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14 - At The Earth's Core - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Adventure Books Library

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Chapter fourteen, The Garden of Eden. With no heavenly guide, it is
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little wonder that I became confused and lost in the labyrinthine maze of those mighty
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hills. What in reality I did was to pass entirely through them and come
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out above the valley upon the farther side. I know that I wandered for
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a long time, until tired and hungry, I came upon a small cave
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in the face of the limestone formation which had taken the place of the granite
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farther back. The cave which took my fancy lay half way up the precipitous
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side of a lofty cliff. The way to it was such that I knew
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no extremely formidable beast could frequent it, nor was it large enough to make
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a comfortable habitat for any but the smaller mammals or reptiles. Yet it was
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with the utmost caution that I crawled within its dark interior. Here I found
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a rather large chamber, lighted by a narrow cleft in the rock above,
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which let the sunlight filter in in sufficient quantities, partially to dispel the utter
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darkness which I had expected. The cave was entirely empty, nor were there
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any signs of its having been recently occupied. The opening was comparatively small,
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so that, after considerable effort, I was able to lug up a boulder
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from the valley below, which entirely blocked it. Then I returned again to
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the valley for an armful of grasses, and on this trip was fortunate enough
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to knock over an Orthepi, the diminutive horse of Pellucidar, a little animal
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about the size of a fox terrier, which abounds in all parts of the
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inner world. Thus with food and bedding, I returned to my lair,
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where after a meal of raw meat, to which I had now become quite
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accustomed, I dragged the boulder before the entrance and curled myself up upon a
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bed of grasses. A naked primeval cave man, as savagely primitive as my
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prehistoric progenitors, I awoke, rested but hungry, and, pushing the boulder
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aside, crawled out upon the little rocky shelf which was my front porch.
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Before me spread a small but beautiful valley, through the center of which a
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clear and sparkling river wound its way down to an inland sea, the blue
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waters of which were just visible between the two mountain ranges which embraced this little
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paradise. The sides of the opposite hills were green with verdure, for a
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great forest clothed them, to the foot of the red and yellow and copper
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green of the towering crags which formed their summit. The valley itself was carpeted
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with a luxuriant grass, where here and there patches of wild flowers made great
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splashes of vivid color against the prevailing green. Dotted over the face of this
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valley were little clusters of palm like trees, three or four together as a
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rule. Beneath these stood antelope, while others grazed in the open, or
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wandered gracefully to a nearby ford to drink. There were several species of this
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beautiful animal, the most magnificent, somewhat resembling the giant eland of Africa,
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except that their spiral horns form a complete curve backward over their ears, and
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then forward again beneath them, ending in sharp and formidable points some two feet
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before the face and above the eyes. In size, they were reminded one
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of a pure bred herefored bull. Yet they are very agile and fast.
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The broad yellow band that striped the dark roan of their coats made me take
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them for zebra when I first saw them. All in all, they are
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handsome animals and added the finishing touch to the strange and lovely landscape that spread
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before my new home. I had determined to make the cave my head quarters,
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and with it as a base, make systematic exploration of the surrounding country
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in search of the land of Serre. First I devoured the remainder of the
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carcass of the ORTHOPI I had killed before my last sleep. Then I hid
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the great secret and a deep niche at the back of my cave, rolled
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the boulder before my front door, and with bow, arrows, sword and
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shield, scrambled down into the peaceful valley. The grazing herds moved to one
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side as I passed through them, the little orthepie evincing the greatest wariness and
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galloping to safest distances. All of the animals stopped feeding as I approached,
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and, after moving to what they considered a safe distance, stood contemplating me
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with serious eyes and upcocked ears. Once one of the old bull antelopes of
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the striped species lowered his head and bellowed angrily, even taking a few steps
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in my direction, so that I thought he meant to charge, But after
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I had passed, he resumed feeding as though nothing had disturbed him. Near
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the lower end of the valley, I passed a number of tapers, and
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across the river I saw a great sadok, the enormous double horned progenitor of
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the modern rhinoceros. At the valley's end, the cliffs upon the left ran
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out into the sea, so that to pass around them, as I desired
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to do, it was necessary to scale them in search of a ledge along
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which I might continue my journey. Some fifty feet from the base, I
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came upon a projection which formed a natural path along the face of the cliff,
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and this I followed out over the sea toward the cliff's end. Here
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the ledge inclined rapidly upward toward the top of the cliffs, the stratum which
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formed it evidently having been forced up at this steep angle when the mountains behind
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it were borne. As I climbed carefully up the ascent, my attention suddenly
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was attracted aloft by the sound of strange hissing, and what resembled the flapping
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of wings, and at the first glance there broke upon my horrified vision the
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most thing I had seen, even within Pellucidar. It was a giant dragon,
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such as is pictured in the legends and fairy tales of earth folk.
