gone. Never, Gura, can I repay you for your kindness to me—a kindness
which I can only explain on the strength of the Amiocapian blood which
is in you. I shall never see you again, Gura, but I shall carry the
recollection of your image and your kindness always in my heart.”
“I am going with you,” said Gura.
“You cannot do that,” said Tanar.
“How else may I guide you to the village of Jude then?” she demanded.
“You do not have to guide me; only tell me the direction in which it
lies and I shall find it,” replied Tanar.
“I am going with you,” said the girl, determinedly. “There is only hate
and misery in the cave of my father. I would rather be with you.”
“But that cannot be, Gura,” said Tanar.
“If I went back now to the cave of Scurv he would suspect me of having
aided your escape and they would all beat me. Come, we cannot waste time
here for if you do not return quickly, Scurv will become suspicious and
set out upon your trail.” She had dropped to the ground beside him and
now she started off into the forest.
“Have it as you wish, then, Gura,” said Tanar, “but I am afraid that you
are going to regret your act—I am afraid that we are both going to
regret it.”
“At least I shall have a little happiness in life,” said the girl, “and
if I have that I shall be willing to die.”
“Wait,” said Tanar, “in which direction does the village of Jude lie?”
The girl pointed. “Very well,” said Tanar, “instead of going on the
ground and leaving our spoor plainly marked for Scurv to follow, we
shall take to the trees, for after having watched you descend the cliff
I know that you must be able to travel as rapidly among the branches as
you do upon the ground.”
“I have never done it,” said the girl, “but wherever you go I shall
follow.”
Although Tanar had been loath to permit the girl to accompany him,
nevertheless he found that her companionship made what would have been
otherwise a lonely adventure far from unpleasant.
XII
“I HATE YOU!”
The companions of Bohar the Bloody had not waited long for him after he
had set out in pursuit of Stellara and had not returned. They hastened
the work upon their boat to early completion, and, storing provisions
and water, sailed out of the cove on the shores of which they had
constructed their craft and bore away for Korsar with no regret for
Bohar, whom they all cordially hated.
The very storm that had come near to driving Tanar past the island of
Hime bore the Korsars down upon the opposite end, carried away their
rude sail and finally dashed their craft, a total wreck, upon the rocks
at the upper end of Hime.
The loss of their boat, their provisions and one of their number, who
was smashed against a rock and drowned, left the remaining Korsars in
even a more savage mood than was customary among them, and the fact that
the part of the island upon which they were wrecked afforded no timber
suitable for the construction of a boat made it necessary for them to
cross over land to the opposite shore.
They were faced now with the necessity of entering a land filled with
enemies in search of food and material for a new craft, and, to cap the
climax of their misfortune, they found themselves with wet powder and
forced to defend themselves, if necessity arose, with daggers and
cutlasses alone.
The majority of them being old sailors they were well aware of where
they were and even knew a great deal concerning the geography of Hime
and the manners and customs of its people, for most of them had
accompanied raiding parties into the interior on many occasions when the
Korsar ships had fallen upon the island to steal furs and hides, in the
perfect curing and tanning of which the Himean women were adept with the
result that Himean furs and skins brought high prices in Korsar.
A council of the older sailors decided then to set off across country
toward a harbor on the far side of the island, where the timber of an
adjoining forest would afford them the material for building another
craft with the added possibility of the arrival of a Korsar raider.
As these disgruntled men plodded wearily across the island of Hime, Jude
led the reluctant Stellara toward his village, and Gura guided Tanar in
the same direction.
Jude had been compelled to make wide detours to avoid unfriendly
villagers; nor had Stellara’s unwilling feet greatly accelerated his
pace, for she constantly hung back, and, though he no longer had to
carry her, he had found it necessary to make a leather thong fast about
her neck and lead her along in this fashion to prevent the numerous,
sudden breaks for liberty that she had made before he had devised this
scheme.
Often she pulled back, refusing to go further, saying that she was tired
and insisting upon lying down to rest, for in her heart she knew that
wherever Jude or another took her, Tanar would seek her out.
Already in her mind’s eyes she could see him upon the tail behind them
and she hoped to delay Jude’s march sufficiently so that the Sarian
would overtake them before they reached his village and the protection
of his tribe.
