicky swiftness, I reached the rail, pulled myself over, and -lay gasping for a moment on the stair. Then, leaning over the rail, I -signaled to Lantin, whom I could see but dimly in the darkness. Bracing -myself against the wall of the stair, I pulled in the rope until -after a seeming eternity my friend's head appeared above the wall. He -scrambled over, and then, winding the rope around my body and tossing -the hook as far away as possible, I stood for a moment motionless.</p> - -<p>Across the plaza, and below us, was the gate, flooded with crimson -light and alive with activity. The mobs of the city's dwellers were -pressing against the gate, while the guards were repelling them by -thrusting through the bars with their long spears. And from all the -long streets that stretched away into the darkness there came the -sound of many running feet, and the cries of excited men. Certainly the -riot which our friends had kindled to aid us was no mean one.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A moment only I watched the scene below, then turned, and with Lantin -beside me, began the long climb up the spiral stair.</p> - -<p>As we toiled up along the steeply slanting spiral, the clamor at the -gates below gradually lessened in volume as we drew away from it. That -the riot below had not yet been quelled, though, was evident, for -before we had been on the stair ten minutes, a tiny beam of blue light -flashed out at the gate, a narrow little shaft of azure light that -clove up to the shaft above us, and seemed to stab straight up to the -metal cover of that shaft.</p> - -<p>I remembered Denham's words concerning the signaling of the guards, -and wondered if that was the cause of the little light. In a minute it -vanished, but as we raced on up around the great spiral, a faint sound -came down to us from far above, a grating clash of metal that we could -barely hear.</p> - -<p>"The temple floor!" I cried to Lantin. "They've swung it aside! They've -uncovered the shaft of the stairway!"</p> - -<p>He did not answer, out of breath from the toilsome climb. Before many -more minutes had passed, we had progressed half-way from the floor of -the cavern to its roof, up the stair. Abruptly something hissed down -from above through the circle of the spiral stair. The hissing was -repeated, and now I saw that it had been caused by a number of thick -ropes that had been dropped from above, and that now swung free at the -center of the stairway's spiral.</p> - -<p>I grasped Lantin, flung myself flat on the stair, pulling him down with -me. And not a moment too soon, for peering cautiously over the low -wall, I saw dark shapes flashing down along those swinging cables, in -long strings, one after another. When they had passed, we jumped to our -feet and sped on.</p> - -<p>"The guards from above," I told my companion. "Let's hope that all -above have gone down."</p> - -<p>On we raced, around and around the spiral, ever upward. The sound of -the riot in the pit had faded from our ears by now, and we came to the -roof of the cavern, and the shaft that pierced it. On we went, the wall -of the shaft on our left side now, and we hugged that wall closely as -we sped up the narrow pathway.</p> - -<p>I judged that we had traversed two-thirds of the stair's length, when -Lantin suddenly halted. When I turned, he held up a warning hand, -listening intently.</p> - -<p>"Hear it?" he asked, in a low voice.</p> - -<p>I listened tensely, and in a moment heard the sound that had halted -him. It was a rhythmic, regular thudding, and seemed to come from a -point some distance above us, and across the shaft from us.</p> - -<p>"The guards!" he whispered. "Some of them are coming down the stair!"</p> - -<p>All the blood drove from my heart at the thought, for we were caught -on the airy stairway without chance to advance or retreat. And every -minute that I stood there in indecision, the tramping feet of the -guards were nearing me. Why they were descending by the stair instead -of the ropes, I could not guess, though it may have been that they -had already started down the stair before the alarm from below. But -whatever the reason, they were coming nearer and nearer, until finally -they were directly across the shaft, coming around the down-slanting -curve of the stairway toward us.</p> - -<p>My brain, momentarily stupefied by the oncoming deadly peril, again -acted, and with frantic speed I unrolled the rope that was wound round -my body. The low wall that protected the stair's right side was pierced -at regular intervals with circular, ornamental openings, and swiftly I -passed the rope through one of these and tied it securely, then tied -its other end into a double loop. At once Lantin saw my purpose, and -with a muttered "Good!" he set his foot in one of the loops, while I -did the same with the other.</p> - -<p>Swiftly the tramping feet were coming around the curve toward us, -though in the murky darkness of the shaft we could make out nothing. -Feet in the loops at the rope's end, we grasped the low wall of the -stair and gently swung ourselves over it. Then, hanging above the -abyss, we lowered ourselves until we swung some twenty feet below the -stair, floating gently back and forth at the rope's end, with nearly -two miles of space below us.</p> - -<p>The marching guards came quickly around the stair's curve, and I held -my breath as they passed the place where our rope was tied. If one but -felt it and slashed carelessly with a knife, we would hurtle down to -death on the floor of the pit, far below. But the guards passed on, and -I could plainly hear the command of their leader to move faster, as -they went by us.</p> - -<p>Waiting until they had progressed to the opposite side of the shaft, -Lantin and I began to pull ourselves up. Slowly, toilsomely, we fought -our way upward until our hands gripped the stair's rail and we were -able to scramble over it onto the steps.</p> - -<p>As I rolled over the wall onto those steps, the hilt of my rapier -struck the metal stairway with a loud jar. Appalled, I lay tense for -minutes, but there was no sound to indicate the guards had heard, and -we could hear their marching footsteps dying away below.</p> - -<p>I rose to my feet, then, breathing hard. "A near shave, that," I told -Lantin, who was also struggling to regain his breath. "If those guards -had caught us on the stair, it would have been all up with us." Untying -the rope from the wall, I again wound it round my body, and stepped up -to where Lantin awaited me.</p> - -<p>He was looking back the way we had come, peering into the darkness. As -I stepped up toward him he cried suddenly, "Look out, Wheeler!" and -as I instinctively threw myself flat on the stairway, a heavy knife -hurtled out of the air behind me and passed over me, striking the wall. -I jumped to my feet and turned, ripping out my sword.</p> - -<p>Five steps down the stair from us a guard was standing, a tall, -dark-faced fellow whom I could just see in the nightmare blackness -of the shaft. In a flash, I knew that the clang of my rapier on the -stairway had been heard, by this fellow at least, and that he had come -back to investigate and had found us.</p> - -<p>The man below me uttered a hoarse cry, and ran straight up toward me, -his long spear aimed at my heart. But by now my own rapier was out, -and avoiding the spear by a quick sidestep, I thrust with my blade at -his throat, where no armor protected him. The stab was a true one, and -he sank to the stair with a choking, terrible cry that rang out eerily -there in the vast dark shaft. From far below his cry was answered. -There was no time to lose, and we pressed on up the stair.</p> - -<p>But now there were cries from below, and a bugle peal came up toward -us. It was evident that the alarm had been sounded by the cry of the -guard I had killed, and that we were being pursued.</p> - -<p>I knew that we were very near to the stair's top, by then, but although -we knew the metal cover of the shaft was not in place, there was no -light from the great opening above us, the great temple being as dark -as the shaft below it.</p> - -<p>"Pray God there are no guards at the top of the stair," I cried to -Lantin, as we sped upward. He did not answer, and from his agonized -breathing I knew that he was out of wind from our long, torturing -climb. And, away across the shaft now, there was a chorus of shouts as -the guards beneath raced after us. Their cries halted for a moment, and -by this I knew that they had found the body of the man I had killed. -Then, with yelps of rage, they sped on after us.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We staggered drunkenly up the last curve of the stair. Out of the -darkness appeared the little collapsible stairway which joined the -temple's black ring of flooring with the great spiral on which we -stood. There was no sign of the presence of any guards around or above -it, so I jerked out the sword at my belt, and clasping it in one hand, -strode cautiously up the little stair until I stood on the black -flooring that was the rim of the shaft up which we had come.</p> - -<p>Dense darkness reigned in the gigantic building, and the complete -silence in it showed me that it was deserted. Lantin was beside me now, -and the cries of the pursuing guards were ringing up the shaft ever -louder, as they neared us. I sprang to the building's wall, clawing -frantically along its side.</p> - -<p>Abruptly my hands encountered the thick lever I was searching for, and -as I jerked it down as far as it would go, I sobbed with relief. There -was a loud click, and the little collapsible stair swung up and folded -into an aperture in the wall.</p> - -<p>"That will hold them on the stair, for a time," I told my friend, who -had come up to me and was grasping my arm. As we raced around the wall -to the building's entrance and exit, I explained in a few words what I -had done. It was well for us, too, that I had remembered how the little -stair was folded and unfolded, for as we sped down the tunneled gateway -to the outside air, there came a shout of baffled rage from behind us, -as the guards on the stair found their progress thus stopped.</p> - -<p>Speeding down the arched tunnel through the temple's great wall, we -emerged at last into the open air. For a moment, heedless of the clamor -in the temple behind us, we stood with swelling hearts, breathing in -the free air, expanding, almost, there beneath the limitless sky, after -our sojourn in the cramped cavern below.</p> - -<p>Darkness reigned over the city of the Kanlars, a darkness intensified -by the absence of moon or stars above. From where we stood, the broad -street, plashed with ruddy light from the glowing bulbs along its -length, stretched away to the east, piercing the mass of winking lights -that betokened the city's presence. Even from where we stood, we could -see that there were many of the guards in the street, and there was no -chance of our passing them unchallenged.</p> - -<p>I turned to Lantin, but before I could speak we both shrank back into -the temple's entrance. Footsteps were sounding on the ground near us, -coming toward us along the outside of the temple's wall!</p> - -<p>We crouched against the wall of the tunneled entrance, hearing the -footsteps come nearer. From the temple behind us came the faint, -raging clamor of the guards on the stair, who were still blocked by my -stratagem. Then two figures appeared in the entrance of the tunnel, two -ghostly white figures who were advancing through the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Slaves!" muttered Lantin, and from the white robes and stiff -movements, I saw that he had guessed the identity of the two aright. -They walked on toward us, then passed us, at arm's length, walking -stiffly, mechanically, past us. Whether or not they saw us, I can not -say, though if they had glimpsed us, I doubt whether their soulless -natures would have understood the significance of our presence there. -At any rate, they passed us by, and proceeded on down the tunnel.</p> - -<p>My sword was in my hand, and grasping it by the blade six inches or -more beneath the hilt, I stole quickly down the tunnel after the -white-robed figures. As quietly as possible, I hastened after them, -and in a moment the heavy hilt of my rapier swung down on their skulls -in two swift blows, and they slumped to the floor. A low call brought -Lantin to my side, and we hastily pulled the long white robes from the -two on the floor, and put them on over our own clothing. I shuddered -with deep loathing, in the process, for these two men on the floor were -icy-cold to the touch. Dead-alive, and slaves to the Kanlars! I hoped, -at least, that my blows had released them from their dreadful servitude.</p> - -<p>Disguised now by the white garments, we hastened again out of the -tunnel and down the broad ramp into the red-lit street. We passed some -distance along that street before we came near to any of the guards, -and when we did so, we changed our pace, walking stiffly and rigidly, -eyes staring straight ahead, striving to give to our faces the blank, -deathly expression of the faces of the slaves.</p> - -<p>We were unchallenged, the guards passing us without giving us more than -a casual glance. And as we passed group after group of the armored men, -we began to breathe easier, though we still kept to our unlifelike walk -and expression.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As we drew farther toward the city's edge, the street became more -deserted. The buildings began to lessen in size and frequency, and we -were not far from the spot where the red lights along the street ended -and it became a road.</p> - -<p>Abruptly, I clutched Lantin's arm. From far behind us, from the temple -whence we had fled, there rose a great ringing sound, a vast bell-note -that echoed out over all the city clearly. It was repeated, and now, -from far behind us also, came a dim, angry clamor, a score or more of -raging shouts, through which there cut the clear note of a bugle.</p> - -<p>"The guards!" I whispered to Lantin, tensely. "Someone has found them -there on the stair! They're after us!"</p> - -<p>"Faster," he muttered to me, without turning. "We're almost out of the -city."</p> - -<p>It was so, in truth, for we were nearing the end of the street's -lighted part, while on each side the buildings were becoming fewer. We -had met no one on the street for the last few minutes, and as we passed -under the last of the glowing bulbs, I turned and cried to my friend, -"Out of the city, Lantin!"</p> - -<p>He caught his breath, turned to me, his face livid, and whispered, "For -God's sake, Wheeler, be still! That guard over there is watching us!"