Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction; Tarzan (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
The long corridor, through which they were proceeding, was lighted
partially by small candles set in niches and by the light from
illuminated chambers the doors of which opened upon it. Slaves and
warriors moved in two continuous and opposing lines through this
corridor and every one that crossed it. There were high caste slaves
in white tunics with the red emblems of their owners and their own
occupation insignia upon them; there were green-tunicked slaves of the
second generation with their master's insignia upon breast and back in
black, and green-tunicked slaves of the first generation with a black
emblem upon their breasts denoting the city of their nativity and their
master's emblem upon their backs; there were warriors of every rank
and position; there were the plain leather trappings of the young and
poor, and the jewel studded harness of the rich; and passing all these
in both directions and often at high speed were other warriors mounted
upon the mighty antelopes that were still the greatest wonder that had
confronted Tarzan since his incarceration in the city of Veltopismakus.
At intervals along the corridor Tarzan saw ladders extending to a floor
above, but as he never saw one descending to a lower level he assumed
that they were then upon the lowest floor of the structure. From the
construction that he noted he was convinced that the building was
similar to the dome he had seen in the course of construction in the
city of Adendrohahkis; but when he permitted his mind to dwell upon the
tremendous proportions of such a dome capable of housing men of his
own size he was staggered. Had Adendrohahkis' dome been duplicated in
these greater dimensions, though in the same proportions, it would have
been eight hundred eighty feet in diameter and four hundred forty feet
high. It seemed preposterous to think that any race existed capable of
accomplishing such an architectural feat with only the primitive means
that these people might be able to command, yet here were the corridors
with the arched roofs, the walls of neatly laid bowlders and the great
chambers with their heavy ceiling beams and stout columns, all exactly
as he had seen the dome in Trohanadalmakus, but on a vastly larger
scale.
As his eyes and mind dwelt upon these enigmas which confronted them his
escort led him from the circular corridor into one that ran at right
angles to it where presently they stopped at the entrance to a chamber
filled with row upon row of shelving packed full with all manner of
manufactured articles. There were large candles and small candles,
candles of every conceivable size and shape; there were helmets, belts,
sandals, tunics, bowls, jars, vases and the thousand other articles of
the daily life of the Minunians with which Tarzan had become more or
less familiar during his sojourn among the Trohanadalmakusians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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