Chapter FOUR: A Race With the Nova

The machine men were given over for inspection by hundreds of the great creatures which they had automatically designated as Ajirs. Tiring of the inspection, the brutes handed them back to their original owners.

Professor Jameson was carried into a cavern and unceremoniously thrown on a rocky ledge with a strange collection of objects which had evidently caught the fancy of the Ajir.

There were bright bits of fused metal, evidently of volcanic origin, and odd-shaped bones littered the ledge. Most curious of all was an entire skeleton about twice the professor's size. As soon as the cavern's owner went out and left him alone, he fell to examining it. The skeleton was entire, each bone loosely interlocking with another so that it was impossible to remove one of them, except by force. The skeleton had been that of a four-legged animal.

The professor found that his companions had met with fates similar to his own. They communicated with one another and decided that for the present it was best to bide their time--never letting the Ajirs know that they were living creatures--and watch for the first good chance to escape.

In the several days that followed, the machine men learned many things about their captors and the world on which they lived.

The Ajirs were partly vegetarians. They sometimes set traps for the great birds which came down from the mountain heights. The Ajirs voiced a syllable in reference to the birds which the machine men interpreted as Quar, and from that time on they referred to the birds collectively as Quari.

The Ajirs possessed hardly any language at all, and their minds were so simple and elementary that the machine men rarely took the trouble to trace their thoughts.

When they were left alone, the machine men looked out upon many things scurrying back to their proper places when their owners approached the caves.

Once, the professor was not quick enough, and he lay still on the floor. The Ajir picked him up and placed him on the ledge, thinking, as the professor had expected he would, that the machine man had fallen off the ledge.

6W-438 was caught out on the plateau once. One of the Ajirs accused another of theft, and a terrific battle ensued between the two.

Meanwhile, the anxiety of the machine men grew. The days before the nova was expected were becoming fewer, and still they found no means of escape. 12W-62 argued that escape meant little unless they were found and taken back to the spaceship.

The Ajirs continued the routine of their simple yet turbulent lives, blissfully ignorant of the impending doom to all life on Ajiat and the sister worlds of the system. They had little time to live, but they were living it ignorantly and happily.

It was the hope of all four Zoromes that another helium ship would be sent out by their companions and that the mental detectors would find them. Unless they escaped in time, there would be a battle with the Ajirs, but the machine men doubted the ability of the fearsome monsters to survive a barrage of the power guns.

More days passed, and still no help reached them as they remained prisoners of the Ajirs. The machine men were now rarely handled by their captors--the novelty having worn off. They watched everything that went on, and they saw parties of the monsters come and go. Once there was a battle with a raiding party from another village.

At another time, the monotony was relieved by an unusually large bevy of Quari that flew down from their mountain aeries, drawn by the meat of the baited snares laid by the Ajirs. The monsters rushed out to beat them to death with great clubs as several of them were trapped and fought viciously to escape.

The large numbers of the Quari stayed and fought loyally with their snared brethren until the latter broke free or else fell exhausted by their efforts and by the blows from the Ajirs. Several of the great brutes were severely injured by the Quari, and bled deeply from gashes inflicted by teeth and talons. One of them died as the price for the four Quari which were taken.

Out of this exciting episode, which all four machine men watched from their various coverts, Professor Jameson conceived not only a plan of escape but a possibility, as well, of returning near the neighborhood of the spaceship. The machine men heard his plan and waited for night to fall.

"We must hide among the snares and attach ourselves to one of the Quari when they come for the bait. We shall be carried up into the mountains and perhaps part way down the other slope. As soon as darkness falls, let us creep out and meet by the traps."

"But suppose the bird is trapped?"

"Then I shall free it with the heat ray in my fore tentacle," Professor Jameson replied. "We can use the lines from the snares to fasten ourselves to the bird's legs."

"We may be shaken off or torn away."

"Possibly, but we must run the risks involved. Time grows too short. We must get back to the spaceship!"

* * * * *

During the night, after all was quiet, the machine men crept from their caves and met on the plateau. There was a tendency for their metal feet to create noise against the rock, and they found it necessary to move slowly as well as cautiously. Their situation would be a precarious one if the Ajirs awakened to find their metal possessions suddenly come to life!

On one side of the plateau, large hunks of meat loomed about the machine men like boulders. The birds would come at dawn.

The machine men waited as the stars swung across the sky and satellites of Ajiat came and went. Dawn came. With the first, faint flush of light upon the tallest peaks, the Quari commenced to circle and fly down from their heights.

Sounds of stirring and awakening Ajirs reached the machine men. They were glad that the snares were away from the caves and near the precipice. The bait was so large as to afford them easy concealment.

