A soundless burst of snarling lupine mirth broke upon Nelson's mind. Tark's green eyes flared with pure pleasure. "You overreached yourself when you had them put the thought-crowns on, Shan Kar!" he taunted. "You forgot that then I could hear their meaning too — and overhear that you'd promised them the gray metal!"
Shan Kar's hand gripped the hilt of his sword as he rose and glared in rage at the wolf.
Nelson, all thought of the scene's strangeness swept away by sudden suspicion, spoke directly to Tark.
"You mean — there is no gray metal here?"
Tark's eyes flickered. "There is gray metal here. But it is all in one place where you can't reach it — the Cavern of Creation."
"What's that?" demanded Nick Sloan, eyes narrowed.
"It is a forbidden place of our Brotherhood," Tark answered. "It is the place whence intelligent life first issued onto the face of Earth, long ago. And it lies at the northern end of the valley L'Lan."
Eric Nelson instantly caught at the salient point in the answer. "At the northern end of the valley? Then it's beyond Vruun?"
The wolfs thought answered like a snap of jaws. "It is. Which means you can't reach it!"
Chapter VI
DARING PLAN
Nick Sloan, his eyes flaring with suspicion, swung around on Shan Kar. "Is that true?"
Shan Kar shrugged. "It's true that the platinum is all at the north end of L'Lan."
"You said you had platinum here, and would give us all we wanted for our help!" accused Sloan harshly.
"I said there was plenty of it in L'Lan and there is," retorted the Humanite. "But you can't get near it until the Brotherhood is conquered. When we win you'll get your pay."
"A nice neat little double-cross," raged Sloan.
"Only in case you planned to deceive us" answered Shan Kar pointedly.
Eric Nelson realized the other's cleverness. Shan Kar, obviously mistrusting their motives, had a foolproof defense. They had to win his fight before they could even reach the platinum reward.
Nelson spoke curtly. "Take it easy, Sloan. If the stuff is here we can get it after the job is done."
The oddly husky thought of the wolf Tark interrupted, startling them. The wolf had crouched, listening intently.
"You're still being deceived, outlanders! Not only the clans of the Brotherhood bar the way to the Cavern of Creation. Inside it is the terrible barrier of the cold fire, which you can never pass!"
"Cold fire? What does he mean by that?" Nelson demanded.
"Do not listen to Tark!" Shan Kar flashed. He swung toward the warrior-guards. "Take the Hairy One back to his prison!"
Deftly one of the warriors looped another chain around Tark's throat. Then, with swords drawn, they led him out of the hall. The wolf went quietly but with a backward glance of blazing green eyes.
"It's time for a showdown," Eric Nelson said sharply to Shan Kar. "We've got to have the facts if we're to fight for you."
"You shall have them," Shan Kar answered coolly. "But you have been so incredulous that I had to prove to you first that the higher animals of this valley are intelligent races. You'll grant that now?"
Nelson reluctantly nodded. "There doesn't seem much doubt of that any more."
"But how can they be intelligent?" Nick Sloan demanded. "It just doesn't make sense."
Shan Kar motioned them to the massive chairs around the table. Hoik and the other two Humanite leaders also sat but Shan Kar himself remained standing as he talked.
"Legend is all we have of the remote past here in L'Lan. Legend says that the ancients, our forefathers, were far greater than we, that we lost all their knowledge except for a few relics like the thought-crowns.
"Now we Humanites believe that our forefathers, the ancients, had such knowledge and power that they were able somehow to develop the animals of this valley into intelligent thinking beasts!"
"It does seem the only possible explanation, fantastic as it is," Nelson muttered.
"However it was done," Shan Kar went on, "the fact remains that in this valley the four higher beast-races, the wolf and tiger and horse and eagle, are in some ways the mental equals of man. And those four clans claim their intelligence entitles them to absolute equality with the human race.
"In fact, they even claim that their races and the human race were created equal in intelligence, that in the dawn of time they issued equally from the Cavern of Creation!"
Nick Sloan said sharply, "This Cavern of Creation is where the platinum is?"
Shan Kar nodded somberly. "It's in the extreme north end of the valley. We know it contains metal relics left by the ancients. But it's difficult to enter because of certain strange dangers. Only the hereditary Guardian of the Brotherhood knows how to enter it safely.
"All the past Guardians, like Kree, the present one, have woven myth around that cavern. They've claimed that in it, long ago, both the human and the higher beast-races were created equal. And they've claimed to be warders of terrible powers left there by the ancients.
The Humanite went on broodingly, his face dark with rankling memory.
"They've kept that myth of the primal Brotherhood of man and beast alive here for ages. But in time we learned that it is not so in the outer world, that there man rightfully rules the animals.
"So we tried to claim for us humans the rightful dominant position here too. We didn't want to tyrannize the intelligent beasts. But we did believe that the governing authority should be in human hands.
"A third of the people joined us. But the other two-thirds, besotted by old myths, adhered to the Brotherhood. Finally we Humanites seceded from the Brotherhood and seized this city, Anshan. Here man and beast are not equal as they are in Vruun!"
Eric Nelson felt the shock of astonishment from the picture of L'Lan that had just been unfolded to them. A hidden valley guarding the relics of a once-mighty civilization, a valley in which beast-races claimed equality with man and in which a human minority was trying to right that!
"It seems incredible," he said, frowning, "that men and women would concede animals, even intelligent animals, equality!"
"Of course it seems so to you of the normal outer world!" Shan Kar exclaimed. "But the people here who follow Kree and the Brotherhood persist in blind belief in the lying legends."
All the passion of the man flamed into his eyes and voice as he continued with fanatic intensity.
"The equality of the Brotherhood is a mere sham that won't endure. As the beast-races learn more they'll aspire to rule man here! And some victorious beast-clan will, unless we prevent it.
"That's why we Humanites seceded from the Brotherhood and have brought the threat of civil war to L'Lan! That's why, since we're so badly outnumbered, I went into the outer world for weapons and fighters who could restore the balance of power for us!"
Nelson felt a strong sympathy with Shan Kar's burning passion. There was something repellent in the possibility he depicted. Beast-races demanding equality with men, aspiring to dominance over men! All his instincts rebelled against the idea.
"It gives me the creeps!" muttered Lefty Wister. "You ought to kill all the brutes."
Shan Kar looked a little shocked at that. "We don't want to destroy the beast-clans. It's simply that they must learn the Brotherhood is a myth, that men are best fitted to govern."
Nick Sloan's hard practical mind swung them back to immediate problems. "We still don't know the strategic setup in this valley," he rapped. "How much of the valley do you Humanites hold?"
Hoik rumbled answer. "Only the southern quarter of the valley, including this city Anshan and a few smaller places."