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Its huge body must have measured forty feet in length, while the bat like
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wings that supported it in mid air had a spread of fully thirty. Its
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gaping jaws were armed with long, sharp teeth, and its claw equipped with
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horrible talons. The hissing noise which had first attracted my attention was issuing from
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its throat, and seemed to be directed at something beyond and below me,
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which I could not see. The ledge upon which I stood terminated abruptly a
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few paces farther on, and as I reached the end, I saw the
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cause of the reptile's agitation. Some time in past ages an earthquake had produced
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a fault at this point, so that beyond the spot where I stood,
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the strata had slipped down a matter of twenty feet. The result was that
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the continuation of my ledge lay twenty feet below me, where it ended,
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as abruptly as it did the end upon which I stood and here, evidently
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halted in flight by this insurmount of break in the ledge, stood the object
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of the creature's attack, a girl cowering upon the narrow platform, her face
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buried in her arms, as though to shut out the sight of the frightful
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death which hovered just above her. The dragon was circling lower and seemed about
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to dart in upon its prey. There was no time to be lost,
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scarce an instant in which to weigh the possible chances that I had against the
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awfully armed creature. But the sight of that frightened girl below me called out
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to all that was best in me, and the instinct for protection of the
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other sex, which nearly must have equalled the instinct of self preservation in primeval
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man, drew me to the girl's side like an irresistible magnet. Almost thoughtless
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of the consequences, I leaped from the end of the ledge upon which I
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stood for the tiny shelf twenty feet below. At the same instant the dragon
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darted in toward the girl. But my sudden advent upon the scene must have
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startled him, for he veered to one side and then rose above us once
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more. The noise I made as I landed beside her, convinced the girl
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that the end had come, for she thought I was the dragon. But
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finally, when no cruel fangs closed upon her, she raised her eyes in
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astonishment as they fell upon me. The expression that came into them would be
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difficult to describe, but her feelings could scarcely have been one whit more complicated
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than my own or The wide eyes that looked into mine were those of Diane,
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the beautiful Diane. I cried, Diane, thank God that I came
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in time. You, she whispered, and then she hid her face again.
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Nor could I tell whether she were glad or angry that I had come.
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Once more, the dragon was sweeping toward us, and so rapidly that
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I had no time to unsling my bow. All that I could do was
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to snatch up a rock and hurl it at the thing's hideous face. Again,
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my aim was true, and with a hiss of pain and rage,
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the reptile wheeled once more and soared away. Quickly. I fitted an arrow,
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now that I might be ready at the next attack, and as I
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did so, I looked down at the girl, so that I surprised her
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in a surreptitious glance which she was stealing at me, But immediately she again
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covered her face with her hands. Look at me, Diane, I pleaded,
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Are you not glad to see me? She looked straight into my eyes.
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I hate you, she said, And then as I was about to
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beg for a fair hearing, she pointed over my shoulder. The Thipdar comes,
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she said, And I turned again to meet the reptile. So this
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was a Thipdar. I might have known it, the cruel bloodhound of the
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Mahars, the long extinct pterodactyl of the outer world. But this time I
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met it with a weapon it had never faced before. I had selected my
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longest arrow, and with all my strength, I had bent the bow until
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the very tip of the shaft rested upon the thumb of my left hand.
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And then, as the great creature darted toward us, I let drive straight
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for that tough breast, hissing like the escape valve of a steam engine.
