The Oregon daily journal., May 21, 1916, Page 52, Image 52

4 THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, MAY 21, 191d
times through the break of a gorge upon they charge. I will bring dowa a young world, separated from their people, doubt- he could see human figure passing back
a forest In a valley far below. she.' less forever. Gron suddenly realized that and forth along the narrow causeways
Toward this Nu bent his steps. There Gron was about to turn back as Nu she hoped that it was forever. that connected the thatched structures
might grow the wood he sought. At last had bid her, and the man was on the point She wondered what was passing in Nu's with the shore of the lake.
Across these bridges they were driving
aurochsen, too, evidently to pen them
safely for the night against the prowlers ;
of the forest and the plain. -":
Until darkness settled Nu watched with
unflagging Interest the activities of the
they reached the last steep declivity, a of circling toward the right when there mind.
sheer drop of two hundred feet to the appeared on the other side of the auroch- Apparently the man was wholly occu
leveler slopes whereon the forest grew al- sen several men. They were clothed in pied with the Joys of insulting the threat
most to the base of the cliff. the skins of the species they accompanied, ening savages beneath him; but yet his
For a moment the two stood gazing out and were armed with spears and axes. thoughts were busy with plans for escape.
over the unfamiliar scene a rather open At sight of Nu and Gron they raised And why?
woodland that seemed to fringe the shoul- a great shout and dashed forward toward
der of the plateau, dropping from sight a, the two.
mile or so beyond them into an invisible Nu, unarmed, perceived the futility of
Solely because he yearned for his own floating village. Then, In the compara-s
land and his father's people?
tive safety of the darkness, he crept down
Far from it Nu might have been hap- close to the water's edge.
valley above which hung a soft, warm accepting battle. Instead he grasped Gron's py upon thl3 island forever had there He took advantage of every tree and :
haze. Far and beyond all this dimly rose hand, and with her fled back toward the been another there In place of Gron. He bush, of every rock and hollow that Inter-
the outlines of far-off mountains, their cliffs. Close upon their heels came the thought of Nat-ul no other woman oc- vened between himself and the enemy, to
serrated crests seemingly floating upon the herders, shouting savage cries of carnage cupied his mind, and his plans for escape shelter and hide his advance. At last he
haze that obscured their bases. and victory. were solely a means for returning to the lay concealed In a heavy growth of reeds
a. a 4. They had their quarry cornered. The mainland and again taking up his search upon the bank of the lake.
"Let us descend," said Nu, and started
to lower his legs over the edge of the
By separating them before his eyes, he
precipice.
Gron drew back with a little exclama
tion of terror.
"You will fall!" she cried. "Let us
search out an easier way."
Nu looked up and laughed. x
"What could be easier than this?" he
asked.
Gron peered over the edge. She saw
the face of the rocky wa
and there by protruding boulders, and
again by narrow ledges, where a harder
stratum had better withstood the ravages
of the elements.
In occasional spots where lodgment had
been afforded lay accumulations of loose
rock, ready to trip the unwary
below all a tumbled mass of Jagged pieces.
waiting to receive the bruised and mangled
-cliff would stop them, and then, with their for the daughter of Tha.
backs against the wall, the man. would be For an hour the herders remained In could obtain an excellent view of the vil-
quickly killed and the woman captured. the clearing near the foot of the cliff; lag without himself being discovered.
But these were not Cliff Dwellers they then, evidently tiring of the fruitless The moon had risen, brilliantly flood
knew nothing of "the agility of Nu. sport, they collected their scattered herd lg the unusual scene. Now Nu saw that
Had they, they would not have slowed and disappeared in the wood toward the the dwellings did not really float upon the
up aa they did. nor spread out to right direction from which thv had r-ome. fiurface.
and left for the purpose of preventing a A half hour later Nu ventured down. He discovered the ends of piles that
flank escape by the fugitives. Across the -f- disappeared beneath the surface of the
rubble ran Nu and Gron, and at the foot e had discovered a cave in the face water. Tne habitations stood upon these.
of the cliffs where they should hayof the clifft and there he left Gron ieUng He saw men and women and little chil
li broken here etopped' according to the reasoning of the her thiat he would fetch food to her since dren gathered upon the open platform
in case of pursuit he could escape more t'"3 DU uu
herders, they did not even hesitate,
Straight up the sheer wall sprang Nu, easiiy alone than when burdened with fPon the narrow bridges that spanned tfi
uiatgwg mo wuuidu aner nim. iNow ine her
aurochsen herders raised a mighty shout Ater a short absence he returned with
of anger and dismay. h.th an, . . . f. lat. o . . .
water between the dwellings and the
shore.
