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

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Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen, The Garden of Eden. With no heavenly guide,
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Speaker 1: it is little wonder that I became confused and lost
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Speaker 1: in the labyrinthine maze of those mighty hills. What in
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Speaker 1: reality I did was to pass entirely through them and
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Speaker 1: come out above the valley upon the farther side. I
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Speaker 1: know that I wandered for a long time, until tired
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Speaker 1: and hungry, I came upon a small cave in the
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Speaker 1: face of the limestone formation which had taken the place
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Speaker 1: of the granite farther back. The cave which took my
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Speaker 1: fancy lay half way up the precipitous side of a
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Speaker 1: lofty cliff. The way to it was such that I
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Speaker 1: knew no extremely formidable beast could frequent it, nor was
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Speaker 1: it large enough to make a comfortable habitat for any
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Speaker 1: but the smaller mammals or reptiles. Yet it was with
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Speaker 1: the utmost caution that I crawled within its dark interior.
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Speaker 1: Here I found a rather large chamber, lighted by a
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Speaker 1: narrow cleft in the rock above, which let the sunlight
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Speaker 1: filter in in sufficient quantities, partially to dispel the utter
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Speaker 1: darkness which I had expected. The cave was entirely empty,
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Speaker 1: nor were there any signs of its having been recently occupied.
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Speaker 1: The opening was comparatively small, so that, after considerable effort,
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Speaker 1: I was able to lug up a boulder from the
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Speaker 1: valley below, which entirely blocked it. Then I returned again
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Speaker 1: to the valley for an armful of grasses, and on
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Speaker 1: this trip was fortunate enough to knock over an Orthepi,
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Speaker 1: the diminutive horse of Pellucidar, a little animal about the
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Speaker 1: size of a fox terrier, which abounds in all parts
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Speaker 1: of the inner world. Thus with food and bedding, I
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Speaker 1: returned to my lair, where after a meal of raw meat,
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Speaker 1: to which I had now become quite accustomed, I dragged
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Speaker 1: the boulder before the entrance and curled myself up upon
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Speaker 1: a bed of grasses. A naked primeval cave man, as
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Speaker 1: savagely primitive as my prehistoric progenitors, I awoke, rested but hungry, and,
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Speaker 1: pushing the boulder aside, crawled out upon the little rocky
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Speaker 1: shelf which was my front porch. Before me spread a
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Speaker 1: small but beautiful valley, through the center of which a
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Speaker 1: clear and sparkling river wound its way down to an
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Speaker 1: inland sea, the blue waters of which were just visible
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Speaker 1: between the two mountain ranges which embraced this little paradise.
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Speaker 1: The sides of the opposite hills were green with verdure,
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Speaker 1: for a great forest clothed them, to the foot of
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Speaker 1: the red and yellow and copper green of the towering
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Speaker 1: crags which formed their summit. The valley itself was carpeted
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Speaker 1: with a luxuriant grass, where here and there patches of
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Speaker 1: wild flowers made great splashes of vivid color against the
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Speaker 1: prevailing green. Dotted over the face of this valley were
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Speaker 1: little clusters of palm like trees, three or four together
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Speaker 1: as a rule. Beneath these stood antelope, while others grazed
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Speaker 1: in the open, or wandered gracefully to a nearby ford
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Speaker 1: to drink. There were several species of this beautiful animal,
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Speaker 1: the most magnificent, somewhat resembling the giant eland of Africa,
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Speaker 1: except that their spiral horns form a complete curve backward
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Speaker 1: over their ears, and then forward again beneath them, ending
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Speaker 1: in sharp and formidable points some two feet before the
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Speaker 1: face and above the eyes. In size, they were reminded
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Speaker 1: one of a pure bred herefored bull. Yet they are
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Speaker 1: very agile and fast. The broad yellow band that striped
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Speaker 1: the dark roan of their coats made me take them
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Speaker 1: for zebra when I first saw them. All in all,
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Speaker 1: they are handsome animals and added the finishing touch to
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Speaker 1: the strange and lovely landscape that spread before my new home.
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Speaker 1: I had determined to make the cave my head quarters,
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Speaker 1: and with it as a base, make systematic exploration of
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Speaker 1: the surrounding country in search of the land of Serre.
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Speaker 1: First I devoured the remainder of the carcass of the
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Speaker 1: ORTHOPI I had killed before my last sleep. Then I
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Speaker 1: hid the great secret and a deep niche at the
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Speaker 1: back of my cave, rolled the boulder before my front door,
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Speaker 1: and with bow, arrows, sword and shield, scrambled down into
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Speaker 1: the peaceful valley. The grazing herds moved to one side
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Speaker 1: as I passed through them, the little orthepie evincing the
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Speaker 1: greatest wariness and galloping to safest distances. All of the
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Speaker 1: animals stopped feeding as I approached, and, after moving to
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Speaker 1: what they considered a safe distance, stood contemplating me with
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Speaker 1: serious eyes and upcocked ears. Once one of the old
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Speaker 1: bull antelopes of the striped species lowered his head and
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Speaker 1: bellowed angrily, even taking a few steps in my direction,
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Speaker 1: so that I thought he meant to charge, But after
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Speaker 1: I had passed, he resumed feeding as though nothing had
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Speaker 1: disturbed him. Near the lower end of the valley, I
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Speaker 1: passed a number of tapers, and across the river I
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Speaker 1: saw a great sadok, the enormous double horned progenitor of
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Speaker 1: the modern rhinoceros. At the valley's end, the cliffs upon
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Speaker 1: the left ran out into the sea, so that to
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Speaker 1: pass around them, as I desired to do, it was
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Speaker 1: necessary to scale them in search of a ledge along
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Speaker 1: which I might continue my journey. Some fifty feet from
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Speaker 1: the base, I came upon a projection which formed a
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Speaker 1: natural path along the face of the cliff, and this
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Speaker 1: I followed out over the sea toward the cliff's end.
