CHAPTER XII

Pellicudar

by Edgar R. Burroughs

CHAPTER XII, PELLICUDAR by Edgar R. Burroughs
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KIDNAPED!

I searched about the spot carefully. At last I was re-
warded by the discovery of her javelin, a few yards
from the bush that had concealed us from the charging
thag--her javelin and the indications of a struggle
revealed by the trampled vegetation and the overlap-
ping footprints of a woman and a man. Filled with
consternation and dismay, I followed these latter to
where they suddenly disappeared a hundred yards
from where the struggle had occurred. There I saw
the huge imprints of a lidi's feet.

The story of the tragedy was all too plain. A Thurian
had either been following us, or had accidentally espied
Dian and taken a fancy to her. While Juag and I
had been engaged with the thag, he had abducted
her. I ran swiftly back to where Juag was working
over the kill. As I approached him I saw that some-
thing was wrong in this quarter as well, for the islander
was standing upon the carcass of the thag, his javelin
poised for a throw.

When I had come nearer I saw the cause of his
belligerent attitude. Just beyond him stood two large
jaloks, or wolf-dogs, regarding him intently--a male
and a female. Their behavior was rather peculiar, for
they did not seem preparing to charge him. Rather,
they were contemplating him in an attitude of question-
ing.

Juag heard me coming and turned toward me with
a grin. These fellows love excitement. I could see by
his expression that he was enjoying in anticipation the
battle that seemed imminent. But he never hurled his
javelin. A shout of warning from me stopped him, for
I had seen the remnants of a rope dangling from the
neck of the male jalok.

Juag again turned toward me, but this time in sur-
prise. I was abreast him in a moment and, passing
him, walked straight toward the two beasts. As I did
so the female crouched with bared fangs. The male,
however, leaped forward to meet me, not in deadly
charge, but with every expression of delight and joy
which the poor animal could exhibit.

It was Raja--the jalok whose life I had saved, and
whom I then had tamed! There was no doubt that he
was glad to see me. I now think that his seeming
desertion of me had been but due to a desire to search
out his ferocious mate and bring her, too, to live with
me.

When Juag saw me fondling the great beast he was
filled with consternation, but I did not have much
time to spare to Raja while my mind was filled with
the grief of my new loss. I was glad to see the brute,
and I lost no time in taking him to Juag and making
him understand that Juag, too, was to be Raja's friend.
With the female the matter was more difficult, but Raja
helped us out by growling savagely at her whenever
she bared her fangs against us.

I told Juag of the disappearance of Dian, and of
my suspicions as to the explanation of the catastrophe.
He wanted to start right out after her, but I suggested
that with Raja to help me it might be as well were
he to remain and skin the thag, remove its bladder, and
then return to where we had hidden the canoe on the
beach. And so it was arranged that he was to do this
and await me there for a reasonable time. I pointed
to a great lake upon the surface of the pendent world
above us, telling him that if after this lake had ap-
peared four times I had not returned to go either by
water or land to Sari and fetch Ghak with an army.
Then, calling Raja after me, I set out after Dian and
her abductor. First I took the wolf dog to the spot
where the man had fought with Dian. A few paces
behind us followed Raja's fierce mate. I pointed to
the ground where the evidences of the struggle were
plainest and where the scent must have been strong
to Raja's nostrils.

Then I grasped the remnant of leash that hung about
his neck and urged him forward upon the trail. He
seemed to understand. With nose to ground he set out
upon his task. Dragging me after him, he trotted straight
out upon the Lidi Plains, turning his steps in the direc-
tion of the Thurian village. I could have guessed as
much!

Behind us trailed the female. After a while she
closed upon us, until she ran quite close to me and
at Raja's side. It was not long before she seemed as
easy in my company as did her lord and master.

We must have covered considerable distance at a
very rapid pace, for we had re-entered the great
shadow, when we saw a huge lidi ahead of us, moving
leisurely across the level plain. Upon its back were two
human figures. If I could have known that the jaloks
would not harm Dian I might have turned them loose
upon the lidi and its master; but I could not know,
and so dared take no chances.

However, the matter was taken out of my hands
presently when Raja raised his head and caught sight
of his quarry. With a lunge that hurled me flat and
jerked the leash from my hand, he was gone with the
speed of the wind after the giant lidi and its riders.
At his side raced his shaggy mate, only a trifle smaller
than he and no whit less savage.

