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02 - Out of Time's Abyss - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Daily Sci-Fi Books

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Speaker 1: Chapter two. When Bradley went on guard at midnight September fourteenth,
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Speaker 1: his thoughts were largely occupied with rejoicing that the night
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Speaker 1: was almost spent without serious mishap, and that the morrow
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Speaker 1: would doubtless see them all safely returned to Fort Dinosaur.
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Speaker 1: The hopefulness of his mood was tinged with sorrow by
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Speaker 1: recollection of the two members of his party who lay
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Speaker 1: back there in the savage wilderness, and for whom there
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Speaker 1: would never again be a home coming. No premonition of
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Speaker 1: impending ill cast gloom over his anticipations for the coming day.
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Speaker 1: For Bradley was a man who, while taking every precaution
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Speaker 1: against possible danger, permitted no gloomy forebodings to weigh down
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Speaker 1: his spirit. When danger threatened, he was prepared, but he
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Speaker 1: was not forever courting disaster. And so it was that,
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Speaker 1: when about one o'clock in the morning of the fifteenth
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Speaker 1: he heard the dismal flapping of giant wings overhead, he
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Speaker 1: was neither surprised nor frightened, but i prepared for an
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Speaker 1: attack he had known might reasonably be expected. The sound
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Speaker 1: seemed to come from the south and presently low above
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Speaker 1: the trees in that direction the man made out a dim,
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Speaker 1: shadowy form circling slowly about. Bradley was a brave man,
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Speaker 1: yet so keen was the feeling of revulsion engendered by
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Speaker 1: the sight and sound of that grim, uncanny shape, that
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Speaker 1: he distinctly felt the goose flesh rise over the surface
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Speaker 1: of his body. And it was with difficulty that he
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Speaker 1: refrained from following an instinctive urge to fire upon the
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Speaker 1: nocturnal intruder. Better, far better would it have been, had
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Speaker 1: he given in to the insistent demand of his sub
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Speaker 1: conscious mentor But his almost fanatical obsession to save ammunition
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Speaker 1: proved now his undoing. For while his attention was riveted
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Speaker 1: upon the thing circling before him, and while his ears
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Speaker 1: were filled with the beating of its wings, there swooped
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Speaker 1: silently out of the black night behind him, another weird
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Speaker 1: and ghostly shape, with its huge wings partly closed for
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Speaker 1: the dive, and its white robe fluttering in its wake.
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Speaker 1: The apparition swooped down upon the Englishman. So great was
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Speaker 1: the force of the impact when the thing struck Brady
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Speaker 1: between the shoulders that the man was half stunned. His
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Speaker 1: rifle flew from his grasp. He felt claw like talons
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Speaker 1: of great strength, seize him beneath his arms and sweep
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Speaker 1: him off his feet. And then the thing rose swiftly
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Speaker 1: with him, so swiftly that his cap was blown from
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Speaker 1: his head by the rush of air as he was
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Speaker 1: borne rapidly upward into the inky sky, and the cry
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Speaker 1: of warning to his companions was forced back into his lungs.
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Speaker 1: The creature wheeled immediately toward the east, and was at
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Speaker 1: once joined by its fellow, who circled them once and
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Speaker 1: then fell in behind them. Bradley now realized the strategy
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Speaker 1: that the pair had used to capture him, and at
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Speaker 1: once concluded that he was in the power of reasoning
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Speaker 1: beings closely related to the human race, if not actually
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Speaker 1: of it. Past experience suggested that the great wings were
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Speaker 1: a part of some ingenious mechanical device for the limitations
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Speaker 1: of the human mind, which is always low to accept
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Speaker 1: pot beyond its own. Little experience would not permit him
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Speaker 1: to entertain the idea that the creatures might be naturally
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Speaker 1: winged and at the same time of human origin. From
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Speaker 1: his position, Bradley could not see the wings of his captor,
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Speaker 1: nor in the darkness, had he been able to examine
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Speaker 1: those of the second creature closely. When it circled before him,
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Speaker 1: he listened for the puff of a motor or some
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Speaker 1: other tail tale sound that would prove the correctness of
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Speaker 1: his theory. However, he was rewarded with nothing more than
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Speaker 1: the constant flap flap. Presently far below and ahead he
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Speaker 1: saw the waters of the inland Sea, and a moment
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Speaker 1: later he was borne over them. Then his captor did
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Speaker 1: that which proved beyond doubt to Bradley that he was
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Speaker 1: in the hands of human beings who had devised an
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Speaker 1: almost perfect scheme of duplicating mechanically the wings of a bird.
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Speaker 1: The thing spoke to its companion, and in a language
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Speaker 1: that Bradley partially understood, since he recognized words that he
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Speaker 1: had learned from the savage races of castpack. From this
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Speaker 1: he judged that they were human, And being human, he
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Speaker 1: knew that they could have no natural wings, for who
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Speaker 1: had ever seen a human being so adorned? Therefore, their
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Speaker 1: wings must be mechanical. Thus, Bradley reasoned, thus, most of
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Speaker 1: us reason not by what might be possible, but by
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Speaker 1: what has fallen within the range of our experience. What
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Speaker 1: he heard them say was to the effect that having
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Speaker 1: covered half the distance, the burden would now be transferred
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Speaker 1: from one to the other. Bradley wondered how the exchange
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Speaker 1: was to be accomplished. He knew that those giant wings
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Speaker 1: would not permit the creatures to approach one another closely
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Speaker 1: enough to effect the transfer in this manner, but he
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Speaker 1: was soon to discover that they had other means of
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Speaker 1: doing it. He felt the thing that carried him rise
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Speaker 1: to a great altitude, and below he glimpsed momentarily the
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Speaker 1: second white robed figure. Then the creature above sounded a
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Speaker 1: low call. It was answered from below, and instantly Bradley
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Speaker 1: felt the clutching talons release him. Gasping for breath, he
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Speaker 1: hurdled downward through space for a terrifying instant. Pregnant with horror,
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Speaker 1: Bradley fell. Then something swooped for him from behind. Another
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Speaker 1: pair of talons clutched him beneath the arms. His downward
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Speaker 1: rush was checked. Within another hundred feet and close to
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Speaker 1: the surface of the sea, he was again borne upward.
