ssom--brilliant little stars of
varying colors that twinkle in the green foliage to add still another
charm to the weird, yet lovely, landscape.

But then the only aspect which attracted me was the distant hills in
which I hoped to find sanctuary, and so I hastened on, trampling the
myriad beauties beneath my hurrying feet. Perry says that the force of
gravity is less upon the surface of the inner world than upon that of
the outer. He explained it all to me once, but I was never
particularly brilliant in such matters and so most of it has escaped
me. As I recall it the difference is due in some part to the
counter-attraction of that portion of the earth's crust directly
opposite the spot upon the face of Pellucidar at which one's
calculations are being made. Be that as it may, it always seemed to me
that I moved with greater speed and agility within Pellucidar than upon
the outer surface--there was a certain airy lightness of step that was
most pleasing, and a feeling of bodily detachment which I can only
compare with that occasionally experienced in dreams.

And as I crossed Phutra's flower-bespangled plain that time I seemed
almost to fly, though how much of the sensation was due to Perry's
suggestion and how much to actuality I am sure I do not know. The more
I thought of Perry the less pleasure I took in my new-found freedom.
There could be no liberty for me within Pellucidar unless the old man
shared it with me, and only the hope that I might find some way to
encompass his release kept me from turning back to Phutra.

Just how I was to help Perry I could scarce imagine, but I hoped that
some fortuitous circumstance might solve the problem for me. It was
quite evident however that little less than a miracle could aid me, for
what could I accomplish in this strange world, naked and unarmed? It
was even doubtful that I could retrace my steps to Phutra should I once
pass beyond view of the plain, and even were that possible, what aid
could I bring to Perry no matter how far I wandered?

The case looked more and more hopeless the longer I viewed it, yet with
a stubborn persistency I forged ahead toward the foothills. Behind me
no sign of pursuit developed, before me I saw no living thing. It was
as though I moved through a dead and forgotten world.

I have no idea, of course, how long it took me to reach the limit of
the plain, but at last I entered the foothills, following a pretty
little canyon upward to