"The voice of a woman," he announced resignedly. "Nitha has for some reason trailed us this far." "Elko!" the voice called again and now they could see another smaller dugout, stolen perhaps from the same Yzap village where they had found theirs, with but two passengers aboard. "Here," announced Elko Sohm sadly, "under this tree's roots with water dripping from the moss down along my raw-fleshed back and the swamp vermin chewing away at the little hair left upon my skull." The tiny craft followed their own ragged trail through the bluish broken scum upon the river and shortly the two dugouts were warped side by side. Nitha was there, well smeared with the sticky blue gum of a swamp tree against the onslaught of insects and with her golden hair bound tight within an ugly skin cap, and with her was an Yzap from the village, called Thod. Nitha laughed as she saw the swollen features of the two Martians and handed a leaf-wrapped gob of the sticky blue gum that she had smeared upon her own skin. "Not very attractive," she admitted, "but very effective." * * * * * "And now," Rurak demanded, "why did you follow us? This journey is dangerous enough without a woman trailing along." "Ill bred young man isn't he?" asked Nitha of Elko Sohm. "However I suppose I might as well tell _you_ all about it, Elko. He can listen in if he really wants to know. "The same night you left," she went on, "Jokar Ged and his Yzaps came in the darkness and attacked the village. All who could escape came inside the _Indra's_ metal shell. They built fires against the hull hoping to drive us out but the insulation prevented any great passage of heat. But there were few provisions stored there and practically no water. "With early morning I slipped out through an escape lock with Thod as my guide and at a safe distance showed myself to the horde of Jokar Ged. As I had known he would, he sent all his forces after me--it was for me that he stormed the hilltop--and my people were free to emerge from the _Indra_ again. "I knew that you had headed for the coast to bring help and so Thod and I picked up your trail. Only now have we come up with you." "Jokar Ged?" demanded Rurak. "Close behind," the girl answered, "with ten dugouts loaded with his insect warriors." "Then shove off!" ordered Rurak. "We will bring up the rear and stand them off as best we can." Even as he spoke and the two heavy boats slid away from the sheltering tree-roots a shout of hideous triumph sounded from further upstream as a flotilla of hollowed-out logs manned by the clicking, whistling Yzaps of Jokar Ged swept into view. The fugitives bent to their paddles then and slowly the gap between ceased to narrow.