They came swarming up the gore-drenched stairway, came streaking through the sound-torn air and were an insane flood raging to inundate this lone warrior of the Outer World. In but gory split moments the price of Toka would soon be paid! VI Dawn broke gray and red in the east and grew to gold as the new sun soared free. But Roya's anxious eyes only stared away into the west. "Hear it!" Rok cried suddenly. It was like the rolling, rolling, rolling of distant thunder coming, steadily out of the west. The big slick-skin whipped its huge head aloft to blast a mighty roar down the valley. Faint and clear the answer came--a chorus of roaring. Standing on tiptoe and straining to see, Roya felt the tingles racing through her. "See them coming!" Far down valley, the monsters were a river of colossal power. They were in many colorings and mottlings, in many forms and sizes--all tearing for this butte. Great trees were mown down like blades of grass before the powerfully racing leaders. Swamps and rivers were as nothing. There was no stopping them--no slowing them. They had heard their human master needed them! They were coming--to the last one! And now the thundering of their swift coming filled the air and shook the very earth till a person could scarcely stand erect. It swayed the mightiest trees as in a gale. The roaring for battle slammed into the sense, took the breath and beat upon the body. And the grassy butte was swarming with the terrible colossi. Towering above Roya, a mighty armor-plated spike-back rumbled for directions. Gesturing to the big slick-skin she had been carefully educating during the night, Roya pointed to the black-back and worked her mouth as if talking. The slick-skin began rumbling to the black leader. Instantly facing his impatient fellows massed on the slopes, the black spike-back reared up and began gesturing his huge forelimbs as he roared at them. Anger mounting even higher, the Big Snakes roared to be off for Toka. At that moment a frantic gonging came faint but clear from the direction of the entrance to Kosanna. Rok instantly deduced the cause. "The Dragon Men must be attacking Kosanna!" Gesturing the black leader to kneel, Roya was aboard the massive back, one hand clutching to a spike for support. Elees and the men were with her and Roya's voice rang on the jungle air. "Go for Toka!" The colossus heaved up running. Down the slope it tore with a battle roar. With a combined roaring that filled the air with deafening thunder the mass of Big Snakes swarmed in behind--all the armor-plated ones first. Through the dense jungle as though it were grass the colossal black leader tore the way. He burst clear and shot across the Big Brown in a geysering spray to plunge into the luminous cavern.