The Edge Of Beyond, page 7
As he struggled he cried, 'What is it? What has happened?'
The Professor answered : 'It's no use struggling. Save your breath or the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may kill you.'
`But what is it?' Rex's voice was shrill with near-panic.
`There can be only one answer,' was the reply. 'This cliff must be a mass of magnetic iron. It is holding us by the steel of our shirts. Dolt that I was not to realize the danger. We had ample warning. It was this magnet that caused the ship to lurch as we passed over it on the way down. I saw oxide on the cliff face, too.'
`What can we do?'
`Unless you can get out of your shirt you can do nothing.'
Rex wriggled, trying to slip out of his shirt. But with his arms held fast against the wall it was like trying to escape from the grip of a vice.
`When we are missed the others will come to look for us,' said the Professor, hopefully.
`They'll come too late to save us,' gasped Rex. 'I'm being squashed flat and my arms are aching already.'
`Relax,' advised the Professor. 'Conserve your strength.'
Rex took the advice, hanging in his shirt. He felt he could not hold out much longer. With his back to the wall he was fighting for breath under the dreadful pressure on his chest and stomach. Even in this dilemma the irony of the situation did not escape him. Had they taken no precautions this horror might not have happened. It was galling to think that the safeguards they had employed had proved their undoing.
Finding the heavy icy air biting into him, promising a quick death from cold should their rescue be long delayed, he made another effort to get out of the shirt; but he soon realized that escape that way was impossible. He tried shouting, hoping those at the ship would hear his cries. Noise was better than the awful silence, anyway. His shouts brought no response. Would the others never come? What if they never came, having failed to mark the particular canyon they had entered? There were several, he recalled. A search party might easily take the wrong one. Why couldn't they hear him? Were they being confused by echoes? He tried to work out how far they had travelled down the ravine. Was it a quarter of a mile ... half a mile? He couldn't remember, for they had often stopped, and he had paid little attention to distance.
Time passed, and all he could do was hang there, like a fly on a strip of gummed paper. He was now half dead from cold. His arms, held rigid, seemed to be already dead. To make matters even worse he began to feel sick, presumably from the excessive quantity of carbon dioxide he was inhaling.
It was for these reasons, no doubt, that when the sound first reached his ears he was hardly conscious of it. But when it came again he let out a strangled cry, for it did not occur to him that the sound could have been made by anyone except the anticipated search party. There was no reply. He listened.
The sounds were repeated. They bore a resemblance to human voices but not the sort of voices to which he was accustomed. They were too deep, too sonorous. Apart from that they were uncouth, and quite unintelligible. He listened again. The sounds continued. They seemed to be coming nearer, as if someone, or something, was approaching from just beyond the bend. That was the direction, and it settled any hope that it might be Tiger and Toby in search of them. Fear took possession of him. His eyes, which he could still move, switched to the bend.
`I think something's coming,' he said, in a voice from which hope had departed. This was for the benefit of the Professor who, having his face to the wall, would be unable to see the bend.
`Good,' replied the Professor. 'But surely you mean somebody — Tiger, or one of the others?'
`No. I mean something,' returned Rex. 'It's none of our party. The sound's coming from the wrong direction.'
`How very alarming,' said the Professor. 'Tell me what it is when you can see it.'
Rex did not answer. His eyes were on the bend, held by a fearful fascination.
The deep rumbling voices drew nearer, and such was the agony of his suspense that with great effort he refrained from crying out aloud.
But the appearance of the two creatures that now rounded the corner struck him dumb. He was no stranger to fear. Now he knew the meaning of the old saying 'nearly died of fright'.
Were they men? He decided that they were, although they were unlike any he had ever seen; and he had seen many strange variations of the classic human form as that was understood on Earth. In the broadest sense, in general shape and habit they conformed to the ordinary human being. They walked upright. They wore clothes — a simple skirt of what looked like woven lichens. It was their size that took his breath away. They recalled the pictures of giants in books of fairy tales. He judged them to be nine or ten feet tall. But they were well-proportioned, with arms and legs heavily muscled. A shock of matted hair hung over low foreheads, yet, curiously, there was no hair on their chins. Their feet, unshod, were huge, flat and soft, so that they walked over the rough ground without a sound, and apparently without discomfort, the soles acting like a cushion.
But it was their skins, both in colour and texture, that provided their most inhuman feature, and, in fact, gave them a beast-like appearance. They were coarse and grey, and hung loosely on their bodies, as its hide hangs on an elephant. Indeed, for a moment Rex thought they were clad in some sort of hide. Their faces appeared to be made of grey rubber. However, there was nothing bestial about their expressions, which were amiable in a simple childlike sort of way. This impression may have been helped by their eyes, which were large, round and placid, although they had a penetrating directness. From time to time a glaze, a sort of semitransparent film, seemed to spread over them, as with a barnyard fowl.
Even at this frightful moment Rex found himself — remembering the Professor's maxim that life could only develop and exist in conditions suitable to its environment — wondering what sort of conditions could have produced such uncouth types. Why those great soft feet? Why such monstrous skins? Why those peculiar eyes? Needless to say he did not reflect on those problems. It was not the moment.
