Chapter VI

"I assure you that these are the most comfortable accommodations to be found anywhere on Venus," commented Denny sardonically as he gazed around the dank cell in which the four found themselves imprisoned. "Speaking from experience, I mean that."

"This is your city, then, of which you spoke?" queried the Martian.

"Yes. I spent very little time in exploring it, however, as I was due to report back and was in a hurry. I do know that it's mostly underground, and of almost inconceivable antiquity, however. Of the nature of its former inhabitants, their language, or the name of the city, I could learn nothing."

"My guess that the Voornizar's base was in, or somewhere near this city was correct," asserted Klalmar-lan, dropping his voice. He glanced at the guard looming outside the heavily barred metal door, and beckoned them to a far, gloomy corner of the dungeon. The Earth people were startled to hear a chuckle of fiendish glee. It came from the Martian! He was swinging his ray pistol by the trigger guard, shaking in nearly inaudible mirth.

"By the Two Moons! What ego!" he hissed, lapsing into his native tongue, which the others understood to some extent. "They have such contempt for my poor Martian brainchild, they do not even take it from me!"

"Well, it's practically useless, as near as I can see, against any number of the creatures," shrugged Elene. "I suppose we could knock out the guard, but the lock on the door is still impossible. The next Voornizar who comes along would revive him, and we'd only be in for more restrictions."

"Ah, but you do not understand. Watch." A lizard-like reptile had run down the slimy wall, paused at the bottom. Klalmar-lan aimed the gun at it, pressed the trigger. Nothing happened. "That was the choker ray. Now, observe--I move this little catch here, press the button again." There was a little frying sound. A puff of vapor rose above the lizard, and it shrank instantly to a blackened lump. The Earthians stared in amazement.

Art finally found voice. "How did you do it?"

"Simple--a disintegrator. Result, the disintegration is only begun, when it is cut off. No explosion. Only a few elements in the victim begin to go, but the molecular structure is broken down nevertheless. I can set it for any degree I want.

"Dwalbuth called me a fool, but it is he who is stupid in his conceit. Immortal! Bah! There is nothing that cannot be disintegrated."

"Then I move; we get out of here, right now!" whispered Art vehemently. "People are dying on Earth, every minute."

"Right," agreed Denny. "Let's go." He limped to the door. "Say, guard--"

Standing behind him, the gun hidden, Klalmar-lan poured the rays over the Voornizar, through Denny, door and all. The creature slumped heavily to the floor, its fiery luminescence fading to a dull leaden gray. Klalmar-lan stepped forward, turned up his disintegrator, and impassively played the beam over the Thing on the floor, until nothing remained but a heap of blackened slag. Then he went to work on the lock. In a moment they were free. Art kicked the ashes of the guard into a dark, obscure corner of the cell.

* * * * *

"We've got to find our way to the upper level, get to a televisor someway," panted Klalmar-lan, as they hurried up the inclined passageway.

"Don't know if I can remember all the twists and turns we followed when they brought us down or not," Denny puzzled. "How about you, Art?" Art shook his head doubtfully.

"You intend to bring the Martian fleet here--that is, if you can contact them?" Elene inquired of Klalmar-lan.

"No--not here--to Earth! While they are neutralizing the Ghlak-Ileth there, we must in some way hold off the menace here."

"You're right," Art agreed. "The fleet can't fight off a million Voornizar ships and kill the Ghlak-Ileth, too. And it's imperative that they get to Earth with no delay."

Through pitch black corridors, twisting, climbing, dropping again, the party groped their way. Art had a tiny torch, which he risked flashing on occasionally, but this helped little. All hope of retracing their steps was soon abandoned. The lower levels of the ancient city had been a veritable labyrinth. Realizing that they were hopelessly lost, they stopped to take stock of the situation. Leaning against a dank, moss grown wall, Art felt something slimy brush his leg. He flashed on his light, and his sanity reeled. He saw a great, rat-like figure, the size of man on his knees! The eye in its humanoid face were closed against the light--its teeth were bared in the snarl of a cornered rat. Then it scuttled away clumsily. Great God! It was a man shambling on his knees, naked and unclean!

Art heard a little moan of horror--Elene had turned away, her face in her hands.

"Did you see it, Klalmar-lan?" he muttered hoarsely to the Martian.

"Yes, my friend," was the sad reply. "I believe we have witnessed all that is left of the glory that was Venus. A skulking creature of the sewers--creeping on its knees." He shuddered. "They nearly did that to us once--and they will do it to Earth, if we do not find a way out of here soon."

There was a metallic rattle, far down the corridor, and a livid, glowing stab of light appeared. It was a Voornizar, running--the empty cell had been found.

