Current File : //data/sci-fi/Burroughs E. R/Tarzan/Burroughs, Edgar Rice - Tarzan The Untamed.rtf
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TARZAN THE UNTAMED\par
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\par
Edgar Rice Burroughs\par
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CONTENTS\par
\par
CHAPTER\par
I Murder and Pillage\par
II The Lion's Cave\par
III In the German Lines\par
IV When the Lion Fed\par
V The Golden Locket\par
VI Vengeance and Mercy\par
VII When Blood Told\par
VIII Tarzan and the Great Apes\par
IX Dropped from the Sky\par
X In the Hands of Savages\par
XI Finding the Airplane\par
XII The Black Flier\par
XIII Usanga's Reward\par
XIV The Black Lion\par
XV Mysterious Footprints\par
XVI The Night Attack \par
XVII The Walled City\par
XVIII Among the Maniacs\par
XIX The Queen's Story\par
XX Came Tarzan\par
XXI In the Alcove \par
XXII Out of the Niche \par
XXIII The Flight from Xuja\par
XXIV The Tommies\par
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TARZAN\par
THE UNTAMED\par
\par
Edgar Rice Burroughs\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Murder and Pillage\par
\par
Hauptmann Fritz Schneider trudged wearily through\par
the somber aisles of the dark forest. Sweat rolled down\par
his bullet head and stood upon his heavy jowls and bull\par
neck. His lieutenant marched beside him while Underlieutenant\par
von Goss brought up the rear, following with a handful of\par
askaris the tired and all but exhausted porters whom the black\par
soldiers, following the example of their white officer, en-\par
couraged with the sharp points of bayonets and the metal-shod\par
butts of rifles.\par
\par
There were no porters within reach of Hauptmann Schnei-\par
der so he vented his Prussian spleen upon the askaris nearest\par
at hand, yet with greater circumspection since these men bore\par
loaded rifles -- and the three white men were alone with them\par
in the heart of Africa.\par
\par
Ahead of the hauptmann marched half his company, be-\par
hind him the other half -- thus were the dangers of the savage\par
jungle minimized for the German captain. At the forefront\par
of the column staggered two naked savages fastened to each\par
other by a neck chain. These were the native guides im-\par
pressed into the service of Kultur and upon their poor, bruised\par
bodies Kultur's brand was revealed in divers cruel wounds and\par
bruises.\par
\par
Thus even in darkest Africa was the light of German civili-\par
zation commencing to reflect itself upon the undeserving na-\par
tives just as at the same period, the fall of 1914, it was shed-\par
ding its glorious effulgence upon benighted Belgium.\par
\par
It is true that the guides had led the party astray; but this\par
is the way of most African guides. Nor did it matter that ig-\par
norance rather than evil intent had been the cause of their\par
failure. It was enough for Hauptmann Fritz Schneider to\par
know that he was lost in the African wilderness and that he\par
had at hand human beings less powerful than he who could be\par
made to suffer by torture. That he did not kill them outright\par
was partially due to a faint hope that they might eventually\par
prove the means of extricating him from his difficulties and\par
partially that so long as they lived they might still be made\par
to suffer.\par
\par
The poor creatures, hoping that chance might lead them at\par
last upon the right trail, insisted that they knew the way and\par
so led on through a dismal forest along a winding game trail\par
trodden deep by the feet of countless generations of the sav-\par
age denizens of the jungle.\par
\par
Here Tantor, the elephant, took his long way from dust\par
wallow to water. Here Buto, the rhinoceros, blundered blindly\par
in his solitary majesty, while by night the great cats paced\par
silently upon their padded feet beneath the dense canopy of\par
overreaching trees toward the broad plain beyond, where they\par
found their best hunting.\par
\par
It was at the edge of this plain which came suddenly and \par
unexpectedly before the eyes of the guides that their sad hearts\par
beat with renewed hope. Here the hauptmann drew a deep\par
sigh of relief, for after days of hopeless wandering through\par
almost impenetrable jungle the broad vista of waving grasses\par
dotted here and there with open parklike woods and in the\par
far distance the winding line of green shrubbery that denoted\par
a river appeared to the European a veritable heaven.\par
\par
The Hun smiled in his relief, passed a cheery word with his \par
lieutenant, and then scanned the broad plain with his field\par
glasses. Back and forth they swept across the rolling land\par
until at last they came to rest upon a point near the center of\par
the landscape and close to the green-fringed contours of the\par
river.\par
\par
"We are in luck," said Schneider to his companions. "Do\par
you see it?"\par
\par
The lieutenant, who was also gazing through his own glasses, \par
finally brought them to rest upon the same spot that had\par
held the attention of his superior.\par
\par
"Yes," he said, "an English farm. It must be Greystoke's,\par
for there is none other in this part of British East Africa. God\par
is with us, Herr Captain."\par
\par
"We have come upon the English schweinhund long before\par
he can have learned that his country is at war with ours,"\par
replied Schneider. "Let him be the first to feel the iron hand\par
of Germany."\par
\par
"Let us hope that he is at home," said the lieutenant, "that\par
we may take him with us when we report to Kraut at Nairobi.\par
It will go well indeed with Herr Hauptmann Fritz Schneider\par
if he brings in the famous Tarzan of the Apes as a prisoner\par
of war."\par
\par
Schneider smiled and puffed out his chest. "You are right,\par
my friend," he said, "it will go well with both of us; but I\par
shall have to travel far to catch General Kraut before he\par
reaches Mombasa. These English pigs with their contemptible\par
army will make good time to the Indian Ocean."\par
\par
It was in a better frame of mind that the small force set\par
out across the open country toward the trim and well-kept\par
farm buildings of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke; but disap-\par
pointment was to be their lot since neither Tarzan of the Apes\par
nor his son was at home.\par
\par
Lady Jane, ignorant of the fact that a state of war existed\par
between Great Britain and Germany, welcomed the officers\par
most hospitably and gave orders through her trusted Waziri\par
to prepare a feast for the black soldiers of the enemy.\par
\par
Far to the east, Tarzan of the Apes was traveling rapidly\par
from Nairobi toward the farm. At Nairobi he had received\par
news of the World War that had already started, and, antici-\par
pating an immediate invasion of British East Africa by the\par
Germans, was hurrying homeward to fetch his wife to a place\par
of greater security. With him were a score of his ebon war-\par
riors, but far too slow for the ape-man was the progress of\par
these trained and hardened woodsmen.\par
\par
When necessity demanded, Tarzan of the Apes sloughed\par
the thin veneer of his civilization and with it the hampering\par
apparel that was its badge. In a moment the polished Eng-\par
lish gentleman reverted to the naked ape man.\par
\par
His mate was in danger. For the time, that single thought \par
dominated. He did not think of her as Lady Jane Greystoke,\par
but rather as the she he had won by the might of his steel\par
thews, and that he must hold and protect by virtue of the\par
same offensive armament.\par
\par
It was no member of the House of Lords who swung\par
swiftly and grimly through the tangled forest or trod with\par
untiring muscles the wide stretches of open plain -- it was a\par
great he ape filled with a single purpose that excluded all\par
thoughts of fatigue or danger.\par
\par
Little Manu, the monkey, scolding and chattering in the\par
upper terraces of the forest, saw him pass. Long had it been\par
since he had thus beheld the great Tarmangani naked and\par
alone hurtling through the jungle. Bearded and gray was\par
Manu, the monkey, and to his dim old eyes came the fire of\par
recollection of those days when Tarzan of the Apes had ruled\par
supreme, Lord of the Jungle, over all the myriad life that trod\par
the matted vegetation between the boles of the great trees,\par
or flew or swung or climbed in the leafy fastness upward\par
to the very apex of the loftiest terraces.\par
\par
And Numa, the lion, lying up for the day close beside last\par
night's successful kill, blinked his yellow-green eyes and\par
twitched his tawny tail as he caught the scent spoor of his\par
ancient enemy.\par
\par
Nor was Tarzan senseless to the presence of Numa or Manu\par
or any of the many jungle beasts he passed in his rapid flight\par
towards the west. No particle had his shallow probing of\par
English society dulled his marvelous sense faculties. His nose\par
had picked out the presence of Numa, the lion, even before\par
the majestic king of beasts was aware of his passing.\par
\par
He had heard noisy little Manu, and even the soft rustling\par
of the parting shrubbery where Sheeta passed before either\par
of these alert animals sensed his presence.\par
\par
But however keen the senses of the ape-man, however\par
swift his progress through the wild country of his adoption,\par
however mighty the muscles that bore him, he was still mortal.\par
Time and space placed their inexorable limits upon him; nor\par
was there another who realized this truth more keenly than\par
Tarzan. He chafed and fretted that he could not travel with\par
the swiftness of thought and that the long tedious miles\par
stretching far ahead of him must require hours and hours of\par
tireless effort upon his part before he would swing at last from\par
the final bough of the fringing forest into the open plain and\par
in sight of his goal.\par
\par
Days it took, even though he lay up at night for but a few\par
hours and left to chance the finding of meat directly on his\par
trail. If Wappi, the antelope, or Horta, the boar, chanced in\par
his way when he was hungry, he ate, pausing but long\par
enough to make the kill and cut himself a steak.\par
\par
Then at last the long journey drew to its close and he was\par
passing through the last stretch of heavy forest that bounded\par
his estate upon the east, and then this was traversed and he\par
stood upon the plain's edge looking out across his broad\par
lands towards his home.\par
\par
At the first glance his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed.\par
Even at that distance he could see that something was amiss.\par
A thin spiral of smoke arose at the right of the bungalow\par
where the barns had stood, but there were no barns there\par
now, and from the bungalow chimney from which smoke\par
should have arisen, there arose nothing.\par
\par
Once again Tarzan of the Apes was speeding onward, this\par
time even more swiftly than before, for he was goaded now\par
by a nameless fear, more product of intuition than of reason.\par
Even as the beasts, Tarzan of the Apes seemed to possess a\par
sixth sense. Long before he reached the bungalow, he had\par
almost pictured the scene that finally broke upon his view.\par
\par
Silent and deserted was the vine-covered cottage. Smolder-\par
ing embers marked the site of his great barns. Gone were\par
the thatched huts of his sturdy retainers, empty the fields, the\par
pastures, and corrals. Here and there vultures rose and circled\par
above the carcasses of men and beasts.\par
\par
It was with a feeling as nearly akin to terror as he ever had \par
experienced that the ape-man finally forced himself to enter\par
his home. The first sight that met his eyes set the red haze\par
of hate and bloodlust across his vision, for there, crucified\par
against the wall of the living-room, was Wasimbu, giant son\par
of the faithful Muviro and for over a year the personal body-\par
guard of Lady Jane.\par
\par
The overturned and shattered furniture of the room, the\par
brown pools of dried blood upon the floor, and prints of\par
bloody hands on walls and woodwork evidenced something\par
of the frightfulness of the battle that had been waged within\par
the narrow confines of the apartment. Across the baby grand\par
piano lay the corpse of another black warrior, while before\par
the door of Lady Jane's boudoir were the dead bodies of three\par
more of the faithful Greystoke servants.\par
\par
The door of this room was closed. With drooping shoulders\par
and dull eyes Tarzan stood gazing dumbly at the insensate\par
panel which hid from him what horrid secret he dared not\par
even guess.\par
\par
Slowly, with leaden feet, he moved toward the door. Grop-\par
ingly his hand reached for the knob. Thus he stood for\par
another long minute, and then with a sudden gesture he\par
straightened his giant frame, threw back his mighty shoulders\par
and, with fearless head held high, swung back the door and\par
stepped across the threshold into the room which held for\par
him the dearest memories and associations of his life. No\par
change of expression crossed his grim and stern-set features\par
as he strode across the room and stood beside the little couch\par
and the inanimate form which lay face downward upon it; the\par
still, silent thing that had pulsed with life and youth and\par
love.\par
\par
No tear dimmed the eye of the ape-man, but the God who\par
made him alone could know the thoughts that passed through\par
that still half-savage brain. For a long time he stood there\par
just looking down upon the dead body, charred beyond\par
recognition, and then he stooped and lifted it in his arms.\par
As he turned the body over and saw how horribly death had\par
been meted he plumbed, in that instant, the uttermost depths\par
of grief and horror and hatred.\par
\par
Nor did he require the evidence of the broken German\par
rifle in the outer room, or the torn and blood-stained service\par
cap upon the floor, to tell him who had been the perpetrators\par
of this horrid and useless crime.\par
\par
For a moment he had hoped against hope that the black-\par
ened corpse was not that of his mate, but when his eyes dis-\par
covered and recognized the rings upon her fingers the last\par
faint ray of hope forsook him.\par
\par
In silence, in love, and in reverence he buried, in the little\par
rose garden that had been Jane Clayton's pride and love, the\par
poor, charred form and beside it the great black warriors who\par
had given their lives so futilely in their mistress' protection.\par
\par
At one side of the house Tarzan found other newly made\par
graves and in these he sought final evidence of the identity\par
of the real perpetrators of the atrocities that had been com-\par
mitted there in his absence.\par
\par
Here he disinterred the bodies of a dozen German askaris\par
and found upon their uniforms the insignia of the company\par
and regiment to which they had belonged. This was enough\par
for the ape-man. White officers had commanded these men,\par
nor would it be a difficult task to discover who they were.\par
\par
Returning to the rose garden, he stood among the Hun-\par
trampled blooms and bushes above the grave of his dead --\par
with bowed head he stood there in a last mute farewell. As\par
the sun sank slowly behind the towering forests of the west,\par
he turned slowly away upon the still-distinct trail of Haupt-\par
mann Fritz Schneider and his blood-stained company.\par
\par
His was the suffering of the dumb brute -- mute; but though\par
voiceless no less poignant. At first his vast sorrow numbed\par
his other faculties of thought -- his brain was overwhelmed by\par
the calamity to such an extent that it reacted to but a single\par
objective suggestion: She is dead! She is dead! She is dead!\par
Again and again this phrase beat monotonously upon his brain\par
-- a dull, throbbing pain, yet mechanically his feet followed\par
the trail of her slayer while, subconsciously, his every sense\par
was upon the alert for the ever-present perils of the jungle.\par
\par
Gradually the labor of his great grief brought forth another \par
emotion so real, so tangible, that it seemed a companion walk-\par
ing at his side. It was Hate -- and it brought to him a measure\par
of solace and of comfort, for it was a sublime hate that en-\par
nobled him as it has ennobled countless thousands since --\par
hatred for Germany and Germans. It centered about the\par
slayer of his mate, of course; but it included everything Ger-\par
man, animate or inanimate. As the thought took firm hold\par
upon him he paused and raising his face to Goro, the moon,\par
cursed with upraised hand the authors of the hideous crime\par
that had been perpetrated in that once peaceful bungalow\par
behind him; and he cursed their progenitors, their progeny,\par
and all their kind the while he took silent oath to war upon\par
them relentlessly until death overtook him.\par
\par
There followed almost immediately a feeling of content,\par
for, where before his future at best seemed but a void, now it\par
was filled with possibilities the contemplation of which\par
brought him, if not happiness, at least a surcease of absolute\par
grief, for before him lay a great work that would occupy his\par
time.\par
\par
Stripped not only of all the outward symbols of civilization,\par
Tarzan had also reverted morally and mentally to the status\par
of the savage beast he had been reared. Never had his\par
civilization been more than a veneer put on for the sake of\par
her he loved because he thought it made her happier to see\par
him thus. In reality he had always held the outward evi-\par
dences of so-called culture in deep contempt. Civilization\par
meant to Tarzan of the Apes a curtailment of freedom in all\par
its aspects -- freedom of action, freedom of thought, freedom\par
of love, freedom of hate. Clothes he abhorred -- uncomfort-\par
able, hideous, confining things that reminded him somehow\par
of bonds securing him to the life he had seen the poor crea-\par
tures of London and Paris living. Clothes were the emblems\par
of that hypocrisy for which civilization stood -- a pretense that\par
the wearers were ashamed of what the clothes covered, of the\par
human form made in the semblance of God. Tarzan knew how\par
silly and pathetic the lower orders of animals appeared in\par
the clothing of civilization, for he had seen several poor\par
creatures thus appareled in various traveling shows in Europe,\par
and he knew, too, how silly and pathetic man appears in them\par
since the only men he had seen in the first twenty years of\par
his life had been, like himself, naked savages. The ape-man\par
had a keen admiration for a well-muscled, well-proportioned\par
body, whether lion, or antelope, or man, and it had ever been\par
beyond him to understand how clothes could be considered\par
more beautiful than a clear, firm, healthy skin, or coat and\par
trousers more graceful than the gentle curves of rounded\par
muscles playing beneath a flexible hide.\par
\par
In civilization Tarzan had found greed and selfishness and\par
cruelty far beyond that which he had known in his familiar,\par
savage jungle, and though civilization had given him his mate\par
and several friends whom he loved and admired, he never\par
had come to accept it as you and I who have known little or\par
nothing else; so it was with a sense of relief that he now\par
definitely abandoned it and all that it stood for, and went\par
forth into the jungle once again stripped to his loin cloth and\par
weapons.\par
\par
The hunting knife of his father hung at his left hip, his bow\par
and his quiver of arrows were slung across his shoulders,\par
while around his chest over one shoulder and beneath the\par
opposite arm was coiled the long grass rope without which\par
Tarzan would have felt quite as naked as would you should\par
you be suddenly thrust upon a busy highway clad only in a\par
union suit. A heavy war spear which he sometimes carried in\par
one hand and again slung by a thong about his neck so that\par
it hung down his back completed his armament and his\par
apparel. The diamond-studded locket with the pictures of\par
his mother and father that he had worn always until he had\par
given it as a token of his highest devotion to Jane Clayton\par
before their marriage was missing. She always had worn it\par
since, but it had not been upon her body when he found her\par
slain in her boudoir, so that now his quest for vengeance in-\par
cluded also a quest for the stolen trinket.\par
\par
Toward midnight Tarzan commenced to feel the physical\par
strain of his long hours of travel and to realize that even\par
muscles such as his had their limitations. His pursuit of the\par
murderers had not been characterized by excessive speed; but\par
rather more in keeping with his mental attitude, which was\par
marked by a dogged determination to require from the Ger-\par
mans more than an eye for an eye and more than a tooth for\par
a tooth, the element of time entering but slightly into his\par
calculations.\par
\par
Inwardly as well as outwardly Tarzan had reverted to beast\par
and in the lives of beasts, time, as a measurable aspect of\par
duration, has no meaning. The beast is actively interested\par
only in NOW, and as it is always NOW and always shall be, there\par
is an eternity of time for the accomplishment of objects. The\par
ape-man, naturally, had a slightly more comprehensive realiza-\par
tion of the limitations of time; but, like the beasts, he moved\par
with majestic deliberation when no emergency prompted him\par
to swift action.\par
\par
Having dedicated his life to vengeance, vengeance became\par
his natural state and, therefore, no emergency, so he took his\par
time in pursuit. That he had not rested earlier was due to\par
the fact that he had felt no fatigue, his mind being occupied\par
by thoughts of sorrow and revenge; but now he realized that\par
he was tired, and so he sought a jungle giant that had harbored\par
him upon more than a single other jungle night.\par
\par
Dark clouds moving swiftly across the heavens now and\par
again eclipsed the bright face of Goro, the moon, and fore-\par
warned the ape-man of impending storm. In the depth of\par
the jungle the cloud shadows produced a thick blackness that\par
might almost be felt -- a blackness that to you and me might\par
have proven terrifying with its accompaniment of rustling\par
leaves and cracking twigs, and its even more suggestive inter-\par
\par
vals of utter silence in which the crudest of imaginations\par
might have conjured crouching beasts of prey tensed for the\par
fatal charge; but through it Tarzan passed unconcerned, yet\par
always alert. Now he swung lightly to the lower terraces\par
of the overarching trees when some subtle sense warned him\par
that Numa lay upon a kill directly in his path, or again he\par
sprang lightly to one side as Buto, the rhinoceros, lumbered\par
toward him along the narrow, deep-worn trail, for the ape-\par
man, ready to fight upon necessity's slightest pretext, avoided\par
unnecessary quarrels.\par
\par
When he swung himself at last into the tree he sought, the\par
moon was obscured by a heavy cloud, and the tree tops were\par
waving wildly in a steadily increasing wind whose soughing\par
drowned the lesser noises of the jungle. Upward went Tarzan\par
toward a sturdy crotch across which he long since had laid\par
and secured a little platform of branches. It was very dark\par
now, darker even than it had been before, for almost the\par
entire sky was overcast by thick, black clouds.\par
\par
Presently the man-beast paused, his sensitive nostrils dilat-\par
ing as he sniffed the air about him. Then, with the swiftness\par
and agility of a cat, he leaped far outward upon a swaying\par
branch, sprang upward through the darkness, caught another,\par
swung himself upon it and then to one still higher. What\par
could have so suddenly transformed his matter-of-fact ascent\par
of the giant bole to the swift and wary action of his detour\par
among the branches? You or I could have seen nothing --\par
not even the little platform that an instant before had been\par
just above him and which now was immediately below -- but\par
as he swung above it we should have heard an ominous growl;\par
and then as the moon was momentarily uncovered, we should\par
have seen both the platform, dimly, and a dark mass that lay\par
stretched upon it -- a dark mass that presently, as our eyes\par
became accustomed to the lesser darkness, would take the\par
form of Sheeta, the panther.\par
\par
In answer to the cat's growl, a low and equally ferocious\par
growl rumbled upward from the ape-man's deep chest -- a\par
growl of warning that told the panther he was trespassing\par
upon the other's lair; but Sheeta was in no mood to be dis-\par
possessed. With upturned, snarling face he glared at the\par
brown-skinned Tarmangani above him. Very slowly the\par
ape-man moved inward along the branch until he was directly\par
above the panther. In the man's hand was the hunting knife\par
of his long-dead father -- the weapon that had first given him\par
his real ascendancy over the beasts of the jungle; but he hoped\par
not to be forced to use it, knowing as he did that more jungle\par
battles were settled by hideous growling than by actual com-\par
bat, the law of bluff holding quite as good in the jungle as\par
elsewhere -- only in matters of love and food did the great\par
beasts ordinarily close with fangs and talons.\par
\par
Tarzan braced himself against the bole of the tree and\par
leaned closer toward Sheeta.\par
\par
"Stealer of balus!" he cried. The panther rose to a sitting\par
position, his bared fangs but a few feet from the ape-man's\par
taunting face. Tarzan growled hideously and struck at the\par
cat's face with his knife. "I am Tarzan of the Apes," he\par
roared. "This is Tarzan's lair. Go, or I will kill you." \par
Though\par
he spoke in the language of the great apes of the jungle, it is\par
doubtful that Sheeta understood the words, though he knew\par
well enough that the hairless ape wished to frighten him from\par
his well-chosen station past which edible creatures might be\par
expected to wander sometime during the watches of the night.\par
\par
Like lightning the cat reared and struck a vicious blow at\par
his tormentor with great, bared talons that might well have\par
torn away the ape-man's face had the blow landed; but it did\par
not land -- Tarzan was even quicker than Sheeta. As the\par
panther came to all fours again upon the little platform, Tar-\par
zan unslung his heavy spear and prodded at the snarling face,\par
and as Sheeta warded off the blows, the two continued their\par
horrid duet of blood-curdling roars and growls.\par
\par
Goaded to frenzy the cat presently determined to come up\par
after this disturber of his peace; but when he essayed to leap\par
to the branch that held Tarzan he found the sharp spear point\par
always in his face, and each time as he dropped back he was\par
prodded viciously in some tender part; but at length, rage\par
having conquered his better judgment, he leaped up the\par
rough bole to the very branch upon which Tarzan stood.\par
Now the two faced each other upon even footing and Sheeta\par
saw a quick revenge and a supper all in one. The hairless\par
ape-thing with the tiny fangs and the puny talons would be\par
helpless before him.\par
\par
The heavy limb bent beneath the weight of the two beasts\par
as Sheeta crept cautiously out upon it and Tarzan backed\par
slowly away, growling. The wind had risen to the proportions\par
of a gale so that even the greatest giants of the forest swayed,\par
groaning, to its force and the branch upon which the two\par
faced each other rose and fell like the deck of a storm-tossed\par
ship. Goro was now entirely obscured, but vivid flashes of\par
lightning lit up the jungle at brief intervals, revealing the\par
grim\par
tableau of primitive passion upon the swaying limb.\par
\par
Tarzan backed away, drawing Sheeta farther from the stem\par
of the tree and out upon the tapering branch, where his footing\par
became ever more precarious. The cat, infuriated by the pain\par
of spear wounds, was overstepping the bounds of caution.\par
Already he had reached a point where he could do little more\par
than maintain a secure footing, and it was this moment that\par
Tarzan chose to charge. With a roar that mingled with the\par
booming thunder from above he leaped toward the panther,\par
who could only claw futilely with one huge paw while he\par
clung to the branch with the other; but the ape-man did not\par
come within that parabola of destruction. Instead he leaped\par
above menacing claws and snapping fangs, turning in mid-air \par
and alighting upon Sheeta's back, and at the instant of impact \par
his knife struck deep into the tawny side. Then Sheeta, im-\par
pelled by pain and hate and rage and the first law of Nature, \par
went mad. Screaming and clawing he attempted to turn\par
upon the ape-thing clinging to his back. For an instant he\par
toppled upon the now wildly gyrating limb, clutched franti-\par
cally to save himself, and then plunged downward into the\par
darkness with Tarzan still clinging to him. Crashing through\par
splintering branches the two fell. Not for an instant did the\par
ape-man consider relinquishing his death-hold upon his ad-\par
versary. He had entered the lists in mortal combat and true\par
to the primitive instincts of the wild -- the unwritten law of\par
the jungle -- one or both must die before the battle ended.\par
\par
Sheeta, catlike, alighted upon four out-sprawled feet, the \par
weight of the ape-man crushing him to earth, the long knife \par
again imbedded in his side. Once the panther struggled to\par
rise; but only to sink to earth again. Tarzan felt the giant\par
muscles relax beneath him. Sheeta was dead. Rising, the\par
ape-man placed a foot upon the body of his vanquished foe,\par
raised his face toward the thundering heavens, and as the\par
lightning flashed and the torrential rain broke upon him,\par
screamed forth the wild victory cry of the bull ape.\par
\par
Having accomplished his aim and driven the enemy from\par
his lair, Tarzan gathered an armful of large fronds and\par
climbed to his dripping couch. Laying a few of the fronds\par
upon the poles he lay down and covered himself against the\par
rain with the others, and despite the wailing of the wind and\par
the crashing of the thunder, immediately fell asleep.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Lion's Cave\par
\par
The rain lasted for twenty-four hours and much of the time\par
it fell in torrents so that when it ceased, the trail he had\par
been following was entirely obliterated. Cold and uncom-\par
fortable -- it was a savage Tarzan who threaded the mazes of\par
the soggy jungle. Manu, the monkey, shivering and chatter-\par
ing in the dank trees, scolded and fled at his approach. Even\par
the panthers and the lions let the growling Tarmangani pass\par
unmolested.\par
\par
When the sun shone again upon the second day and a wide,\par
open plain let the full heat of Kudu flood the chilled, brown\par
body, Tarzan's spirits rose; but it was still a sullen, surly\par
brute\par
that moved steadily onward into the south where he hoped\par
again to pick up the trail of the Germans. He was now in\par
German East Africa and it was his intention to skirt the moun-\par
tains west of Kilimanjaro, whose rugged peaks he was quite\par
willing to give a wide berth, and then swing eastward along\par
the south side of the range to the railway that led to Tanga,\par
for his experience among men suggested that it was toward\par
this railroad that German troops would be likely to converge.\par
\par
Two days later, from the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, he\par
heard the boom of cannon far away to the east. The after-\par
noon had been dull and cloudy and now as he was passing\par
through a narrow gorge a few great drops of rain began to\par
splatter upon his naked shoulders. Tarzan shook his head\par
and growled his disapproval; then he cast his eyes about for\par
shelter, for he had had quite enough of the cold and drenching.\par
He wanted to hasten on in the direction of the booming noise,\par
for he knew that there would be Germans fighting against the\par
English. For an instant his bosom swelled with pride at the\par
thought that he was English and then he shook his head\par
again viciously. "No!" he muttered, "Tarzan of the Apes is\par
not English, for the English are men and Tarzan is Tarman-\par
gani;" but he could not hide even from his sorrow or from his\par
sullen hatred of mankind in general that his heart warmed\par
at the thought it was Englishmen who fought the Germans.\par
His regret was that the English were human and not great\par
white apes as he again considered himself.\par
\par
"Tomorrow," he thought, "I will travel that way and find\par
the Germans," and then he set himself to the immediate task\par
of discovering some shelter from the storm. Presently he\par
espied the low and narrow entrance to what appeared to be\par
a cave at the base of the cliffs which formed the northern side\par
of the gorge. With drawn knife he approached the spot\par
warily, for he knew that if it were a cave it was doubtless the\par
lair of some other beast. Before the entrance lay many large\par
fragments of rock of different sizes, similar to others scattered\par
along the entire base of the cliff, and it was in Tarzan's mind\par
that if he found the cave unoccupied he would barricade the\par
door and insure himself a quiet and peaceful night's repose\par
within the sheltered interior. Let the storm rage without --\par
Tarzan would remain within until it ceased, comfortable and\par
dry. A tiny rivulet of cold water trickled outward from the\par
opening.\par
\par
Close to the cave Tarzan kneeled and sniffed the ground.\par
A low growl escaped him and his upper lip curved to expose\par
his fighting fangs. "Numa!" he muttered; but he did not\par
stop. Numa might not be at home -- he would investigate.\par
The entrance was so low that the ape-man was compelled to\par
drop to all fours before he could poke his head within the\par
aperture; but first he looked, listened, and sniffed in each\par
direction at his rear -- he would not be taken by surprise from\par
that quarter.\par
\par
His first glance within the cave revealed a narrow tunnel\par
with daylight at its farther end. The interior of the tunnel\par
was not so dark but that the ape-man could readily see that\par
it was untenanted at present. Advancing cautiously he\par
crawled toward the opposite end imbued with a full realiza-\par
tion of what it would mean if Numa should suddenly enter\par
the tunnel in front of him; but Numa did not appear and the\par
ape-man emerged at length into the open and stood erect,\par
finding himself in a rocky cleft whose precipitous walls rose\par
almost sheer on every hand, the tunnel from the gorge passing\par
through the cliff and forming a passageway from the outer\par
world into a large pocket or gulch entirely inclosed by steep\par
walls of rock. Except for the small passageway from the\par
gorge, there was no other entrance to the gulch which was\par
some hundred feet in length and about fifty in width and\par
appeared to have been worn from the rocky cliff by the falling\par
of water during long ages. A tiny stream from Kilimanjaro's\par
eternal snow cap still trickled over the edge of the rocky wall\par
at the upper end of the gulch, forming a little pool at the\par
bottom of the cliff from which a small rivulet wound down-\par
ward to the tunnel through which it passed to the gorge\par
beyond. A single great tree flourished near the center of the\par
gulch, while tufts of wiry grass were scattered here and there\par
among the rocks of the gravelly floor.\par
\par
The bones of many large animals lay about and among them\par
were several human skulls. Tarzan raised his eyebrows. "A\par
man-eater," he murmured, "and from appearances he has held\par
sway here for a long time. Tonight Tarzan will take the lair\par
of the man-eater and Numa may roar and grumble upon the\par
outside."\par
\par
The ape-man had advanced well into the gulch as he in-\par
vestigated his surroundings and now as he stood near the\par
tree, satisfied that the tunnel would prove a dry and quiet\par
retreat for the night, he turned to retrace his way to the outer\par
end of the entrance that he might block it with bowlders\par
against Numa's return, but even with the thought there came\par
something to his sensitive ears that froze him into statuesque\par
immobility with eyes glued upon the tunnel's mouth. A\par
moment later the head of a huge lion framed in a great black\par
mane appeared in the opening. The yellow-green eyes glared,\par
round and unblinking, straight at the trespassing Tarmangani,\par
a low growl rumbled from the deep chest, and lips curled\par
back to expose the mighty fangs.\par
\par
"Brother of Dango!" shouted Tarzan, angered that Numa's\par
return should have been so timed as to frustrate his plans for\par
a comfortable night's repose. "I am Tarzan of the Apes, Lord\par
of the Jungle. Tonight I lair here -- go!"\par
\par
But Numa did not go. Instead he rumbled forth a menac-\par
ing roar and took a few steps in Tarzan's direction. The ape-\par
man picked up a rock and hurled it at the snarling face. One\par
can never be sure of a lion. This one might turn tail and run\par
at the first intimation of attack -- Tarzan had bluffed many in\par
his time -- but not now. The missile struck Numa full upon\par
the snout -- a tender part of a cat's anatomy -- and instead of\par
causing him to flee it transformed him into an infuriated\par
engine of wrath and destruction.\par
\par
Up went his tail, stiff and erect, and with a series of fright-\par
ful roars he bore down upon the Tarmangani at the speed of\par
an express train. Not an instant too soon did Tarzan reach\par
the tree and swing himself into its branches and there he\par
squatted, hurling insults at the king of beasts while Numa\par
paced a circle beneath him, growling and roaring in rage.\par
\par
It was raining now in earnest adding to the ape-man's dis-\par
comfort and disappointment. He was very angry; but as only\par
direct necessity had ever led him to close in mortal combat\par
with a lion, knowing as he did that he had only luck and\par
agility to pit against the frightful odds of muscle, weight,\par
fangs, and talons, he did not now even consider descending\par
and engaging in so unequal and useless a duel for the mere\par
reward of a little added creature comfort. And so he sat\par
perched in the tree while the rain fell steadily and the lion\par
padded round and round beneath, casting a baleful eye up-\par
ward after every few steps.\par
\par
Tarzan scanned the precipitous walls for an avenue of es-\par
cape. They would have baffled an ordinary man; but the\par
ape-man, accustomed to climbing, saw several places where\par
he might gain a foothold, precarious possibly; but enough to\par
give him reasonable assurance of escape if Numa would but\par
betake himself to the far end of the gulch for a moment.\par
Numa, however, notwithstanding the rain, gave no evidence\par
of quitting his post so that at last Tarzan really began to\par
consider seriously if it might not be as well to take the chance\par
of a battle with him rather than remain longer cold and wet\par
and humiliated in the tree.\par
\par
But even as he turned the matter over in his mind Numa\par
turned suddenly and walked majestically toward the tunnel\par
without even a backward glance. The instant that he disap-\par
peared, Tarzan dropped lightly to the ground upon the far\par
side of the tree and was away at top speed for the cliff. The\par
lion had no sooner entered the tunnel than he backed im-\par
mediately out again and, pivoting like a flash, was off across\par
the gulch in full charge after the flying ape-man; but Tarzan's\par
lead was too great -- if he could find finger or foothold upon\par
the sheer wall he would be safe; but should he slip from the\par
wet rocks his doom was already sealed as he would fall\par
directly into Numa's clutches where even the Great Tarman-\par
gani would be helpless.\par
\par
With the agility of a cat Tarzan ran up the cliff for thirty\par
feet before he paused, and there finding a secure foothold,\par
he stopped and looked down upon Numa who was leaping\par
upward in a wild and futile attempt to scale the rocky wall\par
to his prey. Fifteen or twenty feet from the ground the lion\par
would scramble only to fall backward again defeated. Tarzan\par
eyed him for a moment and then commenced a slow and\par
cautious ascent toward the summit. Several times he had\par
difficulty in finding holds but at last he drew himself over the\par
edge, rose, picked up a bit of loose rock, hurled it at Numa\par
and strode away.\par
\par
Finding an easy descent to the gorge, he was about to pursue\par
his journey in the direction of the still-booming guns when\par
a sudden thought caused him to halt and a half-smile to play\par
about his lips. Turning, he trotted quickly back to the outer\par
opening of Numa's tunnel. Close beside it he listened for a\par
moment and then rapidly began to gather large rocks and\par
pile them within the entrance. He had almost closed the\par
aperture when the lion appeared upon the inside -- a very\par
ferocious and angry lion that pawed and clawed at the rocks\par
and uttered mighty roars that caused the earth to tremble;\par
but roars did not frighten Tarzan of the Apes. At Kala's\par
shaggy breast he had closed his infant eyes in sleep upon\par
countless nights in years gone by to the savage chorus of\par
similar roars. Scarcely a day or night of his jungle life -- and\par
practically all his life had been spent in the jungle -- had\par
he not heard the roaring of hungry lions, or angry lions,\par
or love-sick lions. Such sounds affected Tarzan as the tooting\par
of an automobile horn may affect you -- if you are in front of\par
the automobile it warns you out of the way, if you are not in\par
front of it you scarcely notice it. Figuratively Tarzan was\par
not in front of the automobile -- Numa could not reach him\par
and Tarzan knew it, so he continued deliberately to choke the\par
entrance until there was no possibility of Numa's getting out\par
again. When he was quite through he made a grimace at the\par
hidden lion beyond the barrier and resumed his way toward\par
the east. "A man-eater who will eat no more men," he solilo-\par
quized.\par
\par
That night Tarzan lay up under an overhanging shelf of\par
rock. The next morning he resumed his journey, stopping\par
only long enough to make a kill and satisfy his hunger. The\par
other beasts of the wild eat and lie up; but Tarzan never let\par
his belly interfere with his plans. In this lay one of the great-\par
est differences between the ape-man and his fellows of the\par
jungles and forests. The firing ahead rose and fell during\par
the day. He had noticed that it was highest at dawn and\par
immediately after dusk and that during the night it almost\par
ceased. In the middle of the afternoon of the second day he\par
came upon troops moving up toward the front. They ap-\par
peared to be raiding parties, for they drove goats and cows\par
along with them and there were native porters laden with\par
grain and other foodstuffs. He saw that these natives were\par
all secured by neck chains and he also saw that the troops\par
were composed of native soldiers in German uniforms. The\par
officers were white men. No one saw Tarzan, yet he was here\par
and there about and among them for two hours. He inspected\par
the insignia upon their uniforms and saw that they were not\par
the same as that which he had taken from one of the dead\par
soldiers at the bungalow and then he passed on ahead of\par
them, unseen in the dense bush. He had come upon Germans\par
and had not killed them; but it was because the killing of\par
Germans at large was not yet the prime motive of his existence\par
-- now it was to discover the individual who slew his mate.\par
\par
After he had accounted for him he would take up the little\par
matter of slaying ALL Germans who crossed his path, and he\par
meant that many should cross it, for he would hunt them\par
precisely as professional hunters hunt the man-eaters.\par
\par
As he neared the front lines the troops became more numer-\par
ous. There were motor trucks and ox teams and all the\par
impedimenta of a small army and always there were wounded\par
men walking or being carried toward the rear. He had\par
crossed the railroad some distance back and judged that the\par
wounded were being taken to it for transportation to a base\par
hospital and possibly as far away as Tanga on the coast.\par
\par
It was dusk when he reached a large camp hidden in the\par
foothills of the Pare Mountains. As he was approaching from\par
the rear he found it but lightly guarded and what sentinels\par
there were, were not upon the alert, and so it was an easy\par
thing for him to enter after darkness had fallen and prowl\par
about listening at the backs of tents, searching for some clew\par
to the slayer of his mate.\par
\par
As he paused at the side of a tent before which sat a num-\par
ber of native soldiers he caught a few words spoken in native\par
dialect that riveted his attention instantly: "The Waziri fought\par
like devils; but we are greater fighters and we killed them all.\par
When we were through the captain came and killed the\par
woman. He stayed outside and yelled in a very loud voice\par
until all the men were killed. Underlieutenant von Goss is\par
braver -- he came in and stood beside the door shouting at us,\par
also in a very loud voice, and bade us nail one of the Waziri\par
who was wounded to the wall, and then he laughed loudly\par
because the man suffered. We all laughed. It was very\par
funny."\par
\par
Like a beast of prey, grim and terrible, Tarzan crouched in\par
the shadows beside the tent. What thoughts passed through\par
that savage mind? Who may say? No outward sign of\par
passion was revealed by the expression of the handsome face;\par
the cold, gray eyes denoted only intense watchfulness. Pres-\par
ently the soldier Tarzan had heard first rose and with a parting\par
word turned away. He passed within ten feet of the ape-man\par
and continued on toward the rear of the camp. Tarzan fol-\par
lowed and in the shadows of a clump of bushes overtook his\par
quarry. There was no sound as the man beast sprang upon\par
the back of his prey and bore it to the ground for steel fingers\par
closed simultaneously upon the soldier's throat, effectually\par
stifling any outcry. By the neck Tarzan dragged his victim\par
well into the concealment of the bushes.\par
\par
"Make no sound," he cautioned in the man's own tribal\par
dialect as he released his hold upon the other's throat.\par
\par
The fellow gasped for breath, rolling frightened eyes up-\par
ward to see what manner of creature it might be in whose\par
power he was. In the darkness he saw only a naked brown\par
body bending above him; but he still remembered the terrific\par
strength of the mighty muscles that had closed upon his wind\par
and dragged him into the bushes as though he had been but\par
a little child. If any thought of resistance had crossed his mind\par
he must have discarded it at once, as he made no move to\par
escape.\par
\par
"What is the name of the officer who killed the woman\par
at the bungalow where you fought with the Waziri?" asked\par
Tarzan.\par
\par
"Hauptmann Schneider," replied the black when he could\par
again command his voice.\par
\par
"Where is he?" demanded the ape-man.\par
\par
"He is here. It may be that he is at headquarters. Many\par
of the officers go there in the evening to receive orders."\par
\par
"Lead me there," commanded Tarzan, "and if I am dis-\par
covered I will kill you immediately. Get up!"\par
\par
The black rose and led the way by a roundabout route\par
back through the camp. Several times they were forced to\par
hide while soldiers passed; but at last they reached a great\par
pile of baled hay from about the corner of which the black\par
pointed out a two-story building in the distance.\par
\par
"Headquarters," he said. "You can go no farther unseen.\par
There are many soldiers about."\par
\par
Tarzan realized that he could not proceed farther in com-\par
pany with the black. He turned and looked at the fellow for\par
a moment as though pondering what disposition to make of\par
him.\par
\par
"You helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri," he accused\par
in a low yet none the less terrible tone.\par
\par
The black trembled, his knees giving beneath him. "He\par
ordered us to do it," he plead.\par
\par
"Who ordered it done?" demanded Tarzan.\par
\par
"Underlieutenant von Goss," replied the soldier. "He, too,\par
is here."\par
\par
"I shall find him," returned Tarzan, grimly. "You helped to\par
crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri, and, while he suffered, you\par
laughed."\par
\par
The fellow reeled. It was as though in the accusation he\par
read also his death sentence. With no other word Tarzan\par
seized the man again by the neck. As before there was no\par
outcry. The giant muscles tensed. The arms swung quickly\par
upward and with them the body of the black soldier who\par
had helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri, described a\par
circle in the air -- once, twice, three times, and then it was\par
flung aside and the ape-man turned in the direction of General\par
Kraut's headquarters.\par
\par
A single sentinel in the rear of the building barred the way.\par
Tarzan crawled, belly to the ground, toward him, taking ad-\par
vantage of cover as only the jungle-bred beast of prey can\par
do. When the sentinel's eyes were toward him, Tarzan hugged\par
the ground, motionless as stone; when they were turned away,\par
he moved swiftly forward. Presently he was within charging\par
distance. He waited until the man had turned his back once\par
more and then he rose and sped noiselessly down upon him.\par
Again there was no sound as he carried the dead body with\par
him toward the building.\par
\par
The lower floor was lighted, the upper dark. Through the\par
windows Tarzan saw a large front room and a smaller room\par
in rear of it. In the former were many officers. Some moved\par
about talking to one another, others sat at field tables writing.\par
The windows were open and Tarzan could hear much of the\par
conversation; but nothing that interested him. It was mostly\par
about the German successes in Africa and conjectures as to\par
when the German army in Europe would reach Paris. Some\par
said the Kaiser was doubtlessly already there, and there was a\par
great deal of damning Belgium.\par
\par
In the smaller back room a large, red-faced man sat be-\par
hind a table. Some other officers were also sitting a little in\par
rear of him, while two stood at attention before the general,\par
who was questioning them. As he talked, the general toyed\par
with an oil lamp that stood upon the table before him. Pres-\par
ently there came a knock upon the door and an aide entered\par
the room. He saluted and reported: "Fraulein Kircher has\par
arrived, sir."\par
\par
"Bid her enter," commanded the general, and then nodded\par
to the two officers before him in sign of dismissal.\par
\par
The Fraulein, entering, passed them at the door. The\par
officers in the little room rose and saluted, the Fraulein\par
acknowledging the courtesy with a bow and a slight smile.\par
She was a very pretty girl. Even the rough, soiled riding habit\par
and the caked dust upon her face could not conceal the fact,\par
and she was young. She could not have been over nineteen.\par
\par
She advanced to the table behind which the general stood\par
and, taking a folded paper from an inside pocket of her coat,\par
handed it to him.\par
\par
"Be seated, Fraulein," he said, and another officer brought\par
her a chair. No one spoke while the general read the con-\par
tents of the paper.\par
\par
Tarzan appraised the various people in the room. He\par
wondered if one might not be Hauptmann Schneider, for two\par
of them were captains. The girl he judged to be of the intel-\par
ligence department -- a spy. Her beauty held no appeal for\par
him -- without a glimmer of compunction he could have wrung\par
that fair, young neck. She was German and that was enough;\par
but he had other and more important work before him. He\par
wanted Hauptmann Schneider.\par
\par
Finally the general looked up from the paper.\par
\par
"Good," he said to the girl, and then to one of his aides,\par
"Send for Major Schneider."\par
\par
Major Schneider! Tarzan felt the short hairs at the back\par
of his neck rise. Already they had promoted the beast who\par
had murdered his mate -- doubtless they had promoted him\par
for that very crime.\par
\par
The aide left the room and the others fell into a general\par
conversation from which it became apparent to Tarzan that\par
the German East African forces greatly outnumbered the\par
British and that the latter were suffering heavily. The ape-\par
man stood so concealed in a clump of bushes that he could\par
watch the interior of the room without being seen from within,\par
while he was at the same time hidden from the view of any-\par
one who might chance to pass along the post of the sentinel\par
he had slain. Momentarily he was expecting a patrol or a\par
relief to appear and discover that the sentinel was missing,\par
when he knew an immediate and thorough search would be\par
made.\par
\par
Impatiently he awaited the coming of the man he sought\par
and at last he was rewarded by the reappearance of the aide\par
who had been dispatched to fetch him accompanied by an\par
officer of medium size with fierce, upstanding mustaches. The\par
newcomer strode to the table, halted and saluted, reporting.\par
The general acknowledged the salute and turned toward the\par
girl.\par
\par
"Fraulein Kircher," he said, "allow me to present Major\par
Schneider --"\par
\par
Tarzan waited to hear no more. Placing a palm upon the\par
sill of the window he vaulted into the room into the midst of\par
an astounded company of the Kaiser's officers. With a stride\par
he was at the table and with a sweep of his hand sent the\par
lamp crashing into the fat belly of the general who, in his\par
mad effort to escape cremation, fell over backward, chair and\par
all, upon the floor. Two of the aides sprang for the ape-man\par
who picked up the first and flung him in the face of the other.\par
The girl had leaped from her chair and stood flattened against\par
the wall. The other officers were calling aloud for the guard\par
and for help. Tarzan's purpose centered upon but a single\par
individual and him he never lost sight of. Freed from attack\par
for an instant he seized Major Schneider, threw him over his\par
shoulder and was out of the window so quickly that the\par
astonished assemblage could scarce realize what had occurred.\par
\par
A single glance showed him that the sentinel's post was\par
still vacant and a moment later he and his burden were in\par
the shadows of the hay dump. Major Schneider had made\par
no outcry for the very excellent reason that his wind was shut\par
off. Now Tarzan released his grasp enough to permit the man\par
to breathe.\par
\par
"If you make a sound you will be choked again," he said.\par
\par
Cautiously and after infinite patience Tarzan passed the final \par
outpost. Forcing his captive to walk before him he pushed\par
on toward the west until, late into the night, he recrossed the\par
railway where he felt reasonably safe from discovery. The\par
German had cursed and grumbled and threatened and asked\par
questions; but his only reply was another prod from Tarzan's\par
sharp war spear. The ape-man herded him along as he would\par
have driven a hog with the difference that he would have had\par
more respect and therefore more consideration for a hog.\par
\par
Until now Tarzan had given little thought to the details of\par
revenge. Now he pondered what form the punishment should\par
take. Of only one thing was he certain -- it must end in death.\par
Like all brave men and courageous beasts Tarzan had little\par
natural inclination to torture -- none, in fact; but this case\par
was\par
unique in his experience. An inherent sense of justice called\par
for an eye for an eye and his recent oath demanded even\par
more. Yes, the creature must suffer even as he had caused\par
Jane Clayton to suffer. Tarzan could not hope to make the\par
man suffer as he had suffered, since physical pain may never\par
approach the exquisiteness of mental torture.\par
\par
All through the long night the ape-man goaded on the\par
exhausted and now terrified Hun. The awful silence of his\par
captor wrought upon the German's nerves. If he would only\par
speak! Again and again Schneider tried to force or coax a\par
word from him; but always the result was the same -- con-\par
tinued silence and a vicious and painful prod from the spear\par
point. Schneider was bleeding and sore. He was so ex-\par
hausted that he staggered at every step, and often he fell only\par
to be prodded to his feet again by that terrifying and re-\par
morseless spear.\par
\par
It was not until morning that Tarzan reached a decision\par
and it came to him then like an inspiration from above. A\par
slow smile touched his lips and he immediately sought a\par
place to lie up and rest -- he wished his prisoner to be fit now\par
for what lay in store for him. Ahead was a stream which\par
Tarzan had crossed the day before. He knew the ford for a\par
drinking place and a likely spot to make an easy kill. Cau-\par
tioning the German to utter silence with a gesture the two\par
approached the stream quietly. Down the game trail Tarzan\par
saw some deer about to leave the water. He shoved Schneider\par
into the brush at one side and, squatting next him, waited.\par
The German watched the silent giant with puzzled, frightened\par
eyes. In the new dawn he, for the first time, was able to ob-\par
tain a good look at his captor, and, if he had been puzzled\par
and frightened before, those sensations were nothing to what\par
he experienced now.\par
\par
Who and what could this almost naked, white savage be?\par
He had heard him speak but once -- when he had cautioned\par
him to silence -- and then in excellent German and the well-\par
modulated tones of culture. He watched him now as the\par
fascinated toad watches the snake that is about to devour it.\par
He saw the graceful limbs and symmetrical body motionless\par
as a marble statue as the creature crouched in the conceal-\par
ment of the leafy foliage. Not a muscle, not a nerve moved.\par
He saw the deer coming slowly along the trail, down wind\par
and unsuspecting. He saw a buck pass -- an old buck -- and\par
then a young and plump one came opposite the giant in am-\par
bush, and Schneider's eyes went wide and a scream of terror\par
almost broke from his lips as he saw the agile beast at his side\par
spring straight for the throat of the young buck and heard\par
from those human lips the hunting roar of a wild beast. Down\par
went the buck and Tarzan and his captive had meat. The\par
ape-man ate his raw, but he permitted the German to build\par
a fire and cook his portion.\par
\par
The two lay up until late in the afternoon and then took up\par
the journey once again -- a journey that was so frightful to\par
Schneider because of his ignorance of its destination that he at\par
times groveled at Tarzan's feet begging for an explanation\par
and for mercy; but on and on in silence the ape-man went,\par
prodding the failing Hun whenever the latter faltered.\par
\par
It was noon of the third day before they reached their\par
destination. After a steep climb and a short walk they halted\par
at the edge of a precipitous cliff and Schneider looked down\par
into a narrow gulch where a single tree grew beside a tiny\par
rivulet and sparse grass broke from a rock-strewn soil. Tarzan\par
motioned him over the edge; but the German drew back in\par
terror. The Ape-man seized him and pushed him roughly\par
toward the brink. "Descend," he said. It was the second\par
time he had spoken in three days and perhaps his very silence,\par
ominous in itself, had done more to arouse terror in the breast\par
of the Boche than even the spear point, ever ready as it al-\par
ways was.\par
\par
Schneider looked fearfully over the edge; but was about\par
to essay the attempt when Tarzan halted him. "I am Lord\par
Greystoke," he said. "It was my wife you murdered in the\par
Waziri country. You will understand now why I came for you. \par
Descend."\par
\par
The German fell upon his knees. "I did not murder your\par
wife," he cried. "Have mercy! I did not murder your wife.\par
I do not know anything about --"\par
\par
"Descend!" snapped Tarzan, raising the point of his spear.\par
He knew that the man lied and was not surprised that he did.\par
A man who would murder for no cause would lie for less.\par
Schneider still hesitated and pled. The ape-man jabbed him\par
with the spear and Schneider slid fearfully over the top and\par
began the perilous descent. Tarzan accompanied and assisted\par
him over the worst places until at last they were within a few\par
feet of the bottom.\par
\par
"Be quiet now," cautioned the ape-man. He pointed at the\par
entrance to what appeared to be a cave at the far end of the\par
gulch. "There is a hungry lion in there. If you can reach\par
that tree before he discovers you, you will have several days\par
longer in which to enjoy life and then -- when you are too weak\par
to cling longer to the branches of the tree Numa, the man-\par
eater, will feed again for the last time." He pushed Schneider\par
from his foothold to the ground below. "Now run," he said.\par
\par
The German trembling in terror started for the tree. He\par
had almost reached it when a horrid roar broke from the\par
mouth of the cave and almost simultaneously a gaunt, hunger-\par
mad lion leaped into the daylight of the gulch. Schneider\par
had but a few yards to cover; but the lion flew over the ground\par
to circumvent him while Tarzan watched the race with a\par
slight smile upon his lips.\par
\par
Schneider won by a slender margin, and as Tarzan scaled\par
the cliff to the summit, he heard behind him mingled with the\par
roaring of the baffled cat, the gibbering of a human voice that\par
was at the same time more bestial than the beast's.\par
\par
Upon the brink of the cliff the ape-man turned and looked\par
back into the gulch. High in the tree the German clung\par
frantically to a branch across which his body lay. Beneath\par
him was Numa -- waiting.\par
\par
The ape-man raised his face to Kudu, the sun, and from\par
his mighty chest rose the savage victory cry of the bull ape.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
In the German Lines\par
\par
Tarzan was not yet fully revenged. There were many\par
millions of Germans yet alive -- enough to keep Tarzan\par
pleasantly occupied the balance of his life, and yet not\par
enough, should he kill them all, to recompense him for the\par
great loss he had suffered -- nor could the death of all those\par
million Germans bring back his loved one.\par
\par
While in the German camp in the Pare Mountains, which\par
lie just east of the boundary line between German and British\par
East Africa, Tarzan had overheard enough to suggest that\par
the British were getting the worst of the fighting in Africa. At\par
first he had given the matter but little thought, since, after\par
the\par
death of his wife, the one strong tie that had held him to\par
civilization, he had renounced all mankind, considering him-\par
self no longer man, but ape.\par
\par
After accounting for Schneider as satisfactorily as lay within\par
his power he circled Kilimanjaro and hunted in the foothills\par
to the north of that mightiest of mountains as he had dis-\par
covered that in the neighborhood of the armies there was no\par
hunting at all. Some pleasure he derived through conjuring\par
mental pictures from time to time of the German he had left\par
in the branches of the lone tree at the bottom of the high-\par
walled gulch in which was penned the starving lion. He\par
could imagine the man's mental anguish as he became weak-\par
ened from hunger and maddened by thirst, knowing that\par
sooner or later he must slip exhausted to the ground where\par
waited the gaunt man-eater. Tarzan wondered if Schneider\par
would have the courage to descend to the little rivulet for\par
water should Numa leave the gulch and enter the cave, and\par
then he pictured the mad race for the tree again when the\par
lion charged out to seize his prey as he was certain to do,\par
since the clumsy German could not descend to the rivulet\par
without making at least some slight noise that would attract\par
Numa's attention.\par
\par
But even this pleasure palled, and more and more the ape-\par
man found himself thinking of the English soldiers fighting\par
against heavy odds and especially of the fact that it was Ger-\par
mans who were beating them. The thought made him lower\par
his head and growl and it worried him not a little -- a bit, per-\par
haps, because he was finding it difficult to forget that he was\par
an Englishman when he wanted only to be an ape. And at\par
last the time came when he could not longer endure the\par
thought of Germans killing Englishmen while he hunted in\par
safety a bare march away.\par
\par
His decision made, he set out in the direction of the German\par
camp, no well-defined plan formulated; but with the general\par
idea that once near the field of operations he might find an\par
opportunity to harass the German command as he so well\par
knew how to do. His way took him along the gorge close to\par
the gulch in which he had left Schneider, and, yielding to a\par
natural curiosity, he scaled the cliffs and made his way to the\par
edge of the gulch. The tree was empty, nor was there sign of\par
Numa, the lion. Picking up a rock he hurled it into the gulch,\par
where it rolled to the very entrance to the cave. Instantly the\par
lion appeared in the aperture; but such a different-looking lion\par
from the great sleek brute that Tarzan had trapped there two\par
weeks before. Now he was gaunt and emaciated, and when he\par
walked he staggered.\par
\par
"Where is the German?" shouted Tarzan. "Was he good\par
eating, or only a bag of bones when he slipped and fell from\par
the tree?"\par
\par
Numa growled. "You look hungry, Numa," continued the\par
ape-man. "You must have been very hungry to eat all the\par
grass from your lair and even the bark from the tree as far up\par
as you can reach. Would you like another German?" and\par
smiling he turned away.\par
\par
A few minutes later he came suddenly upon Bara, the deer,\par
asleep beneath a tree, and as Tarzan was hungry he made a\par
quick kill, and squatting beside his prey proceeded to eat his\par
fill. As he was gnawing the last morsel from a bone his quick\par
ears caught the padding of stealthy feet behind him, and\par
turning he confronted Dango, the hyena, sneaking upon him.\par
With a growl the ape-man picked up a fallen branch and\par
hurled it at the skulking brute. "Go away, eater of carrion!"\par
he cried; but Dango was hungry and being large and power-\par
ful he only snarled and circled slowly about as though watch-\par
ing for an opportunity to charge. Tarzan of the Apes knew\par
Dango even better than Dango knew himself. He knew that\par
the brute, made savage by hunger, was mustering its courage\par
for an attack, that it was probably accustomed to man and\par
therefore more or less fearless of him and so he unslung his\par
heavy spear and laid it ready at his side while he continued\par
his meal, all the time keeping a watchful eye upon the hyena.\par
\par
He felt no fear, for long familiarity with the dangers of his\par
wild world had so accustomed him to them that he took what-\par
ever came as a part of each day's existence as you accept the\par
homely though no less real dangers of the farm, the range, or\par
the crowded metropolis. Being jungle bred he was ready\par
to protect his kill from all comers within ordinary limitations\par
of caution. Under favorable conditions Tarzan would face\par
even Numa himself and, if forced to seek safety by flight, he\par
could do so without any feeling of shame. There was no\par
braver creature roamed those savage wilds and at the same\par
time there was none more wise -- the two factors that had\par
permitted him to survive.\par
\par
Dango might have charged sooner but for the savage\par
growls of the ape-man -- growls which, coming from human\par
lips, raised a question and a fear in the hyena's heart. He\par
had attacked women and children in the native fields and he\par
had frightened their men about their fires at night; but he\par
never had seen a man-thing who made this sound that re-\par
minded him more of Numa angry than of a man afraid.\par
\par
When Tarzan had completed his repast he was about to\par
rise and hurl a clean-picked bone at the beast before he went\par
his way, leaving the remains of his kill to Dango; but a sud-\par
den thought stayed him and instead he picked up the carcass\par
of the deer, threw it over his shoulder, and set off in the\par
direc-\par
tion of the gulch. For a few yards Dango followed, growling,\par
and then realizing that he was being robbed of even a taste\par
of the luscious flesh he cast discretion to the winds and\par
charged. Instantly, as though Nature had given him eyes in\par
the back of his head, Tarzan sensed the impending danger and,\par
dropping Bara to the ground, turned with raised spear. Far\par
back went the brown, right hand and then forward, lightning-\par
like, backed by the power of giant muscles and the weight of\par
his brawn and bone. The spear, released at the right instant,\par
drove straight for Dango, caught him in the neck where it\par
joined the shoulders and passed through the body.\par
\par
When he had withdrawn the shaft from the hyena Tarzan\par
shouldered both carcasses and continued on toward the gulch.\par
Below lay Numa beneath the shade of the lone tree and at the\par
ape-man's call he staggered slowly to his feet, yet weak as he\par
was, he still growled savagely, even essaying a roar at the sight\par
of his enemy. Tarzan let the two bodies slide over the rim\par
of the cliff. "Eat, Numa!" he cried. "It may be that I shall\par
need you again." He saw the lion, quickened to new life at\par
the sight of food, spring upon the body of the deer and then\par
he left him rending and tearing the flesh as he bolted great\par
pieces into his empty maw.\par
\par
The following day Tarzan came within sight of the German\par
lines. From a wooded spur of the hills he looked down upon\par
the enemy's left flank and beyond to the British lines. His\par
position gave him a bird's-eye view of the field of battle, and\par
his keen eyesight picked out many details that would not have\par
been apparent to a man whose every sense was not trained\par
to the highest point of perfection as were the ape-man's. He\par
noted machine-gun emplacements cunningly hidden from the\par
view of the British and listening posts placed well out in No\par
Man's Land.\par
\par
As his interested gaze moved hither and thither from one\par
point of interest to another he heard from a point upon the\par
hillside below him, above the roar of cannon and the crack\par
of rifle fire, a single rifle spit. Immediately his attention was\par
centered upon the spot where he knew a sniper must be hid.\par
Patiently he awaited the next shot that would tell him more\par
surely the exact location of the rifleman, and when it came he\par
moved down the steep hillside with the stealth and quietness\par
of a panther. Apparently he took no cognizance of where he\par
stepped, yet never a loose stone was disturbed nor a twig\par
broken -- it was as though his feet saw.\par
\par
Presently, as he passed through a clump of bushes, he came\par
to the edge of a low cliff and saw upon a ledge some fifteen\par
feet below him a German soldier prone behind an embank-\par
ment of loose rock and leafy boughs that hid him from the\par
view of the British lines. The man must have been an ex-\par
cellent shot, for he was well back of the German lines, firing\par
over the heads of his fellows. His high-powered rifle was\par
equipped with telescope sights and he also carried binoculars\par
which he was in the act of using as Tarzan discovered him,\par
either to note the effect of his last shot or to discover a new\par
target. Tarzan let his eye move quickly toward that part of\par
the British line the German seemed to be scanning, his keen\par
