Books: People Out Of Time
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Edgar Rice Burroughs >> People Out Of Time
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And then I saw him, the first fully developed Krolu I had seen. He
was a fine-looking savage, tall and straight with a regal carriage.
To-mar was a handsome fellow; but this Kro-lu showed plainly in
his every physical attribute a higher plane of evolution. While
To-mar was just entering the Kro-lu sphere, this man, it seemed
to me, must be close indeed to the next stage of his development,
which would see him an envied Galu.
"They will kill him?" I whispered to Ajor.
"The dance of death," she replied, and I shuddered, so recently had
I escaped the same fate. It seemed cruel that one who must have
passed safely up through all the frightful stages of human evolution
within Caspak, should die at the very foot of his goal. I raised
my rifle to my shoulder and took careful aim at one of the Band-lu.
If I hit him, I would hit two, for another was directly behind the
first.
Ajor touched my arm. "What would you do?" she asked. "They are
all our enemies."
"I am going to save him from the dance of death," I replied, "enemy
or no enemy," and I squeezed the trigger. At the report, the two
Band-lu lunged forward upon their faces. I handed my rifle to Ajor,
and drawing my pistol, stepped out in full view of the startled
party. The Band-lu did not run away as had some of the lower orders
of Caspakians at the sound of the rifle. Instead, the moment they
saw me, they let out a series of demoniac war-cries, and raising
their spears above their heads, charged me.
The Kro-lu stood silent and statuesque, watching the proceedings.
He made no attempt to escape, though his feet were not bound and
none of the warriors remained to guard him. There were ten of
the Band-lu coming for me. I dropped three of them with my pistol
as rapidly as a man might count by three, and then my rifle spoke
close to my left shoulder, and another of them stumbled and rolled
over and over upon the ground. Plucky little Ajor! She had never
fired a shot before in all her life, though I had taught her to
sight and aim and how to squeeze the trigger instead of pulling it.
She had practiced these new accomplishments often, but little had
I thought they would make a marksman of her so quickly.
With six of their fellows put out of the fight so easily, the
remaining six sought cover behind some low bushes and commenced
a council of war. I wished that they would go away, as I had no
ammunition to waste, and I was fearful that should they institute
another charge, some of them would reach us, for they were already
quite close. Suddenly one of them rose and launched his spear. It
was the most marvelous exhibition of speed I have ever witnessed.
It seemed to me that he had scarce gained an upright position when
the weapon was half-way upon its journey, speeding like an arrow
toward Ajor. And then it was, with that little life in danger,
that I made the best shot I have ever made in my life! I took
no conscious aim; it was as though my subconscious mind, impelled
by a stronger power even than that of self-preservation, directed
my hand. Ajor was in danger! Simultaneously with the thought my
pistol flew to position, a streak of incandescent powder marked
the path of the bullet from its muzzle; and the spear, its point
shattered, was deflected from its path. With a howl of dismay the
six Band-lu rose from their shelter and raced away toward the south.
I turned toward Ajor. She was very white and wide-eyed, for the
clutching fingers of death had all but seized her; but a little
smile came to her lips and an expression of great pride to her eyes.
"My Tom!" she said, and took my hand in hers. That was all--"My
Tom!" and a pressure of the hand. Her Tom! Something stirred within
my bosom. Was it exaltation or was it consternation? Impossible!
I turned away almost brusquely.
"Come!" I said, and strode off toward the Kro-lu prisoner.
The Kro-lu stood watching us with stolid indifference. I presume
that he expected to be killed; but if he did, he showed no outward
sign of fear. His eyes, indicating his greatest interest, were
fixed upon my pistol or the rifle which Ajor still carried. I cut
his bonds with my knife. As I did so, an expression of surprise
tinged and animated the haughty reserve of his countenance. He
eyed me quizzically.
"What are you going to do with me?" he asked.
"You are free," I replied. "Go home, if you wish."
"Why don't you kill me?" he inquired. "I am defenseless."
"Why should I kill you? I have risked my life and that of this young
lady to save your life. Why, therefore should I now take it?" Of
course, I didn't say "young lady" as there is no Caspakian equivalent
for that term; but I have to allow myself considerable latitude in
the translation of Caspakian conversations. To speak always of a
beautiful young girl as a "she" may be literal; but it seems far
from gallant.
The Kro-lu concentrated his steady, level gaze upon me for at least
a full minute. Then he spoke again.
"Who are you, man of strange skins?" he asked. "Your she is Galu;
but you are neither Galu nor Krolu nor Band-lu, nor any other sort
of man which I have seen before. Tell me from whence comes so
mighty a warrior and so generous a foe."
"It is a long story," I replied, "but suffice it to say that I am
not of Caspak. I am a stranger here, and--let this sink in--I am
not a foe. I have no wish to be an enemy of any man in Caspak,
with the possible exception of the Galu warrior Du-seen."
"Du-seen!" he exclaimed. "You are an enemy of Du-seen? And why?"
"Because he would harm Ajor," I replied. "You know him?"
"He cannot know him," said Ajor. "Du-seen rose from the Kro-lu
long ago, taking a new name, as all do when they enter a new sphere.
He cannot know him, as there is no intercourse between the Kro-lu
and the Galu."
The warrior smiled. "Du-seen rose not so long ago," he said,
"that I do not recall him well, and recently he has taken it upon
himself to abrogate the ancient laws of Caspak; he had had intercourse
with the Kro-lu. Du-seen would be chief of the Galus, and he has
come to the Kro-lu for help."
Ajor was aghast. The thing was incredible. Never had Kro-lu and
Galu had friendly relations; by the savage laws of Caspak they were
deadly enemies, for only so can the several races maintain their
individuality.
"Will the Kro-lu join him?" asked Ajor. "Will they invade the
country of Jor my father?"
"The younger Kro-lu favor the plan," replied the warrior, "since
they believe they will thus become Galus immediately. They hope
to span the long years of change through which they must pass in
the ordinary course of events and at a single stride become Galus.
We of the older Kro-lu tell them that though they occupy the land
of the Galu and wear the skins and ornaments of the golden people,
still they will not be Galus till the time arrives that they are
ripe to rise. We also tell them that even then they will never
become a true Galu race, since there will still be those among
them who can never rise. It is all right to raid the Galu country
occasionally for plunder, as our people do; but to attempt to conquer
it and hold it is madness. For my part, I have been content to
wait until the call came to me. I feel that it cannot now be long."
"What is your name?" asked Ajor.
"Chal-az, " replied the man.
"You are chief of the Kro-lu?" Ajor continued.
"No, it is Al-tan who is chief of the Kro-lu of the east," answered
Chal-az.
"And he is against this plan to invade my father's country?"
"Unfortunately he is rather in favor of it," replied the man, "since
he has about come to the conclusion that he is batu. He has been
chief ever since, before I came up from the Band-lu, and I can see
no change in him in all those years. In fact, he still appears
to be more Band-lu than Kro-lu. However, he is a good chief and a
mighty warrior, and if Du-seen persuades him to his cause, the Galus
may find themselves under a Kro-lu chieftain before long--Du-seen
as well as the others, for Al-tan would never consent to occupy a
subordinate position, and once he plants a victorious foot in Galu,
he will not withdraw it without a struggle."
I asked them what batu meant, as I had not before heard the word.
Literally translated, it is equivalent to through, finished,
done-for, as applied to an individual's evolutionary progress in
Caspak, and with this information was developed the interesting
fact that not every individual is capable of rising through every
stage to that of Galu. Some never progress beyond the Alu stage;
others stop as Bo-lu, as Sto-lu, as Bandlu or as Kro-lu. The
Ho-lu of the first generation may rise to become Alus; the Alus
of the second generation may become Bo-lu, while it requires three
generations of Bo-lu to become Band-lu, and so on until Kro-lu's
parent on one side must be of the sixth generation.
It was not entirely plain to me even with this explanation, since
I couldn't understand how there could be different generations of
peoples who apparently had no offspring. Yet I was commencing to
get a slight glimmer of the strange laws which govern propagation
and evolution in this weird land. Already I knew that the warm
pools which always lie close to every tribal abiding-place were
closely linked with the Caspakian scheme of evolution, and that the
daily immersion of the females in the greenish slimy water was in
response to some natural law, since neither pleasure nor cleanliness
could be derived from what seemed almost a religious rite. Yet I
was still at sea; nor, seemingly, could Ajor enlighten me, since
she was compelled to use words which I could not understand and
which it was impossible for her to explain the meanings of.
As we stood talking, we were suddenly startled by a commotion in
the bushes and among the boles of the trees surrounding us, and
simultaneously a hundred Kro-lu warriors appeared in a rough circle
about us. They greeted Chal-az with a volley of questions as they
approached slowly from all sides, their heavy bows fitted with
long, sharp arrows. Upon Ajor and me they looked with covetousness
in the one instance and suspicion in the other; but after they
had heard Chal-az's story, their attitude was more friendly. A
huge savage did all the talking. He was a mountain of a man, yet
perfectly proportioned.
