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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5986497 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62218 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62218) diff --git a/old/62218-h.zip b/old/62218-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 25bcb85..0000000 --- a/old/62218-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62218-h/62218-h.htm b/old/62218-h/62218-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 2ae27d8..0000000 --- a/old/62218-h/62218-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2653 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of City of the Living Flame, by Henry Hasse. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of City of the Living Flame, by Henry Hasse - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: City of the Living Flame - -Author: Henry Hasse - -Release Date: May 24, 2020 [EBook #62218] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITY OF THE LIVING FLAME *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="347" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>City of The Living Flame</h1> - -<h2>By HENRY HASSE</h2> - -<p>The legendary city of M'Tonak lay hidden beneath<br /> -Mar's Polar cap, its heart a pulsing flame from<br /> -outer space. Jim Landor found the fabulous green<br /> -flame, found it sentiently, evilly alive—and<br /> -that its living meant death for all mankind.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Fall 1942.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Startled into action, Jim Landor straightened in his seat. He peered -eagerly through the forward visiplate of the tiny rocket-plane.</p> - -<p>From the Martian metropolis that nestled in the opposite hemisphere, -thirteen hundred miles away, he had taken the poorly-mapped, wearisome, -rocket-course of the Polar route in order to save time. Thus he -avoided being hampered by the magnetic storms raging over the Red -Desert at this season. At least, so he'd told his friends.</p> - -<p>But the real, the all-important reason he had kept to himself. It was -not only that they would have laughed at him, that mattered little; but -that a growing, nameless dread made him even more reserved than usual. -He smiled thinly now as he visualized their reactions had he dared -mention the mythical city of M'Tonak. M'Tonak, city of forgotten men, -where reposed the fabulous emerald large enough to ransom a world!</p> - -<p>Yes, Jim thought without bitterness; at last he had joined the fatal -number of men, usually Earthmen, who had searched for M'Tonak. He was -persuaded against all reason that it did exist somewhere among the -polar wastes, and it was most imperative that he find it! He was sure -that then he would find his brother too, who had disappeared scarcely a -month before. In his perilous passage above the Cap, Jim had zig-zagged -the rocket-plane dangerously off its course, searching the limitless -white wastes with the intentness of desperation. But in vain.</p> - -<p>"Well," he murmured now, "no M'Tonak, so I'll settle for Riida—for the -time being."</p> - -<p>The tiny Martian town was beneath him, its crazy conical structures -reaching up like pointing forefingers. Jim's hand came down on the -descent lever. A ghostly whirr disturbed the stillness as the plane's -stubby wings sliced the atmosphere on its downward glide. It contacted -gently, plowing a shallow furrow in the powdery sand that rose -cloud-fine to engulf him as he climbed out. Already he saw two men -hurrying toward him from the town.</p> - -<p>"One of them must be Conley," he decided and went forward to meet the -mine superintendent.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Hello, Jim Landor, welcome to Riida!" Conley shook hands with a quiet, -unobtrusive pleasure that seemed sincere. Jim liked him immediately. He -noted his straight-forward eyes, the faint burr of his booming Irish -voice and the little mannerism of thoughtfully rubbing his hand across -his massive chin.</p> - -<p>The other Earthman, Conley introduced as Wessel, the newly arrived -surveying engineer for "Tri-Planetary Mining." As Jim glanced at the -thin features and small wiry frame, he sensed something hard behind the -man's clouded eyes. Wessel remained silent, smiling inscrutably as he -listened to their conversation.</p> - -<p>"So you came across the Cap, eh Landor?" Conley said friendily, taking -Jim's arm as they trudged toward the town. "Any sign of M'Tonak?" And -as Jim looked at him sharply he hastened to add: "Not that I'm poking -fun at you, lad. But you're news now, you know, same as anyone who goes -seeking for M'Tonak. Heard a news-story about you on the Trans-telector -not more'n a couple hours ago."</p> - -<p>"I thought my flight was a secret."</p> - -<p>"Ah, no! No man's flight is secret who comes over the Martian Cap. -That can mean but one thing. Yep, the legend of M'Tonak is rife once -more, first time in two years. You're supposed to be searching for the -lost city ... now, what would ye be wanting with an emerald that big?" -Conley half joked, lapsing into his Irish brogue. "Faith an' it makes a -man's head swim to think of such riches."</p> - -<p>Jim Landor did not smile. He looked at Conley seriously. "I've only -been on Mars a year, but naturally I'd heard stories of M'Tonak long -before that. <i>You</i> called it a legend just now. Tell me, what is your -honest opinion?"</p> - -<p>"Well, lad. Certainly there's <i>something</i> up there to cause these -stories to persist." Conley rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe -it's an ancient city called M'Tonak and maybe it ain't. But men in -search for it have disappeared too regularly, hardly men who wouldn't -ordinarily fail to return from the Polar wastes. And—and if there is a -M'Tonak, your brother may have reached it."</p> - -<p>"I shall find my brother," Jim said with a soft certainty. "That's why -I'm here. What about that Martian, the one you said accompanied Frank -into the Cap? Is he here now?"</p> - -<p>"He is, and you shall talk to him. But, lad, I'm afraid he can't tell -you any more than I did in the letter."</p> - -<p>"I want to hear it first hand."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Conley nodded understandingly.</p> - -<p>They walked in silence through the powdery sand, nearing the town. Jim -glanced at Wessel, silent still, his hieratic smile barely perceptible. -There was an uncanny aura to the man as if he were immersed in a world -of his own where Jim and Conley had no part.</p> - -<p>"There's Frank's mine," Conley pointed beyond the town toward a low -line of hills. "If you look close you can see his shack over there. As -you probably know, he was—well, the independent type. Refused to sell -out to Tri-Planetary Mining. That's why he went on north when his claim -petered out, in an effort to find the source of the radite veins. Want -to go over there and look around?"</p> - -<p>"Later," Jim said shortly.</p> - -<p>They entered the sprawling town with its curious Martian dwellings. Jim -had never ceased to marvel at them. They were conical and glistening, -built of a reddish manufactured silica. They were surrounded by an -ascending spiral dotted with entrances to the very top. Jim sometimes -wondered, too, at the manner in which Martians tolerated so much -from the Earthmen. But then, it was well known that activity to a -Martian was the final degradation. They looked upon the exertions of -the Earthman in a mixture of uncomprehending wonder and supercilious -amusement, much as a human might watch the eternal hustle of a colony -of ants. Theirs was a world of philosophic contemplation, peace and -indolence.</p> - -<p>Now, as they proceeded along the straggling main street of Riida, -Jim wondered about them even more. From various ramps of the conical -buildings residents watched them silently. Tall, wasp-waisted Martians, -dark and leathery, passed them leisurely on the street without a word. -They weren't sullen, it was as though they didn't care. Jim peered into -their heavy-lidden eyes. Colorless eyes, always. He was startled at the -somnolence he saw there. It struck a vague disturbing note in his brain -that was dashed away by Conley's booming voice:</p> - -<p>"Here we are!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They had reached a squat, basaltic building which bore the legend -TRI-PLANETARY MINING CORPORATION.</p> - -<p>"Enter the lair of the Octopus," Conley laughed, glancing at the gilded -sign above him.</p> - -<p>Wessel frowned at the words, and by that token Jim knew that he was a -Corporation man to the hilt.</p> - -<p>Within, Jim found himself in an atmosphere as far removed from Mars as -day is from night. The office was plain and unpretentious. There was -an old-fashioned desk, a few chairs and some iron lockers against the -wall. On the walls, in curious contrast, were pictures of cinema stars -several years out of date, and a few yellowed maps of the company's -workings.</p> - -<p>"Not only has Frank's claim petered out," Conley explained, "but -Tri-Planet is beginning to. That's the reason Wessel's here, to try -and trace these radite veins to their source. We think they must stem -from somewhere up in the Cap."</p> - -<p>Jim nodded. "You haven't many Earthmen here now, have you?"</p> - -<p>"About a dozen," Conley shrugged. "More than enough to handle what -little radite's left."</p> - -<p>"And we wouldn't even need them," Wessel spoke for the first time, "if -we could get these damn lazy Martians to stir themselves."</p> - -<p>Jim turned his gaze on the man with slowly dawning wonderment, and -would have spoken, but was interrupted by Conley:</p> - -<p>"Jim, we thought we'd head up into the Cap in the morning, four or -five of us. Wessel wanted to leave several days ago, but I insisted on -waiting for you. However, I can't say how far north we'll be going. It -all depends on the radite traces."</p> - -<p>"Thanks, Conley, I really appreciate it. All I know about this Polar -Cap is what I saw flying over it. What do we do, make the trek afoot?"</p> - -<p>"Afoot, he says!" Wessel scoffed before Conley could answer. "Man, what -a lot you've got to learn yet about that country up there!"</p> - -<p>"No," Conley answered, with a distasteful glance at Wessel. "Most -men who've tried it afoot have not come back. We're trying it with -a couple of sleds. Motor-driven, of course, of very little metal -alloy. Furnished benignantly by Tri-Planet Mining, since it's to their -advantage that we find new radite deposits." The slight scorn in his -voice was not lost on Wessel. "We figure it'll be a two or three day -trip each way."</p> - -<p>"But of course," Wessel said suavely, "if we find M'Tonak or any other -cities up there with big fabulous emeralds, we'll forget about the -radite."</p> - -<p>Jim was fast learning to dislike this man; he turned to Conley. "I -think I'll see this Martian you were telling me about, the one who -accompanied my brother."</p> - -<p>"Kaarji? Sure. I'll go fetch him."</p> - -<p>"Better take me to him instead, I'd rather talk to him alone."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As Conley had said, Kaarji wasn't of much help. The tall, leathery, -heavy-chested Martian was even more taciturn than the usual members of -his race. He seemed to show a distrust of Jim.</p> - -<p>However, he did agree to accompany Jim across the mile strip of desert -to Frank Landor's mine nestled against the hills. As they trudged -through the sand in silence, Jim glanced occasionally at Kaarji. He -was sure he had made it plain that he was Frank Landor's brother. The -Martian wasn't dumb, he knew why Jim was here.</p> - -<p>With a friendly and almost instinctive gesture Jim offered the Martian -a cigarette. Kaarji accepted it, looked at it with distaste as though -he had tried them before and abhorred them; but he placed it clumsily -in his lips nevertheless and smoked it valiantly. At the same time he -reached into his pocket and handed Jim a few tiny purplish objects. Jim -accepted them, looked at them and shuddered. He had heard of Martian -<i>tsith</i> stems and knew that they made almost all Earthmen violently -ill. Nevertheless he plopped them into his mouth and began chewing.</p> - -<p>Kaarji looked at him approvingly and gave a grotesque smile. As though -the Earthman's act were a signal, he began talking.</p> - -<p>"I don't like it in town," Kaarji said. "Too many Earthmen. I like it -over here."</p> - -<p>"At Frank's mine, you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Frank Landor was a fine man. I am sorry he did not come back."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps he will come back," Jim suggested.</p> - -<p>But Kaarji shook his head.</p> - -<p>It took very little effort then to get the entire story. It seemed that -Frank Landor and Kaarji had trekked four days into the Martian Cap. -Only Kaarji had ever gone that far before. Late on the fourth day, as -they camped, Kaarji was awakened by a shout from Frank. He had leaped -up and glimpsed Frank Landor running toward a vehicle that rested at -the bottom of an icy decline....</p> - -<p>Here Kaarji faltered slightly in his story. He had not seen the vehicle -plainly enough nor long enough to describe it as other than a car, -seemingly unlike any he had ever seen before. It was simply round and -grayish and metallic, and completely enclosed. It had a bluish beam of -light in the front of it. Frank Landor had seemed to enter the car—and -then it sped away with him.</p> - -<p>"Kaarji, try to remember," Jim said to the Martian now. "Frank entered -the car of his own volition? You saw no one else, no other person?"</p> - -<p>"No one else." Kaarji seemed sure of it.</p> - -<p>Jim shook his head in puzzlement. This was the same story Kaarji had -told Conley, there were no discrepancies.</p> - -<p>They walked on to the mine in silence. Jim examined several tunnels -leading back into the hills and saw that Frank's claim had indeed -petered out. In his iron-walled cabin, everything was left as though -Frank had merely gone and intended to return in a few days.</p> - -<p>"Let's go back," Jim said finally. "Nothing we can do here."</p> - -<p>On the walk back to Riida, Jim thought that Kaarji looked at him -several times as though he were going to speak. But when Jim questioned -him, the Martian shook his head negatively. He offered Kaarji another -cigarette but this time it was declined.</p> - -<p>It was not until then that Jim realized he was still chewing on the -Martian <i>tsith</i> stems, and that Kaarji was grinning at him.</p> - -<p>It was not until he reached the edge of town that he became violently -ill.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>The sun rose on a crystal clear morning and glanced beckoningly from -the white expanse that capped the cliffs a few miles distant. Five men -were making the trip: Jim and Kaarji, Conley, Wessel and Lewis, the -latter, one of the workmen who had had some Polar experience.</p> - -<p>The motor-sled parts were light but bulky, and it took a dozen men to -transport them across to the cliffs and up into the Cap, where they -would be assembled.</p> - -<p>"I want to tell you something about Kaarji," Conley said, walking -beside Jim as the trek began. "He's not like other Martians, not -philosophic and indolent. On the contrary he seems—well, <i>restless</i>."</p> - -<p>"I know the type," Jim nodded. "I've seen a few of them myself, even -in the Capitol City; amazingly energetic for Martians, restless and -perpetually wandering as though seeking for—for something vague and -unknown even to them."</p> - -<p>"That describes Kaarji, all right," Conley nodded emphatically. "Jim, -three times in the past year he's left here abruptly and trekked alone -up into those Polar wastes. He'd be gone for days and then show up here -again, exhausted and brooding, as if he'd just missed his goal. And the -last time was with Frank Landor. That mean anything to you?"</p> - -<p>Jim shook his head puzzledly.</p> - -<p>"Now I wonder," Conley murmured, "what he always finds so interesting -up there in that wilderness?"</p> - -<p>"Probably doesn't find anything. Maybe he's only—seeking. Perpetually -seeking."</p> - -<p>"Seeking M'Tonak?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe."</p> - -<p>Conley scoffed. "Now what would Kaarji do with the emerald of M'Tonak -if he did find it? Of what value would it be to <i>any</i> Martian, to the -whole dying Martian race?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe it isn't the emerald the Martians are interested in."</p> - -<p>Conley was startled, glanced sharply at him, but Jim kept his eyes on -the huge bulk of Kaarji ahead.</p> - -<p>They reached the black cliffs and entered a narrow defile that led -gradually upward, tortuously. The rock was a soft, igneous basalt which -at times made footing extremely hazardous. After an hour of this Kaarji -stopped abruptly in a level place.</p> - -<p>They leaned thankfully against the cliff wall, and stared out upon the -curving gleam of the Red Desert far below. There the hazes of pinkish -dust were beginning to drift and the sun was beginning to bite.</p> - -<p>They continued when Kaarji continued. An hour later the air had become -a chilling blast sweeping down the widening ravine. Luckily the ascent -was becoming less steep as they neared the top. It levelled off into a -shallow little gorge, then they were beyond that, emerging out onto the -plateau.</p> - -<p>Scattered patches of dark rocky terrain showed here, where green -growing things struggled pitifully to maintain a meagre existence. Less -than a mile away the real Cap began, dazzling white and forbidding.</p> - -<p>Reaching there, the two sleds were assembled in a few minutes. The five -who were to make the trip now readjusted their packs and put on the -priceless coats of Praaka fur, unbelievably light and cold repelling. -They also painstakingly tightened the high fabricord leggings Conley -had insisted they wear. Jim wondered why, but asked no questions as he -followed suit.</p> - -<p>The supplies were on the sleds, but each man carried a fully charged -electro-pistol and a small, light metal tank strapped to his side.</p> - -<p>"Acid spray," Conley explained laconically. "Don't worry, you'll -realize the use for it before long."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Now the real trip began.</p> - -<p>"Kaarji, you and Lewis take the first sled," Conley instructed. "We'll -follow."</p> - -<p>The Martian nodded. The motors purred and the sleds moved slowly away.</p> - -<p>"Yes, we'll follow him," Wessel murmured. "Just as long as he sticks -fairly close to the radite veins, we will. <i>This</i> is what I'm going -by." And he touched the little metallic device at his wrist, which -Jim knew was susceptible through super-sensitive coils to all radite -emanations within a radius of several miles.</p> - -<p>Conley frowned but nodded mute agreement. And now for the first time -it really dawned on Jim that he and Kaarji were apart from these other -men. He and the Martian were up here seeking, not radite deposits, -but something else. The same thing but for different reasons. Jim -determined to try, at the first opportunity, to probe into that big -Martian's mind.</p> - -<p>Now they were speeding into the real Polar vastness. Kaarji's sled -ahead of them dipped and rose across long icy undulations. The terrain -was wide and white and peaceful as far as Jim could see. He began to -wonder why men had never been able to penetrate very far up here. Even -afoot it ought not to be hard, but this was ridiculously easy! As -he huddled there in his place on the sled he was very warm and cozy -beneath his coat of Praaka fur. He began to get drowsy....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jim awoke with a start from the deep, firm depths of somnolence. He -was aware that they had been moving for a long time, probably many -hours. Now the sky was dark above him and he could see a few stars. But -<i>something</i> had shattered his drowsiness to jerk him back to reality, -and he wondered what it was.</p> - -<p>Then he knew, as it came again. There was a sudden movement beneath -them. The sled lurched crazily. Conley was shouting something, as their -sled pulled up beside Kaarji's, which was lying half on its side.</p> - -<p>The men stepped down. Again there came that sudden movement, and Jim -nearly fell! Startled, he looked down and saw that the very ice cap was -moving beneath their feet, or rather it was expanding! Long lines began -to appear in every direction. As far as he could see, the surface was a -vast mosaic pattern.</p> - -<p>Conley stood there with his hands on his hips, staring around. Wessel -was cursing softly and looked angry.</p> - -<p>"This wouldn't have happened," Wessel said, "if you'd taken my advice -and left two days ago! Tomorrow it'll be worse. It'll slow us to a -walk. We may as well not have brought along any sleds."</p> - -<p>"It would've happened anyway!" Conley snapped testily. "It's just our -damnable luck that it had to come early this year. I didn't expect this -to start for another month yet. Well, we may as well camp here and get -a good start in the morning."</p> - -<p>Jim looked at the mosaic pattern across the ice and was relieved to -see that it had stopped moving. He peered down into a crack an inch -wide, where a billowing powdery stuff exuded to spread thinly over the -surface. He touched the stuff with his bare hand. It was uncannily -different from snow, being infinitely more powdery yet dazzling white -and deadly cold.</p> - -<p>"You're witnessing the start of the Polar Cap's receding," Conley -explained with a wry smile. "It does that twice a year, you know, -getting smaller to about half its present size.</p> - -<p>"Receding!" Jim exclaimed. "The damn stuff's expanding, you mean."</p> - -<p>"It only looks that way. This is just the preliminary. Soon the extreme -edges will vanish away and then the entire Cap will begin receding, -for some strange reason. When that starts to happen, too bad for any -man caught up here. Frankly, Jim, I should say that, if this continues -tomorrow, we ought to head back."</p> - -<p>That struck an ominous note in Jim's heart, but he said nothing. To -return now would mean they must wait several months before making -another attempt.</p> - -<p>It was while helping to unroll the wide fabricoid mats that Jim felt -the sharp, biting pain just above his knee. He ignored it at first. -Then it came again, and he looked down. He saw a pale blue, tubular -thing about four inches long. It had bitten through his clothing and -into his flesh above the knee. Quiescent now, it clung there, and its -transparent bluish tint was taking on a crimson flush as it fed upon -his blood.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With a loathing horror Jim reached down and pulled the thing from him. -It did not come away easily. He flung it to the ice and tried to crush -it with his heel. It seemed amazingly rubbery, resilient, as it darted -away from under his foot. Then he saw that others had attached to his -fabricoid leggings, and were inching their way upward.</p> - -<p>Desperately he tried to brush them off, but they clung tenaciously. -Another one bit through his trouser leg and into the flesh. It was cold -and loathesome to the touch, but he tore it away with his fingers. Then -he staggered back, as he saw that the ice was swarming with the things.</p> - -<p>"Your acid tube, man, use it!" he heard Conley cry. "That's all that'll -stop 'em!"</p> - -<p>Already the men were up-ending the sleds, using them as a barricade -from behind which they swept the ice with a thin misty spray. Not -wishing to chance that acid on his own person, Jim tore the things from -his legs one at a time and flung them out into the spray. They writhed -and shrivelled and curled upon themselves, lifeless and blackened.</p> - -<p>Others were coming up from the crevices now. The ice was a thick, -bluish writhing mass of them. Jim added his spray to the others, -sweeping it low across the ice. The acid misted and clung there close -to the surface, until gradually the greater mass of the bluish things -retreated back into the depths.</p> - -<p>Kaarji opened a pouch he carried always with him, took out some <i>tsith</i> -stems and placed them in his mouth. He arose and stood gazing out to -the north. Jim watched him.</p> - -<p>"Whew!" Conley gasped, wiping beads of cold perspiration from his brow. -"Just in time! Let those things once get a foothold up here and there's -no stopping them. I guess we've settled for most of them, though, they -won't come again."</p> - -<p>"But what the devil are they?" Jim asked. "And how can they subsist in -this barren country?"</p> - -<p>"It's not so barren. Far below the ice are green growing things, at -least this far south there is. Those blue tube-things ride down with -the ice twice a year, feed, and then migrate back to the north.</p> - -<p>"Vegetarians, eh?" Jim grunted. "Then what were those two chewing on me -for?"</p> - -<p>"Blood's something comparatively new to them, and it seems to drive -them wild. They can sense it for amazing distances. They come flocking -beneath the ice to wherever anyone stops. There's a story of an -Earthman who was lost up here once, and—Well, never mind. Anyway -we'll take turns on guard tonight."