“He must be quite mad,” said the girl. “Yet he and David, our Emperor, have brought us many advantages that were before unknown in Pellucidar, so that now we can kill more warriors in a single battle than was possible before during the course of a whole war. Perry calls this civilization and it is indeed a very wonderful thing.” “Perhaps he came from the frozen world from which the ancestors of the Korsars came,” suggested the girl. “They say that that country lies outside of Pellucidar.” “Here is the enemy,” said Tanar. “Shall I fire at that big fellow standing in the bow of the first canoe?” Tanar raised one of the heavy pistols and took aim, but the girl laid a hand upon his arm. “Wait,” she begged. “They may be friendly. Do not fire unless you must—I hate killing.” “I can well believe that you are no Korsar,” he said, lowering the muzzle of his weapon. There came a hail from the leading canoe. “We are prepared for you, Korsars,” shouted the tall warrior standing in the bow. “You are few in numbers. We are many. Your great canoe is a useless wreck; ours are manned by twenty warriors each. You are helpless. We are strong. It is not always thus and this time it is not we who shall be taken prisoners, but you, if you attempt to land. “But we are not like you, Korsars. We do not want to kill or capture. Go away and we shall not harm you.” “We cannot go away,” replied Tanar. “Our ship is helpless. We are only two and our food and water are nearly exhausted. Let us land and remain until we can prepare to return to our own countries.” The warrior turned and conversed with the others in his canoe. Presently he faced Tanar again. “No,” he said; “my people will not permit Korsars to come among us. They do not trust you. Neither do I. If you do not go away we shall take you as prisoners and your fate will be in the hands of the Council of the Chiefs.” “But we are not Korsars,” explained Tanar. The warrior laughed. “You speak a lie,” he said. “Do you think that we do not know the ships of Korsar?” “This is a Korsar ship,” replied Tanar; “but we are not Korsars. We were prisoners and when they abandoned their ship in a great storm they left us aboard.” Again the Warriors conferred and those in other canoes that had drawn alongside the first joined in the discussion. “Who are you then?” demanded the spokesman. “I am Tanar of Pellucidar. My father is King of Sari.” “We are all of Pellucidar,” replied the warrior; “but we never heard of a country called Sari. And the woman—she is your mate?” “No!” cried Stellara, haughtily. “I am not his mate.” “Who are you? Are you a Sarian, also?” “I am no Sarian. My father and mother were of Amiocap.” Again the warriors talked among themselves, some seeming to favor one idea, some another. “Do you know the name of this country?” finally demanded the leading warrior, addressing Stellara. “No,” she replied. “We were about to ask you that very question,” said Tanar.