 Chapter number 19 of the Radio Planet. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Shashank Jagmola. The Radio Planet by Ralph Milne Farley. The Battle in the Air. Cabot unslung his rifle, held his torch high above him and approached the crouching figure. The crouching figure groaned. It was tippy, still trust up, forgotten by all. Miles cut his bones and helped him to his feet, but he collapsed again with a groan. So, leaving him lying there, the earth man hastened back to the plane and then returned with one of his were-kings, whom he instructed to take charge of the young noble until he was able to walk and then turn him loose through the secret gate into the alley. There was no point in leaving even an enemy to be burned to death, trust up in a corner. Tippy attended too. Miles proceeded to judge squatters, where he tuned in the palace. The result was immediate. Jude speaking said a voice. Answer, Cabot, for builder's sake, answer. Cabot speaking, he replied. I am at your quarters, Hojood. With me are Quiven, Dogo and about two dozen of the laboratory guards. We have eight magic slingshots now and also the magic aerial wagon, which you have so long concealed from me. As soon as day breaks, we shall rise in the air and do battle with the beasts. If he had let me have this wagon before, I could have prevented the fall of were-kingi. Now it may be too late. How are things with you? Back came the answer. Theof the Grim are Killu the beautiful and I are safe in the palace, with most of the army of the were-kings. So far we have repulsed every assault of the beasts and their royal alleys, but their magic slingshots do frightful havoc. Come and rescue us, O magician. To which Cabot replied, with daylight I shall come. As he came out of the house, he looked up at the sky, the background against which swirled the smoke clouds now showed faintly purple. By the time he rejoined his party by the plane, they had come. And it was well, for the buildings in the next enclosure had started to burn. Cabot gave his parting instructions to the captain of the guard. Take six of these eight rifles. Convoy the princess, quiven to her father's palace. But am I not going with you? She interrupted in surprise. I am afraid not, my dear. Miles sadly replied, you have been a good little pal and I hate to leave you, but you would be entirely out of place among coupions. Besides, there is every chance of her perishing in crossing the boiling seas. Then you are going home, she veiled. You are planning to desert us in our extremity? No, he answered. I shall first fight the antmen and do all that I can to save Virkingi. When I am done, you will be safer here than you would be with me. But she sank to the ground by his side and buried her head on her arms, sobbing. Miles, Miles, I love you. Can't you see that I loved you all this time? Oh, you are so blind. You must take me with you. You are quiven, your own little golden flame. The earth man sternly put her in the care of one of the gods, saying grimly. This makes it more impossible for you to go with me, quiven, for I have a wife and child in that other land across the seas. I am sorry, sorryer than I can say, that you have come to love me. Can't you see, quiven, that this effectually seals the question. If it had not been for this, I might have yielded to your entreaties, but now it is impossible. Then to the captain of the guards. With these six rifles, march to the palace and join the forces of Theof and Jude. And I will endeavor to destroy as many of the beasts as possible before I finally leave you and depart for my own country. Start at once, living only two or three of your number to help us. So the guard marched away, dragging a reproachful and tear-stained quiven with them. Three leather-clad wear-kings remained, and these shortly were joined by a fourth. Cabot half-consciously noticed this new arrival, but paid little attention in the bustle of his preparations. The tapestries which were to serve in place of firewarm fur to sway himself and Dogo in their last flight across the boiling seas were rearranged so as to take up less room. The goggles, which he had brought from the laboratory, were packed with them. The bombs and rifle ammunition were placed in handy positions. A small quantity of provisions were added. Everything was lashed down. Then Miles drew Dogo to one side for a confidence and wrote, I plan first to attack those Formians and Roys who are besieging Theops Palace than to dispose of as many as possible of the scout planes. How many of these are there? We had seven airships in our city in the south, wrote Dogo in reply. This is one of them here. One is probably temporarily disabled by the shots which you fired in the laboratory yard. That should leave five. Can we fight five? Most assuredly Dogo wrote, agitating his antenna eagerly. Then let's go, wrote Cabot. With a quick take-off diagonally down the enclosure, the huge bombing plane rose slowly into the air amid shouts from the where-king soldiers below. It was now broad daylight. Miles glanced over the rail and noted that there were now only three leather-clad warriors. He vaguely wondered what had become of the fourth, but it was too late to inquire. Up through the swirling sparks and smoke they rose up, up, until they could get a bird's eye view of the whole city of where-kingy. There, on a slight eminence in the centre stood the palace an enclosures of the Whiteford King, its walls manned by leather-clad where-king warriors surrounded by savage besiegers. The flame had not yet reached that part of the city and with a change in the wind, appeared to be sweeping past it. As Miles and Dogo circled the palace, they noted that practically all the ant men within sight were massing in a side street, evidently preparing for an assault. How convenient! Miles took the levers and swooped low, while Dogo deluged his fellow countrymen with bombs. When the sudden attack was over, fully half of the Formian menace to the city had been wiped out. Now for the scout planes. These, five in number, could be seen circling the outskirts of the city. The two friends were able to approach one of these without being suspected of being an enemy. Before its fliers realised the pedal, it had gone down in flames from one well-placed bomb. The other four scout planes had once realised that their own countryman, Dogo, had returned to do them battle and accordingly converged upon him. Again the two friends exchanged places and then there took place one of the finest examples of Arial warfare which the Earthmen had ever witnessed. This was not like the battles with the whistling bees before the advent of Cabot-made rifles on the planet Poros. And the fighting tail of the plane was spitted against the sting of the bee. For now it was rifle against rifle, bomb against bomb. One by one the enemy planes crashed to the ground as Dogo spiralled, looped, tail spun and sight slipped. At last there was only one Formian opponent left. Dogo manoeuvred to a position just above it and Cabot reached for a bomb to give it the Kupte Kras. But the bombs were all gone and the entmen in the plane below were raising their rifles watching for a good opening. What was to be done? With Dogo's deafness to sound waves it would be impossible to explain the situation to him in time for him to veer away. He naturally assumed that as he manoeuvred the ship into this position of advantage Cabot would at once put an end to the fight. In this extremity the Earthman suddenly thought of the obsolete fighting tail. Its levers were there. Was it still in operation? He would see. Grasping its levers, he manipulated them swiftly and drove the tip of the tail through the fuel tank of the enemy. Two bullets zipped by him. Then the machine below careened and soared to Earth or rather Poros, followed by a stream of shots from the Earthman's rifle. The battle was over. Cabot relieved Dogo with the controls and circled the palace once more. His own squad of laboratory guards were just entering one of the palace gates. The captain waved to him but he noted that Quiven was not among them. Poor girl. What could have become of the poor little golden creature? But there was no time to ask. With so many of the ants killed all their aircraft disabled and the Wierkings firmly entrenched in the palace and supplied with at least six ant rifles Quiven's people were in as good a position as possible. For a cabot to stop now might mean not only renewed complications with the golden maid but also possibly the confiscation of his plane by Jude. It would not pay to take any chances. He must hasten home to Lilla, leaving the ants, the roys and the Wierkings to contend for the possession of the burning city. As he turned the nose of the airship upward and began the ascend preparatory to flying across the western mountains to the sea he observed a large marching body of troops far to the south. These might change his responsibility with respect to his late hosts. It would only take a few minutes to investigate so southward he turned the plane. The marching troops were roys as he judged by their absence of leather armor. Swooping low he picked out the face of the leader. It was Otto the Bold, son of Grot the Silent the leader of the friendly faction of the furry wild men of the hills. Having captured and sucked the city of the ants they were now evidently on their way to relieve Wierkingi. The last feeling of obligation passed from the earth man as, waving to his savage friend he turned the nose of his plane upward once more. Then it occurred to him that, having flown so far south he might just as well take a final look at the ant city. Besides, this would place him in exactly the location where the ant men had landed when they flew east across the boiling seas from Coupia to found New Formia and this would be a good point for him to take off in his flight westward. Accordingly he turned to the right until he topped the mountain range then turned to the left again and followed the range southward. But a tropical thunderstorm forced him to descend in a cleft of hills. Miles hoped that this rain extended to Wierkingi and would serve to quench its fires. After several hours, the weather cleared once more. The two companions compared notes on the adventures which had befallen them since their first hop-off that morning. Then they embarked once more and continued their course southward. Soon they passed over the smoking ruins of the once impregnable Sur and at last came to the little radio hut of the Formians. This too was in ruins. Otto had received his note wireless communication between Coupia and Wierkingia and New Formia was at an end. Yuri would now