Amazing Stories, Vol. 2, No. 1 — page 75: what you’re looking at

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

J f 74 wi ot. trek « a wnt _— st tel ™ y 7. © * ee ie | o's st at: =“ in * - 4 ) ee 7 ng 5 — ee re S Nie | - : rag ”, 4 ~ ’ * ™ : ae tf, ; teen full of water and a razor, Bradley made him- self comfortable upon the mat and was soon asleep, knowing that an attempted escape in the darkness without knowledge of his surroundings would be predoomed to failure. When he awoke, it was broad daylight, and the sight that met his eyes made him rub them again and again to assure himself that they were really open and that he was not dreaming. A broad shaft of morning light poured through the open doorway in the ceiling of the room which was about thirty feet square, or roughly square, being irregular in shape, one side curving outward, another being in- dented by what might have been the corner of an- other building jutting into it, another alcoved by - three sides of an octagon, while the fourth was ser- pentine in contour. Two windows let in more day- light, while two doors evidently gave ingress to other rooms. The walls were partially ceiled with thin strips of wood, nicely fitted and finished, par- tially plastered and the rest covered with a fine, woven cloth. Figures of reptiles and beasts were painted without regard to any uniform scheme here and there upon the walls. A striking feature of the decorations consisted of several engaged columns set in the walls at no regular intervals, the capitals of each supporting a human skull, the cranium of which touched the ceiling, as though the latter was supported by these grim reminders either of departed relatives or of some hideous tribal rite—Bradley could not but wonder which. Yet it was none of these things that filled him with greatest wonder—no, it was the figures of the two creatures that had captured him and brought him hither. At one end of the room a stout pole about two inehes in diameter ran horizontally from wall to wall some six or seven feet from the floor, its ends securely set in two of the columns. Hang- ing by their knees from this perch, their heads downward and their bodies wrapped in their huge wings, slept the creatures of the night before— like two great, horrid bats they hung, asleep. A Curious Interview with the Wieroo S Bradley gazed upon them in wide-eyed aston- ishment, he saw plainly that all his intelli- gence, all his acquired knowledge through years of observation and experience were set at naught by the simple evidence of the fact that stood out glar- ingly before his eyes—the creatures’ wings were not mechanical devices but as natural appendages, growing from their shoulder-blades, as were their arms and legs. He saw, too, that except for their wings the pair bore a strong resemblance to human beings, though fashioned in a most grotesque mold. As he sat gazing at them, one of the two awoke, separated his wings to release his arms that had been folded across his breast, placed his hands upon the floor, dropped his feet and stood erect. For a moment he stretched his great wings slowly, solemnly blinking his large, round eyes. Then his gaze fell upon Bradley. The thin lips drew back tightly against yellow teeth in a grimace that was nothing but hideous. It could not have been termed a smile, and what emotion it registered the Eng- lishman was at a loss to guess. No expression whatever altered the steady gaze of those large, % ae ER) ee as ee ee Se > ee ee Se ARP OR RR CE RS ‘ : : ste ‘ > . “ Lo. ms : ry 7 =\. AMAZING STORIES round eyes; there was no color upon the pasty, sunken cheeks. A death’s head grimaced as though a man long dead raised his parchment-coyered skull from an old grave. The creature stood about the height of an aver- age man but appeared much taller from the fact that the joints of his long wings rose fully a foot above his hairless head. The bare arms were long and sinewy, ending in’ strong, bony hands with clawlike fingers—almost talonlike in their sugges- tiveness. The white robe was separated in front, revealing skinny legs and the further fact that the thing wore but the single garment, which was of fine, woven cloth. From crown to sole the portions of the body exposed were entirely hairless, and as he noted this, Bradley also noted for the first time the cause of much of the seeming expressionless- ness of the creature’s countenance—it had neither eye-brows nor lashes. The ears were small and rested flat against the skull, which was noticeably round, though the face was quite flat. The crea- ture had small feet, beautifully arched and plump, but so out of keeping with every other physical attribute it possessed as to appear ridiculous. After eyeing Bradley for a moment the thing ap- proached him. “Where from?” it asked. “England,” replied Bradley, as briefly. “Where is England and what?” pursued the questioner. “It is a country far from here,” answered the Englishman. “Are your people cor-sva-jo or cos-ata-lu?” “IT do not understand you,” said Bradley; “and now suppose you answer a few questions. Who are you? What country is this? Why did you bring me here?” Again the sepulchral grimace. “We are Wieroos. Luata is our father. Caspak is ours, This, our country, is called Oo-oh. We brought you here for (literally) Him Who Speaks for Luata to gaze upon and question. He would know from whence you came and why; but principally if you be cos-ata-lu.” “And if I am not cos—whatever you call the bloomin’ beast—what of it?” The Wieroo raised his wings in a very human shrug and waved his bony claws toward the human skulls supporting the ceiling. His gesture was elo- quent; but he embellished it by remarking, “And possibly if you are.’ “I’m hungry,” snapped Bradley. The Wieroo motioned him to one of the doors which he threw open, permitting Bradley to pass out upon another roof on a level lower than that upon which they had landed earlier in the morning. By daylight the city appeared even more remarkable than in the moonlight, though less weird and unreal. The houses of all shapes and sizes were piled about as a child might pile blocks of various forms and colors. He saw now that there were what might be called streets or alleys, but they ran in baffling turns and twists, nor ever reached a destination, always ending in a dead wall where some Wieroo had built a house across them. The City and the Skulls PON each house was a slender column support- ing a human skull. SOM ck eine mee ; Sometimes they were. =