PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 49

"Isn't this a little too fast? Something might happen."

"Don't be afraid," I replied. "I'll take care of you. The doctor musthave taught you that last word, as it is not used here. You know nothingever happens in Mars. Everything goes along in the even tenor of itsway, moved by laws which are fixed and certain. This boat, you see,is strong and well able to bear the strain. The water is smooth andcontains no hidden rocks, and it is perfectly easy to steer clear of theshore, which you see is some distance off yet. But now that I have givenyou this little excitement, which you will not regret after it is allover, I will stop the current which produces this great force and bringin an artificial law, as it were, to override the natural law now inoperation. Just look at this lever and see how easily it is done."

I seized the handle, intending to shut off the power suddenly, but bysome unaccountable mistake I turned it the wrong way. Instantly I sawthe bow of the boat jump out of the water and go over our heads, andthen Greg and I realized that something had actually happened on Mars,for we were both buried under the boat.

I was the first to extricate myself and come to the surface, and, notseeing my companion, I thought she was surely lost. I might save heryet, though, and was just about to dive under the boat again, when herhead appeared insight, only a little way from me, her eyes wide openand, really, a smile on her face.

"Can you swim, Greg?" I cried, excitedly.

She had not the breath to answer or else thought my questionunnecessary. But I soon found my own answer when I saw her head sinkingagain just as I had reached her. I clutched her, and, as I held her headabove the water, I began to understand that I had something on my handsto fulfill my promise to take care of her. At this instant I saw oneof the oars from the boat floating a little way from us and managed tosecure it, holding Greg with one arm and swimming with the other. I nowhelped my companion to half support herself by grasping the oar, whilefor the rest she was induced to throw an arm over my shoulder. In thisway I was left free to make what progress I could through the water, andI lost no time in swimming toward the shore, since there was no hope ofour being able to make use of the boat, which now lay, bottom up, on thesurface.

All this was done without a word from Greg, although I had been talkingto her freely, giving her directions and assuring her of my abilityto save her. As this was her first experience in drowning, she hadevidently been trying to sing under the water and had found it sodifficult that she had determined to keep her lips closed till she waswell out of it. With this thought in my mind I said to her as soon as wewere under way:

"Your head is so far above water now that you can open your mouth withperfect safety. You see I can talk, and my head is much lower thanyours."

She was so situated that I could not see her face easily, and thereforeI do not know whether she ventured to unstop her lips or not, but nosound came from them if she did. Perhaps the water still filled her earsand made her deaf. So I called aloud:

"Can you hear me, Greg?"

No answer in words, but I imagined I felt a slight pressure of her handon my shoulder. I toiled on, musing over her strange behavior, tillit occurred to me to try a subject which had never failed to bring aresponse from her.

"I hope this will make you more affectionate to me, dear Greg," I said;and then, as she made no answer, I continued:

"If we reach the shore alive and get home safe you will love me morethan you do Foedric, will you not?"

I thought this would bring an answer, and I was not disappointed, exceptin the manner in which it came. Not the faintest note escaped from herlips, but a throb of feeling came along her arm, and her hand graspedmy shoulder with unmistakable vigor. I suppose she thought I wouldunderstand what this answer meant, but I was puzzled. It might mean somany things. Perhaps her heart was softening toward me and she was somuch affected by her love for me, stronger and deeper than she had everthought it could be, that she dared not speak. With this possibilityin view I began to feel very tender toward her and to experience thepleasure of one whose love is returned in full measure.

But then her answer might have quite a different meaning. What if shewere telling me that she had determined never to speak another word onthat subject, and that my question was an offense to her? Surely shehad told me often enough to talk about more sensible things, and perhapsthis was only a new and forcible way of repeating the same injunction. Ireflected, too, that it was hardly fair to take advantage of the presentsituation to force upon her a prohibited topic of conversation.

There was another possible meaning to her manner of answering me.Perhaps she was indignant because I had insisted on her getting into theboat with me against her wish, and held me strictly responsible forall that followed. With this view in mind I imagined she was saying toherself:

"I want nothing to say to you. I accept your assistance because I cannotget to shore without you, but when once out of this dreadful water Ishall have nothing more to do with you."

To place against the latter theory I had the fact that Greg's face hadbeamed with pleasure all the time I was getting her fixed so I couldswim freely. Dwelling upon this memory my mind returned to thoughts oflove, and I felt that I must try once more to start that familiar song.So I said:

"Forgive me, Greg, if I have offended you, and let me hear your voiceagain. You are too good to punish me so severely for my fault in gettingyou into this trouble. Will you not cheer me with a few notes while Ibear you safely to the shore?"