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Speaker 1: As a hawk dives for a song bird on the wing,
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Speaker 1: So this great human bird dived for Bradley. It was
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Speaker 1: a harrowing experience, but soon over, and once again the
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Speaker 1: captive was being carried swiftly toward the east, and what
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Speaker 1: fate he could not even guess. It was immediately following
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Speaker 1: his transfer in mid air that Bradley made out the
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Speaker 1: shadowy form of a large island far ahead, and not
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Speaker 1: long after he realized that this must be the intended
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Speaker 1: destination of his captors, Nor was he mistaken. Three quarters
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Speaker 1: of an hour from the time of his seizure, his
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Speaker 1: captors dropped gently to earth in the strangest city that
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Speaker 1: Hume and Eye had ever rested upon. Just a brief
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Speaker 1: glimpse of his immediate surroundings bouchsafed Bradley before he was
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Speaker 1: whisked into the interior of one of the buildings, But
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Speaker 1: in that momentary glance he saw strange piles of stone
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Speaker 1: and wood and mud fashioned into buildings of all conceivable
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Speaker 1: sizes and shapes, sometimes piled high on top of one another,
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Speaker 1: sometimes standing alone in an open courtway, but usually crowded
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Speaker 1: and jammed together, so that there were no streets or
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Speaker 1: allys between them, other than a few which ended almost
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Speaker 1: as soon as they began. The principal doorways appeared to
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Speaker 1: be in the roofs and It was through one of
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Speaker 1: these that Bradley was inducted into the dark interior of
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Speaker 1: a low sealed roof. Here he was pushed roughly into
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Speaker 1: a corner, where he tripped over a thick mat, and
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Speaker 1: there his captors left him. He heard them moving about
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Speaker 1: in the darkness for a moment, and several times he
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Speaker 1: saw their large luminous eyes glowing in the dark. Finally
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Speaker 1: these disappeared, and silence reigned, broken only by the breathing
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Speaker 1: of the creature, which indicated to the Englishmen that they
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Speaker 1: were sleeping somewhere in the same apartment. It was now
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Speaker 1: evident that the mat upon the floor was intended for
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Speaker 1: sleeping purposes, and that the rough shove that had sent
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Speaker 1: him to it had been a rude invitation to repose.
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Speaker 1: After taking stock of himself and finding that he still
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Speaker 1: had his pistol and ammunition, some matches, a little tobacco,
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Speaker 1: a canteen full of water, and a razor, Bradley made
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Speaker 1: himself cometable upon the mat, and was soon asleep, knowing
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Speaker 1: that an attempt to escape in the darkness without knowledge
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Speaker 1: of his surroundings would be predoomed to failure. When he awoke,
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Speaker 1: it was broad daylight, and the sight that met his
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Speaker 1: eyes made him rub them again and again to assure
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Speaker 1: himself that they were really open and that he was
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Speaker 1: not dreaming. A broad shaft of morning light poured through
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Speaker 1: the open doorway in the ceiling of the room, which
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Speaker 1: was about thirty feet square or roughly square, being irregular
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Speaker 1: in shape, one side curving outward, another being indented by
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Speaker 1: what might have been the corner of another building jutting
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Speaker 1: into it, another alcove by three sides of an octagon,
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Speaker 1: while the fourth was serpentine in contour. Two windows let
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Speaker 1: in more daylight, while two doors evidently gave ingress to
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Speaker 1: other rooms. The walls were partially sealed with thin strips
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Speaker 1: of wood, nicely fitted and finished, partially plastered, and the
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Speaker 1: rest covered with a fine woven cloth. Figures of beasts
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Speaker 1: and reptiles were painted without regard to any uniform scheme
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Speaker 1: here and there upon the walls. A striking feature of
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Speaker 1: the decorations consisted of several engaged columns set into the
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Speaker 1: walls at no regular intervals, the capitals of each supporting
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Speaker 1: a human skull, the cranium of which touched the ceiling,
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Speaker 1: as though the latter was supported by these grim reminders,
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Speaker 1: either of departed relatives or of some hideous tribal rite.
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Speaker 1: Bradley could not but wonder which. Yet it was none
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Speaker 1: of these things that filled him with greatest wonder. No,
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Speaker 1: it was the figures of the two creatures that had
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Speaker 1: captured him and brought him hither. At one end of
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Speaker 1: the room, a stout pole about two inches in diameter,
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Speaker 1: ran horizontally from wall to wall, some six or seven
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Speaker 1: feet from the floor, its ends securely set in two
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Speaker 1: of the columns. Hanging by their knees from this perch,
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Speaker 1: their heads downward and their bodies wrapped in their huge wings,
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Speaker 1: slept the creatures of the night before, like two great
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Speaker 1: horrid bats. They hung asleep. As Bradley gazed upon them
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Speaker 1: in wide eyed astonishment, he saw plainly that all his intelligence,
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Speaker 1: all his acquired knowledge through the years of observation and experience,
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Speaker 1: were set at naught by the simple evidence of the
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Speaker 1: fact that stood out glaringly before his eyes. The creature's
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Speaker 1: wings were not mechanical devices, but as natural appendages, growing
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Speaker 1: from their shoulder blades, as were their arms and legs.
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Speaker 1: He saw too, that except for their wings, the pair
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Speaker 1: bore a strong resemblance to human beings, though fashioned in
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Speaker 1: a most grotesque mold. As he sat gazing at them,
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Speaker 1: one of the two awoke separated his wings to release
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Speaker 1: his arms that had been folded across his breast, placed
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Speaker 1: his hands upon the floor, dropped his feet, and stood
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Speaker 1: erect for a moment. He stretched his great wings slowly, solemnly,
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Speaker 1: blinking his large round eyes. Then his gaze fell upon Bradley.
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Speaker 1: The thin lips drew back tightly against yellow teeth in
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Speaker 1: a grimace that was nothing but hideous. It could not
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Speaker 1: have been termed a smile. And what emotion it registered
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Speaker 1: the Englishman was a lost a gas. No expression whatever
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Speaker 1: altered the steady gaze of those large round eyes. There
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Speaker 1: was no color upon the pasty, sunken cheeks. A death's
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Speaker 1: head grimaced, as though a man long dead raised his
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Speaker 1: parchment covered skull from an old grave. The creature stood
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Speaker 1: about the height of an average man, but appeared much
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Speaker 1: taller from the fact that the joints of his long
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Speaker 1: wings rose fully a foot above his hairless head. The
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Speaker 1: bare arms were long and sinewy, ending in strong, bony
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Speaker 1: hands with claw like fingers, almost talon like in their suggestiveness.
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Speaker 1: The white robe was separated in front, revealing skinny legs,
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Speaker 1: and the the fact that the thing wore but the
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Speaker 1: single garment, which was of fine woven cloth from crown
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Speaker 1: to soul. The portions of the body exposed were entirely hairless,
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Speaker 1: and as he noted this, Bradley also noted for the
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Speaker 1: first time the cause of much of the seeming expressionlessness
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Speaker 1: of the creature's countenance. It had neither eyebrows or lashes.
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Speaker 1: The ears were small and rested flat against the skull,
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Speaker 1: which was noticeably round, though the face was quite flat.
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Speaker 1: The creature had small feet, beautifully arched in plump, but
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Speaker 1: so out of keeping with every other physical attribute it
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Speaker 1: possessed as to appear ridiculous. After eyeing Bradley for a moment,
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Speaker 1: the thing approached him. Where from it asked, England, replied Bradley,
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Speaker 1: as briefly.
