Comprehending in a moment the peril the poor fellow was in, Graham without more ado pointed his rifle at the beast and fired, cleverly bringing it down dead. The hunter seemed paralysed with terror at the report of the rifle and its effects, and stood looking at us in amazement. "We are friends," said the Doctor, with hands held out towards him. "Come without fear and give us greeting. You are safe." Hearing his own language spoken, the man advanced, saying as he did so: "Strangers, my heart is full of gratitude for the service ye have rendered. Command me to your bidding, and I obey. I am from Pamax, yonder. My name is Kios--and yours?" "We are strangers to your country and your world; we come from the star which you call Ramos, which we call Earth; and we come as brothers, in friendship and in peace," answered the Doctor in an assuring voice. "Are ye, then, the men of Ramos, with whose evil fame all Gathma rings? The men of Ramos who escaped death at the crag Remagaloth? Are ye the slayers of Osa? If so be ye are, I know your story as well as any man in Edos, for we listened to each word of your trial and sentence here in Pamax." "The same are we; but what know you of our captivity there? Have you any tidings from Edos?" queried Graham, who ill-concealed his impatience to hear any possible news of his beloved. "Men of Ramos, I can tell ye much; but ye look faint and weary. Follow me, and rest your tired limbs, and I will tell ye all I know." So saying, the good-natured hunter (for such we judged him to be) turned and beckoned us to follow him, throwing the huge dead beast across his mighty shoulders as he went. He led the way to a camp far in the thicket, where a wood fire was roasting some animal before a cosy tent. "Enter, men of Ramos; enter, and share a poor man's hospitality." Gladly we did so, and after taking off our knapsacks, we seated ourselves on some soft skins and listened to his story. "First, I would ask ye how ye came hither. Edos is many days' journey hence for they who needs must travel by stealth or on foot; Remagaloth is yet further. I heard that ye escaped into the sky in a carriage of cunning workmanship. Came ye hence in that?" "You speak quite truly, Kios," said Graham; "we escaped in the carriage that bore us from Earth to Gathma; but it conveyed us to a desert region which for days we had to cross on foot, nearly perishing of heat and thirst on the way." "The barren ground of which ye speak is the desert Chados, and I marvel much to learn that ye have crossed it and yet do live! Ye are now in the woods called Theloth, the sole right and privilege of hunting therein being conferred on me by the King. I supply the palace at Edos with wild meat and herbs, and I came from the city but yesterday." "Then the distance cannot, surely, be so far," exclaimed Temple. "We travel quickly in Gathma," Kios answered, "and I know full well ye could not have come by the same means as I----"