The Harem Slave
: The Great White QueenA DOZEN times were we driven back by overwhelming numbers of Arabs, but
as many times we dashed forward again, determined to strike a fatal,
irrisistible blow at the power of the egotistical and fanatical chieftain
whose depredations had earned for him the appelation of "The Pirate of
the Niger." Every nation in Western Africa, save the dwellers in the
mystic land of Mo, existed in daily fear of raids by his ruthless armed
regions, seizing cattle, laying waste prosperous and fertile districts,
burning towns and villages, and reducing their weaker neighbours to
slavery. Indeed, no bodies of armed men throughout the whole of the great
African continent, including even the Tuaregs, were so reckless in their
attacks, or so fiendish in their wholesale butchery of those who
resented the ruin and devastation of their homes. It was therefore
scarcely surprising that this brigandish horde, whose power even European
nations failed to break, should throw themselves into the conflict with
reckless enthusiasm, and repel our attack by the exertion of every
muscle.
In point of numbers we were much inferior; our superiority existed only
in our arms. Their old-fashioned bronze field-pieces, flint-lock pistols
and long-barrelled Arab guns, although deadly weapons in the hands of
such expert shots, proved no match against such irresistible appliances
as the Maxim, the Hotchkiss, or the modern English-made rifle. This fact
very soon became apparent, for although the fierce battle raged for many
hours, and Samory himself, in yellow robe, and mounted upon a snow-white
stallion, gorgeously caparisoned, could be seen urging on his hordes to
valiant deeds, we nevertheless everywhere made a firm stand at various
points of vantage, and by no effort were they able to dislodge us.
When the sun rose, red and fiery through the veil of smoke, the
increasing weakness of the defence was visibly demonstrated by the manner
in which the entrance to the Kasbah was guarded. The great doors of iron
were closed and barred securely, and on the walls the crimson fezes of
the defenders showed in profusion, but presently Kona, as we drove back
the soldiers of Al-Islam almost for the hundredth time, shouted the order
to storm the citadel. With one accord we made a mad, reckless rush an
instant later, and carried on by the thousands of my comrades behind, I
found myself slashing to right and left under the high, sun-blanched
walls of the enormous fortress. Kona, appearing a giant even among his
tall Dagombas, gave one the impression in those critical moments of a
veritable demon, filled as he was with a mad excitement and knowing that
upon the success of our assault depended the result of the expedition.
Towering above his fellows, his long spear in hand, he seemed to lead a
charmed existence, swaying to and fro among whistling bullets, whizzing
arrows, flashing swords and whirring spears. His own weapon he dyed in
the blood of his adversaries times without number, for where he struck he
never failed to kill. His aim was unerring, and his courage that of a
lion of his native forest.
In those furious moments I escaped death only by a miracle. As I dashed
forward to seek shelter beneath the ponderous wall, a tall Arab, with
long brown hairy arms, swung his curved sword high above his head and
brought it down with such force that had I not dodged him just in time,
he would have smashed my skull. Lowering my rifle quickly till its muzzle
almost touched his flowing garments, I fired, but unfortunately the
bullet passed beneath his arm-pit, and flattened itself against the wall.
Again, muttering some fearful imprecation in Arabic, he raised his
gleaming blade, and, unable to fire at such close quarters, I was then
compelled to use my rifle to ward off his attack. For an instant we
struggled desperately, when suddenly he gave his sword a rapid twist,
jerking my weapon from my hands and leaving me unarmed at his mercy.
His features broadened into a brutal grin as, noticing me fumbling for my
pistol, he again raised his razor-edged Moorish blade, and holding it at
arm's length, gave one vigorous slash at me. Pressed forward towards him
by men engaged in mortal conflict behind me, I could not evade him, and
was about to receive the full force of what my adversary intended should
be a fatal blow, when suddenly a savage spear struck him full in the
throat, and stuck quivering there.
Instantly his sinewy arm fell, the heavy sword dropped from his nerveless
fingers, and he stumbled backward and fell to earth like a log.
"Thou art safe, O Master!" a voice cried cheerily behind me, and turning,
I saw that the man who had thrown his spear and saved my life was Kona.
Shouting an expression of thanks I bent, and, unable to recover my lost
rifle in the frightful melee, snatched up the dead Arab's sword that
had so nearly caused my death, then fought on by my deliverer's side. His
wounds were many, for blood was flowing from cuts and gashes innumerable
in his bare black flesh, yet he appeared insensible to pain, striving
forward, gasping as he dealt each blow, determined to conquer.
