Latest / Daily Classic Science Fiction Books / 05 - Out of Time's Abyss - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Transcript

05 - Out of Time's Abyss - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Daily Classic Science Fiction Books

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter five days became weeks, and weeks became months, and
0:05
Speaker 1: the months followed one another in a lazy procession of hot,
0:09
Speaker 1: humid days and warm, humid nights. The fugitives never saw
0:14
Speaker 1: a whiru by day, though often at night they heard
0:17
Speaker 1: the melancholy flapping of giant wings far above them. Each
0:22
Speaker 1: day was much like its predecessor. Bradley splashed about for
0:26
Speaker 1: a few minutes in the cold pool early each morning,
0:29
Speaker 1: and after a time the girl tried it and lighted
0:32
Speaker 1: it toward the center. It was deep enough for swimming,
0:35
Speaker 1: and so he tottered to swim. She was probably the
0:38
Speaker 1: first human being in all cast backs long ages who
0:42
Speaker 1: had done this thing. And then while she prepared breakfast,
0:46
Speaker 1: the man shaved. This he never neglected at first. It
0:50
Speaker 1: was a source of wonderment to the girl, for the
0:52
Speaker 1: gallow men are beardless. When they needed meat, he hunted. Otherwise,
0:57
Speaker 1: he busied himself in improving their shelter, making new and
1:01
Speaker 1: better weapons, perfecting his knowledge of the girl's language, and
1:05
Speaker 1: teaching her to speak and to write English, anything that
1:09
Speaker 1: would keep them both occupied. He still sought new plans
1:13
Speaker 1: for escape, but with ever lessening enthusiasm. Since each new
1:17
Speaker 1: scheme presented some insurmountable obstacle, and then one day, as
1:22
Speaker 1: a bolt out of a clear sky, came that which
1:26
Speaker 1: blasted the peace and security of their sanctuary forever. Bradley
1:31
Speaker 1: was just emerging from the water after his morning plunge
1:34
Speaker 1: when from overhead came the sound of flapping wings. Glancing
1:38
Speaker 1: quickly up, the man saw a white robe weru circling
1:42
Speaker 1: slowly above him that he had been discovered. He could
1:45
Speaker 1: not doubt, since the creature even dropped to a lower altitude,
1:49
Speaker 1: as though to assure itself that what it saw was
1:52
Speaker 1: a man. Then it rose rapidly and winged away toward
1:56
Speaker 1: the city. For two days, Bradley and the girl lived
1:59
Speaker 1: in a constant state of apprehension, awaiting the moment when
2:03
Speaker 1: the hunters would come for them. But nothing happened until
2:07
Speaker 1: just after dawn of the third day, when the flapping
2:10
Speaker 1: of wings apprised them of the approach of wirus. Together
2:14
Speaker 1: they went to the edge of the wood and looked
2:16
Speaker 1: up to see five red rogue creatures dropping slowly in
2:20
Speaker 1: ever lessening spirals toward their little amphitheater. With no attempt
2:25
Speaker 1: at concealment. They came sure of their ability to overwhelm
2:29
Speaker 1: these two fugitives, and with the fullest measure of self confidence,
2:33
Speaker 1: they landed in the clearing, but a few yards from
2:36
Speaker 1: the man and the girl. Following a plan already discussed,
2:40
Speaker 1: Bradley and the girl retreated slowly into the woods. The
2:44
Speaker 1: wiirus advanced, calling upon them to give themselves up, but
2:48
Speaker 1: the quarry made no reply. Farther and farther into the
2:52
Speaker 1: little wood, Bradley led the hunters, permitting them to approach
2:55
Speaker 1: even closer. Then he circled back again toward the clearing,
3:00
Speaker 1: evidently to the great delight of the wirus, who now
3:03
Speaker 1: followed more leisurely, awaiting the moment when they should be
3:06
Speaker 1: beyond the trees. Unable to use their wings, they had
3:11
Speaker 1: opened into semi circular formation. Now with the evident intention
3:16
Speaker 1: of cutting the two off from returning into the wood.
3:19
Speaker 1: Each Whiru advanced with his curved blade ready in his hand,
3:24
Speaker 1: each hideous face blank and expressionless. It was then that
3:28
Speaker 1: Bradley opened fire with his pistol, three shots, aimed with
3:32
Speaker 1: careful deliberation, for it had been long since he had
3:35
Speaker 1: used the weapon, and he could not afford the chance
3:38
Speaker 1: wasting ammunition on missus. At each shot, a whiru dropped,
3:43
Speaker 1: and then the remaining two sought escape by flight, screaming
3:46
Speaker 1: and wailing, after the manner of their kind. When a
3:49
Speaker 1: wiru runs, his wings spread almost without any volition upon
3:53
Speaker 1: his part. Since from time immemorial he has always used
3:57
Speaker 1: them to balance himself and accelerate his running speed, so
4:01
Speaker 1: that in the open they appeared to skim the surface
4:04
Speaker 1: of the ground when in the act of running. But
4:06
Speaker 1: here in the woods, among the close set bulls, the
4:10
Speaker 1: spreading of their wings proved their undoing. It hindered and
4:13
Speaker 1: stopped them, and threw them to the ground. And then
4:16
Speaker 1: Bradley was upon them, threatening them with instant death if
4:20
Speaker 1: they did not surrender, promising them their freedom if they
4:23
Speaker 1: did his bidding. As you have seen, He cried, I
4:27
Speaker 1: can kill you when I wish, and at a distance
4:30
Speaker 1: you cannot escape me. Your only hope of life lies
4:33
Speaker 1: in obedience, quick, or I kill the Weirarus stopped and
4:38
Speaker 1: faced him. What do you want of us, asked one,
4:42
Speaker 1: Throw aside your weapons, Bradley commanded. After a moment's hesitation,
4:46
Speaker 1: they obeyed. Now approach a great plan. The only plan
4:51
Speaker 1: had suddenly come to him like an inspiration. The weirus
4:55
Speaker 1: came closer and halted at his command. Bradley turned to
4:58
Speaker 1: the girl. There there was a rope in the shelter,
5:01
Speaker 1: he said, fetch it. She did as he bid, and
5:04
Speaker 1: then he directed her to fasten one end of a
5:06
Speaker 1: fifty foot length to the ankle of one of the weareros,
5:10
Speaker 1: and the opposite end to the second. The creatures gave
5:13
Speaker 1: evidence of great fear, but they dared not attempt to
5:16
Speaker 1: prevent the act. Now go out into the clearing, said Bradley,
5:20
Speaker 1: and remember that I am walking close behind, and that
5:23
Speaker 1: I will shoot the nearer one should either attempt to escape.
