CHAPTER VI
A PENDENT WORLD
The Mahars set me free as they had promised, but with strict
injunctions never to approach Phutra or any other Mahar city. They
also made it perfectly plain that they considered me a dangerous
creature, and that having wiped the slate clean in so far as they
were under obligations to me, they now considered me fair prey.
Should I again fall into their hands, they intimated it would go
ill with me.
They would not tell me in which direction Hooja had set forth with
Dian, so I departed from Phutra, filled with bitterness against
the Mahars, and rage toward the Sly One who had once again robbed
me of my greatest treasure.
At first I was minded to go directly back to Anoroc; but upon second
thought turned my face toward Sari, as I felt that somewhere in
that direction Hooja would travel, his own country lying in that
general direction.
Of my journey to Sari it is only necessary to say that it was
fraught with the usual excitement and adventure, incident to all
travel across the face of savage Pellucidar. The dangers, however,
were greatly reduced through the medium of my armament. I often
wondered how it had happened that I had ever survived the first ten
years of my life within the inner world, when, naked and primitively
armed, I had traversed great areas of her beast-ridden surface.
With the aid of my map, which I had kept with great care during my
march with the Sagoths in search of the great secret, I arrived at
Sari at last. As I topped the lofty plateau in whose rocky cliffs
the principal tribe of Sarians find their cave-homes, a great hue
and cry arose from those who first discovered me.
Like wasps from their nests the hairy warriors poured from their
caves. The bows with their poison-tipped arrows, which I had
taught them to fashion and to use, were raised against me. Swords
of hammered iron--another of my innovations--menaced me, as with
lusty shouts the horde charged down.
It was a critical moment. Before I should be recog-nized I might
be dead. It was evident that all semblance of intertribal relationship
had ceased with my going, and that my people had reverted to their
former savage, suspicious hatred of all strangers. My garb must
have puzzled them, too, for never before of course had they seen
a man clothed in khaki and puttees.
Leaning my express rifle against my body I raised both hands aloft.
It was the peace-sign that is recognized everywhere upon the surface
of Pellucidar. The charging warriors paused and surveyed me. I
looked for my friend Ghak, the Hairy One, king of Sari, and presently
I saw him coming from a distance. Ah, but it was good to see his
mighty, hairy form once more! A friend was Ghak--a friend well worth
the having; and it had been some time since I had seen a friend.
Shouldering his way through the throng of warriors, the mighty
chieftain advanced toward me. There was an expression of puzzlement
upon his fine features. He crossed the space between the warriors
and myself, halt-ing before me.
I did not speak. I did not even smile. I wanted to see if Ghak,
my principal lieutenant, would recognize me. For some time he
stood there looking me over carefully. His eyes took in my large
pith helmet, my khaki jacket, and bandoleers of cartridges, the two
revolvers swinging at my hips, the large rifle resting against my
body. Still I stood with my hands above my head. He examined my
puttees and my strong tan shoes--a little the worse for wear now.
Then he glanced up once more to my face. As his gaze rested there
quite steadily for some moments I saw recognition tinged with awe
creep across his countenance.
Presently without a word he took one of my hands in his and dropping
to one knee raised my fingers to his lips. Perry had taught them
this trick, nor ever did the most polished courtier of all the
grand courts of Europe perform the little act of homage with greater
grace and dignity.
Quickly I raised Ghak to his feet, clasping both his hands in mine.
I think there must have been tears in my eyes then--I know I felt
too full for words. The king of Sari turned toward his warriors.
"Our emperor has come back," he announced. "Come hither and--"
But he got no further, for the shouts that broke from those savage
throats would have drowned the voice of heaven itself. I had never
guessed how much they thought of me. As they clustered around,
almost fighting for the chance to kiss my hand, I saw again the
vision of empire which I had thought faded forever.
With such as these I could conquer a world. With such as these I
WOULD conquer one! If the Sarians had remained loyal, so too would
the Amozites be loyal still, and the Kalians, and the Suvians,
and all the great tribes who had formed the federation that was to
eman-cipate the human race of Pellucidar.
Perry was safe with the Mezops; I was safe with the Sarians; now
if Dian were but safe with me the future would look bright indeed.
It did not take long to outline to Ghak all that had befallen
me since I had departed from Pellucidar, and to get down to the
business of finding Dian, which to me at that moment was of even
greater importance than the very empire itself.
When I told him that Hooja had stolen her, he stamped his foot in
rage.
"It is always the Sly One!" he cried. "It was Hooja who caused
the first trouble between you and the Beautiful One.