The fight continued with unabated fury--the bloodshed was horrible. The
open square before the gate of the Kasbah was transformed into a
veritable slaughter-yard, the stones being slippery with blood, and
passage rendered difficult by the corpses that lay piled everywhere. At
last, however, while engaged in another warm corner, the shrill,
awe-inspiring war cry of the Dagombas again sounded above the tumult, and
turning, I saw that by some means our men had opened the great gate, and
that they were pouring into the spacious courtyards that I so well
remembered.
Our assault, though fiercely and savagely repelled, was at last
successful. We were entering the stronghold of Samory, and had achieved a
feat that the well-equipped expeditions of the French and English had
failed to accomplish.
The Arabs during the next quarter of an hour struggled bravely against
their adversity and fought with a dogged courage of which I had not
believed them capable. Soon, however, finding themselves conquered, they
cried for quarter. Had they known the peculiar temperament of the
Dagombas and the soldiers of Mo, they would never thus have implored
mercy. But they cried out, and some even sank on their knees in the blood
of their dead comrades, uttering piteous appeals. But the Arabs of Samory
had never shown mercy to the Dagombas or the people of Mo, and
consequently our army, in the first flush of their victory, filled with
the awful lust for blood, treated their cries with jeers, and as they
advanced into court after court within the great Kasbah walls, they fell
upon all they met, armed or unarmed, men or women, and massacred them
where they stood.
The appeal shouted time after time by Kona to view our victory in
temperate spirit and spare those who submitted, was disregarded by all in
this wholesale savage butchery. The scene within the Arab chieftain's
stronghold was, alas! far more horrible than any I had witnessed during
the revolt in Mo. Guards, officials and slaves of Samory's household were
indiscriminately put to the sword, some of the men being hunted into
corners and speared by the Dagombas, while others were forced upon their
knees by the soldiers of Mo and mercilessly decapitated. The door of the
great harem, long ago reputed to contain a thousand inmates, including
slaves, was burst open, and in those beautiful and luxuriant courts and
chambers the whole of the women were butchered with a brutality quite as
fiendish as any displayed by the Arabs themselves. The handsome
favourites of Samory in their filmy garments of gold tissue and girdles
of precious stones were dragged by their long tresses from their hiding
places and literally hacked to pieces, their magnificent and costly
jewels being torn from them and regarded as legitimate loot. Women's
death-screams filled the great courts and corridors; their life-blood
stained the pavements of polished jasper and bespattered the conquerors.
The Dagombas, finding themselves inside this extensive abode of luxury,
where beautiful fountains shot high into the morning sunlight,
sweet-smelling flowers bloomed everywhere and sensuous odours from
perfuming-pans hung heavily in the air, seemed suddenly transformed into
a demoniac horde bent upon the most ruthless devastation. They remembered
that times without number had the Sofas of Samory burnt their villages
and towns, and carried hundreds of their tribesmen away as slaves; they
were now seeking revenge for past wrongs.
As, nauseated by the sight of blood, I witnessed these awful atrocities,
I reflected that the curse of Zomara, uttered solemnly by Omar when
Samory had sold us to the slave-dealers, had at last fallen upon the Arab
chieftain.
Omar had prophesied the downfall of Samory, and his utterance was now
fulfilled.
Screams, piercing and heart-rending, sounded everywhere, mingled with the
fierce war-shouts of our savage allies, as, time after time, some
unfortunate woman in gorgeous garb and ablaze with valuable gems was
discovered, dragged unceremoniously from her hiding-place to the great
court wherein I stood, her many necklets ruthlessly torn from her white
throat and a keen sword drawn across it as a butcher would calmly
despatch a lamb. Then, when life had ebbed, her body would be cast into
the great basin of the fountain, where hundreds of others had already
been pitched.
In other parts of the Kasbah a similar massacre was proceeding, none of
those found therein being allowed to escape; while an active search was
everywhere in progress for Samory himself.
From where I stood I witnessed the breaking up of the Arab ruler's
throne, and the tearing down of the great canopy of amaranth silk under
which Samory had reclined when, with Omar, I had been brought before him.
The crescent of solid gold that had surmounted it was handed to Kona, who
broke it in half beneath his heel as sign of the completeness of his
victory. Then, when the destruction of the seat of the brutal autocrat
was complete, the debris with the torn silk, and the long strips of
crimson cloth, whereon good counsels from the Koran were embroidered in
Kufic characters of gold, that had formed a kind of frieze to the
chamber, were carried out into the court by fifty willing hands, heaped
up and there burnt.
While watching the flames leaping up consuming the wrecked remains of the
royal seat of the powerful Arab ruler, a woman's scream, louder than the
rest, caused me to look suddenly round at the latest victim of the
Dagombas' thirst for vengeance, and I beheld in the clutches of
half-a-dozen savages, a young woman, dragged as the others had been by
her fair, unbound hair towards the spot where each had, in turn, been
murdered. She was dressed in a rich, beautiful robe of bright yellow
silk, embroidered with pale pink flowers, but her garments were
bedraggled with water and blood, and her bleeding wrists and fingers
showed with what heartless brutality her jewels had been torn from her
by her pitiless captors. She struggled frantically to free herself, but
without avail, and one of the savages, noticing a magnificent diamond
bangle upon her ankle, bent, and tried to force it off.
Just at that moment, in endeavouring to twist herself free from their
clutches, her fair face became turned towards me and her deep blue,
terrified eyes for an instant met mine.
Next second I uttered a cry of recognition. Yes, there was no mistake
about that flawless complexion, those handsome features or those wondrous
eyes, the mysterious depths of which had enthralled me, as they had done
Omar.
It was Liola!
With a bound I sprang forward, tearing at the knot of savages and
shouting to them to release her. At first they only grinned hideously, no
doubt thinking that I desired her as a slave, and as they had decided
that all should die without exception, in order that their conquest
should be rendered the more complete, they were in no way disposed to
obey my command. At last I succeeded in arresting their progress, when
the man who had attempted to wrench from her ankle the diamond ornament
shook his long, keen knife threateningly at me, while the others yelled
all kinds of imprecations. Not liking his fierce attitude, and knowing
that in the heat of victory they were capable of turning upon friends who
attempted to thwart them, I drew back, and as I did so he flung himself
upon one knee and raised his knife over Liola's foot.
Instantly I saw his intention. He meant to hack off her foot in order to
secure the bangle, a horrible proceeding that had been carried out more
than once before my eyes within the past hour. There was, I knew, but one
way to save her, therefore without hesitating I drew my revolver and
fired at him point blank.
The ball pierced his breast. With an agonized cry he clutched for a
moment wildly at the air, then fell back dead.
My action, as I fully expected it would, aroused the intense ire of his
companions and all released Liola, now insensible, and sprang at me,
their ready knives flashing in the sunlight. I was compelled to fly, and
had it not been for Kona, who, standing some distance off watching the
reduction of Samory's throne to ashes, took in the situation at a glance,
sped in their direction, and ordered his men to stop and tell him the
cause, I should undoubtedly have lost my life. As their head-man his word
was law. Then, glancing at the inanimate form of Liola, who, having
fainted, had been left lying on the blood-stained pavement, he recognized
her as Goliba's daughter, and in a dozen words told his men that she was
the betrothed of the young Naba of Mo, and that I, his friend, had saved
her.
The savages, aghast at this statement, and recognizing how near they had
been to murdering the beloved of the Naba Omar, rushed towards me
penitent, urging that they might be forgiven, and declaring that their
conduct, under the circumstances, was excusable. They had, they said, no
idea that they would find in the harem of their enemy Samory the
betrothed of Mo's ruler, and I also was compelled to admit myself quite
as astounded as themselves. Therefore in brief words explanations and
forgiveness were exchanged and I rushed across, and with the ready help
of Kona and his men endeavoured to restore her to consciousness.
The dread of her horrible fate had caused her to faint, and it was a long
time ere we could bring her back to the knowledge of her surroundings.
Tenderly the Dagombas, who a few minutes before would have brutally
murdered her, carried her into one of the small luxuriantly-furnished
chambers of the harem, and at my request left me alone with her. Kona,
though fierce as a wild beast in war, was tender-hearted as a child where
undefended women were concerned, and would have remained, but as
commander of the forces now engaged in sacking the palace many onerous
duties devolved upon him. Therefore I was left alone with her.
Her eyes closed, her fair hair disarranged, her clothing torn and
blood-stained, she lay upon a soft divan, pale and motionless as one
dead. I chafed her tiny hands, and released her rich robe at the throat
to give her air, wondering by what strange chain of circumstances she had
come to be an inmate of the private apartments of our enemy Samory. At
last, however, her breast heaved and fell slowly once or twice, and
presently she opened her beautiful eyes, gazing up at me with a puzzled,
half-frightened expression.
