CHAPTER XI
ESCAPE
Dian glanced downward and shuddered. Her tribe were hill people--they
were not accustomed to swim-ming other than in quiet rivers and
placid lakelets. It was not the steep that appalled her. It was
the ocean--vast, mysterious, terrible.
To dive into it from this great height was beyond her. I couldn't
wonder, either. To have attempted it myself seemed too preposterous
even for thought. Only one consideration could have prompted me
to leap headforemost from that giddy height--suicide; or at least
so I thought at the moment.
"Quick!" I urged Dian. "You cannot dive; but I can hold them until
you reach safety."
"And you?" she asked once more. "Can you dive when they come too
close? Otherwise you could not escape if you waited here until I
reached the bottom."
I saw that she would not leave me unless she thought that I could
make that frightful dive as we had seen Juag make it. I glanced
once downward; then with a mental shrug I assured her that I would
dive the mo-ment that she reached the boat. Satisfied, she began
the descent carefully, yet swiftly. I watched her for a moment,
my heart in my mouth lest some slight mis-step or the slipping of
a finger-hold should pitch her to a frightful death upon the rocks
below.
Then I turned toward the advancing Hoojans--"Hoosiers," Perry dubbed
them--even going so far as to christen this island where Hooja held
sway Indiana; it is so marked now upon our maps. They were coming
on at a great rate. I raised my revolver, took deliberate aim at
the foremost warrior, and pulled the trigger. With the bark of
the gun the fellow lunged forward. His head doubled beneath him.
He rolled over and over two or three times before he came to a
stop, to lie very quietly in the thick grass among the brilliant
wild flowers.
Those behind him halted. One of them hurled a javelin toward me,
but it fell short--they were just beyond javelin-range. There were
two armed with bows and arrows; these I kept my eyes on. All of
them appeared awe-struck and frightened by the sound and effect of
the firearm. They kept looking from the corpse to me and jabbering
among themselves.
I took advantage of the lull in hostilities to throw a quick glance
over the edge toward Dian. She was half-way down the cliff and
progressing finely. Then I turned back toward the enemy. One of
the bowmen was fitting an arrow to his bow. I raised my hand.
"Stop!" I cried. "Whoever shoots at me or advances toward me I
shall kill as I killed him!"
I pointed at the dead man. The fellow lowered his bow. Again
there was animated discussion. I could see that those who were
not armed with bows were urging something upon the two who were.
At last the majority appeared to prevail, for simul-taneously the
two archers raised their weapons. At the same instant I fired
at one of them, dropping him in his tracks. The other, however,
launched his missile, but the report of my gun had given him such
a start that the arrow flew wild above my head. A second after
and he, too, was sprawled upon the sward with a round hole between
his eyes. It had been a rather good shot.
I glanced over the edge again. Dian was almost at the bottom. I
could see Juag standing just beneath her with his hands upstretched
to assist her.
A sullen roar from the warriors recalled my attention toward them.
They stood shaking their fists at me and yelling insults. From
the direction of the village I saw a single warrior coming to join
them. He was a huge fellow, and when he strode among them I could
tell by his bearing and their deference toward him that he was a
chieftain. He listened to all they had to tell of the happenings
of the last few minutes; then with a command and a roar he started
for me with the whole pack at his heels. All they had needed had
arrived--namely, a brave leader.
I had two unfired cartridges in the chambers of my gun. I let the
big warrior have one of them, thinking that his death would stop
them all. But I guess they were worked up to such a frenzy of rage
by this time that nothing would have stopped them. At any rate,
they only yelled the louder as he fell and increased their speed
toward me. I dropped another with my remaining cartridge.
Then they were upon me--or almost. I thought of my promise
to Dian--the awful abyss was behind me--a big devil with a huge
bludgeon in front of me. I grasped my six-shooter by the barrel
and hurled it squarely in his face with all my strength.
Then, without waiting to learn the effect of my throw, I wheeled,
ran the few steps to the edge, and leaped as far out over that
frightful chasm as I could. I know something of diving, and all
that I know I put into that dive, which I was positive would be my
last.
