ng in terms of daylight, and of
how much time had passed since he had seen the sun....

"Horab shall have a sign--a terrible sign," he said. "Death waits for
Horab in the world outside, my _Tao_ tells me. Horab shall die
horribly. I see him choking in the hot sand. His tongue fills his
mouth. The hot sun burns, and he is filled with fire. He tries to
scream--to call upon his _Tao_--but he makes no sound.... And so shall
Horab die."

The girl translated swiftly; the answer was a wild cry of rage from
the black. He sprang beside the helpless man and his spear was raised
high.

Garry felt the weight of Luhra's body thrown protectingly across him,
and looked up to see murder in the savage, slitted eyes. "Tell Horab,"
he directed sharply, "that if be harms you or me the burning death is
his! But--" He waited deliberately after Luhra had spoken, and he saw
plainly the flicker of fear in the ugly face. Now was the time.

"Unbind my feet!" he ordered, and he put into his voice all the force
and menace he could muster. "Take me to the outer world. Take your
spear. If I do not speak truth, kill me there. My _Tao_ will show you
a sign; he will fill your heart with fear as it now is filled with
evil. But, it may be I can save you. Unbind my feet! Be quick!"

Again he waited while Luhra spoke, and he cursed silently with the
agony of waiting. To be playing a part, speaking these absurdly
childish things, when what he wanted was his hand upon a gun or in a
grip of death about that black throat! Yet he lay as still as if the
vibrations of the bell were upon him, and his eyes held unwaveringly
upon the savage face, until he felt the fumbling of hands about his
feet....

* * * * *

A square-cut portal!--and beyond it a golden sun that shone through
mists of purple and rose! Was he too late? Garry pressed forward in
what would have been a clumsy run, but for the spear that had prodded
him through all the long passage, and that warned now against
attempted escape.

The brilliance and heat that struck him when he stepped, out into the
open brought Garry in a flash from the world of horror and
make-believe into the world he knew. He wanted to shout for sheer joy;
but more than all else he wanted to leap at the ugly thing who stood
blinking his eyes in the mouth of the cave.

The thought of escape was strong upon him, but the touch of a timid
hand showed the folly of that. Luhra was beside him, her