"But that is not even a hopper rumor3," he was protesting, breaking into his companion's flow of thought.
"No. But, remember, to the runners yesterday is very far away. One night is like another; they do not reckon time as we do, nor lay up memories for future[26] guidance. They left their native hunting grounds and are drifting south. And only a very great peril4 would lead the runners into such a break. It is against all their instincts!"
"So, long ago—which may be months, weeks, or just days—there came death out of the sea, and those who lived past its coming fled—" Dalgard repeated the scanty5 information Sssuri had won for them the night before by patient hour-long coaxing6. "What kind of death?"
Sssuri's great eyes, somber7 and a little tired, met his. "To us there is only one kind of death to be greatly feared."
"To be hunted down by snake-devils is death, yes. But it is a quick death, a death which can come to any living thing that is not swift or wary9 enough. For to the snake-devils all things that live and move are merely meat to fill the aching pit in their swollen10 bellies11. But there were in the old days other deaths, far worse than what one meets under a snake-devil's claws and fangs12. And those are the deaths we fear." He was running the smooth haft of his spear back and forth13 through his fingers as if testing the balance of the weapon because the time was not far away when he must rely upon it.
"Those Others!" Dalgard shaped the words with his lips as well as in his mind.
"Just so." Sssuri did not nod, but his thought was in complete agreement.
"Yet they have not come before—not since the ship of my fathers landed here," Dalgard protested, not against Sssuri's judgment14 but against the whole idea.
The merman got to his feet, sweeping15 his arm to indicate not only the cove2 where they now sheltered but the continent behind it.
"Once they held all this. Then they warred and killed, until but a handful lay in cover to lick their wounds[27] and wait. It has been many threes of seasons since they left that cover. But now they come again—to loot their place of secrets—Perhaps in the time past they have forgotten much so that now they must renew their knowledge."
Dalgard stowed the bow in the bottom of the outrigger. "I think we had better go and see," he commented, "so that we may report true tidings to our Elders—something more than rumors17 learned from night runners."
"That is so."
They paddled out to sea and turned the prow18 of the light craft north. The character of the land did not change. Cliffs still walled the coast, in some places rising sheer from the water, in others broken by a footing of coarse beach. Only flying things were to be sighted over their rocky crowns.
But by midday there was an abrupt19 alteration20 in the scene. A wide river cut through the heights and gave birth to a fan-shaped delta21 thickly covered with vegetation. Half hidden by the riot of growing things was a building of the dome23 shape Dalgard knew so well. Its windowless, doorless surface reflected the sunlight with a glassy sheen, and to casual inspection24 it was as untouched as it had been on the day its masters had either died within it or left it for the last time, perhaps centuries before.
"This is one way into the forbidden city," Sssuri announced. "Once they stationed guards here."
Dalgard had been about to suggest a closer inspection of the dome but that remark made him hesitate. If it had been one of the fortifications rimming25 in a forbidden ground, there was more than an even chance that unwary invaders26, even this long after, might stumble into some trap still working automatically.
"Do we go upriver?" He left it to Sssuri, who had the traditions of his people to guide him, to make the decision.
The merman looked at the dome; it was evident[28] from his attitude that he had no wish to examine it more closely. "They had machines which fought for them, and sometimes those machines still fight. This river is the natural entrance for an enemy. Therefore it would have been well defended."
Under the sun the green reach of the delta had a most peaceful appearance. There was a family of duck-dogs fishing from the beach, scooping27 their broad bills into the mud to locate water worms. And moth28 birds danced in the air currents overhead. Yet Dalgard was ready to agree with his companion—beware the easy way. They dipped their paddles deep and cut across the river current toward the cliffs to the north.
Two days of steady coastwise traveling brought them to a great bay. And Dalgard gasped29 as the full sight of the port confronting them burst into view.
