Читать книгу: «A Trip to Mars», страница 11

CHAPTER XXIV
AT THE PAVILION

'You said a little while ago that you could run if needs were,' said Malto, addressing Malandris. 'You must try now, at any rate. I will help you.'

'I am quite recovered,' was the answer. 'We must look after these young people.'

'Oh, that I had my wings! Why did I leave them behind this morning!' exclaimed Alondra.

'You may as well throw off those disguises,' Malto advised. 'They are of no use now, and will only hamper you.'

As yet their pursuers were a long way off, for after the reconnoitre at the gateway the fugitives had stepped out briskly, and had covered nearly half the distance to the pavilion before the alarm had been given.

They now set off at a run, after discarding their disguises, and at first it seemed as though there would be no difficulty in reaching the tower well ahead of their pursuers. Indeed, the latter seemed, at one time, to have almost given up the chase; for only a few were to be seen coming towards them; the rest had halted.

A few moments later, however, the cause of the delay became clear. Suddenly a man rose in the air on motor-wings and began to sail rapidly towards them. He was armed with a trident. Convinced that he would easily effect the capture of the fugitives, who had, as could be seen, neither shields nor tridents, the remainder of the crowd followed quietly in the rear. They would be in plenty of time, they reckoned, to pick up the unconscious bodies when the man with the trident had dealt with them.

Malto muttered something between his set teeth.

'I 'm afraid it is no use,' said Malandris despondently, as he ran along beside the others. 'He is bound to overtake us, and we are all unarmed.'

'Not quite,' Jack answered. 'If they think we are, so much the better; it may give us a chance to get on equal terms with that flying chap. His trident is no good at more than twenty yards. We have something here which reaches farther than that.'

He and Gerald had drawn their revolvers, and were looking to the hammers as they raced onwards, to make quite sure that they were in working order. Everything would depend upon making good practice with their first shots.

'You aim at one wing, Gerald,' said Jack; 'I will aim at the fellow's arm which carries the trident. Take it easy! Don't run too fast; it will make your hand shake.'

They continued on their way for some distance farther. The pavilion was now not far off; so also, unfortunately, was the flying man with his trident.

Jack gave a sign to Gerald, and they both turned and faced him. Alondra stopped too; and the others, although they did not exactly understand what was likely to happen, immediately halted, because they would not leave the three to their fate.

As it happened, this was the best thing they could have done. The flying man interpreted their action as an abject surrender. He slackened speed and came on carelessly.

Then two shots rang out. Jack's aim was true; his bullet struck the man's right arm, and the trident flew from the hand which had grasped it. Gerald's first shot missed, but his second struck one wing and smashed the light framework. The wing drooped, and the flier fell heavily to the ground.

'Good! Good! Capital!' Malto and Malandris cried out, in surprised wonder and delight at this turn of affairs, for neither of them understood anything about pistols.

'Now, run for it, my friends! We shall get there first yet!' Jack called out.

'Let me have his trident, though,' said Alondra, as he picked up the fallen man's weapon. 'This may come in useful, you know.'

There was a great outcry behind them as the pursuers witnessed the discomfiture of the aeronaut. The crowd at once took up the chase in a manner which showed how confidently they had been counting upon his ability to capture the fugitives without their aid.

As has been stated, the men in the dark-purple dresses were big, fine men, all of them. There was that in their aspect, too, which betokened a fierce nature, used to warfare.

They quickly made it evident that they were good runners, and they started off now in earnest and came on swiftly. But they had lost whatever chance they might at first have had of overtaking those they were chasing, by trusting too confidently to the man with the wings.

By the time they reached the base of the tower the fugitives had already dashed up the steps leading to the entrance, had opened and passed through some barred gates, fastened them behind them, and gained the shelter of the doorway.

A minute or two afterwards they appeared upon a balcony, of which there were several running round the tower on the outside, one above the other, and complacently smiled down upon their baffled foes.

'Well, we 've beaten 'em so far,' exclaimed Malto. 'I had almost given up hope. We should have been done for if it hadn't been for those noisy playthings of yours, young gentlemen. May I ask what they are, and where they come from? I have never met with that kind of weapon before.'

'They come from a far country, so far that your head would scarcely carry the tale of the figures if I were to attempt to give them to you,' Alondra declared laughingly. 'Now, what is to be done next? Our foes will be sending an airship against us, I suppose; and if assistance doesn't reach us pretty soon I am afraid they will have the best of it, after all.'

