s own ineffective
violence, leapt far out of reach before turning to see what had
happened. The Chief recovered himself, and the two lashed out at each
other so exactly together that the great clubs met in mid-air. So
shattering was the force of the impact, so numbing the shock to the
hairy wrists behind it, that both weapons dropped to the ground.

Neither antagonist dared stoop to snatch them up. For several seconds
they stood glaring at each other, their breath hissing through
clenched teeth, their knotted fingers opening and shutting. Then they
sprang at each other's throats--Grom in silence, the Black Chief
snarling hoarsely. Neither, however, gained the fatal grip at which he
aimed. They found themselves in a fair clinch, and stood swaying,
straining, sweating, and grunting, so equally matched in sheer
strength that to A-ya, standing breathless with suspense, the dreadful
seconds seemed to drag themselves out to hours. Then Grom, amazed to
find that in brute force he had met his match, feigned to give way.
Loosing the clutch of one arm, he dropped upon his knees. With a grunt
of triumph the Black Chief crashed down upon him, only to find himself
clutched by the legs and hurled clean over his wily adversary's head.
Before he could recover himself, Grom was upon him, pinning him to the
earth and reaching for his throat. In desperation he set his huge ape
teeth, with the grip of a bull-dog, deep into the muscular base of
Grom's neck, and began working his way in toward the artery.

At this moment A-ya glanced about her. She saw two bodies of the
Bow-legs closing in upon them from either side--the nearest not much
more than a couple of hundred yards distant. Her lord had plainly
ordered her to stand aside from this combat, but this was no time for
obedience. She snatched up the sharpened fragment of the broken spear.
Gripping it with both hands she drove it with all her force into the
side of the Black Chief's throat, and left it there. With a hideous
cough his grip relaxed. His limbs straightened out stiffly, and he lay
quivering.

Covered with blood, Grom sprang to his feet, and turned angrily upon
A-ya. "_I_ would have killed him," he said, coldly.

"There was no time," answered the girl, and pointed to the advancing
hordes.

Without a word Grom snatched up his club, wrenched the broken spear
from his dead rival's neck, thrust it into the girl's hands, and
darted for the narrowing space of open between the tw