"This is Al-tan the chief," said Chal-az by way of introduction. Then
he told something of my story, and Al-tan asked me many questions
of the land from which I came. The warriors crowded around close
to hear my replies, and there were many expressions of incredulity
as I spoke of what was to them another world, of the yacht which
had brought me over vast waters, and of the plane that had borne
me Jo-oo-like over the summit of the barrier-cliffs. It was the
mention of the hydroaeroplane which precipitated the first outspoken
skepticism, and then Ajor came to my defense.
"I saw it with my own eyes!" she exclaimed. "I saw him flying
through the air in battle with a Jo-oo. The Alus were chasing me,
and they saw and ran away."
"Whose is this she?" demanded Al-tan suddenly, his eyes fixed
fiercely upon Ajor.
For a moment there was silence. Ajor looked up at me, a hurt and
questioning expression on her face. "Whose she is this?" repeated
Al-tan.
"She is mine," I replied, though what force it was that impelled me
to say it I could not have told; but an instant later I was glad
that I had spoken the words, for the reward of Ajor's proud and
happy face was reward indeed.
Al-tan eyed her for several minutes and then turned to me. "Can
you keep her?" he asked, just the tinge of a sneer upon his face.
I laid my palm upon the grip of my pistol and answered that I could.
He saw the move, glanced at the butt of the automatic where it
protruded from its holster, and smiled. Then he turned and raising
his great bow, fitted an arrow and drew the shaft far back. His
warriors, supercilious smiles upon their faces, stood silently
watching him. His bow was the longest and the heaviest among them
all. A mighty man indeed must he be to bend it; yet Al-tan drew
the shaft back until the stone point touched his left forefinger,
and he did it with consummate ease. Then he raised the shaft to the
level of his right eye, held it there for an instant and released
it. When the arrow stopped, half its length protruded from the
opposite side of a six-inch tree fifty feet away. Al-tan and his
warriors turned toward me with expressions of immense satisfaction
upon their faces, and then, apparently for Ajor's benefit, the
chieftain swaggered to and fro a couple of times, swinging his
great arms and his bulky shoulders for all the world like a drunken
prize-fighter at a beach dancehall.
I saw that some reply was necessary, and so in a single motion,
I drew my gun, dropped it on the still quivering arrow and pulled
the trigger. At the sound of the report, the Kro-lu leaped back
and raised their weapons; but as I was smiling, they took heart
and lowered them again, following my eyes to the tree; the shaft
of their chief was gone, and through the bole was a little round
hole marking the path of my bullet. It was a good shot if I do
say it myself, "as shouldn't" but necessity must have guided that
bullet; I simply had to make a good shot, that I might immediately
establish my position among those savage and warlike Caspakians of the
sixth sphere. That it had its effect was immediately noticeable,
but I am none too sure that it helped my cause with Al-tan.
Whereas he might have condescended to tolerate me as a harmless
and interesting curiosity, he now, by the change in his expression,
appeared to consider me in a new and unfavorable light. Nor can I
wonder, knowing this type as I did, for had I not made him ridiculous
in the eyes of his warriors, beating him at his own game? What
king, savage or civilized, could condone such impudence? Seeing his
black scowls, I deemed it expedient, especially on Ajor's account,
to terminate the interview and continue upon our way; but when
I would have done so, Al-tan detained us with a gesture, and his
warriors pressed around us.
"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded, and before Al-tan could
reply, Chal-az raised his voice in our behalf.
"Is this the gratitude of a Kro-lu chieftain, Al-tan," he asked,
"to one who has served you by saving one of your warriors from the
enemy--saving him from the death dance of the Band-lu?"
Al-tan was silent for a moment, and then his brow cleared, and the
faint imitation of a pleasant expression struggled for existence
as he said: "The stranger will not be harmed. I wished only to
detain him that he may be feasted tonight in the village of Al-tan
the Kro-lu. In the morning he may go his way. Al-tan will not
hinder him."
I was not entirely reassured; but I wanted to see the interior
of the Kro-lu village, and anyway I knew that if Al-tan intended
treachery I would be no more in his power in the morning than I now
was--in fact, during the night I might find opportunity to escape
with Ajor, while at the instant neither of us could hope to escape
unscathed from the encircling warriors. Therefore, in order to
disarm him of any thought that I might entertain suspicion as to
his sincerity, I promptly and courteously accepted his invitation.
