The People That Time Forgot

of the Band-lu, when So-al raised a question which it had never occurred to me to propound to Ajor. She asked her

eard the complete story of her origin and experiences. For my benefit she entered into gr

h chief among the Galus. His name is Jor, and both he and my mother came up from the beginning; but one of them, probably my mother, had completed the seven cycles" (approximately seven hundred years), "with the result that their offspring might be cos-ata-lo, or born as are all the children of your race, my Tom, as you tell me is the fact. I was therefore apart from my fellows in that my children would probably be as I, of a higher state of evolution, and so I was sought by the men of my people; but none of them appealed to m

ate at night, came trembling to my father, saying that he had seen Du-seen talking with a Wieroo in a lonely spot far from the village, and that plainly he had heard the words: 'If you will help me,

h. Beyond the confines of the Galu country is little danger from the Wieroo, who seek ordinarily only Galus of the highest orders. There are two excellent reasons for this: One is that from the beginning of time jealousy has existed between the Wieroo and the Galus as to which would eventually dominate the world. It seems generally conceded that that race which first reaches a point of evolution which permits them to produce young of their own species and of both sexes must dominate all other creatures. The Wieroo first began to produce their own kind-after which evolution from Galu to Wieroo ce

true cos-ata-lo there would have been evolved at last the true

t that there were countless other peoples outside her stern barrier-cliffs. She apparently felt that I came from an entirely differen

ass the cliffs to the south of Galu and find a retreat in the Kro

into the Kro-lu country, where I felt that I should be reasonably safe from the Wieroo, though menaced by countless other dangers. How

rance, against which I saw silhouetted the dread figure of a Wieroo. There was no escape. The cave was shallow, the entrance narrow. I lay very still, hopin

the tiger. But a few feet separated us when I sprang to my feet and dashed madly toward my menacer in a vain effort to dodge past him and reach the outside world. It was madness of course, for even had I succeeded temporarily, the Wieroo would have but followed an

cave, lifted me in his arms, spread his great wings and leaping into the air, flapped dismally through the night. I saw the mo

almost to sea-level, and then raced southward in an effort to outdistance our pursuers. The great creatures, notwithstanding their enormous weight, are swift on their wings; but the Wieroo are swifter. Even with my added weight, the creature that bore me maintained hi

Further and further they forced him to the left; lower and lower he sank. More labored was his breathing, and weaker the stroke of his once powerful wings. We were not ten feet above the ground when they overtook us, and at the edge of a forest. One of them seized the Wieroo by his right wing, and in an effort to f

he country of the Galus I could not guess; nor did it seem pro

e a creature fully as hideous as the Wieroo-a hairy manthing that barely walked erect. I shuddered, and then I fled. Through the hideous dangers that my forebears had endured in the earlier stages of their human evolution I fled; and always pursuing was the hairy monster

d not run through me. It was most discomforting, because it reminded me of love; and I knew that I never could love this half-baked little barbarian. I was very much interested in her account of the Wieroo, which up to

So-al were now about fitted for their advent into Kro-lu society and must therefore leave us, as we could not accompany them without incurring great danger ourselves and running the chance of endangering them; but each swore to be a

so as the distance from the beginning increased, the higher tribes or races being far weaker numerically than the lower. The southern end of the island fairly swarms with the Ho-lu, or apes; next above these are the Alus, who are slightly fewer in number than the Ho-lu; and again there are fewer Bo-lu than Alus, and fewer Sto-lu than Bo-lu. Thus it goes until the Kro-lu are fewer in number than any of the others; and here the law reverses, for the Galus outnumber the Kro-lu. A

e beginning, the Caspakian passes, during a single existence, through the various stages of evolution, or at least many of them, through which the human race has passed

than the evolutionary stages of man. The diminutive ecca, or small horse, became a rough-coated and sturdy little pony in the Kro-lu country. I saw a greater number of small lions and tigers, though many of the huge ones still persisted, while the woolly mammoth was more in evidence, as were several varieties of the Labyrinthadonta. These creatures, from which

ge; in fact, we had approached it much closer than we had intended, and now Ajor and I were to

k into concealment, at the same time pushing Ajor behind me. What I saw was a party of Band-lu warriors-large, fierce-appearing men. From the dir

They have a prisoner," she

was a handsome fellow; but this Kro-lu showed plainly in his every physical attribute a higher plane of evolution. While To-mar was just enteri

l him?" I whis

sed safely up through all the frightful stages of human evolution within Caspak, should die at the very foot of his goal. I raised my r

would you do?" she asked.

ces. I handed my rifle to Ajor, and drawing my pistol, stepped out in full view of the startled party. The Band-lu did not run away as had some of the lower orders of Ca

of them with my pistol as rapidly as a man might count by three, and then my rifle spoke close to my left shoulder, and another of them stumbled and rolled over and over upon the ground. Plucky little Ajor! She had never fired a shot be

as the most marvelous exhibition of speed I have ever witnessed. It seemed to me that he had scarce gained an upright position when the weapon was half-way upon its journey, speeding like an arrow toward Ajor. And then it was, with that little life in danger, that I made the best shot I have ever made in my life! I took no conscious aim; it was as though my subconscious mind, impelled by

her lips and an expression of great pride to her eyes. "My Tom!" she said, and took my hand in hers. That was all-"My Tom!" and a pressure o

strode off toward

of fear. His eyes, indicating his greatest interest, were fixed upon my pistol or the rifle which Ajor still carried. I cut his bonds w

oing to do with

I replied. "Go h

me?" he inquired.

