Rick Brant - The Lost City Part 15

"I knew Meekin had failed when you wired for replacements," Van Groot explained. "I antic.i.p.ated such a failure, you see, and so I had a clerk at the electronic equipment house watching for such a message. It was ridiculously easy. There was no other place where you could have picked up replacement parts. Then, when you recovered the equipment, I was a bit discouraged, but you played into my hands by asking me to get your maps. I merely subst.i.tuted others with my own choice of a route marked in. It would have taken you to Tengi-Bu, had you followed it, although in a roundabout way."

"You hired Sahmeed and told him to bulldoze his way into being hired by us," Scotty stated.

"And you bribed the frontier official," Rick added.

"True, to both statements," Van Groot smiled. "I beat you to the frontier by several days, by flying to Nepal. Then I came here and arranged to have Mongol patrols keep track of you. They did very well, until you got separated. We lost young Mr. Brant for a while, but I had Subotai and three men wait in the entrance pa.s.sage, in case he blundered into the valley. As it happened, they caught him going out after he had already explored a bit." He addressed Rick directly. "You must have come in while your friends were being ushered to Chepe-Noyan by the first patrol."

"Surely others must know of this valley," Weiss said.

"I'm happy to say that you are wrong," Van Groot told him. "We are far off the beaten path, in a country where no one ever ventures. There is nothing to bring Tibetans here, and the Mongols are careful not to be seen when they venture out. They permitted you to see them, on my orders, purely as a means of intimidation. As for the outside world, we are away from air routes and highways. There are no high mountains of the kind that attract climbers. No, I'm afraid we are the only white men who know about the valley."

His voice sharpened. "I regret that you will not enjoy the knowledge for long, but your fate is on your own heads, gentlemen. It was not my plan that you should find this place. I merely tried to keep you away from it. After my attempts on the equipment had failed I decided to let you come ahead, by a route of my choice. But that Hindu boy spoiled things again. I trust Sahmeed has wrung his neck by this time."

"All this trouble to keep us away from here is past belief," Weiss declared. "If I know men of your type, you must hope to gain substantially. Where is your profit to come from?"

"The tomb is made of gold," Rick reminded Weiss.

"True," Van Groot agreed. "But that is not the reason."

"Then what is it?" Zircon demanded.

Van Groot turned and signaled to the Mongol warrior Subotai. The two guards took up stations again at the door. "I'm afraid," he said, "that is one thing you will never know. In fact, my only reason for talking with you now was to see if you did know."

He bowed and walked into the darkness.

The four looked at each other, then Rick sat down on the rocky floor of their cell.

"Somebody pinch me," he said.

"You're awake all right," Scotty told him. He sat down and crossed his legs.

The scientists joined the boys on the floor, and Zircon sighed, "I'm sorry you blundered into the city, Rick. You were our only hope."

"It's a dream," Rick said. "I don't believe any of it." His voice rose a little. "Or are we all crazy?"

"Easy," Scotty said, his hand on Rick's arm. "We're sane enough. Everything Van Groot said made sense."

"Yes," Weiss agreed. "Even the inscriptions on the tomb bear him out. I didn't guess the true story, although I did notice that the word on the base of the monument read Temujin."

"What does that mean?" Scotty asked.

"Temujin was the name of the man usually known as the Genghis Khan," Weiss explained. "Roughly, Khan means leader, or ruler. Genghis Khan is a t.i.tle that means Ruler of All Men."

"This city would be a great find," Zircon said gloomily, "if we had a chance to report it."

Rick looked at the stalwart Mongols stationed outside the door and remembered how the mob in the city had yelled. He knew, and he knew the others knew, that the Mongols would never let them leave. They would die here, for violating the tomb of a man dead for centuries.

All that Van Groot had said went through his mind. Many points in the mystery had been cleared except the biggest one. What was the man's motive? And why had he wanted to keep them away from here? As Weiss had said, how was he going to profit?

He tried to think of ways to escape, of any source of help.

"Chahda!" he exclaimed. "He's still free."

"Unless Sahmeed has tossed him over a cliff," Scotty said unhappily.

"Julius," Zircon suggested, "tell us about the Genghis Khan."

