The Moon Pool & Dwellers in the Mirage. Abraham Merritt
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he looked tired and haggard.
“You’re, feeling all right, Jim?”
“Sure. Only a bit weary. I’ve — seen things.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” he hesitated, “well — the tlanusi — the big leeches — for one thing. I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen them, and if I had seen them before we dived into the river, I’d have picked the wolves as cooing doves in comparison.”
He told me they had camped at the far end of the plain that night.
“This place is bigger than we thought, Leif. It must be, because I’ve gone more miles than would be possible if it were only as large as it looked before we went through the mirage. Probably the mirage foreshortened it — confused us.”
The next day they had gone through forest and jungle and cane-brake and marsh. They had come at last to a steaming swamp. A raised path ran across it. They had taken that path, and eventually came to another transecting it. Where the two causeways met, there was a wide, circular and gently rounded mound rising from the swamp. Here the pygmies had halted. They had made fires of fagots and leaves. The fires sent up a dense and scented smoke which spread slowly out from the mound over the swamp. When the fires were going well, the pygmies began drumming — a queerly syncopated beat. In a few moments he had seen a movement in the swamp, close by the mound.
“There was a ring of pygmies between me and the edge,” he said, “and when I saw the thing that crawled out I was glad of it. First there was an upheaval of the mud, and then up came the back of what I thought was an enormous red slug. The slug raised itself, and crept out on land. It was a leech all right, and that was all it was — but it made me more than a bit sick. It was its size that did that. It must have been seven feet long, and it lay there, blind and palpitating, its mouth gaping, listening to the drums and luxuriating in that scented smoke. Then another and another came out. After a awhile there were a hundred of the things grouped around in a semicircle, eyeless heads all turned to us — sucking in the smoke, palpitating to the drums.
“Some of the pygmies got up, took burning sticks from the fire and started off on the intersecting causeway, drumming as they went. The others quenched the fires. The leeches writhed along after the torch-bearers. The other pygmies fell in behind, herding them. I stuck in the rear. We went along until we came to the bank of the river. Those in the lead stopped drumming. They threw their smoking, blazing sticks into the water, and they cast into it handfuls of crushed berries — not the ones Sri and Sra rubbed on us. Red berries. The big leeches went writhing over the bank and into the river, following, I suppose, the smoke and the scent of the berries. Anyway, they went in-each and all of them.
“We went back, and out of the marsh. We camped on its edge. All that night they talked with the drums.
“They had talked the night before, and were uneasy; but I took it that it was the same worry they had when we started. They must have known what was going on, but they didn’t tell me then. Yesterday morning, though, they were happy and care-free. I knew something must have happened — that they must have got good news in the night. They were so good-natured that they told me why they were. Not just as you have — but the sense was the same —”
He chuckled.
“That morning we herded up a couple of hundred more of the tianusi and put them where the Little People think they’ll do the post good. Then we started back — and here I am.”
“Yes,” I asked suspiciously. “And is that all?”
“All for to-night, anyway,” he said. “I’m sleepy. I’m going to turn in. You go with Evalie and leave me strictly alone till tomorrow.”
I left him to sleep, determined to find out in the morning what he was holding back; I didn’t think it was entirely the journey and the leeches that accounted for his haggardness.
But in the morning I forgot all about it.
In the first place, when I awoke, Evalie was missing. I went over to the tent, looking for Jim. He was not there. The Little People had long since poured out of the cliffs, and were at work; they always worked in the morning — afternoons and nights they played and drummed and danced. They said Evalie and Tsantawu had gone into council with the elders. I went back to the tent.
In a little while Evalie and Jim came up. Evalie’s face was white and her eyes were haunted. Also they were ntisty with tears. Also, she was madder than hell. Jim was doing his best to be cheerful.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“You’re due for a little trip,” said Jim. “You’ve been wanting to see Nansur Bridge, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” I said.
“Well,” said Jim. “That’s where we’re going. Better put on your travelling clothes and your boots. If the trail is anything like what I’ve just gone over, you’ll need them. The Little People can slip through things — but we’re built different.”
I studied them, puzzled. Of course I’d wanted to see Nansur Bridge — but why should the fact we were to go there make them behave so oddly? I went to Evalie, and turned her face up to mine.
“You’ve been crying, Evalie. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, slipped out of my arms and into the lair. I followed her. She was bending over a coffer, taking yards and yards of veils out of it. I swung her away from it and lifted her until her eyes were level with mine.
“What’s wrong, Evalie?”
A thought struck me. I lowered her to her feet.
“Who suggested going to Nansur Bridge?”
“The Little People . . . the elders . . . I fought against it . . . I don’t want you to go . . . they say you must . . . .”
“I must go?” The thought grew clearer. “Then you need not go — nor Tsantawu. Unless you choose?”
“Let them try to keep me from going with you.” She stamped a foot furiously.
The thought was crystal clear, and I began to feel a bit irritated by the Little People. They were thorough to the point of annoyance. I now understood perfectly why I was to go to Nansur Bridge. The pygmies were not certain that their magic — including Evalie — had thoroughly taken. Therefore I was to look upon the home of the enemy — and be watched for my reactions. Well, that was fair enough, at that. Maybe the Witch-woman would be there. Maybe Tibur — Tibur who desired Evalie — Tibur who had laughed at me. Suddenly I was keen for going to Nansur Bridge. I began to put on my old clothes. As I was tying the high shoes, I glanced over at Evalie. She had coiled her hair and covered it with a cap; she had swathed her body from neck to knees in the veils and she was lacing high sandals that covered her feet and legs as completely as my boots did mine. She smiled faintly at my look of wonder.
“I do not like Tibur to Iook on me — not now!” she said.
I bent over her and took her in my arms. She set her lips to mine in a kiss that bruised them. . . . When we came out, Jim and about fifty of the pygmies were waiting.
We struck diagonally across the plain away from the cliffs, heading north toward the river. We went over the slope, past one of the towers, and put feet on a narrow path like that which we had trod when coming into the land of the Little People. It wound through a precisely similar fern-brake. We went along it single file, and, perforce, in silence. We came out of it into a forest of close-growing, coniferous trees, through which the trail wound tortuously. We went through this for an hour or more, without once resting, the pygmies trotting along tirelessly. I looked at my watch. We had been going for four hours and had covered, I calculated, about twelve miles. There was no sign of bird or animal life.
Evalie seemed deep in thought and Jim had fallen into one of his fits of Indian taciturnity. I didn’t feel much like talking. It was a silent journey; not even the golden pygmies chattered, as was their habit. We came