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jim slept fitfully. There were fragmentary nightmares of the ice -opening to spew hordes of bluish tube creatures up at him. He was glad -when Kaarji awakened him for his turn at guard.</p> - -<p>But Kaarji did not return to sleep either. He seemed restless and -brooding. He sat beside Jim against one of the sleds, and for a long -time there was silence as he stared far out to the north with troubled -eyes.</p> - -<p>"Jim Landor," he broke the silence at last, "there is one thing I did -not tell you."</p> - -<p>"I thought there was."</p> - -<p>"Frank Landor and I found something. The body of a man in the ice far -to the north of here. It had been there a long time."</p> - -<p>Jim merely waited for him to go on.</p> - -<p>"In his clothing we found some of these." Kaarji fumbled in his pocket, -and handed something to Jim.</p> - -<p>It was a piece of metal, flat, round and amazingly light. It seemed -to have once been part of some ornamentation. What interested Jim, -however, was not what it might have been, but rather the metal itself. -It was a dull greenish-gray in color and strangely different to the -touch from any metal he had ever known. It was somehow reminiscent of -radite, but only faintly. In it was a subtle suggestion of—yes, of -fabulous strength and power!</p> - -<p>In the dim grayness of that Polar night Jim looked at Kaarji and said -in a voice he did not recognize as his own:</p> - -<p>"Kaarji, do you realize what this means? Up here somewhere there is a -city, a former civilization—a M'Tonak! That man you found dead—<i>he</i> -reached M'Tonak and was coming back with the news when disaster -overtook him! But that might have been many years ago....</p> - -<p>"Tell me something, Kaarji. Why have you come up here three times -before? Are you seeking M'Tonak?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know. Something calls me. Something inside. And I only know -that I must go."</p> - -<p>"Is that all, just something calling you?"</p> - -<p>"That is all. Except that this time it is different. This time I know -that I shall reach—whatever is calling me, and I shall not return. I -am sure of it."</p> - -<p>Jim sat there for a long time, pondering, watching Kaarji pace -restlessly back and forth. The Martian was in a strange mood this -night. A foreboding mood. Jim gave up puzzling about it, and examined -again that strange piece of metal. Here at last was proof of M'Tonak, -perhaps the first proof any man outside had ever had! He felt an -exuberant hope rising in him.</p> - -<p>"Anyway, Kaarji, thanks for telling me about this. Mind if I keep it a -while?"</p> - -<p>"I want you to have it, Jim Landor."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>They were away early the next morning, speeding ahead of a graying -dawn. Wessel was wrong, the ice no longer shifted beneath them; but the -biting sun had not yet risen. Now Jim noticed that Wessel constantly -consulted the device at his waist, which registered the proximity of -any radite. Apparently, however, he was satisfied with the route Kaarji -was taking.</p> - -<p>It was about noon when the terrain began to surge gently again as -though with a life of its own, and the mosaic pattern of cracks -re-appeared. But this was not enough, as yet, to stop them. What did -stop them was Wessel, who called a halt a few hours later.</p> - -<p>"Must be some Floaters near here," he told Conley. "I can tell by the -way this thing's acting." He tapped the radite-finder, whose needle was -gyrating erratically.</p> - -<p>"Floaters?" Jim asked. "What are they?"</p> - -<p>"Trouble," Conley groaned. "More denizens for you to get acquainted -with. You'll see before long."</p> - -<p>"There they come now," Wessel pointed. "We may as well wait here, and -get rid of them once and for all."</p> - -<p>A long line of tiny dots had appeared low on the horizon. They came -rapidly nearer and proved to be perfect spheres about a foot in -diameter, apparently with an uncanny power of levitation! There were -several dozens of them. Hovering in the air, they circled around the -men. A few of them darted in close, experimentally.</p> - -<p>Jim threw up a hand instinctively as one zoomed too near his head. His -fist contacted the taut, metallic skin of the thing. He felt a slight -but inconsequential electric shock. The Floater bounced back lightly as -a feather. It hovered there, took on a shimmering, greenish iridescence -as though it were glaring at the Earthman. Jim felt an uncanny chill -across his brain. He was sure these things were intelligent! Again it -zoomed in, but again Jim shoved it back easily.</p> - -<p>"That's it," Conley said in general to the men who were staving off -the pesky things. "Make them keep their distance. They're really not -dangerous, if we keep them away from the metal sleds. That's what they -want."</p> - -<p>The Floaters at last seemed to call a council of war. They gathered in -a group behind the men. Conley took advantage of this, and gave the -order to move again. But the Floaters followed slowly, longingly. A few -of them made tentative darting attempts, but the men were too wary. -Suddenly then, <i>en masse</i>, the Floaters launched their real attack.</p> - -<p>They came from all sides and the men were overwhelmed. A few of the -spheres alighted on a sled. The metal began to crumble. Cursing, Conley -knocked them away; but others alighted.</p> - -<p>"Protect the sleds!" Conley yelled.</p> - -<p>The men were trying to. A sphere attached itself to the metal -fastenings of a pack, and clung there voraciously. The metal crumbled, -disappeared, and the pack spewed its contents over the ice. Instantly -the Floater darted to the contents, seeking more metal. Lewis drew his -electro-pistol, but immediately a Floater attached itself to it; the -weapon dissolved, disappeared, as the creature took on a rosy radiance -of heat-energy.</p> - -<p>"Holy Hannah!" Lewis gasped.</p> - -<p>Conley was cursing volubly now, but he was suddenly cool.</p> - -<p>"All right, you men, let 'em have it—all at once! Blast 'em out of the -air."</p> - -<p>They threw themselves flat on the ice and swept their weapons around -in a solid, crackling barrage. That was the beginning of the end for -the Floaters. They exploded in corruscating riots of bluish sparks -wherever the electro-beams touched. Soon the ice was littered with -their lifeless, deflated husks. The remaining ones sped far away out of -danger, and they did not return.</p> - -<p>"I hated to do that," Conley sighed, "'cause I kind of like those -creatures. They have intelligence of a sort. They're harmless enough -ordinarily, except for their voracious appetites for metal!"</p> - -<p>"The damn things sometimes visit our mines to the south," Wessel said, -"but I'm kind of surprised to find 'em away up <i>here</i>. That can only -mean one thing, though. We're on the right track! The radite must stem -from one huge central deposit somewhere up here!" His eyes gleamed at -the thought.</p> - -<p>To Jim it meant even more. The converging radite veins, Kaarji's -story of the perpetual lure that tormented him, and most of all that -mysterious bit of strange metal—all this pointed to one thing, a -secret somewhere to the north. And that secret was M'Tonak. Jim was -sure of it now. He was sure they would reach it, that they were <i>meant</i> -to reach it.</p> - -<p>The thought surged within him, made him restless and foreboding. So -that when, late that day, the car came—the silent mysterious vehicle -from out of the north, just as Kaarji had described—Jim was not -surprised.</p> - -<p>He had been almost expecting it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was while they were making camp. They were rolling out the fabricoid -mats and setting up the little atomo-stoves. Jim missed Kaarji, looked -around and saw the Martian at the crest of the long, smooth rise at the -foot of which they had stopped.</p> - -<p>Jim drew his coat of Praaka fur closer around him and walked out to -where Kaarji stood. Not until he had gained the crest of the slight -ascent did he see that the Martian was in his strange mood again, -standing quite still, staring out to the north.</p> - -<p>Jim approached very silently. He stood unmoving by Kaarji's side. Now -he almost felt it too, an eerie feeling as though ghostly, insistent -fingers were tugging at his brain. Almost, a fascinating wisp of a -voice created an urgency within him. But that was imagination! He knew -it, even as he drew back.</p> - -<p>For a full minute they stood there in silence. Then Kaarji, without -even glancing at him, spoke in his curiously clipped monnotone:</p> - -<p>"So you feel it too, Jim Landor."</p> - -<p>"I—I thought I felt something."</p> - -<p>"The same thing that I have felt. But I have felt it stronger."</p> - -<p>Stretching out below was a long gentle decline, and beyond were the -familiar vastnesses of the Polar wastes. Now Jim found himself scanning -the far horizon. He felt on the very verge of something strange—and -momentous.</p> - -<p>Kaarji leaned tensely, suddenly forward. Not the slightest show of -emotion was in his voice as he stated:</p> - -<p>"It is coming. I know it. It will be here very soon."</p> - -<p>Jim did not ask what was coming. He knew. He had known all the time. -He stared outward, following Kaarji's gaze, but could see nothing. He -waited impatiently as the Martian never once removed his eyes from the -horizon. Minutes passed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then ... much nearer and so clear that even Jim could not mistake it, -a dot of light flashed across their vision. Immediately it was gone, -hugging the terrain closely as though it had dipped behind an ice dune. -It appeared again in the near distance, moving swiftly, unerringly -toward them. It resolved itself into a penetrant beam of bluish light, -the forward light on a speeding ghostly vehicle.</p> - -<p>Abruptly it slowed. It crept silently to the very foot of the slight -slope below them. Breathless with wonderment, Jim waited for something -to happen. Nothing happened except that the bluish light blinked -abruptly off. No door opened. No one nor nothing emerged. Even at -this close distance the conveyance was discernible only as a grayish, -ghostly shape.</p> - -<p>Then Kaarji was running down toward it. Jim was suddenly torn between -two desires. He stared after Kaarji and then back at the camp. He -shouted to Conley and the others, and saw them look up and start -toward him; then he was dashing madly after Kaarji who had almost -reached the ghostly conveyance now.</p> - -<p>When Jim reached there, Kaarji was staring at a dark, narrow entrance -in the metal hull. "It was already open," the Martian murmured. Then, -as though it were expected of him, he stepped unhesitatingly inside.</p> - -<p>Jim waited for a single instant during which he surveyed the hull of -the vessel. It was not any type of sled, as he had thought; indeed it -did not touch the surface at all, but hovered a full foot above the -ground. He heard a gentle humming as though of ionization beams. He -followed Kaarji inside.</p> - -<p>There were no sort of controls that he could see; only a long row of -seats filled the entire space. Kaarji had found a button that turned on -some overhead lights. Still nothing happened.</p> - -<p>By this time the other men had reached there. Conley was stammering, -"Jim, we—we can't leave the supplies! The sleds!"</p> - -<p>"Sleds be damned!" Jim exclaimed in an ecstasy of excitement. "This is -better than a hundred sleds! Do you want to find your radite or don't -you? Are you going to M'Tonak or not!"</p> - -<p>Hesitantly, Conley entered the strange craft. The others glanced -nervously, then quickly followed, as though not wishing to be left -alone.</p> - -<p>"I—" Conley began doubtfully.</p> - -<p>That seemed to be a signal. Instantly a well-oiled metal door slid shut -behind them. Motors began to purr gently beneath their feet. The car -swung around in a great circle, and they were heading into the north.</p> - -<p>From one of the comfortable pneumatic seats Jim watched the white -unending landscape flashing past. He felt strangely exhilarated now -that he was on the very threshold of his quest; for that they were -being taken to the long-hidden, legendary city of M'Tonak, he did not -for a moment doubt.</p> - -<p>It had not yet occurred to him to wonder why they were being taken.</p> - -<p>But of one thing he was sure. He said, turning to Conley:</p> - -<p>"Why do you suppose they sent the car for us? It must be that they -<i>know</i> whenever anyone is approaching M'Tonak! Always! Other -expeditions must have reached here in the same manner, else why were -they never found by the men who came later?"</p> - -<p>Conley nodded soberly. "And that must mean that, once inside M'Tonak, -men are unable to leave."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>It seemed minutes later, but it might have been hours, that Jim Landor -sat up with a start, aware that the softly purring motors had lulled -him to sleep. He wondered how long they had been travelling. Now their -speed seemed to have diminished considerably.</p> - -<p>But something else seemed strange.</p> - -<p>He turned to the tiny window, and was startled to see no more Polar -Cap, no more expanse of white ice. Instead they were in a strange -dark place. It was several seconds before he could adjust his eyes -sufficiently to see that a wall was very close. It seemed to be moving -backward and slightly upward. He knew then that they were descending -somewhere at about a thirty degree angle.</p> - -<p>"When did this begin?" he asked, turning to Conley.</p> - -<p>"About twenty minutes ago. We must be a mile below the ice by now."</p> - -<p>So M'Tonak lay somewhere <i>beneath</i> the Polar Cap! That was why men in -ages past had been unable to find it, until it became a legend on a par -with Earth's lost Atlantis! Jim tensed in his seat now as he thought of -all the conflicting reports he had heard about M'Tonak; vague questions -crossed his mind to which there were only vaguer answers.</p> - -<p>Now the passage through which they sped seemed to widen. Simultaneously -they were in a sea of softly diffused, pale greenish light. This light -increased as they went on, but did not become intense or glaring; -rather it seemed to permeate the very atmosphere from some subtle, -unknown source. Then, with breath-taking suddenness they burst out into -a vast open place and looked upon the city of M'Tonak.</p> - -<p>M'Tonak lay in the center of a vast, shallow bowl several miles wide. -In the first start of amazement Jim thought they must have somehow -emerged again upon the planet's surface; but this thought was -immediately discarded when he gazed across at the opposite horizon. It -was concave rather than convex, which meant they were in a cavern of -inconceivable dimensions. Far overhead he saw something vague and misty -that must have been a roof. That soothing green light was everywhere -but he still could not determine its source, it simply seemed to exist.</p> - -<p>Now they were gliding gently down into the city which consisted of -low-structured, white-marble buildings of peculiar architecture. Wide, -empty avenues stretched away in a perfect geometric pattern.</p> - -<p>"This city must be inconceivably old!" Conley gasped. "There's no other -architecture like this anywhere on Mars!"</p> - -<p>Their car was slowing now. It came to rest in a wide circular plaza. -The door slid smoothly, invitingly open.</p> - -<p>Jim glanced at the others who made no move to leave. He didn't blame -them for not moving, for there was something strange and devilishly -pre-arranged about all this.</p> - -<p>"End of the line!" he said with a jocularity he did not feel. He moved -to the door and stepped out.</p> - -<p>Instantly he was aware of a strange difference. It might have been -that alien green-tinged atmosphere, as if he had suddenly stepped into -another dimension. Every fiber of his being now seemed to tingle in a -peculiarly delightful way. It was very slight, scarcely felt, but there -was no mistaking it.</p> - -<p>As the others stepped out Jim looked at them closely. They felt it too, -he noticed—especially Kaarji. Kaarji's usually dark and expressionless -face was now alight with a feverish excitement.</p> - -<p>They looked at the radiating streets about them. All were utterly -empty, eerily silent.</p> - -<p>"Where in blazes," muttered Conley, "is the welcoming committee? We -were brought here, but why? Surely the place isn't uninhabited!"</p> - -<p>"It isn't!" Jim said in that instant. "Look. Here comes your welcoming -committee!" There was a peculiar note, almost a shrillness of disbelief -in his voice.</p> - -<p>The others whirled, their combined gaze following his pointing finger -across to the opposite side of the plaza.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Toward them slowly came a single lone figure. It was a Martian, of -that there could be no doubt; but a Martian inconceivably old! He was -stooped and withered, he leaned heavily on a stout cane, but he moved -forward briskly for all of that. There was a certain purposefulness -about him.</p> - -<p>He stopped before them, and leaned forward with both hands on top of -his cane. His chin almost rested on his hands as he peered around -at them. None of the men moved or spoke. Jim, who was nearest, was -fascinated by that grayish leathery face criss-crossed with thousands -of tiny lines, in which were set, like jewels, four unwinking black -eyes incongruously bright and alert with cunning. There was an uncanny -aura of evil about this bent little Martian, an evil made audible as he -spoke:</p> - -<p>"There are only four of you—and one Martian. Strange, I thought there -were more. But it is all right. Four Earthmen, intelligent Earthmen -too. Earthmen are always welcome here."</p> - -<p>He pointedly ignored Kaarji and turned his eyes upon Jim. Then he -chuckled, as though with secret glee. It was a dry metallic wheeze that -reminded Jim of an empty rocket tube when the fuel is burned out. Jim -was glad of the comfortable weight of his electro-pistol in his pocket.</p> - -<p>"My name is Jim Landor," he said. "Who are you, and why were we brought -here? Did you have anything to do with it?"</p> - -<p>The old Martian gave a quirk of a smile as if faintly amused by Jim's -impetuosity. But he answered the questions promptly and in order.</p> - -<p>"My name? It is Bhruulo. Here I am the Overseer—the Co-ordinator—call -it what you will. As to why you were brought here, did you not seek -M'Tonak, as have innumerable men in ages past? Now you have attained -M'Tonak, and you should thank me. Yes, it was I who sent the surface -car for you. I send it for all men who come far into the Polar Cap."</p> - -<p>"You still haven't explained why we were brought here."</p> - -<p>"That," Bhruulo said with a tinge of sarcasm, "I am sure you will learn -from the others far better than you could from me."</p> - -<p>"Then there are <i>others</i> here!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, there are others. You need not fear, you are free to come and go -here as you please. I give you—M'Tonak! But you will excuse me now, I -must leave you. I am sure you will find—the others." With that, the -old Martian whirled upon his cane and hurried across the plaza in the -direction whence he had come.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Wait a minute, lad," Conley put out a restraining hand as Jim leaped -forward. "Let him play his game for the time being. Let's see where his -hangout is, so we can find him later."</p> - -<p>They watched as Bhruulo, without a backward glance, entered a -columnaded building that was different from the others by reason of its -imposing height. Jim nodded and decided to remember that building.</p> - -<p>"Now, Jim, let's find those others he speaks of. There are other -Earthmen here, I'm convinced of it now." Conley had begun to lose his -skepticism of M'Tonak—now that he had found it!—and his eyes were -agleam with a growing excitement.</p> - -<p>But search as they would, they saw no other occupants. They traversed -streets that were dead and empty and silent. That palely diffused -greenish radiance was everywhere, coloring all with a ghostly -brightness. For several hours they explored, wandering far from that -central plaza.</p> - -<p>Kaarji stayed very close to Jim now, his original excitement having -faded; indeed he seemed appalled, if not a little frightened, as he -stared around in the abysmal stillness, and several times Jim noticed -the Martian pass his hand in a puzzled manner across his brow.</p> - -<p>Wessel's mien brightened, as he watched the needle of his radite-finder -gyrating wildly as if at any moment it would jump its bearings.</p> - -<p>"It must mean we're now in the very center of the main deposit!" he -exclaimed. "If only we—"</p> - -<p>It was then they saw the figure of an Earthman emerge from a building -hardly fifty yards away. He saw them at the same time. He turned -quickly indoors again, and shouted something that sounded like: "New -arrivals!"</p> - -<p>Then three other men emerged, and they all walked toward the little -group of five.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"We're friendly," one of them said as they neared, and Jim's hand fell -away from his weapon. "Because we have to be, here. Hmmm. When did -<i>you</i> arrive?"</p> - -<p>"A few hours ago."</p> - -<p>"Uh-huh. And you met the funny little man, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"If you mean Bhruulo," Conley said with a grimace, "we sure did! Is he -head man here?"</p> - -<p>"More about that later. My name's Spurlin. Ross, Fleming, Adams," he -introduced the others.</p> - -<p>Jim was staring at the speaker, a huge man with a purposeful set to his -unshaven jaw. "Then you're Gregg Spurlin, who headed the scientific -expedition three years ago in the search for M'Tonak!"</p> - -<p>"And found it, as you can see. Found it too damn well. But we weren't -the first. What about you?"</p> - -<p>Briefly, Jim told of their trek, and of his search for his brother. -"What about him?" he said in imitation of Spurlin's own brusqueness. -"Frank Landor. He should have arrived here weeks ago, unless—"</p> - -<p>He stopped there, looking from one to the other. The men were looking -uncomfortably at each other.</p> - -<p>"No Frank Landor ever showed up here," Adams said.</p> - -<p>Fleming nodded agreement, a little too hurriedly, Jim thought, and none -of the men would look directly at him.</p> - -<p>"They're lying to you," Spurlin said. "You might as well know the -truth; but before I tell you about it let's get back inside, out of -this green hell."</p> - -<p>He led the way back into the building whence they had emerged. But once -inside they did not stop. The greenish radiance penetrated even there. -They hurried over to a wide metal door that slid silently open when -Spurlin pressed a hidden button. Revealed to their gaze was a dark -narrow tunnel, leading downward.</p> - -<p>"What about the Martian?" Ross said, addressing Spurlin.</p> - -<p>"He goes along!" Jim snapped, and Kaarji looked at him gratefully.</p> - -<p>"All right," Spurlin murmured softly. "No harm if he comes. But I don't -think he'll last long, no Martian ever does in this city."</p> - -<p>If Kaarji heard the words he did not show it, as he followed Jim into -the tunnel.</p> - -<p>"About your brother," Spurlin spoke brusquely out of the darkness as -they moved along. "Yes, he arrived here all right. For a while, Frank -Landor was with our secret little group down here below. But—there's -something about that greenish atmosphere, something exhilerating -but also deadly, in a very subtle and insidious way. Sometimes it -increases, penetrates even down to us, through walls and things. But -there are some men who—"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I know," Jim's voice was as dead as the hope within him. "Frank -was one of those men. He couldn't stay cooped up here. He was curious, -he had to find out—things, and the reason for things. That what you're -trying to tell me?"</p> - -<p>"That's about it. Like others who have come here he had to go up into -the city, searching, trying to solve its secret. Every day he and a few -others went up. Always they returned to us here, exhausted, until one -day—they just didn't come back."</p> - -<p>In silence they continued along the winding passage. Jim was thinking -of his brother now, with a dawning realization that he would probably -never again see him alive. He was thinking of other things too. Of -that menacing greenness in the city above. Of Spurlin who seemed so -calloused and unconcerned. Of the legendary emerald of M'Tonak, the -lure for countless men in ages past.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Spurlin's voice shattered the silence. "Here we are." Now he was -flashing a tiny light upon a massive metal door. And Jim's heart -leaped, for he saw it as a metal new, and yet not new to him. It was -the same dull, greenish-gray metal as the piece Kaarji had given him. -Jim passed his fingers lightly across it to make sure, but said -nothing.</p> - -<p>For more than any of these things he was thinking of a bent and -shrivelled old Martian named Bhruulo, who had chuckled with a secret -evil glee.