The Moth Message by Laurence Manning Read online

  Wonder Stories, December, 1934

  Wonder Stories

  2

  The Moth Message

  by Laurence Manning

  At the first touch of the warm weather this Colonel? The drinks are on you and you must spring, I had the most overpowering attack of name them!” Our idea had, you see, grown a laziness that I have ever experienced. It comes bit.

  every summer, regularly, but the cold winter The Colonel ordered mint juleps and

  brought it on rather earlier, I suppose. At such marched us up to them in squads and insisted times I usually grit my teeth and work along that our grasping, raising, and tilting of the no matter how I feel, but somehow I couldn’t glasses lacked true military precision, which stick it out at the office. I tried reading, but he proceeded to drill into us—using up three found it too soothing and monotonous; I don’t drinks apiece upon his recruits in so doing. It go in much for girls and the alternative was now time for lunch, and sobered by much seemed to be a mild course in drinking. So it eating, we spread ourselves about the great happened that I found myself in the taproom lounge, in silence, to do our digestions full of the Stranger Club at eleven o’clock on a justice—for they serve good food at the

  Thursday morning ordering the tall and icy.

  Stranger Club. Some of the party left, but four The place was deserted when I arrived,

  of us remained—LaBrot, Seeman, Marsh, and but I had not finished my first drink when myself. After half an hour had elapsed in LaBrot came in—a member I barely knew. He quiet, our bodies were relaxed, our minds was from French Africa—tall, dark, and opened, and our tongues somewhat loosened supple of body—he spoke English with a bare so that what befell did so naturally and

  trace of accent. I downed the contents of my without exciting wonder at the time.

  glass at once and proposed that we have a LaBrot began it all, lying back in an

  drink together. “You name it,” said I, “and overstuffed armchair and blowing luxurious we’ll both drink it.” This seemed witty to me clouds of cigar smoke vaguely at the ceiling.

  at the time—why, I have no idea now. We

  “Butterflies,” he remarked, apropos of nothing drank that and discussed another when at all, “are my particular hobby.”

  Seeman slipped through the doors, silent and Colonel Marsh grunted, Seeman’s

  poker-faced. LaBrot had the brilliant idea of yellowed face remained immobile, and I

  making each new arrival name his drink and shifted vexedly in my seat. What I wanted was the first comers drink it. Seeman, of course, a good rattling yarn, not butterflies.

  was all for whiskey straight—to one who did

  “Butterflies,” continued LaBrot, “are

  not know the man, the suggestion would have veree interesting and little understood. The seemed as shocking as though put forward by patterns on their wings are like nothing else in a newly frocked curate—and when Stendahl

  nature—for there is no regularity about it at came in, he proposed Karlsburg beer. By the all. The two wings are identical in reverse, of time the red face and snowy mustache of

  course, but that is all.”

  Colonel Marsh showed in the doorway of the He lapsed into silence and I hoped that

  taproom, we were in condition to greet him he had fallen asleep, but presently he

  with shouts and laughter. “What’s it to be, continued.

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  3

  “In North America you have a number

  “Suppose the word were written in the

  of wing-patterns not found elsewhere. The marks of a butterfly’s wing—how long would Jasmine Sphinx Moth, what you call it last? Every year a fresh copy is fathered by chlaenogramina, has an elaborate form of the old—the weather destroys the old copy shading and outlines; the Centra borcalis, one and the young one remains intact. Moreover, of the puss moths, has peculiar dark markings the word spreads and is multiplied until

  on its wings. It is not remarkable for an insect millions of that particular kind of moth carry to be strangely marked—tigers are and so are the word over many miles of land. Time may guinea-pigs. But did you know that every permit the word to cover whole continents—

  Cerura borcalis in the country—millions but time cannot erase the word so written!

  probably—have exactly the same markings?”

  You are now interested, my Seeman, but yes!”

  “Eh,” I ejaculated, vaguely interested. “Is that

  “Can’t see what you’re drivin’ at yet—

  true?”

  go on!”

  “Perfectly true, my friend,” said

  “Heredity is strange—nothing seems

  LaBrot. “It is peculiar, is it not?”

  so permanent as a useless heritage,” continued

  “Yes, rather. You’d think there would

  LaBrot. “We still possess a vermiform

  be minor changes.”

  appendix. Now I must ask you how many

  “Oh, there are. About as much years have elapsed since this was useful to us?

  difference between one specimen and another Originally a second stomach, it is said. We as there would be between two copies of a have been men maybe a million years, is it not word in two different handwritings. You could so, and since we have been men we have not see the difference, but the word would still be used this heritage! How long, then, might recognizable.”

  marks remain in a butterfly wing?”

