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voice, and peering into the alders.
He moved again, and came out of the shadow beyond the reeds into the
moonlight. All his body was covered with dark smears. She saw he was
dragging his legs, and that he gripped his axe, the first axe, in one
hand. In another moment he had struggled into the position of all fours,
and had staggered over to her. "The lion," he said in a strange mingling
of exultation and anguish. "Wau!--I have slain a lion. With my own hand.
Even as I slew the great bear." He moved to emphasise his words, and
suddenly broke off with a faint cry. For a space he did not move.
"Let me free," whispered Eudena....
He answered her no words but pulled himself up from his crawling
attitude by means of the alder stem, and hacked at her thongs with the
sharp edge of his axe. She heard him sob at each blow. He cut away the
thongs about her chest and arms, and then his hand dropped. His chest
struck against her shoulder and he slipped down beside her and lay
still.
But the rest of her release was easy. Very hastily she freed herself.
She made one step from the tree, and her head was spinning. Her last
conscious movement was towards him. She reeled, and dropped. Her hand
fell upon his thigh. It was soft and wet, and gave way under her
pressure; he cried out at her touch, and writhed and lay still again.
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