to the far east and west. That it sank in a combined earthquake and tidal wave as the result of some evil doing on the part of its inhabitants.” “A lost land. And did they ever seek it in your own time-strive to find remnants of it?” “They tried so hard that they proved scientifically it had never existed at all. It was supposed to be purely a legend.” The serving man brought in a tray, and they began to eat, with need dictated by hunger. But Ray glanced up often at that map and wondered. Why was it that remnants of such a civilization as this had not existed somewhere to bear out the truth of legend? True enough, the world he saw on that chart was greatly altered geographically from that of his own time. But certain portions remained the same. And all-every fragment-of a high civilization could not have vanished so completely. “The raider is in sight!” Han stood in the doorway. Ray’s spoon. fell back into the bowl before him, splashing the contents. Cho crossed the cabin in almost one leap, but the American was close on his heels as they reached the outer deck. “There!” Han pointed to a black shape in the mist. “To stations!” Cho shouted. Someone joined Ray at the rail-the Lady Ayna. She ought to stay below, he thought, and then remembered that she had commanded a similar fighting ship, knew more about such matters than he. But the raider appeared not to have sighted them in turn, for it stayed on course, slipping back into the fog. Even after its going, the tension on the Wind Ruder did not lift. “She will be back,” promised Cho. “Now she tries to scent us as might a hunting panther sniff a trail. See-she returns!” He was right. Again the sharp bow of the other ship cut the curling mist. She had come part way around, and the Wind Ruler was closer. He found it hard, Ray discovered, to think of that sinister dark wedge across light was haggard. She forced a wan smile and then shook her head in answer to Cho’s unvoiced question.
“Their wall remains, my lords. If we fight, it will be alone.”
Cho dropped heavily on the nearest bench. “So be it. But perhaps it will not come to that. The Flame willing. Let us have food-” He clapped his hands for the serving man, and the Lady Ayna sat up straighter.
“The ships of the motherland are famed for their provisions. Uighur cannot serve forth the dainties of Mu. Or so I have been told by our officers who have returned from tours of duty there,” she commented.
“Where is Uighur?” Ray asked.
She turned her head to stare wide-eyed at him. Cho went to the map set in the cabin wall. He pressed his fingers to a spot in its frame, and part of it moved to the right, hiding a portion of Atlantis. This revealed at the left the rest of Mu in the Pacific and, beyond, the coastline of the Asian mainland, but one very different from that Ray had known. Again the sea swept far into what would be China, and a portion of the Gobi Desert, and the highlands of future Tibet formed a new shore. This Cho indicated.
“Uighur.”
But the Lady Ayna continued to stare at Ray. “How is it that you know not Uighur?”
“For the same reason that two days ago I did not know Mu either. I am from another time, remember? We had no memories of Uighur there.”
“But of Atlantis-” Cho said slowly. “Why should the Red Land carry as a legend into the far future when all the rest is gone? What did they do, those followers of the Shadow, which set so great a fire blazing in their time that its warmth and smoke went on down untold centuries?”
Tine Lady Ayna’s eyes were bleak. “I can think of one kind of disaster. What did your people know of the Red Land, Lord Ray?”
“That it lay in the ocean as a continent, an ocean in our time unbroken save for a scattering of small islands
to the far east and west. That it sank in a combine( earthquake and tidal wave as the result of some evil doing on the part of its inhabitants.”
“A lost land. And did they ever seek it in your own time-strive to find remnants of it?”
“They tried so hard that they proved scientifically i1 had never existed at all. It was supposed to be purely a legend.”
The serving man brought in a tray, and they began to eat, with need dictated by hunger. But Ray glanced up often at that map and wondered. Why was it that remnants of such a civilization as this had not existed somewhere to bear out the truth of legend? True enough, the world he saw on that chart was greatly altered geographically from that of his own time. But certain portions remained the same. And all-.every fragment-of a high civilization could not have vanished so completely.
“The raider is in sight!” Han stood in the doorway.
Ray’s spoon. fell back into the bowl before him, splashing the contents. Cho crossed the cabin in almost one leap, but the American was close on his heels as they reached the outer deck.
“There!” Han pointed to a black shape in the mist.
“To stations!” Cho shouted.
Someone joined Ray at the rail-the Lady Ayna. She ought to stay below, he thought, and then remembered that she had commanded a similar fighting ship, knew, more about such matters than he.
But the raider appeared not to have sighted them in, turn, for it stayed on course, slipping back into the fog. Even after its going, the tension on the Wind Ruler did not lift.
“She will be back,” promised Cho. “Now she tries to scent us as might a hunting panther sniff a trail. See-she returns!”
He was right. Again the sharp bow of the other ship cut the curling mist. She had come part way around, and the Wind Ruler was closer. He found it hard, Ray discovered, to think of that sinister dark wedge across the water as another ship, bearing men such as those now standing silently about him. There was no sound of voice, only the swish of foaming waves from their own bow as the Wind Ruler held to her course.
Then, as if she had known where they were all the time and had been playing at cat-and-mouse with them, the raider changed course a fraction more and made straight for the Murian vessel.
Calmly Cho gave his orders. “Apu, keep us on course, full speed ahead, no matter what chances. We must make a running fight of it. Use flame throwers, Han, only if we come close enough to be sure they will hit. Hold all fire until the command.”
Officers scattered to their posts, Hek and Romaha from the Lady Ayna’s command taking their place in the waist. The soldier-servant came from the cabin with three shields of reddish metal and long cuffs of the same. Cho slipped the cuff over Ray’s left forearm and showed him how to clip the shield fast to that.
“These are a defense against flame throwers,” the Murian explained. “Should you see one of those black tubes, such as our men wear now at their belts, in use, keep up the shield. I do not believe this raider carries death-breathers; raiders seldom do. We shall hope not, for against those there is little defense.”
Wearing his own shield, Cho went to the wheel. “A night and a day will see us into the Inner Sea-and freedom from all pursuit.”
The Lady Ayna shrugged like one tossing off a burden. “Then,” she answered almost gaily, “what have we to fear? Surely we of the true blood can keep the followers of the Shadow off that long. See, even now they waver as if fearing to attack, though they have come into position to do so-”
Indeed the dark ship appeared to hesitate, though the mist was so distorting, half revealing, half concealing, that this might only be illusion. But it seemed to Ray that the bow of the raider did swing a little to one side as the Wind Ruler continued on course. The Lady Ayna was right, the headlong advance of the
enemy checked, swinging farther away. They passed it, now near hidden in the fog, unchallenged.
“They fear us! They dare not test the might of the motherland in open battle!” exulted the girl.
Cho shook his head, plainly ill at ease. “I do not like it. By all the rules they should have attacked then. But they turned aside-”
“What can any raider hope to do against a ship of the fleet ready and willing for battle?” she returned. “It is merely that the captain over there is a man of sense. They may skulk about, seeing if their Ba-A1 will give them some small advantage, but they will not risk fronting our bared teeth-”