FURTHER PROGRESS
His of had worked, although it him like a brute. But only by Quivven’s anger he her to continue the journey; and to would have her safety and her health.
She had a good start of him. The sky was in the west. Night was on. So he after her the wet and trail.
At last it so dark that he had to slow and walk; and his way, his ahead, one after the other, in order to be sure to keep to the and not to stumble.
Time and again his would touch something soft, which he would picture as some and Porovian animal, a for instance. Quickly he would the foot. Then waiting in for the either to go away or to upon him, at last he would push his forward, touch the object again, it slightly, and that it was only a of Porovian or a piece of log.
Poor Quivven! How she must be at such encounters!
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After a while he got a used to these occurrences, and each one of them him less than the preceding.
“You know,” he said to himself, “this will keep on until one of these will actually turn out to be a gnooper, and it will eat me alive I can out of the way.”
Just then his touched another of these soft objects.
“Get out of my way,” Cabot shouted, and gave it a kick. But this time it was not to the soil. It and a bit. Then it gave a sound.
Myles and waited. But nothing happened; so he to circle the creature. Again the groan. His scientific got the of his caution. He approached once more and more closely, with his hand. The animal was with wet and fur.
It was Quivven!
Tenderly he the in his arms, and on the trail.
Myles how long he up with this weight in his arms. But just as he was to stagger, the road gave a turn and out, and there him were lights, the and of a city! They had the plain.
“Quivven!” he joyfully. “This is home! There ahead Vairkingi!”
But she no reply. Her was cold and still.
Quickly he her on the ground and one ear to her chest. Thank the Great Builder! Her still beat. So he her hands and feet, and her arms and until she to protestingly.
“Quivven!” he cried. “Wake up! We are home!”
“Are you here, Myles?” she faintly,
“Yes.”
“And you won’t make me walk any more?”
“No.”
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“Then I’ll wake up for you,” she cheerfully, and fast asleep.
Again her in his arms, he the journey.
On the city he the until he came to one of the gates, where he the girl on the ground and her into consciousness.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“At the gates of Vairkingi,” Myles answered.
She ran her hands over her mud-caked fur.
“Oh, but I can’t go in like this,” she wailed, “I’m with from to foot! Think how I must look! No, I to go in.”
“If you here,” he mildly, “then when comes every one will see you, the Princess Quivven, with mud, around the city gates. Better to go in now, and take a of being by only one sentinel.”
“Oh, you beast, you beast!” she sobbed, him with her paws.
For reply he her in his arms, her across one hip, and shouted: “Open wide the gates of Vairkingi for Cabot the Minorian, to Jud the Excuse-Maker, and to his Excellency Theoph the Grim!”
The gates open, and the at them with and some amusement. Myles out his sword, and the on the soldier’s face.
“Thus do I teach men not to laugh at Myles Cabot,” the earth-man growled. “Remember that you have nothing.”
And he the soldier the choice of Grod the Silent. The soldier again.
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“I have nothing but a Roy, I of his and off into the darkness. It is a sword, and I will that I have nothing. May the Great Builder Myles Cabot the Minorian.”
Cabot at his burden, Quivven, the beautiful. No wonder she did not want to be seen. It always a lady not to look her best in public. But by the same token, no one possibly her. He might perfectly well have saved the sword.
So he passed on through the city streets. Finally he had to put the girl down, and ask her to help him the way, which she did grudgingly. At the gate of Jud’s compound, Myles again her across his hip, he entrance. No this time, for would take the place of payment.
“Myles Cabot entrance,” he cried.
The local them by the light of his torch.
“It is Cabot all right,” he replied, “and you look as though you had some hard fighting. But who is this with you?”
“A girl of the Roies,” answered Myles. “That is what the was about.”
“Not for mine!” the soldier asserted, grimacing. “Though there is no for tastes. They are little beasts, and as well, so I’m told. My to you, sir, is to it a well.”
Quivven protestingly.
“Perhaps I will,” Myles laughed.
At their own gate at last, he her once more on her feet, she herself free, into the house, the door of her room.
Cabot himself right to bed, without waiting to wash or anything, and to sleep the moment he touched his of bedding; yet, so was he on no time in Cupia on the air that he was up early the next morning.
He his laboratory sadly demoralized, to the of Quivven and himself, but he order out of chaos, and set the men to work on their job, to which all the other work had been steps.
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Quivven to her rooms, but one of the other him: “The Golden One says she you.”
