I had to put my rope about him after we reached the top,
lift him over the sharpened stakes and lower him upon the outside.
To find Ajor in the unknown country to the north seemed rather
hopeless; yet I could do no less than try, praying in the meanwhile
that she would come through unscathed and in safety to her father.
As Nobs and I swung along in the growing light of the coming day,
I was impressed by the lessening numbers of savage beasts the
farther north I traveled. With the decrease among the carnivora,
the herbivora increased in quantity, though anywhere in Caspak they
are sufficiently plentiful to furnish ample food for the meateaters
of each locality. The wild cattle, antelope, deer, and horses
I passed showed changes in evolution from their cousins farther
south. The kine were smaller and less shaggy, the horses larger.
North of the Kro-lu village I saw a small band of the latter
of about the size of those of our old Western plains--such as the
Indians bred in former days and to a lesser extent even now. They
were fat and sleek, and I looked upon them with covetous eyes and
with thoughts that any old cow-puncher may well imagine I might
entertain after having hoofed it for weeks; but they were wary,
scarce permitting me to approach within bow-and-arrow range, much
less within roping-distance; yet I still had hopes which I never
discarded.
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