| 179 | 180 | 181 | 182 | 183 |
| 1 | 50 | 99 | 149 | 198 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
The night came and the zodes dragged and the time approached when O-Tar,
Jeddak of Manator, was to visit the chamber of O-Mai in search of the slave
Turan. To us, who may doubt the existence of malignant spirits, his fear may
seem unbelievable, for he was a strong man, an excellent swordsman, and a
warrior of great repute; but the fact remained that O-Tar of Manator was nervous
with apprehension as he strode the corridors of his palace toward the deserted
halls of O-Mai and when he stood at last with his hand upon the door that
opened from the dusty corridor to the very apartments themselves he was almost
paralyzed with terror. He had come alone for two very excellent reasons, the first
of which was that thus none might note his terror-stricken state nor his defection
should he fail at the last moment, and the other was that should he accomplish
the thing alone or be able to make his chiefs believe that he had, the credit would
be far greater than were he to be accompanied by warriors.
But though he had started alone he had become aware that he was being
followed, and he knew that it was because his people had no faith in either his
courage or his veracity. He did not believe that he would find the slave Turan. He
did not very much want to find him, for though O-Tar was an excellent
swordsman and a brave warrior in physical combat, he had seen how Turan had
played with U-Dor and he had no stomach for a passage at arms with one whom
he knew outclassed him.
And so O-Tar stood with his hand upon the door--afraid to enter; afraid not to.
But at last his fear of his own warriors, watching behind him, grew greater than
the fear of the unknown behind the ancient door and he pushed the heavy skeel
aside and entered.
Silence and gloom and the dust of centuries lay heavy upon the chamber. From
his warriors he knew the route that he must take to the horrid chamber of O-Mai
and so he forced his unwilling feet across the room before him, across the room
where the jetan players sat at their eternal game, and came to the short corridor
that led into the room of O-Mai. His naked sword trembled in his grasp. He
paused after each forward step to listen and when he was almost at the door of
the ghost-haunted chamber, his heart stood still within his breast and the cold
sweat broke from the clammy skin of his forehead, for from within there came to
his affrighted ears the sound of muffled breathing. Then it was that O-Tar of
Manator came near to fleeing from the nameless horror that he could not see, but
that he knew lay waiting for him in that chamber just ahead. But again came the
fear of the wrath and contempt of his warriors and his chiefs. They would degrade
him and they would slay him into the bargain. There was no doubt of what his
fate would be should he flee the apartments of O-Mai in terror. His only hope,
therefore, lay in daring the unknown in preference to the known.
181
Page
Quick Jump
|