sight revealing many excellent targets for a rifle placed so high\par
above the trenches.\par
\par
The Hun, evidently satisfied with his observations, laid aside\par
his binoculars and again took up his rifle, placed its butt in\par
the hollow of his shoulder and took careful aim. At the same\par
instant a brown body sprang outward from the cliff above him.\par
There was no sound and it is doubtful that the German ever\par
knew what manner of creature it was that alighted heavily\par
upon his back, for at the instant of impact the sinewy fingers\par
of the ape-man circled the hairy throat of the Boche. There\par
was a moment of futile struggling followed by the sudden\par
realization of dissolution -- the sniper was dead.\par
\par
Lying behind the rampart of rocks and boughs, Tarzan\par
looked down upon the scene below. Near at hand were the\par
trenches of the Germans. He could see officers and men mov-\par
ing about in them and almost in front of him a well-hidden\par
machine gun was traversing No Man's Land in an oblique di-\par
rection, striking the British at such an angle as to make it dif-\par
ficult for them to locate it.\par
\par
Tarzan watched, toying idly with the rifle of the dead Ger-\par
man. Presently he fell to examining the mechanism of the\par
piece. He glanced again toward the German trenches and\par
changed the adjustment of the sights, then he placed the rifle to\par
his shoulder and took aim. Tarzan was an excellent shot. With\par
his civilized friends he had hunted big game with the weapons\par
of civilization and though he never had killed except for food\par
or in self-defense he had amused himself firing at inanimate\par
targets thrown into the air and had perfected himself in the\par
use of firearms without realizing that he had done so. Now\par
indeed would he hunt big game. A slow smile touched his lips\par
as his finger closed gradually upon the trigger. The rifle\par
spoke and a German machine gunner collapsed behind his\par
weapon. In three minutes Tarzan picked off the crew of that\par
gun. Then he spotted a German officer emerging from a dug-\par
out and the three men in the bay with him. Tarzan was care-\par
ful to leave no one in the immediate vicinity to question how\par
Germans could be shot in German trenches when they were\par
entirely concealed from enemy view.\par
\par
Again adjusting his sights he took a long-range shot at a\par
distant machine-gun crew to his right. With calm deliberation\par
he wiped them out to a man. Two guns were silenced. He\par
saw men running through the trenches and he picked off\par
several of them. By this time the Germans were aware that\par
something was amiss -- that an uncanny sniper had discovered\par
a point of vantage from which this sector of the trenches was\par
plainly visible to him. At first they sought to discover his\par
location in No Man's Land; but when an officer looking over\par
the parapet through a periscope was struck full in the back\par
of the head with a rifle bullet which passed through his skull\par
and fell to the bottom of the trench they realized that it was\par
beyond the parados rather than the parapet that they should\par
search.\par
\par
One of the soldiers picked up the bullet that had killed his\par
officer, and then it was that real excitement prevailed in that\par
particular bay, for the bullet was obviously of German make.\par
Hugging the parados, messengers carried the word in both\par
directions and presently periscopes were leveled above the\par
parados and keen eyes were searching out the traitor. It did\par
not take them long to locate the position of the hidden sniper\par
and then Tarzan saw a machine gun being trained upon him.\par
Before it had gotten into action its crew lay dead about it; but\par
there were other men to take their places, reluctantly perhaps;\par
but driven on by their officers they were forced to it and at\par
the same time two other machine guns were swung around to-\par
ward the ape-man and put into operation.\par
\par
Realizing that the game was about up Tarzan with a fare-\par
well shot laid aside the rifle and melted into the hills behind\par
him. For many minutes he could hear the sputter of machine-\par
gun fire concentrated upon the spot he had just quit and\par
smiled as he contemplated the waste of German ammunition.\par
\par
"They have paid heavily for Wasimbu, the Waziri, whom\par
they crucified, and for his slain fellows," he mused; "but for\par
Jane they can never pay -- no, not if I killed them all."\par
\par
After dark that night he circled the flanks of both armies\par
and passed through the British out-guards and into the British\par
lines. No man saw him come. No man knew that he was there.\par
\par
Headquarters of the Second Rhodesians occupied a shel-\par
tered position far enough back of the lines to be compara-\par
tively safe from enemy observation. Even lights were per-\par
mitted, and Colonel Capell sat before a field table, on which\par
was spread a military map, talking with several of his officers.\par
A large tree spread above them, a lantern sputtered dimly\par
upon the table, while a small fire burned upon the ground\par
close at hand. The enemy had no planes and no other ob-\par
servers could have seen the lights from the German lines.\par
\par
The officers were discussing the advantage in numbers pos-\par
sessed by the enemy and the inability of the British to more\par
than hold their present position. They could not advance. Al-\par
ready they had sustained severe losses in every attack and had\par
always been driven back by overwhelming numbers. There\par
were hidden machine guns, too, that bothered the colonel con-\par
siderably. It was evidenced by the fact that he often reverted\par
to them during the conversation.\par
\par
"Something silenced them for a while this afternoon," said\par
one of the younger officers. "I was observing at the time and\par
I couldn't make out what the fuss was about; but they seemed\par
to be having a devil of a time in a section of trench on their\par
left. At one time I could have sworn they were attacked in\par
the rear -- I reported it to you at the time, sir, you'll recall\par
--\par
for the blighters were pepperin' away at the side of that bluff\par
behind them. I could see the dirt fly. I don't know what it\par
could have been."\par
\par
There was a slight rustling among the branches of the tree\par
above them and simultaneously a lithe, brown body dropped\par
in their midst. Hands moved quickly to the butts of pistols;\par
but otherwise there was no movement among the officers.\par
First they looked wonderingly at the almost naked white man\par
standing there with the firelight playing upon rounded muscles,\par
took in the primitive attire and the equally primitive arma-\par
ment and then all eyes turned toward the colonel.\par
\par
"Who the devil are you, sir?" snapped that officer.\par
\par
"Tarzan of the Apes," replied the newcomer.\par
\par
"Oh, Greystoke!" cried a major, and stepped forward with \par
outstretched hand.\par
\par
"Preswick," acknowledged Tarzan as he took the proffered \par
hand.\par
\par
"I didn't recognize you at first," apologized the major. "The\par
last time I saw you you were in London in evening dress.\par
Quite a difference -- 'pon my word, man, you'll have to admit\par
it.\par
\par
Tarzan smiled and turned toward the colonel. "I overheard\par
your conversation," he said. "I have just come from behind\par
the German lines. Possibly I can help you."\par
\par
The colonel looked questioningly toward Major Preswick\par
who quickly rose to the occasion and presented the ape-man\par
to his commanding officer and fellows. Briefly Tarzan told\par
them what it was that brought him out alone in pursuit of the\par
Germans.\par
\par
"And now you have come to join us?" asked the colonel.\par
\par
Tarzan shook his head. "Not regularly," he replied. "I\par
must fight in my own way; but I can help you. Whenever I\par
wish I can enter the German lines."\par
\par
Capell smiled and shook his head. "It's not so easy as you\par
think," he said; "I've lost two good officers in the last week\par
trying it -- and they were experienced men; none better in the\par
Intelligence Department."\par
\par
"Is it more difficult than entering the British lines?" asked\par
Tarzan.\par
\par
The colonel was about to reply when a new thought ap-\par
peared to occur to him and he looked quizzically at the ape-\par
man. "Who brought you here?" he asked. "Who passed you\par
through our out-guards?"\par
\par
"I have just come through the German lines and yours and\par
passed through your camp," he replied. "Send word to as-\par
certain if anyone saw me."\par
\par
"But who accompanied you?" insisted Capell.\par
\par
"I came alone," replied Tarzan and then, drawing himself to\par
his full height, "You men of civilization, when you come into\par
the jungle, are as dead among the quick. Manu, the monkey,\par
is a sage by comparison. I marvel that you exist at all -- only\par
your numbers, your weapons, and your power of reason-\par
ing save you. Had I a few hundred great apes with your reason-\par
ing power I could drive the Germans into the ocean as quickly\par
as the remnant of them could reach the coast. Fortunate it is\par
for you that the dumb brutes cannot combine. Could they,\par
Africa would remain forever free of men. But come, can I\par
help you? Would you like to know where several machine-\par
gun emplacements are hidden?"\par
\par
The colonel assured him that they would, and a moment\par
later Tarzan had traced upon the map the location of three\par
that had been bothering the English. "There is a weak spot\par
here," he said, placing a finger upon the map. "It is held by\par
blacks; but the machine guns out in front are manned by\par
whites. If -- wait! I have a plan. You can fill that trench\par
with your own men and enfilade the trenches to its right with\par
their own machine guns."\par
\par
Colonel Capell smiled and shook his head. "It sounds very\par
easy," he said.\par
\par
"It IS easy -- for me," replied the ape-man. "I can empty\par
that section of trench without a shot. I was raised in the\par
jungle -- I know the jungle folk -- the Gomangani as well as\par
the others. Look for me again on the second night," and he\par
turned to leave.\par
\par
"Wait," said the colonel. "I will send an officer to pass you\par
through the lines."\par
\par
Tarzan smiled and moved away. As he was leaving the\par
little group about headquarters he passed a small figure\par
wrapped in an officer's heavy overcoat. The collar was turned\par
up and the visor of the military cap pulled well down over the\par
eyes; but, as the ape-man passed, the light from the fire illumi-\par
nated the features of the newcomer for an instant, revealing\par
to Tarzan a vaguely familiar face. Some officer he had known\par
in London, doubtless, he surmised, and went his way through\par
the British camp and the British lines all unknown to the\par
watchful sentinels of the out-guard.\par
\par
Nearly all night he moved across Kilimanjaro's foothills,\par
tracking by instinct an unknown way, for he guessed that what\par
he sought would be found on some wooded slope higher up\par
than he had come upon his other recent journeys in this, to\par
him, little known country. Three hours before dawn his keen\par
nostrils apprised him that somewhere in the vicinity he would\par
find what he wanted, and so he climbed into a tall tree and\par
settled himself for a few hours' sleep.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
When the Lion Fed\par
\par
Kudu, the sun, was well up in the heavens when Tarzan\par
awoke. The ape-man stretched his giant limbs, ran his\par
fingers through his thick hair, and swung lightly down to\par
earth. Immediately he took up the trail he had come in search\par
of, following it by scent down into a deep ravine. Cautiously\par
he went now, for his nose told him that the quarry was close\par
at hand, and presently from an overhanging bough he looked\par
down upon Horta, the boar, and many of his kinsmen. Un-\par
slinging his bow and selecting an arrow, Tarzan fitted the shaft\par
and, drawing it far back, took careful aim at the largest of the\par
great pigs. In the ape-man's teeth were other arrows, and\par
no sooner had the first one sped, than he had fitted and shot\par
another bolt. Instantly the pigs were in turmoil, not knowing\par
from whence the danger threatened. They stood stupidly at\par
first and then commenced milling around until six of their\par
number lay dead or dying about them; then with a chorus of\par
grunts and squeals they started off at a wild run, disappearing\par
quickly in the dense underbrush.\par
\par
Tarzan then descended from the tree, dispatched those that\par
were not already dead and proceeded to skin the carcasses.\par
As he worked, rapidly and with great skill, he neither hummed\par
nor whistled as does the average man of civilization. It was\par
in numerous little ways such as these that he differed from\par
other men, due, probably, to his early jungle training. The\par
beasts of the jungle that he had been reared among were\par
playful to maturity but seldom thereafter. His fellow-apes,\par
especially the bulls, became fierce and surly as they grew\par
older. Life was a serious matter during lean seasons -- one had\par
to fight to secure one's share of food then, and the habit once\par
formed became lifelong. Hunting for food was the life labor\par
of the jungle bred, and a life labor is a thing not to be ap-\par
proached with levity nor prosecuted lightly. So all work\par
found Tarzan serious, though he still retained what the other\par
beasts lost as they grew older -- a sense of humor, which he\par
gave play to when the mood suited him. It was a grim humor\par
and sometimes ghastly; but it satisfied Tarzan.\par
\par
Then, too, were one to sing and whistle while working on\par
the ground, concentration would be impossible. Tarzan pos-\par
sessed the ability to concentrate each of his five senses upon\par
its particular business. Now he worked at skinning the six\par
pigs and his eyes and his fingers worked as though there was\par
naught else in all the world than these six carcasses; but his\par
ears and his nose were as busily engaged elsewhere -- the\par
former ranging the forest all about and the latter assaying each\par
passing zephyr. It was his nose that first discovered the ap-\par
proach of Sabor, the lioness, when the wind shifted for a mo-\par
ment.\par
\par
As clearly as though he had seen her with his eyes, Tarzan\par
knew that the lioness had caught the scent of the freshly\par
killed pigs and immediately had moved down wind in their\par
direction. He knew from the strength of the scent spoor and\par
the rate of the wind about how far away she was and that she\par
was approaching from behind him. He was finishing the last\par
pig and he did not hurry. The five pelts lay close at hand --\par
he had been careful to keep them thus together and near\par
him -- an ample tree waved its low branches above him.\par
\par
He did not even turn his head for he knew she was not yet\par
in sight; but he bent his ears just a bit more sharply for the\par
first sound of her nearer approach. When the final skin had\par
been removed he rose. Now he heard Sabor in the bushes to\par
his rear, but not yet too close. Leisurely he gathered up the\par
six pelts and one of the carcasses, and as the lioness appeared\par
between the boles of two trees he swung upward into the\par
branches above him. Here he hung the hides over a limb,\par
seated himself comfortably upon another with his back against\par
the bole of the tree, cut a hind quarter from the carcass he had\par
carried with him and proceeded to satisfy his hunger. Sabor\par
slunk, growling, from the brush, cast a wary eye upward\par
toward the ape-man and then fell upon the nearest carcass.\par
\par
Tarzan looked down upon her and grinned, recalling an\par
argument he had once had with a famous big-game hunter who\par
had declared that the king of beasts ate only what he himself\par
had killed. Tarzan knew better for he had seen Numa and\par
Sabor stoop even to carrion.\par
\par
Having filled his belly, the ape-man fell to work upon the\par
hides -- all large and strong. First he cut strips from them\par
about half an inch wide. When he had sufficient number\par
of these strips he sewed two of the hides together, afterwards\par
piercing holes every three or four inches around the edges.\par
Running another strip through these holes gave him a large\par
bag with a drawstring. In similar fashion he produced four\par
other like bags, but smaller, from the four remaining hides and\par
had several strips left over.\par
\par
All this done he threw a large, juicy fruit at Sabor, cached\par
the remainder of the pig in a crotch of the tree and swung off\par
toward the southwest through the middle terraces of the\par
forest, carrying his five bags with him. Straight he went to\par
the rim of the gulch where he had imprisoned Numa, the lion.\par
Very stealthily he approached the edge and peered over.\par
Numa was not in sight. Tarzan sniffed and listened. He could\par
hear nothing, yet he knew that Numa must be within the cave.\par
He hoped that he slept -- much depended upon Numa not\par
discovering him.\par
\par
Cautiously he lowered himself over the edge of the cliff, and\par
with utter noiselessness commenced the descent toward the\par
bottom of the gulch. He stopped often and turned his keen\par
eyes and ears in the direction of the cave's mouth at the far\par
end of the gulch, some hundred feet away. As he neared the\par
foot of the cliff his danger increased greatly. If he could\par
reach the bottom and cover half the distance to the tree that\par
stood in the center of the gulch he would feel comparatively\par
safe for then, even if Numa appeared, he felt that he could\par
beat him either to the cliff or to the tree, but to scale the\par
first thirty feet of the cliff rapidly enough to elude the\par
leaping\par
beast would require a running start of at least twenty feet as\par
there were no very good hand- or footholds dose to the bottom\par
-- he had had to run up the first twenty feet like a squirrel\par
running up a tree that other time he had beaten an infuriated\par
Numa to it. He had no desire to attempt it again unless the\par
conditions were equally favorable at least, for he had escaped\par
Numa's raking talons by only a matter of inches on the former\par
occasion.\par
\par
At last he stood upon the floor of the gulch. Silent as a\par
disembodied spirit he advanced toward the tree. He was half\par
way there and no sign of Numa. He reached the scarred bole\par
from which the famished lion had devoured the bark and even\par
torn pieces of the wood itself and yet Numa had not appeared.\par
As he drew himself up to the lower branches he commenced\par
to wonder if Numa were in the cave after all. Could it be\par
possible that he had forced the barrier of rocks with which\par
Tarzan had plugged the other end of the passage where it\par
opened into the outer world of freedom? Or was Numa dead?\par
The ape-man doubted the verity of the latter suggestion as\par
he had fed the lion the entire carcasses of a deer and a hyena\par
only a few days since -- he could not have starved in so short a\par
time, while the little rivulet running across the gulch furnished\par
him with water a-plenty.\par
\par
Tarzan started to descend and investigate the cavern when\par
it occurred to him that it would save effort were he to lure\par
Numa out instead. Acting upon the thought he uttered a low\par
growl. Immediately he was rewarded by the sound of a move-\par
ment within the cave and an instant later a wild-eyed, haggard\par
lion rushed forth ready to face the devil himself were he edible.\par
When Numa saw Tarzan, fat and sleek, perched in the tree\par
he became suddenly the embodiment of frightful rage. His\par
eyes and his nose told him that this was the creature respon-\par
sible for his predicament and also that this creature was good\par
to eat. Frantically the lion sought to scramble up the bole of\par
the tree. Twice he leaped high enough to catch the lowest\par
branches with his paws, but both times he fell backward to\par
the earth. Each time he became more furious. His growls\par
and roars were incessant and horrible and all the time Tarzan\par
sat grinning down upon him, taunting him in jungle billings-\par
gate for his inability to reach him and mentally exulting that\par
always Numa was wasting his already waning strength.\par
\par
Finally the ape-man rose and unslung his rope. He arranged\par
the coils carefully in his left hand and the noose in his right,\par
and then he took a position with each foot on one of two\par
branches that lay in about the same horizontal plane and with\par
his back pressed firmly against the stem of the tree. There\par
he stood hurling insults at Numa until the beast was again\par
goaded into leaping upward at him, and as Numa rose the\par
noose dropped quickly over his head and about his neck. A\par
quick movement of Tarzan's rope hand tightened the coil and\par
when Numa slipped backward to the ground only his hind\par
feet touched, for the ape-man held him swinging by the neck.\par
\par
Moving slowly outward upon the two branches Tarzan\par
swung Numa out so that he could not reach the bole of the\par
tree with his raking talons, then he made the rope fast after\par
drawing the lion clear of the ground, dropped his five pigskin\par
sacks to earth and leaped down himself. Numa was striking\par
frantically at the grass rope with his fore claws. At any mo-\par
ment he might sever it and Tarzan must, therefore, work\par
rapidly.\par
\par
First he drew the larger bag over Numa's head and secured\par
it about his neck with the draw string, then he managed, after\par
considerable effort, during which he barely escaped being torn\par
to ribbons by the mighty talons, to hog-tie Numa -- drawing\par
his four legs together and securing them in that position with\par
the strips trimmed from the pigskins.\par
\par
By this time the lion's efforts had almost ceased -- it was\par
evident that he was being rapidly strangled and as that did\par
not at all suit the purpose of the Tarmangani the latter swung\par
again into the tree, unfastened the rope from above and\par
lowered the lion to the ground where he immediately fol-\par
lowed it and loosed the noose about Numa's neck. Then he\par
drew his hunting knife and cut two round holes in the front\par
of the head bag opposite the lion's eyes for the double purpose\par
of permitting him to see and giving him sufficient air to\par
breathe.\par
\par
This done Tarzan busied himself fitting the other bags, one\par
over each of Numa's formidably armed paws. Those on the\par
hind feet he secured not only by tightening the draw strings\par
but also rigged garters that fastened tightly around the legs\par
above the hocks. He secured the front-feet bags in place\par
similarly above the great knees. Now, indeed, was Numa, the\par
lion, reduced to the harmlessness of Bara, the deer.\par
\par
By now Numa was showing signs of returning life. He\par
gasped for breath and struggled; but the strips of pigskin that\par
held his four legs together were numerous and tough. Tarzan\par
watched and was sure that they would hold, yet Numa is\par
mightily muscled and there was the chance, always, that he\par
might struggle free of his bonds after which all would depend\par
upon the efficacy of Tarzan's bags and draw strings.\par
\par
After Numa had again breathed normally and was able to\par
roar out his protests and his rage, his struggles increased to\par
Titanic proportions for a short time; but as a lion's powers of\par
endurance are in no way proportionate to his size and strength\par
he soon tired and lay quietly. Amid renewed growling and\par
another futile attempt to free himself, Numa was finally forced\par
to submit to the further indignity of having a rope secured\par
about his neck; but this time it was no noose that might\par
tighten and strangle him; but a bowline knot, which does not\par
tighten or slip under strain.\par
\par
The other end of the rope Tarzan fastened to the stem of\par
the tree, then he quickly cut the bonds securing Numa's legs\par
and leaped aside as the beast sprang to his feet. For a mo-\par
ment the lion stood with legs far outspread, then he raised\par
first one paw and then another, shaking them energetically in\par
an effort to dislodge the strange footgear that Tarzan had\par
fastened upon them. Finally he began to paw at the bag\par
upon his head. The ape-man, standing with ready spear,\par
watched Numa's efforts intently. Would the bags hold? He\par
sincerely hoped so. Or would all his labor prove fruitless?\par
\par
As the clinging things upon his feet and face resisted his\par
every effort to dislodge them, Numa became frantic. He\par
rolled upon the ground, fighting, biting, scratching, and roar-\par
ing; he leaped to his feet and sprang into the air; he charged\par
Tarzan, only to be brought to a sudden stop as the rope secur-\par
ing him to the tree tautened. Then Tarzan stepped in and\par
rapped him smartly on the head with the shaft of his spear.\par
Numa reared upon his hind feet and struck at the are-man\par
and in return received a cuff on one ear that sent him reeling\par
sideways. When he returned to the attack he was again sent\par
sprawling. After the fourth effort it appeared to dawn upon\par
the king of beasts that he had met his master, his head and\par
tail dropped and when Tarzan advanced upon him he backed\par
away, though still growling.\par
\par
Leaving Numa tied to the tree Tarzan entered the tunnel\par
and removed the barricade from the opposite end, after which\par
he returned to the gulch and strode straight for the tree.\par
Numa lay in his path and as Tarzan approached growled\par
menacingly. The ape-man cuffed him aside and unfastened\par
the rope from the tree. Then ensued a half-hour of stubbornly\par
fought battle while Tarzan endeavored to drive Numa through\par
the tunnel ahead of him and Numa persistently refused to be\par
driven. At last, however, by dint of the unrestricted use of\par
his spear point, the ape-man succeeded in forcing the lion to\par
move ahead of him and eventually guided him into the pas-\par
sageway. Once inside, the problem became simpler since\par
Tarzan followed closely in the rear with his sharp spear point,\par
an unremitting incentive to forward movement on the part of\par
the lion. If Numa hesitated he was prodded. If he backed\par
up the result was extremely painful and so, being a wise lion\par
who was learning rapidly, he decided to keep on going and\par
at the end of the tunnel, emerging into the outer world, he\par
sensed freedom, raised his head and tail and started off at a\par
run.\par
\par
Tarzan, still on his hands and knees just inside the entrance,\par
was taken unaware with the result that he was sprawled\par
forward upon his face and dragged a hundred yards across the\par
rocky ground before Numa was brought to a stand. It was\par
a scratched and angry Tarzan who scrambled to his feet. At\par
first he was tempted to chastise Numa; but, as the ape-man\par
seldom permitted his temper to guide him in any direction not\par
countenanced by reason, he quickly abandoned the idea.\par
\par
Having taught Numa the rudiments of being driven, he\par
now urged him forward and there commenced as strange a\par
journey as the unrecorded history of the jungle contains. The\par
balance of that day was eventful both for Tarzan and for\par
Numa. From open rebellion at first the lion passed through\par
stages of stubborn resistance and grudging obedience to final\par
surrender. He was a very tired, hungry, and thirsty lion when\par
night overtook them; but there was to be no food for him that\par
day or the next -- Tarzan did not dare risk removing the head\par
bag, though he did cut another hole which permitted Numa\par
to quench his thirst shortly after dark. Then he tied him to\par
a tree, sought food for himself, and stretched out among the\par
branches above his captive for a few hours' sleep.\par
\par
Early the following morning they resumed their journey,\par
winding over the low foothills south of Kilimanjaro, toward\par
the east. The beasts of the jungle who saw them took one\par
look and fled. The scent spoor of Numa, alone, might have\par
been enough to have provoked flight in many of the lesser\par
animals, but the sight of this strange apparition that smelled\par
like a lion, but looked like nothing they ever had seen before,\par
being led through the jungles by a giant Tarmangani was too\par
much for even the more formidable denizens of the wild.\par
\par
Sabor, the lioness, recognizing from a distance the scent of\par
her lord and master intermingled with that of a Tarmangani\par
and the hide of Horta, the boar, trotted through the aisles of\par
the forest to investigate. Tarzan and Numa heard her coming,\par
for she voiced a plaintive and questioning whine as the baffling\par
mixture of odors aroused her curiosity and her fears, for lions,\par
however terrible they may appear, are often timid animals and\par
Sabor, being of the gentler sex, was, naturally, habitually in-\par
quisitive as well.\par
\par
Tarzan unslung his spear for he knew that he might now\par
easily have to fight to retain his prize. Numa halted and\par
turned his outraged head in the direction of the coming she.\par
He voiced a throaty growl that was almost a purr. Tarzan\par
was upon the point of prodding him on again when Sabor\par
broke into view, and behind her the ape-man saw that which\par
gave him instant pause -- four full-grown lions trailing the\par
lioness.\par
\par
To have goaded Numa then into active resistance might\par
have brought the whole herd down upon him and so Tarzan\par
waited to learn first what their attitude would be. He had\par
no idea of relinquishing his lion without a battle; but knowing\par
lions as he did, he knew that there was no assurance as to\par
just what the newcomers would do.\par
\par
The lioness was young and sleek, and the four males were\par
in their prime -- as handsome lions as he ever had seen. Three\par
of the males were scantily maned but one, the foremost, car-\par
ried a splendid, black mane that rippled in the breeze as he\par
trotted majestically forward. The lioness halted a hundred\par
feet from Tarzan, while the lions came on past her and stopped\par
a few feet nearer. Their ears were upstanding and their eyes\par
filled with curiosity. Tarzan could not even guess what they\par
might do. The lion at his side faced them fully, standing\par
silent now and watchful.\par
\par
Suddenly the lioness gave vent to another little whine, at\par
which Tarzan's lion voiced a terrific roar and leaped forward\par
straight toward the beast of the black mane. The sight of this\par
awesome creature with the strange face was too much for the\par
lion toward which he leaped, dragging Tarzan after him, and\par
with a growl the lion turned and fled, followed by his com-\par
panions and the she.\par
\par
Numa attempted to follow them; Tarzan held him in\par
leash and when he turned upon him in rage, beat him un-\par
mercifully across the head with his spear. Shaking his head\par
and growling, the lion at last moved off again in the direction\par
they had been traveling; but it was an hour before he ceased\par
to sulk. He was very hungry -- half famished in fact -- and\par
consequently of an ugly temper, yet so thoroughly subdued\par
by Tarzan's heroic methods of lion taming that he was pres-\par
ently pacing along at the ape-man's side like some huge St.\par
Bernard.\par
\par
It was dark when the two approached the British right, after\par
a slight delay farther back because of a German patrol it had\par
been necessary to elude. A short distance from the British line\par
of out-guard sentinels Tarzan tied Numa to a tree and con-\par
tinued on alone. He evaded a sentinel, passed the out-guard\par
and support, and by devious ways came again to Colonel\par
Capell's headquarters, where he appeared before the officers\par
gathered there as a disembodied spirit materializing out of\par
thin air.\par
\par
When they saw who it was that came thus unannounced\par
they smiled and the colonel scratched his head in perplexity.\par
\par
"Someone should be shot for this," he said. "I might just\par
as well not establish an out-post if a man can filter through\par
whenever he pleases."\par
\par
Tarzan smiled. "Do not blame them," he said, "for I am not\par
a man. I am Tarmangani. Any Mangani who wished to,\par
could enter your camp almost at will; but if you have them for\par
sentinels no one could enter without their knowledge."\par
\par
"What are the Mangani?" asked the colonel. "Perhaps we\par
might enlist a bunch of the beggars."\par
\par
Tarzan shook his head. "They are the great apes," he\par
explained; "my people; but you could not use them. They\par
cannot concentrate long enough upon a single idea. If I told\par
them of this they would be much interested for a short time --\par
I might even hold the interest of a few long enough to get\par
them here and explain their duties to them; but soon they\par
would lose interest and when you needed them most they\par
might be off in the forest searching for beetles instead of\par
watching their posts. They have the minds of little children\par
-- that is why they remain what they are."\par
\par
"You call them Mangani and yourself Tarmangani -- what is\par
the difference?" asked Major Preswick.\par
\par
"Tar means white," replied Tarzan, "and Mangani, great\par
ape. My name -- the name they gave me in the tribe of Ker-\par
chak -- means White-skin. When I was a little balu my skin,\par
I presume, looked very white indeed against the beautiful,\par
black coat of Kala, my foster mother and so they called me\par
Tarzan, the Tarmangani. They call you, too, Tarmangani," he\par
concluded, smiling.\par
\par
Capell smiled. "It is no reproach, Greystoke," he said; "and,\par
by Jove, it would be a mark of distinction if a fellow could\par
act the part. And now how about your plan? Do you still\par
think you can empty the trench opposite our sector?"\par
\par
"Is it still held by Gomangani?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"What are Gomangani?" inquired the colonel. "It is still\par
held by native troops, if that is what you mean."\par
\par
"Yes," replied the ape-man, "the Gomangani are the great\par
black apes -- the Negroes."\par
\par
"What do you intend doing and what do you want us to\par
do?" asked Capell.\par
\par
Tarzan approached the table and placed a finger on the\par
map. "Here is a listening post," he said; "they have a machine\par
gun in it. A tunnel connects it with this trench at this point."\par
His finger moved from place to place on the map as he talked.\par
"Give me a bomb and when you hear it burst in this listening\par
post let your men start across No Man's Land slowly. Pres-\par
ently they will hear a commotion in the enemy trench; but\par
they need not hurry, and, whatever they do, have them come\par
quietly. You might also warn them that I may be in the\par
trench and that I do not care to be shot or bayoneted."\par
\par
"And that is all?" queried Capell, after directing an officer\par
to give Tarzan a hand grenade; "you will empty the trench\par
alone?"\par
\par
"Not exactly alone," replied Tarzan with a grim smile; "but\par
I shall empty it, and, by the way, your men may come in\par
through the tunnel from the listening post if you prefer. In\par
about half an hour, Colonel," and he turned and left them.\par
\par
As he passed through the camp there flashed suddenly upon\par
the screen of recollection, conjured there by some reminder\par
of his previous visit to headquarters, doubtless, the image of\par
the officer he had passed as he quit the colonel that other\par
time and simultaneously recognition of the face that had been\par
revealed by the light from the fire. He shook his head dubi-\par
ously. No, it could not be and yet the features of the young\par
officer were identical with those of Fraulein Kircher, the Ger-\par
man spy he had seen at German headquarters the night he\par
took Major Schneider from under the nose of the Hun general\par
and his staff.\par
\par
Beyond the last line of sentinels Tarzan moved quickly in\par
the direction of Numa, the lion. The beast was lying down as\par
Tarzan approached, but he rose as the ape-man reached his\par
side. A low whine escaped his muzzled lips. Tarzan smiled\par
for he recognized in the new note almost a supplication -- it\par
was more like the whine of a hungry dog begging for food\par
than the voice of the proud king of beasts.\par
\par
"Soon you will kill -- and feed," he murmured in the ver-\par
nacular of the great apes.\par
\par
He unfastened the rope from about the tree and, with Numa\par
close at his side, slunk into No Man's Land. There was little\par
rifle fire and only an occasional shell vouched for the presence\par
of artillery behind the opposing lines. As the shells from\par
both sides were falling well back of the trenches, they consti-\par
tuted no menace to Tarzan; but the noise of them and that\par
of the rifle fire had a marked effect upon Numa who crouched,\par
trembling, close to the Tarmangani as though seeking protec-\par
tion.\par
\par
Cautiously the two beasts moved forward toward the listen-\par
ing post of the Germans. In one hand Tarzan carried the\par
bomb the English had given him, in the other was the coiled\par
rope attached to the lion. At last Tarzan could see the posi-\par
tion a few yards ahead. His keen eyes picked out the head\par
and shoulders of the sentinel on watch. The ape-man grasped\par
the bomb firmly in his right hand. He measured the distance\par
with his eye and gathered his feet beneath him, then in a\par
single motion he rose and threw the missile, immediately\par
flattening himself prone upon the ground.\par
\par
Five seconds later there was a terrific explosion in the center\par
of the listening post. Numa gave a nervous start and at-\par
tempted to break away; but Tarzan held him and, leaping to\par
his feet, ran forward, dragging Numa after him. At the edge\par
of the post he saw below him but slight evidence that the\par
position had been occupied at all, for only a few shreds of\par
torn flesh remained. About the only thing that had not been\par
demolished was a machine gun which had been protected by\par
sand bags.\par
\par
There was not an instant to lose. Already a relief might be\par
crawling through the communication tunnel, for it must have\par
been evident to the sentinels in the Hun trenches that the\par
listening post had been demolished. Numa hesitated to fol-\par
low Tarzan into the excavation; but the ape-man, who was in\par
no mood to temporize, jerked him roughly to the bottom.\par
Before them lay the mouth of the tunnel that led back from\par
No Man's Land to the German trenches. Tarzan pushed Numa\par
forward until his head was almost in the aperture, then as\par
though it were an afterthought, he turned quickly and, taking\par
the machine gun from the parapet, placed it in the bottom of\par
the hole close at hand, after which he turned again to Numa,\par
and with his knife quickly cut the garters that held the bags\par
upon his front paws. Before the lion could know that a part\par
of his formidable armament was again released for action,\par
Tarzan had cut the rope from his neck and the head bag from\par
his face, and grabbing the lion from the rear had thrust him\par
partially into the mouth of the tunnel.\par
\par
Then Numa balked, only to feel the sharp prick of Tarzan's\par
knife point in his hind quarters. Goading him on the ape-man\par
finally succeeded in getting the lion sufficiently far into the\par
tunnel so that there was no chance of his escaping other than\par
by going forward or deliberately backing into the sharp blade\par
at his rear. Then Tarzan cut the bags from the great hind\par
feet, placed his shoulder and his knife point against Numa's\par
seat, dug his toes into the loose earth that had been broken\par
up by the explosion of the bomb, and shoved.\par
\par
Inch by inch at first Numa advanced. He was growling\par
now and presently he commenced to roar. Suddenly he\par
leaped forward and Tarzan knew that he had caught the\par
scent of meat ahead. Dragging the machine gun beside him\par
the ape-man followed quickly after the lion whose roars he\par
could plainly hear ahead mingled with the unmistakable\par
screams of frightened men. Once again a grim smile touched\par
the lips of this man-beast.\par
\par
"They murdered my Waziri," he muttered; "they crucified\par
Wasimbu, son of Muviro."\par
\par
When Tarzan reached the trench and emerged into it there\par
was no one in sight in that particular bay, nor in the next, nor\par
the next as he hurried forward in the direction of the German\par
center; but in the fourth bay he saw a dozen men jammed in\par
the angle of the traverse at the end while leaping upon them\par
and rending with talons and fangs was Numa, a terrific in-\par
carnation of ferocity and ravenous hunger.\par
\par
Whatever held the men at last gave way as they fought\par
madly with one another in their efforts to escape this dread\par
creature that from their infancy had filled them with terror,\par
and again they were retreating. Some clambered over the\par
parados and some even over the parapet preferring the dan-\par
gers of No Man's Land to this other soul-searing menace.\par
\par
As the British advanced slowly toward the German trenches,\par
they first met terrified blacks who ran into their arms only\par
too willing to surrender. That pandemonium had broken\par
loose in the Hun trench was apparent to the Rhodesians not\par
only from the appearance of the deserters, but from the sounds\par
of screaming, cursing men which came clearly to their ears;\par
but there was one that baffled them for it resembled nothing\par
more closely than the infuriated growling of an angry lion.\par
\par
And when at last they reached the trench, those farthest on\par
the left of the advancing Britishers heard a machine gun\par
sputter suddenly before them and saw a huge lion leap over\par
the German parados with the body of a screaming Hun soldier\par
between his jaws and vanish into the shadows of the night,\par
while squatting upon a traverse to their left was Tarzan of\par
the Apes with a machine gun before him with which he was\par
raking the length of the German trenches.\par
\par
The foremost Rhodesians saw something else -- they saw a\par
huge German officer emerge from a dugout just in rear of the\par
ape-man. They saw him snatch up a discarded rifle with\par
bayonet fixed and creep upon the apparently unconscious Tar-\par
zan. They ran forward, shouting warnings; but above the\par
pandemonium of the trenches and the machine gun their\par
voices could not reach him. The German leaped upon the\par
parapet behind him -- the fat hands raised the rifle butt aloft\par
for the cowardly downward thrust into the naked back and\par
then, as moves Ara, the lightning, moved Tarzan of the Apes.\par
\par
It was no man who leaped forward upon that Boche officer, \par
striking aside the sharp bayonet as one might strike aside a\par
straw in a baby's hand -- it was a wild beast and the roar of\par
a wild beast was upon those savage lips, for as that strange\par
sense that Tarzan owned in common with the other jungle-\par
bred creatures of his wild domain warned him of the presence\par
behind him and he had whirled to meet the attack, his eyes\par
had seen the corps and regimental insignia upon the other's\par
blouse -- it was the same as that worn by the murderers of his\par
wife and his people, by the despoilers of his home and his\par
happiness.\par
\par
It was a wild beast whose teeth fastened upon the shoulder\par
of the Hun -- it was a wild beast whose talons sought that fat\par
neck. And then the boys of the Second Rhodesian Regiment\par
saw that which will live forever in their memories. They saw\par
the giant ape-man pick the heavy German from the ground\par
and shake him as a terrier might shake a rat -- as Sabor, the\par
lioness, sometimes shakes her prey. They saw the eyes of the\par
Hun bulge in horror as he vainly struck with his futile hands\par
against the massive chest and head of his assailant. They saw\par
Tarzan suddenly spin the man about and placing a knee in\par
the middle of his back and an arm about his neck bend his\par
shoulders slowly backward. The German's knees gave and\par
he sank upon them, but still that irresistible force bent him\par
further and further. He screamed in agony for a moment --\par
then something snapped and Tarzan cast him aside, a limp\par
and lifeless thing.\par
\par
The Rhodesians started forward, a cheer upon their lips --\par
a cheer that never was uttered -- a cheer that froze in their\par
throats, for at that moment Tarzan placed a foot upon the\par
carcass of his kill and, raising his face to the heavens, gave\par
voice to the weird and terrifying victory cry of the bull ape.\par
\par
Underlieutenant von Goss was dead.\par
\par
Without a backward glance at the awe-struck soldiers Tar-\par
zan leaped the trench and was gone.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Golden Locket\par
\par
The little British army in East Africa, after suffering severe\par
reverses at the hands of a numerically much superior\par
force, was at last coming into its own. The German offen-\par
sive had been broken and the Huns were now slowly and dog-\par
gedly retreating along the railway to Tanga. The break in the\par
German lines had followed the clearing of a section of their\par
left-flank trenches of native soldiers by Tarzan and Numa,\par
the lion, upon that memorable night that the ape-man had\par
loosed a famishing man-eater among the superstitious and\par
terror-stricken blacks. The Second Rhodesian Regiment had\par
immediately taken possession of the abandoned trench and\par
from this position their flanking fire had raked contiguous sec-\par
tions of the German line, the diversion rendering possible a\par
successful night attack on the part of the balance of the\par
British forces.\par
\par
Weeks had elapsed. The Germans were contesting stub-\par
bornly every mile of waterless, thorn-covered ground and\par
clinging desperately to their positions along the railway. The\par
officers of the Second Rhodesians had seen nothing more of\par
Tarzan of the Apes since he had slain Underlieutenant von\par
Goss and disappeared toward the very heart of the German\par
position, and there were those among them who believed that\par
he had been killed within the enemy lines.\par
\par
"They may have killed him," assented Colonel Capell; "but\par
I fancy they never captured the beggar alive."\par
\par
Nor had they, nor killed him either. Tarzan had spent those\par
intervening weeks pleasantly and profitably. He had\par
amassed a considerable fund of knowledge concerning the\par
disposition and strength of German troops, their methods of\par
warfare, and the various ways in which a lone Tarmangani\par
might annoy an army and lower its morale.\par
\par
At present he was prompted by a specific desire. There was\par
a certain German spy whom he wished to capture alive and\par
take back to the British When he had made his first visit\par
to German headquarters, he had seen a young woman deliver\par
a paper to the German general, and later he had seen that\par
same young woman within the British lines in the uniform of a\par
British officer. The conclusions were obvious -- she was a spy.\par
\par
And so Tarzan haunted German headquarters upon many\par
nights hoping to see her again or to pick up some clew as to\par
her whereabouts, and at the same time he utilized many an\par
artifice whereby he might bring terror to the hearts of the\par
Germans. That he was successful was often demonstrated by\par
the snatches of conversation he overheard as he prowled\par
through the German camps. One night as he lay concealed\par
in the bushes close beside a regimental headquarters he\par
listened to the conversation of several Boche officers. One of\par
the men reverted to the stories told by the native troops in\par
connection with their rout by a lion several weeks before and\par
the simultaneous appearance in their trenches of a naked,\par
white giant whom they were perfectly assured was some\par
demon of the jungle.\par
\par
"The fellow must have been the same as he who leaped\par
into the general's headquarters and carried off Schneider,"\par
asserted one. "I wonder how he happened to single out the\par
poor major. They say the creature seemed interested in no\par
one but Schneider. He had von Kelter in his grasp, and he\par
might easily have taken the general himself; but he ignored\par
them all except Schneider. Him he pursued about the room,\par
seized and carried off into the night. Gott knows what his\par
fate was."\par
\par
"Captain Fritz Schneider has some sort of theory," said\par
another. "He told me only a week or two ago that he thinks\par
he knows why his brother was taken -- that it was a case of\par
mistaken identity. He was not so sure about it until von Goss\par
was killed, apparently by the same creature, the night the\par
lion entered the trenches. Von Goss was attached to Schneid-\par
er's company. One of Schneider's men was found with his\par
neck wrung the same night that the major was carried off and\par
Schneider thinks that this devil is after him and his command\par
-- that it came for him that night and got his brother by\par
mistake. He says Kraut told him that in presenting the major\par
to Fraulein Kircher the former's name was no sooner spoken\par
than this wild man leaped through the window and made for\par
him."\par
\par
Suddenly the little group became rigid -- listening. "What\par
was that?" snapped one, eyeing the bushes from which a\par
smothered snarl had issued as Tarzan of the Apes realized\par
that through his mistake the perpetrator of the horrid crime at\par
his bungalow still lived -- that the murderer of his wife went\par
yet unpunished.\par
\par
For a long minute the officers stood with tensed nerves,\par
every eye rivetted upon the bushes from whence the ominous\par
sound had issued. Each recalled recent mysterious disap-\par
pearances from the heart of camps as well as from lonely\par
out-guards. Each thought of the silent dead he had seen,\par
slain almost within sight of their fellows by some unseen\par
creature. They thought of the marks upon dead throats --\par
made by talons or by giant fingers, they could not tell which\par
-- and those upon shoulders and jugulars where powerful\par
teeth had fastened and they waited with drawn pistols.\par
\par
Once the bushes moved almost imperceptibly and an instant\par
later one of the officers, without warning, fired into them; but\par
Tarzan of the Apes was not there. In the interval between\par
the moving of the bushes and the firing of the shot he had\par
melted into the night. Ten minutes later he was hovering on\par
the outskirts of that part of camp where were bivouacked for\par
the night the black soldiers of a native company commanded\par
by one Hauptmann Fritz Schneider. The men were stretched\par
upon the ground without tents; but there were tents pitched\par
for the officers. Toward these Tarzan crept. It was slow\par
and perilous work, as the Germans were now upon the alert\par
for the uncanny foe that crept into their camps to take his toll\par
by night, yet the ape-man passed their sentinels, eluded the\par
vigilance of the interior guard, and crept at last to the rear of\par
the officers' line.\par
\par
Here he flattened himself against the ground close behind\par
the nearest tent and listened. From within came the regular\par
breathing of a sleeping man -- one only. Tarzan was satisfied.\par
With his knife he cut the tie strings of the rear flap and\par
entered. He made no noise. The shadow of a falling leaf,\par
floating gently to earth upon a still day, could have been no\par
more soundless. He moved to the side of the sleeping man\par
and bent low over him. He could not know, of course,\par
whether it was Schneider or another, as he had never seen\par
Schneider; but he meant to know and to know even more.\par
Gently he shook the man by the shoulder. The fellow turned\par
heavily and grunted in a thick guttural.\par
\par
"Silence!" admonished the ape-man in a low whisper. "Si-\par
lence -- I kill."\par
\par
The Hun opened his eyes. In the dim light he saw a giant\par
figure bending over him. Now a mighty hand grasped his\par
shoulder and another closed lightly about his throat.\par
\par
"Make no outcry," commanded Tarzan; "but answer in a\par
whisper my questions. What is your name?"\par
\par
"Luberg," replied the officer. He was trembling. The weird\par
presence of this naked giant filled him with dread. He, too,\par
recalled the men mysteriously murdered in the still watches of\par
the night camps. "What do you want?"\par
\par
"Where is Hauptmann Fritz Schneider?" asked Tarzan,\par
"Which is his tent?"\par
\par
"He is not here," replied Luberg. "He was sent to Wil-\par
helmstal yesterday."\par
\par
"I shall not kill you -- now," said the ape-man. "First I\par
shall go and learn if you have lied to me and if you have\par
your death shall be the more terrible. Do you know how\par
Major Schneider died?"\par
\par
Luberg shook his head negatively.\par
\par
"I do," continued Tarzan, "and it was not a nice way to die\par
-even for an accursed German. Turn over with your face\par
down and cover your eyes. Do not move or make any sound."\par
\par
The man did as he was bid and the instant that his eyes\par
were turned away, Tarzan slipped from the tent. An hour\par
later he was outside the German camp and headed for the\par
little hill town of Wilhelmstal, the summer seat of govern-\par
ment of German East Africa.\par
\par
Fraulein Bertha Kircher was lost. She was humiliated and\par
angry -- it was long before she would admit it, that she, who\par
prided herself upon her woodcraft, was lost in this little patch\par
of country between the Pangani and the Tanga railway.\par
She knew that Wilhelmstal lay southeast of her about fifty miles;\par
but, through a combination of untoward circumstances, she\par
found herself unable to determine which was southeast.\par
\par
In the first place she had set out from German headquarters\par
on a well-marked road that was being traveled by troops and\par
with every reason to believe that she would follow that road\par
to Wilhelmstal. Later she had been warned from this road\par
by word that a strong British patrol had come down the west\par
bank of the Pangani, effected a crossing south of her, and\par
was even then marching on the railway at Tonda.\par
\par
After leaving the road she found herself in thick bush and\par
as the sky was heavily overcast she presently had recourse to\par
her compass and it was not until then that she discovered to\par
her dismay that she did not have it with her. So sure was she\par
of her woodcraft, however, that she continued on in the\par
direction she thought west until she had covered sufficient\par
distance to warrant her in feeling assured that, by now turning\par
south, she could pass safely in rear of the British patrol.\par
\par
Nor did she commence to feel any doubts until long after\par
she had again turned toward the east well south, as she\par
thought, of the patrol. It was late afternoon -- she should\par
long since have struck the road again south of Tonda; but she\par
had found no road and now she began to feel real anxiety.\par
\par
Her horse had traveled all day without food or water,\par
night was approaching and with it a realization that she was\par
hopelessly lost in a wild and trackless country notorious princi-\par
pally for its tsetse flies and savage beasts. It was maddening\par
to know that she had absolutely no knowledge of the direction\par
she was traveling -- that she might be forging steadily further\par
from the railway, deeper into the gloomy and forbidding\par
country toward the Pangani; yet it was impossible to stop --\par
she must go on.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher was no coward, whatever else she may have\par
been, but as night began to close down around her she could\par
not shut out from her mind entirely contemplation of the\par
terrors of the long hours ahead before the rising sun should\par
dissipate the Stygian gloom -- the horrid jungle night -- that\par
lures forth all the prowling, preying creatures of destruction.\par
\par
She found, just before dark, an open meadow-like break in\par
the almost interminable bush. There was a small clump of\par
trees near the center and here she decided to camp. The\par
grass was high and thick, affording feed for her horse and a\par
bed for herself, and there was more than enough dead wood\par
lying about the trees to furnish a good fire well through the\par
night. Removing the saddle and bridle from her mount she\par
placed them at the foot of a tree and then picketed the animal\par
close by. Then she busied herself collecting firewood and by\par
the time darkness had fallen she had a good fire and enough\par
wood to last until morning.\par
\par
From her saddlebags she took cold food and from her\par
canteen a swallow of water. She could not afford more than\par
a small swallow for she could not know how long a time it\par
might be before she should find more. It filled her with sor-\par
row that her poor horse must go waterless, for even German\par
spies may have hearts and this one was very young and very\par
feminine.\par
\par
It was now dark. There was neither moon nor stars and\par
the light from her fire only accentuated the blackness beyond.\par
She could see the grass about her and the boles of the trees\par
which stood out in brilliant relief against the solid background\par
of impenetrable night, and beyond the firelight there was\par
nothing.\par
\par
The jungle seemed ominously quiet. Far away in the dis-\par
tance she heard faintly the boom of big guns; but she could\par
not locate their direction. She strained her ears until her\par
nerves were on the point of breaking; but she could not tell\par
from whence the sound came. And it meant so much to her to\par
know, for the battle-lines were north of her and if she could\par
but locate the direction of the firing she would know which\par
way to go in the morning.\par
\par
In the morning! Would she live to see another morning?\par
She squared her shoulders and shook herself together. Such\par
thoughts must be banished -- they would never do. Bravely\par
she hummed an air as she arranged her saddle near the fire\par
and pulled a quantity of long grass to make a comfortable\par
seat over which she spread her saddle blanket. Then she\par
unstrapped a heavy, military coat from the cantle of her saddle\par
and donned it, for the air was already chill.\par
\par
Seating herself where she could lean against the saddle\par
she prepared to maintain a sleepless vigil throughout the\par
night. For an hour the silence was broken only by the distant\par
booming of the guns and the low noises of the feeding horse\par
and then, from possibly a mile away, came the rumbling\par
thunder of a lion's roar. The girl started and laid her hand\par
upon the rifle at her side. A little shudder ran through her\par
slight frame and she could feel the goose flesh rise upon her\par
body.\par
\par
Again and again was the awful sound repeated and each\par
time she was certain that it came nearer. She could locate\par
the direction of this sound although she could not that of the\par
guns, for the origin of the former was much closer. The lion\par
was up wind and so could not have caught her scent as yet,\par
though he might be approaching to investigate the light of\par
the fire which could doubtless be seen for a considerable\par
distance.\par
\par
For another fear-filled hour the girl sat straining her eyes\par
and ears out into the black void beyond her little island of\par
light. During all that time the lion did not roar again; but\par
there was constantly the sensation that it was creeping upon\par
her. Again and again she would start and turn to peer into\par
the blackness beyond the trees behind her as her overwrought\par
nerves conjured the stealthy fall of padded feet. She held the\par
rifle across her knees at the ready now and she was trembling\par
from head to foot.\par
\par
Suddenly her horse raised his head and snorted, and with\par
a little cry of terror the girl sprang to her feet. The animal\par
turned and trotted back toward her until the picket rope\par
brought him to a stand, and then he wheeled about and with\par
ears up-pricked gazed out into the night; but the girl could\par
neither see nor hear aught.\par
\par
Still another hour of terror passed during which the horse\par
often raised his head to peer long and searchingly into the\par
dark. The girl replenished the fire from time to time. She\par
found herself becoming very sleepy. Her heavy lids persisted\par
in drooping; but she dared not sleep. Fearful lest she might\par
be overcome by the drowsiness that was stealing through her\par
she rose and walked briskly to and fro, then she threw some\par
more wood on the fire, walked over and stroked her horse's\par
muzzle and returned to her seat.\par
\par
Leaning against the saddle she tried to occupy her mind\par
with plans for the morrow; but she must have dozed. With\par
a start she awoke. It was broad daylight. The hideous night\par
with its indescribable terrors was gone.\par
\par
She could scarce believe the testimony of her senses. She\par
had slept for hours, the fire was out and yet she and the horse\par
were safe and alive, nor was there sign of savage beast about.\par
And, best of all, the sun was shining, pointing the straight\par
road to the east. Hastily she ate a few mouthfuls of her preci-\par
ous rations, which with a swallow of water constituted her\par
breakfast. Then she saddled her horse and mounted. Already\par
she felt that she was as good as safe in Wilhelmstal.\par
\par
Possibly, however, she might have revised her conclusions\par
could she have seen the two pairs of eyes watching her every\par
move intently from different points in the bush.\par
\par
Light-hearted and unsuspecting, the girl rode across the\par
clearing toward the bush while directly before her two yellow-\par
green eyes glared round and terrible, a tawny tail twitched\par
nervously and great, padded paws gathered beneath a sleek barrel\par
for a mighty spring. The horse was almost at the edge\par
of the bush when Numa, the lion, launched himself through\par
the air. He struck the animal's right shoulder at the instant\par
that it reared, terrified, to wheel in flight. The force of the\par
impact hurled the horse backward to the ground and so\par
quickly that the girl had no opportunity to extricate herself;\par
but fell to the earth with her mount, her left leg pinned be-\par
neath its body.\par
\par
Horror-stricken, she saw the king of beasts open his mighty\par
jaws and seize the screaming creature by the back of its neck.\par
The great jaws closed, there was an instant's struggle as Numa\par
shook his prey. She could hear the vertebrae crack as the\par
mighty fangs crunched through them, and then the muscles\par
of her faithful friend relaxed in death.\par
\par
Numa crouched upon his kill. His terrifying eyes rivetted\par
themselves upon the girl's face -- she could feel his hot breath\par
upon her cheek and the odor of the fetid vapor nauseated her.\par
For what seemed an eternity to the girl the two lay staring at\par
each other and then the lion uttered a menacing growl.\par
\par
Never before had Bertha Kircher been so terrified -- never\par
before had she had such cause for terror. At her hip was a\par
pistol -- a formidable weapon with which to face a man; but\par
a puny thing indeed with which to menace the great beast\par
before her. She knew that at best it could but enrage him\par
and yet she meant to sell her life dearly, for she felt that she\par
must die. No human succor could have availed her even had\par
it been there to offer itself. For a moment she tore her gaze\par
from the hypnotic fascination of that awful face and breathed\par
a last prayer to her God. She did not ask for aid, for she felt\par
that she was beyond even divine succor -- she only asked that\par
the end might come quickly and with as little pain as possible.\par
\par
No one can prophesy what a lion will do in any given\par
emergency. This one glared and growled at the girl for a\par
moment and then fell to feeding upon the dead horse. Fraulein\par
Kircher wondered for an instant and then attempted to\par
draw her leg cautiously from beneath the body of her mount;\par
but she could not budge it. She increased the force of her\par
efforts and Numa looked up from his feeding to growl again.\par
The girl desisted. She hoped that he might satisfy his hunger\par
and then depart to lie up, but she could not believe that he\par
would leave her there alive. Doubtless he would drag the\par
remains of his kill into the bush for hiding and, as there could\par
be no doubt that he considered her part of his prey, he would\par
certainly come back for her, or possibly drag her in first and\par
kill her.\par
\par
Again Numa fell to feeding. The girl's nerves were at the\par
breaking point. She wondered that she had not fainted under\par
the strain of terror and shock. She recalled that she often had\par
wished she might see a lion, close to, make a kill and feed\par
upon it. God! how realistically her wish had been granted.\par
\par
Again she bethought herself of her pistol. As she had\par
fallen, the holster had slipped around so that the weapon now\par
lay beneath her. Very slowly she reached for it; but in so\par
doing she was forced to raise her body from the ground.\par
Instantly the lion was aroused. With the swiftness of a cat\par
he reached across the carcass of the horse and placed a heavy,\par
taloned paw upon her breast, crushing her back to earth, and\par
all the time he growled and snarled horribly. His face was a\par
picture of frightful rage incarnate. For a moment neither\par
moved and then from behind her the girl heard a human\par
voice uttering bestial sounds.\par
\par
Numa suddenly looked up from the girl's face at the thing\par
beyond her. His growls increased to roars as he drew back,\par
ripping the front of the girl's waist almost from her body with\par
his long talons, exposing her white bosom, which through\par
some miracle of chance the great claws did not touch.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes had witnessed the entire encounter\par
from the moment that Numa had leaped upon his prey. For\par
some time before, he had been watching the girl, and after the\par
lion attacked her he had at first been minded to let Numa have\par
his way with her. What was she but a hated German and a\par
spy besides? He had seen her at General Kraut's headquarters,\par
in conference with the German staff and again he had seen her\par
within the British lines masquerading as a British officer. It\par
was the latter thought that prompted him to interfere. Doubt-\par
less General Jan Smuts would be glad to meet and question\par
her. She might be forced to divulge information of value to\par
the British commander before Smuts had her shot.\par
\par
Tarzan had recognized not only the girl, but the lion as well.\par
All lions may look alike to you and me; but not so to their\par
intimates of the jungle. Each has his individual characteristics\par
of face and form and gait as well defined as those that dif-\par
ferentiate members of the human family, and besides these\par
the creatures of the jungle have a still more positive test --\par
that of scent. Each of us, man or beast, has his own peculiar\par
odor, and it is mostly by this that the beasts of the jungle,\par
endowed with miraculous powers of scent, recognize indi-\par
viduals.\par
\par
It is the final proof. You have seen it demonstrated a thou-\par
sand times -- a dog recognizes your voice and looks at you.\par
He knows your face and figure. Good, there can be no doubt\par
in his mind but that it is you; but is he satisfied? No, sir --\par
he\par
must come up and smell of you. All his other senses may be\par
fallible, but not his sense of smell, and so he makes assurance\par
positive by the final test.\par
\par
Tarzan recognized Numa as he whom he had muzzled with\par
the hide of Horta, the boar -- as he whom he handled by a\par
rope for two days and finally loosed in a German front-line\par
trench, and he knew that Numa would recognize him -- that\par
he would remember the sharp spear that had goaded him\par
into submission and obedience and Tarzan hoped that the\par
lesson he had learned still remained with the lion.\par
\par
Now he came forward calling to Numa in the language of\par
the great apes -- warning him away from the girl. It is open\par
to question that Numa, the lion, understood him; but he did\par
understand the menace of the heavy spear that the Tarman-\par
gani carried so ready in his brown, right hand, and so he drew\par
back, growling, trying to decide in his little brain whether\par
to charge or flee.\par
\par
On came the ape-man with never a pause, straight for the\par
lion. "Go away, Numa," he cried, "or Tarzan will tie you up\par
again and lead you through the jungle without food. See\par
Arad, my spear! Do you recall how his point stuck into you\par
and how with his haft I beat you over the head? Go, Numa!\par
I am Tarzan of the Apes!"\par
\par
Numa wrinkled the skin of his face into great folds, until\par
his eyes almost disappeared and he growled and roared and\par
snarled and growled again, and when the spear point came\par
at last quite close to him he struck at it viciously with his\par
armed paw; but he drew back. Tarzan stepped over the\par
dead horse and the girl lying behind him gazed in wide-eyed\par
astonishment at the handsome figure driving an angry lion\par
deliberately from its kill.\par
\par
When Numa had retreated a few yards, the ape-man called\par
back to the girl in perfect German, "Are you badly hurt?"\par
\par
"I think not," she replied; "but I cannot extricate my foot\par
from beneath my horse."\par
\par
"Try again," commanded Tarzan. "I do not know how long\par
I can hold Numa thus."\par
\par
The girl struggled frantically; but at last she sank back\par
upon an elbow.\par
\par
"It is impossible," she called to him.\par
\par
He backed slowly until he was again beside the horse, when\par
he reached down and grasped the cinch, which was still intact.\par
Then with one hand he raised the carcass from the ground.\par
The girl freed herself and rose to her feet.\par
\par
"You can walk?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"Yes," she said; "my leg is numb; but it does not seem to be\par
injured."\par
\par
"Good," commented the ape-man. "Back slowly away be-\par
hind me -- make no sudden movements. I think he will not\par
charge."\par
\par
With utmost deliberation the two backed toward the bush.\par
Numa stood for a moment, growling, then he followed them,\par
slowly. Tarzan wondered if he would come beyond his kill\par
or if he would stop there. If he followed them beyond, then\par
they could look for a charge, and if Numa charged it was\par
very likely that he would get one of them. When the lion\par
reached the carcass of the horse Tarzan stopped and so did\par
Numa, as Tarzan had thought that he would and the ape-man\par
waited to see what the lion would do next. He eyed them for\par
a moment, snarled angrily and then looked down at the tempt-\par
ing meat. Presently he crouched upon his kill and resumed\par
feeding.\par
\par
The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief as she and the ape-\par
man resumed their slow retreat with only an occasional glance\par
from the lion, and when at last they reached the bush and had\par
turned and entered it, she felt a sudden giddiness overwhelm\par
her so that she staggered and would have fallen had Tarzan\par
not caught her. It was only a moment before she regained\par
control of herself.\par
\par
"I could not help it," she said, in half apology. "I was so\par
close to death -- such a horrible death -- it unnerved me for an\par
instant; but I am all right now. How can I ever thank you?\par
It was so wonderful -- you did not seem to fear the frightful\par
creature in the least; yet he was afraid of you. Who are you?"\par
\par
"He knows me," replied Tarzan, grimly -- "that is why he\par
fears me."\par
\par
He was standing facing the girl now and for the first time\par
he had a chance to look at her squarely and closely. She was\par
very beautiful -- that was undeniable; but Tarzan realized her\par
beauty only in a subconscious way. It was superficial -- it did\par