"It was Hooja who betrayed our trust, and all but caused our
recapture by the Sagoths that time we escaped from Phutra.
"It was Hooja who tricked you and substituted a Mahar for Dian when
you started upon your return journey to your own world.
"It was Hooja who schemed and lied until he had turned the kingdoms
one against another and de-stroyed the federation.
"When we had him in our power we were foolish to let him live.
Next time--"
Ghak did not need to finish his sentence.
"He has become a very powerful enemy now," I re-plied. "That he is
allied in some way with the Mahars is evidenced by the familiarity of
his relations with the Sagoths who were accompanying me in search
of the great secret, for it must have been Hooja whom I saw conversing
with them just before we reached the valley. Doubtless they told
him of our quest and he hastened on ahead of us, discovered the
cave and stole the document. Well does he deserve his appellation
of the Sly One."
With Ghak and his head men I held a number of consultations. The
upshot of them was a decision to com-bine our search for Dian with
an attempt to rebuild the crumbled federation. To this end twenty
warriors were despatched in pairs to ten of the leading kingdoms,
with instructions to make every effort to discover the where-abouts
of Hooja and Dian, while prosecuting their missions to the chieftains
to whom they were sent.
Ghak was to remain at home to receive the various delegations which
we invited to come to Sari on the business of the federation. Four
hundred warriors were started for Anoroc to fetch Perry and the
contents of the prospector, to the capitol of the empire, which
was also the principal settlements of the Sarians.
At first it was intended that I remain at Sari, that I might be in
readiness to hasten forth at the first report of the discovery of
Dian; but I found the inaction in the face of my deep solicitude
for the welfare of my mate so galling that scarce had the several
units departed upon their missions before I, too, chafed to be
actively engaged upon the search.
It was after my second sleep, subsequent to the de-parture
of the warriors, as I recall that I at last went to Ghak with the
admission that I could no longer support the intolerable longing
to be personally upon the trail of my lost love.
Ghak tried to dissuade me, though I could tell that his heart was
with me in my wish to be away and really doing something. It was
while we were arguing upon the subject that a stranger, with hands
above his head, entered the village. He was immediately surrounded
by warriors and conducted to Ghak's presence.
The fellow was a typical cave man--squat muscular, and hairy, and
of a type I had not seen before. His features, like those of all
the primeval men of Pellucidar, were regular and fine. His weapons
consisted of a stone ax and knife and a heavy knobbed bludgeon of
wood. His skin was very white.
"Who are you?" asked Ghak. "And whence come you?"
"I am Kolk, son of Goork, who is chief of the Thurians," replied the
stranger. "From Thuria I have come in search of the land of Amoz,
where dwells Dacor, the Strong One, who stole my sister, Canda,
the Grace-ful One, to be his mate.
"We of Thuria had heard of a great chieftain who has bound together
many tribes, and my father has sent me to Dacor to learn if there
be truth in these stories, and if so to offer the services of Thuria
to him whom we have heard called emperor."
"The stories are true," replied Ghak, "and here is the emperor of
whom you have heard. You need travel no farther."
Kolk was delighted. He told us much of the wonderful resources of
Thuria, the Land of Awful Shadow, and of his long journey in search
of Amoz.
"And why," I asked, "does Goork, your father, desire to join his
kingdom to the empire?"
"There are two reasons," replied the young man. "For-ever have the
Mahars, who dwell beyond the Lidi Plains which lie at the farther
rim of the Land of Awful Shadow, taken heavy toll of our people,
whom they either force into lifelong slavery or fatten for their
feasts. We have heard that the great emperor makes successful war
upon the Mahars, against whom we should be glad to fight.
"Recently has another reason come. Upon a great island which lies
in the Sojar Az, but a short distance from our shores, a wicked
man has collected a great band of outcast warriors of all tribes.
Even are there many Sagoths among them, sent by the Mahars to aid
the Wicked One.
"This band makes raids upon our villages, and it is constantly
growing in size and strength, for the Mahars give liberty to any of
their male prisoners who will promise to fight with this band against
the enemies of the Mahars. It is the purpose of the Mahars thus
to raise a force of our own kind to combat the growth and menace
of the new empire of which I have come to seek information. All
this we learned from one of our own warriors who had pretended
to sympathize with this band and had then escaped at the first
opportunity."
"Who could this man be," I asked Ghak, "who leads so vile a movement
against his own kind?"
"His name is Hooja," spoke up Kolk, answering my question.
