CHAPTER XIX
Deadlock
"Borisu!"
There is a limit to which human impassivity can be constrained. Gary Lane had now surpassed his ability to play the ignoramus. The name burst from his lips with explosive force. "Borisu!"
O'Day echoed the cry. "Borisu! But my God, Gary, that means—"
In his dismay Lark spoke in English. Their captor had been startled enough at Gary's cry, but upon hearing speech in a foreign tongue from the lips of a supposedly uncultured slave, his eyes opened wide in astonishment. He demanded, "Whatisthis? Whence came you twain that you speak a language I do not know?"
And his hand reached for the ray gun at his belt. But it never got there. For Lark O'Day called signals in a language the Magogean could never possibly understand. He cried sharply:
"All right, Gary, punt formation.... One, two ...Hep!"
And simultaneously the two Earthmen converged on their guard, one high, one low. Gary, taking his cue from Lark's quarterbacking, made no effort to wrest the weapon from the Magogean's grasp, but kicked straight and true at the young lieutenant's wrist. The gun flew high, and by the time it clattered to the paving Lark had smashed the youngkraedarto the ground and battered him into unconscious submission.
Gary tugged at his friend's shoulder. "O.Q., Lark, that'll do. You don't have to pound him into hamburger."
"Not hamburger," rasped O'Day, withdrawing reluctantly, "just a reasonable facsimile thereof. He's the louse who said he wouldn't mind making a play for Penny himself!"
Gary said, "Never mind that now. Somebody's going to make worse than a play for Penny if she and Nora are ever taken before Borisu. You know what that means, don't you?"
Lark nodded grimly. "Taps for the bunch of us. He's the one person in Khundru who could recognize any of us beneath our disguises. And by the time the gals get tidied up—Well, what'll we do?"
Gary said, "I've got an idea. You're about that guy's build—" He nodded toward the prostrate figure. "Scramble into his uniform, quick. Before somebody happens along this way. And while you're dressing, I'll rollhimintoyourrags."
"O.Q."
The shift was made. Finally a "slave" lay prone in the middle of the corridor floor, and a handsome youngkraedarof the Magogean guard towered above him.
"O.Q.," repeated Lark then. "What next, director?"
"You must have something on you," figured Gary, "with which to call help. Find it."
Lark pawed the unfamiliar paraphernalia with which his uniform was draped, finally discovered a small whistle. He looked at it distastefully. "You mean I have to put this in my mouth and blow it?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"I'll probably get hydrophobia," grunted Lark ... but obeyed.
The whistle brought immediate results. Footsteps clattered through the tunneled corridor, and shortly questions were being hurled at the false guard officer by an excited handful of Magogean soldiery.
"I was taking these two slaves to their quarters," explained Lark. "That one is a trouble maker. He turned against me. I was forced to strike him down. Cart him away. Throw him in the dungeon. You—" He picked out a likely looking prospect Gary's size—"come with me while I take this other where he must go."
So, as the band of soldiers lugged their unconsciouskraedarinto durance vile, Lark and a soldier escorted Gary to the first conveniently dark passageway. From this came shortly a thud, as of some blunt instrument striking a heavy object ... and a few moments later two warriors clad in the habiliment of the Magogean armed forces were speeding upward through the labyrinthine corridors of the Palace Royal toward those chambers to which the girls had been taken.
They had ascended three levels and reached the point in the Palace Royal where the corridors were beginning to look less like passageways of a fortress and more like the aisles and avenues of a residential area when there burst about their ears a cascade of sounds at once bewildering and startling. It was the clamor of a myriad of ringing bells, sharp warning tocsins sounding an alarum of some sort. Whence it came, at first they could not tell. Searching for an explanation, their eyes discovered a series of grilled openings periodically spaced about the wainscoting of the chambers through which they hurried.
Gary guessed, "A general communicating system of some sort, Lark. But what does it mean? Do you think Borisu has seen the girls, discovered—"
"He's hardly had time," demurred Lark. "Butsomething'sup—no doubt about that. Ah! Here comes someone. Perhaps now—" He lifted his voice in a shout as a soldier clad like Gary raced into the corridor. "Hello there, you!"
The Magogean warrior identified the rank of his accoster and halted, saluting. "Yes,kraedar? Foot soldier Norad, preparing to take post, sir, in accordance with emergency alarm instructions."
"Very good," approved Lark. "What is the nature of the emergency? Have you any idea?"
The private nodded. "Yes, sir. An official telecast was just issued over the diaphragm. It is a Gogean attack."
"A Gogean—?"
"Well, not exactly an attack, sir ... yet. Because the force barrier prevents their entering Khundru. But a mighty army of the cursed Darksiders has been spotted by our observation posts. They number in the tens of thousands. They have been seen at every gate. Apparently their army has completely encircled Khundru."
