asped him by the scruff of the neck. I did not interfere, for I
guessed what would happen; and it did. With a savage growl Nobs turned
like lightning upon the Galu, wrenched loose from his hold and leaped
for his throat. The man stepped back and warded off the first attack
with a heavy blow of his fist, immediately drawing his knife with which
to meet the Airedale's return. And Nobs would have returned, all
right, had not I spoken to him. In a low voice I called him to heel.
For just an instant he hesitated, standing there trembling and with
bared fangs, glaring at his foe; but he was well trained and had been
out with me quite as much as he had with Bowen--in fact, I had had most
to do with his early training; then he walked slowly and very
stiff-legged to his place behind me.

Du-seen, red with rage, would have had it out with the two of us had
not Al-tan drawn him to one side and whispered in his ear--upon which,
with a grunt, the Galu walked straight back to the opposite end of the
hall, while Nobs and I continued upon our way toward the hut and Ajor.
As we passed out into the village plaza, I saw Chal-az--we were so
close to one another that I could have reached out and touched him--and
our eyes met; but though I greeted him pleasantly and paused to speak
to him, he brushed past me without a sign of recognition. I was
puzzled at his behavior, and then I recalled that To-mar, though he had
warned me, had appeared not to wish to seem friendly with me. I could
not understand their attitude, and was trying to puzzle out some sort
of explanation, when the matter was suddenly driven from my mind by the
report of a firearm. Instantly I broke into a run, my brain in a whirl
of forebodings, for the only firearms in the Kro-lu country were those
I had left in the hut with Ajor.

That she was in danger I could not but fear, as she was now something
of an adept in the handling of both the pistol and rifle, a fact which
largely eliminated the chance that the shot had come from an
accidentally discharged firearm. When I left the hut, I had felt that
she and I were safe among friends; no thought of danger was in my mind;
but since my audience with Al-tan, the presence and bearing of Duseen
and the strange attitude of both To-mar and Chal-az had each
contributed toward arousing my suspicions, and now I ran along the
narrow, winding alleys of the Kro-lu village with my heart fairly in my
mouth.

I am endowed with an exc