After dinner I rolled a cigaret and stretched myself at easeupon a pile of furs before the doorway, with Ajor's headpillowed in my lap and a feeling of great content pervading me. It was the first time since my plane had topped the barrier-cliffs of Caspak that I had felt any sense of peace or security. My hand wandered to the velvet cheek of the girl I had claimedas mine, and to her luxuriant hair and the golden fillet whichbound it close to her shapely head. Her slender fingersgroping upward sought mine and drew them to her lips, and thenI gathered her in my arms and crushed her to me, smotheringher mouth with a long, long kiss. It was the first time thatpassion had tinged my intercourse with Ajor. We were alone,and the hut was ours until morning.

But now from beyond the palisade in the direction of the maingate came the hallooing of men and the answering calls andqueries of the guard. We listened. Returning hunters, no doubt. We heard them enter the village amidst the barking dogs. I haveforgotten to mention the dogs of Kro-lu. The village swarmedwith them, gaunt, wolflike creatures that guarded the herd byday when it grazed without the palisade, ten dogs to a cow. By night the cows were herded in an outer inclosure roofedagainst the onslaughts of the carnivorous cats; and the dogs,with the exception of a few, were brought into the village;these few well-tested brutes remained with the herd. During theday they fed plentifully upon the beasts of prey which theykilled in protection of the herd, so that their keep amountedto nothing at all.

Shortly after the commotion at the gate had subsided, Ajor andI arose to enter the hut, and at the same time a warriorappeared from one of the twisted alleys which, lying betweenthe irregularly placed huts and groups of huts, form thestreets of the Kro-lu village. The fellow halted before us andaddressed me, saying that Al-tan desired my presence at his hut. The wording of the invitation and the manner of the messengerthrew me entirely off my guard, so cordial was the one andrespectful the other, and the result was that I went willingly,telling Ajor that I would return presently. I had laid my armsand ammunition aside as soon as we had taken over the hut, andI left them with Ajor now, as I had noticed that aside fromtheir hunting-knives the men of Kro-lu bore no weapons aboutthe village streets. There was an atmosphere of peace andsecurity within that village that I had not hoped to experiencewithin Caspak, and after what I had passed through, it must havecast a numbing spell over my faculties of judgment and reason. I had eaten of the lotus-flower of safety; dangers no longerthreatened for they had ceased to be.

The messenger led me through the labyrinthine alleys to an openplaza near the center of the village. At one end of this plazawas a long hut, much the largest that I had yet seen, beforethe door of which were many warriors. I could see that theinterior was lighted and that a great number of men weregathered within. The dogs about the plaza were as thick asfleas, and those I approached closely evinced a strong desireto devour me, their noses evidently apprising them of the factthat I was of an alien race, since they paid no attentionwhatever to my companion. Once inside the council-hut, forsuch it appeared to be, I found a large concourse of warriorsseated, or rather squatted, around the floor. At one end ofthe oval space which the warriors left down the center of theroom stood Al-tan and another warrior whom I immediatelyrecognized as a Galu, and then I saw that there were manyGalus present. About the walls were a number of flamingtorches stuck in holes in a clay plaster which evidentlyserved the purpose of preventing the inflammable wood andgrasses of which the hut was composed from being ignited bythe flames. Lying about among the warriors or wanderingrestlessly to and fro were a number of savage dogs.

The warriors eyed me curiously as I entered, especially theGalus, and then I was conducted into the center of the groupand led forward toward Al-tan. As I advanced I felt one of thedogs sniffing at my heels, and of a sudden a great brute leapedupon my back. As I turned to thrust it aside before its fangsfound a hold upon me, I beheld a huge Airedale leapingfrantically about me. The grinning jaws, the half-closed eyes,the back-laid ears spoke to me louder than might the words ofman that here was no savage enemy but a joyous friend, and thenI recognized him, and fell to one knee and put my arms abouthis neck while he whined and cried with joy. It was Nobs, dearold Nobs. Bowen Tyler's Nobs, who had loved me next to his master.

"Where is the master of this dog?" I asked, turning toward Al-tan.

The chieftain inclined his head toward the Galu standing athis side. "He belongs to Du-seen the Galu," he replied.

