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Chapter 14: "I Have Come to Save You" · The Eternal Savage

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Section twenty seven of The Eternal Savage by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This LibriVox recording
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is in the public domain. Chapter fourteen, I Have come to save You.
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New reached the edge of the plateau in time to see the herders and
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their captive arrive at the dwellings on the lake. He saw the crowds of
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excited natives that ran out to meet them. He saw the captive pulled and
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hauled hither and thither. The herders pointed, often toward the plateau behind them.
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It was evident that news assault upon the sentry of the previous night,
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taken with the capture of this stranger, and the appearance of New and Grown
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upon the cliff the day before, had filled the villagers with fear of an
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invasion from the south. This only could account for the early return of the
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herders with their arauks. Taking advantage of what cover the descent to the valley
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afforded, and the bushes and trees that dotted the valley itself, New crept
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cautiously onward toward the lake. He was determined to discover the identity of the
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prisoner, though even yet he could not believe that she was not ul a
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mile from the shore. He was compelled to hide until dark, for there
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was less shelter thereafter, And too, there were many of the natives moving
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to and fro, having their herds browsing in the bottom lands close to their
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dwellings. When it was sufficiently dark, New crept closer again. He hid
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in the reeds, but this time much closer to one of the causeways.
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He wished that he knew in precisely which of the dwellings the captive was confined.
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He knew that it would be madness to attempt to search the entire village,
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and yet he saw no other way. At last, the villagers had
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retired, with the exception of the sentries that guarded the narrow bridges connecting the
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dwellings with the shore. New crept silently beneath the nearest causeway. Wading through
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the shallow water, he made his way to a point beyond the sentinel's post.
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Then he crossed beneath the dwelling until he had come to the opposite side.
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Here the water was almost to his neck. He climbed slowly up one
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of the piles, stopping often to listen. He came at last to a
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height which enabled him to grasp the edge of the flooring above with the fingers
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of one hand. Then he drew himself up until his eyes topped the platform.
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Utter silence reigned about him, utter silence and complete darkness. He raised
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himself, grasping the railing until one knee rested upon the flooring. Then he
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drew himself up, threw a leg over the railing, and was crouching close
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in the shadows against the wall. Here he listened intently for several minutes.
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From within came the sound of the heavy breathing of many sleepers. Above his
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head was an opening a window. New raised himself until he could peer within.
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All was darkness. He sniffed in the vain hope of detecting the familiar
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scent of Natoul. But if she were there, all sign of her must
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have been submerged in the sweaty exhalations from the close packed men, women and
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children, and the strong stench of the illy cured aurex hides upon which they
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slept. There was but one way to assure himself, definitely, he must
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enter the dwelling. With the stealth of a cat. He crawled through the
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small aperture. The floor was almost covered with sleepers, among them and over
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them. Nu picked his careful way. He bent low toward each one,
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using its sensitive nostrils in the blind search where his eyes were of no avail.
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He had crossed the room and assured himself that Nahoul was not there.
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When a man appeared in the doorway. It was the sentry. Nu flattened
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himself against the wall, not two yards from the door what had called the
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fellow within. Had he been alarmed by the movement within the hut, Nw
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waited with a ready knife. The man stepped just within the doorway Throck.
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He called one of the sleepers, stirred and sat up. Huh, grunted
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he come and watch. It's your turn, replied the sentry. Ugh replied
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the sleepy one, and the sentry turned and left the hut. New could
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hear him who had been called Throc rising and collecting his weapons, donning his
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sandals, straightening and tightening his loincloth. He was making ready for his turn
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at sentry duty. As he listened, a bold scheme flashed into news mind.
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He grasped his knife more tightly, and of a sudden stepped boldly across
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the room toward Throc sh He whispered, I will stand watching your place to
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night. Throc huh, questioned the sleepy man. I will stand watch for
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you, repeated Nu, I would meet, and he mumbled a name that
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might have been anything. She said that she would come to me to night.
