Chapter 2
I'll never forget my first impressions of Caspak as I circled in, highover the surrounding cliffs. From the plane I looked down through amist upon the blurred landscape beneath me. The hot, humid atmosphereof Caspak condenses as it is fanned by the cold Antarctic air-currentswhich sweep across the crater's top, sending a tenuous ribbon of vaporfar out across the Pacific. Through this the picture gave one thesuggestion of a colossal impressionistic canvas in greens and brownsand scarlets and yellows surrounding the deep blue of the inlandsea--just blobs of color taking form through the tumbling mist.
I dived close to the cliffs and skirted them for several miles withoutfinding the least indication of a suitable landing-place; and then Iswung back at a lower level, looking for a clearing close to the bottomof the mighty escarpment; but I could find none of sufficient area toinsure safety. I was flying pretty low by this time, not only lookingfor landing places but watching the myriad life beneath me. I was downpretty well toward the south end of the island, where an arm of thelake reaches far inland, and I could see the surface of the waterliterally black with creatures of some sort. I was too far up torecognize individuals, but the general impression was of a vast army ofamphibious monsters. The land was almost equally alive with crawling,leaping, running, flying things. It was one of the latter which nearlydid for me while my attention was fixed upon the weird scene below.
The first intimation I had of it was the sudden blotting out of thesunlight from above, and as I glanced quickly up, I saw a most terrificcreature swooping down upon me. It must have been fully eighty feetlong from the end of its long, hideous beak to the tip of its thick,short tail, with an equal spread of wings. It was coming straight forme and hissing frightfully--I could hear it above the whir of thepropeller. It was coming straight down toward the muzzle of themachine-gun and I let it have it right in the breast; but still it camefor me, so that I had to dive and turn, though I was dangerously closeto earth.
The thing didn't miss me by a dozen feet, and when I rose, it wheeledand followed me, but only to the cooler air close to the level of thecliff-tops; there it turned again and dropped. Something--man'snatural love of battle and the chase, I presume--impelled me to pursueit, and so I too circled and dived. The moment I came down into thewarm atmosphere of Caspak, the creature came for me again, rising aboveme so that it might swoop down upon me. Nothing could better havesuited my armament, since my machine-gun was pointed upward at an angleof about 45 degrees and could not be either depressed or elevated by thepilot. If I had brought someone along with me, we could have raked thegreat reptile from almost any position, but as the creature's mode ofattack was always from above, he always found me ready with a hail ofbullets. The battle must have lasted a minute or more before the thingsuddenly turned completely over in the air and fell to the ground.
Bowen and I roomed together at college, and I learned a lot from himoutside my regular course. He was a pretty good scholar despite hislove of fun, and his particular hobby was paleontology. He used totell me about the various forms of animal and vegetable life which hadcovered the globe during former eras, and so I was pretty wellacquainted with the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals ofpaleolithic times. I knew that the thing that had attacked me was somesort of pterodactyl which should have been extinct millions of yearsago. It was all that I needed to realize that Bowen had exaggeratednothing in his manuscript.
Having disposed of my first foe, I set myself once more to search for alanding-place near to the base of the cliffs beyond which my partyawaited me. I knew how anxious they would be for word from me, and Iwas equally anxious to relieve their minds and also to get them and oursupplies well within Caspak, so that we might set off about ourbusiness of finding and rescuing Bowen Tyler; but the pterodactyl'scarcass had scarcely fallen before I was surrounded by at least a dozenof the hideous things, some large, some small, but all bent upon mydestruction. I could not cope with them all, and so I rose rapidlyfrom among them to the cooler strata wherein they dared not follow; andthen I recalled that Bowen's narrative distinctly indicated that thefarther north one traveled in Caspak, the fewer were the terriblereptiles which rendered human life impossible at the southern end ofthe island.
There seemed nothing now but to search out a more northerlylanding-place and then return to the _Toreador_ and transport mycompanions, two by two, over the cliffs and deposit them at therendezvous. As I flew north, the temptation to explore overcame me. Iknew that I could easily cover Caspak and return to the beach with lesspetrol than I had in my tanks; and there was the hope, too, that Imight find Bowen or some of his party. The broad expanse of the inlandsea lured me out over its waters, and as I crossed, I saw at eitherextremity of the great body of water an island--one to the south andone to the north; but I did not alter my course to examine eitherclosely, leaving that to a later time.