"Liola," I exclaimed softly, in the language of Mo. "Thou art with
friends, have no further fear. The soldiers of thy lover Omar have
wreaked a vengeance complete and terrible upon thy captor Samory."
"But the savages!" she gasped. "They will kill me as they massacred all
the women."
"No, no, they will not," I assured her, placing my arm tenderly beneath
her handsome head. "The savages are our Dagomba allies who, not knowing
that thou wert a native of Mo, would have butchered thee like the rest."
"And thou didst save me?" she cried. "Yes, I remember, thou didst shoot
dead the brute who would have cut off my foot to secure my diamond
anklet. I owe my life to thee."
"Ah! do not speak of that," I cried. "Calm thyself and rest assured of
thy safety, for thou shalt return with us to the land of thy fathers.
Thou shalt, ere a moon has run its course, pillow thine head upon the
shoulder of the man thou lovest, Omar, Naba of Mo."
She blushed deeply at my words, and her small white hand still smeared
with blood, gripped my wrist. Her heart seemed too full for words, and in
this manner she silently thanked me for rescuing her from the awful fate
to which she had so nearly been hurried.
Soon she recovered from the shock sufficiently to sit up and chat.
Together we listened to the roar of the excited multitude outside, and
from the lattice window could see columns of dense black smoke rising
from the city, where the fighting-men of Mo, in accordance with their
instructions from Omar, having sacked the place, were now setting it on
fire.
In answer to my eager questions as to her adventures after her seizure by
the soldiers of the Great White Queen, she said:
"Yes. It is true they captured me, together with my girl slave, Wyona,
and hurried me towards the palace. Wyona fought and bit like a tigress,
and one of the men becoming infuriated, killed her. Just at that moment
the attack was made upon us by the populace, and they, witnessing his
action, tore him limb from limb. Then, in the fierce conflict that
followed, I escaped from their clutches in the same manner as Omar and
thyself. Knowing of the attack to be made upon the palace I fled for
safety in the opposite direction, and remained in hiding throughout the
night in the house of one of my kinswomen away towards the city-gate. At
last the report spread that the people had taken the palace by assault,
the Naya had been deposed, and Omar enthroned Naba in her stead. Then,
feeling that safety was assured, I ventured forth, but ere I had gone far
I met a body of strange fighting men. They were Arabs, and proved to be
men from this stronghold of our enemy Samory. After a strenuous attempt
to cross the city they had been repulsed by the people, leaving many
dead, and in their retreat towards the city-gate they seized me and bore
me away in triumph here."
"How long hast thou been in Koussan?"
"Twenty days ago we arrived, after fighting our way back and losing half
our force in skirmishes with the hostile savages of the forest. I was
brought here to Samory's harem as slave, attired in the garments I now
wear, loaded with jewels torn from the body of one of his favourites,
who, incurring his displeasure, had been promptly strangled by the chief
of the negro eunuchs, and placed in an apartment with three other slaves
to do my bidding, there to await such time as it should please my Arab
captor to inspect me. I was contemplating death," she added, dropping her
deep blue eyes. "If your attack upon the Kasbah had not been delivered I
should most assuredly have killed myself to-day ere the going down of the
sun."
"It was fortunate that I recognized thee, or thou wouldst have been
hacked to pieces by the keen blades of our savage allies," I said.
"Take me hence," she urged panting. "I cannot bear to hear the shout of
the victor and the despairing cry of the vanquished. It is horrible.
Throughout the night we, in the women's quarters, have dreaded the fate
awaiting us if the invaders, whom we thought were savages of the forest,
should gain the mastery and enter the palace. From the high windows
yonder we witnessed the fight, knowing that our lives depended upon its
issue, and judge our dismay and despair when, soon after dawn, we saw the
Arabs overwhelmed and the Kasbah fall into the hands of their conquerors.
Many of my wretched companions killed themselves with their poignards
rather than fall into the hands of the blacks, while the majority hid
themselves only to be afterwards discovered and butchered. Ah, it is all
terrible, terrible!"
"True," I answered. "Yet it is only revenge for the depredations and
heartless atrocities committed by these people upon the dwellers in thy
border lands. Even at this moment Samory hath a great expedition on the
northern confines of Mo, making a vigorous attempt to invade thy country,
so that he shall reign upon the Emerald Throne in the place of thy lover
Omar."
