There was no doubt but that they had the upper hand. However, there was so much more at stake than the liberty or even the lives of Dian and myself, that I did not deem it expedient to accept their offer without giving the matter careful thought. Without the great secret this maleless race must eventually become extinct. For ages they had fertilized their eggs by an artificial process, the secret of which lay hidden in the little cave of a far-off valley where Dian and I had spent our honeymoon. I was none too sure that I could find the valley again, nor that I cared to. So long as the powerful reptilian race of Pellucidar continued to propagate, just so long would the position of man within the inner world be jeopardized. There could not be two dominant races. I said as much to Dian. “You used to tell me,” she replied, “of the wonderful things you could accomplish with the inventions of your own world. Now you have returned with all that is necessary to place this great power in the hands of the men of Pellucidar. “You told me of great engines of destruction which would cast a bursting ball of metal among our enemies, killing hundreds of them at one time. “You told me of mighty fortresses of stone which a thousand men armed with big and little engines such as these could hold forever against a million Sagoths. “You told me of great canoes which moved across the water without paddles, and which spat death from holes in their sides. “All these may now belong to the men of Pellucidar. Why should we fear the Mahars? “Let them breed! Let their numbers increase by thousands. They will be helpless before the power of the Emperor of Pellucidar. “But if you remain a prisoner in Phutra, what may we accomplish? “What could the men of Pellucidar do without you to lead them? “They would fight among themselves, and while they fought the Mahars would fall upon them, and even though the Mahar race should die out, of what value would the emancipation of the human race be to them without the knowledge, which you alone may wield, to guide them toward the wonderful civilization of which you have told me so much that I long for its comforts and luxuries as I never before longed for anything. “No, David; the Mahars cannot harm us if you are at liberty. Let them have their secret that you and I may return to our people, and lead them to the conquest of all Pellucidar.” It was plain that Dian was ambitious, and that her ambition had not dulled her reasoning faculties. She was right. Nothing could be gained by remaining bottled up in Phutra for the rest of our lives.