"It's all right," hissed Art, "he can't possibly see us. Here we have the advantage." Klalmar-lan grimly drew his ray gun, but Art halted him. "Wait--I've got a plan. You stick here. Keep out of sight. The rest of us will give ourselves up. We'll try to get him to take us to Dwalbuth or Theller. Then you follow. See?"

Klalmar-lan nodded silently, stepped back into the shadows. Grasping Elene and Denny by the hand, Art ran toward the Voornizar, shouting.

"Get us out of this horrible place before we go mad!" he croaked. Elene managed a sob or two. The Voornizar grinned evilly at their panic, then peered behind them.

"Where is the Martian?" he snarled.

"We got separated in the dark some time ago--never could locate him again," Art answered.

"We'll find him; he can't go far," rasped the creature. "Meanwhile, I will take you to Dwalbuth, who will see that you suffer adequately for this attempt at escape. In the absence of the Earthman, who wants to preserve you as his assistants, our Mighty Shan will dispose of you as he sees fit."

The guard carried a powerful torch, and had no trouble in finding the way out of the pits. They entered a level which had evidently been the quarters of the well-to-do class of ancients. There were many furnishings and decorations, most of which were badly faded and deteriorated. Hosts of Voornizar were hurrying about on various errands. Dwalbuth had evidently established headquarters here, from which he superintended the preparation of the huge radium fleet. How Klalmar-lan would ever follow them through this swarming hive was beyond Art.

* * * * *

The guard led them to a huge room where Dwalbuth was snarling orders to a group of his lieutenants. On sighting the Earthmen, he dismissed his henchmen.

"Perhaps," he began, "I have not made it clear to you just how insignificant you, and your form of life, is in our scheme of things. We have wiped out many races stronger than you, on a score of planets, in my time. We are strong, immortal; you are weak, you suffer pain easily. Do not try my patience with any more escape attempts. And you had better tell me what you have done with that guard." There was only silence. He screamed, "_What did you do with that guard?_" A great three-toed claw, or hand, shot out, stopped an inch from Elene's terror-stricken face.

"I have heard that your men consider you beautiful to look upon," sneered Dwalbuth, "I will change that face to a seared mask if you do not tell me, immediately." Then Art leaped. He threw himself on the arm with its grasping claw, bore it down. White hot, burning agony shot through his hands and arms. Then, miraculously, it stopped. Dwalbuth was sagging to the floor. But there came a vicious crackling as the guard whirled to train his heat ray on them. Then he, too, collapsed. Klalmar-lan stood in the door, grinning as he switched on his disintegrator.

"Fasten this door the best you can," he commanded, "while I finish off these two. Hate to take the time, but we can't risk their recovering." This done, he stepped to the televisor, dialled his commander-in-chief in the Greater Ring's Martian stronghold. In a few terse words, he explained the situation and sent the fleet hurtling toward Earth. By this time, a great pounding had begun at the door. But the Earthians had not been idle--they had been searching frantically for an exit. And Elene had found one, a tiny passageway behind a once secret, but now half-rotted-away panel. They scrambled into it, crawled for a short way. Then the tunnel debouched into a larger corridor in which they could stand up and run. Luckily, it was crooked, and winding; for they heard the angry snap and hiss of searching heat rays not far behind.

"Watch this," said Klalmar-lan, turning his disintegrator up higher. A Voornizar appeared around a corner, and exploded with a muffled roar.

"Don't get the mixture too rich!" laughed Art as the fragments showered around them. "Say, Klalmar-lan, how in blazes did you get through that mob to follow us?"

"Easy," grinned the black man. "When you came out on that level, I was lurking close behind. There was nothing for me to do but fall right in with you. If you had looked around, you'd have seen me right at your elbow. Of course, when you came to the door of Dwalbuth's staff room, I dropped out, and just stood outside the door, acting the part of a bored prisoner, until the fun started."

Art chuckled at the Martian's audacity. The sounds of pursuit were getting fainter behind them. The Voornizar were learning new respect for their once despised captives.

The tunnel now narrowed down to a width which made it passable by one person only, and ran perfectly straight. The party formed in single file, Klalmar-lan bringing up the rear. Denny led, with Art's flash, as Art was nursing scorched hands and arms.

"They'll be getting after us with that paralysis ray directly," Art worried. "What do you say to blocking the tunnel? We can surely depend on its emerging somewhere."

"The War Gods help us if _they_ know where it comes out! But I think you've got an idea there," agreed Klalmar-lan, turning his ray on the roof of the tunnel a good distance behind them. It crumbled, slowly at first, then gave way with a roar, the fragments of rock and masonry completely choking the aperture. Klalmar-lan did not stop until he had filled the passage for a good hundred feet.