</p> - -<p>My heart contracted suddenly, as I looked toward the left of the street -and saw the man he referred to, a guard in full armor who stood at the -doorway of a small building and regarded us suspiciously. No doubt his -attention had been aroused by the spectacle of one slave talking to -another, and I cursed my folly in crying out to Lantin.</p> - -<p>We passed on, hearts thumping, into the darkness that lay beyond the -lane of crimson light. Once safe within it, we swiftly shed the white -robes, whose length hampered our movements, and then set out along the -road at a rapid trot.</p> - -<p>Away back in the city, the disturbed, angry clamor of our pursuers -lessened, faded. We were in open country now, and as the road soon -ended, we fled on over the long, grassy swells toward the east, toward -the hills and the valley where our time-car was hidden.</p> - -<p>"Safe!" I exulted, as we stumbled on through the thick darkness. -"They'll never even know what direction we took."</p> - -<p>"They will if the guard who saw us talking tells them what he saw," -replied Lantin, and I sobered.</p> - -<p>"Even then—" I began, but broke off suddenly, and looked back. -"Lantin!" I shouted. "Lantin!"</p> - -<p>Out of the city toward us were streaming a hundred or more men, -carrying with them on long poles many of the flashing red light-giving -bulbs, whose crimson rays struck down and glinted on the armor and -spear-points of the men who carried them. Over a mile behind, yet the -gap between us was fast decreasing as they came straight on toward us.</p> - -<p>"The grass!" I gasped, as we stumbled on; "they can track us easily by -it!"</p> - -<p>The grass over which we ran was high and seemingly very dry and -brittle, so that at every step we crushed down great masses of it -into a trail that a child could have followed. And a great, wolflike -shouting came from behind, as our pursuers struck our track.</p> - -<p>On we ran, lungs laboring and hearts near to bursting, but steadily the -guards behind us drew nearer until they were within a half-mile of us. -By that time, we knew that we must be drawing near to the valley where -our car was concealed, and then it was that our real race began.</p> - -<p>I heard Lantin's breath coming in great sobs, and knew that he was -almost winded. The long climb up the stair from the pit and the flight -through the city had sapped his strength, and his endurance was near -its breaking point.</p> - -<p>Through the darkness, a darker mass loomed up, and as we sped toward -it, it showed itself to us as the little wood that lay across the -valley's mouth. More by blind chance than by design, I think, we had -come straight toward our objective, and now we struggled through the -thicket with frantic bursts of speed.</p> - -<p>We emerged from the wood into the open valley, and as we did so, Lantin -sank to the ground.</p> - -<p>"Go on, Wheeler," he gasped. "You can get to the car and get away. I -can't go farther."</p> - -<p>I looked back, and saw that our pursuers were advancing in a broad -line through the wood, carrying forward a chain of the ruddy lights so -that we might not hide from them in the shadows. There was no grass -beneath the trees, and they could not track us in that way, but came on -swiftly, for all that, shouting to each other mirthfully.</p> - -<p>"I can't leave you here," I told Lantin. "If you stay, I stay."</p> - -<p>"Go on!" he ordered. "You can make it, without me. Hurry!"</p> - -<p>I glanced back, hesitated a moment, then swiftly stooped and swung an -arm under Lantin's shoulders, half lifting him to his feet. Then, half -dragging, half carrying him, I toiled up the valley toward our hidden -car.</p> - -<p>I did not look back, but long rays of red light stabbed past me as our -pursuers and their lights emerged from the wood. By that crimson glare -they saw me, for a savage cry went up. A few strides and I was at the -spot on the valley's bottom, on the slope above which lay the time-car. -With fast-waning strength, I started up that slope.</p> - -<p>Down the valley toward me bounded a score of men, spears and swords -gleaming in the light of the bulb-torches behind them. Dragging Lantin -on, blind with sweat and every muscle straining to its utmost power, I -toiled up the slope, more like a goaded, maddened beast than a human -being, while Lantin still besought me to drop him and save myself.</p> - -<p>And up the slope after me raced the shouting guards, a hundred yards -behind and gaining every second. I burst through the screen of boughs -around our car, and sobbed with relief to see that it was still there, -untouched. I spun open the circular door in its top, and dropped Lantin -inside. I had just placed my feet inside the opening, when a dozen of -the armored guards burst through the screen of branches, their red -bulb-torches illuminating the little clearing with crimson light.</p> - -<p>They stopped short on seeing me, some fifteen feet away. The three -nearest me raised their right arms above their heads, a heavy spear -poised in each. Then, like leaping metal serpents, the three heavy, -dagger-pointed weapons flashed through the air toward me.</p> - -<p>But in that split-second there came the click of a switch from the -interior of the car, a gust of sudden wind smote me, and then the -guards, torches, and even the three spears in midair had vanished, and -the car, Lantin and I were speeding on into time.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 15</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">OVER THE ICE</p> - - -<p>We had flashed through two days and nights before Lantin judged -it safe to stop our progress in time. By then, we had started the -space-movement mechanism, and had sent the car up to a height of a mile -above the ground. Once there, we snapped off the time-wave, and hung in -midair, motionless in both time and space.</p> - -<p>It was early morning now, bright and sunny, and peering down over the -car's side to the valley below, I could see no sign of life. In the two -days through which we had passed so quickly, it was evident that the -guards had given up searching for us and had returned to the city. I -wondered how they explained to themselves our sudden disappearance.</p> - -<p>I slid down into the car's interior, now, and closed the circular -door above me. Sinking down on the padded floor with utter weariness, -I tried to express to Lantin my thanks for saving my life, since had -he acted a fraction of a second later, I should have been struck down -by the flashing spears of our pursuers. But Lantin would not hear -me, declaring that alone he would have been unable ever to reach the -car, and so, conscious that without the other each of us would have -perished, we let the matter rest.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes, Lantin returned to the controls, and swinging the car -in a great circle, pointed it south, opening up the power gradually -until we were racing down toward the southern horizon with our highest -speed. Soon, far ahead, the glistening ice came into view, and in a few -minutes after that the green land behind us had dwindled to a speck -against the ice, and then vanished. High above the ground, we sped -across the endless ice, splitting the air like a meteor.</p> - -<p>Hour after hour we fled on, across the gleaming fields of whiteness. -The cold air had forced us to turn on the heater of the car, and -even with it, we were none too warm. Below, from horizon to horizon, -billowed the frozen fields, with here and there a white dune or hill to -break the monotony of the landscape.</p> - -<p>Finally, in midafternoon, a thickening line of black showed against -the southern horizon. We reduced our speed, and sinking closer to the -ground, sped down toward the black line.</p> - -<p>It seemed to grow as we came nearer, loomed larger and larger, until at -last we hung above the black mass, gazing down at it in silent awe. And -it was a wall.</p> - -<p>But what a wall! A gigantic, mountain-high and mountain-thick barrier -of solid black metal, extending as far as we could see, from the -eastern to the western horizon. A colossal barrier of metal, all of a -mile and a half in height, with a thickness at the bottom of nearly a -mile and at the top of half that much. A smooth-sided, dully gleaming -mass beside which the walls of mighty Babylon would have been toylike, -microscopic.</p> - -<p>And with that wall, the ice stopped. On the northern side of the -barrier, the fields of ice stretched away as far as the eye could -reach. But on its southern side there was no ice. Grass of dull green, -and small trees, gnarled and twisted by the glacier's cold, lay to the -wall's south, a vista of rolling, bleak plains that extended down to -the southern horizon.</p> - -<p>Hanging above the mighty, flat-topped barrier, we surveyed it, -stupefied. All around us was no sign of life. No sound, no movement. -Only the white expanse to the north, the green one to the south, and -between them, separating and defining them, the titanic wall.</p> - -<p>Lantin spoke, excitedly. "You see its purpose, Wheeler? It has been -built here as a dam to hold back the glacier, to stem the tides of ice. -But <i>how</i> built? To think that men can do things like that!"</p> - -<p>I saw now that Lantin spoke aright, and that it was to dam the -engulfing, southward-flowing ice that the wall had been built. And I -was struck with awe at the achievement. What were the great Chinese -wall and Martian canals, to this? Here in the far future, fifteen -thousand years ahead of our own time, we were seeing another step in -the conquest of nature by man. He had leveled mountains and turned -rivers, and here, below us, had thrust forth a hand and halted the -resistless glaciers.</p> - -<p>An hour we hung above the colossal barrier, fascinated, and then -remembered our mission and sped again south.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As we rocketed on, we could see no sign of life below, nothing but the -bleak arctic plains with here and there some sparse vegetation.</p> - -<p>Again Lantin cried out, and when I looked south, I discerned an odd -flicker of light, a seeming hesitating wavering of the air. We sped -down toward it, dropping down again to a scant mile above the ground.</p> - -<p>Far ahead showed expanses of bright green, and as we drew nearer, I saw -that there were small patches of white against the green, oddly regular -in shape. As we sped on, these white blotches changed to buildings, -and the green to verdant lawns and gardens, in which they were set. -Again Lantin stopped the car, while we looked down, puzzled. For in a -straight line from east to west, was the boundary, the limit, of the -gardens and the buildings. North of that line were the cold, wind-swept -plains and stunted, arctic vegetation, while south of the same -invisible line, seemingly only a few feet from the bleak tundras, began -the luxuriant, tropical gardens, stretching away south as far as the -eye could see. And also the elusive flicker of light seemed to begin -at the same point, and to be present everywhere south of it. If you -have ever seen the flicker of heated air above railway tracks or hot -sand, on a warm afternoon, you will understand me. It was like that, an -elusive, fleeting wavering in the air, below us.</p> - -<p>"I can't understand it," said Lantin, pointing down to the invisible -line which separated arctic world from tropic. "Gardens like those, -only a few feet away from the cold plain."</p> - -<p>"It's beyond me," I told him. "Another thing, Lantin, the car is as -cold as ever, even with the heater functioning. Yet down there the -country looks tropical."</p> - -<p>He shook his head, and starting the car, we sped on south, as cold -as we had been above the glacier, while below was a landscape that -reminded me of Florida, in my own time. Set in the lawns and gardens, -the white buildings became more numerous as we sped on. We could see -that they were of varying shapes, some cone-shaped, others cubical, -while still others were spherical, like great globes of white stone -sunk a little in the earth. The cone-shaped buildings were the most -numerous, I saw, though there were many of the other designs. But -nowhere was there a building that was cylindrical.</p> - -<p>Ever and again our eyes caught that inexplicable flicker in the air -below us. We were flying with reduced speed, now, less than a mile -above the ground, and beneath us the lawns and gardens had disappeared, -giving way to the crowded buildings of a great city. In the broad -streets of that city were tiny, moving figures, and many vehicles -seemed to flash continually along the wide avenues. But there was no -sign of aircraft.</p> - -<p>Always the buildings grew larger, and it was plain that we were -approaching the city's center. Away ahead of us a great cone began to -loom up gigantically, an immense, cone-shaped building that was fully -as large as the temple of the Raider, back in the city of the Kanlars. -We changed our course, headed down toward the colossal center building. -As we drew nearer, we saw that it was smooth and unbroken of side, and -at its top it was truncated, flattened, the summit of the cone forming -a flat, circular platform a few hundred feet in diameter. We glimpsed -this much, and then Lantin sent the car down on a long slant toward the -cone's flat summit.</p> - -<p>"We'll land there," he said. "This city is Kom, without doubt."</p> - -<p>I nodded but did not answer, for my attention was engaged by something -else. As we slanted smoothly down toward the cone, with moderate -speed, I noticed that the strange flicker of light that had puzzled -us seemed to be growing plainer, stronger, nearer. It apparently hung -steady above the cone, a few rods over its summit. And as we rushed -down toward that summit, the truth struck me, and the nature of the odd -flickering was clear to me in a sudden flash of intuition.</p> - -<p>"Lantin!" I screamed. "That flicker! It's a roof, a transparent roof! -Stop the car!"</p> - -<p>His face livid, he reached toward the space-mechanism control, but -before ever his hand touched it, there was an ear-splitting crash, I -was thrown violently forward in the car, and as my head hit its steel -wall with stunning force, something seemed to explode in my brain, and -consciousness left me.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 16</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF KOM</p> - - -<p>Through a throbbing, pain-racked darkness, light came down to me, -stronger and stronger. There was a dull, monotonous sound that seemed -to float down to me from great heights. I turned, struggled, opened my -eyes.