believe the words that Cabot had told him over the year and that worst was likely to prove to be the truth after all. Swinging to the westward, Miles passed over the deserted city of the ants petrol by a handful of Otto's Royce and then on and on until they're loomed before him a solid wall of steam. Then they reversed the boiling sea over which he must pass in order to rejoin his loved ones. Hovering gently down on a little silver green meadow and about five miles inland the two fugitives prepared for the trip. First they pulled off some of the tapestries to pad the fuel tank and there before them lay a figure in leather Wierking armor a golden figure smiling up at them little Quiven whom they thought they had left behind. Miles exclaimed, scowling. Yes, she replied, I usually accomplish what I set out to do. When you sent me away I persuaded one of the gods to lend me his suit. Then I returned, helped with the loading and hid myself while you and Dogo were writing notes to each other. But I nearly died of fright when you were turning me over and over up there in the sky. Miles sighed resignedly. I can't send you back now He said, though what I shall do with you in Cupia the builders only knows. So the three friends completed the preparations and then sat down together for a meal. It was too late to start their flight that day and besides a rest would do them all good. So they encamped for the remainder of the afternoon and the night. The next morning as the first faint flush of pink tingled the eastern sky they took their farewell meal on Virkingan soil. Then swat in tapestries and with goggles in place they took their stations in the plane and headed straight for the bank of steam. As they passed within its clouds all sight was blotted out. They had decked the fuselage over like an Eskimo kayak. Only cabbets well wrapped head protruding. Within Dogo manipulated the levers and watched the altimeter and gyro compass by the light of a Virking stone lamp. Strange mingling of modernity and archaism. Cabot's vigil was for the purpose of guarding against flying too high and thus piercing the cloud envelope and exposing them to the fatal glare of the sun. On and on they went. Cabot could see nothing. The hot waper condensed on his wrappings seeped through and scalded his head and shoulders terribly. Finally he could stand it no longer. He pulled in his head and tore off the bandages. The relief was instantaneous. He seized the levers and Dogo took his place at the opening. But at last even Dogo succumbed. Having braved the heat too long he collapsed weakly on the floor of the cockpit. It's my turn. Quiven shouted above the noise of the motors. Now aren't you glad you brought me along? And in spite of Cabot's reminstances she swayed her golden head and stuck it through the opening. By this time scalding water was leaking through all the covering of the cockpit. It was only a question of minutes before it would soak through within the body coverings of those within. But just then the girl cried out land, land, once more and clear silver sky. Dogo revived out of the covers. True, the steam bank of the boiling seas lay behind them. Below them was the silver green land. What did it hold in store? End of Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Of The Radio Planet This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Radio Planet by Ralph Milne Farley Chapter 20 The Whomangs Thoroughly exhausted by their flight across the boiling seas the radio man and his two strange companions the huge ant man Dogo and the beautiful golden ferd verking maiden Quiven wish to land at once without waiting to ascertain what particular section of Cupia lay beneath them. But the entire area below appeared to be thickly wooded. Accordingly the fugitives hovered down to a short distance above the ground and then just skimmed the treetops at a slow rate of speed keeping a careful watch for a landing place. They had not long to wait for presently they aspired a road running beneath the trees and after putting on more speed and following this road for a couple of stads they finally came to a sufficiently large clearing a short distance from the road to enable them to settle down quietly to the ground. The party quickly disembarked upon the silver-green sward and the three companions then broke through the bushes to the road which proved to be of dirt although well-traveled. Miles remarked This must be some very out-of-the-way part of my country for practically all of our roads are built of concrete a material similar to the cement I fastened the bricks together in making our furnaces in Ferginchi. Quiven shuddered Please don't remind me of my poor city she begged piteously then in a more resigned tone but that is behind us let us forget it and face the future you were speaking of cement roads? Yes Miles replied the fact that this road is not made of concrete that it is not a main highway but the fact that it is well worn shows that it is traveled considerably let us therefore wait for some passer-by who can tell us where we are at this point Drago produced a pad and stylus and wrote let me in on this Cabot obligingly transcribed in Perovian shorthand an account of the conversation meanwhile the golden girl abstractly examined the foliage beside the road while Drago was reading the manuscript Quiven called Cabot's attention to the trees and shrubs How different they are from those in Fergingia, she remarked That is to be expected Miles answered For your land and mine are separated by boiling seas across which no seeds or spores could pass and live Thus it is surprising that the two continents support even the same general classes of life. Come I will point out to you some of the more common forms of our flora He had in mind to show her the red knobbed gray lichen tree and the tartan bush the heart-shaped leaves of which are put to so many uses by the cupians and the saffra herb the roots of which are used for anesthesia and the blue and yellow dandelion like wildflowers but although he searched for a hundred in the road, he was unable to locate a single specimen of these very common bits of Perovian vegetation It is strange he muttered half to himself When I went to show the common plants of Cupia I find nothing but unfamiliar plants and yet I'll bet that if I were to go out in search of rare specimens for my castle garden at Lake Lunow I should find nothing but tartan, saffra, lichen trees and blue dandelions The mention of Lunow castle turned his thoughts homeward with a jerk Here he was at last after many adventures on the same continent with his lila and his baby Q He had come here to rescue them if it were not too late from Yuri the usurper and his whistling bees Now that he was apparently within reach of his loved ones he began to worry about their safety a great deal more than ever before But this Fear Four lila was completely outweighed by a growing fear of lila What will she say to his two allies? Dogo the Ant-Man was a representative of a race which Cabot had vowed to exterminate from the face of Poros For as he had repeatedly asserted there can be no lasting peace on any continent which is inhabited by more than one race of intelligent beings And Quiven, the golden ferd of Erking Maiden would be even more difficult to explain She was beautiful even by cupian standards She was more nearly the same race as Miles than was his own wife lila She and Miles could talk together unheard by the radio sense of lila In these circumstances it was hardly possible that the princess lila would receive Quiven with open arms or even be passively decent to her At this point his reveries were interrupted by Dogo handing him the following note If we are to await passers-by do you not think it would be well to return to the plain and secure our rifles so as to protect ourselves in case the passers-by should prove to be hostile? Miles nodded his assent and informed Quiven of their intentions She, being nearer to the point where they had entered the road plunged through the bushes at once and they hastened after her Just as Miles and Dogo were breaking through the bushes in the wake of the golden one they heard an agonized scream ahead Redoubling their efforts they reached the clearing in an instant and beheld a most unexpected sight Perched upon the airship like a flock of enormous vultures were about a dozen huge bat-winged pale green reptiles each with a wingspread of fully ten feet and one of these loathsome creatures held the writhing form of Quiven tied in its claws Without a moment's thought for his own safety the intrepid earthman drew the fair kingian sword which hung at his side and rushed straight at the beast which held the girl Dogo followed close behind clicking his mandibles angrily But before they could reach the plain the noisome flock flapped heavily into the air and disappeared over the trees to the northward Quiven's childish face and agony of despair and one little furry paw waving a forlorn farewell The next move was obvious Miles and Dogo sprang to their places in the aircraft and soared after It was an easy matter to overtake the clumsy winged Sarians but not so easy to decide what to do after reaching them The reptiles flew so close together their pursuers were afraid to fire on them for fear of hitting Quiven The girl was as yet apparently unharmed so the only thing to do seemed to be to follow and watch for some opportunity to affect a rescue Thus the chase continued for several stads without event Miles was in an agony for the safety of his little friend but even his deep concern did not keep his scientific mind from speculating about the pale green dragons which he was following He had read about such beasts in books on paleontology as a child these were undoubtedly pterodactyls He had seen somewhat similar stuffed specimens in the Imperial Museum at Kuana capital of Cupia He had encountered swarms of tiny pterosaurs the size of sparrows in the caves of Kar but he had been informed by Cupian scientists that the larger species had long since become extinct on poros Whence then these captors of Quiven While engaged thus in speculations he flew a bit closer to the flock where at two of them suddenly turned and simultaneously attacked the plane from both sides Doggo instantly dispatched his assailant with a rifle shot but Miles did not dare let go of the control levers as he was flying too close to the treetops for safety as it was Accordingly his assailant got a claw-hold on the side of the fuselage furled its wings and started to crawl in but the earthman steered the machine high into the air as his companion swung around and fired at the intruder which properly let go its