Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 109: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE METAL MONSTER. “ Love?” she repeated, and all of her wonderment seemed crystallized in the word. ‘ Love?” she askef curiously. | ‘“ She loves him,” I said; and then why I did not know, but I added, pointing to Drake: ‘“ and he loves her.” There was a tiny, astonished sob from Ruth. Again Norhdla brooded over her. Then with a little despairing shake of her head, paced over, faced the great disk. Tensely we waited. Coinmunication there was between them, interchange of— thought; how carried on I would not haz- ard even to_myself. But of a surety these two—the goddess woman, the wholly un- human shape of metal, of jeweled fires and conscious force—understood each’ other! For she turned, stood aside — and the body of Ventnor quivered, arose from the floor, stood upright and with ¢losed eyes, head dropping upon one shoulder, glided forward toward the disk like a dead man carried by those ‘messengers never seen by man who, the Arabs, believe carry the death-drugged souls before Allah for their awakening! Ruth moaned and hid her eyes; tall Drake reached down, gathered her up in his arms, held her close to his breast. And in that uncanny progress was something of the super-normal that sent a chill even through my unbelieving heart. | The gliding body. stood before the disk, swam up along its face. The tendnis waved out, felt of it, thrust themselves down through the wide collar of the shirt. The floating form passed higher, over the edge of the disk; lay high beside the right star point of the rayed shape to which had been passing Ruth when Ventnor’s shot brought the tragedy upon us. I saw other tentacles whip forth, examine, caress! Then down the body swung, was borne through air, laid gently at our feet! “ He is not—dead.”’ It was Norhala be- side me; she lifted Ruth’s face: from Drake’s breast. ‘‘ He will not die—it 1s my thought. It may be he will walk again. They cannot help,” there was a shadow of apology in her tones. “ They did not know. They thought it was the ” — she hesitated as though at loss for words— “the—the Fire Play.” 483 ‘The Fire Play?” I gasped. “Yes,” she nodded. ‘ You shall see it. And now we will take him to my house. ‘You are safe—now, nor need you trouble. For he has given you to me for my play- things!” “What does she say?” demanded Drake. I translated. “Playthings!” at any other time his amazed indignation would have been ludi- crous. “ He has given us to her for play- things? Who does she mean by he?” ‘Who has given us to you——Norhala?” — I asked, as calmly as I could: ‘He ”’—she nodded to the disk, then spoke the phrase that was both ancient As- ‘syria’s and ancient Persia’s title for their all-conquering rulers, and that meant— “the King of Kings! The Great King! Master of Life and Death!”’ . She had taken Ruth from Drake’s arms, pointing to Ventnor. “ Bear him,” she commanded, and led the way back through the walls of light. - As we lifted the body, I slipped my hand through the shirt, felt at the heart. Faint was the pulsation and slow, but reg- ular. Ventnor had medicines, I knew, in the -saddle-bags. I could attend to him on our way to wherever it was the woman was taking us. Close to the encircling vapors I cast one quick look behind me. The shapes stodd immobile, flashing disks, gigantic radiant stars and the six great spheres beneath their geometric, super-Euclidean god or shrine or machine of interwoven threads of luminous force and metal—still motionless, still watching! We emerged into the place of pillars. There stood the hooded pony and its pa- tience, its uncomplaining acceptance of its place as servant to man brought a lump into my throat, salved, I suppose, my hu- man vanity, abased as it had been by the colossal indifference of those things to which we were but playthings. | Again Norhala sent forth her call. To us out of the maze glided her quintette of familiars; again the four clicked into one. Upon its top we lifted, Drake ascending first, the pony; then the body of Ventnor. EOMRIC OG Colin