5:27
Speaker 1: That will hold the other until I can kill him
5:30
Speaker 1: as well. In the open, he halted them. The girl
5:33
Speaker 1: will get upon the back of the one in front,
5:36
Speaker 1: announced the Englishman. I will mount the other. She carries
5:40
Speaker 1: a sharp blade, and I carry this weapon that you
5:43
Speaker 1: now kills easily at a distance. If you disobey in
5:47
Speaker 1: the slightest the instructions that I am about to give you,
5:50
Speaker 1: you shall both die. That we must die with You
5:53
Speaker 1: will not deter us. If you obey, I promise to
5:56
Speaker 1: set you free without harming you. You will carry us
6:00
Speaker 1: due west depositing us upon the shore of the mainland.
6:04
Speaker 1: That is all. It is the price of your lives.
6:07
Speaker 1: Do you agree? Sullenly the wirus acquiesced. Bradley examined the
6:13
Speaker 1: knots that held the rope to their ankles, and, feeling
6:16
Speaker 1: them secure, directed the girl to mount the back of
6:19
Speaker 1: the leading whiru, himself upon the other. Then he gave
6:23
Speaker 1: the signal for the two to rise. Together with loud
6:27
Speaker 1: flapping of the powerful wings, the creatures took to the air,
6:31
Speaker 1: circling once before they topped the trees upon the hill,
6:34
Speaker 1: and then taking a course due west out over the
6:37
Speaker 1: waters of the sea. Nowhere about them could Bradley see
6:41
Speaker 1: signs of other whirus, nor of those other menaces which
6:45
Speaker 1: he had feared might bring disaster to his plans for escape.
6:48
Speaker 1: The huge winged reptilia that are so numerous above the
6:52
Speaker 1: southern areas of Caspack, and which are often seen, though
6:55
Speaker 1: in lesser numbers, farther north, nearer and nearer whom the mainland.
7:01
Speaker 1: A broad park like expanse stretching inland to the foot
7:05
Speaker 1: of a low plateau spread out before them. The little
7:08
Speaker 1: dots in the foreground became grazing herds of deer and
7:12
Speaker 1: antelope and boss a huge wooly rhinoceros wallowed in a
7:16
Speaker 1: mud hole. To the right and beyond, a mighty mammoth
7:19
Speaker 1: culled the tender shoots from a tall tree. The roars
7:23
Speaker 1: and screams and growls of giant carnivora came faintly to
7:27
Speaker 1: their ears. Ah, this was cast back, with all its
7:31
Speaker 1: dangers and its primal savagery. It brought a fullness to
7:34
Speaker 1: the throat of the Englishman, as to one who sees
7:37
Speaker 1: and hears the familiar sights and sounds of home after
7:41
Speaker 1: a long absence. Then the wearoos dropped swiftly downward to
7:45
Speaker 1: the flower starred turf that grew almost to the water's edge.
7:49
Speaker 1: The fugitives slipped from their backs, and Bradley told the
7:52
Speaker 1: red robe creatures they were free to go. When he
7:55
Speaker 1: had cut the ropes from their ankles. They rose with
7:58
Speaker 1: that uncanny wailing of upon their lips that always brought
8:01
Speaker 1: a shudder to the Englishman, and upon dismal wings they
8:05
Speaker 1: flapped away toward frightful ou O. When the creatures had gone,
8:10
Speaker 1: the girl turned toward Bradley, Why did you have them
8:13
Speaker 1: bring us here? She asked. Now we are far from
8:16
Speaker 1: my country. We may never live to reach it, as
8:19
Speaker 1: we are among enemies who, while not so horrible, will
8:23
Speaker 1: kill us just as surely as would the weirus should
8:25
Speaker 1: they capture us. And we have before us many marches
8:29
Speaker 1: through lands filled with savage beasts. There were two reasons,
8:33
Speaker 1: replied Bradley. You told me that there are two Weiru
8:37
Speaker 1: cities at the eastern end of the island. To have
8:40
Speaker 1: passed near either of them might have been to have
8:42
Speaker 1: brought about our heads hundreds of the creatures from whom
8:45
Speaker 1: we could not possibly have escaped. Again, my friends must
8:50
Speaker 1: be near this spot. It cannot be over two marches
8:53
Speaker 1: to the fort of which I have told you. It
8:56
Speaker 1: is my duty to return to them. If they still live,
8:59
Speaker 1: we shall find away to return you to your people.
9:02
Speaker 1: And you asked the girl, I escape from ou, oh,
9:06
Speaker 1: replied Bradley. I have accomplished the impossible once, and so
9:10
Speaker 1: I shall accomplish it again. I shall escape from cast back.
9:16
Speaker 1: He was not looking at her face as he answered her,
9:19
Speaker 1: and so he did not see the shadow of sorrow
9:22
Speaker 1: that crossed her countenance. When he raised his eyes again,
9:25
Speaker 1: she was smiling. What you wish, I wish, said the girl.