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Speaker 1: Here the ledge inclined rapidly upward toward the top of
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Speaker 1: the cliffs, the stratum which formed it evidently having been
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Speaker 1: forced up at this steep angle when the mountains behind
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Speaker 1: it were borne. As I climbed carefully up the ascent,
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Speaker 1: my attention suddenly was attracted aloft by the sound of
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Speaker 1: strange hissing, and what resembled the flapping of wings, and
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Speaker 1: at the first glance there broke upon my horrified vision
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Speaker 1: the most thing I had seen, even within Pellucidar. It
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Speaker 1: was a giant dragon, such as is pictured in the
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Speaker 1: legends and fairy tales of earth folk. Its huge body
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Speaker 1: must have measured forty feet in length, while the bat
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Speaker 1: like wings that supported it in mid air had a
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Speaker 1: spread of fully thirty. Its gaping jaws were armed with long,
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Speaker 1: sharp teeth, and its claw equipped with horrible talons. The
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Speaker 1: hissing noise which had first attracted my attention was issuing
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Speaker 1: from its throat, and seemed to be directed at something
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Speaker 1: beyond and below me, which I could not see. The
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Speaker 1: ledge upon which I stood terminated abruptly a few paces
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Speaker 1: farther on, and as I reached the end, I saw
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Speaker 1: the cause of the reptile's agitation. Some time in past
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Speaker 1: ages an earthquake had produced a fault at this point,
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Speaker 1: so that beyond the spot where I stood, the strata
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Speaker 1: had slipped down a matter of twenty feet. The result
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Speaker 1: was that the continuation of my ledge lay twenty feet
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Speaker 1: below me, where it ended, as abruptly as it did
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Speaker 1: the end upon which I stood and here, evidently halted
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Speaker 1: in flight by this insurmount of break in the ledge,
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Speaker 1: stood the object of the creature's attack, a girl cowering
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Speaker 1: upon the narrow platform, her face buried in her arms,
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Speaker 1: as though to shut out the sight of the frightful
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Speaker 1: death which hovered just above her. The dragon was circling
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Speaker 1: lower and seemed about to dart in upon its prey.
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Speaker 1: There was no time to be lost, scarce an instant
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Speaker 1: in which to weigh the possible chances that I had
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Speaker 1: against the awfully armed creature. But the sight of that
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Speaker 1: frightened girl below me called out to all that was
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Speaker 1: best in me, and the instinct for protection of the
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Speaker 1: other sex, which nearly must have equalled the instinct of
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Speaker 1: self preservation in primeval man, drew me to the girl's
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Speaker 1: side like an irresistible magnet. Almost thoughtless of the consequences,
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Speaker 1: I leaped from the end of the ledge upon which
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Speaker 1: I stood for the tiny shelf twenty feet below. At
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Speaker 1: the same instant the dragon darted in toward the girl.
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Speaker 1: But my sudden advent upon the scene must have startled him,
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Speaker 1: for he veered to one side and then rose above
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Speaker 1: us once more. The noise I made as I landed
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Speaker 1: beside her, convinced the girl that the end had come,
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Speaker 1: for she thought I was the dragon. But finally, when
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Speaker 1: no cruel fangs closed upon her, she raised her eyes
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Speaker 1: in astonishment as they fell upon me. The expression that
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Speaker 1: came into them would be difficult to describe, but her
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Speaker 1: feelings could scarcely have been one whit more complicated than
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Speaker 1: my own or The wide eyes that looked into mine
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Speaker 1: were those of Diane, the beautiful Diane. I cried, Diane,
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Speaker 1: thank God that I came in time. You, she whispered,
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Speaker 1: and then she hid her face again. Nor could I
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Speaker 1: tell whether she were glad or angry that I had come.
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Speaker 1: Once more, the dragon was sweeping toward us, and so
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Speaker 1: rapidly that I had no time to unsling my bow.
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Speaker 1: All that I could do was to snatch up a
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Speaker 1: rock and hurl it at the thing's hideous face. Again,
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Speaker 1: my aim was true, and with a hiss of pain
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Speaker 1: and rage, the reptile wheeled once more and soared away. Quickly.
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Speaker 1: I fitted an arrow, now that I might be ready
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Speaker 1: at the next attack, and as I did so, I
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Speaker 1: looked down at the girl, so that I surprised her
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Speaker 1: in a surreptitious glance which she was stealing at me,
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Speaker 1: But immediately she again covered her face with her hands.
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Speaker 1: Look at me, Diane, I pleaded, Are you not glad
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Speaker 1: to see me? She looked straight into my eyes. I
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Speaker 1: hate you, she said, And then as I was about
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Speaker 1: to beg for a fair hearing, she pointed over my shoulder.
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Speaker 1: The Thipdar comes, she said, And I turned again to
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Speaker 1: meet the reptile. So this was a Thipdar. I might
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Speaker 1: have known it, the cruel bloodhound of the Mahars, the
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Speaker 1: long extinct pterodactyl of the outer world. But this time
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Speaker 1: I met it with a weapon it had never faced before.
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Speaker 1: I had selected my longest arrow, and with all my strength,
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Speaker 1: I had bent the bow until the very tip of
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Speaker 1: the shaft rested upon the thumb of my left hand.
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Speaker 1: And then, as the great creature darted toward us, I
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Speaker 1: let drive straight for that tough breast, hissing like the
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Speaker 1: escape valve of a steam engine. The mighty creature fell,
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Speaker 1: turning and twisting into the sea below. My arrow buried
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Speaker 1: completely in its carcass. I turned toward the girl. She
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Speaker 1: was looking past me. It was evident that she had
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Speaker 1: seen the thipdar die Diane, I said, won't you tell
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Speaker 1: me that you are not sorry that I have found you?
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Speaker 1: I hate you, was her only reply, but I imagined
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Speaker 1: that there was less vehemence in it than before. Yet
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Speaker 1: it might have been. But my imagine, Why do you
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Speaker 1: hate me, Diane? I asked, but she did not answer me.
