"Yes," he answered. "He was so old and weak, the touch of the fire in the sky--he could not bear it. But his death was happy, for at least he felt its warmth upon his brow!" The Merucaans kept silence for a moment, then Stern heard them murmuring together, and a vague uneasiness crept over him. He strove, however, to put it away; though in his heart the shame of the lie he had been forced to tell would not be quieted. The colonists, however, made no further speech, but presently rolled the rock in front of the cave entrance, then wrapped themselves in their long cloaks and lay down by the fire. Soon, like the healthy savages they were, they were fast asleep, with vigorous snorings. Thus the night passed, while Stern kept watch over the girl; and another day crept slowly up the sky, and in the cave now rested four human beings--the vanguard of the coming nation. CHAPTER XVII THE DISTANT MENACE Stern never knew when he, too, drifted off to sleep; but he awoke to find Zangamon sitting beside him, with his cloak drawn over his head, while Beatrice and Bremilu still slept. "The light, master--it is like knives to me! Like spears to my eyes, master! I cannot bear it!" whispered the Merucaan, pointing to where, around the interstices of the doorway, bright white gleams were streaming in. Allan considered with perplexity. "It hurts, you say?" "Yes, Kromno! Once or twice I have tried to watch that strange fire, but I cannot. The pain is very great!" "Humph!" thought Allan. "This may be a more serious factor than I've reckoned on. These people are albinos. White hair and pink eyes--not a particle of protecting pigmentation. For thirty or so generations they've been subjected to nothing but torchlight. The actinic rays of the sun are infinitely more penetrating than anything they've ever known. It may take months, years even, to accustom them to sunlight!" And disquieting situations presented themselves to his mind. True, if it were necessary, the Folk could work and take the air only at night. They could fish, hunt and till the soil by star and moonlight, and sleep by day; but this was by no means the veritable reestablishment of a real, human civilization. Then an idea struck him. "The very thing!" cried he. "Once I can put it into effect, it will solve the question. And the second generation, at the outside, will be normal. They'll 'throw back' to remote ancestry under changed conditions. In time, even if only a long time, all will yet be well!" But now immediate labors and difficult problems were pressing. The future would have to look out for itself. Stern felt positive that to let the Merucaans out of the cave would not only blind them, but might also kill them outright as well. Their unprotected skins would inevitably burn to a blister under the rays of the sun, and they would in all probability die. So said he: