Part 2 (1/2)

Uda, the non youth plunged into the wilderness of growing things As a result he found his way purely by his fale lore not surpassed by the beasts theuided by three senses alone: s and touch; but these were ath bequeathed by heritage and environame trail underfoot swerved abruptly to the west and rose rapidly For several hundred feet the as steep, becaentle slope to flatness once e containing the homes of his people was behind hi but level country

Now ca low above the towering reaches of the trees, her white rays seeking to pierce the h for Tharn's eyes to regain so ahead at a slow trot, an hour afterward, when the shrill scream of a leopard broke suddenly froone on--too proud to change his course in the face of possible peril But tonight he hadat right angles into the wall of undergrowth lining the path, he vaulted into the lower branches of a sturdy tree With the graceful agility of little nobar, thehis ith deceptive ease along the network of swaying boughs, now and then swinging perilously across a wide span from one tree to the next

Directly beloas the beaten path; and now he caught sight of the ani leisurely in the sa occasionally to give voice to his hunting squall, his spotted for the shadows Tharn passed silently above him, the leopard unaware of his nearness

Onward raced the Cro-Magnard, his thoughts filled with the quest he had undertaken alone His savage, untaeous attack, that it finally brought an eible: Hate, and for a coe

Never would he rest until this unknown tribe had felt the weight of his own personal wrath For what they had done they must pay a thousandfold in lives and , the forest ended; and the cave lord dropped to the ground at the edge of a great plain, its bounds hidden in the ghostly ame path ended So fresh was the trail, now, that Tharn knew he had best wait for sunrise before continuing the chase He had no wish to dash headlong a the ranks of the very ene soundly in a crotch of a high tree, his sluht

The sun was an hour high when he awakened His first act was to clihest pinnacle of the tree, and frooal of those he sought

He was immediately successful Due west, far in the distance, he saw hills rising steeply amidst another forest His sharp eyes followed a wide line of broken grasses, noting that it pointed unerringly toward those sarimly to himself Soon the first member of that war-party wouldcertain his weapons were in place, the broad-shouldered young round and took up a circuitous route, avoiding the open plain, which brought hie at a considerable distance away from the others' point of entry at the far side of the plain If he had crossed the plain, sharp eyes e

Once the trail was picked up again, he took to the co in absolute silence above a narrow pathinding into the gloomy interior, the imprints of er needed such evidence; the hunon settlement close ahead

So close were the hills by this ti the trees to thin out, when he caught the sound of a faintthe foliage with a stealthy hand, hein the trail, his attitude that of a sentry

Tharn felt his pulses quicken as a new emotion came to him In all his twenty-two years he had never been called upon to take a hu Yet it was just such a purpose that he had intiround and stepped onto the trail a few paces behind the stranger With infinite stealth he lessened the space between the unsuspecting warrior and his own half crouched figure Forgotten was the knife at his belt; his purpose was to close fingers about the other's throat

Now, he was sufficiently near The --and the eneiant's nearness and threatening position, his eyes fleide in surprise and fear His jaw dropped, but no sound came; his arms seemed frozen to his sides

Before he could recover, Tharn was upon hier's throat, a knee ca loose his hold But the maneuver cost the ht across his chest

Frantically the warrior fought to loosen the terrible grip cutting off his breath He claildly at the iron fingers, struck heavy blows at his attacker's face and body But Tharn only tightened his hold, waiting grily weaker Then a convulsive shudder passed through the body, followed by coot to his feet For a longin wonder at the dead, distorted face His thoughts were a jurownsatisfaction in an ene a huo?

”Death cannot be understood, completely, by one who has never killed A true warrior takes no life without knowing regret Slay only when your life is in danger, or when so are beneath the beasts; for beasts kill only for cause”

Tharn stooped, swung the corpse across his shoulder and entered the jungle There he concealed the body and once more took to the trees

The forest ended suddenly, so cliff A single glance told Tharn that he had reached the trail's end, and he leaped lightly into the branches of a tree at the lip of the clearing Swiftly he swarh was reached that pointed outward toward the hillside

Below and before hie