'You don't enjoy eating?' asked von Horst. 'What do you enjoy?'
'Nothing. There is no happiness in the Forest of Death . There are cold and hopelessness and nausea and fear. Oh, yes; there is hate. We hate one another. Perhaps we get some satisfaction from that, but not a great deal. We are all hating, and you can't get a great deal of pleasure doing what every one else is doing.
'I derived a little pleasure from wishing to set you free—that was different; that was unique. It is the first pleasure I have ever had. Of course I am not certain just what pleasure is, but I thought I recognized the sensation as pleasure because while I was experiencing it I forgot all about cold and hopelessness and nausea and fear. Anything that makes one forget must be a pleasure.'
'You are all murderers?' asked La-ja.
'We have each killed something,' replied Durg. 'Do you see that old woman sitting over there with her face in her hands? She killed the happiness of two people. She remembers it quite clearly. A man and a woman. They loved each other very much. All that they asked was to be left alone and allowed to be happy.
'And that man standing just beyond her. He killed something more beautiful than life. Love. He killed his wife's love.'
'Yes, each of us has killed something; but I am glad that it was men that I killed and not happiness or love.'
'Perhaps you are right,' said von Horst. 'There are far too many men in the world but not half enough happiness or love.'
A sudden commotion in the outer cave interrupted further conversation. Durg jumped to his feet and left them; and von Horst and La-ja, looking out, saw two prisoners being dragged into the cavern.
'More food for the larder,' remarked the man.
'And they don't even enjoy eating it,' said La-ja. 'I wonder if what Durg told us is true—about the murders, I mean, and the other life they half recall.'
Von Horst shook his head. 'I don't know; but if it is, it answers a question that has been bothering generations of men of the outer crust.'
'Look,' said La-ja. 'They are bringing the prisoners this way.'
'To the fattening pen,' said von Horst with a grin.
'One of them is a very big man, is he not?' remarked La-ja. 'It takes many Gorbuses to force him along.'
'That fellow looks familiar to me,' said von Horst. 'Not the big one—the other. There are so many Gorbuses around them that I can't get a good look at either of them.'
The new prisoners were brought to the smaller cave and thrust in roughly, so that they almost fell upon the two already there. The larger man was blustering and threatening; the other whined and complained. In the semi- darkness of the interior it was impossible to distinguish the features of either.
They paid no attention to von Horst or La-ja although they must have been aware of their presence; yet the former felt certain that the loud bragging of the larger man must be for the purpose of impressing them, as the Gorbuses had departed; and the fellow's companion did not appear to be the type that any one would wish to impress. He was quite evidently a coward and in a blue funk of terror. He was almost gibbering with fright as he bemoaned the fate that had ever brought him to the Forest of Death ; but the other man paid no attention to him, each rambling on quite independently of the other.
As von Horst, half amused, listened to them, several Gorbuses approached the cave, bearing fruits and nuts. One of them carried a torch, the light from which illuminated the interior of the cave as the fellow entered; and in the flickering light, the faces of the prisoners were revealed to each other.
'You?' fairly screamed the big fellow who had been blustering, as his eyes fell upon von Horst. It was Frug, and his companion was Skruf.
XI – FATTENED FOR SLAUGHTER
AS THE FULL significance of the situation revealed itself to von Horst, he was of two minds as to whether he should laugh or curse. Their predicament had been bad enough before, but with the presence of these two it might be infinitely worse. Frug's reaction when he recognized them augured no good. However, if the situation was menacing it was also amusing; and von Horst smiled as he contemplated the excitement of the massive cave man.
'And the girl, too!' exclaimed Skruf.
'Yes,' said von Horst, 'it is indeed we. To what do we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit? We had thought of you as being safely beside the home fires of Basti cooking your meat, and here you are waiting to be cooked as some one else's meat! Ah, but is not life filled with surprises? Some pleasurable, some—er—not so pleasurable.'
'If I could break these bonds and get my hands on you!' shouted Frug.
'Yes? What would you do then, my man?' inquired von Horst.
'I'd break your neck; I'd pound your face to a pulp; I'd—'
'Wait,' begged von Horst. 'Permit me to suggest a different order of procedure. If you were to break my neck first, as you intimate is your intention, you would derive little pleasure from beating my face to a pulp, as I should be dead and therefore unable to appreciate what you were doing to me. Really, Frug, you are not very bright. I cannot conceive how a person of such limited intelligence ever came to be chosen chief of Basti, but perhaps you were chosen because of the circumference of your biceps rather than for that of your cranium.'
The Gorbuses had dumped a quantity of fruit and nuts upon the floor of the cave and departed, leaving the cavern again in semi-darkness. Frug was still struggling with his bonds. Skruf was whimpering and moaning. Von Horst was contemplating the food. 'We can negotiate the softer fruit with our hands tied behind us,' he remarked to La-ja, 'but how do they expect us to crack the shells of some of those nuts.'
'Perhaps we can free our hands,' suggested the girl. 'Roll over close to me, with your back against mine; then try to untie the thongs that bind my wrists. If you can free me, I can easily free you.'
She had spoken in a low whisper lest Frug or Skruf hear and act upon the suggestion before she and von Horst were free. The European wriggled his body into position behind that of the girl; then he fell to work upon the knots at her wrists. It was a slow process, partially because he could not see what he was doing and partially because of the limited use he had of his hands; but after what seemed an eternity he felt a knot loosening. With practice he became more adept, and soon the second knot gave to his perseverance. There were several more; but eventually the last one succumbed, and La-ja's hands were free. Immediately she rolled over, facing his back; and he could feel her nimble fingers searching out the secret of the knots. When she touched his hands or arms he experienced a strange thrill that was new to him. He had felt the contact of her flesh before but always when she had been angry and resentful, sometimes violently so; and he had experienced no pleasurable reaction. Now it was different; because, for the first time, she was ministering to him and of her own free will.
'What are you two doing?' demanded Frug. 'You are very quiet. If you think you are going to eat all the food they brought, I'll tell you you'd better not. I'll kill you if you try that.'
'Before or after you break my neck?' asked von Horst.
'Before, of course,' snapped Frug. 'No, after. No—what difference does it make? You talk like a fool.'
'And after you have killed me and broken my neck, or broken my neck and killed me, in whichever order you finally decide to proceed, you and Skruf will undoubtedly eat the food. Am I right?'
'Of course you're right,' growled Frug.
'And do you know the purpose for which the food is intended?' inquired von Horst.
'For us to eat, of course.'
'But why should they care whether or not we eat?' asked the European. 'Are you laboring under the delusion that they are at all concerned about either our happiness or our comfort?'
'Then why did they bring it?' demanded Skruf.
'To fatten us,' explained von Horst. 'It seems that they like their meat fat, or perhaps I should say that it tastes less nauseating to them fat and fresh.'
