"Interesting logic," Gerry grunted, "But we can't lock a man up on such negative grounds. Keep your eyes open. I'm going to try to sweat some information out of someone as soon as we get through this ceremony of visiting the king of this place." * * * * * Women working in the fields looked up as the _Viking_ passed, lifting a hand to shade their eyes as they stared aloft at the soaring space-ship. Other women drove small carts along the white roads that wound through the fields. There did not seem to be any men in this land at all. Then, along the far horizon ahead, there began to lift the domes and towers and minarets of a mighty city. Closana proudly lifted her arm. "The Golden City of Larr!" she said, "Capitol of our land of Savissa. None but our own people have ever penetrated those walls except as prisoners of war." The walled city of Larr dominated the plain in all its towered splendor. Its walls of polished yellow stone were more than a hundred feet high. The serrated battlements at the top were faced with plates of thin gold. Domes of blue and scarlet gleamed within the walls. Slender minarets lifted their lattices high in the air. In the center was a massive round tower whose top was shaped like the point of a golden arrow. "But surely your people never built this place!" he gasped. Closana shook her head. "The city was not built by my people as they are now. Larr, the Golden City, is very ancient. It was built by the Old Ones--they who lived here long ago, in the dim dawn of time. I have forgotten most of the tale but my father can tell you." As they passed over the outer walls, Gerry saw some long steel tubes mounted on swivels above the battlements. They were protected by gleaming metal shields. He touched Closana's arm. "What are those things that look like giant ray-guns?" "Those are the defences of the walls," the girl answered, "We also have them at the barrier forts. In some way they send out rays of heat that burn and shrivel all things within reach. I do not know much about them, but my father can tell you." "Looks like he's going to tell me a lot of things," Gerry said. Closana shook back her long hair and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Yes, Geree. He will also tell you why you had better marry me as I suggested." "I told you we'd have to let that subject wait till later!" he said grimly. Steve Brent prodded him gently in the ribs. "Persistent souls, these Golden Amazons!" he said in English. * * * * *