* * * * *

Suddenly the tail stiffened and shot erect; and voicing an
ear-shattering roar, Sadu sprang at the man in his path.

Sadu, the lion, had felt man's tender flesh beneath his yellow fangs and
murderous talons before this. He expected no more resistance from this
one than had come from those others.

It was an astonished beast, therefore, that crashed to the sand where
the man had been--and was no longer. With an uncanny agility Tharn
evaded that lightning charge; then, so quickly that human eyes were hard
put to follow, he leaped in and drove his heavy knife deep behind Sadu's
left shoulder.

The jungle king, snarling hideously from unexpected pain and shock,
wheeled and struck in one simultaneous motion; but Tharn, leaping high
as the great cat turned, vaulted completely over the broad back, the
dripping knife still clutched in his hand. Before Sadu could reverse
himself, the blade flashed again, striking at the base of the tawny neck
where lay the great spine.

The flint bit deep but missed a vital spot by half an inch. Sadu had
moved in a rapid sideward maneuver as Tharn's arm was descending, and
while the wound that resulted was painful, it was by no means fatal.

Worst of all, the blow had cost the Cro-Magnard his only weapon. Sadu's
sudden shift had torn the knife from Tharn's fingers before he could tug
it free, leaving the blade sunk deep, haft still standing upright like a
miniature cross.

His blood crimsoning the white sands, Sadu whirled about, sending a
shower of the fine particles high into the air. Once more he hurled
himself at his elusive foe, and once more Tharn dodged aside. But this
time his foot slipped a little in the yielding sand. One flailing paw
struck his chest a glancing blow, the claws raking long scratches there,
and Tharn was catapulted heels over head a full fifteen feet across the
arena.

A little murmur of protest came from the ranks of spectators. They had
witnessed what had promised to be an ineffectual struggle develop into a
battle between giants, with its ultimate outcome very much in doubt.
Now, through a quirk of fate, the grim battle was ended; the favorite
they had acclaimed was doomed.

Sadu leaped forward to make his kill.

Tharn, helpless, knew life had run its course. Nothing could save him
now.

And then fickle fate shifted once more. Tharn's right hand, pressing
against the ground in a last futile effort to throw himself