extended. Round or ovoid spots seemed
again opened them I reeled to the rail with a
placed in definite order about it, and from the
cry of terror. Poised above the ship’s masts,
extremities of its axes lines or cables, clearly
and so enormous that it appeared to shut out
outlined by the glare, extended downward to
Amazing Stories
6
the red spheres above the ship. By now, I was
comprehension. Calmly, now that I felt
so firmly convinced that I was irrational, that
assured that I was rational and was the victim
these new and absolutely stunning discoveries
of my fellow men—fiendish as they might
did not excite or surprise me in the least, and
be—I walked aft to where one red sphere
as if in a particularly vivid dream, I lay there
hung a few yards above the ship’s deck.
gazing upward, and dully, half consciously
speculating on what it all meant. Gradually,
“THERE seemed no visible connection
too, it dawned upon me that the huge sphere
between it and the vessel, but I noticed that
with its encircling band of duller light was
everything movable upon the deck, the iron
rotating. The circular markings, which I cable, the wire ropes, the coiled steel lines of thought were marvelously like the ports of a
the after derrick, all extended upward from the
ship, were certainly moving from top to deck, as rigid as bars of metal, while crackling bottom of the sphere, and I could distinctly
blue sparks like electrical discharges
hear a low, vibrant humming.
scintillated from the ship’s metal work below
“The next second I jerked upright with
the red sphere. Evidently, I decided, the red
a start and my scalp tingled. Reason had mass was actuated by some form of electrical suddenly returned to me. The thing was no
energy or magnetism, and I gave the area
meteor, no celestial body, but some marvelous
beneath it a wide berth. Retracing my way to
machine, some devilish invention of man, the bow of the ship, I found similar conditions some gigantic form of airship which—God
there. As I walked towards the waist of the
only knew why—had by some incredible ship again I mounted the steps to the bridge, means captured the Chiriqui, had lifted the
hoping from that height to get a better view of
twenty thousand ton ship into the air and was
the monstrous machine holding the Chiriqui
bearing her off with myself, the only survivor
captive. I knew that in the chart-house I would
of all the ship’s company, witnessing the find powerful glasses with which to study the miraculous happening! It was the most insane
machine. Upon the bridge the bodies of the
thought that had yet entered my brain, but I
quartermaster, the first officer and an
knew now for a certainty that I was perfectly
apprentice lay sprawled grotesquely, and
sane, and, oddly enough, now that I was across the chart-house door lay the captain.
convinced that the catastrophe which had Reaching down I lifted him by the shoulders overtaken the Chiriqui was the devilish work
to move him to one side, and to my
of human beings, I was no longer frightened
amazement I discovered that he was not dead.
and my former nightmarish terror of things
His heart beat, his pulse, though slow and
unknown, gave place to the most intense anger
faint, was plain, he was breathing and his face,
and an inexpressible hatred of the fiends who,
still ruddy, was that of a sleeping man rather
without warning or reason, had annihilated
than of a corpse.
hundreds of men and women by means of this
“A wild thought rushed through my
new and irresistible engine of destruction. But
brain, and hastily I rushed to the other bodies.
I was helpless. Alone upon the stolen and
There was no doubt of it. All were alive and
stricken ship I could do nothing. By what
merely unconscious. The gas had struck them
tremendous force the spherical airship was
down, but had not killed them, and it came to
moving through space, by what unknown me as a surprise, though I should long before power it was lifting the ship and carrying it—
have realized it, that the fumes had been
slung like the gondola of a Zeppelin beneath
purposely discharged by the beings who had
the sphere—were matters beyond my captured the vessel. Possibly, I mentally
A Voice from the Inner World
7
decided, they had made a mistake and had
like appendages or cilia, and I wondered if the
failed in their intention to destroy the persons
enormous spherical machine at which I was
upon the ship, or again, was it not possible
gazing, might not move through space in a
that they had intentionally rendered the ship’s
similar manner by means of vibrating rods
company unconscious, and had not intended to
moving with such incredible speed that,
destroy their lives? Forgetting1 my original
slender as they were, they produced enormous
purpose in visiting the bridge, I worked propulsive power. Also, I could now see that feverishly to resuscitate the captain, but all to
the two extremities of the sphere, or as I may
no purpose. Many gases, I knew, would render
better express it, the axes, were equipped with
a man unconscious without actually injuring
projecting bosses or shafts to which the cables
him, and I was also aware, that when under
supporting the red spheres were attached. And
the influence of some of these, the victims
as I peered through the glasses at the thing, the
could not be revived until the definite period
huge green sphere, which had been hitherto
of the gases’ effect had passed. So, feeling
traveling on an even keel, or, in other words,
certain that in due time the captain and the
with the central band vertical, now shifted its
others would come to of their own accord, I
position and one end swung sharply upward,
entered the chart-room and, securing the throwing the band about the center at an acute skipper’s binoculars, I again stepped upon the
angle. Involuntarily I grasped the rail of the
bridge. As I could not conveniently use the
bridge expecting to be thrown from my feet by
glasses with my gas-mask in place, and as I
the abrupt uptilting of the ship. But to my utter
felt sure there was no longer any danger from
amazement the Chiriqui remained on an even
the fumes, I started to remove the apparatus.
