long been awaiting him, and swang down gladly from their sleeping-bowers
in the trees. Then, with the hut and the Oomgar's pillar of smoke upon
their cudgel-hand, they set out once more, all but due North, towards
the Valleys of Assasimmon.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIII

The sun rose and beat down on the bare expanse of snow. But soon they
lurched headlong down again into the forest. But it was forest not so
dense as the forest of the Minimul mounds, nor by a tenth part as dark
as the forest where haunts the Telateuti. At scent of Nod every small
beast and bird scuttled off and flew away. And it was dreary marching
for the travellers where all that lived feared even their savour on the
wind. But by evening they had pushed on past Battle's farthest hunting,
and being wearied with their long day's march, nor any tracks of
leopards to be seen, they made no fire with their fire-sticks, but
gathered a big heap of dry leaves scattered in abundance by this strange
cold, this Witzaweelw[=u]llah, and huddled themselves close for warmth
in sleep.

Next day they broke out into the open again, and before them, clear as
amber or coral, still and beautiful in the sunrise, rose afar off upon
the horizon the solitary peaks, which are seven--Kush, Zut, and Kippel,
Solmi, Makkri, M[=o][=o]t, and Mulgar-meerez--the Mountains of
Arakkaboa.

All this day they trudged on in difficulty and discomfort, for the
ground was sharp and stony, and sloped now perpetually upward. And
though at first sight of them it had seemed they had need but to stretch
out a finger to touch the mountain-tops, they found the farther they
journeyed towards them the more distant seemed these wonderful peaks to
be. And their spirits began to sink.

On the evening of the fifth day Thumb and Thimble were stooping together
over their fire-sticks in a great waste of bare rocks, while Nod was
pounding up a sweet but unknown fruit they had found in their day's
march growing close upon the ground, when suddenly they heard in the
distance a hubbub of shouts and cries the like of which they had never
heard in their lives before. They hastily concealed their small bundles
of food in a crevice of the rocks, and, creeping cautiously, peered out
in the last rays of the sun in order to discover the cause of this
prodigious uproar.

And they saw advancing towards them a vast host and multitude of the
painted Babbab[=o][=o]ma-mulgars, travelling, as