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During the second watch, Nu could hear the man chuckle. Give me
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your robe, said Nu, that all may think that it is you,
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and he reached his hand for the horn crowned Aurex's skin. Throc passed it
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over, only too glad to drop back again into the slumber that his fellow
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had disturbed. Nu drew the bull's head over his own, the muzzle projecting
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like a visor, and the hole sitting low upon his head threw his features
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into shadow. Nu stepped out upon the platform. The other sentry was standing
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impatiently waiting his coming. At the sight of him, the fellow turned and
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walked toward one of the dwellings that stretched further into the lake. There were
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seven, and all that were joined to the shore by this single causeway.
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New had entered the one nearest the land in which was the prisoner. And
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was she even in any of this particular collection of dwellings. It was equally
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possible that she might be in one of the others, of which Knew had
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counted not less than ten, stretching along the shore of the lake for at
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least a mile or more. But he was sure that they had first brought
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her to one of the dwellings of this unit. He had seen them cross
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the causeway with her. Whether they had removed her to some other village later,
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he could not know. If there was only some way to learn.
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Definitely, he thought of the accommodating and sleepy Throck. Would he dare venture
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another assault upon the lunkhead's credulity? New shrugged. The chances were more than
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even that he would not find the girl before dawn without help, and that,
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whether he did or no, he never would escape from the village with
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his life. What was life, anyway, but a series of chances,
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great and small. He had taken chances before, well, he would take
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this one. He re entered the dwelling and walked noisily to Throc's side.
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Stooping, he shook the man by the shoulder. Throc opened his eyes.
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In which place is the prisoner? Asked new He had come near to saying
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cave. But he had heard Grand speak of the heide and thatched things which
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protected them from the reins by another name than cave. So he was bright
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enough to guess that he might betray himself if he used the word. Here.
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For the most part, his language and the language of the Lake Dwetters
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was identical, and so he used a word which meant roughly in exactly what
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spot was the captive secured in the last one, of course, grumbled a
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sleepy Throck. Nu did not dare question him further. The last one might
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mean the last of this unit of dwellings, or it might mean that she
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was in the last village, and Nu did not know which the last village
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might be, whether north or south of the village where he was. Already
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he could feel the eyes of the man searching through the darkness toward him.
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New rose and turned toward the doorway. Had the fellow suspicions been aroused?
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Had new gone too far? Throc sat upright upon his hides, watching the
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retreating figure. In his dense mind, questions were revolving who was this man?
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Of course he must know him, but somehow he could not place his
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voice. Why had he asked where the captive was imprisoned. Everyone in all
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the villages knew that well enough. Throc became uneasy. He did not like
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the looks of things. He started to rise. Uugh, how sleepy he
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was. What was the use anyway? It was all right, of course.
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He lay back again upon his aurex skins. Outside, Nu walked to
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the shore and replenished the beast fire. Then he turned back up the causeway.
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Quickly he could continued along the platforms, past the several dwellings, until
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he had come to the last of the seven. At the doorway, he
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paused and listened, at the same time, sniffing quietly. A sudden tremor
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ran through his giant frame. His heart, throbbing wildly, leaped to his
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throat. Natoul was within he crossed the threshold. The building was a small
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one. No other scent of human being had mingled with that of Natoul.
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She must be alone. Nu groped through the darkness, feeling with his hands
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in the air before him and his sandaled feet upon the floor. His delicate
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nostrils guided him too, and at last he came upon her, lying tightly
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bound to an upright at the far end. Of the room. He bent
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low over her. She was asleep. He laid a hand upon her shoulder,
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and as he felt her stir, he placed his other palm across her
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lips, and, bending his mouth close to her ear, whispered that she
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must make no outc nat Ul opened her eyes and stirred sh caution. Knew
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it is I Nu, the son of Nu. He removed his hand from
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her lips and raised her to a sitting posture. Kneeling at her side,
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he put his arms about her, a word of endearment on his lips,
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but she pushed him away. What do you hear, she asked coldly.
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Nu was stunned with the surprise of it. I have come to save you.
