The Project Gutenberg EBook of Warrior of the Dawn, by Howard Carleton Browne

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Warrior of the Dawn

Author: Howard Carleton Browne

Release Date: May 20, 2010 [EBook #32462]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARRIOR OF THE DAWN ***

Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. Holda, Mary Meehan and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net

WARRIOR OF THE DAWN

by HOWARD BROWNE

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Amazing Stories December
1942 and January 1943. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence
that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Illustration: Tharn stared in amazement at the city that lay before
him]

[Sidenote: From the forest deeps came brutal killers, and Tharn, the
Cro-Magnon, vowed that vengeance would be his....]

CHAPTER I

In Quest of Vengeance

It was late afternoon. Neela, the zebra, and his family of fifteen
grazed quietly near the center of a level stretch of grassland. In the
distance, and encircling the expanse of prairie, stood a solid wall of
forest and close-knit jungle.

For the past two hours of this long hot afternoon Neela had shown signs
of increasing nervousness. Feeding a short distance from the balance of
his charges, he lifted his head from time to time to stare intently
across the wind-stirred grasses to the east. Twice he had started slowly
in that direction, only to stop short, stamp and snort uneasily, then
wheel about and retrace his steps.

The remainder of the herd cropped calmly at the long grasses, apparently
heedless of their leader's unrest, tails slapping flanks clear of biting
flies.

Meanwhile, some two hundred yards to the eastward, three half-naked
white hunters, belly-flat in the concealing growth, continued their
cautious advance.

Wise in the ways of wary grass-eaters were these three members of a
Cro-Magnard tribe, living in a day some twenty thousand years before the
founding of Rome.[A] With the wind against their faces, with their
passage as soundless as only veteran hunters may ma