Chapter 5
We were sitting before a little fire inside a safe grotto one nightshortly after we had quit the cliff-dwellings of the Band-lu, whenSo-al raised a question which it had never occurred to me to propoundto Ajor. She asked her why she had left her own people and how she hadcome so far south as the country of the Alus, where I had found her.
At first Ajor hesitated to explain; but at last she consented, and forthe first time I heard the complete story of her origin andexperiences. For my benefit she entered into greater detail ofexplanation than would have been necessary had I been a nativeCaspakian.
"I am a cos-ata-lo," commenced Ajor, and then she turned toward me. "Acos-ata-lo, my Tom, is a woman" (lo) "who did not come from an egg andthus on up from the beginning." (Cor sva jo.) "I was a babe at mymother's breast. Only among the Galus are such, and then butinfrequently. The Wieroo get most of us; but my mother hid me until Ihad attained such size that the Wieroo could not readily distinguish mefrom one who had come up from the beginning. I knew both my mother andmy father, as only such as I may. My father is high chief among theGalus. His name is Jor, and both he and my mother came up from thebeginning; but one of them, probably my mother, had completed the sevencycles" (approximately seven hundred years), "with the result thattheir offspring might be cos-ata-lo, or born as are all the children ofyour race, my Tom, as you tell me is the fact. I was therefore apartfrom my fellows in that my children would probably be as I, of a higherstate of evolution, and so I was sought by the men of my people; butnone of them appealed to me. I cared for none. The most persistentwas Du-seen, a huge warrior of whom my father stood in considerablefear, since it was quite possible that Du-seen could wrest from him hischieftainship of the Galus. He has a large following of the newerGalus, those most recently come up from the Kro-lu, and as this classis usually much more powerful numerically than the older Galus, and asDu-seen's ambition knows no bounds, we have for a long time beenexpecting him to find some excuse for a break with Jor the High Chief,my father.
"A further complication lay in the fact that Du-seen wanted me, while Iwould have none of him, and then came evidence to my father's ears thathe was in league with the Wieroo; a hunter, returning late at night,came trembling to my father, saying that he had seen Du-seen talkingwith a Wieroo in a lonely spot far from the village, and that plainlyhe had heard the words: 'If you will help me, I will help you--I willdeliver into your hands all cos-ata-lo among the Galus, now andhereafter; but for that service you must slay Jor the High Chief andbring terror and confusion to his followers.'
"Now, when my father heard this, he was angry; but he was alsoafraid--afraid for me, who am cos-ata-lo. He called me to him and toldme what he had heard, pointing out two ways in which we might frustrateDu-seen. The first was that I go to Du-seen as his mate, after whichhe would be loath to give me into the hands of the Wieroo or to furtherabide by the wicked compact he had made--a compact which would doom hisown offspring, who would doubtless be as am I, their mother. Thealternative was flight until Du-seen should have been overcome andpunished. I chose the latter and fled toward the south. Beyond theconfines of the Galu country is little danger from the Wieroo, who seekordinarily only Galus of the highest orders. There are two excellentreasons for this: One is that from the beginning of time jealousy hasexisted between the Wieroo and the Galus as to which would eventuallydominate the world. It seems generally conceded that that race whichfirst reaches a point of evolution which permits them to produce youngof their own species and of both sexes must dominate all othercreatures. The Wieroo first began to produce their own kind--afterwhich evolution from Galu to Wieroo ceased gradually until now it isunknown; but the Wieroo produce only males--which is why they steal ourfemale young, and by stealing cos-ata-lo they increase their ownchances of eventually reproducing both sexes and at the same timelessen ours. Already the Galus produce both male and female; but socarefully do the Wieroo watch us that few of the males ever grow tomanhood, while even fewer are the females that are not stolen away. Itis indeed a strange condition, for while our greatest enemies hate andfear us, they dare not exterminate us, knowing that they too wouldbecome extinct but for us.
