Pellucidar.............................................................................................................................................................1

Edgar Rice Burroughs ..............................................................................................................................1

SEVERAL YEARS had elapsed since I had found the op portunity to do any biggame hunting; for at last I

had my plans almost perfected for a return to my old stampinggrounds in northern Africa, where in other

The date of my departure had been set; I was to leave in two weeks. No schoolboy counting the lagging hours

that must pass before the beginning of "long vacation" released him to the delirious joys of the sum mer

And then came a letter that started me for Africa twelve days ahead of my schedule.

Often am I in receipt of letters from strangers who have found something in a story of mine to commend or to

condemn. My interest in this department of my correspondence is ever fresh. I opened this particular letter

with all the zest of pleasurable anticipation with which I had opened so many others. The postmark

(Algiers) had aroused my interest and curiosity, es pecially at this time, since it was Algiers that was

presently to witness the termination of my coming sea voyage in search of sport and adventure.

Before the reading of that letter was completed lions and lionhunting had fled my thoughts, and I was in a

Itwell, read it yourself, and see if you, too, do not find food for frantic conjecture, for tantalizing doubts,

DEAR SIR: I think that I have run across one of the most remarkable coincidences in modern literature. But

I am, by profession, a wanderer upon the face of the earth. I have no tradenor any other occupation.

My father bequeathed me a competency; some remoter ancestors lust to roam. I have combined the two and

I became interested in your story, At the Earth's Core, not so much because of the probability of the tale as of

a great and abiding wonder that people should be paid real money for writing such impossible trash. You will

pardon my candor, but it is necessary that you understand my mental attitude toward this particular

Shortly thereafter I started for the Sahara in search of a rather rare species of antelope that is to be found only

occasionally within a limited area at a certain season of the year. My chase led me far from the haunts of

It was a fruitless search, however, in so far as antelope is concerned; but one night as I lay courting sleep at

the edge of a little cluster of datepalms that surround an ancient well in the midst of the arid, shifting sands,

I suddenly became conscious of a strange sound coming apparently from the earth beneath my head.

No reptile or insect with which I am familiar re produces any such notes. I lay for an hourlistening

At last my curiosity got the better of me. I arose, lighted my lamp and commenced to investigate.

My bedding lay upon a rug stretched directly upon the warm sand. The noise appeared to be coming from

beneath the rug. I raised it, but found nothingyet, at intervals, the sound continued.

I dug into the sand with the point of my hunting knife. A few inches below the surface of the sand I

encountered a solid substance that had the feel of wood beneath the sharp steel.

Excavating about it, I unearthed a small wooden box. From this receptacle issued the strange sound that I had

In attempting to lift it from its burying place I dis covered that it seemed to be held fast by means of a very

My first impulse was to drag the thing loose by main strength; but fortunately I thought better of this and fell

to examining the box. I soon saw that it was covered by a hinged lid, which was held closed by a simple

It took but a moment to loosen this and raise the cover, when, to my utter astonishment, I discovered an

That it was a French military instrument was my first guess; but really there didn't seem much likelihood that

this was the correct explanation, when one took into account the loneliness and remoteness of the spot.

As I sat gazing at my remarkable find, which was tick ing and clicking away there in the silence of the

desert night, trying to convey some message which I was unable to interpret, my eyes fell upon a bit of paper

lying in the bottom of the box beside the instrument. I picked it up and examined it. Upon it were written but

Once, in an interval of silence upon the part of the receiving instrument, I moved the sendingkey up and

down a few times. Instantly the receiving mechanism commenced to work frantically.

I tried to recall something of the Morse Code, with which I had played as a little boybut time had

obliterated it from my memory. I became almost frantic as I let my imagination run riot among the

Some poor devil at the unknown other end might be in dire need of succor. The very franticness of the

It was then that the inspiration came to me. In a flash there leaped to my mind the closing paragraphs of the

Does the answer lie somewhere upon the bosom of the broad Sahara, at the ends of two tiny wires, hidden

The idea seemed preposterous. Experience and in telligence combined to assure me that there could be no

slightest grain of truth or possibility in your wild taleit was fiction pure and simple.

What was this instrumentticking away here in the great Saharabut a travesty upon the possible!

I smiled at my imaginings. I ridiculed the assumption that there was an inner world and that these wires led

Well, I sat there all night, listening to that tantalizing clicking, now and then moving the sendingkey just to

let the other end know that the instrument had been discovered. In the morning, after carefully returning the

box to its hole and covering it over with sand, I called my servants about me, snatched a hurried breakfast,

I arrived here today. In writing you this letter I feel that I am making a fool of myself.

The incident of the finding of that buried telegraph instrument upon the lonely Sahara is little short of

I have called it one of the most remarkable coinci dences in modern fiction. I called it literature before,

Heaven knows, unless it is that the persistent clicking of that unfathomable enigma out there in the vast

silences of the Sahara has so wrought upon my nerves that reason refuses longer to function sanely.

I cannot hear it now, yet I know that far away to the south, all alone beneath the sands, it is still pounding out

Cable me at once, at my expense, that there was no basis of fact for your story, At the Earth's Core.

As fast as train and boat would carry me, I sped toward my destination. For all those dragging days my mind

The finding of the telegraphinstrument practically assured me that David Innes had driven Perry's iron mole

back through the earth's crust to the buried world of Pellucidar; but what adventures had befallen him since

Had he found Dian the Beautiful, his halfsavage mate, safe among his friends, or had Hooja the Sly One

Had the federated tribes of Pellucidar succeeded in overthrowing the mighty Mahars, the dominant race of

reptilian monsters, and their fierce, gorillalike sol diery, the savage Sagoths?

I must admit that I was in a state bordering upon nervous prostration when I entered the andClub, in

Algiers, and inquired for Mr. Nestor. A moment later I was ushered into his presence, to find myself clasping

He was a tall, smoothfaced man of about thirty, cleancut, straight, and strong, and weathertanned to the

hue of a desert Arab. I liked him immensely from the first, and I hope that after our three months together in

the desert countrythree months not entirely lack ing in adventurehe found that a man may be a writer

The day following my arrival at Algiers we left for the south, Nestor having made all arrangements in

advance, guessing, as he naturally did, that I could be coming to Africa for but a single purposeto hasten at

In addition to our native servants, we took along an English telegraphoperator named Frank Downes.

Nothing of interest enlivened our journey by rail and caravan till we came to the cluster of datepalms about

It was the very spot at which I first had seen David Innes. If he had ever raised a cairn above the telegraph

instrument no sign of it remained now. Had it not been for the chance that caused Cogdon Nestor to throw

down his sleeping rug directly over the hidden instru ment, it might still be clicking there unheardand this

When we reached the spot and unearthed the little box the instrument was quiet, nor did repeated attempts

upon the part of our telegrapher succeed in winning a response from the other end of the line. After several

days of futile endeavor to raise Pellucidar, we had be gun to despair. I was as positive that the other end of

that little cable protruded through the surface of the inner world as I am that I sit here today in my study

when about midnight of the fourth day I was awakened by the sound of the instrument.

Leaping to my feet I grasped Downes roughly by the neck and dragged him out of his blankets. He didn't

need to be told what caused my excitement, for the instant he was awake he, too, heard the longhoped for

Nestor was on his feet almost as soon as I. The three of us huddled about that little box as if our lives

Downes interrupted the clicking with his sending key. The noise of the receiver stopped instantly.

He did so, and while we awaited the Englishman's translation of the reply, I doubt if either Nestor or I

"Tell him," said I; "and that we want to know how he isand all that has befallen him since I last saw him."

For two months I talked with David Innes almost every day, and as Downes translated, either Nestor or I took

notes. From these, arranged in chronological order, I have set down the following account of the further

The Arabs, of whom I wrote you at the end of my last letter (Innes began), and whom I thought to be enemies

intent only upon murdering me, proved to be exceed ingly friendlythey were searching for the very band

of marauders that had threatened my existence. The huge rhamphorhynchuslike reptile that I had brought

back with me from the inner worldthe ugly Mahar that Hooja the Sly One had substituted for my dear Dian

Nor less so did the mighty subterranean prospector which had carried me to Pellucidar and back again, and

With their help I managed to get the unwieldy tons of its great bulk into a vertical positionthe nose deep in

a hole we had dug in the sand and the rest of it supported by the trunks of datepalms cut for the purpose.

It was a mighty engineering job with only wild Arabs and their wilder mounts to do the work of an electric

For some time I hesitated to take the Mahar back with me. She had been docile and quiet ever since she had

discovered herself virtually a prisoner aboard the "iron mole." It had been, of course, impossible for me to

communicate with her since she had no auditory organs and I no knowledge of her fourthdimension,

Naturally I am kindhearted, and so I found it beyond me to leave even this hateful and repulsive thing alone

in a strange and hostile world. The result was that when I entered the iron mole I took her with me.

That she knew that we were about to return to Pellucidar was evident, for immediately her manner changed

from that of habitual gloom that had pervaded her, to an almost human expression of contentment and

Our trip through the earth's crust was but a repetition of my two former journeys between the inner and the

outer worlds. This time, however, I imagine that we must have maintained a more nearly perpendicular

course, for we accomplished the journey in a few min utes' less time than upon the occasion of my first

journey through the fivehundredmile crust. just a trifle less than seventytwo hours after our departure into

Fortune once again favored me by the slightest of margins, for when I opened the door in the prospector's

outer jacket I saw that we had missed coming up through the bottom of an ocean by but a few hundred yards.

The aspect of the surrounding country was entirely unfamiliar to meI had no conception of precisely where

I was upon the one hundred and twentyfour million square miles of Pellucidar's vast land surface.

The perpetual midday sun poured down its torrid rays from zenith, as it had done since the beginning of

Pellucidarian timeas it would continue to do to the end of it. Before me, across the wide sea, the weird,

horizonless seascape folded gently upward to meet the sky until it lost itself to view in the azure depths of

How strange it looked! How vastly different from the flat and puny area of the circumscribed vision of the

I was lost. Though I wandered ceaselessly throughout a lifetime, I might never discover the whereabouts of

my former friends of this strange and savage world. Never again might I see dear old Perry, nor Ghak the

Hairy One, nor Dacor the Strong One, nor that other infinitely precious onemy sweet and noble mate, Dian

But even so I was glad to tread once more the surface of Pellucidar. Mysterious and terrible, grotesque and

savage though she is in many of her aspects, I can not but love her. Her very savagery appealed to me, for it

The magnificence of her tropic beauties enthralled me. Her mighty land areas breathed unfettered free dom.

Her untracked oceans, whispering of virgin wonders unsullied by the eye of man, beckoned me out upon their

Not for an instant did I regret the world of my nativity. I was in Pellucidar. I was home. And I was content.

As I stood dreaming beside the giant thing that had brought me safely through the earth's crust, my travel

ing companion, the hideous Mahar, emerged from the interior of the prospector and stood beside me. For a

She was a member of the dominant race of Pel lucidar. By a strange freak of evolution her kind had first

To her, creatures such as I were of a lower order. As Perry had discovered among the writings of her kind in

the buried city of Phutra, it was still an open question among the Mahars as to whether man pos sessed

Her kind believed that in the center of allpervading solidity there was a single, vast, spherical cavity, which

was Pellucidar. This cavity had been left there for the sole purpose of providing a place for the creation and

propagation of the Mahar race. Everything within it had been put there for the uses of the Mahar.

I wondered what this particular Mahar might think now. I found pleasure in speculating upon just what the

effect had been upon her of passing through the earth's crust, and coming out into a world that one of even

less intelligence than the great Mahars could easily see was a different world from her own Pel lucidar.

What had been the effect upon her of the moon and myriad stars of the clear African nights?

With what sensations of awe must she first have watched the sun moving slowly across the heavens to

disappear at last beneath the western horizon, leaving in his wake that which the Mahar had never before

witnessedthe darkness of night? For upon Pellucidar there is no night. The stationary sun hangs forever in

Then, too, she must have been impressed by the wondrous mechanism of the prospector which had bored its

way from world to world and back again. And that it had been driven by a rational being must also have

Too, she bad seen me conversing with other men upon the earth's surface. She had seen the arrival of the

caravan of books and arms, and ammunition, and the balance of the heterogeneous collection which I had

She had seen all these evidences of a civilization and brainpower transcending in scientific achieve ment

anything that her race had produced; nor once had she seen a creature of her own kind.

There could have been but a single deduction in the mind of the Maharthere were other worlds than

Now the creature at my side was creeping slowly toward the nearby sea. At my hip hung a longbarreled

sixshootersomehow I had been unable to find the same sensation of security in the newfangled auto

matics that had been perfected since my first departure from the outer worldand in my hand was a heavy

I could have shot the Mahar with ease, for I knew intuitively that she was escapingbut I did not.

I felt that if she could return to her own kind with the story of her adventures, the position of the human race

within Pellucidar would be advanced immensely at a single stride, for at once man would take his proper

At the edge of the sea the creature paused and looked back at me. Then she slid sinuously into the surf.

Then a hundred yards from shore she rose and there for another short while she floated upon the surface.

Finally she spread her giant wings, flapped them vigorously a score of times and rose above the blue sea. A

I watched her until the distant haze enveloped her and she had disappeared. I was alone.

My first concern was to discover where within Pel lucidar I might beand in what direction lay the land of

Could I find my way back to the prospector with its priceless freight of books, firearms, ammunition, scien

tific instruments, and still more booksits great library of reference works upon every conceivable branch of

And if I could not, of what value was all this vast storehouse of potential civilization and progress to be to the

Upon the other hand, if I remained here alone with it, what could I accomplish singlehanded?

But where there was no east, no west, no north, no south, no stars, no moon, and only a stationary mid day

sun, how was I to find my way back to this spot should ever I get out of sight of it?

For a long time I stood buried in deep thought, when it occurred to me to try out one of the compasses I had

brought and ascertain if it remained steadily fixed upon an unvarying pole. I reentered the prospector and

Moving a considerable distance from the prospector that the needle might not be influenced by its great bulk

Always and steadily the needle remained rigidly fixed upon a point straight out to sea, apparently pointing

toward a large island some ten or twenty miles distant. This then should be north.

I drew my notebook from my pocket and made a careful topographical sketch of the locality within the

The spot I had chosen for my observations was the top of a large, flat boulder which rose six or eight feet

above the turf. This spot I called Greenwich. The boulder was the "Royal Observatory."

I had made a start! I cannot tell you what a sense of relief was imparted to me by the simple fact that there

was at least one spot within Pellucidar with a familiar name and a place upon a map.

It was with almost childish joy that I made a little circle in my notebook and traced the word Greenwich

Now I felt I might start out upon my search with some assurance of finding my way back again to the

I decided that at first I would travel directly south in the hope that I might in that direction find some familiar

landmark. It was as good a direction as any. This much at least might be said of it.

Among the many other things I had brought from the outer world were a number of pedometers. I slipped

three of these into my pockets with the idea that I might arrive at a more or less accurate mean from the

On my map I would register so many paces south, so many east, so many west, and so on. When I was ready

I also strapped a considerable quantity of ammuni tion across my shoulders, pocketed some matches, and

Ready to search a land area of 124,110,000 square miles for my friends, my incomparable mate, and good old

And so, after locking the door in the outer shell of the prospector, I set out upon my quest. Due south I

Through dense primeval forests I forced my way and up the slopes of mighty mountains searching for a pass

Ibex and musksheep fell before my good old revolver, so that I lacked not for food in the higher altitudes.

The forests and the plains gave plentifully of fruits and wild birds, antelope, aurochsen, and elk.

Occasionally, for the larger game animals and the gigantic beasts of prey, I used my express rifle, but for the

There were times, too, when faced by a mighty cave bear, a sabertoothed tiger, or huge felis spelaea, black

maned and terrible, even my powerful rifle seemed pitifully inadequatebut fortune favored me so that I

passed unscathed through adventures that even the recollection of causes the short hairs to bristle at the nape

How long I wandered toward the south I do not know, for shortly after I left the prospector something went

wrong with my watch, and I was again at the mercy of the baffling timelessness of Pellucidar, forging

I ate many times, however, so that days must have elapsed, possibly months with no familiar landscape

I saw no men nor signs of men. Nor is this strange, for Pellucidar, in its land area, is immense, while the

Doubtless upon that long search mine was the first human foot to touch the soil in many placesmine the

It was a staggering thought. I could not but dwell upon it often as I made my lonely way through this virgin

world. Then, quite suddenly, one day I stepped out of the peace of manless primality into the presence of

I had been following a ravine downward out of a chain of lofty hills and had paused at its mouth to view the

lovely little valley that lay before me. At one side was tangled wood, while straight ahead a river wound

peacefully along parallel to the cliffs in which the hills terminated at the valley's edge.

Presently, as I stood enjoying the lovely scene, as insatiate for Nature's wonders as if I had not looked upon

similar landscapes countless times, a sound of shouting broke from the direction of the woods. That the harsh,

I slipped behind a large boulder near the mouth of the ravine and waited. I could hear the crashing of

underbrush in the forest, and I guessed that whoever came came quicklypursued and pursuers, doubtless.

In a short time some hunted animal would break into view, and a moment later a score of halfnaked savages

I had seen the thing so many times during my life within Pellucidar that I felt that I could anticipate to a

nicety precisely what I was about to witness. I hoped that the hunters would prove friendly and be able to

Even as I was thinking these thoughts the quarry emerged from the forest. But it was no terrified four footed

Staggering feebly and hopelessly from what must have been some very terrible fate, if one could judge from

the horrified expressions he continually cast behind him toward the wood, he came stumbling on in my

He had covered but a short distance from the forest when I beheld the first of his pursuersa Sagoth, one of

those grim and terrible gorillamen who guard the mighty Mahars in their buried cities, faring forth from

time to time upon slaveraiding or punitive expeditions against the human race of Pellucidar, of whom the

dominant race of the inner world think as we think of the bison or the wild sheep of our own world.

Close behind the foremost Sagoth came others until a full dozen raced, shouting after the terrorstricken old

One of them was rapidly overhauling him, his back thrown speararm testifying to his purpose.

And then, quite with the suddenness of an unex pected blow, I realized a past familiarity with the gait and

Simultaneously there swept over me the staggering fact that the old man wasPERRY! That he was about to

die before my very eyes with no hope that I could reach him in time to avert the awful catastrophe for to

Dian, of course, I looked upon as more than friend. She was my matea part of me.

I had entirely forgotten the rifle in my hand and the revolvers at my belt; one does not readily syn chronize

Now from past habit I still thought in the stone age, and in my thoughts of the stone age there were no

The fellow was almost upon Perry when the feel of the gun in my hand awoke me from the lethargy of terror

that had gripped me. From behind my boulder I threw up the heavy express riflea mighty engine of

destruction that might bring down a cave bear or a mammoth at a single shotand let drive at the Sagoth's

At the sound of the shot he stopped stockstill. His spear dropped from his hand.

The effect upon the others was little less remarkable. Perry alone could have possibly guessed the meaning of

the loud report or explained its connection with the sudden collapse of the Sagoth. The other gorillamen

halted for but an instant. Then with renewed shrieks of rage they sprang forward to finish Perry.

At the same time I stepped from behind my boul der, drawing one of my revolvers that I might conserve the

more precious ammunition of the express rifle. Quickly I fired again with the lesser weapon.

Then it was that all eyes were directed toward me. Another Sagoth fell to the bullet from the revolver; but it

did not stop his companions. They were out for revenge as well as blood now, and they meant to have both.

As I ran forward toward Perry I fired four more shots, dropping three of our antagonists. Then at last the

remaining seven wavered. It was too much for them, this roaring death that leaped, invisible, upon them from

As they hesitated I reached Perry's side. I have never seen such an expression upon any man's face as that

upon Perry's when he recognized me. I have no words wherewith to describe it. There was not time to talk

thenscarce for a greeting. I thrust the full, loaded revolver into his hand, fired the last shot in my own, and

They started toward us once more, though I could see that they were terrified probably as much by the noise

of the guns as by their effects. They never reached us. Halfway the three that remained turned and fled, and

The last we saw of them they were disappearing into the tangled undergrowth of the forest. And then Perry

turned and threw his arms about my neck and, burying his old face upon my shoulder, wept like a child.

We made camp there beside the peaceful river. There Perry told me all that had befallen him since I had

It seemed that Hooja had made it appear that I had intentionally left Dian behind, and that I did not purpose

ever returning to Pellucidar. He told them that I was of another world and that I had tired of this and of its

To Dian he had explained that I had a mate in the world to which I was returning; that I had never intended

Shortly afterward Dian had disappeared from the camp, nor had Perry seen or heard aught of her since.

He had no conception of the time that had elapsed since I had departed, but guessed that many years had

Hooja, too, had disappeared very soon after Dian had left. The Sarians, under Ghak the Hairy One, and the

Amozites under Dacor the Strong One, Dian's brother, had fallen out over my supposed defection, for Ghak

The result had been that these two powerful tribes had fallen upon one another with the new weapons that

Perry and I had taught them to make and to use. Other tribes of the new federation took sides with the

Taking advantage of the tribal war, the Mahars had gathered their Sagoths in force and fallen upon one tribe

after another in rapid succession, wreaking awful havoc among them and reducing them for the most part to

Alone of all the oncemighty federation the Sarians and the Amozites with a few other tribes continued to

maintain their defiance of the Mahars; but these tribes were still divided among themselves, nor had it

seemed at all probable to Perry when he had last been among them that any attempt at reamalgamation

"And thus, your majesty," he concluded, "has faded back into the oblivion of the Stone Age our wondrous

We both had to smile at the use of my royal title, yet I was indeed still "Emperor of Pellucidar," and some

day I meant to rebuild what the vile act of the treacherous Hooja had torn down.

"None whatever," replied Perry. "It was in search of her that I came to the pretty pass in which you dis

"I knew perfectly well that you had not intentionally deserted either Dian or Pellucidar. I guessed that in

some way Hooja the Sly One was at the bottom of the matter, and I determined to go to Amoz, where I

guessed that Dian might come to the protection of her brother, and do my utmost to convince her, and

through her Dacor the Strong One, that we had all been victims of a treacherous plot to which you were no

"I came to Amoz after a most trying and terrible journey, only to find that Dian was not among her brother's

"Dacor, I am sure, wanted to be fair and just, but so great were his grief and anger over the disap pearance

of his sister that he could not listen to reason, but kept repeating time and again that only your return to

"Then came a stranger from another tribe, sent I am sure at the instigation of Hooja. He so turned the

Amozites against me that I was forced to flee their country to escape assassination.

"In attempting to return to Sari I became lost, and then the Sagoths discovered me. For a long time I eluded

"I traveled on and on, in what directions I could not even guess; and at last I could elude them no longer and

the end came as I had long foreseen that it would come, except that I had not foreseen that you would be there

We rested in our camp until Perry had regained sufficient strength to travel again. We planned much,

rebuilding all our shattered aircastles; but above all we planned most to find Dian.

I could not believe that she was dead, yet where she might be in this savage world, and under what frightful

When Perry was rested we returned to the prospector, where he fitted himself out fully like a civilized human

beingunderclothing, socks, shoes, khaki jacket and breeches and good, substantial puttees.

When I had come upon him he was clothed in rough sadak sandals, a geestring and a tunic fashioned from

the shaggy hide of a thag. Now he wore real clothing again for the first time since the apefolk had stripped

us of our apparel that longgone day that had witnessed our advent within Pellucidar.

With a bandoleer of cartridges across his shoulder, two sixshooters at his hips, and a rifle in his hand he was

Indeed he was quite a different person altogether from the rather shaky old man who had entered the

prospector with me ten or eleven years before, for the trial trip that had plunged us into such wondrous ad

Now he was straight and active. His muscles, almost atrophied from disuse in his former life, had filled out.

He was still an old man of course, but instead of appearing ten years older than he really was, as he had when

we left the outer world, he now appeared about ten years younger. The wild, free life of Pel lucidar had

Well, it must need have done so or killed him, for a man of Perry's former physical condition could not long

Perry had been greatly interested in my map and in the "royal observatory" at Greenwich. By use of the

Now that we were ready to set out again we decided to follow a different route on the chance that it might

I shall not weary you with a repetition of the count less adventures of our long search. Encounters with wild

beasts of gigantic size were of almost daily occur rence; but with our deadly express rifles we ran com

paratively little risk when one recalls that previously we had both traversed this world of frightful dangers

We ate and slept many timesso many that we lost countand so I do not know how long we roamed,

though our map shows the distances and direc tions quite accurately. We must have covered a great many

thousand square miles of territory, and yet we had seen nothing in the way of a familiar landmark, when from

the heights of a mountainrange we were crossing I descried far in the distance great masses of billowing

Now clouds are practically unknown in the skies of Pellucidar. The moment that my eyes rested upon them

my heart leaped. I seized Perry's arm and, point ing toward the horizonless distance, shouted:

"They lie close to Phutra, and the country of our worst enemies, the Mahars," Perry remonstrated.

"I know it," I replied, "but they give us a startingpoint from which to prosecute our search intelligently.

"They tell us that we are upon the right trail and not wandering far in the wrong direction.

"Furthermore, close to the Mountains of the Clouds dwells a good friend, Ja the Mezop. You did not know

him, but you know all that he did for me and all that he will gladly do to aid me.

"The Mountains of the Clouds constitute a mighty range," replied Perry. "They must cover an enormous

territory. How are you to find your friend in all the great country that is visible from their rugged flanks?"

"Easily," I answered him, "for Ja gave me minute di rections. I recall almost his exact words:

"'You need merely come to the foot of the highest peak of the Mountains of the Clouds. There you will find a

"'Directly opposite the mouth of the river you will see three large islands far outso far that they are barely

discernible. The one to the extreme left as you face them from the mouth of the river is Anoroc, where I rule

And so we hastened onward toward the great cloud mass that was to be our guide for several weary

marches. At last we came close to the towering crags, Alplike in their grandeur.

Rising nobly among its noble fellows, one stupendous peak reared its giant head thousands of feet above the

others. It was he whom we sought; but at its foot no river wound down toward any sea.

"It must rise from the opposite side," suggested Perry, casting a rueful glance at the forbidding heights that

barred our further progress. "We cannot endure the arctic cold of those high flung passes, and to traverse the

endless miles about this interminable range might re quire a year or more. The land we seek must lie upon

"We can't do it, David," he repeated, "We are dressed for the tropics. We should freeze to death among the

First we made a permanent camp part way up the slopes where there was good water. Then we set out in

He is a mighty animala terrible animal. He is but little larger than his cousin of the lesser, lower hills; but

he makes up for it in the awfulness of his ferocity and in the length and thickness of his shaggy coat. It was

We came upon him quite unexpectedly. I was trudg ing in advance along a rocky trail worn smooth by the

padded feet of countless ages of wild beasts. At a shoul der of the mountain around which the path ran I

I was going up for a fur coat. He was coming down for breakfast. Each realized that here was the very thing

I shouted to him in warning, and then I raised my rifle and fired into the broad breast of the creature. There

But that my bullet took effect was evident from the howl of rage and pain that broke from the frothing jowls.

