Torture Cortin's Point Of View
: EXTRASCortin was conducting the first part of her preliminary examination
when Odeon interrupted. "Someone in the observation room, Excellency."
She turned that way. "Colonel Bradford?"
"Yes," Bradford replied over the intercom, "with Ranger Medart and Lt.
DarElwyn."
"If you'd care to, you're welcome to join me in here." Normally, she
wouldn't permit anyone except Mike or
same room while she was working, but these were unusual guests. And
there was something particularly appealing about the Sandeman . . .
"The interview went all right?" she asked, as soon as the three entered.
"Quite well," Bradford replied. "I'll get the operation moving as soon
as I get back to my office."
"Good--thanks, both of you." Cortin turned back to her prisoner, still
addressing the observers--primarily, for some reason she didn't
understand, Keith. "This one's nothing special, except in the number
of his crimes and the fact that he wanted witnesses until he got to the
last victim in each series. It was the rapes that were his particular
thrill; the murders were enjoyable, but more of a side effect. So I'll
be concentrating on the punishment for rape."
She continued with the preliminaries, both enjoying herself and trying
to evaluate the Sandeman as well as she could when her primary
attention had to be elsewhere. He, unlike Odeon and Medart, seemed to
have a true appreciation of her intent, which she wouldn't have
expected--but which she found highly gratifying. It was several hours
before she was satisfied with the prisoner's general condition: his
entire body except the genital region so bruised or abraded that even a
light touch brough curses.
She stepped back to survey him, then smiled at her audience. "That
takes care of the preliminaries; now we can get to the real
punishment." She went to a cabinet, removed a vial and syringe.
"This is eroticine," she said, forcing the liquid in the vial down her
prisoner's throat. "In small doses, it's a male aphrodisiac. In
larger ones, like this, it forces an erection and increases semen
production by several hundred percent. He has no way to stimulate
orgasm, so that is forced out by simple hydraulic pressure--quite
uncomfortable, I've been assured. This dose is oral, so he'll be that
way for about twelve hours." She picked up a syringe, cleared it of
air. "And this is algetin, a pain-enhancer that's most effective on
swollen tissue such as an erection. It's a combination I think
particularly appropriate for a rapist."
"An intriguing combination," Keith said. Moments later, when the
prisoner's erection firmed and grew moist, she saw curiosity. "Is that
wetness normal, or is it a drug effect?" he asked.
"Neither, Lieutenant; it's a side effect of the satyr plague."
"I see." Keith paused, cocking his head. "You said he can't bring
himself to climax, Excellency, and this does seem effective--but what
would happen if he did? Would it be a temporary relief, or would the
algetin make it as much an agony as it usually is a pleasure?"
Cortin stared at him in astonishment. That was the sort of question
she'd expect from an Inquisitor-Trainee, not an Imperial Marine! After
several seconds, she said thoughtfully, "We're cautioned against it in
training, since it's presumed orgasm would bring relief; if anyone had
experimented and found otherwise, it should've been reported in the
professional literature. Since I've never read about such an
experiment, I doubt it's ever been tried--but now that you suggest it,
the idea seems plausible. If you'd like to try, Lieutenant, be my
guest."
"No," Medart said firmly. "He can observe, since this is within your
law; taking part would go against a number of the laws that govern the
Imperial military." He turned to the Sandeman. "What's wrong,
Lieutenant? You're not acting like any warrior I've ever
met--including yourself, a couple of days ago."
"I feel fine, sir--I'm just not embarrassed by his display, the way I'd
have expected, and I . . . admire Colonel Cortin's work, which I
wouldn't have expected at all."
"Just how strong is this admiration, Lieutenant?"
Keith looked from Ranger to Inquisitor and back, his expression
answering Medart's question before he spoke. "Strongly enough that if
I thought there was any chance of acceptance, I would offer her my
fealty."
Cortin looked at him thoughtfully, then smiled. "If that means what I
believe it does, Lieutenant, you'd be in no danger of refusal."
Keith returned the smile, then acted on her promise and knelt.
"Colonel Joan Cortin, I wish you as my chosen lady, if that should be
your will. I offer all that is in me to give: body and mind, will and
honor, whatever courage is mine. And death itself may not deny the
service I offer, in whatever afterlife is to come."