not color her soul which must be black as sin. She was Ger-\par
man -- a German spy. He hated her and desired only to\par
compass her destruction; but he would choose the manner so\par
that it would work most grievously against the enemy cause.\par
\par
He saw her naked breasts where Numa had torn her clothing\par
from her and dangling there against the soft, white flesh he\par
saw that which brought a sudden scowl of surprise and anger\par
to his face -- the diamond-studded, golden locket of his youth\par
-- the love token that had been stolen from the breast of his\par
mate by Schneider, the Hun. The girl saw the scowl but did\par
not interpret it correctly. Tarzan grasped her roughly by the\par
arm.\par
\par
"Where did you get this?" he demanded, as he tore the\par
bauble from her.\par
\par
The girl drew herself to her full height. "Take your hand\par
from me," she demanded, but the ape-man paid no attention\par
to her words, only seizing her more forcibly.\par
\par
"Answer me!" he snapped. "Where did you get this?"\par
\par
"What is it to you?" she countered.\par
\par
"It is mine," he replied. "Tell me who gave it to you or I\par
will throw you back to Numa."\par
\par
"You would do that?" she asked.\par
\par
"Why not?" he queried. "You are a spy and spies must die\par
if they are caught."\par
\par
"You were going to kill me, then?"\par
\par
"I was going to take you to headquarters. They would\par
dispose of you there; but Numa can do it quite as effectively.\par
Which do you prefer?"\par
\par
"Hauptmann Fritz Schneider gave it to me," she said.\par
\par
"Headquarters it will be then," said Tarzan. "Come!"\par
The girl moved at his side through the bush and all the\par
time her mind worked quickly. They were moving east, which\par
suited her, and as long as they continued to move east she was\par
glad to have the protection of the great, white savage. She\par
speculated much upon the fact that her pistol still swung at her\par
hip. The man must be mad not to take it from her.\par
\par
"What makes you think I am a spy?" she asked after a long\par
silence.\par
\par
"I saw you at German headquarters," he replied, "and then\par
again inside the British lines."\par
\par
She could not let him take her back to them. She must\par
reach Wilhelmstal at once and she was determined to do so\par
even if she must have recourse to her pistol. She cast a side\par
glance at the tall figure. What a magnificent creature! But\par
yet he was a brute who would kill her or have her killed if she\par
did not slay him. And the locket! She must have that back\par
-- it must not fail to reach Wilhelmstal. Tarzan was now a\par
foot or two ahead of her as the path was very narrow. Cau-\par
tiously she drew her pistol. A single shot would suffice and\par
he was so close that she could not miss. As she figured it all\par
out her eyes rested on the brown skin with the graceful\par
muscles rolling beneath it and the perfect limbs and head\par
and the carriage that a proud king of old might have envied.\par
A wave of revulsion for her contemplated act surged through\par
her. No, she could not do it -- yet, she must be free and she\par
must regain possession of the locket. And then, almost blindly,\par
she swung the weapon up and struck Tarzan heavily upon the\par
back of the head with its butt. Like a felled ox he dropped in\par
his tracks.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Vengeance and Mercy\par
\par
It was an hour later that Sheeta, the panther, hunting,\par
chanced to glance upward into the blue sky where his at-\par
tention was attracted by Ska, the vulture, circling slowly\par
above the bush a mile away and downwind. For a long minute\par
the yellow eyes stared intently at the gruesome bird. They saw\par
Ska dive and rise again to continue his ominous circling and\par
in these movements their woodcraft read that which, while\par
obvious to Sheeta, would doubtless have meant nothing to\par
you or me.\par
\par
The hunting cat guessed that on the ground beneath Ska\par
was some living thing of flesh -- either a beast feeding upon\par
its kill or a dying animal that Ska did not yet dare attack. In\par
either event it might prove meat for Sheeta, and so the wary\par
feline stalked by a circuitous route, upon soft, padded feet\par
that gave forth no sound, until the circling aasvogel> and his\par
intended prey were upwind. Then, sniffing each vagrant\par
zephyr, Sheeta, the panther, crept cautiously forward, nor\par
had he advanced any considerable distance before his keen\par
nostrils were rewarded with the scent of man -- a Tarmangani.\par
\par
Sheeta paused. He was not a hunter of men. He was\par
young and in his prime; but always before he had avoided\par
this hated presence. Of late he had become more accustomed\par
to it with the passing of many soldiers through his ancient\par
hunting ground, and as the soldiers had frightened away a\par
great part of the game Sheeta had been wont to feed upon, the\par
days had been lean, and Sheeta was hungry.\par
\par
The circling Ska suggested that this Tarmangani might be\par
helpless and upon the point of dying, else Ska would not have\par
been interested in him, and so easy prey for Sheeta. With\par
this thought in mind the cat resumed his stalking. Presently\par
he pushed through the thick bush and his yellow-green eyes\par
rested gloatingly upon the body of an almost naked Tarman-\par
gani lying face down in a narrow game trail.\par
\par
Numa, sated, rose from the carcass of Bertha Kircher's\par
horse and seized the partially devoured body by the neck and\par
dragged it into the bush; then he started east toward the lair\par
where he had left his mate. Being uncomfortably full he was\par
inclined to be sleepy and far from belligerent. He moved\par
slowly and majestically with no effort at silence or conceal-\par
ment. The king walked abroad, unafraid.\par
\par
With an occasional regal glance to right or left he moved\par
along a narrow game trail until at a turn he came to a sudden\par
stop at what lay revealed before him -- Sheeta, the panther,\par
creeping stealthily upon the almost naked body of a Tar-\par
mangani lying face down in the deep dust of the pathway.\par
Numa glared intently at the quiet body in the dust. Recog-\par
nition came. It was his Tarmangani. A low growl of warning\par
rumbled from his throat and Sheeta halted with one paw\par
upon Tarzan's back and turned suddenly to eye the intruder.\par
\par
What passed within those savage brains? Who may say?\par
The panther seemed debating the wisdom of defending his\par
find, for he growled horribly as though warning Numa away\par
from the prey. And Numa? Was the idea of property rights\par
dominating his thoughts? The Tarmangani was his, or he\par
was the Tarmangani's. Had not the Great White Ape mas-\par
tered and subdued him and, too, had he not fed him? Numa\par
recalled the fear that he had felt of this man-thing and his\par
cruel spear; but in savage brains fear is more likely to en-\par
gender respect than hatred and so Numa found that he re-\par
spected the creature who had subdued and mastered him.\par
He saw Sheeta, upon whom he looked with contempt, daring\par
to molest the master of the lion. Jealousy and greed alone\par
might have been sufficient to prompt Numa to drive Sheeta\par
away, even though the lion was not sufficiently hungry to\par
devour the flesh that he thus wrested from the lesser cat; but\par
then, too, there was in the little brain within the massive head\par
a sense of loyalty, and perhaps this it was that sent Numa\par
quickly forward, growling, toward the spitting Sheeta.\par
\par
For a moment the latter stood his ground with arched back\par
and snarling face, for all the world like a great, spotted tabby.\par
\par
Numa had not felt like fighting; but the sight of Sheeta\par
daring to dispute his rights kindled his ferocious brain to\par
sudden fire. His rounded eyes glared with rage, his undulating\par
tail snapped to stiff erectness as, with a frightful roar, he\par
charged this presuming vassal.\par
\par
It came so suddenly and from so short a distance that Sheeta\par
had no chance to turn and flee the rush, and so he met it with\par
raking talons and snapping jaws; but the odds were all against\par
him. To the larger fangs and the more powerful jaws of his\par
adversary were added huge talons and the preponderance of\par
the lion's great weight. At the first clash Sheeta was crushed\par
and, though he deliberately fell upon his back and drew up\par
his powerful hind legs beneath Numa with the intention of\par
disemboweling him, the lion forestalled him and at the same\par
time closed his awful jaws upon Sheeta's throat.\par
\par
It was soon over. Numa rose, shaking himself, and stood\par
above the torn and mutilated body of his foe. His own sleek\par
coat was cut and the red blood trickled down his flank; though\par
it was but a minor injury, it angered him. He glared down\par
at the dead panther and then, in a fit of rage, he seized and\par
mauled the body only to drop it in a moment, lower his head,\par
voice a single terrific roar, and turn toward the ape-man.\par
\par
Approaching the still form he sniffed it over from head to\par
foot. Then he placed a huge paw upon it and turned it over\par
with its face up. Again he smelled about the body and at\par
last with his rough tongue licked Tarzan's face. It was then\par
that Tarzan opened his eyes.\par
\par
Above him towered the huge lion, its hot breath upon his\par
face, its rough tongue upon his cheek. The ape-man had\par
often been close to death; but never before so close as this,\par
he thought, for he was convinced that death was but a matter\par
of seconds. His brain was still numb from the effects of the\par
blow that had felled him, and so he did not, for a moment,\par
recognize the lion that stood over him as the one he had so\par
recently encountered.\par
\par
Presently, however, recognition dawned upon him and with\par
it a realization of the astounding fact that Numa did not seem\par
bent on devouring him -- at least not immediately. His po-\par
sition was a delicate one. The lion stood astraddle Tarzan with\par
his front paws. The ape-man could not rise, therefore, without\par
pushing the lion away and whether Numa would tolerate\par
being pushed was an open question. Too, the beast might con-\par
sider him already dead and any movement that indicated the\par
contrary was true would, in all likelihood, arouse the killing\par
instinct of the man-eater.\par
\par
But Tarzan was tiring of the situation. He was in no mood\par
to lie there forever, especially when he contemplated the fact\par
that the girl spy who had tried to brain him was undoubtedly\par
escaping as rapidly as possible.\par
\par
Numa was looking right into his eyes now evidently aware\par
that he was alive. Presently the lion cocked his head on one\par
side and whined. Tarzan knew the note, and he knew that it\par
spelled neither rage nor hunger, and then he risked all on a\par
single throw, encouraged by that low whine.\par
\par
"Move, Numa!" he commanded and placing a palm against\par
the tawny shoulder he pushed the lion aside. Then he rose\par
and with a hand on his hunting knife awaited that which might\par
follow. It was then that his eyes fell for the first time on the\par
torn body of Sheeta. He looked from the dead cat to the live\par
one and saw the marks of conflict upon the latter, too, and in\par
an instant realized something of what had happened -- Numa\par
had saved him from the panther!\par
\par
It seemed incredible and yet the evidence pointed clearly to\par
the fact. He turned toward the lion and without fear ap-\par
proached and examined his wounds which he found super-\par
ficial, and as Tarzan knelt beside him Numa rubbed an itching\par
ear against the naked, brown shoulder. Then the ape-man\par
stroked the great head, picked up his spear, and looked about\par
for the trail of the girl. This he soon found leading toward the\par
east, and as he set out upon it something prompted him to feel\par
for the locket he had hung about his neck. It was gone!\par
\par
No trace of anger was apparent upon the ape-man's face un-\par
less it was a slight tightening of the jaws; but he put his hand\par
ruefully to the back of his head where a bump marked the\par
place where the girl had struck him and a moment later a\par
half-smile played across his lips. He could not help but ad-\par
mit that she had tricked him neatly, and that it must have\par
taken nerve to do the thing she did and to set out armed only\par
with a pistol through the trackless waste that lay between\par
them and the railway and beyond into the hills where Wil-\par
helmstal lies.\par
\par
Tarzan admired courage. He was big enough to admit it\par
and admire it even in a German spy, but he saw that in this\par
case it only added to her resourcefulness and made her all\par
the more dangerous and the necessity for putting her out of\par
the way paramount. He hoped to overtake her before she\par
reached Wilhelmstal and so he set out at the swinging trot that\par
he could hold for hours at a stretch without apparent fatigue.\par
\par
That the girl could hope to reach the town on foot in less\par
than two days seemed improbable, for it was a good thirty\par
miles and part of it hilly. Even as the thought crossed his\par
mind he heard the whistle of a locomotive to the east and knew\par
that the railway was in operation again after a shutdown of\par
several days. If the train was going south the girl would sig-\par
nal it if she had reached the right of way. His keen ears\par
caught the whining of brake shoes on wheels and a few min-\par
utes later the signal blast for brakes off. The train had stopped\par
and started again and, as it gained headway and greater dis-\par
tance, Tarzan could tell from the direction of the sound that\par
it was moving south.\par
\par
The ape-man followed the trail to the railway where it\par
ended abruptly on the west side of the track, showing that the\par
girl had boarded the train, just as he thought. There was\par
nothing now but to follow on to Wilhelmstal, where he hoped\par
to find Captain Fritz Schneider, as well as the girl, and to re-\par
cover his diamond-studded locket.\par
\par
It was dark when Tarzan reached the little hill town of\par
Wilhelmstal. He loitered on the outskirts, getting his bear-\par
ings and trying to determine how an almost naked white man\par
might explore the village without arousing suspicion. There\par
were many soldiers about and the town was under guard, for\par
he could see a lone sentinel walking his post scarce a hundred\par
yards from him. To elude this one would not be difficult; but\par
to enter the village and search it would be practically impos-\par
sible, garbed, or ungarbed, as he was.\par
\par
Creeping forward, taking advantage of every cover, lying\par
flat and motionless when the sentry's face was toward him, the\par
ape-man at last reached the sheltering shadows of an outhouse\par
just inside the lines. From there he moved stealthily from\par
building to building until at last he was discovered by a large\par
dog in the rear of one of the bungalows. The brute came\par
slowly toward him, growling. Tarzan stood motionless be-\par
side a tree. He could see a light in the bungalow and uni-\par
formed men moving about and he hoped that the dog would\par
not bark. He did not; but he growled more savagely and,\par
just at the moment that the rear door of the bungalow opened\par
and a man stepped out, the animal charged.\par
\par
He was a large dog, as large as Dango, the hyena, and he\par
charged with all the vicious impetuosity of Numa, the lion.\par
As he came Tarzan knelt and the dog shot through the air for\par
his throat; but he was dealing with no man now and he found\par
his quickness more than matched by the quickness of the\par
Tarmangani. His teeth never reached the soft flesh -- strong\par
fingers, fingers of steel, seized his neck. He voiced a single\par
startled yelp and clawed at the naked breast before him with\par
his talons; but he was powerless. The mighty fingers closed\par
upon his throat; the man rose, snapped the clawing body once,\par
and cast it aside. At the same time a voice from the open\par
bungalow door called: "Simba!"\par
\par
There was no response. Repeating the call the man de-\par
scended the steps and advanced toward the tree. In the light\par
from the doorway Tarzan could see that he was a tall, broad-\par
shouldered man in the uniform of a German officer. The ape-\par
man withdrew into the shadow of the tree's stem. The man\par
came closer, still calling the dog -- he did not see the savage\par
beast, crouching now in the shadow, awaiting him. When\par
he had approached within ten feet of the Tarmangani, Tarzan\par
leaped upon him -- as Sabor springs to the kill, so sprang the\par
ape-man. The momentum and weight of his body hurled\par
the German to the ground, powerful fingers prevented an out-\par
cry and, though the officer struggled, he had no chance and a\par
moment later lay dead beside the body of the dog.\par
\par
As Tarzan stood for a moment looking down upon his kill\par
and regretting that he could not risk voicing his beloved vic-\par
tory cry, the sight of the uniform suggested a means whereby\par
he might pass to and fro through Wilhelmstal with the mini-\par
mum chance of detection. Ten minutes later a tall, broad-\par
shouldered officer stepped from the yard of the bungalow\par
leaving behind him the corpses of a dog and a naked man.\par
\par
He walked boldly along the little street and those who\par
passed him could not guess that beneath Imperial Germany's\par
uniform beat a savage heart that pulsed with implacable\par
hatred for the Hun. Tarzan's first concern was to locate the\par
hotel, for here he guessed he would find the girl, and where\par
the girl was doubtless would be Hauptmann Fritz Schneider,\par
who was either her confederate, her sweetheart, or both, and\par
there, too, would be Tarzan's precious locket.\par
\par
He found the hotel at last, a low, two-storied building with\par
a veranda. There were lights on both floors and people,\par
mostly officers, could be seen within. The ape-man considered\par
entering and inquiring for those he sought; but his better judg-\par
ment finally prompted him to reconnoiter first. Passing around\par
the building he looked into all the lighted rooms on the first\par
floor and, seeing neither of those for whom he had come, he\par
swung lightly to the roof of the veranda and continued his\par
investigations through windows of the second story.\par
\par
At one corner of the hotel in a rear room the blinds were\par
drawn; but he heard voices within and once he saw a figure\par
silhouetted momentarily against the blind. It appeared to be\par
the figure of a woman; but it was gone so quickly that he could\par
not be sure. Tarzan crept close to the window and listened.\par
Yes, there was a woman there and a man -- he heard distinctly\par
the tones of their voices although he could overhear no words,\par
as they seemed to be whispering.\par
\par
The adjoining room was dark. Tarzan tried the window\par
and found it unlatched. All was quiet within. He raised the\par
sash and listened again -- still silence. Placing a leg over the\par
sill he slipped within and hurriedly glanced about. The room\par
was vacant. Crossing to the door he opened it and looked out\par
into the hall. There was no one there, either, and he stepped\par
out and approached the door of the adjoining room where\par
the man and woman were.\par
\par
Pressing close to the door he listened. Now he distinguished\par
words, for the two had raised their voices as though in argu-\par
ment. The woman was speaking.\par
\par
"I have brought the locket," she said, "as was agreed upon\par
between you and General Kraut, as my identification. I carry\par
no other credentials. This was to be enough. You have noth-\par
ing to do but give me the papers and let me go."\par
\par
The man replied in so low a tone that Tarzan could not\par
catch the words and then the woman spoke again -- a note of\par
scorn and perhaps a little of fear in her voice.\par
\par
"You would not dare, Hauptmann Schneider," she said, and\par
then: "Do not touch me! Take your hands from me!"\par
\par
It was then that Tarzan of the Apes opened the door and\par
stepped into the room. What he saw was a huge, bull-necked\par
German officer with one arm about the waist of Fraulein\par
Bertha Kircher and a hand upon her forehead pushing her\par
head back as he tried to kiss her on the mouth. The girl was\par
struggling against the great brute; but her efforts were futile.\par
Slowly the man's lips were coming closer to hers and slowly,\par
step by step, she was being carried backward.\par
\par
Schneider heard the noise of the opening and closing door\par
behind him and turned. At sight of this strange officer he\par
dropped the girl and straightened up.\par
\par
"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Lieutenant?" he de-\par
manded, noting the other's epaulettes. "Leave the room at\par
once."\par
\par
Tarzan made no articulate reply; but the two there with\par
him heard a low growl break from those firm lips -- a growl\par
that sent a shudder through the frame of the girl and brought\par
a pallor to the red face of the Hun and his hand to his pistol\par
but even as he drew his weapon it was wrested from him and\par
hurled through the blind and window to the yard beyond.\par
Then Tarzan backed against the door and slowly removed the\par
uniform coat.\par
\par
"You are Hauptmann Schneider," he said to the German.\par
\par
"What of it?" growled the latter.\par
\par
"I am Tarzan of the Apes," replied the ape-man. "Now you\par
know why I intrude."\par
\par
The two before him saw that he was naked beneath the\par
coat which he threw upon the floor and then he slipped quickly\par
from the trousers and stood there clothed only in his loin cloth.\par
The girl had recognized him by this time, too.\par
\par
"Take your hand off that pistol," Tarzan admonished her.\par
Her hand dropped at her side. "Now come here!"\par
\par
She approached and Tarzan removed the weapon and\par
hurled it after the other. At the mention of his name Tarzan\par
had noted the sickly pallor that overspread the features of the\par
Hun. At last he had found the right man. At last his mate\par
would be partially avenged -- never could she be entirely\par
avenged. Life was too short and there were too many Germans.\par
\par
"What do you want of me?" demanded Schneider.\par
\par
"You are going to pay the price for the thing you did at the\par
little bungalow in the Waziri country," replied the ape-man.\par
\par
Schneider commenced to bluster and threaten. Tarzan turned\par
the key in the lock of the door and hurled the former through\par
the window after the pistols. Then he turned to the girl. "Keep\par
out of the way," he said in a low voice. "Tarzan of the Apes\par
is going to kill."\par
\par
The Hun ceased blustering and began to plead. "I have a\par
wife and children at home," he cried. "I have done nothing,"\par
I --"\par
\par
"You are going to die as befits your kind," said Tarzan,\par
"with blood on your hands and a lie on your lips." He started\par
across the room toward the burly Hauptmann. Schneider was\par
a large and powerful man -- about the height of the ape-man\par
but much heavier. He saw that neither threats nor pleas would\par
avail him and so he prepared to fight as a cornered rat fights\par
for its life with all the maniacal rage, cunning, and ferocity\par
that the first law of nature imparts to many beasts.\par
\par
Lowering his bull head he charged for the ape-man and\par
in the center of the floor the two clinched. There they stood\par
locked and swaying for a moment until Tarzan succeeded in\par
forcing his antagonist backward over a table which crashed to\par
the floor, splintered by the weight of the two heavy bodies.\par
\par
The girl stood watching the battle with wide eyes. She saw\par
the two men rolling hither and thither across the floor and she\par
heard with horror the low growls that came from the lips of\par
the naked giant. Schneider was trying to reach his foe's\par
throat with his fingers while, horror of horrors, Bertha Kircher\par
could see that the other was searching for the German's\par
jugular with his teeth!\par
\par
Schneider seemed to realize this too, for he redoubled his\par
efforts to escape and finally succeeded in rolling over on top\par
of the ape-man and breaking away. Leaping to his feet he ran\par
for the window; but the ape-man was too quick for him and\par
before he could leap through the sash a heavy hand fell upon\par
his shoulder and he was jerked back and hurled across the\par
room to the opposite wall. There Tarzan followed him, and\par
once again they locked, dealing each other terrific blows,\par
until Schneider in a piercing voice screamed, "Kamerad!\par
Kamerad!"\par
\par
Tarzan grasped the man by the throat and drew his hunting\par
knife. Schneider's back was against the wall so that though\par
his knees wobbled he was held erect by the ape-man. Tarzan\par
brought the sharp point to the lower part of the German's\par
abdomen.\par
\par
"Thus you slew my mate," he hissed in a terrible voice.\par
"Thus shall you die!"\par
\par
The girl staggered forward. "Oh, God, no!" she cried.\par
"Not that. You are too brave -- you cannot be such a beast as\par
that!"\par
\par
Tarzan turned at her. "No," he said, "you are right, I cannot\par
do it -- I am no German," and he raised the point of his blade\par
and sunk it deep into the putrid heart of Hauptmann Fritz\par
Schneider, putting a bloody period to the Hun's last gasping\par
cry: "I did not do it! She is not --"\par
\par
Then Tarzan turned toward the girl and held out his hand.\par
"Give me my locket," he said.\par
\par
She pointed toward the dead officer. "He has it." Tarzan\par
searched him and found the trinket. "Now you may give me\par
the papers," he said to the girl, and without a word she handed\par
him a folded document.\par
\par
For a long time he stood looking at her before ho spoke\par
again.\par
\par
"I came for you, too," he said. "It would be difficult to take\par
you back from here and so I was going to kill you, as I have\par
sworn to kill all your kind; but you were right when you said\par
that I was not such a beast as that slayer of women. I could\par
not slay him as he slew mine, nor can I slay you, who are a\par
woman."\par
\par
He crossed to the window, raised the sash and an instant\par
later he had stepped out and disappeared into the night. And\par
then Fraulein Bertha Kircher stepped quickly to the corpse\par
upon the floor, slipped her hand inside the blouse and drew\par
forth a little sheaf of papers which she tucked into her waist\par
before she went to the window and called for help.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
When Blood Told\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes was disgusted. He had had the Ger-\par
man spy, Bertha Kircher, in his power and had left her\par
unscathed. It is true that he had slain Hauptmann Fritz\par
Schneider, that Underlieutenant von Goss had died at his\par
hands, and that he had otherwise wreaked vengeance upon the\par
men of the German company who had murdered, pillaged, and\par
raped at Tarzan's bungalow in the Waziri country. There was\par
still another officer to be accounted for, but him he could\par
not find. It was Lieutenant Obergatz he still sought, though\par
vainly, for at last he learned that the man had been sent upon\par
some special mission, whether in Africa or back to Europe\par
Tarzan's informant either did not know or would not divulge.\par
\par
But the fact that he had permitted sentiment to stay his\par
hand when he might so easily have put Bertha Kircher out of\par
the way in the hotel at Wilhelmstal that night rankled in the\par
ape-man's bosom. He was shamed by his weakness, and when\par
he had handed the paper she had given him to the British chief\par
of staff, even though the information it contained permitted\par
the British to frustrate a German flank attack, he was still much\par
dissatisfied with himself. And possibly the root of this\par
dissatis-\par
faction lay in the fact that he realized that were he again to\par
have the same opportunity he would still find it as impossible\par
to slay a woman as it had been in Wilhelmstal that night.\par
\par
Tarzan blamed this weakness, as he considered it, upon his\par
association with the effeminating influences of civilization, for\par
in the bottom of his savage heart he held in contempt both\par
civilization and its representatives -- the men and women of the\par
civilized countries of the world. Always was he comparing\par
their weaknesses, their vices, their hypocrisies, and their\par
little\par
vanities with the open, primitive ways of his ferocious jungle\par
mates, and all the while there battled in that same big heart\par
with these forces another mighty force -- Tarzan's love and\par
loyalty for his friends of the civilized world.\par
\par
The ape-man, reared as he had been by savage beasts amid\par
savage beasts, was slow to make friends. Acquaintances he\par
numbered by the hundreds; but of friends he had few. These\par
few he would have died for as, doubtless, they would have\par
died for him; but there were none of these fighting with the\par
British forces in East Africa, and so, sickened and disgusted\par
by the sight of man waging his cruel and inhuman warfare,\par
Tarzan determined to heed the insistent call of the remote\par
jungle of his youth, for the Germans were now on the run and\par
the war in East Africa was so nearly over that he realized that\par
his further services would be of negligible value.\par
\par
Never regularly sworn into the service of the King, he was\par
under no obligation to remain now that the moral obligation\par
had been removed, and so it was that he disappeared from\par
the British camp as mysteriously as he had appeared a few\par
months before.\par
\par
More than once had Tarzan reverted to the primitive only to\par
return again to civilization through love for his mate; but now\par
that she was gone he felt that this time he had definitely de-\par
parted forever from the haunts of man, and that he should live\par
and die a beast among beasts even as he had been from infancy\par
to maturity.\par
\par
Between him and destination lay a trackless wilderness\par
of untouched primeval savagery where, doubtless in many\par
spots, his would be the first human foot to touch the virgin\par
turf. Nor did this prospect dismay the Tarmangani -- rather\par
was it an urge and an inducement, for rich in his veins flowed\par
that noble strain of blood that has made most of the earth's\par
surface habitable for man.\par
\par
The question of food and water that would have risen\par
paramount in the mind of an ordinary man contemplating such\par
an excursion gave Tarzan little concern. The wilderness was\par
his natural habitat and woodcraft as inherent to him as breath-\par
ing. Like other jungle animals he could scent water from a\par
great distance and, where you or I might die of thirst, the ape-\par
man would unerringly select the exact spot at which to dig and\par
find water.\par
\par
For several days Tarzan traversed a country rich in game\par
and watercourses. He moved slowly, hunting and fishing, or\par
again fraternizing or quarreling with the other savage denizens\par
of the jungle. Now it was little Manu, the monkey, who\par
chattered and scolded at the mighty Tarmangani and in the\par
next breath warned him that Histah, the snake, lay coiled in\par
the long grass just ahead. Of Manu Tarzan inquired concern-\par
ing the great apes -- the Mangani -- and was told that few\par
inhabited this part of the jungle, and that even these were\par
hunting farther to the north this season of the year.\par
\par
"But there is Bolgani," said Manu. "Would you like to see\par
Bolgani?"\par
\par
Manu's tone was sneering, and Tarzan knew that it was be-\par
cause little Manu thought all creatures feared mighty Bolgani,\par
the gorilla. Tarzan arched his great chest and struck it with a\par
clinched fist. "I am Tarzan," he cried. "While Tarzan was\par
yet a balu he slew a Bolgani. Tarzan seeks the Mangani, who\par
are his brothers, but Bolgani he does not seek, so let Bolgani\par
keep from the path of Tarzan."\par
\par
Little Manu, the monkey, was much impressed, for the way\par
of the jungle is to boast and to believe. It was then that he\par
condescended to tell Tarzan more of the Mangani.\par
\par
"They go there and there and there," he said, making a wide\par
sweep with a brown hand first toward the north, then west, and\par
then south again. "For there," and he pointed due west, "is\par
much hunting; but between lies a great place where there is no\par
food and no water, so they must go that way," and again he\par
swung his hand through the half-circle that explained to\par
Tarzan the great detour the apes made to come to their hunt-\par
ing ground to the west.\par
\par
That was all right for the Mangani, who are lazy and do not\par
care to move rapidly; but for Tarzan the straight road would\par
be the best. He would cross the dry country and come to the\par
good hunting in a third of the time that it would take to go far\par
to the north and circle back again. And so it was that he con-\par
tinued on toward the west, and crossing a range of low moun-\par
tains came in sight of a broad plateau, rock strewn and deso-\par
late. Far in the distance he saw another range of mountains\par
beyond which he felt must lie the hunting ground of the\par
Mangani. There he would join them and remain for a while\par
before continuing on toward the coast and the little cabin\par
that his father had built beside the land-locked harbor at the\par
jungle's edge.\par
\par
Tarzan was full of plans. He would rebuild and enlarge\par
the cabin of his birth, constructing storage houses where he\par
would make the apes lay away food when it was plenty against\par
the times that were lean -- a thing no ape ever had dreamed of\par
doing. And the tribe would remain always in the locality and he\par
would be king again as he had in the past. He would try to\par
teach them some of the better things that he had learned from\par
man, yet knowing the ape-mind as only Tarzan could, he\par
feared that his labors would be for naught.\par
\par
The ape-man found the country he was crossing rough in\par
the extreme, the roughest he ever had encountered. The\par
plateau was cut by frequent canyons the passage of which\par
often entailed hours of wearing effort. The vegetation was\par
sparse and of a faded brown color that lent to the whole\par
landscape a most depressing aspect. Great rocks were strewn\par
in every direction as far as the eye could see, lying partially\par
embedded in an impalpable dust that rose in clouds about him\par
at every step. The sun beat down mercilessly out of a cloud-\par
less sky.\par
\par
For a day Tarzan toiled across this now hateful land and\par
at the going down of the sun the distant mountains to the west\par
seemed no nearer than at morn. Never a sign of living thing\par
had the ape-man seen, other than Ska, that bird of ill omen,\par
that had followed him tirelessly since he had entered this\par
parched waste.\par
\par
No littlest beetle that he might eat had given evidence that\par
life of any sort existed here, and it was a hungry and thirsty\par
Tarzan who lay down to rest in the evening. He decided now\par
to push on during the cool of the night, for he realized that\par
even mighty Tarzan had his limitations and that where there\par
was no food one could not eat and where there was no water\par
the greatest woodcraft in the world could find none. It was a\par
totally new experience to Tarzan to find so barren and terrible\par
a country in his beloved Africa. Even the Sahara had its\par
oases; but this frightful world gave no indication of containing\par
a square foot of hospitable ground.\par
\par
However, he had no misgivings but that he would fare forth\par
into the wonder country of which little Manu had told him,\par
though it was certain that he would do it with a dry skin and\par
an empty belly. And so he fought on until daylight, when he\par
again felt the need of rest. He was at the edge of another of\par
those terrible canyons, the eighth he had crossed, whose pre-\par
cipitous sides would have taxed to the uttermost the strength\par
of an untired man well fortified by food and water, and for the\par
first time, as he looked down into the abyss and then at the\par
opposite side that he must scale, misgivings began to assail\par
his mind.\par
\par
He did not fear death -- with the memory of his murdered\par
mate still fresh in his mind he almost courted it, yet strong\par
within him was that primal instinct of self-preservation -- the\par
battling force of life that would keep him an active contender\par
against the Great Reaper until, fighting to the very last, he\par
should be overcome by a superior power.\par
\par
A shadow swung slowly across the ground beside him, and\par
looking up, the ape-man saw Ska, the vulture, wheeling a wide\par
circle above him. The grim and persistent harbinger of evil\par
aroused the man to renewed determination. He arose and\par
approached the edge of the canyon, and then, wheeling, with\par
his face turned upward toward the circling bird of prey, he\par
bellowed forth the challenge of the bull ape.\par
\par
"I am Tarzan," he shouted, "Lord of the Jungle. Tarzan of\par
the Apes is not for Ska, eater of carrion. Go back to the lair\par
of Dango and feed off the leavings of the hyenas, for Tarzan\par
will leave no bones for Ska to pick in this empty wilderness of\par
death."\par
\par
But before he reached the bottom of the canyon he again\par
was forced to the realization that his great strength was\par
waning, and when he dropped exhausted at the foot of the\par
cliff and saw before him the opposite wall that must be scaled,\par
he bared his fighting fangs and growled. For an hour he lay\par
resting in the cool shade at the foot of the cliff. All about\par
him reigned utter silence -- the silence of the tomb. No flutter-\par
ing birds, no humming insects, no scurrying reptiles relieved\par
the deathlike stillness. This indeed was the valley of death.\par
He felt the depressing influence of the horrible place setting\par
down upon him; but he staggered to his feet, shaking himself\par
like a great lion, for was he not still Tarzan, mighty Tarzan\par
of the Apes? Yes, and Tarzan the mighty he would be until\par
the last throb of that savage heart!\par
\par
As he crossed the floor of the canyon he saw something\par
lying close to the base of the side wall he was approaching --\par
something that stood out in startling contrast to all the sur-\par
roundings and yet seemed so much a part and parcel of the\par
somber scene as to suggest an actor amid the settings of a\par
well-appointed stage, and, as though to carry out the allegory,\par
the pitiless rays of flaming Kudu topped the eastern cliff,\par
picking out the thing lying at the foot of the western wall like\par
a giant spotlight.\par
\par
And as Tarzan came nearer he saw the bleached skull and\par
bones of a human being about which were remnants of\par
clothing and articles of equipment that, as he examined them,\par
filled the ape-man with curiosity to such an extent that for a\par
time he forgot his own predicament in contemplation of the\par
remarkable story suggested by these mute evidences of a\par
tragedy of a time long past.\par
\par
The bones were in a fair state of preservation and indicated\par
by their intactness that the flesh had probably been picked\par
from them by vultures as none was broken; but the pieces of\par
equipment bore out the suggestion of their great age. In this\par
protected spot where there were no frosts and evidently but\par
little rainfall, the bones might have lain for ages without\par
disintegrating, for there were here no other forces to scatter\par
or disturb them.\par
\par
Near the skeleton lay a helmet of hammered brass and a\par
corroded breastplate of steel while at one side was a long,\par
straight sword in its scabbard and an ancient harquebus. The\par
bones were those of a large man -- a man of wondrous strength\par
and vitality Tarzan knew he must have been to have pene-\par
trated thus far through the dangers of Africa with such a\par
ponderous yet at the same time futile armament.\par
\par
The ape-man felt a sense of deep admiration for this name-\par
less adventurer of a bygone day. What a brute of a man he\par
must have been and what a glorious tale of battle and kaleido-\par
scopic vicissitudes of fortune must once have been locked\par
within that whitened skull! Tarzan stooped to examine the\par
shreds of clothing that still lay about the bones. Every particle\par
of leather had disappeared, doubtless eaten by Ska. No boots\par
remained, if the man had worn boots, but there were several\par
buckles scattered about suggesting that a great part of his\par
trappings had been of leather, while just beneath the bones of\par
one hand lay a metal cylinder about eight inches long and two\par
inches in diameter. As Tarzan picked it up he saw that it\par
had been heavily lacquered and had withstood the slight\par
ravages of time so well as to be in as perfect a state of\par
perserva-\par
tion today as it had been when its owner dropped into his last,\par
long sleep perhaps centuries ago.\par
\par
As he examined it he discovered that one end was closed\par
with a friction cover which a little twisting force soon loosened\par
and removed, revealing within a roll of parchment which the\par
ape-man removed and opened, disclosing a number of age-\par
yellowed sheets closely written upon in a fine hand in a lan-\par
guage which he guessed to be Spanish but which he could not\par
decipher. Upon the last sheet was a roughly drawn map with\par
numerous reference points marked upon it, all unintelligible to\par
Tarzan, who, after a brief examination of the papers, returned\par
them to their metal case, replaced the top and was about to\par
toss the little cylinder to the ground beside the mute remains\par
of its former possessor when some whim of curiosity unsatisfied\par
prompted him to slip it into the quiver with his arrows, though\par
as he did so it was with the grim thought that possibly cen-\par
turies hence it might again come to the sight of man beside\par
his own bleached bones.\par
\par
And then, with a parting glance at the ancient skeleton, he\par
turned to the task of ascending the western wall of the canyon.\par
Slowly and with many rests he dragged his weakening body\par
upwards. Again and again he slipped back from sheer ex-\par
haustion and would have fallen to the floor of the canyon but\par
for merest chance. How long it took him to scale that\par
frightful wall he could not have told, and when at last he\par
dragged himself over the top it was to lie weak and gasping,\par
too spent to rise or even to move a few inches farther from the\par
perilous edge of the chasm.\par
\par
At last he arose, very slowly and with evident effort gaining\par
his knees first and then staggering to his feet, yet his indomi-\par
table will was evidenced by a sudden straightening of his\par
shoulders and a determined shake of his head as he lurched\par
forward on unsteady legs to take up his valiant fight for sur-\par
vival. Ahead he scanned the rough landscape for sign of an-\par
other canyon which he knew would spell inevitable doom.\par
The western hills rose closer now though weirdly unreal as\par
they seemed to dance in the sunlight as though mocking him\par
with their nearness at the moment that exhaustion was about\par
to render them forever unattainable.\par
\par
Beyond them he knew must be the fertile hunting grounds\par
of which Manu had told. Even if no canyon intervened, his\par
chances of surmounting even low hills seemed remote should\par
he have the fortune to reach their base; but with another\par
canyon hope was dead. Above them Ska still circled, and it\par
seemed to the ape-man that the ill-omened bird hovered ever\par
lower and lower as though reading in that failing gait the near-\par
ing of the end, and through cracked lips Tarzan growled out\par
his defiance.\par
\par
Mile after mile Tarzan of the Apes put slowly behind him,\par
borne up by sheer force of will where a lesser man would have\par
lain down to die and rest forever tired muscles whose every\par
move was an agony of effort; but at last his progress became\par
practically mechanical -- he staggered on with a dazed mind\par
that reacted numbly to a single urge -- on, on, on! The hills\par
were now but a dim, ill-defined blur ahead. Sometimes he\par
forgot that they were hills, and again he wondered vaguely\par
why he must go on forever through all this torture endeavoring\par
to overtake them -- the fleeing, elusive hills. Presently he\par
began to hate them and there formed within his half-delirious\par
brain the hallucination that the hills were German hills, that\par
they had slain someone dear to him, whom he could never\par
quite recall, and that he was pursuing to slay them.\par
\par
This idea, growing, appeared to give him strength -- a new\par
and revivifying purpose -- so that for a time he no longer\par
staggered; but went forward steadily with head erect. Once\par
he stumbled and fell, and when he tried to rise he found that\par
he could not -- that his strength was so far gone that he could\par
only crawl forward on his hands and knees for a few yards and\par
then sink down again to rest.\par
\par
It was during one of these frequent periods of utter exhaus-\par
tion that he heard the flap of dismal wings close above him.\par
With his remaining strength he turned himself over on his back\par
to see Ska wheel quickly upward. With the sight Tarzan's\par
mind cleared for a while.\par
\par
"Is the end so near as that?" he thought. "Does Ska know\par
that I am so near gone that he dares come down and perch\par
upon my carcass?" And even then a grim smile touched those\par
swollen lips as into the savage mind came a sudden thought --\par
the cunning of the wild beast at bay. Closing his eyes he\par
threw a forearm across them to protect them from Ska's\par
powerful beak and then he lay very still and waited.\par
\par
It was restful lying there, for the sun was now obscured by\par
clouds and Tarzan was very tired. He feared that he might\par
sleep and something told him that if he did he would never\par
awaken, and so he concentrated all his remaining powers upon\par
the one thought of remaining awake. Not a muscle moved --\par
to Ska, circling above, it became evident that the end had\par
come -- that at last he should be rewarded for his long vigil\par
\par
Circling slowly he dropped closer and closer to the dying\par
man. Why did not Tarzan move? Had he indeed been over-\par
come by the sleep of exhaustion, or was Ska right -- had death\par
at last claimed that mighty body? Was that great, savage\par
heart stilled forever? It is unthinkable.\par
\par
Ska, filled with suspicions, circled warily. Twice he almost\par
alighted upon the great, naked breast only to wheel suddenly\par
away; but the third time his talons touched the brown skin.\par
It was as though the contact closed an electric circuit that\par
instantaneously vitalized the quiet clod that had lain motion-\par
less so long. A brown hand swept downward from the brown\par
forehead and before Ska could raise a wing in flight he was in\par
the clutches of his intended victim.\par
\par
Ska fought, but he was no match for even a dying Tarzan,\par
and a moment later the ape-man's teeth closed upon the\par
carrion-eater. The flesh was coarse and tough and gave off\par
an unpleasant odor and a worse taste; but it was food and the\par
blood was drink and Tarzan only an ape at heart and a dying\par
ape into the bargain -- dying of starvation and thirst.\par
\par
Even mentally weakened as he was the ape-man was still\par
master of his appetite and so he ate but sparingly, saving the\par
rest, and then, feeling that he now could do so safely, he turned\par
upon his side and slept.\par
\par
Rain, beating heavily upon his body, awakened him and\par
sitting up he cupped his hands and caught the precious drops\par
which he transferred to his parched throat. Only a little he\par
got at a time; but that was best. The few mouthfuls of Ska\par
that he had eaten, together with the blood and rain water and\par
the sleep had refreshed him greatly and put new strength into\par
his tired muscles.\par
\par
Now he could see the hills again and they were close and,\par
though there was no sun, the world looked bright and cheerful,\par
for Tarzan knew that he was saved. The bird that would have\par
devoured him, and the providential rain, had saved him at the\par
very moment that death seemed inevitable.\par
\par
Again partaking of a few mouthfuls of the unsavory flesh of\par
Ska, the vulture, the ape-man arose with something of his old\par
force and set out with steady gait toward the hills of promise\par
rising alluringly ahead. Darkness fell before he reached them;\par
but he kept on until he felt the steeply rising ground that\par
proclaimed his arrival at the base of the hills proper, and then\par
he lay down and waited until morning should reveal the easiest\par
passage to the land beyond. The rain had ceased, but the sky\par
still was overcast so that even his keen eyes could not pene-\par
trate the darkness farther than a few feet. And there he slept,\par
after eating again of what remained of Ska, until the morning\par
sun awakened him with a new sense of strength and well-\par
being.\par
\par
And so at last he came through the hills out of the valley of\par
death into a land of parklike beauty, rich in game. Below him\par
lay a deep valley through the center of which dense jungle\par
vegetation marked the course of a river beyond which a\par
primeval forest extended for miles to terminate at last at the\par
foot of lofty, snow-capped mountains. It was a land that\par
Tarzan never had looked upon before, nor was it likely that\par
the foot of another white man ever had touched it unless,\par
possibly, in some long-gone day the adventurer whose skeleton\par
he had found bleaching in the canyon had traversed it.\par
\par
\par
\par
Tarzan and the Great Apes\par
\par
Three days the ape-man spent in resting and recuperating,\par
eating fruits and nuts and the smaller animals that were\par
most easily bagged, and upon the fourth he set out to\par
explore the valley and search for the great apes. Time was a\par
negligible factor in the equation of life -- it was all the same\par
to Tarzan if he reached the west coast in a month or a year\par
or three years. All time was his and all Africa. His was abso-\par
lute freedom -- the last tie that had bound him to civilization\par
and custom had been severed. He was alone but he was not\par
exactly lonely. The greater part of his life had been spent\par
thus, and though there was no other of his kind, he was at all\par
times surrounded by the jungle peoples for whom familiarity\par
had bred no contempt within his breast. The least of them in-\par
terested him, and, too, there were those with whom he always\par
made friends easily, and there were his hereditary enemies\par
whose presence gave a spice to life that might otherwise have\par
become humdrum and monotonous.\par
\par
And so it was that on the fourth day he set out to explore\par
the valley and search for his fellow-apes. He had proceeded\par
southward for a short distance when his nostrils were assailed\par
by the scent of man, of Gomangani, the black man. There\par
were many of them, and mixed with their scent was another --\par
that of a she Tarmangani.\par
\par
Swinging through the trees Tarzan approached the authors\par
of these disturbing scents. He came warily from the flank,\par
but paying no attention to the wind, for he knew that man\par
with his dull senses could apprehend him only through his eyes\par
or ears and then only when comparatively close. Had he been\par
stalking Numa or Sheeta he would have circled about until his\par
quarry was upwind from him, thus taking practically all the\par
advantage up to the very moment that he came within sight\par
or hearing; but in the stalking of the dull clod, man, he ap-\par
proached with almost contemptuous indifference, so that all\par
the jungle about him knew that he was passing -- all but the\par
men he stalked.\par
\par
From the dense foliage of a great tree he watched them\par
pass -- a disreputable mob of blacks, some garbed in the uni-\par
form of German East African native troops, others wearing a\par
single garment of the same uniform, while many had reverted\par
to the simple dress of their forbears -- approximating nudity.\par
There were many black women with them, laughing and talk-\par
ing as they kept pace with the men, all of whom were armed\par
with German rifles and equipped with German belts and am-\par
munition.\par
\par
There were no white officers there, but it was none the less\par
apparent to Tarzan that these men were from some German\par
native command, and he guessed that they had slain their\par
officers and taken to the jungle with their women, or had stolen\par
some from native villages through which they must have\par
passed. It was evident that they were putting as much ground\par
between themselves and the coast as possible and doubtless\par
were seeking some impenetrable fastness of the vast interior\par
where they might inaugurate a reign of terror among the\par
primitively armed inhabitants and by raiding, looting, and\par
rape grow rich in goods and women at the expense of the\par
district upon which they settled themselves.\par
\par
Between two of the black women marched a slender white\par
girl. She was hatless and with torn and disheveled clothing\par
that had evidently once been a trim riding habit. Her coat\par
was gone and her waist half torn from her body. Occasionally\par
and without apparent provocation one or the other of the\par
Negresses struck or pushed her roughly. Tarzan watched\par
through half-closed eyes. His first impulse was to leap among\par
them and bear the girl from their cruel clutches. He had\par
recognized her immediately and it was because of this fact that\par
he hesitated.\par
\par
What was it to Tarzan of the Apes what fate befell this en-\par
emy spy? He had been unable to kill her himself because of\par
an inherent weakness that would not permit him to lay hands\par
upon a woman, all of which of course had no bearing upon\par
what others might do to her. That her fate would now be\par
infinitely more horrible than the quick and painless death that\par
the ape-man would have meted to her only interested Tarzan\par
to the extent that the more frightful the end of a German the\par
more in keeping it would be with what they all deserved.\par
\par
And so he let the blacks pass with Fraulein Bertha Kircher\par
in their midst, or at least until the last straggling warrior\par
sug-\par
gested to his mind the pleasures of blackbaiting -- an amuse-\par
ment and a sport in which he had grown ever more proficient\par
since that long-gone day when Kulonga, the son of Mbonga,\par
the chief, had cast his unfortunate spear at Kala, the ape-man's\par
foster mother.\par
\par
The last man, who must have stopped for some purpose,\par
was fully a quarter of a mile in rear of the party. He was\par
hurrying to catch up when Tarzan saw him, and as he passed\par
beneath the tree in which the ape-man perched above the trail,\par
a silent noose dropped deftly about his neck. The main body\par
still was in plain sight, and as the frightened man voiced a\par
piercing shriek of terror, they looked back to see his body rise\par
as though by magic straight into the air and disappear amidst\par
the leafy foliage above.\par
\par
For a moment the blacks stood paralyzed by astonishment\par
and fear; but presently the burly sergeant, Usanga, who led\par
them, started back along the trail at a run, calling to the\par
others\par
to follow him. Loading their guns as they came the blacks\par
ran to succor their fellow, and at Usanga's command they\par
spread into a thin line that presently entirely surrounded the\par
tree into which their comrade had vanished.\par
\par
Usanga called but received no reply; then he advanced\par
slowly with rifle at the ready, peering up into the tree. He\par
could see no one -- nothing. The circle closed in until fifty\par
blacks were searching among the branches with their keen\par
eyes. What had become of their fellow? They had seen him\par
rise into the tree and since then many eyes had been fastened\par
upon the spot, yet there was no sign of him. One, more ven-\par
turesome than his fellows, volunteered to climb into the tree\par
and investigate. He was gone but a minute or two and when\par
he dropped to earth again he swore that there was no sign of\par
a creature there.\par
\par
Perplexed, and by this time a bit awed, the blacks drew\par
slowly away from the spot and with many backward glances\par
and less laughing continued upon their journey until, when\par
about a mile beyond the spot at which their fellow had disap-\par
peared, those in the lead saw him peering from behind a tree\par
at one side of the trail just in front of them. With shouts to\par
their companions that he had been found they ran forwards;\par
but those who were first to reach the tree stopped suddenly\par
and shrank back, their eyes rolling fearfully first in one direc-\par
tion and then in another as though they expected some name-\par
less horror to leap out upon them.\par
\par
Nor was their terror without foundation. Impaled upon the\par
end of a broken branch the head of their companion was\par
propped behind the tree so that it appeared to be looking out\par
at them from the opposite side of the bole.\par
\par
It was then that many wished to turn back, arguing that they\par
had offended some demon of the wood upon whose preserve\par
they had trespassed; but Usanga refused to listen to them,\par
assuring them that inevitable torture and death awaited them\par
should they return and fall again into the hands of their cruel\par
German masters. At last his reasoning prevailed to the end\par
that a much-subdued and terrified band moved in a compact\par
mass, like a drove of sheep, forward through the valley and\par
there were no stragglers.\par
\par
It is a happy characteristic of the Negro race, which they\par
hold in common with little children, that their spirits seldom\par
remain depressed for a considerable length of time after the\par
immediate cause of depression is removed, and so it was that\par
in half an hour Usanga's band was again beginning to take\par
on to some extent its former appearance of carefree light-\par
heartedness. Thus were the heavy clouds of fear slowly dis-\par
sipating when a turn in the trail brought them suddenly upon\par
the headless body of their erstwhile companion lying directly\par
in their path, and they were again plunged into the depth of\par
fear and gloomy forebodings.\par
\par
So utterly inexplicable and uncanny had the entire occur-\par
rence been that there was not a one of them who could find\par
a ray of comfort penetrating the dead blackness of its ominous\par
portent. What had happened to one of their number each\par
conceived as being a wholly possible fate for himself -- in fact\par
quite his probable fate. If such a thing could happen in broad\par
daylight what frightful thing might not fall to their lot when\par
night had enshrouded them in her mantle of darkness. They\par
trembled in anticipation.\par
\par
The white girl in their midst was no less mystified than they;\par
but far less moved, since sudden death was the most merciful\par
fate to which she might now look forward. So far she had\par
been subjected to nothing worse than the petty cruelties of the\par
women, while, on the other hand, it had alone been the pres-\par
ence of the women that had saved her from worse treatment\par
at the hands of some of the men -- notably the brutal, black\par
sergeant, Usanga. His own woman was of the party -- a\par
veritable giantess, a virago of the first magnitude -- and she\par
was\par
evidently the only thing in the world of which Usanga stood\par
in awe. Even though she was particularly cruel to the young\par
woman, the latter believed that she was her sole protection\par
from the degraded black tyrant.\par
\par
Late in the afternoon the band came upon a small palisaded\par
village of thatched huts set in a clearing in the jungle close\par
beside a placid river. At their approach the villagers came\par
pouring out, and Usanga advanced with two of his warriors to\par
palaver with the chief. The experiences of the day had so\par
shaken the nerves of the black sergeant that he was ready to\par
treat with these people rather than take their village by force\par
of arms, as would ordinarily have been his preference; but now\par
a vague conviction influenced him that there watched over this\par
part of the jungle a powerful demon who wielded miraculous\par
power for evil against those who offended him. First Usanga\par
would learn how these villagers stood with this savage god\par
and if they had his good will Usanga would be most careful\par
to treat them with kindness and respect.\par
\par
At the palaver it developed that the village chief had food,\par
goats, and fowl which he would be glad to dispose of for\par
a proper consideration; but as the consideration would have\par
meant parting with precious rifles and ammunition, or the\par
very clothing from their backs, Usanga began to see that after\par
all it might be forced upon him to wage war to obtain food.\par
\par
A happy solution was arrived at by a suggestion of one of\par
his men -- that the soldiers go forth the following day and hunt\par
for the villagers, bringing them in so much fresh meat in re-\par
turn for their hospitality. This the chief agreed to, stipulating\par
the kind and quantity of game to be paid in return for flour,\par
goats, and fowl, and a certain number of huts that were to be\par
turned over to the visitors. The details having been settled\par
after an hour or more of that bickering argument of which the\par
native African is so fond, the newcomers entered the village\par
where they were assigned to huts.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher found herself alone in a small hut to the\par
palisade at the far end of the village street, and though she was\par
neither bound nor guarded, she was assured by Usanga\par
that she could not escape the village without running into almost\par
certain death in the jungle, which the villagers assured them\par
was infested by lions of great size and ferocity. "Be good to\par
Usanga," he concluded, "and no harm will befall you. I will\par
come again to see you after the others are asleep. Let us be\par
friends."\par
\par
As the brute left her the girl's frame was racked by a con-\par
vulsive shudder as she sank to the floor of the hut and cov-\par
ered her face with her hands. She realized now why the\par
women had not been left to guard her. It was the work of\par
the cunning Usanga, but would not his woman suspect some-\par
thing of his intentions? She was no fool and, further, being\par
imbued with insane jealousy she was ever looking for some\par
overt act upon the part of her ebon lord. Bertha Kircher felt\par
that only she might save her and that she would save her if\par
word could be but gotten to her. But how?\par
\par
Left alone and away from the eyes of her captors for the\par
first time since the previous night, the girl immediately took\par
advantage of the opportunity to assure herself that the papers\par
she had taken from the body of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider\par
were still safely sewn inside one of her undergarments.\par
\par
Alas! Of what value could they now ever be to her be-\par
loved country? But habit and loyalty were so strong within\par
her that she still clung to the determined hope of eventually\par
delivering the little packet to her chief.\par
\par
The natives seemed to have forgotten her existence -- no\par
one came near the hut, not even to bring her food. She could\par
hear them at the other end of the village laughing and yelling\par
and knew that they were celebrating with food and native\par
beer -- knowledge which only increased her apprehension. To\par
be prisoner in a native village in the very heart of an unex-\par
plored region of Central Africa -- the only white woman among\par
a band of drunken Negroes! The very thought appalled her.\par
Yet there was a slight promise in the fact that she had so far\par
been unmolested -- the promise that they might, indeed, have\par
forgotten her and that soon they might become so hopelessly\par
drunk as to be harmless.\par
\par
Darkness had fallen and still no one came. The girl won-\par
dered if she dared venture forth in search of Naratu, Usanga's\par
woman, for Usanga might not forget that he had promised to\par
return. No one was near as she stepped out of the hut and\par
made her way toward the part of the village where the revelers\par
were making merry about a fire. As she approached she\par
saw the villagers and their guests squatting in a large circle\par
about the blaze before which a half-dozen naked warriors\par
leaped and bent and stamped in some grotesque dance. Pots\par
of food and gourds of drink were being passed about among\par
the audience. Dirty hands were plunged into the food pots\par
and the captured portions devoured so greedily that one might\par
have thought the entire community had been upon the point\par
of starvation. The gourds they held to their lips until the\par
beer ran down their chins and the vessels were wrested from\par
them by greedy neighbors. The drink had now begun to\par
take noticeable effect upon most of them, with the result\par
that they were beginning to give themselves up to utter and\par
licentious abandon.\par
\par
As the girl came nearer, keeping in the shadow of the huts,\par
looking for Naratu she was suddenly discovered by one upon\par
the edge of the crowd -- a huge woman, who rose, shrieking,\par
and came toward her. From her aspect the white girl thought\par
that the woman meant literally to tear her to pieces. So ut-\par
terly wanton and uncalled-for was the attack that it found\par
the girl entirely unprepared, and what would have happened\par
had not a warrior interfered may only be guessed. And then\par
Usanga, noting the interruption, came lurching forward to\par
question her.\par
\par
"What do you want," he cried, "food and drink? Come\par
with me!" and he threw an arm about her and dragged her\par
toward the circle.\par
\par
"No!" she cried, "I want Naratu. Where is Naratu?"\par
\par
This seemed to sober the black for a moment as though he\par
had temporarily forgotten his better half. He cast quick, fear-\par
ful glances about, and then, evidently assured that Naratu\par
had noticed nothing, he ordered the warrior who was still\par
holding the infuriated black woman from the white girl to\par
take the latter back to her hut and to remain there on guard\par
over her.\par
\par
First appropriating a gourd of beer for himself the warrior\par
motioned the girl to precede him, and thus guarded she re-\par
turned to her hut, the fellow squatting down just outside the\par
doorway, where he confined his attentions for some time to\par
the gourd.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher sat down at the far side of the hut awaiting\par
she knew not what impending fate. She could not sleep so\par
filled was her mind with wild schemes of escape though each\par
new one must always be discarded as impractical. Half an\par
hour after the warrior had returned her to her prison he rose\par
and entered the hut, where he tried to engage in conversation\par
with her. Groping across the interior he leaned his short spear\par
against the wall and sat down beside her, and as he talked he\par
edged closer and closer until at last he could reach out and\par
touch her. Shrinking, she drew away.\par
\par
"Do not touch me!" she cried. "I will tell Usanga if you do\par
not leave me alone, and you know what he will do to you."\par
\par
The man only laughed drunkenly, and, reaching out his\par
hand, grabbed her arm and dragged her toward him. She\par
fought and cried aloud for Usanga and at the same instant the\par
entrance to the hut was darkened by the form of a man.\par
\par
"What is the matter?" shouted the newcomer in the deep\par
tones that the girl recognized as belonging to the black ser-\par
geant. He had come, but would she be any better off? She\par
knew that she would not unless she could play upon Usanga's\par
fear of his woman.\par
\par
When Usanga found what had happened he kicked the war-\par
rior out of the hut and bade him begone, and when the fel-\par
low had disappeared, muttering and grumbling, the sergeant\par
approached the white girl. He was very drunk, so drunk that\par
several times she succeeded in eluding him and twice she\par
pushed him so violently away that he stumbled and fell.\par
\par
Finally he became enraged and rushing upon her, seized her\par
in his long, apelike arms. Striking at his face with clenched\par
fists she tried to protect herself and drive him away. She\par
threatened him with the wrath of Naratu, and at that he\par
changed his tactics and began to plead, and as he argued with\par
her, promising her safety and eventual freedom, the warrior\par
he had kicked out of the hut made his staggering way to the\par
hut occupied by Naratu.\par
\par
Usanga finding that pleas and promises were as unavailing\par
as threats, at last lost both his patience and his head, seizing\par
the girl roughly, and simultaneously there burst into the hut\par
a raging demon of jealousy. Naratu had come. Kicking,\par
scratching, striking, biting, she routed the terrified Usanga in\par
short order, and so obsessed was she by her desire to inflict\par
punishment upon her unfaithful lord and master that she quite\par
forgot the object of his infatuation.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher heard her screaming down the village street\par
at Usanga's heels and trembled at the thought of what lay in\par
store for her at the hands of these two, for she knew that to-\par
morrow at the latest Naratu would take out upon her the full\par
measure of her jealous hatred after she had spent her first\par
wrath upon Usanga.\par
\par
The two had departed but a few minutes when the warrior\par
guard returned. He looked into the hut and then entered.\par
"No one will stop me now, white woman," he growled as he\par
stepped quickly across the hut toward her.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes, feasting well upon a juicy haunch from\par
Bara, the deer, was vaguely conscious of a troubled mind.\par
He should have been at peace with himself and all the world,\par
for was he not in his native element surrounded by game in\par
plenty and rapidly filling his belly with the flesh he loved\par
best?\par
But Tarzan of the Apes was haunted by the picture of a slight,\par
young girl being shoved and struck by brutal Negresses, and\par
in imagination could see her now camped in this savage coun-\par
try a prisoner among degraded blacks.\par
\par
Why was it so difficult to remember that she was only a\par
hated German and a spy? Why would the fact that she was a\par
woman and white always obtrude itself upon his conscious-\par
ness? He hated her as he hated all her kind, and the fate that\par
was sure to be hers was no more terrible than she in common\par
with all her people deserved. The matter was settled and Tar-\par
zan composed himself to think of other things, yet the picture\par
would not die -- it rose in all its details and annoyed him. He\par
began to wonder what they were doing to her and where they\par
were taking her. He was very much ashamed of himself as he\par
had been after the episode in Wilhelmstal when his weakness\par
had permitted him to spare this spy's life. Was he to be thus\par
weak again? No!\par
\par
Night came and he settled himself in an ample tree to rest\par
until morning; but sleep would not come. Instead came the\par
vision of a white girl being beaten by black women, and again\par
of the same girl at the mercy of the warriors somewhere in\par
that dark and forbidding jungle.\par
\par
With a growl of anger and self-contempt Tarzan arose,\par
shook himself, and swung from his tree to that adjoining, and\par
thus, through the lower terraces, he followed the trail that\par
Usanga's party had taken earlier in the afternoon. He had\par
little difficulty as the band had followed a well-beaten path\par
and when toward midnight the stench of a native village as-\par
