Our only hope, he said, lay in reaching his tribe which was quite strong enough in their mountain fastness to beat off any number of Sagoths.

At last, after what seemed months, and may, I now realize, have been years, we came in sight of the dun escarpment which buttressed the foothills of Sari.  At almost the same instant, Hooja, who looked ever quite as much behind as before, announced that he could see a body of men far behind us topping a low ridge in our wake.  It was the long-expected pursuit.

I asked Ghak if we could make Sari in time to escape them.

“We may,” he replied; “but you will find that the Sagoths can move with incredible swiftness, and as they are almost tireless they are doubtless much fresher than we.  Then—­” he paused, glancing at Perry.

I knew what he meant.  The old man was exhausted.  For much of the period of our flight either Ghak or I had half supported him on the march.  With such a handicap, less fleet pursuers than the Sagoths might easily overtake us before we could scale the rugged heights which confronted us.

“You and Hooja go on ahead,” I said.  “Perry and I will make it if we are able.  We cannot travel as rapidly as you two, and there is no reason why all should be lost because of that.  It can’t be helped—­we have simply to face it.”

“I will not desert a companion,” was Ghak’s simple reply.  I hadn’t known that this great, hairy, primeval man had any such nobility of character stowed away inside him.  I had always liked him, but now to my liking was added honor and respect.  Yes, and love.

But still I urged him to go on ahead, insisting that if he could reach his people he might be able to bring out a sufficient force to drive off the Sagoths and rescue Perry and myself.

No, he wouldn’t leave us, and that was all there was to it, but he suggested that Hooja might hurry on and warn the Sarians of the king’s danger.  It didn’t require much urging to start Hooja—­the naked idea was enough to send him leaping on ahead of us into the foothills which we now had reached.

Perry realized that he was jeopardizing Ghak’s life and mine and the old fellow fairly begged us to go on without him, although I knew that he was suffering a perfect anguish of terror at the thought of falling into the hands of the Sagoths.  Ghak finally solved the problem, in part, by lifting Perry in his powerful arms and carrying him.  While the act cut down Ghak’s speed he still could travel faster thus than when half supporting the stumbling old man.

XIII

THE SLY ONE

The Sagoths were gaining on us rapidly, for once they had sighted us they had greatly increased their speed.  On and on we stumbled up the narrow canyon that Ghak had chosen to approach the heights of Sari.  On either side rose precipitous cliffs of gorgeous, parti-colored rock, while beneath our feet a thick mountain grass formed a soft and noiseless carpet.  Since we had entered the canyon we had had no glimpse of our pursuers, and I was commencing to hope that they had lost our trail and that we would reach the now rapidly nearing cliffs in time to scale them before we should be overtaken.