The Moon Terror/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX
IN THE SORCERERS' POWER
WHAT happened immediately after that first drop into the abyss I do not know. My only recollection is of hurtling down a steep incline amid a smothering avalanche of dirt, of striking heavily upon a rocky ledge, and of bounding off again into the inky void as my senses left me.
The next thing I knew was the slow dawn of a sensation of cold; and then my eyes fluttered open and I beheld the moon shining upon me through a rent in the surrounding blackness. At first I was too dazed to comprehend anything that had occurred, but soon, with considerable pain, I raised myself upon one elbow and looked about, whereupon understanding gradually returned.
The place where I lay was a mud-covered ledge upon one of the steep, sloping walls of a huge chasm that had opened in the earth. The gash was probably seventy-five feet across at this point, and above me the walls soared perhaps a hundred feet. Within arm's reach the shelf that supported me broke off in a precipice. I was half imbedded in soft mud, and was soaked to the skin and nearly frozen.
How long I had lain there I could not tell, but I judged it had not been more that two or three hours, for the moon still was high in the heavens.
All at once, as I gazed upon the weird scene, my heart leaped with anguish at remembrance of my vanished comrade, Dr. Ferdinand Gresham. He had dropped before me into the chasm, and therefore must have fallen clear of the ledge and plunged into the depths!
Thrusting myself to the edge of the precipice, I peered below. Nothing rewarded my gaze except horrifying silence and vapory gloom. The pain of the movement was so intense that I fell back almost in a swoon.
Before long, however, I saw that the moon was drawing near the rim of the gorge and that I would soon be engulfed in utter darkness, so I turned my eyes up the jagged wall in search of some means of escape. After considerable study, I thought I could discern a way to the summit.
But just then another surprise caught my gaze: the strip of sky above the chasm appeared narrower than when I had first turned my eyes upward. For a few moments I attributed this to an optical illusion produced by some swiftly-moving clouds overhead; but all at once the hideous truth burst upon me—the crack in the earth was drawing shut!
Heedless of the pain, I flung myself against the cliff—climbing in utter panic, for fear the chasm would close completely before I could get out.
The ascent was difficult and perilous in the extreme. Often rocks loosened beneath my fingers, starting miniature avalanches, and I flattened myself against the wall in a paroxysm of terror and cling there until the danger passed.
For a space that seemed hours long I continued to claw my way upward—with the prodigious trap closing steadily upon me. At times I found myself below unscalable surfaces, and was obliged to descend a bit and start over again in a new direction; and often it seemed as if the pain of my injuries would cause me to faint.
When I had come within thirty feet of the top, the climb developed into a veritable race with death, for the opposite wall was now almost upon me.
And then, suddenly, I found the way blocked by a sheer, unscalable wall, upon which only a fly could have found a foothold! Simultaneously I saw that the moon was right at the rim of the chasm, and that in a minute the light would vanish.
With the realization of my plight, panic seized me, and I beat my head against the wall and shrieked aloud.
And, though I could not guess it then, that very outcry of despair was to save my life.
Hardly had my first shriek gone forth before a head appeared directly above me, and a voice rang out:
"Here he is, fellows! Quick with that rope!"
With leaping heart, I recognized the voice as Dr. Gresham's!
An instant later a rope with a loop in the end of if dangled beside me, and a number of hands reached out to pull me to safety. Another moment, and I was drawn over the brink—not one second too soon, for as I made the last dozen. feet the closing walls of the pit brushed my body.
Exhausted and trembling, I sank upon the ground, while a number of figures crowded about me. These proved to be twenty-five men from the Albatross, under command of Ensign Wiles Hallock. They were all dressed in the dark blue garments of the sorcerers. How they came to be there was briefly related by Dr. Gresham.
When the ground had opened beneath us earlier in the evening, the astronomer had clutched the roots of a tree, and within a few seconds after I had dropped from sight he was back on firm ground. The Chinamen who had been pursuing us had either fallen into the gash or had fled in terror.
Considerable vapor was rising from the pit, but the scientist noticed that this was clearing rapidly, so he decided to linger at the spot awhile, with the forlorn hope that I might be found. Soon the vapor vanished and, as the moonlight was shining directly into the crack, the doctor began a search.
After a time he discerned a figure lying upon a ledge below. Close scrutiny revealed that the dark costume characteristic of the Seuen-H'sin was torn, displaying an orange garment beneath.
