We
were sitting before a little
fire inside a safe grotto one
night shortly after we had quit
the cliff-dwellings of the Band-lu,
when So-al raised a question
which it had never occurred to
me to propound to Ajor. She asked
her why she had left her own
people and how she had come so
far south as the country of the
Alus, where I had found her. At first Ajor hesitated to
explain; but at last she consented,
and for the first time I heard
the complete story of her origin
and experiences. For my benefit
she entered into greater detail
of explanation than would have
been necessary had I been a native
Caspakian.
"I am a cos-ata-lo," commenced
Ajor, and then she turned toward
me. "A cos-ata-lo, my Tom, is
a woman" (lo) "who did not come
from an egg and thus on up from
the beginning." (Cor sva jo.) "I
was a babe at my mother's breast.
Only among the Galus are such,
and then but infrequently. The
Wieroo get most of us; but my
mother hid me until I had attained
such size that the Wieroo could
not readily distinguish me from
one who had come up from the
beginning. I knew both my mother
and my father, as only such as
I may. My father is high chief
among the Galus. His name is
Jor, and both he and my mother
came up from the beginning; but
one of them, probably my mother,
had completed the seven cycles" (approximately
seven hundred years), "with the
result that their offspring might
be cos-ata-lo, or born as are
all the children of your race,
my Tom, as you tell me is the
fact. I was therefore apart from
my fellows in that my children
would probably be as I, of a
higher state of evolution, and
so I was sought by the men of
my people; but none of them appealed
to me. I cared for none. The
most persistent was Du-seen,
a huge warrior of whom my father
stood in considerable fear, since
it was quite possible that Du-seen
could wrest from him his chieftainship
of the Galus. He has a large
following of the newer Galus,
those most recently come up from
the Kro-lu, and as this class
is usually much more powerful
numerically than the older Galus,
and as Du-seen's ambition knows
no bounds, we have for a long
time been expecting him to find
some excuse for a break with
Jor the High Chief, my father.
"A further
complication lay in the fact
that Duseen wanted
me, while I would have none of
him, and then came evidence to
my father's ears that he was
in league with the Wieroo; a
hunter, returning late at night,
came trembling to my father,
saying that he had seen Du-seen
talking with a Wieroo in a lonely
spot far from the village, and
that plainly he had heard the
words: `If you will help me,
I will help you--I will deliver
into your hands all cos-ata-lo
among the Galus, now and hereafter;
but for that service you must
slay Jor the High Chief and bring
terror and confusion to his followers.'
"Now, when
my father heard this, he was
angry; but he was
also afraid--afraid for me, who
am cosata-lo. He called me to
him and told me what he had heard,
pointing out two ways in which
we might frustrate Du-seen. The
first was that I go to Du-seen
as his mate, after which he would
be loath to give me into the
hands of the Wieroo or to further
abide by the wicked compact he
had made--a compact which would
doom his own offspring, who would
doubtless be as am I, their mother.
The alternative was flight until
Du-seen should have been overcome
and punished. I chose the latter
and fled toward the south. Beyond
the confines of the Galu country
is little danger from the Wieroo,
who seek ordinarily only Galus
of the highest orders. There
are two excellent reasons for
this: One is that from the beginning
of time jealousy had existed
between the Wieroo and the Galus
as to which would eventually
dominate the world. It seems
generally conceded that that
race which first reaches a point
of evolution which permits them
to produce young of their own
species and of both sexes must
dominate all other creatures.
The Wieroo first began to produce
their own kind--after which evolution
from Galu to Wieroo ceased gradually
until now it is unknown; but
the Wieroo produce only males--which
is why they steal our female
young, and by stealing cos-ata-lo
they increase their own chances
of eventually reproducing both
sexes and at the same time lessen
ours. Already the Galus produce
both male and female; but so
carefully do the Wieroo watch
us that few of the males ever
grow to manhood, while even fewer
are the females that are not
stolen away. It is indeed a strange
condition, for while our greatest
enemies hate and fear us, they
dare not exterminate us, knowing
that they too would become extinct
but for us.
"Ah, but could
we once get a start, I am sure
that when
all were true cos-ata-lo there
would have been evolved at last
the true dominant race before
which all the world would be
forced to bow."