For a couple of hundred feet I fell in horizontal position. The
momentum I gained was terrific. I could feel the air almost as
a solid body, so swiftly I hurtled through it. Then my position
gradually changed to the vertical, and with hands outstretched
I slipped through the air, cleaving it like a flying arrow. Just
before I struck the water a perfect shower of javelins fell all
about. My enemies bad rushed to the brink and hurled their weapons
after me. By a miracle I was untouched.
In the final instant I saw that I had cleared the rocks and was
going to strike the water fairly. Then I was in and plumbing the
depths. I suppose I didn't really go very far down, but it seemed
to me that I should never stop. When at last I dared curve my hands
upward and divert my progress toward the sur-face, I thought that
I should explode for air before I ever saw the sun again except
through a swirl of water. But at last my bead popped above the
waves, and I filled my lungs with air.
Before me was the boat, from which Juag and Dian were clambering.
I couldn't understand why they were deserting it now, when we were
about to set out for the mainland in it; but when I reached its
side I under-stood. Two heavy javelins, missing Dian and Juag by
but a hair's breadth, had sunk deep into the bottom of the dugout
in a straight line with the grain of the wood, and split her almost
in two from stem to stern. She was useless.
Juag was leaning over a near-by rock, his hand out-stretched to aid
me in clambering to his side; nor did I lose any time in availing
myself of his proffered as-sistance. An occasional javelin was
still dropping perilously close to us, so we hastened to draw as
close as possible to the cliffside, where we were compara-tively
safe from the missiles.
Here we held a brief conference, in which it was decided that our
only hope now lay in making for the opposite end of the island as
quickly as we could, and utilizing the boat that I had hidden there,
to con-tinue our journey to the mainland.
Gathering up three of the least damaged javelins that had fallen
about us, we set out upon our journey, keeping well toward the
south side of the island, which Juag said was less frequented by
the Hoojans than the central portion where the river ran. I think
that this ruse must have thrown our pursuers off our track, since
we saw nothing of them nor heard any sound of pursuit during the
greater portion of our march the length of the island.
But the way Juag had chosen was rough and round-about, so that we
consumed one or two more marches in covering the distance than if
we had followed the river. This it was which proved our undoing.
Those who sought us must have sent a party up the river immediately
after we escaped; for when we came at last onto the river-trail not
far from our destination, there can be no doubt but that we were
seen by Hoojans who were just ahead of us on the stream. The
result was that as we were passing through a clump of bush a score
of warriors leaped out upon us, and before we could scarce strike
a blow in defense, had disarmed and bound us.
For a time thereafter I seemed to be entirely bereft of hope. I
could see no ray of promise in the future--only immediate death
for Juag and me, which didn't concern me much in the face of what
lay in store for Dian.
Poor child! What an awful life she had led! From the moment that
I had first seen her chained in the slave caravan of the Mahars
until now, a prisoner of a no less cruel creature, I could recall
but a few brief intervals of peace and quiet in her tempestuous
ex-istence. Before I had known her, Jubal the Ugly One had pursued
her across a savage world to make her his mate. She had eluded
him, and finally I had slain him; but terror and privations, and
exposure to fierce beasts had haunted her footsteps during all
her lonely flight from him. And when I had returned to the outer
world the old trials had recommenced with Hooja in Jubal's role.
I could almost have wished for death to vouchsafe her that peace
which fate seemed to deny her in this life.
I spoke to her on the subject, suggesting that we expire together.
"Do not fear, David," she replied. "I shall end my life before
ever Hooja can harm me; but first I shall see that Hooja dies."
She drew from her breast a little leathern thong, to the end of
which was fastened a tiny pouch.
"What have you there?" I asked.
"Do you recall that time you stepped upon the thing you call viper
in your world?" she asked.
I nodded.