"Ah, but could we once get a start, I am sure that when all were truecos-ata-lo there would have been evolved at last the true dominant racebefore which all the world would be forced to bow."
Ajor always spoke of the world as though nothing existed beyond Caspak.She could not seem to grasp the truth of my origin or the fact thatthere were countless other peoples outside her stern barrier-cliffs.She apparently felt that I came from an entirely different world.Where it was and how I came to Caspak from it were matters quite beyondher with which she refused to trouble her pretty head.
"Well," she continued, "and so I ran away to hide, intending to passthe cliffs to the south of Galu and find a retreat in the Kro-lucountry. It would be dangerous, but there seemed no other way.
"The third night I took refuge in a large cave in the cliffs at theedge of my own country; upon the following day I would cross over intothe Kro-lu country, where I felt that I should be reasonably safe fromthe Wieroo, though menaced by countless other dangers. However, to acos-ata-lo any fate is preferable to that of falling into the clutchesof the frightful Wieroo, from whose land none returns.
"I had been sleeping peacefully for several hours when I was awakenedby a slight noise within the cavern. The moon was shining brightly,illumining the entrance, against which I saw silhouetted the dreadfigure of a Wieroo. There was no escape. The cave was shallow, theentrance narrow. I lay very still, hoping against hope, that thecreature had but paused here to rest and might soon depart withoutdiscovering me; yet all the while I knew that he came seeking me.
"I waited, scarce breathing, watching the thing creep stealthily towardme, its great eyes luminous in the darkness of the cave's interior, andat last I knew that those eyes were directed upon me, for the Wieroocan see in the darkness better than even the lion or the tiger. But afew feet separated us when I sprang to my feet and dashed madly towardmy menacer in a vain effort to dodge past him and reach the outsideworld. It was madness of course, for even had I succeeded temporarily,the Wieroo would have but followed and swooped down upon me from above.As it was, he reached forth and seized me, and though I struggled, heoverpowered me. In the duel his long, white robe was nearly torn fromhim, and he became very angry, so that he trembled and beat his wingstogether in his rage.
"He asked me my name; but I would not answer him, and that angered himstill more. At last he dragged me to the entrance of the cave, liftedme in his arms, spread his great wings and leaping into the air,flapped dismally through the night. I saw the moonlit landscapesliding away beneath me, and then we were out above the sea and on ourway to Oo-oh, the country of the Wieroo.
"The dim outlines of Oo-oh were unfolding below us when there came fromabove a loud whirring of giant wings. The Wieroo and I glanced upsimultaneously, to see a pair of huge jo-oos" (flyingreptiles--pterodactyls) "swooping down upon us. The Wieroo wheeled anddropped almost to sea-level, and then raced southward in an effort tooutdistance our pursuers. The great creatures, notwithstanding theirenormous weight, are swift on their wings; but the Wieroo are swifter.Even with my added weight, the creature that bore me maintained hislead, though he could not increase it. Faster than the fastest wind weraced through the night, southward along the coast. Sometimes we roseto great heights, where the air was chill and the world below but ablur of dim outlines; but always the jo-oos stuck behind us.
"I knew that we had covered a great distance, for the rush of the windby my face attested the speed of our progress, but I had no idea wherewe were when at last I realized that the Wieroo was weakening. One ofthe jo-oos gained on us and succeeded in heading us, so that my captorhad to turn in toward the coast. Further and further they forced himto the left; lower and lower he sank. More labored was his breathing,and weaker the stroke of his once powerful wings. We were not ten feet
above the ground when they overtook us, and at the edge of a forest.One of them seized the Wieroo by his right wing, and in an effort tofree himself, he loosed his grasp upon me, dropping me to earth. Likea frightened ecca I leaped to my feet and raced for the shelteringsanctuary of the forest, where I knew neither could follow or seize me.Then I turned and looked back to see two great reptiles tear myabductor asunder and devour him on the spot.
"I was saved; yet I felt that I was lost. How far I was from thecountry of the Galus I could not guess; nor did it seem probable that Iever could make my way in safety to my native land.
