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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/32462-h.zip b/32462-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2f9e81 --- /dev/null +++ b/32462-h.zip diff --git a/32462-h/32462-h.htm b/32462-h/32462-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ea142e --- /dev/null +++ b/32462-h/32462-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9186 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<!-- $Id: header.txt 236 2009-12-07 18:57:00Z vlsimpson $ --> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Warrior Of The Dawn, by Howard Browne. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.linenum { + position: absolute; + top: auto; + left: 4%; +} /* poetry number */ + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.sidenote { + width: 20%; + padding-bottom: .5em; + padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; + padding-right: .5em; + margin-left: 1em; + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; + color: black; + background: #eeeeee; + border: dashed 1px; +} + +.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + +.bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + +.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + +.br {border-right: solid 2px;} + +.bbox {border: solid 2px;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +.figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1em; + margin-bottom: + 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem br {display: none;} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + +.poem span.i0 { + display: block; + margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i2 { + display: block; + margin-left: 2em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i4 { + display: block; + margin-left: 4em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Warrior of the Dawn, by Howard Carleton Browne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Warrior of the Dawn + +Author: Howard Carleton Browne + +Release Date: May 20, 2010 [EBook #32462] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR OF THE DAWN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. Holda, Mary Meehan and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<h1>WARRIOR OF THE DAWN</h1> + +<h2>by HOWARD BROWNE</h2> + + +<p>[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Amazing Stories December +1942 and January 1943. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence +that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus1" id="illus1"></a> +<img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>Tharn stared in amazement at the city that lay before him</h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. In Quest of Vengeance</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. Dylara</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. The Strange City</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. Came Tharn</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. Pursuit</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. Katon</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. Woman Against Woman</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. Abduction</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. Torture</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. The Hairy Men</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. From Jungle Depths</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. Enter--Pryak</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. Death Stalks the Princess</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. Forest Trails</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. Treachery</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. Return to Sephar</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII .Reunion</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII. Death in a Bowl</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX. A Lesson in Archery</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX. Revolt!</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI. Conclusion</a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>List of Illustrations</h2> + + +<p><a href="#illus1"> Tharn stared in amazement at the city that lay before him</a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus2"> Tharn swung the nearest warrior bodily into the air</a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus3"> Mog snatched Alurna into his arms and made off through the forest</a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus4"> A rope hissed through the air and Tarlok reared high</a></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>In Quest of Vengeance</h3> + + +<p>It was late afternoon. Neela, the zebra, and his family of fifteen +grazed quietly near the center of a level stretch of grassland. In the +distance, and encircling the expanse of prairie, stood a solid wall of +forest and close-knit jungle.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">From the forest deeps came brutal killers, and Tharn, the +Cro-Magnon, vowed that vengeance would be his....</div> + +<p>For the past two hours of this long hot afternoon Neela had shown signs +of increasing nervousness. Feeding a short distance from the balance of +his charges, he lifted his head from time to time to stare intently +across the wind-stirred grasses to the east. Twice he had started slowly +in that direction, only to stop short, stamp and snort uneasily, then +wheel about and retrace his steps.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the herd cropped calmly at the long grasses, apparently +heedless of their leader's unrest, tails slapping flanks clear of biting +flies.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, some two hundred yards to the eastward, three half-naked +white hunters, belly-flat in the concealing growth, continued their +cautious advance.</p> + +<p>Wise in the ways of wary grass-eaters were these three members of a +Cro-Magnard tribe, living in a day some twenty thousand years before the +founding of Rome.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> With the wind against their faces, with their +passage as soundless as only veteran hunters may make it, they knew the +zebra had no cause for alarm beyond a vague suspicion born of instinct +alone.</p> + + +<p>And so the three men slipped forward, a long spear trailing in each +right hand, their only guide the keen ears this primitive life had +developed.</p> + +<p>One of the three, a stocky man with a square, strong face and heavily +muscled body, deep-tanned, paused to adjust his grasp on the +stone-tipped spear he carried. As he did so there was a quick stir in +the tangled grasses near his hand and Sleeza, the snake, struck savagely +at his fingers.</p> + +<p>With a startled, involuntary shout, the man jerked away, barely avoiding +the deadly fangs. And then he snatched the flint knife from his +loin-cloth and plunged it fiercely again and again into Sleeza's +threshing body.</p> + +<p>When finally he stopped, the mottled coils were limp in death. He saw +then that his companions were standing erect, staring to the west.</p> + +<p>From his sitting position he looked up at the others.</p> + +<p>"Neela—?" he began.</p> + +<p>"—has fled," finished one of the hunters. "He heard you quarreling with +Sleeza. We cannot catch him, now."</p> + +<p>The third man grinned. "Next time, Barkoo, let Sleeza bite you. While +you may die, at least our food will not run away!"</p> + +<p>Ignoring the grim attempt at humor, Barkoo scrambled to his feet and +watched, in helpless rage, the bobbing heads and flying legs of Neela +and his flock, now far away.</p> + +<p>Barkoo swore mightily. "And it's too late to hunt further," he growled. +"As it is, darkness will come before we reach the caves of Tharn. To +return empty-handed besides—" One of his companions suddenly caught +Barkoo by the arm. "Look!" he cried, pointing toward the west.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A young man, clad only in an animal skin about his middle, had leaped +from a clump of grasses less than twenty yards from the fleeing herd. In +one hand was a long war-spear held aloft as he swooped toward them.</p> + +<p>Instantly the herd turned aside and with a fresh burst of speed sought +to out-run this new danger.</p> + +<p>"Look at him run!" Barkoo shouted.</p> + +<p>With the speed of a charging lion the youth was covering the ground in +mighty bounds, slanting rapidly up to the racing animals. A moment later +and he had drawn abreast of a sleek young mare, her slim ears backlaid +in terror.</p> + +<p>Still running at full speed, the young man drew back his arm and sent +his spear flashing across the gap between him and the mare, catching her +full in the exposed side.</p> + +<p>As though her legs had been jerked from under her, the creature turned a +complete circle in mid-air before crashing to the ground, her scream of +agony coming clearly to the three watching hunters.</p> + +<p>Barkoo, when the young man knelt beside the kill, shook his head in +tight-lipped tribute.</p> + +<p>"I might have known he would do something like this," he said, +exasperated. "When I asked him to come with us he refused; the sun was +too hot. Now he will laugh at us—taunt us as bad hunters."</p> + +<p>"Some day he will not come back from the hunt," predicted one of the +men. "He takes too many chances. He goes out alone after Jalok, the +panther, and Tarlok, the leopard, with only a knife and a rope. Why, +just a sun ago, I heard him say Sadu, the lion, was to be next. Smart +hunters leave Sadu alone!"</p> + +<p>Tharn, the son of Tharn, watched the three come slowly toward him. His +unbelievably sharp eyes of gray caught Barkoo's attempt at an +unimpressed expression, and his own lean handsome face broke in a wide +smile, the small even white teeth contrasting vividly with his sun-baked +skin.</p> + +<p>He wondered what had caused the zebra herd to bolt before the hunters +could attempt their kill. He had caught sight of them an hour before +from the high-flung branches of a tree, and had hidden in the grass near +the probable route of the animals once Barkoo and his men had charged +them.</p> + +<p>Barkoo, seeming to ignore the son of his chief, came up to the dead +zebra and nudged it with an appraising toe.</p> + +<p>"Not much meat here," he said to Korgul. "A wise hunter would have +picked a fatter one."</p> + +<p>Tharn's lips twitched with amusement. He knew Barkoo—knew he found +fault only to hide an extravagant satisfaction that the chief's son had +succeeded where older heads had failed; for Barkoo had schooled him in +forest lore almost from the day Tharn had first walked.</p> + +<p>That had been a little more than twenty summers ago; today Tharn was +more at home in the jungles and on the plains than any other member of +his tribe. His confidence had grown with his knowledge until he knew +nothing of fear and little of caution. He took impossible chances for +the pure love of danger, flaunting his carelessness in the face of his +former teacher, jeering at the other's gloomy prophecies of disaster.</p> + +<p>Tharn pursed his lips solemnly. "It is true," he admitted soberly, "that +a wiser hunter would have made a better choice. That is, if he were not +so clumsy that the meat would run away first. Then the wise hunter would +not be able to kill even a little Neela. Wise old men cannot run fast."</p> + +<p>Barkoo glared at him. "It was Sleeza," he snapped, then reddened at +being trapped into a defense. He wheeled on the grinning Korgul. "Get a +strong branch," he said sharply....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>With the dead weight of the kill swinging from the branch between Korgul +and Torbat, the four Cro-Magnon hunters set out for the distant caves of +their tribe.</p> + +<p>Soon they entered the mouth of a beaten elephant path leading into the +depths of dense jungle to the west. It was nearly dark here beneath the +over-spreading forest giants, the huge moss-covered boughs festooned +with loops and whorls of heavy vines. The air was overladen with the +heavy smell of rotting vegetation; the sounds of innumerable small life +were constantly in the hunters' ears. Here in the humid jungle, the +bodies of the men glistened with perspiration.</p> + +<p>By the time they had crossed the belt of woods to come into the open at +the beginning of another prairie, Dyta, the sun, was close to the +western horizon. Hazy in the far distance were three low hills, their +common base buried among a sizable clump of trees. In those hills were +the caves of the tribe, and at sight of them the four men quickened +their steps.</p> + +<p>They were perhaps a third of the way across the open ground, when Tharn, +in the lead, halted abruptly, his eyes on a section of the grasses some +hundred yards ahead.</p> + +<p>Barkoo came up beside him. "What is it?" he asked tensely.</p> + +<p>Tharn shrugged. "I don't know—yet. The wind is wrong. But something is +crawling toward us very slowly and with many pauses."</p> + +<p>Barkoo grunted. Tharn's uncanny instinct in locating and identifying +unseen creatures annoyed him. It smacked too strongly of kinship with +the wild beasts; it was not natural for a human to possess that sort of +ability.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Tharn. With head erect, the long spear trailing in his +right hand, he set out at a brisk pace, his companions close on his +heels.</p> + +<p>They had gone half the way when a low moan came to the sharp ears of the +younger man. In it was a note of human suffering and physical agony so +pitiful that Tharn abandoned all caution and plunged forward.</p> + +<p>And then he was parting the rank grasses from above the motionless body +of a boy, lying there face down. From a purple-edged hole in his right +side blood dripped in great red blobs to form a widening pool beneath +him.</p> + +<p>Tenderly Tharn slipped an arm beneath the shoulders of the youngster and +carefully turned him to his back. Even as he recognized the familiar +features, pale beneath a coat of bronze, he was aware of Barkoo behind +him. Before he could turn, a strong hand thrust him roughly to one side +and the older man was kneeling beside the wounded boy.</p> + +<p>"Dartoog!" he cried, his tone a blending of fear and horror and +monstrous rage. "Dartoog, my son! What has happened? Who has done this +to you?"</p> + +<p>Weakly the boy's eyes opened. In the brown depths at first were only +weariness and pain. Then they focused on the face of the man and lighted +up wonderfully, while a faint smile struggled for a place on the graying +lips.</p> + +<p>"Father!" he gasped.</p> + +<p>"Who did this?" demanded Barkoo for the second time.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The eyes closed. Haltingly at first, then more smoothly as though +finding strength in reliving the story, Dartoog spoke:</p> + +<p>"It happened only a little while ago. I was near the foot of one of the +hills, making a spear. A few warriors and women were near me; the rest +of our people were in the caves.</p> + +<p>"Then, suddenly, many strange fighting-men sprang out from behind trees +at the edge of the clearing. They were as many as leaves on a big tree. +With loud war-cries they ran at us; and before we could get away they +had thrown their spears. I tried to run; but a big warrior caught me and +struck me with his knife."</p> + +<p>The son of Barkoo fell silent. Tharn, a flaming rage growing within him, +bent nearer. Behind him were Korgul and Torbat, both very still, their +faces strained.</p> + +<p>"Then," the boy continued, "came Tharn, the chief, with our +fighting-men. They came running from the caves and threw themselves upon +the strangers.</p> + +<p>"It was a great fight! Many times did the strange warriors try to beat +back our men, and as many times did they fail. Tharn, our chief, was the +reason. So many men that I could not count them, died beneath his knife +and spear. But at last he, too, fell with a spear in his back.</p> + +<p>"While they were fighting I crawled to the trees. Then I got to my feet +and ran this way as far as I could. I wanted to find you, father, that +you might go and kill them all."</p> + +<p>Dartoog's voice, growing weaker, now ceased altogether. Twice he opened +his lips to speak but no words came. Then, his throat swelling with a +supreme effort, he cried out: "Go, father! Go, before they—" His voice +broke, his body stiffened, then relaxed and he fell back, sighing.</p> + +<p>Gently the father cradled his son's head in the circle of his arms. Once +more the clear brown eyes opened. The man bent an ear to the lips +framing further words.</p> + +<p>"It—is—so—dark," came the barely audible whisper. As the boy finished +speaking, his body slumped, his head dropped back and life left him.</p> + +<p>Barkoo sat as graven in stone, head bowed above the dead body of his +only son. There was no sound but that of the rustling grasses stirring +lazily in the early evening breeze from the east.</p> + +<p>Young Tharn was the first to move. Shaking his head like a hurt lion, he +leaped to his feet, caught up his spear and set out at a run toward the +distant caves.</p> + +<p>By the time he had passed through the trees bounding the clearing before +the hills, darkness was very near.</p> + +<p>He came into the center of utter confusion. Everywhere about the wide +clearing were bodies—some dead, others desperately wounded. Instantly +Tharn set about organizing the dazed survivors; and it was only after +the injured had been cared for and the dead placed in long rows in two +of the recesses, that he found sufficient courage to ask about his +father.</p> + +<p>"We took a spear from his back and carried him to his own cave," was the +answer. "I do not know if he still lives; he was not dead when we took +him there."</p> + +<p>Tharn, closer to knowing fear than he could ever remember, raced upward +along the narrow ledges before the cave mouths. Near the crest he passed +through the wide entrance of a large natural cavern, its interior +lighted by means of dishes of animal fat in which were burning wicks of +twisted grasses.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A group of warriors and women at the rear of the cave, drew aside as +Tharn approached, revealing the magnificent figure of their leader lying +upon a great pile of furry pelts. Although the eyes were closed and the +strong regular features bore evidence of suffering, Tharn's heart lost +its burden when he saw the broad chest rising and falling evenly.</p> + +<p>Seated on a small flat-topped boulder beside the bed was Old Myrdon, +pressing juices from herbs in a stone bowl. Old Myrdon had brought back +to health more wounded fighting men than he could remember; and his long +familiarity with death and suffering had completely soured his naturally +acid disposition.</p> + +<p>The young man placed a hand on the forehead of the sleeping chief, +gratified to find the skin cool and moist. He noticed the compress of +herbs bound in place high up on his father's back, and knew, then, the +spear had not touched a vital spot, that with proper care rapid recovery +would follow.</p> + +<p>He moved to Myrdon's side. "Take good care of him, Old One," he said +quietly.</p> + +<p>The healer jerked his shoulder from under Tharn's hand. "I do not need +advice from you," he growled, his wrinkled fingers grinding the rock +pestle savagely against the bowl's contents. "If he lives it will be +because I want him to live."</p> + +<p>Tharn's grim expression did not change. "Take good care of him," he +repeated evenly. "If he dies—you die!"</p> + +<p>Startled, Myrdon raised his head. But Tharn had turned away and was +striding toward the exit.</p> + +<p>At the foot of the cliff he found Barkoo and Korgul and Torbat talking +with a group of warriors. The son of the chief shouldered his way to the +center. Darkness had come while he had been aloft and the only light +came from two resinous flares.</p> + +<p>In silence they looked at Tharn's set face. He was aware that they were +regarding him strangely—almost expectantly. They seemed to sense that +the carefree boy they had known was gone—replaced by a young warrior.</p> + +<p>"Which way," demanded Tharn, "did they go?"</p> + +<p>A tall, thin warrior with a bloody scratch across his forehead replied: +"When they saw they could not gain the caves, they fell back. After they +had disappeared among the trees, I followed for a time. Their path led +into the south along the trail where we slew Pandor, the elephant, two +suns ago."</p> + +<p>Barkoo rubbed a hand thoughtfully across his smooth-scraped chin. "When +Dyta comes again," he said, "we will start after them."</p> + +<p>Tharn's mouth hardened. "You can wait for Dyta if you wish," he said +slowly. "I am going after them now. They had no quarrel with us, but +many of my friends—and yours—are dead. They killed Dartoog. They tried +to kill my father. I am not going to wait."</p> + +<p>"What can you hope to do alone, against many?" Barkoo asked in +matter-of-fact tones. "Wait; go with us when it is light. There will be +fighting enough for you then."</p> + +<p>Without replying, Tharn stooped and caught up a flint-tipped war-spear. +Then he re-coiled the folds of his grass rope about his shoulders and +made sure the stone knife was secure in the folds of his loin-cloth.</p> + +<p>He turned to the watching men. "I am going now," he said quietly. An +instant later the black void of jungle had swallowed him up.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>Dylara</h3> + + +<p>Uda, the moon, had not yet risen above the trees when the Cro-Magnon +youth plunged into the wilderness of growing things. As a result he +found his way purely by his familiarity with the territory and a store +of jungle lore not surpassed by the beasts themselves. Because of the +dense darkness, he was guided by three senses alone: smell, hearing and +touch; but these were ample when backed by the keen mind and superhuman +strength bequeathed by heritage and environment.</p> + +<p>The narrow game trail underfoot swerved abruptly to the west and rose +rapidly. For several hundred feet the way was steep, became level for a +short distance, then fell away in a long gentle slope to flatness once +more.</p> + +<p>All this was familiar ground to Tharn. The ridge containing the homes of +his people was behind him now; from here on for a day's march was +nothing but level country.</p> + +<p>Now came Uda, her shining half-disc swinging low above the towering +reaches of the trees, her white rays seeking to pierce the matted growth +below. What little light came through was enough for Tharn's eyes to +regain some degree of usefulness.</p> + +<p>He was moving ahead at a slow trot, an hour afterward, when the shrill +scream of a leopard broke suddenly from the trail ahead. Another time, +and Tharn might have gone on—too proud to change his course in the face +of possible peril. But tonight he had more urgent business than a brawl +with Tarlok.</p> + +<p>Turning at right angles into the wall of undergrowth lining the path, he +vaulted into the lower branches of a sturdy tree. With the graceful +agility of little Nobar, the monkey, he swung swiftly westward again, +threading his way with deceptive ease along the network of swaying +boughs, now and then swinging perilously across a wide span from one +tree to the next.</p> + +<p>Directly below was the beaten path; and now he caught sight of the +animal whose scream he had heard. Tarlok was pacing leisurely in the +same direction as that of the man overhead, pausing occasionally to give +voice to his hunting squall, his spotted form barely visible among the +shadows. Tharn passed silently above him, the leopard unaware of his +nearness.</p> + +<p>Onward raced the Cro-Magnard, his thoughts filled with the quest he had +undertaken alone. His savage, untamed mind had dwelt so steadily upon +the outrageous attack, that it finally brought an emotion so powerful as +to be almost tangible: Hate, and for a companion, Revenge.</p> + +<p>Never would he rest until this unknown tribe had felt the weight of his +own personal wrath. For what they had done they must pay a thousandfold +in lives and misery.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Without warning, the forest ended; and the cave lord dropped to the +ground at the edge of a great plain, its bounds hidden in the ghostly +moonlight.</p> + +<p>A line of broken grasses began where the game path ended. So fresh was +the trail, now, that Tharn knew he had best wait for sunrise before +continuing the chase. He had no wish to dash headlong among the ranks of +the very enemy he pursued.</p> + +<p>A few moments later Tharn was sleeping soundly in a crotch of a high +tree, his slumber undisturbed by the long familiar noises of a jungle +night.</p> + +<p>The sun was an hour high when he awakened. His first act was to climb to +the highest pinnacle of the tree, and from that point attempt to pick +out, if possible, the goal of those he sought.</p> + +<p>He was immediately successful. Due west, far in the distance, he saw +hills rising steeply amidst another forest. His sharp eyes followed a +wide line of broken grasses, noting that it pointed unerringly toward +those same heights.</p> + +<p>Tharn smiled grimly to himself. Soon the first member of that war-party +would make the initial payment on the blood-debt. Making certain his +weapons were in place, the broad-shouldered young man slid to the ground +and took up a circuitous route, avoiding the open plain, which brought +him finally to the forest's edge at a considerable distance away from +the others' point of entry at the far side of the plain. If he had +crossed the plain, sharp eyes might have noted his pursuit from just +within the forest edge.</p> + +<p>Once the trail was picked up again, he took to the comparative safety of +the middle terraces. Soon he was moving in absolute silence above a +narrow pathway winding into the gloomy interior, the imprints of many +naked feet clear in the thick dust. But he no longer needed such +evidence; the humid breeze was bringing the assorted smells of a +Cro-Magnon settlement close ahead.</p> + +<p>So close were the hills by this time that he was momentarily expecting +the trees to thin out, when he caught the sound of a faint movement from +below. Warily he slipped downward until, parting the foliage with a +stealthy hand, he made out the figure of a tall muscular warrior +standing in the trail, his attitude that of a sentry.</p> + +<p>Tharn felt his pulses quicken as a new emotion came to him. In all his +twenty-two years he had never been called upon to take a human life, and +he found the prospect somewhat disquieting. Yet it was just such a +purpose that he had in mind and there was no point in wasting time with +self-analysis.</p> + +<p>Noiselessly he slid to the ground and stepped onto the trail a few paces +behind the stranger. With infinite stealth he lessened the space between +the unsuspecting warrior and his own half crouched figure. Forgotten was +the knife at his belt; his purpose was to close fingers about the +other's throat.</p> + +<p>Now, he was sufficiently near. The muscles of his legs tensed for the +spring—and the enemy whirled to face him!</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When the guard saw the young giant's nearness and threatening position, +his eyes flew wide in surprise and fear. His jaw dropped, but no sound +came; his arms seemed frozen to his sides.</p> + +<p>Before he could recover, Tharn was upon him. As the young cave-man's +fingers clamped on the stranger's throat, a knee came up with savage +force into Tharn's stomach, almost tearing loose his hold. But the +maneuver cost the man his balance, and he fell backward with Tharn's +weight across his chest.</p> + +<p>Frantically the warrior fought to loosen the terrible grip cutting off +his breath. He clawed wildly at the iron fingers, struck heavy blows at +his attacker's face and body. But Tharn only tightened his hold, waiting +grimly as the efforts to dislodge him became increasingly weaker. Then a +convulsive shudder passed through the body, followed by complete +limpness. The man was dead.</p> + +<p>Tharn got to his feet. For a long moment he stood there, staring in +wonder at the dead, distorted face. His thoughts were a jumble of +conflicting emotions: pride at vanquishing a grown man by bare hands +alone; strong satisfaction in an enemy's death; and a feeling of guilt +at taking a human life. What was it that Barkoo had told him, long ago?</p> + +<p>"Death cannot be understood, completely, by one who has never killed. A +true warrior takes no life without knowing regret. Slay only when your +life is in danger, or when someone has wronged you. Those who kill for +the love of killing are beneath the beasts; for beasts kill only for +cause."</p> + +<p>Tharn stooped, swung the corpse across his shoulder and entered the +jungle. There he concealed the body and once more took to the trees.</p> + +<p>The forest ended suddenly, some fifty yards from the base of an immense +overhanging cliff. A single glance told Tharn that he had reached the +trail's end, and he leaped lightly into the branches of a tree at the +lip of the clearing. Swiftly he swarmed upward until a broad bough was +reached that pointed outward toward the hillside.</p> + +<p>Below and before him went on the everyday life of a Cro-Magnon village. +Four women carved steaks from the freshly killed body of a deer; naked +children climbed in and out of the caves and ran about the open ground; +two girls, several seasons short of woman-hood, scraped hair, by means +of flint tools, from a deerskin staked flat to the ground.</p> + +<p>There was but one thing lacking in this peaceful, commonplace picture, +and Tharn noted its absence at once. There was not a single grown male +in sight! Did this mean a trap had been laid for the pursuit which the +warriors of this tribe had every reason to expect? Were they, then, +lying in wait for Barkoo and his men at the outer rim of the forest?</p> + +<p>Tharn was about to start back toward the prairie, when he suddenly +stiffened to attention. A woman—a girl, rather; she could not have been +more than eighteen—had slid to the ground from one of the caves. The +man in the trees half rose to watch her.</p> + +<p>She was a bit above average in height, slim, yet perfectly formed. That +part of her body not covered by the soft folds of panther skin was +evenly tanned but not darkly so. Soft, lustrous brown hair fell to her +bare shoulders in lovely half-curls that gave off reddish glints when +touched by the sun's direct rays.</p> + +<p>This breath-taking young person was coming straight toward the very tree +that sheltered him. As she drew nearer, he could make out her features +more clearly, and he saw that the wide eyes were also brown, flecked +with tiny bits of Dyta, the sun (or so he thought); her cheeks were high +but not too prominent, her nose rather small but beautifully shaped. She +walked gracefully, shoulders back, her head lifted proudly, an almost +saucy tilt to her chin.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>She passed beneath him and went on into the forest. Tharn came down +quickly and set out to follow. Why he did so was not considered; some +strange force drew him on. Less than twenty feet separated them, now; +but so guarded were his movements that the girl was not aware of being +trailed.</p> + +<p>And now a small treeless glade stopped the stalker. Not daring to follow +further, he watched her take an empty gourd from its hiding place in a +clump of grasses and set about filling it with rich, red fruit from a +cluster of low bushes.</p> + +<p>Tharn watched her intently from behind the bole of a mighty tree. His +eyes feasted on the matchless beauty of her face and form. Forgotten +completely was the driving motive that had brought him this far from +home. The flaming thirst for revenge was dead, quenched entirely by a +flooding emotion, new to him but old as life itself.</p> + +<p>A little later he saw that the girl's search for berries was bringing +her close to a tree some fifty feet to his left. Swinging easily into +the foliage overhead, he moved silently along the boughs until the +strange princess was directly below.</p> + +<p>And as he drew to a pause, Tarlok, the leopard, rose from the screen of +leaves just beneath him and, crouching briefly, sprang without warning +at the golden form fifteen feet below.</p> + +<p>That second of hesitation on the part of the cat, saved the girl's life. +Tharn, trained to think and to act in the same instant, was in mid-air +as Tarlok's claws left the bark. And so, inches from that softly curved +back, the beast was swept aside by the impact of a hundred and seventy +pounds of muscular manhood.</p> + +<p>Snarling its rage, the cat wheeled as it struck the earth, then pounced, +almost in the same motion, at Tharn's half-kneeling figure. But, swift +as was the movement, the man was quicker. Crouching under the arc of the +hurtling body, the Cro-Magnard drove his long knife to the hilt in the +white-furred belly. The force of the leap, plus the power behind that +strong right arm, tore a long, deep gash, and the animal fell, screaming +with pain and hate. Quickly he regained his feet and again threw himself +at the two-legged creature in his path. But Tharn easily avoided the +charge and vaulted into a nearby tree.</p> + +<p>Blood streamed from the fatally wounded leopard as it turned to the +man's leafy haven and attempted to scramble into the lower branches. The +effort cost Tarlok his remaining strength, however, and he toppled +heavily to earth. Once more he sought to regain his feet, only to +collapse and move no more.</p> + +<p>As Tharn came down to the floor of the glade, he wondered why the scream +of the giant cat had not brought enemy warriors running to the scene. +That none had appeared made certain his belief that they were elsewhere +in the neighborhood, and he breathed easier.</p> + +<p>As soon as Tharn reappeared, the girl whose life he had saved rose from +a clump of bushes a few feet away. And thus they stood there, each +eyeing the other with frank interest.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn's brain was awhirl. So much that was new and exciting had crowded +into it within the last few hours that he was incapable of rational +thinking. But this he knew: something had been born within him that had +not been there an hour ago.</p> + +<p>He spoke first. "I am Tharn," he said.</p> + +<p>The girl did not at once respond to his implied question. She seemed +hesitant, uncertain as to the wisdom of remaining there.</p> + +<p>"I am Dylara," she said at last, her voice low and soft, yet wonderfully +clear. "My father is chief of the tribe that bears his name. The caves +of Majok are there," and she pointed toward the cliff, hidden from them +by intervening trees.</p> + +<p>Under the impetus of crystallizing realization, Tharn said what he had +wanted to say from the first. "I kept Tarlok from getting you," he +reminded her. "Now you belong to me!"</p> + +<p>The brown-haired girl flushed with mingled astonishment and anger.</p> + +<p>"You are a fool!" she retorted. "I belong to no one. Because you saved +me from Tarlok, I will not call my people if you go away at once."</p> + +<p>She turned and would have left him had not Tharn reached out and caught +her by the arm.</p> + +<p>Instantly she wheeled and struck him savagely across the mouth with her +free hand, struggling to break his hold as she did so.</p> + +<p>Then Tharn, his face smarting, hesitated no longer. With an effortless +motion he drew her into the circle of his arms, tossed her lightly +across one broad shoulder and broke into a run, heading back in the +direction of home. His prisoner let out a single cry for help; then a +calloused palm covered her lips.</p> + +<p>And hardly had the echoes of that shout faded than six brawny +fighting-men rose from the edge of the jungle, directly in Tharn's path!</p> + +<p>At sight of the newcomers, Tharn whirled to his left, and raced away +with enormous bounding strides despite the handicap of his burden. With +loud yells and frightful threats beating against his ears, the cave man +vanished into the tangled maze beyond the clearing.</p> + +<p>Pursuit was immediate. For several hundred yards the chase continued at +break-neck speed. Compared to those behind him, Tharn's passage was +almost silent, his lithe figure slipping smoothly among the tree trunks. +And then into view came the shallow, swift-flowing stream which he had +scented while still in the clearing. Dashing into the water he splashed +rapidly up-stream for a hundred yards, a sharp bend hiding him from the +point at which he had entered.</p> + +<p>Now he saw ahead of him that which he had hoped to find—the immense +branch of a jungle giant, hanging low above the water's shimmering +surface. Upon reaching the limb he drew himself and his captive into the +leaves; then, stepping lightly from bough to bough, his balance +controlled by a single hand, he moved rapidly inland, passing easily +from tree to tree. Now and then he paused to listen for some indication +of pursuit, but nothing reached those keen ears except the familiar +sounds of a semi-tropical forest.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn was beginning to wonder what far-reaching effects this half-mad +abduction would have on his future life. He tried to picture his +father's face when he saw his son returning with a strange mate, and the +image was not an altogether pleasant one. Taking a mate by force was not +entirely uncommon among Cro-Magnon people, although he had heard the +elder Tharn declare that no true man would do so. The Hairy Ones took +their women in that fashion; but then they were hardly more than the +beasts.</p> + +<p>And Barkoo! Tharn shuddered at the thought of his teacher's reaction. He +would say much—remarks that would sear the hide of Pandor, the +elephant!</p> + +<p>He shrugged mentally. Let them, then! Many would envy him his prize; for +certainly none among the women of the tribe was half so fair. He hoped +that between now and the time Dylara and he arrived home, she would +prove more tractable. Were she to repulse him in front of the others.... +He dropped the thought as though it were white-hot.</p> + +<p>An hour later he descended at the edge of a small natural clearing. A +spring bubbled in one corner, and beside it the girl was lowered to her +feet. The man and the girl knelt to drink, then sat up.</p> + +<p>Tharn glanced at her, and grinned when she promptly turned her back. She +was angrily rubbing her wrists to restore the circulation his strong +grasp had partially cut off.</p> + +<p>"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, her head still turned away.</p> + +<p>"To my caves and my tribe," Tharn replied. "You shall be my mate. +Someday I shall be chief."</p> + +<p>The quiet words brought the beautiful head quickly around, and the girl +glared at him hotly.</p> + +<p>"I would sooner mate with Gubo, the hyena!" she snapped.</p> + +<p>Tharn's grin required effort. "I think not," he said calmly. "I will be +good to you. You shall have the finest skins to warm you, the best food +to eat. Your cave will be large and light, and no one will tell you what +to do. Except me, of course," he added slyly.</p> + +<p>She searched wildly for a telling retort. "I—I hate you!"</p> + +<p>Tharn met the angry eyes with a serenity he secretly was far from +feeling.</p> + +<p>"You will love me. I will make you love me," he assured her.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>By this time Dylara was so exasperated that she had almost forgotten her +fright. What good did it do to argue with this headstrong youth? He +turned back every command, every retort, with an unruffled aplomb that +filled her with helpless fury. It was, she thought, like beating bare +fists against a boulder. Angry tears welled up in her eyes, and she +turned away, ashamed to show the extent of her agitation. Her father, +she knew, would have warriors scouring the countryside in search of her. +But how could they hope to follow a trail that led through the forest +top? In all her life she had never heard of a man who used the pathway +ordinarily reserved for little Nobar, the monkey. True, many of the +tribesmen were accomplished tree-climbers, often ambushing game from +their branches. But such climbing faded to nothingness when compared +with this amazing man's superhuman agility and strength.</p> + +<p>She stole a glance at his face. The broad, high forehead, the bronzed +clean-scraped cheeks, the strong jaw and mobile, sensitive lips stirred +something deep within her. She caught herself wishing she had met him +under more favorable conditions. But, by taking her forcibly, he had +turned her forever against him; she hated him with all the intensity of +which she was capable.</p> + +<p>And then, woman-like, her next words had nothing to do with her +thoughts. "I am hungry," she said abruptly.</p> + +<p>Tharn blinked at the abrupt change in the course of their conversation, +but obediently he stood up.</p> + +<p>"Then we shall eat," he assured her. "And it will be meat, too; I will +show you that I am a great hunter."</p> + +<p>It was a boast meant to impress. Dylara's lips twitched with amusement, +but she said nothing.</p> + +<p>Tharn raised his head, sniffed at the pungent jungle air, then set out +through the trees, Dylara at his heels. Moving toward the east they +came, a half hour later, to the banks of a narrow river. This they +followed downstream until a game trail was reached.</p> + +<p>Motioning for the girl to seek the concealing foliage of a tree, Tharn +slipped behind the bole of another bordering the pathway. Drawing his +knife, he froze into complete immobility.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes, twenty—a half an hour dragged by. From her elevated +position Dylara watched the young man, marveling at the indomitable +patience that could keep him motionless, waiting. The strong lines of +his body appealed vividly to her, although she was quick to insist it +was entirely impersonal; she would have been as responsive, she told +herself, had it been the figure of Sadu, the lion, crouching there.</p> + +<p>Then—although she had heard nothing—she saw Tharn stiffen expectantly. +Two full minutes passed. And then, stepping daintily, every sense alert +for hidden danger, came sleek Bana—the deer.</p> + +<p>Here was food fit for the mate of a chief! The man of the caves +tightened his strong fingers about the knife hilt.</p> + +<p>On came Bana. Tharn drew his legs beneath him like a great cat.</p> + +<p>And then events followed one another in rapid sequence. As the +unsuspecting animal drew abreast of him, Tharn, with a long, lithe +bound, sprang full on its back, at the same instant driving the stone +blade behind Bana's left foreleg and into the heart. The deer stumbled +and fell. Dylara dropped from the tree, reaching Tharn's side as he rose +from the body of the kill.</p> + +<p>As he stood erect, still clutching the reddened blade, an arrow sped +through the sunlight and raked a deep groove along his naked side.</p> + +<p>At the shock of pain which followed, Tharn whirled about in a movement +so rapid that his body seemed to blur. Before he could do more, however, +a heavy wooden club flashed from a clump of undergrowth at his back, +striking him a terrible blow aside the head. A searing white light +seemed to explode before him; then blackness came and he knew no more.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>The Strange City</h3> + + +<p>Dylara was first aware of a dull pain centering at the juncture of cheek +and jaw. Half conscious, she put her fingers to the aching spot—and +opened her eyes.</p> + +<p>"How do you feel?" asked a man's deep voice.</p> + +<p>Dylara, blinking in the strong sunlight, sat up. In front of her, +squatted on his haunches before a small grass-fed fire, was a slender, +wirily built man of uncertain age, his narrow hawk-like face creased in +a thin-lipped smile as he squinted at her.</p> + +<p>"I don't.... What—" Dylara began in a dazed voice.</p> + +<p>The man fished a bit of scorched meat from the flames and bit off a +mouthful. "The next time," he said thickly, "be careful whose face you +scratch. Trokar doesn't make a habit of hitting girls, but you turned on +him like a panther when he tried to keep you from running away. He'll +carry the marks for a while!"</p> + +<p>Memories flooded in on her. She saw the sun-dappled trail; saw Tharn +rise from the body of Bana, only to go down under the cruel impact of a +heavy club; saw the horde of oddly dressed men spring from concealment +and rush toward her. She had turned to run, but a grinning warrior had +intercepted her. And when she had raked her nails across his cheek, his +good-humored expression had darkened—she remembered no more.</p> + +<p>"But—but Tharn?" she cried. "Where is he? Did you—Is he—"</p> + +<p>The man shrugged. "If you mean the man who was with you ... well, we +intended only to stun him. There is need in Sephar for strong slaves. +But the club that brought him down was thrown too hard."</p> + +<p>"Then he is—dead?"</p> + +<p>The hawk-faced one nodded.</p> + +<p>Dylara was too shocked to attempt analysis of her feelings. She knew +only that an unbearable weight had come into her heart; beyond that her +thoughts refused to go. Sudden tears stung her eyes.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The man rose and set about stamping out the fire. Watching him, the girl +began to note how greatly this man differed from one of her own tribe. +To begin with, he was smaller, both in build and in stature. His skin, +under its heavy tan, was somewhat darker; his hair very black. He wore a +tunic of some coarsely woven grayish white material; rude sandals of +deerskin covered his feet. A quiver of arrows and a bow—both completely +unfamiliar objects to the girl—swung from his shoulders, and a long +thin knife of flint was thrust under a belt of skin at his waist.</p> + +<p>His speech, too, had shown he was of another race. While it had been +intelligible, his enunciation was puzzling at times; occasionally hardly +understandable. The similarity to the Cro-Magnon tongue was far stronger +than basic; still, there was considerable difference in subtle shadings +of pronunciation and sentence structure.</p> + +<p>He turned to her, finally. "Are you hungry?"</p> + +<p>"No," she said dully.</p> + +<p>"Good. We have delayed too long, as it is. Sephar is more than two suns +away, and we are anxious to return."</p> + +<p>He raised his voice in a half-shouted, "Ho!" In response a half-score of +men rose from the tall grasses nearby.</p> + +<p>"Trokar," called the hawk-faced one.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Vulcar." A slender young man came forward.</p> + +<p>"Here is the girl who improved your looks! It will be your duty to look +after her on the way back to Sephar."</p> + +<p>Trokar fingered three angry red welts along one cheek, and grinned +without speaking.</p> + +<p>In single file they set out toward the south. For several hours they +pushed steadily ahead across gently rolling prairie land. The girl's +spirits sagged lower and lower as she trudged on, going she knew not +where. She thought of her father and the grief he must be suffering; of +her friends and her people. She thought of Tharn once or twice; if he +were alive, these men would not hold her for long. But he was dead, and +the realization brought so strong a pang that she forced her thoughts +away from him.</p> + +<p>They camped that night at the edge of a great forest. All during the +dark hours a heavy fire was kept going, while the men alternated, in +pairs, at sentry duty. Several times during the night Dylara was +awakened by hunting cries of roving meat-eaters but apparently none came +near the camp.</p> + +<p>All the following day the party of twelve skirted the edge of the +forest, moving always due south. By evening the ground underfoot had +become much more uneven, and hills began to appear frequently. The +nearby jungle was thinning out, as well, and the air was noticeably +cooler. Just at sunset they finished scaling a particularly steep +incline and paused at the crest to camp for the night.</p> + +<p>Not far to the south, Dylara saw a low range of mountains extending to +the horizons. Narrow valleys cut between the peaks, none of the latter +high enough to be snow-capped. Through one ravine tumbled the waters of +a mountain stream. The fading sunlight, reflected from water and +glistening rocks, gave the scene an aura of majestic magnificence, +bringing an involuntary murmur of delight to the lips of the girl.</p> + +<p>"Beyond those heights lies Sephar." It was Vulcar, he of the hawk face, +who spoke from beside her.</p> + +<p>Dylara glanced at him, seeing the great pride in his expression.</p> + +<p>"Sephar?" she echoed questioningly.</p> + +<p>"Home!" he said. "It is like nothing you have ever seen. We do not live +in caves; we are beyond that. It is from tribes such as yours that we +take our slaves. Long ago the people of Sephar and Ammad were such as +you. But because they were greater and wiser, and learned many things +which you of the caves do not know, we have come to think of your kind +as little more than animals."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Early the following morning they were underway once more. Shortly before +noon they scaled the last few yards to a great tableland among the +peaks. And it was then that Dylara got her first glimpse of Sephar.</p> + +<p>A little below where she stood was a wide, shallow valley, most of it +filled with heavy forest and jungle. Directly in the center of this +valley, a jewel in a setting of green, lay a city. A city of stone +buildings, gray and box-like, erected in the most simple of +architectural design. With a few exceptions, all buildings were of one +story; none more than two. Broad, clean streets were much in evidence, +the principal ones running spokewise to converge at the exact center of +the wheel-like pattern. Encircling all this was a great wall of dull gray +stone.</p> + +<p>But the most arresting feature of the entire city was situated at the +hub of it all. Here, rising four full stories above the carefully tended +plot of ground surrounding it, stood a tremendous structure of pure +white stone, its shining walls adding materially to the dazzling effect +given the awe-struck Dylara.</p> + +<p>A hand touched her shoulder. Vulcar was smiling at her expression. +"That," he said proudly, "is Sephar."</p> + +<p>The girl could find no words to answer him. Here was something that all +the tales repeated around a hundred cave-fires, during the rainy +seasons, had never approached. Here might dwell the gods; those who sent +the rain and the flaming bolts from the skies....</p> + +<p>"Come," Vulcar said at last, and the little party started down the +grass-covered incline toward the valley floor—and Sephar.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The princess Alurna was angry. A few moments ago she had driven her +slave woman from the room, hastening the girl's departure with a thrown +vase. Raging, the princess paced the chamber's length, kicking the soft +fur rugs from her path. Bed coverings were scattered about the floor, +flung there during this—her latest—tantrum.</p> + +<p>It is doubtful whether Alurna, herself, knew what brought on these +savage fits of temper. Actually, it was boredom; life to the girl—still +in her early twenties—went on in Sephar in the same uneventful fashion +as it had since her great-great grandfather had led a host across the +tremendous valley between the present site of Sephar and the northern +slopes of Ammad.</p> + +<p>Finally the princess threw herself face down on the disordered bed and +burst into hysterical weeping. She had about cried herself out, when a +hand touched her arm.</p> + +<p>"Go away, Anela!" she snapped, without looking up. "I told you to stay +out until I sent for you."</p> + +<p>"It is I," said a deep voice, "Urim, your father."</p> + +<p>The girl scrambled hastily from the bed, at the same time wiping away +the traces of tears.</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry, father. I thought it was Anela, come back to look after me."</p> + +<p>The man chuckled. "If I know anything, she won't be back until you fetch +her. She is huddled in one corner of the hall outside, shaking as though +Sadu had chased her!"</p> + +<p>Despite his fifty years, Urim, ruler of Sephar, was still an imposing +figure. Larger than the average Sepharian, he had retained much of the +splendid physique an active life had given him. Of late years, however, +he had been content to lead a more sedentary life; this, and a growing +fondness for foods and wine, had added inches to his middle and fullness +to his face, while mellowing still further a kindly disposition.</p> + +<p>Alurna sat down on the edge of her bed and sought to tidy the cloud of +loosely bound dark curls framing her lovely head. She was taller, by an +inch or two, than the average Sepharian girl, with a lithe, softly +rounded figure, small firm breasts, rather delicate features and a clear +olive skin. She was wearing a sleeveless tunic which fell from neck to +knees, caught at the waist by a wide belt of the same material. Her +shapely legs were bare, the feet encased in heelless sandals of leather.</p> + +<p>Urim drew up a chair and sat down. He watched Alurna as she freshened +her appearance, his face reflecting a father's pride.</p> + +<p>"Come, child," he said at last. "It is time for the mid-day meal. And +that brings out what I came to tell you."</p> + +<p>Alurna glanced at him with quick interest. "I thought so! I can always +tell when you've got some surprise for me. What is it this time?"</p> + +<p>"Visitors," Urim replied. "Three noble-born young men have traveled from +Ammad to pay their respects. They have brought gifts from your +uncle—many of them for you!"</p> + +<p>Visitors from the mother country were rare, since few elected to attempt +the perilous journey to Sephar. Alurna's uncle was king in Ammad, and +the two brothers were warm friends. Urim, himself, had been born in +Ammad, having come to Sephar as ruler when the former king, old Pyron, +had died childless. Alurna had never seen the city of her father's +birth, having been born in Sephar.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When Alurna had completed her toilet, she joined her father, and +together they descended the broad central staircase of the palace to the +lower hall. After passing through several well-furnished rooms, they +entered a crowded dining hall and took seats at the head of a long +table. The other diners had risen at their entry; they remained standing +until Urim motioned for them to sit again.</p> + +<p>Another group entered the hall, now, and all, save Urim and his +daughter, rose to greet them. These newcomers were the visitors from +Ammad, and as they approached vacant benches near the table's head, Urim +stood to welcome them, his arms folded to signify friendship, a broad +smile on his lips.</p> + +<p>He turned to Alurna. "My daughter, welcome the friends of my brother. +This is Tamar; this, Javan; and Jotan—my daughter, Alurna."</p> + +<p>The girl smiled dutifully to the three. Two were of the usual type about +her—slight, small-boned, graceful men with little to distinguish them.</p> + +<p>But the other—Jotan—caught her attention from the first. He was truly +big—standing a full six feet, with heavy broad shoulders and muscular +arms and legs. His eyes were a cold flinty blue, deep-set in a strong +masculine face. His jaw was square and firm, the recently scraped skin +ruddy and clear. He carried himself with no hint of self-consciousness +at being in the presence of royalty; his bearing as regal as that of +Urim, himself.</p> + +<p>One after the other the three visitors touched the princess' hand. +Jotan, the last, held her fingers a trifle longer than was necessary, +while his eyes flashed a look of admiration that turned red the girl's +cheeks. She withdrew her hand abruptly, hiding her confusion by hurried +speech.</p> + +<p>"My father and I are happy that you have come to Sephar," she said. +"Food shall be brought to refresh you after so long and tiring a +journey."</p> + +<p>At a sign from Urim, slaves began to fetch in steaming platters, placing +them at frequent intervals along the board. Baked-clay cups were put at +the right hand of each diner and filled with the wine-like beverage +common to Sephar and Ammad; an alcoholic drink fermented from a species +of wild grape. Of utensils there was none, the hands serving to convey +food to the mouth.</p> + +<p>After spilling a few drops of wine to the floor as a tribute to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud, each diner set about the +business of eating.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>At last the mounds of viands had disappeared; the cups, drained and +refilled many times during the course of the feast, were replenished +again, and the Sepharians settled back to talk.</p> + +<p>"Scarcely five marches from here, we were beset by a great band of +cave-dwellers." Javan was speaking. "We beat them back easily enough; +our bows and arrows evidently were unknown to them and sent scores to +their deaths.</p> + +<p>"But I tell you it was exciting for a time! They were huge brutes and +unbelievably strong. Their spears—crude, barbaric things—were thrown +with such force that twice I saw them go entirely through two of our +men.</p> + +<p>"But, as I say, we repulsed them, losing only four of our party, while +over forty of the cave people died. We were not able to take prisoners; +they fought too stubbornly to be subdued alive."</p> + +<p>Alurna leaned forward eagerly.</p> + +<p>"We have many slaves who once were such as you have described," she +broke in. "But they do not take kindly to slavery. They often are morose +and hate us, and need beatings to be kept in place. Yet their men are +strong and fearless—and usually quite handsome."</p> + +<p>From his place at the table, Jotan watched the face of the princess as +she spoke. She seemed vivid and forceful—much more so that any other +woman he had ever met; and her beauty of face and figure was +breath-taking. He resolved to become better acquainted with her.</p> + +<p>The manner in which Tamar straightened at her last words, showed they +had stung him—just why, was not altogether clear to Alurna.</p> + +<p>"They are only brutes—animals!" he said heatedly. "They know nothing of +such splendor—" he waved an arm to include the room's rich furnishings +"—no tables or chairs, no soft covers on their cave floors. There are +no walls to protect them from raids by their enemies; no ability in +warfare beyond blind courage. They are half-naked savages—nothing +more!"</p> + +<p>A sudden commotion at the doorway caused the conversation to end here. A +short, alert man with a hawk-like face and a distinct military bearing, +strode into the room and bowed before Urim.</p> + +<p>"Well, Vulcar," greeted the king, without rising, "what are you doing +here?"</p> + +<p>"I come," replied the warrior, "to report the capture of a young +cave-woman. A hunting party slew her mate and captured her a few marches +from Sephar."</p> + +<p>"Bring her in to us," Urim commanded. "I should like our visitors to see +for themselves what cave people are like."</p> + +<p>Vulcar bowed again, then returned to the doorway and beckoned to someone +outside.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Two Sepharian warriors entered, Dylara between them. She was disheveled +and rumpled, the protecting skin of Jalok, the panther, was awry; but +her head was unbowed, her shoulders erect, and her glance as haughty as +that of the princess, Alurna, herself.</p> + +<p>No one said anything for a long moment. The sheer beauty of the girl +captive seemingly had struck them dumb.</p> + +<p>Jotan broke the silence. "By the God!" he gasped. "Are you jesting? This +is no half-wild savage!"</p> + +<p>Alurna, her eyes flashing dangerously, turned toward the speaker. The +first man ever to attract her, and already raving over some unwashed +barbarian who soon was to be a common slave!</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you would like to have her as your mate," she said sweetly, but +with an ominous note in her tone.</p> + +<p>Urim shot a startled glance at his daughter. He had heard that edge to +her voice before this, and usually it meant trouble for someone.</p> + +<p>Jotan kept his eyes on the prisoner. "She would grace the life of any +man," he declared with enthusiasm, totally unaware of Alurna's mounting +jealousy.</p> + +<p>Tamar, seated next to Jotan, forced a loud laugh. "My friend loves to +jest," he announced in a palpable attempt to break the sudden tension. +"Pay no attention to him."</p> + +<p>Although Dylara understood most of what was being said, she was too +upset to follow the conversation itself. She was awed and a little +frightened by the undreamed-of magnificence about her. As much as she +had hated Tharn, being with him was far better than belonging to those +who had her now. But Tharn was dead, stricken down by a slender stick +and heavy club.</p> + +<p>"Take her to the slave quarters," instructed Urim finally. "Later, I +shall decide what is to be done with her."</p> + +<p>Dylara was led up two broad flights of stairs and deep within the left +wing of the palace, her escort halting at last before massive twin +doors. Here, two armed guards raised a heavy timber from its sockets, +the doors swung wide, and she was led down a long hall past several +small doors on either side of the corridor.</p> + +<p>The men stopped before one of these doors, unbarred it, and thrust +Dylara into the room beyond. Then the door closed and she heard the bar +drop into place.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>At first, her eyes were hard put to distinguish objects in the faint +light entering through a long narrow, stone-barred opening set high up +close to the ceiling. Soon, however, she was able to make out the simple +furnishings: a low bed, formed by hairy pelts on a wooden framework; a +low bench; a stand, upon which were a large clay bowl and a length of +clean, rough cloth; and, on the floor, a soft rug of some woven material +unfamiliar to the cave-girl.</p> + +<p>Utterly weary, the girl threw herself on the bed. Thoughts of Tharn came +unbidden to her mind. How she longed for his confidence-instilling +presence! Not that she cared for him in any way; of that she was very +certain. It was only that he was one of her own kind; he spoke as she +did, clothed himself as she was accustomed to seeing men clothed.</p> + +<p>It was unthinkable that he was dead; impossible to believe that that +mighty heart had ceased to beat! Yet she had heard the dull impact of +wood against bone as the club had felled him, and he had not stirred +when the strange men broke from the bushes to seize her.</p> + +<p>Yes, he was dead; and Dylara's eyes suddenly brimmed with burning tears. +She told herself that her sorrow was not so much from his death as the +fact that, without him alive, she could never hope to leave this place.</p> + +<p>The show of bravado, maintained before her captors, began to slip away. +She was so lonely and afraid here in this grimly beautiful city. What +would become of her? And that proud, lovely girl at the table with all +those people—why had she looked at Dylara with such frank hatred?</p> + +<p>She cried a little, there in the dim light, and still sobbing, fell +asleep.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>Came Tharn</h3> + + +<p>Sadu, the lion, rounding a bend in the trail, came to an abrupt halt as +his eyes fell on the carcass of Bana lying across the path a few yards +ahead.</p> + +<p>An idle breeze ruffled his heavy mane as he stood there, one great paw +half-lifted as though caught in mid-stride. Then, very slowly, impelled +solely by curiosity, he moved toward the dead animal.</p> + +<p>Suddenly something stirred beyond the bulk of the deer. Sadu froze to +immobility again as the dusty blood-stained figure of a half-naked man +got to an upright position and faced him.</p> + +<p>For a full minute the man and the lion stared woodenly into each other's +eyes, across a space of hardly more than a dozen paces.</p> + +<p>Sadu's principal emotion was puzzled uncertainty. There was nothing of +menace in the attitude of this two-legged creature; neither did it show +any indication of being alarmed. Experience had taught the lion to +expect one or the other of those reactions upon such meetings as this, +and the absence of either was responsible for his own indecision.</p> + +<p>As for Tharn, he was experiencing difficulty in seeing clearly. The +figure of the giant cat seemed to shimmer in the sunlight; to expand +awesomely, then contract almost to nothing. A whirlpool of roaring pain +sucked at his mind, drawing the strength from every muscle of his body.</p> + +<p>Tharn realized the moment was fast approaching when either he or Sadu +must make some move. If the lion's decision was to attack, the +empty-handed cave-man would prove easy prey.</p> + +<p>Almost at Tharn's feet lay his heavy war-spear. To stoop to retrieve it +might precipitate an immediate charge. But that might come anyway, he +reasoned, catching him without means of defence.</p> + +<p>What followed required only seconds. Tharn crouched, caught up the +flint-tipped weapon, and straightened—all in one supple motion. Sadu +slid back on his haunches, reared up with fore-legs extended, gave one +mighty roar—then turned and in wild flight vanished into the jungle!</p> + +<p>It required the better part of an hour for the cave lord to hack a +supply of meat from Bana's flank and cache it in a high fork of the +nearest tree. The blow from a Sepharian war-club had resulted in a nasty +concussion and the constant waves of dizziness and nausea made his +movements slow and uncertain.</p> + +<p>For two full days he lay on a rude platform of branches in that tree, +most of the time in semi-stupor. Twice in that time he risked descent +for water from the nearby river.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>It was not until morning of the third day that he awoke comparatively +clear-headed. For a little while he raced through the branches of +neighboring trees, testing the extent of his recovery. And when he +discovered that, beyond a dull ache in one side of his head, he was +himself once more, he ate the remainder of his stock of deer meat and +came down to the trail to pick up the two-day-spoor of Dylara's captors.</p> + +<p>That those who had struck him down had also taken his intended mate, +Tharn never doubted. She—and he!—had been too well ambushed for +escape. What her fate would be after capture depended upon the identity +of her abductors.</p> + +<p>But when Tharn had picked up those traces not obliterated by the +movements of jungle denizens during the two days, he was as much in the +dark as before. Never in his own considerable experience had he come +upon the prints of sandals before this; nor had he known of a tribe who +wore coverings on their feet.</p> + +<p>He shrugged. After all, <i>who</i> had taken Dylara was beside the point. She +had been taken; and he must follow, to rescue her if she were still +alive—for vengeance if they had slain her.</p> + +<p>By noon of the next day Tharn was drawing himself up to the edge of the +tableland at almost the same spot from whence Dylara had her first +glimpse of Sephar. And when he rose to his feet and saw the city of +stone and its great circular wall, he was no less electrified than the +girl had been. He, however, felt no dread at the prospect of entering; +indeed, his adventurous blood urged him to waste no time in doing so.</p> + +<p>As he raced through the trees toward Sephar, his thoughts were of +Dylara. Reason insisted that she still lived—a captive behind that grim +stone wall. He knew, now, that his love for her was no temporary +madness, but an emotion that would rule his life until death claimed +him. Her proud, slender figure with its scanty covering of panther skin +rose unbidden before him, and he felt a sudden uncomfortable tightness +where ribs and belly met. Love was teaching Tharn of other aches than +physical bruises....</p> + +<p>It was mid-afternoon when he reached the forest's edge nearest to +Sephar. Several hundred yards of level open ground lay between the trees +and the mighty wall, which evidently encircled the entire city.</p> + +<p>From where he crouched on a strong branch high above the ground, he saw +two wide gateways not more than fifty yards apart, both of them guarded +by parties of armed men. His keen eyes picked out details of their +figures and clothing, both of which excited his keenest interest. With +its entrances so closely guarded it would be folly to approach closer +during the day. While impatient to reach Dylara's side, he was quite +aware that any attempt at rescue now would doubtless cost him his own +freedom, if not his life, thereby taking from the girl her only hope of +escape. He must wait for night to come, hoping the guards would then be +withdrawn.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Reminded that he had not eaten since early morning, Tharn swung back +through the trees in search of meat. The plains of this valley appeared +to abound with grass-eaters; and not long after, a wild horse fell +before his careful stalking. Squatting on the body of his kill, he +gorged himself on raw flesh, unwilling to chance some unfriendly eye +noticing smoke from a fire.</p> + +<p>His appetite cared for, the cave-man bathed in the waters of a small +stream. He then knelt on the bank, and using the water as a mirror, cut +the sprouting beard from his face by means of a small, very sharp bit of +flint taken from a pouch of his loin-cloth. Comfort, rather than vanity, +was responsible; a bearded face increased the discomfort of a tropical +day.</p> + +<p>The sun was low in the west by the time he had returned to his former +vantage point, and shortly afterward the heavy wooden gates were pulled +shut by their guards, who then withdrew into the city.</p> + +<p>Now, the grounds about Sephar were deserted, and soon the sun slipped +behind the far horizon. Swiftly twilight gave way to darkness, and stars +began to glow softly against the bosom of a clear semi-tropical night.</p> + +<p>Two hours—three—went by and still Tharn did not leave his station. +Somewhere below him an unidentified animal crashed noisily through the +thick undergrowth and moved deeper into the black shadows. Far back in +the forest a panther screamed shrilly once and was still; to be answered +promptly by the thunderous challenge of Sadu, the lion.</p> + +<p>Finally the giant white man rose to his feet on the swaying branch and +leisurely stretched. Silently and swiftly he slipped to the ground. He +paused there for a moment, ears and nose alert for an indication of +danger, then set out across the level field toward the towering wall of +Sephar—enigmatic city of mystery and peril.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>After Vulcar had led the captive cave-girl from the dining room, a +general discussion sprang up. Any reference to the cave people, however, +was carefully avoided; the subject, for some reason that nobody quite +understood, seemed suddenly taboo.</p> + +<p>While the others were rapidly drinking themselves into a drunken stupor, +Jotan sat as one apart, head bowed in thought. He found it impossible to +dismiss the impression given him by the half-naked girl of the caves. +She was so different from the usual girl with whom he came in +contact—more vital, more alive. There was nothing fragile or clinging +about her. He could not help but compare that fine, healthy, +well-rounded figure with the pallid, artificial women of his +acquaintance. Her clean sparkling eyes, clear tanned skin and graceful +posture made those others seem dull and uninviting.</p> + +<p>"Jotan!"</p> + +<p>The visitor came back to his surroundings with a start.</p> + +<p>Urim, his round face flushed from much wine, had called his name.</p> + +<p>"Come, man," he laughed, "of what do you dream? A girl in far-off Ammad, +perhaps?"</p> + +<p>Jotan reddened, but replied calmly enough, "No, my king; no flower of +<i>Ammad</i> holds my heart."</p> + +<p>The faint stress he placed on the name of his own country passed +unnoticed by all except Alurna.</p> + +<p>"'Of Ammad,' you say, Jotan," she cut in. "Perhaps so soon you have +found love here in Sephar."</p> + +<p>The remark struck too close to home for the man's comfort.</p> + +<p>"You read strange meanings in my words, my princess," he said evasively; +then suddenly he thrust back his bench and arose.</p> + +<p>"O Urim," he said, "my friends and I would like to look about Sephar. +Also, if you will have someone show us the quarters we are to use during +our visit...."</p> + +<p>"Of course," Urim agreed heartily. "The captain of my own guards shall +act as your guide."</p> + +<p>Vulcar was sent for. When he arrived, Urim bade him heed every wish the +three guests might express.</p> + +<p>As they passed from the palace into the street beyond, Tamar said +softly:</p> + +<p>"Whatever possessed you, Jotan, to say such things where others could +hear you? A noble of Ammad, raving about some half-clad barbarian girl! +What must they think of you!"</p> + +<p>Jotan was mid-way between laughter and anger. Tamar's reaction had been +so typical, however, that he checked an angry retort. Tamar was so +completely the snob, so entirely conscious of class distinction, that +his present attitude was not surprising.</p> + +<p>"It might be interesting," he admitted.</p> + +<p>Tamar was puzzled. "What might?"</p> + +<p>"To know what they think."</p> + +<p>Tamar sniffed audibly, and moved away to join Javan.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>They spent the balance of the afternoon walking about Sephar's streets, +viewing the sights. Shortly before dusk Vulcar led them to their +quarters in a large building near the juncture of two streets—a +building with square windows barred by slender columns of stone. Slaves +brought food; and after the three men had eaten, the room was cleared +that they might sleep.</p> + +<p>Jotan yawned. "Even my bones are weary," he said. "I'm going to bed."</p> + +<p>Tamar stood up abruptly. He had been silently rehearsing a certain +speech all afternoon, and he was determined to have his say.</p> + +<p>"Wait, Jotan," he said. "I'd like to talk to you, first."</p> + +<p>Jotan looked at his friend with mock surprise. He knew perfectly well +what was coming, and he rather welcomed this opportunity to declare +himself and, later, to enlist the aid of his friends.</p> + +<p>Javan was regarding them with mild amazement on his good-natured, rather +stupid face. He was the least aggressive of the three, usually content +to follow the lead of the others.</p> + +<p>"All right," Jotan said. "I'm listening."</p> + +<p>"I suppose the whole thing doesn't really amount to much." Tamar forced +a laugh. "But I think it was wrong for you to carry on the way you did +over that cave-girl today. Only the God knows what the nobles of Sephar, +and Urim and his daughter, thought of your remarks. Why, anyone would +have thought you had fallen in love with the girl!"</p> + +<p>Jotan smiled—a slow, easy smile. "I have!" he said.</p> + +<p>Tamar stiffened as though he had been struck. His face darkened. "No! +Jotan, do you know what you're saying? A naked wild creature in an +animal skin! You talk like a fool!</p> + +<p>"Javan!" He whirled on the silent one. "Javan, are you going to sit +there and let this happen? Help me reason with this madman."</p> + +<p>Javan sat with mouth agape. "But I—why—what—"</p> + +<p>Jotan leaned back and sighed. "Listen, Tamar," he said placatingly. "We +have been friends too long to quarrel over my taste in choosing a mate. +Tomorrow I shall ask Urim for the girl."</p> + +<p>"Your <i>mate</i>? I might have known it." In his agitation Tamar began to +pace the floor. "We should have stayed in Ammad. I have a good mind to +go to Urim and plead with him not to give her to you."</p> + +<p>"You shall do nothing of the kind, Tamar," Jotan said quietly. He was no +longer smiling. "I will not permit you to interfere in this. This girl +is to be my mate. You, as my friend, will help me."</p> + +<p>Tamar snorted. "When our friends see her, see her as the mate of noble +Jotan, you will wish that I <i>had</i> interfered. A dirty half-wild savage! +You will be laughed at, my friend, and the ridicule will soon end your +infatuation."</p> + +<p>Jotan looked at him with level eyes. "You've said enough, Tamar. +Understand this: Tomorrow I shall ask Urim for the cave girl. Now I am +going to sleep."</p> + +<p>Tamar shrugged and silently turned away. Amidst a deep silence the three +men spread their sleeping-furs, extinguished the candles and turned in.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>As Tharn neared Sephar's outer wall, Uda, the moon, pushed her shining +edge above the trees, causing the Cro-Magnon to increase his pace lest +he be seen by some observer from within the city.</p> + +<p>He reached the dense shadows of the wall directly in front of one mighty +gateway, its barrier of heavy planks seemingly as solid as the stone +wall on either side.</p> + +<p>Tharn pressed an ear to a crack of the wood. He could hear nothing from +beyond. Bending slightly forward, he dug his bare feet into the ground, +placed one broad shoulder against the rough surface, and pushed. At +first the pressure was gentle; but when the gate did not give, he +gradually increased the force until all his superhuman strength strove +to loosen the barrier.</p> + +<p>But the stubborn wood refused to give way, and Tharn realized he must +find another means of entry.</p> + +<p>A single glance was enough to convince him that the rim of the wall was +beyond leaping distance. It was beginning to dawn on the cave-man that +getting into this strange lair was not to be so easy as he had at first +expected.</p> + +<p>He concluded finally that there was nothing left to do but circle the +entire wall in hopes that some way to enter would show itself. Perhaps +one of the several gates would have been left carelessly ajar, although +he was not trusting enough to have much faith in that possibility.</p> + +<p>After covering possibly half a mile, and testing two other gateways +without success, his sharp gray eyes spied a broken timber near the top +of the wall directly above one of the gates. An end of the plank +protruded a foot beyond the sheer surface of rock.</p> + +<p>Tharn grinned. Those within might as well have left the gate itself +open. Drawing the grass rope from his shoulders, he formed a slip knot +at one end, and with his first effort managed to cast the loop about the +jagged bit of wood. This done, it was a simple matter to draw himself up +to the timber. There he paused to restore the rope about his shoulders, +then he cautiously poked his head over the wall and peered into the +strange world below.</p> + +<p>There was no one in sight. Still smiling confidently, keenly aware that +he might never leave this place alive, he lowered himself over the edge, +swung momentarily by his hands, then dropped soundlessly to the street +below. The first obstacle in the search for Dylara had been overcome.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Slowly and without sound the massive door to Dylara's room swung open, +permitting a heavily-laden figure to enter. Placing its burden on the +table, the figure closed the door, crossed to the side of the sleeping +girl and bent above her, listening to the slow even breathing. +Satisfied, the visitor stepped back to the table and, with a coal from +an earthen container, ignited the wicks of dishes of animal fat. The +soft light revealed the newcomer as a woman.</p> + +<p>Quietly she arranged the dishes she had brought, using the low stand as +a table. That done, she came to Dylara's side and shook her gently by a +shoulder.</p> + +<p>The daughter of Majok awakened with a start, blinking the sleep from her +eyes. At sight of the other, she sat up in quick alarm.</p> + +<p>The woman smiled reassuringly. "You must not be afraid," she said +softly. "I am your friend. They sent me here with food for you. See?" +She pointed to the dishes.</p> + +<p>The words brought a measure of comfort to Dylara's troubled mind. She +noticed this woman's speech had in it nothing of the strange accent +peculiar to Sephar's inhabitants.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" Dylara asked.</p> + +<p>"I am Nada—a slave."</p> + +<p>The girl nodded. Who was it this woman reminded her of? "I am Dylara, +Nada. Tell me, why is it you speak as do the cave people?"</p> + +<p>"I am of the cave people," replied the woman. "There are many of us +here. The mountains about Sephar contain the caves of many tribes. Often +Sephar's warriors make war on our people and carry many away to become +slaves."</p> + +<p>Dylara watched her as she spoke. Despite a youthful appearance, she must +have been twice the cave-girl's age; about the same height but more +fully developed. Her figure, under the simple tunic, was beautifully +proportioned; her face the loveliest Dylara had ever seen. There was an +indefinable air of breeding and poise in her manner, softened by warm +brown eyes and an expression of sympathetic understanding.</p> + +<p>Nada endured the close appraisal without self-consciousness. Finally she +said: "You must be hungry. Come; sit here and eat."</p> + +<p>Dylara obeyed without further urging. Nada watched her in silence until +the girl's appetite had been dulled, then said: "How did they happen to +get you?"</p> + +<p>Dylara told her, briefly. For some obscure reason she could not bring +herself to mention Tharn by name. Just the thought of him, falling +beneath a Sepharian club, brought a sharp ache to her throat.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>There was a far-away expression in Nada's eyes as Dylara finished her +story. "I knew a warrior once—one very much like the young man who took +you from your father's caves. He was a mighty chief—and my mate. Many +summers ago I was captured near our caves as I walked at the jungle's +edge. A war party from a strange tribe had crept close to our caves +during the night, planning to raid us at dawn. They seized me; but my +cries aroused my people, and the war party fled, taking me with them. +They lost their way in the darkness, and after many weary marches +stumbled across a hunting party from Sephar. In the fight that followed +they killed almost all of us, sparing only three—and me. I have been +here ever since."</p> + +<p>Dylara caught the undercurrent of utter hopelessness in the woman's +words, and she felt a sudden rush of sympathy well up within her.</p> + +<p>"Tharn was a chief's son," she said. "Had he lived, I am sure he—" She +stopped there, stricken into silence by the horror on Nada's face.</p> + +<p>The slave woman rose unsteadily from the bed and seized Dylara's hands.</p> + +<p>"Tharn—did you say <i>Tharn</i>?"</p> + +<p>The girl, shocked by the pain and grief in the face of the woman, could +only nod.</p> + +<p>"He—is—dead?"</p> + +<p>Again Dylara nodded.</p> + +<p>Nada swayed and would have fallen had not Dylara held tightly to her +wrists. Tears began to squeeze from her closed eyes, to trickle down the +drawn white cheeks.</p> + +<p>And then Dylara found her voice. "What is it, Nada? What is wrong?"</p> + +<p>The woman swallowed with an effort, fighting for control. "I," she +whispered, "am Tharn's mate!"</p> + +<p>At first, Dylara thought she meant he whom the Sepharians had slain. And +then the truth came to her.</p> + +<p>The Tharn she had known was Nada's son!</p> + +<p>Impulsively she drew the woman down beside her, holding her tightly +until the tearing sobs subsided. For a little while there was silence +within the room.</p> + +<p>Without changing her position, Nada began to speak. "It was my son who +was with you. Twelve summers before my capture I bore him; his father +gave him his own name. And now he is dead. He is dead."</p> + +<p>A draft of air from the window above caused the candle flame to waver, +setting the shadows dancing.</p> + +<p>Nada sat up and dried her eyes. "I will not cry any more," she said +quietly. "Let us talk of other things."</p> + +<p>Dylara pressed her hand in quick understanding. "Of course. Tell me, +Nada, what will happen to me in Sephar?"</p> + +<p>"You are a slave," Nada replied, "and belong to Urim, whose own warriors +captured you. Perhaps you will be given certain duties in the palace, or +the mate or daughter of some noble may ask for you as a hand-maiden. As +a rule they treat us kindly; but if we are troublesome they whip us, or +sometimes give us to the priests. That is the worst of all."</p> + +<p>"They have gods, then?" Dylara asked.</p> + +<p>"Only one, who is both good and evil. If they fall in battle, He has +caused it; if they come through untouched, He has helped them."</p> + +<p>The Cro-Magnon girl could not grasp this strange contradiction, for she +knew certain gods sought to destroy man, while other gods tried to +protect him....</p> + +<p>"Then I must spend the rest of my life as a slave?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes—unless some free man asks for you as a mate. And that may happen +because you are very beautiful."</p> + +<p>The girl shook her head. "I do not want that," she declared. "I want +only to return to my father and people."</p> + +<p>"It will be best," Nada said, "to give up that foolish dream. Sometimes +cave-men escape from Sephar; the women, never."</p> + +<p>She rose, saying: "I must leave you now. The guards will be wondering +what has kept me. Tomorrow I will come again."</p> + +<p>The two embraced. "Farewell, Nada," whispered the girl. "I shall try to +sleep again. Being here does not seem so bad, now that I know you."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn regained his feet quickly after the drop from the wall, and looked +about. Failing to detect any cause for immediate alarm, he set out along +a broad street, hugging the buildings and keeping well within the +shadows. The moon was quite high by now, the strong light flooding the +deserted streets and bringing every object into bold relief.</p> + +<p>The man of the caves did not have the slightest idea as to how he might +locate the girl he loved; he proposed, however, to pit his wit and +cunning, together with the stone knife and grass rope against the entire +city, if necessary, until he stumbled across a clue of some sort that +would bring them together. How he expected to snatch Dylara from her +captors and win through to the forest and plains he did not stop to +consider—time enough for that when she was found.</p> + +<p>Abruptly the street along which he was moving ended, crossed here by +another roadway. Down this side street a few yards, and on the opposite +side, a huge stone building loomed, its windows barred by slender +columns of stone. To Tharn's inexperienced eyes this appeared to be a +prison of some sort; and as it was the first of its kind he had noticed, +he decided to investigate—that is, if a means of entry could be found. +The hope that Dylara might be held behind one of those protected windows +spurred him on.</p> + +<p>Nonchalantly the mighty figure stepped from the sheltering shadows and +leisurely crossed the street. He did not wish to excite suspicion, +should any chance onlooker see him, by a sudden dash. Reaching the +doorway of the edifice, he glanced sharply about; from all appearances +he might have been in a city of the dead.</p> + +<p>Delicate fingers, backed by a shrewd, imaginative mind, found the rude +wooden latch, and solved its method of operation. Gently he pushed +against the door and, not without surprise, felt it yield. Slowly the +heavy planks swung inward until a space sufficient to admit his massive +frame appeared, then he slid in and closed the door with his back.</p> + +<p>The darkness was that of Acheron's pit; his eyes, keen as those of any +jungle cat, were helpless to penetrate the blackness through which he +moved with infinite stealth, arms outthrust before him, the cool hilt of +his flint knife clutched in one muscular hand.</p> + +<p>His nose warned him that there were men nearby; but the strangeness of +his surroundings confused him as to their actual position.</p> + +<p>One step forward he took—another, and yet another; then he trod full on +the fingers of an outstretched hand!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>Pursuit</h3> + + +<p>The instant Tharn felt his foot press the unseen hand he wheeled +soundlessly and sprang to the door. Closing his fingers about the latch, +he stood there, waiting. To rush out now would be certain to awaken the +disturbed sleeper; otherwise the man might blame the mishap on one of +his companions and go back to sleep without investigating further.</p> + +<p>He heard a stirring in the darkness.</p> + +<p>"Jotan."</p> + +<p>In the utter darkness of the room the single word sounded loud as a +thunder-clap.</p> + +<p>"Jotan," said the voice again.</p> + +<p>"Uh?" came an answering grunt.</p> + +<p>"Are you awake?"</p> + +<p>"I wasn't—until you woke me," said Jotan testily.</p> + +<p>"I think somebody stepped on my fingers," the first voice said. "They +feel like it, anyway."</p> + +<p>"You must have rolled over on them, Javan. Go back to sleep."</p> + +<p>Tharn followed the conversation with interest, surprised that he could +understand the words. He waited patiently and without panic for the +speakers to act or to return to sleep.</p> + +<p>"I tell you, my hand was stepped on," Javan insisted.</p> + +<p>"What are you two talking about?" broke in a third voice.</p> + +<p>"Javan claims someone has been walking on him," explained Jotan. "Make a +light; he'll not sleep until we search the place."</p> + +<p>Tharn heard one of the men rise and fumble about in a corner of the +room. Suddenly a flame sputtered and took hold, lighting the room's +interior with a feeble glow.</p> + +<p>Waiting no longer, Tharn twisted the latch and tried to draw open the +door. But something had gone wrong; he could not stir the heavy planks.</p> + +<p>"There!" Javan shouted. "At the door! Didn't I tell—"</p> + +<p>With a bound Jotan leaped from his bed and plunged forward, catching +Tharn at the knees. The cave-man braced himself, then bent and grasped +his attacker about the waist.</p> + +<p>Jotan was a strong, agile man. As a rough-and-tumble fighter he had few +equals. But when the arms of the intruder encircled his body and tore +away his hold as though he were a child, he knew he stood no chance.</p> + +<p>The Sepharian gasped aloud as he felt himself swung aloft. He had a +swift glimpse of the awe-stricken faces of his friends; then his flying +body hurtled across the room to crash against them with sickening force, +sending all three to the floor, half-stunned.</p> + +<p>Tharn seized the door-latch once more and surged back with all his +strength. There followed the sound of splintering wood as latch, bolt +and strike were torn away. A second later he had gained the street.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>By the time those within were ready to attempt pursuit, the cave-man was +a block away, running with the long easy strides of a trained athlete.</p> + +<p>As he ran, Tharn drew his knife for any misguided person who might wish +to bar his path. He was slowly drawing away from his shouting pursuers, +when he caught sight of a second group of warriors not far ahead and +coming at a run toward him.</p> + +<p>Turning sharply into a side street, Tharn dashed on for a short +distance, only to pull up short. The roadway ended here, nor were there +streets on either side. Behind him the Sepharians had turned the corner +and were bearing down upon him.</p> + +<p>Tharn was no stranger to danger or sudden death. Life in the jungles and +on the vast plains had little else to offer. Fear and panic were not +likely to prolong life; Tharn knew not the meaning of either.</p> + +<p>And so it was, that as the angry fighting-men rushed toward him, they +were to find no terror-stricken creature at bay. Indeed, so savage was +the bearing of their quarry that the Sepharians hesitated, then came to +a full stop a few paces away.</p> + +<p>They were many, at least a score, but the sight of the Cro-Magnon's +brawny frame and rippling muscles gave a dubious aspect to the whole +affair; nor was the stone knife in one powerful hand a matter to be +lightly dismissed.</p> + +<p>It was during this brief armistice that one Lukor, awakened by the +tumult outside his windows opened the door of his home with the +ill-advised intention of making an investigation.</p> + +<p>"I am surprised—" he began; but an instant later he was infinitely more +surprised when the impact of a naked shoulder into his stomach flung him +against the far corner of the room.</p> + +<p>Tharn's jungle-trained ears had caught the sound of a bar being lifted, +and so swiftly had he acted that the door was slammed shut and the bar +replaced before Jotan, first to recover, could send his weight crashing +against the planks.</p> + +<p>The moonlight filtering through the latticed windows revealed an open +doorway in the opposite wall, and Tharn passed into an inner room. There +were no windows here, and he stumbled over various furnishings before he +came upon a rude staircase.</p> + +<p>Taking three at a time, he bounded up the steps to the chamber above. +Below he could hear the impact of bodies against the lattice-work of the +windows. His enemies were getting no aid from the dazed Lukor; he had +not yet regained his breath or his courage.</p> + +<p>Without hesitation, Tharn crossed the room to its single large window +and looked down. He was just in time to see the curtain of branches at +the window beneath give way and man after man clamber through.</p> + +<p>They did not all go in, however; five armed guards took up positions in +the street. The Cro-Magnon had hoped to drop to the street as soon as +the coast was clear, but now that avenue of escape was closed.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Something must be done, and quickly, Tharn realized, were he to outwit +those whose feet were even now pounding on the stairs. Thrusting head +and shoulders out the window, he looked up and saw, a few feet away, the +roof's edge.</p> + +<p>Quickly Tharn balanced himself on the narrow sill, his back to the +street. Raising to his tip-toes he reached gingerly up. His finger tips +were a full six inches short of the roof's edge!</p> + +<p>A lone chance remained: he must jump for it. To fail would plummet him +to the street below—to certain capture and possible injury. The sinews +of his legs tensed; then he rose upward in a cat-like leap.</p> + +<p>There was a second of breathless uncertainty; then his fingers closed on +a flat stone surface.</p> + +<p>Barely had the dangling feet cleared the upper edge of the aperture when +the horde burst through the doorway. Finding no occupant, they dashed to +the window and called to the watchers below, only to learn the +forest-man had not re-entered the street. A thorough search of the room +convinced them the man they sought had left the building, and they +blamed the men below for having permitted his escape; in turn to be +jeered at as cowards for not searching Lukor's premises more carefully.</p> + +<p>It was a puzzled crowd of disgruntled warriors that finally gave up the +hunt. Some of the more superstitious were inclined to believe it was no +human they sought—an evil spirit, perhaps, that had faded back into +nothingness.</p> + +<p>While a block away, Tharn, having fled from one roof to another, dropped +easily to earth and set out for the huge white palace he had glimpsed +from the house-tops.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The Princess Alurna was finding it impossible to sleep. For hours she +had lain wide-eyed, tossing fitfully, seeking the rest that would not +come. Before her mind's eye persisted the image of Jotan as she had +first seen him; in her ears were the sound of his voice and the echo of +his laugh.</p> + +<p>Why must her thoughts stay with this handsome visitor? Had her imperious +heart given way at last?</p> + +<p>She tried to thrust out the idea, to submerge it beneath a wave of +derision; but to no avail. The image prevailed, calling attention to a +splendid body and compelling features.</p> + +<p>Finally she rose and went to the low wide window. Kneeling there she +rested her arms on the broad sill, looking out over the sleeping streets +and buildings, silent and brooding beneath the moon's splendor. Far out +beyond the walls surrounding Sephar she could see the dark primeval +forest, and she shivered a little although the night was warm. Faintly +to her ears, across the stillness came the distant challenge of a lion. +Again she shuddered, and brought her gaze back to Sephar's streets. The +minutes passed slowly....</p> + +<p>Suddenly she half rose in surprise as the almost naked figure of a man +bounded from the shadows of a building across from the palace, and, +entering the grounds, passed from sight somewhere below.</p> + +<p>What did it mean? Was a resident of Sephar entering the palace for some +mysterious reason of his own? Hardly. None would be so rash. Then, too, +the figure had not been clad in the short tunic, usual dress of all +Sepharians.