Page:Amazing Stories Volume 21 Number 06.djvu/126

126 " flashed inadvertently and Saba shouted in sudden glad understanding. These were some of the original Indian people who had held these caverns before the advent of Da Sylva; had not known of the retiring Eemeeshee far to the north; did not recognize the men of the Red Legion as allies. Able to kill, they yet were thankful to the Red Legion for driving out Da Sylva and freeing them, but at the same time they saw an opportunity to wrest from this struggle their old supremacy and had sent the projection of Mexitli into the chamber to frighten off Eemeeshee.

Their cunning analysis of Eemeeshee's nature and the effectiveness of their bug-a-boo in accomplishing their object were interesting to us, but Saba explained that we had come only to set them free; had no designs on their possessions or homes.

Soon they joined Saba in Da Sylva's central chamber and helped to enlist the others of the surviving Votan who were found fleeing their bondage in all directions, now that their cruel guards had gone.

That night found the whole system of caverns under this area of Montana under our domination, and the slow swinging watch-rays covering every great old tunnel road from the north and east; others watching too the other highways in case danger came from some of the Da Sylva outfit who might have circled to attack again from some unexpected direction. But all seemed quiet, and it was a triumphant Red Legion and a rejoicing band of Votan ex-slaves who bedded down that night in those magnificent old chambers. Da Sylva had made good her escape, and they thought no more of her. But should have, for Da Sylva was not through. In the middle of the night a choking sensation waked Saba, her eyes in the darkness unnaturally sensitized by some fear, saw, as only Saba could see in such darkness by some sixth sense, the clouds of strange choking gas flooding the chambers, billowing down the corridors. She leaped to the great vision screen and sent the central master ray of the great fortification circling in search of this strange threat.

It was true. Billowing down the corridors from the north came a strange gas, and choking and gasping, fleeing before the rolling billows of death, came the hundreds of Votans who had bedded in the northern chambers; came also the men set to watch the northern guard rays in their automatic sweep of the northern highways. Comprehension came swiftly to Saba, and she woke all the sleeping men, swiftly told them to prepare to flee from their hard-won victory. Lane standing now beside Saba, seeking a way to understand what was happening, heard her mutter:

"The teleports— she left one in these caverns set to receive, made her way northward during the distraction of the Votan attack, and now, as we sleep, has placed some ancient gas from the storerooms of the Elder race into the sending chamber of some abandoned teleport in the northern ways, sending into our area vast quantities of the ancient gas. Luckily it does not seem very deadly "

Lane answered her unconscious speech. "The gas is cyanogen chloride. It is deadly enough if it gets dense enough, and in these close quarters it is insupportable. Can you not blow it back upon them in some way? Are there no air pumps, nothing to rid ourselves of the gas? What are you saying of teleports? I do not understand "

"There is no time. If we had time, we could set men at getting the ancient pumps in running order to clear the air, but with the gas rolling down upon us, all I see is flee while there is time. As the gas dissipates, we can return to these caverns as quickly as Da Sylva. She must think us fools to think that we will not."

VER her telaug, swiftly flashing from group to group to group of our men, Saba gave the order to evacuate immediately.

That retreat, heartsick at their losses, plagued by the pursuing demoniacs under Da Sylva's raging thought-voice control whipping them to suicidal efforts to reach them with their equally ranged weapons, made their efforts to protect their rear costly. Steadily the Red Legion paid for their temerity in attacking Da Sylva—with their blood. Continually the fleshy, vengeful witch sacrificed mindless ro after ro to get within range, shoving a mass of speeding floating spheres ahead here while over there in adjacent parallel corridors, overhead, or deep underneath, sped forward single ray-cars in an enedavorendeavor [sic] to distract their watch-ray from one or the other long enough to get in a shot.

Da Sylva's numbers, steadily augmented by her now returning men, speeding up