"An expedition to invade Mo?" she cried surprised. "Hath Samory done
this; is it his intention to cause Omar's overthrow?"
"Most assuredly it is," I answered. "The reason of our presence here in
such force was to assault Koussan in the absence of its picked troops,
twenty thousand of whom were we ascertained on their way northward, with
the intention of forcing a passage through Aribanda and the Hombori
Mountains into Mo. Niaro hath led our fighting-men to repel their attack,
and he is accompanied by Omar and thy father, while we are here, under
Kona's leadership, to punish Samory for his intrepidity."
Then she asked how Omar fared, and I explained how it had been believed
that she had died, and that all were mourning for her.
"My slave Wyona must have been mistaken for me," she answered. "And
naturally, as I had given her one of my left-off robes only the day
before."
"Omar believeth thee dead. Thy presence in Mo will indeed bring happiness
to his eyes, and gaiety to his heart," I exclaimed happily.
"Doth he still mourn for me?" she inquired artlessly. I knew she wanted
to ask me many questions regarding her lover, but her modesty forbade it.
"Since the fatal night when thou wert lost joy hath never caused a smile
to cross his countenance. Sleeping and waking he thinketh only of thee,
revering thy memory, reflecting upon the happy moments spent at thy side,
as one fondly remembers a pleasant dream or adventures in some fair
paradise, yet ever sad in the knowledge that those blissful days can
never return. His is an empty honour, a kingship devoid of all pleasure
because thou art no longer his."
Her lips trembled slightly, and I thought her brilliant eyes became
brighter for a moment because of an unshed tear.
"I am still his," she said slowly, with emphasis. "I am ready, nay
anxious, to return to him. Thou hast saved me from death and from
dishonour; truly thou art a worthy friend of Omar's, for by thy valiant
deed alone thou restorest unto him the woman he loveth."
I urged her to utter no word of thanks, and pointing to the sky, rendered
every moment more dark by the increasing volumes of smoke ascending from
the city, said:
"See! Our men are busy preparing for the destruction of this palace that
through many centuries hath been a centre of Mohammedan influence and
oppression. Time doth not admit of thanks, for we both have much to do
ere we start forth on our return to Mo, and----"
My words were interrupted by a terrific explosion in such close proximity
to us that it caused us to jump, and was followed by a deafening crash of
falling masonry. From the lattice we saw the high handsome minaret of the
palace topple and fall amid a dense smoke and shower of stones. Our men
had undermined it and blown it up.
Liola shuddered, glancing at me in alarm.
"Fear not," I said. "Ere we leave, the city of Koussan must be devastated
and burned. Samory hath never given quarter, or shown mercy to his weaker
neighbours, and we will show none. Besides, he held thee captive as he
hath already held thy lover Omar and myself. He sold us to slavers that
we might be sacrificed in Kumassi, therefore the curse of thy
Crocodile-god Zomara placed upon him hath at last fallen. The flood-gates
of vengeance now opened the hand of man cannot close."
The great court of the harem, deserted by the troops, had become filled
with volumes of dense smoke, showing that fire had broken out somewhere
within the palace, and ever and anon explosions of a more or less violent
character told us that the hands of the destroyers were actually at work.
The sack of the Kasbah was indeed complete.
The loot, of which there was an enormous quantity of considerable value,
was being removed to a place of safety by a large body of men told off
for the purpose. Although Samory was a fugitive, yet the treasures found
within his private apartments were of no mean order, and ere noon had
passed preparations were being made for its conveyance to Mo, the greater
part of the city being already in flames. The fire roared and crackled,
choking smoke-clouds obscured the sun, and the heat wafted up was
stifling. All opposition to us had long ago ceased, but whenever an Arab
was found secreted or a fugitive, he was shot down without mercy. To
linger longer in the harem might, I judged, be dangerous on account of
the place having been fired, therefore we went together out into the
court, and stepping over the mutilated bodies of its beautiful prisoners,
entered the chamber where Samory had held his court. Empty, dismantled
and wrecked, its appearance showed plainly how the mighty monarch had
fallen. Even the great bejewelled manuscript of the Koran, the Arab book
of Everlasting Will, that had reposed upon its golden stand at the end of
the fine, high-roofed chamber, had been torn up, for its leaves lay
scattered about the pavement and after the jewels had been hastily dug
from their settings, the covers of green velvet had been cast aside as
worthless. Every seat or divan had been either broken or slashed by
swords, every vessel or mirror smashed, every ornament damaged beyond
repair.