</p> + +<p>No; that shadowy figure meant danger. Jumping to her feet she ran to the +door and flung it open. At her appearance the two warriors in the +corridor sprang hastily forward.</p> + +<p>"Get Vulcar at once," she cried. "Someone is trying to get into the +palace!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The moon's liquid rays did not reach the palace wall where Tharn was +standing now. The white, smooth stone gleamed dully in the half light.</p> + +<p>Moving as only the jungle-wise can move, he began to skirt the building, +seeking an opening large enough to admit his giant frame. His bare feet +were soundless on the grass; he was but a white shadow of a man.</p> + +<p>There was no scarcity of windows, but all were barred by slender columns +of stone. To attempt to force them would be a noisy method at best. If +he meant to find and rescue Dylara he must resort to stealth and cunning +alone. For all his herculean strength he would be helpless against an +entire city.</p> + +<p>He was nearing one corner of the building when his eyes caught sight of +a narrow slit-like break in the stone just above the level of his head. +There was no indication of bars, and as it appeared large enough to +admit him, he caught the lip and drew himself up and within.</p> + +<p>The awful stench that smote his nostrils nearly drove him back to the +ground. He had no way of knowing, of course, that he had stumbled across +a refuse chute; it was from this vent that waste was thrown into +containers below.</p> + +<p>Holding his breath, he clambered a short distance along the sloping +stone, thrust away a wooden screen and stood upright.</p> + +<p>He was in complete darkness. Moving slowly forward, his outthrust hands +struck a wooden panel which proved to be a door. A second later he had +solved the latch and stepped through.</p> + +<p>Here, light came through several windows. He was in the palace kitchens, +although his limited experience did not enable him to identify them as +such. Across the room was a closed door; he directed his steps toward +it.</p> + +<p>Silently the door swung open, and the cave-man paused on the threshold +of a large room, occupied by a massive table and numerous backless +stools.</p> + +<p>Tharn took in all that with a single swift glance. Something was moving +beyond the hangings screening off the room ahead.</p> + +<p>The curtains parted and five guards-men filed into the room. After +glancing hastily about, they passed silently through to the kitchens.</p> + +<p>As the last one disappeared from view, a disembodied shape merged from +beneath the long table and vanished into the room beyond.</p> + +<p>Aside from its furnishings it, too, was empty.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>On went Tharn, combing each successive chamber for a sign of human life. +He was determined not to quit this place until completely satisfied +Dylara was held elsewhere. The task, not easy at best, would prove even +more difficult with the palace guards on the lookout for an intruder.</p> + +<p>Stronger by the minute was the realization that this strange race of +people, who were capable of erecting their own caves of stone, who could +make strange weapons to throw tiny spears with unbelievable accuracy, +whose hands could shape such a variety of articles—were sadly lacking +in the qualities without which Tharn could never have arrived at young +manhood.</p> + +<p>That five men could pass at arm's length from him and yet remain unaware +of his nearness, was inconceivable to the man of the caves. Were their +noses ornaments, he wondered, that they could not sense a hidden foe? +Were their wits so dull they could pass up so obvious a hiding place as +he had chosen?</p> + +<p>No wonder that they had erected a great wall between them and the +jungle! His lip curled with contempt as he pictured an army of them +scattering before the charge of Sadu.</p> + +<p>By this time he had reached the great hall inside the palace main +entrance. A giant skylight high up in the ceiling, its cover removed +during the dry season, admitted cold moonlight in a brilliant cascade of +light that left no shadows or darkened corners.</p> + +<p>From the center of the vast hall rose a gigantic staircase of stone to +the second floor. Tharn, reasoning that the palace sleeping quarters +would be above, stole warily toward the stairway.</p> + +<p>And then a horde of armed men broke unexpectedly from a doorway across +the hall, and spying Tharn, bore down upon him, uttering a chorus of +exultant yells as they came.</p> + +<p>One tremendous bound brought Tharn to the steps, up which he fled with +all the speed of Jalok, the panther. Three spears hurled with senseless +enthusiasm, fell short of their intended mark. But the shouts of alarm +and excitement were fast arousing other inhabitants of the building. +From somewhere above, Tharn heard a door slam, followed by the sound of +running feet in the upper corridor to his left. Hence the moment he +reached the landing he turned right and raced along the still deserted +hallway, his naked feet soundless on the bare stone.</p> + +<p>Because of the fugitive's silent approach, four guards, who stood facing +in the opposite direction, did not hear him as he rounded a turn of the +corridor and came toward them. At sight of those backs, Tharn slid to a +stop and turned to retrace his steps.</p> + +<p>Again he halted. To his quick ears came sounds of footsteps from the +hall he had just left. With retreat cut off from both sides, he had but +one chance for escape.</p> + +<p>Choosing at random one of several doors on either side of the corridor, +Tharn pushed it open, and still keeping an eye on the men outside, +slipped within a softly lighted room. After gently closing the door, he +turned—to stare into the startled eyes of the princess Alurna!</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn's first thought was that the girl would cry out in terror at his +sudden entrance. Before she could recover her wits he had grasped her +about the waist with one arm, at the same time clapping a hand across +her lips.</p> + +<p>Alurna lay within the circle of that mighty arm, making no effort to +free herself. She was desperately afraid, more afraid than she could +remember before.</p> + +<p>The cave-man found himself on the horns of a dilemma. He had no wish to +slay a woman; indeed he knew he could not, no matter what the +provocation. On the other hand, were he to free her, she could have the +guards here within seconds.</p> + +<p>Their eyes met. Tharn was surprised that all trace of fear was masked +within the cool gray-green depths, although the rapid pounding of her +heart told him she was frightened.</p> + +<p>Revealed to him with the quick intuition of a wild creature was +something of this girl's true nature. He sensed she could be coldly +calculating; that neither qualm nor principle would keep her from +furthering her own ends. That, given the chance, she would betray him, +he never doubted; but something told him she would never be driven to a +rash act through ungovernable hysteria alone.</p> + +<p>He removed his hand from her mouth, but held it ready to silence her +again.</p> + +<p>"What," whispered Alurna, "do you want here?"</p> + +<p>Tharn shook his head. Any discussion, now, would be pointless. He must +go on. At the far end of the room was a large unbarred opening—a +possible avenue of escape.</p> + +<p>Hesitating no longer he released the girl, pushed her aside and made for +the window.</p> + +<p>Alurna, confident now that this nocturnal prowler meant her no harm, +remained standing where he had left her. While awaiting his next move, +she fell to studying him from across the room.</p> + +<p>He was the embodiment of physical perfection; certainly the most +beautifully formed male she had ever seen before. The smooth brown body +bespoke of suppleness and the nimble agility of a cat, despite banded +layers of iron muscles rippling beneath an unclouded skin.</p> + +<p>The face, with its frank, grave eyes, impressed her as being both +handsome and highly intelligent. There was an air of majestic nobility +in his posture and the poise of his well-shaped head that would have +aroused envy in the heart of any Sepharian.</p> + +<p>A muffled knocking at the door startled her; but before she could +respond, the Cro-Magnon slipped past her to lower the bar into place.</p> + +<p>Again came the soft, insistent knock. Tharn stepped close beside the +princess, pointed at the door and then to her lips, at the same time +pressing the point of his knife gently against her side. The meaning was +clear; she must send away, unwarned, whoever was outside.</p> + +<p>"Who is there?" she called.</p> + +<p>"Forgive me for disturbing you, princess," came a muffled reply, "but +the man you warned us of is somewhere near here. Have you seen or heard +anything more of him?"</p> + +<p>Alurna paused for a second, weighing her chances. But the cave-man's +cold gaze conquered the temptation.</p> + +<p>"No," she said, "I have seen nothing more of him. Go now, that I may +sleep."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn heard the man outside move away. Satisfied that he had gained a +brief respite from discovery, he returned to the window.</p> + +<p>He pinched out the flaming wick in the dish of fat standing on a wooden +bracket nearby, to prevent someone in the grounds below seeing him at +the window. In the moonlight he could see several groups of warriors +about the grounds—patrols, posted to prevent him from leaving the +building. But Tharn had no intention of leaving until Dylara was free to +go with him.</p> + +<p>From the floor above, and not far to his left, there jutted out a tiny +balcony, its slender stone columns topped with a balustrade of the same +material. As Tharn's eyes lingered there, an idea popped suddenly into +his mind.</p> + +<p>After placing the bowl of grease on the floor, he tore the bracket from +the wall and wrenched one of its supporting wooden rods away. This done, +he tied one end of his grass rope to the exact center of the thick +cylinder and returned to the window.</p> + +<p>Holding the free end of the rope in one hand, he poised the length of +wood, spear-fashion, aimed carefully, then launched it toward the stone +supports of the balustrade above and to his left.</p> + +<p>Like an arrow it sped up and out, to pass cleanly between two of the +columns. Hauling in the slack, Tharn felt the rod catch lengthwise above +him; and though he tugged with all the strength of his arms, the rope +remained secure.</p> + +<p>Without a backward glance, the cave-man swung into space, at the same +time clambering hand over hand up the swinging strands. As his feet left +the ledge, he heard the door of the girl's room fly open and her voice +ring out.</p> + +<p>The echo of that call had not faded as young Tharn closed a hand on the +balcony's rail, pulled himself over and leaped through the window +beyond.</p> + +<p>The chamber he had entered was dimly lighted by the moon's rays. Its +dense shadows might conceal a score of armed foes; but Tharn had no time +to exercise caution. Three giant strides served to close the gap between +window and doorway. To find the latch required only an instant; and +slowly, lest the door squeak a protest, he swung it back sufficiently to +look out into the corridor. Finding it empty of life, he stepped out, +gently closing the door behind him.</p> + +<p>To his right, a short distance down the hall, were two great doors, both +closed; to his left, a long stretch of gallery with doors on either +side. The sight of these latter held Tharn's attention, for all were +barred <i>from the outside</i>. Behind one of those barred entrances, he +reasoned, might be Dylara.</p> + +<p>Stepping quietly to the first he pressed an ear to the crack. Hearing +nothing, he lifted the bar with infinite care and looked in.</p> + +<p>The room beyond was deserted. He shut the door, replaced the plank and +went on to the next. It, too, was empty.</p> + +<p>Working his way gradually forward, he had covered perhaps half the +hallway and was in the act of lifting another bar from its catches, when +the double doors at the far end of the gallery were thrown open and a +swarm of soldiers came racing through. Before Tharn could attempt to +find cover, he had been seen, and with shouts of satisfaction the men +ran toward him.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Realizing he was greatly outnumbered, the man of the caves turned to +flee; but to his consternation another group of Sepharians appeared at +the corridor's opposite end and, warned by the shouts of their fellows, +had caught sight of the giant intruder.</p> + +<p>Tharn knew he was trapped! To enter one of the cubicles he had been +searching would mean hopeless imprisonment. Once he was within, the +enemy had only to slip the bar into place.</p> + +<p>It appeared his lone chance for freedom was to cut a way through a +living wall of armed men. Once past them, Tharn felt confident they +could not overtake him.</p> + +<p>Like two angry waves, the Sepharians hurled themselves on the lone +Cro-Magnon. But the steel muscles and incredible agility that had +brought their owner through encounters with savage dwellers of jungle +and plain were not to be so easily subdued as Sephar's warriors had +supposed.</p> + +<p>Tharn sprang to meet them, charging full into their midst. Catching the +nearest foeman about the waist, the cave-man swung him bodily from the +floor and hurled him, a screaming projectile of fear, into the faces of +his companions.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus2" id="illus2"></a> +<img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>Tharn swung the nearest warrior bodily into the air</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>Four went down beneath the terrific impact; but before Tharn could +follow up this momentary advantage, a swiftly descending club caught him +a glancing blow behind one ear.</p> + +<p>With a roar of fury the cave-youth wheeled and plunged his knife into +the breast of the club-wielder; then seizing that weapon from the +fingers of the dying man, swung it in a savage arc, splitting the skulls +of three foes and transforming the weighty bludgeon into a handful of +splinters.</p> + +<p>Upon witnessing this superhuman feat, the balance of the Sepharians drew +back in awe. Tharn, ringed about by a full score of enemies, their faces +drawn and tense, stopped suddenly, caught up a stray club and once more +charged.</p> + +<p>For a moment it appeared the thin line of men would give way before that +impetuous attack. The one directly in Tharn's path sought to dodge +aside; but mighty fingers caught him about the neck, squeezed with +irresistible force, and the man dropped, his vertebrae splintered.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Tharn's legs were buckled by the combined thrust of three pairs +of arms. As he fell backward, a club dealt his head a frightful blow; a +great burst of fire seemed to sear his eyes—then blackness came as +consciousness left him.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The sounds of struggling bodies, punctuated with screams of rage and +anguish, awakened Dylara with a start. For a second she was uncertain +from whence the bedlam came; then she leaped from the bed and ran to the +closed door.</p> + +<p>From the noise that reached her, she judged some wild beast had been +trapped in the corridor outside; surely no human throat could have +formed the fearsome snarls and growls coming to her ears.</p> + +<p>Soon she caught the sound of a blow, heavier than the others, followed +by deep silence, broken only by labored breathing of many men.</p> + +<p>What could it have meant? Had a slave—perhaps one of her own +race—attempted an escape? Or had some great animal invaded this lair of +man while searching for food?</p> + +<p>The thought never came to her that it might have been Tharn surprised +outside her door. So positive was she that the cave-man had died beneath +arrow and club, that she did not dream she had been on the verge of +rescue.</p> + +<p>It was from her door that Tharn had been lifting the bar when attacked.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>Katon</h3> + + +<p>A painful sensation in one shoulder brought full consciousness to Tharn, +and opening his eyes he stared blankly up into the face of a Sepharian +warrior. Noticing Tharn was awake, the man lowered the spear point with +which he had been prodding the captive.</p> + +<p>"So—you are alive, after all!" exclaimed the Sepharian. "You have a +hard head, my savage friend; I thought they had beaten it in for you, +last night."</p> + +<p>The speaker's thin sharp face reminded the cave-man of Toa, the hawk. +Tharn's lips curled with open contempt.</p> + +<p>"The arms of your men are weak," he said mockingly. "It took many of +them to overcome me."</p> + +<p>An angry red came into the man's cheeks. "They meant to take you alive," +he snapped. "Try to escape and you will find a quick death." He turned +on his heel and strode away.</p> + +<p>Tharn sat up and glanced about. It was evident he was in some +subterranean spot; the air was cool and slightly damp, and there was +that musty odor found only beneath the earth's surface. High up in one +wall he made out an immense grating of some sort outlined against an +early morning sky.</p> + +<p>As the light grew stronger he saw the room to be tremendous. He noticed +now that he was not alone; near the far wall lay a full score of +sleeping men—many of them apparently cave-men like himself.</p> + +<p>The sound of feet to his left attracted Tharn. He saw several men enter +the cell through the room's single door, and place huge platters of meat +on the several long tables near one wall. Noticing the sleeping men were +rousing and taking stools about those tables, Tharn got to his feet +and, ignoring their curious stares, joined them there.</p> + +<p>Lowering his weight onto one of the three-legged stools, Tharn dipped +into one of the great platters a neighbor had pushed toward him. As he +ate, he looked about at the faces of his fellow prisoners.</p> + +<p>They were an ill-assorted lot, most of them Sepharians, the balance men +of his own kind. The former, without exception, seemed to carry +themselves with the swaggering truculence of the true adventurer; the +latter seemed sullen and aloof, like caged animals.</p> + +<p>Among them all, however, was one who stood out in vivid contrast. Seated +almost directly across from Tharn was a tall muscular Sepharian with a +strong face and a pair of the bluest eyes Tharn had ever seen. His +well-proportioned body, tanned almost to blackness, had much of the +regal bearing that graced the cave-man's own.</p> + +<p>Catching Tharn's eye, the stranger smiled suddenly, and unconsciously +Tharn smiled in return. Thus encouraged, the Sepharian leaned forward +and said:</p> + +<p>"How did they happen to catch you?"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Those were the first actually friendly words Tharn had heard since the +night he had left his own caves. For a moment he hesitated to answer, +uncertain of the motive behind the other's interest.</p> + +<p>"I was hunting for someone," he said finally.</p> + +<p>The blue eyes widened a bit. "You mean they found you <i>in</i> Sephar?"</p> + +<p>"If, by Sephar, you mean the strange caves inside the high cliff—yes."</p> + +<p>The Sepharian shook his head in honest tribute. "But why did you come +here? You must have known they would get you sooner or later."</p> + +<p>"They have my mate here," Tharn explained briefly. "I came to get her."</p> + +<p>"And now they have you both!"</p> + +<p>Tharn's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. "They will not keep us," he +said simply.</p> + +<p>The other smiled a little. "I am Katon," he said, after a slight pause. +"Who are you?"</p> + +<p>Tharn told him, and the conversation lapsed for a while.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, a guard had entered the great room and approached Vulcar, the +one who had reminded Tharn of Toa, the hawk. The two men spoke together +for a few moments, then the captain of the guards came up behind Tharn +and dropped a hand roughly on the cave-man's shoulder.</p> + +<p>Tharn, in the midst of strangers, the memory of last night's battle +still fresh in his mind, acted instinctively.</p> + +<p>Bounding from his stool, he whirled on the startled Vulcar. Before the +stupefied captain could lift a hand in defense, he found himself flat on +his back, two knees pinning his shoulders to the floor, while iron +fingers were shutting off his breath.</p> + +<p>The entire body of prisoners and attendants was thrown into confusion. +One of the guards leaped to the side of the cave-man and would have +driven a spear into his back had not Katon vaulted the table and shoved +him sprawling.</p> + +<p>As though by signal, the prisoners threw themselves upon the handful of +guards, and the room became a seething inferno of flailing arms and +threshing legs, the four walls echoing muffled shouts, screams, curses.</p> + +<p>Unmindful of the tumult about him, Katon knelt beside Tharn and the now +weakly struggling Vulcar. Grasping the Cro-Magnon's steel-thewed wrists, +he tugged with all his more than ordinary strength to loosen the awful +grip.</p> + +<p>"Stop it, Tharn!" he panted. "Let go! If he dies they will kill you!"</p> + +<p>Slowly the red mist of anger faded as Katon's words reached the savage +brain; and slowly, almost regretfully, Tharn obeyed.</p> + +<p>As he rose from the floor and stepped back, a large group of guards +broke into the room and joined the fight between attendants and +prisoners. With lusty swings of spear shafts the newcomers beat the +battling captives into a semblance of order against one wall.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>As for Vulcar—he lay where Tharn had left him, tortured lungs sucking +air in great gulps as the livid hue of his face gradually faded. Vulcar +had been very near to death.</p> + +<p>Finally he got shakily to his feet, assisted by two of his men. For a +full minute he could not speak as he swayed there, rubbing at the angry +red welts where Tharn's merciless fingers had closed.</p> + +<p>"Seize that madman!" he croaked at last; "seize and tie him! A few +touches of the whip will teach him how to act!"</p> + +<p>Before the hesitant warriors could act, Katon had stepped into the +breach.</p> + +<p>"Wait, Vulcar," he pleaded. "Do not have him whipped. The man is a +barbarian; he believed you had attacked him, and acted so. Had he +stopped to think, he would not have dared raise a hand against the +mightiest fighter in all Sephar."</p> + +<p>Vulcar was shrewd enough to see that Katon had made it possible for him +to save face before the others without chancing another battle. He +realized the cave-man would resist an attempt to punish him, and such +resistance might inflame the prisoners anew.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are right, Katon," he admitted reluctantly. "But I shall +not be so lenient if it happens again."</p> + +<p>Tharn, listening, shrugged indifferently. The incident was closed as far +as he was concerned, and Vulcar's thinly veiled threat did not impress +him.</p> + +<p>"I was about to tell your wild friend," the captain continued, "that +Urim has sent word he is to be brought before him at once. Perhaps you +had better come along, Katon; you seem to be the only one able to +control him."</p> + +<p>The three men crossed the huge cell, passed through the guarded doorway +and went up a long ramp to the first floor of the palace. There they +turned left and moved along a narrow corridor until stopped by a heavy +door. Vulcar rapped on this with his knife hilt, it opened from the +opposite side and they stepped through.</p> + +<p>What met the cave-man's eyes caused him to catch his breath, so unusual +did it appear to one who had known nothing more elaborate than simple +caves and tangled fastness of jungle and forest.</p> + +<p>Here was a great, high-ceilinged room, well-filled with warriors, +citizens, slaves—even a sprinkling of women—all grouped about a low +wooden frustum, its four sides consisting of steps. On the flattened +apex stood a large chair, complete with arm-rests and towering back. +Here sat the dignified figure of Urim, ruler of Sephar.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>As Tharn and his companions entered, all conversation ceased, every eye +turned toward them, and there was a great craning of necks. Some of +those present had heard details of the cave-man's capture—details that +had lost nothing in the telling. His god-like figure, the rippling +sinews beneath a sun-bronzed skin, the primitive loin-cloth of panther +hide—all drew forth murmurs of admiration.</p> + +<p>As for Tharn—he strode toward the elevated throne with all of Sadu's +majestic fearlessness. His level gray eyes bored into those of the man +above him, and despite himself, Urim stiffened under their challenge.</p> + +<p>When they had halted, Urim spoke, addressing his words to Vulcar.</p> + +<p>"Is this the prowler you captured in the slave quarters?" he asked, +indicating Tharn.</p> + +<p>"It is, O Urim."</p> + +<p>The ruler's eyes shifted to the stiffly erect figure of Katon. "Why have +you brought this man?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"The prisoner has been troublesome," explained Vulcar. "Since Katon +seems able to manage him, I brought him along."</p> + +<p>Urim's face lost some of its good nature. "Well, Katon," he said coldly, +"I have not forgotten you. Do you find the pits more to your taste than +being in charge of the quarry slaves?"</p> + +<p>Katon's face was without expression. "Both places have their good +points, O Urim," he replied evenly.</p> + +<p>Urim scowled. "Let me remind you the Games are not far away. I doubt +that you will find many good points there—unless they be fang points!"</p> + +<p>He turned back to Tharn. "What were you seeking in Sephar, forest-man?"</p> + +<p>"I came here for my mate," Tharn said briefly.</p> + +<p>"Your mate?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. She was taken by your men three suns ago not far from here."</p> + +<p>Urim looked questioningly at Vulcar. "He must mean the girl you brought +in a few days ago. I understood the man with her had been slain."</p> + +<p>"This is the one," admitted Vulcar. "There is an arrow wound—a fresh +one—in his side. When we took the girl, the man with her was struck by +an arrow. But we thought he had died from a blow from one of our clubs; +it seems impossible that he has survived its force."</p> + +<p>For several minutes the ruler of Sephar sat lost in thought, his eyes on +the giant Cro-Magnon. This wild man's fate was in his hands, and his +alone. As a slave the man would make an excellent guard or warrior—that +is, were he tractable, amenable to discipline. Yet something warned him +this man would recognize no authority or law beyond his own. Such a +slave would only stir up unrest, perhaps open rebellion among his +fellows.</p> + +<p>And so Urim made his decision.</p> + +<p>"Confine him to the pits, Vulcar," he commanded in dismissal. "He is to +take part in the Games."</p> + +<p>Vulcar led them out. A few moments later the two prisoners were standing +within the mammoth dungeon, watching silently as the great door swung +shut, hearing the heavy bars fall into place.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Hardly had Tharn left the throne-room when Dylara and Nada entered, +accompanied by two guards.</p> + +<p>An amazing transformation had been made in the appearance of Majok's +daughter. The stained animal skin, that once had afforded an inadequate +covering, was gone—replaced by a sleeveless tunic that fell from throat +to knees. Her luxuriant curls of deep brown were neatly drawn behind her +ears; on her feet were strong sandals of leather.</p> + +<p>She hesitated slightly at sight of many strange faces, the serried ranks +of motionless warriors about Urim's elevated throne, and, finally, the +lordly figure of Urim, himself.</p> + +<p>Regaining confidence, she walked slowly through the press of Sepharians +as they cleared a pathway to the foot of Urim's chair.</p> + +<p>Both women and their escorts halted a few paces short of the steps. +Three heads were humbly lowered; Dylara alone gazed artlessly up at the +monarch.</p> + +<p>Urim hid his smile with a casual hand. Were all cave-people so difficult +to impress? This savage girl was a beauty, though; the other women of +the room certainly suffered by comparison. By the God! If there were not +a hundred suitors at her heels before long he would have missed his +guess. Even old Uglor, that confirmed misogynist, was staring at her, +his heart in his eyes!</p> + +<p>"Is this girl in your care, Nada?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"She is, O Urim."</p> + +<p>"She understands nothing of our customs?"</p> + +<p>"That is true."</p> + +<p>"She will be of no use, then," observed Urim, "until she has learned +them. I think it would be best to keep her apart from the other slaves +until then.</p> + +<p>"You, Nada, shall teach her our ways; you are excused from other duties. +See that she is taught to give service as a hand-maiden—she is far too +beautiful for harder tasks. When she has learned all that you can teach +her, let me know and I shall see to it that she has a kind mistress."</p> + +<p>Nada could not hide her gratitude. It was clear that Urim had taken an +interest in the new slave-girl, and it gladdened the older woman's heart +to know Dylara's lot was to be an easy one.</p> + +<p>Their interview ended, the two women were about to leave when the door +opened to admit Jotan, Tamar and Javan.</p> + +<p>Jotan, slightly in the lead, halted directly in front of Dylara. +Indifferent to all else, he gazed deeply into the startled eyes of the +cave-girl.</p> + +<p>Dylara felt her cheeks grow warm under the unmistakable message in the +man's eyes. She was conscious, in a peculiar detached way, of a strange, +disturbing fascination. Somehow she knew this declaration was coming +from deep within the heart of the square-faced young warrior; that the +love he professed so silently was honest and complete.</p> + +<p>Tamar nudged Javan sharply with an indignant elbow. "Look at him!" he +growled under his breath. "There stands our friend—staring at a +barbarian wench as though she were a nobleman's daughter! We've got to +do something about this, Javan."</p> + +<p>There was a dreamy expression in Javan's eyes. "She <i>is</i> beautiful, at +that," he whispered. "Maybe we—"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>His voice trailed off as one of the escorting guards, impatient at the +delay, took Dylara by one arm and urged her on.</p> + +<p>The movement brought realization of their surroundings to both the man +and the woman. Jotan stepped aside to let them pass, his face +expressionless.</p> + +<p>Dylara and Nada walked slowly along the corridor between the two guards. +The girl seemed subdued, deep in thought. Nada, watching her covertly, +said:</p> + +<p>"He loves you, Dylara."</p> + +<p>The cave-girl nodded. "I know.... Who is he, Nada? I'm certain he's +never seen me before. Do men fall in love so quickly?"</p> + +<p>Her companion smiled. "They have been known to," she observed drily. "He +is Jotan, the son of a nobleman of Ammad. He has been in Sephar only a +day or two."</p> + +<p>"I like him," Dylara said. "You must tell me more about him."</p> + +<p>Nada glanced sharply at the girl. "I know only what is told by palace +slaves and guards. Such tales are not always true."</p> + +<p>The guards stopped before the door of the room where Dylara had spent +the night before. Nada said, "This is where we are to stay until Urim is +ready to give you to some woman of the court."</p> + +<p>As the door closed behind them, she added: "They will bring us food, +shortly. While we eat, I shall tell you all I can about Sephar and +Ammad ... and Jotan."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>Woman Against Woman</h3> + + +<p>As the door closed behind Tharn and Katon, the former noticed that, but +for themselves, the great cell was empty of life.</p> + +<p>"Where are the others?" he asked, as they sat down on a pile of skins +near one wall.</p> + +<p>"In the arena, I suppose," Katon replied. "We must have exercise in the +open air almost daily if we are to be in condition to put up a good +fight during the Games."</p> + +<p>"Just what are these 'Games,' Katon? From what I could make out, both of +us are to take part in them."</p> + +<p>"Shortly before each rainy season," Katon said, "sacrificial Games are +held in honor of the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud. These Games +consist of battles between men, and between men and beasts. At times +animals alone fight, and hundreds die.</p> + +<p>"Each succeeding day the victors of the day before are pitted against +one another, until, on the last day, only one is left alive. That one, +whether man or beast, is acclaimed as favorite of the God and is set +free. Always, however, that one is an animal; never in Game history has +a man survived. And that, my friend, is what we face."</p> + +<p>Tharn shrugged, unimpressed. "Perhaps not. We may escape before then."</p> + +<p>Katon shook his head. "No, Tharn. Always we are either locked in here or +remain under the watchful eyes of many warriors during exercise periods +in the arena.</p> + +<p>"No, there is no escape—unless you can overcome every life-loving +fighting man and half-starved beast of the Games."</p> + +<p>He looked up in time to catch the slight smile on Tharn's lips. No +shadow of fear, no hint of concern clouded the cave-man's calm gray +eyes. Limitless self-confidence, backed by superhuman strength and +nerves of granite, had rendered impotent the ominous note in Katon's +words.</p> + +<p>The Sepharian felt a bit exasperated. What was the use of warning this +headstrong wild-man of danger if danger meant nothing to him?</p> + +<p>"Don't you understand?" he exclaimed. "The chance of either of us +surviving the Games is so small that we may as well forget it."</p> + +<p>Tharn's smile widened. "We are not dead yet. Much can happen before the +Games begin. The rainy season is almost a moon away."</p> + +<p>Katon gave it up. One could not make the blind see, nor the deaf hear. +This barbarian would lose his smile when they put him in the arena with +a hungry lion!</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn, seeking to change the subject, said, "I saw that this man, Urim, +hates you, Katon. Is it because of him that you are here?"</p> + +<p>There was a wry twist to Katon's lips. "Urim and I were once great +friends. I came to Sephar from Huxla, a city of Ammad, where my father +is ruler. Upon arriving here, I entered Urim's service as a common +warrior. During a hunting trip, I saved him from being mauled by a +wounded lion. In gratitude he put me in charge of Sephar's quarries—a +position much sought after by Sepharian nobles.</p> + +<p>"And then I met a girl—the daughter of a nobleman. She was very +beautiful; and before long we were in love."</p> + +<p>Katon seemed to have forgotten Tharn's presence. His speech was slow, +his words toneless and deliberate. The cave-man was quick to sense the +other's mental suffering as he recounted a painful chapter of his life.</p> + +<p>"As it turned out," Katon continued, "Urim, himself, desired this girl +and was planning to make her Sephar's queen. When he learned that she +loved me, his anger was very great, and one night I was taken from my +bed and put here."</p> + +<p>His voice took on a deeper note. "The next morning they called to take +the girl to Urim. They found her on the floor of her room, dead, a knife +driven into her heart. She had taken her own life."</p> + +<p>The two men talked on, while the time slipped by. Finally their +conversation turned to religion as accepted by the Sepharians. Tharn +found his friend's explanation difficult to understand; a creed that +allowed a single god both to threaten and defend his worshippers was far +beyond his simple direct way of thinking.</p> + +<p>One part of Katon's remarks on religion did interest him, however. This +concerned the friction between Urim and Pryak, high priest in Sephar of +the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud. Of this, Katon offered the +following:</p> + +<p>"Pryak is as cruel and tyrannical as Urim is kind and just. Many rites +and ceremonies introduced by the high priest have so angered the king +that he has banned their practice—a move widening the rift between the +two men.</p> + +<p>"Twice, I am told, they have quarreled openly; but Urim's warriors and +followers so outnumber those of Pryak, that the priest dares not +persist. By doing so he might plunge the entire city into civil war; for +much of Sephar would flock to Pryak's side, since he is the true +representative of our god.</p> + +<p>"Each passing day, however, brings the tension nearer a breaking point. +Pryak is crafty and wise and very proud. Some day he will seek to +overthrow Urim and put a more friendly ruler in his place. Even Pryak, +himself, may take the throne. It would not be the first time in our +history a high priest became king!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The entrance of the balance of the prisoners ended their conversation at +this point. After the noon meal was eaten the men lay down on their beds +to rest.</p> + +<p>Tharn found sleep hard to find. Flat on his back he lay, eyes fixed +unseeingly on the grill-work far above him, while his mind reviewed the +remarkable adventures that had befallen him since he had set out on a +mission of vengeance.</p> + +<p>How long ago it seemed, now, since he had taken up the trail of those +who had attacked his people! And now he was a prisoner of a race whose +very existence had been undreamed of a few suns ago. A captive, too, was +the girl who had been so abruptly thrust into his life, bringing with +her the beauty and pangs of love.</p> + +<p>Dylara! Where was she now? Did she believe him dead, a victim of arrow +and club? Had she given up all hope of ever seeing again her father and +the caves of Majok, to accept tamely the life of a slave?</p> + +<p>In spite of having known her only for a short time, he doubted this. +There was too much of the haughty pride of a born princess in her to +submit tamely to such a fate. Given the chance she would brave the +perils of jungle and plain in an effort to locate her own tribe.</p> + +<p>As he lay there, motionless, watching sunlight streaming through the +opening overhead, the resolve grew strong within him to win Dylara's +freedom, and his, from this strange place and its stranger inhabitants. +They had him now—but it would take more than a few doors and walls to +keep him.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When the door had closed behind Dylara and Nada, Jotan turned to his two +companions. He found them staring at him reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"And now," Tamer said bitingly, "now that half of Sephar knows you are +in love with a slave-girl, perhaps we can pay our respects to Urim, whom +we have kept waiting."</p> + +<p>Jotan was suddenly conscious of the curious eyes of men and women. +Beyond the crowd of Sepharians was Urim on his elevated chair, peering +over the heads between him and the three men near the door.</p> + +<p>Jotan chuckled a little. "For her I would keep many kings waiting," he +said in a low voice. "But you are right, of course. Come."</p> + +<p>The three men moved through the crowd. Jotan's arrogant bearing and +handsome face drew forth almost as many whispered comments as had the +appearance of Tharn earlier that morning.</p> + +<p>At sight of the three visitors, Urim's florid countenance lighted up +with pleasure; and half-rising, he called to them.</p> + +<p>"You are welcome, noble guests from Ammad!" he cried. "I had hoped you +would come here, this morning. Come closer; there are many here who have +asked to meet you."</p> + +<p>When they had reached the frustum's base, Urim descended and, in turn, +presented various members of his retinue. Introductions were +acknowledged, and there was much small talk.</p> + +<p>Jotan's interest in the somewhat lengthy ceremony was purely mechanical. +His thoughts were with the cave-princess he had met at the door; in +fact, he had thought of little else since he had first seen her on the +day before. His determination to ask Urim for her had been strengthened +by the chance meeting, and he resolved to wait no longer; as soon as +these introductions were finished, he would make known to Urim his +wishes.</p> + +<p>As he stood there, head and shoulders above the throng about him, a pair +of flashing gray-green eyes watched him intently, eyes that had burned +angrily as they observed the meeting between him and the cave-girl. They +were the eyes of the princess Alurna, who, with her hand-maiden, Anela, +had come into the room by another entrance at the very moment Jotan had +barred Dylara's path. Unobserved, she had witnessed the entire incident, +and her hatred for the lovely captive was intensified a hundred-fold +thereby.</p> + +<p>Alurna had slept but little during the night before. After Tharn had +vanished through her window, she had gone back to bed—but not to sleep. +She could not banish thoughts of Jotan; she could not close out the +memory of those flint-like blue eyes that could soften so wonderfully +when their owner smiled.</p> + +<p>And so, near morning, she had finally admitted to herself that she loved +this broad-shouldered visitor from a distant land. Her admission brought +with it no peace of mind; for, she told herself furiously, it would +have been bad enough to love anyone; but to feel so toward a man who +had eyes only for another—and a savage, at that!—was more than she +could bear. Utterly miserable, she bit her lips to force back her tears +and glowered resentfully at the unsuspecting Jotan.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Introductions completed, Urim returned to his chair and his duties. The +others broke up into little groups; some attending closely the details +of various petitions and demands of Sephar's citizens; others conversing +among themselves and paying no heed to what went on about them.</p> + +<p>Tamar, Javan and Jotan formed one of these latter groups, having +withdrawn to some distance from the throne itself, at Jotan's whispered +request.</p> + +<p>Alurna saw the three men move apart from the rest.</p> + +<p>"Quick, Anela," she murmured, grasping the girl's arm, "get close enough +to those three to hear what they say. Don't let them suspect you are +listening. Go!"</p> + +<p>Anela nodded, and slipped away through the crowd....</p> + +<p>"What now?" asked Tamar, eyeing Jotan's set face narrowly.</p> + +<p>Jotan was watching the gradually thinning knot of Sepharians at the foot +of the throne. He said:</p> + +<p>"When Urim has finished there, I shall make my request of him. Until +then we may as well wait here."</p> + +<p>Tamar scowled; then suddenly he smiled. "Listen, Jotan," he said +rapidly, "let it go for a few days. After all, you want to be sure of a +thing like this. Then, if you still want her—why—take her. It won't be +necessary to go about telling everyone she is to be your mate. Javan and +I can arrange to get her for you without it being known you are +interested. Then, after you've had her for a while, if you still feel +the same way, let it be known she is your mate. I've an idea, though, +that it will never get that far. You'll learn that—"</p> + +<p>Tamar saw the gleam in Jotan's eye, gulped, and was silent.</p> + +<p>For a long moment Jotan stared at his friend, his expression one of +mixed pity and scorn. Then, with cool deliberateness, he turned and +started toward the throne.</p> + +<p>"Wait, Jotan!" Tamar stepped in front of him. "I was wrong. I shouldn't +have said that. I see how it is, now, and I'll help you all I can. But +at least do this: Wait until you can speak to Urim alone. Tonight, after +the evening meal, draw Urim to one side and make your request—not while +all Sephar is watching you."</p> + +<p>Tamar's distress was so genuine that Jotan stopped. After all, it meant +the difference of only a few hours; if such a concession would appease +his friend it would be a small price to pay.</p> + +<p>"Very well, Tamar," he agreed. "I will wait until then."</p> + +<p>None of the three noticed a figure detach itself from the fringe of the +crowd nearest them and hurry away.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When the eavesdropping slave girl reached Alurna's side, the princess +drew her into a deserted corridor outside the room.</p> + +<p>"What were they saying, Anela?" she asked impatiently.</p> + +<p>"The handsome one spoke of asking your father for someone—a woman. One +of the others sought to change his mind, but he would not listen."</p> + +<p>Such a soul-searing flame of hate went through Alurna that her heart +seemed to wither in its heat. At sight of her mistress' expression Anela +shrank away in terror.</p> + +<p>"Did he say when he intends asking for this woman?"</p> + +<p>Anela swallowed. "Tonight," she faltered, "—after the evening meal."</p> + +<p>For a moment Alurna stood there in thought. Then, dismissing the girl +with a gesture, she turned and strode rapidly along the corridor, away +from the audience hall.</p> + +<p>Her head pounded with jumbled thoughts. Over and over she told herself +that Jotan should never have the golden-skinned cave-girl. There were +ways to prevent it; no slave could have the man Alurna wanted!</p> + +<p>The princess went directly to her own apartment. Closing and bolting her +door, she sank wearily onto the wide bed. With an arm across her eyes, +she lay down, thinking bitter thoughts and shaping many plans to prevent +Jotan from having the girl he desired. Each plan, however, was discarded +in turn as being either too difficult to accomplish or too liable to +failure.</p> + +<p>How? How? How? Ask her father to refuse Jotan's request? No; that would +bring to light facts she preferred kept hidden. Have her killed? Too +dangerous. If Urim ever discovered who was responsible she would pay a +terrible price.</p> + +<p>And then out of nowhere came her answer. Alurna rolled over and sat up +as the idea took shape in her mind.</p> + +<p>"Anela!" she called.</p> + +<p>Immediately someone tried the door, and finding it locked, rapped +timidly.</p> + +<p>Alurna rose and admitted the still apprehensive girl.</p> + +<p>"Listen to me closely, Anela," commanded the princess, closing the door. +"Do you know Meltor?"</p> + +<p>Anela was surprised. "Why—yes. He is one of the guards stationed at the +palace entrance."</p> + +<p>"Tell him," the princess said crisply, "to come here at once."</p> + +<p>The slave-girl started to say something, reconsidered, and went out. A +few minutes later she was back, followed by a tall slender young man, +whose dark expressionless face bore a long livid scar across one cheek.</p> + +<p>"Leave us, Anela," Alurna said softly ... "Sit down, Meltor."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The man lowered himself stiffly on the edge of a stool and looked at +Urim's daughter with steady eyes. His face might as well have been +masked, so completely was it lacking in expression.</p> + +<p>"Meltor," said the princess, "I have kept a secret of yours for many +moons—a secret that, were I to divulge it to a certain nobleman, would +cost you your life. Am I right?"</p> + +<p>A shadow of uneasiness crossed the warrior's face.</p> + +<p>"Did the daughter of Urim," he said dryly, "summon me here that I might +be reminded of something best forgotten?"</p> + +<p>Alurna smiled. It was not a nice smile. "The nobleman, too, would like +to forget. But he cannot—until his daughter is avenged."</p> + +<p>Meltor said nothing.</p> + +<p>"It is not a secret to remember," Alurna said smoothly. "I want very +much to forget it. And if you will help me, Meltor, I promise never +again to remind you of it."</p> + +<p>"What is it you want me to do?"</p> + +<p>The princess bent forward. "Deep within the jungle beyond the Gate of +the Setting Sun, is an old abandoned house of stone. It was there Rydob, +the hermit, lived for uncounted years. Do you know the place?"</p> + +<p>The young warrior nodded. "Yes, I know where it is. Nobody goes there +since Rydob's bones were found on his own door-step."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Alurna said contemptuously. "They fear Rydob more after his death +than when he lived. I hope you are different, Meltor."</p> + +<p>The man flushed. "I am not afraid, daughter of Urim."</p> + +<p>"Good! I knew I could count on you. Now listen to me carefully; there +must be no mistakes."</p> + +<p>For half an hour the princess spoke steadily. The guard listened +attentively, interrupting now and then to ask questions; twice he +offered suggestions.</p> + +<p>When Alurna had finished, Meltor remained silent for a few minutes, +mentally reviewing the plan's details. The girl watched him with +narrowed eyes.</p> + +<p>"I shall need help," he said at last. "I have no right to enter the +slave quarters."</p> + +<p>Alurna nodded. "I shall leave that up to you. You are known to the +guards there; find one you can trust and enlist his aid. Promise him +much, but tell him no more than is necessary."</p> + +<p>Meltor got to his feet. His face had resumed its habitual lack of +expression.</p> + +<p>"Your orders shall be carried out, daughter of Urim," he said flatly. "I +will report to you, here, when I have finished."</p> + +<p>The door closed behind him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>Abduction</h3> + + +<p>The humid heat of early afternoon hung in shimmering waves over Sephar's +walls and buildings of stone. Except for an occasional perspiring +warrior or slave, hurrying on some urgent mission, the broad avenues +were quite deserted.</p> + +<p>In a palace wing containing the female slave quarters, Dylara and Nada +were together. The daughter of Majok lay stretched at full length on her +bed, hands locked beneath her head, drowsily watching a patch of +sunlight near the ceiling. Nada nodded sleepily on a low stool near the +bed.</p> + +<p>Dylara yawned audibly to break the silence. She rolled over and touched +the older woman on one arm.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to sleep, Nada," she protested. "Let's talk awhile. You +promised to tell me about him—Jotan, I mean. I keep thinking about +him—how he acted, staring at me the way he did."</p> + +<p>Nada smiled, and patted the hand on her arm. She had been thinking of +her only son—of him whom she had last seen as a little boy. She had +wanted to overcome a strange reluctance to question Dylara about him; +what he had been like, if he was big like his father ... little things +that meant much to a mother.</p> + +<p>"I will do the best I can," she said. "What I say will be only what is +repeated among the slaves and guards.</p> + +<p>"Jotan's home is in Ammad—about which I have already told you. His +father is a nobleman there—one of the most powerful and influential men +in that country. Jotan is well liked by all who know him; they say his +followers would die in his service and count themselves honored."</p> + +<p>"I think I can understand that," said Dylara dreamily. "There is +something about him that takes hold of you—awakens your imagination. +Many girls must care a great deal for him."</p> + +<p>Nada glanced sharply at her, and was on the point of making some +comment, when there came a sudden brief rap at the closed door.</p> + +<p>"I wonder who that can be," she said, frowning. Rising, she crossed to +the door and drew it open.</p> + +<p>A guard in a grayish-white tunic stood at the threshold. Behind him, +half-concealed by the shadows of the hall, was a second man.</p> + +<p>"Urim," said the guard gruffly, "wishes the slave-girl Dylara brought to +him at once."</p> + +<p>For some reason this unexpected summons alarmed Nada. "I do not +understand. What does he want of her?"</p> + +<p>"I forgot to ask him!" retorted the guard sarcastically. He beckoned to +Dylara. "Come; I have no time to waste."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The cave-girl approached uneasily, affected more by Nada's concern than +the prospect of being brought before Urim.</p> + +<p>The guard stepped aside to let her pass, then turned to leave.</p> + +<p>"Wait!" Nada cried. "I am going with you."</p> + +<p>The man scowled. "I was not told to bring you," he snapped. "You stay +here." He went out, slamming the door.</p> + +<p>Dylara, a man at either side, was led down the long corridor and through +the double doorway. There they paused while the two men held a brief +conversation in whispers too low for the girl to make out their words.</p> + +<p>And then the second man approached and took hold of her arm. "You are to +come with me," he said. "I am to take you to Urim."</p> + +<p>Dylara's skin crawled under the contact. She jerked away. "I do not need +to be held."</p> + +<p>The dim light hid the man's angry face. "Slaves do as they are told," he +reminded her coldly. "Do not forget that."</p> + +<p>Grasping her arm roughly, he strode along the hall, the girl beside him. +Shortly afterward they descended the great staircase to the main floor +of the palace.</p> + +<p>They met no one on the way, the intense heat having sent the palace +inhabitants to their beds to rest until early evening.</p> + +<p>To Dylara's mingled surprise and alarm, her escort moved straight to the +great doorway leading to the palace grounds. Four guards lounging +outside the entrance watched them pass, nodding briefly to the man with +her.</p> + +<p>They turned into one of the wide streets that led to the city's outer +wall.</p> + +<p>Dylara fought down a wave of panic. "Where are you taking me?"</p> + +<p>The man was quick to sense her fear. He tightened his hold on her arm.</p> + +<p>"To Urim," he replied briefly.</p> + +<p>"Where is he?"</p> + +<p>The Sepharian turned his head and frowned at her. For the first time +Dylara noticed the long white scar across his cheek.</p> + +<p>"You ask too many questions," he said roughly. "Now keep them to +yourself."</p> + +<p>A cold hand seemed to close about the girl's heart. She knew, now, that +Urim had not sent for her; that she was being led into some horrible +danger. Worst of all, there seemed no way to prevent this man from doing +as he pleased. The street was deserted; and even should someone appear, +an appeal for help would probably be useless.</p> + +<p>Soon they reached one of the huge gateways in the wall about Sephar. The +warrior drew Dylara to a halt as two guards sauntered in their +direction.</p> + +<p>"Well, Meltor," said one, a tall, languid man of middle age, "what are +you doing out in this heat? And with a girl, too; up to your old tricks, +I suppose."</p> + +<p>Meltor smiled without humor. "This is something else. If I may speak +with you privately...."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Dylara, under the watchful eye of the second guard, watched them step +away a few paces and engage in a whispered colloquy. Meltor did most of +the talking, speaking earnestly and at length. The other nodded from +time to time, appearing properly impressed. Once or twice he glanced +with interest at the girl.</p> + +<p>Meltor had evidently gained his point. He approached Dylara, now, a +triumphant curl at the corners of his mouth.</p> + +<p>"We must hurry," was all he said. Together the man and the girl passed +through the twin gates.</p> + +<p>Beyond the open ground Dylara could see the grim forest rising dark and +forbidding against the sky. And yet she wondered if it was more to be +feared than the city of stone behind them. Danger lurked in the +jungle—ah, yes; but it was danger both direct and elemental—not hidden +beneath hypocrisy and artifice.</p> + +<p>Why had she been taken from Sephar? She was certain this man was not +acting in his own behalf; someone else was behind it all—someone who +did not want others to know. It could not be Urim. Urim was chief; he +need not hide his activities from anybody. Yet who else could it be?</p> + +<p>Suddenly a great light burst upon her. Jotan! He was responsible—it +could be no other! Because she belonged to Urim he had been forced to +have her stolen from the palace and taken to some out-of-the-way spot +that he might be with her. This was the answer—the only answer!</p> + +<p>Belief became certainty; and with it came indecision. A strange mixture +of dread and exultation came over her. Her heart beat faster at thought +of meeting the man who had aroused within her an emotion as yet +unfathomable. But matters were being brought to a head much too quickly +to suit her—she needed more time.</p> + +<p>Unconsciously she slowed her steps, pulling back at the grip on her arm. +They were already within the jungle, hidden from Sephar by a bend of the +trail underfoot.</p> + +<p>Meltor, satisfied that the girl would accompany him peaceably, had +relaxed his hold.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Dylara twisted free, and before the surprised warrior could +interfere, she whirled about and dashed away in the opposite direction.</p> + +<p>Meltor wheeled and took up the chase, crying out hoarsely for her to +stop. But the rage in his voice only spurred on the girl to greater +effort.</p> + +<p>Along the trail they raced, a few yards apart, their sandaled feet +kicking up little puffs of dust and powdered vegetation. The +nimble-footed girl was gradually increasing her lead, seeking to gain +the bend in the trail with enough time for concealment before Meltor +could catch sight of her again.</p> + +<p>And then, without warning, something caught at her ankle, plunging her +headlong to the ground with terrific force. Half-stunned, she made a +weak effort to regain her feet, when a strong hand grasped her roughly +by an arm and jerked her upright.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The rage-distorted face of Meltor swam hazily before her. She blinked +rapidly in an effort to dispel the fog.</p> + +<p>"You little fool!" The words seemed to come to her from across a great +distance. "Try that again, and I'll—"</p> + +<p>There sounded a sharp ringing "crack," and Dylara staggered back, her +left cheek flaming from the force of an open-handed blow.</p> + +<p>The slap transformed the girl from a dazed, bewildered child into an +infuriated tigress; and for the next few moments Meltor had all he could +do to keep from being badly mauled.</p> + +<p>Exhausted, she finally sank to her knees and burst into a storm of +tears. Meltor stood by, more or less winded himself, fingering a long +scratch alongside his nose, waiting for the girl to regain composure.</p> + +<p>At last he pulled her to her feet, and urged her along the path into the +west. Dylara, her once spotless tunic grimy and torn, accompanied him +docilely now, too weary to resist. She knew by this time that Jotan had +nothing to do with her abduction; no hireling of his would dare handle +her so roughly.</p> + +<p>An hour later they entered a small clearing, deep in the heart of the +jungle. In the center of the open ground stood a rambling, one-storied +building of gray stone, weather-beaten and unkempt, its unprotected +windows staring vacantly like the dull lifeless eyes of a corpse. +Despite the flame-tipped rays of the mid-afternoon sun which flooded the +clearing, Dylara shivered, conscious of the miasmatic atmosphere of the +place.</p> + +<p>Nor was Meltor entirely unaffected by the eerie aspect of dead Rydob's +former residence. Details of stories he had heard about the old hermit +came to him now, and he caught himself glancing nervously about.</p> + +<p>A short series of stone steps led to the half open door. A profusion of +vines and creepers had sprung up unchecked, partially covering the +stairway. Meltor cautiously kicked the vegetation away, aware it might +be the hiding place of little Sleeza, the snake—Sleeza, whose bite +meant a lingering, painful death.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the man jumped back, voicing a yell of terror, and almost +upsetting Dylara. His prodding foot had torn away a curtain of foliage, +disclosing the bleached skeleton of a man, stretched out on one of the +steps. The skull had rolled a few paces away, and lay there grinning +malevolently up at them.</p> + +<p>Dylara shuddered, shrank back. She had seen the bones of man before; but +under present conditions and surroundings the gleaming skeleton seemed a +horrible prophecy of her own fate.</p> + +<p>"Who could it have been?" she asked in an awed whisper.</p> + +<p>Meltor forced a grin. He had managed to regain control of his shattered +nerves.</p> + +<p>"Old Rydob, the hermit," he replied. "And no prettier in death than he +was in life. Some say he was the brother of Pryak, the high priest."</p> + +<p>Taking Dylara by the elbow, he urged her past the pile of bones and over +the threshold.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>They came into a huge, high-ceilinged room, well-lighted by the sun. +From its appearance the girl judged that Rydob had spent most of his +time here; the ruins of a bed stood in one corner, while a large table +in the center of the room held a jumbled collection of stone dishes and +bowls. Several tunics, rotten with mildew, hung across one of the three +chairs about the table.</p> + +<p>And over everything was a thick layer of dust and cobwebs and the +droppings of countless rodents.</p> + +<p>Meltor kicked over two of the stools to clear them of dust, replaced +them, then cleared the table top in the same way.</p> + +<p>"Sit there," he said, pointing to one of the stools.</p> + +<p>Dylara obeyed without a word, watching the man seat himself across the +table from her.</p> + +<p>There followed a period of silence. Thus far, Meltor had carried out his +plan to the letter. But now, faced with the unpleasant part of his task, +he was beginning to feel decidedly qualmish.</p> + +<p>How truly beautiful she was! Not the empty loveliness of perfect +features alone; there was personality and fire and a keen, alert mind +mirrored in those grave brown eyes and the sweet curve of sensitive +lips.</p> + +<p>And then he thought of Alurna and the secret she held, and the memory +put an abrupt end to growing misgivings.</p> + +<p>Dylara, who was trying to fathom what lay behind the man's cold +expressionless face, broke the silence.</p> + +<p>"Why have you brought me here?"</p> + +<p>Meltor hesitated. Why not tell her? Perhaps the knowledge would drive +her into making a second attempt to escape. And then....</p> + +<p>"I suppose there is no reason why you should not be told," he said +slowly. "It will make no difference—now.</p> + +<p>"You have made an enemy in Sephar. How it happened, I do not know—nor +does it matter. It is enough that you are in the way—and must die."</p> + +<p>The calm emotionless statement brought no sense of shock to Dylara. She +had known what was coming—known it as surely as though he had said the +words an hour ago. In a curiously detached way she was conscious of the +brilliant sunlight streaming through the windows; of the strident voices +of many birds in the nearby jungle; of the slow-moving wind among many +leaves....</p> + +<p>"I do not want to kill you," Meltor continued. "You are too young to +die. I would like to let you go—to leave you in the forest to go back +to the caves you call home."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, his hand dropped below the table's edge, fumbled there, +then reappeared, a long knife of stone in his fingers.</p> + +<p>"But I dare not do that," he went on, in the same flat monotone. "You +might turn up again in Sephar and ruin everything. I cannot risk it."</p> + +<p>Was he, Dylara wondered, trying to goad her into some act of resistance, +that he might escape the stigma of cold-blooded murder? Fascinated, +unable to look away, she watched him lift the keen-edged blade.</p> + +<p>Suddenly he rose and lunged across the table toward her. Dylara knew the +moment had come.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>Torture</h3> + + +<p>Jotan pushed back his plate and sighed wearily.</p> + +<p>"I can't eat in this heat," he complained. "Besides, I have no +appetite."</p> + +<p>"It <i>is</i> hot," Javan agreed through a full mouth; "but then it's always +hot at this time of day."</p> + +<p>Tamar helped himself to another serving from the pot on the table. "It's +not the heat alone that's taken his appetite, Javan," he observed +disagreeably. "Our friend is so eager for evening to come that he can +think of nothing else. It is then, you know, that he will become the +laughing-stock of all Sephar by asking Urim for a cave-girl to take as +his mate."</p> + +<p>An hour before, the three visitors from Ammad had left the palace +audience hall and returned to their quarters. After bathing and getting +into fresh tunics, they had sat down to food brought from the palace +kitchens.</p> + +<p>Rising, Jotan crossed the room, sank down on a pile of sleeping furs and +pulled off his sandals. Then he lay down, covered his eyes with one arm +and was soon asleep.</p> + +<p>Presently Tamar and Javan finished eating. The latter at once sought his +own couch; but Tamar remained at the table, deep in thought.</p> + +<p>Two hours went by, and still Tamar remained there, head bowed in his +hands. The slaves had long since cleared the table and departed, leaving +the three men to themselves.</p> + +<p>Abruptly the seated man raised his head, his expression that of one to +whom a momentous idea has come. For a long moment he remained thus, then +got silently to his feet and tip-toed to the door, let himself out and, +despite the withering heat, started briskly toward the palace.</p> + +<p>The four guards stationed at the entrance stiffened to attention as he +approached. Tamar halted a few yards away and beckoned to one of them.</p> + +<p>"Do you know me?" Tamar asked haughtily.</p> + +<p>"Of course!" replied the young warrior humbly. "There is none in all +Sephar who does not know Tamar of Ammad."</p> + +<p>"Good. Take me at once to the quarters of the female slaves."</p> + +<p>The eagerness in the young man's face was replaced by doubt.</p> + +<p>"I am not permit—" he began hesitantly.</p> + +<p>Tamar cut him short with a gesture. "Do as I say," he snapped. "The +responsibility will be mine."</p> + +<p>The warrior bowed. "Follow me."</p> + +<p>They entered the great hall and ascended to the third floor. Outside the +twin doors leading to the slave quarters they were stopped by two guards +on duty there.</p> + +<p>Tamar's guide addressed one of them. "Rokor," he said, "this is the +noble Tamar of Ammad. At his command I have brought him here."</p> + +<p>Rokor bowed deeply. "It is an honor to meet Urim's guest. How may I +serve you?"</p> + +<p>"By taking me to see one of the slave-girls here—the cave-girl, +Dylara."</p> + +<p>Something akin to a leer crept into Rokor's expression. "Oh, yes; I know +the one you mean. If you will come with me...."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tamar dismissed the first guard and followed Rokor through the twin +doors and down the corridor. Halting before one of the numerous doors, +Rokor unbarred and opened it, then stepped aside that Tamar might enter.</p> + +<p>A tall slender woman of early middle-age rose from a bed in one corner. +But for her tunic of a slave, the visitor would have taken her for the +mate of some Sepharian noble.</p> + +<p>At his appearance, the eager expectant air she had at first assumed, +faded, replaced by one of questioning doubt.</p> + +<p>Tamar turned to Rokor. "She is not the one," he said testily. "This is +not Dylara."</p> + +<p>The guard scratched his head, baffled. "She should be here. This is her +room. Urim told Nada, here, to teach her our customs."</p> + +<p>Nada came forward and placed a hand on Tamar's arm.</p> + +<p>"Do you seek Dylara?" she asked tensely.</p> + +<p>Tamar nodded. "Do you know where she is?"</p> + +<p>The woman looked meaningly at the staring guard. "If I may speak with +you alone...."</p> + +<p>Tamar sent the man out, and closed the door.</p> + +<p>"Well ..." he prompted.</p> + +<p>Nada looked at him searchingly. Since Dylara had been taken from the +room over three hours ago her concern for the girl's safety had steadily +grown. She was convinced Urim had not sent for Dylara, but realized she +was powerless to act in her aid.</p> + +<p>Why Tamar had come here puzzled her; but he might be of assistance in +clearing up the mystery surrounding Dylara's absence.</p> + +<p>"What do you want of Dylara, noble Tamar?" she asked.</p> + +<p>Tamar showed his surprise. "You know me, then?"</p> + +<p>Nada smiled. "There is not a slave in the palace who does not know of +you and your two friends."</p> + +<p>Tamar hesitated. Something told him he would lose nothing in being frank +with this woman. And there was something amiss here; Dylara's absence +and this woman's concern made that evident.</p> + +<p>"I can think of no reason why you should not know," he said. "You see, +my friend Jotan has the mad idea he is in love with this Dylara. I have +tried to make him see that one in his position cannot mate with a +barbarian; but he will not listen. He means to ask Urim for her tonight. +I came here to talk to the girl—to make her understand she could never +be happy as the mate of a man so far above her. If she promises to have +nothing to do with my friend, I will promise to arrange for her freedom, +to return her to her own people."</p> + +<p>It took an effort for Nada to repress a smile. "Does anyone else," she +asked, "want to keep Jotan from having her?"</p> + +<p>"Not that I know of," Tamar said, puzzled by the question. "Why do you +ask?"</p> + +<p>"Because one of the guards took Dylara from here shortly before you +came. He said Urim wanted her, but I think he lied."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tamar stiffened. Was this some of Jotan's work? Had his friend suspected +one of his companions might seek to interfere, and to thwart them, had +the girl removed to another place?</p> + +<p>He would go back and confront Jotan with this evidence. To think the man +did not trust his own friends!</p> + +<p>But what if Jotan had had nothing to do with taking the girl? Would it +be better to remain silent, so that when he did learn she was missing it +would be too late to discover what had become of her?</p> + +<p>And then, cutting through the fog of selfishness and snobbery like rays +of the sun through mist, came a new trend of thought, far more worthy of +the real Tamar.</p> + +<p>Jotan was his friend! They had fought side by side against a common foe; +they had hunted together, traveled vast distances together, sought +adventure together, gone hungry and cold—together. Ever since boyhood +they had been companions—closer than brothers. And now he, Tamar, was +on the verge of disloyalty to his own best friend!</p> + +<p>His eyes blazing, he caught the astonished Nada by an arm.</p> + +<p>"<i>Who</i> took her?" he demanded hoarsely. "Where is he, now?"</p> + +<p>"It—it was Fordak," Nada stammered, staring wide-eyed at the man's taut +face, "—Fordak and another whose face I could not see."</p> + +<p>Tamar let go of her arm, threw open the door and went out. He found +Rokor leaning against the opposite wall, waiting.</p> + +<p>The man from Ammad masked his emotions by resuming an air of +indifference.</p> + +<p>"Come, Rokor," he said easily, "I am ready to go. The girl I came to see +has been taken to another part of the palace. I have decided not to see +her, after all."</p> + +<p>As the two men walked along the corridor, Tamar said, "By the way, +Rokor, do you know a guard called Fordak?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," Rokor said. "He stands watch at the entrance to the slave +quarters. I, myself, relieved him shortly before you came up."</p> + +<p>"Do you know where he can be found at this time of day?"</p> + +<p>"Probably in his room, sleeping."</p> + +<p>"Will you take me there? I have something for him."</p> + +<p>In his eagerness to please the noble visitor from Ammad, Rokor quite +forgot to be curious.</p> + +<p>"Gladly," he said. "Come this way."</p> + +<p>Tamar was led to the second floor of the palace, and along a corridor +to the wing housing the warriors of Urim. Rokor stopped before a narrow +opening and pounded heavily on a closed door.</p> + +<p>"Fordak!" he bellowed; "open up here! You have a visitor."</p> + +<p>They heard someone moving about inside, and a second later the door +swung back.</p> + +<p>A thick-shouldered man, inclined to fatness about the middle, stood +there, his coarse black hair tousled, eyes heavy with sleep.</p> + +<p>"Who wants me?" he grunted.</p> + +<p>"This is Tamar of Ammad," Rokor explained. "He has something for you."</p> + +<p>Tamar interrupted. "You may leave me here, Rokor. I can find my way out +when I have finished with Fordak."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When the guard had gone, Tamar turned to the man Nada had named. He +found the fellow eyeing him respectfully.</p> + +<p>"Fordak," said the man from Ammad, "I have need of a fearless warrior to +do something for me. One who can do as instructed and, at the same time, +keep his mouth shut. You were recommended as such. Will you help me?"</p> + +<p>Fordak rubbed one side of his bull neck with a calloused palm. "What do +you want me to do?" he asked warily.</p> + +<p>"I cannot tell you, here," Tamar said. "Come with me to my quarters and +I will explain. You will be well rewarded for your work."</p> + +<p>The guard's wide face lighted up. "Then I'm your man," he rumbled. "Lead +the way."</p> + +<p>A few minutes later, Tamar, with Fordak in tow, opened the door of the +building set aside for him and his companions.</p> + +<p>Jotan and Javan were still sleeping. Tamar closed the door and dropped +the bar into place.</p> + +<p>"Sit down," he told Fordak, pointing to a stool. He crossed the room and +prodded the sleeping pair into wakefulness.</p> + +<p>"Jotan and Javan," he said, when the two had risen, "this is Fordak, one +of Sephar's finest warriors. Fordak is going to help us in a little +matter, aren't you, Fordak?"</p> + +<p>The guard nodded, his broad cheeks creased with a wide smile at being +treated so familiarly by a nobleman.</p> + +<p>Jotan was staring at his friend in frank bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"What are you getting at, Tamar?" he asked. "Why have you brought this +man here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Tamar went on, ignoring the questions. "Fordak is going to do a +great deal for us. To begin with—" he dropped a hand lightly on the +man's shoulder "—he is going to tell us <i>what he did with the +slave-girl, Dylara</i>!"</p> + +<p>As Tamar spoke the last few words his fingers bit fiercely into the bare +flesh beneath his hand.</p> + +<p>The speed with which Fordak lost his smile was almost laughable. He +bellowed out something unintelligible and started to rise; but Jotan, +his face suddenly white beneath its tan, crossed the room with a single +bound and slammed him back on the stool.</p> + +<p>Tamar flipped a knife from its sheath and pressed the point lightly +against Fordak's spine. "Sit still, you!" he said frostily.</p> + +<p>Jotan's face was haggard. "Has anything happened to Dylara?" he asked +thickly. "In the name of the God, Tamar, tell me quickly."</p> + +<p>"Just this," Tamar said. "While you and Javan were asleep I went to the +palace to ... on a personal matter. While there, I learned that Dylara +had been taken from the slave quarters by this man on the pretext of +taking her to Urim. Another man helped him; who, I don't know. Knowing +you would be interested in learning what had happened to her, I brought +our friend, here, along to answer your questions."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Jotan thanked him with a glance. Then he turned to the seated Fordak.</p> + +<p>"All right," he ground out savagely, "what have you done with her?"</p> + +<p>Fordak looked at him sullenly. "I don't know what you're talking about," +he mumbled. "You have no right to keep me here."</p> + +<p>Jotan, his face convulsed with anger, grabbed the man by the front of +his tunic with one hand and shook him savagely. Fordak, struggling to +twist loose, aimed a wild blow at his tormentor, and received in return +a mighty smash full on the nose that knocked him to the floor, half +conscious, blood pouring from his nostrils.</p> + +<p>"Get up!" snarled Jotan. He kicked the dazed warrior brutally in the +side. "Either that tongue of yours starts to wag or it comes out—by the +roots!"</p> + +<p>He reached down, caught a handful of Fordak's rumpled hair and pulled +him to his feet. The guard stood there, swaying, and would have fallen +had not Jotan shoved him back on the stool.</p> + +<p>"Where is she?"</p> + +<p>Fordak wiped his nose with the back of one hand and stared woodenly at +the crimson stains left there. He knew he must tell; he could not bear +further punishment.</p> + +<p>And then he remembered what Meltor had said. The princess Alurna had +wanted the girl disposed of; to tell what he knew would bring down the +wrath of Urim's daughter upon him. He shivered at the thought; for he +did not want to die.</p> + +<p>"Where is she?"</p> + +<p>Fordak moved his head in silent negation. "I don't know."</p> + +<p>Jotan clenched his fist to strike again. Tamar caught his arm.</p> + +<p>"Wait," he said. "Let me talk to him." He pushed back Fordak's head. "We +know you're mixed up in this, Fordak. You and another guard took the +girl from her room. Tell us where she is and you shall go free—as soon +as we find you have told us the truth."</p> + +<p>"I don't know," said the man stolidly.</p> + +<p>Jotan swore impatiently. "I'm through wasting time," he said. "Dylara +may be in danger. I'll get the truth from him."</p> + +<p>He motioned to Javan. "Get me a fire bowl."</p> + +<p>When his friend had handed him a bowl of fat, he lighted its wick with a +glowing coal from an earthen jar and came back to Fordak. The seated man +watched him, apprehension in his eyes.</p> + +<p>The flame wavered in the faint breeze from the windows. It suddenly had +become very quiet in the room.</p> + +<p>Jotan drew the flint knife from his belt and began to run the blade back +and forth through the candle's flame.</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do?" Tamar asked.</p> + +<p>The lips of his friend were pressed into a straight line. "He's going to +talk. Be ready to listen."</p> + +<p>Another minute passed. Jotan continued to move the knife blade to and +fro in the heart of the fire. Fordak could not tear his eyes from the +objects in the man's hands. Great beads of perspiration stood out on his +forehead.</p> + +<p>"Tie his arms and legs," Jotan said.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Those words seemed to release Fordak's paralyzed muscles. Voicing a wild +cry he bounded from the stool and was nearly to the door before Tamar +and Javan brought him down. He continued to struggle frantically while +they bound lengths of rawhide about his arms and legs. When he was +securely tied they dragged him back to the stool.</p> + +<p>Jotan said, "Take off one of his sandals."</p> + +<p>Fordak yelled in terror and jerked back, almost falling from the stool.</p> + +<p>"Stuff something in his mouth before he has half the city here."</p> + +<p>Gagged and bound, Fordak was helpless to do more than gurgle and sweat +as Javan knelt and bared one of his feet.</p> + +<p>"Now," Jotan said grimly, "we'll see what effect this will have in +getting information."</p> + +<p>With a quick movement he placed the white-hot length of flint firmly +against the delicate skin of the instep and held it there.</p> + +<p>An eerie, muffled scream pushed past the gag in Fordak's mouth. So +intense was the note of animal pain that the three men felt their flesh +crawl with the sound.</p> + +<p>Abruptly the bound guard stiffened, his eyes swam in their sockets, and +he fell back in a faint.</p> + +<p>Jotan rose and tossed the knife aside. "Get some water," he said. "One +treatment like that should be enough."</p> + +<p>They removed the gag from the unconscious man's mouth and doused water +in his face. After a moment he groaned weakly and opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Where is Dylara?" Jotan asked, for the third time.</p> + +<p>Words came spilling out. "I—I'll tell you. Don't burn me again. I can't +stand it. I'll talk. We took her—Meltor and I. Meltor made me help him +take her. He said Alurna told him to do it."</p> + +<p>"Alurna?" Jotan was astonished. "What had she to do with it?"</p> + +<p>"She wanted it done. Meltor said she ordered him to take the girl to the +house of Rydob outside Sephar. He was to take her there and kill her, +then hide the body so no one would know what had happened to her."</p> + +<p>Jotan paled. "Where is this house of Rydob?"</p> + +<p>Fordak gave directions. When he had finished, Jotan said: "Tamar, get +three or four of our men and meet Javan and me at the Gate of the +Setting Sun. Hurry!"</p> + +<p>Tamar went out.</p> + +<p>"Get our weapons together, Javan," Jotan ordered. "We'll meet the others +at the gate."</p> + +<p>Javan was slow to comprehend. "Where are we going?"</p> + +<p>"Into the jungle," said Jotan evenly. "To the house of Rydob!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Alurna had slept well during the mid-day heat. When she awakened, her +first thought was of Meltor and his errand. Lying there, the room +darkened against the blazing sun, she allowed herself to think of Jotan, +smiling when she realized he was free, now, to fall in love with her. No +longer was there a barbarian slave-girl to blind him to the beauty and +charm of Urim's daughter.</p> + +<p>After a while she sat up, stretched her soft muscles with all the sleek +satisfaction of a jungle cat, and summoned Anela.</p> + +<p>The slave-girl was aiding her in effecting a leisurely toilet a little +later, when a brief rap sounded at the door.</p> + +<p>"That must be Meltor," Alurna said contentedly. "Let him in, Anela."</p> + +<p>But when the door was opened, it was another man who stood there, his +tunic torn and stained, his broad plump face lined with suffering.</p> + +<p>"It's Fordak!" cried Anela.</p> + +<p>The man staggered to a stool and dropped onto it, exhausted.</p> + +<p>"I came as soon as I could, princess," he babbled. "I came to tell you +so you would not punish me. They forced me to tell; they burned me until +I told them. I would have come sooner, but the ropes were tight."</p> + +<p>Alurna shut him off with a gesture. "What are you trying to tell me?" +she demanded. "<i>Who</i> made you tell <i>what</i>?"</p> + +<p>"The men from Ammad." Fordak was beginning to gain control over his +shaken nerves. "Jotan and Tamar and Javan. They tortured me until I told +them where Meltor had taken the slave-girl."</p> + +<p>Rapidly he related all that had taken place in the visitors' apartment. +Being no fool, he exaggerated the amount of suffering he had endured; +thus might the heart of Alurna be touched with pity.</p> + +<p>When Fordak was done, Alurna went to the window and stood there, her +back to the others, staring into the grounds below. What was she to do? +Jotan was already on his way to the house of Rydob. If Meltor had wasted +no time, Jotan could not possibly arrive soon enough to save Dylara from +death.</p> + +<p>But would Meltor do his work promptly? There was a cruel streak in the +man—the same characteristic that made a leopard toy with a victim for +hours before putting an end to its misery. And that girl had been very +beautiful....</p> + +<p>She turned. "You may go, Fordak."</p> + +<p>The man was worried. "I could not keep from telling, princess. They +burned—"</p> + +<p>"Get out!"</p> + +<p>Fordak got unhappily to his feet and limped from the room.</p> + +<p>"Quick, Anela!" said the princess. "Get to Vulcar at once. I want five +of his most trusted men to meet me at the Gate of the Setting Sun. +Should he ask questions, tell him I will explain later. Go!"</p> + +<p>"Where are you going, princess?" the slave-girl asked as she started for +the door.</p> + +<p>"Into the jungle," was the calm reply. "To the house of Rydob!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Seven men stood in a group at the mouth of a trail. Behind them lay a +tract of matted jungle, over them towered the branches of forest kings, +and directly before them was a small clearing containing a rambling, +one-storied building of gray stone, weather-stained and unkempt.</p> + +<p>"That must be the place, Jotan," said one of the men. "It answers the +description you gave us."</p> + +<p>Jotan nodded. "They must still be in there. Otherwise we should have met +this Meltor on his way back. If only we have arrived in time.</p> + +<p>"We must spread out, then come up to the house from all sides. Two of +you go with Tamar and circle around to the east. Keep within the +jungle's fringe that you may not be seen from the house. The rest of us +will close in from this side. You have five minutes to reach your +places. Go."</p> + +<p>The minutes dragged by. None of the four appeared to feel an urge to +talk. A heavy silence had fallen on the jungle about them. Even the hum +of insects, the voices of the gaily-colored birds, the chattering +monkeys, were stilled. The same strange tenseness that precedes a +tropical storm, an atmosphere of impending conflict, seemed to hang over +them.</p> + +<p>Jotan straightened. "They've had time enough. Come on."</p> + +<p>The four men stepped into the clearing, spread fan-wise, and headed for +the building, moving at a half-trot.</p> + +<p>The door was closed. In absolute silence they stepped over the heap of +bones that once had been Rydob, mounted the steps and halted there.</p> + +<p>Carefully Jotan closed his fingers about the latch. The heavy planks +swung inward enough to satisfy him that there was no bar in place.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Jotan drew back and drove his shoulder against the wood with +all his weight behind it. The door flew open and the four men came +piling into the room, knives of stone held in readiness.</p> + +<p>That mad rush came to an abrupt halt, and what the men saw brought a +chorus of astonished exclamations from their lips.</p> + +<p>Flat on his back in the center of the room, partially hidden behind an +overturned table, lay Meltor of Sephar. From his left breast stood the +hilt of a stone knife, its blade buried deep. He was quite dead.</p> + +<p>The girl was gone.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>The Hairy Men</h3> + + +<p>For several moons now, Urb, the Neanderthal, and his tribe had found it +increasingly difficult to locate game in the neighborhood of the family +caves. The reason could be any one of several: a nearby water-hole dried +up until the rainy season came again; a family of lions holed up close +by; an absence of adequate pasturage.</p> + +<p>Urb sat crouched near the foot of a lofty escarpment that contained the +tribal caves. His deep-sunk button eyes, beneath beetling brows, +indifferently watched the young ones of the tribe playing about the +clearing between jungle and cliff. Below a flattened, shapeless wedge of +nose, his thick pendulous lips worked in and out in worried and +laborious thought. As leader of his tribe, Urb was concerned about the +lack of game.</p> + +<p>It had been comparatively cool here in the shadows of the scarp during +most of the morning; but with noon growing near, the sun's direct rays +began to penetrate the thick growth of black coarse hair with which +Urb's gross body was almost entirely covered.</p> + +<p>And so he rose at last and, like the great bull ape he so closely +resembled, clambered awkwardly but quickly to one of the caves.</p> + +<p>Just inside the entrance he squatted his two hundred and fifty pounds on +a boulder and fell to watching Gorb, his eldest son, put final touches +to a flint spear head. After heating the bit of rock in a small fire for +several minutes, Gorb would withdraw it, hastily touch a spot near the +edge with a drop of water which caused a tiny bit of the flint to scale +away, then repeat the entire process. It was a long and tedious task; +but Gorb had that untiring patience given to those for whom time has no +meaning. Eventually, his perseverance would reward him with a fine +weapon.</p> + +<p>Urb was secretly proud of his son. Even as a boy, Gorb had shown no +interest in hunting or in war. Beneath his sharply receding forehead was +the brain and soul of a true artist—a soul that found its expression by +the creation of implements of the chase and of battle. No other member +of Urb's tribe could even approach the artistry Gorb put into his work; +no other could fashion a spear so true in balance; none could produce a +flint knife so keen-edged and well-formed.</p> + +<p>The half-finished spear head reminded Urb of his own immediate problem.</p> + +<p>"Gorb," he said, "only two kills have our men made in the past five +suns, although all have gone forth each day to hunt. It is not because +Narjok or Bana or Muta run away before we can kill them. We cannot find +them at all; only twice in those five suns have we come upon the spoor +of any one of them."</p> + +<p>Gorb paused at his work and drew a hairy forearm across his sweaty face. +"Last night," he said, "long after Dyta had found his lair, I heard Sadu +roaring and growling among the trees. It was the noise of a hungry Sadu; +he, too, was angry because there is no meat."</p> + +<p>Urb grunted. Since the day before, he had been turning an idea over in +his slow-moving mind, and now he sought to put it into words.</p> + +<p>"Tomorrow," he said, "when Dyta first awakens, some of us will look for +caves far from here. I will go; Boz and Kor and Tolb and you, Gorb, will +go with me. There are many hills; there will be many caves in them, and +much meat in grasslands nearby. When we find a good place we will come +back for the others of our tribe."</p> + +<p>"Good!" approved Gorb, turning back to his labors. "It has been many +suns since I have eaten all the meat I can hold. I will go with you, +Urb."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Early the next morning a little band of Neanderthal men descended the +escarpment and set out toward the rising sun. They were six; besides +those named by Urb, Mog, the sullen, had been taken. All were armed with +huge flint-studded hardwood clubs, so heavy that only an arm of great +strength might wield one; rude knives of flint and short-shafted spears +completed their armament.</p> + +<p>They moved along with the curious shuffling gait peculiar to their kind +alone. Their passage seemed to diffuse an atmosphere of terror and +dread, striking dumb the countless denizens of the teeming jungle. Urb +was in the lead, his small black eyes darting about for the first sign +of danger, ears and nose alert lest Sadu or Jalok or Tarlok find him and +his fellows unprepared. But if any of the more formidable beasts were +near, they remained concealed. Only Pandor, the elephant, neglected to +give the Hairy Men a wide berth when several were together—Pandor, who +feared no creature that walked or flew or wriggled.</p> + +<p>The shaggy-coated males moved steadily ahead, their objective a group of +low mountains far to the east, the upper portions of which were clearly +discernible on the few occasions the band crossed a clearing of any +consequence.</p> + +<p>At noon they halted on the reed-covered banks of a shallow river; and +while Urb and Tolb hunted game, the others rested beneath the broad +boughs of a jungle patriarch.</p> + +<p>Soon the two hunters returned, bearing between them the still warm +carcass of Muta, the wild boar. Each of the six hacked off a juicy +portion and devoured it raw, blood matting the hair of face and chest.</p> + +<p>After drinking at the river's brink, the brute-men stretched out beneath +the trees, covered their faces with huge fronds of a palm tree and slept +until mid-afternoon. Urb roused them, then, and once more the savage +band took up their march.</p> + +<p>Darkness was near when the six passed through a fringe of jungle and +paused at the foot of a lofty cliff. Urb, deciding too little daylight +remained for them to attempt scaling the vertical slope, ordered the +Neanderthals back into the forest.</p> + +<p>Here they supped on flesh of the boar killed earlier in the day, then +sought couches among the tree branches. During daylight it was all very +well to sleep in comfort on the jungle floor; but during the night it +was safer aloft. The great cats usually laid up during the day, +digesting the previous night's kill; but once Uda, the moon, made an +appearance, the forest abounded with hungry carnivora.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>With the first rays of the morning sun the six men began the perilous +climb. Slow-moving and awkward, they made hard going of the ascent, but +their tremendous strength aided them where lesser muscles would have +failed altogether, and finally the crest was reached.</p> + +<p>Here they stood at the edge of a great tableland, clothed with primeval +forest from which, in the distance, loomed four low mountain peaks. +Game seemed plentiful; as they watched, a herd of antelope grazing to +their left caught their scent and bounded away across a narrow ribbon of +grassland which lay between the forest and the plateau's edge. A band of +monkeys chattered and scolded at them from the safety of middle +terraces, while a cloud of raucous-voiced birds rose with a whirring +beat of wings and flew deeper inland.</p> + +<p>Not far to their right was the entrance to a narrow deep-worn game trail +leading into tangled mazes of brush, creeper, vine and trees. It was +toward this trail that Urb turned his footsteps, motioning for his +companions to follow.</p> + +<p>"Here is food enough," he exulted. "If we can find caves in those hills, +we will go back to fetch the rest of our people."</p> + +<p>In silence the six frightful, man-like creatures faded into the black +shadows of the overhanging forest, their goal the towering heights at +the far end of this plateau.</p> + +<p>And directly between them and their objective lay Sephar, mysterious +city of an unknown race.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Dylara lay face down on a broad branch, her head pillowed on a heap of +moss, biting her lips to keep back tears of bitter anguish. The swollen +ankle throbbed steadily, its pain almost unbearable.</p> + +<p>And she had been so close to freedom! From her place high in the tree +she could see the stone walls of Rydob's dwelling, evil and grim in the +sun. Behind those walls lay the dead body of Meltor, slain by his own +knife.</p> + +<p>She felt no regret for having killed him. It had been his life—or hers. +When he had lunged across the table in an attempt to stab her, she, +acting by instinct rather than thought, had thrust her weight against +the table. Meltor, off balance, went over backwards, his head striking +hard against the floor. Before he could regain his wits Dylara had torn +the knife from his hand. He cried out once in mortal fear as the blade +swung high, flung up a futile hand to ward off the blow, and died as +polished flint pierced his heart.</p> + +<p>No—she felt no regret for having killed him. What she did regret was +the mad impulse that had sent her running blindly into the open air. So +anxious had she been to flee that horrible place that she had no eyes +for what lay in her path. As a result, one heel had trod full on the +whitened skull of Rydob the hermit. Dylara's ankle had twisted beneath +her, pitching her headlong into a tangle of vines at the base of the +steps.</p> + +<p>She was up at once; but the injured ankle buckled under her weight and +she had fallen again, crying out in agony.</p> + +<p>For a little while she had remained there, stroking the injured member, +already swollen and turning blue. Finally she got to her hands and knees +and, with many pauses, crawled toward the trees ringing the clearing.</p> + +<p>How she managed to clamber into the branches of one giant tree and work +her way a full fifty feet above the ground, Dylara was never to know. So +awful was the pain that her mind seemed numbed; only an unflagging +determination drove her on. She stopped at last, on a thick bough and +lay there, completely exhausted.</p> + +<p>It was comparatively cool there in the shelter of the foliage. Soft +jungle breezes stirred the branch gently and she was soon asleep. A bird +twittered and cooed close by, and the wind blew lightly across the +troubled face, smoothing its tired lines....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>And as the weary, pain-wracked girl lay sleeping, four heavily armed men +stepped into the clearing and moved stealthily toward the house of +Rydob. They entered; and after a few minutes, reappeared at the doorway, +to be joined by three other warriors who had come up to the building +from the rear.</p> + +<p>"It seems hardly possible," Jotan was saying, "for a mere girl to kill a +grown warrior. For all we know, another man may have slain Meltor and +made off with Dylara."</p> + +<p>"It's my guess," said Tamar, "that the girl caught Meltor off guard and +stuck a knife in him. She's not like the women we know, Jotan. Hers has +been a wild, primitive life, filled with danger. Because of it, she +would be far more resourceful than Sepharian women have need of being. +Taking a life probably means nothing to her.