I'll never forget my first impressions
of Caspak as I circled in, high
over the surrounding cliffs.
From the plane I looked down
through a mist upon the blurred
landscape beneath me. The hot,
humid atmosphere of Caspak condenses
as it is fanned by the cold Antarctic
air-currents which sweep across
the crater's top, sending a tenuous
ribbon of vapor far out across
the Pacific. Through this the
picture gave one the suggestion
of a colossal impressionistic
canvas in greens and browns and
scarlets and yellows surrounding
the deep blue of the inland sea--just
blobs of color taking form through
the tumbling mist.
I dived close to the cliffs
and skirted them for several
miles without finding the least
indication of a suitable landing-place;
and then I swung back at a lower
level, looking for a clearing
close to the bottom of the mighty
escarpment; but I could find
none of sufficient area to insure
safety. I was flying pretty low
by this time, not only looking
for landing places but watching
the myriad life beneath me. I
was down pretty well toward the
south end of the island, where
an arm of the lake reaches far
inland, and I could see the surface
of the water literally black
with creatures of some sort.
I was too far up to recognize
individuals, but the general
impression was of a vast army
of amphibious monsters. The land
was almost equally alive with
crawling, leaping, running, flying
things. It was one of the latter
which nearly did 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 the sunlight from above,
and as I glanced quickly up,
I saw a most terrific creature
swooping down upon me. It must
have been fully eighty feet long
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
for me and hissing frightfully--
I could hear it above the whir
of the propeller. It was coming
straight down toward the muzzle
of the machine-gun and I let
it have it right in the breast;
but still it came for me, so
that I had to dive and turn,
though I was dangerously close
to earth.
The thing didn't miss me by
a dozen feet, and when I rose,
it wheeled and followed me, but
only to the cooler air close
to the level of the cliff-tops;
there it turned again and dropped.
Something--man's natural love
of battle and the chase, I presume--
impelled me to pursue it, and
so I too circled and dived. The
moment I came down into the warm
atmosphere of Caspak, the creature
came for me again, rising above
me so that it might swoop down
upon me. Nothing could better
have suited my armament, since
my machine-gun was pointed upward
at an angle of about degrees
and could not be either depressed
or elevated by the pilot. If
I had brought someone along with
me, we could have raked the great
reptile from almost any position,
but as the creature's mode of
attack was always from above,
he always found me ready with
a hail of bullets. The battle
must have lasted a minute or
more before the thing suddenly
turned completely over in the
air and fell to the ground.
Bowen and I roomed together
at college, and I learned a lot
from him outside my regular course.
He was a pretty good scholar
despite his love of fun, and
his particular hobby was paleontology.
He used to tell me about the
various forms of animal and vegetable
life which had covered the globe
during former eras, and so I
was pretty well acquainted with
the fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
and mammals of paleolithic times.
I knew that the thing that had
attacked me was some sort of
pterodactyl which should have
been extinct millions of years
ago. It was all that I needed
to realize that Bowen had exaggerated
nothing in his manuscript.
Having disposed of my first
foe, I set myself once more to
search for a landing-place near
to the base of the cliffs beyond
which my party awaited me. I
knew how anxious they would be
for word from me, and I was equally
anxious to relieve their minds
and also to get them and our
supplies well within Caspak,
so that we might set off about
our business of finding and rescuing
Bowen Tyler; but the pterodactyl's
carcass had scarcely fallen before
I was surrounded by at least
a dozen of the hideous things,
some large, some small, but all
bent upon my destruction. I could
not cope with them all, and so
I rose rapidly from among them
to the cooler strata wherein
they dared not follow; and then
I recalled that Bowen's narrative
distinctly indicated that the
farther north one traveled in
Caspak, the fewer were the terrible
reptiles which rendered human
life impossible at the southern
end of the island.