I fired again, and then he was upon me. Down I went beneath his ton of maddened, clawing flesh and bone

I thought my time had come. I remember feeling sorry for poor old Perry, left all alone in this inhos pitable,

And then of a sudden I realized that the bear was gone and that I was quite unharmed. I leaped to my feet, my

I thought that I should find him farther down the trail, probably finishing Perry, and so I leaped in the

direction I supposed him to be, to find Perry perched upon a pro jecting rock several feet above the trail. My

There he squatted, his eyes wide and his mouth ajar, the picture of abject terror and consternation.

"Nothing came this way," replied the old man. "But I heard his roarshe must have been as large as an

"He was," I admitted; "but where in the world do you suppose he disappeared to?"

Then came a possible explanation to my mind. I re turned to the point at which the bear had hurled me down

Far, far down I saw a small brown blotch near the bottom of the canon. It was the bear.

My second shot must have killed him, and so his dead body, after hurling me to the path, had toppled over

into the abyss. I shivered at the thought of how close I, too, must have been to going over with him.

It took us a long time to reach the carcass, and arduous labor to remove the great pelt. But at last the thing

Here we devoted another considerable period to scraping and curing it. When this was done to our

satisfaction we made heavy boots, trousers, and coats of the shaggy skin, turning the fur in.

From the scraps we fashioned caps that came down around our ears, with flaps that fell about our shoulders

and breasts. We were now fairly well equipped for our search for a pass to the opposite side of the Mountains

Our first step now was to move our camp upward to the very edge of the perpetual snows which cap this lofty

range. Here we built a snug, secure little hut, which we provisioned and stored with fuel for its di minutive

Our every move was carefully noted upon our maps which we now kept in duplicate. By this means we were

Systematically we worked upward in both directions from our base, and when we had at last discovered what

seemed might prove a feasible pass we moved our be longings to a new hut farther up.

It was hard workcold, bitter, cruel work. Not a step did we take in advance but the grim reaper strode

There were the great cave bears in the timber, and gaunt, lean wolveshuge creatures twice the size of our

Canadian timberwolves. Farther up we were as sailed by enormous white bearshungry, devilish fellows,

who came roaring across the rough glacier tops at the first glimpse of us, or stalked us stealthily by scent

It is one of the peculiarities of life within Pellucidar that man is more often the hunted than the hunter.

Myriad are the hugebellied carnivora of this primitive world. Never, from birth to death, are those great

bellies sufficiently filled, so always are their mighty owners prowling about in search of meat.

Terribly armed for battle as they are, man presents to them in his primal state an easy prey, slow of foot, puny

The bears looked upon us as easy meat. Only our heavy rifles saved us from prompt extinction. Poor Perry

never was a raging lion at heart, and I am convinced that the terrors of that awful period must have caused

When we were abroad pushing our trail farther and farther toward the distant break which, we assumed,

marked a feasible way across the range, we never knew at what second some great engine of clawed and

fanged destruction might rush upon us from behind, or lie in wait for us beyond an icehummock or a jutting

The roar of our rifles was constantly shattering the worldold silence of stupendous canons upon which the

eye of man had never before gazed. And when in the comparative safety of our hut we lay down to sleep the

great beasts roared and fought without the walls, clawed and battered at the door, or rushed their colossal

frames headlong against the hut's sides until it rocked and trembled to the impact.

Perry had got to taking stock of our ammunition each time we returned to the hut. It became something of an

He'd count our cartridges one by one and then try to figure how long it would be before the last was ex

pended and we must either remain in the hut until we starved to death or venture forth, empty, to fill the belly

I must admit that I, too, felt worried, for our progress was indeed snaillike, and our ammunition could not

last forever. In discussing the problem, finally we came to the decision to burn our bridges behind us and

It would mean that we must go without sleep for a long period, and with the further chance that when the

time came that sleep could no longer be denied we might still be high in the frozen regions of perpetual snow

and ice, where sleep would mean certain death, exposed as we would be to the attacks of wild beasts and

But we decided that we must take these chances and so at last we set forth from our hut for the last time,

carrying such necessities as we felt we could least afford to do without. The bears seemed unusually

troublesome and determined that time, and as we clambered slowly upward beyond the highest point to which

We had reached the heights that are so often cloud wrapped for long periods. We could see nothing a few

We dared not turn back into the teeth of the bears which we could hear grunting behind us. To meet them in

Perry was almost overcome by the hopelessness of our situation. He flopped down on his knees and began to

It was the first time I had heard him at his old habit since my return to Pellucidar, and I had thought that he

I let him pray for a short time undisturbed, and then as I was about to suggest that we had better be pushing

along one of the bears in our rear let out a roar that made the earth fairly tremble beneath our feet.

It brought Perry to his feet as if he had been stung by a wasp, and sent him racing ahead through the blind

Crevasses in the glacierice were far too frequent to permit of reckless speed even in a clear atmosphere, and

then there were hideous precipices along the edges of which our way often led us. I shivered as I thought of

At the top of my lungs I called to him to stop, but he did not answer me. And then I hurried on in the di

For a while I thought I heard him ahead of me, but at last, though I paused often to listen and to call to him, I

heard nothing more, not even the grunting of the bears that had been behind us. All was deathly silencethe

Somewhere near by lay the mouth of a treacherous fissure, and far down at its icy bottom lay all that was

mortal of my old friend, Abner Perry. There would his body he preserved in its icy sepulcher for countless

ages, until on some far distant day the slowmoving river of ice had wound its snaillike way down to the

warmer level, there to disgorge its grisly evidence of grim tragedy, and what in that far future age, might

Through the fog I felt my way along by means of my compass. I no longer heard the bears, nor did I encoun

Experience has since taught me that these great beasts are as terrorstricken by this phenomenon as a

landsman by a fog at sea, and that no sooner does a fog envelop them than they make the best of their way to

I felt very sad and lonely as I crawled along the diffi cult footing. My own predicament weighed less

That I should ever win the opposite slopes of the range I began to doubt, for though I am naturally sanguine, I

imagine that the bereavement which had befallen me had cast such a gloom over my spirits that I could see

Then, too, the blighting, gray oblivion of the cold, damp clouds through which I wandered was distress ing.

Hope thrives best in sunlight, and I am sure that it does not thrive at all in a fog.

But the instinct of selfpreservation is stronger than hope. It thrives, fortunately, upon nothing. It takes root

upon the brink of the grave, and blossoms in the jaws of death. Now it flourished bravely upon the breast of

dead hope, and urged me onward and upward in a stern endeavor to justify its existence.

As I advanced the fog became denser. I could see nothing beyond my nose. Even the snow and ice I trod were

I could not see below the breast of my bearskin coat. I seemed to be floating in a sea of vapor.

To go forward over a dangerous glacier under such conditions was little short of madness; but I could not

have stopped going had I known positively that death lay two paces before my nose. In the first place, it was

too cold to stop, and in the second, I should have gone mad but for the excitement of the perils that beset each

For some time the ground had been rougher and steeper, until I had been forced to scale a considerable height

that had carried me from the glacier entirely. I was sure from my compass that I was following the right

Once more the ground was level. From the wind that blew about me I guessed that I must be upon some ex

And then quite suddenly I stepped out into space. Wildly I turned and clutched at the ground that had slipped

Only a smooth, icy surface was there. I found nothing to clutch or stay my fall, and a moment later so great

As suddenly as I had pitched into space, with equal suddenness did I emerge from the fog, out of which I shot

like a projectile from a cannon into clear daylight. My speed was so great that I could see nothing about me

but a blurred and indistinct sheet of smooth and frozen snow, that rushed past me with expresstrain velocity.

I must have slid downward thousands of feet before the steep incline curved gently on to a broad, smooth,

snowcovered plateau. Across this I hurtled with slowly diminishing velocity, until at last objects about me

Far ahead, miles and miles away, I saw a great valley and mighty woods, and beyond these a broad expanse

of water. In the nearer foreground I discerned a small, dark blob of color upon the shimmering whiteness of

"A bear," thought I, and thanked the instinct that had impelled me to cling tenaciously to my rifle during the

At the rate I was going it would be but a moment before I should be quite abreast the thing; nor was it long

before I came to a sudden stop in soft snow, upon which the sun was shining, not twenty paces from the

It was standing upon its hind legs waiting for me. As I scrambled to my feet to meet it, I dropped my gun in

The expression upon his face, combined with the relief I felt at seeing him again safe and sound, was too

"David!" be cried. "David, my boy! God has been good to an old man. He has answered my prayer."

It seems that Perry in his mad flight had plunged over the brink at about the same point as that at which I had

stepped over it a short time later. Chance had done for us what long periods of rational labor had failed to

We had crossed the divide. We were upon the side of the Mountains of the Clouds that we had for so long

We looked about. Below us were green trees and warm jungles. In the distance was a great sea.

Somehowthe gods alone can explain itPerry, too, had clung to his rifle during his mad descent of the icy

Neither of us was worse for his experience, so after shaking the snow from our clothing, we set off at a great

The going was easy by comparison with the awful obstacles we had had to encounter upon the opposite side

Before we halted to eat or rest, we stood beside a little mountain brook beneath the wondrous trees of the

primeval forest in an atmosphere of warmth and com fort. It reminded me of an early June day in the Maine

We fell to work with our short axes and cut enough small trees to build a rude protection from the fiercer

How long we slept I do not know. Perry says that inasmuch as there is no means of measuring time within

Pellucidar, there can be no such thing as time here, and that we may have slept an outer earthly year, or we

But this I know. We had stuck the ends of some of the saplings into the ground in the building of our shelter,

first stripping the leaves and branches from them, and when we awoke we found that many of them had thrust

Personally, I think that we slept at least a month; but who may say? The sun marked midday when we closed

our eyes; it was still in the same position when we opened them; nor had it varied a hair's breadth in the

Anyhow, I was famished when we awoke. I think that it was the pangs of hunger that awoke me. Ptarmigan

and wild boar fell before my revolver within a dozen moments of my awakening. Perry soon had a roaring

It was a good and delicious meal we made. Though we did not eat the entire boar, we made a very large hole

Having satisfied our hunger, we determined to set forth at once in search of Anoroc and my old friend, Ja the

Mezop. We each thought that by following the little stream downward, we should come upon the large river

We did so; nor were we disappointed, for at last after a pleasant journeyand what journey would not be

pleasant after the hardships we had endured among the peaks of the Mountains of the Cloudswe came

upon a broad flood that rushed majestically onward in the di rection of the great sea we had seen from the

For three long marches we followed the left bank of the growing river, until at last we saw it roll its mighty

volume into the vast waters of the sea. Far out across the rippling ocean we described three islands. The one

But how to reach the islands was now the foremost question in our minds. We must build a canoe.

Perry is a most resourceful man. He has an axiom which carries the thoughtkernel that what man has done,

man can do, and it doesn't cut any figure with Perry whether a fellow knows how to do it or not.

He set out to make gunpowder once, shortly after our escape from Phutra and at the beginning of the con

federation of the wild tribes of Pellucidar. He said that some one, without any knowledge of the fact that such

a thing might be concocted, had once stumbled upon it by accident, and so he couldn't see why a fellow who

He worked mighty hard mixing all sorts of things together, until finally he evolved a substance that looked

like powder. He had been very proud of the stuff, and had gone about the village of the Sarians exhibiting it

to every one who would listen to him, and explaining what its purpose was and what terrific havoc it would

work, until finally the natives became so terrified at the stuff that they wouldn't come within a rod of Perry

Finally, I suggested that we experiment with it and see what it would do, so Perry built a fire, after placing

the powder at a safe distance, and then touched a glow ing ember to a minute particle of the deadly

Repeated experiments with it determined me that in searching for a high explosive, Perry had stumbled upon

a fireextinguisher that would have made his fortune for him back in our own world.

So now he set himself to work to build a scientific canoe. I had suggested that we construct a dugout, but

Perry convinced me that we must build something more in keeping with our positions of supermen in this

"We must impress these natives with our superiority," he explained. "You must not forget, David, that you

are emperor of Pellucidar. As such you may not with dignity approach the shores of a foreign power in so

I pointed out to Perry that it wasn't much more in congruous for the emperor to cruise in a canoe, than it was

He had to smile at that; but in extenuation of his act he assured me that it was quite customary for prime

ministers to give their personal attention to the building of imperial navies; "and this," he said, "is the

imperial navy of his Serene Highness, David I, Emperor of the Federated Kingdoms of Pellucidar."

I grinned; but Perry was quite serious about it. It had always seemed rather more or less of a joke to me that I

should be addressed as majesty and all the rest of it. Yet my imperial power and dignity had been a very real

Twenty tribes had joined the federation, and their chiefs had sworn eternal fealty to one another and to me.

Among them were many powerful though savage na tions. Their chiefs we had made kings; their tribal

We had armed them with bows and arrows and swords, in addition to their own more primitive weapons. I

had trained them in military discipline and in so much of the art of war as I had gleaned from extensive read

We had marked out as best we could natural bounda ries dividing the various kingdoms. We had warned

tribes beyond these boundaries that they must not trespass, and we had marched against and severely

We had met and defeated the Mahars and the Sagoths. In short, we had demonstrated our rights to empire,

and very rapidly were we being recognized and heralded abroad when my departure for the outer world and

But now I had returned. The work that fate had undone must be done again, and though I must need smile at

my imperial honors, I none the less felt the weight of duty and obligation that rested upon my shoulders.

Slowly the imperial navy progressed toward com pletion. She was a wondrous craft, but I had my doubts

about her. When I voiced them to Perry, he reminded me gently that my people for many generations had

been mineowners, not shipbuilders, and consequently I couldn't be expected to know much about the

I was minded to inquire into his hereditary fitness to design battleships; but inasmuch as I already knew that

his father had been a minister in a backwoods village far from the coast, I hesitated lest I offend the dear old

He was immensely serious about his work, and I must admit that in so far as appearances went he did ex

tremely well with the meager tools and assistance at his command. We had only two short axes and our

hunting knives; yet with these we hewed trees, split them into planks, surfaced and fitted them.

The "navy" was some forty feet in length by ten feet beam. Her sides were quite straight and fully ten feet

high"for the purpose," explained Perry, "of adding dignity to her appearance and rendering it less easy for

As a matter of fact, I knew that he had had in mind the safety of her crew under javelinfirethe lofty sides

made an admirable shelter. Inside she reminded me of nothing so much as a floating trench. There was also

Her prow sloped sharply backward from the water linequite like a line of battleship. Perry had designed

her more for moral effect upon an enemy, I think, than for any real harm she might inflict, and so those parts

Below the waterline she was practically nonexistent. She should have had considerable draft; but, as the

enemy couldn't have seen it, Perry decided to do away with it, and so made her flatbottomed. It was this that

There was another little idiosyncrasy of design that escaped us both until she was about ready to launch

there was no method of propulsion. Her sides were far too high to permit the use of sweeps, and when Perry

suggested that we pole her, I remonstrated on the grounds that it would be a most undignified and awk ward

manner of sweeping down upon the foe, even if we could find or wield poles that would reach to the bottom

Finally I suggested that we convert her into a sailing vessel. When once the idea took hold Perry was most

Again I tried to dissuade him, but he was simply crazy over the psychological effect which the appearance of

this strange and mighty craft would have upon the natives of Pellucidar. So we rigged her with thin hides for

Neither of us knew much about sailing a fullrigged ship; but that didn't worry me a great deal, for I was

confident that we should never be called upon to do so, and as the day of launching approached I was positive

We had built her upon a low bank of the river close to where it emptied into the sea, and just above high tide.

Her keel we had laid upon several rollers cut from small trees, the ends of the rollers in turn resting upon

A few hours before we were ready to launch her she made quite an imposing picture, for Perry had insisted

upon setting every shred of "canvas." I told him that I didn't know much about it, but I was sure that at

launch ing the hull only should have been completed, every thing else being completed after she had

At the last minute there was some delay while we sought a name for her. I wanted her christened the Perry in

honor both of her designer and that other great naval genius of another world, Captain Oliver Hazard Perry,

We finally decided to establish a system in the naming of the fleet. Battleships of the firstclass should bear

the names of kingdoms of the federation; armored cruisers the names of kings; cruisers the names of cities,

and so on down the line. Therefore, we decided to name the first battleship Sari, after the first of the

The launching of the Sari proved easier than I con templated. Perry wanted me to get in and break some

thing over the bow as she floated out upon the bosom of the river, but I told him that I should feel safer on

I could see by the expression of the old man's face that my words had hurt him; but I noticed that he didn't

When we cut the ropes and removed the blocks that held the Sari in place she started for the water with a

lunge. Before she hit it she was going at a reckless speed, for we had laid our tracks quite down to the water,

greased them, and at intervals placed rollers all ready to receive the ship as she moved forward with stately

When she touched the surface of the river she must have been going twenty or thirty miles an hour. Her

momentum carried her well out into the stream, until she came to a sudden halt at the end of the long line

which we had had the foresight to attach to her bow and fasten to a large tree upon the bank.

The moment her progress was checked she promptly capsized. Perry was overwhelmed. I didn't upbraid him,

His grief was so genuine and so apparent that I didn't have the heart to reproach him, even were I inclined to

"Come, come, old man!" I cried. "It's not as bad as it looks. Give me a hand with this rope, and we'll drag her

up as far as we can; and then when the tide goes out we'll try another scheme. I think we can make a go of her

Well, we managed to get her up into shallow water. When the tide receded she lay there on her side in the

mud, quite a pitiable object for the premier battleship of a world"the terror of the seas" was the way Perry

We had to work fast; but before the tide came in again we had stripped her of her sails and masts, righted her,

and filled her about a quarter full of rock ballast. If she didn't stick too fast in the mud I was sure that she

I can tell you that it was with palpitating hearts that we sat upon the riverbank and watched that tide come

slowly in. The tides of Pellucidar don't amount to much by comparison with our higher tides of the outer

Nor was I mistaken. Finally we had the satisfaction of seeing the vessel rise out of the mud and float slowly

upstream with the tide. As the water rose we pulled her in quite close to the bank and clambered aboard.

She rested safely now upon an even keel; nor did she leak, for she was well calked with fiber and tarry pitch.

We rigged up a single short mast and light sail, fastened planking down over the ballast to form a deck,

worked her out into midstream with a couple of sweeps, and dropped our primitive stone anchor to await the

While we waited we devoted the time to the con struction of an upper deck, since the one immediately

above the ballast was some seven feet from the gunwale. The second deck was four feet above this. In it was

a large, commodious hatch, leading to the lower deck. The sides of the ship rose three feet above the upper

deck, forming an excellent breastwork, which we loopholed at intervals that we might lie prone and fire upon

Though we were sailing out upon a peaceful mission in search of my friend Ja, we knew that we might meet

At last the tide turned. We weighed anchor. Slowly we drifted down the great river toward the sea.

About us swarmed the mighty denizens of the prim eval deepplesiosauri and ichthyosauria with all their

horrid, slimy cousins whose names were as the names of aunts and uncles to Perry, but which I have never

At last we were safely launched upon the journey to which we had looked forward for so long, and the results

The Sari proved a most erratic craft. She might have done well enough upon a park lagoon if safely anchored,

Sailing with the wind she did her best; but in quarter ing or when closehauled she drifted terribly, as a

nautical man might have guessed she would. We couldn't keep within miles of our course, and our progress

Instead of making for the island of Anoroc, we bore far to the right, until it became evident that we should

have to pass between the two righthand islands and attempt to return toward Anoroc from the opposite side.

As we neared the islands Perry was quite overcome by their beauty. When we were directly between two of

The tropical luxuriance of the foliage that dripped almost to the water's edge and the vivid colors of the

Perry was right in the midst of a flowery panegyric on the wonders of the peaceful beauty of the scene when a

canoe shot out from the nearest island. There were a dozen warriors in it; it was quickly followed by a second

Of course we couldn't know the intentions of the strangers, but we could pretty well guess them.

Perry wanted to man the sweeps and try to get away from them, but I soon convinced him that any speed of

which the Sari was capable would be far too slow to outdistance the swift, though awkward, dugouts of the

I waited until they were quite close enough to hear me, and then I hailed them. I told them that we were

friends of the Mezops, and that we were upon a visit to Ja of Anoroc, to which they replied that they were at

war with Ja, and that if we would wait a minute they'd board us and throw our corpses to the azdyryths.

I warned them that they would get the worst of it if they didn't leave us alone, but they only shouted in

derision and paddled swiftly toward us. It was evident that they were considerably impressed by the appear

ance and dimensions of our craft, but as these fellows know no fear they were not at all awed.

Seeing that they were determined to give battle, I leaned over the rail of the Sari and brought the im perial

battlesquadron of the Emperor of Pellucidar into action for the first time in the history of a world. In other

The effect was magical. A warrior rose from his knees, threw his paddle aloft, stiffened into rigidity for an

The others ceased paddling, and, with wide eyes, looked first at me and then at the battling seathings which

fought for the corpse of their comrade. To them it must have seemed a miracle that I should be able to stand

at thrice the range of the most powerful javelin thrower and with a loud noise and a smudge of smoke slay

But only for an instant were they paralyzed with wonder. Then, with savage shouts, they fell once more to

Again and again I fired. At each shot a warrior sank to the bottom of the canoe or tumbled overboard.

When the prow of the first craft touched the side of the Sari it contained only dead and dying men. The other

I think that they must have been commencing to have some doubtsthose wild, naked, red warriorsfor

when the first man fell in the second boat, the others stopped paddling and commenced to jabber among

The third boat pulled up alongside the second and its crews joined in the conference. Taking advantage of the

"I have no fight with you," I cried, and then I told them who I was and added that if they would live in peace

"Go back now to your people," I counseled them, "and tell them that you have seen David I, Emperor of the

Federated Kingdoms of Pellucidar, and that single handed he has overcome you, just as be intends over

coming the Mahars and the Sagoths and any other peoples of Pellucidar who threaten the peace and wel fare

Slowly they turned the noses of their canoes toward land. It was evident that they were impressed; yet that

they were loath to give up without further con testing my claim to naval supremacy was also apparent, for

some of their number seemed to be exhorting the others to a renewal of the conflict.

However, at last they drew slowly away, and the Sari, which had not decreased her snaillike speed during

He came out on deck and, peering over the side, descried the lone canoe floating a short distance astern with

its grim and grisly freight. Farther his eyes wan dered to the retreating boats.

"David," said he at last, "this is a notable occasion. It is a great day in the annals of Pellucidar. We have won

"Your majesty's navy has routed a fleet of the enemy thrice its own size, manned by ten times as many men.

I could scarce restrain a smile at Perry's use of the pronoun "we," yet I was glad to share the rejoicing with

Perry is the only male coward I have ever known whom I could respect and love. He was not created for

fighting; but I think that if the occasion should ever arise where it became necessary he would give his life

It took us a long time to work around the islands and draw in close to Anoroc. In the leisure afforded we took

turns working on our map, and by means of the compass and a little guesswork we set down the shoreline we

Crossed sabers marked the spot where the first great naval engagement of a world had taken place. In a note

book we jotted down, as had been our custom, details that would be of historical value later.

Opposite Anoroc we came to anchor quite close to shore. I knew from my previous experience with the

tortuous trails of the island that I could never find my way inland to the hidden treevillage of the Mezop

chieftain, Ja; so we remained aboard the Sari, firing our express rifles at intervals to attract the attention of the

After some ten shots had been fired at considerable intervals a body of coppercolored warriors appeared

upon the shore. They watched us for a moment and then I hailed them, asking the whereabouts of my old

They did not reply at once, but stood with their heads together in serious and animated discussion.

Continually they turned their eyes toward our strange craft. It was evident that they were greatly puzzled by

our appear ance as well as unable to explain the source of the loud noises that had attracted their attention to

"We are friends," I replied. "I am David. Tell Ja that David, whose life be once saved from a sithic, has come

"If you will send out a canoe we will come ashore. We cannot bring our great warship closer in."

Again they talked for a considerable time. Then two of them entered a canoe that several dragged from its

They were magnificent specimens of manhood. Perry had never seen a member of this red race close to be

fore. In fact, the dead men in the canoe we had left astern after the battle and the survivors who were paddling

rapidly toward their shore were the first he ever had seen. He had been greatly impressed by their physical

beauty and the promise of superior intelligence which their wellshaped skulls gave.

The two who now paddled out received us into their canoe with dignified courtesy. To my inquiries relative

to Ja they explained that he had not been in the village when our signals were heard, but that runners had

been sent out after him and that doubtless he was already upon his way to the coast.

One of the men remembered me from the occasion of my former visit to the island; he was extremely agree

able the moment that he came close enough to recognize me. He said that Ja would be delighted to welcome

me, and that all the tribe of Anoroc knew of me by repute, and had received explicit instructions from their

chief tain that if any of them should ever come upon me to show me every kindness and attention.

Upon shore we were received with equal honor. While we stood conversing with our bronze friends a tall

It was Ja. As his eyes fell upon me his face lighted with pleasure. He came quickly forward to greet me after

Toward Perry he was equally hospitable. The old man fell in love with the savage giant as completely as had

I. Ja conducted us along the mazelike trail to his strange village, where he gave over one of the tree houses

Perry was much interested in the unique habitation, which resembled nothing so much as a huge wasp's nest

After we had eaten and rested Ja came to see us with a number of his head men. They listened attentively to

my story, which included a narrative of the events lead ing to the formation of the federated kingdoms, the

battle with the Mahars, my journey to the outer world, and my return to Pellucidar and search for Sari and my

Ja told me that the Mezops had heard something of the federation and had been much interested in it. He had

even gone so far as to send a party of warriors toward Sari to investigate the reports, and to arrange for the

entrance of Anoroc into the empire in case it ap peared that there was any truth in the rumors that one of the

The delegation had met with a party of Sagoths. As there had been a truce between the Mahars and the

Mezops for many generations, they camped with these warriors of the reptiles, from whom they learned that

When I showed Ja our map and explained its purpose to him, he was much interested. The location of

Anoroc, the Mountains of the Clouds, the river, and the strip of seacoast were all familiar to him.

He quickly indicated the position of the inland sea and close beside it, the city of Phutra, where one of the

powerful Mahar nations had its seat. He likewise showed us where Sari should be and carried his own

His additions to the map convinced us that Green wich lay upon the verge of this same sea, and that it might

be reached by water more easily than by the arduous crossing of the mountains or the dangerous ap proach

through Phutra, which lay almost directly in line between Anoroc and Greenwich to the northwest.

