an alien culture seemed to be wearing off--yet he knewthere were still many mind-twisting problems to face.
Shortly after he had braced himself against the sponge-linedbulkheads, a great shock travelled transversely through the ship,followed by a dozen or more lesser shudders. Metal groaned and creakedall about him, and the room temperature noticeably increased.
* * * * *
Left to himself, Dollard immediately began to formulate new plans.Searching his garments, he was relieved to find a pocket stillcontained the bag of glittering Syrtis diamonds with which he hadhoped long ago to bribe Venusian officials. The gems might proveequally useful now in cementing his position with the Tegurians. Hewas angered however to find his flame pistols and stunner had beentaken away from him.
He decided that immediately after his presentation to the leaders, hewould ask for the privilege of inspecting their factories and othertechnological facilities. There had never been erected an industrialplant yet, whose efficiency couldn't in some way be improved, Dollardknew.
By making himself practicably useful, Dollard knew that in time hecould build up a personal organization that eventually would result inthe acquisition of a new financial empire.
All of course hinged upon the very vital conference with the upperechelon of Tegurian rulers.
But, at least it could be said that Edwin Dollard had proved himselfcapable of dealing with fortune on its toughest terms. Now, he was inthe home stretch of his new career.
Seconds after, the Tegurian ship landed with a thunderous jolt. Theengine throb died away and silence reigned along the corridors.Dollard found his breath painfully short as renewed anxiety grippedhim. This was the crucial moment.
A panel slid open and Shir K'han appeared. "Come," he said. "Theleaders have been notified and are waiting at the banquet hall."
"Splendid," said Dollard, rubbing his hands together. "If things workout to advantage for me, I'll remember you, Shir K'han."
The Tegurian's yellow eyes blinked as if he had not heard.
Outside, Dollard's lungs expanded to draw in deep gulps of theluxuriant tropical air that characterized a warmer Terra. At aconsiderable distance from the nearly deserted spaceport, he saw thata brilliant city of high towers capped by narrow glass spires raisedits shining structures to the sky. The sharp-pointed buildings couldbe seen to be interlaced with countless spidery cables and glisteningbridges.
For Dollard's observing eyes, the vista of the metropolis evoked--bysome indefinable ancient suggestiveness--a buried Terran memory of agiant banyan tree pierced by lean striped bamboos.
"Bengul, our capital," Shir K'han told him. "This way, now." Hepointed to a waiting air vehicle on the lonely drome. "In there--andyou'll only have five more minutes." The feline nostrils wrinkled.
"Five more minutes?" said Dollard. "Aren't you going?"
"No, I wasn't invited."
"I'm to go alone?"
"Yes," Shir K'han replied. The prolonged effort of speaking in astrange tongue was reflected in his increasingly roughened tones."I've been ordered to put you in the cage-flier. Then, my job is done.The cage will transfer you to the leaders' quarters--where all elsewill be done. Farewell, primate. It has been interesting. I couldalmost swear that...."
He paused.
"Something troubling you?" said Dollard, who didn't usually concernhimself with other persons' inner disturbances. He wondered now whatinstinct prompted this particular inquiry of solicitude on his part.
"You trouble me," replied Shir K'han. "I would almost swear you had ... ahigh intelligence ... and a soul worthy of a Tegurian. But, of course, Iknow that isn't so."
"That's not what I meant," Dollard said, fretfully. "There's somethingelse--" For a moment, he felt like screaming, "--something you haven'ttold me."
"Would you really like to know?" said Shir K'han. "I had thought itwas better you didn't. But, then I have often been accused of strangesympathies for a Tegurian--"
"I demand to know."
"Then, I must hurry. Only a few minutes remain. Let me try to draw youa mental picture, primate. Your race, like ours, was carnivorous. Youfeasted on many delicacies--on species extinct like the steer, thepheasant, the squirrel. It was your very nature, your undeniableprimal instincts, that made you enjoy the rending and devouring offlesh--"
"True," admitted Dollard. His body was now trembling.
"I remember," continued Shir K'han, "one of our archeologiststranslated an account of how the primates of your time unearthed thebody of a mastodon, buried in the glacial ice. The mastodon flesh, adelicacy, was so well-preserved that it was still edible. And so, itwas eaten."
"I--I don't think I understand what you're getting at," declaredDollard.
* * * * *
He looked anxiously about him, but the flat plain bore no shelter--orfor that matter, no other objects save the waiting air vehicle and therecently-landed space ship on the drome. Lights began to glow in thefar-off city.
"The point is," said the feline interpreter, "that it would have madeno difference to the primates had the mastodon been intelligent. Theywould have eaten him anyway. In your epoch, primates ate many domesticanimals who differed less in intelligence quotient from them thandiffer civilized Tegurians from human primates like yourself ... thegap today is much greater...."
"Then, you--"
"Not me. Only the leaders of my world, shall I say. By virtue of theirexalted rank, they have the right to the choicest of foods. Since thedawn of our history, the flesh of primates has been our greatestdelicacy--but it has grown scarcer and scarcer, until now it isvirtually non-existent. And such specimens, as are trapped, arestringy and barely edible."
Dollard looked down guiltily at his own plump body. His face bore theflushed expression of one suddenly conscious of sin.
"But you," continued Shir K'han, "your body is fat andwell-preserved. When we found you on your derelict ship, our commandercommunicated with the rulers of Tegur immediately. He was ordered tochange course and bring you to Bengul--"
The feline's speech broke off. Edwin Dollard had suddenly commenced torun from the horror of this alien world, recognition of his fatehaving burst like a rocket in his panic-stricken mind. His heart waspounding.
But loping easily along as his ancestors might have pursued a baboonor antelope, Shir K'han overtook the screaming human. He seized hisobese bulk by the waist and lifted him high above his head. WhileDollard kicked and moaned, the feline bore him back to the air vehicleand deposited him in a wire mesh cage in the flying craft's cockpit. Atangle of the sticky ropes descended from the cage's roof, furtherentangling the trapped industrialist and serving to reduce him tohelplessness.
Shir K'han adjusted knobs and switches on the vehicle's control board,until he had produced the desired setting. Then, he stepped back.
"As I said before," he declared "this vehicle will automaticallytransport you to the leaders' banquet hall--to arrive in five minutes.There, you will be prepared and presented to our rulers. I hope youplease them. The reward for our commander and his crew will be great."
"Then, all along, what you've been trying to tell me is ... is that ...I'm to be--"
The remainder of Dollard's words melted into a jumble of gibberish.
"Exactly," confirmed the Tegurian, walking away from the vehicle. Ifthe creature's feline countenance showed a trace of conscience,Dollard from his position within the rising cage could not discernit--not that it particularly mattered in his last moment of sanity onearth.
And it would puzzle Shir K'han for many years just why the last shrillscream of the primate was: "Garth--_Garth, you did this to me_!"
* * * * *
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