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Based on a painting by Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919)
Amazing Stories, September 1946, with "The Cosmic Sisters"
Paul Bunyan was a giant of a man, but
were there giant women also?
When Guy Renter's little
daughter told her story, it seemed so...
They were evidently pleased with themselves, and with me.
GUY RENIER had just finished telling how Paul Bunyan and his great blue ox created the Grand Canyon by dragging his plow across the Arizona Desert. Later, I often thought of Guy and the way he chuckled when little Renee, his half-breed daughter rushed to him and sobbed out her story of the Woman High as a Tree.
But the Cosmic sisters, and Paul Bunyan for that matter, need a bit of explaining. Perhaps, because the visit of the Cosmic sisters involved me more than anyone else, I am privileged to wander a little at this point. It seems necessary, so that you will understand my emotions when these huge, unbelievable people prove to be more than a fairy tale tossed from little Renee's lips.
I, Reed Falcon, had been at Indian Lake for three years. The lumber camp at the north end of the lake needed men who could swing an axe.
Guy Renier caught my imagination at a time when my spirits were at low ebb. Not a bank in New York would give me credit and I was thinking of choosing a deep hole in the lake to drown myself. In two months his vital, honest laughter changed my viewpoint toward life and sent me into the woods to clear a place for myself in this majestic new world.
Guy's cabin became home to me. We often sat late, spinning yarns of the north, while black-haired, starry-eyed Renee sat on my lap and believed every word her father spoke.
It was on just such a night that Renee slipped out of the cabin and ran the fifty feet to the lake to bring fresh water. If I remember distinctly, Guy had tipped his chair back against the fireplace. His ruddy, good natured face shone in the fire light as it always did when he spoke of Paul Bunyan. We were both laughing heartily when Renee's high pitched scream broke the stillness of the night.
Guy was inclined to be fat and he had removed his heavy boots earlier in the evening. I saw only the flash of long, red woolen socks as he rushed toward the door. His chair hit the floor with a crash. I was close behind him when we reached Renee.
She ran toward us and fell into Guy's arms. She screamed again. It was the most heart-rending sound I've ever heard.
Guy took the girl in his arms, made sure she had not been injured, then shook her gently but firmly by the shoulders.
"What is the matter, little wren?" he asked her.
Renee cowered in his arms, shaking her head and trying to recover her breath.
"No—no!" She started sobbing. "I see a lady across the lake. She is taller than the trees!"
Guy stared out across the quiet waters of Indian Lake as though half expecting to see such a woman. Then he looked relieved. He started to laugh but it was a nervous laugh.
I knew the girl must have been dreaming but I couldn't take my eyes away from her pinched, miserable face.
"But I did—I did," she screamed, and started to struggle with her father once more.
Guy held on tightly, gathering her close to him.
"Now—now," his voice was flattering and soothing at once. "Of course you see such a lady. You listen to story of Paul Bunyan and your eyes grow so beeg, you see everything beeg."
She continued her sobbing and tried to break away from him. Her eyes caught mine and I confess that I saw nothing but truth in them. She was quiet after awhile, allowing him to carry her back to the cabin. Guy undressed her tenderly and placed her in her bunk. She continued to stare at me, as though seeking someone who would take her side.
"The baby is tired," Guy leaned back in his old position once more, lighted his pipe and stared into the flames. "I think we talk about small things for awhile, hey Reed?"
"Uhuh!" I said, but I still wasn't satisfied.
THE country around Indian Lake is wild. First growth timber
marches through the valleys and up steep mountains. The lumber
company hasn't touched more than a tenth of it. Guy Renier's
trading post serves a dozen Indian families and the crew at the
camp. All together, there aren't more than thirty white men
living within a hundred miles of Indian Lake.
Perhaps that explains why Renee's huge lady wasn't seen again until some time later.
A week went by and with the exception of Renee's continued insistence that she had not dreamed of the tall lady, I had forgotten the whole matter. I was getting into fine shape, sawing and chopping my way back to health. To me this was a personal contest, resulting in a stronger body and a mind that would be ready to fight again when and if I decided to return to civilization.
The story of Renee's lady got around and soon every French-Canadian in the camp was insisting that Paul Bunyan had taken a wife and was returning to the north woods. The story became so real to them that I pity the man who dared open his mouth to whisper that Paul was a myth and did not really exist.
Then one cold night in late October, Renee Renier disappeared. I was down at the post soon after eight in the evening. Some of the men from camp were there when I arrived, but they weren't taking Guy's troubles much to heart.
Guy met me at the door. His eyes were red and he knew he was in bad shape.
"Reed," he shouted as I approached. "Renee is gone!"
At once I remembered what had happened the night Renee went to the lake.
"Gone where?" I approached swiftly, wanting to hear the whole story. "Surely she'll be back before bed-time!"
As soon as I reached him, Guy put his hands on my shoulders and drew me into the shadows beside the porch.
"Reed," he begged. "Don't laugh like the others. Renee went away this afternoon. She said she would stay close by in the woods. She was going to return before dark. Now it is eight o'clock and she has not come in."
Laughter arose from within the store.
The men around the stove were discussing the day's events. I didn't want to worry about the little girl. I wanted to throw off the chill that went through me. It was impossible to forget Renee's earlier experience.
"You don't think she's lost?"
He stared at me in the darkness, and I knew what he was thinking.
"Reed Falcon," he said, "you come from the outside. You've got the brawn of a lumber-jack, but more, you got brains. You understand things the others laugh at. Reed, I think maybe Renee is with her big lady."
I knew what he was thinking, but I was startled to hear him say it.
"But that's fantastic," I said. "In the first place no one has ever seen this creature that Renee described. Renee knows her way around. She'll come back safely."
He shook his head stubbornly.
"That's just what I been thinking," he persisted. "Renee wouldn't have no trouble finding her way home unless someone kept her from coming!"
I GUESS I had been convinced all the time. Now, realizing that
Guy was really worried, I knew I wouldn't give up the search
until black-eyed little Renee was home safely and toasting her
toes before the fire.
"Don't say a word to the others," I cautioned. "They'll pull a lot of that fool Paul Bunyan stuff. Stay here at the store. I'll be back in half an hour."
He crushed my hand in his. "I'm going along."
"Stay here," I begged. "No use stirring up a lot of excitement that will probably end in a joke. If you don't hear from me in an hour, there will be time enough to follow. Renee is no fool. If she's lost, she probably started a fire and is curled up like a chipmunk somewhere in the hills."
I had only a hunting knife, a small packet of matches and a pistol. The weapons came in handy when a rattler or a bear happened across me in the woods. Indian Lake is shaped like a cup, and the valley rises on all sides, reaching up to the higher hills of the Shoshank Range. I thought I knew which way Renee would go. The child loved to climb the Shoshanks and stare away into the distance toward the outside world. I had been up the trail with her many times on Sunday afternoons.
I found that my few years in the woods had made the trails easy to follow. I picked up her track, sometimes a bit of freshly broken twig at the side of the trail, or a muddy print on a rock.
I had progressed swiftly upward until Guy Renier's trading post became a tiny box in the valley far below me. The lake sparkled in the moonlight and smoke from the cabin drifted into the clear, dark sky.
The air was clear and cold. Stars seemed so close that once more I yearned for a fine telescope, the type I had always used in New York. My fingers itched to touch the delicate dials that would bring the moon and the other planets within studying distance of my eye.
