Each day was much like its predecessor3. Bradley splashed about for a few minutes in the cold pool early each morning and after a time the girl tried it and liked it. Toward the center it was deep enough for swimming, and so he taught her to swim—she was probably the first human being in all Caspak's long ages who had done this thing. And then while she prepared breakfast, the man shaved—this he never neglected. At first it was a source of wonderment to the girl, for the Galu men are beardless.
When they needed meat, he hunted, otherwise he busied himself in improving their shelter, making new and better weapons, perfecting his knowledge of the girl's language and teaching her to speak and to write English—anything that would keep them both occupied. He still sought new plans for escape, but with ever-lessening enthusiasm, since each new scheme presented some insurmountable obstacle.
And then one day as a bolt out of a clear sky came that which blasted the peace and security of their sanctuary4 forever. Bradley was just emerging from the water after his morning plunge5 when from overhead came the sound of flapping wings. Glancing quickly up the man saw a white-robed Wieroo circling slowly above him. That he had been discovered he could not doubt since the creature even dropped to a lower altitude as though to assure itself that what it saw was a man. Then it rose rapidly and winged away toward the city.
For two days Bradley and the girl lived in a constant state of apprehension6, awaiting the moment when the hunters would come for them; but nothing happened until just after dawn of the third day, when the flapping of wings apprised7 them of the approach of Wieroos. Together they went to the edge of the wood and looked up to see five red-robed creatures dropping slowly in ever-lessening spirals toward their little amphitheater. With no attempt at concealment8 they came, sure of their ability to overwhelm these two fugitives, and with the fullest measure of self-confidence they landed in the clearing but a few yards from the man and the girl.
Following a plan already discussed Bradley and the girl retreated slowly into the woods. The Wieroos advanced, calling upon them to give themselves up; but the quarry9 made no reply. Farther and farther into the little wood Bradley led the hunters, permitting them to approach ever closer; then he circled back again toward the clearing, evidently to the great delight of the Wieroos, who now followed more leisurely10, awaiting the moment when they should be beyond the trees and able to use their wings. They had opened into semicircular formation now with the evident intention of cutting the two off from returning into the wood. Each Wieroo advanced with his curved blade ready in his hand, each hideous11 face blank and expressionless.
It was then that Bradley opened fire with his pistol—three shots, aimed with careful deliberation, for it had been long since he had used the weapon, and he could not afford to chance wasting ammunition12 on misses. At each shot a Wieroo dropped; and then the remaining two sought escape by flight, screaming and wailing13 after the manner of their kind. When a Wieroo runs, his wings spread almost without any volition14 upon his part, since from time immemorial he has always used them to balance himself and accelerate his running speed so that in the open they appear to skim the surface of the ground when in the act of running. But here in the woods, among the close-set boles, the spreading of their wings proved their undoing—it hindered and stopped them and threw them to the ground, and then Bradley was upon them threatening them with instant death if they did not surrender—promising them their freedom if they did his bidding.
"As you have seen," he cried, "I can kill you when I wish and at a distance. You cannot escape me. Your only hope of life lies in obedience15. Quick, or I kill!"
The Wieroos stopped and faced him. "What do you want of us?" asked one.
"Throw aside your weapons," Bradley commanded. After a moment's hesitation16 they obeyed.
"Now approach!" A great plan—the only plan—had suddenly come to him like an inspiration.
The Wieroos came closer and halted at his command. Bradley turned to the girl. "There is rope in the shelter," he said. "Fetch it!"
She did as he bid, and then he directed her to fasten one end of a fifty-foot length to the ankle of one of the Wieroos and the opposite end to the second. The creatures gave evidence of great fear, but they dared not attempt to prevent the act.
"Now go out into the clearing," said Bradley, "and remember that I am walking close behind and that I will shoot the nearer one should either attempt to escape—that will hold the other until I can kill him as well."