Cortin had no idea of the words a Sandeman would use in such a
position, but she doubted if Keith would care. She extended her hands,
smiling again. "I accept your service and yourself with thanks,
warrior."
Keith took her hands and rose, then bowed to her. "You do me great
honor, Thakur."
"The honor is mine," Cortin replied. "Are there any formalities that
need to be taken care of?"
"I'll handle those when we finish here," Medart said. "His release
from service, back pay and allowances--but it'll be up to you to notify
his clan and make arrangements for his tattoo."
"When we're done here, as you say." Cortin turned to her new sworn
man. "To give you a status recognized here, I'm commissioning you a
Royal Enforcement Service officer. Now, would you like to test your
theory?"
"Very much, Thakur." Keith paused, then continued apologetically.
"I'm afraid I don't know how, though. One of our strongest customs
forbids any same-sex physical intimacy. Since it seems yours doesn't,
that no longer applies to me, of course--but the fact remains that I
have no such experience."
Cortin chuckled. "That can be remedied easily enough, if you decide
you want to, but for your present purposes you don't need experience.
All you have to do is take hold of him, snugly enough to provide a
friction surface but not tight. The eroticine will make him take care
of the rest."
"That sounds simple enough." Keith reached for the prisoner.
Cortin watched critically as her new sworn man began his experiment.
It went against conventional theory--but then one of her more
spectacular successes had come from the use of a hallucinogen, a
procedure theory said was useless.
Hmm, that was interesting . . . Keith had told her, truthfully, that he
had no sexual experience with men, but he was starting manipulation as
effective as she'd ever seen. That surprised her almost as much as the
fact that he had time to--with such a strong dose of eroticine, she'd
have expected the prisoner to erupt within seconds.
She wasn't quite sure what he'd meant by saying his people's strongest
custom no longer applied to him--his oath, it had to be--but if he
could get the idea this quickly, and implement it, she was willing to
bet he'd enjoy the other parts of homosex. It would be almost as nice
seeing him enjoying himself with Mike or one of the others as it would
be enjoying him herself-- She told herself firmly to stop daydreaming.
She had no idea if his oath covered sex with his chosen lady--she
suspected it could if she wanted it to--but either way she was supposed
to be evaluating a new technique, not thinking about who to take to bed.
Wait a minute--that was a smile on the Sandeman's face as the
prisoner's show of pain increased! Keith was actually enjoying his
first attempt at third stage, something so rare she knew of only three
others beside herself who'd done so. Mike had been ill at first just
watching her work, had taken a week to get where he could help at all,
worked as her assistant only because she needed him. Keith could free
him of that unpleasantness. Get the Sandeman some training to go with
his talent, and he'd be awesome . . . Very good, he was able to keep
stimulating the prisoner as movements grew frantic, gasps and cries
turning to screams of agony as semen spurted--dear God, what an
Inquisitor Keith would make!
Keith turned to his chosen lady. "Was that satisfactory, Thakur?"
"Most satisfactory," Cortin said with unconcealed admiration. "You've
just given me--all Inquisitors, once I get it published--what promises
to become an extremely useful standard technique, especially with
rapists. I'll see you're given full credit, of course." She smiled at
Keith. "You've also changed my plans for him. That degree of pain,
administered repeatedly, can be lethal--and I can't think of a more
fitting end for a rapist. We'll let him drip overnight, then give him
a fresh dose and see how many times he can take what he forced on
others. What do you think?"
Keith looked flattered that she asked his opinion, but . . . "I don't
share your expertise, Thakur, so my opinion may not be valid. Still,
it sounds appropriate to me."
"So be it, then." Cortin smiled at him, approvingly. "Would you like
to help? You seemed to enjoy yourself as much as an Inquisitor would,
and Mike doesn't have that particular quirk; he helps because he loves
me, not because he likes the work."
Keith hesitated briefly before answering. "It surprises me, Thakur,
that I did enjoy it. But I would not displace Captain Odeon from
something that brings you two close."
Cortin looked at her second in command. "What do you think, Mike?"
"If he wants it, he's got it," Odeon replied promptly. Turning to the
Sandeman, he went on. "As she says, I don't have the mental quirk that
lets me like hurting people; I'd be glad to get out of the job."
"It seems I do," Keith said. "At least since she wants this one to
hurt, I took a great deal of pleasure in causing him as much pain as I
could."
