amazing stories volume 09 number 02

7/29/2019 Amazing Stories Volume 09 Number 02

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SUBJUGATING THE EARTHBy Walter Kateley

PEACE WEAPONSBy Abner J. GelulaOther Science FictionBy Well Known Authors'-


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Amazing StoriesScience Fiction

Vol. 9 JUNE, 1934 No. 2CONTENTS

EditorialOld-Time Problems in MathematicsT. O'Conor Sloane, Ph.D. 6

SerialsThe Lost City Milton R. Peril 10

(Serial in Three PartsPert II)Measuring a Meridian Jules Verne 103

(Serial in Three PartsPart II)Science Questionnaire

52Stories Complete in This Issue

Peace Weapons Abner J. Gelula 35Hastings1066 L. B. Rosborough 53Subjugating the Earth Walter Kateley 64The Choice Ralph Maughan 101

PoemThe Science Pacifist 63

Discussions 135Our Cover

depicts a scene from the story entitled "Subjugating the Earth,"by Walter KateleyDrawn by MoreyPublished Monthly byTECK PUBLICATIONS, INC.

4600 Diversey Avenue, Chicago, 111.Executive end Editorial Offices : 222 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y.Lee Ellmsker. Prea. and Treat. Abner Gcrmsnn, Sae'r

Copyright, 1934, by Teclc Publications, Inc., in United States and Canada. Registered in U. S. Pat.Office A!! rights reserved. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 8, 1933, at the poatofEce at ChicaeoIllinois under the Act of March 3, 1879. 25c a copy. S2.50 a year. $3.00 in Canada. $3.30 in foreign'countries. Subscribers are notified that change of address must reach us five weeks in advance ofthe next date Df issue.

Printed in U.2


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SfQHBTHEMAGAZINEOFSCIENCE FICTION June, 1934No. 2

T. O'CONOR SLOANE, Ph.D., EditorEditoml nd General Offices: 222 West 39th Street. New York. N. Y.

Extravagant Fiction Today Cold Fact Tomorrow

OldTime Problems in MathematicsBy T. O'CONOR SLOANE, Ph.D.

THERE are probably some peoplewho would claim that it pleasesthem better to go up-stairs than

to go down. However, this may be, itis certain that in the matter of numericalroots and powers, a child can go up,but in a sense it is virtually impossiblein some cases to do the descending move-ment with final accuracy. Thus thesquare of two is four; its cube is eightand so on. If we want to extract thecube root of eight, it lies right beforeus, it is two. But as a variation on this,and as a simpler thing to do on its face,attack the extraction of the square rootof eight. It will be found to have adecimal, part of it, reading 2.8284But this is only the beginning of it,for the decimal will be mercilessly long.The number two ought to be very simple,but if you try to extract its square root

you will get another decimal withoutend. It starts off as 1.441402. . . . Youmay multiply this by itself, which multi-plication will give its square, but it willnot be exactly two because the decimalis incomplete. The same will apply toyour efforts to get the square root ofeight. Now if you will try to extractthe cube root of two, you will againhave a patience-trying problem and anendless decimal in the end.

There is in this last named extractionof the cube root of two a historicalinterest. One of the unsolved problemsof old time mathematicians was to con-struct two perfect cubes, one of twicethe volume of the other. This was oneof the great unsolved problems of theancient world. Its solution is absolutelysimple if and that is a big ifif weonly knew any way of getting the cube


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OLD TIME PROBLEMS IN MATHEMATICSroot of two. In the case of two solidsof similar shape, if one is to be twicethe volume of the other, then the lengthof similar corresponding parts must varywith the cube roots of these lengths.Thus if an edge of a cube has a lengthof one, the edge of a cube to be of eighttimes the volume must have for its edgea length expressed by the cube root ofeight which is two, as we have seenabove. This is simple enough. Acube one foot on an edge is onlyone-eighth the volume of one with anedge-length of two feet. But try tocalculate the length of the edge ofa cube, two cubic feet in volume. Ifyou are comparing the volume of twospheres, you can use the diameter foryour cubing, or your cube-rooting, asthe case may be. Thus if a planet isof twice the diameter of another it willbe of eight times the volume of thesmaller one. If you have two vesselsof corresponding shape, one twice ashigh and broad as the other, if thesmaller one holds a pint, the larger onewill hold a gallon. The larger a tincan is, the less tin will be required tohold a given amount. A number ofsmall cans for the same contents wouldrequire more tin. If we go back to thedays of Pythagoras or Archimedes andmake our two cubes, the one of twicethe volume of the smaller cube, willhave an edge of a little over one and aquarter times (1.261 . . .) that of thesmaller.

Another problem is to find the diam-eter of a sphere of the same volumeas our original unit cube. The volume ofa sphere is expressed as 4/3 n ra. Wehave to find the value of r, which isthe radius of the sphere, to give a valueof one to the above expression. Thisoperation is complicated by the fact thatwe do not know the exact value of n.

In old times, twenty centuries or morein the past, we find some examples of

nudism, of which one applies to thedetermination of specific gravity. Thegreat philosopher, Archimedes, was con-sulted by King Hieron of Syracuse asto the proportion of gold and silver ina crown which had been made for himand he was suspicious of the jeweler.We are told that as the philosopher wastaking a bath he realized that he dis-placed water equal to the volume of hisbody. As gold is much heavier thansilver for a given bulk, this gave himthe clue to ascertain the proportions ofthe two metals by determining thespecific gravity of the crown. He issaid to have been so excited over hisdiscovery, that he ran through thestreets as he came from the bath, cryingEureka, Eureka, the Greek word for "Ihave found." He did not know of anaction of alloys, shrinking or expanding,as the case may be, when their con-stituent metals are melted together. Thisdetermination by specific gravity of thepercentage of metallic alloys of twoconstituentsis taught in science schoolstoday as an approximate determinationof their composition. It goes back toa period over 2,100 years ago.To the same philosopher is attributed

the burning of an attacking fleet byconcentrating the sun's rays by a num-ber of mirrorsbringing the sun's raysto a focus and setting the ships on fire.This impresses us as fiction or as merelytradition.

In ordinary or everyday usage thereare three dimensions of space or ofobjects occupying it in any sense. Thepoint may be taken as the origin ofspace of one dimension, which is theline. Next comes the plane which isof two dimensions and the solid whichis of three dimensions. The succeedingfourth dimension is a mathematical ex-pression in our practical world asimaginary as the square root of a nega-tive quantity, V--


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8 AMAZING STORIEStaining to work out some relations of thedifferent dimensions of space, and thisincludes the line, though it seem diffi-cult to treat a line as space, for theoreti-cally an infinite number of lines couldbe put into the "space" occupied by asingle line. In other words, a line doesnot occupy space in the true and exactconception of thfngs.The relation of space of one or of

two dimensions to space of three dimen-sions, while it may be called quite ob-vious, does lead to somewhat impressiveresults. Suppose we have a closed con-tainer or can of thin metal such as tin,so called in everyday usage though it isreally iron coated with tin or some tinalloy. Assume it to be a cube twelveinches every way. Next suppose it isdesirable to put its contents into smallercans, say one inch each way. To makethe large can six square feet of tinwould be needed, which is simple enoughyet somewhat impressive. It would re-quire 1,728 of the smaller cans to holdthe contents of the large can. The tinin each small can would be 1 /24th ofa square foot, so that it would requireseventy-two square feet of tin to makethe little canstwelve times as muchas for the large can, yet they wouldhold no more, their combined capacitywould be the sameone cubic foot.This is an example of the relationsof spaces of different orders, and quiteamusing results can be reached by carry-ing it out for different cases.

Everyone has noticed the extensiveuse of hurdles in country places. Sup-pose a sheepfold is ten hurdles .longand one hurdle wide, and it has to bedoubled in area. By adding twentyhurdles and making it twice as long orby adding only two hurdles and makingit twice as wide, its area will be doubled.The two hurdle way is certainly thecheaper.