</p> + +<p>"No," he concluded, "I've an idea she's well on her way back to her +caves by now."</p> + +<p>Javan, impatiently listening to the conversation, touched Jotan's arm +nervously.</p> + +<p>"There is no point in staying here," he complained. "It will be dark +soon, and the jungle is no place to be after sundown."</p> + +<p>Jotan smiled wanly and clapped him on the shoulder. "Of course. I have +no right to expose you and Tamar to danger on my account.</p> + +<p>"We will return to Sephar now. But tomorrow I shall return here with a +warrior who is versed in tracking. With his help I should be able to +learn what has happened to Dylara."</p> + +<p>"We will go with you," Tamar said quietly. And Javan nodded agreement.</p> + +<p>The seven entered the game trail and started back toward distant Sephar. +Jotan led the way, his wide shoulders drooping disconsolately. It was +clear the loss of the lovely cave-girl had hurt him deeply.</p> + +<p>The return journey was about half completed when Jotan stopped suddenly +and raised a cautioning hand.</p> + +<p>"Listen!" he exclaimed softly.</p> + +<p>The seven cocked their ears alertly.</p> + +<p>Faintly, mingled with the everyday noises of the jungle, came sounds of +murmuring voices and the tramp of feet from around a bend in the trail +ahead.</p> + +<p>"Probably warriors from Sephar, hunting game," Tamar said. "Let's join +them; they may have news for us."</p> + +<p>Jotan frowned. "Hunters don't go blundering about so carelessly," he +reminded. "Hide in the undergrowth until we can make sure."</p> + +<p>A moment later, six human figures appeared in the path. Five were +fighting-men of Sephar—all well armed. The sixth was a girl in a +close-fitting tunic that emphasized the lithe softly-curved body it +covered. Her face was set in determined lines as she moved on, looking +neither to the right nor the left.</p> + +<p>Tamar, lying next to Jotan behind a screen of vines, nudged his friend.</p> + +<p>"Alurna!" he breathed. "What can she be doing here?"</p> + +<p>"Looks as though Fordak was telling the truth," Jotan whispered. "She +<i>is</i> mixed up in this. He must have got free and gone to her with the +story.</p> + +<p>"Well, let her go to Rydob's house. She'll find little there to please +her!"</p> + +<p>As soon as the princess and her escorts were out of sight, Jotan called +his men from their hiding places and they took up their interrupted +progress toward Sephar.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>From Jungle Depths</h3> + + +<p>Urb, the Neanderthal, was beginning to tire. He and his five hairy +companions had been on the march since Dyta had risen, and even now the +sun was hunting a new lair for the night. From the frequency with which +those behind him were stumbling, he judged they, too, were tiring.</p> + +<p>But the mountains were close, now. He and his men were almost certain to +reach them before darkness came. There they might find caves near +grasslands rich in game. Urb's mouth watered and he was aware of being +very hungry.</p> + +<p>A faint breeze, blowing lightly against their backs, changed its course +suddenly and came whipping in from the west. As it flicked across their +faces the six Hairy Ones came to an abrupt halt, standing stiffly as +though turned to stone.</p> + +<p>Urb sniffed in short rapid inhalations, his unkempt visage twisted in a +ferocious scowl.</p> + +<p>"Men!" he grunted. "The hairless ones! It has been long since we have +found such. Hide!"</p> + +<p>With a degree of soundlessness surprising in such clumsy bodies, the six +Neanderthals faded into the mazes of undergrowth at either side of the +path.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Hardly were they hidden, when Alurna and her five companions came into +sight. They were moving slowly, the girl limping slightly from a bruised +heel, her sandals scuffed and dusty.</p> + +<p>The girl stopped and turned to the others. "Is it much farther, Adbor? I +don't think I can take another step."</p> + +<p>"Courage, my princess," smiled Adbor, a tall, slender man with a great +shock of blond hair. "A short distance more and we shall be there."</p> + +<p>Alurna sank down on a fallen log, removed her sandal and rubbed the +bruised heel.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid you'll have to carry me from here on," she sighed. "My feet +ache terribly."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Silently the foliage parted an arm's length from the girl's half-bent +figure, and in the gap were framed the brutal faces of Urb and Mog, the +sullen. Urb gave the female only a passing glance; his attention was +riveted on the five unsuspecting men. The woman was not armed—the men +were; and it was the males who must die before they could bring their +weapons into use.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the stunted mind of Mog, the sullen, was laboriously +following an altogether different trend of thought from that of his +leader. His unblinking pig-like eyes were intent on the sweetly curved +back directly in front of him, and he was increasingly aware of what an +altogether desirable bit of femininity this hairless she actually was. +His tongue moistened suddenly dry lips and he shifted his weight +uneasily from one foot to the other.</p> + +<p>Urb waited no longer. Slowly he brought up his left hand, caught a small +branch between his fingers, then suddenly clenched his fist.</p> + +<p>The wood snapped with a sharp clear sound, freezing the five Sepharian +guards into instant immobility.</p> + +<p>But not for long.</p> + +<p>As the sound of breaking wood rose on the still air, six grotesque +figures rose in a rough semi-circle about the group in the trail, and +simultaneously five mighty stone-incrusted bludgeons were hurled with +unbelievable force and accuracy.</p> + +<p>The startled Sepharians never succeeded in bringing their own weapons +into play. Before they could fully comprehend their danger all five were +stretched on the jungle path. Three were dead as they fell, heads +crushed like brittle twigs; another died almost as quickly, his back +snapped as a dry branch is snapped beneath the broad feet of Pandor, the +elephant.</p> + +<p>Only one still lived, a club having dealt him a glancing blow aside the +head, laying his flesh open in a great gash and rendering him senseless. +Gorb was more adept at making clubs than he was in their use....</p> + +<p>Five clubs were thrown; there should have been six. Only Mog, the +sullen, retained his hold on his murderous weapon. As his fellows loosed +their cudgels, Mog sprang forward, caught the paralyzed girl about the +waist with one immense hairy arm, and before the others could fathom his +intentions, had turned and fled back along the pathway as quickly as his +short bowed legs could carry him.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus3" id="illus3"></a> +<img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>Mog snatched Alurna into his arms and made off through the forest</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<p>The remaining five watched Mog's hurried flight until he had passed from +sight. His purpose in stealing the she was clear; their surprise came +only from his way of taking her—and the fact that seldom did a Hairy +Man mate with a member of another race. But then Mog was a surly brute, +unable to find among his own people a mate willing to endure his temper +and moods.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The Neanderthal men gathered about the bodies of the five guards. Gorb, +true to character, took up several of the scattered weapons and examined +them closely, noting with envy that they had been fashioned with far +greater skill than he possessed. He puzzled long over the bows and +arrows, but his limited intelligence could make nothing of them and he +finally cast them aside.</p> + +<p>At last the five took up their march toward the distant mountains. They +moved more cautiously now than before, realizing they might meet more of +the hairless men.</p> + +<p>Urb, still in the lead, noticed, a while later, that the forest was +beginning to thin out. Soon he caught a glimpse of a plain marking the +edge of the woods. He paused, nose searching the humid breeze.</p> + +<p>They edged forward at a brief guttural command from their leader, until +they came to open ground.</p> + +<p>Before them, beyond level grassland, rose the gray stone walls of +Sephar, looming huge and impressive in the light of early evening. White +tuniced warriors lolled before broad gates leading to many stone +buildings beyond.</p> + +<p>Urb shook his head regretfully. "We must look elsewhere for caves," he +said. "To make our homes near here would mean much fighting with the +hairless ones. It is better to go where we may live in peace. Come."</p> + +<p>With bowed shoulders and awkward shuffling gait the five frightful men +turned back for the long journey to the distant caves of their people.</p> + +<p>Soon they were filing silently past the five motionless bodies in the +center of the trail. And through narrowed, blood-filled eyes, through a +red film of hate and pain, Adbor, Sepharian warrior, watched them go, +and planned a sanguinary revenge as payment for the death of his four +friends and the theft of the princess Alurna, daughter of his king.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Two hours later, just as the night's first shadows fell across the path, +a searching party found his unconscious body face down in the rotting +vegetation of the trail. Tenderly they lifted him up, cradling the +blond, blood-soaked thatch in their arms, and bore him back to the city. +There, men trained and schooled in the treatment of wounds, did all they +could to revive the numbed brain of a courageous warrior.</p> + +<p>They were only partially successful. With closed eyes Adbor gasped out, +in a few broken sentences, his story of death and abduction. Something +of his former strength seemed to come back to him as he spoke. Raising +on one elbow, his eyes now wide and staring beyond those about him, he +cried out, shrill and loud:</p> + +<p>"Give me my spear—my bow! I will follow them! I will—"</p> + +<p>His voice broke and he fell back limply. Adbor was dead.</p> + +<p>Above that still form men looked at one another in silence and in +horror. The Hairy men! Creatures so seldom seen as to be almost +mythical, but whose savage and brutal natures were known from horror +tales told at many a dinner table and about many a camp fire.</p> + +<p>Vulcar was the first to speak. "I must take word to Urim. For the last +two hours he has been storming about the palace demanding he be told +where Alurna is. Now, I don't know what he will say—or do...."</p> + +<p>He shrugged. "Make preparations to send out a searching party the first +thing in the morning. I will lead it."</p> + +<p>Slowly the hawk-faced warrior set out for the palace with the message +that must wither the stalwart heart of him for whom Vulcar cared above +all others.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Alurna had been conscious of a bobbing, rocking sensation for some time +before she opened her eyes to the world about her. For a moment she +watched the procession of thick greenery at right angles to the +direction in which she seemed to be moving; then sudden recollection +flooded her mind and she awoke to the horror of her position.</p> + +<p>It was then that she became aware of the hairy back beneath her and a +great calloused hand clamped about her wrists.</p> + +<p>Instinctively she attempted to struggle free; but the nightmarish brute +only tightened his grip and without pausing in his loping gait turned a +snarling, bestial countenance toward her. At the sight, Alurna felt her +senses reel and she closed her eyes with a shudder of loathing.</p> + +<p>Mog, satisfied his captive would remain passive, transferred his +attention to the path underfoot. The hairy one was beginning to regret +the decision that had cost him the companionship of his fellows. To +cross, safely, the miles of jungle and forest between his present +position and the caves of his tribe, would require all his strength and +cunning.</p> + +<p>Alone, armed only with club and spear, he could prove fairly easy prey +to any one of many enemies. Jalok, the panther, agile and fearless and +wantonly cruel; Conta, the cave bear, who fought on his hind legs; +Tarlok, the leopard, beneath whose spotted hide lay such strength that +by comparison Mog's stalwart thews were as nothing. And then there was +Sleeza, the giant snake, whose slimy coils held the strength of ten +Mogs.</p> + +<p>Most fearsome of all, however, was Sadu, the lion, tawny of coat and +shaggy of mane, whose absolute fearlessness, speed of attack and +irascible temper, backed by steel sinews and mighty fangs, caused the +balance of jungle folk to give him a wide berth.</p> + +<p>Above and about the lumbering monstrosity and its still, white burden, +scampered, flew, slunk and crawled the superabundant life of this green +world, their voices and movements adding to the vast ocean of sound +rising and falling about the ill-assorted pair.</p> + +<p>While far behind them came Urb and the others; but the distance between +was growing rapidly greater so swiftly was Mog covering the ground.</p> + +<p>And then, with almost frightening suddenness, Dyta, the sun, +disappeared from the heavens and darkness fell upon the jungle. The +Neanderthal mouthed a few disapproving grunts, peered about nervously, +then swung sharply to his left and forced his way through foliage to the +base of a great tree.</p> + +<p>Alurna clung fearfully to the shaggy neck as the great brute pulled +himself into the lower branches. With the coming of night her fear was +intensified a thousandfold; but even more than she feared Mog was her +dread of the brooding jungle and its savage inhabitants. She reproached +herself silently for venturing from the security of Sephar's walls. +Woman-like, she blamed Jotan for everything—had he not fallen in love +with the cave-girl nothing like this would have happened.</p> + +<p>Mog paused upon a broad bough well above the ground. Placing Alurna in a +sitting position here, her back against the tree's bole, he tore free a +length of stout vine and bound her wrists securely behind her back.</p> + +<p>Satisfied his prize would be helpless to escape, Mog let himself down on +a branch directly under her and sought a comfortable position in which +to sleep out the night.</p> + +<p>Alurna, hemmed in by a wall of blackness which her untrained eyes were +unable to penetrate, could hear the Hairy One as he settled himself. She +knew there would be no sleep for her this night; she was far too +frightened to think of closing her eyes for an instant.</p> + +<p>Seconds later she was sound asleep; and though the balance of the night +was made hideous with the savage voices of jungle denizens, the +exhausted princess did not stir.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A rough hand shook her awake. She shrank away with a whimper of fear at +sight of Mog's forbidding face a few inches from her own. The +Neanderthal freed her wrists by breaking their bonds with his powerful +fingers, then swung her once more to his back and slid to the ground.</p> + +<p>Noon found them at the outskirts of the forest. Mog had pushed ahead far +more quickly than he had thought possible. Alone, without allies, he +feared an attack at any moment from some forest dweller. There would be +no safety for him until he was safe in the caves of his tribe.</p> + +<p>With the forest behind him, Mog trotted across the narrow ribbon of +grasses to the lip of the almost vertical cliff overlooking the +tree-filled valley below. A portion of the boar killed two days before +was cached in one of those trees; once he and his captive were safely +down the cliff they could eat without wasting time in a search for food.</p> + +<p>But Mog began to realize it would prove no small matter to transport the +girl down the abrupt incline. Indeed, it would require all his own +strength and limited agility to get himself down without the added +burden of a helpless she.</p> + +<p>Then came the thought that she might be able to do so without his aid. +Not ungently he lowered her to her feet and signed that she should start +down. When Alurna, correctly interpreting his gesture, glanced at the +hard earth so far below, she gasped aloud and drew back, trembling.</p> + +<p>Mog, sullen and short-tempered at best, did not intend wasting time in +coaxing her. Raising a bulky fist, he shook it threateningly under her +nose, then once more pointed to the edge of the precipice.</p> + +<p>Alurna could not help but feel she preferred death by falling to being +mauled by this uncouth beast-man. And so, gritting her teeth and tensing +her muscles to control their trembling, she lowered herself over the +brink and began the tortuous descent.</p> + +<p>Those long agonizing moments which followed were to live forever in the +memory of Alurna, princess of Sephar. Slowly, inch by inch, she worked +her way downward, feeling in an agony of suspense for footholds where +she was confident no such holds existed. At times her entire weight was +suspended by her fingers alone, while both feet searched for some +projection to which her sandaled foot would cling. She knew, now, it +would have been wise to have tossed her sandals down first; her bare +feet would have held to the rock with more certainty—but it was too +late for that.</p> + +<p>Gradually she sank farther and farther from the lip of the escarpment. +She dared not glance above or below; her gaze was glued continuously on +the uneven surface over which she was passing. Her fingers were raw and +bleeding by this time; but she clenched her lip between white teeth and +went on.</p> + +<p>At last the strain, both to limbs and to nerves, was nearing the +breaking point. Alurna knew she could not hold on much longer; if she +failed to reach the valley floor soon, she must fall the balance of the +way. Then, as the desire to loose her grip, whatever the consequences, +seemed too overpowering to resist, her feet came to rest on level +ground.</p> + +<p>Tired, high-pitched nerves gave way, and Alurna sank to the ground and +burst into tears. Had she acted at once, she might have escaped, for Mog +was still fifty feet above her.</p> + +<p>But she was conscious only of relief from the peril just undergone; and +Mog found her huddled in a pitiful heap at the very spot where her feet +had first touched solid earth.</p> + +<p>Lifting her easily to his wide back, he took up his club from where he +had dropped it from above, and moved at a half-trot toward the nearby +forest.</p> + +<p>While from the depths of a tangled maze of cloaking underbrush, at the +very point he was nearing, two baleful yellow eyes were fixed in +unblinking attention upon him and the girl he carried!</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The morning after Alurna's capture, twenty warriors were assembled in +front of Sephar's palace. It was evident they awaited someone, for their +eyes turned often to the great doors.</p> + +<p>And then came Vulcar, arms laden with an assortment of weapons. Rapidly +he handed them out to the twenty until each was fully armed. This done +he barked out an order and the men formed into ranks, four abreast and +five deep.</p> + +<p>His hawk-like face set in stern lines, Vulcar faced them. "Warriors of +Sephar," he began, "you know what has happened to the daughter of our +king. You know, too, that five of your comrades died trying to save her. +Most of you knew and admired Adbor. I saw Adbor die. He died while +calling for his weapons, eager to take up the trail of those who had +stolen the princess.</p> + +<p>"To you goes the honor of avenging your comrades and returning the +princess to her father, alive ... or dead."</p> + +<p>As the calm voice ceased, a score of right arms shot up and a resounding +shout rose from twenty throats.</p> + +<p>"Then come," said Vulcar quietly, and turned to lead the way.</p> + +<p>But before the men could move to follow him, a deep voice from the +palace doorway bade them wait.</p> + +<p>Clothed in the simple harness of an ordinary warrior, and fully armed, +Urim descended the steps and came up to Vulcar.</p> + +<p>"I will go with you," he said simply.</p> + +<p>Vulcar had been afraid of this. Urim no longer was a young man; to take +him along might cost Sephar a ruler, as well as its favorite daughter.</p> + +<p>"O Urim," he said, "may I say a few words to you before we go?...</p> + +<p>"My king, trust me and these warriors to find Alurna. They are young and +fully trained. For hours they can press onward so rapidly that anyone +less hardened would drop behind within an hour. To slacken their speed +for one less trained might cost much precious time."</p> + +<p>Urim, ready to override any protests, could not help but see the logic +of the words. For several moments he stood with bowed head while impulse +battled with good judgment.</p> + +<p>"Take your men and go without me, my friend," he said at last, his voice +unsteady. "I am an old man, and useless. I should only delay you."</p> + +<p>He turned and strode back into the palace before the troubled Sepharian +could frame a reply.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes later the twenty and one entered the trail that led past the +scene of Alurna's capture the day before.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Half an hour later another band of men filed through the western gates +of Sephar and entered the mouth of the same path. There were eight in +the group: Jotan, Javan and Tamar with five of the warriors who had come +with them on the long journey from Ammad to Sephar. Their destination, +now, was the house of Rydob, and with them was a man adept at following +a spoor, however faint.</p> + +<p>Tarlok, the leopard, crouching among the dense foliage of a thick branch +above the trail, watched them pass. Soundlessly he bared glistening +fangs, and his yellow eyes narrowed into twin slits of hate. Tarlok +detested these two-legged creatures; but even greater was his fear of +them, for his mate had fallen, a moon ago, beneath the sharp sticks of +such man-things.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>Enter—Pryak</h3> + + +<p>Hardly had word of Alurna's disappearance flashed through Sephar, +that same morning, than a young under-priest was seeking +admittance to the secret chambers of Pryak, high-priest to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud.</p> + +<p>It was no simple matter to gain the subterranean apartment far beneath +the temple. Only a chosen few had ever set foot within the +holy-of-holies; this young man was not one of them. But his excited +manner and the announcement of information "for Pryak alone" had brought +him to the very door of the high-priest's suite. But here he was stopped +by Orbar, second only to Pryak, himself.</p> + +<p>Tidor was no fool. To be first to acquaint his chief with important +information could gain him recognition as a loyal and conscientious +follower. Men had risen high with such a beginning.</p> + +<p>And so when Orbar sought to learn what word Tidor had brought, he was +met by the unchanging retort: "I will tell Pryak—none other!"</p> + +<p>Finally Orbar began to lose patience. "You may not see the most-high," +he snapped. "Tell me what you know and I will pass it on—if it be +worth-while repeating. Come, tell me, or I will teach you what it means +to cross Orbar!"</p> + +<p>Tidor trembled inwardly. He had heard gossip as to the fate of some who +had angered Orbar. He was about to blurt out the news, when there came +a sudden interruption.</p> + +<p>The door to Pryak's apartment banged open and a short, frail-appearing +man appeared in the doorway. He was well past middle-age, with sparse +graying hair that straggled untidily past the neck line of his tunic. +His wrinkled face was twisted in anger, and his shifty, close-set eyes +of watery blue glared at the two men before him.</p> + +<p>"What means this clamor, Orbar?" he demanded shrilly. "By the God, am I +to be disturbed by petty wrangling on my own door-step? Who is this +youth?"</p> + +<p>Orbar's manner was humble, now. "Tidor, an under-priest, has come with +word which he claims is of great importance. I tried to learn from him +if the information was worthy of your attention, Most High, but he will +tell me nothing."</p> + +<p>Pryak turned on the young man. "What is this news?"</p> + +<p>Tidor gulped. "O Voice of the God," he said shakily, "I have learned +that Alurna, daughter of hated Urim, was stolen yesterday while in the +jungle. A roving band of Hairy Men killed her guards and took her.</p> + +<p>"An hour ago Vulcar and twenty men left to hunt for her. Urim stays at +the palace, sick and miserable, waiting Vulcar's return."</p> + +<p>Pryak's scowl had deepened as the youth spoke. "And you call that +important? What do I care if that soft-hearted fool loses a worthless +daughter? A sound whipping will teach you to—"</p> + +<p>Suddenly the high priest fell silent. The anger twisting his features +began to fade—replaced by a cunning, scheming expression no less +repellent....</p> + +<p>"And yet," he said slowly, "we may be able to make use of this +information. If I could be sure ... Orbar! Call to my rooms the Council +of Priests." He was speaking rapidly, now, his face flushed with +excitement. "This may be the day of our deliverance!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn lay flat on his back on a heap of furs and watched a pattern of +sunlight on the wall above his head. Today was his second as a captive, +and already his patience was wearing thin. He knew, now, why the other +cave-men imprisoned here wore constant expressions of aloof sullenness. +To be cooped behind rock walls day after day instead of being free to +roam forest and plain as they had done since boyhood, was enough to sour +any temper.</p> + +<p>He wondered where Katon had been taken. Shortly after the noonday meal, +his friend had held a long whispered conversation with two of the +guards—a conversation of considerable importance, to judge from Katon's +expression. He had said nothing to Tharn about it in the hour between +the conference and the arrival of two men who had taken him away.</p> + +<p>Tharn gave up trying to find an answer to the puzzle and dozed off. He +was awakened a half hour later by the sound of the cell door opening. He +raised his head in time to see Katon enter with two palace guards. +Without hesitation the three approached Tharn's couch and he rose to +meet them.</p> + +<p>"Come, Tharn," said Katon hurriedly. "Urim is waiting for you."</p> + +<p>The cave man did not move. "Why?" he asked laconically.</p> + +<p>"It is my doing," Katon explained impatiently. "I went to him with an +idea, and he thinks enough of it to send for you."</p> + +<p>Tharn was satisfied. He could trust Katon. Besides, it would be good to +quit this dank place—if only for a little while.</p> + +<p>Heedless of curious stares from the other prisoners, Tharn and Katon +passed from the room, a guard leading the way. And shortly afterward +they stopped before the door of Urim's apartment. In response to their +knock, a hollow voice bade them enter.</p> + +<p>Tharn could hardly credit his eyes at the change in the man who slumped +dejectedly on a couch near the far wall. In place of the proud ruler who +had ordered him to the pits, was a hollow-cheeked, sunken-eyed old man.</p> + +<p>At the entrance of Tharn and the others, Urim slowly lifted his head and +looked full into the calm gray eyes of the giant savage. Under their +quiet, sympathetic expression a gleam of hope flickered into his own +tired eyes and he squared his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Have you told this man of your plan?" he asked Katon.</p> + +<p>"No, Urim," replied the Sepharian. "I thought you might wish to do so."</p> + +<p>Urim transferred his attention to the cave-man. "Yesterday," he said, +"my daughter was taken by a band of Hairy Men. What do you know about +such men?"</p> + +<p>Tharn smiled. "Since I was a little boy I have heard many stories by men +who have fought the Hairy Ones. They are slow and clumsy and do not +think quickly. The warriors of my tribe do not fear them."</p> + +<p>"Good!" Urim exclaimed. "Now I will tell you why I sent for you.</p> + +<p>"When Katon, here, was told by one of the guards that Alurna had been +taken, he came to me with a suggestion. He thinks that by reason of your +wide knowledge of the world outside our walls, you might be able to +trail these Hairy Men to their caves and rescue my daughter—if she +still lives.</p> + +<p>"Do this, and you and your mate shall go free—and Katon, too. But if +you fail to return with Alurna within the moon, the life of your mate is +forfeit."</p> + +<p>Tharn frowned thoughtfully. "If I do not find your daughter, yet return +alone, what reward is mine?"</p> + +<p>"None! It would be as though you had not set foot beyond Sephar's +gates."</p> + +<p>"Which means I must take part in the Games; and Dylara remains a slave." +The cave-man was thinking aloud.</p> + +<p>Then: "I agree, Urim. I will start at once."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Little Nobar, the monkey, awakened Dylara by dropping empty bean pods on +her upturned face. She blinked in the sunlight filtering through the +leaves, and sat up.</p> + +<p>Her first thought was that she was actually free. Yet to be accomplished +was the task of learning the direction in which lay the caves of her +people, then crossing that distance alone, exposed to many dangers.</p> + +<p>Dylara, in her accustomed environment, was a resourceful young woman. +The prospect of a long journey—just how long a journey she could only +surmise—concerned her far less than had the prospects of a lifetime of +slavery in Sephar. All her life she had rubbed elbows with jungle +beasts. Since infancy the green wilderness of the forest had been her +front yard. Night after night she had gone to sleep with the roars of +lions and the hunting squalls of leopards for a lullaby. She had learned +to respect and avoid Sadu and Tarlok and Jalok—but not to fear them. +She knew they hunted man only when other food was denied them—and that +was seldom. She knew that a tall tree was a sure haven from all three; +for Sadu could not climb at all, while Jalok and Tarlok would not +venture among the smaller limbs able to bear her weight but not theirs.</p> + +<p>From the freshly risen sun's position Dylara realized she had slept the +entire night on this narrow branch. As she drowsily reviewed the +previous day's events, she remembered her injured ankle and bent +hurriedly to examine it.</p> + +<p>She was relieved to find hardly any swelling there, nor was the damage +to strained ligaments so great as she at first had feared. Rising, she +tested her weight on the one foot and found that, beyond an occasional +twinge, it would support her.</p> + +<p>Slowly she worked her way down to earth and stepped into the trail. Here +she waited a few minutes, planning her next move. She finally decided to +follow the path westward away from Sephar until a cross-trail to the +north turned up. Such a route would eventually lead her to the heights +from which she had first looked upon Sephar. From that point on, finding +the caves of Majok should not be impossible.</p> + +<p>She skirted the clearing containing the house of Rydob, walking within +the jungle's fringe to avoid being seen by anyone who might be within +the building, and soon was traveling due west.</p> + +<p>As she moved slowly ahead, limping slightly, she noticed the imprints of +monstrous, man-like feet in the dust of the path. At first she examined +the marks closely; but her limited woodcraft did not permit their +identification, and she gave up trying.</p> + +<p>The makers of those strange prints, Urb and his savage band, were +plodding westward along the same path only a few hours ahead of the +cave-girl.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>Death Stalks the Princess</h3> + + +<p>As Mog, the sullen, shuffled across the narrow strip of cleared ground +toward the game trail into the jungle labyrinth, he was mentally +congratulating himself at the ease with which he had obtained a +desirable mate. Within little more than a sun from now he would be +exhibiting his prize to the envious eyes of the men and the jealous +stares of the shes.</p> + +<p>Mog was moving down-wind, and so engrossed was he with +self-congratulations that he utterly failed to sense the presence of a +tawny shape hidden in the thick growth at the trail's mouth.</p> + +<p>It was Sadu, the lion, crouching there, massive head flattened to the +ground, hindquarters beneath a taut frame, waiting for the approaching +prey to move within the radius of his spring.</p> + +<p>On came the Neanderthal. Suddenly a terrible roar came from the ground +almost at his feet, and a huge body flashed from the cloaking verdure +and leaped at the hairy chest of the astonished man-thing.</p> + +<p>Mog's reaction was instinctive. As Sadu's roar broke the silence, the +Hairy One tossed Alurna aside and swung up his massive club to beat off +the attack.</p> + +<p>But in vain. Mog had been too well ambushed to stage an effective +defense. Full on his shoulders fell the awful weight of the great cat, +the club brushed aside as though it did not exist, and Mog went down as +though pole-axed.</p> + +<p>With wide distended jaws Sadu lowered his head past the futilely +flailing arms. There was a sickening crunch of bone as giant fangs +closed on the face of the struggling figure, and Mog, the sullen, was no +more.</p> + +<p>Alurna, prostrate where Mog had tossed her a few feet away, watched the +grisly drama with frightened eyes. During the brief interval in which +Sadu had made his kill, she might have risen and taken to her heels, but +a paralysis of fear kept her motionless.</p> + +<p>Now Sadu rose to his feet, shook himself until the thick mane fairly +flew, then placed a heavily taloned paw on his prey and turned his +leonine head to look slowly about.</p> + +<p>At last his round yellow eyes came to rest on the prone figure of the +girl. For an endless moment he regarded her with a fixed, unblinking +stare; then the wrinkled lips curled back, exposing blood-reddened +teeth, while from the cavernous chest came a low growl that coursed up +and down the girl's spine like icy fingers.</p> + +<p>For what seemed ages to Alurna that stare never wavered. The long +graceful body with its tremendous sinews seemed to expand larger and +larger until it loomed great as that of an elephant. She could feel a +scream of horror and protest forming in her throat; but before it could +find utterance; Sadu swung his head back to the corpse and settled down +to feed.</p> + +<p>Alurna felt a wave of relief so intense she nearly fainted; it required +several minutes to beat down her weakness sufficiently to think of +escape.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Some twenty paces to her left towered a mighty tree, its wide branches +offering a secure haven could she but reach them. Only half that +distance, however, separated her and the lion; and if she made a break +for the tree, Sadu could be upon her before she had taken half a dozen +steps.</p> + +<p>But the beast might not try to stop her. The princess Alurna knew +nothing of lions and their habits. Only in the arena during the Games +had she seen a live one and then always from a distance. And so she +resolved to lie quiet and wait for the animal to be done with its +feeding. Perhaps then it would rise and stalk back into the jungle, +leaving her unmolested.</p> + +<p>The young woman lay perfectly still, trying to close her ears to sounds +of grinding teeth and splintering bones. Once she shut her eyes on the +revolting picture of Sadu at dinner, but opened them at once. To watch +fragments of Mog disappearing into that monstrous maw was bad enough; +but to see nothing, while an overwrought imagination sent the beast +slinking toward her, was more than human nerves could endure.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Sadu rose from the Neanderthal's body and gave voice to a low +ominous growl. Alurna saw that the cat's attention was fixed on +something beyond her, and she cautiously turned her head toward the +cliff.</p> + +<p>A few feet below the upper edge were several man-like figures clinging +to the vertical surface. Carefully, each inched its way downward, +testing each foot-and hand-hold before continuing on.</p> + +<p>For a brief, ecstatic moment the girl took them to be warriors from +Sephar; but then she saw they were creatures identical to her late +captor, and suddenly heightened hopes plunged to a new depth of misery.</p> + +<p>Sadu stood as a statue of bronze, the lazy jungle breeze ruffling his +tawny mane, narrowed eyes intent on the slow-moving figures. For several +minutes he stood thus, then lowering his head he seized the corpse of +Mog by one arm and dragged it from sight deep into the luxurious growth +of vegetation beside the trail. Not once during this change of position +did he glance toward the watching girl.</p> + +<p>The moment Sadu disappeared from view, Alurna sprang to her feet and +plunged blindly into the jungle at a point farthest removed from the +beast. Her only thought was to put all the distance possible between +Sadu and herself. She dared not take to the open for fear the Hairy Men +would catch sight of her and hunt her down.</p> + +<p>For nearly two hours she struggled on, tearing her way through a tangled +confusion of creepers, trees, ferns, broken branches and bushes. Several +times she tripped and fell headlong, only to rise and stumble onward. +Her tunic was stained and torn, thorns and branches having ripped the +material in many places.</p> + +<p>At last, after unwittingly changing her course many times, she sank to +the ground beside the hole of a great tree in the center of a small +clearing deep within the heart of the primeval forest.</p> + +<p>Completely exhausted she lay half-conscious on the soft carpet of +grasses, her tortured lungs laboring to bring oxygen to an overtaxed +heart. Gradually her eyes closed, her heart slowed its mad tempo, she +breathed more calmly as fear left her. As from a great distance came the +low monotonous hum of insects, the subdued twitter of birds and +rustlings from many leaves. Alurna slept....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When she sat up, several hours later, the glade was filled with the +half-light that presages nightfall. She stood up and looked about, aware +of the danger she had courted by sleeping on the ground in a territory +where savage animals were so plentiful.</p> + +<p>Abruptly the fading dusk deepened into darkness. The girl's tiny supply +of courage fled with the light, leaving a frightened child to grope her +way to the base of the lofty tree, where she managed to climb among the +branches.</p> + +<p>Here she found two thick boughs close together and extending +horizontally outward in about the same plane. Sitting with her back +against the rough trunk, she stretched tired legs along the two branches +and composed herself to wait for the dawn.</p> + +<p>Scarcely was she settled than the scream of a great cat sounded beneath +her, and she heard the animal on the ground at the foot of the tree. For +a short time it circled the clearing, then came the sound of rustling +undergrowth and Jalok, the panther, was gone.</p> + +<p>That night was the longest Alurna had ever known. The chill dampness of +the nocturnal jungle penetrated to the innermost parts of her body until +she was certain she would never again be warm. The single thin garment +she was wearing was no protection; in fact, it added to her discomfort +by absorbing moisture from the damp air.</p> + +<p>Later, the heavy blackness about her was dispelled by rays of the full +moon as it climbed until it seemed to hang close to the mighty tree that +sheltered her. So bright was the glare that Alurna could see objects so +small as to escape notice during the day. Several times she saw tiny +rodents scurrying across the clearing, and once she saw little Sleeza +kill and swallow a field mouse.</p> + +<p>Twice she heard large bodies moving in the tangled fastness about the +clearing, but what made the sounds remained a mystery. At frequent +intervals the savage roars and screams of fierce beasts reached her +ears, but always from a distance.</p> + +<p>At last the seemingly endless night began to wane, and near daybreak the +girl dozed fitfully.</p> + +<p>When next she opened her eyes the sun had risen, flooding the glade with +life-giving, hope-reviving rays. Alurna rose, unkinked muscles cramped +from long hours in an unfamiliar position, and descended slowly to the +ground. She was aware of being very hungry as well as possessed of a +raging thirst. Acting on these needs she entered the forest to search +for water and food.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Shortly thereafter, and solely by chance, she came to a small +swift-moving mountain stream. Here she knelt and drank deep of the cold +water, then, greatly refreshed, rose, and set about gathering fruit from +the plentiful supply everywhere about her.</p> + +<p>After eating, she bathed in the river, its waters soothing to the +scratches and bruises of yesterday's mad dash through the jungle.</p> + +<p>By the time she had dressed again, the sun was quite high. While she had +been in the water she had caught sight of a narrow game trail leading in +the direction she was confident Sephar lay. Spirits soaring, she started +out for home, her step springy with confidence.</p> + +<p>By noon the sun's heat had become so oppressive that she stopped in the +shelter of a tree to rest. She was tempted to climb into the branches +and sleep for a while; but the thought of being forced to spend another +night in this wilderness drove away that temptation. It could not be +much farther, she reasoned, before the base of the great plateau about +Sephar was reached.</p> + +<p>Her sweat-streaked face set in stubborn lines, the daughter of Urim +stepped once more into the trail and plodded doggedly on. And every step +was taking her farther and farther from her home.</p> + +<p>It was not long after, that Tarlok, the leopard, his belly empty from a +night of fruitless hunting, caught scent of her. Slowly, with infinite +stealth, he slunk upwind, keeping within the jungle's edge until he +caught sight of the girl's bowed shoulders.</p> + +<p>Tarlok's jowls dripped with anticipation. Of all creatures known to him, +none was more easily taken than man. A quick stalk, a sudden spring—and +once again Tarlok would feed.</p> + +<p>Nearer and nearer he approached, moving warily lest the girl take alarm +and climb high into some tree. When almost abreast of her, he boldly +stepped into the trail, not ten feet behind his unsuspecting prey.</p> + +<p>It was then that Alurna, warned perhaps by some subtle sense, turned +around.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Vulcar of Sephar and his band of twenty warriors having safely descended +the precipice at the same point where Alurna had inched her way down +earlier that day, assembled at the mouth of a pathway into the +unchartered wood before them.</p> + +<p>"They probably came this way," Vulcar said. "Look about for some sign of +their passage."</p> + +<p>A few minutes later a shout of triumph from one of the party brought the +others to his side. He was pointing to a mark in the trail's dust—the +large square imprint of a great flat foot, grotesquely human.</p> + +<p>Vulcar smiled with grim satisfaction. "We are on the right track," he +declared. "Let us go on; we have work to do."</p> + +<p>As unwittingly as though it did not exist they passed the spot where +their princess had entered the jungle. They did not see the broken and +twisted greenery in the forest wall, and had they done so they could not +have interpreted its meaning.</p> + +<p>The men of Urb, versed in jungle lore, had found her trail at once, just +as they had picked out Mog's bones where Sadu had left them. But Urim's +daughter held no interest for any one of them, and they had made no +effort to track her down.</p> + +<p>For the balance of the day Vulcar and his companions pushed ahead on +their mission of rescue—or revenge. Because they were smaller and more +active they covered ground much more quickly than their bulky quarry. +Consequently they were rapidly overtaking the five Neanderthals.</p> + +<p>Near sunset the winding path debouched into a small clearing, through +which ran a fair-sized stream. Here the pursuers found the first +positive indication they were on the right track. On the near bank of +the river were ashes of a small fire, still warm to the touch. +Scattered about it were the gnawed bones of Muta, the boar—already +picked clean by hordes of ants.</p> + +<p>At first, Vulcar's men had clamored to dash ahead in hot pursuit. But +the hawk-faced leader decided against it, saying a short rest and full +bellies would help them to fight better than if they were worn and +hungry.</p> + +<p>"But if we wait," argued one, "the Hairy Men may reach their caves. We +cannot fight against an entire tribe of them."</p> + +<p>Vulcar shook his head. "Had they been close to their caves," he pointed +out, "they would not have stopped to eat and rest. No; we will stop for +a little while and eat of the food we carry; then we can go on even more +quickly than before.</p> + +<p>"Five of us will go slightly ahead of the others. In case the Hairy Men +find that many are following them they may run away. If they see only +five, however, they are sure to attack. Then the balance of us will fall +upon them!"</p> + +<p>There was no gainsaying the soundness of Vulcar's plan. Even the most +action-eager warrior saw its beauty. And so the men dropped to the +ground beside the river, ate of the cured strips of meat carried in +their shoulder pouches, and drank from the river.</p> + +<p>After a short rest period, Vulcar called them together and gave the word +that began the last stage of the journey.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>While only a short distance ahead, Urb and his four companions plodded +slowly on toward their distant homes.</p> + +<p>Darkness was not far in the offing, and Urb was inwardly debating on +ordering the men to the trees for the night, when Tolb, at the rear of +the column, voiced a low note that arrested the others in mid-stride. +Turning as one, the five stood motionless, their ears, keen as those of +Sadu, himself, cocked to catch and interpret what Tolb had heard.</p> + +<p>Urb, wise old campaigner, was first to identify the sounds. "Men!" he +grunted. "The hairless ones! Hide."</p> + +<p>Silently each Neanderthal man stepped behind a trunk of one of the trees +lining the path. Mighty clubs swung ready in steel fingers; narrowed +eyes beneath overhanging brows scanned the open ground of the trail. The +minutes lengthened....</p> + +<p>And then five white-tuniced figures appeared at the far end of the path +and came on at a half-trot. Slung across their shoulders were short +bows; at their backs hung arrow-filled containers, and in their right +hands dangled clubs, smaller than those used by the Neanderthals but +still formidable weapons.</p> + +<p>Not until the group had drawn abreast the ambushers did Urb give the +signal. Then his fingers closed on a dry branch, and five immense +bludgeons hurtled toward the startled Sepharians.</p> + +<p>It requires far more skill to hit a moving target than a stationary one. +Then, too, the half-light near the end of day does not add to the +chances of a successful cast.</p> + +<p>Three of the clubs missed their marks altogether, one struck a shoulder +glancingly, while the fifth crashed into the base of a neck, snapping +the spine and killing the stricken man instantly.</p> + +<p>Behind the cudgels blundered the Hairy Ones, drawing flint knives as +they came. If they had expected to catch the enemy unprepared and +demoralized, however, they were badly disappointed.</p> + +<p>A barrage of Sepharian clubs flashed to meet them. Two found marks: one +striking Kor alongside the skull, knocking him flat; the other caught +Urb, himself, a glancing blow atop the head that made his knees buckle +briefly.</p> + +<p>The Neanderthal chieftain recovered quickly and with an angry bellow +sprang at the nearest white-clad figure. Disregarding the darting knife, +Urb caught him by the tunic with one hand and drove his fist with +inhuman force full into the Sepharian's face.</p> + +<p>There was a dull crunching sound of crumpling bones and the hairless one +slumped forward, his face from hairline to chin driven through the back +of his head.</p> + +<p>The two remaining guards were still in the fight, seeking to +out-maneuver their less agile foemen and knife them from behind. The +shifting feet stirred up dust from the trail until a cloud enveloped the +fighters.</p> + +<p>And then a ringing shout echoed above the panting, twisting bodies, and +into battle came the balance of the Sepharians.</p> + +<p>At sight of these enemy reinforcements, Urb and his three remaining +henchmen turned and fled, leaving the fallen Kor where he lay. The +newcomers pursued them for a short distance, then, seeing they were +empty-handed, turned back.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Vulcar called his men together, determined the extent of any injuries, +then turned his attention to the bodies in the trail. Coolly he ran his +knife through the throat of the still stunned Kor. A brief examination +proved the other two casualties to be quite dead.</p> + +<p>After detailing four men to scoop out shallow graves for their late +comrades, Vulcar sent the others into the foliage on either side of the +trail to find Alurna. He believed she had been bound and gagged to +prevent any warning of the ambuscade, and he pictured her as lying +helpless nearby, awaiting release.</p> + +<p>Until long after darkness, Vulcar and his men searched for their +princess. Again and again they shouted her name, straining to catch an +answering cry that did not come. Finally, after hours of systematic +effort, in which every inch of ground for yards around was combed, the +realization came that Urim's daughter was as lost to them as though they +had remained in Sephar.</p> + +<p>To Vulcar, the awful truth came as a sickening blow. So certain of +success had he been at learning they were close on the heels of the +Hairy Men, that the final disappointment almost drove him mad. All he +could see was hopeless suffering dulling Urim's eyes and lining his +face.... Vulcar beat his fists together in impotent fury at his own +helplessness.</p> + +<p>Reluctantly he gave the signal to abandon the search, and with bowed +shoulders and bent head the captain led his command back toward Sephar +and a waiting father.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Dylara sat beside a tiny brook and allowed its cool waters to chill her +aching ankle. It had begun to swell again from the strain of a full +day's slow progress, even though she had stopped many times to give it +rest.</p> + +<p>An hour from now it would be sunset. Soon the forest denizens would be +coming here to drink. Soon, too, would come the meat-eaters, to lurk +beside the pathway, awaiting Bana and Neela, whose succulent flesh they +loved.</p> + +<p>The cave-girl bent and washed the dust from her hands and face, drying +the skin with grass. Then she rose and retraced her steps to the base of +a tall tree. Favoring her ankle as best she could, Dylara climbed well +above the ground, sought and found a properly placed limb on which she +could spend the night, and fell promptly into dreamless sleep.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>She had no more than closed her eyes when a group of eight men passed +below the branches of her tree and stopped at the water's edge. One of +the eight walked slowly back and forth on the near bank, his head +lowered, studying the ground.</p> + +<p>He halted suddenly, stooped lower, eyes intent on something there. Then +he beckoned to the others.</p> + +<p>"Look!" he exclaimed. "There, in the mud. See those marks? She sat here, +bathing her feet. And here!—here are the prints of bare feet."</p> + +<p>Jotan, following the pointing finger, nodded, his handsome face shining. +"They must be hers. Are they recent, Modilk?"</p> + +<p>"So recent," said the long-faced Modilk solemnly, "that the slave-girl +must be within a few minutes of us."</p> + +<p>Javan spoke now, his voice worried. "Where are we to spend the night, +Jotan? The big cats will be hunting soon; we must find a safe place."</p> + +<p>Jotan slapped his friend's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find Dylara +first," he said, "then make camp for the night. A circle of brush fires +will keep the lions and leopards away."</p> + +<p>The eight men waded the stream, not bothering to remove their sandals, +and pressed on into the north.</p> + +<p>While a stone's throw behind them, aloft in the branches of a leafy +tree, slept the girl they were seeking.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>Forest Trails</h3> + + +<p>"It was here we found the dead guards. Where, or in what direction, the +Hairy Men took Alurna is not known. Vulcar and his men followed this +trail away from Sephar."</p> + +<p>The guard detailed to show Tharn the scene of Alurna's capture had told +all he knew. To the cave man it more than sufficed; following a trail +left less than a sun before would not tax his prowess.</p> + +<p>"You have told me enough," Tharn assured him. "Hasten back to your chief +and tell him I will return soon—his daughter with me."</p> + +<p>The Cro-Magnard, a slight smile touching his lips, watched the +retreating figure until it disappeared around a bend of the trail. Even +then he did not move, but stood quiet, arms folded across his swelling +chest, drawing great draughts of humid air deep into his lungs.</p> + +<p>Free! Gone were stone walls, cold floors and barred doors. No longer +must he go only where others permitted. There were soft grasses and +growing things about him. Overhead was the limitless blue of space; and +there was Dyta, the sun, sending golden spears to prick, with welcome +heat, the smooth skin of the cave lord.</p> + +<p>Siha, the wind, moving in little eddies and gusts, brought to his +nostrils a heavy pungent cloying odor belonging only to the jungle; the +combined essence of uncounted varieties of plants, together with the +comingled scent of endless small life that makes of the jungle a teeming +city in itself. Overhead, little Nobar, the monkey, sat on a low-hanging +branch and scolded roundly the two-legged creature in the trail below.</p> + +<p>Yes, it was good to be free again. Good to know the pure pleasure of +unlimited vistas of trees and plains. A vision of his father's caves and +the members of his tribe rose before him, bringing the pangs of +homesickness. But superimposed on the familiar scene came, unbidden, the +lovely face and softly rounded figure of Dylara.</p> + +<p>Siha veered sharply and came sweeping at right angles across the path. +Tharn stiffened for strong in his nostrils was the scent of Tarlok, the +leopard. He was instantly alert—a wary jungle denizen who wheeled and +faced upwind, eyes narrowed, the sharp blade of flint ready in his right +hand.</p> + +<p>The strength of the great cat's scent faded as the creature moved +farther away. Whether or not it had caught Tharn's scent did not +interest the cave-man, now; a retreating danger ceased to be of +interest.</p> + +<p>For a few minutes Tharn carefully went over the floor of the trail at +the point where the abduction had taken place, as well as the +neighboring undergrowth. Soon he found the several hiding places of the +Hairy Ones; and a bit later he came upon the delicate footmarks of +Alurna within the trail itself. One of these prints was almost +obliterated by the broad square mark of a great naked foot; it was here +Mog's initial leap had ended beside the girl.</p> + +<p>Dropping to hands and knees, Tharn placed sensitive nostrils close to +the marks. To that unbelievably keen organ was borne the individual +scent spoor of Alurna, as well as that of Mog, the sullen. Immediately +there were engraved on Tharn's memory, scent impressions he would +recognize among a hundred others for a long time to come.</p> + +<p>He found more of Mog's footprints, all leading along the path and away +from Sephar. He followed these, increasing his pace when they showed no +indication of swerving from the trail. Satisfied that locating Alurna's +captor was only a matter of following the path underfoot, Tharn went on. +He felt no inclination to hurry. Too long had he been denied freedom +from supervision. The sooner he found the missing girl, the sooner he +must return to Sephar—even though he and Dylara were to be freed the +moment he returned.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>As he strolled along, he was reminded of the bow and arrows hanging at +his back—these and a stone knife and a grass rope were the weapons he +had chosen when preparing to leave Sephar.</p> + +<p>The bow, he found, was fashioned from a hard black wood. Its inner +surface was nearly flat; the outer quite round. Both ends were +gracefully tapered, each notched to hold a string of catgut.</p> + +<p>The arrows were made from the same wood as the bow. Their heads were of +flint, painstakingly shaped into the likeness of a small leaf, and +exceedingly sharp. Each head was fitted snugly into a deep groove, +packed about with a clay-like substance and hardened by fire until +nearly impossible to loosen. Near the butt of each arrow a thin rounded +bit of wood had been inserted to guide its flight.</p> + +<p>Bordering the trail some fifty paces ahead, stood a small tree. During +some recent storm a lightning bolt had torn a jagged streak in its bole, +close to the ground, leaving a strip of white wood gleaming in the sun.</p> + +<p>Partly through accident and partly by clear reasoning, Tharn drew the +bow with the finished technique of a veteran archer. His left arm, +stiffly extended, pointed straight at the selected mark; his right hand, +fingers hooked about the string, came smoothly back to a point just +below the lobe of his right ear.</p> + +<p>There sounded a singing "twang" and a polished bolt flashed in the +sunlight, passed the tree's bole by a good foot and disappeared into the +foliage.</p> + +<p>Tharn ruefully rubbed an angry welt on his left wrist where the +bowstring had stung him. He understood, now, why many of Sephar's +warriors wore wristbands.</p> + +<p>With his knife he hacked off a strip of his loin cloth. This he bound +about his left wrist, then took up the bow, his chin set in determined +lines.</p> + +<p>On his third attempt he hit the mark, sending an arrowhead deep into the +center of the white patch.</p> + +<p>The cave-man all but shouted aloud. Lovingly he ran his palms over the +black wood. No matter what he had suffered at Sepharian hands, they had +repaid many times over by disclosing to him the power in a gut-strung +branch. Now in truth was he lord of the jungle! He pictured Sadu dead, a +few well-placed arrows in his carcass. And shaggy-coated Conta, the +cave-bear; of what protection his tough hide against such keen-tipped +shafts?</p> + +<p>Clearly, Tharn had forgotten the mission that had sent him into the +jungle. Everything ceased to exist for him except the bow in his hands +and the quiver of arrows at his back. Although he continued on toward +the west, his progress was slow and uncertain; for the cave-man was +determined to become an expert bowman without delay.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>At first he was content to use nothing more difficult than tree trunks +as targets; but as he increased in skill his ambition led him to seek +more difficult marks.</p> + +<p>Nobar, the monkey, industriously occupied in searching the hairs on his +belly for dried bits of dead skin, almost fell from his perch in fright +as something streaked past his nose with a vicious hiss. With the nimble +alacrity of his kind he rocketed thirty feet upward, where, from a +swaying vine, he hurled a torrent of verbal abuse at the grinning youth +in the trail below.</p> + +<p>The hours sped by, but Tharn never noticed. At first he lost almost +every arrow he shot, but little by little his skill was increasing. He +attempted drawing the bow with either hand; he sought to release a +second arrow before the first had struck; he shot at birds on the wing.</p> + +<p>Darkness came upon him without warning. Then it was he remembered he had +not eaten since morning. An inventory of his supply of arrows revealed +only eight remained of the full two dozen he had brought from Sephar.</p> + +<p>He would sleep now. In the morning he would find food and water. And he +would make his kill with an arrow—of that he was determined. The bow +had proved a wonderful toy; when Dyta came Tharn would prove its +practical worth....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>With the first rays of the morning sun Tharn slid from his arboreal +couch and set out at a rapid trot along the trail into the west. An hour +later he was crossing the narrow belt of grasses bordering the precipice +overlooking a forest-filled valley.</p> + +<p>Here he found where Mog and Alurna had started their tortuous descent. +Here, too, were signs of the passage of other Neanderthals, and those of +Vulcar's searching party.</p> + +<p>Before descending the cliff, Tharn turned back to the plain in search of +food. Not long after, he had completed a successful stalk of Narjok, the +horned deer, and brought it down with a single arrow. After devouring a +generous quantity of raw flank-meat, he drank deep of the waters of a +small spring and came back to the brink of the precipice.</p> + +<p>Tharn went down that vertical cliffside as though it were a broad +staircase. At the base he found a tangle of overlapping footsteps +leading straight toward a game trail leading into the nearby jungle. +Toward its mouth moved the young giant; and so confident was he that +Alurna had been carried along this path that only by chance did he keep +from losing valuable time.</p> + +<p>As the Cro-Magnard neared the trees, the undergrowth parted with a +slight rustle, and Gubo, the hyena, slunk deeper into the forest.</p> + +<p>At the first sound of disturbed brush, Tharn had pivoted about and with +unthinkable quickness unslung his bow and fitted an arrow into place. At +sight of cowardly Gubo he smiled and relaxed; but before he turned back +to the trail, he saw signs of a recent struggle in the matted grass +close by. It might have nothing to do with the business at hand—and, +again, it might.</p> + +<p>A brief investigation gave him the complete picture. Here, Mog had gone +down beneath Sadu; a few paces away were the broken grasses where Alurna +had been tossed. He knew, without troubling to look, that Mog's bones +were bleaching behind yonder wall of verdure.</p> + +<p>Well, the Hairy One was dead; it would save Tharn the task of killing +him. Now all that remained was to take the trail of the frightened girl +at the place where she had plunged blindly into the dark waste of +jungle. She could not have gotten far; and, except for the unlikely +chance that one of the big cats had pulled her down, his mission should +be finished before nightfall.</p> + +<p>Delaying no longer, Tharn took up the trail of the princess, forging +rapidly ahead and following with ease the evidence of her hurried +flight.</p> + +<p>Soon he came to the tiny clearing in which Alurna had spent the previous +night. Circling about, he quickly picked up her trail out of the glade, +went on across a short stretch of jungle and out onto the banks of a +little stream.</p> + +<p>Here he found traces of small sandals in the soft mud. That these had +not been even partially obliterated by prowling beasts was evidence of +the spoor's freshness.</p> + +<p>By this time the mid-day heat was at its strongest. Tharn paused long +enough to slake his thirst, then set out along the same pathway taken by +Alurna not long before.</p> + +<p>A half hour later he was moving steadily ahead at a half trot, expecting +to come upon the girl at any moment.</p> + +<p>Suddenly he came to a full stop, head thrown back, sensitive nostrils +searching the light breeze. And then he moved—as lightning moves.</p> + +<p>Only the trembling of leaves marked where he had entered the trees +overhead.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>Treachery</h3> + + +<p>In the apartment of Pryak, far beneath the temple of the Sepharian god, +a number of priests were grouped about a long table. At its head sat the +high priest, Pryak; at his right was Orbar, second in command. The +balance of the stools were occupied by six under-priests, all stern, +silent men of middle-age, with that air of inflexible righteousness +which appears to be the hallmark of their kind.</p> + +<p>Pryak, his close-set eyes of watery blue blazing with an inner fire, +rose from his chair.</p> + +<p>"For many moons," he began, choosing his words carefully, "the loyal +servants of the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken have been forced to bow +to the unjust commands of a hated oppressor. Now the time is at hand to +end this oppression. The way has been shown to me by our God; listen +closely, for the future of the priesthood in Sephar depends on how +faithfully my orders are carried out.</p> + +<p>"This is my plan...."</p> + +<p>For nearly an hour the high priest spoke without interruption. His cold, +crisp sentences seemed to explode in the listeners' faces. Twice, old +Cardon, grizzled from passing years of service for his God, half rose +from his stool, words of protest forming on his lips. But each time the +mad glare of Pryak's eyes gave him pause.</p> + +<p>When the high-priest had concluded, he watched the faces of his +audience, waiting for his words to sink home. Much depended upon their +reaction.</p> + +<p>Somehow the very audacity of Pryak's plan seemed to carry weight with +the under-priests. Smiles of admiration appeared on several faces; one +of the Council chuckled openly. Cardon, alone, seemed unconvinced; but +he knew well his chief would brook no interference once he had +determined to act.</p> + +<p>Pryak was satisfied. "It is agreed, then," he said. "We meet in the Room +of the God at the hour named; the others will have their instructions +before then and all will be in readiness."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>In the palace throne-room, Urim, ruler of Sephar, sat slouched in his +chair atop the dais. Despite the grief and worry from loss of his +daughter, Urim was determined his duties should not be shirked because +of personal sorrow.</p> + +<p>The late morning audience was nearly over. Save for a few citizens and a +handful of guards attending the king, the hall was empty. In another +hour Urim could return to his private quarters.</p> + +<p>A guard entered the room and moved directly to the foot of the dais. +Head bowed, he waited for permission to speak.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Mosark?" Urim asked dully.</p> + +<p>"Pryak, Voice of the God, is outside asking for an immediate audience. +With him are more than a score of priests."</p> + +<p>Urim pursed his lips in surprise. What could have gotten into that +gabbling old fool to seek out one who despised him and his kind? Once a +year Pryak came to the palace with a group of his attendants to discuss +the rites held during the Sacrificial Games. It must be that reason +Pryak was here now, although he was much earlier than usual.</p> + +<p>Best see him and get it over with. He was very tired; perhaps he could +sleep a little during the afternoon. Time passed quickly when spent in +sleep; by evening Vulcar should be back, either with Alurna or with word +she would never return. This uncertainty of her fate was what he found +unbearable; if only he could <i>know</i>....</p> + +<p>More likely he would get the truth from the barbarian whom Katon had +recommended so highly. Everything about that young man emphasized his +fitness to cope with the wilderness and its savage life. There was a +keen alert mind behind those fine gray eyes—and a body well able to +carry out the dictates of that mind.</p> + +<p>"What shall I tell him, Urim of Sephar?"</p> + +<p>Urim shook off his thoughts. "Bring him in," he said resignedly. "His +men, too—let them all in. Except for their wagging tongues they are +harmless."</p> + +<p>At Pryak's entrance, Urim rose and nodded briefly in formal recognition +of the other's office, then sat down again. The high-priest acknowledged +the nod as curtly, and came close to the dais.</p> + +<p>The balance of the priests spread out in a rough half circle close +behind their leader. Urim noticed all were clad in the long, +loose-sleeved robes ordinarily worn only during the rainy season. None +was armed, it being forbidden for members of the priesthood to bear +weapons.</p> + +<p>Pryak was quick to notice that which he had foreseen and counted upon: +the relaxed watchfulness and lack of discipline among the handful of +armed men attending the king. This, he knew, was due to Vulcar's absence +from Sephar; had not the hawk-faced captain gone after Alurna, Pryak +would have feared to put his plan into execution. Vulcar had always been +suspicious of the priesthood; twice he had warned Urim that Pryak was +overly ambitious.</p> + +<p>"O Urim," began Pryak, "the Games honoring our God begin soon. Before +then I mean to show how mistaken you are in your ill-advised +interference with the laws of worship. It is I, Pryak, Voice of the God, +who shall say how He is to be honored. I must warn you, if you persist +in meddling, your God may turn against you and your people, sending +sickness to take its toll, and causing your hunters to return +empty-handed from the forests.</p> + +<p>"Only a sun ago your own daughter was taken by the Hairy Man. Can you +say her loss was not due to your—"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The arch-priest was permitted to go no further. Urim's face had grown +steadily darker as mixed anger and amazement rendered him speechless. +But mention of Alurna brought strength to his tongue.</p> + +<p>Voicing a cry of rage, Urim leaped to his feet. His words were loud +against the room's sudden hush.</p> + +<p>"Silence, mangy son of Gubo! Must my time be wasted by your senseless +chatter? I have told you that cruelty has no place in our faith. Too +many times have I told you this; if you speak of it again, the God shall +have a new 'Voice'—one able to recognize my authority!"</p> + +<p>By this time Tidor, the neophyte, had edged his way past the flank of +Urim's guards, slipping stealthily from sight behind the frustum. Here +he paused, drew a long stone knife from the folds of a sleeve, then +stole cautiously up the serrated side of the dais.</p> + +<p>Tidor's heart swelled with pride. It was not every young, untried priest +who could be relied upon to carry out so important a mission. Pryak had +promised him much if he succeeded. Even if half those promises was kept, +Tidor would rank high among his fellows.</p> + +<p>Crouching low, Tidor clutched his knife tighter within his fingers—then +silently and swiftly he sprang!</p> + +<p>A swelling cry of horror from the guards halted Urim's ringing words, +and he whirled about as a white-clad figure closed upon him. Before he +could lift his hands in defense, a slender blade flashed evilly in a +brief arc before striking deep into his breast.</p> + +<p>Death came instantly to Urim of Sephar; and his body rolled limply down +the steps of the dais, nearly upsetting Pryak as it struck the floor.</p> + +<p>Tidor's moment of victory was short-lived. One of the guards snatched a +knife from his belt and flung it, point-foremost, with all his strength.</p> + +<p>Tidor screamed once in pain and terror as the heavy blade sank hilt-deep +into his neck. Then his knees gave way and he fell face down across the +great chair. Urim was avenged.</p> + +<p>And now the momentary paralysis of the guards snapped like an overdrawn +bowstring. Seizing their weapons they threw themselves at the priests +with the commendable intention of butchering the lot. But in place of +an unarmed and fear-stricken group of priests, they were confronted by +an orderly band of unflinching men, each with a long knife drawn from +the folds of his left sleeve.</p> + +<p>The guards skidded to a halt in open-mouthed astonishment at this feat +of legerdemain; and Pryak, quick to take advantage of their baffled +state, scrambled atop the dais and cried out to gain their attention.</p> + +<p>"Hold!" he shouted. "In the name of your God! Heed my words before His +wrath falls upon you! Urim is dead because he would be greater than his +God. Would you suffer the same fate?"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The guards shifted uncertainly. The words cut through the red curtain of +their fury, weakening the resolution to wipe out, in blood, the result +of their own negligence. But fear of their God—already strong enough in +man to be basic—stiffened their limbs and flooded their hearts with +indecision.</p> + +<p>Had they a leader, someone to rally them to action, Pryak and his +followers would have been dead within seconds. But the wily arch-priest +had foreseen that, with Vulcar away, there would be none hardy enough to +oppose him in taking the entire city.</p> + +<p>"Drop your knives!" Pryak put into his voice all the force and depth he +could muster. "Let those who are loyal to their God drop to their knees +and ask that He accept them into His service. Delay not, lest He strike +you down as unworthy!"</p> + +<p>One by one dead Urim's warriors sank to their knees and bowed their +heads. Soon there was none within the chamber who remained erect, save +Pryak and the Council of Priests. This latter group had huddled together +close to the door during the excitement; only after all danger had +passed did they resume their habitual expressions of arrogance....</p> + +<p>From his elevated position Pryak looked down with mingled elation and +disbelief at the many bent backs and lowered heads. Frantically his +crafty brain sought for some means of making this triumph final and +complete.</p> + +<p>An inspiration struck him, then, and he lifted his hands high and turned +his face toward the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"Let no one move or speak!" he commanded loudly. "The All-powerful is +speaking words of wisdom and guidance for my ears, alone. Let there be +silence while I receive His message!"</p> + +<p>A shiver ran through the kneeling men. The God was actually looking down +into this room, seeing all that went on, and doubtless ready to blast +anyone foolhardy enough to interrupt His message.</p> + +<p>For some minutes Pryak remained as motionless as a figure hewn from +stone. Arms and neck must have ached from their unnatural position, but +not the tiniest muscle trembled under the strain. At last his arms +dropped to his sides and his head resumed its normal position.</p> + +<p>"Arise!" he called out; and when the now thoroughly subdued guards and +the under-priests had obeyed, he said:</p> + +<p>"The God is pleased that unworthy Urim is dead, and suggests his passing +serve as warning to others as blind. He commands me to rule in Urim's +place, and orders His people to honor their God and make offerings to +Him as they did before Urim was king.</p> + +<p>"And now let all leaders and subjects of palace and city be told I am +king; and at the time of the morning audience, tomorrow, I shall speak +to them from the palace courtyard. Go!"</p> + +<p>When only the Council of Priests and Pryak, himself, remained in the +throne-room, the new ruler gave them their orders.</p> + +<p>"The city is ours," he said, "and we shall make its people recognize my +power. Each of you will mingle with Sephar's citizens, spreading word of +how they will benefit by this change.</p> + +<p>"Also you will tell of the lavish Games to start within the next few +days—far earlier than usual. Make them understand that even the +greatest city of all Ammad has never provided such entertainment as I +will give them. When they hear this, they will forget any resentment +they may hold toward us; for most of them care not who rules, so long as +the Games are exciting.</p> + +<p>"Go now, and return here when darkness comes. Orbar, arrange for these +bodies to be removed and thrown to the beasts. Report to me when you +have done so; there are orders I want given to the palace attendants. +For the time being you are to serve as captain of the guards."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>Return to Sephar</h3> + + +<p>For the first time since she had started out that morning, Alurna was +beginning to question her opinion of where Sephar lay. She sought to +push out the thought lest it became certainty and bring utter panic in +its wake.</p> + +<p>She forced her mind into other channels. How silent the jungle had +become! Somehow its spells of stillness were harder to bear than the +most sinister of sounds. Unconsciously she strained her ears for some +sound to relieve this feeling of complete loneliness.</p> + +<p>Something was moving in the trail behind her!</p> + +<p>Alurna was turning, even as her brain received the warning. Standing in +the path was Tarlok, the leopard, less than ten paces away.</p> + +<p>Stricken dumb with terror, Alurna could only gaze wide-eyed at that +sleek, spotted head. The narrowed yellow eyes, the white teeth with four +long fangs predominated, the back-curling lips drawn into a grimace of +blood-lust, even the somehow ludicrous long white hairs on the upper +lip—all were stamped indelibly within her mind.</p> + +<p>Tarlok was enjoying himself. The utter fear expressed in every line of +his prey's face and body appealed to the cruelty in his nature. Purely +as a means of adding to that fear, he made a little half-spring toward +the girl.</p> + +<p>Voicing a half-mad sob of absolute despair, Alurna sank to her knees and +closed her eyes to wait for a horrible death.</p> + +<p>There followed an agonizing few moments of silence. Why did death delay? +Alurna fought to keep her eyes tight shut; but terror plucked at the +lids, forcing them open. Hardly more than a yard away was the cat's +sleek, savage head!</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus4" id="illus4"></a> +<img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>A rope hissed through the air and Tarlok reared high</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>And then something hissed through the air between the girl and the +beast. Emitting a shrill scream of surprise and anger, Tarlok reared +high above the kneeling figure. That awful sound was more than Alurna's +taut nerves could withstand, and she toppled forward into merciful +unconsciousness....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Her next conscious sensation was that of flying, and she shuddered, +believing it the brief delirium preceding death. But as the floating +feeling endured, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was being +borne through the forest top in the arms of a half naked man.</p> + +<p>"The leopard?" she said weakly. "What happened? How—"</p> + +<p>A slight smile touched the man's strong, finely-shaped lips, lighting up +his handsome, tanned face. "Tarlok is dead," he said. "It was very +close; my rope caught him just in time."</p> + +<p>He halted and placed her in a sitting position on a strong branch, then +sat down beside her. "I was beginning to think you would never open your +eyes again," he continued. "We have come a long way since I picked you +up in the trail."</p> + +<p>Alurna was staring intently at him as he talked. "I have seen you +somewhere, before."</p> + +<p>Again the man smiled. "Yes," he said. "You have seen me before. It was +only a few nights ago that I entered your room while the palace guards +were hunting me."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" Alurna exclaimed. "I remember. But you were caught and +sentenced to the Games. Have you escaped from Sephar? And how did you +happen to find me?" She broke off, laughing. "Not that I'm sorry you +<i>did</i> find me. If you hadn't—" She shivered, leaving the sentence +unfinished.</p> + +<p>"Your father sent me to take you from the Hairy Ones," Tharn explained. +"It was Katon's idea."</p> + +<p>Whereupon he told of the agreement reached during his talk with Urim. +The princess was secretly elated by one particular provision of the +pact—the promised return of the Cro-Magnard girl to this man for +succeeding in his mission. With Dylara gone, there was no reason why +Jotan could not be won by Urim's daughter.</p> + +<p>"Will you take me home, now?" she asked.</p> + +<p>Tharn nodded. "We will go on until darkness, then sleep in the trees +until morning."</p> + +<p>He stood upright on the swaying bow, then bent and caught Alurna about +the waist and swung her lightly to his back. The girl's arms slipped +instinctively about the strong neck, and the young cave lord set off +along the leafy avenue he had been following.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The first few minutes of the journey were never to be forgotten by the +awed princess. Tharn's path took him high above the ground to where +encumbering masses of tangled creepers did not reach. From one slender +branch to another the majestic figure raced along with an easy sureness +remarkable to behold.</p> + +<p>Alurna forgot her fear of the heights, presently, admiration taking its +place.</p> + +<p>How confidently this god-like creature threaded his way across the +network of bending boughs, where a slip might mean an awful death to +them both! What splendid thews he possessed, to carry her as though she +were a day-old babe!</p> + +<p>Occasionally the rays of the sinking sun reached them through breaks in +the foliage above, disclosing to the rapt eyes of the princess the +horrid depths beneath.</p> + +<p>Soon the dizzying bounds from one great tree pinnacle to the next ceased +to be breath-taking, and Alurna rested against Tharn's warm shoulder, +her nerves calm and relaxed.</p> + +<p>Tharn's thoughts were far afield. Soon—another sun, in fact—Dylara and +he would be on their way to the caves of Tharn. And Katon would go with +them—Katon, his good friend.</p> + +<p>The blue-eyed Sepharian and he would hunt in the forests with Barkoo and +Korgul and Torbat. Katon would teach them to use the bow. Perhaps his +friend would find a mate among the girls of the tribe. Then in truth +would they be as blood-brothers!</p> + +<p>How wonderful it would be to have such a companion! Always before he had +spent much of his time alone, ranging the jungles for the adventures he +craved. In all his tribe there had not been one he was drawn to; none he +liked and respected enough to adopt as an intimate. Barkoo, of course, +came closest to being such; but Barkoo carried far more years than he, +and was given to the conservatism of old men.</p> + +<p>The others were so far short of his own physical and mental stature. +They could not race at break-neck speed through tree tops; they could +not scent game from afar; they feared the great cats, unless in the +company of many warriors.</p> + +<p>It would be different, now. He would teach Katon the forest lore that +had made Tharn master of the wild places. They would be always +together—inseparable.</p> + +<p>Only a few minutes of daylight remained when Tharn and his burden +reached the forest's edge near the base of the sheer cliff between them +and Sephar. Tharn realized they could not hope to complete the ascent +before the light failed; so, selecting a tall tree, he fashioned a rude +platform of branches high above the ground and covered it with leaves as +a comfortable bed for the princess.</p> + +<p>As for himself, he curled in a crotch of the same tree, a few feet +beneath her, and, after waiting until she had ceased turning uneasily on +her primitive couch, dropped off to sleep.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The sun had barely cleared the eastern horizon when Alurna opened her +eyes. For a long moment she gazed blankly at the ceiling of vegetation; +then memory returned and she rose to her feet on the lattice of boughs +that had served as her bed.</p> + +<p>Something of the beauty of the untamed forest came to her as she stood +there, drinking in the sea of green through sleep-freshened eyes. An +early morning breeze stirred the vast expanse of leaves like an +invisible hand; multi-colored birds flashed among the myriad branches +and festooned vines, uttering strident cries or now and then surprising +her with a burst of melody from some feathered throat. Already familiar +were the ever-present troops of sure-footed monkeys, swinging and racing +among the tree-top terraces—chattering, scolding, inquisitive.</p> + +<p>This, she reflected, was the jungle—gaudy and sparkling and inviting on +the surface; grim, and the lurking place of savage horror beneath its +glamorous exterior.</p> + +<p>There was a soft sound at her back, and she wheeled—to look into the +quiet face of the cave-man. In his arms was a quantity of fruits; and +Alurna was suddenly aware of being very hungry.</p> + +<p>While they ate, seated on the bed of leaves, Alurna chattered +continuously, asking many questions, seeking to explore the depths of +her rescuer's mind and character. She found herself admiring the utter +lack of self-consciousness in his replies and actions, while his +habitual reserve and dignity of bearing compelled her respect.</p> + +<p>Finally they descended to the ground and crossed the ribbon of grassland +to the base of the lofty escarpment. Alurna, looking up at the upper rim +so far above, shook her head in wonder.</p> + +<p>"I'll never be able to climb it, Tharn," she protested. "How I ever +managed to get down it without falling, is more than I know."</p> + +<p>"We can not wish ourselves to the top," Tharn pointed out. "Nor is there +any point in remaining here. We can at least make the effort."</p> + +<p>It required more than an hour for them to gain the upper edge of the +plateau. Alurna was helpless to aid him by doing any climbing herself; +Tharn literally had to carry her up that vertical slope.</p> + +<p>When they stood at last on level ground, the cave-man did not stop to +rest. After they had crossed the narrow stretch of plains bordering the +forest, Tharn turned to his companion. "I am going to carry you, again," +he said. "Hold me about the neck and do not be afraid."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>With that, he lifted her easily, and supporting her thus with one arm, +took to the trees. With the pathway through the branches lighted by +Dyta's powerful rays, and with the knowledge that only a few hours +remained before he would reclaim Dylara, Tharn elected to travel +swiftly; and when the forest-man hurried, there were few of the jungle +folk that could match his speed.</p> + +<p>Onward he went, racing along swaying limbs, leaping outward across space +to hurtle into the embrace of another tree at the dizzy height of the +forest top, his free hand finding, unerringly, some waving bough at the +very instant those sure feet came to rest on some strong branch. Now he +threaded his way above the hard-packed earth with all the grace and +agility of a tight-rope walker, prevented from falling only by an +uncanny sense of balance. If handicapped by his burden, none might have +guessed it; certainly he could not have moved with greater speed and +surety had he been unencumbered.</p> + +<p>Alurna lay quiescent within his grasp, looking up at the immobile face +so near her own. It was restful to lie against the broad chest, her +cheek pillowed on a firm shoulder, and be lulled to drowsiness by the +rhythmic sway of this tireless body. A feeling of complete peace +gradually suffused her entire being, her eyelids grew languorously +heavy, closed of their own volition.... Alurna fell fast asleep.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>How long she slept Alurna never knew, but her eyes opened as she felt +the arms about her relax their grip and lower her to her feet. There +was something almost of roughness in the action, and she looked up at +Tharn quickly. To her surprise he was standing with head thrown back, +nostrils twitching as he sniffed the wind from the north. His face +seemed tense, strangely drawn.</p> + +<p>She put a hand on his arm, her white fingers gleaming in sharp contrast +to the tanned forearm.</p> + +<p>"What has happened, Tharn?" She glanced uneasily about at the +surrounding foliage. "Are we nearly to Sephar?"</p> + +<p>Tharn was not listening. To his sensitive nostrils the wind was bringing +the scent of a lion—and of a girl. The odors were commingled and of +equal strength, sufficient evidence to Tharn that the girl might be in +danger.</p> + +<p>But the scents alone had not brought the tenseness to his face. There +was a haunting familiarity to one of them—that of the girl.</p> + +<p>And then he was galvanized into action. Whirling, he scooped up the girl +and placed her on a thick branch, close to the bole.</p> + +<p>"Remain here until I return," he commanded. "I will come back for you."</p> + +<p>"But why—" began the princess, then realized she was addressing thin +air. Tharn had gone, speeding through the trees into the north.</p> + +<p>His mate was in danger! The thought echoed and re-echoed in his mind, +even as logic told him it was next to impossible for Dylara to be +elsewhere than in Urim's palace. Yet he would stake the evidence of his +senses against reason itself—as, indeed, he was doing now.</p> + +<p>If his passage through the trees with Alurna had been rapid, he was +literally flying now—hurling himself from one branch to another with +reckless fury—taking chances he ordinarily would never have considered.</p> + +<p>While ever stronger to his nostrils came the scent of Sadu—and of +Dylara.</p> + +<p>At last he caught sight of her, seated on a fallen log at the edge of a +trail, carefully massaging an ankle.</p> + +<p>And at the same instant, from his elevated position, he caught sight of +Sadu a few paces behind the unheeding daughter of Majok. The beast was +lying belly-flat behind a curtain of vines; and even as Tharn discovered +him the cat was preparing to spring.</p> + +<p>The man of the caves never hesitated. Like a falling stone he plummeted +earthward, dropping in front of Sadu as the beast rose in its spring.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Dylara, aroused by crashing foliage, leaped to her feet and whirled +about. She cried out awe-struck wonder as she saw the young man who had +died beneath a Sepharian club standing between her and an on-rushing +lion.</p> + +<p>Powerless to move, she watched the Cro-Magnard crouch to meet certain +death. In the single instant that elapsed before Sadu reached him, she +saw Tharn's hands were empty.</p> + +<p>And then her jaw dropped and her eyes flew wide with amazement. Tharn +had leaped forward and sent his shoulder crashing into the side of the +soaring brute. Sadu, caught off balance, spun sideways and fell heavily. +He was up instantly, growling horribly, and in mad frenzy turned upon +Tharn.</p> + +<p>What Dylara witnessed then was something that was to go down in the folk +lore of future generations of the Cro-Magnard people. She saw the +clenched fingers of the man swing forward with every ounce of power in +that mighty arm, backed by the insane fury of utter desperation.</p> + +<p>The iron fist struck Sadu full between the eyes, crushing the skull like +a hollow melon and driving splinters of bone into that savage brain.</p> + +<p>Dylara, weak with relief, felt her knees buckle as the lion sank +lifeless to the ground. Tharn, his knuckles throbbing with pain, jumped +forward and caught her about the waist. She turned her face to him, +then, and he saw that her eyes were wet with tears.</p> + +<p>Her warm red lips, slightly parted, were very near his own. Drawn by an +irresistible impulse, Tharn bent his head to meet them. The girl saw the +clean, firm mouth come close, yet she did not shrink away. Something was +stirring deep within her—something that had never known life before +this moment—something she had no time to analyze.</p> + +<p>Suddenly she wanted more than anything else to feel that mouth pressed +against her own. She lifted her face for Tharn's kiss....</p> + +<p>"Dylara!" said a quiet voice.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The man and the girl sprang apart. Facing them, now, was a group of +eight Sepharian warriors, a tall, broad-shouldered young man at their +head.</p> + +<p>Dylara knew the leader at once. It was Jotan. She saw that his +expression was very stern, and she knew instinctively that he was +thinking of her in Tharn's embrace.</p> + +<p>Jotan ignored the cave-man. "We have been searching for you, Dylara," he +said quietly. "Come, we shall return to Sephar at once."</p> + +<p>Before she could frame a reply, Tharn had stepped in front of her. There +followed a tense, electric moment of silence as the two men eyed each +other.</p> + +<p>"She is mine," Tharn said, without heat. "She goes with me."</p> + +<p>Jotan gestured with one hand. In response, seven spears were leveled at +the cave-man's naked chest.</p> + +<p>"You are wrong, my friend," said the leader. "I am taking her with me. I +have nothing against you; you may have your freedom if you go at once. +Otherwise, you go back to Sephar as a prisoner. Resist, and my men will +kill you."</p> + +<p>Tharn was thinking rapidly. To attack eight armed men would be a fool's +act. Alurna was waiting for him back there in the jungle. And in Alurna +he had that which would put to naught those seven spears.</p> + +<p>Let this man take Dylara back to Sephar. Tharn had only to return with +the princess Alurna and claim his reward from Urim. That reward +was—Dylara! He knew Urim would keep his word, no matter what objections +were offered by this man.</p> + +<p>"Well?" The word was clipped, cold, impatient.</p> + +<p>Without a word Tharn turned and leaped into the branches overhead. He +had not dared to offer Dylara an encouraging sign, fearing to arouse the +Sepharian's suspicions.</p> + +<p>The cave-girl watched him go, disbelief uppermost in her mind. It was +not like Tharn to give up so easily. But did she want him not to give +up? She had thrilled to his strength, his agility and fearlessness +during the encounter with Sadu. No other man could have thus faced the +jungle king with empty hands—and lived.</p> + +<p>But were such qualities enough? She stole a glance at the handsome young +Sepharian. In him was more than mere physical appeal. This man gave an +impression of consideration and thoughtfulness. He would never take a +girl against her will as Tharn had done. He was of a race that had +risen above cave life. His people had learned life could mean more than +the hunt—more than sleeping and eating and talking. Would not living be +richer, more full, with this man than it could possibly be with Tharn?</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Meanwhile, Tharn was speeding back through the trees to join Alurna. Led +by his unerring sense of direction he soon entered the tree where he had +left her.</p> + +<p>She looked up with a relieved smile as he came into view. "I was +beginning to think you had forgotten me," she said warmly. "Whatever +possessed you to run away like that?"</p> + +<p>Tharn had never liked giving long explanations. "It was nothing," he +said lightly. "Let us go on."</p> + +<p>They descended and walked slowly, side by side, along the trail. Alurna +wondered why the cave-man no longer raced ahead as he had done before. +But Tharn's purpose was clear in his mind: it would be best, he decided, +to let Dylara and the Sepharians enter the city ahead of him.</p> + +<p>Nearly two hours later they rounded a bend of the trail and came to a +halt. Alurna gave a little cry of happiness. Directly ahead, beyond a +brief expanse of open ground stood Sephar's walls. Turning to the silent +figure at her side, she caught his arm and, like an eager child, sought +to hurry him on.</p> + +<p>Nor did Tharn need persuasion. He had stopped only because his +ever-present sense of caution bade him go slowly. But the impelling hand +at his arm removed the last lingering trace of reluctance.</p> + +<p>They were half-way across the clearing before one of several warriors +about a gateway spied them and raised a shout that brought a dozen +guards from inside the walls. At sight of the cave-man and his companion +the entire group came running toward them.</p> + +<p>Once more Tharn stopped, hand dropping to the knife at his belt. But the +impatient voice of the princess beat down his suspicion.</p> + +<p>"No, Tharn, no! Those are my father's men. They come to welcome us."</p> + +<p>His fingers relaxed their hold on the knife, but his hand remained close +to its hilt. And then they were surrounded by the men of Sephar.</p> + +<p>This detail was in charge of Lodorth, a tall, rather fleshy warrior of +middle-age, very straight of back and given to the blunt speech of a +soldier. Alurna remembered him as once having been stationed at the +palace.</p> + +<p>"Ah, princess," Lodorth said soberly. "We believed you to be dead or +hopelessly lost. I am glad to be first in welcoming you."</p> + +<p>Alurna was all smiles. "My father is worried, I know. I must go to him +at once, Lodorth."</p> + +<p>An expression which the girl could not define passed across the +officer's face but he made no reply. Instead he turned to his men.