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Speaker 2: Where is England? And what?
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Speaker 1: Pursued the questioner? It is a country far from here,
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Speaker 1: answered the Englishman. Are your people corsvana jo or coss Atloo?
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Speaker 1: I do not understand you, said Bradley, And now suppose
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Speaker 1: you answer a few questions. Who are you? What country
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Speaker 1: is this? Why did you bring me here again, the
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Speaker 1: separchurl grimace.
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Speaker 2: We are wirus. Loota is our father past back as ours.
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Speaker 2: This our country is called u O. We brought you
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Speaker 2: here for him who speaks for Luata to gaze upon
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Speaker 2: and question. He would know from whence you came and why.
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Speaker 2: But principally, if you be consatlou, and if I am
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Speaker 2: not caused whatever you call the bloomin beast, what of it?
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Speaker 2: The Wiiru raised his wings in a very human shrug
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Speaker 2: and waved his bony claws toward the human skulls supporting
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Speaker 2: the ceiling. His gesture was eloquent, but he embellished it
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Speaker 2: by remarking, and possibly, if you are.
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Speaker 1: I'm hungry, snapped Bradley. The Wiru motioned him to one
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Speaker 1: of the doors, which he threw open, permitting Bradley to
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Speaker 1: pass out on to another roof on a level lower
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Speaker 1: than that upon which they had landed early in the morning.
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Speaker 1: By daylight, the city appeared even more remarkable than in
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Speaker 1: the moonlight, though less weird and unreal. The houses of
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Speaker 1: all shapes and sizes were piled about as a child
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Speaker 1: might pile blocks of various forms and collars. He saw
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Speaker 1: now that there were what might be called streets or alleys,
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Speaker 1: but they ran in baffling turns and twists, nor ever
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Speaker 1: reached a destination, always ending in a dead wall, where
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Speaker 1: some weeru had built a house across them. Upon each
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Speaker 1: house was a slender column supporting a human skull. Sometimes
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Speaker 1: the columns were at one corner of the roof, sometimes
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Speaker 1: at another, or again they rose from the center or
14:40
Speaker 1: near the center, and the columns were of varying heights,
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Speaker 1: from that of a man to those which rose twenty
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Speaker 1: feet above their roofs. The skulls were as a rule
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Speaker 1: painted blue or white, or in combinations of both colors.
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Speaker 1: The most effective were painted blue, with the teeth white,
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Speaker 1: and the eye sockets rimmed with white. There Where other skulls,
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Speaker 1: thousands of them, tens, hundreds of thousands. They rimmed the
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Speaker 1: eaves of every house. They were set in the plaster
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Speaker 1: of the outer walls. And at no great distance from
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Speaker 1: where Bradley stood rose a round tower built entirely of
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Speaker 1: human skulls, and the city extended in every direction as
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Speaker 1: far as the Englishman could see. All about him, weirus
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Speaker 1: were moving across the roofs or winging through the air.
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Speaker 1: The sad sound of their flapping wings rose and fell
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Speaker 1: like a solemn dirge. Most of them were apparelled all
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Speaker 1: in white, like his captors, but others had markings of
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Speaker 1: red or blue or yellow slashed across the front of
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Speaker 1: their robes. His guide pointed toward a doorway in an
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Speaker 1: alley below them.
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Speaker 2: Go there and eat, he commanded, and then come back.
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Speaker 2: You cannot escape. If any question you say that you
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Speaker 2: belonged to foche Bal Sage, there is the way.
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Speaker 1: And this time he pointed to the top of a
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Speaker 1: ladder which protruded above the eaves of the roof near by.
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Speaker 1: Then he turned and re entered the house. Bradley looked
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Speaker 1: about him. No, he could not escape, that seemed evident.
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Speaker 1: The city appeared interminable, and beyond the city, if not
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Speaker 1: a savage wilderness filled with wild beasts, there was the
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Speaker 1: broad inland sea, infested with horrid monsters. No wonder his
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Speaker 1: captor felt safe in turning him loose in oo O.
16:24
Speaker 1: He wondered if that was the name of the country
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Speaker 1: or the city, and if there were other cities like
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Speaker 1: this upon the island. Slowly he descended the ladder to
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Speaker 1: the seemingly deserted alley, which was paved with what appeared
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Speaker 1: to be large round cobblestones. He looked again at the
16:40
Speaker 1: smooth worn pavement, and a rueful grin crossed his features.
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Speaker 1: The alley was paved with skulls, the city of human skulls,
16:50
Speaker 1: mused Bradley. They must have been collecting him since Adam,
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Speaker 1: he thought, And then he crossed and entered the building
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Speaker 1: through the doorway that had been pointed out to him.
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Speaker 1: Inside he found a large room in which were many
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Speaker 1: weirrous seated before pedestals, the tops of which were hallowed
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Speaker 1: out so that they resembled the ordinary bird drinking and
17:10
Speaker 1: bathing faunts so commonly seen on suburban lawns. A seat
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Speaker 1: protruded from each of the four sides of the pedestals,
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Speaker 1: just a flat board with a support running from its
17:20
Speaker 1: outer end diagonally to the base of the pedestal. As
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Speaker 1: Bradley entered, some of the weirrous espied him, and a
17:28
Speaker 1: dismal wail arose. Whether it was a greeting or a threat,
17:31
Speaker 1: Bradley did not know. Suddenly, from a dark alcove, another
17:35
Speaker 1: wairloo rushed out towards him. Who are you? He cried,
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Speaker 1: what do you want? Fosh Balsage sent me here to eat,
17:43
Speaker 1: replied Bradley.
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Speaker 2: Do you belong to fashe Balsag.
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Speaker 1: Asked the other that appears to be what he thinks,
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Speaker 1: answered the Englishman, are you Corsandaledoo demanded the Weirroo give
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Speaker 1: me something to eat, or I'll be all of that,
17:57
Speaker 1: replied Bradley. The Wirrou looked.
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Speaker 2: Uz sit here, jailu.
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Speaker 1: He snapped, and Bradley sat down, unconscious of the fact
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Speaker 1: that he had been insulted by being called a hyena man,
18:09
Speaker 1: an appellation of contempt in cast pack. The Wiu had
18:13
Speaker 1: seated him at a pedestal by himself, and as he
18:16
Speaker 1: sat waiting for what was next to transpire, he looked
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Speaker 1: about him at the wiiru in his immediate vicinity. He
18:23
Speaker 1: saw that in each font was a quantity of food,
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Speaker 1: and that each wiu was armed with a wooden skewer
18:29
Speaker 1: sharpened at one end, with which they carried solid portions
18:33
Speaker 1: of food to their mouths. At the other end of
18:35
Speaker 1: the skewer was fastened a small clam shell. This was
18:39
Speaker 1: used to scoop up the smaller and softer portions of
18:42
Speaker 1: the repast into which all four of the occupants of
18:45
Speaker 1: each table dipped impartially. The Wiu leaned far over their
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Speaker 1: food scooping it up rapidly and with much noise, And
18:53
Speaker 1: so great was their haste that a part of each
18:56
Speaker 1: mouthful always fell back into the common dish. And when
18:59
Speaker 1: they choked, by reason of the rapidity with which they
19:02
Speaker 1: attempted to bolt their food, they often lost it all.
