Chapter 5
Days became weeks, and weeks became months, and the months followed oneanother in a lazy procession of hot, humid days and warm, humid nights.The fugitives saw never a Wieroo by day though often at night theyheard the melancholy flapping of giant wings far above them.
Each day was much like its predecessor. Bradley splashed about for afew minutes in the cold pool early each morning and after a time thegirl tried it and liked it. Toward the center it was deep enough forswimming, and so he taught her to swim--she was probably the firsthuman being in all Caspak's long ages who had done this thing. Andthen while she prepared breakfast, the man shaved--this he neverneglected. At first it was a source of wonderment to the girl, for theGalu men are beardless.
When they needed meat, he hunted, otherwise he busied himself inimproving their shelter, making new and better weapons, perfecting hisknowledge of the girl's language and teaching her to speak and to writeEnglish--anything that would keep them both occupied. He still soughtnew plans for escape, but with ever-lessening enthusiasm, since eachnew scheme presented some insurmountable obstacle.
And then one day as a bolt out of a clear sky came that which blastedthe peace and security of their sanctuary forever. Bradley was justemerging from the water after his morning plunge when from overheadcame the sound of flapping wings. Glancing quickly up the man saw awhite-robed Wieroo circling slowly above him. That he had beendiscovered he could not doubt since the creature even dropped to alower altitude as though to assure itself that what it saw was a man.Then it rose rapidly and winged away toward the city.
For two days Bradley and the girl lived in a constant state ofapprehension, awaiting the moment when the hunters would come for them;but nothing happened until just after dawn of the third day, when theflapping of wings apprised them of the approach of Wieroos. Togetherthey went to the edge of the wood and looked up to see five red-robedcreatures dropping slowly in ever-lessening spirals toward their littleamphitheater. With no attempt at concealment they came, sure of theirability to overwhelm these two fugitives, and with the fullest measureof self-confidence they landed in the clearing but a few yards from theman and the girl.
Following a plan already discussed Bradley and the girl retreatedslowly into the woods. The Wieroos advanced, calling upon them to givethemselves up; but the quarry made no reply. Farther and farther intothe little wood Bradley led the hunters, permitting them to approachever closer; then he circled back again toward the clearing, evidentlyto the great delight of the Wieroos, who now followed more leisurely,awaiting the moment when they should be beyond the trees and able touse their wings. They had opened into semicircular formation now withthe evident intention of cutting the two off from returning into thewood. Each Wieroo advanced with his curved blade ready in his hand,each hideous face blank and expressionless.
It was then that Bradley opened fire with his pistol--three shots,aimed with careful deliberation, for it had been long since he had usedthe weapon, and he could not afford to chance wasting ammunition onmisses. At each shot a Wieroo dropped; and then the remaining twosought escape by flight, screaming and wailing after the manner oftheir kind. When a Wieroo runs, his wings spread almost without anyvolition upon his part, since from time immemorial he has always usedthem to balance himself and accelerate his running speed so that in theopen they appear to skim the surface of the ground when in the act ofrunning. But here in the woods, among the close-set boles, thespreading of their wings proved their undoing--it hindered and stoppedthem and threw them to the ground, and then Bradley was upon themthreatening them with instant death if they did notsurrender--promising them their freedom if they did his bidding.
"As you have seen," he cried, "I can kill you when I wish and at adistance. You cannot escape me. Your only hope of life lies inobedience. Quick, or I kill!"
The Wieroos stopped and faced him. "What do you want of us?" asked one.
"Throw aside your weapons," Bradley commanded. After a moment'shesitation they obeyed.
"Now approach!" A great plan--the only plan--had suddenly come to himlike an inspiration.
The Wieroos came closer and halted at his command. Bradley turned tothe girl. "There is rope in the shelter," he said. "Fetch it!"
She did as he bid, and then he directed her to fasten one end of afifty-foot length to the ankle of one of the Wieroos and the oppositeend to the second. The creatures gave evidence of great fear, but theydared not attempt to prevent the act.
"Now go out into the clearing," said Bradley, "and remember that I amwalking close behind and that I will shoot the nearer one should eitherattempt to escape--that will hold the other until I can kill him aswell."