If Sari lay upon the same water then the shoreline must bend far back toward the southwest of Greenwich

an assumption which, by the way, we found later to be true. Also, Sari was upon a lofty plateau at the

The location which Ja gave to distant Amoz puzzled us, for it placed it due north of Greenwich, apparently in

midocean. As Ja had never been so far and knew only of Amoz through hearsay, we thought that he must be

mistaken; but he was not. Amoz lies directly north of Greenwich across the mouth of the same gulf as that

The sense of direction and location of these primitive Pellucidarians is little short of uncanny, as I have had

occasion to remark in the past. You may take one of them to the uttermost ends of his world, to places of

which he has never even heard, yet without sun or moon or stars to guide him, without map or compass, he

Mountains, rivers, and seas may have to be gone around. but never once does his sense of direction fail

In the same remarkable way they never forget the location of any place to which they have ever been, and

know that of many of which they have only heard from others who have visited them.

In short, each Pellucidarian is a walking geography of his own district and of much of the country contiguous

thereto. It always proved of the greatest aid to Perry and me; nevertheless we were anxious to enlarge our

After several long councils it was decided that, in order to expedite matters, Perry should return to the

prospector with a strong party of Mezops and fetch the freight I had brought from the outer world. Ja and his

warriors were much impressed by our firearms, and were also anxious to build boats with sails.

As we had arms at the prospector and also books on boatbuilding we thought that it might prove an ex

cellent idea to start these naturally maritime people upon the construction of a well built navy of staunch

sailingvessels. I was sure that with definite plans to go by Perry could oversee the construction of an

I warned him, however, not to be too ambitious, and to forget about dreadnoughts and armored cruisers for a

while and build instead a few small sailingboats that could be manned by four or five men.

I was to proceed to Sari, and while prosecuting my search for Dian attempt at the same time the rehabili

tation of the federation. Perry was going as far as possible by water, with the chances that the entire trip

With a couple of Mezops as companions I started for Sari. In order to avoid crossing the principal range of

the Mountains of the Clouds we took a route that passed a little way south of Phutra. We had eaten four times

and slept once, and were, as my companions told me, not far from the great Mahar city, when we were sud

They did not attack us, owing to the peace which exists between the Mahars and the Mezops, but I could see

that they looked upon me with considerable sus picion. My friends told them that I was a stranger from a

remote country, and as we had previously planned against such a contingency I pretended ignorance of the

language which the human beings of Pellucidar em ploy in conversing with the gorillalike soldiery of the

I noticed, and not without misgivings, that the leader of the Sagoths eyed me with an expression that be

tokened partial recognition. I was sure that he had seen me before during the period of my incarceration in

It worried me not a little. I was extremely thankful when we bade them adieu and continued upon our

Several times during the next few marches I became acutely conscious of the sensation of being watched by

unseen eyes, but I did not speak of my suspicions to my companions. Later I had reason to regret my

We had killed an antelope and after eating our fill I had lain down to sleep. The Pellucidarians, who seem

seldom if ever to require sleep, joined me in this instance, for we had had a very trying march along the

northern foothills of the Mountains of the Clouds, and now with their bellies filled with meat they seemed

When I awoke it was with a start to find a couple of huge Sagoths astride me. They pinioned my arms and

I saw my companions; the brave fellows lay dead where they had slept, javelined to death without a chance at

I was furious. I threatened the Sagoth leader with all sorts of dire reprisals; but when he heard me speak the

hybrid language that is the medium of communication between his kind and the human race of the inner

They had not taken my revolvers or ammunition away from me because they did not know what they were;

So low in the scale of intelligence are they, that they had not sufficient interest in this strange object even to

I knew from the direction of our march that they were taking me to Phutra. Once there I did not need much of

an imagination to picture what my fate would be. It was the arena and a wild thag or fierce tarag for

In that case my end would be no more certain, though infinitely more horrible and painful, for in the pits I

should be subjected to cruel vivisection. From what I had once seen of their methods in the pits of Phutra I

knew them to be the opposite of merciful, whereas in the arena I should be quickly despatched by some

Arrived at the underground city, I was taken im mediately before a slimy Mahar. When the creature had

received the report of the Sagoth its cold eyes glistened with malice and hatred as they were turned balefully

I knew then that my identity had been guessed. With a show of excitement that I had never before seen

evinced by a member of the dominant race of Pellucidar, the Mahar hustled me away, heavily guarded,

In utter silence they conversed, for they have no oral speech since they are without auditory nerves. Their

method of communication Perry has likened to the pro jection of a sixth sense into a fourth dimension,

Be that as it may, however, it was evident that I was the subject of discussion, and from the hateful looks

How long I waited for their decision I do not know, but it must have been a very long time. Finally one of the

"The Mahars will spare your life," he said, "and re lease you on one condition."

"That you return to them that which you stole from the pits of Phutra when you killed the four Mahars and

I had thought that that would be it. The great secret upon which depended the continuance of the Mahar race

I ventured to imagine that they would have given me much more than my liberty to have it safely in their

I doubted it. With the secret of artificial propagation once more in their hands their numbers would soon be

made so to overrun the world of Pellucidar that there could be no hope for the eventual supremacy of the

human race, the cause for which I so devoutly hoped, for which I had consecrated my life, and for which I

Yes! In that moment as I stood before the heartless tribunal I felt that my life would be a very little thing to

give could it save to the human race of Pellucidar the chance to come into its own by insuring the eventual

"You may say to them," I answered, "that I shall not tell them where the great secret is hid."

When this had been translated to them there was a great beating of reptilian wings, gaping of sharpfanged

jaws, and hideous hissing. I thought that they were about to fall upon me on the spot, and so I laid my hands

upon my revolvers; but at length they became more quiet and presently transmitted some command to my

Sagoth guard, the chief of which laid a heavy hand upon my arm and pushed me roughly before him from the

They took me to the pits, where I lay carefully guarded. I was sure that I was to be taken to the vivi section

laboratory, and it required all my courage to fortify myself against the terrors of so fearful a death. In

Accordingly, I had to steel myself against an endless doom, which now stared me in the face!

But at last the allotted moment arrivedthe moment for which I had been trying to prepare myself, for how

long I could not even guess. A great Sagoth came and spoke some words of command to those who watched

over me. I was jerked roughly to my feet and with little consideration hustled upward toward the higher

Out into the broad avenue they conducted me, where, amid huge throngs of Mahars, Sagoths, and heavily

guarded slaves, I was led, or, rather, pushed and shoved roughly, along in the same direction that the mob

moved. I had seen such a concourse of people once be fore in the buried city of Phutra; I guessed, and

rightly, that we were bound for the great arena where slaves who are condemned to death meet their end.

Into the vast amphitheater they took me, stationing me at the extreme end of the arena. The queen came, with

her slimy, sickening retinue. The seats were filled. The show was about to commence.

Then, from a little doorway in the opposite end of the structure, a girl was led into the arena. She was at a

I wondered what fate awaited this other poor victim and myself, and why they had chosen to have us die

together. My own fate, or rather, my thought of it, was submerged in the natural pity I felt for this lone girl,

doomed to die horribly beneath the cold, cruel eyes of her awful captors. Of what crime could she be guilty

As I stood thus thinking, another door, this time at one of the long sides of the arena, was thrown open, and

into the theater of death slunk a mighty tarag, the huge cave tiger of the Stone Age. At my sides were my re

volvers. My captors had not taken them from me, be cause they did not yet realize their nature. Doubtless

they thought them some strange manner of warclub, and as those who are condemned to the arena are per

The girl they had armed with a javelin. A brass pin would have been almost as effective against the ferocious

The tarag stood for a moment looking about himfirst up at the vast audience and then about the arena. He

did not seem to see me at all, but his eyes fell presently upon the girl. A hideous roar broke from his titanic

lungs a roar which ended in a longdrawn scream that is more human than the deathcry of a tortured

Slowly the beast turned and moved toward the girl. Then it was that I came to myself and to a realization of

my duty. Quickly and as noiselessly as possible I ran down the arena in pursuit of the grim creature. As I ran

I drew one of my pitifully futile weapons. Ah! Could I but have had my lost expressgun in my hands at that

moment! A single wellplaced shot would have crumbled even this great monster. The best I could hope to

ac complish was to divert the thing from the girl to myself and then to place as many bullets as possible in it

There is a certain unwritten law of the arena that vouchsafes freedom and immunity to the victor, be he beast

or human beingboth of whom, by the way, are all the same to the Mahar. That is, they were accus tomed

to look upon man as a lower animal before Perry and I broke through the Pellucidarian crust, but I imagine

that they were beginning to alter their views a trifle and to realize that in the gilaktheir word for human

Be that as it may, the chances were that the tarag alone would profit by the law of the arena. A few more of

his long strides, a prodigious leap, and he would be upon the girl. I raised a revolver and fired. The bullet

struck him in the left hind leg. It couldn't have damaged him much; but the report of the shot brought him

I think the snarling visage of a huge, enraged, saber toothed tiger is one of the most terrible sights in the

world. Especially if he be snarling at you and there be nothing between the two of you but bare sand.

Even as he faced me a little cry from the girl carried my eyes beyond the brute to her face. Hers was fastened

upon me with an expression of incredulity that baffles description. There was both hope and horror in them,

I saw her lips form the name David, as with raised javelin she rushed forward upon the tarag. She was a

tigress thena primitive savage female defending her loved one. Before she could reach the beast with her

puny weapon, I fired again at the point where the tarag's neck met his left shoulder. If I could get a bullet

through there it might reach his heart. The bullet didn't reach his heart, but it stopped him for an instant.

It was then that a strange thing happened. I heard a great hissing from the stands occupied by the Mahars, and

as I glanced toward them I saw three mighty thipdarsthe winged dragons that guard the queen, or, as Perry

calls them, pterodactylsrise swiftly from their rocks and dart lightninglike, toward the center of the arena.

They are huge, powerful reptiles. One of them, with the advantage which his wings might give him, would

These three, to my consternation, swooped down upon the tarag as he was gathering himself for a final

charge upon me. They buried their talons in his back and lifted him bodily from the arena as if he had been a

I was baffled for an explanation; but with the tarag gone I lost no time in hastening to Dian's side. With a

little cry of delight she threw herself into my arms. So lost were we in the ecstasy of reunion that neither of

The first thing we were aware of was the presence of a body of Sagoths about us. Gruffly they commanded us

to follow them. They led us from the arena and back through the streets of Phutra to the audience chamber in

which I had been tried and sentenced. Here we found ourselves facing the same cold, cruel tribunal.

Again a Sagoth acted as interpreter. He explained that our lives bad been spared because at the last moment

Tualsa had returned to Phutra, and seeing me in the arena had prevailed upon the queen to spare my life.

"A Mahar whose last male ancestor wasages ago the last of the male rulers among the Mahars," he

He shrugged his shoulders and then repeated my question to the Mahar spokesman. When the latter had

explained in the strange signlanguage that passes for speech between the Mahars and their fighting men the

"For a long time you had Tualsa in your power," he explained. "You might easily have killed her or aban

doned her in a strange worldbut you did neither. You did not harm her, and you brought her back with you

Now I understood. The Mahar who had been my in voluntary companion upon my return to the outer world

was Tualsa. This was the first time that I had learned the lady's name. I thanked fate that I had not left her

upon the sands of the Saharaor put a bullet in her, as I had been tempted to do. I was surprised to discover

that gratitude was a characteristic of the dominant race of Pellucidar. I could never think of them as aught but

coldblooded, brainless reptiles, though Perry had de voted much time in explaining to me that owing to a

strange freak of evolution among all the genera of the inner world, this species of the reptilia had advanced to

He had often told me that there was every reason to believe from their writings, which he had learned to read

while we were incarcerated in Phutra, that they were a just race, and that in certain branches of science and

arts they were quite well advanced, especially in genetics and metaphysics, engineering and architecture.

While it had always been difficult for me to look upon these things as other than slimy, winged crocodiles

which, by the way, they do not at all resembleI was now forced to a realization of the fact that I was in the

hands of enlightened creaturesfor justice and grati tude are certain hallmarks of rationality and culture.

But what they purposed for us further was of most imminent interest to me. They might save us from the

tarag and yet not free us. They looked upon us yet, to some extent, I knew, as creatures of a lower order, and

so as we are unable to place ourselves in the position of the brutes we enslavethinking that they are happier

in bondage than in the free fulfilment of the purposes for which nature intended themthe Mahars, too,

might consider our welfare better conserved in captivity than among the dangers of the savage freedom we

To my question, put through the Sagoth interpreter, I received the reply that having spared my life they con

sidered that Tualsa's debt of gratitude was canceled. They still had against me, however, the crime of

which I had been guiltythe unforgivable crime of stealing the great secret. They, therefore, intended

They would, they said, send an escort of Sagoths with me to fetch the precious document from its

hidingplace, keeping Dian at Phutra as a hostage and releasing us both the moment that the document was

There was no doubt but that they had the upper hand. However, there was so much more at stake than the

liberty or even the lives of Dian and myself, that I did not deem it expedient to accept their offer without

Without the great secret this maleless race must even tually become extinct. For ages they had fertilized

their eggs by an artificial process, the secret of which lay hidden in the little cave of a faroff valley where

Dian and I had spent our honeymoon. I was none too sure that I could find the valley again, nor that I cared

to. So long as the powerful reptilian race of Pellucidar continued to propagate, just so long would the position

of man within the inner world be jeopardized. There could not be two dominant races.

"You used to tell me," she replied, "of the wonderful things you could accomplish with the inventions of your

own world. Now you have returned with all that is necessary to place this great power in the hands of the men

"You told me of great engines of destruction which would cast a bursting ball of metal among our enemies,

"You told me of mighty fortresses of stone which a thousand men armed with big and little engines such as

"You told me of great canoes which moved across the water without paddles, and which spat death from

"All these may now belong to the men of Pellucidar. Why should we fear the Mahars?

"Let them breed! Let their numbers increase by thou sands. They will be helpless before the power of the

"They would fight among themselves, and while they fought the Mahars would fall upon them, and even

though the Mahar race should die out, of what value would the emancipation of the human race be to them

without the knowledge, which you alone may wield, to guide them toward the wonderful civilization of

which you have told me so much that I long for its comforts and luxuries as I never before longed for

"No, David; the Mahars cannot harm us if you are at liberty. Let them have their secret that you and I may

It was plain that Dian was ambitious, and that her ambition had not dulled her reasoning faculties. She was

right. Nothing could be gained by remaining bottled up in Phutra for the rest of our lives.

It was true that Perry might do much with the con tents of the prospector, or iron mole, in which I had

brought down the implements of outerworld civiliza tion; but Perry was a man of peace. He could never

weld the warring factions of the disrupted federation. He could never win new tribes to the empire. He would

fiddle around manufacturing gunpowder and trying to improve upon it until some one blew him up with his

own invention. He wasn't practical. He never would get anywhere without a balancewheelwithout some

Perry needed me and I needed him. If we were going to do anything for Pellucidar we must be free to do it

The outcome of it all was that I agreed to the Mahars' proposition. They promised that Dian would be well

treated and protected from every indignity during my absence. So I set out with a hundred Sagoths in search

of the little valley which I had stumbled upon by acci dent, and which I might and might not find again.

We traveled directly toward Sari. Stopping at the camp where I had been captured I recovered my express

rifle, for which I was very thankful. I found it lying where I had left it when I had been overpowered in my

On the way I added materially to my map, an occu pation which did not elicit from the Sagoths even a

shadow of interest. I felt that the human race of Pelluci dar had little to fear from these gorillamen. They

were fightersthat was all. We might even use them later ourselves in this same capacity. They had not

sufficient brain power to constitute a menace to the advancement of the human race.

As we neared the spot where I hoped to find the little valley I became more and more confident of success.

Every landmark was familiar to me, and I was sure now that I knew the exact location of the cave.

It was at about this time that I sighted a number of the halfnaked warriors of the human race of Pellucidar.

They were marching across our front. At sight of us they halted; that there would be a fight I could not doubt.

These Sagoths would never permit an opportunity for the capture of slaves for their Mahar masters to escape

I saw that the men were armed with bows and arrows, long lances and swords, so I guessed that they must

have been members of the federation, for only my people had been thus equipped. Before Perry and I came

the men of Pellucidar had only the crudest weapons wherewith to slay one another.

The Sagoths, too, were evidently expecting battle. With savage shouts they rushed forward toward the human

Then a strange thing happened. The leader of the human beings stepped forward with upraised hands. The

Sagoths ceased their warcries and advanced slowly to meet him. There was a long parley during which I

could see that I was often the subject of their discourse. The Sagoths' leader pointed in the direction in which

I had told him the valley lay. Evidently he was explaining the nature of our expedition to the leader of the

I couldn't imagine. I tried to get a good look at the fellow, but the Sagoths had left me in the rear with a guard

when they had advanced to battle, and the dis tance was too great for me to recognize the features of any of

Finally the parley was concluded and the men con tinued on their way while the Sagoths returned to where I

stood with my guard. It was time for eating, so we stopped where we were and made our meal. The Sa goths

didn't tell me who it was they had met, and I did not ask, though I must confess that I was quite curious.

They permitted me to sleep at this halt. Afterward we took up the last leg of our journey. I found the valley

without difficulty and led my guard directly to the cave. At its mouth the Sagoths halted and I entered alone.

I noticed as I felt about the floor in the dim light that there was a pile of freshturned rubble there. Presently

my hands came to the spot where the great secret had been buried. There was a cavity where I had carefully

smoothed the earth over the hidingplace of the docu mentthe manuscript was gone!

Frantically I searched the whole interior of the cave several times over, but without other result than a com

plete confirmation of my worst fears. Someone had been here ahead of me and stolen the great secret.

The one thing within Pellucidar which might free Dian and me was gone, nor was it likely that I should ever

learn its whereabouts. If a Mahar had found it, which was quite improbable, the chances were that the

dominant race would never divulge the fact that they had recovered the precious document. If a cave man had

happened upon it he would have no conception of its meaning or value, and as a consequence it would be lost

With bowed head and broken hopes I came out of the cave and told the Sagoth chieftain what I had dis

covered. It didn't mean much to the fellow, who doubt less had but little better idea of the contents of the

document I had been sent to fetch to his masters than would the cave man who in all probability had dis

The Sagoth knew only that I had failed in my mission, so he took advantage of the fact to make the return

journey to Phutra as disagreeable as possible. I did not rebel, though I had with me the means to destroy them

all. I did not dare rebel because of the consequences to Dian. I intended demanding her release on the grounds

that she was in no way guilty of the theft, and that my failure to recover the document had not lessened the

value of the good faith I had had in offering to do so. The Mahars might keep me in slavery if they chose, but

I was full of my scheme when we entered Phutra and I was conducted directly to the great

audiencechamber. The Mahars listened to the report of the Sagoth chief tain, and so difficult is it to judge

their emotions from their almost expressionless countenance, that I was at a loss to know how terrible might

be their wrath as they learned that their great secret, upon which rested the fate of their race, might now be

Presently I could see that she who presided was com municating something to the Sagoth

interpreterdoubt less something to be transmitted to me which might give me a forewarning of the fate

which lay in store for me. One thing I had decided definitely: If they would not free Dian I should turn loose

upon Phutra with my little arsenal. Alone I might even win to freedom, and if I could learn where Dian was

imprisoned it would be worth the attempt to free her. My thoughts were inter rupted by the interpreter.

"The mighty Mahars," he said, "are unable to reconcile your statement that the document is lost with your

action in sending it to them by a special messenger. They wish to know if you have so soon forgotten the

"They say," he went on after conversing with the Mahar for a moment, "that just before your return to Phutra,

Hooja the Sly One came, bringing the great secret with him. He said that you had sent him ahead with it,

asking him to deliver it and return to Sari where you would await him, bringing the girl with him."

"Surely," he replied. "What of it? She is only a gilak," as you or I would say, "She is only a cow."

The Mahars set me free as they had promised, but with strict injunctions never to approach Phutra or any

other Mahar city. They also made it perfectly plain that they considered me a dangerous creature, and that

having wiped the slate clean in so far as they were under obligations to me, they now considered me fair prey.

They would not tell me in which direction Hooja had set forth with Dian, so I departed from Phutra, filled

with bitterness against the Mahars, and rage toward the Sly One who had once again robbed me of my

At first I was minded to go directly back to Anoroc; but upon second thought turned my face toward Sari, as I

felt that somewhere in that direction Hooja would travel, his own country lying in that general direction.

Of my journey to Sari it is only necessary to say that it was fraught with the usual excitement and adventure,

incident to all travel across the face of savage Pellucidar. The dangers, however, were greatly reduced

through the medium of my armament. I often wondered how it had happened that I had ever survived the first

ten years of my life within the inner world, when, naked and primitively armed, I had traversed great areas of

With the aid of my map, which I had kept with great care during my march with the Sagoths in search of the

great secret, I arrived at Sari at last. As I topped the lofty plateau in whose rocky cliffs the principal tribe of

Sarians find their cavehomes, a great hue and cry arose from those who first discovered me.

Like wasps from their nests the hairy warriors poured from their caves. The bows with their poisontipped

arrows, which I had taught them to fashion and to use, were raised against me. Swords of hammered iron

another of my innovationsmenaced me, as with lusty shouts the horde charged down.

It was a critical moment. Before I should be recog nized I might be dead. It was evident that all semblance

of intertribal relationship had ceased with my going, and that my people had reverted to their former savage,

suspicious hatred of all strangers. My garb must have puzzled them, too, for never before of course had they

Leaning my express rifle against my body I raised both hands aloft. It was the peacesign that is recognized

everywhere upon the surface of Pellucidar. The charging warriors paused and surveyed me. I looked for my

friend Ghak, the Hairy One, king of Sari, and presently I saw him coming from a distance. Ah, but it was

good to see his mighty, hairy form once more! A friend was Ghaka friend well worth the having; and it

Shouldering his way through the throng of warriors, the mighty chieftain advanced toward me. There was an

expression of puzzlement upon his fine features. He crossed the space between the warriors and myself, halt

I did not speak. I did not even smile. I wanted to see if Ghak, my principal lieutenant, would recognize me.

For some time he stood there looking me over carefully. His eyes took in my large pith helmet, my khaki

jacket, and bandoleers of cartridges, the two revolvers swinging at my hips, the large rifle resting against my

body. Still I stood with my hands above my head. He examined my puttees and my strong tan shoesa little

the worse for wear now. Then he glanced up once more to my face. As his gaze rested there quite steadily for

Presently without a word he took one of my hands in his and dropping to one knee raised my fingers to his

lips. Perry had taught them this trick, nor ever did the most polished courtier of all the grand courts of Europe

Quickly I raised Ghak to his feet, clasping both his hands in mine. I think there must have been tears in my

eyes thenI know I felt too full for words. The king of Sari turned toward his warriors.

But he got no further, for the shouts that broke from those savage throats would have drowned the voice of

heaven itself. I had never guessed how much they thought of me. As they clustered around, almost fighting

for the chance to kiss my hand, I saw again the vision of empire which I had thought faded forever.

With such as these I could conquer a world. With such as these I WOULD conquer one! If the Sarians had

remained loyal, so too would the Amozites be loyal still, and the Kalians, and the Suvians, and all the great

tribes who had formed the federation that was to eman cipate the human race of Pellucidar.

Perry was safe with the Mezops; I was safe with the Sarians; now if Dian were but safe with me the future

It did not take long to outline to Ghak all that had befallen me since I had departed from Pellucidar, and to get

down to the business of finding Dian, which to me at that moment was of even greater importance than the

"It is always the Sly One!" he cried. "It was Hooja who caused the first trouble between you and the Beautiful

"It was Hooja who betrayed our trust, and all but caused our recapture by the Sagoths that time we escaped

"It was Hooja who tricked you and substituted a Mahar for Dian when you started upon your return journey

"It was Hooja who schemed and lied until he had turned the kingdoms one against another and de stroyed

"He has become a very powerful enemy now," I re plied. "That he is allied in some way with the Mahars is

evidenced by the familiarity of his relations with the Sagoths who were accompanying me in search of the

great secret, for it must have been Hooja whom I saw conversing with them just before we reached the valley.

Doubtless they told him of our quest and he hastened on ahead of us, discovered the cave and stole the

With Ghak and his head men I held a number of consultations. The upshot of them was a decision to com

bine our search for Dian with an attempt to rebuild the crumbled federation. To this end twenty warriors were

despatched in pairs to ten of the leading kingdoms, with instructions to make every effort to discover the

where abouts of Hooja and Dian, while prosecuting their missions to the chieftains to whom they were sent.

Ghak was to remain at home to receive the various delegations which we invited to come to Sari on the

business of the federation. Four hundred warriors were started for Anoroc to fetch Perry and the contents of

the prospector, to the capitol of the empire, which was also the principal settlements of the Sarians.

At first it was intended that I remain at Sari, that I might be in readiness to hasten forth at the first report of

the discovery of Dian; but I found the inaction in the face of my deep solicitude for the welfare of my mate so

galling that scarce had the several units departed upon their missions before I, too, chafed to be actively

It was after my second sleep, subsequent to the de parture of the warriors, as I recall that I at last went to

Ghak with the admission that I could no longer support the intolerable longing to be personally upon the trail

Ghak tried to dissuade me, though I could tell that his heart was with me in my wish to be away and really

doing something. It was while we were arguing upon the subject that a stranger, with hands above his head,

entered the village. He was immediately surrounded by warriors and conducted to Ghak's presence.

The fellow was a typical cave mansquat muscular, and hairy, and of a type I had not seen before. His

features, like those of all the primeval men of Pellucidar, were regular and fine. His weapons consisted of a

stone ax and knife and a heavy knobbed bludgeon of wood. His skin was very white.

"I am Kolk, son of Goork, who is chief of the Thurians," replied the stranger. "From Thuria I have come in

search of the land of Amoz, where dwells Dacor, the Strong One, who stole my sister, Canda, the Grace ful

"We of Thuria had heard of a great chieftain who has bound together many tribes, and my father has sent me

to Dacor to learn if there be truth in these stories, and if so to offer the services of Thuria to him whom we

"The stories are true," replied Ghak, "and here is the emperor of whom you have heard. You need travel no

Kolk was delighted. He told us much of the wonderful resources of Thuria, the Land of Awful Shadow, and

"And why," I asked, "does Goork, your father, desire to join his kingdom to the empire?"

"There are two reasons," replied the young man. "For ever have the Mahars, who dwell beyond the Lidi

Plains which lie at the farther rim of the Land of Awful Shadow, taken heavy toll of our people, whom they

either force into lifelong slavery or fatten for their feasts. We have heard that the great emperor makes

"Recently has another reason come. Upon a great island which lies in the Sojar Az, but a short distance from

our shores, a wicked man has collected a great band of outcast warriors of all tribes. Even are there many

"This band makes raids upon our villages, and it is constantly growing in size and strength, for the Mahars

give liberty to any of their male prisoners who will promise to fight with this band against the enemies of the

Mahars. It is the purpose of the Mahars thus to raise a force of our own kind to combat the growth and

menace of the new empire of which I have come to seek information. All this we learned from one of our

own warriors who had pretended to sympathize with this band and had then escaped at the first opportunity."

