Caves That Time Forgot (4 page)

“Let's get the stuff together,” Dave said. “I want to get out of this place.”

The Sleepers spoke little as they continued along the river. Dave stopped once to check the map, then shook his head. “There are no landmarks, and I can't tell how many miles we still have to go. All I know is, the village is on up at the very head of this river.”

Suddenly Abigail let out a scream. “Look! Look over there! In those trees!”

They all whirled. There, at some distance, something was moving.

The Sleepers were looking at a stand of very tall trees, but what was moving was no tree. Then a long
neck stretched upward, and a head began to pull at the branches.

Dave stared at the creature's massive body, its elephantlike legs, and the long, serpentine neck. “What
is
it?”

“I know,” Jake whispered. “That's a brachiosaurus. It's like one of the biggest dinosaurs that ever roamed the earth. That thing must weigh eighty tons.”

The others seemed struck dumb by the sight. There was a whole herd of the monstrous beasts.

Jake said, “I read one time where dinosaurs like this stayed together in herds to protect themselves from the meat-eating dinosaurs like the T-rex.”

“Are they dangerous?” Dave asked.

“Not like a T-rex. Of course, if one stepped on you, there'd be nothing left. But look how slow they move!”

They watched the huge beasts until Dave said nervously, “Let's get out of here before we see something worse.”

The Seven Sleepers followed the river path for another two hours. Josh thought everyone seemed nervous now and tended to see something behind every tree.

At noon Dave called a halt again, and they threw themselves down under the shade of some huge ferns. “It can't be too much farther,” he said. “And I sure don't want to stay out here another night.”

“Me either,” Reb said. “That dragon back in Camelot—I'd rather face that thing than one of them T-rexes. That's a bad critter, that is.”

They rested for a time, but when Dave said wearily, “Time to go,” they got to their feet and started down the trail once more. They were tired and hungry, and the mosquitoes had made a feast on them. But there was nothing to do but plod ahead.

Dave had just turned around to say, “Keep close now!” when Josh cried,
“Look out, Dave!”

Dave whirled around, and everyone gasped.

Straight ahead down the path stood three men dressed in skins, their hair down to their shoulders—and each clutching a wicked-looking club with a stone for a head.

Dave held up a hand saying, “Greetings. We come from Goél. Peace be with you.”

The three brutal-looking men did not speak or move.

Then a movement caught Josh's eye, and he saw several of the same kind of men appear from each side. He spun around. Two more had come up behind them, also carrying weapons and staring at the group with hard eyes.

“We're surrounded,” Josh whispered. “What do they look like to you, Sarah?”

“They—they look like cavemen. Sort of like the pictures I've seen in books.”

Reb looked around at the figures and said, “What they sure don't look like is friendly. I hope we haven't jumped out of the frying pan into the fire!”

4

A Welcome Visitor

O
ne of the fierce men stepped closer. He was the tallest, was strong-looking, and was rather ferocious in appearance. He wore a single garment made of some sort of brown fur with a hole for his head, leaving his arms free. He had black eyes, as they all appeared to have, and clutched his war club. Holding it high, he said, “You come to Mordor.”

Dave was relieved. He had worried about whether the inhabitants of this strange land would speak a language he could understand. The man's speech seemed to be a simplified form of common Nuworld dialect, understood almost anywhere.

Dave lifted his hand again in a peaceful gesture. Speaking slowly he said, “We come from Goél to help your people.”

The man struck his chest with his free fist. “Lom!” he said, apparently giving his name. “Warrior.” Then his eyes glittered with a strange sort of look. “You come Mordor to kill us!”

Dave was alarmed and shook his head. “No!” he cried. “We come to do you good.” He spread his hands wide in a pleading gesture. “We are from Goél.”

Lom stared at him. “I know no Goél,” he said. He came forward with raised ax until he stood no more than two feet from Dave. Slowly he reached out and plucked at Dave's shirt curiously. Then he looked up. “You come spy! You not good people.”

Another warrior joined him, a squat, muscular man. He suddenly grabbed Sarah's hair.

She let out a scream.

Reb jumped to help her. He was knocked flat on his back by a blow from the squatty man, who laughed roughly and said, “You fight me? I kill.”

He lifted his ax, and a cry of alarm went up from the Sleepers.

“Wait!” Dave yelled, standing over Reb and holding up both hands. “He meant no harm. Don't hurt him!”

Lom stared at him hard. Suspicion was still in his dark eyes, but he finally seemed to make a decision. “You come,” he grunted. When they hesitated, he brandished his weapon. “Come!” he repeated loudly, and the rest of the dangerous-looking band moved in closer.

“Come on,” Dave said quickly. “We'll go with them.”

The Sleepers found themselves herded like sheep. From time to time Lom would call out something to the other members of his party. But when the Sleepers tried to speak, one of the band would shout and wave his ax.