Ajor always spoke of the world
as though nothing existed beyond
Caspak. She could not seem to
grasp the truth of my origin
or the fact that there were countless
other peoples outside her stern
barrier-cliffs. She apparently
felt that I came from an entirely
different world. Where it was
and how I came to Caspak from
it were matters quite beyond
her with which she refused to
trouble her pretty head.
"Well," she continued, "and
so I ran away to hide, intending
to pass the cliffs to the south
of Galu and find a retreat in
the Kro-lu country. It would
be dangerous, but there seemed
no other way.
"The third
night I took refuge in a large
cave in the cliffs
at the edge of my own country;
upon the following day I would
cross over into the Kro-lu country,
where I felt that I should be
reasonably safe from the Wieroo,
though menaced by countless other
dangers. However, to a cos-ata-lo
any fate is preferable to that
of falling into the clutches
of the frightful Wieroo, from
whose land none returns.
"I had been
sleeping peacefully for several
hours when I was
awakened by a slight noise within
the cavern. The moon was shining
brightly, illumining the entrance,
against which I saw silhouetted
the dread figure of a Wieroo.
There was no escape. The cave
was shallow, the entrance narrow.
I lay very still, hoping against
hope, that the creature had but
paused here to rest and might
soon depart without discovering
me; yet all the while I knew
that he came seeking me.
"I waited,
scarce breathing, watching
the thing creep stealthily
toward me, its great eyes luminous
in the darkness of the cave's
interior, and at last I knew
that those eyes were directed
upon me, for the Wieroo can see
in the darkness better than even
the lion or the tiger. But a
few feet separated us when I
sprang to my feet and dashed
madly toward my menacer in a
vain effort to dodge past him
and reach the outside world.
It was madness of course, for
even had I succeeded temporarily,
the Wieroo would have but followed
and swooped down upon me from
above. As it was, he reached
forth and seized me, and though
I struggled, he overpowered me.
In the duel his long, white robe
was nearly torn from him, and
he became very angry, so that
he trembled and beat his wings
together in his rage.
"He asked me
my name; but I would not answer
him, and that
angered him still more. At last
he dragged me to the entrance
of the cave, lifted me in his
arms, spread his great wings
and leaping into the air, flapped
dismally through the night. I
saw the moonlit landscape sliding
away beneath me, and then we
were out above the sea and on
our way to Oo-oh, the country
of the Wieroo.
"The dim outlines of Oo-oh
were unfolding below us when
there came from above a loud
whirring of giant wings. The
Wieroo and I glanced up simultaneously,
to see a pair of huge jo-oos" (flying
reptiles--pterodactyls) "swooping
down upon us. The Wieroo wheeled
and dropped almost to sea-level,
and then raced southward in an
effort to outdistance our pursuers.
The great creatures, notwithstanding
their enormous weight, are swift
on their wings; but the Wieroo
are swifter. Even with my added
weight, the creature that bore
me maintained his lead, though
he could not increase it. Faster
than the fastest wind we raced
through the night, southward
along the coast. Sometimes we
rose to great heights, where
the air was chill and the world
below but a blur of dim outlines;
but always the jo-oos stuck behind
us.
"I knew that
we had covered a great distance,
for the rush
of the wind by my face attested
the speed of our progress, but
I had no idea where we were when
at last I realized that the Wieroo
was weakening. One of the jo-oos
gained on us and succeeded in
heading us, so that my captor
had to turn in toward the coast.
Further and further they forced
him to the left; lower and lower
he sank. More labored was his
breathing, and weaker the stroke
of his once powerful wings. We
were not ten feet above the ground
when they overtook us, and at
the edge of a forest. One of
them seized the Wieroo by his
right wing, and in an effort
to free himself, he loosed his
grasp upon me, dropping me to
earth. Like a frightened ecca
I leaped to my feet and raced
for the sheltering sanctuary
of the forest, where I knew neither
could follow or seize me. Then
I turned and looked back to see
two great reptiles tear my abductor
asunder and devour him on the
spot.
"I was saved;
yet I felt that I was lost.
How far I was from
the country of the Galus I could
not guess; nor did it seem probable
that I ever could make my way
in safety to my native land.