The creatures came on, slowly and ponderously, in the manner of the elephants they somewhat resembled. It seemed that at first they did not notice the two figures spreadeagled on the wall. The one that was first to do so gave a grunt, whereupon they stopped for a moment to stare before jumping back several yards. There they remained, their curious eyelids shutting up and down, in attitudes that suggested they were on the point of running away. A brief conversation ensued — if a series of grunts could be called conversation. Then, as if having reached a decision, they advanced with slow, wary steps. Rex watched their approach with the calm resignation of one who knows he is lost.
He waited for the end.
He said nothing to the Professor, feeling it was better, since nothing could be done about it, that he should not know the horrid truth. So dry was his mouth that he would have found it difficult to speak, anyway.
Slowly, ponderously, in absolute silence, their huge soft feet making no sound on the rocky floor, the creatures drew nearer. One stopped. The other came right up, so that for the first time Rex was able to look right into its eyes. Then a strange thing happened. At once his fears began to fade and hope flared. There was nothing malignant in the eyes, nothing vicious, nothing cruel. On the contrary, he could see only friendly understanding in them. From that moment he knew the creature was not going to hurt him.
It seemed to know exactly what to do. A queer animal smell reached his nostrils as it came right up. It thrust an arm between his back and the wall and without any great effort pulled him clear.
Rex lost no time in removing his metal shirt, and made no effort to save it when it crashed back against the wall, as if snatched back by elastic cords. By the time he had done this the Professor had also been released.
What the shock must have been like for him when he saw his rescuer standing beside him Rex could only imagine. He just stood, blinking, with pardonable amazement. Rex never forgot the expression of utter incredulity on his face. 'Dear, dear,' he muttered. And again, 'Dear, dear.' He looked at Rex. 'Where did these remarkable gentlemen come from?'
`Round the bend,' answered Rex. 'You wanted to know what was round the corner,' he added, with a touch of sarcasm. 'Now you know.'
`They seem quite harmless.'
`I think they are.'
`Then we must be infinitely obliged to them. Excuse me.'
The Professor removed his shirt, stepping away from the wall in order to do so. Like the other, it flew back to the wall as soon as he released it. And there, flattened now that it was empty, it stuck. The Professor followed it and collected his steel-rimmed spectacles, which had remained adhering to the rock.
With these adjusted on his nose, he surveyed their benefactors who, still silent, were watching them. 'We owe these poor creatures our thanks,' he told Rex. 'We can't merely turn our backs on them and walk away. The question is, how can we show our gratitude for our liberation from what was a most uncomfortable predicament?'
There was a brief, embarrassing silence. Then Rex had an idea. He held out a hand, only to shudder at the impact of the cold coarse hand that took it.
"'Yes, since conversation is impossible I think that is all we can do,' said the Professor. 'What a pity we can't talk to them to learn something of their life here.'
`It must be pretty dull,' opined Rex.
`Yes, indeed. Well, there is no point in just standing here. We'd better make our way back to the ship.'
They set off.
Out of the corner of his eye Rex could see the sub-human creatures following them.
`It was lucky for us they came along,' observed the Professor.
Rex agreed. 'I didn't think so when I saw them come round the corner,' he added, with some feeling.
8 The reason why
As they walked on Rex said softly to the Professor, 'Why do you suppose these people have developed such disgusting skins?'
`I have no idea,' answered the Professor. 'But since nature has provided them there must be a reason for it. It can only be as a protection against something. Nature only provides protective characteristics when they are necessary. If we stayed here long enough no doubt we could ascertain the answer. But always bear in mind that our thin pink skins may appear just as unlovely to them. Again we made the blunder of taking something for granted. We supposed the planet to be uninhabited.'
`There was good reason for that.'
`That may be so, but we were wrong. Considering the appalling conditions, had we suspected there was life here, I would have been prepared for something extraordinary. I only wish we could stay here long enough to learn the language of our friends and so ascertain their way of life. It must be quite remarkable. You must have had a shock when they appeared.'
`Shock! That only half describes how I felt. It seemed to me that any creature living on this awful world must necessarily be a savage beast. I expected to be eaten alive.'
`We must learn not to judge by appearances, or by Earthly standards, and that is not so easy as it may sound,' stated the Professor.
At this juncture they saw Tiger striding down the ravine towards them. He stopped when he saw what was coming, which was hardly surprising; but a reassuring wave from Rex brought him on again.
`I must say you've collected some unsavoury-looking pals,' he remarked, as they met. 'We were beginning to get worried about you. I thought I'd better come to see if all was well. What have you done with your tin shirts? Have these two toughs taken them off you?'
`Had they been toughs we shouldn't be here now,' declared Rex. 'We were stuck against the wall when they came along and rescued us.'
`What do you mean — stuck?'
`This mountain is a mass of magnetic iron. Our shirts being steel we were dragged against it and held fast.'
Tiger looked astonished, as well he might. 'Well, that certainly is a new one!' he exclaimed. 'What next?'
