From this point we must be very cautious. The Temple of the Sanhedrin is very close to where we’re going.”
Josh listened carefully as Crusoe spoke. They were resting their horses at the edge of a wild forest of ancient oaks. The great trees had been twisted into strange shapes by some unbelievable force.
The travelers were all mounted on sturdy ponies, except for Volka, who was too large for any horse. In addition, each led a packhorse laden with food, extra clothing, camping gear, and weapons.
For more than a week they had prepared for this journey. Then before dawn that very day, Crusoe had rousted them out and gotten them on the road. Since that early morning beginning, they had pushed on steadily, with only a brief stop for a quick meal at noon.
After midday, they left the highland and followed Crusoe into a tunnel of trees. The twisted branches of the oaks overhead nearly shut out the sun.
Finally, just as Josh was almost ready to fall out of the saddle, Crusoe called a halt. The riders climbed wearily off their horses and began to make camp.
It was then that Josh made a serious error.
He had gone into the woods for firewood. Suddenly a small animal darted in front of him. The animal looked much like a very small deer.
Now’s my chance to bring home the first game, Josh thought. He unslung his bow, cocked an arrow, and for the first time he sent a barbed shaft through the air at a living thing.
Josh saw the arrow strike the small target. But before he could move, a hideous scream ripped through the forest. It was an unearthly noise that sounded like a woman’s shrill, hysterical shriek.
“Look out! Look out!” the horrid voice cried.
Josh wheeled and ran blindly toward the camp. He ran so fast that he bumped into Mat, who fell sprawling.
The dwarf angrily spluttered, “What did you do?”
“Josh!” Crusoe came scurrying up. “Didn’t I tell you we must make no noise! Come on, we must leave at once!”
As they scurried back to their mounts, Josh gasped, “What was it?”
“A look-out hart,” Crusoe answered. “The Sanhedrin use them as an alarm system. They scream their heads off at anything unusual. After that, the Sanhedrin descend in force.”
They reached the camp and began saddling the horses.
Josh was just thinking how lucky they were that the packs had not been unloaded when the shrill screaming stopped abruptly. Something, or somebody, was lurking at the edge of the camp. Josh glanced wildly around and saw that not one but many figures were standing in a circle around the campsite.
All of the strangers were tall, menacing creatures. Each wore a scarlet robe with a cowl that covered his face. A number in gold set inside a white circle gleamed on each breast. And there was a coldness in the air somehow that gripped Josh’s heart like an icy fist. There was a sense of evil that he had never before felt.
Suddenly one of the strangers raised his hand and pointed at Crusoe. When he spoke, it was with a strange hollow tone.
“I am Elmas, Chief Interrogator and Servant of the Sanhedrin. Who are you, and why have you chosen to give up your lives by entering the Forbidden Land?”
Then Crusoe did something that Josh could not believe—he shrank into an even smaller shape, falling to the ground and crying and pleading in a high whine.
“No, Masters! Not the Forbidden Land. We’ve lost our way!” He began to sniffle and weep piteously. “We— we turned south two days ago so as to miss this place. We’ve lost our way. Please let us go! We’re just poor folk trying to get to the village of Mantila.”
“Quiet!” the hooded Chief Interrogator commanded. He turned his head and looked at each of them. Then his eyes lit on Josh, and he said suddenly, “Who is this one? He does not have the appearance of a Nuworlder.”
Josh felt the burning eyes bore into his. He felt—invaded! Something had entered his mind and was beginning to strip him of everything.
He tried desperately to avoid the searcher. Then, as he stood helpless before the power that was beginning to possess him, there came a familiar voice that reminded him of what he must do—“Be a half-wit.”
Instantly Josh threw himself to the ground, yelling the most idiotic things that occurred to him. He even frothed at the mouth. He screamed a series of phrases that poured out in meaningless patterns.
After a moment the Chief Interrogator said, “You may be the fools you seem to be, but you will appear at the Tower of Truth in the morning to undergo the Questioning.”
He touched Crusoe on the forehead, and the old man went down as if he had been shot through the brain. The Chief Interrogator wheeled and amid a ghostly silence led the others out of the glen. In an instant, they had all faded into the depths of the forest.
Josh waited until he was certain they were gone. Then he stopped screaming and got up, trembling in every limb.
Crusoe had to be helped to his feet. When his eyes cleared, he said to Josh, “Now you know the power of the enemy!” Then the old man shook off their helping hands. “We must leave now—and ride all night. Quickly! Let us go.”
The next few hours were like a bad dream. Already exhausted, Josh clung to the saddle only by an act of will as the travelers journeyed through the darkness of the forest.
Once they stopped to rest the animals. Only then did Crusoe ask, “Joshua, how did you ever think of using that crazy act? It was all that saved us.”
The others all murmured agreement.
“Well, I…” Josh stammered, then he said defiantly, “A voice told me to do it.” He waited for the hoot of derision, especially from Mat. Yet he saw only nods of agreement and a strange smile on Crusoe’s face as they prepared to resume their journey.
Dawn was just turning the early morning skies to red when Crusoe led the group to a small canyon where there was a clear spring. They dismounted and drank deeply. After that, Josh saw Crusoe pull a rope out of his pack, walk to a tree, and sit down with his back to it. “Tie me to this tree,” he said.
Josh watched in amazement as Mat and Tam lashed Crusoe so tightly that the ropes cut into his thin arms.