"He belongs to Bowen J. Tyler, Jr., of Santa Monica," Iretorted, "and I want to know where his master is."

The Galu shrugged. "The dog is mine," he said. "He came to mecor-sva-jo, and he is unlike any dog in Caspak, being kindand docile and yet a killer when aroused. I would not partwith him. I do not know the man of whom you speak."

So this was Du-seen! This was the man from whom Ajor had fled. I wondered if he knew that she was here. I wondered if theyhad sent for me because of her; but after they had commenced toquestion me, my mind was relieved; they did not mention Ajor. Their interest seemed centered upon the strange world fromwhich I had come, my journey to Caspak and my intentions nowthat I had arrived. I answered them frankly as I had nothingto conceal and assured them that my only wish was to find myfriends and return to my own country. In the Galu Du-seen andhis warriors I saw something of the explanation of the term"golden race" which is applied to them, for their ornaments andweapons were either wholly of beaten gold or heavily decoratedwith the precious metal. They were a very imposing set ofmen--tall and straight and handsome. About their heads werebands of gold like that which Ajor wore, and from their leftshoulders depended the leopard-tails of the Galus. In additionto the deer-skin tunic which constituted the major portion oftheir apparel, each carried a light blanket of barbaric yetbeautiful design--the first evidence of weaving I had seenin Caspak. Ajor had had no blanket, having lost it during herflight from the attentions of Du-seen; nor was she so heavilyincrusted with gold as these male members of her tribe.

The audience must have lasted fully an hour when Al-tansignified that I might return to my hut. All the time Nobs hadlain quietly at my feet; but the instant that I turned toleave, he was up and after me. Duseen called to him; butthe terrier never even so much as looked in his direction. I had almost reached the doorway leading from the council-hallwhen Al-tan rose and called after me. "Stop!" he shouted. "Stop, stranger! The beast of Du-seen the Galu follows you."

"The dog is not Du-seen's," I replied. "He belongs to myfriend, as I told you, and he prefers to stay with me until hismaster is found." And I turned again to resume my way. I hadtaken but a few steps when I heard a commotion behind me, andat the same moment a man leaned close and whispered "Kazar!"close to my ear--kazar, the Caspakian equivalent of beware. It was To-mar. As he spoke, he turned quickly away as thoughloath to have others see that he knew me, and at the sameinstant I wheeled to discover Du-seen striding rapidly after me. Al-tan followed him, and it was evident that both were angry.

Du-seen, a weapon half drawn, approached truculently. "The beast is mine," he reiterated. "Would you steal him?"

"He is not yours nor mine," I replied, "and I am not stealing him. If he wishes to follow you, he may; I will not interfere; but ifhe wishes to follow me, he shall; nor shall you prevent."I turned to Al-tan. "Is not that fair?" I demanded. "Let the dogchoose his master."

Du-seen, without waiting for Al-tan's reply, reached for Nobsand grasped him by the scruff of the neck. I did not interfere,for I guessed what would happen; and it did. With a savage growlNobs turned like lightning upon the Galu, wrenched loose fromhis hold and leaped for his throat. The man stepped back andwarded off the first attack with a heavy blow of his fist,immediately drawing his knife with which to meet theAiredale's return. And Nobs would have returned, all right,had not I spoken to him. In a low voice I called him to heel. For just an instant he hesitated, standing there trembling andwith bared fangs, glaring at his foe; but he was well trainedand had been out with me quite as much as he had with Bowen--infact, I had had most to do with his early training; then hewalked slowly and very stiff-legged to his place behind me.

Du-seen, red with rage, would have had it out with the two ofus had not Al-tan drawn him to one side and whispered in hisear--upon which, with a grunt, the Galu walked straight back tothe opposite end of the hall, while Nobs and I continued uponour way toward the hut and Ajor. As we passed out into thevillage plaza, I saw Chal-az--we were so close to one anotherthat I could have reached out and touched him--and our eyesmet; but though I greeted him pleasantly and paused to speak tohim, he brushed past me without a sign of recognition. I waspuzzled at his behavior, and then I recalled that To-mar,though he had warned me, had appeared not to wish to seemfriendly with me. I could not understand their attitude,and was trying to puzzle out some sort of explanation, whenthe matter was suddenly driven from my mind by the report ofa firearm. Instantly I broke into a run, my brain in a whirl offorebodings, for the only firearms in the Kro-lu country werethose I had left in the hut with Ajor.

