Part 7 (2/2)
Understand this: To to sleep”
Taed and silently turned away A-furs, extinguished the candles and turned in
As Tharn neared Sephar's outer wall, Uda, thethe Cro-Magnon to increase his pace lest he be seen by some observer from within the city
He reached the dense shadows of the wall directly in front of one ly as solid as the stone wall on either side
Tharn pressed an ear to a crack of the wood He could hear nothing fro his bare feet into the ground, placed one broad shoulder against the rough surface, and pushed At first the pressure was gentle; but when the gate did not give, he gradually increased the force until all his superhuth strove to loosen the barrier
But the stubborn wood refused to give way, and Tharn realized he lance was enough to convince hi distance It was beginning to dawn on the cave-e lair was not to be so easy as he had at first expected
He concluded finally that there was nothing left to do but circle the entire wall in hopes that some way to enter would show itself Perhaps one of the several gates would have been left carelessly ajar, although he was not trusting enough to havepossibly half a ateithout success, his sharp gray eyes spied a broken tiates An end of the plank protruded a foot beyond the sheer surface of rock
Tharn grinned Those within rass rope from his shoulders, he fored to cast the loop about the jagged bit of wood This done, it was a simple matter to draw himself up to the timber There he paused to restore the rope about his shoulders, then he cautiously poked his head over the wall and peered into the strange world below
There was no one in sight Still sht never leave this place alive, he lowered hi momentarily by his hands, then dropped soundlessly to the street below The first obstacle in the search for Dylara had been overcome
Slowly and without sound thea heavily-laden figure to enter Placing its burden on the table, the figure closed the door, crossed to the side of the sleeping girl and bent above her, listening to the slow even breathing
Satisfied, the visitor stepped back to the table and, with a coal fronited the wicks of dishes of aniht revealed the newcoed the dishes she had brought, using the low stand as a table That done, she caently by a shoulder
The daughter of Majok awakened with a start, blinking the sleep froht of the other, she sat up in quick alarly ”You must not be afraid,” she said softly ”I am your friend They sent me here with food for you See?”
She pointed to the dishes
The words brought a measure of comfort to Dylara's troubledof the strange accent peculiar to Sephar's inhabitants
”Who are you?” Dylara asked
”I airl nodded Who was it this woman reminded her of? ”I am Dylara, Nada Tell me, why is it you speak as do the cave people?”
”I am of the cave people,” replied the woman ”There are many of us here The mountains about Sephar contain the caves of many tribes Often Sephar's warriors make war on our people and carry many away to become slaves”
Dylara watched her as she spoke Despite a youthful appearance, she ht but ure, under the simple tunic, was beautifully proportioned; her face the loveliest Dylara had ever seen There was an indefinable air of breeding and poise in her manner, softened by war
Nada endured the close appraisal without self-consciousness Finally she said: ”You ry Come; sit here and eat”