Obvious as this is, it is such problems

as the above that are used in text booksof calculus, for practice in maximumand minimum.The Pons Astnorum (Bridge of

Asses ) is a term which has had anapplication in logic and in geometry, andour reference is to the last namedscience. It is the name given to thefifth proposition in the first book ofEuclid, the famous geometer of twenty-two centuries ago. This proves that thebasic angles of an isosceles triangle areequal, each to the other. The diagramis symmetrical and pointed at the top,which is the apex of the triangle, sothat it actually suggests a truss -for abridge. The curious thing in connec-tion with it is, that the term is oftenerroneously applied to the propositionof the square of the hypothenuse of aright angle triangle. *

This proposition tells us that the sumof the squares of the sides of a rightangle triangle of the lines adjacent tothe right angle, are equal to the squareof the hypothenusethe other andlonger side, the one opposite the rightangle. The terms side and hypothenuseare taken as giving lengths.We will assume a right angle trianglewith sides 3 and 4 feet in length andof course any other units may be usedother than feet. Then by the proposi-tion cited the square of the hypothenusewill be equal to the sum of the squaresof 3 and of 4. This sum (9 plus 16)is 25 the almost famous square of thehypothenuse. Its square root is 5 andthis is its length. Now the numericalrelation of the sides of a right angletriangle may be anything, but the lawof the square of the hypothenuse willalways hold. The reader may try tofind for himself a relation of the sidesthat will work out without any frac-tion as 3, 4 and 5 do in our right angletriangle, the one we are working with.

This 3, 4 and 5 triangle has a very


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OLD TIME PROBLEMS IN MATHEMATICSpractical use, a note on which will getus out of the perhaps dreary line oftheory. Suppose masons are laying outthe corner of a square building. Thefirst thing to do is to measure off on"one side a length of some multiple of3 or of 4. Suppose 4 is taken and sixtimes four feet, which is 24 feet, aremeasured off on one side from thecorner. Then taking an 18 foot line,which is six times three feet, one endis attached to the corner, where wemay suppose a heavy nail is driven. Thisline is stretched out and swung backand forth until a position is found inwhich its free end shall be exactly 30feet or six times five feet measured fromthe distant end of the 24 foot line. Thiswill give a perfect angle of 90 degreeson which to start the foundation.We know that for some reason, peoplewant to live in square cornered houses.The numbers 3, 4 and 5 can be most

usefully applied in many such cases asthe above. But let the reader try andfind three other integral numbers, num-bers without fractions, the sum of thesquares of two of them equalling thesquare of the third.

If we nail three pieces of wood to-gether so as to form a triangle, whoselengths are in the ratio of 3, 4 and 5,it wilt give us a perfect right anglesquare, to use on our building.

In the problems of cubes the simplestis the most difficult to solve. It willalways involve a fraction in the cuberoot of two, which would give the sideof the cube of double the volume ofthe original one. It would be as end-less a decimal as appears in the ratio of

the diameter to the circumferenceof the circle. Any amount of puzzledbrains have worked on such problems asthese.The history of the squaring of the

circle, which is the determination of therelation of diameter to circumference,starts with the value, 3, for the factorto give the circumference when it multi-plies the diameter. This is absurdly in-accurate. It is a little better to use thefactor 3 */T, which comes somewhere nearthe mark. But working on the calcula-tion to get a decimal expression, suchas 3.1416 . . . endless weary hours havebeen spent. The decimal, has been car-ried out to some three hundred figures,enough to fill a column of this maga-zine. It is designated by the Greekletter ir (pi). The number given aboveinvolves an error of less than one thirty-thousandth, and two or three more fig-ures make it accurate for nearly allterrestrial requirements.Sometimes instead of the famousmultiple, jr, a proportion is used. Onesuch ratio is named from a mathemati-cian, Meteus. It is expressed as 113to 355, the ratio of diameter to circum-ference. This is very close to the mark.Applied to a circle one hundred feet indiameter, the error is less than thetwelfth of an inch.If re is carried out to eleven figures, 3followed by a decimal of ten figures, itwould bring out the circumference ofthe earth with an error of less than thetwenty-fourth of an inch. But we donot know the diameter near enough toobtain so near an approach to the cir-cumference.

T


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10

The Lost QityBy MILTON R. PERIL

Part IIIllustrated by MOREY

Our hero is now in the traditional land of Atlantis; an old, old story ofancient days opens for us in the second installment of this narration. Theinterest of the story rises after the introduction, as we may call it of the firstchapters. We are sure that it will hold our readers* attention and preparethem for the interesting finale which will appear in the third and last

installment.WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE:EL KASR was one of those ancient spots on the face of the earth which always held SirJohn Mansfield, greatest living archaeologist and Egyptologist, spellbound.A native, Horda, who had worked with Sir John in the Libyan desert excavations five

years previous, meets him and begs money for whisky for bis white derelict master inexchange for a very old manuscript which be claims is genuine. In his room, Mansfieldcarefully studies the hieroglyphics and. after submitting the manuscript to every known test,is certain the document is genuine. It was written about 2800-2700 B. C and by no otherperson than the great Egyptian king, Cheops, himself. After hours of study. Mansfield hasthe following data: Beneath the giant statue of a reposing body of an animal with a humanhead is the only entrance to Atlantis. With the further instructions in the manuscript indeliblyprinted on his mind, Sir John starts out for the great sphinx. After many disheartening attemptsto find an elusive spring given in the record, and governing the opening of the secret panel, hedisgustedly smashes the supposed spot and the panel slowly opens. He dashes into the openingjutt as the panel starts to close, without realizing his sealed fate. Once inside, however, historch beam falls upon the inscribed waits and he forgets everything else. The stones arecovered with the history of Egypt up to the time of Cheops. The need of fresh air and ofwater leads Sir John down a dark passage which ends abruptly in a hole ten feet square,almost sending him into the pit. Following instructions inscribed on the wall, he plunges hisknife blade into a slit in the wall and the void becomes completely closed up. Standing on theplatform, Sir John pulls the blade from the wail and immediately the stage drops at a terrificspeed, throwing him to the floor and knocking him unconscious.Some time later, Sir John opens his eyes and Yuxa, High Priest of the Whites of Atlantis,speaks to him in the ancient Egyptian tongue and explains all that has happened to the peopleof Atlantis and also how they had followed Sir John's movements from the time he enteredthe Sphinx. Yuxa's daughter, Venia, is also present. After being fed and somewhat rested.Sir John it taken to the Council chambers, where he tells the people of Atlantis about thecivilization on the surface of the earth. In the middle of the talk a voice is heard saying,"The Blacks have arisen." The Blacks are the slaves of the white people of Atlantis. Thebattle that ensues is a very peculiar one, being fought entirely with paralyzing rays, as far asthe Whites are concerned, but the Blacks use clubs and knives. The science of surgery hasprogressed in Atlantis far in advance of anything known on the surface of the earth, so woundsare easily healed. The Blacks are finally subdued, and the Whites who have been fatallywounded, in Sir John's opinion, are treated with rays and are soon walking around again as ifnothing had happened to them. And then things begin to happen,

CHAPTER IX "What are you talking about, man?"_. . -, , he demanded harshly.Venia Gone I _, . , , ...I he blacks ! cried the young man.DOWN the aisle sped the tall "The outpost has just reported that afigure of Kodro, his arms group of blacks have crossed the man-gesticulating wildly. eating line with a girl. It was Venia."Venia! Venia has been How she was captured they can't tell."

taken!" The news was startling. MansfieldYuxa stood stock-still at the announce- felt a tremor pass through his body,

ment, his face masked. Venia taken by those bestial creatures


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Mansfield released him and he flew over the brink and crashed head-firstinto the oblique descent, striking the edge of the circular pit.


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12 AMAZING STORIESThe thought was horrifying. Such ayoung and refreshing body in theclutches of a horde of brutes was enoughto make the man shudder! He remem-bered distinctly now that the girl hadn'tbeen in view at the finish of the battlebetween the two bodies of men. Theobservation had clicked in his brain atthe time; now it took on alarming pro-portions. Sometime during the hecticmelee she had either gone from theroom and had been seized by the blacks,or else a black had stolen up into thetemple and had carried her off fromunder their very eyes. The formerseemed more probable, though. Heglanced at the high priest.Yuxa was uncontrollable. Seldom had

Mansfield seen any man like this. Avirulent display of emotion that seemedto rise deep from within him drainedhis ashy countenance."Drop everything," ordered the high

priest with a snap. "She must be savedfrom the wretches."

