Chapter 6
After dinner I rolled a cigaret and stretched myself at ease upon
a pile of furs before the doorway, with Ajor's head pillowed in my
lap and a feeling of great content pervading me. It was the first
time since my plane had topped the barrier-cliffs of Caspak that I
had felt any sense of peace or security. My hand wandered to the
velvet cheek of the girl I had claimed as mine, and to her luxuriant
hair and the golden fillet which bound it close to her shapely
head. Her slender fingers groping upward sought mine and drew them
to her lips, and then I gathered her in my arms and crushed her to
me, smothering her mouth with a long, long kiss. It was the first
time that passion had tinged my intercourse with Ajor. We were
alone, and the hut was ours until morning.
But now from beyond the palisade in the direction of the main gate
came the hallooing of men and the answering calls and queries of
the guard. We listened. Returning hunters, no doubt. We heard
them enter the village amidst the barking dogs. I have forgotten
to mention the dogs of Kro-lu. The village swarmed with them,
gaunt, wolflike creatures that guarded the herd by day when it
grazed without the palisade, ten dogs to a cow. By night the cows
were herded in an outer inclosure roofed against the onslaughts of
the carnivorous cats; and the dogs, with the exception of a few,
were brought into the village; these few well-tested brutes remained
with the herd. During the day they fed plentifully upon the beasts
of prey which they killed in protection of the herd, so that their
keep amounted to nothing at all.
Shortly after the commotion at the gate had subsided, Ajor and
I arose to enter the hut, and at the same time a warrior appeared
from one of the twisted alleys which, lying between the irregularly
placed huts and groups of huts, form the streets of the Kro-lu
village. The fellow halted before us and addressed me, saying
that Al-tan desired my presence at his hut. The wording of the
invitation and the manner of the messenger threw me entirely off
my guard, so cordial was the one and respectful the other, and the
result was that I went willingly, telling Ajor that I would return
presently. I had laid my arms and ammunition aside as soon as we
had taken over the hut, and I left them with Ajor now, as I had
noticed that aside from their hunting-knives the men of Kro-lu
bore no weapons about the village streets. There was an atmosphere
of peace and security within that village that I had not hoped to
experience within Caspak, and after what I had passed through, it
must have cast a numbing spell over my faculties of judgment and
reason. I had eaten of the lotus-flower of safety; dangers no
longer threatened for they had ceased to be.
The messenger led me through the labyrinthine alleys to an open
plaza near the center of the village. At one end of this plaza was
a long hut, much the largest that I had yet seen, before the door
of which were many warriors. I could see that the interior was
lighted and that a great number of men were gathered within. The
dogs about the plaza were as thick as fleas, and those I approached
closely evinced a strong desire to devour me, their noses evidently
apprising them of the fact that I was of an alien race, since
they paid no attention whatever to my companion. Once inside the
council-hut, for such it appeared to be, I found a large concourse
of warriors seated, or rather squatted, around the floor. At
one end of the oval space which the warriors left down the center
of the room stood Al-tan and another warrior whom I immediately
recognized as a Galu, and then I saw that there were many Galus
present. About the walls were a number of flaming torches stuck
in holes in a clay plaster which evidently served the purpose of
preventing the inflammable wood and grasses of which the hut was
composed from being ignited by the flames. Lying about among the
warriors or wandering restlessly to and fro were a number of savage
dogs.
The warriors eyed me curiously as I entered, especially the Galus,
and then I was conducted into the center of the group and led forward
toward Al-tan. As I advanced I felt one of the dogs sniffing at
my heels, and of a sudden a great brute leaped upon my back. As
I turned to thrust it aside before its fangs found a hold upon me,
I beheld a huge Airedale leaping frantically about me. The grinning
jaws, the half-closed eyes, the back-laid ears spoke to me louder
than might the words of man that here was no savage enemy but
a joyous friend, and then I recognized him, and fell to one knee
and put my arms about his neck while he whined and cried with joy.
It was Nobs, dear old Nobs. Bowen Tyler's Nobs, who had loved me
next to his master.
"Where is the master of this dog?" I asked, turning toward Al-tan.
The chieftain inclined his head toward the Galu standing at his
side. "He belongs to Du-seen the Galu," he replied.