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The mighty creature fell, turning and twisting into the sea below. My arrow
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buried completely in its carcass. I turned toward the girl. She was looking
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past me. It was evident that she had seen the thipdar die Diane,
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I said, won't you tell me that you are not sorry that I have
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found you? I hate you, was her only reply, but I imagined
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that there was less vehemence in it than before. Yet it might have been.
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But my imagine, Why do you hate me, Diane? I asked,
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but she did not answer me. What are you doing here? I
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asked? And what has happened to you since Hooja freed you from the Sagoths.
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At first I thought that she was going to ignore me entirely, but
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finally she thought better of it. I was again running away from Jubal,
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the ugly one, she said. After I escaped from the Sagoths, I
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made my way a lone back to my own land, but on account of
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Jubal, I did not dare enter the villages or let any of my friends
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know that I had returned, for fear that Jubal might find out. By
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watching for a long time, I found that my brother had not yet returned,
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and so I continued to live in a cave beside a valley which my
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race seldom frequents, awaiting the time that he should come back and free me
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from Jubal. But at last one of Jubal's hunters saw me as I was
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creeping toward my father's cave to see if my brother had yet returned, and
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he gave the alarm, and Jubal set out after me. He has been
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pursuing me across many lands. He cannot be far behind me. Now when
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he comes, he will kill you and carry me back to his cave.
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He is a terrible man. I have gone as far as I can go,
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and there is no escape. And she looked hopelessly up at the continuation
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of the ledge twenty feet above us. But he shall not have me,
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she suddenly cried, with great vehemence. The sea is there, she pointed,
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over the edge of the cliff, and the sea shall have me rather
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than Jewbal. But I have you now, Diane, I cried. Nor
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shall Jubal nor any other have you, for you are mine. And I
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seized her hand. Nor did I lift it above her head and let it
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fall in token of release. She had risen to her feet and was looking
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straight into my eyes with level gaze. I do not believe you, she
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said, for if you meant it, you would have done this when the
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others were present to witness it. Then I should truly have been your mate.
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Now there is no one to see you do it, for you know
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that without witnesses, your act does not bind you to me. And she
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withdrew her hand from mine and turned away. I tried to convince her that
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I was sincere, but she simply couldn't forget the humiliation that I had put
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upon her on that other occasion. If you mean all that you say,
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you will have ample chance to prove it, she said. If Jubal does
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not catch and kill you, I am in your power, and the treatment
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you accord me will be the best proof of your intentions toward me. I
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am not your mate. And again I tell you that I hate you,
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and that I should be glad if I never saw you again. Diane certainly
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was candid. There was no gain saying that. In fact, I found
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candor and directness to be quite a marked characteristic of the cave men of Pellucidar.
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Finally, I suggested that we make some attempt to gain my cave,
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where we might escape the searching Juwbal. For I am free to admit that
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I had no considerable desire to meet the formidable and ferocious creature of whose mighty
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prowess. Dian had told me when I first met her. He it was
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who, armed with a puny knife, had met and killed a cave bear
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in a hand to hand struggle. It was Juwbal who could cast his spear
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entirely through the armored carcass of the sadok at fifty paces. It was he
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who had crushed the skull of a charging direth with a single blow of his
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war club. No, I was not pining to meet the Ugly One,
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and it was quite certain that I should not go out and hunt for him.
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But the matter was taken out of mine hands very quickly, as is
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often the way, and I did meet Jewbile the Ugly One, face to
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face. This is how it happened. I had led Diane back along the
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ledge the way she had come, searching for a path that would lead us
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to the top of the cliff, for I knew that we could then cross
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over to the edge of my own little valley, where I felt certain that
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we should find a means of ingress from the cliff top. As we proceeded
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along the ledge, I gave Diane minute directions for finding my cave against the
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chance of something happening to me. I knew that she would be quite safely
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hidden away from pursuit once she gained the shelter of my lair, and that
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the valley would afford her ample means of sustenance. Also, I was very
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much piqued by her treatment of me. My heart was sad and heavy,
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and I wanted to make her feel badly by suggesting that something terrible might happen
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to me, that I might in fact be killed. But it didn't work
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worth a scent, at least as far as I could perceive. Diane simply
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shrugged those magnificent shoulders of hers and murmured something to the effect that one was
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not rid of trouble so easily as that for a while I kept still.