"Day was breaking; soon the carnivora would stalk forth for their firstkill; I was armed only with my knife. About me was a strangelandscape--the flowers, the trees, the grasses, even, were differentfrom those of my northern world, and presently there appeared before mea creature fully as hideous as the Wieroo--a hairy manthing that barelywalked erect. I shuddered, and then I fled. Through the hideousdangers that my forebears had endured in the earlier stages of theirhuman evolution I fled; and always pursuing was the hairy monster thathad discovered me. Later he was joined by others of his kind. Theywere the speechless men, the Alus, from whom you rescued me, my Tom.From then on, you know the story of my adventures, and from the first,I would endure them all again because they led me to you!"
It was very nice of her to say that, and I appreciated it. I felt thatshe was a mighty nice little girl whose friendship anyone might be gladto have; but I wished that when she touched me, those peculiar thrillswould not run through me. It was most discomforting, because itreminded me of love; and I knew that I never could love this half-bakedlittle barbarian. I was very much interested in her account of theWieroo, which up to this time I had considered a purely mythologicalcreature; but Ajor shuddered so at even the veriest mention of the namethat I was loath to press the subject upon her, and so the Wieroo stillremained a mystery to me.
While the Wieroo interested me greatly, I had little time to thinkabout them, as our waking hours were filled with the necessities ofexistence--the constant battle for survival which is the chiefoccupation of Caspakians. To-mar and So-al were now about fitted fortheir advent into Kro-lu society and must therefore leave us, as wecould not accompany them without incurring great danger ourselves andrunning the chance of endangering them; but each swore to be always ourfriend and assured us that should we need their aid at any time we hadbut to ask it; nor could I doubt their sincerity, since we had been soinstrumental in bringing them safely upon their journey toward theKro-lu village.
This was our last day together. In the afternoon we should separate,To-mar and So-al going directly to the Kro-lu village, while Ajor and Imade a detour to avoid a conflict with the archers. The former bothshowed evidence of nervous apprehension as the time approached for themto make their entry into the village of their new people, and yet bothwere very proud and happy. They told us that they would be wellreceived as additions to a tribe always are welcomed, and the more soas the distance from the beginning increased, the higher tribes orraces being far weaker numerically than the lower. The southern end ofthe island fairly swarms with the Ho-lu, or apes; next above these arethe Alus, who are slightly fewer in number than the Ho-lu; and againthere are fewer Bo-lu than Alus, and fewer Sto-lu than Bo-lu. Thus itgoes until the Kro-lu are fewer in number than any of the others; andhere the law reverses, for the Galus outnumber the Kro-lu. As Ajorexplained it to me, the reason for this is that as evolutionpractically ceases with the Galus, there is no less among them on thisscore, for even the cos-ata-lo are still considered Galus and remainwith them. And Galus come up both from the west and east coasts.There are, too, fewer carnivorous reptiles at the north end of theisland, and not so many of the great and ferocious members of the catfamily as take their hideous toll of life among the races further south.
By now I was obtaining some idea of the Caspakian scheme of evolution,which partly accounted for the lack of young among the races I had sofar seen. Coming up from the beginning, the Caspakian passes, during asingle existence, through the various stages of evolution, or at leastmany of them, through which the human race has passed during thecountless ages since life first stirred upon a new world; but thequestion which continued to puzzle me was: What creates life at thebeginning, cor sva jo?
I had noticed that as we traveled northward from the Alus' country theland had gradually risen until we were now several hundred feet abovethe level of the inland sea. Ajor told me that the Galus country wasstill higher and considerably colder, which accounted for the scarcityof reptiles. The change in form and kinds of the lower animals waseven more marked than the evolutionary stages of man. The diminutiveecca, or small horse, became a rough-coated and sturdy little pony inthe Kro-lu country. I saw a greater number of small lions and tigers,though many of the huge ones still persisted, while the woolly mammothwas more in evidence, as were several varieties of the Labyrinthadonta.These creatures, from which God save me, I should have expected to findfurther south; but for some unaccountable reason they gain theirgreatest bulk in the Kro-lu and Galu countries, though fortunately theyare rare. I rather imagine that they are a very early life which israpidly nearing extinction in Caspak, though wherever they are found,they constitute a menace to all forms of life.
