plied, "and daylight is coming
in from the outside world just ahead. We are saved, Ajor!"

She sat up then and looked about, and then, quite womanlike, she burst
into tears. It was the reaction, of course; and then too, she was very
weak. I took her in my arms and quieted her as best I could, and
finally, with my help, she got to her feet; for she, as well as I, had
found some slight recuperation in sleep. Together we staggered upward
toward the light, and at the first turn we saw an opening a few yards
ahead of us and a leaden sky beyond--a leaden sky from which was
falling a drizzling rain, the author of our little, trickling stream
which had given us drink when we were most in need of it.

The cave had been damp and cold; but as we crawled through the
aperture, the muggy warmth of the Caspakian air caressed and confronted
us; even the rain was warmer than the atmosphere of those dark
corridors. We had water now, and warmth, and I was sure that Caspak
would soon offer us meat or fruit; but as we came to where we could
look about, we saw that we were upon the summit of the cliffs, where
there seemed little reason to expect game. However, there were trees,
and among them we soon descried edible fruits with which we broke our
long fast.

Chapter 4

We spent two days upon the cliff-top, resting and recuperating. There
was some small game which gave us meat, and the little pools of
rainwater were sufficient to quench our thirst. The sun came out a few
hours after we emerged from the cave, and in its warmth we soon cast
off the gloom which our recent experiences had saddled upon us.

Upon the morning of the third day we set out to search for a path down
to the valley. Below us, to the north, we saw a large pool lying at
the foot of the cliffs, and in it we could discern the women of the
Band-lu lying in the shallow waters, while beyond and close to the base
of the mighty barrier-cliffs there was a large party of Band-lu
warriors going north to hunt. We had a splendid view from our lofty
cliff-top. Dimly, to the west, we could see the farther shore of the
inland sea, and southwest the large southern island loomed distinctly
before us. A little east of north was the northern island, which Ajor,
shuddering, whispered was the home of the Wieroo--the land of Oo-oh.
It lay at the far end of the lake and was barely visible to us, being
fully sixty miles away.

From our elevation, and in a clearer atmosphere,