Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-24
CHAPTER III
Travelling With Terror.

WE MADE camp there beside the peaco-
w full river There Perry told me all that
had befallen him since l had departed Tor,
the outer crust w
1t seemed that Hooja had made IT appeat'
that I had intentionally left Dian. behind
and that / did not purpose ever returnin9|
to Rellucidar. He told them that I waes
Of another world and that I had tired o<.
this and Of its inhabitants.
To Dian he had explained, that had q.
mate in the world to which 1 was return.
Ing; that had never intended taking Dian
the Beautiful back with me; and that she
had seen the last of me. IA
Shortly afterward Dian had disappeare1'
from the camp, nor had Perry seen Or
heard aught of her since.
He had no conception Of the time that
had elapsed since had departed. but
guessed that many years had dragged theif'
slow way into the past
Hooja, too, had disappeared very soon
after Dian had left. The Sarians. under,
Ghak the Hairy One. and the Amoziteay}
under Dacor the Strong One, Dian.9'
brother. had fallen out over my suppose1'
detection, for Ghak would not believe th4ts
I had thus treacherously deceived and de-
serted him.
The result had been that these two pow-
erful tribes had fallen upon one another
with the new weapons that Perry and L had
taught them to make and to use. Otharf
tribes Of the new federation took sides viii
the original dsputants or set up petty royot
lutions of their own. 8sH
The result was the total demolition OF ~;
work we had so well started. N
Taking advantage of the tribal war, th0]
Mahars had gathered their Sagoths In foro03
and fallen upon one tribe after another 49,
rapid succession. wreaking awful havo4
among them and reducing them for the
most part to as pitiable a state of terror -
| ;oL had sd tt,nxa
Alone of all the once-mighty federatto4
the Sarans and the Amozites. with q kew
other tribes, continued to maintain thar
defiance of the Mahars; but these tribe4
were still divided among themselves, nor
had II seemed at all probable to Perry when
he had last been among them that any AZ
tempt at reamalgamation would be made. G
"And thus, your majesty" he conclude4t
| has faded back into the oblivion OF the
| Stone Age our wondrous dream and wtt4
| IL has gone the First Empire of Pellucid4r.T
We both had to smile at the use OF M
| royal title, yet was, indeed, still l<
peror of Pellucidar." and some day mean
| to rebuild what the vile act OF the treacneF-
Gus Hooja had torn down. X
| hut first l would find my empress ~
| me she was worth forty empires,
'.Have you no clue as to the whereabouf1
1 of Dian?" asked. ..ttIi
| "None whatever" replied Perry. II ~
l In Searcn OF tnat 4 SoAiio ~ >s'~
| ass In which you discovered me, ana u
which, David, you saved me. >1;
II knew perfectly well that you had p
Intentionally deserted either Dian or Pe(
cidar. / guessed that In some way 10
the Sly one was at the bottom OF the ~
ter. and / determined to go to Amos. NJ
/ guessed that Dian might come TO tne
lection of her brother, and do my utnQ~9
convince her, and through her Dacor
Strong One, that we had All been viqs
Of a treacherous plot to which you wan
party. 80 ~
inst. hut SO great were his grief and y
over the disappearance OF hts sister ~
could not listen to reason, byt kept
inr time and time agaipTf only yeY
turn to Pellucidar could rive the 80
OF your Intentions.
.srhen came stranger from q:
tribs, sent am sure. st The iuae1 ~
Hooia. He % turned ths Amo9le14
me that was forced 70 nee trcH
to escape assassinatiqn X