Somat humored her childlike view-point. "We have the seed of the flower,
too," said he. He secured a box of matches from a shelf, and showed her
the "little sticks."
"Exactly what the angel showed me!" jubilated Holla. "I have come to the
right place!"
Back she went to her food, her face radiant, and all her lurking
suspicion of the twelve completely gone. From that time on she had
absolute and unquestioning confidence in all that was told her. In her
eyes, the twelve were simply angels or gods who had seen fit to clothe
themselves queerly and act human.
Supper over, she felt immensely tired. All the strain of the past three
weeks had to have its reaction. Like a very tired, sleepy child, she was
led to a room in another part of the building, where she was shown an
ordinary sleeping-cot. She promptly pulled the mattress onto the floor,
where she considered it belonged, and fell fast asleep.
Meanwhile, back on the earth, Van Emmon and Smith had lost no time in
making use of the doctor's description of the twelve. Within a few
minutes they had new agents; Van Emmon used Somat's eyes and ears, while
Smith got in touch with the elderly bearded man at the head of the
table. His name was Deltos.
"A very striking confirmation of the old legends," he was saying through
a big yawn, as Smith made connection. He used a colloquial type of
language, quite different from the lofty, dignified speech of the
Sanusians. "That is, of course, if the woman is telling the truth."
"And I think she is," declared the young fellow at the foot of the
table. "It makes me feel pretty small, to think that none of us ever had
the nerve to make the trip; while she, ignorant as she is, dared it all
and succeeded!"
"You forget, Sorplee," reminded Somat, "that such people are far hardier
than we. The feat is one that requires apelike ability. The only thing
that puzzled me is--why did she do it at all?"
"It will have to remain a puzzle until she awakens," said Deltos, rising
from the table. "Lucky for us, Somat, that you saw fit to study the root
tongues. Otherwise we'd have to converse by signs."
Neither Smith nor Van Emmon learned anything further that night. The
twelve were all very tired, apparently, and went right to bed; a
procedure which was straightway seconded by the four watchers on the
earth. Which brings us in the most ordinary manner to the events of the
next day.
After breakfast all but Somat left the place and disappeared in various
directions; and Rolla noted that the robes were, evidently, worn only at
meal time. Most of the men were now dressed in rough working garments,
similar to what one sees in modern factories. Whimsical sort of gods,
Rolla told herself, but gods just the same.
"Tell me," began Somat, as the woman sat on the floor before him--he
could not get her to use a chair--"tell me, what caused thee to leave
thy side of the world? Did ye arouse the wrath of thy fellow creatures?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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