His satisfaction was evident, and as we set off toward his village,
he walked beside me, asking many questions as to the country
from which I came, its peoples and their customs. He seemed much
mystified by the fact that we could walk abroad by day or night
without fear of being devoured by wild beasts or savage reptiles,
and when I told him of the great armies which we maintained, his
simple mind could not grasp the fact that they existed solely for
the slaughtering of human beings.
"I am glad," he said, "that I do not dwell in your country among
such savage peoples. Here, in Caspak, men fight with men when they
meet--men of different races--but their weapons are first for the
slaying of beasts in the chase and in defense. We do not fashion
weapons solely for the killing of man as do your peoples. Your
country must indeed be a savage country, from which you are fortunate
to have escaped to the peace and security of Caspak."
Here was a new and refreshing viewpoint; nor could I take exception
to it after what I had told Altan of the great war which had been
raging in Europe for over two years before I left home.
On the march to the Kro-lu village we were continually stalked by
innumerable beasts of prey, and three times we were attacked by
frightful creatures; but Altan took it all as a matter of course,
rushing forward with raised spear or sending a heavy shaft into
the body of the attacker and then returning to our conversation
as though no interruption had occurred. Twice were members of his
band mauled, and one was killed by a huge and bellicose rhinoceros;
but the instant the action was over, it was as though it never had
occurred. The dead man was stripped of his belongings and left
where he had died; the carnivora would take care of his burial.
The trophies that these Kro-lu left to the meat-eaters would have
turned an English big-game hunter green with envy. They did, it
is true, cut all the edible parts from the rhino and carry them
home; but already they were pretty well weighted down with the
spoils of the chase, and only the fact that they are particularly
fond of rhino-meat caused them to do so.
They left the hide on the pieces they selected, as they use it
for sandals, shield-covers, the hilts of their knives and various
other purposes where tough hide is desirable. I was much interested
in their shields, especially after I saw one used in defense against
the attack of a saber-tooth tiger. The huge creature had charged
us without warning from a clump of dense bushes where it was lying
up after eating. It was met with an avalanche of spears, some of
which passed entirely through its body, with such force were they
hurled. The charge was from a very short distance, requiring
the use of the spear rather than the bow and arrow; but after the
launching of the spears, the men not directly in the path of the
charge sent bolt after bolt into the great carcass with almost
incredible rapidity. The beast, screaming with pain and rage, bore
down upon Chal-az while I stood helpless with my rifle for fear
of hitting one of the warriors who were closing in upon it. But
Chal-az was ready. Throwing aside his bow, he crouched behind
his large oval shield, in the center of which was a hole about six
inches in diameter. The shield was held by tight loops to his left
arm, while in his right hand he grasped his heavy knife. Bristling
with spears and arrows, the great cat hurled itself upon the shield,
and down went Chal-az upon his back with the shield entirely covering
him. The tiger clawed and bit at the heavy rhinoceros hide with
which the shield was faced, while Chal-az, through the round hole in
the shield's center, plunged his blade repeatedly into the vitals
of the savage animal. Doubtless the battle would have gone to
Chal-az even though I had not interfered; but the moment that I
saw a clean opening, with no Kro-lu beyond, I raised my rifle and
killed the beast.
When Chal-az arose, he glanced at the sky and remarked that it
looked like rain. The others already had resumed the march toward
the village. The incident was closed. For some unaccountable
reason the whole thing reminded me of a friend who once shot a cat
in his backyard. For three weeks he talked of nothing else.
It was almost dark when we reached the village--a large palisaded
enclosure of several hundred leaf-thatched huts set in groups
of from two to seven. The huts were hexagonal in form, and where
grouped were joined so that they resembled the cells of a bee-hive.
One hut meant a warrior and his mate, and each additional hut in a
group indicated an additional female. The palisade which surrounded
the village was of logs set close together and woven into a solid
wall with tough creepers which were planted at their base and
trained to weave in and out to bind the logs together. The logs
slanted outward at an angle of about thirty degrees, in which
position they were held by shorter logs embedded in the ground
at right angles to them and with their upper ends supporting the
longer pieces a trifle above their centers of equilibrium. Along
the top of the palisade sharpened stakes had been driven at all
sorts of angles.
The only opening into the inclosure was through a small aperture
three feet wide and three feet high, which was closed from the inside
by logs about six feet long laid horizontally, one upon another,
between the inside face of the palisade and two other braced logs
which paralleled the face of the wall upon the inside.
