A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS. 

By David Lindsay

Contents:

 1 The Seance 2 In the Street 3 Starkness 4 The Voice 5 The Night of Departure 6 Joiwind 7 Panawe 8 The Lusion Plain 9 Oceaxe 10 Tydomin 11 On Disscourn 12 Spadevil 13 The Wombflash Forest 14 Polecrab 15 Swaylone's Island 16 Leehallfae 17 Corpang 18 Haunte 19 Sullenbode 20 Barey 21 Muspel

Chapter 1. THE SEANCE

On a march evening, at eight o'clock, Backhouse, the medium--afast-rising star in the psychic world--was ushered into the studyat Prolands, the Hampstead residence of Montague Faull. The room wasilluminated only by the light of a blazing fire. The host, eying himwith indolent curiosity, got up, and the usual conventional greetingswere exchanged. Having indicated an easy chair before the fire to hisguest, the South American merchant sank back again into his own. Theelectric light was switched on. Faull's prominent, clear-cut features, metallic-looking skin, and general air of bored impassiveness, did notseem greatly to impress the medium, who was accustomed to regard menfrom a special angle. Backhouse, on the contrary, was a novelty to themerchant. As he tranquilly studied him through half closed lids and thesmoke of a cigar, he wondered how this little, thickset person with thepointed beard contrived to remain so fresh and sane in appearance, inview of the morbid nature of his occupation. 

"Do you smoke?" drawled Faull, by way of starting the Conversation. "No?Then will you take a drink?"

"Not at present, I thank you. "

A pause. 

"Everything is satisfactory? The materialisation will take place?"

"I see no reason to doubt it. "

"That's good, for I would not like my guests to be disappointed. I haveyour check written out in my pocket. "

"Afterward will do quite well. "

"Nine o'clock was the time specified, I believe?"

"I fancy so. "

The conversation continued to flag. Faull sprawled in his chair, andremained apathetic. 

"Would you care to hear what arrangements I have made?"

"I am unaware that any are necessary, beyond chairs for your guests. "

"I mean the decoration of the seance room, the music, and so forth. "

Backhouse stared at his host. "But this is not a theatricalperformance. "

"That's correct. Perhaps I ought to explain. .. . There will be ladiespresent, and ladies, you know, are aesthetically inclined. "

"In that case I have no objection. I only hope they will enjoy theperformance to the end. "

He spoke rather dryly. 

"Well, that's all right, then, " said Faull. Flicking his cigar into thefire, he got up and helped himself to whisky. 

"Will you come and see the room?"

"Thank you, no. I prefer to have nothing to do with it till the timearrives. "

"Then let's go to see my sister, Mrs. Jameson, who is in the drawingroom. She sometimes does me the kindness to act as my hostess, as I amunmarried. "

"I will be delighted, " said Backhouse coldly. 

They found the lady alone, sitting by the open pianoforte in a pensiveattitude. She had been playing Scriabin and was overcome. The mediumtook in her small, tight, patrician features and porcelain-like hands, and wondered how Faull came by such a sister. She received him bravely, with just a shade of quiet emotion. He was used to such receptions atthe hands of the sex, and knew well how to respond to them. 

"What amazes me, " she half whispered, after ten minutes of graceful, hollow conversation, "is, if you must know it, not so much themanifestation itself--though that will surely be wonderful--asyour assurance that it will take place. Tell me the grounds of yourconfidence. "

"I dream with open eyes, " he answered, looking around at the door, "andothers see my dreams. That is all. "

"But that's beautiful, " responded Mrs. Jameson. She smiled ratherabsently, for the first guest had just entered. 

It was Kent-Smith, the ex-magistrate, celebrated for his shrewd judicialhumour, which, however, he had the good sense not to attempt to carryinto private life. Although well on the wrong side of seventy, his eyeswere still disconcertingly bright. With the selective skill of an oldman, he immediately settled himself in the most comfortable of manycomfortable chairs. 

"So we are to see wonders tonight?"

"Fresh material for your autobiography, " remarked Faull. 

"Ah, you should not have mentioned my unfortunate book. An old publicservant is merely amusing himself in his retirement, Mr. Backhouse. Youhave no cause for alarm--I have studied in the school of discretion. "

"I am not alarmed. There can be no possible objection to your publishingwhatever you please. "

"You are most kind, " said the old man, with a cunning smile. 

"Trent is not coming tonight, " remarked Mrs. Jameson, throwing a curiouslittle glance at her brother. 

"I never thought he would. It's not in his line. "

"Mrs. Trent, you must understand, " she went on, addressing theex-magistrate, "has placed us all under a debt of gratitude. She hasdecorated the old lounge hall upstairs most beautifully, and has securedthe services of the sweetest little orchestra. "

"But this is Roman magnificence. "

"Backhouse thinks the spirits should be treated with more deference, "laughed Faull. 

"Surely, Mr. Backhouse--a poetic environment. .. "

"Pardon me. I am a simple man, and always prefer to reduce things toelemental simplicity. I raise no opposition, but I express my opinion. Nature is one thing, and art is another. "

"And I am not sure that I don't agree with you, " said the ex-magistrate. "An occasion like this ought to be simple, to guard against thepossibility of deception--if you will forgive my bluntness, Mr. Backhouse. "

"We shall sit in full light, " replied Backhouse, "and every opportunitywill be given to all to inspect the room. I shall also ask you to submitme to a personal examination. "

A rather embarrassed silence followed. It was broken by the arrival oftwo more guests, who entered together. These were Prior, the prosperousCity coffee importer, and Lang, the stockjobber, well known in his owncircle as an amateur prestidigitator. Backhouse was slightly acquaintedwith the latter. Prior, perfuming the room with the faint odour of wineand tobacco smoke, tried to introduce an atmosphere of joviality intothe proceedings. Finding that no one seconded his efforts, however, heshortly subsided and fell to examining the water colours on the walls. Lang, tall, thin, and growing bald, said little, but stared at Backhousea good deal. 

Coffee, liqueurs, and cigarettes were now brought in. Everyone partook, except Lang and the medium. At the same moment, Professor Halbert wasannounced. He was the eminent psychologist, the author and lectureron crime, insanity, genius, and so forth, considered in their mentalaspects. His presence at such a gathering somewhat mystified the otherguests, but all felt as if the object of their meeting had immediatelyacquired additional solemnity. He was small, meagre-looking, and mildin manner, but was probably the most stubborn-brained of all that mixedcompany. Completely ignoring the medium, he at once sat down besideKent-Smith, with whom he began to exchange remarks. 

At a few minutes past the appointed hour Mrs. Trent entered, unannounced. She was a woman of about twenty-eight. She had a white, demure, saintlike face, smooth black hair, and lips so crimson and fullthat they seemed to be bursting with blood. Her tall, graceful body wasmost expensively attired. Kisses were exchanged between her and Mrs. Jameson. She bowed to the rest of the assembly, and stole a half glanceand a smile at Faull. The latter gave her a queer look, and Backhouse, who lost nothing, saw the concealed barbarian in the complacent gleamof his eye. She refused the refreshment that was offered her, and Faullproposed that, as everyone had now arrived, they should adjourn to thelounge hall. 

Mrs. Trent held up a slender palm. "Did you, or did you not, give mecarte blanche, Montague?"

"Of course I did, " said Faull, laughing. "But what's the matter?"

"Perhaps I have been rather presumptuous. I don't know. I have inviteda couple of friends to join us. No, no one knows them. .. . The two mostextraordinary individuals you ever saw. And mediums, I am sure. "

"It sounds very mysterious. Who are these conspirators?"

"At least tell us their names, you provoking girl, " put in Mrs. Jameson. 

"One rejoices in the name of Maskull, and the other in that ofNightspore. That's nearly all that I know about them, so don't overwhelmme with, any more questions. "

"But where did you pick them up? You must have picked them upsomewhere. "

"But this is a cross-examination. Have I sinned again convention? Iswear I will tell you not another word about them. They will be heredirectly, and then I will deliver them to your tender mercy. "

"I don't know them, " said Faull, "and nobody else seems to, but, ofcourse, we will all be very pleased to have them. .. . Shall we wait, orwhat?"

"I said nine, and it's past that now. It's quite possible they may notturn up after all. .. . Anyway, don't wait. "

"I would prefer to start at once, " said Backhouse. 

The lounge, a lofty room, forty feet long by twenty wide, had beendivided for the occasion into two equal parts by a heavy brocade curtaindrawn across the middle. The far end was thus concealed. The nearer halfhad been converted into an auditorium by a crescent of armchairs. Therewas no other furniture. A large fire was burning halfway along the wall, between the chairbacks and the door. The room was brilliantly lighted byelectric bracket lamps. A sumptuous carpet covered the floor. 

Having settled his guests in their seats, Faull stepped up to thecurtain and flung it aside. A replica, or nearly so, of the Drury Lanepresentation of the temple scene in The Magic Flute was then exposed toview: the gloomy, massive architecture of the interior, the glowing skyabove it in the background, and, silhouetted against the latter, thegigantic seated statue of the Pharaoh. A fantastically carved woodencouch lay before the pedestal of the statue. Near the curtain, obliquelyplaced to the auditorium, was a plain oak armchair, for the use of themedium. 

Many of those present felt privately that the setting was quiteinappropriate to the occasion and savoured rather unpleasantlyof ostentation. Backhouse in particular seemed put out. The usualcompliments, however, were showered on Mrs. Trent as the deviser ofso remarkable a theatre. Faull invited his friends to step forward andexamine the apartment as minutely as they might desire. Prior andLang were the only ones to accept. The former wandered about among thepasteboard scenery, whistling to himself and occasionally tapping a partof it with his knuckles. Lang, who was in his element, ignored the restof his party and commenced a patient, systematic search, on his ownaccount, for secret apparatus. Faull and Mrs. Trent stood in a cornerof the temple, talking together in low tones; while Mrs. Jameson, pretending to hold Backhouse in conversation, watched them as only adeeply interested woman knows how to watch. 

Lang, to his own disgust, having failed to find anything of a suspiciousnature, the medium now requested that his own clothing should besearched. 

"All these precautions are quite needless and beside the matter inhand, as you will immediately see for yourselves. My reputation demands, however, that other people who are not present would not be able to sayafterward that trickery has been resorted to. "

To Lang again fell the ungrateful task of investigating pockets andsleeves. Within a few minutes he expressed himself satisfied thatnothing mechanical was in Backhouse's possession. The guests reseatedthemselves. Faull ordered two more chairs to be brought for Mrs. Trent'sfriends, who, however, had not yet arrived. He then pressed an electricbell, and took his own seat. 

The signal was for the hidden orchestra to begin playing. A murmur ofsurprise passed through the audience as, without previous warning, thebeautiful and solemn strains of Mozart's "temple" music pulsated throughthe air. The expectation of everyone was raised, while, beneath herpallor and composure, it could be seen that Mrs. Trent was deeply moved. It was evident that aesthetically she was by far the most importantperson present. Faull watched her, with his face sunk on his chest, sprawling as usual. 

Backhouse stood up, with one hand on the back of his chair, and beganspeaking. The music instantly sank to pianissimo, and remained so for aslong as he was on his legs. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness a materialisation. Thatmeans you will see something appear in space that was not previouslythere. At first it will appear as a vaporous form, but finally it willbe a solid body, which anyone present may feel and handle--and, forexample, shake hands with. For this body will be in the human shape. It will be a real man or woman--which, I can't say--but a man orwoman without known antecedents. If, however, you demand from me anexplanation of the origin of this materialised form--where it comesfrom, whence the atoms and molecules composing its tissues arederived--I am unable to satisfy you. I am about to produce thephenomenon; if anyone can explain it to me afterward, I shall be verygrateful. .. . That is all I have to say. "

He resumed his seat, half turning his back on the assembly, and pausedfor a moment before beginning his task. 

It was precisely at this minute that the manservant opened the doorand announced in a subdued but distinct voice: "Mr. Maskull, Mr. Nightspore. "

Everyone turned round. Faull rose to welcome the late arrivals. Backhouse also stood up, and stared hard at them. 

The two strangers remained standing by the door, which was closedquietly behind them. They seemed to be waiting for the mild sensationcaused by their appearance to subside before advancing into the room. Maskull was a kind of giant, but of broader and more robust physiquethan most giants. He wore a full beard. His features were thick andheavy, coarsely modelled, like those of a wooden carving; but his eyes, small and black, sparkled with the fires of intelligence and audacity. His hair was short, black, and bristling. Nightspore was of middleheight, but so tough-looking that he appeared to be trained out of allhuman frailties and susceptibilities. His hairless face seemed consumedby an intense spiritual hunger, and his eyes were wild and distant. Bothmen were dressed in tweeds. 

Before any words were spoken, a loud and terrible crash of fallingmasonry caused the assembled party to start up from their chairs inconsternation. It sounded as if the entire upper part of the buildinghad collapsed. Faull sprang to the door, and called to the servant tosay what was happening. The man had to be questioned twice before hegathered what was required of him. He said he had heard nothing. Inobedience to his master's order, he went upstairs. Nothing, however, wasamiss there, neither had the maids heard anything. 

In the meantime Backhouse, who almost alone of those assembled hadpreserved his sangfroid, went straight up to Nightspore, who stoodgnawing his nails. 

"Perhaps you can explain it, sir?"

"It was supernatural, " said Nightspore, in a harsh, muffled voice, turning away from his questioner. 

"I guessed so. It is a familiar phenomenon, but I have never heard it soloud. "

He then went among the guests, reassuring them. By degrees they settleddown, but it was observable that their former easy and good-humouredinterest in the proceedings was now changed to strained watchfulness. Maskull and Nightspore took the places allotted to them. Mrs. Trentkept stealing uneasy glances at them. Throughout the entire incident, Mozart's hymn continued to be played. The orchestra also had heardnothing. 

Backhouse now entered on his task. It was one that began to be familiarto him, and he had no anxiety about the result. It was not possibleto effect the materialisation by mere concentration of will, or theexercise of any faculty; otherwise many people could have done what hehad engaged himself to do. His nature was phenomenal--the dividingwall between himself and the spiritual world was broken in many places. Through the gaps in his mind the inhabitants of the invisible, when hesummoned them, passed for a moment timidly and awfully into the solid, coloured universe. .. . He could not say how it was brought about. .. . Theexperience was a rough one for the body, and many such struggles wouldlead to insanity and early death. That is why Backhouse was sternand abrupt in his manner. The coarse, clumsy suspicion of some of thewitnesses, the frivolous aestheticism of others, were equally obnoxiousto his grim, bursting heart; but he was obliged to live, and, to pay hisway, must put up with these impertinences. 

He sat down facing the wooden couch. His eyes remained open but seemedto look inward. His cheeks paled, and he became noticeably thinner. Thespectators almost forgot to breathe. The more sensitive among them beganto feel, or imagine, strange presences all around them. Maskull'seyes glittered with anticipation, and his brows went up and down, butNightspore appeared bored. 

After a long ten minutes the pedestal of the statue was seen to becomeslightly blurred, as though an intervening mist were rising from theground. This slowly developed into a visible cloud, coiling hither andthither, and constantly changing shape. The professor half rose, andheld his glasses with one hand further forward on the bridge of hisnose. 

By slow stages the cloud acquired the dimensions and approximate outlineof an adult human body, although all was still vague and blurred. Ithovered lightly in the air, a foot or so above the couch. Backhouselooked haggard and ghastly. Mrs. Jameson quietly fainted in her chair, but she was unnoticed, and presently revived. The apparition now settleddown upon the couch, and at the moment of doing so seemed suddenly togrow dark, solid, and manlike. Many of the guests were as pale as themedium himself, but Faull preserved his stoical apathy, and glanced onceor twice at Mrs. Trent. She was staring straight at the couch, and wastwisting a little lace handkerchief through the different fingers of herhand. The music went on playing. 

The figure was by this time unmistakably that of a man lying down. Theface focused itself into distinctness. The body was draped in a sort ofshroud, but the features were those of a young man. One smooth handfell over, nearly touching the floor, white and motionless. The weakerspirits of the company stared at the vision in sick horror; the restwere grave and perplexed. The seeming man was dead, but somehow it didnot appear like a death succeeding life, but like a death preliminary tolife. All felt that he might sit up at any minute. 

"Stop that music!" muttered Backhouse, tottering from his chair andfacing the party. Faull touched the bell. A few more bars sounded, andthen total silence ensued. 

"Anyone who wants to may approach the couch, " said Backhouse withdifficulty. 

Lang at once advanced, and stared awestruck at the supernatural youth. 

"You are at liberty to touch, " said the medium. 

But Lang did not venture to, nor did any of the others, who one by onestole up to the couch--until it came to Faull's turn. He looked straightat Mrs. Trent, who seemed frightened and disgusted at the spectaclebefore her, and then not only touched the apparition but suddenlygrasped the drooping hand in his own and gave it a powerful squeeze. Mrs. Trent gave a low scream. The ghostly visitor opened his eyes, looked at Faull strangely, and sat up on the couch. A cryptic smilestarted playing over his mouth. Faull looked at his hand; a feeling ofintense pleasure passed through his body. 

Maskull caught Mrs. Jameson in his arms; she was attacked by anotherspell of faintness. Mrs. Trent ran forward, and led her out of the room. Neither of them returned. 

The phantom body now stood upright, looking about him, still with hispeculiar smile. Prior suddenly felt sick, and went out. The othermen more or less hung together, for the sake of human society, butNightspore paced up and down, like a man weary and impatient, whileMaskull attempted to interrogate the youth. The apparition watched himwith a baffling expression, but did not answer. Backhouse was sittingapart, his face buried in his hands. 

It was at this moment that the door was burst open violently, and astranger, unannounced, half leaped, half strode a few yards into theroom, and then stopped. None of Faull's friends had ever seen himbefore. He was a thick, shortish man, with surprising musculardevelopment and a head far too large in proportion to his body. Hisbeardless yellow face indicated, as a first impression, a mixture ofsagacity, brutality, and humour. 

"Aha-i, gentlemen!" he called out loudly. His voice was piercing, andoddly disagreeable to the ear. "So we have a little visitor here. "

Nightspore turned his back, but everyone else stared at the intruder inastonishment. He took another few steps forward, which brought him tothe edge of the theatre. 

"May I ask, sir, how I come to have the honour of being your host?"asked Faull sullenly. He thought that the evening was not proceeding assmoothly as he had anticipated. 

The newcomer looked at him for a second, and then broke into a great, roaring guffaw. He thumped Faull on the back playfully--but the play wasrather rough, for the victim was sent staggering against the wall beforehe could recover his balance. 

"Good evening, my host!"

"And good evening to you too, my lad!" he went on, addressing thesupernatural youth, who was now beginning to wander about the room, inapparent unconsciousness of his surroundings. "I have seen someone verylike you before, I think. "

There was no response. 

The intruder thrust his head almost up to the phantom's face. "You haveno right here, as you know. "

The shape looked back at him with a smile full of significance, which, however, no one could understand. 

"Be careful what you are doing, " said Backhouse quickly. 

"What's the matter, spirit usher?"

"I don't know who you are, but if you use physical violence toward that, as you seem inclined to do, the consequences may prove very unpleasant. "

"And without pleasure our evening would be spoiled, wouldn't it, mylittle mercenary friend?"

Humour vanished from his face, like sunlight from a landscape, leavingit hard and rocky. Before anyone realised what he was doing, heencircled the soft, white neck of the materialised shape with his hairyhands and, with a double turn, twisted it completely round. A faint, unearthly shriek sounded, and the body fell in a heap to the floor. Itsface was uppermost. The guests were unutterably shocked to observe thatits expression had changed from the mysterious but fascinating smileto a vulgar, sordid, bestial grin, which cast a cold shadow of moralnastiness into every heart. The transformation was accompanied by asickening stench of the graveyard. 

The features faded rapidly away, the body lost its consistence, passingfrom the solid to the shadowy condition, and, before two minutes hadelapsed, the spirit-form had entirely disappeared. 

The short stranger turned and confronted the party, with a long, loudlaugh, like nothing in nature. 

The professor talked excitedly to Kent-Smith in low tones. Faullbeckoned Backhouse behind a wing of scenery, and handed him his checkwithout a word. The medium put it in his pocket, buttoned his coat, andwalked out of the room. Lang followed him, in order to get a drink. 

The stranger poked his face up into Maskull's. 

"Well, giant, what do you think of it all? Wouldn't you like to see theland where this sort of fruit grows wild?"

"What sort of fruit?"

"That specimen goblin. "

Maskull waved him away with his huge hand. "Who are you, and how did youcome here?"

"Call up your friend. Perhaps he may recognise me. " Nightspore had moveda chair to the fire, and was watching the embers with a set, fanaticalexpression. 

"Let Krag come to me, if he wants me, " he said, in his strange voice. 

"You see, he does know me, " uttered Krag, with a humorous look. Walkingover to Nightspore, he put a hand on the back of his chair. 

"Still the same old gnawing hunger?"

"What is doing these days?" demanded Nightspore disdainfully, withoutaltering his attitude. 

"Surtur has gone, and we are to follow him. "

"How do you two come to know each other, and of whom are you speaking?"asked Maskull, looking from one to the other in perplexity. 

"Krag has something for us. Let us go outside, " replied Nightspore. Hegot up, and glanced over his shoulder. Maskull, following the directionof his eye, observed that the few remaining men were watching theirlittle group attentively. 

Chapter 2. IN THE STREET

The three men gathered in the street outside the house. The night wasslightly frosty, but particularly clear, with an east wind blowing. Themultitude of blazing stars caused the sky to appear like a vast scrollof hieroglyphic symbols. Maskull felt oddly excited; he had a sense thatsomething extraordinary was about to happen "What brought you to thishouse tonight, Krag, and what made you do what you did? How are weunderstand that apparition?"

"That must have been Crystalman's expression on face, " mutteredNightspore. 

"We have discussed that, haven't we, Maskull? Maskull is anxious tobehold that rare fruit in its native wilds. "

Maskull looked at Krag carefully, trying to analyse his own feelingstoward him. He was distinctly repelled by the man's personality, yetside by side with this aversion a savage, living energy seemed to springup in his heart that in some strange fashion was attributable to Krag. 

"Why do you insist on this simile?" he asked. 

"Because it is apropos. Nightspore's quite right. That was Crystalman'sface, and we are going to Crystalman's country. "

"And where is this mysterious country?"

"Tormance. "

"That's a quaint name. But where is it?"

Krag grinned, showing his yellow teeth in the light of the street lamp. 

"It is the residential suburb of Arcturus. "

"What is he talking about, Nightspore?. .. Do you mean the star of thatname?" he went on, to Krag. 

"Which you have in front of you at this very minute, " said Krag, pointinga thick finger toward the brightest star in the south-eastern sky. "There you see Arcturus, and Tormance is its one inhabited planet. "

Maskull looked at the heavy, gleaning star, and again at Krag. Then hepulled out a pipe, and began to fill it. 

"You must have cultivated a new form of humour, Krag. "

"I am glad if I can amuse you, Maskull, if only for a few days. "

"I meant to ask you--how do you know my name?"

"It would be odd if I didn't, seeing that I only came here on youraccount. As a matter of fact, Nightspore and I are old friends. "

Maskull paused with his suspended match. "You came here on my account?"

"Surely. On your account and Nightspore's. We three are to be fellowtravellers. "

Maskull now lit his pipe and puffed away coolly for a few moments. 

"I'm sorry, Krag, but I must assume you are mad. "

Krag threw his head back, and gave a scraping laugh. "Am I mad, Nightspore?"

"Has Surtur gone to Tormance?" ejaculated Nightspore in a strangledvoice, fixing his eyes on Krag's face. 

"Yes, and he requires that we follow him at once. "

Maskull's heart began to beat strangely. It all sounded to him like adream conversation. 

"And since how long, Krag, have I been required to do things by a totalstranger. .. . Besides, who is this individual?"

"Krag's chief, " said Nightspore, turning his head away. 

"The riddle is too elaborate for me. I give up. "

"You are looking for mysteries, " said Krag, "so naturally you arefinding them. Try and simplify your ideas, my friend. The affair isplain and serious. "

Maskull stared hard at him and smoked rapidly. 

"Where have you come from now?" demanded Nightspore suddenly. 

"From the old observatory at Starkness. .. . Have you heard of the famousStarkness Observatory, Maskull?"

"No. Where is it?"

"On the north-east coast of Scotland. Curious discoveries are made therefrom time to time. "

"As, for example, how to make voyages to the stars. So this Surtur turnsout to be an astronomer. And you too, presumably?"

Krag grinned again. "How long will it take you to wind up your affairs?When can you be ready to start?"

"You are too considerate, " said Maskull, laughing outright. "I wasbeginning to fear that I would be hauled away at once. .. . However, Ihave neither wife, land, nor profession, so there's nothing to waitfor. .. . What is the itinerary?"

"You are a fortunate man. A bold, daring heart, and no encumbrances. "Krag's features became suddenly grave and rigid. "Don't be a fool, andrefuse a gift of luck. A gift declined is not offered a second time. "

"Krag, " replied Maskull simply, returning his pipe to his pocket. "I askyou to put yourself in my place. Even if were a man sick for adventures, how could I listen seriously to such an insane proposition as this? Whatdo I know about you, or your past record? You may be a practical joker, or you may have come out of a madhouse--I know nothing about it. If youclaim to be an exceptional man, and want my cooperation, you must offerme exceptional proofs. "

"And what proofs would you consider adequate, Maskull?"

As he spoke he gripped Maskull's arm. A sharp, chilling pain immediatelypassed through the latter's body and at the same moment his brain caughtfire. A light burst in upon him like the rising of the sun. He askedhimself for the first time if this fantastic conversation could by anychance refer to real things. 

"Listen, Krag, " he said slowly, while peculiar images and conceptionsstarted to travel in rich disorder through his mind. "You talk about acertain journey. Well, if that journey were a possible one, and I weregiven the chance of making it, I would be willing never to come back. For twenty-four hours on that Arcturian planet, I would give my life. That is my attitude toward that journey. .. . Now prove to me that you'renot talking nonsense. Produce your credentials. "

Krag stared at him all the time he was speaking, his face graduallyresuming its jesting expression. 

"Oh, you will get your twenty-four hours, and perhaps longer, but notmuch longer. You're an audacious fellow, Maskull, but this trip willprove a little strenuous, even for you. .. . And so, like the unbelieversof old, you want a sign from heaven?"

Maskull frowned. "But the whole thing is ridiculous. Our brains areoverexcited by what took place in there. Let us go home, and sleep itoff. "

Krag detained him with one hand, while groping in his breast pocket withthe other. He presently fished out what resembled a small folding lens. The diameter of the glass did not exceed two inches. 

"First take a peep at Arcturus through this, Maskull. It may serve asa provisional sign. It's the best I can do, unfortunately. I am not atravelling magician. .. . Be very careful not to drop it. It's somewhatheavy. "

Maskull took the lens in his hand, struggled with it for a minute, andthen looked at Krag in amazement. The little object weighed at leasttwenty pounds, though it was not much bigger than a crown piece. 

"What stuff can this be, Krag?"

"Look through it, my good friend. That's what I gave it to you for. "

Maskull held it up with difficulty, directed it toward the gleamingArcturus, and snatched as long and as steady a glance at the star as themuscles of his arm would permit. What he saw was this. The star, whichto the naked eye appeared as a single yellow point of light, now becameclearly split into two bright but minute suns, the larger of which wasstill yellow, while its smaller companion was a beautiful blue. Butthis was not all. Apparently circulating around the yellow sun was acomparatively small and hardly distinguishable satellite, which seemedto shine, not by its own, but by reflected light. .. . Maskull lowered andraised his arm repeatedly. The same spectacle revealed itself again andagain, but he was able to see nothing else. Then he passed back the lensto Krag, without a word, and stood chewing his underlip. 

"You take a glimpse too, " scraped Krag, proffering the glass toNightspore. 

Nightspore turned his back and began to pace up an down. Krag laughedsardonically, and returned the lens to his pocket. "Well, Maskull, areyou satisfied?"

"Arcturus, then, is a double sun. And is that third point the planetTormance?"

"Our future home, Maskull. "

Maskull continued to ponder. "You inquire if I am satisfied. I don'tknow, Krag. It's miraculous, and that's all I can say about it. .. . ButI'm satisfied of one thing. There must be very wonderful astronomers atStarkness and if you invite me to your observatory I will surely come. "

"I do invite you. We set off from there. "

"And you, Nightspore?" demanded Maskull. 

"The journey has to be made, " answered his friend in indistinct tones, "though I don't see what will come of it. "

Krag shot a penetrating glance at him. "More remarkable adventures thanthis would need to be arranged before we could excite Nightspore. "

"Yet he is coming. "

"But not con amore. He is coming merely to bear you company. "

Maskull again sought the heavy, sombre star, gleaming in solitary might, in the south-eastern heavens, and, as he gazed, his heart swelled withgrand and painful longings, for which, however, he was unable to accountto his own intellect. He felt that his destiny was in some way bound upwith this gigantic, far-distant sun. But still he did not dare to admitto himself Krag's seriousness. 

He heard his parting remarks in deep abstraction, and only after thelapse of several minutes, when, alone with Nightspore, did he realisethat they referred to such mundane matters as travelling routes andtimes of trains. 

"Does Krag travel north with us, Nightspore? I didn't catch that. "

"No. We go on first, and he joins us at Starkness on the evening of theday after tomorrow. "

Maskull remained thoughtful. "What am I to think of that man?"

"For your information, " replied Nightspore wearily, "I have never knownhim to lie. "

Chapter 3. STARKNESS

A couple of days later, at two o'clock in the afternoon, Maskull andNightspore arrived at Starkness Observatory, having covered the sevenmiles from Haillar Station on foot. The road, very wild and lonely, ranfor the greater part of the way near the edge of rather lofty cliffs, within sight of the North Sea. The sun shone, but a brisk east wind wasblowing and the air was salt and cold. The dark green waves were fleckedwith white. Throughout the walk, they were accompanied by the plaintive, beautiful crying of the gulls. 

The observatory presented itself to their eyes as a self-containedlittle community, without neighbours, and perched on the extreme endof the land. There were three buildings: a small, stone-built dwellinghouse, a low workshop, and, about two hundred yards farther north, asquare tower of granite masonry, seventy feet in height. 

The house and the shop were separated by an open yard, littered withwaste. A single stone wall surrounded both, except on the side facingthe sea, where the house itself formed a continuation of the cliff. Noone appeared. The windows were all closed, and Maskull could have swornthat the whole establishment was shut up and deserted. 

He passed through the open gate, followed by Nightspore, and knockedvigorously at the front door. The knocker was thick with dust and hadobviously not been used for a long time. He put his ear to the door, butcould hear no movements inside the house. He then tried the handle; thedoor was looked. 

They walked around the house, looking for another entrance, but therewas only the one door. 

"This isn't promising, " growled Maskull "There's no one here. .. .. Nowyou try the shed, while I go over to that tower. "

Nightspore, who had not spoken half a dozen words since leaving thetrain, complied in silence, and started off across the yard. Maskullpassed out of the gate again. When he arrived at the foot of the tower, which stood some way back from the cliff, he found the door heavilypadlocked. Gazing up, he saw six windows, one above the other at equaldistances, all on the east face--that is, overlooking the sea. Realisingthat no satisfaction was to be gained here, he came away again, stillmore irritated than before. When he rejoined his friend, Nightsporereported that the workshop was also locked. 

"Did we, or did we not, receive an invitation?" demanded Maskullenergetically. 

"The house is empty, " replied Nightspore, biting his nails. "Betterbreak a window. "

"I certainly don't mean to camp out till Krag condescends to come. "

He picked up an old iron bolt from the yard and, retreating to a safedistance, hurled it against a sash window on the ground floor. The lowerpane was completely shattered. Carefully avoiding the broken glass, Maskull thrust his hand through the aperture and pushed back the framefastening. A minute later they had climbed through and were standinginside the house. 

The room, which was a kitchen, was in an indescribably filthy andneglected condition. The furniture scarcely held together, brokenutensils and rubbish lay on the floor instead of on the dust heap, everything was covered with a deep deposit of dust. The atmosphere wasso foul that Maskull judged that no fresh air had passed into the roomfor several months. Insects were crawling on the walls. 

They went into the other rooms on the lower floor--a scullery, a barelyfurnished dining room, and a storing place for lumber. The same dirt, mustiness, and neglect met their eyes. At least half a year must haveelapsed since these rooms were last touched, or even entered. 

"Does your faith in Krag still hold?" asked Maskull. "I confess mine isat vanishing point. If this affair isn't one big practical joke, it hasevery promise of being one. Krag never lived here in his life. "

"Come upstairs first, " said Nightspore. 

The upstairs rooms proved to consist of a library and three bedrooms. All the windows were tightly closed, and the air was insufferable. Thebeds had been slept in, evidently a long time ago, and had never beenmade since. The tumbled, discoloured bed linen actually preserved theimpressions of the sleepers. There was no doubt that these impressionswere ancient, for all sorts of floating dirt had accumulated on thesheets and coverlets. 

"Who could have slept here, do you think?" interrogated Maskull. "Theobservatory staff?"

"More likely travellers like ourselves. They left suddenly. "

Maskull flung the windows wide open in every room he came to, and heldhis breath until he had done so. Two of the bedrooms faced the sea; thethird, the library, the upward-sloping moorland. This library was nowthe only room left unvisited, and unless they discovered signs of recentoccupation here Maskull made up his mind to regard the whole business asa gigantic hoax. 

But the library, like all the other rooms, was foul with stale air anddust-laden. Maskull, having flung the window up and down, fell heavilyinto an armchair and looked disgustedly at his friend. 

"Now what is your opinion of Krag?"

Nightspore sat on the edge of the table which stood before the window. "He may still have left a message for us. "

"What message? Why? Do you mean in this room?--I see no message. "

Nightspore's eyes wandered about the room, finally seeming to lingerupon a glass-fronted wall cupboard, which contained a few old bottles onone of the shelves and nothing else. Maskull glanced at him and at thecupboard. Then, without a word, he got up to examine the bottles. 

There were four altogether, one of which was larger than the rest. Thesmaller ones were about eight inches long. All were torpedo-shaped, buthad flattened bottoms, which enabled them to stand upright. Two ofthe smaller ones were empty and unstoppered, the others contained acolourless liquid, and possessed queer-looking, nozzle-like stoppersthat were connected by a thin metal rod with a catch halfway down theside of the bottle. They were labelled, but the labels were yellowwith age and the writing was nearly undecipherable. Maskull carried thefilled bottles with him to the table in front of the window, in order toget better light. Nightspore moved away to make room for him. 

He now made out on the larger bottle the words "Solar Back Rays"; andon the other one, after some doubt, he thought that he could distinguishsomething like "Arcturian Back Rays. "

He looked up, to stare curiously at his friend. "Have you been herebefore, Nightspore?"

"I guessed Krag would leave a message. "

"Well, I don't know--it may be a message, but it means nothing to us, orat all events to me. What are 'back rays'?"

"Light that goes back to its source, " muttered Nightspore. 

"And what kind of light would that be?"

Nightspore seemed unwilling to answer, but, finding Maskull's eyes stillfixed on him, he brought out: "Unless light pulled, as well as pushed, how would flowers contrive to twist their heads around after the sun?"

"I don't know. But the point is, what are these bottles for?"

While he was still talking, with his hand on the smaller bottle, theother, which was lying on its side, accidentally rolled over in such amanner that the metal caught against the table. He made a movement tostop it, his hand was actually descending, when--the bottle suddenlydisappeared before his eyes. It had not rolled off the table, but hadreally vanished--it was nowhere at all. 

Maskull stared at the table. After a minute he raised his brows, andturned to Nightspore with a smile. "The message grows more intricate. "

Nightspore looked bored. "The valve became unfastened. The contents haveescaped through the open window toward the sun, carrying the bottle withthem. But the bottle will be burned up by the earth's atmosphere, andthe contents will dissipate, and will not reach the sun. "

Maskull listened attentively, and his smile faded. "Does anythingprevent us from experimenting with this other bottle?"

"Replace it in the cupboard, " said Nightspore. "Arcturus is still belowthe horizon, and you would succeed only in wrecking the house. "

Maskull remained standing before the window, pensively gazing out at thesunlit moors. 

"Krag treats me like a child, " he remarked presently. "And perhaps Ireally am a child. .. . My cynicism must seem most amusing to Krag. Butwhy does he leave me to find out all this by myself--for I don't includeyou, Nightspore. .. . But what time will Krag be here?"

"Not before dark, I expect, " his friend replied. 

Chapter 4. THE VOICE

It was by this time past three o'clock. Feeling hungry, for they hadeaten nothing since early morning, Maskull went downstairs to forage, but without much hope of finding anything in the shape of food. In asafe in the kitchen he discovered a bag of mouldy oatmeal, which wasuntouchable, a quantity of quite good tea in an airtight caddy, and anunopened can of ox tongue. Best of all, in the dining-room cupboard hecame across an uncorked bottle of first-class Scotch whisky. He at oncemade preparations for a scratch meal. 

A pump in the yard ran clear after a good deal of hard working at it, and he washed out and filled the antique kettle. For firewood, one ofthe kitchen chairs was broken up with a chopper. The light, dusty woodmade a good blaze in the grate, the kettle was boiled, and cups wereprocured and washed. Ten minutes later the friends were dining in thelibrary. 

Nightspore ate and drank little, but Maskull sat down with goodappetite. There being no milk, whisky took the place of it; the nearlyblack tea was mixed with an equal quantity of the spirit. Of thisconcoction Maskull drank cup after cup, and long after the tongue haddisappeared he was still imbibing. 

Nightspore looked at him queerly. "Do you intend to finish the bottlebefore Krag comes?"

"Krag won't want any, and one must do something. I feel restless. "

"Let us take a look at the country. "

The cup, which was on its way to Maskull's lips, remained poised in theair. "Have you anything in view, Nightspore?"

"Let us walk out to the Gap of Sorgie. "

"What's that?"

"A showplace, " answered Nightspore, biting his lip. 

Maskull finished off the cup, and rose to his feet. "Walking is betterthan soaking at any time, and especially on a day like this. .. . How faris it?"

"Three or four miles each way. "

"You probably mean something, " said Maskull, "for I'm beginning toregard you as a second Krag. But if so, so much the better. I am growingnervous, and need incidents. "

They left the house by the door, which they left ajar, and immediatelyfound themselves again on the moorland road that had brought them fromHaillar. This time they continued along it, past the tower. 

Maskull, as they went by, regarded the erection with puzzled interest. "What is that tower, Nightspore?"

"We sail from the platform on the top. "

"Tonight?"--throwing him a quick look. 

"Yes. "

Maskull smiled, but his eyes were grave. "Then we are looking at thegateway of Arcturus, and Krag is now travelling north to unlock it. "

"You no longer think it impossible, I fancy, " mumbled Nightspore. 

After a mile or two, the road parted from the sea coast and swervedsharply inland, across the hills. With Nightspore as guide, they left itand took to the grass. A faint sheep path marked the way along the cliffedge for some distance, but at the end of another mile it vanished. Thetwo men then had some rough walking up and down hillsides and acrossdeep gullies. The sun disappeared behind the hills, and twilightimperceptibly came on. They soon reached a spot where further progressappeared impossible. The buttress of a mountain descended at a steepangle to the very edge of the cliff, forming an impassable slope ofslippery grass. Maskull halted, stroked his beard, and wondered what thenext step was to be. 

"There's a little scrambling here, " said Nightspore. "We are both usedto climbing, and there is not much in it. "

He indicated a narrow ledge, winding along the face of the precipice afew yards beneath where they were standing. It averaged from fifteento thirty inches in width. Without waiting for Maskull's consent to theundertaking, he instantly swung himself down and started walking alongthis ledge at a rapid pace. Maskull, seeing that there was no help forit, followed him. The shelf did not extend for above a quarter of amile, but its passage was somewhat unnerving; there was a sheer dropto the sea, four hundred feet below. In a few places they had to sidlealong without placing one foot before another. The sound of the breakerscame up to them in a low, threatening roar. 

Upon rounding a corner, the ledge broadened out into a fair-sizedplatform of rock and came to a sudden end. A narrow inlet of the seaseparated them from the continuation of the cliffs beyond. 

"As we can't get any further, " said Maskull, "I presume this is your Gapof Sorgie?"

"Yes, " answered his friend, first dropping on his knees and then lyingat full length, face downward. He drew his head and shoulders over theedge and began to stare straight down at the water. 

"What is there interesting down there, Nightspore?"

Receiving no reply, however, he followed his friend's example, and thenext minute was looking for himself. Nothing was to be seen; the gloomhad deepened, and the sea was nearly invisible. But, while he wasineffectually gazing, he heard what sounded like the beating of adrum on the narrow strip of shore below. It was very faint, but quitedistinct. The beats were in four-four time, with the third beat slightlyaccented. He now continued to hear the noise all the time he was lyingthere. The beats were in no way drowned by the far louder sound of thesurf, but seemed somehow to belong to a different world. .. . 

When they were on their feet again, he questioned Nightspore. "We camehere solely to hear that?"

Nightspore cast one of his odd looks at him. "It's called locally 'TheDrum Taps of Sorgie. ' You will not hear that name again, but perhaps youwill hear the sound again. "

"And if I do, what will it imply?" demanded Maskull in amazement. 

"It bears its own message. Only try always to hear it more and moredistinctly. .. . Now it's growing dark, and we must get back. "

Maskull pulled out his watch automatically, and looked at the time. Itwas past six. .. . But he was thinking of Nightspore's words, and not ofthe time. 

Night had already fallen by the time they regained the tower. The blacksky was glorious with liquid stars. Arcturus was a little way above thesea, directly opposite them, in the east. As they were passing the baseof the tower, Maskull observed with a sudden shock that the gate wasopen. He caught hold of Nightspore's arm violently. "Look! Krag isback. "

"Yes, we must make haste to the house. "

"And why not the tower? He's probably in there, since the gate is open. I'm going up to look. "

Nightspore grunted, but made no opposition. 

All was pitch-black inside the gate. Maskull struck a match, and theflickering light disclosed the lower end of a circular flight of stonesteps. "Are you coming up?" he asked. 

"No, I'll wait here. "

Maskull immediately began the ascent. Hardly had he mounted half a dozensteps, however, before he was compelled to pause, to gain breath. He seemed to be carrying upstairs not one Maskull, but three. As heproceeded, the sensation of crushing weight, so far from diminishing, grew worse and worse. It was nearly physically impossible to go on; hislungs could not take in enough oxygen, while his heart thumped like aship's engine. Sweat coursed down his face. At the twentieth step hecompleted the first revolution of the tower and came face to face withthe first window, which was set in a high embrasure. 

Realising that he could go no higher, he struck another match, andclimbed into the embrasure, in order that he might at all events seesomething from the tower. The flame died, and he stared through thewindow at the stars. Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that itwas not a window at all but a lens. .. . The sky was not a wide expanse ofspace containing a multitude of stars, but a blurred darkness, focusedonly in one part, where two very bright stars, like small moons in size, appeared in close conjunction; and near them a more minute planetaryobject, as brilliant as Venus and with an observable disk. One of thesuns shone with a glaring white light; the other was a weird and awfulblue. Their light, though almost solar in intensity, did not illuminatethe interior of the tower. 

Maskull knew at once that the system of spheres at which he was gazingwas what is known to astronomy as the star Arcturus. .. . He had seen thesight before, through Krag's glass, but then the scale had been smaller, the colors of the twin suns had not appeared in their naked reality. .. . These colors seemed to him most marvellous, as if, in seeing themthrough earth eyes, he was not seeing them correctly. .. . But it wasat Tormance that he stared the longest and the most earnestly. On thatmysterious and terrible earth, countless millions of miles distant, ithad been promised him that he would set foot, even though he might leavehis bones there. The strange creatures that he was to behold and touchwere already living, at this very moment. 

A low, sighing whisper sounded in his ear, from not more than a yardaway. "Don't you understand, Maskull, that you are only an instrument, to be used and then broken? Nightspore is asleep now, but when he wakesyou must die. You will go, but he will return. "

Maskull hastily struck another match, with trembling fingers. No one wasin sight, and all was quiet as the tomb. 

The voice did not sound again. After waiting a few minutes, heredescended to the foot of the tower. On gaining the open air, hissensation of weight was instantly removed, but he continued panting andpalpitating, like a man who has lifted a far too heavy load. 

Nightspore's dark form came forward. "Was Krag there?"

"If he was. I didn't see him. But I heard someone speak. "

"Was it Krag?"

"It was not Krag--but a voice warned me against you. "

"Yes, you will hear these voices too, " said Nightspore enigmatically. 

Chapter 5. THE NIGHT OF DEPARTURE

When they returned to the house, the windows were all in darkness andthe door was ajar, just as they had left it; Krag presumably was notthere. Maskull went all over the house, striking matches in everyroom--at the end of the examination he was ready to swear that the manthey were expecting had not even stuck his nose inside the premises. Groping their way into the library, they sat down in the total darknessto wait, for nothing else remained to be done. Maskull lit his pipe, and began to drink the remainder of the whisky. Through the open windowsounded in their ears the trainlike grinding of the sea at the foot ofthe cliffs. 

"Krag must be in the tower after all, " remarked Maskull, breaking thesilence. 

"Yes, he is getting ready. "

"I hope he doesn't expect us to join him there. It was beyond mypowers--but why, heaven knows. The stairs must have a magnetic pull ofsome sort. "

"It is Tormantic gravity, " muttered Nightspore. 

"I understand you--or, rather, I don't--but it doesn't matter. "

He went on smoking in silence, occasionally taking a mouthful of theneat liquor. "Who is Surtur?" he demanded abruptly. 

"We others are gropers and bunglers, but he is a master. "

Maskull digested this. "I fancy you are right, for though I knownothing about him his mere name has an exciting effect on me. .. . Are youpersonally acquainted with him?"

"I must be. .. I forget. .. " replied Nightspore in a choking voice. 

Maskull looked up, surprised, but could make nothing out in theblackness of the room. 

"Do you know so many extraordinary men that you can forget some ofthem?. .. Perhaps you can tell me this. .. Will we meet him, where we aregoing?"

"You will meet death, Maskull. .. . Ask me no more questions--I can'tanswer them. "

"Then let us go on waiting for Krag, " said Maskull coldly. 

Ten minutes later the front door slammed, and a light, quick footstepwas heard running up the stairs. Maskull got up, with a beating heart. 

Krag appeared on the threshold of the door, bearing in his hand a feeblyglimmering lantern. A hat was on his head, and he looked stern andforbidding. After scrutinising the two friends for a moment or so, hestrode into the room and thrust the lantern on the table. Its lighthardly served to illuminate the walls. 

"You have got here, then, Maskull?"

"So it seems--but I shan't thank you for your hospitality, for it hasbeen conspicuous by its absence. "

Krag ignored the remark. "Are you ready to start?"

"By all means--when you are. It is not so entertaining here. "

Krag surveyed him critically. "I heard you stumbling about in the tower. You couldn't get up, it seems. "

"It looks like an obstacle, for Nightspore informs me that the starttakes place from the top. "

"But your other doubts are all removed?"

"So far, Krag, that I now possess an open mind. I am quite willing tosee what you can do. "

"Nothing more is asked. .. . But this tower business. You know that untilyou are able to climb to the top you are unfit to stand the gravitationof Tormance?"

"Then I repeat, it's an awkward obstacle, for I certainly can't get up. "

Krag hunted about in his pockets, and at length produced a clasp knife. 

"Remove you coat, and roll up your shirt sleeve, " he directed. 

"Do you propose to make an incision with that?"

"Yes, and don't start difficulties, because the effect is certain, butyou can't possibly understand it beforehand. "

"Still, a cut with a pocket-knife--" began Maskull, laughing. 

"It will answer, Maskull, " interrupted Nightspore. 

"Then bare your arm too, you aristocrat of the universe, " said Krag. "Let us see what your blood is made of. "

Nightspore obeyed. 

Krag pulled out the big blade of the knife, and made a careless andalmost savage slash at Maskull's upper arm. The wound was deep, andblood flowed freely. 

"Do I bind it up?" asked Maskull, scowling with pain. 

Krag spat on the wound. "Pull your shirt down, it won't bleed any more. "

He then turned his attention to Nightspore, who endured his operationwith grim indifference. Krag threw the knife on the floor. 

An awful agony, emanating from the wound, started to run throughMaskull's body, and he began to doubt whether he would not have tofaint, but it subsided almost immediately, and then he felt nothing buta gnawing ache in the injured arm, just strong enough to make life onelong discomfort. 

"That's finished, " said Krag. "Now you can follow me. "

Picking up the lantern, he walked toward the door. The others hastenedafter him, to take advantage of the light, and a moment later theirfootsteps, clattering down the uncarpeted stairs, resounded throughthe deserted house. Krag waited till they were out, and then banged thefront door after them with such violence that the windows shook. 

While they were walking swiftly across to the tower, Maskull caught hisarm. "I heard a voice up those stairs. "

"What did it say?"

"That I am to go, but Nightspore is to return. "

Krag smiled. "The journey is getting notorious, " he remarked, aftera pause. "There must be ill-wishers about. .. . Well, do you want toreturn?"

"I don't know what I want. But I thought the thing was curious enough tobe mentioned. "

"It is not a bad thing to hear voices, " said Krag, "but you mustn't fora minute imagine that all is wise that comes to you out of the nightworld. "

When they had arrived at the open gateway of the tower, he immediatelyset foot on the bottom step of the spiral staircase and ran nimbly up, bearing the lantern. Maskull followed him with some trepidation, in viewof his previous painful experience on these stairs, but when, afterthe first half-dozen steps, he discovered that he was still breathingfreely, his dread changed to relief and astonishment, and he could havechattered like a girl. 

At the lowest window Krag went straight ahead without stepping, butMaskull clambered into the embrasure, in order to renew his acquaintancewith the miraculous spectacle of the Arcturian group. The lens had lostits magic property. It had become a common sheet of glass, through whichthe ordinary sky field appeared. 

The climb continued, and at the second and third windows he againmounted and stared out, but still the common sights presentedthemselves. After that, he gave up and looked through no more windows. 

Krag and Nightspore meanwhile had gone on ahead with the light, so thathe had to complete the ascent in darkness. When he was near the top, hesaw yellow light shining through the crack of a half-opened door. Hiscompanions were standing just inside a small room, shut off fromthe staircase by rough wooden planking; it was rudely furnished andcontained nothing of astronomical interest. The lantern was resting on atable. 

Maskull walked in and looked around him with curiosity. "Are we at thetop?"

"Except for the platform over our heads, " replied Krag. 

"Why didn't that lowest window magnify, as it did earlier in theevening?"

"Oh, you missed your opportunity, " said Krag, grinning. "If you hadfinished your climb then, you would have seen heart-expanding sights. From the fifth window, for example, you would have seen Tormance likea continent in relief; from the sixth you would have seen it like alandscape. .. . But now there's no need. "

"Why not--and what has need got to do with it?"

"Things are changed, my friend, since that wound of yours. For the samereason that you have now been able to mount the stairs, there was nonecessity to stop and gape at illusions en route. "

"Very well, " said Maskull, not quite understanding what he meant. "Butis this Surtur's den?"

"He has spent time here. "

"I wish you would describe this mysterious individual, Krag. We may notget another chance. "

"What I said about the windows also applies to Surtur. There's no needto waste time over visualising him, because you are immediately going onto the reality. "

"Then let us go. " He pressed his eyeballs wearily. 

"Do we strip?" asked Nightspore. 

"Naturally, " answered Krag, and he began to tear off his clothes withslow, uncouth movements. 

"Why?" demanded Maskull, following, however, the example of the othertwo men. 

Krag thumped his vast chest, which was covered with thick hairs, likean ape's. "Who knows what the Tormance fashions are like? We may sproutlimbs--I don't say we shall. "

"A-ha!" exclaimed Maskull, pausing in the middle of his undressing. 

Krag smote him on the back. "New pleasure organs possible, Maskull. Youlike that?"

The three men stood as nature made them. Maskull's spirits rose fast, asthe moment of departure drew near. 

"A farewell drink to success!" cried Krag, seizing a bottle and breakingits head off between his fingers. There were no glasses, but he pouredthe amber-coloured wine into some cracked cups. 

Perceiving that the others drank, Maskull tossed off his cupful. It wasas if he had swallowed a draught of liquid electricity. .. . Krag droppedonto the floor and rolled around on his back, kicking his legs in theair. He tried to drag Maskull down on top of him, and a little horseplaywent on between the two. Nightspore took no part in it, but walked toand fro, like a hungry caged animal. 

Suddenly, from out-of-doors, there came a single prolonged, piercingwail, such as a banshee might be imagined to utter. It ceased abruptly, and was not repeated. 

"What's that?" called out Maskull, disengaging himself impatiently fromKrag. 

Krag rocked with laughter. "A Scottish spirit trying to reproduce thebagpipes of its earth life--in honour of our departure. "

Nightspore turned to Krag. "Maskull will sleep throughout the journey?"

"And you too, if you wish, my altruistic friend. I am pilot, and youpassengers can amuse yourselves as you please. "

"Are we off at last?" asked Maskull. 

"Yes, you are about to cross your Rubicon, Maskull. But what aRubicon!. .. Do you know that it takes light a hundred years or so toarrive here from Arcturus? Yet we shall do it in nineteen hours. "

"Then you assert that Surtur is already there?"

"Surtur is where he is. He is a great traveller. "

"Won't I see him?"

Krag went up to him and looked him in the eyes. "Don't forget that youhave asked for it, and wanted it. Few people in Tormance will know moreabout him than you do, but your memory will be your worst friend. "

He led the way up a short iron ladder, mounting through a trap to theflat roof above. When they were up, he switched on a small electrictorch. 

Maskull beheld with awe the torpedo of crystal that was to convey themthrough the whole breadth of visible space. It was forty feet long, eight wide, and eight high; the tank containing the Arcturian backrays was in front, the car behind. The nose of the torpedo was directedtoward the south-eastern sky. The whole machine rested upon a flatplatform, raised about four feet above the level of the roof, so as toencounter no obstruction on starting its flight. 

Krag flashed the light on to the door of the car, to enable themto enter. Before doing so, Maskull gazed sternly once again at thegigantic, far-distant star, which was to be their sun from now onward. He frowned, shivered slightly, and got in beside Nightspore. Kragclambered past them onto his pilot's seat. He threw the flashlightthrough the open door, which was then carefully closed, fastened, andscrewed up. 

He pulled the starting lever. The torpedo glided gently from itsplatform, and passed rather slowly away from the tower, seaward. Itsspeed increased sensibly, though not excessively, until the approximatelimits of the earth's atmosphere were reached. Krag then released thespeed valve, and the car sped on its way with a velocity more nearlyapproaching that of thought than of light. 

Maskull had no opportunity of examining through the crystal wallsthe rapidly changing panorama of the heavens. An extreme drowsinessoppressed him. He opened his eyes violently a dozen times, but on thethirteenth attempt he failed. From that time forward he slept heavily. 

The bored, hungry expression never left Nightspore's face. Thealterations in the aspect of the sky seemed to possess not the leastinterest for him. 

Krag sat with his hand on the lever, watching with savage intentness hisphosphorescent charts and gauges. 

Chapter 6. JOIWIND

IT WAS DENSE NIGHT when Maskull awoke from his profound sleep. A windwas blowing against him, gentle but wall-like, such as he had neverexperienced on earth. He remained sprawling on the ground, as he wasunable to lift his body because of its intense weight. A numbing pain, which he could not identify with any region of his frame, acted fromnow onward as a lower, sympathetic note to all his other sensations. Itgnawed away at him continuously; sometimes it embittered and irritatedhim, at other times he forgot it. 

He felt something hard on his forehead. Putting his hand up, hediscovered there a fleshy protuberance the size of a small plum, havinga cavity in the middle, of which he could not feel the bottom. Thenhe also became aware of a large knob on each side of his neck, an inchbelow the ear. 

From the region of his heart, a tentacle had budded. It was as long ashis arm, but thin, like whipcord, and soft and flexible. 

As soon as he thoroughly realised the significance of these new organs, his heart began to pump. Whatever might, or might not, be their use, they proved one thing that he was in a new world. 