"Who could this man be," I asked Ghak, "who leads so vile a movement against his own kind?"

Ghak and I looked at each other. Relief was written upon his countenance and I know that it was beating

strongly in my heart. At last we had discovered a tan gible clue to the whereabouts of Hoojaand with the

But when I broached the subject to Kolk he demurred. He had come a long way, he explained, to see his

sister and to confer with Dacor. Moreover, he had instructions from his father which he could not ignore

lightly. But even so he would return with me and show me the way to the island of the Thurian shore if by

"But we cannot," he urged. "Hooja is powerful. He has thousands of warriors. He has only to call upon his

Mahar allies to receive a countless horde of Sagoths to do his bidding against his human enemies.

"Let us wait until you may gather an equal horde from the kingdoms of your empire. Then we may march

"But first must you lure him to the mainland, for who among you knows how to construct the strange things

"We are not island people. We do not go upon the water. We know nothing of such things."

I couldn't persuade him to do more than direct me upon the way. I showed him my map, which now in

cluded a great area of country extending from Anoroc upon the east to Sari upon the west, and from the river

south of the Mountains of the Clouds north to Amoz. As soon as I had explained it to him he drew a line with

his finger, showing a seacoast far to the west and south of Sari, and a great circle which he said marked the

The shadow extended southeast of the coast out into the sea halfway to a large island, which he said was the

seat of Hooja's traitorous government. The island itself lay in the light of the noonday sun. Northwest of the

coast and embracing a part of Thuria lay the Lidi Plains, upon the northwestern verge of which was situ ated

Thus were the unhappy people now between two fires, with Hooja upon one side and the Mahars upon the

Though Ghak and Kolk both attempted to dissuade me, I was determined to set out at once, nor did I delay

longer than to make a copy of my map to be given to Perry that he might add to his that which I had set down

since we parted. I left a letter for him as well, in which among other things I advanced the theory that the

Sojar Az, or Great Sea, which Kolk mentioned as stretching eastward from Thuria, might indeed be the same

mighty ocean as that which, swinging around the southern end of a continent ran northward along the shore

opposite Phutra, mingling its waters with the huge gulf upon which lay Sari, Amoz, and Greenwich.

Against this possibility I urged him to hasten the building of a fleet of small sailingvessels, which we might

I told Ghak what I had written, and suggested that as soon as he could he should make new treaties with the

various kingdoms of the empire, collect an army and march toward Thuriathis of course against the possi

Kolk gave me a sign to his fathera lidi, or beast of burden, crudely scratched upon a bit of bone, and be

neath the lidi a man and a flower; all very rudely done perhaps, but none the less effective as I well knew

The lidi is the tribal beast of the Thurians; the man and the flower in the combination in which they ap

peared bore a double significance, as they constituted not only a message to the effect that the bearer came in

And so, armed with my credentials and my small arsenal, I set out alone upon my quest for the dearest girl in

Kolk gave me explicit directions, though with my map I do not believe that I could have gone wrong. As a

matter of fact I did not need the map at all, since the principal landmark of the first half of my journey, a gi

gantic mountainpeak, was plainly visible from Sari, though a good hundred miles away.

At the southern base of this mountain a river rose and ran in a westerly direction, finally turning south and

emptying into the Sojar Az some forty miles northeast of Thuria. All that I had to do was follow this river to

Two hundred and forty miles of wild mountain and primeval jungle, of untracked plain, of nameless rivers, of

deadly swamps and savage forests lay ahead of me, yet never had I been more eager for an adventure than

I do not know how long a time that journey required, and only half did I appreciate the varied wonders that

each new march unfolded before me, for my mind and heart were filled with but a single imagethat of a

perfect girl whose great, dark eyes looked bravely forth from a frame of raven hair.

It was not until I had passed the high peak and found the river that my eyes first discovered the pendent

world, the tiny satellite which hangs low over the surface of Pellucidar casting its perpetual shadow always

upon the same spotthe area that is known here as the Land of Awful Shadow, in which dwells the tribe of

From the distance and the elevation of the highlands where I stood the Pellucidarian noonday moon showed

half in sunshine and half in shadow, while directly be neath it was plainly visible the round dark spot upon

the surface of Pellucidar where the sun has never shone. From where I stood the moon appeared to hang so

low above the ground as almost to touch it; but later I was to learn that it floats a mile above the

Following the river downward I soon lost sight of the tiny planet as I entered the mazes of a lofty forest. Nor

did I catch another glimpse of it for some timeseveral marches at least. However, when the river led me to

the sea, or rather just before it reached the sea, of a sudden the sky became overcast and the size and

luxuriance of the vegetation diminished as by magicas if an omni potent hand had drawn a line upon the

"Upon this side shall the trees and the shrubs, the grasses and the flowers, riot in profusion of rich colors,

gigantic size and bewildering abundance; and upon that side shall they be dwarfed and pale and scant."

Instantly I looked above, for clouds are so uncommon in the skies of Pellucidarthey are practically

unknown except above the mightiest mountain rangesthat it had given me something of a start to discover

the sun obliterated. But I was not long in coming to a realization of the cause of the shadow.

Above me hung another world. I could see its moun tains and valleys, oceans, lakes, and rivers, its broad,

grassy plains and dense forests. But too great was the distance and too deep the shadow of its under side for

Instantly a great curiosity was awakened within me. The questions which the sight of this planet, so tanta

Were its people as relatively diminutive as their little world, or were they as disproportionately huge as the

lesser attraction of gravity upon the surface of their globe would permit of their being?

As I watched it, I saw that it was revolving upon an axis that lay parallel to the surface of Pellucidar, so that

during each revolution its entire surface was once ex posed to the world below and once bathed in the heat

of the great sun above. The little world had that which Pellucidar could not havea day and night, and

Here I saw a chance to give time to Pellucidar, using this mighty clock, revolving perpetually in the heavens,

to record the passage of the hours for the earth below. Here should be located an observatory, from which

might be flashed by wireless to every corner of the em pire the correct time once each day. That this time

would be easily measured I had no doubt, since so plain were the landmarks upon the under surface of the

satellite that it would be but necessary to erect a simple instrument and mark the instant of passage of a given

But then was not the time for dreaming; I must de vote my mind to the purpose of my journey. So I

hastened onward beneath the great shadow. As I ad vanced I could not but note the changing nature of the

The river led me a short distance within the shadow before it emptied into the Sojar Az. Then I continued in a

southerly direction along the coast toward the village of Thuria, where I hoped to find Goork and deliver to

I had progressed no great distance from the mouth of the river when I discerned, lying some distance at sea, a

great island. This I assumed to be the stronghold of Hooja, nor did I doubt that upon it even now was Dian.

The way was most difficult, since shortly after leaving the river I encountered lofty cliffs split by numerous

long, narrow fiords, each of which necessitated a con siderable detour. As the crow flies it is about twenty

miles from the mouth of the river to Thuria, but be fore I had covered half of it I was fagged. There was no

familiar fruit or vegetable growing upon the rocky soil of the clifftops, and I would have fared ill for food

I carried bow and arrows to conserve my ammunition supply, but so quick was the little animal that I had no

time to draw and fit a shaft. In fact my dinner was a hundred yards away and going like the proverbial bat

when I dropped my sixshooter on it. It was a pretty shot and when coupled with a good dinner made me

After eating I lay down and slept. When I awoke I was scarcely so selfsatisfied, for I had not more than

opened my eyes before I became aware of the presence, barely a hundred yards from me, of a pack of some

twenty huge wolfdogsthe things which Perry insisted upon calling hyaenodonsand almost

simultaneously I discovered that while I slept my revolvers, rifle, bow, arrows, and knife had been stolen

I have never been much of a runner; I hate running. But if ever a sprinter broke into smithereens all world's

records it was I that day when I fled before those hide ous beasts along the narrow spit of rocky cliff

between two narrow fiords toward the Sojar Az. Just as I reached the verge of the cliff the foremost of the

The momentum of his flying body, added to that of my own, carried the two of us over the cliff. It was a

hideous fall. The cliff was almost perpendicular. At its foot broke the sea against a solid wall of rock.

We struck the cliffface once in our descent and then plunged into the salt sea. With the impact with the

As I came sputtering to the surface I looked about for some tiny foot or handhold where I might cling for a

moment of rest and recuperation. The cliff itself offered me nothing, so I swam toward the mouth of the fiord.

At the far end I could see that erosion from above had washed down sufficient rubble to form a narrow ribbon

of beach. Toward this I swam with all my strength. Not once did I look behind me, since every unnecessary

movement in swimming detracts so much from one's endurance speed. Not until I had drawn myself safely

out upon the beach did I turn my eyes back toward the sea for the hyaenodon. He was swimming slowly and

I watched him for a long time, wondering, why it was that such a doglike animal was not a better swimmer.

As he neared me I realized that he was weakening rapidly. I had gathered a handful of stones to be ready for

his assault when he landed, but in a moment I let them fall from my hands. It was evident that the brute either

was no swimmer or else was severely in jured, for by now he was making practically no head way. Indeed,

it was with quite apparent difficulty that he kept his nose above the surface of the sea.

He was not more than fifty yards from shore when he went under. I watched the spot where he had disap

peared, and in a moment I saw his head reappear. The look of dumb misery in his eyes struck a chord in my

breast, for I love dogs. I forgot that he was a vicious, primordial wolfthinga maneater, a scourge, and a

terror. I saw only the sad eyes that looked like the eyes of Raja, my dead collie of the outer world.

I did not stop to weigh and consider. In other words, I did not stop to think, which I believe must be the way

of men who do thingsin contradistinction to those who think much and do nothing. Instead, I leaped back

into the water and swam out toward the drowning beast. At first he showed his teeth at my approach, but just

before I reached him he went under for the second time, so that I had to dive to get him.

I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and though he weighed as much as a Shetland pony, I managed to

drag him to shore and well up upon the beach. Here I found that one of his forelegs was brokenthe crash

By this time all the fight was out of him, so that when I had gathered a few tiny branches from some of the

stunted trees that grew in the crevices of the cliff, and returned to him he permitted me to set his broken leg

and bind it in splints. I had to tear part of my shirt into bits to obtain a bandage, but at last the job was done.

Then I sat stroking the savage head and talking to the beast in the mandog talk with which you are familiar,

When he is well, I thought, he probably will turn upon me and attempt to devour me, and against that even

tuality I gathered together a pile of rocks and set to work to fashion a stoneknife. We were bottled up at the

head of the fiord as completely as if we had been behind prison bars. Before us spread the Sojar Az, and

Fortunately a little rivulet trickled down the side of the rocky wall, giving us ample supply of fresh water

some of which I kept constantly beside the hyaenodon in a huge, bowlshaped shell, of which there were

For food we subsisted upon shellfish and an occa sional bird that I succeeded in knocking over with a rock,

for long practice as a pitcher on prepschool and varsity nines had made me an excellent shot with a

It was not long before the hyaenodon's leg was suffi ciently mended to permit him to rise and hobble about

on three legs. I shall never forget with what intent in terest I watched his first attempt. Close at my hand lay

my pile of rocks. Slowly the beast came to his three good feet. He stretched himself, lowered his head, and

lapped water from the drinkingshell at his side, turned and looked at me, and then hobbled off toward the

Thrice he traversed the entire extent of our prison, seeking, I imagine, a loophole for escape, but finding

none he returned in my direction. Slowly he came quite close to me, sniffed at my shoes, my puttees, my

Now that he was able to get around, I was a little un certain as to the wisdom of my impulsive mercy.

How could I sleep with that ferocious thing prowling about the narrow confines of our prison?

Should I close my eyes it might be to open them again to the feel of those mighty jaws at my throat. To say

I have had too much experience with dumb animals to bank very strongly on any sense of gratitude which

may be attributed to them by inexperienced sentimen talists. I believe that some animals love their masters,

but I doubt very much if their affection is the outcome of gratitudea characteristic that is so rare as to be

But finally I was forced to sleep. Tired nature would be put off no longer. I simply fell asleep, willy nilly, as I

sat looking out to sea. I had been very uncomfortable since my ducking in the ocean, for though I could see

the sunlight on the water halfway toward the island and upon the island itself, no ray of it fell upon us. We

were well within the Land of Awful Shadow. A per petual halfwarmth pervaded the atmosphere, but

clothing was slow in drying, and so from loss of sleep and great physical discomfort, I at last gave way to

When I awoke it was with a start, for a heavy body was upon me. My first thought was that the hyaenodon

had at last attacked me, but as my eyes opened and I struggled to rise, I saw that a man was astride me and

I am no weaklingand never have been. My experi ence in the hard life of the inner world has turned my

thews to steel. Even such giants as Ghak the Hairy One have praised my strength; but to it is added another

The man upon me held me down awkwardly, leaving me many openingsone of which I was not slow in

taking advantage of, so that almost before the fellow knew that I was awake I was upon my feet with my

arms over his shoulders and about his waist and had hurled him heavily over my head to the hard rubble of

In the instant that I arose I had seen the hyaenodon lying asleep beside a boulder a few yards away. So nearly

was he the color of the rock that he was scarcely discernible. Evidently the newcomers had not seen him.

I had not more than freed myself from one of my antagonists before the other three were upon me. They did

not work silently now, but charged me with savage criesa mistake upon their part. The fact that they did

not draw their weapons against me convinced me that they desired to take me alive; but I fought as desper

The battle was short, for scarce had their first wild whoop reverberated through the rocky fiord, and they had

In an instant he had pulled down one of the men, and with a single shake, terrierlike, had broken his neck.

Then he was upon another. In their efforts to vanquish the wolfdog the savages forgot all about me, thus

giv ing me an instant in which to snatch a knife from the loinstring of him who had first fallen and account

for another of them. Almost simultaneously the hyaenodon pulled down the remaining enemy, crushing his

The battle was overunless the beast considered me fair prey, too. I waited, ready for him with knife and

bludgeonalso filched from a dead foeman; but he paid no attention to me, falling to work instead to devour

The beast bad been handicapped but little by his splinted leg; but having eaten he lay down and com

menced to gnaw at the bandage. I was sitting some little distance away devouring shellfish, of which, by the

Presently, the hyaenodon arose and came toward me. I did not move. He stopped in front of me and

deliberately raised his bandaged leg and pawed my knee. His act was as intelligible as wordshe wished the

I took the great paw in one hand and with the other hand untied and unwound the bandage, removed the

splints and felt of the injured member. As far as I could judge the bone was completely knit. The joint was

stiff; when I bent it a little the brute wincedbut he neither growled nor tried to pull away. Very slowly and

Then I set it down upon the ground. The hyaenodon walked around me a few times, and then lay down at my

side, his body touching mine. I laid my hand upon his head. He did not move. Slowly, I scratched about his

ears and neck and down beneath the fierce jaws. The only sign he gave was to raise his chin a trifle that I

That was enough! From that moment I have never again felt suspicion of Raja, as I immediately named him.

Somehow all sense of loneliness vanished, tooI had a dog! I had never guessed precisely what it was that

was lacking to life in Pellucidar, but now I knew it was the total absence of domestic animals.

Man here had not yet reached the point where he might take the time from slaughter and escaping slaugh ter

to make friends with any of the brute creation. I must qualify this statement a trifle and say that this was true

of those tribes with which I was most familiar. The Thurians do domesticate the colossal lidi, traversing the

great Lidi Plains upon the backs of these gro tesque and stupendous monsters, and possibly there may also

be other, fardistant peoples within the great world, who have tamed others of the wild things of jungle, plain

The Thurians practice agriculture in a crude sort of way. It is my opinion that this is one of the earliest steps

from savagery to civilization. The taming of wild beasts and their domestication follows.

Perry argues that wild dogs were first domesticated for hunting purposes; but I do not agree with him. I

believe that if their domestication were not purely the result of an accident, as, for example, my taming of the

hyaenodon, it came about through the desire of tribes who had previously domesticated flocks and herds to

have some strong, ferocious beast to guard their roam ing property. However, I lean rather more strongly to

As I sat there upon the beach of the little fiord eating my unpalatable shellfish, I commenced to wonder how

it had been that the four savages had been able to reach me, though I had been unable to escape from my

natu ral prison. I glanced about in all directions, searching for an explanation. At last my eyes fell upon the

bow of a small dugout protruding scarce a foot from behind a large boulder lying half in the water at the edge

At my discovery I leaped to my feet so suddenly that it brought Raja, growling and bristling, upon all fours in

an instant. For the moment I had forgotten him. But his savage rumbling did not cause me any uneasiness. He

glanced quickly about in all directions as if searching for the cause of my excitement. Then, as I walked

The dugout was similar in many respects to those which I had seen in use by the Mezops. In it were four

paddles. I was much delighted, as it promptly offered me the escape I had been craving.

I pushed it out into water that would float it, stepped in and called to Raja to enter. At first he did not seem to

understand what I wished of him, but after I had paddled out a few yards he plunged through the surf and

swam after me. When he had come alongside I grasped the scruff of his neck, and after a considerable

struggle, in which I several times came near to over turning the canoe, I managed to drag him aboard, where

After emerging from the fiord, I paddled southward along the coast, where presently the lofty cliffs gave way

to lower and more level country. It was here some where that I should come upon the principal village of

the Thurians. When, after a time, I saw in the distance what I took to be huts in a clearing near the shore, I

drew quickly into land, for though I had been furnished credentials by Kolk, I was not sufficiently familiar

with the tribal characteristics of these people to know whether I should receive a friendly welcome or not;

and in case I should not, I wanted to be sure of having a canoe hidden safely away so that I might undertake

the trip to the island, in any eventprovided, of course, that I escaped the Thurians should they prove

At the point where I landed the shore was quite low. A forest of pale, scrubby ferns ran down almost to the

beach. Here I dragged up the dugout, hiding it well within the vegetation, and with some loose rocks built a

cairn upon the beach to mark my cache. Then I turned my steps toward the Thurian village.

As I proceeded I began to speculate upon the possible actions of Raja when we should enter the presence of

other men than myself. The brute was padding softly at my side, his sensitive nose constantly atwitch and his

fierce eyes moving restlessly from side to sidenothing would ever take Raja unawares!

The more I thought upon the matter the greater be came my perturbation. I did not want Raja to attack any

of the people upon whose friendship I so greatly depended, nor did I want him injured or slain by them.

I wondered if Raja would stand for a leash. His head as he paced beside me was level with my hip. I laid my

hand upon it caressingly. As I did so he turned and looked up into my face, his jaws parting and his red

"Just been waiting all your life to be tamed and loved, haven't you, old man?" I asked. "You're nothing but a

good pup, and the man who put the hyaeno in your name ought to be sued for libel."

"You're grinning, you old fraud, you!" I cried. "If you're not, I'll eat you. I'll bet a doughnut you're nothing

Raja whined. And so we walked on together toward ThuriaI talking to the beast at my side, and he seem

ing to enjoy my company no less than I enjoyed his. If you don't think it's lonesome wandering all by yourself

through savage, unknown Pellucidar, why, just try it, and you will not wonder that I was glad of the company

of this first dogthis living replica of the fierce and now extinct hyaenodon of the outer crust that hunted in

savage packs the great elk across the snows of southern France, in the days when the mastodon roamed at

will over the broad continent of which the British Isles were then a part, and perchance left his footprints and

Thus I dreamed as we moved on toward Thuria. My dreaming was rudely shattered by a savage growl from

Raja. I looked down at him. He had stopped in his tracks as one turned to stone. A thin ridge of stiff hair

bristled along the entire length of his spine. His yel low green eyes were fastened upon the scrubby jungle at

I fastened my fingers in the bristles at his neck and turned my eyes in the direction that his pointed. At first I

saw nothing. Then a slight movement of the bushes riveted my attention. I thought it must be some wild

beast, and was glad of the primitive weapons I had taken from the bodies of the warriors who had attacked

Presently I distinguished two eyes peering at us from the vegetation. I took a step in their direction, and as I

did so a youth arose and fled precipitately in the direction we had been going. Raja struggled to be after him,

but I held tightly to his neck, an act which he did not seem to relish, for he turned on me with bared fangs.

I determined that now was as good a time as any to discover just how deep was Raja's affection for me. One

of us could be master, and logically I was the one. He growled at me. I cuffed him sharply across the nose.

He looked it me for a moment in surprised bewilderment, and then he growled again. I made another feint at

him, expecting that it would bring him at my throat; but in stead he winced and crouched down.

I stooped and patted him. Then I took a piece of the rope that constituted a part of my equipment and made a

Thus we resumed our journey toward Thuria. The youth who had seen us was evidently of the Thurians. That

he had lost no time in racing homeward and spreading the word of my coming was evidenced when we had

come within sight of the clearing, and the village the first real village, by the way, that I had ever seen

constructed by human Pellucidarians. There was a rude rectangle walled with logs and boulders, in which

were a hundred or more thatched huts of similar con struction. There was no gate. Ladders that could be re

Before the village were assembled a great concourse of warriors. Inside I could see the heads of women and

children peering over the top of the wall; and also, farther back, the long necks of lidi, topped by their tiny

heads. Lidi, by the way, is both the singular and plural form of the noun that describes the huge beasts of

bur den of the Thurians. They are enormous quadrupeds, eighty or a hundred feet long, with very small

heads perched at the top of very long, slender necks. Their heads are quite forty feet from the ground. Their

gait is slow and deliberate, but so enormous are their strides that, as a matter of fact, they cover the ground

Perry has told me that they are almost identical with the fossilized remains of the diplodocus of the outer

crust's Jurassic age. I have to take his word for itand I guess you will, unless you know more of such

As we came in sight of the warriors the men set up a great jabbering. Their eyes were wide in astonishment

only, I presume, because of my strange garmenture, but as well from the fact that I came in company with

Raja tugged at his leash, growling and showing his long white fangs. He would have liked nothing better than

to be at the throats of the whole aggregation; but I held him in with the leash, though it took all my strength to

do it. My free hand I held above my head, palm out, in token of the peacefulness of my mission.

In the foreground I saw the youth who had discov ered us, and I could tell from the way he carried him self

that he was quite overcome by his own importance. The warriors about him were all fine looking fellows,

though shorter and squatter than the Sarians or the Amozites. Their color, too, was a bit lighter, owing, no

doubt, to the fact that much of their lives is spent within the shadow of the world that hangs forever above

A little in advance of the others was a bearded fel low tricked out in many ornaments. I didn't need to ask to

know that he was the chieftaindoubtless Goork, father of Kolk. Now to him I addressed myself.

"I am David," I said, "Emperor of the Federated Kingdoms of Pellucidar. Doubtless you have heard of me?"

"I come from Sari," I continued, 'where I just met Kolk, the son of Goork. I bear a token from Kolk to his

"You do not come from Kolk, but from the Sly One!" they cried. "He has sent you from the island to spy

I explained that all my belongings had been stolen from me, and that the robber must have taken the token

too; but they didn't believe me. As proof that I was one of Hooja's people, they pointed to my weapons, which

they said were ornamented like those of the is land clan. Further, they said that no good man went in

company with a jalokand that by this line of reason ing I certainly was a bad man.

I saw that they were not naturally a warlike tribe, for they preferred that I leave in peace rather than force

them to attack me, whereas the Sarians would have killed a suspicious stranger first and inquired into his

I think Raja sensed their antagonism, for he kept tug ging at his leash and growling ominously. They were a

bit in awe of him, and kept at a safe distance. It was evident that they could not comprehend why it was that

I wasted a long time there trying to persuade Goork to accept me at my own valuation, but he was too canny.

The best he would do was to give us food, which he did, and direct me as to the safest portion of the is land

upon which to attempt a landing, though even as he told me I am sure that he thought my request for

information but a blind to deceive him as to my true knowledge of the insular stronghold.

At last I turned away from themrather disheart ened, for I had hoped to be able to enlist a considerable

force of them in an attempt to rush Hooja's horde and rescue Dian. Back along the beach toward the hidden

By the time we came to the cairn I was dogtired. Throwing myself upon the sand I soon slept, and with Raja

stretched out beside me I felt a far greater security than I had enjoyed for a long time.

I awoke much refreshed to find Raja's eyes glued upon me. The moment I opened mine he rose, stretched

himself, and without a backward glance plunged into the jungle. For several minutes I could hear him crash

I wondered if he had left me to return to his fierce pack. A feeling of loneliness overwhelmed me. With a sigh

I turned to the work of dragging the canoe down to the sea. As I entered the jungle where the dugout lay a

hare darted from beneath the boat's side, and a well aimed cast of my javelin brought it down. I was hungry

I had not realized it beforeso I sat upon the edge of the canoe and devoured my repast. The last

remnants gone, I again busied myself with preparations for my expedition to the island.

I did not know for certain that Dian was there; but I surmised as much. Nor could I guess what obstacles

might confront me in an effort to rescue her. For a time I loitered about after I had the canoe at the water's

edge, hoping against hope that Raja would return; but be did not, so I shoved the awkward craft through the

I was still a little downcast by the desertion of my newfound friend, though I tried to assure myself that it

The savage brute had served me well in the short time that we had been together, and had repaid his debt of

gratitude to me, since he had saved my life, or at least my liberty, no less certainly than I had saved his life

The trip across the water to the island was unevent ful. I was mighty glad to be in the sunshine again when I

passed out of the shadow of the dead world about halfway between the mainland and the island. The hot

rays of the noonday sun did a great deal toward raising my spirits, and dispelling the mental gloom in which I

had been shrouded almost continually since entering the Land of Awful Shadow. There is nothing more dis

I had paddled to the southwestern point, which Goork said he believed to be the least frequented por tion of

the island, as he had never seen boats put off from there. I found a shallow reef running far out into the sea

and rather precipitous cliffs running almost to the surf. It was a nasty place to land, and I realized now why it

was not used by the natives; but at last I man aged, after a good wetting, to beach my canoe and scale the

The country beyond them appeared more open and parklike than I had anticipated, since from the main

land the entire coast that is visible seems densely clothed with tropical jungle. This jungle, as I could see

from the vantagepoint of the clifftop, formed but a relatively narrow strip between the sea and the more

open forest and meadow of the interior. Farther back there was a range of low but apparently very rocky hills,

and here and there all about were visible flat topped masses of rocksmall mountains, in factwhich

reminded me of pictures I had seen of landscapes in New Mexico. Altogether, the country was very much

broken and very beautiful. From where I stood I counted no less than a dozen streams winding down from

among the tablebuttes and emptying into a pretty river which flowed away in a northeasterly direction

As I let my eyes roam over the scene I suddenly be came aware of figures moving upon the flat top of a

fardistant butte. Whether they were beast or human, though, I could not make out; but at least they were

alive, so I determined to prosecute my search for Hooja's stronghold in the general direction of this butte.