19:06
Speaker 1: Bradley was glad that he had a pedestal all to himself.
19:11
Speaker 1: Soon the keeper of the place returned with a wooden
19:13
Speaker 1: bowl filled with food. This he dumped into Bradley's trough
19:17
Speaker 1: as he already thought of it. The Englishman was glad
19:20
Speaker 1: that he could not see into the dark alcove or
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Speaker 1: know what were all the ingredients that constituted the mess
19:27
Speaker 1: before him, for he was very hungry after the first mouthful.
19:31
Speaker 1: He cared even less to investigate the antecedents of the dish,
19:34
Speaker 1: for he found it peculiarly palatable. It seemed to consist
19:38
Speaker 1: of a combination of meat, fruits, vegetables, small fish, and
19:43
Speaker 1: other undistinguishable articles of food, all seasoned to produce a
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Speaker 1: gastronomic effect that was at once baffling and delicious. When
19:52
Speaker 1: he had finished, his trough was empty, and then he
19:54
Speaker 1: commenced to wonder who was to settle for his meal.
19:58
Speaker 1: As he waited for the proprietor to return, he fell
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Speaker 1: to examining the dish from which he had eaten and
20:04
Speaker 1: the pedestal upon which it rested. The font was of stone,
20:08
Speaker 1: worn smooth by long continued use, the four outer edges
20:12
Speaker 1: hollowed and polished by the contact of the countless wareroo
20:15
Speaker 1: bodies that had leaned against them for how long a
20:18
Speaker 1: period of time Bradley could not even guess. Everything about
20:22
Speaker 1: the place carried the impression of hoary age. The carved
20:25
Speaker 1: pedestals were black with use, the wooden seat were worn hollow.
20:30
Speaker 1: The floor of stone slabs was polished by the contact
20:33
Speaker 1: of possibly millions of naked feet, and worn away in
20:37
Speaker 1: the aisles between the pedestals, so that the latter rested
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Speaker 1: upon little mounds of stone several inches above the general
20:44
Speaker 1: level of the floor. Finally, seeing that no one came
20:48
Speaker 1: to collect, Bradley arose and started for the doorway. He
20:52
Speaker 1: had covered half the distance when he heard the voice
20:54
Speaker 1: of mine host calling to him.
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Speaker 2: Come back.
20:57
Speaker 1: Jailu screamed the Warroo and Bradley as he was bid.
21:01
Speaker 1: As he approached the creature, which stood now behind a large,
21:04
Speaker 1: flat topped pedestal beside the alcohol, he saw lying upon
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Speaker 1: the smooth surface something that almost elicited a gasp of
21:13
Speaker 1: astonishment from him. A simple common thing it was, or
21:16
Speaker 1: would have been, almost anywhere in the world, but castpack
21:20
Speaker 1: a square bit of paper, and on it, in a
21:23
Speaker 1: fine hand written compactly were many strange hieroglyphics. These remarkable
21:29
Speaker 1: creatures then had written as well as a spoken language,
21:32
Speaker 1: and besides the art of weaving cloth, possessed that of
21:36
Speaker 1: paper making. Could it be that such grotesque beings represented
21:40
Speaker 1: the high culture of the human race within the boundaries
21:43
Speaker 1: of Cashpack had natural selection produced during the countless ages
21:49
Speaker 1: of Caspacki in life, a winged monstrosity that represented the
21:53
Speaker 1: earthly pinnacle of man's evolution. Bradley had noted something of
21:58
Speaker 1: the obvious indications of a gradual evolution from ape to spearman,
22:03
Speaker 1: as exemplified by the several overlapping races of Alalus clubmen
22:09
Speaker 1: and hatchetmen that formed the connecting links between the two
22:12
Speaker 1: extremes with which he had come in contact. He had
22:16
Speaker 1: heard of the Crowlews and the Gallows, reputed to be
22:20
Speaker 1: still higher in the plane of evolution, and now he
22:23
Speaker 1: had indisputable evidence of a race possessing refinements of civilization
22:28
Speaker 1: eons in advance of the spearman. The conjectures awakened by
22:33
Speaker 1: even a momentary consideration of the possibilities involved, became at
22:37
Speaker 1: once as wildly bizarre as the insane imagings of a
22:41
Speaker 1: drug addict. As these thoughts flashed through his mind, the
22:45
Speaker 1: Wiru held out a pen of bone fixed to a
22:48
Speaker 1: wooden holder. At the same time made a sign that
22:51
Speaker 1: Bradley was to write upon the paper. It was difficult
22:55
Speaker 1: to judge from the expressionless features of the Whiru what
22:59
Speaker 1: was passing the creature's mind, but Bradley could not but
23:03
Speaker 1: feel that the thing cast a supercilious glance upon him,
23:06
Speaker 1: as much as to.
23:07
Speaker 2: Say, of course you do not know how to write,
23:11
Speaker 2: you poor low creature, but you can make your mark.
23:15
Speaker 1: Bradley sees the pen and in a clear, bold hand,
23:18
Speaker 1: wrote John Bradley, England. The Weiru showed evidences of consternation
23:24
Speaker 1: as it seized the piece of paper and examined the writing,
23:28
Speaker 1: with every mark of incredulity and surprise. Of course, it
23:32
Speaker 1: could make nothing of the strange characters, but it evidently
23:36
Speaker 1: accepted them as proof that Bradley possessed knowledge of a
23:40
Speaker 1: written language of his own. For following the englishman's entry,
23:43
Speaker 1: it made a few characters of its own.
23:47
Speaker 2: You will come here again just before lua hides his
23:50
Speaker 2: face behind the great.
23:51
Speaker 1: Cliff, announced the creature, unless.
23:54
Speaker 2: Before that you are summoned by him who speaks for Luata,
23:58
Speaker 2: in which case you will not have to eat any more.
24:01
Speaker 1: Reassuring cuss thought Bradley as he turned and left the building.
24:06
Speaker 1: Outside were several whiirus that had been eating at the
24:09
Speaker 1: pedestals within. They immediately surrounded him, asking all sorts of questions,
24:15
Speaker 1: plucking at his garments, his ammunition belt, and his pistol.
24:19
Speaker 1: Their demeanor was entirely different from what it had been
24:22
Speaker 1: within the eating place, and Bradley was to learn that
24:25
Speaker 1: a house of food was sanctuary for him, since the
24:29
Speaker 1: stern laws of the weirus forbade altercations within such walls.