"Good!" said Lark. "I mean ... er ... very good, soldier. Report to your post as ordered. Oh, whatisyour post?"
"Main control tower, sir. The ultrawave cannon."
"Indeed?" Lark's eyes lighted sharply. "And where lies this tower?"
"Why, at the lowest level, of course, sir—" began thetramir... then stopped abruptly, suspicion darkening his gaze. His voice changed tone and one hand crept furtively toward the sidearm holstered at his side. "But—but how is it thatyouakraedar, do not know—"
"That," said Lark softly, "is a question you must ask your ancestors,tramir." And his hand, too, streaked to his belt. Before the startled warrior could draw, a shaft of orange lightning seared the life from his body. It was a charred carcass when it hit the floor.
Gary said regretfully, "Poor devil! He was only doing his duty as he saw it."
"War," reminded Lark, "is war. The only good enemy is adeadenemy. We know where we stand now. The Gogeans are on deck as they promised to be, and we know where the control tower is. Now if we can just lift that barrier shield—"
"We must get the girls first," reminded Gary. "I think we're almost there. Come on."
He was right. They sped through a few more chambers, then emerged into an apartment more elaborately furnished than any seen so far. Into this they shouldered rudely. At sight of them a gross figure, a mountainous mass of jelly parodying Magogean manhood, came mincing up to them on swollen feet emitting shrill little bleats of horror and dismay.
"Kraedar! Tramir!A thousand pardons, but these are thewomen'squarters. You have no right here."
"Beat it, capon!" grunted Lark, and with a twist of his foot sent the piping eunuch sprawling. He lifted his voice. "Penny! Nora! Where are you?"
At his cry a flurry sounded from an adjacent chamber as curtains flung apart and Penny and Nora ran to greet them. They still wore the peasant rags in which they had been sold.
Penny cried, "Lark! We knew you'd find us! We knew you would come!"
And Nora echoed, "We were waiting. But Gary, what does the alarm mean? When they heard it, those who were attending us fled. All the women in Khundru have taken shelter—"
"And every man has gone to his post," explained Gary. "They've spotted the Gogean army outside the city. We must work fast before they can turn their armaments on our unprotected friends. Come on."
"Yes, but where?"
"To the control tower. It's the key to the whole situation."
This time their flight through the avenues of the Palace Royal was not so unimpeded as before. The entire city had sprung to a state of alert. As they left the residential quarters and moved once more into that portion of the citadel which was its walled fortress, they passed on several occasions small bodies of troops hurrying toward designated battle posts. As they passed gun stations they saw artillery crews huddled behind flame guns and rotors which, through slits in the palace wall, commanded wide areas of the city before and below. Twice their passage was challenged. Once by a patrol sentry whom Lark easily satisfied.
"KraedarGorilu and one attendant on special duty. Taking these two females to the dungeons for safekeeping."
"Very good, sir," said the sentry, and permitted them to pass.
But the second challenge was not so easily averted. This came from akraedarof equal rank to him as whom Lark masqueraded. This noble made the fatal error of attempting to question the fugitives without first calling assistance.
"KraedarGorilu?" he repeated. "I know no such lord. And your trappings designate you as one of theinnerPalace Guard. Why, then, are you fleeing inthisdirection? And why are you drawing that gun,kraedar?"
"Because," answered Lark simply, "you ask too damn many questions, and we haven't got time to answer them. Sorry, pal!"
And they left the inquisitivekraedarbehind, inquisitive and suspicious no longer....
But finally they went again to that section of the Palace Royal which they knew to be its nerve center. From the deepening throb of many motors, and by the slowly increasing static crackling of dynamos endlessly turning, they knew when they had reached their objective.
But there was something missing. Something which puzzled and worried Gary Lane. So much so that as they approached the central control tower he drew his companions to a halt in the shadow of a deserted lookout niche.
"Wait a minute," he warned. "Let's stop and look this situation over. There's something wrong here."
"Wrong," repeated Lark. "What's wrong about it? Everything looks O.Q. to me. We gotthisfar without trouble—well, much, that is. And judging by appearances, that doorway—" He nodded—"opens to the control tower proper. So far asIcan see there's not a damn soul around to stop us."
"That's just it! This is the nerve center of the entire Magogean defense system. Look ... look below, there!" Gary gestured to the window slit by which they were huddled. Through it could be seen the lower court of the Palace Royal and several streets of Khundru beyond. All had been emptied of vehicular traffic and were aswarm with fighting men prepared to repel any invasion attempt. "They've got the Palace guarded to the hilt ... but the main control tower doesn't have a man around it!"
Lark chuckled cheerfully. "Just like the Magogeans. Dr. Kang's been saying all along they don't have good sense. So much the better for us. Come on ... let's get going. We've got to open that barrier.