HIS voice faltered. But the menwere on their way already. Mans-field hustled out with them. Surely, itseemed to him, there was a purpose incapturing the girl. Taking her life,in compensation for the number of theirown who were done away with, didn'tsound plausible, even though revenge washighly dominant in the black mind. Itwas more likely, he thought, she wouldbe kept as a hostage. She was thedaughter of the high priest. And theyhad made a specific effort to get onlyher. There would have been littletrouble, compared to getting into thetemple and capturing Venia, to havesecured other white women ; but, no, theyhad gone a fter the beauti ful blonde-haired girl."The outpost," stated Kodro in an-

guish, "says that a large number ofblacks covered the girl as they carried

her across. Many of them were killed,but they succeeded in getting herthrough. Our men couldn't break intotheir defense."

Naturally, all work was disrupted.Yuxa kept his thoughts now to himself.Jt might have been that he was fearfulof trusting his voice out loud. AndMansfield readily read him. He pos-sessed an intense devotion for his off-spring. His eyes tried to keep out thathideous expression of horror whatmight happen to his daughterAnd Mansfield found that those shud-

ders which were prickling his back and'"needling" the base of his brain heldhim in an awful grasp. He found him-self issuing into prayer : "God! Letnothing happen to the poor girl ! . . . "

Already the news had spread through-out the city and preparations were beinghastily made. Scores and scores of menwere pouring out into the open streetsand thoroughfares. Yuxa leaped amongtthem, raising his hand.

".My brothers, this has reached theclimax! The men of Atlantis have tol-erated the black race since the beginningof time. We have stood for their peri-odical displays, overlooking their brutalnatures, even trying to make respectablemen out of them. They are coarselyungrateful! Now . . . This is thetime they shall suffer. From this mo-ment on they shall all be rounded upand subjected to the brain dissection!If they resist, kill!"He hadn't spoken or mentioned Ve-

nia's name. He didn't have to. Mans-field saw how the capture of the girlhad upset all of them. To them, thedaughter of the high priest was as sacredas her sire.One man exclaimed : "An entire cham-

ber of cylinders has been looted. Agroup of blacks overpowered the guardsduring the main fight and made off withthem. It will be no easy matter. They


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THE LOST CITY 13will fight beyond the man-eatingline "

Yuxa's eyes were electric sparks. "Weshall cross ! Every white man will laydown his life to wipe out the blackevil !"

It was no* that Mansfield receivedhis initiation into their efficiency. Intounits they divided, nothing like the un-tidy mass of men who had met the on-coming blacks. Each unit had as itshead either a priest or man of science,the latter distinguished by a sparklingmetallic tiara around the head. It wasdecided that the men were to proceed tothe man-eating wall ; there the rayswhich were centered upon the malignantgrayish matter were to be shut off inone place ; a unit armed with hand cyl-inders would drive the seething stuff intothe main stretch and the overhead rayswould be thrown back on again. Inthat manner it would be able to make awide channel in the grayish matterthrough which the men could pour.

Mansfield was next to Yuxa, at thehead of the main body of men, as thewall of demarcation was reached. Upahead, there could be seen already atwork the unit with the rays. In both di-rections, as far as the eye could reach,extended the colorful emanation whichguarded the man-eating matter. It wasa beautiful creamy blue.The unit cleared a large hole directly

through the center and the men rushedthrough, into an open plain. Far aheadwas the lighted outline of the habitatwhich harbored the blacks. But noforce of men was at hand to meetthem!The Englishman thought it strange,

this progress without onslaught. If theblacks had taken pains to secure thedaughter of the high priest, they sure-ly would have maintained a strong standin keeping her with them. But norush of blacks was evident which would

show a dark body of men! Onwardpoured the whites.

THEY were soon on the outskirts ofthe village and Yuxa, with fore-

sight, distributed his men accordingly.They were to surround the entireplace, and give no quarter. Venia mustbe secured even if every man had tostake his life. And not a black must bepermitted to escape. All must be taken.

But if there was a battle, it was de-cidedly one-sided. For the white menof Atlantis circled the entire black place,swooped down upon the buildings, pour-ing through the arched portals, and notone black man was evident! There wasnobody thereThey poked through every interior for

hours without finding a trace of them,and their amazement knew no bounds.Yuxa was in a frenzy. It was now be-ginning to dawn upon the white menthat the black race had been even moreinsidious than they had appeared. Butthere was no other place they could havegone. The large number of them couldabsolutely not have gone anywhere with-out the whites being aware of it, yet theparadoxical fact remained squarely tooppose them.

THEY were scattered all over theplace, forcing prying eyes into any-

thing that looked suspicious. Sir JohnMansfield found himself a lone hand inthis affair, prodding his nose in and outof the dwellings. They were rather finestone buildings, worthy of a better mindand more stable temperament, hethought. The walls were tapestried withfine cloth drawings and designs, thefurniture was finely wrought of metal.The doors, however, were simple in con-struction, not similar to the walls in thetemple. It was comparatively easy to gofrom room to room.

It was strange. The colony couldn't


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14 AMAZING STORIEShave transported itself into thin air.The blacks must be around here some-where. Mansfield wondered. Could theyhave forseen this invasion and havecountermoved into the city of Atlantisat the same time the whites were go-ing through the man-eating wall? Ithardly seemed probable. There weretoo many men about the temple; someword would have come to them had thaihappened.He found himself in a cellar which

was littered with refuse. Carefully, hemoved around, inspecting the odds andends which were heaped there. Inone corneT the wall was almost obscuredfrom sight by a pile of trash. Detach-ing piece by piece he placed them inthe middle of the room. Maybe therewas some reason for all this maze ! Butwhen he had finally got a look at thefilthy wall, the slimy stone told him hehad failed.

Tt was arduous work, this tugging andtoting of the broken and misshapenarticles. His clothes were bedaubed withdirt, and torn, and somewhat weary hemoved one of the broken chairs closer,braced it against the wall and sat down.His cylinder which he had used moreas an illuminating projector than aweapon, was flashed around the base-ment.

It was a wide and deep cellar. Theupper floor rested squarely upon a stonefoundation, without any support in thecenter. Well-built. And suddenly heleaped from his chair with a cry, as hislight played upon a tatter of a garmentagainst the wall nearby! In onebound he reached it and snatched it up.

IT was a clean piece of cloth whichhad no place in this grimy interior.He'd swear he had seen the designsomewhere recently ! Certainly he hadHe remembered it distinctly now. Com-ing out of his unconscious state in the

upper chambers of the temple, just afterentering Atlantis, his eyes had fallenupon the garment which clothed a bodyseated near him. This tatter was a piecetorn from the robe of Venia!

This knowledge galvanized him. Veniahad passed this way ! She had struggledand had parted with this. Down intothe bedraggled place she had beenbrought

Mansfield stood firmly on his feet,poised for something he knew not what.It seemed to him that this remnant fore-cast imminent danger. It had some re-lation to the problem of the disappear-ing blacks, that he was sure. And itmeant that somewhere near was the girlVenia was nearby. He must not failher; he must be cautious!