Their captors were obviously in better condition than the Sleepers, for the young people were soon gasping for breath. Lom led them into jungle and across streams, and once Josh muttered, “They must have feet like iron! They're stepping on sharp rocks that hurt me even through my boots.”

Josh and Sarah were in the middle of the line, and at the moment none of their captors seemed to be watching.

“What kind of people
are
they?” murmured Sarah.

Josh glanced around at the men and shook his head. “I don't know. I thought at first they looked like what cavemen were supposed to look like. But they're not. I mean, all the pictures of cavemen make them have stupid-looking faces, foreheads sloping back, and big jaws. These
fellows look about like us except they've got more hair and are a lot stronger.”

But he had no time to say more, for Lom turned and saw them talking. He came back and seized Josh by the arm with a grip that made the young man wince. It was like being grabbed by steel pincers.

“No talk,” Lom threatened. He slapped the flat of his ax against Josh's head. It was a light tap, but it made Josh see stars. “No talk!” Lom repeated and then returned to the head of the line.

Josh ignored the pain in his head and nodded to show Sarah that he was all right.

After what seemed like forever, Lom called a halt. The Sleepers at once sat down, gasping for breath.

Lom said to some of his men, “Go see.” These fanned out, leaving only Lom and four men to watch the Sleepers.

Dave tried to talk to one of the young guards. “What are you going to do with us?” When he got no answer, he said, “Take us to the head man of your village. What's his name?”

Lom was watching them with a curious expression. “No. You come for spy on The People,” he said. When Dave shook his head, Lom spoke louder. “We give you to Greska.”

“Greska?” Dave asked, a puzzled look on his face. “Who is Greska? Is he one of your people?”

“No! Not people.”

“Does he belong to one of the tribes close by?”

“No!”

Dave was bewildered. “Well, who
is
Greska?”

Lom swept his hand around toward the sky. “Greska, big. Strong, very strong.”

“I think he means he's a god,” Jake spoke up.

A frightening thought occurred to Dave. “What do you mean, Lom—you're going to give us to Greska?”

The young man had a firm mouth. He was nice looking in a way, but there was an ugly light in his eyes. He grunted. “We give you to Greska.” He raised his club in a threatening gesture, struck the ground with it, then pointed at Dave's head. “Tomorrow morning we give you to Greska.”

That night the Seven Sleepers were herded into a small holding area. They huddled together and made no attempt to put up the tent for the girls. Two hunters kept a close watch on them. Lom himself watched for a time, then left. The young people curled up, ready to try to sleep.

The guards too appeared sleepy, and Dave finally risked saying, “It doesn't look good. I never thought we'd wind up as human sacrifices.”

“Maybe you misunderstood him,” Josh said. “He doesn't talk very plainly.”

“I could tell what he meant.” He swallowed hard. “I'd give a lot to see Goél come walking out of those woods.”

Sarah had been sitting with knees up, her face resting on her arms. Now she looked up, and the stars that sparkled overhead and the full moon lighted her face, making it silver. “We've been in tight places before,” she said quietly. “Goél won't let us down. He never does.”

“Dog my cats!” whispered Reb. “If you ain't a fine one, Sarah. Always got an encouraging word. We shore need one, I'd say.” He looked at the guards. “These fellows are stronger than snuff. I wish we had some hosses and could gallop right back where we come from—or at least get on to the village.”

They lay whispering for a time. Then, hungry and tired and scared, they finally dozed off.

Josh awoke to the sound of stirring. Then he saw
Abigail looking around with a frightened expression.

She turned to Dave. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.

“I don't guess we're going to do anything,” Dave muttered.

He stood up, for Lom appeared from behind a stand of trees and was approaching. He held his ax in his hand, and he suddenly swept his free hand toward the sun, just rising and casting an orange glow over the earth.

“Greska hungry,” he said.

“Greska must be the sun,” Josh whispered to Sarah. “They are sun worshipers of some kind.”

Dave swallowed and said to Lom, “Please let us talk to your chief.”

But the young man looked fearfully toward the rising sun. Josh suddenly understood that somehow Lom had gotten into his head that it would please his god, Greska, if they were sacrificed.

And although Dave talked long and hard, Lom made no further answer.

At last the warrior waved his men into a tighter circle. “We give spies to Greska,” he said and raised his ax.

Josh looked around and saw the eyes of the men glinting.
They look like wolves around a helpless victim,
he thought. Then he took Sarah's hand. “No matter what happens,” he whispered, “I want you to know you're the finest girl I've ever known.”

Sarah gave his hand a squeeze but seemingly was unable to speak.

Now the rays of the sun threw a reddish glow on the Sleepers, and Dave said suddenly, “Sorry I led you into this. I should have done better.”

“Oh, shoot,” Reb said. His face was pale, making his freckles stand out, but he managed a grin. “Couldn't nobody done better, Dave. Don't you worry about it.” He
turned to Wash then and said, “Good buddy, we've had some times, haven't we? If this is it, I want you to know I ain't never had a better partner.”