"It's all yours, then," Odeon said promptly. "With my thanks, by the
way--which I'll demonstrate later, if you want."
"In the meantime," Cortin said, "I'm hungry. Let's go up to supper."
Return to main storyline: 31. Explanation
30b. Torture (Medart's point of view)
The scene through the observation room window wasn't as bad as Medart
had expected. Or not as bad yet, he cautioned himself; it appeared
that Cortin was still conducting her preliminary examination.
What she'd called the third-stage room resembled, more than anything
else Medart could think of, a twentieth-century operating room, with
cabinets of supplies and equipment, monitoring machinery, even a
surgical table. But operating rooms didn't have chains hanging from
the ceiling, and patients weren't held spreadeagled, naked, between
those and eyebolts in the floor.
A couple of minutes after they entered, Odeon glanced toward the
observation room, raised a hand in acknowledgement, and said something
to Cortin. She turned toward them. "Colonel Bradford?"
"Yes," Bradford said, "with Ranger Medart and Lt. DarElwyn."
"If you'd care to, you're welcome to join me in here."
"Thank you, Excellency." Bradford switched off the intercom and turned
to the others, looking surprised. "That's a first; she doesn't
normally allow anyone in there except Captain Odeon or other
Inquisitors. The disadvantage is that you can't avoid her prisoner's
screams by shutting off the intercom."
"Even so," Medart said thoughtfully, "if an invitation's that rare, we
ought to accept."
The three entered the larger room, which smelled of antiseptic--rather
to Medart's bemusement. Why should Cortin care about infection in
people she was torturing to death? He kept that question to himself,
though.
"The interview went all right?" Cortin asked.
"Quite well," Bradford replied. "I'll get the operation moving as soon
as I get back to my office."
"Good--thanks, both of you." Cortin turned back to her prisoner, still
addressing the observers. "This one's nothing special, except in the
number of his crimes and the fact that he wanted witnesses until he got
to the last victim in each series. It was the rapes that were his
particular thrill; the murders were enjoyable, but more of a side
effect. So I'll be concentrating on the punishment for rape."
Medart tried not to pay too close attention to what she went on to do,
sometimes with Odeon's assistance. He had to learn about this
culture's less pleasant aspects as well as its more enjoyable ones, and
he definitely had to learn all he could about Cortin herself; that
didn't mean he had to like, or even approve of, what he found out.
This was one of those things. Medart couldn't reasonably argue against
the criminal's execution; most societies, the Empire included, had
death penalties for some crimes, and Medart himself had ordered or
carried out a few. Those, though, had been quick; Imperial justice
didn't demand vengeance.
Kingdoms justice did, and by the time Bradford left a few minutes
later, Medart had no doubt Cortin enjoyed exacting that vengeance.
Before he had to raise his mind-shield to protect himself from the
criminal's pain, Medart got the feelings both she and Odeon were
broadcasting. Odeon didn't like the work; he helped only because he
loved Cortin, and there were things her own torture and maiming by the
Brothers had left her physically unable to do, until Jeshua, and later
Shayan, had healed those injuries. Medart caught a strong
visualization of a seriously injured Cortin before Odeon forced his
thoughts away from that subject.
After that image, Medart was surprised to find no trace of personal
revenge in Cortin's broadcast. She was determined to exact vengeance,
yes, but as she'd said, on behalf of the criminal's victims and their
families. She got considerable pleasure out of it, but again it wasn't
the type Medart would have expected. There was no sadism involved;
what he felt from her was, in a sense, worse. Her emotions in causing
the most prolonged and agonizing death possible were intellectual--the
pride in skill and workmanship of any professional doing a challenging
job to the best of @'s ability. As for the healing--Medart frowned
to himself at that. Odeon seemed like the practical sort, yet he was
firmly convinced that God and the Devil had cured Cortin. He'd have to
get one of them past that reluctance to talk about religion, and given
their differing attitudes, Odeon would be the one to work with. Later.
Keith, unlike Odeon and Medart, seemed to have a true appreciation of
Cortin's intent and ability. Not, Medart told himself, that that was
really unexpected; Sandemans considered it perfectly honorable to
torture a captured enemy for information, and certain offenses against
honor or custom demanded the offender's lingering death. But they were
more direct about it; a beating was the usual method.
That, bloody as it was, seemed somehow cleaner than Cortin's cool,
meticulous precision. It was several hours before she was satisfied
with the prisoner's general condition: his entire body except the
genital region so bruised or abraded that even a light touch brough
curses.
