CHAPTER V

Pellicudar

by Edgar R. Burroughs

CHAPTER V, PELLICUDAR by Edgar R. Burroughs
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SURPRISES

But at last the allotted moment arrived--the moment
for which I had been trying to prepare myself, for how
long I could not even guess. A great Sagoth came and
spoke some words of command to those who watched
over me. I was jerked roughly to my feet and with little
consideration hustled upward toward the higher levels.

Out into the broad avenue they conducted me, where,
amid huge throngs of Mahars, Sagoths, and heavily
guarded slaves, I was led, or, rather, pushed and shoved
roughly, along in the same direction that the mob
moved. I had seen such a concourse of people once be-
fore in the buried city of Phutra; I guessed, and rightly,
that we were bound for the great arena where slaves
who are condemned to death meet their end.

Into the vast amphitheater they took me, stationing
me at the extreme end of the arena. The queen came,
with her slimy, sickening retinue. The seats were filled.
The show was about to commence.

Then, from a little doorway in the opposite end of the
structure, a girl was led into the arena. She was at a
considerable distance from me. I could not see her
features.

I wondered what fate awaited this other poor victim
and myself, and why they had chosen to have us die
together. My own fate, or rather, my thought of it, was
submerged in the natural pity I felt for this lone girl,
doomed to die horribly beneath the cold, cruel eyes of
her awful captors. Of what crime could she be guilty
that she must expiate it in the dreaded arena?

As I stood thus thinking, another door, this time at one
of the long sides of the arena, was thrown open, and into
the theater of death slunk a mighty tarag, the huge
cave tiger of the Stone Age. At my sides were my re-
volvers. My captors had not taken them from me, be-
cause they did not yet realize their nature. Doubtless
they thought them some strange manner of war-club,
and as those who are condemned to the arena are per-
mitted weapons of defense, they let me keep them.

The girl they had armed with a javelin. A brass pin
would have been almost as effective against the ferocious
monster they had loosed upon her.

The tarag stood for a moment looking about him--first
up at the vast audience and then about the arena. He
did not seem to see me at all, but his eyes fell presently
upon the girl. A hideous roar broke from his titanic lungs
--a roar which ended in a long-drawn scream that is
more human than the death-cry of a tortured woman--
more human but more awesome. I could scarce restrain
a shudder.

Slowly the beast turned and moved toward the girl.
Then it was that I came to myself and to a realization of
my duty. Quickly and as noiselessly as possible I ran
down the arena in pursuit of the grim creature. As I
ran I drew one of my pitifully futile weapons. Ah! Could
I but have had my lost express-gun in my hands at that
moment! A single well-placed shot would have crumbled
even this great monster. The best I could hope to ac-
complish was to divert the thing from the girl to myself
and then to place as many bullets as possible in it before
it reached and mauled me into insensibility and death.

There is a certain unwritten law of the arena that
vouchsafes freedom and immunity to the victor, be he
beast or human being--both of whom, by the way, are
all the same to the Mahar. That is, they were accus-
tomed to look upon man as a lower animal before Perry
and I broke through the Pellucidarian crust, but I
imagine that they were beginning to alter their views a
trifle and to realize that in the gilak--their word for
human being--they had a highly organized, reasoning
being to contend with.

Be that as it may, the chances were that the tarag
alone would profit by the law of the arena. A few more
of his long strides, a prodigious leap, and he would be
upon the girl. I raised a revolver and fired. The bullet
struck him in the left hind leg. It couldn't have damaged
him much; but the report of the shot brought him
around, facing me.

I think the snarling visage of a huge, enraged, saber-
toothed tiger is one of the most terrible sights in the
world. Especially if he be snarling at you and there be
nothing between the two of you but bare sand.

Even as he faced me a little cry from the girl carried
my eyes beyond the brute to her face. Hers was fastened
upon me with an expression of incredulity that baffles
description. There was both hope and horror in them,
too.

"Dian!" I cried. "My Heavens, Dian!"

I saw her lips form the name David, as with raised
javelin she rushed forward upon the tarag. She was a
tigress then--a primitive savage female defending her
loved one. Before she could reach the beast with her
puny weapon, I fired again at the point where the tarag's
neck met his left shoulder. If I could get a bullet through
there it might reach his heart. The bullet didn't reach
his heart, but it stopped him for an instant.