Thinking it best to leave her, a woman, in care of a guard of our armed
men, while I went forward, I made the suggestion, but she would not hear
of it.
"No," she answered smiling. "I will remain ever at thy side, for beside
thee I fear not. Thou art my rescuer, and my life is thine."
"But some of the sights we may witness are not such as a woman's eyes
should behold," I answered.
"It mattereth not. That thou wilt allow me to accompany thee, is all I
ask."
"Very well," I replied, laughing. "Thou art welcome. Come."
By my side she hurried through the chamber wherein had stood the throne,
and thence through several handsome courts, wandering at last into
another smaller chamber at the side of which I noticed an alcove with a
huge Arab bed surrounded by quaint lattices, so dark that my gaze could
not penetrate to its recesses.
As we passed, the movement of some object in the deep shadow beside the
bed attracted my attention. Advancing quickly I detected the figure of a
man, and, fearing a sudden dash by one of our lurking foes, I again drew
my sword.
Liola, seeing this, gave vent to a little scream of alarm and placed her
hand upon my arm in fear, but next second the fugitive, anticipating my
intention to attack him, sprang suddenly forward into the light.
The bearded face, the fierce, flashing eyes, the thick lips and bushy
brows were all familiar to me. Although he wore the white cotton garb of
the meanest slave, I recognised him in an instant.
It was the great Arab chieftain Samory!
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Mr. Wickson did not send for father. They met by chance on the ferry-boat to San Francisco, so that the warning he gave father was not premeditated. Had they not met accidentally, there would not have been any warning. Not that the outcome would h... The Great Aqueduct
The Birmingham reservoirs are a chain of lakes artificially produced by damming up the River Elan, a tributary of the Wye. The great aqueduct which carries the water from the Elan, eighty miles across country, travelling through hills and bridging... The Great Eyrie
The next day at dawn, Elias Smith and I left Morganton by a road which, winding along the left bank of the Catawba River, led to the village of Pleasant Garden. The guides accompanied us, Harry Horn, a man of thirty, and James Bruck, aged twen... The Great Forest
The old men say their fathers told them that soon after the fields were left to themselves a change began to be visible. It became green everywhere in the first spring, after London ended, so that all the country looked alike. The meadows were ... The Great Martian Controversy Continued
"As the result of very long continued and systematic observation of the lines on Mars, together with carefully plotting them down on a globe, it was found that every line was continuous, uniform in width, and went straight from one definite p... The Great Potlatch Riots
Oh, leave it to the bureaucrats and they'll figure out new ways to make you buy more and more.... But there was only one way the poor consumer could rise up in his wrath. "I've sweated for months over the plans for this campaign," Capt... The Great Sleep
On that day the animals in London fell asleep with few exceptions. The exceptions were, I believe, all dogs. I do not pretend to explain, how it came about that dogs remained awake longer than other animals. The reason may be that dogs have some q... The Great War Syndicate
Author of "The Lady or the Tiger," "Rudder Grange," "The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine," "What Might Have Been Expected," etc., etc. In the spring of a certain year, not far from the close of th... The Great White Queen
GAINING the summit and entering the ponderous gate closely behind old Babila, I was amazed at the bewildering aspect of the gigantic city. As Omar placed his foot upon the top step, great drums, ornamented by golden bats with outspread wings, were... The Grecian Archipelago
The next day, the 12th of February, at the dawn of day, the Nautilus rose to the surface. I hastened on to the platform. Three miles to the south the dim outline of Pelusium was to be seen. A torrent had carried us from one sea to another. About... The Green Beret
It's not so much the decisions a man does make that mark him as a Man--but the ones he refrains from making. Like the decision "I've had enough!" Read locked the door and drew his pistol. Sergeant Rashid ... The Green Star
The world was held in a savage gloom--cold and intolerable. Outside, all was quiet--quiet! From the dark room behind me, came the occasional, soft thud[10] of falling matter--fragments of rotting stone. So time passed, and night grasped the world, w... The Ground Ships Threaten
One of our Wyoming girls, on contact guard near Pocono, blundered into a hunting camp of the Bad Bloods, one of the renegade American Gangs, which occupied the Blue Mountain section north of Delaware Water Gap. We had not invited their cooperation... The Guardians
It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!" Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!" And that can be dangerous! Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist. For a long time she had not believed in... The Gulf Stream