Again a pressure of the hand but no exp

ression from the lips, and I wasleft to further conjecture over the strange mood my companion was in.I swam leisurely, so as not to exhaust my strength, and as there was aconsiderable distance to go I had plenty of time to think after I hadfound it impossible to induce Greg to enter into conversation. Althoughso near, my companion seemed far away, and I became extremely lonesome.In trying to determine what had occasioned such a mishap in a worldwhere I had been taught to believe such things entirely out of date,I came to the conclusion that the Martians owe their freedom frommany misfortunes to their ripened characters, rather than to anythingpeculiar in their physical laws. With my imperfect development I hadmade an error in judgment in taking Greg upon the water, and with myuntrained mind I had simply made a mistake when I turned the lever ofthe electric apparatus the wrong way. The Martians had reached such highattainments in every direction that it was practically impossible forthem to make mistakes. Thus had they freed themselves from many of thevexations which harass the people of a younger world.

I was fortunately able to endure the strain of the great task which Ihad undertaken, and finally succeeded in bringing my precious burdento land and helping her to a place of safety. We were both pretty wellfatigued with our exertions, but felt no danger from our wet clothes,because of the mild and balmy air.

Greg's behavior still perplexed me. Her manner was delightfully pleasantand familiar. Now that we were safe she appeared to appreciate thehumorous part of the situation, and I was loath to believe that shecould or would affect such good nature if she were harboring unpleasantfeelings toward me. But I could not account for her continued silence,for as yet no word nor sound of any kind had come from her lips. Herface and hands, however, were continually in motion, and after I hadovercome my usual stupidity I discovered that she was actually makingsigns.

"Why, Greg," I exclaimed, "can't you speak?"

She shook her head.

"Nor sing, I mean?"

Another shake.

"Do you mean to say you have lost your voice?"

A nod.

For a moment a shadow settled upon her face, occasioned, no doubt, by myfalling countenance, for I must have shown something of the great shockto my feelings. Greg without the voice of Greg! I could not at oncerealize the depth of my loss. And now it was her turn to attempt torestore my spirits, as we fell back to our original mode of conversing.I urged her to make an effort to sing, and she told me she had triedmany times, and that it had grieved her to be so unsocial while I wastoiling so hard to save her life.

"Why, my dear," I answered, "I thought you were angry with me forspeaking to you again about my love."

Her reply was a look so full of tenderness that I was almost surethat, if she had had her voice, she would have used it more kindly thanbefore. Still it may have been only compassion.

By this time we had found our carriage and were on our way home, and Iam sure that if, on our arrival, our friends had judged from our looks,they would have supposed I, and not Greg, had experienced a greatmisfortune.

Avis had returned to her distant home several days before this, butAntonia and Foedric were at Lime's when we arrived, and I had theunpleasant task of relating to the whole household our sad experience. Idid not spare myself, although they were all kind enough to offer everymanner of excuse for me. Everybody showed sympathy with Greg inall possible ways, but she herself still exhibited the same sunnydisposition as ever, although the house seemed quiet without her brightand happy song.

Family life in this model home went forward without a jar. Lime andDenim exhibited not the least sign of restraint before us, so thatwhat we saw from day to day we were sure was their natural and usualbehavior. They never worked at cross purposes, were never impatientnor forgetful of each other, but without effort, apparently, to avoidfriction, they always did what was best pleasing to themselves, and atthe same time what was just suited to each other. This happy state ofaffairs did not come from a division of labor, by which Denim shouldhave nothing to do with outside matters and Lime nothing to sayabout how things should go in the house, but it seemed to proceed fromtheir innate love of harmony, their perfect compatibility, and theirpractical equality. The doctor and I saw there was something here fardifferent from anything existing in the conjugal relation on the earth,but we could not decide just what it was. The doctor was strongly of theopinion, however, that it arose in some way from the higher condition ofwoman.

"You know," he said, when we were alone, "the civilization of a peopleon our planet is pretty correctly measured by the position occupied bythe women, so that here, in this exalted society, they must be held inhigh esteem, if there is the same analogy between the two worlds in thisas in so many other things."

I quite agreed with him, and took the first opportunity when we were alltogether to introduce the subject.

"I should like to direct the conversation," I said, addressing our hostand hostess, "to a topic of considerable interest, just now, to thepeople of the earth. I am sure we can learn something of value inregard to it from you, and I will introduce it, if you will pardon myimpertinence, with a personal question. Will you please tell me who isthe head of this household?"

"Denim."

"Lime."