He, first, must find out whether thesewalls were false or not, whether the lit-tered cellar was only a blind to concealsome hidden means of exit. Quicklyhe went around the walls and knockedon the blocks of stone for a hollowsound. His thoughts were in a furor.Had the daughter of the high priestbeen done away with? This piece of therobe spoke for itself. There had beena straggle. And a struggle, a resistance,brought to Mansfield's shuddering mindany possibility. Those creatures mighthave taken their vengeance out on herand have killed her!For a moment he debated the idea of

hastening up and bringing to light thisdiscovery. The whites could wreck thiscellar in a short time and find outwhether there was a hidden spot about.But time would be lost. That wouldn'tdo. While he was hurrying upward,anything might happen to the girl. AndMansfield kept telling himself that Veniawas yet alive, that she couldn't havebeen slain!He tapped with fierce energy. But asolid echo kept ringing in his ears! Itridiculed his haste! But he couldn't


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THE LOST CITY 15give uphe couldn't! He was ready tolay his life down that this theory of arag was right; that everything lay righthere! His eager knife swept swiftlythrough cracks and cracks. Maybe aslab would come loose! Working fran-tically, of a sudden he felt his spineshiver with an iciness that almost coag-ulated his blood, brought cessation tohis respiration, A voice was behindhim!"Ha! What fortune brings us the

stranger to Atlantis!"He whirled, throwing his light aroundbut he didn't need it. A huge negro,bare of clothing but for a filthy girdleof cloth, stood leering at him throughcrooked, yellow teeth. His beastlyscowl accentuated his abnormal nose andmouth, his body glistened with a sheenfrom the small light he was holding fo-cussed upon the Englishman.

AND then Mansfield saw the openingt* in the wall behind the fellow. Ityawned blackly in a steep descent. Andit was right near the spot where he hadpicked up the torn cloth! What a foolhe had been not to search there first!With a cry that rumbled from his

larynx, Mansfield leaped. Runningthrough his mind was his own con-demnation for not getting assistancewhen he had had time. For now, com-ing out of the hole was another andanother huge black! They carried clubsthat would have frightened away a be-hemoth! The odds were tremendouslyagainst him.

Mansfield struck the foremost blacksquarely and together they crashed tothe floor. In a moment legs and armswere thrashing the air as the other twoblacks were cast into the fight. Thescientist's blood was gushing throughhim at a high pressure, racing with amadness that forced three blows whereordinarily he would have struck one.

He laced out with his boot once andsucceeded in dislodging a face which hadits slashing fangs in his calf. Thesemen fought like carnivorous beasts! Hisfists crunched venomously again andagain upon abhorrent visages thatgrunted, and he saw blood and blood!He was covered with the red stuff.A ferocious blow caught him fairlyin the mouth and he went berserk. Hesprang on the fellow nearest him andwrapped his long arms about his neckand choked him. Another blow struckhim glancingly on the side of the headand numbed his hold, throwing himback against the wall.

It was a moment's respite, and hegasped for breath, surveying throughmisty eyes the situation. One black wason the ground moaning. That musthave been the fellow he had kickedheavily in the face! But the other two,battered and bruised, were slowly creep-ing upon him, eyeing him through slittyorbs. Mansfield took a deep breath.There was no way out of this now. He'dhave to yell with all his might to getthe whites to know he was in trouble!But he never opened his mouth. Thetwo blacks made swift disconcerting

moves, and one of them let fly the clubIt caught Mansfield right under the ear.He was felled like a poled oxa totalblackness suffusing his consciousness!

CHAPTER XThe Circular Pit

FOR all of Sir John Mansfield'syears of experience in the delv-ing in archaeological information

concerning races and peoples who hadexisted down through the ages, the vastprofundity of knowledge attained didn'tequal one whit the experience he wasnow gathering in the very midst of ahistorical, supposedly legendary people.


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16 AMAZING STORIESSo he couldn't help but thinking now,

lolling on the ground, trying to assuagethat terrific ache which sprang from hisalmost split head. Where he was hedidn't know. But a good two hours be-fore he had roused himsel f from hisstupor and had found that he was inthis intensely dark place. He made noeffort to rise, but lay back and fell intointermittent meditation, for all the throb-bing, pounding head.

Things certainly had happened sincehis arrival, he told himself. There wasno denying the fact that he had seenplenty in his short presence in Atlantis,enough that wottld enable him to bringto a kaleidoscopic clearness the intimatemannerisms which existed here. He hadinformative values at hand, which wouldcause a revision of ancient historial civ-ilization. And think of those brilliantthings, the brain dissection process, themultifarious number of rays! And thatman-eating animal matter! A substancelike that, in the possession of a greatpower, would practically mean absolutedominance. Let loose a quantity of theparasitic organism in any one countryand that nation with its people wasdoomed /

Yes, this rotating earth certainly didcontain miracles, mysteries, which thehuman eye was too blind to size up. Justimagine one of the wonders of theworld, the Great Sphinx, standing as ithad for untold centuries over a desertplain, xmknown as to purpose, unex-ploited as to intention. Why, billionsof eyes had gazed speculatively uponthe massive edifice down through timeand had simply conjectured it as a whimof a long-dead ruler of a mighty Egyp-tian people. Little had they thoughtthat it stood ready to he utilized, readyto display its hidden wares, and only forthe taking. But no one had seen!A great god that was designed forSilence. It didn't speakcouldn't speak.

But how well it replied in silent lan-guage once its meaning was established.During the forty to fifty centuries, buttwo men had fallen heir to the means ofentrancehad found that such a thingdid existhe and that long-rotted car-cass which lay doubled up and shape-less at the foot of the massive slab inthe stone passage. And nowGRADUALLY he came out of this

revery. He became more andmore rational. Presently his musingswere gone and he found that his split-ting head was resounding to the predic-ament he was in. The blacks, \vith theiruncanny hatred, had created this safetyrendezvous, of which the whites knewnothing. They must have foreseen sucha time as this.

It grew upon the scientist's mind thattheir occasional at tacks had not been,as the high priest had believed, aimlessessays. They had probably tried timeand again to get the daughter of Yuxa.Now they felt that they held the upperhand, something with which to form-ulate a plea for themselves. There wasn'ta white man who wouldn't give his lifeto save the girl.He rose groggily and steadied himselfagainst the wall. Still he could seenothing. It was a Stygian blacknesswhich enveloped him. He stumbled,hugging the wall closely, fumbling alongit. He wondered what sort of room hewas in. Perhaps there was some meansof escape from it.

His hand, dragging back and forth.fell across his hip and he let out a burstof surprised relief. His gun was stillin its holster, together with ihe car-tridges! What luck! The black cap-tors had not taken them from him. Theyhad not, apparently, understood theirimportance, known their real value.Those animal-featured creatures would,of course, not understand anything oth-


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THE LOST CITY 17er than a ray cylinder, a club, or aknife. They had paid no attention tohis gun! What fortune!

It was an elation that in itself almosthealed the palpitating head. The pres-ence of his revolver meant to him morethan anything else right now. He couldstand off a whole regiment of blacks,given a point of vantage. His bloodtore through his veins and arteries withshrieking hope, with fired purpose. Ifonly he could find some way of gettingout of here, the better were his chancesfor rescuing the girl. He must get out!Venia must be gotten from their

clutches. He felt sure now that shestill lived. Hadn't they taken pains notto do away with him? Their only hopein saving their own skins was to play atactful hand, and that they seemed to bedoing.He must have progressed with hisback to the wall for about fifty feetwhen the darkness suddenly gave way toan illumination which threw the entireplace into relief. He found himself ina large chamber with a low ceiling. Butwhat brought his lips to a pursing whis-tle was the sight that met his eye. Hisfeet rested upon a narrow ledge aboutthree feet wide which ran away from thewall, then dropped stopingly to the verycenter of the room, where there loomedup a circular hole about ten feet indiameter

HOW fortunate he was! Had hestarted to prowl about before, he

would have undoubtedly stepped off therim of the ledge and skidded downwardto that round pit which took on a moreterrifying aspect the longer he lookedat it. It was a sure means of self-de-struction.

His head was in a daze. His theorywas all shattered. They didn't carewhethe.r he lived or not! Had he slippedhere he would now probably have been

a dead man. Good Lord ! He hopedVenia hadn't been thrown into thisplace

His eyes met the blank stare of barewalls. There seemed to be no openingfrom this chamber. He stared long atthat circular pit below him, ponderingthe idea of letting himself down fromthe ledge and finding out where the holeled. The more he gazed around at theunending walls, the more attractiveloomed the possibility that the holemight take him somewhere. If he werecareful and cautious, he could be sure ofhis footing.He dropped over the flat rim andwriggled down slowly. His hands andfeet moved with infinite precision. Therewas a moment when he thought that hisbody was going to fly from under him,but his wet and perspiring hands clampeddown on the cold stone and nipped themomentum.At the edge of the circular pit he

dug his hobnailed boots into the stone,setting himself, and looked down. Anawful cry went from him as his eyesgazed at the unbelievable thing downthere! That hole was a receptable forthe grayish man-eating matter! Onceone had seen that bubbling animal sub-stance, the eye would never forget it.And the bluish iridescent ray hoveredover it, keeping it in check!