In the open he halted them. "The girl will get upon the back of theone in front," announced the Englishman. "I will mount the other. Shecarries a sharp blade, and I carry this weapon that you know killseasily at a distance. If you disobey in the slightest, theinstructions that I am about to give you, you shall both die. That wemust die with you, will not deter us. If you obey, I promise to setyou free without harming you.
"You will carry us due west, depositing us upon the shore of themainland--that is all. It is the price of your lives. Do you agree?"
Sullenly the Wieroos acquiesced. Bradley examined the knots that heldthe rope to their ankles, and feeling them secure directed the girl tomount the back of the leading Wieroo, himself upon the other. Then hegave the signal for the two to rise together. With loud flapping ofthe powerful wings the creatures took to the air, circling once beforethey topped the trees upon the hill and then taking a course due westout over the waters of the sea.
Nowhere about them could Bradley see signs of other Wieroos, nor ofthose other menaces which he had feared might bring disaster to hisplans for escape--the huge, winged reptilia that are so numerous abovethe southern areas of Caspak and which are often seen, though in lessernumbers, farther north.
Nearer and nearer loomed the mainland--a broad, parklike expansestretching inland to the foot of a low plateau spread out before them.The little dots in the foreground became grazing herds of deer andantelope and bos; a huge woolly rhinoceros wallowed in a mudhole to theright, and beyond, a mighty mammoth culled the tender shoots from atall tree. The roars and screams and growls of giant carnivora camefaintly to their ears. Ah, this was Caspak. With all of its dangersand its primal savagery it brought a fullness to the throat of theEnglishman as to one who sees and hears the familiar sights and soundsof home after a long absence. Then the Wieroos dropped swiftlydownward to the flower-starred turf that grew almost to the water'sedge, the fugitives slipped from their backs, and Bradley told thered-robed creatures they were free to go.
When he had cut the ropes from their ankles they rose with that uncannywailing upon their lips that always brought a shudder to theEnglishman, and upon dismal wings they flapped away toward frightfulOo-oh.
When the creatures had gone, the girl turned toward Bradley. "Why didyou have them bring us here?" she asked. "Now we are far from mycountry. We may never live to reach it, as we are among enemies who,while not so horrible will kill us just as surely as would the Wieroosshould they capture us, and we have before us many marches throughlands filled with savage beasts."
"There were two reasons," replied Bradley. "You told me that there aretwo Wieroo cities at the eastern end of the island. To have passednear either of them might have been to have brought about our headshundreds of the creatures from whom we could not possibly have escaped.Again, my friends must be near this spot--it cannot be over two marchesto the fort of which I have told you. It is my duty to return to them.If they still live we shall find a way to return you to your people."
"And you?" asked the girl.
"I escaped from Oo-oh," replied Bradley. "I have accomplished theimpossible once, and so I shall accomplish it again--I shall escapefrom Caspak."
He was not looking at her face as he answered her, and so he did notsee the shadow of sorrow that cro
ssed her countenance. When he raisedhis eyes again, she was smiling.
"What you wish, I wish," said the girl.
Southward along the coast they made their way following the beach,where the walking was best, but always keeping close enough to trees toinsure sanctuary from the beasts and reptiles that so often menacedthem. It was late in the afternoon when the girl suddenly seizedBradley's arm and pointed straight ahead along the shore. "What isthat?" she whispered. "What strange reptile is it?"
Bradley looked in the direction her slim forefinger indicated. Herubbed his eyes and looked again, and then he seized her wrist and drewher quickly behind a clump of bushes.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It is the most frightful reptile that the waters of the world haveever known," he replied. "It is a German U-boat!"
An expression of amazement and understanding lighted her features. "Itis the thing of which you told me," she exclaimed, "--the thing thatswims under the water and carries men in its belly!"
"It is," replied Bradley.
"Then why do you hide from it?" asked the girl. "You said that now itbelonged to your friends."
"Many months have passed since I knew what was going on among myfriends," he replied. "I cannot know what has befallen them. Theyshould have been gone from here in this vessel long since, and so Icannot understand why it is still here. I am going to investigatefirst before I show myself. When I left, there were more Germans onthe U-33 than there were men of my own party at the fort, and I havehad sufficient experience of Germans to know that they will bearwatching--if they have not been properly watched since I left."
