There was no way of guessing at the type of blast; he only knew that mass had been transformed virtually one hundred per cent into energy in a very short period of time. No process Craig knew even approached it.
He stared again at the tunnel mouths. He was sure now that something had come out of them, risen about seven hundred feet above the plateau and released the blast. He trembled with eagerness to get inside, danger or no.
He had turned impatiently to Brulieres, when somewhere deep in the tunnels, shouting broke out. Two pistol shots echoed hollowly. There was a clatter2 of running footsteps. Craig found his right hand fumbling3 at his hip4, and felt foolish. He hadn't carried a sidearm since Korea.
Lieutenant5 Rabar burst through the tunnel, stumbling in the sunlight, his face contorted. He ran straight across the plateau and threw himself over the edge. Dientes, who had jumped to his feet, was only a step behind him. Craig, eyes fastened on the tunnel, realized vaguely6 that the two must have landed in deep snow, since there was no sound of their falling.
A glow appeared in the tunnel. Craig fought the panic that seized him; stood his ground and was aware of Brulieres beside him. The glow brightened.
Its source came into sight—a ball of dazzling brilliance7, oval and about the size of a man's torso. It emerged into sunlight and Craig saw that it was solid. It looked like incandescent8 metal, but he somehow felt that it wasn't hot. It seemed to move at will and to hover9 without support.
It acted alive.
It moved a little way toward Craig and Brulieres, then stopped. A tentative rumble10 came from it, like the beginning of thunder. Something like a tentacle11 lifted, clutching an object that resembled a flashlight. A blinding lance of heat shot from the object and struck the rock a few yards in front of the two men. A sound came from the rock like ice pressed upon a hot stove. Smoke puffed12 upward. The beam lasted only an instant, but it left a long curved scar in the rock.
The thing rumbled13 again, and flashed so brightly Craig threw an arm over his eyes, and heard his own voice cry out wordlessly. His legs tensed to run, but something about the behavior of the thing held him where he was. It seemed unsure of itself, and not really threatening.
When he looked up again, it was moving laterally14 and up the face of the wall. He saw the flashlight-like object on the ground where it had evidently been dropped.
The oval thing, no longer glowing, lifted fast toward the mountain top. He saw that it was metal, not rusted15 or corroded16 but dull with age, and he saw the two ragged17 holes near the middle of it. He strained his eyes for more detail but it grew tiny in the distance and he saw no joints18 and no protuberances other than the one tentacle. He lost it in the shadows of the mountain's brow, then saw it flash momentarily in the sun as it curved up and over.
After a moment he turned dazedly19 toward Brulieres. But before he could say anything there was a sun-dimming flash of light from beyond the mountain. The ground danced. Sound, echoing from the other peaks and battering20 its way through the solid rock of the mountain, beat about them like monstrous21 punishing wings.
As the vast thunder dwindled22 away, Craig, squinting23, saw a tenuous24, rapidly dimming mushroom cloud tower above the peak. He flinched25, but knew that this would be another clean explosion. Most of the cloud was steam. He was sure they were seeing a re-enactment of the blast which had cleared this plateau.
His mind worked in simple patterns: the thing was destroyed; it had dropped its weapon.
He started toward the tunnel mouth, but he had hesitated too long. Brulieres, moving very agilely26, was ahead of him.
The priest picked up the weapon and turned toward Craig. Craig, still befuddled27, wondered mildly at his own detached state of mind: is he going to kill me; I'd love to get that weapon home to the labs; so that's how he keeps warm. (The latter in reference to the heavy underwear he'd glimpsed beneath the priest's cassock as the padre bent28 over).
But Brulieres' voice was mild. "Please forgive me for taking possession of this, Doctor. Later, I hope, you will be able to examine it; but I must think first of my own responsibilities." He looked at the thing briefly29, started to stow it in some fold of his gown, then hesitated. As if unable to resist the temptation, he aimed it at the rock wall and put his thumb on something.
The incandescence30 squirted out. The rock cried out and yielded up a curl of smoke. Brulieres turned the thing off at once and turned back to Craig with an expression half guilty, half delighted, like a child with a forbidden toy. Then he sighed and put the weapon away.
Craig had observed what details he could. The thing was an inch or a little more in diameter, perhaps ten inches long. All except one tip was dull and apparently31 knurled to give a good grip. The tip looked like quartz32 or some crystal, translucent33 except the end, which was darkly transparent34 when not emitting the beam. The trigger was apparently a spot of different color on the body, over which the thumb could be pressed.
Craig thought of the energy stored in that slender cylinder35, the necessary insulation36, the efficiency of whatever system was used to direct and control the beam. He felt a chill shiver of awe37. Then another thought struck him and he looked wide-eyed at Brulieres. "A flaming sword!"
Brulieres gave him a quick glance, and nodded. "Primitives38 might describe it so."