This terrible scene of the 20th of April none of us can ever forget. I have written it under the influence of violent emotion. Since then I have revised the recital; I have read it to Conseil and to the Canadian. They found it exact as to facts, ... The Gun Club
During the War of the Rebellion, a new and influential club was established in the city of Baltimore in the State of Maryland. It is well known with what energy the taste for military matters became developed among that nation of ship-owners, shop... The Hall Of Doom
As Thuvia of Ptarth saw Carthoris depart from the presence of Tario, leaving her alone with the man, a sudden qualm of terror seized her. There was an air of mystery pervading the stately chamber. Its furnishings and appointments bespoke wealt... The Hall Of The Atlas
From the moment when the tailor had bowed his farewell to the moment when Graham found himself in the lift, was altogether barely five minutes. And as yet the haze of his vast interval of sleep hung about him, as yet the initial strangeness of h... The Happy Unfortunate
Dekker, back from space, found great physical changes in the people of Earth; changes that would have horrified him five years before. But now, he wanted to be like the rest--even if he had to lose an eye... The Harem Slave
A DOZEN times were we driven back by overwhelming numbers of Arabs, but as many times we dashed forward again, determined to strike a fatal, irrisistible blow at the power of the egotistical and fanatical chieftain whose depredations had earned fo... The Haunted Ship
They did not pause, even to catch their breath, for the first twenty minutes as Tom led them swiftly and silently down through the maze of corridors and chutes that made up the ventilation system of the huge ship. Greg lost his bearing completely ... The Headless Humans
Above the roof of the palace that housed the Jed of Gathol and his entourage, the cruiser Vanator tore at her stout moorings. The groaning tackle bespoke the mad fury of the gale, while the worried faces of those members of the crew whose duties dem... The Heat-ray
After the glimpse I had had of the Martians emerging from the cylinder in which they had come to the earth from their planet, a kind of fascination paralysed my actions. I remained standing knee-deep in the heather, staring at the mound that... The Heat-ray In The Chobham Road
It is still a matter of wonder how the Martians are able to slay men so swiftly and so silently. Many think that in some way they are able to generate an intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat ... The Heavy Chest
Virginia and Sing were compelled to narrate the adventure of the afternoon a dozen times. The Chinaman was at a loss to understand what had deterred the pirates at the very threshold of victory. Von Horn thought that they had seen the reinforcem... The Hedge Of Arrows
For the first few days following upon his arrival in the city, Constans kept under rover, venturing forth only after nightfall. He wanted to make sure of all his bearings before taking any long step in advance, and the extent and strength of the e... The Highest Treason
... The Hill
Its atmosphere was withdrawn, the outer door opened, and he glanced across a bare hundred feet of space at the rocket-plane which, keel ports fiercely aflame, was braking her terrific speed to match the slower pace of the gigant... The House In The Arena
And so, after a time, I came to the mountains. Then, the course of my journey was altered, and I began to move along their bases, until, all at once, I saw that I had come opposite to a vast rift, opening into the mountains. Through this, I was born... The House Of Aquila
Presently there came the sound of a creaking axle, which grew louder and louder as the waggon drew nearer, till it approached a shriek. The sleeper moved uneasily, but recognising the noise even in his dreams, did not wake. The horrible sounds sto... The Human Sacrifice
KUMASSI, the capital of the Ashanti kingdom, was, we found, full of curious contrasts. We approached it through dense high elephant grass, along a little beaten foot-path strewn with fetish dolls. It was evening when we entered it, and drums could... The Hunted Heroes
The planet itself was tough enough--barren, desolate, forbidding; enough to stop the most adventurous and dedicated. But they had to run head-on against a mad genius who had a motto: ... The Hunter Hunted
Mr. Heelas, Mr. Kemp's nearest neighbour among the villa holders, was asleep in his summer house when the siege of Kemp's house began. Mr. Heelas was one of the sturdy minority who refused to believe "in all this nonsense" about an Invisible Man. ... The Hunting Of The Invisible Man
For a space Kemp was too inarticulate to make Adye understand the swift things that had just happened. They stood on the landing, Kemp speaking swiftly, the grotesque swathings of Griffin still on his arm. But presently Adye began to grasp somethi... The Hunting Of The Man
IT came before my mind with an unreasonable hope of escape that the outer door of my room was still open to me. I was convinced now, absolutely assured, that Moreau had been vivisecting a human being. All the time since I had heard his name, I ha... The Hymn Of The Cannon-ball