"He belongs to Bowen J. Tyler, Jr., of Santa Monica," I retorted,
"and I want to know where his master is."
The Galu shrugged. "The dog is mine," he said. "He came to
me cor-sva-jo, and he is unlike any dog in Caspak, being kind and
docile and yet a killer when aroused. I would not part with him.
I do not know the man of whom you speak."
So this was Du-seen! This was the man from whom Ajor had fled. I
wondered if he knew that she was here. I wondered if they had sent
for me because of her; but after they had commenced to question me,
my mind was relieved; they did not mention Ajor. Their interest
seemed centered upon the strange world from which I had come,
my journey to Caspak and my intentions now that I had arrived. I
answered them frankly as I had nothing to conceal and assured
them that my only wish was to find my friends and return to my own
country. In the Galu Du-seen and his warriors I saw something of
the explanation of the term "golden race" which is applied to them,
for their ornaments and weapons were either wholly of beaten gold
or heavily decorated with the precious metal. They were a very
imposing set of men--tall and straight and handsome. About their
heads were bands of gold like that which Ajor wore, and from their
left shoulders depended the leopard-tails of the Galus. In addition
to the deer-skin tunic which constituted the major portion of their
apparel, each carried a light blanket of barbaric yet beautiful
design--the first evidence of weaving I had seen in Caspak. Ajor
had had no blanket, having lost it during her flight from the
attentions of Du-seen; nor was she so heavily incrusted with gold
as these male members of her tribe.
The audience must have lasted fully an hour when Al-tan signified
that I might return to my hut. All the time Nobs had lain quietly
at my feet; but the instant that I turned to leave, he was up and
after me. Duseen called to him; but the terrier never even so
much as looked in his direction. I had almost reached the doorway
leading from the council-hall when Al-tan rose and called after
me. "Stop!" he shouted. "Stop, stranger! The beast of Du-seen
the Galu follows you."
"The dog is not Du-seen's," I replied. "He belongs to my friend,
as I told you, and he prefers to stay with me until his master is
found." And I turned again to resume my way. I had taken but a
few steps when I heard a commotion behind me, and at the same moment
a man leaned close and whispered "Kazar!" close to my ear--kazar,
the Caspakian equivalent of beware. It was To-mar. As he spoke,
he turned quickly away as though loath to have others see that
he knew me, and at the same instant I wheeled to discover Du-seen
striding rapidly after me. Al-tan followed him, and it was evident
that both were angry.
Du-seen, a weapon half drawn, approached truculently. "The beast
is mine," he reiterated. "Would you steal him?"
"He is not yours nor mine," I replied, "and I am not stealing him.
If he wishes to follow you, he may; I will not interfere; but if
he wishes to follow me, he shall; nor shall you prevent." I turned
to Al-tan. "Is not that fair?" I demanded. "Let the dog choose
his master."
Du-seen, without waiting for Al-tan's reply, reached for Nobs and
grasped him by the scruff of the neck. I did not interfere, for
I guessed what would happen; and it did. With a savage growl Nobs
turned like lightning upon the Galu, wrenched loose from his hold
and leaped for his throat. The man stepped back and warded off
the first attack with a heavy blow of his fist, immediately drawing
his knife with which to meet the Airedale's return. And Nobs would
have returned, all right, had not I spoken to him. In a low voice
I called him to heel. For just an instant he hesitated, standing
there trembling and with bared fangs, glaring at his foe; but he
was well trained and had been out with me quite as much as he had
with Bowen--in fact, I had had most to do with his early training;
then he walked slowly and very stiff-legged to his place behind
me.
Du-seen, red with rage, would have had it out with the two of us
had not Al-tan drawn him to one side and whispered in his ear--upon
which, with a grunt, the Galu walked straight back to the opposite
end of the hall, while Nobs and I continued upon our way toward
the hut and Ajor. As we passed out into the village plaza, I saw
Chal-az--we were so close to one another that I could have reached
out and touched him--and our eyes met; but though I greeted him
pleasantly and paused to speak to him, he brushed past me without
a sign of recognition. I was puzzled at his behavior, and then
I recalled that To-mar, though he had warned me, had appeared not
to wish to seem friendly with me. I could not understand their
attitude, and was trying to puzzle out some sort of explanation,
when the matter was suddenly driven from my mind by the report of
a firearm. Instantly I broke into a run, my brain in a whirl of
forebodings, for the only firearms in the Kro-lu country were those
I had left in the hut with Ajor.