The black boy swallowed hard and looked into the eyes of the friends surrounding him, but could not say a word.

Lom slowly raised his ax higher, and Wash whispered, “Guess this is it.”

But at that moment, when all the warriors were closing in with upraised axes, another voice suddenly broke the silence.

“Lom!”

The leader turned, and every Sleeper turned, to see who had spoken.

It was a young girl. She had dark hair, and her skin was tanned a beautiful golden color. She wore a white fur garment that left her arms free and fell shortly above her knees. She carried no weapons, but there was some sort of pouch across her shoulder and a red stone dangled about her neck from a leather thong.

“Eena,” Lom said. He nodded toward the Sleepers. “We catch spies. Give to Greska.”

A ray of hope came to Josh, for the girl's face was not hard. She had a curious look in her dark eyes though, and she stood beside Lom, staring at them.

“We are friends,” Dave said quickly. “We come to do good to your people, Eena.”

The girl seemed surprised at the use of her name. She turned to Lom. “Where you find these people?”

“Down by river. We give to Greska.”

Time seemed to stop for Josh. The Sleepers had been in many dangerous situations but never one like this. It seemed as though they were on a thin wire, and a breath could blow them off. For if this girl agreed with the
young man, they were all doomed. Josh held his breath and squeezed Sarah's hand.

“No,” the girl said. “We take to cave.”

Anger crossed the warrior's face, and he shook his head. “No! Give to Greska!” he insisted.

The others muttered agreement, but the girl did not appear to be troubled.

“Please, we mean no harm,” Sarah said, stepping toward Eena. “Just let us talk to your chief.”

The girl seemed interested in Sarah, and she came closer. As if she were touching a tree or a stone, she ran her hand down Sarah's smooth cheek. She pulled off Sarah's hat and looked at her hair, braided the way Sarah often wore it. She took one of the braids, gave it a pull, and then laughed. “Your hair funny.” Then she felt the dark-blue cotton shirt Sarah was wearing, and Sarah stood very still.

Josh was watching the faces of the men and saw that they were angry but were keeping their eyes fixed on the girl.
She must be somebody important.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Eena said, “We go to Clag.”

“Who is Clag?” Dave asked quickly.

“Clag, chief.” Eena looked at him and nodded. “He my father.” She ignored the mumbles and grumbles of the men, saying, “Go, Lom.”

The young hunter whirled and strode down the path.

The Sleepers let out a collective sigh.

Reb said, “Boy, you couldn't get no closer to trouble than that, could you, Wash?”

The small boy's eyes were big as saucers. “I don't know who that Eena is, but she kinda reminds me of John Wayne coming with the cavalry to save the wagon train.”

“Yep! I reckon that's what she is.” Reb appraised the girl. “Didn't expect to see a fine-looking lady like that, did you, Abbie?”

Abbie was looking at Eena too, envy in her eyes. “If she would go get her hair done and take more care with her nails, she might be presentable,” she said stiffly.

“Why, she looks good to me like she is,” Reb protested, “but I wouldn't care if she was ugly as a pan of worms. She got us out of this mess.”

“It's not over yet,” Josh warned. “Her father—this Clag—might want to give us to Greska too.” He looked at the girl. “I hope she's got some influence with her dad. We're sure resting in her hands.”

The party traveled quickly down the trail. At one point Jake shouted, “Look up there! That's one of those pterodactyls. Never thought I'd see one of them.”

Dave saw overhead a huge, batlike creature with widespread, leathery wings, a long tail, and a long beak full of sharp teeth.

“Well, he ain't no robin, is he?” Reb said. “He looks like he could eat a coon with them sharp teeth of his.”

The Sleepers watched the strange creature sail by.

Eena was walking beside Dave. “You come from other place?”

“Yes, far away. Across the sea.”

“Across big water? We never go there. Bad place.”

Dave smiled, thinking of the stories of the sailors. “People there think
this
is a bad place.”

“No,” Eena said with surprise.

She looked up at him, and he noticed how large and clear her eyes were and how smooth her skin.

“This
good
place,” she said.

“But Lom was going to kill us all.
That's
not good.”

“Good to kill bad people,” Eena said simply.

She said it casually, and Dave was shocked at a young girl's speaking of killing so lightly.

Then she looked at him again, studying his face. “I no think you bad.”

Dave grinned, feeling encouraged. “I hope your father doesn't think so.”

By the time they reached the village, he had gotten better acquainted with the girl. She asked him many questions in her broken speech about where they came from. Finally they came around a turn in the river, and he saw a line of high bluffs.

“There home,” Eena said, pointing.

He saw some dark openings high in the cliff. They could be reached only by climbing what looked to be a narrow, precarious path, and he knew at once that the people had sought shelter from the fierce beasts that must roam the plains.

“Come,” Eena said.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the foot of the cliff, where they were met by a crowd of staring men, women, and children. They babbled with excitement, and a thickset man with gray streaking his black hair came up to look at them.