'No, I don't think there is any fear of that. They won't send an airship against us,' said Malto.

Malandris shook his head too. 'Not during the day,' he assented. 'They might when it gets dark, if we are still here.'

'Why not?' asked Jack, in surprise.

'It would attract attention. You see, our master has visitors. Prince Alondra, the son of King Ivanta, is staying here; and he, or some of his people, might be cruising about in his air-yacht or in some of the airships which came with him. If they caught sight of an airship engaged in fighting operations down here their curiosity might be aroused, and they might come and ask inconvenient questions.'

At this Gerald and Jack glanced at one another and then at Alondra, and nearly burst out laughing; but the latter made a sign, and they turned away and said nothing. The young prince wished to keep his identity a secret a little longer, in order that he might have an opportunity of quietly probing farther into the meaning of the extraordinary events of that eventful morning.

'What, then, do you suppose they will do?' Alondra went on.

'Oh, very likely nothing at all! Just loaf about to make sure that we don't get away during the day. They know they can't break into this pavilion; it has been strongly built on purpose. Then at night they will make sure of us. Our best hope is that we may see some passing airship and attract the attention of the people in her, and that they may come and take us off.'

'That doesn't sound very hopeful. It might be one of Agrando's airships,' Jack pointed out.

'On the other hand, it might be one belonging to his visitors,' said Malto. 'Then, I imagine, we should be all right. I suppose you belong to their party, don't you? I have been thinking it over, and can't guess who else you can be. You said you could take me to King Ivanta, and I don't see how you could make such a promise unless you belonged to the prince's party.'

He looked searchingly at Alondra as he spoke, and there was in his tone and look a suggestion of reproach at their keeping him in the dark.

'You are quite right, my friend,' Alondra now said gravely. 'We do belong to the party of visitors you speak of. I expect they are already wondering where we have got to, and will be coming out to look for us before long. So I hope our troubles are over, or soon will be. And now, as we have time for a little talk, I want to hear your stories – you two. Explain to me the meaning of all that has happened.'

But Malto shook his head.

'I wish to tell it all to King Ivanta, and to no one else,' he declared. 'You have promised to take me to him, and I shall ask you to keep your promise, and to refrain from questioning me meantime. Cannot you understand that the king might not be pleased if he found I had been talking freely of things which he may wish had been kept for his ear alone?'

Alondra was silent. He felt that Malto was right, and could not but respect him for his caution. At the same time, he was burning to have some explanation of their adventures.

'But you said you wished for our testimony to back up yours,' he reminded him. 'How can we help in that way if you do not enlighten us as to what it is we are to testify about?'

It was now Malto's turn to ponder, and he remained for a space gazing out thoughtfully over the expanse of ground which lay upon the other side of the pavilion.

The three followed his glance, and noted that the building formed part of the boundary wall of an extensive enclosure, which just here consisted of an extremely high and massive-looking stone fence, adorned at the top with formidable metal spikes.

Farther round, to right and to left, the boundary wall consisted of precipitous rocks, which shut the place in, and made it a kind of a park.

Alondra noted this, and, breaking off from the subject of his last question, asked why they could not descend from the pavilion into this enclosure. It seemed to him that it would be a difficult matter for their enemies to scale the wall in order to follow them.

Just as he had spoken there rose on the air a strange, weird, booming sound. It was a sort of bellowing roar, but far louder and more startling than the bellow of a bull or the roar of the largest lion ever seen or heard of. The sound seemed to come from a distance; yet it was so loud that it almost made the tower itself tremble. That it was produced by some member of the animal kingdom seemed pretty certain. But what horrible monster could it be which could make such a sound? There was something almost supernatural in its awful depth and power; something appalling in the menacing tones of the hoarse, ferocious growl into which it changed as it gradually died away.

'What in the name of all that is horrible is that?' cried the startled young prince.

'It is the answer to your question,' returned Malto quietly. 'That is to say, it partly answers both your questions. I may go so far as to explain that my original object in coming here, before we were found out and pursued, was that you might perhaps hear that terrible roar, and possibly catch sight of the creature which gave utterance to it. But it is not at present in sight, and I imagine that, after what you heard, you will scarcely care to get out on the other side of the pavilion and go to look for it?'

'I – I think not,' said Alondra. 'I will take your word for it that we are probably safer even here than we should be down there.'