Weiss demurred at first, then he realized that the big scientist only sought for something to keep their minds occupied, and he began: "Temujin, whose t.i.tle was Genghis Khan, was the greatest conqueror the world has ever known. By comparison, Alexander, Napoleon, Hitler - as Scotty would say - were pikers."

The professor's soft voice went on, detailing the fantastic story of the Khan, and little by little the others forgot their predicament, lost in the spell of the tale.

He told of the poor Mongol tribesman who had gathered men around him as a magnet draws iron. He ruled them with a hand of steel, and he taught them his military genius. He took the nomadic Mongol peoples and forged them into a mighty nation of warriors, whose sole business was war.

Then, about the end of the twelfth century, the hors.e.m.e.n of the Khan rode forth in great divisions and swept across the known earth like a flame that seared all it touched. They took India, and all the rest of Asia; they swept into Asia Minor, even into Western Europe. And as they went, the fierce, leather-armored hors.e.m.e.n with their horsetail standards set up a civilization of their own.

Nothing could stop them. They used infiltration tactics copied by the panzer divisions centuries later. They used fifth columnists to penetrate the Great Wall of China and overrun Cathay. They even set up the first pony express, to keep communications going within the Khan's great empire.

And at the head of this mighty force sat Temujin, the Genghis Khan - the illiterate, cruel genius who measured his campaigns by degrees of longitude rather than by mere nations.

The great Khan died in his seventy-second year, and his warriors took his body to the South, killing every living thing they met on the march, so that his burial place would never be known.

"It was thought," Weiss said, "that he had been buried in China. Now we know the truth. I do not doubt it, because there is proof around us - the name on the tomb, the names of the warriors here. Chepe-Noyan - the old man who is lord of the city - was the name of one of the great marshals of the Khan. Subotai was the name of another division leader."

The professor pointed to the Mongol outside their door. "And there is Subotai. Doubtless a direct descendant of that great warrior who lived eight centuries ago."

"Strange that they should have come to Tibet to find a burial place," Zircon commented.

"Not so strange," Weiss said. "They overran India. In fact, it was a descendant of the Mongol rulers, Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal. My theory is that one of the Khan's divisions came into Tibet and found this valley on their way to India. They would have noted it. A warm, fertile place of this sort is strange in Tibet. Due to volcanic activity close under the surface, I'm sure."

"Why do you suppose it hasn't been discovered?" Scotty asked.

"There is no reason for men to come here," Weiss replied. "There are no villages around. Nothing but rock and more rock. It isn't even on a route between civilized points."

"I guess that's why no planes have spotted it," Rick said.

Weiss nodded. "The place was safe ... barring an odd expedition like this."

"I was wondering," Scotty mused, "why there weren't any guards at the tomb? They evidently think it's pretty valuable. We looked inside and no one disturbed us until the patrol caught up."

"I imagine they have never felt the need of guards," Zircon replied. "The very existence of the city was unknown and there would be no point in guarding it against themselves. In fact, the entire populated part of the city could be considered a guard."

"I wonder what they'll think at Spindrift on the tenth, when they get no answer?" Rick said gloomily.

"They'll keep trying." Zircon replied. "Then they'll send out a search party. After a while another expedition will come out. There will be a moon relay, you can be sure of that, no matter what happens to us."

"And this city will be found," Weiss added. "It is inevitable."

"Not that it will matter much to us," Scotty remarked.

They fell silent after this gloomy prediction, and presently they picked spots on the hard floor and curled up to rest as best they could, and wait for day.

Who knew what it would bring?

CHAPTER XVII.

"They Can Eat Stone!"

RICK couldn't believe that he had slept, but it was the sound of a sword rattling against the cell bars that woke him. Scotty, Weiss, and Zircon were sitting up, rubbing their aching joints. The guard Subotai was opening the cell door.

Dawnlight flooded the outer room from holes in the rock ceiling. The Mongol motioned to them and stood aside.

They filed out and other guards fell in behind them. Subotai took the lead, his weapon in hand. He led them down the corridor through which Rick had been brought the night before, turned the corner, and headed toward the throne room.

As they mounted the stairs, clear daylight almost blinded them and made them blink. Then they were in the throne room, walking toward the aged figure of the leader, Chepe-Noyan.