9:31
Speaker 1: Southward along the coast, they made their way, following the
9:34
Speaker 1: beach where the walking was best, but always keeping close
9:38
Speaker 1: enough to trees to insure sanctuary from the beasts and
9:41
Speaker 1: reptiles that so often menaced them. It was late in
9:45
Speaker 1: the afternoon when the girl suddenly seized Bradley's arm and
9:49
Speaker 1: pointed straight ahead along the shore. What is that, she whispered,
9:53
Speaker 1: What strange reptile is it? Bradley looked in the direction
9:57
Speaker 1: her slim forefinger indicated. He rubbed his eyes and looked again,
10:02
Speaker 1: and then he seized her wrist and drew her quickly
10:05
Speaker 1: behind a clump of bushes. What is it, she asked.
10:09
Speaker 1: It is the most frightful reptile that the waters of
10:12
Speaker 1: the world have ever known. He replied, It is a
10:15
Speaker 1: German u boat. An expression of amazement and understanding lighted
10:20
Speaker 1: her features. It is the thing of which you told me,
10:24
Speaker 1: she exclaimed, The thing that swims under the water and
10:27
Speaker 1: carries men in its belly. It is, replied Bradley. Then
10:32
Speaker 1: why do you hide from it, asked the girl. You
10:35
Speaker 1: said that now it belonged to your friends. Many months
10:39
Speaker 1: have passed since I knew what was going on among
10:41
Speaker 1: my friends, he replied, I cannot know what has befallen them.
10:46
Speaker 1: They should have been gone from here in this vessel
10:49
Speaker 1: long since, and so I cannot understand why it is
10:52
Speaker 1: still here. I am going to investigate first before I
10:56
Speaker 1: show myself. When I left, there were more Germans on
10:59
Speaker 1: the youth thirty three than there were men of my
11:01
Speaker 1: own party at the fort, and I have had sufficient
11:04
Speaker 1: experience of Germans to know that they will bear watching
11:08
Speaker 1: if they have not been properly watched since I left.
11:12
Speaker 1: Making their way through a fringe of wood that grew
11:15
Speaker 1: a few yards inland, the two crept unseen toward the
11:18
Speaker 1: U boat, which lay moored to the shore at a
11:21
Speaker 1: point which Bradley now recognized as being near the oil
11:24
Speaker 1: pool north of Dinosaur. As close as possible to the vessel,
11:29
Speaker 1: they halted, crouching low among the dense vegetation, and watched
11:33
Speaker 1: the boat for signs of human life about it. The
11:37
Speaker 1: hatches were closed, no one could be seen or heard
11:41
Speaker 1: for five minutes. Bradley watched, and then he determined to
11:44
Speaker 1: board the submarine and investigate. He had risen to carry
11:49
Speaker 1: his decision into effect when there suddenly broke upon his ear,
11:53
Speaker 1: uttered in loud and menacing tones, a volley of German
11:56
Speaker 1: oaths and expletives, among which he heard England and if
12:00
Speaker 1: a Swaine Hundat repeated several times. The voice did not
12:04
Speaker 1: come from the direction of the Eu Bolt, but from Inland.
12:09
Speaker 1: Creeping forward, Bradley reached a spot where through the creepers
12:13
Speaker 1: hanging from the trees, he could see a party of
12:15
Speaker 1: men coming down toward the shore. He saw Baron Friedrich
12:19
Speaker 1: Bonchuenboarts and six of his men, all armed, while marching
12:24
Speaker 1: in a little knot Among them were Oltsen, Brady, Sinclair, Wilson,
12:29
Speaker 1: and Whiteley. Bradley knew nothing of the disappearance of Bowen,
12:33
Speaker 1: Tyler and Miss LaRue, nor of the perfidy of the
12:37
Speaker 1: Germans in shelling the fort and attempting to escape in
12:40
Speaker 1: the U thirty three, but he was in no way
12:43
Speaker 1: surprised at what he saw before him. The little party
12:47
Speaker 1: came slowly onward, the prisoners staggering beneath heavy cans of oil,
12:52
Speaker 1: while Schwartz, one of the German non commissioned officers, cursed
12:56
Speaker 1: and beat them with a stick of wood, impartially Bonschuen
13:00
Speaker 1: walked in the rear of the column, encouraging Schwartz and
13:03
Speaker 1: laughing at the discomfiture of the Britishers. Deets, Hints, and
13:08
Speaker 1: Clots also seemed to enjoy the entertainment immensely. But two
13:12
Speaker 1: of the men, Plesser and Hindle, marched with eyes straight
13:16
Speaker 1: to the front and with scowling faces. Bradley felt his
13:20
Speaker 1: blood boil at sight of the cowardly indignities being heaped
13:24
Speaker 1: upon his men, and in the brief span of time
13:27
Speaker 1: occupied by the column to come abreast of where he
13:30
Speaker 1: lay hidden. He made his plans foolhardy though he knew them.
13:34
Speaker 1: Then he drew the girl close to him. Stay here,
13:38
Speaker 1: he whispered, I am going out to fight those beasts,
13:41
Speaker 1: but I shall be killed. Do not let them see you,
13:45
Speaker 1: Do not let them take you alive. They are more cruel,
13:48
Speaker 1: more cowardly, more beastill than the wearer's. The girl pressed
13:53
Speaker 1: close to him, her face very white. Go if that
13:56
Speaker 1: is right, she whispered. But if you die, I'll die,
14:01
Speaker 1: for I cannot live without you. He looked sharply into
14:04
Speaker 1: her eyes. Oh, he ejaculated, What an idiot I've been?
14:10
Speaker 1: Nor could I live without you, little girl, and he
14:14
Speaker 1: drew her very close and kissed her lips good bye.
