THE SAGOTHS WERE GAINING ON US RAPIDLY, FOR once theyhad sighted us they had greatly increased their speed.On and on we stumbled up the narrow canyon that Ghak hadchosen to approach the heights of Sari. On either siderose precipitous cliffs of gorgeous, parti-colored rock,while beneath our feet a thick mountain grass formed a softand noiseless carpet. Since we had entered the canyon wehad had no glimpse of our pursuers, and I was commencingto hope that they had lost our trail and that we wouldreach the now rapidly nearing cliffs in time to scale thembefore we should be overtaken.

Ahead we neither saw nor heard any sign which mightbetoken the success of Hooja's mission. By now heshould have reached the outposts of the Sarians, and weshould at least hear the savage cries of the tribesmenas they swarmed to arms in answer to their king's appealfor succor. In another moment the frowning cliffs aheadshould be black with primeval warriors. But nothingof the kind happened--as a matter of fact the Sly Onehad betrayed us. At the moment that we expected to seeSarian spearmen charging to our relief at Hooja's back,the craven traitor was sneaking around the outskirtsof the nearest Sarian village, that he might come upfrom the other side when it was too late to save us,claiming that he had become lost among the mountains.

Hooja still harbored ill will against me because of the blowI had struck in Dian's protection, and his malevolent spiritwas equal to sacrificing us all that he might be revenged uponme.

As we drew nearer the barrier cliffs and no sign of rescuingSarians appeared Ghak became both angry and alarmed,and presently as the sound of rapidly approaching pursuitfell upon our ears, he called to me over his shoulderthat we were lost.

A backward glance gave me a glimpse of the first ofthe Sagoths at the far end of a considerable stretchof canyon through which we had just passed, and thena sudden turning shut the ugly creature from my view;but the loud howl of triumphant rage which rose behindus was evidence that the gorilla-man had sighted us.

Again the canyon veered sharply to the left, but to theright another branch ran on at a lesser deviation fromthe general direction, so that appeared more like the maincanyon than the lefthand branch. The Sagoths were nownot over two hundred and fifty yards behind us, and I sawthat it was hopeless for us to expect to escape other thanby a ruse. There was a bare chance of saving Ghak and Perry,and as I reached the branching of the canyon I took the chance.

Pausing there I waited until the foremost Sagoth hoveinto sight. Ghak and Perry had disappeared around a bendin the left-hand canyon, and as the Sagoth's savageyell announced that he had seen me I turned and fledup the right-hand branch. My ruse was successful,and the entire party of man-hunters raced headlong afterme up one canyon while Ghak bore Perry to safety up the other.

Running has never been my particular athletic forte,and now when my very life depended upon fleetness of footI cannot say that I ran any better than on the occasionswhen my pitiful base running had called down upon my headthe rooter's raucous and reproachful cries of "Ice Wagon,"and "Call a cab."

The Sagoths were gaining on me rapidly. There wasone in particular, fleeter than his fellows, who wasperilously close. The canyon had become a rocky slit,rising roughly at a steep angle toward what seemed a passbetween two abutting peaks. What lay beyond I couldnot even guess--possibly a sheer drop of hundreds of feetinto the corresponding valley upon the other side.Could it be that I had plunged into a cul-de-sac?

Realizing that I could not hope to outdistance the Sagothsto the top of the canyon I had determined to risk allin an attempt to check them temporarily, and to thisend had unslung my rudely made bow and plucked an arrowfrom the skin quiver which hung behind my shoulder.As I fitted the shaft with my right hand I stoppedand wheeled toward the gorilla-man.

In the world of my birth I never had drawn a shaft,but since our escape from Phutra I had kept the partysupplied with small game by means of my arrows, and so,through necessity, had developed a fair degree of accuracy.During our flight from Phutra I had restrung my bow with a pieceof heavy gut taken from a huge tiger which Ghak and I hadworried and finally dispatched with arrows, spear, and sword.The hard wood of the bow was extremely tough and this,with the strength and elasticity of my new string,gave me unwonted confidence in my weapon.

Never had I greater need of steady nerves than then--neverwere my nerves and muscles under better control.I sighted as carefully and deliberately as though ata straw target. The Sagoth had never before seen a bowand arrow, but of a sudden it must have swept over his dullintellect that the thing I held toward him was some sortof engine of destruction, for he too came to a halt,simultaneously swinging his hatchet for a throw.It is one of the many methods in which they employthis weapon, and the accuracy of aim which they achieve,even under the most unfavorable circumstances, is littleshort of miraculous.

My shaft was drawn back its full length--my eye had centeredits sharp point upon the left breast of my adversary;and then he launched his hatchet and I released my arrow.At the instant that our missiles flew I leaped to one side,but the Sagoth sprang forward to follow up his attackwith a spear thrust. I felt the swish of the hatchetat it grazed my head, and at the same instant my shaftpierced the Sagoth's savage heart, and with a single groanhe lunged almost at my feet--stone dead. Close behindhim were two more--fifty yards perhaps--but the distancegave me time to snatch up the dead guardsman's shield,for the close call his hatchet had just given me had bornein upon me the urgent need I had for one. Those which Ihad purloined at Phutra we had not been able to bring alongbecause their size precluded our concealing them withinthe skins of the Mahars which had brought us safely fromthe city.

