Happy Ending, Page 3

was afirein several spreading places. The vanguard. Ahead of the rank that ateaway the grass.

  His boots were brown with _kifs_.

  Screaming with pain, he whirled about and ran, beating with his handsat the burning spots on his body. He ran head-on into a tree, bruisinghis face horribly, and the night was scarlet with pain and shootingfire.

  But he staggered on, almost blindly, running, writhing, tearing off hisclothes as he ran.

  This, then, was _pain_. There was a shrill screaming in his ears thatmust have been the sound of his own voice.

  When he could no longer run, he crawled. Naked, now, and with only a few_kifs_ still clinging to him. And the blind tangent of his flight hadtaken him well out of the path of the advancing army.

  But stark fear and the memory of unendurable pain drove him on. Hisknees raw now, he could no longer crawl. But he got himself erect againon trembling legs, and staggered on. Catching hold of a tree and pushinghimself away from it to catch the next.

  Falling, rising, falling again. His throat raw from the screaminginvective of his hate. Bushes and the rough bark of trees tore hisflesh.

  * * * * *

  Into the village compound just before dawn, staggered a man, a nakedterrestrial. He looked about with dull eyes that seemed to see nothingand understand nothing.

  The females and young ran before him, even the males retreated.

  He stood there, swaying, and the incredulous eyes of the natives widenedas they saw the condition of his body, and the blankness of his eyes.

  When he made no hostile move, they came closer again, formed awondering, chattering circle about him, these Venusian humanoids. Someran to bring the chief and the chief's son, who knew everything.

  The mad, naked human opened his lips as though he were going to speak,but instead, he fell. He fell, as a dead man falls. But when they turnedhim over in the dust, they saw that his chest still rose and fell inlabored breathing.

  And then came Alwa, the aged chieftain, and Nrana, his son. Alwa gavequick, excited orders. Two of the men carried Mr. Smith into the chief'shut, and the wives of the chief and the chief's son took over theEarthling's care, and rubbed him with a soothing and healing salve.

  But for days and nights he lay without moving and without speaking oropening his eyes, and they did not know whether he would live or die.

  Then, at last, he opened his eyes. And he talked, although they couldmake out nothing of the things he said.

  Nrana came and listened, for Nrana of all of them spoke and understoodbest the Earthling's language, for he had been the special protege ofthe Terran missionary who had lived with them for a while.

  Nrana listened, but he shook his head. "The words," he said, "the wordsare of the Terran tongue, but I make nothing of them. His mind is notwell."

  The aged Alwa said, "Aie. Stay beside him. Perhaps as his body heals,his words will be beautiful words as were the words of the Father-of-Uswho, in the Terran tongue, taught us of the gods and their good."

  So they cared for him well, and his wounds healed, and the day came whenhe opened his eyes and saw the handsome blue-complexioned face of Nranasitting there beside him, and Nrana said softly, "Good day, Mr. Man ofEarth. You feel better, no?"

  There was no answer, and the deep-sunken eyes of the man on the sleepingmat stared, glared at him. Nrana could see that those eyes were not yetsane, but he saw, too, that the madness in them was not the same that ithad been. Nrana did not know the words for delirium and paranoia, but hecould distinguish between them.

  No longer was the Earthling a raving maniac, and Nrana made a verycommon error, an error more civilized beings than he have often made. Hethought the paranoia was an improvement over the wider madness. Hetalked on, hoping the Earthling would talk too, and he did not recognizethe danger of his silence.

  "We welcome you, Earthling," he said, "and hope that you will live amongus, as did the Father-of-Us, Mr. Gerhardt. He taught us to worship thetrue gods of the high heavens. Jehovah, and Jesus and their prophets themen from the skies. He taught us to pray and to love our enemies."

  And Nrana shook his head sadly, "But many of our tribe have gone back tothe older gods, the cruel gods. They say there has been great strifeamong the outsiders, and no more remain upon all of Venus. My father,Alwa, and I are glad another one has come. You will be able to helpthose of us who have gone back. You can teach us love and kindliness."