One part of the sky began to get lighter than the rest. Maskull criedout to his companions, but received no response. This frightened him. He went on shouting out, at irregular intervals--equally alarmed at thesilence and at the sound of his own voice. Finally, as no answering hailcame, he thought it wiser not to make too much noise, and after that helay quiet, waiting in cold blood for what might happen. 

In a short while he perceived dim shadows around him, but these were nothis friends. 

A pale, milky vapour over the ground began to succeed the black night, while in the upper sky rosy tints appeared. On earth, one would havesaid that day was breaking. The brightness went on imperceptiblyincreasing for a very long time. 

Maskull then discovered that he was lying on sand. The colour of thesand was scarlet. The obscure shadows he had seen were bushes, withblack stems and purple leaves. So far, nothing else was visible. 

The day surged up. It was too misty for direct sunshine, but before longthe brilliance of the light was already greater than that of the middaysun on earth. The heat, too, was intense, but Maskull welcomed it--itrelieved his pain and diminished his sense of crushing weight. The windhad dropped with the rising of the sun. 

He now tried to get onto his feet, but succeeded only in kneeling. Hewas unable to see far. The mists had no more than partially dissolved, and all that he could distinguish was a narrow circle of red sand dottedwith ten or twenty bushes. 

He felt a soft, cool touch on the back of his neck. He started forwardin nervous fright and, in doing so, tumbled over onto the sand. Lookingup over his shoulder quickly, he was astounded to see a woman standingbeside him. 

She was clothed in a single flowing, pale green garment, ratherclassically draped. According to earth standards she was not beautiful, for, although her face was otherwise human, she was endowed--orafflicted--with the additional disfiguring organs that Maskull haddiscovered in himself. She also possessed the heart tentacle. But whenhe sat up, and their eyes met and remained in sympathetic contact, he seemed to see right into a soul that was the home of love, warmth, kindness, tenderness, and intimacy. Such was the noble familiarity ofthat gaze, that he thought he knew her. After that, he recognised allthe loveliness of her person. She was tall and slight. All her movementswere as graceful as music. Her skin was not of a dead, opaquecolour, like that of an earth beauty, but was opalescent; its hue wascontinually changing, with every thought and emotion, but none of thesetints was vivid--all were delicate, half-toned, and poetic. She had verylong, loosely plaited, flaxen hair. The new organs, as soon as Maskullhad familiarised himself with them, imparted something to her face thatwas unique and striking. He could not quite define it to himself, butsubtlety and inwardness seemed added. The organs did not contradict thelove of her eyes or the angelic purity of her features, but neverthelesssounded a deeper note--a note that saved her from mere girlishness. 

Her gaze was so friendly and unembarrassed that Maskull felt scarcelyany humiliation at sitting at her feet, naked and helpless. She realisedhis plight, and put into his hands a garment that she had been carryingover her arm. It was similar to the one she was wearing, but of adarker, more masculine colour. 

"Do you think you can put it on by yourself?"

He was distinctly conscious of these words, yet her voice had notsounded. 

He forced himself up to his feet, and she helped him to master thecomplications of the drapery. 

"Poor man--how you are suffering!" she said, in the same inaudiblelanguage. This time he discovered that the sense of what she said wasreceived by his brain through the organ on his forehead. 

"Where am I? Is this Tormance?" he asked. As he spoke, he staggered. 

She caught him, and helped him to sit down. "Yes. You are with friends. "

Then she regarded him with a smile, and began speaking aloud, inEnglish. Her voice somehow reminded him of an April day, it was sofresh, nervous, and girlish. "I can now understand your language. It wasstrange at first. In the future I'll speak to you with my mouth. "

"This is extraordinary! What is this organ?" he asked, touching hisforehead. 

"It is named the 'breve. ' By means of it we read one another's thoughts. Still, speech is better, for then the heart can be read too. "

He smiled. "They say that speech is given us to deceive others. "

"One can deceive with thought, too. But I'm thinking of the best, notthe worst. "

"Have you seen my friends?"

She scrutinised him quietly, before answering. "Did you not come alone?"

"I came with two other men, in a machine. I must have lost consciousnesson arrival, and I haven't seen them since. "

"That's very strange! No, I haven't seen them. They can't be here, or wewould have known it. My husband and I--"

"What is your name, and your husband's name?"

"Mine is Joiwind--my husband's is Panawe. We live a very long way fromhere; still, it came to us both last night that you were lying hereinsensible. We almost quarrelled about which of us should come toyou, but in the end I won. " Here she laughed. "I won, because I am thestronger-hearted of the two; he is the purer in perception. "

"Thanks, Joiwind!" said Maskull simply. 

The colors chased each other rapidly beneath her skin. "Oh, why do yousay that? What pleasure is greater than loving-kindness? I rejoiced atthe opportunity. .. . But now we must exchange blood. "

"What is this?" he demanded, rather puzzled. 

"It must be so. Your blood is far too thick and heavy for our world. Until you have an infusion of mine, you will never get up. "

Maskull flushed. "I feel like a complete ignoramus here. .. . Won't ithurt you?"

"If your blood pains you, I suppose it will pain me. But we will sharethe pain. "

"This is a new kind of hospitality to me, " he muttered. 

"Wouldn't you do the same for me?" asked Joiwind, half smiling, halfagitated. 

"I can't answer for any of my actions in this world. I scarcely knowwhere I am. .. . Why, yes--of course I would, Joiwind. "

While they were talking it had become full day. The mists hadrolled away from the ground, and only the upper atmosphere remainedfog-charged. The desert of scarlet sand stretched in all directions, except one, where there was a sort of little oasis--some low hills, clothed sparsely with little purple trees from base to summit. It wasabout a quarter of a mile distant. 

Joiwind had brought with her a small flint knife. Without any trace ofnervousness, she made a careful, deep incision on her upper arm. Maskullexpostulated. 

"Really, this part of it is nothing, " she said, laughing. "And if itwere--a sacrifice that is no sacrifice--what merit is there in that?. .. Come now--your arm!"

The blood was streaming down her arm. It was not red blood, but a milky, opalescent fluid. 

"Not that one!" said Maskull, shrinking. "I have already been cutthere. " He submitted the other, and his blood poured forth. 

Joiwind delicately and skilfully placed the mouths of the two woundstogether, and then kept her arm pressed tightly against Maskull's fora long time. He felt a stream of pleasure entering his body through theincision. His old lightness and vigour began to return to him. Afterabout five minutes a duel of kindness started between them; he wanted toremove his arm, and she to continue. At last he had his way, but it wasnone too soon--she stood there pale and dispirited. 

She looked at him with a more serious expression than before, as ifstrange depths had opened up before her eyes. 

"What is your name?"

"Maskull. "

"Where have you come from, with this awful blood?"

"From a world called Earth. .. . The blood is clearly unsuitable for thisworld, Joiwind, but after all, that was only to be expected. I am sorryI let you have your way. "

"Oh, don't say that! There was nothing else to be done. We must all helpone another. Yet, somehow--forgive me--I feel polluted. "

"And well you may, for it's a fearful thing for a girl to accept in herown veins the blood of a strange man from a strange planet. If I had notbeen so dazed and weak I would never have allowed it. "

"But I would have insisted. Are we not all brothers and sisters? Why didyou come here, Maskull?"

He was conscious of a slight degree of embarrassment. "Will you thinkit foolish if I say I hardly know?--I came with those two men. Perhaps Iwas attracted by curiosity, or perhaps it was the love of adventure. "

"Perhaps, " said Joiwind. "I wonder. .. These friends of yours must beterrible men. Why did they come?"

"That I can tell you. They came to follow Surtur. "

Her face grew troubled. "I don't understand it. One of them at leastmust be a bad man, and yet if he is following Surtur--or Shaping, as heis called here--he can't be really bad. "

"What do you know of Surtur?" asked Maskull in astonishment. 

Joiwind remained silent for a time, studying his face. His brain movedrestlessly, as though it were being probed from outside. "I see. .. . Andyet I don't see, " she said at last. "It is very difficult. .. . Your Godis a dreadful Being--bodyless, unfriendly, invisible. Here we don'tworship a God like that. Tell me, has any man set eyes on your God?"

"What does all this mean, Joiwind? Why speak of God?"

"I want to know. "

"In ancient times, when the earth was young and grand, a few holy menare reputed to have walked and spoken with God, but those days arepast. "

"Our world is still young, " said Joiwind. "Shaping goes among us andconverses with us. He is real and active--a friend and lover. Shapingmade us, and he loves his work. "

"Have you met him?" demanded Maskull, hardly believing his ears. 

"No. I have done nothing to deserve it yet. Some day I may have anopportunity to sacrifice myself, and then I may be rewarded by meetingand talking with Shaping. "

"I have certainly come to another world. But why do you say he is thesame as Surtur?"

"Yes, he is the same. We women call him Shaping, and so do most men, buta few name him Surtur. "

Maskull bit his nail. "Have you ever heard of Crystalman?"

"That is Shaping once again. You see, he has many names--which shows howmuch he occupies our minds. Crystalman is a name of affection. "

"It's odd, " said Maskull. "I came here with quite different ideas aboutCrystalman. "

Joiwind shook her hair. "In that grove of trees over there stands adesert shrine of his. Let us go and pray there, and then we'll go on ourway to Poolingdred. That is my home. It's a long way off, and we mustget there before Blodsombre. "

"Now, what is Blodsombre?"

"For about four hours in the middle of the day Branchspell's rays are sohot that no one can endure them. We call it Blodsombre. "

"Is Branchspell another name for Arcturus?"

Joiwind threw off her seriousness and laughed. "Naturally we don't takeour names from you, Maskull. I don't think our names are very poetic, but they follow nature. "

She took his arm affectionately, and directed their walk towards thetree-covered hills. As they went along, the sun broke through theupper mists and a terrible gust of scorching heat, like a blast from afurnace, struck Maskull's head. He involuntarily looked up, but loweredhis eyes again like lightning. All that he saw in that instant was aglaring ball of electric white, three times the apparent diameter of thesun. For a few minutes he was quite blind. 

"My God!" he exclaimed. "If it's like this in early morning you must beright enough about Blodsombre. " When he had somewhat recovered himselfhe asked, "How long are the days here, Joiwind?"

Again he felt his brain being probed. 

"At this time of the year, for every hour's daylight that you have insummer, we have two. "

"The heat is terrific--and yet somehow I don't feel so distressed by itas I would have expected. "

"I feel it more than usual. It's not difficult to account for it; youhave some of my blood, and I have some of yours. "

"Yes, every time I realise that, I--Tell me, Joiwind, will my bloodalter, if I stay here long enough?--I mean, will it lose its redness andthickness, and become pure and thin and light-coloured, like yours?"

"Why not? If you live as we live, you will assuredly grow like us. "

"Do you mean food and drink?"

"We eat no food, and drink only water. "

"And on that you manage to sustain life?"

"Well, Maskull, our water is good water, " replied Joiwind, smiling. 

As soon as he could see again he stared around at the landscape. Theenormous scarlet desert extended everywhere to the horizon, exceptingwhere it was broken by the oasis. It was roofed by a cloudless, deepblue, almost violet, sky. The circle of the horizon was far larger thanon earth. On the skyline, at right angles to the direction in whichthey were walking, appeared a chain of mountains, apparently about fortymiles distant. One, which was higher than the rest, was shaped like acup. Maskull would have felt inclined to believe he was travelling indreamland, but for the intensity of the light, which made everythingvividly real. 

Joiwind pointed to the cup-shaped mountain. "That's Poolingdred. "

"You didn't come from there!" he exclaimed, quite startled. 

"Yes, I did indeed. And that is where we have to go to now. "

"With the single object of finding me?"

"Why, yes. "

The colour mounted to his face. "Then you are the bravest and noblestof all girls, " he said quietly, after a pause. "Without exception. Why, this is a journey for an athlete!"

She pressed his arm, while a score of unpaintable, delicate hues stainedher cheeks in rapid transition. "Please don't say any more about it, Maskull. It makes me feel unpleasant. "

"Very well. But can we possibly get there before midday?"

"Oh, yes. And you mustn't be frightened at the distance. We thinknothing of long distances here--we have so much to think about and feel. Time goes all too quickly. "

During their conversation they had drawn neat the base of the hills, which sloped gently, and were not above fifty feet in height. Maskullnow began to see strange specimens of vegetable life. What looked likea small patch of purple grass, above five feet square, was moving acrossthe sand in their direction. When it came near enough he perceived thatit was not grass; there were no blades, but only purple roots. The rootswere revolving, for each small plant in the whole patch, like the spokesof a rimless wheel. They were alternately plunged in the sand, andwithdrawn from it, and by this means the plant proceeded forward. Someuncanny, semi-intelligent instinct was keeping all the plants together, moving at one pace, in one direction, like a flock of migrating birds inflight. 

Another remarkable plant was a large, feathery ball, resembling adandelion fruit, which they encountered sailing through the air. Joiwindcaught it with an exceedingly graceful movement of her arm, and showedit to Maskull. It had roots and presumably lived in the air and fed onthe chemical constituents of the atmosphere. But what was peculiar aboutit was its colour. It was an entirely new colour--not a new shade orcombination, but a new primary colour, as vivid as blue, red, or yellow, but quite different. When he inquired, she told him that it was known as"ulfire. " Presently he met with a second new colour. This she designated"jale. " The sense impressions caused in Maskull by these two additionalprimary colors can only be vaguely hinted at by analogy. Just as blue isdelicate and mysterious, yellow clear and unsubtle, and red sanguineand passionate, so he felt ulfire to be wild and painful, and jaledreamlike, feverish, and voluptuous. 

The hills were composed of a rich, dark mould. Small trees, of weirdshapes, all differing from each other, but all purple-coloured, coveredthe slopes and top. Maskull and Joiwind climbed up and through. Somehard fruit, bright blue in colour, of the size of a large apple, andshaped like an egg, was lying in profusion underneath the trees. 

"Is the fruit here poisonous, or why don't you eat it?" asked Maskull. 

She looked at him tranquilly. "We don't eat living things. The thoughtis horrible to us. "

"I have nothing to say against that, theoretically. But do you reallysustain your bodies on water?"

"Supposing you could find nothing else to live on, Maskull--would youeat other men?"

"I would not. "

"Neither will we eat plants and animals, which are our fellow creatures. So nothing is left to us but water, and as one can really live onanything, water does very well. "

Maskull picked up one of the fruits and handled it curiously. As he didso another of his newly acquired sense organs came into action. Hefound that the fleshy knobs beneath his ears were in some novel fashionacquainting him with the inward properties of the fruit. He could notonly see, feel, and smell it, but could detect its intrinsic nature. This nature was hard, persistent and melancholy. 

Joiwind answered the questions he had not asked. 

"Those organs are called 'poigns. ' Their use is to enable us tounderstand and sympathise with all living creatures. "

"What advantage do you derive from that, Joiwind?"

"The advantage of not being cruel and selfish, dear Maskull. "

He threw the fruit away and flushed again. 

Joiwind looked into his swarthy, bearded face without embarrassment andslowly smiled. "Have I said too much? Have I been too familiar? Do youknow why you think so? It's because you are still impure. By and by youwill listen to all language without shame. "

Before he realised what she was about to do, she threw her tentacleround his neck, like another arm. He offered no resistance to its coolpressure. The contact of her soft flesh with his own was so moist andsensitive that it resembled another kind of kiss. He saw who it was thatembraced him--a pale, beautiful girl. Yet, oddly enough, he experiencedneither voluptuousness nor sexual pride. The love expressed by thecaress was rich, glowing, and personal, but there was not the leasttrace of sex in it--and so he received it. 

She removed her tentacle, placed her two arms on his shoulders andpenetrated with her eyes right into his very soul. 

"Yes, I wish to be pure, " he muttered. "Without that what can I ever bebut a weak, squirming devil?"

Joiwind released him. "This we call the 'magn, '" she said, indicatingher tentacle. "By means of it what we love already we love more, andwhat we don't love at all we begin to love. "

"A godlike organ!"

"It is the one we guard most jealously, " said Joiwind. 

The shade of the trees afforded a timely screen from the now almostinsufferable rays of Branchspell, which was climbing steadily upward tothe zenith. On descending the other side of the little hills, Maskulllooked anxiously for traces of Nightspore and Krag, but without result. After staring about him for a few minutes he shrugged his shoulders; butsuspicions had already begun to gather in his mind. 

A small, natural amphitheatre lay at their feet, completely circled bythe tree-clad heights. The centre was of red sand. In the very middleshot up a tall, stately tree, with a black trunk and branches, andtransparent, crystal leaves. At the foot of this tree was a natural, circular well, containing dark green water. 

When they had reached the bottom, Joiwind took him straight over to thewell. 

Maskull gazed at it intently. "Is this the shrine you talked about?"

"Yes. It is called Shaping's Well. The man or woman who wishes to invokeShaping must take up some of the gnawl water, and drink it. "

"Pray for me, " said Maskull. "Your unspotted prayer will carry moreweight. "

"What do you wish for?"

"For purity, " answered Maskull, in a troubled voice. 

Joiwind made a cup of her hand, and drank a little of the water. Sheheld it up to Maskull's mouth. "You must drink too. " He obeyed. She thenstood erect, closed her eyes, and, in a voice like the soft murmuringsof spring, prayed aloud. 

"Shaping, my father, I am hoping you can hear me. A strange man has cometo us weighed down with heavy blood. He wishes to be pure. Let him knowthe meaning of love, let him live for others. Don't spare him pain, dearShaping, but let him seek his own pain. Breathe into him a noble soul. "

Maskull listened with tears in his heart. 

As Joiwind finished speaking, a blurred mist came over his eyes, and, half buried in the scarlet sand, appeared a large circle of dazzlinglywhite pillars. For some minutes they flickered to and fro betweendistinctness and indistinctness, like an object being focused. Then theyfaded out of sight again. 

"Is that a sign from Shaping?" asked Maskull, in a low, awed tone. 

"Perhaps it is. It is a time mirage. "

"What can that be, Joiwind?"

"You see, dear Maskull, the temple does not yet exist but it will do so, because it must. What you and I are now doing in simplicity, wise menwill do hereafter in full knowledge. "

"It is right for man to pray, " said Maskull. "Good and evil in the worlddon't originate from nothing. God and Devil must exist. And we shouldpray to the one, and fight the other. "

"Yes, we must fight Krag. "

"What name did you say?" asked Maskull in amazement. 

"Krag--the author of evil and misery--whom you call Devil. "

He immediately concealed his thoughts. To prevent Joiwind from learninghis relationship to this being, he made his mind a blank. 

"Why do you hide your mind from me?" she demanded, looking at himstrangely and changing colour. 

"In this bright, pure, radiant world, evil seems so remote, one canscarcely grasp its meaning. " But he lied. 

Joiwind continued gazing at him, straight out of her clean soul. "Theworld is good and pure, but many men are corrupt. Panawe, my husband, has travelled, and he has told me things I would almost rather havenot heard. One person he met believed the universe to be, from top tobottom, a conjurer's cave. "

"I should like to meet your husband. "

"Well, we are going home now. "

Maskull was on the point of inquiring whether she had any children, butwas afraid of offending her, and checked himself. 

She read the mental question. "What need is there? Is not the wholeworld full of lovely children? Why should I want selfish possessions?"

An extraordinary creature flew past, uttering a plaintive cry of fivedistinct notes. It was not a bird, but had a balloon-shaped body, paddled by five webbed feet. It disappeared among the trees. 

Joiwind pointed to it, as it went by. "I love that beast, grotesque asit is--perhaps all the more for its grotesqueness. But if I had childrenof my own, would I still love it? Which is best--to love two or three, or to love all?"

"Every woman can't be like you, Joiwind, but it is good to have a fewlike you. Wouldn't it be as well, " he went on, "since we've got to walkthrough that sun-baked wilderness, to make turbans for our heads out ofsome of those long leaves?"

She smiled rather pathetically. "You will think me foolish, but everytearing off of a leaf would be a wound in my heart. We have only tothrow our robes over our heads. "

"No doubt that will answer the same purpose, but tell me--weren't thesevery robes once part of a living creature?"

"Oh, no--no, they are the webs of a certain animal, but they have neverbeen in themselves alive. "

"You reduce life to extreme simplicity, " remarked Maskull meditatively, "but it is very beautiful. "

Climbing back over the hills, they now without further ceremony begantheir march across the desert. 

They walked side by side. Joiwind directed their course straight towardPoolingdred. From the position of the sun, Maskull judged their way tolie due north. The sand was soft and powdery, very tiring to his nakedfeet. The red glare dazed his eyes, and made him semi-blind. He was hot, parched, and tormented with the craving to drink; his undertone of painemerged into full consciousness. 

"I see my friends nowhere, and it is very queer. "

"Yes, it is queer--if it is accidental, " said Joiwind, with a peculiarintonation. 

"Exactly!" agreed Maskull. "If they had met with a mishap, their bodieswould still be there. It begins to look like a piece of bad work to me. They must have gone on, and left me. .. . Well, I am here, and I must makethe best of it, I will trouble no more about them. "

"I don't wish to speak ill of anyone, " said Joiwind, "but my instincttells me that you are better away from those men. They did not come herefor your sake, but for their own. "

They walked on for a long time. Maskull was beginning to feel faint. She twined her magn lovingly around his waist, and a strong current ofconfidence and well-being instantly coursed through his veins. 

"Thanks, Joiwind! But am I not weakening you?"

"Yes, " she replied, with a quick, thrilling glance. "But not much--andit gives me great happiness. "

Presently they met a fantastic little creature, the size of a new-bornlamb, waltzing along on three legs. Each leg in turn moved to the front, and so the little monstrosity proceeded by means of a series of completerotations. It was vividly coloured, as though it had been dipped intopots of bright blue and yellow paint. It looked up with small, shiningeyes, as they passed. 

Joiwind nodded and smiled to it. "That's a personal friend of mine, Maskull. Whenever I come this way, I see it. It's always waltzing, andalways in a hurry, but it never seems to get anywhere. "

"It seems to me that life is so self-sufficient here that there is noneed for anyone to get anywhere. What I don't quite understand is howyou manage to pass your days without ennui. "

"That's a strange word. It means, does it not, craving for excitement?"

"Something of the kind, " said Maskull. 

"That must be a disease brought on by rich food. "

"But are you never dull?"

"How could we be? Our blood is quick and light and free, our flesh isclean and unclogged, inside and out. .. . Before long I hope you willunderstand what sort of question you have asked. "

Farther on they encountered a strange phenomenon. In the heart of thedesert a fountain rose perpendicularly fifty feet into the air, with acool and pleasant hissing sound. It differed, however, from a fountainin this respect--that the water of which it was composed did not returnto the ground but was absorbed by the atmosphere at the summit. It wasin fact a tall, graceful column of dark green fluid, with a capital ofcoiling and twisting vapours. 

When they came closer, Maskull perceived that this water column was thecontinuation and termination of a flowing brook, which came down fromthe direction of the mountains. The explanation of the phenomenon wasevidently that the water at this spot found chemical affinities in theupper air, and consequently forsook the ground. 

"Now let us drink, " said Joiwind. 

She threw herself unaffectedly at full length on the sand, facedownward, by the side of the brook, and Maskull was not long infollowing her example. She refused to quench her thirst until she hadseen him drink. He found the water heavy, but bubbling with gas. Hedrank copiously. It affected his palate in a new way--with the purityand cleanness of water was combined the exhilaration of a sparklingwine, raising his spirits--but somehow the intoxication brought out hisbetter nature, and not his lower. 

"We call it 'gnawl water', " said Joiwind. "This is not quite pure, asyou can see by the colour. At Poolingdred it is crystal clear. But wewould be ungrateful if we complained. After this you'll find we'll getalong much better. "

Maskull now began to realise his environment, as it were for the firsttime. All his sense organs started to show him beauties and wonders thathe had not hitherto suspected. The uniform glaring scarlet of the sandsbecame separated into a score of clearly distinguished shades of red. The sky was similarly split up into different blues. The radiant heatof Branchspell he found to affect every part of his body with unequalintensities. His ears awakened; the atmosphere was full of murmurs, thesands hummed, even the sun's rays had a sound of their own--a kind offaint Aeolian harp. Subtle, puzzling perfumes assailed his nostrils. Hispalate lingered over the memory of the gnawl water. All the pores of hisskin were tickled and soothed by hitherto unperceived currents of air. His poigns explored actively the inward nature of everything in hisimmediate vicinity. His magn touched Joiwind, and drew from her persona stream of love and joy. And lastly by means of his breve he exchangedthoughts with her in silence. This mighty sense symphony stirred him tothe depths, and throughout the walk of that endless morning he felt nomore fatigue. 

When it was drawing near to Blodsombre, they approached the sedgy marginof a dark green lake, which lay underneath Poolingdred. 

Panawe was sitting on a dark rock, waiting for them. 

Chapter 7. PANAWE

The husband got up to meet his wife and their guest. He was clothed inwhite. He had a beardless face, with breve and poigns. His skin, on faceand body alike, was so white, fresh, and soft, that it scarcely lookedskin at all--it rather resembled a new kind of pure, snowy flesh, extending right down to his bones. It had nothing in common with theartificially whitened skin of an over-civilised woman. Its whitenessand delicacy aroused no voluptuous thoughts; it was obviously themanifestation of a cold and almost cruel chastity of nature. His hair, which fell to the nape of his neck, also was white; but again, fromvigour, not decay. His eyes were black, quiet and fathomless. He wasstill a young man, but so stern were his features that he had theappearance of a lawgiver, and this in spite of their great beauty andharmony. 

His magn and Joiwind's intertwined for a single moment and Maskull sawhis face soften with love, while she looked exultant. She put him in herhusband's arms with gentle force, and stood back, gazing and smiling. Maskull felt rather embarrassed at being embraced by a man, butsubmitted to it; a sense of cool, pleasant languor passed through him inthe act. 

"The stranger is red-blooded, then?"

He was startled by Panawe's speaking in English, and the voice too wasextraordinary. It was absolutely tranquil, but its tranquillity seemedin a curious fashion to be an illusion, proceeding from a rapidity ofthoughts and feelings so great that their motion could not be detected. How this could be, he did not know. 

"How do you come to speak in a tongue you have never heard before?"demanded Maskull. 

"Thought is a rich, complex thing. I can't say if I am really speakingyour tongue by instinct, or if you yourself are translating my thoughtsinto your tongue as I utter them. "

"Already you see that Panawe is wiser than I am, " said Joiwind gaily. 

"What is your name?" asked the husband. 

"Maskull. "

"That name must have a meaning--but again, thought is a strange thing. Iconnect that name with something--but with what?"

"Try to discover, " said Joiwind. 

"Has there been a man in your world who stole something from the Makerof the universe, in order to ennoble his fellow creatures?"

"There is such a myth, The hero's name was Prometheus. "

"Well, you seem to be identified in my mind with that action--but whatit all means I can't say, Maskull. "

"Accept it as a good omen, for Panawe never lies, and never speaksthoughtlessly. "

"There must be some confusion. These are heights beyond me, " saidMaskull calmly, but looking rather contemplative. 

"Where do you come from?"

"From the planet of a distant sun, called Earth. "

"What for?"

"I was tired of vulgarity, " returned Maskull laconically. Heintentionally avoided mentioning his fellow voyagers, in order thatKrag's name should not come to light. 

"That's an honourable motive, " said Panawe. "And what's more, it may betrue, though you spoke it as a prevarication. "

"As far as it goes, it's quite true, " said Maskull, staring at him withannoyance and surprise. 

The swampy lake extended for about half a mile from where they werestanding to the lower buttresses of the mountain. Feathery purple reedsshowed themselves here and there through the shallows. The water wasdark green. Maskull did not see how they were going to cross it. 

Joiwind caught his arm. "Perhaps you don't know that the lake will bearus?"

Panawe walked onto the water; it was so heavy that it carried hisweight. Joiwind followed with Maskull. He instantly started to slipabout--nevertheless the motion was amusing, and he learned so fast, bywatching and imitating Panawe, that he was soon able to balance himselfwithout assistance. After that he found the sport excellent. 

For the same reason that women excel in dancing, Joiwind's half fallsand recoveries were far more graceful and sure than those of either ofthe men. Her slight, draped form--dipping, bending, rising, swaying, twisting, upon the surface of the dark water--this was a picture Maskullcould not keep his eyes away from. 

The lake grew deeper. The gnawl water became green-black. The crags, gullies, and precipices of the shore could now be distinguished indetail. A waterfall was visible, descending several hundred feet. The surface of the lake grew disturbed--so much so that Maskull haddifficulty in keeping his balance. He therefore threw himself down andstarted swimming on the face of the water. Joiwind turned her head, andlaughed so joyously that all her teeth flashed in the sunlight. 

They landed in a few more minutes on a promontory of black rock. Thewater on Maskull's garment and body evaporated very quickly. He gazedupward at the towering mountain, but at that moment some strangemovements on the part of Panawe attracted his attention. His face wasworking convulsively, and he began to stagger about. Then he put hishand to his mouth and took from it what looked like a bright-colouredpebble. He looked at it carefully for some seconds. Joiwind also looked, over his shoulder, with quickly changing colors. After this inspection, Panawe let the object--whatever it was--fall to the ground, and took nomore interest in it. 

"May I look?" asked Maskull; and, without waiting for permission, hepicked it up. It was a delicately beautiful egg-shaped crystal of palegreen. 

"Where did this come from?" he asked queerly. 

Panawe turned away, but Joiwind answered for him. "It came out of myhusband. "

"That's what I thought, but I couldn't believe it. But what is it?"

"I don't know that it has either name or use. It is merely anoverflowing of beauty. "

"Beauty?"

Joiwind smiled. "If you were to regard nature as the husband, and Panaweas the wife, Maskull, perhaps everything would be explained. "

Maskull reflected. 

"On Earth, " he said after a minute, "men like Panawe are called artists, poets, and musicians. Beauty overflows into them too, and out of themagain. The only distinction is that their productions are more human andintelligible. "

"Nothing comes from it but vanity, " said Panawe, and, taking the crystalout of Maskull's hand, he threw it into the lake. 

The precipice they now had to climb was several hundred feet in height. Maskull was more anxious for Joiwind than for himself. She was evidentlytiring, but she refused all help, and was in fact still the nimbler ofthe two. She made a mocking face at him. Panawe seemed lost in quietthoughts. The rock was sound, and did not crumble under their weight. The heat of Branchspell, however, was by this time almost killing, the radiance was shocking in its white intensity, and Maskull's painsteadily grew worse. 

When they got to the top, a plateau of dark rock appeared, bare ofvegetation, stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see. It was of a nearly uniform width of five hundred yards, from the edge ofthe cliffs to the lower slopes of the chain of hills inland. Thehills varied in height. The cup-shaped Poolingdred was approximately athousand feet above them. The upper part of it was covered with a kindof glittering vegetation which he could not comprehend. 

Joiwind put her hand on Maskull's shoulder, and pointed upward. "Hereyou have the highest peak in the whole land--that is, until you come tothe Ifdawn Marest. "

On hearing that strange name, he experienced a momentary unaccountablesensation of wild vigour and restlessness--but it passed away. 

Without losing time, Panawe led the way up the mountainside. The lowerhalf was of bare rock, not difficult to climb. Halfway up, however, itgrew steeper, and they began to meet bushes and small trees. The growthbecame thicker as they continued to ascend, and when they neared thesummit, tall forest trees appeared. 

These bushes and trees had pale, glassy trunks and branches, but thesmall twigs and the leaves were translucent and crystal. They castno shadows from above, but still the shade was cool. Both leaves andbranches were fantastically shaped. What surprised Maskull the most, however, was the fact that, as far as he could see, scarcely any twoplants belonged to the same species. 

"Won't you help Maskull out of his difficulty?" said Joiwind, pullingher husband's arm. 

He smiled. "If he'll forgive me for again trespassing in his brain. Butthe difficulty is small. Life on a new planet, Maskull, is necessarilyenergetic and lawless, and not sedate and imitative. Nature is stillfluid--not yet rigid--and matter is plastic. The will forks and sportsincessantly, and thus no two creatures are alike. "

"Well, I understand all that, " replied Maskull, after listeningattentively. "But what I don't grasp is this--if living creatures heresport so energetically, how does it come about that human beings wearmuch the same shape as in my world?"

"I'll explain that too, " said Panawe. "All creatures that resembleShaping must of necessity resemble one another. "

"Then sporting is the blind will to become like Shaping?"

"Exactly. "

"It is most wonderful, " said Maskull. "Then the brotherhood of man isnot a fable invented by idealists, but a solid fact. "

Joiwind looked at him, and changed colour. Panawe relapsed intosternness. 

Maskull became interested in a new phenomenon. The jale-colouredblossoms of a crystal bush were emitting mental waves, which with hisbreve he could clearly distinguish. They cried out silently, "To me Tome!" While he looked, a flying worm guided itself through the air toone of these blossoms and began to suck its nectar. The floral cryimmediately ceased. 

They now gained the crest of the mountain, and looked down beyond. A lake occupied its crater-like cavity. A fringe of trees partlyintercepted the view, but Maskull was able to perceive that thismountain lake was nearly circular and perhaps a quarter of a mileacross. Its shore stood a hundred feet below them. 

Observing that his hosts did not propose to descend, he begged them towait for him, and scrambled down to the surface. When he got there, hefound the water perfectly motionless and of a colourless transparency. He walked onto it, lay down at full length, and peered into the depths. It was weirdly clear: he could see down for an indefinite distance, without arriving at any bottom. Some dark, shadowy objects, almost outof reach of his eyes, were moving about. Then a sound, very faint andmysterious, seemed to come up through the gnawl water from an immensedepth. It was like the rhythm of a drum. There were four beats of equallength, but the accent was on the third. It went on for a considerabletime, and then ceased. 

The sound appeared to him to belong to a different world from thatin which he was travelling. The latter was mystical, dreamlike, andunbelievable--the drumming was like a very dim undertone of reality. It resembled the ticking of a clock in a room full of voices, onlyoccasionally possible to be picked up by the ear. 

He rejoined Panawe and Joiwind, but said nothing to them about hisexperience. They all walked round the rim of the crater, and gazed downon the opposite side. Precipices similar to those that had overlookedthe desert here formed the boundary of a vast moorland plain, whosedimensions could not be measured by the eye. It was solid land, yethe could not make out its prevailing colour. It was as if made oftransparent glass, but it did not glitter in the sunlight. No objects init could be distinguished, except a rolling river in the far distance, and, farther off still, on the horizon, a line of dark mountains, ofstrange shapes. Instead of being rounded, conical, or hogbacked, theseheights were carved by nature into the semblance of castle battlements, but with extremely deep indentations. 

The sky immediately above the mountains was of a vivid, intense blue. It contrasted in a most marvellous way with the blue of the rest of theheavens. It seemed more luminous and radiant, and was in fact like theafterglow of a gorgeous blue sunset. 

Maskull kept on looking. The more he gazed, the more restless and noblebecame his feelings. 

"What is that light?"

Panawe was sterner than usual, while his wife clung to his arm. "Itis Alppain--our second sun, " he replied. "Those hills are the IfdawnMarest. .. . Now let us get to our shelter. "

"Is it imagination, or am I really being affected--tormented by thatlight?"

"No, it's not imagination--it's real. How can it be otherwise when twosuns, of different natures, are drawing you at the same time? Luckilyyou are not looking at Alppain itself. It's invisible here. You wouldneed to go at least as far as Ifdawn, to set eyes on it. "

"Why do you say 'luckily'?"

"Because the agony caused by those opposing forces would perhaps be morethan you could bear. .. . But I don't know. "

For the short distance that remained of their walk, Maskull was verythoughtful and uneasy. He understood nothing. Whatever object his eyechanced to rest on changed immediately into a puzzle. The silence andstillness of the mountain peak seemed brooding, mysterious, and waiting. Panawe gave him a friendly, anxious look, and without further delay ledthe way down a little track, which traversed the side of the mountainand terminated in the mouth of a cave. 

This cave was the home of Panawe and Joiwind. It was dark inside. Thehost took a shell and, filling it with liquid from a well, carelesslysprinkled the sandy floor of the interior. A greenish, phosphorescentlight gradually spread to the furthest limits of the cavern, andcontinued to illuminate it for the whole time they were there. There wasno furniture. Some dried, fernlike leaves served for couches. 

The moment she got in, Joiwind fell down in exhaustion. Her husbandtended her with calm concern. He bathed her face, put drink to her lips, energised her with his magn, and finally laid her down to sleep. Atthe sight of the noble woman thus suffering on his account, Maskull wasdistressed. 

Panawe, however, endeavoured to reassure him. "It's quite true thishas been a very long, hard double journey, but for the future itwill lighten all her other journeys for her. .. . Such is the nature ofsacrifice. "

"I can't conceive how I have walked so far in a morning, " said Maskull, "and she has been twice the distance. "

"Love flows in her veins, instead of blood, and that's why she is sostrong. "

"You know she gave me some of it?"

"Otherwise you couldn't even have started. "

"I shall never forget that. "

The languorous beat of the day outside, the bright mouth of the cavern, the cool seclusion of the interior, with its pale green glow, invitedMaskull to sleep. But curiosity got the better of his lassitude. 

"Will it disturb her if we talk?"

"No. "

"But how do you feel?"

"I require little sleep. In any case, it's more important that youshould hear something about your new life. It's not all as innocent andidyllic as this. If you intend to go through, you ought to be instructedabout the dangers. "

"Oh, I guessed as much. But how shall we arrange--shall I put questions, or will you tell me what you think is most essential?"

Panawe motioned to Maskull to sit down on a pile of ferns, and at thesame time reclined himself, leaning on one arm, with outstretched legs. 

"I will tell some incidents of my life. You will begin to learn fromthem what sort of place you have come to. "

"I shall be grateful, " said Maskull, preparing himself to listen. 

Panawe paused for a moment or two, and then started his narrative intranquil, measured, yet sympathetic tones. 

PANAWE'S STORY

"My earliest recollection is of being taken, when three years old(that's equivalent to fifteen of your years, but we develop more slowlyhere), by my father and mother, to see Broodviol, the wisest man inTormance. He dwelt in the great Wombflash Forest. We walked throughtrees for three days, sleeping at night. The trees grew taller as wewent along, until the tops were out of sight. The trunks were of a darkred colour and the leaves were of pale ulfire. My father kept stoppingto think. If left uninterrupted, he would remain for half a day in deepabstraction. My mother came out of Poolingdred, and was of a differentstamp. She was beautiful, generous, and charming--but also active. Shekept urging him on. This led to many disputes between them, which mademe miserable. On the fourth day we passed through a part of the forestwhich bordered on the Sinking Sea. This sea is full of pouches of waterthat will not bear a man's weight, and as these light parts don't differin appearance from the rest, it is dangerous to cross. My father pointedout a dim outline on the horizon, and told me it was Swaylone's Island. Men sometimes go there, but none ever return. In the evening of thesame day we found Broodviol standing in a deep, miry pit in the forest, surrounded on all sides by trees three hundred feet high. He was a biggnarled, rugged, wrinkled, sturdy old man. His age at that time was ahundred and twenty of our years, or nearly six hundred of yours. Hisbody was trilateral: he had three legs, three arms, and six eyes, placedat equal distances all around his head. This gave him an aspect ofgreat watchfulness and sagacity. He was standing in a sort of trance. I afterward heard this saying of his: 'To lie is to sleep, to sit is todream, to stand is to think. ' My father caught the infection, and fellinto meditation, but my mother roused them both thoroughly. Broodviolscowled at her savagely, and demanded what she required. Then Itoo learned for the first time the object of our journey. I was aprodigy--that is to say, I was without sex. My parents were troubledover this, and wished to consult the wisest of men. 

"Old Broodviol smoothed his face, and said, 'This perhaps will not be sodifficult. I will explain the marvel. Every man and woman among us is awalking murderer. If a male, he has struggled with and killed the femalewho was born in the same body with him--if a female, she has killed themale. But in this child the struggle is still continuing. '

"'How shall we end it?' asked my mother. 

"'Let the child direct its will to the scene of the combat, and it willbe of whichever sex it pleases. '

"'You want, of course, to be a man, don't you?' said my mother to meearnestly. 

"'Then I shall be slaying your daughter, and that would be a crime. '

"Something in my tone attracted Broodviol's notice. 

"'That was spoken, not selfishly, but magnanimously. Therefore the malemust have spoken it, and you need not trouble further. Before you arrivehome, the child will be a boy. '

"My father walked away out of sight. My mother bent very low beforeBroodviol for about ten minutes, and he remained all that time lookingkindly at her. 

"I heard that shortly afterward Alppain came into that land for a fewhours daily. Broodviol grew melancholy, and died. 

"His prophecy came true--before we reached home, I knew the meaning ofshame. But I have often pondered over his words since, in lateryears, when trying to understand my own nature; and I have come to theconclusion that, wisest of men as he was, he still did not see quitestraight on this occasion. Between me and my twin sister, enclosed inone body, there never was any struggle, but instinctive reverence forlife withheld both of us from fighting for existence. Hers wasthe stronger temperament, and she sacrificed herself--though notconsciously--for me. 

"As soon as I comprehended this, I made a vow never to eat or destroyanything that contained life--and I have kept it ever since. 

"While I was still hardly a grown man, my father died. My mother'sdeath followed immediately, and I hated the associations of the land. Itherefore made up my mind to travel into my mother's country, where, asshe had often told me, nature was most sacred and solitary. 

"One hot morning I came to Shaping's Causeway. It is so called eitherbecause Shaping once crossed it, or because of its stupendous character. It is a natural embankment, twenty miles long, which links the mountainsbordering my homeland with the Ifdawn Marest. The valley lies below ata depth varying from eight to ten thousand feet--a terrible precipiceon either side. The knife edge of the ridge is generally not much over afoot wide. The causeway goes due north and south. The valley on my righthand was plunged in shadow--that on my left was sparkling with sunlightand dew. I walked fearfully along this precarious path for some miles. Far to the east the valley was closed by a lofty tableland, connectingthe two chains of mountains, but overtopping even the most toweringpinnacles. This is called the Sant Levels. I was never there, but I haveheard two curious facts concerning the inhabitants. The first isthat they have no women; the second, that though they are addicted totravelling in other parts they never acquire habits of the peoples withwhom they reside. 

"Presently I turned giddy, and lay at full length for a great while, clutching the two edges of the path with both hands, and staring at theground I was lying on with wide-open eyes. When that passed I felt likea different man and grew conceited and gay. About halfway across Isaw someone approaching me a long way off. This put fear into my heartagain, for I did not see how we could very well pass. However, Iwent slowly on, and presently we drew near enough together for me torecognise the walker. It was Slofork, the so-called sorcerer. I hadnever met him before, but I knew him by his peculiarities of person. Hewas of a bright gamboge colour and possessed a very long, proboscis-likenose, which appeared to be a useful organ, but did not add to hisbeauty, as I knew beauty. He was dubbed 'sorcerer' from his wondrousskill in budding limbs and organs. The tale is told that one evening heslowly sawed his leg off with a blunt stone and then lay for two daysin agony while his new leg was sprouting. He was not reputed to be aconsistently wise man, but he had periodical flashes of penetration andaudacity that none could equal. 

"We sat down and faced one another, about two yards apart. 

"'Which of us walks over the other?' asked Slofork. His manner was ascalm as the day itself, but, to my young nature, terrible with hiddenterrors. I smiled at him, but did not wish for this humiliation. Wecontinued sitting thus, in a friendly way, for many minutes. 

"'What is greater than Pleasure?' he asked suddenly. 

"I was at an age when one wishes to be thought equal to any emergency, so, concealing my surprise, I applied myself to the conversation, as ifit were for that purpose we had met. 

"'Pain, ' I replied, 'for pain drives out pleasure. '

"'What is greater than Pain?'

"I reflected. 'Love. Because we will accept our loved one's share ofpain. '

"'But what is greater than Love?' he persisted. 

"'Nothing, Slofork. '

"'And what is Nothing?'

"'That you must tell me. '

"'Tell you I will. This is Shaping's world. He that is a good childhere, knows pleasure, pain, and love, and gets his rewards. But there'sanother world--not Shaping's and there all this is unknown, and anotherorder of things reigns. That world we call Nothing--but it is notNothing, but Something. '

"There was a pause. 

"'I have heard, ' said I, 'that you are good at growing and ungrowingorgans?'

"'That's not enough for me. Every organ tells me the same story. I wantto hear different stories. '

"'Is it true, what men say, that your wisdom flows and ebbs in pulses?'

"'Quite true, ' replied Slofork. 'But those you had it from did not addthat they have always mistaken the flow for the ebb. '

"'My experience is, ' said I sententiously, 'that wisdom is misery. '

"'Perhaps it is, young man, but you have never learned that, and neverwill. For you the world will continue to wear a noble, awful face. Youwill never rise above mysticism. .. . But be happy in your own way. '

"Before I realised what he was doing, he jumped tranquilly from thepath, down into the empty void. He crashed with ever-increasing momentumtoward the valley below. I screeched, flung myself down on the ground, and shut my eyes. 

"Often have I wondered which of my ill-considered, juvenile remarks itwas that caused this sudden resolution on his part to commit suicide. Whichever it might be, since then I have made it a rigid law never tospeak for my own pleasure, but only to help others. 

"I came eventually to the Marest. I threaded its mazes in terror forfour days. I was frightened of death, but still more terrified at thepossibility of losing my sacred attitude toward life. When I was nearlythrough, and was beginning to congratulate myself, I stumbled across thethird extraordinary personage of my experience--the grim Muremaker. Itwas under horrible circumstances. On an afternoon, cloudy and stormy, Isaw, suspended in the air without visible support, a living man. He washanging in an upright position in front of a cliff--a yawning gulf, athousand feet deep, lay beneath his feet. I climbed as near as I could, and looked on. He saw me, and made a wry grimace, like one who wishes toturn his humiliation into humour. The spectacle so astounded me that Icould not even grasp what had happened. 

"'I am Muremaker, ' he cried in a scraping voice which shocked my ears. 'All my life I have sorbed others--now I am sorbed. Nuclamp and I fellout over a woman. Now Nuclamp holds me up like this. While the strengthof his will lasts I shall remain suspended; but when he gets tired--andit can't be long now--I drop into those depths. '

"Had it been another man, I would have tried to save him, but thisogre-like being was too well known to me as one who passed his wholeexistence in tormenting, murdering, and absorbing others, for the sakeof his own delight. I hurried away, and did not pause again that day. 

"In Poolingdred I met Joiwind. We walked and talked together for amonth, and by that time we found that we loved each other too well topart. "

Panawe stopped speaking. 

"That is a fascinating story, " remarked Maskull. "Now I begin to know myway around better. But one thing puzzles me. "

"What's that?"

"How it happens that men here are ignorant of tools and arts, and haveno civilisation, and yet contrive to be social in their habits and wisein their thoughts. "

"Do you imagine, then, that love and wisdom spring from tools? But I seehow it arises. In your world you have fewer sense organs, and to makeup for the deficiency you have been obliged to call in the assistance ofstones and metals. That's by no means a sign of superiority. "

"No, I suppose not, " said Maskull, "but I see I have a great deal tounlearn. "

They talked together a little longer, and then gradually fell asleep. Joiwind opened her eyes, smiled, and slumbered again. 

Chapter 8. THE LUSION PLAIN

Maskull awoke before the others. He got up, stretched himself, andwalked out into the sunlight. Branchspell was already declining. Heclimbed to the top of the crater edge and looked away toward Ifdawn. Theafterglow of Alppain had by now completely disappeared. The mountainsstood up wild and grand. 

They impressed him like a simple musical theme, the notes of whichare widely separated in the scale; a spirit of rashness, daring, andadventure seemed to call to him from them. It was at that moment thatthe determination flashed into his heart to walk to the Marest andexplore its dangers. 

He returned to the cavern to say good-by to his hosts. 

Joiwind looked at him with her brave and honest eyes. "Is thisselfishness, Maskull?" she asked, "or are you drawn by somethingstronger than yourself?"

"We must be reasonable, " he answered, smiling. "I can't settle down inPoolingdred before I have found out something about this surprisingnew planet of yours. Remember what a long way I have come. .. . But verylikely I shall come back here. "

"Will you make me a promise?"

Maskull hesitated. "Ask nothing difficult, for I hardly know my powersyet. "

"It is not hard, and I wish it. Promise this--never to raise your handagainst a living creature, either to strike, pluck, or eat, withoutfirst recollecting its mother, who suffered for it. "

"Perhaps I won't promise that, " said Maskull slowly, "but I'll undertakesomething more tangible. I will never lift my hand against a livingcreature without first recollecting you, Joiwind. "

She turned a little pale. "Now if Panawe knew that Panawe existed, hemight be jealous. "

Panawe put his hand on her gently. "You would not talk like that inShaping's presence, " he said. 

"No. Forgive me! I'm not quite myself. Perhaps it is Maskull's blood inmy veins. .. . Now let us bid him adieu. Let us pray that he will do onlyhonourable deeds, wherever he may be. "

"I'll set Maskull on his way, " said Panawe. 

"There's no need, " replied Maskull. "The way is plain. "

"But talking shortens the road. "

Maskull turned to go. 

Joiwind pulled him around toward her softly. "You won't think badly ofother women on my account?"

"You are a blessed spirit, " answered he. 

She trod quietly to the inner extremity of the cave and stood therethinking. Panawe and Maskull emerged into the open air. Halfway down thecliff face a little spring was encountered. Its water was colourless, transparent, but gaseous. As soon as Maskull had satisfied his thirsthe felt himself different. His surroundings were so real to him in theirvividness and colour, so unreal in their phantom-like mystery, that hescrambled downhill like one in a winter's dream. 

When they reached the plain he saw in front of them an interminableforest of tall trees, the shapes of which were extraordinarily foreignlooking. The leaves were crystalline and, looking upward, it was as ifhe were gazing through a roof of glass. The moment they got underneaththe trees the light rays of the sun continued to come through--white, savage, and blazing--but they were gelded of heat. Then it was not hardto imagine that they were wandering through cool, bright elfin glades. 

Through the forest, beginning at their very feet an avenue, perfectlystraight and not very wide, went forward as far as the eye could see. 

Maskull wanted to talk to his travelling companion, but was somehowunable to find words. Panawe glanced at him with an inscrutablesmile--stern, yet enchanting and half feminine. He then broke thesilence, but, strangely enough, Maskull could not make out whether hewas singing or speaking. From his lips issued a slow musicalrecitative, exactly like a bewitching adagio from a low toned stringedinstrument--but there was a difference. Instead of the repetition andvariation of one or two short themes, as in music, Panawe's theme wasprolonged--it never came to an end, but rather resembled a conversationin rhythm and melody. And, at the same time, it was no recitative, forit was not declamatory. It was a long, quiet stream of lovely emotion. 

Maskull listened entranced, yet agitated. The song, if it might betermed song, seemed to be always just on the point of becoming clear andintelligible--not with the intelligibility of words, but in the way onesympathises with another's moods and feelings; and Maskull felt thatsomething important was about to be uttered, which would explainall that had gone before. But it was invariably postponed, he neverunderstood--and yet somehow he did understand. 

Late in the afternoon they came to a clearing, and there Panawe ceasedhis recitative. He slowed his pace and stopped, in the fashion of a manwho wishes to convey that he intends to go no farther. 

"What is the name of this country?" asked Maskull. 

"It is the Lusion Plain. "

"Was that music in the nature of a temptation--do you wish me not to goon?"

"Your work lies before you, and not behind you. "

"What was it, then? What work do you allude to?"

"It must have seemed like something to you, Maskull. "

"It seemed like Shaping music to me. "

The instant he had absently uttered these words, Maskull wondered why hehad done so, as they now appeared meaningless to him. 

Panawe, however, showed no surprise. "Shaping you will find everywhere. "

"Am I dreaming, or awake?"

"You are awake. "

Maskull fell into deep thought. "So be it, " he said, rousing himself. "Now I will go on. But where must I sleep tonight?"

"You will reach a broad river. On that you can travel to the foot of theMarest tomorrow; but tonight you had better sleep where the forest andriver meet. "

"Adieu, then, Panawe! But do you wish to say anything more to me?"

"Only this, Maskull--wherever you go, help to make the world beautiful, and not ugly. "

"That's more than any of us can undertake. I am a simple man, and haveno ambitions in the way of beautifying life--But tell Joiwind I will tryto keep myself pure. "

They parted rather coldly. Maskull stood erect where they had stopped, and watched Panawe out of sight. He sighed more than once. 

He became aware that something was about to happen. The air wasbreathless. The late-afternoon sunshine, unobstructed, wrapped his framein voluptuous heat. A solitary cloud, immensely high, raced through thesky overhead. 

A single trumpet note sounded in the far distance from somewhere behindhim. It gave him an impression of being several miles away at first; butthen it slowly swelled, and came nearer and nearer at the same time thatit increased in volume. Still the same note sounded, but now it wasas if blown by a giant trumpeter immediately over his head. Then itgradually diminished in force, and travelled away in front of him. Itended very faintly and distantly. 

He felt himself alone with Nature. A sacred stillness came over hisheart. Past and future were forgotten. The forest, the sun, the day didnot exist for him. He was unconscious of himself--he had no thoughts andno feelings. Yet never had Life had such an altitude for him. 

A man stood, with crossed arms, right in his path. He was so clothedthat his limbs were exposed, while his body was covered. He was youngrather than old. Maskull observed that his countenance possessed noneof the special organs of Tormance, to which he had not even yet becomereconciled. He was smooth-faced. His whole person seemed to radiate anexcess of life, like the trembling of air on a hot day. His eyes hadsuch force that Maskull could not meet them. 

He addressed Maskull by name, in an extraordinary voice. It had a doubletone. The primary one sounded far away; the second was an undertone, like a sympathetic tanging string. 

Maskull felt a rising joy, as he continued standing in the presence ofthis individual. He believed that something good was happening to him. He found it physically difficult to bring any words out. "Why do youstop me?"

"Maskull, look well at me. Who am I?"

"I think you are Shaping. "

"I am Surtur. "

Maskull again attempted to meet his eyes, but felt as if he were beingstabbed. 

"You know that this is my world. Why do you think I have brought youhere? I wish you to serve me. "

Maskull could no longer speak. 

"Those who joke at my world, " continued the vision, "those who make amock of its stern, eternal rhythm, its beauty and sublimity, whichare not skin-deep, but proceed from fathomless roots--they shall notescape. "

"I do not mock it. "

"Ask me your questions, and I will answer them. "

"I have nothing. "

"It is necessary for you to serve me, Maskull. Do you not understand?You are my servant and helper. "

"I shall not fail. "

"This is for my sake, and not for yours. "

These last words had no sooner left Surtur's mouth than Maskull saw himspring suddenly upward and outward. Looking up at the vault of the sky, he saw the whole expanse of vision filled by Surtur's form--not asa concrete man, but as a vast, concave cloud image, looking down andfrowning at him. Then the spectacle vanished, as a light goes out. 

Maskull stood inactive, with a thumping heart. Now he again heard thesolitary trumpet note. The sound began this time faintly in the fardistance in front of him, travelled slowly toward him with regularlyincreasing intensity, passed overhead at its loudest, and then grewmore and more quiet, wonderful, and solemn, as it fell away in the rear, until the note was merged in the deathlike silence of the forest. Itappeared to Maskull like the closing of a marvellous and importantchapter. 

Simultaneously with the fading away of the sound, the heavens seemed toopen up with the rapidity of lightning into a blue vault of immeasurableheight. He breathed a great breath, stretched all his limbs, and lookedaround him with a slow smile. 

After a while he resumed his journey. His brain was all dark andconfused, but one idea was already beginning to stand out from therest--huge, shapeless, and grand, like the growing image in the soul ofa creative artist: the staggering thought that he was a man of destiny. 

The more he reflected upon all that had occurred since his arrival inthis new world--and even before leaving Earth--the clearer and moreindisputable it became, that he could not be here for his own purposes, but must be here for an end. But what that end was, he could notimagine. 

Through the forest he saw Branchspell at last sinking in the west. Itlooked a stupendous ball of red fire--now he could realise at his easewhat a sun it was! The avenue took an abrupt turn to the left and beganto descend steeply. 