Tiers of ledges30 had been cut and blasted in the native rock, extending from the sea back into the land in a series of giant steps. Each of them was covered with buildings, and here the ancient war had left its mark. The rock itself had been brought to a bubbling boil and sent in now-frozen rivers down that stairway in a half-dozen places, overwhelming all structures in its path, and leaving crystallized streams to reflect the sun blindingly.
"So this is your secret city!"
But Sssuri shook his round head. "This is but the sea entrance to the country," he corrected. "Here struck the day of fire, and we need not fear the machines which doubtless lie in wait elsewhere."
They beached the outrigger and hid it in the shell of one of the ruined buildings on the lowest level. Dalgard sent out a questing thought, hoping to contact a hopper or even a duck-dog. But seemingly the ruins were bare of animal life, as was true in most of the other towns and cities he had explored in the past. The fauna31 of Astra was shy of any holding built by Those Others, no matter how long it may have been left to the wind, and cleansing32 rain.[29]
With difficulty and detours33 to avoid the rivers of once-molten rock, they made their way slowly from ledge16 to ledge up that giant's staircase, not stopping to explore any of the buildings as they passed. There was a taint34 of alien age about the city which repelled35 Dalgard, and he was eager to get out of it into the clean countryside once more. Sssuri sped on silent feet, his shoulders hunched36, his distaste for the structures to be read in every line of his supple37 body.
When they reached the top, Dalgard turned to gaze down to the restless sea. What a prospect38! Perhaps Those Others had built thus for reasons of defense39, but surely they, too, must have paused now and then to be proud of such a feat40. It was the most impressive site he had yet seen, and his report of it would be a worthy41 addition to the Homeport records.
A road ran straight from the top of the stair, stabbing inland without taking any notice of the difficulties of the terrain42, after the usual arrogant43 manner of the alien engineers. But Sssuri did not follow it. Instead he struck off to the left, avoiding that easy path, choosing to cross through tangles44 which had once been gardens or through open fields.
They were well out of the sight of the city before they flushed their first hopper, a full-grown adult with oddly pale fur. Instead of displaying the usual fearless interest in strangers, the animal took one swift look at them and fled as if a snake-devil had snorted at its thumping45 heels. And Dalgard received a sharp impression of terror, as if the hopper saw in him some frightening menace.
The hoppers could be pests. They stole any small bright object which aroused their interest. But they could also be persuaded to trade, and they usually had no fear of either colonist47 or merman.
Sssuri's furred face might not convey much emotion, but by all the signs Dalgard could read he knew that[30] the merman was as startled as he by the strange behavior of the grass dweller48.
Those who walk erect—Dalgard was quick to interpret that.
He knew that Those Others were biped, quasi-human in form, closer in physical appearance to the colonists50 than to the mermen. And since none of Dalgard's people had penetrated51 this far to the north, nor had the mermen invaded this taboo52 territory until Sssuri had agreed to come, that left only the aliens. Those strange people whom the colonists feared without knowing why they feared them, whom the mermen hated with a hatred53 which had not lessened54 with the years of freedom. The faint rumor carried by the migrating runners must be true, for here was a hopper afraid of bipeds. And it must have been recently provided with a reason for such fear, since hoppers' memories were very short and such terror would have faded from its mind in a matter of weeks.
Sssuri halted in a patch of grass which reached to his waist belt. "It is best to wait until the hours of dark."
But Dalgard could not agree. "Better for you with your night sight," he objected, "but I do not have your eyes in my head."
Sssuri had to admit the justice of that. He could travel under the moonless sky as sure-footed as under broad sunlight. But to guide a blundering Dalgard through unknown country was not practical. However, they could take to cover and that they did as speedily as possible, using a zigzag55 tactic56 which delayed their advance but took them from one bit of protecting brush or grove57 of trees to the next, keeping to the fields well away from the road.
