light revealed the newcomer as a woman.

Quietly she arranged the dishes she had brought, using the low stand as
a table. That done, she came to Dylara's side and shook her gently by a
shoulder.

The daughter of Majok awakened with a start, blinking the sleep from her
eyes. At sight of the other, she sat up in quick alarm.

The woman smiled reassuringly. "You must not be afraid," she said
softly. "I am your friend. They sent me here with food for you. See?"
She pointed to the dishes.

The words brought a measure of comfort to Dylara's troubled mind. She
noticed this woman's speech had in it nothing of the strange accent
peculiar to Sephar's inhabitants.

"Who are you?" Dylara asked.

"I am Nada--a slave."

The girl nodded. Who was it this woman reminded her of? "I am Dylara,
Nada. Tell me, why is it you speak as do the cave people?"

"I am of the cave people," replied the woman. "There are many of us
here. The mountains about Sephar contain the caves of many tribes. Often
Sephar's warriors make war on our people and carry many away to become
slaves."

Dylara watched her as she spoke. Despite a youthful appearance, she must
have been twice the cave-girl's age; about the same height but more
fully developed. Her figure, under the simple tunic, was beautifully
proportioned; her face the loveliest Dylara had ever seen. There was an
indefinable air of breeding and poise in her manner, softened by warm
brown eyes and an expression of sympathetic understanding.

Nada endured the close appraisal without self-consciousness. Finally she
said: "You must be hungry. Come; sit here and eat."

Dylara obeyed without further urging. Nada watched her in silence until
the girl's appetite had been dulled, then said: "How did they happen to
get you?"

Dylara told her, briefly. For some obscure reason she could not bring
herself to mention Tharn by name. Just the thought of him, falling
beneath a Sepharian club, brought a sharp ache to her throat.

* * * * *

There was a far-away expression in Nada's eyes as Dylara finished her
story. "I knew a warrior once--one very much like the young man who took
you from your father's caves. He was a mighty chief--and my mate. Many
summers ago I was captured near our caves as I walked at the jungle's
edge. A war party from a strange tribe had crept close to our caves
during the night, planning to raid us at dawn. They seized me; but my
cries aroused my peo