</p> + +<p>"Disarm this man and bind his hands!" he ordered, jerking a thumb toward +Tharn.</p> + +<p>Upon hearing this, the cave-man reached quickly for his knife, but froze +as he felt several cold flint spearheads against the skin of his back.</p> + +<p>"Disarm him!" barked the leader curtly.</p> + +<p>One of the men stepped forward, and with a wary eye cocked toward the +motionless figure, plucked the stone blade from Tharn's loin-cloth.</p> + +<p>Then Alurna found her tongue.</p> + +<p>"You are a fool, Lodorth!" she cried, turning on the captain. "This man +saved my life. Give him his knife and show him your respect, or you +shall answer to Urim—and to me!"</p> + +<p>Lodorth eyed her stolidly. "Pryak is king, now," he said, his face an +impassive mask. "Urim is dead!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>Reunion</h3> + + +<p>Pryak, seated in one of the great rooms of the palace, was deep in +conversation with Orbar, his lieutenant. The room, itself, was swarming +with white-tunicked priests, their babbling voices adding to the +atmosphere of confusion and disorder.</p> + +<p>A knock sounded at the door and it was opened to admit three people. As +they entered, a sudden hush fell over the milling throng of priests.</p> + +<p>Pryak, aroused by the abrupt cessation of sound, looked up +questioningly. At sight of the newcomers his eyes opened wide in +surprise; then his lips curled in a smile more disturbing than the +blackest frown.</p> + +<p>"By the God!" he exclaimed, mock pleasure in his tone, "I welcome the +daughter of Urim! I was told you were dead, princess—taken from us by +the cruel jungle. And now you have come back! I shall enjoy hearing of +your adventures."</p> + +<p>The thinly veiled contempt in words and tone brought a wave of red +across Alurna's pale, grief-stained face. Then she spoke—and her words, +barely audible from the choking emotion behind them, carried such hatred +and loathing as to hold Pryak petrified on his chair.</p> + +<p>"Murderer!" she whispered. "Little man of filth! It was you who caused +the death of my father! Who did it for you? How long do you think you +can hold Urim's place before some <i>real</i> man takes your place—and +twists your wrinkled neck?"</p> + +<p>Pryak, his face livid with rage, leaped from his stool and lifted his +hand to strike her into silence.</p> + +<p>The blow never found its mark. Tharn, standing near Alurna, and +forgotten by the others, had moved almost before Pryak was off the +stool.</p> + +<p>And so it was that Pryak, Voice of the Great God, found his bony wrist +seized by fingers of steel and his swinging arm halted as abruptly as +though it had encountered one of the room's stone walls.</p> + +<p>Before the startled priest could cry out or his astounded followers +interfere, he was snatched bodily from his feet and flung almost the +entire length of the chamber.</p> + +<p>Four priests were bowled over by the catapulting body; those human +cushions were all that saved Pryak from injury.</p> + +<p>Tharn went down, then, beneath a horde of fanatical priests. And before +they had him bound and helpless, more than one felt the weight of his +fists and the strength of his arms. At last they dragged him to his feet +and stepped aside as Pryak, rumpled and bruised, came forward.</p> + +<p>"For what you have done," he growled hoarsely, "you shall pay in blood +and suffering. When the lions hunt you down in the arena during the +Games, wild man, remember that you dared to lay hands on Sephar's king."</p> + +<p>Tharn laughed in his face. "Better the fangs of Sadu," he gibed, "than +the stench of a priest!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Stung by the taunt, Pryak went white. Unexpectedly, he lashed out with a +bony fist, catching the young cave-man flush on the mouth. Tharn's +expression did not change under the blow, but something crept into his +eyes that made Pryak shrink back in alarm. Then, remembering the captive +was bound and helpless, he drew back his arm to strike again.</p> + +<p>This time, however, a tall figure stood between him and Tharn—Lodorth, +under-officer in Sephar's forces.</p> + +<p>"You wish the prisoner taken to the pits, O Voice of the God?" The +contempt in Lodorth's tone was poorly concealed.</p> + +<p>For a moment Pryak considered ordering the man aside. He hesitated, then +nodded assent and turned away.</p> + +<p>"And the princess?" Lodorth called after him.</p> + +<p>"Leave her here."</p> + +<p>"This way," said the soldier to young Tharn, and together they moved +toward the exit.</p> + +<p>It was clear to Tharn that this warrior was no admirer of the +treacherous high priest—a conclusion strengthened by the incident in +which Lodorth had saved him from a second blow. He wondered if others in +Sephar felt so toward their new ruler.</p> + +<p>Presently they reached the entrance to the subterranean cell. Releasing +the monstrous bar, Lodorth cut Tharn's bonds and motioned for him to +enter.</p> + +<p>Once within, Tharn's first thought was that he had been brought to +another cell. Instead of the score or so of prisoners he had expected, +there were fully a hundred men gathered here. Then he began to pick out +familiar faces; and an instant later his doubts were dispelled as Katon +came forward to welcome him, his blue eyes sparkling with pleasure.</p> + +<p>"Tharn!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I knew you would return. Did you find +Alurna?"</p> + +<p>"I found her," Tharn admitted ruefully. "But it would have been wiser to +leave her at Sephar's gates."</p> + +<p>Katon's smile faded. "You are right, my friend. Everything seems to work +against us. You and I both have been hurt by this change. Had not Pryak +gone completely mad, you and your mate would be starting for home by +now, and Urim would have set me free.</p> + +<p>"But all that may as well be forgotten, now. Soon the Games begin; our +chief worry will be to save our skins."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn looked about at the many strange faces.</p> + +<p>"It appears we shall have plenty of company," he observed.</p> + +<p>"There are many others besides these," was the reply. "Pryak fears many +of Urim's friends and intends using the Games to eliminate them. A room +across the hall is filled with at least as many as you see here; and +many of those men loved Urim and hate the one who caused his death.</p> + +<p>"Pryak hopes to accomplish a double purpose this time. He will gain +favor by offering the bloodiest Games ever held; also, he expects to +wipe out all who oppose him by sending the opposition itself into the +arena.</p> + +<p>"I am told," Katon continued, "that many savage beasts are held ready to +be sent against us. More than ever, Pryak is determined the final victor +shall not be human. Were a man to prove the God's favorite, Sephar's +populace might turn to him so strongly as to weaken Pryak's position."</p> + +<p>Tharn grinned. "At least we shall have our fill of fighting."</p> + +<p>"More than my fill!" retorted his friend, dryly.</p> + +<p>Tharn, glancing about the crowded room, uttered a startled ejaculation +and pointed toward a figure huddled near one of the walls.</p> + +<p>"Who is that?" he asked. "Even with his face hidden in his hands, he +seems known to me."</p> + +<p>Katon grunted. "And well he should! That, my friend, is Vulcar—once +captain of Urim's own guards!"</p> + +<p>At Tharn's expression of shocked incredulity, he continued:</p> + +<p>"He was brought here, yesterday, with nearly a score of warriors. In all +the hours since, he has not spoken—only sits with bowed head. He, once +so proud, is now humbled and beaten—crushed by the death of the man he +worshipped."</p> + +<p>Tharn studied the dejected figure. Courage might dull under such a blow +as Vulcar had taken; yet it would still be courage. Experience told him +a brave man is brave until death takes him; a coward, while occasionally +rising above his weakness, remains a coward. And certainly Vulcar was +known to be a man of courage.</p> + +<p>From the moment of Tharn's recapture a plan had been taking form in his +shrewd mind. He had never been one to accept resignedly what fate +appeared to offer. If these other prisoners were ready to die in the +arena, that was their affair; certainly he did not intend giving up so +easily. Men like themselves had put them in this hole; and what one man +could do, another could undo. The worst enemy of his fellows was their +patient acceptance of what Pryak had decreed for them. If that viewpoint +could only be reversed....</p> + +<p>Taking Katon by the arm, he started across the room toward Vulcar.</p> + +<p>"What are you—" Katon began, then subsided as the cave-man frowned and +shook his head in warning.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When within a few paces of the former captain, Tharn stopped and turned +his back, and Katon's, to the unheeding Vulcar.</p> + +<p>"I tell you, it seems hard to believe," Tharn began, his voice raised +somewhat above its usual pitch, "that none of Urim's friends has courage +enough to avenge his death. Why, had I served under him, I—"</p> + +<p>"Who says none hopes to avenge Urim?" The quiet words came from behind +them.</p> + +<p>Turning, they found Vulcar, head lifted and shoulders squared, regarding +them fixedly.</p> + +<p>The Cro-Magnard simulated surprise to hide his sudden elation. "If I am +wrong—" He stopped there, waiting.</p> + +<p>"What chance have we to avenge him?" Vulcar demanded, his hawk-like face +drawn into lines of helpless fury. "Here we are—thrown into a hole, +sentenced to die for the satisfaction of a false God—and to save Pryak +from sleepless nights!"</p> + +<p>Tharn appeared sympathetic. "Given a chance, however slight, would you +take it?"</p> + +<p>"Take it?" echoed Vulcar. "Of course! But there is no—"</p> + +<p>"Are there others who feel as you?"</p> + +<p>"I know of eighteen—those who went with me to search for Urim's +daughter. When we returned to Sephar, Pryak's men overpowered us and +brought us here. I am almost glad, now, that we did not find Alurna."</p> + +<p>"Alurna is in Sephar," Tharn informed him. "I brought her back."</p> + +<p>"You?" Vulcar came to his feet in surprise. "How did you get her?"</p> + +<p>Briefly, the cave-man told of what had taken place. When he was done, +Vulcar stepped forward and placed both hands on Tharn's shoulders.</p> + +<p>"My life is yours for what you have done," he said simply. "No matter +what happens to her as Pryak's captive, it cannot be so horrible as +death in the jungle."</p> + +<p>For a moment the three men were silent. Then Tharn said: "Let us sit +here where we shall not be overheard.... Katon, what can you tell me of +the Games?"</p> + +<p>"What do you want to know about them?"</p> + +<p>"Everything," Tharn said promptly. "How far are the pits from the arena +itself? How many of us are sent into the arena at one time? How, and +when, are we given weapons?"</p> + +<p>Katon was eyeing him strangely. "Why do you want to know those things?"</p> + +<p>"I will explain that after you have answered my questions."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The conversation that followed was carried on in low voices. Katon did +most of the talking; from time to time Vulcar added details. Tharn did +little more than listen attentively.</p> + +<p>At last the cave-man expressed satisfaction. "I think it can be done," +he said slowly. "There is one weakness they have not covered."</p> + +<p>"<i>What</i> can be done?" Plainly, Katon was puzzled. "What is behind all +this, Tharn?"</p> + +<p>Tharn leaned forward. "We want two things—and so does every man in this +room and the room across the hall. First: freedom. Second: death to +Pryak! Are you with me?"</p> + +<p>Vulcar made a face. "Either one is beyond our reach. What can a few +unarmed men do against all Sephar?"</p> + +<p>"What have we to lose?" demanded the Cro-Magnard. "All of us are +supposed to die within the arena. If we must accept death, why not do so +while trying to escape?"</p> + +<p>Katon and Vulcar exchanged glances. It was evident neither had thought +of it just that way before.</p> + +<p>"What," Vulcar said softly, "do you suggest?"</p> + +<p>"To begin with," Tharn said, "it would be wise to have three or four +more hear my plan. They in turn can pass the details on to the rest of +the prisoners. Those across the hall must be included, and I have an +idea how that can be arranged. We shall need every man we can get."</p> + +<p>Vulcar said, "Let me pick the four."</p> + +<p>Soon the former captain was back, his selections close at his heels. +Tharn and Katon rose to meet them.</p> + +<p>"These are good men," Vulcar said. "I know them all. They are ready to +follow your lead.</p> + +<p>"This one—" He indicated a short, squat man with heavy features and +much coarse hair on chest, legs and head, "—is Brutan. He likes to +fight."</p> + +<p>Unexpectedly Brutan grinned. "Yes," he said in a deep, harsh voice, "I +like to fight. I will fight anybody. I will fight you!"</p> + +<p>Tharn grinned back at him. There was something likeable about this +rock-like Sepharian.</p> + +<p>"This," continued Vulcar, "is Rotark. He is not afraid to die."</p> + +<p>Rotark was tall and very thin, with a long, sorrowful face. "Why should +I be afraid?" he asked in lugubrious tones. "There is no pleasure in +living. Soon we shall all be dead."</p> + +<p>Next, Vulcar jerked a thumb toward a young, very handsome warrior whose +tunic was amazingly clean and spotless in contrast to those of the +others. His thick blond hair was neatly pushed back from a high, rounded +forehead.</p> + +<p>"He is Gorlat," said Vulcar. "He does not like to fight, but will do so +to keep from being killed. Few men are his equal with a knife."</p> + +<p>The blond young man smiled but said nothing.</p> + +<p>"Brosan, here, you already know."</p> + +<p>Tharn nodded. He remembered that pock-marked face, as well as the +unconcerned grin exposing yellowed, broken teeth.</p> + +<p>The cave-man came directly to the point.</p> + +<p>"We are supposed to die in the arena for the amusement of Pryak and the +people of Sephar. To me, that seems wrong. It would be better if Pryak +and his priests were the ones to die.</p> + +<p>"I think that can be arranged. Listen, and when I am done, let me know +what you think of my plan."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>They listened closely and without interrupting. And while he awaited +their reaction, they looked at one another in silence, while broad +smiles began to steal across their faces. Even Rotark's lips twitched in +approval.</p> + +<p>"Good!" said Brutan the laconic.</p> + +<p>"Even though we fail," said Rotark mournfully, "it is worth trying."</p> + +<p>Gorlat said nothing, but his smile matched the brilliance of his hair. +Katon and Vulcar regarded the cave-man with respect, deeply impressed +with the plan he had offered. They realized the force of this +barbarian's personality—that intangible requisite of all who would be +leaders—had grasped the imagination of these men, winning their loyalty +and unstinted support.</p> + +<p>"When shall we tell the others?" Brosan asked.</p> + +<p>"Go among them now," Tharn advised. "Explain our plan briefly, but cover +every point. Warn them not to chance arousing suspicion among the +guards. Everything depends upon absolute secrecy."</p> + +<p>It was on the following day that the great Games began.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When the door closed behind Tharn and Lodorth, a feeling of loneliness +swept over the princess Alurna. She had come to regard the cave-man as +her friend—perhaps the only friend left to her in all Sephar. She +glanced fearfully at the face of the high-priest and found nothing there +to reassure her.</p> + +<p>Pryak's expression was stern; but that sternness was a mask to hide an +inner perturbation. For there had come to him the realization that in +this frail girl lay a vital threat to his newly won power.</p> + +<p>He silently cursed his stupidity in receiving her so ungraciously, and +silently he thanked his God that he had been prevented from actually +striking the princess.</p> + +<p>Alurna, he remembered, was more than Urim's daughter; she was niece to +the most powerful figure of the known world—Jaltor, king of far-off +Ammad, and commander of the greatest force of fighting-men ever +assembled. Urim had been Jaltor's brother....</p> + +<p>Eventually, Jaltor would learn of his brother's death. As a statesman +and ruler, he would understand that Urim's passing was incidental to a +change in power and one of the hazards of kinghood.</p> + +<p>It was not likely, however, that Jaltor would regard in a similar light +an overt slight or actual cruelty to a niece. As a possible threat to +Pryak's position as king, Alurna was not to be considered; only a man +could rule men. For that reason alone, the high priest had no valid +excuse to do her harm.</p> + +<p>His course, then, was plain; every effort must be made to win this girl +into regarding him as a friend, lest word reach Jaltor that his niece +was a mistreated prisoner in Sephar.</p> + +<p>The chill faded from Pryak's expression like snow under a hot sun. "I +have been wrong, princess," he admitted, with passable humbleness. "As +Urim's daughter, you are entitled to every respect and honor. From now +on you may depend on being accorded both."</p> + +<p>Alurna could hardly believe her ears. What had come over this old man, +to change him so quickly and completely?</p> + +<p>Her response was instant and characteristic. "I want nothing from you, +priest!" she snapped.</p> + +<p>Pryak lost his smile, but none of his urbanity. He beckoned to a nearby +attendant. "Escort the princess to her rooms," he instructed. "See to it +that her every wish is obeyed."</p> + +<p>When Alurna had gone, a thoughtful Pryak dropped onto his stool across +from Orbar and pursed his lips reflectively.</p> + +<p>"There must be some way to dispose of her," he said, "without incurring +the wrath of Jaltor."</p> + +<p>Orbar grinned evilly. "A knife in the dark...." He let his voice trail +off meaningly.</p> + +<p>"You are a fool!" growled the new king. "Her uncle and his men would be +at our gates within two moons. I dare not risk—"</p> + +<p>He broke off as an under-priest came hurriedly from across the room and +bowed before him.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Baltor?"</p> + +<p>"The three nobles of Ammad are here, asking that you see them."</p> + +<p>Pryak sighed. Here were others he must treat with deference, lest his +failure to do so cause international complications. He was beginning to +understand that even an all-powerful monarch must recognize the +importance of individuals other than himself. He felt vaguely +distressed....</p> + +<p>"Bring them to me, here," he said.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A moment later Jotan, Tamar and Javan approached the seated men and bent +their heads in formal recognition.</p> + +<p>"How may I, king of Sephar and Voice of the God, serve our noble +visitors?" asked the arch-priest loftily.</p> + +<p>Jotan acted as spokesman. "By granting us permission to set out for +Ammad. Already have we delayed longer than was intended. To avoid the +rainy season we should like to leave at once."</p> + +<p>Pryak thought for a moment. He must not let them go so easily. They +might think that he was relieved to be rid of them—that his hospitality +was less than Urim's had been.</p> + +<p>He said, "Would you start on so perilous a journey without first showing +honor to your God? Tomorrow the Games begin. It would be wise to attend +the first two days; otherwise misfortune may beset your path to Ammad."</p> + +<p>Jotan was shrewd enough to yield. He guessed that Pryak was expecting to +strengthen further his position as king by exhibiting the three +Ammadians to the crowd as his intimates.</p> + +<p>"Agreed," he responded. "I know that Jaltor, my king, will be greatly +interested in an account of the lavishness of Sephar's Games."</p> + +<p>It was then that Pryak found a solution to his problem!</p> + +<p>Jotan, thinking the interview ended, had turned to go.</p> + +<p>"Wait, Jotan of Ammad!"</p> + +<p>The men from Ammad turned, surprised by the urgency in the high priest's +voice. Pryak had risen and was coming toward them.</p> + +<p>"There is something you can do for me, Jotan—a small matter, but one +that will relieve a rather delicate situation."</p> + +<p>"Of course," Jotan said quickly.</p> + +<p>"It concerns Alurna—Urim's daughter. She is not happy here. Since her +father's ... passing, she seems anxious to leave Sephar.</p> + +<p>"It is my thought that she go with you to Ammad. Her uncle, Jaltor, +would welcome her, I am sure; and she would be content there. Will you +take her with you?"</p> + +<p>Jotan saw his chance! Ever since Dylara had been taken from him by +Pryak's men a few hours before, Jotan had been at his wits' end for a +way to get her back. The guards, learning she was an escaped slave, had +taken her from the Ammadians as a matter of course; for, as a slave, she +was the property of Sephar's king. Jotan had not demurred, partly +because it would have been useless to argue the point with anyone +lacking authority to make a decision, and partly because he was +confident that Urim, when asked, would give the girl to him.</p> + +<p>But upon learning of Urim's death, and of Pryak's seizure of power, +Jotan's hopes began to fade. Pryak's reluctance toward granting favors, +however trivial, was a matter of common gossip. This, coupled with the +fact that the high priest might not be inclined to be overly cordial +toward a close friend of the former ruler, decided Jotan against asking +for the slave-girl—a decision strengthened by Tamar's logic during a +discussion held shortly before the three friends had come to the palace.</p> + +<p>Several times during the interview with Pryak, Jotan had been near to +blurting out a request that Dylara be given to him. But his pride would +not permit the risk of being coldly refused, and each time he had bitten +back the words.</p> + +<p>But now—now the picture was changed. Pryak had opened the way for a +counter-proposal; one the priest could hardly refuse because of his own +request.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Jotan hid his elation behind an expressionless face. "I will gladly do +as you have asked, Pryak of Ammad. Incidentally, there is a trifling +favor you can grant me—if you will."</p> + +<p>Tamar, listening, groaned inwardly.</p> + +<p>"What is this favor?" asked the priest cautiously.</p> + +<p>"I have become interested in one of the palace slave-girls," Jotan told +him. "I should like to have her."</p> + +<p>The modestness of the request confused Pryak. Somehow, such a petition +seemed irrelevant, too petty.</p> + +<p>"Of course," he agreed quickly. "I had expected that you would ask for +something of more value. Take whichever slave you want—several, if you +like."</p> + +<p>"Your kindness indicates how generous a king rules Sephar," Jotan said +smoothly. "If one of your men will accompany me, I shall give him the +necessary instructions."</p> + +<p>"Baltor, here, will carry out your orders." Pryak indicated the +attendant who had ushered them in.</p> + +<p>When they had left the room, Jotan said to the attendant:</p> + +<p>"Go at once to the quarters of the female slaves. Instruct the guards +there to turn over to you the slave-girl known as Dylara. You will bring +her to my quarters."</p> + +<p>"I understand, noble Jotan."</p> + +<p>"When you have done this, return to the palace and seek out the +princess, Alurna. Convey to her my greetings, and say that I wish an +audience with her at her convenience.... Is all this clear to you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Good! Report to me when you have finished."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>Death in a Bowl</h3> + + +<p>Dyta, the sun, climbed his blue ladder and looked down at the city of +Sephar in its mountain fastness. Behind those gray stone walls hummed an +activity found there only five days in every twelve moons.</p> + +<p>For today was the first of the Game days. Since early morning the +streets leading to the great amphitheater were packed with an eager +citizenry, pushing and jostling its way toward the arena's several +entrances. Those first to arrive had their choice of seats; consequently +many had huddled beneath heavy cloaks outside the barred gates during +the dark hours, awaiting the moment when they might enter.</p> + +<p>It was a colorful throng, every member light-hearted, gay and friendly. +Men and women pushed and tugged at their neighbors—friend and stranger +alike—to keep the milling mass moving. Most of them carried parcels of +food, for the Games lasted each day until the hour of sunset. Whole +family groups were numerous: father, mother, and the brood of children. +Many of the latter were mere infants, watching the swarm of shifting +humanity with wide wondering eyes.</p> + +<p>Patrolling the avenues and directing the crowds at the gates were many +priests in white tunics. This was to be their day, as well; for shortly +before the Games got under way, elaborate rites, honoring the God, were +to be held, in which every priest was to take part.</p> + +<p>Truly, this was the day of days.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>In the great cell beneath Sephar's streets, Tharn, Katon, Vulcar, +Rotark, Brosan, Brutan and Gorlat squatted in a group about a huge +earthen bowl of stewed meat. They, together with the balance of the +prisoners, had been aroused from sleep an hour before sunrise, and had +been given food that their strength and endurance might be equal to the +tasks ahead.</p> + +<p>Katon, seated across from Tharn, caught the Cro-Magnard's eye and nodded +significantly.</p> + +<p>"For a man who may be dead within a few hours," he said grimly, "you +seem very cheerful."</p> + +<p>Tharn grinned. "Would you have me seek out Pryak and beg for my life?"</p> + +<p>The others laughed. Brutan put down a bone from which he had gnawed the +meat, and belched with frank satisfaction. "I will show them how a real +man fights!" he declared. "With my bare hands I once slew a leopard!"</p> + +<p>Brosan made a derisive sound. "It must have been a very old leopard."</p> + +<p>Brutan's complacent expression vanished. "You lie!" he bellowed, glaring +belligerently at his heckler. "It was a great, full-grown—"</p> + +<p>"Quiet, you fool!" snapped Katon. "This is no time to start a brawl."</p> + +<p>Brutan mumbled something under his breath and went back to his bone.</p> + +<p>Rotark wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "How many of us will +see the end of this day?" he asked in doleful tones. "Take Gorlat, +here—so careful not to soil his tunic. It may soak in his own blood +before darkness comes again!"</p> + +<p>The blond young man kept his mechanical smile. He said: "Not if they +give me a knife...."</p> + +<p>Something in the soft words brought a momentary silence to the group. +What had Vulcar said yesterday about this handsome, graceful youth? "Few +men equal him in handling a knife...."</p> + +<p>Katon said, "It will be an hour before the Games actually +get under way. First they must finish the rites honoring the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken—a lengthy ritual. Then the guards will +come, select a few of us, give them arms and send them into the arena."</p> + +<p>"Somehow," Tharn said thoughtfully, "I wonder if it is wise to wait +until the third day before putting our plan into action. After three +days many of our men will have died in the arena. We shall need every +man we can get."</p> + +<p>Katon rubbed his chin, frowning. "True," he admitted. "But to hurry this +thing would be fatal. The guards must be satisfied that everything is +going smoothly before they relax their watchfulness.</p> + +<p>"Although we shall lose men," he continued, "I believe many of the +soldiers and citizens of Sephar will join us when the revolt gets under +way. Few, I imagine, regard Pryak with favor; they should welcome a +chance to end his power and make one of their own men king."</p> + +<p>Then and there the germ of an idea was implanted in Tharn's mind—an +idea destined to bear fruit in the days ahead.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>For the better part of an hour the seven ring-leaders moved about the +chamber, talking with groups of prisoners, discussing various phases of +the plan Tharn had concocted. So confident did the seven seem, that many +a despondent captive was caught up by their infectious spirit and began +to grow impatient for the Games to start that the two days might pass +the sooner.</p> + +<p>At last the noise of sandaled feet sounded in the corridor, and a moment +later the door was thrust open.</p> + +<p>Five men came in: four well-armed priests wearing white tunics edged in +black; and another, who was as different from the nondescript priests as +Sadu differs from Botu, the jackal.</p> + +<p>Head and shoulders above his companions towered this fifth man; his face +was strong and proud, and from either side of a blade-like nose, eyes of +blue fire swept over the crowded room.</p> + +<p>Katon nudged the Cro-Magnard. "That tall one is Wotar, director of the +Games. He is no priest; and before Urim died, was one of Sephar's most +powerful nobles. He has been Game director for a long time; and since he +seems still in charge, must be high in Pryak's favor."</p> + +<p>Wotar may have heard the whispered words, for he glanced sharply in +Katon's direction. The glittering eyes stopped at the sight of Tharn, +taking in the graceful contours and swelling thews beneath the clear +bronzed skin.</p> + +<p>"You," Wotar said quietly, crooking a long forefinger at the cave-man.</p> + +<p>At first, Tharn did not fully comprehend; but when two of the priests +laid hold of his arms, his doubt was gone.</p> + +<p>"Goodbye, my friend." Katon's voice was sad. "We shall watch for your +return."</p> + +<p>"I will be back," Tharn promised from the doorway. Then he was gone, the +great door crashing shut behind him.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn, preceded and followed by guards, was led along the corridor to +where it ended before a narrow door. In response to Wotar's knock it +opened, disclosing a small chamber almost filled with a miscellany of +weapons of every type known to prehistoric man. An attendant stood in +the center of the room, awaiting instructions from the director.</p> + +<p>"No weapons," Wotar said briefly. He turned to the cave-man. "You are to +go directly to the arena's center and wait for whatever I send against +you. Make a good fight of it and the crowd will be for you. That can +mean much to you. If you manage to kill your opponent, return here at +once. Do you understand?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>Wotar nodded to the attendant and the arena door was opened, flooding +the room with sunshine. Tharn, blinking in the sudden light, stepped +out on to the white sands of Sephar's Colosseum.</p> + +<p>That which met his eyes was something Tharn was never to forget. The +sandy floor was perhaps three hundred feet in length and half as many in +width—a perfectly symmetrical ellipse surrounded by a sheer stone wall +twelve feet in height. Beyond that wall the spectator stands began, tier +upon tier of stone benches sloping up and back for fifty yards to the +last row.</p> + +<p>The thousands of seats were filled with a shifting mass of humans, most +of whom had risen as Tharn came into sight.</p> + +<p>Never before had the cave-man seen so many people at one time; and the +noise and confusion affected him exactly as it would any jungle denizen. +His first instinctive impulse was to retreat, not because of fright, for +he knew no fear, but because it was strange and unpleasant and, worst of +all, there was that infernal din which only man of all animals can long +endure.</p> + +<p>The cave lord halted and half turned as though to withdraw, but the +crowd, believing him to be afraid, set up an ear-splitting clamor of +catcalls, whistlings and raucous shouts that whirled the barbarian about +in sudden anger.</p> + +<p>For a long moment he glared at the multi-eyed beast above him; then a +slight sound at his back aroused him to his immediate surroundings.</p> + +<p>He wheeled just as a huge figure launched itself at his neck. Before +Tharn could prevent it, strong fingers closed about his throat and the +impact of a solid body sent him staggering, saved from falling only by +superhuman effort.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>During the seconds in which all this transpired, Tharn had discovered +what it was that had leaped cat-like upon him. He saw a great hulk of a +man, naked except for a pelt about his loins; a man with muscles bulging +so in arms, legs and shoulders as to constitute a deformity. He was not +quite so tall as Tharn, with an ugly, hairy face, contorted with rage.</p> + +<p>With the speed of a striking snake Tharn's hands came up, caught the +wrists at his throat and tore away those choking fingers as though they +were so many strands of cobweb. Then Tharn seized the other before he +could twist free—caught him by thrusting an arm between the crotch of +those gnarled legs while the other hand held to a hairy forearm. Lifting +him thus, Tharn swung the man aloft like a bundle of grass, then flung +him heavily to the sands a dozen paces away.</p> + +<p>The onlookers came to their feet with a swelling roar of approval. This +was what they had come to see; and they set up a deafening clamor that +seemed to shake the stands. Tharn never heard them.</p> + +<p>Now the dazed enemy was scrambling to his feet. Before he was fully +erect, Tharn was upon him with the silent ferocity of Jalok, the +panther. Grabbing the cringing man by the throat, the cave-man lifted +him bodily from the sands, and holding him at forearm's length, shook +him as a terrier shakes a rodent; shook him until the screaming voice +was stilled as the senses fled and the white figure hung limp and +motionless within Tharn's grasp.</p> + +<p>Then, while the crowd watched in thrilled horror, Tharn dropped to one +knee, placed the dead weight of his unconscious foe against his leg and +snapped the man's spine as he might have broken a slender branch.</p> + +<p>Rising, Tharn tossed aside the lifeless body and, not deigning to +acknowledge by look or gestures the pandemonium of acclaim, disappeared +through the arms-room door.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>On the same morning that the Sepharian Games had opened, a band of fifty +warriors, clothed only in animal skins about their middles, halted on +the outskirts of an impenetrable forest which towered across their path. +At their backs was a broad prairie that had required many days to cross.</p> + +<p>The leader of the group, a man of heroic proportions, called together +three of the men and engaged them in earnest conversation. Several times +he gestured toward the mouth of a game trail leading into the jungle; +but the others continued to shake their heads as though unconvinced.</p> + +<p>"He would not go that way," one of them was saying. "In that direction +are high hills, and beyond those are great mountains he could not hope +to pass."</p> + +<p>"We do not know that he came even this far," said another of the three. +"We lost his trail over two suns ago; he may have changed his path many +times since then."</p> + +<p>Their leader silenced them with a wave of his hand. "You have told me +nothing to change my mind. The trail lies ahead; when we can go no +farther will be time enough to turn back and seek in a new direction."</p> + +<p>A few minutes later the last of the band had passed from view between +the walls of vegetation lining the narrow path.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Dylara, seated just behind the retaining wall of the arena, watched +Tharn's broad back pass through the little doorway. About her was the +murmur of many voices exclaiming over the exhibition of brute strength +they had just witnessed. Dimly she heard Alurna telling of being rescued +by that same forest god, the three nobles from Ammad serving as +audience.</p> + +<p>The cave-girl was trying hard to analyze the tangled emotions resulting +from Tharn's appearance. Something related to the sensation she had +known when he had taken her in his arms after striking Sadu dead, had +come back to her. Why did sight of him make her heart leap with that +peculiar breathless swoop? No one else she had ever known could effect +it so. How handsome, how magnificent he had appeared, standing there on +the white sands, sweeping the crowd with a contemptuous glance before +leaving the arena.</p> + +<p>She stole a glance at the handsome profile of Jotan as he listened +politely to Alurna's story. How fortunate she was to have won the love +of this man. In him were qualities all women sought in the men of their +choice. Good-looking, kindly, thoughtful, an honorable position in his +world—what more could any man offer?</p> + +<p>Yet only Tharn, untamed man of the caves, could make her heart leap and +thrill—something Jotan might never be able to do.</p> + +<p>Last night a priest had come to the great room where she had been taken +upon her return to Sephar. He had brought her to Jotan's quarters, and +she had spent the night there, sharing a room with the princess Alurna, +who had welcomed the opportunity of leaving the palace.</p> + +<p>The two girls had little to say to each other. Alurna had regarded the +slave-girl with unmasked loathing; while Dylara, after the first cold +rebuff of her attempt to be friendly, had withdrawn into a shell of +silence.</p> + +<p>On the following morning, however, Alurna had surprised Dylara by +displaying an attitude of warm friendliness toward her. Behind this +sudden change was the secret decision of the princess to undermine +Jotan's attempts to win the slave-girl....</p> + +<p>Just as the second event was about to get under way, Jotan got up, +excused himself and made his way to the section of the stands reserved +for Pryak and the Council of Priests. There he took a seat beside the +high priest.</p> + +<p>Pryak glanced at him with a questioning lift of his eyebrows.</p> + +<p>"O Voice of the God," said Jotan, "my men and I have kept our promise to +attend the opening of the Games. We are anxious to start on our journey, +and ask your permission to depart without further loss of time."</p> + +<p>Sephar's enthusiastic reception of the Games thus far, had put the king +in high humor.</p> + +<p>"As you wish, Jotan," he said, rising and placing his hands on the +other's shoulders. "I ask of the God a safe and uneventful journey for +you and your men. And to Jaltor of Ammad, I send my greetings and +avowals of lasting friendship. Explain to him my reasons for placing +Urim's daughters in his care. He will approve, I am sure."</p> + +<p>"All you have asked shall be done," promised Jotan. "And now, Pryak, +king of Sephar and Voice of the God, I bid you farewell."</p> + +<p>Turning, Jotan hurried along the stone aisle to his own lodge and +waiting friends. Once there, he raised himself to his full height and +waved both arms above his head.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Directly across the arena a group of some forty or fifty warriors rose +in a body and started toward the nearest exit.</p> + +<p>"Come," Jotan said, motioning to the balance of those in his party. "We +start at once for Ammad."</p> + +<p>Dylara stood up, casting one last look toward the closed doorway through +which Tharn had passed not long before. He had been her last tie with +the old life. Now she was about to leave all that behind, to go into a +new world at the side of a man she greatly admired. Why was her heart so +heavy? Was it because she would never again see the caves of her +people—the face of her father? Or was it because Tharn was lost to her, +forever? Even should he come through the Games alive, she would be +gone—separated from him by the vast distance between Sephar and the +country Jotan called home.</p> + +<p>Jotan had told her something of the long stretches of untracked jungles +and waterless plains between Sephar and Ammad. From others of the +visitors she had heard stories of savage beasts and wild tribes of men +that haunted the mountain trails and forest-cloaked ravines to the +south. And beyond the mountains began a level monotony of grasslands +that reached to still more mountains forming the boundary to Ammad +itself.</p> + +<p>The street before the building allocated to the visitors swarmed with +hurrying figures bearing a wide assortment of articles to be bound into +individual packs for easy handling.</p> + +<p>Jotan took active charge. Quickly the line of march began to take form. +Broad-shouldered men swung compact bundles to their backs; well-armed +warriors took up their positions; and last of all, strongly made litters +of animal skins stretched between long poles, arrived for use of the two +female members of the party.</p> + +<p>Dylara, following the example set by Alurna, seated herself in the exact +center of the sheet of skins as it lay in the street. Two brawny +attendants stepped forward, bent, one at either end of the wooden poles, +and in perfect unison swung the rods to their shoulders.</p> + +<p>From his position at the column's forefront, Jotan looked back and waved +a greeting to the two girls. Satisfied that all were in place, he +shouted a command and the safari got under way.</p> + +<p>Across the city they marched, through wide-flung gates in the great +walls, and on across the cleared space beyond. Before them rose the +majestic trees and thick matted foliage of the forbidding jungle; and +here, leading directly southward through a tangled maze, was the +beginnings of a well-beaten trail, the first of many such roadways the +little cortege must follow before far-off Ammad could be reached.</p> + +<p>Just before the marchers entered the forest, Dylara turned to look back +at Sephar's walls, grim and impressive under the sun's flaming rays. +Still behind those sullen piles of rock was the man she could not +forget. Something deep within her whispered that she had found love only +to lose it; that happiness for her lay in forgetting, forever, the +stalwart young giant who had snatched her from a peaceful, uneventful +life.</p> + +<p>Once more she looked back, and abruptly the stone walls wavered and +dimmed as hot tears flooded her eyes....</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>A Lesson in Archery</h3> + + +<p>Dyta, the sun, swung lazily toward the western horizon. And with the +coming of dusk, Pryak rose from his bench at the edge of the arena in +Sephar's amphitheater and gave the signal ending the first day of the +Games.</p> + +<p>At his gesture the spectators climbed to their feet and pressed toward +the exits. They were less lively—more subdued than when they had poured +into the enclosure hours before. Perhaps the constant association with +death during the long day had sobered them, hushing their tongues at +last. But on the morrow they would be back, yesterday's scenes +forgotten, appetites whetted once more for hours of carnage.</p> + +<p>While far beneath Sephar a roomful of tired unsmiling men spread their +sleeping furs for the night in ominous silence. For them a long day had +ended, yet taut nerves relaxed but slightly; for all knew that on the +next day the wearying ordeal must begin anew.</p> + +<p>Morning found most of the prisoners awake and moving about the cell when +the morning meal was served. After the attendants had withdrawn and the +crowds were beginning to stream into the amphitheater, Tharn called a +number of prisoners together.</p> + +<p>"Get ready," he said. "The guards are due here any minute. Listen at the +door, Katon; when you hear them, let us know."</p> + +<p>Turning, the cave-man pulled Vulcar into position as the central figure +of the group. In this formation they waited expectantly, all eyes on +Katon at the door with one ear glued to the crack between door and jamb.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Katon straightened. "They come!" he whispered, and sprang +forward to join the others.</p> + +<p>At his words, the prisoners, yelling in well-simulated rage, pounced on +the hawk-faced Vulcar. The one-time officer was swept from his feet and +sent crashing to the floor with a resounding thump. A second later he +was at the bottom of a pile of raving madmen, all clearly lusting for +his blood.</p> + +<p>It was this scene that met the eyes of four guards and Wotar as they +came into the room. Taking in the situation at a glance, the director +barked a curt order that sent the guards into the scuffle. Using spear +butts as flails they managed to beat the cursing prisoners from the +limp body of a disheveled Vulcar, who got painfully to his feet.</p> + +<p>"What means this?" Wotar thundered. "Is there so little fighting in the +arena that you must brawl amongst yourselves?"</p> + +<p>Vulcar, still trembling from his narrow escape, hurried to explain.</p> + +<p>"These men," he panted, indicating the scowling faces about him, "hate +me because they think I am responsible for their being here. I have +tried to tell them it was Urim's fault, that I had only obeyed his +orders; but they would not listen. Some cried out that they would kill +me; then all of them sprang upon me. I would be dead now, had you not +come. As soon as you go they will try again. Put me elsewhere, mighty +Wotar; I am afraid to stay here."</p> + +<p>Vulcar's voice broke with fear, and he trembled so that he could hardly +stand.</p> + +<p>Wotar's lips curled with contempt. "Put him with the prisoners across +the hall," he instructed one of the soldier-priests. "Perhaps they will +be more gentle and considerate."</p> + +<p>Wotar was an intelligent man; but he failed to notice that the departing +prisoner no longer seemed the craven weakling of a moment before. Too, +he failed to perceive the poorly hidden satisfaction of the other +captives....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The Game director, an experienced showman, had planned as the second +day's opening event, something calculated to arouse the spectators to +the highest pitch of excitement. Once in that frame of mind they would +follow each succeeding event with increasing enthusiasm—enthusiasm +being the barometer by which his fitness as director was measured.</p> + +<p>Three times his finger crooked; each time a man stepped forward.</p> + +<p>Quickly the guards took up positions and the three prisoners were led +away.</p> + +<p>In the arms-room each participant was handed a bow and three arrows. +Wotar gave them instructions, the outer door was opened, and Katon, +Rotark and Tharn stepped onto the sands.</p> + +<p>From the stands came a full-throated roar of approval. Tharn's fabulous +strength and agility they remembered from his initial appearance; the +others they also recalled as being exceptional fighting-men.</p> + +<p>This morning Tharn was feeling remarkably light-hearted. His supreme +self-confidence gave him assurance his plan of escape would come off +perfectly when the time was ripe. And certainly he was enjoying himself! +These battles with men and with animals, with death the penalty for any +mistake in tactics, were doing much to satisfy that deep love of +adventure which was so great a part of him.</p> + +<p>The men crossed the arena's entire length, halting a few feet from the +eastern wall. Then they turned about and waited, watching silently the +wooden door of the distant arms-room.</p> + +<p>They had not long to wait. Scarcely had they turned when that door +opened and three warriors, each with a bow and three arrows, came out. +They were clothed in white tunics, with legs and feet bare. All were +taller than the average Sepharian, with wide shoulders, narrow hips and +slender well-formed legs.</p> + +<p>"Sephar's three finest bowmen," Katon murmured. "The tallest is Maltor, +at one time chief of archers under Jaltor, and probably the greatest man +with a bow in our history.</p> + +<p>"I had forgotten the report that he would fight in the arena. Since he +enlisted in the Games only to display his bowmanship, he may withdraw at +any time. Watch him constantly, for he is our greatest danger."</p> + +<p>He fell silent then, sudden lines of worry on his face. "Tharn, I +remember, now, that you know nothing of fighting with a bow. We must +work out some way of covering you."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The cave-man permitted himself a grim smile. "You are wrong," he said +quietly. "The bow and I are good friends. I will keep up my end of this +fight."</p> + +<p>Katon was satisfied. "Good. Now if only we can outwit them....</p> + +<p>"Let them shoot first. Watch the fingers of their right hands; when they +open on the arrow's haft, jump quickly aside, keeping an arrow ready in +your own bow. The moment you regain balance aim quickly and send your +first answer.</p> + +<p>"Aim always for the belly. A man can shift his head and shoulders much +quicker than he can his middle. Besides, his belly is a broader mark.</p> + +<p>"Ready now! They are getting close! Tharn—Maltor is for you. +Rotark—see what you can do with the man on his left. The other is mine.</p> + +<p>"Ah! they have stopped. They still are too far away to risk a shot. +Being careful, I suppose; they had better be!</p> + +<p>"Tharn! Thrust two of your arrows point first in the sand within reach. +Fit the other to your bow. Do the same, Rotark.</p> + +<p>"Careful now! They are starting this way again! Maltor is no fool; he is +trying to coax us into wasting arrows."</p> + +<p>Katon fell silent. His two friends, their bows half drawn, arrow points +held downward, stood relaxed, intently gauging the approach of the +enemy, now a scant forty paces away.</p> + +<p>An absolute silence had enveloped the entire amphitheater as every +observer of this tense drama strained his eyes to catch the impending +action.</p> + +<p>Now Maltor, arrogant and impatient, stepped a pace or two in advance of +his companions. Notching an arrow, he nodded over his shoulder to the +others, who came up beside him. Three bows were raised in unison; the +warriors aimed their shafts carefully, each at a different member of +Katon's troupe. The human targets stood at ease, seemingly indifferent +to their danger.</p> + +<p>And then the scheme the wily Maltor had evolved was flashed on the enemy +with a suddenness and brilliancy of execution that would have done much +to settle the final outcome—had it succeeded.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A split second before the arrows were released, two of the three archers +turned their aim toward the same target as that selected by Maltor. +Immediately three bowstrings twanged as one, sending three flint-tipped +shafts with incredible swiftness at a single mark.</p> + +<p>To avoid one swiftly flying missile was difficult enough; to dodge +three, so cunningly spaced that a move to either side would avail +naught, was all but impossible. Yet in the flicker of time required for +the arrows to reach him, Tharn had acted in the only manner possible to +avoid impalement.</p> + +<p>Flat on his face dropped the cave-man, the three bolts passing inches +above his descending head to shatter against the stone wall beyond. As +he fell, Katon and Rotark fired their first arrows.</p> + +<p>One found a mark. A man screamed suddenly, horribly, and sank to the +sand, a wooden shaft protruding from his abdomen. Rotark had followed +instructions!</p> + +<p>Had Katon's target been less agile there would have been two casualties. +But the man managed to avoid that flashing point by a sideward lunge, +keeping his balance with difficulty in the shifting sands.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Tharn had not remained passively in a reclining position. As +the opening barrage passed over him, he rose to his knees and dispatched +his first arrow at the foe Katon had given him.</p> + +<p>Maltor was too seasoned a warrior to be caught napping. Even though he +had momentarily dismissed Tharn as a source of danger, he had kept an +eye on the cave-man. And that precaution enabled him to twist aside +barely in time to keep from being struck.</p> + +<p>The veteran bowman gasped incredulously as the stone-shod missile whined +past. He marvelled that a man's arm could be capable of driving an arrow +with such superhuman power.</p> + +<p>It was Maltor's last thought in this life.</p> + +<p>Even as Tharn released his first arrow, his right hand shot out, +snatched a second from its vertical position in the sand, strung it and +let go—all within the quiver of an eye-lid. Maltor, still trying to +regain balance, was in no position to dodge again.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Those in the stands saw the famed bowman straighten as though jerked +upright by an invisible hand. Mouth agape, eyes staring in +uncomprehending horror, he remained upright for a long moment, while a +red line trickled between the fingers he had clapped to his side. Then +he turned in a slow half-circle, his knees buckled; and Maltor sank to +the sands, dead where he fell.</p> + +<p>So savage had been the force behind Tharn's arrow that head and shaft +had passed completely through the Sepharian's body.</p> + +<p>Rotark, watching, spellbound by the brief drama, was shocked from his +inertia when his bow was torn from his grasp and hurled several yards +away. One end struck him, in its flight, full across the face and sent +him sprawling.</p> + +<p>An arrow intended for Rotark's heart had, instead, crashed against the +hardwood bow in his hand. The impact cost Rotark two of his teeth; an +inch or so either way would have cost him his life.</p> + +<p>While the doleful one was still falling, Katon's bow spoke a second time +and the last enemy dropped, mortally wounded.</p> + +<p>Rotark, gloomier than ever, got unsteadily to his feet, +spat out two teeth as an involuntary offering to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud, picked up his splintered bow and +started for the exit.</p> + +<p>Katon and Tharn grinned quietly to one another and followed him.</p> + +<p>And the thrilled thousands in the stands released at last the breath +they unconsciously had been holding for long seconds.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>And so the day wore on. Many times during the passing hours guards +entered the great cell to select men for combat in the arena. Some of +those selected returned, others never came back; but survivors +outweighed, by far, the losses. The reasons were two: Every man knew +that survival, now, would heighten his chance for freedom when the break +took place. As a result he fought with determination and daring not +possible without hope to feed upon.</p> + +<p>Wotar was responsible for the second reason. The director knew from +years of handling these Games that spectators thrilled more over duels +between men than over those between men and beasts. As a consequence he +husbanded his supply of warriors, sending enough of them at one time +against the jungle creatures that the latter almost invariably succumbed +before they could do much harm. Only when a man proved an exceptionally +able warrior were the odds more nearly even.</p> + +<p>About mid-way in that long afternoon, Wotar and his men entered the +dungeon and took Tharn, alone, with them. The cave lord looked back as +he passed through the doorway, in time to catch an expression in Katon's +eyes that was very close to being fear. It came to Tharn, then, that +should he perish in action, the planned revolt might never take place. +On his leadership depended the hopes of every man in that room.</p> + +<p>Once more Tharn found himself in the arms-room. The attendant there +looked questioningly at Wotar.</p> + +<p>The master of the Games ran a thoughtful eye over the Cro-Magnard's +splendid body.</p> + +<p>"Give him a hunting-knife—and nothing else," he said finally. "So far +this man has had an easy time of it. Now we shall learn just how much of +a fighter he really is!"</p> + +<p>Silently the guard presented a long-bladed knife of flint.</p> + +<p>Once more the arena door opened; and Tharn, blade in hand, strode into +the amphitheater.</p> + +<p>The shrill cacophony which greeted him held a welcoming note that did +not escape the young Tharn. For the first time, he raised his eyes to +the innumerable tiers, observing with wonder the mammoth sea of faces +turned in his direction. Near the arena wall on his right, and half way +to the far end of the arena itself, was that section occupied by Pryak +and his numerous retinue. Tharn had no difficulty in picking out the +high priest's unimpressive figure seated close to the protecting wall.</p> + +<p>The cave-man's reverie was abruptly shattered as the massive gate at the +enclosure's far end began to swing open. For a moment nothing appeared; +then slowly and majestically there emerged from the darkened interior +Tharn's arch enemy—Sadu, the lion!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>Revolt!</h3> + + +<p>As Sadu, the lion, came into full view, a collective groan rose on the +afternoon air. Then came scattered boos and cries of disapproval from +various points in the stands.</p> + +<p>"Give him arrows and a bow!"</p> + +<p>"No man can kill a lion with a knife!"</p> + +<p>"Death to Pryak!" shouted some more hardy soul.</p> + +<p>Scattered protests began to gather volume until they beat as a steady +roar, filling the entire arena with ominous sound. Armed priests, +stationed at the upper edge of the retaining wall, began to move +uneasily among the seats to restore order.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the mounting crescendo stilled, as action on the arena sands +seemed imminent.</p> + +<p>Sunlight, flooding the huge oval, bathed in golden glory the calm figure +of the man and the tan coat of the jungle king. With striking clarity it +picked out the corded muscles and swelling muscles of this cave-god. His +handsome, finely-shaped head with its crowning mop of straight black +hair; his shoulders, wide and erect; his mighty chest, narrow waist and +tapering hips—all made up a picture of physical perfection that no +observer was likely to forget.</p> + +<p>And yet, invincible though this Cro-Magnard appeared, he seemed puny and +pitiable when compared with the huge beast that Wotar had sent against +him. Never before had so magnificent a lion appeared in Sephar's Games. +Even Tharn, jungle traveler for most of his life, had blinked +disbelievingly when Sadu made his entrance.</p> + +<p>Sadu padded gently forward, the lithe sinews of his giant body rolling +smoothly beneath a shimmering hide. He seemed unruffled and serene; only +the angry lash of his sinuous tail told of a seething ferocity within +that lordly head.</p> + +<p>Armed only with his painfully inadequate knife, Tharn advanced slowly to +meet certain destruction. He knew his chances for victory were so slim +as to be almost non-existent; yet the self-confidence and +resourcefulness born of a hundred battles against overwhelming odds were +weapons more dependable than the flint blade he carried.</p> + +<p>Sadu stopped his own advance when the hated man-thing started toward +him. For several days now, he had been underfed, goaded about with sharp +sticks and shouting voices, harassed and annoyed until he was angry +enough to have charged a regiment. Yet that unfathomable sense of +caution, so strong a part of every wild creature, held him motionless +before the deliberate approach of this two-legged enemy.</p> + +<p>Tharn halted. Only a few paces separated the two as they stood unmoving. +The man's eyes were riveted on the lion's restless tail; by its +movements could he know what was taking place in Sadu's brain.</p> + +<p>Slowly Sadu settled into a crouching position, head flattened, +hindquarters drawn beneath his taut frame, tail twitching in jerky +undulations. A vagrant breeze ruffled the thick mane at his neck....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Suddenly the tail stiffened and shot erect; and voicing an +ear-shattering roar, Sadu sprang at the man in his path.</p> + +<p>Sadu, the lion, had felt man's tender flesh beneath his yellow fangs and +murderous talons before this. He expected no more resistance from this +one than had come from those others.</p> + +<p>It was an astonished beast, therefore, that crashed to the sand where +the man had been—and was no longer. With an uncanny agility Tharn +evaded that lightning charge; then, so quickly that human eyes were hard +put to follow, he leaped in and drove his heavy knife deep behind Sadu's +left shoulder.</p> + +<p>The jungle king, snarling hideously from unexpected pain and shock, +wheeled and struck in one simultaneous motion; but Tharn, leaping high +as the great cat turned, vaulted completely over the broad back, the +dripping knife still clutched in his hand. Before Sadu could reverse +himself, the blade flashed again, striking at the base of the tawny neck +where lay the great spine.</p> + +<p>The flint bit deep but missed a vital spot by half an inch. Sadu had +moved in a rapid sideward maneuver as Tharn's arm was descending, and +while the wound that resulted was painful, it was by no means fatal.</p> + +<p>Worst of all, the blow had cost the Cro-Magnard his only weapon. Sadu's +sudden shift had torn the knife from Tharn's fingers before he could tug +it free, leaving the blade sunk deep, haft still standing upright like a +miniature cross.</p> + +<p>His blood crimsoning the white sands, Sadu whirled about, sending a +shower of the fine particles high into the air. Once more he hurled +himself at his elusive foe, and once more Tharn dodged aside. But this +time his foot slipped a little in the yielding sand. One flailing paw +struck his chest a glancing blow, the claws raking long scratches there, +and Tharn was catapulted heels over head a full fifteen feet across the +arena.</p> + +<p>A little murmur of protest came from the ranks of spectators. They had +witnessed what had promised to be an ineffectual struggle develop into a +battle between giants, with its ultimate outcome very much in doubt. +Now, through a quirk of fate, the grim battle was ended; the favorite +they had acclaimed was doomed.</p> + +<p>Sadu leaped forward to make his kill.</p> + +<p>Tharn, helpless, knew life had run its course. Nothing could save him +now.</p> + +<p>And then fickle fate shifted once more. Tharn's right hand, pressing +against the ground in a last futile effort to throw himself to one side, +closed purely by chance about a hard object which he instantly +identified as the hilt of a stone knife, dropped there, doubtless, by +some warrior earlier in the day.</p> + +<p>Recognition and action came together. Tharn raised the weapon, hilt +between thumb and bent forefinger, and, while still in a sitting +position, flung it with all the concentrated strength of his powerful +arm point foremost at the on-rushing bulk.</p> + +<p>As in a dream he saw the sliver of flint streak through the sunlight to +meet the great head. Full into Sadu's right eye sank its entire length; +then a crushing weight came down on Tharn's chest and he knew no more.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>He could not have been unconscious for long; for his eyes opened in time +to see Sadu's lifeless body being dragged away. Two guards were standing +over his own supine figure, evidently seeking to learn the extent of his +injuries.</p> + +<p>"He lives!" ejaculated one in surprise, as Tharn's eyes fluttered open.</p> + +<p>In answer the cave man got unsteadily to his feet, and while the effort +sent a spasm of pain through his bruised chest and aching ribs, his face +betrayed nothing of his suffering.</p> + +<p>Leisurely he brushed sand from his back and legs, then turned and walked +toward the western gate. Heedless to the thunder of acclaim beating +against his ears, he disappeared through the arms-room door.</p> + +<p>Once within the common cell, Tharn told enough of his adventure to dull +the prisoners' curiosity, then edged away to join Katon.</p> + +<p>Thus the day wore on. Now and then guards would enter, pick out a man or +two and depart. Once, Brutan came back from the arena with his left +cheek laid open from an animal's claw. But the wound had dulled no part +of his braggardism and he told a highly colored tale of an encounter +against nearly impossible odds.</p> + +<p>Later in that afternoon, Katon had been summoned, to be absent for what +seemed an age to Tharn. But return he did, unscathed, a broad smile +lighting up his face as the cave lord came forward to welcome him.</p> + +<p>A bond of friendship, based on mutual respect and admiration, had formed +between these two men; a bond which passing days but served to augment. +It was destined to be that rare understanding known only between men, +wherein each finds within the other something of himself.</p> + +<p>Just before the day's end, Brosan went out, a quip on his lips and a +careless wave of his hand to the others. That joking remark and carefree +gesture remained with every man in the cell, for Brosan never came +back....</p> + +<p>Darkness came at last, and for a second time the roaring of beasts and +shrieks and moans of dying men ceased in the oval above. Food was +brought and the weary gladiators ate and drank, doing their best to +forget tiredness and strain.</p> + +<p>Sleep came slowly that night to most of them. Within every heart was +strong desire for the morrow to come—the new day for which all had +waited. There were some here who would never see a second sunrise; but, +as is usual under such conditions, each man looked for death to single +out any one other than himself.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Less than a day's journey to the north of Sephar's walls a party of +fifty warriors supped on the freshly-killed meat of Neela, the zebra, +shortly before Dyta slid below the western earth-line. All that day they +had traveled slowly along a thread-like game trail leading directly +south. At times, for hours on end, they had walked through sombre depths +of brooding jungle, beneath grotesque shadows of forest kings. Again, +their way was across wide reaches of gently undulating prairie, where +thick yellow grasses, deep to a tall man's thighs, stirred beneath the +touch of baking winds.</p> + +<p>Always, however, they had moved into the south, and ever in the lead was +he whose decision, based solely on a vague premonition, had brought them +so far from home. On this man's left forearm was the painted insignia of +a chief....</p> + +<p>With the sudden coming of night, the entire party took to the safety of +high branches on either side of the trail. When Dyta returned on the +morrow, they once more would take up their march into the mountains to +the south ... always to the south.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Once more, dawn poked gray fingers through the overhead grill-work of +the great cell beneath Sephar's amphitheater. And from the same point +came sounds of Sephar's thousands, filing again into their seats for +another day of grisly entertainment.</p> + +<p>Tharn rolled over, sat up and ran tanned fingers through his heavy shock +of black hair. For a moment his eyes ran over the sleeping scores, +picking out many whom he had learned to respect. There was Katon, head +pillowed on the biceps of a strong right arm, a half smile discernible +on his firm mouth; he was sleeping soundly. Near him lay Brutan, the red +edges of his wound showing through black stubble covering his cheek. +There was Rotark, his long face even more solemn in sleep; and next to +him, Gorlat, blond hair unruffled, his tunic, still nearly immaculate, +neatly folded and placed close beside him.</p> + +<p>Tharn got to his feet and set about awakening the sleepers. Before Wotar +arrived, he meant to speak once more to the prisoners; to go over for +the last time, those few vital points which all must know perfectly if +his plans were to be carried to a successful conclusion.</p> + +<p>When all were assembled, he spoke briefly, asking questions again and +again that none might fail to understand what was expected of him. The +men listened intently, hanging on his every word and drinking deep of +the inexhaustible fund of courage and surety possessed by the gray-eyed +young man.</p> + +<p>When he had finished he knew they were with him heart and soul, that +every man present would charge, without hesitation, a hundred spear +points if the need arose. If Vulcar could manage as well with the group +across the hall, then Sephar could have a new ruler before nightfall.</p> + +<p>He had no more than finished speaking, when the door opened, admitting +Wotar and six guards. Quickly, ten prisoners were singled out and taken +from the cell, among them Tharn and the golden haired Gorlat.</p> + +<p>Upon reaching the arms-room, Wotar sent four prisoners, with as many +guards, into the chamber, the others being forced to wait until the tiny +room could be cleared. And of the four who entered, two were Tharn and +Gorlat.</p> + +<p>The door was closed and barred. The prisoners stood quietly, waiting for +the attendant to parcel out weapons to them.</p> + +<p>The crisis was at hand. Now that it had come, Tharn felt his muscles +tense, his nerves grow taut, a deadly coolness steal through him. His +eyes narrowed, as do the eyes of Tarlok preparing to leap upon unwary +prey.</p> + +<p>The air of the small chamber seemed suddenly charged with something +electrical; a hushed breath of expectancy made the stillness strangely +unbearable....</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A guard cleared his throat uneasily, sending a harsh rasping note +against the silence. He said, "Give each man a bow, ten arrows and a +spear."</p> + +<p>Removing a stone-tipped spear from a pile in one corner, the attendant +offered it, butt foremost, to the cave-man, who reached forth a steady +hand to take it. As his fingers closed on the haft, and before anyone +could guess his intention, Tharn drew back his arm and drove the +triangle of flint into the man's throat, changing a scream of terror +into a gasping whisper.</p> + +<p>As the dying guard slumped forward, the other captives snatched weapons +from the supply about them and leaped upon the dazed soldiers, three of +whom went down before they could lift a hand in defense.</p> + +<p>Tharn, farthest from the group, was forced to cross the entire room +before he could lay hands on the fourth guard. That one, instead of +standing his ground, was seeking to reach and unbar the corridor door.</p> + +<p>As he fumbled with the heavy timber, iron fingers closed on one shoulder +and tore him away. Up and back he swung, high above Tharn's head; then +his thrown body struck head foremost against the far wall, crushing the +skull like a blown egg.</p> + +<p>Turning to his comrades, Tharn found two of the three remaining guards +were already accounted for. The third, however, had killed one rebel, +and using the dead body as a shield, was successfully standing off all +efforts of the two men seeking to reach him. In one hand he grasped a +long spear, its darting head having already inflicted slight wounds on +the menacing pair.</p> + +<p>A thunderous pounding warned Tharn that the sounds of combat had aroused +Wotar and his two men. The entire rebellion was being threatened by one +courageous man; and unless this delay was speedily ended, the break for +freedom was destined to end here and now.</p> + +<p>Stooping, Tharn grasped the dead body of the attendant, straightened, +and hurled it with all his giant strength full against the lone +defender's human shield. So terrific was that impact, that the guard was +swept completely from his feet. Before he could recover, Gorlat had +slipped a knife into his heart.</p> + +<p>Bounding forward, Tharn unbarred and threw open the door, and sprang +into the corridor, his two friends at his heels. He had a brief glimpse +of Wotar's hanging jaw and stupefied expression before the two factions +closed in battle.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Wotar was no coward. As Tharn leaped toward him he whipped a knife from +his belt and swung it savagely at the Cro-Magnard's broad chest.</p> + +<p>Like the striking head of an angry snake, Tharn's hand shot out and +closed on Wotar's wrist. Mighty fingers contracted, and the knife +dropped from his nerveless grasp to clatter against the stone floor. +Tharn's free hand closed on the hapless leader's jaw, tightened, then +wrenched the head in a vicious half-circle that left a broken neck in +its wake.</p> + +<p>When Tharn released the clay that once had been Wotar, master of +Sephar's Games, he found no other foe alive within the corridor. Dead on +the floor were the two guards, torn and mangled from the savage fury of +those who had snuffed out their lives. Eight men, eyes alight, stood +before him, awaiting instructions.</p> + +<p>The cave dweller singled out two of them.</p> + +<p>"Go back and open both cells. First, free those in our own room; Vulcar +may not have convinced the others to join us. If so, our men can help in +convincing them!</p> + +<p>"Tell them the way is open to this room. Caution all to silence, that +none overhears us and warns those we hope to surprise."</p> + +<p>Tharn then motioned the remaining six into the arms-room. There, each +armed himself with a bow, arrows, knife and a spear.</p> + +<p>Soon they heard sounds of naked feet within the corridor, and into view, +three abreast, came the former prisoners. At their head was Katon; +beside him strode Vulcar, once captain of Urim's guards.</p> + +<p>Tharn halted them just short of the arsenal. He ran his eyes along the +ranks, and what he saw brought a smile of satisfaction to his lips.</p> + +<p>As far back as his eyes could make out in the dimly lighted passageway +were men. There were at least a hundred and fifty—perhaps more; all +eager for weapons and a chance to use them.</p> + +<p>The Cro-Magnard held up one hand to gain their attention. "Remember," he +said, "march into the arena quickly and in silence. Do not so much as +glance at the spectators until I give the signal. And when that signal +comes, seek to kill only priests and warriors. To attack the people of +Sephar without cause would only make them hate and fear us. We cannot +fight an entire city.</p> + +<p>"Come forward now—three each time. Once within the arena, take the +places I give you."</p> + +<p>Three entered the arms-room. To each went a bow, quiver of arrows, +complete with shoulder band; a knife and a spear. Tharn then opened the +outer door and passed them through, then pulled it shut and aided in +arming the next three.</p> + +<p>In that fashion twenty-seven were sent into the amphitheater before +Tharn called a halt. Dimly, he could hear the rustling murmur from the +packed stands, and he knew that all was well—thus far, at least.</p> + +<p>He summoned Vulcar and Katon, now, gave them weapons identical to those +issued to the others, and went with them into the arena, Rotark acting +as door-keeper.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>In a wide semi-circle at the far end of the sandy field stood the +twenty-seven who had gone before them. They made a thin line, their +backs close to the retaining wall, one end of which was almost directly +below the loges occupied by Pryak and the Council of Priests. It was +toward this section that Tharn and his two companions bent their steps.</p> + +<p>The cave lord took a position less than four paces from the stone +barrier at his back. Above him sat Pryak, high priest and ruler of +Sephar, deep in conversation with Orbar.</p> + +<p>Now, the second contingent of warriors began to issue from the +arms-room. In groups of three, seconds apart, they emerged and took up +positions near the wall at the arena's opposite end.</p> + +<p>When an equal number were at either end of the enclosure, the influx of +armed men became heavier. In groups of five, now, they appeared and +formed a second row a few feet in front of the others and facing in the +same direction. There were fully four score in the open by this +time—and still they came.</p> + +<p>Tharn knew the moment was fast approaching when suspicion would become +aroused by this unprecedented concentration of warriors. Already a few +priests were peering down at them, puzzled expressions on their faces. +The buzz of conversation began to fade; and here and there spectators +were rising to their feet.</p> + +<p>Pryak stood up, suddenly, and leaned over the railing.</p> + +<p>"What means this?" he asked of Orbar. "Does Wotar mean to end the Games +with one battle? There are too many men on the sands; send someone to +investigate."</p> + +<p>Tharn, overhearing, knew he dared wait no longer. Throwing back his +head, he sent the hair-raising battle cry of his tribe reverberating +throughout the entire structure. As the notes of that horrendous cry +rose on the still air, he pivoted about and sent a slender arrow leaping +from his bow full at the head of Pryak, king of Sephar!</p> + +<p>It is no mean tribute to Pryak's nimbleness to tell that he dodged that +arrow. And dodge it he did—falling back into the arms of his retinue as +death passed a finger's breadth above his sparse locks to transfix an +unfortunate under-priest.</p> + +<p>The cave-man's cry was the awaited signal, releasing all the pent-up +hate and fury within the hearts of those who acknowledged him as leader. +As one man, a hundred warriors turned and loosed a shower of arrows at +the thin line of guards and priests above them. The instant those +flint-tipped messengers were released, those rebels nearest the walls +knelt, braced themselves and became living ladders over which their +comrades swarmed to gain the seats above.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A living wave of blood-hungry men swarmed into the stands and fell upon +the already wavering ranks of defenders. The entire bowl was now a +maelstrom of swirling bodies, legs and arms. Panic-stricken spectators, +few of them armed, rose from their benches and rushed headlong for the +exits, trammeling, pushing, fighting to gain the streets, to escape the +raving horde of crazed demons.</p> + +<p>And, seemingly everywhere at the same time, Tharn, Katon and Vulcar +fought shoulder to shoulder, their knives rising and falling, their +spears licking out to take lives and spread further the reign of terror +they had fostered.</p> + +<p>Twice, Tharn caught sight of Gorlat, blond hair finally disarranged, +weaving among the tiers like a cat, his only weapon a long, thin knife. +And as priest after priest sought futilely to keep that long blade from +his throat, Tharn knew, now, why Vulcar had said few could equal that +young man with such a weapon. How many died that day with throats slit +by that knife, only Gorlat knew—and he was never to tell.</p> + +<p>It had happened shortly after Tharn had caught his second glimpse of the +steadily smiling youth. Gorlat had just made a kill, and as he stood +erect, a thrown spear came from nowhere to catch him full in the chest. +Gorlat had staggered back to sink into a sitting position on an empty +bench. Dazedly he had raised a hand to wipe away the red stains of his +own blood from that once spotless tunic—then slumped back and moved no +more.</p> + +<p>There were other men of Tharn's force who fell, never to rise again; +but for each who died, five enemies went to join him. Bodies of slain +priests were everywhere—draped across seats, hanging over the arena +wall, lying in the aisles. Warriors loyal to Pryak had died in droves +and lay glaring at the sky with sightless eyes.</p> + +<p>At last there was none within the amphitheater other than the dead, the +wounded, and the blood-splashed figures of the rebels who stood panting +from their efforts, their eyes on Tharn and his two lieutenants.</p> + +<p>Of those three, Vulcar alone had been wounded. An arrow had creased his +shoulder close to his neck, and blood from the cut had stained one side +of his chest a fast-darkening crimson. But his eyes were bright with +satisfaction and his lips were curled in grim content.</p> + +<p>"Urim would have enjoyed this!" he said, and his smile widened. "Now, on +to the palace and the temple to clean out the rest of Pryak's men. That +done, the city is ours!"</p> + +<p>Katon bent and took up a stray spear. "Come, then," he remarked; "if we +wait, they will have gotten over their panic and will be that much +harder to rout a second time."</p> + +<p>Tharn nodded agreement. "First, the palace; then we can invade the +temple and take Pryak and his men."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A warrior spoke from the ranks. "Dare we enter the temple?" he asked +doubtfully. "If we offend the God, He may destroy us."</p> + +<p>"He is right!" declared another. "Why should we chance angering our God. +Once the city is ours, Pryak will have to do as we say. Let us not +attack the House of the God."</p> + +<p>"Pryak dies!" Vulcar roared, grinding the butt of his spear savagely +against the stone flooring. "Let the God be offended—Pryak must die! If +the rest of you brave warriors are afraid, I will go alone into the +temple and drag out Urim's murderer by the few hairs left on his ugly +head!</p> + +<p>"Did Pryak's God save these priests who lie about us, here, their bodies +cut by our spears and knives? Did He, seeing Pryak in danger, hide him +with His sky-fire? No; they were men like us; and since they deserved to +die, they <i>did</i> die! Pryak is next!"</p> + +<p>Tharn, listening with silent admiration and approval, thought of +something that snatched the half-smile from his lips.</p> + +<p>"Where <i>is</i> Pryak?" he asked. "He was here when the fighting started. +How did he and those with him get away?"</p> + +<p>The others could furnish nothing toward clearing up this minor mystery. +Nor was there a single body of the missing group in the vicinity.</p> + +<p>"Let us go on," suggested Tharn finally. "After the palace is taken, we +can set about finding Vulcar's good friend Pryak!"</p> + +<p>Still chuckling at the cave-man's sally, the insurgents formed into a +column, three abreast, and marched toward a nearby exit that led from +the shambles they had created.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>Conclusion</h3> + + +<p>Upon reaching the street, they started for the palace, its white walls +gleaming under the mid-morning sun. No citizen of Sephar was abroad; but +the marching men were conscious of watching eyes at windows of the +buildings on either side.</p> + +<p>The palace grounds, too, were deserted as they swept across the palace +grounds and dashed against the great double doors. They might as well +have sought to force the palace walls so strongly barred were the heavy +planks.</p> + +<p>As they stood debating their next step, a shower of spears, arrows and +clubs fell suddenly upon them from above, killing several before Tharn +could give the order to withdraw.</p> + +<p>At a safe distance from the windows, Tharn, Vulcar and Katon held a +brief council of war, finally agreeing upon a strategic maneuver that +held promise of being effective.</p> + +<p>Eight warriors left the group, returning with a heavy log, free of +branches. This was carried, four men to a side, to within a short +distance from the barred entranceway. Now, eight replacements came +forward, took up the massive tree trunk and started at a run toward the +doors, the log's heavy base aimed at a point where the two rough-hewn +sections joined.</p> + +<p>Within a dozen paces of their objective, they swerved sharply to their +left and sent the great timber crashing through the slender stone +columns of a large window.</p> + +<p>Following the log came those who had carried it, pouring through to the +hallway beyond. It was deserted; evidently the defenders were grouped at +the upstairs windows, intending to stage their defense from that point.</p> + +<p>A second later the palace doors were thrown wide and, notwithstanding a +heavy barrage from overhead, the rebels soon over-ran the central +hallway.</p> + +<p>Halfway up the wide staircase they were met by a withering volley from +the upper passageway and stairhead. But Tharn raised his voice once more +in the awesome war challenge of his people, and which seemed to lift his +followers bodily to the top of the steps.</p> + +<p>Here, fighting was fast and furious. Although outnumbered at first by +four to one, the insurgents made up that handicap by the intensity of +their assault; and slowly but steadily Pryak's loyal troops were being +pushed back.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Tharn was in his element! Knife and spear had been cast aside or lost; +his only weapons were his mighty hands. Yet his was the most feared +figure among the rebels, as was attested to by the mound of strangled +and broken guards strewn about him.</p> + +<p>Several times he saw Katon battling away close by, a long knife in +either hand. Once, an enemy in a badly torn tunic was preparing to drive +a knife into his unsuspecting back. Tharn had torn a spear from the +fingers of a neighboring comrade and without pausing to judge distance, +had thrown it across the hall to pass half its length into the side of +Katon's would-be slayer. The man had fallen, while Katon, unaware of his +narrow escape, was finishing the warrior with whom he had been engaged.</p> + +<p>Of Vulcar, Brutan and Rotark, Tharn had seen nothing since the battle +began. During momentary lulls he had time to wonder how they were +faring—if, somewhere in this madhouse of fighting, bellowing men, they +were managing to keep their skins whole.</p> + +<p>Gradually the palace defenders were weakening, losing heart as their +list of casualties grew. Already, the men of Tharn's party had sensed +victory was slowly but surely passing into their hands.</p> + +<p>And then came the unexpected, the one contingency which none of the +rebel leaders had forseen.</p> + +<p>A ringing shout sounded from the open doorway, and through the gap came +priests from the temple of Sephar's God. Instead of waiting for the +freedom-hungry prisoners to take their first objective, then march +against the House of God, the cunning arch priest had sent every man he +could muster to reinforce the palace garrison.</p> + +<p>There must have been a hundred of them, fresh and—for priests—eager +for battle. They fell upon the revolters from behind, spreading death +and consternation in the thinning ranks of those from Sephar's pits.</p> + +<p>Encouraged by aid from this wholly unexpected quarter, the palace +defenders regained their fading morale and renewed the attack with +reckless fury.</p> + +<p>The end had come. Bitter was the realization to Tharn who, until now, +had been certain nothing could prevent his men from taking Sephar. He +smarted under the knowledge that wily old Pryak had outwitted them after +all.</p> + +<p>He might, under cover of the raging turmoil, have turned his back on +friends and supporters to seek out Dylara's cell and escape with her +from Sephar. But the thought was gone as it was born; and the +Cro-Magnard sought to rally his shaken followers to the task of cutting +a pathway back to the street. Once outside, some of them might manage to +flee into the jungle—a far cry from their ambitious dream of taking +Sephar!</p> + +<p>It began to appear, however, that leaving the palace was to be +infinitely more difficult than forcing an entrance had been. Again and +again his men were repulsed by the white-faced but unflinching priests +at the foot of the staircase. Steadily the number of rebels grew less; +and while they took more lives than they gave, there were too many to +outlast.</p> + +<p>Suddenly there rose above the pandemonium within, a chorus of savage +cries from outside the open doors. Tharn straightened as though struck +by an unseen spear. His eyes went wide with incredulous astonishment +bordering on disbelief; then from his powerful lungs broke an answering +shout that paled to insignificance the tumult about him.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Swarming into the hall below, came a host of strange, warlike +fighting-men, naked except for panther- and leopard-skins about their +loins. Splendid, beautifully proportioned barbarians they were, heavy +war-spears gripped in powerful right hands, sun-bronzed skins rippling +under the play of corded muscles.</p> + +<p>At their head was the stalwart figure of a man such as never before had +been seen within Sephar's borders. Four inches above six feet he stood, +slim of hip and broad of shoulder—a wealth of black hair held from his +eyes by a strip of cured snakeskin.</p> + +<p>"Father!" burst from Tharn's lips.</p> + +<p>At sound of his cry, the leader of the newcomers looked sharply in his +direction.</p> + +<p>"Kill!" shouted young Tharn, bringing one hand out in a sweeping gesture +toward the frozen ranks of priests.</p> + +<p>In response, the Cro-Magnards threw themselves at the white-clad enemy. +At the same time Tharn, the younger, leaped into action, shouting words +of instruction and encouragement to his friends.</p> + +<p>The end came quickly. Torn at from two sides, the priests broke and fled +in all directions, the cave-men in hot pursuit. At sight of this, the +original defenders threw down their weapons and surrendered on the spot.</p> + +<p>Now came Tharn, the elder, striding forward to greet his son. Behind him +crowded others of the tribe, wide smiles on their lips.</p> + +<p>"We have searched long for you, my son," said the chief. "At times we +were close to giving up; it was not until yesterday that one of us found +where you and a girl had followed a game trail leading to this place."</p> + +<p>"You could not have arrived at a better time!"</p> + +<p>The chief smiled. Katon, watching from the background, marveled at the +striking resemblance of father to son when both smiled.</p> + +<p>"At first," said the Cro-Magnard leader, "we were almost afraid to leave +the jungle's edge. But no one was about the openings in the walls, and +as your trail led straight toward one of them, we decided to follow it. +Then, too, all of us were curious to see what manner of people lived in +such strange caves.</p> + +<p>"No one tried to stop us. In fact, we saw no one at all. I was beginning +to wonder if we were the only ones here until we heard sounds of +fighting coming from here. The rest you know."</p> + +<p>His son nodded. "Soon I shall tell you what I have gone through since I +last saw you. But first I have something to do."</p> + +<p>He hesitated. How should he go about telling his father? He hoped Dylara +would not exhibit that temper of hers the first time she met the chief.</p> + +<p>"What must you do?" the chief asked, glancing sharply at the face of his +son.</p> + +<p>"I have taken a mate!" There—it was out!</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>His father never batted an eye.</p> + +<p>"Where is she?"</p> + +<p>"Somewhere in this place. A prisoner, I suppose. Katon, here, may be +able to find her. She—she may not seem pleased that I have come for +her."</p> + +<p>Those last words came out with an effort. But sooner or later his father +was bound to learn he had taken a mate by force.</p> + +<p>The elder man pursed his lips to keep from smiling. He was shrewd enough +to come very close to the true state of affairs. But what of it? His own +courtship had been none too easy. Afterward, Nada and he had been closer +than words could express. He had never, nor would ever, lose the pain +that had come when she had been taken captive by some strange tribe so +many years ago.</p> + +<p>Katon, at mention of his name, had stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"This," Tharn said, "is Katon—my friend."</p> + +<p>There was immediate approval in the eyes of both the blue-eyed Sepharian +and the Cro-Magnard chief.</p> + +<p>"Dylara probably is in the slave quarters," Katon said. "If you will +come with me, I will lead you there."</p> + +<p>And shortly thereafter, father and son stood before a great door while +Katon removed its heavy bar.</p> + +<p>They entered a huge, sunlit room crowded with women, young and old, who +shrank away from them in alarm.</p> + +<p>There was one, however, who did not draw away. Her lovely face was +registering astonishment and disbelief—and hope. One hand lifted slowly +to her throat as she stared into the eyes of Tharn's father.</p> + +<p>Nor was she alone in displaying tangled emotions. Tharn, the elder, was +gazing at the woman as though unable to credit the evidence of his own +eyes.</p> + +<p>And then the man found his voice.</p> + +<p>"Nada!" It was more gasp than a word.</p> + +<p>"Tharn—my mate!"</p> + +<p>An instant later she was caught up in his arms.</p> + +<p>Young Tharn looked on in bewilderment, not grasping, at first, the +significance of that single word his father had uttered. Then, as the +chief turned toward him, an arm about the woman's shoulders, he +understood.</p> + +<p>Then his arm, too, was about her: and after twelve long years, father, +son, and mother were reunited.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>None of the three had much to say during the next few minutes. There was +an enormous lump in Nada's throat, making speech impossible. She could +not take her eyes from the splendid young man who, until a few days +ago, she had thought to be dead. He was everything Dylara had said he +was. She remembered him as she had last seen him—a straight-backed, +sturdy-legged youngster, whose inquisitive nature and complete lack of +fear had given her so many anxious moments. Even at that early age he +had shown promise of the extraordinary physical development he now +possessed.</p> + +<p>But her greatest pride and satisfaction came from what she could see in +those frank, compelling gray eyes—eyes mirroring a fine, sensitive soul +and an equally fine mind.</p> + +<p>"Tell me," Nada said at last, "how did you know I was here?"</p> + +<p>"I did not know," admitted her mate. "Did you, Tharn?"</p> + +<p>Their son shook his head. "I never dreamed you were in Sephar. As a +matter of fact, we came here to find a girl—Dylara, my—my mate. We +thought she would be with the slaves."</p> + +<p>Then it was that he saw a shadow come into Nada's eyes—a shadow which +wiped away his smile and closed a cold hand about his heart.</p> + +<p>"Nada!" he exclaimed. "What is wrong? Has something happened to her?"</p> + +<p>"She is ... gone," his mother said dully.</p> + +<p>"Gone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Pryak gave her to a man from a land far to the south of Sephar. He +has taken her there with him."</p> + +<p>Tharn's face was white beneath its layer of tan. "How long since?" he +demanded hoarsely.</p> + +<p>"This is the third day."</p> + +<p>Without another word the young man wheeled and started for the door. +Before he could reach it, however, strong fingers closed on his arm.</p> + +<p>His father had stopped him. "Wait, Tharn. Where are you going?"</p> + +<p>"After Dylara," said his son grimly.</p> + +<p>"Of course; but do not leave so—so abruptly. Let us talk this over +before you start. Some of our men will go with you, once we have eaten +and slept."</p> + +<p>"I am neither tired nor hungry," retorted his son. "I am going alone; +others would only delay me."</p> + +<p>Katon chose this moment to intervene. "Wait a few hours, Tharn. There is +much left to be done here, and we need your help. A new king must be +chosen and order restored to the palace and city. Once that is done +there will be a feast for all of us; then, after a good sleep, you can +set out after Dylara. You can overtake those who have her within two or +three suns."</p> + +<p>Nada ended the discussion. "Stay until morning, my son," she pleaded. "I +have but found you; I cannot bear to let you go so soon."</p> + +<p>The smile came back to Tharn's face. "As you will," he conceded. "But +when Dyta comes again, I must leave you."</p> + +<p>So it was decided, and the four went down to the lower floor to join the +others.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>That night, in the great dininghall of Sephar's palace, a happy throng +sat about a long, wide table laden to its edges with an abundance of +foods. At the head sat Katon; at his right hand was Tharn, the elder; +and, on his left, was Tharn, the younger, his mother beside him.</p> + +<p>Earlier that afternoon the former prisoners and those nobles who had not +fallen in defense of Pryak's government, had assembled in the great +central hallway to elect a new king. Tharn, to his honest surprise, had +been their instant and unanimous choice. But he had declined the honor, +saying:</p> + +<p>"There is one among you who has every right to rule over you. He, +himself, is the son of a king—one who understands all those things +expected of a ruler. That man is Katon of Huxla!"</p> + +<p>The roar of approval which followed his words reached far beyond +Sephar's walls. Katon would have protested but he had no chance of +making himself heard, and he accepted—hiding his pleasure as best he +could. He did not dream what a pang that speech had cost his Cro-Magnard +friend, for with those words Tharn had relinquished his hope of taking +the Sepharian back with him to the caves of his father.</p> + +<p>Later in the day an armed force had entered the temple of Sephar's God; +and while the feet of those faint-hearted members in the group had +dragged somewhat, none had turned back.