When he was firmly secured, Crusoe said, “Joshua, I think you should go away for a while.”
“Why?” Josh asked.
“Because what is about to happen will be unpleasant. The Chief Interrogator commanded me to appear at the Tower. I will be forced to go there—if I can!” He nodded at his bonds. “These ropes will hold me until the spell passes.”
Then Crusoe turned to the others. “Remember, no matter what I say or do—don’t let me loose,” he sternly instructed. “If you do, we’ll all die.”
Even as he spoke, a strange mad look came over his wrinkled face. He began speaking in a voice Josh had never heard before. “You can let me go. I’m all right now,” Crusoe assured them.
He waited, then began to froth at the mouth and scream, fighting against the ropes. “Release me, you idiots! I must go to my masters! Release me at once!”
Josh watched transfixed, completely forgetting Crusoe’s instructions to leave. He never forgot the nightmare he viewed. The old man was transformed into a beast that cried and begged, then cursed and blasphemed horribly. The seizure went on and on until he feared that Crusoe would die of convulsions.
Finally the old man slumped and expelled a huge sigh. When he lifted his head, his eyes were clear, and he said, “I am myself. You can release me when you think it wise.”
Josh rushed forward. He drew his knife and cut Crusoe loose.
Tam offered their leader a drink of cool spring water.
Holding Crusoe in the circle of his arms while he drank and slowly recovered, Josh felt a strange sense of kinship with the twisted figure. Tears began to burn in his eyes.
Crusoe smiled through his wrinkles. He feebly patted Josh with a claw. “We are on our way, my boy.”
“But where are we?” Mat murmured gloomily. “Is this the place?”
Crusoe slowly hobbled to his feet with Volka’s help. “This is the location indicated by the song, but—sing it again, Josh. Maybe we’ll get a better idea of the exact spot.”
Josh sang the well-remembered words:
“‘Far from ocean tidesyet the Sleeper lies
“‘Where even sunlight seems to failin the belly of the whale.’”
There was a long silence.
Josh said, “I guess we’d better look for a whale.”
“Great!” cried Tam happily. Then he added in a puzzled voice, “What’s a whale?”
Josh started to explain, but Crusoe said, “Just spread out and look for anything unusual. If you find anything, sing out.”
They separated and searched for several hours, finding nothing. Then Josh heard a whistle. When he finally located the source of the whistle, he also found the others. They were standing by a steel structure that was nearly covered with lichens.
“This must be it.” Volka grinned. “But what is it? A water tank maybe?” He struck it with his huge fist, and an echo rang out. “Empty,” the giant commented.
The structure was an oval steel tower rising about ten or twelve feet out of the sand. Try as they might, they could find no door or secret entrance.
“Sure doesn’t look like a whale,” Josh muttered. He glanced up and said, “Look at that.”
He ran across the sand to a small mound rising out of the ground about fifty feet away. He cried out, “Hooray! Come and help me!” He began digging at the mound with his sword, sending the sand flying.
“What is it?” they all cried.
“Look!” Josh had uncovered a steel surface, and on it was a faded nameplate. He read aloud the words. “USS Narwhale. It’s a submarine,” Josh explained. “Named after a whale. That’s about as close as you can get to a whale on dry land, I guess.”
“Yes—this must be what the song referred to,” Crusoe said excitedly. “It must be an old war monument in a park. Or maybe there was an Oldworld river in this place.”
“Come on,” Josh said. “Let’s get inside.” They ran back to the exposed conning tower, and Josh turned to the giant. “Help me up to the top, Volka!” he begged.
The giant seized Josh and set him up on the structure. Then one by one, the others joined Josh as the giant helped them.
“I don’t suppose I can get in the door,” Volka said. “I’ll keep watch while you’re inside.”
The plan sounded good, but they soon discovered that getting inside was not as easy as it looked. The steel hatch seemed to be welded to the deck. Not even Volka could have ripped it off.
They had tried everything they could think of and were beginning to argue bitterly about what to do, when Josh held up his hand. “Wait a minute. Be quiet.”
They watched as Josh strained to hear a far-off voice. Then he said, “I remember something. Something I read in my mother’s journal.”
“What was it, Josh?” Crusoe asked quietly.
“Mom said, ‘Sometimes, if everything else fails to solve a problem, you just speak to it. If you want to get rid of unforgiveness, say, ‘Unforgiveness, get out of my heart.’”
“Well, what in the world does that mean?” Mat threw up his hands.
“I think,” Josh said slowly, “that it means just what it says: Speak to this thing!”
“Oh, wonderful,” Mat said mockingly. “You can talk to this thing—and I’ll talk to the rocks. Tam can chat with the birdies, and—”
“Hush!” Crusoe said. “Do you believe it will happen, Josh?”
Josh said slowly, “I’ll believe if you will.”
“You’re going to look like an idiot if nothing happens!” Mat warned. “What if you fail?”
Josh didn’t answer. He merely took a deep breath and began to sing.
For a ghostly moment, nothing happened. Then, with a rusty groan, the hatch opened.
Relief and surprise washed over Josh. With a gesture to the others, he scrambled down inside. His friends quickly followed.
They found the capsule with ease, but, strangely, indecision seemed to seize Josh even as this part of his quest was ending. Finally, with a nod from Crusoe, he pushed the button and stepped closer for his first glimpse of the waiting sleeper.