"What is a tharban?" I asked.
Sov looked at me in astonishment. "You know as well as I," he growled.
"I have told you that I am from another world," I snapped. "I do not know what the word means."
"It will do no harm to tell him," suggested Vilor; "for if, by chance, he does not know, some of the horror of the room of the seven doors may be lost upon him."
"Not a bad thought," interjected Moosko. "Describe the tharban, Friend Sov."
"It is a terrible beast," explained Sov, "a huge and terrible beast. It is covered with stiff hair, like bristles, and is of a reddish color with white stripes running lengthwise of its body, its belly being of a bluish tinge. It has great jaws and terrible talons, and it eats naught but flesh."
At that instant a terrific roar that seemed to shake the building broke upon our ears.
"That is the tharban," said Hokal with a grin. "He has not eaten for three days, and he is not only very hungry, but he is very angry."
"And what lies beyond the sixth door?" I demanded.