lip of the narrow fissure across the mouth of their valley. Night
and day, now high and vehement, now low and faint, they had danced
there, guarding the valley entrance--until just one moon ago. Then had
come an earthquake, shaking the hearts of all the tribe to water. The
dancing flames had died. The fissure had closed up, and its place had
been taken by a pool of boiling pitch. And one of the caves had fallen
in, burying several members of the tribe, who had been too stupefied
with panic to flee into the open at the first alarm. For some days
after this catastrophe the tribe had camped in the open, huddled about
their great fires. Then, but with deep misgivings, they had all
crowded back into the remaining caves.

But now there was not room enough, and Bawr, the wise Chief, had taken
frequent counsel upon the matter with Grom, whom, loving him greatly
he called sometimes his Right Hand and sometimes the Eye of the
People. At last, it had been settled that Grom should lead a party
through the jungle land to those other hills, to spy out the prospect.
And Grom, like the foresighted leader that he was, had spent many
hours on the mountain-top, planning his route and studying the
luxuriant surface of the jungle outstretched below him, before
plunging into its mysterious depths.

As was his custom when on a perilous venture, Grom would have few
followers to share the peril with him. He took A-ya, not only because
of her oft-proved courage and resourcefulness, not only because he
wanted her always at his side, but, above all, because he knew he
could not leave her behind. Had he tried to leave her, she would have
disobeyed and followed him by stealth--and perhaps fallen a prey to
prowling beasts. He took also A-ya's young brother, the hot-head Mo;
and Loob, the shaggy, little sharp-faced scout, who could run like a
hare, hide like a fox, and fight like a cornered weasel. This he would
have accounted, ordinarily, a sufficient party. But the present
enterprise being one of peculiar difficulty, he decided at the last
moment to strengthen his following by the addition of a dark-faced,
perpetually-grinning giant named Hobbo, who was slow of wit, but
thewed like a bull, and a mighty fighter with the stone-headed club.

This little but greatly daring band, which Grom, one flaming sunrise,
led down into the unknown jungle, was well armed. Besides the spear
and the club, each member of the party but Hobbo (who had displayed no
a