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Speaker 1: What are you doing here? I asked? And what has
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Speaker 1: happened to you since Hooja freed you from the Sagoths.
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Speaker 1: At first I thought that she was going to ignore
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Speaker 1: me entirely, but finally she thought better of it. I
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Speaker 1: was again running away from Jubal, the ugly one, she said.
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Speaker 1: After I escaped from the Sagoths, I made my way
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Speaker 1: a lone back to my own land, but on account
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Speaker 1: of Jubal, I did not dare enter the villages or
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Speaker 1: let any of my friends know that I had returned,
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Speaker 1: for fear that Jubal might find out. By watching for
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Speaker 1: a long time, I found that my brother had not
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Speaker 1: yet returned, and so I continued to live in a
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Speaker 1: cave beside a valley which my race seldom frequents, awaiting
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Speaker 1: the time that he should come back and free me
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Speaker 1: from Jubal. But at last one of Jubal's hunters saw
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Speaker 1: me as I was creeping toward my father's cave to
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Speaker 1: see if my brother had yet returned, and he gave
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Speaker 1: the alarm, and Jubal set out after me. He has
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Speaker 1: been pursuing me across many lands. He cannot be far
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Speaker 1: behind me. Now when he comes, he will kill you
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Speaker 1: and carry me back to his cave. He is a
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Speaker 1: terrible man. I have gone as far as I can go,
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Speaker 1: and there is no escape. And she looked hopelessly up
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Speaker 1: at the continuation of the ledge twenty feet above us.
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Speaker 1: But he shall not have me, she suddenly cried, with
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Speaker 1: great vehemence. The sea is there, she pointed, over the
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Speaker 1: edge of the cliff, and the sea shall have me
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Speaker 1: rather than Jewbal. But I have you now, Diane, I cried.
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Speaker 1: Nor shall Jubal nor any other have you, for you
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Speaker 1: are mine. And I seized her hand. Nor did I
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Speaker 1: lift it above her head and let it fall in
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Speaker 1: token of release. She had risen to her feet and
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Speaker 1: was looking straight into my eyes with level gaze. I
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Speaker 1: do not believe you, she said, for if you meant it,
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Speaker 1: you would have done this when the others were present
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Speaker 1: to witness it. Then I should truly have been your mate.
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Speaker 1: Now there is no one to see you do it,
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Speaker 1: for you know that without witnesses, your act does not
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Speaker 1: bind you to me. And she withdrew her hand from
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Speaker 1: mine and turned away. I tried to convince her that
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Speaker 1: I was sincere, but she simply couldn't forget the humiliation
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Speaker 1: that I had put upon her on that other occasion.
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Speaker 1: If you mean all that you say, you will have
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Speaker 1: ample chance to prove it, she said. If Jubal does
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Speaker 1: not catch and kill you, I am in your power,
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Speaker 1: and the treatment you accord me will be the best
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Speaker 1: proof of your intentions toward me. I am not your mate.
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Speaker 1: And again I tell you that I hate you, and
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Speaker 1: that I should be glad if I never saw you again.
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Speaker 1: Diane certainly was candid. There was no gain saying that.
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Speaker 1: In fact, I found candor and directness to be quite
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Speaker 1: a marked characteristic of the cave men of Pellucidar. Finally,
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Speaker 1: I suggested that we make some attempt to gain my cave,
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Speaker 1: where we might escape the searching Juwbal. For I am
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Speaker 1: free to admit that I had no considerable desire to
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Speaker 1: meet the formidable and ferocious creature of whose mighty prowess.
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Speaker 1: Dian had told me when I first met her. He
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Speaker 1: it was who, armed with a puny knife, had met
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Speaker 1: and killed a cave bear in a hand to hand struggle.
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Speaker 1: It was Juwbal who could cast his spear entirely through
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Speaker 1: the armored carcass of the sadok at fifty paces. It
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Speaker 1: was he who had crushed the skull of a charging
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Speaker 1: direth with a single blow of his war club. No,
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Speaker 1: I was not pining to meet the Ugly One, and
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Speaker 1: it was quite certain that I should not go out
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Speaker 1: and hunt for him. But the matter was taken out
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Speaker 1: of mine hands very quickly, as is often the way,
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Speaker 1: and I did meet Jewbile the Ugly One, face to face.
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Speaker 1: This is how it happened. I had led Diane back
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Speaker 1: along the ledge the way she had come, searching for
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Speaker 1: a path that would lead us to the top of
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Speaker 1: the cliff, for I knew that we could then cross
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Speaker 1: over to the edge of my own little valley, where
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Speaker 1: I felt certain that we should find a means of
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Speaker 1: ingress from the cliff top. As we proceeded along the ledge,
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Speaker 1: I gave Diane minute directions for finding my cave against
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Speaker 1: the chance of something happening to me. I knew that
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Speaker 1: she would be quite safely hidden away from pursuit once
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Speaker 1: she gained the shelter of my lair, and that the
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Speaker 1: valley would afford her ample means of sustenance. Also, I
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Speaker 1: was very much piqued by her treatment of me. My
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Speaker 1: heart was sad and heavy, and I wanted to make
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Speaker 1: her feel badly by suggesting that something terrible might happen
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Speaker 1: to me, that I might in fact be killed. But
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Speaker 1: it didn't work worth a scent, at least as far
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Speaker 1: as I could perceive. Diane simply shrugged those magnificent shoulders
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Speaker 1: of hers and murmured something to the effect that one
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Speaker 1: was not rid of trouble so easily as that for
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Speaker 1: a while I kept still. I was utterly squelched, and
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Speaker 1: to think that I had twice protected her from attack,
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Speaker 1: the last time risking my life to save hers. It
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Speaker 1: was incredible that even a daughter of the Stone Age
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Speaker 1: could be so ungrateful, so heartless. But maybe her heart
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Speaker 1: partook of the qualities of her epoch. Presently, we found
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Speaker 1: a rift in the cliff, which had been widened and
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Speaker 1: extended by the action of the water draining through it
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Speaker 1: from the plateau above it gave us a rather rough
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Speaker 1: climb to the summit, but finally we stood upon the
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Speaker 1: level Mesa, which stretched back for several miles to the
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Speaker 1: mountain range. Behind us lay the broad inland sea, curving
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Speaker 1: upward in the horizonless distance to merge into the blue
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Speaker 1: of the sky, so that for all the world it
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Speaker 1: looked as though the sea lapped back to arch completely
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Speaker 1: over us and disappear beyond the distant mountains. At our
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Speaker 1: backs the weird and uncanny aspect of the sea scapes
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Speaker 1: of Pellucidar bulk description. At our right lay a dense forest,
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Speaker 1: but to the left the country was open and clear
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Speaker 1: to the plateau's farther verge. It was in this direction
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Speaker 1: that our way led, and we had turned to resume
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Speaker 1: our journey when Diane touched my arm. I turned to her,
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Speaker 1: thinking that she was about to make peace overtures. But
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Speaker 1: I was mistaken. Jewbal, she said, and nodded toward the forest.
