"How can I tell? It isn't entirely impossible that he still retains some knowledge of his human ancestors. Perhaps that tradition may have been handed down, some way, and still exists in the form of a crude beast-religion." "Yes, but then--?" "Perhaps he wants to get in touch with us, again; learn from us; try to struggle up out of the mire of degeneration, who knows? If so--and it's possible--of course he'd try to warn us of a poisoned spring!" Acting on this hypothesis, of which he was now half-convinced, Stern nodded. By gesture-play he answered: Yes. Yes, this woman and he intended to drink of the water. The obeah-man, grinning, showed signs of lively interest. His eyes brightened, and a look of craft, of wizened cunning crept over his uncanny features. Then he raised his head and gave a long, shrill, throaty call, ululating and unspeakably weird. Something stirred in the forest. Stern heard a rustle and a creeping murmur; and quick fear chilled his heart. To him it seemed as though a voice were calling, perhaps the inner, secret voice of his own subjective self--a voice that cried: "You, who must drink water--now _he_ knows you are not gods, but mortal creatures. Tricked by his question and your answer, your peril now is on you! _Flee!_" The voice died. Stern found himself, with a strange, taut eagerness tingling all through him, facing the obeah and--and _not daring to turn his back_. Retreat they must, he knew. Retreat, at once! Already in the forest he understood that heads were being lifted, beastlike ears were listening, brute eyes peering and ape-hands clutching the little, flint-pointed spears. Already the girl and he should have been half-way back to the tower; yet still, inhibited by that slow, grinning, staring advance of the chief, there the engineer stood. But all at once the spell was broken. For with a cry, a hoarse and frightful yell of passion, the obeah leaped--leaped like a huge and frightfully agile ape--leaped the whole distance intervening. Stern saw the Thing's red-gleaming eyes fixed on Beatrice. In those eyes he clearly saw the hell-flame of lust. And as the woman screamed in terror, Stern pulled trigger with a savage curse. The shot went wild. For at the instant--though he felt no pain--his arm dropped down and sideways. Astounded, he looked. Something was wrong! What? His trigger-finger refused to serve. It had lost all power, all control. For God's sake, what could it be? Then--all this taking but a second--Stern saw; he knew the truth. Staring, pale and horrified, he understood. There, through the fleshy part of his forearm, thrust clean from side to side by a lightning-swift stroke, he saw the obeah's spear! It dangled strangely in the firm muscles. The steel barb and full eighteen inches of the shaft were red and dripping. Yet still the engineer felt no slightest twinge of pain. From his numbed, paralyzed hand the automatic dropped, fell noiselessly into the moss.