inner, and he leapt the flint
heap, and pulled down Irm the son of Irk, who had seemed like to be the
leader. That was a dreadful night, because they lit great flares of fern
and ran screaming, and the lion missed his hold of Irm. By the glare of
the fire they saw Irm struggle up, and run a little way towards them,
and then the lion in two bounds had him down again. That was the last of
Irm.

So fear came, and all the delight of spring passed out of their lives.
Already there were five gone out of the tribe, and four nights added
three more to the number. Food-seeking became spiritless, none knew who
might go next, and all day the women toiled, even the favourite women,
gathering litter and sticks for the night fires. And the hunters hunted
ill: in the warm spring-time hunger came again as though it was still
winter. The tribe might have moved, had they had a leader, but they had
no leader, and none knew where to go that the lion could not follow
them. So the old lion waxed fat and thanked heaven for the kindly race
of men. Two of the children and a youth died while the moon was still
new, and then it was the shrivelled old fire-minder first bethought
herself in a dream of Eudena and Ugh-lomi, and of the way Uya had been
slain. She had lived in fear of Uya all her days, and now she lived in
fear of the lion. That Ugh-lomi could kill Uya for good--Ugh-lomi whom
she had seen born--was impossible. It was Uya still seeking his enemy!

And then came the strange return of Ugh-lomi, a wonderful animal seen
galloping far across the river, that suddenly changed into two animals,
a horse and a man. Following this portent, the vision of Ugh-lomi on the
farther bank of the river.... Yes, it was all plain to her. Uya was
punishing them, because they had not hunted down Ugh-lomi and Eudena.

The men came straggling back to the chances of the night while the sun
was still golden in the sky. They were received with the story of
Ugh-lomi. She went across the river with them and showed them his spoor
hesitating on the farther bank. Siss the Tracker knew the feet for
Ugh-lomi's. "Uya needs Ugh-lomi," cried the old woman, standing on the
left of the bend, a gesticulating figure of flaring bronze in the
sunset. Her cries were strange sounds, flitting to and fro on the
borderland of speech, but this was the sense they carried: "The lion
needs Eudena. He comes night after night seeking Eudena and Ugh-lomi.
When he cannot find Eudena and Ug