e wind been otherwise,
Bly would have been discovered.

He retreated like some huge beetle, on all fours, backward, as if he had
been suddenly confronted by a larger beetle. When he had traveled some
few yards and saw only the serrated ridge of sand interposed between him
and the sky, he rose, turned, and started for the edge of the water.

Though he felt no fear of these men, Bly found it the better part of
discretion to move swiftly from their path. He ran at a trot, a long
lope which covered ground with a minimum of effort. The whole of the
night went by, and still Bly Stanton moved in the easy pace he had set
himself. The dawn found his lean figure bounding along the edge of the
sand.

Hunger forced him to pause, then, and seek food. There was wild fruit on
trees a half mile inland. He ate some apples, and washed down the meager
meal with water from a spring. Then he found shelter and lay down to
sleep. Travel by night, he reasoned, was the best way.

The sound of voices awakened him. They were voices the timbre of which
he had never heard before. He parted the brush under which he had lain
through the day, and peered out cautiously. His eyes widened at the
sight they saw. Strange creatures, a tribe of which he knew nothing,
squatted in the sand a hundred feet from the water. They wore
tight-fitting garments which hugged their bodies so tightly that every
curve was clearly outlined. And they had figures which were not familiar
to Stanton.

It was not strange, for these were women.

* * * * *

Had Bly Stanton been less interested in what he was seeing and more
alert to what was closer at hand, he would perhaps have escaped the
noose which suddenly slipped over his shoulders and pinioned his arms
neatly to his side. Bodies encased in metal jackets leaped upon him and
made useless his struggles. He was jerked to his feet, and voices
shouted to others below to come forward. He understood the words, for
they were speaking in the same tongue that was his.

[Illustration: They flung themselves upon him from all sides and bound
him hand and foot]

There was a Naila, a Valis, another called simply She, and a tall strong
woman, older than the rest, called Mary. Mary seemed to be the leader,
or at least the one with the most authority. It was to her Bly was
brought.

"Mary," one of the guards said, "the first of what we hoped to find."

The woman looked at the man appraisingly. He w