Chapter XXVIII: Out of the Sky

It was a picturesque procession that started for Reabon shortly after midnight. Destho's two-score motor vehicles and a number of carts had been pressed into use. All were equipped with bright searchlights, fore and aft, that lighted the road and reflected brilliantly from the armor and weapons of the marching men.

Grandon rode in the lead with Bordeen and Joto, commanders of the two armies that had won a bloody victory only to have it turned to apparent defeat by the laws of the empire. Princess Vernia and Rotha followed in the car immediately behind them.

The Earth-man rode in moody silence, nor did his two companions interrupt his thoughts. Bordeen, rough warrior though he was, understood and was silent, while Joto had lost his customary smile.

As the motors were throttled down to conform to the speed of the marching men, their progress was quite slow. Morning found them a good half day's march from the capital.

Grandon was startled by a sudden cry from the driver. At the same time their vehicle came to a full stop, and shouts of wonder and alarm echoed from without.

Believing they had been attacked, he drew his scarbo, and leaped from the car. To his surprise he beheld a huge ball, more than fifty feet in diameter, blocking the road. Many of the soldiers as well as occupants of the other cars were running toward it.

"What is that thing?" he asked a young Travek.

"I do not know, your majesty," the man replied. "They who first saw it say it fell from the sky."

Grandon approached the globe and examined it curiously. It appeared to be constructed of a material similar to asbestos, held in place by a network of steel wires. Near the center of the side he faced was a circle of metal, apparently aluminum, studded with bolts. Suddenly the circle began to turn. A murmur of surprise went up from the watchers. The thing revolved quite slowly at first, gradually gaining momentum. Grandon noticed that with each revolution it projected farther from the sphere than before.

Vernia came up behind him, followed by Rotha.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I don't know," replied Grandon. "It may be some new implement of war. You had best go back in your car until we find out."

She complied quite meekly, he thought. He turned to the assembled soldiers.

"Back. Stand back," Grandon warned them. "This thing may explode and blow you all up."

After ordering men and vehicles back a distance of a hundred yards, he approached the thing alone. A screwlike cylinder now projected from the globe for more than five feet.

He could plainly see the threaded sides as it hung there, twenty-five feet above his head. Suddenly it fell forward with a loud click and hung suspended by a thick hinge, disclosing a dark hole. From this hole a ladder of flexible steel cable suddenly dropped, one end nearly touching the ground.

The figure of a man appeared in the opening, a figure incased from head to foot in a suit of rubber similar to that worn by deep sea divers. The headpiece was of metal with glass eyeholes, and a square box was fastened on the back like a knapsack.

* * * * *

Grandon was mystified. Everything about the sphere, from the craftsmanship of the metal cylinder to the diving suit, reminded him of Earth. Could this be a creature from his own planet?

The man above him appeared to survey him for a moment through the glass eyeholes--then turned and descended the swaying ladder. When he reached the ground he turned once more and looked at Grandon. Then he reached up and unscrewed the globular headpiece.

It was when he removed it that the Earth-man had a bigger surprise than at any time since his sojourn in Zarovia. He recognized the bulging forehead, the thick, shaggy brows, and the bearded features of the terrestrial scientist, Dr. Morgan!

The man of science advanced smiling, with his right hand extended and his helmet tucked under his left arm.

"How are you, my boy?" he asked cordially, in English. The familiar tongue sounded welcome in Robert Grandon's ears.

Grandon took the extended hand, and there was no doubt of its reality as the sinewy fingers gripped his.

"Dr. Morgan," he gasped. "How in blazes did you get here?"

A gleam of triumph shone in the eyes of the doctor.

"I have solved the problem of physical interplanetary navigation, and have come to keep my promise to take you back to Earth," he said. "Suppose we climb into that vehicle of yours and I'll tell you about it while we ride to Reabon."

"We'll have to get your sphere out of the way first," replied Grandon. "The road is blocked."

"Don't worry about that," answered the doctor. "Watch."

Even as he spoke the huge globe moved upward from its resting place and hovered a hundred feet above their heads.

"Ah. So you have a chauffeur for the thing."

"Positively not. I came alone."

"Then how--"

Grandon was interrupted by a cry from several of the men and saw that they were looking to the westward. Following the direction of their startled glances, he was surprised to behold a huge fleet of Olban airships bearing down on them. The ships were many times larger than the little one-man craft in which he had last seen Vorn Vangal, or even the two-man ship Grandon had used against the flying grampites; but these airships were constructed on the same general principles. Each airship had ten shining glass cabs and bristled with the burnished barrels of mattorks, projecting fore and aft, on both sides and below.

The formidable-looking fleet, traveling almost with the speed of mattork projectiles, came to a dead stop above them. Then one airship descended to the spot where the globe of Dr. Morgan had rested a moment before, and a set of aluminum stairs which had been telescoped on the deck was elongated and flung over the side, reaching to the ground.

Two men descended: The foremost was clad in scarlet apparel, trimmed with gold and glittering with precious jewels. His feet were incased in sandals of the softest frella hide, and he wore a turbanlike headpiece, also of scarlet ornamented with gold fringe, and set with an enormous glittering ruby that blazed from the middle of his forehead. His companion was more soberly garbed in purple trimmed with silver and also ornamented with jewels.