24:34
Speaker 1: Now they were rough and threatening, as with wings half spread,
24:38
Speaker 1: they hovered about him in menacing attitudes, barring his way
24:42
Speaker 1: to the ladder leading to the roof from whence he
24:44
Speaker 1: had descended. But the Englishman was not one to brook
24:47
Speaker 1: interference for long. He attempted at first to push his
24:51
Speaker 1: way past them, and then, when one seized his arm
24:54
Speaker 1: and jerked him roughly back, Bradley swung upon the creature, and,
24:58
Speaker 1: with a heavy bloat at a jaw, felled it. Instantly,
25:02
Speaker 1: Pandemonium reigned. Loud wails arose, great wings opened and clothed
25:07
Speaker 1: with a loud beating noise, and many claw like hands
25:10
Speaker 1: reached forth to clutch him. Bradley struck to right and left.
25:14
Speaker 1: He dared not use his pistol for fear that once
25:17
Speaker 1: they discovered its power, he would be overcome by weight
25:20
Speaker 1: of numbers, and relieved a possession of what he considered
25:24
Speaker 1: his trump card, to be reserved until the last moment,
25:27
Speaker 1: that it might be used to aid in his escape,
25:30
Speaker 1: for already the Englishman was planning, though almost hopelessly, such
25:34
Speaker 1: an attempt. A few blows convinced Bradley that the Weirus
25:39
Speaker 1: were errant cowards, and that they bore no weapons. For
25:42
Speaker 1: after two or three had fallen beneath his fists, the
25:45
Speaker 1: others formed a circle about him, but at a safe distance,
25:49
Speaker 1: and contented themselves with threatening and blustering, while those whom
25:53
Speaker 1: he had felled lay upon the pavement without trying to arise,
25:58
Speaker 1: the while they moaned and wailed in lugubrious cornus. Again,
26:03
Speaker 1: Bradley strode toward the ladder, and this time the circle
26:06
Speaker 1: parted before him. But no sooner had he ascended a
26:09
Speaker 1: few rungs than he was seized by one foot, and
26:13
Speaker 1: an effort made to drag him down with a quick
26:16
Speaker 1: backward glance. The Englishman, clinging firmly to the ladder with
26:19
Speaker 1: both hands, drew up his free foot and with all
26:22
Speaker 1: the strength of a powerful leg, planted a heavy shoe
26:25
Speaker 1: squarely in the flat face of the whirrou that held him.
26:29
Speaker 1: Shrieking horribly, the creature clapped both hands to its face
26:33
Speaker 1: and sank to the ground, while Bradley clamored quickly the
26:36
Speaker 1: remaining distance to the roof, though no sooner did he
26:39
Speaker 1: reach the top of the ladder than a great flapping
26:42
Speaker 1: of wings beneath him warned him that the wierus were
26:45
Speaker 1: rising after him. A moment later they swarmed about his
26:49
Speaker 1: head as he ran for the apartment in which he
26:52
Speaker 1: had spent the early hours of the morning after his arrival.
26:56
Speaker 1: It was but a short distance from the top of
26:59
Speaker 1: the ladder to the door doorway, and Bradley had almost
27:02
Speaker 1: reached his goal when the door flew open and Foshe
27:05
Speaker 1: Balsage stepped out. Immediately, the pursuing weirus demanded punishment of
27:10
Speaker 1: the Jelu who had so grievously maltreated them. Boss Balsage
27:15
Speaker 1: listened to their complaints, and then, with a sudden sweep
27:18
Speaker 1: of his right hand, seized Bradley by the scruff of
27:21
Speaker 1: the neck and hurled him sprawling through the doorway upon
27:24
Speaker 1: the floor of the chamber. So sudden was the assault,
27:28
Speaker 1: and so surprising the strength of the Weiru, that the
27:31
Speaker 1: Englishman was taken completely off his guard. When he arose,
27:35
Speaker 1: the door was closed and fosh Balsage was standing over him.
27:39
Speaker 1: His hideous face contorted into an expression of rage and hatred.
27:44
Speaker 3: Hyena, snake lizard, he screamed, you would dare lay your low, vile,
27:50
Speaker 3: profaning hands upon even the lowliest of the weirus, the
27:54
Speaker 3: sacred chosen of Luata.
27:57
Speaker 1: Bradley was mad, and so he spoke in a very low,
28:00
Speaker 1: calm voice, while half smile played across his lips. But
28:04
Speaker 1: his cold gray eyes were unsmiling. What you did to
28:08
Speaker 1: me just now? He said, I am going to kill
28:11
Speaker 1: you for that, And even as he spoke, he launched
28:14
Speaker 1: himself at the throat of fosh Balsage. The other wherou
28:18
Speaker 1: that had been asleep when Bradley left the chamber had departed,
28:21
Speaker 1: and the two were alone. Fosh Balsage displayed little of
28:25
Speaker 1: the cowardice of those that had attacked Bradley in the alleyway,
28:29
Speaker 1: but that may have been because he had so slight opportunity.
28:33
Speaker 1: For Bradley had him by the throat before he could
28:35
Speaker 1: utter a cry, and with his right hand struck him
28:38
Speaker 1: heavily and repeatedly upon his face and over his heart,
28:42
Speaker 1: ugly smashing, short armed jabs of the sort that take
28:46
Speaker 1: the fight out of a man in quick time. But
28:49
Speaker 1: fosh Balsage was of no mind to die passively. He
28:52
Speaker 1: clawed and struck it Bradley, while with his great wings
28:56
Speaker 1: he attempted to shield himself from the merciless rain of blow,
29:00
Speaker 1: at the same time searching for a hold upon his
29:03
Speaker 1: antagonist's throat. Presently, he succeeded in tripping the Englishman, and
29:08
Speaker 1: together the two fell heavily to the floor Bradley underneath,
29:12
Speaker 1: and at the same instant the whirrou fastened his long
29:15
Speaker 1: talons about the other's windpipe. Fosh Balsage was possessed of
29:20
Speaker 1: enormous strength, and he was fighting for his life. The
29:24
Speaker 1: Englishman soon realized that the battle was going against him.
29:28
Speaker 1: Already his lungs were pounding painfully for air. As he
29:31
Speaker 1: reached for his pistol. It was with difficulty that he
29:34
Speaker 1: drew it from its holster, and even then, with death
29:38
Speaker 1: staring him in the face, he thought of his precious ammunition.
