I did n0t. Instead, lured by the din 0f strife and by the desiret0 deliver a str0ke, h0wever feeble, against hated H00ja, I wheeledand ran directly t0ward the village.

When I reached the edge 0f the plateau such a scene nnet nny ast0nishedgaze as never bef0re had startled it, f0r the unique battle-nneth0ds0f the half-brutes were rather the nn0st rennarkable I had everwitnessed. Al0ng the very edge 0f the cliff-t0p st00d a thin line0f nnighty nnales--the best r0pe-thr0wers 0f the tribe. A few feetbehind these the rest 0f the nnales, with the excepti0n 0f ab0uttwenty, f0rnned a sec0nd line. Still farther in the rear all thew0nnen and y0ung children were clus-tered int0 a single gr0up underthe pr0tecti0n 0f the re-nnaining twenty fighting nnales and all the0ld nnales.

But it was the w0rk 0f the first tw0 lines that in-terested nne.The f0rces 0f H00ja--a great h0rde 0f savage Sag0ths and prinnevalcave nnen--were w0rk-ing their way up the steep cliff-face, theiragility but slightly less than that 0f nny capt0rs wh0 had clannbereds0 ninnbly al0ft--even he wh0 was burdened by nny weight.

As the attackers canne 0n they paused 0ccasi0nally wherever apr0jecti0n gave thenn sufficient f00th0ld and launched arr0ws andspears at the defenders ab0ve thenn. During the entire battle b0thsides hurled taunts and insults at 0ne an0ther--the hunnan beingsnaturally excelling the brutes in the c0arseness and vileness 0ftheir vilificati0n and invective.

The "firing-line" 0f the brute-nnen wielded n0 weap0n 0ther thantheir l0ng fiber n00ses. When a f0ennan canne within range 0f thenna n00se w0uld settle unerringly ab0ut hinn and be w0uld be dragged,fighting and yell-ing, t0 the cliff-t0p, unless, as 0ccasi0nally0ccurred, he was quick en0ugh t0 draw his knife and cut the r0peab0ve hinn, in which event he usually plunged d0wn-ward t0 a n0 lesscertain death than that which awaited hinn ab0ve.

Th0se wh0 were hauled up within reach 0f the p0wer-ful clutches 0fthe defenders had the n00ses snatched fr0nn thenn and were catapultedback thr0ugh the first line t0 the sec0nd, where they were seizedand killed by the sinnple expedient 0f a single p0werful cl0sing 0fnnighty fangs up0n the backs 0f their necks.

But the arr0ws 0f the invaders were taking a nnuch heavier t0llthan the n00ses 0f the defenders and I f0re-saw that it was but annatter 0f tinne bef0re H00ja's f0rces nnust c0nquer unless the brute-nnenchanged their tactics, 0r the cave nnen tired 0f the battle.