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He whispered. To take you back to the cliffs beside the restless sea,
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where are people dwell. Go away, replied not Hul, go back
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to your woman. Not Ul, exclaimed Nu. What has happened? What
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has changed you? Has the sickness come upon you because of what you have
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endured, the sickness that changes the mind of his victim into the mind of
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one of the ape folk. There is no woman for Nu, but not
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Ul, the daughter of Thaw. There is the stranger woman, groan Criednhul
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bitterly. I saw her in your arms. I saw your lips meet,
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and then I ran away, go back to her. I wish to die
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now sought her hand, holding it tight. You saw what you saw,
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not Hul, he said, But you did not hear when I told Gran
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that I loved only you. You did not see me disengage her arms.
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Then I saw you far away, and the herders come and take you.
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And I did not even cast into the look upon the stranger woman, but
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hurried after your captors, hiding close by until darkness came that I came.
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Herenhul should prove my love. If ever you could have doubted it, Oh,
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not Hul, not Hul. How could you doubt the love of new
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The girl read, as much in his manner as his words, that he
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spoke the truth, And even had he lied, she would surely have believed
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him, so great was her wish to hear the very words he spoke.
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She dropped her cheek to his hand with a little sigh of relief and happiness,
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and then he took her in his arms. But only a moment could
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they spare to sentiment Stern necessity called upon them for action immediate and swift.
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How urgent was the call Knew would have guessed? Could he have looked into
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the hut where Throck lay upon his aurex skins wide eyed, The man's muddy
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brain revolved many times the details of the coming of the fellow who had just
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asked the whereabouts of the prisoner. It was all quite strange, and the
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more that Throck thought upon it, the more fully awake he became, and
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the better able to realize that there had been something altogether too unusual and mysterious
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in the odd request and actions of the stranger. Throc sat up. He
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had suddenly realized what would befall him should anything happen to the community because of
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his neglective duty. The primitive communal laws were harsh, the results of their
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infringement sudden and relentless. He jumped to his feet all excitement. Now not
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waiting to find a skin to throw over his shoulders, he grasped his weapons
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and ran out upon the platform. A quick glance revealed the fact that no
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sentry was in sight where a sentry should have been. He recalled the stranger's
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query about the location of the captive and turned his face in the direction of
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the further dwellings. Running swiftly and silently, he hastened toward the hut in
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which not Ule had been confined. And so it was that, as New
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emerged, he found a naked warrior almost upon him. At sight of Nu
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and the girl behind him, Throck raised his voice in a loud cry of
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alarm. His spear hand flew back, but back too flew the spear hand
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of Nu, the son of Nu. Two weapons flew simultaneously and at the
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same instant. N ul Knew and throckh dropped to the planking to avoid the
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missiles. Both whizzed harmlessly above them, and then the two warriors rushed upon
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one another with upraised axes. From every doorway, men were pouring in response
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to Throck's cry. Nu could not wait to close with his antagonist. He
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must risk the loss of the encounter and his axe as well. In one
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swift move behind his shoulder, his axe hand paused for an instant, then
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shot forward and released the heavy weapon with the force of a cannonball. The
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crude stone implement flew through the air, striking Throck full in the face,
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crushing his countenance to a mangled blur of bloody flesh. As the lake dwetter
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stumbled forward, dead New grasped Natul's hand and dragged her around the corner of
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the dwelling, out of sight of the advancing warriors, who were dashing toward
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them with savage shouts and menacing weapons. At the rail of the platform,
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Nu seized Natoul and lifted her over, dropping her into the water beneath as
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he vaulted over at her side. A few strong strokes carried them well under
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the villa, and as they forged toward the shore, they could hear the
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searchers running hither and thither above them. The whole community was awake by now,
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and the din was deafening. As the two crawled from the water to
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the shore, they were instantly discovered by those nearest them, and at once
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the causeway rattled and grown beneath the feet of a hundred warriors that sped along
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it to intercept the flight of the fugitives. Ahead of them were the dangers
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of the primeval night. Behind them were no less grave dangers at the hands
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of their savage foes. Unarmed but for a knife, it was futile to
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stand and fight. The only hope lay in flight and the chance that they
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might reach the forest and a sheltering tree before either the human beasts behind them
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or the beasts of prey before had seized them. Both Nu and naw Dul
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were fleet of foot. Beside them, the lake dwellers were sluggards, and
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consequently five minutes put them far ahead of their pursuers, who, seeing the
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futility of further pursuit and the danger of being led too far from their dwellings
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and possibly into a strong camp of enemies, abandoned the chase and return to
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the lake. Fortune favored New and Natoul, as it is ever credited with
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favoring the brave. They reached the forest at the edge of the plateau without
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encountering any of the more formidable carnivora. Here they found sanctuary in a tree,
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where they remained until dawn. Then they resumed their way toward the cliffs
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which they must scale to reach the sea. The matter of Gron had been
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settled between them. They would offer to take her with them back to their
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own people, where she might live in safety, so long as she chose.
