Warrior of the Dawn Part 10

Moving as only the jungle-wise can move, he began to skirt the building, seeking an opening large enough to admit his giant frame. His bare feet were soundless on the gra.s.s; he was but a white shadow of a man.

There was no scarcity of windows, but all were barred by slender columns of stone. To attempt to force them would be a noisy method at best. If he meant to find and rescue Dylara he must resort to stealth and cunning alone. For all his herculean strength he would be helpless against an entire city.

He was nearing one corner of the building when his eyes caught sight of a narrow slit-like break in the stone just above the level of his head.

There was no indication of bars, and as it appeared large enough to admit him, he caught the lip and drew himself up and within.

The awful stench that smote his nostrils nearly drove him back to the ground. He had no way of knowing, of course, that he had stumbled across a refuse chute; it was from this vent that waste was thrown into containers below.

Holding his breath, he clambered a short distance along the sloping stone, thrust away a wooden screen and stood upright.

He was in complete darkness. Moving slowly forward, his outthrust hands struck a wooden panel which proved to be a door. A second later he had solved the latch and stepped through.

Here, light came through several windows. He was in the palace kitchens, although his limited experience did not enable him to identify them as such. Across the room was a closed door; he directed his steps toward it.

Silently the door swung open, and the cave-man paused on the threshold of a large room, occupied by a ma.s.sive table and numerous backless stools.

Tharn took in all that with a single swift glance. Something was moving beyond the hangings screening off the room ahead.

The curtains parted and five guards-men filed into the room. After glancing hastily about, they pa.s.sed silently through to the kitchens.

As the last one disappeared from view, a disembodied shape merged from beneath the long table and vanished into the room beyond.

Aside from its furnis.h.i.+ngs it, too, was empty.

On went Tharn, combing each successive chamber for a sign of human life.

He was determined not to quit this place until completely satisfied Dylara was held elsewhere. The task, not easy at best, would prove even more difficult with the palace guards on the lookout for an intruder.

Stronger by the minute was the realization that this strange race of people, who were capable of erecting their own caves of stone, who could make strange weapons to throw tiny spears with unbelievable accuracy, whose hands could shape such a variety of articles--were sadly lacking in the qualities without which Tharn could never have arrived at young manhood.

That five men could pa.s.s at arm's length from him and yet remain unaware of his nearness, was inconceivable to the man of the caves. Were their noses ornaments, he wondered, that they could not sense a hidden foe?

Were their wits so dull they could pa.s.s up so obvious a hiding place as he had chosen?

No wonder that they had erected a great wall between them and the jungle! His lip curled with contempt as he pictured an army of them scattering before the charge of Sadu.

By this time he had reached the great hall inside the palace main entrance. A giant skylight high up in the ceiling, its cover removed during the dry season, admitted cold moonlight in a brilliant cascade of light that left no shadows or darkened corners.

From the center of the vast hall rose a gigantic staircase of stone to the second floor. Tharn, reasoning that the palace sleeping quarters would be above, stole warily toward the stairway.

And then a horde of armed men broke unexpectedly from a doorway across the hall, and spying Tharn, bore down upon him, uttering a chorus of exultant yells as they came.

One tremendous bound brought Tharn to the steps, up which he fled with all the speed of Jalok, the panther. Three spears hurled with senseless enthusiasm, fell short of their intended mark. But the shouts of alarm and excitement were fast arousing other inhabitants of the building.

From somewhere above, Tharn heard a door slam, followed by the sound of running feet in the upper corridor to his left. Hence the moment he reached the landing he turned right and raced along the still deserted hallway, his naked feet soundless on the bare stone.

Because of the fugitive's silent approach, four guards, who stood facing in the opposite direction, did not hear him as he rounded a turn of the corridor and came toward them. At sight of those backs, Tharn slid to a stop and turned to retrace his steps.

Again he halted. To his quick ears came sounds of footsteps from the hall he had just left. With retreat cut off from both sides, he had but one chance for escape.

Choosing at random one of several doors on either side of the corridor, Tharn pushed it open, and still keeping an eye on the men outside, slipped within a softly lighted room. After gently closing the door, he turned--to stare into the startled eyes of the princess Alurna!

Tharn's first thought was that the girl would cry out in terror at his sudden entrance. Before she could recover her wits he had grasped her about the waist with one arm, at the same time clapping a hand across her lips.

Alurna lay within the circle of that mighty arm, making no effort to free herself. She was desperately afraid, more afraid than she could remember before.

The cave-man found himself on the horns of a dilemma. He had no wish to slay a woman; indeed he knew he could not, no matter what the provocation. On the other hand, were he to free her, she could have the guards here within seconds.

Their eyes met. Tharn was surprised that all trace of fear was masked within the cool gray-green depths, although the rapid pounding of her heart told him she was frightened.

Revealed to him with the quick intuition of a wild creature was something of this girl's true nature. He sensed she could be coldly calculating; that neither qualm nor principle would keep her from furthering her own ends. That, given the chance, she would betray him, he never doubted; but something told him she would never be driven to a rash act through ungovernable hysteria alone.

He removed his hand from her mouth, but held it ready to silence her again.

"What," whispered Alurna, "do you want here?"

Tharn shook his head. Any discussion, now, would be pointless. He must go on. At the far end of the room was a large unbarred opening--a possible avenue of escape.

Hesitating no longer he released the girl, pushed her aside and made for the window.

Alurna, confident now that this nocturnal prowler meant her no harm, remained standing where he had left her. While awaiting his next move, she fell to studying him from across the room.

He was the embodiment of physical perfection; certainly the most beautifully formed male she had ever seen before. The smooth brown body bespoke of suppleness and the nimble agility of a cat, despite banded layers of iron muscles rippling beneath an unclouded skin.

The face, with its frank, grave eyes, impressed her as being both handsome and highly intelligent. There was an air of majestic n.o.bility in his posture and the poise of his well-shaped head that would have aroused envy in the heart of any Sepharian.

A m.u.f.fled knocking at the door startled her; but before she could respond, the Cro-Magnon slipped past her to lower the bar into place.

Again came the soft, insistent knock. Tharn stepped close beside the princess, pointed at the door and then to her lips, at the same time pressing the point of his knife gently against her side. The meaning was clear; she must send away, unwarned, whoever was outside.

"Who is there?" she called.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, princess," came a m.u.f.fled reply, "but the man you warned us of is somewhere near here. Have you seen or heard anything more of him?"

Alurna paused for a second, weighing her chances. But the cave-man's cold gaze conquered the temptation.

"No," she said, "I have seen nothing more of him. Go now, that I may sleep."

Tharn heard the man outside move away. Satisfied that he had gained a brief respite from discovery, he returned to the window.

He pinched out the flaming wick in the dish of fat standing on a wooden bracket nearby, to prevent someone in the grounds below seeing him at the window. In the moonlight he could see several groups of warriors about the grounds--patrols, posted to prevent him from leaving the building. But Tharn had no intention of leaving until Dylara was free to go with him.

From the floor above, and not far to his left, there jutted out a tiny balcony, its slender stone columns topped with a bal.u.s.trade of the same material. As Tharn's eyes lingered there, an idea popped suddenly into his mind.

After placing the bowl of grease on the floor, he tore the bracket from the wall and wrenched one of its supporting wooden rods away. This done, he tied one end of his gra.s.s rope to the exact center of the thick cylinder and returned to the window.