And now he really ran.
The great beast was but a few yards behind him when Hodon sprang into the tree that was his goal and scrambled out of harm's way; then he sat upon a branch and spit down into the face of the tarag and called him all the vile names to which a Pellucidarian can lay his tongue, and they are many.
The tarag wasted no time waiting for Hodon to come down, as experience may have taught him that he would starve to death before any man-thing would come down to be eaten; so he made off in search of other prey.
A little farther on another tree saved Hodon from the talons of a thipdar, a huge pterodactyl such as winged the steaming skies of the Mesozoic. This mighty pteranodon, with a wing spread of twenty feet, hunted high in the air—a preposterous eagle or hawk, ready to swoop down upon any living thing. The only defense against it is the shelter of a tree, and once again Hodon reached this sanctuary just in time.
Hissing with rage, the reptile soared away; and when it was out of sight Hodon continued on to Kali, which he reached without further adventure.
The village of Kali consists mostly of caves in a limestone cliff, with a few rude, thatched shelters at its base, which are used for cooking, eating, and communal gatherings.
As Hodon approached the village he was met by a score of warriors, which was what he might have expected on approaching any well-guarded village. They demanded his business there; and when he told them that he bore a message from the Emperor of Pellucidar to Oose, the king of Kali, they looked at one another; and some of them grinned behind his back.
'I will take word to the king,' said one. 'Wait here.'
Presently the man returned and instructed Hodon to follow him, and all the warriors who had come to meet him accompanied them. It might have been a guard of honor, but Hodon had a feeling that it more nearly resembled the guard of a prisoner.
He was conducted to one of the thatched shelters, where a man sat upon a stool, surrounded by other warriors.
'What message do you bring to Oose, king of Kali, from the Emperor of Pellucidar?' demanded the man.
Now, Hodon had never before been to Kali, nor had he ever seen Oose; but it was evident to him that this man was the king. He thought that he was an ill-favored fellow, and he took an instinctive dislike to him.
'You are the king?' he asked, wishing to make sure before he delivered the message. 'You are the king of Kali?'
'Yes,' replied the man. 'I am the king of Kali. What message do you bring?'
'The Emperor wishes you to know that his ship is anchored off the coast of Kali with a hundred warriors. He has heard that you are having trouble with Fash, the king of Suvi; and he wishes to talk the matter over with you, that an expedition may be sent against Fash to punish him for his treason to the Empire. I am to take word back to him as to whether you will come to the coast to talk with him, or if you would prefer that he came here; for he knows that it is not always easy for a village to feed a hundred extra men.'
'I will send a runner to the Emperor,' said the king of Kali. 'You will remain here and rest.'
'My orders are to bring the message to the Emperor myself,' replied Hodon.
'I give orders here,' said the king; and then he spoke to the leader of the warriors who surrounded Hodon. 'Take this man to a high cave and place a guard over him. See that he does not escape.'
'What is the meaning of this?' demanded Hodon. 'I am a Sarian and one of the Emperor's men. What you are doing is treason.'
'Take him away,' said the king.
Up rickety wooden ladders Hodon's guard forced him to climb to the highest level. Here a narrow ledge ran in front of several cave mouths. A guard of two warriors already squatted on the ledge near the top of the ladder; two others sat before the mouth of one of the caves. Into this cave Hodon was ordered, and at the same time the king of Kali dispatched a runner to the coast with a message for David Innes.
When Hodon's eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the interior of the cave, he saw that he was not alone. The cave was a large one, and fully fifty men squatted or lay upon the floor.
'Who are you?' demanded one of these, as Hodon groped his way in search of a place to sit down.
'I seem to be a prisoner.' replied Hodon.
'We are all prisoners,' said the man. 'I did not recognize you as you came in. Are you a Kalian?'
'Are you?' asked Hodon.
'We are all Kalians.'
'Then why are you prisoners in Kali?' demanded Hodon.
'Because the warriors of Suvi attacked and overcame the village while most of the men were on the hunt and as we returned they fell upon us from ambush, killing many and capturing the rest.'
'Then the man sitting in the shelter at the foot of the cliff is not king of Kali?' asked Hodon.
'He calls himself king of Kali, because he has captured the village,' replied the man; 'but I am king of Kali.'
'You are Oose?' demanded Hodon.
'I am Oose, and the man who calls himself king of Kali is Fash, the king of Suvi.'
'Then I have given the Emperor's message to the Emperor's enemy,' said Hodon, 'but how was I to know.'
'The message was for me?' asked Oose.
'For you,' said Hodon, and then he repeated the message to Oose.
'It is bad,' said Oose, 'for now Fash is warned.'
'How many warriors has he?' asked Hodon.
'I can count only to ten times the number of my fingers,' said Oose. 'We men of Kali are not wise like the men of Sari who had been taught many things by Innes and Perry, but if I counted all of my fingers ten times; then I should say that Fash has five times that many warriors.'
Hodon shook his head. 'I must escape,' he said; 'for when I do not return after a couple of sleeps, the Emperor will come after me; and he will be outnumbered five to one.'
'You cannot escape,' said Oose. 'Four warriors squat upon the ledge, and many warriors are at the foot of the cliff.'
'Are we allowed on the ledge?' asked Hodon.
'If you have a good reason you will be allowed to go to the little cave at the far end of the ledge.'
'I have a good reason,' said Hodon, and he went to the mouth of the cave and spoke to one of the warriors on guard there.
The fellow grunted surly permission, and Hodon came out upon the ledge and moved slowly toward the little cave at the far end. He did not look down; but always up, scanning the face of the cliff to its summit, which was only a few feet above his head.
A WARRIOR CAME to the shore of the Lural Az. He saw a ship anchored in a little cove a short distance off shore, and he shouted until he had attracted attention of those on board. A small boat floated beside the ship, and presently a number of copper-colored warriors dove from the deck of the ship and clambered into the small boat, which they paddled toward the shore. When they had come close, they shouted to the warrior and asked him who he was and what he wanted.
'I bring a message from the king of Kali to the Emperor of Pellucidar,' the man replied; then the boat was brought to the shore, and the messenger taken aboard. A few moments later he was hauled to the deck of the Sari and brought before David Innes.
'You bring a message from the king of Kali?' asked Innes. 'Why did my own warrior not return with it as I ordered?'
'Hodon was ill; and he was very, very tired,' replied the messenger. 'That there might be no delay, the king sent me.'
'What is the message?'
'The king asks that you come to Kali. He cannot leave Kali now because of the danger of attack.'
'I understand,' said Innes. 'I shall come at once.'
'I will go ahead and tell the king. He will be very pleased. Will you come alone?'