29:42
Speaker 1: Kant waste it, he thought, and slipping his fingers to
29:45
Speaker 1: the barrel, he raised the weapon and struck fosh Balsage
29:48
Speaker 1: a terrific blow between the eyes. Instantly, the claw like
29:52
Speaker 1: fingers released their hold, and the creature sank limply to
29:56
Speaker 1: the floor beside Bradley, who lay for several minutes, gas
30:00
Speaker 1: sping painfully in an effort to regain his breath. When
30:04
Speaker 1: he was able, he rose and leaned close over the weiru,
30:07
Speaker 1: lying silent and motionless, his wings dropping limply, and his
30:11
Speaker 1: great round eyes staring blankly toward the ceiling. A brief
30:16
Speaker 1: examination convinced Bradly that the thing was dead, and with
30:20
Speaker 1: the conviction came an overwhelming sense of the dangers which
30:24
Speaker 1: must now confront him. But how was he to escape?
30:28
Speaker 1: His first thought was to find some means for concealing
30:31
Speaker 1: the evidence of his deed, and then to make a
30:34
Speaker 1: bold effort to escape. Stepping to the second door, he
30:38
Speaker 1: pushed it gently open and peered in upon what seemed
30:41
Speaker 1: to be as store room. In it was a litter
30:44
Speaker 1: of cloth, such as the whiru's robes were fashioned fra,
30:47
Speaker 1: a number of chests painted blue and white, with white
30:51
Speaker 1: hieroglyphics painted in bold strokes upon the blue and blue
30:55
Speaker 1: hieroglyphics upon the white. In one corner was a pile
30:59
Speaker 1: of human and skulls reaching almost to the ceiling, and
31:03
Speaker 1: in another a stack of dried Whiru wings. The chamber
31:07
Speaker 1: was as irregularly shaped as the other, and had but
31:10
Speaker 1: a single window and a second door at the further end,
31:14
Speaker 1: but was without the exit through the roof, and most
31:17
Speaker 1: important of all, there was no creature of any sort
31:20
Speaker 1: in it. As quickly as possible, Bradley dragged the dead
31:24
Speaker 1: Wheru through the doorway and closed the door. Then he
31:28
Speaker 1: looked about for a place to conceal the corpse. One
31:31
Speaker 1: of the chests was large enough to hold the body
31:34
Speaker 1: if the knees were bent well up, and with this
31:37
Speaker 1: idea in view, Bradley approached the chest to open it.
31:41
Speaker 1: The lid was made in two pieces, each being hinged
31:44
Speaker 1: at an opposite end of the chest and joining nicely
31:47
Speaker 1: where they met in the center of the chest, making
31:50
Speaker 1: a snug, well fitting joint. There was no lock. Bradley
31:54
Speaker 1: raised one half the cover and looked in With a
31:57
Speaker 1: smothered by jove, He went closer to examine the contents.
32:02
Speaker 1: The chest was about half filled with an assortment of
32:05
Speaker 1: golden trinkets. There were what appeared to be bracelets, anklets,
32:10
Speaker 1: and brooches of virgin gold. Realizing that there was no
32:14
Speaker 1: room in the chest for the body of the Whiru,
32:17
Speaker 1: Bradley turned to seek another means of concealing the evidence
32:20
Speaker 1: of his crime. There was a space between the chests
32:23
Speaker 1: and the wall, and into this he forced the corpse,
32:27
Speaker 1: piling the discarded robes upon it until it was entirely
32:30
Speaker 1: hidden from sight. But now how was he to make
32:34
Speaker 1: good his escape? In the bright glare of that early
32:37
Speaker 1: spring day, he walked to the door at the far
32:40
Speaker 1: end of the apartment and cautiously opened it. An inch
32:44
Speaker 1: before him, and about two feet away was the blank
32:47
Speaker 1: wall of another building. Bradley opened the door a little
32:51
Speaker 1: farther and looked in both directions. There was no one
32:54
Speaker 1: in sight. To the left over a considerable expanse of rooftop,
32:58
Speaker 1: and to the right another building shut off his line
33:01
Speaker 1: of vision at about twenty feet. Slipping out, he turned
33:05
Speaker 1: to the right and in a few steps found a
33:07
Speaker 1: narrow passageway between two buildings. Turning into this, he passed
33:12
Speaker 1: about half its length when he saw a whirrou appear
33:14
Speaker 1: at the opposite end and halt. The creature was not
33:18
Speaker 1: looking down the passageway, but at any moment it might
33:22
Speaker 1: turn its eyes toward him, when he would be immediately discovered.
33:26
Speaker 1: To Bradley's left was a triangular niche in the wall
33:29
Speaker 1: of one of the houses, and into this he dodged,
33:33
Speaker 1: thus concealing himself from the sight of the whiru. Beside
33:36
Speaker 1: him was a door painted a vivid yellow and constructed
33:40
Speaker 1: after the same fashion as the other whirrou doors he
33:43
Speaker 1: had seen, being made up of countless narrow strips of
33:46
Speaker 1: wood from four to six inches in length, laid on
33:50
Speaker 1: in patches of about the same width, the strips in
33:53
Speaker 1: adjacent patches never running in the same direction. The result
33:58
Speaker 1: bore some resemblance to a crazy patchwork quilt, which was
34:02
Speaker 1: heightened when, as in one of the doors he had seen,
34:05
Speaker 1: contiguous patches were painted different colors. The strips appeared to
34:10
Speaker 1: have been bound together and to the underlying framework of
34:13
Speaker 1: the door with gut or fiber, and also glued, after
34:17
Speaker 1: which a thick coating of paint had been applied. One
34:20
Speaker 1: edge of the door was formed of a straight, round
34:23
Speaker 1: pole about two inches in diameter that protruded at top
34:28
Speaker 1: and bottom the projection, setting in round holes in both
34:31
Speaker 1: lintel and sill, forming the axis upon which the door swung.
34:37
Speaker 1: An eccentric disk upon the inside face of the door
34:40
Speaker 1: engaged a slot in the frame when it was desired
34:44
Speaker 1: to secure the door against intruders. As Bradley stood flattened
34:49
Speaker 1: against the wall waiting for the whiru to move on,
34:52
Speaker 1: he heard the creature's wings brushing against the sides of
34:55
Speaker 1: the buildings as it made its way down the narrow
34:57
Speaker 1: passage in his direction. As the yellow door offered the
35:01
Speaker 1: only means of escape, without detection. The Englishman decided to
35:05
Speaker 1: risk whatever might lie beyond it, and so boldly pushing
35:09
Speaker 1: it in, he crossed the threshold and entered a small apartment.
35:13
Speaker 1: As he did so, he heard a muffled ejaculation of surprise,
35:18
Speaker 1: and turning his eyes in the direction from whence the
35:21
Speaker 1: sound had come, he beheld a wide eyed girl standing
35:24
Speaker 1: flattened against the opposite wall, an expression of incredulity upon
35:29
Speaker 1: her face. At a glance, he saw that she was
35:32
Speaker 1: of no race of humans that he had come in
35:34
Speaker 1: contact with since his arrival upon Kaprona. There was no
35:38
Speaker 1: trace about her form or features of any relationship to
35:41
Speaker 1: those low orders of men, nor was she appareled as they,
35:46
Speaker 1: or rather she did not entirely lack apparel as did
35:49
Speaker 1: most of them. A soft hide felled from her left
35:52
Speaker 1: shoulder to just below her left hip on one side,
35:55
Speaker 1: and almost to her right knee on the other. A
35:58
Speaker 1: loose girdle was about her waist, and golden ornaments such
36:02
Speaker 1: as he had seen in the blue and white chest,
36:05
Speaker 1: encircled her arms and legs, while a golden filet with
36:08
Speaker 1: a triangular diadem bound her heavy hair above her brows.