The Observatory of Cambridge in its memorable letter had treated the question from a purely astronomical point of view. The mechanical part still remained. President Barbicane had, without loss of time, nominated a working committee of the G... The Iceberg
The Nautilus was steadily pursuing its southerly course, following the fiftieth meridian with considerable speed. Did he wish to reach the pole? I did not think so, for every attempt to reach that point had hitherto failed. Again, the season was ... The Illness Of Mr Annot
The departure of Mr. Herbert Wain was a relief. I turned to Sarakoff at once and spoke with some heat. "You were more than imprudent to give that fellow hints that we knew more about the Blue Disease than anybody else," I exclaimed. "This may b... The Incipience Of My Subjection To The Wonder
I Victor Stott was in his eighth year when I met him for the third time. I must have stayed longer than I imagined by the pond on the Common, for Mrs. Stott and her son had had tea, and the boy was preparing to go out. He stopped when he saw me... The Indian Ocean
We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. The first ended with the moving scene in the coral cemetery which left such a deep impression on my mind. Thus, in the midst of this great sea, Captain Nemo's life was passing, even to h... The Invaders
Those who live by agriculture or in towns, and are descended from the remnant of the ancients, are divided, as I have previously said, into numerous provinces, kingdoms, and republics. In the middle part of the country the cities are almost all up... The Invasion
The pulsating air and the chattering sounders were giving the same dire warning, the alarm extraordinary of invasion, of imminent and catastrophic danger from the air. "Don't try to reach the palace. Everyone on the ground will have time enough... The Invisible Man
Crouching back into the shadow, Tom Hunter waited as the heavy footsteps moved up the corridor, then back down, then up and down again. He peered around the corner for a moment, looking quickly up and down the curving corridor. The guard was twent... The Invisible Man Loses His Temper
It is unavoidable that at this point the narrative should break off again, for a certain very painful reason that will presently be apparent. While these things were going on in the parlour, and while Mr. Huxter was watching Mr. Marvel smoking his... The Invisible Man Sleeps
Exhausted and wounded as the Invisible Man was, he refused to accept Kemp's word that his freedom should be respected. He examined the two windows of the bedroom, drew up the blinds and opened the sashes, to confirm Kemp's statement that a retreat... The Iron Men From The Blue Star
Returning from Long Breath, I could not but notice the entire subsidence of the terror, which had previously been so marked, and the general signs of rejoicing which were now taking its place. It was easy to see that I was an object of absorbing i... The Jameson Satellite
... The Jeddak Of Lothar
The girl looked her incredulity. "They lay in piles," she murmured. "There were thousands of them but a minute ago." "And now," continued Carthoris, "there remain but the banths and the carcasses of the green men." "They must have sent fo... The Journey Ended
This is the final conclusion of a narrative which will be probably disbelieved even by people who are astonished at nothing. I am, however, armed at all points against human incredulity. We were kindly received by the Strombolite fishermen, who ... The Journey To The Moon
Presently Cavor extinguished the light. He said we had not overmuch energy stored, and that what we had we must economise for reading. For a time, whether it was long or short I do not know, there was nothing but blank darkness. A question floate... The Judas Valley
Why did everybody step off the ship in this strange valley and promptly drop dead? How could a well-equipped corps of tough spacemen become a field of rotting skeletons in this quiet world of peace and contentment? It was a mystery P... The Jupiter Weapon
He was a living weapon of destruction--immeasurably powerful, utterly invulnerable. There was only one question: Was he human? Trella feared she was in for trouble even before Motwick's head dropped forward on his arms in a dr... The Justice Of Lora
As I looked at her the man arose and made his way round the table toward us. For the first time my eyes took in Lugur. A few inches taller than the green dwarf, he was far broader, more filled with the suggestion of appalling strength. The tremen... The Keeper
When he heard the deer crashing through brush and scuffling the dead leaves, he stopped and stood motionless in the path. He watched them bolt down the slope from the right and cross in front of him, wishing he had the rifle, and when the last... The Keys Of Power
The sun was high in the sky when Constans awoke. For a moment or two the unfamiliar environment puzzled him; then the keen edge of remembrance sheared through the mists of sleep and he sprang to his feet, alert and ready for whatever might befall....