To descend to the valley required no great effort. As I swung along through the lush grass and the fragrant

flowers, my cudgel swinging in my hand and my javelin looped across my shoulders with its aurochshide

I had covered quite a little distance, and I was pass ing through a strip of wood which lay at the foot of one

of the flattopped hills, when I became conscious of the sensation of being watched. My life within

Pellucidar has rather quickened my senses of sight, hearing, and smell, and, too, certain primitive intuitive or

instinctive qualities that seem blunted in civilized man. But, though I was positive that eyes were upon me, I

could see no sign of any living thing within the wood other than the many, gayplumaged birds and little

To you it may seem that my conviction was the re sult of an overwrought imagination, or to the actual

reality of the prying eyes of the little monkeys or the curious ones of the birds; but there is a difference which

I cannot explain between the sensation of casual observation and studied espionage. A sheep might gaze at

you without transmitting a warning through your sub jective mind, because you are in no danger from a

sheep. But let a tiger gaze fixedly at you from ambush, and unless your primitive instincts are completely

cal loused you will presently commence to glance furtively about and be filled with vague, unreasoning

Thus was it with me then. I grasped my cudgel more firmly and unslung my javelin, carrying it in my left

hand. I peered to left and right, but I saw nothing. Then, all quite suddenly, there fell about my neck and

In a jiffy I was trussed up as neatly as you might wish. One of the nooses dropped to my ankles and was

jerked up with a suddenness that brought me to my face upon the ground. Then something heavy and hairy

sprang upon my back. I fought to draw my knife, but hairy hands grasped my wrists and, dragging them be

Next my feet were bound. Then I was turned over upon my back to look up into the faces of my captors.

And what faces! Imagine if you can a cross between a sheep and a gorilla, and you will have some concep

tion of the physiognomy of the creature that bent close above me, and of those of the halfdozen others that

clustered about. There was the facial length and great eyes of the sheep, and the bullneck and hideous fangs

As they bent over me they conversed in a mono syllabic tongue that was perfectly intelligible to me. It was

something of a simplified language that had no need for aught but nouns and verbs, but such words as it

included were the same as those of the human beings of Pellucidar. It was amplified by many gestures which

I asked them what they intended doing with me; but, like our own North American Indians when questioned

by a white man, they pretended not to understand me. One of them swung me to his shoulder as lightly as if I

had been a shoat. He was a huge creature, as were his fellows, standing fully seven feet upon his short legs

Two went ahead of my bearer and three behind. In this order we cut to the right through the forest to the foot

of the hill where precipitous cliffs appeared to bar our farther progress in this direction. But my escort never

paused. Like ants upon a wall, they scaled that seemingly unscalable barrier, clinging, Heaven knows how, to

its ragged perpendicular face. During most of the short journey to the summit I must admit that my hair stood

on end. Presently, however, we topped the thing and stood upon the level mesa which crowned it.

Immediately from all about, out of burrows and rough, rocky lairs, poured a perfect torrent of beasts similar

to my captors. They clustered about, jabber ing at my guards and attempting to get their hands upon me,

whether from curiosity or a desire to do me bodily harm I did not know, since my escort with bared fangs and

Across the mesa we went, to stop at last before a large pile of rocks in which an opening appeared. Here my

guards set me upon my feet and called out a word which sounded like "Grgrgr!" and which I later learned

Presently there emerged from the cavernous depths of the lair a monstrous creature, scarred from a hundred

battles, almost hairless and with an empty socket where one eye had been. The other eye, sheeplike in its

mildness, gave the most startling appearance to the beast, which but for that single timid orb was the most

I had encountered the black, hairless, longtailed ape things of the mainlandthe creatures which Perry

thought might constitute the link between the higher orders of apes and manbut these brutemen of

Grgr gr seemed to set that theory back to zero, for there was less similarity between the black apemen

and these creatures than there was between the latter and man, while both had many human attributes, some

The black apes were hairless and built thatched huts in their arboreal retreats; they kept domesticated dogs

and ruminants, in which respect they were farther advanced than the human beings of Pellucidar; but they

On the other hand, Grgrgr's people were, for the most part, quite hairy, but they were tailless and had a

language similar to that of the human race of Pellucidar; nor were they arboreal. Their skins, where skin

From the foregoing facts and others that I have noted during my long life within Pellucidar, which is now

passing through an age analogous to some pre glacial age of the outer crust, I am constrained to the belief

that evolution is not so much a gradual transition from one form to another as it is an accident of breeding,

either by crossing or the hazards of birth. In other words, it is my belief that the first man was a freak of

naturenor would one have to draw overstrongly upon his credulity to be convinced that Grgrgr and his

The great manbrute seated himself upon a flat rock his throne, I imaginejust before the entrance to his

lair. With elbows on knees and chin in palms he re garded me intently through his lone sheepeye while one

When all had been related Grgrgr questioned me. I shall not attempt to quote these people in their own ab

breviated tongueyou would have even greater diffi culty in interpreting them than did I. Instead, I shall

put the words into their mouths which will carry to you the ideas which they intended to convey.

"You are an enemy," was Grgrgr's initial declaration. "You belong to the tribe of Hooja."

"I am an enemy of Hooja," I replied. "He has stolen my mate and I have come here to take her away from him

"I do not know," I answered, "but I should have tried had you not captured me. What do you intend to do

"We do not kill except in selfdefense," he replied; "selfdefense and punishment. Those who would kill us

and those who do wrong we kill. If we knew you were one of Hooja's people we might kill you, for all

Hooja's people are bad people; but you say you are an enemy of Hooja. You may not speak the truth, but until

"If you hate Hooja," I suggested, "why not let me, who hate him, too, go and punish him?"

For some time Grgrgr sat in thought. Then he raised his head and addressed my guard.

His tone was final. As if to emphasize it he turned and entered his burrow. My guard conducted me far ther

into the mesa, where we came presently to a tiny depression or valley, at one end of which gushed a warm

The view that opened before me was the most sur prising that I have ever seen. In the hollow, which must

have covered several hundred acres, were numerous fields of growing things, and working all about with

crude implements or with no implements at all other than their bare hands were many of the brutemen en

I never was a farmer nor particularly keen for this sort of work, and I am free to confess that time never had

dragged so heavily as it did during the hour or the year I spent there at that work. How long it really was I do

The creatures that worked about me were quite sim ple and friendly. One of them proved to be a son of

Grgrgr. He had broken some minor tribal law, and was working out his sentence in the fields. He told me

that his tribe had lived upon this hilltop always, and that there were other tribes like them dwelling upon other

hilltops. They had no wars and had always lived in peace and harmony, menaced only by the larger carniv

ora of the island, until my kind had come under a crea ture called Hooja, and attacked and killed them when

they chanced to descend from their natural fortresses to visit their fellows upon other lofty mesas.

Now they were afraid; but some day they would go in a body and fall upon Hooja and his people and slay

them all. I explained to him that I was Hooja's enemy, and asked, when they were ready to go, that I be al

lowed to go with them, or, better still, that they let me go ahead and learn all that I could about the village

Grgrgr's son seemed much impressed by my sug gestion. He said that when he was through in the fields

Some time after this Grgrgr came through the fields where we were, and his son spoke to him upon the

sub ject, but the old gentleman was evidently in anything but a good humor, for he cuffed the youngster and,

turning upon me, informed me that he was convinced that I had lied to him, and that I was one of Hooja's

"Wherefore," he concluded, "we shall slay you as soon as the melons are cultivated. Hasten, therefore."

And hasten I did. I hastened to cultivate the weeds which grew among the melonvines. Where there had

been one sickly weed before, I nourished two healthy ones. When I found a particularly promising variety of

weed growing elsewhere than among my melons, I forthwith dug it up and transplanted it among my charges.

My masters did not seem to realize my perfidy. They saw me always laboring diligently in the melonpatch,

and as time enters not into the reckoning of Pellucidar ianseven of human beings and much less of brutes

and half brutesI might have lived on indefinitely through this subterfuge had not that occurred which took

I had built a little shelter of rocks and brush where I might crawl in and sleep out of the perpetual light and

My masters never interposed the slightest objection. As a matter of fact, they were very good to me, nor did I

see aught while I was among them to indicate that they are ever else than a simple, kindly folk when left to

themselves. Their aweinspiring size, terrific strength, mighty fightingfangs, and hideous appearance are

but the attributes necessary to the successful waging of their constant battle for survival, and well do they

employ them when the need arises. The only flesh they eat is that of herbivorous animals and birds. When

they hunt the mighty thag, the prehistoric bos of the outer crust, a single male, with his fiber rope, will catch

Well, as I was about to say, I had this little shelter at the edge of my melonpatch. Here I was resting from

my labors on a certain occasion when I heard a great hubbub in the village, which lay about a quarter of a

Presently a male came racing toward the field, shout ing excitedly. As he approached I came from my

shelter to learn what all the commotion might be about, for the monotony of my existence in the melonpatch

must have fostered that trait of my curiosity from which it had always been my secret boast I am peculiarly

The other workers also ran forward to meet the mes senger, who quickly unburdened himself of his

informa tion, and as quickly turned and scampered back toward the village. When running these beastmen

often go upon all fours. Thus they leap over obstacles that would slow up a human being, and upon the level

attain a speed that would make a thoroughbred look to his laurels. The result in this instance was that before I

had more than assimilated the gist of the word which had been brought to the fields, I was alone, watching

I was alone! It was the first time since my capture that no beastman had been within sight of me. I was

alone! And all my captors were in the village at the op posite edge of the mesa repelling an attack of Hooja's

It seemed from the messenger's tale that two of Grgrgr's great males had been set upon by a halfdozen of

Hooja's cutthroats while the former were peaceably returning from the thag hunt. The two had returned to the

village unscratched, while but a single one of Hooja's halfdozen had escaped to report the outcome of the

battle to their leader. Now Hooja was coming to punish Grgrgr's people. With his large force, armed with

the bows and arrows that Hooja had learned from me to make, with long lances and sharp knives, I feared

At last had come the opportunity for which I waited! I was free to make for the far end of the mesa, find my

way to the valley below, and while the two forces were engaged in their struggle, continue my search for

Hooja's village, which I had learned from the beastmen lay farther on down the river that I had been

As I turned to make for the mesa's rim the sounds of battle came plainly to my earsthe hoarse shouts of

I did not. Instead, lured by the din of strife and by the desire to deliver a stroke, however feeble, against hated

When I reached the edge of the plateau such a scene met my astonished gaze as never before had startled it,

for the unique battlemethods of the halfbrutes were rather the most remarkable I had ever witnessed.

Along the very edge of the clifftop stood a thin line of mighty malesthe best ropethrowers of the tribe.

A few feet behind these the rest of the males, with the exception of about twenty, formed a second line. Still

farther in the rear all the women and young children were clus tered into a single group under the protection

But it was the work of the first two lines that in terested me. The forces of Hoojaa great horde of savage

Sagoths and primeval cave menwere work ing their way up the steep cliffface, their agility but slightly

less than that of my captors who had clambered so nimbly alofteven he who was burdened by my weight.

As the attackers came on they paused occasionally wherever a projection gave them sufficient foothold and

launched arrows and spears at the defenders above them. During the entire battle both sides hurled taunts and

insults at one anotherthe human beings naturally excelling the brutes in the coarseness and vileness of their

The "firingline" of the brutemen wielded no weapon other than their long fiber nooses. When a foeman

came within range of them a noose would settle unerringly about him and be would be dragged, fighting and

yell ing, to the clifftop, unless, as occasionally occurred, he was quick enough to draw his knife and cut the

rope above him, in which event he usually plunged down ward to a no less certain death than that which

Those who were hauled up within reach of the power ful clutches of the defenders had the nooses snatched

from them and were catapulted back through the first line to the second, where they were seized and killed by

the simple expedient of a single powerful closing of mighty fangs upon the backs of their necks.

But the arrows of the invaders were taking a much heavier toll than the nooses of the defenders and I fore

saw that it was but a matter of time before Hooja's forces must conquer unless the brutemen changed their

Grgrgr was standing in the center of the first line. All about him were boulders and large fragments of

broken rock. I approached him and without a word toppled a large mass of rock over the edge of the cliff. It

fell directly upon the head of an archer, crush ing him to instant death and carrying his mangled corpse with

it to the bottom of the declivity, and on its way brushing three more of the attackers into the here after.

Grgrgr turned toward me in surprise. For an in stant he appeared to doubt the sincerity of my motives. I

felt that perhaps my time had come when he reached for me with one of his giant paws; but I dodged him,

and running a few paces to the right hurled down another missile. It, too, did its allotted work of destruc

tion. Then I picked up smaller fragments and with all the control and accuracy for which I had earned justly

deserved fame in my collegiate days I rained down a hail of death upon those beneath me.

Grgrgr was coming toward me again. I pointed to the litter of rubble upon the clifftop.

"Hurl these down upon the enemy!" I cried to him. "Tell your warriors to throw rocks down upon them!"

At my words the others of the first line, who had been interested spectators of my tactics, seized upon great

boulders or bits of rock, whichever came first to their hands, and, without, waiting for a command from Gr

grgr, deluged the terrified cave men with a perfect avalanche of stone. In less than no time the cliffface

Grgrgr was standing beside me when the last of the cave men disappeared in rapid flight down the valley.

"They were not my people," I returned. "I have told you that before, but you would not believe me. Will you

believe me now when I tell you that I hate Hooja and his tribe as much as you do? Will you believe me when

For some time he stood there beside me, scratching his head. Evidently it was no less difficult for him to

readjust his preconceived conclusions than it is for most human beings; but finally the idea

percolatedwhich it might never have done had he been a man, or I might qualify that statement by saying

"Gilak," he said, "you have made Grgrgr ashamed. He would have killed you. How can he reward you?"

"You are free," he said. "You may go down when you wish, or you may stay with us. If you go you may

Naturally, I elected to go. I explained all over again to Grgrgr the nature of my mission. He listened atten

tively; after I had done he offered to send some of his people with me to guide me to Hooja's village. I was

First, however, we must eat. The hunters upon whom Hooja's men had fallen had brought back the meat of a

great thag. There would be a feast to commemorate the victorya feast and dancing.

I had never witnessed a tribal function of the brute folk, though I had often heard strange sounds coming

from the village, where I had not been allowed since my capture. Now I took part in one of their orgies.

It will live forever in my memory. The combination of bestiality and humanity was oftentimes pathetic, and

again grotesque or horrible. Beneath the glaring noonday sun, in the sweltering heat of the mesatop, the

huge, hairy creatures leaped in a great circle. They coiled and threw their fiberropes; they hurled taunts and

insults at an imaginary foe; they fell upon the carcass of the thag and literally tore it to pieces; and they

I had to wait until the processes of digestion had re leased my escort from its torpor. Some had eaten until

their abdomens were so distended that I thought they must burst, for beside the thag there had been fully a

hundred antelopes of various sizes and varied degrees of decomposition, which they had unearthed from bur

But at last we were startedsix great males and myself. Grgrgr had returned my weapons to me, and at

last I was once more upon my oftinterrupted way toward my goal. Whether I should find Dian at the end of

my journey or no I could not even surmise; but I was none the less impatient to be off, for if only the worst

I could scarce believe that my proud mate would still be alive in the power of Hooja; but time upon

Pellucidar is so strange a thing that I realized that to her or to him only a few minutes might have elapsed

since his subtle trickery had enabled him to steal her away from Phutra. Or she might have found the means

As we descended the cliff we disturbed a great pack of large hyenalike beastshyaena spelaeus, Perry calls

themwho were busy among the corpses of the cave men fallen in battle. The ugly creatures were far from

the cowardly things that our own hyenas are reputed to be; they stood their ground with bared fangs as we

approached them. But, as I was later to learn, so for midable are the brutefolk that there are few even of the

larger carnivora that will not make way for them when they go abroad. So the hyenas moved a little from our

We made our way steadily down the rim of the beau tiful river which flows the length of the island, coming

at last to a wood rather denser than any that I had be fore encountered in this country. Well within this forest

Thus having guided me to my destination they left me. Ahead of me, through the trees, I could see what

appeared to be the foot of a steep hill. Toward this I made my way. The forest ran to the very base of a cliff,

in the face of which were the mouths of many caves. They appeared untenanted; but I decided to watch for a

while before venturing farther. A large tree, densely foliaged, offered a splendid vantagepoint from which to

spy upon the cliff, so I clambered among its branches where, securely hidden, I could watch what transpired

It seemed that I had scarcely settled myself in a comfortable position before a party of cave men emerged

from one of the smaller apertures in the cliff face, about fifty feet from the base. They descended into the

forest and disappeared. Soon after came sev eral others from the same cave, and after them, at a short

interval, a score of women and children, who came into the wood to gather fruit. There were several war

After this came other parties, and two or three groups who passed out of the forest and up the cliffface to

enter the same cave. I could not understand it. All who came out had emerged from the same cave. All who

returned reentered it. No other cave gave evidence of habitation, and no cave but one of extraordinary size

could have accommodated all the people whom I had seen pass in and out of its mouth.

For a long time I sat and watched the coming and going of great numbers of the cavefolk. Not once did one

leave the cliff by any other opening save that from which I had seen the first party come, nor did any reenter

What a cave it must be, I thought, that houses an en tire tribe! But dissatisfied of the truth of my surmise, I

climbed higher among the branches of the tree that I might get a better view of other portions of the cliff.

High above the ground I reached a point whence I could see the summit of the hill. Evidently it was a flat

As I sat gazing at it a figure appeared at the very edge. It was that of a young girl in whose hair was a

gorgeous bloom plucked from some flowering tree of the forest. I had seen her pass beneath me but a short

while before and enter the small cave that had swallowed all of the returning tribesmen.

The mystery was solved. The cave was but the mouth of a passage that led upward through the cliff to the

summit of the hill. It served merely as an avenue from their lofty citadel to the valley below.

No sooner had the truth flashed upon me than the realization came that I must seek some other means of

reaching the village, for to pass unobserved through this welltraveled thoroughfare would be impossible. At

the moment there was no one in sight below me, so I slid quickly from my arboreal watchtower to the

ground and moved rapidly away to the right with the intention of circling the hill if necessary until I had

found an un watched spot where I might have some slight chance of scaling the heights and reaching the top

I kept close to the edge of the forest, in the very midst of which the hill seemed to rise. Though I carefully

scanned the cliff as I traversed its base, I saw no sign of any other entrance than that to which my guides had

After some little time the roar of the sea broke upon my ears. Shortly after I came upon the broad ocean

which breaks at this point at the very foot of the great hill where Hooja had found safe refuge for himself and

I was just about to clamber along the jagged rocks which lie at the base of the cliff next to the sea, in search

of some foothold to the top, when I chanced to see a canoe rounding the end of the island. I threw my self

down behind a large boulder where I could watch the dugout and its occupants without myself being seen.

They paddled toward me for a while and then, about a hundred yards from me, they turned straight in toward

the foot of the frowning cliffs. From where I was it seemed that they were bent upon selfdestruction, since

the roar of the breakers beating upon the perpen dicular rockface appeared to offer only death to any one

A mass of rock would soon hide them from my view; but so keen was the excitement of the instant that I

could not refrain from crawling forward to a point whence I could watch the dashing of the small craft to

pieces on the jagged rocks that loomed before her, al though I risked discovery from above to accomplish

When I had reached a point where I could again see the dugout, I was just in time to see it glide un harmed

between two needlepointed sentinels of granite and float quietly upon the unruffled bosom of a tiny cove.

Again I crouched behind a boulder to observe what would next transpire; nor did I have long to wait. The

dugout, which contained but two men, was drawn close to the rocky wall. A fiber rope, one end of which was

Then the two men commenced the ascent of the almost perpendicular wall toward the summit several

hundred feet above. I looked on in amazement, for, splendid climbers though the cave men of Pellucidar are,

I never before had seen so remarkable a feat per formed. Upwardly they moved without a pause, to dis

When I felt reasonably sure that they had gone for a while at least I crawled from my hidingplace and at the

risk of a broken neck leaped and scrambled to the spot where their canoe was moored.

If they had scaled that cliff I could, and if I couldn't I should die in the attempt.

But when I turned to the accomplishment of the task I found it easier than I had imagined it would be, since I

immediately discovered that shallow hand and foot holds had been scooped in the cliff's rocky face, forming

At last I reached the top, and very glad I was, too. Cautiously I raised my head until my eyes were above the

cliffcrest. Before me spread a rough mesa, liberally sprinkled with large boulders. There was no village in

I drew myself to level ground and stood erect. A few trees grew among the boulders. Very carefully I ad

vanced from tree to tree and boulder to boulder toward the inland end of the mesa. I stopped often to listen

How I wished that I had my revolvers and rifle! I would not have to worm my way like a scared cat toward

Hooja's village, nor did I relish doing so now; but Dian's life might hinge upon the success of my venture,

and so I could not afford to take chances. To have met suddenly with discovery and had a score or more of

armed warriors upon me might have been very grand and heroic; but it would have immediately put an end to

Well, I must have traveled nearly a mile across that mesa without seeing a sign of anyone, when all of a sud

den, as I crept around the edge of a boulder, I ran plump into a man, down on all fours like myself, crawl

His head was turned over his shoulder as I first saw himhe was looking back toward the village. As I

leaped for him his eyes fell upon me. Never in my life have I seen a more surprised mortal than this poor cave

man. Before he could utter a single scream of warning or alarm I had my fingers on his throat and had

dragged him behind the boulder, where I proceeded to sit upon him, while I figured out what I had best do

He struggled a little at first, but finally lay still, and so I released the pressure of my fingers at his windpipe,

I hated to kill him in cold blood; but what else I was to do with him I could not see, for to turn him loose

would have been merely to have the entire village aroused and down upon me in a moment. The fellow lay

looking up at me with the surprise still deeply writ ten on his countenance. At last, all of a sudden, a look of

"I have seen you before," he said. "I saw you in the arena at the Mahars' city of Phutra when the thipdars

dragged the tarag from you and your mate. I never understood that. Afterward they put me in the arena with

"It would have been the same had there been ten warriors from Gombul. I slew them, winning my free dom.

He half turned his left shoulder toward me, exhibiting the newly healed scar of the Mahars' branded mark.

"Then," he continued, "as I was returning to my peo ple I met some of them fleeing. They told me that one

called Hooja the Sly One had come and seized our village, putting our people into slavery. So I hurried hither

to learn the truth, and, sure enough, here I found Hooja and his wicked men living in my village, and my

"I was discovered and captured, but Hooja did not kill me. I am the chief's son, and through me he hoped to

win my father's warriors back to the village to help him in a great war he says that he will soon commence.

"Among his prisoners is Dian the Beautiful One, whose brother, Dacor the Strong One, chief of Amoz, once

saved my life when he came to Thuria to steal a mate. I helped him capture her, and we are good friends. So

when I learned that Dian the Beautiful One was Hooja's prisoner, I told him that I would not aid him if he

"Recently one of Hooja's warriors overheard me talk ing with another prisoner. We were planning to

combine all the prisoners, seize weapons, and when most of Hooja's warriors were away, slay the rest and

retake our hilltop. Had we done so we could have held it, for there are only two entrancesthe narrow tunnel

"But when Hooja heard what we had planned he was very angry, and ordered that I die. They bound me hand

and foot and placed me in a cave until all the warriors should return to witness my death; but while they were

away I heard someone calling me in a muffled voice which seemed to come from the wall of the cave. When

I replied the voice, which was a woman's, told me that she had overheard all that had passed between me and

those who had brought me thither, and that she was Dacor's sister and would find a way to help me.

"Presently a little hole appeared in the wall at the point from which the voice had come. After a time I saw a

woman's hand digging with a bit of stone. Dacor's sister made a hole in the wall between the cave where I lay

bound and that in which she had been confined, and soon she was by my side and had cut my bonds.

"We talked then, and I offered to make the attempt to take her away and back to the land of Sari, where she

told me she would be able to learn the whereabouts of her mate. Just now I was going to the other end of the

island to see if a boat lay there, and if the way was clear for our escape. Most of the boats are always away

now, for a great many of Hooja's men and nearly all the slaves are upon the Island of Trees, where Hooja is

hav ing many boats built to carry his warriors across the water to the mouth of a great river which he

discovered while he was returning from Phutraa vast river that empties into the sea there."

The speaker pointed toward the northeast. "It is wide and smooth and slowrunning almost to the land of

I had released my prisoner as soon as I found that he was Hooja's enemy, and now the pair of us were squat

"She returned to the cave where she had been im prisoned," he replied, "and is awaiting me there."

He said he could, and in the strange yet explicit fash ion of the Pellucidarians he explained minutely how I

might reach the cave where he had been imprisoned, and through the hole in its wall reach Dian.

I thought it best for but one of us to return, since two could accomplish but little more than one and would

double the risk of discovery. In the meantime he could make his way to the sea and guard the boat, which I

I told him to await us at the clifftop, and if Dian came alone to do his best to get away with her and take her

to Sari, as I thought it quite possible that, in case of detection and pursuit, it might be necessary for me to

hold off Hooja's people while Dian made her way alone to where my new friend was to await her. I

impressed upon him the fact that he might have to resort to trick ery or even to force to get Dian to leave

me; but I made him promise that he would sacrifice everything, even his life, in an attempt to rescue Dacor's

Then we partedhe to take up his position where he could watch the boat and await Dian, I to crawl cau

tiously on toward the caves. I had no difficulty in fol lowing the directions given me by Juag, the name by

which Dacor's friend said he was called. There was the leaning tree, my first point he told me to look for after

rounding the boulder where we had met. After that I crawled to the balanced rock, a huge boulder resting

From here I had my first view of the village of caves. A low bluff ran diagonally across one end of the mesa,

and in the face of this bluff were the mouths of many caves. Zigzag trails led up to them, and narrow ledges

The cave in which Juag had been confined was at the extreme end of the cliff nearest me. By taking advan

tage of the bluff itself, I could approach within a few feet of the aperture without being visible from any other

cave. There were few people about at the time; most of these were congregated at the foot of the far end of

the bluff, where they were so engrossed in ex cited conversation that I felt but little fear of detection.

However I exercised the greatest care in approaching the cliff. After watching for a while until I caught an

in stant when every head was turned away from me, I darted, rabbitlike, into the cave.

Like many of the manmade caves of Pellucidar, this one consisted of three chambers, one behind another,

and all unlit except for what sunlight filtered in through the external opening. The result was gradually

In the last of the three I could just distinguish objects, and that was all. As I was groping around the walls for

the hole that should lead into the cave where Dian was imprisoned, I heard a man's voice quite close to me.

The speaker had evidently but just entered, for he spoke in a loud tone, demanding the whereabouts of one

The voice was Dian's. I groped in the direction of the sounds, feeling for the hole.

"He wishes you brought to the Island of Trees," replied the man; "for he is ready to take you as his mate."