The further shore of the sea revealed a much narrower strip of landbetween the cliffs and the water than upon the western side; but it wasa hillier and more open country. There were splendid landing-places,and in the distance, toward the north, I thought I descried a village;but of that I was not positive. However, as I approached the land, Isaw a number of human figures apparently pursuing one who fled across abroad expanse of meadow. As I dropped lower to have a better look atthese people, they caught the whirring of my propellers and lookedaloft. They paused an instant--pursuers and pursued; and then theybroke and raced for the shelter of the nearest wood. Almostinstantaneously a huge bulk swooped down upon me, and as I looked up, Irealized that there were flying reptiles even in this part of Caspak.The creature dived for my right wing so quickly that nothing but asheer drop could have saved me. I was already close to the ground, sothat my maneuver was extremely dangerous; but I was in a fair way ofmaking it successfully when I saw that I was too closely approaching alarge tree. My effort to dodge the tree and the pterodactyl at thesame time resulted disastrously. One wing touched an upper branch; theplane tipped and swung around, and then, out of control, dashed intothe branches of the tree, where it came to rest, battered and torn,forty feet above the ground.
Hissing loudly, the huge reptile swept close above the tree in which myplane had lodged, circled twice over me and then flapped away towardthe south. As I guessed then and was to learn later, forests are thesurest sanctuary from these hideous creatures, which, with theirenormous spread of wing and their great weight, are as much out ofplace among trees as is a seaplane.
For a minute or so I clung there to my battered flyer, now uselessbeyond redemption, my brain numbed by the frightful catastrophe thathad befallen me. All my plans for the succor of Bowen and Miss La Ruehad depended upon this craft, and in a few brief minutes my own selfishlove of adventure had wrecked their hopes and mine. And what effect itmight have upon the future of the balance of the rescuing expedition Icould not even guess. Their lives, too, might be sacrificed to mysuicidal foolishness. That I was doomed seemed inevitable; but I canhonestly say that the fate of my friends concerned me more greatly thandid my own.
Beyond the barrier cliffs my party was even now nervously awaiting myreturn. Presently apprehension and fear would claim them--and theywould never know! They would attempt to scale the cliffs--of that Iwas sure; but I was not so positive that they would succeed; and aftera while they would turn back, what there were left of them, and gosadly and mournfully upon their return journey to home. Home! I setmy jaws and tried to forget the word, for I knew that I should neveragain see home.
And what of Bowen and his girl? I had doomed them too. They wouldnever even know that an attempt had been made to rescue them. If theystill lived, they might some day come upon the ruined remnants of thisgreat plane hanging in its lofty sepulcher and hazard vain guesses andbe filled with wonder; but they would never know; and I could not butbe glad that they would not know that Tom Billings had sealed theirdeath-warrants by his criminal selfishness.
All these useless regrets were getting
me in a bad way; but at last Ishook myself and tried to put such things out of my mind and take holdof conditions as they existed and do my level best to wrest victoryfrom defeat. I was badly shaken up and bruised, but considered myselfmighty lucky to escape with my life. The plane hung at a precariousangle, so that it was with difficulty and considerable danger that Iclimbed from it into the tree and then to the ground.
My predicament was grave. Between me and my friends lay an inland seafully sixty miles wide at this point and an estimated land-distance ofsome three hundred miles around the northern end of the sea, throughsuch hideous dangers as I am perfectly free to admit had me pretty wellbuffaloed. I had seen quite enough of Caspak this day to assure methat Bowen had in no way exaggerated its perils. As a matter of fact,I am inclined to believe that he had become so accustomed to thembefore he started upon his manuscript that he rather slighted them. AsI stood there beneath that tree--a tree which should have been part ofa coal-bed countless ages since--and looked out across a sea teemingwith frightful life--life which should have been fossil before Godconceived of Adam--I would not have given a minim of stale beer for mychances of ever seeing my friends or the outside world again; yet thenand there I swore to fight my way as far through this hideous land ascircumstances would permit. I had plenty of ammunition, an automaticpistol and a heavy rifle--the latter one of twenty added to ourequipment on the strength of Bowen's description of the huge beasts ofprey which ravaged Caspak. My greatest danger lay in the hideousreptilia whose low nervous organizations permitted their carnivorousinstincts to function for several minutes after they had ceased to live.
