Some of the warriors shouted, 'It is Pu. He has come to visit our Noada.'
'It is not Pu,' cried others. 'He comes in the same thing that brought the false Noada of Lolo-lolo.'
David Innes understood the words, but not the purport of them; only that the reference to the false Noada who had come in a balloon convinced him that Dian the Beautiful had been here. He did not know who Pu might be, but he saw that they were divided among themselves as to his identity; and he also saw that no weapon was drawn against him.
'I have come down out of the sky,' he said, 'to visit your chief. Take me to him.'
To many of the men of Tanga-tanga this sounded as though Pu spoke; and many who had said that it was not Pu wavered in their convictions.
'Go to the house of Furp, the go-sha,' said one who was evidently an officer to a warrior, 'and tell him that we are bringing a stranger to the temple to visit him and our Noada. If he is indeed Pu, our Noada will recognize him.'
The gas bag, partially deflated, still billowed limply above the basket; and when David Innes stepped out and relieved it of his weight the balloon rose slowly and majestically into the air and floated away inland across the city of Tanga-tanga.
When David stood among them, those who thought that he was Pu, the god, fell upon their knees and covered their eyes with their hands. David looked at them in astonishment for a moment and then he quite suddenly realized that they must believe him a deity coming down from heaven; and that the name of this deity was Pu; and he thought to himself, what would a god do under like circumstances? He hazarded a guess, and he guessed right.
'Arise,' he said. 'Now escort me to the temple,' for he recalled that the officer had said that that was where they were taking him. The officer's reference to 'our Noada' and to 'Furp, the go-sha,' meant little or nothing to him; but he decided to maintain a godly silence on the subject until he did know.
They led him through the city gate and along narrow, crooked streets flanked by mean little houses of clay. Here he saw women and children, the women wearing painted leather aprons like the men and having headdresses of feathers, while the children were naked. He noted with some measure of astonishment the bronze weapons and ornaments, and realized that these people had advanced into the Age of Bronze. Their walled city, their painted aprons, craftsmanship displayed in their weapons and ornaments, suggested that if the inner world were closely following the stages of human development upon the outer crust, these people might soon be entering the Iron Age.
To David Innes, if his mind had not been solely devoted to the finding of his mate, these people might have presented an interesting study in anthropology; but he thought of them now only as a means to an end.
They had seen Dian's balloon. Had they seen her? Did they know what had become of her?
II
IN THE CENTER of the city was an open plaza, on one side of which was a large, domed building, a replica of the temple where Dian the Beautiful had ruled for a short time in the city of Lolo-lolo . To this building David Innes was conducted.
Within it were many people. Some of them fell upon their knees and covered their eyes as he entered. These were the ones who were not taking any chances; but the majority stood and waited. Upon a dais at the far end of the room sat a girl in a long leather robe, gorgeously painted in many colors with strange designs. Upon her head was a massive feather headdress. Upon her arms were many bronze bracelets and armlets, and around her neck were strands of ivory beads.
As David Innes came toward the throne, O-aa recognized him. They had brought her word that one who might be Pu had come to visit Furp the go-sha; and now, nimble-witted as ever, she realized that she must perpetuate this erroneous belief as the most certain way in which to insure David's safety.
She rose and looked angrily upon those who had remained standing.
'Kneel!' she commanded imperiously. 'Who dares stand in the presence of Pu?'
David Innes was close enough now to recognize her; and as she saw recognition in his eyes, she forestalled anything he might be about to say: 'The Noada welcomes you, Pu, to your temple in the city of Tanga-tanga '; and she held out her hands to him and indicated that he was to step to the dais beside her. When he had done so, she whispered, 'Tell them to rise.'
'Arise!' said David Innes in a commanding voice. It was a sudden transition from mortality to godhood, but David rose to the occasion, following the lead of little O-aa, daughter of Oose, king of Kali.
'What are your wishes, Pu?' asked O-aa. 'Would you like to speak with your Noada alone?'
'I wish to speak with my Noada alone,' said David Innes with great and godly dignity; 'and then I will speak with Furp the go-sha,' he added.
O-aa turned to Ope the high priest. 'Clear the temple,' she said, 'but tell the people to be prepared to return later with offerings for Pu. Then they shall know why Pu has come and whether he is pleased with the people of Tanga-tanga, or angry at them. And, Ope, have the lesser priests fetch a lesser bench for me, as Pu will sit upon my throne while he is here.'
After the temple was cleared and the bench was brought and they were alone O-aa looked into David's eyes and grinned.
'Tell me what you are doing here, and how you got here,' she said.
'First tell me if you have heard anything of Dian the Beautiful,' insisted David.
'No,' replied O-aa, 'what has happened to her? I supposed, of course, that she was in Sari.'
'No,' replied David, 'she is not in Sari. Abner Perry built a balloon and it got away, carrying Dian the Beautiful with it.'
'What is a balloon?' asked O-aa; and then she said, 'Oh, is it a great, round ball with a basket fastened to it in which a person may ride through the air?'
'Yes,' said David, 'that is it.'
'Then it was Dian who came before I did. They have told me about this thing that happened. The what- you-call-it, balloon, came down low over Tanga-tanga; and they thought that the woman in it was their Noada come from Karana; and they went out and fought with the men of Lo lo-lolo for her. But the men of Lolo-lolo got her and she was Noada there until maybe thirty sleeps ago, maybe more. Then the people turned against her; and she disappeared with Gamba, the go-sha of Lolo-lolo, whom the people also wished to kill. What became of them no man knows; but the woman must have been Dian the Beautiful, for she came in that thing that floated through the air. But how did you get here, David Innes?'
'I also came in a balloon,' replied David. 'I had Abner Perry build one, thinking that it might float in the same direction as had that which bore Dian away; for at this time of year the direction of the wind seldom varies, and a balloon is borne along by the wind.'
'They told me that this visitor, who some of them thought might be Pu, had come down from Karana. Now I understand what they meant.'
'What is Karana?' asked David.
'It is where Pu lives,' explained O-aa. 'It is where I live when I am not on earth. It is where those who worship Pu go when they die. It is a mighty good thing for me that Pu came from Karana when he did,' she added.
'Why?' asked David. 'What do you mean?'
'Ope, the high priest, and Furp, the go-sha, don't like me,' replied O-aa. 'They liked me at first, but now they don't like me any more. They don't like me at all. The people bring offerings to me, and many of these offerings are little pieces of metal, like the metal in my bracelets.'
'It is bronze,' said David Innes.
'Whatever it is, Ope the high priest and Furp the go-sha are very anxious to get hold of as much of it as they can; but I throw much of it back to the people because it is a lot of fun watching them fight for it; and that is why Ope and Furp do not like me. But it has made me very popular with the people of Tanga-tanga; and so, not only do Ope and Furp dislike me, but they fear me, also. I cannot understand why Ope and Furp and the people are so