"Day was breaking;
soon the carnivora would stalk
forth for
their first kill; I was armed
only with my knife. About me
was a strange landscape--the
flowers, the trees, the grasses,
even, were different from those
of my northern world, and presently
there appeared before me a creature
fully as hideous as the Wieroo--a
hairy manthing that barely walked
erect. I shuddered, and then
I fled. Through the hideous dangers
that my forebears had endured
in the earlier stages of their
human evolution I fled; and always
pursuing was the hairy monster
that had discovered me. Later
he was joined by others of his
kind. They were the speechless
men, the Alus, from whom you
rescued me, my Tom. From then
on, you know the story of my
adventures, and from the first,
I would endure them all again
because they led me to you!"
It was very nice of her to
say that, and I appreciated it.
I felt that she was a mighty
nice little girl whose friendship
anyone might be glad to have;
but I wished that when she touched
me, those peculiar thrills would
not run through me. It was most
discomforting, because it reminded
me of love; and I knew that I
never could love this half-baked
little barbarian. I was very
much interested in her account
of the Wieroo, which up to this
time I had considered a purely
mythological creature; but Ajor
shuddered so at even the veriest
mention of the name that I was
loath to press the subject upon
her, and so the Wieroo still
remained a mystery to me.
While the Wieroo interested
me greatly, I had little time
to think about them, as our waking
hours were filled with the necessities
of existence--the constant battle
for survival which is the chief
occupation of Caspakians. To-mar
and So-al were now about fitted
for their advent into Kro-lu
society and must therefore leave
us, as we could not accompany
them without incurring great
danger ourselves and running
the chance of endangering them;
but each swore to be always our
friend and assured us that should
we need their aid at any time
we had but to ask it; nor could
I doubt their sincerity, since
we had been so instrumental in
bringing them safely upon their
journey toward the Kro-lu village.
This was our last day together.
In the afternoon we should separate,
To-mar and So-al going directly
to the Kro-lu village, while
Ajor and I made a detour to avoid
a conflict with the archers.
The former both showed evidence
of nervous apprehension as the
time approached for them to make
their entry into the village
of their new people, and yet
both were very proud and happy.
They told us that they would
be well received as additions
to a tribe always are welcomed,
and the more so as the distance
from the beginning increased,
the higher tribes or races being
far weaker numerically than the
lower. The southern end of the
island fairly swarms with the
Ho-lu, or apes; next above these
are the Alus, who are slightly
fewer in number than the Ho-lu;
and again there are fewer Bolu
than Alus, and fewer Sto-lu than
Bo-lu. Thus it goes until the
Kro-lu are fewer in number than
any of the others; and here the
law reverses, for the Galus outnumber
the Kro-lu. As Ajor explained
it to me, the reason for this
is that as evolution practically
ceases with the Galus, there
is no less among them on this
score, for even the cos-ata-lo
are still considered Galus and
remain with them. And Galus come
up both from the west and east
coasts. There are, too, fewer
carnivorous reptiles at the north
end of the island, and not so
many of the great and ferocious
members of the cat family as
take their hideous toll of life
among the races further south.
By now I was obtaining some
idea of the Caspakian scheme
of evolution, which partly accounted
for the lack of young among the
races I had so far seen. Coming
up from the beginning, the Caspakian
passes, during a single existence,
through the various stages of
evolution, or at least many of
them, through which the human
race has passed during the countless
ages since life first stirred
upon a new world; but the question
which continued to puzzle me
was: What creates life at the
beginning, cor sva jo?
I had noticed that as we traveled
northward from the Alus' country
the land had gradually risen
until we were now several hundred
feet above the level of the inland
sea. Ajor told me that the Galus
country was still higher and
considerably colder, which accounted
for the scarcity of reptiles.
The change in form and kinds
of the lower animals was even
more marked than the evolutionary
stages of man. The diminutive
ecca, or small horse, became
a rough-coated and sturdy little
pony in the Kro-lu country. I
saw a greater number of small
lions and tigers, though many
of the huge ones still persisted,
while the woolly mammoth was
more in evidence, as were several
varieties of the Labyrinthadonta.
