front of the hind legs, protrude at an angle of 45 degrees toward

the rear, ending in sharp points several feet above their bodies.

I glanced at Perry as the thing passed me to inspect him. The old

man was gazing at the horrid creature with wide astonished eyes.

When it passed on, he turned to me.

"A rhamphorhynchus of the Middle Olitic, David," he said, "but,

gad, how enormous! The largest remains we ever have discovered have

never indicated a size greater than that attained by an ordinary

crow."

As we continued on through the main avenue of Phutra we saw many

thousand of the creatures coming and going upon their daily duties.

They paid but little attention to us. Phutra is laid out underground

with a regularity that indicates remarkable engineering skill. It

is hewn from solid limestone strata. The streets are broad and

of a uniform height of twenty feet. At intervals tubes pierce the

roof of this underground city, and by means of lenses and reflectors

transmit the sunlight, softened and diffused, to dispel what would

otherwise be Cimmerian darkness. In like manner air is introduced.

Perry and I were taken, with Ghak, to a large public building,

where one of the Sagoths who had formed our guard explained to a

Maharan official the circumstances surrounding our capture. The

method of communication between these two was remarkable in that

no spoken words were exchanged. They employed a species of sign

language. As I was to learn later, the Mahars have no ears, not

any spoken language. Among themselves they communicate by means

of what Perry says must be a sixth sense which is cognizant of a

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