ing party which
the renegade had led in to spy upon the weakness of the tribe. This
was as far as he could premise with any certainty. The obvious
conclusion was that these spies would return to their own country, to
lead back such an invasion as should blot the Children of the Shining
One out of existence.

Grom was quick to realize that to listen any longer was to waste
invaluable time. All that it was possible for him to learn, he had
learned. Writhing softly back till he had gained what he considered a
safe distance from the spies, he rose to his feet and ran, at first
noiselessly, and crouching as he went, then at the top of that speed
for which he was famous in the tribe. Reaching the Caves, he laid the
matter hurriedly before the Chief, and within five minutes they were
leading a dozen warriors up the trail.

Besides their customary weapons, both Grom and the Chief carried
fire-sticks, tubes of thick, green bark, tied round with a raw hide,
filled with smouldering punk, and perforated with a number of holes
toward the upper end. This was one of Grom's inventions, of proved
efficacy against saber-tooth and bear. By cramming a handful of dry
fiber and twigs into the mouth of the tube, and then whirling it
around his head, he was able to obtain a sudden and most unexpected
burst of flame which no beast ever dared to face, and which never
failed to compel the awe and wonder of his followers.

Like shadows the little band went gliding in single file through the
thickets and under the drooping branches, their passage marked only by
the occasional upspringing of a startled bird or the frightened
crashing flight of some timorous beast surprised by their swift and
noiseless approach. Arriving near the hollow under the ledge, they
sank flat and wormed their way forward like weasels till they had
gained the post of observation behind the vine-clad rock.

But the strangers had vanished. An examination of their footprints
showed that they had fled in haste; and to Grom's chagrin it looked as
if he had himself given them the alarm. The problem was solved in a
few minutes by the discovery that Mawg--easily detected by his finer
footprints--had scaled the ledge and come upon the place where Grom
had lain hidden to watch them. Seeing that they were discovered, and
that their discoverer had evidently gone to arouse the tribe, they had
realized that, the Bow-legs being slow runners, their only hope lay in
instant flight. From