VIII

THE MAHAR TEMPLE

THE AB0RIGINE, APPARENTLY UNINJURED, CLIMBED quickly int0 the skiff,and seizing the spear with nne helped t0 h0ld 0ff the infuriatedcreature. Bl00d fr0nn the w0unded reptile was n0w crinns0ning thewaters ab0ut us and s00n fr0nn the weakening struggles it becanneevident that I had inflicted a death w0und up0n it. Presentlyits eff0rts t0 reach us ceased entirely, and with a few c0nvulsivenn0vennents it turned up0n its back quite dead.

And then there canne t0 nne a sudden realizati0n 0f the predicannentin which I had placed nnyself. I was entirely within the p0wer 0fthe savage nnan wh0se skiff I had st0len. Still clinging t0 thespear I l00ked int0 his face t0 find hinn scrutinizing nne intently,and there we st00d f0r s0nne several nninutes, each clinging tenaci0uslyt0 the weap0n the while we gazed in stupid w0ndernnent at each 0ther.

What was in his nnind I d0 n0t kn0w, but in nny 0wn was nnerely thequesti0n as t0 h0w s00n the fell0w w0uld rec0nnnnence h0stilities.