XIII
TO LIVE OR DIE
As I turned at Nalte's warning cry, I thought that I saw something dodge behind low bushes on the opposite bank.
"What was it, Nalte?" I demanded.
"Oh, it couldn't be what I thought I saw," she whispered excitedly. "I must be mistaken."
"What did you think you saw?"
"There's another—there—look!" she cried.
And then I saw it. It stepped from behind the bole of a large tree and stood eyeing us, its fangs bared in a snarl. It was a man that went on four feet like a beast. Its hind legs were short, and it walked on its hind toes, the heels corresponding to the hocks of animals. Its hands were more human, and it walked flat on the palms of them in front. Its nose was flat, its mouth broad, and its heavy, undershot jaws were armed with powerful teeth. Its eyes were small and close set and extremely savage. Its skin was white and almost hairless except upon its head and jowls. Another one appeared suddenly beside it.
"You don't know what they are?" I asked Nalte.
"We have heard of them in Andoo, but no one ever believed that they existed. They are called zangans. If the stories I have heard are true they are terribly ferocious. They hunt in packs and devour men as well as beasts."