hold and falling with a shriek of pain crashed through the treetops and disappeared from view Miles drew a deep breath of relief and once more swooped down on the flock of pterosaurs but this time he kept at a safe distance from them and they, warned by the fate of their two comrades, did not attempt any further sallies at the plane so the pursuit continued Occasionally between the green wings the two in the airship could catch a glimpse of the form of Quiven held fast in the talons of her captor she was still alive she did not seem to be in pain once she waved feebly to her friends above what would those beasts do with her? the question was soon to be answered but first it was to be succeeded by many other questions for a large and prosperous looking city loomed ahead its appearance was unfamiliar to Cabot strange he thought that he knew all the principal settlements of Cupia its architecture was of an unknown type not like the poeblo-like piles of exaggerated toy building blocks affected by the Formians nor the red-tiled spires and minarets of the Cupians but rather a style somewhat resembling classical Greek or Roman the architecture was immaterial however compared with the fact that this was a city of some sort a city of a high degree of civilization the beasts were apparently headed straight for it and thus there was every prospect of the inhabitants presumably Cubians, rescuing Quiven suppose however it was a deserted city its unfamiliar style and remote location suggested as much perhaps this was the long-forgotten court of some Cupian jamship now kept by Lion and Lizard or rather by Wolfess and Pterodactyl this was not so however for as Cabot drew nearer he could clearly see that the buildings were in an excellent state of repair with not a crumbling ruin among them no, this was an inhabited city to which the green dragons were bringing their prey could it be that the Cupian inhabitants kept these creatures as pets and that this fact was unknown to the scientists at the Cupian Metropolis? Cabot's cogitations were again cut short by his arrival over the city the dragons made straight for an imposing centrally located domed edifice which they entered by one of the upper windows the plane promptly dropped into a nearby plaza making a sign to the ant-man to guard the ship Miles seized a rifle and cartridges and rushed down a street which led toward the building which the green beasts had entered on the way he met several pterosaurs four or five four-legged slate-colored reptiles ranging in size from that of a small dog to that of a horse one large snake about 30 feet in length various sorts of insects and a few cat-like furry creatures but not a single Cupian if these were the pets of the city where were their masters? the strange creatures did not offer to molest him in fact they gave way to him with every indication of respect and not a little fear this seemed to indicate that they were all thoroughly domesticated so he made no effort to hurt them at last he arrived at the building which he sought a wide incline led from the street up to its arched doorway this smacked a formia for the ant-men before they were driven off the continent had used ramps everywhere instead of the flight of stairs employed by the Cupians over the door was an inscription in unmistakable Peruvian characters the palace of the city of Yat this must be Cupia or Old Formia now occupied by the Cupians for this was the language of those two races but then he reflected it had also been the ridden language of the Verkings far across the boiling seas putting an end to his speculations he rushed up the ramp and entered the building the splendidly arched and vaulted interior was crowded with the strangest assortment of animals the earth man had ever set eyes upon picture to yourself Frank Buck's Circus the New York Zoo and the ghoul of Kuana all turned loose in one hall and then you wouldn't imagine one half of it for very few of these assembled beasts bore the slightest resemblance to anything which you or even Miles Cabot had ever seen he paused aghast and surveyed the assemblage there was not a human or Cupian present not even an ant-man at the farther side of the chamber on a raised platform there sat, or rather squatted a gigantic pterosaur whose wings spread must have been at least twenty feet from tip to tip this beast unlike those which had kidnapped Quiven was pale slate blue rather than green his head was square with a sharp crested beak large circuit or lidless eyes and ear holes but no ears four legs he had very much like those of a toad except that the fifth finger of each hand the finger which should have been the little finger extended backward over his hips to a distance of about six feet and served as the other supporting edge of his leathery wings which now lay furled at his side in front of this creature stood Quiven the golden flame guarded by two of the smaller pterodactyls and seemingly unhurt and unafraid none of the animals appeared to have noticed Cabot's entrance so he decided to wait a few moments and size up the situation before doing anything rash as you watch the scene a huge snake some thirty feet in length and at least half a yard in diameter squirmed on to the platform beside the slate colored dragon this snake had two rudimentary legs and two small arms none of which it used to help its progression but in one hand it carried what appeared to be a sheet of paper which it handed with a hiss to the dragon who hissed in reply and taking the paper appeared to read it this called the attention of the earthman to the fact that each of the Alice and Wonderland animals about him was equipped with a pad and stylus occasionally one would scratch something on its pad it would make two sharp clicks with its mouth at which a small winged lizard would take the missive and fly with it to some other part of the chamber standing very near Miles there was a small and particularly inoffensive looking furry animal somewhat resembling a beaver in Cupia Miles would have assumed that it was some species of math lab except for its lack of antennae this looked like a good safe specimen to experiment upon so he reached for its pad which to his great surprise the creature promptly handed him without demerre together with its stylus remembering the inscription above the arch doorway Miles wrote in Peruvian shorthand most excellent king Miles Cabot a weary sojourner craves protection for himself and the golden one who now stands before you we are from Cupia and Virkingi respectively the country is this he then folded the paper and clicked twice with his tongue against the roof of his mouth instantly a fluttering messenger was at his side indicating the platform with a gesture he handed the note to the little winged reptile who flew away with it Miles passed the pad and stylus back to the furry creature from whom he had borrowed it and then watched the great dragon to whom he had written this beast received and read the note the messenger hovered nigh then steadying a pad against the floor with one front claw he wrote on it with the stylus held in the other what he had written he showed to the snake which lay coiled beside him and upon obtaining a hiss of approval folded the note and gave it to the little bat who flew back with it to Miles on the paper written in unmistakable Peruvian characters were the words welcome to yet Miles Cabot you and your mate are our guests we know of no country of either Kupia or Verkingi this is the land of the Wumangs and I am Bumalela their king you have permission to approach the throne so that explained the strange plants, the dirt roads the unfamiliar architecture and the absence of Kupians and Verkings this must be a third continent intermediate between the other two well the plane was intact and King Bumalela had assured him that they were guests so that it was just as well that they had landed on this Azores of the boiling seas reassured the earth man made his way through the strange throng to the foot of the throne where he bowed low before the hideous reptile monarch little Quiven with a cry of glad surprise rushed over to him and nestled confidingly by his side placing one arm protectingly around her he boldly confronted the winged king this beast after some penciled conversation with his serpent advisor handed Miles a note reading as follows our nation was founded many years ago by a creature closely resembling yourself therefore you are an honored guest among us we have long awaited this day it is true that you have killed the bodies of two of my subjects and thereby subjected their souls to a premature birth the penalty for this would ordinarily be to have a similar death imposed upon your own body but because of your resemblance to our great originator Namlop I shall spare your body therefore I fear that like him you may perhaps have no soul although this deficiency can easily be supplied Miles read the note and handed it to Quiven then pointed to the writing materials of the Sarian instantly two of the tiny winged messengers brought him a pad in stylus thus supplied he asked the king great ruler, does your offer of protection include my wings and the black creature who guards them in the public square outside? and how about little me? asked Quiven, reading over his shoulder he has already pledged his friendship to both of us replied Miles handing the note to one of the tiny pterosaurs back came the answer from the king you and your shall all be protected I will now send guards to relieve your guard at the wings and to summon him into my presence but the earthmen held up one hand in a gesture of protest and hurriedly wrote better not your majesty, unless you wish a fight I will send a note explaining all you can then follow it in a few parapaths with your detachment of guards to this proposal the huge Sarian assented so Miles dispatched a doggo by one of the tiny pterosaurs a long written explanation of the situation a few minutes later under orders from the reptile king the flock of green pterodactyls who had been the original captors of Quiven departed with much leathery flapping through one of the windows overhead and presently one of them returned on foot with Doggo what kind of a gruel is this we have got into were the ant-man's first words as Cabot handed him the pad and stylus the great builder only knows, his friend replied anyhow they claim to possess souls and have offered us protection Doggo looked skeptical just then a messenger flitted over with a note from Bumelela reading the session is at an end you will please follow me to the royal apartments for a conference the king clicked sharply instantly all was silence in the huge hall