'You are,' answered Malto drily. 'It is a creature upon which neither your trident nor the strange weapons of your young friends would make more impression than upon yonder rocks! Now you will be able, if we ever come before King Ivanta, to confirm one part of what I wish him to know. King Agrando has a name as a collector of all kinds of curiosities and monstrosities. King Ivanta has himself helped him to make his collection the most comprehensive that has ever been seen' —

'Yes, yes, I know all that,' Alondra put in impatiently.

'Ay, but what you do not know is this – that Agrando's object in gathering these out-of-the-way things about him is not altogether a mere harmless love of the curious. He is a monster of cruelty' —

'A perfect fiend!' Malandris interjected.

'His craze – for such it is – is a sort of madness,' Malto continued. 'It is to set men to fight for their lives with the most terrible creatures he can find to pit against them. That is the amusement he and that demon Kazzaro delight in! That is why they have constructed all these secret places, which none know of save themselves and their myrmidons. Little does the noble-minded Ivanta dream of the proceedings of these two, or of the way in which he has himself contributed to them. If he but knew' —

'Eh, what? How dare – I mean, how can King Ivanta have contributed to such horrible cruelties as you are hinting at?' demanded Alondra hotly.

'I don't wonder that you are moved to indignation, young sir. But I am not blaming King Ivanta. He has been deceived. For instance, he, it is said, paid a visit to another planet, and brought back with him many strange and horrible monsters never seen or heard of on our globe. Is it not so?'

'Well?'

'Many of them were the young of fearful creatures. But, young or old, he presented Agrando with specimens for his collection.'

'Very likely. What then? I see no harm in that.'

'No. For King Ivanta little guessed the use which the tyrant's ingenious brain would put them to. Agrando gave out that most of them died in captivity, that the climate here did not suit them, and so on. Was it not so?'

'Very likely. I have heard something of the sort. What then?'

'It is untrue that they died – at least, as regards most of them. The greater part – some of the most ferocious, terrible creatures amongst them – he nursed with perverted tenderness and care. He has reared them and brought them to maturity. Now his sole use for them is to pit them against any one who happens to incur his anger; which means, of course, simply dooming the hapless wretch to a cruel and terrible death. You have just heard the voice of one; you saw others – monster bats which they call krudias – in the cage below; you have also seen one of the intended victims, and helped me to rescue him at the last moment.'

'Ay, he sent me there – sentenced me to that awful fate merely in a fit of passing temper,' Malandris declared. 'My crime was only that I had mistaken an order he gave me!'

'Horrible! Incredible!' cried Alondra, his eyes flashing with indignation and disgust.

'You may well say incredible,' muttered Malto. 'That is why I wished you to see some of the creatures for yourselves, you three, so that King Ivanta might have your testimony to confirm mine. Otherwise, he might think my statements, as you say, incredible. Little did I imagine then, however, that you would witness such a convincing proof or that I should find my friend Malandris in that cage!'

'And why were you dressed up in that grotesque fashion?' Alondra asked of Malandris.

'Oh, that is one of Kazzaro's little jokes! It is a whim of his sometimes to dress his victims up like the creatures they are doomed to fight against.'

'But he wasn't there to look on to-day,' Jack commented.

'I suppose he happened to be particularly busy over something else, or he would have been,' said Malandris grimly. He shuddered, and looked around half-apprehensively. 'Now you can understand how much depends upon our being able to escape from here, and what it will mean if we fall again into his power.'

Gerald and Jack stared at one another, almost stupefied with horror.

'Did ever two such miscreants exist before, I wonder?' said Jack. 'How right, Gerald, you were when you called Kazzaro the Ogre!'

'I am in for it, too, now, of course,' Malto added. 'They know by this time what I have done; and I shall find no mercy there if I am dragged back into their clutches.'

'But you sha'n't be!' cried Alondra, impulsively. 'I will not allow it! And King Agrando, strong as he may deem himself upon his own ground, dares not attempt to take you against my will.'

Malto and Malandris looked at him in astonishment at this unexpected outburst.

'Your feelings do you credit, young sir,' said the elder man; 'but I fear your brave words will not avail us much.' He smiled slightly and sighed.

'But who are you, then, to talk like that?' exclaimed Malto incredulously.

'This is King Ivanta's son, Prince Alondra!' said Jack.

