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A quality of deadliness of inexorable deadliness which could well have chilled the stoutest heart that fronted it. "Come here, Argo." Tarrano stood quite motionless. "Argo!" "Master! Master, you " "Come!" Argo was on the floor. Shaking with terror for he, probably better than any of us, understood what was coming dragged himself to Tarrano's feet. "Stand up!" "Master, have mercy " "Stand up!
Are you a man?" Argo's legs would barely support him, but he struggled to get himself erect. With a wrench, Tarrano tore the robe from Argo's chest. "Master! Master! Have mercy!" In Tarrano's hand I saw a needle-like piece of steel. A dagger, yet it was more like a needle. "Master Oh " Tarrano had stabbed it gently into the man's chest.
A whim of this Tarrano; perhaps a strain of vanity that Elza should see and hear of these events. So much had occurred already during those hours of our trip over the Polar ocean and back that we scarce could fathom it. But gradually we pieced it together. Underlying it all, Tarrano's dream of universal conquest was plain. In the Venus Cold Country he had started his wide-flung plans.
We were heading for the base of one of Tarrano's barrage projectors. It was mounted within the wall; but the wall itself was protected merely by a fan-shaped subsidiary beam a weaker barrage over that small area, which by concentrated effort we hoped to break.
The opposition of the two planets was long since passed; millions of additional miles were adding to the space separating them. And the Earth Council was not sure of its men! Any one of them might secretly be in Tarrano's service and do us infinitely more harm if brought to Venus, than if left at home. We seemed of solid strength in the Central State.
But after a time, by the changed motion and sounds, I realized that we were traversing water. Then above us after another interval, they opened a hatchway. The pure fresh air of night streamed in upon us. Every light in the boat had been extinguished. At Tarrano's command I followed him up the small spider incline and through the hatchway.
Throughout the city that night for the slaans to hear whether they would or no the broadcast stations flung their stentorian tones to the people; a speech by Maida; her promise of better things to come for the slaans; the end of Tarrano's brief rule; a reorganization of past conditions. Maida herself had never been in control in the Central State.
They had flown possibly two thousand miles. The Sun had risen, but after a time since their enormous speed and change of latitude had affected the angle at which they viewed it the Sun now was hanging almost level, not far above the horizon. Beneath the platform a mile below now lay a tumbled waste of naked crags. The borders of the Cold Country! Tarrano's stronghold!
A bloated body, square, with squat, twisted legs; a thing larger than a man. A grotesque naked monstrosity almost in human form. A travesty gruesome mockery of mankind. A face, three-eyed... The thing lay writhing in the underbrush, mouthing, mumbling and then screaming the shrill scream of death agony. And the horrible smell of burning flesh as Tarrano's light played upon it...
Yet it was a symbol here on Venus, not of barbarism, but of decadence. We started off. I may have given a false idea of the size of the Great City. Its lake, indeed, was fully fifteen miles or more in diameter. Half a million people lived on or close around that placid stretch of water. The news of Tarrano's arrival had instantly spread. Graceful boats, all propelled by hand, thronged our course.
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