Pellucidar

er in my life have I seen a more surprised mortal than this poor cave man. Before he could utter a single scream of warning or alarm I had my f

released the pressure of my fingers at his windpipe, for which

ve been merely to have the entire village aroused and down upon me in a moment. The fellow lay looking up at me with

f Phutra when the thipdars dragged the tarag from you and your mate. I never und

d in rec

re been ten warriors from Gombul. I

ward me, exhibiting the newly heale

he Sly One had come and seized our village, putting our people into slavery. So I hurried hither to learn the truth, an

ef's son, and through me he hoped to win my father's warriors back to t

my life when he came to Thuria to steal a mate. I helped him capture her, and we are good friends. So when I

, seize weapons, and when most of Hooja's warriors were away, slay the rest and retake our hilltop. Had we done so we could

o witness my death; but while they were away I heard someone calling me in a muffled voice which seemed to come from the wall of the cave. When I replied the voice, which was

saw a woman's hand digging with a bit of stone. Dacor's sister made a hole in the wall between the cave w

of the island to see if a boat lay there, and if the way was clear for our escape. Most of the boats are always away now, for a great many of Hooja's men and nearly all the slaves are upon the Island of Trees

. "It is wide and smooth and slow-runnin

n the Beautiful O

he was Hooja's enemy, and now the pair of us were s

she had been imprisoned," he rep

that Hooja will come

he Island of Tre

he cave so that I can f

llucidarians he explained minutely how I might reach the cave where

ore than one and would double the risk of discovery. In the meantime he could make his

d pursuit, it might be necessary for me to hold off Hooja's people while Dian made her way alone to where my new friend was to await her. I impressed upon him the fact that he might

ing the directions given me by Juag, the name by which Dacor's friend said he was called. There was the leaning tree, my first point he told me to look for afte

f the mesa, and in the face of this bluff were the mouths of many caves. Zig-zag trails led up to

any other cave. There were few people about at the time; most of these were congregated at the foot of the far end of the bluff, where they were so engrossed in excited conversation that I felt but little fea

hind another, and all unlit except for what sunlight filtered in through the external openi

l. As I was groping around the walls for the hole that should lead into th

or he spoke in a loud tone, demanding the whe

an?" he cried. "Hoo

oman's voice

oes Hooja w

ed in the direction of the s

d of Trees," replied the man; "for

" said Dian. "I

ing you, and bri

m crossing the

which I was in an effort to find the elusiv

In an instant I realized why I had been unable to find the opening while I had been lightly feeling the surface of the

peror of Pellucidar. I doubt if any other potentate in a world's history ever made a more undignified entrance. I land

s I charged him. I had my stone knife in my hand, and he had his. In the darkness of the cave there was littl

m sure that I never fought with a knife of any description; but now I do not have to ta

or recognize me; and I enjoyed in anticipation, even while I was fighting for her lif

rave. And then he did a foolish thing, for as I leaped back to gain a second in which to calm the shock of the wound he rushed after me and tried to clinch. He

im and had buried my knife in his heart. Then I stood up-and th

g!" she exclaime

oward her, my a

n," I said. "

in my arms. I covered her perfect lips and her beautiful face with kisses, and stroked her thick black hair, and told her again and again what she already knew-what she had known for years-that I love

ered for a moment, and seeing the coast clear, ran swiftly forth with Dian at my side. We dodged around the cliff-end, then paused for an ins

how one of Hooja's men who knew me had discovered me asleep and robbed me of all my possessions. And then how Hooja had sent four o

ve gone to that place whence none ever returns

hey did not see us, nor did they see Juag, whom I now discovered hiding behind a low bush close to the verge of the precipice which drops into the sea a

been sent to search for him, his escape having been discovered between the time he left the cave and the tim

ract their attention to the fact that they had more than a single man

ile the other turned upon us. As he came nearer I saw that he carried in his hand one of my six-shoot

it and pulled the trigger he might still be alive; maybe he is for all I know, since I did not kill him then. When he was about twenty feet from me I flung my javelin with

lainous-looking knife that might have been designed for butchering mastodons. Step by step, he was forcing Juag back toward the edge of the cliff with a fiendish cunning that permitted his adversary no cha

hed up my fallen revolver. It was a desperate chance to take, and I realized it in the instant that I threw the gun up from my hip and pulled the trigger.

nt threw his hands above his head, whirled about li

Ju

irearm-and with a howl of dismay he, too, turned and plunged headforemost from sight. Horror-struck, I has

my side. Then, to my utter amazement, I saw Juag ri

hat incredible distanc

ok his head and mut-tered something which I could not hear at so great a distance; but when I pushed him he promised to wait for us

racing as fast as he could go back toward his people. It looked mighty dark for Dian and me with that ghastly

y. I took her in my arms just for an instant-I felt, somehow, that it might be f

fraid! So beautiful is she that I am always having difficulty in remembering that she is a primitive, half-savage cave girl of the st

as she swung over t

cine which is going to cure Pellucidar of all its ills. That will stop them long enough for me to join you. Now hurry, and te

u may devote your life to carrying out with Perry the hopes and pl

tribesmen were nearing us. Juag was shouting up to us from below. It was evident that he realized from my

he cried

low us. The cove appeared no larger than a sau

is the only way-there is