"We can get back through there, if we have to, by using this gun, but the Voornizar will have to dig or bore their way. Their disintegrators are like yours of Earth--uncontrolled. They are useful out in space for destroying an enemy space ship at a distance, but one blast under ground here would set off enough thermal energy to blow this whole city off the green face of Venus."

* * * * *

Denny was crouching on the floor. "Look at this!" he exclaimed. His tiny flash revealed fresh marks in the damp sand which covered the floor at that point. They were blurred, and had no resemblance to human footprints.

"At least one Voornizar passed this way," commented Klalmar-lan, "but my guess is that Dwalbuth made these tracks, and was the only one who knew the secret of this passage."

"It's a sure thing it's leading us to some place of importance--Dwalbuth didn't take this walk for the fresh air," Denny contributed.

The tunnel's length seemed interminable, although Art estimated they had not covered over four or five Earth miles. They found a tiny spring of pure water trickling down the moss-shrouded stone wall, and drank gratefully. Their lunch consisted of a few food tablets which Art had been carrying.

At last a dim glow of light appeared ahead. Advancing warily, they found the passage ran squarely into a plate metal barrier, which leaned away from them at a slight angle. About head height, there was a small ragged hole burned into it, through which came the light they had seen. Denny applied his eyes to this.

"Smokin' Mercury!" he exclaimed, sotto voice. "Get a load of this, Art!" Art looked. The sight was awesome. Far below, and stretching into the dim distance, was a vast cavern. As far as the eye could see, its floor was covered with huge silvery shapes--the mighty cruisers of the Voornizar. Their close-packed ranks seemed to stretch for miles into the darkness. The only light was the luminescence of the ships themselves. The great domed roof was shrouded with gloom. The vantage point from which Art looked seemed to be located high in the curved side, and the metal barricade against which the tunnel ended was actually the shell of the Gargantuan cavity.

Klalmar-lan then had a quick glance, then turned to them, elated.

"This is it! We've stumbled on the main pool. There must be nearly a million ships down there."

Elene was looking now--she was unable to see any egress through which the ships could be trundled to the surface. Doubtless there was a ramp or elevator of some sort, probably on the far side beyond their range of vision. Many Voornizar were moving among the great hulks, servicing them, effecting minor repairs.

"We are now probably well outside the city proper," continued Klalmar-lan. "Apparently this was once a great assembly hall, where huge mass meetings or possibly some kind of sporting events, were held. Some ancient king, wishing to spy upon the doings of his subjects unobserved, caused this passageway to be dug and the peekhole to be cut. Dwalbuth, in turn, utilized it for somewhat the same purpose."

"Looks like the work of a twentieth-century acetylene torch," laughed Denny.

"That might afford an excellent clue as to the comparative development of their civilization," agreed Klalmar-lan gravely. "But enough theorizing. We must utterly destroy all these ships. Wait here."

They watched as he moved back through the tunnel a short distance. He trained his pistol on the wall. Rapidly a hole began to appear.

"It can't be far to the surface," he told them. "I'm going to burn a tunnel upward at a steep angle. Keep a good watch in both directions." Just then Art, his eye glued to the opening, saw that something was amiss below. The Voornizar were running about excitedly. Faintly he heard their discordant shouting, and the crackle of heat rays. Then he saw, skimming and swerving above the rows of giant ships, a familiar sight! Klalmar-lan's own spaceship, in which they had originally embarked from Earth! Wildly, it plunged toward Art, then swung erratically away and headed in a steep climb for the top of the dome. Several small patrol fliers appeared, racing in pursuit. Searchlights lanced through the blackness, illuminating the heretofore invisible ceiling, which was apparently just what the pilot of Klalmar-lan's ship hoped for. A passing searchlight beam revealed for an instant a round, jagged hole in the center of the room; the little rocket ship shot through it like an escaping minnow. The hole had evidently been newly made by the Voornizar for the passage of their smaller and more maneuverable craft, a half dozen of which now flashed through in pursuit.

Art turned and related what he had seen.

* * * * *

"That was Theller, or I'm not a broken down space eater," growled Denny, "Here, let me spell you on that excavation work a while, Klalmar-lan." Klalmar-lan had a tough job--it was getting more difficult as the hole progressed. Hot gobbets of molten lava came splashing down from time to time, preventing him from entering the hole and following up his work. Acrid, choking fumes began to fill the tunnel, but Klalmar-lan refused to let Denny or Art take over, on account of their burned hands. It was two hours before daylight began to show, fifty feet above.