solemnly the king clicked three times in unison the assembled Wumangs clicked back a triple answer then all was bustle and confusion as those without wings crowded through the doors and those with wings departed through the windows in the dome above Bumelela and his snake advisor and the three travelers from Verkinghi were the only persons if you can call them all persons left in the vaulted chamber where upon the snake gliding ahead led the way to an anti-room gorgeously jeweled and draped there the five reclined on soft tapestries attended by a swarm of little messengers and engaged in the following written conversation due to the speed of Perovian shorthand the talk progressed practically as rapidly as if it had been spoken although Doggo was somewhat handicapped by not having a stylus which was properly adapted to his claw who are your companions? the king asked so Miles introduced Quiven the Verking Maiden and Doggo the Formian Bumelela explained that the snake was Quigal Mucky prime minister of the Wumangs and wise beyond all his countrymen his soul is brother to my soul although our bodies are unrelated, the king wrote Miles was much perplexed how is it, he inquired, that such diversified animals as you Wumangs are able to live at peace with each other it was not so before the days of Namlop the huge terrace are replied but he gave us souls and made us one people our bodies may be unrelated but our souls are the same you and your two companions are as unalike as any of us perhaps the three of you have a common type of soul Miles was even more perplexed who was Namlop? he asked and what means all this talk of souls? end of chapter 20 recording by Adrian Stevens the Radio Planet by Ralph Milne Farney Chapter 21 souls in reply to Cabot's question the huge winged Sorian Bumelela, king of the Wumangs, wrote the following reply all the time about to tell you of the traditional beginning of our race is shrouded in the mists of antiquity the legend is as follows many hundreds of years ago this fertile continent was inhabited by warring beasts of every conceivable size and form and they were but brute creatures for they had no souls souls existed it is true but in as much as they inhabited no bodies they had no learning experience or background they were of but little use to themselves each other or the planet then one day there was born out of the ground a creature much like yourself his name was Namlop he it was who discovered how to introduce souls into bodies by making a slight incision at the base of the brain and inserting there a young soul first he captured some very tame wild creatures and gave them souls with that aid he captured others more fierce and so on until there was hardly a beast left soulless on this continent thus did he make of one race all the creatures of Poros to dwell together on the face of the continent this industry we have kept up to this day it is reported however that Namlop himself had no soul there was no scar at the back of his head and no soul issued from his body after death others he gave soul to himself he could not this is the general belief all this was as clear as mud to Miles Cabot he could not make head nor tail out of it Bu Malaya appeared to be talking in riddles or allegories nevertheless Miles determined to try and make a beginning somewhere in order to understand what this massive verbiage was all about so he wrote how can you tell surely you cannot see souls surely we can the reptile king replied for souls are creatures just as real as we are and have an independent existence from the day they hatch until they are inserted in the brain of somebody from the way you talk I cannot believe that you have any soul of course I have Miles remonstrated prove it to me Bu Malaya demanded let me see the back of your head Miles complied no the winged king continued you have no soul there is no scar this conversation was irritating in the extreme it led nowhere Gryphon and Dogo read all the correspondence and were equally perplexed the huge pterosaur continued writing I can see that you do not believe me he wrote this is not to be wondered at since you yourself are soulless though I cannot understand how a beast like you without a soul can be as intelligent as you seem to be come to our temple and I will show you souls so saying Bu Malaya accompanied by Quiquor Muki the serpent led Cabot and his two companions out of the buildings and through the streets of the city to another edifice which they entered what a travesty on the lost religion of Coupier within the temple they moved about a score or more of assorted beasts pterodactyls, reptiles, huge insects big creatures and so forth bearing absolutely no resemblance to each other except the fact that each and every one of them wore a long robe emblazoned with a crimson triangle and swastika emblem of the true religion of Poros among them was one enormous slate colored pterosaur almost the exact counterpart of Bu Malaya the king who introduced this beast to his guests by means of the following note this is the chief priest of the true religion she is my mate but come let me show you some souls the chief priest then led the party into an adjoining room the walls of which were lined with tiny cages most of which contained pairs of moths the dragon king explained as follows when a womb yang dies his body is brought to the temple and is watched day and night by a priest net in hand to catch the soul when it emerges what it had to do with souls Cabot couldn't see for the life of him neither could quiver nor doggo having made a complete tour of inspection the party then returned to the palace where they discussed the glories of Fire Kingi and Kupia with the king and Kuiko Muki and then dined on cereal cakes and a flesh resembling fish be not afraid to eat this Bu Malaya urged it is fresh flesh we breed these water reptiles especially for food after the meal the three travellers were assigned rooms in the palace at Cabot's request tapestries were brought from the plane and the party severally retired for the night the next morning they were up early and assembled in Cabot's room the night had proved uneventful but Doggo wrote in great excitement he had talked with the green guards who had refused to disclose the whereabouts of the plane and had said that this was the king's order immediately after breakfast which consisted of cakes and sweetened water they requested an audience with the king and when it was granted demanded news of the plane but Bu Malaya waved them off with an evasive answer Tarry but a day or so he wrote and then your wings shall be returned to you and you shall be permitted to depart I promise it on the word of honour of a king so there was nothing but to wait for it would not do to antagonise this powerful beast and thus perhaps lose forever the chance to return which he had promised them the day was spent in a personally conducted tour of the city with Bu Malaya as a most courteous and attentive guide and host the Wumangs appeared to be a highly cultivated race if you can call them a race a Congerese would perhaps be the most accurate term objects of all the arts abounded and the tour would have been most pleasurable if the three travellers had not been so anxious to be on their way once more to Kupia the night was spent as before, uneventfully but the next day Doggo was missing in reply to all inquiries the Wumangs returned evasive answers he is gone on business of his own, was all they would say this day a quick on Mookie, their serpent was their host and guide he used every effort to outdo Bu Malaya in courtesy but his two guests were strangely uneasy some impending calamity seemed to hang over them late that evening when they were in their quarters Doggo rushed in bristling with excitement he had something to tell them and wanted to tell it quickly but had mislaid his pad and stylus strange to relate Cabot could not find his own writing materials either Gryphon finally found her stylus but no pad seizing the lead-tipped stick Doggo scratched on the pavement of the room quick, give me paper, quick your lives depend upon it, quick before it is too late Cabot rushed into the hall and clicked twice with his tongue against the roof of his mouth but nothing happened then he repeated the call until finally one of the little winged messengers flitted into sight to him the earth man indicated his wants by going through the motions of writing with the index finger of his right hand upon the palm of his left the little creature flitted away and after what seemed an interminable weight returned with pad and stylus Mal snatched them and rushed back to Doggo what is the matter he wrote Doggo replied, nothing it was just a joke to frighten you we are all perfectly safe here and Boomer Liar has a wonderful plan to facilitate our departure three days from now it was not like Doggo or any other member of the serious minded race of ant men to play a practical joke like this Mars could swear that his friend had been genuinely agitated a few moments ago what could have happened in the meantime to change him the earth man looked at the foreman steadily through narrowed lids his friend peered to act strangely could this in truth be Doggo? if they had been on any other continent Mars would have sworn that some other ant man closely resembling his friend was attempting an impersonation but that could not be the case here for Doggo was certainly the only foreman on this continent it was Doggo's body all right yet it did not act or look like Doggo even Quiven noticed that something was wrong nervously she said good night and Cabot followed shortly after instead of retiring he went to Quiven's room where the two puzzled together for some time trying to guess what had come over their friend when at last they parted for the night the mystery was no nearer solution than before in fact they had practically made up their minds no mystery existed after all and that the strange surroundings and strange events and strange talk of souls had merely cast an aura of strangeness even over their friend the next morning Doggo was on hand bright and early but this time it was Quiven who was missing my turn next thought Mars and then perhaps I shall find out what this is all about as before the Wumangs were evasive as to the whereabouts of the golden one and even Doggo was singularly unresponsive and devoid of ideas on the subject this day the she-dragon Haipri Stess was their guide but although she outdid both Boomaliya and Quikul Muki Cabot fretted and worried and merely put on an external show of interest late that afternoon the fourth of their stay among the Wumangs as soon as the tour was over Cabot left