I lighted a faggot and looked about; but as far as I could see,
the chamber ran back into the cliff.
Laying aside my rifle, pistol and heavy ammunition-belt, I left
Ajor in the cave while I went down to gather firewood. We already
had meat and fruits which we had gathered just before reaching the
cliffs, and my canteen was filled with fresh water. Therefore, all
we required was fuel, and as I always saved Ajor's strength when I
could, I would not permit her to accompany me. The poor girl was
very tired; but she would have gone with me until she dropped,
I know, so loyal was she. She was the best comrade in the world,
and sometimes I regretted and sometimes I was glad that she was
not of my own caste, for had she been, I should unquestionably have
fallen in love with her. As it was, we traveled together like two
boys, with huge respect for each other but no softer sentiment.
There was little timber close to the base of the cliffs, and so
I was forced to enter the wood some two hundred yards distant. I
realize now how foolhardy was my act in such a land as Caspak,
teeming with danger and with death; but there is a certain amount
of fool in every man; and whatever proportion of it I own must
have been in the ascendant that day, for the truth of the matter
is that I went down into those woods absolutely defenseless; and I
paid the price, as people usually do for their indiscretions.
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