Rahan. Episode 127. By Roger Lecureux. The Third Flame! A Puke (TM) Comic.

Translated by PukeOnAPlate
Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

Source of Rahan Comics:
Philippe Ropers.
https://vk.com/topic-203785966_47424128

Rahan.

The son of the ferocious ages!
Episode one Hundred and Twenty Seven.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The Third Flame!

When the son of Crao, alerted by the rattles, intervened, it seemed to be too late.
His ivory knife ricocheted off the giant boa's skin and went to waste in the tall grass.
Cursed be your kind “Boak”!

The seconds he lost in finding his weapon could have been fatal to the man who was suffocating in the coils of the reptile.
Ah, there you are!

Courage, brother! Rahan will not abandon you!
The ivory blade, so strong and sharp, caught a shard of sunlight.

And plunging into the body of the monster, he faced this new adversary.
For a moment, the son of Crao found himself in difficulty.

Page Two.

But he struck and struck again, until the grip was loosened. And his clamor of victory finally thundered!
Ra-ha-ha!

The heavy rings uncoiled, releasing the stranger and his rescuer.
Gounok. Does not know who you are, "Fire-hair."
But he. Will not forget. What. You just did for him!

Still panting, the hunter led Rahan to an isolated hut, lost in the jungle.
So Gounok does not have a clan!?

No! Gounok has no clan! He is now just a lone hunter and it is better that way.
When he does not let himself be stupidly surprised by a "Boak"!

But what are you doing with your knife?
Rahan must continue on his way! He will be in these hills before nightfall!

No! Do not venture into this territory, brother! The evil spirit lurks there!
Rahan does not believe in evil spirits! But what are you doing?

Page Three.

Gounok had rolled a brownish leaf into a kind of stem, which he lit with a firebrand.
The "Smoking Plant" helps Gounok to cope with loneliness!

The son of Crao had never seen a man engage in this strange practice.
He watched the smoke that Gounok exhaled in a sort of ecstasy.
It looks like you have never seen smoking?

Rahan finds this very curious!
You want to try!? You inhale. You blow, You inhale. You will see how nice it is!

Agreeable? As soon as Rahan had brought the "stick that fumes" to his lips, a pungent smell made his stomach churn.
Argh! Take back that filthy thing! Rahan prefers to breathe the pure air of the hills!

A moment later.
Rahan should not go to this territory! The evil spirit.
Rahan told you he does not believe in spirits! Goodbye, Gounok!

Nothing could have diverted the son of Crao from the direction he had indicated with his knife.
It was getting dark when he reached the hills.
Hum. It seems that the approach of night terrorizes this hunter!
Page Four.

Groups were emerging from the thickets, taking refuge in a cavern. The one who seemed to be their leader saw Rahan.
Who are you, stranger with the "Hair of Fire"!?
I am Rahan, the son of Crao! Rahan is the brother of all hunters!

So come with us Rahan! Come quickly, because the evil spirit may strike tonight!
The clan was hospitable. Rahan followed them into the cave.

It was deep and he was surprised to find only a small hearth of embers there.
Why do you not make a big fire?
To avoid attracting the evil spirit, "Fire-Hair"!

Does Rahan want to smoke with us?
Pouh!
These men also indulged in the use of roasted leaves.

One of them lit a thin twig and lit his "Stem that fumes".
He passed the twig to his neighbor.
Who passed it to a third hunter. And.

It was at this precise moment that.
Argh!
The Spirit!
Page Five.

Rahan rushed to the entrance of the cavern, from where the arrow had been shot.
But all was darkness.
Rahan might find some traces in the daylight!

The hunter's wound was not fatal, but his people were in anguish.
"The spirit" wanted to kill, as always, the third of us who lights his "Stem that fumes"!

The spirit has already killed four of ours. And it has wounded nearly as many!
Hum.
The son of Crao was perplexed.

Rahan does not believe in "spirits" and even less in "Spirits" who use a bow!
You have no enemies in this territory?

