own kind!

Presently, through the shroud of darkness traced by ghostly slivers of
starlight, came the sound of trickling water. The trail rose, dipped
down; and through that hollow crawled the stream, winding from a
hidden spring to the encompassing river below. Garth was winded when
he came to it; to his eyes it seemed a small river. His legs were so
numb they hardly felt the cold bite of the water that lapped around
them.

Some furry water animal leaped away as Garth trudged upstream, alarmed
by the strange midnight visitant and the self-encouraging mutterings
of a shrill human voice....

* * * * *

He had waded what seemed to him a weary distance--in reality only a
few hundred yards--through the winding, icy creek, when suddenly he
halted and stood stock-still. Listening, he heard the ordinary sounds
of the wind through the fir-spires, and the slow trickle of water;
heard the beating of his own heart. Nothing else. And yet.... He took
another step.

Then he swung quickly around and peered back, senses alert. There was
no mistaking the sound that had come again. It was the crunch of heavy
feet, thudding at even intervals on damp earth. They were
Hagendorff's; and he was armed with light!

A long beam of white speared through the tangle of bush and tree
trunks far below. It came slanting down from above, prying for the
story recorded by miniature footprints in the ground. By its distance
from him, Garth could tell Hagendorff had come to where his trail led
into the stream. The ray held steady for minutes. Again it prowled
nervously around, hunting for tell-tale signs, sweeping in widening
circles. Then, it was punctuated by the crunch of a boot.

The giant was following upstream!

With the flashlight, he might even be able to trace the prints in the
bed of the creek. Stooping, Garth crept ahead, as silently as he
could, though the stir of water at his feet seemed terribly loud.
There were keen ears behind, craned for sounds like that. He knew he
would have to hide again--quickly--and at that moment he saw a place.

A cleft in the bank to his right held a small hole, dimly limned by a
wisp of starlight. On hands and feet the midget scrambled cat-like to
it. It slanted down and inwards, only inches wide, so that the earth
was close to his body when he slid feet-first inside. But it was warm
and dry, for it was shielded by a ledge from rain, and with the warmth
the hunted maniki