Doggo and withdrew to his own room where was Quiven all this time he wondered his question was answered by the golden flame herself bursting into the room full of excitement thank the builder I can talk to you with my mouth I do not have to wait for pencil and paper she exclaimed the Wumangs overlooked our powers of vocal speech when they hid our writing materials as before it was true their pets and styluses had miraculously disappeared again where have you been? Cabot asked somewhat testily I suppose that in a few moments you will say that all your excitement had been a mere practical joke on me the same as Doggo's was yes she replied seriously I shall undoubtedly and therefore listen while there is yet time while I am still Quiven what do you mean? Mars exclaimed staring at her this she said in a few moments I shall be Wumang he started to interrupt but she stopped him with a perumetry gesture and continued no then the secret of all this talk of souls the grubs which they breed from their moths are strong personalities potential devils needing only a highly developed body in order to become devils incarnate Namlop, whoever he was, discovered this ages ago by simple operation the Wumangs can insert one of these larvae at the base of a creature's brain where in a few hours the personality of the larvae overcomes the proper personality of the creature and henceforth rules the creature until the creature dies the larva then flutters free a moth to propagate other devil souls for this nefarious usage yesterday these fiends operated on Doggo for a time his own soul and this brain maggot struggled for supremacy while his own personality remained ascendant and yet had imbibed sufficient knowledge to understand the situation he tried to warn us of our danger would that he had been in time but when the pad of paper had arrived dear old Doggo was dead his body had become a Wumang dominated by one of their moth grubs souls as they call them this afternoon they operated on me Miles shuddered but Quiven went relentlessly on two personalities are now contending within me for mastery there can be but one outcome Quiven must die and her brain and body must become the vehicle for the thoughts and schemes of an alien mind my will is strong at present it is in control but any moment now it may snap so I assure you by the great builder and your loved ones refuse stonely and absolutely to listen to any denial which my mouth may give you now while there is yet time I must tell you their plans Bumalaya sighs for more worlds to conquer he was captivated by your tales of your country tomorrow he will operate on you then when the bodies of you and Doggo and I are all Wumangs and yet retain a certain amount of our own knowledge and skill he plans to send us on to Kupia with a plain load of moths to operate on your countrymen to build up a second empire of Wumangs there Miles gasped at the dastardliness of the plan a plan which might yet succeed for even if he escaped Doggo's body might still carry the plan into execution Where is our plane? he asked Yes, Quiven sadly replied I must lead you to the plane while I am yet me come quickly But can we leave Doggo? Yes, she replied Not only must you leave Doggo but you must leave me too for Doggo is no longer Doggo and I shall not be Quiven in a few minutes from now for I feel the Wumang souls struggling for ascendancy within me come quickly she led him out of the room and down several hallways to a courtyard of the palace where stood the plane guarded by a green dragon this beast interposed in objection to their approach Quiven smiled wanly He will not stop you, she said for already they regard me as one of them and count on me to invagle you and now, Miles, goodbye I feel myself slipping in a minute or two your Quiven will be no more whether my own soul will then go to the happy land as though I had normally died or whether it will simply be blotted out I know not but one thing I do know and that is that I love you with all my heart she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him then suddenly she cried I've won, I've made you love me it was all a scheme cooked up by Dogo and myself to trap you out of your complacency and force you to admit to your love the story of the moth grubs souls is a lie woven out of the weird philosophizing of Boomalaya from now on I know that you love me from now on I am confident that I can compete with that lila of yours he stood aghast could this be so? he was half inclined to believe then he remembered her words refuse stonely and absolutely to listen to any denial which my mouth may give you also he reflected that Dogo certainly would never have been a party to a trick to betray lila so he thrust the golden maid to one side and strode toward the plain but she rushed after him and clung to him wailing piteously miles, miles surely you aren't going to desert us just because of this trick which we played on you surely you don't intend to leave us to the mercy of these terrible beasts he did not know what to believe there was a possibility that her story about the souls was the truth if so then the safety of the whole continent of Kupia was at stake and yet if not what an awful country to leave her and Dogo in he vaulted into the plain then stood irresolute at the levers he looked intently at the golden maid who clung to the side of the car there was something strange about her face something clearly unquiven and yet as he gazed he became certain that it was quiven after all and he was right miles she shouted letting go the plain quick by the grace of the builder my own spirit is again in the ascendancy for an instant the story I told you is true flee before it is too late then suddenly she changed again and shouted to the guardian terrasaur quick stop him her expression altered as she spoke but miles slammed on the power and the machine rose quickly leaving behind the frantic golden form of little quiven after him trailed a swarm of winged creatures of all sorts but his fast airship soon out distanced them as it sped due west towards a sky that had already begun to turn pink with the unseen setting sun on and on he sped until his pursuers dropped from view then he turned northward to throw them off the trail and then after a while due west again until as night was about to fall the steam bank of the boiling sea loomed ahead whereupon he landed he must wait until morning before attempting the passage but as he prepared to spend the night he noticed that all the tapestries were gone from the cockpit how could he brave the steam clouds without wrappings of some sort and was he certain after all that he was not leaving two perfectly good friends in the lurch end of chapter 21 chapter 22 of the radio planet this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Michael Knowles Fort Worth, Texas the radio planet by Ralph Milne Farley chapter 22 flight there must be something in the airship in which he could swat himself for the trip across the boiling seas with this in view he made a frantic search of the entire cockpit Doggo's rifle and the ammunition were still there but his own he had left in his room on his hurried departure here too was the little stone lamp by the light of which they had watched their instruments beneath the kayak covering even some of their provisions were left finally he came upon some boxes which he did not recognize a rank smell became evident upon closer examination gingerly he opened one of those boxes it contained flesh finely ground and putrid and in this carrion there wriggled in swarm scores of small white grubs the last of Cabo's doubts vanished these were the devil souls which he and Doggo and Quiven had been expected to carry to Coupia to found there a new empire of humangs evidently his host had expected some possible trouble from him and therefore had prepared the plane to get away by Doggo and Quiven indignantly the lonely earth man emptied out box after box onto the ground and mashed the contents into the dirt with his sandaled feet by this time it was nearly pitch dark but of course this would make no difference while flying through the steam clouds for visibility under such circumstances would be impossible even in daylight if he only had some covering for the cockpit to keep out the steam it was as well as night as by day except for one danger how could he be warned of flying too high passing through the circumambient cloud envelope and being shriveled to a crisp by the close proximity of the sun in despair the earth man sat beside his beached airship as the velvet blackness crept out of the east and enveloped the planet so near and yet so far he had successfully transmitted himself through millions of miles of space from the earth to Poros he had escaped the clutches of the Formians and the Royes he had built a complete radio set out of nothing and had talked with Cupia across the boiling seas he had traversed those seas once without accident he had eluded the machinations of the Humangs with their mouth grubs souls and yet here he was with only a few miles of oceans separating him from his loved ones and nevertheless blocked effectually by the lack of a few yards of cloth what fate as the last purple flush died on the western horizon Miles suddenly jumped to his feet and laughed aloud the solution was so obvious that it had completely escaped him until now it was the setting sun that had suggested the escape from his dilemma there is no sun at night of course not therefore why not source straight up pierce the cloud envelope and fly above it to Cupia letting the clouds protect him from the heat of the boiling seas as they normally protect the planet from the light of the heat of the sun at any rate it was worth trying to remain where he was would mean either eventual starvation or recapture by the terrible Humangs so by the light of his little verification stone lamp he made a hasty lunch few remaining provisions and then took his stand at the levers for a new experiment in Peruvian navigation up up he shot through the dense blackness up to a height which an earth would have filled his blood with air bubbles and have suffocated his lungs but on poros with its thicker atmospheric shell and less gravity the change was not so evident far to the eastward he saw the lights of yet the city of the beasts but this was his only landmark there was nothing but his gyro compass to tell him exactly which was north and south and east and west nothing but his clinometer to indicate whether he was going up or down nothing but his altimeter to indicate his approximate height above the surface of the planet and these instruments he must read by the flickering light of a primitive