Read Online 2 - Blades of Mars by Edward P. Bradbury - Free Book Online Page B

and cabinets is the written language of
the Yaksha.'
                   'Who are the Yaksha? I seem to remember you
mentioning them.'
                   ‘Are? Perhaps were is a better word, for they still exist only in rumour and superstitious
speculation. They are cousins of the Sheev. Do you not remember me telling you
about them when we first met?'
                   Now it came back! Of course - the elder race
who had seduced the Argzoon away from Mendishar in the first place, during the
war the Martians called the Mightiest War.
                   ‘I think these must be descendants of the
Yaksha, however,' Hool Haji continued, 'for they bear slight similarities to
that race, if I was told aright. They have probably existed down here for
countless centuries, somehow remembering - in ritual form, doubtless - to keep
the machinery running and defend the place against outsiders. Bit by bit they
lost all intelligence and - you will notice - seem to prefer darkness to fight,
although light is available to them. It is a fitting fate for the remnants of
an evil race.'
                   I shuddered. I could sympathise in my own way
with the creatures that had once been men.
                   Then another thought struck me.
                   'Well,' I said, somewhat more cheerfully,
'whatever they are biologically, they must have need of water. That means that
somewhere here we shall soon find what we need.'
                   Our need seemed to have diminished with the
finding of the underground chambers, but the fight had weakened us further and
water was our prime necessity.
                   Warily, but with more confidence that we could
meet and defeat any of the white creatures that attacked us, we moved on until
we entered a chamber larger than the rest through which a little natural light
filtered!
                   Looking up I saw that the fight seemed to come
through a domed roof, much higher than the roofs of most of the chambers we had
passed through. Sand had filtered in through some cracks in this roof, but the
floor was not deep in the stuff.
                   And then I heard it!
                   A tinkling sound, a
splashing sound. At first I thought ^°^ that thirst had driven me mad
but then, as my eyes grew better accustomed to the gloom, I saw it - a fountain
in the centre of the chamber. A large pool of cool water!
                   We moved forward and tasted the stuff
cautiously before drinking. It was pure and fresh.
                   We drank sparingly, wetting our bodies all
over whilst we took turns to stand guard against any possible attack from the
local residents!
                   Refreshed and in good spirits, we filled our
belt canteens. The stopper of mine was stuck, clogged by the dust. I took the
little skinning knife from the right-hand side of my harness - a knife which
every blue Martian carries. It is half hidden in the decoration of the leather
so that, if captured by an enemy, that enemy might overlook the knife and give
the captured warrior a chance to escape. I worked the stopper loose, then returned the knife to its hidden sheath in my harness.
                   What now?
                   We had no inclination to explore the remaining
chambers. We had seen enough for the moment. We took the precaution, however,
of going to the far door through which the white things had doubtless fled, and
blocked it as best we could with sand and loose masonry.
                   I next discovered a ladder consisting of rungs
let into the wall and leading up towards the roof where a narrow gallery ran
around the chamber, at the point where the dome began. I climbed this ladder
and climbed on to the gallery. It was just large enough to take me and had
evidently been intended simply for the use of workmen either repairing