With the coming of dawn and activity among the Ajirs, the professor burnt several lines from the snares to be used in fastening their metal bodies to one of the Quari. Previously, he had not dared risk the glare of light produced in the darkness for fear a waking Ajir might see it.

With mingled excitement and relief, the four machine men saw several black specks from on high swoop lower. The birds circled above the tempting morsels. The machine men remained quiet so as not to excite their suspicions. They settled, and the voices of the Ajirs who had also watched their coming were hushed.

One great bird settled to rest by a chunk of bait which sheltered three of the Zoromes. They were instantly joined by 12W-62, and all four fastened themselves about the legs of the Quar.

The bird jumped a bit in alarm but did not abandon the chunk of bait. The machine men had freed this particular piece of bait, among others, from the snares, and as the bird seized it, and was not caught, a subdued cry of disappointment arose from the watching Ajirs.

Other birds were caught and battled to get free. The one to which the machine men clung, pecked at them ineffectually a few times, and seized upon the bait once more as onrushing Ajirs came with clubs lifted.

The bird flapped its wings, and with cries of surprise the Ajirs saw and recognized the four metal things they had found. They stared at them, entangled about the legs of the slowly rising bird.

A swishing blow of the foremost brute just grazed a talon of the bird and left the wind of its passage upon 29G-75. Up they rose, swifter, as the broad wings of the Quar belabored the air.

They soared higher, the plateau with its fighting Ajirs and Quari dwindling away into obscurity. They were soon among the peaks and flying above them. The machine men wondered when the bird would light. It was like riding upon the landing gear of a mighty airplane.

The bird was carrying the chunk of meat to its nest, and they were glad for every mile that the bird was covering in the direction of the opposite mountainside. Yet, they hoped that its nest was not on the face of an inaccessible cliff.

Soon, the other slope of the mountain loomed into view, and they enthused at the familiar panorama beyond. Professor Jameson could see, far off, the territory of forest into which the spaceship had crashed.

Would the bird take them closer to that spot? It was too much to hope for, he knew. Chance on choosing this particular Quar had taken them far already in the right direction. Even as the professor turned these thoughts over in his mind, the bird headed for a rocky crag.

There was no single nest here, but a continuous series of pits and hollows formed of branches lined with grasses and other materials. There were young birds in many of these--while others were empty. A few adults had already come back with food in the way of small animals and smaller birds.

The Quar headed for one of the empty hollows and swooped gently to rest. That the bird had felt harassed in its flight over the mountain, by the four machine men, was plainly evident as the bird set down its piece of meat and bit viciously at them, sharp teeth grating and sliding against their metal bodies.

A tentacle of 12W-62 became wedged between two teeth, and the machine man disentangled himself with difficulty. The professor and 6W-438 were wrenched from their self-made bonds as the Quar screeched, in rage. Talons freed the two more encumbrances from the bird's legs.

Meanwhile, as the Quar continued in its efforts to bite the professor and 12W-62, 29G-75 freed himself and made a discovery.

"There are openings in the bottom of the nest where we can climb through!"

He was soon down out of reach of the Quar, and he waited for his companions to get free. 6W-438 was first to join him. An application of the professor's heat ray caused the screeching Quar to loose him and 12W-62 long enough for them to slide down through the tangle of tree branches.

The four machine men found themselves in a maze of dead branches through which they threaded their way with difficulty, often finding the way before them too impenetrable and closely woven for passage.

The professor now and then had to use his heat ray.

They struck the rock foundation of the continuous nest thirty feet down, and they followed a devious route to the edge of the crag. They found a long, steep descent, dangerous and treacherous.

Luckily, none of the Quari returned to attack them until they were safely at the bottom of the looming crag.

"It is a long way down the mountain and then to the spaceship," said the professor, "but we must try and make it in what little time we have left."

"If nothing detains us, it will be enough, I believe."

From what they knew of Ajiat's rotation--they had all made separate computations while prisoners of the Ajirs--they had come to the same conclusion regarding the time left before the sun exploded.

Now, there were only three of Ajiat's rotations left before the meteoric mass struck the sun!

* * * * *

All that day, they kept moving down the mountain, and though they were going downhill, they nevertheless felt the effects of the strong gravity. They occasionally reached ledges or precipices which had to be avoided.

Once, 29G-75 fell over one of these ledges, and although the fall was a relatively short one for a machine man to sustain--the mighty attraction of Ajiat drew him down so forcefully that he bent a leg in under him in his fall.

All day long, at intervals, the Quari came to bother them, generally desisting when they found that they were not edible. At night, although they used their body lights, their progress slowed somewhat.