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I was utterly squelched, and to think that I had twice protected her from
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attack, the last time risking my life to save hers. It was incredible
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that even a daughter of the Stone Age could be so ungrateful, so heartless.
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But maybe her heart partook of the qualities of her epoch. Presently,
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we found a rift in the cliff, which had been widened and extended by
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the action of the water draining through it from the plateau above it gave us
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a rather rough climb to the summit, but finally we stood upon the level
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Mesa, which stretched back for several miles to the mountain range. Behind us
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lay the broad inland sea, curving upward in the horizonless distance to merge into
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the blue of the sky, so that for all the world it looked as
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though the sea lapped back to arch completely over us and disappear beyond the distant
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mountains. At our backs the weird and uncanny aspect of the sea scapes of
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Pellucidar bulk description. At our right lay a dense forest, but to the
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left the country was open and clear to the plateau's farther verge. It was
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in this direction that our way led, and we had turned to resume our
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journey when Diane touched my arm. I turned to her, thinking that she
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was about to make peace overtures. But I was mistaken. Jewbal, she
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said, and nodded toward the forest. I looked, and there, emerging
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from the dense wood, came a perfect wail of a man. He must
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have been seven feet tall, and proportioned accordingly, he still was too far
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off to distinguish his features run, I said to Diane, I can engage
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him until you get a good start. Maybe we can hold him until you
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have gotten entirely away. And then, without a backward glance, I advanced
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to meet the ugly One. I had hoped that Diane would have a kind
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word to say to me before she went, for she must have known that
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I was going to my death for her sake. But she never even so
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much as bid me good bye. And it was with a heavy heart that
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I strode through the flower bespangled grass to my doom. When I had come
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close enough to Jubal to distinguish his features, I understood how it was that
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he had earned the sobriquet of ugly one. Apparently, some fearful beast had
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ripped away one entire side of his face. The eye was gone, the
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nose, and all the flesh, so that his jaws and all his teeth
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were exposed, and grinning through the horrible scar. Formerly, he may have
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been as good to look upon as the others of his handsome race. And
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it may be that the terrible result of this encounter had tended to sour an
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already strong and brutal character. However, this may be it is quite certain
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that he was not a pretty sight, and now that his features, or
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what remained of them, were distorted in rage at the sight of Dian with
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another male, he was indeed most terrible to see, and much more terrible
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to meet. He had broken into a run now, and as he advanced,
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he raised his mighty spear, while I halted, and, fitting an
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arrow to my bow, took as steady aim as I could. I was
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somewhat longer than usual, for I must confess that the sight of this awful
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man had wrought upon my nerves to such an extent that my knees were anything
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but steady. What chance had I against this mighty warrior, for whom even
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the fiercest cave bear it had no terrors? Could I hope to best one
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who slaughtered the Sadok and direth single handed? I shuddered, but in fairness
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to myself, my fear was more for Dian than for my own fate.
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And then the great brute launched his massive, stone tipped spear, and I
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raised my shield to break the force of its terrific velocity. The impact hurled
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me to my knees, but the shield had deflected the missile, and I
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was unscathed. Jewbaal was rushing upon me now with the only remaining weapon that
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he carried, a murderous looking knife. He was too close for a careful
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bow shot, but I let drive at him as he came without taking aim.
