me strike a match and light the kindling beneath our camp-fire.

It was such an expression as might transform a mortal face with

awe as its owner beheld the mysterious workings of divinity. It

was evident that Ajor was quite unfamiliar with modern methods of

fire-making. She had thought my rifle and pistol wonderful; but

these tiny slivers of wood which from a magic rub brought flame to

the camp hearth were indeed miracles to her.

As the meat roasted above the fire, Ajor and I tried once again

to talk; but though copiously filled with incentive, gestures and

sounds, the conversation did not flourish notably. And then Ajor

took up in earnest the task of teaching me her language. She

commenced, as I later learned, with the simplest form of speech

known to Caspak or for that matter to the world--that employed by

the Bo-lu. I found it far from difficult, and even though it was

a great handicap upon my instructor that she could not speak my

language, she did remarkably well and demonstrated that she possessed

ingenuity and intelligence of a high order.

After we had eaten, I added to the pile of firewood so that I could

replenish the fire before the entrance to our barricade, believing

this as good a protection against the carnivora as we could have;

and then Ajor and I sat down before it, and the lesson proceeded,

while from all about us came the weird and awesome noises of the

Caspakian night--the moaning and the coughing and roaring of the

tigers, the panthers and the lions, the barking and the dismal

howling of a wolf, jackal and hyaenadon, the shrill shrieks of

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