Making their way through a fringe of wood that grew a few yards inlandthe two crept unseen toward the U-boat which lay moored to the shore ata point which Bradley now recognized as being near the oil-pool northof Dinosaur. As close as possible to the vessel they halted, crouchinglow among the dense vegetation, and watched the boat for signs of humanlife about it. The hatches were closed--no one could be seen or heard.For five minutes Bradley watched, and then he determined to board thesubmarine and investigate. He had risen to carry his decision intoeffect when there suddenly broke upon his ear, uttered in loud andmenacing tones, a volley of German oaths and expletives among which heheard Englische schweinhunde repeated several times. The voice did notcome from the direction of the U-boat; but from inland. Creepingforward Bradley reached a spot where, through the creepers hanging fromthe trees, he could see a party of men coming down toward the shore.
He saw Baron Friedrich von Schoenvorts and six of his men--allarmed--while marching in a little knot among them were Olson, Brady,Sinclair, Wilson, and Whitely.
Bradley knew nothing of the disappearance of Bowen Tyler and Miss LaRue, nor of the perfidy of the Germans in shelling the fort andattempting to escape in the U-33; but he was in no way surprised atwhat he saw before him.
The little party came slowly onward, the prisoners staggering beneathheavy cans of oil, while Schwartz, one of the German noncommissionedofficers cursed and beat them with a stick of wood, impartially. VonSchoenvorts walked in the rear of the column, encouraging Schwartz andlaughing at the discomfiture of the Britishers. Dietz, Heinz, andKlatz also seemed to enjoy the entertainment immensely; but two of themen--Plesser and Hindle--marched with eyes straight to the front andwith scowling faces.
Bradley felt his blood boil at sight of the cowardly indignities beingheaped upon his men, and in the brief span of time occupied by thecolumn to come abreast of where he lay hidden he made his plans,foolhardy though he knew them. Then he drew the girl close to him."Stay here," he whispered. "I am going out to fight those beasts; butI shall be killed. Do not let them see you. Do not let them take youalive. They are more cruel, more cowardly, more bestial than theWieroos."
The girl pressed close to him, her face very white. "Go, if that isright," she whispered; "but if you die, I shall die, for I cannot livewithout you." He looked sharply into her eyes. "Oh!" he ejaculated."What an idiot I have been! Nor could I live without you, littlegirl." And he drew her very close and kissed her lips. "Good-bye."He disengaged himself from her arms and looked again in time to seethat the rear of the column had just passed him. Then he rose andleaped quickly and silently from the jungle.
Suddenly von Schoenvorts felt an arm thrown about his neck and hispistol jerked from its holster. He gave a cry of fright and warning,and his men turned to see a half-naked white man holding their leadersecurely from behind and aiming a pistol at them over his shoulder.
"Drop those guns!" came in short, sharp syllables and perfect Germanfrom the lips of the newcomer. "Drop them or I'll put a bullet throughthe back of von Schoenvorts' head."
The Germans hesitated for a moment, looking first toward vonSchoenvorts and then to Schwartz, who was evidently second in command,for orders.
"It's the English pig, Bradley," shouted the latter, "and he'salone--go and get him!"
"Go yourself," growled Plesser. Hindle moved close to the side ofPlesser and whispered something to him. The latter nodded. Suddenlyvon Schoenvorts wheeled about and seized Bradley's pistol arm with bothhands, "Now!" he shouted. "Come and take him, quick!"
Schwartz and three others leaped forward; but Plesser and Hindle heldback, looking questioningly toward the English prisoners. Then Plesserspoke. "Now is your chance, Englander," he called in low tones."Seize Hindle and me and take our guns from us--we will not fight hard."
Olson and Brady were not long in acting upon the suggestion. They hadseen enough of the brutal treatment von Schoenvorts accorded his menand the especially venomous attentions he had taken great enjoyment inaccording Plesser and Hindle to understand that these two might besincere in a desire for revenge. In another moment the two Germanswere unarmed and Olson and Brady were running to the support ofBradley; but already it seemed too late.
Von Schoenvorts had managed to drag the Englishman around so that hisback was toward Schwartz and the other advancing Germans. Schwartz wasalmost upon Bradley with gun clubbed and ready to smash down upon theEnglishman's skull. Brady and Olson were charging the Germans in therear with Wilson, Whitely, and Sinclair supporting them with barefists. It seemed that Bradley was doomed when, apparently out ofspace, an arrow whizzed, striking Schwartz in the side, passinghalf-way through his body to crumple him to earth. With a shriek theman fell, and at the same time Olson and Brady saw the slim figure of ayoung girl standing at the edge of the jungle coolly fitting anotherarrow to her bow.