In the open he halted them. "The girl will get upon the back of the one in front," announced the Englishman. "I will mount the other. She carries a sharp blade, and I carry this weapon that you know kills easily at a distance. If you disobey in the slightest, the instructions that I am about to give you, you shall both die. That we must die with you, will not deter17 us. If you obey, I promise to set you free without harming you.
"You will carry us due west, depositing us upon the shore of the mainland—that is all. It is the price of your lives. Do you agree?"
Sullenly18 the Wieroos acquiesced19. Bradley examined the knots that held the rope to their ankles, and feeling them secure directed the girl to mount the back of the leading Wieroo, himself upon the other. Then he gave the signal for the two to rise together. With loud flapping of the powerful wings the creatures took to the air, circling once before they topped the trees upon the hill and then taking a course due west out over the waters of the sea.
Nowhere about them could Bradley see signs of other Wieroos, nor of those other menaces which he had feared might bring disaster to his plans for escape—the huge, winged reptilia that are so numerous above the southern areas of Caspak and which are often seen, though in lesser20 numbers, farther north.
Nearer and nearer loomed21 the mainland—a broad, parklike expanse stretching inland to the foot of a low plateau spread out before them. The little dots in the foreground became grazing herds22 of deer and antelope23 and bos; a huge woolly rhinoceros24 wallowed in a mudhole to the right, and beyond, a mighty25 mammoth26 culled27 the tender shoots from a tall tree. The roars and screams and growls28 of giant carnivora came faintly to their ears. Ah, this was Caspak. With all of its dangers and its primal29 savagery31 it brought a fullness to the throat of the Englishman as to one who sees and hears the familiar sights and sounds of home after a long absence. Then the Wieroos dropped swiftly downward to the flower-starred turf that grew almost to the water's edge, the fugitives slipped from their backs, and Bradley told the red-robed creatures they were free to go.
When he had cut the ropes from their ankles they rose with that uncanny wailing upon their lips that always brought a shudder32 to the Englishman, and upon dismal33 wings they flapped away toward frightful34 Oo-oh.
When the creatures had gone, the girl turned toward Bradley. "Why did you have them bring us here?" she asked. "Now we are far from my country. We may never live to reach it, as we are among enemies who, while not so horrible will kill us just as surely as would the Wieroos should they capture us, and we have before us many marches through lands filled with savage30 beasts."
"There were two reasons," replied Bradley. "You told me that there are two Wieroo cities at the eastern end of the island. To have passed near either of them might have been to have brought about our heads hundreds of the creatures from whom we could not possibly have escaped. Again, my friends must be near this spot—it cannot be over two marches to the fort of which I have told you. It is my duty to return to them. If they still live we shall find a way to return you to your people."
"And you?" asked the girl.
"I escaped from Oo-oh," replied Bradley. "I have accomplished35 the impossible once, and so I shall accomplish it again—I shall escape from Caspak."
He was not looking at her face as he answered her, and so he did not see the shadow of sorrow that crossed her countenance36. When he raised his eyes again, she was smiling.
"What you wish, I wish," said the girl.
Southward along the coast they made their way following the beach, where the walking was best, but always keeping close enough to trees to insure sanctuary from the beasts and reptiles37 that so often menaced them. It was late in the afternoon when the girl suddenly seized Bradley's arm and pointed39 straight ahead along the shore. "What is that?" she whispered. "What strange reptile38 is it?"
Bradley looked in the direction her slim forefinger40 indicated. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and then he seized her wrist and drew her quickly behind a clump41 of bushes.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It is the most frightful reptile that the waters of the world have ever known," he replied. "It is a German U-boat!"
An expression of amazement42 and understanding lighted her features. "It is the thing of which you told me," she exclaimed, "—the thing that swims under the water and carries men in its belly44!"
"It is," replied Bradley.
"Then why do you hide from it?" asked the girl. "You said that now it belonged to your friends."
