United States or Uruguay ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Some will leave and go to Orlog of course, for Lylda will offer freedom of their leader and to secure that they will seem to agree to anything. "But after all, they are nothing but children at heart, most of them. To-day, they might believe in Lylda; to-morrow Targo could win them again." "He won't get a chance," put in the Very Young Man quickly.
Perhaps a hundred people crowded through the doorway into the palace; the others stood outside on the steps and on the terrace below waiting. Hardly more than five minutes went by when a man appeared on the palace roof. He advanced to the parapet with several others standing respectfully behind him. "Targo!" murmured Oteo.
Those who obviously at first were friendly appeared now quite at ease; the others, with their lessening terror, were visibly more hostile. Once Lylda mentioned the name of Targo. A scattered shout came up from the crowd; the apelike man shouted out something to those near him, and then, leaving his knoll disappeared. As Lylda continued, the hostile element in the crowd grew more insistent.
The man's head snapped back, but he laughed a grim, sardonic laugh that ended in a half growl, like a wild beast enraged. The Very Young Man's blood ran cold. A sudden frenzy seized him; he put all his strength into one desperate lunge and, wrenching himself free, sprang to his feet. Targo was up almost as quickly as he, and for an instant the two stood eyeing each other, breathing hard.
"Yet they accept you without fear and they look to you and to me for help." "This morning, there at the court," said Lylda, "I heard them say that Targo spoke against you. Devils, he said, from the Great Blue Star, come here with evil for us all. And they believe him, some of them. It was for that perhaps they acted as they did before the court. In Arite now, many believe in Targo.
Then he let go of the girl, and, since locks were unknown in this world, began piling as many heavy objects as possible against the door. The girl tried to help him, but he pushed her away. Once he put his ear to the door and listened. He heard voices outside in the strange Oroid tongue. The girl stood beside him. "They are lifting Targo up. He speaks; he is not dead," she whispered.
"What is it, Oteo?" asked the Chemist quickly. The boy answered him with a flood of words in his native tongue. The Chemist listened quietly. Then he turned to his companions. "Targo has escaped," he said briefly. "They sent word to me at home, and Oteo ran here to tell me. A crowd broke into the court-house and released him. Oteo says they went away by water, and that no one is following them."
As the Very Young Man sprang into action Targo turned and ran swiftly away, perhaps a hundred feet; then again he stopped and stood watching his intended victim with his sardonic smile. The Very Young Man met the Chemist's startled eyes. "Targo!" said the Very Young Man swiftly. "He's here; he stole the drug just now, while I was sleeping."
The man's face was turned towards him; he met the glistening eyes looking down and saw the lips parted in a leering smile. A thrill of fear ran over the Very Young Man as he recognized the face of Targo. And then his heart seemed to stop beating. For as he stared, fascinated, into the man's mocking eyes, he saw that slowly, steadily he was growing larger.
That is why he searched this house. "He has abducted Loto for the same purpose. He will not hurt Loto I am convinced of that. Probably he will send someone to-morrow to demand the drugs as the price of Loto's life. But don't you understand? Targo and his advisers, and even the most ignorant of the people, realize what power we have.
Word Of The Day