Bradley had now succeeded in wrestling his arm free from vonSchoenvorts' grip and in dropping the latter with a blow from the buttof his pistol. The rest of the English and Germans were engaged in ahand-to-hand encounter, Plesser and Hindle standing aside from themelee and urging their comrades to surrender and join with the Englishagainst the tyranny of von Schoenvorts. Heinz and Klatz, possiblyinfluenced by their exhortation, were putting up but a half-heartedresistance; but Dietz, a huge, bearded, bull-necked Prussian, yellinglike a maniac, sought to exterminate the Englische schweinhunde withhis bayonet, fearing to fire his piece lest he kill some of hiscomrades.
It was Olson who engaged him, and though unused to the long Germanrifle and bayonet, he met the bull-rush of the Hun with the cold, cruelprecision and science of English bayonet-fighting. There was nofeinting, no retiring and no parrying that was not also an attack.Bayonet-fighting today is not a pretty thing to see--it is not anartistic fencing-match in which men give and take--it is slaughterinevitable and quickly over.
Dietz lunged once madly at Olson's throat. A short point, with just atwist of the bayonet to the left sent the sharp blade over theEnglishman's left shoulder. Instantly he stepped close in, dropped hisrifle through his hands and grasped it with both hands close below themuzzle and with a short, sharp jab sent his blade up beneath Dietz'schin to the brain. So quickly was the thing done and so quick thewithdrawal that Olson had wheeled to take on another adversary beforethe German's corpse had toppled to the ground.
/> But there were no more adversaries to take on. Heinz and Klatz hadthrown down their rifles and with hands above their heads were crying"Kamerad! Kamerad!" at the tops of their voices. Von Schoenvortsstill lay where he had fallen. Plesser and Hindle were explaining toBradley that they were glad of the outcome of the fight, as they couldno longer endure the brutality of the U-boat commander.
The remainder of the men were looking at the girl who now advancedslowly, her bow ready, when Bradley turned toward her and held out hishand.
"Co-Tan," he said, "unstring your bow--these are my friends, andyours." And to the Englishmen: "This is Co-Tan. You who saw her saveme from Schwartz know a part of what I owe her."
The rough men gathered about the girl, and when she spoke to them inbroken English, with a smile upon her lips enhancing the charm of herirresistible accent, each and every one of them promptly fell in lovewith her and constituted himself henceforth her guardian and her slave.
A moment later the attention of each was called to Plesser by a volleyof invective. They turned in time to see the man running toward vonSchoenvorts who was just rising from the ground. Plesser carried arifle with bayonet fixed, that he had snatched from the side of Dietz'scorpse. Von Schoenvorts' face was livid with fear, his jaws working asthough he would call for help; but no sound came from his blue lips.
"You struck me," shrieked Plesser. "Once, twice, three times, youstruck me, pig. You murdered Schwerke--you drove him insane by yourcruelty until he took his own life. You are only one of yourkind--they are all like you from the Kaiser down. I wish that you werethe Kaiser. Thus would I do!" And he lunged his bayonet through vonSchoenvorts' chest. Then he let his rifle fall with the dying man andwheeled toward Bradley. "Here I am," he said. "Do with me as youlike. All my life I have been kicked and cuffed by such as that, andyet always have I gone out when they commanded, singing, to give up mylife if need be to keep them in power. Only lately have I come to knowwhat a fool I have been. But now I am no longer a fool, and besides, Iam avenged and Schwerke is avenged, so you can kill me if you wish.Here I am."
"If I was after bein' the king," said Olson, "I'd pin the V.C. on yournoble chist; but bein' only an Irishman with a Swede name, for whichGod forgive me, the bist I can do is shake your hand."
"You will not be punished," said Bradley. "There are four of youleft--if you four want to come along and work with us, we will takeyou; but you will come as prisoners."
"It suits me," said Plesser. "Now that the captain-lieutenant is deadyou need not fear us. All our lives we have known nothing but to obeyhis class. If I had not killed him, I suppose I would be fool enoughto obey him again; but he is dead. Now we will obey you--we must obeysome one."
"And you?" Bradley turned to the other survivors of the original crewof the U-33. Each promised obedience.