She stepped back to survey him, then smiled at her audience. "That
takes care of the preliminaries; now we can get to the real
punishment." She went to a cabinet, removed a vial and syringe.
"This is eroticine," she said, forcing the liquid in the vial down her
prisoner's throat. "In small doses, it's a male aphrodisiac. In
larger ones, like this, it forces an erection and increases semen
production by several hundred percent. He has no way to stimulate
orgasm, so that is forced out by simple hydraulic pressure--quite
uncomfortable, I've been assured. This dose is oral, so he'll be that
way for about twelve hours." She picked up a syringe, cleared it of
air. "And this is algetin, a pain-enhancer that's most effective on
swollen tissue such as an erection. It's a combination I think
particularly appropriate for a rapist."
Medart didn't agree that an aphrodisiac combined with a pain-enhancer
was necessarily appropriate for anyone, but it was clear the Sandeman
did approve.
"An intriguing combination," Keith said. Moments later, when the man's
erection firmed and grew moist, he looked curious. "Is that wetness
normal, or is it a drug effect?"
The question was so out of character for a Sandeman that Medart was
shocked, but Cortin seemed to take it as a matter of course. "Neither,
Lieutenant; it's a side effect of the satyr plague."
"I see." Keith paused, cocking his head. "You said he can't bring
himself to climax, Excellency, and this does seem effective--but what
would happen if he did? Would it be a temporary relief, or would the
algetin make it as much an agony as it usually is a pleasure?"
Medart and Cortin both stared at him in astonishment, for different
reasons. After several seconds, Cortin said thoughtfully, "We're
cautioned against it in training, since it's presumed orgasm would
bring relief; if anyone had experimented and found otherwise, it
should've been reported in the professional literature. Since I've
never read about such an experiment, I doubt it's ever been tried--but
now that you suggest it, the idea seems plausible. If you'd like to
try, Lieutenant, be my guest."
"No," Medart said firmly. "He can observe, since this is within your
law; taking part would go against a number of the laws that govern the
Imperial military." He turned to the Sandeman. "What's wrong,
Lieutenant? You're not acting like any warrior I've ever
met--including yourself, a couple of days ago."
"I feel fine, sir--I'm just not embarrassed by his display, the way I'd
have expected, and I . . . admire Colonel Cortin's work, which I
wouldn't have expected at all."
Neither would Medart, because of both his heritage and the Academy
psych testing that weeded out people with such inclinations. That
meant Cortin's peculiar Talent was going beyond influencing Keith to
love her, it was giving him some of her personality quirks. The first
was probably due to his lack of mind-shield; the second, since her
Talent hadn't affected Odeon to anywhere near the same degree, was
probably due to the Sandeman tendency to extremes. Medart hid a sigh.
"Just how strong is this admiration, Lieutenant?"
Keith looked from Ranger to Inquisitor and back, his expression
answering Medart's question before he spoke. "Strongly enough that if
I thought there was any chance of acceptance, I would offer her my
fealty."
Cortin looked at him thoughtfully, then smiled. "If that means what I
believe it does, Lieutenant, you'd be in no danger of refusal."
Keith returned the smile, then acted on her promise and knelt.
"Colonel Joan Cortin, I wish you as my chosen lady, if that should be
your will. I offer all that is in me to give: body and mind, will and
honor, whatever courage is mine. And death itself may not deny the
service I offer, in whatever afterlife is to come."
Cortin extended her hands, smiling again. "I accept your service and
yourself with thanks, warrior."
Keith took her hands and rose, then bowed to her. "You do me great
honor, Thakur."
"The honor is mine," Cortin replied. "Are there any formalities that
need to be taken care of?"
"I'll handle those when we finish here," Medart said. "His release
from service, back pay and allowances--but it'll be up to you to notify
his clan and make arrangements for his tattoo."
"When we're done here, as you say." Cortin turned to her new sworn
man. "To give you a status recognized here, I'm commissioning you a
Royal Enforcement Service officer. Now, would you like to test your
theory?"
"Very much, Thakur." Keith paused, then continued apologetically.
"I'm afraid I don't know how, though. One of our strongest customs
forbids any same-sex physical intimacy. Since it seems yours doesn't,
that no longer applies to me, of course--but the fact remains that I
have no such experience."