  “Queer way to put it, LaBrot,” said

  “Why not tell us the whole story—if it

  Seeman quietly, his keen glance fixed on his is one?” I put in abruptly and LaBrot was face. “Meanin* just what?”

  silent at once. Then Colonel Marsh signaled

  “Ah-h! You are veree quick to see

  an attendant with his forefinger and presently things, but no? Meaning, perhaps they could we were sipping liqueurs ( Crème de Cacao, to be! For another strange thing, century after be precise) and the strong sweet stuff set century, generation after generation of moths, LaBrot’s tongue free.

  the children of one species are like copies of

  “I am attached to the French consulate

  their parents and the markings are like the here, as you may know. Last summer I spent same word in a still different handwriting!”

  my vacation in southwestern Colorado

  Seeman sat bolt upright in his chair

  collecting butterflies and enjoying the wild and carefully lit a cigarette, which he puffed life. I caught several specimens of a new slowly and all the while his eyes never left species—no, not even that—a variation of an LaBrot’s face. LaBrot continued to address American species. It has peculiar markings the ceiling, as though he did not see any of us.

  that look like writing and—well, here it is . . .

  “Now if that word were written on

  .” He fished into a pocket and produced a flat paper, it would be gone in a few hundred

  leather case which he handed around to us. It years, is it not so? If it were engraved on contained a mounted moth—light yellow with stone—even in the dry air of Egypt—if would orange rims and on the light portions were last only a few thousand years before the strange wriggling marks in jet black.

  weather wore the markings down.

  “It’s a Sphinx moth —

  Wonder Stories

  4

  C hlaenogramma LaBratti, I call it, though it is

  “Nothing more to say. Only I shall

  still unknown to science. You see, the take my vacation next week—we get a month extraordinary part of the
whole thing is that a at the consulate— and I shall be going back to month ago I had these marks here translated!”

  Colorado. I thought, if you don’t think this all

  “Good God!” said Colonel Marsh and

  silly nonsense, perhaps one or more of you stared pop-eyed at the thing as though it might care to—”

  would bite him.

  “H-r-rmph!” The Colonel exploded.

  “Go on!” said Seeman.

  “Silly nonsense! Your vacation starts

  “The writing of the ancient tomorrow, sir, and all three of us are going Phoenicians is extraordinarily like that moth with you—make no mistake! This can’t wait!”

  wing. I didn’t know it, of course. What I did—

  LaBrot smiled. “There’s one thing

  being struck with their peculiarity—was to more, maybe of interest. The country where I copy freehand on a piece of paper the marks caught this moth is rough and barren. One in the order they appear. I took my paper to an section of it is raised up on cliffs a thousand to archaeologist I happen to know slightly. A two thousand feet high above the surrounding week later he sent it back with this note: ‘It is land. Up above must be twenty square miles a crude representation of some Phoenician where human feet have never touched!”

  inscription, apparently, though one of the

  “Nobody bothered to climb up?”

  words is meaningless and several of the

  “No, no! You don’t understand! Many

  characters are so distorted that their meaning have tried, but it is not climbable. I walked all almost had to be guessed at. Where did you around at the foot of these cliffs, walked and get it?’

  rode, and I traveled twenty miles and came

  “That’s what he wrote me—that and

  back where I started and at no place was there the translation. Of course, it may all be the slightest crack or slope—all was vertical gibberish or pure coincidence but—well, read and impassable.”

  it!”

  “Haven’t they any aeroplanes in

  Colorado?”

  Typewritten on the sheet of paper that he

  “Ah, yes! They have flown over it. I

  handed me were the following words : “ . . . .

  found a pilot at Denver, an amateur, who had (The children of) the Sun (are) .... place (of) flown above and looked down upon it. He told hills (at or near) the source of the Water (or me that steep hills and rock pinnacles are river) . . . ” There followed a translation into everywhere and there is no flat place to land—

  Phoenician characters and the three of us not even one hundred yards. Many trees grow compared these carefully with the marks on in the little valleys and gullies — trees are the insect, The similarity was extraordinary—

  everywhere except where the rough rocks

  indeed, it was plain that they were so nearly show.”

  identical as to make coincidence the only Colonel Marsh was poring over the

  explanation. And as for coincidence—what is translation. “You think that this plateau might it someone said? If a thousand monkeys be what is called ‘place of hills’? How about played with typewriter keys for a thousand this business of the source of a river?”

  years, what chance would they have of

  I laughed shortly. “What rivers would

  happening to strike out all the words in the you like? The Colorado, the Rio Grande, and Encyclopaedia Britannica? Eager-eyed, we the Missouri, herself, all start in Colorado!”

  turned to LaBrot for more details.

