The Second Randall Garrett Megapack. Randall Garrett

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СКАЧАТЬ glory; a great mushrooming blossom of red fire erupted skyward hurling the assembled Tarthans to the ground where they lay in numbed stupor.

      The thunderous report echoed across the plain ten thousand times louder than the tolling of the clock. But aside from the initial dulling shock, no Tarthan was injured because the crushing power rose upward.

      There was an expression of mute wonder on Bontarc’s face. And he thought: We have not seen the end of this. It is only the beginning. But the beginning of what? Only Portox could have known. And Portox was—where?

      Bontarc started his car and moved across the plain sensing cosmic events but not knowing.…

      Not knowing that the sound of the tolling clock had gone with more than the speed of light across the void, had been flung arrow-straight to a brooding mansion in the heart of a thick forest upon another planet; to the door of a cavern deep in the rock beneath the mansion.

      That even now the lock of this door had responded to the electronic impulse and the huge panel was swinging slowly open.

      CHAPTER III

      The Man in the Cavern

      As the sound of the tolling clock died out across the Plains of Ofrid, a man opened his eyes on the planet far away and saw for the first time the place in which he had spent one hundred years.

      He awoke with neither fright nor surprise but rather with a sense of wonder. He arose slowly from the great bed upon which he had lain and allowed his attention to roam about the strange place in which he found himself.

      In the wall opposite the bed there was set a full length mirror and as the man turned he saw himself for the first time; a tall, broadly-muscled figure of heroic proportions. Completely naked, his body was reflected as masculine perfection in every detail.

      For a few moments, the man stared at the body as though it belonged to someone else. Then he spoke musingly. “You did your work well, Portox, my friend.”

      The sound of his own voice startled him but not so much so as the content of the words. A baffled expression touched his handsome face. Who was Portox? And what work had he done? What place was this—and for that matter, who was he himself, this naked figure which looked back at him from the glittering mirror?

      The questions were annoying because he felt that he knew the answers. Yet they would not come within reach of his conscious mind.

      He had little time to ponder this enigma however because at that moment he became aware of a second presence in the room. He turned. A man stood just inside the open door.

      The naked one stared at the other with an interest that left no room for self-consciousness nor shame. “Who are you?” he asked.

      “My name is John Pride,” the man answered. He was a man of erect bearing and though there was wonder and surprise in his voice he bore himself with a quiet dignity. “And now,” he added, “may I ask you the same question?”

      The naked man looked down at his own body and for the first time seemed conscious of its nudity. He glanced around the room and saw a robe of royal purple lying across a chair by the bed. He stepped over and lifted the robe and put it on. As he was tying the rich purple cord around his waist he looked frankly back at John Pride and said, “I do not know. I honestly do not know.”

      John Pride said, “I have wondered what I would find in this cavern—wondered through the years. Only in my wildest fancies did I tell myself that a fellow human—or even a living creature—awaited me here. But now I find this is true.”

      The younger man regarded his visitor with a calmness that belied any wariness between them. John Pride noted this with admiration and respect. The young man said, “Won’t you be seated?” and when his guest was comfortable, regarded him with a smile. “Perhaps there are some things we should talk over.”

      “Perhaps there are. You say you do not know your own name?”

      “That only begins to sum up my ignorance. I am not only unaware of my identity but I haven’t the faintest notion of what this place is—where it is—or how I came here.”

      It was John Pride’s turn to stare. While doing so, he analyzed the younger man keenly. He saw honesty and an inner warmth that attracted him. There was something almost godlike in the clean lines of the body he had seen and in the face. These things coupled with what he already knew, intrigued him mightily and he resolved to approach this strange affair with an open mind and not play the role of the unbelieving cynic. It was time to go ahead.

      * * * *

      John Pride said, “First, are you aware that there is another in this mansion—or was?”

      “I did not even know this was a mansion. It seems only one room.”

      “It is an enormous structure set deep in the forest.”

      “This other one—?”

      “A very old man. He died as I arrived here tonight.”

      “You do not know his name or how came he here?”

      “I have a vague idea.”

      The young man’s dazzling blue eyes narrowed in thought. “A while ago you said you have wondered through the years as to what you would find in this room. That indicates you were aware of its existence.”

      “True. Perhaps at this point I had better tell you the complete story—as much of it as I know.”

      “I would be in your debt.”

      “No, I will merely be discharging the last of a very old obligation.”

      With that, John Pride took from his pocket a small leather covered book. He handled it gently, almost with affection, and said, “This was my father’s notebook. In it, is an account of this remarkable affair, put down by my great grandfather and handed down through the line. When my father died he placed it in my hand saying it entailed an obligation both business and personal and it was my obligation as well as his.

      “I have read the account of what transpired many times and with your permission I will put it into my own words. Then, when I am done, I will give you the book and the affair will be over so far as I and my family are concerned.”

      John Pride had settled back in his chair and was just ready to begin when the young man held up a sudden hand. “Just one moment—please,” he said, and a look of concentration came upon his face. Then he went on and his words took the form of a rhyme:

      “An ape, a boar, a stallion,

      A land beyond the stars.

      A virgin’s feast, a raging beast,

      A prison without bars.”

      He flushed and added: “I don’t know why I was possessed to recite that doggerel at just this moment but there is something strange about it. Strange in that I have a feeling it was taught to me at some long distant time in the past. I sense that it is very important to whatever destiny awaits me. Yet I know not who taught me the verse nor what it means.”

      “That verse is inscribed in this book and I believe I know how СКАЧАТЬ