Tarrano the Conqueror

wed F

her tears checked; and on her face a look of pathetic determination to repress her grief. Now that we had yielded, the Venus men, searc

om the exertion of his fight, went pale. But he showed no

othing. Don't put u

nst the wall, a hand befor

a, d

d press

dangling arms. Men of the Venus Cold Country. They were talking together in their queer, soft language. One of them I took to be the leader. Argo was his name, I afterward learned. He was somewhat taller than the rest, and slim.

inely chiseled; and with that bronze cast to his skin, I guessed that he was from the Venus Central State. He seemed muc

od waiting. Georg whispered: "They killed Robins and his helpers.

surprise-" He spoke the careful English of the educa

in that instant, his eyes had roved

Allied news-tape was clicking; the low voice of the announcer droned through the silence. I started to

g apparatus from the house. A small metal frame of sun-mirror

oks-Dr. Brende's notes-and a variety of other paraphernalia. Carrying it back from the

could see the surface of the small mirror. A room, with windows. Through one of the windows, by dayl

that he had captured us. Mingled with his v

tian Helio, via Tokyohama:

again calling Robins; but no one paid any heed. Argo finished at the mirror. He glanced over the tape, smiling sardonically. Then, methodically, deliberately,

Dr. Brende's effects, and in it half of the men were departing. It rose vertically until we could

e in the outer room. Elza and Georg gazed that way involuntarily; but they said nothing. The greatest grief is that which is hidden,

fore. It was a standard Byctin model-evidently Argo and his men knew how to operat

at me sharply when I questioned him once or twice; but he offered us no indignities. To Elza he spoke

the naked eye, I realized; but I knew, too, that the Director there would see the distant image of us on his finder, even though we refused c

Hemisphere over the Americas. We could not refuse connection for long. We would be challenged, then brought down. Or, if Argo answered a ca

o's soft, ironic voice

nd? We are the Inter-Allied News on Official Dispatch." He was addressing me

," I

s your

e his tone. "

ac," Geor

len," I

ll tell him we are Inter-Allied Officials. He will see us here-I do not believe, the way we are sitting, that he wil

will get the reports on weather today down the 67th Meridian West. And ask if we can have power to th

hat I would be helpless to give us over without paying fo

in, a fog rolled out down there like a blanket. We passed the Pole, a hundred miles or more to one side, and h

us, coming along this same level. It was headed toward the Pole from the British Isles. Its pilot challenged us before it had come up o

cend. It placated him; but he saw Argo's face, mumbled something about damned foreigners-general orders probably coming tomorrow to clean out Venia-damned well rid of t

d us up in speed around four hundred miles per hour. We went down Davis Strait, over Newfoundland, avoiding the congested cross-traffic of mid-afternoon in the lowest lanes, and out over the main Atlantic. Night closed down upon us. It was safer for Argo now. W

local traffic. The mail and passenger liners went by at intervals-the spreading beams of their lurid headlights giving us warning eno

e floated there like a derelict-dark, silent, save for the lapping of the water against our aluminite pontoons. The patrol's sea

rential to Elza, but in his manner and in the glitter of those little black eye

se hours. Hours of unprecedented turmoil on Earth, and on our neighboring worlds. We wondered how the Central State of Venus might be faring with the revolution. Would they ask aid of the Earth? This

Argo in the pit. He was perturbed, and cursing. We dropped, gliding down, for there was no need of picking a landing with the emergency heliocopter batteries-glided down to the calm surface. For a moment we lay there, rocking-a dark blob on the water. I heard a sudden sharp swish. An under-surface freight

e some local or general orders. We did not know. Argo was picking from the air occasi

ide constantly now. Dutifully we answered every call. The local morning traffic was beginning

the end of our flight. But still he volunteered nothing to us. We asked him no questions. Elza was grave-faced, solemn. B

arsely settled; there were, I knew, no more than a dozen standard cities of a million population, or over, in the whole region of Western Brazilana. As we advanced,

essels, with a division of the Brazilana patrol joined with them. A hundred vessels ho

Argo, leering up at them insolently, may have g

im in our mirror as his gaze examined our pit-a dapper, jaunty fellow with the up

d my verbal explanation were not enough. He made me show him the Inter-Allied

et in now without those refugees with you. Venia'

" I

ught 'em all down for a general traffic inspection. Then changed their minds and threw it on again.

vaguely understood what might be afoot, but I did not dare question him. Argo's side g

seen. We clung low, and at 12° South, 60° 2O' West, at 10:16 that morning we descended in Venia

the official landing director might be. None of the governing officials were in sight. The place was in confusion. Crowds were on the spider bridges; the

here were they, who should have be

down in a vertical car, through a tunnel on foot to what they called here in Venia the Lower Plaza. We crossed it, and entered one of their queerly

, yet humbly: "Tarrano

truments turned and faced us. We were