There seemed nothing now but
to search out a more northerly
landing-place and then return
to the Toreador and transport
my companions, two by two, over
the cliffs and deposit them at
the rendezvous. As I flew north,
the temptation to explore overcame
me. I knew that I could easily
cover Caspak and return to the
beach with less petrol than I
had in my tanks; and there was
the hope, too, that I might find
Bowen or some of his party. The
broad expanse of the inland sea
lured me out over its waters,
and as I crossed, I saw at either
extremity of the great body of
water an island--one to the south
and one to the north; but I did
not alter my course to examine
either closely, leaving that
to a later time.
The further shore of the sea
revealed a much narrower strip
of land between the cliffs and
the water than upon the western
side; but it was a 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, I saw a number of human
figures apparently pursuing one
who fled across a broad expanse
of meadow. As I dropped lower
to have a better look at these
people, they caught the whirring
of my propellers and looked aloft.
They paused an instant--pursuers
and pursued; and then they broke
and raced for the shelter of
the nearest wood. Almost instantaneously
a huge bulk swooped down upon
me, and as I looked up, I realized
that there were flying reptiles
even in this part of Caspak.
The creature dived for my right
wing so quickly that nothing
but a sheer drop could have saved
me. I was already close to the
ground, so that my maneuver was
extremely dangerous; but I was
in a fair way of making it successfully
when I saw that I was too closely
approaching a large tree. My
effort to dodge the tree and
the pterodactyl at the same time
resulted disastrously. One wing
touched an upper branch; the
plane tipped and swung around,
and then, out of control, dashed
into the 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 my plane had lodged, circled
twice over me and then flapped
away toward the south. As I guessed
then and was to learn later,
forests are the surest sanctuary
from these hideous creatures,
which, with their enormous spread
of wing and their great weight,
are as much out of place among
trees as is a seaplane.
For a minute or so I clung
there to my battered flyer, now
useless beyond redemption, my
brain numbed by the frightful
catastrophe that had befallen
me. All my plans for the succor
of Bowen and Miss La Rue had
depended upon this craft, and
in a few brief minutes my own
selfish love of adventure had
wrecked their hopes and mine.
And what effect it might have
upon the future of the balance
of the rescuing expedition I
could not even guess. Their lives,
too, might be sacrificed to my
suicidal foolishness. That I
was doomed seemed inevitable;
but I can honestly say that the
fate of my friends concerned
me more greatly than did my own.
Beyond the barrier cliffs my
party was even now nervously
awaiting my return. Presently
apprehension and fear would claim
them--and they would never know!
They would attempt to scale the
cliffs--of that I was sure; but
I was not so positive that they
would succeed; and after a while
they would turn back, what there
were left of them, and go sadly
and mournfully upon their return
journey to home. Home! I set
my jaws and tried to forget the
word, for I knew that I should
never again see home.
And what of Bowen and his girl?
I had doomed them too. They would
never even know that an attempt
had been made to rescue them.
If they still lived, they might
some day come upon the ruined
remnants of this great plane
hanging in its lofty sepulcher
and hazard vain guesses and be
filled with wonder; but they
would never know; and I could
not but be glad that they would
not know that Tom Billings had
sealed their death-warrants by
his criminal selfishness.
All these useless regrets were
getting me in a bad way; but
at last I shook myself and tried
to put such things out of my
mind and take hold of conditions
as they existed and do my level
best to wrest victory from defeat.
I was badly shaken up and bruised,
but considered myself mighty
lucky to escape with my life.
The plane hung at a precarious
angle, so that it was with difficulty
and considerable danger that
I climbed from it into the tree
and then to the ground.
My predicament was grave. Between
me and my friends lay an inland
sea fully sixty miles wide at
this point and an estimated land-distance
of some three hundred miles around
the northern end of the sea,
through such hideous dangers
as I am perfectly free to admit
had me pretty well buffaloed.
I had seen quite enough of Caspak
this day to assure me that 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
them before he started upon his
manuscript that he rather slighted
them. As I stood there beneath
that tree--a tree which should
have been part of a coal-bed
countless ages since--and looked
out across a sea teeming with
frightful life--life which should
have been fossil before God conceived
of Adam--I would not have given
a minim of stale beer for my
chances of ever seeing my friends
or the outside world again; yet
then and there I swore to fight
my way as far through this hideous
land as circumstances would permit.