Gura was happy. Never before in all her life had she been so happy, and
she saw in the end of their journey a possible end to this happiness and
so she did not lead Tanar in a direct line to Carn, the village of Jude,
but led him hither and thither upon various excuses so that she might
have him to herself for as long a time as possible. She found in his
companionship a gentleness and an understanding that she had never known
in all her life before.
It was not love that Gura felt for Tanar, but something that might have
easily been translated into love had the Sarian’s own passion been
aroused toward the girl, but his love for Stellara precluded such a
possibility and while he found pleasure in the company of Gura he was
yet madly impatient to continue directly upon the trail of Jude that he
might rescue Stellara and have her for himself once more.
The village of Carn is not a cliff village, as is Garb, the village of
Scurv. It consists of houses built of stone and clay and, entirely
surrounded by a high wall, it stands upon the top of a lofty mesa
protected upon all sides by steep cliffs, and overlooking upon one hand
the forests and hills of Hime, and upon the other the broad expanse of
the Korsar Az, or Sea of Korsar.
Up the steep cliffs toward Carn climbed Jude, dragging Stellara behind
him. It was a long and arduous climb and when they reached the summit
Jude was glad to stop and rest. He also had some planning to do, since
in the village upon the mesa Jude had left a mate, and now he was
thinking of some plan whereby he might rid himself of her, but the only
plan that Jude could devise was to sneak into the city and murder her.
But what was he to do with Stellara in the meantime? And then a happy
thought occurred to him.
He knew a cave that lay just below the summit of the cliff and not far
distant and toward this he took Stellara, and when they had arrived at
it he bound her ankles and her wrists.
“I shall not leave you here long,” he said. “Presently I shall return
and take you into the village of Carn as my mate. Do not be afraid.
There are few wild beasts upon the mesa, and I shall return long before
any one can find you.”
“Do not hurry,” said Stellara. “I shall welcome the wild beast that
reaches me before you return.”
“You will think differently after you have been the mate of Jude for a
while,” said the man, and then he left her and hurried toward the walled
village of Carn.
Struggling to a sitting posture Stellara could look out across the
country that lay at the foot of the cliff and presently, below her, she
saw a man and a woman emerge from the forest.
For a moment her heart stood still, for the instant that her eyes
alighted upon him she recognized the man as Tanar. A cry of welcome was
upon her lips when a new thought stilled her tongue.
Who was the girl with Tanar? Stellara saw how close she walked to him
and she saw her look up into his face and though she was too far away to
see the girl’s eyes or her expression, there was something in the
attitude of the slim body that denoted worship, and Stellara turned her
face and buried it against the cold wall of the cave and burst into
tears.
Gura pointed upward toward the high mesa. “There,” she said, “just
beyond the summit of that cliff lies Carn, the village where Jude lives,
but if we enter it you will be killed and perhaps I, too, if the women
get me first.”
Tanar, who was examining the ground at his feet, seemed not to hear the
girl’s words. “Someone has passed just ahead of us,” he said; “a man and
a woman. I can see the imprints of their feet. The grasses that were
crushed beneath their sandals are still rising slowly—a man and a
woman—and one of them was Stellara and the other Jude.”
“Who is Stellara?” asked the girl.
“My mate,” replied Tanar.
The habitual expression of sadness that had marked Gura’s face since
childhood, but which had been supplanted by a radiant happiness since
she had left the village of Garb with Tanar, returned as with
tear-filled eyes she choked back a sob, which went unnoticed by the
Sarian as he eagerly searched the ground ahead of them. And in the cave
above them warm tears bathed the unhappy cheeks of Stellara, but the
urge of love soon drew her eyes back to Tanar just at the moment that he
turned and called Gura’s attention to the well marked spoor he was
following.
The eyes of the Sarian noted the despair in the face of his companion
and the tears in her eyes.
“Gura!” he cried. “What is the matter? Why do you cry?” and impulsively
he stepped close to her and put a friendly arm about her shoulders, and
Gura, unnerved by kindness, buried her face upon his breast and wept.
And this was what Stellara saw—this scene was what love and jealousy put
their own interpretation upon—and the eyes of the Amiocapian maiden
flashed with hurt pride and anger.
“Why do you cry, Gura?” demanded Tanar.