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It was daylight when Nu and Natul reached the base of the cliffs.
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Gron was not in sight. At the summit of the cliff, however,
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two crafty eyes looked from behind a grassy screen upon them. The watcher saw
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the man and the maid and recognized them both. They were ascending. He
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would wait a bit. Nu and Nahul climbed easily upward. When they had
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gained about half the distance towards the summit, the man, shunning further concealment,
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started downward to meet them. His awkwardness, started a loose stone and
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appraised them of his presence. Nu looked up, as did Nahoul. Tur
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exclaimed the latter. Tur echoed Neu and redoubled his efforts to ascend. You
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are unarmed, caution Nahoul, and he is above. The advantage is all
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his. But the caveman was hot to lay hands upon this fellow who had
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brought upon Nahoul all the hardship she had suffered. He loosed his knife and
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carried it between his teeth, ready for instant use. Like a cat.
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He scrambled up the steep ascent. Directly at his heels came his sweet and
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savage Nahoul. Between her strong white teeth was her own knife was in for
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a warm reception. He had reached a ledge. Now just below a cave
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mouth, lying loosely upon the cliff side, scarcely balanced, there was a
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huge rock, a tun or two a potential destruction. Ur espied it just
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below it, directly in its path, climbed new and not whole. Urr
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grasped in an instant the possibilities that lay in the mighty weight of that huge
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boulder. He leaped behind it, and, bracing his feet against it and
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his back against the cliff, pushed the boulder, leaned and rocked. Knew,
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realizing the danger, looked to the right and left for an avenue of
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escape. But chance had played well into the hands of the enemy. Just
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at this point there was no foothold other than directly where they stood. They
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redoubled their efforts to reach the man before he could dislodge the boulder. Ur
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redoubled his efforts to start it spinning down upon them. He changed his position,
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placing his shoulder against the rock and one hand and foot against the cliff.
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Thus he pushed frantically the hideous menace to those below. It swayed and
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rocked another moment, and it would topple downward. Presently from the cave behind
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tur a woman emerged, awakened by the noises from without. It was Grone.
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She took in the whole scene in a single glance. She saw Nu
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and with him not Ul, the man she loved, with the woman who
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stood between them, who must always stand between them, For she realized that
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Nu would never love her, whether Natoul were alive or dead. She smiled
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as she saw success about to crown the efforts of ter In another instant,
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the man who scorned her love and the woman she hated with all the power
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of her savage jealousy would be hurled, crushed, and mangled to the bottom
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of the cliff. Ur She watched her mate with suddenly narrowing eyes. He
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struck her, he repudiated her. A flush of shame scorched her cheek.
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Tur her mate, the father of her child. The rock toppled, New
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and Natul from below were clambering upward. The man had seen Groan, but
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he had read her emotions clearly. No use to call upon her for help.
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Out of the past, the old love for her true mate had sprung
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to claim her. She would cleave to Turr in the moment of his victory,
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hoping thus to win him back. Nor was New insensible to the power
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of hatred which he might have engendered in the woman's breast by repulsing her demonstrations
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of love. Another push like the last, and the boulder would lunge down
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upon them. Graun stood with her hands clutching her naked breasts, the nails
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buried in the soft flesh until blood trickled down the bronze skin. The father
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of her child, her child, the pitiful thing that she deserted within the
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shelter by the beach, her baby, her dead baby, dead because of
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Ter and his cruelty toward her. Ter braced himself for the final push.