"Many months have passed since I knew what was going on among my friends," he replied. "I cannot know what has befallen them. They should have been gone from here in this vessel45 long since, and so I cannot understand why it is still here. I am going to investigate first before I show myself. When I left, there were more Germans on the U-33 than there were men of my own party at the fort, and I have had sufficient experience of Germans to know that they will bear watching—if they have not been properly watched since I left."
Making their way through a fringe of wood that grew a few yards inland the two crept unseen toward the U-boat which lay moored46 to the shore at a point which Bradley now recognized as being near the oil-pool north of Dinosaur47. As close as possible to the vessel they halted, crouching48 low among the dense49 vegetation, and watched the boat for signs of human life about it. The hatches were closed—no one could be seen or heard. For five minutes Bradley watched, and then he determined50 to board the submarine and investigate. He had risen to carry his decision into effect when there suddenly broke upon his ear, uttered in loud and menacing tones, a volley of German oaths and expletives among which he heard Englische schweinhunde repeated several times. The voice did not come from the direction of the U-boat; but from inland. Creeping forward Bradley reached a spot where, through the creepers hanging from the trees, he could see a party of men coming down toward the shore.
He saw Baron51 Friedrich von Schoenvorts and six of his men—all armed—while marching in a little knot among them were Olson, Brady, Sinclair, Wilson, and Whitely.
Bradley knew nothing of the disappearance52 of Bowen Tyler and Miss La Rue53, nor of the perfidy54 of the Germans in shelling the fort and attempting to escape in the U-33; but he was in no way surprised at what he saw before him.
The little party came slowly onward55, the prisoners staggering beneath heavy cans of oil, while Schwartz, one of the German noncommissioned officers cursed and beat them with a stick of wood, impartially56. Von Schoenvorts walked in the rear of the column, encouraging Schwartz and laughing at the discomfiture57 of the Britishers. Dietz, Heinz, and Klatz also seemed to enjoy the entertainment immensely; but two of the men—Plesser and Hindle—marched with eyes straight to the front and with scowling58 faces.
Bradley felt his blood boil at sight of the cowardly indignities59 being heaped upon his men, and in the brief span of time occupied by the column to come abreast60 of where he lay hidden he made his plans, foolhardy though he knew them. Then he drew the girl close to him. "Stay here," he whispered. "I am going out to fight those beasts; but I shall be killed. Do not let them see you. Do not let them take you alive. They are more cruel, more cowardly, more bestial61 than the Wieroos."
The girl pressed close to him, her face very white. "Go, if that is right," she whispered; "but if you die, I shall die, for I cannot live without you." He looked sharply into her eyes. "Oh!" he ejaculated. "What an idiot I have been! Nor could I live without you, little girl." And he drew her very close and kissed her lips. "Good-bye." He disengaged himself from her arms and looked again in time to see that the rear of the column had just passed him. Then he rose and leaped quickly and silently from the jungle.
Suddenly von Schoenvorts felt an arm thrown about his neck and his pistol jerked from its holster. He gave a cry of fright and warning, and his men turned to see a half-naked white man holding their leader securely from behind and aiming a pistol at them over his shoulder.
"drop those guns!" came in short, sharp syllables62 and perfect German from the lips of the newcomer. "drop them or I'll put a bullet through the back of von Schoenvorts' head."
The Germans hesitated for a moment, looking first toward von Schoenvorts and then to Schwartz, who was evidently second in command, for orders.
"It's the English pig, Bradley," shouted the latter, "and he's alone—go and get him!"
"Go yourself," growled63 Plesser. Hindle moved close to the side of Plesser and whispered something to him. The latter nodded. Suddenly von Schoenvorts wheeled about and seized Bradley's pistol arm with both hands, "Now!" he shouted. "Come and take him, quick!"
Schwartz and three others leaped forward; but Plesser and Hindle held back, looking questioningly toward the English prisoners. Then Plesser spoke64. "Now is your chance, Englander," he called in low tones. "Seize Hindle and me and take our guns from us—we will not fight hard."