</p> - -<p>I was lying on a soft mat, set on a low, narrow platform of metal. -Above me was a high, white ceiling, and as I half-raised myself on one -arm, I was able to survey the rest of the room in which I lay.</p> - -<p>It was a bright, airy room, white-walled and sunny. At one end of it -were high, open windows, without glass or shutter, and through them -streamed the sunlight and the soft air. Except for the bed on which I -lay, and two metal chairs of simple design, the room was quite bare, -but it was an austere, clean bareness that was pleasing to the eye.</p> - -<p>Now memory rushed back to me, and sudden fear came with it. Where was -Lantin? Had he survived the crash? I began to struggle up from my -reclining position, but sank back for a moment as a door in one of the -walls slid aside, and a man entered the room.</p> - -<p>Tall and commanding of appearance, with dark hair and clear youthful -face, yet something about the eyes stamped him as a man of middle age, -almost elderly. He was dressed in a short white tunic, bordered with -three narrow stripes of purple. When he perceived that I was awake and -regarding him, he paused for a moment in surprize, then came on toward -me.</p> - -<p>A friendly smile illumined his face as he spoke to me, in the Kanlar -tongue.</p> - -<p>"You are awake, Wheelaire? And your friend, too, has just awakened."</p> - -<p>"Lantin!" I exclaimed. "He is all right? He was not hurt?"</p> - -<p>The other smiled. "No more than yourself. Would you like to see him?"</p> - -<p>I assented eagerly, and made to rise, but he pushed me back. "It is not -needful," he said, and reaching down to the foot of the metal platform -on which I lay, he touched a concealed button. At once, the platform -rose gently from its supports until it swung in the air four feet above -the floor. When my new-found friend laid his hand on its edge, it moved -gently through the air under the impetus of a slight push.</p> - -<p>He saw my astonishment, and explained, "The metal is clorium, the same -material we once used for our air-boats. It is weightless, under the -influence of certain forces." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "My -name is Kethra."</p> - -<p>Pushing my platform easily through the air before him, he was moving -toward the door of the room when I stopped him with a gesture. "Can -I look from the window there a moment?" I asked, indicating the high -openings. By way of answer, he stepped over to the window in question, -his hand on my platform's edge bringing me there also. I raised myself, -gazed eagerly out.</p> - -<p>I saw at once that I must be near the top of the great cone-shaped -building we had been making for when we crashed. Below, and all around, -the white buildings extended to the horizons, looking like thousands -of huge geometry-models cast down indiscriminately, cones and spheres -and cubes. High above them as I was, yet I could discern swift movement -in the streets, crowds of pedestrians surging to and fro, flashing -vehicles of strange design, that followed the broad thoroughfares, -rising in the air here and there to pass over each other. Glancing away -down the long, slanting side of the cone near whose summit I stood, I -saw at its base other great crowds, who massed and swirled aimlessly -around the building. I turned to Kethra.</p> - -<p>"And this is Kom?" I said.</p> - -<p>He nodded. "It is Kom."</p> - -<p>I pointed toward the teeming crowds that eddied around the building's -base. "You must count your people here by the millions?" I queried.</p> - -<p>His face grew somber as he too looked down at the masses of humanity -below. "It is seldom there are crowds like that," he said. "But this -is a time of great events, and our people gather around this building, -which is the seat of the Council of Kom, that they may learn what -decisions have been made."</p> - -<p>He turned from the window, face solemn and unsmiling now, and with a -slight push sent my platform drifting toward and through the door. -Conducting me down a long corridor, he turned in at another room, -similar in every detail to the one I had just left. And there, standing -up and gazing down through an open window as I had just done, was -Lantin.</p> - -<p>He turned and saw me, came toward me anxiously. At a touch from Kethra, -my platform sank down to the floor, and assisted by my friend, I rose -weakly to my feet.</p> - -<p>"You're all right, Wheeler?" he asked quickly. I assured him that I -was, for the weakness and dizziness I had felt were rapidly leaving -me. Lantin laughed ruefully. "What a fool's trick of mine, to smash -straight down into that roof!" He pointed upward, toward the blue sky, -and walking over to the window beside him, I looked up curiously.</p> - -<p>There was the same flicker in the sky that I had noticed from above, -an elusive, wavering flash of light that I knew now was caused by the -sunlight glinting off the flat, transparent roof.</p> - -<p>"The roof," I said to Kethra, "does it cover all the city?"</p> - -<p>"All of Kom lies beneath it," he said. "Without it, could we live like -this?" He swept an arm around in a wide gesture that included the soft, -warm air, the open windows, and the white city below, laced with the -greenery of gardens.</p> - -<p>"But how is it built?" I asked. "How supported? Is it glass, or what -material?"</p> - -<p>"It's no material at all," he replied, astoundingly. "It's force."</p> - -<p>I looked at him, a little incredulously. "Force? It was solid enough -when we crashed into it."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it is force," he smiled. "That's the reason it is almost -invisible, from above or below. It is a perpetual sheet of electric -force, drawn over the city from end to end. It is so designed and -projected, from a ring of stations around the city, that it excludes -some vibrations of the ether, and allows others to enter. For instance, -it excludes the vibrations called matter, such as air, or such as your -car. All of the city's air is pumped in through special vents in the -force-shield. On the other hand, it allows the vibrations of light and -of radiant heat to enter, and so our city is lighted and heated by the -sun itself. Without such a shield, we would be living in a city as -bleak and cold as the plains that surround it."</p> - -<p>"So we crashed into an invisible field of force," I said, and shook my -head. "Well, it seemed solid enough when we hit it."</p> - -<p>"The most powerful force in the world could not crash through it," -said Kethra, "and it is fortunate that you were not going at high -speed or you would have been annihilated. As it was, we found you both -lying unconscious in your car, up on the force-shield, and as we can -neutralize it at will, at given spots, we were able to bring you down -to the city."</p> - -<p>"But the car!" I cried. "It is not destroyed, is it? It was not -completely smashed?"</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "It was hardly damaged at all," he assured us. "The -point, or prow, was bent back, but that has already been repaired." -He paused a moment, then said an astounding thing. "The car does you -credit, in its design. It is too bad that, after making it and coming -so far into the future, you have been unable to find your friend."</p> - -<p>I gasped and looked at Lantin. His face reflected utmost surprize, and -he said, "I didn't tell him, Wheeler. I'll swear I didn't."</p> - -<p>Kethra smiled. "Neither of you told me," he said. "But you have lain -unconscious for a day, and in that time we learned all your story, my -friends, and learned how you came here to warn us of the peril beyond -the ice, that peril of an evil being, whom you call the Raider."</p> - -<p>"But how?" I asked helplessly.</p> - -<p>In answer, he touched a button set in the wall, and motioned us to -seat ourselves in the chairs beside the window. A green-robed servant -entered, in a moment, with a metal cabinet. He handed this to Kethra, -and then departed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The cabinet was an oblong box of black metal, a yard or more in its -greatest length. Our companion touched a stud in the floor with his -sandaled foot, and a small square section of the floor sprang up on -four legs, or supports, forming a little table. Setting the cabinet on -this table, our friend opened it.</p> - -<p>Inside was a small, gleaming apparatus, consisting of a squat little -box on which was set a small horn like that of a radio loud-speaker, -but much smaller. From the box a flexible cord led, splitting at -its end into three separate cords, each of which was metal-tipped. -Setting this on the table, Kethra then drew from the cabinet three or -four small, shapeless objects, gray and withered and deeply wrinkled, -smaller in size than a baseball, the nature of which I could not guess.</p> - -<p>He turned to us, now. "This mechanism," he said, indicating the -gleaming apparatus, "is what we call a brain-reader. As you know, the -brain preserves in its convolutions an indelible, unchangeable record -of every word and action. When we remember a thing, we simply refer -to that record, which we call memory, but which is in reality a very -tiny change, but a lasting one. And this apparatus, when connected to -a human brain by way of the nervous system, reads, from the myriad -convolutions of that brain, the record of memory which is stamped on -those convolutions."</p> - -<p>With a swift movement, he fastened three clamps of metal to his body, -one above the forehead, one around the neck, and the other along his -spine. "These clamps make direct contact to the nervous system, through -the skin," he explained, "and to them I attach the three cords from the -brain-reader," suiting the action to the word. This done, he snapped -a switch in the little box beneath the horn, and at once a nasal, -metallic voice began to speak from that horn, in the Kanlar tongue.</p> - -<p>Kethra's own voice came to us above the twanging one from the -brain-reader. "It is giving a record of my experiences within the last -few hours," he explained, "and will go back farther and farther as it -continues, back to my very first memory, if allowed to run. Or I can -use it to concentrate on any given period of my own life, and it will -read with unvarying accuracy the impressions and sensations of my brain -during that period. A mechanical, perfect memory," and he snapped off -the switch and removed the clamps from his body.</p> - -<p>"Nor does its usefulness stop there," he added, while we stared -dumfoundedly at the little mechanism. "Here," he went on, picking -up one of the withered gray objects, "is a human brain, the brain -of one of the great men of our people, who died five centuries ago. -And yet every memory and every thought and sensation in his life, -imprinted unchangeably on his brain, is available to us by using the -brain-reader."</p> - -<p>He rapidly fitted over the withered brain a hollow hemisphere of -metal, and attached to it the cords from the apparatus. A snap of the -switch, and again the same nasal voice broke the silence, from the -horn, speaking in the Kanlar tongue, and reading steadily on from the -brain it was connected with, reciting the inmost thoughts and ideas -and aspirations of a man dead for five hundred years. I shuddered, -involuntarily, and Kethra snapped off the apparatus.</p> - -<p>"It seems strange to you," he said, "but you will see the wisdom of -such an apparatus. When a great man dies, a man of mental ability -above the rest of us, his brain is removed, especially prepared, and -then filed and indexed in a building reserved for that purpose. There -are thousands of brains preserved there, and every one of them is -available at all times, by means of the brain-reader, to aid us with -its knowledge, its experience, its memories. Thus when a man dies among -us, his intelligence does not die, but remains as a record for us to -consult at will, a record of that man's ideas and achievements."</p> - -<p>"And while we were unconscious," I broke in, "you used the brain-reader -on us? Learned our story, learned why we came here?"</p> - -<p>"It is so," he said, and his face darkened. "We sought to know who -you might be, the first strangers ever to approach us. And from the -brain-reader came your amazing tale, and we know all that you came to -tell us, concerning that creature of evil you term the Raider. And it -is that knowledge that has brought those crowds below to await the -decision of the Council."</p> - -<p>"But the Raider?" I cried. "<i>What</i> is it, Kethra? Do you know?"</p> - -<p>"I know," he said simply, and a brooding expression dropped on his -face. "I know," he repeated, "and all here in Kom know. And that you -too may know, who have had dealings with this same Raider, I will -relate to you what we do know. Soon the council meets, and you will be -questioned further. But now—"</p> - -<p>He was silent a moment, then spoke in a voice vibrant and low-toned.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"The history of the Kanlars," he began, "the people of the cylinders, -the evil ones whose doom draws near. Know, men of the past, that ages -ago, though not so far back as your own time, our people dwelt in -four mighty cities, each of which was nearly as large as Kom itself. -There was no ice-flood from the north, then, and the country around -those cities was green and fair, yet none lived in that country, all -preferring the gayer life of the vast towns. Long ago, the people had -learned to make their food from the soil direct, as we do today, and so -there was no need of tilling the land, or living on it. And so, into -the four great cities had drifted all the people in this land.</p> - -<p>"In each city, the buildings were constructed of a different design. -Here in Kom, all of the buildings were cone-shaped, and thus this -became known as Kom, the city of cones, and we, the dwellers in it, as -the people of the cones. Another city was the city of cubes, another -the city of spheres, and still another the city of cylinders.</p> - -<p>"Each of these four cities was free and independent, each ruled by a -council selected by its inhabitants. And being thus independent, there -arose rivalry between the cities, and fierce jealousy. Each strove to -outdo the others, in their scientific achievements, and each strove to -keep its blood from intermixing with the others. Thus in the city of -cylinders, the Kanlars, or people of the cylinders, gradually evolved -into a bright-haired race, while in Kom, the Khluns, or people of the -cones, were a dark-haired race. And the other two cities differed -likewise from each other and the rest.