Argosy, Vol. 117, No. 2 — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

202 ‘plied. ‘“ Indeed, Swift Runner, you, too, are a skilled craftsman in your work. No woman of the Ta-an, and but few of the men, can dress a skin as well. I could do no better myself!” ‘Thanks, my lord and master!” said Va- m’rai, laughing, and she caught the skin from him, stood up; and flung it around her, drawing it close, her shining eyes looking roguishly at him above the tawny, spotted hide. En-ro swept her into his arms and kissed her again and again, while she, clos- ing her eyes, lay at rest in his arms. At length she pushed him away, saying: ‘“Back to your work, Carver of Tusks, and I to mine! Time enough for kisses when we reach the Land of the Dying Sun and all danger is past!”’ Reluctantly En-ro turned again to his shaping of flints. When he rose he had dropped his ham- mer-stone in the grass and could not lay hands on it at once, so he picked up an- other that would serve. He struck a few blows with it, and from it there flew a shower of sparks. Amazed, he struck again, and again the sparks flew. He called - Va-m’rai, who came, and she, too, was as- tonished, then suddenly pointed to a pile of dry leaves near at_hand. ‘Look, En-ro!” she cried. ‘‘ What is that?’ He looked, and a red glow was eat- ing into the leaves, a little curl of something like mist, but darker, rising from it. More and more amazed, utterly dumbfounded, the two stared, and En-ro muttered: “What can it be? Never have I seen such athing!” “Ts jit some new, some strange, wild beast, born of the stone?” ““T do not know, Va-m’rai. Look, it is devouring the leaves! It must be some strange beast!”’ And ind®ed the leaves were changing; from being yellow and brown they were ~now gray and black, shrunken and shriv- eled, a faint yellow glow still lurking among them. En-ro laid his fingers cau- tiously on the blackened leaves and jerked his hand back with a cry. ‘The beast has bitten me!” he howled. And he looked at his fingers, where blisters were rising. Va-m’rai, shivering with ter- ror, caught his hand and looked also. THE ARGOSY. ‘Strange!’ she whispered. “It is not like the bite of any beast! Then suddenly: “The skins! The meat! The beast will devour them!” For all the while the red glow was spreading toward the tree where these things were hung, and yellow tongues of light were licking higher and higher, and the strange, dark-gray mist was leaping and billowing upward among the trees. Shaking with fright, the two ran wide around the new beast and caught the skins and the meat from the tree, carrying them back to the cave, where they thrust them in and crouched in terror before the opening, clasped in each other’s arms, En-ro clutch- ing tight his ax, determined to sell his life dearly should the beast turn on them. But the strange new beast went his way down the mountain, growing stronger and bigger all the while, leaping ever higher and higher among the trees, destroying and de- vouring everything in his path, sending his many red and yellow tongues far above the tree-tops and lighting the dusking forest with a weird light. A harsh, acrid smell came to the nostrils of the two, and they flinched and braced themselves as from time to time curling wisps of the dark mist drifted toward them, swirling around them and wrapping them in its folds. So they crouched all night long, listening to the roar of the strange beast and to the crash of trees crying out in agony as the beast devoured them, watching the glow in the sky and the repeated glow on the ground where the beast lagged to finish de- stroying tree or bush, wondering if the beast would return for them, and waiting anxiously for the dawn. Once En-ro spoke: ‘““When the beast does not bite he is warm and comfortable, warmer than skins, warmer even than yourself, Va-m’rai.”’ But Va-m’rai did not answer; she only shud- dered and drew closer to her lover, and stared out into the forest. When morning came the beast had dis- appeared save only where he lurked near the ground, finishing his meal, and En-ro and Va-m’rai,. with the growing light, stepped out to see what they could learn. A hundred yards or so down the slope lay a Gomichbooks (C (EO)