They camped that night without fire in a pocket near a spring. And while Dalgard was alert to all about them, he knew that Sssuri was mind questing[31] in a far wider circle, trying to contact a hopper, a runner, any animal that could answer in part the inquiries58 they had. When Dalgard could no longer hold open weary eyes, his last waking memory was that of his companion sitting statue-still, his spear across his knees, his head leaning a trifle forward as if what he listened to was as vocal59 as the hum of night insects.
When the colony scout roused in the morning, his companion was stretched full length on the other side of the spring, but his head came up as Dalgard moved.
"We may go forward without fear," he shaped the assurance. "What has troubled this land has gone."
"A long time ago?"
Dalgard was not surprised at Sssuri's negative answer. "Within days they have been here. But they have gone once more. It will be wise for us to learn what they wanted here."
"Have they come to establish a base here once more?" Dalgard brought into the open the one threat which had hung over his own clan60 since they first learned that a few of Those Others still lived—even if overseas.
"If that is their plan, they have not yet done it." Sssuri rolled over on his back and stretched. He had lost that tenseness of a hound in leash61 which had marked him the night before. "This was one of their secret places, holding much of their knowledge. They may return here on quest for that learning."
All at once Dalgard was conscious of a sense of urgency. Suppose that what Sssuri suggested was the truth, that Those Others were attempting to recover the skills which had brought on the devastating62 war that had turned this whole eastern continent into a wilderness63? Equipped with even the crumbs64 of such discoveries, they would be enemies against which the Terran colonists could not hope to stand. The few weapons their outlaw65 ancestors had brought with them on their desperate flight to the stars were long since useless, and they had had no way of duplicating them.[32] Since childhood Dalgard had seen no arms except the bows and the sword-knives carried by all venturing away from Homeport. And what use would a bow or a foot or two of sharpened metal be against things which could kill from a distance or turn rock itself into a flowing, molten river?
He was impatient to move on, to reach this city of forgotten knowledge which Sssuri was sure lay before them. Perhaps the colonists could draw upon what was stored there as well as Those Others could.
Then he remembered—not only remembered but was corrected by Sssuri. "Think not of taking their weapons into your hands." Sssuri did not look up as he gave that warning. "Long ago your fathers' fathers knew that the knowledge of Those Others was not for their taking."
A dimly remembered story, a warning impressed upon him during his first guided trips into the ruins near Homeport flashed into Dalgard's mind. Yes, he knew that some things had been forbidden to his kind. For one, it was best not to examine too closely the bands of color patterns which served Those Others as a means of written record. Tapes of the aliens' records had been found and stored at Homeport. But not one of the colonists had ventured to try to break the color code and learn what lay locked in those bands. Once long ago such an experiment had led to the brink66 of disaster, and such delvings were now considered too dangerous to be allowed.
But there was no harm in visiting this city, and certainly he must make some report to the Council about what might be taking place here, especially if Those Others were in residence or visited the site.
Sssuri still kept to the fields, avoiding the highway, until mid-morning, and then he made an abrupt turn and brought them out on the soil-drifted surface of the road. The land here was seemingly deserted67. No moth birds performed their air ballets overhead, and they did not see a single hopper. That is, they did[33] not until the road dipped before them and they started down into a cupped hollow filled with buildings. The river, whose delta they had earlier seen, made a half loop about the city, lacing it in. And here were no signs of the warfare68 which had ruined the port.
But in the middle of the road lay a bloody69 bunch of fur and splintered bone, insects busy about it. Sssuri used the point of his spear to straighten out the small corpse70, displaying its headlessness. And before they reached the outer buildings of the city they found four more hoppers all mangled71.
"Not a snake-devil," Dalgard deduced. As far as he knew only the huge reptiles72 or their smaller flying-dragon cousins preyed75 upon animals. But a snake-devil would have left no remains76 of anything as small as a hopper, one mouthful which could not satisfy its gnawing77 hunger. And a flying dragon would have picked the bones clean.
"Them!" Sssuri's reply was clipped. "They hunt for sport."
