CHAPTER XIX
The Knife Dance
After two days, during which they were fed on water and dried fruit—avariety that the Americans had never seen before—their captors enteredthe prison, lifted them on to the backs of crickets, and marched themalong for hours through a vast underground world, lighted by aphosphorescent glow, and teeming with crickets. The insects displayedrare intelligence in the way they lived. They had traffic regulations,certain paths of progress, large stacks of food guarded carefully byarmed crickets, and constantly added to and systematically given out,playgrounds of peculiar construction, and places—or rather—spotsof—assemblage where they listened to each other chirp as if they weresinging.
The prisoners were hurried along so rapidly that they could see verylittle of this life, and could only marvel at its strangeness.
Finally they came to a large underground palace. It was not a housebut Nature had built large pillars that extended upward severalhundred feet. They were composed of shining quartz interspersed withuncut diamonds burned into the quartz by Nature.
As they entered through these portals they trod upon a yellow floorthat they soon discovered was panned gold dust.
At the entrance the crickets turned them over to a body guard of pigmymen—fifteen in number. The pigmies cut the cords from around theirfeet, and marched them into a large throne room with their spearsthrust against their sides and their hands tied behind their backs. Atthe back end of the room was a throne ostentatiously ornamented withgold and glittering jewels. Seated side by side on the throne wereToplinsky and Queen Carza.
“Ah, ha, ho, ho, we meet again.” The giant looked at Joan with a glarethat caused her to shrink backward. “My statuesque blonde, again, butI fear that I cannot offer her very great inducement at present. Youare invited to take part in the ceremonies that will make me king ofthe moon, and join me in power with this lovely queen. Kneel to her!”
The last was whipped out like a lash, and Joan dropped thoughtlesslyon her knees, frightened at the giant’s tone of voice. The other threeprisoners, however, stood firmly erect.
“I kneel to God only,” Epworth declared vigorously. “If you wish totake up with a female murderess that is your business, but we areAmericans.”
Queen Carza’s slothful eyes glittered ominously.
“The first part of the program,” she remarked as if Epworth had notspoken, “will consist of a dance by the beautiful and accomplishedMoawha, formerly queen of the Selinites but now a mere dancing slave.When the dance is finished we will eat some delicate fruit gatheredfrom the groves of her Land, and then—ah, then, my dear, I will haveyour feet, and the feet of these other prisoners, thrust into thatsmouldering fire.”
She pointed at a small stream of lava that spluttered softly over therocky bottom of the cavern, and flowed gently into a deep hole.
Joan dropped her head to repress a cry of alarm. Was this woman anincarnate fiend that she loved to torture unto death innocent girls?
“Ah, ha! We win,” Toplinsky exclaimed as if in great admiration. “Afit mate for the greatest scientist of the earth-world. We shall getalong admirably. But for the benefit of you Americans, who are goingto die presently—all of you except Joan whose death I shall endeavorto have shifted to some remote period—I will say that Queen Carza andI have some great plans ahead. Already I have discovered that herpeople are gifted and know much science. True they do not live herebut we will soon be at home with them. Then we shall first conquer themoon. I understand that there are about two million pigmies who giveallegiance to Moawha. We will capture them, and make slaves of themalthough Carza has only an army of fifty thousand soldiers. To capturethem will be easy with Moawha dead, and my knowledge of gunpowder andgas. When we have destroyed them and gained complete control overcrickets and pigmies I shall turn my attention to CapitalisticAmerica. I have always hated that country, and shall wipe it out.First I will land my exploding projectiles on the City of New York.Ah, ha, ho, ho!”
He paused and sneered evilly at Epworth, and the American felt a coldchill pass over him. As a power for evil he admitted that Toplinskycould be monstrous.
“Ah, ha, I laugh loudly! I roar with genuine amusement! I wring myhands together with great pleasure! I see consternation and terribledisaster sweep over fair America. Secure in my moon kingdom I shootdeliberately, quietly, when I will, and I direct my projectiles byradio. When I say unto myself ‘today I shall wipe out Chicago,’ thatday I will do it; when I look in the glass at the faces of myself andmy beloved queen and point at the map where there is now the City ofSt. Louis, and say, ‘I will make a huge telescope and tomorrow weekyou may watch that City and see it go up in smoke.’ Ah ha, it is so.I, Herman Toplinsky, the greatest man that ever lived, have said, andwhat I have said I have said.”
“Let the dance proceed,” Queen Carza commanded, placing her littlecopper hand affectionately on the giant’s enormous hand, and droppingher head into his lap. “I would see her dance the ‘Knife Dance’ forthe last time. I hear that the beautiful blond queen is the mostgraceful dancer in our world. I wish to discover if this is true. Ifshe proves extraordinarily artistic I may conclude to dance withher—or rather against her.”
Epworth and Joan glanced at each other.
“She is quite capricious,” Joan observed in a low voice.