A wide, rolling river of clear and dark water was visible in front ofhim, no great way off. It flowed from north to south. The forest pathled him straight to its banks. Maskull stood there, and regarded thelapping, gurgling waters pensively. On the opposite bank, the forestcontinued. Miles to the south, Poolingdred could just be distinguished. On the northern skyline the Ifdawn Mountains loomed up--high, wild, beautiful, and dangerous. They were not a dozen miles away. 

Like the first mutterings of a thunderstorm, the first faint breaths ofcool wind, Maskull felt the stirrings of passion in his heart. Inspite of his bodily fatigue, he wished to test his strength againstsomething. This craving he identified with the crags of the Marest. Theyseemed to have the same magical attraction for his will as the lodestonefor iron. He kept biting his nails, as he turned his eyes in thatdirection--wondering if it would not be possible to conquer theheights that evening. But when he glanced back again at Poolingdred, he remembered Joiwind and Panawe, and grew more tranquil. He decided tomake his bed at this spot, and to set off as soon after daybreak as heshould awake. 

He drank at the river, washed himself, and lay down on the bank tosleep. By this time, so far had his idea progressed, that he carednothing for the possible dangers of the night--he confided in his star. 

Branchspell set, the day faded, night with its terrible weight came on, and through it all Maskull slept. Long before midnight, however, he wasawakened by a crimson glow in the sky. He opened his eyes, and wonderedwhere he was. He felt heaviness and pain. The red glow was a terrestrialphenomenon; it came from among the trees. He got up and went toward thesource of the light. 

Away from the river, not a hundred feet off, he nearly stumbled acrossthe form of a sleeping woman. The object which emitted the crimson rayswas lying on the ground, several yards away from her. It was like asmall jewel, throwing off sparks of red light. He barely threw a glanceat that, however. 

The woman was clothed in the large skin of an animal. She had big, smooth, shapely limbs, rather muscular than fat. Her magn was not a thintentacle, but a third arm, terminating in a hand. Her face, which wasupturned, was wild, powerful, and exceedingly handsome. But he saw withsurprise that in place of a breve on her forehead, she possessed anothereye. All three were closed. The colour of her skin in the crimson glowhe could not distinguish. 

He touched her gently with his hand. She awoke calmly and looked up athim without stirring a muscle. All three eyes stared at him; but the twolower ones were dull and vacant--mere carriers of vision. The middle, upper one alone expressed her inner nature. Its haughty, unflinchingglare had yet something seductive and alluring in it. Maskull felta challenge in that look of lordly, feminine will, and his mannerinstinctively stiffened. 

She sat up. 

"Can you speak my language?" he asked. "I wouldn't put such a question, but others have been able to. "

"Why should you imagine that I can't read your mind? Is it so extremelycomplex?"

She spoke in a rich, lingering, musical voice, which delighted him tolisten to. 

"No, but you have no breve. "

"Well, but haven't I a sorb, which is better?" And she pointed to theeye on her brow. 

"What is your name?"

"Oceaxe. "

"And where do you come from?"

"Ifdawn. "

These contemptuous replies began to irritate him, and yet the mere soundof her voice was fascinating. 

"I am going there tomorrow, " he remarked. 

She laughed, as if against her will, but made no comment. 

"My name is Maskull, " he went on. "I am a stranger--from another world. "

"So I should judge, from your absurd appearance. "

"Perhaps it would be as well to say at once, " said Maskull bluntly, "arewe, or are we not, to be friends?"

She yawned and stretched her arms, without rising. "Why should we befriends? If I thought you were a man, I might accept you as a lover. "

"You must look elsewhere for that. "

"So be it, Maskull! Now go away, and leave me in peace. "

She dropped her head again to the ground, but did not at once close hereyes. 

"What are you doing here?" he interrogated. 

"Oh, we Ifdawn folk occasionally come here to sleep, for there oftenenough it is a night for us which has no next morning. "

"Being such a terrible place, and seeing that I am a total stranger, itwould be merely courteous if you were to warn me what I have to expectin the way of dangers. "

"I am perfectly and utterly indifferent to what becomes of you, "retorted Oceaxe. 

"Are you returning in the morning?" persisted Maskull. 

"If I wish. "

"Then we will go together. "

She got up again on her elbow. "Instead of making plans for otherpeople, I would do a very necessary thing. "

"Pray, tell me. "

"Well, there's no reason why I should, but I will. I would try toconvert my women's organs into men's organs. It is a man's country. "

"Speak more plainly. "

"Oh, it's plain enough. If you attempt to pass through Ifdawn without asorb, you are simply committing suicide. And that magn too is worse thanuseless. "

"You probably know what you are talking about, Oceaxe. But what do youadvise me to do?"

She negligently pointed to the light-emitting stone lying on the ground. 

"There is the solution. If you hold that drude to your organs for a goodwhile, perhaps it will start the change, and perhaps nature will do therest during the night. I promise nothing. "

Oceaxe now really turned her back on Maskull. 

He considered for a few minutes, and then walked over and to where thestone was lying, and took it in his hand. It was a pebble the size of ahen's egg, radiant with crimson light, as though red-hot, and throwingout a continuous shower of small, blood-red sparks. 

Finally deciding that Oceaxe's advice was good, he applied the drudefirst to his magn, and then to his breve. He experienced a cauterisingsensation--a feeling of healing pain. 

Chapter 9. OCEAXE

Maskull's second day on Tormance dawned. Branchspell was already abovethe horizon when he awoke. He was instantly aware that his organs hadchanged during the night. His fleshy breve was altered into an eyelikesorb; his magn had swelled and developed into a third arm, springingfrom the breast. The arm gave him at once a sense of greater physicalsecurity, but with the sorb he was obliged to experiment, before hecould grasp its function. 

As he lay there in the white sunlight, opening and shutting each ofhis three eyes in turn, he found that the two lower ones served hisunderstanding, the upper one his will. That is to say, with the lowereyes he saw things in clear detail, but without personal interest; withthe sorb he saw nothing as self-existent--everything appeared as anobject of importance or non-importance to his own needs. 

Rather puzzled as to how this would turn out, he got up and looked abouthim. He had slept out of sight of Oceaxe. He was anxious to learn ifshe were still on the spot, but before going to ascertain he made up hismind to bathe in the river. 

It was a glorious morning. The hot white sun already began to glare, but its heat was tempered by a strong wind, which whistled throughthe trees. A host of fantastic clouds filled the sky. They looked likeanimals, and were always changing shape. The ground, as well as theleaves and branches of the forest trees, still held traces of heavy dewor rain during the night. A poignantly sweet smell of nature entered hisnostrils. His pain was quiescent, and his spirits were high. 

Before he bathed, he viewed the mountains of the Ifdawn Marest. In themorning sunlight they stood out pictorially. He guessed that they werefrom five to six thousand feet high. The lofty, irregular, castellatedline seemed like the walls of a magic city. The cliffs fronting him werecomposed of gaudy rocks--vermilion, emerald, yellow, ulfire, and black. As he gazed at them, his heart began to beat like a slow, heavy drum, and he thrilled all over--indescribable hopes, aspirations, and emotionscame over him. It was more than the conquest of a new world which hefelt--it was something different. .. . 

He bathed and drank, and as he was reclothing himself, Oceaxe strolledindolently up. 

He could now perceive the colour of her skin--it was a vivid, yetdelicate mixture of carmine, white, and jale. The effect wasstartlingly unearthly. With these new colors she looked like a genuinerepresentative of a strange planet. Her frame also had something curiousabout it. The curves were womanly, the bones were characteristicallyfemale--yet all seemed somehow to express a daring, masculine underlyingwill. The commanding eye on her forehead set the same puzzle in plainerlanguage. Its bold, domineering egotism was shot with undergleams of sexand softness. 

She came to the river's edge and reviewed him from top to toe. "Now youare built more like a man, " she said, in her lovely, lingering voice. 

"You see, the experiment was successful, " he answered, smiling gaily. 

Oceaxe continued looking him over. "Did some woman give you thatridiculous robe?"

"A woman did give it to me"--dropping his smile--"but I saw nothingridiculous in the gift at the time, and I don't now. "

"I think I'd look better in it. "

As she drawled the words, she began stripping off the skin, which suitedher form so well, and motioned to him to exchange garments. He obeyed, rather shamefacedly, for he realised that the proposed exchange wasin fact more appropriate to his sex. He found the skin a freer dress. Oceaxe in her drapery appeared more dangerously feminine to him. 

"I don't want you to receive gifts at all from other women, " sheremarked slowly. 

"Why not? What can I be to you?"

"I have been thinking about you during the night. " Her voice wasretarded, scornful, viola-like. She sat down on the trunk of a fallentree, and looked away. 

"In what way?"

She returned no answer to his question, but began to pull off pieces ofthe bark. 

"Last night you were so contemptuous. "

"Last night is not today. Do you always walk through the world with yourhead over your shoulder?"

It was now Maskull's turn to be silent. 

"Still, if you have male instincts, as I suppose you have, you can't goon resisting me forever. "

"But this is preposterous, " said Maskull, opening his eyes wide. "Grantedthat you are a beautiful woman--we can't be quite so primeval. "

Oceaxe sighed, and rose to her feet. "It doesn't matter. I can wait. "

"From that I gather that you intend to make the journey in my society. I have no objection--in fact I shall be glad--but only on condition thatyou drop this language. "

"Yet you do think me beautiful?"

"Why shouldn't I think so, if it is the fact? I fail to see what thathas to do with my feelings. Bring it to an end, Oceaxe. You will findplenty of men to admire--and love you. "

At that she blazed up. "Does love pick and choose, you fool? Do youimagine I am so hard put to it that I have to hunt for lovers? Is notCrimtyphon waiting for me at this very moment?"

"Very well. I am sorry to have hurt your feelings. Now carry thetemptation no farther--for it is a temptation, where a lovely woman isconcerned. I am not my own master. "

"I'm not proposing anything so very hateful, am I? Why do you humiliateme so?"

Maskull put his hands behind his back. "I repeat, I am not my ownmaster. "

"Then who is your master?"

"Yesterday I saw Surtur, and from today I am serving him. "

"Did you speak with him?" she asked curiously. 

"I did. "

"Tell me what he said. "

"No, I can't--I won't. But whatever he said, his beauty was moretormenting than yours, Oceaxe, and that's why I can look at you in coldblood. "

"Did Surtur forbid you to be a man?"

Maskull frowned. "Is love such a manly sport, then? I should havethought it effeminate. "

"It doesn't matter. You won't always be so boyish. But don't try mypatience too far. "

"Let us talk about something else--and, above all, let us get on ourroad. "

She suddenly broke into a laugh, so rich, sweet, and enchanting, that hegrew half inflamed, and half wished to catch her body in his arms. "Oh, Maskull, Maskull--what a fool you are!"

"In what way am I a fool?" he demanded, scowling not at her words, butat his own weakness. 

"Isn't the whole world the handiwork of innumerable pairs of lovers? Andyet you think yourself above all that. You try to fly away from nature, but where will you find a hole to hide yourself in?"

"Besides beauty, I now credit you with a second quality: persistence. "

"Read me well, and then it is natural law that you'll think twice andthree times before throwing me away. .. . And now, before we go, we hadbetter eat. "

"Eat?" said Maskull thoughtfully. 

"Don't you eat? Is food in the same category as love?"

"What food is it?"

"Fish from the river. "

Maskull recollected his promise to Joiwind. At the same time, he felthungry. 

"Is there nothing milder?"

She pulled her mouth scornfully. "You came through Poolingdred, didn'tyou? All the people there are the same. They think life is to be lookedat, and not lived. Now that you are visiting Ifdawn, you will have tochange your notions. "

"Go catch your fish, " he returned, pulling down his brows. 

The broad, clear waters flowed past them with swelling undulations, from the direction of the mountains. Oceaxe knelt down on the bank, and peered into the depths. Presently her look became tense andconcentrated; she dipped her hand in and pulled out some sort of littlemonster. It was more like a reptile than a fish, with its scaly platesand teeth. She threw it on the ground, and it started crawling about. Suddenly she darted all her will into her sorb. The creature leaped intothe air, and fell down dead. 

She picked up a sharp-edged slate, and with it removed the scales andentrails. During this operation, her hands and garment became stainedwith the light scarlet blood. 

"Find the drude, Maskull, " she said, with a lazy smile. "You had it lastnight. "

He searched for it. It was hard to locate, for its rays had grown dulland feeble in the sunlight, but at last he found it. Oceaxe placed it inthe interior of the monster, and left the body lying on the ground. 

"While it's cooking, I'll wash some of this blood away, which frightensyou so much. Have you never seen blood before?"

Maskull gazed at her in perplexity. The old paradox came back--thecontrasting sexual characteristics in her person. Her bold, masterful, masculine egotism of manner seemed quite incongruous with thefascinating and disturbing femininity of her voice. A startling ideaflashed into his mind. 

"In your country I'm told there is an act of will called 'absorbing. 'What is that?"

She held her red, dripping hands away from her draperies, and uttered adelicious, clashing laugh. "You think I am half a man?"

"Answer my question. "

"I'm a woman through and through, Maskull--to the marrowbone. But that'snot to say I have never absorbed males. "

"And that means. .. "

"New strings for my harp, Maskull. A wider range of passions, a stormierheart. .. "

"For you, yes--But for them?. .. "

"I don't know. The victims don't describe their experiences. Probablyunhappiness of some sort--if they still know anything. "

"This is a fearful business!" he exclaimed, regarding her gloomily. "Onewould think Ifdawn a land of devils. "

Oceaxe gave a beautiful sneer as she took a step toward the river. "Better men than you--better in every sense of the word--are walkingabout with foreign wills inside them. You may be as moral as you like, Maskull, but the fact remains, animals were made to be eaten, and simplenatures were made to be absorbed. "

"And human rights count for nothing!"

She had bent over the river's edge, to wash her arms and hands, butglanced up over her shoulder to answer his remark. "They do count. Butwe only regard a man as human for just as long as he's able to hold hisown with others. "

The flesh was soon cooked, and they breakfasted in silence. Maskull castheavy, doubtful glances from time to time toward his companion. Whether it was due to the strange quality of the food, or to his longabstention, he did not know, but the meal tasted nauseous, and evencannibalistic. He ate little, and the moment he got up he felt defiled. 

"Let me bury this drude, where I can find it some other time, " saidOceaxe. "On the next occasion, though, I shall have no Maskull with me, to shock. .. . Now we have to take to the river. "

They stepped off the land onto the water. It flowed against them with asluggish current, but the opposition, instead of hindering them, hadthe contrary effect--it caused them to exert themselves, and theymoved faster. They climbed the river in this way for several miles. Theexercise gradually improved the circulation of Maskull's blood, andhe began to look at things in a far more way. The hot sunshine, thediminished wind, the cheerful marvellous cloud scenery, the quiet, crystal forests--all was soothing and delightful. They approached nearerand nearer to the gaily painted heights of Ifdawn. 

There was something enigmatic to him in those bright walls. He wasattracted by them, yet felt a sort of awe. They looked real, but at thesame time very supernatural. If one could see the portrait of a ghost, painted with a hard, firm outline, in substantial colors, the feelingsproduced by such a sight would be exactly similar to Maskull'simpressions as he studied the Ifdawn precipices. 

He broke the long silence. "Those mountains have most extraordinaryshapes. All the lines are straight and perpendicular--no slopes orcurves. "

She walked backward on the water, in order to face him. "That'stypical of Ifdawn. Nature is all hammer blows with us. Nothing soft andgradual. "

"I hear you, but I don't understand you. "

"All over the Marest you'll find patches of ground plunging down orrushing up. Trees grow fast. Women and men don't think twice beforeacting. One may call Ifdawn a place of quick decisions. "

Maskull was impressed. "A fresh, wild, primitive land. "

"How is it where you come from?" asked Oceaxe. 

"Oh, mine is a decrepit world, where nature takes a hundred yearsto move a foot of solid land. Men and animals go about in flocks. Originality is a lost habit. "

"Are there women there?"

"As with you, and not very differently formed. "

"Do they love?"

He laughed. "So much so that it has changed the dress, speech, andthoughts of the whole sex. "

"Probably they are more beautiful than I?"

"No, I think not, " said Maskull. 

There was another rather long silence, as they travelled unsteadilyonward. 

"What is your business in Ifdawn?" demanded Oceaxe suddenly. 

He hesitated over his answer. "Can you grasp that it's possible to havean aim right in front of one, so big that one can't see it as a whole?"

She stole a long, inquisitive look at him, "What sort of aim?"

"A moral aim. "

"Are you proposing to set the world right?"

"I propose nothing--I am waiting. "

"Don't wait too long, for time doesn't wait--especially in Ifdawn. "

"Something will happen, " said Maskull. 

Oceaxe threw a subtle smile. "So you have no special destination in theMarest?"

"No, and if you'll permit me, I will come home with you. "

"Singular man!" she said, with a short, thrilling laugh. "That's what Ihave been offering all the time. Of course you will come home with me. As for Crimtyphon. .. "

"You mentioned that name before. Who is he?"

"Oh! My lover, or, as you would say, my husband. "

"This doesn't improve matters, " said Maskull. 

"It leaves them exactly where they were. We merely have to remove him. "

"We are certainly misunderstanding each other, " said Maskull, quitestartled. "Do you by any chance imagine that I am making a compact withyou?"

"You will do nothing against your will. But you have promised to comehome with me. "

"Tell me, how do you remove husbands in Ifdawn?"

"Either you or I must kill him. "

He eyed her for a full minute. "Now we are passing from folly toinsanity. "

"Not at all, " replied Oceaxe. "It is the too-sad truth. And when youhave seen Crimtyphon, you will realise it. "

"I'm aware I am on a strange planet, " said Maskull slowly, "whereall sorts of unheard of things may happen, and where the very laws ofmorality may be different. Still as far as I am concerned, murder ismurder, and I'll have no more to do with a woman who wants to make useof me, to get rid of her husband. "

"You think me wicked?" demanded Oceaxe steadily. 

"Or mad. "

"Then you had better leave me, Maskull--only--"

"Only what?"

"You wish to be consistent, don't you? Leave all other mad and wickedpeople as well. Then you'll find it easier to reform the rest. "

Maskull frowned, but said nothing. 

"Well?" demanded Oceaxe, with a half smile. 

"I'll come with you, and I'll see Crimtyphon--if only to warn him. "

Oceaxe broke into a cascade of rich, feminine laughter, but whether atthe image conjured up by Maskull's last words, or from some other cause, he did not know. The conversation dropped. 

At a distance of a couple of miles from the now towering cliffs, theriver made a sharp, right-angled turn to the west, and was no longer ofuse to them on their journey. Maskull stared up doubtfully. 

"It's a stiff climb for a hot morning. "

"Let's rest here a little, " said she, indicating a smooth flat islandof black rock, standing up just out of the water in the middle of theriver. 

They accordingly went to it, and Maskull sat down. Oceaxe, however, standing graceful and erect, turned her face toward the cliffs opposite, and uttered a piercing and peculiar call. 

"What is that for?" She did not answer. After waiting a minute, sherepeated the call. Maskull now saw a large bird detach itself from thetop of one of the precipices, and sail slowly down toward them. It wasfollowed by two others. The flight of these birds was exceedingly slowand clumsy. 

"What are they?" he asked. 

She still returned no answer, but smiled rather peculiarly and sat downbeside him. Before many minutes he was able to distinguish the shapesand colors of the flying monsters. They were not birds, but creatureswith long, snakelike bodies, and ten reptilian legs apiece, terminatingin fins which acted as wings. The bodies were of bright blue, the legsand fins were yellow. They were flying, without haste, but in a somewhatominous fashion, straight toward them. He could make out a long, thinspike projecting from each of the heads. 

"They are shrowks, " explained Oceaxe at last. "If you want to knowtheir intention, I'll tell you. To make a meal of us. First of all theirspikes will pierce us, and then their mouths, which are really suckers, will drain us dry of blood--pretty thoroughly too; there are no halfmeasures with shrowks. They are toothless beasts, so don't eat flesh. "

"As you show such admirable sangfroid, " said Maskull dryly, "I take itthere's no particular danger. "

Nevertheless he instinctively tried to get on to his feet and failed. Anew form of paralysis was chaining him to the ground. 

"Are you trying to get up?" asked Oceaxe smoothly. 

"Well, yes, but those cursed reptiles seem to be nailing me down to therock with their wills. May I ask if you had any special object in viewin waking them up?"

"I assure you the danger is quite real, Maskull. Instead of talkingand asking questions, you had much better see what you can do with yourwill. "

"I seem to have no will, unfortunately. "

Oceaxe was seized with a paroxysm of laughter, but it was still rich andbeautiful. "It's obvious you aren't a very heroic protector, Maskull. Itseems I must play the man, and you the woman. I expected better thingsof your big body. Why, my husband would send those creatures dancing allaround the sky, by way of a joke, before disposing of them. Now watchme. . Two of the three I'll kill; the third we will ride home on. Whichone shall we keep?"

The shrowks continued their slow, wobbling flight toward them. Theirbodies were of huge size. They produced in Maskull the same sensation ofloathing as insects did. He instinctively understood that as they huntedwith their wills, there was no necessity for them to possess a swiftmotion. 

"Choose which you please, " he said shortly. "They are equallyobjectionable to me. "

"Then I'll choose the leader, as it is presumably the most energeticanimal. Watch now. "

She stood upright, and her sorb suddenly blazed with fire. Maskull feltsomething snap inside his brain. His limbs were free once more. Thetwo monsters in the rear staggered and darted head foremost toward theearth, one after the other. He watched them crash on the ground, andthen lie motionless. The leader still came toward them, but he fanciedthat its flight was altered in character; it was no longer menacing, buttame and unwilling. 

Oceaxe guided it with her will to the mainland shore opposite theirisland rock. Its vast bulk lay there extended, awaiting her pleasure. They immediately crossed the water. 

Maskull viewed the shrowk at close quarters. It was about thirty feetlong. Its bright-coloured skin was shining, slippery, and leathery;a mane of black hair covered its long neck. Its face was awesomeand unnatural, with its carnivorous eyes, frightful stiletto, andblood-sucking cavity. There were true fins on its back and tail. 

"Have you a good seat?" asked Oceaxe, patting the creature's flank. "AsI have to steer, let me jump on first. "

She pulled up her gown, then climbed up and sat astride the animal'sback, just behind the mane, which she clutched. Between her and thefin there was just room for Maskull. He grasped the two flanks with hisouter hands; his third, new arm pressed against Oceaxe's back, and foradditional security he was compelled to encircle her waist with it. 

Directly he did so, he realised that he had been tricked, and that thisride had been planned for one purpose only--to inflame his desires. 

The third arm possessed a function of its own, of which hitherto he hadbeen ignorant. It was a developed magn. But the stream of love whichwas communicated to it was no longer pure and noble--it was boiling, passionate, and torturing. He gritted his teeth, and kept quiet, butOceaxe had not plotted the adventure to remain unconscious of hisfeelings. She looked around, with a golden, triumphant smile. "The ridewill last some time, so hold on well!" Her voice was soft like a flute, but rather malicious. 

Maskull grinned, and said nothing. He dared not remove his arm. 

The shrowk straddled on to its legs. It jerked itself forward, and roseslowly and uncouthly in the air. They began to paddle upward towardthe painted cliffs. The motion was swaying, rocking, and sickening; thecontact of the brute's slimy skin was disgusting. All this, however, wasmerely, background to Maskull, as he sat there with closed eyes, holdingon to Oceaxe. In the front and centre of his consciousness was theknowledge that he was gripping a fair woman, and that her flesh wasresponding to his touch like a lovely harp. 

They climbed up and up. He opened his eyes, and ventured to look aroundhim. By this time they were already level with the top of the outerrampart of precipices. There now came in sight a wild archipelago ofislands, with jagged outlines, emerging from a sea of air. The islandswere mountain summits; or, more accurately speaking, the country was ahigh tableland, fissured everywhere by narrow and apparently bottomlesscracks. These cracks were in some cases like canals, in others likelakes, in others merely holes in the ground, closed in all round. Theperpendicular sides of the islands--that is, the upper, visible partsof the innumerable cliff faces--were of bare rock, gaudily coloured; butthe level surfaces were a tangle of wild plant life. The tallertrees alone were distinguishable from the shrowk's back. They wereof different shapes, and did not look ancient; they were slender andswaying but did not appear very graceful; they looked tough, wiry, andsavage. 

As Maskull continued to explore the landscape, he forgot Oceaxe and hispassion. Other strange feelings came to the front. The morning was gayand bright. The sun scorched down, quickly-changing clouds sailed acrossthe sky, the earth was vivid, wild, and lonely. Yet he experienced noaesthetic sensations--he felt nothing but an intense longing for actionand possession. When he looked at anything, he immediately wanted todeal with it. The atmosphere of the land seemed not free, but sticky;attraction and repulsion were its constituents. Apart from this wish toplay a personal part in what was going on around and beneath him, thescenery had no significance for him. 

So preoccupied was he, that his arm partly released its clasp. Oceaxeturned around to gaze at him. Whether or not she was satisfied with whatshe saw, she uttered a low laugh, like a peculiar chord. 

"Cold again so quickly, Maskull?"

"What do you want?" he asked absently, still looking over the side. "It's extraordinary how drawn I feel to all this. "

"You wish to take a hand?"

"I wish to get down. "

"Oh, we have a good way to go yet. .. . So you really feel different?"

"Different from what? What are you talking about?" said Maskull, stilllost in abstraction. 

Oceaxe laughed again. "It would be strange if we couldn't make a man ofyou, for the material is excellent. "

After that, she turned her back once more. 

The air islands differed from water islands in another way. They werenot on a plane surface, but sloped upward, like a succession of brokenterraces, as the journey progressed. The shrowk had hitherto been flyingwell above the ground; but now, when a new line of towering cliffsconfronted them, Oceaxe did not urge the beast upward, but caused it toenter a narrow canyon, which intersected the mountains like a channel. They were instantly plunged into deep shade. The canal was not abovethirty feet wide; the walls stretched upward on both sides for manyhundred feet. It was as cool as an ice chamber. When Maskull attemptedto plumb the chasm with his eyes, he saw nothing but black obscurity. 

"What is at the bottom?" he asked. 

"Death for you, if you go to look for it. "

"We know that. I mean, is there any kind of life down there?"

"Not that I have ever heard of, " said Oceaxe, "but of course all thingsare possible. "

"I think very likely there is life, " he returned thoughtfully. 

Her ironical laugh sounded out of the gloom. "Shall we go down and see?"

"You find that amusing?"

"No, not that. What I do find amusing is the big stranger with thebeard, who is so keenly interested in everything except himself. "

Maskull then laughed too. "I happen to be the only thing in Tormancewhich is not a novelty for me. "

"Yes, but I am a novelty for you. "

The channel went zigzagging its way through the belly of the mountain, and all the time they were gradually rising. 

"At least I have heard nothing like your voice before, " said Maskull, who, since he had no longer anything to look at, was at last ready forconversation. 

"What's the matter with my voice?"

"It's all that I can distinguish of you now; that's why I mentioned it. "

"Isn't it clear--don't I speak distinctly?"

"Oh, it's clear enough, but--it's inappropriate. "

"Inappropriate?"

"I won't explain further, " said Maskull, "but whether you are speakingor laughing, your voice is by far the loveliest and strangest instrumentI have ever listened to. And yet I repeat, it is inappropriate. "

"You mean that my nature doesn't correspond?"

He was just considering his reply, when their talk was abruptly brokenoff by a huge and terrifying, but not very loud sound rising up from thegulf directly underneath them. It was a low, grinding, roaring thunder. 

"The ground is rising under us!" cried Oceaxe. 

"Shall we escape?"

She made no answer, but urged the shrowk's flight upward, at such asteep gradient that they retained their seats with difficulty. The floorof the canyon, upheaved by some mighty subterranean force, could beheard, and almost felt, coming up after them, like a gigantic landslipin the wrong direction. The cliffs cracked, and fragments began to fall. A hundred awful noises filled the air, growing louder and louder eachsecond--splitting, hissing, cracking, grinding, booming, exploding, roaring. When they had still fifty feet or so to go, to reach the top, a sort of dark, indefinite sea of broken rocks and soil appeared undertheir feet, ascending rapidly, with irresistible might, accompanied bythe most horrible noises. The canal was filled up for two hundred yards, before and behind them. Millions of tons of solid matter seemed to beraised. The shrowk in its ascent was caught by the uplifted debris. Beast and riders experienced in that moment all the horrors of anearthquake--they were rolled violently over, and thrown among the rocksand dirt. All was thunder, instability, motion, confusion. 

Before they had time to realise their position, they were in thesunlight. The upheaval still continued. In another minute or two thevalley floor had formed a new mountain, a hundred feet or more higherthan the old. Then its movement ceased suddenly. Every noise stopped, asif by magic; not a rock moved. Oceaxe and Maskull picked themselvesup and examined themselves for cuts and bruises. The shrowk lay on itsside, panting violently, and sweating with fright. 

"That was a nasty affair, " said Maskull, flicking the dirt off hisperson. 

Oceaxe staunched a cut on her chin with a corner of her robe. 

"It might have been far worse. .. . I mean, it's bad enough to come up, but it's death to go down, and that happens just as often. "

"Whatever induces you to live in such a country?"

"I don't know, Maskull. Habit, I suppose. I have often thought of movingout of it. "

"A good deal must be forgiven you for having to spend your life in aplace like this, where one is obviously never safe from one minute toanother. "

"You will learn by degrees, " she answered, smiling. 

She looked hard at the monster, and it got heavily to its feet. 

"Get on again, Maskull!" she directed, climbing back to her perch. "Wehaven't too much time to waste. "

He obeyed. They resumed their interrupted flight, this time over themountains, and in full sunlight. Maskull settled down again to histhoughts. The peculiar atmosphere of the country continued to soak intohis brain. His will became so restless and uneasy that merely to sitthere in inactivity was a torture. He could scarcely endure not to bedoing something. 

"How secretive you are, Maskull!" said Oceaxe quietly, without turningher head. 

"What secrets--what do you mean?"

"Oh, I know perfectly well what's passing inside you. Now I think itwouldn't be amiss to ask you--is friendship still enough?"

"Oh, don't ask me anything, " growled Maskull. "I've far too manyproblems in my head already. I only wish I could answer some of them. "

He stared stonily at the landscape. The beast was winging its waytoward a distant mountain, of singular shape. It was an enormous naturalquadrilateral pyramid, rising in great terraces and terminating in abroad, flat top, on which what looked like green snow still lingered. 

"What mountain is that?" he asked. 

"Disscourn. The highest point in Ifdawn. "

"Are we going there?"

"Why should we go there? But if you were going on farther, it might beworth your while to pay a visit to the top. It commands the whole landas far as the Sinking Sea and Swaylone's Island--and beyond. You canalso see Alppain from it. "

"That's a sight I mean to see before I have finished. "

"Do you, Maskull?" She turned around and put her hand on his wrist. "Stay with me, and one day we'll go to Disscourn together. "

He grunted unintelligibly. 

There were no signs of human existence in the country under their feet. While Maskull was still grimly regarding it, a large tract of forest notfar ahead, bearing many trees and rocks, suddenly subsided with an awfulroar and crashed down into an invisible gulf. What was solid land oneminute became a clean-cut chasm the next. He jumped violently up withthe shock. "This is frightful. "

Oceaxe remained unmoved. 

"Why, life here must be absolutely impossible, " he went on, when he hadsomewhat recovered himself. "A man would need nerves of steel. .. . Isthere no means at all of foreseeing a catastrophe like this?"

"Oh, I suppose we wouldn't be alive if there weren't, " replied Oceaxe, with composure. "We are more or less clever at it--but that doesn'tprevent our often getting caught. "

"You had better teach me the signs. "

"We'll have many things to go over together. And among them, I expect, will be whether we are to stay in the land at all. .. . But first let usget home. "

"How far is it now?"

"It is right in front of you, " said Oceaxe, pointing with herforefinger. "You can see it. "

He followed the direction of the finger and, after a few questions, madeout the spot she was indicating. It was a broad peninsula, about twomiles distant. Three of its sides rose sheer out of a lake of air, thebottom of which was invisible; its fourth was a bottleneck, joining itto the mainland. It was overgrown with bright vegetation, distinct inthe brilliant atmosphere. A single tall tree, shooting up in the middleof the peninsula, dwarfed everything else; it was wide and shady withsea-green leaves. 

"I wonder if Crimtyphon is there, " remarked Oceaxe. "Can I see twofigures, or am I mistaken?"

"I also see something, " said Maskull. 

In twenty minutes they were directly above the peninsula, at a height ofabout fifty feet. The shrowk slackened speed, and came to earth onthe mainland, exactly at the gateway of the isthmus. They bothdescended--Maskull with aching thighs. 

"What shall we do with the monster?" asked Oceaxe. Without waiting for asuggestion, she patted its hideous face with her hand. "Fly away home! Imay want you some other time. "

It gave a stupid grunt, elevated itself on its legs again, and, afterhalf running, half flying for a few yards, rose awkwardly into the air, and paddled away in the same direction from which they had come. Theywatched it out of sight, and then Oceaxe started to cross the neck ofland, followed by Maskull. 

Branchspell's white rays beat down on them with pitiless force. The skyhad by degrees become cloudless, and the wind had dropped entirely. Theground was a rich riot of vividly coloured ferns, shrubs, and grasses. Through these could be seen here and there the golden chalky soil--andoccasionally a glittering, white metallic boulder. Everything lookedextraordinary and barbaric. Maskull was at last walking in the weirdIfdawn Marest which had created such strange feelings in him when seenfrom a distance. .. . And now he felt no wonder or curiosity at all, butonly desired to meet human beings--so intense had grown his will. Helonged to test his powers on his fellow creatures, and nothing elseseemed of the least importance to him. 

On the peninsula all was coolness and delicate shade. It resembled alarge copse, about two acres in extent. In the heart of the tangle ofsmall trees and undergrowth was a partially cleared space--perhaps theroots of the giant tree growing in the centre had killed off the smallerfry all around it. By the side of the tree sparkled a little, bubblingfountain, whose water was iron-red. The precipices on all sides, overhung with thorns, flowers, and creepers, invested the enclosure withan air of wild and charming seclusion--a mythological mountain god mighthave dwelt here. 

Maskull's restless eye left everything, to fall on the two men whoformed the centre of the picture. 

One was reclining, in the ancient Grecian fashion of banqueters on atall couch of mosses, sprinkled with flowers; he rested on one arm, andwas eating a kind of plum, with calm enjoyment. A pile of these plumslay on the couch beside him. The over-spreading branches of the treecompletely sheltered him from the sun. His small, boyish form was cladin a rough skin, leaving his limbs naked. Maskull could not tell fromhis face whether he were a young boy or a grown man. The features weresmooth, soft, and childish, their expression was seraphically tranquil;but his violet upper eye was sinister and adult. His skin was of thecolour of yellow ivory. His long, curling hair matched his sorb--it wasviolet. The second man was standing erect before the other, a few feetaway from him. He was short and muscular, his face was broad, bearded, and rather commonplace, but there was something terrible about hisappearance. The features were distorted by a deep-seated look of pain, despair, and horror. 

Oceaxe, without pausing, strolled lightly and lazily up to the outermostshadows of the tree, some distance from the couch. 

"We have met with an uplift, " she remarked carelessly, looking towardthe youth. 

He eyed her, but said nothing. 

"How is your plant man getting on?" Her tone was artificial butextremely beautiful. While waiting for an answer, she sat down on theground, her legs gracefully thrust under her body, and pulled downthe skirt of her robe. Maskull remained standing just behind her, withcrossed arms. 

There was silence for a minute. 

"Why don't you answer your mistress, Sature?" said the boy on the couch, in a calm, treble voice. 

The man addressed did not alter his expression, but replied in astrangled tone, "I am getting on very well, Oceaxe. There are alreadybuds on my feet. Tomorrow I hope to take root. "

Maskull felt a rising storm inside him. He was perfectly aware thatalthough these words were uttered by Sature, they were being dictated bythe boy. 

"What he says is quite true, " remarked the latter. "Tomorrow roots willreach the ground, and in a few days they ought to be well established. Then I shall set to work to convert his arms into branches, and hisfingers into leaves. It will take longer to transform his head intoa crown, but still I hope--in fact I can almost promise that within amonth you and I, Oceaxe, will be plucking and enjoying fruit from thisnew and remarkable tree. "

"I love these natural experiments, " he concluded, putting out his handfor another plum. "They thrill me. "

"This must be a joke, " said Maskull, taking a step forward. 

The youth looked at him serenely. He made no reply, but Maskull felt asif he were being thrust backward by an iron hand on his throat. 

"The morning's work is now concluded, Sature. Come here again afterBlodsombre. After tonight you will remain here permanently, I expect, so you had better set to work to clear a patch of ground for your roots. Never forget--however fresh and charming these plants appear to you now, in the future they will be your deadliest rivals and enemies. Now youmay go. "

The man limped painfully away, across the isthmus, out of sight. Oceaxeyawned. 

Maskull pushed his way forward, as if against a wall. "Are you joking, or are you a devil?"

"I am Crimtyphon. I never joke. For that epithet of yours, I will devisea new punishment for you. "

The duel of wills commenced without ceremony. Oceaxe got up, stretchedher beautiful limbs, smiled, and prepared herself to witness thestruggle between her old lover and her new. Crimtyphon smiled too;he reached out his hand for more fruit, but did not eat it. Maskull'sself-control broke down and he dashed at the boy, choking with redfury--his beard wagged and his face was crimson. When he realised withwhom he had to deal, Crimtyphon left off smiling, slipped off thecouch, and threw a terrible and malignant glare into his sorb. Maskullstaggered. He gathered together all the brute force of his will, and bysheer weight continued his advance. The boy shrieked and ran behind thecouch, trying to get away. .. . His opposition suddenly collapsed. Maskullstumbled forward, recovered himself, and then vaulted clear over thehigh pile of mosses, to get at his antagonist. He fell on top of himwith all his bulk. Grasping his throat, he pulled his little headcompletely around, so that the neck was broken. Crimtyphon immediatelydied. 

The corpse lay underneath the tree with its face upturned. Maskullviewed it attentively, and as he did so an expression of awe and wondercame into his own countenance. In the moment of death Crimtyphon's facehad undergone a startling and even shocking alteration. Its personalcharacter had wholly vanished, giving place to a vulgar, grinning maskwhich expressed nothing. 

He did not have to search his mind long, to remember where he had seenthe brother of that expression. It was identical with that on the faceof the apparition at the seance, after Krag had dealt with it. 

Chapter 10. TYDOMIN

Oceaxe sat down carelessly on the couch of mosses, and began eating theplums. 

"You see, you had to kill him, Maskull, " she said, in a rather quizzicalvoice. 

He came away from the corpse and regarded her--still red, and stillbreathing hard. "It's no joking matter. You especially ought to keepquiet. "

"Why?"

"Because he was your husband. "

"You think I ought to show grief--when I feel none?"

"Don't pretend, woman!"

Oceaxe smiled. "From your manner one would think you were accusing me ofsome crime. "

Maskull literally snorted at her words. "What, you live with filth--youlive in the arms of a morbid monstrosity and then--"

"Oh, now I grasp it, " she said, in a tone of perfect detachment. 

"I'm glad. "

"Well, Maskull, " she proceeded, after a pause, "and who gave you theright to rule my conduct? Am I not mistress of my own person?"

He looked at her with disgust, but said nothing. There was another longinterval of silence. 

"I never loved him, " said Oceaxe at last, looking at the ground. 

"That makes it all the worse. "

"What does all this mean--what do you want?"

"Nothing from you--absolutely nothing--thank heaven!"

She gave a hard laugh. "You come here with your foreign preconceptionsand expect us all to bow down to them. "

"What preconceptions?"

"Just because Crimtyphon's sports are strange to you, you murderhim--and you would like to murder me. "

"Sports! That diabolical cruelty. "

"Oh, you're sentimental!" said Oceaxe contemptuously. "Why do you needto make such a fuss over that man? Life is life, all the world over, andone form is as good as another. He was only to be made a tree, like amillion other trees. If they can endure the life, why can't he?"

"And this is Ifdawn morality!"

Oceaxe began to grow angry. "It's you who have peculiar ideas. You raveabout the beauty of flowers and trees--you think them divine. Butwhen it's a question of taking on this divine, fresh, pure, enchantingloveliness yourself, in your own person, it immediately becomes a crueland wicked degradation. Here we have a strange riddle, in my opinion. "

"Oceaxe, you're a beautiful, heartless wild beast--nothing more. If youweren't a woman--"

"Well"--curling her lip--"let us hear what would happen if I weren't awoman?"

Maskull bit his nails. 

"It doesn't matter. I can't touch you--though there's certainly not thedifference of a hair between you and your boy-husband. For this you maythank my 'foreign preconceptions. '. .. Farewell!"

He turned to go. Oceaxe's eyes slanted at him through their long lashes. 

"Where are you off to, Maskull?"

"That's a matter of no importance, for wherever I go it must be a changefor the better. You walking whirlpools of crime!"

"Wait a minute. I only want to say this. Blodsombre is just starting, and you had better stay here till the afternoon. We can quickly put thatbody out of sight, and, as you seem to detest me so much, the place isbig enough--we needn't talk, or even see each other. "

"I don't wish to breathe the same air. "

"Singular man!" She was sitting erect and motionless, like a beautifulstatue. "And what of your wonderful interview with Surtur, and all theundone things which you set out to do?"

"You aren't the one I shall speak to about that. But"--he eyed hermeditatively--"while I'm still here you can tell me this. What's themeaning of the expression on that corpse's face?"

"Is that another crime, Maskull? All dead people look like that. Oughtthey not to?"

"I once heard it called 'Crystalman's face. '"

"Why not? We are all daughters and sons of Crystalman. It is doubtlessthe family resemblance. "

"It has also been told me that Surtur and Crystalman are one and thesame. "

"You have wise and truthful acquaintances. "

"Then how could it have been Surtur whom I saw?" said Maskull, more tohimself than to her. "That apparition was something quite different. "

She dropped her mocking manner and, sliding imperceptibly toward him, gently pulled his arm. 

"You see--we have to talk. Sit down beside me, and ask me yourquestions. I'm not excessively smart, but I'll try to be of assistance. "

Maskull permitted himself to be dragged down with soft violence. Shebent toward him, as if confidentially, and contrived that her sweet, cool, feminine breath should fan his cheek. 

"Aren't you here to alter the evil to the good, Maskull? Then what doesit matter who sent you?"

"What can you possibly know of good and evil?"

"Are you only instructing the initiated?"

"Who am I, to instruct anybody? However, you're quite right. I wish todo what I can--not because I am qualified, but because I am here. "

Oceaxe's voice dropped to a whisper. "You're a giant, both in body andsoul. What you want to do, you can do. "

"Is that your honest opinion, or are you flattering me for your ownends?"

She sighed. "Don't you see how difficult you are making theconversation? Let's talk about your work, not about ourselves. "

Maskull suddenly noticed a strange blue light glowing in the northernsky. It was from Alppain, but Alppain itself was behind the hills. Whilehe was observing it, a peculiar wave of self-denial, of a disquietingnature, passed through him. He looked at Oceaxe, and it struck him forthe first time that he was being unnecessarily brutal to her. He hadforgotten that she was a woman, and defenceless. 

"Won't you stay?" she asked all of a sudden, quite openly and frankly. 

"Yes, I think I'll stay, " he replied slowly. "And another thing, Oceaxe--if I've misjudged your character, pray forgive me. I'm a hasty, passionate man. "

"There are enough easygoing men. Hard knocks are a good medicine forvicious hearts. And you didn't misjudge my character, as far as youwent--only, every woman has more than one character. Don't you knowthat?"

During the pause that followed, a snapping of twigs was heard, and bothlooked around, startled. They saw a woman stepping slowly across theneck that separated them from the mainland. 

"Tydomin, " muttered Oceaxe, in a vexed, frightened voice. Sheimmediately moved away from Maskull and stood up. 

The newcomer was of middle height, very slight and graceful. She was nolonger quite young. Her face wore the composure of a woman who knowsher way about the world. It was intensely pale, and under its quiescencethere just was a glimpse of something strange and dangerous. Itwas curiously alluring, though not exactly beautiful. Her hair wasclustering and boyish, reaching only to the neck. It was of a strangeindigo colour. She was quaintly attired in a tunic and breeches, piecedtogether from the square, blue-green plates of some reptile. Her small, ivory-white breasts were exposed. Her sorb was black and sad--rathercontemplative. 

Without once glancing up at Oceaxe and Maskull, she quietly glidedstraight toward Crimtyphon's corpse. When she arrived within a few feetof it, she stopped and looked down, with arms folded. 

Oceaxe drew Maskull a little away, and whispered, "It's Crimtyphon'sother wife, who lives under Disscourn. She's a most dangerous woman. Be careful what you say. If she asks you to do anything, refuse itoutright. "

"The poor soul looks harmless enough. "

"Yes, she does--but the poor soul is quite capable of swallowing up Kraghimself. .. . Now, play the man. "

The murmur of their voices seemed to attract Tydomin's notice, for shenow slowly turned her eyes toward them. 

"Who killed him?" she demanded. 

Her voice was so soft, low, and refined, that Maskull hardly was ableto catch the words. The sounds, however, lingered in his ears, andcuriously enough seemed to grow stronger, instead of fainter. 

Oceaxe whispered, "Don't say a word, leave it all to me. " Then she swungher body around to face Tydomin squarely, and said aloud, "I killedhim. "

Tydomin's words by this time were ringing in Maskull's head like anactual physical sound. There was no question of being able to ignorethem; he had to make an open confession of his act, whatever theconsequences might be. Quietly taking Oceaxe by the shoulder and puttingher behind him, he said in a low, but perfectly distinct voice, "It wasI that killed Crimtyphon. "

Oceaxe looked both haughty and frightened. "Maskull says that so as toshield me, as he thinks. I require no shield, Maskull. I killed him, Tydomin. "

"I believe you, Oceaxe. You did murder him. Not with your own strength, for you brought this man along for the purpose. "

Maskull took a couple of steps toward Tydomin. "It's of littleconsequence who killed him, for he's better dead than alive, in myopinion. Still, I did it. Oceaxe had no hand in the affair. "

Tydomin appeared not to hear him--she looked beyond him at Oceaxemusingly. "When you murdered him, didn't it occur to you that I wouldcome here, to find out?"

"I never once thought of you, " replied Oceaxe, with an angry laugh. "Doyou really imagine that I carry your image with me wherever I go?"

"If someone were to murder your lover here, what would you do?"

"Lying hypocrite!" Oceaxe spat out. "You never were in love withCrimtyphon. You always hated me, and now you think it an excellentopportunity to make it good. .. Now that Crimtyphon's gone. .. . For weboth know he would have made a footstool of you, if I had asked him. Heworshiped me, but he laughed at you. He thought you ugly. "

Tydomin flashed a quick, gentle smile at Maskull. "Is it necessary foryou to listen to all this?"

Without question, and feeling it the right thing to do, he walked awayout of earshot. 

Tydomin approached Oceaxe. "Perhaps because my beauty fades and I'm nolonger young, I needed him all the more. "

Oceaxe gave a kind of snarl. "Well, he's dead, and that's the end of it. What are you going to do now, Tydomin?"

The other woman smiled faintly and rather pathetically. "There'snothing left to do, except mourn the dead. You won't grudge me that lastoffice?"

"Do you want to stay here?" demanded Oceaxe suspiciously. 

"Yes, Oceaxe dear, I wish to be alone. "

"Then what is to become of us?"

"I thought that you and your lover--what is his name?"

"Maskull. "

"I thought that perhaps you two would go to Disscourn, and spendBlodsombre at my home. "

Oceaxe called out aloud to Maskull, "Will you come with me now toDisscourn?"

"If you wish, " returned Maskull. 

"Go first, Oceaxe. I must question your friend about Crimtyphon's death. I won't keep him. "

"Why don't you question me, rather?" demanded Oceaxe, looking upsharply. 

Tydomin gave the shadow of a smile. "We know each other too well. "

"Play no tricks!" said Oceaxe, and she turned to go. 

"Surely you must be dreaming, " said Tydomin. "That's the way--unless youwant to walk over the cliffside. "

The path Oceaxe had chosen led across the isthmus. The direction whichTydomin proposed for her was over the edge of the precipice, into emptyspace. 

"Shaping! I must be mad, " cried Oceaxe, with a laugh. And she obedientlyfollowed the other's finger. 

She walked straight on toward the edge of the abyss, twenty pacesaway. Maskull pulled his beard around, and wondered what she was doing. Tydomin remained standing with outstretched finger, watching her. Without hesitation, without slackening her step once, Oceaxe strolledon--and when she had reached the extreme end of the land she still tookone more step. 

Maskull saw her limbs wrench as she stumbled over the edge. Her bodydisappeared, and as it did so an awful shriek sounded. 

Disillusionment had come to her an instant too late. He tore himselfout of his stupor, rushed to the edge of the cliff, threw himself on theground recklessly, and looked over. .. . Oceaxe had vanished. 

He continued staring wildly down for several minutes, and then began tosob. Tydomin came up to him, and he got to his feet. 

The blood kept rushing to his face and leaving it again. It was sometime before he could speak at all. Then he brought out the words withdifficulty. "You shall pay for this, Tydomin. But first I want to hearwhy you did it. "

"Hadn't I cause?" she asked, standing with downcast eyes. 

"Was it pure fiendishness?"

"It was for Crimtyphon's sake. "

"She had nothing to do with that death. I told you so. "

"You are loyal to her, and I'm loyal to him. "

"Loyal? You've made a terrible blunder. She wasn't my mistress. I killedCrimtyphon for quite another reason. She had absolutely no part in it. "

"Wasn't she your lover?" asked Tydomin slowly. 

"You've made a terrible mistake, " repeated Maskull. "I killed himbecause he was a wild beast. She was as innocent of his death as youare. "

Tydomin's face took on a hard look. "So you are guilty of two deaths. "

There was a dreadful silence. 

"Why couldn't you believe me?" asked Maskull, who was pale and sweatingpainfully. 

"Who gave you the right to kill him?" demanded Tydomin sternly. 

He said nothing, and perhaps did not hear her question. 

She sighed two or three times and began to stir restlessly. "Since youmurdered him, you must help me bury him. "

"What's to be done? This is a most fearful crime. "

"You art a most fearful man. Why did you come here, to do all this? Whatare we to you?"

"Unfortunately you are right. "

Another pause ensued. 

"It's no use standing here, " said Tydomin. "Nothing can be done. Youmust come with me. "

"Come with you? Where to?"

"To Disscourn. There's a burning lake on the far side of it. He alwayswished to be cast there after death. We can do that after Blodsombre--inthe meantime we must take him home. "

"You're a callous, heartless woman. Why should he be buried when thatpoor girl must remain unburied?"

"You know that's out of the question, " replied Tydomin quietly. 

Maskull's eyes roamed about agitatedly, apparently seeing nothing. 

"We must do something, " she continued. "I shall go. You can't wish tostay here alone?"

"No, I couldn't stay here--and why should I want to? You want me tocarry the corpse?"

"He can't carry himself, and you murdered him. Perhaps it will ease yourmind to carry it. "

"Ease my mind?" said Maskull, rather stupidly. 

"There's only one relief for remorse, and that's voluntary pain. "

"And have you no remorse?" he asked, fixing her with a heavy eye. 

"These crimes are yours, Maskull, " she said in a low but incisive voice. 

They walked over to Crimtyphon's body, and Maskull hoisted it on to hisshoulders. It weighed heavier than he had thought. Tydomin did not offerto assist him to adjust the ghastly burden. 

She crossed the isthmus, followed by Maskull. Their path lay throughsunshine and shadow. Branchspell was blazing in a cloudless sky, theheat was insufferable--streams of sweat coursed down his face, and thecorpse seemed to grow heavier and heavier. Tydomin always walked infront of him. His eyes were fastened in an unseeing stare on her white, womanish calves; he looked neither to right nor left. His features grewsullen. At the end of ten minutes he suddenly allowed his burden to slipoff his shoulders on to the ground, where it lay sprawled every whichway. He called out to Tydomin. 

She quickly looked around. 

"Come here. It has just occurred to me"--he laughed--"why should I becarrying this corpse--and why should I be following you at all? Whatsurprises me is, why this has never struck me before. "

She at once came back to him. "I suppose you're tired, Maskull. Let ussit down. Perhaps you have come a long way this morning?"

"Oh, it's not tiredness, but a sudden gleam of sense. Do you know ofany reason why I should be acting as your porter?" He laughed again, butnevertheless sat down on the ground beside her. 

Tydomin neither looked at him nor answered. Her head was half bent, soas to face the northern sky, where the Alppain light was still glowing. Maskull followed her gaze, and also watched the glow for a moment or twoin silence. 

"Why don't you speak?" he asked at last. 

"What does that light suggest to you, Maskull?"

"I'm not speaking of that light. "

"Doesn't it suggest anything at all?"

"Perhaps it doesn't. What does it matter?"

"Not sacrifice?"

Maskull grew sullen again. "Sacrifice of what? What do you mean?"

"Hasn't it entered your head yet, " said Tydomin, looking straight infront of her, and speaking in her delicate, hard manner, "that thisadventure of yours will scarcely come to an end until you have made somesort of sacrifice?"

He returned no answer, and she said nothing more. In a few minutes' timeMaskull got up of his own accord, and irreverently, and almost angrily, threw Crimtyphon's corpse over his shoulder again. 

"How far do we have to go?" he asked in a surly tone. 

"An hour's walk. "

"Lead on. "

"Still, this isn't the sacrifice I mean, " said Tydomin quietly, as shewent on in front. 

Almost immediately they reached more difficult ground. They had to passfrom peak to peak, as from island to island. In some cases they wereable to stride or jump across, but in others they had to make use ofrude bridges of fallen timber. It appeared to be a frequented path. Underneath were the black, impenetrable abysses--on the surface were theglaring sunshine, the gay, painted rocks, the chaotic tangle of strangeplants. There were countless reptiles and insects. The latter werethicker built than those of Earth--consequently still more disgusting, and some of them were of enormous size. One monstrous insect, as largeas a horse, stood right in the centre of their path without budging. Itwas armour-plated, had jaws like scimitars, and underneath its body wasa forest of legs. Tydomin gave one malignant look at it, and sent itcrashing into the gulf. 

"What have I to offer, except my life?" Maskull suddenly broke out. "Andwhat good is that? It won't bring that poor girl back into the world. "

"Sacrifice is not for utility. It's a penalty which we pay. "

"I know that. "

"The point is whether you can go on enjoying life, after what hashappened. "

She waited for Maskull to come even with her. 

"Perhaps you imagine I'm not man enough--you imagine that because Iallowed poor Oceaxe to die for me--"

"She did die for you, " said Tydomin, in a quiet, emphatic voice. 

"That would be a second blunder of yours, " returned Maskull, just asfirmly. "I was not in love with Oceaxe, and I'm not in love with life. "

"Your life is not required. "

"Then I don't understand what you want, or what you are speaking about. "

"It's not for me to ask a sacrifice from you, Maskull. That would becompliance on your part, but not sacrifice. You must wait until you feelthere's nothing else for you to do. "

"It's all very mysterious. "

The conversation was abruptly cut short by a prolonged and frightfulcrashing, roaring sound, coming from a short distance ahead. It wasaccompanied by a violent oscillation of the ground on which theystood. They looked up, startled, just in time to witness the finaldisappearance of a huge mass of forest land, not two hundred yards infront of them. Several acres of trees, plants, rocks, and soil, with allits teeming animal life, vanished before their eyes, like a magic story. The new chasm was cut, as if by a knife. Beyond its farther edge theAlppain glow burned blue just over the horizon. 

"Now we shall have to make a detour, " said Tydomin, halting. 

Maskull caught hold of her with his third hand. "Listen to me, while Itry to describe what I'm feeling. When I saw that landslip, everything Ihave heard about the last destruction of the world came into my mind. It seemed to me as if I were actually witnessing it, and that the worldwere really falling to pieces. Then, where the land was, we now havethis empty, awful gulf--that's to say, nothing--and it seems to me asif our life will come to the same condition, where there was somethingthere will be nothing. But that terrible blue glare on the opposite sideis exactly like the eye of fate. It accuses us, and demands what we havemade of our life, which is no more. At the same time, it is grand andjoyful. The joy consists in this--that it is in our power to give freelywhat will later on be taken from us by force. "

Tydomin watched him attentively. "Then your feeling is that your life isworthless, and you make a present of it to the first one who asks?"

