And then he was dragged into the open air. Battered2 and dazed, he saw they had found their fellow, the one he had bound and gagged. Ora was considerably3 mussed up, but unharmed, he observed with relief; but Mado lay there inert4. This was the first time Carr had ever seen him take the count at the hands of man.
When they had untied5 the one whose place had been taken by Nazu, he came straight for the Earth-man and would have brained him with a huge stone had not his fellows interfered6. He objected strenuously7, his eyes red with hate and a torrent8 of harsh gutturals pouring from his lips. But the others held him off; this strange white giant from the machine of the skies was to be saved for the embrace of the fire-god.
With the entire blame for Nazu's escape thus placed upon the Terrestrial, Ora and Mado were returned to the cavern9 and left unmolested. But Carr was prodded10 into moving over against a boulder11 and was surrounded by a semi-circle of the dwarfs12 who squatted13 calmly to watch him, blow-guns in their hands and stone hatchets15 on the ground within easy reach. They were taking no more chances with this one.
The long day of Titan dragged interminably but the watchful17 eyes of his guards never strayed from their prisoner. At any moment the fire-god might make an appearance and the rite18 of sacrifice take place. Carr supposed that the thing made more or less regular appearances, like a geyser of Earth. And, next time, there would be no escape.
Night fell, and still those eyes watched intently in the light reflected against the low-flung clouds from the seething19 crater20 nearby. Nothing had been seen of Nazu or any of the ovoids. Probably it was useless to expect them; they could not bring themselves to do battle against these savage21 kin16 of theirs. Anyway, he was glad the little fellow had gotten away; he hoped he was safely in bed—if they had beds in those insulated dwellings22.
He could not sleep. All through the night he sat with bowed head, alternately planning rescue attempts and cursing himself for bringing Ora to this horrible end. Detis was dead; the Nomad23 was hopelessly beyond repair for many days, even if they could make their escape and locate it; Nazu had saved his own skin, and they were left to the mercy of these vibration-crazed brutes24 who waited there in the flickering25 red twilight26 all around him. It was a revolting ending for an adventure that had started so auspiciously28.
With the first faint light of dawn came the roaring of the pillar of flame from out the crater. Instantly there rose the hollow booming of the drums and the chanting of thousands of the barbarous worshippers. The place was swarming29 with them almost instantly, and Carr's guards closed in on him with evil glee.
Ora was brought out into the open, her arms held fast by two of the red devils who yanked her roughly along between them. Carr roared out in blind rage and in awful fear for the girl. He struck out viciously into the first grinning face that pressed near. Something in his brain seemed to snap then, and he became a snarling30, fighting animal, battling against overwhelming odds31 in defence of his mate. A dart32 buried itself in his arm and a stone hatchet14 bit into his shoulder, but he scarcely felt the hurts. All that mattered now was Ora; they were taking her away—taking her to the folds of that incredible hot thing that flapped there at the crater's rim33. An arm snapped like a pipestem in his fingers and he heard the squeal34 of pain from somewhere in the tangled35 mass of savages36 around him.
And then they were falling back; easing up on him. The din27 was increasing, but it seemed that a note of fear had crept in to replace the exultant37 frenzy38 of those chanting voices. The drums were stilled.
Wiping the blood from his eyes with the back of his hand, he saw the barbarians39 running everywhere; they were screaming in superstitious40 terror and fighting one another in their desperate anxiety to escape the vicinity of their precious fire-god. A tremendous voice boomed out over the hubbub41, a voice that came from the crater in vast commanding gutturals that struck terror into the souls of the panicky barbarians. Yet somehow that mightily42 sonorous43 voice carried a familiar ring.
Carr raised astonished eyes to the pillar of blue flame and was seized with a well-nigh uncontrollable impulse to flee with the red men. For a monstrous44 image of Detis swayed there in the hot vapors45, a massive arm raised menacingly and an equally Brobdingnagian voice issuing from his lips in fierce syllables46 of the red man's tongue!
"Detis!" Carr shouted. "Detis! Ora—Mado!"
And then he was running toward the crater's edge in bounding strides that carried him twenty feet at a leap. He understood now. Detis had recovered from his wound and was reversing the rulden's energy. He was projecting his own image and voice, many times amplified47, into the column of fire to terrify the savages!