"Well, all right," agreed Gary. "But be careful. I don't like this."
So they crossed the last open space between their present post and the partially isolated control tower, a domed minaret of a building constructed within the palace walls but remote from other portions of the edifice.
Serving to strengthen Gary's suspicions, the door of this tower was not even locked, but yielded readily to their pressure.
Within this dome the thrumming drone of motors sounded more insistent than ever. It throbbed in their ears, their brains, their veins, like the slow and deadly dripping of a creeping poison. It was an audible magnet which drew them to the innermost chamber.
And here again—stunningly!—was the door unlocked! Its latch clicked at Gary's pressure. The heavy door swung slowly open, and a bright room yawned before them; a tremendous, vaulted chamber in which were mounted gigantic instruments of almost unguessable size and power.
The control panels governing these instruments were set on high walls, but as they entered Gary saw that a single figure, garbed in smock and apron of laboratory white, head encased in a heavy visionplated shield similar to that used by welders, sufficed to keep all this intricate paraphernalia in working order. This single technician was darting back and forth before his control banks, here touching a vernier, there readjusting a rheostat, elsewhere depressing a stud which performed some unfathomable duty.
At sight of this single lab man, O'Day's exultation could no longer be restrained. With a gleeful cry he charged into the room, handgun drawn and menacing. His voice cried in swift command. "All right, you at the controls there! Turn around, and put your hands up—Up, I said!"
And then—too many things happened at once! There came a sudden gasp from Penny's lips.
"Lark! It's—"
And a frightened scream from Nora Powell. Metal clanged noisily as the great door clanged behind the four invaders. A bolt thick as a man's arm jarred into place. And even as the four whirled to comprehend this phenomenon, an all too horribly familiar voice repeated O'Day's order.
"Yes, my foolish friends—hands up and drop your weapons to the floor! What delayed you? I have been waiting for you quite some time."
And from behind the concealment of the now-closed door, flanked by a detail of Magogean warriors, armed to the teeth and ready for instant action, stepped Borisu!
"A trap!" cried Gary Lane. "A trap!"
Borisu smiled easily. "Yes, my dear young doctor. You did not believe that we of Magog were stupid enough to purposely leave unprotected our control tower? Particularly when we knew you had contrived entry to our capital city?"
Nora Powell cried, "Then youknewwe were in Khundru?"
"Let me not assume undue credit," smirked Borisu in mock modesty. "Let us say, rather, Iguessedit was you the moment I learned one of our youngerkraedarhad been attacked, and his uniform exchanged for the garment of a serf.
"When upon further investigation it was learned that this self-same 'serf,' in company with four of his pretended 'family,' had created a scene of violence at the slave market, it was not hard to guess that such impetuous blunderers must be part of the late comradeship of theLiberty."
His manner changed abruptly, his oily smile disappeared and tiny needles of flame darted from his eyes. "But enough of this," he rasped. "There are but four of you here. Where is the fifth? Who was he? Muldoon? Or that young traitor patrolman, Captain Warren?"
Gary stared at him in frank astonishment. This did not make sense. Was it not to this control tower that Dr. Kang had been sent? If Borisu and his henchmen had not already met and apprehended the Martian savant here, then where—?
A sudden thought struck him, one so staggering that it was only with an effort that he kept his eyes from turning in a revelatory direction. He struggled to keep his voice under control. He asked levelly, "And suppose I refuse to tell you, Borisu?"
"It will not greatly matter," snarled the Magogean. "But I warn you, it will be better if youdotell. Speak, now! Who was the fifth member of your party?"
"The fifth member," said Gary slowly, stalling for what he had reason to believe was precious time, "was—"
Then came an interruption. The hooded technician at the control board turned suddenly, spluttering swift, fearful words at thekraedarand his guards.
"My lords! Your attention quickly! Something has gone wrong with the force barrier!"
"Wrong?" echoed Borisu, turning swiftly to the man. "But nothingcango wrong. What do you mean?"
"It's weakening ... failing.... Come, see for yourself."
The technician pointed with trembling fingers at an alarm signal high upon the control banks; a light now pulsating in fitful ruby flares. Borisu spat a stream of angry curses, turned and waddled hastily across the amphitheatre to the engineer's side.
"Where is the fault?" he demanded wildly. "Hurry, man! Bestir yourself! Don't stand there like a stricken schoolgirl. Do something!"
And:
"Very well, Borisu!" cried the engineer, his voice changing suddenly. "Iwilldo something!"
His hand leaped out and tore the pistol from thekraedar'sgrasp, in one split second completely changing the situation.
"Down on your face, and keep your arms outstretched above your head! Tell your men to throw their weapons away."