When I think back, there was something in that night and its stillness that might have warned me. Warned me that, being so close to the stars and their power, I could expect them to affect my destiny.
Then my thoughts were only for the little girl. I was growing worried. If she had started home she would have been far below this place by now. I toiled upward, and the thin air hurt my lungs.
The moon was bright in the clearing where Renee usually came to play. In the direct center of the clearing, deeply impressed among the pine needles, was the print of a huge boot.
The print, nearly five inches deep in the soil, was well over nine feet in length. Lying not six feet from the great foot-print was Renee Renier's blue and red hair ribbon.
I THANKED God at that moment that Guy Renier had not come.
Perhaps there was a solution. Perhaps I could solve this alone.
First I picked up the ribbon and placed it carefully in my
pocket. Then, with my foot, I covered the huge print carefully
with pine needles. Guy would follow me in a short time. I didn't
dare let him see what I had discovered.
I started to search the vicinity for another foot-print. The one I had found pointed straight ahead. I followed in that direction and had walked approximately fifteen feet. Hidden behind the brush was another boot-mark. The heel was dug in deeply as though the giantess had been running. I plunged swiftly through the low brush and down the bare side of the hill away from the lake. The prints were easy to follow now. Somewhere, far ahead in another valley I caught sight of what I then thought was a lake. It sparkled in the moonlight. I reached the edge of the forest that covered the valley and ran in among the trees. These were great spruce and pine, some of them towering over a hundred feet into the air.
Here the giantess had slowed down and the trail was scattered with tree limbs that she had torn away as she ran. Cautiously I went forward, frightened because I might never find Renee, and more afraid that I might. I had no idea of what I could do to help her.
I reached a large clearing where the moon filtered through the trees. I was half way across it, when the trunk of a great tree moved slightly. I stopped short, staring upward.
It was no tree at all, but the booted foot and long leg of Renee Renier's great lady. I was too frightened to run. I don't think I had a chance to escape.
I stood still, legs apart, bending my head backward to see her.
What I saw was a girl, seemingly about twenty years old, leaning back easily among the upper branches of the forest. Her arms were crossed and her long auburn hair hung down about a comely face that was at least twice the height of my entire body. She wore riding boots, gray whipcords and gray shirt. A wide belt around her waist held a big tube of glass-like material that flashed in the moonlight.
How long we stood still, staring at each other, I don't know. To me, time lost all meaning. I was frightened, yet never before had I seen such a beauty. If a thousand men had chipped this giantess from flawless marble, they could never have produced anything half so perfect.
She grew tired of staring at me. I saw her bend slightly and her long fingers reached downward. I turned and started to run. I was like a mouse being teased by a cat. I reached the underbrush and was about to dive into it head first.
BRANCHES broke close above and hurtled to the ground. A small
pine broke off with a loud crack as she hit it with her elbow.
Soft, firm fingers went about me, and I lay still. It was
useless. My entire body fitted into the palm of her hand.
Then came that heady feeling of flying through space. I was moving upward until I was above the forest, hanging there with only her finger between me and death. She held me in the light where she could examine me closely. I heard her murmuring, but the words were strange to me. She held me under the arms with two fingers and with her other hand, touched me in a manner that to her no doubt meant to be gentle. I shouted in pain. She released the pressure and cradled me in both hands. Now I was about ten feet from her face. She was startlingly beautiful. Her lips, pearly white teeth and wavy auburn hair were perfection plus. Her eyes, wide as she stared at me, were depth-less.
She seemed satisfied.
I suffered another swift trip downward and knew that she was pushing me deep into the pocket of her breeches. Her hand retreated and left me fighting and kicking inside the soft cloth.
I could hear the earth shake and trees break away before the pressure of her arms and legs.
The air I had to breathe was growing stale and I tried to climb upward, fighting my way to the top. One finger entered the pocket and pushed me down again.
I didn't have strength to fight any more. I lay on my side, gasping for breath and praying that Renee was still alive. I hoped Guy and the men would not try to follow.
Then, a roaring sound came into my head and I listened, trying to understand what caused it. I didn't realize that it came from weakness. I gasped for the little oxygen that remained, and passed out.
I OPENED my eyes slowly, the dull roar dying down to a painful
headache. My eyes smarted and I felt as though I could never move
freely again.
The first thing I saw was the egg-shaped glass prison that kept me from moving more than three or four feet in any direction.
I was lying on a solid circular floor and the glass rose above my head. I managed to get to my knees. My shirt had been removed. I struggled to my feet. The egg-shaped prison rested on top of a huge circular turret of metal. It was held firmly in place. Through the glass I saw that I had been brought into a strange world of steel struts and beams that stretched away in all directions. Walls, hiding my own world completely, were covered with instruments. Lights flashed all colors of the rainbow and shining beams crisscrossed the space above.
Then I saw her again, my giantess of the forest. She had discarded her heavy clothes. She came toward me from the dimness of a great hall. She was clad in a simple blouse, open at the neck. She wore sandals and a skirt of silk material that made her appear more like an earth woman and less like something from a strange planet.
But she wasn't alone.
They all looked alike at first. Alike in dress and general appearance. I was to learn later that never had there been four sisters whose thoughts varied so widely. But now, as they approached the sphere that held me, they were all smiling, evidently well pleased with themselves and with me.
The one who had captured me spoke first. I suppose her voice was gentle, but as her mouth alone was large enough to swallow me, the effect on my ear drums wasn't pleasant.
"This is the finest specimen yet," she said. "I think we are ready to leave now. Our work here is done."
The announcement was followed by pleased laughter and four faces moved close to my prison.
"Don't you think we should try to communicate with him?" one of them asked. She seemed apologetic and I noticed that her eyes were wider, her expression more gentle than the rest of them.
Only one of the sisters was blond. She had a heavy, weak face and wide voluptuous lips.
"Communicate?" she protested. "Why?"
"Just the same," the fourth girl broke in. "He is cute. Can you understand, little man?"
"I understand," I admitted.
They stared at each other, then the blond flashed me a smile.
"You can talk because you're under the speaking spheroid," she said. "It makes our language your language. Otherwise we could not understand."
They all chuckled and I wondered what was so damned funny.
"You're going to Zurazz, probably on the head of a pin," the blond said suddenly.
I shuddered a little and didn't know why.
"Yes," another said. "You're the only really worth-while specimen we've picked up on this tiny planet."
SPECIMEN? Tiny planet? Then they were from another
planet and not part of a Bunyan myth! They had already hidden
Renee away somewhere.
"Look here," I shouted. "You do have another specimen, don't you?"
The blond nodded. "We have another."
"I don't know where you're from or where you're going," I admitted, "but the other specimen is a mere child. She is undeveloped and unworthy. Why not free her and take me in her place?"
There was a quick chorus of protests.
"But we are taking you both."
I shook my head. "Evidently you don't know much about earth."
I tried to put disdain in my voice. "The little girl child is a poor example of this planet life. I, on the other hand, am a full grown male and a fair sample of my fellow men. You would not be needlessly cruel. Why, then, must we both go to our deaths?"
I noticed that throughout this entire argument, one of the girls regarded me quietly and intelligently. She was, by far, the most gentle appearing of the four, and in addition, the one who had captured me in the forest.
"He is right," she said. "There is no advantage in taking two of them. Our specimen cases are nearly full. Take the male and return the small specimen to the place it was found."
