Chapter 5

People Out of Time

by Edgar R. Burroughs

CHAPTER 5, PEOPLE OUT OF TIME by Edgar R. Burroughs
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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.