It was then that a strange thing happened. I heard a
great hissing from the stands occupied by the Mahars,
and as I glanced toward them I saw three mighty
thipdars--the winged dragons that guard the queen, or,
as Perry calls them, pterodactyls--rise swiftly from their
rocks and dart lightning-like, toward the center of the
arena. They are huge, powerful reptiles. One of them,
with the advantage which his wings might give him,
would easily be a match for a cave bear or a tarag.

These three, to my consternation, swooped down upon
the tarag as he was gathering himself for a final charge
upon me. They buried their talons in his back and lifted
him bodily from the arena as if he had been a chicken
in the clutches of a hawk.

What could it mean?

I was baffled for an explanation; but with the tarag
gone I lost no time in hastening to Dian's side. With a
little cry of delight she threw herself into my arms. So
lost were we in the ecstasy of reunion that neither of
us--to this day--can tell what became of the tarag.

The first thing we were aware of was the presence of
a body of Sagoths about us. Gruffly they commanded us
to follow them. They led us from the arena and back
through the streets of Phutra to the audience chamber
in which I had been tried and sentenced. Here we
found ourselves facing the same cold, cruel tribunal.

Again a Sagoth acted as interpreter. He explained
that our lives bad been spared because at the last
moment Tu-al-sa had returned to Phutra, and seeing me
in the arena had prevailed upon the queen to spare my
life.

"Who is Tu-al-sa?" I asked.

"A Mahar whose last male ancestor was--ages ago--
the last of the male rulers among the Mahars," he
replied.

"Why should she wish to have my life spared?"

He shrugged his shoulders and then repeated my
question to the Mahar spokesman. When the latter had
explained in the strange sign-language that passes for
speech between the Mahars and their fighting men the
Sagoth turned again to me:

"For a long time you had Tu-al-sa in your power," he
explained. "You might easily have killed her or aban-
doned her in a strange world--but you did neither. You
did not harm her, and you brought her back with you to
Pellucidar and set her free to return to Phutra. This is
your reward."

Now I understood. The Mahar who had been my in-
voluntary companion upon my return to the outer world
was Tu-al-sa. This was the first time that I had learned
the lady's name. I thanked fate that I had not left her
upon the sands of the Sahara--or put a bullet in her, as
I had been tempted to do. I was surprised to discover
that gratitude was a characteristic of the dominant race
of Pellucidar. I could never think of them as aught but
cold-blooded, brainless reptiles, though Perry had de-
voted much time in explaining to me that owing to a
strange freak of evolution among all the genera of the
inner world, this species of the reptilia had advanced to
a position quite analogous to that which man holds upon
the outer crust.

He had often told me that there was every reason to
believe from their writings, which he had learned to
read while we were incarcerated in Phutra, that they
were a just race, and that in certain branches of science
and arts they were quite well advanced, especially in
genetics and metaphysics, engineering and architecture.

While it had always been difficult for me to look upon
these things as other than slimy, winged crocodiles--
which, by the way, they do not at all resemble--I was
now forced to a realization of the fact that I was in the
hands of enlightened creatures--for justice and grati-
tude are certain hallmarks of rationality and culture.

But what they purposed for us further was of most
imminent interest to me. They might save us from the
tarag and yet not free us. They looked upon us yet, to
some extent, I knew, as creatures of a lower order, and
so as we are unable to place ourselves in the position
of the brutes we enslave--thinking that they are happier
in bondage than in the free fulfilment of the purposes
for which nature intended them--the Mahars, too, might
consider our welfare better conserved in captivity than
among the dangers of the savage freedom we craved.
Naturally, I was next impelled to inquire their further
intent.

To my question, put through the Sagoth interpreter, I
received the reply that having spared my life they con-
sidered that Tu-al-sa's debt of gratitude was canceled.
They still had against me, however, the crime of which
I had been guilty--the unforgivable crime of stealing
the great secret. They, therefore, intended holding Dian
and me prisoners until the manuscript was returned to
them.

They would, they said, send an escort of Sagoths with
me to fetch the precious document from its hiding-place,
keeping Dian at Phutra as a hostage and releasing us
both the moment that the document was safely restored
to their queen.

