PERCHED high in a great tree that reared its head well above the lesser mass of the jungle, Ki-Gor balanced lightly upon a stout limb. One hand held to the trunk of the tree for support, the other was casually hooked in his broad leather girdle. The tree top swayed in the wind, but Ki-Gor balanced in his perch easily and unconsciously. He was watching the strange bird that was soaring through the sky a little way off. It was very big, and its wings did not seem to move, and it made a strange and deep humming sound.

Ki-Gor stood six feet tall in his bare feet. His only garment was a skin loincloth with the hair outside, while a knife was in a sheath at his belt and a bow and arrows were slung on his back. It was hard to tell the original color of his skin, so deeply had it been tanned by the sun and wind of the passing years, but his eyes were a bright and startling blue. His long hair, light enough originally, had been bleached by the sun till it was almost the color of flax. It was his custom to hack his hair off with his knife whenever it went below the level of his shoulders. If he let it grow too long it might catch in the bushes and get him in trouble.

Some baboons were chattering in a nearby tree, and a flock of birds went winging past. Ki-Gor paid no attention to them, but then his ear caught another sound--a man's voice! Instantly he stiffened, and for a moment his lips drew back from his teeth. Quickly but silently he dropped down through the branches till he reached the lower level of the tree, and could see to the ground through the thick canopy of foliage.

A trail wound through the jungle at that point, and a party of half a dozen black warriors were moving along it in single file. They carried broad bladed spears and hide shields, and their faces were marked with the tribal insignia of the Wunguba tribe.

Ki-Gor's teeth were again bared in a soundless snarl as he saw his ancient enemies, and he half drew an arrow from his quiver. Then he shook his head and let them pass. There were too many of them for him to fight on the ground, and the jungle was fairly open at this point.

When the blacks had disappeared into the underbrush, Ki-Gor again climbed into the upper branches of the tree. The strange bird was very near now, and he saw that it was many times the size of a man. Then its deep humming sound suddenly faltered and died, and the great bird began to swoop down. It dropped below the level of the trees a little way off, and Ki-Gor heard a crashing sound. From where it had fallen he saw a flock of birds wheeling off, frightened by the crash. Then there was silence.

Ki-Gor dropped down to the lowest branches of the tree. He crouched there for a long time, his quick eyes darting from side to side, his nostrils widening as he sniffed the air. When finally convinced that there was no immediate danger in the neighborhood he dropped lightly to the ground and moved off in the direction in which the great bird had fallen. Now and then, whenever the underbrush grew too thick for easy passage, he swung up into the lower branches of the trees again.