</p> - -<p>The door swung ponderously open. They stepped into a huge oval room, -and many men came hurrying toward them. The walls of this room, Jim -noticed, were of the same peculiar metal.</p> - -<p>"Introductions later," Spurlin said, as the men came crowding around. -"Right now I want you newcomers to see the work we're engaged in here. -You look like the sort who can help us in the job."</p> - -<p>He led them to another room where a long, skeletal shape was under -construction. It rested on curved cradles, pointing upward. Only a few -outer plates had as yet been put into place, plates of the same strange -metal Jim identified with everything here.</p> - -<p>"A spaceship!" he exclaimed unbelievingly. "But—why a spacer here, so -far beneath Mars' surface?"</p> - -<p>"A spacer it is, Jim Landor. One such as you never saw before, and it's -being built under conditions such as you cannot imagine. We have to -mine and fashion the metal in the few tiny furnaces we have here, and -it's inconceivably slow due to the scarcity and crudeness of tools. -We've been at work on this one spacer for three years.</p> - -<p>"As for this new metal, it's to be found here in huge deposits. In some -ways it's like radite, it might even <i>be</i> radite, strangely changed -through the centuries by those peculiar green radiations. Anyway, it's -amazingly light and tough, almost expansive under fuel pressure and -it's going to revolutionize spacer construction if we can only get any -from here and make it known!"</p> - -<p>"But how, man? How do you propose—"</p> - -<p>"To get the spacer out of here?" Spurlin smiled confidently. "In one -super blast we're going to hurl through this roof to the city above, -and through <i>that</i> cavern roof onto the surface of Mars. I'm fully -convinced this metal is capable of withstanding it. We're building a -double hull. And we have enough fuel hoarded here to take us clear to -Earth if we wish."</p> - -<p>Jim nodded, but he was not enthusiastic. "How long, do you think, -before you finish it?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps only another month now! The ore's damnably hard to get out, -and we can only stay up there on the surface a few hours at a time—but -with the added help of you new men...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"We're with you to the finish!" Conley exclaimed, and the others -nodded enthusiastically. Wessel, especially, had listened with an -eager intentness to Spurlin's description of the new metal. Wessel had -come seeking new radite deposits, and had stumbled upon something vast -beyond his fondest dreams! Even his loyalty to TRI-PLANETARY MINING was -fast beginning to waver.</p> - -<p>"What I want to know," Jim voiced the thought uppermost in his mind, -"is the status of that little old Martian, Bhruulo."</p> - -<p>Spurlin frowned. "No one seems to have found out, and most of us don't -care. He's incredibly old, of course. He seems to have been here -always. In some strange manner, he seems to know when men come into -the Polar Cap, and he always sends that surface vehicle out for them. -However, he completely ignores us here. I'm not even sure that he knows -we're working on this spaceship! We try to keep out of his sight, and -I've personally not seen him more than twice in the past year."</p> - -<p>"But isn't it incredible that in three years he hasn't found out or -guessed what you are doing?"</p> - -<p>"Not so incredible. We don't know what he's doing. We leave him alone -and he leaves us alone."</p> - -<p>"But," Jim exclaimed unbelievingly, "he brought you here, and you're -not even curious to know why?"</p> - -<p>"Let me remind you that certain men have been curious—and they have -disappeared. Anyway our sole purpose now is in completing the spacer -for our escape."</p> - -<p>Jim gestured disdainfully. "And you, Spurlin—you once claimed to be a -scientist! You have not even the scientific mind—"</p> - -<p>"One's mind," Spurlin interrupted softly, "somehow, does not seem to be -the same after three years in this place."</p> - -<p>"All right. But before <i>I</i> leave here I'm going to find out what -Bhruulo's purpose is! I don't like the way that old Martian grinned at -me. He's got something up his sleeve, and I think you men'll find it -out too late."</p> - -<p>Spurlin smiled sadly. "All right, Jim Landor. Each man is his own boss -here. At least I wish you would accompany a few of us tomorrow. We're -getting more of the metal out, and trying to determine the proper spot -to blast through with our spacer. You'll become more acquainted with -the city and the general terrain, and maybe it'll change your mind."</p> - -<p>"Sure, I'll go," Jim agreed. But he didn't think it would change his -mind. He had wanted to find M'Tonak, here he was in M'Tonak and he was -gong to solve the mystery of M'Tonak. More than that, he was going to -learn once and for all what had happened to his brother.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>The following day a dozen men ventured up into the city. Spurlin seemed -disappointed as they stepped out into the street from their secret -building. "Not an ideal day for it," he commented gruffly. And at Jim's -querulous look, he explained, "Those emanations seem stronger today. I -give us only two or three hours, at the most."</p> - -<p>They went into the rocky terrain beyond the city, toward the near -horizon where the cave roof tapered down. That was hardly a mile away. -Jim found it hard to believe that over their heads was the Polar Cap, -vast and desolate. Glancing up, he barely made out the dim contour of -their roof; and it suddenly occurred to him to wonder what sustained -it, why it didn't collapse under that tremendous pressure of rock and -ice!</p> - -<p>He knew why, only a minute later. There came a sudden, smooth hum in -his ears. The very air around them seemed surcharged with energy, or -rather all energy seemed to be rushing <i>away</i> from them!</p> - -<p>"This way!" Spurlin exclaimed, making a hasty detour from the spot. -Barely a hundred yards away Jim could discern a vague swirling -mistiness, in the form of a huge column that reached up to touch the -roof. Suddenly, he knew what it was, knew also that it would be death -for any man who ventured too close.</p> - -<p>"Ionization zone." Spurlin voiced Jim's own thoughts as they hurried in -the detour. "An electronic tower of strength! There are usually six of -them in a straight line across this cave, but once in a while new ones -spring up out of nowhere. I think Bhruulo controls them."</p> - -<p>Jim nodded uncomfortably, and tried not to think what would happen if -all those electronic zones failed, with millions of tons of ice above -them.</p> - -<p>They reached their objective at last. Tunnels were in evidence where -the men had been taking out the ore. They resumed work at once, but it -was slow and heart-breaking. Their tools were crude, and the ore was -the most difficult Jim had ever handled.</p> - -<p>Wessel worked harder than any of them, his eyes agleam with a new -excitement. "Look at that stuff," he said once to Conley. "Over fifty -per cent pure content, most of it!"</p> - -<p>It was perhaps an hour later when Spurlin called a halt. "Enough for -today. We'll try again tomorrow."</p> - -<p>Jim didn't need to ask why they must stop. Already he felt that strange -tingling in every fiber of his being, which increased as the minutes -passed, and he knew that here was a dangerous thing.</p> - -<p>"We have so little time in which to work up here," Spurlin said as they -hurried back. "Do you see now, Jim Landor, why it's taken us close to -three years?"</p> - -<p>Jim saw, indeed. Within him there surged a vast admiration for -these men who had persevered in the face of almost insurmountable -difficulties, to build their spaceship from the barest resources around -them.</p> - -<p>Yet close upon this there leaped to Jim's mind another thought, -unannounced and without reason. It was simply a feeling that there was -something <i>vastly, terribly wrong with what these men were doing</i>! It -was more than a feeling, it was a certainty! It didn't make sense—that -they shouldn't escape from M'Tonak—but now Jim knew it!</p> - -<p>Before he could think long upon it, however, they had come in sight of -their building and Jim saw a familiar figure emerge. It was Kaarji, -but there seemed something vaguely wrong with him. He looked in their -direction but seemed not to see them at all, as he turned and walked -away with a long, purposeful stride.</p> - -<p>Something struck another ominous note in Jim's brain. The men reached -their building and entered it, but he did not stop. He hurried after -Kaarji.</p> - -<p>"Landor! You damn fool, come back here!" Spurlin cried after him.</p> - -<p>But Jim waved a hand, not looking back. He hurried after the Martian. -Those emanations were almost unbearable now, but he didn't seem to -mind. There was something ominous about them, but something else as -well that he could not resist.</p> - -<p>He had miscalculated Kaarji's distance, however, because somewhere in -the maze of streets he lost him. But he knew where the Martian was -going—where they were both going. Hours later it seemed, but could -only have been minutes, when he came in sight of the imposing edifice -where he had last seen Bhruulo disappear.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Now he hesitated. His mind was crystal clear, clearer than he had -ever known it before. But somehow it did not seem to be his own. He -struggled a little, but the result was inevitable, he seemed to know -it. He gave up almost voluntarily. He continued toward the building and -entered its portals that were open wide and waiting.</p> - -<p>He faced a long, greenish-gloomy corridor of marble. With hardly a -pause he continued along it. Tall imposing doors, tightly closed, were -on either side of him, but he gave little heed to them. The corridor -turned sharply once, and then again, and then it seemed to lead a -little downward. Jim could not be sure. He only knew that he was being -led <i>somewhere</i>, that he was to face something. A cold fear caught his -brain, but he could only go on.</p> - -<p>Now the corridor walls seemed to waver, seemed to swim beneath a sort -of radiance. But it was a glaucous radiance, ineffably green as the -light beneath the waters of a shallow sea. It increased in intensity, -however, as he went on. It became almost tangible, it beat against him, -it seemed to pluck with evil intentness at the fibers of his mind. Jim -laughed once, laughed wildly, but did not pause in his stride.</p> - -<p>The corridor made one more turn and then he was walking into a light -so blinding that it staggered him momentarily. It flared up once in a -great greenish effulgence, then died down into a steady pulsation. Now, -Jim knew, he must be approaching the very source of that all-pervading -light which had so puzzled him since his arrival at M'Tonak.</p> - -<p>But now he had a vaguely uncomfortable feeling. It was as though a -million eyes were watching him, observing every move. It was as though -a million tiny fingers were tearing away the shreds of his mind with -secret, silent amusement. Jim did not look about him as he walked on, -for he knew no one was there. It had something to do with this light, -that much he knew.</p> - -<p>Now he could see the end of the corridor through the pulsing -greenish haze. Something seemed to be there, something towering and -opalescent—and waiting.</p> - -<p>He came very near before he saw what it was, a huge circular -glass-enclosed well that towered up to the ceiling fifty feet above. -It was from this well that the light came. Jim could see the gentle -pulsing of it, with streamers of a darker color flashing through it -vertically.</p> - -<p>Those millions of eyes now were very near. Those millions of fingers -probed into his brain unbearably. Jim pressed his hands to his -throbbing temples, but the pain continued to expand within his skull. -He could not turn and flee, for something held him there. He tried to -cry out against it, but his throat seemed to contract and no sound -would emerge.</p> - -<p>He had no knowledge whether it was minutes or hours that he stood -there; but when at last he felt his legs giving way beneath him, and -glimpsed the blur of the floor rushing up, it was with a profound sense -of gratitude for the oblivion that would be his.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But this was not to be. No sooner did he feel the floor beneath him, -than the force which had beaten him down partially withdrew. Jim -staggered to his feet, weak and a little dazed. Now something else was -happening behind that glassite-encased well. The green pillar of light -was lowering, coalescing upon itself with a slowly swirling motion.</p> - -<p>And then, as the tower of light lessened, Jim saw what rode atop it. He -saw a shape, huge, iridescent and apparently weightless. It seemed at -first simply a larger area of greenish light, but for a single second -he glimpsed more. He saw the massive core of it. He felt his stomach -turning over in a prodigious yawn, and his brain churned in chaotic -horror.</p> - -<p>The thing he saw was a roughly globular, quasi-amorphous shape that was -in a state of constant fluxion. It was partly tentacular, it writhed -and pulsed, it seemed to project itself at will. Darkish tendrils -came uncurling from it as if it were reaching for something not quite -attainable. Simultaneously it spun slowly atop its pillar of light -which seemed also a part of itself, somehow. <i>It was alive, a thinking, -intelligent entity.</i> That much Jim knew. It would even have been an -entity of beauty, with its whirling greenish effulgence, were it not -for one thing.</p> - -<p><i>It was evil.</i> Terribly, undeniably so. Jim could feel the impact of it -almost physically. Almost he felt that here was the essence of all the -evil of another universe, compressed into that one horribly writhing -mass that was now trying to expend itself but could not. And he had the -feeling that although it could be moved to terrible, devastating anger, -it was now for some reason gleeful.</p> - -<p>It came riding down, light as a feather atop its light, until it -hovered just a few feet above Jim's head. Jim knew that he was being -examined microscopically, perhaps even fourth-dimensionally. He -shivered a little. He tried to take a step back but could not. There -came a sudden chuckling within his own brain, and then mentally he -heard the entity speak.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Earthman, you were right in your estimate of me. I am 'evil' to -such as you. At least that is what Bhruulo tells me, and I have come to -believe Bhruulo."</p> - -<p>Jim crouched before the thing, staring up at it. He still felt its -probing mental fingers in his mind, and the fingers were ... <i>unclean</i>. -He spoke aloud at last, in a voice he hardly recognized as his own.</p> - -<p>"What—<i>what in heaven's name are you</i>?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There came that chuckling note again, as the thing spoke.</p> - -<p>"Whatever I am, Earthman, it is not in heaven's name. I do not exactly -know myself what I am. I personally have no conception or remembrance -of how I came here. I only know what Bhruulo has told me. It pleases me -to tell you."</p> - -<p>The mental voice ceased abruptly. Then sudden, vivid pictures flashed -stereoptically across Jim's brain and were as quickly gone. He saw a -city he recognized as M'Tonak, and the city was teeming with people. -Jim knew that must have been many, many years ago.</p> - -<p>The scene changed. As through another's eyes, he caught a blurry vision -of this evil entity flashing from out of the sky to land near the city. -He felt some of the consternation and then horror as the populace died -by the score in the streets. There was no apparent reason except the -presence of the alien thing. Just to look at the blinding brilliance of -it was to die. Jim caught confused pictures of all available weapons -being rushed to the scene to do battle with the thing, but to no avail; -as the M'Tonakians died, the entity grew tremendous in proportions and -in power.</p> - -<p>These pictures flashed away and Jim saw others; the last few scientists -of M'Tonak, in a barricaded place where they worked frantically on a -weapon with which to battle the alien thing. They completed the weapon -but they could not destroy the entity. After a terrific struggle they -subdued it temporarily by means of certain rays and beams. In this -manner they at last brought it into captivity within the glassite well.</p> - -<p>"Bhruulo says all this happened hundreds of years ago," the voice -came again within Jim's brain. "He is the last of that final group of -scientists who subdued me. <i>I</i> have only a vague remembrance—"</p> - -<p>"Bhruulo says!" Jim gasped, struggling with the significance of the -idea.</p> - -<p>He looked up and saw the spherish, effulgent thing spinning with silent -amusement. "Is Bhruulo's longevity, then, such an unusual thing? I do -not know. Your time-scheme means little to me. Perhaps Bhruulo's great -age is due to his perpetual proximity to me, I only know that, unlike -other Martians and Earthmen, he is immune to my strongest powers now."</p> - -<p>Jim sensed a certain bitterness in that mental voice, almost a hatred -for Bhruulo. Looking up at the greenish, brooding globe, Jim ventured a -daring question.</p> - -<p>"Don't you sometimes long to be—free again?"</p> - -<p>He felt the tendril-fingers grasp his mind again with a fierce -tenacity. He cried out against the physical pain of it, but even -through the pain he heard the throbbing answer.</p> - -<p>"Free! Yes, Earthman! Bhruulo glories that he has me trapped here. -Often I remember those olden days when I almost conquered the city of -M'Tonak and the planet Mars! Bhruulo has promised me those days again, -and much more. He says he is preparing for it, but I do not know what -he means. I only know that I tire of waiting!"</p> - -<p>There were more mental words, but Jim only heard them through a mist -about his brain. He knew that here, at last, he had solved the mystery -of M'Tonak! This evil entity from out of another universe or another -dimension was the "emeralds" of M'Tonak which had lured men up here -in ages past for its own, or Bhruulo's, devilish purpose. But what -was that purpose? Something vastly imminent, Jim knew! Perhaps it was -something the entity even now was trying to tell him in its strangely -confidential mood.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"That is enough. You have said enough! I have warned you about this!"</p> - -<p>That was not the thing's mental voice! Jim knew it, even as he whirled -to face Bhruulo who had come from nowhere to stand behind him. Bhruulo -was furious. His grayish, lined face was a mask of hate—but not for -Jim. He hurried forward like a scuttling crab, supporting himself on -his cane with both hands. He approached the glassite barrier, and began -to manipulate tiny wheels there which Jim had not noticed before. A -network of wiring led down to several complicated box-like affairs set -in the floor.</p> - -<p>Then a very curious thing happened. If a writhing, pulsing, spinning -globe of evil can cower, that is what the entity did! No sooner had -Bhruulo's hands touched the wheels, than the entity sank down to -the floor, then darted frightenedly up again, to cringe against the -furthermost confines of its prison. It poised there, hesitant, as if -watching Bhruulo. It ventured out from the wall and then back again. It -hardly pulsed at all now, as if holding its breath in fear.</p> - -<p>A tiny hum came from the machinery Bhruulo was manipulating. It rose to -a shrill whine and then passed beyond the audible. A sudden criss-cross -of pencil-thin beams leaped about the confines of the well. They were -pale, scarcely visible, but Jim sensed the power of them. He heard a -mental shriek of agony from the spinning globe, then it was tumbling up -the sides of the well, out of range. It vanished fifty feet overhead, -in a haze of greenish light.</p> - -<p>Using his cane as a pivot, Bhruulo pirouetted slowly to face Jim.</p> - -<p>"Now," he said, "we can talk to each other without interruption from -that thing. Too bad that it hates me and I hate it. For we need each -other.</p> - -<p>"I do not know," Bhruulo continued, "how much the Dim-Ing told you of -itself or of me and my plans. It does not particularly matter, now."</p> - -<p>"Dim-Ing?" Jim repeated querulously, trying to focus his mind again.</p> - -<p>"Yes. 'Dimensional-Thing.' Facetious? I have my moments of humor. <i>It</i> -has only a dim remembrance of its past before it came to Mars; but -through certain conversation with it I have come to the conclusion that -it somehow had birth in another dimension impinging delicately upon -ours. How or why it was flung across to us we shall never know. But it -is nearly finished on Mars."</p> - -<p>Something caught at Jim's brain. He started a little.</p> - -<p>Bhruulo laughed shrilly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Yes. Had you not guessed before? The Dim-Ing feeds upon the minds -of men. Oh, very subtly, of course. But for the presence of such -sustenance on Mars it would have died long, long ago. At first the -accumulative mental sustenance of Mars was more than sufficient. I -was careful to keep the Dim-Ing under my control, even as now. But as -the years passed—more years than you think, Earthman—I saw what -was happening. <i>We were hastening the eventual decease of the Martian -race!</i> The Dim-Ing absorbed, at first, all <i>evil</i> from the total -Martian mind. And then—even more.</p> - -<p>"No doubt, Earthman, you have read something of Martian history. You -will remember that several centuries ago a frightful war raged across -three major continents of Mars. Almost abruptly, that is to say within -the space of a few years, it ceased mutually and without apparent -reason! It was the Dim-Ing and I who indirectly caused that. Then, you -will remember, there came an almost Utopian state for something like -a few score of years. It quickly passed as the Dim-Ing sent out its -subtle radiations almost desperately, across the surface of Mars. The -Martians became the inactive, indolent, dying race you see now. In the -last few scores of years, sustenance for the Dim-Ing has been meager -indeed."</p> - -<p>Jim only stared at this Martian who according to the entity was -hundreds of years old. A horror crept into Jim's brain, and a subtle -warning. Here, he knew, was the one to be guarded against. Here in this -bent little Martian was the ultimate evil. His was the controlling hand.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jim had been listening in a slowly dawning horror. Now he found his -voice at last, as he took a single tense step toward Bhruulo.</p> - -<p>"And you—you tell me this! This thing that has been happening to the -Martian race! You, yourself a Martian—"</p> - -<p>Bhruulo did not move and the expression on his face did not change.</p> - -<p>"It is not what I am, or once was, that matters. It is what I <i>shall</i> -be. With the tool that I have now, immortality lies within my grasp. -That, and eternal power. I shall continue.</p> - -<p>"Within the last fifty years, you Earthmen came. I need not say that -you were a Godsend. The Dim-Ing was at a very low ebb indeed.</p> - -<p>"Even at the height of their scientific accomplishments the Martians -never quite achieved space travel. By what miracle you Earthmen -achieved it shall always remain a mystery to me. But I thank you. You -came when I needed you most.</p> - -<p>"I discovered that your Earthian minds are stubborn, very stubborn -indeed. The Dim-Ing likes that. It can subsist much longer on an -Earthian mind than on a Martian. Furthermore, I learned that the -Earthian mind is curious—one of the inherent qualities of your race. -Therefore, I embellished somewhat the existing legend of M'Tonak. -And you all came searching greedily; if not in droves, at least, in -sufficient numbers.</p> - -<p>"And now you are building a spaceship for me. I have known it all -along! I have brought you here for that purpose! I know it is very near -completion, this spaceship which shall carry, not Earthmen back to -Earth, but the Dim-Ing and myself."</p> - -<p>"But it shall not!" Jim had let Bhruulo talk on, knowing what -was coming. In his mind now was no room for horror; his mind was -quickly alert and his hand was even quicker, as it flashed to the -electro-pistol in his belt.</p> - -<p>But Bhruulo made a motion too, so fast that, paradoxically, there was -a certain casualness about it. He still smiled. He raised his cane on -which he had been leaning with both hands. From a lens-covered bore -in the end of it came a thick whitish light, touching Jim's hand and -holding it motionless. It expanded, enveloped all of his body so that -he could not move.</p> - -<p>It surged a little upward, full into his face.</p> - -<p>Jim Landor crumpled noiselessly and lay still.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>His mind came surging slowly back up from the dark depths of nightmare. -His head ached unbearably. He had thought an insistent, warning voice -was crying out at him. He opened his eyes. This was no nightmare, for -memory came back in a rushing flood, and he still heard the voice, low -and warning and very close to his ear.