36:13
Speaker 1: Her skin was white, as from long confinement within doors,
36:17
Speaker 1: but it was clear and fine. Her figure, partially concealed
36:21
Speaker 1: by the soft deer skin, was all curves of symmetry
36:25
Speaker 1: and youthful grace. While her features might easily have been
36:29
Speaker 1: the envy of the most feted of continental beauties. If
36:33
Speaker 1: the girl was surprised by the sudden appearance of Bradley,
36:36
Speaker 1: the latter was absolutely astounded to discover so wondrous a
36:40
Speaker 1: creature among the hideous inhabitants of the city of human skulls.
36:45
Speaker 1: For a moment, the two looked at one another in
36:48
Speaker 1: unconcealed consternation, and then Bradley spoke, using, to the best
36:52
Speaker 1: of his poor ability, the common tongue of cast back.
36:56
Speaker 1: Who are you, he asked, and from where do you come?
37:00
Speaker 1: Do not tell me that you are a weiru? No,
37:03
Speaker 1: she replied, I am no weiru, and she shuddered slightly
37:07
Speaker 1: as she pronounced the word. I am a galu. But
37:11
Speaker 1: who and what are you? I am sure that you
37:14
Speaker 1: are no galou from your garments, but you are like
37:16
Speaker 1: the galous in other respects. I know that you are
37:19
Speaker 1: not of this frightful city, for I have been here
37:22
Speaker 1: for almost ten moons, and never have I seen a
37:25
Speaker 1: male galu brought hither before. Nor are there such as
37:29
Speaker 1: you and I other than prisoners in the land of
37:31
Speaker 1: ou O, And these are all females. Are you a prisoner? Then?
37:37
Speaker 1: He told her briefly who and what he was, though
37:40
Speaker 1: he doubted if she understood. And from her he learned
37:43
Speaker 1: that she had been a prisoner there for many months.
37:46
Speaker 1: But for what purpose he did not then learn. As
37:49
Speaker 1: in the midst of their conversation, the yellow door swung open,
37:52
Speaker 1: and a wiru with a robe slashed with yellow entered
37:56
Speaker 1: at sight of Bradley. The creature became furious.
38:00
Speaker 2: Whence came this reptile, It demanded the girl, how long
38:03
Speaker 2: has it been here with you? It came through the
38:06
Speaker 2: doorway just ahead of you. Bradley answered for the girl.
38:10
Speaker 2: The Wiroo looked relieved. It is well for the girl
38:14
Speaker 2: that this is so, it said, for now only you
38:17
Speaker 2: will have to die.
38:18
Speaker 1: And stepping to the door, the creature raised its voice
38:21
Speaker 1: in one of those uncanny, depressing wails. The Englishman looked
38:25
Speaker 1: toward the girl. Shall I kill it? He asked, half
38:29
Speaker 1: drawing his pistol. What is best to do? I do
38:32
Speaker 1: not wish to endanger you. The whirroo backed toward the door.
38:36
Speaker 1: De fier it screamed, you dare.
38:39
Speaker 2: To threaten one of the sacred chosen of Luata.
38:42
Speaker 1: Do not kill him, cried the girl, For then there
38:45
Speaker 1: could be no hope for you. That you are here
38:48
Speaker 1: alive shows that they may not intend to kill you
38:51
Speaker 1: at all, And so there is a chance for you
38:53
Speaker 1: if you do not anger them, but touch him in violence,
38:56
Speaker 1: and your bleat scowl will top the loftiest pedestal of
39:00
Speaker 1: u oh. And what of you, asked Bradley. I am
39:04
Speaker 1: already doomed, replied the girl. I am cossatloe, cossatlo, cossatloo.
39:12
Speaker 1: What did these phrases mean that they were so oft
39:15
Speaker 1: repeated by the denizens of u Oh, lou and Lo,
39:19
Speaker 1: Bradley new to mean man and woman. Atto was employed
39:23
Speaker 1: variously to indicate life, eggs, young, reproduction, and kindred subject.
39:29
Speaker 1: Coss was a negative, but in combination they were meaningless
39:33
Speaker 1: to the European. Do you mean they will kill you,
39:36
Speaker 1: asked Bradley. I but wish that they would, replied the girl.
39:40
Speaker 1: My fate is to be worse than death in just
39:43
Speaker 1: a few nights more with the coming of the new moon.
39:47
Speaker 2: Poor she snake snapped, the Whiru, you are to become
39:50
Speaker 2: sacred above all other shees, he who speaks for Luata
39:54
Speaker 2: has chosen you for himself.
39:56
Speaker 1: To day you go to his temple. The Wiru you
40:00
Speaker 1: the phrase meaning literally high place where you will receive
40:04
Speaker 1: the sacred command. The girl shuddered and cast a sorrowful
40:08
Speaker 1: glance toward Bradley Ah, she sighed, if I could but
40:13
Speaker 1: see my beloved country once again. The man stepped suddenly
40:17
Speaker 1: close to her side before the Weiru could interpose, and
40:21
Speaker 1: in a low voice, asked her if there was no
40:23
Speaker 1: way by which he might encompass her escape. She shook
40:27
Speaker 1: her head sorrowfully. Even if we escaped the city, she replied,
40:32
Speaker 1: there is the big water between the island of ou
40:34
Speaker 1: Oh and the galous shore, and what is beyond the
40:38
Speaker 1: city if we could leave it, pursued Bradley. I may
40:41
Speaker 1: only guess from what I have heard since I was
40:44
Speaker 1: brought here, she answered, But my reports and chance remarks,
40:48
Speaker 1: I'd take it to be a beautiful land in which
40:50
Speaker 1: there are but few wild beasts and no men, For
40:54
Speaker 1: only the wirus live upon this island, and they dwell
40:57
Speaker 1: always in cities, of which there are three, this being
41:00
Speaker 1: the largest. The others are at the far end of
41:03
Speaker 1: the island, which is about three marches from end to end,
41:07
Speaker 1: and at its widest point about one march. From his
41:11
Speaker 1: own experience and from what the natives on the mainland
41:14
Speaker 1: had told him, Bradley knew that ten miles was a
41:17
Speaker 1: good day's march in Caspack, owing to the fact that
41:20
Speaker 1: at most points it was a trackless wilderness, and at
41:24
Speaker 1: all times travelers were beset by hideous beasts and reptiles
41:28
Speaker 1: that greatly impeded rapid progress. The two had spoken rapidly,
41:33
Speaker 1: but were now interrupted by the advent through the opening
41:36
Speaker 1: in the roof of several whirus, who had come in
41:39
Speaker 1: answer to the alarm it of the yellow slashing had uttered.