Ghak and I looked at each other. Relief was written upon his
countenance and I know that it was beating strongly in my heart.
At last we had discovered a tan-gible clue to the whereabouts of
Hooja--and with the clue a guide!
But when I broached the subject to Kolk he demurred. He had come
a long way, he explained, to see his sister and to confer with Dacor.
Moreover, he had instructions from his father which he could not
ignore lightly. But even so he would return with me and show me
the way to the island of the Thurian shore if by doing so we might
accomplish anything.
"But we cannot," he urged. "Hooja is powerful. He has thousands
of warriors. He has only to call upon his Mahar allies to receive
a countless horde of Sagoths to do his bidding against his human
enemies.
"Let us wait until you may gather an equal horde from the kingdoms
of your empire. Then we may march against Hooja with some show of
success.
"But first must you lure him to the mainland, for who among you
knows how to construct the strange things that carry Hooja and his
band back and forth across the water?
"We are not island people. We do not go upon the water. We know
nothing of such things."
I couldn't persuade him to do more than direct me upon the way.
I showed him my map, which now in-cluded a great area of country
extending from Anoroc upon the east to Sari upon the west, and from
the river south of the Mountains of the Clouds north to Amoz. As
soon as I had explained it to him he drew a line with his finger,
showing a sea-coast far to the west and south of Sari, and a great
circle which he said marked the extent of the Land of Awful Shadow
in which lay Thuria.
The shadow extended southeast of the coast out into the sea half-way
to a large island, which he said was the seat of Hooja's traitorous
government. The island itself lay in the light of the noonday sun.
Northwest of the coast and embracing a part of Thuria lay the Lidi
Plains, upon the northwestern verge of which was situ-ated the
Mahar city which took such heavy toll of the Thurians.
Thus were the unhappy people now between two fires, with Hooja upon
one side and the Mahars upon the other. I did not wonder that they
sent out an appeal for succor.
Though Ghak and Kolk both attempted to dissuade me, I was determined
to set out at once, nor did I delay longer than to make a copy of
my map to be given to Perry that he might add to his that which
I had set down since we parted. I left a letter for him as well,
in which among other things I advanced the theory that the Sojar
Az, or Great Sea, which Kolk mentioned as stretching eastward
from Thuria, might indeed be the same mighty ocean as that which,
swinging around the southern end of a continent ran northward along
the shore opposite Phutra, mingling its waters with the huge gulf
upon which lay Sari, Amoz, and Greenwich.
Against this possibility I urged him to hasten the building of
a fleet of small sailing-vessels, which we might utilize should I
find it impossible to entice Hooja's horde to the mainland.
I told Ghak what I had written, and suggested that as soon as he
could he should make new treaties with the various kingdoms of the
empire, collect an army and march toward Thuria--this of course
against the possi-bility of my detention through some cause or
other.
Kolk gave me a sign to his father--a lidi, or beast of burden,
crudely scratched upon a bit of bone, and be-neath the lidi a
man and a flower; all very rudely done perhaps, but none the less
effective as I well knew from my long years among the primitive
men of Pellucidar.
The lidi is the tribal beast of the Thurians; the man and the
flower in the combination in which they ap-peared bore a double
significance, as they constituted not only a message to the effect
that the bearer came in peace, but were also Kolk's signature.
And so, armed with my credentials and my small arsenal, I set out
alone upon my quest for the dearest girl in this world or yours.
Kolk gave me explicit directions, though with my map I do not believe
that I could have gone wrong. As a matter of fact I did not need
the map at all, since the principal landmark of the first half
of my journey, a gi-gantic mountainpeak, was plainly visible from
Sari, though a good hundred miles away.
At the southern base of this mountain a river rose and ran in
a westerly direction, finally turning south and emptying into the
Sojar Az some forty miles northeast of Thuria. All that I had to
do was follow this river to the sea and then follow the coast to
Thuria.
Two hundred and forty miles of wild mountain and primeval jungle, of
untracked plain, of nameless rivers, of deadly swamps and savage
forests lay ahead of me, yet never had I been more eager for
an adventure than now, for never had more depended upon haste and
success.
I do not know how long a time that journey required, and only half
did I appreciate the varied wonders that each new march unfolded
before me, for my mind and heart were filled with but a single
image--that of a perfect girl whose great, dark eyes looked bravely
forth from a frame of raven hair.