I had plenty of ammunition, an
automatic pistol and a heavy
rifle-- the latter one of twenty
added to our equipment on the
strength of Bowen's description
of the huge beasts of prey which
ravaged Caspak. My greatest danger
lay in the hideous reptilia whose
low nervous organizations permitted
their carnivorous instincts to
function for several minutes
after they had ceased to live.
But to these things I gave
less thought than to the sudden
frustration of all our plans.
With the bitterest of thoughts
I condemned myself for the foolish
weakness that had permitted me
to be drawn from the main object
of my flight into premature and
useless exploration. It seemed
to me then that I must be totally
eliminated from further search
for Bowen, since, as I estimated
it, the three hundred miles of
Caspakian territory I must traverse
to reach the base of the cliffs
beyond which my party awaited
me were practically impassable
for a single individual unaccustomed
to Caspakian life and ignorant
of all that lay before him. Yet
I could not give up hope entirely.
My duty lay clear before me;
I must follow it while life remained
to me, and so I set forth toward
the north.
The country through which I
took my way was as lovely as
it was unusual--I had almost
said unearthly, for the plants,
the trees, the blooms were not
of the earth that I knew. They
were larger, the colors more
brilliant and the shapes startling,
some almost to grotesqueness,
though even such added to the
charm and romance of the landscape
as the giant 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 above
a monstrous world, its light
dispersed by the humid air of
Caspak--the warm, moist air which
lies sluggish upon the breast
of this great mother of life,
Nature's mightiest incubator.
All about me, in every direction,
was life. It moved through the
tree-tops and among the boles;
it displayed itself in widening
and intermingling circles upon
the bosom of the sea; it leaped
from the depths; I could hear
it in a dense wood at my right,
the murmur of it rising and falling
in ceaseless volumes of sound,
riven at intervals by a horrid
scream or a thunderous roar which
shook the earth; and always I
was haunted by that inexplicable
sensation that unseen eyes were
watching me, that soundless feet
dogged my trail. I am neither
nervous nor highstrung; but the
burden of responsibility upon
me weighed heavily, so that I
was more cautious than is my
wont. I turned often to right
and left and rear lest I be surprised,
and I carried my rifle at the
ready in my hand. Once I could
have sworn that among the many
creatures dimly perceived amidst
the shadows of the wood I saw
a human figure dart from one
cover to another, but I could
not be sure.
For the most part I skirted
the wood, making occasional detours
rather than enter those forbidding
depths of gloom, though many
times I was forced to pass through
arms of the forest which extended
to the very shore of the inland
sea. There was so sinister a
suggestion in the uncouth sounds
and the vague glimpses of moving
things within the forest, of
the menace of strange beasts
and possibly still stranger men,
that I always breathed more freely
when I had passed once more into
open country.
I had traveled northward for
perhaps an hour, still haunted
by the conviction that I was
being stalked by some creature
which kept always hidden among
the trees and shrubbery to my
right and a little to my rear,
when for the hundredth time I
was attracted by a sound from
that direction, and turning,
saw some animal running rapidly
through the forest toward me.
There was no longer any effort
on its part at concealment; it
came on through the underbrush
swiftly, and I was confident
that whatever it was, it had
finally gathered the courage
to charge me boldly. Before it
finally broke into plain view,
I became aware that it was not
alone, for a few yards in its
rear a second thing thrashed
through the leafy jungle. Evidently
I was to be attacked in force
by a pair of hunting beasts or
men.
And then through the last clump
of waving ferns broke the figure
of the foremost creature, which
came leaping toward me on light
feet as I stood with my rifle
to my shoulder covering the point
at which I had expected it would
emerge. I must have looked foolish
indeed if my surprise and consternation
were in any way reflected upon
my countenance as I lowered my
rifle and gazed incredulous at
the lithe figure of the girl
speeding swiftly in my direction.
