“Artol and I decided to take advantage of this; and we also decided upon a bold move. We knew that the royal pool connected with the lake; that much we were positive of; so we agreed that the royal pool was the one we would use.
“The slaves’ compound is usually heavily guarded, but tonight was the exception. Only one warrior stood at the gate that leads into the palace grounds. We had no weapons, not even the wooden trident with which we are furnished when we guard the royal pool. We had nothing but our bare hands.”
“And a tremendous desire to escape,” added Artol.
“Yes,” admitted Kandar, “that was our most powerful weapon—the will to escape. Well, we worked our way around to the guard, a great bearded fellow, who had always been extremely cruel to all of us slaves.”
“That made it easier,” said Artol.
“Whatever the cause, it was not difficult for Artol,” said Kandar, grinning. “When we approached close to him, the guard asked what we were doing in that part of the compound, and ordered us back to our shelters; and he supplemented the order with a poke of his trident. That was what we had expected and hoped for. I seized the trident, and Artol leaped on the fellow and got him by the throat.
“You have no idea how powerful Artol is, or how quick. The guard didn’t have time to cry out before his wind was shut off; and then he was down on his back with Artol on top of him, choking the life out of him; and I had the trident. I knew what to do with it, too.
“We took his sword as well as his trident; and, leaving his body where it lay, walked out into the palace grounds. This portion of them is not well lighted, and we came to the wall surrounding the royal pool without being discovered. Here was another guard. He proved a much simpler obstacle to overcome; because we had the sword and trident.
“Leaving his corpse resting peacefully on the ground, we entered the enclosure wherein lies the royal pool. This was well lighted, and there were several people loitering on the other side of the garden. As we approached the pool, one of them came toward us. It was Plin.”
“The fellow-slave who turned traitor and stole my pistol,” I explained to Duare.
“Oh, by the way, how did you get it back?” asked Kandar.
“Plin threw it into the royal pool,” I replied; “and when I dove in after Tyros and Duare, I found it lying at the bottom—but go on, what happened then?”
“Well,” continued Kandar, “Plin screamed for the guard. We didn’t wait any longer then; we both dived into the pool, hoping we could find the corridor leading to the lake and not drown before we could swim through it.”
“And we barely made it,” said Artol. “I think I did drown a couple of times before my head finally broke the surface. As it was I was practically unconscious, and if Kandar hadn’t held me up for a couple of minutes, I’d have been a goner.”
“So that’s how the search started for you so quickly,” I said; “it was Plin.”
Kandar nodded. “Yes,” he said, “and my only regret at leaving Mypos is that I shall now not be able to kill Plin.”
“I can take you back,” I said.
Kandar grinned. “No thanks,” he said; “I am not that mad at anybody. Then, too, having such a friend as you outweighs Plin and all my other enemies. I shall not try to thank you for what you and Duare have done for us—not in words. There are none adequate to express my gratitude.”
“I am only a common warrior,” said Artol, “and know but few words; but, after my jong, you have all my loyalty.”
XIX
As dawn approached, we took off and headed up the lake toward Japal. Kandar thought that we had better set the ship down outside the city, when he and Artol could go to one of the gates and make themselves known.
“I’m afraid,” he said, “that if they saw this thing flying low over the city, they might fire on it.”
“With what?” I asked. “I thought you told me that you had no fire arms.”
“We haven’t,” he replied, “but we have engines that throw rocks or lighted torches for hundreds of feet into the air. They are upon the walls of the city and the decks of the ships anchored off shore. If one hit your propeller, you would be brought down.”
“We shall land outside the city,” I said, and this we did.
Japal is a very much better looking city than Mypos, and larger. There is a level plain stretching inland from it, and on this plain we landed about a hundred yards from one of the city gates. We could see the consternation our appearance caused the guard at the gate. Several warriors who had been standing outside, rushed in and slammed the gates closed. Others jammed the barbican, pointing and gesticulating.
Kandar and Artol dropped to the ground and walked toward the gate. Presently we could see them talking to the men in the barbican; then they turned and started back toward us. Immediately afterward the gates opened and several warriors rushed out; then Kandar and Artol commenced to run, the warriors pursuing them.
I realized that something was radically wrong. The crown prince of a country doesn’t run away from his country’s soldiers unless there is something radically wrong. I saw that the warriors were going to overtake Kandar and Artol before they could board the anotar, or at least bring them down with the spears they carried.
Of course I didn’t know what the trouble was, but I saw that Kandar and Artol seemed to be in plenty. I had commenced to feel responsible for them. I think we always feel responsible for our friends. I know I do. So I decided to do something about it. My best weapon, under the circumstances, was the anotar. I gave her the gun and started toward the running men, and then I lifted her off the ground a little—just enough to clear Kandar’s and Artol’s heads—and dove straight for the warriors. I hadn’t retracted my landing gear, and it and the pontoons simply mowed ’em down; then I rose, banked, and landed close to Kandar and Artol. They clambered into the after cockpit, and we were off. “What happened?” I asked Kandar.
“There has been a revolution, led by a fellow named Gangor,” he replied. “My father escaped. That is all I know. One of the warriors at the gate told me that much. He would have told me more if one of Gangor’s officers hadn’t come out and tried to arrest us.”
“Wasn’t it Gangor who arranged for your capture by the Myposans, Artol?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “Now I owe him double vengeance. I wish that I might have gotten into the city, even though I may never avenge what he did to me.”
“You may some day,” said Kandar.
“No,” said Artol sadly; “he has but one life, and I must avenge my jong first.”
“Where to now?” I asked Kandar. “We’ll take you any place you’d like to go before we set out in search of Korva.”
“I can think of only one place that my father may have escaped to,” said Kandar. “Far back in the mountains lives a tribe of savage aborigines called Timals. My father once befriended Yat, their chief, and they are extremely loyal to him and to all other lapalians; though they refuse to own allegiance to any sovereign other than their own savage chieftain. I should like very much to go to the Timal country and see if my father is there.”
The flight was uneventful. We passed over some wonderful game country and several mountain ranges, until we finally came to the Timal country, a high plateau surrounded by jagged peaks—a most inaccessible country and one easily defended against invasion.
Kandar pointed out a village in a canyon which opened out onto the plateau, and I dropped down and circled above it. The people stood in the single street looking up at us. They showed neither panic nor fear. There was something peculiar in their appearance, yet they seemed to be human beings. At first I couldn’t make out what it was; but as we dropped lower, I saw that they had short tails and horns. They were armed with spears and knives, and some of the males were menacing us with the former when Kandar caught sight of his father and called to him.