  “That is right,” agreed LaBrot. Then,

  The Moth Message

  5

  turning to Seeman, “You say nothing. Why

  cruising range was about 500 miles normally, were you so interested when I began telling?”

  but we packed light kit and could take on a

  “Sort of legend in Africa—one of the

  few extra gallons. There was a light breeze tribes, at least. All about butterflies being blowing and the ship rode a hundred feet up in messengers, y’know. Supposed to carry the air as steadily as a bird soaring. At our messages between the spirits or something signal, she came down to within ten feet of the like that—I never really got the hang of it.”

  ground and a rope ladder was thrown over

  “Ah, yes! I had never heard that.”

  which we seized and pulled upon so that the

  “But LaBrot,” I put in. “What would

  enclosed gondola was only a high step from ancient Phoenicians have been doing in the level field. We piled in, helping each western America? The continent hadn’t been other, and two of the Badyear Company’s

  discovered by three or four thousand years!”

  mechanics helped us load the duffel. Then we

  “Ah!” he replied, raising his eyebrows

  found our seats in the cramped cabin—two

  and pursing his lips. “That excites, but yes?

  long bunks—and I glanced out the port to see What indeed?”

  the ground far below. Silently and effortlessly

  “Then I take it,” demanded the worthy

  we were rising.

  Colonel, “that you propose to get up on this When we had reached a few hundred

  plateau and see what’s there! How shall we feet of altitude, the pilot—a long, lean, get up?”

  taciturn fellow—started the engine and I could

  “Once during the war I saw a blimp

  feel the ship swing to the pull of the propeller make a landing on a mountain side to let off a and head around due west. Then the motor

  man. Certainly nothing else could do it—not settled down to a steady deafening roar and an aeroplane, at least. Maybe we could rent a we were on our way. The trip was uneventful; blimp?”

  we ate and slept on board. We stopped three

  “Hr-rmph! Rent one! We’ll buy one.

  times for gas and I was amazed at the ease

  .... get me the phone book .... no, boy! Boy, with which each landing was effected. A light-there! Go to the telephone and get me the hooked anchor on a rope was lowered until a Badyear Rubber Company!”

  flying field attendant caught it and hooked it LaBrot raised his eyebrows at me. I

  over something solid—once it was a concrete smiled. “Colonel Marsh is worth a great deal pylon, and once a dozen men held it—then we of money—don’t worry about it. If he wants drew in on the rope until we were almost on to buy a blimp, he’ll buy it. I’m tickled to the ground. At Denver we stayed several

  death to have an excuse for a vacation—how hours and loaded up with grub and filled the about you, Seeman?”

  ship’s tank with fresh drinking water. We

  “What artillery d’you suppose we’d were ready.

  better take along?” he asked in reply.

  LaBrot sat up beside the pilot now and

  pointed out our course carefully on the map.

  It was ten days later, as a matter of fact, before His name was Stevens—a likeable enough

  we arrived at Newark Airport and saw our

  chap—and he thought that we were scientists newly delivered blimp moored by a rope to a and slightly mad. He was to land us and return ten-ton truck. It was Colonel Marsh’s idea that to Denver—stay at Denver a week and call for we should fly all the way out, for the airship us again. “It’s okay with me, boss,” said he.

  had a capacity of 1,500 pounds and could take

  “I’ve got a brother who lives in Denver and I the four of us and her pilot with ease. Her ain’t seen him in two years.”

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  6

  Our eyes were now all glued to the

  was, for the blimp swung and rose in the light portholes and we were fascinated by the breeze. Then I jumped, myself, at a favorable wonderful landscape stretched out below us—

  moment and Colonel Marsh fell on top of me I never knew that mere rock could be so />
  before I could recover, but fortunately neither ornamental—every color of the rainbow, of us was hurt. It was five minutes before pretty near. And hills and precipices and Stevens could get the blimp down again after forests of spruce trees were all thrown in to it had been released from our double weight keep it from getting monotonous. But and then it was just for an instant within eight presently the character of the countryside or ten feet of the rock when Seeman leaped.

  began to change. More rocks and less We caught him or he would have fallen flat.

  greenery and wilder confusion of cliff and When we looked up again, the blimp was two gorge appeared. No signs of human habitation hundred yards above us, Stevens having

  were to be seen. For another hour we flew abandoned his anchor and line.

  low, skirting mountainsides and roaring down He called out, “See you next week !”

  gorges to the screaming disgust of an and waved an arm. We waved back. Then the occasional eagle. Then, when we did sight our motor started and he headed up and north and goal, we were close upon it—a vertically was soon out of sight among the hills. We stratified range of unbroken cliffs that looked were on our own. Here on this rocky and

  like the sawed-off stump of a vast hollowed broken plateau were almost fifty square miles tree. The hollow was seven miles across and upon which the foot of modern man had never filled with a forest of ancient spruce that rose been set.

  at us like cyclopean spears, and amongst the

  “LaBrot! Look there!” called Seeman

  green showed brown and gray and reddish

  suddenly and pointed to a small yellowish rocks and pinnacles.