Frantically I clawed the wall of the cave in which I was in an effort to find the elusive aperture that would

I heard the sound of a scuffle in the next cave. Then my fingers sank into loose rock and earth in the side of

the cave. In an instant I realized why I had been unable to find the opening while I had been lightly feeling

the surface of the wallsDian had blocked up the hole she had made lest it arouse suspicion and lead to an

Plunging my weight against the crumbling mass, I sent it crashing into the adjoining cavern. With it came I,

David, Emperor of Pellucidar. I doubt if any other potentate in a world's history ever made a more un

dignified entrance. I landed head first on all fours, but I came quickly and was on my feet before the man in

He saw me, though, when I arose and, sensing that no friend came thus precipitately, turned to meet me even

as I charged him. I had my stone knife in my hand, and he had his. In the darkness of the cave there was little

opportunity for a display of science, though even at that I venture to say that we fought a very pretty duel.

Before I came to Pellucidar I do not recall that I ever had seen a stone knife, and I am sure that I never fought

with a knife of any description; but now I do not have to take my hat off to any of them when it comes to

I could just see Dian in the darkness, but I knew that she could not see my features or recognize me; and I

enjoyed in anticipation, even while I was fighting for her life and mine, her dear joy when she should

My opponent was large, but he also was active and no mean knifeman. He caught me once fairly in the

shoulderI carry the scar yet, and shall carry it to the grave. And then he did a foolish thing, for as I leaped

back to gain a second in which to calm the shock of the wound he rushed after me and tried to clinch. He

rather neglected his knife for the moment in his greater desire to get his hands on me. Seeing the opening, I

Down he went. Before ever he could scramble up again I was on him and had buried my knife in his heart.

Then I stood upand there was Dian facing me and peering at me through the dense gloom.

At the sound of my voice she gave a little cry in which tears were mingleda pathetic little cry that told me

all without words how far hope had gone from herand then she ran forward and threw herself in my arms. I

covered her perfect lips and her beautiful face with kisses, and stroked her thick black hair, and told her again

and again what she already knewwhat she had known for yearsthat I loved her better than all else which

two worlds had to offer. We couldn't devote much time, though, to the happiness of love making, for we

I drew her into the adjoining cave. Thence we made our way to the mouth of the cave that had given me

entrance to the cliff. Here I reconnoitered for a mo ment, and seeing the coast clear, ran swiftly forth with

Dian at my side. We dodged around the cliffend, then paused for an instant, listening. No sound reached our

ears to indicate that any had seen us, and we moved cautiously onward along the way by which I had come.

As we went Dian told me that her captors had in formed her how close I had come in search of her even

to the Land of Awful Shadowand how one of Hooja's men who knew me had discovered me asleep and

robbed me of all my possessions. And then how Hooja had sent four others to find me and take me prisoner.

But these men, she said, had not yet re turned, or at least she had not heard of their return.

'Nor will you ever," I responded, "for they have gone to that place whence none ever returns." I then related

We had come almost to the cliffedge where Juag should be awaiting us when we saw two men walking

rapidly toward the same spot from another direction. They did not see us, nor did they see Juag, whom I now

discovered hiding behind a low bush close to the verge of the precipice which drops into the sea at this point.

As quickly as possible, without exposing our selves too much to the enemy, we hastened forward that we

But they noticed him first and immediately charged him, for one of them had been his guard, and they had

both been sent to search for him, his escape having been discovered between the time he left the cave and the

time when I reached it. Evidently they had wasted precious moments looking for him in other portions of the

When I saw that the two of them were rushing him, I called out to attract their attention to the fact that they

had more than a single man to cope with. They paused at the sound of my voice and looked about.

When they discovered Dian and me they exchanged a few words, and one of them continued toward Juag

while the other turned upon us. As he came nearer I saw that he carried in his hand one of my sixshooters,

but he was holding it by the barrel, evidently mistaking it for some sort of warclub or tomahawk.

I could scarce refrain a grin when I thought of the wasted possibilities of that deadly revolver in the hands of

an untutored warrior of the stone age. Had he but reversed it and pulled the trigger he might still be alive;

maybe he is for all I know, since I did not kill him then. When he was about twenty feet from me I flung my

javelin with a quick movement that I had learned from Ghak. He ducked to avoid it, and instead of receiving

Down he went all in a heap. Then I glanced toward Juag. He was having a most exciting time. The fellow

pitted against Juag was a veritable giant; he was hack ing and hewing away at the poor slave with a

villainous looking knife that might have been designed for butch ering mastodons. Step by step, he was

forcing Juag back toward the edge of the cliff with a fiendish cunning that permitted his adversary no chance

to sidestep the terrible consequences of retreat in this direction. I saw quickly that in another moment Juag

must de liberately hurl himself to death over the precipice or be pushed over by his foeman.

And as I saw Juag's predicament I saw, too, in the same instant, a way to relieve him. Leaping quickly to the

side of the fellow I had just felled, I snatched up my fallen revolver. It was a desperate chance to take, and I

realized it in the instant that I threw the gun up from my hip and pulled the trigger. There was no time to aim.

Juag was upon the very brink of the chasm. His relentless foe was pushing him hard, beat ing at him

And then the revolver spokeloud and sharp. The giant threw his hands above his head, whirled about like a

He cast a single affrighted glance in my direction never before, of course, had he heard the report of a

firearmand with a howl of dismay he, too, turned and plunged headforemost from sight. Horrorstruck, I

hastened to the brink of the abyss just in time to see two splashes upon the surface of the little cove below.

For an instant I stood there watching with Dian at my side. Then, to my utter amazement, I saw Juag rise to

I called to him to await us below, assuring him that he need have no fear of my weapon, since it would harm

only my enemies. He shook his head and mut tered something which I could not hear at so great a distance;

but when I pushed him he promised to wait for us. At the same instant Dian caught my arm and pointed

toward the village. My shot had brought a crowd of natives on the run toward us.

The fellow whom I had stunned with my javelin had regained consciousness and scrambled to his feet. He

was now racing as fast as he could go back toward his people. It looked mighty dark for Dian and me with

that ghastly descent between us and even the begin nings of liberty, and a horde of savage enemies ad

There was but one hope. That was to get Dian started for the bottom without delay. I took her in my arms just

for an instantI felt, somehow, that it might be for the last time. For the life of me I couldn't see how both of

I asked her if she could make the descent alone if she were not afraid. She smiled up at me bravely and

shrugged her shoulders. She afraid! So beautiful is she that I am always having difficulty in remembering that

she is a primitive, halfsavage cave girl of the stone age, and often find myself mentally limiting her ca

"I shall follow you after I take a shot or two at our friends," I replied. "I just want to give them a taste of this

new medicine which is going to cure Pellucidar of all its ills. That will stop them long enough for me to join

you. Now hurry, and tell Juag to be ready to shove off the moment I reach the boat, or the instant that it

"You, Dian, must return to Sari if anything happens to me, that you may devote your life to carrying out with

Perry the hopes and plans for Pellucidar that are so dear to my heart. Promise me, dear."

She hated to promise to desert me, nor would she; only shaking her head and making no move to descend.

The tribesmen were nearing us. Juag was shouting up to us from below. It was evident that he realized from

my actions that I was attempting to persuade Dian to descend, and that grave danger threatened us from

I looked at Dian and then down at the abyss below us. The cove appeared no larger than a saucer. How Juag

Dian glanced downward and shuddered. Her tribe were hill peoplethey were not accustomed to swim

ming other than in quiet rivers and placid lakelets. It was not the steep that appalled her. It was the

To dive into it from this great height was beyond her. I couldn't wonder, either. To have attempted it myself

seemed too preposterous even for thought. Only one consideration could have prompted me to leap

headforemost from that giddy heightsuicide; or at least so I thought at the moment.

"Quick!" I urged Dian. "You cannot dive; but I can hold them until you reach safety."

"And you?" she asked once more. "Can you dive when they come too close? Otherwise you could not escape

I saw that she would not leave me unless she thought that I could make that frightful dive as we had seen

Juag make it. I glanced once downward; then with a mental shrug I assured her that I would dive the mo

ment that she reached the boat. Satisfied, she began the descent carefully, yet swiftly. I watched her for a

moment, my heart in my mouth lest some slight mis step or the slipping of a fingerhold should pitch her to

Then I turned toward the advancing Hoojans "Hoosiers," Perry dubbed themeven going so far as to

christen this island where Hooja held sway Indiana; it is so marked now upon our maps. They were coming

on at a great rate. I raised my revolver, took deliberate aim at the foremost warrior, and pulled the trigger.

With the bark of the gun the fellow lunged forward. His head doubled beneath him. He rolled over and over

two or three times before he came to a stop, to lie very quietly in the thick grass among the brilliant wild

Those behind him halted. One of them hurled a javelin toward me, but it fell shortthey were just beyond

javelinrange. There were two armed with bows and arrows; these I kept my eyes on. All of them appeared

awestruck and frightened by the sound and effect of the firearm. They kept looking from the corpse to me

I took advantage of the lull in hostilities to throw a quick glance over the edge toward Dian. She was

halfway down the cliff and progressing finely. Then I turned back toward the enemy. One of the bowmen

"Stop!" I cried. "Whoever shoots at me or advances toward me I shall kill as I killed him!"

I pointed at the dead man. The fellow lowered his bow. Again there was animated discussion. I could see that

At last the majority appeared to prevail, for simul taneously the two archers raised their weapons. At the

same instant I fired at one of them, dropping him in his tracks. The other, however, launched his missile, but

the report of my gun had given him such a start that the arrow flew wild above my head. A second after and

he, too, was sprawled upon the sward with a round hole between his eyes. It had been a rather good shot.

I glanced over the edge again. Dian was almost at the bottom. I could see Juag standing just beneath her with

A sullen roar from the warriors recalled my attention toward them. They stood shaking their fists at me and

yelling insults. From the direction of the village I saw a single warrior coming to join them. He was a huge

fellow, and when he strode among them I could tell by his bearing and their deference toward him that he was

a chieftain. He listened to all they had to tell of the happenings of the last few minutes; then with a command

and a roar he started for me with the whole pack at his heels. All they had needed had arrived namely, a

I had two unfired cartridges in the chambers of my gun. I let the big warrior have one of them, thinking that

his death would stop them all. But I guess they were worked up to such a frenzy of rage by this time that

nothing would have stopped them. At any rate, they only yelled the louder as he fell and increased their speed

Then they were upon meor almost. I thought of my promise to Dianthe awful abyss was behind me a

big devil with a huge bludgeon in front of me. I grasped my sixshooter by the barrel and hurled it squarely

Then, without waiting to learn the effect of my throw, I wheeled, ran the few steps to the edge, and leaped as

far out over that frightful chasm as I could. I know something of diving, and all that I know I put into that

For a couple of hundred feet I fell in horizontal position. The momentum I gained was terrific. I could feel the

air almost as a solid body, so swiftly I hurtled through it. Then my position gradually changed to the vertical,

and with hands outstretched I slipped through the air, cleaving it like a flying arrow. Just before I struck the

water a perfect shower of javelins fell all about. My enemies bad rushed to the brink and hurled their

In the final instant I saw that I had cleared the rocks and was going to strike the water fairly. Then I was in

and plumbing the depths. I suppose I didn't really go very far down, but it seemed to me that I should never

stop. When at last I dared curve my hands upward and divert my progress toward the sur face, I thought that

I should explode for air before I ever saw the sun again except through a swirl of water. But at last my bead

Before me was the boat, from which Juag and Dian were clambering. I couldn't understand why they were

deserting it now, when we were about to set out for the mainland in it; but when I reached its side I under

stood. Two heavy javelins, missing Dian and Juag by but a hair's breadth, had sunk deep into the bottom of

the dugout in a straight line with the grain of the wood, and split her almost in two from stem to stern. She

Juag was leaning over a nearby rock, his hand out stretched to aid me in clambering to his side; nor did I

lose any time in availing myself of his proffered as sistance. An occasional javelin was still dropping

perilously close to us, so we hastened to draw as close as possible to the cliffside, where we were compara

Here we held a brief conference, in which it was decided that our only hope now lay in making for the

opposite end of the island as quickly as we could, and utilizing the boat that I had hidden there, to con tinue

Gathering up three of the least damaged javelins that had fallen about us, we set out upon our journey,

keeping well toward the south side of the island, which Juag said was less frequented by the Hoojans than the

central portion where the river ran. I think that this ruse must have thrown our pursuers off our track, since

we saw nothing of them nor heard any sound of pursuit during the greater portion of our march the length of

But the way Juag had chosen was rough and round about, so that we consumed one or two more marches in

covering the distance than if we had followed the river. This it was which proved our undoing.

Those who sought us must have sent a party up the river immediately after we escaped; for when we came at

last onto the rivertrail not far from our destination, there can be no doubt but that we were seen by Hoojans

who were just ahead of us on the stream. The result was that as we were passing through a clump of bush a

score of warriors leaped out upon us, and before we could scarce strike a blow in defense, had disarmed and

For a time thereafter I seemed to be entirely bereft of hope. I could see no ray of promise in the future only

immediate death for Juag and me, which didn't concern me much in the face of what lay in store for Dian.

Poor child! What an awful life she had led! From the moment that I had first seen her chained in the slave

caravan of the Mahars until now, a prisoner of a no less cruel creature, I could recall but a few brief intervals

of peace and quiet in her tempestuous ex istence. Before I had known her, Jubal the Ugly One had pursued

her across a savage world to make her his mate. She had eluded him, and finally I had slain him; but terror

and privations, and exposure to fierce beasts had haunted her footsteps during all her lonely flight from him.

And when I had returned to the outer world the old trials had recommenced with Hooja in Jubal's role. I could

almost have wished for death to vouchsafe her that peace which fate seemed to deny her in this life.

"Do not fear, David," she replied. "I shall end my life before ever Hooja can harm me; but first I shall see that

She drew from her breast a little leathern thong, to the end of which was fastened a tiny pouch.

"Do you recall that time you stepped upon the thing you call viper in your world?" she asked.

"The accident gave you the idea for the poisoned arrows with which we fitted the warriors of the em pire,"

she continued. "And, too, it gave me an idea. For a long time I have carried a viper's fang in my bosom. It has

given me strength to endure many dan gers, for it has always assured me immunity from the ultimate insult.

So we did not die together, and I am glad now that we did not. It is always a foolish thing to con template

suicide; for no matter how dark the future may appear today, tomorrow may hold for us that which will alter

our whole life in an instant, revealing to us nothing but sunshine and happiness. So, for my part, I shall

In Pellucidar, where it is always today, the wait may not be so long, and so it proved for us. As we were

passing a lofty, flattopped hill through a park like wood a perfect network of fiber ropes fell suddenly

about our guard, enmeshing them. A moment later a horde of our friends, the hairy gorillamen, with the

It was a very interesting fight. I was sorry that my bonds prevented me from taking part in it, but I urged on

the brutemen with my voice, and cheered old Grgrgr, their chief, each time that his mighty jaws crunched

out the life of a Hoojan. When the battle was over we found that a few of our captors had escaped, but the

majority of them lay dead about us. The gorillamen paid no further attention to them. Grgrgr turned to

"Grgrgr and all his people are your friends," he said. "One saw the warriors of the Sly One and fol lowed

them. He saw them capture you, and then he flew to the village as fast as he could go and told me all that he

had seen. The rest you know. You did much for Grgrgr and Grgrgr's people. We shall always do much

I thanked him; and when I had told him of our escape and our destination, he insisted on accom panying us

to the sea with a great number of his fierce males. Nor were we at all loath to accept his escort. We found the

canoe where I had hidden it, and bidding Grgrgr and his warriors farewell, the three of us embarked for the

I questioned Juag upon the feasibility of attempting to cross to the mouth of the great river of which he had

told me, and up which he said we might paddle almost to Sari; but he urged me not to attempt it, since we had

but a single paddle and no water or food. I had to admit the wisdom of his advice, but the desire to explore

this great waterway was strong upon me, arousing in me at last a determination to make the attempt after first

We landed several miles north of Thuria in a little cove that seemed to offer protection from the heavier seas

which sometimes run, even upon these usually pacific oceans of Pellucidar. Here I outlined to Dian and Juag

the plans I had in mind. They were to fit the canoe with a small sail, the purposes of which I had to explain to

them bothsince neither had ever seen or heard of such a contrivance before. Then they were to hunt for

These two latter items were more in Juag's line, but he kept muttering about the sail and the wind for a long

time. I could see that he was not even half convinced that any such ridiculous contraption could make a canoe

We hunted near the coast for a while, but were pot rewarded with any particular luck. Finally we decided to

hide the canoe and strike inland in search of game. At Juag's suggestion we dug a hole in the sand at the

upper edge of the beach and buried the craft, smooth ing the surface over nicely and throwing aside the

excess material we had excavated. Then we set out away from the sea. Traveling in Thuria is less arduous

than under the midday sun which perpetually glares down on the rest of Pellucidar's surface; but it has its

draw backs, one of which is the depressing influence exerted by the everlasting shade of the Land of Awful

The farther inland we went the darker it became, until we were moving at last through an endless twi light.

The vegetation here was sparse and of a weird, colorless nature, though what did grow was wondrous in

shape and form. Often we saw huge lidi, or beasts of burden, striding across the dim landscape, browsing

upon the grotesque vegetation or drinking from the slow and sullen rivers that run down from the Lidi Plains

What we sought was either a thaga sort of gigantic elkor one of the larger species of antelope, the flesh

of either of which dries nicely in the sun. The bladder of the thag would make a fine waterbottle, and its

skin, I figured, would be a good sail. We traveled a considerable distance inland, entirely crossing the Land

of Awful Shadow and emerging at last upon that portion of the Lidi Plains which lies in the pleasant sunlight.

Above us the pendent world revolved upon its axis, filling me especiallyand Dian to an almost equal state

with wonder and insatiable curiosity as to what strange forms of life existed among the hills and valleys

Before us stretched the horizonless expanses of vast Pellucidar, the Lidi Plains rolling up about us, while

hanging high in the heavens to the northwest of us I thought I discerned the many towers which marked the

entrances to the distant Mahar city, whose in habitants preyed upon the Thurians.

Juag suggested that we travel to the northeast, where, he said, upon the verge of the plain we would find a

wooded country in which game should be plentiful. Acting upon his advice, we came at last to a forest

jungle, through which wound innumerable gamepaths. In the depths of this forbidding wood we came upon

Shortly after, by careful stalking, we came within javelinrange of a small herd. Selecting a great bull, Juag

and I hurled our weapons simultaneously, Dian reserving hers for an emergency. The beast staggered to his

feet, bellowing. The rest of the herd was up and away in an instant, only the wounded bull remaining, with

Then Juag exposed himself to the view of the bull it is a part of the tactics of the huntwhile I stepped to

one side behind a bush. The moment that the savage beast saw Juag he charged him. Juag ran straight away,

that the bull might be lured past my hidingplace. On he cametons of mighty bestial strength and rage.

Dian had slipped behind me. She, too, could fight a thag should emergency require. Ah, such a girl! A

rightful empress of a stone age by every standard which two worlds might bring to measure her!

Crashing down toward us came the bull thag, bel lowing and snorting, with the power of a hundred

outerearthly bulls. When he was opposite me I sprang for the heavy mane that covered his huge neck. To

tangle my fingers in it was the work of but an instant. Then I was running along at the beast's shoulder.

Now, the theory upon which this hunting custom is based is one long ago discovered by experience, and that

is that a thag cannot be turned from his charge once he has started toward the object of his wrath, so long as

he can still see the thing he charges. He evidently believes that the man clinging to his mane is attempting to

restrain him from overtaking his prey, and so he pays no attention to this enemy, who, of course, does not

Once in the gait of the plunging bull, it was but a slight matter to vault to his back, as cavalrymen mount their

chargers upon the run. Juag was still run ning in plain sight ahead of the bull. His speed was but a trifle less

than that of the monster that pursued him. These Pellucidarians are almost as fleet as deer; because I am not is

one reason that I am always chosen for the closein work of the thaghunt. I could not keep in front of a

charging thag long enough to give the killer time to do his work. I learned that the first and lasttime I

Once astride the bull's neck, I drew my long stone knife and, setting the point carefully over the brute's spine,

drove it home with both hands. At the same in stant I leaped clear of the stumbling animal. Now, no

vertebrate can progress far with a knife through his spine, and the thag is no exception to the rule.

The fellow was down instantly. As he wallowed Juag returned, and the two of us leaped in when an opening

afforded the opportunity and snatched our javelins from his side. Then we danced about him, more like two

savages than anything else, until we got the opening we were looking for, when simulta neously, our

The thag had covered considerable ground from the point at which I had leaped upon him. When, after

despatching him, I looked back for Dian, I could see nothing of her. I called aloud, but receiving no reply, set

out at a brisk trot to where I had left her. I had no difficulty in finding the selfsame bush behind which we

had hidden, but Dian was not there. Again and again I called, to be rewarded only by silence. Where could

she be? What could have become of her in the brief interval since I had seen her standing just behind me?

I searched about the spot carefully. At last I was re warded by the discovery of her javelin, a few yards from

the bush that had concealed us from the charging thagher javelin and the indications of a struggle revealed

by the trampled vegetation and the overlap ping footprints of a woman and a man. Filled with consternation

and dismay, I followed these latter to where they suddenly disappeared a hundred yards from where the

The story of the tragedy was all too plain. A Thurian had either been following us, or had accidentally espied

Dian and taken a fancy to her. While Juag and I had been engaged with the thag, he had abducted her. I ran

swiftly back to where Juag was working over the kill. As I approached him I saw that some thing was

wrong in this quarter as well, for the islander was standing upon the carcass of the thag, his javelin poised for

When I had come nearer I saw the cause of his belligerent attitude. Just beyond him stood two large jaloks, or

wolfdogs, regarding him intentlya male and a female. Their behavior was rather peculiar, for they did not

seem preparing to charge him. Rather, they were contemplating him in an attitude of question ing.

Juag heard me coming and turned toward me with a grin. These fellows love excitement. I could see by his

expression that he was enjoying in anticipation the battle that seemed imminent. But he never hurled his

javelin. A shout of warning from me stopped him, for I had seen the remnants of a rope dangling from the

Juag again turned toward me, but this time in sur prise. I was abreast him in a moment and, passing him,

walked straight toward the two beasts. As I did so the female crouched with bared fangs. The male, however,

leaped forward to meet me, not in deadly charge, but with every expression of delight and joy which the poor

It was Rajathe jalok whose life I had saved, and whom I then had tamed! There was no doubt that he was

glad to see me. I now think that his seeming desertion of me had been but due to a desire to search out his

When Juag saw me fondling the great beast he was filled with consternation, but I did not have much time to

spare to Raja while my mind was filled with the grief of my new loss. I was glad to see the brute, and I lost

no time in taking him to Juag and making him understand that Juag, too, was to be Raja's friend. With the

female the matter was more difficult, but Raja helped us out by growling savagely at her whenever she bared

I told Juag of the disappearance of Dian, and of my suspicions as to the explanation of the catastrophe. He

wanted to start right out after her, but I suggested that with Raja to help me it might be as well were he to

remain and skin the thag, remove its bladder, and then return to where we had hidden the canoe on the beach.

And so it was arranged that he was to do this and await me there for a reasonable time. I pointed to a great

lake upon the surface of the pendent world above us, telling him that if after this lake had ap peared four

times I had not returned to go either by water or land to Sari and fetch Ghak with an army. Then, calling Raja

after me, I set out after Dian and her abductor. First I took the wolf dog to the spot where the man had fought

with Dian. A few paces behind us followed Raja's fierce mate. I pointed to the ground where the evidences of

the struggle were plainest and where the scent must have been strong to Raja's nostrils.

Then I grasped the remnant of leash that hung about his neck and urged him forward upon the trail. He

seemed to understand. With nose to ground he set out upon his task. Dragging me after him, he trotted

straight out upon the Lidi Plains, turning his steps in the direc tion of the Thurian village. I could have

Behind us trailed the female. After a while she closed upon us, until she ran quite close to me and at Raja's

side. It was not long before she seemed as easy in my company as did her lord and master.

We must have covered considerable distance at a very rapid pace, for we had reentered the great shadow,

when we saw a huge lidi ahead of us, moving leisurely across the level plain. Upon its back were two human

figures. If I could have known that the jaloks would not harm Dian I might have turned them loose upon the

However, the matter was taken out of my hands presently when Raja raised his head and caught sight of his

quarry. With a lunge that hurled me flat and jerked the leash from my hand, he was gone with the speed of

the wind after the giant lidi and its riders. At his side raced his shaggy mate, only a trifle smaller than he and

They did not give tongue until the lidi itself dis covered them and broke into a lumbering, awkward, but

none the less rapid gallop. Then the two hound beasts commenced to bay, starting with a low, plaintive note

that rose, weird and hideous, to terminate in a series of short, sharp yelps. I feared that it might be the

huntingcall of the pack; and if this were true, there would be slight chance for either Dian or her abductor

or myself, either, as far as that was concerned. So I redoubled my efforts to keep pace with the hunt; but I

might as well have attempted to distance the bird upon the wing; as I have often reminded you, I am no

runner. In that instance it was just as well that I am not, for my very slowness of foot played into my hands;

The lidi, with the hounds running close on either side, had almost disappeared in the darkness that en

veloped the surrounding landscape, when I noted that it was bearing toward the right. This was accounted for

by the fact that Raja ran upon his left side, and unlike his mate, kept leaping for the great beast's shoul der.

The man on the lidi's back was prodding at the hyaenodon with his long spear, but still Raja kept springing up

The effect of this was to turn the lidi toward the right, and the longer I watched the procedure the more

convinced I became that Raja and his mate were work ing together with some end in view, for the shedog

I had seen jaloks hunting in packs, and I recalled now what for the time I had not thought ofthe several that

ran ahead and turned the quarry back toward the main body. This was precisely what Raja and his mate were

doingthey were turning the lidi back toward me, or at least Raja was. Just why the female was keeping out

of it I did not understand, unless it was that she was not entirely clear in her own mind as to precisely what

At any rate, I was sufficiently convinced to stop where I was and await developments, for I could readily

realize two things. One was that I could never overhaul them before the damage was done if they should pull

the lidi down now. The other thing was that if they did not pull it down for a few minutes it would have

And this is just what happened. The lot of them were almost, swallowed up in the twilight for a mo ment.

Then they reappeared again, but this time far to the right and circling back in my general direction. I waited

until I could get some clear idea of the right spot to gain that I might intercept the lidi; but even as I waited I

saw the beast attempt to turn still more to the righta move that would have carried him far to my left in a

much more circumscribed circle than the hyaenodons had mapped out for him. Then I saw the female leap

forward and head him; and when he would have gone too far to the left, Raja sprang, snapping at his shoulder

Straight for me the two savage beasts were driving their quarry! It was wonderful.