</p> + +<p>However, no resistance had materialized; instead, a horde of priests, +arms held high, hands empty, had welled up from the subterranean maze +below the temple and begged the new ruler to accept them as his own +loyal followers.</p> + +<p>Among them was the Council of Priests, intact to a man—except for one. +But that one was he whom Katon—and Vulcar!—had desired most to see: +Pryak, high priest and Sephar's former king.</p> + +<p>It was then that the new king displayed his ability to make sensible +decisions. Before leaving the temple he had appointed Cardon as high +priest to the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken. Nor could he have made a +wiser choice; for Cardon was possessor of a rugged honesty as well as a +lack of ambition beyond his position. The long-standing feud between +Church and State was ended.</p> + +<p>Once these matters had been disposed of, Katon had sent his soldiery to +assemble the residents of Sephar at the palace grounds. When a huge +throng had filled not only the grassy expanse but the street as well, +Katon, as ruler of Sephar, had proclaimed the new government and asked +that they acknowledge, as their king, a warrior in place of a priest.</p> + +<p>The thunderous, welcoming roar which greeted his words was all that was +needed to make of Sephar a unified community. Katon had immediately +proclaimed a two day holiday, to be given over to feasting and drinking; +and, because he was a shrewd judge of human nature, he had announced +that every citizen must sacrifice some valued article to the God, whose +help had made the revolt a success.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>And so it was that on this night all Sephar, from palace to city walls, +was in a merry-making mood. Within the palace dininghall, there was only +a single tiny cloud to mar the clear sky of happiness; a cloud fast +losing the dark hue it at first had assumed.</p> + +<p>This bit of gloom was caused by the absence of Dylara. But when young +Tharn had had an opportunity to reflect, there had come the certainty +that Dylara would be back with him before many suns. Tharn knew he could +cover in one day three times the distance that the slow-moving men from +Ammad could travel in that same period of time. And while they must camp +while Dyta slept, Tharn could go on across nocturnal jungles and plains +without being forced to slack his speed.</p> + +<p>Vulcar, earthen goblet in hand, was bellowing out an anecdote of the +days when he had been a young warrior, when the hangings behind Tharn's +bench swayed as though touched by a random current of air.</p> + +<p>Because all eyes were fixed on the speaker, and because the faint candle +light failed to reach much beyond the table, none saw the half crouched +figure that stealthily pushed aside the curtain and tip-toed into the +room. The intruder's lips were curled in a crazed grimace of hate; in +one hand was clutched a long blade of polished stone.</p> + +<p>Nada, pausing in her eating from time to time to gaze fondly at her +broad-shouldered son, caught a glimpse of something moving among the +shadows directly behind the young man. What was it that lurked there?</p> + +<p>Suddenly Nada screamed—a high-pitched, tearing sound that cut through +the babble of voices about the table.</p> + +<p>With the first notes of the scream, a figure behind Tharn bounded +forward and drove a flint knife deep into the naked back of the +surprised Cro-Magnard.</p> + +<p>Nada's terrified cry was all that saved Tharn from instant death. For he +was rising from his stool and turning as the scream left her lips. As a +result, the knife point entered his back at an angle, ripping through +the muscles there to enter the lower tip of one lung.</p> + +<p>Tharn, despite his agony, reached for the would-be assassin. But another +was there before him—Vulcar, the hawk-faced.</p> + +<p>The one-time captain of Urim's guards had vaulted the table in a flying +leap and with a powerful sweep of his arm, knocked away the knife. Then +he caught the man about the neck and forced him into a kneeling +position.</p> + +<p>"So, Pryak," cried the hawk-faced one, "you would add another killing to +your list! Long have I waited for this—now comes your reward for the +death of Urim!"</p> + +<p>Pryak opened his lips to plead for mercy, but before the words could +come he was whirled up from the floor as though he were a figure of +straw. Then, as the others watched in awe, Vulcar brought the screaming +man down on the edge of the massive table.</p> + +<p>There was a crunching sound from splintering bones, one last +nerve-tearing cry of agony and fear—and Pryak, the ambitious, was gone +to his reward.</p> + +<p>As the guests stood staring down at the broken form, a thin trickle of +blood appeared at one corner of Tharn's mouth and coursed to his chin. +Dazedly he lifted a hand to wipe away the stain, then his knees gave +way, and before the paralyzed company could prevent, Tharn, the son of +Tharn, had pitched to the floor.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>When complete consciousness first returned, he was aware of a great +mound of soft skins beneath him; and he opened tired eyes to a +sun-flooded room. For a little while he was content to remain so, +staring at the stone ceiling.</p> + +<p>Later, he slowly turned his head and looked into the eyes of Nada. For a +few minutes mother and son did not speak; then she reached out to touch +his hand.</p> + +<p>"You have come back to us, Tharn," she said softly.</p> + +<p>Tharn pondered over her remark. When he spoke he was startled by the +feebleness of his voice.</p> + +<p>"How long have I lain here?"</p> + +<p>"Half a moon."</p> + +<p>"Half a—!" He sought to sit up, but sank back as a stabbing pain shot +through his chest.</p> + +<p>"No, no, Tharn!" cried Nada. "You still are not well. The wound in your +back is not completely healed, and the jungle fever left you only a +little while ago."</p> + +<p>Tharn frowned. He was so very tired. "But—Dylara ... I must go after +her. I should have found her before this. I must not lie here while +she—"</p> + +<p>Then, as an unsupportable weariness flooded his body, he closed his +eyes. In another moment he was sleeping soundly.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Another half moon had passed. Today had dawned bright and fair. Dyta, +the sun, had pulled his blazing head above the eastern earth-line an +hour before, tearing the jungle fog into rapidly dissolving streamers of +mist.</p> + +<p>A group of three—two men and a woman—walked through twin gates in +Sephar's rock walls and moved slowly toward the somber shadows of the +jungle south of the city. A few yards short of the green wall they came +to a halt on a slight, grass-covered elevation.</p> + +<p>"I must leave you here," said young Tharn. "Within a few suns—a moon, +at most—I will return. Dylara will be with me."</p> + +<p>The older man nodded. "Your mother and I leave for home before long. We +shall wait there for you and your mate."</p> + +<p>"You will not need to wait long," said the young man confidently.</p> + +<p>He placed an arm about the man's wide shoulders, pressed the hand of his +mother in silent farewell, then turned and strode toward the wall of +verdure and towering forest giants to the south.</p> + +<p>Together, Tharn, the elder, and Nada, his mate stood on the little green +mound, watching the lithe figure of their only son until it disappeared +into the forbidding jungle. Beyond that first rampart of lofty trees, of +tangled vines and creepers, lay a mysterious land, never before trod by +any known member of their world. What hidden dangers lurked there? What +savage tribes? What unknown and terrible beasts?</p> + +<p>A shudder passed through the woman's slender body. The man at her side +slipped a strong arm about the trembling shoulders in unspoken +understanding.</p> + +<p>"He will come back?" she asked, her voice unsteady. It was half +question, half statement; and in those words ran an undercurrent of +mingled hope and fear.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the man, his own voice strong and very certain. "He will +come back."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Probably no race of man in all history has so stimulated +the imagination of scientists as that of Cro-Magnon Man. The origin of +the race is lost in antiquity, although its arrival on the scene was +supposed to have taken place between 35,000 and 20,000 B.C. It is +established, however, that hordes of the white-skinned, strong-thewed +cave-dwellers over-ran, long before the dawn of history, what today is +southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. This section of the earth's +surface was sparsely populated, at the time, by Neanderthal Man—the +last of the sub-human fore-runners of Homo Sapiens.</p> + +<p>Immediate warfare raged between the two. The Cro-Magnards, while lacking +the tremendous muscles and long, ape-like arms of the Neanderthaloids, +were far more intelligent (as witness the dimensions of their heads; a +brain-case exceeding in size that of present day man), and gradually +eliminated the native Neanderthals. Between the two, there was little +difference in man-made weapons. The principal weapon of both was the +club; but, in Cro-Magnon's case, this was augmented by the flint knife, +clumsily shaped but effective. It is entirely possible that the latter +people made use of the rope, both as one of the amenities and as a +weapon of offense.</p> + +<p>Cro-Magnon Man was the proud possessor of a virtue both new and +startling in a world given only to the struggle for survival. This +virtue was Leisure—a period in which he was free to do things other +than kill his enemies, hunt, and eat. He used his leisure to develop an +artistic sense that found its expression in the painting of everyday +scenes from his life. The walls of his cave served as a canvas; his +materials, principally ochre, he took from the earth. He was the first +Artist; and his paintings, still admirable considering the lack of +guiding precedence, have endured to this day.</p> + +<p>In appearance, Cro-Magnon Man was ruggedly handsome, both in figure and +face. He was long-headed, with a short face patterned on the diamond. +The width was extreme, with high cheek-bones slanting up to a narrowing +forehead, and down to a short, firm chin. Above a long, finely moulded +mouth, the strong, usually prominent nose jutted out imperiously.</p> + +<p>The female was considerably smaller than her mate, often reaching no +more than to his shoulders. Possibly she was lovely of face and figure; +we of today have no evidence to the contrary.</p> + +<p>There are authorities who insist no finer specimen of humankind ever +existed than the Cro-Magnard. Whether or not this is true, does not +alter the fact that he was able to carve a secure niche in a savage and +implacable world, and, at the same time, place the feet of his +descendants on the path to civilization and a more sheltered life.—Ed.</p></div> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Warrior of the Dawn, by Howard Carleton Browne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR OF THE DAWN *** + +***** This file should be named 32462-h.htm or 32462-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/4/6/32462/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Warrior of the Dawn + +Author: Howard Carleton Browne + +Release Date: May 20, 2010 [EBook #32462] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR OF THE DAWN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. Holda, Mary Meehan and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + WARRIOR OF THE DAWN + + by HOWARD BROWNE + + +[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Amazing Stories December +1942 and January 1943. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence +that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + + + + +[Illustration: Tharn stared in amazement at the city that lay before +him] + +[Sidenote: From the forest deeps came brutal killers, and Tharn, the +Cro-Magnon, vowed that vengeance would be his....] + + + + +CHAPTER I + +In Quest of Vengeance + + +It was late afternoon. Neela, the zebra, and his family of fifteen +grazed quietly near the center of a level stretch of grassland. In the +distance, and encircling the expanse of prairie, stood a solid wall of +forest and close-knit jungle. + +For the past two hours of this long hot afternoon Neela had shown signs +of increasing nervousness. Feeding a short distance from the balance of +his charges, he lifted his head from time to time to stare intently +across the wind-stirred grasses to the east. Twice he had started slowly +in that direction, only to stop short, stamp and snort uneasily, then +wheel about and retrace his steps. + +The remainder of the herd cropped calmly at the long grasses, apparently +heedless of their leader's unrest, tails slapping flanks clear of biting +flies. + +Meanwhile, some two hundred yards to the eastward, three half-naked +white hunters, belly-flat in the concealing growth, continued their +cautious advance. + +Wise in the ways of wary grass-eaters were these three members of a +Cro-Magnard tribe, living in a day some twenty thousand years before the +founding of Rome.[A] With the wind against their faces, with their +passage as soundless as only veteran hunters may make it, they knew the +zebra had no cause for alarm beyond a vague suspicion born of instinct +alone. + +[Footnote A: Probably no race of man in all history has so stimulated +the imagination of scientists as that of Cro-Magnon Man. The origin of +the race is lost in antiquity, although its arrival on the scene was +supposed to have taken place between 35,000 and 20,000 B.C. It is +established, however, that hordes of the white-skinned, strong-thewed +cave-dwellers over-ran, long before the dawn of history, what today is +southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. This section of the earth's +surface was sparsely populated, at the time, by Neanderthal Man--the +last of the sub-human fore-runners of Homo Sapiens. + +Immediate warfare raged between the two. The Cro-Magnards, while lacking +the tremendous muscles and long, ape-like arms of the Neanderthaloids, +were far more intelligent (as witness the dimensions of their heads; a +brain-case exceeding in size that of present day man), and gradually +eliminated the native Neanderthals. Between the two, there was little +difference in man-made weapons. The principal weapon of both was the +club; but, in Cro-Magnon's case, this was augmented by the flint knife, +clumsily shaped but effective. It is entirely possible that the latter +people made use of the rope, both as one of the amenities and as a +weapon of offense. + +Cro-Magnon Man was the proud possessor of a virtue both new and +startling in a world given only to the struggle for survival. This +virtue was Leisure--a period in which he was free to do things other +than kill his enemies, hunt, and eat. He used his leisure to develop an +artistic sense that found its expression in the painting of everyday +scenes from his life. The walls of his cave served as a canvas; his +materials, principally ochre, he took from the earth. He was the first +Artist; and his paintings, still admirable considering the lack of +guiding precedence, have endured to this day. + +In appearance, Cro-Magnon Man was ruggedly handsome, both in figure and +face. He was long-headed, with a short face patterned on the diamond. +The width was extreme, with high cheek-bones slanting up to a narrowing +forehead, and down to a short, firm chin. Above a long, finely moulded +mouth, the strong, usually prominent nose jutted out imperiously. + +The female was considerably smaller than her mate, often reaching no +more than to his shoulders. Possibly she was lovely of face and figure; +we of today have no evidence to the contrary. + +There are authorities who insist no finer specimen of humankind ever +existed than the Cro-Magnard. Whether or not this is true, does not +alter the fact that he was able to carve a secure niche in a savage and +implacable world, and, at the same time, place the feet of his +descendants on the path to civilization and a more sheltered life.--Ed.] + +And so the three men slipped forward, a long spear trailing in each +right hand, their only guide the keen ears this primitive life had +developed. + +One of the three, a stocky man with a square, strong face and heavily +muscled body, deep-tanned, paused to adjust his grasp on the +stone-tipped spear he carried. As he did so there was a quick stir in +the tangled grasses near his hand and Sleeza, the snake, struck savagely +at his fingers. + +With a startled, involuntary shout, the man jerked away, barely avoiding +the deadly fangs. And then he snatched the flint knife from his +loin-cloth and plunged it fiercely again and again into Sleeza's +threshing body. + +When finally he stopped, the mottled coils were limp in death. He saw +then that his companions were standing erect, staring to the west. + +From his sitting position he looked up at the others. + +"Neela--?" he began. + +"--has fled," finished one of the hunters. "He heard you quarreling with +Sleeza. We cannot catch him, now." + +The third man grinned. "Next time, Barkoo, let Sleeza bite you. While +you may die, at least our food will not run away!" + +Ignoring the grim attempt at humor, Barkoo scrambled to his feet and +watched, in helpless rage, the bobbing heads and flying legs of Neela +and his flock, now far away. + +Barkoo swore mightily. "And it's too late to hunt further," he growled. +"As it is, darkness will come before we reach the caves of Tharn. To +return empty-handed besides--" One of his companions suddenly caught +Barkoo by the arm. "Look!" he cried, pointing toward the west. + + * * * * * + +A young man, clad only in an animal skin about his middle, had leaped +from a clump of grasses less than twenty yards from the fleeing herd. In +one hand was a long war-spear held aloft as he swooped toward them. + +Instantly the herd turned aside and with a fresh burst of speed sought +to out-run this new danger. + +"Look at him run!" Barkoo shouted. + +With the speed of a charging lion the youth was covering the ground in +mighty bounds, slanting rapidly up to the racing animals. A moment later +and he had drawn abreast of a sleek young mare, her slim ears backlaid +in terror. + +Still running at full speed, the young man drew back his arm and sent +his spear flashing across the gap between him and the mare, catching her +full in the exposed side. + +As though her legs had been jerked from under her, the creature turned a +complete circle in mid-air before crashing to the ground, her scream of +agony coming clearly to the three watching hunters. + +Barkoo, when the young man knelt beside the kill, shook his head in +tight-lipped tribute. + +"I might have known he would do something like this," he said, +exasperated. "When I asked him to come with us he refused; the sun was +too hot. Now he will laugh at us--taunt us as bad hunters." + +"Some day he will not come back from the hunt," predicted one of the +men. "He takes too many chances. He goes out alone after Jalok, the +panther, and Tarlok, the leopard, with only a knife and a rope. Why, +just a sun ago, I heard him say Sadu, the lion, was to be next. Smart +hunters leave Sadu alone!" + +Tharn, the son of Tharn, watched the three come slowly toward him. His +unbelievably sharp eyes of gray caught Barkoo's attempt at an +unimpressed expression, and his own lean handsome face broke in a wide +smile, the small even white teeth contrasting vividly with his sun-baked +skin. + +He wondered what had caused the zebra herd to bolt before the hunters +could attempt their kill. He had caught sight of them an hour before +from the high-flung branches of a tree, and had hidden in the grass near +the probable route of the animals once Barkoo and his men had charged +them. + +Barkoo, seeming to ignore the son of his chief, came up to the dead +zebra and nudged it with an appraising toe. + +"Not much meat here," he said to Korgul. "A wise hunter would have +picked a fatter one." + +Tharn's lips twitched with amusement. He knew Barkoo--knew he found +fault only to hide an extravagant satisfaction that the chief's son had +succeeded where older heads had failed; for Barkoo had schooled him in +forest lore almost from the day Tharn had first walked. + +That had been a little more than twenty summers ago; today Tharn was +more at home in the jungles and on the plains than any other member of +his tribe. His confidence had grown with his knowledge until he knew +nothing of fear and little of caution. He took impossible chances for +the pure love of danger, flaunting his carelessness in the face of his +former teacher, jeering at the other's gloomy prophecies of disaster. + +Tharn pursed his lips solemnly. "It is true," he admitted soberly, "that +a wiser hunter would have made a better choice. That is, if he were not +so clumsy that the meat would run away first. Then the wise hunter would +not be able to kill even a little Neela. Wise old men cannot run fast." + +Barkoo glared at him. "It was Sleeza," he snapped, then reddened at +being trapped into a defense. He wheeled on the grinning Korgul. "Get a +strong branch," he said sharply.... + + * * * * * + +With the dead weight of the kill swinging from the branch between Korgul +and Torbat, the four Cro-Magnon hunters set out for the distant caves of +their tribe. + +Soon they entered the mouth of a beaten elephant path leading into the +depths of dense jungle to the west. It was nearly dark here beneath the +over-spreading forest giants, the huge moss-covered boughs festooned +with loops and whorls of heavy vines. The air was overladen with the +heavy smell of rotting vegetation; the sounds of innumerable small life +were constantly in the hunters' ears. Here in the humid jungle, the +bodies of the men glistened with perspiration. + +By the time they had crossed the belt of woods to come into the open at +the beginning of another prairie, Dyta, the sun, was close to the +western horizon. Hazy in the far distance were three low hills, their +common base buried among a sizable clump of trees. In those hills were +the caves of the tribe, and at sight of them the four men quickened +their steps. + +They were perhaps a third of the way across the open ground, when Tharn, +in the lead, halted abruptly, his eyes on a section of the grasses some +hundred yards ahead. + +Barkoo came up beside him. "What is it?" he asked tensely. + +Tharn shrugged. "I don't know--yet. The wind is wrong. But something is +crawling toward us very slowly and with many pauses." + +Barkoo grunted. Tharn's uncanny instinct in locating and identifying +unseen creatures annoyed him. It smacked too strongly of kinship with +the wild beasts; it was not natural for a human to possess that sort of +ability. + +"Come," said Tharn. With head erect, the long spear trailing in his +right hand, he set out at a brisk pace, his companions close on his +heels. + +They had gone half the way when a low moan came to the sharp ears of the +younger man. In it was a note of human suffering and physical agony so +pitiful that Tharn abandoned all caution and plunged forward. + +And then he was parting the rank grasses from above the motionless body +of a boy, lying there face down. From a purple-edged hole in his right +side blood dripped in great red blobs to form a widening pool beneath +him. + +Tenderly Tharn slipped an arm beneath the shoulders of the youngster and +carefully turned him to his back. Even as he recognized the familiar +features, pale beneath a coat of bronze, he was aware of Barkoo behind +him. Before he could turn, a strong hand thrust him roughly to one side +and the older man was kneeling beside the wounded boy. + +"Dartoog!" he cried, his tone a blending of fear and horror and +monstrous rage. "Dartoog, my son! What has happened? Who has done this +to you?" + +Weakly the boy's eyes opened. In the brown depths at first were only +weariness and pain. Then they focused on the face of the man and lighted +up wonderfully, while a faint smile struggled for a place on the graying +lips. + +"Father!" he gasped. + +"Who did this?" demanded Barkoo for the second time. + + * * * * * + +The eyes closed. Haltingly at first, then more smoothly as though +finding strength in reliving the story, Dartoog spoke: + +"It happened only a little while ago. I was near the foot of one of the +hills, making a spear. A few warriors and women were near me; the rest +of our people were in the caves. + +"Then, suddenly, many strange fighting-men sprang out from behind trees +at the edge of the clearing. They were as many as leaves on a big tree. +With loud war-cries they ran at us; and before we could get away they +had thrown their spears. I tried to run; but a big warrior caught me and +struck me with his knife." + +The son of Barkoo fell silent. Tharn, a flaming rage growing within him, +bent nearer. Behind him were Korgul and Torbat, both very still, their +faces strained. + +"Then," the boy continued, "came Tharn, the chief, with our +fighting-men. They came running from the caves and threw themselves upon +the strangers. + +"It was a great fight! Many times did the strange warriors try to beat +back our men, and as many times did they fail. Tharn, our chief, was the +reason. So many men that I could not count them, died beneath his knife +and spear. But at last he, too, fell with a spear in his back. + +"While they were fighting I crawled to the trees. Then I got to my feet +and ran this way as far as I could. I wanted to find you, father, that +you might go and kill them all." + +Dartoog's voice, growing weaker, now ceased altogether. Twice he opened +his lips to speak but no words came. Then, his throat swelling with a +supreme effort, he cried out: "Go, father! Go, before they--" His voice +broke, his body stiffened, then relaxed and he fell back, sighing. + +Gently the father cradled his son's head in the circle of his arms. Once +more the clear brown eyes opened. The man bent an ear to the lips +framing further words. + +"It--is--so--dark," came the barely audible whisper. As the boy finished +speaking, his body slumped, his head dropped back and life left him. + +Barkoo sat as graven in stone, head bowed above the dead body of his +only son. There was no sound but that of the rustling grasses stirring +lazily in the early evening breeze from the east. + +Young Tharn was the first to move. Shaking his head like a hurt lion, he +leaped to his feet, caught up his spear and set out at a run toward the +distant caves. + +By the time he had passed through the trees bounding the clearing before +the hills, darkness was very near. + +He came into the center of utter confusion. Everywhere about the wide +clearing were bodies--some dead, others desperately wounded. Instantly +Tharn set about organizing the dazed survivors; and it was only after +the injured had been cared for and the dead placed in long rows in two +of the recesses, that he found sufficient courage to ask about his +father. + +"We took a spear from his back and carried him to his own cave," was the +answer. "I do not know if he still lives; he was not dead when we took +him there." + +Tharn, closer to knowing fear than he could ever remember, raced upward +along the narrow ledges before the cave mouths. Near the crest he passed +through the wide entrance of a large natural cavern, its interior +lighted by means of dishes of animal fat in which were burning wicks of +twisted grasses. + + * * * * * + +A group of warriors and women at the rear of the cave, drew aside as +Tharn approached, revealing the magnificent figure of their leader lying +upon a great pile of furry pelts. Although the eyes were closed and the +strong regular features bore evidence of suffering, Tharn's heart lost +its burden when he saw the broad chest rising and falling evenly. + +Seated on a small flat-topped boulder beside the bed was Old Myrdon, +pressing juices from herbs in a stone bowl. Old Myrdon had brought back +to health more wounded fighting men than he could remember; and his long +familiarity with death and suffering had completely soured his naturally +acid disposition. + +The young man placed a hand on the forehead of the sleeping chief, +gratified to find the skin cool and moist. He noticed the compress of +herbs bound in place high up on his father's back, and knew, then, the +spear had not touched a vital spot, that with proper care rapid recovery +would follow. + +He moved to Myrdon's side. "Take good care of him, Old One," he said +quietly. + +The healer jerked his shoulder from under Tharn's hand. "I do not need +advice from you," he growled, his wrinkled fingers grinding the rock +pestle savagely against the bowl's contents. "If he lives it will be +because I want him to live." + +Tharn's grim expression did not change. "Take good care of him," he +repeated evenly. "If he dies--you die!" + +Startled, Myrdon raised his head. But Tharn had turned away and was +striding toward the exit. + +At the foot of the cliff he found Barkoo and Korgul and Torbat talking +with a group of warriors. The son of the chief shouldered his way to the +center. Darkness had come while he had been aloft and the only light +came from two resinous flares. + +In silence they looked at Tharn's set face. He was aware that they were +regarding him strangely--almost expectantly. They seemed to sense that +the carefree boy they had known was gone--replaced by a young warrior. + +"Which way," demanded Tharn, "did they go?" + +A tall, thin warrior with a bloody scratch across his forehead replied: +"When they saw they could not gain the caves, they fell back. After they +had disappeared among the trees, I followed for a time. Their path led +into the south along the trail where we slew Pandor, the elephant, two +suns ago." + +Barkoo rubbed a hand thoughtfully across his smooth-scraped chin. "When +Dyta comes again," he said, "we will start after them." + +Tharn's mouth hardened. "You can wait for Dyta if you wish," he said +slowly. "I am going after them now. They had no quarrel with us, but +many of my friends--and yours--are dead. They killed Dartoog. They tried +to kill my father. I am not going to wait." + +"What can you hope to do alone, against many?" Barkoo asked in +matter-of-fact tones. "Wait; go with us when it is light. There will be +fighting enough for you then." + +Without replying, Tharn stooped and caught up a flint-tipped war-spear. +Then he re-coiled the folds of his grass rope about his shoulders and +made sure the stone knife was secure in the folds of his loin-cloth. + +He turned to the watching men. "I am going now," he said quietly. An +instant later the black void of jungle had swallowed him up. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Dylara + + +Uda, the moon, had not yet risen above the trees when the Cro-Magnon +youth plunged into the wilderness of growing things. As a result he +found his way purely by his familiarity with the territory and a store +of jungle lore not surpassed by the beasts themselves. Because of the +dense darkness, he was guided by three senses alone: smell, hearing and +touch; but these were ample when backed by the keen mind and superhuman +strength bequeathed by heritage and environment. + +The narrow game trail underfoot swerved abruptly to the west and rose +rapidly. For several hundred feet the way was steep, became level for a +short distance, then fell away in a long gentle slope to flatness once +more. + +All this was familiar ground to Tharn. The ridge containing the homes of +his people was behind him now; from here on for a day's march was +nothing but level country. + +Now came Uda, her shining half-disc swinging low above the towering +reaches of the trees, her white rays seeking to pierce the matted growth +below. What little light came through was enough for Tharn's eyes to +regain some degree of usefulness. + +He was moving ahead at a slow trot, an hour afterward, when the shrill +scream of a leopard broke suddenly from the trail ahead. Another time, +and Tharn might have gone on--too proud to change his course in the face +of possible peril. But tonight he had more urgent business than a brawl +with Tarlok. + +Turning at right angles into the wall of undergrowth lining the path, he +vaulted into the lower branches of a sturdy tree. With the graceful +agility of little Nobar, the monkey, he swung swiftly westward again, +threading his way with deceptive ease along the network of swaying +boughs, now and then swinging perilously across a wide span from one +tree to the next. + +Directly below was the beaten path; and now he caught sight of the +animal whose scream he had heard. Tarlok was pacing leisurely in the +same direction as that of the man overhead, pausing occasionally to give +voice to his hunting squall, his spotted form barely visible among the +shadows. Tharn passed silently above him, the leopard unaware of his +nearness. + +Onward raced the Cro-Magnard, his thoughts filled with the quest he had +undertaken alone. His savage, untamed mind had dwelt so steadily upon +the outrageous attack, that it finally brought an emotion so powerful as +to be almost tangible: Hate, and for a companion, Revenge. + +Never would he rest until this unknown tribe had felt the weight of his +own personal wrath. For what they had done they must pay a thousandfold +in lives and misery. + + * * * * * + +Without warning, the forest ended; and the cave lord dropped to the +ground at the edge of a great plain, its bounds hidden in the ghostly +moonlight. + +A line of broken grasses began where the game path ended. So fresh was +the trail, now, that Tharn knew he had best wait for sunrise before +continuing the chase. He had no wish to dash headlong among the ranks of +the very enemy he pursued. + +A few moments later Tharn was sleeping soundly in a crotch of a high +tree, his slumber undisturbed by the long familiar noises of a jungle +night. + +The sun was an hour high when he awakened. His first act was to climb to +the highest pinnacle of the tree, and from that point attempt to pick +out, if possible, the goal of those he sought. + +He was immediately successful. Due west, far in the distance, he saw +hills rising steeply amidst another forest. His sharp eyes followed a +wide line of broken grasses, noting that it pointed unerringly toward +those same heights. + +Tharn smiled grimly to himself. Soon the first member of that war-party +would make the initial payment on the blood-debt. Making certain his +weapons were in place, the broad-shouldered young man slid to the ground +and took up a circuitous route, avoiding the open plain, which brought +him finally to the forest's edge at a considerable distance away from +the others' point of entry at the far side of the plain. If he had +crossed the plain, sharp eyes might have noted his pursuit from just +within the forest edge. + +Once the trail was picked up again, he took to the comparative safety of +the middle terraces. Soon he was moving in absolute silence above a +narrow pathway winding into the gloomy interior, the imprints of many +naked feet clear in the thick dust. But he no longer needed such +evidence; the humid breeze was bringing the assorted smells of a +Cro-Magnon settlement close ahead. + +So close were the hills by this time that he was momentarily expecting +the trees to thin out, when he caught the sound of a faint movement from +below. Warily he slipped downward until, parting the foliage with a +stealthy hand, he made out the figure of a tall muscular warrior +standing in the trail, his attitude that of a sentry. + +Tharn felt his pulses quicken as a new emotion came to him. In all his +twenty-two years he had never been called upon to take a human life, and +he found the prospect somewhat disquieting. Yet it was just such a +purpose that he had in mind and there was no point in wasting time with +self-analysis. + +Noiselessly he slid to the ground and stepped onto the trail a few paces +behind the stranger. With infinite stealth he lessened the space between +the unsuspecting warrior and his own half crouched figure. Forgotten was +the knife at his belt; his purpose was to close fingers about the +other's throat. + +Now, he was sufficiently near. The muscles of his legs tensed for the +spring--and the enemy whirled to face him! + + * * * * * + +When the guard saw the young giant's nearness and threatening position, +his eyes flew wide in surprise and fear. His jaw dropped, but no sound +came; his arms seemed frozen to his sides. + +Before he could recover, Tharn was upon him. As the young cave-man's +fingers clamped on the stranger's throat, a knee came up with savage +force into Tharn's stomach, almost tearing loose his hold. But the +maneuver cost the man his balance, and he fell backward with Tharn's +weight across his chest. + +Frantically the warrior fought to loosen the terrible grip cutting off +his breath. He clawed wildly at the iron fingers, struck heavy blows at +his attacker's face and body. But Tharn only tightened his hold, waiting +grimly as the efforts to dislodge him became increasingly weaker. Then a +convulsive shudder passed through the body, followed by complete +limpness. The man was dead. + +Tharn got to his feet. For a long moment he stood there, staring in +wonder at the dead, distorted face. His thoughts were a jumble of +conflicting emotions: pride at vanquishing a grown man by bare hands +alone; strong satisfaction in an enemy's death; and a feeling of guilt +at taking a human life. What was it that Barkoo had told him, long ago? + +"Death cannot be understood, completely, by one who has never killed. A +true warrior takes no life without knowing regret. Slay only when your +life is in danger, or when someone has wronged you. Those who kill for +the love of killing are beneath the beasts; for beasts kill only for +cause." + +Tharn stooped, swung the corpse across his shoulder and entered the +jungle. There he concealed the body and once more took to the trees. + +The forest ended suddenly, some fifty yards from the base of an immense +overhanging cliff. A single glance told Tharn that he had reached the +trail's end, and he leaped lightly into the branches of a tree at the +lip of the clearing. Swiftly he swarmed upward until a broad bough was +reached that pointed outward toward the hillside. + +Below and before him went on the everyday life of a Cro-Magnon village. +Four women carved steaks from the freshly killed body of a deer; naked +children climbed in and out of the caves and ran about the open ground; +two girls, several seasons short of woman-hood, scraped hair, by means +of flint tools, from a deerskin staked flat to the ground. + +There was but one thing lacking in this peaceful, commonplace picture, +and Tharn noted its absence at once. There was not a single grown male +in sight! Did this mean a trap had been laid for the pursuit which the +warriors of this tribe had every reason to expect? Were they, then, +lying in wait for Barkoo and his men at the outer rim of the forest? + +Tharn was about to start back toward the prairie, when he suddenly +stiffened to attention. A woman--a girl, rather; she could not have been +more than eighteen--had slid to the ground from one of the caves. The +man in the trees half rose to watch her. + +She was a bit above average in height, slim, yet perfectly formed. That +part of her body not covered by the soft folds of panther skin was +evenly tanned but not darkly so. Soft, lustrous brown hair fell to her +bare shoulders in lovely half-curls that gave off reddish glints when +touched by the sun's direct rays. + +This breath-taking young person was coming straight toward the very tree +that sheltered him. As she drew nearer, he could make out her features +more clearly, and he saw that the wide eyes were also brown, flecked +with tiny bits of Dyta, the sun (or so he thought); her cheeks were high +but not too prominent, her nose rather small but beautifully shaped. She +walked gracefully, shoulders back, her head lifted proudly, an almost +saucy tilt to her chin. + + * * * * * + +She passed beneath him and went on into the forest. Tharn came down +quickly and set out to follow. Why he did so was not considered; some +strange force drew him on. Less than twenty feet separated them, now; +but so guarded were his movements that the girl was not aware of being +trailed. + +And now a small treeless glade stopped the stalker. Not daring to follow +further, he watched her take an empty gourd from its hiding place in a +clump of grasses and set about filling it with rich, red fruit from a +cluster of low bushes. + +Tharn watched her intently from behind the bole of a mighty tree. His +eyes feasted on the matchless beauty of her face and form. Forgotten +completely was the driving motive that had brought him this far from +home. The flaming thirst for revenge was dead, quenched entirely by a +flooding emotion, new to him but old as life itself. + +A little later he saw that the girl's search for berries was bringing +her close to a tree some fifty feet to his left. Swinging easily into +the foliage overhead, he moved silently along the boughs until the +strange princess was directly below. + +And as he drew to a pause, Tarlok, the leopard, rose from the screen of +leaves just beneath him and, crouching briefly, sprang without warning +at the golden form fifteen feet below. + +That second of hesitation on the part of the cat, saved the girl's life. +Tharn, trained to think and to act in the same instant, was in mid-air +as Tarlok's claws left the bark. And so, inches from that softly curved +back, the beast was swept aside by the impact of a hundred and seventy +pounds of muscular manhood. + +Snarling its rage, the cat wheeled as it struck the earth, then pounced, +almost in the same motion, at Tharn's half-kneeling figure. But, swift +as was the movement, the man was quicker. Crouching under the arc of the +hurtling body, the Cro-Magnard drove his long knife to the hilt in the +white-furred belly. The force of the leap, plus the power behind that +strong right arm, tore a long, deep gash, and the animal fell, screaming +with pain and hate. Quickly he regained his feet and again threw himself +at the two-legged creature in his path. But Tharn easily avoided the +charge and vaulted into a nearby tree. + +Blood streamed from the fatally wounded leopard as it turned to the +man's leafy haven and attempted to scramble into the lower branches. The +effort cost Tarlok his remaining strength, however, and he toppled +heavily to earth. Once more he sought to regain his feet, only to +collapse and move no more. + +As Tharn came down to the floor of the glade, he wondered why the scream +of the giant cat had not brought enemy warriors running to the scene. +That none had appeared made certain his belief that they were elsewhere +in the neighborhood, and he breathed easier. + +As soon as Tharn reappeared, the girl whose life he had saved rose from +a clump of bushes a few feet away. And thus they stood there, each +eyeing the other with frank interest. + + * * * * * + +Tharn's brain was awhirl. So much that was new and exciting had crowded +into it within the last few hours that he was incapable of rational +thinking. But this he knew: something had been born within him that had +not been there an hour ago. + +He spoke first. "I am Tharn," he said. + +The girl did not at once respond to his implied question. She seemed +hesitant, uncertain as to the wisdom of remaining there. + +"I am Dylara," she said at last, her voice low and soft, yet wonderfully +clear. "My father is chief of the tribe that bears his name. The caves +of Majok are there," and she pointed toward the cliff, hidden from them +by intervening trees. + +Under the impetus of crystallizing realization, Tharn said what he had +wanted to say from the first. "I kept Tarlok from getting you," he +reminded her. "Now you belong to me!" + +The brown-haired girl flushed with mingled astonishment and anger. + +"You are a fool!" she retorted. "I belong to no one. Because you saved +me from Tarlok, I will not call my people if you go away at once." + +She turned and would have left him had not Tharn reached out and caught +her by the arm. + +Instantly she wheeled and struck him savagely across the mouth with her +free hand, struggling to break his hold as she did so. + +Then Tharn, his face smarting, hesitated no longer. With an effortless +motion he drew her into the circle of his arms, tossed her lightly +across one broad shoulder and broke into a run, heading back in the +direction of home. His prisoner let out a single cry for help; then a +calloused palm covered her lips. + +And hardly had the echoes of that shout faded than six brawny +fighting-men rose from the edge of the jungle, directly in Tharn's path! + +At sight of the newcomers, Tharn whirled to his left, and raced away +with enormous bounding strides despite the handicap of his burden. With +loud yells and frightful threats beating against his ears, the cave man +vanished into the tangled maze beyond the clearing. + +Pursuit was immediate. For several hundred yards the chase continued at +break-neck speed. Compared to those behind him, Tharn's passage was +almost silent, his lithe figure slipping smoothly among the tree trunks. +And then into view came the shallow, swift-flowing stream which he had +scented while still in the clearing. Dashing into the water he splashed +rapidly up-stream for a hundred yards, a sharp bend hiding him from the +point at which he had entered. + +Now he saw ahead of him that which he had hoped to find--the immense +branch of a jungle giant, hanging low above the water's shimmering +surface. Upon reaching the limb he drew himself and his captive into the +leaves; then, stepping lightly from bough to bough, his balance +controlled by a single hand, he moved rapidly inland, passing easily +from tree to tree. Now and then he paused to listen for some indication +of pursuit, but nothing reached those keen ears except the familiar +sounds of a semi-tropical forest. + + * * * * * + +Tharn was beginning to wonder what far-reaching effects this half-mad +abduction would have on his future life. He tried to picture his +father's face when he saw his son returning with a strange mate, and the +image was not an altogether pleasant one. Taking a mate by force was not +entirely uncommon among Cro-Magnon people, although he had heard the +elder Tharn declare that no true man would do so. The Hairy Ones took +their women in that fashion; but then they were hardly more than the +beasts. + +And Barkoo! Tharn shuddered at the thought of his teacher's reaction. He +would say much--remarks that would sear the hide of Pandor, the +elephant! + +He shrugged mentally. Let them, then! Many would envy him his prize; for +certainly none among the women of the tribe was half so fair. He hoped +that between now and the time Dylara and he arrived home, she would +prove more tractable. Were she to repulse him in front of the others.... +He dropped the thought as though it were white-hot. + +An hour later he descended at the edge of a small natural clearing. A +spring bubbled in one corner, and beside it the girl was lowered to her +feet. The man and the girl knelt to drink, then sat up. + +Tharn glanced at her, and grinned when she promptly turned her back. She +was angrily rubbing her wrists to restore the circulation his strong +grasp had partially cut off. + +"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, her head still turned away. + +"To my caves and my tribe," Tharn replied. "You shall be my mate. +Someday I shall be chief." + +The quiet words brought the beautiful head quickly around, and the girl +glared at him hotly. + +"I would sooner mate with Gubo, the hyena!" she snapped. + +Tharn's grin required effort. "I think not," he said calmly. "I will be +good to you. You shall have the finest skins to warm you, the best food +to eat. Your cave will be large and light, and no one will tell you what +to do. Except me, of course," he added slyly. + +She searched wildly for a telling retort. "I--I hate you!" + +Tharn met the angry eyes with a serenity he secretly was far from +feeling. + +"You will love me. I will make you love me," he assured her. + + * * * * * + +By this time Dylara was so exasperated that she had almost forgotten her +fright. What good did it do to argue with this headstrong youth? He +turned back every command, every retort, with an unruffled aplomb that +filled her with helpless fury. It was, she thought, like beating bare +fists against a boulder. Angry tears welled up in her eyes, and she +turned away, ashamed to show the extent of her agitation. Her father, +she knew, would have warriors scouring the countryside in search of her. +But how could they hope to follow a trail that led through the forest +top? In all her life she had never heard of a man who used the pathway +ordinarily reserved for little Nobar, the monkey. True, many of the +tribesmen were accomplished tree-climbers, often ambushing game from +their branches. But such climbing faded to nothingness when compared +with this amazing man's superhuman agility and strength. + +She stole a glance at his face. The broad, high forehead, the bronzed +clean-scraped cheeks, the strong jaw and mobile, sensitive lips stirred +something deep within her. She caught herself wishing she had met him +under more favorable conditions. But, by taking her forcibly, he had +turned her forever against him; she hated him with all the intensity of +which she was capable. + +And then, woman-like, her next words had nothing to do with her +thoughts. "I am hungry," she said abruptly. + +Tharn blinked at the abrupt change in the course of their conversation, +but obediently he stood up. + +"Then we shall eat," he assured her. "And it will be meat, too; I will +show you that I am a great hunter." + +It was a boast meant to impress. Dylara's lips twitched with amusement, +but she said nothing. + +Tharn raised his head, sniffed at the pungent jungle air, then set out +through the trees, Dylara at his heels. Moving toward the east they +came, a half hour later, to the banks of a narrow river. This they +followed downstream until a game trail was reached. + +Motioning for the girl to seek the concealing foliage of a tree, Tharn +slipped behind the bole of another bordering the pathway. Drawing his +knife, he froze into complete immobility. + +Ten minutes, twenty--a half an hour dragged by. From her elevated +position Dylara watched the young man, marveling at the indomitable +patience that could keep him motionless, waiting. The strong lines of +his body appealed vividly to her, although she was quick to insist it +was entirely impersonal; she would have been as responsive, she told +herself, had it been the figure of Sadu, the lion, crouching there. + +Then--although she had heard nothing--she saw Tharn stiffen expectantly. +Two full minutes passed. And then, stepping daintily, every sense alert +for hidden danger, came sleek Bana--the deer. + +Here was food fit for the mate of a chief! The man of the caves +tightened his strong fingers about the knife hilt. + +On came Bana. Tharn drew his legs beneath him like a great cat. + +And then events followed one another in rapid sequence. As the +unsuspecting animal drew abreast of him, Tharn, with a long, lithe +bound, sprang full on its back, at the same instant driving the stone +blade behind Bana's left foreleg and into the heart. The deer stumbled +and fell. Dylara dropped from the tree, reaching Tharn's side as he rose +from the body of the kill. + +As he stood erect, still clutching the reddened blade, an arrow sped +through the sunlight and raked a deep groove along his naked side. + +At the shock of pain which followed, Tharn whirled about in a movement +so rapid that his body seemed to blur. Before he could do more, however, +a heavy wooden club flashed from a clump of undergrowth at his back, +striking him a terrible blow aside the head. A searing white light +seemed to explode before him; then blackness came and he knew no more. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +The Strange City + + +Dylara was first aware of a dull pain centering at the juncture of cheek +and jaw. Half conscious, she put her fingers to the aching spot--and +opened her eyes. + +"How do you feel?" asked a man's deep voice. + +Dylara, blinking in the strong sunlight, sat up. In front of her, +squatted on his haunches before a small grass-fed fire, was a slender, +wirily built man of uncertain age, his narrow hawk-like face creased in +a thin-lipped smile as he squinted at her. + +"I don't.... What--" Dylara began in a dazed voice. + +The man fished a bit of scorched meat from the flames and bit off a +mouthful. "The next time," he said thickly, "be careful whose face you +scratch. Trokar doesn't make a habit of hitting girls, but you turned on +him like a panther when he tried to keep you from running away. He'll +carry the marks for a while!" + +Memories flooded in on her. She saw the sun-dappled trail; saw Tharn +rise from the body of Bana, only to go down under the cruel impact of a +heavy club; saw the horde of oddly dressed men spring from concealment +and rush toward her. She had turned to run, but a grinning warrior had +intercepted her. And when she had raked her nails across his cheek, his +good-humored expression had darkened--she remembered no more. + +"But--but Tharn?" she cried. "Where is he? Did you--Is he--" + +The man shrugged. "If you mean the man who was with you ... well, we +intended only to stun him. There is need in Sephar for strong slaves. +But the club that brought him down was thrown too hard." + +"Then he is--dead?" + +The hawk-faced one nodded. + +Dylara was too shocked to attempt analysis of her feelings. She knew +only that an unbearable weight had come into her heart; beyond that her +thoughts refused to go. Sudden tears stung her eyes. + + * * * * * + +The man rose and set about stamping out the fire. Watching him, the girl +began to note how greatly this man differed from one of her own tribe. +To begin with, he was smaller, both in build and in stature. His skin, +under its heavy tan, was somewhat darker; his hair very black. He wore a +tunic of some coarsely woven grayish white material; rude sandals of +deerskin covered his feet. A quiver of arrows and a bow--both completely +unfamiliar objects to the girl--swung from his shoulders, and a long +thin knife of flint was thrust under a belt of skin at his waist. + +His speech, too, had shown he was of another race. While it had been +intelligible, his enunciation was puzzling at times; occasionally hardly +understandable. The similarity to the Cro-Magnon tongue was far stronger +than basic; still, there was considerable difference in subtle shadings +of pronunciation and sentence structure. + +He turned to her, finally. "Are you hungry?" + +"No," she said dully. + +"Good. We have delayed too long, as it is. Sephar is more than two suns +away, and we are anxious to return." + +He raised his voice in a half-shouted, "Ho!" In response a half-score of +men rose from the tall grasses nearby. + +"Trokar," called the hawk-faced one. + +"Yes, Vulcar." A slender young man came forward. + +"Here is the girl who improved your looks! It will be your duty to look +after her on the way back to Sephar." + +Trokar fingered three angry red welts along one cheek, and grinned +without speaking. + +In single file they set out toward the south. For several hours they +pushed steadily ahead across gently rolling prairie land. The girl's +spirits sagged lower and lower as she trudged on, going she knew not +where. She thought of her father and the grief he must be suffering; of +her friends and her people. She thought of Tharn once or twice; if he +were alive, these men would not hold her for long. But he was dead, and +the realization brought so strong a pang that she forced her thoughts +away from him. + +They camped that night at the edge of a great forest. All during the +dark hours a heavy fire was kept going, while the men alternated, in +pairs, at sentry duty. Several times during the night Dylara was +awakened by hunting cries of roving meat-eaters but apparently none came +near the camp. + +All the following day the party of twelve skirted the edge of the +forest, moving always due south. By evening the ground underfoot had +become much more uneven, and hills began to appear frequently. The +nearby jungle was thinning out, as well, and the air was noticeably +cooler. Just at sunset they finished scaling a particularly steep +incline and paused at the crest to camp for the night. + +Not far to the south, Dylara saw a low range of mountains extending to +the horizons. Narrow valleys cut between the peaks, none of the latter +high enough to be snow-capped. Through one ravine tumbled the waters of +a mountain stream. The fading sunlight, reflected from water and +glistening rocks, gave the scene an aura of majestic magnificence, +bringing an involuntary murmur of delight to the lips of the girl. + +"Beyond those heights lies Sephar." It was Vulcar, he of the hawk face, +who spoke from beside her. + +Dylara glanced at him, seeing the great pride in his expression. + +"Sephar?" she echoed questioningly. + +"Home!" he said. "It is like nothing you have ever seen. We do not live +in caves; we are beyond that. It is from tribes such as yours that we +take our slaves. Long ago the people of Sephar and Ammad were such as +you. But because they were greater and wiser, and learned many things +which you of the caves do not know, we have come to think of your kind +as little more than animals." + + * * * * * + +Early the following morning they were underway once more. Shortly before +noon they scaled the last few yards to a great tableland among the +peaks. And it was then that Dylara got her first glimpse of Sephar. + +A little below where she stood was a wide, shallow valley, most of it +filled with heavy forest and jungle. Directly in the center of this +valley, a jewel in a setting of green, lay a city. A city of stone +buildings, gray and box-like, erected in the most simple of +architectural design. With a few exceptions, all buildings were of one +story; none more than two. Broad, clean streets were much in evidence, +the principal ones running spokewise to converge at the exact center of +the wheel-like pattern. Encircling all this was a great wall of dull gray +stone. + +But the most arresting feature of the entire city was situated at the +hub of it all. Here, rising four full stories above the carefully tended +plot of ground surrounding it, stood a tremendous structure of pure +white stone, its shining walls adding materially to the dazzling effect +given the awe-struck Dylara. + +A hand touched her shoulder. Vulcar was smiling at her expression. +"That," he said proudly, "is Sephar." + +The girl could find no words to answer him. Here was something that all +the tales repeated around a hundred cave-fires, during the rainy +seasons, had never approached. Here might dwell the gods; those who sent +the rain and the flaming bolts from the skies.... + +"Come," Vulcar said at last, and the little party started down the +grass-covered incline toward the valley floor--and Sephar. + + * * * * * + +The princess Alurna was angry. A few moments ago she had driven her +slave woman from the room, hastening the girl's departure with a thrown +vase. Raging, the princess paced the chamber's length, kicking the soft +fur rugs from her path. Bed coverings were scattered about the floor, +flung there during this--her latest--tantrum. + +It is doubtful whether Alurna, herself, knew what brought on these +savage fits of temper. Actually, it was boredom; life to the girl--still +in her early twenties--went on in Sephar in the same uneventful fashion +as it had since her great-great grandfather had led a host across the +tremendous valley between the present site of Sephar and the northern +slopes of Ammad. + +Finally the princess threw herself face down on the disordered bed and +burst into hysterical weeping. She had about cried herself out, when a +hand touched her arm. + +"Go away, Anela!" she snapped, without looking up. "I told you to stay +out until I sent for you." + +"It is I," said a deep voice, "Urim, your father." + +The girl scrambled hastily from the bed, at the same time wiping away +the traces of tears. + +"I'm sorry, father. I thought it was Anela, come back to look after me." + +The man chuckled. "If I know anything, she won't be back until you fetch +her. She is huddled in one corner of the hall outside, shaking as though +Sadu had chased her!" + +Despite his fifty years, Urim, ruler of Sephar, was still an imposing +figure. Larger than the average Sepharian, he had retained much of the +splendid physique an active life had given him. Of late years, however, +he had been content to lead a more sedentary life; this, and a growing +fondness for foods and wine, had added inches to his middle and fullness +to his face, while mellowing still further a kindly disposition. + +Alurna sat down on the edge of her bed and sought to tidy the cloud of +loosely bound dark curls framing her lovely head. She was taller, by an +inch or two, than the average Sepharian girl, with a lithe, softly +rounded figure, small firm breasts, rather delicate features and a clear +olive skin. She was wearing a sleeveless tunic which fell from neck to +knees, caught at the waist by a wide belt of the same material. Her +shapely legs were bare, the feet encased in heelless sandals of leather. + +Urim drew up a chair and sat down. He watched Alurna as she freshened +her appearance, his face reflecting a father's pride. + +"Come, child," he said at last. "It is time for the mid-day meal. And +that brings out what I came to tell you." + +Alurna glanced at him with quick interest. "I thought so! I can always +tell when you've got some surprise for me. What is it this time?" + +"Visitors," Urim replied. "Three noble-born young men have traveled from +Ammad to pay their respects. They have brought gifts from your +uncle--many of them for you!" + +Visitors from the mother country were rare, since few elected to attempt +the perilous journey to Sephar. Alurna's uncle was king in Ammad, and +the two brothers were warm friends. Urim, himself, had been born in +Ammad, having come to Sephar as ruler when the former king, old Pyron, +had died childless. Alurna had never seen the city of her father's +birth, having been born in Sephar. + + * * * * * + +When Alurna had completed her toilet, she joined her father, and +together they descended the broad central staircase of the palace to the +lower hall. After passing through several well-furnished rooms, they +entered a crowded dining hall and took seats at the head of a long +table. The other diners had risen at their entry; they remained standing +until Urim motioned for them to sit again. + +Another group entered the hall, now, and all, save Urim and his +daughter, rose to greet them. These newcomers were the visitors from +Ammad, and as they approached vacant benches near the table's head, Urim +stood to welcome them, his arms folded to signify friendship, a broad +smile on his lips. + +He turned to Alurna. "My daughter, welcome the friends of my brother. +This is Tamar; this, Javan; and Jotan--my daughter, Alurna." + +The girl smiled dutifully to the three. Two were of the usual type about +her--slight, small-boned, graceful men with little to distinguish them. + +But the other--Jotan--caught her attention from the first. He was truly +big--standing a full six feet, with heavy broad shoulders and muscular +arms and legs. His eyes were a cold flinty blue, deep-set in a strong +masculine face. His jaw was square and firm, the recently scraped skin +ruddy and clear. He carried himself with no hint of self-consciousness +at being in the presence of royalty; his bearing as regal as that of +Urim, himself. + +One after the other the three visitors touched the princess' hand. +Jotan, the last, held her fingers a trifle longer than was necessary, +while his eyes flashed a look of admiration that turned red the girl's +cheeks. She withdrew her hand abruptly, hiding her confusion by hurried +speech. + +"My father and I are happy that you have come to Sephar," she said. +"Food shall be brought to refresh you after so long and tiring a +journey." + +At a sign from Urim, slaves began to fetch in steaming platters, placing +them at frequent intervals along the board. Baked-clay cups were put at +the right hand of each diner and filled with the wine-like beverage +common to Sephar and Ammad; an alcoholic drink fermented from a species +of wild grape. Of utensils there was none, the hands serving to convey +food to the mouth. + +After spilling a few drops of wine to the floor as a tribute to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud, each diner set about the +business of eating. + + * * * * * + +At last the mounds of viands had disappeared; the cups, drained and +refilled many times during the course of the feast, were replenished +again, and the Sepharians settled back to talk. + +"Scarcely five marches from here, we were beset by a great band of +cave-dwellers." Javan was speaking. "We beat them back easily enough; +our bows and arrows evidently were unknown to them and sent scores to +their deaths. + +"But I tell you it was exciting for a time! They were huge brutes and +unbelievably strong. Their spears--crude, barbaric things--were thrown +with such force that twice I saw them go entirely through two of our +men. + +"But, as I say, we repulsed them, losing only four of our party, while +over forty of the cave people died. We were not able to take prisoners; +they fought too stubbornly to be subdued alive." + +Alurna leaned forward eagerly. + +"We have many slaves who once were such as you have described," she +broke in. "But they do not take kindly to slavery. They often are morose +and hate us, and need beatings to be kept in place. Yet their men are +strong and fearless--and usually quite handsome." + +From his place at the table, Jotan watched the face of the princess as +she spoke. She seemed vivid and forceful--much more so that any other +woman he had ever met; and her beauty of face and figure was +breath-taking. He resolved to become better acquainted with her. + +The manner in which Tamar straightened at her last words, showed they +had stung him--just why, was not altogether clear to Alurna. + +"They are only brutes--animals!" he said heatedly. "They know nothing of +such splendor--" he waved an arm to include the room's rich furnishings +"--no tables or chairs, no soft covers on their cave floors. There are +no walls to protect them from raids by their enemies; no ability in +warfare beyond blind courage. They are half-naked savages--nothing +more!" + +A sudden commotion at the doorway caused the conversation to end here. A +short, alert man with a hawk-like face and a distinct military bearing, +strode into the room and bowed before Urim. + +"Well, Vulcar," greeted the king, without rising, "what are you doing +here?" + +"I come," replied the warrior, "to report the capture of a young +cave-woman. A hunting party slew her mate and captured her a few marches +from Sephar." + +"Bring her in to us," Urim commanded. "I should like our visitors to see +for themselves what cave people are like." + +Vulcar bowed again, then returned to the doorway and beckoned to someone +outside. + + * * * * * + +Two Sepharian warriors entered, Dylara between them. She was disheveled +and rumpled, the protecting skin of Jalok, the panther, was awry; but +her head was unbowed, her shoulders erect, and her glance as haughty as +that of the princess, Alurna, herself. + +No one said anything for a long moment. The sheer beauty of the girl +captive seemingly had struck them dumb. + +Jotan broke the silence. "By the God!" he gasped. "Are you jesting? This +is no half-wild savage!" + +Alurna, her eyes flashing dangerously, turned toward the speaker. The +first man ever to attract her, and already raving over some unwashed +barbarian who soon was to be a common slave! + +"Perhaps you would like to have her as your mate," she said sweetly, but +with an ominous note in her tone. + +Urim shot a startled glance at his daughter. He had heard that edge to +her voice before this, and usually it meant trouble for someone. + +Jotan kept his eyes on the prisoner. "She would grace the life of any +man," he declared with enthusiasm, totally unaware of Alurna's mounting +jealousy. + +Tamar, seated next to Jotan, forced a loud laugh. "My friend loves to +jest," he announced in a palpable attempt to break the sudden tension. +"Pay no attention to him." + +Although Dylara understood most of what was being said, she was too +upset to follow the conversation itself. She was awed and a little +frightened by the undreamed-of magnificence about her. As much as she +had hated Tharn, being with him was far better than belonging to those +who had her now. But Tharn was dead, stricken down by a slender stick +and heavy club. + +"Take her to the slave quarters," instructed Urim finally. "Later, I +shall decide what is to be done with her." + +Dylara was led up two broad flights of stairs and deep within the left +wing of the palace, her escort halting at last before massive twin +doors. Here, two armed guards raised a heavy timber from its sockets, +the doors swung wide, and she was led down a long hall past several +small doors on either side of the corridor. + +The men stopped before one of these doors, unbarred it, and thrust +Dylara into the room beyond. Then the door closed and she heard the bar +drop into place. + + * * * * * + +At first, her eyes were hard put to distinguish objects in the faint +light entering through a long narrow, stone-barred opening set high up +close to the ceiling. Soon, however, she was able to make out the simple +furnishings: a low bed, formed by hairy pelts on a wooden framework; a +low bench; a stand, upon which were a large clay bowl and a length of +clean, rough cloth; and, on the floor, a soft rug of some woven material +unfamiliar to the cave-girl. + +Utterly weary, the girl threw herself on the bed. Thoughts of Tharn came +unbidden to her mind. How she longed for his confidence-instilling +presence! Not that she cared for him in any way; of that she was very +certain. It was only that he was one of her own kind; he spoke as she +did, clothed himself as she was accustomed to seeing men clothed. + +It was unthinkable that he was dead; impossible to believe that that +mighty heart had ceased to beat! Yet she had heard the dull impact of +wood against bone as the club had felled him, and he had not stirred +when the strange men broke from the bushes to seize her. + +Yes, he was dead; and Dylara's eyes suddenly brimmed with burning tears. +She told herself that her sorrow was not so much from his death as the +fact that, without him alive, she could never hope to leave this place. + +The show of bravado, maintained before her captors, began to slip away. +She was so lonely and afraid here in this grimly beautiful city. What +would become of her? And that proud, lovely girl at the table with all +those people--why had she looked at Dylara with such frank hatred? + +She cried a little, there in the dim light, and still sobbing, fell +asleep. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Came Tharn + + +Sadu, the lion, rounding a bend in the trail, came to an abrupt halt as +his eyes fell on the carcass of Bana lying across the path a few yards +ahead. + +An idle breeze ruffled his heavy mane as he stood there, one great paw +half-lifted as though caught in mid-stride. Then, very slowly, impelled +solely by curiosity, he moved toward the dead animal. + +Suddenly something stirred beyond the bulk of the deer. Sadu froze to +immobility again as the dusty blood-stained figure of a half-naked man +got to an upright position and faced him. + +For a full minute the man and the lion stared woodenly into each other's +eyes, across a space of hardly more than a dozen paces. + +Sadu's principal emotion was puzzled uncertainty. There was nothing of +menace in the attitude of this two-legged creature; neither did it show +any indication of being alarmed. Experience had taught the lion to +expect one or the other of those reactions upon such meetings as this, +and the absence of either was responsible for his own indecision. + +As for Tharn, he was experiencing difficulty in seeing clearly. The +figure of the giant cat seemed to shimmer in the sunlight; to expand +awesomely, then contract almost to nothing. A whirlpool of roaring pain +sucked at his mind, drawing the strength from every muscle of his body. + +Tharn realized the moment was fast approaching when either he or Sadu +must make some move. If the lion's decision was to attack, the +empty-handed cave-man would prove easy prey. + +Almost at Tharn's feet lay his heavy war-spear. To stoop to retrieve it +might precipitate an immediate charge. But that might come anyway, he +reasoned, catching him without means of defence. + +What followed required only seconds. Tharn crouched, caught up the +flint-tipped weapon, and straightened--all in one supple motion. Sadu +slid back on his haunches, reared up with fore-legs extended, gave one +mighty roar--then turned and in wild flight vanished into the jungle! + +It required the better part of an hour for the cave lord to hack a +supply of meat from Bana's flank and cache it in a high fork of the +nearest tree. The blow from a Sepharian war-club had resulted in a nasty +concussion and the constant waves of dizziness and nausea made his +movements slow and uncertain. + +For two full days he lay on a rude platform of branches in that tree, +most of the time in semi-stupor. Twice in that time he risked descent +for water from the nearby river. + + * * * * * + +It was not until morning of the third day that he awoke comparatively +clear-headed. For a little while he raced through the branches of +neighboring trees, testing the extent of his recovery. And when he +discovered that, beyond a dull ache in one side of his head, he was +himself once more, he ate the remainder of his stock of deer meat and +came down to the trail to pick up the two-day-spoor of Dylara's captors. + +That those who had struck him down had also taken his intended mate, +Tharn never doubted. She--and he!--had been too well ambushed for +escape. What her fate would be after capture depended upon the identity +of her abductors. + +But when Tharn had picked up those traces not obliterated by the +movements of jungle denizens during the two days, he was as much in the +dark as before. Never in his own considerable experience had he come +upon the prints of sandals before this; nor had he known of a tribe who +wore coverings on their feet. + +He shrugged. After all, _who_ had taken Dylara was beside the point. She +had been taken; and he must follow, to rescue her if she were still +alive--for vengeance if they had slain her. + +By noon of the next day Tharn was drawing himself up to the edge of the +tableland at almost the same spot from whence Dylara had her first +glimpse of Sephar. And when he rose to his feet and saw the city of +stone and its great circular wall, he was no less electrified than the +girl had been. He, however, felt no dread at the prospect of entering; +indeed, his adventurous blood urged him to waste no time in doing so. + +As he raced through the trees toward Sephar, his thoughts were of +Dylara. Reason insisted that she still lived--a captive behind that grim +stone wall. He knew, now, that his love for her was no temporary +madness, but an emotion that would rule his life until death claimed +him. Her proud, slender figure with its scanty covering of panther skin +rose unbidden before him, and he felt a sudden uncomfortable tightness +where ribs and belly met. Love was teaching Tharn of other aches than +physical bruises.... + +It was mid-afternoon when he reached the forest's edge nearest to +Sephar. Several hundred yards of level open ground lay between the trees +and the mighty wall, which evidently encircled the entire city. + +From where he crouched on a strong branch high above the ground, he saw +two wide gateways not more than fifty yards apart, both of them guarded +by parties of armed men. His keen eyes picked out details of their +figures and clothing, both of which excited his keenest interest. With +its entrances so closely guarded it would be folly to approach closer +during the day. While impatient to reach Dylara's side, he was quite +aware that any attempt at rescue now would doubtless cost him his own +freedom, if not his life, thereby taking from the girl her only hope of +escape. He must wait for night to come, hoping the guards would then be +withdrawn. + + * * * * * + +Reminded that he had not eaten since early morning, Tharn swung back +through the trees in search of meat. The plains of this valley appeared +to abound with grass-eaters; and not long after, a wild horse fell +before his careful stalking. Squatting on the body of his kill, he +gorged himself on raw flesh, unwilling to chance some unfriendly eye +noticing smoke from a fire. + +His appetite cared for, the cave-man bathed in the waters of a small +stream. He then knelt on the bank, and using the water as a mirror, cut +the sprouting beard from his face by means of a small, very sharp bit of +flint taken from a pouch of his loin-cloth. Comfort, rather than vanity, +was responsible; a bearded face increased the discomfort of a tropical +day. + +The sun was low in the west by the time he had returned to his former +vantage point, and shortly afterward the heavy wooden gates were pulled +shut by their guards, who then withdrew into the city. + +Now, the grounds about Sephar were deserted, and soon the sun slipped +behind the far horizon. Swiftly twilight gave way to darkness, and stars +began to glow softly against the bosom of a clear semi-tropical night. + +Two hours--three--went by and still Tharn did not leave his station. +Somewhere below him an unidentified animal crashed noisily through the +thick undergrowth and moved deeper into the black shadows. Far back in +the forest a panther screamed shrilly once and was still; to be answered +promptly by the thunderous challenge of Sadu, the lion. + +Finally the giant white man rose to his feet on the swaying branch and +leisurely stretched. Silently and swiftly he slipped to the ground. He +paused there for a moment, ears and nose alert for an indication of +danger, then set out across the level field toward the towering wall of +Sephar--enigmatic city of mystery and peril. + + * * * * * + +After Vulcar had led the captive cave-girl from the dining room, a +general discussion sprang up. Any reference to the cave people, however, +was carefully avoided; the subject, for some reason that nobody quite +understood, seemed suddenly taboo. + +While the others were rapidly drinking themselves into a drunken stupor, +Jotan sat as one apart, head bowed in thought. He found it impossible to +dismiss the impression given him by the half-naked girl of the caves. +She was so different from the usual girl with whom he came in +contact--more vital, more alive. There was nothing fragile or clinging +about her. He could not help but compare that fine, healthy, +well-rounded figure with the pallid, artificial women of his +acquaintance. Her clean sparkling eyes, clear tanned skin and graceful +posture made those others seem dull and uninviting. + +"Jotan!" + +The visitor came back to his surroundings with a start. + +Urim, his round face flushed from much wine, had called his name. + +"Come, man," he laughed, "of what do you dream? A girl in far-off Ammad, +perhaps?" + +Jotan reddened, but replied calmly enough, "No, my king; no flower of +_Ammad_ holds my heart." + +The faint stress he placed on the name of his own country passed +unnoticed by all except Alurna. + +"'Of Ammad,' you say, Jotan," she cut in. "Perhaps so soon you have +found love here in Sephar." + +The remark struck too close to home for the man's comfort. + +"You read strange meanings in my words, my princess," he said evasively; +then suddenly he thrust back his bench and arose. + +"O Urim," he said, "my friends and I would like to look about Sephar. +Also, if you will have someone show us the quarters we are to use during +our visit...." + +"Of course," Urim agreed heartily. "The captain of my own guards shall +act as your guide." + +Vulcar was sent for. When he arrived, Urim bade him heed every wish the +three guests might express. + +As they passed from the palace into the street beyond, Tamar said +softly: + +"Whatever possessed you, Jotan, to say such things where others could +hear you? A noble of Ammad, raving about some half-clad barbarian girl! +What must they think of you!" + +Jotan was mid-way between laughter and anger. Tamar's reaction had been +so typical, however, that he checked an angry retort. Tamar was so +completely the snob, so entirely conscious of class distinction, that +his present attitude was not surprising. + +"It might be interesting," he admitted. + +Tamar was puzzled. "What might?" + +"To know what they think." + +Tamar sniffed audibly, and moved away to join Javan. + + * * * * * + +They spent the balance of the afternoon walking about Sephar's streets, +viewing the sights. Shortly before dusk Vulcar led them to their +quarters in a large building near the juncture of two streets--a +building with square windows barred by slender columns of stone. Slaves +brought food; and after the three men had eaten, the room was cleared +that they might sleep. + +Jotan yawned. "Even my bones are weary," he said. "I'm going to bed." + +Tamar stood up abruptly. He had been silently rehearsing a certain +speech all afternoon, and he was determined to have his say. + +"Wait, Jotan," he said. "I'd like to talk to you, first." + +Jotan looked at his friend with mock surprise. He knew perfectly well +what was coming, and he rather welcomed this opportunity to declare +himself and, later, to enlist the aid of his friends. + +Javan was regarding them with mild amazement on his good-natured, rather +stupid face. He was the least aggressive of the three, usually content +to follow the lead of the others. + +"All right," Jotan said. "I'm listening." + +"I suppose the whole thing doesn't really amount to much." Tamar forced +a laugh. "But I think it was wrong for you to carry on the way you did +over that cave-girl today. Only the God knows what the nobles of Sephar, +and Urim and his daughter, thought of your remarks. Why, anyone would +have thought you had fallen in love with the girl!" + +Jotan smiled--a slow, easy smile. "I have!" he said. + +Tamar stiffened as though he had been struck. His face darkened. "No! +Jotan, do you know what you're saying? A naked wild creature in an +animal skin! You talk like a fool! + +"Javan!" He whirled on the silent one. "Javan, are you going to sit +there and let this happen? Help me reason with this madman." + +Javan sat with mouth agape. "But I--why--what--" + +Jotan leaned back and sighed. "Listen, Tamar," he said placatingly. "We +have been friends too long to quarrel over my taste in choosing a mate. +Tomorrow I shall ask Urim for the girl." + +"Your _mate_? I might have known it." In his agitation Tamar began to +pace the floor. "We should have stayed in Ammad. I have a good mind to +go to Urim and plead with him not to give her to you." + +"You shall do nothing of the kind, Tamar," Jotan said quietly. He was no +longer smiling. "I will not permit you to interfere in this. This girl +is to be my mate. You, as my friend, will help me." + +Tamar snorted. "When our friends see her, see her as the mate of noble +Jotan, you will wish that I _had_ interfered. A dirty half-wild savage! +You will be laughed at, my friend, and the ridicule will soon end your +infatuation." + +Jotan looked at him with level eyes. "You've said enough, Tamar. +Understand this: Tomorrow I shall ask Urim for the cave girl. Now I am +going to sleep." + +Tamar shrugged and silently turned away. Amidst a deep silence the three +men spread their sleeping-furs, extinguished the candles and turned in. + + * * * * * + +As Tharn neared Sephar's outer wall, Uda, the moon, pushed her shining +edge above the trees, causing the Cro-Magnon to increase his pace lest +he be seen by some observer from within the city. + +He reached the dense shadows of the wall directly in front of one mighty +gateway, its barrier of heavy planks seemingly as solid as the stone +wall on either side. + +Tharn pressed an ear to a crack of the wood. He could hear nothing from +beyond. Bending slightly forward, he dug his bare feet into the ground, +placed one broad shoulder against the rough surface, and pushed. At +first the pressure was gentle; but when the gate did not give, he +gradually increased the force until all his superhuman strength strove +to loosen the barrier. + +But the stubborn wood refused to give way, and Tharn realized he must +find another means of entry. + +A single glance was enough to convince him that the rim of the wall was +beyond leaping distance. It was beginning to dawn on the cave-man that +getting into this strange lair was not to be so easy as he had at first +expected. + +He concluded finally that there was nothing left to do but circle the +entire wall in hopes that some way to enter would show itself. Perhaps +one of the several gates would have been left carelessly ajar, although +he was not trusting enough to have much faith in that possibility. + +After covering possibly half a mile, and testing two other gateways +without success, his sharp gray eyes spied a broken timber near the top +of the wall directly above one of the gates. An end of the plank +protruded a foot beyond the sheer surface of rock. + +Tharn grinned. Those within might as well have left the gate itself +open. Drawing the grass rope from his shoulders, he formed a slip knot +at one end, and with his first effort managed to cast the loop about the +jagged bit of wood. This done, it was a simple matter to draw himself up +to the timber. There he paused to restore the rope about his shoulders, +then he cautiously poked his head over the wall and peered into the +strange world below. + +There was no one in sight. Still smiling confidently, keenly aware that +he might never leave this place alive, he lowered himself over the edge, +swung momentarily by his hands, then dropped soundlessly to the street +below. The first obstacle in the search for Dylara had been overcome. + + * * * * * + +Slowly and without sound the massive door to Dylara's room swung open, +permitting a heavily-laden figure to enter. Placing its burden on the +table, the figure closed the door, crossed to the side of the sleeping +girl and bent above her, listening to the slow even breathing. +Satisfied, the visitor stepped back to the table and, with a coal from +an earthen container, ignited the wicks of dishes of animal fat. The +soft light revealed the newcomer as a woman. + +Quietly she arranged the dishes she had brought, using the low stand as +a table. That done, she came to Dylara's side and shook her gently by a +shoulder. + +The daughter of Majok awakened with a start, blinking the sleep from her +eyes. At sight of the other, she sat up in quick alarm. + +The woman smiled reassuringly. "You must not be afraid," she said +softly. "I am your friend. They sent me here with food for you. See?" +She pointed to the dishes. + +The words brought a measure of comfort to Dylara's troubled mind. She +noticed this woman's speech had in it nothing of the strange accent +peculiar to Sephar's inhabitants. + +"Who are you?" Dylara asked. + +"I am Nada--a slave." + +The girl nodded. Who was it this woman reminded her of? "I am Dylara, +Nada. Tell me, why is it you speak as do the cave people?" + +"I am of the cave people," replied the woman. "There are many of us +here. The mountains about Sephar contain the caves of many tribes. Often +Sephar's warriors make war on our people and carry many away to become +slaves." + +Dylara watched her as she spoke. Despite a youthful appearance, she must +have been twice the cave-girl's age; about the same height but more +fully developed. Her figure, under the simple tunic, was beautifully +proportioned; her face the loveliest Dylara had ever seen. There was an +indefinable air of breeding and poise in her manner, softened by warm +brown eyes and an expression of sympathetic understanding. + +Nada endured the close appraisal without self-consciousness. Finally she +said: "You must be hungry. Come; sit here and eat." + +Dylara obeyed without further urging. Nada watched her in silence until +the girl's appetite had been dulled, then said: "How did they happen to +get you?" + +Dylara told her, briefly. For some obscure reason she could not bring +herself to mention Tharn by name. Just the thought of him, falling +beneath a Sepharian club, brought a sharp ache to her throat. + + * * * * * + +There was a far-away expression in Nada's eyes as Dylara finished her +story. "I knew a warrior once--one very much like the young man who took +you from your father's caves. He was a mighty chief--and my mate. Many +summers ago I was captured near our caves as I walked at the jungle's +edge. A war party from a strange tribe had crept close to our caves +during the night, planning to raid us at dawn. They seized me; but my +cries aroused my people, and the war party fled, taking me with them. +They lost their way in the darkness, and after many weary marches +stumbled across a hunting party from Sephar. In the fight that followed +they killed almost all of us, sparing only three--and me. I have been +here ever since." + +Dylara caught the undercurrent of utter hopelessness in the woman's +words, and she felt a sudden rush of sympathy well up within her. + +"Tharn was a chief's son," she said. "Had he lived, I am sure he--" She +stopped there, stricken into silence by the horror on Nada's face. + +The slave woman rose unsteadily from the bed and seized Dylara's hands. + +"Tharn--did you say _Tharn_?" + +The girl, shocked by the pain and grief in the face of the woman, could +only nod. + +"He--is--dead?" + +Again Dylara nodded. + +Nada swayed and would have fallen had not Dylara held tightly to her +wrists. Tears began to squeeze from her closed eyes, to trickle down the +drawn white cheeks. + +And then Dylara found her voice. "What is it, Nada? What is wrong?" + +The woman swallowed with an effort, fighting for control. "I," she +whispered, "am Tharn's mate!" + +At first, Dylara thought she meant he whom the Sepharians had slain. And +then the truth came to her. + +The Tharn she had known was Nada's son! + +Impulsively she drew the woman down beside her, holding her tightly +until the tearing sobs subsided. For a little while there was silence +within the room. + +Without changing her position, Nada began to speak. "It was my son who +was with you. Twelve summers before my capture I bore him; his father +gave him his own name. And now he is dead. He is dead." + +A draft of air from the window above caused the candle flame to waver, +setting the shadows dancing. + +Nada sat up and dried her eyes. "I will not cry any more," she said +quietly. "Let us talk of other things." + +Dylara pressed her hand in quick understanding. "Of course. Tell me, +Nada, what will happen to me in Sephar?" + +"You are a slave," Nada replied, "and belong to Urim, whose own warriors +captured you. Perhaps you will be given certain duties in the palace, or +the mate or daughter of some noble may ask for you as a hand-maiden. As +a rule they treat us kindly; but if we are troublesome they whip us, or +sometimes give us to the priests. That is the worst of all." + +"They have gods, then?" Dylara asked. + +"Only one, who is both good and evil. If they fall in battle, He has +caused it; if they come through untouched, He has helped them." + +The Cro-Magnon girl could not grasp this strange contradiction, for she +knew certain gods sought to destroy man, while other gods tried to +protect him.... + +"Then I must spend the rest of my life as a slave?" she asked. + +"Yes--unless some free man asks for you as a mate. And that may happen +because you are very beautiful." + +The girl shook her head. "I do not want that," she declared. "I want +only to return to my father and people." + +"It will be best," Nada said, "to give up that foolish dream. Sometimes +cave-men escape from Sephar; the women, never." + +She rose, saying: "I must leave you now. The guards will be wondering +what has kept me. Tomorrow I will come again." + +The two embraced. "Farewell, Nada," whispered the girl. "I shall try to +sleep again. Being here does not seem so bad, now that I know you." + + * * * * * + +Tharn regained his feet quickly after the drop from the wall, and looked +about. Failing to detect any cause for immediate alarm, he set out along +a broad street, hugging the buildings and keeping well within the +shadows. The moon was quite high by now, the strong light flooding the +deserted streets and bringing every object into bold relief. + +The man of the caves did not have the slightest idea as to how he might +locate the girl he loved; he proposed, however, to pit his wit and +cunning, together with the stone knife and grass rope against the entire +city, if necessary, until he stumbled across a clue of some sort that +would bring them together. How he expected to snatch Dylara from her +captors and win through to the forest and plains he did not stop to +consider--time enough for that when she was found. + +Abruptly the street along which he was moving ended, crossed here by +another roadway. Down this side street a few yards, and on the opposite +side, a huge stone building loomed, its windows barred by slender +columns of stone. To Tharn's inexperienced eyes this appeared to be a +prison of some sort; and as it was the first of its kind he had noticed, +he decided to investigate--that is, if a means of entry could be found. +The hope that Dylara might be held behind one of those protected windows +spurred him on. + +Nonchalantly the mighty figure stepped from the sheltering shadows and +leisurely crossed the street. He did not wish to excite suspicion, +should any chance onlooker see him, by a sudden dash. Reaching the +doorway of the edifice, he glanced sharply about; from all appearances +he might have been in a city of the dead. + +Delicate fingers, backed by a shrewd, imaginative mind, found the rude +wooden latch, and solved its method of operation. Gently he pushed +against the door and, not without surprise, felt it yield. Slowly the +heavy planks swung inward until a space sufficient to admit his massive +frame appeared, then he slid in and closed the door with his back. + +The darkness was that of Acheron's pit; his eyes, keen as those of any +jungle cat, were helpless to penetrate the blackness through which he +moved with infinite stealth, arms outthrust before him, the cool hilt of +his flint knife clutched in one muscular hand. + +His nose warned him that there were men nearby; but the strangeness of +his surroundings confused him as to their actual position. + +One step forward he took--another, and yet another; then he trod full on +the fingers of an outstretched hand! + + + + +CHAPTER V + +Pursuit + + +The instant Tharn felt his foot press the unseen hand he wheeled +soundlessly and sprang to the door. Closing his fingers about the latch, +he stood there, waiting. To rush out now would be certain to awaken the +disturbed sleeper; otherwise the man might blame the mishap on one of +his companions and go back to sleep without investigating further. + +He heard a stirring in the darkness. + +"Jotan." + +In the utter darkness of the room the single word sounded loud as a +thunder-clap. + +"Jotan," said the voice again. + +"Uh?" came an answering grunt. + +"Are you awake?" + +"I wasn't--until you woke me," said Jotan testily. + +"I think somebody stepped on my fingers," the first voice said. "They +feel like it, anyway." + +"You must have rolled over on them, Javan. Go back to sleep." + +Tharn followed the conversation with interest, surprised that he could +understand the words. He waited patiently and without panic for the +speakers to act or to return to sleep. + +"I tell you, my hand was stepped on," Javan insisted. + +"What are you two talking about?" broke in a third voice. + +"Javan claims someone has been walking on him," explained Jotan. "Make a +light; he'll not sleep until we search the place." + +Tharn heard one of the men rise and fumble about in a corner of the +room. Suddenly a flame sputtered and took hold, lighting the room's +interior with a feeble glow. + +Waiting no longer, Tharn twisted the latch and tried to draw open the +door. But something had gone wrong; he could not stir the heavy planks. + +"There!" Javan shouted. "At the door! Didn't I tell--" + +With a bound Jotan leaped from his bed and plunged forward, catching +Tharn at the knees. The cave-man braced himself, then bent and grasped +his attacker about the waist. + +Jotan was a strong, agile man. As a rough-and-tumble fighter he had few +equals. But when the arms of the intruder encircled his body and tore +away his hold as though he were a child, he knew he stood no chance. + +The Sepharian gasped aloud as he felt himself swung aloft. He had a +swift glimpse of the awe-stricken faces of his friends; then his flying +body hurtled across the room to crash against them with sickening force, +sending all three to the floor, half-stunned. + +Tharn seized the door-latch once more and surged back with all his +strength. There followed the sound of splintering wood as latch, bolt +and strike were torn away. A second later he had gained the street. + + * * * * * + +By the time those within were ready to attempt pursuit, the cave-man was +a block