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My arrow pierced the fleshy part of his thigh, inflicting a painful but
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not disabling wound. And then he was upon me. My agility saved me
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for the instant. I ducked behind his raised arm, and when he wheeled
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to come at me again, he found a sword's point in his face,
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and a moment later he felt an inch or two of it in the muscles
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of his knife arm, so that thereafter he went more warily. It was
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a duel of strategy, now, the great hairy man maneuvering to get inside
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my guard, where he could bring those giant thews to play, while my
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wits were directed to the task of keeping him at arm's length. Thrice he
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rushed me, and thrice I caught his knife blow upon my shield. Each
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time my sword found his body, once penetrating to his lung. He was
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covered with blood by this time, and the internal hemorrhage induced paroxysms of coughing
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that brought the red stream to the hideous mouth and nose, covering his face
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and breast with bloody froth. He was a most unlovely spectacle, but he
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was far from dead. As the duel continued, I began to gain confidence,
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For, to be perfectly candid, I had not expected to survive the
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first rush of that monstrous engine of ungoverned rage and hatred. And I think
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that Jewbal, from utter contempt of me, began to change to a feeling
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of respect. And then in his primitive mind there evidently loomed the thought that
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perhaps at last he had met his master and was facing his end. At
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any rate. It is only upon this hypothesis that I can account for his
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next act, which was in the nature of a last resort, a sort
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of forlorn hope, which could only have been born of the belief that if
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he did not kill me quickly, I should kill him. It happened on
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the occasion of his fourth charge, when instead of striking at me with his
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knife, he dropped that weapon, and, seizing my sword blade in both
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his hands, wrenched the weapon from my grasp as easily as from a babe,
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flinging it far to one side. He stood motionless for just an instant,
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glaring into my face with such a horrid leer of malignant triumph as to
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almost unnerve me. Then he sprang for me with his bare hands. But
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it was Jewbal's day to learn new methods of warfare. For the first time
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he had seen a bow and arrows. Never before that duel had he beheld
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a sword. And now he learned what a man who knows may do with
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his bare fists. As he came for me like a great bear, I
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ducked again beneath his outstretched arm, and as I came up, planted as
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clean a blow upon his jaws ever you have seen. Down went that great
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mountain of flesh, sprawling upon the ground. He was so surprised and dazed
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that he lay there for several seconds before he made any attempt to rise,
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And I stood over him with another dose, ready when he should gain his
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knees up. He came at last, almost roaring in his rage and mortification,
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but he didn't stay up. I let him have a left fair on
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the point of the jaw that sent him tumbling over on his back. By
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this time I think Jewbal had gone mad with hate, for no sane man
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would have come back for more as many times as he did. Time after
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time, I bowled him over as fast as he could stagger up, until
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toward the last he lay longer on the ground between blows, and each time
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came up weaker than before. He was bleeding very profusely now from the wound
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in his lungs, and presently a terrific blow over the heart sent him reeling
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heavily to the ground, where he lay very still. And somehow I knew
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at once that Jewbal, the ugly one, would never get up again.
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But even as I looked upon that massive body lying there, so grim and
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terrible in death, I could not believe that I single handed had bested this
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slayer of fearful beasts, this gigantic ogre of the stone Age. Picking up
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my sword, I leaned upon it, looking down on the dead body of
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my foeman, And as I thought of the battle I had just fought and
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won, a great idea was born in my brain. The outcome of this
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and the suggestion that Perry had made within the city of Phutra, if skill
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and science could render a comparative Pigmy, the master of this mighty brute.
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What could not the brute's fellows accomplish with the same skill and science. Why
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all pellucidar would be at their feet, and I would be their king,
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and Dian their queen. Diane, A little wave of doubt swept over me.
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It was quite within the possibilities of Diane to look down upon me,
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even were I king. She was quite the most superior person I had ever
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met, with the most convincing way of letting you know that she was superior.
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While I could go up to the cave and tell her that I had
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killed Jubal, and then she might feel more kindly toward me, since I
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had freed her of her tormentor, I hoped that she had found the cave
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easily. It would be terrible had I lost her again, And I turned
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to gather up my shield and bow to hurry after her, when to my
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astonishment I found her standing not ten paces behind me. Girl, I cried,
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what are you doing here? I thought that you had gone to the
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cave as I told you to do. Up went her head, and the
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look that she gave me took all the majesty out of me, and left
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me feeling more like the palace janitor, if palaces have janitors. As you
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told me to do, she cried, stamping her little foot. I do
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as I please. I am the daughter of a king, and furthermore,
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I hate you. I was dumbfounded. This was my thanks for saving her
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from Jewbal. I turned and looked at the corpse. Maybe that I saved
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you from a worse fate, old man, I said, But I guess
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it was lost on Diane, for she never seemed to notice it at all.
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Let us go to my cave, I said, I am tired and
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hungry. She followed along a pace behind me, neither of us speaking.