It was mid-afternoon when To-mar and So-al bade us good-bye. We werenot far from Kro-lu village; in fact, we had approached it much closerthan we had intended, and now Ajor and I were to make a detour towardthe sea while our companions went directly in search of the Kro-luchief.
Ajor and I had gone perhaps a mile or two and were just about to emergefrom a dense wood when I saw that ahead of us which caused me to drawback into concealment, at the same time pushing Ajor behind me. What Isaw was a party of Band-lu warriors--large, fierce-appearing men. Fromthe direction of their march I saw that they were returning to theircaves, and that if we remained where we were, they would pass withoutdiscovering us.
Presently Ajor nudged me. "They have a prisoner," she whispered. "Heis a Kro-lu."
And then I saw him, the first fully developed Kro-lu I had seen. He wasa fine-looking savage, tall and straight with a regal carriage. To-marwas a handsome fellow; but this Kro-lu showed plainly in his everyphysical attribute a higher plane of evolution. While To-mar was justentering the Kro-lu sphere, this man, it seemed to me, must be closeindeed to the next stage of his development, which would see him anenvied Galu.
"They will kill him?" I whispered to Ajor.
"The dance of death," she replied, and I shuddered, so recently had Iescaped the same fate. It seemed cruel that one who must have passedsafely up through all the frightful stages of human evolution withinCaspak, should die at the very foot of his goal. I raised my rifle tomy shoulder and took careful aim at one of the Band-lu. If I hit him,I would hit two, for another was directly behind the first.
Ajor touched my arm. "What would you do?" she asked. "They are allour enemies."
"I am going to save him from the dance of death," I replied, "enemy orno enemy," and I squeezed the trigger. At the report, the two Band-lulunged forward upon their faces. I handed my rifle to Ajor, anddrawing my pistol, stepped out in full view of the startled party. TheBand-lu did not run away as had some of the lower orders of Caspakiansat the sound of the rifle. Instead, the moment they saw me, they letout a series of demoniac war-cries, and raising their spears abovetheir heads, charged me.
The Kro-lu stood silent and statuesque, watching the proceedings. Hemade no attempt to escape, though his feet were not bound and none ofthe warriors remained to guard him. There were ten of the Band-lucoming for me. I dropped three of them with my pistol as rapidly as aman might count by three, and then my rifle spoke close to my leftshoulder, and another of them stumbled and rolled over and over uponthe ground. Plucky little Ajor! She had never fired a shot before inall her life, though I had taught her to sight and aim and how tosqueeze the trigger instead of pulling it. She had practiced these newaccomplish
ments often, but little had I thought they would make amarksman of her so quickly.
With six of their fellows put out of the fight so easily, the remainingsix sought cover behind some low bushes and commenced a council of war.I wished that they would go away, as I had no ammunition to waste, andI was fearful that should they institute another charge, some of themwould reach us, for they were already quite close. Suddenly one ofthem rose and launched his spear. It was the most marvelous exhibitionof speed I have ever witnessed. It seemed to me that he had scarcegained an upright position when the weapon was half-way upon itsjourney, speeding like an arrow toward Ajor. And then it was, withthat little life in danger, that I made the best shot I have ever madein my life! I took no conscious aim; it was as though my subconsciousmind, impelled by a stronger power even than that of self-preservation,directed my hand. Ajor was in danger! Simultaneously with the thoughtmy pistol flew to position, a streak of incandescent powder marked thepath of the bullet from its muzzle; and the spear, its point shattered,was deflected from its path. With a howl of dismay the six Band-lurose from their shelter and raced away toward the south.