sailed his delicate nostrils he guessed that his goal was near\par
and that presently he should find her whom he sought.\par
\par
Prowling stealthily as prowls Numa, the lion, stalking a\par
wary prey, Tarzan moved noiselessly about the palisade, lis-\par
tening and sniffing. At the rear of the village he discovered a\par
tree whose branches extended over the top of the palisade and\par
a moment later he had dropped quietly into the village.\par
\par
From hut to hut he went searching with keen ears and\par
nostrils some confirming evidence of the presence of the girl,\par
and at last, faint and almost obliterated by the odor of the\par
Gomangani, he found it hanging like a delicate vapor about a\par
small hut. The village was quiet now, for the last of the beer\par
and the food had been disposed of and the blacks lay in their\par
huts overcome by stupor, yet Tarzan made no noise that even\par
a sober man keenly alert might have heard.\par
\par
He passed around to the entrance of the hut and listened. \par
From within came no sound, not even the low breathing of\par
one awake; yet he was sure that the girl had been here and\par
perhaps was even now, and so he entered, slipping in as\par
silently as a disembodied spirit. For a moment he stood mo-\par
tionless just within the entranceway, listening. No, there was\par
no one here, of that he was sure, but he would investigate.\par
As his eyes became accustomed to the greater darkness within\par
the hut an object began to take form that presently outlined\par
itself in a human form supine upon the floor.\par
\par
Tarzan stepped closer and leaned over to examine it -- it\par
was the dead body of a naked warrior from whose chest pro-\par
truded a short spear. Then he searched carefully every square\par
foot of the remaining floor space and at last returned to the\par
body again where he stooped and smelled of the haft of the\par
weapon that had slain the black. A slow smile touched his\par
lips -- that and a slight movement of his head betokened that\par
he understood.\par
\par
A rapid search of the balance of the village assured him that\par
the girl had escaped and a feeling of relief came over him\par
that no harm had befallen her. That her life was equally in\par
jeopardy in the savage jungle to which she must have flown\par
did not impress him as it would have you or me, since to\par
Tarzan the jungle was not a dangerous place -- he considered\par
one safer there than in Paris or London by night.\par
\par
He had entered the trees again and was outside the palisade\par
when there came faintly to his ears from far beyond the vil-\par
lage an old, familiar sound. Balancing lightly upon a swaying\par
branch he stood, a graceful statue of a forest god, listening\par
intently. For a minute he stood thus and then there broke\par
from his lips the long, weird cry of ape calling to ape and he\par
was away through the jungle toward the sound of the boom-\par
ing drum of the anthropoids leaving behind him an awakened\par
and terrified village of cringing blacks, who would forever\par
after connect that eerie cry with the disappearance of their\par
white prisoner and the death of their fellow-warrior.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher, hurrying through the jungle along a well-\par
beaten game trail, thought only of putting as much distance as\par
possible between herself and the village before daylight could\par
permit pursuit of her. Whither she was going she did not\par
know, nor was it a matter of great moment since death must\par
be her lot sooner or later.\par
\par
Fortune favored her that night, for she passed unscathed\par
through as savage and lion-ridden an area as there is in all\par
Africa -- a natural hunting ground which the white man has\par
not yet discovered, where deer and antelope and zebra, giraffe\par
and elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, and the other herbivorous\par
animals of central Africa abound unmolested by none but their\par
natural enemies, the great cats which, lured here by easy prey\par
and immunity from the rifles of big-game hunters, swarm the\par
district.\par
\par
She had fled for an hour or two, perhaps, when her attention\par
was arrested by the sound of animals moving about, muttering\par
and growling close ahead. Assured that she had covered a\par
sufficient distance to insure her a good start in the morning\par
before the blacks could take to her trail, and fearful of what\par
the creatures might be, she climbed into a large tree with the\par
intention of spending the balance of the night there.\par
\par
She had no sooner reached a safe and comfortable branch\par
when she discovered that the tree stood upon the edge of a\par
small clearing that had been hidden from her by the heavy\par
undergrowth upon the ground below, and simultaneously she\par
discovered the identity of the beasts she had heard.\par
\par
In the center of the clearing below her, clearly visible in\par
the bright moonlight, she saw fully twenty huge, manlike apes\par
-- great, shaggy fellows who went upon their hind feet with\par
only slight assistance from the knuckles of their hands. The\par
moonlight glanced from their glossy coats, the numerous gray-\par
tipped hairs imparting a sheen that made the hideous creatures\par
almost magnificent in their appearance.\par
\par
The girl had watched them but a minute or two when the\par
little band was joined by others, coming singly and in groups\par
until there were fully fifty of the great brutes gathered there\par
in the moonlight. Among them were young apes and several\par
little ones clinging tightly to their mothers' shaggy shoulders.\par
Presently the group parted to form a circle about what ap-\par
peared to be a small, flat-topped mound of earth in the center\par
of the clearing. Squatting close about this mound were three\par
old females armed with short, heavy clubs with which they\par
presently began to pound upon the flat top of the earth mound\par
which gave forth a dull, booming sound, and almost imme-\par
diately the other apes commenced to move about restlessly,\par
weaving in and out aimlessly until they carried the impression\par
of a moving mass of great, black maggots.\par
\par
The beating of the drum was in a slow, ponderous cadence,\par
at first without time but presently settling into a heavy rhythm\par
to which the apes kept time with measured tread and sway-\par
ing bodies. Slowly the mass separated into two rings, the\par
outer of which was composed of shes and the very young, the\par
inner of mature bulls. The former ceased to move and\par
squatted upon their haunches, while the bulls now moved\par
slowly about in a circle the center of which was the drum and\par
all now in the same direction.\par
\par
It was then that there came faintly to the ears of the girl\par
from the direction of the village she had recently quitted a\par
weird and high-pitched cry. The effect upon the apes was\par
electrical -- they stopped their movements and stood in atti-\par
tudes of intent listening for a moment, and then one fellow,\par
huger than his companions, raised his face to the heavens and\par
in a voice that sent the cold shudders through the girl's slight\par
frame answered the far-off cry.\par
\par
Once again the beaters took up their drumming and the slow\par
dance went on. There was a certain fascination in the savage\par
ceremony that held the girl spellbound, and as there seemed\par
little likelihood of her being discovered, she felt that she\par
might\par
as well remain the balance of the night in her tree and r\'82sum\'82\par
her flight by the comparatively greater safety of daylight.\par
\par
Assuring herself that her packet of papers was safe she\par
sought as comfortable a position as possible among the\par
branches, and settled herself to watch the weird proceedings\par
in the clearing below her.\par
\par
A half-hour passed, during which the cadence of the drum\par
increased gradually. Now the great bull that had replied to\par
the distant call leaped from the inner circle to dance alone\par
between the drummers and the other bulls. He leaped and\par
crouched and leaped again, now growling and barking, again\par
stopping to raise his hideous face to Goro, the moon, and,\par
beating upon his shaggy breast, uttered a piercing scream --\par
the challenge of the bull ape, had the girl but known it.\par
\par
He stood thus in the full glare of the great moon, motionless\par
after screaming forth his weird challenge, in the setting of the\par
primeval jungle and the circling apes a picture of primitive\par
savagery and power -- a mightily muscled Hercules out of the\par
dawn of life -- when from close behind her the girl heard an\par
answering scream, and an instant later saw an almost naked\par
white man drop from a near-by tree into the clearing.\par
\par
Instantly the apes became a roaring, snarling pack of angry\par
beasts. Bertha Kircher held her breath. What maniac was\par
this who dared approach these frightful creatures in their\par
own haunts, alone against fifty? She saw the brown-skinned\par
figure bathed in moonlight walk straight toward the snarling\par
pack. She saw the symmetry and the beauty of that perfect\par
body -- its grace, its strength, its wondrous proportioning, and\par
then she recognized him. It was the same creature whom she\par
had seen carry Major Schneider from General Kraut's head-\par
quarters, the same who had rescued her from Numa, the lion;\par
the same whom she had struck down with the butt of her\par
pistol and escaped when he would have returned her to her\par
enemies, the same who had slain Hauptmann Fritz Schneider\par
and spared her life that night in Wilhelmstal.\par
\par
Fear-filled and fascinated she watched him as he neared\par
the apes. She heard sounds issue from his throat -- sounds\par
identical with those uttered by the apes -- and though she\par
could scarce believe the testimony of her own ears, she knew\par
that this godlike creature was conversing with the brutes in\par
their own tongue.\par
\par
Tarzan halted just before he reached the shes of the outer\par
circle. "I am Tarzan of the Apes!" he cried. "You do not\par
know me because I am of another tribe, but Tarzan comes in\par
peace or he comes to fight -- which shall it be? Tarzan will\par
talk with your king," and so saying he pushed straight forward\par
through the shes and the young who now gave way before\par
him, making a narrow lane through which he passed toward\par
the inner circle.\par
\par
Shes and balus growled and bristled as he passed closer,\par
but none hindered him and thus he came to the inner circle of\par
bulls. Here bared fangs menaced him and growling faces\par
hideously contorted. "I am Tarzan," he repeated. "Tarzan\par
comes to dance the Dum-Dum with his brothers. Where is\par
your king?" Again he pressed forward and the girl in the tree\par
clapped her palms to her cheeks as she watched, wide-eyed,\par
this madman going to a frightful death. In another instant\par
they would be upon him, rending and tearing until that perfect\par
form had been ripped to shreds; but again the ring parted,\par
and though the apes roared and menaced him they did not\par
attack, and at last he stood in the inner circle close to the\par
drum\par
and faced the great king ape.\par
\par
Again he spoke. "I am Tarzan of the Apes," he cried.\par
"Tarzan comes to live with his brothers. He will come in\par
peace and live in peace or he will kill; but he has come and\par
he will stay. Which -- shall Tarzan dance the Dum-Dum in\par
peace with his brothers, or shall Tarzan kill first?"\par
\par
"I am Go-lat, King of the Apes," screamed the great bull.\par
"I kill! I kill! I kill!" and with a sullen roar he charged the\par
Tarmangani.\par
\par
The ape-man, as the girl watched him, seemed entirely\par
unprepared for the charge and she looked to see him borne\par
down and slain at the first rush. The great bull was almost\par
upon him with huge hands outstretched to seize him before\par
Tarzan made a move, but when he did move his quickness\par
would have put Ara, the lightning, to shame. As darts for-\par
ward the head of Histah, the snake, so darted forward the\par
left hand of the man-beast as he seized the left wrist of his\par
antagonist. A quick turn and the bull's right arm was locked\par
beneath the right arm of his foe in a jujutsu hold that Tarzan\par
had learned among civilized men -- a hold with which he\par
might easily break the great bones, a hold that left the ape\par
helpless.\par
\par
"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" screamed the ape-man. "Shall\par
Tarzan dance in peace or shall Tarzan kill?''\par
\par
"I kill! I kill! I kill!" shrieked Go-lat.\par
\par
With the quickness of a cat Tarzan swung the king ape\par
over one hip and sent him sprawling to the ground. "I am\par
Tarzan, King of all the Apes!" he shouted. "Shall it be peace?"\par
\par
Go-lat, infuriated, leaped to his feet and charged again,\par
shouting his war cry: "I kill! I kill! I kill!" and again Tarzan\par
met him with a sudden hold that the stupid bull, being ig-\par
norant of, could not possibly avert -- a hold and a throw that\par
brought a scream of delight from the interested audience and\par
suddenly filled the girl with doubts as to the man's madness\par
-- evidently he was quite safe among the apes, for she saw\par
him swing Go-lat to his back and then catapult him over his\par
shoulder. The king ape fell upon his head and lay very still.\par
\par
"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" cried the ape-man. "I come to\par
dance the Dum-Dum with my brothers," and he made a mo-\par
tion to the drummers, who immediately took up the cadence\par
of the dance where they had dropped it to watch their king\par
slay the foolish Tarmangani.\par
\par
It was then that Go-lat raised his head and slowly crawled\par
to his feet. Tarzan approached him. "I am Tarzan of the\par
Apes," he cried. "Shall Tarzan dance the Dum-Dum with his\par
brothers now, or shall he kill first?"\par
\par
Go-lat raised his bloodshot eyes to the face of the Tar-\par
mangani. "Kagoda!" he cried "Tarzan of the Apes will dance\par
the Dum-Dum with his brothers and Go-lat will dance with him!"\par
\par
And then the girl in the tree saw the savage man leaping,\par
bending, and stamping with the savage apes in the ancient\par
rite of the Dum-Dum. His roars and growls were more\par
beastly than the beasts. His handsome face was distorted\par
with savage ferocity. He beat upon his great breast and\par
screamed forth his challenge as his smooth, brown hide\par
brushed the shaggy coats of his fellows. It was weird; it was\par
wonderful; and in its primitive savagery it was not without\par
beauty -- the strange scene she looked upon, such a scene as\par
no other human being, probably, ever had witnessed -- and\par
yet, withal, it was horrible.\par
\par
As she gazed, spell-bound, a stealthy movement in the tree\par
behind her caused her to turn her head, and there, back of\par
her, blazing in the reflected moonlight, shone two great, yellow-\par
green eyes. Sheeta, the panther, had found her out.\par
\par
The beast was so close that it might have reached out and\par
touched her with a great, taloned paw. There was no time to\par
think, no time to weigh chances or to choose alternatives.\par
Terror-inspired impulse was her guide as, with a loud scream,\par
she leaped from the tree into the clearing.\par
\par
Instantly the apes, now maddened by the effects of the\par
dancing and the moonlight, turned to note the cause of the\par
interruption. They saw this she Tarmangani, helpless and\par
alone and they started for her. Sheeta, the panther, knowing\par
that not even Numa, the lion, unless maddened by starvation,\par
dares meddle with the great apes at their Dum-Dum, had\par
silently vanished into the night, seeking his supper elsewhere.\par
\par
Tarzan, turning with the other apes toward the cause of the\par
interruption, saw the girl, recognized her and also her peril.\par
Here again might she die at the hands of others; but why con-\par
sider it! He knew that he could not permit it, and though the\par
acknowledgment shamed him, it had to be admitted.\par
\par
The leading shes were almost upon the girl when Tarzan\par
leaped among them, and with heavy blows scattered them to\par
right and left; and then as the bulls came to share in the kill\par
they thought this new ape-thing was about to make that he\par
might steal all the flesh for himself, they found him facing\par
them with an arm thrown about the creature as though to\par
protect her.\par
\par
"This is Tarzan's she," he said. "Do not harm her." It was\par
the only way he could make them understand that they must\par
not slay her. He was glad that she could not interpret the\par
words. It was humiliating enough to make such a statement\par
to wild apes about this hated enemy.\par
\par
So once again Tarzan of the Apes was forced to protect a\par
Hun. Growling, he muttered to himself in extenuation:\par
\par
"She is a woman and I am not a German, so it could not be\par
otherwise!"\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Dropped from the Sky\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, Royal Air\par
Service, was on reconnaissance. A report, or it would be\par
better to say a rumor, had come to the British headquar-\par
ters in German East Africa that the enemy had landed in\par
force on the west coast and was marching across the dark\par
continent to reinforce their colonial troops. In fact the new\par
army was supposed to be no more than ten or twelve days'\par
march to the west. Of course the thing was ridiculous -- pre-\par
posterous -- but preposterous things often happen in war; and\par
anyway no good general permits the least rumor of enemy\par
activity to go uninvestigated.\par
\par
Therefore Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick flew low\par
toward the west, searching with keen eyes for signs of a Hun\par
army. Vast forests unrolled beneath him in which a German\par
army corps might have lain concealed, so dense was the\par
overhanging foliage of the great trees. Mountain, meadow-\par
land, and desert passed in lovely panorama; but never a sight\par
of man had the young lieutenant.\par
\par
Always hoping that he might discover some sign of their\par
passage -- a discarded lorry, a broken limber, or an old camp\par
site -- he continued farther and farther into the west until well\par
into the afternoon. Above a tree-dotted plain through the\par
center of which flowed a winding river he determined to turn\par
about and start for camp. It would take straight flying at top\par
speed to cover the distance before dark; but as he had ample\par
gasoline and a trustworthy machine there was no doubt in his\par
mind but that he could accomplish his aim. It was then that\par
his engine stalled.\par
\par
He was too low to do anything but land, and that immedi-\par
ately, while he had the more open country accessible, for\par
directly east of him was a vast forest into which a stalled\par
engine could only have plunged him to certain injury and\par
probable death; and so he came down in the meadowland\par
near the winding river and there started to tinker with his\par
motor.\par
\par
As he worked he hummed a tune, some music-hall air that\par
had been popular in London the year before, so that one might\par
have thought him working in the security of an English flying\par
field surrounded by innumerable comrades rather than alone\par
in the heart of an unexplored African wilderness. It was\par
typical of the man that he should be wholly indifferent to his\par
surroundings, although his looks entirely belied any assump-\par
tion that he was of particularly heroic strain.\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick was fair-hatred,\par
blue-eyed, and slender, with a rosy, boyish face that might\par
have been molded more by an environment of luxury, indo-\par
lence, and ease than the more strenuous exigencies of life's\par
sterner requirements.\par
\par
And not only was the young lieutenant outwardly careless\par
of the immediate future and of his surroundings, but actually\par
so. That the district might be infested by countless enemies\par
seemed not to have occurred to him in the remotest degree.\par
He bent assiduously to the work of correcting the adjustment\par
that had caused his motor to stall without so much as an up-\par
ward glance at the surrounding country. The forest to the\par
east of him, and the more distant jungle that bordered the\par
winding river, might have harbored an army of bloodthirsty\par
savages, but neither could elicit even a passing show of inter-\par
est on the part of Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick\par
\par
And even had he looked, it is doubtful if he would have\par
seen the score of figures crouching in the concealment of the\par
undergrowth at the forest's edge. There are those who are\par
reputed to be endowed with that which is sometimes, for want\par
of a better appellation, known as the sixth sense -- a species of\par
intuition which apprises them of the presence of an unseen\par
danger. The concentrated gaze of a hidden observer provokes\par
a warning sensation of nervous unrest in such as these, but\par
though twenty pairs of savage eyes were gazing fixedly at\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, the fact aroused no\par
responsive sensation of impending danger in his placid breast.\par
He hummed peacefully and, his adjustment completed, tried\par
out his motor for a minute or two, then shut it off and de-\par
scended to the ground with the intention of stretching his legs\par
and taking a smoke before continuing his return flight to\par
camp. Now for the first time he took note of his surroundings,\par
to be immediately impressed by both the wildness and the\par
beauty of the scene. In some respects the tree-dotted meadow-\par
land reminded him of a parklike English forest, and that\par
wild beasts and savage men could ever be a part of so quiet\par
a scene seemed the remotest of contingencies.\par
\par
Some gorgeous blooms upon a flowering shrub at a little\par
distance from his machine caught the attention of his aesthetic\par
eye, and as he puffed upon his cigarette, he walked over to\par
examine the flowers more closely. As he bent above them he\par
was probably some hundred yards from his plane and it was\par
at this instant that Numabo, chief of the Wamabo, chose to\par
leap from his ambush and lead his warriors in a sudden rush\par
upon the white man.\par
\par
The young Englishman's first intimation of danger was a\par
chorus of savage yells from the forest behind him. Turning,\par
he saw a score of naked, black warriors advancing rapidly\par
toward him. They moved in a compact mass and as they\par
approached more closely their rate of speed noticeably di-\par
minished. Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick realized in a quick glance\par
that the direction of their approach and their proximity had\par
cut off all chances of retreating to his plane, and he also\par
understood that their attitude was entirely warlike and menac-\par
ing. He saw that they were armed with spears and with bows\par
and arrows, and he felt quite confident that notwithstanding\par
the fact that he was armed with a pistol they could overcome\par
him with the first rush. What he did not know about their\par
tactics was that at any show of resistance they would fall\par
back, which is the nature of the native Negroes, but that after\par
numerous advances and retreats, during which they would\par
work themselves into a frenzy of rage by much shrieking,\par
leaping, and dancing, they would eventually come to the point\par
of a determined and final assault.\par
\par
Numabo was in the forefront, a fact which taken in con-\par
nection with his considerably greater size and more warlike\par
appearance, indicated him as the natural target and it was at\par
Numabo that the Englishman aimed his first shot. Unfortu-\par
nately for him it missed its target, as the killing of the chief\par
might have permanently dispersed the others. The bullet\par
passed Numabo to lodge in the breast of a warrior behind him\par
and as the fellow lunged forward with a scream the others\par
turned and retreated, but to the lieutenant's chagrin they ran\par
in the direction of the plane instead of back toward the forest\par
so that he was still cut off from reaching his machine.\par
\par
Presently they stopped and faced him again. They were\par
talking loudly and gesticulating, and after a moment one of\par
them leaped into the air, brandishing his spear and uttering\par
savage war cries, which soon had their effect upon his fellows\par
so that it was not long ere all of them were taking part in the\par
wild show of savagery, which would bolster their waning\par
courage and presently spur them on to another attack.\par
\par
The second charge brought them closer to the Englishman,\par
and though he dropped another with his pistol, it was not\par
before two or three spears had been launched at him. He\par
now had five shots remaining and there were still eighteen\par
warriors to be accounted for, so that unless he could frighten\par
them off, it was evident that his fate was sealed.\par
\par
That they must pay the price of one life for every attempt\par
to take his had its effect upon them and they were longer now\par
in initiating a new rush and when they did so it was more\par
skilfully ordered than those that had preceded it, for they\par
scattered into three bands which, partially surrounding him,\par
came simultaneously toward him from different directions,\par
and though he emptied his pistol with good effect, they\par
reached him at last. They seemed to know that his ammuni-\par
tion was exhausted, for they circled close about him now with\par
the evident intention of taking him alive, since they might\par
easily have riddled him with their sharp spears with perfect\par
safety to themselves.\par
\par
For two or three minutes they circled about him until, at a\par
word from Numabo, they closed in simultaneously, and though\par
the slender young lieutenant struck out to right and left, he\par
was soon overwhelmed by superior numbers and beaten down\par
by the hafts of spears in brawny hands.\par
\par
He was all but unconscious when they finally dragged him\par
to his feet, and after securing his hands behind his back,\par
pushed him roughly along ahead of them toward the jungle.\par
\par
As the guard prodded him along the narrow trail, Lieuten-\par
ant Smith-Oldwick could not but wonder why they had\par
wished to take him alive. He knew that he was too far inland\par
for his uniform to have any significance to this native tribe to\par
whom no inkling of the World War probably ever had come,\par
and he could only assume that he had fallen into the hands\par
of the warriors of some savage potentate upon whose royal\par
caprice his fate would hinge.\par
\par
They had marched for perhaps half an hour when the\par
Englishman saw ahead of them, in a little clearing upon the\par
bank of the river, the thatched roofs of native huts showing\par
above a crude but strong palisade; and presently he was\par
ushered into a village street where he was immediately sur-\par
rounded by a throng of women and children and warriors.\par
Here he was soon the center of an excited mob whose intent\par
seemed to be to dispatch him as quickly as possible. The\par
women were more venomous than the men, striking and\par
scratching him whenever they could reach him, until at last\par
Numabo, the chief, was obliged to interfere to save his pris-\par
oner for whatever purpose he was destined.\par
\par
As the warriors pushed the crowd back, opening a space\par
through which the white man was led toward a hut, Lieu-\par
tenant Smith-Oldwick saw coming from the opposite end of\par
the village a number of Negroes wearing odds and ends of\par
German uniforms. He was not a little surprised at this, and\par
his first thought was that he had at last come in contact with\par
some portion of the army which was rumored to be crossing\par
from the west coast and for signs of which he had been search-\par
ing.\par
\par
A rueful smile touched his lips as he contemplated the\par
unhappy circumstances which surrounded the accession of\par
this knowledge for though he was far from being without\par
hope, he realized that only by the merest chance could he\par
escape these people and regain his machine.\par
\par
Among the partially uniformed blacks was a huge fellow\par
in the tunic of a sergeant and as this man's eyes fell upon the\par
British officer, a loud cry of exultation broke from his lips,\par
and immediately his followers took up the cry and pressed\par
forward to bait the prisoner.\par
\par
"Where did you get the Englishman?" asked Usanga, the\par
black sergeant, of the chief Numabo. "Are there many more\par
with him?"\par
\par
"He came down from the sky," replied the native chief\par
"in a strange thing which flies like a bird and which frightened\par
us very much at first; but we watched for a long time and\par
saw that it did not seem to be alive, and when this white man\par
left it we attacked him and though he killed some of my\par
warriors, we took him, for we Wamabos are brave men and\par
great warriors."\par
\par
Usanga's eyes went wide. "He flew here through the sky?"\par
he asked.\par
\par
"Yes," said Numabo. "In a great thing which resembled a\par
bird he flew down out of the sky. The thing is still there\par
where it came down close to the four trees near the second\par
bend in the river. We left it there because, not knowing what\par
it was, we were afraid to touch it and it is still there if it\par
has\par
not flown away again."\par
\par
"It cannot fly," said Usanga, "without this man in it. It is a\par
terrible thing which filled the hearts of our soldiers with ter-\par
ror, for it flew over our camps at night and dropped bombs\par
upon us. It is well that you captured this white man, Numabo,\par
for with his great bird he would have flown over your village\par
tonight and killed all your people. These Englishman are\par
very wicked white men."\par
\par
"He will fly no more," said Numabo "It is not intended\par
that a man should fly through the air; only wicked demons do\par
such things as that and Numabo, the chief, will see that this\par
white man does not do it again," and with the words he pushed\par
the young officer roughly toward a hut in the center of the\par
village, where he was left under guard of two stalwart warriors.\par
\par
For an hour or more the prisoner was left to his own devices,\par
which consisted in vain and unremitting attempts to loosen\par
the strands which fettered his wrists, and then he was inter-\par
rupted by the appearance of the black sergeant Usanga, who\par
entered his hut and approached him.\par
\par
"What are they going to do with me?" asked the English-\par
man. "My country is not at war with these people. You\par
speak their language. Tell them that I am not an enemy, that\par
my people are the friends of the black people and that they\par
must let me go in peace."\par
\par
Usanga laughed. "They do not know an Englishman from\par
a German," he replied. "It is nothing to them what you are,\par
except that you are a white man and an enemy."\par
\par
"Then why did they take me alive?" asked the lieutenant.\par
\par
"Come," said Usanga and he led the Englishman to the\par
doorway of the hut. "Look," he said, and pointed a black\par
forefinger toward the end of the village street where a wider\par
space between the huts left a sort of plaza.\par
\par
Here Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick saw a num-\par
ber of Negresses engaged in laying fagots around a stake and\par
in preparing fires beneath a number of large cooking vessels.\par
The sinister suggestion was only too obvious.\par
\par
Usanga was eyeing the white man closely, but if he expected\par
to be rewarded by any signs of fear, he was doomed to dis-\par
appointment and the young lieutenant merely turned toward\par
him with a shrug: "Really now, do you beggars intend eating\par
me?"\par
\par
"Not my people," replied Usanga. "We do not eat human\par
flesh, but the Wamabos do. It is they who will eat you, but\par
we will kill you for the feast, Englishman."\par
\par
The Englishman remained standing in the doorway of the\par
hut, an interested spectator of the preparations for the coming\par
orgy that was so horribly to terminate his earthly existence. It\par
can hardly be assumed that he felt no fear; yet, if he did, he\par
hid it perfectly beneath an imperturbable mask of coolness.\par
Even the brutal Usanga must have been impressed by the\par
bravery of his victim since, though he had come to abuse and\par
possibly to torture the helpless prisoner, he now did neither,\par
contenting himself merely with berating whites as a race and\par
Englishmen especially, because of the terror the British avia-\par
tors had caused Germany's native troops in East Africa.\par
\par
"No more," he concluded, "will your great bird fly over our\par
people dropping death among them from the skies -- Usanga\par
will see to that," and he walked abruptly away toward a group\par
of his own fighting men who were congregated near the stake\par
where they were laughing and joking with the women.\par
\par
A few minutes later the Englishman saw them pass out of\par
the village gate, and once again his thoughts reverted to various\par
futile plans for escape.\par
\par
Several miles north of the village on a little rise of ground\par
close to the river where the jungle, halting at the base of a\par
knoll, had left a few acres of grassy land sparsely wooded, a\par
man and a girl were busily engaged in constructing a small\par
boma, in the center of which a thatched hut already had been\par
erected.\par
\par
They worked almost in silence with only an occasional word\par
of direction or interrogation between them.\par
\par
Except for a loin cloth, the man was naked, his smooth skin\par
tanned to a deep brown by the action of sun and wind. He\par
moved with the graceful ease of a jungle cat and when he\par
lifted heavy weights, the action seemed as effortless as the\par
raising of empty hands.\par
\par
When he was not looking at her, and it was seldom that he\par
did, the girl found her eyes wandering toward him, and at such\par
times there was always a puzzled expression upon her face as\par
though she found in him an enigma which she could not solve.\par
As a matter of fact, her feelings toward him were not un-\par
tinged with awe, since in the brief period of their association\par
she had discovered in this handsome, godlike giant the attri-\par
butes of the superman and the savage beast closely intermin-\par
gled. At first she had felt only that unreasoning feminine terror\par
which her unhappy position naturally induced.\par
\par
To be alone in the heart of an unexplored wilderness of\par
Central Africa with a savage wild man was in itself sufficiently\par
appalling, but to feel also that this man was a blood enemy,\par
that he hated her and her kind and that in addition thereto he\par
owed her a personal grudge for an attack she had made upon\par
him in the past, left no loophole for any hope that he might\par
accord her even the minutest measure of consideration.\par
\par
She had seen him first months since when he had entered\par
the headquarters of the German high command in East Africa\par
and carried off the luckless Major Schneider, of whose fate\par
no hint had ever reached the German officers; and she had\par
seen him again upon that occasion when he had rescued her\par
from the clutches of the lion and, after explaining to her that\par
he had recognized her in the British camp, had made her\par
prisoner. It was then that she had struck him down with the\par
butt of her pistol and escaped. That he might seek no personal\par
revenge for her act had been evidenced in Wilhelmstal the\par
night that he had killed Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and left\par
without molesting her.\par
\par
No, she could not fathom him. He hated her and at the\par
same time he had protected her as had been evidenced again\par
when he had kept the great apes from tearing her to pieces\par
after she had escaped from the Wamabo village to which\par
Usanga, the black sergeant, had brought her a captive; but\par
why was he saving her? For what sinister purpose could this\par
savage enemy be protecting her from the other denizens of his\par
cruel jungle? She tried to put from her mind the probable\par
fate which awaited her, yet it persisted in obtruding itself\par
upon her thoughts, though always she was forced to admit\par
that there was nothing in the demeanor of the man to indicate\par
that her fears were well grounded. She judged him perhaps\par
by the standards other men had taught her and because she\par
looked upon him as a savage creature, she felt that she could\par
not expect more of chivalry from him than was to be found in\par
the breasts of the civilized men of her acquaintance.\par
\par
Fraulein Bertha Kircher was by nature a companionable\par
and cheerful character. She was not given to morbid fore-\par
bodings, and above all things she craved the society of her\par
kind and that interchange of thought which is one of the\par
marked distinctions between man and the lower animals.\par
Tarzan, on the other hand, was sufficient unto himself. Long\par
years of semi-solitude among creatures whose powers of oral\par
expression are extremely limited had thrown him almost en-\par
tirely upon his own resources for entertainment.\par
\par
His active mind was never idle, but because his jungle\par
mates could neither follow nor grasp the vivid train of imag-\par
inings that his man-mind wrought, he had long since learned\par
to keep them to himself; and so now he found no need for\par
confiding them in others. This fact, linked with that of his\par
dislike for the girl, was sufficient to seal his lips for other\par
than\par
necessary conversation, and so they worked on together in\par
comparative silence. Bertha Kircher, however, was nothing if\par
not feminine and she soon found that having someone to talk\par
to who would not talk was extremely irksome. Her fear of\par
the man was gradually departing, and she was full of a thou-\par
sand unsatisfied curiosities as to his plans for the future in so\par
far as they related to her, as well as more personal questions\par
regarding himself, since she could not but wonder as to his\par
antecedents and his strange and solitary life in the jungle, as\par
well as his friendly intercourse with the savage apes among\par
which she had found him.\par
\par
With the waning of her fears she became sufficiently em-\par
boldened to question him, and so she asked him what he in-\par
tended doing after the hut and boma were completed.\par
\par
"I am going to the west coast where I was born," replied\par
Tarzan. "I do not know when. I have all my life before me\par
and in the jungle there is no reason for haste. We are not\par
forever running as fast as we can from one place to another\par
as are you of the outer world. When I have been here long\par
enough I will go on toward the west, but first I must see that\par
you have a safe place in which to sleep, and that you have\par
learned how to provide yourself with necessaries. That will\par
take time."\par
\par
"You are going to leave me here alone?" cried the girl; her\par
tones marked the fear which the prospect induced. "You are\par
going to leave me here alone in this terrible jungle, a prey\par
to wild beasts and savage men, hundreds of miles from a\par
white settlement and in a country which gives every evidence\par
of never having been touched by the foot of civilized men?"\par
\par
"Why not?" asked Tarzan. "I did not bring you here. Would\par
one of your men accord any better treatment to an enemy\par
woman?"\par
\par
"Yes," she exclaimed. "They certainly would. No man of my\par
race would leave a defenseless white woman alone in this hor-\par
rible place."\par
\par
Tarzan shrugged his broad shoulders. The conversation\par
seemed profitless and it was further distasteful to him for the\par
reason that it was carried on in German, a tongue which he\par
detested as much as he did the people who spoke it. He wished\par
that the girl spoke English and then it occurred to him that as\par
he had seen her in disguise in the British camp carrying on her\par
nefarious work as a German spy, she probably did speak Eng-\par
lish and so he asked her.\par
\par
"Of course I speak English," she exclaimed, "but I did not\par
know that you did."\par
\par
Tarzan looked his wonderment but made no comment. He\par
only wondered why the girl should have any doubts as to the\par
ability of an Englishman to speak English, and then suddenly\par
it occurred to him that she probably looked upon him merely\par
as a beast of the jungle who by accident had learned to speak\par
German through frequenting the district which Germany had\par
colonized. It was there only that she had seen him and so\par
she might not know that he was an Englishman by birth,\par
and that he had had a home in British East Africa. It was as\par
well, he thought, that she knew little of him, as the less she\par
knew the more he might learn from her as to her activities\par
in behalf of the Germans and of the German spy system of\par
which she was a representative; and so it occurred to him to\par
let her continue to think that he was only what he appeared\par
to be -- a savage denizen of his savage jungle, a man of no\par
race and no country, hating all white men impartially; and\par
this in truth, was what she did think of him. It explained per-\par
fectly his attacks upon Major Schneider and the Major's\par
brother, Hauptmann Fritz.\par
\par
Again they worked on in silence upon the boma which was\par
now nearly completed, the girl helping the man to the best\par
of her small ability. Tarzan could not but note with grudging\par
approval the spirit of helpfulness she manifested in the oft-\par
times painful labor of gathering and arranging the thorn\par
bushes which constituted the temporary protection against\par
roaming carnivores. Her hands and arms gave bloody token\par
of the sharpness of the numerous points that had lacerated her\par
soft flesh, and even though she were an enemy Tarzan could\par
not but feel compunction that he had permitted her to do\par
this work, and at last he bade her stop.\par
\par
"Why?" she asked. "It is no more painful to me than it must\par
be to you, and, as it is solely for my protection that you are\par
building this boma, there is no reason why I should not do my\par
share."\par
\par
"You are a woman," replied Tarzan. "This is not a wom-\par
an's work. If you wish to do something, take those gourds\par
I brought this morning and fill them with water at the river.\par
You may need it while I am away."\par
\par
"While you are away --" she said. "You are going away?"\par
\par
"When the boma is built I am going out after meat," he\par
replied. "Tomorrow I will go again and take you and show\par
you how you may make your own kills after I am gone."\par
\par
Without a word she took the gourds and walked toward\par
the river. As she filled them, her mind was occupied with\par
painful forebodings of the future. She knew that Tarzan had\par
passed a death sentence upon her, and that the moment that\par
he left her, her doom was sealed, for it could be but a question\par
of time -- a very short time -- before the grim jungle would\par
claim her, for how could a lone woman hope successfully to\par
combat the savage forces of destruction which constituted so\par
large a part of existence in the jungle?\par
\par
So occupied was she with the gloomy prophecies that she\par
had neither ears nor eyes for what went on about her. Me-\par
chanically she filled the gourds and, taking them up, turned\par
slowly to retrace her steps to the boma only to voice im-\par
mediately a half-stifled scream and shrank back from the\par
menacing figure looming before her and blocking her way to\par
the hut.\par
\par
Go-lat, the king ape, hunting a little apart from his tribe,\par
had seen the woman go to the river for water, and it was he\par
who confronted her when she turned back with her filled\par
gourds. Go-lat was not a pretty creature when judged by\par
standards of civilized humanity, though the shes of his tribe\par
and even Go-lat himself, considered his glossy black coat shot\par
with silver, his huge arms dangling to his knees, his bullet\par
head sunk between his mighty shoulders, marks of great per-\par
sonal beauty. His wicked, bloodshot eyes and broad nose, his\par
ample mouth and great fighting fangs only enhanced the claim\par
of this Adonis of the forest upon the affections of his shes.\par
\par
Doubtless in the little, savage brain there was a well-formed\par
conviction that this strange she belonging to the Tarmangani\par
must look with admiration upon so handsome a creature as\par
Go-lat, for there could be no doubt in the mind of any that\par
his beauty entirely eclipsed such as the hairless white ape\par
might lay claim to.\par
\par
But Bertha Kircher saw only a hideous beast, a fierce and\par
terrible caricature of man. Could Go-lat have known what\par
passed through her mind, he must have been terribly cha-\par
grined, though the chances are that he would have attributed\par
it to a lack of discernment on her part. Tarzan heard the\par
girl's cry and looking up saw at a glance the cause of her\par
terror. Leaping lightly over the boma, he ran swiftly toward\par
her as Go-lat lumbered closer to the girl the while he voiced\par
his emotions in low gutturals which, while in reality the most\par
amicable of advances, sounded to the girl like the growling of\par
an enraged beast. As Tarzan drew nearer he called aloud to\par
the ape and the girl heard from the human lips the same\par
sounds that had fallen from those of the anthropoid.\par
\par
"I will not harm your she," Go-lat called to Tarzan.\par
\par
"I know it," replied the ape-man, "but she does not. She is\par
like Numa and Sheeta, who do not understand our talk. She\par
thinks you come to harm her."\par
\par
By this time Tarzan was beside the girl. "He will not harm\par
you," he said to her. "You need not be afraid. This ape has\par
learned his lesson. He has learned that Tarzan is lord of\par
the jungle. He will not harm that which is Tarzan's."\par
\par
The girl cast a quick glance at the man's face. It was evi-\par
dent to her that the words he had spoken meant nothing to\par
him and that the assumed proprietorship over her was, like\par
the boma, only another means for her protection.\par
\par
"But I am afraid of him," she said.\par
\par
"You must not show your fear. You will be often sur-\par
rounded by these apes. At such times you will be safest. Be-\par
fore I leave you I will give you the means of protecting your-\par
self against them should one of them chance to turn upon\par
you. If I were you I would seek their society. Few are the\par
animals of the jungle that dare attack the great apes when\par
there are several of them together. If you let them know that\par
you are afraid of them, they will take advantage of it and\par
your life will be constantly menaced. The shes especially would\par
attack you. I will let them know that you have the means of\par
protecting yourself and of killing them. If necessary, I will\par
show you how and then they will respect and fear you."\par
\par
"I will try," said the girl, "but I am afraid that it will be\par
difficult. He is the most frightful creature I ever have seen."\par
Tarzan smiled. "Doubtless he thinks the same of you," he\par
said.\par
\par
By this time other apes had entered the clearing and they\par
were now the center of a considerable group, among which\par
were several bulls, some young shes, and some older ones with\par
their little balus clinging to their backs or frolicking around\par
at their feet. Though they had seen the girl the night of the\par
Dum-Dum when Sheeta had forced her to leap from her con-\par
cealment into the arena where the apes were dancing, they\par
still evinced a great curiosity regarding her. Some of the shes\par
came very close and plucked at her garments, commenting\par
upon them to one another in their strange tongue. The girl,\par
by the exercise of all the will power she could command, suc-\par
ceeded in passing through the ordeal without evincing any of\par
the terror and revulsion that she felt. Tarzan watched her\par
closely, a half-smile upon his face. He was not so far removed\par
from recent contact with civilized people that he could not\par
realize the torture that she was undergoing, but he felt no\par
pity for this woman of a cruel enemy who doubtless deserved\par
the worst suffering that could be meted to her. Yet, not-\par
withstanding his sentiments toward her, he was forced to ad-\par
mire her fine display of courage. Suddenly he turned to the\par
apes.\par
\par
"Tarzan goes to hunt for himself and his she," he said. "The\par
she will remain there," and he pointed toward the hut. "See\par
that no member of the tribe harms her. Do you understand?"\par
\par
The apes nodded. "We will not harm her," said Go-lat.\par
\par
"No," said Tarzan. "You will not. For if you do, Tarzan\par
will kill you," and then turning to the girl, "Come," he said,\par
"I am going to hunt now. You had better remain at the hut.\par
The apes have promised not to harm you. I will leave my\par
spear with you. It will be the best weapon you could have in\par
case you should need to protect yourself, but I doubt if you\par
will be in any danger for the short time that I am away."\par
\par
He walked with her as far as the boma and when she had\par
entered he closed the gap with thorn bushes and turned away\par
toward the forest. She watched him moving across the clear-\par
ing, noting the easy, catlike tread and the grace of every move-\par
ment that harmonized so well with the symmetry and perfec-\par
tion of his figure. At the forest's edge she saw him swing\par
lightly\par
into a tree and disappear from view, and then, being a woman,\par
she entered the hut and, throwing herself upon the ground,\par
burst into tears.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
In the Hands of Savages\par
\par
Tarzan sought Bara, the deer, or Horta, the boar, for of all\par
the jungle animals he doubted if any would prove more\par
palatable to the white woman, but though his keen nos-\par
trils were ever on the alert, he traveled far without being re-\par
warded with even the faintest scent spoor of the game he\par
sought. Keeping close to the river where he hoped to find\par
Bara or Horta approaching or leaving a drinking place he came\par
at last upon the strong odor of the Wamabo village and being\par
ever ready to pay his hereditary enemies, the Gomangani, an\par
undesired visit, he swung into a detour and came up in the\par
rear of the village. From a tree which overhung the palisade\par
he looked down into the street where he saw the preparations\par
going on which his experience told him indicated the approach\par
of one of those frightful feasts the piece de resistance of which\par
is human flesh.\par
\par
One of Tarzan's chief divertissements was the baiting of the\par
blacks. He realized more keen enjoyment through annoying\par
and terrifying them than from any other source of amusement\par
the grim jungle offered. To rob them of their feast in some\par
way that would strike terror to their hearts would give him\par
the keenest of pleasure, and so he searched the village with his\par
eyes for some indication of the whereabouts of the prisoner.\par
His view was circumscribed by the dense foliage of the tree\par
in which he sat, and, so that he might obtain a better view, he\par
climbed further aloft and moved cautiously out upon a slender\par
branch.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes possessed a woodcraft scarcely short of\par
the marvelous but even Tarzan's wondrous senses were not\par
infallible. The branch upon which he made his way outward\par
from the bole was no smaller than many that had borne his\par
weight upon countless other occasions. Outwardly it appeared\par
strong and healthy and was in full foliage, nor could Tarzan\par
know that close to the stem a burrowing insect had eaten away\par
half the heart of the solid wood beneath the bark.\par
\par
And so when he reached a point far out upon the limb, it\par
snapped close to the bole of the tree without warning. Below\par
him were no larger branches that he might clutch and as he\par
lunged downward his foot caught in a looped creeper so that\par
he turned completely over and alighted on the flat of his back\par
in the center of the village street.\par
\par
At the sound of the breaking limb and the crashing body\par
falling through the branches the startled blacks scurried to\par
their huts for weapons, and when the braver of them emerged,\par
they saw the still form of an almost naked white man lying\par
where he had fallen. Emboldened by the fact that he did not\par
move they approached more closely, and when their eyes dis-\par
covered no signs of others of his kind in the tree, they rushed\par
forward until a dozen warriors stood about him with ready\par
spears. At first they thought that the falling had killed him,\par
but upon closer examination they discovered that the man was\par
only stunned. One of the warriors was for thrusting a spear\par
through his heart, but Numabo, the chief, would not permit it.\par
\par
"Bind him," he said. "We will feed well tonight."\par
\par
And so they bound his hands and feet with thongs of gut\par
and carried him into the hut where Lieutenant Harold Percy\par
Smith-Oldwick awaited his fate. The Englishman had also been\par
bound hand and foot by this time for fear that at the last mo-\par
ment he might escape and rob them of their feast. A great\par
crowd of natives were gathered about the hut attempting to\par
get a glimpse of the new prisoner, but Numabo doubled the\par
guard before the entrance for fear that some of his people, in\par
the exuberance of their savage joy, might rob the others of\par
the pleasures of the death dance which would precede the\par
killing of the victims.\par
\par
The young Englishman had heard the sound of Tarzan's\par
body crashing through the tree to the ground and the commo-\par
tion in the village which immediately followed, and now, as\par
he stood with his back against the wall of the hut, he looked\par
upon the fellow-prisoner that the blacks carried in and laid\par
upon the floor with mixed feelings of surprise and compassion.\par
He realized that he never had seen a more perfect specimen\par
of manhood than that of the unconscious figure before him,\par
and he wondered to what sad circumstances the man owed his\par
capture. It was evident that the new prisoner was himself as\par
much a savage as his captors if apparel and weapons were any\par
criterion by which to judge; yet it was also equally evident that\par
he was a white man and from his well-shaped head and\par
clean-cut features that he was not one of those unhappy half-\par
wits who so often revert to savagery even in the heart of civ-\par
ilized communities.\par
\par
As he watched the man, he presently noticed that his eyelids\par
were moving. Slowly they opened and a pair of gray eyes\par
looked blankly about. With returning consciousness the eyes\par
assumed their natural expression of keen intelligence, and a\par
moment later, with an effort, the prisoner rolled over upon his\par
side and drew himself to a sitting position. He was facing\par
the Englishman, and as his eyes took in the bound ankles and\par
the arms drawn tightly behind the other's back, a slow smile\par
lighted his features.\par
\par
"They will fill their bellies tonight," he said.\par
\par
The Englishman grinned. "From the fuss they made," he\par
said, "the beggars must be awfully hungry. They like to have\par
eaten me alive when they brought me in. How did they get\par
you?"\par
\par
Tarzan shrugged his head ruefully. "It was my own fault,"\par
he replied. "I deserve to be eaten. I crawled out upon a branch\par
that would not bear my weight and when it broke, instead\par
of alighting on my feet, I caught my foot in a trailer and\par
came down on my head. Otherwise they would not have taken\par
me -- alive."\par
\par
"Is there no escape?" asked the Englishman.\par
\par
"I have escaped them before," replied Tarzan, "and I have\par
seen others escape them. I have seen a man taken away from\par
the stake after a dozen spear thrusts had pierced his body and\par
the fire had been lighted about his feet."\par
\par
Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick shuddered. "God!" he exclaimed,\par
"I hope I don't have to face that. I believe I could stand any-\par
thing but the thought of the fire. I should hate like the devil\par
to go into a funk before the devils at the last moment."\par
\par
"Don't worry," said Tarzan. "It doesn't last long and you\par
won't funk. It is really not half as bad as it sounds. There is\par
only a brief period of pain before you lose consciousness. I\par
have seen it many times before. It is as good a way to go as\par
another. We must die sometime. What difference whether it\par
be tonight, tomorrow night, or a year hence, just so that we\par
have lived -- and I have lived!"\par
\par
"Your philosophy may be all right, old top," said the young\par
lieutenant, "but I can't say that it is exactly satisfying."\par
\par
Tarzan laughed. "Roll over here," he said, "where I can get\par
at your bonds with my teeth." The Englishman did as he was\par
bid and presently Tarzan was working at the thongs with his\par
strong white teeth. He felt them giving slowly beneath his\par
efforts. In another moment they would part, and then it\par
would be a comparatively simple thing for the Englishman\par
to remove the remaining bonds from Tarzan and himself.\par
\par
It was then that one of the guards entered the hut. In an\par
instant he saw what the new prisoner was doing and raising\par
his spear, struck the ape-man a vicious blow across the head\par
with its shaft. Then he called in the other guards and together\par
they fell upon the luckless men, kicking and beating them un-\par
mercifully, after which they bound the Englishman more se-\par
curely than before and tied both men fast on opposite sides of\par
the hut. When they had gone Tarzan looked across at his\par
companion in misery.\par
\par
"While there is life," he said, "there is hope," but he grinned\par
as he voiced the ancient truism.\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick returned the other's\par
smile. "I fancy," he said, "that we are getting short on both.\par
It must be close to supper time now."\par
\par
Zu-tag hunted alone far from the balance of the tribe of\par
Go-lat, the great ape. Zu-tag (Big-neck) was a young bull\par
but recently arrived at maturity. He was large, powerful, and\par
ferocious and at the same time far above the average of his\par
kind in intelligence as was denoted by a fuller and less reced-\par
ing forehead. Already Go-lat saw in this young ape a possible\par
contender for the laurels of his kingship and consequently the\par
old bull looked upon Zu-tag with jealousy and disfavor. It was\par
for this reason, possibly, as much as another that Zu-tag\par
hunted so often alone; but it was his utter fearlessness that\par
permitted him to wander far afield away from the protection\par
which numbers gave the great apes. One of the results of this\par
habit was a greatly increased resourcefulness which found him\par
constantly growing in intelligence and powers of observation.\par
\par
Today he had been hunting toward the south and was\par
returning along the river upon a path he often followed be-\par
cause it led by the village of the Gomangani whose strange\par
and almost apelike actions and peculiar manners of living had\par
aroused his interest and curiosity. As he had done upon other\par
occasions he took up his position in a tree from which he could\par
overlook the interior of the village and watch the blacks at\par
their vocations in the street below.\par
\par
Zu-tag had scarcely more than established himself in his\par
tree when, with the blacks, he was startled by the crashing of\par
Tarzan's body from the branches of another jungle giant to\par
the ground within the palisade. He saw the Negroes gather\par
about the prostrate form and later carry it into the hut; and\par
once he rose to his full height upon the limb where he had\par
been squatting and raised his face to the heavens to scream\par
out a savage protest and a challenge, for he had recognized\par
in the brown-skinned Tarmangani the strange white ape who\par
had come among them a night or two before in the midst of\par
their Dum-Dum, and who by so easily mastering the greatest\par
among them, had won the savage respect and admiration of\par
this fierce young bull.\par
\par
But Zu-tag's ferocity was tempered by a certain native cun-\par
ning and caution. Before he had voiced his protest there formed\par
in his mind the thought that he would like to save this wonder-\par
ful white ape from the common enemy, the Gomangani, and\par
so he screamed forth no challenge, wisely determined that more\par
could be accomplished by secrecy and stealth than by force\par
of muscle and fang.\par
\par
At first he thought to enter the village alone and carry off\par
the Tarmangani; but when he saw how numerous were the\par
warriors and that several sat directly before the entrance to\par
the lair into which the prisoner had been carried, it occurred\par
to him that this was work for many rather than one, and so,\par
as silently as he had come, he slipped away though the foliage\par
toward the north.\par
\par
The tribe was still loitering about the clearing where stood\par
the hut that Tarzan and Bertha Kircher had built. Some were\par
idly searching for food just within the forest's edge, while\par
others squatted beneath the shade of trees within the clearing.\par
\par
The girl had emerged from the hut, her tears dried and was\par
gazing anxiously toward the south into the jungle where Tar-\par
zan had disappeared. Occasionally she cast suspicious glances\par
in the direction of the huge shaggy anthropoids about her.\par
How easy it would be for one of those great beasts to enter\par
the boma and slay her. How helpless she was, even with the\par
spear that the white man had left her, she realized as she\par
noted for the thousandth time the massive shoulders, the bull\par
necks, and the great muscles gliding so easily beneath the\par
glossy coats. Never, she thought, had she seen such personi-\par
fications of brute power as were represented by these mighty\par
bulls. Those huge hands would snap her futile spear as she\par
might snap a match in two, while their lightest blow could\par
crush her into insensibility and death.\par
\par
It was while she was occupied with these depressing thoughts\par
that there dropped suddenly into the clearing from the trees\par
upon the south the figure of a mighty young bull. At that time\par
all of the apes looked much alike to Bertha Kircher, nor was\par
it until some time later that she realized that each differed\par
from the others in individual characteristics of face and figure\par
as do individuals of the human races. Yet even then she could\par
not help but note the wondrous strength and agility of this\par
great beast, and as he approached she even found herself ad-\par
miring the sheen of his heavy, black, silvershot coat.\par
\par
It was evident that the newcomer was filled with suppressed\par
excitement. His demeanor and bearing proclaimed this even\par
from afar, nor was the girl the only one to note it. For as they\par
saw him coming many of the apes arose and advanced to meet\par
him, bristling and growling as is their way. Go-lat was among\par
these latter, and he advanced stiffly with the hairs upon his\par
neck and down his spine erect, uttering low growls and baring\par
his fighting fangs, for who might say whether Zu-tag came\par
in peace or otherwise? The old king had seen other young\par
apes come thus in his day filled with a sudden resolution to\par
wrest the kingship from their chief. He had seen bulls about\par
to run amuck burst thus suddenly from the jungle upon the\par
members of the tribe, and so Go-lat took no chances.\par
\par
Had Zu-tag come indolently, feeding as he came, he might\par
have entered the tribe without arousing notice or suspicion,\par
but when one comes thus precipitately, evidently bursting with\par
some emotion out of the ordinary, let all apes beware. There\par
was a certain amount of preliminary circling, growling, and\par
sniffing, stiff-legged and stiff-haired, before each side discov-\par
ered that the other had no intention of initiating an attack and\par
then Zu-tag told Go-lat what he had seen among the lairs\par
of the Gomangani.\par
\par
Go-lat grunted in disgust and turned away. "Let the white\par
ape take care of himself," he said.\par
\par
"He is a great ape," said Zu-tag. "He came to live in peace\par
with the tribe of Go-lat. Let us save him from the Goman-\par
gani."\par
\par
Go-lat grunted again and continued to move away.\par
\par
"Zu-tag will go alone and get him," cried the young ape,\par
"if Go-lat is afraid of the Gomangani."\par
\par
The king ape wheeled in anger, growling loudly and beating\par
upon his breast. "Go-lat is not afraid," he screamed, "but he\par
will not go, for the white ape is not of his tribe. Go yourself\par
and take the Tarmangani's she with you if you wish so much\par
to save the white ape."\par
\par
"Zu-tag will go," replied the younger bull, "and he will take\par
the Tarmangani's she and all the bulls of Go-lat who are not\par
cowards," and so saying he cast his eyes inquiringly about at\par
the other apes. "Who will go with Zu-tag to fight the Goman-\par
gani and bring away our brother," he demanded.\par
\par
Eight young bulls in the full prime of their vigor pressed\par
forward to Zu-tag's side, but the old bulls with the conserva-\par
tism and caution of many years upon their gray shoulders,\par
shook their heads and waddled away after Go-lat.\par
\par
"Good," cried Zu-tag. "We want no old shes to go with us\par
to fight the Gomangani for that is work for the fighters of the\par
tribe."\par
\par
The old bulls paid no attention to his boastful words, but the\par
eight who had volunteered to accompany him were filled with\par
self-pride so that they stood around vaingloriously beating\par
upon their breasts, baring their fangs and screaming their\par
hideous challenge until the jungle reverberated to the horrid\par
sound.\par
\par
All this time Bertha Kircher was a wide-eyed and terrified\par
spectator to what, as she thought, could end only in a terrific\par
battle between these frightful beasts, and when Zu-tag and\par
his followers began screaming forth their fearsome challenge,\par
the girl found herself trembling in terror, for of all the sounds\par
of the jungle there is none more awe inspiring than that of the\par
great bull ape when he issues his challenge or shrieks forth his\par
victory cry.\par
\par
If she had been terrified before she was almost paralyzed\par
with fear now as she saw Zu-tag and his apes turn toward the\par
boma and approach her. With the agility of a cat Zu-tag leaped\par
completely over the protecting wall and stood before her. Val-\par
iantly she held her spear before her, pointing it at his breast.\par
He commenced to jabber and gesticulate, and even with her\par
scant acquaintance with the ways of the anthropoids, she real-\par
ized that he was not menacing her, for there was little or no\par
baring of fighting fangs and his whole expression and attitude\par
was of one attempting to explain a knotty problem or plead\par
a worthy cause. At last he became evidently impatient, for\par
with a sweep of one great paw he struck the spear from her\par
hand and coming close, seized her by the arm, but not roughly.\par
She shrank away in terror and yet some sense within her\par
seemed to be trying to assure her that she was in no danger\par
from this great beast. Zu-tag jabbered loudly, ever and again\par
pointing into the jungle toward the south and moving toward\par
the boma, pulling the girl with him. He seemed almost frantic\par
in his efforts to explain something to her. He pointed toward\par
the boma, herself, and then to the forest, and then, at last, as\par
though by a sudden inspiration, he reached down and, seizing\par
the spear, repeatedly touched it with his forefinger and again\par
pointed toward the south. Suddenly it dawned upon the girl\par
that what the ape was trying to explain to her was related in\par
some way to the white man whose property they thought she\par
was. Possibly her grim protector was in trouble and with this\par
thought firmly established, she no longer held back, but started\par
forward as though to accompany the young bull. At the point\par
in the boma where Tarzan had blocked the entrance, she\par
started to pull away the thorn bushes, and, when Zu-tag saw\par
what she was doing, he fell to and assisted her so that presently\par
they had an opening through the boma through which she\par
passed with the great ape.\par
\par
Immediately Zu-tag and his eight apes started off rapidly\par
toward the jungle, so rapidly that Bertha Kircher would have\par
had to run at top speed to keep up with them. This she real-\par
ized she could not do, and so she was forced to lag behind,\par
much to the chagrin of Zu-tag, who constantly kept running\par
back and urging her to greater speed. Once he took her by the\par
arm and tried to draw her along. Her protests were of no avail\par
since the beast could not know that they were protests, nor did\par
he desist until she caught her foot in some tangled grass and\par
fell to the ground. Then indeed was Zu-tag furious and\par
growled hideously. His apes were waiting at the edge of the\par
forest for him to lead them. He suddenly realized that this\par
poor weak she could not keep up with them and that if they\par
traveled at her slow rate they might be too late to render as-\par
sistance to the Tarmangani, and so without more ado, the giant\par
anthropoid picked Bertha Kircher bodily from the ground and\par
swung her to his back. Her arms were about his neck and in\par
this position he seized her wrists in one great paw so that she\par
could not fall off and started at a rapid rate to join his com-\par
panions.\par
\par
Dressed as she was in riding breeches with no entangling\par
skirts to hinder or catch upon passing shrubbery, she soon\par
found that she could cling tightly to the back of the mighty\par
bull and when a moment later he took to the lower branches\par
of the trees, she closed her eyes and clung to him in terror\par
lest she be precipitated to the ground below.\par
\par
That journey through the primeval forest with the nine\par
great apes will live in the memory of Bertha Kircher for the\par
balance of her life, as clearly delineated as at the moment of\par
its enactment.\par
\par
The first overwhelming wave of fear having passed, she was\par
at last able to open her eyes and view her surroundings with\par
increased interest and presently the sensation of terror slowly\par
left her to be replaced by one of comparative security when\par
she saw the ease and surety with which these great beasts trav-\par
eled through the trees; and later her admiration for the young\par
bull increased as it became evident that even burdened with\par
her additional weight, he moved more rapidly and with no\par
greater signs of fatigue than his unburdened fellows.\par
\par
Not once did Zu-tag pause until he came to a stop among\par
the branches of a tree no great distance from the native village.\par
They could hear the noises of the life within the palisade, the\par
laughing and shouting of the Negroes, and the barking of dogs,\par
and through the foliage the girl caught glimpses of the village\par
from which she had so recently escaped. She shuddered to\par
think of the possibility of having to return to it and of possi-\par
ble recapture, and she wondered why Zu-tag had brought her\par
here.\par
\par
Now the apes advanced slowly once more and with great\par
caution, moving as noiselessly through the trees as the squirrels\par
themselves until they had reached a point where they could\par
easily overlook the palisade and the village street below.\par
\par
Zu-tag squatted upon a great branch close to the bole of\par
the tree and by loosening the girl's arms from about his neck,\par
indicated that she was to find a footing for herself and when\par
she had done so, he turned toward her and pointed repeatedly\par
at the open doorway of a hut upon the opposite side of the\par
