me.

It was not long after, that Tarlok, the leopard, his belly empty from a
night of fruitless hunting, caught scent of her. Slowly, with infinite
stealth, he slunk upwind, keeping within the jungle's edge until he
caught sight of the girl's bowed shoulders.

Tarlok's jowls dripped with anticipation. Of all creatures known to him,
none was more easily taken than man. A quick stalk, a sudden spring--and
once again Tarlok would feed.

Nearer and nearer he approached, moving warily lest the girl take alarm
and climb high into some tree. When almost abreast of her, he boldly
stepped into the trail, not ten feet behind his unsuspecting prey.

It was then that Alurna, warned perhaps by some subtle sense, turned
around.

* * * * *

Vulcar of Sephar and his band of twenty warriors having safely descended
the precipice at the same point where Alurna had inched her way down
earlier that day, assembled at the mouth of a pathway into the
unchartered wood before them.

"They probably came this way," Vulcar said. "Look about for some sign of
their passage."

A few minutes later a shout of triumph from one of the party brought the
others to his side. He was pointing to a mark in the trail's dust--the
large square imprint of a great flat foot, grotesquely human.

Vulcar smiled with grim satisfaction. "We are on the right track," he
declared. "Let us go on; we have work to do."

As unwittingly as though it did not exist they passed the spot where
their princess had entered the jungle. They did not see the broken and
twisted greenery in the forest wall, and had they done so they could not
have interpreted its meaning.

The men of Urb, versed in jungle lore, had found her trail at once, just
as they had picked out Mog's bones where Sadu had left them. But Urim's
daughter held no interest for any one of them, and they had made no
effort to track her down.

For the balance of the day Vulcar and his companions pushed ahead on
their mission of rescue--or revenge. Because they were smaller and more
active they covered ground much more quickly than their bulky quarry.
Consequently they were rapidly overtaking the five Neanderthals.

Near sunset the winding path debouched into a small clearing, through
which ran a fair-sized stream. Here the pursuers found the first
positive indication they were on the right track. On the near bank of
the river were ashes of a small fire, still warm to the touch.