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Like that dog's hide, too, it was sparsely overgrohitish bristles Here or there, on the bodies of sos, bulbous warts had formed, somewhat like those on a toad's back; and on these warts the bristles clustered thickly Stern saw the hair, on the neck of one of these creatures, crawl and rise like a jackal's, as a neighbor jostled hirunt of purely animal resentain, utterly baffled for any explanation "What can they be?"

Another, in the group close by, attracted his attention It was lying on its side, asleep ineer Stern clearly saw the narrow shoulders and the thin, long ar, spatulate, clawlike hand lay on the forest s, disproportionately short, were curled up; the feet, prehensile and with a well-marked thumb on each, twitched a little now and then The head, enor for the body, to which it was joined by a thin neck, see down, of a dirty yellowish drab color

"What a target!" thought the engineer "At this distance, with !"

All at once, another of the group sat up, shoved away a burned-out torch, and yaith a noisy, doglike whine Stern got a quick yet definite gli's fleshless lips and retreating chin were caked with dried blood The tongue he saas long and lithe and apparently rasped

Then the creature stood up, balancing on its absurd bandy legs, a spear in its hand--a flint-pointed spear of crude workht of the face, Stern shrank for a ht he "I understand them I know animals They're animals, that's all But this creature--merciful Heaven!"

And at the realization that it was neither beast nor ineer's blood chilled within his veins

Yet he forced himself still to look and to observe, unseen There was practically no forehead at all The nose was but a fore and pendulous and hairy Under heavy brow-ridges, the dull, lackluster eyes blinked stupidly, bloodshot and cruel As the mouth closed, Stern noted how the under incisors closed up over the upper lip, showing a glealike corner of the mouth

Stern shivered, and drew back

He realized now that he was in the presence of an unknown semi-human type, different in all probability from any that had ever yet existed It was less their bestiality that disgusted hieneration from the man-standard