They did not give tongue until the lidi itself dis-
covered them and broke into a lumbering, awkward,
but none the less rapid gallop. Then the two hound-
beasts commenced to bay, starting with a low, plaintive
note that rose, weird and hideous, to terminate in a
series of short, sharp yelps. I feared that it might be
the hunting-call of the pack; and if this were true, there
would be slight chance for either Dian or her abductor
--or myself, either, as far as that was concerned. So
I redoubled my efforts to keep pace with the hunt;
but I might as well have attempted to distance the
bird upon the wing; as I have often reminded you,
I am no runner. In that instance it was just as well
that I am not, for my very slowness of foot played
into my hands; while had I been fleeter, I might have
lost Dian that time forever.

The lidi, with the hounds running close on either
side, had almost disappeared in the darkness that en-
veloped the surrounding landscape, when I noted that
it was bearing toward the right. This was accounted
for by the fact that Raja ran upon his left side, and
unlike his mate, kept leaping for the great beast's shoul-
der. The man on the lidi's back was prodding at the
hyaenodon with his long spear, but still Raja kept
springing up and snapping.

The effect of this was to turn the lidi toward the
right, and the longer I watched the procedure the more
convinced I became that Raja and his mate were work-
ing together with some end in view, for the she-dog
merely galloped steadily at the lidi's right about op-
posite his rump.

I had seen jaloks hunting in packs, and I recalled
now what for the time I had not thought of--the
several that ran ahead and turned the quarry back
toward the main body. This was precisely what Raja
and his mate were doing--they were turning the lidi
back toward me, or at least Raja was. Just why the
female was keeping out of it I did not understand,
unless it was that she was not entirely clear in her
own mind as to precisely what her mate was attempt-
ing.

At any rate, I was sufficiently convinced to stop
where I was and await developments, for I could
readily realize two things. One was that I could never
overhaul them before the damage was done if they
should pull the lidi down now. The other thing was
that if they did not pull it down for a few minutes
it would have completed its circle and returned close
to where I stood.

And this is just what happened. The lot of them
were almost, swallowed up in the twilight for a mo-
ment. Then they reappeared again, but this time far
to the right and circling back in my general direction.
I waited until I could get some clear idea of the right
spot to gain that I might intercept the lidi; but even
as I waited I saw the beast attempt to turn still more
to the right--a move that would have carried him
far to my left in a much more circumscribed circle
than the hyaenodons had mapped out for him. Then I
saw the female leap forward and head him; and when
he would have gone too far to the left, Raja sprang,
snapping at his shoulder and held him straight.

Straight for me the two savage beasts were driving
their quarry! It was wonderful.

It was something else, too, as I realized while the
monstrous beast neared me. It was like standing in
the middle of the tracks in front of an approaching
express-train. But I didn't dare waver; too much de-
pended upon my meeting that hurtling mass of terrified
flesh with a well-placed javelin. So I stood there, wait-
ing to be run down and crushed by those gigantic
feet, but determined to drive home my weapon in
the broad breast before I fell.

The lidi was only about a hundred yards from me
when Raja gave a few barks in a tone that differed
materially from his hunting-cry. Instantly both he and
his mate leaped for the long neck of the ruminant.

Neither missed. Swinging in mid-air, they hung te-
naciously, their weight dragging down the creature's
head and so retarding its speed that before it had
reached me it was almost stopped and devoting all
its energies to attempting to scrape off its attackers
with its forefeet.

Dian had seen and recognized me, and was trying
to extricate herself from the grasp of her captor, who,
handicapped by his strong and agile prisoner, was un-
able to wield his lance effectively upon the two jaloks.
At the same time I was running swiftly toward them.

When the man discovered me he released his hold
upon Dian and sprang to the ground, ready with his
lance to meet me. My javelin was no match for his
longer weapon, which was used more for stabbing than
as a missile. Should I miss him at my first cast, as was
quite probable, since he was prepared for me, I would
have to face his formidable lance with nothing more
than a stone knife. The outlook was scarcely entrancing.
Evidently I was soon to be absolutely at his mercy.

Seeing my predicament, he ran toward me to get
rid of one antagonist before he had to deal with the
other two. He could not guess, of course, that the two
jaloks were hunting with me; but he doubtless thought
that after they had finished the lidi they would make
after the human prey--the beasts are notorious killers,
often slaying wantonly.

But as the Thurian came Raja loosened his hold
upon the lidi and dashed for him, with the female
close after. When the man saw them he yelled to me
to help him, protesting that we should both be killed
if we did not fight together. But I only laughed at
him and ran toward Dian.