Dawn came, and they increased their pace once more. Untiring, they knew no cessation until a vital part wore out. This, the professor and his companions constantly feared.

Again, the sharp eyes of the Quari saw them from on high and came to harass them again. Sometimes the professor managed to drive them off with his heat ray. The machine men also struck them with lashing tentacles, but they were so large that this had little effect on them.

Shortly after noon, disaster stalked them. Earlier fears were realized. The leg which 29G-75 had bent in his fall finally wore so bad at the joint with his metal body that it became useless. This slowed their descent of the mountain. Up to this point, the professor had figured themselves well ahead of the impending, solar catastrophe.

Night fell again. They kept on, assisting the slightly unbalanced 29G-75 over difficult stretches.

Then, without warning, something went wrong with the inner workings of 12W-62's metal cube so that he suffered lapses of control. He kept on going when he should have stopped, and sometimes he stopped entirely and seemed to have no ability to move again. These periods of inactivity, brief at first, became prolonged. The machine men knew the symptoms and were not surprised when the inevitable happened.

The mechanism of 12W-62 went entirely dead! The excessive requirements of Ajiat had exhausted his energy supply which could only be recharged at the spaceship. There was only one thing to do, which they accomplished with as little loss of time as possible.

They removed the head of 12W-62 from his useless body and carried it with them. 29G-75 was quickly outfitted with one of the metal legs, and they carried the other three with them in case of emergency.

The race against time tightened. Their slight advantage had been lost. Professor Jameson kept the doubts in his mind hidden from his companions.

They were nearly to the foot of the mountain, and the distance from there to the spaceship was well within a day's walk. They gained level ground shortly before dawn.

They had covered less than a mile of distance when 6W-438 fell over suddenly and could not rise. More time was lost in removing his head.

As dawn broke, Professor Jameson collapsed, and even as 29G-75 stooped to help him and ascertain the extent of his trouble, he, too, lost his ability to move!

He stood quiet and useless on his four metal legs above the fallen body of the professor. Each of the two machine men carried the head of a companion.

"This looks to be the end," said 6W-438. "We still have today. Shortly after dark, if our calculations are not wrong, the nova will take place."

The sky above them grew brighter. Idle and impassive, they watched the birds commencing to fly far up the side of the nearby mountain. The sun, that dangerous furnace which was destined to explode before another full rotation of Ajiat, crept over the horizon. Doom shone upon the machine men.

Somewhere not far from that flaming, incandescent mass, the vast conglomeration of meteoric fragments sped like a racing powder train on a grim errand to purge all the worlds of that system of life, spreading an all-destroying heat wave to the outermost realms of the farthest orbit with the speed of light.

A small swarm of birds caught their attention. The Quari had evidently sighted them and were descending to investigate.

"This time they will find no resistance," said the professor.

"Do you think they will carry us away?"

"It is doubtful--when they find that we are not good to eat."

The birds were acting strangely, as if they were fighting over something among themselves. Their manner of descent was strange, too. The machine men had never seen them come down so directly before. Generally, they flew down in long, swinging loops. This time, their turns were shorter and took less distance.

Not until they were within a few hundred feet from the ground did the machine men find the reason for their strange maneuvers. They saw a gleaming ovoid of metal which had previously been hidden by the Quari who were attacking it.

The machine men now saw birds disappearing from time to time, and burned fragments of them came floating down. The help for which they had despaired had come at last!

With a sudden barrage, which caused great havoc among the Quari and sent the survivors winging away, the metal skycraft descended the remaining distance.

There was no attached basket, but a gondola of metal was built into the bottom of the globe. Propellers and steering gear were also visible. Out of the gondola raced 47X-09 and 22K-501.

"You are found, finally!" cried 47X-09. "And none too soon, either!"

"Shortly before dawn came, we saw your body lights shining near the foot of the mountain," 22K-501 told them as they were gathered up and taken aboard the gondola. "We were far off and high in the sky. We lost track of you for a while when it grew light, and then we had to fight off the birds. It was during their attack that we again located you with the mind detectors."

"Tell me about the spaceship," the professor implored. "Is it all right and ready for flight?"

"That we hope. It will call for a tremendous repulsion to free it of Ajiat's powerful grip. 20R-654 and 744U-21 are not entirely satisfied with the super-resisters which have been built, and so they have enlisted another strong ally to help the ship on its start."

"The helium!"

"Yes, 21MM392," 47X-09 vindicated the professor's inspiration. "The spaceship is not only filled to capacity with it, but several tanks have been built around the ship and are filled, ready for our flight. Of course, it will be useless after we once pass the atmosphere, but it is only for initial momentum."