Savages of Gor by John Norman Read Free Book Online

usually cut from the edge of the kailliauk's shoulder blade or the end of its hip bone. Both of these bones contain honeycombed structures useful in the smooth application of paint.
    "This man travels for two days," said Kog, pointing to two yellow suns in the sky of the hide. "On the third day he finds the track of a kailiauk. He follows this. He drinks melted snow, held in his mouth until it is warm. He eats dried meat. On the third day be builds no fire. We may gather from this he is now in the country of enemies. Toward the evening of the fourth day be sees more tracks. There are other hunters, mounted on kaiila, who, too, are following the kailiauk. It is difficult to determine their number, for they ride single file, that the prints of one beast may obscure and obliterate those of another. His heart is now heavy. Should he turn back? He does not know what to do. He must dream on the matter."
    "Surely," said Samos, "it could be only a coincidence."
    "I do not think so," said Kog.
    "This hide," said Samos, "could be nothing but the product of the crazed imagination of an ignorant savage. It might, too, be nothing more than the account of a strange dream."
    "The organization and clarity of the account suggests rationality," said Kog.
    "It is only the story of a dream," said Samos.
    "Perhaps," said Kog.
    "Such people do not distinguish clearly between dreams and reality," said Samos.
    "They distinguish clearly between them," said Kog. "It is only that they regard both as real."
    "Please, continue," I said.
    "Here, in the dream," said Kog, indicating a series of pictographs which followed a small spiral line, "we see that the kailiauk invites the man to a feast. This is presumably a favorable sign. At the feast, however, in the lodge of the kailliauk there is a dark guest. His lineaments are obscure, as you can see. The man is afraid. He senses great power in this dark guest. The kailiauk, however, tells the man not to be afraid. The man takes meat from the hands of the dark guest. It will be his ally and protector, the kailiauk tells him. He may take it for his medicine. The man awakens. He is very frightened. He is afraid of this strange medicine. The dream is strong, however, and he knows it cannot be repudiated. Henceforth he knows his medicine helper is the mysterious dark guest."
    "From where," asked Samos, "does this man think he obtained this medicine helper?"
    "Surely the man will think he obtained it from the medicine world," said Kog.
    "It seems an interesting anticipatory dream," I said.
    "Surely the dream is ambiguous," said Samos. "See? The lineaments of the dark guest are unclear."
    "True," I said. "Yet something of its size, and of its awesomeness, and force, particularly within a lodge, as evident."
    "You will also notice," said Kog, "that it sits behind fire. That is the place of honor."
    "It could all be a coincidence," said Samos.
    "That is quite true," I said. "Yet the matter is of interest.
    "The man may once have seen such things, or heard of them, and forgotten them."
    "That seems to me quite likely," I said.
    "But why, in the dream, in this dream," asked Samos, "should the dark guest appear?"
    "Possibly," I said, "because of the man's plight and need. In such a situation a powerful helper might be desired. The dream, accordingly, might have produced one."
    "Of course," said Samos.
    "Considering the events of the next day," said Kog "I think certain alternative explanations might be more likely. This is not, of course, to rule out that the man, in his quandary, and desperate straits, might not have welcomed a powerful ally."
    "What do you suggest?" I asked.
    "That be, earlier, during the day, saw sign of the medicine helper, but only in the dream interpreted it."
    "I see," I said.
    "Even more plausibly, and interestingly," said Kog, "I suspect that the dark guest, in that moonlit snow, actually appeared to the man. The man, hungry, exhausted, striving for the dream, betwixt sleeping and waking, not