</p> - -<p>"Ages passed, and then down from the north rolled a mighty tide of ice, -sweeping over the whole land and submerging all under its frozen flood. -It rolled down toward the four cities, and finally had forged south -until it was at the gates of the city of cubes. In desperation, the -people of the cubes appealed to those in Kom for shelter, and it was -granted them. They came down to Kom, every one, and the ice rolled over -and hid the city of cubes. Next it engulfed the city of spheres, and -its people likewise found refuge in Kom, which was the most southern of -all the four cities. And finally, the ice-tide swept over the city of -cylinders, and its people, the Kanlars, were forced to seek refuge in -Kom also, though they liked it not.</p> - -<p>"But the ice did not stop. It came on, ever south, until it threatened -to cover Kom also, and leave our people homeless and shelterless. So, -taking counsel among themselves, the people of Kom set out to stop the -progress of the glacial sheet.</p> - -<p>"They kindled great uprisings far beneath the earth's surface, until -the tortured earth heaved up in a great wall across the ice-flood's -path. And then, that this wall of earth might not be swept away, the -scientists of Kom showed them a way by which every kind of material -could be transmuted at will into other elements, by a recasting of its -electronic structure. And, using this power, the people of Kom smoothed -the gigantic barrier they had created, and then, using the instruments -their scientists had devised for them, they turned on the great wall -a ray that changed it to metal by its power of element-transmutation. -It was finished, and when the ice rolled down to this smooth -mountain-range of metal, it was checked, halted. Far away, on either -side, it rolled on and engulfed the country, but the wall so dammed it -that it could not progress farther toward the city.</p> - -<p>"Yet the cold of the glacier was not halted by the wall, and to combat -that cold, the great shield of force was devised that stretches over -all Kom, and into which you crashed in your car. It admitted the sun's -light and heat, but excluded the cold winds from the glacier. And thus, -having thwarted nature itself, the troubles of the people of Kom were -seemingly at an end.</p> - -<p>"The people of the other three cities settled down contentedly enough -in Kom, and each people built their own type of dwelling, cube or -sphere or cylinder. And all mixed, intermarried, and mingled in race, -with the exception of the Kanlars, the people of the cylinders. These -still held apart, though unobtrusively.</p> - -<p>"And as the years went by, the scientists of Kom came to more and -more wisdom. They found ways to strengthen their own bodies, so that -they lived for great stretches of time, as we do yet. They sent their -explorers out to other planets, they cast their vision out to the -farthest stars. They learned to create life, and they learned to -conquer death, almost. The flight of the soul from the body they could -not control, for there is a wisdom above man's, but the body itself -they could retain as moving and lifelike as in life itself, though -soulless.</p> - -<p>"It seemed, indeed, that no other steps of wisdom remained up which to -climb. And then, without the knowledge of the other people, the Kanlar -scientists set themselves to conquer the secret of time. Unable to find -a way of controlling time themselves, of moving in it at will, they -created a monstrous, undreamed-of thing, a thing of shapeless, inchoate -body, which was yet living, and which could transform itself, at will, -into mists and vapors, and in that gaseous form could travel at will -through time. And this thing the Kanlars made, setting in it three orbs -of light that were its organs of sense and its seat of intelligence, -and this thing is the same that you now call the Raider.</p> - -<p>"This, indeed, happened in my own lifetime, a scant score of years ago. -And when the Kanlars brought their creation before the supreme council -of Kom, I was a member of that council.</p> - -<p>"They explained the power of their creation, they showed its life, its -intelligence. And they proposed to the council a plan which possession -of the Raider made possible.</p> - -<p>"They pointed out that since the Raider could travel at will through -time, it could whirl back into the past, or into the future, and seize -people from every age, bringing them back to our own time to be our -slaves. Always there had been none but free people in our cities, nor -were slaves needed, since nearly all of our work was done by machinery, -yet such was the evil plan of the Kanlars.</p> - -<p>"The council rejected the plan in horror. And it also warned the -Kanlars that unless they destroyed the thing they had made, the council -would hunt it out and destroy it itself. The Kanlars left in rage, and -took with them the Raider, but later they promised to destroy it within -a certain period of time, saying that they desired to study it further -before doing so.</p> - -<p>"So for a time they kept the Raider, and it grew swiftly in power and -intelligence, until it became a deity to the Kanlars, a being whose -every word to them was law. Again the council warned them to destroy -their creation, and again they agreed to do so. But in secret, on a -night soon after, every one of the Kanlars assembled on their air-boats -and fled from the city, taking with them the Raider.</p> - -<p>"We could not know where they had gone, but sent out many scouts to -search for them. And when all our scouts had returned without finding -trace of them, we decided that they had fled with their evil god to -another planet, and so the matter rested. We had always thought that -the ice-fields in the north extended clear to the pole, and could not -know of the land there where the Kanlars had gone.</p> - -<p>"But now, with the knowledge the brain-reader gleaned from you while -you were unconscious, all the people in Kom know the peril that hangs -over them, know that the Raider and the Kanlars have gathered thousands -of fierce warriors from all ages, and that they plan to sweep down and -loot our city and kill its people. So the council meets, now, to decide -what course of action we will take."</p> - -<p>Kethra finished, and I silently pondered his amazing story, but Lantin -broke in with a query. "Two things puzzle me," he said; "how is it -that you speak the same tongue as the Kanlars, and why are there no -cylindrical buildings in the city below? You spoke of each people -building its own design of dwellings here, but there are no cylinders."</p> - -<p>"When the Kanlars fled," Kethra explained, "the cylinders were -demolished, for none of the other peoples would then live in them. As -to our language, it was always the same, for all the four cities. You -call it the Kanlar tongue because you heard it first from them, but it -is equally the language of the people of Kom."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Before we could ask more questions, a single bell-note sounded from a -corner of the room. "The council," murmured Kethra; "you are summoned -before it."</p> - -<p>He motioned us out of the room and led us down the corridor outside, -toward a small elevator that was curiously familiar in appearance, -there in that building of the future. A lever was touched and we -flashed silently down a long shaft, past level after level of the -great cone's interior. The car stopped, and we stepped out of it into -a small antechamber. Following Kethra across it, we strode through a -high, arched entrance, into a great amphitheater, a semicircular room -with bank on bank of rising tiers of seats. In each seat was a man -attired like Kethra, and the gaze of all was instantly focused on us as -we entered. On a dais at the semicircle's center sat four men, older -than the others, and there was another chair beside the four, which was -empty. A servant swiftly placed two collapsible seats on the dais, on -which Lantin and I seated ourselves. Then Kethra strode to the front of -the dais and began to address the assemblage.</p> - -<p>He spoke in an even, unraised voice, but from the expressions on the -faces of the council members it was easy to see that his words were of -intense interest to them. He reviewed the history of Kom, which he had -already briefly recounted to us, and then pointed out the peril that -threatened the city. He concluded with a strong plea that the people of -Kom should take the offensive and strike at the Kanlars and the Raider -in their own city, rather than let the battle come to Kom.</p> - -<p>When he had finished, there were many questions as to the means to be -employed for the battle. It seemed that air-boats had not been used -greatly of late in Kom, because of the difficulty of flying beneath the -great roof of force, and thus it would be hard to transport a force -over the ice-fields in any short space of time.</p> - -<p>But Kethra waved aside these objections. A great fleet of air-boats -could be made in a few days, he declared, if the people of Kom -turned their energies toward it. As to weapons, the scientists of Kom -could design these, and they would also be made in great numbers, as -effective as possible.</p> - -<p>A solidly built, white-haired man in a lower row stood up and -exclaimed, "But what of the Raider?" (I give our own equivalent of -the unpronounceable term used by the people of Kom for that being). -"Remember he is powerful, how powerful we can not even guess. And, if -hard-pressed, he can flee into time and bide his time to strike at us -again, with or without the Kanlars."</p> - -<p>"Not so," replied Kethra. "When we build our air-boats, we will equip -each with the time-traveling apparatus invented by these two men, which -is installed in their own car. Thus equipped, our air-boats will be -able to pursue the Raider into time and destroy him, should he flee -there."</p> - -<p>There were other objections, other questions, but Kethra overrode them -all. It was plain that he was intent on following his plan of striking -at the Kanlars unexpectedly, instead, of awaiting their attack, and he -finally won the council over to his side. We were called on twice to -furnish information on pertinent points, and finally, after hours of -debate, the council voted by a large majority to build with all speed -a great fleet of air-boats, equipped for time-traveling, like our own -car. As soon as completed, and provided with weapons by the scientists, -the entire force was to speed north under the leadership of Kethra, -drop unexpectedly upon the city of the cylinders, and crush the Kanlars -and the Raider forever.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illusc4.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 17</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">THE BATTLE—AND AFTER</p> - - -<p>Six days after that momentous meeting of the council, a mighty fleet -of air-boats rose and circled above the city. The character of the -invisible force-shield above the city had been altered to allow the -passage of any air-boat through it, and now no less than five hundred -of the air-boats hovered over Kom. In design they were much like the -ones I had vaguely glimpsed in the city of cylinders, long and flat and -narrow, pointed at either end and with a low wall around their sides -for the protection of their occupants.</p> - -<p>The people of Kom had worked wonders in those six days, thus to -construct half a thousand of the flying cars, and to equip them with -a time-wave apparatus like our own. Every car was thus equipped, the -apparatus on each being a direct copy of that in our own car. Lantin -and I still clung to our own car, however, which had been overhauled -for us by the scientists of Kom after our crash, and which was unhurt -by the collision. And most of our time, during that period, had been -engaged in directing the manufacture of the time-traveling apparatus, -and teaching a selected few the operation of it. These few, in turn, -taught many others, and by the time we were ready for our start, there -was at least one man on each air-boat who understood the time-wave -mechanism.</p> - -<p>The plans of our expedition were simple enough. We were to drop down -on the city of cylinders, destroy it utterly, and annihilate both the -Kanlars and the Raider, if possible. I think that in reality none of -the members of our expedition had any real desire to meet the Raider, -but I knew that in spite of the fear they had of him, they would obey -the orders of Kethra without faltering.</p> - -<p>I knew but little of the weapons which the scientists of Kom had -furnished to the occupants of the air-boats. Kethra had spoken to us -of a sound-ray, an intense beam of sound-vibrations which, directed -on some object, could be changed in frequency until it matched that -object's frequency of vibration, which would result in the destruction -of the thing so focused on. It was the principle of two tuning-forks, -which will cause each other to vibrate across a great distance, if of -the same period of vibration. I had heard mention of other weapons, -also, designed to combat the Raider, but had seen none of these.</p> - -<p>Now, as the great fleet hovered and circled above the white city of -Kom, with our own time-car poised above the fleet, a single large -air-boat drove up through the mass of the others and hung beside us. -It was the car of Kethra, a long, black one, and near its pointed prow -stood the white-robed leader himself.</p> - -<p>He bent, spoke an order into a mouthpiece, and then his car slanted up -and northward, with swiftly increasing speed, while the great fleet -below did likewise, his order being communicated by a form of radio -to every air-boat. Still hanging beside the car of Kethra, our own -time-car raced along, since we were to guide the fleet toward the city -of cylinders.</p> - -<p>By the time Kom had disappeared behind us, the fleet was flying almost -two miles high, in wedge-shaped formation, with our time-car and the -air-boat of Kethra at the wedge's apex.</p> - -<p>It was late morning when we flashed high over the colossal metal wall -that held back the ice-flood. It soon vanished behind us, and we were -again flashing north across the ice-fields.</p> - -<p>The sun's rays slanting down almost vertically on the ice far below set -up a dazzling glare that was almost blinding. Looking back, I saw an -air-boat behind and below us crash into the one ahead of it, and both -plunged down to destruction on the ice. Some half-dozen cars spiraled -down toward the wreckage, but the main body of the fleet swept on, -unheeding of such accidents.