That she was in danger I could not but fear, as she was nowsomething of an adept in the handling of both the pistol andrifle, a fact which largely eliminated the chance that the shothad come from an accidentally discharged firearm. When I leftthe hut, I had felt that she and I were safe among friends; nothought of danger was in my mind; but since my audience withAl-tan, the presence and bearing of Duseen and the strangeattitude of both To-mar and Chal-az had each contributed towardarousing my suspicions, and now I ran along the narrow, windingalleys of the Kro-lu village with my heart fairly in my mouth.

I am endowed with an excellent sense of direction, which hasbeen greatly perfected by the years I have spent in themountains and upon the plains and deserts of my native state,so that it was with little or no difficulty that I found my wayback to the hut in which I had left Ajor. As I entered thedoorway, I called her name aloud. There was no response. I drew a box of matches from my pocket and struck a light andas the flame flared up, a half-dozen brawny warriors leaped uponme from as many directions; but even in the brief instant thatthe flare lasted, I saw that Ajor was not within the hut, andthat my arms and ammunition had been removed.

As the six men leaped upon me, an angry growl burst frombehind them. I had forgotten Nobs. Like a demon of hate hesprang among those Kro-lu fighting-men, tearing, rending, rippingwith his long tusks and his mighty jaws. They had me down in aninstant, and it goes without saying that the six of them couldhave kept me there had it not been for Nobs; but while I wasstruggling to throw them off, Nobs was springing first upon oneand then upon another of them until they were so put to it topreserve their hides and their lives from him that they couldgive me only a small part of their attention. One of them wasassiduously attempting to strike me on the head with his stonehatchet; but I caught his arm and at the same time turned overupon my belly, after which it took but an instant to get myfeet under me and rise suddenly.

As I did so, I kept a grip upon the man's arm, carrying it overone shoulder. Then I leaned suddenly forward and hurled myantagonist over my head to a hasty fall at the opposite side ofthe hut. In the dim light of the interior I saw that Nobs hadalready accounted for one of the others--one who lay very quietupon the floor--while the four remaining upon their feet werestriking at him with knives and hatchets.

Running to one side of the man I had just put out of thefighting, I seized his hatchet and knife, and in another momentwas in the thick of the argument. I was no match for thesesavage warriors with their own weapons and would soon have gonedown to ignominious defeat and death had it not been for Nobs,who alone was a match for the four of them. I never saw anycreature so quick upon its feet as was that great Airedale, norsuch frightful ferocity as he manifested in his attacks. It wasas much the latter as the former which contributed to theundoing of our enemies, who, accustomed though they were tothe ferocity of terrible creatures, seemed awed by the sight ofthis strange beast from another world battling at the side ofhis equally strange master. Yet they were no cowards, and onlyby teamwork did Nobs and I overcome them at last. We wouldrush for a man, simultaneously, and as Nobs leaped for him uponone side, I would strike at his head with the stone hatchetfrom the other.

As the last man went down, I heard the running of many feetapproaching us from the direction of the plaza. To be capturednow would mean death; yet I could not attempt to leave thevillage without first ascertaining the whereabouts of Ajor andreleasing her if she were held a captive. That I could escapethe village I was not at all sure; but of one thing I waspositive; that it would do neither Ajor nor myself any serviceto remain where I was and be captured; so with Nobs, bloody buthappy, following at heel, I turned down the first alley andslunk away in the direction of the northern end of the village.

Friendless and alone, hunted through the dark labyrinths ofthis savage community, I seldom have felt more helpless thanat that moment; yet far transcending any fear which I mayhave felt for my own safety was my concern for that of Ajor. What fate had befallen her? Where was she, and in whose power? That I should live to learn the answers to these queries I doubted;but that I should face death gladly in the attempt--of that Iwas certain. And why? With all my concern for the welfare ofmy friends who had accompanied me to Caprona, and of my bestfriend of all, Bowen J. Tyler, Jr., I never yet had experiencedthe almost paralyzing fear for the safety of any other creaturewhich now threw me alternately into a fever of despair and intoa cold sweat of apprehension as my mind dwelt upon the fate onone bit of half-savage femininity of whose very existence evenI had not dreamed a few short weeks before.