“Do not ask me,” begged the girl. “It is nothing. Perhaps I am tired;
perhaps I am afraid. But now we may not think of either fatigue or fear,
for if Jude is taking your mate toward the village of Carn we must
hasten to rescue her before it is too late.”
“You are right,” exclaimed Tanar. “We must not delay,” and, followed by
Gura, he ran swiftly toward the base of the cliff, tracing the spoor of
Jude and Stellara where it led to the precarious ascent of the
cliffside. And as they hastened on, brutal eyes watched them from the
edge of the jungle from which they had themselves so recently emerged.
Where the steep ascent topped the summit of the cliff bare rock gave
back no clew to the direction that Jude had taken, but twenty yards
further on where the soft ground commenced again Tanar picked up the
tracks of the man to which he called Gura’s attention.
“Jude’s footprints are here alone,” he said.
“Perhaps the woman refused to go further and he was forced to carry
her,” suggested Gura.
“That is doubtless the fact,” said Tanar, and he hastened onward along
the plain trail left by the Himean.
The way led now along a well marked trail, which ran through a
considerable area of bushes that grew considerably higher than a man’s
head, so that nothing was visible upon either side and only for short
distances ahead of them and behind them along the winding trail. But
Tanar did not slacken his speed, his sole aim being to overhaul the
Himean before he reached his village.
As Tanar and Gura had capped the summit of the cliff and disappeared
from view, eighteen hairy men came into view from the forest and
followed their trail toward the foot of the cliff.
They were bushy whiskered fellows with gay sashes around their waists
and equally brilliant cloths about their heads. Huge pistols and knives
bristled from their waist cloths, and cutlasses dangled from their
hips—fate had brought these survivors of The Cid’s ship to the foot of
the cliffs below the village of Carn at almost the same moment that
Tanar had arrived. With sensations of surprise, not unmingled with awe,
they had recognized the Sarian who had been a prisoner upon the ship and
whom they thought they had seen killed by their musket fire at the edge
of the natural well upon the island of Amiocap.
The Korsars, prompted by the pernicious stubbornness of ignorance, were
moved by a common impulse to recapture Tanar. And with this end in view
they waited until Gura and the Sarian had disappeared beyond the summit
of the cliff, when they started in pursuit.
The walls of Carn lie no great distance from the edge of the table-land
upon which it stands. In timeless Pellucidar events, which are in
reality far separated, seem to follow closely, one upon the heels of
another, and for this reason one may not say how long Jude was in the
village of Carn, or whether he had had time to carry out the horrid
purpose which had taken him thither, but the fact remained that as Tanar
and Gura reached the edge of the bushes and looked across the clearing
toward the walls of Carn they saw Jude sneaking from the city. Could
they have seen his face they might have noticed a malicious leer of
triumph and could they have known the purpose that had taken him thus
stealthily to his native village they might have reconstructed the
scenes of the bloody episode which had just been enacted within the
house of the Himean. But Tanar only saw that Jude, whom he sought, was
coming toward him, and that Stellara was not with him.
The Sarian drew Gura back into the concealment of the bushes that lined
the trail which Jude was approaching.
On came the Himean and while Tanar awaited his coming, the Korsars were
making their clumsy ascent of the cliff, while Stellara, sick from
jealousy and unhappiness, leaned disconsolately against the cold stone
of her prison cave.
Jude, unconscious of danger, hastened back toward the spot where he had
left Stellara and as he came opposite Tanar, the Sarian leaped upon him.
The Himean reached for his knife, but he was helpless in the grasp of
Tanar, whose steel fingers closed about his wrists with such strength
that Jude dropped his weapon with a cry of pain as he felt both of his
arms crushed beneath the pressure of the Sarian’s grip.
“What do you want?” he cried. “Why do you attack me?”
“Where is Stellara?” demanded Tanar.
“I do not know,” replied Jude. “I have not seen her.”
“You lie,” said Tanar. “I have followed her tracks and yours to the
summit of the cliff: Where is she?” He drew his knife. “Tell me, or
die.”
“I left her at the edge of the cliff while I went to Carn to arrange to
have her received in a friendly manner. I did it all for her protection,
Tanar. She wanted to go back to Korsar and I was but helping her.”
“Again you lie,” said the Sarian; “but lead me to her and we shall hear
her version of the story.”