street below them. By various gestures he seemed to be try-\par
ing to explain something to her and at last she caught at the\par
germ of his idea -- that her white man was a prisoner there.\par
\par
Beneath them was the roof of a hut onto which she saw that\par
she could easily drop, but what she could do after she had\par
entered the village was beyond her.\par
\par
Darkness was already falling and the fires beneath the cook-\par
ing pots had been lighted. The girl saw the stake in the village\par
street and the piles of fagots about it and in terror she sud-\par
denly realized the portent of these grisly preparations. Oh, if\par
she but only had some sort of a weapon that might give her\par
even a faint hope, some slight advantage against the blacks.\par
Then she would not hesitate to venture into the village in an at-\par
tempt to save the man who had upon three different occasions\par
saved her. She knew that he hated her and yet strong within\par
her breast burned the sense of her obligation to him. She could\par
not fathom him. Never in her life had she seen a man at once\par
so paradoxical and dependable. In many of his ways he was\par
more savage than the beasts with which he associated and yet,\par
on the other hand, he was as chivalrous as a knight of old.\par
For several days she had been lost with him in the jungle\par
absolutely at his mercy, yet she had come to trust so implicitly\par
in his honor that any fear she had had of him was rapidly dis-\par
appearing.\par
\par
On the other hand, that he might be hideously cruel was\par
evidenced to her by the fact that he was planning to leave\par
her alone in the midst of the frightful dangers which menaced\par
her by night and by day.\par
\par
Zu-tag was evidently waiting for darkness to fall before\par
carrying out whatever plans had matured in his savage little\par
brain, for he and his fellows sat quietly in the tree about her,\par
watching the preparations of the blacks. Presently it became\par
apparent that some altercation had arisen among the Negroes,\par
for a score or more of them were gathered around one who ap-\par
peared to be their chief, and all were talking and gesticulating\par
heatedly. The argument lasted for some five or ten minutes\par
when suddenly the little knot broke and two warriors ran to the\par
opposite side of the village from whence they presently re-\par
turned with a large stake which they soon set up beside the\par
one already in place. The girl wondered what the purpose of\par
the second stake might be, nor did she have long to wait for\par
an explanation.\par
\par
It was quite dark by this time, the village being lighted by\par
the fitful glare of many fires, and now she saw a number of\par
warriors approach and enter the hut Zu-tag had been watch-\par
ing. A moment later they reappeared, dragging between them\par
two captives, one of whom the girl immediately recognized as\par
her protector and the other as an Englishman in the uniform\par
of an aviator. This, then, was the reason for the two stakes.\par
\par
Arising quickly she placed a hand upon Zu-tag's shoulder\par
and pointed down into the village. "Come," she said, as if she\par
had been talking to one of her own kind, and with the word\par
she swung lightly to the roof of the hut below. From there to\par
the ground was but a short drop and a moment later she was\par
circling the hut upon the side farthest from the fires, keeping\par
in the dense shadows where there was little likelihood of being\par
discovered. She turned once to see that Zu-tag was directly\par
behind her and could see his huge bulk looming up in the dark,\par
while beyond was another one of his eight. Doubtless they\par
had all followed her and this fact gave her a greater sense of\par
security and hope than she had before experienced.\par
\par
Pausing beside the hut next to the street, she peered cau-\par
tiously about the corner. A few inches from her was the open\par
doorway of the structure, and beyond, farther down the village\par
street, the blacks were congregating about the prisoners, who\par
were already being bound to the stakes. All eyes were cen-\par
tered upon the victims, and there was only the remotest chance\par
that she and her companions would be discovered until they\par
were close upon the blacks. She wished, however, that she\par
might have some sort of a weapon with which to lead the at-\par
tack, for she could not know, of course, for a certainty whether\par
the great apes would follow her or not. Hoping that she might\par
find something within the hut, she slipped quickly around the\par
corner and into the doorway and after her, one by one, came\par
the nine bulls. Searching quickly about the interior, she pres-\par
ently discovered a spear, and, armed with this, she again ap-\par
proached the entrance.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes and Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-\par
Oldwick were bound securely to their respective stakes.\par
Neither had spoken for some time. The Englishman turned\par
his head so that he could see his companion in misery. Tarzan\par
stood straight against his stake. His face was entirely expres-\par
sionless in so far as either fear or anger were concerned. His\par
countenance portrayed bored indifference though both men\par
knew that they were about to be tortured.\par
\par
"Good-bye, old top," whispered the young lieutenant.\par
\par
Tarzan turned his eyes in the direction of the other and\par
smiled. "Good-bye," he said. "If you want to get it over in a\par
hurry, inhale the smoke and flames as rapidly as you can."\par
\par
"Thanks," replied the aviator and though he made a wry\par
face, he drew himself up very straight and squared his shoul-\par
ders.\par
\par
The women and children had seated themselves in a wide\par
circle about the victims while the warriors, hideously painted,\par
were forming slowly to commence the dance of death. Again\par
Tarzan turned to his companion. "If you'd like to spoil their\par
fun," he said, "don't make any fuss no matter how much you\par
suffer. If you can carry on to the end without changing the\par
expression upon your face or uttering a single word, you will\par
deprive them of all the pleasures of this part of the entertain-\par
ment. Good-bye again and good luck."\par
\par
The young Englishman made no reply but it was evident\par
from the set of his jaws that the Negroes would get little enjoy-\par
ment out of him.\par
\par
The warriors were circling now. Presently Numabo would\par
draw first blood with his sharp spear which would be the\par
signal for the beginning of the torture after a little of which\par
the fagots would be lighted around the feet of the victims.\par
\par
Closer and closer danced the hideous chief, his yellow,\par
sharp-filed teeth showing in the firelight between his thick, red\par
lips. Now bending double, now stamping furiously upon the\par
ground, now leaping into the air, he danced step by step in\par
the narrowing circle that would presently bring him within\par
spear reach of the intended feast.\par
\par
At last the spear reached out and touched the ape-man on\par
the breast and when it came away, a little trickle of blood ran\par
down the smooth, brown hide and almost simultaneously there\par
broke from the outer periphery of the expectant audience a\par
woman's shriek which seemed a signal for a series of hideous\par
screamings, growlings and barkings, and a great commotion\par
upon that side of the circle. The victims could not see the\par
cause of the disturbance, but Tarzan did not have to see, for\par
he knew by the voices of the apes the identity of the disturbers.\par
He only wondered what had brought them and what the pur-\par
pose of the attack, for he could not believe that they had come\par
to rescue him.\par
\par
Numabo and his warriors broke quickly from the circle of\par
their dance to see pushing toward them through the ranks of\par
their screaming and terrified people the very white girl who had\par
escaped them a few nights before, and at her back what ap-\par
peared to their surprised eyes a veritable horde of the huge\par
and hairy forest men upon whom they looked with consider-\par
able fear and awe.\par
\par
Striking to right and left with his heavy fists, tearing with\par
his great fangs, came Zu-tag, the young bull, while at his heels,\par
emulating his example, surged his hideous apes. Quickly they\par
came through the old men and the women and children, for\par
straight toward Numabo and his warriors the girl led them.\par
It was then that they came within range of Tarzan's vision and\par
he saw with unmixed surprise who it was that led the apes to\par
his rescue.\par
\par
To Zu-tag he shouted: "Go for the big bulls while the she\par
unbinds me," and to Bertha Kircher: "Quick! Cut these bonds.\par
The apes will take care of the blacks."\par
\par
Turning from her advance the girl ran to his side. She had\par
no knife and the bonds were tied tightly but she worked quick-\par
ly and coolly and as Zu-tag and his apes closed with the war-\par
riors, she succeeded in loosening Tarzan's bonds sufficiently to\par
permit him to extricate his own hands so that in another min-\par
ute he had freed himself.\par
\par
"Now unbind the Englishman," he cried, and, leaping for-\par
ward, ran to join Zu-tag and his fellows in their battle against\par
the blacks. Numabo and his warriors, realizing now the rela-\par
tively small numbers of the apes against them, had made a\par
determined stand and with spears and other weapons were en-\par
deavoring to overcome the invaders. Three of the apes were\par
already down, killed or mortally wounded, when Tarzan, real-\par
izing that the battle must eventually go against the apes unless\par
some means could be found to break the morale of the Ne-\par
groes, cast about him for some means of bringing about the\par
desired end. And suddenly his eye lighted upon a number of\par
weapons which he knew would accomplish the result. A grim\par
smile touched his lips as he snatched a vessel of boiling water\par
from one of the fires and hurled it full in the faces of the\par
warriors. Screaming with terror and pain they fell back though\par
Numabo urged them to rush forward.\par
\par
Scarcely had the first cauldron of boiling water spilled its\par
contents upon them ere Tarzan deluged them with a second,\par
nor was there any third needed to send them shrieking in every\par
direction to the security of their huts.\par
\par
By the time Tarzan had recovered his own weapons the girl\par
had released the young Englishman, and, with the six remain-\par
ing apes, the three Europeans moved slowly toward the vil-\par
lage gate, the aviator arming himself with a spear discarded\par
by one of the scalded warriors, as they eagerly advanced to-\par
ward the outer darkness.\par
\par
Numabo was unable to rally the now thoroughly terrified\par
and painfully burned warriors so that rescued and rescuers\par
passed out of the village into the blackness of the jungle with-\par
out further interference.\par
\par
Tarzan strode through the jungle in silence. Beside him\par
walked Zu-tag, the great ape, and behind them strung the sur-\par
viving anthropoids followed by Fraulein Bertha Kircher and\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, the latter a thor-\par
oughly astonished and mystified Englishman.\par
\par
In all his life Tarzan of the Apes had been obliged to ac-\par
knowledge but few obligations. He won his way through his\par
savage world by the might of his own muscle, the superior\par
keenness of his five senses and his God-given power to reason.\par
Tonight the greatest of all obligations had been placed upon\par
him -- his life had been saved by another and Tarzan shook\par
his head and growled, for it had been saved by one whom he\par
hated above all others.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Finding the Airplane\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes, returning from a successful hunt, with\par
the body of Bara, the deer, across one sleek, brown shoul-\par
der, paused in the branches of a great tree at the edge of\par
a clearing and gazed ruefully at two figures walking from the\par
river to the boma-encircled hut a short distance away.\par
\par
The ape-man shook his tousled head and sighed. His eyes\par
wandered toward the west and his thoughts to the far-away\par
cabin by the land-locked harbor of the great water that washed\par
the beach of his boyhood home -- to the cabin of his long-dead\par
father to which the memories and treasures of a happy child-\par
hood lured him. Since the loss of his mate, a great longing had\par
possessed him to return to the haunts of his youth -- to the\par
untracked jungle wilderness where he had lived the life he\par
loved best long before man had invaded the precincts of his\par
wild stamping grounds. There he hoped in a renewal of the\par
old life under the old conditions to win surcease from sorrow\par
and perhaps some measure of forgetfulness.\par
\par
But the little cabin and the land-locked harbor were many\par
long, weary marches away, and he was handicapped by the\par
duty which he felt he owed to the two figures walking in the\par
clearing before him. One was a young man in a worn and\par
ragged uniform of the British Royal Air Forces, the other, a\par
young woman in the even more disreputable remnants of what\par
once had been trim riding togs.\par
\par
A freak of fate had thrown these three radically different\par
types together. One was a savage, almost naked beast-man,\par
one an English army officer, and the woman, she whom the\par
ape-man knew and hated as a German spy.\par
\par
How he was to get rid of them Tarzan could not imagine\par
unless he accompanied them upon the weary march back to\par
the east coast, a march that would necessitate his once more\par
retracing the long, weary way he already had covered towards\par
his goal, yet what else could be done? These two had neither\par
the strength, endurance, nor jungle-craft to accompany him\par
through the unknown country to the west, nor did he wish\par
them with him. The man he might have tolerated, but he could\par
not even consider the presence of the girl in the far-off cabin,\par
which had in a way become sacred to him through its mem-\par
ories, without a growl or anger rising to his lips. There re-\par
mained, then, but the one way, since he could not desert them.\par
He must move by slow and irksome marches back to the east\par
coast, or at least to the first white settlement in that\par
direction.\par
\par
He had, it is true, contemplated leaving the girl to her fate\par
but that was before she had been instrumental in saving him\par
from torture and death at the hands of the black Wamabos.\par
He chafed under the obligation she had put upon him, but no\par
less did he acknowledge it and as he watched the two, the\par
rueful expression upon his face was lightened by a smile as\par
he thought of the helplessness of them. What a puny thing,\par
indeed, was man! How ill equipped to combat the savage forces\par
of nature and of nature's jungle. Why, even the tiny balu of\par
the tribe of Go-lat, the great ape, was better fitted to survive\par
than these, for a balu could at least escape the numerous crea-\par
tures that menaced its existence, while with the possible excep-\par
tion of Kota, the tortoise, none moved so slowly as did helpless\par
and feeble man.\par
\par
Without him these two doubtless would starve in the midst\par
of plenty, should they by some miracle escape the other forces\par
of destruction which constantly threatened them. That morning\par
Tarzan had brought them fruit, nuts, and plantain, and now\par
he was bringing them the flesh of his kill, while the best that\par
they might do was to fetch water from the river. Even now, as\par
they walked across the clearing toward the boma, they were in\par
utter ignorance of the presence of Tarzan near them. They did\par
not know that his sharp eyes were watching them, nor that\par
other eyes less friendly were glaring at them from a clump of\par
bushes close beside the boma entrance. They did not know\par
these things, but Tarzan did. No more than they could he see\par
the creature crouching in the concealment of the foliage, yet\par
he knew that it was there and what it was and what its inten-\par
tions, precisely as well as though it had been lying in the open.\par
\par
A slight movement of the leaves at the top of a single stem\par
had apprised him of the presence of a creature there, for the\par
movement was not that imparted by the wind. It came from\par
pressure at the bottom of the stem which communicates a dif-\par
ferent movement to the leaves than does the wind passing\par
among them, as anyone who has lived his lifetime in the jun-\par
gle well knows, and the same wind that passed through the\par
foliage of the bush brought to the ape-man's sensitive nos-\par
trils indisputable evidence of the fact that Sheeta, the panther,\par
waited there for the two returning from the river.\par
\par
They had covered half the distance to the boma entrance\par
when Tarzan called to them to stop. They looked in surprise\par
in the direction from which his voice had come to see him\par
drop lightly to the ground and advance toward them.\par
\par
"Come slowly toward me," he called to them. "Do not run\par
for if you run Sheeta will charge."\par
\par
They did as he bid, their faces filled with questioning won-\par
derment.\par
\par
"What do you mean?" asked the young Englishman. "Who\par
is Sheeta?" but for answer the ape-man suddenly hurled\par
the carcass of Bara, the deer, to the ground and leaped quickly\par
toward them, his eyes upon something in their rear; and then\par
it was that the two turned and learned the identity of Sheeta,\par
for behind them was a devil-faced cat charging rapidly toward\par
them.\par
\par
Sheeta with rising anger and suspicion had seen the ape-man\par
leap from the tree and approach the quarry. His life's expe-\par
riences backed by instinct told him that the Tarmangani was\par
about to rob him of his prey and as Sheeta was hungry, he had\par
no intention of being thus easily deprived of the flesh he al-\par
ready considered his own.\par
\par
The girl stifled an involuntary scream as she saw the prox-\par
imity of the fanged fury bearing down upon them. She shrank\par
close to the man and clung to him and all unarmed and de-\par
fenseless as he was, the Englishman pushed her behind him\par
and shielding her with his body, stood squarely in the face of\par
the panther's charge. Tarzan noted the act, and though accus-\par
tomed as he was to acts of courage, he experienced a thrill\par
from the hopeless and futile bravery of the man.\par
\par
The charging panther moved rapidly, and the distance which\par
separated the bush in which he had concealed himself from the\par
objects of his desire was not great. In the time that one might\par
understandingly read a dozen words the strong-limbed cat\par
could have covered the entire distance and made his kill, yet\par
if Sheeta was quick, quick too was Tarzan. The English lieu-\par
tenant saw the ape-man flash by him like the wind. He saw\par
the great cat veer in his charge as though to elude the naked\par
savage rushing to meet him, as it was evidently Sheeta's inten-\par
tion to make good his kill before attempting to protect it from\par
Tarzan.\par
\par
Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick saw these things and then with\par
increasing wonder he saw the ape-man swerve, too, and leap\par
for the spotted cat as a football player leaps for a runner. He\par
saw the strong, brown arms encircling the body of the car-\par
nivore, the left arm in front of the beast's left shoulder and\par
the right arm behind his right foreleg, and with the impact the\par
two together rolling over and over upon the turf. He heard\par
the snarls and growls of bestial combat, and it was with a feel-\par
ing of no little horror that he realized that the sounds com-\par
ing from the human throat of the battling man could scarce\par
be distinguished from those of the panther.\par
\par
The first momentary shock of terror over, the girl released\par
her grasp upon the Englishman's arm. "Cannot we do some-\par
thing?" she asked. "Cannot we help him before the beast\par
kills him?"\par
\par
The Englishman looked upon the ground for some missile\par
with which to attack the panther and then the girl uttered an\par
exclamation and started at a run toward the hut. "Wait there,"\par
she called over her shoulder. "I will fetch the spear that he\par
left\par
me."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick saw the raking talons of the panther search-\par
ing for the flesh of the man and the man on his part straining\par
every muscle and using every artifice to keep his body out of\par
range of them. The muscles of his arms knotted under the\par
brown hide. The veins stood out upon his neck and forehead\par
as with ever-increasing power he strove to crush the life from\par
the great cat. The ape-man's teeth were fastened in the back\par
of Sheeta's neck and now he succeeded in encircling the beast's\par
torso with his legs which he crossed and locked beneath the\par
cat's belly. Leaping and snarling, Sheeta sought to dislodge\par
the ape-man's hold upon him. He hurled himself upon the\par
ground and rolled over and over. He reared upon his hind\par
legs and threw himself backwards but always the savage\par
creature upon his back clung tenaciously to him, and always\par
the mighty brown arms crushed tighter and tighter about his\par
chest.\par
\par
And then the girl, panting from her quick run, returned with\par
the short spear Tarzan had left her as her sole weapon of pro-\par
tection. She did not wait to hand it to the Englishman who\par
ran forward to receive it, but brushed past him and leaped\par
into close quarters beside the growling, tumbling mass of yel-\par
low fur and smooth brown hide. Several times she attempted\par
to press the point home into the cat's body, but on both occa-\par
sions the fear of endangering the ape-man caused her to de-\par
sist, but at last the two lay motionless for a moment as the\par
carnivore sought a moment's rest from the strenuous exertions\par
of battle, and then it was that Bertha Kircher pressed the point\par
of the spear to the tawny side and drove it deep into the savage\par
heart.\par
\par
Tarzan rose from the dead body of Sheeta and shook him-\par
self after the manner of beasts that are entirely clothed with\par
hair. Like many other of his traits and mannerisms this was\par
the result of environment rather than heredity or reversion, and\par
even though he was outwardly a man, the Englishman and\par
the girl were both impressed with the naturalness of the act.\par
It was as though Numa, emerging from a fight, had shaken\par
himself to straighten his rumpled mane and coat, and yet, too,\par
there was something uncanny about it as there had been when\par
the savage growls and hideous snarls issued from those clean-\par
cut lips.\par
\par
Tarzan looked at the girl, a quizzical expression upon his\par
face. Again had she placed him under obligations to her, and\par
Tarzan of the Apes did not wish to be obligated to a German\par
spy; yet in his honest heart he could not but admit a certain\par
admiration for her courage, a trait which always greatly im-\par
pressed the ape-man, he himself the personification of courage.\par
\par
"Here is the kill," he said, picking the carcass of Bara from\par
the ground. "You will want to cook your portion, I presume,\par
but Tarzan does not spoil his meat with fire."\par
\par
They followed him to the boma where he cut several pieces\par
of meat from the carcass for them, retaining a joint for him-\par
self. The young lieutenant prepared a fire, and the girl pre-\par
sided over the primitive culinary rights of their simple meal.\par
As she worked some little way apart from them, the lieuten-\par
ant and the ape-man watched her.\par
\par
"She is wonderful. Is she not?" murmured Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"She is a German and a spy," replied Tarzan.\par
\par
The Englishman turned quickly upon him. "What do you\par
mean?" he cried.\par
\par
"I mean what I say," replied the ape-man. "She is a German\par
and a spy."\par
\par
"I do not believe it!" exclaimed the aviator.\par
\par
"You do not have to," Tarzan assured him. "It is nothing to\par
me what you believe. I saw her in conference with the Boche\par
general and his staff at the camp near Taveta. They all knew\par
her and called her by name and she handed him a paper. The\par
next time I saw her she was inside the British lines in disguise,\par
and again I saw her bearing word to a German officer at\par
Wilhelmstal. She is a German and a spy, but she is a woman\par
and therefore I cannot destroy her."\par
\par
"You really believe that what you say is true?" asked the\par
young lieutenant. "My God! I cannot believe it. She is so sweet\par
and brave and good."\par
\par
The ape-man shrugged his shoulders. "She is brave," he\par
said, "but even Pamba, the rat, must have some good quality,\par
but she is what I have told you and therefore I hate her and\par
you should hate her."\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick buried his face in\par
his hands. "God forgive me," he said at last. "I cannot hate\par
her."\par
\par
The ape-man cast a contemptuous look at his companion\par
and arose. "Tarzan goes again to hunt," he said. "You have\par
enough food for two days. By that time he will return."\par
\par
The two watched him until he had disappeared in the foliage\par
of the trees at the further side of the clearing.\par
\par
When he had gone the girl felt a vague sense of apprehen-\par
sion that she never experienced when Tarzan was present. The\par
invisible menaces lurking in the grim jungle seemed more real\par
and much more imminent now that the ape-man was no longer\par
near. While he had been there talking with them, the little\par
thatched hut and its surrounding thorn boma had seemed as\par
safe a place as the world might afford. She wished that he had\par
remained -- two days seemed an eternity in contemplation --\par
two days of constant fear, two days, every moment of which\par
would be fraught with danger. She turned toward her com-\par
panion.\par
\par
"I wish that he had remained," she said. "I always feel so\par
much safer when he is near. He is very grim and very terrible,\par
and yet I feel safer with him than with any man I ever have\par
known. He seems to dislike me and yet I know that he would\par
let no harm befall me. I cannot understand him."\par
\par
"Neither do I understand him," replied the Englishman;\par
"but I know this much -- our presence here is interfering with\par
his plans. He would like to be rid of us, and I half imagine\par
that he rather hopes to find when he returns that we have\par
succumbed to one of the dangers which must always confront\par
us in this savage land.\par
\par
"I think that we should try to return to the white settle-\par
ments. This man does not want us here, nor is it reasonable\par
to assume that we could long survive in such a savage wilder-\par
ness. I have traveled and hunted in several parts of Africa,\par
but never have I seen or heard of any single locality so over-\par
run with savage beasts and dangerous natives. If we set out\par
for the east coast at once we would be in but little more danger\par
than we are here, and if we could survive a day's march, I\par
believe that we will find the means of reaching the coast in a\par
few hours, for my plane must still be in the same place that\par
I landed just before the blacks captured me. Of course there\par
is no one here who could operate it nor is there any reason\par
why they should have destroyed it. As a matter of fact, the\par
natives would be so fearful and suspicious of so strange and\par
incomprehensible a thing that the chances are they would not\par
dare approach it. Yes, it must be where I left it and all ready\par
to carry us safely to the settlements."\par
\par
"But we cannot leave," said the girl, "until he returns. We\par
could not go away like that without thanking him or bidding\par
him farewell. We are under too great obligations to him."\par
\par
The man looked at her in silence for a moment. He won-\par
dered if she knew how Tarzan felt toward her and then he\par
himself began to speculate upon the truth of the ape-man's\par
charges. The longer he looked at the girl, the less easy was\par
it to entertain the thought that she was an enemy spy. He was\par
upon the point of asking her point-blank but he could not bring\par
himself to do so, finally determining to wait until time and\par
longer acquaintance should reveal the truth or falsity of the\par
accusation.\par
\par
"I believe," he said as though there had been no pause in\par
their conversation, "that the man would be more than glad\par
to find us gone when he returns. It is not necessary to jeop-\par
ardize our lives for two more days in order that we may thank\par
him, however much we may appreciate his services to us. You\par
have more than balanced your obligations to him and from\par
what he told me I feel that you especially should not remain\par
here longer."\par
\par
The girl looked up at him in astonishment. "What do you\par
mean?" she asked.\par
\par
"I do not like to tell," said the Englishman, digging nerv-\par
ously at the turf with the point of a stick, "but you have my\par
word that he would rather you were not here."\par
\par
"Tell me what he said," she insisted, "I have a right to\par
know."\par
\par
Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick squared his shoulders and raised\par
his eyes to those of the girl. "He said that he hated you," he\par
blurted. "He has only aided you at all from a sense of duty\par
because you are a woman."\par
\par
The girl paled and then flushed. "I will be ready to go,"\par
she said, "in just a moment. We had better take some of this\par
meat with us. There is no telling when we will be able to get\par
more."\par
\par
And so the two set out down the river toward the south.\par
The man carried the short spear that Tarzan had left with\par
the girl, while she was entirely unarmed except for a stick\par
she had picked up from among those left after the building of\par
the hut. Before departing she had insisted that the man leave\par
a note for Tarzan thanking him for his care of them and\par
bidding him goodbye. This they left pinned to the inside wall of\par
the hut with a little sliver of wood.\par
\par
It was necessary that they be constantly on the alert since\par
they never knew what might confront them at the next turn\par
of the winding jungle trail or what might lie concealed in the\par
tangled bushes at either side. There was also the ever-present\par
danger of meeting some of Numabo's black warriors and as\par
the village lay directly in their line of march, there was the\par
necessity for making a wide detour before they reached it in\par
order to pass around it without being discovered.\par
\par
"I am not so much afraid of the native blacks," said the girl,\par
"as I am of Usanga and his people. He and his men were all\par
attached to a German native regiment. They brought me\par
along with them when they deserted, either with the inten-\par
tion of holding me ransom or selling me into the harem\par
of one of the black sultans of the north. Usanga is much\par
more to be feared than Numabo for he has had the advantage\par
of European military training and is armed with more or less\par
modern weapons and ammunition."\par
\par
"It is lucky for me," remarked the Englishman, "that it was\par
the ignorant Numabo who discovered and captured me rather\par
than the worldly wise Usanga. He would have felt less fear\par
of the giant flying machine and would have known only too\par
well how to wreck it."\par
\par
"Let us pray that the black sergeant has not discovered it,"\par
said the girl.\par
\par
They made their way to a point which they guessed was\par
about a mile above the village, then they turned into the\par
trackless tangle of undergrowth to the east. So dense was the\par
verdure at many points that it was with the utmost difficulty\par
they wormed their way through, sometimes on hands and\par
knees and again by clambering over numerous fallen tree\par
trunks. Interwoven with dead limbs and living branches were\par
the tough and ropelike creepers which formed a tangled net-\par
work across their path.\par
\par
South of them in an open meadowland a number of black\par
warriors were gathered about an object which elicited much\par
wondering comment. The blacks were clothed in fragments\par
of what had once been uniforms of a native German com-\par
mand. They were a most unlovely band and chief among\par
them in authority and repulsiveness was the black sergeant\par
Usanga. The object of their interest was a British aeroplane.\par
\par
Immediately after the Englishman had been brought to\par
Numabo's village Usanga had gone out in search of the plane,\par
prompted partially by curiosity and partially by an intention\par
to destroy it, but when he had found it, some new thought had\par
deterred him from carrying out his design. The thing repre-\par
sented considerable value as he well knew and it had occurred\par
to him that in some way he might turn his prize to profit.\par
Every day he had returned to it, and while at first it had filled\par
him with considerable awe, he eventually came to look upon\par
it with the accustomed eye of a proprietor, so that he now\par
clambered into the fuselage and even advanced so far as to\par
wish that he might learn to operate it.\par
\par
What a feat it would be indeed to fly like a bird far above\par
the highest tree top! How it would fill his less favored com-\par
panions with awe and admiration! If Usanga could but fly,\par
so great would be the respect of all the tribesmen throughout\par
the scattered villages of the great interior, they would look\par
upon him as little less than a god.\par
\par
Usanga rubbed his palms together and smacked his thick\par
lips. Then indeed, would he be very rich, for all the villages\par
would pay tribute to him and he could even have as many as\par
a dozen wives. With that thought, however, came a mental\par
picture of Naratu, the black termagant, who ruled him with\par
an iron hand. Usanga made a wry face and tried to forget\par
the extra dozen wives, but the lure of the idea remained and\par
appealed so strongly to him that he presently found himself\par
reasoning most logically that a god would not be much of a\par
god with less than twenty-four wives.\par
\par
He fingered the instruments and the control, half hoping\par
and half fearing that he would alight upon the combination\par
that would put the machine in flight. Often had he watched\par
the British air-men soaring above the German lines and it\par
looked so simple he was quite sure that he could do it him-\par
self if there was somebody who could but once show him\par
how. There was, of course, always the hope that the white\par
man who came in the machine and who had escaped from\par
Numabo's village might fall into Usanga's hands and then\par
indeed would he be able to learn how to fly. It was in this hope\par
that Usanga spent so much time in the vicinity of the plane,\par
reasoning as he did that eventually the white man would\par
return in search of it.\par
\par
And at last he was rewarded, for upon this very day after\par
he had quit the machine and entered the jungle with his war-\par
riors, he heard voices to the north and when he and his men\par
had hidden in the dense foliage upon either side of the trail,\par
Usanga was presently filled with elation by the appearance of\par
the British officer and the white girl whom the black sergeant\par
had coveted and who had escaped him.\par
\par
The Negro could scarce restrain a shout of elation, for he\par
had not hoped that fate would be so kind as to throw these\par
two whom he most desired into his power at the same time.\par
\par
As the two came down the trail all unconscious of impending\par
danger, the man was explaining that they must be very close\par
to the point at which the plane had landed. Their entire\par
attention was centered on the trail directly ahead of them, as\par
they momentarily expected it to break into the meadowland\par
where they were sure they would see the plane that would\par
spell life and liberty for them.\par
\par
The trail was broad, and they were walking side by side\par
so that at a sharp turn the parklike clearing was revealed to\par
them simultaneously with the outlines of the machine they\par
sought.\par
\par
Exclamations of relief and delight broke from their lips, and\par
at the same instant Usanga and his black warriors rose from\par
the bushes all about them.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Black Flier\par
\par
The girl was almost crushed by terror and disappointment.\par
To have been thus close to safety and then to have all\par
hope snatched away by a cruel stroke of fate seemed\par
unendurable. The man was disappointed, too, but more was\par
he angry. He noted the remnants of the uniforms upon the\par
blacks and immediately he demanded to know where were\par
their officers.\par
\par
"They cannot understand you," said the girl and so in the\par
bastard tongue that is the medium of communication between\par
the Germans and the blacks of their colony, she repeated the\par
white man's question.\par
\par
Usanga grinned. "You know where they are, white woman,"\par
he replied. "They are dead, and if this white man does not\par
do as I tell him, he, too, will be dead."\par
\par
"What do you want of him?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"I want him to teach me how to fly like a bird," replied\par
Usanga.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher looked her astonishment, but repeated the\par
demand to the lieutenant.\par
\par
The Englishman meditated for a moment. "He wants to\par
learn to fly, does he?" he repeated. "Ask him if he will give us\par
our freedom if I teach him to fly."\par
\par
The girl put the question to Usanga, who, degraded, cun-\par
ning, and entirely unprincipled, was always perfectly willing to\par
promise anything whether he had any intentions of fulfilling\par
his promises or not, and so immediately assented to the propo-\par
sition.\par
\par
"Let the white man teach me to fly," he said, "and I will\par
take you back close to the settlements of your people, but in\par
return for this I shall keep the great bird," and he waved a\par
black hand in the direction of the aeroplane.\par
\par
When Bertha Kircher had repeated Usanga's proposition\par
to the aviator, the latter shrugged his shoulders and with a\par
wry face finally agreed. "I fancy there is no other way out of\par
it," he said. "In any event the plane is lost to the British\par
government. If I refuse the black scoundrel's request, there is\par
no doubt but what he will make short work of me with the\par
result that the machine will lie here until it rots. If I accept\par
his offer it will at least be the means of assuring your safe\par
return to civilization and that" he added, "is worth more to\par
me than all the planes in the British Air Service."\par
\par
The girl cast a quick glance at him. These were the first\par
words he had addressed to her that might indicate that his\par
sentiments toward her were more than those of a companion\par
in distress. She regretted that he had spoken as he had and\par
he, too, regretted it almost instantly as he saw the shadow\par
cross her face and realized that he had unwittingly added to\par
the difficulties of her already almost unbearable situation.\par
\par
"Forgive me," he said quickly. "Please forget what that\par
remark implied. I promise you that I will not offend again,\par
if it does offend you, until after we are both safely out of this\par
mess."\par
\par
She smiled and thanked him, but the thing had been said\par
and could never be unsaid, and Bertha Kircher knew even\par
more surely than as though he had fallen upon his knees and\par
protested undying devotion that the young English officer\par
loved her.\par
\par
Usanga was for taking his first lesson in aviation immedi-\par
ately. The Englishman attempted to dissuade him, but im-\par
mediately the black became threatening and abusive, since,\par
like all those who are ignorant, he was suspicious that the\par
intentions of others were always ulterior unless they perfectly\par
coincided with his wishes.\par
\par
"All right, old top," muttered the Englishman, "I will give\par
you the lesson of your life," and then turning to the girl:\par
"Persuade him to let you accompany us. I shall be afraid to\par
leave you here with these devilish scoundrels." But when she\par
put the suggestion to Usanga the black immediately suspected\par
some plan to thwart him -- possibly to carry him against his\par
will back to the German masters he had traitorously deserted,\par
and glowering at her savagely, he obstinately refused to enter-\par
tain the suggestion.\par
\par
"The white woman will remain here with my people," he\par
said. "They will not harm her unless you fail to bring me\par
back safely."\par
\par
"Tell him," said the Englishman, "that if you are not stand-\par
ing in plain sight in this meadow when I return, I will not\par
land, but will carry Usanga back to the British camp and\par
have him hanged."\par
\par
Usanga promised that the girl would be in evidence upon\par
their return, and took immediate steps to impress upon his\par
warriors that under penalty of death they must not harm her.\par
Then, followed by the other members of his party, he crossed\par
the clearing toward the plane with the Englishman. Once\par
seated within what he already considered his new possession,\par
the black's courage began to wane and when the motor was\par
started and the great propeller commenced to whir, he\par
screamed to the Englishman to stop the thing and permit him\par
to alight, but the aviator could neither hear nor understand\par
the black above the noise of the propeller and exhaust. By\par
this time the plane was moving along the ground and even\par
then Usanga was upon the verge of leaping out, and would\par
have done so had he been able to unfasten the strap from\par
about his waist. Then the plane rose from the ground and in\par
a moment soared gracefully in a wide circle until it topped\par
the trees. The black sergeant was in a veritable collapse of\par
terror. He saw the earth dropping rapidly from beneath him.\par
He saw the trees and river and at a distance the little clearing\par
with the thatched huts of Numabo's village. He tried hard\par
not to think of the results of a sudden fall to the rapidly re-\par
ceding ground below. He attempted to concentrate his mind\par
upon the twenty-four wives which this great bird most as-\par
suredly would permit him to command. Higher and higher\par
rose the plane, swinging in a wide circle above the forest,\par
river, and meadowland and presently, much to his surprise,\par
Usanga discovered that his terror was rapidly waning, so that\par
it was not long before there was forced upon him a conscious-\par
ness of utter security, and then it was that he began to take\par
notice of the manner in which the white man guided and\par
manipulated the plane.\par
\par
After half an hour of skillful maneuvering, the Englishman\par
rose rapidly to a considerable altitude, and then, suddenly,\par
without warning, he looped and flew with the plane inverted\par
for a few seconds.\par
\par
"I said I'd give this beggar the lesson of his life," he mur-\par
mured as he heard, even above the whir of the propeller, the\par
shriek of the terrified Negro. A moment later Smith-Oldwick\par
had righted the machine and was dropping rapidly toward\par
the earth. He circled slowly a few times above the meadow\par
until he had assured himself that Bertha Kircher was there and\par
apparently unharmed, then he dropped gently to the ground\par
so that the machine came to a stop a short distance from where\par
the girl and the warriors awaited them.\par
\par
It was a trembling and ashen-hued Usanga who tumbled\par
out of the fuselage, for his nerves were still on edge as a\par
result\par
of the harrowing experience of the loop, yet with terra firma\par
once more under foot, he quickly regained his composure.\par
Strutting about with great show and braggadocio, he strove\par
to impress his followers with the mere nothingness of so trivial\par
a feat as flying birdlike thousands of yards above the jungle,\par
though it was long until he had thoroughly convinced himself\par
by the force of autosuggestion that he had enjoyed every\par
instant of the flight and was already far advanced in the art of\par
aviation.\par
\par
So jealous was the black of his new-found toy that he would\par
not return to the village of Numabo, but insisted on making\par
camp close beside the plane, lest in some inconceivable fashion\par
it should be stolen from him. For two days they camped\par
there, and constantly during daylight hours Usanga compelled\par
the Englishman to instruct him in the art of flying.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick, in recalling the long months of arduous\par
training he had undergone himself before he had been con-\par
sidered sufficiently adept to be considered a finished flier,\par
smiled at the conceit of the ignorant African who was already\par
demanding that he be permitted to make a flight alone.\par
\par
"If it was not for losing the machine," the Englishman ex-\par
plained to the girl, "I'd let the bounder take it up and break\par
his fool neck as he would do inside of two minutes."\par
\par
However, he finally persuaded Usanga to bide his time for\par
a few more days of instruction, but in the suspicious mind of\par
the Negro there was a growing conviction that the white man's\par
advice was prompted by some ulterior motive; that it was in\par
the hope of escaping with the machine himself by night that\par
he refused to admit that Usanga was entirely capable of\par
handling it alone and therefore in no further need of help or\par
instruction, and so in the mind of the black there formed a\par
determination to outwit the white man. The lure of the twenty-\par
four seductive wives proved in itself a sufficient incentive and\par
there, too, was added his desire for the white girl whom he\par
had long since determined to possess.\par
\par
It was with these thoughts in mind that Usanga lay down\par
to sleep in the evening of the second day. Constantly, however,\par
the thought of Naratu and her temper arose to take the keen\par
edge from his pleasant imaginings. If he could but rid himself\par
of her! The thought having taken form persisted, but always\par
it was more than outweighed by the fact that the black sergeant\par
was actually afraid of his woman, so much afraid of her in\par
fact that he would not have dared to attempt to put her out of\par
the way unless he could do so secretly while she slept. How-\par
ever, as one plan after another was conjured by the strength of\par
his desires, he at last hit upon one which came to him almost\par
with the force of a blow and brought him sitting upright among\par
his sleeping companions.\par
\par
When morning dawned Usanga could scarce wait for an\par
opportunity to put his scheme into execution, and the moment\par
that he had eaten, he called several of his warriors aside and\par
talked with them for some moments.\par
\par
The Englishman, who usually kept an eye upon his black\par
captor, saw now that the latter was explaining something in\par
detail to his warriors, and from his gestures and his manner\par
it was apparent that he was persuading them to some new\par
plan as well as giving them instructions as to what they were\par
to do. Several times, too, he saw the eyes of the Negroes\par
turned upon him and once they flashed simultaneously toward\par
the white girl.\par
\par
Everything about the occurrence, which in itself seemed\par
trivial enough, aroused in the mind of the Englishman a well-\par
defined apprehension that something was afoot that boded ill\par
for him and for the girl. He could not free himself of the idea\par
and so he kept a still closer watch over the black although, as\par
he was forced to admit to himself, he was quite powerless to\par
avert any fate that lay in store for them. Even the spear that\par
he had had when captured had been taken away from him, so\par
that now he was unarmed and absolutely at the mercy of the\par
black sergeant and his followers.\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick did not have long\par
to wait before discovering something of Usanga's plan, for\par
almost immediately after the sergeant finished giving his in-\par
structions, a number of warriors approached the Englishman,\par
while three went directly to the girl.\par
\par
Without a word of explanation the warriors seized the young\par
officer and threw him to the ground upon his face. For a\par
moment he struggled to free himself and succeeded in landing\par
a few heavy blows among his assailants, but he was too greatly\par
outnumbered to hope to more than delay them in the accom-\par
plishment of their object which he soon discovered was to bind\par
him securely hand and foot. When they had finally secured\par
him to their satisfaction, they rolled him over on his side and\par
then it was he saw Bertha Kircher had been similarly trussed.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick lay in such a position that he could see\par
nearly the entire expanse of meadow and the aeroplane a short\par
distance away. Usanga was talking to the girl who was shaking\par
her head in vehement negatives.\par
\par
"What is he saying?" called the Englishman.\par
\par
"He is going to take me away in the plane," the girl called\par
back. "He is going to take me farther inland to another coun-\par
try where he says that he will be king and I am to be one of his\par
wives," and then to the Englishman's surprise she turned a\par
smiling face toward him, "but there is no danger," she con-\par
tinued, "for we shall both be dead within a few minutes -- just\par
give him time enough to get the machine under way, and if he\par
can rise a hundred feet from the ground I shall never need\par
fear him more."\par
\par
"God!" cried the man. "Is there no way that you can dis-\par
suade him? Promise him anything. Anything that you want.\par
I have money, more money than that poor fool could imagine\par
there was in the whole world. With it he can buy anything\par
that money will purchase, fine clothes and food and women, all\par
the women he wants. Tell him this and tell him that if he will\par
spare you I give him my word that I will fetch it all to him."\par
\par
The girl shook her head. "It is useless," she said. "He would\par
not understand and if he did understand, he would not trust\par
you. The blacks are so unprincipled themselves that they can\par
imagine no such thing as principle or honor in others, and\par
especially do these blacks distrust an Englishman whom the\par
Germans have taught them to believe are the most treacherous\par
and degraded of people. No, it is better thus. I am sorry that\par
you cannot go with us, for if he goes high enough my death\par
will be much easier than that which probably awaits you."\par
\par
Usanga had been continually interrupting their brief con-\par
versation in an attempt to compel the girl to translate it to\par
him,\par
for he feared that they were concocting some plan to thwart\par
him, and to quiet and appease him, she told him that the\par
Englishman was merely bidding her farewell and wishing her\par
good luck. Suddenly she turned to the black. "Will you do\par
something for me?" she asked. "If I go willingly with you?"\par
\par
"What is it you want?" he inquired.\par
\par
"Tell your men to free the white man after we are gone.\par
He can never catch us. That is all I ask of you. If you will\par
grant him his freedom and his life, I will go willingly with\par
you.\par
\par
"You will go with me anyway," growled Usanga. "It is\par
nothing to me whether you go willingly or not. I am going\par
to be a great king and you will do whatever I tell you to do."\par
\par
He had in mind that he would start properly with this\par
woman. There should be no repetition of his harrowing experi-\par
ence with Naratu. This wife and the twenty-four others should\par
be carefully selected and well trained. Hereafter Usanga would\par
be master in his own house.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher saw that it was useless to appeal to the\par
brute and so she held her peace though she was filled with\par
sorrow in contemplating the fate that awaited the young\par
officer, scarce more than a boy, who had impulsively revealed\par
his love for her.\par
\par
At Usanga's order one of the blacks lifted her from the\par
ground and carried her to the machine, and after Usanga had\par
clambered aboard, they lifted her up and he reached down\par
and drew her into the fuselage where he removed the thongs\par
from her wrists and strapped her into her seat and then took\par
his own directly ahead of her.\par
\par
The girl turned her eyes toward the Englishman. She was\par
very pale but her lips smiled bravely.\par
\par
"Good-bye!" she cried.\par
\par
"Good-bye, and God bless you!" he called back -- his voice\par
the least bit husky -- and then: "The thing I wanted to say --\par
may I say it now, we are so very near the end?"\par
\par
Her lips moved but whether they voiced consent or refusal\par
he did not know, for the words were drowned in the whir of\par
the propeller.\par
\par
The black had learned his lesson sufficiently well so that the\par
motor was started without bungling and the machine was soon\par
under way across the meadowland. A groan escaped the lips of\par
the distracted Englishman as he watched the woman he loved\par
being carried to almost certain death. He saw the plane tilt\par
and the machine rise from the ground. It was a good take-off\par
-- as good as Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick could\par
make himself but he realized that it was only so by chance. At\par
any instant the machine might plunge to earth and even if, by\par
some miracle of chance, the black could succeed in rising\par
above the tree tops and make a successful flight, there was not\par
one chance in one hundred thousand that he could ever land\par
again without killing his fair captive and himself.\par
\par
But what was that? His heart stood still. \par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Usanga's Reward\par
\par
For two days Tarzan of the Apes had been hunting leisurely\par
to the north, and swinging in a wide circle, he had re-\par
turned to within a short distance of the clearing where he\par
had left Bertha Kircher and the young lieutenant. He had spent\par
the night in a large tree that overhung the river only a short\par
distance from the clearing, and now in the early morning\par
hours he was crouching at the water's edge waiting for an\par
opportunity to capture Pisah, the fish, thinking that he would\par
take it back with him to the hut where the girl could cook it\par
for herself and her companion.\par
\par
Motionless as a bronze statue was the wily ape-man, for\par
well he knew how wary is Pisah, the fish. The slightest move-\par
ment would frighten him away and only by infinite patience\par
might he be captured at all. Tarzan depended upon his own\par
quickness and the suddenness of his attack, for he had no\par
bait or hook. His knowledge of the ways of the denizens of\par
the water told him where to wait for Pisah. It might be a\par
minute or it might be an hour before the fish would swim into\par
the little pool above which he crouched, but sooner or later\par
one would come. That the ape-man knew, so with the pa-\par
tience of the beast of prey he waited for his quarry.\par
\par
At last there was a glint of shiny scales. Pisah was coming.\par
In a moment he would be within reach and then with the\par
swiftness of light two strong, brown hands would plunge into\par
the pool and seize him, but, just at the moment that the fish\par
was about to come within reach, there was a great crashing in\par
the underbrush behind the ape-man. Instantly Pisah was\par
gone and Tarzan, growling, had wheeled about to face what-\par
ever creature might be menacing him. The moment that he\par
turned he saw that the author of the disturbance was Zu-tag.\par
\par
"What does Zu-tag want?" asked the ape-man.\par
\par
"Zu-tag comes to the water to drink," replied the ape.\par
\par
"Where is the tribe?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"They are hunting for pisangs and scimatines farther back\par
in the forest," replied Zu-tag.\par
\par
"And the Tarmangani she and bull --" asked Tarzan, "are\par
they safe?"\par
\par
"They have gone away," replied Zu-tag. "Kudu has come\par
out of his lair twice since they left."\par
\par
"Did the tribe chase them away?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"No," replied the ape. "We did not see them go. We do\par
not know why they left."\par
\par
Tarzan swung quickly through the trees toward the clearing.\par
The hut and boma were as he had left them, but there was no\par
sign of either the man or the woman. Crossing the clearing, he\par
entered the boma and then the hut. Both were empty, and his\par
trained nostrils told him that they had been gone for at\par
least two days. As he was about to leave the hut he saw a\par
paper pinned upon the wall with a sliver of wood and taking\par
it down, he read:\par
\par
\par
After what you told me about Miss Kircher, and knowing\par
that you dislike her, I feel that it is not fair to her and to\par
you\par
that we should impose longer upon you. I know that our\par
presence is keeping you from continuing your journey to the\par
west coast, and so I have decided that it is better for us to\par
try and reach the white settlements immediately without im-\par
posing further upon you. We both thank you for your kind-\par
ness and protection. If there was any way that I might repay\par
the obligation I feel, I should be only too glad to do so.\par
\par
\par
It was signed by Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
Tarzan shrugged his shoulders, crumpled the note in his\par
hand and tossed it aside. He felt a certain sense of relief\par
from responsibility and was glad that they had taken the\par
matter out of his hands. They were gone and would for-\par
get, but somehow he could not forget. He walked out across\par
the boma and into the clearing. He felt uneasy and restless.\par
Once he started toward the north in response to a sudden\par
determination to continue his way to the west coast. He\par
would follow the winding river toward the north a few miles\par
where its course turned to the west and then on toward its\par
source across a wooded plateau and up into the foothills and\par
the mountains. Upon the other side of the range he would\par
search for a stream running downward toward the west coast,\par
and thus following the rivers he would be sure of game and\par
water in plenty.\par
\par
But he did not go far. A dozen steps, perhaps, and he came\par
to a sudden stop. "He is an Englishman," he muttered, "and\par
the other is a woman. They can never reach the settlements\par
without my help. I could not kill her with my own hands\par
when I tried, and if I let them go on alone, I will have killed\par
her just as surely as though I had run my knife into her heart.\par
No," and again he shook his head. "Tarzan of the Apes is a\par
fool and a weak, old woman," and he turned back toward the\par
south.\par
\par
Manu, the monkey, had seen the two Tarmangani pass two\par
days before. Chattering and scolding, he told Tarzan all about\par
it. They had gone in the direction of the village of the\par
Gomangani, that much had Manu seen with his own eyes, so\par
the ape-man swung on through the jungle in a southerly direc-\par
tion and though with no concentrated effort to follow the spoor\par
of those he trailed, he passed numerous evidences that they\par
had gone this way -- faint suggestions of their scent spoor\par
clung lightly to leaf or branch or bole that one or the other\par
had touched, or in the earth of the trail their feet had trod,\par
and where the way wound through the gloomy depth of dank\par
forest, the impress of their shoes still showed occasionally in\par
the damp mass of decaying vegetation that floored the way.\par
\par
An inexplicable urge spurred Tarzan to increasing, speed.\par
The same still, small voice that chided him for having neg-\par
lected them seemed constantly whispering that they were in\par
dire need of him now. Tarzan's conscience was troubling him,\par
which accounted for the fact that he compared himself to a\par
weak, old woman, for the ape-man, reared in savagery and\par
inured to hardships and cruelty, disliked to admit any of the\par
gentler traits that in reality were his birthright.\par
\par
The trail made a detour to the east of the village of the\par
Wamabos, and then returned to the wide elephant path nearer\par
to the river, where it continued in a southerly direction for\par
several miles. At last there came to the ears of the ape-man\par
a peculiar whirring, throbbing sound. For an instant he\par
paused, listening intently, "An aeroplane!" he muttered, and\par
hastened forward at greatly increased speed.\par
\par
When Tarzan of the Apes finally reached the edge of the\par
meadowland where Smith-Oldwick's plane had landed, he\par
took in the entire scene in one quick glance and grasped the\par
situation, although he could scarce give credence to the things\par
he saw. Bound and helpless, the English officer lay upon the\par
ground at one side of the meadow, while around him stood\par
a number of the black deserters from the German command.\par
Tarzan had seen these men before and knew who they were.\par
Coming toward him down the meadow was an aeroplane\par
piloted by the black Usanga and in the seat behind the pilot\par
was the white girl, Bertha Kircher. How it befell that the\par
ignorant savage could operate the plane, Tarzan could not\par
guess nor had he time in which to speculate upon the subject.\par
His knowledge of Usanga, together with the position of the\par
white man, told him that the black sergeant was attempting\par
to carry off the white girl. Why he should be doing this when\par
he had her in his power and had also captured and secured\par
the only creature in the jungle who might wish to defend her\par
in so far as the black could know, Tarzan could not guess, for\par
he knew nothing of Usanga's twenty-four dream wives nor of\par
the black's fear of the horrid temper of Naratu, his present\par
mate. He did not know, then, that Usanga had determined\par
to fly away with the white girl never to return, and to put so\par
great a distance between himself and Naratu that the latter\par
never could find him again; but it was this very thing that\par
was in the black's mind although not even his own warriors\par
guessed it. He had told them that he would take the captive\par
to a sultan of the north and there obtain a great price for her\par
and that when he returned they should have some of the spoils.\par
\par
These things Tarzan did not know. All he knew was what\par
he saw -- a Negro attempting to fly away with a white girl.\par
Already the machine was slowly leaving the ground. In a\par
moment more it would rise swiftly out of reach. At first Tar-\par
zan thought of fitting an arrow to his bow and slaying Usanga,\par
but as quickly he abandoned the idea because he knew that\par
the moment the pilot was slain the machine, running wild,\par
would dash the girl to death among the trees.\par
\par
There was but one way in which he might hope to succor\par
her -- a way which if it failed must send him to instant death\par
and yet he did not hesitate in an attempt to put it into execu-\par
tion.\par
\par
Usanga did not see him, being too intent upon the unac-\par
customed duties of a pilot, but the blacks across the meadow\par
saw him and they ran forward with loud and savage cries\par
and menacing rifles to intercept him. They saw a giant white\par
man leap from the branches of a tree to the turf and race\par
rapidly toward the plane. They saw him take a long grass\par
rope from about his shoulders as he ran. They saw the noose\par
swinging in an undulating circle above his head. They saw\par
the white girl in the machine glance down and discover him.\par
\par
Twenty feet above the running ape-man soared the huge\par
plane. The open noose shot up to meet it, and the girl, half\par
guessing the ape-man's intentions, reached out and caught\par
the noose and, bracing herself, clung tightly to it with both\par
hands. Simultaneously Tarzan was dragged from his feet\par
and the plane lurched sideways in response to the new strain.\par
Usanga clutched wildly at the control and the machine shot\par
upward at a steep angle. Dangling at the end of the rope the\par
ape-man swung pendulum-like in space. The Englishman,\par
lying bound upon the ground, had been a witness of all these\par
happenings. His heart stood still as he saw Tarzan's body\par
hurtling through the air toward the tree tops among which it\par
seemed he must inevitably crash; but the plane was rising\par
rapidly, so that the beast-man cleared the top-most branches.\par
Then slowly, hand over hand, he climbed toward the fuselage.\par
The girl, clinging desperately to the noose, strained every\par
muscle to hold the great weight dangling at the lower end of\par
the rope.\par
\par
Usanga, all unconscious of what was going on behind him,\par
drove the plane higher and higher into the air.\par
\par
Tarzan glanced downward. Below him the tree tops and\par
the river passed rapidly to the rear and only a slender grass\par
rope and the muscles of a frail girl stood between him and the\par
death yawning there thousands of feet below.\par
\par
It seemed to Bertha Kircher that the fingers of her hands\par
were dead. The numbness was running up her arms to her\par
elbows. How much longer she could cling to the straining\par
strands she could not guess. It seemed to her that those\par
lifeless fingers must relax at any instant and then, when she\par
had about given up hope, she saw a strong brown hand reach\par
up and grasp the side of the fuselage. Instantly the weight\par
upon the rope was removed and a moment later Tarzan of\par
the Apes raised his body above the side and threw a leg over\par
the edge. He glanced forward at Usanga and then, placing\par
his mouth close to the girl's ear he cried: "Have you ever\par
piloted a plane?" The girl nodded a quick affirmative.\par
\par
"Have you the courage to climb up there beside the black\par
and seize the control while I take care of him?"\par
\par
The girl looked toward Usanga and shuddered. "Yes," she\par
replied, "but my feet are bound."\par
\par
Tarzan drew his hunting knife from its sheath and reaching\par
down, severed the thongs that bound her ankles. Then the\par
girl unsnapped the strap that held her to her seat. With one\par
hand Tarzan grasped the girl's arm and steadied her as the\par
two crawled slowly across the few feet which intervened be-\par
tween the two seats. A single slight tip of the plane would\par
have cast them both into eternity. Tarzan realized that only\par
through a miracle of chance could they reach Usanga and\par
effect the change in pilots and yet he knew that that chance\par
must be taken, for in the brief moments since he had first seen\par
the plane, he had realized that the black was almost without\par
experience as a pilot and that death surely awaited them in\par
any event should the black sergeant remain at the control.\par
\par
The first intimation Usanga had that all was not well with\par
him was when the girl slipped suddenly to his side and\par
grasped the control and at the same instant steel-like fingers\par
seized his throat. A brown hand shot down with a keen\par
blade and severed the strap about his waist and giant muscles\par
lifted him bodily from his seat. Usanga clawed the air and\par
shrieked but he was helpless as a babe. Far below the\par
watchers in the meadow could see the aeroplane careening\par
in the sky, for with the change of control it had taken a sudden\par
dive. They saw it right itself and, turning in a short circle,\par
return in their direction, but it was so far above them and\par
the light of the sun so strong that they could see nothing of\par
what was going on within the fuselage; but presently Lieuten-\par
ant Smith-Oldwick gave a gasp of dismay as he saw a human\par
body plunge downward from the plane. Turning and twisting\par
in mid-air it fell with ever-increasing velocity and the English-\par
man held his breath as the thing hurtled toward them.\par
\par
With a muffled thud it flattened upon the turf near the\par
center of the meadow, and when at last the Englishman could\par
gain the courage to again turn his eyes upon it, he breathed\par
a fervent prayer of thanks, for the shapeless mass that lay\par
upon the blood-stained turf was covered with an ebon hide.\par
Usanga had reaped his reward.\par
\par
Again and again the plane circled above the meadow. The\par
blacks, at first dismayed at the death of their leader, were\par
now worked to a frenzy of rage and a determination to be\par
avenged. The girl and the ape-man saw them gather in a\par
knot about the body of their fallen chief. They saw as they\par
circled above the meadow the black fists shaken at them, and\par
the rifles brandishing a menace toward them. Tarzan still\par
clung to the fuselage directly behind the pilot's seat. His\par
face was close beside Bertha Kircher's, and at the top of his\par
voice, above the noise of propeller, engine and exhaust, he\par
screamed a few words of instruction into her ear.\par
\par
As the girl grasped the significance of his words she paled,\par
but her lips set in a hard line and her eyes shone with a sud-\par
den fire of determination as she dropped the plane to within\par
a few feet of the ground and at the opposite end of the\par
meadow from the blacks and then at full speed bore down\par
upon the savages. So quickly the plane came that Usanga's\par
men had no time to escape it after they realized its menace.\par
It touched the ground just as it struck among them and mowed\par
through them, a veritable juggernaut of destruction. When\par
it came to rest at the edge of the forest the ape-man leaped\par
quickly to the ground and ran toward the young lieutenant,\par
and as he went he glanced at the spot where the warriors had\par
stood, ready to defend himself if necessary, but there was\par
none there to oppose him. Dead and dying they lay strewn\par
for fifty feet along the turf.\par
\par
By the time Tarzan had freed the Englishman the girl\par
joined them. She tried to voice her thanks to the ape-man\par
but he silenced her with a gesture.\par
\par
"You saved yourself," he insisted, "for had you been unable\par
to pilot the plane, I could not have helped you, and now," he\par
said, "you two have the means of returning to the settlements.\par
The day is still young. You can easily cover the distance in a\par
few hours if you have sufficient petrol." He looked inquir-\par
ingly toward the aviator.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick nodded his head affirmatively. "I have\par
plenty," he replied.\par
\par
"Then go at once," said the ape-man. "Neither of you\par
belong in the jungle." A slight smile touched his lips as he\par
spoke.\par
\par
The girl and the Englishman smiled too. "This jungle is\par
no place for us at least," said Smith-Oldwick, "and it is no\par
place for any other white man. Why don't you come back\par
to civilization with us?"\par
\par
Tarzan shook his head. "I prefer the jungle," he said.\par
\par
The aviator dug his toe into the ground and still looking\par
down, blurted something which he evidently hated to say.\par
"If it is a matter of living, old top," he said, "er -- money, er\par
--\par
you know --"\par
\par
Tarzan laughed. "No" he said. "I know what you are\par
trying to say. It is not that. I was born in the jungle. I have\par
lived all my life in the jungle, and I shall die in the jungle.\par
I do not wish to live or die elsewhere."\par
\par
The others shook their heads. They could not understand\par
him.\par
\par
"Go," said the ape-man. "The quicker you go, the quicker\par
you will reach safety."\par
\par
They walked to the plane together. Smith-Oldwick pressed\par
the ape-man's hand and clambered into the pilot's seat.\par
"Good-bye," said the girl as she extended her hand to Tarzan.\par
"Before I go won't you tell me you don't hate me any\par
more?" Tarzan's face clouded. Without a word he picked\par