But I did not have long to stand
thus with lowered weapon, for
as she came, I saw her cast an
affrighted glance over her shoulder,
and at the same moment there
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 the most fearsome-appearing
beast one could imagine; but
it was not that dread monster
of the past, though quite formidable
enough to satisfy the most fastidious
thrill-hunter. On it came, grim
and terrible, its baleful eyes
glaring above its distended jaws,
its lips curled in a frightful
snarl which exposed a whole mouthful
of formidable teeth. At sight
of me it had abandoned its impetuous
rush and was now sneaking slowly
toward us; while the girl, a
long knife in her hand, took
her stand bravely at my left
and a little to my rear. She
had called something to me in
a strange tongue as she raced
toward me, and now she spoke
again; but what she said I could
not then, of course, know--only
that her tones were sweet, well
modulated and free from any suggestion
of panic.
Facing the huge cat, which
I now saw was an enormous panther,
I waited until I could place
a shot where I felt it would
do the most good, for at best
a frontal shot at any of the
large carnivora is a ticklish
matter. I had some advantage
in that the beast was not charging;
its head was held low and its
back exposed; and so at forty
yards I took careful aim at its
spine at the junction of neck
and shoulders. But at the same
instant, as though sensing my
intention, the great creature
lifted its head and leaped forward
in full charge. To fire at that
sloping forehead I knew would
be worse than useless, and so
I quickly shifted my aim and
pulled the trigger, hoping against
hope that the soft-nosed bullet
and the heavy charge of powder
would have sufficient stopping
effect to give me time to place
a second shot.
In answer to the report of
the rifle I had the satisfaction
of seeing the brute spring into
the air, turning a complete somersault;
but it was up again almost instantly,
though in the brief second that
it took it to scramble to its
feet and get its bearings, it
exposed its left side fully toward
me, and a second bullet went
crashing through its heart. Down
it went for the second time--and
then up and at me. The vitality
of these creatures of Caspak
is one of the marvelous features
of this strange world and bespeaks
the low nervous organization
of the old paleolithic life which
has been so long extinct in other
portions of the world.
I put a third bullet into the
beast at three paces, and then
I thought that I was done for;
but it rolled over and stopped
at my feet, stone dead. I found
that my second bullet had torn
its heart almost completely away,
and yet it had lived to charge
ferociously upon me, and but
for my third shot would doubtless
have slain me before it finally
expired--or as Bowen Tyler so
quaintly puts it, before it knew
that it was dead.
With the panther quite evidently
conscious of the fact that dissolution
had overtaken it, I turned toward
the girl, who was regarding me
with evident admiration and not
a little awe, though I must admit
that my rifle claimed quite as
much of her attention as did
I. She was quite the most wonderful
animal that I have ever looked
upon, and what few of her charms
her apparel hid, it quite effectively
succeeded in accentuating. A
bit of soft, undressed leather
was caught over her left shoulder
and beneath her right breast,
falling upon her left side to
her hip and upon the right to
a metal band which encircled
her leg above 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 was attached
the scabbard belonging to her
knife. There was a single armlet
between her right shoulder and
elbow, and a series of them covered
her left forearm from elbow to
wrist. These, I learned later,
answered the purpose of a shield
against knife attack when the
left arm is raised in guard across
the breast or face.
Her masses of heavy hair were
held in place by a broad metal
band which bore a large triangular
ornament directly in the center
of her forehead. This ornament
appeared to be a huge turquoise,
while the metal of all her ornaments
was beaten, virgin gold, inlaid
in intricate design with bits
of mother-of-pearl and tiny pieces
of stone of various colors. From
the left shoulder depended a
leopard's tail, while her feet
were shod with sturdy little
sandals. The knife was her only
weapon. Its blade was of iron,
the grip was wound with hide
and protected by a guard of three
out-bowing strips of flat iron,
and upon the top of the hilt
was a knob of gold.