"The accident gave you the idea for the poisoned arrows with which
we fitted the warriors of the em-pire," she continued. "And, too,
it gave me an idea. For a long time I have carried a viper's fang
in my bosom. It has given me strength to endure many dan-gers, for
it has always assured me immunity from the ultimate insult. I am
not ready to die yet. First let Hooja embrace the viper's fang."
So we did not die together, and I am glad now that we did not. It
is always a foolish thing to con-template suicide; for no matter
how dark the future may appear today, tomorrow may hold for us
that which will alter our whole life in an instant, revealing to
us nothing but sunshine and happiness. So, for my part, I shall
always wait for tomorrow.
In Pellucidar, where it is always today, the wait may not be so long,
and so it proved for us. As we were passing a lofty, flat-topped
hill through a park-like wood a perfect network of fiber ropes fell
suddenly about our guard, enmeshing them. A moment later a horde
of our friends, the hairy gorilla-men, with the mild eyes and long
faces of sheep leaped among them.
It was a very interesting fight. I was sorry that my bonds
prevented me from taking part in it, but I urged on the brutemen
with my voice, and cheered old Gr-gr-gr, their chief, each time
that his mighty jaws crunched out the life of a Hoojan. When the
battle was over we found that a few of our captors had escaped,
but the majority of them lay dead about us. The gorilla-men paid
no further attention to them. Gr-gr-gr turned to me.
"Gr-gr-gr and all his people are your friends," he said. "One
saw the warriors of the Sly One and fol-lowed them. He saw them
capture you, and then he flew to the village as fast as he could
go and told me all that he had seen. The rest you know. You did
much for Gr-gr-gr and Gr-gr-gr's people. We shall always do much
for you."
I thanked him; and when I had told him of our escape and our
destination, he insisted on accom-panying us to the sea with a great
number of his fierce males. Nor were we at all loath to accept
his escort. We found the canoe where I had hidden it, and bidding
Gr-gr-gr and his warriors farewell, the three of us embarked for
the mainland.
I questioned Juag upon the feasibility of attempting to cross to
the mouth of the great river of which he had told me, and up which
he said we might paddle almost to Sari; but he urged me not to
attempt it, since we had but a single paddle and no water or food.
I had to admit the wisdom of his advice, but the desire to explore
this great waterway was strong upon me, arousing in me at last a
determination to make the attempt after first gaining the mainland
and rectify-ing our deficiencies.
We landed several miles north of Thuria in a little cove that
seemed to offer protection from the heavier seas which sometimes
run, even upon these usually pacific oceans of Pellucidar. Here I
outlined to Dian and Juag the plans I had in mind. They were to
fit the canoe with a small sail, the purposes of which I had to
explain to them both--since neither had ever seen or heard of such
a contrivance before. Then they were to hunt for food which we
could transport with us, and prepare a receptacle for water.
These two latter items were more in Juag's line, but he kept muttering
about the sail and the wind for a long time. I could see that he
was not even half convinced that any such ridiculous contraption
could make a canoe move through the water.
We hunted near the coast for a while, but were pot rewarded with any
particular luck. Finally we decided to hide the canoe and strike
inland in search of game. At Juag's suggestion we dug a hole
in the sand at the upper edge of the beach and buried the craft,
smooth-ing the surface over nicely and throwing aside the excess
material we had excavated. Then we set out away from the sea.
Traveling in Thuria is less arduous than under the midday sun which
perpetually glares down on the rest of Pellucidar's surface; but
it has its draw-backs, one of which is the depressing influence
exerted by the everlasting shade of the Land of Awful Shadow.
The farther inland we went the darker it became, until we were
moving at last through an endless twi-light. The vegetation here
was sparse and of a weird, colorless nature, though what did grow
was wondrous in shape and form. Often we saw huge lidi, or beasts
of burden, striding across the dim landscape, browsing upon the
grotesque vegetation or drinking from the slow and sullen rivers
that run down from the Lidi Plains to empty into the sea in Thuria.
What we sought was either a thag--a sort of gigantic elk--or one
of the larger species of antelope, the flesh of either of which
dries nicely in the sun. The bladder of the thag would make a
fine water-bottle, and its skin, I figured, would be a good sail.