Grandon recognized the handsome, smooth-shaven youth in scarlet as Harry Thorne, the Martian whom Dr. Morgan had dispatched to Venus with Grandon. The man in purple was Vorn Vangal. At the same moment Thorne saw the doctor and ran forward, embracing him with a glad cry of recognition. He greeted Grandon with a warm hand-clasp.

It was not necessary to introduce Dr. Morgan and Vorn Vangal. The two men, each the greatest scientist of his planet and times, had communicated and projected their images across the trackless ether so many times that recognition was instantaneous.

"Where is this beautiful princess of yours, Grandon?" asked Dr. Morgan. "I am anxious to meet her."

"And I also," supplemented Thorne, "though there is a certain princess waiting for me back in Olba whose beauty I have not seen matched on three planets."

"I think," smiled Vorn Vangal, "you will find that opinions are quite likely to vary on such things as the beauty of a woman."

* * * * *

Grandon could not find the heart to reply to their good-natured badinage.

"What ails you, man?" asked Thorne. "You look as if Vangal here had just pronounced sentence of death on you."

"Buck up, my boy," said Dr. Morgan. "You haven't lost her yet."

"Haven't lost her?" Grandon almost snarled as he spoke. "Didn't she sign a marriage decree making Destho her husband and Emperor of Reabon?"

He led them to Vernia's vehicle. She received them graciously, with all the dignity and poise of a born princess.

"And now," said the doctor when the presentation was concluded, "where are Bordeen and Joto?"

"What do you know about Bordeen and Joto?" asked Grandon in surprise.

"You forget that I have been in telepathic _rapport_ with you up to the moment I landed," replied the doctor. "I have broken _rapport_ now because it is unnecessary."

They found Bordeen and Joto with several of the captains, examining the Olban airship, while members of the crew eyed them rather suspiciously from the deck above.

Introductions over, Harry Thorne invited them aboard.

"Ride with me to Reabon," he said. "We have every comfort and convenience and plenty of room for all."

He led them up the aluminum steps and along the deck to the foremost glass cab. Bordeen called down to his captains to resume the march, and the ship rose majestically as they entered the snug, glass-inclosed room, with its luxurious cushioned seats and thickly carpeted floor.

When all were seated a slave brought them steaming liquor in golden cups.

"And now that we are all assembled," said Harry Thorne, "I should like to ask Grandon why we are going to Reabon and what we are supposed to do when we get there."

Grandon drained his cup and handed it to a waiting servant.

"The Princess of Reabon has been compelled to sign away her fortune and her hand. Speaking for myself and my Fighting Traveks, we go as her escort, to do her bidding no matter what may arise. To me it is almost inconceivable that she will meekly submit to Destho, yet if that be her intention, neither I nor any of my men will raise a hand to stay her. If, on the other hand, she should, at the last moment, decide to free herself from Destho and regain her lost throne, we will be ready to fight for her to the last man."

"You have spoken for the warriors of Granterra and their commander as well," said Joto.

"And for the Imperial Air Patrol of Olba, if I and my men may be included," declared Harry Thorne.

"It seems," said the doctor smiling, "that the princess does not lack allies. As to whether she will call on any of you or not--who can say? A woman's mind--"

"Is past understanding for any mere man, on this-planet or another," interrupted Vorn Vangal. "However, I do not believe she will call on any of us for assistance. The princess has issued a proclamation. That proclamation, once signed, is binding alike on herself and her subjects. She might nullify any ordinary proclamation by issuing another, but in this case such a proceeding is quite impossible. She has named another to rule over her and her subjects. He, and he alone, can now nullify the proclamation."

* * * * *

"In that case," said Joto, "there might be ways of persuading him."

"A worthy suggestion, Joto," proceeded Bordeen, "but hardly practical. It is true that, allied as we are, we constitute considerable military power, but we cannot cope with the mighty armies of Reabon for any long period of time. They would wipe us out eventually by sheer force of numbers if in no other way. The army of Reabon is the largest and best equipped in all Zarovia, and her soldiers know not the meaning of fear. Should Vernia decide on a revolt against the new emperor we could undoubtedly get her out of the country alive, but we could scarcely reconquer her empire for her. A revolt against the emperor would make her a traitor and an outcast, and, under the existing constitution of Reabon, which has prevailed for ages, she could never hope to regain her throne and scepter. As I see it, the thing rests squarely with her. When we reach Reabon she must choose between freedom as an outcast from her country forever, or the half of her throne which the proclamation still allows her, and virtual slavery to her emperor."

"Vorn Vangal speaks the truth," said Bordeen slowly, "for well do I know the unchanging laws of Reabon and the regard in which they are held by every subject of the empire."

"In that case," said Dr. Morgan, "it seems that further discussion of the problem is futile. It rests with her majesty to choose, and with us to act only when she has made her decision."