But to these things I gave less thought than to the sudden frustrationof all our plans. With the bitterest of thoughts I condemned myselffor the foolish weakness that had permitted me to be drawn from themain object of my flight into premature and useless exploration. Itseemed to me then that I must be totally eliminated from further searchfor Bowen, since, as I estimated it, the three hundred miles ofCaspakian territory I must traverse to reach the base of the cliffsbeyond which my party awaited me were practically impassable for asingle individual unaccustomed to Caspakian life and ignorant of allthat lay before him. Yet I could not give up hope entirely. My dutylay clear before me; I must follow it while life remained to me, and soI set forth toward the north.
The country through which I took my way was as lovely as it wasunusual--I had almost said unearthly, for the plants, the trees, theblooms were not of the earth that I knew. They were larger, the colorsmore brilliant and the shapes startling, some almost to grotesqueness,though even such added to the charm and romance of the landscape as thegiant cacti render weirdly beautiful the waste spots of the sad Mohave.And over all the sun shone huge and round and red, a monster sun abovea monstrous world, its light dispersed by the humid air of Caspak--thewarm, moist air which lies sluggish upon the breast of this greatmother of life, Nature's mightiest incubator.
All about me, in every direction, was life. It moved through thetree-tops and among the boles; it displayed itself in widening andintermingling circles upon the bosom of the sea; it leaped from thedepths; I could hear it in a dense wood at my right, the murmur of itrising and falling in ceaseless volumes of sound, riven at intervals bya horrid scream or a thunderous roar which shook the earth; and alwaysI was haunted by that inexplicable sensation that unseen eyes werewatching me, that soundless feet dogged my trail. I am neither nervousnor highstrung; but the burden of responsibility upon me weighedheavily, so that I was more cautious than is my wont. I turned oftento right and left and rear lest I be surprised, and I carried my rifleat the ready in my hand. Once I could have sworn that among the manycreatures dimly perceived amidst the shadows of the wood I saw a humanfigure dart from one cover to another, but I could not be sure.
For the most part I skirted the wood, making occasional detours ratherthan enter those forbidding depths of gloom, though many times I wasforced to pass through arms of the forest which extended to the veryshore of the inland sea. There was so sinister a suggestion in theuncouth sounds and the vague glimpses of moving things within theforest, of the menace of strange beasts and possibly still strangermen, that I always breathed more freely when I had passed once moreinto open country.
I had traveled northward for perhaps an hour, still haunted by theconviction that I was being stalked by some creature which kept alwayshidden among the trees and shrubbery to my right and a little to myrear, when for the hundredth time I was attracted by a sound from thatdirection, and turning, saw some animal running rapidly through theforest toward me. There was no longer any effort on its part atconcealment; it came on through the underbrush swiftly, and I wasconfident that whatever it was, it had finally gathered the courage tocharge me boldly. Before it finally broke into plain view, I becameaware that it was not alone, for a few yards in its rear a second thingthrashed through the leafy jungle. Evidently I was to be attacked inforce by a pair of hunting beasts or men.
And then through the last clump of waving ferns broke the figure of theforemost creature, which came leaping toward me on light feet as Istood with my rifle to my shoulder covering the point at which I hadexpected it would emerge. I must have looked foolish indeed if mysurprise and consternation were in any way reflected upon mycountenance as I lowered my rifle and gazed incredulous at the lithefigure of the girl speeding swiftly in my direction. But I did nothave long to stand thus with lowered weapon, for as she came, I saw hercast an affrighted glance over her shoulder, and at the same momentthere broke from the jungle at the same spot at which I had seen her,the hugest cat I had ever looked upon.
At first I took the beast for a saber-tooth tiger, as it was quite themost fearsome-appearing beast one could imagine; but it was not thatdread monster of the past, though quite formidable enough to satisfythe most fastidious thrill-hunter. On it came, grim and terrible, itsbaleful eyes glaring above its distended jaws, its lips curled in afrightful snarl which exposed a whole mouthful of formidable teeth. Atsight of me it had abandoned its impetuous rush and was now sneakingslowly toward us; while the girl, a long knife in her hand, took herstand bravely at my left and a little to my rear. She had calledsomething to me in a strange tongue as she raced toward me, and now shespoke again; but what she said I could not then, of course, know--onlythat her tones were sweet, well modulated and free from any suggestionof panic.