Cortin chuckled. "That can be remedied easily enough, if you decide
you want to, but for your present purposes you don't need experience.
All you have to do is take hold of him, snugly enough to provide a
friction surface but not tight. The eroticine will make him take care
of the rest."
"That sounds simple enough." Keith reached for the prisoner.
Medart frowned as the Sandeman carried out his torture. It was hard to
believe anyone, particularly a Sandeman, could change so drastically in
such a short time. His mindprobe of Gaelan DarShona, thirty years ago,
had given him the experience of briefly being a Sandeman warrior, so he
felt, as well as knew intellectually, how deeply unacceptable Keith
would have found his present actions before he came under the influence
of Cortin's Talent. Seeing a man stripped as part of punishment was no
problem, that was normal Sandeman procedure for particularly serious
violations. But handling another man's genitals was enough to earn
death in disgrace if you lived that long--unlikely, since it was far
more likely to get you killed on the spot. And while warriors enjoyed
fighting, would torture for information, and a chief would inflict slow
death for serious violations of custom, they didn't get any real
pleasure from doing it. Nor would Keith have, earlier--but it was
clear he enjoyed what he was doing, now.
The Sandeman's smile grew as the prisoner's moves became faster, more
urgent--and he climaxed in a prolonged series of spasms, screaming in
agony.
Keith turned to his chosen lady. "Was that satisfactory, Thakur?"
"Most satisfactory," Cortin said with unconcealed admiration. "You've
just given me--all Inquisitors, once I get it published--what promises
to become an extremely useful standard technique, especially with
rapists. I'll see you're given full credit, of course." She smiled at
Keith. "You've also changed my plans for him. That degree of pain,
administered repeatedly, can be lethal--and I can't think of a more
fitting end for a rapist. We'll let him drip overnight, then give him
a fresh dose and see how many times he can take what he forced on
others. What do you think?"
"I don't share your expertise, Thakur, so my opinion may not be valid.
Still, it sounds appropriate to me."
"So be it, then." Cortin smiled at him, approvingly. "Would you like
to help? You seemed to enjoy yourself as much as an Inquisitor would,
and Mike doesn't have that particular quirk; he helps because he loves
me, not because he likes the work."
Keith hesitated briefly before answering. "It surprises me, Thakur,
that I did enjoy it. But I would not displace Captain Odeon from
something that brings you two close."
Cortin looked at her second in command. "What do you think, Mike?"
"If he wants it, he's got it," Odeon replied promptly. Turning to the
Sandeman, he went on. "As she says, I don't have the mental quirk that
lets me like hurting people; I'd be glad to get out of the job."
"It seems I do," Keith said. "At least since she wants this one to
hurt, I took a great deal of pleasure in causing him as much pain as I
could."
"It's all yours, then," Odeon said promptly. "With my thanks, by the
way--which I'll demonstrate later, if you want."
"In the meantime," Cortin said, "I'm hungry. Let's go up to supper."
Return to main storyline: 31. Explanation
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I think that both Bastin and Bickley, by instinct as it were, knew what had passed between Yva and myself and that she had promised herself to me. They showed this by the way in which they avoided any mention of her name. Also they began to talk o... The Cyclone
We enjoyed our voyage exceedingly. In Egypt, a land I was glad to revisit, we only stopped a week while the Star of the South, which we rejoined at Suez, coaled and went through the Canal. This, however, gave us time to spend a few days in Cairo, ... The Dwellers In The Tomb
By now it was drawing towards sunset, so we made such preparations as we could for the night. One of these was to collect dry driftwood, of which an abundance lay upon the shore, to serve us for firing, though unfortunately we had nothing that we ... The Island In The Lake
We made the canoe fast and landed on the great rock, to perceive that it was really a peninsula. That is to say, it was joined to the main land of the lake island by a broad roadway quite fifty yards across, which appeared to end in the mouth of t... The Orofenans
To our shame we had a very pleasant supper that night off the grilled fish, which was excellent, and some tinned meat. I say to our shame, in a sense, for on our companions the sharks were supping and by rights we should have been sunk in woe. I s... The Proposals Of Bastin And Bickley
So far as my body was concerned I grew well with great rapidity, though it was long before I got back my strength. Thus I could not walk far or endure any sustained exertion. With my mind it was otherwise. I can not explain what had happened to it... The Under-world
That night we slept well and without fear, being quite certain that after their previous experience the Orofenans would make no further attempts upon us. Indeed our only anxiety was for Tommy, whom we could not find when the time came to give him ... Tommy
I lay still a while, on my back as I had fallen, and beneath the shield-like defence which Yva had given to me. Notwithstanding the fire-resisting, metalised stuff of which it was made, I noted that it was twisted and almost burnt through. Doubtle... Torture Cortin's Point Of View
Cortin was conducting the first part of her preliminary examination when Odeon interrupted. "Someone in the observation room, Excellency." She turned that way. "Colonel Bradford?" "Yes," Bradford replied over the intercom, "with Ranger M... Torture Odeon's Point Of View
Maybe an hour after Cortin began her preliminary examination, Odeon glanced toward the observation room, raised a hand in acknowledgement when he saw the light on above the window, and spoke softly to Cortin. "Someone in the observation room, Ex... Two Hundred And Fifty Thousand Years!