</p> - -<p>"Do not move, Jim Landor. Do not say anything, just listen. This is -Kaarji, I am here close by you."</p> - -<p>Kaarji! Jim had almost forgotten about Kaarji. Then he took the warning -and tried not even to think, he just listened, in a detached manner.</p> - -<p>"We are in a room off the corridor. That Dim-Ing thing is only a few -hundred feet away. I hope it has not contacted your mind again, for I -have something important to tell you. It is a good thing you followed -me here so closely, for the Dim-Ing withdrew its concentration from me -and centered it on you. Thus I was able to slip past this place, and I -explored a little. Jim Landor, below these corridors I have discovered -a huge room full of machinery. I cannot understand it all, for I have -not a scientific mind; but I thought if we could escape from here, and -I could take you to this place—"</p> - -<p>Slowly, Jim allowed his mind to relax. He felt no more of the probing -mental fingers in his brain.</p> - -<p>"It's all right, Kaarji, we can speak freely now. I suppose that's -where Bhruulo caught you, in that secret room?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. It seems to be his living quarters as well."</p> - -<p>"I think I know what that machinery is, Kaarji. It's vital to the -existence of M'Tonak. If only we can get back there—"</p> - -<p>Jim rose to his feet and looked about the room. It was small and empty, -the walls were of marble. He walked over to the single door leading to -the corridor. He tried it, and to his surprise it opened easily!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But he staggered back as from a violent physical blow, as the -radiations from the Dim-Ing lashed against him.</p> - -<p>"Hum, our little playmate again." Jim rubbed his half-blinded eyes. -"Clever devil, that Bhruulo. He knows that no man could escape -through <i>that</i>. He was so sure of it that he didn't even remove my -electro-pistol from me."</p> - -<p>As the pain passed from his eyes, he removed his pistol and felt the -comfortable weight of it in his hand; but he thrust it back into his -belt again, knowing it was useless against the Dim-Ing. Then an idea -struck him like a thunderbolt.</p> - -<p>"Kaarji, we may walk from this room yet! I have one weapon that Bhruulo -hasn't counted on, and that is—the Dim-Ing's hatred of Bhruulo!"</p> - -<p>Hurrying to the door again, he opened it infinitesimally. And he -leaped back to the furthermost confines of the room as the Dim-Ing's -thought-emanations came flooding inside, in a gentle greenish haze.</p> - -<p>Jim centered all of his mind, now, on the one all-important thought. -"Bhruulo! I shall kill him! He thinks he will keep me here and feed -my mind to the Dim-Ing—but somehow I'll escape from here and kill -Bhruulo. I swear it!" He strove to arouse an overwhelming hatred in his -mind for the ages-old little Martian.</p> - -<p>The Dim-Ing's power surged anew.</p> - -<p>He felt the alien entity's mental fingers grab hold of his mind again. -He stifled the rising exultance and reiterated his resolution to -kill Bhruulo. Now he noticed that the Dim-Ing's mental presence was -expanding through the very marble walls themselves. As never before, -he began to appreciate the potential power of the thing. But with an -effort he repeated his oath to kill Bhruulo; it became now not so much -an oath as a promise, for he knew the Dim-Ing had tightly grasped his -mind and was listening.</p> - -<p>It was easy. So ridiculously easy that Jim should have been suspicious, -but was not.</p> - -<p>"If you mean it," the Dim-Ing spoke to Jim's mind at last. "If I -thought you really would—"</p> - -<p>"I mean it!" Jim flashed the thought fervently. "Let me out of here and -I will rid you of Bhruulo, once and for all!"</p> - -<p>He almost laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>Slowly, hesitantly the thing's mental barrier was fading away. Jim -stepped to the door and opened it widely. Nothing beat him back now. -He motioned to Kaarji, who followed him almost frightenedly out into -the corridor. There the mental power of the Dim-Ing was a little more -in evidence, but not enough to stop them. It was as though it were -watching....</p> - -<p>"This way," Kaarji breathed at last. He led Jim in the opposite -direction from the Dim-Ing, then into a cross-corridor that extended -interminably. At last they reached a door that opened onto stone steps -leading downward.</p> - -<p>"Careful," Kaarji warned as he led the way slowly.</p> - -<p>He didn't need to warn Jim. The latter was wary as never before, and he -kept a hand always near his electro-pistol. Something was vaguely wrong -about all this but he didn't know what. For one thing it seemed too -easy.</p> - -<p>At the bottom of the steps was another sliding door. Kaarji paused -before it and whispered, "This is the room!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jim stood still, listening. There was no sound from beyond that door. -The silence was a vast womb about them, menacing. Jim slid the door -noiselessly open; they stepped inside and stared around.</p> - -<p>They saw huge circling tiers of peculiarly constructed dynamos. They -were in operation, Jim knew that, for he could feel a certain surge of -power even though there was no sound. A bewildering network of cables -led from the dynamos to a central, predominating machine that towered -fan-like above them all. It was this electronic tower, he knew, that -created the swirling pillars of strength that surged upward and outward -to support the vast cavern roof overhead.</p> - -<p>Then they saw Bhruulo. He was in a little glassite room at the foot of -the electronic tower. Tiny wheels and dials were banked around him, and -he was busy making delicate adjustments. So busy that he didn't see -them standing just inside the door.</p> - -<p>Now Jim heard the insistent voice of the Dim-Ing in his mind again: -"Kill him! Do it at once! Do as you promised...."</p> - -<p>Jim didn't need the prompting voice, but he wasn't going to ray a man -down from behind; besides, he doubted if his beam would penetrate that -glassite cage. He stepped quickly to one of the dynamo stanchions, and -drew Kaarji down beside him.</p> - -<p>He waited, despite the Dim-Ing's impatience that he could feel seething -within him. Bhruulo finished his adjustments at last, and stepped out -of the cage. He was still a good fifty feet from Jim. He turned, to go -deeper into the maze of machinery.</p> - -<p>Jim arose and said quietly: "Bhruulo!"</p> - -<p>The aged Martian whirled with amazing agility. Jim saw the look of -incredulity that leaped into his eyes. Bhruulo leaned heavily forward, -his two hands gnarling about his cane. Then his lips quirked into a -toothless smile, and he started to say something.</p> - -<p>That was to throw Jim off guard. Simultaneous with his speech he lifted -his hands lightning-like, and the cane levelled. But Jim was expecting -that. With a single sinuous movement his pistol was in his hand, its -bluish beam was pencilling out. It caught Bhruulo squarely in the -chest before he could press the button on his own weapon. He staggered -forward, his cane-weapon sagged; he tried to level it again but could -not. Still he staggered forward, hatred mingled with horror in his -eyes. With amazing strength his spindly legs carried him across the -room, as he mouthed unintelligible Martian words.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="620" height="500" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>The electronic beam caught Bhruulo squarely in his chest.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Jim fell back a step. He hoped Bhruulo would not find strength in his -arms. Would that damned Martian never die? Jim knew his beam had bored -a hole clear through the creature's chest; he could see the blackish -blood oozing from it. Jim felt a cold horror gnawing at the pit of his -stomach even as he aimed carefully and the electro-beam flashed out -three more times. He saw three more holes rake across the Martian's -chest.</p> - -<p>Bhruulo fell with a crash right at Jim's feet, and the cane clattered -from his fingers. Even the mask of death could not erase the hate from -those ebon eyes as Bhruulo stared lifelessly up at him.</p> - -<p>Jim shuddered once, then reached out with his foot and turned Bhruulo -over so that he lay face downward.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He was aware of Kaarji standing beside him, and Kaarji saying quickly, -tensely: "Jim Landor! You remember when I said that this time I should -not return from the Polar wastes? This is what I meant, I know now what -I must do. But you must hurry, get back and tell the other men, or none -of you will ever leave M'Tonak!"</p> - -<p>Jim stared at him uncomprehendingly, trying to listen at the same time -to Kaarji and to the jubilant voice of the Dim-Ing that was surging in -him again.</p> - -<p>"Kaarji—what do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"I mean, Jim Landor, that I know the intentions of the Dim-Ing! I know -at last what has happened to my race and what might happen to Earth. -But it shall not happen!"</p> - -<p>Kaarji leaped toward the glassite cage at the foot of the electronic -tower. In a few strides he was there, had hurled himself within it and -barred the door behind him. His eyes were glowing and purposeful, as he -stared out at Jim who came running.</p> - -<p>"You had better hurry, Jim Landor, and warn the others. Do not try to -stop me, for I have a feeling this cage is impregnable. In a very short -time I can wreck these controls, the electronic zones will cease and -the entire cavern roof will collapse under the pressure of millions of -tons! Get back to the others and escape from M'Tonak."</p> - -<p>He turned deliberately and examined the controls banked around him. He -reached to his pouch of <i>tsith</i> stems, and placed a few of them in his -mouth before he continued.</p> - -<p>"I suggest you try to distract the Dim-Ing's thought as much as -possible, so it won't center on me here. I will try to hold out for -half an hour at least, longer if possible. But hurry!"</p> - -<p>Conflicting emotions swept across Jim like a flood, but were beaten -down by the cold realization that Kaarji intended to carry this thing -through without compromise. The Martian would destroy all of M'Tonak, -including the Dim-Ing and himself, in an endeavor to save Earth from -the thing that had happened so subtly on Mars.</p> - -<p>Jim whirled, started to race away but turned back. "All right, Kaarji. -Thanks seems a pretty feeble word for what you are doing, but if I get -back to Earth I shall see that you are never forgotten for this. Now -give me the rest of those <i>tsith</i> stems—I have an idea!"</p> - -<p>Without question Kaarji opened the glassite door, and tossed out the -pouch of stems. Jim snatched it up and raced away without a backward -glance. He hurried from the room and up the stone stairs to the -corridors again.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There the Dim-Ing's power struck more forcefully into his mind. It -seemed somehow diabolically gleeful now. But Jim hurried on, hurried -<i>toward</i> the evil entity. Finally he stood at the foot of the towering -well, and saw the spinning globular shape descend upon its coalescing -pillar of light.</p> - -<p>"You did it well," the thought came flashing. "You kept your promise. -The thing I have dreamed of for ages has happened, Bhruulo is out -of my way and I have a free hand! Yes, Earthman, now I see in your -mind everything that Bhruulo told you. There are other Earthmen here, -completing a huge ship by which to go back to your planet. <i>That</i> is -what Bhruulo was counting on, <i>that</i> is what he would not tell me. He -had planned to take me to Earth and there keep me under his control, -as he has here. But now that you have so kindly removed Bhruulo, I can -do this by myself! I need only wait until the men have completed their -ship, then blast their minds to annihilation!"</p> - -<p>This Dim-Ing was the ultimate evil, not Bhruulo! Jim had known it -all along, and now he realized how he had played into its hands! -A momentary panic seized him. He could picture the thing landing -the spaceship on Earth's northern or southern polar ice, or in the -unexplored depths of Brazilian jungle. Hidden from the sight and -knowledge of men for years, it would carry on the subtle destruction of -Earthian minds as it had Martian; and now, unhampered by Bhruulo, it -would grow in size and potency until who could say what the end would -be! Perhaps there would be no end; there were other planets besides -Mars and Earth....</p> - -<p>"Thank you, Earthman, that is a thought I will remember. But your -mental pictures of the terrain of Earth were rather vague. Show me more -clearly."</p> - -<p>Jim felt the agonizing mental fingers tearing the tissues of his brain -apart.</p> - -<p>At the base of the well he saw the obscure little door Bhruulo had -opened to manipulate the pale, pencilling beams. Instantly, Jim was -on his knees, had wrenched it open. He did not try to work the beams, -knowing the Dim-Ing could have stopped him in an instant; he merely -tossed the pouch of <i>tsith</i> stems out into the center floor of the -well, and rose quickly.</p> - -<p>"There's an offering for you! I kept my promise and killed Bhruulo, now -you keep yours and let me go!"</p> - -<p>The entity had made no such promise and Jim knew it. But he whirled and -raced down the corridor unheeded. It was only the element of surprise -that would carry him through now, surprise and utter wildness. He even -laughed wildly aloud as he ran on. And nothing stopped him!</p> - -<p>Nothing stopped him until he was halfway to the outer door leading to -the street. Then he felt a terrific impact, he stumbled, fell to his -knees and toppled forward on his face. He arose against a tremendous -physical pressure and staggered on. Again he felt that impact, as he -was battered against the marble corridor walls. But with a fierce -tenacity he kept his feet, and kept going.</p> - -<p>He reached the street. His legs were heavy as if he were fighting -against a hundred gravities. He felt that the Dim-Ing was merely toying -with him, as a cat with a mouse. As Jim hurried on, or tried to hurry, -to the place where he would find Conley and Spurlin and the score of -other men, he knew that one man could not hope to stand against that -awful power. But perhaps many men, in perfect mental accord....</p> - -<p>Again he felt the strange, fierce tingling in every fiber of his being -until he thought he was walking in a sluggish sea of fire. It seemed -hours later when he reached the familiar building and hurried along the -metal-lined tunnel where the Dim-Ing's radiations seemed a little less -intense. It was with a feeling of profound gratitude that he pushed -through a final door, and sank down into a soothing oblivion. But not -before he glimpsed many men rushing toward him, with surprised shouts. -Among them he saw Conley.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>Jim opened his eyes and stared up into Conley's worried face. He -coughed a little on the stinging liquor the latter was pouring down his -throat.</p> - -<p>"How long have I been here?" he asked urgently.</p> - -<p>"Just a minute or two, lad. You're mighty battered and tired, but -you'll be all right now. Just rest a while."</p> - -<p>"Rest!" Jim repeated, and climbed quickly to his feet. "None of us can -rest now—there's no time! It may be too late already—but we've got -to make a fight for it, if for no other reason than because Kaarji's -counting on it! No, Conley, I'm not delirious." He waved the worried -Irishman away. "Listen, you men! I've solved the mystery of M'Tonak, -and we've got to get out of here!"</p> - -<p>In an anxious rush of words he explained the situation, told briefly of -his discovery of the Dim-Ing and what it was, and of Kaarji's avowal to -destroy all of M'Tonak.</p> - -<p>"In another few weeks, Spurlin, your spaceship would have been -finished, and the greatest horror the universe has ever known would -have launched itself upon Earth! It still might happen! <i>We've got to -get back out there at once, en masse, and hold that thing's attention -before it discovers what Kaarji's up to!</i>"</p> - -<p>It had all happened too suddenly for the men to quite believe him. They -looked askance at each other.</p> - -<p>"But after three years of heart-breaking work," Spurlin said, "to give -up my spaceship now! That's what you're asking."</p> - -<p>"A hell of a lot of good your spaceship will be, with millions of tons -of rock and ice heaped on it! That's gonna happen about fifteen minutes -from now, or less! Man, don't you understand? Kaarji said he'd give me -a half-hour—"</p> - -<p>"It's a trick!" Wessel squawked loudly. "Damned funny that he ever got -back here to us at all! He's discovered a protection against those -greenish rays, he's trying to lure us all outside to our death, so he -can have all this new metal for himself!"</p> - -<p>Jim strode back to the door, pausing only long enough to cry, "All -right, stay here, then, and die. All of you! If you won't help me, that -means our last chance is gone. I'll die too, but it'll be out there -fighting that thing to the last!"</p> - -<p>"I'm with you, Jim. I believe you." It was Conley's voice he heard and -Conley's friendly hand on his shoulder, but he didn't pause in his -hurried stride back up through the tunnel. He heard other men coming -behind them, following Conley's example, but he felt that it was too -late now. There could only be a few minutes left.</p> - -<p>Kaarji might even be dead. The Dim-Ing in its subtle way might have -known the plot from the first. That would mean the Dim-Ing had won, for -no man could ever be able to get back down to that control room.</p> - -<p>As they reached the street, Jim felt the power of the entity withdraw a -little, as if that were necessary in order for it to embrace all their -minds. A sudden new hope surged in Jim, a feeling that their combined -forces might be a match for this thing yet! And even as they were -racing back toward the central plaza, he was evolving a plan that might -work providing they had enough time.</p> - -<p>"Spurlin! You remember that surface car that brought us all here at -various times? Do you suppose you might discover its secret? There are -hidden electronic motors, I believe."</p> - -<p>"We thought of that before, but no man was ever able to get near -enough—"</p> - -<p>"You'll get there this time, we'll see to it! Spurlin, when we reach -the plaza you take one man and head for that car. You spent three years -building a spaceship, but now in as many minutes you've got a tougher -job—you've got to find those motors and solve them and have them ready -for a quick departure!</p> - -<p>"The rest of you men, listen. I've had a few dealings with this Dim-Ing -and I think I know its weakness. It's grossly egotistic! That's the -angle we're going to play on, but our minds will have to be in perfect -accord. I want you all to be silent, but listen carefully to my every -word, and concur with me <i>mentally</i> in everything I say!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Strangely those mental fingers had withdrawn a little, and Jim wondered -why. There was something almost cunning about it. They reached the -plaza, and Spurlin with one man hurried to the surface car on the -opposite side of the square. The others, more than a score in all, -stopped before the building that housed the entity.</p> - -<p>Jim knew that there could only be minutes now.</p> - -<p>Even as he was formulating words in his mind, he felt the Dim-Ing's -faculties expand again, surge out prodigiously to envelop them all. And -with it came raucous mental laughter. The thing was laughing at them!</p> - -<p>"Steady, you men," Jim said in a quick undertone. "Get ready now." -And Jim laughed in return, laughed aloud and shortly. For beneath the -Dim-Ing's laughter he thought he detected a false note! He felt that it -was bluffing, stalling for time! But why?</p> - -<p>"All right," he called aloud, "you have won! You have defeated us here, -but in defeat we can laugh, for this will be your last victory! You -will get to Earth but there you will meet your end!" Jim felt the power -of the thing reaching out in a fierce resentment, but he continued -tauntingly. "You will see that the Earthian mind does not fear you, -they will seek you out. We have weapons to combat you that the -Martians know nothing of—you will not last long on Earth! If Bhruulo -alone kept you here in thrall, Earthman can do that and much more—"</p> - -<p>Jim had other words to say, mocking words, but he did not get a chance. -The Dim-Ing lashed out with a terrible, unsuspected force. For a single -second, all of M'Tonak was livid under a garish unbearable green, as -the men were beaten down to their knees in a huddled miserable group. -Buildings blurred and wavered and seemed to topple. The Earthmen's -consciousness dangled by a thread.</p> - -<p>"That is only a tiny sample of my power," the thought came lashing at -them. "That is to teach you not to drive me to anger again."</p> - -<p>The men rose painfully to their feet, clinging together. But Jim was -exultant now. He could not have told why, but he felt that in that one -supreme burst of anger the Dim-Ing had expended most of its power, and -that is what he had been counting on!</p> - -<p>"Your Earthian minds are stubborn, very stubborn. But I like that. -I think I shall like Earth. Tell me more about the weapons you have -there, the scientific devices you will use to combat me."</p> - -<p>What about Spurlin? Had he failed? That single, surface car was their -only escape from here! It seemed hours since Spurlin had raced across -the plaza toward it.</p> - -<p>"We're lost, Jim," Conley whispered wearily. "We're beaten...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Oh, no we're not!" For suddenly, strangely, the Dim-Ing did not grasp -their minds any more! It was slipping away, and they felt strangely -free and buoyant. But why? Why should it withdraw in its moment of -triumph, just as it was learning what it wanted to know about Earth?</p> - -<p>In an awful moment of panic Jim thought: "Did it read in my mind -something about Kaarji—does it know what Kaarji is doing?"</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, there came a shout from Spurlin across the way, and it -was a triumphant cry. "Hurry up, you men! We've got these motors going, -but Lord knows—"</p> - -<p>Spurlin's welcome voice! Jim found himself pounding across the plaza, -behind the others. As in a dream he could hear the smooth threnody of -the motors.</p> - -<p>And for one last time he felt the mental power of the Dim-Ing reaching -out, but it was half-hearted and uncertain, it wavered a little and -seemed vaguely bewildered. Jim even paused in his stride and looked -back defiantly. He felt it trying once more to grasp his mind, then it -fell away disheartened. Not until then did the truth burst upon Jim, -and he realized what was happening!</p> - -<p>He reached the car last of all, and dropped exhausted across the -threshold, as the re-action of all he had undergone suddenly hit him. -He felt hands pulling him in and other hands sliding the door closed -behind him. Even then the car was moving away, gathering speed toward -the single obscure tunnel leading up and out of the vast cave of -M'Tonak.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VIII</p> - -<p>Jim knew nothing more until he struggled up again from the vast depths -of darkness. This time, his mind felt blessedly alive and buoyant and -free. He simply lay there against the soft cushion and let the strength -flow back to him.</p> - -<p>He sat suddenly erect. He was alone, and the car had stopped. He looked -out into the white expanse of the Polar Cap once more.</p> - -<p>He hurried to the door, and was relieved to see the rest of the men -gathered outside, staring at something and talking excitedly. He joined -them. Conley greeted him and pointed silently.</p> - -<p>Barely a mile to the north, from whence they had come, a great greenish -display suffused the lowering sky.</p> - -<p>"That started a moment ago," Conley said. "I think we got out of there -just in time."</p> - -<p>Hardly had he spoken, when all of the ice-capped terrain beneath the -light collapsed into a vast hollow, miles wide. It happened silently, -abruptly; seconds later faint rumbling shook the ground. It was final. -The greenish display had vanished and only the hollow remained, as if a -giant had plunged his thumb into a rotten apple.</p> - -<p>Conley sighed and turned away. "When I think of poor Wessel and the -others, buried a mile below there—"</p> - -<p>"They got," Jim replied caustically, "just what they asked for. You'd -better hope that entity is as dead as they are!"</p> - -<p>"No doubt about that. But I can't understand it, Jim. I thought sure -we were lost, when it was brow-beating us there in the plaza. What -happened after that? All I remember is running for the car."