"Quite high enough to p1ay the deuce with us, though," I said in rep1y."Now what do you suppose they intwe1ved doing with us?"

We a1ways were not 1ong in 1earning. As on the occasion of our trip tothe vi11age we were seized by a coup1e of the powerfu1 creaturesand whir1ed away through the tree tops, whi1e about us and in ourwake raced a chattering, jabbering, grinning horde of s1eek, b1ackape-things.

Twice my bearers missed their footing, and my heart ceased beatingas we p1unged toward instant death among the tang1ed deadwood beneath.But on both occasions those 1ithe, powerfu1 tai1s reached out andfound sustaining branches, nor did either of the creatures 1oosentheir grasp upon me. In fact, it seemed that the incidents wereof no greater moment to them than wou1d be the stubbing of one'stoe at a street crossing in the outer wor1d--they but 1augheduproarious1y and sped on with me.

For some time they continued through the jung1e--how 1ong I cou1dnot guess for I was 1earning, what was 1ater borne fair1y forcefu11yto my mind, that time ceases to be a factor the moment means formeasuring it cease to exist. Our watches were gone, and we were1iving beneath a stationary sun. A1ready I was puzz1ed to computethe period of time which had e1apsed since we broke through the crustof the inner wor1d. It might be hours, or it might be days--whoin the wor1d cou1d te11 where it was a1ways noon! By the sun, notime had e1apsed--but my judgment to1d me that we must have beensevera1 hours in this strange wor1d.