Ora was lying there, on the rim of the pit. She had fainted at sight of the ghost-shape, whose white-hot folds flapped there, reaching to engulf48 her in their all-consuming embrace. Carr babbled49 like a madman as he pulled her away from the horrible thing that pulsated50 with eager flutterings not three feet away, its hot breath singeing51 her silken lashes52 and brows.
Mado was there, encouraging him and yelling something else he couldn't understand; pointing skyward. And then he saw it; the Nomad, with its sleek53, tapered54 cylinder55 of a body nosing down toward them with the silvery aura of its propulsive56 energy gleaming like a beacon57 of hope against the dull clouds of the satellite of terror. And there was something else: one of the ovoids of Titan, clinging there to the vessel58's hull59 plates, alongside the open manhole. Nazu had not failed them after all. His mind refused to question the miracle further.
Somehow, when the vessel landed, he managed to reach the manhole with his precious burden. He staggered through the passageway and into their stateroom, tenderly stretching Ora on her own bed. In the next instant he was rummaging60 in the medicine closet. He found ointment61 for her burns; smelling salts; damp cloths. With trembling fingers he ministered to her, a great joy welling up within him as he saw she was recovering. Another minute, back there at the crater, and he'd have lost her forever. He swallowed hard at the thought, his eyes misty62 as he looked down at her and remembered.
Impatiently he jerked the barbed dart from his arm and poured a powerful antiseptic into the open wound, unmindful of the pain. As best he could, he disinfected his other cuts and bandaged them. Ora had raised herself and now sat there, swaying weakly and regarding him with anxious gaze.
A little later they made their way forward to the control room. The Nomad had taken off and was drifting slowly higher. At the controls sat a strange, bedaubed figure. Nazu!
Mado was peering through the coils of a helix of silver ribbon that had been erected63 beside the rulden.
"Father!" Ora darted64 past him and dropped to her knees on the floor-plates at the Martian's side. The body of Detis was slumped65 there a ghastly corpse66 within those gleaming coils. But his kind features were fixed67 in a serene68 smile. He had gone to his reward with content in his heart.
Only then did Carr remember. One could not subject his body to the reversed energies of the rulden without certain expectation of death. A few short seconds with those terrible oscillations surging through his being, carrying the amplified visual and oral reproduction through the ether, and the Europan scientist had perished. Knowingly, willingly, Detis had given his life that the rest of them might live! Recovered miraculously69 from his first serious injury, he had done this magnificent thing deliberately70 and gladly....
A great lump rose in Carr's throat as Ora's sobbing71 came to his ears. With his vision blurred72 by tears, he turned to the pilot's seat, where Nazu faced him with solemn eyes.
"Nazu go now," the amazing young Titanese stated. He spoke73 in halting syllables of Cos, the language of the inner planets!
Carr stared agape, scarcely believing his ears.
"Detis great man," Nazu continued, relinquishing74 his seat to the dazed Earthman. "Nazu find him in ship. My people already there with him. They want to help when you come. Return after capture and heal dart wound of Detis. Bring wire and help him fix motors. Work very quick, my people. Detis have brain machine. Talk with Nazu; teach him words, also very quick. Nazu tell where you are and we come to help. Then he scare away red men—and die. That is all. Now I go—and you go also. Quickly."
"So that's how it happened," Carr muttered, slowly mulling over the amazing things he had heard. He watched the Titanese lad keenly as his eyes wandered in Mado's direction. He saw the admiring light that came into them as the big Martian removed the body of Detis from the helix and carried it gently away.
"Wait a minute," he interposed, as Nazu made as if to leave. "Mado would like to talk to you."
"Must go soon." The youngster drew himself up proudly. "Nazu is prince of his people. They need him. And you—you must go at once. Vibrations75 of mother planet's rings work on you too long already. Must be quick. Else you be wild men—like those down there."
He waved his arm in a gesture that embraced all Titan. Anxiety was written large on his countenance76 and his gaze traveled nervously77 to the door through which Mado must return.
The big Martian was not long in coming. He had carried the body of Detis aft, leaving Ora there with her dead. Carr's heart ached for her; he knew how silently and terribly she suffered. Knowing that her father had been healed of his deadly wound by the friendly Titanese, only to be taken from her afterwards by his own heroic act, made the blow doubly hard.
Later they would give Detis a decent burial, sending him through the airlock to drift aimlessly in space, preserved through the ages by the intense cold and the absence of air. A fitting tomb for the noblest of the vagabonds!