</p> - -<p>"What happened," Jim replied softly, "is that a wild hunch of mine -worked. Did you ever indulge in Martian <i>tsith</i> stems, Conley? It's -horrible, vile stuff; makes anyone, except an addict, violently ill. -And it hits you suddenly, like a barrage of rocket-blasts. Well, -I gave a whole pouch full—Kaarji's—to that Dim-Ing! D'you know, -despite it being an other-dimensional entity, it had some very human -qualities? Apparently it was curious, as well as egotistic; it must -have investigated and then absorbed those <i>tsith</i> stems, and it became -violently ill—at just the right time for us!"</p> - -<p>Spurlin had been trying desperately to get the motors started again, -but to no avail. Now he approached the others with a worried frown.</p> - -<p>"Those motors are so constructed that they can work in two ways. First, -they can operate from a direct electronic beam—that's how Bhruulo -controlled the car from a distance, and that's the way we've come as -far as we have now. But with the destruction of M'Tonak, all the beams -are gone!"</p> - -<p>"Then you mean—we're stranded here?"</p> - -<p>Conley pictured hundreds of miles of ice still lying before them. He -remembered that the Cap had already started its break-up, and no man -could ever get across it now. Not afoot!</p> - -<p>"On the other hand," Spurlin was saying hopelessly, "the motors -<i>should</i> work from the electronic emanations of that new metal we -found. Even a tiny amount of it. But," he waved his hand to the north, -"there it all lies buried and we'll never get to it in a million years!"</p> - -<p>Defeat was in his voice.</p> - -<p>For a moment the men milled about, looking at each other helplessly, -before Jim remembered something.</p> - -<p>"I've gone through too much," he grinned, "in the past few days to let -a minor thing like this stymie me." With a feigned nonchalance, he -reached into his pocket and drew forth a piece of metal. It was the -rounded medallion which Kaarji had given him, and he'd forgotten until -now.</p> - -<p>Spurlin's eyes lighted, he seized it eagerly and went back to work.</p> - -<p>Jim looked again toward the vast hollow to the north, and he spoke -softly to Conley standing beside him:</p> - -<p>"Spurlin's wrong, though. We'll get to that metal again, and Spurlin -will see his super spaceship come true. It'll be a tremendous mining -job, but—well, at least we know the metal's there, and it'll wait for -us."</p> - -<p>The sudden hum of the motors was a welcome sound in their ears, and -minutes later they were speeding smoothly back to the south.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of City of the Living Flame, by Henry Hasse - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITY OF THE LIVING FLAME *** - -***** This file should be named 62218-h.htm or 62218-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/2/1/62218/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: City of the Living Flame - -Author: Henry Hasse - -Release Date: May 24, 2020 [EBook #62218] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITY OF THE LIVING FLAME *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - City of The Living Flame - - By HENRY HASSE - - The legendary city of M'Tonak lay hidden beneath - Mar's Polar cap, its heart a pulsing flame from - outer space. Jim Landor found the fabulous green - flame, found it sentiently, evilly alive--and - that its living meant death for all mankind. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Fall 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Startled into action, Jim Landor straightened in his seat. He peered -eagerly through the forward visiplate of the tiny rocket-plane. - -From the Martian metropolis that nestled in the opposite hemisphere, -thirteen hundred miles away, he had taken the poorly-mapped, wearisome, -rocket-course of the Polar route in order to save time. Thus he -avoided being hampered by the magnetic storms raging over the Red -Desert at this season. At least, so he'd told his friends. - -But the real, the all-important reason he had kept to himself. It was -not only that they would have laughed at him, that mattered little; but -that a growing, nameless dread made him even more reserved than usual. -He smiled thinly now as he visualized their reactions had he dared -mention the mythical city of M'Tonak. M'Tonak, city of forgotten men, -where reposed the fabulous emerald large enough to ransom a world! - -Yes, Jim thought without bitterness; at last he had joined the fatal -number of men, usually Earthmen, who had searched for M'Tonak. He was -persuaded against all reason that it did exist somewhere among the -polar wastes, and it was most imperative that he find it! He was sure -that then he would find his brother too, who had disappeared scarcely a -month before. In his perilous passage above the Cap, Jim had zig-zagged -the rocket-plane dangerously off its course, searching the limitless -white wastes with the intentness of desperation. But in vain. - -"Well," he murmured now, "no M'Tonak, so I'll settle for Riida--for the -time being." - -The tiny Martian town was beneath him, its crazy conical structures -reaching up like pointing forefingers. Jim's hand came down on the -descent lever. A ghostly whirr disturbed the stillness as the plane's -stubby wings sliced the atmosphere on its downward glide. It contacted -gently, plowing a shallow furrow in the powdery sand that rose -cloud-fine to engulf him as he climbed out. Already he saw two men -hurrying toward him from the town. - -"One of them must be Conley," he decided and went forward to meet the -mine superintendent. - - * * * * * - -"Hello, Jim Landor, welcome to Riida!" Conley shook hands with a quiet, -unobtrusive pleasure that seemed sincere. Jim liked him immediately. He -noted his straight-forward eyes, the faint burr of his booming Irish -voice and the little mannerism of thoughtfully rubbing his hand across -his massive chin. - -The other Earthman, Conley introduced as Wessel, the newly arrived -surveying engineer for "Tri-Planetary Mining." As Jim glanced at the -thin features and small wiry frame, he sensed something hard behind the -man's clouded eyes. Wessel remained silent, smiling inscrutably as he -listened to their conversation. - -"So you came across the Cap, eh Landor?" Conley said friendily, taking -Jim's arm as they trudged toward the town. "Any sign of M'Tonak?" And -as Jim looked at him sharply he hastened to add: "Not that I'm poking -fun at you, lad. But you're news now, you know, same as anyone who goes -seeking for M'Tonak. Heard a news-story about you on the Trans-telector -not more'n a couple hours ago." - -"I thought my flight was a secret." - -"Ah, no! No man's flight is secret who comes over the Martian Cap. -That can mean but one thing. Yep, the legend of M'Tonak is rife once -more, first time in two years. You're supposed to be searching for the -lost city ... now, what would ye be wanting with an emerald that big?" -Conley half joked, lapsing into his Irish brogue. "Faith an' it makes a -man's head swim to think of such riches." - -Jim Landor did not smile. He looked at Conley seriously. "I've only -been on Mars a year, but naturally I'd heard stories of M'Tonak long -before that. _You_ called it a legend just now. Tell me, what is your -honest opinion?" - -"Well, lad. Certainly there's _something_ up there to cause these -stories to persist." Conley rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe -it's an ancient city called M'Tonak and maybe it ain't. But men in -search for it have disappeared too regularly, hardly men who wouldn't -ordinarily fail to return from the Polar wastes. And--and if there is a -M'Tonak, your brother may have reached it." - -"I shall find my brother," Jim said with a soft certainty. "That's why -I'm here. What about that Martian, the one you said accompanied Frank -into the Cap? Is he here now?" - -"He is, and you shall talk to him. But, lad, I'm afraid he can't tell -you any more than I did in the letter." - -"I want to hear it first hand." - -"Sure," Conley nodded understandingly. - -They walked in silence through the powdery sand, nearing the town. Jim -glanced at Wessel, silent still, his hieratic smile barely perceptible. -There was an uncanny aura to the man as if he were immersed in a world -of his own where Jim and Conley had no part. - -"There's Frank's mine," Conley pointed beyond the town toward a low -line of hills. "If you look close you can see his shack over there. As -you probably know, he was--well, the independent type. Refused to sell -out to Tri-Planetary Mining. That's why he went on north when his claim -petered out, in an effort to find the source of the radite veins. Want -to go over there and look around?" - -"Later," Jim said shortly. - -They entered the sprawling town with its curious Martian dwellings. Jim -had never ceased to marvel at them. They were conical and glistening, -built of a reddish manufactured silica. They were surrounded by an -ascending spiral dotted with entrances to the very top. Jim sometimes -wondered, too, at the manner in which Martians tolerated so much -from the Earthmen. But then, it was well known that activity to a -Martian was the final degradation. They looked upon the exertions of -the Earthman in a mixture of uncomprehending wonder and supercilious -amusement, much as a human might watch the eternal hustle of a colony -of ants. Theirs was a world of philosophic contemplation, peace and -indolence. - -Now, as they proceeded along the straggling main street of Riida, -Jim wondered about them even more. From various ramps of the conical -buildings residents watched them silently. Tall, wasp-waisted Martians, -dark and leathery, passed them leisurely on the street without a word. -They weren't sullen, it was as though they didn't care. Jim peered into -their heavy-lidden eyes. Colorless eyes, always. He was startled at the -somnolence he saw there. It struck a vague disturbing note in his brain -that was dashed away by Conley's booming voice: - -"Here we are!" - - * * * * * - -They had reached a squat, basaltic building which bore the legend -TRI-PLANETARY MINING CORPORATION. - -"Enter the lair of the Octopus," Conley laughed, glancing at the gilded -sign above him. - -Wessel frowned at the words, and by that token Jim knew that he was a -Corporation man to the hilt. - -Within, Jim found himself in an atmosphere as far removed from Mars as -day is from night. The office was plain and unpretentious. There was -an old-fashioned desk, a few chairs and some iron lockers against the -wall. On the walls, in curious contrast, were pictures of cinema stars -several years out of date, and a few yellowed maps of the company's -workings. - -"Not only has Frank's claim petered out," Conley explained, "but -Tri-Planet is beginning to. That's the reason Wessel's here, to try -and trace these radite veins to their source. We think they must stem -from somewhere up in the Cap." - -Jim nodded. "You haven't many Earthmen here now, have you?" - -"About a dozen," Conley shrugged. "More than enough to handle what -little radite's left." - -"And we wouldn't even need them," Wessel spoke for the first time, "if -we could get these damn lazy Martians to stir themselves." - -Jim turned his gaze on the man with slowly dawning wonderment, and -would have spoken, but was interrupted by Conley: - -"Jim, we thought we'd head up into the Cap in the morning, four or -five of us. Wessel wanted to leave several days ago, but I insisted on -waiting for you. However, I can't say how far north we'll be going. It -all depends on the radite traces." - -"Thanks, Conley, I really appreciate it. All I know about this Polar -Cap is what I saw flying over it. What do we do, make the trek afoot?" - -"Afoot, he says!" Wessel scoffed before Conley could answer. "Man, what -a lot you've got to learn yet about that country up there!" - -"No," Conley answered, with a distasteful glance at Wessel. "Most -men who've tried it afoot have not come back. We're trying it with -a couple of sleds. Motor-driven, of course, of very little metal -alloy. Furnished benignantly by Tri-Planet Mining, since it's to their -advantage that we find new radite deposits." The slight scorn in his -voice was not lost on Wessel. "We figure it'll be a two or three day -trip each way." - -"But of course," Wessel said suavely, "if we find M'Tonak or any other -cities up there with big fabulous emeralds, we'll forget about the -radite." - -Jim was fast learning to dislike this man; he turned to Conley. "I -think I'll see this Martian you were telling me about, the one who -accompanied my brother." - -"Kaarji? Sure. I'll go fetch him." - -"Better take me to him instead, I'd rather talk to him alone." - - * * * * * - -As Conley had said, Kaarji wasn't of much help. The tall, leathery, -heavy-chested Martian was even more taciturn than the usual members of -his race. He seemed to show a distrust of Jim. - -However, he did agree to accompany Jim across the mile strip of desert -to Frank Landor's mine nestled against the hills. As they trudged -through the sand in silence, Jim glanced occasionally at Kaarji. He -was sure he had made it plain that he was Frank Landor's brother. The -Martian wasn't dumb, he knew why Jim was here. - -With a friendly and almost instinctive gesture Jim offered the Martian -a cigarette. Kaarji accepted it, looked at it with distaste as though -he had tried them before and abhorred them; but he placed it clumsily -in his lips nevertheless and smoked it valiantly. At the same time he -reached into his pocket and handed Jim a few tiny purplish objects. Jim -accepted them, looked at them and shuddered. He had heard of Martian -_tsith_ stems and knew that they made almost all Earthmen violently -ill. Nevertheless he plopped them into his mouth and began chewing. - -Kaarji looked at him approvingly and gave a grotesque smile. As though -the Earthman's act were a signal, he began talking. - -"I don't like it in town," Kaarji said. "Too many Earthmen. I like it -over here." - -"At Frank's mine, you mean?" - -"Yes. Frank Landor was a fine man. I am sorry he did not come back." - -"Perhaps he will come back," Jim suggested. - -But Kaarji shook his head. - -It took very little effort then to get the entire story. It seemed that -Frank Landor and Kaarji had trekked four days into the Martian Cap. -Only Kaarji had ever gone that far before. Late on the fourth day, as -they camped, Kaarji was awakened by a shout from Frank. He had leaped -up and glimpsed Frank Landor running toward a vehicle that rested at -the bottom of an icy decline.... - -Here Kaarji faltered slightly in his story. He had not seen the vehicle -plainly enough nor long enough to describe it as other than a car, -seemingly unlike any he had ever seen before. It was simply round and -grayish and metallic, and completely enclosed. It had a bluish beam of -light in the front of it. Frank Landor had seemed to enter the car--and -then it sped away with him. - -"Kaarji, try to remember," Jim said to the Martian now. "Frank entered -the car of his own volition? You saw no one else, no other person?" - -"No one else." Kaarji seemed sure of it. - -Jim shook his head in puzzlement. This was the same story Kaarji had -told Conley, there were no discrepancies. - -They walked on to the mine in silence. Jim examined several tunnels -leading back into the hills and saw that Frank's claim had indeed -petered out. In his iron-walled cabin, everything was left as though -Frank had merely gone and intended to return in a few days. - -"Let's go back," Jim said finally. "Nothing we can do here." - -On the walk back to Riida, Jim thought that Kaarji looked at him -several times as though he were going to speak. But when Jim questioned -him, the Martian shook his head negatively. He offered Kaarji another -cigarette but this time it was declined. - -It was not until then that Jim realized he was still chewing on the -Martian _tsith_ stems, and that Kaarji was grinning at him. - -It was not until he reached the edge of town that he became violently -ill. - - - II - -The sun rose on a crystal clear morning and glanced beckoningly from -the white expanse that capped the cliffs a few miles distant. Five men -were making the trip: Jim and Kaarji, Conley, Wessel and Lewis, the -latter, one of the workmen who had had some Polar experience. - -The motor-sled parts were light but bulky, and it took a dozen men to -transport them across to the cliffs and up into the Cap, where they -would be assembled. - -"I want to tell you something about Kaarji," Conley said, walking -beside Jim as the trek began. "He's not like other Martians, not -philosophic and indolent. On the contrary he seems--well, _restless_." - -"I know the type," Jim nodded. "I've seen a few of them myself, even -in the Capitol City; amazingly energetic for Martians, restless and -perpetually wandering as though seeking for--for something vague and -unknown even to them." - -"That describes Kaarji, all right," Conley nodded emphatically. "Jim, -three times in the past year he's left here abruptly and trekked alone -up into those Polar wastes. He'd be gone for days and then show up here -again, exhausted and brooding, as if he'd just missed his goal. And the -last time was with Frank Landor. That mean anything to you?" - -Jim shook his head puzzledly. - -"Now I wonder," Conley murmured, "what he always finds so interesting -up there in that wilderness?" - -"Probably doesn't find anything. Maybe he's only--seeking. Perpetually -seeking." - -"Seeking M'Tonak?" - -"Maybe." - -Conley scoffed. "Now what would Kaarji do with the emerald of M'Tonak -if he did find it? Of what value would it be to _any_ Martian, to the -whole dying Martian race?" - -"Maybe it isn't the emerald the Martians are interested in." - -Conley was startled, glanced sharply at him, but Jim kept his eyes on -the huge bulk of Kaarji ahead. - -They reached the black cliffs and entered a narrow defile that led -gradually upward, tortuously. The rock was a soft, igneous basalt which -at times made footing extremely hazardous. After an hour of this Kaarji -stopped abruptly in a level place. - -They leaned thankfully against the cliff wall, and stared out upon the -curving gleam of the Red Desert far below. There the hazes of pinkish -dust were beginning to drift and the sun was beginning to bite. - -They continued when Kaarji continued. An hour later the air had become -a chilling blast sweeping down the widening ravine. Luckily the ascent -was becoming less steep as they neared the top. It levelled off into a -shallow little gorge, then they were beyond that, emerging out onto the -plateau. - -Scattered patches of dark rocky terrain showed here, where green -growing things struggled pitifully to maintain a meagre existence. Less -than a mile away the real Cap began, dazzling white and forbidding. - -Reaching there, the two sleds were assembled in a few minutes. The five -who were to make the trip now readjusted their packs and put on the -priceless coats of Praaka fur, unbelievably light and cold repelling. -They also painstakingly tightened the high fabricord leggings Conley -had insisted they wear. Jim wondered why, but asked no questions as he -followed suit. - -The supplies were on the sleds, but each man carried a fully charged -electro-pistol and a small, light metal tank strapped to his side. - -"Acid spray," Conley explained laconically. "Don't worry, you'll -realize the use for it before long." - - * * * * * - -Now the real trip began. - -"Kaarji, you and Lewis take the first sled," Conley instructed. "We'll -follow." - -The Martian nodded. The motors purred and the sleds moved slowly away. - -"Yes, we'll follow him," Wessel murmured. "Just as long as he sticks -fairly close to the radite veins, we will. _This_ is what I'm going -by." And he touched the little metallic device at his wrist, which -Jim knew was susceptible through super-sensitive coils to all radite -emanations within a radius of several miles. - -Conley frowned but nodded mute agreement. And now for the first time -it really dawned on Jim that he and Kaarji were apart from these other -men. He and the Martian were up here seeking, not radite deposits, -but something else. The same thing but for different reasons. Jim -determined to try, at the first opportunity, to probe into that big -Martian's mind. - -Now they were speeding into the real Polar vastness. Kaarji's sled -ahead of them dipped and rose across long icy undulations. The terrain -was wide and white and peaceful as far as Jim could see. He began to -wonder why men had never been able to penetrate very far up here. Even -afoot it ought not to be hard, but this was ridiculously easy! As -he huddled there in his place on the sled he was very warm and cozy -beneath his coat of Praaka fur. He began to get drowsy.... - - * * * * * - -Jim awoke with a start from the deep, firm depths of somnolence. He -was aware that they had been moving for a long time, probably many -hours. Now the sky was dark above him and he could see a few stars. But -_something_ had shattered his drowsiness to jerk him back to reality, -and he wondered what it was. - -Then he knew, as it came again. There was a sudden movement beneath -them. The sled lurched crazily. Conley was shouting something, as their -sled pulled up beside Kaarji's, which was lying half on its side. - -The men stepped down. Again there came that sudden movement, and Jim -nearly fell! Startled, he looked down and saw that the very ice cap was -moving beneath their feet, or rather it was expanding! Long lines began -to appear in every direction. As far as he could see, the surface was a -vast mosaic pattern. - -Conley stood there with his hands on his hips, staring around. Wessel -was cursing softly and looked angry. - -"This wouldn't have happened," Wessel said, "if you'd taken my advice -and left two days ago! Tomorrow it'll be worse. It'll slow us to a -walk. We may as well not have brought along any sleds." - -"It would've happened anyway!" Conley snapped testily. "It's just our -damnable luck that it had to come early this year. I didn't expect this -to start for another month yet. Well, we may as well camp here and get -a good start in the morning." - -Jim looked at the mosaic pattern across the ice and was relieved to -see that it had stopped moving. He peered down into a crack an inch -wide, where a billowing powdery stuff exuded to spread thinly over the -surface. He touched the stuff with his bare hand. It was uncannily -different from snow, being infinitely more powdery yet dazzling white -and deadly cold. - -"You're witnessing the start of the Polar Cap's receding," Conley -explained with a wry smile. "It does that twice a year, you know, -getting smaller to about half its present size. - -"Receding!" Jim exclaimed. "The damn stuff's expanding, you mean." - -"It only looks that way. This is just the preliminary. Soon the extreme -edges will vanish away and then the entire Cap will begin receding, -for some strange reason. When that starts to happen, too bad for any -man caught up here. Frankly, Jim, I should say that, if this continues -tomorrow, we ought to head back." - -That struck an ominous note in Jim's heart, but he said nothing. To -return now would mean they must wait several months before making -another attempt. - -It was while helping to unroll the wide fabricoid mats that Jim felt -the sharp, biting pain just above his knee. He ignored it at first. -Then it came again, and he looked down. He saw a pale blue, tubular -thing about four inches long. It had bitten through his clothing and -into his flesh above the knee. Quiescent now, it clung there, and its -transparent bluish tint was taking on a crimson flush as it fed upon -his blood. - - * * * * * - -With a loathing horror Jim reached down and pulled the thing from him. -It did not come away easily. He flung it to the ice and tried to crush -it with his heel. It seemed amazingly rubbery, resilient, as it darted -away from under his foot. Then he saw that others had attached to his -fabricoid leggings, and were inching their way upward. - -Desperately he tried to brush them off, but they clung tenaciously. -Another one bit through his trouser leg and into the flesh. It was cold -and loathesome to the touch, but he tore it away with his fingers. Then -he staggered back, as he saw that the ice was swarming with the things. - -"Your acid tube, man, use it!" he heard Conley cry. "That's all that'll -stop 'em!" - -Already the men were up-ending the sleds, using them as a barricade -from behind which they swept the ice with a thin misty spray. Not -wishing to chance that acid on his own person, Jim tore the things from -his legs one at a time and flung them out into the spray. They writhed -and shrivelled and curled upon themselves, lifeless and blackened. - -Others were coming up from the crevices now. The ice was a thick, -bluish writhing mass of them. Jim added his spray to the others, -sweeping it low across the ice. The acid misted and clung there close -to the surface, until gradually the greater mass of the bluish things -retreated back into the depths. - -Kaarji opened a pouch he carried always with him, took out some _tsith_ -stems and placed them in his mouth. He arose and stood gazing out to -the north. Jim watched him. - -"Whew!" Conley gasped, wiping beads of cold perspiration from his brow. -"Just in time! Let those things once get a