Air Wonder Stories, May 1930 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

not shining! Only the presence of the minute ee heewe particles that are present in-great numbers in Floridian waters traced their course where they hit the water and their passage as-they moved below the surface. Then they were rising again on their wings, to plunge once more into the depths. For an hour or so this performance continued, the creatures remaining under the water as long as fifteen minutes at-a time. Then at last they rose into the air and turned to the land and their machine, Half an hour later, the long length of the great vessel climbed skyward with:a low moaning hum. It showed no light as it climbed, and then it was gone into the darkness! What Did It Mean? HEN the Mentor and his company wearily dropped upon the sands close to the spot where the Venusian craft had lain they were shocked to find nothing but the long de- pression in the sand to show where it had rested! And not far away was the mute witness to the scene that had passed, the radio outfit, Yet on either side fora mile in both direc- tions lay sprawled in sleep a great number of the Earthlings. The blackened ashes of what had been bonfires occasionally sent up a curl of smoke, while not five hundred. yards from the depression where the strange ship had Jain was the figure of a man curled with one wing under him. The new arrivals eyed one another, secking an explanation in each other’s faces, But-none of them had any to offer. Alvin Page approached the figure on the sandand shook it. With a wide yawn the fellow awakened: and appeared astonished that he had been sleeping. Then he saw the Mentor’s son, and looked about in wonder, He saw the depression and realized that-the Venusian ship was gone. Sheepishly he got to his feet and found that his one wing was crippled, and as he approached the Meritor he was limping: painfully, Trying to recollect what had befallen him he told simply all that he could remember ... the splash of the light heam on the long machine, the bivouac of his fellows, the lighting of the fires and the preparations for night. He recalled that he had climbed high into the sky for a last Jook at the cylinder before settling for the night, Then a feeling of drowsiness had come. over him, the terrible sen- sation_of ‘dropping and an inability. to save himself. He was awakened only by Alvin’s touch. = The others listened in silence. D'Arcy was first to:speak, “They have some damnable con- trivance that paralyzes anything within its range. Strange that they should have captured. the first. fifteen thousand and leave another thousand or so sleeping. No/doubt they. were filled to capacity on the first haul!” Page went to atouse President Trent whom the man with the crippled wing had remembered seeing onthe left. hand side of the clearing. One of the scientists of the Mentor’s party examined the radio and found that it responded to his touch. At the planet ruler’s direction the new. discovery was broadcast — while all observatories were directed to search the skies for the interplanetary machine, The Mentor feared that it- might have gone to another more secluded spot on the globe, there to continue its damage, but an-hour lJater reports came that the Ventsian machine had been discovered out-in the void headed for Venus! RESIDENT TRENT joined the Mentor. He was: down- cast over the fact that he had been found napping. He also told a story of a wave of drowsiness that had~come over him. He was crestfallen that the Venusians had slipped away withott any attempt on the part of the Americans to“pimish: them. He was consoled by the thought that nothing could have been done, anyway. For many minutes the men stood on the sands: conjecttring as to what this visit of the people from their sister planet had meant, Why had they come at all? What was their purpose in capturing thousands of our people? For now it was re- AIR WONDER STORIES a ee ee See ee garded as certain that the ship had. purposely borne away fii- teen thousand captives. “Can it mean,” queried Trent, “that they are faced with starvation ., . or that they were in need of slaves... 7” D'Arcy shook his head. “People who are-advanced in science as the Verusians appear to be would be able to provide them- selves with synthetic food, and slaves are not necessary when people have a working knowledge of mechanics |” “What is your opinion, then?” asked the Mentor, “Perhaps. they. are faced with the same problem as we.., the dying of our women!” replied D’Arcy, “Yet the party was mostly men. I doubt there were a hun- dred women in the -lot,” said Trent. The. Professor: nodded. “Perhaps they want to study our species_in order to see whether they can come to live here.” “You believe that a race of scientists accomplished this thing?” “Why not?” The Mentor nodded. “I have been drawing the same con- clusions. But it is horrible! We can not allow it. Why, they may even return for more!” “And President Chang would have it that we were to do the same thing, to abduct women from another world!” observed - President Trent with a light in his eyes. “Last night, sir,’ said D’Arcy, “you were telling us of an interplanetary machine now in construction, Is it not possible now for us-to follow the Venusians and force'them to return our own fo us? Ethics no longer counts, And we need women!” The Coming of The Mentor HE Mentor’s face lighted up, “Ah, you are right, Pro- fessor, but: we must hurry, As it stands now, it will take many months tc to finish the machine, And to war tipon Venus we will need’more than one machine! That will delay us still longer, for I will not order the construction of more flyers until the first proves its worth! It will take many months before we go to Venus to reclaim our own!” He sighed and turned to join the others, but as “he did so he reeled and would have fallen had not D’Arcy caught his arm. He saw then how grey and weary all were who had flown from Lick, and with a wan smile he ‘noted that they needed sleep. President Trent pointed to the Beacon station and advised that they retire there for several hours. In-the meantime he would attend to such affairs as required the planet ruler’s attention, It was necessary for the Mentor and his son to be supported as they made their way to the hayen, There they found a dozen or so rectmbent forms stretched in different positions just as they, had been when-the light of the beam had been ex- tinguished by the Venusians. No one had thought to arouse them sooner. They were astonished to learn what had hap- pened. They helped to make the Mentor and-his party com- fortable in the dormitory on the second level of the building. But before dropping to.sleep, the Mentor directed that:the corps of-men at work upon the interplanetary machine be doubled. Then in a moment'he was asleep, A few hours of sleep suf- ficed him, however, and-again he took to the air, this time headed for Cuba. The following day Professor D’Arcy’s- views concerning the Venusian expedition were broadcast, together with the news that the Earthlings would shortly proceed to Venus. to aid their kidnapped brethren. The thought that the fifteen thou- sand were alive heartened all atid in the days that followed there came thousands of applications from over all the world asking permission to take part in the expedition to Venus. The laboratories reported that they needed at least three more months before the space-flyer could be finished, although work was being rushed-day and night, THER preparations were.also being made, and from the ‘Tong closed files of formulas and blueprints of past inven- ‘vp oe ee vie ‘IF 7 Comichooks.conn ee at ae Eye