14:18
Speaker 1: He disengaged himself from her arms and looked again in
14:21
Speaker 1: time to see that the rear of the column had
14:24
Speaker 1: just passed him. Then he rose and leaped quickly and
14:28
Speaker 1: silently from the jungle. Suddenly, bonchuen Borts felt an arm
14:32
Speaker 1: thrown about his neck, and his pistol jerked from its holster.
14:36
Speaker 1: He gave a cry of fright and warning, and his
14:39
Speaker 1: men turned to see a half naked white man holding
14:41
Speaker 1: their leader securely from behind and aiming a pistol at
14:45
Speaker 1: them over his shoulder. Drop those guns came in short,
14:49
Speaker 1: sharp syllables and perfect German from the lips of the newcomer.
14:53
Speaker 1: Dropped them, or I'll put a bullet through the back
14:55
Speaker 1: of Bonschuenbort's head. The Germans hesitated for a moment, looking
15:00
Speaker 1: first toward von Schoenbort's and then to Schwartz, who was
15:03
Speaker 1: evidently second in command for orders. It's the English pig, Bradley,
15:08
Speaker 1: shouted the latter, and he's alone. Go and get him.
15:12
Speaker 1: Go yourself, growled Plesser. Hindle moved close to the side
15:16
Speaker 1: of Plesser and whispered something to him. The latter nodded. Suddenly,
15:20
Speaker 1: Von Schoenbortz wheeled about and seized Bradley's pistol arm with
15:24
Speaker 1: both hands. Now, he shouted, come and take him quick.
15:29
Speaker 1: Schwartz and three others leaped forward, but Plesser and Hindel
15:32
Speaker 1: held back, looking questioningly toward the English prisoners. Then Plesser spoke,
15:39
Speaker 1: Now he's your chance, Englander. He called in lowtons, seize
15:42
Speaker 1: Hindle and me and take our guns from us. The
15:45
Speaker 1: will not fight hard. Olson and Brady were not long
15:49
Speaker 1: in acting upon the suggestion they had seen enough of
15:52
Speaker 1: the brutal treatment Von Schoenbortz accorded his men and the
15:56
Speaker 1: especially venomous attentions he had taken great enjoyment, and, according
16:00
Speaker 1: Plesser and Hindel to understand that these two might be
16:03
Speaker 1: sincere in a desire for revenge. In another moment, the
16:08
Speaker 1: two Germans were unarmed, and Olson and Brady were running
16:11
Speaker 1: to the support of Bradley. But already it seemed too late.
16:16
Speaker 1: Bonschu and Bortz had managed to drag the Englishman around
16:19
Speaker 1: so that his back was toward Schwartz and the other
16:22
Speaker 1: advancing Germans. Schwartz was almost upon Bradley with gun clubbed
16:27
Speaker 1: and ready to smash down upon the Englishman's skull. Brady
16:31
Speaker 1: and Olsen were charging the Germans in the rear, with Wilson,
16:34
Speaker 1: Whitely and Sinclair supporting them with bare fists. It seemed
16:39
Speaker 1: that Bradley was doomed when apparently out of space, an
16:42
Speaker 1: arrow whizzed, striking Schwartz in the side, passing half way
16:46
Speaker 1: through his body to crumple him to the earth with
16:49
Speaker 1: a shriek. The man fell, and at the same time
16:52
Speaker 1: Oltsen and Brady saw the slim figure of a young
16:55
Speaker 1: girl standing at the edge of the jungle, coolly fitting
16:58
Speaker 1: another arrow to her bull. Bradley had now succeeded in
17:03
Speaker 1: wrestling his arm free from Bonschfuenwert's grip and in dropping
17:07
Speaker 1: the latter with a blow from the butt of his pistol.
17:10
Speaker 1: The rest of the English and Germans were engaged in
17:12
Speaker 1: a hand to hand encounter. Plesser and Hindel, standing aside
17:17
Speaker 1: from the Meili and urging their comrades to surrender and
17:20
Speaker 1: join with the English against the tyranny of Bonchuendort's hints
17:25
Speaker 1: and clots, possibly influenced by their exhortation, were putting up
17:29
Speaker 1: but a half hearted resistance, but deets. A huge bearded
17:33
Speaker 1: bullneck Prussian, yelling like a maniac, sought to exterminate the
17:38
Speaker 1: English fine hind with his bayonet, fearing to fire his
17:42
Speaker 1: peace lest he kill some of his comrades. It was
17:45
Speaker 1: Oltsen who engaged him, and though unused to the long
17:49
Speaker 1: German rifle and bayonet, he met the bulrush of the
17:52
Speaker 1: hun with the cold, cruel precision and science of English
17:56
Speaker 1: bayonet fighting. There was no fainting, nor retiring, and no
18:00
Speaker 1: parrying that was not also an attack. Bayonet fighting to
18:04
Speaker 1: day is not a pretty thing to see. It is
18:07
Speaker 1: not an artistic fencing match in which men give and take.
18:11
Speaker 1: It is slaughter, inevitable and quickly over deats lunged once
18:16
Speaker 1: madly at Oltson's throat. A short point, with just a
18:20
Speaker 1: twist of the bayonet to the left, sent the sharp
18:22
Speaker 1: blade over the Englishman's left shoulder. Instantly, he stepped close in,
18:27
Speaker 1: dropped his rifle through his hands and grasped it with
18:30
Speaker 1: both hands close below the muzzle, and with a short
18:33
Speaker 1: sharp jab, sent his blade up beneath each's chin to
18:36
Speaker 1: the brain. So quickly was a thing done and so
18:40
Speaker 1: quick the withdrawal that Oltson had wheeled to take on
18:43
Speaker 1: another adversary before the German's corpse had toppled to the ground.
18:48
Speaker 1: But there were no more adversaries to take on. Hindes
18:51
Speaker 1: and Clocks had thrown down their rifles, and with hands
18:54
Speaker 1: above their heads were crying comorade comrade at the tops
18:59
Speaker 1: of their voices. Bon Schuenborg still lay where he had fallen.