Great Heavens! He must get awayquicklv. back upon the ledge. Everymoment he tottered on this edge mightmean doom for him! What a fool hehad been to take this horrible chance!Had he known what lay there nothingunder the sun could have made himslide down to it so lambently!His fingers grasped the stone till theybled, and he started to crawl back up.This was nothing like the untroubleddescent but a moment before. The verythought of his narrow escape from ahideous death made his upward pro-


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18 AMAZING STORIESgress all the more severe. It was a deeprelief when his tensed fingers touchedthe top of the ledge and he drew himselfupon it. His body was shaking.

FEEBLY he dropped in a crevicenext to the wall and exhaled hor-

rible thoughts. The picture of thoseblacks being fed to the matter rose upbefore him in virulent waves. It wasn'ta cherished end, any way one wouldlook at it. That unearthly stuff tookyou and kept your passing a secret inits fiendish heart.He shrunk against the wall, thank-

ful for its protection. His hand fell overthe butt of his gun and caressed it.Just give him one good break! Let himget possession of Venia! And by thun-der he would fill every attacking blackwith bullets ! His mouth fastened intoa grim line. All he wanted was just onecrack at those fiends. That he had beenthrown into such an awful place wasmaking him decidedly angry. The sightof the man-eating stuff had turned hisfairness and tolerance to one side. Hisfingers itched to get around the throatof a black.He was lying thus crouched whenfrom the corner of his eye he saw a sec-tion of the wall just overhead slide up-ward and a leering countenance showitself. The black fellow was looking into see whether the prisoner had falleninto the pit. A huge mouth opened intothe semblance of a grin as he stared atthe grisly pit.

Spontaneously, Mansfield saw thatFate had opened its hand to his unutteredplea. Here was his opportunity! Theblack didn't see him because he laydirectly beneath him. But if the fel-low decided to glance below, it wouldbe a simple matter to glimpse him. Thegloating face, however, seemed contentto think that he had slid into the gray-ish death.

With a leap, Mansfield was out of hiscrouched position, and he timed his out-stretched hands beautifully. The wiryfingers enveloped the black throat be-fore the other knew what happened. Aterrific jerk, and the scientist had pulledhim through the opening.

It was a delightful feeling, this yield-ing neck in his hands. There was aterrified look on the black face; it triedto bite itself loose from the steely mus-cles which was clamping out life. Hisvocal muscles were paralyzed ; hecouldn't cry out. The voice never washeard again ! Mansfield released himand he flew over the brink and crashedhead-first into oblique descent, strikingthe edge of the circular pit, bounding di-rectly across it to smash into the op-posite side, then dropped from view intothat hungry mass below.The Englishman tottered on the ledge

from the exertion. It had carried himaway from the wall, near the edge. Witha supreme effort he threw himself up-ward and clutched the opened panel.It saved him instantly. He clung toit, breathing spasmodically; then, withfeline agility, he leaped through it andwas in the other room.

It was an elaborate interior, withmany seats and lounges ; and fortunatelyit was empty. He had to work fast,though. In one motion he closed up thepanel and surveyed minutely the room.

THERE came to his hearing thesound of voices and like a flash he

dropped behind one of the large, be-decked chairs. From a narrow slit be-tween the rungs he saw a cloth beingpushed aside and two blacks entered.They glanced about questioningly.One them said,"Where is Mantsi ? He was supposed

to be here."The other strolled over to the paneland flung it open. "Look! The prisoner


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THE LOST CITY 19has fallen into the pit ! He is not there !""Good! He is one less white to con-

tend with !""Mantsi must have gone up to re-

port it to Okrulla; Ha! Ha!"Both fell into a laughing cackle whichbrought utter disgust to the concealedman. They were no more than beasts inemotional expression. Mansfield couldsee them sit down upon a lounge. Theirwidespread nostrils contract-d with eachsteamy breath; their greenish orbs wereslits that moved around unceasingly withhorrifying effect.

But the Englishman was tensed. Hishand was on his gun, eyeing everymove. Not now did he intend that heshould be taken a prisoner again withoutretaliation. His fears were unfounded,however; one of them rose to his feetand leered:"We hold the upper hand now. Ok-rulia will make those white devils cometo us. He has the girl!" Both burstinto a loathesome sputter. "They thinkthey'll get her when Okrulla demandscomplete freedom for us. Ha, ha! Weshall mow them down when they leastknow it. The girl will be Okrulta's.And we'll all have the choice pick of therest !"

Mansfield fought hard to keep hislaboring breath from giving him away.How he longed to throw himself intothe open and send slugs into their rot-ten bodies ! But he couldn't do that.He must use discretion. Freedom was athing to him now when he had boundlessduties resting upon his head. What hehad heard from these two evil lips fore-bode a terrible disaster. He felt thatthe white would assume the old regime,once more, if they would be able to getthe daughter of the high priest backagain.And he, Mansfield, was the only white

man who knew of all! It behooved himto move with sanity, with caution.

The standing black moved toward thedoor. "You stay here. Katka. I shallgo over and see what the girl is do-ing. When Mantsi returns, you canleave."And with another of those demonaicallaughs he quit the room. The remainingblack rose from the lounge and movedaround. Presently he strode to the paneland glared through it. Another cackledropped from him. He seated himselfupon the chair, behind which crouchedMansfield.

It was now or never! The scientistgathered his energy for one swift blow.Silently he removed his gun. and held itby the barrel. He sprang up andswung with all his might at the blackhead which was turning startlingly ; theforce almost tore the weapon from hishands. The fellow stiffened, sank for-ward.With a frenzied speed he raised the

heavy body and dragged it to the openpanel. A heave, and he saw the figurebound out upon the slope, skid crazilydownward and out over the pit, drop-ping from sight. Another one dealtwith!He rushed toward the opening of thedraped cloth and peered out. An in-ward rush of gladness rose within him.Proceeding along the long corridor wasthe black who had said he was goingto where Venia was! Mansfield couldfollow him straight there!

CHAPTER XIThe Torture Chamber

OLTCKLY, cautiously, he paddedafter the fellow. The blackwas swinging along in care-freefashion, utterly scornful of everythingbut of his own importance. And Mans-field gave no cause for him to feel thatsomeone was following. He hugged the


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20 AMAZING STORIESwalls like a dark shadow flitting in longnoiseless strides when he had the oppor-tunity, gliding along step by step whenthe other slowed.The corridor was a very long one,

sinuous and narrow. At one time theblack came abreast of a portal and gazedinto it, looking absently backward, butthe Englishman was a silent posing fig-ure which blended perfectly with thesurroundings.

Sir John Mansfield was glad of onething. He knew where the pit chamberwas situated. It struck him that he,alone, could withstand any number ofassailants there with his gun. It wasan excellent stand. He could pick themoff one by one as they came through.Could pitch them into the gray matter.The black stopped before a door and

glided in. Mansfield followed carefully,pressed against the wall. Now was thetime to proceed with caution. In allprobability that was where Venia was.He couldn't jumble the whole thing atthis momentous instant. He must notlet his chance slide through his fingers.His hand came in contact with a sharp

turn in the wall and he squirmed silent-ly around it. A dark cloth shroudedwhat he presumed to be the door. Withimperceptible precision he drew it aside.A thin beam of light greeted him.The room was empty, and was in ap-pearance similar to the one he had left.In a moment he had slipped through,standing statuesque, keen, eyes flittingaround. He heard loud voices anddropped like a plummet behind a divan.The cloth at the other end of the

room swished back and the black he hadbeen following emerged in the companyof another. They moved toward thecenter, talking.

