THE RED WOLF With the assistance of the shepherd Kathlyn went down the rope agilely and safely.

Once firmly on her feet, she turned to thank the wild-eyed hillman.

But her best Hindustani (and she was able to speak and understand quite a little by now) fell on ears which heard but did not sense what she said.

The man, mild and harmless enough, for all his wild eyes, shrank back, for no woman of his kind had ever looked like this.

Kathlyn, with a deal of foreboding, repeated the phrase, and asked the way back to the hunter's rest house.