Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 2 — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

190 star that never sets, could be seen from where she stood. At the girl’s exclamation Ku-sen leaped to his feet and whirled around, then he, too, stood frozen in wonder, for the whole north- em sky glowed with light. watched, the light grew and spread, vast streamers of orange and gold and crimson, purple and green and yellow, flaming up- ward toward the zenith, rising and falling and rising again. Crossing these streamers were waves of geous colors that swept up and down, undalating as the streamers rose and fell, till the arch of the sky from horizon to zenith, from west to east, was one vast quivering glow of light. Awe-struck, the two stood, the ,strange, unearthly light flooding the cave, and cast- ing its weird illumination over their forms. Gasping, shaking, Ku-sen muttered: ‘“An omen!” and he fell on his knees in prayer, his hands uplifted toward the But Tahné recovered herself more quick- Jy. Often and often had she heard the Lord of the Winged Death speak of these strange lights, for he, born in the high mountains far toward the rising sun, had seen them many a time in childhood and youth. Therefore she knew that they por- tended no harm; none might explain them, none knew the reason for them, but T’san- va-men had assured her that no evil fol- lowed in their train, and Tah-né, though awe-struck at the wondrous sight, had no fear. But aside from the Lord of the Winged Death, and his -four companions, now with Nan-a-ta, none living of the Ta-an had*seen the marvel, so it was not strange that Ku-sen knelt in terror. Seeing her guard thus paralyzed’ with fear, Tah-né caught up his weapons—at least ax and bow and arrows—and filed from the cave, making her way swiftly down the slope to where she supposed the canoe was beached. Her guess proved correct; a ten-man canoe with two paddles lay along the shore, and she pushed and heaved, straining to get it afloat, the strange light in the sky serving to show the scene. Hastily, furiously, she labored, not knowing what instant Ku-sen, As the two THE ARGOSY. recovering from his terror, might come plunging down the hillside to her capture. ' The canoe, wedged in the mud of the bank, resisted, and Tah-né sobbed in fear as she tugged to free it. The strange light waxed and waned, now duller, now brighter, as the girl struggled, praying: ‘““Oh, Great Father, O-Ma-Ken, send ald! Let me not be too late!” she begged, and, throwing her whole strength against it, she felt the canoe stir. Again—again—and now it was afloat, the water bearing up the forward end. But at that moment, when safety seemed at hand, when another minute would have seen her borne swiftly down stream, Tah-né heard a noise behind her, and, turning quickly, she saw Ku-sen running down the hill, following along the narrow trail that wound through the brush. In another moment he would be upon her, and with a sob the girl caught up the flint-headed ax from the bottom of the canoe, determined that she would fight to the death rather than return to be the ae of Tsu-ven. Seeing the ax in her hand, Ku-sen checked in mid-stride, looked about, and seized a branch of a tree that lay on the ground. Tah-né realized his purpose; the branch would serve to ward off an ax blow, and his greater strength would suffice for her capture. Desperate, unnerved at ‘the prospect, Tah-né yet stood firm, waiting. But even as Ku-sen stooped something in the brush moved—the bushes parted—a huge, tawny form launched itself through the air, and Ku-sen, caught unawares, was hurled to the ground. Over him, head raised, mane bristling, tail lashing to and fro, stood a magnificent lion, holding the stunned man to the earth with one great paw.. ** Snorr-m’rai-no!”’ gasped Tah-né. “ The fear that walks the night!” And in ter- ror she turned again to the canoe, heav- ing more desperately than before. It slid into the water, and with a spring she was aboard; she seized the paddle, and with a few quick strokes drove. the craft toward the middle of the river. Once she looked back, to see the lion still Standing above his unconscious prey, still COnmmiclboo C SS C©