away, running with the long easy strides of a trained athlete. + +As he ran, Tharn drew his knife for any misguided person who might wish +to bar his path. He was slowly drawing away from his shouting pursuers, +when he caught sight of a second group of warriors not far ahead and +coming at a run toward him. + +Turning sharply into a side street, Tharn dashed on for a short +distance, only to pull up short. The roadway ended here, nor were there +streets on either side. Behind him the Sepharians had turned the corner +and were bearing down upon him. + +Tharn was no stranger to danger or sudden death. Life in the jungles and +on the vast plains had little else to offer. Fear and panic were not +likely to prolong life; Tharn knew not the meaning of either. + +And so it was, that as the angry fighting-men rushed toward him, they +were to find no terror-stricken creature at bay. Indeed, so savage was +the bearing of their quarry that the Sepharians hesitated, then came to +a full stop a few paces away. + +They were many, at least a score, but the sight of the Cro-Magnon's +brawny frame and rippling muscles gave a dubious aspect to the whole +affair; nor was the stone knife in one powerful hand a matter to be +lightly dismissed. + +It was during this brief armistice that one Lukor, awakened by the +tumult outside his windows opened the door of his home with the +ill-advised intention of making an investigation. + +"I am surprised--" he began; but an instant later he was infinitely more +surprised when the impact of a naked shoulder into his stomach flung him +against the far corner of the room. + +Tharn's jungle-trained ears had caught the sound of a bar being lifted, +and so swiftly had he acted that the door was slammed shut and the bar +replaced before Jotan, first to recover, could send his weight crashing +against the planks. + +The moonlight filtering through the latticed windows revealed an open +doorway in the opposite wall, and Tharn passed into an inner room. There +were no windows here, and he stumbled over various furnishings before he +came upon a rude staircase. + +Taking three at a time, he bounded up the steps to the chamber above. +Below he could hear the impact of bodies against the lattice-work of the +windows. His enemies were getting no aid from the dazed Lukor; he had +not yet regained his breath or his courage. + +Without hesitation, Tharn crossed the room to its single large window +and looked down. He was just in time to see the curtain of branches at +the window beneath give way and man after man clamber through. + +They did not all go in, however; five armed guards took up positions in +the street. The Cro-Magnon had hoped to drop to the street as soon as +the coast was clear, but now that avenue of escape was closed. + + * * * * * + +Something must be done, and quickly, Tharn realized, were he to outwit +those whose feet were even now pounding on the stairs. Thrusting head +and shoulders out the window, he looked up and saw, a few feet away, the +roof's edge. + +Quickly Tharn balanced himself on the narrow sill, his back to the +street. Raising to his tip-toes he reached gingerly up. His finger tips +were a full six inches short of the roof's edge! + +A lone chance remained: he must jump for it. To fail would plummet him +to the street below--to certain capture and possible injury. The sinews +of his legs tensed; then he rose upward in a cat-like leap. + +There was a second of breathless uncertainty; then his fingers closed on +a flat stone surface. + +Barely had the dangling feet cleared the upper edge of the aperture when +the horde burst through the doorway. Finding no occupant, they dashed to +the window and called to the watchers below, only to learn the +forest-man had not re-entered the street. A thorough search of the room +convinced them the man they sought had left the building, and they +blamed the men below for having permitted his escape; in turn to be +jeered at as cowards for not searching Lukor's premises more carefully. + +It was a puzzled crowd of disgruntled warriors that finally gave up the +hunt. Some of the more superstitious were inclined to believe it was no +human they sought--an evil spirit, perhaps, that had faded back into +nothingness. + +While a block away, Tharn, having fled from one roof to another, dropped +easily to earth and set out for the huge white palace he had glimpsed +from the house-tops. + + * * * * * + +The Princess Alurna was finding it impossible to sleep. For hours she +had lain wide-eyed, tossing fitfully, seeking the rest that would not +come. Before her mind's eye persisted the image of Jotan as she had +first seen him; in her ears were the sound of his voice and the echo of +his laugh. + +Why must her thoughts stay with this handsome visitor? Had her imperious +heart given way at last? + +She tried to thrust out the idea, to submerge it beneath a wave of +derision; but to no avail. The image prevailed, calling attention to a +splendid body and compelling features. + +Finally she rose and went to the low wide window. Kneeling there she +rested her arms on the broad sill, looking out over the sleeping streets +and buildings, silent and brooding beneath the moon's splendor. Far out +beyond the walls surrounding Sephar she could see the dark primeval +forest, and she shivered a little although the night was warm. Faintly +to her ears, across the stillness came the distant challenge of a lion. +Again she shuddered, and brought her gaze back to Sephar's streets. The +minutes passed slowly.... + +Suddenly she half rose in surprise as the almost naked figure of a man +bounded from the shadows of a building across from the palace, and, +entering the grounds, passed from sight somewhere below. + +What did it mean? Was a resident of Sephar entering the palace for some +mysterious reason of his own? Hardly. None would be so rash. Then, too, +the figure had not been clad in the short tunic, usual dress of all +Sepharians. + +No; that shadowy figure meant danger. Jumping to her feet she ran to the +door and flung it open. At her appearance the two warriors in the +corridor sprang hastily forward. + +"Get Vulcar at once," she cried. "Someone is trying to get into the +palace!" + + * * * * * + +The moon's liquid rays did not reach the palace wall where Tharn was +standing now. The white, smooth stone gleamed dully in the half light. + +Moving as only the jungle-wise can move, he began to skirt the building, +seeking an opening large enough to admit his giant frame. His bare feet +were soundless on the grass; he was but a white shadow of a man. + +There was no scarcity of windows, but all were barred by slender columns +of stone. To attempt to force them would be a noisy method at best. If +he meant to find and rescue Dylara he must resort to stealth and cunning +alone. For all his herculean strength he would be helpless against an +entire city. + +He was nearing one corner of the building when his eyes caught sight of +a narrow slit-like break in the stone just above the level of his head. +There was no indication of bars, and as it appeared large enough to +admit him, he caught the lip and drew himself up and within. + +The awful stench that smote his nostrils nearly drove him back to the +ground. He had no way of knowing, of course, that he had stumbled across +a refuse chute; it was from this vent that waste was thrown into +containers below. + +Holding his breath, he clambered a short distance along the sloping +stone, thrust away a wooden screen and stood upright. + +He was in complete darkness. Moving slowly forward, his outthrust hands +struck a wooden panel which proved to be a door. A second later he had +solved the latch and stepped through. + +Here, light came through several windows. He was in the palace kitchens, +although his limited experience did not enable him to identify them as +such. Across the room was a closed door; he directed his steps toward +it. + +Silently the door swung open, and the cave-man paused on the threshold +of a large room, occupied by a massive table and numerous backless +stools. + +Tharn took in all that with a single swift glance. Something was moving +beyond the hangings screening off the room ahead. + +The curtains parted and five guards-men filed into the room. After +glancing hastily about, they passed silently through to the kitchens. + +As the last one disappeared from view, a disembodied shape merged from +beneath the long table and vanished into the room beyond. + +Aside from its furnishings it, too, was empty. + + * * * * * + +On went Tharn, combing each successive chamber for a sign of human life. +He was determined not to quit this place until completely satisfied +Dylara was held elsewhere. The task, not easy at best, would prove even +more difficult with the palace guards on the lookout for an intruder. + +Stronger by the minute was the realization that this strange race of +people, who were capable of erecting their own caves of stone, who could +make strange weapons to throw tiny spears with unbelievable accuracy, +whose hands could shape such a variety of articles--were sadly lacking +in the qualities without which Tharn could never have arrived at young +manhood. + +That five men could pass at arm's length from him and yet remain unaware +of his nearness, was inconceivable to the man of the caves. Were their +noses ornaments, he wondered, that they could not sense a hidden foe? +Were their wits so dull they could pass up so obvious a hiding place as +he had chosen? + +No wonder that they had erected a great wall between them and the +jungle! His lip curled with contempt as he pictured an army of them +scattering before the charge of Sadu. + +By this time he had reached the great hall inside the palace main +entrance. A giant skylight high up in the ceiling, its cover removed +during the dry season, admitted cold moonlight in a brilliant cascade of +light that left no shadows or darkened corners. + +From the center of the vast hall rose a gigantic staircase of stone to +the second floor. Tharn, reasoning that the palace sleeping quarters +would be above, stole warily toward the stairway. + +And then a horde of armed men broke unexpectedly from a doorway across +the hall, and spying Tharn, bore down upon him, uttering a chorus of +exultant yells as they came. + +One tremendous bound brought Tharn to the steps, up which he fled with +all the speed of Jalok, the panther. Three spears hurled with senseless +enthusiasm, fell short of their intended mark. But the shouts of alarm +and excitement were fast arousing other inhabitants of the building. +From somewhere above, Tharn heard a door slam, followed by the sound of +running feet in the upper corridor to his left. Hence the moment he +reached the landing he turned right and raced along the still deserted +hallway, his naked feet soundless on the bare stone. + +Because of the fugitive's silent approach, four guards, who stood facing +in the opposite direction, did not hear him as he rounded a turn of the +corridor and came toward them. At sight of those backs, Tharn slid to a +stop and turned to retrace his steps. + +Again he halted. To his quick ears came sounds of footsteps from the +hall he had just left. With retreat cut off from both sides, he had but +one chance for escape. + +Choosing at random one of several doors on either side of the corridor, +Tharn pushed it open, and still keeping an eye on the men outside, +slipped within a softly lighted room. After gently closing the door, he +turned--to stare into the startled eyes of the princess Alurna! + + * * * * * + +Tharn's first thought was that the girl would cry out in terror at his +sudden entrance. Before she could recover her wits he had grasped her +about the waist with one arm, at the same time clapping a hand across +her lips. + +Alurna lay within the circle of that mighty arm, making no effort to +free herself. She was desperately afraid, more afraid than she could +remember before. + +The cave-man found himself on the horns of a dilemma. He had no wish to +slay a woman; indeed he knew he could not, no matter what the +provocation. On the other hand, were he to free her, she could have the +guards here within seconds. + +Their eyes met. Tharn was surprised that all trace of fear was masked +within the cool gray-green depths, although the rapid pounding of her +heart told him she was frightened. + +Revealed to him with the quick intuition of a wild creature was +something of this girl's true nature. He sensed she could be coldly +calculating; that neither qualm nor principle would keep her from +furthering her own ends. That, given the chance, she would betray him, +he never doubted; but something told him she would never be driven to a +rash act through ungovernable hysteria alone. + +He removed his hand from her mouth, but held it ready to silence her +again. + +"What," whispered Alurna, "do you want here?" + +Tharn shook his head. Any discussion, now, would be pointless. He must +go on. At the far end of the room was a large unbarred opening--a +possible avenue of escape. + +Hesitating no longer he released the girl, pushed her aside and made for +the window. + +Alurna, confident now that this nocturnal prowler meant her no harm, +remained standing where he had left her. While awaiting his next move, +she fell to studying him from across the room. + +He was the embodiment of physical perfection; certainly the most +beautifully formed male she had ever seen before. The smooth brown body +bespoke of suppleness and the nimble agility of a cat, despite banded +layers of iron muscles rippling beneath an unclouded skin. + +The face, with its frank, grave eyes, impressed her as being both +handsome and highly intelligent. There was an air of majestic nobility +in his posture and the poise of his well-shaped head that would have +aroused envy in the heart of any Sepharian. + +A muffled knocking at the door startled her; but before she could +respond, the Cro-Magnon slipped past her to lower the bar into place. + +Again came the soft, insistent knock. Tharn stepped close beside the +princess, pointed at the door and then to her lips, at the same time +pressing the point of his knife gently against her side. The meaning was +clear; she must send away, unwarned, whoever was outside. + +"Who is there?" she called. + +"Forgive me for disturbing you, princess," came a muffled reply, "but +the man you warned us of is somewhere near here. Have you seen or heard +anything more of him?" + +Alurna paused for a second, weighing her chances. But the cave-man's +cold gaze conquered the temptation. + +"No," she said, "I have seen nothing more of him. Go now, that I may +sleep." + + * * * * * + +Tharn heard the man outside move away. Satisfied that he had gained a +brief respite from discovery, he returned to the window. + +He pinched out the flaming wick in the dish of fat standing on a wooden +bracket nearby, to prevent someone in the grounds below seeing him at +the window. In the moonlight he could see several groups of warriors +about the grounds--patrols, posted to prevent him from leaving the +building. But Tharn had no intention of leaving until Dylara was free to +go with him. + +From the floor above, and not far to his left, there jutted out a tiny +balcony, its slender stone columns topped with a balustrade of the same +material. As Tharn's eyes lingered there, an idea popped suddenly into +his mind. + +After placing the bowl of grease on the floor, he tore the bracket from +the wall and wrenched one of its supporting wooden rods away. This done, +he tied one end of his grass rope to the exact center of the thick +cylinder and returned to the window. + +Holding the free end of the rope in one hand, he poised the length of +wood, spear-fashion, aimed carefully, then launched it toward the stone +supports of the balustrade above and to his left. + +Like an arrow it sped up and out, to pass cleanly between two of the +columns. Hauling in the slack, Tharn felt the rod catch lengthwise above +him; and though he tugged with all the strength of his arms, the rope +remained secure. + +Without a backward glance, the cave-man swung into space, at the same +time clambering hand over hand up the swinging strands. As his feet left +the ledge, he heard the door of the girl's room fly open and her voice +ring out. + +The echo of that call had not faded as young Tharn closed a hand on the +balcony's rail, pulled himself over and leaped through the window +beyond. + +The chamber he had entered was dimly lighted by the moon's rays. Its +dense shadows might conceal a score of armed foes; but Tharn had no time +to exercise caution. Three giant strides served to close the gap between +window and doorway. To find the latch required only an instant; and +slowly, lest the door squeak a protest, he swung it back sufficiently to +look out into the corridor. Finding it empty of life, he stepped out, +gently closing the door behind him. + +To his right, a short distance down the hall, were two great doors, both +closed; to his left, a long stretch of gallery with doors on either +side. The sight of these latter held Tharn's attention, for all were +barred _from the outside_. Behind one of those barred entrances, he +reasoned, might be Dylara. + +Stepping quietly to the first he pressed an ear to the crack. Hearing +nothing, he lifted the bar with infinite care and looked in. + +The room beyond was deserted. He shut the door, replaced the plank and +went on to the next. It, too, was empty. + +Working his way gradually forward, he had covered perhaps half the +hallway and was in the act of lifting another bar from its catches, when +the double doors at the far end of the gallery were thrown open and a +swarm of soldiers came racing through. Before Tharn could attempt to +find cover, he had been seen, and with shouts of satisfaction the men +ran toward him. + + * * * * * + +Realizing he was greatly outnumbered, the man of the caves turned to +flee; but to his consternation another group of Sepharians appeared at +the corridor's opposite end and, warned by the shouts of their fellows, +had caught sight of the giant intruder. + +Tharn knew he was trapped! To enter one of the cubicles he had been +searching would mean hopeless imprisonment. Once he was within, the +enemy had only to slip the bar into place. + +It appeared his lone chance for freedom was to cut a way through a +living wall of armed men. Once past them, Tharn felt confident they +could not overtake him. + +Like two angry waves, the Sepharians hurled themselves on the lone +Cro-Magnon. But the steel muscles and incredible agility that had +brought their owner through encounters with savage dwellers of jungle +and plain were not to be so easily subdued as Sephar's warriors had +supposed. + +Tharn sprang to meet them, charging full into their midst. Catching the +nearest foeman about the waist, the cave-man swung him bodily from the +floor and hurled him, a screaming projectile of fear, into the faces of +his companions. + +[Illustration: Tharn swung the nearest warrior bodily into the air] + +Four went down beneath the terrific impact; but before Tharn could +follow up this momentary advantage, a swiftly descending club caught him +a glancing blow behind one ear. + +With a roar of fury the cave-youth wheeled and plunged his knife into +the breast of the club-wielder; then seizing that weapon from the +fingers of the dying man, swung it in a savage arc, splitting the skulls +of three foes and transforming the weighty bludgeon into a handful of +splinters. + +Upon witnessing this superhuman feat, the balance of the Sepharians drew +back in awe. Tharn, ringed about by a full score of enemies, their faces +drawn and tense, stopped suddenly, caught up a stray club and once more +charged. + +For a moment it appeared the thin line of men would give way before that +impetuous attack. The one directly in Tharn's path sought to dodge +aside; but mighty fingers caught him about the neck, squeezed with +irresistible force, and the man dropped, his vertebrae splintered. + +Suddenly Tharn's legs were buckled by the combined thrust of three pairs +of arms. As he fell backward, a club dealt his head a frightful blow; a +great burst of fire seemed to sear his eyes--then blackness came as +consciousness left him. + + * * * * * + +The sounds of struggling bodies, punctuated with screams of rage and +anguish, awakened Dylara with a start. For a second she was uncertain +from whence the bedlam came; then she leaped from the bed and ran to the +closed door. + +From the noise that reached her, she judged some wild beast had been +trapped in the corridor outside; surely no human throat could have +formed the fearsome snarls and growls coming to her ears. + +Soon she caught the sound of a blow, heavier than the others, followed +by deep silence, broken only by labored breathing of many men. + +What could it have meant? Had a slave--perhaps one of her own +race--attempted an escape? Or had some great animal invaded this lair of +man while searching for food? + +The thought never came to her that it might have been Tharn surprised +outside her door. So positive was she that the cave-man had died beneath +arrow and club, that she did not dream she had been on the verge of +rescue. + +It was from her door that Tharn had been lifting the bar when attacked. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Katon + + +A painful sensation in one shoulder brought full consciousness to Tharn, +and opening his eyes he stared blankly up into the face of a Sepharian +warrior. Noticing Tharn was awake, the man lowered the spear point with +which he had been prodding the captive. + +"So--you are alive, after all!" exclaimed the Sepharian. "You have a +hard head, my savage friend; I thought they had beaten it in for you, +last night." + +The speaker's thin sharp face reminded the cave-man of Toa, the hawk. +Tharn's lips curled with open contempt. + +"The arms of your men are weak," he said mockingly. "It took many of +them to overcome me." + +An angry red came into the man's cheeks. "They meant to take you alive," +he snapped. "Try to escape and you will find a quick death." He turned +on his heel and strode away. + +Tharn sat up and glanced about. It was evident he was in some +subterranean spot; the air was cool and slightly damp, and there was +that musty odor found only beneath the earth's surface. High up in one +wall he made out an immense grating of some sort outlined against an +early morning sky. + +As the light grew stronger he saw the room to be tremendous. He noticed +now that he was not alone; near the far wall lay a full score of +sleeping men--many of them apparently cave-men like himself. + +The sound of feet to his left attracted Tharn. He saw several men enter +the cell through the room's single door, and place huge platters of meat +on the several long tables near one wall. Noticing the sleeping men were +rousing and taking stools about those tables, Tharn got to his feet +and, ignoring their curious stares, joined them there. + +Lowering his weight onto one of the three-legged stools, Tharn dipped +into one of the great platters a neighbor had pushed toward him. As he +ate, he looked about at the faces of his fellow prisoners. + +They were an ill-assorted lot, most of them Sepharians, the balance men +of his own kind. The former, without exception, seemed to carry +themselves with the swaggering truculence of the true adventurer; the +latter seemed sullen and aloof, like caged animals. + +Among them all, however, was one who stood out in vivid contrast. Seated +almost directly across from Tharn was a tall muscular Sepharian with a +strong face and a pair of the bluest eyes Tharn had ever seen. His +well-proportioned body, tanned almost to blackness, had much of the +regal bearing that graced the cave-man's own. + +Catching Tharn's eye, the stranger smiled suddenly, and unconsciously +Tharn smiled in return. Thus encouraged, the Sepharian leaned forward +and said: + +"How did they happen to catch you?" + + * * * * * + +Those were the first actually friendly words Tharn had heard since the +night he had left his own caves. For a moment he hesitated to answer, +uncertain of the motive behind the other's interest. + +"I was hunting for someone," he said finally. + +The blue eyes widened a bit. "You mean they found you _in_ Sephar?" + +"If, by Sephar, you mean the strange caves inside the high cliff--yes." + +The Sepharian shook his head in honest tribute. "But why did you come +here? You must have known they would get you sooner or later." + +"They have my mate here," Tharn explained briefly. "I came to get her." + +"And now they have you both!" + +Tharn's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. "They will not keep us," he +said simply. + +The other smiled a little. "I am Katon," he said, after a slight pause. +"Who are you?" + +Tharn told him, and the conversation lapsed for a while. + +Meanwhile, a guard had entered the great room and approached Vulcar, the +one who had reminded Tharn of Toa, the hawk. The two men spoke together +for a few moments, then the captain of the guards came up behind Tharn +and dropped a hand roughly on the cave-man's shoulder. + +Tharn, in the midst of strangers, the memory of last night's battle +still fresh in his mind, acted instinctively. + +Bounding from his stool, he whirled on the startled Vulcar. Before the +stupefied captain could lift a hand in defense, he found himself flat on +his back, two knees pinning his shoulders to the floor, while iron +fingers were shutting off his breath. + +The entire body of prisoners and attendants was thrown into confusion. +One of the guards leaped to the side of the cave-man and would have +driven a spear into his back had not Katon vaulted the table and shoved +him sprawling. + +As though by signal, the prisoners threw themselves upon the handful of +guards, and the room became a seething inferno of flailing arms and +threshing legs, the four walls echoing muffled shouts, screams, curses. + +Unmindful of the tumult about him, Katon knelt beside Tharn and the now +weakly struggling Vulcar. Grasping the Cro-Magnon's steel-thewed wrists, +he tugged with all his more than ordinary strength to loosen the awful +grip. + +"Stop it, Tharn!" he panted. "Let go! If he dies they will kill you!" + +Slowly the red mist of anger faded as Katon's words reached the savage +brain; and slowly, almost regretfully, Tharn obeyed. + +As he rose from the floor and stepped back, a large group of guards +broke into the room and joined the fight between attendants and +prisoners. With lusty swings of spear shafts the newcomers beat the +battling captives into a semblance of order against one wall. + + * * * * * + +As for Vulcar--he lay where Tharn had left him, tortured lungs sucking +air in great gulps as the livid hue of his face gradually faded. Vulcar +had been very near to death. + +Finally he got shakily to his feet, assisted by two of his men. For a +full minute he could not speak as he swayed there, rubbing at the angry +red welts where Tharn's merciless fingers had closed. + +"Seize that madman!" he croaked at last; "seize and tie him! A few +touches of the whip will teach him how to act!" + +Before the hesitant warriors could act, Katon had stepped into the +breach. + +"Wait, Vulcar," he pleaded. "Do not have him whipped. The man is a +barbarian; he believed you had attacked him, and acted so. Had he +stopped to think, he would not have dared raise a hand against the +mightiest fighter in all Sephar." + +Vulcar was shrewd enough to see that Katon had made it possible for him +to save face before the others without chancing another battle. He +realized the cave-man would resist an attempt to punish him, and such +resistance might inflame the prisoners anew. + +"Perhaps you are right, Katon," he admitted reluctantly. "But I shall +not be so lenient if it happens again." + +Tharn, listening, shrugged indifferently. The incident was closed as far +as he was concerned, and Vulcar's thinly veiled threat did not impress +him. + +"I was about to tell your wild friend," the captain continued, "that +Urim has sent word he is to be brought before him at once. Perhaps you +had better come along, Katon; you seem to be the only one able to +control him." + +The three men crossed the huge cell, passed through the guarded doorway +and went up a long ramp to the first floor of the palace. There they +turned left and moved along a narrow corridor until stopped by a heavy +door. Vulcar rapped on this with his knife hilt, it opened from the +opposite side and they stepped through. + +What met the cave-man's eyes caused him to catch his breath, so unusual +did it appear to one who had known nothing more elaborate than simple +caves and tangled fastness of jungle and forest. + +Here was a great, high-ceilinged room, well-filled with warriors, +citizens, slaves--even a sprinkling of women--all grouped about a low +wooden frustum, its four sides consisting of steps. On the flattened +apex stood a large chair, complete with arm-rests and towering back. +Here sat the dignified figure of Urim, ruler of Sephar. + + * * * * * + +As Tharn and his companions entered, all conversation ceased, every eye +turned toward them, and there was a great craning of necks. Some of +those present had heard details of the cave-man's capture--details that +had lost nothing in the telling. His god-like figure, the rippling +sinews beneath a sun-bronzed skin, the primitive loin-cloth of panther +hide--all drew forth murmurs of admiration. + +As for Tharn--he strode toward the elevated throne with all of Sadu's +majestic fearlessness. His level gray eyes bored into those of the man +above him, and despite himself, Urim stiffened under their challenge. + +When they had halted, Urim spoke, addressing his words to Vulcar. + +"Is this the prowler you captured in the slave quarters?" he asked, +indicating Tharn. + +"It is, O Urim." + +The ruler's eyes shifted to the stiffly erect figure of Katon. "Why have +you brought this man?" he demanded. + +"The prisoner has been troublesome," explained Vulcar. "Since Katon +seems able to manage him, I brought him along." + +Urim's face lost some of its good nature. "Well, Katon," he said coldly, +"I have not forgotten you. Do you find the pits more to your taste than +being in charge of the quarry slaves?" + +Katon's face was without expression. "Both places have their good +points, O Urim," he replied evenly. + +Urim scowled. "Let me remind you the Games are not far away. I doubt +that you will find many good points there--unless they be fang points!" + +He turned back to Tharn. "What were you seeking in Sephar, forest-man?" + +"I came here for my mate," Tharn said briefly. + +"Your mate?" + +"Yes. She was taken by your men three suns ago not far from here." + +Urim looked questioningly at Vulcar. "He must mean the girl you brought +in a few days ago. I understood the man with her had been slain." + +"This is the one," admitted Vulcar. "There is an arrow wound--a fresh +one--in his side. When we took the girl, the man with her was struck by +an arrow. But we thought he had died from a blow from one of our clubs; +it seems impossible that he has survived its force." + +For several minutes the ruler of Sephar sat lost in thought, his eyes on +the giant Cro-Magnon. This wild man's fate was in his hands, and his +alone. As a slave the man would make an excellent guard or warrior--that +is, were he tractable, amenable to discipline. Yet something warned him +this man would recognize no authority or law beyond his own. Such a +slave would only stir up unrest, perhaps open rebellion among his +fellows. + +And so Urim made his decision. + +"Confine him to the pits, Vulcar," he commanded in dismissal. "He is to +take part in the Games." + +Vulcar led them out. A few moments later the two prisoners were standing +within the mammoth dungeon, watching silently as the great door swung +shut, hearing the heavy bars fall into place. + + * * * * * + +Hardly had Tharn left the throne-room when Dylara and Nada entered, +accompanied by two guards. + +An amazing transformation had been made in the appearance of Majok's +daughter. The stained animal skin, that once had afforded an inadequate +covering, was gone--replaced by a sleeveless tunic that fell from throat +to knees. Her luxuriant curls of deep brown were neatly drawn behind her +ears; on her feet were strong sandals of leather. + +She hesitated slightly at sight of many strange faces, the serried ranks +of motionless warriors about Urim's elevated throne, and, finally, the +lordly figure of Urim, himself. + +Regaining confidence, she walked slowly through the press of Sepharians +as they cleared a pathway to the foot of Urim's chair. + +Both women and their escorts halted a few paces short of the steps. +Three heads were humbly lowered; Dylara alone gazed artlessly up at the +monarch. + +Urim hid his smile with a casual hand. Were all cave-people so difficult +to impress? This savage girl was a beauty, though; the other women of +the room certainly suffered by comparison. By the God! If there were not +a hundred suitors at her heels before long he would have missed his +guess. Even old Uglor, that confirmed misogynist, was staring at her, +his heart in his eyes! + +"Is this girl in your care, Nada?" he asked. + +"She is, O Urim." + +"She understands nothing of our customs?" + +"That is true." + +"She will be of no use, then," observed Urim, "until she has learned +them. I think it would be best to keep her apart from the other slaves +until then. + +"You, Nada, shall teach her our ways; you are excused from other duties. +See that she is taught to give service as a hand-maiden--she is far too +beautiful for harder tasks. When she has learned all that you can teach +her, let me know and I shall see to it that she has a kind mistress." + +Nada could not hide her gratitude. It was clear that Urim had taken an +interest in the new slave-girl, and it gladdened the older woman's heart +to know Dylara's lot was to be an easy one. + +Their interview ended, the two women were about to leave when the door +opened to admit Jotan, Tamar and Javan. + +Jotan, slightly in the lead, halted directly in front of Dylara. +Indifferent to all else, he gazed deeply into the startled eyes of the +cave-girl. + +Dylara felt her cheeks grow warm under the unmistakable message in the +man's eyes. She was conscious, in a peculiar detached way, of a strange, +disturbing fascination. Somehow she knew this declaration was coming +from deep within the heart of the square-faced young warrior; that the +love he professed so silently was honest and complete. + +Tamar nudged Javan sharply with an indignant elbow. "Look at him!" he +growled under his breath. "There stands our friend--staring at a +barbarian wench as though she were a nobleman's daughter! We've got to +do something about this, Javan." + +There was a dreamy expression in Javan's eyes. "She _is_ beautiful, at +that," he whispered. "Maybe we--" + + * * * * * + +His voice trailed off as one of the escorting guards, impatient at the +delay, took Dylara by one arm and urged her on. + +The movement brought realization of their surroundings to both the man +and the woman. Jotan stepped aside to let them pass, his face +expressionless. + +Dylara and Nada walked slowly along the corridor between the two guards. +The girl seemed subdued, deep in thought. Nada, watching her covertly, +said: + +"He loves you, Dylara." + +The cave-girl nodded. "I know.... Who is he, Nada? I'm certain he's +never seen me before. Do men fall in love so quickly?" + +Her companion smiled. "They have been known to," she observed drily. "He +is Jotan, the son of a nobleman of Ammad. He has been in Sephar only a +day or two." + +"I like him," Dylara said. "You must tell me more about him." + +Nada glanced sharply at the girl. "I know only what is told by palace +slaves and guards. Such tales are not always true." + +The guards stopped before the door of the room where Dylara had spent +the night before. Nada said, "This is where we are to stay until Urim is +ready to give you to some woman of the court." + +As the door closed behind them, she added: "They will bring us food, +shortly. While we eat, I shall tell you all I can about Sephar and +Ammad ... and Jotan." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Woman Against Woman + + +As the door closed behind Tharn and Katon, the former noticed that, but +for themselves, the great cell was empty of life. + +"Where are the others?" he asked, as they sat down on a pile of skins +near one wall. + +"In the arena, I suppose," Katon replied. "We must have exercise in the +open air almost daily if we are to be in condition to put up a good +fight during the Games." + +"Just what are these 'Games,' Katon? From what I could make out, both of +us are to take part in them." + +"Shortly before each rainy season," Katon said, "sacrificial Games are +held in honor of the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud. These Games +consist of battles between men, and between men and beasts. At times +animals alone fight, and hundreds die. + +"Each succeeding day the victors of the day before are pitted against +one another, until, on the last day, only one is left alive. That one, +whether man or beast, is acclaimed as favorite of the God and is set +free. Always, however, that one is an animal; never in Game history has +a man survived. And that, my friend, is what we face." + +Tharn shrugged, unimpressed. "Perhaps not. We may escape before then." + +Katon shook his head. "No, Tharn. Always we are either locked in here or +remain under the watchful eyes of many warriors during exercise periods +in the arena. + +"No, there is no escape--unless you can overcome every life-loving +fighting man and half-starved beast of the Games." + +He looked up in time to catch the slight smile on Tharn's lips. No +shadow of fear, no hint of concern clouded the cave-man's calm gray +eyes. Limitless self-confidence, backed by superhuman strength and +nerves of granite, had rendered impotent the ominous note in Katon's +words. + +The Sepharian felt a bit exasperated. What was the use of warning this +headstrong wild-man of danger if danger meant nothing to him? + +"Don't you understand?" he exclaimed. "The chance of either of us +surviving the Games is so small that we may as well forget it." + +Tharn's smile widened. "We are not dead yet. Much can happen before the +Games begin. The rainy season is almost a moon away." + +Katon gave it up. One could not make the blind see, nor the deaf hear. +This barbarian would lose his smile when they put him in the arena with +a hungry lion! + + * * * * * + +Tharn, seeking to change the subject, said, "I saw that this man, Urim, +hates you, Katon. Is it because of him that you are here?" + +There was a wry twist to Katon's lips. "Urim and I were once great +friends. I came to Sephar from Huxla, a city of Ammad, where my father +is ruler. Upon arriving here, I entered Urim's service as a common +warrior. During a hunting trip, I saved him from being mauled by a +wounded lion. In gratitude he put me in charge of Sephar's quarries--a +position much sought after by Sepharian nobles. + +"And then I met a girl--the daughter of a nobleman. She was very +beautiful; and before long we were in love." + +Katon seemed to have forgotten Tharn's presence. His speech was slow, +his words toneless and deliberate. The cave-man was quick to sense the +other's mental suffering as he recounted a painful chapter of his life. + +"As it turned out," Katon continued, "Urim, himself, desired this girl +and was planning to make her Sephar's queen. When he learned that she +loved me, his anger was very great, and one night I was taken from my +bed and put here." + +His voice took on a deeper note. "The next morning they called to take +the girl to Urim. They found her on the floor of her room, dead, a knife +driven into her heart. She had taken her own life." + +The two men talked on, while the time slipped by. Finally their +conversation turned to religion as accepted by the Sepharians. Tharn +found his friend's explanation difficult to understand; a creed that +allowed a single god both to threaten and defend his worshippers was far +beyond his simple direct way of thinking. + +One part of Katon's remarks on religion did interest him, however. This +concerned the friction between Urim and Pryak, high priest in Sephar of +the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud. Of this, Katon offered the +following: + +"Pryak is as cruel and tyrannical as Urim is kind and just. Many rites +and ceremonies introduced by the high priest have so angered the king +that he has banned their practice--a move widening the rift between the +two men. + +"Twice, I am told, they have quarreled openly; but Urim's warriors and +followers so outnumber those of Pryak, that the priest dares not +persist. By doing so he might plunge the entire city into civil war; for +much of Sephar would flock to Pryak's side, since he is the true +representative of our god. + +"Each passing day, however, brings the tension nearer a breaking point. +Pryak is crafty and wise and very proud. Some day he will seek to +overthrow Urim and put a more friendly ruler in his place. Even Pryak, +himself, may take the throne. It would not be the first time in our +history a high priest became king!" + + * * * * * + +The entrance of the balance of the prisoners ended their conversation at +this point. After the noon meal was eaten the men lay down on their beds +to rest. + +Tharn found sleep hard to find. Flat on his back he lay, eyes fixed +unseeingly on the grill-work far above him, while his mind reviewed the +remarkable adventures that had befallen him since he had set out on a +mission of vengeance. + +How long ago it seemed, now, since he had taken up the trail of those +who had attacked his people! And now he was a prisoner of a race whose +very existence had been undreamed of a few suns ago. A captive, too, was +the girl who had been so abruptly thrust into his life, bringing with +her the beauty and pangs of love. + +Dylara! Where was she now? Did she believe him dead, a victim of arrow +and club? Had she given up all hope of ever seeing again her father and +the caves of Majok, to accept tamely the life of a slave? + +In spite of having known her only for a short time, he doubted this. +There was too much of the haughty pride of a born princess in her to +submit tamely to such a fate. Given the chance she would brave the +perils of jungle and plain in an effort to locate her own tribe. + +As he lay there, motionless, watching sunlight streaming through the +opening overhead, the resolve grew strong within him to win Dylara's +freedom, and his, from this strange place and its stranger inhabitants. +They had him now--but it would take more than a few doors and walls to +keep him. + + * * * * * + +When the door had closed behind Dylara and Nada, Jotan turned to his two +companions. He found them staring at him reproachfully. + +"And now," Tamer said bitingly, "now that half of Sephar knows you are +in love with a slave-girl, perhaps we can pay our respects to Urim, whom +we have kept waiting." + +Jotan was suddenly conscious of the curious eyes of men and women. +Beyond the crowd of Sepharians was Urim on his elevated chair, peering +over the heads between him and the three men near the door. + +Jotan chuckled a little. "For her I would keep many kings waiting," he +said in a low voice. "But you are right, of course. Come." + +The three men moved through the crowd. Jotan's arrogant bearing and +handsome face drew forth almost as many whispered comments as had the +appearance of Tharn earlier that morning. + +At sight of the three visitors, Urim's florid countenance lighted up +with pleasure; and half-rising, he called to them. + +"You are welcome, noble guests from Ammad!" he cried. "I had hoped you +would come here, this morning. Come closer; there are many here who have +asked to meet you." + +When they had reached the frustum's base, Urim descended and, in turn, +presented various members of his retinue. Introductions were +acknowledged, and there was much small talk. + +Jotan's interest in the somewhat lengthy ceremony was purely mechanical. +His thoughts were with the cave-princess he had met at the door; in +fact, he had thought of little else since he had first seen her on the +day before. His determination to ask Urim for her had been strengthened +by the chance meeting, and he resolved to wait no longer; as soon as +these introductions were finished, he would make known to Urim his +wishes. + +As he stood there, head and shoulders above the throng about him, a pair +of flashing gray-green eyes watched him intently, eyes that had burned +angrily as they observed the meeting between him and the cave-girl. They +were the eyes of the princess Alurna, who, with her hand-maiden, Anela, +had come into the room by another entrance at the very moment Jotan had +barred Dylara's path. Unobserved, she had witnessed the entire incident, +and her hatred for the lovely captive was intensified a hundred-fold +thereby. + +Alurna had slept but little during the night before. After Tharn had +vanished through her window, she had gone back to bed--but not to sleep. +She could not banish thoughts of Jotan; she could not close out the +memory of those flint-like blue eyes that could soften so wonderfully +when their owner smiled. + +And so, near morning, she had finally admitted to herself that she loved +this broad-shouldered visitor from a distant land. Her admission brought +with it no peace of mind; for, she told herself furiously, it would +have been bad enough to love anyone; but to feel so toward a man who +had eyes only for another--and a savage, at that!--was more than she +could bear. Utterly miserable, she bit her lips to force back her tears +and glowered resentfully at the unsuspecting Jotan. + + * * * * * + +Introductions completed, Urim returned to his chair and his duties. The +others broke up into little groups; some attending closely the details +of various petitions and demands of Sephar's citizens; others conversing +among themselves and paying no heed to what went on about them. + +Tamar, Javan and Jotan formed one of these latter groups, having +withdrawn to some distance from the throne itself, at Jotan's whispered +request. + +Alurna saw the three men move apart from the rest. + +"Quick, Anela," she murmured, grasping the girl's arm, "get close enough +to those three to hear what they say. Don't let them suspect you are +listening. Go!" + +Anela nodded, and slipped away through the crowd.... + +"What now?" asked Tamar, eyeing Jotan's set face narrowly. + +Jotan was watching the gradually thinning knot of Sepharians at the foot +of the throne. He said: + +"When Urim has finished there, I shall make my request of him. Until +then we may as well wait here." + +Tamar scowled; then suddenly he smiled. "Listen, Jotan," he said +rapidly, "let it go for a few days. After all, you want to be sure of a +thing like this. Then, if you still want her--why--take her. It won't be +necessary to go about telling everyone she is to be your mate. Javan and +I can arrange to get her for you without it being known you are +interested. Then, after you've had her for a while, if you still feel +the same way, let it be known she is your mate. I've an idea, though, +that it will never get that far. You'll learn that--" + +Tamar saw the gleam in Jotan's eye, gulped, and was silent. + +For a long moment Jotan stared at his friend, his expression one of +mixed pity and scorn. Then, with cool deliberateness, he turned and +started toward the throne. + +"Wait, Jotan!" Tamar stepped in front of him. "I was wrong. I shouldn't +have said that. I see how it is, now, and I'll help you all I can. But +at least do this: Wait until you can speak to Urim alone. Tonight, after +the evening meal, draw Urim to one side and make your request--not while +all Sephar is watching you." + +Tamar's distress was so genuine that Jotan stopped. After all, it meant +the difference of only a few hours; if such a concession would appease +his friend it would be a small price to pay. + +"Very well, Tamar," he agreed. "I will wait until then." + +None of the three noticed a figure detach itself from the fringe of the +crowd nearest them and hurry away. + + * * * * * + +When the eavesdropping slave girl reached Alurna's side, the princess +drew her into a deserted corridor outside the room. + +"What were they saying, Anela?" she asked impatiently. + +"The handsome one spoke of asking your father for someone--a woman. One +of the others sought to change his mind, but he would not listen." + +Such a soul-searing flame of hate went through Alurna that her heart +seemed to wither in its heat. At sight of her mistress' expression Anela +shrank away in terror. + +"Did he say when he intends asking for this woman?" + +Anela swallowed. "Tonight," she faltered, "--after the evening meal." + +For a moment Alurna stood there in thought. Then, dismissing the girl +with a gesture, she turned and strode rapidly along the corridor, away +from the audience hall. + +Her head pounded with jumbled thoughts. Over and over she told herself +that Jotan should never have the golden-skinned cave-girl. There were +ways to prevent it; no slave could have the man Alurna wanted! + +The princess went directly to her own apartment. Closing and bolting her +door, she sank wearily onto the wide bed. With an arm across her eyes, +she lay down, thinking bitter thoughts and shaping many plans to prevent +Jotan from having the girl he desired. Each plan, however, was discarded +in turn as being either too difficult to accomplish or too liable to +failure. + +How? How? How? Ask her father to refuse Jotan's request? No; that would +bring to light facts she preferred kept hidden. Have her killed? Too +dangerous. If Urim ever discovered who was responsible she would pay a +terrible price. + +And then out of nowhere came her answer. Alurna rolled over and sat up +as the idea took shape in her mind. + +"Anela!" she called. + +Immediately someone tried the door, and finding it locked, rapped +timidly. + +Alurna rose and admitted the still apprehensive girl. + +"Listen to me closely, Anela," commanded the princess, closing the door. +"Do you know Meltor?" + +Anela was surprised. "Why--yes. He is one of the guards stationed at the +palace entrance." + +"Tell him," the princess said crisply, "to come here at once." + +The slave-girl started to say something, reconsidered, and went out. A +few minutes later she was back, followed by a tall slender young man, +whose dark expressionless face bore a long livid scar across one cheek. + +"Leave us, Anela," Alurna said softly ... "Sit down, Meltor." + + * * * * * + +The man lowered himself stiffly on the edge of a stool and looked at +Urim's daughter with steady eyes. His face might as well have been +masked, so completely was it lacking in expression. + +"Meltor," said the princess, "I have kept a secret of yours for many +moons--a secret that, were I to divulge it to a certain nobleman, would +cost you your life. Am I right?" + +A shadow of uneasiness crossed the warrior's face. + +"Did the daughter of Urim," he said dryly, "summon me here that I might +be reminded of something best forgotten?" + +Alurna smiled. It was not a nice smile. "The nobleman, too, would like +to forget. But he cannot--until his daughter is avenged." + +Meltor said nothing. + +"It is not a secret to remember," Alurna said smoothly. "I want very +much to forget it. And if you will help me, Meltor, I promise never +again to remind you of it." + +"What is it you want me to do?" + +The princess bent forward. "Deep within the jungle beyond the Gate of +the Setting Sun, is an old abandoned house of stone. It was there Rydob, +the hermit, lived for uncounted years. Do you know the place?" + +The young warrior nodded. "Yes, I know where it is. Nobody goes there +since Rydob's bones were found on his own door-step." + +"Yes," Alurna said contemptuously. "They fear Rydob more after his death +than when he lived. I hope you are different, Meltor." + +The man flushed. "I am not afraid, daughter of Urim." + +"Good! I knew I could count on you. Now listen to me carefully; there +must be no mistakes." + +For half an hour the princess spoke steadily. The guard listened +attentively, interrupting now and then to ask questions; twice he +offered suggestions. + +When Alurna had finished, Meltor remained silent for a few minutes, +mentally reviewing the plan's details. The girl watched him with +narrowed eyes. + +"I shall need help," he said at last. "I have no right to enter the +slave quarters." + +Alurna nodded. "I shall leave that up to you. You are known to the +guards there; find one you can trust and enlist his aid. Promise him +much, but tell him no more than is necessary." + +Meltor got to his feet. His face had resumed its habitual lack of +expression. + +"Your orders shall be carried out, daughter of Urim," he said flatly. "I +will report to you, here, when I have finished." + +The door closed behind him. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Abduction + + +The humid heat of early afternoon hung in shimmering waves over Sephar's +walls and buildings of stone. Except for an occasional perspiring +warrior or slave, hurrying on some urgent mission, the broad avenues +were quite deserted. + +In a palace wing containing the female slave quarters, Dylara and Nada +were together. The daughter of Majok lay stretched at full length on her +bed, hands locked beneath her head, drowsily watching a patch of +sunlight near the ceiling. Nada nodded sleepily on a low stool near the +bed. + +Dylara yawned audibly to break the silence. She rolled over and touched +the older woman on one arm. + +"I don't want to sleep, Nada," she protested. "Let's talk awhile. You +promised to tell me about him--Jotan, I mean. I keep thinking about +him--how he acted, staring at me the way he did." + +Nada smiled, and patted the hand on her arm. She had been thinking of +her only son--of him whom she had last seen as a little boy. She had +wanted to overcome a strange reluctance to question Dylara about him; +what he had been like, if he was big like his father ... little things +that meant much to a mother. + +"I will do the best I can," she said. "What I say will be only what is +repeated among the slaves and guards. + +"Jotan's home is in Ammad--about which I have already told you. His +father is a nobleman there--one of the most powerful and influential men +in that country. Jotan is well liked by all who know him; they say his +followers would die in his service and count themselves honored." + +"I think I can understand that," said Dylara dreamily. "There is +something about him that takes hold of you--awakens your imagination. +Many girls must care a great deal for him." + +Nada glanced sharply at her, and was on the point of making some +comment, when there came a sudden brief rap at the closed door. + +"I wonder who that can be," she said, frowning. Rising, she crossed to +the door and drew it open. + +A guard in a grayish-white tunic stood at the threshold. Behind him, +half-concealed by the shadows of the hall, was a second man. + +"Urim," said the guard gruffly, "wishes the slave-girl Dylara brought to +him at once." + +For some reason this unexpected summons alarmed Nada. "I do not +understand. What does he want of her?" + +"I forgot to ask him!" retorted the guard sarcastically. He beckoned to +Dylara. "Come; I have no time to waste." + + * * * * * + +The cave-girl approached uneasily, affected more by Nada's concern than +the prospect of being brought before Urim. + +The guard stepped aside to let her pass, then turned to leave. + +"Wait!" Nada cried. "I am going with you." + +The man scowled. "I was not told to bring you," he snapped. "You stay +here." He went out, slamming the door. + +Dylara, a man at either side, was led down the long corridor and through +the double doorway. There they paused while the two men held a brief +conversation in whispers too low for the girl to make out their words. + +And then the second man approached and took hold of her arm. "You are to +come with me," he said. "I am to take you to Urim." + +Dylara's skin crawled under the contact. She jerked away. "I do not need +to be held." + +The dim light hid the man's angry face. "Slaves do as they are told," he +reminded her coldly. "Do not forget that." + +Grasping her arm roughly, he strode along the hall, the girl beside him. +Shortly afterward they descended the great staircase to the main floor +of the palace. + +They met no one on the way, the intense heat having sent the palace +inhabitants to their beds to rest until early evening. + +To Dylara's mingled surprise and alarm, her escort moved straight to the +great doorway leading to the palace grounds. Four guards lounging +outside the entrance watched them pass, nodding briefly to the man with +her. + +They turned into one of the wide streets that led to the city's outer +wall. + +Dylara fought down a wave of panic. "Where are you taking me?" + +The man was quick to sense her fear. He tightened his hold on her arm. + +"To Urim," he replied briefly. + +"Where is he?" + +The Sepharian turned his head and frowned at her. For the first time +Dylara noticed the long white scar across his cheek. + +"You ask too many questions," he said roughly. "Now keep them to +yourself." + +A cold hand seemed to close about the girl's heart. She knew, now, that +Urim had not sent for her; that she was being led into some horrible +danger. Worst of all, there seemed no way to prevent this man from doing +as he pleased. The street was deserted; and even should someone appear, +an appeal for help would probably be useless. + +Soon they reached one of the huge gateways in the wall about Sephar. The +warrior drew Dylara to a halt as two guards sauntered in their +direction. + +"Well, Meltor," said one, a tall, languid man of middle age, "what are +you doing out in this heat? And with a girl, too; up to your old tricks, +I suppose." + +Meltor smiled without humor. "This is something else. If I may speak +with you privately...." + + * * * * * + +Dylara, under the watchful eye of the second guard, watched them step +away a few paces and engage in a whispered colloquy. Meltor did most of +the talking, speaking earnestly and at length. The other nodded from +time to time, appearing properly impressed. Once or twice he glanced +with interest at the girl. + +Meltor had evidently gained his point. He approached Dylara, now, a +triumphant curl at the corners of his mouth. + +"We must hurry," was all he said. Together the man and the girl passed +through the twin gates. + +Beyond the open ground Dylara could see the grim forest rising dark and +forbidding against the sky. And yet she wondered if it was more to be +feared than the city of stone behind them. Danger lurked in the +jungle--ah, yes; but it was danger both direct and elemental--not hidden +beneath hypocrisy and artifice. + +Why had she been taken from Sephar? She was certain this man was not +acting in his own behalf; someone else was behind it all--someone who +did not want others to know. It could not be Urim. Urim was chief; he +need not hide his activities from anybody. Yet who else could it be? + +Suddenly a great light burst upon her. Jotan! He was responsible--it +could be no other! Because she belonged to Urim he had been forced to +have her stolen from the palace and taken to some out-of-the-way spot +that he might be with her. This was the answer--the only answer! + +Belief became certainty; and with it came indecision. A strange mixture +of dread and exultation came over her. Her heart beat faster at thought +of meeting the man who had aroused within her an emotion as yet +unfathomable. But matters were being brought to a head much too quickly +to suit her--she needed more time. + +Unconsciously she slowed her steps, pulling back at the grip on her arm. +They were already within the jungle, hidden from Sephar by a bend of the +trail underfoot. + +Meltor, satisfied that the girl would accompany him peaceably, had +relaxed his hold. + +Suddenly Dylara twisted free, and before the surprised warrior could +interfere, she whirled about and dashed away in the opposite direction. + +Meltor wheeled and took up the chase, crying out hoarsely for her to +stop. But the rage in his voice only spurred on the girl to greater +effort. + +Along the trail they raced, a few yards apart, their sandaled feet +kicking up little puffs of dust and powdered vegetation. The +nimble-footed girl was gradually increasing her lead, seeking to gain +the bend in the trail with enough time for concealment before Meltor +could catch sight of her again. + +And then, without warning, something caught at her ankle, plunging her +headlong to the ground with terrific force. Half-stunned, she made a +weak effort to regain her feet, when a strong hand grasped her roughly +by an arm and jerked her upright. + + * * * * * + +The rage-distorted face of Meltor swam hazily before her. She blinked +rapidly in an effort to dispel the fog. + +"You little fool!" The words seemed to come to her from across a great +distance. "Try that again, and I'll--" + +There sounded a sharp ringing "crack," and Dylara staggered back, her +left cheek flaming from the force of an open-handed blow. + +The slap transformed the girl from a dazed, bewildered child into an +infuriated tigress; and for the next few moments Meltor had all he could +do to keep from being badly mauled. + +Exhausted, she finally sank to her knees and burst into a storm of +tears. Meltor stood by, more or less winded himself, fingering a long +scratch alongside his nose, waiting for the girl to regain composure. + +At last he pulled her to her feet, and urged her along the path into the +west. Dylara, her once spotless tunic grimy and torn, accompanied him +docilely now, too weary to resist. She knew by this time that Jotan had +nothing to do with her abduction; no hireling of his would dare handle +her so roughly. + +An hour later they entered a small clearing, deep in the heart of the +jungle. In the center of the open ground stood a rambling, one-storied +building of gray stone, weather-beaten and unkempt, its unprotected +windows staring vacantly like the dull lifeless eyes of a corpse. +Despite the flame-tipped rays of the mid-afternoon sun which flooded the +clearing, Dylara shivered, conscious of the miasmatic atmosphere of the +place. + +Nor was Meltor entirely unaffected by the eerie aspect of dead Rydob's +former residence. Details of stories he had heard about the old hermit +came to him now, and he caught himself glancing nervously about. + +A short series of stone steps led to the half open door. A profusion of +vines and creepers had sprung up unchecked, partially covering the +stairway. Meltor cautiously kicked the vegetation away, aware it might +be the hiding place of little Sleeza, the snake--Sleeza, whose bite +meant a lingering, painful death. + +Suddenly the man jumped back, voicing a yell of terror, and almost +upsetting Dylara. His prodding foot had torn away a curtain of foliage, +disclosing the bleached skeleton of a man, stretched out on one of the +steps. The skull had rolled a few paces away, and lay there grinning +malevolently up at them. + +Dylara shuddered, shrank back. She had seen the bones of man before; but +under present conditions and surroundings the gleaming skeleton seemed a +horrible prophecy of her own fate. + +"Who could it have been?" she asked in an awed whisper. + +Meltor forced a grin. He had managed to regain control of his shattered +nerves. + +"Old Rydob, the hermit," he replied. "And no prettier in death than he +was in life. Some say he was the brother of Pryak, the high priest." + +Taking Dylara by the elbow, he urged her past the pile of bones and over +the threshold. + + * * * * * + +They came into a huge, high-ceilinged room, well-lighted by the sun. +From its appearance the girl judged that Rydob had spent most of his +time here; the ruins of a bed stood in one corner, while a large table +in the center of the room held a jumbled collection of stone dishes and +bowls. Several tunics, rotten with mildew, hung across one of the three +chairs about the table. + +And over everything was a thick layer of dust and cobwebs and the +droppings of countless rodents. + +Meltor kicked over two of the stools to clear them of dust, replaced +them, then cleared the table top in the same way. + +"Sit there," he said, pointing to one of the stools. + +Dylara obeyed without a word, watching the man seat himself across the +table from her. + +There followed a period of silence. Thus far, Meltor had carried out his +plan to the letter. But now, faced with the unpleasant part of his task, +he was beginning to feel decidedly qualmish. + +How truly beautiful she was! Not the empty loveliness of perfect +features alone; there was personality and fire and a keen, alert mind +mirrored in those grave brown eyes and the sweet curve of sensitive +lips. + +And then he thought of Alurna and the secret she held, and the memory +put an abrupt end to growing misgivings. + +Dylara, who was trying to fathom what lay behind the man's cold +expressionless face, broke the silence. + +"Why have you brought me here?" + +Meltor hesitated. Why not tell her? Perhaps the knowledge would drive +her into making a second attempt to escape. And then.... + +"I suppose there is no reason why you should not be told," he said +slowly. "It will make no difference--now. + +"You have made an enemy in Sephar. How it happened, I do not know--nor +does it matter. It is enough that you are in the way--and must die." + +The calm emotionless statement brought no sense of shock to Dylara. She +had known what was coming--known it as surely as though he had said the +words an hour ago. In a curiously detached way she was conscious of the +brilliant sunlight streaming through the windows; of the strident voices +of many birds in the nearby jungle; of the slow-moving wind among many +leaves.... + +"I do not want to kill you," Meltor continued. "You are too young to +die. I would like to let you go--to leave you in the forest to go back +to the caves you call home." + +As he spoke, his hand dropped below the table's edge, fumbled there, +then reappeared, a long knife of stone in his fingers. + +"But I dare not do that," he went on, in the same flat monotone. "You +might turn up again in Sephar and ruin everything. I cannot risk it." + +Was he, Dylara wondered, trying to goad her into some act of resistance, +that he might escape the stigma of cold-blooded murder? Fascinated, +unable to look away, she watched him lift the keen-edged blade. + +Suddenly he rose and lunged across the table toward her. Dylara knew the +moment had come. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Torture + + +Jotan pushed back his plate and sighed wearily. + +"I can't eat in this heat," he complained. "Besides, I have no +appetite." + +"It _is_ hot," Javan agreed through a full mouth; "but then it's always +hot at this time of day." + +Tamar helped himself to another serving from the pot on the table. "It's +not the heat alone that's taken his appetite, Javan," he observed +disagreeably. "Our friend is so eager for evening to come that he can +think of nothing else. It is then, you know, that he will become the +laughing-stock of all Sephar by asking Urim for a cave-girl to take as +his mate." + +An hour before, the three visitors from Ammad had left the palace +audience hall and returned to their quarters. After bathing and getting +into fresh tunics, they had sat down to food brought from the palace +kitchens. + +Rising, Jotan crossed the room, sank down on a pile of sleeping furs and +pulled off his sandals. Then he lay down, covered his eyes with one arm +and was soon asleep. + +Presently Tamar and Javan finished eating. The latter at once sought his +own couch; but Tamar remained at the table, deep in thought. + +Two hours went by, and still Tamar remained there, head bowed in his +hands. The slaves had long since cleared the table and departed, leaving +the three men to themselves. + +Abruptly the seated man raised his head, his expression that of one to +whom a momentous idea has come. For a long moment he remained thus, then +got silently to his feet and tip-toed to the door, let himself out and, +despite the withering heat, started briskly toward the palace. + +The four guards stationed at the entrance stiffened to attention as he +approached. Tamar halted a few yards away and beckoned to one of them. + +"Do you know me?" Tamar asked haughtily. + +"Of course!" replied the young warrior humbly. "There is none in all +Sephar who does not know Tamar of Ammad." + +"Good. Take me at once to the quarters of the female slaves." + +The eagerness in the young man's face was replaced by doubt. + +"I am not permit--" he began hesitantly. + +Tamar cut him short with a gesture. "Do as I say," he snapped. "The +responsibility will be mine." + +The warrior bowed. "Follow me." + +They entered the great hall and ascended to the third floor. Outside the +twin doors leading to the slave quarters they were stopped by two guards +on duty there. + +Tamar's guide addressed one of them. "Rokor," he said, "this is the +noble Tamar of Ammad. At his command I have brought him here." + +Rokor bowed deeply. "It is an honor to meet Urim's guest. How may I +serve you?" + +"By taking me to see one of the slave-girls here--the cave-girl, +Dylara." + +Something akin to a leer crept into Rokor's expression. "Oh, yes; I know +the one you mean. If you will come with me...." + + * * * * * + +Tamar dismissed the first guard and followed Rokor through the twin +doors and down the corridor. Halting before one of the numerous doors, +Rokor unbarred and opened it, then stepped aside that Tamar might enter. + +A tall slender woman of early middle-age rose from a bed in one corner. +But for her tunic of a slave, the visitor would have taken her for the +mate of some Sepharian noble. + +At his appearance, the eager expectant air she had at first assumed, +faded, replaced by one of questioning doubt. + +Tamar turned to Rokor. "She is not the one," he said testily. "This is +not Dylara." + +The guard scratched his head, baffled. "She should be here. This is her +room. Urim told Nada, here, to teach her our customs." + +Nada came forward and placed a hand on Tamar's arm. + +"Do you seek Dylara?" she asked tensely. + +Tamar nodded. "Do you know where she is?" + +The woman looked meaningly at the staring guard. "If I may speak with +you alone...." + +Tamar sent the man out, and closed the door. + +"Well ..." he prompted. + +Nada looked at him searchingly. Since Dylara had been taken from the +room over three hours ago her concern for the girl's safety had steadily +grown. She was convinced Urim had not sent for Dylara, but realized she +was powerless to act in her aid. + +Why Tamar had come here puzzled her; but he might be of assistance in +clearing up the mystery surrounding Dylara's absence. + +"What do you want of Dylara, noble Tamar?" she asked. + +Tamar showed his surprise. "You know me, then?" + +Nada smiled. "There is not a slave in the palace who does not know of +you and your two friends." + +Tamar hesitated. Something told him he would lose nothing in being frank +with this woman. And there was something amiss here; Dylara's absence +and this woman's concern made that evident. + +"I can think of no reason why you should not know," he said. "You see, +my friend Jotan has the mad idea he is in love with this Dylara. I have +tried to make him see that one in his position cannot mate with a +barbarian; but he will not listen. He means to ask Urim for her tonight. +I came here to talk to the girl--to make her understand she could never +be happy as the mate of a man so far above her. If she promises to have +nothing to do with my friend, I will promise to arrange for her freedom, +to return her to her own people." + +It took an effort for Nada to repress a smile. "Does anyone else," she +asked, "want to keep Jotan from having her?" + +"Not that I know of," Tamar said, puzzled by the question. "Why do you +ask?" + +"Because one of the guards took Dylara from here shortly before you +came. He said Urim wanted her, but I think he lied." + + * * * * * + +Tamar stiffened. Was this some of Jotan's work? Had his friend suspected +one of his companions might seek to interfere, and to thwart them, had +the girl removed to another place? + +He would go back and confront Jotan with this evidence. To think the man +did not trust his own friends! + +But what if Jotan had had nothing to do with taking the girl? Would it +be better to remain silent, so that when he did learn she was missing it +would be too late to discover what had become of her? + +And then, cutting through the fog of selfishness and snobbery like rays +of the sun through mist, came a new trend of thought, far more worthy of +the real Tamar. + +Jotan was his friend! They had fought side by side against a common foe; +they had hunted together, traveled vast distances together, sought +adventure together, gone hungry and cold--together. Ever since boyhood +they had been companions--closer than brothers. And now he, Tamar, was +on the verge of disloyalty to his own best friend! + +His eyes blazing, he caught the astonished Nada by an arm. + +"_Who_ took her?" he demanded hoarsely. "Where is he, now?" + +"It--it was Fordak," Nada stammered, staring wide-eyed at the man's taut +face, "--Fordak and another whose face I could not see." + +Tamar let go of her arm, threw open the door and went out. He found +Rokor leaning against the opposite wall, waiting. + +The man from Ammad masked his emotions by resuming an air of +indifference. + +"Come, Rokor," he said easily, "I am ready to go. The girl I came to see +has been taken to another part of the palace. I have decided not to see +her, after all." + +As the two men walked along the corridor, Tamar said, "By the way, +Rokor, do you know a guard called Fordak?" + +"Why, yes," Rokor said. "He stands watch at the entrance to the slave +quarters. I, myself, relieved him shortly before you came up." + +"Do you know where he can be found at this time of day?" + +"Probably in his room, sleeping." + +"Will you take me there? I have something for him." + +In his eagerness to please the noble visitor from Ammad, Rokor quite +forgot to be curious. + +"Gladly," he said. "Come this way." + +Tamar was led to the second floor of the palace, and along a corridor +to the wing housing the warriors of Urim. Rokor stopped before a narrow +opening and pounded heavily on a closed door. + +"Fordak!" he bellowed; "open up here! You have a visitor." + +They heard someone moving about inside, and a second later the door +swung back. + +A thick-shouldered man, inclined to fatness about the middle, stood +there, his coarse black hair tousled, eyes heavy with sleep. + +"Who wants me?" he grunted. + +"This is Tamar of Ammad," Rokor explained. "He has something for you." + +Tamar interrupted. "You may leave me here, Rokor. I can find my way out +when I have finished with Fordak." + + * * * * * + +When the guard had gone, Tamar turned to the man Nada had named. He +found the fellow eyeing him respectfully. + +"Fordak," said the man from Ammad, "I have need of a fearless warrior to +do something for me. One who can do as instructed and, at the same time, +keep his mouth shut. You were recommended as such. Will you help me?" + +Fordak rubbed one side of his bull neck with a calloused palm. "What do +you want me to do?" he asked warily. + +"I cannot tell you, here," Tamar said. "Come with me to my quarters and +I will explain. You will be well rewarded for your work." + +The guard's wide face lighted up. "Then I'm your man," he rumbled. "Lead +the way." + +A few minutes later, Tamar, with Fordak in tow, opened the door of the +building set aside for him and his companions. + +Jotan and Javan were still sleeping. Tamar closed the door and dropped +the bar into place. + +"Sit down," he told Fordak, pointing to a stool. He crossed the room and +prodded the sleeping pair into wakefulness. + +"Jotan and Javan," he said, when the two had risen, "this is Fordak, one +of Sephar's finest warriors. Fordak is going to help us in a little +matter, aren't you, Fordak?" + +The guard nodded, his broad cheeks creased with a wide smile at being +treated so familiarly by a nobleman. + +Jotan was staring at his friend in frank bewilderment. + +"What are you getting at, Tamar?" he asked. "Why have you brought this +man here?" + +"Yes," Tamar went on, ignoring the questions. "Fordak is going to do a +great deal for us. To begin with--" he dropped a hand lightly on the +man's shoulder "--he is going to tell us _what he did with the +slave-girl, Dylara_!" + +As Tamar spoke the last few words his fingers bit fiercely into the bare +flesh beneath his hand. + +The speed with which Fordak lost his smile was almost laughable. He +bellowed out something unintelligible and started to rise; but Jotan, +his face suddenly white beneath its tan, crossed the room with a single +bound and slammed him back on the stool. + +Tamar flipped a knife from its sheath and pressed the point lightly +against Fordak's spine. "Sit still, you!" he said frostily. + +Jotan's face was haggard. "Has anything happened to Dylara?" he asked +thickly. "In the name of the God, Tamar, tell me quickly." + +"Just this," Tamar said. "While you and Javan were asleep I went to the +palace to ... on a personal matter. While there, I learned that Dylara +had been taken from the slave quarters by this man on the pretext of +taking her to Urim. Another man helped him; who, I don't know. Knowing +you would be interested in learning what had happened to her, I brought +our friend, here, along to answer your questions." + + * * * * * + +Jotan thanked him with a glance. Then he turned to the seated Fordak. + +"All right," he ground out savagely, "what have you done with her?" + +Fordak looked at him sullenly. "I don't know what you're talking about," +he mumbled. "You have no right to keep me here." + +Jotan, his face convulsed with anger, grabbed the man by the front of +his tunic with one hand and shook him savagely. Fordak, struggling to +twist loose, aimed a wild blow at his tormentor, and received in return +a mighty smash full on the nose that knocked him to the floor, half +conscious, blood pouring from his nostrils. + +"Get up!" snarled Jotan. He kicked the dazed warrior brutally in the +side. "Either that tongue of yours starts to wag or it comes out--by the +roots!" + +He reached down, caught a handful of Fordak's rumpled hair and pulled +him to his feet. The guard stood there, swaying, and would have fallen +had not Jotan shoved him back on the stool. + +"Where is she?" + +Fordak wiped his nose with the back of one hand and stared woodenly at +the crimson stains left there. He knew he must tell; he could not bear +further punishment. + +And then he remembered what Meltor had said. The princess Alurna had +wanted the girl disposed of; to tell what he knew would bring down the +wrath of Urim's daughter upon him. He shivered at the thought; for he +did not want to die. + +"Where is she?" + +Fordak moved his head in silent negation. "I don't know." + +Jotan clenched his fist to strike again. Tamar caught his arm. + +"Wait," he said. "Let me talk to him." He pushed back Fordak's head. "We +know you're mixed up in this, Fordak. You and another guard took the +girl from her room. Tell us where she is and you shall go free--as soon +as we find you have told us the truth." + +"I don't know," said the man stolidly. + +Jotan swore impatiently. "I'm through wasting time," he said. "Dylara +may be in danger. I'll get the truth from him." + +He motioned to Javan. "Get me a fire bowl." + +When his friend had handed him a bowl of fat, he lighted its wick with a +glowing coal from an earthen jar and came back to Fordak. The seated man +watched him, apprehension in his eyes. + +The flame wavered in the faint breeze from the windows. It suddenly had +become very quiet in the room. + +Jotan drew the flint knife from his belt and began to run the blade back +and forth through the candle's flame. + +"What are you going to do?" Tamar asked. + +The lips of his friend were pressed into a straight line. "He's going to +talk. Be ready to listen." + +Another minute passed. Jotan continued to move the knife blade to and +fro in the heart of the fire. Fordak could not tear his eyes from the +objects in the man's hands. Great beads of perspiration stood out on his +forehead. + +"Tie his arms and legs," Jotan said. + + * * * * * + +Those words seemed to release Fordak's paralyzed muscles. Voicing a wild +cry he bounded from the stool and was nearly to the door before Tamar +and Javan brought him down. He continued to struggle frantically while +they bound lengths of rawhide about his arms and legs. When he was +securely tied they dragged him back to the stool. + +Jotan said, "Take off one of his sandals." + +Fordak yelled in terror and jerked back, almost falling from the stool. + +"Stuff something in his mouth before he has half the city here." + +Gagged and bound, Fordak was helpless to do more than gurgle and sweat +as Javan knelt and bared one of his feet. + +"Now," Jotan said grimly, "we'll see what effect this will have in +getting information." + +With a quick movement he placed the white-hot length of flint firmly +against the delicate skin of the instep and held it there. + +An eerie, muffled scream pushed past the gag in Fordak's mouth. So +intense was the note of animal pain that the three men felt their flesh +crawl with the sound. + +Abruptly the bound guard stiffened, his eyes swam in their sockets, and +he fell back in a faint. + +Jotan rose and tossed the knife aside. "Get some water," he said. "One +treatment like that should be enough." + +They removed the gag from the unconscious man's mouth and doused water +in his face. After a moment he groaned weakly and opened his eyes. + +"Where is Dylara?" Jotan asked, for the third time. + +Words came spilling out. "I--I'll tell you. Don't burn me again. I can't +stand it. I'll talk. We took her--Meltor and I. Meltor made me help him +take her. He said Alurna told him to do it." + +"Alurna?" Jotan was astonished. "What had she to do with it?" + +"She wanted it done. Meltor said she ordered him to take the girl to the +house of Rydob outside Sephar. He was to take her there and kill her, +then hide the body so no one would know what had happened to her." + +Jotan paled. "Where is this house of Rydob?" + +Fordak gave directions. When he had finished, Jotan said: "Tamar, get +three or four of our men and meet Javan and me at the Gate of the +Setting Sun. Hurry!" + +Tamar went out. + +"Get our weapons together, Javan," Jotan ordered. "We'll meet the others +at the gate." + +Javan was slow to comprehend. "Where are we going?" + +"Into the jungle," said Jotan evenly. "To the house of Rydob!" + + * * * * * + +Alurna had slept well during the mid-day heat. When she awakened, her +first thought was of Meltor and his errand. Lying there, the room +darkened against the blazing sun, she allowed herself to think of Jotan, +smiling when she realized he was free, now, to fall in love with her. No +longer was there a barbarian slave-girl to blind him to the beauty and +charm of Urim's daughter. + +After a while she sat up, stretched her soft muscles with all the sleek +satisfaction of a jungle cat, and summoned Anela. + +The slave-girl was aiding her in effecting a leisurely toilet a little +later, when a brief rap sounded at the door. + +"That must be Meltor," Alurna said contentedly. "Let him in, Anela." + +But when the door was opened, it was another man who stood there, his +tunic torn and stained, his broad plump face lined with suffering. + +"It's Fordak!" cried Anela. + +The man staggered to a stool and dropped onto it, exhausted. + +"I came as soon as I could, princess," he babbled. "I came to tell you +so you would not punish me. They forced me to tell; they burned me until +I told them. I would have come sooner, but the ropes were tight." + +Alurna shut him off with a gesture. "What are you trying to tell me?" +she demanded. "_Who_ made you tell _what_?" + +"The men from Ammad." Fordak was beginning to gain control over his +shaken nerves. "Jotan and Tamar and Javan. They tortured me until I told +them where Meltor had taken the slave-girl." + +Rapidly he related all that had taken place in the visitors' apartment. +Being no fool, he exaggerated the amount of suffering he had endured; +thus might the heart of Alurna be touched with pity. + +When Fordak was done, Alurna went to the window and stood there, her +back to the others, staring into the grounds below. What was she to do? +Jotan was already on his way to the house of Rydob. If Meltor had wasted +no time, Jotan could not possibly arrive soon enough to save Dylara from +death. + +But would Meltor do his work promptly? There was a cruel streak in the +man--the same characteristic that made a leopard toy with a victim for +hours before putting an end to its misery. And that girl had been very +beautiful.... + +She turned. "You may go, Fordak." + +The man was worried. "I could not keep from telling, princess. They +burned--" + +"Get out!" + +Fordak got unhappily to his feet and limped from the room. + +"Quick, Anela!" said the princess. "Get to Vulcar at once. I want five +of his most trusted men to meet me at the Gate of the Setting Sun. +Should he ask questions, tell him I will explain later. Go!" + +"Where are you going, princess?" the slave-girl asked as she started for +the door. + +"Into the jungle," was the calm reply. "To the house of Rydob!" + + * * * * * + +Seven men stood in a group at the mouth of a trail. Behind them lay a +tract of matted jungle, over them towered the branches of forest kings, +and directly before them was a small clearing containing a rambling, +one-storied building of gray stone, weather-stained and unkempt. + +"That must be the place, Jotan," said one of the men. "It answers the +description you gave us." + +Jotan nodded. "They must still be in there. Otherwise we should have met +this Meltor on his way back. If only we have arrived in time. + +"We must spread out, then come up to the house from all sides. Two of +you go with Tamar and circle around to the east. Keep within the +jungle's fringe that you may not be seen from the house. The rest of us +will close in from this side. You have five minutes to reach your +places. Go." + +The minutes dragged by. None of the four appeared to feel an urge to +talk. A heavy silence had fallen on the jungle about them. Even the hum +of insects, the voices of the gaily-colored birds, the chattering +monkeys, were stilled. The same strange tenseness that precedes a +tropical storm, an atmosphere of impending conflict, seemed to hang over +them. + +Jotan straightened. "They've had time enough. Come on." + +The four men stepped into the clearing, spread fan-wise, and headed for +the building, moving at a half-trot. + +The door was closed. In absolute silence they stepped over the heap of +bones that once had been Rydob, mounted the steps and halted there. + +Carefully Jotan closed his fingers about the latch. The heavy planks +swung inward enough to satisfy him that there was no bar in place. + +Suddenly Jotan drew back and drove his shoulder against the wood with +all his weight behind it. The door flew open and the four men came +piling into the room, knives of stone held in readiness. + +That mad rush came to an abrupt halt, and what the men saw brought a +chorus of astonished exclamations from their lips. + +Flat on his back in the center of the room, partially hidden behind an +overturned table, lay Meltor of Sephar. From his left breast stood the +hilt of a stone knife, its blade buried deep. He was quite dead. + +The girl was gone. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +The Hairy Men + + +For several moons now, Urb, the Neanderthal, and his tribe had found it +increasingly difficult to locate game in the neighborhood of the family +caves. The reason could be any one of several: a nearby water-hole dried +up until the rainy season came again; a family of lions holed up close +by; an absence of adequate pasturage. + +Urb sat crouched near the foot of a lofty escarpment that contained the +tribal caves. His deep-sunk button eyes, beneath beetling brows, +indifferently watched the young ones of the tribe playing about the +clearing between jungle and cliff. Below a flattened, shapeless wedge of +nose, his thick pendulous lips worked in and out in worried and +laborious thought. As leader of his tribe, Urb was concerned about the +lack of game. + +It had been comparatively cool here in the shadows of the scarp during +most of the morning; but with noon growing near, the sun's direct rays +began to penetrate the thick growth of black coarse hair with which +Urb's gross body was almost entirely covered. + +And so he rose at last and, like the great bull ape he so closely +resembled, clambered awkwardly but quickly to one of the caves. + +Just inside the entrance he squatted his two hundred and fifty pounds on +a boulder and fell to watching Gorb, his eldest son, put final touches +to a flint spear head. After heating the bit of rock in a small fire for +several minutes, Gorb would withdraw it, hastily touch a spot near the +edge with a drop of water which caused a tiny bit of the flint to scale +away, then repeat the entire process. It was a long and tedious task; +but Gorb had that untiring patience given to those for whom time has no +meaning. Eventually, his perseverance would reward him with a fine +weapon. + +Urb was secretly proud of his son. Even as a boy, Gorb had shown no +interest in hunting or in war. Beneath his sharply receding forehead was +the brain and soul of a true artist--a soul that found its expression by +the creation of implements of the chase and of battle. No other member +of Urb's tribe could even approach the artistry Gorb put into his work; +no other could fashion a spear so true in balance; none could produce a +flint knife so keen-edged and well-formed. + +The half-finished spear head reminded Urb of his own immediate problem. + +"Gorb," he said, "only two kills have our men made in the past five +suns, although all have gone forth each day to hunt. It is not because +Narjok or Bana or Muta run away before we can kill them. We cannot find +them at all; only twice in those five suns have we come upon the spoor +of any one of them." + +Gorb paused at his work and drew a hairy forearm across his sweaty face. +"Last night," he said, "long after Dyta had found his lair, I heard Sadu +roaring and growling among the trees. It was the noise of a hungry Sadu; +he, too, was angry because there is no meat." + +Urb grunted. Since the day before, he had been turning an idea over in +his slow-moving mind, and now he sought to put it into words. + +"Tomorrow," he said, "when Dyta first awakens, some of us will look for +caves far from here. I will go; Boz and Kor and Tolb and you, Gorb, will +go with me. There are many hills; there will be many caves in them, and +much meat in grasslands nearby. When we find a good place we will come +back for the others of our tribe." + +"Good!" approved Gorb, turning back to his labors. "It has been many +suns since I have eaten all the meat I can hold. I will go with you, +Urb." + + * * * * * + +Early the next morning a little band of Neanderthal men descended the +escarpment and set out toward the rising sun. They were six; besides +those named by Urb, Mog, the sullen, had been taken. All were armed with +huge flint-studded hardwood clubs, so heavy that only an arm of great +strength might wield one; rude knives of flint and short-shafted spears +completed their armament. + +They moved along with the curious shuffling gait peculiar to their kind +alone. Their passage seemed to diffuse an atmosphere of terror and +dread, striking dumb the countless denizens of the teeming jungle. Urb +was in the lead, his small black eyes darting about for the first sign +of danger, ears and nose alert lest Sadu or Jalok or Tarlok find him and +his fellows unprepared. But if any of the more formidable beasts were +near, they remained concealed. Only Pandor, the elephant, neglected to +give the Hairy Men a wide berth when several were together--Pandor, who +feared no creature that walked or flew or wriggled. + +The shaggy-coated males moved steadily ahead, their objective a group of +low mountains far to the east, the upper portions of which were clearly +discernible on the few occasions the band crossed a clearing of any +consequence. + +At noon they halted on the reed-covered banks of a shallow river; and +while Urb and Tolb hunted game, the others rested beneath the broad +boughs of a jungle patriarch. + +Soon the two hunters returned, bearing between them the still warm +carcass of Muta, the wild boar. Each of the six hacked off a juicy +portion and devoured it raw, blood matting the hair of face and chest. + +After drinking at the river's brink, the brute-men stretched out beneath +the trees, covered their faces with huge fronds of a palm tree and slept +until mid-afternoon. Urb roused them, then, and once more the savage +band took up their march. + +Darkness was near when the six passed through a fringe of jungle and +paused at the foot of a lofty cliff. Urb, deciding too little daylight +remained for them to attempt scaling the vertical slope, ordered the +Neanderthals back into the forest. + +Here they supped on flesh of the boar killed earlier in the day, then +sought couches among the tree branches. During daylight it was all very +well to sleep in comfort on the jungle floor; but during the night it +was safer aloft. The great cats usually laid up during the day, +digesting the previous night's kill; but once Uda, the moon, made an +appearance, the forest abounded with hungry carnivora. + + * * * * * + +With the first rays of the morning sun the six men began the perilous +climb. Slow-moving and awkward, they made hard going of the ascent, but +their tremendous strength aided them where lesser muscles would have +failed altogether, and finally the crest was reached. + +Here they stood at the edge of a great tableland, clothed with primeval +forest from which, in the distance, loomed four low mountain peaks. +Game seemed plentiful; as they watched, a herd of antelope grazing to +their left caught their scent and bounded away across a narrow ribbon of +grassland which lay between the forest and the plateau's edge. A band of +monkeys chattered and scolded at them from the safety of middle +terraces, while a cloud of raucous-voiced birds rose with a whirring +beat of wings and flew deeper inland. + +Not far to their right was the entrance to a narrow deep-worn game trail +leading into tangled mazes of brush, creeper, vine and trees. It was +toward this trail that Urb turned his footsteps, motioning for his +companions to follow. + +"Here is food enough," he exulted. "If we can find caves in those hills, +we will go back to fetch the rest of our people." + +In silence the six frightful, man-like creatures faded into the black +shadows of the overhanging forest, their goal the towering heights at +the far end of this plateau. + +And directly between them and their objective lay Sephar, mysterious +city of an unknown race. + + * * * * * + +Dylara lay face down on a broad branch, her head pillowed on a heap of +moss, biting her lips to keep back tears of bitter anguish. The swollen +ankle throbbed steadily, its pain almost unbearable. + +And she had been so close to freedom! From her place high in the tree +she could see the stone walls of Rydob's dwelling, evil and grim in the +sun. Behind those walls lay the dead body of Meltor, slain by his own +knife. + +She felt no regret for having killed him. It had been his life--or hers. +When he had lunged across the table in an attempt to stab her, she, +acting by instinct rather than thought, had thrust her weight against +the table. Meltor, off balance, went over backwards, his head striking +hard against the floor. Before he could regain his wits Dylara had torn +the knife from his hand. He cried out once in mortal fear as the blade +swung high, flung up a futile hand to ward off the blow, and died as +polished flint pierced his heart. + +No--she felt no regret for having killed him. What she did regret was +the mad impulse that had sent her running blindly into the open air. So +anxious had she been to flee that horrible place that she had no eyes +for what lay in her path. As a result, one heel had trod full on the +whitened skull of Rydob the hermit. Dylara's ankle had twisted beneath +her, pitching her headlong into a tangle of vines at the base of the +steps. + +She was up at once; but the injured ankle buckled under her weight and +she had fallen again, crying out in agony. + +For a little while she had remained there, stroking the injured member, +already swollen and turning blue. Finally she got to her hands and knees +and, with many pauses, crawled toward the trees ringing the clearing. + +How she managed to clamber into the branches of one giant tree and work +her way a full fifty feet above the ground, Dylara was never to know. So +awful was the pain that her mind seemed numbed; only an unflagging +determination drove her on. She stopped at last, on a thick bough and +lay there, completely exhausted. + +It was comparatively cool there in the shelter of the foliage. Soft +jungle breezes stirred the branch gently and she was soon asleep. A bird +twittered and cooed close by, and the wind blew lightly across the +troubled face, smoothing its tired lines.... + + * * * * * + +And as the weary, pain-wracked girl lay sleeping, four heavily armed men +stepped into the clearing and moved stealthily toward the house of +Rydob. They entered; and after a few minutes, reappeared at the doorway, +to be joined by three other warriors who had come up to the building +from the rear. + +"It seems hardly possible," Jotan was saying, "for a mere girl to kill a +grown warrior. For all we know, another man may have slain Meltor and +made off with Dylara." + +"It's my guess," said Tamar, "that the girl caught Meltor off guard and +stuck a knife in him. She's not like the women we know, Jotan. Hers has +been a wild, primitive life, filled with danger. Because of it, she +would be far more resourceful than Sepharian women have need of being. +Taking a life probably means nothing to her. + +"No," he concluded, "I've an idea she's well on her way back to her +caves by now." + +Javan, impatiently listening to the conversation, touched Jotan's arm +nervously. + +"There is no point in staying here," he complained. "It will be dark +soon, and the jungle is no place to be after sundown." + +Jotan smiled wanly and clapped him on the shoulder. "Of course. I have +no right to expose you and Tamar to danger on my account. + +"We will return to Sephar now. But tomorrow I shall return here with a +warrior who is versed in tracking. With his help I should be able to +learn what has happened to Dylara." + +"We will go with you," Tamar said quietly. And Javan nodded agreement. + +The seven entered the game trail and started back toward distant Sephar. +Jotan led the way, his wide shoulders drooping disconsolately. It was +clear the loss of the lovely cave-girl had hurt him deeply. + +The return journey was about half completed when Jotan stopped suddenly +and raised a cautioning hand. + +"Listen!" he exclaimed softly. + +The seven cocked their ears alertly. + +Faintly, mingled with the everyday noises of the jungle, came sounds of +murmuring voices and the tramp of feet from around a bend in the trail +ahead. + +"Probably warriors from Sephar, hunting game," Tamar said. "Let's join +them; they may have news for us." + +Jotan frowned. "Hunters don't go blundering about so carelessly," he +reminded. "Hide in the undergrowth until we can make sure." + +A moment later, six human figures appeared in the path. Five were +fighting-men of Sephar--all well armed. The sixth was a girl in a +close-fitting tunic that emphasized the lithe softly-curved body it +covered. Her face was set in determined lines as she moved on, looking +neither to the right nor the left. + +Tamar, lying next to Jotan behind a screen of vines, nudged his friend. + +"Alurna!" he breathed. "What can she be doing here?" + +"Looks as though Fordak was telling the truth," Jotan whispered. "She +_is_ mixed up in this. He must have got free and gone to her with the +story. + +"Well, let her go to Rydob's house. She'll find little there to please +her!" + +As soon as the princess and her escorts were out of sight, Jotan called +his men from their hiding places and they took up their interrupted +progress toward Sephar. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +From Jungle Depths + + +Urb, the Neanderthal, was beginning to tire. He and his five hairy +companions had been on the march since Dyta had risen, and even now the +sun was hunting a new lair for the night. From the frequency with which +those behind him were stumbling, he judged they, too, were tiring. + +But the mountains were close, now. He and his men were almost certain to +reach them before darkness came. There they might find caves near +grasslands rich in game. Urb's mouth watered and he was aware of being +very hungry. + +A faint breeze, blowing lightly against their backs, changed its course +suddenly and came whipping in from the west. As it flicked across their +faces the six Hairy Ones came to an abrupt halt, standing stiffly as +though turned to stone. + +Urb sniffed in short rapid inhalations, his unkempt visage twisted in a +ferocious scowl. + +"Men!" he grunted. "The hairless ones! It has been long since we have +found such. Hide!" + +With a degree of soundlessness surprising in such clumsy bodies, the six +Neanderthals faded into the mazes of undergrowth at either side of the +path. + + * * * * * + +Hardly were they hidden, when Alurna and her five companions came into +sight. They were moving slowly, the girl limping slightly from a bruised +heel, her sandals scuffed and dusty. + +The girl stopped and turned to the others. "Is it much farther, Adbor? I +don't think I can take another step." + +"Courage, my princess," smiled Adbor, a tall, slender man with a great +shock of blond hair. "A short distance more and we shall be there." + +Alurna sank down on a fallen log, removed her sandal and rubbed the +bruised heel. + +"I'm afraid you'll have to carry me from here on," she sighed. "My feet +ache terribly." + + * * * * * + +Silently the foliage parted an arm's length from the girl's half-bent +figure, and in the gap were framed the brutal faces of Urb and Mog, the +sullen. Urb gave the female only a passing glance; his attention was +riveted on the five unsuspecting men. The woman was not armed--the men +were; and it was the males who must die before they could bring their +weapons into use. + +Meanwhile, the stunted mind of Mog, the sullen, was laboriously +following an altogether different trend of thought from that of his +leader. His unblinking pig-like eyes were intent on the sweetly curved +back directly in front of him, and he was increasingly aware of what an +altogether desirable bit of femininity this hairless she actually was. +His tongue moistened suddenly dry lips and he shifted his weight +uneasily from one foot to the other. + +Urb waited no longer. Slowly he brought up his left hand, caught a small +branch between his fingers, then suddenly clenched his fist. + +The wood snapped with a sharp clear sound, freezing the five Sepharian +guards into instant immobility. + +But not for long. + +As the sound of breaking wood rose on the still air, six grotesque +figures rose in a rough semi-circle about the group in the trail, and +simultaneously five mighty stone-incrusted bludgeons were hurled with +unbelievable force and accuracy. + +The startled Sepharians never succeeded in bringing their own weapons +into play. Before they could fully comprehend their danger all five were +stretched on the jungle path. Three were dead as they fell, heads +crushed like brittle twigs; another died almost as quickly, his back +snapped as a dry branch is snapped beneath the broad feet of Pandor, the +elephant. + +Only one still lived, a club having dealt him a glancing blow aside the +head, laying his flesh open in a great gash and rendering him senseless. +Gorb was more adept at making clubs than he was in their use.... + +Five clubs were thrown; there should have been six. Only Mog, the +sullen, retained his hold on his murderous weapon. As his fellows loosed +their cudgels, Mog sprang forward, caught the paralyzed girl about the +waist with one immense hairy arm, and before the others could fathom his +intentions, had turned and fled back along the pathway as quickly as his +short bowed legs could carry him. + +[Illustration: Mog snatched Alurna into his arms and made off through +the forest] + +The remaining five watched Mog's hurried flight until he had passed from +sight. His purpose in stealing the she was clear; their surprise came +only from his way of taking her--and the fact that seldom did a Hairy +Man mate with a member of another race. But then Mog was a surly brute, +unable to find among his own people a mate willing to endure his temper +and moods. + + * * * * * + +The Neanderthal men gathered about the bodies of the five guards. Gorb, +true to character, took up several of the scattered weapons and examined +them closely, noting with envy that they had been fashioned with far +greater skill than he possessed. He puzzled long over the bows and +arrows, but his limited intelligence could make nothing of them and he +finally cast them aside. + +At last the five took up their march toward the distant mountains. They +moved more cautiously now than before, realizing they might meet more of +the hairless men. + +Urb, still in the lead, noticed, a while later, that the forest was +beginning to thin out. Soon he caught a glimpse of a plain marking the +edge of the woods. He paused, nose searching the humid breeze. + +They edged forward at a brief guttural command from their leader, until +they came to open ground. + +Before them, beyond level grassland, rose the gray stone walls of +Sephar, looming huge and impressive in the light of early evening. White +tuniced warriors lolled before broad gates leading to many stone +buildings beyond. + +Urb shook his head regretfully. "We must look elsewhere for caves," he +said. "To make our homes near here would mean much fighting with the +hairless ones. It is better to go where we may live in peace. Come." + +With bowed shoulders and awkward shuffling gait the five frightful men +turned back for the long journey to the distant caves of their people. + +Soon they were filing silently past the five motionless bodies in the +center of the trail. And through narrowed, blood-filled eyes, through a +red film of hate and pain, Adbor, Sepharian warrior, watched them go, +and planned a sanguinary revenge as payment for the death of his four +friends and the theft of the princess Alurna, daughter of his king. + + * * * * * + +Two hours later, just as the night's first shadows fell across the path, +a searching party found his unconscious body face down in the rotting +vegetation of the trail. Tenderly they lifted him up, cradling the +blond, blood-soaked thatch in their arms, and bore him back to the city. +There, men trained and schooled in the treatment of wounds, did all they +could to revive the numbed brain of a courageous warrior. + +They were only partially successful. With closed eyes Adbor gasped out, +in a few broken sentences, his story of death and abduction. Something +of his former strength seemed to come back to him as he spoke. Raising +on one elbow, his eyes now wide and staring beyond those about him, he +cried out, shrill and loud: + +"Give me my spear--my bow! I will follow them! I will--" + +His voice broke and he fell back limply. Adbor was dead. + +Above that still form men looked at one another in silence and in +horror. The Hairy men! Creatures so seldom seen as to be almost +mythical, but whose savage and brutal natures were known from horror +tales told at many a dinner table and about many a camp fire. + +Vulcar was the first to speak. "I must take word to Urim. For the last +two hours he has been storming about the palace demanding he be told +where Alurna is. Now, I don't know what he will say--or do...." + +He shrugged. "Make preparations to send out a searching party the first +thing in the morning. I will lead it." + +Slowly the hawk-faced warrior set out for the palace with the message +that must wither the stalwart heart of him for whom Vulcar cared above +all others. + + * * * * * + +Alurna had been conscious of a bobbing, rocking sensation for some time +before she opened her eyes to the world about her. For a moment she +watched the procession of thick greenery at right angles to the +direction in which she seemed to be moving; then sudden recollection +flooded her mind and she awoke to the horror of her position. + +It was then that she became aware of the hairy back beneath her and a +great calloused hand clamped about her wrists. + +Instinctively she attempted to struggle free; but the nightmarish brute +only tightened his grip and without pausing in his loping gait turned a +snarling, bestial countenance toward her. At the sight, Alurna felt her +senses reel and she closed her eyes with a shudder of loathing. + +Mog, satisfied his captive would remain passive, transferred his +attention to the path underfoot. The hairy one was beginning to regret +the decision that had cost him the companionship of his fellows. To +cross, safely, the miles of jungle and forest between his present +position and the caves of his tribe, would require all his strength and +cunning. + +Alone, armed only with club and spear, he could prove fairly easy prey +to any one of many enemies. Jalok, the panther, agile and fearless and +wantonly cruel; Conta, the cave bear, who fought on his hind legs; +Tarlok, the leopard, beneath whose spotted hide lay such strength that +by comparison Mog's stalwart thews were as nothing. And then there was +Sleeza, the giant snake, whose slimy coils held the strength of ten +Mogs. + +Most fearsome of all, however, was Sadu, the lion, tawny of coat and +shaggy of mane, whose absolute fearlessness, speed of attack and +irascible temper, backed by steel sinews and mighty fangs, caused the +balance of jungle folk to give him a wide berth. + +Above and about the lumbering monstrosity and its still, white burden, +scampered, flew, slunk and crawled the superabundant life of this green +world, their voices and movements adding to the vast ocean of sound +rising and falling about the ill-assorted pair. + +While far behind them came Urb and the others; but the distance between +was growing rapidly greater so swiftly was Mog covering the ground. + +And then, with almost frightening suddenness, Dyta, the sun, +disappeared from the heavens and darkness fell upon the jungle. The +Neanderthal mouthed a few disapproving grunts, peered about nervously, +then swung sharply to his left and forced his way through foliage to the +base of a great tree. + +Alurna clung fearfully to the shaggy neck as the great brute pulled +himself into the lower branches. With the coming of night her fear was +intensified a thousandfold; but even more than she feared Mog was her +dread of the brooding jungle and its savage inhabitants. She reproached +herself silently for venturing from the security of Sephar's walls. +Woman-like, she blamed Jotan for everything--had he not fallen in love +with the cave-girl nothing like this would have happened. + +Mog paused upon a broad bough well above the ground. Placing Alurna in a +sitting position here, her back against the tree's bole, he tore free a +length of stout vine and bound her wrists securely behind her back. + +Satisfied his prize would be helpless to escape, Mog let himself down on +a branch directly under her and sought a comfortable position in which +to sleep out the night. + +Alurna, hemmed in by a wall of blackness which her untrained eyes were +unable to penetrate, could hear the Hairy One as he settled himself. She +knew there would be no sleep for her this night; she was far too +frightened to think of closing her eyes for an instant. + +Seconds later she was sound asleep; and though the balance of the night +was made hideous with the savage voices of jungle denizens, the +exhausted princess did not stir. + + * * * * * + +A rough hand shook her awake. She shrank away with a whimper of fear at +sight of Mog's forbidding face a few inches from her own. The +Neanderthal freed her wrists by breaking their bonds with his powerful +fingers, then swung her once more to his back and slid to the ground. + +Noon found them at the outskirts of the forest. Mog had pushed ahead far +more quickly than he had thought possible. Alone, without allies, he +feared an attack at any moment from some forest dweller. There would be +no safety for him until he was safe in the caves of his tribe. + +With the forest behind him, Mog trotted across the narrow ribbon of +grasses to the lip of the almost vertical cliff overlooking the +tree-filled valley below. A portion of the boar killed two days before +was cached in one of those trees; once he and his captive were safely +down the cliff they could eat without wasting time in a search for food. + +But Mog began to realize it would prove no small matter to transport the +girl down the abrupt incline. Indeed, it would require all his own +strength and limited agility to get himself down without the added +burden of a helpless she. + +Then came the thought that she might be able to do so without his aid. +Not ungently he lowered her to her feet and signed that she should start +down. When Alurna, correctly interpreting his gesture, glanced at the +hard earth so far below, she gasped aloud and drew back, trembling. + +Mog, sullen and short-tempered at best, did not intend wasting time in +coaxing her. Raising a bulky fist, he shook it threateningly under her +nose, then once more pointed to the edge of the precipice. + +Alurna could not help but feel she preferred death by falling to being +mauled by this uncouth beast-man. And so, gritting her teeth and tensing +her muscles to control their trembling, she lowered herself over the +brink and began the tortuous descent. + +Those long agonizing moments which followed were to live forever in the +memory of Alurna, princess of Sephar. Slowly, inch by inch, she worked +her way downward, feeling in an agony of suspense for footholds where +she was confident no such holds existed. At times her entire weight was +suspended by her fingers alone, while both feet searched for some +projection to which her sandaled foot would cling. She knew, now, it +would have been wise to have tossed her sandals down first; her bare +feet would have held to the rock with more certainty--but it was too +late for that. + +Gradually she sank farther and farther from the lip of the escarpment. +She dared not glance above or below; her gaze was glued continuously on +the uneven surface over which she was passing. Her fingers were raw and +bleeding by this time; but she clenched her lip between white teeth and +went on. + +At last the strain, both to limbs and to nerves, was nearing the +breaking point. Alurna knew she could not hold on much longer; if she +failed to reach the valley floor soon, she must fall the balance of the +way. Then, as the desire to loose her grip, whatever the consequences, +seemed too overpowering to resist, her feet came to rest on level +ground. + +Tired, high-pitched nerves gave way, and Alurna sank to the ground and +burst into tears. Had she acted at once, she might have escaped, for Mog +was still fifty feet above her. + +But she was conscious only of relief from the peril just undergone; and +Mog found her huddled in a pitiful heap at the very spot where her feet +had first touched solid earth. + +Lifting her easily to his wide back, he took up his club from where he +had dropped it from above, and moved at a half-trot toward the nearby +forest. + +While from the depths of a tangled maze of cloaking underbrush, at the +very point he was nearing, two baleful yellow eyes were fixed in +unblinking attention upon him and the girl he carried! + + * * * * * + +The morning after Alurna's capture, twenty warriors were assembled in +front of Sephar's palace. It was evident they awaited someone, for their +eyes turned often to the great doors. + +And then came Vulcar, arms laden with an assortment of weapons. Rapidly +he handed them out to the twenty until each was fully armed. This done +he barked out an order and the men formed into ranks, four abreast and +five deep. + +His hawk-like face set in stern lines, Vulcar faced them. "Warriors of +Sephar," he began, "you know what has happened to the daughter of our +king. You know, too, that five of your comrades died trying to save her. +Most of you knew and admired Adbor. I saw Adbor die. He died while +calling for his weapons, eager to take up the trail of those who had +stolen the princess. + +"To you goes the honor of avenging your comrades and returning the +princess to her father, alive ... or dead." + +As the calm voice ceased, a score of right arms shot up and a resounding +shout rose from twenty throats. + +"Then come," said Vulcar quietly, and turned to lead the way. + +But before the men could move to follow him, a deep voice from the +palace doorway bade them wait. + +Clothed in the simple harness of an ordinary warrior, and fully armed, +Urim descended the steps and came up to Vulcar. + +"I will go with you," he said simply. + +Vulcar had been afraid of this. Urim no longer was a young man; to take +him along might cost Sephar a ruler, as well as its favorite daughter. + +"O Urim," he said, "may I say a few words to you before we go?... + +"My king, trust me and these warriors to find Alurna. They are young and +fully trained. For hours they can press onward so rapidly that anyone +less hardened would drop behind within an hour. To slacken their speed +for one less trained might cost much precious time." + +Urim, ready to override any protests, could not help but see the logic +of the words. For several moments he stood with bowed head while impulse +battled with good judgment. + +"Take your men and go without me, my friend," he said at last, his voice +unsteady. "I am an old man, and useless. I should only delay you." + +He turned and strode back into the palace before the troubled Sepharian +could frame a reply. + +Ten minutes later the twenty and one entered the trail that led past the +scene of Alurna's capture the day before. + + * * * * * + +Half an hour later another band of men filed through the western gates +of Sephar and entered the mouth of the same path. There were eight in +the group: Jotan, Javan and Tamar with five of the warriors who had come +with them on the long journey from Ammad to Sephar. Their destination, +now, was the house of Rydob, and with them was a man adept at following +a spoor, however faint. + +Tarlok, the leopard, crouching among the dense foliage of a thick branch +above the trail, watched them pass. Soundlessly he bared glistening +fangs, and his yellow eyes narrowed into twin slits of hate. Tarlok +detested these two-legged creatures; but even greater was his fear of +them, for his mate had fallen, a moon ago, beneath the sharp sticks of +such man-things. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +Enter--Pryak + + +Hardly had word of Alurna's disappearance flashed through Sephar, +that same morning, than a young under-priest was seeking +admittance to the secret chambers of Pryak, high-priest to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud. + +It was no simple matter to gain the subterranean apartment far beneath +the temple. Only a chosen few had ever set foot within the +holy-of-holies; this young man was not one of them. But his excited +manner and the announcement of information "for Pryak alone" had brought +him to the very door of the high-priest's suite. But here he was stopped +by Orbar, second only to Pryak, himself. + +Tidor was no fool. To be first to acquaint his chief with important +information could gain him recognition as a loyal and conscientious +follower. Men had risen high with such a beginning. + +And so when Orbar sought to learn what word Tidor had brought, he was +met by the unchanging retort: "I will tell Pryak--none other!" + +Finally Orbar began to lose patience. "You may not see the most-high," +he snapped. "Tell me what you know and I will pass it on--if it be +worth-while repeating. Come, tell me, or I will teach you what it means +to cross Orbar!" + +Tidor trembled inwardly. He had heard gossip as to the fate of some who +had angered Orbar. He was about to blurt out the news, when there came +a sudden interruption. + +The door to Pryak's apartment banged open and a short, frail-appearing +man appeared in the doorway. He was well past middle-age, with sparse +graying hair that straggled untidily past the neck line of his tunic. +His wrinkled face was twisted in anger, and his shifty, close-set eyes +of watery blue glared at the two men before him. + +"What means this clamor, Orbar?" he demanded shrilly. "By the God, am I +to be disturbed by petty wrangling on my own door-step? Who is this +youth?" + +Orbar's manner was humble, now. "Tidor, an under-priest, has come with +word which he claims is of great importance. I tried to learn from him +if the information was worthy of your attention, Most High, but he will +tell me nothing." + +Pryak turned on the young man. "What is this news?" + +Tidor gulped. "O Voice of the God," he said shakily, "I have learned +that Alurna, daughter of hated Urim, was stolen yesterday while in the +jungle. A roving band of Hairy Men killed her guards and took her. + +"An hour ago Vulcar and twenty men left to hunt for her. Urim stays at +the palace, sick and miserable, waiting Vulcar's return." + +Pryak's scowl had deepened as the youth spoke. "And you call that +important? What do I care if that soft-hearted fool loses a worthless +daughter? A sound whipping will teach you to--" + +Suddenly the high priest fell silent. The anger twisting his features +began to fade--replaced by a cunning, scheming expression no less +repellent.... + +"And yet," he said slowly, "we may be able to make use of this +information. If I could be sure ... Orbar! Call to my rooms the Council +of Priests." He was speaking rapidly, now, his face flushed with +excitement. "This may be the day of our deliverance!" + + * * * * * + +Tharn lay flat on his back on a heap of furs and watched a pattern of +sunlight on the wall above his head. Today was his second as a captive, +and already his patience was wearing thin. He knew, now, why the other +cave-men imprisoned here wore constant expressions of aloof sullenness. +To be cooped behind rock walls day after day instead of being free to +roam forest and plain as they had done since boyhood, was enough to sour +any temper. + +He wondered where Katon had been taken. Shortly after the noonday meal, +his friend had held a long whispered conversation with two of the +guards--a conversation of considerable importance, to judge from Katon's +expression. He had said nothing to Tharn about it in the hour between +the conference and the arrival of two men who had taken him away. + +Tharn gave up trying to find an answer to the puzzle and dozed off. He +was awakened a half hour later by the sound of the cell door opening. He +raised his head in time to see Katon enter with two palace guards. +Without hesitation the three approached Tharn's couch and he rose to +meet them. + +"Come, Tharn," said Katon hurriedly. "Urim is waiting for you." + +The cave man did not move. "Why?" he asked laconically. + +"It is my doing," Katon explained impatiently. "I went to him with an +idea, and he thinks enough of it to send for you." + +Tharn was satisfied. He could trust Katon. Besides, it would be good to +quit this dank place--if only for a little while. + +Heedless of curious stares from the other prisoners, Tharn and Katon +passed from the room, a guard leading the way. And shortly afterward +they stopped before the door of Urim's apartment. In response to their +knock, a hollow voice bade them enter. + +Tharn could hardly credit his eyes at the change in the man who slumped +dejectedly on a couch near the far wall. In place of the proud ruler who +had ordered him to the pits, was a hollow-cheeked, sunken-eyed old man. + +At the entrance of Tharn and the others, Urim slowly lifted his head and +looked full into the calm gray eyes of the giant savage. Under their +quiet, sympathetic expression a gleam of hope flickered into his own +tired eyes and he squared his shoulders. + +"Have you told this man of your plan?" he asked Katon. + +"No, Urim," replied the Sepharian. "I thought you might wish to do so." + +Urim transferred his attention to the cave-man. "Yesterday," he said, +"my daughter was taken by a band of Hairy Men. What do you know about +such men?" + +Tharn smiled. "Since I was a little boy I have heard many stories by men +who have fought the Hairy Ones. They are slow and clumsy and do not +think quickly. The warriors of my tribe do not fear them." + +"Good!" Urim exclaimed. "Now I will tell you why I sent for you. + +"When Katon, here, was told by one of the guards that Alurna had been +taken, he came to me with a suggestion. He thinks that by reason of your +wide knowledge of the world outside our walls, you might be able to +trail these Hairy Men to their caves and rescue my daughter--if she +still lives. + +"Do this, and you and your mate shall go free--and Katon, too. But if +you fail to return with Alurna within the moon, the life of your mate is +forfeit." + +Tharn frowned thoughtfully. "If I do not find your daughter, yet return +alone, what reward is mine?" + +"None! It would be as though you had not set foot beyond Sephar's +gates." + +"Which means I must take part in the Games; and Dylara remains a slave." +The cave-man was thinking aloud. + +Then: "I agree, Urim. I will start at once." + + * * * * * + +Little Nobar, the monkey, awakened Dylara by dropping empty bean pods on +her upturned face. She blinked in the sunlight filtering through the +leaves, and sat up. + +Her first thought was that she was actually free. Yet to be accomplished +was the task of learning the direction in which lay the caves of her +people, then crossing that distance alone, exposed to many dangers. + +Dylara, in her accustomed environment, was a resourceful young woman. +The prospect of a long journey--just how long a journey she could only +surmise--concerned her far less than had the prospects of a lifetime of +slavery in Sephar. All her life she had rubbed elbows with jungle +beasts. Since infancy the green wilderness of the forest had been her +front yard. Night after night she had gone to sleep with the roars of +lions and the hunting squalls of leopards for a lullaby. She had learned +to respect and avoid Sadu and Tarlok and Jalok--but not to fear them. +She knew they hunted man only when other food was denied them--and that +was seldom. She knew that a tall tree was a sure haven from all three; +for Sadu could not climb at all, while Jalok and Tarlok would not +venture among the smaller limbs able to bear her weight but not theirs. + +From the freshly risen sun's position Dylara realized she had slept the +entire night on this narrow branch. As she drowsily reviewed the +previous day's events, she remembered her injured ankle and bent +hurriedly to examine it. + +She was relieved to find hardly any swelling there, nor was the damage +to strained ligaments so great as she at first had feared. Rising, she +tested her weight on the one foot and found that, beyond an occasional +twinge, it would support her. + +Slowly she worked her way down to earth and stepped into the trail. Here +she waited a few minutes, planning her next move. She finally decided to +follow the path westward away from Sephar until a cross-trail to the +north turned up. Such a route would eventually lead her to the heights +from which she had first looked upon Sephar. From that point on, finding +the caves of Majok should not be impossible. + +She skirted the clearing containing the house of Rydob, walking within +the jungle's fringe to avoid being seen by anyone who might be within +the building, and soon was traveling due west. + +As she moved slowly ahead, limping slightly, she noticed the imprints of +monstrous, man-like feet in the dust of the path. At first she examined +the marks closely; but her limited woodcraft did not permit their +identification, and she gave up trying. + +The makers of those strange prints, Urb and his savage band, were +plodding westward along the same path only a few hours ahead of the +cave-girl. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +Death Stalks the Princess + + +As Mog, the sullen, shuffled across the narrow strip of cleared ground +toward the game trail into the jungle labyrinth, he was mentally +congratulating himself at the ease with which he had obtained a +desirable mate. Within little more than a sun from now he would be +exhibiting his prize to the envious eyes of the men and the jealous +stares of the shes. + +Mog was moving down-wind, and so engrossed was he with +self-congratulations that he utterly failed to sense the presence of a +tawny shape hidden in the thick growth at the trail's mouth. + +It was Sadu, the lion, crouching there, massive head flattened to the +ground, hindquarters beneath a taut frame, waiting for the approaching +prey to move within the radius of his spring. + +On came the Neanderthal. Suddenly a terrible roar came from the ground +almost at his feet, and a huge body flashed from the cloaking verdure +and leaped at the hairy chest of the astonished man-thing. + +Mog's reaction was instinctive. As Sadu's roar broke the silence, the +Hairy One tossed Alurna aside and swung up his massive club to beat off +the attack. + +But in vain. Mog had been too well ambushed to stage an effective +defense. Full on his shoulders fell the awful weight of the great cat, +the club brushed aside as though it did not exist, and Mog went down as +though pole-axed. + +With wide distended jaws Sadu lowered his head past the futilely +flailing arms. There was a sickening crunch of bone as giant fangs +closed on the face of the struggling figure, and Mog, the sullen, was no +more. + +Alurna, prostrate where Mog had tossed her a few feet away, watched the +grisly drama with frightened eyes. During the brief interval in which +Sadu had made his kill, she might have risen and taken to her heels, but +a paralysis of fear kept her motionless. + +Now Sadu rose to his feet, shook himself until the thick mane fairly +flew, then placed a heavily taloned paw on his prey and turned his +leonine head to look slowly about. + +At last his round yellow eyes came to rest on the prone figure of the +girl. For an endless moment he regarded her with a fixed, unblinking +stare; then the wrinkled lips curled back, exposing blood-reddened +teeth, while from the cavernous chest came a low growl that coursed up +and down the girl's spine like icy fingers. + +For what seemed ages to Alurna that stare never wavered. The long +graceful body with its tremendous sinews seemed to expand larger and +larger until it loomed great as that of an elephant. She could feel a +scream of horror and protest forming in her throat; but before it could +find utterance; Sadu swung his head back to the corpse and settled down +to feed. + +Alurna felt a wave of relief so intense she nearly fainted; it required +several minutes to beat down her weakness sufficiently to think of +escape. + + * * * * * + +Some twenty paces to her left towered a mighty tree, its wide branches +offering a secure haven could she but reach them. Only half that +distance, however, separated her and the lion; and if she made a break +for the tree, Sadu could be upon her before she had taken half a dozen +steps. + +But the beast might not try to stop her. The princess Alurna knew +nothing of lions and their habits. Only in the arena during the Games +had she seen a live one and then always from a distance. And so she +resolved to lie quiet and wait for the animal to be done with its +feeding. Perhaps then it would rise and stalk back into the jungle, +leaving her unmolested. + +The young woman lay perfectly still, trying to close her ears to sounds +of grinding teeth and splintering bones. Once she shut her eyes on the +revolting picture of Sadu at dinner, but opened them at once. To watch +fragments of Mog disappearing into that monstrous maw was bad enough; +but to see nothing, while an overwrought imagination sent the beast +slinking toward her, was more than human nerves could endure. + +Suddenly Sadu rose from the Neanderthal's body and gave voice to a low +ominous growl. Alurna saw that the cat's attention was fixed on +something beyond her, and she cautiously turned her head toward the +cliff. + +A few feet below the upper edge were several man-like figures clinging +to the vertical surface. Carefully, each inched its way downward, +testing each foot-and hand-hold before continuing on. + +For a brief, ecstatic moment the girl took them to be warriors from +Sephar; but then she saw they were creatures identical to her late +captor, and suddenly heightened hopes plunged to a new depth of misery. + +Sadu stood as a statue of bronze, the lazy jungle breeze ruffling his +tawny mane, narrowed eyes intent on the slow-moving figures. For several +minutes he stood thus, then lowering his head he seized the corpse of +Mog by one arm and dragged it from sight deep into the luxurious growth +of vegetation beside the trail. Not once during this change of position +did he glance toward the watching girl. + +The moment Sadu disappeared from view, Alurna sprang to her feet and +plunged blindly into the jungle at a point farthest removed from the +beast. Her only thought was to put all the distance possible between +Sadu and herself. She dared not take to the open for fear the Hairy Men +would catch sight of her and hunt her down. + +For nearly two hours she struggled on, tearing her way through a tangled +confusion of creepers, trees, ferns, broken branches and bushes. Several +times she tripped and fell headlong, only to rise and stumble onward. +Her tunic was stained and torn, thorns and branches having ripped the +material in many places. + +At last, after unwittingly changing her course many times, she sank to +the ground beside the hole of a great tree in the center of a small +clearing deep within the heart of the primeval forest. + +Completely exhausted she lay half-conscious on the soft carpet of +grasses, her tortured lungs laboring to bring oxygen to an overtaxed +heart. Gradually her eyes closed, her heart slowed its mad tempo, she +breathed more calmly as fear left her. As from a great distance came the +low monotonous hum of insects, the subdued twitter of birds and +rustlings from many leaves. Alurna slept.... + + * * * * * + +When she sat up, several hours later, the glade was filled with the +half-light that presages nightfall. She stood up and looked about, aware +of the danger she had courted by sleeping on the ground in a territory +where savage animals were so plentiful. + +Abruptly the fading dusk deepened into darkness. The girl's tiny supply +of courage fled with the light, leaving a frightened child to grope her +way to the base of the lofty tree, where she managed to climb among the +branches. + +Here she found two thick boughs close together and extending +horizontally outward in about the same plane. Sitting with her back +against the rough trunk, she stretched tired legs along the two branches +and composed herself to wait for the dawn. + +Scarcely was she settled than the scream of a great cat sounded beneath +her, and she heard the animal on the ground at the foot of the tree. For +a short time it circled the clearing, then came the sound of rustling +undergrowth and Jalok, the panther, was gone. + +That night was the longest Alurna had ever known. The chill dampness of +the nocturnal jungle penetrated to the innermost parts of her body until +she was certain she would never again be warm. The single thin garment +she was wearing was no protection; in fact, it added to her discomfort +by absorbing moisture from the damp air. + +Later, the heavy blackness about her was dispelled by rays of the full +moon as it climbed until it seemed to hang close to the mighty tree that +sheltered her. So bright was the glare that Alurna could see objects so +small as to escape notice during the day. Several times she saw tiny +rodents scurrying across the clearing, and once she saw little Sleeza +kill and swallow a field mouse. + +Twice she heard large bodies moving in the tangled fastness about the +clearing, but what made the sounds remained a mystery. At frequent +intervals the savage roars and screams of fierce beasts reached her +ears, but always from a distance. + +At last the seemingly endless night began to wane, and near daybreak the +girl dozed fitfully. + +When next she opened her eyes the sun had risen, flooding the glade with +life-giving, hope-reviving rays. Alurna rose, unkinked muscles cramped +from long hours in an unfamiliar position, and descended slowly to the +ground. She was aware of being very hungry as well as possessed of a +raging thirst. Acting on these needs she entered the forest to search +for water and food. + + * * * * * + +Shortly thereafter, and solely by chance, she came to a small +swift-moving mountain stream. Here she knelt and drank deep of the cold +water, then, greatly refreshed, rose, and set about gathering fruit from +the plentiful supply everywhere about her. + +After eating, she bathed in the river, its waters soothing to the +scratches and bruises of yesterday's mad dash through the jungle. + +By the time she had dressed again, the sun was quite high. While she had +been in the water she had caught sight of a narrow game trail leading in +the direction she was confident Sephar lay. Spirits soaring, she started +out for home, her step springy with confidence. + +By noon the sun's heat had become so oppressive that she stopped in the +shelter of a tree to rest. She was tempted to climb into the branches +and sleep for a while; but the thought of being forced to spend another +night in this wilderness drove away that temptation. It could not be +much farther, she reasoned, before the base of the great plateau about +Sephar was reached. + +Her sweat-streaked face set in stubborn lines, the daughter of Urim +stepped once more into the trail and plodded doggedly on. And every step +was taking her farther and farther from her home. + +It was not long after, that Tarlok, the leopard, his belly empty from a +night of fruitless hunting, caught scent of her. Slowly, with infinite +stealth, he slunk upwind, keeping within the jungle's edge until he +caught sight of the girl's bowed shoulders. + +Tarlok's jowls dripped with anticipation. Of all creatures known to him, +none was more easily taken than man. A quick stalk, a sudden spring--and +once again Tarlok would feed. + +Nearer and nearer he approached, moving warily lest the girl take alarm +and climb high into some tree. When almost abreast of her, he boldly +stepped into the trail, not ten feet behind his unsuspecting prey. + +It was then that Alurna, warned perhaps by some subtle sense, turned +around. + + * * * * * + +Vulcar of Sephar and his band of twenty warriors having safely descended +the precipice at the same point where Alurna had inched her way down +earlier that day, assembled at the mouth of a pathway into the +unchartered wood before them. + +"They probably came this way," Vulcar said. "Look about for some sign of +their passage." + +A few minutes later a shout of triumph from one of the party brought the +others to his side. He was pointing to a mark in the trail's dust--the +large square imprint of a great flat foot, grotesquely human. + +Vulcar smiled with grim satisfaction. "We are on the right track," he +declared. "Let us go on; we have work to do." + +As unwittingly as though it did not exist they passed the spot where +their princess had entered the jungle. They did not see the broken and +twisted greenery in the forest wall, and had they done so they could not +have interpreted its meaning. + +The men of Urb, versed in jungle lore, had found her trail at once, just +as they had picked out Mog's bones where Sadu had left them. But Urim's +daughter held no interest for any one of them, and they had made no +effort to track her down. + +For the balance of the day Vulcar and his companions pushed ahead on +their mission of rescue--or revenge. Because they were smaller and more +active they covered ground much more quickly than their bulky quarry. +Consequently they were rapidly overtaking the five Neanderthals. + +Near sunset the winding path debouched into a small clearing, through +which ran a fair-sized stream. Here the pursuers found the first +positive indication they were on the right track. On the near bank of +the river were ashes of a small fire, still warm to the touch. +Scattered about it were the gnawed bones of Muta, the boar--already +picked clean by hordes of ants. + +At first, Vulcar's men had clamored to dash ahead in hot pursuit. But +the hawk-faced leader decided against it, saying a short rest and full +bellies would help them to fight better than if they were worn and +hungry. + +"But if we wait," argued one, "the Hairy Men may reach their caves. We +cannot fight against an entire tribe of them." + +Vulcar shook his head. "Had they been close to their caves," he pointed +out, "they would not have stopped to eat and rest. No; we will stop for +a little while and eat of the food we carry; then we can go on even more +quickly than before. + +"Five of us will go slightly ahead of the others. In case the Hairy Men +find that many are following them they may run away. If they see only +five, however, they are sure to attack. Then the balance of us will fall +upon them!" + +There was no gainsaying the soundness of Vulcar's plan. Even the most +action-eager warrior saw its beauty. And so the men dropped to the +ground beside the river, ate of the cured strips of meat carried in +their shoulder pouches, and drank from the river. + +After a short rest period, Vulcar called them together and gave the word +that began the last stage of the journey. + + * * * * * + +While only a short distance ahead, Urb and his four companions plodded +slowly on toward their distant homes. + +Darkness was not far in the offing, and Urb was inwardly debating on +ordering the men to the trees for the night, when Tolb, at the rear of +the column, voiced a low note that arrested the others in mid-stride. +Turning as one, the five stood motionless, their ears, keen as those of +Sadu, himself, cocked to catch and interpret what Tolb had heard. + +Urb, wise old campaigner, was first to identify the sounds. "Men!" he +grunted. "The hairless ones! Hide." + +Silently each Neanderthal man stepped behind a trunk of one of the trees +lining the path. Mighty clubs swung ready in steel fingers; narrowed +eyes beneath overhanging brows scanned the open ground of the trail. The +minutes lengthened.... + +And then five white-tuniced figures appeared at the far end of the path +and came on at a half-trot. Slung across their shoulders were short +bows; at their backs hung arrow-filled containers, and in their right +hands dangled clubs, smaller than those used by the Neanderthals but +still formidable weapons. + +Not until the group had drawn abreast the ambushers did Urb give the +signal. Then his fingers closed on a dry branch, and five immense +bludgeons hurtled toward the startled Sepharians. + +It requires far more skill to hit a moving target than a stationary one. +Then, too, the half-light near the end of day does not add to the +chances of a successful cast. + +Three of the clubs missed their marks altogether, one struck a shoulder +glancingly, while the fifth crashed into the base of a neck, snapping +the spine and killing the stricken man instantly. + +Behind the cudgels blundered the Hairy Ones, drawing flint knives as +they came. If they had expected to catch the enemy unprepared and +demoralized, however, they were badly disappointed. + +A barrage of Sepharian clubs flashed to meet them. Two found marks: one +striking Kor alongside the skull, knocking him flat; the other caught +Urb, himself, a glancing blow atop the head that made his knees buckle +briefly. + +The Neanderthal chieftain recovered quickly and with an angry bellow +sprang at the nearest white-clad figure. Disregarding the darting knife, +Urb caught him by the tunic with one hand and drove his fist with +inhuman force full into the Sepharian's face. + +There was a dull crunching sound of crumpling bones and the hairless one +slumped forward, his face from hairline to chin driven through the back +of his head. + +The two remaining guards were still in the fight, seeking to +out-maneuver their less agile foemen and knife them from behind. The +shifting feet stirred up dust from the trail until a cloud enveloped the +fighters. + +And then a ringing shout echoed above the panting, twisting bodies, and +into battle came the balance of the Sepharians. + +At sight of these enemy reinforcements, Urb and his three remaining +henchmen turned and fled, leaving the fallen Kor where he lay. The +newcomers pursued them for a short distance, then, seeing they were +empty-handed, turned back. + + * * * * * + +Vulcar called his men together, determined the extent of any injuries, +then turned his attention to the bodies in the trail. Coolly he ran his +knife through the throat of the still stunned Kor. A brief examination +proved the other two casualties to be quite dead. + +After detailing four men to scoop out shallow graves for their late +comrades, Vulcar sent the others into the foliage on either side of the +trail to find Alurna. He believed she had been bound and gagged to +prevent any warning of the ambuscade, and he pictured her as lying +helpless nearby, awaiting release. + +Until long after darkness, Vulcar and his men searched for their +princess. Again and again they shouted her name, straining to catch an +answering cry that did not come. Finally, after hours of systematic +effort, in which every inch of ground for yards around was combed, the +realization came that Urim's daughter was as lost to them as though they +had remained in Sephar. + +To Vulcar, the awful truth came as a sickening blow. So certain of +success had he been at learning they were close on the heels of the +Hairy Men, that the final disappointment almost drove him mad. All he +could see was hopeless suffering dulling Urim's eyes and lining his +face.... Vulcar beat his fists together in impotent fury at his own +helplessness. + +Reluctantly he gave the signal to abandon the search, and with bowed +shoulders and bent head the captain led his command back toward Sephar +and a waiting father. + + * * * * * + +Dylara sat beside a tiny brook and allowed its cool waters to chill her +aching ankle. It had begun to swell again from the strain of a full +day's slow progress, even though she had stopped many times to give it +rest. + +An hour from now it would be sunset. Soon the forest denizens would be +coming here to drink. Soon, too, would come the meat-eaters, to lurk +beside the pathway, awaiting Bana and Neela, whose succulent flesh they +loved. + +The cave-girl bent and washed the dust from her hands and face, drying +the skin with grass. Then she rose and retraced her steps to the base of +a tall tree. Favoring her ankle as best she could, Dylara climbed well +above the ground, sought and found a properly placed limb on which she +could spend the night, and fell promptly into dreamless sleep. + + * * * * * + +She had no more than closed her eyes when a group of eight men passed +below the branches of her tree and stopped at the water's edge. One of +the eight walked slowly back and forth on the near bank, his head +lowered, studying the ground. + +He halted suddenly, stooped lower, eyes intent on something there. Then +he beckoned to the others. + +"Look!" he exclaimed. "There, in the mud. See those marks? She sat here, +bathing her feet. And here!--here are the prints of bare feet." + +Jotan, following the pointing finger, nodded, his handsome face shining. +"They must be hers. Are they recent, Modilk?" + +"So recent," said the long-faced Modilk solemnly, "that the slave-girl +must be within a few minutes of us." + +Javan spoke now, his voice worried. "Where are we to spend the night, +Jotan? The big cats will be hunting soon; we must find a safe place." + +Jotan slapped his friend's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find Dylara +first," he said, "then make camp for the night. A circle of brush fires +will keep the lions and leopards away." + +The eight men waded the stream, not bothering to remove their sandals, +and pressed on into the north. + +While a stone's throw behind them, aloft in the branches of a leafy +tree, slept the girl they were seeking. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Forest Trails + + +"It was here we found the dead guards. Where, or in what direction, the +Hairy Men took Alurna is not known. Vulcar and his men followed this +trail away from Sephar." + +The guard detailed to show Tharn the scene of Alurna's capture had told +all he knew. To the cave man it more than sufficed; following a trail +left less than a sun before would not tax his prowess. + +"You have told me enough," Tharn assured him. "Hasten back to your chief +and tell him I will return soon--his daughter with me." + +The Cro-Magnard, a slight smile touching his lips, watched the +retreating figure until it disappeared around a bend of the trail. Even +then he did not move, but stood quiet, arms folded across his swelling +chest, drawing great draughts of humid air deep into his lungs. + +Free! Gone were stone walls, cold floors and barred doors. No longer +must he go only where others permitted. There were soft grasses and +growing things about him. Overhead was the limitless blue of space; and +there was Dyta, the sun, sending golden spears to prick, with welcome +heat, the smooth skin of the cave lord. + +Siha, the wind, moving in little eddies and gusts, brought to his +nostrils a heavy pungent cloying odor belonging only to the jungle; the +combined essence of uncounted varieties of plants, together with the +comingled scent of endless small life that makes of the jungle a teeming +city in itself. Overhead, little Nobar, the monkey, sat on a low-hanging +branch and scolded roundly the two-legged creature in the trail below. + +Yes, it was good to be free again. Good to know the pure pleasure of +unlimited vistas of trees and plains. A vision of his father's caves and +the members of his tribe rose before him, bringing the pangs of +homesickness. But superimposed on the familiar scene came, unbidden, the +lovely face and softly rounded figure of Dylara. + +Siha veered sharply and came sweeping at right angles across the path. +Tharn stiffened for strong in his nostrils was the scent of Tarlok, the +leopard. He was instantly alert--a wary jungle denizen who wheeled and +faced upwind, eyes narrowed, the sharp blade of flint ready in his right +hand. + +The strength of the great cat's scent faded as the creature moved +farther away. Whether or not it had caught Tharn's scent did not +interest the cave-man, now; a retreating danger ceased to be of +interest. + +For a few minutes Tharn carefully went over the floor of the trail at +the point where the abduction had taken place, as well as the +neighboring undergrowth. Soon he found the several hiding places of the +Hairy Ones; and a bit later he came upon the delicate footmarks of +Alurna within the trail itself. One of these prints was almost +obliterated by the broad square mark of a great naked foot; it was here +Mog's initial leap had ended beside the girl. + +Dropping to hands and knees, Tharn placed sensitive nostrils close to +the marks. To that unbelievably keen organ was borne the individual +scent spoor of Alurna, as well as that of Mog, the sullen. Immediately +there were engraved on Tharn's memory, scent impressions he would +recognize among a hundred others for a long time to come. + +He found more of Mog's footprints, all leading along the path and away +from Sephar. He followed these, increasing his pace when they showed no +indication of swerving from the trail. Satisfied that locating Alurna's +captor was only a matter of following the path underfoot, Tharn went on. +He felt no inclination to hurry. Too long had he been denied freedom +from supervision. The sooner he found the missing girl, the sooner he +must return to Sephar--even though he and Dylara were to be freed the +moment he returned. + + * * * * * + +As he strolled along, he was reminded of the bow and arrows hanging at +his back--these and a stone knife and a grass rope were the weapons he +had chosen when preparing to leave Sephar. + +The bow, he found, was fashioned from a hard black wood. Its inner +surface was nearly flat; the outer quite round. Both ends were +gracefully tapered, each notched to hold a string of catgut. + +The arrows were made from the same wood as the bow. Their heads were of +flint, painstakingly shaped into the likeness of a small leaf, and +exceedingly sharp. Each head was fitted snugly into a deep groove, +packed about with a clay-like substance and hardened by fire until +nearly impossible to loosen. Near the butt of each arrow a thin rounded +bit of wood had been inserted to guide its flight. + +Bordering the trail some fifty paces ahead, stood a small tree. During +some recent storm a lightning bolt had torn a jagged streak in its bole, +close to the ground, leaving a strip of white wood gleaming in the sun. + +Partly through accident and partly by clear reasoning, Tharn drew the +bow with the finished technique of a veteran archer. His left arm, +stiffly extended, pointed straight at the selected mark; his right hand, +fingers hooked about the string, came smoothly back to a point just +below the lobe of his right ear. + +There sounded a singing "twang" and a polished bolt flashed in the +sunlight, passed the tree's bole by a good foot and disappeared into the +foliage. + +Tharn ruefully rubbed an angry welt on his left wrist where the +bowstring had stung him. He understood, now, why many of Sephar's +warriors wore wristbands. + +With his knife he hacked off a strip of his loin cloth. This he bound +about his left wrist, then took up the bow, his chin set in determined +lines. + +On his third attempt he hit the mark, sending an arrowhead deep into the +center of the white patch. + +The cave-man all but shouted aloud. Lovingly he ran his palms over the +black wood. No matter what he had suffered at Sepharian hands, they had +repaid many times over by disclosing to him the power in a gut-strung +branch. Now in truth was he lord of the jungle! He pictured Sadu dead, a +few well-placed arrows in his carcass. And shaggy-coated Conta, the +cave-bear; of what protection his tough hide against such keen-tipped +shafts? + +Clearly, Tharn had forgotten the mission that had sent him into the +jungle. Everything ceased to exist for him except the bow in his hands +and the quiver of arrows at his back. Although he continued on toward +the west, his progress was slow and uncertain; for the cave-man was +determined to become an expert bowman without delay. + + * * * * * + +At first he was content to use nothing more difficult than tree trunks +as targets; but as he increased in skill his ambition led him to seek +more difficult marks. + +Nobar, the monkey, industriously occupied in searching the hairs on his +belly for dried bits of dead skin, almost fell from his perch in fright +as something streaked past his nose with a vicious hiss. With the nimble +alacrity of his kind he rocketed thirty feet upward, where, from a +swaying vine, he hurled a torrent of verbal abuse at the grinning youth +in the trail below. + +The hours sped by, but Tharn never noticed. At first he lost almost +every arrow he shot, but little by little his skill was increasing. He +attempted drawing the bow with either hand; he sought to release a +second arrow before the first had struck; he shot at birds on the wing. + +Darkness came upon him without warning. Then it was he remembered he had +not eaten since morning. An inventory of his supply of arrows revealed +only eight remained of the full two dozen he had brought from Sephar. + +He would sleep now. In the morning he would find food and water. And he +would make his kill with an arrow--of that he was determined. The bow +had proved a wonderful toy; when Dyta came Tharn would prove its +practical worth.... + + * * * * * + +With the first rays of the morning sun Tharn slid from his arboreal +couch and set out at a rapid trot along the trail into the west. An hour +later he was crossing the narrow belt of grasses bordering the precipice +overlooking a forest-filled valley. + +Here he found where Mog and Alurna had started their tortuous descent. +Here, too, were signs of the passage of other Neanderthals, and those of +Vulcar's searching party. + +Before descending the cliff, Tharn turned back to the plain in search of +food. Not long after, he had completed a successful stalk of Narjok, the +horned deer, and brought it down with a single arrow. After devouring a +generous quantity of raw flank-meat, he drank deep of the waters of a +small spring and came back to the brink of the precipice. + +Tharn went down that vertical cliffside as though it were a broad +staircase. At the base he found a tangle of overlapping footsteps +leading straight toward a game trail leading into the nearby jungle. +Toward its mouth moved the young giant; and so confident was he that +Alurna had been carried along this path that only by chance did he keep +from losing valuable time. + +As the Cro-Magnard neared the trees, the undergrowth parted with a +slight rustle, and Gubo, the hyena, slunk deeper into the forest. + +At the first sound of disturbed brush, Tharn had pivoted about and with +unthinkable quickness unslung his bow and fitted an arrow into place. At +sight of cowardly Gubo he smiled and relaxed; but before he turned back +to the trail, he saw signs of a recent struggle in the matted grass +close by. It might have nothing to do with the business at hand--and, +again, it might. + +A brief investigation gave him the complete picture. Here, Mog had gone +down beneath Sadu; a few paces away were the broken grasses where Alurna +had been tossed. He knew, without troubling to look, that Mog's bones +were bleaching behind yonder wall of verdure. + +Well, the Hairy One was dead; it would save Tharn the task of killing +him. Now all that remained was to take the trail of the frightened girl +at the place where she had plunged blindly into the dark waste of +jungle. She could not have gotten far; and, except for the unlikely +chance that one of the big cats had pulled her down, his mission should +be finished before nightfall. + +Delaying no longer, Tharn took up the trail of the princess, forging +rapidly ahead and following with ease the evidence of her hurried +flight. + +Soon he came to the tiny clearing in which Alurna had spent the previous +night. Circling about, he quickly picked up her trail out of the glade, +went on across a short stretch of jungle and out onto the banks of a +little stream. + +Here he found traces of small sandals in the soft mud. That these had +not been even partially obliterated by prowling beasts was evidence of +the spoor's freshness. + +By this time the mid-day heat was at its strongest. Tharn paused long +enough to slake his thirst, then set out along the same pathway taken by +Alurna not long before. + +A half hour later he was moving steadily ahead at a half trot, expecting +to come upon the girl at any moment. + +Suddenly he came to a full stop, head thrown back, sensitive nostrils +searching the light breeze. And then he moved--as lightning moves. + +Only the trembling of leaves marked where he had entered the trees +overhead. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Treachery + + +In the apartment of Pryak, far beneath the temple of the Sepharian god, +a number of priests were grouped about a long table. At its head sat the +high priest, Pryak; at his right was Orbar, second in command. The +balance of the stools were occupied by six under-priests, all stern, +silent men of middle-age, with that air of inflexible righteousness +which appears to be the hallmark of their kind. + +Pryak, his close-set eyes of watery blue blazing with an inner fire, +rose from his chair. + +"For many moons," he began, choosing his words carefully, "the loyal +servants of the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken have been forced to bow +to the unjust commands of a hated oppressor. Now the time is at hand to +end this oppression. The way has been shown to me by our God; listen +closely, for the future of the priesthood in Sephar depends on how +faithfully my orders are carried out. + +"This is my plan...." + +For nearly an hour the high priest spoke without interruption. His cold, +crisp sentences seemed to explode in the listeners' faces. Twice, old +Cardon, grizzled from passing years of service for his God, half rose +from his stool, words of protest forming on his lips. But each time the +mad glare of Pryak's eyes gave him pause. + +When the high-priest had concluded, he watched the faces of his +audience, waiting for his words to sink home. Much depended upon their +reaction. + +Somehow the very audacity of Pryak's plan seemed to carry weight with +the under-priests. Smiles of admiration appeared on several faces; one +of the Council chuckled openly. Cardon, alone, seemed unconvinced; but +he knew well his chief would brook no interference once he had +determined to act. + +Pryak was satisfied. "It is agreed, then," he said. "We meet in the Room +of the God at the hour named; the others will have their instructions +before then and all will be in readiness." + + * * * * * + +In the palace throne-room, Urim, ruler of Sephar, sat slouched in his +chair atop the dais. Despite the grief and worry from loss of his +daughter, Urim was determined his duties should not be shirked because +of personal sorrow. + +The late morning audience was nearly over. Save for a few citizens and a +handful of guards attending the king, the hall was empty. In another +hour Urim could return to his private quarters. + +A guard entered the room and moved directly to the foot of the dais. +Head bowed, he waited for permission to speak. + +"What is it, Mosark?" Urim asked dully. + +"Pryak, Voice of the God, is outside asking for an immediate audience. +With him are more than a score of priests." + +Urim pursed his lips in surprise. What could have gotten into that +gabbling old fool to seek out one who despised him and his kind? Once a +year Pryak came to the palace with a group of his attendants to discuss +the rites held during the Sacrificial Games. It must be that reason +Pryak was here now, although he was much earlier than usual. + +Best see him and get it over with. He was very tired; perhaps he could +sleep a little during the afternoon. Time passed quickly when spent in +sleep; by evening Vulcar should be back, either with Alurna or with word +she would never return. This uncertainty of her fate was what he found +unbearable; if only he could _know_.... + +More likely he would get the truth from the barbarian whom Katon had +recommended so highly. Everything about that young man emphasized his +fitness to cope with the wilderness and its savage life. There was a +keen alert mind behind those fine gray eyes--and a body well able to +carry out the dictates of that mind. + +"What shall I tell him, Urim of Sephar?" + +Urim shook off his thoughts. "Bring him in," he said resignedly. "His +men, too--let them all in. Except for their wagging tongues they are +harmless." + +At Pryak's entrance, Urim rose and nodded briefly in formal recognition +of the other's office, then sat down again. The high-priest acknowledged +the nod as curtly, and came close to the dais. + +The balance of the priests spread out in a rough half circle close +behind their leader. Urim noticed all were clad in the long, +loose-sleeved robes ordinarily worn only during the rainy season. None +was armed, it being forbidden for members of the priesthood to bear +weapons. + +Pryak was quick to notice that which he had foreseen and counted upon: +the relaxed watchfulness and lack of discipline among the handful of +armed men attending the king. This, he knew, was due to Vulcar's absence +from Sephar; had not the hawk-faced captain gone after Alurna, Pryak +would have feared to put his plan into execution. Vulcar had always been +suspicious of the priesthood; twice he had warned Urim that Pryak was +overly ambitious. + +"O Urim," began Pryak, "the Games honoring our God begin soon. Before +then I mean to show how mistaken you are in your ill-advised +interference with the laws of worship. It is I, Pryak, Voice of the God, +who shall say how He is to be honored. I must warn you, if you persist +in meddling, your God may turn against you and your people, sending +sickness to take its toll, and causing your hunters to return +empty-handed from the forests. + +"Only a sun ago your own daughter was taken by the Hairy Man. Can you +say her loss was not due to your--" + + * * * * * + +The arch-priest was permitted to go no further. Urim's face had grown +steadily darker as mixed anger and amazement rendered him speechless. +But mention of Alurna brought strength to his tongue. + +Voicing a cry of rage, Urim leaped to his feet. His words were loud +against the room's sudden hush. + +"Silence, mangy son of Gubo! Must my time be wasted by your senseless +chatter? I have told you that cruelty has no place in our faith. Too +many times have I told you this; if you speak of it again, the God shall +have a new 'Voice'--one able to recognize my authority!" + +By this time Tidor, the neophyte, had edged his way past the flank of +Urim's guards, slipping stealthily from sight behind the frustum. Here +he paused, drew a long stone knife from the folds of a sleeve, then +stole cautiously up the serrated side of the dais. + +Tidor's heart swelled with pride. It was not every young, untried priest +who could be relied upon to carry out so important a mission. Pryak had +promised him much if he succeeded. Even if half those promises was kept, +Tidor would rank high among his fellows. + +Crouching low, Tidor clutched his knife tighter within his fingers--then +silently and swiftly he sprang! + +A swelling cry of horror from the guards halted Urim's ringing words, +and he whirled about as a white-clad figure closed upon him. Before he +could lift his hands in defense, a slender blade flashed evilly in a +brief arc before striking deep into his breast. + +Death came instantly to Urim of Sephar; and his body rolled limply down +the steps of the dais, nearly upsetting Pryak as it struck the floor. + +Tidor's moment of victory was short-lived. One of the guards snatched a +knife from his belt and flung it, point-foremost, with all his strength. + +Tidor screamed once in pain and terror as the heavy blade sank hilt-deep +into his neck. Then his knees gave way and he fell face down across the +great chair. Urim was avenged. + +And now the momentary paralysis of the guards snapped like an overdrawn +bowstring. Seizing their weapons they threw themselves at the priests +with the commendable intention of butchering the lot. But in place of +an unarmed and fear-stricken group of priests, they were confronted by +an orderly band of unflinching men, each with a long knife drawn from +the folds of his left sleeve. + +The guards skidded to a halt in open-mouthed astonishment at this feat +of legerdemain; and Pryak, quick to take advantage of their baffled +state, scrambled atop the dais and cried out to gain their attention. + +"Hold!" he shouted. "In the name of your God! Heed my words before His +wrath falls upon you! Urim is dead because he would be greater than his +God. Would you suffer the same fate?" + + * * * * * + +The guards shifted uncertainly. The words cut through the red curtain of +their fury, weakening the resolution to wipe out, in blood, the result +of their own negligence. But fear of their God--already strong enough in +man to be basic--stiffened their limbs and flooded their hearts with +indecision. + +Had they a leader, someone to rally them to action, Pryak and his +followers would have been dead within seconds. But the wily arch-priest +had foreseen that, with Vulcar away, there would be none hardy enough to +oppose him in taking the entire city. + +"Drop your knives!" Pryak put into his voice all the force and depth he +could muster. "Let those who are loyal to their God drop to their knees +and ask that He accept them into His service. Delay not, lest He strike +you down as unworthy!" + +One by one dead Urim's warriors sank to their knees and bowed their +heads. Soon there was none within the chamber who remained erect, save +Pryak and the Council of Priests. This latter group had huddled together +close to the door during the excitement; only after all danger had +passed did they resume their habitual expressions of arrogance.... + +From his elevated position Pryak looked down with mingled elation and +disbelief at the many bent backs and lowered heads. Frantically his +crafty brain sought for some means of making this triumph final and +complete. + +An inspiration struck him, then, and he lifted his hands high and turned +his face toward the ceiling. + +"Let no one move or speak!" he commanded loudly. "The All-powerful is +speaking words of wisdom and guidance for my ears, alone. Let there be +silence while I receive His message!" + +A shiver ran through the kneeling men. The God was actually looking down +into this room, seeing all that went on, and doubtless ready to blast +anyone foolhardy enough to interrupt His message. + +For some minutes Pryak remained as motionless as a figure hewn from +stone. Arms and neck must have ached from their unnatural position, but +not the tiniest muscle trembled under the strain. At last his arms +dropped to his sides and his head resumed its normal position. + +"Arise!" he called out; and when the now thoroughly subdued guards and +the under-priests had obeyed, he said: + +"The God is pleased that unworthy Urim is dead, and suggests his passing +serve as warning to others as blind. He commands me to rule in Urim's +place, and orders His people to honor their God and make offerings to +Him as they did before Urim was king. + +"And now let all leaders and subjects of palace and city be told I am +king; and at the time of the morning audience, tomorrow, I shall speak +to them from the palace courtyard. Go!" + +When only the Council of Priests and Pryak, himself, remained in the +throne-room, the new ruler gave them their orders. + +"The city is ours," he said, "and we shall make its people recognize my +power. Each of you will mingle with Sephar's citizens, spreading word of +how they will benefit by this change. + +"Also you will tell of the lavish Games to start within the next few +days--far earlier than usual. Make them understand that even the +greatest city of all Ammad has never provided such entertainment as I +will give them. When they hear this, they will forget any resentment +they may hold toward us; for most of them care not who rules, so long as +the Games are exciting. + +"Go now, and return here when darkness comes. Orbar, arrange for these +bodies to be removed and thrown to the beasts. Report to me when you +have done so; there are orders I want given to the palace attendants. +For the time being you are to serve as captain of the guards." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +Return to Sephar + + +For the first time since she had started out that morning, Alurna was +beginning to question her opinion of where Sephar lay. She sought to +push out the thought lest it became certainty and bring utter panic in +its wake. + +She forced her mind into other channels. How silent the jungle had +become! Somehow its spells of stillness were harder to bear than the +most sinister of sounds. Unconsciously she strained her ears for some +sound to relieve this feeling of complete loneliness. + +Something was moving in the trail behind her! + +Alurna was turning, even as her brain received the warning. Standing in +the path was Tarlok, the leopard, less than ten paces away. + +Stricken dumb with terror, Alurna could only gaze wide-eyed at that +sleek, spotted head. The narrowed yellow eyes, the white teeth with four +long fangs predominated, the back-curling lips drawn into a grimace of +blood-lust, even the somehow ludicrous long white hairs on the upper +lip--all were stamped indelibly within her mind. + +Tarlok was enjoying himself. The utter fear expressed in every line of +his prey's face and body appealed to the cruelty in his nature. Purely +as a means of adding to that fear, he made a little half-spring toward +the girl. + +Voicing a half-mad sob of absolute despair, Alurna sank to her knees and +closed her eyes to wait for a horrible death. + +There followed an agonizing few moments of silence. Why did death delay? +Alurna fought to keep her eyes tight shut; but terror plucked at the +lids, forcing them open. Hardly more than a yard away was the cat's +sleek, savage head! + +[Illustration: A rope hissed through the air and Tarlok reared high] + +And then something hissed through the air between the girl and the +beast. Emitting a shrill scream of surprise and anger, Tarlok reared +high above the kneeling figure. That awful sound was more than Alurna's +taut nerves could withstand, and she toppled forward into merciful +unconsciousness.... + + * * * * * + +Her next conscious sensation was that of flying, and she shuddered, +believing it the brief delirium preceding death. But as the floating +feeling endured, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was being +borne through the forest top in the arms of a half naked man. + +"The leopard?" she said weakly. "What happened? How--" + +A slight smile touched the man's strong, finely-shaped lips, lighting up +his handsome, tanned face. "Tarlok is dead," he said. "It was very +close; my rope caught him just in time." + +He halted and placed her in a sitting position on a strong branch, then +sat down beside her. "I was beginning to think you would never open your +eyes again," he continued. "We have come a long way since I picked you +up in the trail." + +Alurna was staring intently at him as he talked. "I have seen you +somewhere, before." + +Again the man smiled. "Yes," he said. "You have seen me before. It was +only a few nights ago that I entered your room while the palace guards +were hunting me." + +"Of course!" Alurna exclaimed. "I remember. But you were caught and +sentenced to the Games. Have you escaped from Sephar? And how did you +happen to find me?" She broke off, laughing. "Not that I'm sorry you +_did_ find me. If you hadn't--" She shivered, leaving the sentence +unfinished. + +"Your father sent me to take you from the Hairy Ones," Tharn explained. +"It was Katon's idea." + +Whereupon he told of the agreement reached during his talk with Urim. +The princess was secretly elated by one particular provision of the +pact--the promised return of the Cro-Magnard girl to this man for +succeeding in his mission. With Dylara gone, there was no reason why +Jotan could not be won by Urim's daughter. + +"Will you take me home, now?" she asked. + +Tharn nodded. "We will go on until darkness, then sleep in the trees +until morning." + +He stood upright on the swaying bow, then bent and caught Alurna about +the waist and swung her lightly to his back. The girl's arms slipped +instinctively about the strong neck, and the young cave lord set off +along the leafy avenue he had been following. + + * * * * * + +The first few minutes of the journey were never to be forgotten by the +awed princess. Tharn's path took him high above the ground to where +encumbering masses of tangled creepers did not reach. From one slender +branch to another the majestic figure raced along with an easy sureness +remarkable to behold. + +Alurna forgot her fear of the heights, presently, admiration taking its +place. + +How confidently this god-like creature threaded his way across the +network of bending boughs, where a slip might mean an awful death to +them both! What splendid thews he possessed, to carry her as though she +were a day-old babe! + +Occasionally the rays of the sinking sun reached them through breaks in +the foliage above, disclosing to the rapt eyes of the princess the +horrid depths beneath. + +Soon the dizzying bounds from one great tree pinnacle to the next ceased +to be breath-taking, and Alurna rested against Tharn's warm shoulder, +her nerves calm and relaxed. + +Tharn's thoughts were far afield. Soon--another sun, in fact--Dylara and +he would be on their way to the caves of Tharn. And Katon would go with +them--Katon, his good friend. + +The blue-eyed Sepharian and he would hunt in the forests with Barkoo and +Korgul and Torbat. Katon would teach them to use the bow. Perhaps his +friend would find a mate among the girls of the tribe. Then in truth +would they be as blood-brothers! + +How wonderful it would be to have such a companion! Always before he had +spent much of his time alone, ranging the jungles for the adventures he +craved. In all his tribe there had not been one he was drawn to; none he +liked and respected enough to adopt as an intimate. Barkoo, of course, +came closest to being such; but Barkoo carried far more years than he, +and was given to the conservatism of old men. + +The others were so far short of his own physical and mental stature. +They could not race at break-neck speed through tree tops; they could +not scent game from afar; they feared the great cats, unless in the +company of many warriors. + +It would be different, now. He would teach Katon the forest lore that +had made Tharn master of the wild places. They would be always +together--inseparable. + +Only a few minutes of daylight remained when Tharn and his burden +reached the forest's edge near the base of the sheer cliff between them +and Sephar. Tharn realized they could not hope to complete the ascent +before the light failed; so, selecting a tall tree, he fashioned a rude +platform of branches high above the ground and covered it with leaves as +a comfortable bed for the princess. + +As for himself, he curled in a crotch of the same tree, a few feet +beneath her, and, after waiting until she had ceased turning uneasily on +her primitive couch, dropped off to sleep. + + * * * * * + +The sun had barely cleared the eastern horizon when Alurna opened her +eyes. For a long moment she gazed blankly at the ceiling of vegetation; +then memory returned and she rose to her feet on the lattice of boughs +that had served as her bed. + +Something of the beauty of the untamed forest came to her as she stood +there, drinking in the sea of green through sleep-freshened eyes. An +early morning breeze stirred the vast expanse of leaves like an +invisible hand; multi-colored birds flashed among the myriad branches +and festooned vines, uttering strident cries or now and then surprising +her with a burst of melody from some feathered throat. Already familiar +were the ever-present troops of sure-footed monkeys, swinging and racing +among the tree-top terraces--chattering, scolding, inquisitive. + +This, she reflected, was the jungle--gaudy and sparkling and inviting on +the surface; grim, and the lurking place of savage horror beneath its +glamorous exterior. + +There was a soft sound at her back, and she wheeled--to look into the +quiet face of the cave-man. In his arms was a quantity of fruits; and +Alurna was suddenly aware of being very hungry. + +While they ate, seated on the bed of leaves, Alurna chattered +continuously, asking many questions, seeking to explore the depths of +her rescuer's mind and character. She found herself admiring the utter +lack of self-consciousness in his replies and actions, while his +habitual reserve and dignity of bearing compelled her respect. + +Finally they descended to the ground and crossed the ribbon of grassland +to the base of the lofty escarpment. Alurna, looking up at the upper rim +so far above, shook her head in wonder. + +"I'll never be able to climb it, Tharn," she protested. "How I ever +managed to get down it without falling, is more than I know." + +"We can not wish ourselves to the top," Tharn pointed out. "Nor is there +any point in remaining here. We can at least make the effort." + +It required more than an hour for them to gain the upper edge of the +plateau. Alurna was helpless to aid him by doing any climbing herself; +Tharn literally had to carry her up that vertical slope. + +When they stood at last on level ground, the cave-man did not stop to +rest. After they had crossed the narrow stretch of plains bordering the +forest, Tharn turned to his companion. "I am going to carry you, again," +he said. "Hold me about the neck and do not be afraid." + + * * * * * + +With that, he lifted her easily, and supporting her thus with one arm, +took to the trees. With the pathway through the branches lighted by +Dyta's powerful rays, and with the knowledge that only a few hours +remained before he would reclaim Dylara, Tharn elected to travel +swiftly; and when the forest-man hurried, there were few of the jungle +folk that could match his speed. + +Onward he went, racing along swaying limbs, leaping outward across space +to hurtle into the embrace of another tree at the dizzy height of the +forest top, his free hand finding, unerringly, some waving bough at the +very instant those sure feet came to rest on some strong branch. Now he +threaded his way above the hard-packed earth with all the grace and +agility of a tight-rope walker, prevented from falling only by an +uncanny sense of balance. If handicapped by his burden, none might have +guessed it; certainly he could not have moved with greater speed and +surety had he been unencumbered. + +Alurna lay quiescent within his grasp, looking up at the immobile face +so near her own. It was restful to lie against the broad chest, her +cheek pillowed on a firm shoulder, and be lulled to drowsiness by the +rhythmic sway of this tireless body. A feeling of complete peace +gradually suffused her entire being, her eyelids grew languorously +heavy, closed of their own volition.... Alurna fell fast asleep. + + * * * * * + +How long she slept Alurna never knew, but her eyes opened as she felt +the arms about her relax their grip and lower her to her feet. There +was something almost of roughness in the action, and she looked up at +Tharn quickly. To her surprise he was standing with head thrown back, +nostrils twitching as he sniffed the wind from the north. His face +seemed tense, strangely drawn. + +She put a hand on his arm, her white fingers gleaming in sharp contrast +to the tanned forearm. + +"What has happened, Tharn?" She glanced uneasily about at the +surrounding foliage. "Are we nearly to Sephar?" + +Tharn was not listening. To his sensitive nostrils the wind was bringing +the scent of a lion--and of a girl. The odors were commingled and of +equal strength, sufficient evidence to Tharn that the girl might be in +danger. + +But the scents alone had not brought the tenseness to his face. There +was a haunting familiarity to one of them--that of the girl. + +And then he was galvanized into action. Whirling, he scooped up the girl +and placed her on a thick branch, close to the bole. + +"Remain here until I return," he commanded. "I will come back for you." + +"But why--" began the princess, then realized she was addressing thin +air. Tharn had gone, speeding through the trees into the north. + +His mate was in danger! The thought echoed and re-echoed in his mind, +even as logic told him it was next to impossible for Dylara to be +elsewhere than in Urim's palace. Yet he would stake the evidence of his +senses against reason itself--as, indeed, he was doing now. + +If his passage through the trees with Alurna had been rapid, he was +literally flying now--hurling himself from one branch to another with +reckless fury--taking chances he ordinarily would never have considered. + +While ever stronger to his nostrils came the scent of Sadu--and of +Dylara. + +At last he caught sight of her, seated on a fallen log at the edge of a +trail, carefully massaging an ankle. + +And at the same instant, from his elevated position, he caught sight of +Sadu a few paces behind the unheeding daughter of Majok. The beast was +lying belly-flat behind a curtain of vines; and even as Tharn discovered +him the cat was preparing to spring. + +The man of the caves never hesitated. Like a falling stone he plummeted +earthward, dropping in front of Sadu as the beast rose in its spring. + + * * * * * + +Dylara, aroused by crashing foliage, leaped to her feet and whirled +about. She cried out awe-struck wonder as she saw the young man who had +died beneath a Sepharian club standing between her and an on-rushing +lion. + +Powerless to move, she watched the Cro-Magnard crouch to meet certain +death. In the single instant that elapsed before Sadu reached him, she +saw Tharn's hands were empty. + +And then her jaw dropped and her eyes flew wide with amazement. Tharn +had leaped forward and sent his shoulder crashing into the side of the +soaring brute. Sadu, caught off balance, spun sideways and fell heavily. +He was up instantly, growling horribly, and in mad frenzy turned upon +Tharn. + +What Dylara witnessed then was something that was to go down in the folk +lore of future generations of the Cro-Magnard people. She saw the +clenched fingers of the man swing forward with every ounce of power in +that mighty arm, backed by the insane fury of utter desperation. + +The iron fist struck Sadu full between the eyes, crushing the skull like +a hollow melon and driving splinters of bone into that savage brain. + +Dylara, weak with relief, felt her knees buckle as the lion sank +lifeless to the ground. Tharn, his knuckles throbbing with pain, jumped +forward and caught her about the waist. She turned her face to him, +then, and he saw that her eyes were wet with tears. + +Her warm red lips, slightly parted, were very near his own. Drawn by an +irresistible impulse, Tharn bent his head to meet them. The girl saw the +clean, firm mouth come close, yet she did not shrink away. Something was +stirring deep within her--something that had never known life before +this moment--something she had no time to analyze. + +Suddenly she wanted more than anything else to feel that mouth pressed +against her own. She lifted her face for Tharn's kiss.... + +"Dylara!" said a quiet voice. + + * * * * * + +The man and the girl sprang apart. Facing them, now, was a group of +eight Sepharian warriors, a tall, broad-shouldered young man at their +head. + +Dylara knew the leader at once. It was Jotan. She saw that his +expression was very stern, and she knew instinctively that he was +thinking of her in Tharn's embrace. + +Jotan ignored the cave-man. "We have been searching for you, Dylara," he +said quietly. "Come, we shall return to Sephar at once." + +Before she could frame a reply, Tharn had stepped in front of her. There +followed a tense, electric moment of silence as the two men eyed each +other. + +"She is mine," Tharn said, without heat. "She goes with me." + +Jotan gestured with one hand. In response, seven spears were leveled at +the cave-man's naked chest. + +"You are wrong, my friend," said the leader. "I am taking her with me. I +have nothing against you; you may have your freedom if you go at once. +Otherwise, you go back to Sephar as a prisoner. Resist, and my men will +kill you." + +Tharn was thinking rapidly. To attack eight armed men would be a fool's +act. Alurna was waiting for him back there in the jungle. And in Alurna +he had that which would put to naught those seven spears. + +Let this man take Dylara back to Sephar. Tharn had only to return with +the princess Alurna and claim his reward from Urim. That reward +was--Dylara! He knew Urim would keep his word, no matter what objections +were offered by this man. + +"Well?" The word was clipped, cold, impatient. + +Without a word Tharn turned and leaped into the branches overhead. He +had not dared to offer Dylara an encouraging sign, fearing to arouse the +Sepharian's suspicions. + +The cave-girl watched him go, disbelief uppermost in her mind. It was +not like Tharn to give up so easily. But did she want him not to give +up? She had thrilled to his strength, his agility and fearlessness +during the encounter with Sadu. No other man could have thus faced the +jungle king with empty hands--and lived. + +But were such qualities enough? She stole a glance at the handsome young +Sepharian. In him was more than mere physical appeal. This man gave an +impression of consideration and thoughtfulness. He would never take a +girl against her will as Tharn had done. He was of a race that had +risen above cave life. His people had learned life could mean more than +the hunt--more than sleeping and eating and talking. Would not living be +richer, more full, with this man than it could possibly be with Tharn? + + * * * * * + +Meanwhile, Tharn was speeding back through the trees to join Alurna. Led +by his unerring sense of direction he soon entered the tree where he had +left her. + +She looked up with a relieved smile as he came into view. "I was +beginning to think you had forgotten me," she said warmly. "Whatever +possessed you to run away like that?" + +Tharn had never liked giving long explanations. "It was nothing," he +said lightly. "Let us go on." + +They descended and walked slowly, side by side, along the trail. Alurna +wondered why the cave-man no longer raced ahead as he had done before. +But Tharn's purpose was clear in his mind: it would be best, he decided, +to let Dylara and the Sepharians enter the city ahead of him. + +Nearly two hours later they rounded a bend of the trail and came to a +halt. Alurna gave a little cry of happiness. Directly ahead, beyond a +brief expanse of open ground stood Sephar's walls. Turning to the silent +figure at her side, she caught his arm and, like an eager child, sought +to hurry him on. + +Nor did Tharn need persuasion. He had stopped only because his +ever-present sense of caution bade him go slowly. But the impelling hand +at his arm removed the last lingering trace of reluctance. + +They were half-way across the clearing before one of several warriors +about a gateway spied them and raised a shout that brought a dozen +guards from inside the walls. At sight of the cave-man and his companion +the entire group came running toward them. + +Once more Tharn stopped, hand dropping to the knife at his belt. But the +impatient voice of the princess beat down his suspicion. + +"No, Tharn, no! Those are my father's men. They come to welcome us." + +His fingers relaxed their hold on the knife, but his hand remained close +to its hilt. And then they were surrounded by the men of Sephar. + +This detail was in charge of Lodorth, a tall, rather fleshy warrior of +middle-age, very straight of back and given to the blunt speech of a +soldier. Alurna remembered him as once having been stationed at the +palace. + +"Ah, princess," Lodorth said soberly. "We believed you to be dead or +hopelessly lost. I am glad to be first in welcoming you." + +Alurna was all smiles. "My father is worried, I know. I must go to him +at once, Lodorth." + +An expression which the girl could not define passed across the +officer's face but he made no reply. Instead he turned to his men. + +"Disarm this man and bind his hands!" he ordered, jerking a thumb toward +Tharn. + +Upon hearing this, the cave-man reached quickly for his knife, but froze +as he felt several cold flint spearheads against the skin of his back. + +"Disarm him!" barked the leader curtly. + +One of the men stepped forward, and with a wary eye cocked toward the +motionless figure, plucked the stone blade from Tharn's loin-cloth. + +Then Alurna found her tongue. + +"You are a fool, Lodorth!" she cried, turning on the captain. "This man +saved my life. Give him his knife and show him your respect, or you +shall answer to Urim--and to me!" + +Lodorth eyed her stolidly. "Pryak is king, now," he said, his face an +impassive mask. "Urim is dead!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Reunion + + +Pryak, seated in one of the great rooms of the palace, was deep in +conversation with Orbar, his lieutenant. The room, itself, was swarming +with white-tunicked priests, their babbling voices adding to the +atmosphere of confusion and disorder. + +A knock sounded at the door and it was opened to admit three people. As +they entered, a sudden hush fell over the milling throng of priests. + +Pryak, aroused by the abrupt cessation of sound, looked up +questioningly. At sight of the newcomers his eyes opened wide in +surprise; then his lips curled in a smile more disturbing than the +blackest frown. + +"By the God!" he exclaimed, mock pleasure in his tone, "I welcome the +daughter of Urim! I was told you were dead, princess--taken from us by +the cruel jungle. And now you have come back! I shall enjoy hearing of +your adventures." + +The thinly veiled contempt in words and tone brought a wave of red +across Alurna's pale, grief-stained face. Then she spoke--and her words, +barely audible from the choking emotion behind them, carried such hatred +and loathing as to hold Pryak petrified on his chair. + +"Murderer!" she whispered. "Little man of filth! It was you who caused +the death of my father! Who did it for you? How long do you think you +can hold Urim's place before some _real_ man takes your place--and +twists your wrinkled neck?" + +Pryak, his face livid with rage, leaped from his stool and lifted his +hand to strike her into silence. + +The blow never found its mark. Tharn, standing near Alurna, and +forgotten by the others, had moved almost before Pryak was off the +stool. + +And so it was that Pryak, Voice of the Great God, found his bony wrist +seized by fingers of steel and his swinging arm halted as abruptly as +though it had encountered one of the room's stone walls. + +Before the startled priest could cry out or his astounded followers +interfere, he was snatched bodily from his feet and flung almost the +entire length of the chamber. + +Four priests were bowled over by the catapulting body; those human +cushions were all that saved Pryak from injury. + +Tharn went down, then, beneath a horde of fanatical priests. And before +they had him bound and helpless, more than one felt the weight of his +fists and the strength of his arms. At last they dragged him to his feet +and stepped aside as Pryak, rumpled and bruised, came forward. + +"For what you have done," he growled hoarsely, "you shall pay in blood +and suffering. When the lions hunt you down in the arena during the +Games, wild man, remember that you dared to lay hands on Sephar's king." + +Tharn laughed in his face. "Better the fangs of Sadu," he gibed, "than +the stench of a priest!" + + * * * * * + +Stung by the taunt, Pryak went white. Unexpectedly, he lashed out with a +bony fist, catching the young cave-man flush on the mouth. Tharn's +expression did not change under the blow, but something crept into his +eyes that made Pryak shrink back in alarm. Then, remembering the captive +was bound and helpless, he drew back his arm to strike again. + +This time, however, a tall figure stood between him and Tharn--Lodorth, +under-officer in Sephar's forces. + +"You wish the prisoner taken to the pits, O Voice of the God?" The +contempt in Lodorth's tone was poorly concealed. + +For a moment Pryak considered ordering the man aside. He hesitated, then +nodded assent and turned away. + +"And the princess?" Lodorth called after him. + +"Leave her here." + +"This way," said the soldier to young Tharn, and together they moved +toward the exit. + +It was clear to Tharn that this warrior was no admirer of the +treacherous high priest--a conclusion strengthened by the incident in +which Lodorth had saved him from a second blow. He wondered if others in +Sephar felt so toward their new ruler. + +Presently they reached the entrance to the subterranean cell. Releasing +the monstrous bar, Lodorth cut Tharn's bonds and motioned for him to +enter. + +Once within, Tharn's first thought was that he had been brought to +another cell. Instead of the score or so of prisoners he had expected, +there were fully a hundred men gathered here. Then he began to pick out +familiar faces; and an instant later his doubts were dispelled as Katon +came forward to welcome him, his blue eyes sparkling with pleasure. + +"Tharn!