Our clan has never had any enemies, "Firehair"! Our clan has always lived in peace!
Then Rahan will clear up this mystery! It must be done!

But the son of Crao did not discover the traces he had hoped for the next day.
Why does the so-called spirit always strike the third hunter who lights his "Stem that Fumes"!?

Page Six.

When night fell he found no answers to the questions he was asking himself.
You should place lookouts to surprise "The Spirit"!
Have you gone mad, "Fire-Hair"?! None of us will ever dare to challenge "The Spirit"!

So tonight, Rahan will be the third man! But he will remain on his guard!

The clan had gathered at the very back of the cave, around the barely glowing embers.
A hunter lit his "Stem that fumes."

And passed the lit twig to his nearest companion and.
It is your turn, "Fire-Hair"! But you risk death!
Everyone held their breath as the son of Crao grabbed the twig.

The small flame lit his tense face and his watchful gaze.
Rahan was ready to throw himself to the ground at the faintest whistle of an arrow.
But nothing happened!

"The Spirit" has spared "Fire-Hair"!
A man grabbed the burning twig.

Page Seven.

And did not even have time to carry the little flame to his "Stem that fumes"!
Shtock.

"The spirit" struck Tarak.
But he spared Rahan.
This proves that Rahan is a bewitchment of the evil spirit!
The son of Crao could neither justify himself nor fight against the anguish that paralyzed this clan.

He preferred to slip away.
Rahan hopes he can prove you wrong!

The next day he did not reappear, but the following night found him lying in wait near the cavern.
It was a very long wait.

But suddenly.
Legs. Arms and a bow! Here is a curious "Spirit"!

A man crept stealthily toward the cavern, in whose darkness the clan was hiding.
A small flame suddenly glowed at the bottom. And.
Oh! Rahan thinks he understands!
Page Eight.

The unknown archer had raised his bow and was watching this flame move in the darkness.

When the tiny flame stilled he drew his bow, aiming carefully.
The flame moved and. Stilled again.

The archer was about to shoot the arrow. The son of the fierce ages did not give him time.
Ra-ha-ha!

"The spirit" was indeed flesh and blood, it was even robust and very vigorous.

But the son of Crao was no less!
The hand-to-hand combat was violent
It is time for "The Spirit-of-the-Night" to answer to Rahan!
Rahan has captured "The Spirit"! Come help him! Come out! Come out!

When his appeals were in vain, Rahan had to end it.
Fighting in another manner!
Shtock! Argh!

Page Nine.

A moment later, he was dragging the man into the cave.
Light the fire! We will finally see the face of this "Spirit"!

As the clan hesitated, he himself threw a bundle of sticks on the embers.
A large, bright flame suddenly rose up and.
Gounok! It is Gounok!

Everyone recognized the man who was recovering and Rahan recognized the hermit he had saved from the boa.
You have before you "Gounok-the-coward", Rahan!
A hunter we banished from the clan many moons ago.

Because he had, during a hunt, let two women die to save his own life!

You remained so cowardly, Gounok! We all thought you had disappeared forever!
But you stayed in the territory to take revenge for having been banished!
And you do not hesitate to perfidiously kill your former brothers, members of your own clan!

And Rahan was spared last night because he is not part of your clan.
And perhaps, also, because he had saved Gounok from a "Boak"!

Page Ten.

But why did this coward always hit the third hunter who lit his "Stem that fumes"?
Rahan will tell you.
The flame lit by the first "Smoker" allowed him to.

Find his way in the darkness. When the second was lit up.
He adjusted his shot. And when the flame was lit by the third "Smoker."

Gounok was ready! His arrow could no longer miss its target!

I should have killed you like the others, "Fire-Hair"!
You will never kill again, Gounok! Never again!

The clan dragged Gounok out of the cave.
The son of Crao knew that killing him would pay for all his crimes.

Rahan hates that "Those-Who-Walk-Upright" are being taken away from him!
But he cannot, this time, oppose the justice of the clan!

And justice was done that night, that night of fierce times, when perhaps that superstition was born which, even today, says that one should never light three cigarettes with the same match.