attle. The ape-men had
closed in on the girls, were swarming about them, and the mist balls had
almost ceased to fly. But the thing which gave Kirby hope was that the
apes were not attempting to harm the girls. They seemed victors, but
they were not committing atrocities.

It was the sharp intuition that something like this might happen which
had sent Kirby fleeing from the fight. He believed he might yet prove
useful.

The thickest group of attackers were jostling about Naida. As the
screams and sobs of the girls quivered out, mingled with the guttural
roaring of the men, Naida was shut off by a solid wall of aggressors.

Then Kirby saw her again. But now two of the most powerful of the
ape-men had caught her up and was carrying her. Her kicking and writhing
and biting accomplished nothing. The apes were headed directly back to
the jungle.

* * * * *

Now, however, most of the yellow mist had disappeared, and that was all
Kirby had been waiting for. With a growling shout, he tore out from
behind his boulder, his Luger ready. Naida's captors were in full
retreat, and other pairs of men were snatching up other girls and
hopping after them. Toward Naida Kirby ran madly but not blindly.

"Naida! Naida!" he bellowed.

He got in two strides for every one the apes made.

"Naida!" he shouted, and at last saw her look at him.

Her face was pallid with loathing and terror. As her glimmering dark
eyes met his, they flashed a plea which made his heart thrash against
his lungs.

With a final roar of encouragement Kirby closed in on the hair-covered
men, and fired instantly a shot which caught one full in the heart. The
creature wavered on its legs, looked at the unexpected enemy with
dismayed, swinish little red eyes, and relaxing his hold upon Naida,
dropped without making a sound.

After that--

But suddenly Kirby found himself unable to comprehend fully the other
terrific results of his intervention. Before the echoes of his shot
died, there came to him the rumble of what seemed to be tons of falling
rock. In the bright air a slight mist was precipitated. To all of which
was added the effect upon the ape-men of fear of a weapon and a type of
fighter utterly new to them.

Kirby had fired believing that he would have to fight other ape-men
when the first fell. But not so. Instead of that--

* * * * *

He blinked rapidly as he took in the scene.

Na