by J. H. Rosny
Then the son of Urus realized that an immense herd was advancing towards the river. He thought of the aurochs which pastured on the plains beyond the mountains, then of the mammoths with whom Naoh had made an alliance, in the land of the Devourers-of-Men.
A sound of trumpeting was heard.
“It is the mammoths!” declared Aoun.
Despite the fever which made him shiver, Zouhr listened attentively.
“Yes, it is the mammoths,” he repeated, but with less conviction.
The Hons had all risen. For a moment their massive heads were bent towards the west, then with slow steps they went down wind, and their tawny bodies were lost in the brushwood.
Aoun was not afraid of the mammoths. They crush neither men nor grass-eaters, not even wolves or leopards; it is only necessary to remain motionless when they pass, and to keep silence. But would they not be irritated to find men hidden in this bower of creepers? With a single blow one of these colossi could break through the enclosure and annihilate the son of Urus.
“Must Aoun and Zouhr leave the creeper cavern?” asked the Oulhamr.
“Yes,” replied the Man-without-Shoulders.
Then Aoun moved the creepers arranged over the opening, crawled out on to the plain and helped Zouhr to follow him. Trees crashed. In the distance massive forms, grey in colour like clay, became visible. Trunks stood out at the end of their heads, which were like rocks. The herd formed into three groups, preceded by six colossal males. They pounded the earth, crushed the cannas, and pierced the curtains of the banyan trees. Their skin was like the bark of old cedar trees, their legs were as thick as Aoun’s body, their bodies like the bodies of ten aurochs.
The Oulhamr said, "They have no manes, their tusks are almost straight, they are larger than the largest mammoths!”
“They are not mammoths!" said the Man-without-Shoulders. “They are the fathers of mammoths!”
For the Men-without-Shoulders, knowing their own feebleness, believed in the superior strength of ancestral life.
Aoun felt his insignificance much more than when he was in the presence of the lions. He felt himself as defenseless as an ibis confronted with crocodiles. His pride was annihilated; motionless, stooping over his wounded comrade, he waited.
The advance guard was near. The six leaders approached the refuge; their brown eyes never ceased gazing at Aoun, but they shewed no distrust, perhaps they knew human beings.
Death or life—the decision was near; if the leaders did not turn aside, it would require but ten steps before' the men were pounded into the earth like wood-lice, and the creeper enclosure swept away. Aoun gazed fixedly at the most powerful male elephant. Fifteen ells high, his trunk would have stifled a buffalo as easily as a python would have strangled an axis.
He stopped in front of the men. As it was he who gave the line of march all the other leaders imitated him, and an army of giants spread out in a vast heaving curve. His club at his feet, with head bent low, Aoun accepted his fate.
At last the chief trumpeted, and turned towards the right of the enclosure.
All followed. Each full-grown elephant, because those ahead of him had stepped aside, stepped aside in his turn; none, not even the youngest ones, touched the men or their refuge. The earth trembled for a long time. The grass had become a green pulp, the reeds and lotus perished under the tread of the advance guard, the hippopotami had fled; a crocodile twenty ells long, had been thrown aside like a frog, and on a rising ground the five lions could be seen lifting their roaring muzzles towards the red sun.
Very soon the whole herd had plunged into the river. The waves ebbed, the trunks sucked up the water and threw it back in douches, then these moving rocks submerged themselves: the monstrous heads and huge spines seemed like erratic blocks washed down from the mountains with the glaciers, the torrents, and the avalanches.
“Naoh made an alliance with the mammoths,” murmured Aoun. “Could not the son of Urus make an alliance with the ancestors of the mammoths?"
The day was dying, the lions disappeared from the rising ground; the ponderous gaurs and the graceful axis, hastened towards their nocturnal shelters. Then the sun touched the hills beyond the further bank of the river, and the carnivores awoke in their lairs. Aoun went into the creeper hut and dragged the Man-without-Shoulders in after him.