There was no doubt but that they had the upper
hand. However, there was so much more at stake than
the liberty or even the lives of Dian and myself, that I
did not deem it expedient to accept their offer without
giving the matter careful thought.

Without the great secret this maleless race must even-
tually become extinct. For ages they had fertilized their
eggs by an artificial process, the secret of which lay
hidden in the little cave of a far-off valley where Dian
and I had spent our honeymoon. I was none too sure that
I could find the valley again, nor that I cared to. So long
as the powerful reptilian race of Pellucidar continued to
propagate, just so long would the position of man within
the inner world be jeopardized. There could not be two
dominant races.

I said as much to Dian.

"You used to tell me," she replied, "of the wonderful
things you could accomplish with the inventions of your
own world. Now you have returned with all that is
necessary to place this great power in the hands of the
men of Pellucidar.

"You told me of great engines of destruction which
would cast a bursting ball of metal among our enemies,
killing hundreds of them at one time.

"You told me of mighty fortresses of stone which a
thousand men armed with big and little engines such as
these could hold forever against a million Sagoths.

"You told me of great canoes which moved across the
water without paddles, and which spat death from holes
in their sides.

"All these may now belong to the men of Pellucidar.
Why should we fear the Mahars?

"Let them breed! Let their numbers increase by thou-
sands. They will be helpless before the power of the
Emperor of Pellucidar.

"But if you remain a prisoner in Phutra, what may we
accomplish?

"What could the men of Pellucidar do without you to
lead them?

"They would fight among themselves, and while they
fought the Mahars would fall upon them, and even
though the Mahar race should die out, of what value
would the emancipation of the human race be to them
without the knowledge, which you alone may wield, to
guide them toward the wonderful civilization of which
you have told me so much that I long for its comforts
and luxuries as I never before longed for anything.

"No, David; the Mahars cannot harm us if you are at
liberty. Let them have their secret that you and I may
return to our people, and lead them to the conquest of
all Pellucidar."

It was plain that Dian was ambitious, and that her
ambition had not dulled her reasoning faculties. She was
right. Nothing could be gained by remaining bottled up
in Phutra for the rest of our lives.

It was true that Perry might do much with the con-
tents of the prospector, or iron mole, in which I had
brought down the implements of outer-world civiliza-
tion; but Perry was a man of peace. He could never weld
the warring factions of the disrupted federation. He
could never win new tribes to the empire. He would
fiddle around manufacturing gun-powder and trying to
improve upon it until some one blew him up with his
own invention. He wasn't practical. He never would get
anywhere without a balance-wheel--without some one
to direct his energies.

Perry needed me and I needed him. If we were going
to do anything for Pellucidar we must be free to do it
together.

The outcome of it all was that I agreed to the Mahars'
proposition. They promised that Dian would be well
treated and protected from every indignity during my
absence. So I set out with a hundred Sagoths in search
of the little valley which I had stumbled upon by acci-
dent, and which I might and might not find again.

We traveled directly toward Sari. Stopping at the
camp where I had been captured I recovered my express
rifle, for which I was very thankful. I found it lying
where I had left it when I had been overpowered in my
sleep by the Sagoths who bad captured me and slain my
Mezop companions.

On the way I added materially to my map, an occu-
pation which did not elicit from the Sagoths even a
shadow of interest. I felt that the human race of Pelluci-
dar had little to fear from these gorilla-men. They were
fighters--that was all. We might even use them later
ourselves in this same capacity. They had not sufficient
brain power to constitute a menace to the advancement
of the human race.

As we neared the spot where I hoped to find the little
valley I became more and more confident of success.
Every landmark was familiar to me, and I was sure now
that I knew the exact location of the cave.

It was at about this time that I sighted a number of
the half-naked warriors of the human race of Pellucidar.
They were marching across our front. At sight of us they
halted; that there would be a fight I could not doubt.
These Sagoths would never permit an opportunity for
the capture of slaves for their Mahar masters to escape
them.

I saw that the men were armed with bows and arrows,
long lances and swords, so I guessed that they must have
been members of the federation, for only my people had
been thus equipped. Before Perry and I came the men
of Pellucidar had only the crudest weapons wherewith to
slay one another.

The Sagoths, too, were evidently expecting battle.
With savage shouts they rushed forward toward the
human warriors.