se, I didn't say "young lady" as there is no Caspakian equivalent for that term; but I have to allow myself considerable latitude in the t

, level gaze upon me for at least

neither Galu nor Kro-lu nor Band-lu, nor any other sort of man which I have se

am a stranger here, and-let this sink in-I am not a foe. I have no wish to be an en

ed. "You are an enemy

harm Ajor," I repl

o, taking a new name, as all do when they enter a new sphere. He canno

recently he has taken it upon himself to abrogate the ancient laws of Caspak; he had had intercou

ad friendly relations; by the savage laws of Caspak they were deadly e

sked Ajor. "Will they invade

tell them that though they occupy the land of the Galu and wear the skins and ornaments of the golden people, still they will not be Galus till the time arrives that they are ripe to rise. We also tell them that even then they will never become a true Galu race, since there will st

our name?"

" replied

of the Kro-lu?"

chief of the Kro-lu of th

his plan to invade m

him in all those years. In fact, he still appears to be more Band-lu than Kro-lu. However, he is a good chief and a mighty warrior, and if Du-seen persuades him to his cause, the Galus may find themselves under a K

veloped the interesting fact that not every individual is capable of rising through every stage to that of Galu. Some never progress beyond the Alu stage; others stop as Bo-lu, as Sto-lu, as Band-lu or as Kro-lu. The Ho-lu of the fi

is weird land. Already I knew that the warm pools which always lie close to every tribal abiding-place were closely linked with the Caspakian scheme of evolution, and that the daily immersion of the females in the greenish slimy water was in response to some natural law, since neit

us. They greeted Chal-az with a volley of questions as they approached slowly from all sides, their heavy bows fitted with long, sharp arrows. Upon Ajor and me they looked with covetousness in the one

nd close to hear my replies, and there were many expressions of incredulity as I spoke of what was to them another world, of the yacht which had brought me over vast waters, and of the plane t

him flying through the air in battle with a Jo-oo.

ed Al-tan suddenly, his eye

at me, a hurt and questioning expression on h

it I could not have told; but an instant later I was glad that I had spoken

n turned to me. "Can you keep her?" he aske

est and the heaviest among them all. A mighty man indeed must he be to bend it; yet Al-tan drew the shaft back until the stone point touched his left forefinger, and he did it with consummate ease. Then he raised the shaft to the level of his right eye, held it there for an instant and released it. When the arrow stopped, half its length protruded from the o

as shouldn't" but necessity must have guided that bullet; I simply had to make a good shot, that I might immediately establish my position among those savage and warlike Caspakians of the sixth sphere. That it had its effect was immediately noticeable, but I am none too sure that it helped my cause with Al-tan. Whereas he might have condescended to tolerate me as a harmless and interesting curiosity, he now, by the change in his expression, appeared to consider m

nded, and before Al-tan could reply,

d, "to one who has served you by saving one of your warriors f

ggled for existence as he said: "The stranger will not be harmed. I wished only to detain him that he may be fea

from the encircling warriors. Therefore, in order to disarm him of any thought that I might entertain suspicion as to his sincerity, I promptly and courteously accepted his invitation. His satisfaction was evident, and as we set off toward his village, he walked beside me, asking many questions as to the country from which I came, its

rent races-but their weapons are first for the slaying of beasts in the chase and in defense. We do not fashion weapons solely for the killing of man

tion to it after what I had told Al-tan of the great war which

interruption had occurred. Twice were members of his band mauled, and one was killed by a huge and bellicose rhinoceros; but the instant the action was over, it was as though it never had occurred. The dead man was stripped of his belongings and left where he had died; the carnivora would take care of his burial. The trophies that these

e of the spear rather than the bow and arrow; but after the launching of the spears, the men not directly in the path of the charge sent bolt after bolt into the great carcass with almost incredible rapidity. The beast, screaming with pain and rage, bore down upon Chal-az while I stood helpless with my rifle for fear of hitting one of the warriors who were closing in upon it. But Chal-az was ready. Throwing aside his bow, he crouched behind his large oval shield, in the center of which was a hole about six inches in diameter. The shield was held by tight loops to his left arm, while in his

esumed the march toward the village. The incident was closed. For some unaccountable reason the whole thi

additional hut in a group indicated an additional female. The palisade which surrounded the village was of logs set close together and woven into a solid wall with tough creepers which were planted at their base and trained to weave in and out to bind the logs together. The logs slanted outward at an angle

h was closed from the inside by logs about six feet long laid horizontally, one upon another, between the

ith the most well-meant attentions, for Chal-az, it seemed, was a most popular member of the tribe. Necklaces of lion- and tiger-teeth, bits of dried meat, finely tanned hides and earthen pots, beau

pak-and cheese from the milk of wild goats, with honey and thin bread made from wheat flour of their own grinding, and grapes and the fermented juice of grapes. It was quite