Chapter XVIII: An Underground City

Grandon's plan of escape entailed no inconsiderable degree of caution, as well as an immense amount of physical labor.

The room adjoining the dormitory in which he and his men were quartered was used for storing the dried fungi which, when mixed with the sticky milk of the green creatures, constituted the food of the slaves. These fungi were dumped in great heaps about the room without any semblance of order, and as one of the heaps effectually concealed a corner, one side of which was formed by the outer wall, it was Grandon's purpose to dig a tunnel from this point to a spot he had marked about fifty feet from the hut, where he could emerge under a large surface root. The entrance to his tunnel would thus be hidden by the pile of fungi, while the exit might easily be covered with one of the huge leaves, a profusion of which lay everywhere about the hut.

Night after night he labored, digging with bare hands and the knife he had brought from the airship, for he had no tools of any kind. His fingernails wore down to the quick, his hands were raw and bleeding and his arms ached. Nevertheless he went doggedly to his task each night after the others had retired.

After many nights of arduous toil he had completed a slanting tunnel about eight feet deep, and was digging in a horizontal direction toward the point where he had calculated the root would be, when his labor was brought to a sudden, and somewhat painful termination. The floor of his burrow gave way with startling abruptness. He fell, first striking some object that gave off a metallic clang, then alighting on a hard, smooth surface with considerable force.

Dazed for a moment by the violence of his fall, Grandon lay there in the pitchy darkness with no inkling of what had happened. At length he essayed to sit up and, meeting with success, arose stiffly to his feet, for he was badly bruised though fortunately no bones were broken. He bethought himself now of the flash light which he had kept concealed in his clothing since the day he had examined the abandoned airship.

The beating of his heart was momentarily stilled by the sight which greeted his eyes when he turned on the light, for directly in front of him stood what appeared to be a huge warrior, attired in armor from head to foot. Closer scrutiny, however, revealed the fact that he faced an empty suit of armor, for a mailed gauntlet clutching a heavy ax had fallen from one of the arms, disclosing the empty sleeve. It was this which had caused the clanging sound he had heard when he struck the extended arm in falling.

The armor was skillfully wrought of a brownish metal which he at first took for bronze on account of its appearance, but later discovered could not be bronze on account of its exceeding hardness. It was of a pattern unlike anything he had ever seen or heard of, and strikingly decorated with designs of inlaid gold set with brilliant jewels.

Sharp metal spines projected from the top and back of the grotesque headpiece, while two large green jewels sparkled just above the movable visor like the eyes of some multi-horned reptile. In the visor itself, the true eyeholes were of a hard, thick crystal, and below them were small perforations to admit air. A huge broadsword hung from one side of the belt and a short club with a heavy spiked knob dangled from the other.

On the floor before the figure lay a quantity of loose earth which had been carried with Grandon in his fall. He flashed the light upward and its rays revealed a ceiling nearly ten feet above his head, supported by heavy timbers. He had broken through between two of the large timbers at a point where the cross pieces were completely rotted away.

* * * * *

Upon examining his surroundings he found that he was in a corridor about thirty feet in width, and extending in both directions as far as he could see. A double row of hexagonal columns supported the heavy ceiling-beams, and before each column stood a figure similar to the one he had examined, with the exception that every alternate figure held a long, broad-bladed spear instead of an ax in the extended right gauntlet.

The Earth-man was in a quandary. He could not return via the opening through which he had fallen, nor had he any idea into what dangers the corridor might lead him. From his fellow slaves he had heard legends of an ancient race of men called Albines, who were said to have at one time been masters of the sabits.

These Albines, so the legend ran, wore suits of mail which effectually protected them from the creatures, and made slaves of whole colonies by raiding them and making prisoners of the queen and king sabits, for the soldiers and workers, being ever subject to the commands of their rulers, immediately became docile when the lives of their superiors were threatened. The Albines had vanished many years before, no one knew how or why, and the sabits had thenceforth turned the tables on man by enslaving the marsh-people.

