t easier to reform the rest."

Maskull frowned, but said nothing.

"Well?" demanded Oceaxe, with a half smile.

"I'll come with you, and I'll see Crimtyphon--if only to warn him."

Oceaxe broke into a cascade of rich, feminine laughter, but whether at
the image conjured up by Maskull's last words, or from some other cause,
he did not know. The conversation dropped.

At a distance of a couple of miles from the now towering cliffs, the
river made a sharp, right-angled turn to the west, and was no longer of
use to them on their journey. Maskull stared up doubtfully.

"It's a stiff climb for a hot morning."

"Let's rest here a little," said she, indicating a smooth flat island
of black rock, standing up just out of the water in the middle of the
river.

They accordingly went to it, and Maskull sat down. Oceaxe, however,
standing graceful and erect, turned her face toward the cliffs opposite,
and uttered a piercing and peculiar call.

"What is that for?" She did not answer. After waiting a minute, she
repeated the call. Maskull now saw a large bird detach itself from the
top of one of the precipices, and sail slowly down toward them. It was
followed by two others. The flight of these birds was exceedingly slow
and clumsy.

"What are they?" he asked.

She still returned no answer, but smiled rather peculiarly and sat down
beside him. Before many minutes he was able to distinguish the shapes
and colors of the flying monsters. They were not birds, but creatures
with long, snakelike bodies, and ten reptilian legs apiece, terminating
in fins which acted as wings. The bodies were of bright blue, the legs
and fins were yellow. They were flying, without haste, but in a somewhat
ominous fashion, straight toward them. He could make out a long, thin
spike projecting from each of the heads.

"They are shrowks," explained Oceaxe at last. "If you want to know
their intention, I'll tell you. To make a meal of us. First of all their
spikes will pierce us, and then their mouths, which are really suckers,
will drain us dry of blood--pretty thoroughly too; there are no half
measures with shrowks. They are toothless beasts, so don't eat flesh."

"As you show such admirable sangfroid," said Maskull dryly, "I take it
there's no particular danger."

Nevertheless he instinctively tried to get on to his feet and failed. A
new form of paralysis was chaining him to the ground.

"Are you trying to get up?" asked Oceaxe smoothly.

"W