"Give her another hour in there.Make her suffer!""As you say!" He nodded."Good ! Then she will be taken to Ok-

rulla!" Again he heard that name.They laughed gleefully. With a fare-

well gesture one went to the entranceand departed. The other chuckled tohimself, flexed his arms and went intothe next room.

MANSFIELD waited for a fewmoments. It was clear to him

that Venia was in the next room. Nowwas the time to collect himself. Herose from behind his concealment witha trembling heart. The girl was under-going torture. That much he gleanedfrom their conversation. And thethought of the girl undergoing forcedhardship fired his brain.He sprang from his cover andsnatched the weapon from its holster. Ina twinkling he had torn aside the cov-ering of the portal.

It was a two-by-four construction,completely paneled in a transparent mat-ter which gave insight into a large roombeyond. Mansfield halted, watching theblack who was applying his strength ona lever of some sort. The fellow pulledthe thing back ; at the move there issuedfrom a large pipe in the ceiling a hissingsound, like escaping compressed air.And then he saw Venia. She hadbeen thrown into the air from hercrouched position on the floor, and thesame unseen force grasped her andhurled her against the wall. Her eyeswere staring widely, hair disheveled, buther lips were pressed tightly together.She was resisting this torture without amoan.

It was some sort of vacuum chamber.There were round holes in the wall atregular intervals, and as the black threwback the lever something forced all theair out of the room. The rushing forcepicked up everything within and slammedthem viciously against the walls.The sight of the daughter of the high

priest being knocked about so viciously


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THE LOST CITY 21brought a fierce expression to Mans-field's eyes. He yelled once, indiscreetly,causing the black to whirl around. Thedusky fellow sprang upon him with acurse, but fell backward as a bulletcrashed into him.The Englishman's first act was to re-

lease the lever and let the girl slumpfrom her forced posture against thewall. He knew now that the shot mighthave been heard. It would have rever-berated clear down the corridor. Hemust work with celerity.

Like a trapped animal in a burningcage, he sped around and around tryingto find some means of opening the glasspanel. But he could find nothing! Heknocked violently against the glass,pressed his face in it, waving frantically.His movements were seen immedi-

ately. The girl rose to her feet andstared amazedly at him. She fumbledtoward him but her last bit of strengthhad gone, and with a movement of themouth she sank once more upon theground.

There came to Mansfield's ears thesound of slapping feet and he hurriedto lug the body of the black back intothe first room, where he tossed himunder a lounge. Anything that woulddelay the blacks from finding out whathad happened. His mind was on onething now. He couldn't save Venia atthe moment. He must take care of him-self.One good thing, though. Venia had

seen him. That meant a lot. She wouldknow that he was around to protecther. It would give her a rejuvenationof spirit to keep on fighting, knowingthat someone was at hand to come toher aid.

HE dived behind a chair just as twoblacks came bounding into theroom, staring wildly for the explana-tion of that sudden noise. Mansfield

saw both distinctly. He laughed to him-self as he saw the two come out of thetorture chamber with astonished faces.They looked at each other for a mo-ment, then returned to stare once moreinto the transparent wall.

Mansfield glided out like a ghostlybeing, breathing a sigh of relief whenonce again in the corridor. But a glancetold him that he must not tarry. Fr6mthe other end of the passage were run-ning more blacks. He might be able tomake his way to the pit room, if he werecareful.

In the shadows he moved. He thankedthe guiding hand, which watched overhim, that at that moment no black menwere coming toward him from the near-er end of the corridor. That wouldmean instant discovery. It was a breakfor him that the chamber of the man-eating matter was at the end of thelong hallway.

In a flash he had sped across the cor-ridor and into the chamber. But hisslithering feet spoke volumes to theblack .who was napping in a chair. Thefellow sprang to his feet, rubbing hisbleary eyes! Surprise was all over him."Ghost of the gods! Where did "Sir John Mansfield's gun roared once

and the other pitched over on his face.Almost before he had hit the groundthe scientist had hoisted him upon hisshoulder; and he hauled him to thepanel and disposed of him.He couldn't have helped firing, eventhough he knew the shot would be in-vestigated immediately. The negrowould have come out of his stupor atany moment and this wasn't a time hecould afford to fight with a black. Hewould probably have struggled with himineffectually until the others came; thenit would have been all over. Theywould have thrown him into the cir-cular chasm without another word. Hewas only a pestiferous thorn in the black


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22 AMAZING STORIESdomain. He was not wanted then.FEET pounded and, again, he con-

cealed himself. A half dozen mencame in with a rush, halting with utterconsternation on their distorted faces.They looked through the open panel,turned in dismay."What is this strange noise which

sounds through the walls?" one of themsaid. "And where is the guard?""We found nothing where the girlis. The guard is gone, too. I tell you,it is a sign of wrath from the godsThey look evilly upon our attitude tothe whites !"

"Stop ! Enough of your snivelling,Brexshu. Speak not of the diety insuch tongue!" There was a snarl in hisvoice.

"I fear "Mansfield, while watching with abated

breath, saw the infuriated face of theman, presumably the leader, go starkmad ; saw him raise his ham-like fistand crush the other into insensibilitywith one blow. The fellow's kneesbuckled from under him and he stretchedout. The other blacks stood around andgaped.

*'No more do I hear such blasphemy!Understand? The gods are with us!Throw this rodent through the hole!"Two blacks lifted the unconscious manas though he were a mere feather andflung himself out. Then the leader said:"Two of you stay here. If that sharp

noise occurs, find out what causes it.We are safe here. The girl is the onlywhite in the hidden depths. And ifthose guards show their faces, pounceupon them and dispatch them as wasdone to Brexshu."They nodded. Mansfield couldn'thelp but smile. Those guards were goneforever now ! And these simple fellowsNot once had they instituted a search ofthe chambers. They were charged with

the dogmatic belief that their creationof a hidden place was unapproachable,that nobody could get to them. Per-haps that might be true, but he, Mans-field, was loose. It didn't enter theirminds to search for anybody. The onlything they understood was what theysaw. They had seen him thrown intothe pit. No one had ever gone outalive from it. Thus he was a deadman.

But Mansfield's heart beat very muchin life as he slouched in back of theobstruction. And his grin was a thingwhich felt good to his tired and bruisedbody. That welt on the head still ached.He let up his vigil not one iota, hold-ing the gun firmly in his hand. The twoblacks were pacing the room nervously,sitting down, getting up. If only thesecreatures had a little mental capacity,they might be an exceedingly dangerousfoe. He shi fted his position a trifle.The cramp in his leg sent a pricklingsensation through it.The next moment his exuberance

burst into a groan of dismay as his footcaught in the leg of the chair and itskidded forward, revealing his crouchingposture clearly

CHAPTER XIIMasks of the Gods

THE nerves of the blacks were onedge, and the sudden scraping of, the chair brought them to their

feet. Their eyes fell upon the doubled-up figure of the man they had thoughtlong dead, and they screamed hoarsely.Then their greenish eyes became infusedwith a fearful vengeance, and theysprang with arms outstretched, mania-cally bent upon destruction.The first impact of the three bodies

knocked the gun from Mansfield's handand he went down beneath the crushing


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THE LOST CITY 23weight. Two arms, like whipcords, wentaround him and began to squeeze theair from his lungs.He was stunned; his breath had left

him in the fall. But it was this thatsaved him from those strong elastic armswhich were trying to strangle him. Hisbody became limp even though his mindwas clearing. The black loosed his holda trifle to get even a better one ; Mans-field's knee came up with a sudden, vi-cious jerk. The black face betook apastiness that made his ebon a sicklyyellow, and he slumped backward androlled over.