I took in much of this in the
few seconds during which we stood
facing each other, and I also
observed another salient feature
of her appearance: she was frightfully
dirty! Her face and limbs and
garment were streaked with mud
and perspiration, and yet even
so, I felt that I had never looked
upon so perfect and beautiful
a creature as she. Her figure
beggars description, and equally
so, her face. Were I one of these
writer-fellows, I should probably
say that her features were Grecian,
but being neither a writer nor
a poet I can do her greater justice
by saying that she combined all
of the finest lines that one
sees in the typical American
girl's face rather than the pronounced
sheeplike physiognomy of the
Greek goddess. No, even the dirt
couldn't hide 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 to indicate a higher type
of man, I answered by pointing
to myself and repeating the word.
Then she started off on a regular
catechism, if I could judge by
her inflection, for I certainly
understood no word of what 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 joined the leader until there
must have been at least twenty
of them. They were entirely naked.
Their bodies were covered with
hair, and though they stood upon
their feet without touching their
hands to the ground, they had
a very ape-like appearance, since
they stooped forward and had
very long arms and quite apish
features. They were not pretty
to look upon with their close-set
eyes, flat noses, long upper
lips and protruding yellow fangs.
"Alus!" said
the girl.
I had reread Bowen's adventures
so often that I knew them almost
by heart, and so now I knew that
I was looking upon the last remnant
of that ancient man-race--the
Alus of a forgotten period--the
speechless man of antiquity.
"Kazor!" cried
the girl, and at the same moment
the Alus came
jabbering toward us. They made
strange growling, barking noises,
as with much baring of fangs
they advanced upon us. They were
armed only with nature's weapons--powerful
muscles and giant fangs; yet
I knew that these were quite
sufficient to overcome us had
we nothing better to offer in
defense, and so I drew my pistol
and fired at the leader. He dropped
like a stone, and the others
turned and fled. Once again the
girl smiled her slow smile and
stepping closer, caressed the
barrel of my 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 that it 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 not understand 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 still
should have followed, so hungry
was I for human companionship
in this world of beasts and reptiles
and half-men.
We walked along,
the girl talking a great deal
and seeming mystified
that I could not understand her.
Her silvery laugh rang merrily
when I in turn essayed to speak
to her, as though my language
was the quaintest thing she ever
had heard. Often after fruitless
attempts to make 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 she meant,
for I had learned from Bowen's
narrative the negative gesture
and the two words which she repeated.
She meant that I was no Galu,
as I claimed, but an Alu, or
speechless one. Yet every time
she said this she laughed again,
and so infectious were her tones
that I could only join her. It
was only natural, too, that she
should be mystified by my inability
to comprehend her or to make
her comprehend me, for from the
club-men, the lowest human type
in Caspak to have speech, to
the golden race of Galus, the
tongues of the various tribes
are identical--except for amplifications
in the rising scale of evolution.
She, who is a Galu, can understand
one of the Bo-lu and make herself
understood to him, or to a hatchet-man,
a spear-man or an archer. The
Ho-lus, or apes, the Alus and
myself were the only creatures
of human semblance with which
she could hold no converse; yet
it was evident that her intelligence
told her that I was neither Ho-lu
nor Alu, neither anthropoid ape
nor speechless man.
Yet she did not despair, but
set out to teach me her language;
and had it not been that I worried
so greatly over the fate of Bowen
and my companions of the Toreador,
I could have wished the period
of instruction prolonged.
I never have been what one
might call a ladies' man, though
I like their company immensely,
and during my college days and
since have made various friends
among the sex. I think that I
rather appeal to a certain type
of girl for the reason that I
never make love to them; I leave
that to the numerous others who
do it infinitely better than
I could hope to, and take my
pleasure out of girls' society
in what seem to be more rational
ways--dancing, golfing, boating,
riding, tennis, and the like.
Yet in the company of this half-naked
little savage I found a new pleasure
that was entirely distinct from
any that I ever had experienced.
When she touched me, I thrilled
as I had never before thrilled
in contact with another woman.
I could not quite understand
it, for I am sufficiently sophisticated
to know that this is a symptom
of love and I certainly did not
love this filthy little barbarian
with her broken, unkempt nails
and her skin so besmeared with
mud and the green of crushed
foliage that it was difficult
to say what color it originally
had been. But if she was outwardly
uncouth, her clear eyes and strong
white, even teeth, her silvery
laugh and her queenly carriage,
bespoke an innate fineness which
dirt could not quite successfully
conceal.
