Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

BEYOND THE STARS. He smiled at us. ‘ You, too,” he said. “I can realize that you are of an origin the same.” He did indeed think we were of a human type very primitive. The men of science who had seen us coming out of infinite smallness beneath their microscope, had re- marked upon it. The small protuberance in the corner of our eyes, the remains of the beasts’ third eyelid, the shape of our heads, our almost pointed ears—I noticed that his own were very nearly circular—our harsh voices; our thick, stocky, muscular bodies were indica- tions that they remarked on. We discussed it. But Jim interrupted. ** How did your men of science know that we were coming out of that piece of gray tock?” It had been partly by chance. The frag- ment of rock had been a portion of the interior wall of a room wherein scientific experiments were being made. Ren used our words, ‘“‘ Experiments in physics and chemistry.” One of the scientists had found himself receiving strange thought-waves. Ren de- scribed them. They were Dolores’s thoughts. The scientists traced them with measuring instruments to the wall of the room, but could be no more exact than that. Then, later, from a tiny protuberance of the wall, a glow was observed. It proved to be a sudden radio-activity; this pro- tuberance of gray stone had become radi- ant. Electrons were streaming off from it. _ The scientists chipped it off the huge block of stone of which it was so small a part, and put it under a microscope. It was violently radio-active. And from it they observed a stream of red. “Our Beta ray,” Dr. Weatherby ex- claimed. “Our voyage, the disturbance we set up made the substance give off its electrons.” “Yes,” nodded Ren. “ They think so. They examined it beneath the lens, and after a little while they saw you.” Alice said: “My sister was getting thoughts from here—” She told him about the mysterious young man and girl, threat- ened by some unknown danger, a strange 861 cliff, the young couple at bay upon a ledge, the valley beneath them filled with a name- less horror. Ren’s face clouded. “Yes. We have had thoughts from them. But now the thoughts have stopped. Those two are the children of our ruler. You would call him our king? They are the young prince and his sister, our princess. “A year ago they both disappeared. A year—that is ten times daylight and dark- ness. We did not know why they went, or where. Run away, or perhaps stolen from us, for our king is very old and of health quite bad. Soon the prince will be king. “ But they disappeared. There is a very —a horrible, savage people in the forests beyond the great caves. You spoke it truly, my lady Alice. They are a nameless horror—we do not often speak of things like that. We fear our prince and princess may be there. “And here at home there is a growing trouble as well. Our women—the young girls particularly—are very restless and ag- grieved. They do not like their lot in life. Some already are in rebellion. “On the great island is a colony of vir- gins, where no man may go. We thought— we hope—that perhaps the virgins had stolen our prince and princess, to hold them as hostages that we may be forced to yield to the virgins’ cause.” “The prince and the princess stolen,” Jim exclaimed, “and you’ve done nothing about it?” Ren smiled gently. ‘“ We have done a great deal, but to no purpose has it been as yet. We got the prince’s thoughts. He was asking us for help. But he would not say what threatened, and he could not say where he was, for he did not know. And then the thoughts suddenly stopped. “Oh, yes, we have searched. The island of the virgins was invaded. But the vir- gins—indeed no woman of our nation— will admit knowing anything of the prince. We have organized an army. All the nearer forests have been searched. And now—we are getting ready to invade the caves. But it is not easy to get men for our army. That nameless horror—” : Gomichbooks (E@)