Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

BEYOND THE STARS. her mind struggling with these sights—ro- mantic, awing to me, how much more so to her so newly emerged from a life-long darkness! ‘“‘ See the island, Leonard!” We were, I suppose, no more than a thousand feet high. The shore of the sea was nearly beneath us, a dark curving shore of gray sand with gentle white waves roll- ing upon it. Beyond the shore, some ten miles out, a dark island showed. It seemed irregularly circular. As we swept closer, its beach became vis- ible, gray-white sand with white rollers. A tangle of vegetation was behind the beach, a forest jungle with the land sloping up over gentle foothills to a cone-shaped hill which occupied the island’s center. Our birds were descending, swooping down in a broad spiral. Alice cried, “I see the lights, Sonya! Is that the virgins’ village?” Along one shore of the island, yellow and blue spots of light were showing among the trees at the edge of the beach. It was all dim in the starlight. But abruptly there was a change. Far ahead, where the sea unbroken, reached the horizon of stars, a yellow glow had come to the sky. Sonya gestured. ‘‘ The moon is rising.” It came with a startling abruptness, A great yellow world swung up, twice, three times, the visual size of our moon; a glow- ing yellow disk, marked with the dark con- figurations of its mountains. It rose horn- shaped, mounted straight up, slowly, but with a movement quite visible. The stars paled around it; a flood of yellow light lay upon the sea in a broad path of rippling gold. The island was bathed in the golden flood. We were much closer to it now— swooping a few hundred feet above its beach which along here was broad and hard. The jungle was beside us, a fairyland of tropical verdure. Warmed by the waters of the sea, and perhaps by hidden fires of the cone-shaped hill, the vegetation grew to giant size. A somnolent forest edged with gold; mysteri- ously dark, romantic, amorous, scented with spices and the heavy perfume of flowers. We landed upon the beach where the warm waves were liquid gold beside low, 875 primitive, palm-thatched dwellings set like ground nests in the verdure. With the rush of our flight gone, I felt a new warmth in the air. Upon my cheeks was the faint caressing breath of a warm breeze from the sea; it stirred the palm- fronds to amorous whispering. White figures were drawn back from the beach to watch us land. They crowded for- ward into the moonlight, young girls, slim and white, with long, flowing black hair. As I stood up and stepped from the plat- form to the sand, some of them scattered and fled with startled feminine cries into the enshrouded foliage. Others came shy- ly forward; crowded around us—golden nymphs in the moonlight, with a brief veil- like garment from shoulder to thigh. They were surprised at me—a man— here upon their island. They crowded around Sonya; talking seemingly all at once; casting mistrustful glances at me, and glances of curiosity and friendliness at Al- ice and Dolores. What Sonya said to them I could only guess. It caused an excitement; like fauns, many of them leaped away, running down the beach, scattering over the village. In the distance I could hear their cries, and other cries, shouts, a great activity begin- ning. And presently there was heard the cheep of giant birds; the flapping of their wings as they were released from their cages and brought out to be harnessed. Far ahead down the beach, in the moonlight presently a crowd of the girls began rolling out a huge platform. The few girls who remained with Sonya continued talking. They were tense now; but wholly composed, beautiful, intelligent- looking girls, most of them a year or so older than Sonya, and very much the same type. Upon the left leg of each, just above the knee, was a broad metal band. The girls now were ignoring me. But Sonya called Dolores and Alice over, and it was obvious they were welcomed. I saw presently, some of the older women. With a few little girls among them, they came to the edge of the forest and stood timidly regarding us—iniancy and age, common fugitives. | Gomichooks (E@)