no, no!" they wailed murmurously. "You do not know what it is you
seek! You do not know Thag! Stay here! Beware of Thag!"

* * * * *

A little prickling of unease went down Smith's back as he listened. Thag
must be very terrible indeed if even half this alarm had foundation. And
to be quite frank with himself, he would greatly have preferred to
remain here in the hidden quiet of the hollow, with its illusion of
shelter, for as long as he was allowed to stay. But he was not of the
stuff that yields very easily to its own terrors, and hope burned
strongly in him still. So he squared his broad shoulders and turned
resolutely in the direction the tree-folk had indicated.

When they saw that he meant to go, their protests sank to a wail of
bitter grieving. With that sound moaning behind him he went up out of
the hollow, like a man setting forth to the music of his own dirge. A
few of the bravest went with him a little way, flitting through the
underbrush and darting from tree to tree in a timidity so deeply
ingrained that even when no immediate peril threatened they dared not go
openly through the twilight.

Their presence was comforting to Smith as he went on. A futile desire to
help the little terror-ridden tribe was rising in him, a useless
gratitude for their warning and their friendliness, their genuine
grieving at his departure and their odd, paradoxical bravery even in the
midst of hereditary terror. But he knew that he could do nothing for
them, when he was not at all sure he could even save himself. Something
of their panic had communicated itself to him, and he advanced with a
sinking at the pit of his stomach. Fear of the unknown is so poignant a
thing, feeding on its own terror, that he found his hands beginning to
shake a little and his throat going dry as he went on.

* * * * *

The rustling and whispering among the bushes dwindled as his followers
one by one dropped away, the bravest staying the longest, but even they
failing in courage as Smith advanced steadily in that direction from
which all their lives they had been taught to turn their faces.
Presently he realized that he was alone once more. He went on more
quickly, anxious to come face to face with this horror of the twilight
and dispel at least the fearfulness of its mystery.

* * * * *

The silence was like death. Not a breeze stirred the leaves, and