Argosy, Vol. 117, No. 2 — page 44: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

194 He then set about packing his few be- longings, placing the new darts in his quiver, rolling the rest, except the water-bageand a small piece of meat, in the lion’s skin he had brought with him to the forest; his ax and throwing-stick he, of course, carried in his hand, and his dagger in his girdle. The water-bag and meat he fastened to the outside of the pack, and then, hoisting the load to his shoulder, he set out through the forest. He traveled hard and fast, not going directly back toward the caves of the Ta-21, but choosing his route so as to pass them, keeping farther down the mountain that he might not be discovered by some chance hunter and forced into a fight. Thus he made a wide circuit, climbing the mountain far to the west of the home of his tribe, and passing the homes of the Mountain Cave People a second time, but farther up the slope. It was hard going at the higher levels, for the rocks were bare except for occasional patches of moss, and En-ro was obliged to go carefully, that he might not, by chance, be seen by some one from the tribe. He skulked along, taking advantage of every possible cover, crouching behind rocks, crawling from one to another, driven always by the need for haste. And all the while the cloud-banks to the west were climbing, ever climbing, rolling in vast, dark-gray masses across the sky, and the sun was sliding down to meet them. Often and often En-ro looked over his shoulder, and each time he hurried on faster and faster, for it was the custom of the Ta-an—indeed, it was the law—that the Sacrifice of the Great Hunt should take place during a thunder-storm, the first storm after the victim had spent seven days and seven nights in the Cave of Purification. Once En-ro, peeping over a boulder, saw far below him the eleven lesser priests’ of the Ta-an grouped in a semicircle, the tall form of Men-ko between the horns, all toss- ing their arms wildly, their long hair flying, as, facing the west, they chanted the song of sacrifice. Behind them the tribesmen knelt. The Carver of Tusks hastened on more rapidly than before, and presently came to the hiding-place he had in mind, dropping THE ARGOSY. his load and flinging himself, panting, on the rocks to rest, just as the first peal of thunder sounded from the dark clouds that now spread over more than half the sky. Presently En-ro raised himself and peered out from his place of concealment, whose rocks rose breast-high on-him as he stood erect. A few yards to the east of him, and a little down the slope, stood the Altar of the Hunt, and En-ro measured the distance with his eye carefully and noted also the rocks that lay between; there must be no misstep later. Far down the slope to the south he could see the tribesmen in a compact body, the priests leading, slowly climbing the moun- tain—the first peal of thunder was their signal to start—and in the front rank Va- m’rai. He could just recognize her, and could see that her hands were tied, of course! He knew they would be. He could see her stumble, and knew that she must be weak from starvation, for the vic- tim was given no food, but only water, while in the Cave of Purification. En-ro crouched down again behind the rocks, made sure of his pack, laid ax and throwing-stick and darts, together with a piece of meat, on top of the pack—and waited. It was growing dusk, for the sun had long since been hidden behind the heavy cloud- masses that now covered the entire sky, from horizon to horizon. Lightning blazed from the clouds, lighting up the scene, and as the procession, stil] chanting the Song of Sacrifice, swept up the mountain En-ro, peering through a crevice between the rocks of his hiding-place, could see Va-m’rai,. her long brown hair flowing loose, her arms held by two young priests, looking anxious- ly from side to side for help or for some sign of relenting. The thunder was now rolling continuous- ly, it was growing darker and darker, and the lightning-bolts, flaming one after an- other, threw a weird, unnatural glare over the whole mountain; for an instant things were Clearly seen, then shrouded in dark- ness that was doubly dark after the light. Nearer and nearer climbed the sacrificial procession, till within a hundred yards of the altar the crowd halted—they might not ~ CO 0)(@Y6) AMG SS (E@)