elped them."

The Cro-Magnon girl could not grasp this strange contradiction, for she
knew certain gods sought to destroy man, while other gods tried to
protect him....

"Then I must spend the rest of my life as a slave?" she asked.

"Yes--unless some free man asks for you as a mate. And that may happen
because you are very beautiful."

The girl shook her head. "I do not want that," she declared. "I want
only to return to my father and people."

"It will be best," Nada said, "to give up that foolish dream. Sometimes
cave-men escape from Sephar; the women, never."

She rose, saying: "I must leave you now. The guards will be wondering
what has kept me. Tomorrow I will come again."

The two embraced. "Farewell, Nada," whispered the girl. "I shall try to
sleep again. Being here does not seem so bad, now that I know you."

* * * * *

Tharn regained his feet quickly after the drop from the wall, and looked
about. Failing to detect any cause for immediate alarm, he set out along
a broad street, hugging the buildings and keeping well within the
shadows. The moon was quite high by now, the strong light flooding the
deserted streets and bringing every object into bold relief.

The man of the caves did not have the slightest idea as to how he might
locate the girl he loved; he proposed, however, to pit his wit and
cunning, together with the stone knife and grass rope against the entire
city, if necessary, until he stumbled across a clue of some sort that
would bring them together. How he expected to snatch Dylara from her
captors and win through to the forest and plains he did not stop to
consider--time enough for that when she was found.

Abruptly the street along which he was moving ended, crossed here by
another roadway. Down this side street a few yards, and on the opposite
side, a huge stone building loomed, its windows barred by slender
columns of stone. To Tharn's inexperienced eyes this appeared to be a
prison of some sort; and as it was the first of its kind he had noticed,
he decided to investigate--that is, if a means of entry could be found.
The hope that Dylara might be held behind one of those protected windows
spurred him on.

Nonchalantly the mighty figure stepped from the sheltering shadows and
leisurely crossed the street. He did not wish to excite suspicion,
should any chance onlooker see him, by a sudden dash. Reaching the
doorway of the edifice, he glanced sharply a