her up and lifted her to her place behind the Englishman. An\par
expression of pain crossed Bertha Kircher's face. The motor\par
started and a moment later the two were being borne rapidly\par
toward the east.\par
\par
In the center of the meadow stood the ape-man watching\par
them. "It is too bad that she is a German and a spy," he said,\par
"for she is very hard to hate."\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Black Lion\par
\par
Numa, the lion, was hungry. He had come out of the\par
desert country to the east into a land of plenty but\par
though he was young and strong, the wary grass-eaters\par
had managed to elude his mighty talons each time he had\par
thought to make a kill.\par
\par
Numa, the lion, was hungry and very savage. For two days\par
he had not eaten and now he hunted in the ugliest of humors.\par
No more did Numa roar forth a rumbling challenge to the\par
world but rather he moved silent and grim, stepping softly\par
that no cracking twig might betray his presence to the keen-\par
eared quarry he sought.\par
\par
Fresh was the spoor of Bara, the deer, that Numa picked\par
up in the well-beaten game trail he was following. No hour\par
had passed since Bara had come this way; the time could be\par
measured in minutes and so the great lion redoubled the\par
cautiousness of his advance as he crept stealthily in pursuit of\par
his quarry.\par
\par
A light wind was moving through the jungle aisles, and it\par
wafted down now to the nostrils of the eager carnivore the\par
strong scent spoor of the deer, exciting his already avid appe-\par
tite to a point where it became a gnawing pain. Yet Numa\par
did not permit himself to be carried away by his desires into\par
any premature charge such as had recently lost him the juicy\par
meat of Pacco, the zebra. Increasing his gait but slightly he\par
followed the tortuous windings of the trail until suddenly just\par
before him, where the trail wound about the bole of a huge\par
tree, he saw a young buck moving slowly ahead of him.\par
\par
Numa judged the distance with his keen eyes, glowing now\par
like two terrible spots of yellow fire in his wrinkled, snarling\par
face. He could do it -- this time he was sure. One terrific\par
roar that would paralyze the poor creature ahead of him into\par
momentary inaction, and a simultaneous charge of lightning-\par
like rapidity and Numa, the lion, would feed. The sinuous\par
tail, undulating slowly at its tufted extremity, whipped sud-\par
denly erect. It was the signal for the charge and the vocal\par
organs were shaped for the thunderous roar when, as light-\par
ning out of a clear sky, Sheeta, the panther, leaped suddenly\par
into the trail between Numa and the deer.\par
\par
A blundering charge made Sheeta, for with the first crash of\par
his spotted body through the foliage verging the trail, Bara\par
gave a single startled backward glance and was gone.\par
\par
The roar that was intended to paralyze the deer broke\par
horribly from the deep throat of the great cat -- an angry roar\par
of rage against the meddling Sheeta who had robbed him of\par
his kill, and the charge that was intended for Bara was\par
launched against the panther; but here too Numa was doomed\par
to disappointment, for with the first notes of his fearsome\par
roar Sheeta, considering well the better part of valor, leaped\par
into a near-by tree.\par
\par
A half-hour later it was a thoroughly furious Numa who\par
came unexpectedly upon the scent of man. Heretofore the\par
lord of the jungle had disdained the unpalatable flesh of the\par
despised man-thing. Such meat was only for the old, the\par
toothless, and the decrepit who no longer could make their\par
kills among the fleet-footed grass-eaters. Bara, the deer, Horta,\par
the boar, and, best and wariest, Pacco, the zebra, were for the\par
young, the strong, and the agile, but Numa was hungry --\par
hungrier than he ever had been in the five short years of\par
his life.\par
\par
What if he was a young, powerful, cunning, and ferocious\par
beast? In the face of hunger, the great leveler, he was as the\par
old, the toothless, and the decrepit. His belly cried aloud in\par
anguish and his jowls slavered for flesh. Zebra or deer or\par
man, what mattered it so that it was warm flesh, red with the\par
hot juices of life? Even Dango, the hyena, eater of offal,\par
would, at the moment, have seemed a tidbit to Numa.\par
\par
The great lion knew the habits and frailties of man, though\par
he never before had hunted man for food. He knew the\par
despised Gomangani as the slowest, the most stupid, and the\par
most defenseless of creatures. No woodcraft, no cunning, no\par
stealth was necessary in the hunting of man, nor had Numa\par
any stomach for either delay or silence.\par
\par
His rage had become an almost equally consuming passion\par
with his hunger, so that now, as his delicate nostrils apprised\par
him of the recent passage of man, he lowered his head and\par
rumbled forth a thunderous roar, and at a swift walk, careless\par
of the noise he made, set forth upon the trail of his intended\par
quarry.\par
\par
Majestic and terrible, regally careless of his surroundings,\par
the king of beasts strode down the beaten trail. The natural\par
caution that is inherent to all creatures of the wild had de-\par
serted him. What had he, lord of the jungle, to fear and, with\par
only man to hunt, what need of caution? And so he did not\par
see or scent what a more wary Numa might readily have\par
discovered until, with the cracking of twigs and a tumbling\par
of earth, he was precipitated into a cunningly devised pit that\par
the wily Wamabos had excavated for just this purpose in the\par
center of the game trail.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes stood in the center of the clearing watch-\par
ing the plane shrinking to diminutive toylike proportions in\par
the eastern sky. He had breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it\par
rise safely with the British flier and Fraulein Bertha Kircher.\par
For weeks he had felt the hampering responsibility of their\par
welfare in this savage wilderness where their utter helplessness\par
would have rendered them easy prey for the savage carnivores\par
or the cruel Wamabos. Tarzan of the Apes loved unfettered\par
freedom, and now that these two were safely off his hands, he\par
felt that he could continue upon his journey toward the\par
west coast and the long-untenanted cabin of his dead father.\par
\par
And yet, as he stood there watching the tiny speck in the\par
east, another sigh heaved his broad chest, nor was it a sigh\par
of relief, but rather a sensation which Tarzan had never\par
expected to feel again and which he now disliked to admit\par
even to himself. It could not be possible that he, the jungle\par
bred, who had renounced forever the society of man to return\par
to his beloved beasts of the wilds, could be feeling anything\par
akin to regret at the departure of these two, or any slightest\par
loneliness now that they were gone. Lieutenant Harold Percy\par
Smith-Oldwick Tarzan had liked, but the woman whom he\par
had known as a German spy he had hated, though he never\par
had found it in his heart to slay her as he had sworn to slay\par
all Huns. He had attributed this weakness to the fact that\par
she was a woman, although he had been rather troubled by\par
the apparent inconsistency of his hatred for her and his re-\par
peated protection of her when danger threatened.\par
\par
With an irritable toss of his head he wheeled suddenly\par
toward the west as though by turning his back upon the fast\par
disappearing plane he might expunge thoughts of its passen-\par
gers from his memory. At the edge of the clearing he paused;\par
a giant tree loomed directly ahead of him and, as though\par
actuated by sudden and irresistible impulse, he leaped into\par
the branches and swung himself with apelike agility to the\par
topmost limbs that would sustain his weight. There, balanc-\par
ing lightly upon a swaying bough, he sought in the direction\par
of the eastern horizon for the tiny speck that would be the\par
British plane bearing away from him the last of his own race\par
and kind that he expected ever again to see.\par
\par
At last his keen eyes picked up the ship flying at a con-\par
siderable altitude far in the east. For a few seconds he\par
watched it speeding evenly eastward, when, to his horror, he\par
saw the speck dive suddenly downward. The fall seemed\par
interminable to the watcher and he realized how great must\par
have been the altitude of the plane before the drop com-\par
menced. Just before it disappeared from sight its downward\par
momentum appeared to abate suddenly, but it was still moving\par
rapidly at a steep angle when it finally disappeared from view\par
behind the far hills.\par
\par
For half a minute the ape-man stood noting distant land-\par
marks that he judged might be in the vicinity of the fallen\par
plane, for no sooner had he realized that these people were\par
again in trouble than his inherent sense of duty to his own\par
kind impelled him once more to forego his plans and seek to\par
aid them.\par
\par
The ape-man feared from what he judged of the location\par
of the machine that it had fallen among the almost impassable\par
gorges of the arid country just beyond the fertile basin that\par
was bounded by the hills to the east of him. He had crossed\par
that parched and desolate country of the dead himself and\par
he knew from his own experience and the narrow escape he\par
had had from succumbing to its relentless cruelty no lesser\par
man could hope to win his way to safety from any considerable\par
distance within its borders. Vividly he recalled the bleached\par
bones of the long-dead warrior in the bottom of the pre-\par
cipitous gorge that had all but proved a trap for him as well.\par
He saw the helmet of hammered brass and the corroded\par
breastplate of steel and the long straight sword in its scabbard\par
and the ancient harquebus -- mute testimonials to the mighty\par
physique and the warlike spirit of him who had somehow\par
won, thus illy caparisoned and pitifully armed, to the center\par
of savage, ancient Africa; and he saw the slender English\par
youth and the slight figure of the girl cast into the same fate-\par
ful trap from which this giant of old had been unable to escape\par
-- cast there wounded and broken perhaps, if not killed.\par
\par
His judgment told him that the latter possibility was prob-\par
ably the fact, and yet there was a chance that they might\par
have landed without fatal injuries, and so upon this slim\par
chance he started out upon what he knew would be an ardu-\par
ous journey, fraught with many hardships and unspeakable\par
peril, that he might attempt to save them if they still lived.\par
\par
He had covered a mile perhaps when his quick ears caught\par
the sound of rapid movement along the game trail ahead of\par
him. The sound, increasing in volume, proclaimed the fact\par
that whatever caused it was moving in his direction and\par
moving rapidly. Nor was it long before his trained senses\par
convinced him that the footfalls were those of Bara, the deer,\par
in rapid flight. Inextricably confused in Tarzan's character\par
were the attributes of man and of beasts. Long experience\par
had taught him that he fights best or travels fastest who is\par
best nourished, and so, with few exceptions, Tarzan could\par
delay his most urgent business to take advantage of an op-\par
portunity to kill and feed. This perhaps was the predominant\par
beast trait in him. The transformation from an English gentle-\par
man, impelled by the most humanitarian motives, to that of\par
a wild beast crouching in the concealment of a dense bush\par
ready to spring upon its approaching prey, was instantaneous.\par
\par
And so, when Bara came, escaping the clutches of Numa\par
and Sheeta, his terror and his haste precluded the possibility\par
of his sensing that other equally formidable foe lying in am-\par
bush for him. Abreast of the ape-man came the deer; a light-\par
brown body shot from the concealing verdure of the bush,\par
strong arms encircled the sleek neck of the young buck and\par
powerful teeth fastened themselves in the soft flesh. Together\par
the two rolled over in the trail and a moment later the ape-\par
man rose, and, with one foot upon the carcass of his kill,\par
raised his voice in the victory cry of the bull ape.\par
\par
Like an answering challenge came suddenly to the ears of\par
the ape-man the thunderous roar of a lion, a hideous angry\par
roar in which Tarzan thought that he discerned a note of\par
surprise and terror. In the breast of the wild things of the\par
jungle, as in the breasts of their more enlightened brothers\par
and sisters of the human race, the characteristic of curiosity\par
is well developed. Nor was Tarzan far from innocent of it.\par
The peculiar note in the roar of his hereditary enemy aroused\par
a desire to investigate, and so, throwing the carcass of Bara,\par
the deer, across his shoulder, the ape-man took to the lower\par
terraces of the forest and moved quickly in the direction\par
from which the sound had come, which was in line with the\par
trail he had set out upon.\par
\par
As the distance lessened, the sounds increased in volume,\par
which indicated that he was approaching a very angry lion\par
and presently, where a jungle giant overspread the broad game\par
trail that countless thousands of hoofed and padded feet had\par
worn and trampled into a deep furrow during perhaps count-\par
less ages, he saw beneath him the lion pit of the Wamabos and\par
in it, leaping futilely for freedom such a lion as even Tarzan\par
of the Apes never before had beheld. A mighty beast it was\par
that glared up at the ape-man -- large, powerful and young,\par
with a huge black mane and a coat so much darker than any\par
Tarzan ever had seen that in the depths of the pit it looked\par
almost black -- a black lion!\par
\par
Tarzan who had been upon the point of taunting and re-\par
viling his captive foe was suddenly turned to open admira-\par
tion for the beauty of the splendid beast. What a creature!\par
How by comparison the ordinary forest lion was dwarfed into\par
insignificance! Here indeed was one worthy to be called king\par
of beasts. With his first sight of the great cat the ape-man\par
knew that he had heard no note of terror in that initial roar;\par
surprise doubtless, but the vocal chords of that mighty throat\par
never had reacted to fear.\par
\par
With growing admiration came a feeling of quick pity for the\par
hapless situation of the great brute rendered futile and help-\par
less by the wiles of the Gomangani. Enemy though the beast\par
was, he was less an enemy to the ape-man than those blacks\par
who had trapped him, for though Tarzan of the Apes claimed\par
many fast and loyal friends among certain tribes of African\par
natives, there were others of degraded character and bestial\par
habits that he looked upon with utter loathing, and of such\par
were the human flesh-eaters of Numabo the chief. For a mo-\par
ment Numa, the lion, glared ferociously at the naked man-\par
thing upon the tree limb above him. Steadily those yellow-\par
green eyes bored into the clear eyes of the ape-man, and then\par
the sensitive nostrils caught the scent of the fresh blood of\par
Bara and the eyes moved to the carcass lying across the brown\par
shoulder, and there came from the cavernous depths of the\par
savage throat a low whine.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes smiled. As unmistakably as though a\par
human voice had spoken, the lion had said to him "I am hun-\par
gry, even more than hungry. I am starving," and the ape-\par
man looked down upon the lion beneath him and smiled, a\par
slow quizzical smile, and then he shifted the carcass from his\par
shoulder to the branch before him and, drawing the long\par
blade that had been his father's, deftly cut off a hind quarter\par
and, wiping the bloody blade upon Bara's smooth coat, he\par
returned it to its scabbard. Numa, with watering jaws, looked\par
up at the tempting meat and whined again and the ape-man\par
smiled down upon him his slow smile and, raising the hind\par
quarter in his strong brown hands buried his teeth in the ten-\par
der, juicy flesh.\par
\par
For the third time Numa, the lion, uttered that low pleading\par
whine and then, with a rueful and disgusted shake of his\par
head, Tarzan of the Apes raised the balance of the carcass of\par
Bara, the deer, and hurled it to the famished beast below.\par
\par
"Old woman," muttered the ape-man. "Tarzan has become\par
a weak old woman. Presently he would shed tears because he\par
has killed Bara, the deer. He cannot see Numa, his enemy,\par
go hungry, because Tarzan's heart is turning to water by con-\par
tact with the soft, weak creatures of civilization." But yet he\par
smiled, nor was he sorry that he had given way to the dic-\par
tates of a kindly impulse.\par
\par
As Tarzan tore the flesh from that portion of the kill he had\par
retained for himself his eyes were taking in each detail of the\par
scene below. He saw the avidity with which Numa devoured\par
the carcass; he noted with growing admiration the finer points\par
of the beast, and also the cunning construction of the trap.\par
The ordinary lion pit with which Tarzan was familiar had\par
stakes imbedded in the bottom, upon whose sharpened points\par
the hapless lion would be impaled, but this pit was not so\par
made. Here the short stakes were set at intervals of about a\par
foot around the walls near the top, their sharpened points in-\par
clining downward so that the lion had fallen unhurt into the\par
trap but could not leap out because each time he essayed it his\par
head came in contact with the sharp end of a stake above him.\par
\par
Evidently, then, the purpose of the Wamabos was to capture\par
a lion alive. As this tribe had no contact whatsoever with\par
white men in so far as Tarzan knew, their motive was doubt-\par
less due to a desire to torture the beast to death that they\par
might enjoy to the utmost his dying agonies.\par
\par
Having fed the lion, it presently occurred to Tarzan that his\par
act would be futile were he to leave the beast to the mercies\par
of the blacks, and then too it occurred to him that he could\par
derive more pleasure through causing the blacks discomfiture\par
than by leaving Numa to his fate. But how was he to release\par
him? By removing two stakes there would be left plenty of\par
room for the lion to leap from the pit, which was not of any\par
great depth. However, what assurance had Tarzan that Numa\par
would not leap out instantly the way to freedom was open,\par
and before the ape-man could gain the safety of the trees?\par
Regardless of the fact that Tarzan felt no such fear of the lion\par
as you and I might experience under like circumstances, he yet\par
was imbued with the sense of caution that is necessary to all\par
creatures of the wild if they are to survive. Should necessity\par
require, Tarzan could face Numa in battle, although he was\par
not so egotistical as to think that he could best a full-grown\par
lion in mortal combat other than through accident or the utili-\par
zation of the cunning of his superior man-mind. To lay him-\par
self liable to death futilely, he would have considered as repre-\par
hensible as to have shunned danger in time of necessity; but\par
when Tarzan elected to do a thing he usually found the means\par
to accomplish it.\par
\par
He had now fully determined to liberate Numa, and having\par
so determined, he would accomplish it even though it entailed\par
considerable personal risk. He knew that the lion would be\par
occupied with his feeding for some time, but he also knew\par
that while feeding he would be doubly resentful of any fancied\par
interference. Therefore Tarzan must work with caution.\par
\par
Coming to the ground at the side of the pit, he examined the\par
stakes and as he did so was rather surprised to note that Numa\par
gave no evidence of anger at his approach. Once he turned\par
a searching gaze upon the ape-man for a moment and then\par
returned to the flesh of Bara. Tarzan felt of the stakes and\par
tested them with his weight. He pulled upon them with the\par
muscles of his strong arms, presently discovering that by work-\par
ing them back and forth he could loosen them: and then a\par
new plan was suggested to him so that he fell to work excavat-\par
ing with his knife at a point above where one of the stakes\par
was imbedded. The loam was soft and easily removed, and\par
it was not long until Tarzan had exposed that part of one of\par
the stakes which was imbedded in the wall of the pit to almost\par
its entire length, leaving only enough imbedded to prevent the\par
stake from falling into the excavation. Then he turned his at-\par
tention to an adjoining stake and soon had it similarly ex-\par
posed, after which he threw the noose of his grass rope over\par
the two and swung quickly to the branch of the tree above.\par
Here he gathered in the slack of the rope and, bracing him-\par
self against the bole of the tree, pulled steadily upward. Slowly\par
the stakes rose from the trench in which they were imbedded\par
and with them rose Numa's suspicion and growling.\par
\par
Was this some new encroachment upon his rights and his\par
liberties? He was puzzled and, like all lions, being short of\par
temper, he was irritated. He had not minded it when the Tar-\par
mangani squatted upon the verge of the pit and looked down\par
upon him, for had not this Tarmangani fed him? But now\par
something else was afoot and the suspicion of the wild beast\par
was aroused. As he watched, however, Numa saw the stakes\par
rise slowly to an erect position, tumble against each other and\par
then fall backwards out of his sight upon the surface of the\par
ground above. Instantly the lion grasped the possibilities of\par
the situation, and, too, perhaps he sensed the fact that the\par
man-thing had deliberately opened a way for his escape. Seiz-\par
ing the remains of Bara in his great jaws, Numa, the lion,\par
leaped agilely from the pit of the Wamabos and Tarzan of the\par
Apes melted into the jungles to the east.\par
\par
On the surface of the ground or through the swaying\par
branches of the trees the spoor of man or beast was an open\par
book to the ape-man, but even his acute senses were baffled\par
by the spoorless trail of the airship. Of what good were eyes,\par
or ears, or the sense of smell in following a thing whose path\par
had lain through the shifting air thousands of feet above the\par
tree tops? Only upon his sense of direction could Tarzan de-\par
pend in his search for the fallen plane. He could not even\par
judge accurately as to the distance it might lie from him, and\par
he knew that from the moment that it disappeared beyond the\par
hills it might have traveled a considerable distance at right\par
angles to its original course before it crashed to earth. If its\par
occupants were killed or badly injured the ape-man might\par
search futilely in their immediate vicinity for some time be-\par
fore finding them.\par
\par
There was but one thing to do and that was to travel to a\par
point as close as possible to where he judged the plane had\par
landed, and then to follow in ever-widening circles until he\par
picked up their scent spoor. And this he did.\par
\par
Before he left the valley of plenty he made several kills and\par
carried the choicest cuts of meat with him, leaving all the dead\par
weight of bones behind. The dense vegetation of the jungle\par
terminated at the foot of the western slope, growing less and\par
less abundant as he neared the summit beyond which was a\par
sparse growth of sickly scrub and sunburned grasses, with here\par
and there a gnarled and hardy tree that had withstood the\par
vicissitudes of an almost waterless existence.\par
\par
From the summit of the hills Tarzan's keen eyes searched\par
the arid landscape before him. In the distance he discerned\par
the ragged tortuous lines that marked the winding course of the\par
hideous gorges which scored the broad plain at intervals -- the\par
terrible gorges that had so nearly claimed his life in punish-\par
ment for his temerity in attempting to invade the sanctity of\par
their ancient solitude.\par
\par
For two days Tarzan sought futilely for some clew to the\par
whereabouts of the machine or its occupants. He cached por-\par
tions of his kills at different points, building cairns of rock\par
to\par
mark their locations. He crossed the first deep gorge and cir-\par
cled far beyond it. Occasionally he stopped and called aloud,\par
listening for some response but only silence rewarded him --\par
a sinister silence that his cries only accentuated.\par
\par
Late in the evening of the second day he came to the well-\par
remembered gorge in which lay the clean-picked bones of the\par
ancient adventurer, and here, for the first time, Ska, the vul-\par
ture, picked up his trail. "Not this time, Ska," cried the ape-\par
man in a taunting voice, "for now indeed is Tarzan Tarzan.\par
Before, you stalked the grim skeleton of a Tarmangani and\par
even then you lost. Waste not your time upon Tarzan of the\par
Apes in the full of his strength. But still Ska, the vulture,\par
circled\par
and soared above him, and the ape-man, notwithstanding his\par
boasts, felt a shudder of apprehension. Through his brain\par
ran a persistent and doleful chant to which he involuntarily\par
set two words, repeated over and over again in horrible mo-\par
notony: "Ska knows! Ska knows!" until, shaking himself in\par
anger, he picked up a rock and hurled it at the grim scav-\par
enger.\par
\par
Lowering himself over the precipitous side of the gorge Tar-\par
zan half clambered and half slid to the sandy floor beneath.\par
He had come upon the rift at almost the exact spot at which\par
he had clambered from it weeks before, and there he saw, just\par
as he had left it, just, doubtless, as it had lain for centuries,\par
the mighty skeleton and its mighty armor.\par
\par
As he stood looking down upon this grim reminder that an-\par
other man of might had succumbed to the cruel powers of the\par
desert, he was brought to startled attention by the report of a\par
firearm, the sound of which came from the depths of the gorge\par
to the south of him, and reverberated along the steep walls of\par
the narrow rift.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Mysterious Footprints\par
\par
As the British plane piloted by Lieutenant Harold Percy\par
Smith-Oldwick rose above the jungle wilderness where\par
Bertha Kircher's life had so often been upon the point\par
of extinction, and sped toward the east, the girl felt a sudden\par
contraction of the muscles of her throat. She tried very hard\par
to swallow something that was not there. It seemed strange to\par
her that she should feel regret in leaving behind her such\par
hideous perils, and yet it was plain to her that such was the\par
fact, for she was also leaving behind something beside the\par
dangers that had menaced her -- a unique figure that had en-\par
tered her life, and for which she felt an unaccountable at-\par
traction.\par
\par
Before her in the pilot's seat sat an English officer and gen-\par
tleman whom, she knew, loved her, and yet she dared to feel\par
regret in his company at leaving the stamping ground of a\par
wild beast!\par
\par
Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick, on his part, was in the seventh\par
heaven of elation. He was in possession again of his beloved\par
ship, he was flying swiftly in the direction of his comrades and\par
his duty, and with him was the woman he loved. The fly in\par
the ointment, however, was the accusation Tarzan had made\par
against this woman. He had said that she was a German, and\par
a spy, and from the heights of bliss the English officer was\par
occasionally plunged to the depths of despair in contempla-\par
tion of the inevitable, were the ape-man's charges to prove\par
true. He found himself torn between sentiments of love and\par
honor. On the one hand he could not surrender the woman he\par
loved to the certain fate that must be meted out to her if she\par
were in truth an enemy spy, while on the other it would be\par
equally impossible for him as an Englishman and an officer\par
to give her aid or protection.\par
\par
The young man contented himself therefore with repeated\par
mental denials of her guilt. He tried to convince himself that\par
Tarzan was mistaken, and when he conjured upon the screen\par
of recollection the face of the girl behind him, he was doubly\par
reassured that those lines of sweet femininity and character,\par
those clear and honest eyes, could not belong to one of the\par
hated alien race.\par
\par
And so they sped toward the east, each wrapped in his own\par
thoughts. Below them they saw the dense vegetation of the\par
jungle give place to the scantier growth upon the hillside, and\par
then before them there spread the wide expanse of arid waste-\par
lands marked by the deep scarring of the narrow gorges that\par
long-gone rivers had cut there in some forgotten age.\par
\par
Shortly after they passed the summit of the ridge which\par
formed the boundary between the desert and the fertile coun-\par
try, Ska, the vulture, winging his way at a high altitude toward\par
his aerie, caught sight of a strange new bird of gigantic pro-\par
portions encroaching upon the preserves of his aerial domain.\par
Whether with intent to give battle to the interloper or merely\par
impelled by curiosity, Ska rose suddenly upward to meet the\par
plane. Doubtless he misjudged the speed of the newcomer,\par
but be that as it may, the tip of the propeller blade touched\par
him and simultaneously many things happened. The lifeless\par
body of Ska, torn and bleeding, dropped plummet-like toward\par
the ground; a bit of splintered spruce drove backward to strike\par
the pilot on the forehead; the plane shuddered and trembled\par
and as Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick sank forward\par
in momentary unconsciousness the ship dived headlong toward\par
the earth.\par
\par
Only for an instant was the pilot unconscious, but that in-\par
stant almost proved their undoing. When he awoke to a reali-\par
zation of their peril it was also to discover that his motor had\par
stalled. The plane had attained frightful momentum, and the\par
ground seemed too close for him to hope to flatten out in time\par
to make a safe landing. Directly beneath him was a deep rift in\par
the plateau, a narrow gorge, the bottom of which appeared\par
comparatively level and sand covered.\par
\par
In the brief instant in which he must reach a decision, the\par
safest plan seemed to attempt a landing in the gorge, and this\par
he did, but not without considerable damage to the plane and\par
a severe shaking-up for himself and his passenger.\par
\par
Fortunately neither of them was injured but their condition\par
seemed indeed a hopeless one. It was a grave question as to\par
whether the man could repair his plane and continue the jour-\par
ney, and it seemed equally questionable as to their ability\par
either to proceed on foot to the coast or retrace their way to\par
the country they had just left. The man was confident that\par
they could not hope to cross the desert country to the east in\par
the face of thirst and hunger, while behind them in the valley\par
of plenty lay almost equal danger in the form of carnivores\par
and the warlike natives.\par
\par
After the plane came to its sudden and disastrous stop,\par
Smith-Oldwick turned quickly to see what the effect of the\par
accident had been on the girl. He found her pale but smiling,\par
and for several seconds the two sat looking at each other in\par
silence.\par
\par
"This is the end?" the girl asked.\par
\par
The Englishman shook his head. "It is the end of the first\par
leg, anyway," he replied.\par
\par
"But you can't hope to make repairs here," she said du-\par
biously.\par
\par
"No," he said, "not if they amount to anything, but I may\par
be able to patch it up. I will have to look her over a bit first.\par
Let us hope there is nothing serious. It's a long, long way to\par
the Tanga railway."\par
\par
"We would not get far," said the girl, a slight note of hope-\par
lessness in her tone. "Entirely unarmed as we are, it would\par
be little less than a miracle if we covered even a small fraction\par
of the distance."\par
\par
"But we are not unarmed," replied the man. "I have an\par
extra pistol here, that the beggars didn't discover," and, re-\par
moving the cover of a compartment, he drew forth an auto-\par
matic.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher leaned back in her seat and laughed aloud,\par
a mirthless, half-hysterical laugh. "That popgun!" she ex-\par
claimed. "What earthly good would it do other than to in-\par
furiate any beast of prey you might happen to hit with it?"\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick looked rather crestfallen. "But it is a weap-\par
on," he said. "You will have to admit that, and certainly I\par
could kill a man with it."\par
\par
"You could if you happened to hit him," said the girl, "or\par
the thing didn't jam. Really, I haven't much faith in an auto-\par
matic. I have used them myself."\par
\par
"Oh, of course," he said ironically, "an express rifle would\par
be better, for who knows but we might meet an elephant here\par
in the desert."\par
\par
The girl saw that he was hurt, and she was sorry, for she\par
realized that there was nothing he would not do in her service\par
or protection, and that it was through no fault of his that he\par
was so illy armed. Doubtless, too, he realized as well as she\par
the futility of his weapon, and that he had only called attention\par
to it in the hope of reassuring her and lessening her anxiety.\par
\par
"Forgive me," she said. "I did not mean to be nasty, but\par
this accident is the proverbial last straw. It seems to me that\par
I have borne all that I can. Though I was willing to give my\par
life in the service of my country, I did not imagine that my\par
death agonies would be so long drawn out, for I realize now\par
that I have been dying for many weeks."\par
\par
"What do you mean!" he exclaimed; "what do you mean by\par
that! You are not dying. There is nothing the matter with you."\par
\par
"Oh, not that," she said, "I did not mean that. What I mean\par
is that at the moment the black sergeant, Usanga, and his rene-\par
gade German native troops captured me and brought me in-\par
land, my death warrant was signed. Sometimes I have imagined\par
that a reprieve has been granted. Sometimes I have hoped\par
that I might be upon the verge of winning a full pardon, but\par
really in the depths of my heart I have known that I should\par
never live to regain civilization. I have done my bit for my\par
country, and though it was not much I can at least go with the\par
realization that it was the best I was able to offer. All that I\par
can hope for now, all that I ask for, is a speedy fulfillment of\par
the death sentence. I do not wish to linger any more to face\par
constant terror and apprehension. Even physical torture would\par
be preferable to what I have passed through. I have no doubt\par
that you consider me a brave woman, but really my terror has\par
been boundless. The cries of the carnivores at night fill me\par
with a dread so tangible that I am in actual pain. I feel the\par
rending talons in my flesh and the cruel fangs munching upon\par
my bones -- it is as real to me as though I were actually\par
enduring the horrors of such a death. I doubt if you can under-\par
stand it -- men are so different."\par
\par
"Yes," he said, "I think I can understand it, and because I\par
understand I can appreciate more than you imagine the hero-\par
ism you have shown in your endurance of all that you have\par
passed through. There can be no bravery where there is no\par
fear. A child might walk into a lion's den, but it would take\par
a very brave man to go to its rescue."\par
\par
"Thank you," she said, "but I am not brave at all, and now\par
I am very much ashamed of my thoughtlessness for your own\par
feelings. I will try and take a new grip upon myself and we\par
will both hope for the best. I will help you all I can if you\par
will tell me what I may do."\par
\par
"The first thing," he replied, "is to find out just how serious\par
our damage is, and then to see what we can do in the way of\par
repairs."\par
\par
For two days Smith-Oldwick worked upon the damaged\par
plane -- worked in the face of the fact that from the first he\par
realized the case was hopeless. And at last he told her.\par
\par
'I knew it," she said, "but I believe that I felt much as you\par
must have; that however futile our efforts here might be, it\par
would be infinitely as fatal to attempt to retrace our way to\par
the jungle we just left or to go on toward the coast. You know\par
and I know that we could not reach the Tanga railway on foot.\par
We should die of thirst and starvation before we had covered\par
half the distance, and if we return to the jungle, even were we\par
able to reach it, it would be but to court an equally certain,\par
though different, fate."\par
\par
"So we might as well sit here and wait for death as to use-\par
lessly waste our energies in what we know would be a futile\par
attempt at escape?" he asked.\par
\par
"No," she replied, "I shall never give up like that. What I\par
meant was that it was useless to attempt to reach either of the\par
places where we know that there is food and water in abun-\par
dance, so we must strike out in a new direction. Somewhere\par
there may be water in this wilderness and if there is, the best\par
chance of our finding it would be to follow this gorge down-\par
ward. We have enough food and water left, if we are careful\par
of it, for a couple of days and in that time we might stumble\par
upon a spring or possibly even reach the fertile country which\par
I know lies to the south. When Usanga brought me to the\par
Wamabo country from the coast he took a southerly route\par
along which there was usually water and game in plenty. It\par
was not until we neared our destination that the country be-\par
came overrun with carnivores. So there is hope if we can reach\par
the fertile country south of us that we can manage to pull\par
through to the coast."\par
\par
The man shook his head dubiously. "We can try it," he said.\par
"Personally, I do not fancy sitting here waiting for death."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick was leaning against the ship, his dejected\par
gaze directed upon the ground at his feet. The girl was looking\par
south down the gorge in the direction of their one slender\par
chance of life. Suddenly she touched him on the arm.\par
\par
"Look," she whispered.\par
\par
The man raised his eyes quickly in the direction of her gaze\par
to see the massive head of a great lion who was regarding them\par
from beyond a rocky projection at the first turning of the\par
gorge.\par
\par
"Phew!" he exclaimed, "the beggars are everywhere."\par
\par
"They do not go far from water do they," asked the girl\par
hopefully.\par
\par
"I should imagine not," he replied; "a lion is not particularly\par
strong on endurance."\par
\par
"Then he is a harbinger of hope," she exclaimed.\par
\par
The man laughed. "Cute little harbinger of hope!" he said.\par
"Reminds me of Cock Robin heralding spring."\par
\par
The girl cast a quick glance at him. "Don't be silly, and I\par
don't care if you do laugh. He fills me with hope."\par
\par
"It is probably mutual," replied Smith-Oldwick, "as we\par
doubtless fill him with hope."\par
\par
The lion evidently having satisfied himself as to the nature\par
of the creatures before him advanced slowly now in their di-\par
rection.\par
\par
"Come," said the man, 'let's climb aboard," and he helped\par
the girl over the side of the ship.\par
\par
"Can't he get in here?" she asked.\par
\par
"I think he can," said the man.\par
\par
"You are reassuring," she returned.\par
\par
"I don't feel so." He drew his pistol.\par
\par
"For heaven's sake," she cried, "don't shoot at him with that\par
thing. You might hit him."\par
\par
"I don't intend to shoot at him but I might succeed in fright-\par
ening him away if he attempts to reach us here. Haven't you\par
ever seen a trainer work with lions? He carries a silly little\par
pop-gun loaded with blank cartridges. With that and a kitchen\par
chair he subdues the most ferocious of beasts."\par
\par
"But you haven't a kitchen chair," she reminded him.\par
\par
"No," he said, "Government is always muddling things. I\par
have always maintained that airplanes should be equipped\par
with kitchen chairs."\par
\par
Bertha Kircher laughed as evenly and with as little hysteria\par
as though she were moved by the small talk of an afternoon\par
tea.\par
\par
Numa, the lion, came steadily toward them; his attitude\par
seemed more that of curiosity than of belligerency. Close to\par
the side of the ship he stopped and stood gazing up at them.\par
\par
"Magnificent, isn't he?" exclaimed the man.\par
\par
"I never saw a more beautiful creature," she replied, "nor\par
one with such a dark coat. Why, he is almost black."\par
\par
The sound of their voices seemed not to please the lord of\par
the jungle, for he suddenly wrinkled his great face into deep\par
furrows as he bared his fangs beneath snarling lips and gave\par
vent to an angry growl. Almost simultaneously he crouched\par
for a spring and immediately Smith-Oldwick discharged his\par
pistol into the ground in front of the lion. The effect of the\par
noise upon Numa seemed but to enrage him further, and with\par
a horrid roar he sprang for the author of the new and dis-\par
quieting sound that had outraged his ears.\par
\par
Simultaneously Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick\par
vaulted nimbly out of the cockpit on the opposite side of his\par
plane, calling to the girl to follow his example. The girl, real-\par
izing the futility of leaping to the ground, chose the remaining\par
alternative and clambered to the top of the upper plane.\par
\par
Numa, unaccustomed to the idiosyncrasies of construction\par
of an airship and having gained the forward cockpit, watched\par
the girl clamber out of his reach without at first endeavoring\par
to prevent her. Having taken possession of the plane his anger\par
seemed suddenly to leave him and he made no immediate\par
move toward following Smith-Oldwick. The girl, realizing the\par
comparative safety of her position, had crawled to the outer\par
edge of the wing and was calling to the man to try and reach\par
the opposite end of the upper plane.\par
\par
It was this scene upon which Tarzan of the Apes looked as\par
he rounded the bend of the gorge above the plane after the\par
pistol shot had attracted his attention. The girl was so intent\par
upon watching the efforts of the Englishman to reach a place\par
of safety, and the latter was so busily occupied in attempting\par
to do so that neither at once noticed the silent approach of the\par
ape-man.\par
\par
It was Numa who first noticed the intruder. The lion imme-\par
diately evinced his displeasure by directing toward him a\par
snarling countenance and a series of warning growls. His\par
action called the attention of the two upon the upper plane to\par
the newcomer, eliciting a stifled "Thank God!" from the girl,\par
even though she could scarce credit the evidence of her own\par
eyes that it was indeed the savage man, whose presence always\par
assured her safety, who had come so providentially in the nick\par
of time.\par
\par
Almost immediately both were horrified to see Numa leap\par
from the cockpit and advance upon Tarzan. The ape-man,\par
carrying his stout spear in readiness, moved deliberately on-\par
ward to meet the carnivore, which he had recognized as the\par
lion of the Wamabos' pit. He knew from the manner of\par
Numa's approach what neither Bertha Kircher nor Smith-\par
Oldwick knew -- that there was more of curiosity than bellig-\par
erency in it, and he wondered if in that great head there might\par
not be a semblance of gratitude for the kindness that Tarzan\par
had done him.\par
\par
There was no question in Tarzan's mind but that Numa\par
recognized him, for he knew his fellows of the jungle well\par
enough to know that while they ofttimes forgot certain sensa-\par
tions more quickly than man there are others which remain in\par
their memories for years. A well-defined scent spoor might\par
never be forgotten by a beast if it had first been sensed under\par
unusual circumstances, and so Tarzan was confident that\par
Numa's nose had already reminded him of all the circum-\par
stances of their brief connection.\par
\par
Love of the sporting chance is inherent in the Anglo-Saxon\par
race and it was not now Tarzan of the Apes but rather John\par
Clayton, Lord Greystoke, who smilingly welcomed the sport-\par
ing chance which he must take to discover how far-reaching\par
was Numa's gratitude.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick and the girl saw the two nearing each other.\par
The former swore softly beneath his breath while he nervously\par
fingered the pitiful weapon at his hip. The girl pressed her\par
open palms to her cheeks as she leaned forward in stony-eyed,\par
horror-stricken silence. While she had every confidence in the\par
prowess of the godlike creature who thus dared brazenly to\par
face the king of beasts, she had no false conception of what\par
must certainly happen when they met. She had seen Tarzan\par
battle with Sheeta, the panther, and she had realized then that\par
powerful as the man was, it was only agility, cunning, and\par
chance that placed him upon anywhere near an equal footing\par
with his savage adversary, and that of the three factors upon\par
his side chance was the greatest.\par
\par
She saw the man and the lion stop simultaneously, not more\par
than a yard apart. She saw the beast's tail whipping from side\par
to side and she could hear his deep-throated growls rumbling\par
from his cavernous breast, but she could read correctly neither\par
the movement of the lashing tail nor the notes of the growl.\par
\par
To her they seemed to indicate nothing but bestial rage\par
while to Tarzan of the Apes they were conciliatory and reas-\par
suring in the extreme. And then she saw Numa move forward\par
again until his nose touched the man's naked leg and she closed\par
her eyes and covered them with her palms. For what seemed\par
an eternity she waited for the horrid sound of the conflict\par
which she knew must come, but all she heard was an explosive\par
sigh of relief from Smith-Oldwick and a half-hysterical "By\par
Jove! Just fancy it!"\par
\par
She looked up to see the great lion rubbing his shaggy head\par
against the man's hip, and Tarzan's free hand entangled in\par
the black mane as he scratched Numa, the lion, behind a back-\par
laid ear.\par
\par
Strange friendships are often formed between the lower\par
animals of different species, but less often between man and\par
the savage felidae, because of the former's inherent fear of\par
the great cats. And so after all, therefore, the friendship so\par
suddenly developed between the savage lion and the savage\par
man was not inexplicable.\par
\par
As Tarzan approached the plane Numa walked at his side,\par
and when Tarzan stopped and looked up at the girl and the\par
man Numa stopped also.\par
\par
"I had about given up hope of finding you," said the ape-\par
man, "and it is evident that I found you just in time."\par
\par
"But how did you know we were in trouble?" asked the\par
English officer.\par
\par
"I saw your plane fall," replied Tarzan. "I was watching\par
you from a tree beside the clearing where you took off. I\par
didn't have much to locate you by other than the general\par
direction, but it seems that you volplaned a considerable dis-\par
tance toward the south after you disappeared from my view\par
behind the hills. I have been looking for you further toward\par
the north. I was just about to turn back when I heard your\par
pistol shot. Is your ship beyond repair?"\par
\par
"Yes," replied Smith-Oldwick, "it is hopeless."\par
\par
"What are your plans, then? What do you wish to do?"\par
Tarzan directed his question to the girl.\par
\par
"We want to reach the coast," she said, "but it seems impos-\par
sible now."\par
\par
"I should have thought so a little while ago," replied the ape-\par
man, "but if Numa is here there must be water within a rea-\par
sonable distance. I ran across this lion two days ago in the\par
Wamabo country. I liberated him from one of their pits. To\par
have reached this spot he must have come by some trail un-\par
known to me -- at least I crossed no game trail and no spoor of\par
any animal after I came over the hills out of the fertile\par
country.\par
From which direction did he come upon you?"\par
\par
"It was from the south," replied the girl. "We thought, too,\par
that there must be water in that direction."\par
\par
"Let's find out then," said Tarzan.\par
\par
"But how about the lion?" asked Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"That we will have to discover," replied the ape-man, "and\par
we can only do so if you will come down from your perch."\par
\par
The officer shrugged his shoulders. The girl turned her gaze\par
upon him to note the effect of Tarzan's proposal. The English-\par
man grew suddenly very white, but there was a smile upon his\par
lips as without a word he slipped over the edge of the plane\par
and clambered to the ground behind Tarzan.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher realized that the man was afraid nor did she\par
blame him, and she also realized the remarkable courage that\par
he had shown in thus facing a danger that was very real to him.\par
\par
Numa standing close to Tarzan's side raised his head and\par
glared at the young Englishman, growled once, and looked up\par
at the ape-man. Tarzan retained a hold upon the beast's mane\par
and spoke to him in the language of the great apes. To the girl\par
and Smith-Oldwick the growling gutturals falling from human\par
lips sounded uncanny in the extreme, but whether Numa\par
understood them or not they appeared to have the desired\par
effect upon him, as he ceased growling, and as Tarzan walked\par
to Smith-Oldwick's side Numa accompanied him, nor did he\par
offer to molest the officer.\par
\par
"What did you say to him?" asked the girl.\par
\par
Tarzan smiled. "I told him," he replied, "that I am Tarzan\par
of the Apes, mighty hunter, killer of beasts, lord of the jungle,\par
and that you are my friends. I have never been sure that all of\par
the other beasts understand the language of the Mangani. I\par
know that Manu, the monkey, speaks nearly the same tongue\par
and I am sure that Tantor, the elephant, understands all that\par
I say to him. We of the jungle are great boasters. In our\par
speech, in our carriage, in every detail of our demeanor we\par
must impress others with our physical power and our ferocity.\par
That is why we growl at our enemies. We are telling them to\par
beware or we shall fall upon them and tear them to pieces.\par
Perhaps Numa does not understand the words that I use but\par
I believe that my tones and my manner carry the impression\par
that I wish them to convey. Now you may come down and be\par
introduced."\par
\par
It required all the courage that Bertha Kircher possessed to\par
lower herself to the ground within reach of the talons and\par
fangs of this untamed forest beast, but she did it. Nor did\par
Numa do more than bare his teeth and growl a little as she\par
came close to the ape-man.\par
\par
"I think you are safe from him as long as I am present," said\par
the ape-man. "The best thing to do is simply to ignore him.\par
Make no advances, but be sure to give no indication of fear\par
and, if possible always keep me between you and him. He will\par
go away presently I am sure and the chances are that we shall\par
not see him again."\par
\par
At Tarzan's suggestion Smith-Oldwick removed the remain-\par
ing water and provisions from the plane and, distributing the\par
burden among them, they set off toward the south. Numa did\par
not follow them, but stood by the plane watching until they\par
finally disappeared from view around a bend in the gorge.\par
\par
Tarzan had picked up Numa's trail with the intention of\par
following it southward in the belief that it would lead to water.\par
In the sand that floored the bottom of the gorge tracks were\par
plain and easily followed. At first only the fresh tracks of\par
Numa were visible, but later in the day the ape-man discovered\par
the older tracks of other lions and just before dark he stopped\par
suddenly in evident surprise. His two companions looked at\par
him questioningly, and in answer to their implied interroga-\par
tions he pointed at the ground directly in front of him.\par
\par
"Look at those," he exclaimed.\par
\par
At first neither Smith-Oldwick nor the girl saw anything\par
but a confusion of intermingled prints of padded feet in the\par
sand, but presently the girl discovered what Tarzan had seen,\par
and an exclamation of surprise broke from her lips.\par
\par
"The imprint of human feet!" she cried.\par
\par
Tarzan nodded.\par
\par
"But there are no toes," the girl pointed out.\par
\par
"The feet were shod with a soft sandal," explained Tarzan.\par
\par
"Then there must be a native village somewhere in the\par
vicinity," said Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"Yes," replied the ape-man, "but not the sort of natives\par
which we would expect to find here in this part of Africa\par
where others all go unshod with the exception of a few of\par
Usanga's renegade German native troops who wear German\par
army shoes. I don't know that you can notice it, but it is\par
evident to me that the foot inside the sandal that made these\par
imprints were not the foot of a Negro. If you will examine\par
them carefully you will notice that the impression of the heel\par
and ball of the foot are well marked even through the sole of\par
the sandal. The weight comes more nearly in the center of a\par
Negro's footprint.\par
\par
"Then you think these were made by a white person?"\par
\par
"It looks that way," replied Tarzan, and suddenly, to the\par
surprise of both the girl and Smith-Oldwick, he dropped to his\par
hands and knees and sniffed at the tracks -- again a beast\par
utilizing the senses and woodcraft of a beast. Over an area of\par
several square yards his keen nostrils sought the identity of the\par
makers of the tracks. At length he rose to his feet.\par
\par
"It is not the spoor of the Gomangani," he said, "nor is it\par
exactly like that of white men. There were three who came\par
this way. They were men, but of what race I do not know."\par
\par
There was no apparent change in the nature of the gorge\par
except that it had steadily grown deeper as they followed it\par
downward until now the rocky and precipitous sides rose far\par
above them. At different points natural caves, which appeared\par
to have been eroded by the action of water in some forgotten\par
age, pitted the side walls at various heights. Near them was\par
such a cavity at the ground's level -- an arched cavern floored\par
with white sand. Tarzan indicated it with a gesture of his hand.\par
\par
"We will lair here tonight," he said, and then with one of\par
his rare, slow smiles: "We will CAMP here tonight."\par
\par
Having eaten their meager supper Tarzan bade the girl enter\par
the cavern.\par
\par
"You will sleep inside," he said. "The lieutenant and I will\par
lie outside at the entrance."\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Night Attack\par
\par
As the girl turned to bid them good night, she thought that\par
she saw a shadowy form moving in the darkness beyond\par
them, and almost simultaneously she was sure that she\par
heard the sounds of stealthy movement in the same direction.\par
\par
"What is that?" she whispered. "There is something out\par
there in the darkness."\par
\par
"Yes," replied Tarzan, "it is a lion. It has been there for\par
some time. Hadn't you noticed it before?"\par
\par
"Oh!" cried the girl, breathing a sigh of relief, "is it our\par
lion?"\par
\par
"No," said Tarzan, "it is not our lion; it is another lion and\par
he is hunting."\par
\par
"He is stalking us?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"He is," replied the ape-man. Smith-Oldwick fingered the\par
grip of his pistol.\par
\par
Tarzan saw the involuntary movement and shook his head.\par
\par
"Leave that thing where it is, Lieutenant," he said.\par
\par
The officer laughed nervously. "I couldn't help it, you know,\par
old man," he said; "instinct of self-preservation and all that."\par
\par
"It would prove an instinct of self-destruction," said Tarzan.\par
"There are at least three hunting lions out there watching us.\par
If we had a fire or the moon were up you would see their eyes\par
plainly. Presently they may come after us but the chances are\par
that they will not. If you are very anxious that they should,\par
fire your pistol and hit one of them."\par
\par
"What if they do charge?" asked the girl; "there is no means\par
of escape."\par
\par
"Why, we should have to fight them," replied Tarzan.\par
\par
"What chance would we three have against them?" asked\par
the girl.\par
\par
The ape-man shrugged his shoulders. "One must die some-\par
time," he said. "To you doubtless it may seem terrible -- such\par
a death; but Tarzan of the Apes has always expected to go out\par
in some such way. Few of us die of old age in the jungle, nor\par
should I care to die thus. Some day Numa will get me, or\par
Sheeta, or a black warrior. These or some of the others. What\par
difference does it make which it is, or whether it comes tonight\par
or next year or in ten years? After it is over it will be all the\par
same."\par
\par
The girl shuddered. "Yes," she said in a dull, hopeless voice,\par
"after it is over it will be all the same."\par
\par
Then she went into the cavern and lay down upon the sand.\par
Smith-Oldwick sat in the entrance and leaned against the cliff.\par
Tarzan squatted on the opposite side.\par
\par
"May I smoke?" questioned the officer of Tarzan. "I have\par
been hoarding a few cigarettes and if it won't attract those\par
bouncers out there I would like to have one last smoke before\par
I cash in. Will you join me?" and he proffered the ape-man a\par
cigarette.\par
\par
"No, thanks," said Tarzan, "but it will be all right if you\par
smoke. No wild animal is particularly fond of the fumes of\par
tobacco so it certainly won't entice them any closer."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick lighted his cigarette and sat puffing slowly\par
upon it. He had proffered one to the girl but she had refused,\par
and thus they sat in silence for some time, the silence of the\par
night ruffled occasionally by the faint crunching of padded\par
feet upon the soft sands of the gorge's floor.\par
\par
It was Smith-Oldwick who broke the silence. "Aren't they\par
unusually quiet for lions?" he asked.\par
\par
"No," replied the ape-man; "the lion that goes roaring\par
around the jungle does not do it to attract prey. They are very\par
quiet when they are stalking their quarry."\par
\par
"I wish they would roar," said the officer. "I wish they\par
would do anything, even charge. Just knowing that they are\par
there and occasionally seeing something like a shadow in the\par
darkness and the faint sounds that come to us from them are\par
getting on my nerves. But I hope," he said, "that all three\par
don't charge at once."\par
\par
"Three?" said Tarzan. "There are seven of them out there\par
now."\par
\par
"Good Lord! exclaimed Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"Couldn't we build a fire," asked the girl, "and frighten them\par
away?"\par
\par
"I don't know that it would do any good," said Tarzan, "as\par
I have an idea that these lions are a little different from any\par
that we are familiar with and possibly for the same reason\par
which at first puzzled me a little -- I refer to the apparent\par
docility in the presence of a man of the lion who was with us\par
today. A man is out there now with those lions."\par
\par
"It is impossible!" exclaimed Smith-Oldwick. "They would\par
tear him to pieces."\par
\par
"What makes you think there is a man there?" asked the\par
girl.\par
\par
Tarzan smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid you would\par
not understand," he replied. "It is difficult for us to under-\par
stand anything that is beyond our own powers."\par
\par
"What do you mean by that?" asked the officer.\par
\par
"Well," said Tarzan, "if you had been born without eyes you\par
could not understand sense impressions that the eyes of others\par
transmit to their brains, and as you have both been born with-\par
out any sense of smell I am afraid you cannot understand how\par
I can know that there is a man there."\par
\par
"You mean that you scent a man?" asked the girl.\par
\par
Tarzan nodded affirmatively.\par
\par
"And in the same way you know the number of lions?"\par
asked the man.\par
\par
"Yes," said Tarzan. "No two lions look alike, no two have\par
the same scent."\par
\par
The young Englishman shook his head. "No," he said, "I\par
cannot understand."\par
\par
"I doubt if the lions or the man are here necessarily for the\par
purpose of harming us," said Tarzan, "because there has been\par
nothing to prevent their doing so long before had they wished\par
to. I have a theory, but it is utterly preposterous."\par
\par
"What is it?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"I think they are here," replied Tarzan, "to prevent us from\par
going some place that they do not wish us to go; in other\par
words we are under surveillance, and possibly as long as we\par
don't go where we are not wanted we shall not be bothered."\par
\par
"But how are we to know where they don't want us to go?"\par
asked Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"We can't know," replied Tarzan, "and the chances are that\par
the very place we are seeking is the place they don't wish us\par
to trespass on."\par
\par
"You mean the water?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"Yes," replied Tarzan.\par
\par
For some time they sat in silence which was broken only by\par
an occasional sound of movement from the outer darkness. It\par
must have been an hour later that the ape-man rose quietly\par
and drew his long blade from its sheath. Smith-Oldwick was\par
dozing against the rocky wall of the cavern entrance, while the\par
girl, exhausted by the excitement and fatigue of the day, had\par
fallen into deep slumber. An instant after Tarzan arose,\par
Smith-Oldwick and the girl were aroused by a volley of\par
thunderous roars and the noise of many padded feet rushing\par
toward them.\par
\par
Tarzan of the Apes stood directly before the entrance to the\par
cavern, his knife in his hand, awaiting the charge. The ape-\par
man had not expected any such concerted action as he now\par
realized had been taken by those watching them. He had\par
known for some time that other men had joined those who\par
were with the lions earlier in the evening, and when he arose\par
to his feet it was because he knew that the lions and the men\par
were moving cautiously closer to him and his party. He might\par
easily have eluded them, for he had seen that the face of the\par
cliff rising above the mouth of the cavern might be scaled by\par
as good a climber as himself. It might have been wiser had\par
he tried to escape, for he knew that in the face of such odds\par
even he was helpless, but he stood his ground though I doubt\par
if he could have told why.\par
\par
He owed nothing either of duty or friendship to the girl\par
sleeping in the cavern, nor could he longer be of any protec-\par
tion to her or her companion. Yet something held him there in\par
futile self-sacrifice.\par
\par
The great Tarmangani had not even the satisfaction of\par
striking a blow in self-defense. A veritable avalanche of savage\par
beasts rolled over him and threw him heavily to the ground.\par
In falling his head struck the rocky surface of the cliff, stun-\par
ning him.\par
\par
It was daylight when he regained consciousness. The first\par
dim impression borne to his awakening mind was a confusion\par
of savage sounds which gradually resolved themselves into\par
the growling of lions, and then, little by little, there came\par
back\par
to him the recollections of what had preceded the blow that\par
had felled him.\par
\par
Strong in his nostrils was the scent of Numa, the lion, and\par
against one naked leg he could feel the coat of some animal.\par
Slowly Tarzan opened his eyes. He was lying on his side and\par
as he looked down his body, he saw that a great lion stood\par
straddling him -- a great lion who growled hideously at some-\par
thing which Tarzan could not see.\par
\par
With the full return of his senses Tarzan's nose told him\par
that the beast above him was Numa of the Wamabo pit.\par
\par
Thus reassured, the ape-man spoke to the lion and at the\par
same time made a motion as though he would arise. Immedi-\par
ately Numa stepped from above him. As Tarzan raised his\par
head, he saw that he still lay where he had fallen before the\par
opening of the cliff where the girl had been sleeping and that\par
Numa, backed against the cliffside, was apparently defending\par
him from two other lions who paced to and fro a short\par
distance from their intended victim.\par
\par
And then Tarzan turned his eyes into the cave and saw that\par
the girl and Smith-Oldwick were gone.\par
\par
His efforts had been for naught. With an angry toss of his\par
head, the ape-man turned upon the two lions who had con-\par
tinued to pace back and forth a few yards from him. Numa\par
of the lion pit turned a friendly glance in Tarzan's direction,\par
rubbed his head against the ape-man's side, and then directed\par
his snarling countenance toward the two hunters.\par
\par
"I think," said Tarzan to Numa, "that you and I together\par
can make these beasts very unhappy." He spoke in English,\par
which, of course, Numa did not understand at all, but there\par
must have been something reassuring in the tone, for Numa\par
whined pleadingly and moved impatiently to and fro parallel\par
with their antagonists.\par
\par
"Come," said Tarzan suddenly and grasping the lion's mane\par
with his left hand he moved toward the other lions, his com-\par
panion pacing at his side. As the two advanced the others drew\par
slowly back and, finally separating, moved off to either side.\par
Tarzan and Numa passed between them but neither the great\par
black-maned lion nor the man failed to keep an eye upon the\par
beast nearer him so that they were not caught unawares when,\par
as though at some preconcerted signal, the two cats charged\par
simultaneously from opposite directions.\par
\par
The ape-man met the charge of his antagonist after the same\par
fashion of fighting that he had been accustomed to employing\par
in previous encounters with Numa and Sheeta. To have at-\par
tempted to meet the full shock of a lion's charge would have\par
been suicidal even for the giant Tarmangani. Instead he re-\par
sorted to methods of agility and cunning, for quick as are the\par
great cats, even quicker is Tarzan of the Apes.\par
\par
With outspread, raking talons and bared fangs Numa sprang\par
for the naked chest of the ape-man. Throwing up his left arm\par
as a boxer might ward off a blow, Tarzan struck upward\par
beneath the left forearm of the lion, at the same time rushing\par
in with his shoulder beneath the animal's body and simul-\par
taneously drove his blade into the tawny hide behind the\par
shoulder. With a roar of pain Numa wheeled again, the per-\par
sonification of bestial rage. Now indeed would he exterminate\par
this presumptuous man-thing who dared even to think that he\par
could thwart the king of beasts in his desires. But as he\par
wheeled, his intended quarry wheeled with him, brown fingers\par
locked in the heavy mane on the powerful neck and again the\par
blade struck deep into the lion's side.\par
\par
Then it was that Numa went mad with hate and pain and\par
at the same instant the ape-man leaped full upon his back.\par
Easily before had Tarzan locked his legs beneath the belly of\par
a lion while he clung to its long mane and stabbed it until his\par
point reached its heart. So easy it had seemed before that he\par
experienced a sharp feeling of resentment that he was unable\par
to do so now, for the quick movements of the lion prevented\par
him, and presently, to his dismay, as the lion leaped and threw\par
him about, the ape-man realized that he was swinging in-\par
evitably beneath those frightful talons.\par
\par
With a final effort he threw himself from Numa's back and\par
sought, by his quickness, to elude the frenzied beast for the\par
fraction of an instant that would permit him to regain his\par
feet and meet the animal again upon a more even footing. But\par
this time Numa was too quick for him and he was but partially\par
up when a great paw struck him on the side of the head and\par
bowled him over.\par
\par
As he fell he saw a black streak shoot above him and an-\par
other lion close upon his antagonist. Rolling from beneath the\par
two battling lions Tarzan regained his feet, though he was half\par
dazed and staggering from the impact of the terrible blow he\par
had received. Behind him he saw a lifeless lion lying torn and\par
bleeding upon the sand, and before him Numa of the pit was\par
savagely mauling the second lion.\par
\par
He of the black coat tremendously outclassed his adversary\par
in point of size and strength as well as in ferocity. The\par
battling\par
beasts made a few feints and passes at each other before the\par
larger succeeded in fastening his fangs in the other's throat,\par
and then, as a cat shakes a mouse, the larger lion shook the\par
lesser, and when his dying foe sought to roll beneath and rake\par
his conqueror with his hind claws, the other met him halfway\par
at his own game, and as the great talons buried themselves in\par
the lower part of the other's chest and then were raked down-\par
ward with all the terrific strength of the mighty hind legs, the\par
battle was ended.\par
\par
As Numa rose from his second victim and shook himself,\par
Tarzan could not but again note the wondrous proportions and\par
symmetry of the beast. The lions they had bested were splendid\par
specimens themselves and in their coats Tarzan noted a sugges-\par
tion of the black which was such a strongly marked character-\par
istic of Numa of the pit. Their manes were just a trifle darker\par
than an ordinary black-maned lion but the tawny shade on the\par
balance of their coats predominated. However, the ape-man\par
realized that they were a distinct species from any he had seen\par
as though they had sprung originally from a cross between the\par
forest lion of his acquaintance and a breed of which Numa of\par
the pit might be typical.\par
\par
The immediate obstruction in his way having been removed,\par
Tarzan was for setting out in search of the spoor of the girl\par
and Smith-Oldwick, that he might discover their fate. He\par
suddenly found himself tremendously hungry and as he circled\par
about over the sandy bottom searching among the tangled net-\par
work of innumerable tracks for those of his proteges, there\par
broke from his lips involuntarily the whine of a hungry beast.\par
Immediately Numa of the pit pricked up his ears and, regard-\par
ing the ape-man steadily for a moment, he answered the call\par
of hunger and started briskly off toward the south, stopping\par
occasionally to see if Tarzan was following.\par
\par
The ape-man realized that the beast was leading him to\par
food, and so he followed and as he followed his keen eyes and\par
sensitive nostrils sought for some indication of the direction\par
taken by the man and the girl. Presently out of the mass of\par
lion tracks, Tarzan picked up those of many sandaled feet and\par
the scent spoor of the members of the strange race such as\par
had been with the lions the night before, and then faintly he\par
caught the scent spoor of the girl and a little later that of\par
Smith-Oldwick. Presently the tracks thinned and here those of\par
the girl and the Englishman became well marked.\par
\par
They had been walking side by side and there had been\par
men and lions to the right and left of them, and men and lions\par
in front and behind. The ape-man was puzzled by the possi-\par
bilities suggested by the tracks, but in the light of any\par
previous\par
experience he could not explain satisfactorily to himself what\par