It was something else, too, as I realized while the monstrous beast neared me. It was like standing in the

middle of the tracks in front of an approaching expresstrain. But I didn't dare waver; too much de pended

upon my meeting that hurtling mass of terrified flesh with a wellplaced javelin. So I stood there, wait ing

to be run down and crushed by those gigantic feet, but determined to drive home my weapon in the broad

The lidi was only about a hundred yards from me when Raja gave a few barks in a tone that differed

materially from his huntingcry. Instantly both he and his mate leaped for the long neck of the ruminant.

Neither missed. Swinging in midair, they hung te naciously, their weight dragging down the creature's

head and so retarding its speed that before it had reached me it was almost stopped and devoting all its

Dian had seen and recognized me, and was trying to extricate herself from the grasp of her captor, who,

handicapped by his strong and agile prisoner, was un able to wield his lance effectively upon the two jaloks.

When the man discovered me he released his hold upon Dian and sprang to the ground, ready with his lance

to meet me. My javelin was no match for his longer weapon, which was used more for stabbing than as a

missile. Should I miss him at my first cast, as was quite probable, since he was prepared for me, I would have

to face his formidable lance with nothing more than a stone knife. The outlook was scarcely entrancing.

Seeing my predicament, he ran toward me to get rid of one antagonist before he had to deal with the other

two. He could not guess, of course, that the two jaloks were hunting with me; but he doubtless thought that

after they had finished the lidi they would make after the human preythe beasts are notorious killers, often

But as the Thurian came Raja loosened his hold upon the lidi and dashed for him, with the female close after.

When the man saw them he yelled to me to help him, protesting that we should both be killed if we did not

Both the fierce beasts were upon the Thurian simul taneouslyhe must have died almost before his body

tumbled to the ground. Then the female wheeled to ward Dian. I was standing by her side as the thing

But again Raja was too quick for me. I imagined he thought she was making for me, for he couldn't have

known anything of my relations toward Dian. At any rate he leaped full upon her back and dragged her down.

There ensued forthwith as terrible a battle as one would wish to see if battles were gaged by volume of noise

and riotousness of action. I thought that both the beasts would be torn to shreds.

When finally the female ceased to struggle and rolled over on her back, her forepaws limply folded, I was

sure that she was dead. Raja stood over her, growling, his jaws close to her throat. Then I saw that neither of

them bore a scratch. The male had simply admin istered a severe drubbing to his mate. It was his way of

After a moment he moved away and let her rise, when she set about smoothing down her rumpled coat, while

he came stalking toward Dian and me. I had an arm about Dian now. As Raja came close I caught him by the

neck and pulled him up to me. There I stroked him and talked to him, bidding Dian do the same, until I think

For a long time he was inclined to be shy of her, often baring his teeth at her approach, and it was a much

longer time before the female made friends with us. But by careful kindness, by never eating without sharing

our meat with them, and by feeding them from our hands, we finally won the confidence of both animals.

With the two beasts trotting after us, we returned to where we had left Juag. Here I had the dickens' own time

keeping the female from Juag's throat. Of all the venomous, wicked, cruelhearted beasts on two worlds, I

But eventually she tolerated Juag as she had Dian and me, and the five of us set out toward the coast, for Juag

had just completed his labors on the thag when we arrived. We ate some of the meat before starting, and gave

On the way to the canoe we met with no mishaps. Dian told me that the fellow who had stolen her had come

upon her from behind while the roaring of the thag had drowned all other noises, and that the first she had

known he had disarmed her and thrown her to the back of his lidi, which had been lying down close by

waiting for him. By the time the thag had ceased bellowing the fellow had got well away upon his swift

mount. By holding one palm over her mouth he had prevented her calling for help.

"I thought," she concluded, "that I should have to use the viper's tooth, after all."

We reached the beach at last and unearthed the canoe. Then we busied ourselves stepping a mast and rigging

a small sailJuag and I, that iswhile Dian cut the thag meat into long strips for drying when we should be

At last all was done. We were ready to embark. I had no difficulty in getting Raja aboard the dugout; but

Raneeas we christened her after I had ex plained to Dian the meaning of Raja and its feminine

equivalentpositively refused for a time to follow her mate aboard. In fact, we had to shove off without her.

I let her come alongside, and then Juag and I pulled her in, she snapping and snarling at us as we did so; but,

strange to relate, she didn't offer to attack us after we had ensconced her safely in the bottom alongside Raja.

The canoe behaved much better under sail than I had hopedinfinitely better than the battleship Sari

hadand we made good progress almost due west across the gulf, upon the opposite side of which I hoped

The islander was much interested and impressed by the sail and its results. He had not been able to under

stand exactly what I hoped to accomplish with it while we were fitting up the boat; but when he saw the

clumsy dugout move steadily through the water with out paddles, he was as delighted as a child. We made

Juag had been terrorstricken when he had learned that I intended crossing the ocean, and when we passed

out of sight of land be was in a blue funk. He said that he had never heard of such a thing before in his life,

and that always he had understood that those who ventured far from land never returned; for how could they

I tried to explain the compass to him; and though he never really grasped the scientific explanation of it, yet

he did learn to steer by it quite as well as I. We passed several islands on the journeyislands which Juag

told me were entirely unknown to his own island folk. Indeed, our eyes may have been the first ever to rest

upon them. I should have liked to stop off and explore them, but the business of empire would brook no

I asked Juag how Hooja expected to reach the mouth of the river which we were in search of if he didn't cross

the gulf, and the islander explained that Hooja would undoubtedly follow the coast around. For some time we

sailed up the coast searching for the river, and at last we found it. So great was it that I thought it must be a

mighty gulf until the mass of driftwood that came out upon the first ebb tide convinced me that it was the

mouth of a river. There were the trunks of trees uprooted by the undermining of the river banks, giant

creepers, flowers, grasses, and now and then the body of some land animal or bird.

I was all excitement to commence our upward jour ney when there occurred that which I had never before

seen within Pellucidara really terrific windstorm. It blew down the river upon us with a ferocity and sud

denness that took our breaths away, and before we could get a chance to make the shore it became too late.

The best that we could do was to hold the scud ding craft before the wind and race along in a smother of

white spume. Juag was terrified. If Dian was, she hid it; for was she not the daughter of a once great chief, the

Raja and Ranee were frightened. The former crawled close to my side and buried his nose against me. Finally

even fierce Ranee was moved to seek sympathy from a human being. She slunk to Dian, pressing close

against her and whimpering, while Dian stroked her shaggy neck and talked to her as I talked to Raja.

There was nothing for us to do but try to keep the canoe right side up and straight before the wind. For what

seemed an eternity the tempest neither increased nor abated. I judged that we must have blown a hun dred

As suddenly as the wind rose it died again, and when it died it veered to blow at right angles to its former

course in a gentle breeze. I asked Juag then what our course was, for he had had the compass last. It had been

on a leather thong about his neck. When he felt for it, the expression that came into his eyes told me as

And we were out of sight of land without a single celestial body to guide us! Even the pendent world was not

Our plight seemed hopeless to me, but I dared not let Dian and Juag guess how utterly dismayed I was;

though, as I soon discovered, there was nothing to be gained by trying to keep the worst from Juaghe knew

it quite as well as I. He had always known, from the legends of his people, the dangers of the open sea

beyond the sight of land. The compass, since he had learned its uses from me, had been all that he had to

buoy his hope of eventual salvation from the watery deep. He had seen how it had guided me across the water

to the very coast that I desired to reach, and so he had implicit confidence in it. Now that it was gone, his

There seemed but one thing to do; that was to keep on sailing straight before the windsince we could travel

most rapidly along that courseuntil we sighted land of some description. If it chanced to be the mainland,

well and good; if an islandwell, we might live upon an island. We certainly could not live long in this little

Quite suddenly a thought occurred to me. I was surprised that it had not come before as a solution to our

"You Pellucidarians are endowed with a wonderful instinct," I reminded him, "an instinct that points the way

straight to your homes, no matter in what strange land you may find yourself. Now all we have to do is let

Dian guide us toward Amoz, and we shall come in a short time to the same coast whence we just were

As I spoke I looked at them with a smile of re newed hope; but there was no answering smile in their eyes.

"We could do all this upon land," she said. "But upon the water that power is denied us. I do not know why;

but I have always heard that this is truethat only upon the water may a Pellucidarian be lost. This is, I

think, why we all fear the great ocean soeven those who go upon its surface in canoes. Juag has told us that

We had lowered the sail after the blow while we were discussing the best course to pursue. Our little craft had

been drifting idly, rising and falling with the great waves that were now diminishing. Sometimes we were

upon the crestagain in the hollow. As Dian ceased speaking she let her eyes range across the limitless

expanse of billowing waters. We rose to a great height upon the crest of a mighty wave. As we topped it Dian

Juag and I leaped to our feet; but our little craft had now dropped to the trough, and we could see nothing but

walls of water close upon either hand. We waited for the next wave to lift us, and when it did we strained our

eyes in the direction that Dian had indicated. Sure enough, scarce half a mile away were several boats, and

scattered far and wide behind us as far as we could see were many others! We could not make them out in the

distance or in the brief glimpse that we caught of them before we were plunged again into the next wave

At last the sea subsided, and we were able to get a better view of the armada of small boats in our wake.

There must have been two hundred of them. Juag said that he had never seen so many boats before in all his

"Hooja," he said, "was building many boats to carry his warriors to the great river and up it toward Sari. He

was building them with almost all his warriors and many slaves upon the Island of Trees. No one else in all

the history of Pellucidar has ever built so many boats as they told me Hooja was building. These must be

"And they were blown out to sea by the great storm just as we were," suggested Dian.

"Suppose we make sure that they are really Hooja's people," suggested Dian. "It may be that they are not, and

that if we run away from them before we learn definitely who they are, we shall be running away from a

chance to live and find the mainland. They may be a people of whom we have never even heard, and if so we

"Well," I said, "it can't make our predicament any more trying to wait until we find out who they are. They

are heading for us now. Evidently they have spied our sail, and guess that we do not belong to their fleet."

"They probably want to ask the way to the mainland themselves," said Juag, who was nothing if not a pes

"If they want to catch us, they can do it if they can paddle faster than we can sail," I said. "If we let them

come close enough to discover their identity, and can then sail faster than they can paddle, we can get away

The sea calmed rapidly, so that by the time the foremost canoe had come within five hundred yards of us we

could see them all plainly. Every one was headed for us. The dugouts, which were of unusual length, were

manned by twenty paddlers, ten to a side. Besides the paddlers there were twentyfive or more warriors in

When the leader was a hundred yards from us Dian called our attention to the fact that several of her crew

were Sagoths. That convinced us that the flotilla was indeed Hooja's. I told Juag to hail them and get what

information he could, while I remained in the bottom of our canoe as much out of sight as possible. Dian lay

down at full length in the bottom; I did not want them to see and recognize her if they were in truth Hooja's

"Who are you?" shouted Juag, standing up in the boat and making a megaphone of his palms.

A figure arose in the bow of the leading canoe a figure that I was sure I recognized even before he spoke.

For some reason he did not recognize his former prisoner and slavepossibly because he had so many of

"I come from the Island of Trees," he continued. "A hundred of my boats were lost in the great storm and all

their crews drowned. Where is the land? What are you, and what strange thing is that which flutters from the

"We, too, are lost," replied Juag. "We know not where the land is. We are going back to look for it now."

So saying he commenced to scull the canoe's nose before the wind, while I made fast the primitive sheets that

There wasn't much wind at the time, and the heavy, lumbering dugout was slow in getting under way. I

thought it never would gain any momentum. And all the while Hooja's canoe was drawing rapidly nearer,

propelled by the strong arms of his twenty paddlers. Of course, their dugout was much larger than ours, and,

consequently, infinitely heavier and more cum bersome; nevertheless, it was coming along at quite a clip,

and ours was yet but barely moving. Dian and I remained out of sight as much as possible, for the two craft

were now well within bowshot of one an other, and I knew that Hooja had archers.

Hooja called to Juag to stop when he saw that our craft was moving. He was much interested in the sail, and

not a little awed, as I could tell by his shouted remarks and questions. Raising my head, I saw him plainly. He

would have made an excellent target for one of my guns, and I had never been sorrier that I had lost them.

We were now picking up speed a trifle, and he was not gaining upon us so fast as at first. In consequence, his

requests that we stop suddenly changed to com mands as he became aware that we were trying to escape

I use the word fire because it more nearly translates into English the Pellucidarian word trag, which covers

But Juag only seized his paddle more tightlythe paddle that answered the purpose of rudder, and com

menced to assist the wind by vigorous strokes. Then Hooja gave the command to some of his archers to fire

upon us. I couldn't lie hidden in the bottom of the boat, leaving Juag alone exposed to the deadly shafts, so I

arose and, seizing another paddle, set to work to help him. Dian joined me, though I did my best to persuade

The instant that Hooja saw us he recognized us. The whoop of triumph he raised indicated how certain he

was that we were about to fall into his hands. A shower of arrows fell about us. Then Hooja caused his men

to cease firinghe wanted us alive. None of the mis siles struck us, for Hooja's archers were not nearly the

We had now gained sufficient headway to hold our own on about even terms with Hooja's paddlers. We did

not seem to be gaining, though; and neither did they. How long this nerveracking experience lasted I cannot

guess, though we had pretty nearly finished our meager supply of provisions when the wind picked up a bit

Not once yet had we sighted land, nor could I understand it, since so many of the seas I had seen before were

thickly dotted with islands. Our plight was anything but pleasant, yet I think that Hooja and his forces were

Far out behind us in a long line that curved upward in the distance, to be lost in the haze, strung Hooja's two

hundred boats. But one would have been enough to have taken us could it have come alongside. We had

drawn some fifty yards ahead of Hoojathere had been times when we were scarce ten yards in

advanceand were feeling considerably safer from capture. Hooja's men, working in relays, were com

mencing to show the effects of the strain under which they had been forced to work without food or water,

and I think their weakening aided us almost as much as the slight freshening of the wind.

Hooja must have commenced to realize that he was going to lose us, for he again gave orders that we be fired

upon. Volley after volley of arrows struck about us. The distance was so great by this time that most of the

arrows fell short, while those that reached us were sufficiently spent to allow us to ward them off with our

Hooja stood in the bow of his boat, alternately urging his men to greater speed and shouting epithets at me.

But we continued to draw away from him. At last the wind rose to a fair gale, and we simply raced away

from our pursuers as if they were standing still. Juag was so tickled that he forgot all about his hunger and

thirst. I think that he had never been entirely recon ciled to the heathenish invention which I called a sail,

and that down in the bottom of his heart he believed that the paddlers would eventually overhaul us; but now

We had a strong gale for a considerable time, and eventually dropped Hooja's fleet so far astern that we could

no longer discern them. And thenah, I shall never forget that momentDian sprang to her feet with a cry

Sure enough, dead ahead, a long, low coast stretched across our bow. It was still a long way off, and we

couldn't make out whether it was island or mainland; but at least it was land. If ever shipwrecked mariners

were grateful, we were then. Raja and Ranee were commencing to suffer for lack of food, and I could swear

that the latter often cast hungry glances upon us, though I am equally sure that no such hideous thoughts ever

entered the head of her mate. We watched them both most closely, however. Once while stroking Ranee I

managed to get a rope around her neck and make her fast to the side of the boat. Then I felt a bit safer for

Dian. It was pretty close quarters in that little dugout for three human beings and two practically wild,

maneating dogs; but we had to make the best of it, since I would not listen to Juag's sug gestion that we

We made good time to within a few miles of the shore. Then the wind died suddenly out. We were all of us

keyed up to such a pitch of anticipation that the blow was doubly hard to bear. And it was a blow, too, since

we could not tell in what quarter the wind might rise again; but Juag and I set to work to paddle the remaining

Almost immediately the wind rose again from pre cisely the opposite direction from which it had formerly

blown, so that it was mighty hard work making progress against it. Next it veered again so that we had to turn

and run with it parallel to the coast to keep from being swamped in the trough of the seas.

And while we were suffering all these disappoint ments Hooja's fleet appeared in the distance!

They evidently had gone far to the left of our course, for they were now almost behind us as we ran parallel to

the coast; but we were not much afraid of being overtaken in the wind that was blowing. The gale kept on

increasing, but it was fitful, swooping down upon us in great gusts and then going almost calm for an instant.

It was after one of these momentary calms that the catastrophe occurred. Our sail hung limp and our

momentum decreased when of a sudden a par ticularly vicious squall caught us. Before I could cut the

The worst had happened; Juag and I seized paddles and kept the canoe with the wind; but that squall was the

parting shot of the gale, which died out immediately after, leaving us free to make for the shore, which we

lost no time in attempting. But Hooja had drawn closer in toward shore than we, so it looked as if he might

head us off before we could land. However, we did our best to distance him, Dian taking a paddle with us.

We were in a fair way to succeed when there ap peared, pouring from among the trees beyond the beach, a

horde of yelling, painted savages, brandishing all sorts of devilishlooking primitive weapons. So menac

ing was their attitude that we realized at once the folly of attempting to land among them.

Hooja was drawing closer to us. There was no wind. We could not hope to outpaddle him. And with our sail

gone, no wind would help us, though, as if in derision at our plight, a steady breeze was now blowing. But we

had no intention of sitting idle while our fate overtook us, so we bent to our paddles and, keeping parallel

It was a grueling experience. We were weakened by lack of food. We were suffering the pangs of thirst.

Capture and death were close at hand. Yet I think that we gave a good account of ourselves in our final effort

to escape. Our boat was so much smaller and lighter than any of Hooja's that the three of us forced it ahead

As we raced along the coast for one of those seem ingly interminable periods that may draw hours into

eternities where the labor is soulsearing and there is no way to measure time, I saw what I took for the

opening to a bay or the mouth of a great river a short distance ahead of us. I wished that we might make for it;

but with the menace of Hooja close behind and the screaming natives who raced along the shore paral lel to

We were not far from shore in that mad flight from death. Even as I paddled I found opportunity to glance

occasionally toward the natives. They were white, but hideously painted. From their gestures and weapons I

took them to be a most ferocious race. I was rather glad that we had not succeeded in landing among them.

Hooja's fleet had been in much more compact forma tion when we sighted them this time than on the

occasion following the tempest. Now they were moving rapidly in pursuit of us, all well within the radius of a

mile. Five of them were leading, all abreast, and were scarce two hundred yards from us. When I glanced

over my shoulder I could see that the archers had already fitted arrows to their bows in readiness to fire upon

Hope was low in my breast. I could not see the slightest chance of escaping them, for they were over

hauling us rapidly now, since they were able to work their paddles in relays, while we three were rapidly

It was then that Juag called my attention to the rift in the shoreline which I had thought either a bay or the

mouth of a great river. There I saw moving slowly out into the sea that which filled my soul with wonder.

It was a twomasted felucca with lateen sails! The craft was long and low. In it were more than fifty men,

twenty or thirty of whom were at oars with which the craft was being propelled from the lee of the land. I was

Could it be that the savage, painted natives I had seen on shore had so perfected the art of navigation that they

were masters of such advanced building and rigging as this craft proclaimed? It seemed impossible! And as I

looked I saw another of the same type swing into view and follow its sister through the narrow strait out into

Nor were these all. One after another, following closely upon one another's heels, came fifty of the trim,

graceful vessels. They were cutting in between Hooja's fleet and our little dugout,

When they came a bit closer my eyes fairly popped from my head at what I saw, for in the eye of the leading

felucca stood a man with a seaglass leveled upon us. Who could they be? Was there a civilization within

Pellucidar of such wondrous advancement as this? Were there fardistant lands of which none of my people

had ever heard, where a race had so greatly outstripped all other races of this inner world?

The man with the glass had lowered it and was shouting to us. I could not make out his words, but presently I

saw that he was pointing aloft. When I looked I saw a pennant fluttering from the peak of the forward lateen

yarda red, white, and blue pen nant, with a single great white star in a field of blue.

Then I knew. My eyes went even wider than they had before. It was the navy! It was the navy of the empire

of Pellucidar which I had instructed Perry to build in my absence. It was MY navy!

I dropped my paddle and stood up and shouted and waved my hand. Juag and Dian looked at me as if I had

gone suddenly mad. When I could stop shouting I told them, and they shared my joy and shouted with me.

But still Hooja was coming nearer, nor could the leading felucca overhaul him before he would be along

Hooja must have been as much mystified as we were as to the identity of the strange fleet; but when he saw

me waving to them he evidently guessed that they were friendly to us, so he urged his men to redouble their

He shouted word back to others of his fleetword that was passed back until it had reached them all

directing them to run alongside the strangers and board them, for with his two hundred craft and his eight or

ten thousand warriors he evidently felt equal to over coming the fifty vessels of the enemy, which did not

His own personal energies he bent to reaching Dian and me first, leaving the rest of the work to his other

boats. I thought that there could be little doubt that he would be successful in so far as we were concerned,

and I feared for the revenge that he might take upon us should the battle go against his force, as I was sure it

would; for I knew that Perry and his Mezops must have brought with them all the arms and ammunition that

had been contained in the prospector. But I was not prepared for what happened next.

As Hooja's canoe reached a point some twenty yards from us a great puff of smoke broke from the bow of the

leading felucca, followed almost simultaneously by a terrific explosion, and a solid shot screamed close over

the heads of the men in Hooja's craft, raising a great splash where it clove the water just beyond them.

Perry had perfected gunpowder and built cannon! It was marvelous! Dian and Juag, as much surprised as

Hooja, turned wondering eyes toward me. Again the cannon spoke. I suppose that by comparison with the

great guns of modern naval vessels of the outer world it was a pitifully small and inadequate thing; but here

in Pellucidar, where it was the first of its kind, it was about as aweinspiring as anything you might imagine.

With the report an iron cannonball about five inches in diameter struck Hooja's dugout just above the water

line, tore a great splintering hole in its side, turned it over, and dumped its occupants into the sea.

The four dugouts that had been abreast of Hooja had turned to intercept the leading felucca. Even now, in the

face of what must have been a withering catastrophe to them, they kept bravely on toward the strange and

In them were fully two hundred men, while but fifty lined the gunwale of the felucca to repel them. The

commander of the felucca, who proved to be Ja, let them come quite close and then turned loose upon them a

The cave men and Sagoths in the dugouts seemed to wither before that blast of death like dry grass before a

prairie fire. Those who were not hit dropped their bows and javelins and, seizing upon paddles, attempted to

At last I heard Ja shouting to the survivors in the dugoutsthey were all quite close to us nowoffer ing

them their lives if they would surrender. Perry was standing close behind Ja, and I knew that this merciful

action was prompted, perhaps commanded, by the old man; for no Pellucidarian would have thought of

As there was no alternative save death, the survivors surrendered and a moment later were taken aboard the

Amoz, the name that I could now see printed in large letters upon the felucca's bow, and which no one in that

When the prisoners were aboard, Ja brought the felucca alongside our dugout. Many were the willing hands

that reached down to lift us to her decks. The bronze faces of the Mezops were broad with smiles, and Perry

Dian went aboard first and then Juag, as I wished to help Raja and Ranee aboard myself, well knowing that it

would fare ill with any Mezop who touched them. We got them aboard at last, and a great com motion they

caused among the crew, who had never seen a wild beast thus handled by man before.

Perry and Dian and I were so full of questions that we fairly burst, but we had to contain ourselves for a

while, since the battle with the rest of Hooja's fleet had scarce commenced. From the small forward decks of

the feluccas Perry's crude cannon were belching smoke, flame, thunder, and death. The air trembled to the

roar of them. Hooja's horde, intrepid, savage fighters that they were, were closing in to grapple in a last

The handling of our fleet by the red island warriors of Ja's clan was far from perfect. I could see that Perry

had lost no time after the completion of the boats in setting out upon this cruise. What little the captains and

crews had learned of handling feluccas they must have learned principally since they embarked upon this

voyage, and while experience is an excellent teacher and had done much for them, they still had a great deal

to learn. In maneuvering for position they were continually fouling one another, and on two occasions shots

No sooner, however, was I aboard the flagship than I attempted to rectify this trouble to some extent. By

passing commands by word of mouth from one ship to another I managed to get the fifty feluccas into some

sort of line, with the flagship in the lead. In this formation we commenced slowly to circle the position of

the enemy. The dugouts came for us right along in an attempt to board us, but by keeping on the move in one

direction and circling, we managed to avoid getting in each other's way, and were enabled to fire our cannon

When I had a moment to look about me, I took in the felucca on which I was. I am free to confess that I

marveled at the excellent construction and stanch yet speedy lines of the little craft. That Perry had chosen

this type of vessel seemed rather remarkable, for though I had warned him against turreted battle ships,

armor, and like useless show, I had fully ex pected that when I beheld his navy I should find considerable

attempt at grim and terrible magnifi cence, for it was always Perry's idea to overawe these ignorant cave

men when we had to contend with them in battle. But I had soon learned that while one might easily astonish

them with some new engine of war, it was an utter impossibility to frighten them into surrender.

I learned later that Ja had gone carefully over the plans of various craft with Perry. The old man had

explained in detail all that the text told him of them. The two had measured out dimensions upon the ground,

that Ja might see the sizes of different boats. Perry had built models, and Ja had had him read carefully and

explain all that they could find relative to the handling of sailing vessels. The result of this was that Ja was

the one who had chosen the felucca. It was well that Perry had had so excellent a balance wheel, for he had

One thing that had inclined Ja particularly to the felucca was the fact that it included oars in its equip ment.

He realized the limitations of his people in the matter of sails, and while they had never used oars, the

implement was so similar to a paddle that he was sure they quickly could master the artand they did. As

soon as one hull was completed Ja kept it on the water constantly, first with one crew and then with another,

until two thousand red warriors had learned to row. Then they stepped their masts and a crew was told off for

While the others were building they learned to handle theirs. As each succeeding boat was launched its crew

took it out and practiced with it under the tutorage of those who had graduated from the first ship, and so on

Well, to get back to the battle: The Hoojans kept on coming at us, and as fast as they came we mowed them

down. It was little else than slaughter. Time and time again I cried to them to surrender, promising them their

lives if they would do so. At last there were but ten boatloads left. These turned in flight. They thought they

could paddle away from us it was pitiful! I passed the word from boat to boat to cease firingnot to kill

another Hoojan unless they fired on us. Then we set out after them. There was a nice little breeze blowing

and we bowled along after our quarry as gracefully and as lightly as swans upon a park lagoon. As we

approached them I could see not only wonder but admiration in their eyes. I hailed the nearest dugout.