The Professor answered. 'The next thing is to get away from here as quickly as possible in case the ship should find itself in the position we were in. That could happen, for it was, I think, the same magnetic attraction that caused it to lurch as we came down. We were lucky not to have been caught then. Ah ! here comes a breeze. That's the first movement of air I've felt since we landed.'
`I fancy your friends are trying to tell you something,' said Tiger.
The two elephant men, as Rex had mentally dubbed them, had caught up with them and seemed to be in a state of mild excitement, waving their arms, pointing, and doing a lot of grunting and barking.
`They behave as though they are trying to warn us against some danger,' said the Professor, looking at them over his glasses.
`I think they want us to go with them,' opined Rex, as one caught him by the arm and pulled, at the same time pointing down the canyon towards the bend.
`Nothing would please me more than to go with them but I am worried about the ship, which may find itself unable to get clear,' said the Professor.
As he finished speaking a gust of wind whistled through the canyon. Its force was sufficient to cause Rex to stagger.
`I believe these chaps are trying to tell us there's going to be a storm,' he decided, as one of them pointed to the sky, high above.
`I think we should get back to the ship,' said Tiger, a tinge of anxiety in his voice, as another, even more powerful gust, funnelled screaming through the ravine. 'There's going to be a storm all right.'
The two natives evidently thought so too, for after some last frantic signals they set off down the canyon, bouncing from rock to rock with astonishing agility. They disappeared round the bend, and that, it may be said, was the last that was seen of them.
The others had something else to think about, for now with a shriek came another blast of air that not only threw them off their feet but made it no easy matter to get up again. Stones began to fly, and Rex lost no time in crawling to the lee of a landslide formed by several giant boulders. There the others joined him, as he squatted with his hands over his face. Tiger made two attempts to leave, but each time he was thrown down by a wind of hurricane force, a wind that was increasing with every howling gust. Small stones were whistling like bullets and even the smaller boulders were beginning to roll. It was only with difficulty that Tiger was able to rejoin the others as they huddled at the foot of the largest rock. The noise was deafening. Ordinary conversation was impossible. There was no rain, no clouds. Just wind. But such a wind as Rex had never known.
As it increased in force it slowly dawned on him that what was happening was no ordinary storm. Not even a tornado, It had nothing to do with weather conditions. It was the result of something the planet itself was doing. The air might even be still. Should the planet increase its spin something like this would be the result. The air would of course be dragged round with it, but the change had come so suddenly that the air would, at least for a time, lag behind it. One thing was certain, he thought, holding his hands over his ears to shut out the terrifying din; the natives had known what was about to happen, which suggested that it was not an uncommon occurrence. They had tried to explain. The signs they had made were now plain to follow. They had invited them to retire to a place of safety. The invitation being ignored they had sought to save themselves by flight. No doubt they were by this time sitting comfortably in a cave. Nothing else would offer a secure shelter from such impossible conditions. The vital question was, how long would they last?
This led to the thought, what was happening to the ship? Even if it was not overturned by one of the tremendous gusts it could hardly escape severe damage from a bombardment of rocks and stones. Would Vargo realize that and take the ship out of range in time to save it? It wouldn't have to go to any great height. Or would it wait for them until it was too late to save the ship? That did not bear thinking about.
The fearful wind raged on with no sign of abatement. What with its howling and the crash and clatter of rocks and stones the din was unbelievable. Rex could feel the jar of rocks striking the windward side of their shelter like cannon balls. But their greatest danger seemed to be from rocks falling from above as they were blown off the mountain slopes. No wonder the bottom of the ravine was littered with them. No wonder, too, these rocks were scratched and abraded. He had supposed them to have been scoured by water. Now he realized that flying dust and debris had been responsible.
It was not easy to think coherently in such an uproar, but with his face pressed into his father's back to save his eyes other possible explanations dawned on him. Was this why life on the planet had been so slow to develop? Was this why there were no trees? Certainly no form of vegetation could endure such treatment. And was this why the natives had developed skins like elephant hide?
How long the incredible wind persisted Rex never knew. It seemed an eternity of time. When to his unspeakable relief it did begin to subside, and he moved a little, it was to find himself stiff and numb with cold. Stones were still bowling, but no longer flying up the ravine.
Cupping his hands round his mouth he shouted: 'What sort of a storm do you call that?'
Tiger answered. 'The Professor thinks the planet is lopsided. Too many mountains all on one side. They give it an eccentric spin. When the massif has passed top dead centre it begins to fall, gathering impetus, so that the whole place gets a faster spin. It revolves faster than the atmosphere can follow it and so you get a wind.'
`We got a wind all right,' muttered Rex. He shouted: `What about the ship?'
`As soon as it's safe to move we'll press on and find out.'
They waited a little while longer, cold, exhausted and as far as Rex was concerned, thoroughly miserable; then as soon as a resumption of their journey back to the plateau seemed reasonably safe, they left their retreat and hurried towards it. The wind was of course still blowing at gale force, for such a storm as there had been could not be expected to end abruptly; but compared with what had been experienced an hour earlier it was of small account.