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>All of that day the fleet raced on, while, in the time-car, Lantin -slowed our pace to keep beside them. Sunset came, an arctic sunset, -with a crimson globe of fire falling down behind the boundless steppes -of ice, suffusing the sky with a glare like blood. Abruptly Lantin -uttered a low exclamation, seized binoculars and gazed north through -the window beside him.</p> - -<p>I sprang to his side, and when he handed me the glasses I saw, far -ahead, a little cluster of black dots that stood out jet-black against -the crimson sunset. But already Kethra too had seen them, and a score -of cars leaped forward from the main body of the fleet, in pursuit, our -own time-car among them.</p> - -<p>We flashed up toward them, and they grew in size, resolved themselves -into air-boats much like those around us. As we neared them, they -turned and fled north. Two of them, much swifter than the others, were -out of sight almost in a second, safely beyond our pursuit, but the -others, seven in number, saw that escape was impossible, so they turned -to fight.</p> - -<p>For a moment, the fight was on their side, for they turned quite -unexpectedly and raced straight toward us, in a solid mass. Lantin's -hands flashed over the controls and our car slanted up above the -onrushing seven with the speed of lightning, but as it did so a blue -flash leapt from the foremost of them and barely missed us.</p> - -<p>The air-boats behind us were not so fortunate, for as the streaks of -blue light from the enemy touched them, four plunged down to the ice, -in flames. The seven attackers, unscathed thus far, passed under them -in a swooping dip, turned, and came racing back for another blow.</p> - -<p>But now the surprize of our forces was gone, and they struck back. A -sudden sound smote our ears, even in the time-car, a low thrumming -sound that rose in pitch higher and higher. I could see the men on our -air-boats pointing blunt-nosed metal objects toward the oncoming cars -of the enemy, and abruptly the significance of it struck me, and I -understood that they were using the sound-ray Kethra had mentioned.</p> - -<p>The seven air-boats rushed on toward our own, and I had a flashing -glimpse of their decks, crowded with armored guards and with a few of -the brilliant-robed Kanlars directing them. Blue flashes leapt again -from the seven, and two more of the air-boats of Kom cometed down in -bursts of fire, but now, as the seven dipped again under the air-boats -of the Khluns, the thrumming, high-pitched sound increased sharply in -intensity, and I saw five of the seven Kanlar cars literally break -up into small pieces and fall, tumbling down toward the ice-fields -below them in a shower of men and small pieces of metal. It was the -power of sound, which causes a steam-whistle to shake a house to its -foundations, a thousand times amplified by the apparatus devised by the -men of Kom.</p> - -<p>The remaining two air-boats of the Kanlars attempted to flee, but in -a moment they too broke up and fell, as the men of Kom altered the -vibration-frequency of their apparatus to affect the two remaining cars.</p> - -<p>Behind us, now, the great main fleet of our air-boats was coming up, -and there was a short halt in midair. Kethra's air-boat swept up beside -us, and I opened the door in the top of our time-car, and stood up to -hear him.</p> - -<p>"Those were scouts," he cried to us, "a patrol of the Kanlars' -air-boats. And two got away! They'll warn the Kanlars of our coming."</p> - -<p>"But what do you intend to do?" I asked. "You'll not give up the -attack?"</p> - -<p>"No!" he shouted. "We'll go on, and meet them if they come out. But -there will be no surprize now."</p> - -<p>"But what of our friends?" I asked. "We were to rescue them from the -pit."</p> - -<p>"We'll send an air-boat for them," he said. "It can speed up to the -city of cylinders, and since the Kanlars will come down to meet us now, -it can sink down into the shaft you spoke of without interference, and -get your friends. I will need you with me, to guide us to the city of -Kanlars, in case their fleet doesn't come out to meet us."</p> - -<p>And so we swiftly decided. At an order from Kethra, an air-boat slanted -up toward us and hung beside us. We gave the pilot of it, and his two -assistants, precise information that would enable them to reach the -temple and get down to the pit, where they could rescue our comrades -from the roof-top where they would be awaiting us. The pilot was -instructed to race up toward the city of cylinders in a wide circle, -to avoid meeting any of the Kanlars' air-boats, and when the city was -deserted by guards and Kanlars, as we were confident it would be, he -could easily penetrate to the temple and the pit. He promised to carry -out our instructions faithfully, and sped away into the gathering dusk -toward the northwest.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Night was falling now, and with an order from Kethra, the fleet again -began to move, speeding toward the north, but going warily now, -with a fringe of swift scouts flying above and far ahead, and with -Kethra's car and our own soaring at the point of the fleet's triangular -formation.</p> - -<p>On we sped, into the darkness, showing no lights and progressing -entirely by compass. Midnight came and passed, while we raced north -over the limitless ice-fields, and it began to seem that the Kanlars -had no stomach for fighting, now that we had come to attack them. I -relieved Lantin at the controls of our car, an hour after midnight, and -while he caught a little sleep on the car's floor, we soared smoothly -on.</p> - -<p>The soundless, mighty fleet of air-boats moving steadily along behind -me, the monotonous, endless ice below, and the hour after hour that -passed without any attack materializing, all of these smoothed down -the fears in my mind and lulled me into a temporary lassitude. Half -drowsing at the controls of the car, I kept beside the air-boat of -Kethra, speeding on into the thick darkness. A glance at a dial told -me that we were within a hundred miles of the ice-field's end, and the -thought pulled me up somehow from the sudden weariness that had gripped -me. Then, a half-mile ahead of me, there was a blinding glare of azure -light, a crash that came loudly to my ears even from that distance, and -then silence.</p> - -<p>Through the mighty fleet behind me pulsed a sudden murmuring sound, a -whisper of excitement, of expectancy. Lantin, aroused by the crash, -jumped up and was at my side.</p> - -<p>"One of the scouts," I cried to him; "the Kanlars are attacking them, -and one was destroyed."</p> - -<p>Even as I spoke, two more blue flashes jetted out of the darkness -ahead, and two air-boats that were racing back to us went down in -flames. And then, rushing toward us out of the darkness, came the -Kanlar fleet.</p> - -<p>In the very van of our own fleet, I had a twisted, misty vision -of myriad dark shapes that rushed toward us; then, instinctively, -I slanted our time-car up and sped up above the battle. We were -weaponless, for the sound-rays could not have been used through the -walls of our closed car, and so to remain in the very center of the -conflict was to invite purposeless destruction.</p> - -<p>For a moment, the world was filled with crashing sounds, as the two -oncoming fleets met, their air-boats crashing here and there into -air-boats of the opposing fleet. Then the battle resolved itself with -sudden decision into myriad individual combats.</p> - -<p>Stretching far away into the night, all around us, lay the two fleets, -inextricably mixed and mingled with each other, and incapable of -acting in two single units. Flashes of blue lightning burned from the -air-boats of the Kanlars, and car after car of the Khluns was going -down to death on the ice two miles below. By the light of the flashes, -and the ensuing flames, the scene below us was ghastly, the air-boats, -filled with brazen-armored guards and bright-robed Kanlars, or with -the white-clad Khluns, grappling there in midair, plunging down to -destruction, or swooping giddily upon one another. There was a chorus -of humming sounds that rose even above the roar of the battle, and here -and there the air-boats of the Kanlars were disintegrating and falling, -spilling forth their occupants in midair. It was well that the Khluns -had constructed their own air-boats of a material immune to their own -sound-rays, since mixed as the battle was, many of their cars would -have been downed by their own allies' weapons.</p> - -<p>The battle had met and joined in less than a minute, while we hung -above it. So far the fighting had been even, but now a thing occurred -that tipped the scale in the Kanlars' favor.</p> - -<p>Without warning, every air-boat of the Khluns suddenly glowed with -misty light. Shouts of surprize and rage came up to us. The cars of the -Kanlars were as dark as ever, and now, swooping out of the darkness -upon the shining air-boats of the men of Kom, they sent them reeling -down in flames by the dozens.</p> - -<p>"Look!" cried Lantin, pointing up through the window in the car's top.</p> - -<p>Far above, high over even our own car, were some twenty round, glowing -circles of light, a light that was identical with the misty light that -glowed from the cars of the Khluns.</p> - -<p>"The Kanlars!" Lantin shouted. "There are air-boats up there, with -apparatus that makes the Khluns' cars shine, while their own remain -dark! They must be destroyed, or it is all over with our forces!"</p> - -<p>I looked around for Kethra, but he was lost to view in the battle -that raged below. Nor was there any of our allies' cars around us, so -I turned our own time-car and sent it racing up toward those glowing -circles above.</p> - -<p>Straight toward them we sped, with the power opened wide, and I braced -myself for the shock. Our car struck the first glowing circle with a -staggering shock, and ripped through the air-boat above it as if it -were paper. We slanted on up, and looking down, I saw the car we had -struck reeling down toward the battle below, broken and afire. I turned -our car, hovered like a poised hawk for a second, and then flashed down -again on the line of air-boats.</p> - -<p>A dozen flashes of blue flame burned up toward me, but the tremendous -swiftness of our car carried us out of line before they reached us. -Flashing down on a long slant, I pointed the car's steel prow toward -the center of the line of cars, and this time we plowed across two of -them in our resistless, ramming swoop.</p> - -<p>As we sped away into the darkness, I heard other crashes behind -me, and when I again turned the car, it was to see the last of the -Kanlar air-boats carrying those glowing circles go tumbling down to -destruction. For below us the Khluns had seen and guessed the meaning -of our attack, and had sped up to finish off those who had escaped us. -And with the destruction of that score of hovering Kanlar cars, the -strange glowing light that emanated from each of the Khlun cars ceased. -What that light was, we never knew. Undoubtedly the Kanlars had devised -some method of causing our own air-boats to become light-emitting, -while theirs remained dark. Possibly a ray like the fluorescent "black -light" of the World War, from which they had guarded their own cars -by special means. Whatever the nature of it, the light was a deadly -weapon in such a night battle, causing the Khluns' air-boats to stand -out as shining marks for the blue flashes, while the cars of the -Kanlars hovered invisibly about them in the darkness. But now, with -the disappearance of that light, the battle tipped in favor of the men -of Kom. Their deadly sound-rays filled the air with thrumming, and in -groups, in masses, the air-boats of the enemy disintegrated, broke up, -poured down to earth in a mixed shower of men and metal. Finally but -a scant thirty cars remained of the Kanlar fleet, while around them -circled almost two hundred of the Khlun air-boats, striking at them -with the deadly sound-ray.</p> - -<p>As we hovered above the battle, a single air-boat drove up toward us, -and I saw that in it was Kethra. He stopped his car beside our own, and -I opened the door of our car, while Lantin leaned out and shouted to -him.</p> - -<p>"You've won!" cried Lantin, pointing down to the night below us, where -the thrumming of sound-rays and jetting flashes of blue showed the -dwindling conflict.</p> - -<p>"We've won," he replied, "but where is the Raider?"</p> - -<p>"Lurking in the temple," replied Lantin, "and it is there we must go -now, to rescue our friends and destroy the Raider."</p> - -<p>"We'll do that," replied Kethra, "but first—" Abruptly he stopped -speaking, and seemed to be listening tensely. I, too, was listening, -and over the crash of air-boats and the humming sound-rays a sound came -to my ears that beat in them like the drums of doom.</p> - -<p>A little whisper of wind, a whisper that grew swiftly louder, that -shrieked, that roared, that bellowed. Up from beneath came a gust of -wind of such force that our car heeled around under it, and with it -came a piercing whistling to our ears, an eery chorus of wind-shrieks -that changed to a thundering gale. Then, a hundred feet below us, there -flashed into being—the Raider!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A moment he hung below us, a thing of whirling mists, the three orbs of -green glowing radiantly through the darkness. Then he had dropped down -onto the battle, expanded, extended his own misty form until it held -within it the score of air-boats in which were the survivors of the -Kanlars' forces.</p> - -<p>A second it continued thus, its vaporous form enveloping the remaining -cars of the Kanlars, and then, out from the green, radiant triangle -of orbs there burst flash on flash of green light, aimed at the -surrounding cars of the Khluns. The cars touched by that green light -vanished, simply disappeared from view, leaving a little cloud of -radiant sparks which dimmed and vanished likewise.</p> - -<p>There was a great shout from behind us, and down toward the Raider, -from the car of Kethra, there dropped a thing like a black, enveloping -net, queerly tenuous-seeming in the one glimpse of it I had. It was -like a net of black force, dropping down on the Raider, but before it -reached its objective, the Raider and the cars it held within it had -abruptly vanished.</p> - -<p>"The Raider!" cried Kethra. "He's gone on into time, with the surviving -Kanlars! Follow, follow, follow!"