41:43
Speaker 1: This jerou cried, The offended.
41:46
Speaker 2: One has threatened me take its hatchet from it and
41:49
Speaker 2: make it fast where it can do no harm, until
41:52
Speaker 2: he who speaks for Luata has said what shall be
41:55
Speaker 2: done with it. It is one of those strange creatures that
41:58
Speaker 2: fausch Balsaged discovered first above the Bangloo country, and followed
42:03
Speaker 2: back towards the beginning. He who speaks for Luata sent
42:07
Speaker 2: Fosche Balsage to fetch him one of the creatures, and.
42:10
Speaker 1: Here it is.
42:11
Speaker 2: It is his hope that it may be from another
42:13
Speaker 2: world and hold the secrets of the Cossantalous.
42:17
Speaker 1: The wirus approached boldly to take Bradley's hatchet from him,
42:21
Speaker 1: their leader having indicated the pistol hanging in its holster
42:25
Speaker 1: at the englishman's hip. But the first one went reeling
42:28
Speaker 1: backward against his fellows from the blow to the chin,
42:31
Speaker 1: which Bradley followed up with a rush and the intention
42:35
Speaker 1: to clean up the room in record time. But he
42:38
Speaker 1: had reckoned without the opening in the roof. Two were down,
42:41
Speaker 1: and a great wailing and moaning was arising. When reinforcements
42:45
Speaker 1: appeared from above. Bradley did not see them, but the
42:49
Speaker 1: girl did, and though she cried out a warning, it
42:52
Speaker 1: came too late for him to avoid a large whiru,
42:55
Speaker 1: who dived head foremost for him, striking him between the
42:58
Speaker 1: shoulders and bearing him to the floor. Instantly a dozen
43:02
Speaker 1: more were piling on top of him. His pistol was
43:05
Speaker 1: wrenched from its holster, and he was securely pinioned down
43:09
Speaker 1: by the weight of numbers. At a word from the
43:12
Speaker 1: whiru of the yellow slashing, who evidently was a person
43:15
Speaker 1: of authority. One left and presently returned with fiber ropes,
43:19
Speaker 1: with which Bradley was tightly bound.
43:22
Speaker 2: Now bear him to the blue place of seven.
43:25
Speaker 1: Skulls, directed the chief.
43:27
Speaker 2: Wheroo, and one take the word of all that has
43:30
Speaker 2: passed to him, who speaks for Luata.
43:33
Speaker 1: Each of the creatures raised a hand the back against
43:36
Speaker 1: its face, as though in salute. One seized Bradley and
43:40
Speaker 1: carried him through the yellow doorway to the roof, from
43:43
Speaker 1: whence it rose upon its wide spread wings and flapped
43:46
Speaker 1: off across the rooftops of OOO, with its heavy burden
43:50
Speaker 1: clutched in its long talons. Below him, Bradley could see
43:54
Speaker 1: the city stretching away to a distance. On every hand,
43:58
Speaker 1: it was not as large as he had though he
44:01
Speaker 1: judged that it was at least three miles square. The
44:04
Speaker 1: houses were piled in indescribable heaps, sometimes to a height
44:09
Speaker 1: of a hundred feet. The streets and alleys were short
44:12
Speaker 1: and crooked, and there were many areas where buildings had
44:15
Speaker 1: been wedged in so closely that no light could possibly
44:19
Speaker 1: reach the lowest tiers. The entire surface of the ground
44:22
Speaker 1: being packed solidly with them. The colors were varied and startling,
44:27
Speaker 1: the architecture amazing. Many roofs were cup or saucer shaped,
44:31
Speaker 1: with a small hole in the center of each, as
44:34
Speaker 1: though they had been constructed to catch rain water and
44:37
Speaker 1: conduct it to a reservoir beneath, But nearly all the
44:40
Speaker 1: others had the large opening in the top that Bradley
44:43
Speaker 1: had seen used by these flying men. In lieu of doorways.
44:47
Speaker 1: At all levels were the myriad poles surmounted by grinning skulls.
44:52
Speaker 1: But the two most prominent features of the city were
44:55
Speaker 1: the round tower of human skulls that Bradley had noted
44:59
Speaker 1: earlier in the day, and another and much larger edifice
45:02
Speaker 1: near the center of the city. As they approached it,
45:05
Speaker 1: Bradley saw that it was a huge building, rising a
45:09
Speaker 1: hundred feet in height from the ground, and that it
45:12
Speaker 1: stood alone in the center of what might have been
45:14
Speaker 1: called a plaza in some other part of the world.
45:17
Speaker 1: Its various parts, however, were set together with the same
45:21
Speaker 1: strange irregularity that marked the architecture of the city as
45:25
Speaker 1: a whole, and it was capped by an enormous saucer
45:28
Speaker 1: shaped roof which projected far beyond the eaves, having the
45:32
Speaker 1: appearance of a colossal Chinese coolie hat inverted. The whiru
45:37
Speaker 1: bearing Bradley passed over one corner of the open space
45:40
Speaker 1: about the large building, revealing to the englishman's grass and
45:44
Speaker 1: trees and running water beneath. They passed the building, and
45:47
Speaker 1: about five hundred yards beyond, the creature alighted on the
45:51
Speaker 1: roof of a square blue building surmounted by seven poles
45:55
Speaker 1: bearing seven skulls. This, then, thought Bradley, is the blue
45:59
Speaker 1: place of seven skulls. Over the opening in the roof
46:03
Speaker 1: was a grated covering, and this the whiirrou removed. The
46:07
Speaker 1: thing then tied a piece of fiber rope to one
46:10
Speaker 1: of Bradley's ankles and rolled him over the edge of
46:13
Speaker 1: the opening. All was dark below, and for an instant
46:17
Speaker 1: the Englishman came as near to experiencing real terror as
46:21
Speaker 1: he had ever come in his life before. As he
46:24
Speaker 1: rolled off into the black abyss, he felt the rope
46:26
Speaker 1: tighten about his ankle, and an instant later he was
46:29
Speaker 1: stopped with a sudden jerk to swing pendulum like head downward.
46:34
Speaker 1: Then the creature lowered away until Bradley's head came in
46:38
Speaker 1: sudden and painful contact with the floor below, after which
46:42
Speaker 1: the whirrou let loose of the rope entirely, and the
46:45
Speaker 1: Englishman's body crashed to the wooden planking. He felt the
46:49
Speaker 1: free end of the rope dropped upon him, and heard
46:51
Speaker 1: the grating being slid into place above him. End of
46:56
Speaker 1: Chapter two.