19:03
Speaker 1: Klesser and Hindel were explaining to Bradley that they were
19:06
Speaker 1: glad of the outcome of the fight, as they could
19:09
Speaker 1: no longer endure the brutality of the U boat commander.
19:13
Speaker 1: The remainder of the men were looking at the girl,
19:15
Speaker 1: who now advanced slowly, her bow ready. When Bradley turned
19:20
Speaker 1: toward her and held out his hand, Kotan, he said,
19:24
Speaker 1: unstring your bow. These are my friends and yours. And
19:28
Speaker 1: to the Englishman, this is Kotan, You who saw her
19:32
Speaker 1: save me from swartz, know a part of what I
19:35
Speaker 1: owe her. The rough men gathered about the girl, and
19:39
Speaker 1: when she spoke to the men, broken English, with a
19:42
Speaker 1: smile upon her lips, enhancing the charm of her irresistible accent,
19:47
Speaker 1: Each and every one of them promptly fell in love
19:49
Speaker 1: with her and constituted himself henceforth her guardian and her slave.
19:54
Speaker 1: A moment later, the attention of each was called to
19:57
Speaker 1: Plesser by a volley of invecti. They turned in time
20:01
Speaker 1: to see the man running toward von Schuenbort's who was
20:04
Speaker 1: just rising from the ground. Plesser carried a rifle with
20:08
Speaker 1: bayonet fixed that he had snatched from the side of
20:11
Speaker 1: Deet's corps. Von Schuenbort's face was livid with fear, his
20:16
Speaker 1: jaws working as though he would call for help, but
20:19
Speaker 1: no sound came from his blue lips. You struck me,
20:23
Speaker 1: shrieked Plesser, once twice, three times. You struck me pig.
20:29
Speaker 1: You murdered Ferk. You drove him insane by your cruelty,
20:33
Speaker 1: until he took his own life. You are only one
20:37
Speaker 1: of your kind. They are all like you, from the
20:40
Speaker 1: Kaiser down. I wish that you wed the kaiser. That's
20:44
Speaker 1: what I'd do. And he lunged his bayonet through von
20:47
Speaker 1: Schuenbert's chest. Then he let his rifle fall with the
20:51
Speaker 1: dying man and wheeled toward Bradley. Here I am, he said,
20:57
Speaker 1: do with me as you like. All my life I
21:00
Speaker 1: have been kicked and cuffed by such as that, And
21:03
Speaker 1: yet all these I have gone out when they commanded,
21:06
Speaker 1: singing to give up my life if need be to
21:09
Speaker 1: keep them in path. Only lately have I come to
21:13
Speaker 1: know what a fool I have been. But now I
21:16
Speaker 1: am no longer a fool. And besides, I am avenged,
21:20
Speaker 1: and Swerk is avenged. So you can kill me if
21:24
Speaker 1: you wish. Here I am if I bways after beIN
21:28
Speaker 1: the king, said Olson. I depined the thee sea on
21:31
Speaker 1: your noble chiste, but being only an eye Richmond of
21:34
Speaker 1: his a freed name for which God forgive me. The
21:38
Speaker 1: beast I can do is shake your hand. You will
21:41
Speaker 1: not be punished, said Bradley. There are four of you left.
21:45
Speaker 1: If you four want to come along and work with us,
21:48
Speaker 1: we will take you, but you will come as prisoners.
21:52
Speaker 1: It suits me, said Pleasure. Now that to Captain dew
21:56
Speaker 1: Tended is dead, you need not fear us. All our
21:59
Speaker 1: lives we had known nothing but to obey his class.
22:03
Speaker 1: If I had not killed him, I suppose I would
22:06
Speaker 1: be fool enough to obey him again. But he is
22:09
Speaker 1: dead now. Vie vill obey you wee must obey some
22:13
Speaker 1: one and you. Bradley turned to the other survivors of
22:17
Speaker 1: the original crew of the YOU thirty three. Each promised obedience.
22:22
Speaker 1: The two dead Germans were buried in a single grave,
22:25
Speaker 1: and then the party boarded the submarine and stowed away
22:28
Speaker 1: the oil. Here Bradley told the man what had befallen
22:32
Speaker 1: him since the night of September fourteenth, when he had
22:36
Speaker 1: disappeared so mysteriously from the camp upon the plateau. Now
22:41
Speaker 1: he learned for the first time that Bowen j. Tyler Junior,
22:44
Speaker 1: and Miss Leroue had been missing even longer than he,
22:48
Speaker 1: and that no faintest trace of them had been discovered.
22:52
Speaker 1: Olson told him of how the Germans had returned and
22:55
Speaker 1: waited in ambush for them outside the fort, capturing them
22:59
Speaker 1: that they might be used to assist in the work
23:01
Speaker 1: of refining the oil and later in manning the U
23:05
Speaker 1: thirty three, and Plesser told briefly of the experiences of
23:09
Speaker 1: the German crew under Bonchuenfortz since they had escaped from
23:13
Speaker 1: cast back months before, of how they lost their bearings
23:17
Speaker 1: after having been shelled by ships they had attempted to
23:20
Speaker 1: sneak farther north and how it last. With provisions gone
23:24
Speaker 1: and fuel almost exhausted, they had sought and at last found,
23:29
Speaker 1: more by accident than design, the mysterious island they had
23:32
Speaker 1: once been so glad to leave behind. Now announced Bradley,
23:37
Speaker 1: we'll plan for the future. The boat has fuel, provisions
23:41
Speaker 1: and water for a month. I believe you said, bless Her.