Facing the huge cat, which I now saw was an enormous panther, I waiteduntil I could place a shot where I felt it would do the most good, forat best a frontal shot at any of the large carnivora is a ticklishmatter. I had some advantage in that the beast was not charging; itshead was held low and its back exposed; and so at forty yards I tookcareful aim at its spine at the junction of neck and shoulders. But atthe same instant, as though sensing my intention, the great creaturelifted its head and leaped forward in full charge. To fire at thatsloping forehead I knew would be worse than useless, and so I quicklyshifted my aim and pulled the trigger, hoping against hope that thesoft-nosed bullet and the heavy charge of powder would have sufficientstopping effect to give me time to place a second shot.
In answer to the report of the rifle I had the satisfaction of seeingthe brute spring into the air, turning a complete somersault; but itwas up again almost instantly, though in the brief second that it tookit to scramble to its feet and get its bearings, it exposed its leftside fully toward me, and a second bullet went crashing through itsheart. Down it went for the second time--and then up and at me. Thevitality of these creatures of Caspak is one of the marvelous featuresof this strange world and bespeaks the low nervous organization of theold paleolithic life which has been so long extinct in other portionsof the world.
I put a third bullet into the beast at three paces, and then I thoughtthat I was done for; but it rolled over and stopped at my feet, stonedead. I found that my second bullet had torn its heart almostcompletely away, and yet it had lived to charge ferociously upon me,and but for my third shot would doubtless have slain me
before itfinally expired--or as Bowen Tyler so quaintly puts it, before it knewthat it was dead.
With the panther quite evidently conscious of the fact that dissolutionhad overtaken it, I turned toward the girl, who was regarding me withevident admiration and not a little awe, though I must admit that myrifle claimed quite as much of her attention as did I. She was quitethe most wonderful animal that I have ever looked upon, and what few ofher charms her apparel hid, it quite effectively succeeded inaccentuating. A bit of soft, undressed leather was caught over herleft shoulder and beneath her right breast, falling upon her left sideto her hip and upon the right to a metal band which encircled her legabove the knee and to which the lowest point of the hide was attached.About her waist was a loose leather belt, to the center of which wasattached the scabbard belonging to her knife. There was a singlearmlet between her right shoulder and elbow, and a series of themcovered her left forearm from elbow to wrist. These, I learned later,answered the purpose of a shield against knife attack when the left armis raised in guard across the breast or face.
Her masses of heavy hair were held in place by a broad metal band whichbore a large triangular ornament directly in the center of herforehead. This ornament appeared to be a huge turquoise, while themetal of all her ornaments was beaten, virgin gold, inlaid in intricatedesign with bits of mother-of-pearl and tiny pieces of stone of variouscolors. From the left shoulder depended a leopard's tail, while herfeet were shod with sturdy little sandals. The knife was her onlyweapon. Its blade was of iron, the grip was wound with hide andprotected by a guard of three out-bowing strips of flat iron, and uponthe top of the hilt was a knob of gold.
I took in much of this in the few seconds during which we stood facingeach other, and I also observed another salient feature of herappearance: she was frightfully dirty! Her face and limbs and garmentwere streaked with mud and perspiration, and yet even so, I felt that Ihad never looked upon so perfect and beautiful a creature as she. Herfigure beggars description, and equally so, her face. Were I one ofthese writer-fellows, I should probably say that her features wereGrecian, but being neither a writer nor a poet I can do her greaterjustice by saying that she combined all of the finest lines that onesees in the typical American girl's face rather than the pronouncedsheeplike physiognomy of the Greek goddess. No, even the dirt couldn'thide that fact; she was beautiful beyond compare.
As we stood looking at each other, a slow smile came to her face,parting her symmetrical lips and disclosing a row of strong white teeth.
"Galu?" she asked with rising inflection.