These creatures, from which God
save me, I should have expected
to find further south; but for
some unaccountable reason they
gain their greatest bulk in the
Kro-lu and Galu countries, though
fortunately they are rare. I
rather imagine that they are
a very early life which is rapidly
nearing extinction in Caspak,
though wherever they are found,
they constitute a menace to all
forms of life.
It was mid-afternoon when To-mar
and So-al bade us good-bye. We
were not far from Kro-lu village;
in fact, we had approached it
much closer than we had intended,
and now Ajor and I were to make
a detour toward the sea while
our companions went directly
in search of the Kro-lu chief.
Ajor and I had gone perhaps
a mile or two and were just about
to emerge from a dense wood when
I saw that ahead of us which
caused me to draw back into concealment,
at the same time pushing Ajor
behind me. What I saw was a party
of Band-lu warriors--large, fierce-appearing
men. From the direction of their
march I saw that they were returning
to their caves, and that if we
remained where we were, they
would pass without discovering
us.
Presently Ajor
nudged me. "They
have a prisoner," she whispered. "He
is a Kro-lu."
And then I saw him, the first
fully developed Krolu I had seen.
He was a fine-looking savage,
tall and straight with a regal
carriage. To-mar was a handsome
fellow; but this Kro-lu showed
plainly in his every physical
attribute a higher plane of evolution.
While To-mar was just entering
the Kro-lu sphere, this man,
it seemed to me, must be close
indeed to the next stage of his
development, which would see
him an envied Galu.
"They will kill him?" I
whispered to Ajor.
"The dance of death," she
replied, and I shuddered, so
recently
had I escaped the same fate.
It seemed cruel that one who
must have passed safely up through
all the frightful stages of human
evolution within Caspak, should
die at the very foot of his goal.
I raised my rifle to my shoulder
and took careful aim at one of
the Band-lu. If I hit him, I
would hit two, for another was
directly behind the first.
Ajor touched
my arm. "What
would you do?" she asked. "They
are all our enemies."
"I am going to save him from
the dance of death," I replied, "enemy
or no enemy," and I squeezed
the trigger. At the report, the
two Band-lu lunged forward upon
their faces. I handed my rifle
to Ajor, and drawing my pistol,
stepped out in full view of the
startled party. The Band-lu did
not run away as had some of the
lower orders of Caspakians at
the sound of the rifle. Instead,
the moment they saw me, they
let out a series of demoniac
war-cries, and raising their
spears above their heads, charged
me.
The Kro-lu stood silent and
statuesque, watching the proceedings.
He made no attempt to escape,
though his feet were not bound
and none of the warriors remained
to guard him. There were ten
of the Band-lu coming for me.
I dropped three of them with
my pistol as rapidly as a man
might count by three, and then
my rifle spoke close to my left
shoulder, and another of them
stumbled and rolled over and
over upon the ground. Plucky
little Ajor! She had never fired
a shot before in all her life,
though I had taught her to sight
and aim and how to squeeze the
trigger instead of pulling it.
She had practiced these new accomplishments
often, but little had I thought
they would make a marksman of
her so quickly.
With six of their fellows put
out of the fight so easily, the
remaining six sought cover behind
some low bushes and commenced
a council of war. I wished that
they would go away, as I had
no ammunition to waste, and I
was fearful that should they
institute another charge, some
of them would reach us, for they
were already quite close. Suddenly
one of them rose and launched
his spear. It was the most marvelous
exhibition of speed I have ever
witnessed. It seemed to me that
he had scarce gained an upright
position when the weapon was
half-way upon its journey, speeding
like an arrow toward Ajor. And
then it was, with that little
life in danger, that I made the
best shot I have ever made in
my life! I took no conscious
aim; it was as though my subconscious
mind, impelled by a stronger
power even than that of self-preservation,
directed my hand. Ajor was in
danger! Simultaneously with the
thought my pistol flew to position,
a streak of incandescent powder
marked the path of the bullet
from its muzzle; and the spear,
its point shattered, was deflected
from its path. With a howl of
dismay the six Band-lu rose from
their shelter and raced away
toward the south.