The Himean held back until the point of Tanar’s knife pressed against
his ribs; then he gave in. “If I lead you to her will you promise not to
kill me?” asked Jude. “Will you let me return in peace to my village?”
“I shall make no promises until I learn from her own lips how you have
treated her,” replied the Sarian.
“She has not been harmed,” said Jude. “I swear it.”
“Then lead me to her,” insisted Tanar.
Sullenly the Himean guided them back along the path toward the cave
where he had left Stellara, while at the other edge of the bushes
eighteen Korsars, warned by the noise of their approach, halted,
listening, and presently melted silently from view in the surrounding
shrubbery.
They saw Jude and Gura and Tanar emerge from the bushes, but they did
not attack them; they waited to see for what purpose they had returned.
They saw them disappear over the edge of the cliff at a short distance
from the summit of the trail that led down into the valley. And then
they emerged from their hiding places and followed cautiously after
them.
Jude led Tanar and Gura to the cave where Stellara lay and when Tanar
saw her, her dear wrists and ankles bound with thongs and her cheeks
still wet with tears, he sprang forward and gathered her into his arms.
“Stellara!” he cried. “My darling!” But the girl turned her face away
from him.
“Do not touch me,” she cried. “I hate you.”
“Stellara!” he exclaimed in amazement. “What has happened?” But before
she could reply they were startled by a hoarse command from behind them,
and, turning, found themselves looking into the muzzles of the pistols
of eighteen Korsars.
“Surrender, Sarian!” cried the leader of the Korsars.
Gazing into the muzzles of about thirty-six huge pistols, which equally
menaced the lives of Stellara and Gura, Tanar saw no immediate
alternative but to surrender.
“What do you intend to do with us if we do surrender?” he demanded.
“That we shall decide later,” growled the spokesman for the Korsars.
“Do you expect ever to return to Korsar?” asked Tanar.
“What is that to you, Sarian?” demanded the Korsar.
“It has a considerable bearing upon whether or not we surrender,”
replied Tanar. “You have tried to kill me before and you have found that
I am hard to kill. I know something about your weapons and your powder
and I know that even at such close quarters I may be able to kill some
of you before you can kill me. But if you answer my question fairly and
honestly and if your answer is satisfactory I shall surrender.”
At Tanar’s mention of his knowledge of their powder the Korsars
immediately assumed that he knew that it was wet whereas he was only
alluding to its uniformly poor quality and so the spokesman decided that
it would be better to temporize for the time being at least. “As soon as
we can build a boat we shall return to Korsar,” he said, “unless in the
meantime a Korsar ship anchors in the bay of Carn.”
“Good,” commented the Sarian. “If you will promise to return the
daughter of The Cid safe and unharmed to her people in Korsar I will
surrender. And you must also promise that no harm shall befall this
other girl and that she shall be permitted to go with you in safety to
Korsar or to remain here among her own people as she desires.”
“How about the other man?” demanded the Korsar.
“You may kill him when you kill me,” replied Tanar.
Stellara’s eyes widened in fearful apprehension as she heard the words
of the Sarian and she found that jealousy was no match for true love.
“Very well,” said the Korsar. “We accept the condition. The women shall
return to Korsar with us, and you two men shall die.”
“Oh, no,” begged Jude. “I do not wish to die. I am a Himean. Carn is my
home. You Korsars come there often to trade. Spare me and I shall see
that you are furnished with more hides than you can pack in your boat,
after you have built it.”
The leader of the band laughed in his face. “Eighteen of us can take
what we choose from the village of Carn,” he said. “We are not such
fools as to spare you that you may go and warn your people.”
“Then take me along as a prisoner,” wailed Jude.
“And have to feed you and watch you all the time? No, you are worth more
to us dead than alive.”
As Jude spoke he had edged over into the mouth of the cave, where he
stood half behind Stellara as though taking shelter at the expense of
the girl.
With a gesture of disgust, Tanar turned toward the Korsars. “Come,” he
said, impatiently. “If the bargain is satisfactory there is no use in
discussing it further. Kill us, and take the women in safety to Korsar.
You have given your word.”
At the instant that Tanar concluded his appeal to the Korsars, Jude
turned before any one could prevent him and disappeared into the cave
behind him. Instantly Korsars leaped in pursuit, while the others
awaited impatiently their return with Jude. But when they emerged they
were empty handed.
“He escaped us,” said one of those who had gone after the Himean. “This
cave is the mouth of a dark, long tunnel with many branches. We could
see nothing and fearful that we should become lost, we returned to the
opening. It would be useless to try to find the man within unless one
was familiar with the tunnel which honeycombs the cliff beyond this
cave. We had better kill this one immediately before he has an
opportunity to escape too,” and the fellow raised his pistol and aimed
it at Tanar, possibly hoping that his powder had dried since they had
set out from the beach upon the opposite side of the island.
“Stop!” cried Stellara, jumping in front of the man. “As you all know I
am the daughter of The Cid. If you return me to him in safety you will
be well rewarded. I will see to that. You all knew that The Cid was
taking this man to Korsar, but possibly you did not know why.”
“No,” said one of the Korsars, who, being only common sailors, had had
no knowledge of the plans of their commander.
“He knows how to make firearms and powder far superior to ours and The
Cid was taking him back to Korsar that he might teach the Korsars the
secrets of powder making and the manufacture of weapons, that we do not
know. If you kill him The Cid will be furious with you, and you all know
what it means to anger The Cid. But if you return him, also, to Korsar
your reward will be much larger.”
“How do we know that The Cid is alive?” demanded one of the Korsars;
“and if he is not, who is there who will pay reward for your return, or
for the return of this man?”
“The Cid is a better sailor than Bohar the Bloody—that you all know. And
if Bohar the Bloody brought his boat safely through to Amiocap there is
little doubt but that The Cid took his safely to Korsar. But even if he
did not, even if The Cid perished, still will you receive your reward if
you return me to Korsar.”
“Who will pay it?” demanded one of the sailors.
“Bulf,” replied Stellara.
“Why should Bulf pay a reward for your return?” asked the Korsar.
“Because I am to be his mate. It was The Cid’s wish and his.”
By no change of expression did the Sarian reveal the pain that these
words inflicted like a knife thrust through his heart. He merely stood
with his arms folded, looking straight ahead. Gura’s eyes were wide in
surprise as she looked, first at Stellara and then at Tanar, for she
recalled that the latter had told her that Stellara was his mate, and
she had known, with woman’s intuition, how much the man loved this
woman. Gura was mystified and, too, she was saddened because she guessed
the pain that Stellara’s words had inflicted upon Tanar, and so her kind
heart prompted her to move close to Tanar’s side and to lay her hand
gently upon his arm in mute expression of sympathy.
For a time the Korsars discussed Stellara’s proposition in low whispers
and then the spokesman addressed her. “But if The Cid is dead there will
be no one to reward us for returning the Sarian; therefore, we might as
well kill him for there will be enough mouths to feed during the long
journey to Korsar.”
“You do not know that The Cid is dead,” insisted Stellara; “but if he
is, who is there better fitted to be chief of the Korsars than Bulf? And
if he is chief he will reward you for returning this man when I explain
to him the purpose for which he was brought back to Korsar.”
“Well,” said the Korsar, scratching his head, “perhaps you are right. He
may be more valuable to us alive than dead. If he will promise to help
us work the boat and not try to escape we shall take him with us. But
how about the girl here?”
“Keep her until we are ready to sail,” growled one of the other Korsars,
“and then turn her loose.”
“If you wish to receive any reward for my return you will do nothing of
the sort,” said Stellara with finality, and then to Gura, “What do you
wish to do?” Her voice was cold and haughty.
“Where Tanar goes there I wish to go,” replied Gura.
Stellara’s eyes narrowed and for an instant they flashed fire, but
immediately they resumed their natural, kindly expression, though tinged
with sadness. “Very well, then,” she said, turning sadly away, “the girl
must return with us to Korsar.”
The sailors discussed this question at some length and most of them were
opposed to it, but when Stellara insisted and assured them of a still
greater reward they finally consented, though with much grumbling.
The Korsars marched boldly across the mesa, past the walls of Carn,
their harquebuses ready in their hands, knowing full well the fear of
them that past raids had implanted in the breasts of the Himeans. But
they did not seek to plunder or demand tribute for they still feared
that their powder was useless.