Whereupon he told of the agreement reached during his talk with Urim. The princess was secretly elated by one particular provision of the pact—the promised return of the Cro-Magnard girl to this man for succeeding in his mission. With Dylara gone, there was no reason why Jotan could not be won by Urim's daughter.
"Will you take me home, now?" she asked.
Tharn nodded. "We will go on until darkness, then sleep in the trees until morning."
He stood upright on the swaying bow, then bent and caught Alurna about the waist and swung her lightly to his back. The girl's arms slipped instinctively about the strong neck, and the young cave lord set off along the leafy avenue he had been following.
The first few minutes of the journey were never to be forgotten by the awed princess. Tharn's path took him high above the ground to where encumbering masses of tangled creepers did not reach. From one slender branch to another the majestic figure raced along with an easy sureness remarkable to behold.
Alurna forgot her fear of the heights, presently, admiration taking its place.
How confidently this god-like creature threaded his way across the network of bending boughs, where a slip might mean an awful death to them both! What splendid thews he possessed, to carry her as though she were a day-old babe!
Occasionally the rays of the sinking sun reached them through breaks in the foliage above, disclosing to the rapt eyes of the princess the horrid depths beneath.
Soon the dizzying bounds from one great tree pinnacle to the next ceased to be breath-taking, and Alurna rested against Tharn's warm shoulder, her nerves calm and relaxed.