Van Groot stood beside the old Mongol, immaculate as ever, a mentholated tissue in his hand.

And piled before the throne were many crates - their equipment!

The aged warrior made no move of recognition, but Van Groot said, "Good morning, gentlemen. I trust you spent a pleasant night. As you see, I have arranged for your equipment to be brought here."

Weiss and Zircon looked at it hopelessly.

"Why did you bother?" the little scientist asked.

Van Groot sniffed as one of the warriors moved too close to him. "It might have been embarra.s.sing had a later searching party found these things," he explained. "Of course, it was only a remarkable coincidence that enabled you to stumble into the city, so we have no real fear that anyone else ever will come here."

Chepe-Noyan leaned forward on his throne and began to speak.

Weiss translated under his breath: "We have desecrated the tomb. We must suffer, he says."

Rick, Scotty, and Zircon moved closer to each other.

"Now he seems to be calling on the soul of Genghis Khan to witness his wisdom in dealing with the violators of his tomb," Weiss went on. "I can't understand all of it. It is a sort of ritual speech or prayer."

Watching the face of Chepe-Noyan, Rick knew that there was no such thing as mercy in his code. If anything was to be done, it must be done now. He looked about at the guards, and at Subotai and at another young warrior standing close by their ruler. Every door was barred. There was no chance to make a break. He stared at Van Groot, who seemed as puzzled as Weiss at the tirade issuing from the ruler's lips.

If only Van Groot did not have such a hold over these superst.i.tious people, he groaned to himself. Then he started suddenly.

They were superst.i.tious. Van Groot had proved that by palming off his tall tale on them.

If they'd believed one tall tale, why not another?

He moved closer to Weiss and looked at the throne to see if Chepe-Noyan's eyes were upon them. The aged man's eyes were raised to the heavens as he uttered the imploring tones of his prayer. Subotai and the other guards had their eyes cast to the floor in reverence.

"Professor," Rick whispered, "could we sell this man a story about ourselves?"

Scotty and Zircon moved closer.

"Like Van Groot did, you mean?" Scotty asked softly.

"Yes. Tell them we're messengers from the Khan too, and have delayed identifying ourselves until now to see if they would recognize the signs that our kind bring with us!"

Zircon's eyes widened at the boldness of the idea.

Weiss bit his lip. "How, Rick?"

Rick looked up to see Van Groot looking at them suspiciously, and then Chepe-Noyan's eyes fell upon them.

Before he could speak, Weiss was spouting forth a stream of excited Mongol, pointing to the sky and pounding his chest.

A startled look came into Chepe-Noyan's eyes, and when Van Groot noticed the reaction and realized what Weiss was saying, he leaped to the ruler's side and began haranguing him from the other side.

But Chepe-Noyan growled at the man, and turned his eyes back toward Rick and his friends.

"By gosh, I think he's going for it," Scotty whispered.

Rick did not wait for skepticism to set in. He ran to the pile of equipment and began searching through it for a square black case, lighter than the rest.

It was right on top. His heart gave a leap as he saw that nothing had happened to his speed graphic.

Chepe-Noyan's eyes were on him now, and Rick knew he had broken the spell of Weiss's words.

"Tell him I will capture his soul in this little box," Rick said excitedly. He slipped in a cut-film holder, set the shutter, and hurriedly guessed at the focus. Guards were rus.h.i.+ng toward him. He lifted the camera to his cheek, sighted through the view finder, and clicked the shutter.

Subotai reached for him, his dagger in the other hand. Rick jerked away. "Tell him," he shouted desperately. "Tell him!"

Weiss spoke rapidly.

Chepe-Noyan shouted at the guards and they let Rick go, reluctantly.

Weiss translated as Chepe-Noyan spoke. "He does not believe, but he is a reasonable man, he says. How long will it take to develop it?"

"Just a few minutes. I'll need water."

Weiss pa.s.sed on the information and a guard was sent from the room.

Rick set up his black velvet hood on its wire frame, then took the developing pans and set them on the floor. He filled them with the bottled, ready-mixed developer and fixative he had brought. When the guard came back with water, he filled the third pan from the gourd, then placed the tent of black velvet over it.

He knelt and thrust his arms through the rubber wristbands.