What was this hold she had upon me? Was I bewitched, that mymind refused to function sanely, and that judgment and reasonwere dethroned by some mad sentiment which I steadfastlyrefused to believe was love? I had never been in love. I wasnot in love now--the very thought was preposterous. How couldI, Thomas Billings, the right-hand man of the late Bowen J.Tyler, Sr., one of America's foremost captains of industry andthe greatest man in California, be in love with a--a--the wordstuck in my throat; yet by my own American standards Ajor couldbe nothing else; at home, for all her beauty, for all herdelicately tinted skin, little Ajor by her apparel, by thehabits and customs and manners of her people, by her life,would have been classed a squaw. Tom Billings in love witha squaw! I shuddered at the thought.

And then there came to my mind, in a sudden, brilliant flashupon the screen of recollection the picture of Ajor as I hadlast seen her, and I lived again the delicious moment in whichwe had clung to one another, lips smothering lips, as I lefther to go to the council hall of Al-tan; and I could havekicked myself for the snob and the cad that my thoughts hadproven me--me, who had always prided myself that I was neitherthe one nor the other!

These things ran through my mind as Nobs and I made our waythrough the dark village, the voices and footsteps of those whosought us still in our ears. These and many other things, norcould I escape the incontrovertible fact that the little figureround which my recollections and my hopes entwined themselveswas that of Ajor--beloved barbarian! My reveries were broken inupon by a hoarse whisper from the black interior of a hut pastwhich we were making our way. My name was called in a lowvoice, and a man stepped out beside me as I halted withraised knife. It was Chal-az.

"Quick!" he warned. "In here! It is my hut, and they will notsearch it."

I hesitated, recalled his attitude of a few minutes before; andas though he had read my thoughts, he said quickly: "I couldnot speak to you in the plaza without danger of arousingsuspicions which would prevent me aiding you later, for wordhad gone out that Al-tan had turned against you and woulddestroy you--this was after Du-seen the Galu arrived."

I followed him into the hut, and with Nobs at our heels wepassed through several chambers into a remote and windowlessapartment where a small lamp sputtered in its unequal battlewith the inky darkness. A hole in the roof permitted the smokefrom burning oil egress; yet the atmosphere was far from lucid. Here Chal-az motioned me to a seat upon a furry hide spreadupon the earthen floor.

"I am your friend," he said. "You saved my life; and I am noingrate as is the batu Al-tan. I will serve you, and thereare others here who will serve you against Al-tan and thisrenegade Galu, Du-seen."

"But where is Ajor?" I asked, for I cared little for my ownsafety while she was in danger.

"Ajor is safe, too," he answered. "We learned the designs ofAl-tan and Du-seen. The latter, learning that Ajor was here,demanded her; and Al-tan promised that he should have her;but when the warriors went to get her To-mar went with them. Ajor tried to defend herself. She killed one of the warriors,and then To-mar picked her up in his arms when the others hadtaken her weapons from her. He told the others to look after thewounded man, who was really already dead, and to seize you uponyour return, and that he, To-mar, would bear Ajor to Al-tan;but instead of bearing her to Al-tan, he took her to his ownhut, where she now is with So-al, To-mar's she. It allhappened very quickly. To-mar and I were in the council-hutwhen Du-seen attempted to take the dog from you. I was seekingTo-mar for this work. He ran out immediately and accompaniedthe warriors to your hut while I remained to watch what wenton within the council-hut and to aid you if you needed aid. What has happened since you know."

I thanked him for his loyalty and then asked him to take me toAjor; but he said that it could not be done, as the villagestreets were filled with searchers. In fact, we could hearthem passing to and fro among the huts, making inquiries, andat last Chal-az thought it best to go to the doorway of hisdwelling, which consisted of many huts joined together, lestthey enter and search.

Chal-az was absent for a long time--several hours which seemedan eternity to me. All sounds of pursuit had long sinceceased, and I was becoming uneasy because of his protractedabsence when I heard him returning through the other apartmentsof his dwelling. He was perturbed when he entered that in whichI awaited him, and I saw a worried expression upon his face.