Olson and Brady were not long in acting65 upon the suggestion. They had seen enough of the brutal66 treatment von Schoenvorts accorded his men and the especially venomous attentions he had taken great enjoyment67 in according Plesser and Hindle to understand that these two might be sincere in a desire for revenge. In another moment the two Germans were unarmed and Olson and Brady were running to the support of Bradley; but already it seemed too late.
Von Schoenvorts had managed to drag the Englishman around so that his back was toward Schwartz and the other advancing Germans. Schwartz was almost upon Bradley with gun clubbed and ready to smash down upon the Englishman's skull68. Brady and Olson were charging the Germans in the rear with Wilson, Whitely, and Sinclair supporting them with bare fists. It seemed that Bradley was doomed69 when, apparently70 out of space, an arrow whizzed, striking Schwartz in the side, passing half-way through his body to crumple71 him to earth. With a shriek72 the man fell, and at the same time Olson and Brady saw the slim figure of a young girl standing43 at the edge of the jungle coolly fitting another arrow to her bow.
Bradley had now succeeded in wrestling his arm free from von Schoenvorts' grip and in dropping the latter with a blow from the butt73 of his pistol. The rest of the English and Germans were engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter, Plesser and Hindle standing aside from the melee74 and urging their comrades to surrender and join with the English against the tyranny of von Schoenvorts. Heinz and Klatz, possibly influenced by their exhortation75, were putting up but a half-hearted resistance; but Dietz, a huge, bearded, bull-necked Prussian, yelling like a maniac76, sought to exterminate77 the Englische schweinhunde with his bayonet, fearing to fire his piece lest he kill some of his comrades.
It was Olson who engaged him, and though unused to the long German rifle and bayonet, he met the bull-rush of the Hun with the cold, cruel precision and science of English bayonet-fighting. There was no feinting, no retiring and no parrying that was not also an attack. Bayonet-fighting today is not a pretty thing to see—it is not an artistic78 fencing-match in which men give and take—it is slaughter79 inevitable80 and quickly over.
Dietz lunged once madly at Olson's throat. A short point, with just a twist of the bayonet to the left sent the sharp blade over the Englishman's left shoulder. Instantly he stepped close in, dropped his rifle through his hands and grasped it with both hands close below the muzzle81 and with a short, sharp jab sent his blade up beneath Dietz's chin to the brain. So quickly was the thing done and so quick the withdrawal82 that Olson had wheeled to take on another adversary83 before the German's corpse84 had toppled to the ground.
But there were no more adversaries85 to take on. Heinz and Klatz had thrown down their rifles and with hands above their heads were crying "Kamerad! Kamerad!" at the tops of their voices. Von Schoenvorts still lay where he had fallen. Plesser and Hindle were explaining to Bradley that they were glad of the outcome of the fight, as they could no longer endure the brutality86 of the U-boat commander.
The remainder of the men were looking at the girl who now advanced slowly, her bow ready, when Bradley turned toward her and held out his hand.
"Co-Tan," he said, "unstring your bow—these are my friends, and yours." And to the Englishmen: "This is Co-Tan. You who saw her save me from Schwartz know a part of what I owe her."
The rough men gathered about the girl, and when she spoke to them in broken English, with a smile upon her lips enhancing the charm of her irresistible87 accent, each and every one of them promptly88 fell in love with her and constituted himself henceforth her guardian90 and her slave.
A moment later the attention of each was called to Plesser by a volley of invective91. They turned in time to see the man running toward von Schoenvorts who was just rising from the ground. Plesser carried a rifle with bayonet fixed92, that he had snatched from the side of Dietz's corpse. Von Schoenvorts' face was livid with fear, his jaws93 working as though he would call for help; but no sound came from his blue lips.