plane and I then saw that as the sphere tilted,
But no sooner did a breath of the air enter my
the cable at the uppermost axis ran rapidly out
mouth than I hastily readjusted the so that the two red spheres, which evidently contrivance, for the gas which had struck supported the captive ship, remained in their down everyone but myself was as strong as
original relative horizontal position. No sign
ever. Indeed, the mere whiff of the fumes
of life was visible upon the machine above
made my head reel and swim, and I was
me, and I surmised that whoever might be
forced to steady myself by grasping the handling the thing was within the sphere.
bridge-rail until the dizzy spell passed.
“Wondering how high we had risen
“Once more myself, I focused the above the sea, I stepped to the starboard end glasses as best I could upon the whirling of the bridge and glanced down, and an sphere above the ship. But I could make out
involuntary exclamation escaped my lips. Far
little more than by my naked eyes. The band
beneath the ship and clearly visible through
about the center or equator of the globular
the captain’s glasses was land! I could
thing was, I could now see, divided into distinguish the white line marking surf segments, each of which bore a round, slightly
breaking on a rocky shore, and ahead I could
convex, eye-like object from the centers of
make out the cloud-topped, serried summits of
which extended slender rods which vibrated
a mighty range of mountains. Not until then
with incalculable speed. Indeed, the whole
did I realize the terrific speed at which the
affair reminded me of the glass models of
machine and captive vessel were traveling. I
protozoans which I had seen in the American
had been subconsciously aware that a gale had
Museum of Natural History. These minute been blowing, but I had not stopped to realize marine organisms I knew, moved with great
that this was no ordinary wind, but was the
rapidity by means of vibrating, hair-
rush of air caused by the rapidity of motion.
Amazing Stories
8
But as I peered at the mountains through the
as if in a heavy sea; I clung desperately to the
binoculars, and saw the distant surface of the
bridge-rail for support and I felt sure that the
earth whizzing backward far beneath the ship had been dropped into the abysmal crater, Chiriqui’s keel, I knew that we were hurtling that the next instant the vessel would crash
onward with the speed of the fastest scout
into fragments as it struck bottom, or worse,
airplane.
that it would sink into the molten incandescent
“Even as I gazed, the mountains lava which might fill the depths of the seemed to rush towards me until, in a few
volcano. For what seemed hours, the awful
minutes after I had first seen them, they fall continued, though like as not the terrible appeared almost directly under the ship. Then
suspense lasted for only a few minutes, and
the gigantic machine above me suddenly then, without warning, so abruptly that I lost altered its course, it veered sharply to one side
my balance and was flung to the bridge, the
and swept along the range of summits far
ship ceased falling, an indescribable blue light
beneath. For some reason, just why I cannot
succeeded the blackness, and unable to believe
explain, I dashed to the binnacle and saw that
my senses I found the ship floating
we were traveling to the south, and it flashed
motionless, still suspended from the giant
across my mind, that I had a dim recollection
mechanism overhead, above a marvelous
of noticing, when I first realized the nature of
landscape.
the machine which had been mistaken for a
meteor, that by the stars, we were moving
“ON every hand, as far as I could see,
eastward. In that case, my suddenly alert mind
stretched jagged rocks, immense cliffs,
told me, the land below must be some portion
stupendous crags and rugged knife-ridged hills
of America, and if so, judging by the altitude
of the most dazzling reds, yellows and
of the mountains, that they must be the Andes.
purples. Mile-deep cañons cut the forbidding
All of this rushed through my brain instantly,
plains, which here and there showed patches
and in the brief lapse of time in which I sprang
of dull green, and in one spot I saw a stream
to the binnacle and back to my observation
of emerald-hued water pouring in a foaming
point at the bridge-rail.