That he had fallen into a structure once used by these people, Grandon could not doubt, but the question that most concerned him was whether or not the underground chambers were known to and frequented by the sabits.

With this contingency in mind, Grandon selected a suit of armor which appeared to be his size, and after a considerable struggle with the unfamiliar fastenings, succeeded in donning it. He had expected to feel stiff and awkward in his metal suit, and was therefore agreeably surprised when he found it both light and pliable, for though exceedingly hard and strong, the metal was as light as aluminum and so fashioned that the interlocking plates easily adjusted themselves to every movement of his body.

He felt both wonder at, and admiration for the skill of the ancient craftsmen who had wrought so cunningly. Armed with sword, ax and club, he set out to explore the subterranean passageway, walking between the two rows of pillars that were guarded by the silent sentinels of a vanished race, and flashing his light in a semicircle before him.

As he passed along, he noticed that the stone walls on both sides of him were carved at intervals with scenes and hieroglyphics. The scenes, for the most part, represented men attired in armor such as he wore, battling with sabits. He noticed, also, that in nearly every instance, the figures were pictured as striking the sabits between the eyes with spiked clubs, although a few used axes, and one was represented as severing a soldier sabit's head from its body with a broadsword.

One scene that particularly interested him depicted a group of Albines in the act of capturing a queen sabit while their comrades fought off her guards. They were fastening huge manacles on her neck and legs while she struggled desperately.

It seemed that he had walked for more than a mile along the corridor, and passed several thousand armored figures, when he arrived at a great circular chamber that, for elegance and richness of decoration, surpassed anything he had ever seen.

From the base of the walls to the peak of the domelike ceiling, it was a mass of grotesque bas-reliefs and mural paintings in bright pigments, while gracefully sculptured statues of men and women occupied niches set at intervals of about fifteen feet all about the room. The floor was of varicolored blocks of clearest crystal, fitted together so skillfully that they presented a surface as smooth as that of a mirror, while forming beautiful tesselated patterns of exquisite design.

When he turned his light on the floor it sent forth a myriad reflections that lit up the entire room. He was amazed by this phenomenon until he discovered that the base of each block had been cut and silvered so each beam of light was multiplied a thousandfold.

* * * * *

In the center of the room a fountain babbled musically, evidently fed by an artesian well, for it could not otherwise have continued in operation for hundreds of years without attention. As he walked toward the fountain he saw a round bulk, which he had at first mistaken for a shadow, suddenly leap back and then scamper for a broad doorway at the left.

The thing had short legs armed with huge claws that rattled on the polished floor, and a barrel-shaped body covered with tiny, fishlike scales. It had been drinking at the fountain when frightened by the sudden appearance of man and light. Grandon recognized it as one of those large, burrowing rodents which the omnivorous sabits prized so highly as an article of food.

Several times he had seen them feeding on fungi and grasses in the woods, and the thought came that if this creature were herbivorous it must needs have access to the outer world to live, consequently there must undoubtedly be a means of egress near by which he himself could use, for where so thick-bodied a rodent could go, he could easily follow.

He entered the doorway in quick pursuit and found himself in a passageway similar to the one he had just vacated. The circular chamber was evidently a sort of hub from which these passageways radiated as spokes in all directions.

The rodent had disappeared, but its trail was not hard to follow, for it had left thousands of muddy footprints during its many excursions to the fountain. The trail terminated at a gaping black hole in the wall where a portion of the sculptured stone had broken away. Drawing his sword and pointing the light before him, he entered the dark, winding burrow, crawling on knees and elbows. It led upward in a slanting, irregular spiral which he thought would never come to an end. There were many cross burrows and chambers, in one of which he saw an abandoned nest, but he kept to the upward path, breathing as lightly as possible because of the sickening musklike stench of the rodents.

At length the welcome scent of fresh air came to his nostrils and he emerged from the burrow at the base of a huge tree. He shut off his light and, standing erect, inhaled breath after breath of the invigorating night air.