I turned toward
Ajor. She was very white and
wide-eyed, for
the clutching fingers of death
had all but seized her; but a
little smile came to her lips
and an expression of great pride
to her eyes. "My Tom!" she said,
and took my hand in hers. That
was all--"My Tom!" and a pressure
of the hand. Her Tom! Something
stirred within my bosom. Was
it exaltation or was it consternation?
Impossible! I turned away almost
brusquely.
"Come!" I said,
and strode off toward the Kro-lu
prisoner.
The Kro-lu stood watching us
with stolid indifference. I presume
that he expected to be killed;
but if he did, he showed no outward
sign of fear. His eyes, indicating
his greatest interest, were fixed
upon my pistol or the rifle which
Ajor still carried. I cut his
bonds with my knife. As I did
so, an expression of surprise
tinged and animated the haughty
reserve of his countenance. He
eyed me quizzically.
"What are you going to do with
me?" he asked.
"You are free," I replied. "Go
home, if you wish."
"Why don't you kill me?" he
inquired. "I am defenseless."
"Why should I kill you? I have
risked my life and that of this
young lady to save your life.
Why, therefore should I now take
it?" Of course, I didn't say "young
lady" as there is no Caspakian
equivalent for that term; but
I have to allow myself considerable
latitude in the translation of
Caspakian conversations. To speak
always of a beautiful young girl
as a "she" may be literal; but
it seems far from gallant.
The Kro-lu concentrated his
steady, level gaze upon me for
at least a full minute. Then
he spoke again.
"Who are you, man of strange
skins?" he asked. "Your she is
Galu; but you are neither Galu
nor Krolu nor Band-lu, nor any
other sort of man which I have
seen before. Tell me from whence
comes so mighty a warrior and
so generous a foe."
"It is a long story," I replied, "but
suffice it to say that I am not
of Caspak. I am a stranger here,
and--let this sink in--I am not
a foe. I have no wish to be an
enemy of any man in Caspak, with
the possible exception of the
Galu warrior Du-seen."
"Du-seen!" he exclaimed. "You
are an enemy of Du-seen? And
why?"
"Because he would harm Ajor," I
replied. "You know him?"
"He cannot know him," said
Ajor. "Du-seen rose from the
Kro-lu long ago, taking a new
name, as all do when they enter
a new sphere. He cannot know
him, as there is no intercourse
between the Kro-lu and the Galu."
The warrior
smiled. "Du-seen
rose not so long ago," he said, "that
I do not recall him well, and
recently he has taken it upon
himself to abrogate the ancient
laws of Caspak; he had had intercourse
with the Kro-lu. Du-seen would
be chief of the Galus, and he
has come to the Kro-lu for help.
Ajor was aghast. The thing
was incredible. Never had Kro-lu
and Galu had friendly relations;
by the savage laws of Caspak
they were deadly enemies, for
only so can the several races
maintain their individuality.
"Will the Kro-lu join him?" asked
Ajor. "Will they invade the country
of Jor my father?"
"The younger Kro-lu favor the
plan," replied the warrior, "since
they believe they will thus become
Galus immediately. They hope
to span the long years of change
through which they must pass
in the ordinary course of events
and at a single stride become
Galus. We of the older Kro-lu
tell them that though they occupy
the land of the Galu and wear
the skins and ornaments of the
golden people, still they will
not be Galus till the time arrives
that they are ripe to rise. We
also tell them that even then
they will never become a true
Galu race, since there will still
be those among them who can never
rise. It is all right to raid
the Galu country occasionally
for plunder, as our people do;
but to attempt to conquer it
and hold it is madness. For my
part, I have been content to
wait until the call came to me.
I feel that it cannot now be
long."
"What is your name?" asked
Ajor.
"Chal-az, " replied
the man.
"You are chief of the Kro-lu?" Ajor
continued.
"No, it is Al-tan who is chief
of the Kro-lu of the east," answered
Chal-az.
"And he is
against this plan to invade
my father's country?"
"Unfortunately he is rather
in favor of it," replied the
man, "since he has about come
to the conclusion that he is
batu. He has been chief ever
since, before I came up from
the Band-lu, and I can see no
change in him in all those years.
In fact, he still appears to
be more Band-lu than Kro-lu.