The two dead Germans were buried in a single grave, and then the partyboarded the submarine and stowed away the oil.
Here Bradley told the men what had befallen him since the night ofSeptember 14th when he had disappeared so mysteriously from the campupon the plateau. Now he learned for the first time that Bowen J.Tyler, Jr., and Miss La Rue had been missing even longer than he andthat no faintest trace of them had been discovered.
Olson told him of how the Germans had returned and waited in ambush forthem outside the fort, capturing them that they might be used to assistin the work of refining the oil and later in manning the U-33, andPlesser told briefly of the experiences of the German crew under vonSchoenvorts since they had escaped from Caspak months before--of howthey lost their bearings after having been shelled by ships they hadattempted to sneak farther north and how at last with provisions goneand fuel almost exhausted they had sought and at last found, more byaccident than design, the mysterious island they had once been so gladto leave behind.
"Now," announced Bradley, "we'll plan for the future. The boat hasfuel, provisions and water for a month, I believe you said, Plesser;there are ten of us to man it. We have a last sad duty here--we mustsearch for Miss La Rue and Mr. Tyler. I say a sad duty because we knowthat we shall not find them; but it is none the less our duty to combthe shoreline, firing signal shells at intervals, that we at least mayleave at last with full knowledge that we have done all that men mightdo to locate them."
None dissented from this conviction, nor was there a voice raised inprotest against the plan to at least make assurance doubly sure beforequitting Caspak forever.
And so they started, cruising slowly up the coast and firing anoccasional shot from the gun. Often the vessel was brought to a stop,and always there were anxious eyes scanning the shore for an answeringsignal. Late in the afternoon they caught sight of a number of Band-luwarriors; but when the vessel approached the shore and the nativesrealized that human beings stood upon the back of the strange monsterof the sea, they fled in terror before Bradley could come withinhailing distance.
That night they dropped anchor at the mouth of a sluggish stream whosewarm waters swarmed with millions of tiny tadpolelike organisms--minutehuman spawn starting on their precarious journey from some inland pooltoward "the beginning"--a journey which one in millions, perhaps, mightsurvive to complete. Already almost at the inception of life they werebeing greeted by thousands of voracious mouths as fish and reptiles ofmany kinds fought to devour them, the while other and larger creaturespursued the devourers, to be, in turn, preyed upon by some other of thecountless forms that inhabit the deeps of Caprona's frightful sea.
The second day was practically a repetition of the first. They movedvery slowly with frequent stops and once they landed in the Kro-lucountry to hunt. Here they were attacked by the bow-and-arrow men,whom they could not persuade to palaver with them. So belligerent werethe natives that it became necessary to fire into them in order toescape their persistent and ferocious attentions.
"What chance," asked Bradley, as they were returning to the boat withtheir game, "could Tyler and Miss La Rue have had among such as these?"
But they continued on their fruitless quest, and the third day, aftercruising along the shore of a deep inlet, they passed a line of loftycliffs that formed the southern shore of the inlet and rounded a sharppromontory about noon. Co-Tan and Bradley were on deck alone, and asthe new shoreline appeared beyond the point, the girl gave anexclamation of joy and seized the man's hand in hers.
"Oh, look!" she cried. "The Galu country! The Galu country! It is mycountry that I never thought to see again."
"You are glad to come again, Co-Tan?" asked Bradley.
"Oh, so glad!" she cried. "And you will come with me to my people? Wemay live here among them, and you will be a great warrior--oh, when Jordies you may even be chief, for there is none so mighty as my warrior.You will come?"
Bradley shook his head. "I cannot, little Co-Tan," he answered. "Mycountry needs me, and I must go back. Maybe someday I shall return.You will not forget me, Co-Tan?"
She looked at him in wide-eyed wonder. "You are going away from me?"she asked in a very small voice. "You are going away from Co-Tan?"
Bradley looked down upon the little bowed head. He felt the soft cheekagainst his bare arm; and he felt something else there too--hot dropsof moisture that ran down to his very finger-tips and splashed, buteach one wrung from a woman's heart.
