The country began to change at last, and we wound up out of the
level plain through mighty mountains of virgin granite. The tropical
verdure of the lowlands was replaced by hardier vegetation, but
even here the effects of constant heat and light were apparent in
the immensity of the trees and the profusion of foliage and blooms.
Crystal streams roared through their rocky channels, fed by the
perpetual snows which we could see far above us. Above the snowcapped
heights hung masses of heavy clouds. It was these, Perry explained,
which evidently served the double purpose of replenishing the
melting snows and protecting them from the direct rays of the sun.

By this time we had picked up a smattering of the bastard language
in which our guards addressed us, as well as making good headway
in the rather charming tongue of our co-captives. Directly ahead
of me in the chain gang was a young woman. Three feet of chain
linked us together in a forced companionship which I, at least,
soon rejoiced in. For I found her a willing teacher, and from
her I learned the language of her tribe, and much of the life and
customs of the inner world--at least that part of it with which
she was familiar.

She told me that she was called Dian the Beautiful, and that she
belonged to the tribe of Amoz, which dwells in the cliffs above
the Darel Az, or shallow sea.

"How came you here?" I asked her.

"I was running away from Jubal the Ugly One," she answered, as
though that was explanation quite sufficient.