The sun was low in the heavens
when we came upon a little river
which emptied into a large bay
at the foot of low cliffs. Our
journey so far had been beset
with constant danger, as is every
journey in this frightful land.
I have not bored you with a recital
of the wearying successions of
attacks by the multitude of creatures
which were constantly crossing
our path or deliberately stalking
us. We were always upon the alert;
for here, to paraphrase, eternal
vigilance is indeed the price
of life.
I had managed
to progress a little in the
acquisition of
a knowledge of her tongue, so
that I knew many of the animals
and reptiles by their Caspakian
names, and trees and ferns and
grasses. I knew the words for
sea and river and cliff, for
sky and sun and cloud. Yes, I
was getting along finely, and
then it occurred to me that I
didn't know my companion's name;
so I pointed to myself and said, "Tom," and
to her and raised my eyebrows
in interrogation. The girl ran
her fingers into that mass of
hair and looked puzzled. I repeated
the action a dozen times.
"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, it sounded 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 she repeated it.
We came to the cliffs beside
the little river where it empties
into the bay with the great inland
sea beyond. The cliffs were weather-worn
and rotted, and in one place
a deep hollow ran back beneath
the overhanging stone for several
feet, suggesting shelter for
the night. There were loose rocks
strewn all about with which I
might build a barricade across
the entrance to the cave, and
so I halted there and pointed
out the place to Ajor, trying
to make her understand that we
would spend the night there.
As soon as she grasped my meaning,
she assented with the Caspakian
equivalent of an affirmative
nod, and then touching my rifle,
motioned me to follow her to
the river. At the bank she paused,
removed her belt and dagger,
dropping them to the ground at
her side; then unfastening the
lower edge of her garment from
the metal leg-band to which it
was attached, slipped it off
her left shoulder and let it
drop to the ground around her
feet. It was done so naturally,
so simply and so 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 she
bathed while I stood guard over
her. For five or ten minutes
she splashed about, and when
she emerged her glistening skin
was smooth and white and beautiful.
Without means of drying herself,
she simply ignored what to me
would have seemed a necessity,
and in a moment was arrayed in
her simple though effective costume.
It was now within an hour of
darkness, and as I was nearly
famished, I led the way back
about a quarter of a mile to
a low meadow where we had seen
antelope and small horses a short
time before. Here I brought down
a young buck, the report of my
rifle sending the balance of
the herd scampering for the woods,
where they were met by a chorus
of hideous roars as the carnivora
took advantage of their panic
and leaped among them.
With my hunting-knife I removed
a hind-quarter, and then we returned
to camp. Here I gathered a great
quantity of wood from fallen
trees, Ajor helping me; but before
I built a fire, I also gathered
sufficient loose rock to build
my barricade against the frightful
terrors of the night to come.
I shall never forget the expression
upon Ajor's face as she saw me
strike a match and light the
kindling beneath our camp-fire.
It was such an expression as
might transform a mortal face
with awe as its owner beheld
the mysterious workings of divinity.
It was evident that Ajor was
quite unfamiliar with modern
methods of fire-making. She had
thought my rifle and pistol wonderful;
but these tiny slivers of wood
which from a magic rub brought
flame to the camp hearth were
indeed miracles to her.
As the meat roasted above the
fire, Ajor and I tried once again
to talk; but though copiously
filled with incentive, gestures
and sounds, the conversation
did not flourish notably. And
then Ajor took up in earnest
the task of teaching me her language.
She commenced, as I later learned,
with the simplest form of speech
known to Caspak or for that matter
to the world--that employed by
the Bo-lu. I found it far from
difficult, and even though it
was a great handicap upon my
instructor that she could not
speak my language, she did remarkably
well and demonstrated that she
possessed ingenuity and intelligence
of a high order.