</p> - -<p>From the scores of air-boats below us came a savage yell, and there was -a second's pause, a second's silence, and then our car was struck by a -gale that nearly overturned it, and we hung alone in space. Kethra and -his air-boats had followed the Raider on into time, with the time-wave -apparatus we had showed them how to use. I knew, too, that at that -moment half the air-boats were speeding into the past and half into the -future, in search of the Raider, for that had been our plan in case we -had need to pursue the Raider into time.</p> - -<p>"Shut the car-door!" I cried to Lantin. "We'll follow, too."</p> - -<p>"Wait!" he shouted, his head out of the circular door, peering away to -the north.</p> - -<p>The gray light of dawn was welling up in the east, and by it I saw, -away to the north, a black speck that rushed down toward us. It raced -on, and now I saw that it was a Khlun air-boat. It sped on toward us, -and now I recognized it as the one we had dispatched to rescue our four -friends from the pit.</p> - -<p>The car sped on toward us, and I saw that on it were the pilot and his -two aides, but not our friends. Even before the pilot shouted to us a -premonition of disaster filled me.</p> - -<p>"The pit!" cried the pilot, bringing his car up beside us.</p> - -<p>"What of the pit?" I shouted. "What of our friends?"</p> - -<p>"They're safe, for the time," he answered, "but the hordes are coming -out of the pit!"</p> - -<p>"What?" I yelled.</p> - -<p>"They're coming out," he repeated. "I went straight to the Kanlar city, -as you had instructed, and found that the Kanlar fleet had sped south -to meet you. The city was in confusion, with all of the Kanlars and the -guards gone with the fleet, and only the slaves and the women still -there. I took my car straight into the temple, and found the shaft open -that leads down to the pit. I went down that shaft, and picked your -four friends up from the roof you designated, and they told me that -after all the guards on the stair had left, with the fleet, the hordes -in the pit began battering at the gate of the stair. I saw them doing -that, hovering above them in the darkness. They are mad, thirsty for -loot and blood and battle. They cry among themselves that they will -seize the flying-platforms on top of the temple and go south to loot -Kom."</p> - -<p>I gasped. The merciless hordes of the pit, sweeping down on unprotected -Kom! I knew that there were men in the pit capable of operating the -flying-platforms, if they reached them. They would sweep down upon -the city beyond the ice in an avalanche of death and destruction. And -Kethra and all his men were somewhere in time, pursuing and battling -the Raider!</p> - -<p>"Where did you leave our friends?" cried Lantin.</p> - -<p>"At the pit's edge, in the temple," answered the other, and we -exchanged swift glances, the same thought coming to us at the same time.</p> - -<p>"They asked to be left there," added the pilot.</p> - -<p>Lantin spoke swiftly to him. "Go after Kethra!" he told him. "You have -the time-wave apparatus on your air-boat?" And when the other nodded, -he said, "Then go on into time and bring back Kethra and his forces! If -the hordes get to the temple's top and seize the flying-platforms, it -is the end for all at Kom!"</p> - -<p>The pilot hesitated. "And you?"</p> - -<p>"Wheeler and I are for the temple," Lantin told him; "with our friends, -we'll try to hold the hordes in the pit until you come back with Kethra -and his forces. Go, man!"</p> - -<p>The pilot cried assent, clicked a switch, and his car had disappeared, -speeding into time after Kethra and his men. And now, under my control, -our own car sped north toward the city of cylinders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I think that of all our trips in the car, we attained our highest speed -then. Rocketing low above the ground, the landscape beneath us, the -endless billows of ice, seemed to pass beneath us in a white blur. We -shot across the sky like a comet, and in a few minutes the green land -of the Kanlars' country replaced the ice, and then there hove into view -the gleaming white city of cylinders.</p> - -<p>I swept down toward the great cylinder that was the temple, and brought -the car to earth in the shelter of a little clump of trees outside the -great building. We sprang out, raced up the ramp, and down the tunneled -entrance into the temple's interior.</p> - -<p>The metal floor was not in place, and before us yawned the abyss that -was the shaft leading down to the pit. Away across the temple, standing -on the ring of black flooring that was the shaft's rim, was a group -of men, seemingly tiny, toylike figures there in the empty temple's -immensity. We ran around the black rim toward them.</p> - -<p>It was Denham and his three companions, and they ran forward to meet -us, gripped our hands warmly.</p> - -<p>"Where are your forces?" asked Denham. "Where are the people of Kom? -The hordes are getting ready to come up from the pit, man! Listen," he -commanded, and I walked to the shaft's edge and looked down.</p> - -<p>From far below, muffled by the great distance, yet coming with force to -my ears, there rose a dim roar, the savage shout of thousands of mad -warriors. And above that dull roaring there was the clangor of metal -smiting on metal.</p> - -<p>"They're beating down the gate," Denham said, "and in a few minutes -they'll be pouring up that stair. But where is the aid you were to -bring?"</p> - -<p>In a few words I explained the battle we had taken part in, and the -pursuit of the Raider into time by Kethra and his men. "We must hold -them in the pit, somehow," I told them, "until Kethra and his forces -come back. If those hordes once get to the temple's roof and seize the -flying-platforms, it means hideous death for all at Kom!"</p> - -<p>"Couldn't you close the metal floor of the temple?" suggested Lantin. -"Swing it back in place and close the shaft?"</p> - -<p>"But how?" asked Denham. "We've searched but can't find the secret of -the floor, or how it is moved."</p> - -<p>"But the collapsible stair!" I put in; "you can fold that back! Lantin -and I did, the night we escaped!"</p> - -<p>"Look!" ordered Denham, pointing toward the spot where the little -folding stair had been. I looked, and despair rushed over me. For the -stair had been removed, and instead of it, steps had been cut into the -side of the shaft itself, leading from the spiral stairway in the shaft -to the ring of black flooring on which we stood.</p> - -<p>"The guards must have cut those steps after you escaped," said Denham, -"probably because they would not allow anyone to play on them again the -trick you did. We heard of your exploit, in the pit."</p> - -<p>Up from the shaft was coming now an increasing clamor, and the -battering on the gate far below had increased in fierceness.</p> - -<p>"But how, then, are we to hold them in the pit?" I asked, despairingly. -"A messenger has gone into time after Kethra and his forces, and if we -could only check these hordes until he comes—"</p> - -<p>Abruptly the Aztec spoke, calmly, gravely. "We are five," he said, -"five strong swords. And the stair is narrow."</p> - -<p>There was a moment of silence, for the idea he broached was stunning in -its audacity. Then D'Alord laughed in sheer delight. "Good!" he cried. -"Why, 'twill be easy! Ixtil is right. We are five blades here, and the -stair is narrow. We'll show them sword-play, eh?"</p> - -<p>A sudden reckless excitement burned through me like fire. "Good -enough!" I cried. The Roman broke in on us. "Down the stair, then, at -once! We'll meet them at the very bottom, if possible, and then when -they do force us back up, it will give us a long enough delay for the -aid you speak of to get here."</p> - -<p>We ran toward the steps cut in the shaft, but Denham halted us by an -exclamation. "Look!" he cried, pointing some distance along the wall of -the temple. "There are suits of the guards' armor, hanging up. We'll -need them, before we are through today!"</p> - -<p>We saw the wisdom of his suggestion, and hastily acted on it, donning -suits of the brazen armor and helmets to match. The Roman alone, who -was already attired very similarly, did not join us.</p> - -<p>And now we rushed toward the steps in the shaft's side, and down them -to the beginning of the spiral stair. Down the stair we ran, recklessly -throwing ourselves around the curves of that airy, high-flung pathway. -Looking down, I saw that the light in the pit was growing, as the dawn -began to flame in the world above, and I glimpsed vaguely through the -rising mists a great horde that eddied and swirled about the bottom of -the stairway. Up to our ears, stronger and stronger, came the clanging -of heavy metal objects striking the barred gate, while there rose at -the same time a savage roar from the pit's blood-thirsty hordes.</p> - -<p>We raced on, down and down until I was near to dropping with -exhaustion. And still the Roman sternly spurred us forward, with the -cheering assurance that the farther down we went, the farther up the -hordes would need to press us back. Finally we reached the fourth curve -of the spiral stair above the ground, a height of perhaps two thousand -feet above the pit's floor. And there the Roman halted us.</p> - -<p>"We'll make our stand here," he said. The clangor and the roaring -below were deafening, now, and for a few minutes we lay upon the steps -exhausted, then rose to our feet, one by one. Fabrius stood a step -below the rest of us, his heavy shortsword in his hand, calmly looking -down toward the pit. I drew my own rapier, my heart thumping wildly, -but I strove to appear as calm as the Roman. Denham, with elaborate -unmindfulness of the roaring mobs below, drew forth a snuff-box -containing a few grains of the brown powder, and offered us each in -turn a pinch, which we refused, then daintily took some himself.</p> - -<p>"Ha, Ixtil," cried D'Alord, slapping the Aztec on the back gleefully, -"this should be a better fight even than those in the pit, eh?" The -chieftain smiled darkly, shifting his saw-toothed sword from hand to -hand, but made no other answer, and the Frenchman turned to me.</p> - -<p>"What of him?" he demanded, pointing to Lantin. "He has no sword."</p> - -<p>I turned in dismay, for I had forgotten my friend, almost. "You'd best -go back up to the temple's top," I told him. "Wait for the coming of -Kethra, and guide him down to us. You can be no good here, you know, so -don't risk yourself."</p> - -<p>The others seconded my suggestion, warmly urging Lantin to return to -the temple's top and await the aid from Kethra, but he refused. "I have -this," he said, showing us an automatic which he had snatched up when -we sprang from the time-car. Finally we compromised by placing him on -the stair some distance behind and above us, where he could use the few -but precious shots in his weapon when it was most necessary to do so.</p> - -<p>Now we turned from him, for with a sudden mighty clang the great gate -below went down. There was a tremendous shout, a savage roar of -triumph, and then the tramping of thousands of feet as the hordes in -the pit flooded toward the overturned gate and raced up the stair.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Looking down, we saw them ascending toward us, coming in such -close-packed order that many were crowded from the low-walled stair -and dashed down to death below. But still they came on, a bellowing, -blood-thirsty mob, until they were winding around the stair just across -the spiral from us.</p> - -<p>Denham drew his sword, now, and we stepped down so that we stood in a -single line across the stair, the Roman at the center, with D'Alord and -Ixtil on his left side and Denham and me on the other.</p> - -<p>And now the hordes surged around the bend of the stair, racing up -toward us. A sudden cry went up from them as they glimpsed us, and -momentarily the human wave sucked back, and the close-packed mob -halted. A moment there was silence, while they stared up at us. I -stole a glance at my companions. The face of Fabrius was stern but -unperturbed, and he gripped his sword firmly, eyeing the mob below -with eagle gaze. D'Alord's face was darkly flushed, his eyes gleaming. -Ixtil leaned forward in a tense, tigerish crouch, while Denham, beside -me, lounged negligently, leaning on his rapier and regarding the crowd -below us with a mocking, contemptuous smile.</p> - -<p>Only a moment that silence lasted, while the hordes gazed up at us. -Then, as they saw that we were but five, a beastlike roar went up and -they raced up toward us, vying for the honor of slaying us.</p> - -<p>Up, up they came, a sea of ragged figures, a storm of flashing weapons. -A catlike Egyptian and a giant Chinaman were first of that mob, with -behind them the massed weight of the hordes in the pit, pushing up -from far below, to win up to the flying-platforms that would carry them -to the loot of Kom.</p> - -<p>As though in a dream, I saw the fierce faces coming up toward us, -and then there was a clash of steel on steel that brought me to my -senses. D'Alord and Fabrius had each leapt forward a step and with two -strokes that were like darting flashes of lightning had struck down the -Egyptian and the Chinaman. Over their bodies came the others, and for -an instant the air seemed thick with darting sword-blades, at which I -whirled and thrust and parried.</p> - -<p>A brutal-faced man in medieval chain-armor was my nearest opponent, -and as I realized the fact, he swung up his heavy sword for a crashing -stroke. But while he raised the cumbrous weapon, I darted out my rapier -and he fell with a spreading red stain at his throat. A white-robed, -sallow man thrust at me with a long spear, over his body, but the sword -of the Roman flashed down and cut the head from the spear, then flashed -again and the man went down. A dozen blades glinted off my armor and -helmet, and I thrust out savagely and blindly, felt the blade pierce -through flesh and blood, once, twice. And now, shaken by our first -fierce resistance, the mob fell back a little, while we stood panting, -surveying the scene of that first clash.</p> - -<p>At our feet lay a dozen or more men, dead or dying. As yet none of us -had been wounded, with the exception of D'Alord, who was bleeding from -a cut on the back of his wrist. The narrowness of the stairway had been -our salvation, since only a few men at a time could come at us, and -these were hampered by the press of those behind them.</p> - -<p>But I saw that the battle had only begun. The mob was again surging -up toward us, more fiercely than before. I glanced back up the stair, -but there was no sign of Kethra's forces. Then I turned my attention -back to the oncoming hordes, for already our blades were clashing with -theirs.