“And as deadly as a rattlesnake.”
“I prefer the snake,” Billy put in. “In fact, I think you baselyslander the reptile.”
Moawha’s bonds were removed, a number of crickets and pigmy soldiersmoved up around her, cleared a space before the throne, and encircledthe space. Before she began the dance she was handed a long, sharptwo-edged knife. The blade was ten or twelve inches.
“I’d like to get hold of that knife,” Billy remarked whimsically in alow voice.
Moawha flashed upon him an expressive glance, and then began herpirouette mazes. With her long blond hair sweeping around her like acloak, she soon demonstrated that if she had a moon-wide reputation asa dancer she could maintain it. It was a strange, wonderful, weird,mystical terpsichorean exhibition during which she brandished theknife she held in a seemingly reckless manner. Up to the throne, backagain, across the chamber, and each time that she neared the throneher lithe form twisted gracefully, somersaulted over the knife held ina dangerous manner, and the knife flashed wickedly toward the queen.
“Ah, it is so,” Toplinsky suddenly burst out. “Me-thinks that QueenCarza is wise in watching this dance from an elevated platform. If thefair blond came close enough I have an idea that her life would be ashort one, if not merry.”
He had scarcely finished his remark when Moawha darted backward,flipped over with an athletic whirl, dropped down behind Billy’s back,and whirled away.
But she had done much with that dexterous movement. Her keen knife hadslashed the bonds that bound Billy.
“Keep your hands behind your back,” she whispered to him. “Let themappear tied.”
Before Toplinsky or the queen discovered her intention she madeanother dexterous whirl, turned a somersault over Epworth’s head,landed behind him and freed his hands. The next second she waswhirling away toward the throne. But this time she was a little tooslow. Toplinsky, who was quite observant, caught her freeing Epworth.
“Ah, ha, the little blond is——”
Like a cannon ball Epworth shot across the chamber, and landed infront of Queen Carza.
“Call them off!” he hissed, seizing the queen by the arm with afierce, painful clutch. “Call them off, Toplinsky, or this lady isgoing to be hurt.”
There was need of rapid action. Urged by the pigmy officers thecrickets were jumping forward directly at Billy and Joan. Billy pulledhis knife, and with one sweep cut the cords around Joan’s wrists.
“Use your tear gun!” Epworth called out. “Joan, you still have it inyour belt.”
Joan remembered the gun, and acted. With a single motion she swept acircle around her.
“Get my automatic,”
she whispered to Billy. “This promises to beinteresting. It is also in my belt.”
“Tell the queen to order them back,” Epworth again commanded.
There was no mistaking his intention. Toplinsky had previously bravedthe American’s gun, and he responded to the threat. The queen obeyedhim, and the crickets slowly drew back as Queen Carza chirped at them.Toplinsky made a move even in the face of Epworth’s threat.
“Slow down, Toplinsky!” Epworth growled. “Not a move or yoursnake-like queen is going to begin to cry out loud.”
Toplinsky sneered a little. By this time he had regained hiscomposure, and was preparing to leap on Epworth. When he noticed theglare in the young American’s eyes he slumped back. Epworth did notrealize it but many thoughts were racing through the giant’s mind.Suppose Epworth should strangle the queen? He shivered. He really didnot think that Epworth would commit such an act but if he did he wouldbe in more danger than Epworth and his friends. With Queen Carza toaid him he would soon be in complete control of the moon-world;without her the crickets and pigmies would kill him instantly. He hadlorded it over them quite harshly during the few days he had been atliberty and in power, and he had escaped death at their hands onlyrecently. Now he realized that the crickets and pigmies did not likehim. He had ruthlessly killed too many of them. True they did notunderstand what death was but they knew enough to realize that thisbig giant did not hesitate to wipe them out.
“Go easy, Epworth,” he said soberly. “You are standing on dynamite.Perhaps we can ar——”
He was temporizing, preparing for a treacherous attack, and Epworthknew it.
“I am going easy as long as you keep off your dogs of war but you arenot going to act funny.”
“So far so good,” Billy called out, “but where are we going—and how?”
It was a problem. For the moment they seemed to be on top—they hadtheir enemies tied. But this could not last. They were still in thecenter of the great Crater Agrippa, buried alive amid thousands ofcrickets that would eat them if they got a chance, with every avenueof escape seemingly closed, and long, dark, terrifying tunnels betweenthem and the open air.
Joan breathed a breath of despair. Escape seemed impossible. Theycould not march the queen through phalanx after phalanx of armedcrickets and intelligent pigmy men. Any second a number could sneak upin their rear, or drop upon them out of one of the dark holes overtheir heads. Yet this seemed to be the only way out.
But in what direction was _out_?
Epworth was asking himself that question fearfully. There were fourdirections, and innumerable caverns penetrating the lighted chambers.Only one of these passageways would lead back to their gliders.
He looked around at the frowning spear-tubes of the cricketsapprehensively.