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I was too angry, and she evidently didn't care to converse with the lower
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orders. I was mad all the way through, as I had certainly felt
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that at least a word of thanks should have rewarded me, for I knew
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that, even by her own standards, I must have done a very wonderful
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thing to have killed the redoubtable Jewbal. In a hand to hand and counter,
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we had no difficulty in finding my lair. And then I went down
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into the valley and bowled over a small antelope, which I dragged up the
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steep ascent to the ledge before the door. Here we ate in silence.
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Occasionally I glanced at her, thinking that the sight of her tearing at raw
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flesh with her hands and teeth like some wild animal would cause a revulsion of
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my sentiments toward her. But to my surprise, I found that she ate
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quite as daintily as the most civilized woman of my acquaintance, and I finally
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found myself gazing in foolish rapture at the beauties of her strong white teeth.
22:30
Such is love. After our repast, we went down to the river together
22:34
and bathed our hands and faces, and then, after drinking our fill,
22:37
went back to the cave without a word. I crawled into the farthest corner,
22:42
and, curling up, was soon asleep. When I awoke, I
22:45
found Diane sitting in the doorway, looking out across the valley. As I
22:51
came out, she moved to one side to let me pass, but she
22:53
had no word for me. I wanted to hate her, but I couldn't.
22:56
Every time I looked at her, something came up in my throat,
23:00
so that I nearly choked. I had never been in love before, but
23:03
I did not need any aid in diagnosing my case. I certainly had it,
23:07
and had it bad. God how I left that beautiful, disdainful,
23:11
tantalizing prehistoric girl. After we had eaten again, I asked Diane if she
23:18
intended returning to her tribe now that Jewbal was dead. But she shook her
23:22
head sadly and said that she did not dare, for there was still Jubal's
23:25
brother, to be considered his oldest brother. What has he to do with
23:29
it? I asked, Does he too want you, or has the option
23:32
on you become a family heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation.
23:37
She was not quite sure as to what I meant. It is probable,
23:40
she said that they all will want revenge for the death of Jewbal. There
23:44
are seven of them, seven terrible men. Some one may have to kill
23:47
them all if I am to return to my people. It began to look
23:49
as though I had assumed a contract much too large for me about seven sizes.
23:53
In fact, had Jewal any cousins? I asked, it was just
23:56
as well to know the worst at once. Yes, replied Diane. But
24:00
they don't count. They all have mates. Juwbal's brothers have no mates because
24:04
Jewbal could get none for himself. He was so ugly that women ran away
24:08
from him. Some have even thrown themselves from the cliffs of Amos into the
24:12
daryl As rather than mate with the ugly one. But what had that to
24:17
do with his brothers? I asked, I forget that you are not of
24:19
Pellucidar, said Diane, with a look of pity mixed with contempt. And
24:25
the contempt seemed to be laid on a little thicker than the circumstance warrant,
24:27
as though to make quite certain that I shouldn't overlook it. You see,
24:32
she continued, a younger brother may not take a mate until all his older
24:36
brothers have done so, unless the older brother waves his prerogative, which Jewbal
24:41
would not do, knowing that as long as he kept them single, they
24:44
would be all the keener in aiding him to secure a mate. Noticing that
24:48
Diane was becoming more communicative, I began to entertain hopes that she might be
24:53
warming up toward me a bit, Although upon what slender thread I hung my
24:56
hopes I soon discovered, as you dare not return to Amos, I ventured,
25:02
what is to become of you? Since you cannot be happy here with
25:04
me, hating me as you do. I shall have to put up with
25:07
you, she replied, coldly, until you see fit to go elsewhere and
25:11
leave me in peace. Then I shall get along very well alone. I
25:15
looked at her in utter amazement. It seemed incredible that even a prehistoric woman
25:18
could be so cold and heartless and ungrateful. Then I arose, I shall
25:23
leave you now, I said, haughtily. I have had quite enough of
25:26
your ingratitude and your insults. And then I turned and strode majestically down toward
25:32
the valley. I had taken a hundred steps in absolute silence, and then
25:36
Dian spoke, I hate you, she shouted, and her voice broke in
25:40
rage. I thought, I was absolutely miserable, But I hadn't gone too
25:45
far. When I began to realize that I couldn't leave her alone there,
25:47
without protection to hunt her own food amid the dangers of that savage world.