I turned toward Ajor. She was very white and wide-eyed, for theclutching fingers of death had all but seized her; but a little smilecame to her lips and an expression of great pride to her eyes. "MyTom!" she said, and took my hand in hers. That was all--"My Tom!" anda pressure of the hand. Her Tom! Something stirred within my bosom.Was it exaltation or was it consternation? Impossible! I turned awayalmost brusquely.
"Come!" I said, and strode off toward the Kro-lu prisoner.
The Kro-lu stood watching us with stolid indifference. I presume thathe expected to be killed; but if he did, he showed no outward sign offear. His eyes, indicating his greatest interest, were fixed upon mypistol or the rifle which Ajor still carried. I cut his bonds with myknife. As I did so, an expression of surprise tinged and animated thehaughty reserve of his countenance. He eyed me quizzically.
"What are you going to do with me?" he asked.
"You are free," I replied. "Go home, if you wish."
"Why don't you kill me?" he inquired. "I am defenseless."
"Why should I kill you? I have risked my life and that of this younglady to save your life. Why, therefore should I now take it?" Ofcourse, I didn't say "young lady" as there is no Caspakian equivalentfor that term; but I have to allow myself considerable latitude in thetranslation of Caspakian conversations. To speak always of a beautifulyoung girl as a "she" may be literal; but it seems far from gallant.
The Kro-lu concentrated his steady, level gaze upon me for at least afull minute. Then he spoke again.
"Who are you, man of strange skins?" he asked. "Your she is Galu; butyou are neither Galu nor Kro-lu nor Band-lu, nor any other sort of manwhich I have seen before. Tell me from whence comes so mighty awarrior and so generous a foe."
"It is a long story," I replied, "but suffice it to say that I am notof Caspak. I am a stranger here, and--let this sink in--I am not afoe. I have no wish to be an enemy of any man in Caspak, with thepossible exception of the Galu warrior Du-seen."
"Du-seen!" he exclaimed. "You are an enemy of Du-seen? And why?"
"Because he would harm Ajor," I replied. "You know him?"
"He cannot know him," said Ajor. "Du-seen rose from the Kro-lu longago, taking a new name, as all do when they enter a new sphere. Hecannot know him, as there is no intercourse between the Kro-lu and theGalu."
The warrior smiled. "Du-seen rose not so long ago," he said, "that Ido not recall him well, and recently he has taken it upon himself toabrogate the ancient laws of Caspak; he had had intercourse with theKro-lu. Du-seen would be chief of the Galus, and he has come to theKro-lu for help."
Ajor was aghast. The thing was incredible. Never had Kro-lu and Galuhad friendly relations; by the savage laws of Caspak they were deadlyenemies, for only so can the several races maintain their individuality.
"Will the Kro-lu join him?" asked Ajor. "Will they invade the countryof Jor my father?"
"The younger Kro-lu favor the plan," replied the warrior, "since theybelieve they will thus become Galus immediately. They hope to span thelong years of change through which they must pass in the ordinarycourse of events and at a single stride become Galus. We of the olderKro-lu tell them that though they occupy the land of the Galu and wearthe skins and ornaments of the golden people, still they will not beGalus till the time arrives that they are ripe to rise. We also tellthem that even then they will never become a true Galu race, sincethere will still be those among them who can never rise. It is allright to raid the Galu country occasionally for plunder, as our peopledo; but to attempt to conquer it and hold it is madness. For my part,I have been content to wait until the call came to me. I feel that itcannot now be long."
"What is your name?" asked Ajor.
"Chal-az," replied the man.
"You are chief of the Kro-lu?" Ajor continued.
"No, it is Al-tan who is chief of the Kro-lu of the east," answeredChal-az.
"And he is against this plan to invade my father's country?"
"Unfortunately he is rather in favor of it," replied the man, "since hehas about come to the conclusion that he is batu. He has been chiefever since, before I came up from the Band-lu, and I can see no changein him in all those years. In fact, he still appears to be moreBand-lu than Kro-lu. However, he is a good chief and a mighty warrior,and if Du-seen persuades him to his cause, the Galus may findthemselves under a Kro-lu chieftain before long--Du-seen as well as theothers, for Al-tan would never consent to occupy a subordinateposition, and once he plants a victorious foot in Galu, he will notwithdraw it without a struggle."