And remembering that I read in Bowen's manuscript that Galu seemed toindicate a higher type of man, I answered by pointing to myself andrepeating the word. Then she started off on a regular catechism, if Icould judge by her inflection, for I certainly understood no word ofwhat she said. All the time the girl kept glancing toward the forest,and at last she touched my arm and pointed in that direction.
Turning, I saw a hairy figure of a manlike thing standing watching us,and presently another and another emerged from the jungle and joinedthe leader until there must have been at least twenty of them. Theywere entirely naked. Their bodies were covered with hair, and thoughthey stood upon their feet without touching their hands to the ground,they had a very ape-like appearance, since they stooped forward and hadvery long arms and quite apish features. They were not pretty to lookupon with their close-set eyes, flat noses, long upper lips andprotruding yellow fangs.
"_Alus_!" said the girl.
I had reread Bowen's adventures so often that I knew them almost byheart, and so now I knew that I was looking upon the last remnant ofthat ancient man-race--the Alus of a forgotten period--the speechlessman of antiquity.
"_Kazor_!" cried the girl, and at the same moment the Alus came jabberingtoward us. They made strange growling, barking noises, as with muchbaring of fangs they advanced upon us. They were armed only withnature's weapons--powerful muscles and giant fangs; yet I knew thatthese were quite sufficient to overcome us had we nothing better tooffer in defense, and so I drew my pistol and fired at the leader. Hedropped like a stone, and the others turned and fled. Once again thegirl smiled her slow smile and stepping closer, caressed the barrel ofmy automatic. As she did so, her fingers came in contact with mine,and a sudden thrill ran through me, which I attributed to the fact thatit had been so long since I had seen a woman of any sort or kind.
She said something to me in her low, liquid tones; but I could notunderstand her, and then she pointed toward the north and started away.I followed her, for my way was north too; but had it been south I stillshould have followed, so hungry was I for human companionship in thisworld of beasts and reptiles and half-men.
We walked along, the girl talking a great deal and seeming mystifiedthat I could not understand her. Her silvery laugh rang merrily when Iin turn essayed to speak to her, as though my language was thequaintest thing she ever had heard. Often after fruitless attempts tomake me understand she would hold her palm toward me, saying, "_Galu_!"and then touch my breast or arm and cry, "_Alu_, _alu_!" I knew what shemeant, for I had learned from Bowen's narrative the negative gestureand the two words which she repeated. She meant that I was no Galu, asI claimed, but an Alu, or speechless one. Yet every time she said thisshe laughed again, and so infectious were her tones that I could onlyjoin her. It was only natural, too, that she should be mystified by myinability to comprehend her or to make her comprehend me, for from theclub-men, the lowest human type in Caspak to have speech, to the goldenrace of Galus, the tongues of the various tribes are identical--exceptfor amplifications in the rising scale of evolution. She, who is aGalu, can understand one of the Bo-lu and make herself understood tohim, or to a hatchet-man, a spear-man or an archer. The Ho-lus, orapes, the Alus and myself were the only creatures of human semblancewith which she could hold no converse; yet it was evident that herintelligence told her that I was neither Ho-lu nor Alu, neitheranthropoid ape nor speechless man.
Yet she did not despair, but set out to teach me her language; and hadit not been that I worried so greatly over the fate of Bowen and mycompanions of the _Toreador_, I could have wished the period ofinstruction prolonged.
I never have been what one might call a ladies' man, though I liketheir company immensely, and during my college days and since have madevarious friends among the sex. I think that I rather appeal to acertain type of girl for the reason that I never make love to them; Ileave that to the numerous others who do it infinitely better than Icould hope to, and take my pleasure out of girls' society in what seemto be more rational ways--dancing, golfing, boating, riding, tennis,and the like. Yet in the company of this half-naked little savage Ifound a new pleasure that was entirely distinct from any that I everhad experienced. When she touched me, I thrilled as I had never beforethrilled in contact with another woman. I could not quite understandit, for I am sufficiently sophisticated to know that this is a symptomof love and I certainly did not love this filthy little barbarian withher broken, unkempt nails and her skin so besmeared with mud and thegreen of crushed foliage that it was difficult to say what color itoriginally had been. But if she was outwardly uncouth, her clear eyesand strong white, even teeth, her silvery laugh and her queenlycarriage, bespoke an innate fineness which dirt could not quitesuccessfully conceal.