"Now, while those rocks are cooling sufficiently for us to crawl out, I'll show you what my plan is," said Klalmar-lan. "Has anyone a chrono?" Elene slipped one from her wrist, handed it to him. Quickly, he slipped it out of its case, began removing various parts. He attached it to the trigger ring of his pistol, made a delicate adjustment. Then he set the gun to full disintegrator. He rigged it so that the muzzle pointed through the peep-hole, aimed at the ships below.

"We've got six hours to get out of here and put plenty of miles between us and this place," he informed them. Hurriedly they scrambled up the chimney he had made. The rock had cooled rapidly, as it was pouring rain above, and water ran down in little rivulets. The four of them were drenched by the time they reached the surface. The rain was beating down in such a torrent that they could hardly get their breath. It was warm, like a tepid shower. It was difficult to see more than a few feet, but it was evident that they were in thick jungle.

"Let's head West," shouted Denny. "There's a bay that runs in here, toward the city. We came in that way before, from the sea. Shouldn't be far from here. If we can get on the open beach, it'll be lots better going than this damned jungle." With this they had to agree, and no time was lost in plunging into the jungle in the direction he had indicated. The four were now weaponless, and would have fallen easy prey to any one of a dozen varieties of carnivorous monsters who habitually roamed the forest. But the creatures evidently did not consider the rain conducive to good hunting, and so they were unmolested. Two hours of exhausting struggle brought them out on the beach, which had not been over a mile away.

"Now we can make time," said Denny. "This narrow strip of beach will take us almost straight away from the space port for about twenty miles."

"We'll do our best to cover it in the four hours we have left," Art chuckled. They set out at a rapid clip, keeping a wary eye on both jungle and sea, from either of which might spring sudden death at any moment. The rain stopped, but lead-colored clouds still swirled overhead, for Venus was eternally overcast. Plenty of drinking water was to be found in the hollows of huge leaves--but the need for food was becoming keen with all of them. Still, they did not dare tarry long enough to find sustenance.

"There are a few species of fish in these waters which I know to be edible," explained Denny. "When it's safe to stop, we can catch a few."

* * * * *

"You may stop right now!" commanded a harsh voice from behind them. They whirled--there, in the fringe of the jungle, his gray hair awry, his eyes glittering with desperation, stood Doctor Theller, covering them with the wide mouth of an electronic pistol.

"You--the Martian--I need your services. Come along--there's no time to lose. The rest of you come, too." There was nothing to do but trudge ahead of him through the jungle in the direction he indicated. There, as they had expected, lay Klalmar-lan's ship.

"You are having a little trouble with my ship?" inquired the Martian insolently, winking at his comrades.

"Yes, damn you--and you're going to fix it!" snarled the scientist. "It was necessary for me to fly through a narrow opening--I grazed the edge slightly. Two of the starboard main propulsion jets were sheared away. I had no trouble losing my pursuers in the mist, but when I cut in the main jets to leave the atmosphere, I merely looped about in crazy trajectories. The right adjustment of the firing pattern would compensate for this, but I could not find it. On one of my own ships, yes, but this confounded Martian oddity is beyond my understanding. I had to drop down here, and attempt to trace out the connections from the firing panel. This I have been unable to do. You will do it for me!"

"Apparently you no longer occupy your former position of esteem with the Voornizar," mocked Art.

"Get in the ship!" snapped Theller, glancing sharply at them. "You, Klalmar-lan, pilot the ship. Set the course for Mars."

"Mars!"

"Yes. We will land in a remote area, where we will pose as refugees from Earth. That is, all of us except Klalmar-lan, of whom I will dispose before reaching there. I am not beaten yet. I have friends there, and with the secrets I have learned of the Martian weapons and defenses, I will be able to build anew."

Art stepped forward, ignoring the threatening gun muzzle. "Doctor Theller, it strikes me that you are in no position to dictate terms to us. You are in as great a danger as we, how great a danger, you do not even dream. Only Klalmar-lan can pilot this crippled ship. This he can, and will, refuse to do. Now here are our terms. We will take you to Mars alive, where we will turn you over to the authorities." Art was loath to reveal as yet that they could set their course for Earth and arrive there in perfect safety. "You do not dare kill any of us."

"Don't I?" sneered the scientist. "Watch me. If Klalmar-lan does not get into that pilot seat before I count ten, I will blast Elene to a cinder. Then I will kill you, Art. Then Denny. When only Klalmar-lan is left, I will destroy him by inches, burning away a hand or foot at a time." The electronic pistol swung toward Elene and he began counting. White-faced, Art motioned despairingly to Klalmar-lan. The Martian's black eyes were obsidian as he silently strapped himself in the seat. The rest followed, Doctor Theller last, his pistol covering them. Suddenly there was a sickening lurch, a numbing crash, and blackening oblivion.