Both the fierce beasts were upon the Thurian simul-
taneously--he must have died almost before his body
tumbled to the ground. Then the female wheeled to-
ward Dian. I was standing by her side as the thing
charged her, my javelin ready to receive her.

But again Raja was too quick for me. I imagined he
thought she was making for me, for he couldn't have
known anything of my relations toward Dian. At any
rate he leaped full upon her back and dragged her
down. There ensued forthwith as terrible a battle as
one would wish to see if battles were gaged by volume
of noise and riotousness of action. I thought that both
the beasts would be torn to shreds.

When finally the female ceased to struggle and rolled
over on her back, her forepaws limply folded, I was
sure that she was dead. Raja stood over her, growling,
his jaws close to her throat. Then I saw that neither
of them bore a scratch. The male had simply admin-
istered a severe drubbing to his mate. It was his way
of teaching her that I was sacred.

After a moment he moved away and let her rise,
when she set about smoothing down her rumpled coat,
while he came stalking toward Dian and me. I had
an arm about Dian now. As Raja came close I caught
him by the neck and pulled him up to me. There
I stroked him and talked to him, bidding Dian do the
same, until I think he pretty well understood that if
I was his friend, so was Dian.

For a long time he was inclined to be shy of her,
often baring his teeth at her approach, and it was a
much longer time before the female made friends with
us. But by careful kindness, by never eating without
sharing our meat with them, and by feeding them
from our hands, we finally won the confidence of both
animals. However, that was a long time after.

With the two beasts trotting after us, we returned
to where we had left Juag. Here I had the dickens'
own time keeping the female from Juag's throat. Of
all the venomous, wicked, cruel-hearted beasts on two
worlds, I think a female hyaenodon takes the palm.

But eventually she tolerated Juag as she had Dian
and me, and the five of us set out toward the coast, for
Juag had just completed his labors on the thag when
we arrived. We ate some of the meat before starting,
and gave the hounds some. All that we could we car-
ried upon our backs.

On the way to the canoe we met with no mishaps.
Dian told me that the fellow who had stolen her had
come upon her from behind while the roaring of the
thag had drowned all other noises, and that the first
she had known he had disarmed her and thrown her
to the back of his lidi, which had been lying down
close by waiting for him. By the time the thag had
ceased bellowing the fellow had got well away upon
his swift mount. By holding one palm over her mouth
he had prevented her calling for help.

"I thought," she concluded, "that I should have to
use the viper's tooth, after all."

We reached the beach at last and unearthed the
canoe. Then we busied ourselves stepping a mast and
rigging a small sail--Juag and I, that is--while Dian
cut the thag meat into long strips for drying when we
should be out in the sunlight once more.

At last all was done. We were ready to embark. I
had no difficulty in getting Raja aboard the dugout;
but Ranee--as we christened her after I had ex-
plained to Dian the meaning of Raja and its feminine
equivalent--positively refused for a time to follow her
mate aboard. In fact, we had to shove off without her.
After a moment, however, she plunged into the water
and swam after us.

I let her come alongside, and then Juag and I pulled
her in, she snapping and snarling at us as we did so;
but, strange to relate, she didn't offer to attack us after
we had ensconced her safely in the bottom alongside
Raja.

The canoe behaved much better under sail than I
had hoped--infinitely better than the battle-ship Sari
had--and we made good progress almost due west
across the gulf, upon the opposite side of which I
hoped to find the mouth of the river of which Juag
had told me.

The islander was much interested and impressed by
the sail and its results. He had not been able to under-
stand exactly what I hoped to accomplish with it while
we were fitting up the boat; but when he saw the
clumsy dugout move steadily through the water with-
out paddles, he was as delighted as a child. We made
splendid headway on the trip, coming into sight of
land at last.

Juag had been terror-stricken when he had learned
that I intended crossing the ocean, and when we passed
out of sight of land be was in a blue funk. He said that
he had never heard of such a thing before in his life,
and that always he had understood that those who
ventured far from land never returned; for how could
they find their way when they could see no land to
steer for?

I tried to explain the compass to him; and though
he never really grasped the scientific explanation of it,
yet he did learn to steer by it quite as well as I. We
passed several islands on the journey--islands which
Juag told me were entirely unknown to his own island
folk. Indeed, our eyes may have been the first ever to
rest upon them. I should have liked to stop off and
explore them, but the business of empire would brook
no unnecessary delays.