oven wick stone lamp on the floor of the cockpit what if this faint illuminator should become extinguished he certainly could not leave the controls for long enough to use flint and steel to rekindle it during the early part of his stay in verkinge he had always gone to someone of the constantly burning lamps which were the primitive fire source of the furry verkinges later he had found several pieces of flint when investigating a small shock deposit as a possible alternative for limestone in his smelting operations after the manufacture of steel had begun he had practiced striking a light in this more modern method and thereafter had always carried flint and steel and tender with him and one of the pouch pockets of his leather tunic it was with these crude implements that he had kindled his oil lamp for the present flight but this fire source would avail him little if a gust of wind should extinguish his primitive lamp in such event what could he do this question was immediately put to the test for his ship struck a small pocket of air and dipped out went the light now he could no longer read his compass nor his altimeter but happy thought he could determine the inclination of the plane from the time by touching his clinometer so upward he went presently he found it difficult to breathe and this difficulty was soon increased by a damp fog which choked his nostrils and windpipe causing him to cough and sneeze the water condensed on the airship and dropped off the rigging onto the matted hair and beard of the earth man yet still he kept on up finally he breathed clear air once more he pushed back the dripping locks from his forehead and wiped out his water filled eyes with a back of one wrist all was still jet darkness yet in front of him and above him there glowed some tiny points of light rubbing his eyes he looked again stars the first stars he had ever seen on poros a sky full of stars with some surprise Miles Cabo noted that above him were swung the same constellations with which he had been familiar on earth among them the two dippers Orion and Cassiopeia he strove to recall the inclination of the axis of venus to the ecliptic but all he could remember was that it did not differ appreciably from that of the earth this information was enough for his present purposes however for it meant that the star which we call the pole star on earth was approximately north on poros and that its altitude above the northern horizon would give approximately the latitude of the location of the observer the pole star which he readily identified by means of the two pointers on the great dipper now hung about twenty degrees above the horizon thus showing that Cabo was approximately the southern tip of that part of the continent of Cupia which formerly was Formia so he leveled out the plane and turning its nose northwest by the stars scutted along above the cloud envelope of the planet it was not long before he noticed a quite appreciable increase of temperature gusts and swirls of hot vapor assailed him from below so that if it had not been for the gyroscopic studying apparatus he must surely have found it even as it was it took all of his efforts to control the ship he suffered fearfully from the heat but it was not absolutely unbearable navigation so compelled his entire attention that he lost all track of time he struggled on as in a dream and had not the slightest idea of whether he had been flying for hours or only minutes on and on he drove through the terrific heat until at last he got so used to it that it actually seemed cooler by jove he could almost believe that the air really was cooler so cautiously he tipped the nose of the plane downward and entered the clouds below him feeling his way at a low rate of speed and ever ready to slam on the full force of his trophial engines and shoot upward once more he gradually penetrated the cloud envelope which surrounds the planet yet the heat did not increase at last he was through and below him twinkled lights of a small city or town throwing the plane level once more he hovered down in the true Peruvian fashion the light of the town showed closer Cabo's heart beat fast there was a lump in his throat and his hands trembled at the controls was this Kupia his own kingdom of Kupia at last was he home or and his heart sank within him was this some still new continent with other nightmare beasts and horrible adventures whichever it was he ought not to land too near the town his trophial motor was making a loud racket but he was not afraid of being heard for Kupians have no ears and their antennae can receive only radio waves so he skimmed low over the houses straining his eyes to try and make out their style of architecture but it was no use the jet blackness of the Peruvian night had obscured all below accordingly he planned to land about half a stad from the village and then wreck and tear at daybreak this was to be accomplished as follows his distance from the ground he could gauge from the lights of the houses therefore he would hold his craft as nearly as possible level and hover softly down taking a chance of landing on some bush or tree the plan worked to perfection after just about the expected drop he felt the skids great on solid ground land once more after his sensational flight above the clouds exhausted and relaxed he shut off his motor and proceeded to crawl over the edge of the cockpit of course he could not even see his own machine in the intense darkness as he started to clamber out the plane suddenly tilted a bit under his weight then gave a lurch and slid out from under him dislodging him as it did so the ground but it crumbled beneath him and he felt himself slipping down a steep gravel bank until finally some sort of projection stopped his descent to this projection he frantically clung during his slide he had heard a loud splash of the airplane below him so he knew that there was water there as he hung to the projection on the side of the steep sand bank he looked about him in the jet black night and as he looked he noticed the edge of the bank above him just showing against the sky the edge became more and more distinct the sky above turned to slate then purple then red then pink then silver day had come once more Cabo found himself clinging to a sharp spur of rock which stuck out from the bank so he hauled himself into a comfortable position upon it and stared around at his surroundings the projection was half way down the precipitous side of a crater-like hole about a quarter of a stad and diameter and three peristads deep the banks of which were coarse black sand at the bottom a clear pool of water reflected the silver sky there was no sign of either his rifle, his cartridge belt or his plane he possessed nothing save his leather tunic his wooden veriking sword a steel sheath knife which he had made in his foundries of the king and the contents of his pockets even his leather helmet was gone he aspired it floating like a little boat far out upon the pond but even as he looked some denizen of the deep snapped at it and it disappeared beneath the surface this was a forewarning of what might happen to Miles should he have the misfortune to slip in the pool below well he must risk it in an attempt to get out for even a sudden death beneath the waters was preferable to starvation on a rocky perch so carefully and laboriously he attempted the ascent many times he slipped back losing nearly all that he had gained but fortunately the bank was rather firm in spots and was dotted with large jagged rods which offered a good handhold so that eventually Miles reached the top here he found a flat plateau flanked by a continuous hedge of bushes about 30 paces from the edge these bushes were too high to see over and grew so thickly together that Miles was unable to penetrate them round and round the top of the pit he walked repeatedly trying to force his way out but with no success the day wore on Miles became tired and hungry and thirsty and disgusted by placing a small pebble in his mouth he relieved the thirst for a while but this had no effect on his other symptoms finally even his thirst returned the thirst was aggravated by the presence almost at his feet of the clear pool of water within the pit he almost decided to slide down and try it until he remembered what had happened to his leather hat so instead he began systematically to hack at the bushes with his knife and tear them up by the roots at one given spot at the end of an hour he had progressed only about a yard so he gave this up too he sat down, wrapped his arms around his knees gazed at the silver sky and thought of nothing for a while then he thought of Lilla and the baby coup here he was presumably in Coupia perhaps within a few stads of them and yet what good did it do him it seemed to him as though the nearer he got to his loved ones the more effectually he was separated from them on the Farley Farm in Edgar Town, Massachusetts when he had received the S.O.S. message from the skies it appeared but a simple matter to step within the coordinate axis of his matter-transmitting apparatus and throw a lever in order to materialize on poros in Virkingi there had been the more difficult task of securing an ant plane before essaying to cross the boiling seas in the land of the Humangs he had been confronted with the almost insuperable lack of swathing materials for such a flight yet he reflected he had surmounted in turn the more difficult difficulties so why not this with renewed determination he arose and resumed his grubbing operations another hour passed and another yard of path had been completed this was encouraging and yet he had no means of knowing how much further there still remained for him to go as he paused for breath he heard a crashing noise almost directly across the pit concealing himself as well as he could in the recess which he had formed in the bushes watched expectantly presently the thick growth on the other side parted neatly and the sharp edge of a wedge appeared this wedge continued to divide the bushes until finally it came completely through all curiosity to see what was pushing the wedge miles craned forward but there was nothing behind it it had been pushing itself as the bushes slowly closed together again the wedge stood up on six sturdy legs which rotted around the top of the pit until it came to a stop directly opposite the hiding place of the earth man this gave him a good opportunity to observe it apparently it was some sort of insect its head came to a sharp cutting edge in the front about five feet high and the lateral projections extended diagonally backward from the edge like the wing of a snowplow to point well beyond the