CHAPTER XXV
AGRANDO THROWS OFF THE MASK

King Agrando sat in his own particular sanctum, watching, with absorbed attention, the proceedings of the Diamond King, who was engaged in fitting together, by way of trial, the several parts of a new crown.

Upon the table before him were spread out several heaps of lustrous, sparkling loose stones, some of which must have been among the finest of their kind in existence.

Agrando had made up his mind that this new crown was to be the most magnificent that ever adorned the head of mortal potentate. Had he not here at hand to advise him the greatest living authority upon such subjects – Zuanstroom to wit – who claimed that he had seen, handled, examined, and photographed the most splendid crowns which graced the various royal heads upon our planet?

Zuanstroom picked up the gems one by one, and placed them tentatively in the golden framework, stepping back from time to time to observe the effect, as does an artist with his picture. Then, if the result did not commend itself to his sense of the fitness of things, he would take some of them out, and replace them with others of a different size or colour.

Agrando looked on, a curious variety of expressions flitting across his face. He could not but admire the beauty of the work of art which was slowly growing under his eyes. Yet he grudged the worker the delight of handling the bewitching jewels.

To these two there entered Kazzaro. It was easy to see that he was put out about something or other, and that he was in a very bad humour even for him, which is saying a good deal. It should rather be said, perhaps, that it would have been easy to perceive this if any one had looked at him; as a matter of exact fact, no one did. Agrando's gaze was fixed upon the table as though he feared that if he removed it for a single instant some one would snatch at an odd stone and hide it away. He knew his henchman's voice, and had no need to make use of his sight to inform him who it was who had intruded upon his privacy.

'All gone wrong – miscarried!' he heard Kazzaro grumble. 'That young upstart Alondra has escaped my snare after all!'

'So,' said Agrando, without taking his glance off the table, 'you 've managed to blunder again, then?'

'Blunder, indeed!' growled the Ogre. 'I thought he was safe. I as good as watched him drown! I saw him in the deadly coils which no one has ever escaped before, up to his very neck in water. Then I came away in haste, for fear some one might enter and find me there. Some one did enter – must have done, I imagine – and just in time to rescue him, after all!'

The king muttered something between his teeth.

Just then an officer came in and said something to Kazzaro in a low tone. The latter started, turned visibly pale, and then, without a word, left the apartment with him.

He was gone about a quarter of an hour, and when he returned he was almost choking with rage.

'It's all up!' he cried, throwing his hands into the air. 'There is treachery – treason – at work! Some strangers have made their way below and rescued Malandris from the cage. He is missing, and so is Malto; and there are signs that some of your visitors from the evening star have been there, for they have killed one of the krudias with their fire-weapons. Did I not warn you against ever allowing these people to come here prying about? This is what has come of it!'

Agrando at last was roused, and he turned his eyes from his beloved jewels. But when his gaze fell upon Kazzaro there was in it a menace which made even that hardened miscreant tremble.

'Miserable wretch!' thundered his master. 'You dare to say this to me as an excuse for your own clumsy blundering and lack of vigilance! By Krondris, I' —

What awful threat he was about to utter, however, cannot be told, for he was interrupted by the unceremonious entry of Zuanstroom's son Silas.

'Father, father!' he exclaimed, failing, in his excitement, to notice the black looks cast at him by Agrando. 'Gerald and Jack have been shooting some of King Agrando's soldiers, who have got them shut up in the pavilion tower! Alondra is with them, and two of King Agrando's officers. I know their names – they are Malto and Malandris! I saw them shoot down a man sent to bring them back when they were running away.' Out of breath, first with running and then with this speech, poured forth in a violent hurry, Silas subsided, panting, into a chair.

'They are in the pavilion – that tower by the side of the place where "the great beast," as you call it, lives?' asked Agrando with deadly calmness.

'Yes, sir. They are defying all your people there, hoping, I expect, to be taken off by Alondra's yacht.'

Agrando and Kazzaro looked at each other, the latter mutely asking for orders.

'We must have them out of that tower,' said Agrando, in a hard, resolute tone, 'before they can be taken off! Do you hear? We must have them at any cost. Send out war-vessels! Knock the tower down with the traitors in it! Crush them at any cost!'

'But how if Alondra's yacht reaches him first?' queried Kazzaro.

'Fight them! I 'm sick of this dissembling! Everything is prepared! We will throw off the mask, and show Ivanta that we have some teeth beneath it to bite with!'