"You struck me," shrieked94 Plesser. "Once, twice, three times, you struck me, pig. You murdered Schwerke—you drove him insane by your cruelty until he took his own life. You are only one of your kind—they are all like you from the Kaiser down. I wish that you were the Kaiser. Thus would I do!" And he lunged his bayonet through von Schoenvorts' chest. Then he let his rifle fall with the dying man and wheeled toward Bradley. "Here I am," he said. "Do with me as you like. All my life I have been kicked and cuffed95 by such as that, and yet always have I gone out when they commanded, singing, to give up my life if need be to keep them in power. Only lately have I come to know what a fool I have been. But now I am no longer a fool, and besides, I am avenged96 and Schwerke is avenged, so you can kill me if you wish. Here I am."
"If I was after bein' the king," said Olson, "I'd pin the V.C. on your noble chist; but bein' only an Irishman with a Swede name, for which God forgive me, the bist I can do is shake your hand."
"You will not be punished," said Bradley. "There are four of you left—if you four want to come along and work with us, we will take you; but you will come as prisoners."
"It suits me," said Plesser. "Now that the captain-lieutenant97 is dead you need not fear us. All our lives we have known nothing but to obey his class. If I had not killed him, I suppose I would be fool enough to obey him again; but he is dead. Now we will obey you—we must obey some one."
"And you?" Bradley turned to the other survivors98 of the original crew of the U-33. Each promised obedience.
The two dead Germans were buried in a single grave, and then the party boarded the submarine and stowed away the oil.
Here Bradley told the men what had befallen him since the night of September 14th when he had disappeared so mysteriously from the camp upon the plateau. Now he learned for the first time that Bowen J. Tyler, Jr., and Miss La Rue had been missing even longer than he and that no faintest trace of them had been discovered.
Olson told him of how the Germans had returned and waited in ambush99 for them outside the fort, capturing them that they might be used to assist in the work of refining the oil and later in manning the U-33, and Plesser told briefly100 of the experiences of the German crew under von Schoenvorts since they had escaped from Caspak months before—of how they lost their bearings after having been shelled by ships they had attempted to sneak101 farther north and how at last with provisions gone and fuel almost exhausted102 they had sought and at last found, more by accident than design, the mysterious island they had once been so glad to leave behind.
"Now," announced Bradley, "we'll plan for the future. The boat has fuel, provisions and water for a month, I believe you said, Plesser; there are ten of us to man it. We have a last sad duty here—we must search for Miss La Rue and Mr. Tyler. I say a sad duty because we know that we shall not find them; but it is none the less our duty to comb the shoreline, firing signal shells at intervals103, that we at least may leave at last with full knowledge that we have done all that men might do to locate them."
None dissented104 from this conviction, nor was there a voice raised in protest against the plan to at least make assurance doubly sure before quitting Caspak forever.
And so they started, cruising slowly up the coast and firing an occasional shot from the gun. Often the vessel was brought to a stop, and always there were anxious eyes scanning the shore for an answering signal. Late in the afternoon they caught sight of a number of Band-lu warriors105; but when the vessel approached the shore and the natives realized that human beings stood upon the back of the strange monster of the sea, they fled in terror before Bradley could come within hailing distance.
That night they dropped anchor at the mouth of a sluggish107 stream whose warm waters swarmed108 with millions of tiny tadpolelike organisms—minute human spawn109 starting on their precarious110 journey from some inland pool toward "the beginning"—a journey which one in millions, perhaps, might survive to complete. Already almost at the inception111 of life they were being greeted by thousands of voracious112 mouths as fish and reptiles of many kinds fought to devour113 them, the while other and larger creatures pursued the devourers, to be, in turn, preyed114 upon by some other of the countless115 forms that inhabit the deeps of Caprona's frightful sea.
The second day was practically a repetition of the first. They moved very slowly with frequent stops and once they landed in the Kro-lu country to hunt. Here they were attacked by the bow-and-arrow men, whom they could not persuade to palaver116 with them. So belligerent117 were the natives that it became necessary to fire into them in order to escape their persistent118 and ferocious119 attentions.