"No, it goes beyond that. I feel that the only thing worth living foris to be so magnanimous that fate itself will be astonished at us. Understand me. It isn't cynicism, or bitterness, or despair, butheroism. .. . It's hard to explain. "

"Now you shall hear what sacrifice I offer you, Maskull. It's a heavyone, but that's what you seem to wish. "

"That is so. In my present mood it can't be too heavy. "

"Then, if you are in earnest, resign your body to me. Now thatCrimtyphon's dead, I'm tired of being a woman. "

"I fail to comprehend. "

"Listen, then. I wish to start a new existence in your body. I wish tobe a male. I see it isn't worth while being a woman. I mean to dedicatemy own body to Crimtyphon. I shall tie his body and mine together, andgive them a common funeral in the burning lake. That's the sacrifice Ioffer you. As I said, it's a hard one. "

"So you do ask me to die. Though how you can make use of my body isdifficult to understand. "

"No, I don't ask you to die. You will go on living. "

"How is it possible without a body?"

Tydomin gazed at him earnestly. "There are many such beings, even inyour world. There you call them spirits, apparitions, phantoms. They arein reality living wills, deprived of material bodies, always longing toact and enjoy, but quite unable to do so. Are you noble-minded enough toaccept such a state, do you think?"

"If it's possible, I accept it, " replied Maskull quietly. "Not in spiteof its heaviness, but because of it. But how is it possible?"

"Undoubtedly there are very many things possible in our world of whichyou have no conception. Now let us wait till we get home. I don't holdyou to your word, for unless it's a free sacrifice I will have nothingto do with it. "

"I am not a man who speaks lightly. If you can perform this miracle, youhave my consent, once for all. "

"Then we'll leave it like that for the present, " said Tydomin sadly. 

They proceeded on their way. Owing to the subsidence, Tydomin seemedrather doubtful at first as to the right road, but by making a longdivergence they eventually got around to the other side of the newlyformed chasm. A little later on, in a narrow copse crowning a miniature, insulated peak, they fell in with a man. He was resting himself againsta tree, and looked tired, overheated, and despondent. He was young. Hisbeardless expression bore an expression of unusual sincerity, and inother respects he seemed a hardy, hardworking youth, of an intellectualtype. His hair was thick, short, and flaxen. He possessed neither asorb nor a third arm--so presumably he was not a native of Ifdawn. His forehead, however, was disfigured by what looked like a haphazardassortment of eyes, eight in number, of different sizes and shapes. They went in pairs, and whenever two were in use, it was indicated bya peculiar shining--the rest remained dull, until their turn came. Inaddition to the upper eyes he had the two lower ones, but they werevacant and lifeless. This extraordinary battery of eyes, alternativelyalive and dead, gave the young man an appearance of almost alarmingmental activity. He was wearing nothing but a sort of skin kilt. Maskullseemed somehow to recognise the face, though he had certainly never seteyes on it before. 

Tydomin suggested to him to set down the corpse, and both sat down torest in the shade. 

"Question him, Maskull, " she said, rather carelessly, jerking her headtoward the stranger. 

Maskull sighed and asked aloud, from his seat on the ground, "What'syour name, and where do you come from?"

The man studied him for a few moments, first with one pair of eyes, then with another, then with a third. He next turned his attention toTydomin, who occupied him a still longer time. He replied at last, ina dry, manly, nervous voice. "I am Digrung. I have arrived here fromMatterplay. " His colour kept changing, and Maskull suddenly realised ofwhom he reminded him. It was of Joiwind. 

"Perhaps you're going to Poolingdred, Digrung?" he inquired, interested. 

"As a matter of fact I am--if I can find my way out of this accursedcountry. "

"Possibly you are acquainted with Joiwind there?"

"She's my sister. I'm on my way to see her now. Why, do you know her?"

"I met her yesterday. "

"What is your name, then?"

"Maskull. "

"I shall tell her I met you. This will be our first meeting for fouryears. Is she well, and happy?"

"Both, as far as I could judge. You know Panawe?"

"Her husband--yes. But where do you come from? I've seen nothing likeyou before. "

"From another world. Where is Matterplay?"

"It's the first country one comes to beyond the Sinking Sea. "

"What is it like there--how do you amuse yourselves? The same oldmurders and sudden deaths?"

"Are you ill?" asked Digrung. "Who is this woman, why are you followingat her heels like a slave? She looks insane to me. What's thatcorpse--why are you dragging it around the country with you?"

Tydomin smiled. "I've already heard it said about Matterplay, that ifone sows an answer there, a rich crop of questions immediately springsup. But why do you make this unprovoked attack on me, Digrung?"

"I don't attack you, woman, but I know you. I see into you, and Isee insanity. That wouldn't matter, but I don't like to see a man ofintelligence like Maskull caught in your filthy meshes. "

"I suppose even you clever Matterplay people sometimes misjudgecharacter. However, I don't mind. Your opinion's nothing to me, Digrung. You'd better answer his questions, Maskull. Not for his own sake--butyour feminine friend is sure to be curious about your having been seencarrying a dead man. "

Maskull's underlip shot out. "Tell your sister nothing, Digrung. Don'tmention my name at all. I don't want her to know about this meeting ofours. "

"Why not?"

"I don't wish it--isn't that enough?"

Digrung looked impassive. 

"Thoughts and words, " he said, "which don't correspond with the realevents of the world are considered most shameful in Matterplay. "

"I'm not asking you to lie, only to keep silent. "

"To hide the truth is a special branch of lying. I can't accede to yourwish. I must tell Joiwind everything, as far as I know it. "

Maskull got up, and Tydomin followed his example. 

She touched Digrung on the arm and gave him a strange look. "The deadman is my husband, and Maskull murdered him. Now you'll understand whyhe wishes you to hold your tongue. "

"I guessed there was some foul play, " said Digrung. "It doesn'tmatter--I can't falsify facts. Joiwind must know. "

"You refuse to consider her feelings?" said Maskull, turning pale. 

"Feelings which flourish on illusions, and sicken and die on realities, aren't worth considering. But Joiwind's are not of that kind. "

"If you decline to do what I ask, at least return home without seeingher; your sister will get very little pleasure out of the meeting whenshe hears your news. "

"What are these strange relations between you?" demanded Digrung, eyinghim with suddenly aroused suspicion. 

Maskull stared back in a sort of bewilderment. "Good God! You don'tdoubt your own sister. That pure angel!"

Tydomin caught hold of him delicately. "I don't know Joiwind, but, whoever she is and whatever she's like, I know this--she's morefortunate in her friend than in her brother. Now, if you really valueher happiness, Maskull, you will have to take some firm step or other. "

"I mean to. Digrung, I shall stop your journey. "

"If you intend a second murder, no doubt you are big enough. "

Maskull turned around to Tydomin and laughed. "I seem to be leaving awake of corpses behind me on this journey. "

"Why a corpse? There's no need to kill him. "

"Thanks for that!" said Digrung dryly. "All the same, some crime isabout to burst. I feel it. "

"What must I do, then?" asked Maskull. 

"It is not my business, and to tell the truth I am not veryinterested. .. . If I were in your place, Maskull, I would not hesitatelong. Don't you understand how to absorb these creatures, who set theirfeeble, obstinate wills against yours?"

"That is a worse crime, " said Maskull. 

"Who knows? He will live, but he will tell no tales. "

Digrung laughed, but changed colour. "I was right then. The monster hassprung into the light of day. "

Maskull laid a hand on his shoulder. "You have the choice, and we arenot joking. Do as I ask. "

"You have fallen low, Maskull. But you are walking in a dream, and Ican't talk to you. As for you, woman--sin must be like a pleasant bathto you. .. . "

"There are strange ties between Maskull and myself; but you are apasser-by, a foreigner. I care nothing for you. "

"Nevertheless, I shall not be frightened out of my plans, which arelegitimate and right. "

"Do as you please, " said Tydomin. "If you come to grief, your thoughtswill hardly have corresponded with the real events of the world, whichis what you boast about. It is no affair of mine. "

"I shall go on, and not back!" exclaimed Digrung, with angry emphasis. 

Tydomin threw a swift, evil smile at Maskull. "Bear witness that I havetried to persuade this young man. Now you must come to a quick decisionin your own mind as to which is of the greatest importance, Digrung'shappiness or Joiwind's. Digrung won't allow you to preserve them both. "

"It won't take me long to decide. Digrung, I gave you a last chance tochange your mind. "

"As long as it's in my power I shall go on, and warn my sister againsther criminal friends. "

Maskull again clutched at him, but this time with violence. Instructedin his actions by some new and horrible instinct, he pressed the youngman tightly to his body with all three arms. A feeling of wild, sweetdelight immediately passed through him. Then for the first time hecomprehended the triumphant joys of "absorbing. " It satisfied the hungerof the will, exactly as food satisfies the hunger of the body. Digrungproved feeble--he made little opposition. His personality passed slowlyand evenly into Maskull's. The latter became strong and gorged. Thevictim gradually became paler and limper, until Maskull held a corpse inhis arms. He dropped the body, and stood trembling. He had committed hissecond crime. He felt no immediate difference in his soul, but. .. 

Tydomin shed a sad smile on him, like winter sunshine. He half expectedher to speak, but she said nothing. Instead, she made a sign to him topick up Crimtyphon's corpse. As he obeyed, he wondered why Digrung'sdead face did not wear the frightful Crystalman mask. 

"Why hasn't he altered?" he muttered to himself. 

Tydomin heard him. She kicked Digrung lightly with her little foot. "He isn't dead--that's why. The expression you mean is waiting for yourdeath. "

"Then is that my real character?"

She laughed softly. "You came here to carve a strange world, and now itappears you are carved yourself. Oh, there's no doubt about it, Maskull. You needn't stand there gaping. You belong to Shaping, like the rest ofus. You are not a king, or a god. "

"Since when have I belonged to him?"

"What does that matter? Perhaps since you first breathed the air ofTormance, or perhaps since five minutes ago. "

Without waiting for his response, she set off through the copse, andstrode on to the next island. Maskull followed, physically distressedand looking very grave. 

The journey continued for half an hour longer, without incident. Thecharacter of the scenery slowly changed. The mountaintops became loftierand more widely separated from one another. The gaps were filled withrolling, white clouds, which bathed the shores of the peaks likea mysterious sea. To pass from island to island was hard work, theintervening spaces were so wide--Tydomin, however, knew the way. Theintense light, the violet-blue sky, the patches of vivid landscape, emerging from the white vapour-ocean, made a profound impression onMaskull's mind. The glow of Alppain was hidden by the huge mass ofDisscourn, which loomed up straight in front of them. 

The green snow on the top of the gigantic pyramid had by now completelymelted away. The black, gold, and crimson of its mighty cliffs stoodout with terrific brilliance. They were directly beneath the bulk ofthe mountain, which was not a mile away. It did not appear dangerous toclimb, but he was unaware on which side of it their destination lay. 

It was split from top to bottom by numerous straight fissures. A fewpale-green waterfalls descended here and there, like narrow, motionlessthreads. The face of the mountain was rugged and bare. It was strewnwith detached boulders, and great, jagged rocks projected everywherelike iron teeth. Tydomin pointed to a small black hole near the base, which might be a cave. "That is where I live. "

"You live here alone?"

"Yes. "

"It's an odd choice for a woman--and you are not unbeautiful, either. "

"A woman's life is over at twenty-five, " she replied, sighing. "And Iam far older than that. Ten years ago it would have been I who livedyonder, and not Oceaxe. Then all this wouldn't have happened. "

A quarter of an hour later they stood within the mouth of the cave. Itwas ten feet high, and its interior was impenetrably black. 

"Put down the body in the entrance, out of the sun, " directed Tydomin. He did so. 

She cast a keenly scrutinising glance at him. "Does your resolutionstill hold, Maskull?"

"Why shouldn't it hold? My brains are not feathers. "

"Follow me, then. "

They both stepped into the cave. At that very moment a sickening crash, like heavy thunder just over their heads, set Maskull's weakened heartthumping violently. An avalanche of boulders, stones, and dust, sweptpast the cave entrance from above. If their going in had been delayed bya single minute, they would have been killed. 

Tydomin did not even look up. She took his hand in hers, and startedwalking with him into the darkness. The temperature became as coldas ice. At the first bend the light from the outer world disappeared, leaving them in absolute blackness. Maskull kept stumbling over theuneven ground, but she kept tight hold of him, and hurried him along. 

The tunnel seemed of interminable length. Presently, however, theatmosphere changed--or such was his impression. He was somehow led toimagine that they had come to a larger chamber. Here Tydomin stopped, and then forced him down with quiet pressure. His groping handencountered stone and, by feeling it all over, he discovered that it wasa sort of stone slab, or couch, raised a foot or eighteen inches fromthe ground. She told him to lie down. 

"Has the time come?" asked Maskull. 

"Yes. "

He lay there waiting in the darkness, ignorant of what was going tohappen. He felt her hand clasping his. Without perceiving any gradation, he lost all consciousness of his body; he was no longer able to feel hislimbs or internal organs. His mind remained active and alert. Nothingparticular appeared to be taking place. 

Then the chamber began to grow light, like very early morning. He couldsee nothing, but the retina of his eyes was affected. He fancied thathe heard music, but while he was listening for it, it stopped. Thelight grew stronger, the air grew warmer; he heard the confused sound ofdistant voices. 

Suddenly Tydomin gave his hand a powerful squeeze. He heard someonescream faintly, and then the light leaped up, and he saw everythingclearly. 

He was lying on a wooden couch, in a strangely decorated room, lightedby electricity. His hand was being squeezed, not by Tydomin, but bya man dressed in the garments of civilisation, with whose face he wascertainly familiar, but under what circumstances he could not recall. Other people stood in the background--they too were vaguely known tohim. He sat up and began to smile, without any especial reason; and thenstood upright. 

Everybody seemed to be watching him with anxiety and emotion--hewondered why. Yet he felt that they were all acquaintances. Two inparticular he knew--the man at the farther end of the room, who pacedrestlessly backward and forward, his face transfigured by stern, holygrandeur; and that other big, bearded man--who was himself. Yes--he waslooking at his own double. But it was just as if a crime-riddled manof middle age were suddenly confronted with his own photograph as anearnest, idealistic youth. 

His other self spoke to him. He heard the sounds, but did not comprehendthe sense. Then the door was abruptly flung open, and a short, brutish-looking individual leaped in. He began to behave in anextraordinary manner to everyone around him; and after that camestraight up to him--Maskull. He spoke some words, but they wereincomprehensible. A terrible expression came over the newcomer's face, and he grasped his neck with a pair of hairy hands. Maskull felt hisbones bending and breaking, excruciating pains passed through all thenerves of his body, and he experienced a sense of impending death. Hecried out, and sank helplessly on the floor, in a heap. The chamber andthe company vanished--the light went out. 

Once more he found himself in the blackness of the cave. He was thistime lying on the ground, but Tydomin was still with him, holding hishand. He was in horrible bodily agony, but this was only a setting forthe despairing anguish that filled his mind. 

Tydomin addressed him in tones of gentle reproach. "Why are you back sosoon? I've not had time yet. You must return. "

He caught hold of her, and pulled himself up to his feet. She gave alow scream, as though in pain. "What does this mean--what are you doing, Maskull?"

"Krag--" began Maskull, but the effort to produce his words choked him, so that he was obliged to stop. 

"Krag--what of Krag? Tell me quickly what has happened. Free my arm. "

He gripped her arm tighter. 

"Yes, I've seen Krag. I'm awake. "

"Oh! You are awake, awake. "

"And you must die, " said Maskull, in an awful voice. 

"But why? What has happened?. .. "

"You must die, and I must kill you. Because I am awake, and for no otherreason. You blood-stained dancing mistress!"

Tydomin breathed hard for a little time. Then she seemed suddenly toregain her self-possession. 

"You won't offer me violence, surely, in this black cave?"

"No, the sun shall look on, for it is not a murder. But rest assuredthat you must die--you must expiate your fearful crimes. "

"You have already said so, and I see you have the power. You haveescaped me. It is very curious. Well, then, Maskull, let us comeoutside. I am not afraid. But kill me courteously, for I have also beencourteous to you. I make no other supplication. "

Chapter 11. ON DISSCOURN

BY THE TIME that they regained the mouth of the cavern, Blodsombre wasat its height. In front of them the scenery sloped downward--a longsuccession of mountain islands in a sea of clouds. Behind them thebright, stupendous crags of Disscourn loomed up for a thousand feet ormore. Maskull's eyes were red, and his face looked stupid; he was stillholding the woman by the arm. She made no attempt to speak, or to getaway. She seemed perfectly gentle and composed. 

After gazing at the country for along time in silence, he turned towardher. "Whereabouts is the fiery lake you spoke of?"

"It lies on the other side of the mountain. But why do you ask?"

"It is just as well if we have some way to walk. I shall grow calmer, and that's what I want. I wish you to understand that what is going tohappen is not a murder, but an execution. "

"It will taste the same, " said Tydomin. 

"When I have gone out of this country, I don't wish to feel that I haveleft a demon behind me, wandering at large. That would not be fair toothers. So we will go to the lake, which promises an easy death foryou. "

She shrugged her shoulders. "We must wait till Blodsombre is over. "

"Is this a time for luxurious feelings? However hot it is now, we willboth be cool by evening. We must start at once. "

"Without doubt, you are the master, Maskull. .. . May I not carryCrimtyphon?"

Maskull looked at her strangely. 

"I grudge no man his funeral. "

She painfully hoisted the body on her narrow shoulders, and they steppedout into the sunlight. The heat struck them like a blow on the head. Maskull moved aside, to allow her to precede him, but no compassionentered his heart. He brooded over the wrongs the woman had done him. 

The way went along the south side of the great pyramid, near its base. It was a rough road, clogged with boulders and crossed by cracks andwater gullies; they could see the water, but could not get at it. Therewas no shade. Blisters formed on their skin, while all the water intheir blood seemed to dry up. 

Maskull forgot his own tortures in his devil's delight at Tydomin's. "Sing me a song!" he called out presently. "A characteristic one. "

She turned her head and gave him a long, peculiar look; then, withoutany sort of expostulation, started singing. Her voice was low and weird. The song was so extraordinary that he had to rub his eyes to ascertainwhether he was awake or dreaming. The slow surprises of the grotesquemelody began to agitate him in a horrible fashion; the words were purenonsense--or else their significance was too deep for him. 

"Where, in the name of all unholy things, did you acquire that stuff, woman?"

Tydomin shed a sickly smile, while the corpse swayed about with ghastlyjerks over her left shoulder. She held it in position with her two leftarms. "It's a pity we could not have met as friends, Maskull. I couldhave shown you a side of Tormance which now perhaps you will never see. The wild, mad, side. But now it's too late, and it doesn't matter. "

They turned the angle of the mountain, and started to traverse thewestern base. 

"Which is the quickest way out of this miserable land?" asked Maskull. 

"It is easiest to go to Sant. "

"Will we see it from anywhere?"

"Yes, though it is a long way off. "

"Have you been there?"

"I am a woman, and interdicted. "

"True. I have heard something of the sort. "

"But don't ask me any more questions, " said Tydomin, who was becomingfaint. 

Maskull stopped at a little spring. He himself drank, and then made acup of his hand for the woman, so that she might not have to lay downher burden. The gnawl water acted like magic--it seemed to replenishall the cells of his body as though they had been thirsty sponge pores, sucking up liquid. Tydomin recovered her self-possession. 

About three-quarters of an hour later they worked around the secondcorner, and entered into full view of the north aspect of Disscourn. 

A hundred yards lower down the slope on which they were walking, themountain ended abruptly in a chasm. The air above it was filled witha sort of green haze, which trembled violently like the atmosphereimmediately over a furnace. 

"The lake is underneath, " said Tydomin. 

Maskull looked curiously about him. Beyond the crater the country slopedaway in a continuous descent to the skyline. Behind them, a narrow pathchannelled its way up through the rocks toward the towering summit ofthe pyramid. Miles away, in the north-east quarter, a long, flat-toppedplateau raised its head far above all the surrounding country. It wasSant--and there and then he made up his mind that that should be hisdestination that day. 

Tydomin meanwhile had walked straight to the gulf, and set downCrimtyphon's body on the edge. In a minute or two, Maskull joined her;arrived at the brink, he immediately flung himself at full length onhis chest, to see what could be seen of the lake of fire. A gust of hot, asphyxiating air smote his face and set him coughing, but he did not getup until he had stared his fill at the huge sea of green, molten lava, tossing and swirling at no great distance below, like a living will. 

A faint sound of drumming came up. He listened intently, and as he didso his heart quickened and the black cares rolled away from his soul. All the world and its accidents seemed at that moment false, and withoutmeaning. .. . 

He climbed abstractedly to his feet. Tydomin was talking to her deadhusband. She was peering into the hideous face of ivory, and fondlinghis violet hair. When she perceived Maskull, she hastily kissed thewithered lips, and got up from her knees. Lifting the corpse with allthree arms, she staggered with it to the extreme edge of the gulf and, after an instant's hesitation, allowed it to drop into the lava. Itdisappeared immediately without sound; a metallic splash came up. Thatwas Crimtyphon's funeral. 

"Now I am ready, Maskull. "

He did not answer, but stared past her. Another figure was standing, erect and mournful, not far behind her. It was Joiwind. Her face waswan, and there was an accusing look in her eyes. Maskull knew thatit was a phantasm, and that the real Joiwind was miles away, atPoolingdred. 

"Turn around, Tydomin, " he said oddly, "and tell me what you see behindyou. "

"I don't see anything, " she answered, looking around. 

"But I see Joiwind. "

Just as he was speaking, the apparition vanished. 

"Now I present you with your life, Tydomin. She wishes it. "

The woman fingered her chin thoughtfully. 

"I little expected I should ever be beholden for my life to one of myown sex--but so be it. What really happened to you in my cavern?"

"I really saw Krag. "

"Yes, some miracle must have taken place. " She suddenly shivered. "Come, let us leave this horrible spot. I shall never come here again. "

"Yes, " said Maskull, "it stinks of death and dying. But where are weto go--what are we to do? Take me to Sant. I must get away from thishellish land. "

Tydomin remained standing, dull and hollow-eyed. Then she gave anabrupt, bitter little laugh. "We make our journey together in singularstages. Rather than be alone, I'll come with you--but you know that if Iset foot in Sant they will kill me. "

"At least set me on the way. I wish to get there before night. Is itpossible?"

"If you are willing to take risks with nature. And why should younot take risks today? Your luck holds. But someday or other it won'thold--your luck. "

"Let us start, " said Maskull. "The luck I've had so far is nothing tobrag about. "

Blodsombre was over when they set off; it was early afternoon, butthe heat seemed more stifling than ever. They made no more pretence atconversation; both were buried in their own painful thoughts. The landfell away from Disscourn in all other directions, but toward Sant therewas a gentle, persistent rise. Its dark, distant plateau continued todominate the landscape, and after walking for an hour they seemed nonethe nearer to it. The air was stale and stagnant. 

By and by, an upright object, apparently the work of man, attractedMaskull's notice. It was a slender tree stem, with the bark still on, imbedded in the stony ground. From the upper end three branches sprangout, pointing aloft at a sharp angle. They were stripped to twigs andleaves and, getting closer, he saw that they had been artificiallyfastened on, at equal distances from each other. 

As he stared at the object, a strange, sudden flush of confident vanityand self-sufficiency seemed to pass through him, but it was so momentarythat he could be sure of nothing. 

"What may that be, Tydomin?"

"It is Hator's Trifork. "

"And what is its purpose?"

"It's a guide to Sant. "

"But who or what is Hator?"

"Hator was the founder of Sant--many thousands of years ago. He laiddown the principles they all live by, and that trifork is his symbol. When I was a little child my father told me the legends, but I'veforgotten most of them. "

Maskull regarded it attentively. 

"Does it affect you in any way?"

"And why should it do that?" she said, dropping her lip scornfully. "Iam only a woman, and these are masculine mysteries. "

"A sort of gladness came over me, " said Maskull, "but perhaps I ammistaken. "

They passed on. The scenery gradually changed in character. The solidparts of the land grew more continuous, the fissures became narrower andmore infrequent. There were now no more subsidences or upheavals. Thepeculiar nature of the Ifdawn Marest appeared to be giving place to adifferent order of things. 

Later on, they encountered a flock of pale blue jellies floating in theair. They were miniature animals. Tydomin caught one in her hand andbegan to eat it, just as one eats a luscious pear plucked from a tree. Maskull, who had fasted since early morning, was not slow in followingher example. A sort of electric vigour at once entered his limbs andbody, his muscles regained their elasticity, his heart began to beatwith hard, slow, strong throbs. 

"Food and body seem to agree well in this world, " he remarked smiling. 

She glanced toward him. "Perhaps the explanation is not in the food, butin your body. "

"I brought my body with me. "

"You brought your soul with you, but that's altering fast, too. "

In a copse they came across a short, wide tree, without leaves, butpossessing a multitude of thin, flexible branches, like the tentaclesof a cuttlefish. Some of these branches were moving rapidly. A furryanimal, somewhat resembling a wildcat, leaped about among them in themost extraordinary way. But the next minute Maskull was shocked torealise that the beast was not leaping at all, but was being thrown frombranch to branch by the volition of the tree, exactly as an imprisonedmouse is thrown by a cat from paw to paw. 

He watched the spectacle a while with morbid interest. 

"That's a gruesome reversal of roles, Tydomin. "

"One can see you're disgusted, " she replied, stifling a yawn. "But thatis because you are a slave to words. If you called that plant an animal, you would find its occupation perfectly natural and pleasing. And whyshould you not call it an animal?"

"I am quite aware that, as long as I remain in the Ifdawn Marest, Ishall go on listening to this sort of language. "

They trudged along for an hour or more without talking. The day becameovercast. A thin mist began to shroud the landscape, and the sun changedinto an immense ruddy disk which could be stared at without flinching. Achill, damp wind blew against them. Presently it grew still darker, the sun disappeared and, glancing first at his companion and then athimself, Maskull noticed that their skin and clothing were coated by akind of green hoarfrost. 

The land was now completely solid. About half a mile, in front of them, against a background of dark fog, a moving forest of tall waterspoutsgyrated slowly and gracefully hither and thither. They were green andself-luminous, and looked terrifying. Tydomin explained that they werenot waterspouts at all, but mobile columns of lightning. 

"Then they are dangerous?"

"So we think, " she answered, watching them closely. 

"Someone is wandering there who appears to have a different opinion. "

Among the spouts, and entirely encompassed by them, a man was walkingwith a slow, calm, composed gait, his back turned toward Maskull andTydomin. There was something unusual in his appearance--his form lookedextraordinarily distinct, solid, and real. 

"If there's danger, he ought to be warned, " said Maskull. 

"He who is always anxious to teach will learn nothing, " returned thewoman coolly. She restrained Maskull by a pressure of the arm, andcontinued to watch. 

The base of one of the columns touched the man. He remained unharmed, but turned sharply around, as if for the first time made aware of theproximity of these deadly waltzers. Then he raised himself to his fullheight, and stretched both arms aloft above his head, like a diver. Heseemed to be addressing the columns. 

While they looked on, the electric spouts discharged themselves, witha series of loud explosions. The stranger stood alone, uninjured. Hedropped his arms. The next moment he caught sight of the two, and stoodstill, waiting for them to come up. The pictorial clarity of his persongrew more and more noticeable as they approached; his body seemed to becomposed of some substance heavier and denser than solid matter. 

Tydomin looked perplexed. 

"He must be a Sant man. I have seen no one quite like him before. Thisis a day of days for me. "

"He must be an individual of great importance, " murmured Maskull. 

They now came up to him. He was tall, strong, and bearded, and wasclothed in a shirt and breeches of skin. Since turning his back to thewind, the green deposit on his face and limbs had changed to streamingmoisture, through which his natural colour was visible; it was that ofpale iron. There was no third arm. His face was harsh and frowning, anda projecting chin pushed the beard forward. On his forehead there weretwo flat membranes, like rudimentary eyes, but no sorb. These membraneswere expressionless, but in some strange way seemed to add vigour to thestem eyes underneath. When his glance rested on Maskull, the latter feltas though his brain were being thoroughly travelled through. The man wasmiddle-aged. 

His physical distinctness transcended nature. By contrast with him, every object in the neighbourhood looked vague and blurred. Tydomin'sperson suddenly appeared faint, sketch-like, without significance, andMaskull realised that it was no better with himself. A queer, quickeningfire began running through his veins. 

He turned to the woman. "If this man is going to Sant, I shall bear himcompany. We can now part. No doubt you will think it high time. "

"Let Tydomin come too. "

The words were delivered in a rough, foreign tongue, but were asintelligible to Maskull as if spoken in English. 

"You who know my name, also know my sex, " said Tydomin quietly. "It isdeath for me to enter Sant. "

"That is the old law. I am the bearer of the new law. "

"Is it so--and will it be accepted?"

"The old skin is cracking, the new skin has been silently formingunderneath, the moment of sloughing has arrived. "

The storm gathered. The green snow drove against them, as they stoodtalking, and it grew intensely cold. None noticed it. 

"What is your name?" asked Maskull, with a beating heart. 

"My name, Maskull, is Spadevil. You, a voyager across the dark ocean ofspace, shall be my first witness and follower. You, Tydomin, a daughterof the despised sex, shall be my second. "

"The new law? But what is it?"

"Until eye sees, of what use it is for ear to hear?. .. . Come, both ofyou, to me!"

Tydomin went to him unhesitatingly. Spadevil pressed his hand on hersorb and kept it there for a few minutes, while he closed his own eyes. When he removed it, Maskull observed that the sorb was transformed intotwin membranes like Spadevil's own. 

Tydomin looked dazed. She glanced quietly about for a little while, apparently testing her new faculty. Then the tears started to her eyesand, snatching up Spadevil's hand, she bent over and kissed it hurriedlymany times. 

"My past has been bad, " she said. "Numbers have received harm from me, and none good. I have killed and worse. But now I can throw all thataway, and laugh. Nothing can now injure me. Oh, Maskull, you and I havebeen fools together!"

"Don't you repent your crimes?" asked Maskull. 

"Leave the past alone, " said Spadevil, "it cannot be reshaped. Thefuture alone is ours. It starts fresh and clean from this very minute. Why do you hesitate, Maskull? Are you afraid?"

"What is the name of, those organs, and what is their function?"

"They are probes, and they are the gates opening into a new world. "

Maskull lingered no longer, but permitted Spadevil to cover his sorb. 

While the iron hand was still pressing his forehead, the new law quietlyflowed into his consciousness, like a smooth-running stream of cleanwater which had hitherto been dammed by his obstructive will. The lawwas duty. 

Chapter 12. SPADEVIL

Maskull found that his new organs had no independent function of theirown, but only intensified and altered his other senses. When he used hiseyes, ears, or nostrils, the same objects presented themselves to him, but his judgment concerning them was different. Previously all externalthings had existed for him; now he existed for them. According towhether they served his purpose or were in harmony with his nature, orotherwise, they had been pleasant or painful. Now these words "pleasure"and "pain" simply had no meaning. 

The other two watched him, while he was making himself acquainted withhis new mental outlook. He smiled at them. 

"You were quite right, Tydomin, " he said, in a bold, cheerful voice. "Wehave been fools. So near the light all the time, and we never guessedit. Always buried in the past or future--systematically ignoring thepresent--and now it turns out that apart from the present we have nolife at all. "

"Thank Spadevil for it, " she answered, more loudly than usual. 

Maskull looked at the man's dark, concrete form. "Spadevil, now I meanto follow you to the end. I can do nothing less. "

The severe face showed no sign of gratification--not a muscle relaxed. 

"Watch that you don't lose your gift, " he said gruffly. 

Tydomin spoke. "You promised that I should enter Sant with you. "

"Attach yourself to the truth, not to me. For I may die before you, butthe truth will accompany you to your death. However, now let us journeytogether, all three of us. "

The words had not left his mouth before he put his face against thefine, driving snow, and pressed onward toward his destination. He walkedwith a long stride; Tydomin was obliged to half run in order to keep upwith him. The three travelled abreast; Spadevil in the middle. The fogwas so dense that it was impossible to see a hundred yards ahead. Theground was covered by the green snow. The wind blew in gusts from theSant highlands and was piercingly cold. 

"Spadevil, are you a man, or more than a man?" asked Maskull. 

"He that is not more than a man is nothing. "

"Where have you now come from?"

"From brooding, Maskull. Out of no other mother can truth be born. Ihave brooded, and rejected; and I have brooded again. Now, after manymonths' absence from Sant, the truth at last shines forth for me in itssimple splendour, like an upturned diamond. "

"I see its shining, " said Maskull. "But how much does it owe to ancientHator?"

"Knowledge has its seasons. The blossom was to Hator, the fruit is tome. Hator also was a brooder--but now his followers do not brood. InSant all is icy selfishness, a living death. They hate pleasure, andthis hatred is the greatest pleasure to them. "

"But in what way have they fallen off from Hator's doctrines?"

"For him, in his sullen purity of nature, all the world was a snare, a limed twig. Knowing that pleasure was everywhere, a fierce, mockingenemy, crouching and waiting at every corner of the road of life, inorder to kill with its sweet sting the naked grandeur of the soul, heshielded himself behind pain. This also his followers do, but theydo not do it for the sake of the soul, but for the sake of vanity andpride. "

"What is the Trifork?"

"The stem, Maskull, is hatred of pleasure. The first fork isdisentanglement from the sweetness of the world. The second fork ispower over those who still writhe in the nets of illusion. The thirdfork is the healthy glow of one who steps into ice-cold water. "

"From what land did Hator come?"

"It is not said. He lived in Ifdawn for a while. There are many legendstold of him while there. "

"We have a long way to go, " said Tydomin. "Relate some of these legends, Spadevil. "

The snow had ceased, the day brightened, Branchspell reappeared like aphantom sun, but bitter blasts of wind still swept over the plain. 

"In those days, " said Spadevil, "there existed in Ifdawn a mountainisland separated by wide spaces from the land around it. A handsomegirl, who knew sorcery, caused a bridge to be constructed across whichmen and women might pass to it. Having by a false tale drawn Hator on tothis rock, she pushed at the bridge with her foot until it tumbled intothe depths below. 'You and I, Hator, are now together, and there is nomeans of separating. I wish to see how long the famous frost man canwithstand the breath, smiles and perfume of a girl. ' Hator said no word, either then or all that day. He stood till sunset like a tree trunk, andthought of other things. Then the girl grew passionate, and shookher curls. She rose from where she was sitting she looked at him, andtouched his arm; but he did not see her. She looked at him, so that allthe soul was in her eyes; and then she fell down dead. Hator awoke fromhis thoughts, and saw her lying, still warm, at his feet, a corpse. Hepassed to the mainland; but how, it is not related. "

Tydomin shuddered. "You too have met your wicked woman, Spadevil; butyour method is a nobler one. "

"Don't pity other women, " said Spadevil, "but love the right. Hator alsoonce conversed with Shaping. "

"With the Maker of the World?" said Maskull thoughtfully. 

"With the Maker of Pleasure. It is told how Shaping defended his world, and tried to force Hator to acknowledge loveliness and joy. But Hator, answering all his marvellous speeches in a few concise, iron words, showed how this joy and beauty was but another name for the bestialityof souls wallowing in luxury and sloth. Shaping smiled, and said, 'Howcomes it that your wisdom is greater than that of the Master of wisdom?'Hator said, 'My wisdom does not come from you, nor from your world, but from that other world, which you, Shaping, have vainly tried toimitate. ' Shaping replied, 'What, then, do you do in my world?' Hatorsaid, 'I am here falsely, and therefore I am subject to your falsepleasures. But I wrap myself in pain--not because it is good, butbecause I wish to keep myself as far from you as possible. For painis not yours, neither does it belong to the other world, but it is theshadow cast by your false pleasures. ' Shaping then said, 'What is thisfaraway other world of which you say "This is so--this is not so?" Howhappens it that you alone of all my creatures have knowledge of it?' ButHator spat at his feet, and said, 'You lie, Shaping. All have knowledgeof it. You, with your pretty toys, alone obscure it from our view. 'Shaping asked, 'What, then, am I?' Hator answered, 'You are the dreamerof impossible dreams. ' And then the story goes that Shaping departed, ill pleased with what had been said. "

"What other world did Hator refer to?" asked Maskull. 

"One where grandeur reigns, Maskull, just as pleasure reigns here. "

"Whether grandeur or pleasure, it makes no difference, " said Maskull. "The individual spirit that lives and wishes to live is mean andcorrupt-natured. "

"Guard you your pride!" returned Spadevil. "Do not make law for theuniverse and for all time, but for yourself and for this small, falselife of yours. "

"In what shape did death come to that hard, unconquerable man?" askedTydomin. 

"He lived to be old, but went upright and free-limbed to his last hour. When he saw that death could not be staved off longer he determined todestroy himself. He gathered his friends around him; not from vanity, but that they might see to what lengths the human soul can go in itsperpetual warfare with the voluptuous body. Standing erect, withoutsupport, he died by withholding his breath. "

A silence followed, which lasted for perhaps an hour. Their mindsrefused to acknowledge the icy winds, but the current of their thoughtsbecame frozen. 

When Branchspell, however, shone out again, though with subdued power, Maskull's curiosity rose once more. "Your fellow countrymen, then, Spadevil, are sick with self-love?"

"The men of other countries, " said Spadevil, "are the slaves of pleasureand desire, knowing it. But the men of my country are the slaves ofpleasure and desire, not knowing it. "

"And yet that proud pleasure, which rejoices in self-torture, hassomething noble in it. "

"He who studies himself at all is ignoble. Only by despising soul aswell as body can a man enter into true life. "

"On what grounds do they reject women?"

"Inasmuch as a woman has ideal love, and cannot live for herself. Lovefor another is pleasure for the loved one, and therefore injurious tohim. "

"A forest of false ideas is waiting for your axe, " said Maskull. "Butwill they allow it?"

"Spadevil knows, Maskull, " said Tydomin, "that be it today or be ittomorrow, love can't be kept out of a land, even by the disciples ofHator. "

"Beware of love--beware of emotion!" exclaimed Spadevil. "Love is butpleasure once removed. Think not of pleasing others, but of servingthem. "

"Forgive me, Spadevil, if I am still feminine. "

"Right has no sex. So long, Tydomin, as you remember that you are awoman, so long you will not enter into divine apathy of soul. "

"But where there are no women, there are no children, " said Maskull. "How came there to be all these generations of Hator men?"

"Life breeds passion, passion breeds suffering, suffering breeds theyearning for relief from suffering. Men throng to Sant from all parts, in order to have the scars of their souls healed. "

"In place of hatred of pleasure, which all can understand, what simpleformula do you offer?"

"Iron obedience to duty, " answered Spadevil. 

"And if they ask 'How far is this consistent with hatred of pleasure?'what will your pronouncement be?"

"I do not answer them, but I answer you, Maskull, who ask the question. Hatred is passion, and all passion springs from the dark fires ofself. Do not hate pleasure at all, but pass it by on one side, calm andundisturbed. "

"What is the criterion of pleasure? How can we always recognise it, inorder to avoid it?"

"Rigidly follow duty, and such questions will not arise. "

Later in the afternoon, Tydomin timidly placed her fingers on Spadevil'sarm. 

"Fearful doubts are in my mind, " she said. "This expedition to Sant mayturn out badly. I have seen a vision of you, Spadevil, and myself lyingdead and covered in blood, but Maskull was not there. "

"We may drop the torch, but it will not be extinguished, and others willraise it. "

"Show me a sign that you are not as other men--so that I may know thatour blood will not be wasted. "

Spadevil regarded her sternly. "I am not a magician. I don't persuadethe senses, but the soul. Does your duty call you to Sant, Tydomin? Thengo there. Does it not call you to Sant? Then go no farther. Is not thissimple? What signs are necessary?"

"Did I not see you dispel those spouts of lightning? No common man couldhave done that. "

"Who knows what any man can do? This man can do one thing, that man cando another. But what all men can do is their duty; and to open theireyes to this, I must go to Sant, and if necessary lay down my life. Willyou not still accompany me?"

"Yes, " said Tydomin, "I will follow you to the end. It is all the moreessential, because I keep on displeasing you with my remarks, and thatmeans I have not yet learned my lesson properly. "

"Do not be humble, for humility is only self-judgment, and while we arethinking of self, we must be neglecting some action we could be planningor shaping in our mind. "

Tydomin continued to be uneasy and preoccupied. 

"Why was Maskull not in the picture?" she asked. 

"You dwell on this foreboding because you imagine it is tragical. Thereis nothing tragical in death, Tydomin, nor in life. There is only rightand wrong. What arises from right or wrong action does not matter. Weare not gods, constructing a world, but simple men and women, doing ourimmediate duty. We may die in Sant--so you have seen it; but the truthwill go on living. "

"Spadevil, why do you choose Sant to start your work in?" asked Maskull. "These men with fixed ideas seem to me the least likely of any to followa new light. "

"Where a bad tree thrives, a good tree will flourish. But where no treeat all can be found, nothing will grow. "

"I understand you, " said Maskull. "Here perhaps we are going tomartyrdom, but elsewhere we should resemble men preaching to cattle. "

Shortly before sunset they arrived at the extremity of the uplandplain, above which towered the black cliffs of the Sant Levels. A dizzy, artificially constructed staircase, of more than a thousand steps ofvarying depth, twisting and forking in order to conform to the angles ofthe precipices, led to the world overhead. In the place where theystood they were sheltered from the cutting winds. Branchspell, radiantlyshining at last, but on the point of sinking, filled the cloudy sky withviolent, lurid colors, some of the combinations of which were new toMaskull. The circle of the horizon was so gigantic, that had he beensuddenly carried back to Earth, he would by comparison have fanciedhimself to be moving beneath the dome of some little, closed-incathedral. He realised that he was on a foreign planet. But he was notstirred or uplifted by the knowledge; he was conscious only of moralideas. Looking backward, he saw the plain, which for several milespast had been without vegetation, stretching back away to Disscourn. So regular had been the ascent, and so great was the distance, that thehuge pyramid looked nothing more than a slight swelling on the face ofthe earth. 

Spadevil stopped, and gazed over the landscape in silence. In theevening sunlight his form looked more dense, dark, and real than everbefore. His features were set hard in grimness. 

He turned around to his companions. "What is the greatest wonder, in allthis wonderful scene?" he demanded. 

"Acquaint us, " said Maskull. 

"All that you see is born from pleasure, and moves on, from pleasure topleasure. Nowhere is right to be found. It is Shaping's world. "

"There is another wonder, " said Tydomin, and she pointed her fingertoward the sky overhead. 

A small cloud, so low down that it was perhaps not more than fivehundred feet above them, was sailing along in front of the dark wallof cliff. It was in the exact shape of an open human hand, withdownward-pointing fingers. It was stained crimson by the sun; and oneor two tiny cloudlets beneath the fingers looked like falling drops ofblood. 

"Who can doubt now that our death is close at hand?" said Tydomin. "Ihave been close to death twice today. The first time I was ready, butnow I am more ready, for I shall die side by side with the man who hasgiven me my first happiness. "

"Do not think of death, but of right persistence, " replied Spadevil. "Iam not here to tremble before Shaping's portents; but to snatch men fromhim. "

He at once proceeded to lead the way up the staircase. Tydomin gazedupward after him for a moment, with an odd, worshiping light in hereyes. Then she followed him, the second of the party. Maskull climbedlast. He was travel stained, unkempt, and very tired; but his soul wasat peace. As they steadily ascended the almost perpendicular stairs, thesun got higher in the sky. Its light dyed their bodies a ruddy gold. 

They gained the top. There they found rolling in front of them, as faras the eye could see, a barren desert of white sand, broken here andthere by large, jagged masses of black rock. Tracts of the sand werereddened by the sinking sun. The vast expanse of sky was filled byevil-shaped clouds and wild colors. The freezing wind, flurrying acrossthe desert, drove the fine particles of sand painfully against theirfaces. 

"Where now do you take us?" asked Maskull. 

"He who guards the old wisdom of Sant must give up that wisdom tome, that I may change it. What he says, others will say. I go to findMaulger. "

"And where will you seek him, in this bare country?"

Spadevil struck off toward the north unhesitatingly. 

"It is not so far, " he said. "It is his custom to be in that part whereSant overhangs the Wombflash Forest. Perhaps he will be there, but Icannot say. "

Maskull glanced toward Tydomin. Her sunken cheeks, and the dark circlesbeneath her eyes told of her extreme weariness. 

"The woman is tired, Spadevil, " he said. 

She smiled, "It's but another step into the land of death. I can manageit. Give me your arm, Maskull. "

He put his arm around her waist, and supported her along that way. 

"The sun is now sinking, " said Maskull. "Will we get there before dark?"

"Fear nothing, Maskull and Tydomin; this pain is eating up the evil inyour nature. The road you are walking cannot remain unwalked. We shallarrive before dark. "

The sun then disappeared behind the far-distant ridges that formed thewestern boundary of the Ifdawn Marest. The sky blazed up into more vividcolors. The wind grew colder. 

They passed some pools of colourless gnawl water, round the banks ofwhich were planted fruit trees. Maskull ate some of the fruit. It washard, bitter, and astringent; he could not get rid of the taste, buthe felt braced and invigorated by the downward-flowing juices. No othertrees or shrubs were to be seen anywhere. No animals appeared, no birdsor insects. It was a desolate land. 

A mile or two passed, when they again approached the edge of theplateau. Far down, beneath their feet, the great Wombflash Forest began. But daylight had vanished there; Maskull's eyes rested only on a vaguedarkness. He faintly heard what sounded like the distant sighing ofinnumerable treetops. 

In the rapidly darkening twilight, they came abruptly on a man. He wasstanding in a pool, on one leg. A pile of boulders had hidden him fromtheir view. The water came as far up as his calf. A trifork, similar tothe one Maskull had seen on Disscourn, but smaller, had been stuck inthe mud close by his hand. 

They stopped by the side of the pond, and waited. Immediately he becameaware of their presence, the man set down his other leg, and waded outof the water toward them, picking up his trifork in doing so. 

"This is not Maulger, but Catice, " said Spadevil. 

"Maulger is dead, " said Catice, speaking the same tongue as Spadevil, but with an even harsher accent, so that the tympanum of Maskull's earwas affected painfully. 

The latter saw before him a bowed, powerful individual, advanced inyears. He wore nothing but a scanty loincloth. His trunk was longand heavy, but his legs were rather short. His face was beardless, lemon-coloured, and anxious-looking. It was disfigured by a number oflongitudinal ruts, a quarter of an inch deep, the cavities of whichseemed clogged with ancient dirt. The hair of his head was black andsparse. Instead of the twin membranous organs of Spadevil, he possessedbut one; and this was in the centre of his brow. 

Spadevil's dark, solid person stood out from the rest like a realityamong dreams. 

"Has the trifork passed to you?" he demanded. 

"Yes. Why have you brought this woman to Sant?"

"I have brought another thing to Sant. I have brought the new faith. "

Catice stood motionless, and looked troubled. "State it. "

"Shall I speak with many words, or few words?"

"If you wish to say what is not, many words will not suffice. If youwish to say what is, a few words will be enough. "

Spadevil frowned. 

"To hate pleasure brings pride with it. Pride is a pleasure. To killpleasure, we must attach ourselves to duty. While the mind is planningright action, it has no time to think of pleasure. "

"Is that the whole?" asked Catice. 

"The truth is simple, even for the simplest man. "

"Do you destroy Hator, and all his generations, with a single word?"

"I destroy nature, and set up law. "

A long silence followed. 

"My probe is double, " said Spadevil. "Suffer me to double yours, and youwill see as I see. "

"Come you here, you big man!" said Catice to Maskull. Maskull advanced astep closer. 

"Do you follow Spadevil in his new faith?"

"As far as death, " exclaimed Maskull. 

Catice picked up a flint. "With this stone I strike out one of yourtwo probes. When you have but one, you will see with me, and you willrecollect with Spadevil. Choose you then the superior faith, and I shallobey your choice. "

"Endure this little pain, Maskull, for the sake of future men, " saidSpadevil. 

"The pain is nothing, " replied Maskull, "but I fear the result. "

"Permit me, although I am only a woman, to take his place, Catice, " saidTydomin, stretching out her hand. 

He struck at it violently with the flint, and gashed it from wrist tothumb; the pale carmine blood spouted up. "What brings this kiss-loverto Sant?" he said. "How does she presume to make the rules of life forthe sons of Hator?"

She bit her lip, and stepped back. "Well then, Maskull, accept! Icertainly should not have played false to Spadevil; but you hardly can. "

"If he bids me, I must do it, " said Maskull. "But who knows what willcome of it?"

Spadevil spoke. "Of all the descendants of Hator, Catice is the mostwholehearted and sincere. He will trample my truth underfoot, thinkingme a demon sent by Shaping, to destroy the work of this land. But a seedwill escape, and my blood and yours, Tydomin, will wash it. Then menwill know that my destroying evil is their greatest good. But none herewill live to see that. "

Maskull now went quite close to Catice, and offered his head. Caticeraised his hand, and after holding the flint poised for a moment, brought it down with adroitness and force upon the left-hand probe. Maskull cried out with the pain. The blood streamed down, and thefunction of the organ was destroyed. 

There was a pause, while he walked to and fro, trying to staunch theblood. 

"What now do you feel, Maskull? What do you see?" inquired Tydominanxiously. 

He stopped, and stared hard at her. "I now see straight, " he saidslowly. 

"What does that mean?"

He continued to wipe the blood from his forehead. He looked troubled. "Henceforward, as long as I live, I shall fight with my nature, andrefuse to feel pleasure. And I advise you to do the same. "

Spadevil gazed at him sternly. "Do you renounce my teaching?"

Maskull, however, returned the gaze without dismay. Spadevil'simage-like clearness of form had departed for him; his frowning face heknew to be the deceptive portico of a weak and confused intellect. 

"It is false. "

"Is it false to sacrifice oneself for another?" demanded Tydomin. 

"I can't argue as yet, " said Maskull. "At this moment the world withits sweetness seems to me a sort of charnel house. I feel a loathing foreverything in it, including myself. I know no more. "

"Is there no duty?" asked Spadevil, in a harsh tone. 

"It appears to me but a cloak under which we share the pleasure of otherpeople. "

Tydomin pulled at Spadevil's arm. "Maskull has betrayed you, as he hasso many others. Let us go. "

He stood fast. "You have changed quickly, Maskull. "

Maskull, without answering him, turned to Catice. "Why do men go onliving in this soft, shameful world, when they can kill themselves?"

"Pain is the native air of Surtur's children. To what other air do youwish to escape?"

"Surtur's children? Is not Surtur Shaping?"

"It is the greatest of lies. It is Shaping's masterpiece. "

"Answer, Maskull!" said Spadevil. "Do you repudiate right action?"

"Leave me alone. Go back! I am not thinking of you, and your ideas. Iwish you no harm. "

The darkness came on fast. There was another prolonged silence. 

Catice threw away the flint, and picked up his staff. "The woman mustreturn home, " he said. 

"She was persuaded here, and did not come freely. You, Spadevil, mustdie--backslider as you are!"

Tydomin said quietly, "He has no power to enforce this. Are you going toallow the truth to fall to the ground, Spadevil?"

"It will not perish by my death, but by my efforts to escape from death. Catice, I accept your judgment. "

Tydomin smiled. "For my part, I am too tired to walk farther today, so Ishall die with him. "

Catice said to Maskull, "Prove your sincerity. Kill this man and hismistress, according to the laws of Hator. "

"I can't do that. I have travelled in friendship with them. "

"You denied duty; and now you must do your duty, " said Spadevil, calmlystroking his beard. "Whatever law you accept, You must obey, withoutturning to right or left. Your law commands that we must be stoned; andit will soon be dark. "

"Have you not even this amount of manhood?" exclaimed Tydomin. 

Maskull moved heavily. "Be my witness, Catice, that the thing was forcedon me. "

"Hator is looking on, and approving, " replied Catice. 

Maskull then went apart to the pile of boulders scattered by the sideof the pool. He glanced about him, and selected two large fragments ofrock, the heaviest that he thought he could carry. With these in hisarms, he staggered back. 

He dropped them on the ground, and stood, recovering his breath. Whenhe could speak again, he said, "I have a bad heart for the business. Isthere no alternative? Sleep here tonight, Spadevil, and in the morninggo back to where you have come from. No one shall harm you. "

Spadevil's ironic smile was lost in the gloom. 

"Shall I brood again, Maskull, for still another year, and after thatcome back to Sant with other truths? Come, waste no time, but choose theheavier stone for me, for I am stronger than Tydomin. "

Maskull lifted one of the rocks, and stepped out four full paces. Spadevil confronted him, erect, and waited tranquilly. 

The huge stone hurtled through the air. Its flight looked like a darkshadow. It struck Spadevil full in the face, crushing his features, andbreaking his neck. He died instantaneously. 

Tydomin looked away from the fallen man. 

"Be very quick, Maskull, and don't let me keep him waiting. "

He panted, and raised the second stone. She placed herself in front ofSpadevil's body, and stood there, unsmiling and cold. 

The blow caught her between breast and chin, and she fell. Maskull wentto her, and, kneeling on the ground, half-raised her in his arms. Thereshe breathed out her last sighs. 

After that, he laid her down again, and rested heavily on his hands, while he peered into the dead face. The transition from its heroic, spiritual expression to the vulgar and grinning mask of Crystalman camelike a flash; but he saw it. 

He stood up in the darkness, and pulled Catice toward him. 

"Is that the true likeness of Shaping?"

"It is Shaping stripped of illusion. "

"How comes this horrible world to exist?"

Catice did not answer. 

"Who is Surtur?"

"You will get nearer to him tomorrow; but not here. "

"I am wading through too much blood, " said Maskull. "Nothing good cancome of it. "

"Do not fear change and destruction; but laughter and joy. "

Maskull meditated. 

"Tell me, Catice. If I had elected to follow Spadevil, would you reallyhave accepted his faith?"

"He was a great-souled man, " replied Catice. "I see that the pride ofour men is only another sprouting-out of pleasure. Tomorrow I too shallleave Sant, to reflect on all this. "

Maskull shuddered. "Then these two deaths were not a necessity, but acrime!"

"His part was played and henceforward the woman would have dragged downhis ideas, with her soft love and loyalty. Regret nothing, stranger, butgo away at once out of the land. "

"Tonight? Where shall I go?"

"To Wombflash, where you will meet the deepest minds. I will put you onthe way. "

He linked his arm in Maskull's, and they walked away into the night. For a mile or more they skirted the edge of the precipice. The wind wassearching, and drove grit into their faces. Through the rifts of theclouds, stars, faint and brilliant, appeared. Maskull saw no familiarconstellations. He wondered if the sun of earth was visible, and if sowhich one it was. 

They came to the head of a rough staircase, leading down the cliffside. It resembled the one by which he had come up; but this descended to theWombflash Forest. 

"That is your path, " said Catice, "and I shall not come any farther. "

Maskull detained him. "Say just this, before we part company--why doespleasure appear so shameful to us?"

"Because in feeling pleasure, we forget our home. "

"And that is--"

"Muspel, " answered Catice. 

Having made this reply, he disengaged himself, and, turning his back, disappeared into the darkness. 

Maskull stumbled down the staircase as best he could. He was tired, but contemptuous of his pains. His uninjured probe began to dischargematter. He lowered himself from step to step during what seemed aninterminable time. The rustling and sighing of the trees grew louder ashe approached the bottom; the air became still and warm. 

He at last reached level ground. Still attempting to proceed, he beganto trip over roots, and to collide with tree trunks. After this hadhappened a few times, he determined to go no farther that night. Heheaped together some dry leaves for a pillow, and immediately flunghimself down to sleep. Deep and heavy unconsciousness seized him almostinstantly. 