The sun was low in the heavens when we came upon a little river whichemptied into a large bay at the foot of low cliffs. Our journey so farhad been beset with constant danger, as is every journey in thisfrightful land. I have not bored you with a recital of the wearyingsuccessions of attacks by the multitude of creatures which wereconstantly crossing our path or deliberately stalking us. We werealways upon the alert; for here, to paraphrase, eternal vigilance isindeed the price of life.
I had managed to progress a little in the acquisition of a knowledge ofher tongue, so that I knew many of the animals and reptiles by theirCaspakian names, and trees and ferns and grasses. I knew the words for_sea_ and _riv
er_ and _cliff_, for _sky_ and _sun_ and _cloud_. Yes, I was gettingalong finely, and then it occurred to me that I didn't know mycompanion's name; so I pointed to myself and said, "Tom," and to herand raised my eyebrows in interrogation. The girl ran her fingers intothat mass of hair and looked puzzled. I repeated the action a dozentimes.
"Tom," she said finally in that clear, sweet, liquid voice. "Tom!"
I had never thought much of my name before; but when she spoke it, itsounded to me for the first time in my life like a mighty nice name,and then she brightened suddenly and tapped her own breast and said:"Ajor!"
"Ajor!" I repeated, and she laughed and struck her palms together.
Well, we knew each other's names now, and that was some satisfaction.I rather liked hers--Ajor! And she seemed to like mine, for sherepeated it.
We came to the cliffs beside the little river where it empties into thebay with the great inland sea beyond. The cliffs were weather-worn androtted, and in one place a deep hollow ran back beneath the overhangingstone for several feet, suggesting shelter for the night. There wereloose rocks strewn all about with which I might build a barricadeacross the entrance to the cave, and so I halted there and pointed outthe place to Ajor, trying to make her understand that we would spendthe night there.
As soon as she grasped my meaning, she assented with the Caspakianequivalent of an affirmative nod, and then touching my rifle, motionedme to follow her to the river. At the bank she paused, removed herbelt and dagger, dropping them to the ground at her side; thenunfastening the lower edge of her garment from the metal leg-band towhich it was attached, slipped it off her left shoulder and let it dropto the ground around her feet. It was done so naturally, so simply andso quickly that it left me gasping like a fish out of water. Turning,she flashed a smile at me and then dived into the river, and there shebathed while I stood guard over her. For five or ten minutes shesplashed about, and when she emerged her glistening skin was smooth andwhite and beautiful. Without means of drying herself, she simplyignored what to me would have seemed a necessity, and in a moment wasarrayed in her simple though effective costume.
It was now within an hour of darkness, and as I was nearly famished, Iled the way back about a quarter of a mile to a low meadow where we hadseen antelope and small horses a short time before. Here I broughtdown a young buck, the report of my rifle sending the balance of theherd scampering for the woods, where they were met by a chorus ofhideous roars as the carnivora took advantage of their panic and leapedamong them.
With my hunting-knife I removed a hind-quarter, and then we returned tocamp. Here I gathered a great quantity of wood from fallen trees, Ajorhelping me; but before I built a fire, I also gathered sufficient looserock to build my barricade against the frightful terrors of the nightto come.
I shall never forget the expression upon Ajor's face as she saw mestrike a match and light the kindling beneath our camp-fire. It wassuch an expression as might transform a mortal face with awe as itsowner beheld the mysterious workings of divinity. It was evident thatAjor was quite unfamiliar with modern methods of fire-making. She hadthought my rifle and pistol wonderful; but these tiny slivers of woodwhich from a magic rub brought flame to the camp hearth were indeedmiracles to her.
As the meat roasted above the fire, Ajor and I tried once again totalk; but though copiously filled with incentive, gestures and sounds,the conversation did not flourish notably. And then Ajor took up inearnest the task of teaching me her language. She commenced, as Ilater learned, with the simplest form of speech known to Caspak or forthat matter to the world--that employed by the Bo-lu. I found it farfrom difficult, and even though it was a great handicap upon myinstructor that she could not speak my language, she did remarkablywell and demonstrated that she possessed ingenuity and intelligence ofa high order.
