servants of the mountain gathered near. Below, the White Ones were
massed in worshiping silence. Had not Dean-Rah-Sun saved them? And now
what else would come to pass?

The same question had been asked by the Wise Ones, and now Rawson
turned and spoke to them. "Rotan was right," he told them. "His vision
was true. There is work I must do here before I go. Your lands, or
some of them at least, will be restored. And you will be safe forever
from what we have seen to-day. Gor will lead you wisely, and Loah...."
His voice faltered; he had kept his eyes resolutely away from the slim
figure of the girl, who had been wordless, scarcely breathing. Now she
stepped swiftly before him.

"You must go, Dean-San," she said gently. He knew it was a term of
endearment. "You must go if you say you must. But you do not go alone,
nor die alone. Long ago the voice of the mountain spoke beautiful
words. I know now it was one of your priests telling of a woman of
your own race. Always have I remembered. 'Wheresoever thou goest, I
shall go; thy people....'"

But Dean Rawson had gathered the slender figure, starry-eyed and
sobbing into his arms.

CHAPTER XXIII

_Oro and Grah_

[Sidenote: As part of their titanic plan, Rawson and Loah-San return
to sacrifice themselves in the flaming caverns of the Red Ones.]

[Illustration: _Then there were footsteps approaching the chest._]

"The Place of Death!" said Dean Rawson. "Whoever named it had the
right idea."

He looked out across the wide stretch of ground with its covering of
white salt almost entirely stripped of the carpet of vines. The bodies
of the mole-men lay where they had fallen; their flame-throwers still
tore futilely at the earth or stabbed upward in vain, thrusting toward
the green-gold sun that shone pitilessly down.

"Still I do not understand," said Gor. "My people pressed the strong,
burning water from the vines and poured it into the pool as you
directed. But the Red Ones did not touch it--how could it burn them?"

"I'll say it was strong!" said Rawson. He looked at his hands, red and
burned where the liquid had touched. "And it got stronger by standing.
It was an acid, and when it touched the white earth a gas was
formed--hydrocyanic acid gas. And that's nothing to fool with."

He walked cautiously out where the liquid had been poured over the
white ground. No odor remained; the air was clean. Then he picked up
one of the flame-throwers and experimented wit