s rope about his shoulders and
made sure the stone knife was secure in the folds of his loin-cloth.

He turned to the watching men. "I am going now," he said quietly. An
instant later the black void of jungle had swallowed him up.

CHAPTER II

Dylara

Uda, the moon, had not yet risen above the trees when the Cro-Magnon
youth plunged into the wilderness of growing things. As a result he
found his way purely by his familiarity with the territory and a store
of jungle lore not surpassed by the beasts themselves. Because of the
dense darkness, he was guided by three senses alone: smell, hearing and
touch; but these were ample when backed by the keen mind and superhuman
strength bequeathed by heritage and environment.

The narrow game trail underfoot swerved abruptly to the west and rose
rapidly. For several hundred feet the way was steep, became level for a
short distance, then fell away in a long gentle slope to flatness once
more.

All this was familiar ground to Tharn. The ridge containing the homes of
his people was behind him now; from here on for a day's march was
nothing but level country.

Now came Uda, her shining half-disc swinging low above the towering
reaches of the trees, her white rays seeking to pierce the matted growth
below. What little light came through was enough for Tharn's eyes to
regain some degree of usefulness.

He was moving ahead at a slow trot, an hour afterward, when the shrill
scream of a leopard broke suddenly from the trail ahead. Another time,
and Tharn might have gone on--too proud to change his course in the face
of possible peril. But tonight he had more urgent business than a brawl
with Tarlok.

Turning at right angles into the wall of undergrowth lining the path, he
vaulted into the lower branches of a sturdy tree. With the graceful
agility of little Nobar, the monkey, he swung swiftly westward again,
threading his way with deceptive ease along the network of swaying
boughs, now and then swinging perilously across a wide span from one
tree to the next.

Directly below was the beaten path; and now he caught sight of the
animal whose scream he had heard. Tarlok was pacing leisurely in the
same direction as that of the man overhead, pausing occasionally to give
voice to his hunting squall, his spotted form barely visible among the
shadows. Tharn passed silently above him, the leopard unaware of his
nearness.

Onward raced the Cro-Magnard, his thoughts filled with th