"What chance," asked Bradley, as they were returning to the boat with their game, "could Tyler and Miss La Rue have had among such as these?"
But they continued on their fruitless quest, and the third day, after cruising along the shore of a deep inlet, they passed a line of lofty cliffs that formed the southern shore of the inlet and rounded a sharp promontory120 about noon. Co-Tan and Bradley were on deck alone, and as the new shoreline appeared beyond the point, the girl gave an exclamation121 of joy and seized the man's hand in hers.
"Oh, look!" she cried. "The Galu country! The Galu country! It is my country that I never thought to see again."
"You are glad to come again, Co-Tan?" asked Bradley.
"Oh, so glad!" she cried. "And you will come with me to my people? We may live here among them, and you will be a great warrior106—oh, when Jor dies you may even be chief, for there is none so mighty as my warrior. You will come?"
Bradley shook his head. "I cannot, little Co-Tan," he answered. "My country needs me, and I must go back. Maybe someday I shall return. You will not forget me, Co-Tan?"
She looked at him in wide-eyed wonder. "You are going away from me?" she asked in a very small voice. "You are going away from Co-Tan?"
Bradley looked down upon the little bowed head. He felt the soft cheek against his bare arm; and he felt something else there too—hot drops of moisture that ran down to his very finger-tips and splashed, but each one wrung122 from a woman's heart.
He bent123 low and raised the tear-stained face to his own. "No, Co-Tan," he said, "I am not going away from you—for you are going with me. You are going back to my own country to be my wife. Tell me that you will, Co-Tan." And he bent still lower yet from his height and kissed her lips. Nor did he need more than the wonderful new light in her eyes to tell him that she would go to the end of the world with him if he would but take her. And then the gun-crew came up from below again to fire a signal shot, and the two were brought down from the high heaven of their new happiness to the scarred and weather-beaten deck of the U-33.
An hour later the vessel was running close in by a shore of wondrous124 beauty beside a parklike meadow that stretched back a mile inland to the foot of a plateau when Whitely called attention to a score of figures clambering downward from the elevation125 to the lowland below. The engines were reversed and the boat brought to a stop while all hands gathered on deck to watch the little party coming toward them across the meadow.
"They are Galus," cried Co-Tan; "they are my own people. Let me speak to them lest they think we come to fight them. Put me ashore126, my man, and I will go meet them."
The nose of the U-boat was run close in to the steep bank; but when Co-Tan would have run forward alone, Bradley seized her hand and held her back. "I will go with you, Co-Tan," he said; and together they advanced to meet the oncoming party.
There were about twenty warriors moving forward in a thin line, as our infantry127 advance as skirmishers. Bradley could not but notice the marked difference between this formation and the moblike methods of the lower tribes he had come in contact with, and he commented upon it to Co-Tan.
"Galu warriors always advance into battle thus," she said. "The lesser people remain in a huddled128 group where they can scarce use their weapons the while they present so big a mark to us that our spears and arrows cannot miss them; but when they hurl129 theirs at our warriors, if they miss the first man, there is no chance that they will kill some one behind him.
"Stand still now," she cautioned, "and fold your arms. They will not harm us then."
Bradley did as he was bid, and the two stood with arms folded as the line of warriors approached. When they had come within some fifty yards, they halted and one spoke. "Who are you and from whence do you come?" he asked; and then Co-Tan gave a little, glad cry and sprang forward with out-stretched arms.
"Oh, Tan!" she exclaimed. "Do you not know your little Co-Tan?"
The warrior stared, incredulous, for a moment, and then he, too, ran forward and when they met, took the girl in his arms. It was then that Bradley experienced to the full a sensation that was new to him—a sudden hatred130 for the strange warrior before him and a desire to kill without knowing why he would kill. He moved quickly to the girl's side and grasped her wrist.
"Who is this man?" he demanded in cold tones.