However, he is a good chief and
a mighty warrior, and if Du-seen
persuades him to his cause, the
Galus may find themselves under
a Kro-lu chieftain before long--Du-seen
as well as the others, for Al-tan
would never consent to occupy
a subordinate position, and once
he plants a victorious foot in
Galu, he will not withdraw it
without a struggle."
I asked them what batu meant,
as I had not before heard the
word. Literally translated, it
is equivalent to through, finished,
done-for, as applied to an individual's
evolutionary progress in Caspak,
and with this information was
developed the interesting fact
that not every individual is
capable of rising through every
stage to that of Galu. Some never
progress beyond the Alu stage;
others stop as Bo-lu, as Sto-lu,
as Bandlu or as Kro-lu. The Ho-lu
of the first generation may rise
to become Alus; the Alus of the
second generation may become
Bo-lu, while it requires three
generations of Bo-lu to become
Band-lu, and so on until Kro-lu's
parent on one side must be of
the sixth generation.
It was not entirely plain to
me even with this explanation,
since I couldn't understand how
there could be different generations
of peoples who apparently had
no offspring. Yet I was commencing
to get a slight glimmer of the
strange laws which govern propagation
and evolution in this weird land.
Already I knew that the warm
pools which always lie close
to every tribal abiding-place
were closely linked with the
Caspakian scheme of evolution,
and that the daily immersion
of the females in the greenish
slimy water was in response to
some natural law, since neither
pleasure nor cleanliness could
be derived from what seemed almost
a religious rite. Yet I was still
at sea; nor, seemingly, could
Ajor enlighten me, since she
was compelled to use words which
I could not understand and which
it was impossible for her to
explain the meanings of.
As we stood talking, we were
suddenly startled by a commotion
in the bushes and among the boles
of the trees surrounding us,
and simultaneously a hundred
Kro-lu warriors appeared in a
rough circle about us. They greeted
Chal-az with a volley of questions
as they approached slowly from
all sides, their heavy bows fitted
with long, sharp arrows. Upon
Ajor and me they looked with
covetousness in the one instance
and suspicion in the other; but
after they had heard Chal-az's
story, their attitude was more
friendly. A huge savage did all
the talking. He was a mountain
of a man, yet perfectly proportioned.
"This is Al-tan the chief," said
Chal-az by way of introduction.
Then he told something of my
story, and Al-tan asked me many
questions of the land from which
I came. The warriors crowded
around close to hear my replies,
and there were many expressions
of incredulity as I spoke of
what was to them another world,
of the yacht which had brought
me over vast waters, and of the
plane that had borne me Jo-oo-like
over the summit of the barrier-cliffs.
It was the mention of the hydroaeroplane
which precipitated the first
outspoken skepticism, and then
Ajor came to my defense.
"I saw it with my own eyes!" she
exclaimed. "I saw him flying
through the air in battle with
a Jo-oo. The Alus were chasing
me, and they saw and ran away."
"Whose is this she?" demanded
Al-tan suddenly, his eyes fixed
fiercely upon Ajor.
For a moment
there was silence. Ajor looked
up at me, a hurt
and questioning expression on
her face. "Whose she is this?" repeated
Al-tan.
"She is mine," I
replied, though what force
it was that impelled
me to say it I could not have
told; but an instant later I
was glad that I had spoken the
words, for the reward of Ajor's
proud and happy face was reward
indeed.
Al-tan eyed
her for several minutes and
then turned to me. "Can
you keep her?" he asked, just
the tinge of a sneer upon his
face.
I laid my palm upon the grip
of my pistol and answered that
I could. He saw the move, glanced
at the butt of the automatic
where it protruded from its holster,
and smiled. Then he turned and
raising his great bow, fitted
an arrow and drew the shaft far
back. His warriors, supercilious
smiles upon their faces, stood
silently watching him. His bow
was the longest and the heaviest
among them all. A mighty man
indeed must he be to bend it;
yet Al-tan drew the shaft back
until the stone point touched
his left forefinger, and he did
it with consummate ease. Then
he raised the shaft to the level
of his right eye, held it there
for an instant and released it.