Gasping, snorting, Mansfield rolledout of the way of the black who divedfor him. But the black fingers succeed-ed in getting a hold of his khaki shirtand they dug their nails into it, clear tothe skin. In another moment the twowere rolling over the floor, legs drapingover each other, in a wild scrap. Fin-geTS clawed red streaks into each oth-ers' faces in an endeavor to get a lastinggrip.The black presently got his thumb in

Mansfield's eye and gouged. It was soharsh a pain that the scientist thoughthe was going mad. He sunk his teethinto that iron fist until the blood dribbledaround his lips. His right hand cuppedthe disgusting face and shoved back-ward.Never had he fought like this! It

was life or death! The taste of thathorribly salty blood upon his lips wasabominably sickening. In his confusedsubconscious mind he was a carnivor-ous beast feasting on the life fluid ofanother beast ! A power-suffusing gallcrept over him.The thumb was a piece of lacerated

flesh and bone and it dropped, use-less, from the eye of Mansfield. It hadbeen chewed down to numbness. Slowlythe crush of his ribs began to tell onhim. In another moment they would

give way to a snap. And then theirwrithing bodies crashed into a tableand it toppled over on them

They were free once more. Mans-field sprang to his feet, his frantic eyessweeping the room for the gun. It waslying right at his feet ! He couldn'tdeceive himself now; he had very littlestrength left; his eye hurt him awfully;and the black before him rose with avigor that manifested his reserve power!He dived for the gun and gripped itwith an inspiring clutch. Lord! didn'tit feel good within his palm

JUST in time did he whirl. Bothblacks were now upon their feet.

Their faces were hardly human anymore. The pupils of their eyes werepin-points of repulsiveness.One of them had drawn a long slen-

der blade from his dirty loin cloth andwas advancing ominously ; the other wasstill groggy from the knee-jam andgroaning feebly, but he circled to get inan effective blow.

Mansfield felt a sag in his muscles.His bruised eye was burning him dread-fully. It couldn't last much longer. Bothblacks leaped through the air.His finger pulled back the trigger. Theroom reverberated to the crash ; the

black with the knife stopped in mid-air,the blade slipping from his fingers andclanking to the floor. The noise of thegun halted the other abruptly. He gapedwith open mouth at the deed committedright before his eyes, glanced unbe-lievedly at his fellow black, who laygasping his last. With a fiendish yellhe sprang for the knife, grasped it. Hisarm drew back and flung the sharp pointstraight at the Englishman's breast, witha speed that made the shining metalquiver as it hurtled through space

In the same split second Mansfieldflung himself to one side and fired again.The black was knocked backward by the


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24 AMAZING STORIESthudding bullet and the knife whizzedby Mansfield, only slashing his shirt. Hestood on the balls of his feet and rocked,regaining his breath. Without anotherglance at the fallen pair he whirled forthe door and was out in the corridor.There wasn't time to dispose of the

bodies. He must get out of the place.Where, he didn't know. Twice the blackshad been puzzled by the loud reporttwice they had blundered in the attemptto solve the mystery. But, now, thesight of the two prone, bleeding bodieswould be associated with an existingfact, and they would scour the placefor some reason until they found him.Nohe wasn't safe at all ; he must bedoing something.

Across the corridor he saw a drapeddoorway, into which he plunged. Be-hind him sounded the rush of numerousfeet. A glance ahead revealed the bot-tom steps of a flight of long windingstairs and he fled upward. His breathwas laboring painfully.

HE bounded up and up, when hereached a turn. He halted for ashort spell to get his breath. In theangle of the corner a cloth covered asmall alcove. He spread it open to lookat itjust as many voices and feet wereto be heard coming up the stairs!

Quickly he threw himself into thenarrow confinement. It held one per-son very uncomfortably, but it wasn'tbodily convenience that he was lookingfor at the moment. Any pause wouldhelp and this afforded it. With swiftdeft fingers he rolled back the cloth cov-er and held it without a ripple. And tohis ears there came loudly now the ap-proaching mob, the puffing breath ofmany bodies, the harsh strident tones,the scrape of many sandals. Past himthey bounded

"There is something amiss here," ayoice gasped as it went by. ''The

noise ! And now here are two dead ones I""I tel! you, the whites have something

to do with this. One of them musthave gotten through. Shujee saw some-one flit out down there and make thisway 1"

So someone had seen him, had he?Well, that simply meant that they wouldbe looking and searching for him untilthey found him. His trump card of be-ing an unexpected enemy down herehad vanished. He had to be wary now.Mansfield's stiffened figure moved notone Sick, his rigid fingers trembled notas they kept the cover from uncoveringhis presence.The last pair of feet had clumped by.He listened for more, but there were

none. It wouldn't last long, he knew.This brief escape would soon be bring-ing them all back down this way justas soon as they had scoured the uppercorridors and rooms. They would searchevery possible avenue. It was rash toremain here.

His hand reached behind him andpalmed the wall, while his brow puckeredup in thought. How well did he realizethe oppressive odds which were againsthim ! He didn't know his way aroundhere ; anything he might do would proba-bly be just the wrong effort. The onlything he was sure of was that a fiercemob of men would swoop down uponhim and tear him to shreds!He pressed his hand against the wallwith a determined eye. He was goingto see it through! He'd give until hislast bit of strength gave out!And then he felt himself flying back-ward !

Something must have loosened behindhim from the pressure of his hand. Hissurprised face looked behind him justin time to see a large slab of rock pivotquickly to one side. With nothing tosupport him at his back, he fell like aload of metal down that yawning open-


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THE LOST CITY 25ing. It was a fall of only a half a dozenor so feet, but it stunned him completelyfor a minute.His twisting head had crashed into

some solid substance with a resoundingsmack, his body following in a quickaccompaniment.

HIS brain cleared. He moved firstone leg, then the other, testing forbroken bones. His arm, which hadcrumpled beneath his body, moved outand shook itself. It truly was miracu-lous that he hadn't broken something inthat short heavy fall.He sat up and rubbed his head. Thatorgan certainly had, of late, been therecipient of plenty. But the faithfulold dependable still worked ! His eyeswere becoming accustomed to the dimlight of the room. He glanced upward.

There was a short flight of steps lead-ing down from the slab of stone throughwhich he had fallen. The unexpected-ness of the fall had caused them to abetrather than to hinder his sudden drop.It was a wonder he hadn't broken halfhis bonesHe laughed elatedly. Something real-ly seemed to be taking care of him ! Itsent a warm feeling rushing throughhim. And he swept an eager eye aroundhim.The glance startled him. The walls ofthe room were arrayed in narrow com-partments, and in each of the cell-likethree-sided affairs there stared unblink-ingly back at him the most hideous offaces ! It was a sight that almostknocked him off his feet!He crouched with gun in hand ex-pectantly, waiting. But those fright-ful, cadaverous visages made no movetoward him. Their horrid features wereso repellant that Mansfield stood rootedlike an inanimate statue. But hecouldn't remain thus forever, so hecrept closer to the first stall. His weap-

on was ready to fire and ready to kill.A glance inside, and he burst into alaugh that peeled off the ghastly feel-ing which had covered him during thepast few moments.They weren't live things ! Only mask-like effigies! He paced from cell to celland satisfied himself on that point.Masks! But what forbidding depic-tions ! They were enough to make theblood crawl within you, these uncanny,weird faces ! From every neck theredepended a long robe.

Mansfield understood now what theywere. Gaudy displays of a high priest,which herded superstitious and suscept-ible blacks into submission. And he, SirJohn Mansfield, had the fortunate ex-perience of falling directly into this ! Hechuckled to himself.

There were dozens of the gruesomefaces all around. Probably this cham-ber was entered only by the priest.With almost childish inquisitiveness hedropped one of them over his head andparaded around to acquire the feeling.Satisfaction dripped from him. Waituntil he told this to some of his col-leagues back in England ! Here hewas attired in the regal garment of agod ! He could with a gesture decidethe fate of mankind! Ha! Ha!He bolted upright suddenly. A voicecame to him faintly. In a bound he was

back in the cell, standing up, still garbedin the robe with the ugly head. He wasjust in time!The slab of stone through which he

had fallen glided back and a black strodedown the steps ! From within the beastlymask Mansfield envisioned the mostsplendid specimen of a body he hadever seen. The negro was fully eightfeet tall if he was an inch. His shoul-ders were like mountain tops chargedwith a beauteous, graceful ripple-He walked directly to the cell inwhich Mansfield was concealed, gazed


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AMAZING STORIESprcoccupicdly into it ! There was afrown upon the black face."That noise!" he murmured audibly.