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Speaker 1: I looked, and there, emerging from the dense wood, came
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Speaker 1: a perfect wail of a man. He must have been
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Speaker 1: seven feet tall, and proportioned accordingly, he still was too
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Speaker 1: far off to distinguish his features run, I said to Diane,
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Speaker 1: I can engage him until you get a good start.
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Speaker 1: Maybe we can hold him until you have gotten entirely away.
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Speaker 1: And then, without a backward glance, I advanced to meet
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Speaker 1: the ugly One. I had hoped that Diane would have
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Speaker 1: a kind word to say to me before she went,
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Speaker 1: for she must have known that I was going to
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Speaker 1: my death for her sake. But she never even so
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Speaker 1: much as bid me good bye. And it was with
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Speaker 1: a heavy heart that I strode through the flower bespangled
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Speaker 1: grass to my doom. When I had come close enough
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Speaker 1: to Jubal to distinguish his features, I understood how it
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Speaker 1: was that he had earned the sobriquet of ugly one. Apparently,
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Speaker 1: some fearful beast had ripped away one entire side of
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Speaker 1: his face. The eye was gone, the nose, and all
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Speaker 1: the flesh, so that his jaws and all his teeth
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Speaker 1: were exposed, and grinning through the horrible scar. Formerly, he
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Speaker 1: may have been as good to look upon as the
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Speaker 1: others of his handsome race. And it may be that
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Speaker 1: the terrible result of this encounter had tended to sour
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Speaker 1: an already strong and brutal character. However, this may be
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Speaker 1: it is quite certain that he was not a pretty sight,
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Speaker 1: and now that his features, or what remained of them,
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Speaker 1: were distorted in rage at the sight of Dian with
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Speaker 1: another male, he was indeed most terrible to see, and
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Speaker 1: much more terrible to meet. He had broken into a
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Speaker 1: run now, and as he advanced, he raised his mighty spear,
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Speaker 1: while I halted, and, fitting an arrow to my bow,
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Speaker 1: took as steady aim as I could. I was somewhat
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Speaker 1: longer than usual, for I must confess that the sight
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Speaker 1: of this awful man had wrought upon my nerves to
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Speaker 1: such an extent that my knees were anything but steady.
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Speaker 1: What chance had I against this mighty warrior, for whom
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Speaker 1: even the fiercest cave bear it had no terrors? Could
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Speaker 1: I hope to best one who slaughtered the Sadok and
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Speaker 1: direth single handed? I shuddered, but in fairness to myself,
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Speaker 1: my fear was more for Dian than for my own fate.
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Speaker 1: And then the great brute launched his massive, stone tipped spear,
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Speaker 1: and I raised my shield to break the force of
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Speaker 1: its terrific velocity. The impact hurled me to my knees,
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Speaker 1: but the shield had deflected the missile, and I was unscathed.
16:23
Speaker 1: Jewbaal was rushing upon me now with the only remaining
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Speaker 1: weapon that he carried, a murderous looking knife. He was
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Speaker 1: too close for a careful bow shot, but I let
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Speaker 1: drive at him as he came without taking aim. My
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Speaker 1: arrow pierced the fleshy part of his thigh, inflicting a
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Speaker 1: painful but not disabling wound. And then he was upon me.
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Speaker 1: My agility saved me for the instant. I ducked behind
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Speaker 1: his raised arm, and when he wheeled to come at
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Speaker 1: me again, he found a sword's point in his face,
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Speaker 1: and a moment later he felt an inch or two
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Speaker 1: of it in the muscles of his knife arm, so
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Speaker 1: that thereafter he went more warily. It was a duel
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Speaker 1: of strategy, now, the great hairy man maneuvering to get
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Speaker 1: inside my guard, where he could bring those giant thews
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Speaker 1: to play, while my wits were directed to the task
17:01
Speaker 1: of keeping him at arm's length. Thrice he rushed me,
17:04
Speaker 1: and thrice I caught his knife blow upon my shield.
17:07
Speaker 1: Each time my sword found his body, once penetrating to
17:10
Speaker 1: his lung. He was covered with blood by this time,
17:13
Speaker 1: and the internal hemorrhage induced paroxysms of coughing that brought
17:16
Speaker 1: the red stream to the hideous mouth and nose, covering
17:19
Speaker 1: his face and breast with bloody froth. He was a
17:22
Speaker 1: most unlovely spectacle, but he was far from dead. As
17:26
Speaker 1: the duel continued, I began to gain confidence, For, to
17:29
Speaker 1: be perfectly candid, I had not expected to survive the
17:31
Speaker 1: first rush of that monstrous engine of ungoverned rage and hatred.