</p> - -<p>A succession of savage faces appeared before me, confused and changing, -and I thrust until my wrist was tired to numbness. I heard, even above -the clash of blades and shouts of our opponents, the voice of D'Alord, -who was mocking his opponents in rapid French, disparaging their skill -and crying out when he beat down their guard. And, soaring high over -all the other sounds of the battle, rose a weird, piercing cry, the -battle-cry of the Aztec.</p> - -<p>"Alalala!" he shouted. "Alalala! Alalala!"</p> - -<p>The stairs at our feet became slippery with blood, choked with bodies, -and we gave back a few steps. This gave us further advantage, for we -stood on firm, dry footing, while those who came at us slipped and -fell on the smooth metal of the steps below us, smeared as it was with -the life-blood of their fellows. Yet they came on, ever on, forced us -around and around the spiral, up, up, ever up the stair.</p> - -<p>We were forced up until we had entered the shaft and the wall on our -right gave us added support. In the semi-darkness of the shaft, too, -it was harder for those coming at us to see us, while they were more -plainly visible to us against the light of the pit below.</p> - -<p>A ragged, squint-eyed little man crept under the legs of those battling -us, and jabbed at me with a javelin. In the confusion of battle we had -shifted in position until I was now next to the low wall that kept us -from the abyss. Now, as the javelin stabbed up at me, I stooped swiftly -beside the low barrier, and with a flashing stroke across his neck, -finished my squint-eyed opponent. But as I started to rise again, a -great figure loomed above me, a giant black who swung up above his -head a heavy, horn-hafted ax. He was standing on the low wall itself, -balancing himself for a crashing down-stroke of the ax, which I could -not resist.</p> - -<p>He uttered a fierce cry, whirled the ax about over his head, and swung -it down toward me, but as his arm started that downward motion there -was a sharp crack from the stair above, and he toppled down into the -abyss. In the very nick of time, Lantin's shot had saved me.</p> - -<p>But on came the hordes, pushing us up and up by sheer weight of -numbers, until it seemed madness that five men should thus stand -against thousands. Around and around the up-spiraling stair they forced -us, so that sometimes we fought on one side of the shaft and sometimes -on another. Now and then, sated with fighting, they would draw back for -a few moments, and this gave us precious intervals of rest, but always -they came on again, always they pushed us up. Man after man of them -hurtled down to death in the pit, for as the hordes came on they threw -their own dead and dying over the rail into the abyss, so that the -stair might be unencumbered.</p> - -<p>We were very near to the temple floor by now, and I was bleeding from a -dozen flesh-wounds, nor were the rest of us in better case. Ixtil had -a great cut in one cheek, and Fabrius had been wounded in the leg by -a thrown spear. D'Alord, too, was a bloody figure, and had ceased to -jeer at his adversaries, fighting now in grim silence. Alone among us, -Denham remained virtually unscathed, and he fought on unchanged. His -slender, needlelike rapier flashed here and there with wonderful speed -and precision, always stabbing at the exact right spot, with the exact -force needed. And he still smiled scornfully as his blade dealt death.</p> - -<p>A half-dozen times Lantin's pistol had saved one of us from death, -barking out a grim message when we were pressed too close. But now we -were becoming ever more weary, were being pressed ever more swiftly up -by fresh opponents, with the weight of the hordes behind them. All down -the great spiral, clear to the floor of the pit, the stair was crowded -with the hordes, pressing us ever upward, their own weight and numbers -hampering with deadly effect those who were nearest us, and who were -pushed forward with no chance for choosing their thrusts.</p> - -<p>At last we reached the stair's end, and stood on the black ring of -flooring around the abyss. When we could no longer hold them from -emerging onto that flooring, we suddenly turned and ran toward the -other spiral stair which circled the interior of the cylindrical -temple, winding from balcony to balcony up to the building's roof.</p> - -<p>And there our fight began anew, for when the hordes emerged into -the temple they did not stream outside into the city, as I had -hoped, but continued to press us up toward the roof, where were the -flying-platforms that would carry them to the rich loot of mighty Kom. -They could have had freedom, but it was not enough. They were thirsty -for the riches awaiting them at Kom. So not a man of them left the -temple, all combining to force us up the narrow stair that spiraled up -the temple's interior, a replica of the one in the shaft, though much -smaller, and the only road to the building's roof.</p> - -<p>They were pressing us closely, now, and we could hardly keep to our -feet. Then, a hundred feet from the ceiling of the great building, -a shout of triumph went up from the hordes, for D'Alord went down, -stunned by a blow on the head from a great mace. Fabrius rushed forward -to drag him back, and was himself struck down by a blow from the same -club. It seemed that our fight was over, then and there, when there -came a sharp rattle of shots from behind and some six or seven of our -opponents went down, felled by the last shots of Lantin's pistol.</p> - -<p>Involuntarily the mob fell back for a few steps, and we seized the -opportunity to drag D'Alord and the Roman to their feet. Fabrius was -unhurt and D'Alord had only been stunned, quickly reviving. And now, -as the mob below hung for a moment hesitant, not knowing how many more -shots Lantin had at his disposal, two men sprang out of their number -and faced us.</p> - -<p>One was a lithe, brown-skinned Malay, who waved a gleaming kris aloft -and called to the rest to resume the attack. But the other it was -who held my gaze, a blond giant with long, waving hair, who shouted -fiercely and waved a battle-ax aloft, calling to his companions to -follow him to the attack.</p> - -<p>It was Cannell!</p> - -<p>Cannell, for whom we had come across the centuries! Cannell, whom we -had seen seized by the Raider and taken, whom we had searched for in -vain in the city of the pit. There was a great, half-healed wound on -his temple, and his eyes were alight with blood-lust, so that I could -see that he knew us not.</p> - -<p>I was brushed aside, and someone sped by me from above. It was Lantin, -and before we could stop him he had passed us and had raced down the -intervening steps toward Cannell, his face alight at seeing the friend -we had come through time to rescue.</p> - -<p>"Cannell!" he cried, rushing toward him with hands outstretched. We -looked in that instant to see him slain, but no blow was struck, the -mob seeming paralyzed by astonishment. I saw Lantin reach out to -Cannell, saw the blood-lust leave him; his eyes cleared as he looked at -Lantin, the past coming back to him over his time in the bloody pit.</p> - -<p>He dropped his ax and took a step toward Lantin, his face alight with -recognition. Then we uttered a helpless groan, for the Malay, who stood -at the low rail behind Lantin, had recovered from his surprize and now -swept up his curved blade over Lantin's head.</p> - -<p>I shouted, and started down toward Lantin, but knew myself too late to -ward off that blow. Cannell looked, saw the upflung, menacing blade, -and uttered a great shout. He had no weapon in his hand, but with one -great bound he leapt up toward the Malay, gripped him in his arms, -and then the two swayed, toppled, fell, hurtled down into the abyss, -twisting and turning, locked in a death-grip, down through the temple's -interior, down into the darkness of the vast shaft below, down to the -pit-floor far beneath.</p> - -<p>I was down to Lantin now, grasped him and dragged him back, and before -the massed hordes recovered from their astonishment, he was behind -us. They turned now, saw, and howled their rage, racing up toward our -waiting swords.</p> - -<p>A torrent of raging swords, they pushed us up until we stood at the -stair's end. Behind us was a high, vaulted room, and at its other side -the stair continued, leading still up. We turned, ran across that room, -the triumphant horde behind us, and when we reached the stair at the -room's other side, turned again and faced them.</p> - -<p>Up through a half-dozen such rooms they forced us, through dim, great -halls with patterns of fire on their walls, with unguessed, looming -mysteries lurking in their shadows, vaguely glimpsed by me as we ran -through them. The lair of the Raider, those dim halls, I knew. And, at -last, the narrow stair from one of them emerged onto the roof itself, -and we stood at the point where that stair opened onto the great, flat -roof, barring the way of the hordes in our final stand.</p> - -<p>Behind us, on the great expanse of the roof, were low-walled, oval -platforms of metal, great of size, stacked one upon another. Enough -flying-platforms, I knew, to carry all the hordes below us down to -the loot of Kom. And the foremost of our opponents saw them also, and -yelled with savage triumph.</p> - -<p>If we had fought fiercely before, we battled like supermen now, in -a last spurt of energy. Our swords clicked and flashed like swift -shuttles, weaving strands of death from enemy to enemy, as we used all -the mad strength of despair to hold back the hordes for a last moment.</p> - -<p>"<i>Mordieu!</i>" shouted D'Alord. "This is the end, comrades!"</p> - -<p>I turned to answer him, then halted. From above, from the sun-flooded -air of early morning, had sounded a long, rising shriek of wind, a -piercing whistle of a rising gale. A fierce burst of wind struck us, -and cold, ice-cold, flooded through my heart. There was a thundering -of wind-sounds above, another buffeting gust of cold air, and then -appeared abruptly, a hundred feet above us, the Raider!</p> - -<p>"God!" muttered Lantin, behind me. The blades of our enemies and -ourselves had ceased to clash, and with a common impulse we gazed up. -The Raider's swirling mists contracted suddenly, his three orbs of -green changed to purple, and he drifted gently, tauntingly, down toward -us.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A howl of triumph went up from the hordes on the stair. Away down and -around the spiraling stairway it went, down all their packed masses, -down into the shaft to the pit itself, all taking up and passing on -that savage, exultant shout.</p> - -<p>For we had lost. Kethra had lost. The Raider had somehow eluded him, in -time, and had come back to destroy us and to loose his hordes on the -flying-platforms, to send them down to Kom in a rain of death, while -Kethra vainly searched time for the Raider. We had lost.</p> - -<p>Slowly, slowly, the Raider came down toward us, while the hordes below -us watched with delighted expectancy. Spinning, twisting, it sank down -until it hung a scant twenty feet above us, and we waited, helpless, -for the destroying flashes from the central orbs.</p> - -<p>Suddenly D'Alord stepped forward, and uttering a yell of defiance, he -picked a sword from the floor, whirled it around his head and sent it -hurtling spear-wise up toward the Raider.</p> - -<p>It fell back, missed by yards. And now the gray, shapeless mass of the -Raider spun and laced with inconceivable rapidity, while down upon us -darted flash on flash of purple, destroying fire, from the central orbs.</p> - -<p>The flashes fell short! Between us and the Raider was hanging a veil -of transparent black, a tenuous black net that was suspended in midair -above us, and against which the purple flashes splashed and stopped. -I turned swiftly, and a little behind and above me was hovering the -air-boat of Kethra. It moved toward us, and we stepped on it. And in -that same instant, there appeared in the air all around us, above and -around the temple and the Raider, score on score of the air-boats, -crowded with the men of Kom.</p> - -<p>From them darted a hundred black nets like the one that hung before -us. The black veils closed upon the Raider, contracted, and while he -spun and changed and twisted with mad speed, the veils contracted -still until they were a black ball five feet across, in which he was -prisoned. Then, from Kethra's air-boat and from all around us, there -darted flash on flash of orange flame, which struck the black ball, -burned fiercely for a moment, and then vanished. In the air there -drifted only a shining mist, and then that too was swept away!</p> - -<p>Now, from all the hovering air-boats came the thrumming of the -sound-rays, directed at the temple and the city, from all the scores of -cars that hung above that city. The ground beneath pitched, heaved up -torturedly, and then the city collapsed, sank down with a thundering, -ear-splitting roar into the great pit that lay beneath, the earth over -the cavern being shattered by the disintegrating vibrations of the -sound-rays.</p> - -<p>All the city, with the great temple below us, crashed down, and -vanished in a mighty cloud of dust. The dust hung, cleared, -disappeared. And beneath lay nothing but a great depression in the -earth, a vast, raw bowl in the earth's surface, with here and there -a white fragment showing in the brown earth. Under that huge sunken -bowl, I well knew, lay the city of the cylinders, with its Kanlars and -soulless slaves, and under it, too, lay the city of the pit, and the -people of the pit, the thousands of fierce warriors who had pressed us -up the stair so savagely, seeking to carry destruction and death down -to a peaceful city.</p> - -<p>Standing there on Kethra's car, we surveyed the scene in silence. And -there was silence all around us, for from all the massed cars came no -word or shout, the men on them gazing down into the torn depression -below as though loth to believe that their victory was won at last, the -evil menace of the Raider crushed forever. So we looked, there in the -hushed silence.</p> - -<p>In the east, the sun was rising higher ... higher....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>CHAPTER 18</i></p> - -<p class="ph2">EIGHT MINUTES!</p> - - -<p>It was hours later, toward the end of the hot, brilliant afternoon, -that we parted at last from Kethra and his men. On the green earth -around that brown pit where once had stood the city of cylinders, the -Khlun air-boats were resting, ready for their long flight homeward -across the ice. Our own time-car lay behind us, for in that tense -moment before the city had collapsed under the sound-rays' vibrations, -a hovering air-boat had spied our car in the little glade where we had -left it, and had managed to raise it from the ground before the crash. -And now, with our four friends, we stood beside it, bidding Kethra -farewell.