THE PYTHON
Three days passed: the lions had not returned and the elephants had disappeared down the river. Under the rays of the terrible sun and with the help of the nocturnal vapours, the crushed grasses and shrubs were busy remaking their green flesh. Inexhaustible life, that outstripped all the hunger of the herbivores, sprang up from the damp soil and spread itself upon the waters of the inlets. Prey was so abundant that Aoun had only to throw a javelin or dart a harpoon each day to ensure their subsistence. Naoh’s spirit was upon him, forbidding him to kill more than was necessary to stay his hunger.
His companion’s shivering fits and delirium troubled Aoun for a long time. But his wounds were healing and the green light was leaving his eyes. On the fourth day they were joyful. The shade of the creepers and palm trees made a pleasant freshness. Seated at the entrance of their shelter, the Oulhamr and the Man-without-Shoulders enjoyed a sense of complete repose and the luxury of abundance. The sight of the teeming animal life around moved them deeply, for it gave promise that they would not starve, and there is satisfaction in beholding the world’s strength. Purple herons swooped down on the water-chestnuts, two black storks got up on the opposite bank of the river, a marabou danced in a strange and unmeaning manner, and the pendant legs of a flight of yellow-headed cranes were visible, while blackfooted geese with thick wattles and scarlet ibis were seeking adventures among the lotus.
A python emerged from the mud and climbed on the bank, unfolding his lithe body, as thick as a man’s and five times as long. The wanderers gazed with disgust at the loathsome beast, which was unknown to the Oulhamrs. Although it was capable of the speed of a wild boar, it progressed heavily and uncertainly, still numbed by sleep and more suited to the night than to the day.
Aoun and Zouhr had taken refuge in the creeper hut. No previous experience enabled them to judge the strength of the reptile, or to know whether its fangs were poisonous, like those of the serpents which they had met in western countries. It might be as strong as a tiger or as venomous as a viper. . . ,
Little by little it approached the enclosure. Aoun kept his club and spear in readiness but did not think of shouting his war-cry. He was conscious of life which resembled his own in the great brutes, but this long slimy body without any limbs, the head which was too small in proportion— the motionless eyes, seemed stranger to him than grubs and earth-worms.
When the python was close to the refuge it reared itself up and opened its flat jaws.
“Should I strike now?” asked the son of Urus.
Zouhr hesitated: in his country the Men-without-Shoulders killed serpents by crushing their skulls, but what were the serpents he knew in comparison to this huge monster?
"Zouhr does not know,” he replied. “He would not strike until the beast attacks the hut.”
Its head had reached the creepers and was seeking for an opening. Aoun pricked its muzzle with the point of a spear. The python bounded back with a loud hissing noise, twisted itself dizzily together and started off to return to the river. At the same moment a young antelope crossed the plain. Either the reptile saw it or it gave way to its natural indolence: it became motionless. The antelope lifted up its humped forehead, the smell of man made it anxious and it left the neighbourhood of the refuge. Then only did it see the python: a trembling seized its limbs, its eyes became fixed on the cold eyes before it, it was paralyzed. The scene was short. The antelope tried to escape, but the long soft body flung forward with the rapidity of a panther. The antelope tripped over a stone and was knocked down by the attack of the reptile. It recovered itself before the python could envelop it and fled at random. This brought it to the edge of a cree
k, where the sinuous brute again barred its way.
Shivering with terror the antelope gazed into the distance.
Life was there, the life of the vegetable world through which its agile body leaped so joyously. Two successful bounds and it would be saved. It tried to pass between the bank and the serpent, then in despair it leapt the obstacle. It was struck by a giant blow, the tail of the python was lashed round its panting body, and the little creature, feeling the approach of death, bleated dismally ... In another instant the graceful form was struggling in the grasp of the long ice-cold muscles; then its moans were changed to the death-rattle, and hanging its head, vanquished, with mouth open and tongue lolling out, it drew its last breath.
This scene awoke a strange hate in Aoun. A leopard, wolves or a hippopotamus might have killed the antelope without his feeling any emotion, but the victory of this cold blooded creature seemed to menace even human beings. Twice the warrior stooped down to leave the refuge, but Zouhr held him back.