Chapter 13. THE WOMBFLASH FOREST

He awoke to his third day on Tormance. His limbs ached. He lay on hisside, looking stupidly at his surroundings. The forest was like night, but that period of the night when the grey dawn is about to break andobjects begin to be guessed at, rather than seen. Two or three amazingshadowy shapes, as broad as houses, loomed up out of the twilight. Hedid not realise that they were trees, until he turned over on his backand followed their course upward. Far overhead, so high up that he darednot calculate the height, he saw their tops glittering in the sunlight, against a tiny patch of blue sky. 

Clouds of mist, rolling over the floor of the forest, kept interruptinghis view. In their silent passage they were like phantoms flitting amongthe trees. The leaves underneath him were sodden, and heavy drops ofmoisture splashed onto his head from time to time. 

He continued lying there, trying to reconstruct the events of thepreceding day. His brain was lethargic and confused. Something terriblehad happened, but what it was he could not for a long time recollect. Then suddenly there came before his eyes that ghastly closing scene atdusk on the Sant plateau--Spadevil's crushed and bloody features andTydomin's dying sighs. .. . He shuddered convulsively, and felt sick. 

The peculiar moral outlook that had dictated these brutal murders haddeparted from him during the night, and now he recognised what hehad done! During the whole of the previous day he seemed to havebeen labouring under a series of heavy enchantments. First Oceaxe hadenslaved him, then Tydomin, then Spadevil, and lastly Catice. Theyhad forced him to murder and violate; he had guessed nothing, but hadimagined that he was travelling as a free and enlightened stranger. What was this nightmare journey for--and would it continue, in the sameway?. .. 

The silence of the forest was so intense that he heard no sound exceptthe pumping of blood through his arteries. 

Putting his hand to his face, he found that his remaining probe haddisappeared and that he was in possession of three eyes. The third eyewas on his forehead, where the old sorb had been. He could not guess itsuse. He still had his third arm, but it was nerveless. 

Now he puzzled his head for a long time, trying unsuccessfully to recallthat name which had been the last word spoken by Catice. 

He got up, with the intention of resuming his journey. He had no toiletto make, and no meal to prepare. The forest was tremendous. The nearesttree appeared to him to have a circumference of at least a hundred feet. Other dim boles looked equally large. But what gave the scene its aspectof immensity was the vast spaces separating tree from tree. It waslike some gigantic, supernatural hall in a life after death. Thelowest branches were fifty yards or more from the ground. There wasno underbrush; the soil was carpeted only by the dead, wet leaves. Helooked all around him, to find his direction, but the cliffs of Sant, which he had descended, were invisible--every way was like every otherway, he had no idea which quarter to attack. He grew frightened, andmuttered to himself. Craning his neck back, he stared upward andtried to discover the points of the compass from the direction of thesunlight, but it was impossible. 

While he was standing there, anxious and hesitating, he heard the drumtaps. The rhythmical beats proceeded from some distance off. The unseendrummer seemed to be marching through the forest, away from him. 

"Surtur!" he said, under his breath. The next moment he marvelled athimself for uttering the name. That mysterious being had not been in histhoughts, nor was there any ostensible connection between him and thedrumming. 

He began to reflect--but in the meantime the sounds were travellingaway. Automatically he started walking in the same direction. The drumbeats had this peculiarity--though odd and mystical, there was nothingawe-inspiring in them, but on the contrary they reminded him of someplace and some life with which he was perfectly familiar. Once againthey caused all his other sense impressions to appear false. 

The sounds were intermittent. They would go on for a minute, or forfive minutes, and then cease for perhaps a quarter of an hour. Maskullfollowed them as well as he could. He walked hard among the huge, indistinct trees, in the attempt to come up with the origin of thenoise, but the same distance always seemed to separate them. The forestfrom now onward descended. The gradient was mostly gentle--about onefoot in ten--but in some places it was much steeper, and in other partsagain it was practically level ground for quite long stretches. Therewere great swampy marshes, through which Maskull was obliged to splash. It was a matter of indifference to him how wet he became--if only hecould catch sight of that individual with the drum. Mile after mile wascovered, and still he was no nearer to doing so. 

The gloom of the forest settled down upon his spirits. He feltdespondent, tired, and savage. He had not heard the drum beats for somewhile, and was half inclined to discontinue the pursuit. 

Passing around a great, columnar tree trunk, he almost stumbled againsta man who was standing on the farther side. He was leaning againstthe trunk with one hand, in an attitude of repose. His other hand wasresting on a staff. Maskull stopped short and started at him. 

He was nearly naked, and of gigantic build. He over-topped Maskull by ahead. His face and body were faintly phosphorescent. His eyes--three innumber--were pale green and luminous, shining like lamps. His skin washairless, but the hair of his head was piled up in thick, black coils, and fastened like a woman's. His features were absolutely tranquil, buta terrible, quiet energy seemed to lie just underneath the surface. 

Maskull addressed him. "Did the drumming come from you?"

The man shook his head. 

"What is your name?"

He replied in a strange, strained, twisted voice. Maskull gathered thatthe name he gave was "Dreamsinter. "

"What is that drumming?"

"Surtur, " said Dreamsinter. 

"Is it advisable for me to follow it?"

"Why?"

"Perhaps he intends me to. He brought me here from Earth. "

Dreamsinter caught hold of him, bent down, and peered into his face. "Not you, but Nightspore. "

This was the first time that Maskull had heard Nightspore's name sincehis arrival on the planet. He was so astonished that he could frame nomore questions. 

"Eat this, " said Dreamsinter. "Then we will chase the sound together. "He picked something up from the ground and handed it to Maskull. Hecould not see distinctly, but it felt like a hard, round nut, of thesize of a fist. 

"I can't crack it. "

Dreamsinter took it between his hands, and broke it into pieces. Maskullthen ate some of the pulpy interior, which was intensely disagreeable. 

"What am I doing in Tormance, then?" he asked. 

"You came to steal Muspel-fire, to give a deeper life to men--neverdoubting if your soul could endure that burning. "

Maskull could hardly decipher the strangled words. 

"Muspel. .. . That's the name I've been trying to remember ever since Iawoke. "

Dreamsinter suddenly turned his head sideways, and appeared to listenfor something. He motioned with his hand to Maskull to keep quiet. 

"Is it the drumming?"

"Hush! They come. "

He was looking toward the upper forest. The now familiar drum rhythm washeard--this time accompanied by the tramp of marching feet. 

Maskull saw, marching through the trees and heading toward them, threemen in single file separated from one another by only a yard or so. Theywere travelling down hill at a swift pace, and looked neither to leftnor right. They were naked. Their figures were shining against the blackbackground of the forest with a pale, supernatural light--green andghostly. When they were abreast of him, about twenty feet off, heperceived who they were. The first man was himself--Maskull. The secondwas Krag. The third man was Nightspore. Their faces were grim and set. 

The source of the drumming was out of sight. The sound appeared to comefrom some point in front of them. Maskull and Dreamsinter put themselvesin motion, to keep up with the swiftly moving marchers. At the same timea low, faint music began. 

Its rhythm stepped with the drum beats, but, unlike the latter, itdid not seem to proceed from any particular quarter of the forest. Itresembled the subjective music heard in dreams, which accompanies thedreamer everywhere, as a sort of natural atmosphere, rendering all hisexperiences emotional. It seemed to issue from an unearthly orchestra, and was strongly troubled, pathetic and tragic. Maskull marched, andlistened; and as he listened, it grew louder and stormier. But the pulseof the drum interpenetrated all the other sounds, like the quiet beatingof reality. 

His emotion deepened. He could not have said if minutes or hours werepassing. The spectral procession marched on, a little way ahead, ona path parallel with his own and Dreamsinter's. The music pulsatedviolently. Krag lifted his arm, and displayed a long, murderous-lookingknife. He sprang forward and, raising it over the phantom Maskull'sback, stabbed him twice, leaving the knife in the wound the second time. Maskull threw up his arms, and fell down dead. Krag leaped into theforest and vanished from sight. Nightspore marched on alone, stern andunmoved. 

The music rose to crescendo. The whole dim, gigantic forest was roaringwith sound. The tones came from all sides, from above, from the groundunder their feet. It was so grandly passionate that Maskull felt hissoul loosening from its bodily envelope. 

He continued to follow Nightspore. A strange brightness began to glow infront of them. It was not daylight, but a radiance such as he had neverseen before, and such as he could not have imagined to be possible. Nightspore moved straight toward it. Maskull felt his chest bursting. The light flashed higher. The awful harmonies of the music followed hardone upon another, like the waves of a wild, magic ocean. .. . His body wasincapable of enduring such shocks, and all of a sudden he tumbled overin a faint that resembled death. 

Chapter 14. POLECRAB

The morning slowly passed. Maskull made some convulsive movements, andopened his eyes. He sat up, blinking. All was night-like and silentin the forest. The strange light had gone, the music had ceased, Dreamsinter had vanished. He fingered his beard, clotted with Tydomin'sblood, and fell into a deep muse. 

"According to Panawe and Catice, this forest contains wise men. PerhapsDreamsinter was one. Perhaps that vision I have just seen was a specimenof his wisdom. It looked almost like an answer to my question. .. . Iought not to have asked about myself, but about Surtur. Then I wouldhave got a different answer. I might have learned something. .. I mighthave seen him. "

He remained quiet and apathetic for a bit. 

"But I couldn't face that awful glare, " he proceeded. "It was burstingmy body. He warned me, too. And so Surtur does really exist, and myjourney stands for something. But why am I here, and what can I do? Whois Surtur? Where is he to be found?"

Something wild came into his eyes. 

"What did Dreamsinter mean by his 'Not you, but Nightspore'? Am I asecondary character--is he regarded as important; and I as unimportant?Where is Nightspore, and what is he doing? Am I to wait for his time andpleasure--can I originate nothing?"

He continued sitting up, with straight-extended legs. 

"I must make up my mind that this is a strange journey, and that thestrangest things will happen in it. It's no use making plans, forI can't see two steps ahead--everything is unknown. But one thing'sevident: nothing but the wildest audacity will carry me through, and Imust sacrifice everything else to that. And therefore if Surtur showshimself again, I shall go forward to meet him, even if it means death. "

Through the black, quiet aisles of the forest the drum beats cameagain. The sound was a long way off and very faint. It was like the lastmutterings of thunder after a heavy storm. Maskull listened, withoutgetting up. The drumming faded into silence, and did not return. 

He smiled queerly, and said aloud, "Thanks, Surtur! I accept the omen. "

When he was about to get up, he found that the shrivelled skin that hadbeen his third arm was flapping disconcertingly with every movement ofhis body. He made perforations in it all around, as close to his chestas possible, with the fingernails of both hands; then he carefullytwisted it off. In that world of rapid growth and ungrowth he judgedthat the stump would soon disappear. After that, he rose and peered intothe darkness. 

The forest at that point sloped rather steeply and, without thinkingtwice about it, he took the downhill direction, never doubting it wouldbring him somewhere. As soon as he started walking, his temper becamegloomy and morose--he was shaken, tired, dirty, and languid with hunger;moreover, he realised that the walk was not going to be a short one. Bethat as it may, he determined to sit down no more until the whole dismalforest was at his back. 

One after another the shadowy, houselike trees were observed, avoided, and passed. Far overhead the little patch of glowing sky was stillalways visible; otherwise he had no clue to the time of day. Hecontinued tramping sullenly down the slope for many damp, slipperymiles--in some places through bogs. When, presently, the twilight seemedto thin, he guessed that the open world was not far away. The forestgrew more palpable and grey, and now he saw its majesty better. The treetrunks were like round towers, and so wide were the intervals that theyresembled natural amphitheatres. He could not make out the colour ofthe bark. Everything he saw amazed him, but his admiration was of thegrowling, grudging kind. The difference in light between the forestbehind him and the forest ahead became so marked that he could no longerdoubt that he was on the point of coming out. 

Real light was in front of him; looking back, he found he had a shadow. The trunks acquired a reddish tint. He quickened his pace. As theminutes went by, the bright patch ahead grew luminous and vivid; it hada tinge of blue. He also imagined that he heard the sound of surf. 

All that part of the forest toward which he was moving became rich withcolour. The boles of the trees were of a deep, dark red; their leaves, high above his head, were ulfire-hued; the dead leaves on the groundwere of a colour he could not name. At the same time he discovered theuse of his third eye. By adding a third angle to his sight, everyobject he looked at stood out in greater relief. The world looked lessflat--more realistic and significant. He had a stronger attractiontoward his surroundings; he seemed somehow to lose his egotism, and tobecome free and thoughtful. 

Now through the last trees he saw full daylight. Less than half a mileseparated him from the border of the forest, and, eager to discoverwhat lay beyond, he broke into a run. He heard the surf louder. It wasa peculiar hissing sound that could proceed only from water, yet wasunlike the sea. Almost immediately he came within sight of an enormoushorizon of dancing waves, which he knew must be the Sinking Sea. He fellback into a quick walk, continuing to stare hard. The wind that met himwas hot, fresh and sweet. 

When he arrived at the final fringe of forest, which joined the widesands of the shore without any change of level, he leaned with his backto a great tree and gazed his fill, motionless, at what lay in front ofhim. The sands continued east and west in a straight line, broken onlyhere and there by a few creeks. They were of a brilliant orange colour, but there were patches of violet. The forest appeared to stand sentinelover the shore for its entire length. Everything else was sea andsky--he had never seen so much water. The semicircle of the skylinewas so vast that he might have imagined himself on a flat world, witha range of vision determined only by the power of his eye. The sea wasunlike any sea on Earth. It resembled an immense liquid opal. On a bodycolour of rich, magnificent emerald-green, flashes of red, yellow, andblue were everywhere shooting up and vanishing. The wave motion wasextraordinary. Pinnacles of water were slowly formed until they attaineda height of perhaps ten or twenty feet, when they would suddenly sinkdownward and outward, creating in their descent a series of concentricrings for long distances around them. Quickly moving currents, likerivers in the sea, could be seen, racing away from land; they were ofa darker green and bore no pinnacles. Where the sea met the shore, the waves rushed over the sands far in, with almost sinisterrapidity--accompanied by a weird, hissing, spitting sound, which waswhat Maskull had heard. The green tongues rolled in without foam. 

About twenty miles distant, as he judged, directly opposite him, along, low island stood up from the sea, black and not distinguished inoutline. It was Swaylone's Island. Maskull was less interested in thatthan in the blue sunset that glowed behind its back. Alppain hadset, but the whole northern sky was plunged into the minor key by itsafterlight. Branchspell in the zenith was white and overpowering, theday was cloudless and terrifically hot; but where the blue sun had sunk, a sombre shadow seemed to overhang the world. Maskull had a feelingof disintegration--just as if two chemically distinct forces weresimultaneously acting upon the cells of his body. Since the afterglow ofAlppain affected him like this, he thought it more than likely that hewould never be able to face that sun itself, and go on living. Still, some modification might happen to him that would make it possible. 

The sea tempted him. He made up his mind to bathe, and at once walkedtoward the shore. The instant he stepped outside the shadow line of theforest trees, the blinding rays of the sun beat down on him so savagelythat for a few minutes he felt sick and his head swam. He trod quicklyacross the sands. The orange-coloured parts were nearly hot enough toroast food, he judged, but the violet parts were like fire itself. Hestepped on a patch in ignorance, and immediately jumped high into theair with a startled yell. 

The sea was voluptuously warm. It would not bear his weight, so hedetermined to try swimming. First of all he stripped off his skingarment, washed it thoroughly with sand and water, and laid it in thesun to dry. Then he scrubbed himself as well as he could and washed outhis beard and hair. After that, he waded in a long way, until the waterreached his breast, and took to swimming--avoiding the spouts as faras possible He found it no pastime. The water was everywhere of unequaldensity. In some places he could swim, in others he could barely savehimself from drowning, in others again he could not force himselfbeneath the surface at all. There were no outward signs to show whatthe water ahead held in store for him. The whole business was mostdangerous. 

He came out, feeling clean and invigorated. For a time he walked up anddown the sands, drying himself in the hot sunshine and looking aroundhim. He was a naked stranger in a huge, foreign, mystical world, andwhichever way he turned, unknown and threatening forces were glaringat him. The gigantic, white, withering Branchspell, the awful, body-changing Alppain, the beautiful, deadly, treacherous sea, the darkand eerie Swaylone's Island, the spirit-crushing forest out of which hehad just escaped--to all these mighty powers, surrounding him on everyside, what resources had he, a feeble, ignorant traveller to oppose, from a tiny planet on the other side of space, to avoid being utterlydestroyed?. .. Then he smiled to himself. "I've already been here twodays, and still I survive. I have luck--and with that one can balancethe universe. But what is luck--a verbal expression, or a thing?"

As he was putting on his skin, which was now dry, the answer came tohim, and this time he was grave. "Surtur brought me here, and Surturis watching over me. That is my 'luck. '. .. But what is Surtur inthis world?. .. How is he able to protect me against the blind andungovernable forces of nature? Is he stronger than Nature?. .. "

Hungry as he was for food, he was hungrier still for human society, forhe wished to inquire about all these things. He asked himself which wayhe should turn his steps. There were only two ways; along the shore, either east or west. The nearest creek lay to the east, cutting thesands about a mile away. He walked toward it. 

The forest face was forbidding and enormously high. It was so squarelyturned to the sea that it looked as though it had been planed by tools. Maskull strode along in the shade of the trees, but kept his headconstantly turned away from them, toward the sea--there it was morecheerful. The creek, when he reached it, proved to be broad andflat-banked. It was not a river, but an arm of the sea. Its still, darkgreen water curved around a bend out of sight, into the forest. Thetrees on both banks overhung the water, so that it was completely inshadow. 

He went as far as the bend, beyond which another short reach appeared. A man was sitting on a narrow shelf of bank, with his feet in the water. He was clothed in a coarse, rough hide, which left his limbs bare. Hewas short, thick, and sturdy, with short legs and a long, powerful arms, terminating in hands of an extraordinary size. He was oldish. His facewas plain, slablike, and expressionless; it was full of wrinkles, andwalnut-coloured. Both face and head were bald, and his skin was toughand leathery. He seemed to be some sort of peasant, or fisherman; therewas no trace in his face of thought for others, or delicacy of feeling. He possessed three eyes, of different colors--jade-green, blue, andulfire. 

In front of him, riding on the water, moored to the bank, was anelementary raft, consisting of the branches of trees, clumsily cordedtogether. 

Maskull addressed him. "Are you another of the wise men of the WombflashForest?"

The man answered him in a gruff, husky voice, looking up as he did so. "I'm a fisherman. I know nothing about wisdom. "

"What name do you go by?"

"Polecrab. What's yours?"

"Maskull. If you're a fisherman, you ought to have fish. I'm famishing. "

Polecrab grunted, and paused a minute before answering. 

"There's fish enough. My dinner is cooking in the sands now. It's easyenough to get you some more. "

Maskull found this a pleasant speech. 

"But how long will it take?" he asked. 

The man slid the palms of his hands together, producing a shrill, screeching noise. He lifted his feet from the water, and clambered ontothe bank. In a minute or two a curious little beast came crawling up tohis feet, turning its face and eyes up affectionately, like a dog. Itwas about two feet long, and somewhat resembled a small seal, but hadsix legs, ending in strong claws. 

"Arg, go fish!" said Polecrab hoarsely. 

The animal immediately tumbled off the bank into the water. It swamgracefully to the middle of the creek and made a pivotal dive beneaththe surface, where it remained a great while. 

"Simple fishing, " remarked Maskull. "But what's the raft for?"

"To go to sea with. The best fish are out at sea. These are eatable. "

"That arg seems a highly intelligent creature. "

Polecrab grunted again. "I've trained close on a hundred of them. Thebigheads learn best, but they're slow swimmers. The narrowheadsswim like eels, but can't be taught. Now I've started interbreedingthem--he's one of them. "

"Do you live here alone?"

"No, I've got a wife and three boys. My wife's sleeping somewhere, butwhere the lads are, Shaping knows. "

Maskull began to feel very much at home with this unsophisticated being. 

"The raft's all crazy, " he remarked, staring at it. "If you go far outin that, you've got more pluck than I have. "

"I've been to Matterplay on it, " said Polecrab. 

The arg reappeared and started swimming to shore, but this timeclumsily, as if it were bearing a heavy weight under the surface. Whenit landed at its master's feet, they saw that each set of claws wasclutching a fish--six in all. Polecrab took them from it. He proceededto cut off the heads and tails with a sharp-edged stone which he pickedup; these he threw to the arg, which devoured them without any fuss. 

Polecrab beckoned to Maskull to follow him and, carrying the fish, walked toward the open shore, by the same way that he had come. Whenthey reached the sands, he sliced the fish, removed the entrails, anddigging a shallow hole in a patch of violet sand, placed the remainderof the carcasses in it, and covered them over again. Then he dug up hisown dinner. Maskull's nostrils quivered at the savoury smell, but he wasnot yet to dine. 

Polecrab, turning to go with the cooked fish in his hands, said, "Theseare mine, not yours. When yours are done, you can come back and join me, supposing you want company. "

"How soon will that be?"

"About twenty minutes, " replied the fisherman, over his shoulder. 

Maskull sheltered himself in the shadows of the forest, and waited. Whenthe time had approximately elapsed, he disinterred his meal, scorchinghis fingers in the operation, although it was only the surface of thesand which was so intensely hot. Then he returned to Polecrab. 

In the warm, still air and cheerful shade of the inlet, they munched insilence, looking from their food to the sluggish water, and back again. With every mouthful Maskull felt his strength returning. He finishedbefore Polecrab, who ate like a man for whom time has no value. When hehad done, he stood up. 

"Come and drink, " he said, in his husky voice. 

Maskull looked at him inquiringly. 

The man led him a little way into the forest, and walked straight upto a certain tree. At a convenient height in its trunk a hole had beentapped and plugged. Polecrab removed the plug and put his mouth to theaperture, sucking for quite a long time, like a child at its mother'sbreast. Maskull, watching him, imagined that he saw his eyes growingbrighter. 

When his own turn came to drink, he found the juice of the tree somewhatlike coconut milk in flavour, but intoxicating. It was a new sortof intoxication, however, for neither his will not his emotions wereexcited, but only his intellect--and that only in a certain way. Histhoughts and images were not freed and loosened, but on the contrarykept labouring and swelling painfully, until they reached the fullbeauty of an aperu{sic}, which would then flame up in his consciousness, burst, and vanish. After that, the whole process started over again. Butthere was never a moment when he was not perfectly cool, and master ofhis senses. When each had drunk twice, Polecrab replugged the hole, andthey returned to their bank. 

"Is it Blodsombre yet?" asked Maskull, sprawling on the ground, wellcontent. 

Polecrab resumed his old upright sitting posture, with his feet in thewater. "Just beginning, " was his hoarse response. 

"Then I must stay here till it's over. .. . Shall we talk?"

"We can, " said the other, without enthusiasm. 

Maskull glanced at him through half-closed lids, wondering if he wereexactly what he seemed to be. In his eyes he thought he detected a wiselight. 

"Have you travelled much, Polecrab?"

"Not what you would call travelling. "

"You tell me you've been to Matterplay--what kind of country is that?"

"I don't know. I went there to pick up flints. "

"What countries lie beyond it?"

"Threal comes next, as you go north. They say it's a land of mystics. .. I don't know. "

"Mystics?"

"So I'm told. .. . Still farther north there's Lichstorm. "

"Now we're going far afield. "

"There are mountains there--and altogether it must be a very dangerousplace, especially for a full-blooded man like you. Take care ofyourself. "

"This is rather premature, Polecrab. How do you know I'm going there?"

"As you've come from the south, I suppose you'll go north. "

"Well, that's right enough, " said Maskull, staring hard at him. "But howdo you know I've come from the south?"

"Well, then, perhaps you haven't--but there's a look of Ifdawn aboutyou. "

"What kind of look?"

"A tragical look, " said Polecrab. He never even glanced at Maskull, butwas gazing at a fixed spot on the water with unblinking eyes. 

"What lies beyond Lichstorm?" asked Maskull, after a minute or two. 

"Barey, where you have two suns instead of one--but beyond that fact Iknow nothing about it. .. . Then comes the ocean. "

"And what's on the other side of the ocean?"

"That you must find out for yourself, for I doubt if anybody has evercrossed it and come back. "

Maskull was silent for a little while. 

"How is it that your people are so unadventurous? I seem to be the onlyone travelling from curiosity. "

"What do you mean by 'your people'?"

"True--you don't know that I don't belong to your planet at all. I'vecome from another world, Polecrab. "

"What to find?"

"I came here with Krag and Nightspore--to follow Surtur. I must havefainted the moment I arrived. When I sat up, it was night and the othershad--vanished. Since then I've been travelling at random. "

Polecrab scratched his nose. "You haven't found Surtur yet?"

"I've heard his drum taps frequently. In the forest this morning I camequite close to him. Then two days ago, in the Lusion Plain, I saw avision--a being in man's shape, who called himself Surtur. "

"Well, maybe it was Surtur. "

"No, that's impossible, " replied Maskull reflectively. "It wasCrystalman. And it isn't a question of my suspecting it--I know it. "

"How?"

"Because this is Crystalman's world, and Surtur's world is somethingquite different. "

"That's queer, then, " said Polecrab. 

"Since I've come out of that forest, " proceeded Maskull, talking halfto himself, "a change has come over me, and I see things differently. Everything here looks much more solid and real in my eyes than inother places so much so that I can't entertain the least doubt of itsexistence. It not only looks real, it is real--and on that I would stakemy life. .. . But at the same time that it's real, it is false. "

"Like a dream?"

"No--not at all like a dream, and that's just what I want to explain. This world of yours--and perhaps of mine too, for that matter--doesn'tgive me the slightest impression of a dream, or an illusion, or anythingof that sort. I know it's really here at this moment, and it's exactlyas we're seeing it, you and I. Yet it's false. It's false in this sense, Polecrab. Side by side with it another world exists, and that otherworld is the true one, and this one is all false and deceitful, to thevery core. And so it occurs to me that reality and falseness are twowords for the same thing. "

"Perhaps there is such another world, " said Polecrab huskily. "But didthat vision also seem real and false to you?"

"Very real, but not false then, for then I didn't understand all this. But just because it was real, it couldn't have been Surtur, who has noconnection with reality. "

"Didn't those drum taps sound real to you?"

"I had to hear them with my ears, and so they sounded real to me. Still, they were somehow different, and they certainly came from Surtur. If Ididn't hear them correctly, that was my fault and not his. "

Polecrab growled a little. "If Surtur chooses to speak to you in thatfashion, it appears he's trying to say something. "

"What else can I think? But, Polecrab, what's your opinion--is hecalling me to the life after death?"

The old man stirred uneasily. "I'm a fisherman, " he said, after a minuteor two. "I live by killing, and so does everybody. This life seems to meall wrong. So maybe life of any kind is wrong, and Surtur's world is notlife at all, but something else. "

"Yes, but will death lead me to it, whatever it is?"

"Ask the dead, " said Polecrab, "and not a living man. "

Maskull continued. "In the forest I heard music and saw a light, whichcould not have belonged to this world. They were too strong for mysenses, and I must have fainted for a long time. There was a vision aswell, in which I saw myself killed, while Nightspore walked on towardthe light, alone. "

Polecrab uttered his grunt. "You have enough to think over. "

A short silence ensued, which was broken by Maskull. 

"So strong is my sense of the untruth of this present life, that it maycome to my putting an end to myself. " The fisherman remained quiet andimmobile. 

Maskull lay on his stomach, propped his face on his hands, and stared athim. "What do you think, Polecrab? Is it possible for any man, while inthe body, to gain a closer view of that other world than I have done?"

"I am an ignorant man, stranger, so I can't say. Perhaps there are manyothers like you who would gladly know. "

"Where? I should like to meet them. "

"Do you think you were made of one stuff, and the rest of mankind ofanother stuff?"

"I can't be so presumptuous. Possibly all men are reaching out towardMuspel, in most cases without being aware of it. "

"In the wrong direction, " said Polecrab. 

Maskull gave him a strange look. "How so?"

"I don't speak from my own wisdom, " said Polecrab, "for I have none; butI have just now recalled what Broodviol once told me, when I was a youngman, and he was an old one. He said that Crystalman tries to turn allthings into one, and that whichever way his shapes march, in orderto escape from him, they find themselves again face to face withCrystalman, and are changed into new crystals. But that this marching ofshapes (which we call 'forking') springs from the unconscious desireto find Surtur, but is in the opposite direction to the right one. For Surtur's world does not lie on this side of the one, which wasthe beginning of life, but on the other side; and to get to it wemust repass through the one. But this can only be by renouncing ourself-life, and reuniting ourselves to the whole of Crystalman's world. And when this has been done, it is only the first stage of the journey;though many good men imagine it to be the whole journey. .. . As far as Ican remember, that is what Broodviol said, but perhaps, as I was thena young and ignorant man, I may have left out words which would explainhis meaning better. "

Maskull, who had listened attentively to all this, remained thoughtfulat the end. 

"It's plain enough, " he said. "But what did he mean by our reunitingourselves to Crystalman's world? If it is false, are we to makeourselves false as well?"

"I didn't ask him that question, and you are as well qualified to answerit as I am. "

"He must have meant that, as it is, we are each of us living in a false, private world of our own, a world of dreams and appetites and distortedperceptions. By embracing the great world we certainly lose nothing intruth and reality. "

Polecrab withdrew his feet from the water, stood up, yawned, andstretched his limbs. 

"I have told you all I know, " he said in a surly voice. "Now let me goto sleep. "

Maskull kept his eyes fixed on him, but made no reply. The old man lethimself down stiffly on to the ground, and prepared to rest. 

While he was still arranging his position to his liking, a footfallsounded behind the two men, coming from the direction of the forest. Maskull twisted his neck, and saw a woman approaching them. He at onceguessed that it was Polecrab's wife. He sat up, but the fisherman didnot stir. The woman came and stood in front of them, looking down fromwhat appeared a great height. 

Her dress was similar to her husband's, but covered her limbs more. Shewas young, tall, slender, and strikingly erect. Her skin was lightlytanned, and she looked strong, but not at all peasantlike. Refinementwas stamped all over her. Her face had too much energy of expression fora woman, and she was not beautiful. Her three great eyes kept flashingand glowing. She had great masses of fine, yellow hair, coiled up andfastened, but so carelessly that some of the strands were flowing downher back. 

When she spoke, it was in a rather weak voice, but full of lights andshades, and somehow intense passionateness never seemed to be far awayfrom it. 

"Forgiveness is asked for listening to your conversation, " she said, addressing Maskull. "I was resting behind the tree, and heard it all. "

He got up slowly. "Are you Polecrab's wife?"

"She is my wife, " said Polecrab, "and her name is Gleameil. Sit downagain, stranger--and you too, wife, since you are here. "

They both obeyed. "I heard everything, " repeated Gleameil. "But what Idid not hear was where you are going to, Maskull, after you have leftus. "

"I know no more than you do. "

"Listen, then. There's only one place for you to go to, and that isSwaylone's Island. I will ferry you across myself before sunset. "

"What shall I find there?"

"He may go, wife, " put in the old man hoarsely, "but I won't allow youto go. I will take him over myself. "

"No, you have always put me off, " said Gleameil, with some emotion. "This time I mean to go. When Teargeld shines at night, and I sit on theshore here, listening to Earthrid's music travelling faintly across thesea, I am tortured--I can't endure it. .. . I have long since made up mymind to go to the island, and see what this music is. If it's bad, if itkills me--well. "

"What have I to do with the man and his music, Gleameil?" demandedMaskull. 

"I think the music will answer all your questions better than Polecrabhas done--and possibly in a way that will surprise you. "

"What kind of music can it be to travel all those miles across the sea?"

"A peculiar kind, so we are told. Not pleasant, but painful. And the manthat can play the instrument of Earthrid would be able to conjure up themost astonishing forms, which are not phantasms, but realities. "

"That may be so, " growled Polecrab. "But I have been to the island bydaylight, and what did I find there? Human bones, new and ancient. Thoseare Earthrid's victims. And you, wife, shall not go. "

"But will that music play tonight?" asked Maskull. 

"Yes, " replied Gleameil, gazing at him intently. "When Teargeld rises, which is our moon. "

"If Earthrid plays men to death, it appears to me that his own death isdue. In any case I should like to hear those sounds for myself. But asfor taking you with me, Gleameil--women die too easily in Tormance. Ihave only just now washed myself clean of the death blood of anotherwoman. "

Gleameil laughed, but said nothing. 

"Now go to sleep, " said Polecrab. "When the time comes, I will take youacross myself. "

He lay down again, and closed his eyes. Maskull followed his example;but Gleameil remained sitting erect, with her legs under her. 

"Who was that other woman, Maskull?" she asked presently. 

He did not answer, but pretended to sleep. 

Chapter 15. SWALONE'S ISLAND

When he awoke, the day was not so bright, and he guessed it was lateafternoon. Polecrab and his wife were both on their feet, and anothermeal of fish had been cooked and was waiting for him. 

"Is it decided who is to go with me?" he asked, before sitting down. 

"I go, " said Gleameil. 

"Do you agree, Polecrab?"

The fisherman growled a little in his throat and motioned to the othersto take their seats. He took a mouthful before answering. 

"Something strong is attracting her, and I can't hold her back. I don'tthink I shall see you again, wife, but the lads are now nearly oldenough to fend for themselves. "

"Don't take dejected views, " replied Gleameil sternly. She was noteating. "I shall come back, and make amends to you. It's only for anight. "

Maskull gazed from one to the other in perplexity. "Let me go alone. Iwould be sorry if anything happened. "

Gleameil shook her head. 

"Don't regard this as a woman's caprice, " she said. "Even if you hadn'tpassed this way, I would have heard that music soon. I have a hunger forit. "

"Haven't you any such feeling, Polecrab?"

"No. A woman is a noble and sensitive creature, and there areattractions in nature too subtle for males. Take her with you, since sheis set on it. Maybe she's right. Perhaps Earthrid's music will answeryour questions, and hers too. "

"What are your questions, Gleameil?"

The woman shed a strange smile. "You may be sure that a question whichrequires music for an answer can't be put into words. "

"If you are not back by the morning, " remarked her husband, "I will knowyou are dead. "

The meal was finished in a constrained silence. Polecrab wiped hismouth, and produced a seashell from a kind of pocket. 

"Will you say goodbye to the boys? Shall I call them?" She considered amoment. 

"Yes--yes, I must see them. "

He put the shell to his mouth, and blew; a loud, mournful noise passedthrough the air. 

A few minutes later there was a sound of scurrying footsteps, and theboys were seen emerging from the forest. Maskull looked with curiosityat the first children he had seen on Tormance. The oldest boy wascarrying the youngest on his back, while the third trotted some distancebehind. The child was let down, and all the three formed a semicirclein front of Maskull, standing staring up at him with wide-open eyes. Polecrab looked on stolidly, but Gleameil glanced away from them, withproudly raised head and a baffling expression. 

Maskull put the ages of the boys at about nine, seven, and five years, respectively; but he was calculating according to Earth time. The eldestwas tall, slim, but strongly built. He, like his brothers, was naked, and his skin from top to toe was ulfire-colored. His facial musclesindicated a wild and daring nature, and his eyes were like green fires. The second showed promise of being a broad, powerful man. His head waslarge and heavy, and drooped. His face and skin were reddish. His eyeswere almost too sombre and penetrating for a child's. 

"That one, " said Polecrab, pinching the boy's ear, "may perhaps grow upto be a second Broodviol. "

"Who was that?" demanded the boy, bending his head forward to hear theanswer. 

"A big, old man, of marvellous wisdom. He became wise by making up hismind never to ask questions, but to find things out for himself. "

"If I had not asked this question, I should not have known about him. "

"That would not have mattered, " replied the father. 

The youngest child was paler and slighter than his brothers. His facewas mostly tranquil and expressionless, but it had this peculiarityabout it, that every few minutes, without any apparent cause, it wouldwrinkle up and look perplexed. At these times his eyes, which were of atawny gold, seemed to contain secrets difficult to associate with one ofhis age. 

"He puzzles me, " said Polecrab. "He has a soul like sap, and he'sinterested in nothing. He may turn out to be the most remarkable of thebunch. "

Maskull took the child in one hand, and lifted him as high as hishead. He took a good look at him, and set him down again. The boy neverchanged countenance. 

"What do you make of him?" asked the fisherman. 

"It's on the tip of my tongue to say, but it just escapes me. Let medrink again, and then I shall have it. "

"Go and drink, then. "

Maskull strode over to the tree, drank, and returned. "In ages to come, "he said, speaking deliberately, "he will be a grand and awful tradition. A seer possibly, or even a divinity. Watch over him well. "

The eldest boy looked scornful. "I want to be none of those things. Iwould like to be like that big fellow. " And he pointed his finger atMaskull. 

He laughed, and showed his white teeth through his beard. "Thanks forthe compliments old warrior!" he said. 

"He's great and brawny, " continued the boy, "and can hold his own withother men. Can you hold me up with one arm, as you did that child?"

Maskull complied. 

"That is being a man!" exclaimed the boy. "Enough!" said Polecrabimpatiently. "I called you lads here to say goodbye to your mother. Sheis going away with this man. I think she may not return, but we don'tknow. "

The second boy's face became suddenly inflamed. "Is she going of her ownchoice?" he inquired. 

"Yes, " replied the father. 

"Then she is bad. " He brought the words out with such force and emphasisthat they sounded like the crack of a whip. 

The old man cuffed him twice. "Is it your mother you are speaking of?"

The boy stood his ground, without change of expression, but saidnothing. 

The youngest child spoke, for the first time. "My mother will not comeback, but she will die dancing. "

Polecrab and his wife looked at one another. 

"Where are you going to, Mother?" asked the eldest lad. 

Gleameil bent down, and kissed him. "To the Island. "

"Well then, if you don't come back by tomorrow morning, I will go andlook for you. "

Maskull grew more and more uneasy in his mind. "This seems to me to bea man's journey, " he said. "I think it would be better for you not tocome, Gleameil. "

"I am not to be dissuaded, " she replied. 

He stroked his beard in perplexity. "Is it time to start?"

"It wants four hours to sunset, and we shall need all that. "

Maskull sighed. "I'll go to the mouth of the creek, and wait there foryou and the raft. You will wish to make your farewells, Gleameil. "

He then clasped Polecrab by the hand. "Adieu, fisherman!"

"You have repaid me well for my answers, " said the old man gruffly. "Butit's not your fault, and in Shaping's world the worst things happen. "

The eldest boy came close to Maskull, and frowned at him. "Farewell, bigman!" he said. "But guard my mother well, as well as you are well ableto, or I shall follow you, and kill you. "

Maskull walked slowly along the creek bank till he came to the bend. Theglorious sunshine, and the sparkling, brilliant sea then met his eyesagain; and all melancholy was swept out of his mind. He continued as faras the seashore, and issuing out of the shadows of the forest, strolledon to the sands, and sat down in the full sunlight. The radiance ofAlppain had long since disappeared. He drank in the hot, invigoratingwind, listened to the hissing waves, and stared over the coloured seawith its pinnacles and currents, at Swaylone's Island. 

"What music can that be, which tears a wife and mother away from all sheloves the most?" he meditated. "It sounds unholy. Will it tell me what Iwant to know? Can it?"

In a little while he became aware of a movement behind him, and, turninghis head, he saw the raft floating along the creek, toward the open sea. Polecrab was standing upright, propelling it with a rude pole. Hepassed by Maskull, without looking at him, or making any salutation, andproceeded out to sea. 

While he was wondering at this strange behaviour, Gleameil and the boyscame in sight, walking along the bank of the inlet. The eldest-born washolding her hand, and talking; and the other two were behind. She wascalm and smiling, but seemed abstracted. 

"What is your husband doing with the raft?" asked Maskull. 

"He's putting it in position and we shall wade out and join it, " sheanswered, in her low-toned voice. 

"But how shall we make the island, without oars or sails?"

"Don't you see that current running away from land? See, he isapproaching it. That will take us straight there. "

"But how can you get back?"

"There is a way; but we need not think of that today. "

"Why shouldn't I come too?" demanded the eldest boy. 

"Because the raft won't carry three. Maskull is a heavy man. "

"It doesn't matter, " said the boy. "I know where there is wood foranother raft. As soon as you have gone, I shall set to work. "

Polecrab had by this time manoeuvred his flimsy craft to the position hedesired, within a few yards of the current, which at that point madea sharp bend from the east. He shouted out some words to his wife andMaskull. Gleameil kissed her children convulsively, and broke down alittle. The eldest boy bit his lip till it bled, and tears glistened inhis eyes; but the younger children stared wide-eyed, and displayed noemotion. 

Gleameil now walked into the sea, followed by Maskull. The water coveredfirst their ankles, then their knees, but when it came as high as theirwaists, they were close on the raft. Polecrab let himself down into thewater, and assisted his wife to climb over the side. When she was up, she bent down and kissed him. No words were exchanged. Maskull scrambledup on to the front part of the raft. The woman sat cross-legged in thestem, and seized the pole. 

Polecrab shoved them off toward the current, while she worked her poleuntil they had got within its power. The raft immediately began totravel swiftly away from land, with a smooth, swaying motion. 

The boys waved from the shore. Gleameil responded; but Maskull turnedhis back squarely to land, and gazed ahead. Polecrab was wading back tothe shore. 

For upward of an hour Maskull did not change his position by an inch. Nosound was heard but the splashing of the strange waves all aroundthem, and the streamlike gurgle of the current, which threaded its waysmoothly through the tossing, tumultuous sea. From their pathway ofsafety, the beautiful dangers surrounding them were an exhilaratingexperience. The air was fresh and clean, and the heat from Branchspell, now low in the west, was at last endurable. The riot of sea colors hadlong since banished all sadness and anxiety from his heart. Yet he feltsuch a grudge against the woman for selfishly forsaking those whoshould have been dear to her that he could not bring himself to begin aconversation. 

But when, over the now enlarged shape of the dark island, he caughtsight of a long chain of lofty, distant mountains, glowing salmon-pinkin the evening sunlight, he felt constrained to break the silence byinquiring what they were. 

"It is Lichstorm, " said Gleameil. 

Maskull asked no questions about it; but in turning to address her, his eyes had rested on the rapidly receding Wombflash Forest, and hecontinued to stare at that. They had travelled about eight miles, and now he could better estimate the enormous height of the trees. Overtopping them, far away, he saw Sant; and he fancied, but was notquite sure, that he could distinguish Disscourn as well. 

"Now that we are alone in a strange place, " said Gleameil, averting herhead, and looking down over the side of the raft into the water, "tellme what you thought of Polecrab. "

Maskull paused before answering. "He seemed to me like a mountainwrapped in cloud. You see the lower buttresses, and think that is all. But then, high up, far above the clouds, you suddenly catch sight ofmore mountain--and even then it is not the top. "

"You read character well, and have great perception, " remarked Gleameilquietly. "Now say what I am. "

"In place of a human heart, you have a wild harp, and that's all I knowabout you. "

"What was that you said to my husband about two worlds?"

"You heard. "

"Yes, I heard. And I also am conscious of two worlds. My husband andboys are real to me, and I love them fondly. But there is another worldfor me, as there is for you, Maskull, and it makes my real world appearall false and vulgar. "

"Perhaps we are seeking the same thing. But can it be right to satisfyour self-nature at the expense of other people?"

"No, it's not right. It is wrong, and base. But in that other worldthese words have no meaning. "

There was a silence. 

"It's useless to discuss such topics, " said Maskull. "The choice is nowout of our hands, and we must go where we are taken. What I would ratherspeak about is what awaits us on the island. "

"I am ignorant--except that we shall find Earthrid there. "

"Who is Earthrid, and why is it called Swaylone's Island?"

"They say Earthrid came from Threal, but I know nothing else about him. As for Swaylone, if you like I will tell you his legend. "

"If you please, " said Maskull. 

"In a far-back age, " began Gleameil, "when the seas were hot, and cloudshung heavily over the earth, and life was rich with transformations, Swaylone came to this island, on which men had never before set foot, and began to play his music--the first music in Tormance. Nightly, when the moon shone, people used to gather on this shore behind us, and listen to the faint, sweet strains floating from over the sea. One night, Shaping (whom you call Crystalman) was passing this way incompany with Krag. They listened a while to the music, and Shaping said'Have you heard more beautiful sounds? This is my world and my music. 'Krag stamped with his foot, and laughed. 'You must do better than that, if I am to admire it. Let us pass over, and see this bungler at work. 'Shaping consented, and they passed over to the island. Swaylone wasnot able to see their presence. Shaping stood behind him, and breathedthoughts into his soul, so that his music became ten times lovelier, and people listening on that shore went mad with sick delight. 'Can anystrains be nobler?' demanded Shaping. Krag grinned and said, 'You arenaturally effeminate. Now let me try. ' Then he stood behind Swaylone, and shot ugly discords fast into his head. His instrument was socracked, that never since has it played right. From that time forthSwaylone could utter only distorted music; yet it called to folk morethan the other sort. Many men crossed over to the island during hislifetime, to listen to the amazing tones, but none could endure them;all died. After Swaylone's death, another musician took up the tale;and so the light has passed down from torch to torch, till now Earthridbears it. "

"An interesting legend, " commented Maskull. "But who is Krag?"

"They say that when the world was born, Krag was born with it--a spiritcompounded of those vestiges of Muspel which Shaping did not know how totransform. Thereafter nothing has gone right with the world, for he dogsShaping's footsteps everywhere, and whatever the latter does, he undoes. To love he joins death; to sex, shame; to intellect, madness; to virtue, cruelty; and to fair exteriors, bloody entrails. These are Krag'sactions, so the lovers of the world call him 'devil. ' They don'tunderstand, Maskull, that without him the world would lose its beauty. "

"Krag and beauty!" exclaimed he, with a cynical smile. 

"Even so. That same beauty which you and I are now voyaging to discover. That beauty for whose sake I am renouncing husband, children, andhappiness. .. . Did you imagine beauty to be pleasant?"

"Surely. "

"That pleasant beauty is an insipid compound of Shaping. To see beautyin its terrible purity, you must tear away the pleasure from it. "

"Do you say I am going to seek beauty, Gleameil? Such an idea is farfrom my mind. "

She did not respond to his remark. After waiting for a few minutes, to hear if she would speak again, he turned his back on her once more. There was no more talk until they reached the island. 

The air had grown chill and damp by the time they approached its shores. Branchspell was on the point of touching the sea. The Island appearedto be some three or four miles in length. There were first of allbroad sands, then low, dark cliffs, and behind these a wildernessof insignificant, swelling hills, entirely devoid of vegetation. Thecurrent bore them to within a hundred yards of the coast, when it made asharp angle, and proceeded to skirt the length of the land. 

Gleameil jumped overboard, and began swimming to shore. Maskull followedher example, and the raft, abandoned, was rapidly borne away by thecurrent. They soon touched ground, and were able to wade the rest of theway. By the time they reached dry land, the sun had set. 

Gleameil made straight for the hills; and Maskull, after casting asingle glance at the low, dim outline of the Wombflash Forest, followedher. The cliffs were soon scrambled up. Then the ascent was gentle andeasy, while the rich, dry, brown mould was good to walk upon. 

A little way off, on their left, something white was shining. 

"You need not go to it, " said the woman. "It can be nothing else thanone of those skeletons Polecrab talked about. And look--there is anotherone over there!"

"This brings it home!" remarked Maskull, smiling. 

"There is nothing comical in having died for beauty, " said Gleameil, bending her brows at him. 

And when in the course of their walk he saw the innumerable human bones, from gleaming white to dirty yellow, lying scattered about, as if itwere a naked graveyard among the hills, he agreed with her, and fellinto a sombre mood. 

It was still light when they reached the highest point, and could seteyes on the other side. The sea to the north of the island was in no waydifferent from that which they had crossed, but its lively colors werefast becoming invisible. 

"That is Matterplay, " said the woman, pointing her finger toward somelow land on the horizon, which seemed to be even farther off thanWombflash. 

"I wonder how Digrung passed over, " meditated Maskull. 

Not far away, in a hollow enclosed by a circle of little hills, theysaw a small, circular lake, not more than half a mile in diameter. Thesunset colors of the sky were reflected in its waters. 

"That must be Irontick, " remarked Gleameil. 

"What is that?"

"I have heard that it's the instrument Earthrid plays on. "

"We are getting close, " responded he. "Let us go and investigate. "

When they drew nearer, they observed that a man was reclining on thefarther side, in an attitude of sleep. 

"If that's not the man himself, who can it be?" said Maskull. "Let's getacross the water, if it will bear us; it will save time. "

He now assumed the lead, and took running strides down the slope whichbounded the lake on that side. Gleameil followed him with greaterdignity, keeping her eyes fixed on the recumbent man as if fascinated. When Maskull reached the water's edge, he tried it with one foot, to discover if it would carry his weight. Something unusual in itsappearance led him to have doubts. It was a tranquil, dark, andbeautifully reflecting sheet of water; it resembled a mirror of liquidmetal. Finding that it would bear him, and that nothing happened, heplaced his second foot on its surface. Instantly he sustained a violentshock throughout his body, as from a powerful electric current; and hewas hurled in a tumbled heap back on to the bank. 

He picked himself up, brushed the dirt off his person, and startedwalking around the lake. Gleameil joined him, and they completed thehalf circuit together. They came to the man, and Maskull prodded himwith his foot. He woke up, and blinked at them. 

His face was pale, weak, and vacant-looking, and had a disagreeableexpression. There were thin sprouts of black hair on his chin and head. On his forehead, in place of a third eye, he possessed a perfectlycircular organ, with elaborate convolutions, like an ear. He had anunpleasant smell. He appeared to be of young middle age. 

"Wake up, man, " said Maskull sharply, "and tell us if you are Earthrid. "

"What time is it?" counterquestioned the man. "Does it want long tomoonrise?"

Without appearing to care about an answer, he sat up, and turning awayfrom them, began to scoop up the loose soil with his hand, and to eat ithalfheartedly. 

"Now, how can you eat that filth?" demanded Maskull, in disgust. 

"Don't be angry, Maskull, " said Gleameil, laying hold of his arm, andflushing a little. "It is Earthrid--the man who is to help us. "

"He has not said so. "

"I am Earthrid, " said the other, in his weak and muffled voice, which, however, suddenly struck Maskull as being autocratic. "What do you wanthere? Or rather, you had better get away as quickly as you can, for itwill be too late when Teargeld rises. "

"You need not explain, " exclaimed Maskull. "We know your reputation, and we have come to hear your music. But what's that organ for on yourforehead?"

Earthrid glared, and smiled, and glared again. 

"That is for rhythm, which is what changes noise into music. Don't standand argue, but go away. It is no pleasure to me to people the islandwith corpses. They corrupt the air, and do nothing else. "

Darkness now crept swiftly on over the landscape. 

"You are rather bigmouthed, " said Maskull coolly. "But after we haveheard you play, perhaps I shall adventure a tune myself. "

"You? Are you a musician, then? Do you even know what music is?"

A flame danced in Gleameil's eyes. 

"Maskull thinks music reposes in the instrument, " she said in herintense way. "But it is in the soul of the Master. "

"Yes, " said Earthrid, "but that is not all. I will tell you what it is. In Threal, where I was born and brought up, we learn the mystery of theThree in nature. This world, which lies extended before us, has threedirections. Length is the line which shuts off what is, from what isnot. Breadth is the surface which shows us in what manner one thing ofwhat-is, lives with another thing. Depth is the path which leadsfrom what-is, to our own body. In music it is not otherwise. Tone isexistence, without which nothing at all can be. Symmetry and Numbersare the manner in which tones exist, one with another. Emotion is themovement of our soul toward the wonderful world that is being created. Now, men when they make music are accustomed to build beautiful tones, because of the delight they cause. Therefore their music world is basedon pleasure; its symmetry is regular and charming, its emotion is sweetand lovely. .. . But my music is founded on painful tones; and thus itssymmetry is wild, and difficult to discover; its emotion is bitter andterrible. "

"If I had not anticipated its being original, I would not have comehere, " said Maskull. "Still, explain--why can't harsh tones have simplesymmetry of form? And why must they necessarily cause more profoundemotions in us who listen?"

"Pleasures may harmonise. Pains must clash; and in the order of theirclashing lies the symmetry. The emotions follow the music, which isrough and earnest. "

"You may call it music, " remarked Maskull thoughtfully, "but to me itbears a closer resemblance to actual life. "

"If Shaping's plans had gone straight, life would have been like thatother sort of music. He who seeks can find traces of that intention inthe world of nature. But as it has turned out, real life resembles mymusic and mine is the true music. "

"Shall we see living shapes?"

"I don't know what my mood will be, " returned Earthrid. "But when I havefinished, you shall adventure your tune, and produce whatever shapes youplease--unless, indeed, the tune is out of your own big body. "

"The shocks you are preparing may kill us, " said Gleameil, in a low, taut voice, "but we shall die, seeing beauty. "

Earthrid looked at her with a dignified expression. 

"Neither you, nor any other person, can endure the thoughts which I putinto my music. Still, you must have it your own way. It needed a womanto call it 'beauty. ' But if this is beauty, what is ugliness?"

"That I can tell you, Master, " replied Gleameil, smiling at him. "Ugliness is old, stale life, while yours every night issues fresh fromthe womb of nature. "

Earthrid stared at her, without response. "Teargeld is rising, " he saidat last. "And now you shall see--though not for long. "

As the words left his mouth, the full moon peeped over the hills in thedark eastern sky. They watched it in silence, and soon it was whollyup. It was larger than the moon of Earth, and seemed nearer. Its shadowyparts stood out in just as strong relief, but somehow it did not giveMaskull the impression of being a dead world. Branchspell shone onthe whole of it, but Alppain only on a part. The broad crescent thatreflected Branchspell's rays alone was white and brilliant; but the partthat was illuminated by both suns shone with a greenish radiance thathad almost solar power, and yet was cold and cheerless. On gazing atthat combined light, he felt the same sense of disintegration that theafterglow of Alppain had always caused in him; but now the feeling wasnot physical, but merely aesthetic. The moon did not appear romantic tohim, but disturbing and mystical. 

Earthrid rose, and stood quietly for a minute. In the bright moonlight, his face seemed to have undergone a change. It lost its loose, weak, disagreeable look, and acquired a sort of crafty grandeur. He clappedhis hands together meditatively two or three times, and walked up anddown. The others stood together, watching him. 

Then he sat down by the side of the lake, and, leaning on his side, placed his right hand, open palm downward, on the ground, at the sametime stretching out his right leg, so that the foot was in contact withthe water. 

While Maskull was in the act of staring at him and at the lake, he felta stabbing sensation right through his heart, as though he had beenpierced by a rapier. He barely recovered himself from falling, and ashe did so he saw that a spout had formed on the water, and was nowsubsiding again. The next moment he was knocked down by a violent blowin the mouth, delivered by an invisible hand. He picked himself up; andobserved that a second spout had formed. No sooner was he on his legs, than a hideous pain hammered away inside his brain, as if caused by amalignant tumour. In his agony, he stumbled and fell again; this time onthe arm Krag had wounded. All his other mishaps were forgotten in thisone, which half stunned him. It lasted only a moment, and then suddenrelief came, and he found that Earthrid's rough music had lost its powerover him. 

He saw him still stretched in the same position. Spouts were comingthick and fast on the lake, which was full of lively motion. ButGleameil was not on her legs. She was lying on the ground, in a heap, without moving. Her attitude was ugly, and he guessed she was dead. Whenhe reached her, he discovered that she was dead. In what state of mindshe had died, he did not know, for her face wore the vulgar Crystalmangrin. The whole tragedy had not lasted five minutes. 

He went over to Earthrid and dragged him forcibly away from his playing. 

"You have been as good as your word, musician, " he said. "Gleameil isdead. "

Earthrid tried to collect his scattered senses. 

"I warned her, " he replied, sitting up. "Did I not beg her to go away?But she died very easily. She did not wait for the beauty she spokeabout. She heard nothing of the passion, nor even of the rhythm. Neitherhave you. "

Maskull looked down at him in indignation, but said nothing. 

"You should not have interrupted me, " went on Earthrid. "When I amplaying, nothing else is of importance. I might have lost the thread ofmy ideas. Fortunately, I never forget. I shall start over again. "

"If music is to continue, in the presence of the dead, I play next. "

The man glanced up quickly. 