"Throw down your arms and come aboard us," I cried, "and you shall not be harmed. We will feed you and

return you to the mainland. Then you shall go free upon your promise never to bear arms against the Emperor

I think it was the promise of food that interested them most. They could scarce believe that we would not kill

them. But when I exhibited the prisoners we already had taken, and showed them that they were alive and

unharmed, a great Sagoth in one of the boats asked me what guarantee I could give that I would keep my

The Pellucidarians themselves are rather punctilious about this same matter, so the Sagoth could understand

that I might possibly be speaking the truth. But he could not understand why we should not kill them unless

we meant to enslave them, which I had as much as denied already when I had promised to set them free. Ja

couldn't exactly see the wisdom of my plan, either. He thought that we ought to follow up the ten remaining

dugouts and sink them all; but I insisted that we must free as many as possible of our enemies upon the

"You see," I explained, "these men will return at once to Hooja's Island, to the Mahar cities from which they

come, or to the countries from which they were stolen by the Mahars. They are men of two races and of many

countries. They will spread the story of our victory far and wide, and while they are with us, we will let them

see and hear many other wonderful things which they may carry back to their friends and their chiefs. It's the

finest chance for free publicity, Perry," I added to the old man, "that you or I have seen in many a day."

Perry agreed with me. As a matter of fact, he would have agreed to anything that would have restrained us

from killing the poor devils who fell into our hands. He was a great fellow to invent gunpowder and fire

arms and cannon; but when it came to using these things to kill people, he was as tenderhearted as a

The Sagoth who had spoken was talking to other Sagoths in his boat. Evidently they were holding a council

"What will become of you if you don't surrender to us?" I asked. "If we do not open up our batteries on you

again and kill you all, you will simply drift about the sea helplessly until you die of thirst and starvation. You

cannot return to the islands, for you have seen as well as we that the natives there are very numerous and

The upshot of it was that the boat of which the Sagoth speaker was in charge surrendered. The Sagoths threw

down their weapons, and we took them aboard the ship next in line behind the Amoz. First Ja had to impress

upon the captain and crew of the ship that the prisoners were not to be abused or killed. After that the

remaining dugouts paddled up and sur rendered. We distributed them among the entire fleet lest there be too

many upon any one vessel. Thus ended the first real naval engagement that the Pel lucidarian seas had ever

witnessedthough Perry still insists that the action in which the Sari took part was a battle of the first

The battle over and the prisoners disposed of and fedand do not imagine that Dian, Juag, and I, as well as

the two hounds were not fed alsoI turned my attention to the fleet. We had the feluccas close in about the

flagship, and with all the ceremony of a medieval potentate on parade I received the com manders of the

fortynine feluccas that accompanied the flagshipDian and I togetherthe empress and the emperor of

It was a great occasion. The savage, bronze warriors entered into the spirit of it, for as I learned later dear old

Perry had left no opportunity neglected for impressing upon them that David was emperor of Pellucidar, and

that all that they were accomplishing and all that he was accomplishing was due to the power, and redounded

to the glory of David. The old man must have rubbed it in pretty strong, for those fierce warriors nearly came

to blows in their efforts to be among the first of those to kneel before me and kiss my hand. When it came to

A happy thought occurred to me as I stood upon the little deck of the Amoz with the first of Perry's primi

tive cannon behind me. When Ja kneeled at my feet, and first to do me homage, I drew from its scabbard at

his side the sword of hammered iron that Perry had taught him to fashion. Striking him lightly on the

shoulder I created him king of Anoroc. Each captain of the fortynine other feluccas I made a duke. I left it to

During these ceremonies Raja and Ranee had stood beside Dian and me. Their bellies had been well filled,

but still they had difficulty in permitting so much edible humanity to pass unchallenged. It was a good

education for them though, and never after did they find it difficult to associate with the human race with

After the ceremonies were over we had a chance to talk with Perry and Ja. The former told me that Ghak,

king of Sari, had sent my letter and map to him by a runner, and that he and Ja had at once decided to set out

on the completion of the fleet to ascertain the correctness of my theory that the Lural Az, in which the Anoroc

Islands lay, was in reality the same ocean as that which lapped the shores of Thuria under the name of Sojar

Their destination had been the island retreat of Hooja, and they had sent word to Ghak of their plans that we

might work in harmony with them. The tempest that had blown us off the coast of the continent had blown

them far to the south also. Shortly before dis covering us they had come into a great group of islands, from

between the largest two of which they were sail ing when they saw Hooja's fleet pursuing our dugout.

I asked Perry if he had any idea as to where we were, or in what direction lay Hooja's island or the continent.

He replied by producing his map, on which he had carefully marked the newly discovered islands there

described as the Unfriendly Isleswhich showed Hooja's island northwest of us about two points West.

He then explained that with compass, chronometer, log and reel, they had kept a fairly accurate record of

their course from the time they had set out. Four of the feluccas were equipped with these instruments, and all

I was very greatly surprised at the ease with which these savages had mastered the rather intricate detail of

this unusual work, but Perry assured me that they were a wonderfully intelligent race, and had been quick to

Another thing that surprised me was the fact that so much had been accomplished in so short a time, for I

could not believe that I had been gone from Anoroc for a sufficient period to permit of building a fleet of fifty

feluccas and mining iron ore for the cannon and balls, to say nothing of manufacturing these guns and the

crude muzzleloading rifles with which every Mezop was armed, as well as the gunpowder and ammunition

"Time!" exclaimed Perry. "Well, how long were you gone from Anoroc before we picked you up in the Sojar

That was a puzzler, and I had to admit it. I didn't know how much time had elapsed and neither did Perry, for

"Then, you see, David," he continued, "I had almost unbelievable resources at my disposal. The Mezops in

habiting the Anoroc Islands, which stretch far out to sea beyond the three principal isles with which you are

familiar, number well into the millions, and by far the greater part of them are friendly to Ja. Men, women,

and children turned to and worked the moment Ja ex plained the nature of our enterprise.

"And not only were they anxious to do all in their power to hasten the day when the Mahars should be

overthrown, butand this counted for most of allthey are simply ravenous for greater knowledge and for

"The contents of the prospector set their imagina tions to working overtime, so that they craved to own,

themselves, the knowledge which had made it possible for other men to create and build the things which you

"And then," continued the old man, "the element of time, or, rather, lack of time, operated to my advantage.

There being no nights, there was no laying off from workthey labored incessantly stopping only to eat and,

on rare occasions, to sleep. Once we had discovered iron ore we had enough mined in an incredibly short

time to build a thousand cannon. I had only to show them once how a thing should be done, and they would

"Why, no sooner had we fashioned the first muzzle loader and they had seen it work successfully, than fully

three thousand Mezops fell to work to make rifles. Of course there was much confusion and lost motion at

first, but eventually Ja got them in hand, detailing squads of them under competent chiefs to certain work.

"We now have a hundred expert gunmakers. On a little isolated isle we have a great powderfactory. Near

the ironmine, which is on the mainland, is a smelter, and on the eastern shore of Anoroc, a well equipped

ship yard. All these industries are guarded by forts in which several cannon are mounted and where warriors

"You would be surprised now, David, at the aspect of Anoroc. I am surprised myself; it seems always to me

as I compare it with the day that I first set foot upon it from the deck of the Sari that only a miracle could

"It is a miracle," I said; it is nothing short of a miracle to transplant all the wondrous possibilities of the

twen tieth century back to the Stone Age. It is a miracle to think that only five hundred miles of earth

"It is stupendous, Perry! But still more stupendous is the power that you and I wield in this great world. These

people look upon us as little less than supermen. We must show them that we are all of that.

"Yes," he agreed; "we must. I have been thinking a great deal lately that some kind of shrapnel shell or ex

plosive bomb would be a most splendid innovation in their warfare. Then there are breechloading rifles and

those with magazines that I must hasten to study out and learn to reproduce as soon as we get settled down

"Hold on, Perry!" I cried. "I didn't mean these sorts of things at all. I said that we must give them the best we

have. What we have given them so far has been the worst. We have given them war and the munitions of war.

In a single day we have made their wars infinitely more terrible and bloody than in all their past ages they

"In a period that could scarcely have exceeded two outer earthly hours, our fleet practically annihilated the

largest armada of native canoes that the Pellucidarians ever before had gathered together. We butchered some

eight thousand warriors with the twentiethcentury gifts we brought. Why, they wouldn't have killed that

many warriors in the entire duration of a dozen of their wars with their own weapons! No, Perry; we've got to

"Why, David!" he said sorrowfully. "I thought that you would be pleased with what I had done. We planned

these things together, and I am sure that it was you who suggested practically all of it. I have done only what

"Bless your heart, Perry!" I cried. "You've accom plished miracles. You have done precisely what I should

have done, only you've done it better. I'm not finding fault; but I don't wish to lose sight myself, or let you

lose sight, of the greater work which must grow out of this preliminary and necessary carnage. First we must

place the empire upon a secure footing, and we can do so only by putting the fear of us in the hearts of our

"Ah, Perry! That is the day I look forward to! When you and I can build sewingmachines instead of battle

ships, harvesters of crops instead of harvesters of men, plowshares and telephones, schools and colleges,

printingpresses and paper! When our merchant marine shall ply the great Pellucidarian seas, and cargoes of

silks and typewriters and books shall forge their ways where only hideous saurians have held sway since time

The fleet sailed directly for Hooja's island, coming to anchor at its northeastern extremity before the flat

topped hill that had been Hooja's stronghold. I sent one of the prisoners ashore to demand an immediate sur

render; but as he told me afterward they wouldn't be lieve all that he told them, so they congregated on the

In reply I had five of the feluccas cannonade them. When they scampered away at the sound of the terrific

explosions, and at sight of the smoke and the iron balls I landed a couple of hundred red warriors and led

them to the opposite end of the hill into the tunnel that ran to its summit. Here we met a little resistance; but a

volley from the muzzleloaders turned back those who disputed our right of way, and presently we gained

the mesa. Here again we met resistance, but at last the remnant of Hooja's horde surrendered.

Juag was with me, and I lost no time in returning to him and his tribe the hilltop that had been their an

cestral home for ages until they were robbed of it by Hooja. I created a kingdom of the island, making Juag

king there. Before we sailed I went to Grgrgr, chief of the beastmen, taking Juag with me. There the three

of us arranged a code of laws that would permit the brute folk and the human beings of the island to live in

peace and harmony. Grgrgr sent his son with me back to Sari, capital of my empire, that he might learn the

ways of the human beings. I have hopes of turning this race into the greatest agriculturists of Pellucidar.

When I returned to the fleet I found that one of the islanders of Juag's tribe, who had been absent when we

arrived, had just returned from the mainland with the news that a great army was encamped in the Land of

Awful Shadow, and that they were threatening Thuria. I lost no time in weighing anchors and setting out for

From the deck of the Amoz I scanned the shore through the glasses that Perry had brought with him. When

we were close enough for the glasses to be of value I saw that there was indeed a vast concourse of warriors

entirely encircling the walledvillage of Goork, chief of the Thurians. As we approached smaller objects

became distinguishable. It was then that I discovered numerous flags and pennants floating above the army of

Perry looked through the lenses of a moment, and then turned to me with a smile.

"The red, white, and blue of the empire," he said. "It is indeed your majesty's army."

It soon became apparent that we had been sighted by those on shore, for a great multitude of warriors had

congregated along the beach watching us. We came to anchor as close in as we dared, which with our light

feluccas was within easy speakingdistance of the shore. Ghak was there and his eyes were mighty wide, too;

for, as he told us later, though he knew this must be Perry's fleet it was so wonderful to him that he could not

To give the proper effect to our meeting I com manded that each felucca fire twentyone guns as a salute to

His Majesty Ghak, King of Sari. Some of the gunners, in the exuberance of their enthusiasm, fired solid shot;

but fortunately they had sufficient good judg ment to train their pieces on the open sea, so no harm was

done. After this we landedan arduous task since each felucca carried but a single light dugout.

I learned from Ghak that the Thurian chieftain, Goork, had been inclined to haughtiness, and had told Ghak,

the Hairy One, that he knew nothing of me and cared less; but I imagine that the sight of the fleet and the

sound of the guns brought him to his senses, for it was not long before he sent a deputation to me, inviting me

to visit him in his village. Here he apologized for the treatment he had accorded me, very gladly swore

We remained in Thuria only long enough to arrange the treaty with Goork, among the other details of which

was his promise to furnish the imperial army with a thousand lidi, or Thurian beasts of burden, and drivers for

them. These were to accompany Ghak's army back to Sari by land, while the fleet sailed to the mouth of the

The voyage was uneventful. We found the river easily, and sailed up it for many miles through as rich and

wonderful a plain as I have ever seen. At the head of navigation we disembarked, leaving a sufficient guard

Ghak's army, which was composed of warriors of all the original tribes of the federation, showing how suc

cessful had been his efforts to rehabilitate the empire, marched into Sari some time after we arrived. With

At a council of the kings it was decided that we should at once commence the great war against the Mahars,

for these haughty reptiles presented the greatest obstacle to human progress within Pellucidar. I laid out a

plan of campaign which met with the enthusiastic indorse ment of the kings. Pursuant to it, I at once

despatched fifty lidi to the fleet with orders to fetch fifty cannon to Sari. I also ordered the fleet to proceed at

once to Anoroc, where they were to take aboard all the rifles and ammunition that had been completed since

their departure, and with a full complement of men to sail along the coast in an attempt to find a passage to

Ja was sure that a large and navigable river connected the sea of Phutra with the Lural Az, and that, barring

At last the great army started upon its march. There were warriors from every one of the federated kingdoms.

All were armed either with bow and arrows or muzzle loaders, for nearly the entire Mezop contingent had

been enlisted for this march, only sufficient having been left aboard the feluccas to man them properly. I

divided the forces into divisions, regiments, battalions, companies, and even to platoons and sections,

appointing the full complement of officers and noncommissioned officers. On the long march I schooled

them in their duties, and as fast as one learned I sent him among the others as a teacher.

Each regiment was made up of about a thousand bowmen, and to each was temporarily attached a com pany

of Mezop musketeers and a battery of artillery the latter, our naval guns, mounted upon the broad backs of

the mighty lidi. There was also one full regi ment of Mezop musketeers and a regiment of primitive

spearmen. The rest of the lidi that we brought with us were used for baggage animals and to transport our

women and children, for we had brought them with us, as it was our intention to march from one Mahar city

to another until we had subdued every Mahar nation that menaced the safety of any kingdom of the empire.

Before we reached the plain of Phutra we were dis covered by a company of Sagoths, who at first stood to

give battle; but upon seeing the vast numbers of our army they turned and fled toward Phutra. The result of

this was that when we came in sight of the hundred towers which mark the entrances to the buried city we

At a thousand yards we halted, and, placing our artillery upon a slight eminence at either flank, we com

menced to drop solid shot among them. Ja, who was chief artillery officer, was in command of this branch of

the service, and he did some excellent work, for his Mezop gunners had become rather proficient by this time.

The Sagoths couldn't stand much of this sort of warfare, so they charged us, yelling like fiends. We let them

come quite close, and then the musketeers who formed the first line opened up on them.

The slaughter was something frightful, but still the remnants of them kept on coming until it was a matter of

handtohand fighting. Here our spearmen were of value, as were also the crude iron swords with which

We lost heavily in the encounter after the Sagoths reached us; but they were absolutely exterminated not

one remained even as a prisoner. The Mahars, seeing how the battle was going, had hastened to the safety of

their buried city. When we had overcome their gorilla men we followed after them.

But here we were doomed to defeat, at least tempo rarily; for no sooner had the first of our troops descended

into the subterranean avenues than many of them came stumbling and fighting their way back to the surface,

halfchoked by the fumes of some deadly gas that the reptiles had liberated upon them. We lost a number of

men here. Then I sent for Perry, who had remained discreetly in the rear, and had him construct a little affair

that I had had in my mind against the possibility of our meeting with a check at the entrances to the

Under my direction he stuffed one of his cannon full of powder, small bullets, and pieces of stone, almost to

the muzzle. Then he plugged the muzzle tight with a coneshaped block of wood, hammered and jammed in

as tight as it could be. Next he inserted a long fuse. A dozen men rolled the cannon to the top of the stairs

leading down into the city, first removing it from its carriage. One of them then lit the fuse and the whole

thing was given a shove down the stairway, while the detachment turned and scampered to a safe distance.

For what seemed a very long time nothing happened. We had commenced to think that the fuse had been put

out while the piece was rolling down the stairway, or that the Mahars had guessed its purpose and ex

tinguished it themselves, when the ground about the entrance rose suddenly into the air, to be followed by a

terrific explosion and a burst of smoke and flame that shot high in company with dirt, stone, and fragments of

Perry had been working on two more of these giant bombs as soon as the first was completed. Presently we

launched these into two of the other entrances. They were all that were required, for almost immediately after

the third explosion a stream of Mahars broke from the exits furthest from us, rose upon their wings, and

soared northward. A hundred men on lidi were despatched in pursuit, each lidi carrying two riflemen in

addition to its driver. Guessing that the inland sea, which lay not far north of Phutra, was their destination, I

A low ridge intervenes between the Phutra plain where the city lies, and the inland sea where the Ma hars

were wont to disport themselves in the cool waters. Not until we had topped this ridge did we get a view of

Along the beach were lined up the troop of lidi, while a hundred yards from shore the surface of the water

was black with the long snouts and cold, reptilian eyes of the Mahars. Our savage Mezop riflemen, and the

shorter, squatter, whiteskinned Thurian drivers, shading their eyes with their hands, were gazing seaward

beyond the Mahars, whose eyes were fastened upon the same spot. My heart leaped when I discovered that

which was chaining the attention of them all. Twenty graceful feluccas were moving smoothly across the

The sight must have filled the Mahars with awe and consternation, for never had they seen the like of these

craft before. For a time they seemed unable to do aught but gaze at the approaching fleet; but when the

Mezops opened on them with their muskets the reptiles swam rapidly in the direction of the feluccas,

evidently think ing that these would prove the easier to overcome. The commander of the fleet permitted

them to approach within a hundred yards. Then he opened on them with all the cannon that could be brought

A great many of the reptiles were killed at the first volley. They wavered for a moment, then dived; nor did

But finally they rose far out beyond the fleet, and when the feluccas came about and pursued them they left

Following the fall of Phutra I visited Anoroc, where I found the people busy in the shipyards and the factories

that Perry had established. I discovered something, too, that he had not told me ofsomething that seemed

infinitely more promising than the powderfactory or the arsenal. It was a young man poring over one of the

books I had brought back from the outer world! He was sitting in the log cabin that Perry had had built to

serve as his sleeping quarters and office. So absorbed was he that he did not notice our entrance. Perry saw

"I started teaching him the alphabet when we first reached the prospector, and were taking out its con tents,"

be explained. "He was much mystified by the books and anxious to know of what use they were. When I

explained he asked me to teach him to read, and so I worked with him whenever I could. He is very in

telligent and learns quickly. Before I left he had made great progress, and as soon as he is qualified he is

going to teach others to read. It was mighty hard work getting started, though, for everything had to be

"It will take a long time to solve this problem, but I think that by teaching a number of them to read and write

English we shall then be able more quickly to give them a written language of their own."

And this was the nucleus about which we were to build our great system of schools and collegesthis almost

naked red warrior, sitting in Perry's little cabin upon the island of Anoroc, picking out words letter by letter

While we were at Anoroc I accompanied Ja in an expedition to South Island, the southernmost of the three

largest which form the Anoroc groupPerry had given it its namewhere we made peace with the tribe

there that had for long been hostile toward Ja. They were now glad enough to make friends with him and

come into the federation. From there we sailed with sixtyfive feluccas for distant Luana, the main island of

Twentyfive of the feluccas were of a new and larger type than those with which Ja and Perry had sailed on

the occasion when they chanced to find and rescue Dian and me. They were longer, carried much larger sails,

and were considerably swifter. Each carried four guns instead of two, and these were so arranged that one or

The Luana group lies just beyond the range of vision from the mainland. The largest island of it alone is

visible from Anoroc; but when we neared it we found that it comprised many beautiful islands, and that they

were thickly populated. The Luanians had not, of course, been ignorant of all that had been going on in the

domains of their nearest and dearest enemies. They knew of our feluccas and our guns, for several of their

ridingparties had had a taste of both. But their principal chief, an old man, had never seen either. So, when

he sighted us, he put out to overwhelm us, bringing with him a fleet of about a hundred large warcanoes,

loaded to capacity with javelinarmed warriors. It was pitiful, and I told Ja as much. It seemed a shame to

To my surprise Ja felt much as I did. He said he had always hated to war with other Mezops when there were

so many alien races to fight against. I suggested that we hail the chief and request a parley; but when Ja did so

the old fool thought that we were afraid, and with loud cries of exultation urged his warriors upon us.

So we opened up on them, but at my suggestion centered our fire upon the chief's canoe. The result was that

in about thirty seconds there was nothing left of that war dugout but a handful of splinters, while its crew

those who were not killedwere struggling in the water, battling with the myriad terrible creatures that

We saved some of them, but the majority died just as had Hooja and the crew of his canoe that time our

Again we called to the remaining warriors to enter into a parley with us; but the chief's son was there and he

would not, now that he had seen his father killed. He was all for revenge. So we had to open up on the brave

fellows with all our guns; but it didn't last long at that, for there chanced to be wiser heads among the

Luanians than their chief or his son had possessed. Presently, an old warrior who commanded one of the

dugouts sur rendered. After that they came in one by one until all had laid their weapons upon our decks.

Then we called together upon the flagship all our captains, to give the affair greater weight and dignity, and

all the principal men of Luana. We had conquered them, and they expected either death or slavery; but they

deserved neither, and I told them so. It is always my habit here in Pellucidar to impress upon these savage

people that mercy is as noble a quality as physical bravery, and that next to the men who fight shoulder to

shoulder with one, we should honor the brave men who fight against us, and if we are victorious, award them

By adhering to this policy I have won to the federa tion many great and noble peoples, who under the

ancient traditions of the inner world would have been massacred or enslaved after we had conquered them;

and thus I won the Luanians. I gave them their freedom, and returned their weapons to them after they had

sworn loyalty to me and friendship and peace with Ja, and I made the old fellow, who had had the good sense

to surrender, king of Luana, for both the old chief and his only son had died in the battle.

When I sailed away from Luana she was included among the kingdoms of the empire, whose boundaries

We now returned to Anoroc and thence to the main land, where I again took up the campaign against the

Mahars, marching from one great buried city to another until we had passed far north of Amoz into a country

where I had never been. At each city we were vic torious, killing or capturing the Sagoths and driving the

I noticed that they always fled toward the north. The Sagoth prisoners we usually found quite ready to trans

fer their allegiance to us, for they are little more than brutes, and when they found that we could fill their

stomachs and give them plenty of fighting, they were nothing loath to march with us against the next Mahar

Thus we proceeded, swinging in a great halfcircle north and west and south again until we had come back to

the edge of the Lidi Plains north of Thuria. Here we overcame the Mahar city that had ravaged the Land of

Awful Shadow for so many ages. When we marched on to Thuria, Goork and his people went mad with joy

During this long march of conquest we had passed through seven countries, peopled by primitive human

tribes who had not yet heard of the federation, and succeeded in joining them all to the empire. It was

noticeable that each of these peoples had a Mahar city situated near by, which had drawn upon them for

slaves and human food for so many ages that not even in legend had the population any folktale which did

In each of these countries I left an officer and warriors to train them in military discipline, and prepare them

to receive the arms that I intended furnishing them as rapidly as Perry's arsenal could turn them out, for we

felt that it would be a long, long time before we should see the last of the Mahars. That they had flown north

but temporarily until we should be gone with our great army and terrifying guns I was positive, and equally

The task of ridding Pellucidar of these hideous crea tures is one which in all probability will never be

entirely completed, for their great cities must abound by the hundreds and thousands of the fardistant lands

But within the present boundaries of my domain there are now none left that I know of, for I am sure we

should have heard indirectly of any great Mahar city that had escaped us, although of course the imperial

After leaving Thuria we returned to Sari, where the seat of government is located. Here, upon a vast, fertile

plateau, overlooking the great gulf that runs into the continent from the Lural Az, we are building the great

city of Sari. Here we are erecting mills and factories. Here we are teaching men and women the rudiments of

agriculture. Here Perry has built the first printingpress, and a dozen young Sarians are teaching their fellows

We have just laws and only a few of them. Our people are happy because they are always working at some

thing which they enjoy. There is no money, nor is any money value placed upon any commodity. Perry and I

were as one in resolving that the root of all evil should not be introduced into Pellucidar while we lived.

A man may exchange that which he produces for something which he desires that another has produced; but

he cannot dispose of the thing he thus acquires. In other words, a commodity ceases to have pecuniary value

the instant that it passes out of the hands of its producer. All excess reverts to government; and, as this

represents the production of the people as a government, government may dispose of it to other peoples in

ex change for that which they produce. Thus we are es tablishing a trade between kingdoms, the profits

from which go to the betterment of the peopleto building factories for the manufacture of agricultural

implements, and machinery for the various trades we are gradually teaching the people.

Already Anoroc and Luana are vying with one another in the excellence of the ships they build. Each has

several large shipyards. Anoroc makes gunpowder and mines iron ore, and by means of their ships they

carry on a very lucrative trade with Thuria, Sari, and Amoz. The Thurians breed lidi, which, having the

Around Sari and Amoz the men are domesticating the great striped antelope, the meat of which is most de

licious. I am sure that it will not be long before they will have them broken to harness and saddle. The horses

of Pellucidar are far too diminutive for such uses, some species of them being little larger than foxterriers.

Dian and I live in a great palace overlooking the gulf. There is no glass in our windows, for we have no win

dows, the walls rising but a few feet above the floorline, the rest of the space being open to the ceilings; but

we have a roof to shade us from the perpetual noonday sun. Perry and I decided to set a style in architecture

that would not curse future generations with the white plague, so we have plenty of ventilation. Those of the

people who prefer, still inhabit their caves, but many are building houses similar to ours.

At Greenwich we have located a town and an ob servatorythough there is nothing to observe but the

stationary sun directly overhead. Upon the edge of the Land of Awful Shadow is another observatory, from

which the time is flashed by wireless to every corner of the empire twentyfour times a day. In addition to

the wireless, we have a small telephone system in Sari. Everything is yet in the early stages of development;

but with the science of the outerworld twentieth century to draw upon we are making rapid progress, and

with all the faults and errors of the outer world to guide us clear of dangers, I think that it will not be long

before Pellucidar will become as nearly a Utopia as one may expect to find this side of heaven.

Perry is away just now, laying out a railwayline from Sari to Amoz. There are immense anthracite

coalfields at the head of the gulf not far from Sari, and the railway will tap these. Some of his students are

working on a locomotive now. It will be a strange sight to see an iron horse puffing through the primeval

jungles of the stone age, while cave bears, sabertoothed tigers, mastodons and the countless other terrible

creatures of the past look on from their tangled lairs in wideeyed astonishment.

We are very happy, Dian and I, and I would not return to the outer world for all the riches of all its princes. I

am content here. Even without my imperial powers and honors I should be content, for have I not that

greatest of all treasures, the love of a good womanmy wondrous empress, Dian the Beautiful?