I asked them what batu meant, as I had not before heard the word.Literally translated, it is equivalent to through, finished, done-for,as applied to an individual's evolutionary progress in Caspak, and withthis information was developed the interesting fact that not everyindividual is capable of rising through every stage to that of Galu.Some never progress beyond the Alu stage; others stop as Bo-lu, asSto-lu, as Band-lu or as Kro-lu. The Ho-lu of the first generation mayrise to become Alus; the Alus of the second generation may becomeBo-lu, while it requires three generations of Bo-lu to become Band-lu,and so on until Kro-lu's parent on one side must be of the sixthgeneration.
It was not entirely plain to me even with this explanation, since Icouldn't understand how there could be different generations of peopleswho apparently had no offspring. Yet I was commencing to get a slightglimmer of the strange laws which govern propagation and evolution inthis weird land. Already I knew that the warm pools which always lieclose to every tribal abiding-place were closely linked with theCaspakian scheme of evolution, and that the daily immersion of thefemales in the greenish slimy water was in response to some naturallaw, since neither pleasure nor cleanliness could be derived from whatseemed almost a religious rite. Yet I was still at sea; nor,seemingly, could Ajor enlighten me, since she was compelled to usewords which I could not understand and which it was impossible for herto explain the meanings of.
As we stood talking, we were suddenly startled by a commotion in thebushes and among the boles of the trees surrounding us, andsimultaneously a hundred Kro-lu warriors appeared in a rough circleabout us. They greeted Chal-az with a volley of questions as theyapproached slowly from all sides, their heavy bows fitted with long,sharp arrows. Upon Ajor and me they looked with covetousness in theone instance and suspicion in the other; but after they had heardChal-az's story, their attitude was more friendly. A huge savage didall the talking. He was a mountain of a man, yet perfectlyproportioned.
"This is Al-tan the chief," said Chal-az by way of introduction. Thenhe told something of my story, and Al-tan asked me many questions ofthe land from which I came. The warriors crowded around close to hearmy replies, and there were many expressions of incredulity as I spokeof what was to them another world, of the yacht which had brought meover vast waters, and of the plan
e that had borne me Jo-oo-like overthe summit of the barrier-cliffs. It was the mention of thehydroaeroplane which precipitated the first outspoken skepticism, andthen Ajor came to my defense.
"I saw it with my own eyes!" she exclaimed. "I saw him flying throughthe air in battle with a Jo-oo. The Alus were chasing me, and they sawand ran away."
"Whose is this she?" demanded Al-tan suddenly, his eyes fixed fiercelyupon Ajor.
For a moment there was silence. Ajor looked up at me, a hurt andquestioning expression on her face. "Whose she is this?" repeatedAl-tan.
"She is mine," I replied, though what force it was that impelled me tosay it I could not have told; but an instant later I was glad that Ihad spoken the words, for the reward of Ajor's proud and happy face wasreward indeed.
Al-tan eyed her for several minutes and then turned to me. "Can youkeep her?" he asked, just the tinge of a sneer upon his face.
I laid my palm upon the grip of my pistol and answered that I could.He saw the move, glanced at the butt of the automatic where itprotruded from its holster, and smiled. Then he turned and raising hisgreat bow, fitted an arrow and drew the shaft far back. His warriors,supercilious smiles upon their faces, stood silently watching him. Hisbow was the longest and the heaviest among them all. A mighty manindeed must he be to bend it; yet Al-tan drew the shaft back until thestone point touched his left forefinger, and he did it with consummateease. Then he raised the shaft to the level of his right eye, held itthere for an instant and released it. When the arrow stopped, half itslength protruded from the opposite side of a six-inch tree fifty feetaway. Al-tan and his warriors turned toward me with expressions ofimmense satisfaction upon their faces, and then, apparently for Ajor'sbenefit, the chieftain swaggered to and fro a couple of times, swinginghis great arms and his bulky shoulders for all the world like a drunkenprize-fighter at a beach dancehall.