Dalgard felt a little sick. To his mind, hoppers were to be treated with friendship. Only against the snake-devils and the flying dragons were the colonists ever at war. No wonder that hopper had run from them back on the plain during yesterday's journey!
The buildings before them were not the rounded domes78 of the isolated79 farms, but a series of upward-pointing shafts80. They walked through a tall gap which must have supported a now-disappeared barrier gate, and their passing was signaled by a whispering sound as they shuffled81 through the loose sand and soil drifted there in a miniature dune82.
This city was in a better state of preservation83 than any Dalgard had previously84 visited. But he had no desire to enter any of the gaping85 doorways86. It was as if the city rejected him and his kind, as if to the past that brooded here he was no more than a curious hopper or a fluttering, short-lived moth bird.
"Old—old and with wisdom hidden in it—" he caught[34] the trail of thought from Sssuri. And he was certain that the merman was no more at ease here than he himself was.
As the street they followed brought them into an open space surrounded by more imposing87 buildings, they made another discovery which blotted88 out all thoughts of forbidden knowledge and awakened89 them to a more normal and everyday danger.
A fountain, which no longer played but gave birth to a crooked90 stream of water, was in the center. And in the muddy verge91 of the stream, pressed deep, was the fresh track of a snake-devil. Almost full grown, Dalgard estimated, measuring the print with his fingers. Sssuri pivoted92 slowly, studying the circle of buildings about them.
"An hour—maybe two—" Dalgard gave a hunter's verdict on the age of the print. He, too, eyed those buildings. To meet a snake-devil in the open was one thing, to play hide-and-seek with the cunning monster in a warren such as this was something else again. He hoped that the reptile73 had been heading for the open, but he doubted it. This mass of buildings would provide just the type of shelter which would appeal to it for a lair93. And snake-devils did not den22 alone!
"Try by the river," Sssuri gave advice. Like Dalgard, he accepted the necessity of the chase. No intelligent creature ever lost the chance to kill a snake-devil when fortune offered it. And he and the scout had hunted together on such trails before. Now they slipped into familiar roles from long practice.
They took a route which should lead them to the river, and within a matter of yards, came across evidence proving that the merman had guessed correctly; a second claw print was pressed deep in a patch of drifted soil.
Here the buildings were of a new type, windowless, perhaps storehouses. But what pleased Dalgard most was the fact that most of them showed tightly[35] closed doors. There was no chance for their prey74 to lurk94 in wait.
"We should smell it." Sssuri picked that worry out of the scout's mind and had a ready answer for it.
Sure—they should smell the lair; nothing could cloak the horrible odor of a snake-devil's home. Dalgard sniffed95 vigorously as he padded along. Though odd smells clung to the strange buildings none of them were actively96 obnoxious—yet.
"River—"
There was the river at the end of the way they had been following, a way which ended in a wharf97 built out over the oily flow of water. Blank walls were on either side. If the snake-devil had come this way, he had found no hiding place.
"Across the river—"
Dalgard gave a resigned grunt98. For some reason he disliked the thought of swimming that stream, of having his skin laved by the turgid water with its brown sheen.
"There is no need to swim."
Dalgard's gaze followed Sssuri's pointing finger. But what he saw bobbing up and down, pulled a little downstream by the current, did not particularly reassure99 him. It was manifestly a boat, but the form was as alien as the city around them.
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1
waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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7
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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12
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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rimming
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| n.（沸腾钢）结壳沸腾作用 | |
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invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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scooping
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| n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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detours
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| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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41
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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42
terrain
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| n.地面，地形，地图 | |
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43
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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44
tangles
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| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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46
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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47
colonist
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| n.殖民者，移民 | |
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dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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51
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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52
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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53
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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54
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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55
zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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56
tactic
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| n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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outlaw
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| n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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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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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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pivoted
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| adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开 | |
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lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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lurk
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| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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97
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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98
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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