17:36
Speaker 1: And I think that Jewbal, from utter contempt of me,
17:38
Speaker 1: began to change to a feeling of respect. And then
17:41
Speaker 1: in his primitive mind there evidently loomed the thought that
17:44
Speaker 1: perhaps at last he had met his master and was
17:46
Speaker 1: facing his end. At any rate. It is only upon
17:49
Speaker 1: this hypothesis that I can account for his next act,
17:52
Speaker 1: which was in the nature of a last resort, a
17:54
Speaker 1: sort of forlorn hope, which could only have been born
17:56
Speaker 1: of the belief that if he did not kill me quickly,
17:59
Speaker 1: I should kill him. It happened on the occasion of
18:02
Speaker 1: his fourth charge, when instead of striking at me with
18:04
Speaker 1: his knife, he dropped that weapon, and, seizing my sword
18:07
Speaker 1: blade in both his hands, wrenched the weapon from my
18:10
Speaker 1: grasp as easily as from a babe, flinging it far
18:13
Speaker 1: to one side. He stood motionless for just an instant,
18:15
Speaker 1: glaring into my face with such a horrid leer of
18:18
Speaker 1: malignant triumph as to almost unnerve me. Then he sprang
18:21
Speaker 1: for me with his bare hands. But it was Jewbal's
18:24
Speaker 1: day to learn new methods of warfare. For the first
18:27
Speaker 1: time he had seen a bow and arrows. Never before
18:30
Speaker 1: that duel had he beheld a sword. And now he
18:33
Speaker 1: learned what a man who knows may do with his
18:35
Speaker 1: bare fists. As he came for me like a great bear,
18:37
Speaker 1: I ducked again beneath his outstretched arm, and as I
18:40
Speaker 1: came up, planted as clean a blow upon his jaws
18:43
Speaker 1: ever you have seen. Down went that great mountain of flesh,
18:46
Speaker 1: sprawling upon the ground. He was so surprised and dazed
18:49
Speaker 1: that he lay there for several seconds before he made
18:51
Speaker 1: any attempt to rise, And I stood over him with
18:54
Speaker 1: another dose, ready when he should gain his knees up.
18:56
Speaker 1: He came at last, almost roaring in his rage and mortification,
19:00
Speaker 1: but he didn't stay up. I let him have a
19:02
Speaker 1: left fair on the point of the jaw that sent
19:05
Speaker 1: him tumbling over on his back. By this time I
19:07
Speaker 1: think Jewbal had gone mad with hate, for no sane
19:10
Speaker 1: man would have come back for more as many times
19:12
Speaker 1: as he did. Time after time, I bowled him over
19:15
Speaker 1: as fast as he could stagger up, until toward the
19:17
Speaker 1: last he lay longer on the ground between blows, and
19:21
Speaker 1: each time came up weaker than before. He was bleeding
19:24
Speaker 1: very profusely now from the wound in his lungs, and
19:27
Speaker 1: presently a terrific blow over the heart sent him reeling
19:30
Speaker 1: heavily to the ground, where he lay very still. And
19:33
Speaker 1: somehow I knew at once that Jewbal, the ugly one,
19:36
Speaker 1: would never get up again. But even as I looked
19:39
Speaker 1: upon that massive body lying there, so grim and terrible
19:42
Speaker 1: in death, I could not believe that I single handed
19:45
Speaker 1: had bested this slayer of fearful beasts, this gigantic ogre
19:49
Speaker 1: of the stone Age. Picking up my sword, I leaned
19:53
Speaker 1: upon it, looking down on the dead body of my foeman,
19:56
Speaker 1: And as I thought of the battle I had just
19:57
Speaker 1: fought and won, a great idea was born in my brain.
20:01
Speaker 1: The outcome of this and the suggestion that Perry had
20:03
Speaker 1: made within the city of Phutra, if skill and science
20:07
Speaker 1: could render a comparative Pigmy, the master of this mighty brute.
20:11
Speaker 1: What could not the brute's fellows accomplish with the same
20:13
Speaker 1: skill and science. Why all pellucidar would be at their feet,
20:16
Speaker 1: and I would be their king, and Dian their queen. Diane,
20:20
Speaker 1: A little wave of doubt swept over me. It was
20:23
Speaker 1: quite within the possibilities of Diane to look down upon me,
20:26
Speaker 1: even were I king. She was quite the most superior
20:29
Speaker 1: person I had ever met, with the most convincing way
20:32
Speaker 1: of letting you know that she was superior. While I
20:34
Speaker 1: could go up to the cave and tell her that
20:36
Speaker 1: I had killed Jubal, and then she might feel more
20:39
Speaker 1: kindly toward me, since I had freed her of her tormentor,
20:43
Speaker 1: I hoped that she had found the cave easily. It
20:46
Speaker 1: would be terrible had I lost her again, And I
20:48
Speaker 1: turned to gather up my shield and bow to hurry
20:51
Speaker 1: after her, when to my astonishment I found her standing
20:53
Speaker 1: not ten paces behind me. Girl, I cried, what are
20:57
Speaker 1: you doing here? I thought that you had gone to
21:00
Speaker 1: the cave as I told you to do. Up went
21:02
Speaker 1: her head, and the look that she gave me took
21:04
Speaker 1: all the majesty out of me, and left me feeling
21:07
Speaker 1: more like the palace janitor, if palaces have janitors. As
21:11
Speaker 1: you told me to do, she cried, stamping her little foot.
21:15
Speaker 1: I do as I please. I am the daughter of
21:17
Speaker 1: a king, and furthermore, I hate you. I was dumbfounded.
21:20
Speaker 1: This was my thanks for saving her from Jewbal. I
21:23
Speaker 1: turned and looked at the corpse. Maybe that I saved
21:26
Speaker 1: you from a worse fate, old man, I said, But
21:29
Speaker 1: I guess it was lost on Diane, for she never
21:31
Speaker 1: seemed to notice it at all. Let us go to
21:33
Speaker 1: my cave, I said, I am tired and hungry. She
21:37
Speaker 1: followed along a pace behind me, neither of us speaking.