his perceptions indicated.\par
\par
There was little change in the formation of the gorge; it still\par
wound its erratic course between precipitous cliffs. In places\par
it widened out and again it became very narrow and always\par
deeper the further south they traveled. Presently the bottom\par
of the gorge began to slope more rapidly. Here and there were\par
indications of ancient rapids and waterfalls. The trail became\par
more difficult but was well marked and showed indications of\par
great antiquity, and, in places, the handiwork of man. They\par
had proceeded for a half or three-quarters of a mile when, at\par
a turning of the gorge, Tarzan saw before him a narrow valley\par
cut deep into the living rock of the earth's crust, with lofty\par
mountain ranges bounding it upon the south. How far it ex-\par
tended east and west he could not see, but apparently it was\par
no more than three or four miles across from north to south.\par
\par
That it was a well-watered valley was indicated by the\par
wealth of vegetation that carpeted its floor from the rocky\par
cliffs upon the north to the mountains on the south.\par
\par
Over the edge of the cliffs from which the ape-man viewed\par
the valley a trail had been hewn that led downward to the\par
base. Preceded by the lion Tarzan descended into the valley,\par
which, at this point, was forested with large trees. Before him\par
the trail wound onward toward the center of the valley.\par
Raucous-voiced birds of brilliant plumage screamed among\par
the branches while innumerable monkeys chattered and\par
scolded above him.\par
\par
The forest teemed with life, and yet there was borne in upon\par
the ape-man a sense of unutterable loneliness, a sensation that\par
he never before had felt in his beloved jungles. There was\par
unreality in everything about him -- in the valley itself, lying\par
hidden and forgotten in what was supposed to be an arid\par
waste. The birds and the monkeys, while similar in type to\par
many with which he was familiar, were identical with none,\par
nor was the vegetation without its idiosyncrasies. It was as\par
though he had been suddenly transported to another world\par
and he felt a strange restlessness that might easily have been\par
a premonition of danger.\par
\par
Fruits were growing among the trees and some of these he\par
saw that Manu, the monkey, ate. Being hungry he swung to\par
the lower branches and, amidst a great chattering of the\par
monkeys, proceeded to eat such of the fruit as he saw the\par
monkeys ate in safety. When he had partially satisfied his\par
hunger, for meat alone could fully do so, he looked about him\par
for Numa of the pit to discover that the lion had gone.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Walled City\par
\par
Dropping to the ground once more he picked up the trail\par
of the girl and her captors, which he followed easily\par
along what appeared to be a well-beaten trail. It was\par
not long before he came to a small stream, where he quenched\par
his thirst, and thereafter he saw that the trail followed in the\par
general direction of the stream, which ran southwesterly. Here\par
and there were cross trails and others which joined the main\par
avenue, and always upon each of them were the tracks and\par
scent of the great cats, of Numa, the lion, and Sheeta, the\par
panther.\par
\par
With the exception of a few small rodents there appeared to\par
be no other wild life on the surface of the valley. There was no\par
indication of Bara, the deer, or Horta, the boar, or of Gorgo,\par
the buffalo, Buto, Tantor, or Duro. Histah, the snake, was\par
there. He saw him in the trees in greater numbers than he ever\par
had seen Histah before; and once beside a reedy pool he\par
caught a scent that could have belonged to none other than\par
Gimla the crocodile, but upon none of these did the Tar-\par
mangani care to feed.\par
\par
And so, as he craved meat, he turned his attention to the\par
birds above him. His assailants of the night before had not\par
disarmed him. Either in the darkness and the rush of the\par
charging lions the human foe had overlooked him or else they\par
had considered him dead; but whatever the reason he still\par
retained his weapons -- his spear and his long knife, his bow\par
and arrows, and his grass rope.\par
\par
Fitting a shaft to his bow Tarzan awaited an opportunity to\par
bring down one of the larger birds, and when the opportunity\par
finally presented itself he drove the arrow straight to its mark.\par
As the gaily plumaged creature fluttered to earth its compan-\par
ions and the little monkeys set up a most terrific chorus of\par
wails and screaming protests. The whole forest became\par
suddenly a babel of hoarse screams and shrill shrieks.\par
\par
Tarzan would not have been surprised had one or two birds\par
in the immediate vicinity given voice to terror as they fled, but\par
that the whole life of the jungle should set up so weird a pro-\par
test filled him with disgust. It was an angry face that he turned\par
up toward the monkeys and the birds as there suddenly stirred\par
within him a savage inclination to voice his displeasure and\par
his answer to what he considered their challenge. And so it\par
was that there broke upon this jungle for the first time Tarzan's\par
hideous scream of victory and challenge.\par
\par
The effect upon the creatures above him was instantaneous.\par
Where before the air had trembled to the din of their voices,\par
now utter silence reigned and a moment later the ape-man was\par
alone with his puny kill.\par
\par
The silence following so closely the previous tumult carried\par
a sinister impression to the ape-man, which still further\par
aroused his anger. Picking the bird from where it had fallen\par
he withdrew his arrow from the body and returned it to his\par
quiver. Then with his knife he quickly and deftly removed the\par
skin and feathers together. He ate angrily, growling as though\par
actually menaced by a near-by foe, and perhaps, too, his\par
growls were partially induced by the fact that he did not care\par
for the flesh of birds. Better this, however, than nothing and\par
from what his senses had told him there was no flesh in the\par
vicinity such as he was accustomed to and cared most for.\par
How he would have enjoyed a juicy haunch from Pacco, the\par
zebra, or a steak from the loin of Gorgo, the buffalo! The very\par
thought made his mouth water and increased his resentment\par
against this unnatural forest that harbored no such delicious\par
quarry.\par
\par
He had but partially consumed his kill when he suddenly\par
became aware of a movement in the brush at no great distance\par
from him and downwind, and a moment later his nostrils\par
picked up the scent of Numa from the opposite direction, and\par
then upon either side he caught the fall of padded feet and the\par
brushing of bodies against leafy branches. The ape-man\par
smiled. What stupid creature did they think him, to be sur-\par
prised by such clumsy stalkers? Gradually the sounds and\par
scents indicated that lions were moving upon him from all\par
directions, that he was in the center of a steadily converging\par
circle of beasts. Evidently they were so sure of their prey that\par
they were making no effort toward stealth, for he heard twigs\par
crack beneath their feet, and the brushing of their bodies\par
against the vegetation through which they forced their way.\par
\par
He wondered what could have brought them. It seemed\par
unreasonable to believe that the cries of the birds and the\par
monkeys should have summoned them, and yet, if not, it was\par
indeed a remarkable coincidence. His judgment told him that\par
the death of a single bird in this forest which teemed with\par
birds could scarce be of sufficient moment to warrant that\par
which followed. Yet even in the face of reason and past experi-\par
ence he found that the whole affair perplexed him.\par
\par
He stood in the center of the trail awaiting the coming of\par
the lions and wondering what would be the method of their\par
attack or if they would indeed attack. Presently a maned lion\par
came into view along the trail below him. At sight of him the\par
lion halted. The beast was similar to those that had attacked\par
him earlier in the day, a trifle larger and a trifle darker than\par
the\par
lions of his native jungles, but neither so large nor so black as\par
Numa of the pit.\par
\par
Presently he distinguished the outlines of other lions in the\par
surrounding brush and among the trees. Each of them halted\par
as it came within sight of the ape-man and there they stood\par
regarding him in silence. Tarzan wondered how long it would\par
be before they charged and while he waited he resumed his\par
feeding, though with every sense constantly alert.\par
\par
One by one the lions lay down, but always their faces were\par
toward him and their eyes upon him. There had been no\par
growling and no roaring -- just the quiet drawing of the silent\par
circle about him. It was all so entirely foreign to anything that\par
Tarzan ever before had seen lions do that it irritated him so\par
that presently, having finished his repast, he fell to making\par
insulting remarks to first one and then another of the lions,\par
after the habit he had learned from the apes of his childhood.\par
\par
"Dango, eater of carrion," he called them, and he compared\par
them most unfavorably with Histah, the snake, the most\par
loathed and repulsive creature of the jungle. Finally he threw\par
handfuls of earth at them and bits of broken twigs, and then\par
the lions growled and bared their fangs, but none of them\par
advanced.\par
\par
"Cowards," Tarzan taunted them. "Numa with a heart of\par
Bara, the deer." He told them who he was, and after the\par
manner of the jungle folk he boasted as to the horrible things\par
he would do to them, but the lions only lay and watched him.\par
\par
It must have been a half hour after their coming that Tar-\par
zan caught in the distance along the trail the sound of foot-\par
steps approaching. They were the footsteps of a creature who\par
walked upon two legs, and though Tarzan could catch no\par
scent spoor from that direction he knew that a man was\par
approaching. Nor had he long to wait before his judgment\par
was confirmed by the appearance of a man who halted in the\par
trail directly behind the first lion that Tarzan had seen.\par
\par
At sight of the newcomer the ape-man realized that here\par
was one similar to those who had given off the unfamiliar\par
scent spoor that he had detected the previous night, and he\par
saw that not only in the matter of scent did the man differ\par
from other human beings with whom Tarzan was familiar.\par
\par
The fellow was strongly built with skin of a leathery ap-\par
pearance, like parchment yellowed with age. His hair, which\par
was coal black and three or four inches in length, grew out\par
stiffly at right angles to his scalp. His eyes were close set and\par
the irises densely black and very small, so that the white of\par
the eyeball showed around them. The man's face was smooth\par
except for a few straggly hairs on his chin and upper lip.\par
The nose was aquiline and fine, but the hair grew so far down\par
on the forehead as to suggest a very low and brutal type.\par
The upper lip was short and fine while the lower lip was\par
rather heavy and inclined to be pendulous, the chin being\par
equally weak. Altogether the face carried the suggestion of\par
a once strong and handsome countenance entirely altered by\par
physical violence or by degraded habits and thoughts. The\par
man's arms were long, though not abnormally so, while his\par
legs were short, though straight.\par
\par
He was clothed in tight-fitting nether garments and a loose,\par
sleeveless tunic that fell just below his hips, while his feet\par
were shod in soft-soled sandals, the wrappings of which ex-\par
tended halfway to his knees, closely resembling a modern\par
spiral military legging. He carried a short, heavy spear, and\par
at his side swung a weapon that at first so astonished the ape-\par
man that he could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses\par
-- a heavy saber in a leather-covered scabbard. The man's\par
tunic appeared to have been fabricated upon a loom -- it was\par
certainly not made of skins, while the garments that covered\par
his legs were quite as evidently made from the hides of\par
rodents.\par
\par
Tarzan noted the utter unconcern with which the man\par
approached the lions, and the equal indifference of Numa to\par
him. The fellow paused for a moment as though appraising\par
the ape-man and then pushed on past the lions, brushing\par
against the tawny hide as he passed him in the trail.\par
\par
About twenty feet from Tarzan the man stopped, addressing\par
the former in a strange jargon, no syllable of which was\par
intelligible to the Tarmangani. His gestures indicated numer-\par
ous references to the lions surrounding them, and once he\par
touched his spear with the forefinger of his left hand and\par
twice he struck the saber at his hip.\par
\par
While he spoke Tarzan studied the fellow closely, with the\par
result that there fastened itself upon his mind a strange con-\par
viction -- that the man who addressed him was what might\par
only be described as a rational maniac. As the thought came\par
to the ape-man he could not but smile, so paradoxical the\par
description seemed. Yet a closer study of the man's features,\par
carriage, and the contour of his head carried almost incon-\par
trovertibly the assurance that he was insane, while the tones\par
of his voice and his gestures resembled those of a sane and\par
intelligent mortal.\par
\par
Presently the man had concluded his speech and appeared\par
to be waiting questioningly Tarzan's reply. The ape-man\par
spoke to the other first in the language of the great apes, but\par
he soon saw that the words carried no conviction to his\par
listener. Then with equal futility he tried several native\par
dialects but to none of these did the man respond.\par
\par
By this time Tarzan began to lose patience. He had wasted\par
sufficient time by the road, and as he had never depended\par
much upon speech in the accomplishment of his ends, he now\par
raised his spear and advanced toward the other. This, evi-\par
dently, was a language common to both, for instantly the\par
fellow raised his own weapon and at the same time a low\par
call broke from his lips, a call which instantly brought to\par
action every lion in the hitherto silent circle. A volley of\par
roars shattered the silence of the forest and simultaneously\par
lions sprang into view upon all sides as they closed in rapidly\par
upon their quarry. The man who had called them stepped\par
back, his teeth bared in a mirthless grin.\par
\par
It was then that Tarzan first noticed that the fellow's upper\par
canines were unusually long and exceedingly sharp. It was\par
just a flashing glimpse he got of them as he leaped agilely\par
from the ground and, to the consternation of both the lions\par
and their master, disappeared in the foliage of the lower\par
terrace, flinging back over his shoulder as he swung rapidly\par
away: "I am Tarzan of the Apes; mighty hunter; mighty\par
fighter! None in the jungle more powerful, none more cun-\par
ning than Tarzan!"\par
\par
A short distance beyond the point at which they had sur-\par
rounded him, Tarzan came to the trail again and sought for\par
the spoor of Bertha Kircher and Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick.\par
He found them quickly and continued upon his search for the\par
two. The spoor lay directly along the trail for another half-\par
mile when the way suddenly debouched from the forest into\par
open land and there broke upon the astonished view of the\par
ape-man the domes and minarets of a walled city.\par
\par
Directly before him in the wall nearest him Tarzan saw a\par
low-arched gateway to which a well-beaten trail led from\par
that which he had been following. In the open space between\par
the forest and the city walls, quantities of garden stuff was\par
growing, while before him at his feet, in an open man-made\par
ditch, ran a stream of water! The plants in the garden were\par
laid out in well-spaced, symmetrical rows and appeared to\par
have been given excellent attention and cultivation. Tiny\par
streams were trickling between the rows from the main ditch\par
before him and at some distance to his right he could see\par
people at work among the plants.\par
\par
The city wall appeared to be about thirty feet in height,\par
its plastered expanse unbroken except by occasional em-\par
brasures. Beyond the wall rose the domes of several struc-\par
tures and numerous minarets dotted the sky line of the city.\par
The largest and central dome appeared to be gilded, while\par
others were red, or blue, or yellow. The architecture of the\par
wall itself was of uncompromising simplicity. It was of a\par
cream shade and appeared to be plastered and painted. At\par
its base was a line of well-tended shrubs and at some distance\par
towards its eastern extremity it was vine covered to the top.\par
\par
As he stood in the shadow of the trail, his keen eyes taking\par
in every detail of the picture before him, he became aware of\par
the approach of a party in his rear and there was borne to\par
him the scent of the man and the lions whom he had so\par
readily escaped. Taking to the trees Tarzan moved a short\par
distance to the west and, finding a comfortable crotch at the\par
edge of the forest where he could watch the trail leading\par
through the gardens to the city gate, he awaited the return of\par
his would-be captors. And soon they came -- the strange man\par
followed by the pack of great lions. Like dogs they moved\par
along behind him down the trail among the gardens to the\par
gate.\par
\par
Here the man struck upon the panels of the door with the\par
butt of his spear, and when it opened in response to his signal\par
he passed in with his lions. Beyond the open door Tarzan,\par
from his distant perch, caught but a fleeting glimpse of life\par
within the city, just enough to indicate that there were other\par
human creatures who abode there, and then the door closed.\par
\par
Through that door he knew that the girl and the man whom\par
he sought to succor had been taken into the city. What fate\par
lay in store for them or whether already it had been meted\par
out to them he could not even guess, nor where, within that\par
forbidding wall, they were incarcerated he could not know.\par
But of one thing he was assured: that if he were to aid them\par
he could not do it from outside the wall. He must gain\par
entrance to the city first, nor did he doubt, that once within,\par
his keen senses would eventually reveal the whereabouts of\par
those whom he sought.\par
\par
The low sun was casting long shadows across the gardens\par
when Tarzan saw the workers returning from the eastern field.\par
A man came first, and as he came he lowered little gates along\par
the large ditch of running water, shutting off the streams that\par
had run between the rows of growing plants; and behind him\par
came other men carrying burdens of fresh vegetables in great\par
woven baskets upon their shoulders. Tarzan had not realized\par
that there had been so many men working in the field, but\par
now as he sat there at the close of the day he saw a procession\par
filing in from the east, bearing the tools and the produce back\par
into the city.\par
\par
And then, to gain a better view, the ape-man ascended to\par
the topmost branches of a tall tree where he overlooked the\par
nearer wall. From this point of vantage he saw that the city\par
was long and narrow, and that while the outer walls formed\par
a perfect rectangle, the streets within were winding. Toward\par
the center of the city there appeared to be a low, white\par
building around which the larger edifices of the city had been\par
built, and here, in the fast-waning light, Tarzan thought that\par
between two buildings he caught the glint of water, but of\par
that he was not sure. His experience of the centers of civiliza-\par
tion naturally inclined him to believe that this central area\par
was a plaza about which the larger buildings were grouped\par
and that there would be the most logical place to search first\par
for Bertha Kircher and her companion.\par
\par
And then the sun went down and darkness quickly en-\par
veloped the city -- a darkness that was accentuated for the\par
ape-man rather than relieved by the artificial lights which\par
immediately appeared in many of the windows visible to him.\par
\par
Tarzan had noticed that the roofs of most of the buildings\par
were flat, the few exceptions being those of what he imagined\par
to be the more pretentious public structures. How this city\par
had come to exist in this forgotten part of unexplored Africa\par
the ape-man could not conceive. Better than another, he\par
realized something of the unsolved secrets of the Great Dark\par
Continent, enormous areas of which have as yet been un-\par
touched by the foot of civilized man. Yet he could scarce\par
believe that a city of this size and apparently thus well con-\par
structed could have existed for the generations that it must\par
have been there, without intercourse with the outer world.\par
Even though it was surrounded by a trackless desert waste, as\par
he knew it to be, he could not conceive that generation after\par
generation of men could be born and die there without at-\par
tempting to solve the mysteries of the world beyond the\par
confines of their little valley.\par
\par
And yet, here was the city surrounded by tilled land and\par
filled with people!\par
\par
With the coming of night there arose throughout the jungle\par
the cries of the great cats, the voice of Numa blended with\par
that of Sheeta, and the thunderous roars of the great males\par
reverberated through the forest until the earth trembled, and\par
from within the city came the answering roars of other lions.\par
\par
A simple plan for gaining entrance to the city had occurred\par
to Tarzan, and now that darkness had fallen he set about to\par
put it into effect. Its success hinged entirely upon the strength\par
of the vines he had seen surmounting the wall toward the\par
east. In this direction he made his way, while from out of\par
the forest about him the cries of the flesh-eaters increased in\par
volume and ferocity. A quarter of a mile intervened between\par
the forest and the city wall -- a quarter of a mile of cultivated\par
land unrelieved by a single tree. Tarzan of the Apes realized\par
his limitations and so he knew that it would undoubtedly\par
spell death for him to be caught in the open space by one of\par
the great black lions of the forest if, as he had already sur-\par
mised, Numa of the pit was a specimen of the forest lion of the\par
valley.\par
\par
He must, therefore, depend entirely upon his cunning and\par
his speed, and upon the chance that the vine would sustain\par
his weight.\par
\par
He moved through the middle terrace, where the way is\par
always easiest, until he reached a point opposite the vine-clad\par
portion of the wall, and there he waited, listening and scenting,\par
until he might assure himself that there was no Numa within\par
his immediate vicinity, or, at least, none that sought him. And\par
when he was quite sure that there was no lion close by in the\par
forest, and none in the clearing between himself and the wall,\par
he dropped lightly to the ground and moved stealthily out into\par
the open.\par
\par
The rising moon, just topping the eastern cliffs, cast its\par
bright rays upon the long stretch of open garden beneath the\par
wall. And, too, it picked out in clear relief for any curious\par
eyes that chanced to be cast in that direction, the figure of the\par
giant ape-man moving across the clearing. It was only chance,\par
of course, that a great lion hunting at the edge of the forest\par
saw the figure of the man halfway between the forest and the\par
wall. Suddenly there broke upon Tarzan's ears a menacing\par
sound. It was not the roar of a hungry lion, but the roar of\par
a lion in rage, and, as he glanced back in the direction from\par
which the sound came, he saw a huge beast moving out from\par
the shadow of the forest toward him.\par
\par
Even in the moonlight and at a distance Tarzan saw that\par
the lion was huge; that it was indeed another of the black-\par
maned monsters similar to Numa of the pit. For an instant\par
he was impelled to turn and fight, but at the same time the\par
thought of the helpless girl imprisoned in the city flashed\par
through his brain and, without an instant's hesitation, Tarzan\par
of the Apes wheeled and ran for the wall. Then it was that\par
Numa charged.\par
\par
Numa, the lion, can run swiftly for a short distance, but he\par
lacks endurance. For the period of an ordinary charge he\par
can cover the ground with greater rapidity possibly than any\par
other creature in the world. Tarzan, on the other hand, could\par
run at great speed for long distances, though never as rapidly\par
as Numa when the latter charged.\par
\par
The question of his fate, then, rested upon whether, with\par
his start he could elude Numa for a few seconds; and, if so,\par
if the lion would then have sufficient stamina remaining to\par
pursue him at a reduced gait for the balance of the distance\par
to the wall.\par
\par
Never before, perhaps, was staged a more thrilling race,\par
and yet it was run with only the moon and stars to see. Alone\par
and in silence the two beasts sped across the moonlit clearing.\par
Numa gained with appalling rapidity upon the fleeing man,\par
yet at every bound Tarzan was nearer to the vine-clad wall.\par
Once the ape-man glanced back. Numa was so close upon\par
him that it seemed inevitable that at the next bound he should\par
drag him down; so close was he that the ape-man drew his\par
knife as he ran, that he might at least give a good account of\par
himself in the last moments of his life.\par
\par
But Numa had reached the limit of his speed and endurance.\par
Gradually he dropped behind but he did not give up the\par
pursuit, and now Tarzan realized how much hinged upon the\par
strength of the untested vines.\par
\par
If, at the inception of the race, only Goro and the stars had\par
looked down upon the contestants, such was not the case at\par
its finish, since from an embrasure near the summit of the\par
wall two close-set black eyes peered down upon the two.\par
Tarzan was a dozen yards ahead of Numa when he reached\par
the wall. There was no time to stop and institute a search\par
for sturdy stems and safe handholds. His fate was in the\par
hands of chance and with the realization he gave a final spurt\par
and running catlike up the side of the wall among the vines,\par
sought with his hands for something that would sustain his\par
weight. Below him Numa leaped also.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Among the Maniacs\par
\par
As the lions swarmed over her protectors, Bertha Kircher\par
shrank back in the cave in a momentary paralysis of\par
fright superinduced, perhaps, by the long days of ter-\par
rific nerve strain which she had undergone.\par
\par
Mingled with the roars of the lions had been the voices of\par
men, and presently out of the confusion and turmoil she felt\par
the near presence of a human being, and then hands reached\par
forth and seized her. It was dark and she could see but little,\par
nor any sign of the English officer or the ape-man. The\par
man who seized her kept the lions from her with what ap-\par
peared to be a stout spear, the haft of which he used to beat\par
off the beasts. The fellow dragged her from the cavern the\par
while he shouted what appeared to be commands and warn-\par
ings to the lions.\par
\par
Once out upon the light sands of the bottom of the gorge\par
objects became more distinguishable, and then she saw that\par
there were other men in the party and that two half led and\par
half carried the stumbling figure of a third, whom she guessed\par
must be Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
For a time the lions made frenzied efforts to reach the two\par
captives but always the men with them succeeded in beating\par
them off. The fellows seemed utterly unafraid of the great\par
beasts leaping and snarling about them, handling them much\par
the same as one might handle a pack of obstreperous dogs.\par
Along the bed of the old watercourse that once ran through\par
the gorge they made their way, and as the first faint lightening\par
of the eastern horizon presaged the coming dawn, they paused\par
for a moment upon the edge of a declivity, which appeared to\par
the girl in the strange light of the waning night as a vast,\par
bottomless pit; but, as their captors resumed their way and\par
the light of the new day became stronger, she saw that they\par
were moving downward toward a dense forest.\par
\par
Once beneath the over-arching trees all was again Cim-\par
merian darkness, nor was the gloom relieved until the sun\par
finally arose beyond the eastern cliffs, when she saw that they\par
were following what appeared to be a broad and well-beaten\par
game trail through a forest of great trees. The ground was\par
unusually dry for an African forest and the underbrush, while\par
heavily foliaged, was not nearly so rank and impenetrable as\par
that which she had been accustomed to find in similar woods.\par
It was as though the trees and the bushes grew in a waterless\par
country, nor was there the musty odor of decaying vegetation\par
or the myriads of tiny insects such as are bred in damp places.\par
\par
As they proceeded and the sun rose higher, the voices of\par
the arboreal jungle life rose in discordant notes and loud\par
chattering about them. Innumerable monkeys scolded and\par
screamed in the branches overhead, while harsh-voiced birds\par
of brilliant plumage darted hither and thither. She noticed\par
presently that their captors often cast apprehensive glances\par
in the direction of the birds and on numerous occasions\par
seemed to be addressing the winged denizens of the forest.\par
\par
One incident made a marked impression on her. The man\par
who immediately preceded her was a fellow of powerful\par
build, yet, when a brilliantly colored parrot swooped down-\par
ward toward him, he dropped upon his knees and covering\par
his face with his arms bent forward until his head touched\par
the ground. Some of the others looked at him and laughed\par
nervously. Presently the man glanced upward and seeing that\par
the bird had gone, rose to his feet and continued along the\par
trail.\par
\par
It was at this brief halt that Smith-Oldwick was brought to\par
her side by the men who had been supporting him. He had\par
been rather badly mauled by one of the lions; but was now\par
able to walk alone, though he was extremely weak from shock\par
and loss of blood.\par
\par
"Pretty mess, what?" he remarked with a wry smile, indi-\par
cating his bloody and disheveled state.\par
\par
"It is terrible," said the girl. "I hope you are not suffering."\par
\par
"Not as much as I should have expected," he replied, "but\par
I feel as weak as a fool. What sort of creatures are these\par
beggars, anyway?"\par
\par
"I don't know," she replied, "there is something terribly\par
uncanny about their appearance."\par
\par
The man regarded one of their captors closely for a mo-\par
ment and then, turning to the girl asked, "Did you ever visit\par
a madhouse?"\par
\par
She looked up at him in quick understanding and with a\par
horrified expression in her eyes. "That's it!" she cried.\par
\par
"They have all the earmarks," he said. "Whites of the eyes\par
showing all around the irises, hair growing stiffly erect from\par
the scalp and low down upon the forehead -- even their man-\par
nerisms and their carriage are those of maniacs."\par
\par
The girl shuddered.\par
\par
"Another thing about them," continued the Englishman,\par
"that doesn't appear normal is that they are afraid of parrots\par
and utterly fearless of lions."\par
\par
"Yes," said the girl; "and did you notice that the birds seem\par
utterly fearless of them -- really seem to hold them in con-\par
tempt? Have you any idea what language they speak?"\par
\par
'No," said the man, "I have been trying to figure that out.\par
It's not like any of the few native dialects of which I have any\par
knowledge."\par
\par
"It doesn't sound at all like the native language," said the\par
girl, "but there is something familiar about it. You know,\par
every now and then I feel that I am just on the verge of\par
understanding what they are saying, or at least that some-\par
where I have heard their tongue before, but final recognition\par
always eludes me."\par
\par
"I doubt if you ever heard their language spoken," said the\par
man. "These people must have lived in this out-of-the-way\par
valley for ages and even if they had retained the original\par
language of their ancestors without change, which is doubt-\par
ful, it must be some tongue that is no longer spoken in the\par
outer world."\par
\par
At one point where a stream of water crossed the trail the\par
party halted while the lions and the men drank. They mo-\par
tioned to their captors to drink too, and as Bertha Kircher\par
and Smith-Oldwick, lying prone upon the ground drank from\par
the clear, cool water of the rivulet, they were suddenly startled\par
by the thunderous roar of a lion a short distance ahead of\par
them. Instantly the lions with them set up a hideous response,\par
moving restlessly to and fro with their eyes always either\par
turned in the direction from which the roar had come or\par
toward their masters, against whom the tawny beasts slunk.\par
The men loosened the sabers in their scabbards, the weapons\par
that had aroused Smith-Oldwick's curiosity as they had Tar-\par
zan's, and grasped their spears more firmly.\par
\par
Evidently there were lions and lions, and while they evinced\par
no fear of the beasts which accompanied them, it was quite\par
evident that the voice of the newcomer had an entirely differ-\par
ent effect upon them, although the men seemed less terrified\par
than the lions. Neither, however, showed any indication of\par
an inclination to flee; on the contrary the entire party advanced\par
along the trail in the direction of the menacing roars, and\par
presently there appeared in the center of the path a black\par
lion of gigantic proportions. To Smith-Oldwick and the girl\par
he appeared to be the same lion that they had encountered\par
at the plane and from which Tarzan had rescued them. But\par
it was not Numa of the pit, although he resembled him closely.\par
\par
The black beast stood directly in the center of the trail\par
lashing his tail and growling menacingly at the advancing\par
party. The men urged on their own beasts, who growled and\par
whined but hesitated to charge. Evidently becoming impa-\par
tient, and in full consciousness of his might the intruder raised\par
his tail stiffly erect and shot forward. Several of the de-\par
fending lions made a half-hearted attempt to obstruct his\par
passage, but they might as well have placed themselves in the\par
path of an express train, as hurling them aside the great beast\par
leaped straight for one of the men. A dozen spears were\par
launched at him and a dozen sabers leaped from their scab-\par
bards; gleaming, razor-edged weapons they were, but for the\par
instant rendered futile by the terrific speed of the charging\par
beast.\par
\par
Two of the spears entering his body but served to further\par
enrage him as, with demoniacal roars, he sprang upon the\par
hapless man he had singled out for his prey. Scarcely pausing\par
in his charge he seized the fellow by the shoulder and, turning\par
quickly at right angles, leaped into the concealing foliage\par
that flanked the trail, and was gone, bearing his victim with\par
him.\par
\par
So quickly had the whole occurrence transpired that the\par
formation of the little party was scarcely altered. There had\par
been no opportunity for flight, even if it had been contem-\par
plated; and now that the lion was gone with his prey the men\par
made no move to pursue him. They paused only long enough\par
to recall the two or three of their lions that had scattered and\par
then resumed the march along the trail.\par
\par
"Might be an everyday occurrence from all the effect it has\par
on them," remarked Smith-Oldwick to the girl.\par
\par
"Yes," she said. "They seem to be neither surprised nor\par
disconcerted, and evidently they are quite sure that the lion,\par
having got what he came for, will not molest them further."\par
\par
"I had thought," said the Englishman, "that the lions of the\par
Wamabo country were about the most ferocious in existence,\par
but they are regular tabby cats by comparison with these big\par
black fellows. Did you ever see anything more utterly fear-\par
less or more terribly irresistible than that charge?"\par
\par
For a while, as they walked side by side, their thoughts and\par
conversation centered upon this latest experience, until the\par
trail emerging from the forest opened to their view a walled\par
city and an area of cultivated land. Neither could suppress\par
an exclamation of surprise.\par
\par
"Why, that wall is a regular engineering job," exclaimed\par
Smith-Oldwick \par
\par
"And look at the domes and minarets of the city beyond,"\par
cried the girl. "There must be a civilized people beyond that\par
wall. Possibly we are fortunate to have fallen into their hands."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick shrugged his shoulders. "I hope so," he\par
said, "though I am not at all sure about people who travel\par
about with lions and are afraid of parrots. There must be\par
something wrong with them."\par
\par
The party followed the trail across the field to an arched\par
gateway which opened at the summons of one of their captors,\par
who beat upon the heavy wooden panels with his spear.\par
Beyond, the gate opened into a narrow street which seemed\par
but a continuation of the jungle trail leading from the forest.\par
Buildings on either hand adjoined the wall and fronted the\par
narrow, winding street, which was only visible for a short\par
distance ahead. The houses were practically all two-storied\par
structures, the upper stories flush with the street while the\par
walls of the first story were set back some ten feet, a series of\par
simple columns and arches supporting the front of the second\par
story and forming an arcade on either side of the narrow\par
thoroughfare.\par
\par
The pathway in the center of the street was unpaved, but\par
the floors of the arcades were cut stone of various shapes and\par
sizes but all carefully fitted and laid without mortar. These\par
floors gave evidence of great antiquity, there being a distinct\par
depression down the center as though the stone had been\par
worn away by the passage of countless sandaled feet during\par
the ages that it had lain there.\par
\par
There were few people astir at this early hour, and these\par
were of the same type as their captors. At first those whom\par
they saw were only men, but as they went deeper into the\par
city they came upon a few naked children playing in the soft\par
dust of the roadway. Many they passed showed the greatest\par
surprise and curiosity in the prisoners, and often made in-\par
quiries of the guards, which the two assumed must have been\par
in relation to themselves, while others appeared not to notice\par
them at all.\par
\par
"I wish we could understand their bally language," ex-\par
claimed Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"Yes," said the girl, "I would like to ask them what they\par
are going to do with us."\par
\par
"That would be interesting," said the man. "I have been\par
doing considerable wondering along that line myself."\par
\par
"I don't like the way their canine teeth are filed," said the\par
girl. "It's too suggestive of some of the cannibals I have seen."\par
\par
"You don't really believe they are cannibals, do you?" asked\par
the man. "You don't think white people are ever cannibals,\par
do you?"\par
\par
"Are these people white?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"They're not Negroes, that's certain," rejoined the man.\par
"Their skin is yellow, but yet it doesn't resemble the Chinese\par
exactly, nor are any of their features Chinese."\par
\par
It was at this juncture that they caught their first glimpse of\par
a native woman. She was similar in most respects to the men\par
though her stature was smaller and her figure more symmetri-\par
cal. Her face was more repulsive than that of the men, pos-\par
sibly because of the fact that she was a woman, which rather\par
accentuated the idiosyncrasies of eyes, pendulous lip, pointed\par
tusks and stiff, low-growing hair. The latter was longer than\par
that of the men and much heavier. It hung about her shoul-\par
ders and was confined by a colored bit of some lacy fabric.\par
Her single garment appeared to be nothing more than a filmy\par
scarf which was wound tightly around her body from below\par
her naked breasts, being caught up some way at the bottom\par
near her ankles. Bits of shiny metal resembling gold, orna-\par
mented both the headdress and the skirt. Otherwise the woman\par
was entirely without jewelry. Her bare arms were slender\par
and shapely and her hands and feet well proportioned and\par
symmetrical.\par
\par
She came close to the party as they passed her, jabbering\par
to the guards who paid no attention to her. The prisoners\par
had an opportunity to observe her closely as she followed at\par
their side for a short distance.\par
\par
"The figure of a houri," remarked Smith-Oldwick, "with the\par
face of an imbecile."\par
\par
The street they followed was intersected at irregular in-\par
tervals by crossroads which, as they glanced down them,\par
proved to be equally as tortuous as that through which they\par
were being conducted. The houses varied but little in design.\par
Occasionally there were bits of color, or some attempt at other\par
architectural ornamentation. Through open windows and doors\par
they could see that the walls of the houses were very thick\par
and that all apertures were quite small, as though the people\par
had built against extreme heat, which they realized must\par
have been necessary in this valley buried deep in an African\par
desert.\par
\par
Ahead they occasionally caught glimpses of larger struc-\par
tures, and as they approached them, came upon what was\par
evidently a part of the business section of the city. There\par
were numerous small shops and bazaars interspersed among\par
the residences, and over the doors of these were signs painted\par
in characters strongly suggesting Greek origin and yet it was\par
not Greek as both the Englishman and the girl knew.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick was by this time beginning to feel more\par
acutely the pain of his wounds and the consequent weakness\par
that was greatly aggravated by loss of blood. He staggered now\par
occasionally and the girl, seeing his plight, offered him her\par
arm.\par
\par
"No," he expostulated, "you have passed through too much\par
yourself to have any extra burden imposed upon you." But\par
though he made a valiant effort to keep up with their captors\par
he occasionally lagged, and upon one such occasion the guards\par
for the first time showed any disposition toward brutality.\par
\par
It was a big fellow who walked at Smith-Oldwick's left.\par
Several times he took hold of the Englishman's arm and\par
pushed him forward not ungently, but when the captive\par
lagged again and again the fellow suddenly, and certainly\par
with no just provocation, flew into a perfect frenzy of rage.\par
He leaped upon the wounded man, striking him viciously\par
with his fists and, bearing him to the ground, grasped his\par
throat in his left hand while with his right he drew his long\par
sharp saber. Screaming terribly he waved the blade above his\par
head.\par
\par
The others stopped and turned to look upon the encounter\par
with no particular show of interest. It was as though one of\par
the party had paused to readjust a sandal and the others merely\par
waited until he was ready to march on again.\par
\par
But if their captors were indifferent, Bertha Kircher was not.\par
The close-set blazing eyes, the snarling fanged face, and the\par
frightful screams filled her with horror, while the brutal and\par
wanton attack upon the wounded man aroused within her the\par
spirit of protection for the weak that is inherent in all women.\par
Forgetful of everything other than that a weak and defense-\par
less man was being brutally murdered before her eyes, the girl\par
cast aside discretion and, rushing to Smith-Oldwick's assist-\par
ance, seized the uplifted sword arm of the shrieking creature\par
upon the prostrate Englishman.\par
\par
Clinging desperately to the fellow she surged backward with\par
all her weight and strength with the result that she overbal-\par
anced him and sent him sprawling to the pavement upon his\par
back. In his efforts to save himself he relaxed his grasp upon\par
the grip of his saber which had no sooner fallen to the ground\par
than it was seized upon by the girl. Standing erect beside the\par
prostrate form of the English officer Bertha Kircher, the razor-\par
edged weapon grasped firmly in her hand, faced their captors.\par
\par
She was a brave figure; even her soiled and torn riding togs\par
and disheveled hair detracted nothing from her appearance.\par
The creature she had felled scrambled quickly to his feet and\par
in the instant his whole demeanor changed. From demoniacal\par
rage he became suddenly convulsed with hysterical laughter\par
although it was a question in the girl's mind as to which was\par
the more terrifying. His companions stood looking on with\par
vacuous grins upon their countenances, while he from whom\par
the girl had wrested the weapon leaped up and down shriek-\par
ing with laughter. If Bertha Kircher had needed further evi-\par
dence to assure her that they were in the hands of a mentally\par
deranged people the man's present actions would have been\par
sufficient to convince her. The sudden uncontrolled rage and\par
now the equally uncontrolled and mirthless laughter but em-\par
phasized the facial attributes of idiocy.\par
\par
Suddenly realizing how helpless she was in the event any\par
one of the men should seek to overpower her, and moved by\par
a sudden revulsion of feeling that brought on almost a nausea\par
of disgust, the girl hurled the weapon upon the ground at the\par
feet of the laughing maniac and, turning, kneeled beside the\par
Englishman.\par
\par
"It was wonderful of you," he said, "but you shouldn't have\par
done it. Don't antagonize them: I believe that they are all\par
mad and you know they say that one should always humor a\par
madman."\par
\par
She shook her head. "I couldn't see him kill you," she said.\par
\par
A sudden light sprang to the man's eyes as he reached out\par
a hand and grasped the girl's fingers. "Do you care a little\par
now?" he asked. "Can't you tell me that you do -- just a bit?"\par
\par
She did not withdraw her hand from his but she shook her\par
head sadly. "Please don't," she said. "I am sorry that I can\par
only like you very much."\par
\par
The light died from his eyes and his fingers relaxed their\par
grasp on hers. "Please forgive me," he murmured. "I intended\par
waiting until we got out of this mess and you were safe among\par
your own people. It must have been the shock or something\par
like that, and seeing you defending me as you did. Anyway, I\par
couldn't help it and really it doesn't make much difference what\par
I say now, does it?"\par
\par
"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.\par
\par
He shrugged and smiled ruefully. "I will never leave this\par
city alive," he said. "I wouldn't mention it except that I real-\par
ize that you must know it as well as I. I was pretty badly torn\par
up by the lion and this fellow here has about finished me.\par
There might be some hope if we were among civilized people,\par
but here with these frightful creatures what care could we\par
get even if they were friendly?"\par
\par
Bertha Kircher knew that he spoke the truth, and yet she\par
could not bring herself to an admission that Smith-Oldwick\par
would die. She was very fond of him, in fact her great regret\par
was that she did not love him, but she knew that she did not.\par
\par
It seemed to her that it could be such an easy thing for any\par
girl to love Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick -- an Eng-\par
lish officer and a gentleman, the scion of an old family and\par
himself a man of ample means, young, good-looking and af-\par
fable. What more could a girl ask for than to have such a\par
man love her and that she possessed Smith-Oldwick's love\par
there was no doubt in Bertha Kircher's mind.\par
\par
She sighed, and then, laying her hand impulsively on his\par
forehead, she whispered, "Do not give up hope, though. Try\par
to live for my sake and for your sake I will try to love you."\par
\par
It was as though new life had suddenly been injected into\par
the man's veins. His face lightened instantly and with strength\par
that he himself did not know he possessed he rose slowly to\par
his feet, albeit somewhat unsteadily. The girl helped him and\par
supported him after he had arisen.\par
\par
For the moment they had been entirely unconscious of their\par
surroundings and now as she looked at their captors she saw\par
that they had fallen again into their almost habitual manner\par
of stolid indifference, and at a gesture from one of them the\par
march was resumed as though no untoward incident had\par
occurred.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher experienced a sudden reaction from the mo-\par
mentary exaltation of her recent promise to the Englishman.\par
She knew that she had spoken more for him than for herself\par
but now that it was over she realized, as she had realized the\par
moment before she had spoken, that it was unlikely she would\par
ever care for him the way he wished. But what had she prom-\par
ised? Only that she would try to love him. "And now?" she\par
asked herself.\par
\par
She realized that there might be little hope of their ever\par
returning to civilization. Even if these people should prove\par
friendly and willing to let them depart in peace, how were\par
they to find their way back to the coast? With Tarzan dead,\par
as she fully believed him after having seen his body lying life-\par
less at the mouth of the cave when she had been dragged forth\par
by her captor, there seemed no power at their command which\par
could guide them safely.\par
\par
The two had scarcely mentioned the ape-man since their\par
capture, for each realized fully what his loss meant to them.\par
They had compared notes relative to those few exciting mo-\par
ments of the final attack and capture and had found that they\par
agreed perfectly upon all that had occurred. Smith-Oldwick\par
had even seen the lion leap upon Tarzan at the instant that the\par
former was awakened by the roars of the charging beasts, and\par
though the night had been dark, he had been able to see that\par
the body of the savage ape-man had never moved from the\par
instant that it had come down beneath the beast.\par
\par
And so, if at other times within the past few weeks Bertha\par
Kircher had felt that her situation was particularly hopeless,\par
she was now ready to admit that hope was absolutely extinct.\par
\par
The streets were beginning to fill with the strange men and\par
women of this strange city. Sometimes individuals would notice\par
them and seem to take a great interest in them, and again\par
others would pass with vacant stares, seemingly unconscious\par
of their immediate surroundings and paying no attention\par
whatsoever to the prisoners. Once they heard hideous screams\par
up a side street, and looking they saw a man in the throes\par
of a demoniacal outburst of rage, similar to that which they\par
had witnessed in the recent attack upon Smith-Oldwick. This\par
creature was venting his insane rage upon a child which he\par
repeatedly struck and bit, pausing only long enough to shriek\par
at frequent intervals. Finally, just before they passed out of\par
sight the creature raised the limp body of the child high above\par
his head and cast it down with all his strength upon the pave-\par
ment, and then, wheeling and screaming madly at the top of\par
his lungs, he dashed headlong up the winding street.\par
\par
Two women and several men had stood looking on at the\par
cruel attack. They were at too great a distance for the Euro-\par
peans to know whether their facial expressions portrayed pity\par
or rage, but be that as it may, none offered to interfere.\par
\par
A few yards farther on a hideous hag leaned from a second\par
story window where she laughed and jibbered and made hor-\par
rid grimaces at all who passed her. Others went their ways\par
apparently attending to whatever duties called them, as soberly\par
as the inhabitants of any civilized community.\par
\par
"God," muttered Smith-Oldwick, "what an awful place!"\par
\par
The girl turned suddenly toward him. "You still have your\par
pistol?" she asked him.\par
\par
"Yes," he replied. "I tucked it inside my shirt. They did\par
not search me and it was too dark for them to see whether I\par
carried any weapons or not. So I hid it in the hope that I might\par
get through with it."\par
\par
She moved closer to him and took hold of his hand. "Save\par
one cartridge for me, please?" she begged.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick looked down at her and blinked his eyes\par
very rapidly. An unfamiliar and disconcerting moisture had\par
come into them. He had realized, of course, how bad a plight\par
was theirs but somehow it had seemed to affect him only:\par
it did not seem possible that anyone could harm this sweet\par
and beautiful girl.\par
\par
And that she should have to be destroyed -- destroyed by\par
him! It was too hideous: it was unbelievable, unthinkable! If\par
he had been filled with apprehension before, he was doubly\par
perturbed now.\par
\par
"I don't believe I could do it, Bertha," he said.\par
\par
"Not even to save me from something worse?" she asked.\par
\par
He shook his head dismally. "I could never do it," he re-\par
plied.\par
\par
The street that they were following suddenly opened upon\par
a wide avenue, and before them spread a broad and beautiful\par
lagoon, the quiet surface of which mirrored the clear cerulean\par
of the sky. Here the aspect of all their surroundings changed.\par
The buildings were higher and much more pretentious in de-\par
sign and ornamentation. The street itself was paved in mosaics\par
of barbaric but stunningly beautiful design. In the ornamen-\par
tation of the buildings there was considerable color and a\par
great deal of what appeared to be gold leaf. In all the decora-\par
tions there was utilized in various ways the conventional figure\par
of the parrot, and, to a lesser extent, that of the lion and the\par
monkey.\par
\par
Their captors led them along the pavement beside the la-\par
goon for a short distance and then through an arched doorway\par
into one of the buildings facing the avenue. Here, directly\par
within the entrance was a large room furnished with massive\par
benches and tables, many of which were elaborately hand\par
carved with the figures of the inevitable parrot, the lion, or\par
the monkey, the parrot always predominating.\par
\par
Behind one of the tables sat a man who differed in no way\par
that the captives could discover from those who accompanied\par
them. Before this person the party halted, and one of the men\par
who had brought them made what seemed to be an oral report.\par
Whether they were before a judge, a military officer, or a civil\par
dignitary they could not know, but evidently he was a man\par
of authority, for, after listening to whatever recital was being\par
made to him the while he closely scrutinized the two captives,\par
he made a single futile attempt to converse with them and\par
then issued some curt orders to him who had made the report.\par
\par
Almost immediately two of the men approached Bertha\par
Kircher and signaled her to accompany them. Smith-Oldwick\par
started to follow her but was intercepted by one of their\par
guards. The girl stopped then and turned back, at the same\par
time looking at the man at the table and making signs with\par
her hands, indicating, as best she could, that she wished Smith-\par
Oldwick to remain with her, but the fellow only shook his\par
head negatively and motioned to the guards to remove her.\par
The Englishman again attempted to follow but was restrained.\par
He was too weak and helpless even to make an attempt to\par
enforce his wishes. He thought of the pistol inside his shirt\par
and then of the futility of attempting to overcome an entire\par
city with the few rounds of ammunition left to him.\par
\par
So far, with the single exception of the attack made upon\par
him, they had no reason to believe that they might not receive\par
fair treatment from their captors, and so he reasoned that it\par
might be wiser to avoid antagonizing them until such a time\par
as he became thoroughly convinced that their intentions were\par
entirely hostile. He saw the girl led from the building and\par
just before she disappeared from his view she turned and\par
waved her hand to him:\par
\par
"Good luck!" she cried, and was gone.\par
\par
The lions that had entered the building with the party had,\par
during their examination by the man at the table, been driven\par
from the apartment through a doorway behind him. Toward\par
this same doorway two of the men now led Smith-Oldwick.\par
He found himself in a long corridor from the sides of which\par
other doorways opened, presumably into other apartments\par
of the building. At the far end of the corridor he saw a heavy\par
grating beyond which appeared an open courtyard. Into this\par
courtyard the prisoner was conducted, and as he entered it with\par
the two guards he found himself in an opening which was\par
bounded by the inner walls of the building. It was in the nature\par
of a garden in which a number of trees and flowering shrubs\par
grew. Beneath several of the trees were benches and there\par
was a bench along the south wall, but what aroused his most\par
immediate attention was the fact that the lions who had\par
assisted in their capture and who had accompanied them\par
upon the return to the city, lay sprawled about upon the\par
ground or wandered restlessly to and fro.\par
\par
Just inside the gate his guard halted. The two men ex-\par
changed a few words and then turned and reentered the\par
corridor. The Englishman was horror-stricken as the full\par
realization of his terrible plight forced itself upon his tired\par
brain. He turned and seized the grating in an attempt to open\par
it and gain the safety of the corridor, but he found it securely\par
locked against his every effort, and then he called aloud to the\par
retreating figure of the men within. The only reply he received\par
was a high-pitched, mirthless laugh, and then the two passed\par
through the doorway at the far end of the corridor and he was\par
alone with the lions.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Queen's Story\par
\par
In the meantime Bertha Kircher was conducted the length\par
of the plaza toward the largest and most pretentious of the\par
buildings surrounding it. This edifice covered the entire\par
width of one end of the plaza. It was several stories in height,\par
the main entrance being approached by a wide flight of stone\par
steps, the bottom of which was guarded by enormous stone\par
lions, while at the top there were two pedestals flanking the\par
entrance and of the same height, upon each of which was the\par
stone image of a large parrot. As the girl neared these latter\par
images she saw that the capital of each column was hewn\par
into the semblance of a human skull upon which the parrots\par
perched. Above the arched doorway and upon the walls of\par
the building were the figures of other parrots, of lions, and of\par
monkeys. Some of these were carved in bas-relief; others were\par
delineated in mosaics, while still others appeared to have\par
been painted upon the surface of the wall.\par
\par
The colorings of the last were apparently much subdued by\par
age with the result that the general effect was soft and beauti-\par
ful. The sculpturing and mosaic work were both finely exe-\par
cuted, giving evidence of a high degree of artistic skill. Unlike\par
the first building into which she had been conducted, the\par
entrance to which had been doorless, massive doors closed\par
the entrance which she now approached. In the niches formed\par
by the columns which supported the door's arch, and about the\par
base of the pedestals of the stone parrots, as well as in various\par
other places on the broad stairway, lolled some score of armed\par
men. The tunics of these were all of a vivid yellow and upon\par
the breast and back of each was embroidered the figure of a\par
parrot.\par
\par
As she was conducted up the stairway one of these yellow-\par
coated warriors approached and halted her guides at the top\par
of the steps. Here they exchanged a few words and while they\par
were talking the girl noticed that he who had halted them, as\par
well as those whom she could see of his companions, appeared\par
to be, if possible, of a lower mentality than her original\par
captors.\par
\par
Their coarse, bristling hair grew so low upon their foreheads\par
as, in some instances, to almost join their eyebrows, while the\par
irises were smaller, exposing more of the white of the eyeball.\par
\par
After a short parley the man in charge of the doorway, for\par
such he seemed to be, turned and struck upon one of the panels\par
with the butt of his spear, at the same time calling to several\par
of his companions, who rose and came forward at his com-\par
mand. Soon the great doors commenced slowly to swing\par
creakingly open, and presently, as they separated, the girl\par
saw behind them the motive force which operated the massive\par
doors -- to each door a half-dozen naked Negroes.\par
\par
At the doorway her two guards were turned back and their\par
places taken by a half dozen of the yellow-coated soldiery.\par
These conducted her through the doorway which the blacks,\par
pulling upon heavy chains, closed behind them. And as the\par
girl watched them she noted with horror that the poor crea-\par
tures were chained by the neck to the doors.\par
\par
Before her led a broad hallway in the center of which was\par
a little pool of clear water. Here again in floor and walls was\par
repeated in new and ever-changing combinations and designs,\par
the parrots, the monkeys, and the lions, but now many of the\par
figures were of what the girl was convinced must be gold.\par
The walls of the corridor consisted of a series of open arch-\par
ways through which, upon either side, other spacious apart-\par
ments were visible. The hallway was entirely unfurnished,\par
but the rooms on either side contained benches and tables.\par
Glimpses of some of the walls revealed the fact that they were\par
covered with hangings of some colored fabric, while upon the\par
floors were thick rugs of barbaric design and the skins of black\par
lions and beautifully marked leopards.\par
\par
The room directly to the right of the entrance was filled\par
with men wearing the yellow tunics of her new guard while\par
the walls were hung with numerous spears and sabers. At the\par
far end of the corridor a low flight of steps led to another\par
closed doorway. Here the guard was again halted. One of the\par
guards at this doorway, after receiving the report of one of\par
those who accompanied her, passed through the door, leaving\par
them standing outside. It was fully fifteen minutes before he\par
returned, when the guard was again changed and the girl\par
conducted into the chamber beyond.\par
\par
Through three other chambers and past three more massive\par
doors, at each of which her guard was changed, the girl was\par
conducted before she was ushered into a comparatively small\par
room, back and forth across the floor of which paced a man\par
in a scarlet tunic, upon the front and back of which was\par
embroidered an enormous parrot and upon whose head was a\par
barbaric headdress surmounted by a stuffed parrot.\par
\par
The walls of this room were entirely hidden by hangings\par
upon which hundreds, even thousands, of parrots were em-\par
broidered. Inlaid in the floor were golden parrots, while, as\par
thickly as they could be painted, upon the ceiling were bril-\par
liant-hued parrots with wings outspread as though in the act\par
of flying.\par
\par
The man himself was larger of stature than any she had\par
yet seen within the city. His parchment-like skin was wrinkled\par
with age and he was much fatter than any other of his kind\par
that she had seen. His bared arms, however, gave evidence of\par
great strength and his gait was not that of an old man. His\par
facial expression denoted almost utter imbecility and he was\par
quite the most repulsive creature that ever Bertha Kircher\par
had looked upon.\par
\par
For several minutes after she was conducted into his pres-\par
ence he appeared not to be aware that she was there but\par
continued his restless pacing to and fro. Suddenly, without the\par
slightest warning, and while he was at the far end of the room\par
from her with his back toward her, he wheeled and rushed\par
madly at her. Involuntarily the girl shrank back, extending her\par
open palms toward the frightful creature as though to hold\par
him aloof but a man upon either side of her, the two who had\par
conducted her into the apartment, seized and held her.\par
\par
Although he rushed violently toward her the man stopped\par
without touching her. For a moment his horrid white-rimmed\par
eyes glared searchingly into her face, immediately following\par
which he burst into maniacal laughter. For two or three\par
minutes the creature gave himself over to merriment and then,\par
stopping as suddenly as he had commenced to laugh, he fell\par
to examining the prisoner. He felt of her hair, her skin, the\par
texture of the garment she wore and by means of signs made\par
her understand she was to open her mouth. In the latter he\par
seemed much interested, calling the attention of one of the\par
guards to her canine teeth and then baring his own sharp fangs\par
for the prisoner to see.\par
\par
Presently he resumed pacing to and fro across the floor, and\par
it was fully fifteen minutes before he again noticed the pris-\par
oner, and then it was to issue a curt order to her guards, who\par
immediately conducted her from the apartment.\par
\par
The guards now led the girl through a series of corridors\par
and apartments to a narrow stone stairway which led to the\par
floor above, finally stopping before a small door where stood\par
a naked Negro armed with a spear. At a word from one of\par
her guards the Negro opened the door and the party passed\par
into a low-ceiled apartment, the windows of which immedi-\par
ately caught the girl's attention through the fact that they were\par
heavily barred. The room was furnished similarly to those that\par
she had seen in other parts of the building, the same carved\par
tables and benches, the rugs upon the floor, the decorations\par
upon the walls, although in every respect it was simpler than\par
anything she had seen on the floor below. In one corner was a\par
low couch covered with a rug similar to those on the floor ex-\par
cept that it was of a lighter texture, and upon this sat a woman.\par
\par
As Bertha Kircher's eyes alighted upon the occupant of the\par
room the girl gave a little gasp of astonishment, for she recog-\par
nized immediately that here was a creature more nearly of her\par
own kind than any she had seen within the city's walls. An\par
old woman it was who looked at her through faded blue eyes,\par
sunken deep in a wrinkled and toothless face. But the eyes\par
were those of a sane and intelligent creature, and the wrinkled\par
face was the face of a white woman.\par
\par
At sight of the girl the woman rose and came forward, her\par
gait so feeble and unsteady that she was forced to support\par
herself with a long staff which she grasped in both her hands.\par
One of the guards spoke a few words to her and then the men\par
turned and left the apartment. The girl stood just within the\par
door waiting in silence for what might next befall her.\par
\par
The old woman crossed the room and stopped before her,\par
raising her weak and watery eyes to the fresh young face of\par
the newcomer. Then she scanned her from head to foot and\par
once again the old eyes returned to the girl's face. Bertha\par
Kircher on her part was not less frank in her survey of the\par
little old woman. It was the latter who spoke first. In a thin,\par
cracked voice she spoke, hesitatingly, falteringly, as though she\par
were using unfamiliar words and speaking a strange tongue.\par
\par
"You are from the outer world?" she asked in English.\par
"God grant that you may speak and understand this tongue."\par
\par
"English?" the girl exclaimed, "Yes, of course, I speak Eng-\par
lish."\par
\par
"Thank God!" cried the little old woman. "I did not know\par
whether I myself might speak it so that another could under-\par
stand. For sixty years I have spoken only their accursed\par
gibberish. For sixty years I have not heard a word in my\par
native language. Poor creature! Poor creature!" she mumbled.\par
"What accursed misfortune threw you into their hands?"\par
\par
"You are an English woman?" asked Bertha Kircher. "Did\par
I understand you aright that you are an English woman and\par
have been here for sixty years?"\par
\par
The old woman nodded her head affirmatively. "For sixty\par
years I have never been outside of this palace. Come," she\par
said, stretching forth a bony hand. "I am very old and cannot\par
stand long. Come and sit with me on my couch."\par
\par
The girl took the proffered hand and assisted the old lady\par
back to the opposite side of the room and when she was seated\par
the girl sat down beside her.\par
\par
"Poor child! Poor child!" moaned the old woman. "Far\par
better to have died than to have let them bring you here. At\par
first I might have destroyed myself but there was always the\par
hope that someone would come who would take me away,\par
but none ever comes. Tell me how they got you."\par
\par
Very briefly the girl narrated the principal incidents which\par
led up to her capture by some of the creatures of the city.\par
\par
"Then there is a man with you in the city?" asked the old\par
woman.\par
\par
"Yes," said the girl, "but I do not know where he is nor\par
what are their intentions in regard to him. In fact, I do not\par
know what their intentions toward me are."\par
\par
"No one might even guess," said the old woman. "They\par
do not know themselves from one minute to the next what\par
their intentions are, but I think you can rest assured, my poor\par
child, that you will never see your friend again."\par
\par
"But they haven't slain you," the girl reminded her, "and\par
you have been their prisoner, you say, for sixty years."\par
\par
"No," replied her companion, "they have not killed me, nor\par
will they kill you, though God knows before you have lived\par
long in this horrible place you will beg them to kill you."\par
\par
"Who are they --" asked Bertha Kircher, "what kind of\par
people? They differ from any that I ever have seen. And tell\par
me, too, how you came here."\par
\par
"It was long ago," said the old woman, rocking back and\par
forth on the couch. "It was long ago. Oh, how long it was!\par
I was only twenty then. Think of it, child! Look at me. I have\par
no mirror other than my bath, I cannot see what I look like\par
for my eyes are old, but with my fingers I can feel my old and\par
wrinkled face, my sunken eyes, and these flabby lips drawn\par
in over toothless gums. I am old and bent and hideous, but\par
then I was young and they said that I was beautiful. No, I\par
will not be a hypocrite; I was beautiful. My glass told me that.\par
\par
"My father was a missionary in the interior and one day\par
there came a band of Arabian slave raiders. They took the\par
men and women of the little native village where my father\par
labored, and they took me, too. They did not know much\par
about our part of the country so they were compelled to rely\par
upon the men of our village whom they had captured to\par