After we had eaten, I added
to the pile of firewood so that
I could replenish the fire before
the entrance to our barricade,
believing this as good a protection
against the carnivora as we could
have; and then Ajor and I sat
down before it, and the lesson
proceeded, while from all about
us came the weird and awesome
noises of the Caspakian night--the
moaning and the coughing and
roaring of the tigers, the panthers
and the lions, the barking and
the dismal howling of a wolf,
jackal and hyaenadon, the shrill
shrieks of stricken prey and
the hissing of the great reptiles;
the voice of man alone was silent.
But though the voice of this
choir-terrible rose and fell
from far and near in all directions,
reaching at time such a tremendous
volume of sound that the earth
shook to it, yet so engrossed
was I in my lesson and in my
teacher that often I was deaf
to what at another time would
have filled me with awe. The
face and voice of the beautiful
girl who leaned so eagerly toward
me as she tried to explain the
meaning of some word or correct
my pronunciation of another quite
entirely occupied my every faculty
of perception. The firelight
shone upon her animated features
and sparkling eyes; it accentuated
the graceful motions of her gesturing
arms and hands; it sparkled from
her white teeth and from her
golden ornaments, and glistened
on the smooth firmness of her
perfect skin. I am afraid that
often I was more occupied with
admiration of this beautiful
animal than with a desire for
knowledge; but be that as it
may, I nevertheless learned much
that evening, though part of
what I learned had naught to
do with any new language.
Ajor seemed determined that
I should speak Caspakian as quickly
as possible, and I thought I
saw in her desire a little of
that all-feminine trait which
has come down through all the
ages from the first lady of the
world--curiosity. Ajor desired
that I should speak her tongue
in order that she might satisfy
a curiosity concerning me that
was filling her to a point where
she was in danger of bursting;
of that I was positive. She was
a regular little animated question-mark.
She bubbled over with interrogations
which were never to be satisfied
unless I learned to speak her
tongue. Her eyes sparkled with
excitement; her hand flew in
expressive gestures; her little
tongue raced 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; but such a vocabulary
was only tantalizing; it did
not lend itself well to a very
general conversation, and the
result was that Ajor would wax
so wroth that she would clench
her little fists and beat me
on the breast as hard as ever
she could, and then she would
sink back laughing as the humor
of the situation captured her.
She was trying
to teach me some verbs by going
through the
actions herself as she repeated
the proper word. We were very
much engrossed--so much so that
we were giving no heed to what
went on beyond our cave--when
Ajor stopped very suddenly, crying: "Kazor!" Now
she 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 this was 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 expression
in her eyes as they were directed
past me and saw her point toward
the entrance to the cave, I turned
quickly-- to see a hideous face
at the small aperture leading
out into the night. It was the
fierce and snarling countenance
of a gigantic bear. I have hunted
silvertips in the White Mountains
of Arizona and thought them quite
the largest and most formidable
of big game; but from the appearance
of the head of this awful creature
I judged that the largest grizzly
I had ever seen would shrink
by comparison to the dimensions
of a Newfoundland dog.
Our fire was just within the
cave, the smoke rising through
the apertures between the rocks
that I had piled in such a way
that they arched inward toward
the cliff at the top. The opening
by means of which we were to
reach the outside was barricaded
with a few large fragments which
did not by any means close it
entirely; but through the apertures
thus left no large animal could
gain ingress. I had depended
most, however, upon our fire,
feeling that none of the dangerous
nocturnal beasts of prey would
venture close to the flames.
In this, however, I was quite
evidently in error, for the great
bear stood with his nose not
a foot from the blaze, which
was now low, owing to the fact
that I had been so occupied with
my lesson and my teacher that
I had neglected to replenish
it.
Ajor whipped out her futile
little knife and pointed to my
rifle. At the same time she spoke
in a quite level voice entirely
devoid of nervousness or any
evidence of fear or panic. I
knew she was exhorting me to
fire upon the beast; but this
I did not wish to do other than
as a last resort, for I was quite
sure that even my heavy bullets
would not more than further enrage
him--in which case he might easily
force an entrance to our cave.