  The eyes of the dictator closed. Nrana did not know whether or not heslept, but Nrana stood up quietly to leave the hut. In the doorway, heturned and said, "We pray for you."

  And then, joyously, he ran out of the village to seek the others, whowere gathering bela-berries for the feast of the fourth event.

  When, with several of them, he returned to the village, the Earthlingwas gone. The hut was empty.

  Outside the compound they found, at last, the trail of his passing.They followed and it led to a stream and along the stream until theycame to the tabu of the green pool, and could go no farther.

  "He went downstream," said Alwa gravely. "He sought the sea and thebeach. He was well then, in his mind, for he knew that all streams go tothe sea."

  "Perhaps he had a ship-of-the-sky there at the beach," Nrana saidworriedly. "All Earthlings come from the sky. The Father-of-Us told usthat."

  "Perhaps he will come back to us," said Alwa. His old eyes misted.

  * * * * *

  Mr. Smith was coming back all right, and sooner than they had dared tohope. As soon in fact, as he could make the trip to the shack andreturn. He came back dressed in clothing very different from the garbthe other white man had worn. Shining leather boots and the uniform ofthe Galactic Guard, and a wide leather belt with a holster for hisneedle gun.

  But the gun was in his hand when, at dusk, he strode into the compound.

  He said, "I am Number One, the Lord of all the Solar System, and yourruler. Who was chief among you?"

  Alwa had been in his hut, but he heard the words and came out. Heunderstood the words, but not their meaning. He said, "Earthling, wewelcome you back. I am the chief."

  "You were the chief. Now you will serve me. I am the chief."

  Alwa's old eyes were bewildered at the strangeness of this. He said, "Iwill serve you, yes. All of us. But it is not fitting that an Earthlingshould be chief among--"

  The whisper of the needle gun. Alwa's wrinkled hands went to his scrawnyneck where, just off the center, was a sudden tiny pin prick of a hole.A faint trickle of red coursed over the dark blue of his skin. The oldman's knees gave way under him as the rage of the poisoned needle dartstruck him, and he fell. Others started toward him.

  "Back," said Mr. Smith. "Let him die slowly that you may all see whathappens to--"

  But one of the chief's wives, one who did not understand the speech ofEarth, was already lifting Alwa's head. The needle gun whispered again,and she fell forward across him.

  "I am Number One," said Mr. Smith, "and Lord of all the planets. All whooppose me, die by--"

  And then, suddenly all of them were running toward him. His fingerpressed the trigger and four of them died before the avalanche of theirbodies bore him down and overwhelmed him. Nrana had been first in thatrush, and Nrana died.

  The others tied the Earthling up and threw him into one of the huts. Andthen, while the women began wailing for the dead, the men made council.

  They elected Kallana chief and he stood before them and said, "TheFather-of-Us, the Mister Gerhardt, deceived us." There was fear andworry in his voice and apprehension on his blue face. "If this be indeedthe Lord of whom he told us--"

  "He is not a god," said another. "He is an Earthling, but there havebeen such before on Venus, many many of them who came long and long agofrom the skies. Now they are all dead, killed in strife amongthemselves. It is well. This last one is one of them, but he is mad."

  And they talked long and the dusk grew into night while they talked ofwhat they must do. The gle
am of firelight upon their bodies, and thewaiting drummer.

  The problem was difficult. To harm one who was mad was tabu. If he wasreally a god, it would be worse. Thunder and lightning from the skywould destroy the village. Yet they dared not release him. Even if theytook the evil weapon-that-whispered-its-death and buried it, he mightfind other ways to harm them. He might have another where he had gonefor the first.

  Yes, it was a difficult problem for them, but the eldest and wisest ofthem, one M'Ganne, gave them at last the answer.

  "O Kallana," he said, "Let us give him to the _kifs_. If _they_ harmhim--" and old M'Ganne grinned a toothless, mirthless grin "--it wouldbe their doing and not ours."

  Kallana shuddered. "It is the most horrible of all deaths. And if he isa god--"

  "If he is a god, they will not harm him. If he is mad and not a god, wewill