After we had eaten, I added to the pile of firewood so that I couldreplenish the fire before the entrance to our barricade, believing thisas good a protection against the carnivora as we could have; and thenAjor and I sat down before it, and the lesson proceeded, while from allabout us came the weird and awesome noises of the Caspakian night--themoaning and the coughing and roaring of the tigers, the panthers andthe lions, the barking and the dismal howling of a wolf, jackal andhyaenadon, the shrill shrieks of stricken prey and the hissing of thegreat reptiles; the voice of man alone was silent.
But though the voice of this choir-terrible rose and fell from far andnear in all directions, reaching at time such a tremendous volume ofsound that the earth shook to it, yet so engrossed was I in my lessonand in my teacher that often I was deaf to what at another time wouldhave filled me with awe. The face and voice of the beautiful girl wholeaned so eagerly toward me as she tried to explain the meaning of someword or correct my pronunciation of another quite entirely occupied myevery faculty of perception. The firelight shone upon her animatedfeatures and sparkling eyes; it accentuated the graceful motions of hergesturing arms and hands; it sparkled from her white teeth and from hergolden ornaments, and glistened on the smooth firmness of her perfectskin. I am afraid that often I was more occupied with admiration ofthis beautiful animal than with a desire for knowledge; but be that asit may, I nevertheless learned much that evening, though part of what Ilearned had naught to do with any new language.
Ajor seemed determined that I should speak Caspakian as quickly aspossible, and I thought I saw in her desire a little of thatall-feminine trait which has come down through all the ages from thefirst lady of the world--curiosity. Ajor desired that I should speakher tongue in order that she might satisfy a curiosity concerning methat was filling her to a point where she was in danger of bursting; ofthat I was positive. She was a regular little animated question-mark.She bubbled over with interrogations which were never to be satisfiedunless I learned to speak her tongue. Her eyes sparkled withexcitement; her hand flew in expressive gestures; her little tongueraced with time; yet all to no avail. I could say _man_ and _tree_ and_cliff_ and _lion_ and a number of other words in perfect Caspakian; butsuch a vocabulary was only tantalizing; it did not lend itself well toa very general conversation, and the result was that Ajor would wax sowroth that she would clench her little fists and beat me on the breastas hard as ever she could, and then she would sink back laughing as thehumor of the situation captured her.
She was trying to teach me some verbs by going through the actionsherself as she repeated the proper word. We were very muchengrossed--so much so that we were giving no heed to what went onbeyond our cave--when Ajor stopped very suddenly, crying: "_Kazor_!" Nowshe had been trying to teach me that _ju_ meant _stop_; so when she cried_kazor_ and at the same time stopped, I thought for a moment that thiswas part of my lesson--for the moment I forgot that _kazor_ means _beware_.I therefore repeated the word after her; but when I saw the expressionin her eyes as they were directed past me and saw her point toward theentrance to the cave, I turned quickly--to see a hideous face at thesmall aperture leading out into the night. It was the fierce andsnarling countenance of a gigantic bear. I have hunted silvertips inthe White Mountains of Arizona and thought them quite the largest andmost formidable of big game; but from the appearance of the head ofthis awful creature I judged that the largest grizzly I had ever seenwould shrink by comparison to the dimensions of a Newfoundland dog.
Our fire was just within the cave, the smoke rising through theapertures between the rocks that I had piled in such a way that theyarched inward toward the cliff at the top. The opening by means ofwhich we were to reach the outside was barricaded with a few largefragments which did not by any means close it entirely; but through theapertures thus left no large animal could gain ingress. I had dependedmost, however, upon our fire, feeling that none of the dangerousnocturnal beasts of prey would venture close to the flames. In this,however, I was quite evidently in error, for the great bear stood withhis nose not a foot from the blaze, which was now low, owing to thefact that I had been so occupied with my lesson and my teacher that Ihad neglected
to replenish it.
Ajor whipped out her futile little knife and pointed to my rifle. Atthe same time she spoke in a quite level voice entirely devoid ofnervousness or any evidence of fear or panic. I knew she was exhortingme to fire upon the beast; but this I did not wish to do other than asa last resort, for I was quite sure that even my heavy bullets wouldnot more than further enrage him--in which case he might easily forcean entrance to our cave.