When the arrow stopped, half
its length protruded from the
opposite side of a six-inch tree
fifty feet away. Al-tan and his
warriors turned toward me with
expressions of immense satisfaction
upon their faces, and then, apparently
for Ajor's benefit, the chieftain
swaggered to and fro a couple
of times, swinging his great
arms and his bulky shoulders
for all the world like a drunken
prize-fighter at a beach dancehall.
I saw that
some reply was necessary, and
so in a single motion, I
drew my gun, dropped it on the
still quivering arrow and pulled
the trigger. At the sound of
the report, the Kro-lu leaped
back and raised their weapons;
but as I was smiling, they took
heart and lowered them again,
following my eyes to the tree;
the shaft of their chief was
gone, and through the bole was
a little round hole marking the
path of my bullet. It was a good
shot if I do say it myself, "as
shouldn't" but necessity must
have guided that bullet; I simply
had to make a good shot, that
I might immediately establish
my position among those savage
and warlike Caspakians of the
sixth sphere. That it had its
effect was immediately noticeable,
but I am none too sure that it
helped my cause with Al-tan.
Whereas he might have condescended
to tolerate me as a harmless
and interesting curiosity, he
now, by the change in his expression,
appeared to consider me in a
new and unfavorable light. Nor
can I wonder, knowing this type
as I did, for had I not made
him ridiculous in the eyes of
his warriors, beating him at
his own game? What king, savage
or civilized, could condone such
impudence? Seeing his black scowls,
I deemed it expedient, especially
on Ajor's account, to terminate
the interview and continue upon
our way; but when I would have
done so, Al-tan detained us with
a gesture, and his warriors pressed
around us.
"What is the meaning of this?" I
demanded, and before Al-tan could
reply, Chal-az raised his voice
in our behalf.
"Is this the gratitude of a
Kro-lu chieftain, Al-tan," he
asked, "to one who has served
you by saving one of your warriors
from the enemy--saving him from
the death dance of the Band-lu?"
Al-tan was
silent for a moment, and then
his brow cleared, and
the faint imitation of a pleasant
expression struggled for existence
as he said: "The stranger will
not be harmed. I wished only
to detain him that he may be
feasted tonight in the village
of Al-tan the Kro-lu. In the
morning he may go his way. Al-tan
will not hinder him."
I was not entirely reassured;
but I wanted to see the interior
of the Kro-lu village, and anyway
I knew that if Al-tan intended
treachery I would be no more
in his power in the morning than
I now was--in fact, during the
night I might find opportunity
to escape with Ajor, while at
the instant neither of us could
hope to escape unscathed from
the encircling warriors. Therefore,
in order to disarm him of any
thought that I might entertain
suspicion as to his sincerity,
I promptly and courteously accepted
his invitation. His satisfaction
was evident, and as we set off
toward his village, he walked
beside me, asking many questions
as to the country from which
I came, its peoples and their
customs. He seemed much mystified
by the fact that we could walk
abroad by day or night without
fear of being devoured by wild
beasts or savage reptiles, and
when I told him of the great
armies which we maintained, his
simple mind could not grasp the
fact that they existed solely
for the slaughtering of human
beings.
"I am glad," he said, "that
I do not dwell in your country
among such savage peoples. Here,
in Caspak, men fight with men
when they meet--men of different
races--but their weapons are
first for the slaying of beasts
in the chase and in defense.
We do not fashion weapons solely
for the killing of man as do
your peoples. Your country must
indeed be a savage country, from
which you are fortunate to have
escaped to the peace and security
of Caspak."
Here was a new and refreshing
viewpoint; nor could I take exception
to it after what I had told Altan
of the great war which had been
raging in Europe for over two
years before I left home.
On the march to the Kro-lu
village we were continually stalked
by innumerable beasts of prey,
and three times we were attacked
by frightful creatures; but Altan
took it all as a matter of course,
rushing forward with raised spear
or sending a heavy shaft into
the body of the attacker and
then returning to our conversation
as though no interruption had
occurred. Twice were members
of his band mauled, and one was
killed by a huge and bellicose
rhinoceros; but the instant the
action was over, it was as though
it never had occurred. The dead
man was stripped of his belongings
and left where he had died; the
carnivora would take care of
his burial. The trophies that
these Kro-lu left to the meat-eaters
would have turned an English
big-game hunter green with envy.