</p> - -<p>We had heard from him the story, as amazing as our own, of what had -befallen his forces when they pursued the Raider into the future, how -they had chased him almost to the world's end, indeed, pursuing him -into time so far that the sun grew old and small, and the world a world -of death and twilight; of how they had forced the Raider to desert the -Kanlar cars it held, which they had destroyed; and of how it had eluded -them in time and come racing back to confront us on the temple's roof. -He told, too, of how the messenger sent through time by Lantin and -me had finally found him and brought him back in the nick of time to -destroy Raider, hordes and city.</p> - -<p>Kethra, and all his men, had pressed us to return with them to Kom, -but we refused. An intolerable nostalgia, a longing for our own time, -filled us, and our four friends were as eager to return to their own -centuries as we were. And so, standing with them beside our time-car, -we bade our friends of Kom farewell.</p> - -<p>"You do wisely, men of the past," said Kethra. "It is not good that a -man should leave his own time and venture into others. The secret of -time-traveling is an evil secret. And when our fleet has returned to -Kom, every car in it will be stripped of the time-wave apparatus, and -all those time-wave mechanisms will be destroyed by us. For now that -our end has been accomplished, and the Raider destroyed, none of us -will ever again venture into past or future."</p> - -<p>"You speak truth," said Lantin, sadly; "for though we came on through -the ages ourselves, we could not save our friend. And when we have -returned our four friends here to their own ages, and reached ours -again, we too will destroy this car. And the secret of time-traveling -will remain with us, a secret."</p> - -<p>We each grasped Kethra's hand, waved farewell to the hundreds in the -air-boats on the ground around us, and then entered our own car. With -our four friends, its interior was crowded, but there was enough room -for Lantin to manipulate the controls, and so the car rose swiftly, -circled for a moment above the air-boats on the ground, then fled -swiftly toward the southwest.</p> - -<p>Behind us the green, warm land of the Kanlars faded to a speck against -the ice, and as we sped on, we moved through time also, passing swiftly -into the past.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Three hours later we hung above a vast highland country, having -penetrated into the past to the year 1520, four hundred years before -our own time. And below us hung the white city of Tenochtitlan, -metropolis of the Aztec people.</p> - -<p>We slanted down toward it, through the darkness, for we had come to -it at night. Toward the city's edge was the glimmer of a broad lake, -and from great pyramids flashed burning fires of crimson. In its dark -streets was a stir of movement, and up to us came the roar of a fierce -battle, with cries of wounded, and twang of bows, and here and there -the roar of an arquebus or cannon.</p> - -<p>Ixtil leaned toward the window, gazed down with tense interest. "It is -my people," he said, turning to us, "my city, my time."</p> - -<p>And so, swooping down upon the city through the concealing darkness, we -halted the car on a flat, white roof, and Ixtil stepped out. He turned, -and with more emotion than I had ever yet seen upon his fierce face, -bade us farewell.</p> - -<p>D'Alord, Denham, Fabrius, each wrung his hand silently, and then the -Aztec turned to me. He drew the saw-edged sword from his belt, and -handed it to me, hilt-foremost.</p> - -<p>"Take it," he told me. "I can give you nothing else, and it may remind -you of our fight on the stair, comrade, when you have reached your own -time."</p> - -<p>I took the weapon, stammered my thanks, and he inclined his head -gravely, then turned and sped from the roof, down through the building -to the battle in the street below, racing toward it with fierce haste.</p> - -<p>D'Alord broke the silence that followed. "What a fighter!" he -exclaimed. "And now he is gone. Well, on, friends!"</p> - -<p>So we rose again from the roof, above the body-choked streets, where we -knew the conquistadors of Cortez strove with the city's people. The car -rose high, and then raced east with the power opened to the last notch.</p> - -<p>In the hours that followed, as we rocketed over the gray Atlantic at -a speed of nearly ten miles a minute, we were again speeding into the -past, back still farther, so that when the green, leg-shaped peninsula -of Italy lay beneath us, we had gone back to the First Century of the -Christian era, as nearly as possible to the year which Fabrius claimed -as his own.</p> - -<p>We left him there, on a bare, grassy hilltop outside the city of Rome. -Before parting, he too unbuckled his heavy shortsword and handed it to -me. "Ixtil gave you his sword," he said, "and when it is your car that -has brought me back to my own world, I can do no less." He stepped back -and said simply, "<i>Vale!</i>" and then we had sped on into time and left -him.</p> - -<p>We turned, now, in time, sped on to the first year of the Seventeenth -Century, and in space fled north till we hung over southern France. And -with D'Alord guiding our course from the window, exclaiming at every -familiar landmark on the ground below, we came finally to the little -village where he desired to be left.</p> - -<p>"'Twas there I was stationed when the Raider seized me, curse him!" he -told us; "so set me down outside it."</p> - -<p>Again the car came down to the ground, in a field beyond the village, -just at sunrise. D'Alord opened the car's door, then hesitated.</p> - -<p>"<i>Sacré!</i>" he exclaimed. "When I was in the pit I was afire to get back -to my own time, but now I half wish that we could have stayed together, -comrades. But Kethra was right. Every man to his own time."</p> - -<p>He drew and regarded his long, heavy sword. "It's for you, comrade," -he told me. "Like Ixtil and Fabrius, it's all I can give you. Though I -don't think you'll need it to make you remember our fight on the stair, -eh?" His laugh rang out. "<i>Dieu</i>, what a fight was that!"</p> - -<p>He grasped the hands of Denham and of Lantin and me, and with forced -gayety slapped us on the back, then sprang quickly out of the car, and -stood beside it. I closed the door, and our car rose swiftly above the -field. And looking down, I saw the receding figure of D'Alord, still -standing where we had left him, waving his hat toward us in a final -gesture of farewell, the wind of dawn blowing through his hair.</p> - -<p>And so we left him, and raising the car high above the earth, sped back -again across the broad Atlantic. And too, we came on farther into time -until when we came into view of the New Jersey coasts, we had come on -into time a space of almost two hundred years, for the dials registered -the fact that our car had reached the year 1777, when Denham had been -seized by the Raider.</p> - -<p>We had offered to land him in England, but he had refused. "I'm a -soldier," he told us, "and it would be desertion. Let me down at -Philadelphia, or near it." So the car planed down through the darkness -to a field beyond Camden, and there came to rest in deep snow, for we -had stopped our time-progress in the dead of winter, and at night.</p> - -<p>Denham stepped out of the car, and we followed him. There was no moon, -but the stars above were brilliant, the sheen of their light reflected -from the glistening, silent fields around us. It was bitterly cold, and -we shivered, standing there.</p> - -<p>"And so the last of us part," said Denham. "Curse me if I like it, -either. Think of it, Wheeler: Ixtil and Fabrius and D'Alord are already -dead and dust, have been for centuries."</p> - -<p>"They're not, Denham," I said. "They're only separated from us by time, -as well as space. At least we have learned one thing, that time is -largely a delusion, after all, and that the men of one age are not much -different from those of another."</p> - -<p>"It's so," he said. "And I never had better friends than Ixtil and -D'Alord and Fabrius, and Lantin and you. We've seen some things -together, since we met in the city of cylinders, Wheeler. Well, we -shan't meet again. And so—good-bye."</p> - -<p>He shook my hand, and Lantin's, and then, like the other three, drew -and handed to me his slender rapier.</p> - -<p>"You have four swords now, Wheeler. And each from a different time. -It may be that they'll remind you of all we went through together, in -the city of cylinders and in the pit below it. I am only sorry that -we could not find your friend Cannell in time to save him. But it was -fate."</p> - -<p>"It was fate," Lantin repeated, "and he died nobly. So, in a measure, I -am content."</p> - -<p>Lantin and I stepped back into our car, now. Outside, as we rose above -the ground, Denham called to us again.</p> - -<p>"Good-bye, Wheeler! Good-bye, Lantin!"</p> - -<p>I answered, waving to him at the car's window, and thus we left him, -a dark, dwindling figure against the starlit fields of snow. We raced -north, now, and sped on toward our own time, back to the year, the -month, the day, when we had started. We swept down upon pinnacled -Manhattan, through the warm darkness of the summer night, and after -hovering for a time above the perplexing maze of buildings, sank gently -down upon the roof from which we had started.</p> - -<p>The car stopped, and we stepped out on the roof, looking around us -strangely. The scene was the same as when we had left, the panorama -of the city's lights around us, the brilliant stars above, and the -stabbing search-lights of the anchored battleship.</p> - -<p>Lantin stepped across the roof into his apartment. He snapped on the -lights, then called to me. When I entered the room and stood beside -him, he pointed mutely toward a clock above the fireplace. I looked, -and a strange feeling swept over me.</p> - -<p>We had made our momentous start from the roof at 10 o'clock exactly, -when we had first ventured into time. And now it was but eight minutes -past 10, but eight minutes later in that same night.</p> - -<p>Eight minutes!</p> - -<p>We had gone on into the future fifteen thousand years, had lain for -days imprisoned, in the city of the cylinders and the city of the pit. -We had met our friends of the pit, had planned and executed our daring -escape, had fled madly to our car, pursued by the guards, and had -then flashed south across countless leagues of ice. We had stayed for -days at Kom, amid the wonders of Kom, had raced back north with the -great fleet of Kethra, had met and battled the Kanlars, and had held -the ravening thousands of the pit in check upon the great stair, with -our friends. We had seen the Raider destroyed, had sped back in time -to hang above the wonder-city of the Aztecs, while Aztec and Spaniard -battled in the streets below us. Had sped across the world to Rome, -in the days of its imperial glory, back through time to Seventeenth -Century France, and so on to our own land, to stop once and part with -the last of our friends and then speed down to the very roof from which -we had made our start. From the far past to the far future, we had -ranged through time, from the Rome of the Cæsars to the mighty city of -the Khluns.</p> - -<p>Eight minutes!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>EPILOGUE</i></p> - - -<p>So our great adventure ended, and so this record of it comes to a -close. We destroyed the time-car, and burned all of our written records -of the experiments connected with it. For never again, through the -knowledge that we gathered, shall men venture into time.</p> - -<p>Yet because we felt that some part of what we had learned belonged to -the world of science, Lantin and I, in this history and in our two -technical works, have striven to record part of what we saw and did. -Reading, men will not be able to build time-cars for themselves, but -they may gain suggestions and do work that will make better our own -life, our own world.</p> - -<p>Lantin and I live quietly enough, now, sharing a small Long Island -cottage. Yet for all our work at the Foundation, and our contacts with -our friends there, I do not think that either of us takes much interest -in the world around us, or in our fellow-men. I think that the day's -best hours, for each of us, are those of evening, when we can sit -quietly together, recalling to mind the things we saw and did in that -far time which the world will not see for fifteen thousand years to -come.</p> - -<p>We speak often of that strange being of alien terror which we called -the Raider. Speak, too, of the Kanlars and their city of cylinders, of -the barbaric city of the pit, and the Babel-like hordes that filled -it, of Kom and the men of Kom. And sometimes, gazing musingly into our -fireplace in the length of the winter evenings, Lantin will speak of -Cannell, whom we crossed a hundred centuries to rescue, and who plunged -down to a voluntary death to save his friend.</p> - -<p>Always, though, sooner or later, there comes a halt to our speech and -we look up with a common impulse to a spot where a sheaf of four swords -is fastened to the wall. Four strange weapons, from four different ages.</p> - -<p>One is a thick shortsword of bronze, its edges scarred and dented. -Another is a saw-toothed weapon, the like of which you may see in more -than one museum, but which I saw flashing in deadly action. The third -blade is a long one, a silver fleur-de-lys inlaid upon its heavy hilt. -And the last is a slender, flexible rapier, which took toll of half a -hundred lives in our last mad battle.</p> - -<p>Where are they now, our four friends, who stood with us on the great -stair when six men held back thousands, who planned and fought and bled -with us until together we brought about the destruction of the Kanlars -and the Raider? Shall we ever see them again?</p> - -<p>I do not know. But one thing I do know, that was known even to the -supreme wisdom of Kethra and the men of Kom. And that is that there is -a power above man's, a wisdom above his, secrets that will never be -his. So if, on the other side of death, there lies a timeless world, -we'll yet foregather there with our four friends, strike hands in -friendship once again, and range that world together, as once we ranged -through time.</p> - - -<p class="ph1">THE END</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME-RAIDER ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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