"Chapman, John L - Time, Inc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chapman John L)

The marchers poured forth from the valley in a never ending stream. There must
have been hundreds of them yet hidden from sight. The leader, upon seeing
Casmir, held his hand high, and the procession slowed.
"I can't understand it," whispered Casmir. "It must be a trick of some sort.
They're Dwellers all right--I'll turn the deconite on them--"
"No!" protested Stanley. "You'll have them charging us--"
But Casmir had swung the metal tube around so it pointed into the air above the
valley. When the warriors saw this, Stanley's prediction became reality. At a
shout from Mulr the Dwellers rushed forward with spears upraised.
Casmir uttered a shill cry of terror, dropped the weapon and ran for the city.
When the spears and rocks began flying, the time agents took up quick pursuit.
"It's impossible!" wheezed Henry Holmes. "Everything is turned around!"
"Maybe this Mulr knows," panted Forthmiller, "what it's all about. But you ask
him, not me."
"They've stopped coming," said Casmir, slowing. "They don't want to charge the
city--yet."
"We're not heading back now," growled Forthmiller, wiping perspiration from his
face. "The city looks much more inviting."
No one disagreed. At a slow trot, they proceeded into the metropolis.
A SECOND RACE occupied the streets of the city.
"Hordes," murmured Casmir as they walked along the crowded avenues. "The people
are Hordes, but they're clothed as Dwellers."
The Hordes stared incredulously at Casmir and his three companions. Unlike the
warriors outside the city, they were fabulously robed and immaculate in
appearance. As yet, none of them recognized Casmir.
"Rhamnol," said the future-man, "was the leader of the old Horde race.
Undoubtedly we'll find him in the city palace. He can explain."
Presently the palace, a lofty tower with a vast, arching entrance, came into
view. Casmir led the group through the archway and into a private elevator that
shot upward noiselessly.
"You're well acquainted with the city," remarked Henry Holmes.
"I was here once before," replied Casmir dryly, "at a time when hostilities
didn't exist."
He took them along a curving corridor, past guards who nodded briefly at him,
and into a small, luxurious room.
There sat Rhamnol, the leader of the Hordes, a bulky, short-legged personage
with a plump face and tiny eyes.
He looked at Casmir queerly. His voice boomed. "Yes? What do you want?"
"You remember me, Rhamnol! Casmir! I've been to the past!"
The other frowned. "Eh? Casmir? Oh yes, I recall, faintly. Someone reported you
missing. Where've you been?"
"To the past! I took our machine--went back before the war. And I found the
weapon I was looking for--a great one!"
Rhamnol shifted uneasily, sliding his hands along the sleeves of his robe.
"Weapon? Yes, we need weapons, but this machine you mention. Vaguely, I--"
"You've forgotten?" cried Casmir. "What has happened to you and the Hordes,
Rhamnol? Did you take the city from the Dwellers?"
Rhamnol was bewildered. "You talk strangely. No, we didn't take the city from
the Dwellers--we've always had the city. Don't you remember that? The Dwellers
are outside, and they've been trying to overtake us for years--"