I saw that some reply was necessary, and so in a single motion, I drewmy gun, dropped it on the still quivering arrow and pulled the trigger.At the sound of the report, the Kro-lu leaped back and raised theirweapons; but as I was smiling, they took heart and lowered them again,following my eyes to the tree; the shaft of their chief was gone, andthrough the bole was a little round hole marking the path of my bullet.It was a good shot if I do say it myself, "as shouldn't" but necessitymust have guided that bullet; I simply had to make a good shot, that Imight immediately establish my position among those savage and warlikeCaspakians of the sixth sphere. That it had its effect was immediatelynoticeable, but I am none too sure that it helped my cause with Al-tan.Whereas he might have condescended to tolerate me as a harmless andinteresting curiosity, he now, by the change in his expression,appeared to consider me in a new and unfavorable light. Nor can Iwonder, knowing this type as I did, for had I not made him ridiculousin the eyes of his warriors, beating him at his own game? What king,savage or civilized, could condone such impudence? Seeing his blackscowls, I deemed it expedient, especially on Ajor's account, toterminate the interview and continue upon our way; but when I wouldhave done so, Al-tan detained us with a gesture, and his warriorspressed around us.
"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded, and before Al-tan couldreply, Chal-az raised his voice in our behalf.
"Is this the gratitude of a Kro-lu chieftain, Al-tan," he asked, "toone who has served you by saving one of your warriors from theenemy--saving him from the death dance of the Band-lu?"
Al-tan was silent for a moment, and then his brow cleared, and thefaint imitation of a pleasant expression struggled for existence as hesaid: "The stranger will not be harmed. I wished only to detain himthat he may be feasted tonight in the village of Al-tan the Kro-lu. Inthe morning he may go his way. Al-tan will not hinder him."
I was not entirely reassured; but I wanted to see the interior of theKro-lu village, and anyway I knew that if Al-tan intended treachery Iwould be no more in his power in the morning than I now was--in fact,during the night I might find opportunity to escape with Ajor, while atthe instant neither of us could hope to escape unscathed from theencircling warriors. Therefore, in order to disarm him of any thoughtthat I might entertain suspicion as to his sincerity, I promptly andcourteously accepted his invitation. His satisfaction was evident, andas we set off toward his village, he walked beside me, asking manyquestions as to the country from which I came, its peoples and theircustoms. He seemed much mystified by the fact that we could walkabroad by day or night without fear of being devoured by wild beasts orsavage reptiles, and when I told him of the great armies which wemaintained, his simple mind could not grasp the fact that they existedsolely for the slaughtering of human beings.
"I am glad," he said, "that I do not dwell in your country among suchsavage peoples. Here, in Caspak, men fight with men when theymeet--men of different races--but their weapons are first for theslaying of beasts in the chase and in defense. We do not fashionweapons solely for the killing of man as do your peoples. Your countrymust indeed be a savage country, from which you are fortunate to haveescaped to the peace and security of Caspak."
Here was a new and refreshing viewpoint; nor could I take exception toit after what I had told Al-tan of the great war which had been ragingin Europe for over two years before I left home.
On the march to the Kro-lu village we were continually stalked byinnumerable beasts of prey, and three times we were attacked byfrightful creatures; but Al-tan took it all as a matter of course,rushing forward with raised spear or sending a heavy shaft into thebody of the attacker and then returning to our conversation as thoughno interruption had occurred. Twice were members of his band mauled,and one was killed by a huge and bellicose rhinoceros; but the instantthe action was over, it was as though it never had occurred. The deadman was stripped of his belongings and left where he had died; thecarnivora would take care of his burial. The trophies that theseKro-lu left to the meat-eaters would have turned an English big-gamehunter green with envy. They did, it is true, cut all the edible partsfrom the rhino and carry them home; but already they were pretty wellweighted down with the spoils of the chase, and only the fact that theyare particularly fond of rhino-meat caused them to do so.