Co-Tan turned a surprised face toward the Englishman and then of a sudden broke forth89 into a merry peal131 of laughter. "This is my father, Brad-lee," she cried.
"And who is Brad-lee?" demanded the warrior.
"He is my man," replied Co-Tan simply.
"By what right?" insisted Tan.
And then she told him briefly of all that she had passed through since the Wieroos had stolen her and of how Bradley had rescued her and sought to rescue An-Tak, her brother.
"You are satisfied with him?" asked Tan.
"Yes," replied the girl proudly.
It was then that Bradley's attention was attracted to the edge of the plateau by a movement there, and looking closely he saw a horse bearing two figures sliding down the steep declivity132. Once at the bottom, the animal came charging across the meadowland at a rapid run. It was a magnificent animal—a great bay stallion with a white-blazed face and white forelegs to the knees, its barrel encircled by a broad surcingle of white; and as it came to a sudden stop beside Tan, the Englishman saw that it bore a man and a girl—a tall man and a girl as beautiful as Co-Tan. When the girl espied133 the latter, she slid from the horse and ran toward her, fairly screaming for joy.
The man dismounted and stood beside Tan. Like Bradley he was garbed134 after the fashion of the surrounding warriors; but there was a subtle difference between him and his companion. Possibly he detected a similar difference in Bradley, for his first question was, "From what country?" and though he spoke in Galu Bradley thought he detected an accent.
"England," replied Bradley.
A broad smile lighted the newcomer's face as he held out his hand. "I am Tom Billings of Santa Monica, California," he said. "I know all about you, and I'm mighty glad to find you alive."
"How did you get here?" asked Bradley. "I thought ours was the only party of men from the outer world ever to enter Caprona."
"It was, until we came in search of Bowen J. Tyler, Jr.," replied Billings. "We found him and sent him home with his bride; but I was kept a prisoner here."
Bradley's face darkened—then they were not among friends after all. "There are ten of us down there on a German sub with small-arms and a gun," he said quickly in English. "It will be no trick to get away from these people."
"You don't know my jailer," replied Billings, "or you'd not be so sure. Wait, I'll introduce you." And then turning to the girl who had accompanied him he called her by name. "Ajor," he said, "permit me to introduce Lieutenant Bradley; Lieutenant, Mrs. Billings—my jailer!"
The Englishman laughed as he shook hands with the girl. "You are not as good a soldier as I," he said to Billings. "Instead of being taken prisoner myself I have taken one—Mrs. Bradley, this is Mr. Billings."
Ajor, quick to understand, turned toward Co-Tan. "You are going back with him to his country?" she asked. Co-Tan admitted it.
"You dare?" asked Ajor. "But your father will not permit it—Jor, my father, High Chief of the Galus, will not permit it, for like me you are cos-ata-lo. Oh, Co-Tan, if we but could! How I would love to see all the strange and wonderful things of which my Tom tells me!"
Bradley bent and whispered in her ear. "Say the word and you may both go with us."
Billings heard and speaking in English, asked Ajor if she would go.
"Yes," she answered, "If you wish it; but you know, my Tom, that if Jor captures us, both you and Co-Tan's man will pay the penalty with your lives—not even his love for me nor his admiration135 for you can save you."
Bradley noticed that she spoke in English—broken English like Co-Tan's but equally appealing. "We can easily get you aboard the ship," he said, "on some pretext136 or other, and then we can steam away. They can neither harm nor detain us, nor will we have to fire a shot at them."
And so it was done, Bradley and Co-Tan taking Ajor and Billings aboard to "show" them the vessel, which almost immediately raised anchor and moved slowly out into the sea.
"I hate to do it," said Billings. "They have been fine to me. Jor and Tan are splendid men and they will think me an ingrate137; but I can't waste my life here when there is so much to be done in the outer world."
As they steamed down the inland sea past the island of Oo-oh, the stories of their adventures were retold, and Bradley learned that Bowen Tyler and his bride had left the Galu country but a fortnight before and that there was every reason to believe that the Toreador might still be lying in the Pacific not far off the subterranean138 mouth of the river which emitted Caprona's heated waters into the ocean.
