Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

E The Lone City, from which Tao was oper- ating, was located near the edge of the sea, and if we gave them food they would be enabled to reach it in safety in a day or two. The girls agreed enthusiastically with this plan, and we selected a number to carry it out. . Meanwhile we planned also to organize system of aérial patrols, and detailed some two hundred of the girls, who in varying shifts were to fly back and forth along the borders of the sea over its Light Country shore, to make sure that Tao did not at- tempt to make a crossing by water. ‘““ Can’t they fly over as well as we can?” Mercer objected. ‘“‘ Their women fly, too, don’t they ?”’ The women of the Twilight Country did fly, but for two reasons we did not fear an attack from them in the air. First, Miela doubted that the women would con- cern themselves in the affair; they were stu- pid and apathetic—fit only for child- bearing. The men might, of course, force them to the attempt, but even in that event, Miela explained, it would result in little; for generations of comparative inactivity and the colder climate had made them in- clined to stoutness. Their wing muscles were weak and flabby, and with their greater weight of body they flew very badly. ** Suppose Tao should come over?” I sug- gested to Miela. ‘I don’t believe he will —but if he should, how could we stop him?” ; “By water he would come,” she an- swered. “‘ In boats—small they are, I think, those he has. We could not stop him, for the light-ray he would bring. But our wom- en, flying over the ocean, would see him coming, and tell our king. More we could not do now.” “You mean this patrol would give the government the warning it won’t obtain for itself? There would be war then? The people would arm to resist invasion?” Miela smiled sadly. ‘There would be war, Alan. But our government—our people—do not look for it. They are like the peeta bird, that hides its head under its wing when it is threat- ened.” THE FIRE PEOPLE, 883 The time of sleep was now nearly over, and we thought it best that the girls should fly back at once, so that their arrival at the city would cause as little comment as pos- sible. Mercer and I seated ourselves on the platform as before; the twenty girls grasped its handles, raising it until they were all upon their feet; then, at a signal, we left the ground. The trip back seemed shorter than coming up. The girls all left the val- ley together, flying up helter-skelter, and circling about us as we flew steadily on- ward. Near the Great City the girls spread out, so as to approach it from different direc- tions and thus attract less attention, al- though the time of sleep was not yet over and we knew that few would be stirring about the city. When we reached home we greeted Lua, and dismissed the girls, arranging that they were to come back again that evening— -fifty of them this time—to carry the larger platform we were to build. We then had breakfast, and after telling Lua the result of the meeting—at which she was greatly pleased—we went immediately to bed, for we were worn out. It was about noon, I suppose, when we awoke. Mercer and I spent the afternoon building the platform on which to carry Tao’s men—a framework with fifty han- dles instead of twenty. Miela and Anina disappeared for the whole afternoon. I did not know what they were doing at the time; later I found out Anina was devoting it to learning English. During the evening meal we planned it all. Tao’s men were living in a house near the edge of the city—the house Tao had occupied before he was banished to the Twilight Country. It had no other occu- pants at this time. We had learned where they kept their boats in one of the bayous near by, and in it we intended to take them to the sea, where we would meet the girls, who would then fly with them to the Twilight Coun- try. But we could not figure out how to capture them without alarming the city. W th armed; th had been carefully WOreMca iy ihe GaGHOE.