"That can't be. "

"It must be, " said Maskull decisively. "I prefer playing to listening. Another reason is that you will have every night, but I have onlytonight. "

Earthrid clenched and unclenched his fist, and began to turn pale. "Withyour recklessness, you are likely to kill us both. Irontick belongs tome, and until you have learned how to play, you would only break theinstrument. "

"Well, then, I will break it; but I am going to try. "

The musician jumped to his feet and confronted him. "Do you intend totake it from me by violence?"

"Keep calm! You will have the same choice that you offered us. I shallgive you time to go away somewhere. "

"How will that serve me, if you spoil my lake? You don't understand whatyou are doing. "

"Go, or stay!" responded Maskull. "I give you till the water gets smoothagain. After that, I begin playing. "

Earthrid kept swallowing. He glanced at the lake and back to Maskull. 

"Do you swear it?"

"How long that will take, you know better than I; but till then you aresafe. "

Earthrid cast him a look of malice, hesitated for an instant, and thenmoved away, and started to climb the nearest hill. Halfway up he glancedover his shoulder apprehensively, as if to see what was happening. Inanother minute or so, he had disappeared over the crest, travelling inthe direction of the shore that faced Matterplay. 

Later, when the water was once more tranquil. Maskull sat down by itsedge, in imitation of Earthrid's attitude. He knew neither how to setabout producing his music, nor what would come of it. But audaciousprojects entered his brain and he willed to create physical shapes--and, above all, one shape, that of Surtur. 

Before putting his foot to the water, he turned things over a little inhis mind. 

He said, "What themes are in common music, shapes are in this music. Thecomposer does not find his theme by picking out single notes; but thewhole theme flashes into his mind by inspiration. So it must be withshapes. When I start playing, if I am worth anything, the undividedideas will pass from my unconscious mind to this lake, and then, reflected back in the dimensions of reality, I shall be for the firsttime made acquainted with them. So it must be. "

The instant his foot touched the water, he felt his thoughts flowingfrom him. He did not know what they were, but the mere act of flowingcreated a sensation of joyful mastery. With this was curiosity to learnwhat they would prove to be. Spouts formed on the lake in increasingnumbers, but he experienced no pain. His thoughts, which he knew tobe music, did not issue from him in a steady, unbroken stream, but ingreat, rough gushes, succeeding intervals of quiescence. When thesegushes came, the whole lake broke out in an eruption of spouts. 

He realised that the ideas passing from him did not arise in hisintellect, but had their source in the fathomless depths of his will. He could not decide what character they should have, but he was able toforce them out, or retard them, by the exercise of his volition. 

At first nothing changed around him. Then the moon grew dimmer, and astrange, new radiance began to illuminate the landscape. It increasedso imperceptibly that it was some time before he recognised it as theMuspel-light which he had seen in the Wombflash Forest. He could notgive it a colour, or a name, but it filled him with a sort of stern andsacred awe. He called up the resources of his powerful will. Thespouts thickened like a forest, and many of them were twenty feet high. Teargeld looked faint and pale; the radiance became intense; but it castno shadows. The wind got up, but where Maskull was sitting, it was calm. Shortly afterward it began to shriek and whistle, like a full gale. Hesaw no shapes, and redoubled his efforts. 

His ideas were now rushing out onto the lake so furiously that his wholesoul was possessed by exhilaration and defiance. But still he did notknow their nature. A huge spout shot up and at the same moment the hillsbegan to crack and break. Great masses of loose soil were erupted fromtheir bowels, and in the next period of quietness, he saw that thelandscape had altered. Still the mysterious light intensified. The moondisappeared entirely. The noise of the unseen tempest was terrifying, but Maskull played heroically on, trying to urge out ideas which wouldtake shape. The hillsides were cleft with chasms. The water escapingfrom the tops of the spouts, swamped the land; but where he was, it wasdry. 

The radiance grew terrible. It was everywhere, but Maskull fancied thatit was far brighter in one particular quarter. He thought that it wasbecoming localised, preparatory to contracting into a solid form. Hestrained and strained. .. . 

Immediately afterward the bottom of the lake subsided. Its waters fellthrough, and his instrument was broken. 

The Muspel-light vanished. The moon shone out again, but Maskull couldnot see it. After that unearthly shining, he seemed to himself to be intotal blackness. The screaming wind ceased; there was a dead silence. His thoughts finished flowing toward the lake, and his foot no longertouched water, but hung in space. 

He was too stunned by the suddenness of the change to either think orfeel. While he was still lying dazed, a vast explosion occurred in thenewly opened depths beneath the lakebed. The water in its descent hadmet fire. Maskull was lifted bodily in the air, many yards high, andcame down heavily. He lost consciousness. .. . 

When he came to his senses again, he saw everything. Teargeld wasgleaming brilliantly. He was lying by the side of the old lake, but itwas now a crater, to the bottom of which his eyes could not penetrate. The hills encircling it were torn, as if by heavy gunfire. A fewthunderclouds were floating in the air at no great height, from whichbranched lightning descended to the earth incessantly, accompanied byalarming and singular crashes. 

He got on his legs, and tested his actions. Finding that he wasuninjured, he first of all viewed the crater at closer quarters, andthen started to walk painfully toward the northern shore. 

When he had attained the crest above the lake, the landscape slopedgently down for two miles to the sea. Everywhere he passed throughtraces of his rough work. The country was carved into scarps, grooves, channels, and craters. He arrived at the line of low cliffs overlookingthe beach, and found that these also were partly broken down bylandslips. He got down onto the sand and stood looking over the moonlit, agitated sea, wondering how he could contrive to escape from this islandof failure. 

Then he saw Earthrid's body, lying quite close to him. It was on itsback. Both legs had been violently torn off and he could not seethem anywhere. Earthrid's teeth were buried in the flesh of his rightforearm, indicating that the man had died in unreasoning physical agony. The skin gleamed green in the moonlight, but it was stained by darkerdiscolourations, which were wounds. The sand about him was dyed by thepool of blood which had long since filtered through. 

Maskull left the corpse in dismay, and walked a long way along thesweet-smelling shore. Sitting down on a rock, he waited for daybreak. 

Chapter 16. LEEHALLFAE

At midnight, when Teargeld was in the south, throwing his shadowstraight toward the sea and making everything nearly as bright as day, he saw a great tree floating in the water, not far out. It was thirtyfeet out of the water, upright, and alive, and its roots must have beenenormously deep and wide. It was drifting along the coast, throughthe heavy seas. Maskull eyed it incuriously for a few minutes. Then itdawned on him that it might be a good thing to investigate its nature. Without stopping to weigh the danger, he immediately swam out, caughthold of the lowest branch, and swung himself up. 

He looked aloft and saw that the main stem was thick to the very top, terminating in a knob that somewhat resembled a human head. He madehis way toward this knob, through the multitude of boughs, which werecovered with tough, slippery, marine leaves, like seaweed. Arriving atthe crown, he found that it actually was a sort of head, for there weremembranes like rudimentary eyes all the way around it, denoting someform of low intelligence. 

At that moment the tree touched bottom, though some way from the shore, and began to bump heavily. To steady himself, Maskull put his hand out, and, in doing so, accidentally covered some of the membranes. The treesheered off the land, as if by an act of will. When it was steady again, Maskull removed his hand; they at once drifted back to shore. He thoughta bit, and then started experimenting with the eyelike membranes. It wasas he had guessed--these eyes were stimulated by the light of the moon, and whichever way the light came from, the tree would travel. 

A rather defiant smile crossed Maskull's face as it struck him thatit might be possible to navigate this huge plant-animal as far asMatterplay. He lost no time in putting the conception into execution. Tearing off some of the long, tough leaves, he bound up all themembranes except the ones that faced the north. The tree instantly leftthe island, and definitely put out to sea. It travelled due north. Itwas not moving at more than a mile an hour, however, while Matterplaywas possibly forty miles distant. 

The great spout waves fell against the trunk with mighty thuds; thebreaking seas hissed through the lower branches--Maskull rested high anddry, but was more than a little apprehensive about their slow rateof progress. Presently he sighted a current racing along toward thenorth-west, and that put another idea into his head. He began to jugglewith the membranes again, and before long had succeeded in piloting histree into the fast-running stream. As soon as they were fairly in itsrapids, he blinded the crown entirely, and thenceforward the currentacted in the double capacity of road and steed. 

Maskull made himself secure among the branches and slept for theremainder of the night. 

When his eyes opened again, the island was out of sight. Teargeld wassetting in the western sea. The sky in the east was bright with thecolours of the approaching day. The air was cool and fresh; the lightover the sea was beautiful, gleaming, and mysterious. Land--probablyMatterplay--lay ahead, a long, dark line of low cliffs, perhaps a mileaway. The current no longer ran toward the shore, but began to skirt thecoast without drawing any closer to it. As soon as Maskull realised thefact, he manoeuvred the tree out of its channel and started drifting itinshore. The eastern sky blazed up suddenly with violent dyes, andthe outer rim of Branchspell lifted itself above the sea. The moon hadalready sunk. 

The shore loomed nearer and nearer. In physical character it was likeSwaylone's Island--the same wide sands, small cliffs, and rounded, insignificant hills inland, without vegetation. In the early-morningsunlight, however, it looked romantic. Maskull, hollow-eyed and morose, cared nothing for all that, but the moment the tree grounded, clamberedswiftly down through the branches and dropped into the sea. By thetime he had swam ashore, the white, stupendous sun was high above thehorizon. 

He walked along the sands toward the east for a considerable distance, without having any special intention in his mind. He thought he would goon until he came to some creek or valley, and then turn up it. The sun'srays were cheering, and began to relieve him of his oppressive nightweight. After strolling along the beach for about a mile, he was stoppedby a broad stream that flowed into the sea out of a kind of naturalgateway in the line of cliffs. Its water was of a beautiful, limpidgreen, all filled with bubbles. So ice-cold, aerated, and enticing didit look that he flung himself face downward on the ground and tooka prolonged draught. When he got up again his eyes started to playpranks--they became alternately blurted and clear. .. . It may have beenpure imagination, but he fancied that Digrung was moving inside him. 

He followed the bank of the stream through the gap in the cliffs, andthen for the first time saw the real Matterplay. A valley appeared, like a jewel enveloped by naked rock. All the hill country was bareand lifeless, but this valley lying in the heart of it was extremelyfertile; he had never seen such fertility. It wound up among the hills, and all that he was looking at was its broad lower end. The floor of thevalley was about half a mile wide; the stream that ran down its middlewas nearly a hundred feet across, but was exceedingly shallow--in mostplaces not more than a few inches deep. The sides of the valley wereabout seventy feet high, but very sloping; they were clothed from topto bottom with little, bright-leaved trees--not of varied tints of onecolour, like Earth trees, but of widely diverse colours, most of whichwere brilliant and positive. 

The floor itself was like a magician's garden. Densely interwoven trees, shrubs, and parasitical climbers fought everywhere for possession of it. The forms were strange and grotesque, and each one seemed different;the colours of leaf, flower, sexual organs, and stem were equallypeculiar--all the different combinations of the five primary coloursof Tormance seemed to be represented, and the result, for Maskull wasa sort of eye chaos. So rank was the vegetation that he could not fighthis way through it; he was obliged to take to the riverbed. The contactof the water created an odd tingling sensation throughout his body, like a mild electric shock. There were no birds, but a fewextraordinary-looking winged reptiles of small size kept crossing thevalley from hill to hill. Swarms of flying insects clustered around him, threatening mischief, but in the end it turned out that his blood wasdisagreeable to them, for he was not bitten once. Repulsive crawlingcreatures resembling centipedes, scorpions, snakes, and so forth were inmyriads on the banks of the stream, but they also made no attempt to usetheir weapons on his bare legs and feet, as he passed through them intothe water. .. . Presently however, he was confronted in midstream by ahideous monster, of the size of a pony, but resembling in shape--if itresembled anything--a sea crustacean; and then he came to a halt. Theystared at one another, the beast with wicked eyes, Maskull with cool andwary ones. While he was staring, a singular thing happened to him. 

His eyes blurred again. But when in a minute or two this blurring passedaway and he saw clearly once more, his vision had changed in character. He was looking right through the animal's body and could distinguish allits interior parts. The outer crust, however, and all the hard tissueswere misty and semi-transparent; through them a luminous network ofblood-red veins and arteries stood out in startling distinctness. Thehard parts faded away to nothingness, and the blood system alone wasleft. Not even the fleshy ducts remained. The naked blood alone wasvisible, flowing this way and that like a fiery, liquid skeleton, in theshape of the monster. Then this blood began to change too. Instead ofa continuous liquid stream, Maskull perceived that it was composed of amillion individual points. The red colour had been an illusion caused bythe rapid motion of the points; he now saw clearly that they resembledminute suns in their scintillating brightness. They seemed like a doubledrift of stars, streaming through space. One drift was travelling towarda fixed point in the centre, while the other was moving away from it. He recognised the former as the veins of the beast, the latter as thearteries, and the fixed point as the heart. 

While he was still looking, lost in amazement, the starry network wentout suddenly like an extinguished flame. Where the crustacean had stood, there was nothing. Yet through this "nothing" he could not see thelandscape. Something was standing there that intercepted the light, though it possessed neither shape, colour, nor substance. And now theobject, which could no longer be perceived by vision, began to be feltby emotion. A delightful, springlike sense of rising sap, of quickeningpulses of love, adventure, mystery, beauty, femininity--took possessionof his being, and, strangely enough, he identified it with the monster. Why that invisible brute should cause him to feel young, sexual, andaudacious, he did not ask himself, for he was fully occupied with theeffect. But it was as if flesh, bones, and blood had been discarded, andhe were face to face with naked Life itself, which slowly passed intohis own body. 

The sensations died away. There was a brief interval, and then thestreaming, starlike skeleton rose up again out of space. It changed tothe red-blood system. The hard parts of the body reappeared, with moreand more distinctness, and at the same time the network of blood grewfainter. Presently the interior parts were entirely concealed bythe crust--the creature stood opposite Maskull in its old formidableugliness, hard, painted, and concrete. 

Disliking something about him, the crustacean turned aside and stumbledawkwardly away on its six legs, with laborious and repulsive movements, toward the other bank of the stream. 

Maskull's apathy left him after this adventure. He became uneasy andthoughtful. He imagined that he was beginning to see things throughDigrung's eyes, and that there were strange troubles immediately ahead. The next time his eyes started to blur, he fought it down with his will, and nothing happened. 

The valley ascended with many windings toward the hills. It narrowedconsiderably, and the wooded slopes on either side grew steeper andhigher. The stream shrunk to about twenty feet across, but it wasdeeper--it was alive with motion, music, and bubbles. The electricsensations caused by its water became more pronounced, almostdisagreeably so; but there was nowhere else to walk. With its deafeningconfusion of sounds from the multitude of living creatures, the littlevalley resembled a vast conversation hall of Nature. The life was stillmore prolific than before; every square foot of space was a tangle ofstruggling wills, both animal and vegetable. For a naturalist itwould have been paradise, for no two shapes were alike, and all werefantastic, with individual character. 

It looked as if life forms were being coined so fast by Nature thatthere was not physical room for all. Nevertheless it was not as onEarth, where a hundred seeds are scattered in order that one maybe sown. Here the young forms seemed to survive, while, to findaccommodation for them, the old ones perished; everywhere he looked theywere withering and dying, without any ostensible cause--they were simplybeing killed by new life. 

Other creatures sported so wildly, in front of his very eyes, that theybecame of different "kingdoms" altogether. For example, a fruit waslying on the ground, of the size and shape of a lemon, but with atougher skin. He picked it up, intending to eat the contained pulp; butinside it was a fully formed young tree, just on the point of burstingits shell. Maskull threw it away upstream. It floated back toward him;by the time he was even with it, its downward motion had stopped and itwas swimming against the current. He fished it out and discovered thatit had sprouted six rudimentary legs. 

Maskull sang no paeans of praise in honour of the gloriously overcrowdedvalley. On the contrary, he felt deeply cynical and depressed. Hethought that the unseen power--whether it was called Nature, Life, Will, or God--that was so frantic to rush forward and occupy this small, vulgar, contemptible world, could not possess very high aims and wasnot worth much. How this sordid struggle for an hour or two of physicalexistence could ever be regarded as a deeply earnest and importantbusiness was beyond his comprehension The atmosphere choked him, helonged for air and space. Thrusting his way through to the side of theravine, he began to climb the overhanging cliff, swinging his way upfrom tree to tree. 

When he arrived at the top, Branchspell beat down on him with suchbrutal, white intensity that he saw that there was no staying there. Helooked around, to ascertain what part of the country he had come to. Hehad travelled about ten miles from the sea, as the crow flies. The bare, undulating wolds sloped straight down toward it; the water glittered inthe distance; and on the horizon he was just able to make out Swaylone'sIsland. Looking north, the land continued sloping upward as far as hecould see. Over the crest--that is to say, some miles away--a lineof black, fantastic-shaped rocks of quite another character showedthemselves; this was probably Threal. Behind these again, againstthe sky, perhaps fifty or even a hundred miles off, were the peaks ofLichstorm, most of them covered with greenish snow that glittered in thesunlight. 

They were stupendously high and of weird contours. Most of them wereconical to the top, but from the top, great masses of mountain balancedthemselves at what looked like impossible angles--overhanging withoutapparent support. A land like that promised something new, he thought:extraordinary inhabitants. The idea took shape in his mind to go there, and to travel as swiftly as possible, it might even be feasible to getthere before sunset. It was less the mountains themselves that attractedhim than the country which lay beyond--the prospect of setting eyes onthe blue sun, which he judged to be the wonder of wonders in Tormance. 

The direct route was over the hills, but that was out of the question, because of the killing heat and the absence of shade. He guessed, however, that the valley would not take him far out of his way, anddecided to keep to that for the time being, much as he hated and fearedit. Into the hotbed of life, therefore, he once more swung himself. 

Once down, he continued to follow the windings of the valley forseveral miles through sunlight and shadow. The path became increasinglydifficult. The cliffs closed in on either side until they were lessthan a hundred yards apart, while the bed of the ravine was blockedby boulders, great and small, so that the little stream, which was nowdiminished to the proportions of a brook, had to come down where and howit could. The forms of life grew stranger. Pure plants and pure animalsdisappeared by degrees, and their place was filled by singular creaturesthat seemed to partake of both characters. They had limbs, faces, will, and intelligence, but they remained for the greater part of their timerooted in the ground by preference, and they fed only on soil and air. Maskull saw no sexual organs and failed to understand how the young cameinto existence. 

Then he witnessed an astonishing sight. A large and fully developedplant-animal appeared suddenly in front of him, out of empty space. Hecould not believe his eyes, but stared at the creature for a long timein amazement. It went on calmly moving and burrowing before him, asthought it had been there all its life. Giving up the puzzle, Maskullresumed his striding from rock to rock up the gorge, and then, quietlyand without warning, the same phenomenon occurred again. No longer couldhe doubt than he was seeing miracles--that Nature was precipitating itsshapes into the world without making use of the medium of parentage. .. . No solution of the problem presented itself. 

The brook too had altered in character. A trembling radiance came upfrom its green water, like some imprisoned force escaping into theair. He had not walked in it for some time; now he did so, to test itsquality. He felt new life entering his body, from his feet upward; itresembled a slowly moving cordial, rather than mere heat. The sensationwas quite new in his experience, yet he knew by instinct what it was. The energy emitted by the brook was ascending his body neither as friendnor foe but simply because it happened to be the direct road to itsobjective elsewhere. But, although it had no hostile intentions, it waslikely to prove a rough traveller--he was clearly conscious thatits passage through his body threatened to bring about some physicaltransformation, unless he could do something to prevent it. Leapingquickly out of the water, he leaned against a rock, tightened hismuscles, and braced himself against the impending charge. At that verymoment the blurring again attacked his sight, and, while he was guardingagainst that, his forehead sprouted out into a galaxy of new eyes. Heput his hand up and counted six, in addition to his old ones. 

The danger was past and Maskull laughed, congratulating himself onhaving got off so easily. Then he wondered what the new organs werefor--whether they were a good or a bad thing. He had not taken a dozensteps up the ravine before he found out. Just as he was in the act ofjumping down from the top of a boulder, his vision altered and he cameto an automatic standstill. He was perceiving two worlds simultaneously. With his own eyes he saw the gorge as before, with its rocks, brook, plant-animals, sunshine, and shadows. But with his acquired eyes he sawdifferently. All the details of the valley were visible, but the lightseemed turned down, and everything appeared faint, hard, and uncoloured. The sun was obscured by masses of cloud which filled the whole sky. This vapour was in violent and almost living motion. It was thick inextension, but thin in texture; some parts, however, were far denserthan others, as the particles were crushed together or swept apart bythe motion. The green sparks from the brook, when closely watched, couldbe distinguished individually, each one wavering up toward the clouds, but the moment they got within them a fearful struggle seemed to begin. The spark endeavoured to escape through to the upper air, while theclouds concentrated around it whichever way it darted, trying to createso dense a prison that further movement would be impossible. As far asMaskull could detect, most of the sparks succeeded eventually in findingtheir way out after frantic efforts; but one that he was looking at wascaught, and what happened was this. A complete ring of cloud surroundedit, and, in spite of its furious leaps and flashes in all directions--asif it were a live, savage creature caught in a net--nowhere could itfind an opening, but it dragged the enveloping cloud stuff with it, wherever it went. The vapours continued to thicken around it, untilthey resembled the black, heavy, compressed sky masses seen before abad thunderstorm. Then the green spark, which was still visible in theinterior, ceased its efforts, and remained for a time quite quiescent. The cloud shape went on consolidating itself, and became nearlyspherical; as it grew heavier and stiller, it started slowly to descendtoward the valley floor. When it was directly opposite Maskull, with itslower end only a few feet off the ground, its motion stopped altogetherand there was a complete pause for at least two minutes. Suddenly, likea stab of forked lightning, the great cloud shot together, became small, indented, and coloured, and as a plant-animal started walking around onlegs and rooting up the ground in search of food. The concluding stageof the phenomenon he witnessed with his normal eyesight. It showed himthe creature's appearing miraculously out of nowhere. 

Maskull was shaken. His cynicism dropped from him and gave place tocuriosity and awe. "That was exactly like the birth of a thought, " hesaid to himself, "but who was the thinker? Some great Living Mind isat work in this spot. He has intelligence, for all his shapes aredifferent, and he has character, for all belong to the same generaltype. .. . If I'm not wrong, and if it's the force called Shaping orCrystalman, I've seen enough to make me want to find out something moreabout him. .. . It would be ridiculous to go on to other riddles before Ihave solved these. "

A voice called out to him from behind, and, turning around, he saw ahuman figure hastening toward him from some distance down the ravine. Itlooked more like a man than a woman. He was rather tall, but nimble, andwas clothed in a dark, frocklike garment that reached from the neck tobelow the knees. Around his head was rolled a turban. Maskull waited forhim, and when he was nearer went a little way to meet him. 

Then he experienced another surprise, for this person, although clearlya human being, was neither man nor woman, nor anything between the two, but was unmistakably of a third positive sex, which was remarkable tobehold and difficult to understand. In order to translate into words thesexual impression produced in Maskull's mind by the stranger's physicalaspect, it is necessary to coin a new pronoun, for none in earthly usewould be applicable. Instead of "he, " "she, " or "it, " therefore "ae"will be used. 

He found himself incapable of grasping at first why the bodilypeculiarities of this being should strike him as springing from sex, andnot from race, and yet there was no doubt about the fact itself. Body, face, and eyes were absolutely neither male nor female, but somethingquite different. Just as one can distinguish a man from a woman atthe first glance by some indefinable difference of expression andatmospheres altogether apart from the contour of the figure, so thestranger was separated in appearance from both. As with men and women, the whole person expressed a latent sensuality, which gave body and facealike their peculiar character. .. . Maskull decided that it was love--butwhat love--love for whom? it was neither the shame-carrying passion ofa male, nor the deep-rooted instinct of a female to obey her destiny. Itwas as real and irresistible as these, but quite different. 

As he continued staring into those strange, archaic eyes, he had anintuitive feeling that her lover was no other than Shaping himself. Itcame to him that the design of this love was not the continuance of therace but the immortality on earth of the individual. No children wereproduced by the act; the lover aerself was the eternal child. Further, ae sought like a man, but received like a woman. All these things weredimly and confusedly expressed by this extraordinary being, who seemedto have dropped out of another age, when creation was different. 

Of all the weird personalities Maskull had so far met in Tormance, thisone struck him as infinitely the most foreign--that is, the farthestremoved from him in spiritual structure. If they were to live togetherfor a hundred years, they could never be companions. 

Maskull pulled himself out of his trancelike meditations and, viewingthe newcomer in greater detail, tried with his understanding to accountfor the marvellous things told him by his intuitions. Ae possessed broadshoulders and big bones, and was without female breasts, and so far aeresembled a man. But the bones were so flat and angular that aer fleshpresented something of the character of a crystal, having plane surfacesin place of curves. The body looked as if it had not been ground downby the sea of ages into smooth and rounded regularity but had sprungtogether in angles and facets as the result of a single, sudden idea. The face too was broken and irregular. With his racial prejudices, Maskull found little beauty in it, yet beauty there was, though neitherof a masculine nor of a feminine type, for it had the three essentialsof beauty: character, intelligence, and repose. The skin wascopper-coloured and strangely luminous, as if lighted from within. Theface was beardless, but the hair of the head was as long as a woman's, and, dressed in a single plait, fell down behind as far as the ankles. Ae possessed only two eyes. That part of the turban which went acrossthe forehead protruded so far in front that it evidently concealed someorgan. 

Maskull found it impossible to compute aer age. The frame appearedactive, vigorous, and healthy, the skin was clear and glowing; the eyeswere powerful and alert--ae might well be in early youth. Nevertheless, the longer Maskull gazed, the more an impression of unbelievableancientness came upon him--aer real youth seemed as far away as the viewobserved through a reversed telescope. 

At last he addressed the stranger, though it was just as if he wereconversing with a dream. "To what sex do you belong?" he asked. 

The voice in which the reply came was neither manly nor womanly, but wasoddly suggestive of a mystical forest horn, heard from a great distance. 

"Nowadays there are men and women, but in the olden times the world waspeopled by 'phaens. ' I think I am the only survivor of all those beingswho were then passing through Faceny's mind. "

"Faceny?"

"Who is now miscalled Shaping or Crystalman. The superficial namesinvented by a race of superficial creatures. "

"What's your own name?"

"Leehallfae. "

"What?"

"Leehallfae. And yours is Maskull. I read in your mind that you havejust come through some wonderful adventures. You seem to possessextraordinary luck. If it lasts long enough, perhaps I can make use ofit. "

"Do you think that my luck exists for your benefit?. .. But never mindthat now. It is your sex that interests me. How do you satisfy yourdesires?"

Leehallfae pointed to the concealed organ on aer brow. "With that Igather life from the streams that flow in all the hundred Matterplayvalleys. The streams spring direct from Faceny. My whole life has beenspent trying to find Faceny himself. I've hunted so long that if I wereto state the number of years you would believe I lied. "

Maskull looked at the phaen slowly. "In Ifdawn I met someone else fromMatterplay--a young man called Digrung. I absorbed him. "

"You can't be telling me this out of vanity. "

"It was a fearful crime. What will come of it?"

Leehallfae gave a curious, wrinkled smile. "In Matterplay he will stirinside you, for he smells the air. Already you have his eyes. .. . I knewhim. .. . Take care of yourself, or something more startling may happen. Keep out of the water. "

"This seems to me a terrible valley, in which anything may happen. "

"Don't torment yourself about Digrung. The valleys belong by right tothe phaens--the men here are interlopers. It is a good work to removethem. "

Maskull continued thoughtful. "I say no more, but I see I will have tobe cautious. What did you mean about my helping you with my luck?"

"Your luck is fast weakening, but it may still be strong enough to serveme. Together we will search for Threal. "

"Search for Threal--why, is it so hard to find?"

"I have told you that my whole life has been spent in the quest. "

"You said Faceny, Leehallfae. "

The phaen gazed at him with queer, ancient eyes, and smiled again. "Thisstream, Maskull, like every other life stream in Matterplay, has itssource in Faceny. But as all these streams issue out from Threal, it isin Threal that we must look for Faceny. "

"But what's to prevent your finding Threal? Surely it's a well-knowncountry?"

"It lies underground. Its communications with the upper world are few, and where they are, no one that I have ever spoken to knows. I havescoured the valleys and the hills. I have been to the very gates ofLichstorm. I am old, so that your aged men would appear newborn infantsbeside me, but I am as far from Threal as when I was a green youth, dwelling among a throng of fellow phaens. "

"Then, if my luck is good, yours is very bad. .. . But when you have foundFaceny, what do you gain?"

Leehallfae looked at him in silence. The smile faded from aer face, andits place was taken by such a look of unearthly pain and sorrow thatMaskull had no need to press his question. Ae was consumed by the griefand yearning of a lover eternally separated from the loved one, thescents and traces of whose person were always present. This passionstamped her features at that moment with a wild, stern, spiritualbeauty, far transcending any beauty of woman or man. 

But the expression vanished suddenly, and then the abrupt contrastshowed Maskull the real Leehallfae. Aer sensuality was solitary, butvulgar--it was like the heroism of a lonely nature, pursuing animal aimswith untiring persistence. 

He looked at the phaen askance, and drummed his fingers against histhigh. "Well, we will go together. We may find something, and in anycase I shan't be sorry to converse with such a singular individual asyourself. "

"But I should warn you, Maskull. You and I are of different creations. Aphaen's body contains the whole of life, a man's body contains only thehalf of life--the other half is in woman. Faceny may be too strong adraught for your body to endure. .. . Do you not feel this?"

"I am dull with my different feelings. I must take what precautions Ican, and chance the rest. " He bent down, and, taking hold of the phaen'sthin and ragged robe, tore off a broad strip, which he proceeded toswathe in folds around his forehead. "I'm not forgetting your advice, Leehallfae. I would not like to start the walk as Maskull and finish itas Digrung. "

The phaen gave a twisted grin, and they began to move upstream. The roadwas difficult. They had to stride from boulder to boulder, and found itwarm work. Occasionally a worse obstacle presented itself, which theycould surmount only by climbing. There was no more conversation for along time. Maskull, as far as possible, adopted his companion's counselto avoid the water, but here and there he was forced to set foot in it. The second or third time he did so, he felt a sudden agony in his arm, where it had been wounded by Krag. His eyes grew joyful; his fearsvanished; and he began deliberately to tread the stream. 

Leehallfae stroked aer chin and watched him with screwed-up eyes, tryingto comprehend what had happened. "Is your luck speaking to you, Maskull, or what is the matter?"

"Listen. You are a being of antique experience, and ought to know, ifanyone does. What is Muspel?"

The phaen's face was blank. "I don't know the name. "

"It is another world of some sort. "

"That cannot be. There is only this one world--Faceny's. "

Maskull came up to aer, linked arms, and began to talk. "I'm glad I fellin with you, Leehallfae, for this valley and everything connected withit need a lot of explaining. For example, in this spot there are hardlyany organic forms left--why have they all disappeared? You call thisbrook a 'life stream, ' yet the nearer its source we get, the lesslife it produces. A mile or two lower down we had those spontaneousplant-animals appearing out of nowhere, while right down by the sea, plants and animals were tumbling over one another. Now, if all this isconnected in some mysterious way or other with your Faceny, it seemsto me he must have a most paradoxical nature. His essence doesn't startcreating shapes until it has become thoroughly weakened and watered. .. . But perhaps both of us are talking nonsense. "

Leehallfae shook aer head. "Everything hangs together. The stream islife, and it is throwing off sparks of life all the time. When thesesparks are caught and imprisoned by matter, they become living shapes. The nearer the stream is to its source, the more terrible and vigorousis its life. You'll see for yourself when we reach the head of thevalley that there are no living shapes there at all. That means thatthere is no kind of matter tough enough to capture and hold the terriblesparks that are to be found there. Lower down the stream, most of thesparks are vigorous enough to escape to the upper air, but some are heldwhen they are a little way up, and these burst suddenly into shapes. Imyself am of this nature. Lower down still, toward the sea, the streamhas lost a great part of its vital power and the sparks are lazy andsluggish. They spread out, rather than rise into the air. There ishardly any kind of matter, however delicate, that is incapable ofcapturing these feeble sparks, and they are captured in multitudes--thataccounts for the innumerable living shapes you see there. But notonly that--the sparks are passed from one body to another by way ofgeneration, and can never hope to cease being so until they are wornout by decay. Lowest of all, you have the Sinking Sea itself. There thedegenerate and enfeebled life of the Matterplay streams has for its bodythe whole sea. So weak is it's power that it can't succeed in creatingany shapes at all but you can see its ceaseless, futile attempts to doso, in those spouts. "

"So the slow development of men and women is due to the feebleness ofthe life germ in their case?"

"Exactly. It can't attain all its desires at once. And now you can seehow immeasurably superior are the phaens, who spring spontaneously fromthe more electric and vigorous sparks. "

"But where does the matter come from that imprisons these sparks?"

"When life dies, it becomes matter. Matter itself dies, but its place isconstantly taken by new matter. "

"But if life comes from Faceny, how can it die at all?"

"Life is the thoughts of Faceny, and once these thoughts have left hisbrain they are nothing--mere dying embers. "

"This is a cheerless philosophy, " said Maskull. "But who is Facenyhimself, then, and why does he think at all?"

Leehallfae gave another wrinkled smile. "That I'll explain too. Facenyis of this nature. He faces Nothingness in all directions. He has noback and no sides, but is all face; and this face is his shape. Itmust necessarily be so, for nothing else can exist between him andNothingness. His face is all eyes, for he eternally contemplatesNothingness. He draws his inspirations from it; in no other way couldhe feel himself. For the same reason, phaens and even men love to be inempty places and vast solitudes, for each one is a little Faceny. "

"That rings true, " said Maskull. 

"Thoughts flow perpetually from Faceny's face backward. Since his faceis on all sides, however, they flow into his interior. A draught ofthought thus continuously flows from Nothingness to the inside ofFaceny, which is the world. The thoughts become shapes, and people theworld. This outer world, therefore, which is lying all around us, is notoutside at all, as it happens, but inside. The visible universe is likea gigantic stomach, and the real outside of the world we shall neversee. "

Maskull pondered deeply for a while. 

"Leehallfae, I fail to see what you personally have to hope for, sinceyou are nothing more than a discarded, dying thought. "

"Have you never loved a woman?" asked the phaen, regarding him fixedly. 

"Perhaps I have. "

"When you loved, did you have no high moments?"

"That's asking the same question in other words. "

"In those moments you were approaching Faceny. If you could have drawnnearer still, would you not have done so?"

"I would, regardless of the consequences. "

"Even if you personally had nothing to hope for?"

"But I would have that to hope for. "

Leehallfae walked on in silence. 

"A man is the half of Life, " ae broke out suddenly. "A woman is theother half of life, but a phaen is the whole of life. Moreover, whenlife becomes split into halves, something else has dropped out ofit--something that belongs only to the whole. Between your love and minethere is no comparison. If even your sluggish blood is drawn to Faceny, without stopping to ask what will come of it, how do you suppose it iswith me?"

"I don't question the genuineness of your passion, " replied Maskull, "but it's a pity you can't see your way to carry it forward into thenext world. "

Leehallfae gave a distorted grin, expressing heaven knows what emotion. "Men think what they like, but phaens are so made that they can see theworld only as it really is. "

That ended the conversation. 

The sun was high in the sky, and they appeared to be approaching thehead of the ravine. Its walls had still further closed in and, exceptat those moments when Branchspell was directly behind them, they strodealong all the time in deep shade; but still it was disagreeably hotand relaxing. All life had ceased. A beautiful, fantastic spectacle waspresented by the cliff faces, the rocky ground, and the boulders thatchoked the entire width of the gorge. They were a snow-white crystallinelimestone, heavily scored by veins of bright, gleaming blue. The rivuletwas no longer green, but a clear, transparent crystal. Its noise wasmusical, and altogether it looked most romantic and charming, butLeehallfae seemed to find something else in it--aer features grew moreand more set and tortured. 

About half an hour after all the other life forms had vanished, anotherplant-animal was precipitated out of space, in front of their eyes. It was as tall as Maskull himself, and had a brilliant and vigorousappearance, as befitted a creature just out of Nature's mint. It startedto walk about; but hardly had it done so when it burst silently asunder. Nothing remained of it--the whole body disappeared instantaneously intothe same invisible mist from which it had sprung. 

"That bears out what you said, " commented Maskull, turning rather pale. 

"Yes, " answered Leehallfae, "we have now come to the region of terriblelife. "

"Then, since you're right in this, I must believe all that you've beentelling me. "

As he uttered the words, they were just turning a bend of the ravine. There now loomed up straight ahead a perpendicular cliff about threehundred feet in height, composed of white, marbled rock. It was the headof the valley, and beyond it they could not proceed. 

"In return for my wisdom, " said the phaen, "you will now lend me yourluck. "

They walked up to the base of the cliff, and Maskull looked at itreflectively. It was possible to climb it, but the ascent would bedifficult. The now tiny brook issued from a hole in the rock only a fewfeet up. Apart from its musical running, not a sound was to be beard. The floor of the gorge was in shadow, but about halfway up the precipicethe sun was shining. 

"What do you want me to do?" demanded Maskull. "Everything is now inyour hands, and I have no suggestions to make. Now it's your luck thatmust help us. "

Maskull continued gazing up a little while longer. "We had better waittill the afternoon, Leehallfae. I'll probably have to climb to the top, but it's too hot at present--and besides, I'm tired. I'll snatch a fewhours' sleep. After that, we'll see. "

Leehallfae seemed annoyed, but raised no opposition. 

Chapter 17. CORPANG

Maskull did not awaken till long after Blodsombre. Leehallfae wasstanding by his side, looking down at him. It was doubtful whether aehad slept at all. 

"What time is it?" Maskull asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. 

"The day is passing, " was the vague reply. 

Maskull got on to his feet, and gazed up at the cliff. "Now I'm going toclimb that. No need for both of us to risk our necks, so you wait here, and if I find anything on top I'll call you. "

Ale phaen glanced at him strangely. "There's nothing up there excepta bare hillside. I've been there often. Have you anything special inmind?"

"Heights often bring me inspiration. Sit down, and wait. "

Refreshed by his sleep, Maskull immediately attacked the face of thecliff, and took the first twenty feet at a single rush. Then itgrew precipitous, and the ascent demanded greater circumspection andintelligence. There were few hand- or footholds: he had to reflectbefore every step. On the other hand, it was sound rock, and he was nonovice at the sport. Branchspell glared full on the wall, so that ithalf blinded him with its glittering whiteness. 

After many doubts and pauses he drew near the top. He was hot, sweatingcopiously, and rather dizzy. To reach a ledge he caught hold of twoprojecting rocks, one with each hand, at the same time scramblingupward, his legs between the rocks. The left-hand rock, which was thelarger of the two, became dislodged by his weight, and, flying like ahuge, dark shadow past his head, crashed down with a terrifying sound tothe foot of the precipice, followed by an avalanche of smaller stones. Maskull steadied himself as well as he could, but it was some momentsbefore he dared to look down behind him. 

At first he could not distinguish Leehallfae. Then he caught sightof legs and hindquarters a few feet up the cliff from the bottom. Heperceived that the phaen had aer head in a cavity and was scrutinisingsomething, and waited for aer to reappear. 

Ae emerged, looked up to Maskull, and called out in aer hornlike voice, "The entrance is here!"

"I'm coming down!" roared Maskull. "Wait for me!"

He descended swiftly--without taking too much care, for he thought herecognised his "luck" in this discovery--and within twenty minutes wasstanding beside the phaen. 

"What happened?"

"The rock you dislodged struck this other rock just above the spring. Ittore it out of its bed. See--now there's room for us to get in!"

"Don't get excited!" said Maskull. "It's a remarkable accident, but wehave plenty of time. Let me look. "

He peered into the hole, which was large enough to admit a big manwithout stooping. Contrasted with the daylight outside it was dark, yeta peculiar glow pervaded the place, and he could see well enough. A rocktunnel went straight forward into the bowels of the hill, out of sight. The valley brook did not flow along the floor of this tunnel, as he hadexpected, but came up as a spring just inside the entrance. 

"Well Leehallfae, not much need to deliberate, eh? Still, observe thatyour stream parts company with us here. "

As he turned around for an answer he noticed that his companion wastrembling from head to foot. 

"Why, what's the matter?"

Leehallfae pressed a hand to aer heart. "The stream leaves us, but whatmakes the stream what it is continues with us. Faceny is there. "

"But surely you don't expect to see him in person? Why are you shaking?"

"Perhaps it will be too much for me after all. "

"Why? How is it affecting you?"

The phaen took him by the shoulder and held him at arm's length, endeavouring to study him with aer unsteady eyes. "Faceny's thoughts areobscure. I am his lover, you are a lover of women, yet he grants to youwhat he denies to me. "

"What does he grant to me?"

"To see him, and go on living. I shall die. But it's immaterial. Tomorrow both of us will be dead. "

Maskull impatiently shook himself free. "Your sensations may be reliablein your own case, but how do you know I shall die?"

"Life is flaming up inside you, " replied Leehallfae, shaking aer head. "But after it has reached its climax--perhaps tonight--it will sinkrapidly and you'll die tomorrow. As for me, if I enter Threal I shan'tcome out again. A smell of death is being wafted to me out of thishole. "

"You talk like a frightened man. I smell nothing. "

"I am not frightened, " said Leehallfae quietly--ae had been graduallyrecovering aer tranquillity--"but when one has lived as long as I have, it is a serious matter to die. Every year one puts out new roots. "

"Decide what you're going to do, " said Maskull with a touch of contempt, "for I'm going in at once. "

The phaen gave an odd, meditative stare down the ravine, and after thatwalked into the cavern without another word. Maskull, scratching hishead, followed close at aer heels. 

The moment they stepped across the bubbling spring, the atmospherealtered. Without becoming stale or unpleasant, it grew cold, clearand refined, and somehow suggested austere and tomblike thoughts. The daylight disappeared at the first bend in the tunnel. After that, Maskull could not say where the light came from. The air itself musthave been luminous, for though it was as light as full moon on Earth, neither he nor Leehallfae cast a shadow. Another peculiarity of thelight was that both the walls of the tunnel and their own bodiesappeared colourless. Everything was black and white, like a lunarlandscape. This intensified the solemn, funereal feelings created by theatmosphere. 

After they had proceeded for about ten minutes, the tunnel began towiden out. The roof was high above their heads, and six men couldhave walked side by side. Leehallfae was visibly weakening. Ae draggedaerself along slowly and painfully, with sunken head. 

Maskull caught hold of aer. "You can't go on like that. Better let metake you back. "

The phaen smiled, and staggered. "I'm dying. "

"Don't talk like that. It's only a passing indisposition. Let me takeyou back to the daylight. "

"No, help me forward. I wish to see Faceny. "

"The sick must have their way, " said Maskull. Lifting aer bodily in hisarms, he walked quickly along for another hundred yards or so. They thenemerged from the tunnel and faced a world the parallel of which he hadnever set eyes upon before. 

"Set me down!" directed Leehallfae feebly. "Here I'll die. "

Maskull obeyed, and laid aer down at full length on the rocky ground. The phaen raised aerself with difficulty on one arm, and stared withfast-glazing eyes at the mystic landscape. 

Maskull looked too, and what he saw was a vast, undulating plain, lighted as if by the moon--but there was of course no moon, and therewere no shadows. He made out running streams in the distance. Besidethem were trees of a peculiar kind; they were rooted in the ground, butthe branches also were aerial roots, and there were no leaves. No otherplants could be seen. The soil was soft, porous rock, resembling pumice. Beyond a mile or two in any direction the light merged into obscurity. At their back a great rocky wall extended on either hand; but it was notsquare like a wall, but full of bays and promontories like an indentedline of sea cliffs. The roof of this huge underworld was out of sight. Here and there a mighty shaft of naked rock, fantastically weathered, towered aloft into the gloom, doubtless serving to support the roof. There were no colours--every detail of the landscape was black, white, or grey. The scene appeared so still, so solemn and religious, that allhis feelings quieted down to absolute tranquillity. 

Leehallfae fell back suddenly. Maskull dropped on his knees, andhelplessly watched the last flickerings of aer spirit, going out like acandle in foul air. Death came. .. . He closed the eyes. The awful grin ofCrystalman immediately fastened upon the phaen's dead features. 

While Maskull was still kneeling, he became conscious of someonestanding beside him. He looked up quickly and saw a man, but did not atonce rise. 

"Another phaen dead, " said the newcomer in a grave, toneless, andintellectual voice. 

Maskull got up. 

The man was short and thickset but emaciated. His forehead was notdisfigured by any organs. He was middle-aged. The features wereenergetic and rather coarse--yet it seemed to Maskull as though a pure, hard life had done something toward refining them. His sanguineeyes carried a twisted, puzzled look; some unanswerable problem wasapparently in the forefront of his brain. His face was hairless; thehair of his head was short and manly; his brow was wide. He was clothedin a black, sleeveless robe, and bore a long staff in his hand. Therewas an air of cleanness and austerity about the whole man that wasattractive. 

He went on speaking dispassionately to Maskull, and, while doing so, kept passing his hand reflectively over his cheeks and chin. "They allfind their way here to die. They come from Matterplay. There they liveto an incredible age. Partly on that account, and partly becauseof their spontaneous origin, they regard themselves as the favouredchildren of Faceny. But when they come here to find him, they die atonce. "

"I think this one is the last of the race. But whom do I speak to?"

"I am Corpang. Who are you, where do you come from, and what are youdoing here?"

"My name is Maskull. My home is on the other side of the universe. Asfor what I am doing here--I accompanied Leehallfae, that phaen, fromMatterplay. "

"But a man doesn't accompany a phaen out of friendship. What do you wantin Threal?"

"Then this is Threal?"

"Yes. "

Maskull remained silent. 

Corpang studied his face with rough, curious eyes. "Are you ignorant, ormerely reticent, Maskull?"

"I came here to ask questions, and not to answer them. "

The stillness of the place was almost oppressive. Not a breeze stirred, and not a sound came through the air. Their voices had been lowered, asthough they were in a cathedral. 

"Then do you want my society, or not?" asked Corpang. 

"Yes, if you can fit in with my mood, which is--not to talk aboutmyself. "

"But you must at least tell me where you want to go to. "

"I want to see what is to be seen here, and then go on to Lichstorm. "

"I can guide you through, if that's all you want. Come, let us start. "

"First let's do our duty and bury the dead, if possible. "

"Turn around, " directed Corpang. 

Maskull looked around quickly. Leehallfae's body had disappeared. 

"What does this mean--what has happened?"

"The body has returned to whence it came. There was nowhere here for itto be, so it has vanished. No burial will be required. "

"Was the phaen an illusion, then?"

"In no sense. "

"Well, explain quickly, then, what has taken place. I seem to be goingmad. "

"There's nothing unintelligible in it, if you'll only listen calmly. Thephaen belonged, body and soul, to the outside, visible world--toFaceny. This underworld is not Faceny's world, but Thire's, and Faceny'screatures cannot breathe its atmosphere. As this applies not only towhole bodies, but even to the last particles of bodies, the phaen hasdissolved into Nothingness. "

"But don't you and I belong to the outside world too?"

"We belong to all three worlds. "

"What three worlds--what do you mean?"

"There are three worlds, " said Corpang composedly. "The first isFaceny's, the second is Amfuse's, the third is Thire's. From him Threalgets it name. "

"But this is mere nomenclature. In what sense are there three worlds?"

Corpang passed his hand over his forehead. "All this we can discuss aswe go along. It's a torment to me to be standing still. "

Maskull stared again at the spot where Leehallfae's body had lain, quitebewildered at the extraordinary disappearance. He could scarcely tearhimself away from the place, so mysterious was it. Not until Corpangcalled to him a second time did he make up his mind to follow him. 

They set off from the rock wall straight across the airlit plain, directing their course toward the nearest trees. The subdued light, theabsence of shadows, the massive shafts, springing grey-white out of thejetlike ground, the fantastic trees, the absence of a sky, the deathlysilence, the knowledge that he was underground--the combination of allthese things predisposed Maskull's mind to mysticism, and he preparedhimself with some anxiety to hear Corpang's explanation of the land andits wonders. He already began to grasp that the reality of the outsideworld and the reality of this world were two quite different things. 

"In what sense are there three worlds?" he demanded, repeating hisformer question. 

Corpang smote the end of his staff on the ground. "First of all, Maskull, what is your motive for asking? If it's mere intellectualcuriosity, tell me, for we mustn't play with awful matters. "

"No, it isn't that, " said Maskull slowly. "I'm not a student. My journeyis no holiday tour. "

"Isn't there blood on your soul?" asked Corpang, eying him intently. 

The blood rose steadily to Maskull's face, but in that light it causedit to appear black. 

"Unfortunately there is, and not a little. "

The other's face was all wrinkles, but he made no comment. 

"And so you see, " went on Maskull, with a short laugh, "I'm in the verybest condition for receiving your instruction. "

Corpang still paused. "Underneath your crimes I see a man, " he said, after a few minutes. "On that account, and because we are commanded tohelp one another, I won't leave you at present, though I little thoughtto be walking with a murderer. .. . Now to your question. .. . Whatever aman sees with his eyes, Maskull, he sees in three ways--length, breadth, depth. Length is existence, breadth is relation, depth is feeling. "

"Something of the sort was told me by Earthrid, the musician, who camefrom Threal. "

"I don't know him. What else did he tell you?"

"He went on to apply it to music. Continue, and pardon theinterruption. "

"These three states of perception are the three worlds. Existence isFaceny's world, relation is Amfuse's world, feeling is Thire's world. "

"Can't we come down to hard facts?" said Maskull, frowning. "Iunderstand no more than I did before what you mean by three worlds. "

"There are no harder facts than the ones I am giving you. The firstworld is visible, tangible Nature. It was created by Faceny out ofnothingness, and therefore we call it Existence. "

"That I understand. "

"The second world is Love--by which I don't mean lust. Without love, every individual would be entirely self-centred and unable deliberatelyto act on others. Without love, there would be no sympathy--not evenhatred, anger, or revenge would be possible. These are all imperfect anddistorted forms of pure love. Interpenetrating Faceny's world of Nature, therefore, we have Amfuse's world of Love, or Relation. "

"What grounds have you for assuming that this so-called second world isnot contained in the first?"

"They are contradictory. A natural man lives for himself; a lover livesfor others. "

"It may be so. It's rather mystical. But go on--who is Thire?"

"Length and breadth together without depth give flatness. Life and lovewithout feeling produce shallow, superficial natures. Feeling is theneed of men to stretch out toward their creator. "

"You mean prayer and worship?"

"I mean intimacy with Thire. This feeling is not to be found in eitherthe first or second world, therefore it is a third world. Just as depthis the line between object and subject, feeling is the line betweenThire and man. "

"But what is Thire himself?"

"Thire is the afterworld. "

"I still don't understand, " said Maskull. "Do you believe in threeseparate gods, or are these merely three ways of regarding one God?"

"There are three gods, for they are mutually antagonistic. Yet they aresomehow united. "

Maskull reflected a while. "How have you arrived at these conclusions?"

"None other are possible in Threal, Maskull. "

"Why in Threal--what is there peculiar here?"

"I will show you presently. "

They walked on for above a mile in silence, while Maskull digested whathad been said. When they came to the first trees, which grew along thebanks of a small stream of transparent water, Corpang halted. 

"That bandage around your forehead has long been unnecessary, " heremarked. 

Maskull removed it. He found that the line of his brow was smooth anduninterrupted, as it had never yet been since his arrival in Tormance. 

"How has this come about--and how did you know it?"

"They were Faceny's organs. They have vanished, just as the phaen's bodyvanished. "

Maskull kept rubbing his forehead. "I feel more human without them. Butwhy isn't the rest of my body affected?"

"Because its living will contains the element of Thire. "

"Why are we stopping here?"

Corpang broke off the tip of one of the aerial roots of a tree, andproffered it to him. "Eat this, Maskull. "

"For food, or something else?"

"Food for body and soul. "

Maskull bit into the root. It was white and hard; its white sap wasbleeding. It had no taste, but after eating it, he experienced a changeof perception. The landscape, without alteration of light or outline, became several degrees more stern and sacred. When he looked at Corpanghe was impressed by his aspect of Gothic awfulness, but the perplexedexpression was still in his eyes. 

"Do you spend all your time here, Corpang?"

"Occasionally I go above, but not often. "

"What fastens you to this gloomy world?"

"The search for Thire. "

"Then it's still a search?"

"Let us walk on. "

As they resumed their journey across the dim, gradually rising plain, the conversation became even more earnest in character than before. "Although I was not born here, " proceeded Corpang, "I've lived here fortwenty-five years, and during all that time I have been drawing nearerto Thire, as I hope. But there is this peculiarity about it--the firststages are richer in fruit and more promising than the later ones. Thelonger a man seeks Thire, the more he seems to absent himself. In thebeginning he is felt and known, sometimes as a shape, sometimes as avoice, sometimes an overpowering emotion. Later on all is dry, dark, andharsh in the soul. Then you would think that Thire was a million milesoff. "

"How do you explain that?"

"When everything is darkest, he may be nearest, Maskull. "

"But this is troubling you?"

"My days are spent in torture. "

"You still persist, though? This day darkness can't be the ultimatestate?"

"My questions will be answered. "

A silence ensued. 

"What do you propose to show me?" asked Maskull. 

"The land is about to grow wilder. I am taking you to the Three Figures, which were carved and erected by an earlier race of men. There, we willpray. "

"And what then?"

"If you are truehearted, you will see things you will not easilyforget. "

They had been walking slightly uphill in a sort of trough between twoparallel, gently sloping downs. The trough now deepened, while the hillson either side grew steeper. They were in an ascending valley and, asit curved this way and that, the landscape was shut off from view. They came to a little spring, bubbling up from the ground. It formeda trickling brook, which was unlike all other brooks in that it wasflowing up the valley instead of down. Before long it was joined byother miniature rivulets, so that in the end it became a fair-sizedstream. Maskull kept looking at it, and puckering his forehead. 

"Nature has other laws here, it seems?"

"Nothing can exist here that is not a compound of the three worlds. "

"Yet the water is flowing somewhere. "

"I can't explain it, but there are three wills in it. "

"Is there no such thing as pure Thire-matter?"

"Thire cannot exist without Amfuse, and Amfuse cannot exist withoutFaceny. "

Maskull thought this over for some minutes. "That must be so, " he saidat last. "Without life there can be no love, and without love there canbe no religious feeling. "

In the half light of the land, the tops of the hills containing thevalley presently attained such a height that they could not be seen. Thesides were steep and craggy, while the bed of the valley grew narrowerat every step. Not a living organism was visible. All was unnatural andsepulchral. 

Maskull said, "I feel as if I were dead, and walking in another world. "

"I still do not know what you are doing here, " answered Corpang. 

"Why should I go on making a mystery of it? I came to find Surtur. "

"That name I've heard--but under what circumstances?"

"You forget?"

Corpang walked along, his eyes fixed on the ground, obviously troubled. "Who is Surtur?"

Maskull shook his head, and said nothing. 

The valley shortly afterward narrowed, so that the two men, touchingfingertips in the middle, could have placed their free hands on the rockwalls on either side. It threatened to terminate in a cul-de-sac, butjust when the road seemed least promising, and they were shut in bycliffs on all sides, a hitherto unperceived bend brought them suddenlyinto the open. They emerged through a mere crack in the line ofprecipices. 

A sort of huge natural corridor was running along at right angles to theway they had come; both ends faded into obscurity after a few hundredyards. Right down the centre of this corridor ran a chasm withperpendicular sides; its width varied from thirty to a hundred feet, but its bottom could not be seen. On both sides of the chasm, facing oneanother, were platforms of rock, twenty feet or so in width; they tooproceeded in both directions out of sight. Maskull and Corpang emergedonto one of these platforms. The shelf opposite was a few feet higherthan that on which they stood. The platforms were backed by a doubleline of lofty and unclimbable cliffs, whose tops were invisible. 

