catlike crouch and its beastly growls. She was
lost--that Pan-at-lee knew. The two things might fight for her, but
whichever won she was lost. Perhaps, during the battle, if it came to
that, she might find the opportunity to throw herself over into the
Kor-ul-gryf.

The thing that held her she had recognized now as a Tor-o-don, but the
other thing she could not place, though in the moonlight she could see
it very distinctly. It had no tail. She could see its hands and its
feet, and they were not the hands and feet of the races of Pal-ul-don.
It was slowly closing upon the Tor-o-don and in one hand it held a
gleaming knife. Now it spoke and to Pan-at-lee's terror was added an
equal weight of consternation.

"When it leaves go of you," it said, "as it will presently to defend
itself, run quickly behind me, Pan-at-lee, and go to the cave nearest
the pegs you descended from the cliff top. Watch from there. If I am
defeated you will have time to escape this slow thing; if I am not I
will come to you there. I am Om-at's friend and yours."

The last words took the keen edge from Pan-at-lee's terror; but she did
not understand. How did this strange creature know her name? How did it
know that she had descended the pegs by a certain cave? It must, then,
have been here when she came. Pan-at-lee was puzzled.

"Who are you?" she asked, "and from whence do you come?"

"I am Tarzan," he replied, "and just now I came from Om-at, of
Kor-ul-ja, in search of you."

Om-at, gund of Kor-ul-ja! What wild talk was this? She would have
questioned him further, but now he was approaching the Tor-o-don and
the latter was screaming and growling so loudly as to drown the sound
of her voice. And then it did what the strange creature had said that
it would do--it released its hold upon her hair as it prepared to
charge. Charge it did and in those close quarters there was no room to
fence for openings. Instantly the two beasts locked in deadly embrace,
each seeking the other's throat. Pan-at-lee watched, taking no
advantage of the opportunity to escape which their preoccupation gave
her. She watched and waited, for into her savage little brain had come
the resolve to pin her faith to this strange creature who had unlocked
her heart with those four words--"I am Om-at's friend!" And so she
waited, with drawn knife, the opportunity to do her bit in the
vanquishing of the Tor-o-don. That the newcomer could do it unaided she
well knew to be beyond