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I had determined to make the cave my headquarters,
and with it as a base make a systematic exploration
of the surrounding country in search of the land
of Sari. First I devoured the remainder of the carcass
of the orthopi I had killed before my last sleep.
Then I hid the Great Secret in a deep niche at the back
of my cave, rolled the bowlder before my front door,
and with bow, arrows, sword, and shield scrambled down
into the peaceful valley.
The grazing herds moved to one side as I passed through them,
the little orthopi evincing the greatest wariness and
galloping to safest distances. All the animals stopped
feeding as I approached, and after moving to what they
considered a safe distance stood contemplating me with
serious eyes and up-cocked ears. Once one of the old bull
antelopes of the striped species lowered his head and
bellowed angrily--even taking a few steps in my direction,
so that I thought he meant to charge; but after I had passed,
he resumed feeding as though nothing had disturbed him.
Near the lower end of the valley I passed a number of tapirs,
and across the river saw a great sadok, the enormous
double-horned progenitor of the modern rhinoceros.
At the valley's end the cliffs upon the left ran
out into the sea, so that to pass around them as I
desired to do it was necessary to scale them in search
of a ledge along which I might continue my journey.
Some fifty feet from the base I came upon a projection
which formed a natural path along the face of the cliff,
and this I followed out over the sea toward the cliff's end.
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