They left the hide on the pieces they selected, as they use it forsandals, shield-covers, the hilts of their knives and various otherpurposes where tough hide is desirable. I was much interested in theirshields, especially after I saw one used in defense against the attackof a saber-tooth tiger. The huge creature had charged us withoutwarning from a clump of dense bushes where it was lying up aftereating. It was met with an avalanche of spears, some of which passedentirely through its body, with such force were they hurled. Thecharge was from a very short distance, requiring the use of the spearrather than the bow and arrow; but after the launching of the spears,the men not directly in the path of the charge sent bolt after boltinto the great carcass with almost incredible rapidity. The beast,screaming with pain and rage, bore down upon Chal-az while I stoodhelpless with my rifle for fear of hitting one of the warriors who wereclosing in upon it. But Chal-az was ready. Throwing aside his bow, hecrouched behind his large oval shield, in the center of which was ahole about six inches in diameter. The shield was held by tight loopsto his left arm, while in his right hand he grasped his heavy knife.Bristling with spears and arrows, the great cat hurled itself upon theshield, and down went Chal-az upon his back with the shield entirelycovering him. The tiger clawed and bit at the heavy rhinoceros hidewith which the shield was faced, while Chal-az, through the round holein the shield's center, plunged his blade repeatedly into the vitals ofthe savage animal. Doubtless the battle would have gone to Chal-azeven though I had not interfered; but the moment that I saw a cleanopening, with no Kro-lu beyond, I raised my rifle and killed the beast.
When Chal-az arose, he glanced at the sky and remarked that it lookedlike rain. The others already had resumed the march toward thevillage. The incident was closed. For some unaccountable reason thewhole thing reminded me of a friend who once shot a cat
in hisbackyard. For three weeks he talked of nothing else.
It was almost dark when we reached the village--a large palisadedenclosure of several hundred leaf-thatched huts set in groups of fromtwo to seven. The huts were hexagonal in form, and where grouped werejoined so that they resembled the cells of a bee-hive. One hut meant awarrior and his mate, and each additional hut in a group indicated anadditional female. The palisade which surrounded the village was oflogs set close together and woven into a solid wall with tough creeperswhich were planted at their base and trained to weave in and out tobind the logs together. The logs slanted outward at an angle of aboutthirty degrees, in which position they were held by shorter logsembedded in the ground at right angles to them and with their upperends supporting the longer pieces a trifle above their centers ofequilibrium. Along the top of the palisade sharpened stakes had beendriven at all sorts of angles.
The only opening into the inclosure was through a small aperture threefeet wide and three feet high, which was closed from the inside by logsabout six feet long laid horizontally, one upon another, between theinside face of the palisade and two other braced logs which paralleledthe face of the wall upon the inside.
As we entered the village, we were greeted by a not unfriendly crowd ofcurious warriors and women, to whom Chal-az generously explained theservice we had rendered him, whereupon they showered us with the mostwell-meant attentions, for Chal-az, it seemed, was a most popularmember of the tribe. Necklaces of lion- and tiger-teeth, bits of driedmeat, finely tanned hides and earthen pots, beautifully decorated, theythrust upon us until we were loaded down, and all the while Al-tanglared balefully upon us, seemingly jealous of the attentions heapedupon us because we had served Chal-az.
At last we reached a hut that they set apart for us, and there wecooked our meat and some vegetables the women brought us, and had milkfrom cows--the first I had had in Caspak--and cheese from the milk ofwild goats, with honey and thin bread made from wheat flour of theirown grinding, and grapes and the fermented juice of grapes. It wasquite the most wonderful meal I had eaten since I quit the _Toreador_ andBowen J. Tyler's colored chef, who could make pork-chops taste likechicken, and chicken taste like heaven.
The People That Time Forgot Page 5