The stream, which had accompanied them through the gap, went straightforward, but, instead of descending the wall of the chasm as awaterfall, it crossed from side to side like a liquid bridge. It thendisappeared through a cleft in the cliffs on the opposite side. 

To Maskull's mind, however, even more wonderful than this unnaturalphenomenon was the absence of shadows, which was more noticeable herethan on the open plain. It made the place look like a hall of phantoms. 

Corpang, without delay, led the way along the shelf to the left. Whenthey had walked about a mile, the gulf widened to two hundred feet. Three large rocks loomed up on the ledge opposite; they resembled threeupright giants, standing motionless side by side on the extreme edge ofthe chasm. Corpang and Maskull drew nearer, and then Maskull saw thatthey were statues. Each was about thirty feet high, and the workmanshipwas of the rudest. They represented naked men, but the limbs andtrunks had been barely chipped into shape--the faces alone had had carebestowed on them, and even these faces were merely generalised. It wasobviously the work of primitive artists. The statues stood erect withknees closed and arms hanging straight down their sides. All three wereexactly alike. 

As soon as they were directly opposite, Corpang halted. 

"Is this a representation of your three Beings?" asked Maskull, awed bythe spectacle in spite of his constitutional audacity. 

"Ask no questions, but kneel, " replied Corpang. He dropped onto his ownknees, but Maskull remained standing. 

Corpang covered his eyes with one hand, and prayed silently. After afew minutes the light sensibly faded. Then Maskull knelt as well, but hecontinued looking. 

It grew darker and darker, until all was like the blackest night. Sightand sound no longer existed; he was alone with his own spirit. 

Then one of the three Colossi came slowly into sight again. But it hadceased to be a statue--it was a living person. Out of the blackness ofspace a gigantic head and chest emerged, illuminated by a mystic, rosyglow, like a mountain peak bathed by the rising sun. As the light grewstronger Maskull saw that the flesh was translucent and that the glowcame from within. The limbs of the apparition were wreathed in mist. 

Before long the features of the face stood out distinctly. It was thatof a beardless youth of twenty years. It possessed the beauty of a girland the daring force of a man; it bore a mocking, cryptic smile. Maskullfelt the fresh, mysterious thrill of mingled pain and rapture of onewho awakes from a deep sleep in midwinter and sees the gleaming, dark, delicate colours of the half-dawn. The vision smiled, kept still, andlooked beyond him. He began to shudder, with delight--and many emotions. As he gazed, his poetic sensibility acquired such a nervous andindefinable character that he could endure it no more; he burst intotears. 

When he looked up again the image had nearly disappeared, and in a fewmoments more he was plunged back into total darkness. 

Shortly afterward a second statue reappeared. It too was transfiguredinto a living form, but Maskull was unable to see the details of itsface and body, because of the brightness of the light that radiated fromthem. This light, which started as pale gold, ended as flaming goldenfire. It illumined the whole underground landscape. The rock ledges, the cliffs, himself and Corpang on their knees, the two unlightedstatues--all appeared as if in sunlight, and the shadows were black andstrongly defined. The light carried heat with it, but a singular heat. Maskull was unaware of any rise in temperature, but he felt his heartmelting to womanish softness. His male arrogance and egotism fadedimperceptibly away; his personality seemed to disappear. What was leftbehind was not freedom of spirit or lightheartedness, but a passionateand nearly savage mental state of pity and distress. He felt atormenting desire to serve. All this came from the heat of the statue, and was without an object. He glanced anxiously around him, and fastenedhis eyes on Corpang. He put a hand on his shoulder and aroused him fromhis praying. 

"You must know what I am feeling, Corpang. "

Corpang smiled sweetly, but said nothing. 

"I care nothing for my own affairs any more. How can I help you?"

"So much the better for you, Maskull, if you respond so quickly to theinvisible worlds. "

As soon as he had spoken, the figure began to vanish, and the light todie away from the landscape. Maskull's emotion slowly subsided, butit was not until he was once more in complete darkness that he becamemaster of himself again. Then he felt ashamed of his boyish exhibitionof enthusiasm, and thought ruefully that there must be something wantingin his character. He got up onto his feet. 

The very moment that he arose, a man's voice sounded, not a yard fromhis ear. It was hardly raised above a whisper, but he could distinguishthat it was not Corpang's. As he listened he was unable to preventhimself from physically trembling. 

"Maskull, you are to die, " said the unseen speaker. 

"Who is speaking?"

"You have only a few hours of life left. Don't trifle the time away. "

Maskull could bring nothing out. 

"You have despised life, " went on the low-toned voice. "Do you reallyimagine that this mighty world has no meaning, and that life is a joke?"

"What must I do?"

"Repent your murders, commit no fresh ones, pay honour to. .. "

The voice died away. Maskull waited in silence for it to speak again. All remained still, however, and the speaker appeared to have takenhis departure. Supernatural horror seized him; he fell into a sort ofcatalepsy. 

At that moment he saw one of the statues fading away, from a pale, whiteglow to darkness. He had not previously seen it shining. 

In a few more minutes the normal light of the land returned. Corpang gotup, and shook him out of his trance. 

Maskull looked around, but saw no third person. "Whose statue was thelast?" he demanded. 

"Did you hear me speaking?"

"I heard your voice, but no one else's. "

"I've just had my death foretold, so I suppose I have not long to live. Leehallfae prophesied the same thing. "

Corpang shook his head. "What value do you set on life?" he asked. 

"Very little. But it's a fearful thing all the same. "

"Your death is?"

"No, but this warning. "

They stopped talking. A profound silence reigned. Neither of the two menseemed to know what to do next, or where to go. Then both of them heardthe sound of drumming. It was slow, emphatic, and impressive, a long wayoff and not loud, but against the background of quietness, very marked. It appeared to come from some point out of sight, to the left of wherethey were standing, but on the same rock shelf. Maskull's heart beatquickly. 

"What can that sound be?" asked Corpang, peering into the obscurity. 

"It is Surtur. "

"Once again, who is Surtur?"

Maskull clutched his arm and pressed him to silence. A strange radiancewas in the air, in the direction of the drumming. It increased inintensity and gradually occupied the whole scene. Things were no longerseen by Thire's light, but by this new light. It cast no shadows. 

Corpang's nostrils swelled, and he held himself more proudly. "What fireis that?"

"It is Muspel-light. "

They both glanced instinctively at the three statues. In the strangeglow they had undergone a change. The face of each figure was clothed inthe sordid and horrible Crystalman mask. 

Corpang cried out and put his hand over his eyes. "What can this mean?"he asked a minute later. 

"It must mean that life is wrong, and the creator of life too, whetherhe is one person or three. "

Corpang looked again, like a man trying to accustom himself to ashocking sight. "Dare we believe this?"

"You must, " replied Maskull. "You have always served the highest, andyou must continue to do so. It has simply turned out that Thire is notthe highest. "

Corpang's face became swollen with a kind of coarse anger. "Life isclearly false--I have been seeking Thire for a lifetime, and now Ifind--this. "

"You have nothing to reproach yourself with. Crystalman has had eternityto practice his cunning in, so it's no wonder if a man can't seestraight, even with the best intentions. What have you decided to do?"

"The drumming seems to be moving away. Will you follow it, Maskull?"

"Yes. "

"But where will it take us?"

"Perhaps out of Threal altogether. "

"It sounds to me more real than reality, " said Corpang. "Tell me, who isSurtur?"

"Surtur's world, or Muspel, we are told, is the original of which thisworld is a distorted copy. Crystalman is life, but Surtur is other thanlife. "

"How do you know this?"

"It has sprung together somehow--from inspiration, from experience, fromconversation with the wise men of your planet. Every hour it grows truerfor me and takes a more definite shape. "

Corpang stood up squarely, facing the three Figures with a harsh, energetic countenance, stamped all over with resolution. "I believeyou, Maskull. No better proof is required than that. Thire is not thehighest; he is even in a certain sense the lowest. Nothing but thethoroughly false and base could stoop to such deceits. .. . I am comingwith you--but don't play the traitor. These signs may be for you, andnot for me at all, and if you leave me--"

"I make no promises. I don't ask you to come with me. If you prefer tostay in your little world, or if you have any doubts about it, you hadbetter not come. "

"Don't talk like that. I shall never forget your service to me. .. Let usmake haste, or we shall lose the sound. "

Corpang started off more eagerly than Maskull. They walked fast in thedirection of the drumming. For upward of two miles the path went alongthe ledge without any change of level. The mysterious radiance graduallydeparted, and was replaced by the normal light of Threal. The rhythmicalbeats continued, but a very long way ahead--neither was able to diminishthe distance. 

"What kind of man are you?" Corpang suddenly broke out. 

"In what respect?"

"How do you come to be on such terms with the Invisible? How is itthat I've never had this experience before I met you, in spite of mynever-ending prayers and mortifications? In what way are you superior tome?"

"To hear voices perhaps can't be made a profession, " replied Maskull. "I have a simple and unoccupied mind--that may be why I sometimes hearthings that up to the present you have not been able to. "

Corpang darkened, and kept silent; and then Maskull saw through to hispride. 

The ledge presently began to rise. They were high above the platformon the opposite side of the gulf. The road then curved sharply tothe right, and they passed over the abyss and the other ledge as by abridge, coming out upon the top of the opposite cliffs. A new line ofprecipices immediately confronted them. They followed the drumming alongthe base of these heights, but as they were passing the mouth of alarge cave the sound came from its recesses, and they turned their stepsinward. 

"This leads to the outer world, " remarked Corpang. "I've occasionallybeen there by this passage. "

"Then that's where it is taking us, no doubt. I confess I shan't besorry to see sunlight once more. "

"Can you find time to think of sunlight?" asked Corpang with a roughsmile. 

"I love the sun, and perhaps I'm rather lacking in the spirit of azealot. "

"Yet, for all that, you may get there before me. "

"Don't be bitter, " said Maskull. "I'll tell you another thing. Muspelcan't be willed, for the simple reason that Muspel does not concern thewill. To will is a property of this world. "

"Then what is your journey for?"

"It's one thing to walk to a destination, and to linger over the walk, and quite another to run there at top speed. "

"Perhaps I'm not so easily deceived as you think, " said Corpang withanother smile. 

The light persisted in the cave. The path narrowed and became a steepascent. Then the angle became one of forty-five degrees, and they hadto climb. The tunnel grew so confined that Maskull was reminded of theconfined dreams of his childhood. 

Not long afterward, daylight appeared. They hastened to complete thelast stage. Maskull rushed out first into the world of colours and, all dirty and bleeding from numerous scratches, stood blinking on ahillside, bathed in the brilliant late-afternoon sunshine. Corpangfollowed closely at his heels, He was obliged to shield his eyes withhis hands for a few minutes, so unaccustomed was he to Branchspell'sblinding rays. 

"The drum beats have stopped!" he exclaimed suddenly. 

"You can't expect music all the time, " answered Maskull dryly. "Wemustn't be luxurious. "

"But now we have no guide. We're no better off than before. "

"Well, Tormance is a big place. But I have an infallible rule, Corpang. As I come from the south, I always go due north. "

"That will take us to Lichstorm. "

Maskull gazed at the fantastically piled rocks all around them. "I sawthese rocks from Matterplay. The mountains look as far off now as theydid them, and there's not much of the day left. How far is Lichstormfrom here?"

Corpang looked away to the distant range. "I don't know, but unless amiracle happens we shan't get there tonight. "

"I have a feeling, " said Maskull, "that we shall not only get theretonight, but that tonight will be the most important in my life. "

And he sat down passively to rest. 

Chapter 18. HAUNTE

While Maskull sat, Corpang walked restlessly to and fro, swinging hisarms. He had lost his staff. His face was inflamed with suppressedimpatience, which accentuated its natural coarseness. At last he stoppedshort in front of Maskull and looked down at him. "What do you intend todo?"

Maskull glanced up and idly waved his hand toward the distant mountains. "Since we can't walk, we must wait. "

"For what?"

"I don't know. .. How's this, though? Those peaks have changed colour, from red to green. "

"Yes, the lich wind is travelling this way. "

"The lich wind?"

"It's the atmosphere of Lichstorm. It always clings to the mountains, but when the wind blows from the north it comes as far as Threal. "

"It's a sort of fog, then?"

"A peculiar sort, for they say it excites the sexual passions. "

"So we are to have lovemaking, " said Maskull, laughing. 

"Perhaps you won't find it so joyous, " replied Corpang a little grimly. 

"But tell me--these peaks, how do they preserve their balance?"

Corpang gazed at the distant, overhanging summits, which were fastfading into obscurity. 

"Passion keeps them from falling. "

Maskull laughed again; he was feeling a strange disturbance of spirit. "What, the love of rock for rock?"

"It is comical, but true. "

"We'll take a closer peep at them presently. Beyond the mountains isBarey, is it not?"

"Yes. "

"And then the Ocean. But what is the name of that Ocean?"

"That is told only to those who die beside it. "

"Is the secret so precious, Corpang?"

Branchspell was nearing the horizon in the west; there were more thantwo hours of daylight remaining. The air all around them became murky. It was a thin mist, neither damp nor cold. The Lichstorm Range nowappeared only as a blur on the sky. The air was electric and tingling, and was exciting in its effect. Maskull felt a sort of emotionalinflammation, as though a very slight external cause would serve tooverturn his self-control. Corpang stood silent with a mouth like iron. 

Maskull kept looking toward a high pile of rocks in the vicinity. 

"That seems to me a good watchtower. Perhaps we shall see something fromthe top. "

Without waiting for his companion's opinion, he began to scramble up thetower, and in a few minutes was standing on the summit. Corpang joinedhim. 

From their viewpoint they saw the whole countryside sloping down tothe sea, which appeared as a mere flash of far-off, glitteringwater. Leaving all that, however, Maskull's eyes immediately fastenedthemselves on a small, boat-shaped object, about two miles away, whichwas travelling rapidly toward them, suspended only a few feet in theair. 

"What do you make of that?" he asked in a tone of astonishment. 

Corpang shook his head and said nothing. 

Within two minutes the flying object, whatever it was, had diminishedthe distance between them by one half. It resembled a boat more andmore, but its flight was erratic, rather than smooth; its nose wascontinually jerking upward and downward, and from side to side. Maskullnow made out a man sitting in the stern, and what looked like a largedead animal lying amidships. As the aerial craft drew nearer, heobserved a thick, blue haze underneath it, and a similar haze behind, but the front, facing them, was clear. 

"Here must be what we are waiting for, Corpang. But what on earthcarries it?"

He stroked his beard contemplatively, and then, fearing that they hadnot been seen, stepped onto the highest rock, bellowed loudly, and madewild motions with his arm. The flying-boat, which was only a few hundredyards distant, slightly altered its course, now heading toward them in away that left no doubt that the steersman had detected their presence. 

The boat slackened speed until it was travelling no faster than awalking man, but the irregularity of its movements continued. It wasshaped rather queerly. About twenty feet long, its straight sidestapered off from a flat bow, four feet broad, to a sharp-angled stern. The flat bottom was not above ten feet from the ground. It was undecked, and carried only one living occupant; the other object they haddistinguished was really the carcass of an animal, of about the sizeof a large sheep. The blue haze trailing behind the boat appeared toemanate from the glittering point of a short upright pole fastened inthe stem. When the craft was within a few feet of them, and they werelooking down at it in wonder from above, the man removed this pole andcovered the brightly shining tip with a cap. The forward motion thenceased altogether, and the boat began to drift hither and thither, but still it remained suspended in the air, while the haze underneathpersisted. Finally the broad side came gently up against the pile ofrocks on which they were standing. The steersman jumped ashore andimmediately clambered up to meet them. 

Maskull offered him a hand, but he refused it disdainfully. He was ayoung man, of middle height. He wore a close-fitting fur garment. Hislimbs were quite ordinary, but his trunk was disproportionately long, and he had the biggest and deepest chest that Maskull had ever seen ina man. His hairless face was sharp, pointed, and ugly, with protrudingteeth, and a spiteful, grinning expression. His eyes and brows slopedupward. On his forehead was an organ which looked as though it had beenmutilated--it was a mere disagreeable stump of flesh. His hair was shortand thin. Maskull could not name the colour of his skin, but it seemedto stand in the same relation to jale as green to red. 

Once up, the stranger stood for a minute or two, scrutinising the twocompanions through half-closed lids, all the time smiling insolently. Maskull was all eagerness to exchange words, but did not care to be thefirst to speak. Corpang stood moodily, a little in the background. 

"What men are you?" demanded the aerial navigator at last. His voice wasextremely loud, and possessed a most unpleasant timbre. It sounded toMaskull like a large volume of air trying to force its way through anarrow orifice. 

"I am Maskull; my friend is Corpang. He comes from Threal, but where Icome from, don't ask. "

"I am Haunte, from Sarclash. "

"Where may that be?"

"Half an hour ago I could have shown it to you, but now it has got toomurky. It is a mountain in Lichstorm. "

"Are you returning there now?"

"Yes. "

"And how long will it take to get there in that boat?"

"Two--three hours. "

"Will it accommodate us too?"

"What, are you for Lichstorm as well? What can you want there?"

"To see the sights, " responded Maskull with twinkling eyes. "But firstof all, to dine. I can't remember having eaten all day. You seem to havebeen hunting to some purpose, so we won't lack for food. "

Haunte eyed him quizzically. "You certainly don't lack impudence. However, I'm a man of that sort myself, and it is the sort I prefer. Your friend, now, would probably rather starve than ask a meal of astranger. He looks to me just like a bewildered toad dragged up out of adark hole. "

Maskull took Corpang's arm, and constrained him to silence. 

"Where have you been hunting, Haunte?"

"Matterplay. I had the worst luck--I speared one wold horse, and thereit lies. "

"What is Lichstorm like?"

"There are men there, and there are women there, but there are nomen-women, as with you. "

"What do you call men-women?"

"Persons of mixed sex, like yourself. In Lichstorm the sexes are pure. "

"I have always regarded myself as a man. "

"Very likely you have; but the test is, do you hate and fear women?"

"Why, do you?"

Haunte grinned and showed his teeth. "Things are different inLichstorm. .. . So you want to see the sights?"

"I confess I am curious to see your women, for example, after what yousay. "

"Then I'll introduce you to Sullenbode. "

He paused a moment after making this remark, and then suddenly uttered agreat, bass laugh, so that his chest shook. 

"Let us share the joke, " said Maskull. 

"Oh, you'll understand it later. "

"If you play pranks with me, I won't stand on ceremony with you. "

Haunte laughed again. "I won't be the one to play pranks. Sullenbodewill be deeply obliged to me. If I don't visit her myself as often asshe would like, I'm always glad to serve her in other ways. .. . Well, youshall have your boat ride. "

Maskull rubbed his nose doubtfully. "If the sexes hate one another inyour land, is it because passion is weaker, or stronger?"

"In other parts of the world there is soft passion, but in Lichstormthere is hard passion. "

"But what do you call hard passion?"

"Where men are called to women by pain, and not pleasure. "

"I intend to understand, before I've finished. "

"Yes, " answered Haunte, with a taunting look, "it would be a pity to letthe chance slip, since you're going to Lichstorm. "

It was now Corpang's turn to take Maskull by the arm. "This journey willend badly. "

"Why so?"

"Your goal was Muspel a short while ago; now it is women. "

"Let me alone, " said Maskull. "Give luck a slack rein. What brought thisboat here?"

"What is this talk about Muspel?" demanded Haunte. 

Corpang caught his shoulder roughly, and stared straight into his eyes. "What do you know?"

"Not much, but something, perhaps. Ask me at supper. Now it is high timeto start. Navigating the mountains by night isn't child's play, let metell you. "

"I shall not forget, " said Corpang. 

Maskull gazed down at the boat. "Are we to get in?"

"Gently, my friend. It's only canework and skin. "

"First of all, you might enlighten me as to how you have contrived todispense with the laws of gravitation. "

Haunte smiled sarcastically. "A secret in your ear, Maskull. All lawsare female. A true male is an outlaw--outside the law. "

"I don't understand. "

"The great body of the earth is continually giving out female particles, and the male parts of rocks and living bodies are equally continuallytrying to reach them. That's gravitation. "

"Then how do you manage with your boat?"

"My two male stones do the work. The one underneath the boat prevents itfrom falling to the ground; the one in the stem shuts it off from solidobjects in the rear. The only part of the boat attracted by any partof the earth is the bow, for that's the only part the light of the malestones does not fall on. So in that direction the boat travels. "

"And what are these wondrous male stones?"

"They really are male stones. There is nothing female in them; theyare showering out male sparks all the time. These sparks devour all thefemale particles rising from the earth. No female particles are leftover to attract the male parts of the boat, and so they are not in theleast attracted in that direction. "

Maskull ruminated for a minute. 

"With your hunting, and boatbuilding, and science, you seem a veryhandy, skilful fellow, Haunte. .. . But the sun's sinking, and we'd betterstart. "

"Get down first, then, and shift that carcass farther forward. Then youand your gloomy friend can sit amidships. "

Maskull immediately climbed down, and dropped himself into the boat; butthen he received a surprise. The moment he stood on the frail bottom, still clinging to the rock, not only did his weight entirely disappear, as though he were floating in some heavy medium, like salt water, butthe rock he held onto drew him, as by a mild current of electricity, andhe was able to withdraw his hands only with difficulty. 

After the first moment's shock, he quietly accepted the new order ofthings, and set about shifting the carcass. Since there was no weightin the boat this was effected without any great labour. Corpang thendescended. The astonishing physical change had no power to disturb hissettled composure, which was founded on moral ideas. Haunte came last;grasping the staff which held the upper male stone, he proceeded toerect it, after removing the cap. Maskull then obtained his first nearview of the mysterious light, which, by counteracting the forces ofNature, acted indirectly not only as elevator but as motive force. Inthe last ruddy gleams of the great sun, its rays were obscured, and itlooked little more impressive than an extremely brilliant, scintillatingblue-white jewel, but its power could be gauged by the visible, colouredmist that it threw out for many yards around. 

The steering was effected by means of a shutter attached by a cord tothe top of the staff, which could be so manipulated that any segment ofthe male stone's rays, or all the rays, or none at all, could be shutoff at will. No sooner was the staff raised than the aerial vesselquietly detached itself from the rock to which it had been drawn, andpassed slowly forward in the direction of the mountains. Branchspellsank below the horizon. The gathering mist blotted out everythingoutside a radius of a few miles. The air grew cool and fresh. 

Soon the rock masses ceased on the great, rising plain. Haunte withdrewthe shutter entirely, and the boat gathered full speed. 

"You say that navigation among the mountains is difficult at night, "exclaimed Maskull. "I would have thought it impossible. "

Haunte grunted. "You will have to take risks, and think yourselffortunate if you come off with nothing worse than a cracked skull. Butone thing I can tell you--if you go on disturbing me with your chitchatwe shan't get as far as the mountains. "

Thereafter Maskull was silent. 

The twilight deepened; the murk grew denser. There was little to lookat, but much to feel. The motion of the boat, which was due tothe never-ending struggle between the male stones and the force ofgravitation, resembled in an exaggerated fashion the violent tossingof a small craft on a choppy sea. The two passengers became unhappy. Haunte, from his seat in the stern, gazed at them sardonically with oneeye. The darkness now came on rapidly. 

About ninety minutes after the commencement of the voyage they arrivedat the foothills of Lichstorm. They began to mount. There was nodaylight left to see by. Beneath them, however, on both sides ofthem and in the rear, the landscape was lighted up for a considerabledistance by the now vivid blue rays of the twin male stones. Ahead, where these rays did not shine, Haunte was guided by the self-luminousnature of the rocks, grass, and trees. These were faintlyphosphorescent; the vegetation shone out more strongly than the soil. 

The moon was not shining and there were no stars; Maskull thereforeinferred that the upper atmosphere was dense with mist. Once or twice, from his sensations of choking, he thought that they were entering afogbank, but it was a strange kind of fog, for it had the effect ofdoubling the intensity of every light in front of them. Whenever thishappened, nightmare feelings attacked him; he experienced transitory, unreasoning fright and horror. 

Now they passed high above the valley that separated the foothills fromthe mountains themselves. The boat began an ascent of many thousandsof feet and, as the cliffs were near, Haunte had to manoeuvre carefullywith the rear light in order to keep clear of them. Maskull watched thedelicacy of his movements, not without admiration. A long time wentby. It grew much colder; the air was damp and drafty. The fog began todeposit something like snow on their persons. Maskull kept sweating withterror, not because of the danger they were in, but because of the cloudbanks that continued to envelop them. 

They cleared the first line of precipices. Still mounting, but this timewith a forward motion, as could be seen by the vapours illuminated bythe male stones through which they passed, they were soon altogether outof sight of solid ground. Suddenly and quite unexpectedly the moon brokethrough. In the upper atmosphere thick masses of fog were seen crawlinghither and thither, broken in many places by thin rifts of sky, throughone of which Teargeld was shining. Below them, to their left, a giganticpeak, glittering with green ice, showed itself for a few seconds, andwas then swallowed up again. All the rest of the world was hidden by themist. The moon went in again. Maskull had seen quite enough to make himlong for the aerial voyage to end. 

The light from the male stones presently illuminated the face of a newcliff. It was grand, rugged, and perpendicular. Upward, downward, and onboth sides, it faded imperceptibly into the night. After coasting it alittle way, they observed a shelf of rock jutting out. It was square, measuring about a dozen feet each way. Green snow covered it to a depthof some inches. Immediately behind it was a dark slit in the rock, whichpromised to be the mouth of a cave. 

Haunte skilfully landed the boat on this platform. Standing up, heraised the staff bearing the keel light and lowered the other; thenremoved both male stones, which he continued to hold in his hand. Hisface was thrown into strong relief by the vivid, sparkling blue-whiterays. It looked rather surly. 

"Do we get out?" inquired Maskull. 

"Yes. I live here. "

"Thanks for the successful end of a dangerous journey. "

"Yes, it has been touch-and-go. "

Corpang jumped onto the platform. He was smiling coarsely. "Therehas been no danger, for our destinies lie elsewhere. You are merely aferryman, Haunte. "

"Is that so?" returned Haunte, with a most unpleasant laugh. "I thoughtI was carrying men, not gods. "

"Where are we?" asked Maskull. As he spoke, he got out, but Haunteremained standing a minute in the boat. 

"This is Sarclash--the second highest mountain in the land. "

"Which is the highest, then?"

"Adage. Between Sarclash and Adage there is a long ridge--very difficultin places. About halfway along the ridge, at the lowest point, lies thetop of the Mornstab Pass, which goes through to Barey. Now you know thelay of the land. "

"Does the woman Sullenbode live near here?"

"Near enough. " Haunte grinned. 

He leaped out of the boat and, pushing past the others without ceremony, walked straight into the cave. 

Maskull followed, with Corpang at his heels. A few stone steps led toa doorway, curtained by the skin of some large beast. Their host pushedhis way in, never offering to hold the skin aside for them. Maskull madeno comment, but grabbed it with his fist and tugged it away from itsfastenings to the ground. Haunte looked at the skin, and then staredhard at Maskull with his disagreeable smile, but neither said anything. 

The place in which they found themselves was a large oblong cavern, withwalls, floor, and ceiling of natural rock. There were two doorways:that by which they had entered, and another of smaller size directlyopposite. The cave was cold and cheerless; a damp draft passed fromdoor to door. Many skins of wild animals lay scattered on the ground. A number of lumps of sun-dried flesh were hanging on a string along thewall, and a few bulging liquor skins reposed in a corner. There weretusks, horns, and bones everywhere. Resting against the wall were twoshort hunting spears, having beautiful crystal heads. 

Haunte set down the two male stones on the ground, near the fartherdoor; their light illuminated the whole cave. He then walked over to themeat and, snatching a large piece, began to gnaw it ravenously. 

"Are we invited to the feast?" asked Maskull. 

Haunte pointed to the hanging flesh and to the liquor skins, but did notpause in his chewing. 

"Where's a cup?" inquired Maskull, lifting one of the skins. 

Haunte indicated a clay goblet lying on the floor. Maskull picked it up, undid the neck of the skin, and, resting it under his arm, filled thecup. Tasting the liquor, he discovered it to be raw spirit. He tossedoff the draught, and then felt much better. 

The second cupful he proffered to Corpang. The latter took a single sip, swallowed it, and then passed the cup back without a word. He refused todrink again, as long as they were in the cave. Maskull finished the cup, and began to throw off care. 

Going to the meat line, he took down a large double handful, and satdown on a pile of skins to eat at his ease. The flesh was toughand coarse, but he had never tasted anything sweeter. He could notunderstand the flavour, which was not surprising in a world of strangeanimals. The meal proceeded in silence. Corpang ate sparingly, standingup, and afterward lay down on a bundle of furs. His bold eyes watchedall the movements of the other two. Haunte had not drunk as yet. 

At last Maskull concluded his meal. He emptied another cup, sighedpleasantly, and prepared to talk. 

"Now explain further about your women, Haunte. "

Haunte fetched another skin of liquor and a second cup. He tore off thestring with his teeth, and poured out and drank cup after cup in quicksuccession. Then he sat down, crossed his legs, and turned to Maskull. 

"Well?"

"So they are objectionable?"

"They are deadly. "

"Deadly? In what way can they possibly be deadly?"

"You will learn. I was watching you in the boat, Maskull. You had somebad feelings, eh?"

"I don't conceal it. There were times when I felt as if I werestruggling with a nightmare. What caused it?"

"The female atmosphere of Lichstorm. Sexual passion. "

"I had no passion. "

"That was passion--the first stage. Nature tickles your people intomarriage, but it tortures us. Wait till you get outside. You'll have areturn of those sensations--only ten times worse. The drink you've hadwill see to that. .. . How do you suppose it will all end?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you questions. "

Haunte laughed loudly. "Sullenbode. "

"You mean it will end in my seeking Sullenbode?"

"But what will come of it, Maskull? What will she give you? Sweet, fainting, white-armed, feminine voluptuousness?"

Maskull coolly drank another cup. "And why should she give all that to apasserby?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, she hasn't it to give. No, what she willgive you, and what you'll accept from her, because you can't help it, is--anguish, insanity, possibly death. "

"You may be talking sense, but it sounds like raving to me. Why should Iaccept insanity and death?"

"Because your passion will force you to. "

"What about yourself?" Maskull asked, biting his nails. 

"Oh, I have my male stones. I am immune. "

"Is that all that prevents you from being like other men?"

"Yes, but don't attempt any tricks, Maskull. "

Maskull went on drinking steadily, and said nothing for a time. "Somen and women here are hostile to each other, and love is unknown?" heproceeded at last. 

"That magic word. .. . Shall I tell you what love is, Maskull? Lovebetween male and female is impossible. When Maskull loves a woman, it isMaskull's female ancestors who are loving her. But here in this land themen are pure males. They have drawn nothing from the female side. "

"Where do the male stones come from?"

"Oh, they are not freaks. There must be whole beds of the stuffsomewhere. It is all that prevents the world from being a pure femaleworld. It would be one big mass of heavy sweetness, without individualshapes. "

"Yet this same sweetness is torturing to men?"

"The life of an absolute male is fierce. An excess of life is dangerousto the body. How can it be anything else than torturing?"

Corpang now sat up suddenly, and addressed Haunte. "I remind you of yourpromise to tell about Muspel. "

Haunte regarded him with a malevolent smile. "Ha! The underground manhas come to life. "

"Yes, tell us, " put in Maskull carelessly. 

Haunte drank, and laughed a little. "Well, the tale's short, and hardlyworth telling, but since you're interested. .. . A stranger came here fiveyears ago, inquiring after Muspel-light. His name was Lodd. He came fromthe east. He came up to me one bright morning in summer, outside thisvery cave. If you ask me to describe him--I can't imagine a second manlike him. He looked so proud, noble, superior, that I felt my own bloodto be dirty by comparison. You can guess I don't have this feeling foreveryone. Now that I am recalling him, he was not so much superior asdifferent. I was so impressed that I rose and talked to him standing. Heinquired the direction of the mountain Adage. He went on to say, 'Theysay Muspel-light is sometimes seen there. What do you know of such athing?' I told him the truth--that I knew nothing about it, and then hewent on, 'Well, I am going to Adage. And tell those who come after meon the same errand that they had better do the same thing. ' That was thewhole conversation. He started on his way, and I've never seen him orheard of him since. "

"So you didn't have the curiosity to follow him?"

"No, because the moment he had turned his back all my interest in theman somehow seemed to vanish. "

"Probably because he was useless to you. "

Corpang glanced at Maskull. "Our road is marked out for us. "

"So it would appear, " said Maskull indifferently. 

The talk flagged for a time. Maskull felt the silence oppressive, andgrew restless. 

"What do you call the colour of your skin, Haunte, as I saw it indaylight? It struck me as strange. "

"Dolm, " said Haunte. 

"A compound of ulfire and blue, " explained Corpang. 

"Now I know. These colours are puzzling for a stranger. "

"What colours have you in your world?" asked Corpang. 

"Only three primary ones, but here you seem to have five, though how itcomes about I can't imagine. "

"There are two sets of three primary colours here, " said Corpang, "butas one of the colours--blue--is identical in both sets, altogether thereare five primary colours. "

"Why two sets?"

"Produced by the two suns. Branchspell produces blue, yellow, and red;Alppain, ulfire, blue, and jale. "

"It's remarkable that explanation has never occurred to me before. "

"So here you have another illustration of the necessary trinityof nature. Blue is existence. It is darkness seen through light; acontrasting of existence and nothingness. Yellow is relation. Inyellow light we see the relation of objects in the clearest way. Redis feeling. When we see red, we are thrown back on our personalfeelings. .. . As regards the Alppain colours, blue stands in the middleand is therefore not existence, but relation. Ulfire is existence; so itmust be a different sort of existence. "

Haunte yawned. "There are marvellous philosophers in your undergroundhole. "

Maskull got up and looked about him. 

"Where does that other door lead to?"

"Better explore, " said Haunte. 

Maskull took him at his word, and strolled across the cave, flinging thecurtain aside and disappearing into the night. Haunte rose abruptly andhurried after him. 

Corpang too got to his feet. He went over to the untouched spirit skins, untied the necks, and allowed the contents to gush out on to the floor. Next he took the hunting spears, and snapped off the points betweenhis hands. Before he had time to resume his seat, Haunte and Maskullreappeared. The host's quick, shifty eyes at once took in what hadhappened. He smiled, and turned pale. 

"You haven't been idle, friend. "

Corpang fixed Haunte with his bold, heavy gaze. "I thought it well todraw your teeth. "

Maskull burst out laughing. "The toad's come into the light to somepurpose, Haunte. Who would have expected it?"

Haunte, after staring hard at Corpang for two or three minutes, suddenlyuttered a strange cry, like an evil spirit, and flung himself upon him. The two men began to wrestle like wildcats. They were as often on thefloor as on their legs, and Maskull could not see who was getting thebetter of it. He made no attempt to separate them. A thought cameinto his head and, snatching up the two male stones, he ran with them, laughing, through the upper doorway, into the open night air. 

The door overlooked an abyss on another face of the mountain. A narrowledge, sprinkled with green snow, wound along the cliff to the right; itwas the only available path. He pitched the pebbles over the edge of thechasm. Although hard and heavy in his hand, they sank more like feathersthan stones, and left a long trail of vapour behind. While Maskull wasstill watching them disappear, Haunte came rushing out of the cavern, followed by Corpang. He gripped Maskull's arm excitedly. 

"What in Krag's name have you done?"

"Overboard they have gone, " replied Maskull, renewing his laughter. 

"You accursed madman!"

Haunte's luminous colour came and went, just as though his internallight were breathing. Then he grew suddenly calm, by a supreme exertionof his will. 

"You know this kills me?"

"Haven't you been doing your best this last hour to make me ripe forSullenbode? Well then, cheer up, and join the pleasure party!"

"You say it as a joke, but it is the miserable truth. "

Haunte's jeering malevolence had completely vanished. He looked a sickman--yet somehow his face had become nobler. 

"I would be very sorry for you, Haunte, if it did not entail my beingalso very sorry for myself. We are now all three together on the sameerrand--which doesn't appear to have struck you yet. "

"But why this errand at all?" asked Corpang quietly. "Can't you menexercise self-control till you have arrived out of danger?"

Haunte fixed him with wild eyes. "No. The phantoms come trooping in onme already. "

He sat down moodily, but the next minute was up again. 

"And I cannot wait. .. . The game is started. "

Soon afterward, by silent consent, they began to walk the ledge, Hauntein front. It was narrow, ascending, and slippery, so that extremecaution was demanded. The way was lighted by the self-luminous snow androcks. 

When they had covered about half a mile, Maskull, who went second of theparty, staggered, caught the cliff, and finally sat down. 

"The drink works. My old sensations are returning, but worse. "

Haunte turned back. "Then you are a doomed man. "

Maskull, though fully conscious of his companions and situation, imagined that he was being oppressed by a black, shapeless, supernaturalbeing, who was trying to clasp him. He was filled with horror, trembledviolently, yet could not move a limb. Sweat tumbled off his face ingreat drops. The waking nightmare lasted a long time, but during thatspace it kept coming and going. At one moment the vision seemed on thepoint of departing; the next it almost took shape--which he knew wouldbe his death. Suddenly it vanished altogether--he was free. A freshspring breeze fanned his face; he heard the slow, solitary singing of asweet bird; and it seemed to him as if a poem had shot together in hissoul. Such flashing, heartbreaking joy he had never experienced beforein all his life! Almost immediately that too vanished. 

Sitting up, he passed his hand across his eyes and swayed quietly, likeone who has been visited by an angel. 

"Your colour changed to white, " said Corpang. "What happened?"

"I passed through torture to love, " replied Maskull simply. 

He stood up. Haunte gazed at him sombrely. "Will you not describe thatpassage?"

Maskull answered slowly and thoughtfully. "When I was in Matterplay, I saw heavy clouds discharge themselves and change to coloured, livinganimals. In the same way, my black, chaotic pangs just now seemed toconsolidate themselves and spring together as a new sort of joy. The joywould not have been possible without the preliminary nightmare. It isnot accidental; Nature intends it so. The truth has just flashed throughmy brain. .. . You men of Lichstorm don't go far enough. You stop at thepangs, Without realising that they are birth pangs. "

"If this is true, you are a great pioneer, " muttered Haunte. 

"How does this sensation differ from common love?" interrogated Corpang. 

"This was all that love is, multiplied by wildness. "

Corpang fingered his chin awhile. "The Lichstorm men, however, willnever reach this stage, for they are too masculine. "

Haunte turned pale. "Why should we alone suffer?"

"Nature is freakish and cruel, and doesn't act according to justice. .. . Follow us, Haunte, and escape from it all. "

"I'll see, " muttered Haunte. "Perhaps I will. "

"Have we far to go, to Sullenbode?" inquired Maskull. 

"No, her home's under the hanging cap of Sarclash. "

"What is to happen tonight?" Maskull spoke to himself, but Haunteanswered him. 

"Don't expect anything pleasant, in spite of what has just occurred. Sheis not a woman, but a mass of pure sex. Your passion will draw her outinto human shape, but only for a moment. If the change were permanent, you would have endowed her with a soul. "

"Perhaps the change might be made permanent. "

"To do that, it is not enough to desire her; she must desire you aswell. But why should she desire you?"

"Nothing turns out as one expects, " said Maskull, shaking his head. "Wehad better get on again. "

They resumed the journey. The ledge still rose, but, on turning a cornerof the cliff, Haunte quitted it and began to climb a steep gully, whichmounted directly to the upper heights. Here they were compelled to useboth hands and feet. Maskull thought all the while of nothing but theoverwhelming sweetness he had just experienced. 

The flat ground on top was dry and springy. There was no more snow, andbright plants appeared. Haunte turned sharply to the left. 

"This must be under the cap, " said Maskull. 

"It is; and within five minutes you will see Sullenbode. "

When he spoke his words, Maskull's lips surprised him by their tendersensitiveness. Their action against each other sent thrills throughouthis body. 

The grass shone dimly. A huge tree, with glowing branches, came intosight. It bore a multitude of red fruit, like hanging lanterns, butno leaves. Underneath this tree Sullenbode was sitting. Her beautifullight--a mingling of jale and white--gleamed softly through thedarkness. She sat erect, on crossed legs, asleep. She was clothed ina singular skin garment, which started as a cloak thrown over oneshoulder, and ended as loose breeches terminating above the knees. Herforearms were lightly folded, and in one hand she held a half-eatenfruit. 

Maskull stood over her and looked down, deeply interested. He thought hehad never seen anything half so feminine. Her flesh was almost meltingin its softness. So undeveloped were the facial organs that they lookedscarcely human; only the lips were full, pouting, and expressive. Intheir richness, these lips seemed like a splash of vivid will on abackground of slumbering protoplasm. Her hair was undressed. Its colourcould not be distinguished. It was long and tangled, and had been tuckedinto her garment behind, for convenience. 

Corpang looked calm and sullen, but both the others were visiblyagitated. Maskull's heart was hammering away under his chest. Hauntepulled him, and said, "My head feels as if it were being torn from myshoulders. "

"What can that mean?"

"Yet there's a horrible joy in it, " added Haunte, with a sickly smile. 

He put his hand on the woman's shoulder. She awoke softly, glanced up atthem, smiled, and then resumed eating her fruit. Maskull did not imaginethat she had intelligence enough to speak. Haunte suddenly dropped onhis knees, and kissed her lips. 

She did not repulse him. During the continuance of the kiss, Maskullnoticed with a shock that her face was altering. The features emergedfrom their indistinctness and became human, and almost powerful. Thesmile faded, a scowl took its place. She thrust Haunte away, rose to herfeet, and stared beneath bent brows at the three men, each one in turn. Maskull came last; his face she studied for quite a long time, butnothing indicated what she thought. 

Meanwhile Haunte again approached her, staggering and grinning. Shesuffered him quietly; but the instant lips met lips the second time, hefell backward with a startled cry, as though he had come in contact withan electric wire. The back of his head struck the ground, and he laythere motionless. 

Corpang sprang forward to his assistance. But, when he saw what hadhappened, he left him where he was. 

"Maskull, come here quickly!"

The light was perceptibly fading from Haunte's skin, as Maskull bentover. The man was dead. His face was unrecognisable. The head hadbeen split from the top downward into two halves, streaming withstrange-coloured blood, as though it had received a terrible blow froman axe. 

"This couldn't be from the fall, " said Maskull. 

"No, Sullenbode did it. "

Maskull turned quickly to look at the woman. She had resumed her formerattitude on the ground. The momentary intelligence had vanished from herface, and she was again smiling. 

Chapter 19. SULLENBODE

Sullenbode's naked skin glowed softly through the darkness, but theclothed part of her person was invisible. Maskull watched her senseless, smiling face, and shivered. Strange feelings ran through his body. 

Corpang spoke out of the night. "She looks like an evil spirit filledwith deadliness. "

"It was like deliberately kissing lightning. "

"Haunte was insane with passion. "

"So am I, " said Maskull quietly. "My body seems full of rocks, allgrinding against one another. "

"This is what I was afraid of. "

"It appears I shall have to kiss her too. "

Corpang pulled his arm. "Have you lost all manliness?"

But Maskull impatiently shook himself free. He plucked nervously at hisbeard, and stared at Sullenbode. His lips kept twitching. After this hadgone on for a few minutes, he stepped forward, bent over the woman, andlifted her bodily in his arms. Setting her upright against the ruggedtree trunk, he kissed her. 

A cold, knifelike shock passed down his frame. He thought that it wasdeath, and lost consciousness. 

When his sense returned, Sullenbode was holding him by the shoulder withone hand at arm's length, searching his face with gloomy eyes. At firsthe failed to recognise her; it was not the woman he had kissed, butanother. Then he gradually realised that her face was identical withthat which Haunte's action had called into existence. A great calmnesscame upon him; his bad sensations had disappeared. 

Sullenbode was transformed into a living soul. Her skin was firm, herfeatures were strong, her eyes gleamed with the consciousness of power. She was tall and slight, but slow in all her gestures and movements. Herface was not beautiful. It was long, and palely lighted, while the mouthcrossed the lower half like a gash of fire. The lips were as voluptuousas before. Her brows were heavy. There was nothing vulgar in her--shelooked the kingliest of all women. She appeared not more thantwenty-five. 

Growing tired, apparently, of his scrutiny, she pushed him a little wayand allowed her arm to drop, at the same time curving her mouth into along, bowlike smile. "Whom have I to thank for this gift of life?"

Her voice was rich, slow, and odd. Maskull felt himself in a dream. 

"My name is Maskull. "

She motioned to him to come a step nearer. "Listen, Maskull. Man afterman has drawn me into the world, but they could not keep me there, forI did not wish it. But now you have drawn me into it for all time, forgood or evil. "

Maskull stretched a hand toward the now invisible corpse, and saidquietly, "What have you to say about him?"

"Who was it?"

"Haunte. "

"So that was Haunte. The news will travel far and wide. He was a famousman. "

"It's a horrible affair. I can't think that you killed himdeliberately. "

"We women are endowed with terrible power, but it is our onlyprotection. We do not want these visits; we loathe them. "

"I might have died, too. "

"You came together?"

"There were three of us. Corpang still stands over there. "

"I see a faintly glimmering form. What do you want of me, Corpang?"

"Nothing. "

"Then go away, and leave me with Maskull. "

"No need, Corpang. I am coming with you. "

"This is not that pleasure, then?" demanded the low, earnest voice, outof the darkness. 

"No, that pleasure has not returned. "

Sullenbode gripped his arm hard. "What pleasure are you speaking of?"

"A presentiment of love, which I felt not long ago. "

"But what do you feel now?"

"Calm and free. "

Sullenbode's face seemed like a pallid mask, hiding a slow, swelling seaof elemental passions. "I do not know how it will end, Maskull, but wewill still keep together a little. Where are you going?"

"To Adage, " said Corpang, stepping forward. 

"But why?"

"We are following the steps of Lodd, who went there years ago, to findMuspel-light. "

"It's the light of another world. "

"The quest is grand. But cannot women see that light?"

"On one condition, " said Corpang. "They must forget their sex. Womanhoodand love belong to life, while Muspel is above life. "

"I give you all other men, " said Sullenbode. "Maskull is mine. "

"No. I am not here to help Maskull to a lover but to remind him of theexistence of nobler things. "

"You are a good man. But you two alone will never strike the road toAdage. "

"Are you acquainted with it?"

Again the woman gripped Maskull's arm. "What is love--which Corpangdespises?"

Maskull looked at her attentively. Sullenbode went on, "Love is thatwhich is perfectly willing to disappear and become nothing, for the sakeof the beloved. "

Corpang wrinkled his forehead. "A magnanimous female lover is new in myexperience. "

Maskull put him aside with his hand, and said to Sullenbode, "Are youcontemplating a sacrifice?"

She gazed at her feet, and smiled. "What does it matter what my thoughtsare? Tell me, are you starting at once, or do you mean to rest first?It's a rough road to Adage. "

"What's in your mind?" demanded Maskull. 

"I will guide you a little. When we reach the ridge between Sarclash andAdage, perhaps I shall turn back. "

"And then?"

"Then if the moon shines perhaps you will arrive before daybreak, but ifit is dark it's hardly likely. "

"That's not what I meant. What will become of you after we have partedcompany?"

"I shall return somewhere--perhaps here. "

Maskull went close up to her, in order to study her face better. "Shallyou sink back into--the old state?"

"No, Maskull, thank heaven. "

"Then how will you live?"

Sullenbode calmly removed the hand which he had placed on her arm. Therewas a sort of swirling flame in her eyes. "And who said I would go onliving?"

Maskull blinked at her in bewilderment. A few moments passed before hespoke again. "You women are a sacrificing lot. You know I can't leaveyou like this. "

Their eyes met. Neither withdrew them, and neither felt embarrassed. 

"You will always be the most generous of men, Maskull. Now let us go. .. . Corpang is a single-minded personage, and the least we others--whoaren't so single-minded--can do is to help him to his destination. Wemustn't inquire whether the destination of single-minded men is as arule worth arriving at. "

"If it is good for Maskull, it will be good for me. "

"Well, no vessel can hold more than its appointed measure. "

Corpang gave a wry smile. "During your long sleep you appear to havepicked up wisdom. "

"Yes, Corpang, I have met many men, and explored many minds. "

As they moved off, Maskull remembered Haunte. 

"Can we not bury that poor fellow?"

"By this time tomorrow we shall need burial ourselves. But I do notinclude Corpang. "

"We have no tools, so you must have your way. You killed him, but I amthe real murderer. I stole his protecting light. "

"Surely that death is balanced by the life you have given me. " They leftthe spot in the direction opposite to that by which the three men hadarrived. After a few steps, they came to green snow again. At thesame time the flat ground ended, and they started to traverse a steep, pathless mountain slope. The snow and rocks glimmered, their own bodiesshone; otherwise everything was dark. The mists swirled around them, butMaskull had no more nightmares. The breeze was cold, pure, and steady. They walked in file, Sullenbode leading; her movements were slow andfascinating. Corpang came last. His stern eyes saw nothing ahead but analluring girl and a half-infatuated man. 

For a long time they continued crossing the rough and rocky slope, maintaining a slightly upward course. The angle was so steep that afalse step would have been fatal. The high ground was on their right. After a while, the hillside on the left hand changed to level ground, and they seemed to have joined another spur of the mountain. Theascending slope on the right hand persisted for a few hundred yardsmore. Then Sullenbode bore sharply to the left, and they found levelground all around them. 

"We are on the ridge, " announced the woman, halting. 

The others came up to her, and at the same instant the moon burstthrough the clouds, illuminating the whole scene. 

Maskull uttered a cry. The wild, noble, lonely beauty of the view wasquite unexpected. Teargeld was high in the sky to their left, shiningdown on them from behind. Straight in front, like an enormously wide, smoothly descending road, lay the great ridge which went on to Adage, though Adage itself was out of sight. It was never less than two hundredyards wide. It was covered with green snow, in some places entirely, butin other places the naked rocks showed through like black teeth. Fromwhere they stood they were unable to see the sides of the ridge, or whatlay underneath. On the right hand, which was north, the landscape wasblurred and indistinct. There were no peaks there; it was the distant, low-lying land of Barey. But on the left hand appeared a whole forestof mighty pinnacles, near and far, as far as the eye could see inmoonlight. All glittered green, and all possessed the extraordinaryhanging caps that characterised the Lichstorm range. These caps wereof fantastic shapes, and each one was different. The valley directlyopposite them was filled with rolling mist. 

Sarclash was a mighty mountain mass in the shape of a horseshoe. Its twoends pointed west, and were separated from each other by a mile or moreof empty space. The northern end became the ridge on which they stood. The southern end was the long line of cliffs on that part of themountain where Haunte's cave was situated. The connecting curve was thesteep slope they had just traversed. One peak of Sarclash was invisible. 

In the south-west many mountains raised their heads. In addition, a fewsummits, which must have been of extraordinary height, appeared over thesouth side of the horseshoe. 

Maskull turned round to put a question to Sullenbode, but when he sawher for the first time in moonlight the words he had framed died on hislips. The gashlike mouth no longer dominated her other features, and theface, pale as ivory and most femininely shaped, suddenly became almostbeautiful. The lips were a long, womanish curve of rose-red. Her hairwas a dark maroon. Maskull was greatly disturbed; he thought that sheresembled a spirit, rather than a woman. 

"What puzzles you?" she asked, smiling. 

"Nothing. But I would like to see you by sunlight. "

"Perhaps you never will. "

"Your life must be most solitary. "

She explored his features with her black, slow-gleaming eyes. "Why doyou fear to speak your feelings, Maskull?"

"Things seem to open up before me like a sunrise, but what it means Ican't say. "

Sullenbode laughed outright. "It assuredly does not mean the approach ofnight. "

Corpang, who had been staring steadily along the ridge, here abruptlybroke in. "The road is plain now, Maskull. If you wish it, I'll go onalone. "

"No, we'll go on together. Sullenbode will accompany us. "

"A little way, " said the woman, "but not to Adage, to pit my strengthagainst unseen powers. That light is not for me. I know how to renouncelove, but I will never be a traitor to it. "

"Who knows what we shall find on Adage, or what will happen? Corpang isas ignorant as myself. "

Corpang looked him full in the face. "Maskull, you are quite wellaware that you never dare approach that awful fire in the society of abeautiful woman. "

Maskull gave an uneasy laugh. "What Corpang doesn't tell you, Sullenbode, is that I am far better acquainted with Muspel-light thanhe, and that, but for a chance meeting with me, he would still be sayinghis prayers in Threal. "

"Still, what he says must be true, " she replied, looking from one to theother. 

"And so I am not to be allowed to--"

"So long as I am with you, I shall urge you onward, and not backward, Maskull. "

"We need not quarrel yet, " he remarked, with a forced smile. "No doubtthings will straighten themselves out. "

Sullenbode began kicking the snow about with her foot. "I picked upanother piece of wisdom in my sleep, Corpang. "

"Tell it to me, then. "

"Men who live by laws and rules are parasites. Others shed theirstrength to bring these laws out of nothing into the light of day, butthe law-abiders live at their ease--they have conquered nothing forthemselves. "

"It is given to some to discover, and to others to preserve and perfect. You cannot condemn me for wishing Maskull well. "

"No, but a child cannot lead a thunderstorm. "

They started walking again along the centre of the ridge. All three wereabreast, Sullenbode in the middle. 

The road descended by an easy gradient, and was for a long distancecomparatively smooth. The freezing point seemed higher than on Earth, for the few inches of snow through which they trudged felt almost warmto their naked feet. Maskull's soles were by now like tough hides. Themoonlit snow was green and dazzling. Their slanting, abbreviated shadowswere sharply defined, and red-black in colour. Maskull, who walkedon Sullenbode's right hand, looked constantly to the left, toward thegalaxy of glorious distant peaks. 

"You cannot belong to this world, " said the woman. "Men of your stampare not to be looked for here. "

"No, I have come here from Earth. "

"Is that larger than our world?"

"Smaller, I think. Small, and overcrowded with men and women. With allthose people, confusion would result but for orderly laws, andtherefore the laws are of iron. As adventure would be impossible withoutencroaching on these laws, there is no longer any spirit of adventureamong the Earthmen. Everything is safe, vulgar, and completed. "

"Do men hate women there, and women men?"

"No, the meeting of the sexes is sweet, though shameful. So poignant isthe sweetness that the accompanying shame is ignored, with open eyes. There is no hatred, or only among a few eccentric persons. "

"That shame surely must be the rudiment of our Lichstorm passion. Butnow say--why did you come here?"

"To meet with new experiences, perhaps. The old ones no longerinterested me. "

"How long have you been in this world?"

"This is the end of my fourth day. "

"Then tell me what you have seen and done during those four days. Youcannot have been inactive. "

"Great misfortunes have happened to me. "

He proceeded briefly to relate everything that had taken place fromthe moment of his first awakening in the scarlet desert. Sullenbodelistened, with half-closed eyes, nodding her head from time to time. Only twice did she interrupt him. After his description of Tydomin'sdeath, she said, speaking in a low voice--"None of us women ought byright of nature to fall short of Tydomin in sacrifice. For that one actof hers, I almost love her, although she brought evil to your door. "Again, speaking of Gleameil, she remarked, "That grand-souled girl Iadmire the most of all. She listened to her inner voice, and to nothingelse besides. Which of us others is strong enough for that?"

When his tale was quite over, Sullenbode said, "Does it not strike you, Maskull, that these women you have met have been far nobler than themen?"

"I recognise that. We men often sacrifice ourselves, but only for asubstantial cause. For you women almost any cause will serve. You lovethe sacrifice for its own sake, and that is because you are naturallynoble. "

Turning her head a little, she threw him a smile so proud, yet so sweet, that he was struck into silence. 

They tramped on quietly for some distance, and then he said, "Now youunderstand the sort of man I am. Much brutality, more weakness, scantpity for anyone--Oh, it has been a bloody journey!"

She laid her hand on his arm. "I, for one, would not have it lessrugged. "

"Nothing good can be said of my crimes. "

"To me you seem like a lonely giant, searching for you know not what. .. . The grandest that life holds. .. . You at least have no cause to look upto women. "

"Thanks, Sullenbode!" he responded, with a troubled smile. 