That she was in danger I could not but fear, as she was now something
of an adept in the handling of both the pistol and rifle, a fact
which largely eliminated the chance that the shot had come from an
accidentally discharged firearm. When I left the hut, I had felt
that she and I were safe among friends; no thought of danger was in
my mind; but since my audience with Al-tan, the presence and bearing
of Duseen and the strange attitude of both To-mar and Chal-az had
each contributed toward arousing my suspicions, and now I ran along
the narrow, winding alleys of the Kro-lu village with my heart
fairly in my mouth.
I am endowed with an excellent sense of direction, which has been
greatly perfected by the years I have spent in the mountains and
upon the plains and deserts of my native state, so that it was
with little or no difficulty that I found my way back to the hut
in which I had left Ajor. As I entered the doorway, I called her
name aloud. There was no response. I drew a box of matches from
my pocket and struck a light and as the flame flared up, a half-dozen
brawny warriors leaped upon me from as many directions; but even
in the brief instant that the flare lasted, I saw that Ajor was
not within the hut, and that my arms and ammunition had been removed.
As the six men leaped upon me, an angry growl burst from behind
them. I had forgotten Nobs. Like a demon of hate he sprang among
those Kro-lu fighting-men, tearing, rending, ripping with his long
tusks and his mighty jaws. They had me down in an instant, and it
goes without saying that the six of them could have kept me there
had it not been for Nobs; but while I was struggling to throw them
off, Nobs was springing first upon one and then upon another of
them until they were so put to it to preserve their hides and their
lives from him that they could give me only a small part of their
attention. One of them was assiduously attempting to strike me on
the head with his stone hatchet; but I caught his arm and at the
same time turned over upon my belly, after which it took but an
instant to get my feet under me and rise suddenly.
As I did so, I kept a grip upon the man's arm, carrying it over one
shoulder. Then I leaned suddenly forward and hurled my antagonist
over my head to a hasty fall at the opposite side of the hut. In
the dim light of the interior I saw that Nobs had already accounted
for one of the others--one who lay very quiet upon the floor--while
the four remaining upon their feet were striking at him with knives
and hatchets.
Running to one side of the man I had just put out of the fighting,
I seized his hatchet and knife, and in another moment was in the
thick of the argument. I was no match for these savage warriors
with their own weapons and would soon have gone down to ignominious
defeat and death had it not been for Nobs, who alone was a match
for the four of them. I never saw any creature so quick upon its
feet as was that great Airedale, nor such frightful ferocity as he
manifested in his attacks. It was as much the latter as the former
which contributed to the undoing of our enemies, who, accustomed
though they were to the ferocity of terrible creatures, seemed awed
by the sight of this strange beast from another world battling at
the side of his equally strange master. Yet they were no cowards,
and only by teamwork did Nobs and I overcome them at last. We
would rush for a man, simultaneously, and as Nobs leaped for him
upon one side, I would strike at his head with the stone hatchet
from the other.
As the last man went down, I heard the running of many feet approaching
us from the direction of the plaza. To be captured now would mean
death; yet I could not attempt to leave the village without first
ascertaining the whereabouts of Ajor and releasing her if she were
held a captive. That I could escape the village I was not at all
sure; but of one thing I was positive; that it would do neither
Ajor nor myself any service to remain where I was and be captured;
so with Nobs, bloody but happy, following at heel, I turned down
the first alley and slunk away in the direction of the northern
end of the village.
Friendless and alone, hunted through the dark labyrinths of this
savage community, I seldom have felt more helpless than at that
moment; yet far transcending any fear which I may have felt for my
own safety was my concern for that of Ajor. What fate had befallen
her? Where was she, and in whose power? That I should live to
learn the answers to these queries I doubted; but that I should
face death gladly in the attempt--of that I was certain. And why?
With all my concern for the welfare of my friends who had accompanied
me to Caprona, and of my best friend of all, Bowen J. Tyler, Jr.,
I never yet had experienced the almost paralyzing fear for the
safety of any other creature which now threw me alternately into a
fever of despair and into a cold sweat of apprehension as my mind
dwelt upon the fate on one bit of half-savage femininity of whose
very existence even I had not dreamed a few short weeks before.