"They are so tiny," the blond protested. "They will both jam into the same bottle. It will be no trouble."
The one who had taken my side tossed her head stubbornly.
"I insist that the small specimen be returned safely and that we leave for Zurazz during next darkness. I still have a position to maintain and I insist that you listen to me."
A chorus of sighs followed this outburst. Finally the blond said in a sugar and cyanide voice:
"Reeba, you are so headstrong. Father Harru will have to speak to you when we return."
Reeba smiled softly.
"I will take my chance with our Father," she said. "Now I will return the small specimen to safety."
As they left the room, I realized that my safety lay in the chance of somehow convincing Reeba that I must not die. I knew also that Reeba was the gentlest and most lovely of the four sisters. She would take Renee back to the mountain where the little girl could find her way safely to Guy Renier's cabin. I wondered what Guy would think about the story Renee would tell this time. I could hardly believe it myself even though at present I was the main character.
PERHAPS an hour passed before they approached my prison. Fresh
air was forced in to me from a series of grills under my feet. It
was growing dark around the outside of the glass shell. Then
without warning, the room was flooded with light. For the first
time I was sure that I was in a room. Before, everything had been
so large and dim that it was like a forest of steel. Now, by
staring as far as the eye could see, I managed to scale down to
an understandable size, the doors, portholes and other objects
around me.
I was inside some sort of a ship. It must be a space ship, because they had spoken of returning to the planet Zurazz. That puzzled me also. At Colgate in New York, and later at my own observatory, I gained a fair knowledge of the stars and planets. Here, then, was a planet that had never even been dreamed of by students of the skies. How could I, even in close contact with them, satisfy myself that such huge creatures could actually exist?
I sat down on the grill under the powerful lights. Without warning, the egg in which I sat was picked up.
At the same time, I was aware of dead silence inside my prison. Although air still came from the bottom grill, when the egg was lifted from its resting place, it evidently shorted the sound equipment and left me in a silent world of my own.
The egg steadied somewhat and I could see that the hand of a woman covered the outer side. I was being carried to some other part of the ship. I knew that to the sisters, I was only a specimen. I didn't like to guess how 'specimens' were prepared. I continued to slide around inside the glass. Then the hand disappeared and the egg dropped on a steel surface. As soon as it stopped rolling, I looked out.
The huge woman was towering above me. I believe that I was on a bench, although it might have been main street as far as I was concerned.
Then I received a shock. The blond's hand came toward me. In it was a hypodermic needle. The needle was a foot long, tapering to a point the size of my ringer tip. The edges of that point were sharp as shattered glass.
I could already feel the needle grinding into me and the sudden force of liquid as she released the stream that would preserve me for the bottle.
I cowered against the lower side of the egg, and as I did so, saw the line of the bottles on a shelf high above. I knew the place destiny held for me now. There were hundreds of vials, stoppered and carefully lined up on that shelf. Within them were men, not like myself, but at least enough so that I recognized them as such. It was clear to me then what the sisters were doing.
Zurazz was a great planet beyond our own solar system. Evidently the sisters were going from one planet to another, staying only long enough to capture and preserve specimens of each type of life.
I saw still, floating figures of men with green bodies, one eyed monsters, and many legged spider-men.
I shuddered because the egg was already in my captor's hand once more. I was to join this collection of ghastly floating corpses. She cracked the egg glass gently on the bench top and I heard it clatter and fall away from me. I crouched low, not knowing where to run, afraid that if I did she would crush me beneath her palm.
I could hear her mumbling, but couldn't recognize a word of her strange language. As tiny as I was, in staring up at her, I recognized a touch of insane glee in her eyes as she reached for me. She wanted to make me suffer before the others found out.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I shouted desperately for help. My voice echoed and re-echoed through the huge room. Then her fingers grasped and held me tightly around the waist.
I kicked and howled and fought back with all-my strength.
The needle was close, pressed like a gapping mouth against my ribs.
"Aweeee," the cry, angry and sharp came from behind the blond.
SHE dropped me on the bench and whirled around. I started to
run then retreated behind a green bottle that was three times my
height.
Peering around it cautiously I tried to determine where the cry had come from.
It was Reeba who had saved my life!
Reeba who had safely sent Renee home, stood several yards beyond the blond, and though the sounds that fell from her lips were meaningless to me, I saw the blond drop the needle and hang her head in shame. Reeba came close, and pushed her sister aside. She studied the bench carefully and as I stepped hesitantly into her line of vision, she picked me up in the palm of her hand. From a cabinet below the bench she drew out a shining new glass chamber and opened the grill on the bottom of it. She put me inside.
Meanwhile, the blond left the room. Reeba carried me back to my original prison and placed the egg on top of the big cylinder. At once every sound became clear in my ears. She leaned close to me.
"Can you understand me now?"
I nodded, still too overcome to speak.
"Your life has not been saved yet," she said. "Lura almost added you to our specimen collection."
"But why," I protested. "I've never harmed her or any of you. I have a right to live."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't understand you," she confessed. "You seem full of spirit. You are, save for your size, almost like one of us. Let me tell you a story. It may seem long and uninteresting, but you must listen."
"But first," I begged, "why did Lura want to kill me?"
She shook her head.
"That will come," she said. "Listen to me. We are from the plant Zurazz. It is far beyond the tiny earth system. Lura, Lona, Shanna and myself are from the royal house of Harru. For many years we were educated in the great universities of Zurazz. Time came for us to understand the power of our civilization. We were given the space-liner of our father's design and told to visit the small planets. We were to bring back a sample of the highest type of life from each planet."
She hesitated and I saw a sudden tenderness in her eyes.
"We have served the house of Harru well and the mission is nearly completed. In Lura, there is nothing but cold hearted hate for anything beyond Zurazz. She has enjoyed every moment of the expedition. She loves to kill.
"Lona is like her, but wise and crafty. She makes Lura do the things she is ashamed to do herself.
"Shanna is different. She came only because father Harru made her come. Shanna hates death and hates to hurt others. She is most like me. Perhaps I, Reeba, am not wise. I will be punished for quarreling as I have with the others. I am sure that Lura will not rest now until you are a corpse in one of her bottles."
Genuine tears filled her eyes.
"I am not so much different than you," she cried out. "We have been brought up to believe that we are superior to any other race. That isn't true. Our universe is larger. We are larger to fit the surroundings. Actually, we are the cumbersome, overgrown dolts and you of earth and the small planets have our wisdom and our pleasures contained in a smaller body. You are no more a specimen to be killed and mounted than I am."
I agreed with her, but I didn't know what to say about it.
"Perhaps," I suggested in a humble voice, "you would be willing to help me escape?"
She shuddered. "Then they would kill me. I think they hate me that much. They would tell our father that I was lost in space and could not be found. No, you must return to Zurazz."
"I guess you know how I feel about your saving my life and taking my side as you have," I said.
"I had to help you," she whispered. "For in spite of our great difference in size, I admire you greatly. I'm afraid that I'm—very much in love with you."
Her words were such a shock to me that, for a moment, I couldn't grasp their full meaning. I leaned close to the glass and spoke to her softly.
"Your sister would not understand. You must control yourself."
She lifted her head and smiled at me with tear dimmed eyes.
"I will be more careful," she promised. "Now you know how I feel. I ask nothing of you but your loyalty and your help if I need it."