"You seem to have made the best of your time, old fellow," said Bickley in rather a sour voice. "I never knew people begin to call each other by their Christian names so soon," added Bastin, looking at me with a suspicious eye. "I know no oth... Visions Of The Past
She led us to the back of the statue and pointed to each of us where we should remain. Then she took her place at right angles to us, as a showman might do, and for a while stood immovable. Watching her face, once more I saw it, and indeed all her... Waiting
Thursday, 26 March 2572 (Morning, New Rome) Shayan smiled as he read the New Roman Times while eating breakfast. Sara had done excellently; these stories gave him all the details he needed to take action. The Strike Forces, the Sealing, Cort... Yva Explains
When I reached the rock I was pleased to find Marama and about twenty of his people engaged in erecting the house that we had ordered them to build for our accommodation. Indeed, it was nearly finished, since house-building in Orofena is a simple ... -and Epilogue
"Hold it!" The voice bellowed thunderingly from the loud-speakers of the six Earth ships that had boxed in the derelict. "Hold it! Don't bomb that ship! I'll personally have the head of any man who damages that ship!" In five of the ships, the co... 40000000 Years After
Entering within the boundaries of the solar system, a long, dark, pointed craft sped across the realms of space towards the tiny point of light which marked the dull red ball of the dying sun which would some day lie cold and dark forever. Like a ... 999 Priscilla
As the cutter touched the bank the entire party from the long-house, whites and natives, were gathered on the shore to meet it. At first the officers held off as though fearing a hostile demonstration, but when they saw the whites among the thron... A Barren Land
We had started under a sky overcast but calm. There was no fear of heat, none of disastrous rain. It was just the weather for tourists. The pleasure of riding on horseback over an unknown country made me easy to be pleased at our first start. I th... A Bird's Eye View Of The Lunar Mountains
I am rather inclined to believe myself that not one word of Ardan's rhapsody had been ever heard by Barbican or M'Nicholl. Long before he had spoken his last words, they had once more become mute as statues, and now were both eagerly watching, pen... A Bold Proposition
On his return Servadac communicated to the count the result of his expedition, and, though perfectly silent on the subject of his personal project, did not conceal the fact that the Spaniards, without the smallest right, had sold Ceuta to the Engl... A Break For Liberty
Xodar listened in incredulous astonishment to my narration of the events which had transpired within the arena at the rites of Issus. He could scarce conceive, even though he had already professed his doubt as to the deity of Issus, that one coul... A Carrier-pigeon
When, three hours after sunset, on the 23d of March, the Gallian moon rose upon the western horizon, it was observed that she had entered upon her last quarter. She had taken only four days to pass from syzygy to quadrature, and it was consequentl... A Catastrophe
SCARCELY six weeks passed before I had lost every feeling but dislike and abhorrence for this infamous experiment of Moreau's. My one idea was to get away from these horrible caricatures of my Maker's image, back to the sweet and wholesome interco... A Challenge
"Nothing, sir, can induce me to surrender my claim." "I am sorry, count, but in such a matter your views cannot modify mine." "But allow me to point out that my seniority unquestionably gives me a prior right." "Mere seniority, I assert, in... A Chance Strain From Grieg
I recalled waking up in another place, on a long slope of green hill that overlooked a valley. It was dawn again. The sun was just rising over the crest of the hill behind me, and it threw long shadows across the grass from the tall, slender trees... A Change Of Masters
WE MUST HAVE TRAVELED SEVERAL MILES THROUGH the dark and dismal wood when we came suddenly upon a dense village built high among the branches of the trees. As we approached it my escort broke into wild shouting which was immediately answered from... A Change Of Plan
It was long after their bed-time and the two sisters were utterly exhausted; but as the mysterious structure within which they lay glided northward between heaven and earth with the speed of a meteor, Rebecca and Phoebe long courted sleep in vain.... A Change Of Scene