“The son of Urus has abundance of meat, what will become of us if he gets wounded?”
Aoun yielded, he did not understand his own anger; it seemed to him like the fever of a wound. And what did he know of the great serpent’s strength? One blow of its tail had felled the antelope and would certainly overthrow a man.
He remained moody, however, and the creeper hut became unbearable to him.
"Aoun and Zouhr cannot live here,” he cried, when the python had carried off its prey beyond the rushes. “The Oulhamrs need a cavern. . . .”
“Zouhr will soon be able to get up,” his companion replied.
PART II
THE GIANT FELINE
Two more days passed. Zouhr was weak, but he could stand up; his young blood rapidly healed his wounds. Aoun could leave the hut for longer periods and explore down the river. Although he had travelled fifteen thousand ells, he had found no place to shelter them. Between their present habitation and the furthest point he had explored, rocks rose near the bank, but their fissures were too narrow to shelter men or even dholes. Zouhr thought of digging a ditch, as was the custom of the Men-without-Shoulders, but it was slow work, and the Oulhamrs inhabited such lairs with reluctance, lie contented himself with strengthening the creeper enclosure. More clever than Aoun in the art of construction, lie made it impenetrable for wild beasts; but the elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami or a herd of cattle would have been able to trample it down; and it had the disadvantage of attracting the prowling beasts of the brushwood.
More days passed. The end of spring was near, fierce heat beat down upon the river, fever-breeding vapours rose up under the starlight and shrouded the landscape long after day had dawned. One morning Zouhr realized that he had regained sufficient strength to continue the journey. He said to his companion, who was impatiently looking at the vegetable growth which luxuriated round their refuge with invincible strength. "The son of Earth can follow Aoun.”
The Oulhamr stood up joyfully; the wounded man was like a creeper twined round his shoulders, hindering his every movement.
Mist still hung about the river; young hippopotami grunted as they played near the inlet; birds were pursuing their active lives. Aoun and Zouhr went down stream. As the sun rose higher they sought for shade; they were obliged to be careful not to stumble against the snakes that awoke with the heat, and to detect the smell of carnivorous animals asleep in the dusk of the thickets. In the middle of the day they rested under some turpentine trees. They had dried meat, roots and mushrooms, which they roasted over a fire made of sticks. The mere smell of the hot meat made Aoun laugh; he devoured it with the joyful haste of a young wolf, while Zouhr lingered over his meal and savoured every morsel. A great numbness came over all the creatures. Only the distant voice of the waters and the humming of insects was to be heard; war was suspended; the two men gave themselves up to the sweetness of life, the strength of their youth and the intoxicating effect of the pictures which rose up before their minds, like the water-chestnuts on the river.
Zouhr who was still weak became drowsy, while the son of Urus watched; his watch resembled sleep, moved only by the echoes of instinct, but his senses were awake to every variation of his surroundings.
They resumed their journey when the shadows began to grow long on the plain, and did not halt till twilight was upon them. The next day and the day after they continued in the same manner. They had to pass through a jungle, skirt the marshes, swim a river, and push their way through brushwood. Zouhr’s feebleness had disappeared: he patiently followed his broad-chested companion. There was never any question of a quarrel or rancour between them; each one found in the other the resources which were lacking in himself. Aoun’s strength reassured Zouhr and astonished him; Aoun valued Zohr’s cunning and the secrets which he held from the Men-without-Shoulders.
On the morning of the ninth day, rocks appeared almost on the bank of the river. They formed a chain which extended for more than a thousand steps, broken by two fissures; the highest ones rose to more than three hundred uells, and extended backward to the border of the jungle; the crevices sheltered eagles and falcons.
The son of Urus gave a cry of joy at the sight, for he inherited from his ancestors the love of rocks, especially when they were near to a stream. Zouhr examined the site more calmly. They discovered several overhanging masses of rock, like those under which the horde were accustomed to shelter themselves in default of caves. But the shelter which was adequate for a band strong in numbers was insufficient for two warriors alone. They stopped frequently and carefully examined the walls of basalt, knowing that a small opening may lead to a spacious cavern.
At last Aoun's sharp eyes discerned a fissure as high as a man; it was only two hand-breadths wide at the base, but it grew larger higher up. In order to reach it they had to lift themselves on to a horizontal projection, then to climb to a ledge where three men could stand upright.
The warriors easily reached the projection, but in order to get to the ledge of rock Aoun had to climb on Zouhr’s shoulders. Then the Oulhamr penetrated into the fissure, but not straight: he had to crawl along sideways for a distance of five ells. . . . The passage then grew larger, and the wanderer found himself in a low but spacious cavern. He went slowly along it, until he was stopped by a depression, a rapid declivity which ended in gloom. Before pursuing his exploration Aoun preferred to hoist Zouhr on to the ledge. He crawled out again sideways as he had gone in.
"The cave is big, perhaps it has two entrances,” he said, “Aoun has not seen the end of it yet.”
Stooping down he stretched out a spear. Zouhr managed to seize the end of it and pulled himself up along the face of the rock, his feet clinging to the unevenness of the surface, thus facilitating his efforts and those of his companion. As Zouhr climbed up, Aoun gradually straightened himself and backed towards the fissure.
When Zouhr had reached the ledge the Oulhamr conducted him to the cavern and led him down the declivity. The increasing darkness made them go more slowly, an odour of wild beasts made them anxious, and they were thinking of going back when a light broke through.
"There is another way out,” murmured Zouhr.
Aoun shook his head deprecatingly, but without stopping. The slope became more gradual, the light, though still faint, grew stronger. It came from a very long zig-zag crack, which was too narrow to admit the passage of the two men. . . . Bats flew out with shrill cries.
“Aoun and Zouhr are the masters of the cave,” murmured the son of Urus.
Zouhr put his head through the crevice; a roar resounded, a giant beast rose up from a spacious lair. It was impossible to say whether it most resembled a tiger or a lion. It had a black mane and its chest was as broad as that of a gaur; its body was long and sinuous though thick set; it was of taller stature and its muscles were thicker than those of all the other carnivora. Its immense eyes seemed to shoot out yellow or green fire according to the play of the shadows.
“It is the lion of the rocks!" whispered Zo
uhr.
The beast, taking its stand against the crevice, lashed its sides with its shaggy tail.
Aoun gazed at it in his turn and said, “It is the tiger from the country of the Kzamms.”
He had seized his spear and prepared to fling it through the fissure; he opened his mouth to shout his war-cry. Zouhr stayed his uplifted arm:
“Aoun cannot strike hard enough through the fissure to kill the lion of the rocks, and it would be difficult for him to reach it at all."
He pointed out projections which would turn aside or arrest the course of the weapon. The Oulhamr understood the danger there would be in uselessly irritating the beast. It might leave its lair and seek its aggressors. Besides it was already becoming passive again, and it was unlikely it would hunt the next night, for abundant remains of a wild ass were bleeding on the ground, which was covered with die skeletons of previous kills.
“Perhaps Aoun and Zouhr will be able to make a trap for him," murmured the Wah.
For a moment longer they could hear the hard breathing of the wild beast, then he stretched himself carelessly among the dry bones. He knew no fear, so his fury gradually subsided. No beast was audacious enough to attack him, unless it were the purblind rhinoceros. The elephant did not fear him, but also did not attack him; the leaders of the gayals, the gains and the buffaloes, who defend their herds from the tiger and the lion, quailed before him; his strength exceeded that of all other carnivores.
The animals whom he now smelt on the other side of the wall of basalt reminded him of the odour of the gibbons, the rhesus and the entellus monkeys, all weakly creatures that he could crush with a single blow of his claws.
Aoun and Zouhr returned towards the top of the cavern. There was no immediate danger and they did not look far ahead, but the mere neighbourhood of the feline animal was alarming to them. Although its home was on the other side of the rocks, and no doubt it hardly ever hunted in the daytime, some chance might put it on their track. Therefore this refuge, which had seemed so secure, accessible as it was only to men, vampires and birds, was rendered unsafe.