were watching us.
'Shall we row over there and see if they will take us in?' I asked.
'I am afraid,' replied Nalte. 'We have a saying in Andoo that the farther strangers are away the better friends they are.'
'You think that they would harm us?' I asked.
Nalte shrugged. 'I do not know, but the chances are that they would kill you and keep me.'
'Then we won't take the chance, but I would like to remain near here for a while and search for Duare.'
'You can't land on the left bank until we are out of sight of Kormor,' said Nalte, 'or they would be after us in no time.'
'And if we land in sight of this other city these people would take after us, if what you fear be true.'
'Let's go down stream until we are out of sight of both cities,' suggested the girl, 'and then wait until night before coming back near Kormor to search, for that is where you will have to search for Duare.'
Following Nalte's suggestion we drifted slowly down stream. We soon passed Kormor, but the white city on the right bank extended on for a couple of miles farther. I should say that its full length along the river front was fully five miles, and along all that length was the broad quay backed by a gleaming white wall pierced by an occasional gate—I counted six or seven along the full length of the water front.
Just below the city the river turned to the right, and almost immediately the cliffs shut off our view of both cities. Simultaneously the aspect of the country changed. The limestone cliffs ended abruptly, the river running between low banks. Here it spread out to considerable width, but farther ahead I could see where it narrowed again and entered a gorge between cliffs much higher than any that we had passed. They were wooded cliffs, and even from a distance I could see that they were not of the white limestone that formed those with which we had now become familiar.
There came to my ears faintly an insistent sound that was at first little more than a murmur, but as we drifted down the river it seemed to grow constantly in volume.
'Do you hear what I hear?' I demanded, 'or am I the victim of head noises?'
'That distant roaring?'
'Yes; it has become a roar now. What do you suppose it can be?'
'It must be the falls that Skor told me of,' said Nalte.
'By Jove! That's just what it is,' I exclaimed. 'And the best thing that we can do is to get to shore while we can.'
The current had carried us closer to the right bank at this point, and just ahead of us I saw a small stream emptying into the river. There was an open forest on the farther side of the stream and scattered trees on the nearer.
It appeared an ideal location for a camp.
We made the shore easily, for the current here was not swift. I ran the boat into the mouth of the small stream, but there was not water enough to float it. However, I managed to drag it up far enough to tie it to an overhanging limb of a tree where it was out of sight of any possible pursuers from Kormor who might come down the river in search of Nalte and myself.
'Now,' I said, 'the thing that interests me most at present is securing food.'
'That is something that always interests me,' admitted Nalte, with a laugh. 'Where are you going to hunt? That forest on the other side of this little stream looks as though it should be filled with game.'
She was facing the forest as she spoke, while my back was toward it. Suddenly the expression on her face changed, and she seized my arm with a little cry of alarm. 'Look, Carson ! What is that?'
Chapter 13—To Live or Die
AS I TURNED at Nalte's warning cry, I thought that I saw something dodge behind low bushes on the opposite bank.
'What was it, Nalte?' I demanded.
'Oh, it couldn't be what I thought I saw,' she whispered excitedly. 'I must be mistaken.'
'What did you think you saw?'
'There's another—there—look!' she cried.
And then I saw it. It stepped from behind the bole of a large tree and stood eying us, its fangs bared in a snarl. It was a man that went on four feet like a beast. Its hind legs were short, and it walked on its hind toes, the heels corresponding to the hocks of animals. Its hands were more human, and it walked flat on the palms of them in front. Its nose was flat, its mouth broad, and its heavy, undershot jaws were armed with powerful teeth. Its eyes were small and close set and extremely savage. Its skin was white and almost hairless except upon its head and jowls. Another one appeared suddenly beside it.
'You don't know what they are?' I asked Nalte. 'We have heard of them in Andoo, but no one ever believed that they existed. They are called zangans. If the stories I have heard are true they are terribly ferocious. They hunt in packs and devour men as well as beasts.'
Zangan means beast-man, and no better word could have been coined to describe the creature that faced us across that little stream in far Noobol. And now others came slinking into view from the shelter of bushes and from behind the boles of trees.
'I think we had better hunt elsewhere,' I said in a weak effort to be jocose.
'Let's take to the boat again,' suggested Nalte.
We had already walked a little distance from the spot where I had moored our craft, and as we turned to retrace our steps I saw several of the zangans enter the water on the opposite side and approach the boat. They were much closer to it than we, and long before I could untie it and drag it into deeper water they could be upon us.
'It is too late!' cried Nalte.
'Let's fall back slowly to that little rise of ground behind us,' I said. 'Perhaps I can hold them off there.'
We retreated slowly, watching the zangans as they crossed the stream toward us. When they came out on shore they shook themselves as dogs do, and then they came slinking after us again. They reminded me of tigers— human tigers—and their gait was much that of a stalking tiger as they approached with flattened heads and snarling lips.
They growled and snapped at one another, revealing a viciousness greater than that of beasts. Momentarily I expected a charge, and I knew that when it came Nalte's troubles and mine would be over forever. We wouldn't have even a fighting chance against that savage pack.
There were about twenty of them, mostly males; but there were a couple of females and two or three half grown cubs. On the back of one of the females rode a baby, its arms tightly hugging the neck of its mother.
Savage as they appeared, they followed us warily as though they were half afraid of us; but their long, easy strides were constantly cutting down the distance between us.
* * * * *
When we reached the little mound toward which we had been retreating they were still fifty yards behind us. As we started to ascend the rise a large male trotted forward, voicing a low roar. It was as though it had just occurred to him that we might be trying to escape and that he ought to try to prevent it.
I stopped and faced him, fitting an arrow to my bow. Drawing the shaft back to the very tip I let him have it squarely in the chest. He stopped in his tracks, roared horribly, and clawed at the feathered end protruding from his body; then he came on again; but he was staggering, and presently he sank to the ground, struggled for a moment, and lay still.
The others had stopped and were watching him. Suddenly a young male ran up to him and bit him savagely about the head and neck; then raised his head and voiced a hideous roar. I guessed that it was a challenge as I saw him look about him at the other members of the pack. Here, perhaps, was a new leader usurping the powers of the one who had fallen.
Apparently no one was prepared to question his authority, and now he turned his attention again to us. He did not advance directly toward us, but slunk off to one side. As he did so he turned and growled at his fellows.