Fires burned before many of the huts.
With renewed speed they dashed the Diadder that always hung from his blaJn? little hearths of clay that
foot, and snt toward the foot of the cliff, but gee-string. He had seen nothing of the Protectei tn Peking beneath them from
, . ,.., Turning for an Instant, Nu saw the back- v,. had d.,ir(1
body of whoever might be so foolhardy ne naa aesireo.
as to choose this way to the forest. Nu
saw that Gron was but little reassured by
her inspection.
with me."
Gron looked at him, conscious of an ad
miration for his courage and prowes3
an admiration for an enemy that she
would rather not have felt. Yet she did
feel the truth of his words: 'There is no
danger with me."
She sat down upon the edge of the cliff.
letting her legs dangle over the abyss
Nu and Gron were beyond the reach of herders and naught of the hardwood or combustion. Nu could smell the savory
their hands before ever they arrived. tne materials for spear and ax heads that aroma of cookm sh, and his mouth
watered as he saw the teeth of the Lake
thrown spear-hands. mOM ,a Q . .. v Dwellers close upon Juicy aurochs-steaks.
They were not yet out of reach of the COofided to the woman as they sauatted wn,le others Pend shellfish and devoured ;
icKuru uown wnn db nsm a t. mouth of thn rnr unrf nt "Th vur cuu.em raw, mrowing tne sneus
inio me water Deiow mem.
Ti. hnnu Kn.,.h V X
the objects of his particular desire were
the long spear, the heavy ax, and the
L ill J;.iivii. , -m i 1 "
"Come!" he said. "There is no danger and plcked Up a loosft b,t of rock- drivers of aurochsen bore spears and
axes
hurling it toward the nearest spearman. and Knlves It easicr tQ foUow
The missile struck its target full upon thcm and take thers then tQ make weap.
the forehead, crumpling him to an inert M nt ,
W AV V ft. l-M J V TV Ua
mass.
Then Nu scrambled upward again, and
before the herders could recover from their
surprise he had dragged Gron out of range iest of the sh aurocbsen.
or the spears.
Stay here Gron, in safety, and Nu 8harp knlfo f the ha,ry ,ant
guard upon the nearest causeway.
Upon him Nu's eyes rested the oftenest.
He saw the villagers, the evening meal
consumed -and the scraps tossed Into the
will follow the strangers, returning short
ly with weapons and the flesh of the fat-
"Then we will return to the coast, fear
Squatting upon a narrow ledge, the ,e8S of enemkss flnd the boat and g0 water beneath their dwellings, engaged In
Nu reached up and grasped her arm, WOman at his side, Nu hurled insulting epi- to Nu's country. There you will be nolsy frOSS,p abOUt thelr flre
drawing her down to his side. How he the's at their Peuers. These he punctu
clung there she could not guess; but some- " well-timed and equally well
well received, for Nu. my father, is chief, children romPJ an tumbled perilous-
how, as he supported her in the descent,
he found hand-holds and stepping-stones
that maUp the nath serm a miracle of ease.
, . Ai tempt to follow the fugitives.
Long before they reached the bottom c '
Gron ceased to be afraid, and even found
herself discovering ledges and outcrop-
and when he learns that you have saved ,y cIose t0 tBe edges of tne Prms.
my life he will treat you well." -f
over the low rails above the water, con-
aimed rocks, until the yelling herders were
glad to retreat to a safer distance.
a moment later disaDneared from the eves
It was evident that they were no better of Gro1 ,nt0 8na(Jow8 of the wood.
climbers than Gron. Nu held them in su-
versed in whispers. Loud-voiced warriors
For a while he could make neither head recounUd for the thousandth Ume deUila
- oontemrjt. Hart h hirt a tmr.A nT recuanwa xor me inousanutn un
rine-s that made the ioumev easier for prem contempt. aa he but a good ax n r tail f tanB.,ed mTMor ef v-rd ... . .
. he would descend and annihilflt thP irh.i . . 01 vaiorous aeeas. The younger
them both.
And when they stood safely amid the
clutter of debris at the base she threw a
crew.
