ing now. The white, smooth stone gleamed dully in the half light.

Moving as only the jungle-wise can move, he began to skirt the building,
seeking an opening large enough to admit his giant frame. His bare feet
were soundless on the grass; he was but a white shadow of a man.

There was no scarcity of windows, but all were barred by slender columns
of stone. To attempt to force them would be a noisy method at best. If
he meant to find and rescue Dylara he must resort to stealth and cunning
alone. For all his herculean strength he would be helpless against an
entire city.

He was nearing one corner of the building when his eyes caught sight of
a narrow slit-like break in the stone just above the level of his head.
There was no indication of bars, and as it appeared large enough to
admit him, he caught the lip and drew himself up and within.

The awful stench that smote his nostrils nearly drove him back to the
ground. He had no way of knowing, of course, that he had stumbled across
a refuse chute; it was from this vent that waste was thrown into
containers below.

Holding his breath, he clambered a short distance along the sloping
stone, thrust away a wooden screen and stood upright.

He was in complete darkness. Moving slowly forward, his outthrust hands
struck a wooden panel which proved to be a door. A second later he had
solved the latch and stepped through.

Here, light came through several windows. He was in the palace kitchens,
although his limited experience did not enable him to identify them as
such. Across the room was a closed door; he directed his steps toward
it.

Silently the door swung open, and the cave-man paused on the threshold
of a large room, occupied by a massive table and numerous backless
stools.

Tharn took in all that with a single swift glance. Something was moving
beyond the hangings screening off the room ahead.

The curtains parted and five guards-men filed into the room. After
glancing hastily about, they passed silently through to the kitchens.

As the last one disappeared from view, a disembodied shape merged from
beneath the long table and vanished into the room beyond.

Aside from its furnishings it, too, was empty.

* * * * *

On went Tharn, combing each successive chamber for a sign of human life.
He was determined not to quit this place until completely satisfied
Dylara was held elsewhere. The task, not easy at best, would prove even
m