What was this hold she had upon me? Was I bewitched, that my mind
refused to function sanely, and that judgment and reason were
dethroned by some mad sentiment which I steadfastly refused to believe
was love? I had never been in love. I was not in love now--the
very thought was preposterous. How could I, Thomas Billings, the
right-hand man of the late Bowen J. Tyler, Sr., one of America's
foremost captains of industry and the greatest man in California,
be in love with a--a--the word stuck in my throat; yet by my own
American standards Ajor could be nothing else; at home, for all
her beauty, for all her delicately tinted skin, little Ajor by her
apparel, by the habits and customs and manners of her people, by
her life, would have been classed a squaw. Tom Billings in love
with a squaw! I shuddered at the thought.
And then there came to my mind, in a sudden, brilliant flash upon
the screen of recollection the picture of Ajor as I had last seen
her, and I lived again the delicious moment in which we had clung
to one another, lips smothering lips, as I left her to go to the
council hall of Al-tan; and I could have kicked myself for the
snob and the cad that my thoughts had proven me--me, who had always
prided myself that I was neither the one nor the other!
These things ran through my mind as Nobs and I made our way through
the dark village, the voices and footsteps of those who sought us
still in our ears. These and many other things, nor could I escape
the incontrovertible fact that the little figure round which
my recollections and my hopes entwined themselves was that of
Ajor--beloved barbarian! My reveries were broken in upon by a hoarse
whisper from the black interior of a hut past which we were making
our way. My name was called in a low voice, and a man stepped out
beside me as I halted with raised knife. It was Chal-az.
"Quick!" he warned. "In here! It is my hut, and they will not
search it."
I hesitated, recalled his attitude of a few minutes before; and
as though he had read my thoughts, he said quickly: "I could not
speak to you in the plaza without danger of arousing suspicions
which would prevent me aiding you later, for word had gone out
that Al-tan had turned against you and would destroy you--this was
after Du-seen the Galu arrived."
I followed him into the hut, and with Nobs at our heels we passed
through several chambers into a remote and windowless apartment
where a small lamp sputtered in its unequal battle with the inky
darkness. A hole in the roof permitted the smoke from burning
oil egress; yet the atmosphere was far from lucid. Here Chal-az
motioned me to a seat upon a furry hide spread upon the earthen
floor.
"I am your friend," he said. "You saved my life; and I am no
ingrate as is the batu Al-tan. I will serve you, and there are
others here who will serve you against Al-tan and this renegade
Galu, Du-seen."
"But where is Ajor?" I asked, for I cared little for my own safety
while she was in danger.
"Ajor is safe, too," he answered. "We learned the designs of Al-tan
and Du-seen. The latter, learning that Ajor was here, demanded her;
and Al-tan promised that he should have her; but when the warriors
went to get her To-mar went with them. Ajor tried to defend herself.
She killed one of the warriors, and then To-mar picked her up in
his arms when the others had taken her weapons from her. He told
the others to look after the wounded man, who was really already
dead, and to seize you upon your return, and that he, To-mar, would
bear Ajor to Al-tan; but instead of bearing her to Al-tan, he took
her to his own hut, where she now is with So-al, To-mar's she. It
all happened very quickly. To-mar and I were in the council-hut
when Du-seen attempted to take the dog from you. I was seeking
To-mar for this work. He ran out immediately and accompanied the
warriors to your hut while I remained to watch what went on within
the council-hut and to aid you if you needed aid. What has happened
since you know."
I thanked him for his loyalty and then asked him to take me to Ajor;
but he said that it could not be done, as the village streets were
filled with searchers. In fact, we could hear them passing to and
fro among the huts, making inquiries, and at last Chal-az thought
it best to go to the doorway of his dwelling, which consisted of
many huts joined together, lest they enter and search.
Chal-az was absent for a long time--several hours which seemed an
eternity to me. All sounds of pursuit had long since ceased, and
I was becoming uneasy because of his protracted absence when I
heard him returning through the other apartments of his dwelling.
He was perturbed when he entered that in which I awaited him, and
I saw a worried expression upon his face.
"What is wrong?" I asked. "Have they found Ajor?"
