Page:Amazing Stories Volume 01 Number 06.djvu/13
What Went Before
The hero of the story, Edmund Stonewall, has discovered how to utilize atomic energy. He constructs a car that can traverse interplanetary space, actuated by this energy, and two friends' starts on a trip to the planet Venus, not disclosing to them his intention at first. He reaches a rather desolate part of the planet, where daylight never appears, sees the almost ape-like inhabitants, cave dwellers, who wish to sacrifice one of them to the gods, and they rescue the proposed victim only by killing the High Priest. They get in among the valleys in a mountain of ice, on the edge of the dark face of the planet, taking with them some of the cave dwellers on sleds. The car with sleds fastened alongside and all but one of the cave-dwellers upon them, is carried now along a sort of glacial stream, but soon sleds and the unfortunate occupants disappear, and our travellers are left with only one of the ape-like cave dwellers, Juba, as company. Now they reach the warm regions of Venus, where there is perpetual day, and there find a highly developed race who communicate with each other by a species of telepathy, and our travelers are enchanted by the beautiful appearance of the beings, who are superior in every way to terrestrial mankind.
A COLUMBUS OF SPACE
By GARRETT P. SERVISS
Part II
In this installment, Professor Serviss introduces us into the daylight as well as the civilised hemisphere of the planet Venus. We become acquainted with the high culture of the inhabitants of the planet, with their thought reading ability, with their prismatic, silent, but colorful language, as well as the grotesque dangers of the twilight zone, where prehistoric beasts as high as houses are still roaming in their virgin forests.
Particular attention is called to Professor Serviss's accurate astronomical and scientific knowledge, and if the planet Venus is indeed enveloped in a dense atmosphere, as now believed by most scientists, you may be certain that conditions exactly as described by the author prevail.
CHAPTER IX.
An Astonishing Reception at the Capital
I didn't feel myself quite all the confidence that I tried to express to Henry, for this scrape differed essentially from any that we had been in yet; but still I relied a good deal upon Edmund's resources.
It presently became evident that the man he had killed was a personage of importance—an admiral, perhaps. Anyway, it was clear that they meant to make Us pay for what we had done.
There was one thing, however, which gave me a little comfort, and awoke the hope that we might yet escape. This was the behavior of Ala. She seemed to be not much more than a girl in age, but she was treated on all hands with the greatest respect. Her word was law.
That was evident the moment they began to come aboard our ship. It was not only our crew, if I may so call them, that obeyed her, but everybody. And it was delightful to see the dignity with which she bore herself.
She was a very princess in manner and carriage, and yet there was something peculiarly gentle in all her ways which made her irresistibly winning.
I could not think that, as far as I might depend upon her, she would approve the exaction of a very severe punishment for Edmund's unintentional offense, and I was the more convinced of this when I reflected upon what I had noticed in their bearing toward one another during the trip. Considering where we were, no doubt it may seem ridiculous to speak of such a thing as love!
But there is love at first sight on the earth—why not there, a world inhabited by such beings as we had encountered, who certainly were human in their characteristics, and almost more than human in their beauty?
While, on the other hand, Edmund was as manly a representative of the race of Adam as I have ever looked upon, and he had the light of genius in his eyes.
Anyway, take it how you will, I believed that a mutual attraction had been felt by these two inhabitants of different worlds, and I began to think that this very thing had been in Edmund's mind when he forbade us to resist.
As soon as our captors found that we offered no resistance, they partially released their grasp, but we were all bound, so that we could not escape.
Having passed over the land, we rose a little higher, for there was a range of hills ahead of us, and then, flanked on both sides by other airships, we held our course toward the distant mountains. Whether the suggestion came from Edmund or not, I cannot say, but our car, which had been towed over the sea, was now lifted upon one of the larger air-ships, and it continued to accompany us. I felt very glad to see that.
All our hopes of ultimate escape centered upon our own original car!
Floating Aerial Palaces
In the course of several hours of very rapid traveling we began to draw near the mountains, and now those singular cobweb-like objects which we had caught sight of in the far distance became very plain to view. Although prisoners, we were not