Giants on the Earth | Page 2

games."
* * * * *
The equerry made no move to obey his superior's orders and Glavour's
face grew purple with rage.
"Obey my orders or you shall join her as a sacrifice!" he roared.
The equerry's face paled slightly and grew grim at the Viceroy's words
but no trace of fear appeared on his heavy countenance.
"Save your breath, Glavour," he said shortly, but in so quiet a voice that
no one but the Viceroy heard him. "You may be head of the Sons of
God on this planet but your power does not extend to life and death
over me, who am of the same blood that you are. I have the right to
appeal to Tubain from such a sentence. Before you strive to haul that
girl away to your already crowded seraglio against her will, listen to me.
Do you realize who she is?"
The Viceroy's face was a study. For a moment rage predominated and
he raised a mighty fist to strike Havenner down, but the equerry looked
him fearlessly in the eye. Slowly the hot rage faded and a deadly
ferocity took its place.
"You try me far, Havenner," he said in a quiet voice, yet with a hint of
steel in his tones, "yet your loyalty is above suspicion. Heard you not
the girl say she was the daughter of the Kildare of this province?"
"I heard, Your Excellency," replied the equerry, "but beyond that, she

is someone else. She is the affianced bride of Damis, the son of Hortan,
who was Viceroy before you."
"A Nepthalim!" exclaimed the Viceroy scornfully. "What matters that?
Are the desires of a half-breed bastard to stand above the wishes of the
ruler of the planet?"
"It is true that the mother of Damis was a Daughter of Man," said the
equerry quietly, "yet Hortan married her in honor. Damis is a man of
great influence and it would be well to reflect before you rob him of his
chosen bride. There is wide discontent with our rule which needs only a
leader to flare up. Remember that we are few and Jupiter is far away."
"Havenner, you talk like a frightened woman," sneered the Viceroy.
"Let him join the ranks of the malcontents. For my part, I hope they
revolt. They need to be taught a lesson. Stand aside while I seize the
maiden."
* * * * *
The equerry stood aside with a shrug of his shoulders and the Viceroy
sprang to the ground. The girl had run as rapidly as her clinging robes
would allow toward one of the beautiful buildings which lined the
thoroughfare. She had almost reached the doorway before Glavour
reached the ground and raced after her. His Jovian muscles carried his
body forward at a pace which no Terrestrial could equal. It was evident
to the watchers that he would seize Lura before she could reach the
sanctuary she sought.
A mingled chorus of cries of rage and hisses came from the Earthmen
who witnessed the scene. The Jovian guards strove to suppress the
outcries until a word from Havenner made them cease their efforts and
close in around the Viceregal chariot. The cries rose to a tumult but as
yet none of the Earthmen dared to raise a hand against the person of the
representative of Tubain, the far-off Jovian whom they had been forced
to acknowledge as God, and whom many of the ignorant believed was
God.

The Viceroy rapidly overtook his victim and his hand was outstretched
to grasp her when there came an interruption. From the doorway which
the girl had been striving to reach, a man burst forth and leaped
between her and her pursuer. Glavour stopped and glowered at the new
obstacle in the path of his sensuality.
The newcomer stood five inches over six feet in his flat sandals but it
was only in his unusual height and his enormous strength that he
showed the blood of his Jovian father. His feet were small and shapely
with a high-arched instep and his whole form was graceful and
symmetrical. Crisply curling yellow hair surmounted a head which
Praxiteles would have reveled in as a model for his youthful Hermes.
As he faced the Viceroy, his usual pleasant smile was gone and his face
was set in grim lines, his clear blue eyes as cold as the ice brought from
the polar regions to cool the Viceroy's drink.
* * * * *
The two stood and stared at one another, the black eyes of the Jovian
burning like fire in strange contrast to the cold glare of the blue ones.
Then tension in the street grew taut. The Earthmen gradually closed in
about them. At a word from Havenner, the Jovian guards closed up