CHAPTER XV
Battling with Crickets
“They are little men with some kind of a device over their heads,” sheasserted with assurance. “And they are acting as the general andcommanding officers of the cricket army.”
“You’ve hit it,” Epworth declared excitedly. “They are wearing aheadgear to protect them from this outside atmosphere that has beensuddenly sent down upon them. At least——”
“Perhaps they do not know that there is an atmosphere,” Billy argued,“Maybe they live some place where there is air, and think that theymust be prepared to travel through a world where there is no air.”
“G’wan,” Joan snorted slangily. “Do you mean to suggest that they camehere from some other world?”
“Probably they came up out of some of the holes in the moon. I haveheard it suggested that the moon is hollow, and that there is apossibility of air inside.”
Before Joan could reply to this the battle began. Toplinsky, like agood general, waited until the moon insects were quite close, and thenpoured seven volleys from repeating rifles into their ranks. Thecrickets went down by hundreds. The questions as to whether or nottheir backs were bullet proof was answered.
Just for a second the lines wavered; then there rent the air a loudmusical chirp. It went up and down the various lines of cricketsoldiers in waves. It was not unpleasant to hear. In fact, it wasaccompanied by notes. But it was none the less deadly and demoralizingto the colonists, and sent a chill down the backs of the threeAmericans, safe in their cave retreat.
Toplinsky shouted in his shrillest voice; from far in the rear of thecricket army came an answering call. To the unbounded wonder of boththe Americans and the colonists this answer came back in English.
“Surrender, earth men,” it called out in broken but understandableEnglish, “or we will wipe you out, and not leave a single personliving.”
Toplinsky’s answer was a shower of lead in the direction of the voice.Again hundreds of crickets fell; again the ranks closed in strongformation and came forward as if there had been no deaths.
“These Things do not fear death,” Joan whispered in awe. “They do notknow what it is. They are just big insects.”
They were coming slowly now but surely, treading softly forward as ifsneaking up on an enemy. To the observers in the cave it looked as ifthey were so many cats preparing to jump on a mouse. The colonistsfired desperately. Michael, who seemed to be leading one end of thepirate gang, got a small machine gun out of the storehouse, and beganto mow them down like a health officer doping flies. Still they cameon—seemingly irresistible, holding their sharp prongs outward, andleaping with invisible movements with their small thin legs.
Now they were fighting the colonists hand to hand. It was apparenthowever that one colonist was more than a match for ten crickets, andthey were thrown back on their second rank, only to be pushed forwardagain.
Nevertheless it was patent that in time the little band of colonistswould be wiped out. Epworth was of the opinion that the crickets wouldeat them. This however was merely a hunch.
“I do not like those colonists,” he remarked, “but the idea of humanbeings being cornered by enormous strange insects and turned into alunch does not appeal to me. These Things look as if they may be ofthe Orthoptera family but one cannot tell. I’m for butting in.”
“Me too,” Billy agreed, “but how?”
“Follow me and we will see.”
Epworth ran to his newly constructed glider, fastened the plane aroundhis shoulders, and started down the mountainside for a take-off.
“Where are you going?” Joan inquired anxiously.
“We must get to the Aerolite storeroom, and see if we can unlimbersome of the heavy gas guns and nitroglycerine weapons. No time tolose.”
All three ran down the mountainside, got into the air, and with thebicycle motors they had attached to the planes directed their courseto the Aerolite. Finally they landed on top of the machine as gentlyas birds. Entering the storeroom, the two men hastily put together oneof the large nitroglycerine guns, a big cannon, and a powder gatlingun Toplinsky had brought along as a measure of defense. These weaponsthey rolled to the side of the machine from whence came the attack,and both began a bombardment of the cricket army.
The result was startling.
At the first tremendous roar of the cannon, the crickets came to adead stop. Not since untold ages had such a noise been heard on theface of the moon. Here was all stillness—a terrifying quietude, noteven the chirp of a bird or the whirr of a snake. The suddenexplosion, as if the entire face of the moon was bursting, and with itwas blowing into pieces a large number of crickets, frightened notonly the crickets but the little men who were riding on their backs,and with one movement they turned and fled.
But as they departed they carried with them a number of colonists asprisoners. Epworth shuddered as he saw the colonists captured. Theirfate was plainly apparent. They would not even get the treatment of afat missionary. There would be no preliminaries. They would be draggedinto a hole in the moon and eaten.
The two Americans fired another shot at the disappearing insects, sawthem go forward with great bounds like grasshoppers, and finallydisappear over the top of the highest northern mountains. It wasincredible the swiftness with which they left the scene of battle.
Supposing that Toplinsky would still be antagonistic the Americansleft the top of the Aerolite with leaps that lifted them into the air,and soon were again hidden in their cave.
“Sup—pose the crickets come back,” Joan said fearfully as she removedthe shoulder straps of her glider. “They seemed highly intelligent,and were led by minds that did not think of defeat. If they returnthey will have a large increase in number, and——”
Billy drew his finger across his throat, and pointed at the colonycamp.