Confident that none of the sorcerers would be wearing two suits at once in this fashion, the scientist concluded the figure was mine. For a time he doubted whether I lived, but eventually he thought he saw me stir feebly, whereupon he began frantic efforts to reach me.
Repeated attempts to descend the precipice failed. Then he tried dropping pebbles to arouse me. Again unsuccessful, he risked attracting the sorcerers back to the spot by shouting into the chasm.
All his efforts proved futile, so he finally returned to the destroyer and obtained this rescue party.
In grateful silence I gripped his hand,
"Now," the astronomer concluded, "if you are able to walk, we will get back to the ship. It is only 1 o'clock, and if we hurry there still is time to attack the Seuen-H'sin before daylight. Conditions throughout the world are so alarming that we must put this power plant out of business without delay!"
"Go ahead!" I assented. "I'm able to hobble along!"
It was less than two miles to the destroyer's anchorage, they said. During the march none of the sorcerers was sighted, with which we began to conclude that the cracking of the earth had affected the village on the other side of the mountain so that all their lookouts had been called in.
But suddenly, when we were less than half a mile from the vessel, the stillness of the night was shattered by the shrill blast of a whistle. A series of other wild shrieks from the steam chant came in quick succession.
"The Albatross!" exclaimed Ensign Hallock. "Something's happening!"
We burst into a run—the whistle still screaming through the night.
All at once the sound ceased, and as the echoes died out among the hills we heard the rattle of firearms.
"An attack!" cried Hallock. "The sorcerers have attacked the ship!"
Then, abruptly, the firing, too, died out.
A few moments later we emerged from the ravine onto the bank of the fiord and into full view of the destroyer.
The passing of the moon into the west had brought the vessel within its rays—and the sight that greeted us almost froze our blood!
Swarming about the deck were dozens of Chinamen—some with rifles, some With knives' They appeared to be completely in control of the ship. Numerous pairs of them were coming up from below decks, carrying the bodies of the vessel's crew, which they carelessly tossed overboard. Evidently they had taken our companions by surprise and wiped them out!
At this sight Ensign Hallock and his men became frenzied with rage.
"Ready, men!" the officer announced to his followers. "We're going down there and give those murderers something to remember!"
Eagerly the seamen prepared to charge the ship. But Dr. Gresham stopped them.
"It's no use," he said. "There are hundreds of the sorcerers dawn there—and only a handful of us. You would only be throwing away your lives and defeating the whole purpose of this expedition. We must find a better way."
The astronomer's counsel prevailed. Whereupon we debated what should be done. The situation was desperate. Here we were, completely isolated in a grim wilderness, hundreds of miles from help, and surrounded by hordes of savage fanatics. Soon, no doubt, the sorcerers' spies would find us. And, meanwhile, we were helpless to put an end to the terrors that were engulfing the planet and its inhabitants,
So despair gradually took possession of us. Not even the customary resourcefulness of Dr. Gresham rose to the emergency.
Suddenly Ensign Hallock gave an exclamation of excitement.
"The Nippon!" he burst out. "Let's turn the tables on the Chinese, and seize the Nippon! She's probably got a guard onboard, but maybe we can take it by surprise!"
"What could we do with her?" I objected. "She needs a large crew—and there are only twenty-seven of us!"
"We'll sail her away, of course!" replied the young naval officer with enthusiasm. "There must be fuel on board, for her fires are going. Three of the boys here are apprentice engineers. I can do the navigating. And the rest of you can take turns stoking the boilers!"
"But how could we slip past the Albatross?" asked Dr. Gresham.
Ensign Hallock seemed to have thought of that, too, for he promptly answered:
"The Albatross is an oil-burning craft, with the new type of burners that came into use since these Chinks have been stowed away here in the wilderness. The mechanism for using the oil is quite complicated, and the sorcerers are likely to have trouble operating her until they figure out the system. If we reach them before they have time to master the thing, they will be helpless to stop us!"
The young man's enthusiasm was contagious. Dr. Gresham began to give heed.
"Even if we fail to get away in the Nippon," the scientist admitted, "she has a powerful wireless outfit: Kwo-Sung-tao has been using it to communicate with Washington. With that radio in our hands for ten minutes, we can summon help sufficient to annihilate these yellow devils!"
The plan was adopted without further question. And, believing that the sorcerers' easy victory over the Albatross had made them careless, perhaps, we struck out in as direct a course as possible for the spot at which the Nippon was docked.
In twenty minutes, without sighting any of the enemy, we arrived at the edge of the timber behind the wharf.