21:40
Speaker 1: I was too angry, and she evidently didn't care to
21:43
Speaker 1: converse with the lower orders. I was mad all the
21:46
Speaker 1: way through, as I had certainly felt that at least
21:49
Speaker 1: a word of thanks should have rewarded me, for I
21:52
Speaker 1: knew that, even by her own standards, I must have
21:54
Speaker 1: done a very wonderful thing to have killed the redoubtable Jewbal.
21:57
Speaker 1: In a hand to hand and counter, we had no
22:00
Speaker 1: difficulty in finding my lair. And then I went down
22:02
Speaker 1: into the valley and bowled over a small antelope, which
22:05
Speaker 1: I dragged up the steep ascent to the ledge before
22:08
Speaker 1: the door. Here we ate in silence. Occasionally I glanced
22:12
Speaker 1: at her, thinking that the sight of her tearing at
22:15
Speaker 1: raw flesh with her hands and teeth like some wild
22:17
Speaker 1: animal would cause a revulsion of my sentiments toward her.
22:20
Speaker 1: But to my surprise, I found that she ate quite
22:22
Speaker 1: as daintily as the most civilized woman of my acquaintance,
22:25
Speaker 1: and I finally found myself gazing in foolish rapture at
22:28
Speaker 1: the beauties of her strong white teeth. Such is love.
22:32
Speaker 1: After our repast, we went down to the river together
22:35
Speaker 1: and bathed our hands and faces, and then, after drinking
22:38
Speaker 1: our fill, went back to the cave without a word.
22:41
Speaker 1: I crawled into the farthest corner, and, curling up, was
22:44
Speaker 1: soon asleep. When I awoke, I found Diane sitting in
22:48
Speaker 1: the doorway, looking out across the valley. As I came out,
22:51
Speaker 1: she moved to one side to let me pass, but
22:54
Speaker 1: she had no word for me. I wanted to hate her,
22:56
Speaker 1: but I couldn't. Every time I looked at her, something
22:59
Speaker 1: came up in my throat, so that I nearly choked.
23:02
Speaker 1: I had never been in love before, but I did
23:04
Speaker 1: not need any aid in diagnosing my case. I certainly
23:08
Speaker 1: had it, and had it bad. God how I left
23:10
Speaker 1: that beautiful, disdainful, tantalizing prehistoric girl. After we had eaten again,
23:17
Speaker 1: I asked Diane if she intended returning to her tribe
23:20
Speaker 1: now that Jewbal was dead. But she shook her head
23:22
Speaker 1: sadly and said that she did not dare, for there
23:25
Speaker 1: was still Jubal's brother, to be considered his oldest brother.
23:28
Speaker 1: What has he to do with it? I asked, Does
23:30
Speaker 1: he too want you, or has the option on you
23:32
Speaker 1: become a family heirloom to be passed down from generation
23:35
Speaker 1: to generation. She was not quite sure as to what
23:39
Speaker 1: I meant. It is probable, she said that they all
23:41
Speaker 1: will want revenge for the death of Jewbal. There are
23:44
Speaker 1: seven of them, seven terrible men. Some one may have
23:46
Speaker 1: to kill them all if I am to return to
23:48
Speaker 1: my people. It began to look as though I had
23:50
Speaker 1: assumed a contract much too large for me about seven sizes.
23:54
Speaker 1: In fact, had Jewal any cousins? I asked, it was
23:57
Speaker 1: just as well to know the worst at once. Yes,
23:59
Speaker 1: replied Diane. But they don't count. They all have mates.
24:03
Speaker 1: Juwbal's brothers have no mates because Jewbal could get none
24:06
Speaker 1: for himself. He was so ugly that women ran away
24:09
Speaker 1: from him. Some have even thrown themselves from the cliffs
24:12
Speaker 1: of Amos into the daryl As rather than mate with
24:15
Speaker 1: the ugly one. But what had that to do with
24:17
Speaker 1: his brothers? I asked, I forget that you are not
24:20
Speaker 1: of Pellucidar, said Diane, with a look of pity mixed
24:23
Speaker 1: with contempt. And the contempt seemed to be laid on
24:26
Speaker 1: a little thicker than the circumstance warrant, as though to
24:29
Speaker 1: make quite certain that I shouldn't overlook it. You see,
24:32
Speaker 1: she continued, a younger brother may not take a mate
24:35
Speaker 1: until all his older brothers have done so, unless the
24:38
Speaker 1: older brother waves his prerogative, which Jewbal would not do,
24:42
Speaker 1: knowing that as long as he kept them single, they
24:44
Speaker 1: would be all the keener in aiding him to secure
24:46
Speaker 1: a mate. Noticing that Diane was becoming more communicative, I
24:52
Speaker 1: began to entertain hopes that she might be warming up
24:54
Speaker 1: toward me a bit, Although upon what slender thread I
24:57
Speaker 1: hung my hopes I soon discovered, as you dare not
25:00
Speaker 1: return to Amos, I ventured, what is to become of you?
25:03
Speaker 1: Since you cannot be happy here with me, hating me
25:06
Speaker 1: as you do. I shall have to put up with you,
25:08
Speaker 1: she replied, coldly, until you see fit to go elsewhere
25:11
Speaker 1: and leave me in peace. Then I shall get along
25:13
Speaker 1: very well alone. I looked at her in utter amazement.
25:17
Speaker 1: It seemed incredible that even a prehistoric woman could be
25:19
Speaker 1: so cold and heartless and ungrateful. Then I arose, I
25:23
Speaker 1: shall leave you now, I said, haughtily. I have had
25:26
Speaker 1: quite enough of your ingratitude and your insults. And then
25:30
Speaker 1: I turned and strode majestically down toward the valley. I
25:33
Speaker 1: had taken a hundred steps in absolute silence, and then
25:36
Speaker 1: Dian spoke, I hate you, she shouted, and her voice
25:40
Speaker 1: broke in rage. I thought, I was absolutely miserable, But
25:44
Speaker 1: I hadn't gone too far. When I began to realize
25:46
Speaker 1: that I couldn't leave her alone there, without protection to
25:49
Speaker 1: hunt her own food amid the dangers of that savage world.
