'David Innes. When the O-220 returned to the outer crust and Jason Gridley decided to go back with it, he made me promise that I would equip an expedition and make a thorough search for you. I did so immediately I returned to Sari. I had no luck until some of my men met Dangar returning to Sari after a long absence. He guided us to the Forest of Death . Once we had passed through that we had no idea in what direction to search until we came upon Thorek, Lotai, and Mumal escaping from the land of the Mammoth Men.
'They told us that they believed that you had escaped, and they thought you might be searching for Lo-har. We had never heard of Lo-har, but we succeeded in taking a prisoner who knew the direction in which the country lay. Later we came upon a man named Skruf whom you had wounded with an arrow. We promised him protection and he directed us to the village of the bison-men. Now we were nearing Lo-har, but still it was difficult to find. These people only knew the general direction in which it lay. Our one hope was to capture a Lo-harian. This we did before the last sleep. He is with us now and guiding us much against his will toward his own country, for he thinks we will turn upon him and his people.'
'Who is he?' asked von Horst.
'Brun, the chief of the Lo-harians,' replied Innes.
Von Horst signalled for his tribesmen to come in to the camp, and asked that Brun be brought. Innes sent for him, telling him that some of his own people had come to meet him. But when Brun came and saw von Horst he drew himself up very proudly and turned his back.
'I do not know this man,' he said. 'He is not of Lo-har.'
'Look at those who are coming, Brun,' suggested von Horst. 'You will know them all, especially La-ja.'
'La-ja!' exclaimed the chief. 'I had given her up for dead. I have searched a world for her.'
The men of Lo-har camped with the men of Sari in friendship, and there was much palaver, and a great deal of food was eaten, and they slept twice in that one camp before they spoke of breaking it.
'You will come back to Sari with us, Lieutenant?' asked Innes. 'Gridley may come back on another expedition at any time now; it may be your only chance to return to the outer crust.'
Von Horst glanced at a little, yellow haired cave-girl gnawing on a bone.
'I am not at all sure that I care to return to the outer crust,' he said.
THE END