He bent low and raised the tear-stained face to his own. "No, Co-Tan,"he said, "I am not going away from you--for you are going with me. Youare going back to my own country to be my wife. Tell me that you will,Co-Tan." And he bent still lower yet from his height and kissed herlips. Nor did he need more than the wonderful new light in her eyes totell him that she would go to the end of the world with him if he wouldbut take her. And then the gun-crew came up from below again to fire asignal shot, and the two were brought down from the high heaven oftheir new happiness to the scarred and weather-beaten deck of the U-33.
An hour later the vessel was running close in by a shore of wondrousbeauty beside a parklike meadow tha
t stretched back a mile inland tothe foot of a plateau when Whitely called attention to a score offigures clambering downward from the elevation to the lowland below.The engines were reversed and the boat brought to a stop while allhands gathered on deck to watch the little party coming toward themacross the meadow.
"They are Galus," cried Co-Tan; "they are my own people. Let me speakto them lest they think we come to fight them. Put me ashore, my man,and I will go meet them."
The nose of the U-boat was run close in to the steep bank; but whenCo-Tan would have run forward alone, Bradley seized her hand and heldher back. "I will go with you, Co-Tan," he said; and together theyadvanced to meet the oncoming party.
There were about twenty warriors moving forward in a thin line, as ourinfantry advance as skirmishers. Bradley could not but notice themarked difference between this formation and the moblike methods of thelower tribes he had come in contact with, and he commented upon it toCo-Tan.
"Galu warriors always advance into battle thus," she said. "The lesserpeople remain in a huddled group where they can scarce use theirweapons the while they present so big a mark to us that our spears andarrows cannot miss them; but when they hurl theirs at our warriors, ifthey miss the first man, there is no chance that they will kill someone behind him.
"Stand still now," she cautioned, "and fold your arms. They will notharm us then."
Bradley did as he was bid, and the two stood with arms folded as theline of warriors approached. When they had come within some fiftyyards, they halted and one spoke. "Who are you and from whence do youcome?" he asked; and then Co-Tan gave a little, glad cry and sprangforward with out-stretched arms.
"Oh, Tan!" she exclaimed. "Do you not know your little Co-Tan?"
The warrior stared, incredulous, for a moment, and then he, too, ranforward and when they met, took the girl in his arms. It was then thatBradley experienced to the full a sensation that was new to him--asudden hatred for the strange warrior before him and a desire to killwithout knowing why he would kill. He moved quickly to the girl's sideand grasped her wrist.
"Who is this man?" he demanded in cold tones.
Co-Tan turned a surprised face toward the Englishman and then of asudden broke forth into a merry peal of laughter. "This is my father,Brad-lee," she cried.
"And who is Brad-lee?" demanded the warrior.
"He is my man," replied Co-Tan simply.
"By what right?" insisted Tan.
And then she told him briefly of all that she had passed through sincethe Wieroos had stolen her and of how Bradley had rescued her andsought to rescue An-Tak, her brother.
"You are satisfied with him?" asked Tan.
"Yes," replied the girl proudly.
It was then that Bradley's attention was attracted to the edge of theplateau by a movement there, and looking closely he saw a horse bearingtwo figures sliding down the steep declivity. Once at the bottom, theanimal came charging across the meadowland at a rapid run. It was amagnificent animal--a great bay stallion with a white-blazed face andwhite forelegs to the knees, its barrel encircled by a broad surcingleof white; and as it came to a sudden stop beside Tan, the Englishmansaw that it bore a man and a girl--a tall man and a girl as beautifulas Co-Tan. When the girl espied the latter, she slid from the horseand ran toward her, fairly screaming for joy.
The man dismounted and stood beside Tan. Like Bradley he was garbedafter the fashion of the surrounding warriors; but there was a subtledifference between him and his companion. Possibly he detected asimilar difference in Bradley, for his first question was, "From whatcountry?" and though he spoke in Galu Bradley thought he detected anaccent.
"England," replied Bradley.
A broad smile lighted the newcomer's face as he held out his hand. "Iam Tom Billings of Santa Monica, California," he said. "I know allabout you, and I'm mighty glad to find you alive."
"How did you get here?" asked Bradley. "I thought ours was the onlyparty of men from the outer world ever to enter Caprona."
"It was, until we came in search of Bowen J. Tyler, Jr.," repliedBillings. "We found him and sent him home with his bride; but I waskept a prisoner here."
Bradley's face darkened--then they were not among friends after all."There are ten of us down there on a German sub with small-arms and agun," he said quickly in English. "It will be no trick to get awayfrom these people."