It was not until I had passed the high peak and found the river
that my eyes first discovered the pendent world, the tiny satellite
which hangs low over the surface of Pellucidar casting its perpetual
shadow always upon the same spot--the area that is known here as
the Land of Awful Shadow, in which dwells the tribe of Thuria.
From the distance and the elevation of the highlands where I stood
the Pellucidarian noonday moon showed half in sunshine and half in
shadow, while directly be-neath it was plainly visible the round
dark spot upon the surface of Pellucidar where the sun has never
shone. From where I stood the moon appeared to hang so low above
the ground as almost to touch it; but later I was to learn that
it floats a mile above the surface--which seems indeed quite close
for a moon.
Following the river downward I soon lost sight of the tiny planet
as I entered the mazes of a lofty forest. Nor did I catch another
glimpse of it for some time--several marches at least. However, when
the river led me to the sea, or rather just before it reached the
sea, of a sudden the sky became overcast and the size and luxuriance
of the vegetation diminished as by magic--as if an omni-potent hand
had drawn a line upon the earth, and said:
"Upon this side shall the trees and the shrubs, the grasses and
the flowers, riot in profusion of rich colors, gigantic size and
bewildering abundance; and upon that side shall they be dwarfed
and pale and scant."
Instantly I looked above, for clouds are so uncommon in the skies
of Pellucidar--they are practically unknown except above the
mightiest mountain ranges--that it had given me something of a start
to discover the sun obliterated. But I was not long in coming to
a realization of the cause of the shadow.
Above me hung another world. I could see its moun-tains and
valleys, oceans, lakes, and rivers, its broad, grassy plains and
dense forests. But too great was the distance and too deep the
shadow of its under side for me to distinguish any movement as of
animal life.
Instantly a great curiosity was awakened within me. The questions
which the sight of this planet, so tanta-lizingly close, raised in
my mind were numerous and unanswerable.
Was it inhabited?
If so, by what manner and form of creature?
Were its people as relatively diminutive as their little world, or
were they as disproportionately huge as the lesser attraction of
gravity upon the surface of their globe would permit of their being?
As I watched it, I saw that it was revolving upon an axis that lay
parallel to the surface of Pellucidar, so that during each revolution
its entire surface was once ex-posed to the world below and once
bathed in the heat of the great sun above. The little world had
that which Pellucidar could not have--a day and night, and--greatest
of boons to one outer-earthly born--time.
Here I saw a chance to give time to Pellucidar, using this
mighty clock, revolving perpetually in the heavens, to record the
passage of the hours for the earth below. Here should be located
an observatory, from which might be flashed by wireless to every
corner of the em-pire the correct time once each day. That this
time would be easily measured I had no doubt, since so plain were
the landmarks upon the under surface of the satellite that it would
be but necessary to erect a simple instrument and mark the instant
of passage of a given landmark across the instrument.
But then was not the time for dreaming; I must de-vote my mind to
the purpose of my journey. So I hastened onward beneath the great
shadow. As I ad-vanced I could not but note the changing nature
of the vegetation and the paling of its hues.
The river led me a short distance within the shadow before it emptied
into the Sojar Az. Then I continued in a southerly direction along
the coast toward the village of Thuria, where I hoped to find Goork
and deliver to him my credentials.
I had progressed no great distance from the mouth of the river when
I discerned, lying some distance at sea, a great island. This I
assumed to be the stronghold of Hooja, nor did I doubt that upon
it even now was Dian.
The way was most difficult, since shortly after leaving the river
I encountered lofty cliffs split by numerous long, narrow fiords,
each of which necessitated a con-siderable detour. As the crow
flies it is about twenty miles from the mouth of the river to
Thuria, but be-fore I had covered half of it I was fagged. There
was no familiar fruit or vegetable growing upon the rocky soil of
the cliff-tops, and I would have fared ill for food had not a hare
broken cover almost beneath my nose.
I carried bow and arrows to conserve my ammunition-supply, but so
quick was the little animal that I had no time to draw and fit a
shaft. In fact my dinner was a hundred yards away and going like
the proverbial bat when I dropped my six-shooter on it. It was
a pretty shot and when coupled with a good dinner made me quite
contented with myself.
After eating I lay down and slept. When I awoke I was scarcely
so self-satisfied, for I had not more than opened my eyes before
I became aware of the presence, barely a hundred yards from me, of
a pack of some twenty huge wolf-dogs--the things which Perry insisted
upon calling hyaenodons--and almost simultaneously I discovered
that while I slept my revolvers, rifle, bow, arrows, and knife had
been stolen from me.
And the wolf-dog pack was preparing to rush me.