Late in the second day, after running through swarms139 of hideous reptiles, they submerged at the point where the river entered beneath the cliffs and shortly after rose to the sunlit surface of the Pacific; but nowhere as far as they could see was sign of another craft. Down the coast they steamed toward the beach where Billings had made his crossing in the hydro-aeroplane and just at dusk the lookout140 announced a light dead ahead. It proved to be aboard the Toreador, and a half-hour later there was such a reunion on the deck of the trim little yacht as no one there had ever dreamed might be possible. Of the Allies there were only Tippet and James to be mourned, and no one mourned any of the Germans dead nor Benson, the traitor141, whose ugly story was first told in Bowen Tyler's manuscript.
Tyler and the rescue party had but just reached the yacht that afternoon. They had heard, faintly, the signal shots fired by the U-33 but had been unable to locate their direction and so had assumed that they had come from the guns of the Toreador.
It was a happy party that sailed north toward sunny, southern California, the old U-33 trailing in the wake of the Toreador and flying with the latter the glorious Stars and Stripes beneath which she had been born in the shipyard at Santa Monica. Three newly married couples, their bonds now duly solemnized by the master of the ship, joyed in the peace and security of the untracked waters of the south Pacific and the unique honeymoon142 which, had it not been for stern duty ahead, they could have wished protracted143 till the end of time.
And so they came one day to dock at the shipyard which Bowen Tyler now controlled, and here the U-33 still lies while those who passed so many eventful days within and because of her, have gone their various ways.
[Transcriber's note: I have made the following changes to the text:
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO
10 12 of or
14 19 of animals life of animals
31 26 is arms his arms
37 14 above this above his
37 23 Bradley, Bradley
54 18 man man
57 14 and of Oo-oh of Oo-oh
62 18 spend spent
63 31 and mumbled the mumbled
64 9 things thing
80 30 east cast
104 16 proaching proached
106 30 cos-at-lu cos-ata-lu
126 17 not artistic not an artistic
126 25 close below hands close below
130 1 internals intervals
132 9 than that
132 10 splashes splashed
134 3 know know not know]
The End
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1
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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2
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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3
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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4
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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5
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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6
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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7
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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8
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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9
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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10
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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11
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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12
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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13
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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14
volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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15
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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16
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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17
deter
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| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
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18
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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19
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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21
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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22
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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23
antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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24
rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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25
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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26
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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27
culled
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| v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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29
primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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30
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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31
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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32
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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33
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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34
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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35
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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36
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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37
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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38
reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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39
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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40
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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41
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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42
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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43
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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44
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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45
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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46
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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47
dinosaur
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| n.恐龙 | |
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48
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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49
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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50
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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51
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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52
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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53
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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54
perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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55
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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56
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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57
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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58
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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59
indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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60
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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61
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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62
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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63
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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64
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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65
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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66
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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67
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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68
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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69
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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70
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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71
crumple
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| v.把...弄皱，满是皱痕，压碎，崩溃 | |
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72
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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73
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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74
melee
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| n.混战；混战的人群 | |
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75
exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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76
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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77
exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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78
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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79
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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80
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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81
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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82
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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83
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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84
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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85
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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86
brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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87
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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88
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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89
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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90
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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91
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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92
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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93
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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94
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
cuffed
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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97
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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98
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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99
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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100
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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101
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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102
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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103
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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104
dissented
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| 不同意，持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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106
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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107
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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108
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 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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109
spawn
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| n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产 | |
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110
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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111
inception
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| n.开端，开始，取得学位 | |
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112
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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113
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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114
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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115
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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116
palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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117
belligerent
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| adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者 | |
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118
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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119
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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120
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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121
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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122
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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123
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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124
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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garbed
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| v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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ingrate
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| n.忘恩负义的人 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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