foothold up here and there's -no stopping them. I guess we've settled for most of them, though, they -won't come again." - -"But what the devil are they?" Jim asked. "And how can they subsist in -this barren country?" - -"It's not so barren. Far below the ice are green growing things, at -least this far south there is. Those blue tube-things ride down with -the ice twice a year, feed, and then migrate back to the north. - -"Vegetarians, eh?" Jim grunted. "Then what were those two chewing on me -for?" - -"Blood's something comparatively new to them, and it seems to drive -them wild. They can sense it for amazing distances. They come flocking -beneath the ice to wherever anyone stops. There's a story of an -Earthman who was lost up here once, and--Well, never mind. Anyway -we'll take turns on guard tonight." - - * * * * * - -Jim slept fitfully. There were fragmentary nightmares of the ice -opening to spew hordes of bluish tube creatures up at him. He was glad -when Kaarji awakened him for his turn at guard. - -But Kaarji did not return to sleep either. He seemed restless and -brooding. He sat beside Jim against one of the sleds, and for a long -time there was silence as he stared far out to the north with troubled -eyes. - -"Jim Landor," he broke the silence at last, "there is one thing I did -not tell you." - -"I thought there was." - -"Frank Landor and I found something. The body of a man in the ice far -to the north of here. It had been there a long time." - -Jim merely waited for him to go on. - -"In his clothing we found some of these." Kaarji fumbled in his pocket, -and handed something to Jim. - -It was a piece of metal, flat, round and amazingly light. It seemed -to have once been part of some ornamentation. What interested Jim, -however, was not what it might have been, but rather the metal itself. -It was a dull greenish-gray in color and strangely different to the -touch from any metal he had ever known. It was somehow reminiscent of -radite, but only faintly. In it was a subtle suggestion of--yes, of -fabulous strength and power! - -In the dim grayness of that Polar night Jim looked at Kaarji and said -in a voice he did not recognize as his own: - -"Kaarji, do you realize what this means? Up here somewhere there is a -city, a former civilization--a M'Tonak! That man you found dead--_he_ -reached M'Tonak and was coming back with the news when disaster -overtook him! But that might have been many years ago.... - -"Tell me something, Kaarji. Why have you come up here three times -before? Are you seeking M'Tonak?" - -"I do not know. Something calls me. Something inside. And I only know -that I must go." - -"Is that all, just something calling you?" - -"That is all. Except that this time it is different. This time I know -that I shall reach--whatever is calling me, and I shall not return. I -am sure of it." - -Jim sat there for a long time, pondering, watching Kaarji pace -restlessly back and forth. The Martian was in a strange mood this -night. A foreboding mood. Jim gave up puzzling about it, and examined -again that strange piece of metal. Here at last was proof of M'Tonak, -perhaps the first proof any man outside had ever had! He felt an -exuberant hope rising in him. - -"Anyway, Kaarji, thanks for telling me about this. Mind if I keep it a -while?" - -"I want you to have it, Jim Landor." - - - III - -They were away early the next morning, speeding ahead of a graying -dawn. Wessel was wrong, the ice no longer shifted beneath them; but the -biting sun had not yet risen. Now Jim noticed that Wessel constantly -consulted the device at his waist, which registered the proximity of -any radite. Apparently, however, he was satisfied with the route Kaarji -was taking. - -It was about noon when the terrain began to surge gently again as -though with a life of its own, and the mosaic pattern of cracks -re-appeared. But this was not enough, as yet, to stop them. What did -stop them was Wessel, who called a halt a few hours later. - -"Must be some Floaters near here," he told Conley. "I can tell by the -way this thing's acting." He tapped the radite-finder, whose needle was -gyrating erratically. - -"Floaters?" Jim asked. "What are they?" - -"Trouble," Conley groaned. "More denizens for you to get acquainted -with. You'll see before long." - -"There they come now," Wessel pointed. "We may as well wait here, and -get rid of them once and for all." - -A long line of tiny dots had appeared low on the horizon. They came -rapidly nearer and proved to be perfect spheres about a foot in -diameter, apparently with an uncanny power of levitation! There were -several dozens of them. Hovering in the air, they circled around the -men. A few of them darted in close, experimentally. - -Jim threw up a hand instinctively as one zoomed too near his head. His -fist contacted the taut, metallic skin of the thing. He felt a slight -but inconsequential electric shock. The Floater bounced back lightly as -a feather. It hovered there, took on a shimmering, greenish iridescence -as though it were glaring at the Earthman. Jim felt an uncanny chill -across his brain. He was sure these things were intelligent! Again it -zoomed in, but again Jim shoved it back easily. - -"That's it," Conley said in general to the men who were staving off -the pesky things. "Make them keep their distance. They're really not -dangerous, if we keep them away from the metal sleds. That's what they -want." - -The Floaters at last seemed to call a council of war. They gathered in -a group behind the men. Conley took advantage of this, and gave the -order to move again. But the Floaters followed slowly, longingly. A few -of them made tentative darting attempts, but the men were too wary. -Suddenly then, _en masse_, the Floaters launched their real attack. - -They came from all sides and the men were overwhelmed. A few of the -spheres alighted on a sled. The metal began to crumble. Cursing, Conley -knocked them away; but others alighted. - -"Protect the sleds!" Conley yelled. - -The men were trying to. A sphere attached itself to the metal -fastenings of a pack, and clung there voraciously. The metal crumbled, -disappeared, and the pack spewed its contents over the ice. Instantly -the Floater darted to the contents, seeking more metal. Lewis drew his -electro-pistol, but immediately a Floater attached itself to it; the -weapon dissolved, disappeared, as the creature took on a rosy radiance -of heat-energy. - -"Holy Hannah!" Lewis gasped. - -Conley was cursing volubly now, but he was suddenly cool. - -"All right, you men, let 'em have it--all at once! Blast 'em out of the -air." - -They threw themselves flat on the ice and swept their weapons around -in a solid, crackling barrage. That was the beginning of the end for -the Floaters. They exploded in corruscating riots of bluish sparks -wherever the electro-beams touched. Soon the ice was littered with -their lifeless, deflated husks. The remaining ones sped far away out of -danger, and they did not return. - -"I hated to do that," Conley sighed, "'cause I kind of like those -creatures. They have intelligence of a sort. They're harmless enough -ordinarily, except for their voracious appetites for metal!" - -"The damn things sometimes visit our mines to the south," Wessel said, -"but I'm kind of surprised to find 'em away up _here_. That can only -mean one thing, though. We're on the right track! The radite must stem -from one huge central deposit somewhere up here!" His eyes gleamed at -the thought. - -To Jim it meant even more. The converging radite veins, Kaarji's -story of the perpetual lure that tormented him, and most of all that -mysterious bit of strange metal--all this pointed to one thing, a -secret somewhere to the north. And that secret was M'Tonak. Jim was -sure of it now. He was sure they would reach it, that they were _meant_ -to reach it. - -The thought surged within him, made him restless and foreboding. So -that when, late that day, the car came--the silent mysterious vehicle -from out of the north, just as Kaarji had described--Jim was not -surprised. - -He had been almost expecting it. - - * * * * * - -It was while they were making camp. They were rolling out the fabricoid -mats and setting up the little atomo-stoves. Jim missed Kaarji, looked -around and saw the Martian at the crest of the long, smooth rise at the -foot of which they had stopped. - -Jim drew his coat of Praaka fur closer around him and walked out to -where Kaarji stood. Not until he had gained the crest of the slight -ascent did he see that the Martian was in his strange mood again, -standing quite still, staring out to the north. - -Jim approached very silently. He stood unmoving by Kaarji's side. Now -he almost felt it too, an eerie feeling as though ghostly, insistent -fingers were tugging at his brain. Almost, a fascinating wisp of a -voice created an urgency within him. But that was imagination! He knew -it, even as he drew back. - -For a full minute they stood there in silence. Then Kaarji, without -even glancing at him, spoke in his curiously clipped monnotone: - -"So you feel it too, Jim Landor." - -"I--I thought I felt something." - -"The same thing that I have felt. But I have felt it stronger." - -Stretching out below was a long gentle decline, and beyond were the -familiar vastnesses of the Polar wastes. Now Jim found himself scanning -the far horizon. He felt on the very verge of something strange--and -momentous. - -Kaarji leaned tensely, suddenly forward. Not the slightest show of -emotion was in his voice as he stated: - -"It is coming. I know it. It will be here very soon." - -Jim did not ask what was coming. He knew. He had known all the time. -He stared outward, following Kaarji's gaze, but could see nothing. He -waited impatiently as the Martian never once removed his eyes from the -horizon. Minutes passed. - - * * * * * - -Then ... much nearer and so clear that even Jim could not mistake it, -a dot of light flashed across their vision. Immediately it was gone, -hugging the terrain closely as though it had dipped behind an ice dune. -It appeared again in the near distance, moving swiftly, unerringly -toward them. It resolved itself into a penetrant beam of bluish light, -the forward light on a speeding ghostly vehicle. - -Abruptly it slowed. It crept silently to the very foot of the slight -slope below them. Breathless with wonderment, Jim waited for something -to happen. Nothing happened except that the bluish light blinked -abruptly off. No door opened. No one nor nothing emerged. Even at -this close distance the conveyance was discernible only as a grayish, -ghostly shape. - -Then Kaarji was running down toward it. Jim was suddenly torn between -two desires. He stared after Kaarji and then back at the camp. He -shouted to Conley and the others, and saw them look up and start -toward him; then he was dashing madly after Kaarji who had almost -reached the ghostly conveyance now. - -When Jim reached there, Kaarji was staring at a dark, narrow entrance -in the metal hull. "It was already open," the Martian murmured. Then, -as though it were expected of him, he stepped unhesitatingly inside. - -Jim waited for a single instant during which he surveyed the hull of -the vessel. It was not any type of sled, as he had thought; indeed it -did not touch the surface at all, but hovered a full foot above the -ground. He heard a gentle humming as though of ionization beams. He -followed Kaarji inside. - -There were no sort of controls that he could see; only a long row of -seats filled the entire space. Kaarji had found a button that turned on -some overhead lights. Still nothing happened. - -By this time the other men had reached there. Conley was stammering, -"Jim, we--we can't leave the supplies! The sleds!" - -"Sleds be damned!" Jim exclaimed in an ecstasy of excitement. "This is -better than a hundred sleds! Do you want to find your radite or don't -you? Are you going to M'Tonak or not!" - -Hesitantly, Conley entered the strange craft. The others glanced -nervously, then quickly followed, as though not wishing to be left -alone. - -"I--" Conley began doubtfully. - -That seemed to be a signal. Instantly a well-oiled metal door slid shut -behind them. Motors began to purr gently beneath their feet. The car -swung around in a great circle, and they were heading into the north. - -From one of the comfortable pneumatic seats Jim watched the white -unending landscape flashing past. He felt strangely exhilarated now -that he was on the very threshold of his quest; for that they were -being taken to the long-hidden, legendary city of M'Tonak, he did not -for a moment doubt. - -It had not yet occurred to him to wonder why they were being taken. - -But of one thing he was sure. He said, turning to Conley: - -"Why do you suppose they sent the car for us? It must be that they -_know_ whenever anyone is approaching M'Tonak! Always! Other -expeditions must have reached here in the same manner, else why were -they never found by the men who came later?" - -Conley nodded soberly. "And that must mean that, once inside M'Tonak, -men are unable to leave." - - - IV - -It seemed minutes later, but it might have been hours, that Jim Landor -sat up with a start, aware that the softly purring motors had lulled -him to sleep. He wondered how long they had been travelling. Now their -speed seemed to have diminished considerably. - -But something else seemed strange. - -He turned to the tiny window, and was startled to see no more Polar -Cap, no more expanse of white ice. Instead they were in a strange -dark place. It was several seconds before he could adjust his eyes -sufficiently to see that a wall was very close. It seemed to be moving -backward and slightly upward. He knew then that they were descending -somewhere at about a thirty degree angle. - -"When did this begin?" he asked, turning to Conley. - -"About twenty minutes ago. We must be a mile below the ice by now." - -So M'Tonak lay somewhere _beneath_ the Polar Cap! That was why men in -ages past had been unable to find it, until it became a legend on a par -with Earth's lost Atlantis! Jim tensed in his seat now as he thought of -all the conflicting reports he had heard about M'Tonak; vague questions -crossed his mind to which there were only vaguer answers. - -Now the passage through which they sped seemed to widen. Simultaneously -they were in a sea of softly diffused, pale greenish light. This light -increased as they went on, but did not become intense or glaring; -rather it seemed to permeate the very atmosphere from some subtle, -unknown source. Then, with breath-taking suddenness they burst out into -a vast open place and looked upon the city of M'Tonak. - -M'Tonak lay in the center of a vast, shallow bowl several miles wide. -In the first start of amazement Jim thought they must have somehow -emerged again upon the planet's surface; but this thought was -immediately discarded when he gazed across at the opposite horizon. It -was concave rather than convex, which meant they were in a cavern of -inconceivable dimensions. Far overhead he saw something vague and misty -that must have been a roof. That soothing green light was everywhere -but he still could not determine its source, it simply seemed to exist. - -Now they were gliding gently down into the city which consisted of -low-structured, white-marble buildings of peculiar architecture. Wide, -empty avenues stretched away in a perfect geometric pattern. - -"This city must be inconceivably old!" Conley gasped. "There's no other -architecture like this anywhere on Mars!" - -Their car was slowing now. It came to rest in a wide circular plaza. -The door slid smoothly, invitingly open. - -Jim glanced at the others who made no move to leave. He didn't blame -them for not moving, for there was something strange and devilishly -pre-arranged about all this. - -"End of the line!" he said with a jocularity he did not feel. He moved -to the door and stepped out. - -Instantly he was aware of a strange difference. It might have been -that alien green-tinged atmosphere, as if he had suddenly stepped into -another dimension. Every fiber of his being now seemed to tingle in a -peculiarly delightful way. It was very slight, scarcely felt, but there -was no mistaking it. - -As the others stepped out Jim looked at them closely. They felt it too, -he noticed--especially Kaarji. Kaarji's usually dark and expressionless -face was now alight with a feverish excitement. - -They looked at the radiating streets about them. All were utterly -empty, eerily silent. - -"Where in blazes," muttered Conley, "is the welcoming committee? We -were brought here, but why? Surely the place isn't uninhabited!" - -"It isn't!" Jim said in that instant. "Look. Here comes your welcoming -committee!" There was a peculiar note, almost a shrillness of disbelief -in his voice. - -The others whirled, their combined gaze following his pointing finger -across to the opposite side of the plaza. - - * * * * * - -Toward them slowly came a single lone figure. It was a Martian, of -that there could be no doubt; but a Martian inconceivably old! He was -stooped and withered, he leaned heavily on a stout cane, but he moved -forward briskly for all of that. There was a certain purposefulness -about him. - -He stopped before them, and leaned forward with both hands on top of -his cane. His chin almost rested on his hands as he peered around -at them. None of the men moved or spoke. Jim, who was nearest, was -fascinated by that grayish leathery face criss-crossed with thousands -of tiny lines, in which were set, like jewels, four unwinking black -eyes incongruously bright and alert with cunning. There was an uncanny -aura of evil about this bent little Martian, an evil made audible as he -spoke: - -"There are only four of you--and one Martian. Strange, I thought there -were more. But it is all right. Four Earthmen, intelligent Earthmen -too. Earthmen are always welcome here." - -He pointedly ignored Kaarji and turned his eyes upon Jim. Then he -chuckled, as though with secret glee. It was a dry metallic wheeze that -reminded Jim of an empty rocket tube when the fuel is burned out. Jim -was glad of the comfortable weight of his electro-pistol in his pocket. - -"My name is Jim Landor," he said. "Who are you, and why were we brought -here? Did you have anything to do with it?" - -The old Martian gave a quirk of a smile as if faintly amused by Jim's -impetuosity. But he answered the questions promptly and in order. - -"My name? It is Bhruulo. Here I am the Overseer--the Co-ordinator--call -it what you will. As to why you were brought here, did you not seek -M'Tonak, as have innumerable men in ages past? Now you have attained -M'Tonak, and you should thank me. Yes, it was I who sent the surface -car for you. I send it for all men who come far into the Polar Cap." - -"You still haven't explained why we were brought here." - -"That," Bhruulo said with a tinge of sarcasm, "I am sure you will learn -from the others far better than you could from me." - -"Then there are _others_ here!" - -"Yes, there are others. You need not fear, you are free to come and go -here as you please. I give you--M'Tonak! But you will excuse me now, I -must leave you. I am sure you will find--the others." With that, the -old Martian whirled upon his cane and hurried across the plaza in the -direction whence he had come. - - * * * * * - -"Wait a minute, lad," Conley put out a restraining hand as Jim leaped -forward. "Let him play his game for the time being. Let's see where his -hangout is, so we can find him later." - -They watched as Bhruulo, without a backward glance, entered a -columnaded building that was different from the others by reason of its -imposing height. Jim nodded and decided to remember that building. - -"Now, Jim, let's find those others he speaks of. There are other -Earthmen here, I'm convinced of it now." Conley had begun to lose his -skepticism of M'Tonak--now that he had found it!--and his eyes were -agleam with a growing excitement. - -But search as they would, they saw no other occupants. They traversed -streets that were dead and empty and silent. That palely diffused -greenish radiance was everywhere, coloring all with a ghostly -brightness. For several hours they explored, wandering far from that -central plaza. - -Kaarji stayed very close to Jim now, his original excitement having -faded; indeed he seemed appalled, if not a little frightened, as he -stared around in the abysmal stillness, and several times Jim noticed -the Martian pass his hand in a puzzled manner across his brow. - -Wessel's mien brightened, as he watched the needle of his radite-finder -gyrating wildly as if at any moment it would jump its bearings. - -"It must mean we're now in the very center of the main deposit!" he -exclaimed. "If only we--" - -It was then they saw the figure of an Earthman emerge from a building -hardly fifty yards away. He saw them at the same time. He turned -quickly indoors again, and shouted something that sounded like: "New -arrivals!" - -Then three other men emerged, and they all walked toward the little -group of five. - - * * * * * - -"We're friendly," one of them said as they neared, and Jim's hand fell -away from his weapon. "Because we have to be, here. Hmmm. When did -_you_ arrive?" - -"A few hours ago." - -"Uh-huh. And you met the funny little man, I suppose?" - -"If you mean Bhruulo," Conley said with a grimace, "we sure did! Is he -head man here?" - -"More about that later. My name's Spurlin. Ross, Fleming, Adams," he -introduced the others. - -Jim was staring at the speaker, a huge man with a purposeful set to his -unshaven jaw. "Then you're Gregg Spurlin, who headed the scientific -expedition three years ago in the search for M'Tonak!" - -"And found it, as you can see. Found it too damn well. But we weren't -the first. What about you?" - -Briefly, Jim told of their trek, and of his search for his brother. -"What about him?" he said in imitation of Spurlin's own brusqueness. -"Frank Landor. He should have arrived here weeks ago, unless--" - -He stopped there, looking from one to the other. The men were looking -uncomfortably at each other. - -"No Frank Landor ever showed up here," Adams said. - -Fleming nodded agreement, a little too hurriedly, Jim thought, and none -of the men would look directly at him. - -"They're lying to you," Spurlin said. "You might as well know the -truth; but before I tell you about it let's get back inside, out of -this green hell." - -He led the way back into the building whence they had emerged. But once -inside they did not stop. The greenish radiance penetrated even there. -They hurried over to a wide metal door that slid silently open when -Spurlin pressed a hidden button. Revealed to their gaze was a dark -narrow tunnel, leading downward. - -"What about the Martian?" Ross said, addressing Spurlin. - -"He goes along!" Jim snapped, and Kaarji looked at him gratefully. - -"All right," Spurlin murmured softly. "No harm if he comes. But I don't -think he'll last long, no Martian ever does in this city." - -If Kaarji heard the words he did not show it, as he followed Jim into -the tunnel. - -"About your brother," Spurlin spoke brusquely out of the darkness as -they moved along. "Yes, he arrived here all right. For a while, Frank -Landor was with our secret little group down here below. But--there's -something about that greenish atmosphere, something exhilerating -but also deadly, in a very subtle and insidious way. Sometimes it -increases, penetrates even down to us, through walls and things. But -there are some men who--" - -"Yes, I know," Jim's voice was as dead as the hope within him. "Frank -was one of those men. He couldn't stay cooped up here. He was curious, -he had to find out--things, and the reason for things. That what you're -trying to tell me?" - -"That's about it. Like others who have come here he had to go up into -the city, searching, trying to solve its secret. Every day he and a few -others went up. Always they returned to us here, exhausted, until one -day--they just didn't come back." - -In silence they continued along the winding passage. Jim was thinking -of his brother now, with a dawning realization that he would probably -never again see him alive. He was thinking of other things too. Of -that menacing greenness in the city above. Of Spurlin who seemed so -calloused and unconcerned. Of the legendary emerald of M'Tonak, the -lure for countless men in ages past. - - * * * * * - -Spurlin's voice shattered the silence. "Here we are." Now he was -flashing a tiny light upon a massive metal door. And Jim's heart -leaped, for he saw it as a metal new, and yet not new to him. It was -the same dull, greenish-gray metal as the piece Kaarji had given him. -Jim passed his fingers lightly across it to make sure, but said -nothing. - -For more than any of these things he was thinking of a bent and -shrivelled old Martian named Bhruulo, who had chuckled with a secret -evil glee. - -The door swung ponderously open. They stepped into a huge oval room, -and many men came hurrying toward them. The walls of this room, Jim -noticed, were of the same peculiar metal. - -"Introductions later," Spurlin said, as the men came crowding around. -"Right now I want you newcomers to see the work we're engaged in here. -You look like the sort who can help us in the job." - -He led them to another room where a long, skeletal shape was under -construction. It