eat danger ourselves and
running the chance of endangering them; but each swore to be always our
friend and assured us that should we need their aid at any time we had
but to ask it; nor could I doubt their sincerity, since we had been so
instrumental in bringing them safely upon their journey toward the
Kro-lu village.

This was our last day together. In the afternoon we should separate,
To-mar and So-al going directly to the Kro-lu village, while Ajor and I
made a detour to avoid a conflict with the archers. The former both
showed evidence of nervous apprehension as the time approached for them
to make their entry into the village of their new people, and yet both
were very proud and happy. They told us that they would be well
received as additions to a tribe always are welcomed, and the more so
as the distance from the beginning increased, the higher tribes or
races being far weaker numerically than the lower. The southern end of
the island fairly swarms with the Ho-lu, or apes; next above these are
the Alus, who are slightly fewer in number than the Ho-lu; and again
there are fewer Bolu than Alus, and fewer Sto-lu than Bo-lu. Thus it
goes until the Kro-lu are fewer in number than any of the others; and
here the law reverses, for the Galus outnumber the Kro-lu. As Ajor
explained it to me, the reason for this is that as evolution
practically ceases with the Galus, there is no less among them on this
score, for even the cos-ata-lo are still considered Galus and remain
with them. And Galus come up both from the west and east coasts.
There are, too, fewer carnivorous reptiles at the north end of the
island, and not so many of the great and ferocious members of the cat
family as take their hideous toll of life among the races further south.

By now I was obtaining some idea of the Caspakian scheme of evolution,
which partly accounted for the lack of young among the races I had so
far seen. Coming up from the beginning, the Caspakian passes, during a
single existence, through the various stages of evolution, or at least
many of them, through which the human race has passed during the
countless ages since life first stirred upon a new world; but the
question which continued to puzzle me was: What creates life at the
beginning, cor sva jo?

I had noticed that as we traveled northward from the Alus' country the
land had gradually risen until we were now several hundred feet above
the level of the inland sea. Ajor