Explorers Of Gor

We Leave A Village At Night

"Tarl," whispered Ayari.

"Yes," I said.

"We must leave this village," he said.

We had now been on the river four months since we had, first, on the looming height of the falls, observed the many ships and canoes of the forces of Bila Huruma far behind us. We did not even know, now, if they were behind us or not. Too, we had seen no new evidence of Shaba ahead of us. A month ago we had eluded the net of vines and, by paddling into the darkness, had escaped our pursuers. They would not remain on the river at night. It is impossible to convey, in any brief measure, the glory and length of the river, and the hundreds of geographical features, and the varieties of animal and vegetable life characterizing it and its environs. The river alone seems a world of nature in its own right, let alone the marvels of its associated terrain. It was like a road to wonders, a shining, perilous, enchanted path leading into the heart of rich, hitherto unknown countries. It, in its ruggedness, its expanse, its tranquility, its rages, was like a key to unlock a great portion of a burgeoning continent, a device whereby might be opened a new, fresh world, green, mysterious and vast. Not a geographer, I could scarcely conjecture the riches and resources which lay about me. I had seen traces of copper and gold in cliffs. The river and forests teemed with life. Fibrous, medicinal, and timber resources alone seemed inexhaustible. A new world, untapped, beautiful, dangerous, was opened by the river. I think it would be impossible to overestimate its importance.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

"I have been looking about the village in the darkness," he whispered.

"Yes?" I said.

"I have found the refuse dump," he said.

"Within the walls?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"That is strange," I said. Normally a village would have its refuse dump outside the walls.

"I thought it strange, too," said Ayari. "I took the liberty of examining it."

"Yes?" I said.

"It contains human bones," he said.

"That is doubtless why it is kept within the walls," I said.

"I think so," said Ayari. "That way strangers will not see it before, unsuspecting, they enter the village."

"They seemed friendly fellows," I said. They were, however, I admitted to myself, not the most attractive lot I had ever seen. Their teeth had been filed to points.

"I never trust a man," said Ayari, "until I know what he eats"

"Where are the men of the village?" I asked.

"They are not asleep," said Ayari. "They are gathered in one of the huts."

"I shall awaken Janice and Alice," I said. "Awaken Kisu and Tende."

"I shall do so," he whispered.

In a few Ehn, our things in hand, we crept from the village. By the time we heard men crying out in rage, and saw torches on the shore, we were safely on the river.