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A smile curled his lip. His back was toward Gron, Otherwise he would
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not have smiled, even nude, did not smile at the thing he saw
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above him, the face of a woman made hideous by hate and bloodlust.
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With bared knife, Gron leaped toward Ter. The upraised knife buried itself in
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his back and chest. With a scream, he turned toward the avenger.
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As his eyes rested upon the face of the mother of his child. He
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shrieked aloud and with the shriek. Still upon his lips, he sank to
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the ledge dead. Then Gron turned to face the two who were rapidly ascending
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toward her. Words of thanks were already upon news lips, but Gron stood
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silent, ready to meet them with bared knife. What would she do?
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New and Natuul wondered, But there was no retreat, and only a knife
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armed woman barred their way to liberty and home. New was almost level with
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her, Gron raised her knife above her Headnu sprang upward to strike the weapon
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to one side before it was buried in his breast, but Gron was too
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quick for him. The blade fell but not upon New deep into her own
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broken heart. Gron plunged the sharp point, and at the same instant she
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leapt far beyond Nu and Natul to crash, mangled and broken, at the
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foot of the lofty cliff. Death sudden and horrible was no stranger to these
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primeval lovers. They saw that Gron was dead and terr Likewise, Nu appropriated
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the latter's weapons, and side by side, the two set out to find
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the beach. They found it with only such delays and dangers as were daily
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incidents in their savage lives. They found the boat too, and reached the
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mainland, and later the cliffs and their tribe in safety. Here they found
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a wild welcome awaiting them, for both have been given up as dead.
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That night they walked hand in hand beneath the great equatorial moon beside the restless
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sea. Soon said Nu, Nahoul shall become the mate of Nu, the
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son of Nu. Nu. My father hath said it, and so too
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has spoken Tha, the father of Natoul. At the birth of the next
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moon, we are to mate. Natoul nestled closer to him. MINEU is
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a great warrior, she said, and a great hunter. But he is
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not brought back the head of U, the Killer of men and mammoths,
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that he promised to lay before the cave of Tha. My father Nu sets
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out at the breaking of the next light to hunt U, he answered quietly.
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Nor will he return to claim his mate until he has taken the head
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of the killer of men and mammoths. Nahoul laughed up into New's face.
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Natul but joked, she said, my man has proved himself greater than a
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hunter of Ou. I do not want the great truthed head New, I
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only want you. You must not go forth to haunt the beast. It
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is enough that you could slay him were he to attack us, and none
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there is who dare say it be beyond you. Nevertheless, I hunt Ou
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on the morrow, insisted Nu. I have never forgotten my promise. Nahoul
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tried to dissuade him, but he was obdurate, and the next morning Knu,
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the son of Nu, set forth from the cliffs beside the restless Sea
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to haunt the lair of Ou. All day, Nahdul sat waiting his return,
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though she knew that it might be days before he came back, or
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that he might not come at all. Grave premonitions of impending danger haunted her.
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She wandered in and out of her cave, looking for the thousandth time
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along the way that new might come. Suddenly, a rumbling rose from far
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inland. The earth shook and trembled. Ndul, wide eyed with terror,
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saw her people fleeing upward toward their caves. The heavens became overcast, the
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loud rumbling rose to a hideous and deafening roar. The violence of the earth's
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motion increased, until the very cliffs in which the people hid rocked and shook
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like a leaf before a hurricane. Nahoul ran to the innermost recess of her
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father's cave. There she huddled upon the floor, baring her face in a
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pile of bear and lion skins. About her, clustered other members of her
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father's family, all were terror stricken. It was five minutes before the end
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came. It came in one awful, hideous convulsion that lifted the mighty cliff
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a hundred feet aloft, cracking and shattering it to fragments as its face toppled
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forward into the forest at its foot. Then there was silence, silence awful
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and ominous. For five minutes, the quiet of death reigned upon the face
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of the earth, until presently, from far out at sea came a rushing,
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swirling sound, a sound that only a few wild beasts were left to
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hear, and the ocean mountain high rushed in upon what had been the village
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of Nu the chief end of Section twenty seven