The Ithuriel had orders to call at Folkestone and Dover in order to report the actual state of affairs there to the Commander-in-Chief by telegraph if Erskine could get ashore or by flash-signal if he could not, and incidentally to do as much dama... A Chapter For The Cornell Girls
No incident worth recording occurred during the night, if night indeed it could be called. In reality there was now no night or even day in the Projectile, or rather, strictly speaking, it was always night on the upper end of the bullet, and alway... A Choice Of Miracles
You're down in the jungle with death staring you in the face. There is nothing left but prayer. So you ask for your life. But wait! Are you sure that's really what you want above all else? Andy Larson was a hard-headed Swede. He had to be, to be... A Convulsion Of Nature
Whence came it that at that very moment the horizon underwent so strange and sudden a modification, that the eye of the most practiced mariner could not distinguish between sea and sky? Whence came it that the billows raged and rose to a height ... A Costly Recapture
As the speaker ceased he turned to leave the apartment by the door where I was standing, but I needed to wait no longer; I had heard enough to fill my soul with dread, and stealing quietly away I returned to the courtyard by the way I had come. M... A Crime And A Mistake
When the destruction of the forts and the sinking of the battleships at Portsmouth had been accomplished, John Castellan made about the greatest mistake in his life, a mistake which had very serious consequences for those to whom he had sold himse... A Desperate Deed
E-Med crossed the tower chamber toward Tara of Helium and the slave girl, Lan-O. He seized the former roughly by a shoulder. "Stand!" he commanded. Tara struck his hand from her and rising, backed away. "Lay not your hand upon the person of a pri... A Dream Of Armageddon
The man with the white face entered the carriage at Rugby. He moved slowly in spite of the urgency of his porter, and even while he was still on the platform I noted how ill he seemed. He dropped into the corner over against me with a sigh, made a... A Duel To The Death
My first impulse was to tell her of my love, and then I thought of the helplessness of her position wherein I alone could lighten the burdens of her captivity, and protect her in my poor way against the thousands of hereditary enemies she must fac... A Fair Captive From The Sky
The third day after the incubator ceremony we set forth toward home, but scarcely had the head of the procession debouched into the open ground before the city than orders were given for an immediate and hasty return. As though trained for years ... A Fair Goddess
For an instant the black pirate and I remained motionless, glaring into each other's eyes. Then a grim smile curled the handsome lips above me, as an ebony hand came slowly in sight from above the edge of the deck and the cold, hollow eye of a re... A Farewell Banquet And A Painful Parting
The time was nigh at hand when we must think about our arrangements for returning to the earth, and, as it drew nearer and nearer, I became much troubled. I felt that it would be endangering Merna's dear life to take him to England, for our t... A Fete Day
The temperature continued to decrease; the mercurial thermometer, which freezes at 42 degrees below zero, was no longer of service, and the spirit thermometer of the Dobryna had been brought into use. This now registered 53 degrees below freezing-... A Few Days On Land
I was much impressed on touching land. Ned Land tried the soil with his feet, as if to take possession of it. However, it was only two months before that we had become, according to Captain Nemo, "passengers on board the Nautilus," but, in reality... A Fight That Won Friends
The thing, which more nearly resembled our earthly men than it did the Martians I had seen, held me pinioned to the ground with one huge foot, while it jabbered and gesticulated at some answering creature behind me. This other, which was evidentl... A Figure In The Shadow
AN hour after sundown I was seated with Omar and Kona on a mat in the courtyard of a house not far from the gates of the palace, where hospitality had been secretly offered us. We were discussing the situation. Our black followers, on leaving the ... A Final Threat
ON that day, in the colliery of New Aberfoyle, work was going on in the usual regular way. In the distance could be heard the crash of great charges of dynamite, by which the carboniferous rocks were blasted. Here masses of coal were loosened by p...