"Quite right," agreed Thorne. "And now that the subject has been dispensed with for the present, doctor, suppose you tell us a few things I have been itching to find out ever since I received your telepathic summons to meet you here, through Vorn Vangal. You have had quite an advantage over Grandon and me, you know, being cognizant of our every moment since we left the Earth, while we know nothing of what you have done since we last saw you--not even how you managed to bridge the gap that divides Venus and the Earth."

"As we are nearing Reabon I will only touch on a few points that may be of interest to you," said the doctor. "Both of you will be surprised to know that the Zarovian men who exchanged bodies with you have committed suicide, destroying your earthly bodies by leaping from a precipice. I did not communicate the reason to you, but it will become apparent from what I am about to relate.

"The Olban prince whom you represent, Thorne, knew the secret of aërial navigation through amplifying the power of telekinesis. I persuaded him to share this secret with me in the interests of science, after pointing out the fact that we were on another world and that, in consequence, I could not possibly work evil against his country, which was the reason for his having been sworn to secrecy.

"Both this prince and Prince Thaddor knew something of the exploits of both of you on this planet. The former became despondent because of his betrayal of the Olban secret, while the latter grew insanely jealous of Grandon. They formed a suicide pact, and stole away together one moonlight night to carry it out. Their--or more exactly, your--mangled bodies were found the next morning at the foot of the cliff.

"As soon as I learned how to construct the mechanism which amplifies the power of telekinesis I set to work to improve and strengthen it until at last I had a mechanism capable of carrying me with the speed of thought when once freed from atmospheric friction. The mechanism complete, I constructed the spherical vehicle now floating above us, using steel and asbestos throughout and insulating against the cold of absolute zero through which I knew I must pass by using six vacuum spaces, one within the other, with walls of reënforced pressed cork between them. The screwlike door was similarly constructed with six vacuum spaces and when it was in place, completed an air-tight, water-tight sphere, impervious alike to extraordinarily high or low temperatures.

"My personal equipment consisted of an ordinary diver's suit and oxygen tank. The oxygen tank was necessary only at the beginning or end of a journey, for, once on the way, I had no need of it. This statement may seem strange to those of you who do not fully understand the powers of the subjective mind, but I will explain to the best of my ability." The doctor paused to allow them to assimilate these amazing facts, then resumed:

* * * * *

"You, Grandon, have undoubtedly read of men permitting themselves to be hypnotized and buried alive. Perhaps you thought such articles pure buncombe. They were, however, in most cases founded on facts. There was, for example, the case of the Fakir of Lahore who, after going into the cataleptic state, was buried alive in an air-tight vault for a period of six weeks. His nostrils and ears were first filled with wax; he was then placed in a linen bag, then in a wooden box which was securely locked, and the box was deposited in a brick vault which was carefully plastered up with mortar and sealed with the rajah's seal. A guard of British soldiers was detailed to watch the vault day and night. At the end of the prescribed period the vault was opened in the presence of Sir Claude Wade, the then British Resident at the court of Loodhiana, and of Runjeet Singh. The fakir was restored to consciousness.

"I mention this to illustrate rather than to prove my statements, for the fact that I am here is proof enough. In a state of complete catalepsy or suspended animation, man has no need for air, water or food. All bodily functions--breathing, digestion, assimilation, even circulation--are arrested. The brain itself, the organ of the objective mind, ceases to function. Only the subjective mind, the ego, the soul of man, which has assumed complete control of the body, remains active. It is conscious of what goes on about it, not through the use of physical organs, but by intuitive perception. Some people have named this power of intuitive perception clairvoyance or clairaudience. Wonderful as it is, we will not discuss it further here, as we are chiefly concerned with the more wonderful power of telekinesis.

"It is a well known fact that subjective powers become stronger as the cataleptic state is approached, and strongest when it is reached. You will thus see that, while I made the interplanetary trip in a state of suspended animation, my telepathic rapport with both of you was strengthened, my power of intuitive perception was abnormally strong, and my telekinetic powers, enhanced as they were by this factor and by that wonderful mechanism which the Olbans have invented, exceeded my wildest dreams. I was thus enabled to steer straight for the spot where I might find Grandon of Terra, and at the same time to guide the Olban fleet unerringly to the same place with the assistance of Vorn Vangal, who was employing the same powers in a slightly lesser degree.

"My vehicle is large enough and strong enough to house three men. In it are two extra diving suits. It is the fulfillment of my promise to you. In a few days I start my return journey to Earth. I will be happy to have either or both of you join me if you care to do so, though I fancy that Harry Thorne will not care to leave, and that Grandon's decision to go or stay will depend on what takes place in Reabon to-day. I assure you that the trip will be no more dangerous than the one we are now taking in this Olban airship. I do not ask for your decisions now. When I am ready to start I will let you know, and you will have until then to make up your minds."

"Mine is made up right now," said Thorne. "You couldn't drive me away from this planet with a pack of man-eating hahoes. There's a little girl back in Olba--"

"Tell us about her, old man, and some of your adventures," said Grandon.

They were interrupted by a call from the lookout. Thorne stepped out for a moment--then returned.

"My story will have to wait," he said, "for we have arrived in Reabon."