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As for weapons, they relied entirely upon fire. Each man carried a little wood alcohol in a flask, in case it was necessary to burn wet or green wood. Otherwise, their equipment was matches, with an emergency set of flint and steel as well. There could be no resisting them. "We'll wait here till we've seen that you've succeeded," Somat told Deltos and Sorplee. "Then we'll follow."
The two who had seconded him before again showed agreement. Sorplee and Deltos, however, together with the other seven, were distinctly opposed to the method. "Somat," protested Deltos, as though surprised, "you forget that there's an enormous population over there. Let them come in of their own free will? Why, they would overrun our country! What would become of us?"
Somat looked on and marveled. Then, abruptly, he got up and marched away. He had not seen a woman in thirty years; and he was a man of principle. That night, when the twelve were again seated at the table, Somat related this conversation with Rolla. Since he used his own language, of course she did not understand what was said.
"That is, of course, if the woman is telling the truth." "And I think she is," declared the young fellow at the foot of the table. "It makes me feel pretty small, to think that none of us ever had the nerve to make the trip; while she, ignorant as she is, dared it all and succeeded!" "You forget, Sorplee," reminded Somat, "that such people are far hardier than we.
Most of the men were now dressed in rough working garments, similar to what one sees in modern factories. Whimsical sort of gods, Rolla told herself, but gods just the same. "Tell me," began Somat, as the woman sat on the floor before him he could not get her to use a chair "tell me, what caused thee to leave thy side of the world? Did ye arouse the wrath of thy fellow creatures?"
We forgot that ye might know nothing of this 'magic." He considered deeply, apparently trying to put himself in her place. "Know ye not fire?" Of course, she did not know what he meant. "Then," with an inspiration, "perchance ye have see the flower, the red flower, ye might call " "Aye!" eagerly. "Doth it grow here?" Somat smiled with satisfaction, and beckoned for her to follow him.
"What!" shouted Somat, horrified. "Why, of course! Make slaves of them! What else?" Despite all that Somat and his two backers could say, the other nine men swiftly agreed upon the thing Deltos had proposed. Somat went so far as to declare that he would warn Rolla; but he was instantly given to understand that any such move would be disastrous to himself.
The ancient city in which Rolla found herself had been, only a generation before, a flourishing metropolis, the capital of a powerful nation. There had been two such nations on that side of the planet, and the most violent rivalry had existed between them. "However," Somat told Rolla, "'twas not this rivalry which wrought their downfall, except indirectly.
And within a very short time the whole world was governed by the working class!" So this was what the Venusians had meant when they wrote that Sanus was ruled by the workers! "What became of these rebellions?" Rolla asked, little understanding what it meant, but curious anyhow. "Devastation!" stated Somat solemnly. He waved a hand, to include all that lay within the ruined city.
The feat is one that requires apelike ability. The only thing that puzzled me is why did she do it at all?" "It will have to remain a puzzle until she awakens," said Deltos, rising from the table. "Lucky for us, Somat, that you saw fit to study the root tongues. Otherwise we'd have to converse by signs." Neither Smith nor Van Emmon learned anything further that night.
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