donât you? Why, after a few fell-consideredâyes, I know they wereâremarks, the senior and gravest of all the company turned to me again and requestedârequested my co-operation. There couldnât be a doubt about that. Well, I did what youâd have done. I nodded, coughed, cleared my throat. And, believe me, after that exhibition of myself, of my superior human readiness and address, I felt I was the dumb bird. They werenât dumb by any means.
âAgain they considered. Finally I felt that queer paw on my back and smelled that queer musky bird-smell, and then I was assisted to my feet. Of course, I felt extremely oddâodd beyond words. I think the air itself is odd there; through the bird-smell I could catch quite strong whiffs of sulphur and ozone also. Those people havenât any sense of smell; they have rather different senses from ours, but Iâll get to that later. Of course, I was dead-beat, though they had already evidently given me some sort of cordial before I quite came to. There was a queer, keen taste in my mouth and throat. Anyhow, you wait till you find yourself strolling along, courteously assisted by two giant birds, whoâmetaphorically and actually, since they stood about seven feet highâare carrying on a conversation over your head. You see if you wonât feel a bit giddy.
âStill, I noticed quite a few things. For instance, we were going along a pathânot much of a path, but quite a well-beaten trail. You couldnât see far because just then the atmosphere was so iridescent. It wasnât what youâd call fog-though, as Iâve said, the temperature must have been over sixty and the humidity was high. It was the strange flickering light; as if the whole ill-defined sky were a sort of rainbow badly off color and quite unable to pull itself together into a decent arch with properly outlined bands.
âBut interest in general meteorology was again brought back to earth with a bump. Right ahead of me loomedâhouses. They werenât much as architecture. They appeared to be built of uncut stones piled together with no clear courses. But when I was close enough, I saw that the stones were all set in hard mortar and were well smoothed and fitted.
âWhen we reached the first of these huts, my companions wheeled around and gently ushered me inside the place. One stayed with me while the other disappeared. When he returned, he was holding a covered dish in his bill. There was a small table in the room, but no chairânothing at all to sit on, or to lie on, for that matter. Just that small table, nothing else, though the bareness of the roomâs four walls was relieved by a kind of alcove in one place, a sort of doorless and shelfless cupboard. The creature which had come in with the dish placed it on the table and deftly whisked off the cover. It was a large soup plate full of what looked like a thick broth. My two guardians looked at me, bowed with an odd mixture of the ridiculous and the stately, and marched out. I was hungry; the broth smelled good. It tasted better. It was also very filling. As there was nowhere to sit and no-where to go, after eating the broth, I lay on the floor and fell asleep. Iâd become used to sleeping on the groundâyou know, half over on your face, your hands curled around your head.
âI donât know how long I slept. I woke to find the light the same, quivering but just as bright, and, of course, my watch was long dead. Looking up, I found a âguardianâ looking at me with that expressionless attention which these creatures had. I scrambled to my feet, and he bowed low to the doorless doorwayâthe window had no glazing or frame, either. I was quite ready to see all I could; I felt refreshed and was more curious than anxious now. But he led me away fromâwhat shall I call it?âthe Penguinry? We followed a path which led straight towards a steep cliff, the top of
âAgain they considered. Finally I felt that queer paw on my back and smelled that queer musky bird-smell, and then I was assisted to my feet. Of course, I felt extremely oddâodd beyond words. I think the air itself is odd there; through the bird-smell I could catch quite strong whiffs of sulphur and ozone also. Those people havenât any sense of smell; they have rather different senses from ours, but Iâll get to that later. Of course, I was dead-beat, though they had already evidently given me some sort of cordial before I quite came to. There was a queer, keen taste in my mouth and throat. Anyhow, you wait till you find yourself strolling along, courteously assisted by two giant birds, whoâmetaphorically and actually, since they stood about seven feet highâare carrying on a conversation over your head. You see if you wonât feel a bit giddy.
âStill, I noticed quite a few things. For instance, we were going along a pathânot much of a path, but quite a well-beaten trail. You couldnât see far because just then the atmosphere was so iridescent. It wasnât what youâd call fog-though, as Iâve said, the temperature must have been over sixty and the humidity was high. It was the strange flickering light; as if the whole ill-defined sky were a sort of rainbow badly off color and quite unable to pull itself together into a decent arch with properly outlined bands.
âBut interest in general meteorology was again brought back to earth with a bump. Right ahead of me loomedâhouses. They werenât much as architecture. They appeared to be built of uncut stones piled together with no clear courses. But when I was close enough, I saw that the stones were all set in hard mortar and were well smoothed and fitted.
âWhen we reached the first of these huts, my companions wheeled around and gently ushered me inside the place. One stayed with me while the other disappeared. When he returned, he was holding a covered dish in his bill. There was a small table in the room, but no chairânothing at all to sit on, or to lie on, for that matter. Just that small table, nothing else, though the bareness of the roomâs four walls was relieved by a kind of alcove in one place, a sort of doorless and shelfless cupboard. The creature which had come in with the dish placed it on the table and deftly whisked off the cover. It was a large soup plate full of what looked like a thick broth. My two guardians looked at me, bowed with an odd mixture of the ridiculous and the stately, and marched out. I was hungry; the broth smelled good. It tasted better. It was also very filling. As there was nowhere to sit and no-where to go, after eating the broth, I lay on the floor and fell asleep. Iâd become used to sleeping on the groundâyou know, half over on your face, your hands curled around your head.
âI donât know how long I slept. I woke to find the light the same, quivering but just as bright, and, of course, my watch was long dead. Looking up, I found a âguardianâ looking at me with that expressionless attention which these creatures had. I scrambled to my feet, and he bowed low to the doorless doorwayâthe window had no glazing or frame, either. I was quite ready to see all I could; I felt refreshed and was more curious than anxious now. But he led me away fromâwhat shall I call it?âthe Penguinry? We followed a path which led straight towards a steep cliff, the top of
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