It is true that he insisted upon allotting me quarters within his
palace and that he gave me service high among his followers, but I
was at that time a novelty among them, and Ko-tah was not alone among
the royalty who would have been glad to have entertained me and
showered favors upon me, precisely as do Earth Men when a titled
stranger, or famous man from another land, comes to their country.
Although I did not care for him, I was not loth to accept his
hospitality, since I felt that because of my friendship for Nah-ee-
lah I owed all my loyalty to Sagroth the Jemadar, and if by placing
myself in the camp of the enemy I might serve the father of Nah-ee-
lah, I was justified in so doing.
I found myself in a rather peculiar position in the palace of Ko-tah,
since I was supposed to know little or nothing of internal condition
in Laythe, and yet had learned from both Nah-ee-lah and Moh-goh a
great deal concerning the intrigues and politics of this lunar city.
For example, I was not supposed to know of the existence of Nah-ee-
lah. Not even did Moh-goh know that I had heard of her; and so until
her name was mentioned, I could ask no questions concerning her,
though I was anxious indeed, to discover if by any miracle of chance,
she had returned in safety to Laythe, or if aught had been learned
concerning her fate.
Ko-tah held me in conversation for a considerable period of time,
asking many questions concerning Earth and my voyage from that planet
to the Moon. I knew that he was skeptical, and yet he was a man of
such intelligence as to realize that there must be something in the
Universe beyond his understanding or his knowledge. His eyes told him
that I was not a native of Va-nah, and his ears must have
corroborated the testimony of his eyes, for try as I would, I never
was able to master the Va-nahan language so that I could pass for a
native.
At the close of our interview Ko-tah announced that Moh-goh would
also remain in quarters in the palace, suggesting that if it was
agreeable to me, my companion should share my apartments with me.
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Ko-tah the Javadar,” I said,
“than to have my good friend, Moh-goh the Paladar, always with me.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Ko-tah. “You must both be fatigued. Go,
therefore, to your apartments and rest. Presently I will repair to
the palace of the Jemadar with my court, and you will be notified in
sufficient time to prepare yourselves to accompany me.”
The audience was at an end, and we were led by nobles of Ko-tah’s
palace to our apartments, which lay upon the second floor in pleasant
rooms overlooking the terraces down to the brink of the great,
yawning crater below.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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