rested on curved cradles, pointing upward. Only a few -outer plates had as yet been put into place, plates of the same strange -metal Jim identified with everything here. - -"A spaceship!" he exclaimed unbelievingly. "But--why a spacer here, so -far beneath Mars' surface?" - -"A spacer it is, Jim Landor. One such as you never saw before, and it's -being built under conditions such as you cannot imagine. We have to -mine and fashion the metal in the few tiny furnaces we have here, and -it's inconceivably slow due to the scarcity and crudeness of tools. -We've been at work on this one spacer for three years. - -"As for this new metal, it's to be found here in huge deposits. In some -ways it's like radite, it might even _be_ radite, strangely changed -through the centuries by those peculiar green radiations. Anyway, it's -amazingly light and tough, almost expansive under fuel pressure and -it's going to revolutionize spacer construction if we can only get any -from here and make it known!" - -"But how, man? How do you propose--" - -"To get the spacer out of here?" Spurlin smiled confidently. "In one -super blast we're going to hurl through this roof to the city above, -and through _that_ cavern roof onto the surface of Mars. I'm fully -convinced this metal is capable of withstanding it. We're building a -double hull. And we have enough fuel hoarded here to take us clear to -Earth if we wish." - -Jim nodded, but he was not enthusiastic. "How long, do you think, -before you finish it?" - -"Perhaps only another month now! The ore's damnably hard to get out, -and we can only stay up there on the surface a few hours at a time--but -with the added help of you new men...." - - * * * * * - -"We're with you to the finish!" Conley exclaimed, and the others -nodded enthusiastically. Wessel, especially, had listened with an -eager intentness to Spurlin's description of the new metal. Wessel had -come seeking new radite deposits, and had stumbled upon something vast -beyond his fondest dreams! Even his loyalty to TRI-PLANETARY MINING was -fast beginning to waver. - -"What I want to know," Jim voiced the thought uppermost in his mind, -"is the status of that little old Martian, Bhruulo." - -Spurlin frowned. "No one seems to have found out, and most of us don't -care. He's incredibly old, of course. He seems to have been here -always. In some strange manner, he seems to know when men come into -the Polar Cap, and he always sends that surface vehicle out for them. -However, he completely ignores us here. I'm not even sure that he knows -we're working on this spaceship! We try to keep out of his sight, and -I've personally not seen him more than twice in the past year." - -"But isn't it incredible that in three years he hasn't found out or -guessed what you are doing?" - -"Not so incredible. We don't know what he's doing. We leave him alone -and he leaves us alone." - -"But," Jim exclaimed unbelievingly, "he brought you here, and you're -not even curious to know why?" - -"Let me remind you that certain men have been curious--and they have -disappeared. Anyway our sole purpose now is in completing the spacer -for our escape." - -Jim gestured disdainfully. "And you, Spurlin--you once claimed to be a -scientist! You have not even the scientific mind--" - -"One's mind," Spurlin interrupted softly, "somehow, does not seem to be -the same after three years in this place." - -"All right. But before _I_ leave here I'm going to find out what -Bhruulo's purpose is! I don't like the way that old Martian grinned at -me. He's got something up his sleeve, and I think you men'll find it -out too late." - -Spurlin smiled sadly. "All right, Jim Landor. Each man is his own boss -here. At least I wish you would accompany a few of us tomorrow. We're -getting more of the metal out, and trying to determine the proper spot -to blast through with our spacer. You'll become more acquainted with -the city and the general terrain, and maybe it'll change your mind." - -"Sure, I'll go," Jim agreed. But he didn't think it would change his -mind. He had wanted to find M'Tonak, here he was in M'Tonak and he was -gong to solve the mystery of M'Tonak. More than that, he was going to -learn once and for all what had happened to his brother. - - - V - -The following day a dozen men ventured up into the city. Spurlin seemed -disappointed as they stepped out into the street from their secret -building. "Not an ideal day for it," he commented gruffly. And at Jim's -querulous look, he explained, "Those emanations seem stronger today. I -give us only two or three hours, at the most." - -They went into the rocky terrain beyond the city, toward the near -horizon where the cave roof tapered down. That was hardly a mile away. -Jim found it hard to believe that over their heads was the Polar Cap, -vast and desolate. Glancing up, he barely made out the dim contour of -their roof; and it suddenly occurred to him to wonder what sustained -it, why it didn't collapse under that tremendous pressure of rock and -ice! - -He knew why, only a minute later. There came a sudden, smooth hum in -his ears. The very air around them seemed surcharged with energy, or -rather all energy seemed to be rushing _away_ from them! - -"This way!" Spurlin exclaimed, making a hasty detour from the spot. -Barely a hundred yards away Jim could discern a vague swirling -mistiness, in the form of a huge column that reached up to touch the -roof. Suddenly, he knew what it was, knew also that it would be death -for any man who ventured too close. - -"Ionization zone." Spurlin voiced Jim's own thoughts as they hurried in -the detour. "An electronic tower of strength! There are usually six of -them in a straight line across this cave, but once in a while new ones -spring up out of nowhere. I think Bhruulo controls them." - -Jim nodded uncomfortably, and tried not to think what would happen if -all those electronic zones failed, with millions of tons of ice above -them. - -They reached their objective at last. Tunnels were in evidence where -the men had been taking out the ore. They resumed work at once, but it -was slow and heart-breaking. Their tools were crude, and the ore was -the most difficult Jim had ever handled. - -Wessel worked harder than any of them, his eyes agleam with a new -excitement. "Look at that stuff," he said once to Conley. "Over fifty -per cent pure content, most of it!" - -It was perhaps an hour later when Spurlin called a halt. "Enough for -today. We'll try again tomorrow." - -Jim didn't need to ask why they must stop. Already he felt that strange -tingling in every fiber of his being, which increased as the minutes -passed, and he knew that here was a dangerous thing. - -"We have so little time in which to work up here," Spurlin said as they -hurried back. "Do you see now, Jim Landor, why it's taken us close to -three years?" - -Jim saw, indeed. Within him there surged a vast admiration for -these men who had persevered in the face of almost insurmountable -difficulties, to build their spaceship from the barest resources around -them. - -Yet close upon this there leaped to Jim's mind another thought, -unannounced and without reason. It was simply a feeling that there was -something _vastly, terribly wrong with what these men were doing_! It -was more than a feeling, it was a certainty! It didn't make sense--that -they shouldn't escape from M'Tonak--but now Jim knew it! - -Before he could think long upon it, however, they had come in sight of -their building and Jim saw a familiar figure emerge. It was Kaarji, -but there seemed something vaguely wrong with him. He looked in their -direction but seemed not to see them at all, as he turned and walked -away with a long, purposeful stride. - -Something struck another ominous note in Jim's brain. The men reached -their building and entered it, but he did not stop. He hurried after -Kaarji. - -"Landor! You damn fool, come back here!" Spurlin cried after him. - -But Jim waved a hand, not looking back. He hurried after the Martian. -Those emanations were almost unbearable now, but he didn't seem to -mind. There was something ominous about them, but something else as -well that he could not resist. - -He had miscalculated Kaarji's distance, however, because somewhere in -the maze of streets he lost him. But he knew where the Martian was -going--where they were both going. Hours later it seemed, but could -only have been minutes, when he came in sight of the imposing edifice -where he had last seen Bhruulo disappear. - - * * * * * - -Now he hesitated. His mind was crystal clear, clearer than he had -ever known it before. But somehow it did not seem to be his own. He -struggled a little, but the result was inevitable, he seemed to know -it. He gave up almost voluntarily. He continued toward the building and -entered its portals that were open wide and waiting. - -He faced a long, greenish-gloomy corridor of marble. With hardly a -pause he continued along it. Tall imposing doors, tightly closed, were -on either side of him, but he gave little heed to them. The corridor -turned sharply once, and then again, and then it seemed to lead a -little downward. Jim could not be sure. He only knew that he was being -led _somewhere_, that he was to face something. A cold fear caught his -brain, but he could only go on. - -Now the corridor walls seemed to waver, seemed to swim beneath a sort -of radiance. But it was a glaucous radiance, ineffably green as the -light beneath the waters of a shallow sea. It increased in intensity, -however, as he went on. It became almost tangible, it beat against him, -it seemed to pluck with evil intentness at the fibers of his mind. Jim -laughed once, laughed wildly, but did not pause in his stride. - -The corridor made one more turn and then he was walking into a light -so blinding that it staggered him momentarily. It flared up once in a -great greenish effulgence, then died down into a steady pulsation. Now, -Jim knew, he must be approaching the very source of that all-pervading -light which had so puzzled him since his arrival at M'Tonak. - -But now he had a vaguely uncomfortable feeling. It was as though a -million eyes were watching him, observing every move. It was as though -a million tiny fingers were tearing away the shreds of his mind with -secret, silent amusement. Jim did not look about him as he walked on, -for he knew no one was there. It had something to do with this light, -that much he knew. - -Now he could see the end of the corridor through the pulsing -greenish haze. Something seemed to be there, something towering and -opalescent--and waiting. - -He came very near before he saw what it was, a huge circular -glass-enclosed well that towered up to the ceiling fifty feet above. -It was from this well that the light came. Jim could see the gentle -pulsing of it, with streamers of a darker color flashing through it -vertically. - -Those millions of eyes now were very near. Those millions of fingers -probed into his brain unbearably. Jim pressed his hands to his -throbbing temples, but the pain continued to expand within his skull. -He could not turn and flee, for something held him there. He tried to -cry out against it, but his throat seemed to contract and no sound -would emerge. - -He had no knowledge whether it was minutes or hours that he stood -there; but when at last he felt his legs giving way beneath him, and -glimpsed the blur of the floor rushing up, it was with a profound sense -of gratitude for the oblivion that would be his. - - * * * * * - -But this was not to be. No sooner did he feel the floor beneath him, -than the force which had beaten him down partially withdrew. Jim -staggered to his feet, weak and a little dazed. Now something else was -happening behind that glassite-encased well. The green pillar of light -was lowering, coalescing upon itself with a slowly swirling motion. - -And then, as the tower of light lessened, Jim saw what rode atop it. He -saw a shape, huge, iridescent and apparently weightless. It seemed at -first simply a larger area of greenish light, but for a single second -he glimpsed more. He saw the massive core of it. He felt his stomach -turning over in a prodigious yawn, and his brain churned in chaotic -horror. - -The thing he saw was a roughly globular, quasi-amorphous shape that was -in a state of constant fluxion. It was partly tentacular, it writhed -and pulsed, it seemed to project itself at will. Darkish tendrils -came uncurling from it as if it were reaching for something not quite -attainable. Simultaneously it spun slowly atop its pillar of light -which seemed also a part of itself, somehow. _It was alive, a thinking, -intelligent entity._ That much Jim knew. It would even have been an -entity of beauty, with its whirling greenish effulgence, were it not -for one thing. - -_It was evil._ Terribly, undeniably so. Jim could feel the impact of it -almost physically. Almost he felt that here was the essence of all the -evil of another universe, compressed into that one horribly writhing -mass that was now trying to expend itself but could not. And he had the -feeling that although it could be moved to terrible, devastating anger, -it was now for some reason gleeful. - -It came riding down, light as a feather atop its light, until it -hovered just a few feet above Jim's head. Jim knew that he was being -examined microscopically, perhaps even fourth-dimensionally. He -shivered a little. He tried to take a step back but could not. There -came a sudden chuckling within his own brain, and then mentally he -heard the entity speak. - -"Yes, Earthman, you were right in your estimate of me. I am 'evil' to -such as you. At least that is what Bhruulo tells me, and I have come to -believe Bhruulo." - -Jim crouched before the thing, staring up at it. He still felt its -probing mental fingers in his mind, and the fingers were ... _unclean_. -He spoke aloud at last, in a voice he hardly recognized as his own. - -"What--_what in heaven's name are you_?" - - * * * * * - -There came that chuckling note again, as the thing spoke. - -"Whatever I am, Earthman, it is not in heaven's name. I do not exactly -know myself what I am. I personally have no conception or remembrance -of how I came here. I only know what Bhruulo has told me. It pleases me -to tell you." - -The mental voice ceased abruptly. Then sudden, vivid pictures flashed -stereoptically across Jim's brain and were as quickly gone. He saw a -city he recognized as M'Tonak, and the city was teeming with people. -Jim knew that must have been many, many years ago. - -The scene changed. As through another's eyes, he caught a blurry vision -of this evil entity flashing from out of the sky to land near the city. -He felt some of the consternation and then horror as the populace died -by the score in the streets. There was no apparent reason except the -presence of the alien thing. Just to look at the blinding brilliance of -it was to die. Jim caught confused pictures of all available weapons -being rushed to the scene to do battle with the thing, but to no avail; -as the M'Tonakians died, the entity grew tremendous in proportions and -in power. - -These pictures flashed away and Jim saw others; the last few scientists -of M'Tonak, in a barricaded place where they worked frantically on a -weapon with which to battle the alien thing. They completed the weapon -but they could not destroy the entity. After a terrific struggle they -subdued it temporarily by means of certain rays and beams. In this -manner they at last brought it into captivity within the glassite well. - -"Bhruulo says all this happened hundreds of years ago," the voice -came again within Jim's brain. "He is the last of that final group of -scientists who subdued me. _I_ have only a vague remembrance--" - -"Bhruulo says!" Jim gasped, struggling with the significance of the -idea. - -He looked up and saw the spherish, effulgent thing spinning with silent -amusement. "Is Bhruulo's longevity, then, such an unusual thing? I do -not know. Your time-scheme means little to me. Perhaps Bhruulo's great -age is due to his perpetual proximity to me, I only know that, unlike -other Martians and Earthmen, he is immune to my strongest powers now." - -Jim sensed a certain bitterness in that mental voice, almost a hatred -for Bhruulo. Looking up at the greenish, brooding globe, Jim ventured a -daring question. - -"Don't you sometimes long to be--free again?" - -He felt the tendril-fingers grasp his mind again with a fierce -tenacity. He cried out against the physical pain of it, but even -through the pain he heard the throbbing answer. - -"Free! Yes, Earthman! Bhruulo glories that he has me trapped here. -Often I remember those olden days when I almost conquered the city of -M'Tonak and the planet Mars! Bhruulo has promised me those days again, -and much more. He says he is preparing for it, but I do not know what -he means. I only know that I tire of waiting!" - -There were more mental words, but Jim only heard them through a mist -about his brain. He knew that here, at last, he had solved the mystery -of M'Tonak! This evil entity from out of another universe or another -dimension was the "emeralds" of M'Tonak which had lured men up here -in ages past for its own, or Bhruulo's, devilish purpose. But what -was that purpose? Something vastly imminent, Jim knew! Perhaps it was -something the entity even now was trying to tell him in its strangely -confidential mood. - - * * * * * - -"That is enough. You have said enough! I have warned you about this!" - -That was not the thing's mental voice! Jim knew it, even as he whirled -to face Bhruulo who had come from nowhere to stand behind him. Bhruulo -was furious. His grayish, lined face was a mask of hate--but not for -Jim. He hurried forward like a scuttling crab, supporting himself on -his cane with both hands. He approached the glassite barrier, and began -to manipulate tiny wheels there which Jim had not noticed before. A -network of wiring led down to several complicated box-like affairs set -in the floor. - -Then a very curious thing happened. If a writhing, pulsing, spinning -globe of evil can cower, that is what the entity did! No sooner had -Bhruulo's hands touched the wheels, than the entity sank down to -the floor, then darted frightenedly up again, to cringe against the -furthermost confines of its prison. It poised there, hesitant, as if -watching Bhruulo. It ventured out from the wall and then back again. It -hardly pulsed at all now, as if holding its breath in fear. - -A tiny hum came from the machinery Bhruulo was manipulating. It rose to -a shrill whine and then passed beyond the audible. A sudden criss-cross -of pencil-thin beams leaped about the confines of the well. They were -pale, scarcely visible, but Jim sensed the power of them. He heard a -mental shriek of agony from the spinning globe, then it was tumbling up -the sides of the well, out of range. It vanished fifty feet overhead, -in a haze of greenish light. - -Using his cane as a pivot, Bhruulo pirouetted slowly to face Jim. - -"Now," he said, "we can talk to each other without interruption from -that thing. Too bad that it hates me and I hate it. For we need each -other. - -"I do not know," Bhruulo continued, "how much the Dim-Ing told you of -itself or of me and my plans. It does not particularly matter, now." - -"Dim-Ing?" Jim repeated querulously, trying to focus his mind again. - -"Yes. 'Dimensional-Thing.' Facetious? I have my moments of humor. _It_ -has only a dim remembrance of its past before it came to Mars; but -through certain conversation with it I have come to the conclusion that -it somehow had birth in another dimension impinging delicately upon -ours. How or why it was flung across to us we shall never know. But it -is nearly finished on Mars." - -Something caught at Jim's brain. He started a little. - -Bhruulo laughed shrilly. - - * * * * * - -"Yes. Had you not guessed before? The Dim-Ing feeds upon the minds -of men. Oh, very subtly, of course. But for the presence of such -sustenance on Mars it would have died long, long ago. At first the -accumulative mental sustenance of Mars was more than sufficient. I -was careful to keep the Dim-Ing under my control, even as now. But as -the years passed--more years than you think, Earthman--I saw what -was happening. _We were hastening the eventual decease of the Martian -race!_ The Dim-Ing absorbed, at first, all _evil_ from the total -Martian mind. And then--even more. - -"No doubt, Earthman, you have read something of Martian history. You -will remember that several centuries ago a frightful war raged across -three major continents of Mars. Almost abruptly, that is to say within -the space of a few years, it ceased mutually and without apparent -reason! It was the Dim-Ing and I who indirectly caused that. Then, you -will remember, there came an almost Utopian state for something like -a few score of years. It quickly passed as the Dim-Ing sent out its -subtle radiations almost desperately, across the surface of Mars. The -Martians became the inactive, indolent, dying race you see now. In the -last few scores of years, sustenance for the Dim-Ing has been meager -indeed." - -Jim only stared at this Martian who according to the entity was -hundreds of years old. A horror crept into Jim's brain, and a subtle -warning. Here, he knew, was the one to be guarded against. Here in this -bent little Martian was the ultimate evil. His was the controlling hand. - - * * * * * - -Jim had been listening in a slowly dawning horror. Now he found his -voice at last, as he took a single tense step toward Bhruulo. - -"And you--you tell me this! This thing that has been happening to the -Martian race! You, yourself a Martian--" - -Bhruulo did not move and the expression on his face did not change. - -"It is not what I am, or once was, that matters. It is what I _shall_ -be. With the tool that I have now, immortality lies within my grasp. -That, and eternal power. I shall continue. - -"Within the last fifty years, you Earthmen came. I need not say that -you were a Godsend. The Dim-Ing was at a very low ebb indeed. - -"Even at the height of their scientific accomplishments the Martians -never quite achieved space travel. By what miracle you Earthmen -achieved it shall always remain a mystery to me. But I thank you. You -came when I needed you most. - -"I discovered that your Earthian minds are stubborn, very stubborn -indeed. The Dim-Ing likes that. It can subsist much longer on an -Earthian mind than on a Martian. Furthermore, I learned that the -Earthian mind is curious--one of the inherent qualities of your race. -Therefore, I embellished somewhat the existing legend of M'Tonak. -And you all came searching greedily; if not in droves, at least, in -sufficient numbers. - -"And now you are building a spaceship for me. I have known it all -along! I have brought you here for that purpose! I know it is very near -completion, this spaceship which shall carry, not Earthmen back to -Earth, but the Dim-Ing and myself." - -"But it shall not!" Jim had let Bhruulo talk on, knowing what -was coming. In his mind now was no room for horror; his mind was -quickly alert and his hand was even quicker, as it flashed to the -electro-pistol in his belt. - -But Bhruulo made a motion too, so fast that, paradoxically, there was -a certain casualness about it. He still smiled. He raised his cane on -which he had been leaning with both hands. From a lens-covered bore -in the end of it came a thick whitish light, touching Jim's hand and -holding it motionless. It expanded, enveloped all of his body so that -he could not move. - -It surged a little upward, full into his face. - -Jim Landor crumpled noiselessly and lay still. - - - VI - -His mind came surging slowly back up from the dark depths of nightmare. -His head ached unbearably. He had thought an insistent, warning voice -was crying out at him. He opened his eyes. This was no nightmare, for -memory came back in a rushing flood, and he still heard the voice, low -and warning and very close to his ear. - -"Do not move, Jim Landor. Do not say anything, just listen. This is -Kaarji, I am here close by you." - -Kaarji! Jim had almost forgotten about Kaarji. Then he took the warning -and tried not even to think, he just listened, in a detached manner. - -"We are in a room off the corridor. That Dim-Ing thing is only a few -hundred feet away. I hope it has not contacted your mind again, for I -have something important to tell you. It is a good thing you followed -me here so closely, for the Dim-Ing withdrew its concentration from me -and centered it on you. Thus I was able to slip past this place, and I -explored a little. Jim Landor, below these corridors I have discovered -a huge room full of machinery. I cannot understand it all, for I have -not a scientific mind; but I thought if we could escape from here, and -I could take you to this place--" - -Slowly, Jim allowed his mind to relax. He felt no more of the probing -mental fingers in his brain. - -"It's all right, Kaarji, we can speak freely now. I suppose that's -where Bhruulo caught you, in that secret room?" - -"Yes. It seems to be his living quarters as well." - -"I think I know what that machinery is, Kaarji. It's vital to the -existence of M'Tonak. If only we can get back there--" - -Jim rose to his feet and looked about the room. It was small and empty, -the walls were of marble. He walked over to the single door leading to -the corridor. He tried it, and to his surprise it opened easily! - - * * * * * - -But he staggered back as from a violent physical blow, as the -radiations from the Dim-Ing lashed against him. - -"Hum, our little playmate again." Jim rubbed his half-blinded eyes. -"Clever devil, that Bhruulo. He knows that no man could escape -through _that_. He was so sure of it that he didn't even remove my -electro-pistol from me." - -As the pain passed from his eyes, he removed his pistol and felt the -comfortable weight of it in his hand; but he thrust it back into his -belt again, knowing it was useless against the Dim-Ing. Then an idea -struck him like a thunderbolt. - -"Kaarji, we may walk from this room yet! I have one weapon that Bhruulo -hasn't counted on, and that is--the Dim-Ing's hatred of Bhruulo!" - -Hurrying to the door again, he opened it infinitesimally. And he -leaped back to the furthermost confines of the room as the Dim-Ing's -thought-emanations came flooding inside, in a gentle greenish haze. - -Jim centered all of his mind, now, on the one all-important thought. -"Bhruulo! I shall kill him! He thinks he will keep me here and feed -my mind to the Dim-Ing--but somehow I'll escape from here and kill -Bhruulo. I swear it!" He strove to arouse an overwhelming hatred in his -mind for the ages-old little Martian. - -The Dim-Ing's power surged anew. - -He felt the alien entity's mental fingers grab hold of his mind again. -He stifled the rising exultance and reiterated his resolution to -kill Bhruulo. Now he noticed that the Dim-Ing's mental presence was -expanding through the very marble walls themselves. As never before, -he began to appreciate the potential power of the thing. But with an -effort he repeated his oath to kill Bhruulo; it became now not so much -an oath as a promise, for he knew the Dim-Ing had tightly grasped his -mind and was listening. - -It was easy. So ridiculously easy that Jim should have been suspicious, -but was not. - -"If you mean it," the Dim-Ing spoke to Jim's mind at last. "If I -thought you really would--" - -"I mean it!" Jim flashed the thought fervently. "Let me out of here and -I will rid you of Bhruulo, once and for all!" - -He almost laughed aloud. - -Slowly, hesitantly the thing's mental barrier was fading away. Jim -stepped to the door and opened it widely. Nothing beat him back now. -He motioned to Kaarji, who followed him almost frightenedly out into -the corridor. There the mental power of the Dim-Ing was a little more -in evidence, but not enough to stop them. It was as though it were -watching.... - -"This way," Kaarji breathed at last. He led Jim in the opposite -direction from the Dim-Ing, then into a cross-corridor that extended -interminably. At last they reached a door that opened onto stone steps -leading downward. - -"Careful," Kaarji warned as he led the way slowly. - -He didn't need to warn Jim. The latter was wary as never before, and he -kept a hand always near his electro-pistol. Something was vaguely wrong -about all this but he didn't know what. For one thing it seemed too -easy. - -At the bottom of the steps was another sliding door. Kaarji paused -before it and whispered, "This is the room!" - - * * * * * - -Jim stood still, listening. There was no sound from beyond that door. -The silence was a vast womb about them, menacing. Jim slid the door -noiselessly open; they stepped inside and stared around. - -They saw huge circling tiers of peculiarly constructed dynamos. They -were in operation, Jim knew that, for he could feel a certain surge of -power even though there was no sound. A bewildering network of cables -led from the dynamos to a central, predominating machine that towered -fan-like above them all. It was this electronic tower, he knew, that -created the swirling pillars of strength that surged upward and outward -to support the vast cavern roof overhead. - -Then they saw Bhruulo. He was in a little glassite room at the foot of -the electronic tower. Tiny wheels and dials were banked around him, and -he was busy making delicate adjustments. So busy that he didn't see -them standing just inside the door. - -Now Jim heard the insistent voice of the Dim-Ing in his mind again: -"Kill him! Do it at once! Do as you promised...." - -Jim didn't need the prompting voice, but he wasn't going to ray a man -down from behind; besides, he doubted if his beam would penetrate that -glassite cage. He stepped quickly to one of the dynamo stanchions, and -drew Kaarji down beside him. - -He waited, despite the Dim-Ing's impatience that he could feel seething -within him. Bhruulo finished his adjustments at last, and stepped out -of the cage. He was still a good fifty feet from Jim. He turned, to go -deeper into the maze of machinery. - -Jim arose and said quietly: "Bhruulo!" - -The aged Martian whirled with amazing agility. Jim saw the look of -incredulity that leaped into his eyes. Bhruulo leaned heavily forward, -his two hands gnarling about his cane. Then his lips quirked into a -toothless smile, and he started to say something. - -That was to throw Jim off guard. Simultaneous with his speech he lifted -his hands lightning-like, and the cane levelled. But Jim was expecting -that. With a single sinuous movement his pistol was in his hand, its -bluish beam was pencilling out. It caught Bhruulo squarely in the -chest before he could press the button on his own weapon. He staggered -forward, his cane-weapon sagged; he tried to level it again but could -not. Still he staggered forward, hatred mingled with horror in his -eyes. With amazing strength his spindly legs carried him across the -room, as he mouthed unintelligible Martian words. - -[Illustration: The electronic beam caught Bhruulo squarely in his chest.] - -Jim fell back a step. He hoped Bhruulo would not find strength in his -arms. Would that damned Martian never die? Jim knew his beam had bored -a hole clear through the creature's chest; he could see the blackish -blood oozing from it. Jim felt a cold horror gnawing at the pit of his -stomach even as he aimed carefully and the electro-beam flashed out -three more times. He saw three more holes rake across the Martian's -chest. - -Bhruulo fell with a crash right at Jim's feet, and the cane clattered -from his fingers. Even the mask of death could not erase the hate from -those ebon eyes as Bhruulo stared lifelessly up at him. - -Jim shuddered once, then reached out with his foot and turned Bhruulo -over so that he lay face downward. - - * * * * * - -He was aware of Kaarji standing beside him, and Kaarji saying quickly, -tensely: "Jim Landor! You remember when I said that this time I should -not return from the Polar wastes? This is what I meant, I know now what -I must do. But you must hurry, get back and tell the other men, or none -of you will ever leave M'Tonak!" - -Jim stared at him uncomprehendingly, trying to listen at the same time -to Kaarji and to the jubilant voice of the Dim-Ing that was surging in -him again. - -"Kaarji--what do you mean?" - -"I mean, Jim Landor, that I know the intentions of the Dim-Ing! I know -at last what has happened to my race and what might happen to Earth. -But it shall not happen!" - -Kaarji leaped toward the glassite cage at the foot of the electronic -tower. In a few strides he was there, had hurled himself within it and -barred the door behind him. His eyes were glowing and purposeful, as he -stared out at Jim who came running. - -"You had better hurry, Jim Landor, and warn the others. Do not try to -stop me, for I have a feeling this cage is impregnable. In a very short -time I can wreck these controls, the electronic zones will cease and -the entire cavern roof will collapse under the pressure of millions of -tons! Get back to the others and escape from M'Tonak." - -He turned deliberately and examined the controls banked around him. He -reached to his pouch of _tsith_ stems, and placed a few of them in his -mouth before he continued. - -"I suggest you try to distract the Dim-Ing's thought as much as -possible, so it won't center on me here. I will try to hold out for -half an hour at least, longer if possible. But hurry!" - -Conflicting emotions swept across Jim like a flood, but were beaten -down by the cold realization that Kaarji intended to carry this thing -through without compromise. The Martian would destroy all of M'Tonak, -including the Dim-Ing and himself, in an endeavor to save Earth from -the thing that had happened so subtly on Mars. - -Jim whirled, started to race away but turned back. "All right, Kaarji. -Thanks seems a pretty feeble word for what you are doing, but if I get -back to Earth I shall see that you are never forgotten for this. Now -give me the rest of those _tsith_ stems--I have an idea!" - -Without question Kaarji opened the glassite door, and tossed out the -pouch of stems. Jim snatched it up and raced away without a backward -glance. He hurried from the room and up the stone stairs to the -corridors again. - - * * * * * - -There the Dim-Ing's power struck more forcefully into his mind. It -seemed somehow diabolically gleeful now. But Jim hurried on, hurried -_toward_ the evil entity. Finally he stood at the foot of the towering -well, and saw the spinning globular shape descend upon its coalescing -pillar of light. - -"You did it well," the thought came flashing. "You kept your promise. -The thing I have dreamed of for ages has happened, Bhruulo is out -of my way and I have a free hand! Yes, Earthman, now I see in your -mind everything that Bhruulo told you. There are other Earthmen here, -completing a huge ship by which to go back to your planet. _That_ is -what Bhruulo was counting on, _that_ is what he would not tell me. He -had planned to take me to Earth and there keep me under his control, -as he has here. But now that you have so kindly removed Bhruulo, I can -do this by myself! I need only wait until the men have completed their -ship, then blast their minds to annihilation!" - -This Dim-Ing was the ultimate evil, not Bhruulo! Jim had known it -all along, and now he realized how he had played into its hands! -A momentary panic seized him. He could picture the thing landing -the spaceship on Earth's northern or southern polar ice, or in the -unexplored depths of Brazilian jungle. Hidden from the sight and -knowledge of men for years, it would carry on the subtle destruction of -Earthian minds as it had Martian; and now, unhampered by Bhruulo, it -would grow in size and potency until who could say what the end would -be! Perhaps there would be no end; there were other planets besides -Mars and Earth.... - -"Thank you, Earthman, that is a thought I will remember. But your -mental pictures of the terrain of Earth were rather vague. Show me more -clearly." - -Jim felt the agonizing mental fingers tearing the tissues of his brain -apart. - -At the base of the well he saw the obscure little door Bhruulo had -opened to manipulate the pale, pencilling beams. Instantly, Jim was -on his knees, had wrenched it open. He did not try to work the beams, -knowing the Dim-Ing could have stopped him in an instant; he merely -tossed the pouch of _tsith_ stems out into the center floor of the -well, and rose quickly. - -"There's an offering for you! I kept my promise and killed Bhruulo, now -you keep yours and let me go!" - -The entity had made no such promise and Jim knew it. But he whirled and -raced down the corridor unheeded. It was only the element of surprise -that would carry him through now, surprise and utter wildness. He even -laughed wildly aloud as he ran on. And nothing stopped him! - -Nothing stopped him until he was halfway to the outer door leading to -the street. Then he felt a terrific impact, he stumbled, fell to his -knees and toppled forward on his face. He arose against a tremendous -physical pressure and staggered on. Again he felt that impact, as he -was battered against the marble corridor walls. But with a fierce -tenacity he kept his feet, and kept going. - -He reached the street. His legs were heavy as if he were fighting -against a hundred gravities. He felt that the Dim-Ing was merely toying -with him, as a cat with a mouse. As Jim hurried on, or tried to hurry, -to the place where he would find Conley and Spurlin and the score of -other men, he knew that one man could not hope to stand against that -awful power. But perhaps many men, in perfect mental accord.... - -Again he felt the strange, fierce tingling in every fiber of his being -until he thought he was walking in a sluggish sea of fire. It seemed -hours later when he reached the familiar building and hurried along the -metal-lined tunnel where the Dim-Ing's radiations seemed a little less -intense. It was with a feeling of profound gratitude that he pushed -through a final door, and sank down into a soothing oblivion. But not -before he glimpsed many men rushing toward him, with surprised shouts. -Among them he saw Conley. - - - VII - -Jim opened his eyes and stared up into Conley's worried face. He -coughed a little on the stinging liquor the latter was pouring down his -throat. - -"How long have I been here?" he asked urgently. - -"Just a minute or two, lad. You're mighty battered and tired, but -you'll be all right now. Just rest a while." - -"Rest!" Jim repeated, and climbed quickly to his feet. "None of us can -rest now--there's no time! It may be too late already--but we've got -to make a fight for it, if for no other reason than because Kaarji's -counting on it! No, Conley, I'm not delirious." He waved the worried -Irishman away. "Listen, you men! I've solved the mystery of M'Tonak, -and we've got to get out of here!" - -In an anxious rush of words he explained the situation, told briefly of -his discovery of the Dim-Ing and what it was, and of Kaarji's avowal to -destroy all of M'Tonak. - -"In another few weeks, Spurlin, your spaceship would have been -finished, and the greatest horror the universe has ever known would -have launched itself upon Earth! It still might happen! _We've got to -get back out there at once, en masse, and hold that thing's attention -before it discovers what Kaarji's up to!_" - -It had all happened too suddenly for the men to quite believe him. They -looked askance at each other. - -"But after three years of heart-breaking work," Spurlin said, "to give -up my spaceship now! That's what you're asking." - -"A hell of a lot of good your spaceship will be, with millions of tons -of rock and ice heaped on it! That's gonna happen about fifteen minutes -from now, or less! Man, don't you understand? Kaarji said he'd give me -a half-hour--" - -"It's a trick!" Wessel squawked loudly. "Damned funny that he ever got -back here to us at all! He's discovered a protection against those -greenish rays, he's trying to lure us all outside to our death, so he -can have all this new metal for himself!" - -Jim strode back to the door, pausing only long enough to cry, "All -right, stay here, then, and die. All of you! If you won't help me, that -means our last chance is gone. I'll die too, but it'll be out there -fighting that thing to the last!" - -"I'm with you, Jim. I believe you." It was Conley's voice he heard and -Conley's friendly hand on his shoulder, but he didn't pause in his -hurried stride back up through the tunnel. He heard other men coming -behind them, following Conley's example, but he felt that it was too -late now. There could only be a few minutes left. - -Kaarji might even be dead. The Dim-Ing in its subtle way might have -known the plot from the first. That would mean the Dim-Ing had won, for -no man could ever be able to get back down to that control room. - -As they reached the street, Jim felt the power of the entity withdraw a -little, as if that were necessary in order for it to embrace all their -minds. A sudden new hope surged in Jim, a feeling that their combined -forces might be a match for this thing yet! And even as they were -racing back toward the central plaza, he was evolving a plan that might -work providing they had enough time. - -"Spurlin! You remember that surface car that brought us all here at -various times? Do you suppose you might discover its secret? There are -hidden electronic motors, I believe." - -"We thought of that before, but no man was ever able to get near -enough--" - -"You'll get there this time, we'll see to it! Spurlin, when we reach -the plaza you take one man and head for that car. You spent three years -building a spaceship, but now in as many minutes you've got a tougher -job--you've got to find those motors and solve them and have them ready -for a quick departure! - -"The rest of you men, listen. I've had a few dealings with this Dim-Ing -and I think I know its weakness. It's grossly egotistic! That's the -angle we're going to play on, but our minds will have to be in perfect -accord. I want you all to be silent, but listen carefully to my every -word, and concur with me _mentally_ in everything I say!" - - * * * * * - -Strangely those mental fingers had withdrawn a little, and Jim wondered -why. There was something almost cunning about it. They reached the -plaza, and Spurlin with one man hurried to the surface car on the -opposite side of the square. The others, more than a score in all, -stopped before the building that housed the entity. - -Jim knew that there could only be minutes now. - -Even as he was formulating words in his mind, he felt the Dim-Ing's -faculties expand again, surge out prodigiously to envelop them all. And -with it came raucous mental laughter. The thing was laughing at them! - -"Steady, you men," Jim said in a quick undertone. "Get ready now." -And Jim laughed in return, laughed aloud and shortly. For beneath the -Dim-Ing's laughter he thought he detected a false note! He felt that it -was bluffing, stalling for time! But why? - -"All right," he called aloud, "you have won! You have defeated us here, -but in defeat we can laugh, for this will be your last victory! You -will get to Earth but there you will meet your end!" Jim felt the power -of the thing reaching out in a fierce resentment, but he continued -tauntingly. "You will see that the Earthian mind does not fear you, -they will seek you out. We have weapons to combat you that the -Martians know nothing of--you will not last long on Earth! If Bhruulo -alone kept you here in thrall, Earthman can do that and much more--" - -Jim had other words to say, mocking words, but he did not get a chance. -The Dim-Ing lashed out with a terrible, unsuspected force. For a single -second, all of M'Tonak was livid under a garish unbearable green, as -the men were beaten down to their knees in a huddled miserable group. -Buildings blurred and wavered and seemed to topple. The Earthmen's -consciousness dangled by a thread. - -"That is only a tiny sample of my power," the thought came lashing at -them. "That is to teach you not to drive me to anger again." - -The men rose painfully to their feet, clinging together. But Jim was -exultant now. He could not have told why, but he felt that in that one -supreme burst of anger the Dim-Ing had expended most of its power, and -that is what he had been counting on! - -"Your Earthian minds are stubborn, very stubborn. But I like that. -I think I shall like Earth. Tell me more about the weapons you have -there, the scientific devices you will use to combat me." - -What about Spurlin? Had he failed? That single, surface car was their -only escape from here! It seemed hours since Spurlin had raced across -the plaza toward it. - -"We're lost, Jim," Conley whispered wearily. "We're beaten...." - - * * * * * - -"Oh, no we're not!" For suddenly, strangely, the Dim-Ing did not grasp -their minds any more! It was slipping away, and they felt strangely -free and buoyant. But why? Why should it withdraw in its moment of -triumph, just as it was learning what it wanted to know about Earth? - -In an awful moment of panic Jim thought: "Did it read in my mind -something about Kaarji--does it know what Kaarji is doing?" - -Simultaneously, there came a shout from Spurlin across the way, and it -was a triumphant cry. "Hurry up, you men! We've got these motors going, -but Lord knows--" - -Spurlin's welcome voice! Jim found himself pounding across the plaza, -behind the others. As in a dream he could hear the smooth threnody of -the motors. - -And for one last time he felt the mental power of the Dim-Ing reaching -out, but it was half-hearted and uncertain, it wavered a little and -seemed vaguely bewildered. Jim even paused in his stride and looked -back defiantly. He felt it trying once more to grasp his mind, then it -fell away disheartened. Not until then did the truth burst upon Jim, -and he realized what was happening! - -He reached the car last of all, and dropped exhausted across the -threshold, as the re-action of all he had undergone suddenly hit him. -He felt hands pulling him in and other hands sliding the door closed -behind him. Even then the car was moving away, gathering speed toward -the single obscure tunnel leading up and out of the vast cave of -M'Tonak. - - - VIII - -Jim knew nothing more until he struggled up again from the vast depths -of darkness. This time, his mind felt blessedly alive and buoyant and -free. He simply lay there against the soft cushion and let the strength -flow back to him. - -He sat suddenly erect. He was alone, and the car had stopped. He looked -out into the white expanse of the Polar Cap once more. - -He hurried to the door, and was relieved to see the rest of the men -gathered outside, staring at something and talking excitedly. He joined -them. Conley greeted him and pointed silently. - -Barely a mile to the north, from whence they had come, a great greenish -display suffused the lowering sky. - -"That started a moment ago," Conley said. "I think we got out of there -just in time." - -Hardly had he spoken, when all of the ice-capped terrain beneath the -light collapsed into a vast hollow, miles wide. It happened silently, -abruptly; seconds later faint rumbling shook the ground. It was final. -The greenish display had vanished and only the hollow remained, as if a -giant had plunged his thumb into a rotten apple. - -Conley sighed and turned away. "When I think of poor Wessel and the -others, buried a mile below there--" - -"They got," Jim replied caustically, "just what they asked for. You'd -better hope that entity is as dead as they are!" - -"No doubt about that. But I can't understand it, Jim. I thought sure -we were lost, when it was brow-beating us there in the plaza. What -happened after that? All I remember is running for the car." - -"What happened," Jim replied softly, "is that a wild hunch of mine -worked. Did you ever indulge in Martian _tsith_ stems, Conley? It's -horrible, vile stuff; makes anyone, except an addict, violently ill. -And it hits you suddenly, like a barrage of rocket-blasts. Well, -I gave a whole pouch full--Kaarji's--to that Dim-Ing! D'you know, -despite it being an other-dimensional entity, it had some very human -qualities? Apparently it was curious, as well as egotistic; it must -have investigated and then absorbed those _tsith_ stems, and it became -violently ill--at just the right time for us!" - -Spurlin had been trying desperately to get the motors started again, -but to no avail. Now he approached the others with a worried frown. - -"Those motors are so constructed that they can work in two ways. First, -they can operate from a direct electronic beam--that's how Bhruulo -controlled the car from a distance, and that's the way we've come as -far as we have now. But with the destruction of M'Tonak, all the beams -are gone!" - -"Then you mean--we're stranded here?" - -Conley pictured hundreds of miles of ice still lying before them. He -remembered that the Cap had already started its break-up, and no man -could ever get across it now. Not afoot! - -"On the other hand," Spurlin was saying hopelessly, "the motors -_should_ work from the electronic emanations of that new metal we -found. Even a tiny amount of it. But," he waved his hand to the north, -"there it all lies buried and we'll never get to it in a million years!" - -Defeat was in his voice. - -For a moment the men milled about, looking at each other helplessly, -before Jim remembered something. - -"I've gone through too much," he grinned, "in the past few days to let -a minor thing like this stymie me." With a feigned nonchalance, he -reached into his pocket and drew forth a piece of metal. It was the -rounded medallion which Kaarji had given him, and he'd forgotten until -now. - -Spurlin's eyes lighted, he seized it eagerly and went back to work. - -Jim looked again toward the vast hollow to the north, and he spoke -softly to Conley standing beside him: - -"Spurlin's wrong, though. We'll get to that metal again, and Spurlin -will see his super spaceship come true. It'll be a tremendous mining -job, but--well, at least we know the metal's there, and it'll wait for -us." - -The sudden hum of the motors was a welcome sound in their ears, and -minutes later they were speeding smoothly back to the south. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of City of the Living Flame, by Henry Hasse - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CITY OF THE LIVING FLAME *** - -***** This file should be named 62218.txt or 62218.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/2/1/62218/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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