25:52
She might hate me and revile me, and heap in dignity after indignity upon
25:56
me, as she already had until I should have hated her. But the
26:00
pitiful fact remained that I loved her, and I couldn't leave her there alone.
26:03
The more I thought about it, the matter I got so that by
26:07
the time I reached the valley, I was furious. And the result of
26:11
it was that I turned right around and went up that cliff again. As
26:14
fast as I had come down, I saw that Diane had left the ledge
26:18
and gone within the cave. But I bolted right in after her. She
26:22
was lying upon her face on the pile of grasses I had gathered for her
26:25
bed. When she heard me enter, she sprang to her feet like a
26:27
tigress. I hate you, she cried, coming from the brilliant light of
26:32
the noonday sun into the semi darkness of the cave. I could not see
26:34
her features, and I was rather glad, for I disliked to think of
26:38
the hate that I should have read there. I never said a word to
26:42
her at first. I just strode across the cave and grasped her by the
26:45
wrists, and when she struggled, I put my arm around her so as
26:49
to pinion her hands to her sides. She fought like a tigress, but
26:52
I took my free hand and pushed her head back. I imagined that I
26:56
had suddenly turned brute, that I had gone back a thousand million years and
27:00
was again a veritable cave man, taking my mate by force. And then
27:03
I kissed that beautiful mouth again and again, Diana, I cried, shaking
27:07
her roughly. I love you. Can't you understand that I love you,
27:11
That I love you better than all else in this world or my own,
27:15
that I am going to have you, that love like mine cannot be denied.
27:18
I noticed that she lay very still in my arms now, and as
27:22
my eyes became accustomed to the light, I saw that she was smiling,
27:26
a very contented, happy smile. I was thunderstruck. Then I realized that
27:30
very gently she was trying to disengage her arms, and I loosened my grip
27:34
upon them so that she could do so. Slowly, they came up and
27:38
stole about my neck, and then she drew my lips down to hers once
27:41
more and held them there for a long time. At last, she spoke,
27:48
why didn't you do this at first? David? I have been waiting
27:51
for so long? What I cried? You said that you hated me.
27:56
Did you expect me to run into your arms and say that I loved you
27:59
before I knew that you loved me? She asked, But I have told
28:03
you right along that I love you, I said. Love speaks in acts,
28:07
she replied. You could have made your mouth say what you wished it
28:10
to say. But just now, when you came and took me in your
28:11
arms, your heart spoke to mine in the language that a woman's heart understands.
28:17
What a silly man you are. David, then you haven't hated me
28:21
at all, Diane, I asked, I have loved you always, she
28:26
whispered, from the moment that I saw you, although I did not know
28:30
it until that time. You struck down Hoja, the sly one, and
28:33
then spurned me. But I didn't spurn you, dear, I cried,
28:37
I didn't know your ways. I doubt if I do now. It seems
28:41
incredible that you could have reviled me so and yet have cared for me all
28:45
the time. You might have known, she said, when I did not
28:48
run away from you, that it was not hate which chained me to you.
28:51
While you were battling with Jewbel, I could have run to the edge
28:52
of the forest, and when I learned the outcome of the combat, it
28:56
would have been a simple thing to have eluded you and returned to my own
29:00
people. But Jubal's brothers and cousins. I reminded her, how about them?
29:06
She smiled and hid her face on my shoulder. I had to tell
29:08
you something, David, she whispered. I must needs have some excuse for
29:12
remaining near you, you little sinner, I exclaimed, And you have caused
29:17
me all this anguish for nothing. I have suffered even more, she answered,
29:22
simply, for I thought that you did not love me, and I
29:25
was helpless. I couldn't come to you and demand that my love be returned
29:29
as you have just come to me just now. When you went away,
29:33
hope went with you. I was wretched, terrified, miserable, and my
29:37
heart was breaking. I wept, and I have not done that before since
29:41
my mother died. And now I saw that there was the moisture of tears
29:45
about her eyes. It was near to making me cry myself when I thought
29:48
of all that poor child had been through, motherless and unprotected, hunted across
29:53
a savage, primeval world by that hideous brute of a man, exposed to
29:57
the attacks of the countless, fearsome denizens of its mountains, its plains,
30:03
and its jungles. It was a miracle that she had survived at all.
