d doubly difficult to accomplish
successfully.

At first he considered entering the camp after another hour or two, but
with the trebling of the guard he gave up the idea--for the night at
least. There would be other nights--nights when the number of guards
would be normal and their behavior the same. Guards, it was well known,
were apt to become heavy-eyed and less alert along toward dawn.

All during the following morning Tharn trailed the Ammadians. At first
he did so from a position among the branches above them; but along
toward mid-morning the trees began to thin out, as well as the
undergrowth normally covering the ground between the giant boles, and he
was forced to lag further and further behind. When the fifty men reached
the prairie's edge and stopped to rest, he managed to work his way close
enough to hear conversations among several of the men.

Their talk was filled with eagerness at being close to Ammad once more,
and Tharn was aware of a feeling of sharp disappointment. Was it
possible this group would reach the city before nightfall? If that were
true, his chances of freeing Dylara and Trakor were small indeed.

An hour later Tharn was standing in the shelter of a large tree, his
eyes regretfully watching as the entire party forged across that broad
stretch of open ground where he might not follow.

Two hours before sunset Tharn reached the wall of jungle and trees. The
column of Ammadians were still far out in the grasslands and would need
another three hours to reach the game trail where Tharn was standing.
The cave lord decided to spend that time in reconnoitering. There was
the possibility that Ammad itself lay not too deep within the forest to
make it worthwhile for the approaching column to continue its march even
after darkness fell.

It was as he had feared. Less than an hour's swift progress through the
forest's upper terraces brought him to the edge of a vast clearing, much
like the one surrounding Sephar, beyond which rose sheer grey walls of
stone. From his elevated position he could see beyond that barrier, and
he saw that, except for its far greater size and magnificence, Ammad was
not much different from Sephar. But in size alone did Ammad make Sephar
seem a small jungle clearing by comparison. In diameter it was at least
ten miles and there were five small hills grouped near its center, at
the apex of each a magnificent structure. The general layout of streets
was much the same as