"They think it is Ra! Fools! I must dosomething to steady them. They mustrealize that I, Okrulla, am endowed withthe smile of the gods !"He turned away from the stall andmoved to another one, and Mansfieldbreathed a silent relief. He selected afierce face abstractly, fixed the robeand head upon him, then departedthrough a door at the other end of theroom, closing it noiselessly behind liirn.

SO that was Okrulla! What a crea-ture! His countenance was instilledwith hate, but it could be plainly seenthat there was a reasoning power behindthat skull. He wasn't like the rest ofthe race, with negligible forehead, prog-nathous jaw. That fellow radiated afierce will and man power. He wouldbe an uncomely foe to deal with!Mansfield ran to the door throughwhich he had gone and opened it sur-reptitiously. He saw a large hollowshell and it was empty. He crept intoit and looked around. There soundednow the booming voice of Okrulla withdistinctness. He was speaking."Men of the black race of Atlantis!

The time has come for us to destroythe white devils and their power. I, Ok-rulla, son of the gods, upon whom I be-stowed their smiling favors, have beenchosen to lead you into the land of com-plete freedom. I wear now the signof heaven ; it was draped upon me byheavenly hands!'*

Mansfield flashed a speculative eyeabout him, wondering from whence thiscame. The shell was the inside of some-thing which he couldn't shape out. Thenhe struck it 1 It was the inside of analtar, and near by there stretched backthe raised dais. The ceiling was justover his head. He stood on the plat-

form and looked through the narrow il-luminated slit. An exclamation hissedthrough his lipsHe was peering into a large chamberin which there were many blacks. Andright next to himonly the thin wallseparated themwas Okrulla, in all thefineries of priesthood! His hand wasoutstretched toward his people."No more shall there be bartering.That is over. We are to rule by thegrace of the gods. Bring on the bloodwith which the mouth of Ra will tasteour sincerity 1"

Ceremonies and religious rites ensued.The entire gathering fell to their kneesand knocked their foreheads against thecold stone and from their throats thererose fervent incoherent phrases. Someof

.the fanatics banged their heads with

violence. It brought a grin to the faceof the concealed man.

Something made Mansfield look at hisgun, and it was a lucky thing. All ofthe chambers were full of empty shells;he quickly took them out and refilled theweapon with fresh cartridges.And then, the towering, regalia-deckedfigure of Okrulla rose up. The ferocityof the hideous head was not lost uponhis followers. They cowered on theirbenches, quavered at the least gesticula-tion of a movable ear, eye or tooth.Fierce fangs protruded from the mouthof the mask. The priest was truly dis-played in majestic power at the mo-ment, and the unruly subjects were likebabes under his insidious eye.

"Bring forth the offering!"Tj^ROM a doorway at the other end of* the chamber there came into viewtwo blacks, dragging someone betweenthem. They must have been waitingthere for the signal. It was a whiteperson, Mansfield saw from the distance.And his muscles tensed at the sight ofthe form dragged over the floor.


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THE LOST CITY 27The party reached the center of the

stage, right before the altar upon whichOkrulla stood. Sir John Mansfield'sheart leaped into his throat, a quiverran down his spine.It was Venia!

CHAPTER XIIIA Heavenly Descent

THE girl had suffered much in thetorture chamber. Her face wasbruised and there were wounds on

her legs and arms. She was totallyspent, and the black guards were haulingher without concern.

Mansfield, rooted to the slit, saw hereyelids flutter, saw her eyes stare backat the great figure upon the dais. Thereissued no murmur or groan from herlips, but her blue eyes spoke volumes ofutter loathing."Daughter of the high priest," rum-

bled the ferocious head, ''your race isdoomed by the gods! The black peoplehave been chosen to lead!"The girl drew herself up in scornful

attitude, loosened herself from theclutches of the scowling blacks on eitherside, raised a defiant, tousled head. Stillshe said nothing.

Okrulla laughed creepily. "It is de-spoiling the beauty of Atlantis to offeryou on the altar, but the gods wantyou !"

Venia's eyes flashed terror, but it diedaway just as quickly. The Englishmansaw her breast rise and fall quickly asthe realizatien was forced upon her.Her mouth became a grim line."Have you something to say ?" thepriest offered in a slimy voice.Her head tossed back. "Your car-

casses will be fed to the man-eatingmatter!" her soft voice declared."Ha!" roared the man. "She dares

to detr the wiB of the gods! She

dares ! This offspring of an accursedpeople? Enough of your blasphemy!To the altar!"Brawny arms lifted the fighting, strug-

gling girl as though she were but achild and deposited her upon the silk-adorned shrine. Quickly experienced fin-gers strapped her heaving form securelyto the flat-topped surface. Her agonizedface was only a few feet away from him.Mansfield braced himself for action.The guards fell back to the benches

and the priest rose to pace the platformangrily. A vituperous stream of hatredhe heaped upon the heads of the whitemen of Atlantis. He cursed them witha frenzied joy that made the headdressquiver. And the blacks glistened withthe sight of a new-born power almostin their hands.The girl was staring wildly at the ges-

turing Okrulla, when she became startledat the sound of a whispering voice at hervery ear.

"Don't turn your head, Venia. Don'tlet them know that I am here."THE girl closed her eyes in joyful

assent. She had heard him plain-ly. There came upon her face now abeautiful expression. Her drawn coun-tenance relaxed into a mockery that de-rided the fanatic speech of the blackpriest.

Okrulla turned and snatched a longpoinard from his girdle beneath therobe. He began a slithering dance uponthe dais, and presently the entire gath-ering was burst into song, an eerie, un-musical chant that pricked the nerveswith horror. Their faces were not hu-man any more; jowls were slavering forhuman blood, eyes were rolling tothe avid accompaniment of twitchingmuscles.

Closer and closer came the dancingblack. Closer came the upraised armwhich grasped the pointed blade. Higher


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28 AMAZING STORIESand higher extended the closed fist. Itwas reaching to a great height, readyto plunge with a lightning streak thatwould bring the appeasement of desire.The priest was next to the girl withvenom burning in the mask's orbs.The black voices died away in a whis-per, waiting eagerly for the climax moveof the ritual.The point was directly over the girl's

heart. She stared fascinatedly at it,without horror, without qualm.

*'Ra! I bring you the cup bubblingwith our humble offering 1" And thearm began its swift descent!The silence in the room was suddenly

split by a terrific yell from a begarbedfigure which had risen from apparentlynowhere, and a resounding crack of agun! The mouth of the priest openedin surprise, only to be the recipient ofthe chunk of metal that tore cleanthrough his head. The sleek poniarddropped from his spasmodic fingers andfell upon the palpitating bosom of thegirl, hilt downward. Okrula rolled overthe dais and flopped sprawlingly uponthe stone floor.

Right before their eyes a miracle hadhappened. The blacks were looking ata bulbous head of utter ugliness, at abody from which spat instant death!

It was Ra ! Ra ! Okrulla had sacri-leged his mission upon the earth. Thegods had not desired this!

"I am Ra! Bow down in repentancefor your deeds !" said the booming voice.They dropped prone on their faces,

moaning in terror. Not a face dared tolift upward. Bodies groveled, seekingreprieve for their misdeeds, pleading inprayer for condonement.

Mansfield stood over the closed eyesof the girl and looked at her, touchedher fair cheek. Her lids flickered. Hebent closer, but the hideous garb didn'tfrighten her.

"Sir John!" Her voice almost broke.

"Good girl !" spoke the admiring voiceof the rescuer. "You are a brave girl !"

Swiftly, he cut loose the bonds withthe sharp blade. He swept the chamber,but the blacks were still groaning fit-fully. His voice boomed out in harshertones. Every head dug deeper."DLACK men of Atlantis! Harken!U Ra speaks! You have desecratedyour trust upon the earth. Your priest,Okrulla, has been a scoundrel. He hassought to rid the land of Atlantis of thewhite men ! It was not with my ap-proval ! It was prompted by his gree

amazing stories volume 09 number 02

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