"What is wrong?" I asked. "Have they found Ajor?"

"No," he replied; "but Ajor has gone. She learned that youhad escaped them and was told that you had left the village,believing that she had escaped too. So-al could not detain her. She made her way out over the top of the palisade, armed withonly her knife."

"Then I must go," I said, rising. Nobs rose and shook himself. He had been dead asleep when I spoke.

"Yes," agreed Chal-az, "you must go at once. It is almost dawn. Du-seen leaves at daylight to search for her." He leanedclose to my ear and whispered: "There are many to follow andhelp you. Al-tan has agreed to aid Du-seen against the Galusof Jor; but there are many of us who have combined to riseagainst Al-tan and prevent this ruthless desecration of thelaws and customs of the Kro-lu and of Caspak. We will rise asLuata has ordained that we shall rise, and only thus. No batumay win to the estate of a Galu by treachery and force of armswhile Chal-az lives and may wield a heavy blow and a sharp spearwith true Kro-lus at his back!"

"I hope that I may live to aid you," I replied. "If I had myweapons and my ammunition, I could do much. Do you know wherethey are?""No," he said, "they have disappeared." And then: "Wait! You cannot go forth half armed, and garbed as you are. You aregoing into the Galu country, and you must go as a Galu. Come!" And without waiting for a reply, he led me into anotherapartment, or to be more explicit, another of the several hutswhich formed his cellular dwelling.

Here was a pile of skins, weapons, and ornaments. "Remove yourstrange apparel," said Chal-az, "and I will fit you out as atrue Galu. I have slain several of them in the raids of myearly days as a Kro-lu, and here are their trappings."

I saw the wisdom of his suggestion, and as my clothes were bynow so ragged as to but half conceal my nakedness, I had noregrets in laying them aside. Stripped to the skin, I donnedthe red-deerskin tunic, the leopard-tail, the golden fillet,armlets and leg-ornaments of a Galu, with the belt, scabbardand knife, the shield, spear, bow and arrow and the long ropewhich I learned now for the first time is the distinctiveweapon of the Galu warrior. It is a rawhide rope, notdissimilar to those of the Western plains and cow-camps ofmy youth. The honda is a golden oval and accurate weight forthe throwing of the noose. This heavy honda, Chal-azexplained, is used as a weapon, being thrown with great forceand accuracy at an enemy and then coiled in for another cast. In hunting and in battle, they use both the noose and the honda. If several warriors surround a single foeman or quarry, they ropeit with the noose from several sides; but a single warrioragainst a lone antagonist will attempt to brain his foe withthe metal oval.

I could not have been more pleased with any weapon, short of arifle, which he could have found for me, since I have beenadept with the rope from early childhood; but I must confessthat I was less favorably inclined toward my apparel. In sofar as the sensation was concerned, I might as well have beenentirely naked, so short and light was the tunic. When I askedChal-az for the Caspakian name for rope, he told me ga, andfor the first time I understood the derivation of the wordGalu, which means ropeman.

Entirely outfitted I would not have known myself, so strangewas my garb and my armament. Upon my back were slung my bow,arrows, shield, and short spear; from the center of my girdledepended my knife; at my right hip was my stone hatchet; and atmy left hung the coils of my long rope. By reaching my righthand over my left shoulder, I could seize the spear or arrows;my left hand could find my bow over my right shoulder, while averitable contortionist-act was necessary to place my shield infront of me and upon my left arm. The shield, long and oval,is utilized more as back-armor than as a defense againstfrontal attack, for the close-set armlets of gold upon the leftforearm are principally depended upon to ward off knife, spear,hatchet, or arrow from in front; but against the greatercarnivora and the attacks of several human antagonists, theshield is utilized to its best advantage and carried by loopsupon the left arm.

Fully equipped, except for a blanket, I followed Chal-az fromhis domicile into the dark and deserted alleys of Kro-lu. Silently we crept along, Nobs silent at heel, toward thenearest portion of the palisade. Here Chal-az bade mefarewell, telling me that he hoped to see me soon among theGalus, as he felt that "the call soon would come" to him. I thanked him for his loyal assistance and promised that whetherI reached the Galu country or not, I should always stand readyto repay his kindness to me, and that he could count on me inthe revolution against Al-tan.