25:52
Speaker 1: She might hate me and revile me, and heap in
25:54
Speaker 1: dignity after indignity upon me, as she already had until
25:58
Speaker 1: I should have hated her. But the pitiful fact remained
26:01
Speaker 1: that I loved her, and I couldn't leave her there alone.
26:04
Speaker 1: The more I thought about it, the matter I got
26:07
Speaker 1: so that by the time I reached the valley, I
26:09
Speaker 1: was furious. And the result of it was that I
26:11
Speaker 1: turned right around and went up that cliff again. As
26:14
Speaker 1: fast as I had come down, I saw that Diane
26:17
Speaker 1: had left the ledge and gone within the cave. But
26:20
Speaker 1: I bolted right in after her. She was lying upon
26:23
Speaker 1: her face on the pile of grasses I had gathered
26:25
Speaker 1: for her bed. When she heard me enter, she sprang
26:27
Speaker 1: to her feet like a tigress. I hate you, she cried,
26:31
Speaker 1: coming from the brilliant light of the noonday sun into
26:33
Speaker 1: the semi darkness of the cave. I could not see
26:35
Speaker 1: her features, and I was rather glad, for I disliked
26:39
Speaker 1: to think of the hate that I should have read there.
26:42
Speaker 1: I never said a word to her at first. I
26:44
Speaker 1: just strode across the cave and grasped her by the wrists,
26:47
Speaker 1: and when she struggled, I put my arm around her
26:49
Speaker 1: so as to pinion her hands to her sides. She
26:52
Speaker 1: fought like a tigress, but I took my free hand
26:54
Speaker 1: and pushed her head back. I imagined that I had
26:57
Speaker 1: suddenly turned brute, that I had gone back a thousand
27:00
Speaker 1: million years and was again a veritable cave man, taking
27:02
Speaker 1: my mate by force. And then I kissed that beautiful
27:05
Speaker 1: mouth again and again, Diana, I cried, shaking her roughly.
27:09
Speaker 1: I love you. Can't you understand that I love you,
27:12
Speaker 1: That I love you better than all else in this
27:14
Speaker 1: world or my own, that I am going to have you,
27:17
Speaker 1: that love like mine cannot be denied. I noticed that
27:20
Speaker 1: she lay very still in my arms now, and as
27:23
Speaker 1: my eyes became accustomed to the light, I saw that
27:25
Speaker 1: she was smiling, a very contented, happy smile. I was thunderstruck.
27:30
Speaker 1: Then I realized that very gently she was trying to
27:33
Speaker 1: disengage her arms, and I loosened my grip upon them
27:36
Speaker 1: so that she could do so. Slowly, they came up
27:39
Speaker 1: and stole about my neck, and then she drew my
27:41
Speaker 1: lips down to hers once more and held them there
27:44
Speaker 1: for a long time. At last, she spoke, why didn't
27:49
Speaker 1: you do this at first? David? I have been waiting
27:51
Speaker 1: for so long? What I cried? You said that you
27:55
Speaker 1: hated me. Did you expect me to run into your
27:58
Speaker 1: arms and say that I loved you before I knew
28:00
Speaker 1: that you loved me? She asked, But I have told
28:03
Speaker 1: you right along that I love you, I said. Love
28:05
Speaker 1: speaks in acts, she replied. You could have made your
28:08
Speaker 1: mouth say what you wished it to say. But just now,
28:11
Speaker 1: when you came and took me in your arms, your
28:13
Speaker 1: heart spoke to mine in the language that a woman's
28:15
Speaker 1: heart understands. What a silly man you are. David, then
28:20
Speaker 1: you haven't hated me at all, Diane, I asked, I
28:25
Speaker 1: have loved you always, she whispered, from the moment that
28:28
Speaker 1: I saw you, although I did not know it until
28:31
Speaker 1: that time. You struck down Hoja, the sly one, and
28:34
Speaker 1: then spurned me. But I didn't spurn you, dear, I cried,
28:38
Speaker 1: I didn't know your ways. I doubt if I do now.
28:41
Speaker 1: It seems incredible that you could have reviled me so
28:43
Speaker 1: and yet have cared for me all the time. You
28:46
Speaker 1: might have known, she said, when I did not run
28:48
Speaker 1: away from you, that it was not hate which chained
28:50
Speaker 1: me to you. While you were battling with Jewbel, I
28:52
Speaker 1: could have run to the edge of the forest, and
28:55
Speaker 1: when I learned the outcome of the combat, it would
28:57
Speaker 1: have been a simple thing to have eluded you and
28:59
Speaker 1: returned to my own people. But Jubal's brothers and cousins.
29:03
Speaker 1: I reminded her, how about them? She smiled and hid
29:07
Speaker 1: her face on my shoulder. I had to tell you something, David,
29:10
Speaker 1: she whispered. I must needs have some excuse for remaining
29:13
Speaker 1: near you, you little sinner, I exclaimed, And you have
29:17
Speaker 1: caused me all this anguish for nothing. I have suffered
29:21
Speaker 1: even more, she answered, simply, for I thought that you
29:24
Speaker 1: did not love me, and I was helpless. I couldn't
29:27
Speaker 1: come to you and demand that my love be returned
29:29
Speaker 1: as you have just come to me just now. When
29:32
Speaker 1: you went away, hope went with you. I was wretched, terrified, miserable,
29:36
Speaker 1: and my heart was breaking. I wept, and I have
29:40
Speaker 1: not done that before since my mother died. And now
29:43
Speaker 1: I saw that there was the moisture of tears about
29:45
Speaker 1: her eyes. It was near to making me cry myself
29:48
Speaker 1: when I thought of all that poor child had been through,
29:51
Speaker 1: motherless and unprotected, hunted across a savage, primeval world by
29:55
Speaker 1: that hideous brute of a man, exposed to the attacks
29:59
Speaker 1: of the countless, fearsome denizens of its mountains, its plains,
30:03
Speaker 1: and its jungles. It was a miracle that she had
30:05
Speaker 1: survived at all. To me, it was a revelation of
30:08
Speaker 1: the things my early forebears must have endured, that the
30:11
Speaker 1: human race of the outer crust must survive. It made
30:14
Speaker 1: me very proud to think that I had won the
30:16
Speaker 1: love of such a woman. Of course, she couldn't read
30:19
Speaker 1: or write. There was nothing culture or refined about her,
30:22
Speaker 1: as you judge culture and refinement. But she was the
30:25
Speaker 1: essence of all that is best in woman. For she
30:26
Speaker 1: was good and brave, and noble and virtuous. And she
30:30
Speaker 1: was all these things in spite of the fact that
30:32
Speaker 1: their observance entailed suffering and danger and possible death. How
30:36
Speaker 1: much easier it would have been to have gone to
30:38
Speaker 1: Jewel in the first place. She would have been his
30:41
Speaker 1: lawful mate. She would have been queen in her own land.