I nodded. My throat was dry. I stared up at her lovely face.
I WAS given the privilege of watching the ship leave earth for
her home port. Reeba had accomplished the miracle of keeping me
alive. Quiet, loyal Shanna had taken Reeba's side from the first.
Lura and Lona agreed that I could remain alive to see Zurazz, on
the condition that I would be mounted and exhibited later. I
think that Reeba convinced them that I might be more sensational
if I were allowed to strut before an audience under my own
power.
For the time being, at least, I gained a bit of prestige aboard the ship. In spite of their size, I had learned in a few hours how each of the four sisters must be handled. By watching the gigantic faces, I was able to read character even more easily that I could on the faces of girls I had known on earth.
Lura, the blond, took me over completely after she decided that I was to remain alive. Her eyes, her lips gave away her thoughts. She admired me greatly as an animal that would look equally well dead or alive. She smiled at my jokes, but delighted in squeezing me too tightly when she had the chance.
Lona was different. In many ways she was the most beautiful of the four. It was hard, calculating beauty. Her heavily lidded eyes, and pale skin were enchanting. She spoke in a soft drawl that was pleasant to listen to. Reeba I already loved. At least as much as a man can love from pure gratitude. Shanna stayed away from me. Shanna was home-sick and didn't approve of the expedition.
I knew that Reeba watched her sisters closely when they had me in their possession. Therefore I didn't worry. On the morning after Reeba and I talked, Lura came to me again. This time she apologized for what she had done.
"After all," she said, "how was I to know what the others planned? I have always handled the specimens. I thought you were no better than the rest."
She cautioned me not to be frightened, then removed the glass shell with me inside it, and hurried through long halls toward a destination I knew nothing of. At last we entered another room which was surrounded by great windows. By this time I was so overcome that comparisons were hard to make. I guessed that this was the control room of the ship. One must remember that the chairs in which the girls strapped themselves were designed to hold people a hundred feet tall. The dials, wheels and compasses were proportioned accordingly. Having replaced me on another large sphere, Lura spoke:
"We designed the speaking-sphere and placed one in each room. You are not the first specimen who has been able to see our ship and speak to us by thought wave. We have a complete stock of the globes like the one you occupy.
"This is the control room. Perhaps you would like a last look at the world you are leaving?"
She lifted me and held the glass shell close to the window. I stared out in astonishment. Now I knew what the lake had been which I thought I saw in the valley. The ship stretched away for hundreds of feet in each direction. It was made of polished steel-like material and shaped into a huge flying wing. It sparkled and shone in the sunlight. Below me was a forest. The ship had crushed down acres of trees, plowing them under as though they were green tooth-picks.
I COULD see the mountain range that hid Guy Renier's cabin
from sight, and the thought of leaving Guy behind gave me a
heart-ache.
Lura lowered me gently on the sphere.
"It's—a gigantic ship," I admitted.
Lura chuckled.
"Only a pursuit model," she said. "Wait until you see Zurazz."
She winked at me suddenly and tipping the glass over, pulled me into the open by one leg. I wanted to shout for Reeba, but dared not. I might cause the other sisters to turn on Reeba if I continued to go to her with my trouble.
But Lura wasn't going to harm me this time. She held me in the palm of her hand.
"What a man," she said sarcastically and drew me close to her mouth. I felt her lips against my face and feared this was the last moment of my life. Then she pushed me away again and dropped me into the glass. I heard her sigh as she placed the glass back on the base.
"What a man you are," she said coldly. "Sometimes I can't understand Reeba at all."
Had she found Reeba's real reason for keeping me alive?
We left earth approximately two days after I was captured. It was sometime after midnight, as nearly as I could guess, that Reeba came into my prison room and smuggled me from the egg glass into the tunic pocket of her flying outfit.
"You will be safe in there," she assured me. "I am going to place several layers of soft fabric under you to lessen the shock of the take-off. Besides," and her voice grew more tender, "you will be close to me."
After that I was no longer in the glass and could not understand what she said. When I again dared look out of the pocket, we were in the control room. The huge windows allowed the full sweep of moonlight to enter the ship. Otherwise, the room was dark, save for flashing lights on the control boards. The entire room was too large for my mind to grasp. I could never hope to control such a ship alone.
All four sisters were here now. They sat quietly in shock chairs ranged along the flashing dial. Lura was at the wheel, a large affair, not unlike a ship's wheel. I heard Lura speak but couldn't, of course, understand her instructions. I tensed, expecting the usual blast of rockets that would boost us into the sky. Instead, aside from a force that held me tightly against the bottom of Reeba's pocket, there was no great shock. I would have said that we had not moved. Yet, I stared out of the pocket once more and I could no longer see the world of pine forests below. There was nothing but open sky. The flying wing was no longer a dead thing lying against the valley floor.
"The air chambers worked well." I head Lura's voice and was shocked that I could understand it. "You can let the little man out of his nest now, Reeba. He'll be quite safe unless someone steps on him."
She didn't know that I understood her. This bothered me for some minutes. Then I noticed that she spoke through a small head-phone. Somehow, through the radionic quirk, my ears picked up any message that went into the speaker.
OF THE journey to Zurazz I can relate little. Being so small a part of such a vast ship, I was unable to wander at any time from Reeba's side. She took personal care of me every moment. When she slept, I was returned to my egg glass on the spheroid. She carried the key to that door in her pocket. During the day I rode in her jacket pocket, standing so that I could look out over the top.
I saw things of which I had never dreamed. Vast reaches of space in which the earth grew small as a marble and finally disappeared entirely after our third day out. Until now I had flattered myself that I knew the sky well. Now, travelling with these women, I realized that there were other worlds that could not be seen through a telescope.
On the sixth day, we hurtled downward through the layers of gas around Zurazz and came within sight of this great planet that man had never dreamed existed.
"This," I told Reeba, who was sitting at the main control when we dove through the colored gas, "is beyond my imagination."
She chuckled.
"By that, you mean it is beyond the ken of man's weak instruments. You are very funny people. You on earth pay great compliments to your own intelligence. You think that what you know nothing about or cannot wholly understand does not exist.
"Actually, from what you told me of your universe, it is but a tiny part of life that exists in space. Zurazz alone is many times the size of your entire group of planets."
I could believe that.
The sisters were anxious after so many months away, to land without further delay. They were grouped around the large screen that they called the visuo-messenger. I learned much about them by listening to their phone conversations when none of them suspected I could understand.
"Our Father of Harru should be at Zanus to greet us," Lona said. "It will be good to toss this—this collection of freaks in his lap and go back once more to the warm baths and lazy days at the castle."
At the mention of freaks, Reeba's hand crept to her pocket and I felt her fingers pressing me gently.
Lura laughed, noticing Reeba's gesture.
"Reeba doesn't want to think of giving up her freak," Lura said. "She's quite fond of him." Reeba bit her lip and was about to reply when Shanna cried out excitedly.
"It is father—see him, on the visuo."
They turned toward the screen, all smiling expectantly.
"Father," Reeba said. "Is the field prepared?"
I studied the leader of the house of Harru carefully, hoping I wasn't visible in Reeba's pocket.
"It is prepared," he said. "You may come in at once. Bless you in the name of the House."
The man on the screen bowed his head slightly and the girls followed his example. I had a chance to draw some first opinions.
Father Harru wasn't the father of these young people. I could guess that from the dried up wrinkled old face. He must, then, be some sort of adviser. He had kindly blue eyes and was dressed in a brown robe with a length of rope tied about his skinny middle.
DURING this conversation, the ship had been roaring ahead
steadily toward a green bank that formed below us. Father Harru's
face was suddenly visible again.
"The sound of your craft can be heard now," he said. "I will turn you over to Guide Ten."
"Thank you." It was Reeba who answered and who hurried to the wheel. She sat down and leaned forward expectantly. Over the screen an urgent voice said:
"Guide Ten at the Port. I was worried, Reeba. Father waited a long time. You might have crashed."
I stared at the vision of the man who spoke to Reeba. I knew from the sound of his voice that he felt a certain ownership for the girl. He was young, had a small black mustache and eyes that seemed jet black.
"Thank you, Taunz," Reeba answered swiftly. "If you're worried, stop talking and guide us in."
Taunz' face turned very red.
"Very well, Princess of Harru," he said stiffly. "Angle X6—Angle Y10—Angle Z26."
Reeba repeated these strange figures after him, jerking down certain levers that turned the flaps on the wings of the ship.
The craft seemed to hesitate, then slipped off and changed its course noticeably.
"You're all right now," Taunz said coldly. "Keep your course until X and Z cross. Then shift sharply to Angle Y32. You'll come in on a clear field. How about attending the peace party with me tonight, Princess?"
Reeba pressed the switch that cut Taunz' face from the screen.
We continued to plunge downward. In Reeba's pocket, I could feel the pulsing of her blood, the warmth of her body. It seemed that she was undergoing a terrible physical strain. I stared around at the others. Their eyes were on Reeba. Only Shanna seemed to understand. Lura and Lona plainly showed their disgust.
Lona spoke over the earphones, and I understood her words, words that I never should have heard.
"It seems that Reeba doesn't care for Taunz since she has met the tiny earthling. I wonder what our Father Harru will say when Reeba asks him to break her bond with a mighty warrior like Taunz?"
Reeba's mouth straightened into a grim, white line and a tear formed on her lower lid.
"Perhaps Reeba wants to wait for the earth specimen to grow to full size," Lura offered.
AH the conversation stopped at that point. The surface of Zurazz bounced up to us swiftly. I was aware of great buildings that towered above us as the ship sank to the surface of the planet. Buildings that looked for all the world like sections of Manhattan.
"Termination points—X and Z," Lura cried. Reeba flipped the wheel swiftly, the craft straightened out and glided in on a long, hard surfaced runway. Ahead, hundreds of people were gathered about the entrance of an opened hangar. The ship slowed and slipped into the hangar. My journey to Zurazz was completed.
REEBA, for reasons best known to herself, returned me to the
egg glass before she left the ship. Thus, I was not present at
the landing ceremonies. I knew that she wanted to speak to me, to
question me about some problem that troubled her. Still, she was
quiet and I didn't dare approach her. I was left alone, only able
to hear the distant sounds of many voices, rising to shouts of
gladness as the four sisters left the ship and were greeted by
their own kind.
I remembered wondering what sort of trial I would have to face for my life. I never doubted that I would face such a trial. Reeba, and perhaps Shanna, were the only ones who considered me a living person. In the eyes of the people of Zurazz, as had been the case with Lura and Lona, I was but another tiny specimen to be mounted and put on display.
I don't know how long I stayed in the ship. I couldn't get out. I was cramped and growing very cold and the ship itself had cooled off. It grew dark and at last I could see only the dull reflection of light coming from somewhere outside, touching the glass of my prison.
Then there was sound in the room. The sound of footsteps that were slow, almost stealthy.
I crouched close to the grilled floor waiting. Then complete darkness swooped over me and I heard the rustling of a black cloth as it pressed around my prison. The glass was tipped around and around and I went with it, sliding and bumping inside.
Voices, though I could hear two people talking, were in a strange tongue.
For a long time I heard the rumble of feet, then the whirr of wheels against a smooth surface. Then I was being carried once more, and I rattled around so much within the glass prison, that I thought every bone in my body was broken. At last the glass was lowered to a smooth surface and the cloth removed. I stared out into a huge, beautifully decorated room. Then, at the excited face of Shanna Harru. She ran swiftly across the room, which I guessed was her personal chamber. She drew a small box from a chest and returned, placing my sphere in a depression on top of the box. At once I could understand what she said to me.
"Lona and Lura," she was shaking with fear, "planned to kill you and present you to Reeba in a bottle. I had no time to warn her. I brought you here to the palace. They will be searching for you."
"Where is Reeba now," I asked. "What is your father's attitude toward me?"
"You are too small for anyone to take seriously," she said. "Except for Reeba. Reeba loves you very much, and I love Reeba. I'll do anything she wishes."
I would have felt better at that moment if I could have broken out of the egg and knocked a few heads together.
"Listen," I said hurriedly. "I've got to be free to hide and escape by myself. They will become suspicious of you in a few minutes. They'll come here and find me. Let me out and I'll hide until Reeba has a chance to help me."
"You cannot understand our language unless you are within the chamber," she protested.
"I don't have to understand languages," I shouted. "All I have to do is stay out from under boots. Please let me out. I'll return here in the morning. If you have anything to tell me, tell me then. Meanwhile, give me a chance to find out a few things for myself."
SHANNA was weak and Shanna knew Reeba cared for me. She
couldn't refuse my request. She lifted the glass and took me from
it. She placed me on the floor and muttered something that I
couldn't understand.
I heard the sound of footsteps from across the great room and a surge of wind almost blew me over, as the door flew open. I didn't have to worry about hiding. The draft blew me from my feet and I slid across the room and under a bed.
I knew because of the boots that I saw coming toward Shanna, that both Lura and Lona were hot on my trail. Then I remembered the glass under which I had stood. Shanna would have no time to hide it. They would know that I was close by.
Above me, far out of reach, were the springs of Shanna's bed. I grabbed the blankets that hung down and started to climb hand over hand. I heard all three girls arguing loudly outside my hiding place. I reached for the springs and started to run in among them. Not a moment too soon. Lura's knees hit the floor and her head was visible under the edge of the bed. I could feel her hot breath as I crouched against the spring supports a few feet from her face.
At last she seemed satisfied and retreated. I sighed with relief. The sounds above me lessened. The door closed and I knew that for the time being I was safe. All three of them had hurried into the hall. I dropped to the floor and ran after them. I stepped out into the hall, carefully staying close to the wall. The floor was made up of square black and white tile. Each tile was several feet square. Huge, marble columns bordered the hall, rising out of sight into the dimness above me. The hall bordered a great circular rotunda below. In its center was a chandelier holding thousands of great candles. I realized that each candle was three times my size and moved a little more cautiously. I hoped sincerely that the House of Harru owned no house pets. A dog or cat, relative in size to the other inhabitants of Zurazz, would put my travels to an abrupt and bloody end.
MY IMMEDIATE problem was to find Reeba, or succeed in hiding
from the others until she found me. As long as Lura and
Lona were after me, I'd have to play about like a mouse, staying
out of their reach.
I continued along the hall for some minutes (it seemed miles in length). After a time many voices came up from below. I crept to the edge of the balcony and stared down. Evidently the House of Harru was giving a banquet in honor of the returning travellers. The table stretched away as far as I could see through the haze of smoke that came from the huge, black weeds the men were smoking. I noticed that each of the sisters were seated with an escort and the fellow with Reeba was handsome in a dark, elusive way.