"When Maskull passes, let people watch. Everyone is thrown out of yourroad. You go on, looking neither to right nor left. "

"Take care that you are not thrown as well, " said Corpang gravely. 

"Maskull shall do with me whatever he pleases, old skull! And forwhatever he does, I will thank him. .. . In place of a heart you have abag of loose dust. Someone has described love to you. You have had itdescribed to you. You have heard that it is a small, fearful, selfishjoy. It is not that--it is wild, and scornful, and sportive, andbloody. .. . How should you know. "

"Selfishness has far too many disguises. "

"If a woman wills to give up all, what can there be selfish in that?"

"Only do not deceive yourself. Act decisively, or fate will be too swiftfor you both. "

Sullenbode studied him through her lashes. "Do you mean death--his deathas well as mine?"

"You go too far, Corpang, " said Maskull, turning a shade darker. "Idon't accept you as the arbiter of our fortunes. "

"If honest counsel is disagreeable to you, let me go on ahead. "

The woman detained him with her slow, light fingers. "I wish you to staywith us. "

"Why?"

"I think you may know what you are talking about. I don't wish to bringharm to Maskull. Presently I'll leave you. "

"That will be best, " said Corpang. 

Maskull looked angry. "I shall decide--Sullenbode, whether you go on, orback, I stay with you. My mind is made up. "

An expression of joyousness overspread her face, in spite of her effortsto conceal it. "Why do you scowl at me, Maskull?"

He returned no answer, but continued walking onward with puckered brows. After a dozen paces or so, he halted abruptly. "Wait, Sullenbode!"

The others came to a standstill. Corpang looked puzzled, but the womansmiled. Maskull, without a word, bent over and kissed her lips. Then herelinquished her body, and turned around to Corpang. 

"How do you, in your great wisdom, interpret that kiss?"

"It requires no great wisdom to interpret kisses, Maskull. "

"Hereafter, never dare to come between us. Sullenbode belongs to me. "

"Then I say no more; but you are a fated man. "

From that time forward he spoke not another word to either of theothers. 

A heavy gleam appeared in the woman's eyes. "Now things are changed, Maskull. Where are you taking me?"

"Choose, you. "

"The man I love must complete his journey. I won't have it otherwise. You shall not stand lower than Corpang. "

"Where you go, I will go. "

"And I--as long as your love endures, I will accompany you even toAdage. "

"Do you doubt its lasting?"

"I wish not to. .. . Now I will tell you what I refused to tell youbefore. The term of your love is the term of my life. When you love meno longer, I must die. "

"And why?" asked Maskull slowly. 

"Yes, that's the responsibility you incurred when you kissed me for thefirst time. I never meant to tell you. "

"Do you mean that if I had gone on alone, you would have died?"

"I have no other life but what you give me. "

He gazed at her mournfully, without attempting to reply, and then slowlyplaced his arms around her body. During this embrace he turned verypale, but Sullenbode grew as white as chalk. 

A few minutes later the journey toward Adage was resumed. 

They had been walking for two hours. Teargeld was higher in the skyand nearer the south. They had descended many hundred feet, and thecharacter of the ridge began to alter for the worse. The thin snowdisappeared, and gave way to moist, boggy ground. It was all littlegrassy hillocks and marshes. They began to slip about and becomedraggled with mud. Conversation ceased; Sullenbode led the way, andthe men followed in her tracks. The southern half of the landscapegrew grander. The greenish light of the brilliant moon, shining onthe multitude of snow-green peaks, caused it to appear like a spectralworld. Their nearest neighbour towered high above them on the other sideof the valley, due south, some five miles distant. It was a slender, inaccessible, dizzy spire of black rock, the angles of which were toosteep to retain snow. A great upward-curving horn of rock sprang outfrom its topmost pinnacle. For a long time it constituted their clueslandmark. 

The whole ridge gradually became saturated with moisture. The surfacesoil was spongy, and rested on impermeable rock; it breathed in the dampmists by night, and breathed them out again by day, under Branchspell'srays. The walking grew first unpleasant, then difficult, and finallydangerous. None of the party could distinguish firm ground from bog. Sullenbode sank up to her waist in a pit of slime; Maskull rescued her, but after this incident took the lead himself. Corpang was the next tomeet with trouble. Exploring a new path for himself, he tumbled intoliquid mud up to his shoulders, and narrowly escaped a filthy death. After Maskull had got him out, at great personal risk, they proceededonce more; but now the scramble changed from bad to worse. Each step hadto be thoroughly tested before weight was put upon it, and even so thetest frequently failed. All of them went in so often, that in the endthey no longer resembled human beings, but walking pillars plasteredfrom top to toe with black filth. The hardest work fell to Maskull. Henot only had the exhausting task of beating the way, but was continuallycalled upon to help his companions out of their difficulties. Withouthim they could not have got through. 

After a peculiarly evil patch, they paused to recruit their strength. Corpang's breathing was difficult, Sullenbode was quiet, listless, anddepressed. 

Maskull gazed at them doubtfully. "Does this continue?" he inquired. 

"No. I think, " replied the woman, "we can't be far from the MornstabPass. After that we shall begin to climb again, and then the road willimprove perhaps. "

"Can you have been here before?"

"Once I have been to the Pass, but it was not so bad then. "

"You are tired out, Sullenbode. "

"What of it?" she replied, smiling faintly. "When one has a terriblelover, one must pay the price. "

"We cannot get there tonight, so let us stop at the first shelter wecome too. "

"I leave it to you. "

He paced up and down, while the others sat. "Do you regret anything?" hedemanded suddenly. 

"No, Maskull, nothing. I regret nothing. "

"Your feelings are unchanged?"

"Love can't go back--it can only go on. "

"Yes, eternally on. It is so. "

"No, I don't mean that. There is a climax, but when the climax has beenreached, love if it still wants to ascend must turn to sacrifice. "

"That's a dreadful creed, " he said in a low voice, turning pale beneathhis coating of mud. 

"Perhaps my nature is discordant. .. . I am tired. I don't know what Ifeel. "

In a few minutes they were on their feet again, and the journeyrecommenced. Within half an hour they had reached the Mornstab Pass. 

The ground here was drier; the broken land to the north served to drainoff the moisture of the soil. Sullenbode led them to the northern edgeof the ridge, to show them the nature of the country. The pass wasnothing but a gigantic landslip on both sides of the ridge, where it wasthe lowest above the underlying land. A series of huge broken terracesof earth and rock descended toward Barey. They were overgrown withstunted vegetation. It was quite possible to get down to the lowlandsthat way, but rather difficult. On either side of the landslip, to castand west, the ridge came down in a long line of sheer, terrific cliffs. A low haze concealed Barey from view. Complete stillness was in the air, broken only by the distant thundering of an invisible waterfall. 

Maskull and Sullenbode sat down on a boulder, facing the open country. The moon was directly behind them, high up. It was almost as light as anEarth day. 

"Tonight is like life, " said Sullenbode. 

"How so?"

"So lovely above and around us, so foul underfoot. "

Maskull sighed. "Poor girl, you are unhappy. "

"And you--are you happy?"

He thought a while, and then replied--"No. No, I'm not happy. Love isnot happiness. "

"What is it, Maskull?"

"Restlessness--unshed tears--thoughts too grand for our soul tothink. .. "

"Yes, " said Sullenbode. 

After a time she asked, "Why were we created, just to live for a fewyears and then disappear?"

"We are told that we shall live again. "

"Yes, Maskull?"

"Perhaps in Muspel, " he added thoughtfully. 

"What kind of life will that be?"

"Surely we shall meet again. Love is too wonderful and mysterious athing to remain uncompleted. "

She gave a slight shiver, and turned away from him. "This dream isuntrue. Love is completed here. "

"How can that be, when sooner or later it is brutally interrupted byFate?"

"It is completed by anguish. .. . Oh, why must it always be enjoymentfor us? Can't we suffer--can't we go on suffering, forever and ever?Maskull, until love crushes our spirit, finally and without remedy, wedon't begin to feel ourselves. "

Maskull gazed at her with a troubled expression. "Can the memory of lovebe worth more than its presence and reality?"

"You don't understand. Those pangs are more precious than all the restbeside. " She caught at him. "Oh, if you could only see inside my mind, Maskull! You would see strange things. .. . I can't explain. It is allconfused, even to myself. .. . This love is quite different from what Ithought. "

He sighed again. "Love is a strong drink. Perhaps it is too strong forhuman beings. And I think that it overtures our reason in differentways. "

They remained sitting side by side, staring straight before them withunseeing eyes. 

"It doesn't matter, " said Sullenbode at last, with a smile, getting up. "Soon it will be ended, one way or another. Come, let us be off!"

Maskull too got up. 

"Where's Corpang?" he asked listlessly. 

They both looked across the ridge in the direction of Adage. At thepoint where they stood it was nearly a mile wide. It sloped perceptiblytoward the southern edge, giving all the earth the appearance of a heavylist. Toward the west the ground continued level for a thousand yards, but then a high, sloping, grassy hill went right across the ridge fromside to side, like a vast billow on the verge of breaking. It shut outall further view beyond. The whole crest of this hill, from one end tothe other, was crowned by a long row of enormous stone posts, shiningbrightly in the moonlight against a background of dark sky. There wereabout thirty in all, and they were placed at such regular intervals thatthere was little doubt that they had been set there by human hands. Somewere perpendicular, but others dipped so much that an aspect of extremeantiquity was given to the entire colonnade. Corpang was seen climbingthe hill, not far from the top. 

"He wishes to arrive, " said Maskull, watching the energetic ascent witha rather cynical smile. 

"The heavens won't open for Corpang, " returned Sullenbode. "He need notbe in such a hurry. .. . What do these pillars seem like to you?"

"They might be the entrance to some mighty temple. Who can have plantedthem there?"

She did not answer. They watched Corpang gain the summit of the hill, and disappear through the line of posts. 

Maskull turned again to Sullenbode. "Now we two are alone in a lonelyworld. "

She regarded him steadily. "Our last night on this earth must be a grandone. I am ready to go on. "

"I don't think you are fit to go on. It will be better to go down thepass a little, and find shelter. "

She half smiled. "We won't study our poor bodies tonight. I mean you togo to Adage, Maskull. "

"Then at all events let us rest first, for it must be a long, terribleclimb, and who knows what hardships we shall meet?"

She walked a step or two forward, half turned, and held out her hand tohim. "Come, Maskull!"

When they had covered half the distance that separated them from thefoot of the hill, Maskull heard the drum taps. They came from behind thehill, and were loud, sharp, almost explosive. He glanced at Sullenbode, but she appeared to hear nothing. A minute later the whole sky behindand above the long chain of stone posts on the crest of the hill beganto be illuminated by a strange radiance. The moonlight in that quarterfaded; the posts stood out black on a background of fire. It was thelight of Muspel. As the moments passed, it grew more and more vivid, peculiar, and awful. It was of no colour, and resembled nothing--it wassupernatural and indescribable. Maskull's spirit swelled. He stood fast, with expanded nostrils and terrible eyes. 

Sullenbode touched him lightly. 

"What do you see, Maskull?"

"Muspel-light. "

"I see nothing. "

The light shot up, until Maskull scarcely knew where he stood. Itburned with a fiercer and stranger glare than ever before. He forgot theexistence of Sullenbode. The drum beats grew deafeningly loud. Each beatwas like a rip of startling thunder, crashing through the sky and makingthe air tremble. Presently the crashes coalesced, and one continuousroar of thunder rocked the world. But the rhythm persisted--thefour beats, with the third accented, still came pulsing through theatmosphere, only now against a background of thunder, and not ofsilence. 

Maskull's heart beat wildly. His body was like a prison. He longed tothrow it off, to spring up and become incorporated with the sublimeuniverse which was beginning to unveil itself. 

Sullenbode suddenly enfolded him in her arms, and kissedhim--passionately, again and again. He made no response; he was unawareof what she was doing. She unclasped him and, with bent head andstreaming eyes, went noiselessly away. She started to go back toward theMornstab Pass. 

A few minutes afterward the radiance began to fade. The thunder dieddown. The moonlight reappeared, the stone posts and the hillside wereagain bright. In a short time the supernatural light had entirelyvanished, but the drum taps still sounded faintly, a muffled rhythm, from behind the hill. Maskull started violently, and stared around himlike a suddenly awakened sleeper. 

He saw Sullenbode walking slowly away from him, a few hundred yardsoff. At that sight, death entered his heart. He ran after her, callingout. .. . She did not look around. When he had lessened the distancebetween them by a half, he saw her suddenly stumble and fall. She didnot get up again, but lay motionless where she fell. 

He flew toward her, and bent over her body. His worst fears wererealised. Life had departed. 

Beneath its coating of mud, her face bore the vulgar, ghastly Crystalmangrin, but Maskull saw nothing of it. She had never appeared so beautifulto him as at that moment. 

He remained beside her for a long time, on his knees. He wept--but, between his fits of weeping, he raised his head from time to time, andlistened to the distant drum beats. 

An hour passed--two hours. Teargeld was now in the south-west. Maskulllifted Sullenbode's dead body on to his shoulders, and started to walktoward the Pass. He cared no more for Muspel. He intended to look forwater in which to wash the corpse of his beloved, and earth in which tobury her. 

When he had reached the boulder overlooking the landslip, on which theyhad sat together, he lowered his burden, and, placing the dead girlon the stone, seated himself beside her for a time, gazing over towardBarey. 

After that, he commenced his descent of the Mornstab Pass. 

Chapter 20. BAREY

The day had already dawned, but it was not yet sunrise when Maskullawoke from his miserable sleep. He sat up and yawned feebly. The air wascool and sweet. Far away down the landslip a bird was singing; the songconsisted of only two notes, but it was so plaintive and heartbreakingthat he scarcely knew how to endure it. 

The eastern sky was a delicate green, crossed by a long, thin bandof chocolate-coloured cloud near the horizon. The atmosphere wasblue-tinted, mysterious, and hazy. Neither Sarclash nor Adage wasvisible. 

The saddle of the Pass was five hundred feet above him; he had descendedthat distance overnight. The landslip continued downward, like a hugeflying staircase, to the upper slopes of Barey, which lay perhapsfifteen hundred feet beneath. The surface of the Pass was rough, and theangle was excessively steep, though not precipitous. It was above a mileacross. On each side of it, east and west, the dark walls of the ridgedescended sheer. At the point where the pass sprang outward they weretwo thousand feet from top to bottom, but as the ridge went upward, onthe one hand toward Adage, on the other toward Sarclash, they attainedalmost unbelievable heights. Despite the great breadth and solidity ofthe pass, Maskull felt as though he were suspended in midair. 

The patch of broken, rich, brown soil observable not far away markedSullenbode's grave. He had interred her by the light of the moon, with along, flat stone for a spade. A little lower down, the white steam of ahot spring was curling about in the twilight. From where he sat he wasunable to see the pool into which the spring ultimately flowed, but itwas in that pool that he had last night washed first of all the deadgirl's body, and then his own. 

He got up, yawned again, stretched himself, and looked around himdully. For a long time he eyed the grave. The half-darkness changed byimperceptible degrees to full day; the sun was about to appear. The skywas nearly cloudless. The whole wonderful extent of the mighty ridgebehind him began to emerge from the morning mist. .. There was a partof Sarclash, and the ice-green crest of gigantic Adage itself, which hecould only take in by throwing his head right back. 

He gazed at everything in weary apathy, like a lost soul. All hisdesires were gone forever; he wished to go nowhere, and to do nothing. He thought he would go to Barey. 

He went to the warm pool, to wash the sleep out of his eyes. Sittingbeside it, watching the bubbles, was Krag. 

Maskull thought that he was dreaming. The man was clothed in a skinshirt and breeches. His face was stem, yellow, and ugly. He eyed Maskullwithout smiling or getting up. 

"Where in the devil's name have you come from, Krag?"

"The great point is, I am here. "

"Where's Nightspore?"

"Not far away. "

"It seems a hundred years since I saw you. Why did you two leave me insuch a damnable fashion?"

"You were strong enough to get through alone. "

"So it turned out, but how were you to know?. .. . Anyway, you've timed itwell. It seems I am to die today. "

Krag scowled. "You will die this morning. "

"If I am to, I shall. But where have you heard it from?"

"You are ripe for it. You have run through the gamut. What else is thereto live for?"

"Nothing, " said Maskull, uttering a short laugh. "I am quite ready. I have failed in everything. I only wondered how you knew. .. . So nowyou've come to rejoin me. Where are we going?"

"Through Barey. "

"And what about Nightspore?"

Krag jumped to his feet with clumsy agility. "We won't wait for him. He'll be there as soon as we shall. "

"Where?"

"At our destination. .. . Come! The sun's rising. "

As they started clambering down the pass side by side, Branchspell, hugeand white, leaped fiercely into the sky. All the delicacy of the dawnvanished, and another vulgar day began. They passed some trees andplants, the leaves of which were all curled up, as if in sleep. 

Maskull pointed them out to his companion. 

"How is it the sunshine doesn't open them?"

"Branchspell is a second night to them. Their day is Alppain. "

"How long will it be before that sun rises?"

"Some time yet. "

"Shall I live to see it, do you think?"

"Do you want to?"

"At one time I did, but now I'm indifferent. "

"Keep in that humour, and you'll do well. Once for all, there's nothingworth seeing on Tormance. "

After a few minutes Maskull said, "Why did we come here, then?"

"To follow Surtur. "

"True. But where is he?"

"Closer at hand than you think, perhaps. "

"Do you know that he is regarded as a god here, Krag?. .. There issupernatural fire, too, which I have been led to believe is somehowconnected with him. .. . Why do you keep up the mystery? Who and what isSurtur?"

"Don't disturb yourself about that. You will never know. "

"Do you know?"

"I know, " snarled Krag. 

"The devil here is called Krag, " went on Maskull, peering into his face. 

"As long as pleasure is worshiped, Krag will always be the devil. "

"Here we are, talking face to face, two men together. .. . What am I tobelieve of you?"

"Believe your senses. The real devil is Crystalman. "

They continued descending the landslip. The sun's rays had growninsufferably hot. In front of them, down below in the far distance, Maskull saw water and land intermingled. It appeared that they weretravelling toward a lake district. 

"What have you and Nightspore been doing during the last four days, Krag? What happened to the torpedo?"

"You're just about on the same mental level as a man who sees abrand-new palace, and asks what has become of the scaffolding. "

"What palace have you been building, then?"

"We have not been idle, " said Krag. "While you have been murdering andlovemaking, we have had our work. "

"And how have you been made acquainted with my actions?"

"Oh, you're an open book. Now you've got a mortal heart wound on accountof a woman you knew for six hours. "

Maskull turned pale. "Sneer away, Krag! If you lived with a woman forsix hundred years and saw her die, that would never touch your leatherheart. You haven't even the feelings of an insect. "

"Behold the child defending its toys!" said Krag, grinning faintly. 

Maskull stopped short. "What do you want with me, and why did you bringme here?"

"It's no use stopping, even for the sake of theatrical effect, " saidKrag, pulling him into motion again. "The distance has got to becovered, however often we pull up. "

When he touched him, Maskull felt a terrible shooting pain through hisheart. 

"I can't go on regarding you as a man, Krag. You're something more thana man--whether good or evil, I can't say. "

Krag looked yellow and formidable. He did not reply to Maskull's remark, but after a pause said, "So you've been trying to find Surtur on yourown account, during the intervals between killing and fondling?"

"What was that drumming?" demanded Maskull. 

"You needn't look so important. We know you had your ear to the keyhole. But you could join the assembly, the music was not playing for you, myfriend. "

Maskull smiled rather bitterly. "At all events, I listen through no morekeyholes. I have finished with life. I belong to nobody and nothing anymore, from this time forward. "

"Brave Words, brave words! We shall see. Perhaps Crystalman will makeone more attempt on you. There is still time for one more. "

"Now I don't understand you. "

"You think you are thoroughly disillusioned, don't you? Well, that mayprove to be the last and strongest illusion of all. "

The conversation ceased. They reached the foot of the landslip an hourlater. Branchspell was steadily mounting the cloudless sky. It wasapproaching Sarclash, and it was an open question whether or not itwould clear its peak. The heat was sweltering. The long, massive, saucer-shaped ridge behind them, with its terrific precipices, wasglowing with bright morning colours. Adage, towering up many thousandsof feet higher still, guarded the end of it like a lonely Colossus. Infront of them, starting from where they stood, was a cool and enchantingwilderness of little lakes and forests. The water of the lakes was darkgreen; the forests were asleep, waiting for the rising of Alppain. 

"Are we now in Barey?" asked Maskull. 

"Yes--and there is one of the natives. "

There was an ugly glint in his eye as he spoke the words, but Maskulldid not see it. 

A man was leaning in the shade against one of the first trees, apparently waiting for them to come up. He was small, dark, andbeardless, and was still in early manhood. He was clothed in a darkblue, loosely flowing robe, and wore a broad-brimmed slouch hat. Hisface, which was not disfigured by any special organs, was pale, earnest, and grave, yet somehow remarkably pleasing. 

Before a word was spoken, he warmly grasped Maskull's hand, but evenwhile he was in the act of doing so he threw a queer frown at Krag. Thelatter responded with a scowling grin. 

When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was a vibrating baritone, but it was at the same time strangely womanish in its modulations andvariety of tone. 

"I've been waiting for you here since sunrise, " he said. "Welcometo Barey, Maskull! Let's hope you'll forget your sorrows here, youover-tested man. "

Maskull stared at him, not without friendliness. "What made you expectme, and how do you know my name?"

The stranger smiled, which made his face very handsome. "I'm Gangnet. Iknow most things. "

"Haven't you a greeting for me too--Gangnet?" asked Krag, thrusting hisforbidding features almost into the other's face. 

"I know you, Krag. There are few places where you are welcome. "

"And I know you, Gangnet--you man-woman. .. . Well, we are here together, and you must make what you can of it. We are going down to the Ocean. "

The smile faded from Gangnet's face. "I can't drive you away, Krag--butI can make you the unwelcome third. "

Krag threw back his head, and gave a loud, grating laugh. "That bargainsuits me all right. As long as I have the substance, you may have theshadow, and much good may it do you. "

"Now that it's all arranged so satisfactorily, " said Maskull, with ahard smile, "permit me to say that I don't desire any society at allat present. .. . You take too much for granted, Krag. You have played thefalse friend once already. .. . I presume I'm a free agent?"

"To be a free man, one must have a universe of one's own, " said Krag, with a jeering look. "What do you say, Gangnet--is this a free world?"

"Freedom from pain and ugliness should be every man's privilege, "returned Gangnet tranquilly. "Maskull is quite within his rights, and ifyou'll engage to leave him I'll do the same. "

"Maskull can change face as often as he likes, but he won't get rid ofme so easily. Be easy on that point, Maskull. "

"It doesn't matter, " muttered Maskull. "Let everyone join in theprocession. In a few hours I shall finally be free, anyhow, if what theysay is true. "

"I'll lead the way, " said Gangnet. "You don't know this country, ofcourse, Maskull. When we get to the flat lands some miles farther down, we shall be able to travel by water, but at present we must walk, Ifear. "

"Yes, you fear--you fear!" broke out Krag, in a highpitched, scrapingvoice. "You eternal loller!"

Maskull kept looking from one to the other in amazement. There seemed tobe a determined hostility between the two, which indicated an intimateprevious acquaintance. 

They set off through a wood, keeping close to its border, so that for amile or more they were within sight of the long, narrow lake that flowedbeside it. The trees were low and thin; their dolm-coloured leaves wereall folded. There was no underbrush--they walked on clean, brownearth, A distant waterfall sounded. They were in shade, but the air waspleasantly warm. There were no insects to irritate them. The bright lakeoutside looked cool and poetic. 

Gangnet pressed Maskull's arm affectionately. "If the bringing of youfrom your world had fallen to me, Maskull, it is here I would havebrought you, and not to the scarlet desert. Then you would have escapedthe dark spots, and Tormance would have appeared beautiful to you. "

"And what then, Gangnet? The dark spots would have existed all thesame. "

"You could have seen them afterward. It makes all the difference whetherone sees darkness through the light, or brightness through the shadows. "

"A clear eye is the best. Tormance is an ugly world, and I greatlyprefer to know it as it really is. "

"The devil made it ugly, not Crystalman. These are Crystalman'sthoughts, which you see around you. He is nothing but Beauty andPleasantness. Even Krag won't have the effrontery to deny that. "

"It's very nice here, " said Krag, looking around him malignantly. "Oneonly wants a cushion and half a dozen houris to complete it. "

Maskull disengaged himself from Gangnet. "Last night, when I wasstruggling through the mud in the ghastly moonlight--then I thought theworld beautiful. "

"Poor Sullenbode!" said Gangnet sighing. 

"What! You knew her?"

"I know her through you. By mourning for a noble woman, you show yourown nobility. I think all women are noble. "

"There may be millions of noble women, but there's only one Sullenbode. "

"If Sullenbode can exist, " said Gangnet, "the world cannot be a badplace. "

"Change the subject. .. . The world's hard and cruel, and I am thankful tobe leaving it. "

"On one point, though, you both agree, " said Krag, smiling evilly. "Pleasure is good, and the cessation of pleasure is bad. "

Gangnet glanced at him coldly. "We know your peculiar theories, Krag. You are very fond of them, but they are unworkable. The world could notgo on being, without pleasure. "

"So Gangnet thinks!" jeered Krag. 

They came to the end of the wood, and found themselves overlooking alittle cliff. At the foot of it, about fifty feet below, a fresh seriesof lakes and forests commenced. Barey appeared to be one big mountainslope, built by nature into terraces. The lake along whose border theyhad been travelling was not banked at the end, but overflowed to thelower level in half a dozen beautiful, threadlike falls, white andthrowing off spray. The cliff was not perpendicular, and the men foundit easy to negotiate. 

At the base they entered another wood. Here it was much denser, and theyhad nothing but trees all around them. A clear brook rippled through theheart of it; they followed its bank. 

"It has occurred to me, " said Maskull, addressing Gangnet, "that Alppainmay be my death. Is that so?"

"These trees don't fear Alppain, so why should you? Alppain is awonderful, life-bringing sun. "

"The reason I ask is--I've seen its afterglow, and it produced suchviolent sensations that a very little more would have proved too much. "

"Because the forces were evenly balanced. When you see Alppain itself, it will reign supreme, and there will be no more struggling of willsinside you. "

"And that, I may tell you beforehand, Maskull, " said Krag, grinning, "isCrystalman's trump card. "

"How do you mean?"

"You'll see. You'll renounce the world so eagerly that you'll want tostay in the world merely to enjoy your sensations. "

Gangnet smiled. "Krag, you see, is hard to please. You must neitherenjoy, nor renounce. What are you to do?"

Maskull turned toward Krag. "It's very odd, but I don't understand yourcreed even yet. Are you recommending suicide?"

Krag seemed to grow sallower and more repulsive every minute. "What, because they have left off stroking you?" he exclaimed, laughing andshowing his discoloured teeth. 

"Whoever you are, and whatever you want, " said Maskull, "you seem verycertain of yourself. "

"Yes, you would like me to blush and stammer like a booby, wouldn't you!That would be an excellent way of destroying lies. "

Gangnet glanced toward the foot of one of the trees. He stooped andpicked up two or three objects that resembled eggs. 

"To eat?" asked Maskull, accepting the offered gift. 

"Yes, eat them; you must be hungry. I want none myself, and one mustn'tinsult Krag by offering him a pleasure--especially such a low pleasure. "

Maskull knocked the ends off two of the eggs, and swallowed the liquidcontents. They tasted rather alcoholic. Krag snatched the remaining, eggout of his hand and flung it against a tree trunk, where it broke andstuck, a splash of slime. 

"I don't wait to be asked, Gangnet. .. . Say, is there a filthier sightthan a smashed pleasure?"

Gangnet did not reply, but took Maskull's arm. 

After they had alternately walked through forests and descended cliffsand slopes for upward of two hours, the landscape altered. A steepmountainside commenced and continued for at least a couple of miles, during which space the land must have dropped nearly four thousand feet, at a practically uniform gradient. Maskull had seen nothing like thisimmense slide of country anywhere. The hill slope carried an enormousforest on its back. This forest, however, was different from those theyhad hitherto passed through. The leaves of the trees were curled insleep, but the boughs were so close and numerous that, but for thefact that they were translucent, the rays of the sun would have beencompletely intercepted. As it was, the whole forest was flooded withlight, and this light, being tinged with the colour of the branches, was a soft and lovely rose. So gay, feminine, and dawnlike was theillumination, that Maskull's spirits immediately started to rise, although he did not wish it. 

He checked himself, sighed, and grew pensive. 

"What a place for languishing eyes and necks of ivory, Maskull!" raspedKrag mockingly. "Why isn't Sullenbode here?"

Maskull gripped him roughly and flung him against the nearest tree. Kragrecovered himself, and burst into a roaring laugh, seeming not a whitdiscomposed. 

"Still what I said--was it true or untrue?"

Maskull gazed at him sternly. "You seem to regard yourself as anecessary evil. I'm under no obligation to go on with you any farther. Ithink we had better part. "

Krag turned to Gangnet with an air of grotesque mock earnestness. 

"What do you say--do we part when Maskull pleases, or when I please?"

"Keep your temper, Maskull, " said Gangnet, showing Krag his back. "Iknow the man better than you do. Now that he has fastened onto youthere's only one way of making him lose his hold, by ignoring him. Despise him--say nothing to him, don't answer his questions. If yourefuse to recognise his existence, he is as good as not here. "

"I'm beginning to be tired of it all, " said Maskull. "It seems as if Ishall add one more to my murders, before I have finished. "

"I smell murder in the air, " exclaimed Krag, pretending to sniff. "Butwhose?"

"Do as I say, Maskull. To bandy words with him is to throw oil on fire. "

"I'll say no more to anyone. .. . When do we get out of this accursedforest?"

"It's some way yet, but when we're once out we can take to the water, and you will be able to rest, and think. "

"And brood comfortably over your sufferings, " added Krag. 

None of the three men said anything more until they emerged into theopen day. The slope of the forest was so steep that they were forced torun, rather than walk, and this would have prevented any conversation, even if they had otherwise felt inclined toward it. In less than half anhour they were through. A flat, open landscape lay stretched in front ofthem as far as they could see. 

Three parts of this country consisted of smooth water. It was asuccession of large, low-shored lakes, divided by narrow strips oftree-covered land. The lake immediately before them had its small end tothe forest. It was there about a third of a mile wide. The water at thesides and end was shallow, and choked with dolm-colored rushes; butin the middle, beginning a few yards from the shore, there was aperceptible current away from them. In view of this current, it wasdifficult to decide whether it was a lake or a river. Some littlefloating islands were in the shallows. 

"Is it here that we take to the water?" inquired Maskull. 

"Yes, here, " answered Gangnet. 

"But how?"

"One of those islands will serve. It only needs to move it into thestream. "

Maskull frowned. "Where will it carry us to?"

"Come, get on, get on!" said Krag, laughing uncouthly. "The morning'swearing away, and you have to die before noon. We are going to theOcean. "

"If you are omniscient, Krag, what is my death to be?"

"Gangnet will murder you. "

"You lie!" said Gangnet. "I wish Maskull nothing but good. "

"At all events, he will be the cause of your death. But what does itmatter? The great point is you are quitting this futile world. .. . Well, Gangnet, I see you're as slack as ever. I suppose I must do the work. "

He jumped into the lake and began to run through the shallow water, splashing it about. When he came to the nearest island, the water wasup to his thighs. The island was lozenge-shaped, and about fifteen feetfrom end to end. It was composed of a sort of light brown peat; therewas no form of living vegetation on its surface. Krag went behind it, and started shoving it toward the current, apparently without havingunduly to exert himself. When it was within the influence of the streamthe others waded out to him, and all three climbed on. 

The voyage began. The current was not travelling at more than two milesan hour. The sun glared down on their heads mercilessly, and therewas no shade or prospect of shade. Maskull sat down near the edge, andperiodically splashed water over his head. Gangnet sat on his haunchesnext to him. Krag paced up and down with short, quick steps, like ananimal in a cage. The lake widened out more and more, and the width ofthe stream increased in proportion, until they seemed to themselves tobe floating on the bosom of some broad, flowing estuary. 

Krag suddenly bent over and snatched off Gangnet's hat, crushing ittogether in his hairy fist and throwing it far out into the stream. 

"Why should you disguise yourself like a woman?" he asked with a harshguffaw--"Show Maskull your face. Perhaps he has seen it somewhere. "

Gangnet did remind Maskull of someone, but he could not say of whom. Hisdark hair curled down to his neck, his brow was wide, lofty, and noble, and there was an air of serious sweetness about the whole man that wasstrangely appealing to the feelings. 

"Let Maskull judge, " he said with proud composure, "whether I haveanything to be ashamed of. "

"There can be nothing but magnificent thoughts in that head, " mutteredMaskull, staring hard at him. 

"A capital valuation. Gangnet is the king of poets. But what happenswhen poets try to carry through practical enterprises?"

"What enterprises?" asked Maskull, in astonishment. 

"What have you got on hand, Gangnet? Tell Maskull. "

"There are two forms of practical activity, " replied Gangnet calmly. "One may either build up, or destroy. "

"No, there's a third species. One may steal--and not even know one isstealing. One may take the purse and leave the money. "

Maskull raised his eyebrows. "Where have you two met before?"

"I'm paying Gangnet a visit today, Maskull but once upon a time Gangnetpaid me a visit. "

"Where?"

"In my home--whatever that is. Gangnet is a common thief. "

"You are speaking in riddles, and I don't understand you. I don'tknow either of you, but it's clear that if Gangnet is a poet, you're abuffoon. Must you go on talking? I want to be quiet. "

Krag laughed, but said no more. Presently he lay down at full length, with his face to the sun, and in a few minutes was fast asleep, and snoring disagreeably. Maskull kept glancing over at his yellow, repulsive face with strong disfavour. 

Two hours passed. The land on either side was more than a mile distant. In front of them there was no land at all. Behind them, the LichstormMountains were blotted out from view by a haze that had gatheredtogether. The sky ahead, just above the horizon, began to be ofa strange colour. It was an intense jale-blue. The whole northernatmosphere was stained with ulfire. 

Maskull's mind grew disturbed. "Alppain is rising, Gangnet. "

Gangnet smiled wistfully. "It begins to trouble you?"

"It is so solemn--tragical, almost--yet it recalls me to Earth. Life wasno longer important--but this is important. "

"Daylight is night to this other daylight. Within half an hour you willbe like a man who has stepped from a dark forest into the open day. Thenyou will ask yourself how you could have been blind. "

The two men went on watching the blue sunrise. The entire sky inthe north, halfway up to the zenith, was streaked with extraordinarycolours, among which jale and dolm predominated. Just as the principalcharacter of an ordinary dawn is mystery, the outstanding character ofthis dawn was wildness. It did not baffle the understanding, but theheart. Maskull felt no inarticulate craving to seize and perpetuate thesunrise, and make it his own. Instead of that, it agitated and tormentedhim, like the opening bars of a supernatural symphony. 

When he looked back to the south, Branchspell's day had lost itsglare, and he could gaze at the immense white sun without flinching. Heinstinctively turned to the north again, as one turns from darkness tolight. 

"If those were Crystalman's thoughts that you showed me before, Gangnet, these must be his feelings. I mean it literally. What I am feeling now, he must have felt before me. "

"He is all feeling, Maskull--don't you understand that?"

Maskull was feeding greedily on the spectacle before him; he did notreply. His face was set like a rock, but his eyes were dim with thebeginning of tears. The sky blazed deeper and deeper; it was obviousthat Alppain was about to lift itself above the sea. The island had bythis time floated past the mouth of the estuary. On three sides theywere surrounded by water. The haze crept up behind them and shut out allsight of land. Krag was still sleeping--an ugly, wrinkled monstrosity. 

Maskull looked over the side at the flowing water. It had lost its darkgreen colour, and was now of a perfect crystal transparency. 

"Are we already on the Ocean, Gangnet?"

"Yes. "

"Then nothing remains except my death. "

"Don't think of death, but life. "

"It's growing brighter--at the same time, more sombre, Krag seems to befading away. .. . "

"There is Alppain!" said Gangnet, touching his arm. 

The deep, glowing disk of the blue sun peeped above the sea. Maskullwas struck to silence. He was hardly so much looking, as feeling. Hisemotions were unutterable. His soul seemed too strong for his body. Thegreat blue orb rose rapidly out of the water, like an awful eye watchinghim. .. . It shot above the sea with a bound, and Alppain's day commenced. 

"What do you feel?" Gangnet still held his arm. 

"I have set myself against the Infinite, " muttered Maskull. 

Suddenly his chaos of passions sprang together, and a wonderful ideaswept through his whole being, accompanied by the intensest joy. 

"Why, Gangnet--I am nothing. "

"No, you are nothing. "

The mist closed in all around them. Nothing was visible except thetwo suns, and a few feet of sea. The shadows of the three men cast byAlppain were not black, but were composed of white daylight. 

"Then nothing can hurt me, " said Maskull with a peculiar smile. 

Gangnet smiled too. "How could it?"

"I have lost my will; I feel as if some foul tumour had been scrapedaway, leaving me clean and free. "

"Do you now understand life, Maskull?"

Gangnet's face was transfigured with an extraordinary spiritual beauty;he looked as if he had descended from heaven. 

"I understand nothing, except that I have no self any more. But this islife. "

"Is Gangnet expatiating on his famous blue sun?" said a jeering voiceabove them. Looking up, they saw that Krag had got to his feet. 

They both rose. At the same moment the gathering mist began to obscureAlppain's disk, changing it from blue to a vivid jale. 

"What do you want with us, Krag?" asked Maskull with simple composure. 

Krag looked at him strangely for a few seconds. The water lapped aroundthem. 

"Don't you comprehend, Maskull, that your death has arrived?"

Maskull made no response. Krag rested an arm lightly on his shoulder, and suddenly he felt sick and faint. He sank to the ground, near theedge of the island raft. His heart was thumping heavily and queerly;its beating reminded him of the drum taps. He gazed languidly at therippling water, and it seemed to him as if he could see right throughit. .. Away, away down. .. To a strange fire. .. . 

The water disappeared. The two suns were extinguished. The island wastransformed into a cloud, and Maskull--alone on it--was floating throughthe atmosphere. .. . Down below, it was all fire--the fire of Muspel. Thelight mounted higher and higher, until it filled the whole world. .. . 

He floated toward an immense perpendicular cliff of black rock, withouttop or bottom. Halfway up it Krag, suspended in midair, was dealingterrific blows at a blood-red spot with a huge hammer. The rhythmical, clanging sounds were hideous. 

Presently Maskull made out that these sounds were the familiar drumbeats. "What are you doing, Krag?" he asked. 

Krag suspended his work, and turned around. 

"Beating on Your heart, Maskull, " was his grinning response. 

The cliff and Krag vanished. Maskull saw Gangnet struggling in theair--but it was not Gangnet--it was Crystalman. He seemed to be tryingto escape from the Muspel-fire, which kept surrounding and licking him, whichever way he turned. He was screaming. .. . The fire caught him. Heshrieked horribly. Maskull caught one glimpse of a vulgar, slobberingface--and then that too disappeared. 

He opened his eyes. The floating island was still faintly illuminated byAlppain. Krag was standing by his side, but Gangnet was no longer there. 

"What is this Ocean called?" asked Maskull, bringing out the words withdifficulty. 

"Surtur's Ocean. "

Maskull nodded, and kept quiet for some time. He rested his face on hisarm. "Where's Nightspore?" he asked suddenly. 

Krag bent over him with a grave expression. "You are Nightspore. "

The dying man closed his eyes, and smiled. 

Opening them again, a few moments later, with an effort, he murmured, "Who are you?"

Krag maintained a gloomy silence. 

Shortly afterward a frightful pang passed through Maskull's heart, andhe died immediately. 

Krag turned his head around. "The night is really past at last, Nightspore. .. . The day is here. "

Nightspore gazed long and earnestly at Maskull's body. "Why was all thisnecessary?"

"Ask Crystalman, " replied Krag sternly. "His world is no joke. He has astrong clutch--but I have a stronger. .. Maskull was his, but Nightsporeis mine. "

Chapter 21. MUSPEL

The fog thickened so that the two suns wholly disappeared, and all grewas black as night. Nightspore could no longer see his companion. Thewater lapped gently against the side of the island raft. 

"You say the night is past, " said Nightspore. "But the night is stillhere. Am I dead, or alive?"

"You are still in Crystalman's world, but you belong to it no more. Weare approaching Muspel. "

Nightspore felt a strong, silent throbbing of the air--a rhythmicalpulsation, in four-four time. "There is the drumming, " he exclaimed. 

"Do you understand it, or have you forgotten?"

"I half understand it, but I'm all confused. "

"It's evident Crystalman has dug his claws into you pretty deeply, "said Krag. "The sound comes from Muspel, but the rhythm is caused by itstravelling through Crystalman's atmosphere. His nature is rhythm as heloves to call it--or dull, deadly repetition, as I name it. "

"I remember, " said Nightspore, biting his nails in the dark. 

The throbbing became audible; it now sounded like a distant drum. Asmall patch of strange light in the far distance, straight ahead ofthem, began faintly to illuminate the floating island and the glassy seaaround it. 

"Do all men escape from that ghastly world, or only I, and a few likeme?" asked Nightspore. 

"If all escaped, I shouldn't sweat, my friend. .. There's hard work, andanguish, and the risk of total death, waiting for us yonder. "

Nightspore's heart sank. "Have I not yet finished, then?"

"If you wish it. You have got through. But will you wish it?"

The drumming grew loud and painful. The light resolved itself into atiny oblong of mysterious brightness in a huge wall of night. Krag'sgrim and rocklike features were revealed. 

"I can't face rebirth, " said Nightspore. "The horror of death is nothingto it. "

"You will choose. "

"I can do nothing. Crystalman is too powerful. I barely escaped with--myown soul. "

"You are still stupid with Earth fumes, and see nothing straight, " saidKrag. 

Nightspore made no reply, but seemed to be trying to recall something. The water around them was so still, colourless, and transparent, thatthey scarcely seemed to be borne up by liquid matter at all. Maskull'scorpse had disappeared. 

The drumming was now like the clanging of iron. The oblong patch oflight grew much bigger; it burned, fierce and wild. The darknessabove, below, and on either side of it, began to shape itself into thesemblance of a huge, black wall, without bounds. 

"Is that really a wall we are coming to?"

"You will soon find out. What you see is Muspel, and that light is thegate you have to enter. "

Nightspore's heart beat wildly. 

"Shall I remember?" he muttered. 

"Yes, you'll remember. "

"Accompany me, Krag, or I shall be lost. "

"There is nothing for me to do in there. I shall wait outside for you. "

"You are returning to the struggle?" demanded Nightspore, gnawing hisfingertips. 

"Yes. "

"I dare not. "

The thunderous clangor of the rhythmical beats struck on his head likeactual blows. The light glared so vividly that he was no longer able tolook at it. It had the startling irregularity of continuous lightning, but it possessed this further peculiarity--that it seemed somehow togive out not actual light, but emotion, seen as light. They continued toapproach the wall of darkness, straight toward the door. The glasslikewater flowed right against it, its surface reaching up almost to thethreshold. 

They could not speak any more; the noise was too deafening. 

In a few minutes they were before the gateway. Nightspore turned hisback and hid his eyes in his two hands, but even then he was blindedby the light. So passionate were his feelings that his body seemed toenlarge itself. At every frightful beat of sound, he quivered violently. 

The entrance was doorless. Krag jumped onto the rocky platform andpulled Nightspore after him. 

Once through the gateway, the light vanished. The rhythmicalsound--blows totally ceased. Nightspore dropped his hands. .. . All wasdark and quiet as an opened tomb. But the air was filled with grim, burning passion, which was to light and sound what light itself is toopaque colour. 

Nightspore pressed his hand to his heart. "I don't know if I can endureit, " he said, looking toward Krag. He felt his person far more vividlyand distinctly than if he had been able to see him. 

"Go in, and lose no time, Nightspore. .. . Time here is more precious thanon earth. We can't squander the minutes. There are terrible and tragicaffairs to attend to, which won't wait for us. .. Go in at once. Stop fornothing. "

"Where shall I go to?" muttered Nightspore. "I have forgotteneverything. "

"Enter, enter! There is only one way. You can't mistake it. "

"Why do you bid me go in, if I am to come out again?"

"To have your wounds healed. "

Almost before the words had left his mouth, Krag sprang back on to theisland raft. Nightspore involuntarily started after him, but atonce recovered himself and remained standing where he was. Krag wascompletely invisible; everything outside was black night. 

The moment he had gone, a feeling shot up in Nightspore's heart like athousand trumpets. 

Straight in front of him, almost at his feet, was the lower end of asteep, narrow, circular flight of stone steps. There was no other wayforward. 

He put his foot on the bottom stair, at the same time peering aloft. He saw nothing, yet as he proceeded upward every inch of the way wasperceptible to his inner feelings. The staircase was cold, dismal, anddeserted, but it seemed to him, in his exaltation of soul, like a ladderto heaven. 

After he had mounted a dozen steps or so, he paused to take breath. Eachstep was increasingly difficult to ascend; he felt as though he werecarrying a heavy man on his shoulders. It struck a familiar chord in hismind. He went on and, ten stairs higher up, came to a window set in ahigh embrasure. 

On to this he clambered, and looked through. The window was of a sort ofglass, but he could see nothing. Coming to him, however, from the worldoutside, a disturbance of the atmosphere struck his senses, causing hisblood to run cold. At one moment it resembled a low, mocking, vulgarlaugh, travelling from the ends of the earth; at the next it was likea rhythmical vibration of the air--the silent, continuous throbbing ofsome mighty engine. The two sensations were identical, yet different. They seemed to be related in the same manner as soul and body. Afterfeeling them for a long time, Nightspore got down from the embrasure, and continued his ascent, having meanwhile grown very serious. 

The climbing became still more laborious, and he was forced to stop atevery third or fourth step, to rest his muscles and regain breath. Whenhe had mounted another twenty stairs in this way, he came to a secondwindow. Again he saw nothing. The laughing disturbance of the air, too, had ceased; but the atmospheric throb was now twice as distinctas before, and its rhythm had become double. There were two separatepulses; one was in the time of a march, the other in the time of awaltz. The first was bitter and petrifying to feel, but the second wasgay, enervating, and horrible. 

Nightspore spent little time at that window, for he felt that he wason the eve of a great discovery, and that something far more importantawaited him higher up. He proceeded aloft. The ascent grew more andmore exhausting, so much so that he had frequently to sit down, utterlycrushed by his own dead weight. Still, he got to the third window. 

He climbed into the embrasure. His feelings translated themselves intovision, and he saw a sight that caused him to turn pale. A gigantic, self-luminous sphere was hanging in the sky, occupying nearly the wholeof it. This sphere was composed entirely of two kinds of active beings. There were a myriad of tiny green corpuscles, varying in size from thevery small to the almost indiscernible. They were not green, but hesomehow saw them so. They were all striving in one direction--towardhimself, toward Muspel, but were too feeble and miniature to make anyheadway. Their action produced the marching rhythm he had previouslyfelt, but this rhythm was not intrinsic in the corpuscles themselves, but was a consequence of the obstruction they met with. And, surroundingthese atoms of life and light, were far larger whirls of white lightthat gyrated hither and thither, carrying the green corpuscles withthem wherever they desired. Their whirling motion was accompanied by thewaltzing rhythm. It seemed to Nightspore that the green atoms werenot only being danced about against their will but were sufferingexcruciating shame and degradation in consequence. The larger ones weresteadier than the extremely small, a few were even almost stationary, and one was advancing in the direction it wished to go. 

He turned his back to the window, buried his face in his hands, andsearched in the dim recesses of his memory for an explanation of what hehad just seen. Nothing came straight, but horror and wrath began to takepossession of him. 

On his way upward to the next window, invisible fingers seemed to himto be squeezing his heart and twisting it about here and there; but henever dreamed of turning back. His mood was so grim that he did not oncepermit himself to pause. Such was his physical distress by the time thathe had clambered into the recess, that for several minutes he could seenothing at all--the world seemed to be spinning round him rapidly. 

When at last he looked, he saw the same sphere as before, but now allwas changed on it. It was a world of rocks, minerals, water, plants, animals, and men. He saw the whole world at one view, yet everything wasso magnified that he could distinguish the smallest details of life. Inthe interior of every individual, of every aggregate of individuals, of every chemical atom, he clearly perceived the presence of the greencorpuscles. But, according to the degree of dignity of the life form, they were fragmentary or comparatively large. In the crystal, forexample, the green, imprisoned life was so minute as to be scarcelyvisible; in some men it was hardly bigger; but in other men and women itwas twenty or a hundred times greater. But, great or small, it playedan important part in every individual. It appeared as if the whirls ofwhite light, which were the individuals, and plainly showed themselvesbeneath the enveloping bodies, were delighted with existence and wishedonly to enjoy it, but the green corpuscles were in a condition ofeternal discontent, yet, blind and not knowing which way to turn forliberation, kept changing form, as though breaking a new path, by way ofexperiment. Whenever the old grotesque became metamorphosed into thenew grotesque, it was in every case the direct work of the green atoms, trying to escape toward Muspel, but encountering immediate opposition. These subdivided sparks of living, fiery spirit were hopelesslyimprisoned in a ghastly mush of soft pleasure. They were beingeffeminated and corrupted--that is to say, absorbed in the foul, sicklyenveloping forms. 

Nightspore felt a sickening shame in his soul as he looked on at thatspectacle. His exaltation had long since vanished. He bit his nails, andunderstood why Krag was waiting for him below. 

He mounted slowly to the fifth window. The pressure of air against himwas as strong as a full gale, divested of violence and irregularity, so that he was not for an instant suffered to relax his efforts. Nevertheless, not a breath stirred. 

Looking through the window, he was startled by a new sight. The spherewas still there, but between it and the Muspel-world in which he wasstanding he perceived a dim, vast shadow, without any distinguishableshape, but somehow throwing out a scent of disgusting sweetness. Nightspore knew that it was Crystalman. A flood of fierce light--but itwas not light, but passion--was streaming all the time from Muspel tothe Shadow, and through it. When, however, it emerged on the other side, which was the sphere, the light was altered in character. It becamesplit, as by a prism, into the two forms of life which he had previouslyseen--the green corpuscles and the whirls. What had been fiery spiritbut a moment ago was now a disgusting mass of crawling, wrigglingindividuals, each whirl of pleasure-seeking will having, as nucleus, afragmentary spark of living green fire. Nightspore recollected the backrays of Starkness, and it flashed across him with the certainty of truththat the green sparks were the back rays, and the whirls the forwardrays, of Muspel. The former were trying desperately to return to theirplace of origin, but were overpowered by the brute force of the latter, which wished only to remain where they were. The individual whirls werejostling and fighting with, and even devouring, each other. This createdpain, but, whatever pain they felt, it was always pleasure that theysought. Sometimes the green sparks were strong enough for a moment tomove a little way in the direction of Muspel; the whirls would thenaccept the movement, not only without demur, but with pride andpleasure, as if it were their own handiwork--but they never saw beyondthe Shadow, they thought that they were travelling toward it. Theinstant the direct movement wearied them, as contrary to their whirlingnature, they fell again to killing, dancing, and loving. 

Nightspore had a foreknowledge that the sixth window would prove tobe the last. Nothing would have kept him from ascending to it, forhe guessed that the nature of Crystalman himself would there becomemanifest. Every step upward was like a bloody life-and-death struggle. The stairs nailed him to the ground; the air pressure caused blood togush from his nose and ears; his head clanged like an iron bell. Whenhe had fought his way up a dozen steps, he found himself suddenly at thetop; the staircase terminated in a small, bare chamber of cold stone, possessing a single window. On the other side of the apartment anothershort flight of stairs mounted through a trap, apparently to the roof ofthe building. Before ascending these stairs, Nightspore hastened to thewindow and stared out. 

The shadow form of Crystalman had drawn much closer to him, and filledthe whole sky, but it was not a shadow of darkness, but a bright shadow. It had neither shape, nor colour, yet it in some way suggested thedelicate tints of early morning. It was so nebulous that the spherecould be clearly distinguished through it; in extension, however, itwas thick. The sweet smell emanating from it was strong, loathsome, and terrible; it seemed to spring from a sort of loose, mocking slimeinexpressibly vulgar and ignorant. 

The spirit stream from Muspel flashed with complexity and variety. Itwas not below individuality, but above it. It was not the One, or theMany, but something else far beyond either. It approached Crystalman, and entered his body--if that bright mist could be called a body. Itpassed right through him, and the passage caused him the most exquisitepleasure. The Muspel-stream was Crystalman's food. The stream emergedfrom the other side on to the sphere, in a double condition. Part ofit reappeared intrinsically unaltered, but shivered into a millionfragments. These were the green corpuscles. In passing throughCrystalman they had escaped absorption by reason of their extrememinuteness. The other part of the stream had not escaped. Its fire hadbeen abstracted, its cement was withdrawn, and, after being fouledand softened by the horrible sweetness of the host, it broke intoindividuals, which were the whirls of living will. 

Nightspore shuddered. He comprehended at last how the whole world ofwill was doomed to eternal anguish in order that one Being might feeljoy. 

Presently he set foot on the final flight leading to the roof; for heremembered vaguely that now only that remained. 

Halfway up, he fainted--but when he recovered consciousness he persistedas though nothing had happened to him. As soon as his head was above thetrap, breathing the free air, he had the same physical sensation as aman stepping out of water. He pulled his body up, and stood expectantlyon the stone-floored roof, looking round for his first glimpse ofMuspel. 

There was nothing. 

He was standing upon the top of a tower, measuring not above fifteenfeet each way. Darkness was all around him. He sat down on the stoneparapet, with a sinking heart; a heavy foreboding possessed him. 

Suddenly, without seeing or hearing anything, he had the distinctimpression that the darkness around him, on all four sides, wasgrinning. .. . As soon as that happened, he understood that he was whollysurrounded by Crystalman's world, and that Muspel consisted of himselfand the stone tower on which he was sitting. . 

Fire flashed in his heart. .. . Millions upon millions of grotesque, vulgar, ridiculous, sweetened individuals--once Spirit--were calling outfrom their degradation and agony for salvation from Muspel. .. . Toanswer that cry there was only himself. .. And Krag waiting below. .. AndSurtur--But where was Surtur?

The truth forced itself on him in all its cold, brutal reality. Muspelwas no all-powerful Universe, tolerating from pure indifference theexistence side by side with it of another false world, which had noright to be. Muspel was fighting for its life--against all that is mostshameful and frightful--against sin masquerading as eternal beauty, against baseness masquerading as Nature, against the Devil masqueradingas God. .. . 

Now he understood everything. The moral combat was no mock one, noValhalla, where warriors are cut to pieces by day and feast by night;but a grim death struggle in which what is worse than death--namely, spiritual death--inevitably awaited the vanquished of Muspel. .. . By whatmeans could he hold back from this horrible war!

During those moments of anguish, all thoughts of Self--the corruption ofhis life on Earth--were scorched out of Nightspore's soul, perhaps notfor the first time. 

After sitting a long time, he prepared to descend. Without warning, astrange, wailing cry swept over the face of the world. Starting in awfulmystery, it ended with such a note of low and sordid mockery that hecould not doubt for a moment whence it originated. It was the voice ofCrystalman. 

Krag was waiting for him on the island raft. He threw a stern glance atNightspore. 

"Have you seen everything?"

"The struggle is hopeless, " muttered Nightspore. 

"Did I not say I am the stronger?"

"You may be the stronger, but he is the mightier. "

"I am the stronger and the mightier. Crystalman's Empire is but a shadowon the face of Muspel. But nothing will be done without the bloodiestblows. .. . What do you mean to do?"

Nightspore looked at him strangely. "Are you not Surtur, Krag?"

"Yes. "

"Yes, " said Nightspore in a slow voice, without surprise. "But what isyour name on Earth?"

"It is pain. "

"That, too, I must have known. "

He was silent for a few minutes; then he stepped quietly onto the raft. Krag pushed off, and they proceeded into the darkness.