30:44
Speaker 1: And it meant just as much to the cave woman
30:46
Speaker 1: to be a queen in the Stone Age as it
30:47
Speaker 1: does to the woman of to day to be a
30:49
Speaker 1: queen now. It's all comparative glory any way you look
30:52
Speaker 1: at it. And if there were only half naked savages
30:55
Speaker 1: on the outer crust to day, you'd find that it
30:57
Speaker 1: would be considerable glory to be the wife of a
30:59
Speaker 1: Dahoma chief. I couldn't help but compare Diane's action with
31:03
Speaker 1: that of a splendid young woman I had known in
31:05
Speaker 1: New York. I mean, splendid to look at and talk to.
31:08
Speaker 1: She had been head over heels in love with a
31:10
Speaker 1: chum of mine, a clean, manly chap. But she had
31:13
Speaker 1: married a broken down, disreputable old debauch because he was
31:16
Speaker 1: a count in some dinky little European principality that was
31:20
Speaker 1: not even accorded a distinctive color by Rand McNally. Yes,
31:23
Speaker 1: I was mighty proud of Diane. After a time, we
31:26
Speaker 1: decided to set out for Sari, as I was anxious
31:28
Speaker 1: to see Perry and to know that all was right
31:30
Speaker 1: with him. I had told Diane about our plan of
31:34
Speaker 1: emancipating the human race of Pellucidar, and she was fairly
31:37
Speaker 1: wild over it. She said that if Dak or her brother,
31:39
Speaker 1: would only return, he could easily be king of Amos,
31:43
Speaker 1: and that then he and Ghak could form an alliance
31:45
Speaker 1: that would give us a flying start. For the Sarians
31:48
Speaker 1: and the Amozites were both very powerful tribes once they
31:52
Speaker 1: had been armed with swords and bows and arrows and
31:54
Speaker 1: trained in their use we were confident that they could
31:57
Speaker 1: overcome any tribe that seemed disinclined to join the great
32:00
Speaker 1: Army of Federated States with which we were planning to
32:03
Speaker 1: march upon the Mahars. I explained the various destructive engines
32:07
Speaker 1: of war which Perry and I could construct after a
32:10
Speaker 1: little experimentation, gunpowder, rifles, cannon, and the like, and Diane
32:15
Speaker 1: would clap her hands and throw her arms about my
32:17
Speaker 1: neck and tell me what a wonderful thing I was.
32:20
Speaker 1: She was beginning to think that I was omnipotent, although
32:23
Speaker 1: I really hadn't done anything but talk. But that is
32:26
Speaker 1: the way with women when they love. Perry used to
32:29
Speaker 1: say that if a fellow was one tenth as remarkable
32:31
Speaker 1: as his wife or mother thought him, he would have
32:33
Speaker 1: the world by the tail with the downhill drag. The
32:36
Speaker 1: first time we started for Sari, I stepped into a
32:39
Speaker 1: nest of poisonous vipers. Before we reached the valley, A
32:42
Speaker 1: little fellow stung me on the ankle, and Dian made
32:44
Speaker 1: me come back to the cave. She said that I
32:47
Speaker 1: mustn't exercise, or it might prove fatal. If it had
32:50
Speaker 1: been a full grown snake that struck me, she said,
32:53
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have moved a single pace from the nest.
32:55
Speaker 1: I'd have died in my tracks. So virulent as the
32:58
Speaker 1: poison as it was, I must have been laid up
33:00
Speaker 1: for quite a while, though Diane's poultices of herbs and
33:03
Speaker 1: leaves finally reduced the swelling and drew out the poison.
33:07
Speaker 1: The episode proved most fortunate, however, as it gave me
33:10
Speaker 1: an idea which added a thousandfold to the value of
33:14
Speaker 1: my arrows as missiles of offense and defense. As soon
33:17
Speaker 1: as I was able to be about again, I sought
33:19
Speaker 1: out some adult vipers of the species which had stung me,
33:22
Speaker 1: and having killed them, I extracted their virus, smearing it
33:25
Speaker 1: upon the tips of several arrows. Later, I shot a
33:28
Speaker 1: Hyaenodon with one of these, and though my arrow inflicted
33:31
Speaker 1: but a superficial flesh wound, the beast crumpled in death
33:34
Speaker 1: almost immediately after he was hit. We now set out
33:38
Speaker 1: once more for the land of the Sarians, and it
33:40
Speaker 1: was with feelings of sincere regret that we bade good
33:43
Speaker 1: bye to our beautiful garden of Eden. In the comparative
33:46
Speaker 1: peace and harmony of which we had lived. The happiest
33:49
Speaker 1: moments of our lives. How long we had been there,
33:52
Speaker 1: I did not know, for, as I have told you,
33:55
Speaker 1: time had ceased to exist for me beneath that eternal
33:57
Speaker 1: noonday sun. It may have been an hour or a
33:59
Speaker 1: month of earthly time. I do not know. End of
34:03
Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen