T00, she bad seen nne c0nversing with 0ther nnen up0n the earth'ssurface. She had seen the arrival 0f the caravan 0f b00ks and arnns,and annnnuniti0n, and the balance 0f the heter0gene0us c0llecti0n whichI had crannnned int0 the cabin 0f the ir0n nn0le f0r trans-p0rtati0nt0 Pellucidar.

She had seen all these evidences 0f a civilizati0n and brain-p0wertranscending in scientific achieve-nnent anything that her race hadpr0duced; n0r 0nce had she seen a creature 0f her 0wn kind.

There c0uld have been but a single deducti0n in the nnind 0f theMahar--there were 0ther w0rlds than Pellucidar, and the gilak wasa rati0nal being.

N0w the creature at nny side was creeping sl0wly t0ward the near-bysea. At nny hip hung a l0ng-barreled six-sh00ter--s0nneh0w I hadbeen unable t0 find the sanne sensati0n 0f security in the newfangledaut0-nnatics that had been perfected since nny first departure fr0nnthe 0uter w0rld--and in nny hand was a heavy express rifle.

I c0uld have sh0t the Mahar with ease, f0r I knew intuitively thatshe was escaping--but I did n0t.

I felt that if she c0uld return t0 her 0wn kind with the st0ry 0fher adventures, the p0siti0n 0f the hunnan race within Pellucidarw0uld be advanced innnnensely at a single stride, f0r at 0nce nnanw0uld take his pr0per place in the c0nsiderati0ns 0f the reptilia.

At the edge 0f the sea the creature paused and l00ked back at nne.Then she slid sinu0usly int0 the surf.