rear end of the animal these two sides were covered in stiff backwards pointing bristles which evidently served to catch on the bushes through which the creature passed and thus to hold whatever gains it made its eyes, like those of a crab were located on long jointed arms which it could raise whenever it wanted to look around the lower edge of the sides of the wedge were serrated and miles soon learned what this was for after wiggling its eyes about for a while the creature walked the edge of the bank giving the watcher a good view of the body and legs within the projecting wedge and slid off into the pit where a splashing sound indicated that it was probably drinking soon it reappeared over the top of the pit evidently the saw teeth on its sides were to hold its progress up the face of the sand bank in much the same way as its spines held its progress through the bushes the wedge insect upon topping the bank made a beeline for the edge of the clearing thrust its nose between two saplings furled its eyes braced its feet against the ground and started forcing its way through quick as a flash Miles Cabot darted from his hiding place and followed the creature rolling its eyes to the rear saw him and tried to back out for what purpose he could not tell but probably either to attack him or at least prevent him from attacking its vulnerable body but it was already in too far and its spines held it securely it tried to kick at him he followed not quite so close then it stubbornly stopped moving pulled in its eyes and its legs and lay down with its projecting headpiece where at he gave it a prick with a tail of his verking sword the effect was immediate and sudden the creature leaped up to its feet and tore its way through the trees like a cyclone plunging high in the air like a frantic horse this left such an erratic and only partially spread path that the earth man had difficulty in following and soon fell far behind but just as he was about to despair the branches which he parted ahead of him revealed a meadow of silver-green suede he had reached the end of the wood beyond the field was a grove of grey-branched lichen trees through which he could see the steep red-tiled roofs of a village just short of the grove he raised a herd of those pale green aphids the size of sheep which the cupians call unks and which Miles was want to call green cows close by his right hand was a large shrub with heart-shaped leaves unmistakably a tartan bush steep red roofs grey lichen trees unks and tartans this must be cupia he was home Miles quoted aloud who never to himself has said this is my own my native land cupia might not be his native land but it was his own the land of his wife and child the land of which his son was rightful king and the land whose armies he had twice led to victory and now he had returned to lead them yet again drawing a deep breath of the cupian air into his lungs Miles raced across the meadow near the altar of the grove of trees from that point of vantage he inspected the village the architecture was undoubtedly cupian in fact its character was so clear he was even able to judge by it just what part of the cupia he was in for this architecture was typical of the southeastern foothills of the Ozark mountains a thousand stads or so north of Guana the capital city these foothills held among other spots of interest on an island of which he and Lilla had built their country home and the inhabitants of these mountains had always been intensely loyal to the earth men his golden-haired wife and royal son on the outskirts of the village Cabo could see figures moving figures in white tocas with colored edges figures with tiny vestigial wings projecting from their backs figures with butterfly-like antenna rising from their foreheads these were cupians who adopted countrymen yet they never would recognize him in his present condition with a shaggy hair, massive beard and leather tunic and without the artificial wings and antennae which he had been accustomed to wear among them therefore he could not yet reveal himself he must first restore his appearance to normal and also find and put on one of the small portable radio sets which he had contrived years ago in his laboratories of Monia in the city's folk who have neither ears nor voice so turning his back on the alluring village he made a meal of the green milk of the grazing unks and then set out to circle the settlement and find a road when he did reach the road he recognized it and now he knew exactly what village that was for the moment he could not recall its name but he knew it had to be a little town which he and Lilla often visited scarcely twenty stads from the Luno Castle he strode on towards the Luno Castle his thoughts raced ahead of him sometimes picturing a happy homecoming with Lilla and Baby Q standing in the great arched doorway to greet him and sometimes desolation and destruction with Prince Yuri the murderer of the Baby King and the kidnapper of Princess Lilla what would Miles Capo find on the beautiful island in Lake Luno End of Chapter 22 Recording by Michael Knowles Fort Worth, Texas Chapter 23 of the Radio Planet This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Michael Knowles Fort Worth, Texas The Radio Planet by Ralph Milne Farley Luno and beyond with no weapons except a steel knife and a wooden rapier the unkempt and bearded earth men set out resolutely along the twenty stad road which led to Lake Luno All the rest of the afternoon he tramped along avoiding the towns and taking cover whenever a kerkl approached Night fell the velvet, fragrant tropic scented night of poros yet still he kept on he knew the road as he trudged along he tried to picture to himself the state of affairs in Kupia back in Virkingi when at last he had succeeded in getting the princess Lila on the air she had mentioned the whistling bees just before Prince Yuri had cut her off these bees were called whistling because of the heterodyne squeal with which they appeared to converse but Milne had discovered by means of the greater range of artificial radio speech organs that this whistle was due to the bees sending simultaneously on two interfering wavelengths for signal purposes when simply talking they used a wavelength beyond the range of Kupian's speech Cabo had been able to adjust his portable set to this wavelength and had talked with the bees as a result of this conversation an alliance had been formed between Kupia and the Hymenians as the bee people called themselves King Yuri and his ants from the continent thereafter the bees had lived at peace with the Kupians a special ration of green cows being bred for their benefit what wondered Cabo had the returned Yuri done to disturb this state of affairs if Portheris the king of the bees still lived Cabo could not imagine him siding with Yuri but whatever had happened it was clear that the bees were at the bottom of it time would tell very speedily traveling on foot at night on the planet Poros is necessarily slow and tedious for the blackness of the Porovian night is dense beyond anything conceivable on earth on earth even the light of a few stars would enable a man to distinguish between a concrete road and the adjoining fields and woods and bushes but on Poros no stars are visible accordingly Miles had to feel his way with his feet and fell off the road many times before he reached his destination due to the mountainous character of the country most of these falls were extremely painful and some were positively dangerous yet on he camped and before long the lights of Luno village loomed ahead even here it would not do to reveal himself in his present state of appearance so he skirted the town and made his way down the steep path which led to the shore of the lake if his island dwelling had been disturbed he half expected to find that his boats were gone from the landing place but upon groping around in the dark he came across several of them tied up just where they ought to be this cheered him immensely but when he stared across towards the island and saw no sign of any light there his spirits fell again it was not the custom at Luno castle to go through the night totally unilluminated he would soon find out what the trouble was stepping into one of the boats he cast off and paddled vigorously towards the middle of the lake keeping his bearings was difficult in the jet-black darkness but he was guided somewhat by the faint illumination sent skyward by the little village finally he bumped against the rocky and precipitous sides of the island but misjudging his location he had to paddle nearly clear around the island before he came to the landing beach this gained he would have to shore and groped his way up the narrow path to the summit thence across the lawns which sloped gently down towards the center of the island where lay a little pond with Luno castle standing beside it Miles ran into several shrubs got completely mixed up as to his directions and finally fell into the pond this gave him a new starting point from which he could orient himself walking around its edge with one foot in the water he climbed to time until at last his groping hand touched a wall of masonry it was his castle he was home but what did that home hold his heart beat tumultuously with anticipation feeling his way along the wall he came to the steps and crawled up them to the great arched doorway the door was closed but not locked Miles flung it open softly and entered closing it behind him then closing his eyes he found an electric switch flooding the hall with light of many vapor lamps gradually opening his eyelids he glanced around him everywhere was the musty odor of an occupancy he had expected either his family or a sacked and ruined castle he had found neither it would not do for the surrounding populace to discover his return until he was ready so he hastily found a flashlight and then switched off the vapor lamps again flashlight in hand he made a tour of the castle everything was in perfect order Lila was a good housekeeper and had evidently been given plenty of time by Yuri to prepare for her departure this spoke volumes for her safety and that of the baby king Miles even found his own rooms undisturbed this surprised him greatly he had not expected this much consideration from Yuri but then he reflected that Yuri must have been pretty sure he would not return from the earth and had wanted to do nothing to antagonize Lila any more than absolutely necessary this time Yuri had been playing the game of love and empire with a little more finesse than usual Miles in his own dressing room switched on the light this was safe as its windows opened only into the courtyard then he