23:44
Speaker 1: There are ten of us to man it. We have
23:46
Speaker 1: a last sad duty here. We must search for miss
23:49
Speaker 1: LaRue and mister Tidler. I say a sad duty because
23:52
Speaker 1: we know that we shall not find them. But it
23:55
Speaker 1: is none the less our duty to comb the shoreline,
23:58
Speaker 1: firing signal shells intervals, that we at least may leave
24:02
Speaker 1: at last with full knowledge that we have done all
24:05
Speaker 1: that men might do to locate them. None dissented from
24:09
Speaker 1: this conviction, nor was there a voice raised in protest
24:12
Speaker 1: against the plan to at least make assurance doubly shore
24:16
Speaker 1: before quitting cast back forever. And so they started cruising
24:20
Speaker 1: slowly up the coast and firing an occasional shot from
24:24
Speaker 1: the gun. Often the vessel was brought to a stop,
24:27
Speaker 1: and always there were anxious eyes scanning the shore for
24:31
Speaker 1: an answering signal. Late in the afternoon, they caught sight
24:35
Speaker 1: of a number of banblue warriors, But when the vessel
24:38
Speaker 1: approached the shore and the natives realized that human beings
24:42
Speaker 1: stood upon the back of the strange monster of the sea,
24:45
Speaker 1: they fled in terror before Bradley could come with inhaling distance.
24:50
Speaker 1: That night, they dropped anchor at the mouth of a
24:52
Speaker 1: sluggish stream whose warm waters swarmed with millions of tiny
24:57
Speaker 1: tadpole like organisms, minute human and spawn. Starting on their
25:02
Speaker 1: precarious journey from some inland pool toward the beginning, a
25:06
Speaker 1: journey which one in millions might perhaps survived to complete.
25:11
Speaker 1: Already almost at the inception of life, they were being
25:15
Speaker 1: greeted by thousands of voracious mouths, as fish and reptiles
25:20
Speaker 1: of many kinds fought to devour them, the while other
25:24
Speaker 1: and larger creatures pursued the devours, to be in turn
25:27
Speaker 1: preyed upon by some other of the countless forms that
25:30
Speaker 1: inhabit the deeps of Caprona's frightful Sea. The second day
25:35
Speaker 1: was practically a repetition of the first. They moved very slowly,
25:40
Speaker 1: with frequent stops, and once they landed in the crolew
25:43
Speaker 1: country to hunt. Here they were attacked by the bow
25:47
Speaker 1: and arrow men, whom they could not persuade to pulavor
25:50
Speaker 1: with them. So belligerent were the natives that it became
25:53
Speaker 1: necessary to fire into them in order to escape their
25:56
Speaker 1: persistent and ferocious attentions. What chance, asked Bradley, as they
26:02
Speaker 1: were returning to the boat with their game. Could Tyler
26:05
Speaker 1: and miss leroue have had among such as these? But
26:08
Speaker 1: they continued on their fruitless quest, and the third day,
26:12
Speaker 1: after cruising along the shore of a deep inlet, they
26:15
Speaker 1: passed a line of lofty cliffs that formed the southern
26:18
Speaker 1: shore of the inlet and rounded a sharp promontory. About noon,
26:23
Speaker 1: Kotan and Bradley were on deck alone, and as the
26:27
Speaker 1: new shore line appeared beyond the point, the girl gave
26:30
Speaker 1: an exclamation of joy and seized the man's hand in hers.
26:34
Speaker 1: Oh look, she cried, the Galous country, the Galou country.
26:39
Speaker 1: It is my country that I never thought to see again.
26:44
Speaker 1: You are glad to come again, Cootan asked Bradley. Oh
26:48
Speaker 1: so glad, she cried, And you will come with me
26:51
Speaker 1: to my people. We may live here among them, and
26:54
Speaker 1: you will be a great warrior. Oh. When Jor dies,
26:58
Speaker 1: you may even be chief, for there is none so
27:01
Speaker 1: mighty as my warrior. You will come. Bradley shook his head.
27:06
Speaker 1: I cannot, little Kotan, he answered, My country needs me,
27:11
Speaker 1: and I must go back. Maybe some day I shall return.
27:15
Speaker 1: You will not forget me, Kotan. She looked at him
27:18
Speaker 1: and wide eyed. Wonder you are going away from me?
27:22
Speaker 1: She asked, in a very small voice. You are going
27:26
Speaker 1: away from Kotan. Bradley looked down upon the little bowed head.
27:31
Speaker 1: He felt the soft cheek against his bare arm, and
27:34
Speaker 1: he felt something else there too, hot drops of moisture
27:38
Speaker 1: that ran down to his very finger tips and splashed,
27:41
Speaker 1: but each one wrung from a woman's heart. He bent
27:45
Speaker 1: low and raised the tear stained face to his own. No, Kotan,
27:50
Speaker 1: he said, I am not going away from you, for
27:53
Speaker 1: you are going with me. You are going back to
27:56
Speaker 1: my own country to be my wife. Tell me that
27:59
Speaker 1: you will, Kotan. And he bent still lower yet from
28:03
Speaker 1: his height, and kissed her lips. Nor did he need
28:07
Speaker 1: more than the wonderful new light in her eyes to
28:10
Speaker 1: tell him that she would go to the end of
28:12
Speaker 1: the world with him if he would but take her.
28:15
Speaker 1: And then the gun crew came up from below again
28:18
Speaker 1: to fire a signal shot, and the two were brought
28:21
Speaker 1: down from the high heaven of their new happiness to
28:24
Speaker 1: the scarred and weather beaten deck of the U. Thirty
28:27
Speaker 1: three an hour later, the vessel was running close in
28:32
Speaker 1: by a shore of wondrous beauty, beside a part like
28:35
Speaker 1: meadow that stretched back a mile inland to the foot
28:38
Speaker 1: of a plateau. When Whitely called attention to a score
28:41
Speaker 1: of figures clamoring downward from the elevation to the lowland below.