Rabar climbed back into sight at the edge of the plateau, looking pale. A moment later Dientes poked39 his head into view.
"Where is the general?" Brulieres demanded.
"Muerto," said Rabar shakily, "in the tunnel. The creature killed him."
"The general, Padre. He had the only gun."
Brulieres sighed. "Then that is why he is dead. The creature would not have harmed him."
Craig had the same idea. It had used the weapon more as if in bluff41, and had apparently carefully gone beyond the mountain to die. He wondered if the two bullet-holes had killed it.
But how many more of the creatures (or machines) waited in the tunnels?
He looked at Brulieres. "Are we going in?"
"By all means. Unless we are stopped." The priest looked thoughtful. "They may be coming out of hibernation42 or something like it. Can you tell how old this plateau is?"
"Not without taking samples to a geological laboratory. Perhaps not even then, with accuracy. But I would say, some thousands of years."
Rabar was not happy at re-entering the tunnel, but set his jaw43 and came. Craig stood aside to let the lieutenant go ahead of him. Rabar hesitated, then stepped by. Dientes, crossing himself and muttering, evidently preferred coming along to being left alone outside. He followed Craig.
Brulieres swept his flashlight along the tunnel walls, revealing a turn ahead. They rounded it. After a little way it seemed to Craig that the flashlight dimmed. Then he realized that there was other light in the tunnel; the arched ceiling was aglow44. It got brighter and Brulieres turned off his flashlight.
"Evidently," he said, "we are expected. Have you noticed the air?"
Craig had not, but he did now; it was warm and the pressure was higher than outside. "One moment," he said, puzzled. He went back to the mouth of the tunnel. As he stepped outside, he felt a gentle resistance as if some force were pushing him into the tunnel. He re-entered, and felt warmth radiating from the ceiling. He rejoined the others.
The floor of the tunnel sloped up gently for a while, then leveled, then turned downward. The walls were vertical45 and perfect, with a smooth glazed46 look. The ceiling curved from wall to wall in a perfect arc. There was room for two men to walk side by side by crowding. Craig walked a little behind Dientes.
Soon he took off his oxygen mask and breathed normally. He would have liked to remove his jacket, but there were too many things in the pockets to spill out.
He had counted one hundred seven paces when the tunnel turned again. It was just beyond the turn that they found Noriega's body.
The tunnel branched here; or at least, a narrower tunnel angled up and off from each side. These tunnels were dark, and, Craig found, cold and with low air pressure. The same mild resistance guarded their mouths. The General lay sprawled47 loosely just inside the right-hand branch, his head and torso in shadow. He looked simply and peacefully dead.
"Will you lend me a hand, Lieutenant?" Brulieres said. The two of them dragged Noriega into the light.
Craig could see no burns nor any other kind of wound except an abrasion48 on one cheek which might have resulted from a fall. He started to ask Rabar exactly what had happened, but checked himself. Better not appear suspicious.
He wondered what had happened to the general's pistol, and began to look around for it. But again Brulieres was ahead of him. The priest was eighteen or twenty yards farther into the tunnel, picking up something. It was the pistol. It went into the cloak as the heat-weapon had.
Craig was watching Rabar and he thought the man looked disconcerted. Craig thought, How's this for a theory: Rabar killed Noriega, took his pistol and started up the tunnel. Maybe he just wanted to learn for himself what was in the mountain, or maybe he planned to murder the rest of the party and make it look like an accident. He met the glowing creature, panicked, put two bullets into it, then dropped the gun and ran.
Craig wondered if the priest shared his doubts about Rabar; but if he did, he didn't show it. The priest was already starting on.
Craig lost count of his steps, but judged they'd gone over a quarter of a mile when the tunnel took a final right-angle turn and opened into a great high-domed chamber49.
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1
molecules
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| 分子( molecule的名词复数 ) | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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10
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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11
tentacle
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| n.触角，触须，触手 | |
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12
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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13
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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14
laterally
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| ad.横向地；侧面地；旁边地 | |
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rusted
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| v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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18
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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dazedly
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| 头昏眼花地，眼花缭乱地，茫然地 | |
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battering
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| n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
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21
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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22
dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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24
tenuous
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| adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的 | |
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flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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agilely
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| adv.敏捷地 | |
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befuddled
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| adj.迷糊的，糊涂的v.使烂醉( befuddle的过去式和过去分词 )；使迷惑不解 | |
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28
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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30
incandescence
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| n.白热，炽热；白炽 | |
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31
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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32
quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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33
translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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35
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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insulation
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| n.隔离；绝缘；隔热 | |
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37
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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38
primitives
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| 原始人（primitive的复数形式） | |
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39
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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40
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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41
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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42
hibernation
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| n.冬眠 | |
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43
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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44
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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45
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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46
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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47
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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48
abrasion
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| n.磨（擦）破，表面磨损 | |
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49
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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