Why, I am sure that
some of the Mahars never sleep, while others may, at long intervals,
crawl into the dark recesses beneath their dwellings and curl up
in protracted slumber. Perry says that if a Mahar stays awake for
three years he will make up all his lost sleep in a long year's
snooze. That may be all true, but I never saw but three of them
asleep, and it was the sight of these three that gave me a suggestion
for our means of escape.
I had been searching about far below the levels that we slaves were
supposed to frequent--possibly fifty feet beneath the main floor
of the building--among a network of corridors and apartments, when
I came suddenly upon three Mahars curled up upon a bed of skins. At
first I thought they were dead, but later their regular breathing
convinced me of my error. Like a flash the thought came to me of
the marvelous opportunity these sleeping reptiles offered as a means
of eluding the watchfulness of our captors and the Sagoth guards.
Hastening back to Perry where he pored over a musty pile of, to
me, meaningless hieroglyphics, I explained my plan to him. To my
surprise he was horrified.
"It would be murder, David," he cried.
"Murder to kill a reptilian monster?" I asked in astonishment.
"Here they are not monsters, David," he replied. "Here they are
the dominant race--we are the 'monsters'--the lower orders. In
Pellucidar evolution has progressed along different lines than
upon the outer earth.
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