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I knew you would return. Did you find +Alurna?" + +"I found her," Tharn admitted ruefully. "But it would have been wiser to +leave her at Sephar's gates." + +Katon's smile faded. "You are right, my friend. Everything seems to work +against us. You and I both have been hurt by this change. Had not Pryak +gone completely mad, you and your mate would be starting for home by +now, and Urim would have set me free. + +"But all that may as well be forgotten, now. Soon the Games begin; our +chief worry will be to save our skins." + + * * * * * + +Tharn looked about at the many strange faces. + +"It appears we shall have plenty of company," he observed. + +"There are many others besides these," was the reply. "Pryak fears many +of Urim's friends and intends using the Games to eliminate them. A room +across the hall is filled with at least as many as you see here; and +many of those men loved Urim and hate the one who caused his death. + +"Pryak hopes to accomplish a double purpose this time. He will gain +favor by offering the bloodiest Games ever held; also, he expects to +wipe out all who oppose him by sending the opposition itself into the +arena. + +"I am told," Katon continued, "that many savage beasts are held ready to +be sent against us. More than ever, Pryak is determined the final victor +shall not be human. Were a man to prove the God's favorite, Sephar's +populace might turn to him so strongly as to weaken Pryak's position." + +Tharn grinned. "At least we shall have our fill of fighting." + +"More than my fill!" retorted his friend, dryly. + +Tharn, glancing about the crowded room, uttered a startled ejaculation +and pointed toward a figure huddled near one of the walls. + +"Who is that?" he asked. "Even with his face hidden in his hands, he +seems known to me." + +Katon grunted. "And well he should! That, my friend, is Vulcar--once +captain of Urim's own guards!" + +At Tharn's expression of shocked incredulity, he continued: + +"He was brought here, yesterday, with nearly a score of warriors. In all +the hours since, he has not spoken--only sits with bowed head. He, once +so proud, is now humbled and beaten--crushed by the death of the man he +worshipped." + +Tharn studied the dejected figure. Courage might dull under such a blow +as Vulcar had taken; yet it would still be courage. Experience told him +a brave man is brave until death takes him; a coward, while occasionally +rising above his weakness, remains a coward. And certainly Vulcar was +known to be a man of courage. + +From the moment of Tharn's recapture a plan had been taking form in his +shrewd mind. He had never been one to accept resignedly what fate +appeared to offer. If these other prisoners were ready to die in the +arena, that was their affair; certainly he did not intend giving up so +easily. Men like themselves had put them in this hole; and what one man +could do, another could undo. The worst enemy of his fellows was their +patient acceptance of what Pryak had decreed for them. If that viewpoint +could only be reversed.... + +Taking Katon by the arm, he started across the room toward Vulcar. + +"What are you--" Katon began, then subsided as the cave-man frowned and +shook his head in warning. + + * * * * * + +When within a few paces of the former captain, Tharn stopped and turned +his back, and Katon's, to the unheeding Vulcar. + +"I tell you, it seems hard to believe," Tharn began, his voice raised +somewhat above its usual pitch, "that none of Urim's friends has courage +enough to avenge his death. Why, had I served under him, I--" + +"Who says none hopes to avenge Urim?" The quiet words came from behind +them. + +Turning, they found Vulcar, head lifted and shoulders squared, regarding +them fixedly. + +The Cro-Magnard simulated surprise to hide his sudden elation. "If I am +wrong--" He stopped there, waiting. + +"What chance have we to avenge him?" Vulcar demanded, his hawk-like face +drawn into lines of helpless fury. "Here we are--thrown into a hole, +sentenced to die for the satisfaction of a false God--and to save Pryak +from sleepless nights!" + +Tharn appeared sympathetic. "Given a chance, however slight, would you +take it?" + +"Take it?" echoed Vulcar. "Of course! But there is no--" + +"Are there others who feel as you?" + +"I know of eighteen--those who went with me to search for Urim's +daughter. When we returned to Sephar, Pryak's men overpowered us and +brought us here. I am almost glad, now, that we did not find Alurna." + +"Alurna is in Sephar," Tharn informed him. "I brought her back." + +"You?" Vulcar came to his feet in surprise. "How did you get her?" + +Briefly, the cave-man told of what had taken place. When he was done, +Vulcar stepped forward and placed both hands on Tharn's shoulders. + +"My life is yours for what you have done," he said simply. "No matter +what happens to her as Pryak's captive, it cannot be so horrible as +death in the jungle." + +For a moment the three men were silent. Then Tharn said: "Let us sit +here where we shall not be overheard.... Katon, what can you tell me of +the Games?" + +"What do you want to know about them?" + +"Everything," Tharn said promptly. "How far are the pits from the arena +itself? How many of us are sent into the arena at one time? How, and +when, are we given weapons?" + +Katon was eyeing him strangely. "Why do you want to know those things?" + +"I will explain that after you have answered my questions." + + * * * * * + +The conversation that followed was carried on in low voices. Katon did +most of the talking; from time to time Vulcar added details. Tharn did +little more than listen attentively. + +At last the cave-man expressed satisfaction. "I think it can be done," +he said slowly. "There is one weakness they have not covered." + +"_What_ can be done?" Plainly, Katon was puzzled. "What is behind all +this, Tharn?" + +Tharn leaned forward. "We want two things--and so does every man in this +room and the room across the hall. First: freedom. Second: death to +Pryak! Are you with me?" + +Vulcar made a face. "Either one is beyond our reach. What can a few +unarmed men do against all Sephar?" + +"What have we to lose?" demanded the Cro-Magnard. "All of us are +supposed to die within the arena. If we must accept death, why not do so +while trying to escape?" + +Katon and Vulcar exchanged glances. It was evident neither had thought +of it just that way before. + +"What," Vulcar said softly, "do you suggest?" + +"To begin with," Tharn said, "it would be wise to have three or four +more hear my plan. They in turn can pass the details on to the rest of +the prisoners. Those across the hall must be included, and I have an +idea how that can be arranged. We shall need every man we can get." + +Vulcar said, "Let me pick the four." + +Soon the former captain was back, his selections close at his heels. +Tharn and Katon rose to meet them. + +"These are good men," Vulcar said. "I know them all. They are ready to +follow your lead. + +"This one--" He indicated a short, squat man with heavy features and +much coarse hair on chest, legs and head, "--is Brutan. He likes to +fight." + +Unexpectedly Brutan grinned. "Yes," he said in a deep, harsh voice, "I +like to fight. I will fight anybody. I will fight you!" + +Tharn grinned back at him. There was something likeable about this +rock-like Sepharian. + +"This," continued Vulcar, "is Rotark. He is not afraid to die." + +Rotark was tall and very thin, with a long, sorrowful face. "Why should +I be afraid?" he asked in lugubrious tones. "There is no pleasure in +living. Soon we shall all be dead." + +Next, Vulcar jerked a thumb toward a young, very handsome warrior whose +tunic was amazingly clean and spotless in contrast to those of the +others. His thick blond hair was neatly pushed back from a high, rounded +forehead. + +"He is Gorlat," said Vulcar. "He does not like to fight, but will do so +to keep from being killed. Few men are his equal with a knife." + +The blond young man smiled but said nothing. + +"Brosan, here, you already know." + +Tharn nodded. He remembered that pock-marked face, as well as the +unconcerned grin exposing yellowed, broken teeth. + +The cave-man came directly to the point. + +"We are supposed to die in the arena for the amusement of Pryak and the +people of Sephar. To me, that seems wrong. It would be better if Pryak +and his priests were the ones to die. + +"I think that can be arranged. Listen, and when I am done, let me know +what you think of my plan." + + * * * * * + +They listened closely and without interrupting. And while he awaited +their reaction, they looked at one another in silence, while broad +smiles began to steal across their faces. Even Rotark's lips twitched in +approval. + +"Good!" said Brutan the laconic. + +"Even though we fail," said Rotark mournfully, "it is worth trying." + +Gorlat said nothing, but his smile matched the brilliance of his hair. +Katon and Vulcar regarded the cave-man with respect, deeply impressed +with the plan he had offered. They realized the force of this +barbarian's personality--that intangible requisite of all who would be +leaders--had grasped the imagination of these men, winning their loyalty +and unstinted support. + +"When shall we tell the others?" Brosan asked. + +"Go among them now," Tharn advised. "Explain our plan briefly, but cover +every point. Warn them not to chance arousing suspicion among the +guards. Everything depends upon absolute secrecy." + +It was on the following day that the great Games began. + + * * * * * + +When the door closed behind Tharn and Lodorth, a feeling of loneliness +swept over the princess Alurna. She had come to regard the cave-man as +her friend--perhaps the only friend left to her in all Sephar. She +glanced fearfully at the face of the high-priest and found nothing there +to reassure her. + +Pryak's expression was stern; but that sternness was a mask to hide an +inner perturbation. For there had come to him the realization that in +this frail girl lay a vital threat to his newly won power. + +He silently cursed his stupidity in receiving her so ungraciously, and +silently he thanked his God that he had been prevented from actually +striking the princess. + +Alurna, he remembered, was more than Urim's daughter; she was niece to +the most powerful figure of the known world--Jaltor, king of far-off +Ammad, and commander of the greatest force of fighting-men ever +assembled. Urim had been Jaltor's brother.... + +Eventually, Jaltor would learn of his brother's death. As a statesman +and ruler, he would understand that Urim's passing was incidental to a +change in power and one of the hazards of kinghood. + +It was not likely, however, that Jaltor would regard in a similar light +an overt slight or actual cruelty to a niece. As a possible threat to +Pryak's position as king, Alurna was not to be considered; only a man +could rule men. For that reason alone, the high priest had no valid +excuse to do her harm. + +His course, then, was plain; every effort must be made to win this girl +into regarding him as a friend, lest word reach Jaltor that his niece +was a mistreated prisoner in Sephar. + +The chill faded from Pryak's expression like snow under a hot sun. "I +have been wrong, princess," he admitted, with passable humbleness. "As +Urim's daughter, you are entitled to every respect and honor. From now +on you may depend on being accorded both." + +Alurna could hardly believe her ears. What had come over this old man, +to change him so quickly and completely? + +Her response was instant and characteristic. "I want nothing from you, +priest!" she snapped. + +Pryak lost his smile, but none of his urbanity. He beckoned to a nearby +attendant. "Escort the princess to her rooms," he instructed. "See to it +that her every wish is obeyed." + +When Alurna had gone, a thoughtful Pryak dropped onto his stool across +from Orbar and pursed his lips reflectively. + +"There must be some way to dispose of her," he said, "without incurring +the wrath of Jaltor." + +Orbar grinned evilly. "A knife in the dark...." He let his voice trail +off meaningly. + +"You are a fool!" growled the new king. "Her uncle and his men would be +at our gates within two moons. I dare not risk--" + +He broke off as an under-priest came hurriedly from across the room and +bowed before him. + +"What is it, Baltor?" + +"The three nobles of Ammad are here, asking that you see them." + +Pryak sighed. Here were others he must treat with deference, lest his +failure to do so cause international complications. He was beginning to +understand that even an all-powerful monarch must recognize the +importance of individuals other than himself. He felt vaguely +distressed.... + +"Bring them to me, here," he said. + + * * * * * + +A moment later Jotan, Tamar and Javan approached the seated men and bent +their heads in formal recognition. + +"How may I, king of Sephar and Voice of the God, serve our noble +visitors?" asked the arch-priest loftily. + +Jotan acted as spokesman. "By granting us permission to set out for +Ammad. Already have we delayed longer than was intended. To avoid the +rainy season we should like to leave at once." + +Pryak thought for a moment. He must not let them go so easily. They +might think that he was relieved to be rid of them--that his hospitality +was less than Urim's had been. + +He said, "Would you start on so perilous a journey without first showing +honor to your God? Tomorrow the Games begin. It would be wise to attend +the first two days; otherwise misfortune may beset your path to Ammad." + +Jotan was shrewd enough to yield. He guessed that Pryak was expecting to +strengthen further his position as king by exhibiting the three +Ammadians to the crowd as his intimates. + +"Agreed," he responded. "I know that Jaltor, my king, will be greatly +interested in an account of the lavishness of Sephar's Games." + +It was then that Pryak found a solution to his problem! + +Jotan, thinking the interview ended, had turned to go. + +"Wait, Jotan of Ammad!" + +The men from Ammad turned, surprised by the urgency in the high priest's +voice. Pryak had risen and was coming toward them. + +"There is something you can do for me, Jotan--a small matter, but one +that will relieve a rather delicate situation." + +"Of course," Jotan said quickly. + +"It concerns Alurna--Urim's daughter. She is not happy here. Since her +father's ... passing, she seems anxious to leave Sephar. + +"It is my thought that she go with you to Ammad. Her uncle, Jaltor, +would welcome her, I am sure; and she would be content there. Will you +take her with you?" + +Jotan saw his chance! Ever since Dylara had been taken from him by +Pryak's men a few hours before, Jotan had been at his wits' end for a +way to get her back. The guards, learning she was an escaped slave, had +taken her from the Ammadians as a matter of course; for, as a slave, she +was the property of Sephar's king. Jotan had not demurred, partly +because it would have been useless to argue the point with anyone +lacking authority to make a decision, and partly because he was +confident that Urim, when asked, would give the girl to him. + +But upon learning of Urim's death, and of Pryak's seizure of power, +Jotan's hopes began to fade. Pryak's reluctance toward granting favors, +however trivial, was a matter of common gossip. This, coupled with the +fact that the high priest might not be inclined to be overly cordial +toward a close friend of the former ruler, decided Jotan against asking +for the slave-girl--a decision strengthened by Tamar's logic during a +discussion held shortly before the three friends had come to the palace. + +Several times during the interview with Pryak, Jotan had been near to +blurting out a request that Dylara be given to him. But his pride would +not permit the risk of being coldly refused, and each time he had bitten +back the words. + +But now--now the picture was changed. Pryak had opened the way for a +counter-proposal; one the priest could hardly refuse because of his own +request. + + * * * * * + +Jotan hid his elation behind an expressionless face. "I will gladly do +as you have asked, Pryak of Ammad. Incidentally, there is a trifling +favor you can grant me--if you will." + +Tamar, listening, groaned inwardly. + +"What is this favor?" asked the priest cautiously. + +"I have become interested in one of the palace slave-girls," Jotan told +him. "I should like to have her." + +The modestness of the request confused Pryak. Somehow, such a petition +seemed irrelevant, too petty. + +"Of course," he agreed quickly. "I had expected that you would ask for +something of more value. Take whichever slave you want--several, if you +like." + +"Your kindness indicates how generous a king rules Sephar," Jotan said +smoothly. "If one of your men will accompany me, I shall give him the +necessary instructions." + +"Baltor, here, will carry out your orders." Pryak indicated the +attendant who had ushered them in. + +When they had left the room, Jotan said to the attendant: + +"Go at once to the quarters of the female slaves. Instruct the guards +there to turn over to you the slave-girl known as Dylara. You will bring +her to my quarters." + +"I understand, noble Jotan." + +"When you have done this, return to the palace and seek out the +princess, Alurna. Convey to her my greetings, and say that I wish an +audience with her at her convenience.... Is all this clear to you?" + +"Yes." + +"Good! Report to me when you have finished." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +Death in a Bowl + + +Dyta, the sun, climbed his blue ladder and looked down at the city of +Sephar in its mountain fastness. Behind those gray stone walls hummed an +activity found there only five days in every twelve moons. + +For today was the first of the Game days. Since early morning the +streets leading to the great amphitheater were packed with an eager +citizenry, pushing and jostling its way toward the arena's several +entrances. Those first to arrive had their choice of seats; consequently +many had huddled beneath heavy cloaks outside the barred gates during +the dark hours, awaiting the moment when they might enter. + +It was a colorful throng, every member light-hearted, gay and friendly. +Men and women pushed and tugged at their neighbors--friend and stranger +alike--to keep the milling mass moving. Most of them carried parcels of +food, for the Games lasted each day until the hour of sunset. Whole +family groups were numerous: father, mother, and the brood of children. +Many of the latter were mere infants, watching the swarm of shifting +humanity with wide wondering eyes. + +Patrolling the avenues and directing the crowds at the gates were many +priests in white tunics. This was to be their day, as well; for shortly +before the Games got under way, elaborate rites, honoring the God, were +to be held, in which every priest was to take part. + +Truly, this was the day of days. + + * * * * * + +In the great cell beneath Sephar's streets, Tharn, Katon, Vulcar, +Rotark, Brosan, Brutan and Gorlat squatted in a group about a huge +earthen bowl of stewed meat. They, together with the balance of the +prisoners, had been aroused from sleep an hour before sunrise, and had +been given food that their strength and endurance might be equal to the +tasks ahead. + +Katon, seated across from Tharn, caught the Cro-Magnard's eye and nodded +significantly. + +"For a man who may be dead within a few hours," he said grimly, "you +seem very cheerful." + +Tharn grinned. "Would you have me seek out Pryak and beg for my life?" + +The others laughed. Brutan put down a bone from which he had gnawed the +meat, and belched with frank satisfaction. "I will show them how a real +man fights!" he declared. "With my bare hands I once slew a leopard!" + +Brosan made a derisive sound. "It must have been a very old leopard." + +Brutan's complacent expression vanished. "You lie!" he bellowed, glaring +belligerently at his heckler. "It was a great, full-grown--" + +"Quiet, you fool!" snapped Katon. "This is no time to start a brawl." + +Brutan mumbled something under his breath and went back to his bone. + +Rotark wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "How many of us will +see the end of this day?" he asked in doleful tones. "Take Gorlat, +here--so careful not to soil his tunic. It may soak in his own blood +before darkness comes again!" + +The blond young man kept his mechanical smile. He said: "Not if they +give me a knife...." + +Something in the soft words brought a momentary silence to the group. +What had Vulcar said yesterday about this handsome, graceful youth? "Few +men equal him in handling a knife...." + +Katon said, "It will be an hour before the Games actually +get under way. First they must finish the rites honoring the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken--a lengthy ritual. Then the guards will +come, select a few of us, give them arms and send them into the arena." + +"Somehow," Tharn said thoughtfully, "I wonder if it is wise to wait +until the third day before putting our plan into action. After three +days many of our men will have died in the arena. We shall need every +man we can get." + +Katon rubbed his chin, frowning. "True," he admitted. "But to hurry this +thing would be fatal. The guards must be satisfied that everything is +going smoothly before they relax their watchfulness. + +"Although we shall lose men," he continued, "I believe many of the +soldiers and citizens of Sephar will join us when the revolt gets under +way. Few, I imagine, regard Pryak with favor; they should welcome a +chance to end his power and make one of their own men king." + +Then and there the germ of an idea was implanted in Tharn's mind--an +idea destined to bear fruit in the days ahead. + + * * * * * + +For the better part of an hour the seven ring-leaders moved about the +chamber, talking with groups of prisoners, discussing various phases of +the plan Tharn had concocted. So confident did the seven seem, that many +a despondent captive was caught up by their infectious spirit and began +to grow impatient for the Games to start that the two days might pass +the sooner. + +At last the noise of sandaled feet sounded in the corridor, and a moment +later the door was thrust open. + +Five men came in: four well-armed priests wearing white tunics edged in +black; and another, who was as different from the nondescript priests as +Sadu differs from Botu, the jackal. + +Head and shoulders above his companions towered this fifth man; his face +was strong and proud, and from either side of a blade-like nose, eyes of +blue fire swept over the crowded room. + +Katon nudged the Cro-Magnard. "That tall one is Wotar, director of the +Games. He is no priest; and before Urim died, was one of Sephar's most +powerful nobles. He has been Game director for a long time; and since he +seems still in charge, must be high in Pryak's favor." + +Wotar may have heard the whispered words, for he glanced sharply in +Katon's direction. The glittering eyes stopped at the sight of Tharn, +taking in the graceful contours and swelling thews beneath the clear +bronzed skin. + +"You," Wotar said quietly, crooking a long forefinger at the cave-man. + +At first, Tharn did not fully comprehend; but when two of the priests +laid hold of his arms, his doubt was gone. + +"Goodbye, my friend." Katon's voice was sad. "We shall watch for your +return." + +"I will be back," Tharn promised from the doorway. Then he was gone, the +great door crashing shut behind him. + + * * * * * + +Tharn, preceded and followed by guards, was led along the corridor to +where it ended before a narrow door. In response to Wotar's knock it +opened, disclosing a small chamber almost filled with a miscellany of +weapons of every type known to prehistoric man. An attendant stood in +the center of the room, awaiting instructions from the director. + +"No weapons," Wotar said briefly. He turned to the cave-man. "You are to +go directly to the arena's center and wait for whatever I send against +you. Make a good fight of it and the crowd will be for you. That can +mean much to you. If you manage to kill your opponent, return here at +once. Do you understand?" + +"Yes." + +Wotar nodded to the attendant and the arena door was opened, flooding +the room with sunshine. Tharn, blinking in the sudden light, stepped +out on to the white sands of Sephar's Colosseum. + +That which met his eyes was something Tharn was never to forget. The +sandy floor was perhaps three hundred feet in length and half as many in +width--a perfectly symmetrical ellipse surrounded by a sheer stone wall +twelve feet in height. Beyond that wall the spectator stands began, tier +upon tier of stone benches sloping up and back for fifty yards to the +last row. + +The thousands of seats were filled with a shifting mass of humans, most +of whom had risen as Tharn came into sight. + +Never before had the cave-man seen so many people at one time; and the +noise and confusion affected him exactly as it would any jungle denizen. +His first instinctive impulse was to retreat, not because of fright, for +he knew no fear, but because it was strange and unpleasant and, worst of +all, there was that infernal din which only man of all animals can long +endure. + +The cave lord halted and half turned as though to withdraw, but the +crowd, believing him to be afraid, set up an ear-splitting clamor of +catcalls, whistlings and raucous shouts that whirled the barbarian about +in sudden anger. + +For a long moment he glared at the multi-eyed beast above him; then a +slight sound at his back aroused him to his immediate surroundings. + +He wheeled just as a huge figure launched itself at his neck. Before +Tharn could prevent it, strong fingers closed about his throat and the +impact of a solid body sent him staggering, saved from falling only by +superhuman effort. + + * * * * * + +During the seconds in which all this transpired, Tharn had discovered +what it was that had leaped cat-like upon him. He saw a great hulk of a +man, naked except for a pelt about his loins; a man with muscles bulging +so in arms, legs and shoulders as to constitute a deformity. He was not +quite so tall as Tharn, with an ugly, hairy face, contorted with rage. + +With the speed of a striking snake Tharn's hands came up, caught the +wrists at his throat and tore away those choking fingers as though they +were so many strands of cobweb. Then Tharn seized the other before he +could twist free--caught him by thrusting an arm between the crotch of +those gnarled legs while the other hand held to a hairy forearm. Lifting +him thus, Tharn swung the man aloft like a bundle of grass, then flung +him heavily to the sands a dozen paces away. + +The onlookers came to their feet with a swelling roar of approval. This +was what they had come to see; and they set up a deafening clamor that +seemed to shake the stands. Tharn never heard them. + +Now the dazed enemy was scrambling to his feet. Before he was fully +erect, Tharn was upon him with the silent ferocity of Jalok, the +panther. Grabbing the cringing man by the throat, the cave-man lifted +him bodily from the sands, and holding him at forearm's length, shook +him as a terrier shakes a rodent; shook him until the screaming voice +was stilled as the senses fled and the white figure hung limp and +motionless within Tharn's grasp. + +Then, while the crowd watched in thrilled horror, Tharn dropped to one +knee, placed the dead weight of his unconscious foe against his leg and +snapped the man's spine as he might have broken a slender branch. + +Rising, Tharn tossed aside the lifeless body and, not deigning to +acknowledge by look or gestures the pandemonium of acclaim, disappeared +through the arms-room door. + + * * * * * + +On the same morning that the Sepharian Games had opened, a band of fifty +warriors, clothed only in animal skins about their middles, halted on +the outskirts of an impenetrable forest which towered across their path. +At their backs was a broad prairie that had required many days to cross. + +The leader of the group, a man of heroic proportions, called together +three of the men and engaged them in earnest conversation. Several times +he gestured toward the mouth of a game trail leading into the jungle; +but the others continued to shake their heads as though unconvinced. + +"He would not go that way," one of them was saying. "In that direction +are high hills, and beyond those are great mountains he could not hope +to pass." + +"We do not know that he came even this far," said another of the three. +"We lost his trail over two suns ago; he may have changed his path many +times since then." + +Their leader silenced them with a wave of his hand. "You have told me +nothing to change my mind. The trail lies ahead; when we can go no +farther will be time enough to turn back and seek in a new direction." + +A few minutes later the last of the band had passed from view between +the walls of vegetation lining the narrow path. + + * * * * * + +Dylara, seated just behind the retaining wall of the arena, watched +Tharn's broad back pass through the little doorway. About her was the +murmur of many voices exclaiming over the exhibition of brute strength +they had just witnessed. Dimly she heard Alurna telling of being rescued +by that same forest god, the three nobles from Ammad serving as +audience. + +The cave-girl was trying hard to analyze the tangled emotions resulting +from Tharn's appearance. Something related to the sensation she had +known when he had taken her in his arms after striking Sadu dead, had +come back to her. Why did sight of him make her heart leap with that +peculiar breathless swoop? No one else she had ever known could effect +it so. How handsome, how magnificent he had appeared, standing there on +the white sands, sweeping the crowd with a contemptuous glance before +leaving the arena. + +She stole a glance at the handsome profile of Jotan as he listened +politely to Alurna's story. How fortunate she was to have won the love +of this man. In him were qualities all women sought in the men of their +choice. Good-looking, kindly, thoughtful, an honorable position in his +world--what more could any man offer? + +Yet only Tharn, untamed man of the caves, could make her heart leap and +thrill--something Jotan might never be able to do. + +Last night a priest had come to the great room where she had been taken +upon her return to Sephar. He had brought her to Jotan's quarters, and +she had spent the night there, sharing a room with the princess Alurna, +who had welcomed the opportunity of leaving the palace. + +The two girls had little to say to each other. Alurna had regarded the +slave-girl with unmasked loathing; while Dylara, after the first cold +rebuff of her attempt to be friendly, had withdrawn into a shell of +silence. + +On the following morning, however, Alurna had surprised Dylara by +displaying an attitude of warm friendliness toward her. Behind this +sudden change was the secret decision of the princess to undermine +Jotan's attempts to win the slave-girl.... + +Just as the second event was about to get under way, Jotan got up, +excused himself and made his way to the section of the stands reserved +for Pryak and the Council of Priests. There he took a seat beside the +high priest. + +Pryak glanced at him with a questioning lift of his eyebrows. + +"O Voice of the God," said Jotan, "my men and I have kept our promise to +attend the opening of the Games. We are anxious to start on our journey, +and ask your permission to depart without further loss of time." + +Sephar's enthusiastic reception of the Games thus far, had put the king +in high humor. + +"As you wish, Jotan," he said, rising and placing his hands on the +other's shoulders. "I ask of the God a safe and uneventful journey for +you and your men. And to Jaltor of Ammad, I send my greetings and +avowals of lasting friendship. Explain to him my reasons for placing +Urim's daughters in his care. He will approve, I am sure." + +"All you have asked shall be done," promised Jotan. "And now, Pryak, +king of Sephar and Voice of the God, I bid you farewell." + +Turning, Jotan hurried along the stone aisle to his own lodge and +waiting friends. Once there, he raised himself to his full height and +waved both arms above his head. + + * * * * * + +Directly across the arena a group of some forty or fifty warriors rose +in a body and started toward the nearest exit. + +"Come," Jotan said, motioning to the balance of those in his party. "We +start at once for Ammad." + +Dylara stood up, casting one last look toward the closed doorway through +which Tharn had passed not long before. He had been her last tie with +the old life. Now she was about to leave all that behind, to go into a +new world at the side of a man she greatly admired. Why was her heart so +heavy? Was it because she would never again see the caves of her +people--the face of her father? Or was it because Tharn was lost to her, +forever? Even should he come through the Games alive, she would be +gone--separated from him by the vast distance between Sephar and the +country Jotan called home. + +Jotan had told her something of the long stretches of untracked jungles +and waterless plains between Sephar and Ammad. From others of the +visitors she had heard stories of savage beasts and wild tribes of men +that haunted the mountain trails and forest-cloaked ravines to the +south. And beyond the mountains began a level monotony of grasslands +that reached to still more mountains forming the boundary to Ammad +itself. + +The street before the building allocated to the visitors swarmed with +hurrying figures bearing a wide assortment of articles to be bound into +individual packs for easy handling. + +Jotan took active charge. Quickly the line of march began to take form. +Broad-shouldered men swung compact bundles to their backs; well-armed +warriors took up their positions; and last of all, strongly made litters +of animal skins stretched between long poles, arrived for use of the two +female members of the party. + +Dylara, following the example set by Alurna, seated herself in the exact +center of the sheet of skins as it lay in the street. Two brawny +attendants stepped forward, bent, one at either end of the wooden poles, +and in perfect unison swung the rods to their shoulders. + +From his position at the column's forefront, Jotan looked back and waved +a greeting to the two girls. Satisfied that all were in place, he +shouted a command and the safari got under way. + +Across the city they marched, through wide-flung gates in the great +walls, and on across the cleared space beyond. Before them rose the +majestic trees and thick matted foliage of the forbidding jungle; and +here, leading directly southward through a tangled maze, was the +beginnings of a well-beaten trail, the first of many such roadways the +little cortege must follow before far-off Ammad could be reached. + +Just before the marchers entered the forest, Dylara turned to look back +at Sephar's walls, grim and impressive under the sun's flaming rays. +Still behind those sullen piles of rock was the man she could not +forget. Something deep within her whispered that she had found love only +to lose it; that happiness for her lay in forgetting, forever, the +stalwart young giant who had snatched her from a peaceful, uneventful +life. + +Once more she looked back, and abruptly the stone walls wavered and +dimmed as hot tears flooded her eyes.... + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +A Lesson in Archery + + +Dyta, the sun, swung lazily toward the western horizon. And with the +coming of dusk, Pryak rose from his bench at the edge of the arena in +Sephar's amphitheater and gave the signal ending the first day of the +Games. + +At his gesture the spectators climbed to their feet and pressed toward +the exits. They were less lively--more subdued than when they had poured +into the enclosure hours before. Perhaps the constant association with +death during the long day had sobered them, hushing their tongues at +last. But on the morrow they would be back, yesterday's scenes +forgotten, appetites whetted once more for hours of carnage. + +While far beneath Sephar a roomful of tired unsmiling men spread their +sleeping furs for the night in ominous silence. For them a long day had +ended, yet taut nerves relaxed but slightly; for all knew that on the +next day the wearying ordeal must begin anew. + +Morning found most of the prisoners awake and moving about the cell when +the morning meal was served. After the attendants had withdrawn and the +crowds were beginning to stream into the amphitheater, Tharn called a +number of prisoners together. + +"Get ready," he said. "The guards are due here any minute. Listen at the +door, Katon; when you hear them, let us know." + +Turning, the cave-man pulled Vulcar into position as the central figure +of the group. In this formation they waited expectantly, all eyes on +Katon at the door with one ear glued to the crack between door and jamb. + +Suddenly Katon straightened. "They come!" he whispered, and sprang +forward to join the others. + +At his words, the prisoners, yelling in well-simulated rage, pounced on +the hawk-faced Vulcar. The one-time officer was swept from his feet and +sent crashing to the floor with a resounding thump. A second later he +was at the bottom of a pile of raving madmen, all clearly lusting for +his blood. + +It was this scene that met the eyes of four guards and Wotar as they +came into the room. Taking in the situation at a glance, the director +barked a curt order that sent the guards into the scuffle. Using spear +butts as flails they managed to beat the cursing prisoners from the +limp body of a disheveled Vulcar, who got painfully to his feet. + +"What means this?" Wotar thundered. "Is there so little fighting in the +arena that you must brawl amongst yourselves?" + +Vulcar, still trembling from his narrow escape, hurried to explain. + +"These men," he panted, indicating the scowling faces about him, "hate +me because they think I am responsible for their being here. I have +tried to tell them it was Urim's fault, that I had only obeyed his +orders; but they would not listen. Some cried out that they would kill +me; then all of them sprang upon me. I would be dead now, had you not +come. As soon as you go they will try again. Put me elsewhere, mighty +Wotar; I am afraid to stay here." + +Vulcar's voice broke with fear, and he trembled so that he could hardly +stand. + +Wotar's lips curled with contempt. "Put him with the prisoners across +the hall," he instructed one of the soldier-priests. "Perhaps they will +be more gentle and considerate." + +Wotar was an intelligent man; but he failed to notice that the departing +prisoner no longer seemed the craven weakling of a moment before. Too, +he failed to perceive the poorly hidden satisfaction of the other +captives.... + + * * * * * + +The Game director, an experienced showman, had planned as the second +day's opening event, something calculated to arouse the spectators to +the highest pitch of excitement. Once in that frame of mind they would +follow each succeeding event with increasing enthusiasm--enthusiasm +being the barometer by which his fitness as director was measured. + +Three times his finger crooked; each time a man stepped forward. + +Quickly the guards took up positions and the three prisoners were led +away. + +In the arms-room each participant was handed a bow and three arrows. +Wotar gave them instructions, the outer door was opened, and Katon, +Rotark and Tharn stepped onto the sands. + +From the stands came a full-throated roar of approval. Tharn's fabulous +strength and agility they remembered from his initial appearance; the +others they also recalled as being exceptional fighting-men. + +This morning Tharn was feeling remarkably light-hearted. His supreme +self-confidence gave him assurance his plan of escape would come off +perfectly when the time was ripe. And certainly he was enjoying himself! +These battles with men and with animals, with death the penalty for any +mistake in tactics, were doing much to satisfy that deep love of +adventure which was so great a part of him. + +The men crossed the arena's entire length, halting a few feet from the +eastern wall. Then they turned about and waited, watching silently the +wooden door of the distant arms-room. + +They had not long to wait. Scarcely had they turned when that door +opened and three warriors, each with a bow and three arrows, came out. +They were clothed in white tunics, with legs and feet bare. All were +taller than the average Sepharian, with wide shoulders, narrow hips and +slender well-formed legs. + +"Sephar's three finest bowmen," Katon murmured. "The tallest is Maltor, +at one time chief of archers under Jaltor, and probably the greatest man +with a bow in our history. + +"I had forgotten the report that he would fight in the arena. Since he +enlisted in the Games only to display his bowmanship, he may withdraw at +any time. Watch him constantly, for he is our greatest danger." + +He fell silent then, sudden lines of worry on his face. "Tharn, I +remember, now, that you know nothing of fighting with a bow. We must +work out some way of covering you." + + * * * * * + +The cave-man permitted himself a grim smile. "You are wrong," he said +quietly. "The bow and I are good friends. I will keep up my end of this +fight." + +Katon was satisfied. "Good. Now if only we can outwit them.... + +"Let them shoot first. Watch the fingers of their right hands; when they +open on the arrow's haft, jump quickly aside, keeping an arrow ready in +your own bow. The moment you regain balance aim quickly and send your +first answer. + +"Aim always for the belly. A man can shift his head and shoulders much +quicker than he can his middle. Besides, his belly is a broader mark. + +"Ready now! They are getting close! Tharn--Maltor is for you. +Rotark--see what you can do with the man on his left. The other is mine. + +"Ah! they have stopped. They still are too far away to risk a shot. +Being careful, I suppose; they had better be! + +"Tharn! Thrust two of your arrows point first in the sand within reach. +Fit the other to your bow. Do the same, Rotark. + +"Careful now! They are starting this way again! Maltor is no fool; he is +trying to coax us into wasting arrows." + +Katon fell silent. His two friends, their bows half drawn, arrow points +held downward, stood relaxed, intently gauging the approach of the +enemy, now a scant forty paces away. + +An absolute silence had enveloped the entire amphitheater as every +observer of this tense drama strained his eyes to catch the impending +action. + +Now Maltor, arrogant and impatient, stepped a pace or two in advance of +his companions. Notching an arrow, he nodded over his shoulder to the +others, who came up beside him. Three bows were raised in unison; the +warriors aimed their shafts carefully, each at a different member of +Katon's troupe. The human targets stood at ease, seemingly indifferent +to their danger. + +And then the scheme the wily Maltor had evolved was flashed on the enemy +with a suddenness and brilliancy of execution that would have done much +to settle the final outcome--had it succeeded. + + * * * * * + +A split second before the arrows were released, two of the three archers +turned their aim toward the same target as that selected by Maltor. +Immediately three bowstrings twanged as one, sending three flint-tipped +shafts with incredible swiftness at a single mark. + +To avoid one swiftly flying missile was difficult enough; to dodge +three, so cunningly spaced that a move to either side would avail +naught, was all but impossible. Yet in the flicker of time required for +the arrows to reach him, Tharn had acted in the only manner possible to +avoid impalement. + +Flat on his face dropped the cave-man, the three bolts passing inches +above his descending head to shatter against the stone wall beyond. As +he fell, Katon and Rotark fired their first arrows. + +One found a mark. A man screamed suddenly, horribly, and sank to the +sand, a wooden shaft protruding from his abdomen. Rotark had followed +instructions! + +Had Katon's target been less agile there would have been two casualties. +But the man managed to avoid that flashing point by a sideward lunge, +keeping his balance with difficulty in the shifting sands. + +Meanwhile, Tharn had not remained passively in a reclining position. As +the opening barrage passed over him, he rose to his knees and dispatched +his first arrow at the foe Katon had given him. + +Maltor was too seasoned a warrior to be caught napping. Even though he +had momentarily dismissed Tharn as a source of danger, he had kept an +eye on the cave-man. And that precaution enabled him to twist aside +barely in time to keep from being struck. + +The veteran bowman gasped incredulously as the stone-shod missile whined +past. He marvelled that a man's arm could be capable of driving an arrow +with such superhuman power. + +It was Maltor's last thought in this life. + +Even as Tharn released his first arrow, his right hand shot out, +snatched a second from its vertical position in the sand, strung it and +let go--all within the quiver of an eye-lid. Maltor, still trying to +regain balance, was in no position to dodge again. + + * * * * * + +Those in the stands saw the famed bowman straighten as though jerked +upright by an invisible hand. Mouth agape, eyes staring in +uncomprehending horror, he remained upright for a long moment, while a +red line trickled between the fingers he had clapped to his side. Then +he turned in a slow half-circle, his knees buckled; and Maltor sank to +the sands, dead where he fell. + +So savage had been the force behind Tharn's arrow that head and shaft +had passed completely through the Sepharian's body. + +Rotark, watching, spellbound by the brief drama, was shocked from his +inertia when his bow was torn from his grasp and hurled several yards +away. One end struck him, in its flight, full across the face and sent +him sprawling. + +An arrow intended for Rotark's heart had, instead, crashed against the +hardwood bow in his hand. The impact cost Rotark two of his teeth; an +inch or so either way would have cost him his life. + +While the doleful one was still falling, Katon's bow spoke a second time +and the last enemy dropped, mortally wounded. + +Rotark, gloomier than ever, got unsteadily to his feet, +spat out two teeth as an involuntary offering to the +God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud, picked up his splintered bow and +started for the exit. + +Katon and Tharn grinned quietly to one another and followed him. + +And the thrilled thousands in the stands released at last the breath +they unconsciously had been holding for long seconds. + + * * * * * + +And so the day wore on. Many times during the passing hours guards +entered the great cell to select men for combat in the arena. Some of +those selected returned, others never came back; but survivors +outweighed, by far, the losses. The reasons were two: Every man knew +that survival, now, would heighten his chance for freedom when the break +took place. As a result he fought with determination and daring not +possible without hope to feed upon. + +Wotar was responsible for the second reason. The director knew from +years of handling these Games that spectators thrilled more over duels +between men than over those between men and beasts. As a consequence he +husbanded his supply of warriors, sending enough of them at one time +against the jungle creatures that the latter almost invariably succumbed +before they could do much harm. Only when a man proved an exceptionally +able warrior were the odds more nearly even. + +About mid-way in that long afternoon, Wotar and his men entered the +dungeon and took Tharn, alone, with them. The cave lord looked back as +he passed through the doorway, in time to catch an expression in Katon's +eyes that was very close to being fear. It came to Tharn, then, that +should he perish in action, the planned revolt might never take place. +On his leadership depended the hopes of every man in that room. + +Once more Tharn found himself in the arms-room. The attendant there +looked questioningly at Wotar. + +The master of the Games ran a thoughtful eye over the Cro-Magnard's +splendid body. + +"Give him a hunting-knife--and nothing else," he said finally. "So far +this man has had an easy time of it. Now we shall learn just how much of +a fighter he really is!" + +Silently the guard presented a long-bladed knife of flint. + +Once more the arena door opened; and Tharn, blade in hand, strode into +the amphitheater. + +The shrill cacophony which greeted him held a welcoming note that did +not escape the young Tharn. For the first time, he raised his eyes to +the innumerable tiers, observing with wonder the mammoth sea of faces +turned in his direction. Near the arena wall on his right, and half way +to the far end of the arena itself, was that section occupied by Pryak +and his numerous retinue. Tharn had no difficulty in picking out the +high priest's unimpressive figure seated close to the protecting wall. + +The cave-man's reverie was abruptly shattered as the massive gate at the +enclosure's far end began to swing open. For a moment nothing appeared; +then slowly and majestically there emerged from the darkened interior +Tharn's arch enemy--Sadu, the lion! + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +Revolt! + + +As Sadu, the lion, came into full view, a collective groan rose on the +afternoon air. Then came scattered boos and cries of disapproval from +various points in the stands. + +"Give him arrows and a bow!" + +"No man can kill a lion with a knife!" + +"Death to Pryak!" shouted some more hardy soul. + +Scattered protests began to gather volume until they beat as a steady +roar, filling the entire arena with ominous sound. Armed priests, +stationed at the upper edge of the retaining wall, began to move +uneasily among the seats to restore order. + +Suddenly the mounting crescendo stilled, as action on the arena sands +seemed imminent. + +Sunlight, flooding the huge oval, bathed in golden glory the calm figure +of the man and the tan coat of the jungle king. With striking clarity it +picked out the corded muscles and swelling muscles of this cave-god. His +handsome, finely-shaped head with its crowning mop of straight black +hair; his shoulders, wide and erect; his mighty chest, narrow waist and +tapering hips--all made up a picture of physical perfection that no +observer was likely to forget. + +And yet, invincible though this Cro-Magnard appeared, he seemed puny and +pitiable when compared with the huge beast that Wotar had sent against +him. Never before had so magnificent a lion appeared in Sephar's Games. +Even Tharn, jungle traveler for most of his life, had blinked +disbelievingly when Sadu made his entrance. + +Sadu padded gently forward, the lithe sinews of his giant body rolling +smoothly beneath a shimmering hide. He seemed unruffled and serene; only +the angry lash of his sinuous tail told of a seething ferocity within +that lordly head. + +Armed only with his painfully inadequate knife, Tharn advanced slowly to +meet certain destruction. He knew his chances for victory were so slim +as to be almost non-existent; yet the self-confidence and +resourcefulness born of a hundred battles against overwhelming odds were +weapons more dependable than the flint blade he carried. + +Sadu stopped his own advance when the hated man-thing started toward +him. For several days now, he had been underfed, goaded about with sharp +sticks and shouting voices, harassed and annoyed until he was angry +enough to have charged a regiment. Yet that unfathomable sense of +caution, so strong a part of every wild creature, held him motionless +before the deliberate approach of this two-legged enemy. + +Tharn halted. Only a few paces separated the two as they stood unmoving. +The man's eyes were riveted on the lion's restless tail; by its +movements could he know what was taking place in Sadu's brain. + +Slowly Sadu settled into a crouching position, head flattened, +hindquarters drawn beneath his taut frame, tail twitching in jerky +undulations. A vagrant breeze ruffled the thick mane at his neck.... + + * * * * * + +Suddenly the tail stiffened and shot erect; and voicing an +ear-shattering roar, Sadu sprang at the man in his path. + +Sadu, the lion, had felt man's tender flesh beneath his yellow fangs and +murderous talons before this. He expected no more resistance from this +one than had come from those others. + +It was an astonished beast, therefore, that crashed to the sand where +the man had been--and was no longer. With an uncanny agility Tharn +evaded that lightning charge; then, so quickly that human eyes were hard +put to follow, he leaped in and drove his heavy knife deep behind Sadu's +left shoulder. + +The jungle king, snarling hideously from unexpected pain and shock, +wheeled and struck in one simultaneous motion; but Tharn, leaping high +as the great cat turned, vaulted completely over the broad back, the +dripping knife still clutched in his hand. Before Sadu could reverse +himself, the blade flashed again, striking at the base of the tawny neck +where lay the great spine. + +The flint bit deep but missed a vital spot by half an inch. Sadu had +moved in a rapid sideward maneuver as Tharn's arm was descending, and +while the wound that resulted was painful, it was by no means fatal. + +Worst of all, the blow had cost the Cro-Magnard his only weapon. Sadu's +sudden shift had torn the knife from Tharn's fingers before he could tug +it free, leaving the blade sunk deep, haft still standing upright like a +miniature cross. + +His blood crimsoning the white sands, Sadu whirled about, sending a +shower of the fine particles high into the air. Once more he hurled +himself at his elusive foe, and once more Tharn dodged aside. But this +time his foot slipped a little in the yielding sand. One flailing paw +struck his chest a glancing blow, the claws raking long scratches there, +and Tharn was catapulted heels over head a full fifteen feet across the +arena. + +A little murmur of protest came from the ranks of spectators. They had +witnessed what had promised to be an ineffectual struggle develop into a +battle between giants, with its ultimate outcome very much in doubt. +Now, through a quirk of fate, the grim battle was ended; the favorite +they had acclaimed was doomed. + +Sadu leaped forward to make his kill. + +Tharn, helpless, knew life had run its course. Nothing could save him +now. + +And then fickle fate shifted once more. Tharn's right hand, pressing +against the ground in a last futile effort to throw himself to one side, +closed purely by chance about a hard object which he instantly +identified as the hilt of a stone knife, dropped there, doubtless, by +some warrior earlier in the day. + +Recognition and action came together. Tharn raised the weapon, hilt +between thumb and bent forefinger, and, while still in a sitting +position, flung it with all the concentrated strength of his powerful +arm point foremost at the on-rushing bulk. + +As in a dream he saw the sliver of flint streak through the sunlight to +meet the great head. Full into Sadu's right eye sank its entire length; +then a crushing weight came down on Tharn's chest and he knew no more. + + * * * * * + +He could not have been unconscious for long; for his eyes opened in time +to see Sadu's lifeless body being dragged away. Two guards were standing +over his own supine figure, evidently seeking to learn the extent of his +injuries. + +"He lives!" ejaculated one in surprise, as Tharn's eyes fluttered open. + +In answer the cave man got unsteadily to his feet, and while the effort +sent a spasm of pain through his bruised chest and aching ribs, his face +betrayed nothing of his suffering. + +Leisurely he brushed sand from his back and legs, then turned and walked +toward the western gate. Heedless to the thunder of acclaim beating +against his ears, he disappeared through the arms-room door. + +Once within the common cell, Tharn told enough of his adventure to dull +the prisoners' curiosity, then edged away to join Katon. + +Thus the day wore on. Now and then guards would enter, pick out a man or +two and depart. Once, Brutan came back from the arena with his left +cheek laid open from an animal's claw. But the wound had dulled no part +of his braggardism and he told a highly colored tale of an encounter +against nearly impossible odds. + +Later in that afternoon, Katon had been summoned, to be absent for what +seemed an age to Tharn. But return he did, unscathed, a broad smile +lighting up his face as the cave lord came forward to welcome him. + +A bond of friendship, based on mutual respect and admiration, had formed +between these two men; a bond which passing days but served to augment. +It was destined to be that rare understanding known only between men, +wherein each finds within the other something of himself. + +Just before the day's end, Brosan went out, a quip on his lips and a +careless wave of his hand to the others. That joking remark and carefree +gesture remained with every man in the cell, for Brosan never came +back.... + +Darkness came at last, and for a second time the roaring of beasts and +shrieks and moans of dying men ceased in the oval above. Food was +brought and the weary gladiators ate and drank, doing their best to +forget tiredness and strain. + +Sleep came slowly that night to most of them. Within every heart was +strong desire for the morrow to come--the new day for which all had +waited. There were some here who would never see a second sunrise; but, +as is usual under such conditions, each man looked for death to single +out any one other than himself. + + * * * * * + +Less than a day's journey to the north of Sephar's walls a party of +fifty warriors supped on the freshly-killed meat of Neela, the zebra, +shortly before Dyta slid below the western earth-line. All that day they +had traveled slowly along a thread-like game trail leading directly +south. At times, for hours on end, they had walked through sombre depths +of brooding jungle, beneath grotesque shadows of forest kings. Again, +their way was across wide reaches of gently undulating prairie, where +thick yellow grasses, deep to a tall man's thighs, stirred beneath the +touch of baking winds. + +Always, however, they had moved into the south, and ever in the lead was +he whose decision, based solely on a vague premonition, had brought them +so far from home. On this man's left forearm was the painted insignia of +a chief.... + +With the sudden coming of night, the entire party took to the safety of +high branches on either side of the trail. When Dyta returned on the +morrow, they once more would take up their march into the mountains to +the south ... always to the south. + + * * * * * + +Once more, dawn poked gray fingers through the overhead grill-work of +the great cell beneath Sephar's amphitheater. And from the same point +came sounds of Sephar's thousands, filing again into their seats for +another day of grisly entertainment. + +Tharn rolled over, sat up and ran tanned fingers through his heavy shock +of black hair. For a moment his eyes ran over the sleeping scores, +picking out many whom he had learned to respect. There was Katon, head +pillowed on the biceps of a strong right arm, a half smile discernible +on his firm mouth; he was sleeping soundly. Near him lay Brutan, the red +edges of his wound showing through black stubble covering his cheek. +There was Rotark, his long face even more solemn in sleep; and next to +him, Gorlat, blond hair unruffled, his tunic, still nearly immaculate, +neatly folded and placed close beside him. + +Tharn got to his feet and set about awakening the sleepers. Before Wotar +arrived, he meant to speak once more to the prisoners; to go over for +the last time, those few vital points which all must know perfectly if +his plans were to be carried to a successful conclusion. + +When all were assembled, he spoke briefly, asking questions again and +again that none might fail to understand what was expected of him. The +men listened intently, hanging on his every word and drinking deep of +the inexhaustible fund of courage and surety possessed by the gray-eyed +young man. + +When he had finished he knew they were with him heart and soul, that +every man present would charge, without hesitation, a hundred spear +points if the need arose. If Vulcar could manage as well with the group +across the hall, then Sephar could have a new ruler before nightfall. + +He had no more than finished speaking, when the door opened, admitting +Wotar and six guards. Quickly, ten prisoners were singled out and taken +from the cell, among them Tharn and the golden haired Gorlat. + +Upon reaching the arms-room, Wotar sent four prisoners, with as many +guards, into the chamber, the others being forced to wait until the tiny +room could be cleared. And of the four who entered, two were Tharn and +Gorlat. + +The door was closed and barred. The prisoners stood quietly, waiting for +the attendant to parcel out weapons to them. + +The crisis was at hand. Now that it had come, Tharn felt his muscles +tense, his nerves grow taut, a deadly coolness steal through him. His +eyes narrowed, as do the eyes of Tarlok preparing to leap upon unwary +prey. + +The air of the small chamber seemed suddenly charged with something +electrical; a hushed breath of expectancy made the stillness strangely +unbearable.... + + * * * * * + +A guard cleared his throat uneasily, sending a harsh rasping note +against the silence. He said, "Give each man a bow, ten arrows and a +spear." + +Removing a stone-tipped spear from a pile in one corner, the attendant +offered it, butt foremost, to the cave-man, who reached forth a steady +hand to take it. As his fingers closed on the haft, and before anyone +could guess his intention, Tharn drew back his arm and drove the +triangle of flint into the man's throat, changing a scream of terror +into a gasping whisper. + +As the dying guard slumped forward, the other captives snatched weapons +from the supply about them and leaped upon the dazed soldiers, three of +whom went down before they could lift a hand in defense. + +Tharn, farthest from the group, was forced to cross the entire room +before he could lay hands on the fourth guard. That one, instead of +standing his ground, was seeking to reach and unbar the corridor door. + +As he fumbled with the heavy timber, iron fingers closed on one shoulder +and tore him away. Up and back he swung, high above Tharn's head; then +his thrown body struck head foremost against the far wall, crushing the +skull like a blown egg. + +Turning to his comrades, Tharn found two of the three remaining guards +were already accounted for. The third, however, had killed one rebel, +and using the dead body as a shield, was successfully standing off all +efforts of the two men seeking to reach him. In one hand he grasped a +long spear, its darting head having already inflicted slight wounds on +the menacing pair. + +A thunderous pounding warned Tharn that the sounds of combat had aroused +Wotar and his two men. The entire rebellion was being threatened by one +courageous man; and unless this delay was speedily ended, the break for +freedom was destined to end here and now. + +Stooping, Tharn grasped the dead body of the attendant, straightened, +and hurled it with all his giant strength full against the lone +defender's human shield. So terrific was that impact, that the guard was +swept completely from his feet. Before he could recover, Gorlat had +slipped a knife into his heart. + +Bounding forward, Tharn unbarred and threw open the door, and sprang +into the corridor, his two friends at his heels. He had a brief glimpse +of Wotar's hanging jaw and stupefied expression before the two factions +closed in battle. + + * * * * * + +Wotar was no coward. As Tharn leaped toward him he whipped a knife from +his belt and swung it savagely at the Cro-Magnard's broad chest. + +Like the striking head of an angry snake, Tharn's hand shot out and +closed on Wotar's wrist. Mighty fingers contracted, and the knife +dropped from his nerveless grasp to clatter against the stone floor. +Tharn's free hand closed on the hapless leader's jaw, tightened, then +wrenched the head in a vicious half-circle that left a broken neck in +its wake. + +When Tharn released the clay that once had been Wotar, master of +Sephar's Games, he found no other foe alive within the corridor. Dead on +the floor were the two guards, torn and mangled from the savage fury of +those who had snuffed out their lives. Eight men, eyes alight, stood +before him, awaiting instructions. + +The cave dweller singled out two of them. + +"Go back and open both cells. First, free those in our own room; Vulcar +may not have convinced the others to join us. If so, our men can help in +convincing them! + +"Tell them the way is open to this room. Caution all to silence, that +none overhears us and warns those we hope to surprise." + +Tharn then motioned the remaining six into the arms-room. There, each +armed himself with a bow, arrows, knife and a spear. + +Soon they heard sounds of naked feet within the corridor, and into view, +three abreast, came the former prisoners. At their head was Katon; +beside him strode Vulcar, once captain of Urim's guards. + +Tharn halted them just short of the arsenal. He ran his eyes along the +ranks, and what he saw brought a smile of satisfaction to his lips. + +As far back as his eyes could make out in the dimly lighted passageway +were men. There were at least a hundred and fifty--perhaps more; all +eager for weapons and a chance to use them. + +The Cro-Magnard held up one hand to gain their attention. "Remember," he +said, "march into the arena quickly and in silence. Do not so much as +glance at the spectators until I give the signal. And when that signal +comes, seek to kill only priests and warriors. To attack the people of +Sephar without cause would only make them hate and fear us. We cannot +fight an entire city. + +"Come forward now--three each time. Once within the arena, take the +places I give you." + +Three entered the arms-room. To each went a bow, quiver of arrows, +complete with shoulder band; a knife and a spear. Tharn then opened the +outer door and passed them through, then pulled it shut and aided in +arming the next three. + +In that fashion twenty-seven were sent into the amphitheater before +Tharn called a halt. Dimly, he could hear the rustling murmur from the +packed stands, and he knew that all was well--thus far, at least. + +He summoned Vulcar and Katon, now, gave them weapons identical to those +issued to the others, and went with them into the arena, Rotark acting +as door-keeper. + + * * * * * + +In a wide semi-circle at the far end of the sandy field stood the +twenty-seven who had gone before them. They made a thin line, their +backs close to the retaining wall, one end of which was almost directly +below the loges occupied by Pryak and the Council of Priests. It was +toward this section that Tharn and his two companions bent their steps. + +The cave lord took a position less than four paces from the stone +barrier at his back. Above him sat Pryak, high priest and ruler of +Sephar, deep in conversation with Orbar. + +Now, the second contingent of warriors began to issue from the +arms-room. In groups of three, seconds apart, they emerged and took up +positions near the wall at the arena's opposite end. + +When an equal number were at either end of the enclosure, the influx of +armed men became heavier. In groups of five, now, they appeared and +formed a second row a few feet in front of the others and facing in the +same direction. There were fully four score in the open by this +time--and still they came. + +Tharn knew the moment was fast approaching when suspicion would become +aroused by this unprecedented concentration of warriors. Already a few +priests were peering down at them, puzzled expressions on their faces. +The buzz of conversation began to fade; and here and there spectators +were rising to their feet. + +Pryak stood up, suddenly, and leaned over the railing. + +"What means this?" he asked of Orbar. "Does Wotar mean to end the Games +with one battle? There are too many men on the sands; send someone to +investigate." + +Tharn, overhearing, knew he dared wait no longer. Throwing back his +head, he sent the hair-raising battle cry of his tribe reverberating +throughout the entire structure. As the notes of that horrendous cry +rose on the still air, he pivoted about and sent a slender arrow leaping +from his bow full at the head of Pryak, king of Sephar! + +It is no mean tribute to Pryak's nimbleness to tell that he dodged that +arrow. And dodge it he did--falling back into the arms of his retinue as +death passed a finger's breadth above his sparse locks to transfix an +unfortunate under-priest. + +The cave-man's cry was the awaited signal, releasing all the pent-up +hate and fury within the hearts of those who acknowledged him as leader. +As one man, a hundred warriors turned and loosed a shower of arrows at +the thin line of guards and priests above them. The instant those +flint-tipped messengers were released, those rebels nearest the walls +knelt, braced themselves and became living ladders over which their +comrades swarmed to gain the seats above. + + * * * * * + +A living wave of blood-hungry men swarmed into the stands and fell upon +the already wavering ranks of defenders. The entire bowl was now a +maelstrom of swirling bodies, legs and arms. Panic-stricken spectators, +few of them armed, rose from their benches and rushed headlong for the +exits, trammeling, pushing, fighting to gain the streets, to escape the +raving horde of crazed demons. + +And, seemingly everywhere at the same time, Tharn, Katon and Vulcar +fought shoulder to shoulder, their knives rising and falling, their +spears licking out to take lives and spread further the reign of terror +they had fostered. + +Twice, Tharn caught sight of Gorlat, blond hair finally disarranged, +weaving among the tiers like a cat, his only weapon a long, thin knife. +And as priest after priest sought futilely to keep that long blade from +his throat, Tharn knew, now, why Vulcar had said few could equal that +young man with such a weapon. How many died that day with throats slit +by that knife, only Gorlat knew--and he was never to tell. + +It had happened shortly after Tharn had caught his second glimpse of the +steadily smiling youth. Gorlat had just made a kill, and as he stood +erect, a thrown spear came from nowhere to catch him full in the chest. +Gorlat had staggered back to sink into a sitting position on an empty +bench. Dazedly he had raised a hand to wipe away the red stains of his +own blood from that once spotless tunic--then slumped back and moved no +more. + +There were other men of Tharn's force who fell, never to rise again; +but for each who died, five enemies went to join him. Bodies of slain +priests were everywhere--draped across seats, hanging over the arena +wall, lying in the aisles. Warriors loyal to Pryak had died in droves +and lay glaring at the sky with sightless eyes. + +At last there was none within the amphitheater other than the dead, the +wounded, and the blood-splashed figures of the rebels who stood panting +from their efforts, their eyes on Tharn and his two lieutenants. + +Of those three, Vulcar alone had been wounded. An arrow had creased his +shoulder close to his neck, and blood from the cut had stained one side +of his chest a fast-darkening crimson. But his eyes were bright with +satisfaction and his lips were curled in grim content. + +"Urim would have enjoyed this!" he said, and his smile widened. "Now, on +to the palace and the temple to clean out the rest of Pryak's men. That +done, the city is ours!" + +Katon bent and took up a stray spear. "Come, then," he remarked; "if we +wait, they will have gotten over their panic and will be that much +harder to rout a second time." + +Tharn nodded agreement. "First, the palace; then we can invade the +temple and take Pryak and his men." + + * * * * * + +A warrior spoke from the ranks. "Dare we enter the temple?" he asked +doubtfully. "If we offend the God, He may destroy us." + +"He is right!" declared another. "Why should we chance angering our God. +Once the city is ours, Pryak will have to do as we say. Let us not +attack the House of the God." + +"Pryak dies!" Vulcar roared, grinding the butt of his spear savagely +against the stone flooring. "Let the God be offended--Pryak must die! If +the rest of you brave warriors are afraid, I will go alone into the +temple and drag out Urim's murderer by the few hairs left on his ugly +head! + +"Did Pryak's God save these priests who lie about us, here, their bodies +cut by our spears and knives? Did He, seeing Pryak in danger, hide him +with His sky-fire? No; they were men like us; and since they deserved to +die, they _did_ die! Pryak is next!" + +Tharn, listening with silent admiration and approval, thought of +something that snatched the half-smile from his lips. + +"Where _is_ Pryak?" he asked. "He was here when the fighting started. +How did he and those with him get away?" + +The others could furnish nothing toward clearing up this minor mystery. +Nor was there a single body of the missing group in the vicinity. + +"Let us go on," suggested Tharn finally. "After the palace is taken, we +can set about finding Vulcar's good friend Pryak!" + +Still chuckling at the cave-man's sally, the insurgents formed into a +column, three abreast, and marched toward a nearby exit that led from +the shambles they had created. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +Conclusion + + +Upon reaching the street, they started for the palace, its white walls +gleaming under the mid-morning sun. No citizen of Sephar was abroad; but +the marching men were conscious of watching eyes at windows of the +buildings on either side. + +The palace grounds, too, were deserted as they swept across the palace +grounds and dashed against the great double doors. They might as well +have sought to force the palace walls so strongly barred were the heavy +planks. + +As they stood debating their next step, a shower of spears, arrows and +clubs fell suddenly upon them from above, killing several before Tharn +could give the order to withdraw. + +At a safe distance from the windows, Tharn, Vulcar and Katon held a +brief council of war, finally agreeing upon a strategic maneuver that +held promise of being effective. + +Eight warriors left the group, returning with a heavy log, free of +branches. This was carried, four men to a side, to within a short +distance from the barred entranceway. Now, eight replacements came +forward, took up the massive tree trunk and started at a run toward the +doors, the log's heavy base aimed at a point where the two rough-hewn +sections joined. + +Within a dozen paces of their objective, they swerved sharply to their +left and sent the great timber crashing through the slender stone +columns of a large window. + +Following the log came those who had carried it, pouring through to the +hallway beyond. It was deserted; evidently the defenders were grouped at +the upstairs windows, intending to stage their defense from that point. + +A second later the palace doors were thrown wide and, notwithstanding a +heavy barrage from overhead, the rebels soon over-ran the central +hallway. + +Halfway up the wide staircase they were met by a withering volley from +the upper passageway and stairhead. But Tharn raised his voice once more +in the awesome war challenge of his people, and which seemed to lift his +followers bodily to the top of the steps. + +Here, fighting was fast and furious. Although outnumbered at first by +four to one, the insurgents made up that handicap by the intensity of +their assault; and slowly but steadily Pryak's loyal troops were being +pushed back. + + * * * * * + +Tharn was in his element! Knife and spear had been cast aside or lost; +his only weapons were his mighty hands. Yet his was the most feared +figure among the rebels, as was attested to by the mound of strangled +and broken guards strewn about him. + +Several times he saw Katon battling away close by, a long knife in +either hand. Once, an enemy in a badly torn tunic was preparing to drive +a knife into his unsuspecting back. Tharn had torn a spear from the +fingers of a neighboring comrade and without pausing to judge distance, +had thrown it across the hall to pass half its length into the side of +Katon's would-be slayer. The man had fallen, while Katon, unaware of his +narrow escape, was finishing the warrior with whom he had been engaged. + +Of Vulcar, Brutan and Rotark, Tharn had seen nothing since the battle +began. During momentary lulls he had time to wonder how they were +faring--if, somewhere in this madhouse of fighting, bellowing men, they +were managing to keep their skins whole. + +Gradually the palace defenders were weakening, losing heart as their +list of casualties grew. Already, the men of Tharn's party had sensed +victory was slowly but surely passing into their hands. + +And then came the unexpected, the one contingency which none of the +rebel leaders had forseen. + +A ringing shout sounded from the open doorway, and through the gap came +priests from the temple of Sephar's God. Instead of waiting for the +freedom-hungry prisoners to take their first objective, then march +against the House of God, the cunning arch priest had sent every man he +could muster to reinforce the palace garrison. + +There must have been a hundred of them, fresh and--for priests--eager +for battle. They fell upon the revolters from behind, spreading death +and consternation in the thinning ranks of those from Sephar's pits. + +Encouraged by aid from this wholly unexpected quarter, the palace +defenders regained their fading morale and renewed the attack with +reckless fury. + +The end had come. Bitter was the realization to Tharn who, until now, +had been certain nothing could prevent his men from taking Sephar. He +smarted under the knowledge that wily old Pryak had outwitted them after +all. + +He might, under cover of the raging turmoil, have turned his back on +friends and supporters to seek out Dylara's cell and escape with her +from Sephar. But the thought was gone as it was born; and the +Cro-Magnard sought to rally his shaken followers to the task of cutting +a pathway back to the street. Once outside, some of them might manage to +flee into the jungle--a far cry from their ambitious dream of taking +Sephar! + +It began to appear, however, that leaving the palace was to be +infinitely more difficult than forcing an entrance had been. Again and +again his men were repulsed by the white-faced but unflinching priests +at the foot of the staircase. Steadily the number of rebels grew less; +and while they took more lives than they gave, there were too many to +outlast. + +Suddenly there rose above the pandemonium within, a chorus of savage +cries from outside the open doors. Tharn straightened as though struck +by an unseen spear. His eyes went wide with incredulous astonishment +bordering on disbelief; then from his powerful lungs broke an answering +shout that paled to insignificance the tumult about him. + + * * * * * + +Swarming into the hall below, came a host of strange, warlike +fighting-men, naked except for panther- and leopard-skins about their +loins. Splendid, beautifully proportioned barbarians they were, heavy +war-spears gripped in powerful right hands, sun-bronzed skins rippling +under the play of corded muscles. + +At their head was the stalwart figure of a man such as never before had +been seen within Sephar's borders. Four inches above six feet he stood, +slim of hip and broad of shoulder--a wealth of black hair held from his +eyes by a strip of cured snakeskin. + +"Father!" burst from Tharn's lips. + +At sound of his cry, the leader of the newcomers looked sharply in his +direction. + +"Kill!" shouted young Tharn, bringing one hand out in a sweeping gesture +toward the frozen ranks of priests. + +In response, the Cro-Magnards threw themselves at the white-clad enemy. +At the same time Tharn, the younger, leaped into action, shouting words +of instruction and encouragement to his friends. + +The end came quickly. Torn at from two sides, the priests broke and fled +in all directions, the cave-men in hot pursuit. At sight of this, the +original defenders threw down their weapons and surrendered on the spot. + +Now came Tharn, the elder, striding forward to greet his son. Behind him +crowded others of the tribe, wide smiles on their lips. + +"We have searched long for you, my son," said the chief. "At times we +were close to giving up; it was not until yesterday that one of us found +where you and a girl had followed a game trail leading to this place." + +"You could not have arrived at a better time!" + +The chief smiled. Katon, watching from the background, marveled at the +striking resemblance of father to son when both smiled. + +"At first," said the Cro-Magnard leader, "we were almost afraid to leave +the jungle's edge. But no one was about the openings in the walls, and +as your trail led straight toward one of them, we decided to follow it. +Then, too, all of us were curious to see what manner of people lived in +such strange caves. + +"No one tried to stop us. In fact, we saw no one at all. I was beginning +to wonder if we were the only ones here until we heard sounds of +fighting coming from here. The rest you know." + +His son nodded. "Soon I shall tell you what I have gone through since I +last saw you. But first I have something to do." + +He hesitated. How should he go about telling his father? He hoped Dylara +would not exhibit that temper of hers the first time she met the chief. + +"What must you do?" the chief asked, glancing sharply at the face of his +son. + +"I have taken a mate!" There--it was out! + + * * * * * + +His father never batted an eye. + +"Where is she?" + +"Somewhere in this place. A prisoner, I suppose. Katon, here, may be +able to find her. She--she may not seem pleased that I have come for +her." + +Those last words came out with an effort. But sooner or later his father +was bound to learn he had taken a mate by force. + +The elder man pursed his lips to keep from smiling. He was shrewd enough +to come very close to the true state of affairs. But what of it? His own +courtship had been none too easy. Afterward, Nada and he had been closer +than words could express. He had never, nor would ever, lose the pain +that had come when she had been taken captive by some strange tribe so +many years ago. + +Katon, at mention of his name, had stepped forward. + +"This," Tharn said, "is Katon--my friend." + +There was immediate approval in the eyes of both the blue-eyed Sepharian +and the Cro-Magnard chief. + +"Dylara probably is in the slave quarters," Katon said. "If you will +come with me, I will lead you there." + +And shortly thereafter, father and son stood before a great door while +Katon removed its heavy bar. + +They entered a huge, sunlit room crowded with women, young and old, who +shrank away from them in alarm. + +There was one, however, who did not draw away. Her lovely face was +registering astonishment and disbelief--and hope. One hand lifted slowly +to her throat as she stared into the eyes of Tharn's father. + +Nor was she alone in displaying tangled emotions. Tharn, the elder, was +gazing at the woman as though unable to credit the evidence of his own +eyes. + +And then the man found his voice. + +"Nada!" It was more gasp than a word. + +"Tharn--my mate!" + +An instant later she was caught up in his arms. + +Young Tharn looked on in bewilderment, not grasping, at first, the +significance of that single word his father had uttered. Then, as the +chief turned toward him, an arm about the woman's shoulders, he +understood. + +Then his arm, too, was about her: and after twelve long years, father, +son, and mother were reunited. + + * * * * * + +None of the three had much to say during the next few minutes. There was +an enormous lump in Nada's throat, making speech impossible. She could +not take her eyes from the splendid young man who, until a few days +ago, she had thought to be dead. He was everything Dylara had said he +was. She remembered him as she had last seen him--a straight-backed, +sturdy-legged youngster, whose inquisitive nature and complete lack of +fear had given her so many anxious moments. Even at that early age he +had shown promise of the extraordinary physical development he now +possessed. + +But her greatest pride and satisfaction came from what she could see in +those frank, compelling gray eyes--eyes mirroring a fine, sensitive soul +and an equally fine mind. + +"Tell me," Nada said at last, "how did you know I was here?" + +"I did not know," admitted her mate. "Did you, Tharn?" + +Their son shook his head. "I never dreamed you were in Sephar. As a +matter of fact, we came here to find a girl--Dylara, my--my mate. We +thought she would be with the slaves." + +Then it was that he saw a shadow come into Nada's eyes--a shadow which +wiped away his smile and closed a cold hand about his heart. + +"Nada!" he exclaimed. "What is wrong? Has something happened to her?" + +"She is ... gone," his mother said dully. + +"Gone?" + +"Yes. Pryak gave her to a man from a land far to the south of Sephar. He +has taken her there with him." + +Tharn's face was white beneath its layer of tan. "How long since?" he +demanded hoarsely. + +"This is the third day." + +Without another word the young man wheeled and started for the door. +Before he could reach it, however, strong fingers closed on his arm. + +His father had stopped him. "Wait, Tharn. Where are you going?" + +"After Dylara," said his son grimly. + +"Of course; but do not leave so--so abruptly. Let us talk this over +before you start. Some of our men will go with you, once we have eaten +and slept." + +"I am neither tired nor hungry," retorted his son. "I am going alone; +others would only delay me." + +Katon chose this moment to intervene. "Wait a few hours, Tharn. There is +much left to be done here, and we need your help. A new king must be +chosen and order restored to the palace and city. Once that is done +there will be a feast for all of us; then, after a good sleep, you can +set out after Dylara. You can overtake those who have her within two or +three suns." + +Nada ended the discussion. "Stay until morning, my son," she pleaded. "I +have but found you; I cannot bear to let you go so soon." + +The smile came back to Tharn's face. "As you will," he conceded. "But +when Dyta comes again, I must leave you." + +So it was decided, and the four went down to the lower floor to join the +others. + + * * * * * + +That night, in the great dininghall of Sephar's palace, a happy throng +sat about a long, wide table laden to its edges with an abundance of +foods. At the head sat Katon; at his right hand was Tharn, the elder; +and, on his left, was Tharn, the younger, his mother beside him. + +Earlier that afternoon the former prisoners and those nobles who had not +fallen in defense of Pryak's government, had assembled in the great +central hallway to elect a new king. Tharn, to his honest surprise, had +been their instant and unanimous choice. But he had declined the honor, +saying: + +"There is one among you who has every right to rule over you. He, +himself, is the son of a king--one who understands all those things +expected of a ruler. That man is Katon of Huxla!" + +The roar of approval which followed his words reached far beyond +Sephar's walls. Katon would have protested but he had no chance of +making himself heard, and he accepted--hiding his pleasure as best he +could. He did not dream what a pang that speech had cost his Cro-Magnard +friend, for with those words Tharn had relinquished his hope of taking +the Sepharian back with him to the caves of his father. + +Later in the day an armed force had entered the temple of Sephar's God; +and while the feet of those faint-hearted members in the group had +dragged somewhat, none had turned back. + +However, no resistance had materialized; instead, a horde of priests, +arms held high, hands empty, had welled up from the subterranean maze +below the temple and begged the new ruler to accept them as his own +loyal followers. + +Among them was the Council of Priests, intact to a man--except for one. +But that one was he whom Katon--and Vulcar!--had desired most to see: +Pryak, high priest and Sephar's former king. + +It was then that the new king displayed his ability to make sensible +decisions. Before leaving the temple he had appointed Cardon as high +priest to the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken. Nor could he have made a +wiser choice; for Cardon was possessor of a rugged honesty as well as a +lack of ambition beyond his position. The long-standing feud between +Church and State was ended. + +Once these matters had been disposed of, Katon had sent his soldiery to +assemble the residents of Sephar at the palace grounds. When a huge +throng had filled not only the grassy expanse but the street as well, +Katon, as ruler of Sephar, had proclaimed the new government and asked +that they acknowledge, as their king, a warrior in place of a priest. + +The thunderous, welcoming roar which greeted his words was all that was +needed to make of Sephar a unified community. Katon had immediately +proclaimed a two day holiday, to be given over to feasting and drinking; +and, because he was a shrewd judge of human nature, he had announced +that every citizen must sacrifice some valued article to the God, whose +help had made the revolt a success. + + * * * * * + +And so it was that on this night all Sephar, from palace to city walls, +was in a merry-making mood. Within the palace dininghall, there was only +a single tiny cloud to mar the clear sky of happiness; a cloud fast +losing the dark hue it at first had assumed. + +This bit of gloom was caused by the absence of Dylara. But when young +Tharn had had an opportunity to reflect, there had come the certainty +that Dylara would be back with him before many suns. Tharn knew he could +cover in one day three times the distance that the slow-moving men from +Ammad could travel in that same period of time. And while they must camp +while Dyta slept, Tharn could go on across nocturnal jungles and plains +without being forced to slack his speed. + +Vulcar, earthen goblet in hand, was bellowing out an anecdote of the +days when he had been a young warrior, when the hangings behind Tharn's +bench swayed as though touched by a random current of air. + +Because all eyes were fixed on the speaker, and because the faint candle +light failed to reach much beyond the table, none saw the half crouched +figure that stealthily pushed aside the curtain and tip-toed into the +room. The intruder's lips were curled in a crazed grimace of hate; in +one hand was clutched a long blade of polished stone. + +Nada, pausing in her eating from time to time to gaze fondly at her +broad-shouldered son, caught a glimpse of something moving among the +shadows directly behind the young man. What was it that lurked there? + +Suddenly Nada screamed--a high-pitched, tearing sound that cut through +the babble of voices about the table. + +With the first notes of the scream, a figure behind Tharn bounded +forward and drove a flint knife deep into the naked back of the +surprised Cro-Magnard. + +Nada's terrified cry was all that saved Tharn from instant death. For he +was rising from his stool and turning as the scream left her lips. As a +result, the knife point entered his back at an angle, ripping through +the muscles there to enter the lower tip of one lung. + +Tharn, despite his agony, reached for the would-be assassin. But another +was there before him--Vulcar, the hawk-faced. + +The one-time captain of Urim's guards had vaulted the table in a flying +leap and with a powerful sweep of his arm, knocked away the knife. Then +he caught the man about the neck and forced him into a kneeling +position. + +"So, Pryak," cried the hawk-faced one, "you would add another killing to +your list! Long have I waited for this--now comes your reward for the +death of Urim!" + +Pryak opened his lips to plead for mercy, but before the words could +come he was whirled up from the floor as though he were a figure of +straw. Then, as the others watched in awe, Vulcar brought the screaming +man down on the edge of the massive table. + +There was a crunching sound from splintering bones, one last +nerve-tearing cry of agony and fear--and Pryak, the ambitious, was gone +to his reward. + +As the guests stood staring down at the broken form, a thin trickle of +blood appeared at one corner of Tharn's mouth and coursed to his chin. +Dazedly he lifted a hand to wipe away the stain, then his knees gave +way, and before the paralyzed company could prevent, Tharn, the son of +Tharn, had pitched to the floor. + + * * * * * + +When complete consciousness first returned, he was aware of a great +mound of soft skins beneath him; and he opened tired eyes to a +sun-flooded room. For a little while he was content to remain so, +staring at the stone ceiling. + +Later, he slowly turned his head and looked into the eyes of Nada. For a +few minutes mother and son did not speak; then she reached out to touch +his hand. + +"You have come back to us, Tharn," she said softly. + +Tharn pondered over her remark. When he spoke he was startled by the +feebleness of his voice. + +"How long have I lain here?" + +"Half a moon." + +"Half a--!" He sought to sit up, but sank back as a stabbing pain shot +through his chest. + +"No, no, Tharn!" cried Nada. "You still are not well. The wound in your +back is not completely healed, and the jungle fever left you only a +little while ago." + +Tharn frowned. He was so very tired. "But--Dylara ... I must go after +her. I should have found her before this. I must not lie here while +she--" + +Then, as an unsupportable weariness flooded his body, he closed his +eyes. In another moment he was sleeping soundly. + + * * * * * + +Another half moon had passed. Today had dawned bright and fair. Dyta, +the sun, had pulled his blazing head above the eastern earth-line an +hour before, tearing the jungle fog into rapidly dissolving streamers of +mist. + +A group of three--two men and a woman--walked through twin gates in +Sephar's rock walls and moved slowly toward the somber shadows of the +jungle south of the city. A few yards short of the green wall they came +to a halt on a slight, grass-covered elevation. + +"I must leave you here," said young Tharn. "Within a few suns--a moon, +at most--I will return. Dylara will be with me." + +The older man nodded. "Your mother and I leave for home before long. We +shall wait there for you and your mate." + +"You will not need to wait long," said the young man confidently. + +He placed an arm about the man's wide shoulders, pressed the hand of his +mother in silent farewell, then turned and strode toward the wall of +verdure and towering forest giants to the south. + +Together, Tharn, the elder, and Nada, his mate stood on the little green +mound, watching the lithe figure of their only son until it disappeared +into the forbidding jungle. Beyond that first rampart of lofty trees, of +tangled vines and creepers, lay a mysterious land, never before trod by +any known member of their world. What hidden dangers lurked there? What +savage tribes? What unknown and terrible beasts? + +A shudder passed through the woman's slender body. The man at her side +slipped a strong arm about the trembling shoulders in unspoken +understanding. + +"He will come back?" she asked, her voice unsteady. It was half +question, half statement; and in those words ran an undercurrent of +mingled hope and fear. + +"Yes," said the man, his own voice strong and very certain. "He will +come back." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Warrior of the Dawn, by Howard Carleton Browne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR OF THE DAWN *** + +***** This file should be named 32462.txt or 32462.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/4/6/32462/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. Holda, Mary Meehan and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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