ABSTRACT
Pakahie, the son of NitsUzhii, who traced. his ancestry to Merhu, founder of the Merhiimia clan of Khonoma, stifled a yawn as he emerged from the dampness of the cave on the jungle-clad hill. 1 For two long precarious years he and his clan had inhabited the cheerless caverns on the great Barail range which reached for the western sky above where Khonoma once stood. Now in the prime of his years, athletic, his jaw out-thrust, his eyes prominent, his mahogany face aglow with health, he was by no means downcast. Strong, battleproven, courageous, he was ready to grasp the· future, but equally determined not to sacrifice in the process of domg so any of his rich heritage.