28:46
Speaker 1: The engines were reversed and the boat brought to a stop,
28:50
Speaker 1: while all hands gathered on deck to watch the little
28:53
Speaker 1: party coming toward them across the meadow. They are gallows,
28:56
Speaker 1: cried Kotan. They are my own people. Let me speak
29:00
Speaker 1: to them, lest they think we come to fight them.
29:03
Speaker 1: Put me ashore, my man, and I will go meet them.
29:06
Speaker 1: The nose of the U boat was run close in
29:09
Speaker 1: to the steep bank, but when Kotan would have run
29:12
Speaker 1: forward alone, Bradley seized her hand and held her back.
29:16
Speaker 1: I will go with you, Kotan, he said, and together
29:19
Speaker 1: they advanced to meet the oncoming party. There were about
29:23
Speaker 1: twenty warriors moving forward in a thin line as our
29:27
Speaker 1: infantry advance as skirmishers. Bradley could not but notice the
29:31
Speaker 1: marked difference between this formation and the moblike methods of
29:35
Speaker 1: the lower tribes he had come in contact with, and
29:39
Speaker 1: he commented upon it to Kotan, Galu warriors always advance
29:43
Speaker 1: into battle. Thus, she said, the lesser people remain in
29:47
Speaker 1: a huddled group where they can scarce use their weapons.
29:50
Speaker 1: The while they present so big a mark to us
29:53
Speaker 1: that our spears and arrows cannot miss them. But when
29:57
Speaker 1: they hurl theirs at our warriors, if they may u
30:00
Speaker 1: the first man, there is no chance that they will
30:02
Speaker 1: kill some one behind him. Stand still now, she cautioned,
30:07
Speaker 1: and fold your arms. They will not harm us. Then
30:11
Speaker 1: Bradley did as he was bid, and the two stood
30:14
Speaker 1: with arms folded as the line of warriors approached. When
30:18
Speaker 1: they had come within some fifty yards, they halted, and
30:22
Speaker 1: one spoke, who are you? And from whence do you come?
30:26
Speaker 1: He asked, And then Cotan gave a little glad cry
30:30
Speaker 1: and sprang forward with outstretched arms outain, She exclaimed, do
30:36
Speaker 1: you not know your little Cotan? The warrior stared incredulous
30:40
Speaker 1: for a moment, and then he too ran forward, and
30:44
Speaker 1: when they met, took the girl in his arms. It
30:47
Speaker 1: was then that Bradley experienced to the full a sensation
30:51
Speaker 1: that was new to him, a sudden hatred for the
30:53
Speaker 1: strained warrior before him, and a desire to kill, without
30:57
Speaker 1: knowing why he would kill. He moved quickly to the
31:01
Speaker 1: girl's side and grasped her wrist. Who is this man,
31:05
Speaker 1: he demanded in cold tones. Ktan turned a surprised face
31:10
Speaker 1: toward the Englishman, and then of a sudden broke forth
31:12
Speaker 1: into a merry peal of laughter. This is my father, Bradley,
31:17
Speaker 1: she cried. And who is Bradley, demanded the warrior. He
31:22
Speaker 1: is my man, replied Cotan. Simply by what right, insisted Tan,
31:28
Speaker 1: And then she told him briefly of all that she
31:30
Speaker 1: had passed through since the wearus had stolen her, and
31:34
Speaker 1: of how Bradley had rescued her and sought to rescue
31:37
Speaker 1: Antac her brother. You are satisfied with him, asked tad Yes,
31:43
Speaker 1: replied the girl proudly. It was then that Bradley's attention
31:47
Speaker 1: was attracted to the edge of the plateau by a
31:50
Speaker 1: movement there, and looking closely, he saw a horse bearing
31:54
Speaker 1: two figures sliding down the steep declivity. Once at the bottom,
31:59
Speaker 1: the animal charging across the meadow land at a rapid run.
32:03
Speaker 1: It was a magnificent animal, a great bay stallion, with
32:08
Speaker 1: a white blazed face and white forelegs to the knees,
32:11
Speaker 1: its barrel encircled by a broad surcingle of white, and
32:16
Speaker 1: as it came to a sudden stop beside Tan, the
32:19
Speaker 1: Englishman saw that it bore a man and a girl,
32:22
Speaker 1: a tall man and a girl as beautiful as Kotan.
32:26
Speaker 1: When the girl espied the latter, she slid from the
32:29
Speaker 1: horse and ran toward her, fairly, screaming for joy. The
32:33
Speaker 1: man dismounted and stood beside Tan. Like Bradley, he was
32:37
Speaker 1: garbed after the fashion of the surrounding warriors, but there
32:40
Speaker 1: was a subtle difference between him and his companion. Possibly
32:45
Speaker 1: he detected a similar difference in Bradley, for his first
32:48
Speaker 1: question was from what country, and though he spoke in Galoo,
32:53
Speaker 1: Bradley thought he detected an accent England, replied Bradley. A
32:58
Speaker 1: broad smile lighted the newcomer's face as he held out
33:01
Speaker 1: his hand. I am Tom Billings of Santa Monica, California,
33:06
Speaker 1: he said, I know all about you, and I'm mighty
33:09
Speaker 1: glad to find you alive. How did you get here,
33:12
Speaker 1: asked Bradley. I thought ours was the only party of
33:16
Speaker 1: men from the outer world ever to enter Kaprona. It
33:20
Speaker 1: was until we came in search of Bowen j. Tyler Junior,
33:23
Speaker 1: replied Billings. We found him and sent him home with
33:26
Speaker 1: his bride, But I was kept a prisoner here. Bradley's
33:31
Speaker 1: face darkened. Then they were not among friends, after all,
33:35
Speaker 1: there are ten of us down there on a German
33:37
Speaker 1: sub with small arms and a gun. He said quickly
33:40
Speaker 1: in English. It will be no trick to get away
33:42
Speaker 1: from these people. You don't know, my jailer, replied Billings,
33:47
Speaker 1: or you'd not be so sure. Wait, I'll introduce you,
33:51
Speaker 1: And then, turning to the girl who had accompanied him,
33:53
Speaker 1: he called her by name Ajore, He said, permit me
33:57
Speaker 1: to introduce Lieutenant Bradley, Lieutenant missus Billings, my jailer, the
34:02
Speaker 1: Englishman laughed as he shook hands with the girl. You
34:06
Speaker 1: are not as good a soldier as I, he said
34:08
Speaker 1: to Billings. Instead of being taken prisoner myself, I have
34:12
Speaker 1: taken one, Missus Bradley. This is mister billings Ajor, quick
34:17
Speaker 1: to understand, turned toward Kotan. You are going back with
34:20
Speaker 1: him to his country, she asked. Cootan admitted it. You dare,
34:26
Speaker 1: asked Ajoir. But your father will not permit it. Jor,
34:29
Speaker 1: my father, high chief of the Gallows, will not permit it,
34:33
Speaker 1: for like me, you are consantlo Oh Cootan. If we
34:37
Speaker 1: but could, how I would love to see all the
34:40
Speaker 1: strange and wonderful things of which my Tom tells me.