Then a strange thing happened. The leader of the
human beings stepped forward with upraised hands.
The Sagoths ceased their war-cries and advanced slowly
to meet him. There was a long parley during which I
could see that I was often the subject of their discourse.
The Sagoths' leader pointed in the direction in which I
had told him the valley lay. Evidently he was explaining
the nature of our expedition to the leader of the warriors.
It was all a puzzle to me.

What human being could be upon such excellent
terms with the gorilla-men?

I couldn't imagine. I tried to get a good look at the
fellow, but the Sagoths had left me in the rear with a
guard when they had advanced to battle, and the dis-
tance was too great for me to recognize the features of
any of the human beings.

Finally the parley was concluded and the men con-
tinued on their way while the Sagoths returned to where
I stood with my guard. It was time for eating, so we
stopped where we were and made our meal. The Sa-
goths didn't tell me who it was they had met, and I
did not ask, though I must confess that I was quite
curious.

They permitted me to sleep at this halt. Afterward we
took up the last leg of our journey. I found the valley
without difficulty and led my guard directly to the cave.
At its mouth the Sagoths halted and I entered alone.

I noticed as I felt about the floor in the dim light that
there was a pile of fresh-turned rubble there. Presently
my hands came to the spot where the great secret had
been buried. There was a cavity where I had carefully
smoothed the earth over the hiding-place of the docu-
ment--the manuscript was gone!

Frantically I searched the whole interior of the cave
several times over, but without other result than a com-
plete confirmation of my worst fears. Someone had been
here ahead of me and stolen the great secret.

The one thing within Pellucidar which might free
Dian and me was gone, nor was it likely that I should
ever learn its whereabouts. If a Mahar had found it,
which was quite improbable, the chances were that the
dominant race would never divulge the fact that they
had recovered the precious document. If a cave man
had happened upon it he would have no conception of
its meaning or value, and as a consequence it would be
lost or destroyed in short order.

With bowed head and broken hopes I came out of the
cave and told the Sagoth chieftain what I had dis-
covered. It didn't mean much to the fellow, who doubt-
less had but little better idea of the contents of the
document I had been sent to fetch to his masters than
would the cave man who in all probability had dis-
covered it.

The Sagoth knew only that I had failed in my mission,
so he took advantage of the fact to make the return
journey to Phutra as disagreeable as possible. I did not
rebel, though I had with me the means to destroy them
all. I did not dare rebel because of the consequences to
Dian. I intended demanding her release on the grounds
that she was in no way guilty of the theft, and that
my failure to recover the document had not lessened the
value of the good faith I had had in offering to do so.
The Mahars might keep me in slavery if they chose, but
Dian should be returned safely to her people.

I was full of my scheme when we entered Phutra and
I was conducted directly to the great audience-chamber.
The Mahars listened to the report of the Sagoth chief-
tain, and so difficult is it to judge their emotions from
their almost expressionless countenance, that I was at a
loss to know how terrible might be their wrath as they
learned that their great secret, upon which rested the
fate of their race, might now be irretrievably lost.

Presently I could see that she who presided was com-
municating something to the Sagoth interpreter--doubt-
less something to be transmitted to me which might
give me a forewarning of the fate which lay in store for
me. One thing I had decided definitely: If they would
not free Dian I should turn loose upon Phutra with my
little arsenal. Alone I might even win to freedom, and if
I could learn where Dian was imprisoned it would be
worth the attempt to free her. My thoughts were inter-
rupted by the interpreter.

"The mighty Mahars," he said, "are unable to reconcile
your statement that the document is lost with your
action in sending it to them by a special messenger.
They wish to know if you have so soon forgotten the
truth or if you are merely ignoring it."

"I sent them no document," I cried. "Ask them what
they mean."

"They say," he went on after conversing with the
Mahar for a moment, "that just before your return to
Phutra, Hooja the Sly One came, bringing the great
secret with him. He said that you had sent him ahead
with it, asking him to deliver it and return to Sari where
you would await him, bringing the girl with him."

"Dian?" I gasped. "The Mahars have given over Dian
into the keeping of Hooja."

"Surely," he replied. "What of it? She is only a gilak,"
as you or I would say, "She is only a cow."