Now I turned to see what had become of the tribe, and in the fitful glare of
the fire I perceived that the face of the cliff was pitted with large holes
into which the man-things were clambering. “Come,” I said to Lys, “we must
follow them. We cannot last a half-hour out here. We must find a cave.” Already
we could see the blazing green eyes of the hungry carnivora. I seized a brand
from the fire and hurled it out into the night, and there came back an
answering chorus of savage and rageful protest; but the eyes vanished for a
short time. Selecting a burning branch for each of us, we advanced toward the
cliffs, where we were met by angry threats.
“They will kill us,” said Lys. “We may as well keep on in search of another
refuge.”
“They will not kill us so surely as will those others out there,” I replied. “I
am going to seek shelter in one of these caves; nor will the man-things
prevent.” And I kept on in the direction of the cliff’s base. A huge creature
stood upon a ledge and brandished his stone hatchet. “Come and I will kill you
and take the she,” he boasted.
“You saw how Tsa fared when he would have kept my she,” I replied in his own
tongue. “Thus will you fare and all your fellows if you do not permit us to
come in peace among you out of the dangers of the night.”
“Go north,” he screamed. “Go north among the Galus, and we will not harm you.
Some day will we be Galus; but now we are not. You do not belong among us. Go
away or we will kill you. The she may remain if she is afraid, and we will keep
her; but the he must depart.”
“The he won’t depart,” I replied, and approached still nearer. Rough and narrow
ledges formed by nature gave access to the upper caves. A man might scale them
if unhampered and unhindered, but to clamber upward in the face of a
belligerent tribe of half-men and with a girl to assist was beyond my
capability.
“I do not fear you,” screamed the creature. “You were close to Tsa; but I am
far above you. You cannot harm me as you harmed Tsa. Go away!”
I placed a foot upon the lowest ledge and clambered upward, reaching down and
pulling Lys to my side. Already I felt safer. Soon we would be out of danger of
the beasts again closing in upon us. The man above us raised his stone hatchet
above his head and leaped lightly down to meet us. His position above me gave
him a great advantage, or at least so he probably thought, for he came with
every show of confidence. I hated to do it, but there seemed no other way, and
so I shot him down as I had shot down Tsa.
“You see,” I cried to his fellows, “that I can kill you wherever you may be. A
long way off I can kill you as well as I can kill you near by. Let us come
among you in peace. I will not harm you if you do not harm us. We will take a
cave high up. Speak!”
“Come, then,” said one. “If you will not harm us, you may come. Take Tsa’s
hole, which lies above you.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account