The Magician of Mars by Edmond Hamilton

Author:Edmond Hamilton [Hamilton, Edmond]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
ISBN: 9781610818360
Publisher: Radio Archives
Published: 2012-09-05T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9: Across Dimensions

CURT NEWTON had only a momentary glimpse of a vast, vaguely lit cavernous abyss into which the river tumbled for almost a hundred feet. Then the little metal boat went over the brink of the fall.

Thunderous waters roared in Curt’s ears as he and Grag were tossed dizzily from the boat. Turning over and over as he fell among the plunging waters, Captain Future glimpsed a great foaming pool rushing up at him. He straightened, struck the pool like a diver.

He went deep down into the seething waters, the shock of impact almost stunning him. Then he fought up to the surface, his lungs bursting as he struggled against the whirling currents. He broke surface and found himself being whirled crazily around by the eddying currents of the pool.

There was no sign of Grag or the boat. Yet Curt did not try to search for his companion. He struck out in great strokes that soon brought him to the rocky shore of the pool. There he stood, panting.

“The People of Darkness weren’t fooling when they said this river is dangerous,” Curt muttered to himself, ruefully.

Captain Future sat down on the rocky shore and waited. He wasn’t worried about Grag. He knew Grag would have sunk to the bottom of the pool like a stone, but the robot couldn’t drown for he didn’t breathe.

Soon, Curt saw a — dripping metal figure come up out of the pool. It was Grag. The big robot was walking up out of the water, dragging the metal boat with him. He had also secured the paddles.

“Well, Grag, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Curt greeted him.

“Fun?” cried the robot. Then he indulged in some of his choicest interplanetary profanity. “If that’s your idea of fun, may I be cut up and sold for scrap! I was walking around, down on the bottom of that pool, trying to find the boat and paddles. A big water-snake coiled around me and I had the devil of a time getting rid of it. And you call it fun!”

“I was only joking, Grag,” Captain Future chuckled. “Haven’t you any sense of humor?”

“My sense of humor doesn’t cover crazy expeditions like this one,” Grag growled. “I knew something like this would happen.”

“Come on, we’ve got to get on,” Curt told him, entering the boat and grasping a paddle. “I hope we don’t hit any more waterfalls.”

“If we do, I get out and walk!” threatened Grag.

They pushed off again upon the underground river. The infra-red searchlight which Curt had had in its bow was lost, as was his compass. But he paddled resolutely on down the strange waterway. They encountered more rapids. But when they had won past these, the river ran smooth and fast through very high tunnels and caves.

“We’re very deep down in the caves now,” Curt called back to the sulky robot. “We should have reached the radite cavern by now.”

“Probably we’ve lost our way and will drift on down till we reach the center of Uranus,” prophesied Grag gloomily.

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