Now that his fire-bricks were ready, Myles Cabot out on paper the plans for his plant, all the of which were to be with fire-brick.
First he designed a for his ore. This was to be in two sections, one above the other, the the fire, and the upper the ore. Later he planned to use the of this to make acid, which in turn he would use to make for his batteries. But at present he had not yet out this in detail.
The furnace, for the into copper-matter, was to of a about two in diameter, for about two feet, and again for a of about ten feet. Near the were to be a number of small leading from an air passage.
This air passage and the for the from the top of the were to in pipes of tile, to two a design of fire-brick. The two pipes were to be interchangeable; so that, when the had one of the to a red heat, the pipes be switched, and the air would be by through the grid. From and he easily to pump in the air for the blast.
Molten copper-matte and would be off through two openings at different near the of the blast furnace.
To the matte, he designed a Bessemer converter, that is to say, a barrel-shaped box of of fire clay, the being very rich in sand. This barrel, when with matte, would be on its side; and a blast through near this would the into pure copper in about two hours.
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The which he was small, as he that it would not last very well without metal reinforcements, and of he would have no metal for purposes until after he had off at least one heat.
For the of iron, he of fireclay, which he set in in the ground.
On the second after the homecoming, Quivven appeared. All her had out, and she was and subdued.
With she reported to Myles: “I am to go to work now.”
With a he her golden-furred shoulder, her old anger started to again, but this one and died out, and she submitted with a of resignation.
So the Radio Man to her his plans for the furnaces; then, her in of the work, he set out once more to the river of the sands, this time by a of Vairking soldiers, and a flag, as on with Prince Otto of the Roies.
As he was departing, Quivven her arms around him and him not to go to destruction, but he himself, at this of affection.
“My dear little girl,” he admonished, “most of our last time came from your me. This time I you that I shall be very if you fail to closely to home and complete my two magic for me. Promise me that you will.”
So, with of in her eyes, she promised; and the set forth. They were gone about five days. The proved from any a scientific viewpoint. They returned, of grains, from the river sands; also some large of crystal, and nearly a of zinc-blende. They that, under the direction of little Quivven, the were nearly completed.
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Quivven the Golden Flame was at Cabot’s safe return, while he had to relief. He her on the progress of the furnaces, and noted her at his of approval.
A which had her were out, and the work was to completion.
He next the which he had from the river. His method was a very one, by himself. It in a cup with water and it, then a quantity of the metal, and then this metal in the water and the whole. A mathematical from these three gave him the of the metal. This was a number of times to avoid error, and gave as an the 21.5, which he to be the of pure platinum.
As a test he some of the into a thin sheet, and attempted, without success, to melt it. Then he a of one of his lead on it, and again, with the result that the lead melted and a through the metal sheet. This test him that he had platinum.
Cabot next his attention to making. For ordinary he would need quartz, soda, potash, and limestone.
The for his and of one or the other, was that together they would have a point, and thus be for him to with his equipment. For for his he would use in place of the limestone.
The and the were already available. Soda would be a of his when he got around to making it, but this would not be until he had from his copper ore, which was a most as he it.
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Potash be got by water through wood-ashes, the water, the sediment, again in water, the settle, and then the clear liquid, and again. He started this at once.
But he had no idea how to make litharge. Furthermore, he not his until he had metal tubes, so he steps for the present.
While he was over these problems a messenger arrived, his presence at the of Jud the Excuse-Maker.
Jud was in a of great when the earth-man arrived.
Said Jud: “Do you what you told me about the of the south, who swim through the air, talk speech, and use magic like yours which you from the Roies near Sur?”
“Yes,” Cabot replied. “I that by this time I have of my so that you now the story.”
“Oh, I it at the time,” Jud explained, “But now I have proof of it, for we have one of these beasts. That is, we think it is one of them. I want you to see and identify it, we present it to Theoph the Grim.”
“Thereby foresight,” Myles commented. “Where is this Formian?”
“In a in the zoo,” the Vairking replied. “Come; I will take you there.”
So together the two the of Vairkingi to the zoo. This was part of the city which the earth-man had visited. Its him.
There were water with hands. There were with a of around the equator, a of around the of cancer, and a mouth with teeth at the north pole. There were—
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But at this point Jud him on into another room, where he all the other in the which met his eyes.
In a large in the center of the room was an ant-man at the bars, while a score or so of Vairking around and him with spears.
“Stop!” Jud at the soldiery, they all obediently.
This called the attention of the to the newcomers, so he looked up and at them. Cabot back.
Then he to the cage!