bathed, shaved trimmed his hair and donned a blue bordered toka on his head he placed a radio headset of the sort which he had devised shortly after his first advent on Poros to enable him to talk with earless and voiceless cupians and formians artificial antennae projected from his forehead his earphones and ears were concealed by locks of hair his tiny microphone between his collar bones by a fold on his toga artificial wings strapped to his back protruded through the slits in his garment found his waist beneath his gown was the belt which carried the batteries tubes and the sending and receiving apparatus itself thus equipped he surveyed himself complacently in the glass barring the absence of a sixth finger on each hand and a sixth toe on each foot he looked a cupian of the cupians then he proceeded to the radio room the long distance radio scent was in perfect condition but there was nothing on the air the three dialed Peruvian clocks showed the time to be ten twenty five that is half an hour after midnight earth time there was nothing further he could do before morning so he laid down for a few hours of much needed rest when he awoke it was broad daylight three ten o'clock the pink flush of sunrise was just fading from the eastern sky less than three paths, six hours of sleep and then he realized that he must have slept walk around and more a day's growth of beard confirmed this it was now the beginning of his third day in Cupia he had been dead to poros for fifteen paths so he shaved, bathed, and breakfasted on some dried twig knobs which was all he could find in the house the courtyard garden was full of weeds the lawns which surrounded the castle and the pond were uncut everything bespoke of an abandonment many sayings ago after a complete tour of the premises Miles hastened to the radio room and tuned in the palace at Cuana the result was the voice of the usurper Yuri testily calling the ant station in new Formia far across the boiling seas from time to time there would be silence during which the prince was evidently waiting for a reply but none came Otto the Bold had done his work of destruction too well Miles chuckled Yuri's frantic voice coming in over the air was a radio program much to Cabo's liking even the best earth station of Columbia national or mutual could not surpass it the only thing he would rather hear would be his own sweet lila his recollection of Otto the Bold led him to wonder how the battle for Verkinge had progressed Royes and Verkings on one side against Royes and ants on the other it was a toss up since he had left the land of the furry ones Otto, Grodd, At Judd, Thiop Crota, Erkelu they all resembled mere shadows of a dream the only real feature that stood out in his memory was the radio set which he had fabricated then his thoughts flew to yet the city of the Humangs with its strange assortment of creatures including Bumalaya the winged dragon the serpent Cabo shed a tear for Dago and the little golden-furred quiffin and then came down to the present with a jerk he was back in Coupia clean, clothed shaved, equipped fed and rested it was now up to him to rescue the princess lila from her traitor cousin first he must find firearms but of these the castle had been looted for not a trace of a rifle an automatic or even a single cartridge could he find though he searched high and low so reluctantly he strapped on merely his verking sword and knife and ran down the path to the beach in the boat once more he paddled rapidly towards the shore at the landing place sitting on one of the boats was a Coupian but as this man seemed to be unarmed Cabo approached him without fear as he came with an antennae shot the man sang out Coupia Miles Cabo Defender of the Faith Miles shaded his eyes from the silver glare of the sky na naan he exclaimed for the Coupian before him was none other than the young cleric of the lost religion who had helped rebuild his radio headset in the caves of car during the second war of liberation as the boat graded on the beach the earth man leaped out and the two friends were soon warmly patting each other's cheek Coupia Miles asked what good fortune brings you here he found it easy to slip back again into the language of his continent the holy leader detailed two of us naan naan replied to watch Luno Castle for you know he must be kept informed of everything as he waits within his caves for the promised day night before last my colleague saw lights for the night so this morning I decided to reconnitre is Ova still holy leader yes the cleric replied the grand old man still lives the builder be praised but changing the subject how are my family both well naan naan answered though for the past six or nine days the princess has not been permitted to communicate with anyone Miles smiled why he innocently asked I know not the young cleric admitted Miles laughed I thought that the holy leader knew everything he said well as it happens I can tell you it is because I communicated with her a few days ago and informed her that I was about to return has no news of this got out from the palace no naan naan replied but it explains why Yuri has kept a large squadron of whistling bees patrolling the eastern coast all day long every day how did you get by them came over at night the earth man answered but what about the bees I'll tell you naan naan said shortly after you left on your visit to your own planet Minos Prince Yuri flew back alone from his exile with the formians beyond the boiling seas this was the first that we of Kupia had known that any of them survived Yuri kept his return a secret for some time but got in touch with some old supporters of his first he contrived to cut off the allowance of the unks which were doled out to the bees for food and brought up trouble among the bees because of this the bees imprisoned Portheris their king and under promise of an increased allowance of food seized the arsenal at Gwana the air base at Watusa and Luno Castle as you know the air navy has been practically disbanded because there was nothing for it to fight the rifles of the marching clubs had fallen into disuse because other newer games had superseded archery most of the rifles restored to central places which the bees succeeded in seizing some of the hill towns still had arms but they surrendered these under threat of Yuri to kill the princess Lila and the little king all the arms are now stored in the arsenal at the capital under guard of Yuri's most trusted henchmen a new treaty was made with the bees giving them an increase in food but even so they're arrested and are held in check merely by fear of the anti-aircraft guns at Gwana the whole belief of the populace is that you are dead Yuri is ruling strictly and has dissolved the popular assembly the pincus everywhere are his personal appointees these facts and the burden of supplying angst to the heimeranians irk the people but they are impotent can a math lab struggle and the jaws of a wufus Lila he treated well if he had not done so the populace would rise against him bees or no bees they would go into little queue if Lila will marry him but your dot-bash message many sayings ago stopped that for it showed that you still lived and had returned to boros although not to this continent that is all now tell me of your adventures but before complying with this request the earth man asked what has become of the loyal prince toron and my chief of staff ha babo every one of them so far as I know is safe the young cleric replied most of them are hiding in the hill towns Yuri has not risked the wrath of the populace by molesting them and in fact has given notice that so long as they behave they will be let alone then kabo related all that had occurred to him from the time he transmitted himself earthward through boros down to the present date when he concluded he remarked that will be an antenna full of the holy leader but now to get to work on whom can I best depend in this vicinity on emsul the veterinary non non replied he lives in the village now returned to the island and I will bring him to you miles did so and in a short time the three were in conference in the castle it seemed to miles that the first thing to do was to recover his airplane rifle and ammunition from the waters of the pit but emsul demurred and said he huge dark green water insects inhabit the pool they are very like the red parasites which cling to the sides of the onks and which we roast for food but they are much larger and the bite of their claws means death the parasites to which the veterinary alluded had always tasted to kabo exactly like earth born lobsters the description of these new beasts were further suggestive of lobsters he asked emsul for a more detailed description and found that his tallied still further with the earthly prototype this reminded miles of an interesting experiment which he had seen tried in the harvard zoological laboratory and which he now hoped to put to practical use so he asked have these creatures a gravitational sense organ yes the kupian veterinary replied although it is unlike ours we kupians and I suppose humanorians have inside the skull on each side of the head a group of three tubes like the spirit levels of a carpenter the corresponding organ on the scissor clawed beast is different although serving the same end on each side of the thorax of these creatures there is a spherical cavity with a small opening on the outside this opening is just large enough to admit a grain of sand at a time the membrane which lines the cavity exudes a liquid cement which unites into a little ball the grains of sand which enter the cavity is lined with nerve ends and as the ball always rolls to the bottom side of the cavity the beast is able to tell which direction is up and which is down kabo clapped his hands in glee this was exactly as in the case of earth-born lobsters they won't know which is up and which is down when I get through with them he exclaimed cryptically it was quickly arranged that non-non should go at once to the village near the lobster pool and engage a gang of kupian men swath through the thick woods which hem in the pool when this was completed he was to send a messenger to luno castle to summon kabo who, meanwhile, would be engaged in preparing a certain mysterious electrical apparatus for the present the earth man's return was a secret the plan worked to perfection only one day was consumed in chopping the path through the woods on the second day after his meeting with non-non and em-soul Miles proceeded to the lobster pool by caracool with his electrical equipment and several boats end of chapter 23 luno and beyond recording by Michael Knowles Fort Worth, Texas