"You don't know my jailer," replied Billings, "or you'd not be so sure.Wait, I'll introduce you." And then turning to the girl who hadaccompanied him he called her by name. "Ajor," he said, "permit me tointroduce Lieutenant Bradley; Lieutenant, Mrs. Billings--my jailer!"
The Englishman laughed as he shook hands with the girl. "You are notas good a soldier as I," he said to Billings. "Instead of being takenprisoner myself I have taken one--Mrs. Bradley, this is Mr. Billings."
Ajor, quick to understand, turned toward Co-Tan. "You are going backwith him to his country?" she asked. Co-Tan admitted it.
"You dare?" asked Ajor. "But your father will not permit it--Jor, myfather, High Chief of the Galus, will not permit it, for like me youare cos-ata-lo. Oh, Co-Tan, if we but could! How I would love to seeall the strange and wonderful things of which my Tom tells me!"
Bradley bent and whispered in her ear. "Say the word and you may bothgo with us."
Billings heard and speaking in English, asked Ajor if she would go.
"Yes," she answered, "If you wish it; but you know, my Tom, that if Jorcaptures us, both you and Co-Tan's man will pay the penalty with yourlives--not even his love for me nor his admiration for you can saveyou."
Bradley noticed that she spoke in English--broken English like Co-Tan'sbut equally appealing. "We can easily get you aboard the ship," hesaid, "on some pretext or other, and then we can steam away. They canneither harm nor detain us, nor will we have to fire a shot at them."
And so it was done, Bradley and Co-Tan taking Ajor and Billings aboardto "show" them the vessel, which almost immediately raised anchor andmoved slowly out into the sea.
"I hate to do it," said Billings. "They have been fine to me. Jor andTan are splendid men and they will think me an ingrate; but I can'twaste my life here when there is so much to be done in the outer world."
As they steamed down the inland sea past the island of Oo-oh, thestories of their adventures were retold, and Bradley learned that BowenTyler and his bride had left the Galu country but a fortnight beforeand that there was every reason to believe that the Toreador mightstill be lying in the Pacific not far off the subterranean mouth of theriver which emitted Caprona's heated waters into the ocean.
Late in the second day, after running through swarms of hideousreptiles, they submerged at the point where the river entered beneaththe cliffs and shortly after rose to the sunlit surface of the Pacific;but nowhere as far as they could see was sign of another craft. Downthe coast they steamed toward the beach where Billings had made hiscrossing in the hydro-aeroplane and just at dusk the lookout announceda light dead ahead. It proved to be aboard the Toreador, and ahalf-hour later there was such a reunion on the deck of the trim littleyacht as no one there had ever dreamed might be possible. Of theAllies there were only Tippet and James to be mourned, and no onemourned any of the Germans dead nor Benson, the traitor, whose uglystory was first told in Bowen Tyler's manuscript.
Tyler and the rescue party had but just reached the yacht thatafternoon. They had heard, faintly, the signal shots fired by the U-33but had been unable to locate their direction and so had assumed thatthey had come from the guns of the Toreador.
It was a happy party that sailed north toward sunny, southernCalifornia, the old U-33 trailing in the wake of the Toreador andflying with the latter the glorious Stars and Stripes beneath which shehad been born in the shipyard at Santa Monica. Three newly marriedcouples, their bonds now duly solemnized by the master of the ship,joyed in the peace and security of the untracked waters of the southPacific and the unique honeymoon which, had it not been for ste
rn dutyahead, they could have wished protracted till the end of time.
And so they came one day to dock at the shipyard which Bowen Tyler nowcontrolled, and here the U-33 still lies while those who passed so manyeventful days within and because of her, have gone their various ways.
[Transcriber's note: I have made the following changes to the text:
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO 10 12 of or 14 19 of animals life of animals 31 26 is arms his arms 37 14 above this above his 37 23 Bradley, Bradley 54 18 man man 57 14 and of Oo-oh of Oo-oh 62 18 spend spent 63 31 and mumbled the mumbled 64 9 things thing 80 30 east cast 104 16 proaching proached 106 30 cos-at-lu cos-ata-lu 126 17 not artistic not an artistic 126 25 close below hands close below 130 1 internals intervals 132 9 than that 132 10 splashes splashed 134 3 know know not know]
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends