Life on other planets -- Fiction; Science fiction; Venus (Planet) -- Fiction
With a wild warwhoop, which was utterly lost on the radio-sense of the
assembled Formians, Myles charged down the narrow way, straight into the
muzzle of the rifle of his antagonist. The astonished ant-man hastily
pulled the trigger. A shot rang out. But still the impetuous rush of
Myles continued, and before the rifle could be discharged a second time,
Myles had driven his spear deep into the leering insect face.
The Formian staggered back. The rifle clattered to the floor. The
earth-man, not waiting to withdraw his own weapon, stooped, seized the
fallen firearm, and wheeled to confront his enemies, who fell back in a
snarling arc before this new menace.
Myles stood now in one of the entranceways of the council chamber, and
thus was secure against flank attack. But not against an assault from
the rear. In fact, even as he stood thus irresolute, a rattling noise
behind him in the hallways revealed to his human ears the approach of a
new enemy. What was he to do? To remain as he was meant _carte blanche_
to this newcomer, whereas to turn about would mean that those within the
chamber would undoubtedly rush him.
In this predicament Myles grasped his gun firmly, and wheeled backward
to the left until he was flattened against the wall of the corridor in
which he was standing. From this position he could turn his head
slightly to the left and see into the council chamber, or to the right
and look down the long hall.
Directly opposite him was one of those narrow, slitlike windows, so
typical of Porovian architecture. It was too narrow for the passage of
the huge body of an ant-man, but a human being could conceivably squeeze
through. Thus it offered a means out, a way of escape.
The lone ant in the corridor was joined by the others. They and their
compatriots within the chamber slowly closed in on the cornered
earth-man.
There was no time to speculate upon the depth of the drop outside. With
a suddenness which caused his aggressors to recoil momentarily, Myles
dashed across to the window, forced his way through, and, still grasping
his rifle, plunged headlong two stories into a clump of gray lichens in
the courtyard below.
Hastily extricating himself, he looked up at the window which he had
just quitted. There, framed by the masonry, was the head of an ant-man.
A quick shot, and the head stared at him no more.
Before another Formian could take post at the window to observe the
direction of Cabot’s departure, the latter ran quickly from the
courtyard garden into the interior of the building again.
His first thought was to join Doggo, Queen Formis, and their faction;
so, taking a firm hold on his rifle, he hurried in the direction in
which they had made their escape.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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