They did, it is true, cut all
the edible parts from the rhino
and carry them home; but already
they were pretty well weighted
down with the spoils of the chase,
and only the fact that they are
particularly fond of rhino-meat
caused them to do so.
They left the hide on the pieces
they selected, as they use it
for sandals, shield-covers, the
hilts of their knives and various
other purposes where tough hide
is desirable. I was much interested
in their shields, especially
after I saw one used in defense
against the attack of a saber-tooth
tiger. The huge creature had
charged us without warning from
a clump of dense bushes where
it was lying up after eating.
It was met with an avalanche
of spears, some of which passed
entirely through its body, with
such force were they hurled.
The charge was from a very short
distance, requiring the use of
the spear rather than the bow
and arrow; but after the launching
of the spears, the men not directly
in the path of the charge sent
bolt after bolt into the great
carcass with almost incredible
rapidity. The beast, screaming
with pain and rage, bore down
upon Chal-az while I stood helpless
with my rifle for fear of hitting
one of the warriors who were
closing in upon it. But Chal-az
was ready. Throwing aside his
bow, he crouched behind his large
oval shield, in the center of
which was a hole about six inches
in diameter. The shield was held
by tight loops to his left arm,
while in his right hand he grasped
his heavy knife. Bristling with
spears and arrows, the great
cat hurled itself upon the shield,
and down went Chal-az upon his
back with the shield entirely
covering him. The tiger clawed
and bit at the heavy rhinoceros
hide with which the shield was
faced, while Chal-az, through
the round hole in the shield's
center, plunged his blade repeatedly
into the vitals of the savage
animal. Doubtless the battle
would have gone to Chal-az even
though I had not interfered;
but the moment that I saw a clean
opening, with no Kro-lu beyond,
I raised my rifle and killed
the beast.
When Chal-az arose, he glanced
at the sky and remarked that
it looked like rain. The others
already had resumed the march
toward the village. The incident
was closed. For some unaccountable
reason the whole thing reminded
me of a friend who once shot
a cat in his backyard. For three
weeks he talked of nothing else.
It was almost dark when we
reached the village--a large
palisaded enclosure of several
hundred leaf-thatched huts set
in groups of from two to seven.
The huts were hexagonal in form,
and where grouped were joined
so that they resembled the cells
of a bee-hive. One hut meant
a warrior and his mate, and each
additional hut in a group indicated
an additional female. The palisade
which surrounded the village
was of logs set close together
and woven into a solid wall with
tough creepers which were planted
at their base and trained to
weave in and out to bind the
logs together. The logs slanted
outward at an angle of about
thirty degrees, in which position
they were held by shorter logs
embedded in the ground at right
angles to them and with their
upper ends supporting the longer
pieces a trifle above their centers
of equilibrium. Along the top
of the palisade sharpened stakes
had been driven at all sorts
of angles.
The only opening into the inclosure
was through a small aperture
three feet wide and three feet
high, which was closed from the
inside by logs about six feet
long laid horizontally, one upon
another, between the inside face
of the palisade and two other
braced logs which paralleled
the face of the wall upon the
inside.
As we entered the village,
we were greeted by a not unfriendly
crowd of curious warriors and
women, to whom Chal-az generously
explained the service we had
rendered him, whereupon they
showered us with the most well-meant
attentions, for Chal-az, it seemed,
was a most popular member of
the tribe. Necklaces of lion
and tiger-teeth, bits of dried
meat, finely tanned hides and
earthen pots, beautifully decorated,
they thrust upon us until we
were loaded down, and all the
while Al-tan glared balefully
upon us, seemingly jealous of
the attentions heaped upon us
because we had served Chal-az.
At last we reached a hut that
they set apart for us, and there
we cooked our meat and some vegetables
the women brought us, and had
milk from cows--the first I had
had in Caspak--and cheese from
the milk of wild goats, with
honey and thin bread made from
wheat flour of their own grinding,
and grapes and the fermented
juice of grapes. It was quite
the most wonderful meal I had
eaten since I quit the Toreador
and Bowen J. Tyler's colored
chef, who could make pork-chops
taste like chicken, and chicken
taste like heaven.
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