We traveled a considerable distance inland, entirely crossing the
Land of Awful Shadow and emerging at last upon that portion of
the Lidi Plains which lies in the pleasant sunlight. Above us the
pendent world revolved upon its axis, filling me especially--and
Dian to an almost equal state--with wonder and insatiable curiosity
as to what strange forms of life existed among the hills and valleys
and along the seas and rivers, which we could plainly see.
Before us stretched the horizonless expanses of vast Pellucidar, the
Lidi Plains rolling up about us, while hanging high in the heavens
to the northwest of us I thought I discerned the many towers which
marked the entrances to the distant Mahar city, whose in-habitants
preyed upon the Thurians.
Juag suggested that we travel to the northeast, where, he said,
upon the verge of the plain we would find a wooded country in which
game should be plentiful. Acting upon his advice, we came at last
to a forest-jungle, through which wound innumerable game-paths.
In the depths of this forbidding wood we came upon the fresh spoor
of thag.
Shortly after, by careful stalking, we came within javelin-range
of a small herd. Selecting a great bull, Juag and I hurled our
weapons simultaneously, Dian reserving hers for an emergency. The
beast staggered to his feet, bellowing. The rest of the herd was
up and away in an instant, only the wounded bull remaining, with
lowered head and roving eyes searching for the foe.
Then Juag exposed himself to the view of the bull--it is a part of
the tactics of the hunt--while I stepped to one side behind a bush.
The moment that the savage beast saw Juag he charged him. Juag ran
straight away, that the bull might be lured past my hiding-place.
On he came--tons of mighty bestial strength and rage.
Dian had slipped behind me. She, too, could fight a thag should
emergency require. Ah, such a girl! A rightful empress of a stone
age by every standard which two worlds might bring to measure her!
Crashing down toward us came the bull thag, bel-lowing and snorting,
with the power of a hundred outer-earthly bulls. When he was
opposite me I sprang for the heavy mane that covered his huge neck.
To tangle my fingers in it was the work of but an instant. Then
I was running along at the beast's shoulder.
Now, the theory upon which this hunting custom is based is one
long ago discovered by experience, and that is that a thag cannot
be turned from his charge once he has started toward the object of
his wrath, so long as he can still see the thing he charges. He
evidently believes that the man clinging to his mane is attempting
to restrain him from overtaking his prey, and so he pays no attention
to this enemy, who, of course, does not retard the mighty charge
in the least.
Once in the gait of the plunging bull, it was but a slight matter
to vault to his back, as cavalrymen mount their chargers upon the
run. Juag was still run-ning in plain sight ahead of the bull. His
speed was but a trifle less than that of the monster that pursued
him. These Pellucidarians are almost as fleet as deer; because I
am not is one reason that I am always chosen for the close-in work
of the thag-hunt. I could not keep in front of a charging thag
long enough to give the killer time to do his work. I learned that
the first--and last--time I tried it.
Once astride the bull's neck, I drew my long stone knife and, setting
the point carefully over the brute's spine, drove it home with
both hands. At the same in-stant I leaped clear of the stumbling
animal. Now, no vertebrate can progress far with a knife through
his spine, and the thag is no exception to the rule.
The fellow was down instantly. As he wallowed Juag returned, and
the two of us leaped in when an opening afforded the opportunity
and snatched our javelins from his side. Then we danced about him,
more like two savages than anything else, until we got the opening
we were looking for, when simulta-neously, our javelins pierced
his wild heart, stilling it forever.
The thag had covered considerable ground from the point at which I
had leaped upon him. When, after despatching him, I looked back for
Dian, I could see nothing of her. I called aloud, but receiving no
reply, set out at a brisk trot to where I had left her. I had no
difficulty in finding the self-same bush behind which we had hidden,
but Dian was not there. Again and again I called, to be rewarded
only by silence. Where could she be? What could have become of
her in the brief interval since I had seen her standing just behind
me?