-"HS ",,cu charges and driven them in a more or less
glance of ill -concealed admiration upon her wUh wonder' and something more than cornpact formation toward the opposite
enemy -uouiu cave eide of the forest.
v. j ,,K rr,, risked so much to save her, for at the bot-
Mentallv she compared him with Tur '
and Scarb and the other males of the tom of the clitt Nu had" vldently forgot- alert against fiurprlse Dy savaee or
Boat Builders, nor would the comparison
have swelled the manly chests of the lat
ter could they have had knowledge of it.
"Those who follow us will stop here,'
at last he found a point where the motDers, ln little, clrcIe8. . with
herders evidently had collected their v. , . ... . it
fondled their babes.
The old women, toothless and white
haired, but still erect and aril In tnkn
Nu went warily, keeping every sense ot the figld primltive ,awa which .
erned survival of the fit alone, basted
man. Every living thing that he might them8elTea with m of U)e
she Bald, "nor do I see any break ln the n..,, .u a
noia at tne Dottom.
not of his own brd. abl tn rlimh tniial. . ...
encounter coura be nothing other than an v.0 a , . .
lv as well as he. and had amended shnrt . ........ . children and various phases of the simple
" ' - Anmv 1 a Trtnnoi -irTotr oron irt cr ann - .
household economy which devolved upon
binning tne air.
distance before he had discovered that
cliff as far as my eye can travel," and she
looked to the right and left along the
rocky escarpment.
Twice he was compelled to take to the
trees upon the approach ef wandering
them.
The evening drew on Into darkness.
The children had been posted off te
beasts of prey; but when they had passed tMr .watered, grass pallets. For a.
Then, in the face of the advancing foe- on Nn descended and resumed bis trailing. other hour e,dera reraallM.d atHmt
"I had forgotten that we might be men, he had descended to her side, risk- The trampled path of the herd led to the flres; tneiv by tWQB U tny
followed." said Nu; "but when we have Ing capture and death in the act, and had the farther edge of the forest, and there also aougnt interiors of the huts and
found wherewith to fashion a spear and hoisted her to a point of safety far up Nu saw unfolded below him as beautiful gjp
an ax. let them come Nu. the son of Nu. the cliff face. a scene as had ever broken upon his Quiet settled upon the village, and still
win welcome them." Tur would never have done so much. vision. hidden in the reeds beside the lake.
From the base of the cliff they crossed The woman, stealing stealthy glances The western sun hung over a broad watched the nearest guardsman. Now and
the rubble and stepped out into the grassy at the profile f the young giant beside valley that stretched below: him, for the then the fenow wouid ieave his post to re
clearing that reached to the forest's edge. her. ' felt her sentiments undergoing a wood ended upon the brow ef a gentle pin a watch re that blazed close t
They had crossed but halfway to the wood strange metamorphosis. Nu was no longer slope that dropped downward to a blue th)e 8nore end of nls causeway,
when they heard the crashing: of great her enemy. lake sparkling in the midst ef green past this no ordinary beast of prey
bodies ahead of them, and as they paused He protected her, and now she looked meadows a couple of miles away. would dare venture, nor could any do. so
the head of a bull aurochs appeared to hira for protection with greater as- Upon the surface of the lake, apparent- wttnout detection, for its light illumined
njovns " cw . - Drigntiy the end of the narrow bridge.
Another and another eame in;to sight, looked to Tur for the same thing. structures. (To con tinned ntx ctekj
end as the animals saw the couple they She knew that Nu would forage for That they were man-built Nu was Copyright, 1916. by w. G. chapman. 1
baited, the bulls bellowing", the cows peer- her upon him she depended for food as certain, though he never had seen nor T
lng wide-eyed across the shaggy backs of well as protection. dreamed of their like. To himself he
tfceir lords. She had never looked for more from thought of them as caves, Just as he had
Here- was meat, and only the knife of her mate. Her mate! She stole another raentaUyescTibed the shelters of the
th woman to bring It down. Nn reached half -shy glance at Nu. Boat Builders, for to Nu any human habl-
for Gron's weapon. Ah, what a mate he would have been! tation was a cave; and that they were the
"Go back to the cliff.
Try the Lake
"If you won't marry me, I will hang
myself."
"Oh, please don't; papa's awful strict
he said, "lest And why notT They were alone In the dwellings of men he had no doubt, since about people hanging around the house.'