ng like a fish out of water. Turning,
she flashed a smile at me and then dived into the river, and there she
bathed while I stood guard over her. For five or ten minutes she
splashed about, and when she emerged her glistening skin was smooth and
white and beautiful. Without means of drying herself, she simply
ignored what to me would have seemed a necessity, and in a moment was
arrayed in her simple though effective costume.

It was now within an hour of darkness, and as I was nearly famished, I
led the way back about a quarter of a mile to a low meadow where we had
seen antelope and small horses a short time before. Here I brought
down a young buck, the report of my rifle sending the balance of the
herd scampering for the woods, where they were met by a chorus of
hideous roars as the carnivora took advantage of their panic and leaped
among them.

With my hunting-knife I removed a hind-quarter, and then we returned to
camp. Here I gathered a great quantity of wood from fallen trees, Ajor
helping me; but before I built a fire, I also gathered sufficient loose
rock to build my barricade against the frightful terrors of the night
to come.

I shall never forget the expression upon Ajor's face as she saw me
strike a match and light the kindling beneath our camp-fire. It was
such an expression as might transform a mortal face with awe as its
owner beheld the mysterious workings of divinity. It was evident that
Ajor was quite unfamiliar with modern methods of fire-making. She had
thought my rifle and pistol wonderful; but these tiny slivers of wood
which from a magic rub brought flame to the camp hearth were indeed
miracles to her.

As the meat roasted above the fire, Ajor and I tried once again to
talk; but though copiously filled with incentive, gestures and sounds,
the conversation did not flourish notably. And then Ajor took up in
earnest the task of teaching me her language. She commenced, as I
later learned, with the simplest form of speech known to Caspak or for
that matter to the world--that employed by the Bo-lu. I found it far
from difficult, and even though it was a great handicap upon my
instructor that she could not speak my language, she did remarkably
well and demonstrated that she possessed ingenuity and intelligence of
a high order.

After we had eaten, I added to the pile of firewood so that I could
replenish the fire before the entrance to our barricade, believing this
as good a protection