34:44
Speaker 1: Bradley bent and whispered in her ear. Say the word,
34:48
Speaker 1: and you may both go with us. Billings, heard, and
34:52
Speaker 1: speaking in English, asked Ajoor if she would go. Yes,
34:56
Speaker 1: she answered, if you wish it. But you know my Tom.
35:00
Speaker 1: But if Jor captures us, both you and Kotan's man
35:03
Speaker 1: will pay the penalty with your lives. Not even his
35:06
Speaker 1: love for me nor his admiration for you, can save you.
35:10
Speaker 1: Bradley noticed that she spoke in English, broken English, like Kotan's,
35:15
Speaker 1: but equally appealing. We can easily get you aboard the ship,
35:19
Speaker 1: he said, on some pretext or other, and then we
35:22
Speaker 1: can steam away. They can neither harm nor detain us,
35:26
Speaker 1: nor will we have to fire a shot at them,
35:29
Speaker 1: And so it was done, Bradley and Kotan, taking Ajor
35:32
Speaker 1: and Billings aboard to show them the vessel, which almost
35:36
Speaker 1: immediately raised anchor and moved slowly out into the sea.
35:40
Speaker 1: I hate to do it, said Billings. They have been
35:43
Speaker 1: fine to me. Joor and Tan are splendid men, and
35:47
Speaker 1: they will think me an ingrate. But I can't waste
35:49
Speaker 1: my life here when there is much to be done
35:52
Speaker 1: in the outer world. As they steam down the inland
35:56
Speaker 1: Sea past the island of u O, the stories of
35:59
Speaker 1: their ventures were retold, and Bradley learned that Bowen Tyler
36:04
Speaker 1: and his bride had left the Galloo country but a
36:07
Speaker 1: fortnight before, and that there was every reason to believe
36:11
Speaker 1: that the Toryodor might still be lying in the Pacific,
36:14
Speaker 1: not far off the subterranean mouth of the river which
36:18
Speaker 1: emitted Caprona's heated waters into the ocean. Late in the
36:22
Speaker 1: second day, after running through swarms of hideous reptiles, they
36:27
Speaker 1: submerged at the point where the river entered beneath the cliffs,
36:30
Speaker 1: and shortly after rose to the sunlit surface of the Pacific.
36:35
Speaker 1: But nowhere, as far as they could see, was sign
36:38
Speaker 1: of another craft down the coast. They steamed toward the
36:42
Speaker 1: beach where Billings had made his crossing in the hydro aeroplane,
36:46
Speaker 1: and just at dusk the lookout announced a light dead ahead.
36:50
Speaker 1: It proved to be aboard the Toryodor, and a half
36:53
Speaker 1: hour later there was such a reunion on the deck
36:56
Speaker 1: of the trigged little yacht as no one there had
36:58
Speaker 1: ever dreamed might be possible. Of the allies, there were
37:02
Speaker 1: only Tippett and James to be mourned, and no one
37:05
Speaker 1: mourned any of the Germans dead, nor Benson, the trader,
37:09
Speaker 1: whose ugly story was first told in Bowen Tyler's manuscript.
37:14
Speaker 1: Tyler and the rescue party had but just reached the
37:17
Speaker 1: yacht that afternoon. They had heard faintly the signal shots
37:21
Speaker 1: fired by the You thirty three, but had been unable
37:24
Speaker 1: to locate their direction, and so had assumed that they
37:27
Speaker 1: had come from the guns of the Torriodor. It was
37:30
Speaker 1: a happy party that sailed north towards sunny southern California,
37:34
Speaker 1: the old You thirty three trailing in the wake of
37:36
Speaker 1: the Torreador, and flying with the latter the glorious stars
37:40
Speaker 1: and stripes beneath which she had been born in the
37:43
Speaker 1: shipyard at Santa Monica, three newly married couples, their bonds
37:48
Speaker 1: now duly solemnized by the master of the ship, joyed
37:52
Speaker 1: in the peace and security of the untracked waters of
37:55
Speaker 1: the South Pacific, and the unique honeymoon, which, had it
37:58
Speaker 1: not been for stern do ahead, they could have wished
38:01
Speaker 1: protracted till the end of time. And so they came
38:05
Speaker 1: one day to dock at the ship yard which bonn
38:08
Speaker 1: Tider now controlled. And here the You thirty three still lies,
38:13
Speaker 1: while those who pass so many eventful days within and
38:16
Speaker 1: because of her have gone their various ways. End of
38:21
Speaker 1: Chapter five, end of Out of Time's Abyss