"That's a joke on him; he doesn't know that we have been inoculated
with the serum of longevity."
"In the meantime, the joke is on us; and I am getting hungry."
"Look, Duare!" I whispered, as I caught sight of something dimly
visible through the tangled undergrowth beyond the basto.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I don't know, but it's something large."
"It is creeping silently through the brush, Carson. Do you suppose it
is something that has caught our scent, some other terrible beast of
prey?"
"Well, we are up a tree," I reassured her.
"Yes, and many of these creatures climb trees. I wish you had your
weapons."
"If that basto would look the other way for a minute, I'd go down and
get them."
"No, you mustn't do that--one or the other of them would get you."
"Here it comes now, Duare! Look!"
"It's a tharban," she whispered.