At the far end of the table an old man sat stiffly, smiling first at one then another, and I had the feeling that his heart wasn't in the merry-making.
I might have gone on staring down at the feast if a sudden scratching behind me hadn't caused me to twist around to face a huge house-cat. The creature was several times my height and her mouth was wide open, yawning lazily. Her tail started to switch slowly from side to side. She moved stealthily toward me, stretching slowly as she relaxed for a jump.
I forgot that I was close to the edge of the balcony.
Two steps backward and the next moment I was hurtling dizzily through space.
To this day I don't know into what strange dish I fell. It might have been spinach, for I hit with a loud ker-plunk and sank out of sight in stinking, green vegetation. This broke the force of my fall, and aside from the blinding rage that swept through me, I was safe.
I struggled upward through the green slime, only to feel two strong fingers around me. I landed gently on the white cloth of the banquet table. My arrival was followed by so much meaningless conversation that I decided I'd caused quite a stir among the guests.
Someone had chosen a napkin for a towel and was wiping me with it. I nearly smothered under the huge cloth before I had been cleaned to my captor's satisfaction and left standing in the center of the vast table.
Around me great bowls and dishes towered. The guests were chuckling and gathering about the end of the table where I had fallen. Then Reeba was there, high above me, smiling down tenderly.
She took me in her hand and I knew that she was returning once more to her place at the table. For a few minutes I couldn't understand what they planned to do with me. Then it became clear. A servant came with one of the small egg-shaped glasses and a support of the type Shanna had used for me in her room. It was placed on the table and Reeba put me inside it.
At once I could clearly understand the thoughts and words of those about me.
"He is a cute little fellow.
"Disgusting of Reeba to bring a common specimen to the table..."
"Poor taste. Kill the insect and have it over with."
OVERCOME by the snobbish remarks being made about Reeba, I
turned and tried to see who had called me an insect. It was the
smooth haired, mustached Taunz who sat next to Reeba. I had hated
him from the first. Hated him ever since he had shown a feeling
of ownership toward her on the visuo-screen.
"I'm not an insect to begin with," I shouted. "And as for killing me, you have a lot of courage considering your size!"
I knew that I'd said the wrong thing, but I was so angry that I didn't care much what happened. Something made me blind with anger when Reeba was ridiculed.
Taunz swore loudly and his arm swept out toward me. I knew that if the huge fist hit the glass in which I was standing, I'd die before I hit the floor.
At the same time Reeba cried out and held up her arm to ward off his blow.
"Taunz—please—don't kill him."
Lona, sitting on the far side of the table laughed coldly.
"No, Taunz, Reeba is in love with the specimen. You mustn't kill him."
Reeba's cheeks turned flaming red. A loud chuckle broke from Taunz' lips and floated down the table. Others laughed uncertainly wondering if Lona told the truth.
"Enough of this nonsense." The old man at the end of the table rose. "My daughters quarrel among themselves. A banquet is spoiled. Taunz makes a fool of himself. All because of a tiny earthling."
He reached toward me, and transported my glass prison to a spot near his plate. He stared down at me and I had a chance to examine him carefully for the first time. The old man was obviously king, or whatever office they called it on Zurazz. He must be well over a hundred years old, if the wrinkled face and skinny hands were any indication. His eyes were bright and sparkling in spite of the anger he seemed to feel at this moment.
"Now then," he said. "Let us settle this once and for all. Lona has already told me that Reeba refused to mount this specimen as she was ordered to do. What have you to say, Reeba?"
The room was very quiet. Reeba's voice, when it came, was steady.
"The earth people are like us," she said. "Of all the planets we visited they alone look and act as we do. I see no reason to treat them as insects, as we do the other oddities we bring back. Only our size makes us more powerful and sometimes I'm not sure that size makes us any more intelligent."
Taunz grasped her hand and tried to pull her back into her chair. Reeba drew away from him.
"The good King, our Father, sent us abroad as is only right. We have seen all the planets and brought proof of our visit to all of them."
A faint ripple of applause followed this statement.
"Perhaps I am not gratefully a member of this family. I believe that Lona and Lura, my sisters, are naturally cruel and sadistic. They enjoy hurting small things. Shanna who is timid, and I who am compassionate, did not enjoy murdering simply because we are superior in size. To kill is a game for warriors and not for women."
"Reeba!" her father shouted sternly.
"I know what you will say," Reeba went on. "Men and women of Zurazz have always bullied the little planets. This very banquet is in honor of us, and the murderers we are now supposed to be."
Taunz had sprung to his feet.
"I refuse to accept this wench for my bride," he shouted. "She is not fit..."
Reeba smiled sadly.
"Taunz, my thick-headed numbskull, I would never marry you. If my father wishes to send me away because of my beliefs, I will go willingly."
SHE paused and breathed deeply.
"There is one other point to be mentioned. Lona and Lura have tried to murder the little man. It is their own jealousy that makes them try this. They have no feeling for love of anyone. They live only for themselves. They know what I have found and they can't stand seeing me hold it."
"Wait," the King shouted gruffly. "If you are going to admit..."
Reeba nodded.
"That I am in love? That I have felt a great yearning for the earthling? Yes! It is true."
The King sprang to his feet. There was a great scraping of chairs as the remainder of the party arose with him. Reeba remained sitting, staring straight at me. I was supremely proud of her at that moment. Proud and puzzled, for there was no chance that we might ever share happiness together.
"Reeba," the King said sternly. "Zurazz is the most powerful globe in the cosmic system. Our people were born with size as their heritage. They have gone forth, man and woman alike, to win their spurs. After they have taken their first flight, they have returned and been content here. As you are not, and therefore, not truly a citizen of Zurazz, I ask you to go to your room at once. I will discuss this with you later."
Reeba arose and reached for the glass that held me.
"Leave the specimen here," the King added.
Reeba hesitated.
"You—will..."
"He will be dealt with by your sisters who have the courage you lack," her father said coldly. "Now go, before I call the guards."
A shudder coursed through Reeba's body. She turned and left the table. I stared at the other sisters. Lona and Lura were grinning maliciously. Lona saw that my eyes were upon her and snapped her thumb and forefinger together tightly. I could almost feel my neck between them. Shanna alone wasn't staring at me. Her lonely, tear stained face was turned away, watching Reeba as she went out.
A huge napkin fluttered down, covering my prison. I sat down in the darkness and tried to think.
I SAT still for some time, then it seemed to me that the party
was growing much noisier. I wondered if, in the midst of the
excitement, I might be able to slip from under the glass and
escape without them noticing me. It was worth a chance. In my
present plight, it was but a matter of minutes before I would be
destroyed.
I waited for a while. Then I pushed up the edge of the glass, finding that it took all my strength to do so. I knew there was a danger of it toppling to the table and crashing, to spoil my plan. I started to inch my way under it. At last I did so. I jumped to the table, still hidden under the napkin. I had been fortunate. The glass fell back into place, teetered and straightened without them noticing. I crept from under the napkin and took refuge between two huge bowls. Near one was a sharp knife. It was larger than my body, but the bone handle made it fairly light to pick up. I decided that the knife was my only possible weapon. I waited until the noise was at its loudest. The King was shouting above the others and the group was in an uproar. I held the knife like a lance, ran swiftly toward the King and jumped directly into his lap. I hated to give myself away like that, but had I jumped directly to the floor, the fall would have killed me. The King's lap was soft and broke my fall.
