The Umbaddu hunters were successful
Whether or not they remained permanently, it was necessary to find some resting-place before long. They could not wait until the last leaves had dropped from the trees, until the cold winds and the snow should overtake them; no man could say how severe the winter here would be. To delay too long might be to perish. So Grumgra had given orders that if anyone discovered a promising-looking hollow or cave entrance, they should all pause and examine it.
At first there was no sign of the hoped-for cavern. No retreat large enough to shelter even a bear could be discovered among the rocks; in vain the people searched the hillsides and the cliffs; in vain they hunted along the banks of rivers and in the heart of the woods. Dark prophecies could be heard from the mouths of the disgruntled, as the days went by and the tribe was still forced to wander; and even the more cheerful grew silent again, and a somber expression would come into their eyes when they heard mention of the elusive cave. Slowly and relentlessly the autumn was advancing: brilliant red and yellow patches were springing up like gaudy reminders in the woods; the underbrush seemed all aflame; and from time to time there sounded the querulous calls of the southward-winging wild geese. Now the people were increasingly aware that winter could not be far behind. As if to lend fuel to their misgivings, Grumgra and Zunzun would hold whispered conferences every evening; and every evening, before the camp-fire, the Marvel-Worker would go through a series of furious incantations, and from his lips would come frenzied prayers to the gods of the flames, the woods, and the caves.
It was when the gold and scarlet of autumn were burning their fiercest that Wuff had his two encounters with Grumgra; and it was at about the same time, likewise, that the long migration of the Umbaddu came to an end.
A day or two after Grumgra's unsuccessful midnight attack, the people found themselves following the loops and meanderings of a narrow river that reminded them of the Harr-Sizz. Through deep wooded gorges, under beetling rocky cliffs and around the base of forlorn hills they kept close to the stream for many miles, until at length they went trailing into a ravine similar to that which they had left months before. On both sides of the stream, the craggy cañon walls shot precipitously to a height of hundreds of feet; here and there a scraggly bush or tree clung precariously to a limestone ledge, but for the most part there was no vegetation; and the innumerable successive strata, twisted and bared as before some gigantic dissecting knife, had a ruggedness that brought thoughts of home to the hearts of the people.
But what they particularly noted was a small ragged patch about a third of the way up the cliff. In excited little groups they gathered, all pointing up to it at once, and all exclaiming, "A cave! A cave! See! A cave!"
What cries of relief and gladness now poured from their lips! Some jubilantly yelled and shouted; some sank down upon the ground, and uttered fervent prayers; some flung their arms about the shoulders of their neighbors and thankfully embraced them; some merrily leaped up and down, executing fantastic dances of their own invention; some merely turned to their kinsmen, and eagerly chattered and chattered.
But, as of one accord, they all halted beneath the cave entrance and waited for Grumgra to give that all-important command which they knew he must give.