30:07
To me, it was a revelation of the things my early forebears must have
30:10
endured, that the human race of the outer crust must survive. It made
30:14
me very proud to think that I had won the love of such a woman.
30:18
Of course, she couldn't read or write. There was nothing culture or
30:21
refined about her, as you judge culture and refinement. But she was the
30:25
essence of all that is best in woman. For she was good and brave,
30:27
and noble and virtuous. And she was all these things in spite of
30:30
the fact that their observance entailed suffering and danger and possible death. How much
30:36
easier it would have been to have gone to Jewel in the first place.
30:40
She would have been his lawful mate. She would have been queen in her
30:42
own land. And it meant just as much to the cave woman to be
30:45
a queen in the Stone Age as it does to the woman of to day
30:48
to be a queen now. It's all comparative glory any way you look at
30:52
it. And if there were only half naked savages on the outer crust to
30:56
day, you'd find that it would be considerable glory to be the wife of
30:59
a Dahoma chief. I couldn't help but compare Diane's action with that of a
31:03
splendid young woman I had known in New York. I mean, splendid to
31:07
look at and talk to. She had been head over heels in love with
31:10
a chum of mine, a clean, manly chap. But she had married
31:12
a broken down, disreputable old debauch because he was a count in some dinky
31:17
little European principality that was not even accorded a distinctive color by Rand McNally.
31:22
Yes, I was mighty proud of Diane. After a time, we decided
31:26
to set out for Sari, as I was anxious to see Perry and to
31:30
know that all was right with him. I had told Diane about our plan
31:33
of emancipating the human race of Pellucidar, and she was fairly wild over it.
31:37
She said that if Dak or her brother, would only return, he
31:41
could easily be king of Amos, and that then he and Ghak could form
31:44
an alliance that would give us a flying start. For the Sarians and the
31:48
Amozites were both very powerful tribes once they had been armed with swords and bows
31:52
and arrows and trained in their use we were confident that they could overcome any
31:56
tribe that seemed disinclined to join the great Army of Federated States with which we
32:01
were planning to march upon the Mahars. I explained the various destructive engines of
32:07
war which Perry and I could construct after a little experimentation, gunpowder, rifles,
32:13
cannon, and the like, and Diane would clap her hands and throw
32:15
her arms about my neck and tell me what a wonderful thing I was.
32:20
She was beginning to think that I was omnipotent, although I really hadn't done
32:23
anything but talk. But that is the way with women when they love.
32:28
Perry used to say that if a fellow was one tenth as remarkable as his
32:31
wife or mother thought him, he would have the world by the tail with
32:34
the downhill drag. The first time we started for Sari, I stepped into
32:38
a nest of poisonous vipers. Before we reached the valley, A little fellow
32:42
stung me on the ankle, and Dian made me come back to the cave.
32:45
She said that I mustn't exercise, or it might prove fatal. If
32:50
it had been a full grown snake that struck me, she said, I
32:52
wouldn't have moved a single pace from the nest. I'd have died in my
32:55
tracks. So virulent as the poison as it was, I must have been
33:00
laid up for quite a while, though Diane's poultices of herbs and leaves finally
33:04
reduced the swelling and drew out the poison. The episode proved most fortunate,
33:08
however, as it gave me an idea which added a thousandfold to the value
33:13
of my arrows as missiles of offense and defense. As soon as I was
33:16
able to be about again, I sought out some adult vipers of the species
33:21
which had stung me, and having killed them, I extracted their virus,
33:24
smearing it upon the tips of several arrows. Later, I shot a Hyaenodon
33:29
with one of these, and though my arrow inflicted but a superficial flesh wound,
33:32
the beast crumpled in death almost immediately after he was hit. We now
33:37
set out once more for the land of the Sarians, and it was with
33:39
feelings of sincere regret that we bade good bye to our beautiful garden of Eden.
33:45
In the comparative peace and harmony of which we had lived. The happiest
33:49
moments of our lives. How long we had been there, I did not
33:52
know, for, as I have told you, time had ceased to exist
33:55
for me beneath that eternal noonday sun. It may have been an hour or
33:59
a month of earthly time. I do not know. End of Chapter fourteen