With the shield slipped well up on my left arm I let flywith another arrow, which brought down a second Sagoth,and then as his fellow's hatchet sped toward me I caughtit upon the shield, and fitted another shaft for him;but he did not wait to receive it. Instead, he turned andretreated toward the main body of gorilla-men. Evidently hehad seen enough of me for the moment.

Once more I took up my flight, nor were the Sagothsapparently overanxious to press their pursuit so closelyas before. Unmolested I reached the top of the canyonwhere I found a sheer drop of two or three hundred feetto the bottom of a rocky chasm; but on the left a narrowledge rounded the shoulder of the overhanging cliff.Along this I advanced, and at a sudden turning,a few yards beyond the canyon's end, the path widened,and at my left I saw the opening to a large cave.Before, the ledge continued until it passed from sightabout another projecting buttress of the mountain.

Here, I felt, I could defy an army, for but a singlefoeman could advance upon me at a time, nor could he knowthat I was awaiting him until he came full upon me aroundthe corner of the turn. About me lay scattered stonescrumbled from the cliff above. They were of varioussizes and shapes, but enough were of handy dimensionsfor use as ammunition in lieu of my precious arrows.Gathering a number of stones into a little pile besidethe mouth of the cave I waited the advance of the Sagoths.

As I stood there, tense and silent, listening for thefirst faint sound that should announce the approachof my enemies, a slight noise from within the cave'sblack depths attracted my attention. It might havebeen produced by the moving of the great body of somehuge beast rising from the rock floor of its lair.At almost the same instant I thought that I caught thescraping of hide sandals upon the ledge beyond the turn.For the next few seconds my attention was considerably divided.

And then from the inky blackness at my right I saw twoflaming eyes glaring into mine. They were on a levelthat was over two feet above my head. It is true that thebeast who owned them might be standing upon a ledge withinthe cave, or that it might be rearing up upon its hind legs;but I had seen enough of the monsters of Pellucidar to knowthat I might be facing some new and frightful Titan whosedimensions and ferocity eclipsed those of any I had seen before.

Whatever it was, it was coming slowly toward the entranceof the cave, and now, deep and forbidding, it uttered a lowand ominous growl. I waited no longer to dispute possessionof the ledge with the thing which owned that voice.The noise had not been loud--I doubt if the Sagoths heardit at all--but the suggestion of latent possibilitiesbehind it was such that I knew it would only emanatefrom a gigantic and ferocious beast.

As I backed along the ledge I soon was past the mouthof the cave, where I no longer could see those fearfulflaming eyes, but an instant later I caught sight of thefiendish face of a Sagoth as it warily advanced beyondthe cliff's turn on the far side of the cave's mouth.As the fellow saw me he leaped along the ledge in pursuit,and after him came as many of his companions as couldcrowd upon each other's heels. At the same time the beastemerged from the cave, so that he and the Sagoths cameface to face upon that narrow ledge.

The thing was an enormous cave bear, rearing its colossalbulk fully eight feet at the shoulder, while from the tipof its nose to the end of its stubby tail it was fully twelvefeet in length. As it sighted the Sagoths it emitted a mostfrightful roar, and with open mouth charged full upon them.With a cry of terror the foremost gorilla-man turned to escape,but behind him he ran full upon his on-rushing companions.

The horror of the following seconds is indescribable.The Sagoth nearest the cave bear, finding his escapeblocked, turned and leaped deliberately to an awfuldeath upon the jagged rocks three hundred feet below.Then those giant jaws reached out and gathered in thenext--there was a sickening sound of crushing bones,and the mangled corpse was dropped over the cliff's edge.Nor did the mighty beast even pause in his steady advancealong the ledge.

Shrieking Sagoths were now leaping madly over the precipiceto escape him, and the last I saw he rounded the turn stillpursuing the demoralized remnant of the man hunters.For a long time I could hear the horrid roaring of the bruteintermingled with the screams and shrieks of his victims,until finally the awful sounds dwindled and disappearedin the distance.

Later I learned from Ghak, who had finally come to histribesmen and returned with a party to rescue me,that the ryth, as it is called, pursued the Sagoths untilit had exterminated the entire band. Ghak was, of course,positive that I had fallen prey to the terrible creature,which, within Pellucidar, is truly the king of beasts.

Not caring to venture back into the canyon, where Imight fall prey either to the cave bear or the Sagoths Icontinued on along the ledge, believing that by followingaround the mountain I could reach the land of Sari fromanother direction. But I evidently became confused by thetwisting and turning of the canyons and gullies, for I didnot come to the land of Sari then, nor for a long timethereafter.