I heard his laughter turn to a howl of rage. But before he could grasp me, I ran the length of his leg and jumped again, this time on the board that ran along the underside of the table. It was still a long leap to the floor but I took it in stride. The knife fell and clattered beside me. I picked it up again and started running toward the door.
The guests were howling with laughter again. I must have been a funny sight. Then I knew what caused the merriment.
Not ten feet ahead, barring my escape through the door, was the huge cat that had almost caught me before.
The beast stood its ground, but the gleaming eyes told me that this time escape wouldn't be so easy. I had no choice. Behind me was a whole court of giants who would enjoy pushing a pin through me. Ahead, a chance to fight.
I lowered the knife, aimed for the cat's face and charged.
A little undercurrent of amazement sounded behind me. At least they seemed to be giving me credit for courage. The cat didn't know what to do.
The knife, flashing in the candlelight, had it bewildered.
I didn't slacken my pace, but just as the point of the knife was about to touch the cat's nose, the beast whirled and swatted me with her paw. I went end over end, but came up with the knife still in my hands.
I pointed the knife directly toward the cat, and crouched behind it, making sure I was ready to turn and dash away again should my plan fail. The animal was beyond cleverness now, and rage lighted its eyes. I heard something akin to a cheer rise behind me, and realized that the entire table had become my gallery.
The cat sprang into the air and I switched the point of the knife upward. The animal came down full upon the point and the blade gashed into her chest. A snarl of pain escaped her lips and she toppled over, the knife buried deep. She continued to run about in circles for several minutes, then fell on her side and died.
DURING this time, I had forgotten King Harru. I had cause to
remember suddenly, when before I could turn to run once more, he
had crossed the room and swooped me up in the palm of his hand. I
was keenly disgusted with myself. Here I was once more under the
spheroid glass, with only a dead cat for my pains in trying to
escape.
However, the interview went somewhat differently. The King stared at me, his wrinkled face more kindly than before.
"Quite a warrior, aren't you?"
I wasn't able to see much humor in the situation.
"I didn't have much choice," I said.
The King chuckled.
"Are you in the habit of battling with house cats?"
The question was gently sarcastic.
"Are you in the habit of insulting guests who are inferior to you because of their size and ability to fight back?"
His cheeks started to burn, but I saw that he had taken the point well.
"Perhaps you are right," he admitted. "You seem intelligent enough. Not like the others."
"Perhaps I'm the first 'specimen' that has been brought back alive," I said. "You might find that other planets are as advanced as your own, if you'd give their people the chance to prove it."
The people about the table sat quietly. The King spaced his questions well and spoke slowly.
"Perhaps you are right again," he admitted. "But—you all seem so tiny—so unimportant, that we've never considered you worth troubling ourselves with."
"Size is relative," I insisted. "On this planet, everything is large. To you, it seems normal. I, fighting one of your house cats, am like a warrior faced with a dragon. Yet, on my own earth, I am normal in every respect."
King Harru had swallowed a lot of my insults, but he seemed anxious for more.
"You are giving me food for thought. Taunz," he shouted sharply, "did it ever occur to you that our travelling to other planets and stealing people from them might be a useless and thoughtless waste?"
I turned and saw the narrowed eyes of Taunz staring at me. Taunz who wanted Reeba, and was, in a sense a rival.
"I'm afraid the tiny one has dimmed your thoughts, Harru," Taunz said. "After all, though he fights well against a cat, of what importance is a cat?"
Harru scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps you have something there," he admitted. "Yet, Reeba wants him left alive, and Reeba has always been clever. I must speak to her. Meanwhile Taunz, take the little one to Reeba's room and leave him with her."
Taunz smiled and leaned forward to pick me up, glass sphere and all.
"And Taunz," Harru went on gently. "See that no harm comes to him. If he were harmed, your punishment would match his accident."
"Yes, Majesty," Taunz said, but there was no graciousness in his voice.
"OUR only salvation is to escape Zurazz and return to your
earth."
Reeba sat on the edge of her bed, her head cradled in her hands, eyes closed. "My father was excited by the battle you put up against the cat. I have seen him like this before. At times he seems ready to understand the other worlds. Later, he goes on as always, thinking only of himself and Zurazz."
"But—why," I asked. "Tonight he spoke honestly enough to me. I think I might..."
Reeba shook her head. She looked up at me. Her eyes were misty and tender.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Taunz wants to marry me and father loves Taunz dearly. He's giving you to me to play with. It's like satisfying a childish whim."
That hadn't occurred to me before, and I can't say I was pleased. Reeba continued.
"In a few days he thinks I will tire of you. Then you'll become a living exhibit in the Museum of Other Worlds. Taunz will expect my attention and I will be asked to enter the society of Zurazz as Taunz' wife."
I sat on the floor staring up at Reeba through the glass walls of my prison, listening as she tried to explain our plight.
"Reeba," I said suddenly. "I'd—I'd like to say something."
I think she understood. She leaned over and picked up the glass spheroid. She lowered me gently to her knee.
"Never has a vaster ocean separated two people," I said humbly. "Yet, if I can judge by your loyalty, everything you have said about your love and affection for me has been true."
She nodded, smiling rather pitifully.
"Reeba," I continued. "I don't know how we can ever adjust ourselves to this or any other world, but I want you to know how I feel..."
"I know," she admitted. "To me, you aren't a midget nor am I a giant. If there is any way...?"
I shook my head.
"We are helpless. Unfortunately, outside of books, there is no magic formula that will adjust our sizes to each other."
"Wait!" She seemed to have been reminded of something by my words. "There is one way of escape."
I was silent, waiting for her to go on. Her cheeks turned red and at last she shook her head.
"No Reed, I'm afraid I couldn't do it."
Then, remembering that I knew nothing of her idea she said:
"Taunz is in charge of all interplanetary travel. He has often begged me to take a trip to the outer moons with him. It—wasn't decent of him to make the suggestion. If I could get him away on such a journey, we could dispose of him and make our escape."
I was silent, waiting for her to go on.
"I would have to approach Taunz and cheapen myself by making the suggestion." Tears sprang into her eyes. "Reed, I couldn't..."
NO CAGED animal ever felt as helpless as I. Here I was amidst
enemies, living in a strange world. Men and women were all about
me, and yet I was only capable of fighting in a battle with a
house cat.
"Isn't the space ship where we could reach it without Taunz' help?"
Reeba shook her head.
"Taunz has access to the take off data. Only certain directions are safe. To leave Zurazz without charts would crash us among the outer moons before we had travelled a thousand miles."
"But—why has this power been given to Taunz?"
"My father trusts Taunz," Reeba admitted. "He is trustworthy because he loves Zurazz. We do not travel much. Only a half dozen trips a year. Taunz charts the movements of all moons and supplies necessary information for the little travel we do."
A knock sounded on the door. Reeba placed her hand gently over the glass sphere and spoke.
"Come in."
I heard her utter a pleased cry and her hand flew away from the glass. I could see Shanna's plaintive face. The shy sister stood near the door.
"You—don't mind my coming?"
"No," Reeba said, "of course not. Have the others retired?"
Shanna nodded, and crossed the room and sat down beside Reeba. She was very careful not to disturb me.
