Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

THE FIRE PEOPLE. “Oh. Well, they brought me here, as you say, and I guess they’ve had me about all over this little earth since. They stuck me in a boat, and Lord knows how far we went. We got here last night, and when my guard went to sleep I beat it.” He scratched his head lugubriously. “ Though what good I thought it was going to do me I don’t know. ‘That’s about all, I guess. Who the deuce are you?”’ I laughed. “Wait a minute—don’t go so fast. Start at the beginning. What’s your name?” “ Oliver Mercer.” His face grew suddenly grave. ‘“‘ My brother was killed up there in Wyoming— that’s how. I happened to go there in the first place.” “ Mercer!” I exclaimed. He started. ‘“‘ Yes—why? You don’t think you know me, by any chance, do you?” “No, but I knew your brother—that is, I know Bob Trevor, who was with him when he was killed. He’s one of my best. friends,” The young fellow extended his hand. “A friend of Bob Trevor’s—away off here! Don’t it get you, just?” _ _. Miela interrupted us here to translate to her mother and Anina what he said. Mercer went on: “The assumption is, you people here are -not working with this gang of crooks I got away from—this Tao? Am [I right in thinking so?” “You're certainly right, that far,” I laughed. I felt, more than I can say, a great sense of relief, a lessening of the tension, the unconscious strain I had been under, at this swift, jovial conversation with another hu- man of my own kind. -“Yes, youre right on that. This Tao and I are not exactly on the same side, ‘Il tell you all about it in a minute.” “Then, we're working together?” cc Yes.” “ Well, all I’m working for is to get back home where I came from.” “You won’t be when you hear all I’ve got to say.” ‘He started at that; then, with sudden 8735 change of thought, his eyes turned to Anina. The girl blushed under his admiring gaze. Say, she’s a little beauty, isn’t she? Who is she?” “* She’s my sister,” I said, smiling. For once he was too ‘dumfounded to reply. Miela had finished her translation now, and, as she turned back to us, spoke in English for the first time during the con- versation. “Do you know why it is they brought you here from the Twilight Country?” she asked Mercer. This gave him another shock. “ Why, I— no. That is—say, how do you happen to talk English? Is it one of your languages here, by any chance?” Miela laughed gayly. -“ Qnly we three, in all this world, speak English. I know it because—” I interrupted her. “Suppose I tell him our whole story, Miela? Then—” “ That’s certainly what I want to hear,” said Mercer emphatically. ‘“‘ And especial- ly why it is that I’m not supposed to want to get back to where I belong.” My explanation must have lasted nearly an hour, punctuated by many questions and exclamations of wonder from young Mer- cer. I told him the whole affair in detail, and ended with a statement of exactly how matters stood now on Mercury. “Do you want to hurry back home to earth now?” I finished. “Duck out of this? I should say not. Why, weve got a million things to do here.” His eyes turned again toward Anina. ““And, say—about letting those girls keep their wings. I’m strong for that. Let’s be sure and fix that up before we leave.” It was not more than half an hour later when the king’s guards arrived to conduct us to the castle. Meanwhile young Mercer had discovered he was hungry and thirsty. As soon as he had finished eating we start- ed off—he and I, with Lua and Miela. The guards led us away as though we were pris- oners, forming a hollow square—there were some thirty of them—with us in the center. We attracted little attention from passers- comiclbooks.com