Instead of firing, I piled
some more wood upon the fire,
and as the smoke and blaze arose
in the beast's face, it backed
away, growling most frightfully;
but I still could see two ugly
points of light blazing in the
outer darkness and hear its growls
rumbling terrifically without.
For some time the creature stood
there watching the entrance to
our frail sanctuary while I racked
my brains in futile endeavor
to plan some method of defense
or escape. I knew full well that
should the bear make a determined
effort to get at us, the rocks
I had piled as a barrier would
come tumbling down about his
giant shoulders like a house
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 the beast; but I
knew that the chance that I could
stop it with a single shot was
most remote, while that I should
but infuriate it was real and
present; and so I waited for
what seemed an eternity, watching
those devilish points of fire
glaring balefully at us, and
listening to the ever-increasing
volume of those seismic growls
which seemed to rumble upward
from the bowels of the earth,
shaking the very cliffs beneath
which we cowered, until at last
I saw that the brute was again
approaching the aperture. It
availed me nothing that I piled
the blaze high with firewood,
until Ajor and I were near to
roasting; on came that mighty
engine of destruction until once
again the hideous face yawned
its fanged yawn directly within
the barrier's opening. It stood
thus a moment, and then the head
was withdrawn. I breathed a sigh
of relief, the thing had altered
its intention and was going on
in search of other and more easily
procurable prey; the fire had
been too much for it.
But my joy was short-lived,
and my heart sank once again
as a moment later I saw a mighty
paw insinuated into the opening--a
paw as large around as a large
dishpan. Very gently the paw
toyed with the great rock that
partly closed the entrance, pushed
and pulled upon it and then very
deliberately drew it outward
and to one side. Again came the
head, and this time much farther
into the cavern; but still the
great shoulders would not pass
through the opening. Ajor moved
closer to me until her shoulder
touched my side, and I thought
I felt a slight tremor run through
her body, but otherwise she gave
no indication of fear. Involuntarily
I threw my left arm about her
and drew her to me for 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 thrilled
at the contact with her; and
then I released her and threw
my rifle to my shoulder, for
at last I had reached the conclusion
that nothing more could be gained
by waiting. My only hope was
to get as many shots into the
creature as I could before it
was upon me. Already it had torn
away a second rock and was in
the very act of forcing its huge
bulk through the opening it had
now made.
So now I took careful aim between
its eyes; my right fingers closed
firmly and evenly upon the small
of the stock, drawing back my
trigger-finger by the muscular
action of the hand. The bullet
could not fail to hit its mark!
I held my breath lest I swerve
the muzzle a hair by my breathing.
I was as steady and cool as I
ever had been upon a target-range,
and I had the full consciousness
of a perfect hit in anticipation;
I knew that I could not miss.
And then, as the bear surged
forward toward me, the hammer
fell--futilely, upon an imperfect
cartridge.
Almost simultaneously I heard
from without a perfectly hellish
roar; the bear gave voice to
a series of growls far transcending
in volume and ferocity anything
that he had yet essayed and at
the same time backed quickly
from the cave. For an instant
I couldn't understand what had
happened to cause this sudden
retreat when his prey was practically
within his clutches. The idea
that the harmless clicking of
the hammer had frightened him
was too ridiculous to entertain.
However, we had not long to wait
before we could at least guess
at the cause of the diversion,
for from without came mingled
growls and roars and the sound
of great bodies thrashing about
until the earth shook. The bear
had been attacked in the rear
by some other mighty beast, and
the two were now locked in a
titanic struggle for supremacy.
With brief respites, during which
we could hear the labored breathing
of the contestants, the battle
continued for the better part
of an hour until the 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 in common, I moved the
fire directly to the entrance
to the cave so that a beast would
have to pass directly through
the flames to reach us, and then
we sat and waited for the victor
of the battle to come and claim
his reward; but though we sat
for a long time with our eyes
glued to the opening, we saw
no sign of any beast.
At last I signed to Ajor to
lie down, for I knew that she
must have sleep, and I sat on
guard until nearly morning, when
the girl awoke and insisted that
I take some rest; nor would she
be denied, but dragged me down
as she laughingly menaced me
with her knife.
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