"No," he replied; "but Ajor has gone. She learned that you had
escaped them and was told that you had left the village, believing
that she had escaped too. So-al could not detain her. She made her
way out over the top of the palisade, armed with only her knife."
"Then I must go," I said, rising. Nobs rose and shook himself.
He had been dead asleep when I spoke.
"Yes," agreed Chal-az, "you must go at once. It is almost dawn.
Du-seen leaves at daylight to search for her." He leaned close
to my ear and whispered: "There are many to follow and help you.
Al-tan has agreed to aid Du-seen against the Galus of Jor; but
there are many of us who have combined to rise against Al-tan and
prevent this ruthless desecration of the laws and customs of the
Kro-lu and of Caspak. We will rise as Luata has ordained that we
shall rise, and only thus. No batu may win to the estate of a Galu
by treachery and force of arms while Chal-az lives and may wield
a heavy blow and a sharp spear with true Kro-lus at his back!"
"I hope that I may live to aid you," I replied. "If I had my weapons
and my ammunition, I could do much. Do you know where they are?"
"No," he said, "they have disappeared." And then: "Wait! You
cannot go forth half armed, and garbed as you are. You are going
into the Galu country, and you must go as a Galu. Come!" And
without waiting for a reply, he led me into another apartment, or
to be more explicit, another of the several huts which formed his
cellular dwelling.
Here was a pile of skins, weapons, and ornaments. "Remove your
strange apparel," said Chal-az, "and I will fit you out as a true
Galu. I have slain several of them in the raids of my early days
as a Kro-lu, and here are their trappings."
I saw the wisdom of his suggestion, and as my clothes were by now
so ragged as to but half conceal my nakedness, I had no regrets in
laying them aside. Stripped to the skin, I donned the red-deerskin
tunic, the leopard-tail, the golden fillet, armlets and leg-ornaments
of a Galu, with the belt, scabbard and knife, the shield, spear,
bow and arrow and the long rope which I learned now for the first
time is the distinctive weapon of the Galu warrior. It is a rawhide
rope, not dissimilar to those of the Western plains and cow-camps
of my youth. The honda is a golden oval and accurate weight for
the throwing of the noose. This heavy honda, Chal-az explained,
is used as a weapon, being thrown with great force and accuracy at
an enemy and then coiled in for another cast. In hunting and in
battle, they use both the noose and the honda. If several warriors
surround a single foeman or quarry, they rope it with the noose
from several sides; but a single warrior against a lone antagonist
will attempt to brain his foe with the metal oval.
I could not have been more pleased with any weapon, short of a
rifle, which he could have found for me, since I have been adept with
the rope from early childhood; but I must confess that I was less
favorably inclined toward my apparel. In so far as the sensation
was concerned, I might as well have been entirely naked, so short
and light was the tunic. When I asked Chal-az for the Caspakian
name for rope, he told me ga, and for the first time I understood
the derivation of the word Galu, which means ropeman.
Entirely outfitted I would not have known myself, so strange was
my garb and my armament. Upon my back were slung my bow, arrows,
shield, and short spear; from the center of my girdle depended my
knife; at my right hip was my stone hatchet; and at my left hung
the coils of my long rope. By reaching my right hand over my left
shoulder, I could seize the spear or arrows; my left hand could find
my bow over my right shoulder, while a veritable contortionist-act
was necessary to place my shield in front of me and upon my left
arm. The shield, long and oval, is utilized more as back-armor than
as a defense against frontal attack, for the close-set armlets of
gold upon the left forearm are principally depended upon to ward
off knife, spear, hatchet, or arrow from in front; but against the
greater carnivora and the attacks of several human antagonists,
the shield is utilized to its best advantage and carried by loops
upon the left arm.
Fully equipped, except for a blanket, I followed Chal-az from his
domicile into the dark and deserted alleys of Kro-lu. Silently
we crept along, Nobs silent at heel, toward the nearest portion of
the palisade. Here Chal-az bade me farewell, telling me that he
hoped to see me soon among the Galus, as he felt that "the call
soon would come" to him. I thanked him for his loyal assistance and
promised that whether I reached the Galu country or not, I should
always stand ready to repay his kindness to me, and that he could
count on me in the revolution against Al-tan.
