But the Wild One hesitated an instant longer. The words came haltingly from his lips--but they sprang from his heart. "My life is still yours, Hairless One. Should ever you decide to claim it, you will find me north of this spot. In a hillside cave by the waterfall...." Then he was gone; a brutish, gnarled, hairy shadow sliding through the matted jungle. And to Meg, "Come. Let us find your people," said Daiv. "I am minded to see what folk would harm poor brutes like that one." Meg pondered for hours, as they marched those last few miles to her native village, but she could not quite discover why it was that her cheeks and throat felt so hot. It was as though the fever-god was within her, but she knew she was not ill.... And so, finally, she riding upon Nessa's back, Daiv striding before her on swift, sure feet, they came to Meg's home. To the village of the Jinnia Clan that was her own. And again the remembrance of the massive twig and the strange forest returned, bringing with it a half-fear. It lay uneasily in their minds like the brooding residue of a dream.... CHAPTER II The Invaders The glad word sprang first from the lips of the Warriors who guarded the gates of the village. "It is Meg! Meg has returned from her pilgrimage. Tell all!" It spread to the Workers in the fields; they rose from their labors, wiping grit-coarsened hands upon their thighs; their eyes brightened. "Meg has returned!" And the breeding-mothers heard, they lolling their plump, lush bodies in the sunlit doorways. They heard, and their soft eyes filled with ready tears; they waddled forward, their bulging hips swaying like ripened corn. "It is Meg, come back from the Place of the Gods!"[3] [Footnote 3: The matriarchal commune was made up of Warriors, Workers and breeding-mothers, all headed by a learned Mother whose mantle of leadership was handed down from generation to generation. Upon reaching maturity, each girl was permitted to choose which branch of service she should adopt. The Priestess, Meg, was studying to become the Mother of her Clan; hence her pilgrimage to the Place of the Gods.--Ed.] The Men, too, heard. They simpered foolishly and rolled their great, soft eyes and primped their oiled hair. And word reached the tribal Mother who came from her _hoam_ to meet the Priestess. They met within the confines of Meg's village; the aged Mother moved to greet Meg with arms outstretched. "You are returned safely, my child. May the Gods live forever!" Meg could not speak for the little happy-imp who clutched her throat and made water in her eyes. Her hands, tight and hot on the withered hands of the old Mother, were speech enough. The Mother bent forward and made a sign upon Meg's forehead.