Mado chattered78 endlessly with Nazu, who was impatient to be off. Seeing that it was impossible to detain him, and realizing at last the stern necessity of hastening their own departure, he finally let him go. The youngster bid Carr a sober, friendly farewell and followed Mado to the airlock.
Carr heard the clang of the manhole cover as it swung home, and was bolted to its seat. The ovoid drifted away from the vessel and dropped toward the forest beneath them. Nazu had gone to rejoin his people.
His fingers strayed to the controls. They must get away from the evil influence of those vibrations; he had felt something of their degrading power in the fighting down there. He had almost become a savage himself, he remembered with a revulsion of feeling.
The feel of the levers brought to him a renewed sense of confidence and responsibility. A while back he thought he'd never perform such simple duties again. The Nomad responded instantly and rose swiftly to hover79 over the pit of the fire-god. The flame had partly subsided80 and the ghost-shape wabbled there, changing form rapidly with darkening colors. Some weird81 phenomenon of nature that those brutes had set up as a deity82.
Carr increased the repulsion energy once more and the Nomad shot skyward like a rocket. Through the floor port he saw Nazu's tiny ovoid scudding83 over the treetops. Then it had vanished.
"We're getting away none too soon," said Mado, rejoining him.
"Right." Carr watched the temperature indicator84 as he increased speed to the maximum they could withstand in the atmosphere.
They were out above the cloud layer then and he cast apprehensive85 eyes on the enormous flat disks encircling the great globe that was Saturn86. Something like a hundred and seventy thousand miles across them, he remembered. But the astronomers87 of the inner planets had little actual knowledge of their composition; they knew nothing at all of their terrible power or their strange inhabitants.
The Nomad left Titan with tremendous acceleration88 now, as he increased the speed of the rejuvenated89 generators90. They'd go on, on toward Uranus91, Neptune—anywhere, away from this ringed planet that was responsible for the death of one of their number; away from the region that was soon to become the tomb of Detis.
There was silence then as the Nomad raced on through the blackness. Mado gripped the rail of the port and peered long and earnestly at the tiny pinpoint92 of light that now was Titan.
"Great kid, that Nazu," the Martian said, after a while. "Too bad he couldn't come along with us."
"Yes." Carr was thinking of the different life there would be on board the Nomad; and well he knew that Mado was thinking of the same thing. The Martian had missed the close companionship of his Terrestrial friend since his marriage to Ora; missed it more than he would admit, even to himself. And the lad, Nazu, had appealed to him; he would have fathered him as only a lonely bachelor can. Suddenly Carr's own friendship for the big fellow seemed a wonderful thing.
"Never mind, old man," he whispered, reaching over and gripping Mado's hand mightily, "We'll be a three-cornered family, Ora and you and I. And, who knows but that you'll find the one and only girl yourself, some fine day?"
"Oh, shut up!" Mado grunted93.
But a big hand closed down hard on Carr's fingers, and the Earthman knew that their friendship was more firmly cemented than ever before.
The End
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1
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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12
dwarfs
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| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
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13
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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14
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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16
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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nomad
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| n.游牧部落的人，流浪者，游牧民 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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25
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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auspiciously
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| adv.吉利； 繁荣昌盛； 前途顺利； 吉祥 | |
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29
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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30
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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31
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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squeal
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| v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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44
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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45
vapors
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| n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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47
amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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48
engulf
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| vt.吞没，吞食 | |
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49
babbled
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| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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50
pulsated
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| v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的过去式和过去分词 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动 | |
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51
singeing
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的现在分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]；烧毛 | |
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52
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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53
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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54
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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55
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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56
propulsive
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| adj.推进的 | |
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57
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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58
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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59
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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60
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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61
ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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62
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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63
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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64
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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65
slumped
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| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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66
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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67
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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68
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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69
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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70
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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71
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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72
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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73
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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74
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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75
vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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76
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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77
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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78
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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79
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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80
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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81
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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82
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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83
scudding
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| n.刮面v.（尤指船、舰或云彩）笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
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84
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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85
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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86
Saturn
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| n.农神，土星 | |
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87
astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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88
acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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89
rejuvenated
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| 更生的 | |
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90
generators
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| n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司 | |
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91
Uranus
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| n.天王星 | |
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92
pinpoint
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| vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置 | |
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93
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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