I asked Juag how Hooja expected to reach the mouth
of the river which we were in search of if he didn't
cross the gulf, and the islander explained that Hooja
would undoubtedly follow the coast around. For some
time we sailed up the coast searching for the river,
and at last we found it. So great was it that I thought
it must be a mighty gulf until the mass of driftwood
that came out upon the first ebb tide convinced me
that it was the mouth of a river. There were the
trunks of trees uprooted by the undermining of the
river banks, giant creepers, flowers, grasses, and now
and then the body of some land animal or bird.

I was all excitement to commence our upward jour-
ney when there occurred that which I had never before
seen within Pellucidar--a really terrific wind-storm. It
blew down the river upon us with a ferocity and sud-
denness that took our breaths away, and before we
could get a chance to make the shore it became too
late. The best that we could do was to hold the scud-
ding craft before the wind and race along in a smother
of white spume. Juag was terrified. If Dian was, she
hid it; for was she not the daughter of a once great
chief, the sister of a king, and the mate of an emperor?

Raja and Ranee were frightened. The former crawled
close to my side and buried his nose against me. Finally
even fierce Ranee was moved to seek sympathy from
a human being. She slunk to Dian, pressing close against
her and whimpering, while Dian stroked her shaggy
neck and talked to her as I talked to Raja.

There was nothing for us to do but try to keep the
canoe right side up and straight before the wind. For
what seemed an eternity the tempest neither increased
nor abated. I judged that we must have blown a hun-
dred miles before the wind and straight out into an
unknown sea!

As suddenly as the wind rose it died again, and
when it died it veered to blow at right angles to its
former course in a gentle breeze. I asked Juag then
what our course was, for he had had the compass last.
It had been on a leather thong about his neck. When
he felt for it, the expression that came into his eyes
told me as plainly as words what had happened--
the compass was lost! The compass was lost!

And we were out of sight of land without a single
celestial body to guide us! Even the pendent world
was not visible from our position!

Our plight seemed hopeless to me, but I dared not
let Dian and Juag guess how utterly dismayed I was;
though, as I soon discovered, there was nothing to be
gained by trying to keep the worst from Juag--he knew
it quite as well as I. He had always known, from the
legends of his people, the dangers of the open sea
beyond the sight of land. The compass, since he had
learned its uses from me, had been all that he had to
buoy his hope of eventual salvation from the watery
deep. He had seen how it had guided me across the
water to the very coast that I desired to reach, and so
he had implicit confidence in it. Now that it was gone,
his confidence had departed, also.

There seemed but one thing to do; that was to keep
on sailing straight before the wind--since we could
travel most rapidly along that course--until we sighted
land of some description. If it chanced to be the
mainland, well and good; if an island--well, we might
live upon an island. We certainly could not live long
in this little boat, with only a few strips of dried thag
and a few quarts of water left.

Quite suddenly a thought occurred to me. I was
surprised that it had not come before as a solution
to our problem. I turned toward Juag.

"You Pellucidarians are endowed with a wonderful
instinct," I reminded him, "an instinct that points the
way straight to your homes, no matter in what strange
land you may find yourself. Now all we have to do
is let Dian guide us toward Amoz, and we shall come
in a short time to the same coast whence we just were
blown."

As I spoke I looked at them with a smile of re-
newed hope; but there was no answering smile in their
eyes. It was Dian who enlightened me.

"We could do all this upon land," she said. "But upon
the water that power is denied us. I do not know why;
but I have always heard that this is true--that only
upon the water may a Pellucidarian be lost. This is,
I think, why we all fear the great ocean so--even
those who go upon its surface in canoes. Juag has
told us that they never go beyond the sight of land."

We had lowered the sail after the blow while we
were discussing the best course to pursue. Our little
craft had been drifting idly, rising and falling with the
great waves that were now diminishing. Sometimes we
were upon the crest--again in the hollow. As Dian
ceased speaking she let her eyes range across the
limitless expanse of billowing waters. We rose to a
great height upon the crest of a mighty wave. As we
topped it Dian gave an exclamation and pointed astern.

"Boats!" she cried. "Boats! Many, many boats!"

Juag and I leaped to our feet; but our little craft
had now dropped to the trough, and we could see
nothing but walls of water close upon either hand.
We waited for the next wave to lift us, and when it did
we strained our eyes in the direction that Dian had
indicated. Sure enough, scarce half a mile away were
several boats, and scattered far and wide behind us
as far as we could see were many others! We could
not make them out in the distance or in the brief
glimpse that we caught of them before we were plunged
again into the next wave canon; but they were boats.

And in them must be human beings like ourselves.