Instead of firing, I piled some more wood upon the fire, and as thesmoke and blaze arose in the beast's face, it backed away, growlingmost frightfully; but I still could see two ugly points of lightblazing in the outer darkness and hear its growls rumbling terrificallywithout. For some time the creature stood there watching the entranceto our frail sanctuary while I racked my brains in futile endeavor toplan some method of defense or escape. I knew full well that shouldthe bear make a determined effort to get at us, the rocks I had piledas a barrier would come tumbling down about his giant shoulders like ahouse of cards, and that he would walk directly in upon us.
Ajor, having less knowledge of the effectiveness of firearms than I,and therefore greater confidence in them, entreated me to shoot thebeast; but I knew that the chance that I could stop it with a singleshot was most remote, while that I should but infuriate it was real andpresent; and so I waited for what seemed an eternity, watching thosedevilish points of fire glaring balefully at us, and listening to theever-increasing volume of those seismic growls which seemed to rumbleupward from the bowels of the earth, shaking the very cliffs beneathwhich we cowered, until at last I saw that the brute was againapproaching the aperture. It availed me nothing that I piled the blazehigh with firewood, until Ajor and I were near to roasting; on camethat mighty engine of destruction until once again the hideous faceyawned its fanged yawn directly within the barrier's opening. It stoodthus a moment, and then the head was withdrawn. I breathed a sigh ofrelief, the thing had altered its intention and was going on in searchof other and more easily procurable prey; the fire had been too muchfor it.
But my joy was short-lived, and my heart sank once again as a momentlater I saw a mighty paw insinuated into the opening--a paw as largearound as a large dishpan. Very gently the paw toyed with the greatrock that partly closed the entrance, pushed and pulled upon it andthen very deliberately drew it outward and to one side. Again came thehead, and this time much farther into the cavern; but still the greatshoulders would not pass through the opening. Ajor moved closer to meuntil her shoulder touched my side, and I thought I felt a slighttremor run through her body, but otherwise she gave no indication offear. Involuntarily I threw my left arm about her and drew her to mefor an instant. It was an act of reassurance rather than a caress,though I must admit that again and even in the face of death I thrilledat the contact with her; and then I released her and threw my rifle tomy shoulder, for at last I had reached the conclusion that nothing morecould be gained by waiting. My only hope was to get as many shots intothe creature as I could before it was upon me. Already it had tornaway a second rock and was in the very act of forcing its huge bulkthrough the opening it had now made.
So now I took careful aim between its eyes; my right fingers closedfirmly and evenly upon the small of the stock, drawing back mytrigger-finger by the muscular action of the hand. The bullet couldnot fail to hit its mark! I held my breath lest I swerve the muzzle ahair by my breathing. I was as steady and cool as I ever had been upona target-range, and I had the full consciousness of a perfect hit inanticipation; I knew that I could not miss. And then, as the bearsurged forward toward me, the hammer fell--futilely, upon an imperfectcartridge.
Almost simultaneously I heard from without a perfectly hellish roar;the bear gave voice to a series of growls far transcending in volumeand ferocity anything that he had yet essayed and at the same timebacked quickly from the cave. For an instant I couldn't understandwhat had happened to cause this sudden retreat when his prey waspractically within his clutches. The idea that the harmless clickingof the hammer had frightened him was too ridiculous to entertain.However, we had not long to wait before we could at least guess at thecause of the diversion, for from without came mingled growls and roarsand the sound of great bodies thrashing about until the earth shook.The bear had been attacked in the rear by some other mighty beast, andthe two were now locked in a titanic struggle for supremacy. Withbrief respites, during which we could hear the labored breathing of thecontestants, the battle continued for the better part of an hour untilthe sounds of combat grew gradually less and finally ceased entirely.
At Ajor's suggestion, made by signs and a few of the words we knew incommon, I moved the fire directly to the entrance to the cave so that abeast would have to pass directly through the flames to reach us, andthen we sat and waited for the victor of the battle to come and claimhis reward; but though we sat for a long time with our eyes glued tothe opening, we saw no sign of any beast.
At last I signed to Ajor to lie down, for I knew that she must havesleep, and I sat on guard until nearly morning, when the girl awoke andinsisted that I take some rest; nor would she be denied, but dragged medown as she laughingly menaced me with her knife.
The People That Time Forgot Page 2