As we entered the village, we were greeted by a not unfriendly
crowd of curious warriors and women, to whom Chal-az generously
explained the service we had rendered him, whereupon they showered
us with the most well-meant attentions, for Chal-az, it seemed,
was a most popular member of the tribe. Necklaces of lion and
tiger-teeth, bits of dried meat, finely tanned hides and earthen
pots, beautifully decorated, they thrust upon us until we were
loaded down, and all the while Al-tan glared balefully upon us,
seemingly jealous of the attentions heaped upon us because we had
served Chal-az.
At last we reached a hut that they set apart for us, and there we
cooked our meat and some vegetables the women brought us, and had
milk from cows--the first I had had in Caspak--and cheese from
the milk of wild goats, with honey and thin bread made from wheat
flour of their own grinding, and grapes and the fermented juice
of grapes. It was quite the most wonderful meal I had eaten since
I quit the Toreador and Bowen J. Tyler's colored chef, who could
make pork-chops taste like chicken, and chicken taste like heaven.
Chapter 6
After dinner I rolled a cigaret and stretched myself at ease upon
a pile of furs before the doorway, with Ajor's head pillowed in my
lap and a feeling of great content pervading me. It was the first
time since my plane had topped the barrier-cliffs of Caspak that I
had felt any sense of peace or security. My hand wandered to the
velvet cheek of the girl I had claimed as mine, and to her luxuriant
hair and the golden fillet which bound it close to her shapely
head. Her slender fingers groping upward sought mine and drew them
to her lips, and then I gathered her in my arms and crushed her to
me, smothering her mouth with a long, long kiss. It was the first
time that passion had tinged my intercourse with Ajor. We were
alone, and the hut was ours until morning.
But now from beyond the palisade in the direction of the main gate
came the hallooing of men and the answering calls and queries of
the guard. We listened. Returning hunters, no doubt. We heard
them enter the village amidst the barking dogs. I have forgotten
to mention the dogs of Kro-lu. The village swarmed with them,
gaunt, wolflike creatures that guarded the herd by day when it
grazed without the palisade, ten dogs to a cow. By night the cows
were herded in an outer inclosure roofed against the onslaughts of
the carnivorous cats; and the dogs, with the exception of a few,
were brought into the village; these few well-tested brutes remained
with the herd. During the day they fed plentifully upon the beasts
of prey which they killed in protection of the herd, so that their
keep amounted to nothing at all.
Shortly after the commotion at the gate had subsided, Ajor and
I arose to enter the hut, and at the same time a warrior appeared
from one of the twisted alleys which, lying between the irregularly
placed huts and groups of huts, form the streets of the Kro-lu
village. The fellow halted before us and addressed me, saying
that Al-tan desired my presence at his hut. The wording of the
invitation and the manner of the messenger threw me entirely off
my guard, so cordial was the one and respectful the other, and the
result was that I went willingly, telling Ajor that I would return
presently. I had laid my arms and ammunition aside as soon as we
had taken over the hut, and I left them with Ajor now, as I had
noticed that aside from their hunting-knives the men of Kro-lu
bore no weapons about the village streets. There was an atmosphere
of peace and security within that village that I had not hoped to
experience within Caspak, and after what I had passed through, it
must have cast a numbing spell over my faculties of judgment and
reason. I had eaten of the lotus-flower of safety; dangers no
longer threatened for they had ceased to be.
The messenger led me through the labyrinthine alleys to an open
plaza near the center of the village. At one end of this plaza was
a long hut, much the largest that I had yet seen, before the door
of which were many warriors. I could see that the interior was
lighted and that a great number of men were gathered within. The
dogs about the plaza were as thick as fleas, and those I approached
closely evinced a strong desire to devour me, their noses evidently
apprising them of the fact that I was of an alien race, since
they paid no attention whatever to my companion. Once inside the
council-hut, for such it appeared to be, I found a large concourse
of warriors seated, or rather squatted, around the floor. At
one end of the oval space which the warriors left down the center
of the room stood Al-tan and another warrior whom I immediately
recognized as a Galu, and then I saw that there were many Galus
present. About the walls were a number of flaming torches stuck
in holes in a clay plaster which evidently served the purpose of
preventing the inflammable wood and grasses of which the hut was
composed from being ignited by the flames. Lying about among the
warriors or wandering restlessly to and fro were a number of savage
dogs.
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