"Father plans to destroy the earth-ling," Shanna said breathlessly.
Reeba nodded her head.
"I thought as much," she admitted. "It sounded very much like him to be impressed by Reed's courage."
"Reed?" Shanna smiled. "Is that your name?"
She was staring down at me.
I nodded.
"Reed Falcon," I said. "Shanna, you've been grand. I appreciate it." She blushed.
"I like you, Reed Falcon," she said. "You seem to grasp that we are only girls and very human, in spite of the terrific difference in our size. The people of Zurazz aren't as understanding as you are."
"Thanks," I said. "But, if you could figure a way to save Reeba from your father's anger, the whole problem would be solved."
Shanna looked very sad.
"I'm afraid I'm not very clever," she admitted slowly. "I love Reeba very much, but I'm little help to anyone."
At that moment, none of us felt very clever. It was about the most unbelievable love affair any man had ever had. Yet, I knew I would never be half so strongly attracted to another woman as I was to Reeba Harru.
BUT I had not reckoned with Shanna.
Shanna Harru had that quality which forced her to fight to the end for her friends, and hate her enemies with every fierce little spark in her body. As soon as she found out that Reeba hoped to escape from Zurazz, Shanna went to work secretly. First she insisted that I be hidden away during the day, while Reeba was forced to attend certain functions of the court. Then, on the night of the fifth day, Shanna came to Reeba's room after dark. When Reeba opened the door, I was out of my glass prison and resting comfortably on the bed. It was a grand feeling to be out of solitary confinement, but I could understand none of Shanna's excited speech until I was once more inside. I hurried into the sphere in time to hear her say:
"Tomorrow night. The ship waits, ready for the take-off."
Reeba was terribly excited. She was, it seemed to me, also a little suspicious.
"But, Shanna. There is no flight scheduled. Taunz would have told me."
Shanna laughed excitedly.
"It was to be a secret flight. Father asked Taunz to make a scouting trip of the planets and to tell no one. I overheard them discussing it."
Reeba turned to me.
"Reed," she said quietly. "It is our one chance. Shanna says a plane will take off tomorrow night with only Taunz aboard. I don't know where we can go, but at least we will be free of Zurazz."
The very thought of escape was enough for me.
"We'll take it," I said.
"Good," Shanna interrupted. "I will take you to the ship myself. You should be ready when the sun sets." Reeba shook her head.
"No," she said firmly. "You've been good enough to come and tell us. You'll take no further chance of being punished. Tell me where the ship is and we'll find the way."
Shanna shook her head stubbornly.
"I'm sorry Reeba," she said. "It's the first time I've ever done anything for you and I'm going to do it my way." There, in spite of further argument on Reeba's part, the matter rested.
THE following day passed slowly.
Reeba came for me at sunset and smuggled me into her jacket pocket. I was in a position to look out over the huge city as she made her way toward the space-port. Reaching the gate, she met Shanna and the three of us went into the cavernous hangar that housed the huge flying wing.
Taunz was standing near the door of the flying wing. He was evidently surprised to see Reeba with her sister. However, he greeted them both and stood quietly by until Shanna decided to make some explanation.
"I understand that you are starting a flight tonight, Taunz."
Taunz nodded.
"You should know, Shanna sweet. I'm surprised that you chose to bring your sister."
Shanna's cheeks blazed.
"Reeba wanted to come with me to watch you take off," she said. "You don't mind."
Taunz still grinned at Shanna. I knew that something had passed between them that I knew nothing about. Reeba also seemed puzzled.
"Where are you going this time, Taunz?"
Taunz turned deliberately to Shanna.
"I don't know," he admitted. "You will have to ask Shanna."
Reeba turned toward her sister, and Shanna's cheeks were red. She stepped close to her sister and her voice sank to a whisper.
"I have always wanted to help you. I heard you say that Taunz liked to travel alone with members of the court. You told Reed, the night I listened at the door. Now, escape, Reeba, while there is time."
She whirled around, whipping a pistol from the folds of her skirt, and fired point-blank at Taunz' chest. A foolish startled expression crept across his dark face. His hand crept upward to his stained jacket and he sank forward without a sound.
"Shanna—Oh! Shanna..."
Shanna turned to Reeba.
"Lona and Lura have always hated me. They have been cruel. You have always been kind. Don't worry about me. I want to die..."
She turned the pistol on herself and pulled the trigger once more. As Shanna fell, I could hear the sound of heavy footsteps behind us. I shouted to Reeba that we must escape. I could see the shadowy forms of two women rushing toward us from the gate. Reeba saw them also. She stared down at Shanna, then at the open door of the ship. I heard her cry out in horror at the full realization of what Shanna had done for us.
Then we were in the ship and the door slammed behind us. Reeba rushed forward into the control room. The ship was evidently lined up correctly, as the nose had been elevated to about a forty-five degree angle. Reeba sat down quickly at the controls, drew down two large handles and the flying wing leaped into the void.
I never saw Zurazz again, for in the darkness we flew upward too swiftly for a last look back at the city.
BUT our problem wasn't solved.
We knew that Shanna had not wanted to come. Nor had she wanted to live and face the wrath of her father and her sisters. There was no danger of being followed, for Taunz alone was capable of preparing the great ships for flight.
It dawned on us both the shame Shanna must have faced in agreeing to take flight with Taunz.
Life during the following weeks wasn't bad. The ship had been well stocked, and Reeba fitted one of the small glass spheroids into her pocket so that I could be with her constantly. We were able to talk freely with each other.
In a way, I suppose we were happy. I, in the knowledge that Reeba would go anywhere and make any sacrifice to be at my side. She, in the satisfaction that we had escaped together and I would be able to return to a free planet.
Reeba's knowledge of the universe amazed me. She took me to Mars, the Moon and Venus. In all these seats of civilization, we sought a drug or devise that would cause me to grow large or to shrink Reeba's body to my size.
I'm afraid during the following three years, we became a legend in various large cities, as the giant bride and the tiny groom. The lovers who had everything but equality of size.
Our search was fruitless. At last the great power of the flying wing began to die. Our hearts were as eager for each other as ever, but in our minds we knew our search for happiness was helpless.
At last, discouraged and having given up, we headed for earth and that quiet, rugged place where Reeba had first found me.
The flying wing settled to earth for the last time and we deserted it in a remote section, where, so far as I know, no man has to this day ever located it.
Reeba is happy. As happy that is, as a girl could hope to be, removed from her own way of living, and thrown into a strange land where she must live as a hermit, fighting for everything she owns and trying to hide from the seeking eyes of man.
You see, although I am once more living on Indian Lake, I cannot bring Reeba here.
True enough, she and I escape for several weeks every year to travel northward where the wilderness is so dense that no one can find us. Reeba kills enough game to feed us well.
We return to Indian Lake, and I am only able to see her when I take the long trek into the lonely valley where she lives.
But Reeba is loyal. She never speaks of being unhappy. She knows I am doing my best and she is content.
Meanwhile, legends of Paul Bunyan's wife persists. Several woodsmen claim they have seen her come to the lake to bathe at night.
It's not a happy life, and yet, not an entirely unhappy one. Rather ironic, I think, that story of Paul Bunyan's wife. The lumbermen at the camp would get quite a laugh out of it, if they knew who Paul Bunyan really is.
Roy Glashan's Library
Non sibi sed omnibus
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