As he paused there in the darkness, Grandon fancied he heard the distant murmur of human voices. He listened intently for a moment, then clambered up on a large surface root. Several hundred yards distant he saw two torches flickering before the gateway of a circular wall about ten feet high which surrounded a tall, conical structure.

Leaping down from the root he approached the place cautiously, keeping under cover as much as possible. As he drew nearer the sounds grew more plain, and he could distinguish the voices of men raised in altercation. He also heard the sound of blows, and thought he detected the faint cry of a woman.

The torch-lit gateway was guarded by two powerful soldier sabits with brown forceps, so he circled, keeping well out of sight, and brought up at the base of the wall at a point that was not visible from the gate. He leaped, hooked his fingers over the edge of the wall, and drew himself up on its broad top. Then flattening his body on its surface, he peered cautiously within.

* * * * *

The space inside the wall was illuminated by four torches, the sharpened butts of which had been driven in the ground. Some twenty-odd slaves, all big strapping fellows, were ranged in an irregular circle about two of their comrades who were engaged in primitive combat. They alternately clawed, bit and struck at each other, bellowing the while like angry bulls.

Beneath one of the torches lay two other hairy men, stone dead; one with his throat torn out and the other with his head twisted and bent back in such a fashion as to indicate a broken neck.

Suddenly the taller of the two combatants leaped forward and locked his arms about the head of the other, bearing him to the ground. Just as they struck the earth he whirled, twisting the tightly gripped head--there was a sickening snap, and the duel was ended.

The big fellow arose, panting heavily from his exertions, and faced the others.

"You have seen the fate of those three fools," he growled. "Are there any others who would match their strength with Tholto for this slave woman?"

There was no response. Evidently his comrades were convinced of Tholto's prowess.

"Bring me the woman, Oro," continued the victor. "Many precious moments have I wasted in silencing these braggarts."

A great, hairy man, larger even than Tholto and superbly muscled, went into a low door at his back, and emerged a moment later dragging the half fainted Vernia by the wrist. He pushed her toward Tholto, who seized her roughly and drew her to his side. There was a look of infinite horror in the eyes of the girl as she struggled desperately for release. A songbird might escape as easily from the jaws of a serpent.

The slaves were startled by a clanking noise behind them, and upon looking around beheld that which filled them with superstitious awe--a man clad from head to foot in brown armor on which many jewels glistened, his terrifying appearance enhanced by a spine-crested helmet in which two emerald eyes sparkled, and by the businesslike weapons that dangled from his belt.

Straight for the startled Tholto he rushed, and there were none to block his path, for though no living marsh-man had ever seen an Albine, they had been described in detail to all through the familiar legends which held them to be a race of supermen; for were not the sabits mightier than the marsh-men, and were not the Albines immeasurably more mighty than the sabits?

"Release the girl," said a clear, commanding voice from the depths of the helmet.

Tholto, though startled, was apparently unafraid.

"She belongs to me," he replied. "I will not release her, nor lives there man or demon who can force me to do so."

"Release the girl or take the consequences, slave! I would not harm you, for your actions are only what might be expected of one with your intelligence and training."

For answer Tholto laughed a low, snarling laugh.

His mirth was suddenly cut short by the impact of a mailed fist with the point of his jaw. A look of surprise came to his face, his arms dropped, his knees sagged, and he sank limply to the ground.

Vernia reeled, and would have fallen had not Grandon caught her in his arms. He raised his visor and, looking into the melting depths of twin pools of flame, saw the soul of a woman.

"How I wished that you would come," she whispered, her arms about his neck, her upturned face so close that the fragrance of her breath intoxicated him, "wished without hope."

For answer he bent low over the yielding, tremulous lips to take that tribute a woman gladly gives to the man who has stormed the portals of her heart and won. But their moment of rapture was rudely broken into by a shout from one of the slaves.

"The sabits! Run for your lives! The sabits come!"

Grandon wheeled and beheld two soldier sabits rushing toward them. The slaves scattered, diving into the various doorways at the base of the conelike structure. He pushed the girl into one of these and, lowering his visor, tore the heavy spiked club from his belt and awaited the onslaught.