ch intent upon
saving his own hide.

I ran to the right, passing several exits choked with the fear mad mob
that were battling to escape. One would have thought that an entire
herd of thags was loose behind them, rather than a single blinded,
dying beast; but such is the effect of panic upon a crowd.

VII

FREEDOM

Once out of the direct path of the animal, fear of it left me, but
another emotion as quickly gripped me--hope of escape that the
demoralized condition of the guards made possible for the instant.

I thought of Perry, but for the hope that I might better encompass his
release if myself free I should have put the thought of freedom from me
at once. As it was I hastened on toward the right searching for an
exit toward which no Sagoths were fleeing, and at last I found it--a
low, narrow aperture leading into a dark corridor.

Without thought of the possible consequence, I darted into the shadows
of the tunnel, feeling my way along through the gloom for some
distance. The noises of the amphitheater had grown fainter and fainter
until now all was as silent as the tomb about me. Faint light filtered
from above through occasional ventilating and lighting tubes, but it
was scarce sufficient to enable my human eyes to cope with the
darkness, and so I was forced to move with extreme care, feeling my way
along step by step with a hand upon the wall beside me.

Presently the light increased and a moment later, to my delight, I came
upon a flight of steps leading upward, at the top of which the
brilliant light of the noonday sun shone through an opening in the
ground.

Cautiously I crept up the stairway to the tunnel's end, and peering out
saw the broad plain of Phutra before me. The numerous lofty, granite
towers which mark the several entrances to the subterranean city were
all in front of me--behind, the plain stretched level and unbroken to
the nearby foothills. I had come to the surface, then, beyond the
city, and my chances for escape seemed much enhanced.

My first impulse was to await darkness before attempting to cross the
plain, so deeply implanted are habits of thought; but of a sudden I
recollected the perpetual noonday brilliance which envelopes
Pellucidar, and with a smile I stepped forth into the day-light.

Rank grass, waist high, grows upon the plain of Phutra--the gorgeous
flowering grass of the inner world, each particular blade of which is
tipped with a tiny, five-pointed blo