'How?' he demanded.
I pointed toward the ship. He looked just a little bit taken aback, but only for a second.
'All right,' he said. 'You will not regret your kindness. May I ask your name? Mine is Taman .'
'And mine is Carson .'
He looked at me curiously. 'What country are you from? I have never before seen an Amtorian with yellow hair.'
'It is a long story,' I said. 'Suffice it to say that I am not an Amtorian; I am from another world.'
We walked toward the ship together, he, in the meantime, having returned his pistol to its holster. When we reached it, he saw Duare for the first time. I could just note a faint expression of surprise, which he hid admirably. He was evidently a man of refinement. I introduced them, and then showed him how to enter the rear cockpit and fasten his lifebelt.
Of course I couldn't see him when we took off, but he afterward told me that he believed his end had come. I flew him directly back to the Zani camp and along the highway toward Amlot.
'This is wonderful!' he exclaimed time and again. 'I can see everything. I can even count the battalions and the guns and the wagons.'
'Tell me when you've seen enough,' I said.
'I think I've seen all that's necessary. Poor Sanara! How can it withstand such a horde? And I may not even be able to get back and make my report. The city must be surrounded by troops by now. I just barely got out an ax ago.' An ax is equivalent to twenty days of Amtorian time, or slightly over twenty-two days, eleven hours of Earth time.
'The city is entirely surrounded,' I told him. 'I doubt that you could possibly pass through the lines even at night.'
'Would you—' he hesitated.
'Would I what?' I asked, though I guessed what he wished to ask me.
'But no,' he said; 'it would be too much to ask of a stranger. You would be risking your life and that of your companion.'
'Is there any place large enough for me to land inside the walls of Sanara?' I asked.
He laughed. 'You guessed well,' he said. 'How much space do you require?'
I told him.
'Yes,' he said; 'there is a large field near the center of town where races were held. You could land there easily.'
'A couple of more questions,' I suggested.
'Certainly! Ask as many as you please.'
'Have you sufficient influence with the military authorities to ensure our safety? I am, of course, thinking of my mate. I cannot risk harm befalling her.'
'I give you the word of a nobleman that you will both be safe under my protection,' he assured me.
'And that we shall be permitted to leave the city whenever we choose, and that our ship will not be molested or detained?'
'Again you have my word for all that you have asked,' he said; 'but still I think it is too much to ask of you— too much to permit you to do for a stranger.'
I turned to Duare. 'What is your answer, Duare?' I asked.
'I think that I shall like Sanara,' she said.
I turned the ship's nose in the direction of the Korvan seaport.
Chapter 5—Sanara
Taman was profuse in his gratitude, but not too profuse. I felt from the first that he was going to prove a likable fellow; and I know that Duare liked him, too. She ordinarily seldom enters into conversation with strangers. The old taboos of the jong's daughter are not to be easily dispelled, but she talked with Taman on the flight to Sanara, asking him many questions.
'You will like our people,' he told her. 'Of course, now, under the strain of a long siege, conditions are not normal nor are the people; but they will welcome you and treat you well. I shall take you both into my own home, where I know that my wife can make you comfortable even under the present conditions.'
As we passed over the Zanis' lines they commenced to take pot shots at us, but I was flying too high for their fire to have been effective even against an unprotected ship. Taman and I had discussed the matter of landing. I was a little fearful that the defenders might become frightened at this strange craft were it to attempt a landing in the city, especially as this time we would be approaching from enemy country. I suggested a plan which he thought might work out satisfactorily; so he wrote a note on a piece of paper which he had and tied it to one of the large nuts we had brought with us. In fact he wrote several notes, tying each one to a different nut. Each note stated that he was in the anator they saw flying above the city and asked the commander to have the racing field cleared so that we could make a safe landing. If the note were received and permission to land was granted, they were to send several men with flags to the windward end of the field with instructions to wave them until they saw us come in for a landing. This would accomplish two purposes—show us that we would not be fired on and also give me the direction of the wind at the field.
I dropped the notes at intervals over the city, and then circled at a safe distance awaiting the outcome of our plan. I could see the field quite distinctly, and that there were quite a few people on it—far too many to make a landing safe. Anyway, there was nothing to do but wait for the signal. While we were waiting, Taman pointed out places of interest in the city—parks, public buildings, barracks, the governor's palace. He said that the jong’s nephew lived there now and ruled as jong, his uncle being a prisoner of the Zanis at Amlot. There were even rumors that the jong had been executed. It was that that the defenders of Sanara feared as much as they feared the Zanis, because they didn't trust the jong's nephew and didn't want him as permanent jong.
It seemed as though we'd circled over the city for an hour before we received any indication that our notes had been received; then I saw soldiers clearing the people out of the racing field. That was a good omen; then a dozen soldiers with flags went to one end of the field and commenced to wave them. At that I commenced to drop in a tight spiral—you see I didn't want to go too near the city walls for fear of attracting the fire of the Zanis.
Looking down, I saw people converging upon that field from all directions. The word that we were going to land must have spread like wildfire. They were coming in droves, blocking the avenues. I hoped that a sufficient detail of soldiers had been sent to keep them from swarming over the field and tearing us and the plane to pieces. I was so worried that I zoomed upward again and told Taman to write another note asking for a large military guard to keep the people away from the ship. This he did, and then I dropped down again and tossed the note out on the field near a group of men that Taman told me were officers. Five minutes later we saw a whole battalion marched onto the field and posted around the edges; then I came in for a landing.
Say, but weren't those people thrilled! They were absolutely breathless and silent until the ship rolled almost to a stop; then they burst into loud cheering. It certainly made me feel pretty good to realize that we were welcome somewhere in the world, for our situation had previously seemed utterly hopeless, realizing, as we did from past experience, that strangers are seldom welcome in any Amtorian city. My own experience on the occasion of my landing in Vepaja from my rocket ship had borne this out; for, though I was finally accepted, I had been a virtual prisoner in the palace of the jong for a long period of time.
After Taman alighted from the ship, I started to help Duare out; and as she stepped onto the wing in full view of the crowd the cheering stopped and there was a moment of breathless silence; then they burst forth again. It was a wonderful ovation they gave Duare. I think they hadn't realized that the third member of the party was a woman until she stepped into full view. The realization that it was a woman, coupled with her startling beauty, just simply took their breath away. You may be sure that I loved the people of Sanara from that moment.
Several officers had approached the ship, and there were greetings and introductions of course. I noted the deference they accorded Taman , and I realized my good fortune in having placed a really important man under obligations to me. Just how important a personage he really was, I was not to learn until later.
While we had been circling the field I had noticed a number of the huge animals, such as I had seen drawing
