He bent down--carefully. He said softly, "I see you, Zee. You must get
larger. I'll give you some of the drug to take."
She shouted, "Yes." It was a very tiny voice, echoing from far away.
Martt's jacket had been partly torn from him. One of his shoulders was
bare, bleeding from where he had been thrown against the cliff-top. He
stooped and dashed water upon the wound; and saw Zee crouch and shield
herself from the deluge of water he splashed.
He thought, "Careful, Martt;" and from his pocket drew one of the
cylinders. The tablets of the drug still were the size of his thumb.
He took one, laid it carefully at the water's edge, near Zee. It was
nearly the size of her body. She walked to it, examined it.
"Break it," he said. "Eat some--about the size of your thumb."
He could hardly have seen a speck of it so small. Zee found a loose
rock. She pounded at the white tablet. Ate a fragment. And presently
Martt gave her some of the other drug to stop her growth; and she was
his own size, standing beside him, gazing at the shrunken scene in
wonderment.
III
They stood consulting over what they should do. They had the precious
drugs. Should they return with them to Brett, or go on and rescue
Frannie and Leela? Martt was confident. With the drugs in his pocket,
all sense of fear was passed. It was obvious that the world here was in
no danger. This fallen giant at their feet was the last. But Frannie
and Leela were captured; were taken up to that other realm. To delay
following would be most dangerous of all.
And Zee agreed. Her eyes were sparkling. She stretched out her white
arms. She said, "With this power we would be cowards to turn back----"
The giant still had some of the drugs about his person. Martt bent over
him.
"Zee! He isn't dead!"
The young giant's face was white; blood was on his forehead where the
rock had struck. He opened his eyes; rolled over in the water. The
dammed river surged again into its black hole.
"Zee, look! He isn't dead!"
He sat up; smiled in a daze, struggled to rise to his feet but could
not.
The rock which Martt had hurled lay like a great boulder in the lake.
Martt seized it, but Zee caught his wrist.
"Martt! Don't----"
A sense of shame struck at Martt; he dropped the rock. "Zee, can you
talk to him--try if he understands your language."
She spoke, and the young giant answered. He was trying to smile,
grateful for the words. Zee stooped and splashed water on his wounded
forehead.
"Martt, he says his name is Degg--he has seen Leela and Frannie--a man
and woman took them into the river-mouth."
The fellow did not seem greatly hurt. He was frightened, watchful, but
docile enough. Martt took the drugs from him. "Ask him the way up to
his world--it will help us----"
It was the one thing that would help them! Martt realized it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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