“Yes,” echoed Saunders, “let him alone, the ailment will cure itself, it always does.”
Their winks and ill-concealed, struggling laughter exasperated me and, threatening to be even, I roared that I madly loved the beautiful Centaurian.
“We haven’t contradicted you,” purred Sheldon soothingly; “but your astonishing frankness relieves much anxiety. We doubted your sentiments toward the very handsome lady—you will survive.”
Then they let it out, boisterously, derisively. Vainly I protested; the more I raged the wilder grew their mirth, till suddenly realizing they joshed me, believing raillery a sure cure for the tender malady; also, that each would take turns thrashing any one who dared harass me as they were doing, I dropped chivalry and resignedly joined in the sport. All sobered up instantly and Saxe., understanding (he always did), plunged into an account of their adventures.
“You should have been with us, Virgillius,” he said, looking at me reproachfully. “It was a wonderful voyage. We started shortly after noon, our ship accompanied by a fleet. The strong, fresh breeze of the cloud plains was delightful after the intense heat of the city. We sailed straight north, expecting to reach the Ocstas about sun-down, but the committee erred when mapping out the route. This led over the battle-ground of the Octrogonas and Potolilis, and for three mortal hours we dipped, circled, fluttering like a great buzzard, watching an engagement between the warring tribes. Our captain, a most obliging fellow, slyly detached his ship from the others, which unaware, sailed peacefully on, but our traveling companions when learning the cause of delay immediately secluded themselves. The Centaurians, ahem! are cultured above war—and we had the whole deck to ourselves, occupying railing seats. It was a magnificent sight, Virgillius, magnificent! But warfare is pretty even on both sides of the globe. Here the chiefs, generals, lead in battle; their great armies are drilled to mechanical perfection, in action compact, a gigantic unit; and, boy, every last blessed one of them aimed and shot to kill.”
Saxe. wondered how the principals escaped.
“Looks bad for the aiming,” murmured Sheldon.
The Octrogonas were the fiercest, but the Potolilis, more numerous, and though the young chief was superb, daring, he was gradually forced to retreat, which so enraged his army, discipline was trampled under. They rushed the enemy and both sides fought like beasts.
“It was slaughter, horrible, yet differs not at all from what is going on continually in some portion of our world,” Saxe. growled. He scorned those “high-sniffing Centaurians,” for their “dastardly indifference,” and declared the extermination of the magnificent savage a crime.
“For they’re killing each other off as fast as they can and the whole row over a couple of women!”