“Now, I saw, we
cataract into a fathomless rift in the rock. But I
were rapidly descending, and focusing my gave little attention to these sights at the time.
glasses upon the mountains, I made out an
My gaze was riveted upon a strange, weird
immense conical peak in the top of which was
city which capped the cliffs close to the
a gigantic black opening. Without doubt it was
waterfall, and almost directly beneath the
the crater of some stupendous extinct volcano,
Chiriqui. Slowly we were dropping towards it,
and, with a shock, I realized that the machine
and I could see that the buildings which at first
and the ship were headed directly for the sight had appeared of immense height and yawning opening in the crater. The next tower-like form, were in reality gigantic instant we were dropping with lightning speed
basaltic columns capped with superimposed
towards it, and so terrified and dumfounded
edifices of gleaming yellow.
had I become that I could not move from
“The next second the glasses dropped
where I stood. Even before I could grasp the
from my shaking, nerveless hands. Gathered
fact, the Chiriqui was enclosed by towering,
on an open space of greenish plain were
rocky walls, inky blackness surrounded me,
hundreds of human beings! But were they
there was an upward breath-taking rush of air,
human? In form and features, as nearly as I
a roar as of a thousand hurricanes. The could judge at that distance, they were human, Chiriqui rocked and pitched beneath my feet,
but in color they were scarlet, and
A Voice from the Inner World
9
surmounting the head and extending along the
the women leaped to the Chiriqui’s anchor,
arms to the elbows on every individual was a
with a second bound she was on the fore deck,
whitish, membraneous frill, which at first and close at her heels came a score of others.
sight reminded me of an Indian’s war bonnet.
Standing upon the deck with her head fringed
The beings appeared to be of average height,
by its erect vibrating membrane level with the
but as the Chiriqui’s keel touched solid boat-deck, she gazed about for an instant.
ground and, keeling to one side, she rested
Then, catching sight of the form of a sailor
upon one of her bilges, I saw with a shock,
sprawled upon the deck, she uttered a shrill,
that the scarlet creatures were of gigantic size,
piercing cry, leaped forward, and, before my
fully thirty feet in height, and that, without
unbelieving, horror-stricken eyes, tore the still
exception, all were females! All were stark
living, palpitating body to pieces and
naked; but despite the frills upon their heads
ra
venously devoured it.
and shoulders despite their bizarre scarlet
“Unable to stir through the very
skins, despite their gigantic proportions, they
repulsiveness of the scene, realizing that my
were unquestionably human beings, women
turn might be next, I gazed fascinated. But the
without doubt, and of the most perfect giant cannibal female was not to feast in proportions, the most graceful forms and the
peace. As her companions reached the deck,
most regular and even handsome features. they rushed upon her and fought viciously for Beside the stranded ship, they loomed as a portion of the reeking flesh. The struggle of giants; but against the stupendous proportions
these awful giants, as smeared with human
of their land and city, they appeared no larger
blood, scratching and clawing, uttering shrill
than ordinary mortals. By now they were cries of rage, they rolled and fought on the streaming from their houses and even in the
deck, was indescribably terrible and
surprise and excitement of that moment I disgusting. But it came to an abrupt end. With noticed that the giant rocky columns were
a bound, a giantess of giantesses, a
perforated by windows and doors, and had
powerfully-muscled female, appeared, and
obviously been hollowed out to form like cowed beasts, the others drew aside, dwellings. Meantime, too, the huge machine
licking their chops, the membranes on their
which had captured the Chiriqui, had heads rising and falling in excitement, like the descended and was lying at rest, and no longer
frills on an iguana lizard, and watching the
emitting its green light, upon a cradle erected
newly-arrived giantess with furtive eyes.
near the waterfall, and from openings in its
Evidently she was the leader or chieftainess,
central band several of the scarlet, giant and in curt but strangely shrill and, of course, Amazons were emerging. How long, I to me, utterly unintelligible words, she gave wondered, would I remain undiscovered? orders to the others. Instantly, the horde of How long would it be before one of the female
women began swarming over the ship,
giants spied me? And then, what would be my
searching every nook and corner, and,
fate? Why had they captured the ship? Where