guide them. They told me that they never before had been\par
so far south and that they had heard there was a country rich\par
in ivory and slaves west of us. They wanted to go there and\par
from there they would take us north, where I was to be sold\par
into the harem of some black sultan.\par
\par
"They often discussed the price I would bring, and that\par
that price might not lessen, they guarded me jealously from\par
one another so the journeys were made as little fatiguing for\par
me as possible. I was given the best food at their command\par
and I was not harmed.\par
\par
"But after a short time, when we had reached the confines\par
of the country with which the men of our village were familiar\par
and had entered upon a desolate and arid desert waste, the\par
Arabs realized at last that we were lost. But they still kept on,\par
ever toward the west, crossing hideous gorges and marching\par
across the face of a burning land beneath the pitiless sun. The\par
poor slaves they had captured were, of course, compelled to\par
carry all the camp equipage and loot and thus heavily bur-\par
dened, half starved and without water, they soon commenced\par
to die like flies.\par
\par
"We had not been in the desert land long before the Arabs\par
were forced to kill their horses for food, and when we reached\par
the first gorge, across which it would have been impossible\par
to transport the animals, the balance of them were slaughtered\par
and the meat loaded upon the poor staggering blacks who still\par
survived.\par
\par
"Thus we continued for two more days and now all but a\par
handful of blacks were dead, and the Arabs themselves had\par
commenced to succumb to hunger and thirst and the intense\par
heat of the desert. As far as the eye could reach back toward\par
the land of plenty from whence we had come, our route was\par
marked by circling vultures in the sky and by the bodies of\par
the dead who lay down in the trackless waste for the last\par
time. The ivory had been abandoned tusk by tusk as the\par
blacks gave out, and along the trail of death was strewn the\par
camp equipage and the horse trappings of a hundred men.\par
\par
"For some reason the Arab chief favored me to the last,\par
possibly with the idea that of all his other treasures I could\par
be most easily transported, for I was young and strong and after\par
the horses were killed I had walked and kept up with the best\par
of the men. We English, you know, are great walkers, while\par
these Arabians had never walked since they were old enough\par
to ride a horse.\par
\par
"I cannot tell you how much longer we kept on but at last,\par
with our strength almost gone, a handful of us reached the\par
bottom of a deep gorge. To scale the opposite side was out\par
of the question and so we kept on down along the sands of\par
what must have been the bed of an ancient river, until finally\par
we came to a point where we looked out upon what appeared\par
to be a beautiful valley in which we felt assured that we would\par
find game in plenty.\par
\par
"By then there were only two of us left -- the chief and my-\par
self. I do not need to tell you what the valley was, for you\par
found it in much the same way as I did. So quickly were we\par
captured that it seemed they must have been waiting for us,\par
and I learned later that such was the case, just as they were\par
waiting for you.\par
\par
"As you came through the forest you must have seen the\par
monkeys and parrots and since you have entered the palace,\par
how constantly these animals, and the lions, are used in the\par
decorations. At home we were all familiar with talking par-\par
rots who repeated the things that they were taught to say, but\par
these parrots are different in that they all talk in the same\par
lan-\par
guage that the people of the city use, and they say that the\par
monkeys talk to the parrots and the parrots fly to the city and\par
tell the people what the monkeys say. And, although it is hard\par
to believe, I have learned that this is so, for I have lived here\par
among them for sixty years in the palace of their king.\par
\par
"They brought me, as they brought you, directly to the pal-\par
ace. The Arabian chief was taken elsewhere. I never knew\par
what became of him. Ago XXV was king then. I have seen\par
many kings since that day. He was a terrible man; but then,\par
they are all terrible."\par
\par
"What is the matter with them?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"They are a race of maniacs," replied the old woman. "Had\par
you not guessed it? Among them are excellent craftsmen and\par
good farmers and a certain amount of law and order, such as\par
it is.\par
\par
"They reverence all birds, but the parrot is their chief deity.\par
There is one who is held here in the palace in a very beautiful\par
apartment. He is their god of gods. He is a very old bird. If\par
what Ago told me when I came is true, he must be nearly\par
three hundred years old by now. Their religious rites are re-\par
volting in the extreme, and I believe that it may be the prac-\par
tice of these rites through ages that has brought the race to\par
its present condition of imbecility.\par
\par
"And yet, as I said, they are not without some redeeming\par
qualities. If legend may be credited, their forebears -- a little\par
handful of men and women who came from somewhere out\par
of the north and became lost in the wilderness of central Af-\par
rica -- found here only a barren desert valley. To my own\par
knowledge rain seldom, if ever, falls here, and yet you have\par
seen a great forest and luxuriant vegetation outside of the\par
city as well as within. This miracle is accomplished by the\par
utilization of natural springs which their ancestors developed,\par
and upon which they have improved to such an extent that\par
the entire valley receives an adequate amount of moisture at\par
all times.\par
\par
"Ago told me that many generations before his time the\par
forest was irrigated by changing the course of the streams\par
which carried the spring water to the city but that when the\par
trees had sent their roots down to the natural moisture of the\par
soil and required no further irrigation, the course of the stream\par
was changed and other trees were planted. And so the forest\par
grew until today it covers almost the entire floor of the valley\par
except for the open space where the city stands. I do not know\par
that this is true. It may be that the forest has always been\par
here, but it is one of their legends and it is borne out by the\par
fact that there is not sufficient rainfall here to support\par
vegeta-\par
tion.\par
\par
"They are peculiar people in many respects, not only in\par
their form of worship and religious rites but also in that they\par
breed lions as other people breed cattle. You have seen how\par
they use some of these lions but the majority of them they\par
fatten and eat. At first, I imagine, they ate lion meat as a part\par
of their religious ceremony but after many generations they\par
came to crave it so that now it is practically the only flesh\par
they\par
eat. They would, of course, rather die than eat the flesh of a\par
bird, nor will they eat monkey's meat, while the herbivorous\par
animals they raise only for milk, hides, and flesh for the lions.\par
Upon the south side of the city are the corrals and pastures\par
where the herbivorous animals are raised. Boar, deer, and an-\par
telope are used principally for the lions, while goats are kept\par
for milk for the human inhabitants of the city."\par
\par
"And you have lived here all these years," exclaimed the\par
girl, "without ever seeing one of your own kind?"\par
\par
The old woman nodded affirmatively.\par
\par
"For sixty years you have lived here," continued Bertha\par
Kircher, "and they have not harmed you!"\par
\par
"I did not say they had not harmed me," said the old wom-\par
an, "they did not kill me, that is all."\par
\par
"What" -- the girl hesitated -- "what," she continued at last,\par
"was your position among them? Pardon me," she added\par
quickly, "I think I know but I should like to hear from your\par
own lips, for whatever your position was, mine will doubtless\par
be the same."\par
\par
The old woman nodded. "Yes," she said, "doubtless; if they\par
can keep you away from the women."\par
\par
"What do you mean?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"For sixty years I have never been allowed near a woman.\par
They would kill me, even now, if they could reach me. The\par
men are frightful, God knows they are frightful! But heaven\par
keep you from the women!"\par
\par
"You mean," asked the girl, "that the men will not harm\par
me?"\par
\par
"Ago XXV made me his queen," said the old woman. "But\par
he had many other queens, nor were they all human. He was\par
not murdered for ten years after I came here. Then the next\par
king took me, and so it has been always. I am the oldest\par
queen now. Very few of their women live to a great age. Not\par
only are they constantly liable to assassination but, owing to\par
their subnormal mentalities, they are subject to periods of de-\par
pression during which they are very likely to destroy them-\par
selves."\par
\par
She turned suddenly and pointed to the barred windows.\par
"You see this room," she said, "with the black eunuch out-\par
side? Wherever you see these you will know that there are\par
women, for with very few exceptions they are never allowed\par
out of captivity. They are considered and really are more vio-\par
lent than the men."\par
\par
For several minutes the two sat in silence, and then the\par
younger woman turned to the older.\par
\par
"Is there no way to escape?" she asked.\par
\par
The old woman pointed again to the barred windows and\par
then to the door, saying: "And there is the armed eunuch.\par
And if you should pass him, how could you reach the street?\par
And if you reached the street, how could you pass through the\par
city to the outer wall? And even if, by some miracle, you\par
should gain the outer wall, and, by another miracle, you should\par
be permitted to pass through the gate, could you ever hope\par
to traverse the forest where the great black lions roam and\par
feed upon men? No!" she exclaimed, answering her own ques-\par
tion, "there is no escape, for after one had escaped from the\par
palace and the city and the forest it would be but to invite\par
death in the frightful desert land beyond.\par
\par
"In sixty years you are the first to find this buried city. In a\par
thousand no denizen of this valley has ever left it, and within\par
the memory of man, or even in their legends, none had found\par
them prior to my coming other than a single warlike giant, the\par
story of whom has been handed down from father to son.\par
\par
"I think from the description that he must have been a\par
Spaniard, a giant of a man in buckler and helmet, who fought\par
his way through the terrible forest to the city gate, who fell\par
upon those who were sent out to capture him and slew them\par
with his mighty sword. And when he had eaten of the vege-\par
tables from the gardens, and the fruit from the trees and\par
drank of the water from the stream, he turned about and\par
fought his way back through the forest to the mouth of the\par
gorge. But though he escaped the city and the forest he did\par
not escape the desert. For a legend runs that the king, fearful\par
that he would bring others to attack them, sent a party after\par
him to slay him.\par
\par
"For three weeks they did not find him, for they went in the\par
wrong direction, but at last they came upon his bones picked\par
clean by the vultures, lying a day's march up the same gorge\par
through which you and I entered the valley. I do not know,"\par
continued the old woman, "that this is true. It is just one of\par
their many legends."\par
\par
"Yes," said the girl, "it is true. I am sure it is true, for I\par
have seen the skeleton and the corroded armor of this great\par
giant."\par
\par
At this juncture the door was thrown open without ceremony\par
and a Negro entered bearing two flat vessels in which were\par
several smaller ones. These he set down on one of the tables\par
near the women, and, without a word, turned and left. With\par
the entrance of the man with the vessels, a delightful odor of\par
cooked food had aroused the realization in the girl's mind that\par
she was very hungry, and at a word from the old woman she\par
walked to the table to examine the viands. The larger vessels\par
which contained the smaller ones were of pottery while those\par
within them were quite evidently of hammered gold. To her\par
intense surprise she found lying between the smaller vessels a\par
spoon and a fork, which, while of quaint design, were quite as\par
serviceable as any she had seen in more civilized communities.\par
The tines of the fork were quite evidently of iron or steel, the\par
girl did not know which, while the handle and the spoon were\par
of the same material as the smaller vessels.\par
\par
There was a highly seasoned stew with meat and vegetables,\par
a dish of fresh fruit, and a bowl of milk beside which was a\par
little jug containing something which resembled marmalade.\par
So ravenous was she that she did not even wait for her com-\par
panion to reach the table, and as she ate she could have sworn\par
that never before had she tasted more palatable food. The\par
old woman came slowly and sat down on one of the benches\par
opposite her.\par
\par
As she removed the smaller vessels from the larger and\par
arranged them before her on the table a crooked smile twisted\par
her lips as she watched the younger woman eat.\par
\par
"Hunger is a great leveler," she said with a laugh.\par
\par
"What do you mean?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"I venture to say that a few weeks ago you would have\par
been nauseated at the idea of eating cat."\par
\par
"Cat?" exclaimed the girl.\par
\par
"Yes," said the old woman. "What is the difference -- a lion\par
is a cat."\par
\par
"You mean I am eating lion now?"\par
\par
"Yes," said the old woman, "and as they prepare it, it is very\par
palatable. You will grow very fond of it."\par
\par
Bertha Kircher smiled a trifle dubiously. "I could not tell\par
it," she said, "from lamb or veal."\par
\par
"No," said the woman, "it tastes as good to me. But these\par
lions are very carefully kept and very carefully fed and their\par
flesh is so seasoned and prepared that it might be anything so\par
far as taste is concerned."\par
\par
And so Bertha Kircher broke her long fast upon strange\par
fruits, lion meat, and goat's milk.\par
\par
Scarcely had she finished when again the door opened and\par
there entered a yellow-coated soldier. He spoke to the old\par
woman.\par
\par
"The king," she said, "has commanded that you be prepared\par
and brought to him. You are to share these apartments with\par
me. The king knows that I am not like his other women. He\par
never would have dared to put you with them. Herog XVI\par
has occasional lucid intervals. You must have been brought\par
to him during one of these. Like the rest of them he thinks\par
that he alone of all the community is sane, but more than once\par
I have thought that the various men with whom I have come\par
in contact here, including the kings themselves, looked upon\par
me as, at least, less mad than the others. Yet how I have re-\par
tained my senses all these years is beyond me."\par
\par
"What do you mean by prepare?" asked Bertha Kircher.\par
"You said that the king had commanded I be prepared and\par
brought to him."\par
\par
"You will be bathed and furnished with a robe similar to\par
that which I wear."\par
\par
"Is there no escape?" asked the girl. "Is there no way even\par
in which I can kill myself?"\par
\par
The woman handed her the fork. "This is the only way,"\par
she said, "and you will notice that the tines are very short and\par
blunt."\par
\par
The girl shuddered and the old woman laid a hand gently\par
upon her shoulder. "He may only look at you and send you\par
away," she said. "Ago XXV sent for me once, tried to talk\par
with me, discovered that I could not understand him and that\par
he could not understand me, ordered that I be taught the\par
language of his people, and then apparently forgot me for a\par
year. Sometimes I do not see the king for a long period.\par
There was one king who ruled for five years whom I never saw.\par
There is always hope; even I whose very memory has doubtless\par
been forgotten beyond these palace walls still hope, though\par
none knows better how futilely."\par
\par
The old woman led Bertha Kircher to an adjoining apart-\par
ment in the floor of which was a pool of water. Here the girl\par
bathed and afterward her companion brought her one of the\par
clinging garments of the native women and adjusted it about\par
her figure. The material of the robe was of a gauzy fabric\par
which accentuated the rounded beauty of the girlish form.\par
\par
"There," said the old woman, as she gave a final pat to one\par
of the folds of the garment, "you are a queen indeed!"\par
\par
The girl looked down at her naked breasts and but half-\par
concealed limbs in horror. "They are going to lead me into\par
the presence of men in this half-nude condition!" she ex-\par
claimed.\par
\par
The old woman smiled her crooked smile. "It is nothing,"\par
she said. "You will become accustomed to it as did I who was\par
brought up in the home of a minister of the gospel, where it\par
was considered little short of a crime for a woman to expose\par
her stockinged ankle. By comparison with what you will\par
doubtless see and the things that you may be called upon to\par
undergo, this is but a trifle."\par
\par
For what seemed hours to the distraught girl she paced the\par
floor of her apartment, awaiting the final summons to the\par
presence of the mad king. Darkness had fallen and the oil\par
flares within the palace had been lighted long before two\par
messengers appeared with instructions that Herog demanded\par
her immediate presence and that the old woman, whom they\par
called Xanila, was to accompany her. The girl felt some\par
slight relief when she discovered that she was to have at least\par
one friend with her, however powerless to assist her the old\par
woman might be.\par
\par
The messengers conducted the two to a small apartment on\par
the floor below. Xanila explained that this was one of the\par
anterooms off the main throneroom in which the king was\par
accustomed to hold court with his entire retinue. A number\par
of yellow-tunicked warriors sat about upon the benches within\par
the room. For the most part their eyes were bent upon the\par
floor and their attitudes that of moody dejection. As the two\par
women entered several glanced indifferently at them, but for\par
the most part no attention was paid to them.\par
\par
While they were waiting in the anteroom there entered from\par
another apartment a young man uniformed similarly to the\par
others with the exception that upon his head was a fillet of\par
gold, in the front of which a single parrot feather rose erectly\par
above his forehead. As he entered, the other soldiers in the\par
room rose to their feet.\par
\par
"That is Metak, one of the king's sons," Xanila whispered\par
to the girl.\par
\par
The prince was crossing the room toward the audience\par
chamber when his glance happened to fall upon Bertha\par
Kircher. He halted in his tracks and stood looking at her for\par
a full minute without speaking. The girl, embarrassed by his\par
bold stare and her scant attire, flushed and, dropping her gaze\par
to the floor, turned away. Metak suddenly commenced to\par
tremble from head to foot and then, without warning other\par
than a loud, hoarse scream he sprang forward and seized the\par
girl in his arms.\par
\par
Instantly pandemonium ensued. The two messengers who\par
had been charged with the duty of conducting the girl to the\par
king's presence danced, shrieking, about the prince, waving\par
their arms and gesticulating wildly as though they would\par
force him to relinquish her, the while they dared not lay hands\par
upon royalty. The other guardsmen, as though suffering in\par
sympathy the madness of their prince, ran forward screaming\par
and brandishing their sabers.\par
\par
The girl fought to release herself from the horrid embrace\par
of the maniac, but with his left arm about her he held her as\par
easily as though she had been but a babe, while with his free\par
hand he drew his saber and struck viciously at those nearest\par
him.\par
\par
One of the messengers was the first to feel the keen edge of\par
Metak's blade. With a single fierce cut the prince drove\par
through the fellow's collar bone and downward to the center\par
of his chest. With a shrill shriek that rose above the screaming\par
of the other guardsmen the man dropped to the floor, and as\par
the blood gushed from the frightful wound he struggled to rise\par
once more to his feet and then sank back again and died in a\par
great pool of his own blood.\par
\par
In the meantime Metak, still clinging desperately to the girl,\par
had backed toward the opposite door. At the sight of the\par
blood two of the guardsmen, as though suddenly aroused to\par
maniacal frenzy, dropped their sabers to the floor and fell upon\par
each other with nails and teeth, while some sought to reach the\par
prince and some to defend him. In a corner of the room sat\par
one of the guardsmen laughing uproariously and just as Metak\par
succeeded in reaching the door and taking the girl through,\par
she thought that she saw another of the men spring upon the\par
corpse of the dead messenger and bury his teeth in its flesh.\par
\par
During the orgy of madness Xanila had kept closely at the\par
girl's side but at the door of the room Metak had seen her\par
and, wheeling suddenly, cut viciously at her. Fortunately for\par
Xanila she was halfway through the door at the time, so that\par
Metak's blade but dented itself upon the stone arch of the\par
portal, and then Xanila, guided doubtless by the wisdom of\par
sixty years of similar experiences, fled down the corridor as\par
fast as her old and tottering legs would carry her.\par
\par
Metak, once outside the door, returned his saber to its\par
scabbard and lifting the girl bodily from the ground carried\par
her off in the opposite direction from that taken by Xanila.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Came Tarzan\par
\par
Just before dark that evening, an almost exhausted flier\par
entered the headquarters of Colonel Capell of the Second\par
Rhodesians and saluted.\par
\par
"Well, Thompson," asked the superior, "what luck? The\par
others have all returned. Never saw a thing of Oldwick or his\par
plane. I guess we shall have to give it up unless you were\par
more successful."\par
\par
"I was," replied the young officer. "I found the plane."\par
\par
"No!" ejaculated Colonel Capell. "Where was it? Any sign\par
of Oldwick?"\par
\par
"It is in the rottenest hole in the ground you ever saw, quite\par
a bit inland. Narrow gorge. Saw the plane all right but can't\par
reach it. There was a regular devil of a lion wandering around\par
it. I landed near the edge of the cliff and was going to climb\par
down and take a look at the plane. But this fellow hung\par
around for an hour or more and I finally had to give it up."\par
\par
"Do you think the lions got Oldwick?" asked the colonel.\par
\par
"I doubt it," replied Lieutenant Thompson, "from the fact\par
that there was no indication that the lion had fed anywhere\par
about the plane. I arose after I found it was impossible to get\par
down around the plane and reconnoitered up and down the\par
gorge. Several miles to the south I found a small, wooded\par
valley in the center of which -- please don't think me crazy, sir\par
-- is a regular city -- streets, buildings, a central plaza with\par
a\par
lagoon, good-sized buildings with domes and minarets and\par
all that sort of stuff."\par
\par
The elder officer looked at the younger compassionately.\par
"You're all wrought up, Thompson," he said. "Go and take a\par
good sleep. You have been on this job now for a long while\par
and it must have gotten on your nerves."\par
\par
The young man shook his head a bit irritably. "Pardon me,\par
sir," he said, "but I am telling you the truth. I am not mis-\par
taken. I circled over the place several times. It may be that\par
Oldwick has found his way there -- or has been captured by\par
these people."\par
\par
"Were there people in the city?" asked the colonel.\par
\par
"Yes, I saw them in the streets."\par
\par
"Do you think cavalry could reach the valley?" asked the\par
colonel.\par
\par
"No," replied Thompson, "the country is all cut up with\par
these deep gorges. Even infantry would have a devil of a\par
time of it, and there is absolutely no water that I could dis-\par
cover for at least a two days' march."\par
\par
It was at this juncture that a big Vauxhall drew up in front\par
of the headquarters of the Second Rhodesians and a moment\par
later General Smuts alighted and entered. Colonel Capell arose\par
from his chair and saluted his superior, and the young lieu-\par
tenant saluted and stood at attention.\par
\par
"I was passing," said the general, "and I thought I would\par
stop for a chat. By the way, how is the search for Lieutenant\par
Smith-Oldwick progressing? I see Thompson here and I believe\par
he was one of those detailed to the search."\par
\par
"Yes," said Capell, "he was. He is the last to come in. He\par
found the lieutenant's ship," and then he repeated what Lieu-\par
tenant Thompson had reported to him. The general sat down\par
at the table with Colonel Capell, and together the two officers,\par
with the assistance of the flier, marked the approximate loca-\par
tion of the city which Thompson had reported he'd discovered.\par
\par
"It's a mighty rough country," remarked Smuts, "but we\par
can't leave a stone unturned until we have exhausted every re-\par
source to find that boy. We will send out a small force; a small\par
one will be more likely to succeed than a large one. About one\par
company, Colonel, or say two, with sufficient motor lorries for\par
transport of rations and water. Put a good man in command\par
and let him establish a base as far to the west as the motors\par
can travel. You can leave one company there and send the\par
other forward. I am inclined to believe you can establish your\par
base within a day's march of the city and if such is the case the\par
force you send ahead should have no trouble on the score of\par
lack of water as there certainly must be water in the valley\par
where the city lies. Detail a couple of planes for reconnais-\par
sance and messenger service so that the base can keep in touch\par
at all times with the advance party. When can your force\par
move out?"\par
\par
"We can load the lorries tonight," replied Capell, "and\par
march about one o'clock tomorrow morning."\par
\par
"Good," said the general, "keep me advised," and returning\par
the others' salutes he departed.\par
\par
As Tarzan leaped for the vines he realized that the lion was\par
close upon him and that his life depended upon the strength\par
of the creepers clinging to the city walls; but to his intense\par
relief he found the stems as large around as a man's arm, and\par
the tendrils which had fastened themselves to the wall so\par
firmly fixed, that his weight upon the stem appeared to have\par
no appreciable effect upon them.\par
\par
He heard Numa's baffled roar as the lion slipped downward\par
clawing futilely at the leafy creepers, and then with the agility\par
of the apes who had reared him, Tarzan bounded nimbly aloft\par
to the summit of the wall.\par
\par
A few feet below him was the flat roof of the adjoining\par
building and as he dropped to it his back was toward the niche\par
from which an embrasure looked out upon the gardens and\par
the forest beyond, so that he did not see the figure crouching\par
there in the dark shadow. But if he did not see he was not\par
long in ignorance of the fact that he was not alone, for scarcely\par
had his feet touched the roof when a heavy body leaped upon\par
him from behind and brawny arms encircled him about the\par
waist.\par
\par
Taken at a disadvantage and lifted from his feet, the ape-\par
man was, for the time being, helpless. Whatever the creature\par
was that had seized him, it apparently had a well-defined\par
purpose in mind, for it walked directly toward the edge of the\par
roof so that it was soon apparent to Tarzan that he was to be\par
hurled to the pavement below -- a most efficacious manner of\par
disposing of an intruder. That he would be either maimed or\par
killed the ape-man was confident; but he had no intention\par
of permitting his assailant to carry out the plan.\par
\par
Tarzan's arms and legs were free but he was in such a disad-\par
vantageous position that he could not use them to any good\par
effect. His only hope lay in throwing the creature off its\par
balance, and to this end Tarzan straightened his body and\par
leaned as far back against his captor as he could, and then\par
suddenly lunged forward. The result was as satisfactory as\par
he could possibly have hoped. The great weight of the ape-\par
man thrown suddenly out from an erect position caused the\par
other also to lunge violently forward with the result that to\par
save himself he involuntarily released his grasp. Catlike in\par
his movements, the ape-man had no sooner touched the roof\par
than he was upon his feet again, facing his adversary, a man\par
almost as large as himself and armed with a saber which he\par
now whipped from its scabbard. Tarzan, however, had no\par
mind to allow the use of this formidable weapon and so he\par
dove for the other's legs beneath the vicious cut that was\par
directed at him from the side, and as a football player tackles\par
an opposing runner, Tarzan tackled his antagonist, carrying\par
him backward several yards and throwing him heavily to the\par
roof upon his back.\par
\par
No sooner had the man touched the roof than the ape-man\par
was upon his chest, one brawny hand sought and found the\par
sword wrist and the other the throat of the yellow-tunicked\par
guardsman. Until then the fellow had fought in silence but\par
just as Tarzan's fingers touched his throat he emitted a single\par
piercing shriek that the brown fingers cut off almost instantly.\par
The fellow struggled to escape the clutch of the naked creature\par
upon his breast but equally as well might he have fought to\par
escape the talons of Numa, the lion.\par
\par
Gradually his struggles lessened, his pin-point eyes popped\par
from their sockets, rolling horribly upward, while from his\par
foam-flecked lips his swollen tongue protruded. As his\par
struggles ceased Tarzan arose, and placing a foot upon the\par
carcass of his kill, was upon the point of screaming forth his\par
victory cry when the thought that the work before him\par
required the utmost caution sealed his lips.\par
\par
Walking to the edge of the roof he looked down into the\par
narrow, winding street below. At intervals, apparently at each\par
street intersection, an oil flare sputtered dimly from brackets\par
set in the walls a trifle higher than a man's head. For the\par
most part the winding alleys were in dense shadow and even\par
in the immediate vicinity of the flares the illumination was far\par
from brilliant. In the restricted area of his vision he could see\par
that there were still a few of the strange inhabitants moving\par
about the narrow thoroughfares.\par
\par
To prosecute his search for the young officer and the girl\par
he must be able to move about the city as freely as possible,\par
but to pass beneath one of the corner flares, naked as he was\par
except for a loin cloth, and in every other respect markedly\par
different from the inhabitants of the city, would be but to court\par
almost immediate discovery. As these thoughts flashed\par
through his mind and he cast about for some feasible plan of\par
action, his eyes fell upon the corpse upon the roof near him,\par
and immediately there occurred to him the possibility of\par
disguising himself in the raiment of his conquered adversary.\par
\par
It required but a few moments for the ape-man to clothe\par
himself in the tights, sandals, and parrot emblazoned yellow\par
tunic of the dead soldier. Around his waist he buckled the\par
saber belt but beneath the tunic he retained the hunting knife\par
of his dead father. His other weapons he could not lightly dis-\par
card, and so, in the hope that he might eventually recover\par
them, he carried them to the edge of the wall and dropped\par
them among the foliage at its base. At the last moment he\par
found it difficult to part with his rope, which, with his knife,\par
was his most accustomed weapon, and one which he had used\par
for the greatest length of time. He found that by removing the\par
saber belt he could wind the rope about his waist beneath his\par
tunic, and then replacing the belt still retain it entirely con-\par
cealed from chance observation.\par
\par
At last, satisfactorily disguised, and with even his shock of\par
black hair adding to the verisimilitude of his likeness to the\par
natives of the city, he sought for some means of reaching the\par
street below. While he might have risked a drop from the\par
eaves of the roof he feared to do so lest he attract the\par
attention\par
of passers-by, and probable discovery. The roofs of the build-\par
ings varied in height but as the ceilings were all low he found\par
that he could easily travel along the roof tops and this he did\par
for some little distance, until he suddenly discovered just\par
ahead of him several figures reclining upon the roof of a\par
near-by building.\par
\par
He had noticed openings in each roof, evidently giving\par
ingress to the apartments below, and now, his advance cut off\par
by those ahead of him, he decided to risk the chance of\par
reaching the street through the interior of one of the build-\par
ings. Approaching one of the openings he leaned over the\par
black hole and, listened for sounds of life in the apartment\par
below. Neither his ears nor his nose registered evidence of\par
the presence of any living creature in the immediate vicinity,\par
and so without further hesitation the ape-man lowered his\par
body through the aperture and was about to drop when his\par
foot came in contact with the rung of a ladder, which he im-\par
mediately took advantage of to descend to the floor of the\par
room below.\par
\par
Here, all was almost total darkness until his eyes became\par
accustomed to the interior, the darkness of which was slightly\par
alleviated by the reflected light from a distant street flare\par
which shone intermittently through the narrow windows front-\par
ing the thoroughfare. Finally, assured that the apartment was\par
unoccupied, Tarzan sought for a stairway to the ground floor.\par
This he found in a dark hallway upon which the room opened\par
-- a flight of narrow stone steps leading downward toward\par
the street. Chance favored him so that he reached the shadows\par
of the arcade without encountering any of the inmates of the\par
house.\par
\par
Once on the street he was not at a loss as to the direction in\par
which he wished to go, for he had tracked the two Europeans\par
practically to the gate, which he felt assured must have given\par
them entry to the city. His keen sense of direction and loca-\par
tion made it possible for him to judge with considerable ac-\par
curacy the point within the city where he might hope to pick\par
up the spoor of those whom he sought.\par
\par
The first need, however, was to discover a street paralleling\par
the northern wall along which he could make his way in the\par
direction of the gate he had seen from the forest. Realizing\par
that his greatest hope of success lay in the boldness of his\par
operations he moved off in the direction of the nearest street\par
flare without making any other attempt at concealment than\par
keeping in the shadows of the arcade, which he judged would\par
draw no particular attention to him in that he saw other\par
pedestrians doing likewise. The few he passed gave him no\par
heed, and he had almost reached the nearest intersection when\par
he saw several men wearing yellow tunics identical to that\par
which he had taken from his prisoner.\par
\par
They were coming directly toward him and the ape-man\par
saw that should he continue on he would meet them directly\par
at the intersection of the two streets in the full light of the\par
flare. His first inclination was to go steadily on, for\par
personally\par
he had no objection to chancing a scrimmage with them; but a\par
sudden recollection of the girl, possibly a helpless prisoner in\par
the hands of these people, caused him to seek some other and\par
less hazardous plan of action.\par
\par
He had almost emerged from the shadow of the arcade into\par
the full light of the flare and the approaching men were but a\par
few yards from him, when he suddenly kneeled and pretended\par
to adjust the wrappings of his sandals -- wrappings, which, by\par
the way, he was not at all sure that he had adjusted as their\par
makers had intended them to be adjusted. He was still kneel-\par
ing when the soldiers came abreast of him. Like the others\par
he had passed they paid no attention to him and the moment\par
they were behind him he continued upon his way, turning to\par
the right at the intersection of the two streets.\par
\par
The street he now took was, at this point, so extremely\par
winding that, for the most part, it received no benefit from the\par
flares at either corner, so that he was forced practically to\par
grope his way in the dense shadows of the arcade. The street\par
became a little straighter just before he reached the next flare,\par
and as he came within sight of it he saw silhouetted against a\par
patch of light the figure of a lion. The beast was coming\par
slowly down the street in Tarzan's direction.\par
\par
A woman crossed the way directly in front of it and the lion\par
paid no attention to her, nor she to the lion. An instant later a\par
little child ran after the woman and so close did he run before\par
the lion that the beast was forced to turn out of its way a step\par
to avoid colliding with the little one. The ape-man grinned\par
and crossed quickly to the opposite side of the street, for his\par
delicate senses indicated that at this point the breeze stirring\par
through the city streets and deflected by the opposite wall\par
would now blow from the lion toward him as the beast passed,\par
whereas if he remained upon the side of the street upon which\par
he had been walking when he discovered the carnivore, his\par
scent would have been borne to the nostrils of the animal, and\par
Tarzan was sufficiently jungle-wise to realize that while he\par
might deceive the eyes of man and beast he could not so easily\par
disguise from the nostrils of one of the great cats that he was a\par
creature of a different species from the inhabitants of the city,\par
the only human beings, possibly, that Numa was familiar with.\par
In him the cat would recognize a stranger, and, therefore, an\par
enemy, and Tarzan had no desire to be delayed by an en-\par
counter with a savage lion. His ruse worked successfully, the\par
lion passing him with not more than a side glance in his\par
direction.\par
\par
He had proceeded for some little distance and had about\par
reached a point where he judged he would find the street\par
which led up from the city gate when, at an intersection of two\par
streets, his nostrils caught the scent spoor of the girl. Out of\par
a maze of other scent spoors the ape-man picked the familiar\par
odor of the girl and, a second later, that of Smith-Oldwick.\par
He had been forced to accomplish it, however, by bending\par
very low at each street intersection in repeated attention to his\par
sandal wrappings, bringing his nostrils as close to the pave-\par
ment as possible.\par
\par
As he advanced along the street through which the two had\par
been conducted earlier in the day he noted, as had they, the\par
change in the type of buildings as he passed from a residence\par
district into that portion occupied by shops and bazaars. Here\par
the number of flares was increased so that they appeared not\par
only at street intersections but midway between as well, and\par
there were many more people abroad. The shops were open\par
and lighted, for with the setting of the sun the intense heat of\par
the day had given place to a pleasant coolness. Here also the\par
number of lions, roaming loose through the thoroughfares,\par
increased, and also for the first time Tarzan noted the idiosyn-\par
crasies of the people.\par
\par
Once he was nearly upset by a naked man running rapidly\par
through the street screaming at the top of his voice. And\par
again he nearly stumbled over a woman who was making her\par
way in the shadows of one of the arcades upon all fours. At\par
first the ape-man thought she was hunting for something she\par
had dropped, but as he drew to one side to watch her, he saw\par
that she was doing nothing of the kind -- that she had merely\par
elected to walk upon her hands and knees rather than erect\par
upon her feet. In another block he saw two creatures strug-\par
gling upon the roof of an adjacent building until finally one of\par
them, wrenching himself free from the grasp of the other, gave\par
his adversary a mighty push which hurled him to the pavement\par
below, where he lay motionless upon the dusty road. For an\par
instant a wild shriek re-echoed through the city from the lungs\par
of the victor and then, without an instant's hesitation, the fel-\par
low leaped headfirst to the street beside the body of his\par
victim. A lion moved out from the dense shadows of a door-\par
way and approached the two bloody and lifeless things before\par
him. Tarzan wondered what effect the odor of blood would\par
have upon the beast and was surprised to see that the animal\par
only sniffed at the corpses and the hot red blood and then lay\par
down beside the two dead men.\par
\par
He had passed the lion but a short distance when his atten-\par
tion was called to the figure of a man lowering himself la-\par
boriously from the roof of a building upon the east side of the\par
thoroughfare. Tarzan's curiosity was aroused.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
In the Alcove\par
\par
As Smith-Oldwick realized that he was alone and practi-\par
cally defenseless in an enclosure filled with great lions\par
he was, in his weakened condition, almost in a state\par
verging upon hysterical terror. Clinging to the grating for\par
support he dared not turn his head in the direction of the\par
beasts behind him. He felt his knees giving weakly beneath\par
him. Something within his head spun rapidly around. He be-\par
came very dizzy and nauseated and then suddenly all went\par
black before his eyes as his limp body collapsed at the foot\par
of the grating.\par
\par
How long he lay there unconscious he never knew; but as\par
reason slowly reasserted itself in his semi-conscious state he\par
was aware that he lay in a cool bed upon the whitest of linen\par
in a bright and cheery room, and that upon one side close to\par
him was an open window, the delicate hangings of which\par
were fluttering in a soft summer breeze which blew in from a\par
sun-kissed orchard of ripening fruit which he could see with-\par
out -- an old orchard in which soft, green grass grew between\par
the laden trees, and where the sun filtered through the foliage;\par
and upon the dappled greensward a little child was playing\par
with a frolicsome puppy.\par
\par
"God," thought the man, "what a horrible nightmare I have\par
passed through!" and then he felt a hand stroking his brow and\par
cheek -- a cool and gentle hand that smoothed away his\par
troubled recollections. For a long minute Smith-Oldwick lay\par
in utter peace and content until gradually there was forced\par
upon his sensibilities the fact that the hand had become\par
rough, and that it was no longer cool but hot and moist; and\par
suddenly he opened his eyes and looked up into the face of a\par
huge lion.\par
\par
Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick was not only an\par
English gentleman and an officer in name, he was also what\par
these implied -- a brave man; but when he realized that the\par
sweet picture he had looked upon was but the figment of a\par
dream, and that in reality he still lay where he had fallen at\par
the foot of the grating with a lion standing over him licking his\par
face, the tears sprang to his eyes and ran down his cheeks.\par
Never, he thought, had an unkind fate played so cruel a joke\par
upon a human being.\par
\par
For some time he lay feigning death while the lion, having\par
ceased to lick him, sniffed about his body. There are some\par
things than which death is to be preferred; and there came at\par
last to the Englishman the realization that it would be better\par
to die swiftly than to lie in this horrible predicament until his\par
mind broke beneath the strain and he went mad.\par
\par
And so, deliberately and without haste, he rose, clinging to\par
the grating for support. At his first move the lion growled,\par
but after that he paid no further attention to the man, and\par
when at last Smith-Oldwick had regained his feet the lion\par
moved indifferently away. Then it was that the man turned\par
and looked about the enclosure.\par
\par
Sprawled beneath the shade of the trees and lying upon the\par
long bench beside the south wall the great beasts rested, with\par
the exception of two or three who moved restlessly about. It\par
was these that the man feared and yet when two more of them\par
had passed him by he began to feel reassured, recalling the\par
fact that they were accustomed to the presence of man.\par
\par
And yet he dared not move from the grating. As the man\par
examined his surroundings he noted that the branches of one\par
of the trees near the further wall spread close beneath an open\par
window. If he could reach that tree and had strength to\par
do so, he could easily climb out upon the branch and escape,\par
at least, from the enclosure of the lions. But in order to\par
reach the tree he must pass the full length of the enclosure,\par
and at the very bole of the tree itself two lions lay sprawled\par
out in slumber.\par
\par
For half an hour the man stood gazing longingly at this\par
seeming avenue of escape, and at last, with a muttered oath,\par
he straightened up and throwing back his shoulders in a ges-\par
ture of defiance, he walked slowly and deliberately down the\par
center of the courtyard. One of the prowling lions turned\par
from the side wall and moved toward the center directly in\par
the man's path, but Smith-Oldwick was committed to what he\par
considered his one chance, for even temporary safety, and so\par
he kept on, ignoring the presence of the beast. The lion\par
slouched to his side and sniffed him and then, growling, he\par
bared his teeth.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick drew the pistol from his shirt. "If he has\par
made up his mind to kill me," he thought. "I can't see that it\par
will make any difference in the long run whether I infuriate\par
him or not. The beggar can't kill me any deader in one mood\par
than another."\par
\par
But with the man's movement in withdrawing the weapon\par
from his shirt the lion's attitude suddenly altered and though\par
he still growled he turned and sprang away, and then at last\par
the Englishman stood almost at the foot of the tree that was his\par
goal, and between him and safety sprawled a sleeping lion.\par
\par
Above him was a limb that ordinarily he could have leaped\par
for and reached with ease; but weak from his wounds and loss\par
of blood he doubted his ability to do so now. There was even\par
a question as to whether he would be able to ascend the tree\par
at all. There was just one chance: the lowest branch left the\par
bole within easy reach of a man standing on the ground close\par
to the tree's stem, but to reach a position where the branch\par
would be accessible he must step over the body of a lion.\par
Taking a deep breath he placed one foot between the sprawled\par
legs of the beast and gingerly raised the other to plant it upon\par
the opposite side of the tawny body. "What," he thought, "if\par
the beggar should happen to wake now?" The suggestion\par
sent a shudder through his frame but he did not hesitate or\par
withdraw his foot. Gingerly he planted it beyond the lion,\par
threw his weight forward upon it and cautiously brought his\par
other foot to the side of the first. He had passed and the lion\par
had not awakened.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick was weak from loss of blood and the hard-\par
ships he had undergone, but the realization of his situation\par
impelled him to a show of agility and energy which he prob-\par
ably could scarcely have equaled when in possession of his\par
normal strength. With his life depending upon the success of\par
his efforts, he swung himself quickly to the lower branches of\par
the tree and scrambled upward out of reach of possible harm\par
from the lions below -- though the sudden movement in the\par
branches above them awakened both the sleeping beasts. The\par
animals raised their heads and looked questioningly up for a\par
moment and then lay back again to resume their broken\par
slumber.\par
\par
So easily had the Englishman succeeded thus far that he\par
suddenly began to question as to whether he had at any time\par
been in real danger. The lions, as he knew, were accustomed\par
to the presence of men, but yet they were still lions and he\par
was free to admit that he breathed more easily now that he was\par
safe above their clutches.\par
\par
Before him lay the open window he had seen from the\par
ground. He was now on a level with it and could see an\par
apparently unoccupied chamber beyond, and toward this he\par
made his way along a stout branch that swung beneath the\par
opening. It was not a difficult feat to reach the window, and\par
a moment later he drew himself over the sill and dropped\par
into the room.\par
\par
He found himself in a rather spacious apartment, the floor of\par
which was covered with rugs of barbaric design, while the few\par
pieces of furniture were of a similar type to that which he had\par
seen in the room on the first floor into which he and Bertha\par
Kircher had been ushered at the conclusion of their journey.\par
At one end of the room was what appeared to be a curtained\par
alcove, the heavy hangings of which completely hid the inte-\par
rior. In the wall opposite the window and near the alcove was\par
a closed door, apparently the only exit from the room.\par
\par
He could see, in the waning light without, that the close of\par
the day was fast approaching, and he hesitated while he de-\par
liberated the advisability of waiting until darkness had fallen,\par
or of immediately searching for some means of escape from the\par
building and the city. He at last decided that it would do no\par
harm to investigate beyond the room, that he might have some\par
idea as how best to plan his escape after dark. To this end he\par
crossed the room toward the door but he had taken only a\par
few steps when the hangings before the alcove separated and\par
the figure of a woman appeared in the opening.\par
\par
She was young and beautifully formed; the single drapery\par
wound around her body from below her breasts left no detail\par
of her symmetrical proportions unrevealed, but her face was\par
the face of an imbecile. At sight of her Smith-Oldwick halted,\par
momentarily expecting that his presence would elicit screams\par
for help from her. On the contrary she came toward him\par
smiling, and when she was close her slender, shapely fingers\par
touched the sleeve of his torn blouse as a curious child might\par
handle a new toy, and still with the same smile she examined\par
him from head to foot, taking in, in childish wonderment,\par
every detail of his apparel.\par
\par
Presently she spoke to him in a soft, well-modulated voice\par
which contrasted sharply with her facial appearance. The\par
voice and the girlish figure harmonized perfectly and seemed\par
to belong to each other, while the head and face were those\par
of another creature. Smith-Oldwick could understand no word\par
of what she said, but nevertheless he spoke to her in his\par
own cultured tone, the effect of which upon her was evidently\par
most gratifying, for before he realized her intentions or could\par
prevent her she had thrown both arms about his neck and was\par
kissing him with the utmost abandon.\par
\par
The man tried to free himself from her rather surprising\par
attentions, but she only clung more tightly to him, and sud-\par
denly, as he recalled that he had always heard that one must\par
humor the mentally deficient, and at the same time seeing in\par
her a possible agency of escape, he dosed his eyes and re-\par
turned her embraces.\par
\par
It was at this juncture that the door opened and a man\par
entered. With the sound from the first movement of the latch,\par
Smith-Oldwick opened his eyes, but though he endeavored to\par
disengage himself from the girl he realized that the newcomer\par
had seen their rather compromising position. The girl, whose\par
back was toward the door, seemed at first not to realize that\par
someone had entered, but when she did she turned quickly\par
and as her eyes fell upon the man whose terrible face was now\par
distorted with an expression of hideous rage she turned,\par
screaming, and fled toward the alcove. The Englishman,\par
flushed and embarrassed, stood where she had left him. With\par
the sudden realization of the futility of attempting an explana-\par
tion, came that of the menacing appearance of the man, whom\par
he now recognized as the official who had received them in the\par
room below. The fellow's face, livid with insane rage and,\par
possibly, jealousy, was twitching violently, accentuating the\par
maniacal expression that it habitually wore.\par
\par
For a moment he seemed paralyzed by anger, and then with\par
a loud shriek that rose into an uncanny wail, he drew his\par
curved saber and sprang toward the Englishman. To Smith-\par
Oldwick there seemed no possible hope of escaping the keen-\par
edged weapon in the hands of the infuriated man, and though\par
he felt assured that it would draw down upon him an equally\par
sudden and possibly more terrible death, he did the only thing\par
that remained for him to do -- drew his pistol and fired straight\par
for the heart of the oncoming man. Without even so much as\par
a groan the fellow lunged forward upon the floor at Smith-\par
Oldwick's feet -- killed instantly with a bullet through the\par
heart. For several seconds the silence of the tomb reigned in\par
the apartment.\par
\par
The Englishman, standing over the prostrate figure of the\par
dead man, watched the door with drawn weapon, expecting\par
momentarily to hear the rush of feet of those whom he was\par
sure would immediately investigate the report of the pistol.\par
But no sounds came from below to indicate that anyone there\par
had heard the explosion, and presently the man's attention\par
was distracted from the door to the alcove, between the hang-\par
ings of which the face of the girl appeared. The eyes were\par
widely dilated and the lower jaw dropped in an expression of\par
surprise and awe.\par
\par
The girl's gaze was riveted upon the figure upon the floor,\par
and presently she crept stealthily into the room and tiptoed\par
toward the corpse. She appeared as though constantly poised\par
for flight, and when she had come to within two or three feet\par
of the body she stopped and, looking up at Smith-Oldwick,\par
voiced some interrogation which he could not, of course, un-\par
derstand. Then she came close to the side of the dead man\par
and kneeling upon the floor felt gingerly of the body.\par
\par
Presently she shook the corpse by the shoulder, and then\par
with a show of strength which her tenderly girlish form belied,\par
she turned the body over on its back. If she had been in\par
doubt before, one glance at the hideous features set in death\par
must have convinced her that life was extinct, and with the\par
realization there broke from her lips peal after peal of mad,\par
maniacal laughter as with her little hands she beat upon the\par
upturned face and breast of the dead man. It was a gruesome\par
sight from which the Englishman involuntarily drew back --\par
a gruesome, disgusting sight such as, he realized, might never\par
be witnessed outside a madhouse or this frightful city.\par
\par
In the midst of her frenzied rejoicing at the death of the\par
man, and Smith-Oldwick could attribute her actions to no\par
other cause, she suddenly desisted from her futile attacks upon\par
the insensate flesh and, leaping to her feet, ran quickly to the\par
door, where she shot a wooden bolt into its socket, thus secur-\par
ing them from interference from without. Then she returned\par
to the center of the room and spoke rapidly to the Englishman,\par
gesturing occasionally toward the body of the slain man. When\par
he could not understand, she presently became provoked and\par
in a sudden hysteria of madness she rushed forward as though\par
to strike the Englishman. Smith-Oldwick dropped back a\par
few steps and leveled his pistol upon her. Mad though she\par
must have been, she evidently was not so mad but what she\par
had connected the loud report, the diminutive weapon, and the\par
sudden death of the man in whose house she dwelt, for she\par
instantly desisted and quite as suddenly as it had come upon\par
her, her homicidal mood departed.\par
\par
Again the vacuous, imbecile smile took possession of her\par
features, and her voice, dropping its harshness, resumed the\par
soft, well-modulated tones with which she had first addressed\par
him. Now she attempted by signs to indicate her wishes, and\par
motioning Smith-Oldwick to follow her she went to the hang-\par
ings and opening them disclosed the alcove. It was rather\par
more than an alcove, being a fair-sized room heavy with rugs\par
and hangings and soft, pillowed couches. Turning at the\par
entrance she pointed to the corpse upon the floor of the outer\par
room, and then crossing the alcove she raised some draperies\par
which covered a couch and fell to the floor upon all sides,\par
disclosing an opening beneath the furniture.\par
\par
To this opening she pointed and then again to the corpse,\par
indicating plainly to the Englishman that it was her desire\par
that the body be hidden here. But if he had been in doubt,\par
she essayed to dispel it by grasping his sleeve and urging him\par
in the direction of the body which the two of them then lifted\par
and half carried and half dragged into the alcove. At first\par
they encountered some difficulty when they endeavored to\par
force the body of the man into the small space she had selected\par
for it, but eventually they succeeded in doing so. Smith-Old-\par
wick was again impressed by the fiendish brutality of the girl.\par
In the center of the room lay a blood-stained rug which the\par
girl quickly gathered up and draped over a piece of furniture\par
in such a way that the stain was hidden. By rearranging the\par
other rugs and by bringing one from the alcove she restored\par
the room to order so no outward indication of the tragedy so\par
recently enacted there was apparent.\par
\par
These things attended to, and the hangings draped once\par
more about the couch that they might hide the gruesome thing\par
beneath, the girl once more threw her arms about the English-\par
man's neck and dragged him toward the soft and luxurious\par
pillows above the dead man. Acutely conscious of the horror\par
of his position, filled with loathing, disgust, and an outraged\par
sense of decency, Smith-Oldwick was also acutely alive to the\par
demands of self-preservation. He felt that he was warranted\par
in buying his life at almost any price; but there was a point at\par
which his finer nature rebelled.\par
\par
It was at this juncture that a loud knock sounded upon the\par
door of the outer room. Springing from the couch, the girl\par
seized the man by the arm and dragged him after her to the\par
wall close by the head of the couch. Here she drew back one\par
of the hangings, revealing a little niche behind, into which she\par
shoved the Englishman and dropped the hangings before him,\par
effectually hiding him from observation from the rooms be-\par
yond.\par
\par
He heard her cross the alcove to the door of the outer room,\par
and heard the bolt withdrawn followed by the voice of a man\par
mingled with that of the girl. The tones of both seemed\par
rational so that he might have been listening to an ordinary\par
conversation in some foreign tongue. Yet with the gruesome\par
experiences of the day behind him, he could not but momen-\par
tarily expect some insane outbreak from beyond the hangings.\par
\par
He was aware from the sounds that the two had entered\par
the alcove, and, prompted by a desire to know what manner\par
of man he might next have to contend with, he slightly parted\par
the heavy folds that hid the two from his view and looking out\par
saw them sitting on the couch with their arms about each\par
other, the girl with the same expressionless smile upon her\par
face that she had vouchsafed him. He found he could so\par
arrange the hangings that a very narrow slit between two of\par
them permitted him to watch the actions of those in the alcove\par
without revealing himself or increasing his liability of detec-\par
tion.\par
\par
He saw the girl lavishing her kisses upon the newcomer, a\par
much younger man than he whom Smith-Oldwick had dis-\par
patched. Presently the girl disengaged herself from the em-\par
brace of her lover as though struck by a sudden memory.\par
Her brows puckered as in labored thought and then with a\par
startled expression, she threw a glance backward toward the\par
hidden niche where the Englishman stood, after which she\par
whispered rapidly to her companion, occasionally jerking her\par
head in the direction of the niche and on several occasions\par
making a move with one hand and forefinger, which Smith-\par
Oldwick could not mistake as other than an attempt to de-\par
scribe his pistol and its use.\par
\par
It was evident then to him that she was betraying him, and\par
without further loss of time he turned his back toward the\par
hangings and commenced a rapid examination of his hiding\par
place. In the alcove the man and the girl whispered, and\par
then cautiously and with great stealth, the man rose and drew\par
his curved saber. On tiptoe he approached the hangings, the\par
girl creeping at his side. Neither spoke now, nor was there\par
any sound in the room as the girl sprang forward and with\par
outstretched arm and pointing finger indicated a point upon\par
the curtain at the height of a man's breast. Then she stepped\par
to one side, and her companion, raising his blade to a hori-\par
zontal position, lunged suddenly forward and with the full\par
weight of his body and his right arm, drove the sharp point\par
through the hangings and into the niche behind for its full\par
length.\par
\par
Bertha Kircher, finding her struggles futile and realizing\par
that she must conserve her strength for some chance oppor-\par
tunity of escape, desisted from her efforts to break from the\par
grasp of Prince Metak as the fellow fled with her through the\par
dimly lighted corridors of the palace. Through many cham-\par
bers the prince fled, bearing his prize. It was evident to the\par
girl that, though her captor was the king's son, he was not\par
above capture and punishment for his deeds, as otherwise he\par
would not have shown such evident anxiety to escape with\par
her, as well as from the results of his act.\par
\par
From the fact that he was constantly turning affrighted\par
eyes behind them, and glancing suspiciously into every nook\par
and corner that they passed, she guessed that the prince's\par
punishment might be both speedy and terrible were he caught.\par
\par
She knew from their route that they must have doubled\par
back several times although she had quite lost all sense of\par
direction; but she did not know that the prince was as equally\par
confused as she, and that really he was running in an aimless,\par
erratic manner, hoping that he might stumble eventually upon\par
a place of refuge.\par
\par
Nor is it to be wondered at that this offspring of maniacs\par
should have difficulty in orienting himself in the winding\par
mazes of a palace designed by maniacs for a maniac king.\par
Now a corridor turned gradually and almost imperceptibly\par
in a new direction, again one doubled back upon and crossed\par
itself; here the floor rose gradually to the level of another\par
story,\par
or again there might be a spiral stairway down which the mad\par
prince rushed dizzily with his burden. Upon what floor they\par
were or in what part of the palace even Metak had no idea\par
until, halting abruptly at a closed door, he pushed it open to\par
step into a brilliantly lighted chamber filled with warriors, at\par
one end of which sat the king upon a great throne; beside this,\par
to the girl's surprise, she saw another throne where was seated\par
a huge lioness, recalling to her the words of Xanila which, at\par
the time, had made no impression on her: "But he had many\par
other queens, nor were they all human."\par
\par
At sight of Metak and the girl, the king rose from his throne\par
and started across the chamber, all semblance of royalty\par
vanishing in the maniac's uncontrollable passion. And as he\par
came he shrieked orders and commands at the top of his voice.\par
No sooner had Metak so unwarily opened the door to this\par
hornets' nest than he immediately withdrew and, turning, fled\par
again in a new direction. But now a hundred men were close\par
upon his heels, laughing, shrieking, and possibly cursing. He\par
dodged hither and thither, distancing them for several minutes\par
until, at the bottom of a long runway that inclined steeply\par
downward from a higher level, he burst into a subterranean\par
apartment lighted by many flares.\par
\par
In the center of the room was a pool of considerable size,\par
the level of the water being but a few inches below the floor.\par
Those behind the fleeing prince and his captive entered the\par
chamber in time to see Metak leap into the water with the\par
girl and disappear beneath the surface taking his captive with\par
him, nor, though they waited excitedly around the rim of the\par
pool, did either of the two again emerge.\par
\par
When Smith-Oldwick turned to investigate his hiding place,\par
his hands, groping upon the rear wall, immediately came in\par
contact with the wooden panels of a door and a bolt such as\par
that which secured the door of the outer room. Cautiously\par
and silently drawing the wooden bar he pushed gently against\par
the panel to find that the door swung easily and noiselessly\par
outward into utter darkness. Moving carefully and feeling\par
forward for each step he passed out of the niche, closing the\par
door behind him.\par
\par
Peeling about, he discovered that he was in a narrow cor-\par
ridor which he followed cautiously for a few yards to be\par
brought up suddenly by what appeared to be a ladder across\par
the passageway. He felt of the obstruction carefully with his\par
hands until he was assured that it was indeed a ladder and\par
that a solid wall was just beyond it, ending the corridor.\par
Therefore, as he could not go forward and as the ladder\par
ended at the floor upon which he stood, and as he did not care\par
to retrace his steps, there was no alternative but to climb up-\par
ward, and this he did, his pistol ready in a side pocket of his\par
blouse.\par
\par
He had ascended but two or three rungs when his head\par
came suddenly and painfully in contact with a hard surface\par
above him. Groping about with one hand over his head he\par
discovered that the obstacle seemed to be the covering to a\par
trap door in the ceiling which, with a little effort, he\par
succeeded\par
in raising a couple of inches, revealing through the cracks\par
the stars of a clear African night.\par
\par
With a sigh of relief, but with unabated caution, he gently\par
slid the trapdoor to one side far enough to permit him to raise\par
his eyes above the level of the roof. A quick glance assured\par
him that there was none near enough to observe his move-\par
ments, nor, in fact, as far as he could see, was anyone in\par
sight.\par
\par
Drawing himself quickly through the aperture he replaced\par
the cover and endeavored to regain his bearings. Directly\par
to the south of him the low roof he stood upon adjoined a\par
much loftier portion of the building, which rose several stories\par
above his head. A few yards to the west he could see the\par
flickering light of the flares of a winding street, and toward\par
this he made his way.\par
\par
From the edge of the roof he looked down upon the night\par
life of the mad city. He saw men and women and children\par
and lions, and of all that he saw it was quite evident to him\par
that only the lions were sane. With the aid of the stars he\par
easily picked out the points of the compass, and following\par
carefully in his memory the steps that had led him into the\par
city and to the roof upon which he now stood, he knew that\par
the thoroughfare upon which he looked was the same along\par
which he and Bertha Kircher had been led as prisoners earlier\par
in the day.\par
\par
If he could reach this he might be able to pass undetected\par
in the shadows of the arcade to the city gate. He had already\par
given up as futile the thought of seeking out the girl and\par
attempting to succor her, for he knew that alone and with the\par
few remaining rounds of ammunition he possessed, he could\par
do nothing against this city-full of armed men. That he\par
could live to cross the lion-infested forest beyond the city was\par
doubtful, and having, by some miracle, won to the desert\par
beyond, his fate would be certainly sealed; but yet he was\par
consumed with but one desire -- to leave behind him as far\par
as possible this horrid city of maniacs.\par
\par
He saw that the roofs rose to the same level as that upon\par
which he stood unbroken to the north to the next street inter-\par
section. Directly below him was a flare. To reach the pave-\par
ment in safety it was necessary that he find as dark a portion\par
of the avenue as possible. And so he sought along the edge\par
of the roofs for a place where he might descend in comparative\par
concealment.\par
\par
He had proceeded some little way beyond a point where\par
the street curved abruptly to the east before he discovered a\par
location sufficiently to his liking. But even here he was com-\par
pelled to wait a considerable time for a satisfactory moment\par
for his descent, which he had decided to make down one of\par
the pillars of the arcade. Each time he prepared to lower\par
himself over the edge of the roofs, footsteps approaching in\par
one direction or another deterred him until at last he had\par
almost come to the conclusion that he would have to wait for\par
the entire city to sleep before continuing his flight.\par
\par
But finally came a moment which he felt propitious and\par
though with inward qualms, it was with outward calm that he\par
commenced the descent to the street below.\par
\par
When at last he stood beneath the arcade he was con-\par
gratulating himself upon the success that had attended his\par
efforts up to this point when, at a slight sound behind him,\par
he turned to see a tall figure in the yellow tunic of a warrior\par
confronting him.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
Out of the Niche\par
\par
Numa, the lion, growled futilely in baffled rage as he\par
slipped back to the ground at the foot of the wall after\par
his unsuccessful attempt to drag down the fleeing ape-\par
man. He poised to make a second effort to follow his escaping\par
quarry when his nose picked up a hitherto unnoticed quality\par
in the scent spoor of his intended prey. Sniffing at the ground\par
that Tarzan's feet had barely touched, Numa's growl changed\par
to a low whine, for he had recognized the scent spoor of the\par
man-thing that had rescued him from the pit of the Wama-\par
bos.\par
\par
What thoughts passed through that massive head? Who\par
may say? But now there was no indication of baffled rage as\par
the great lion turned and moved majestically eastward along\par
the wall. At the eastern end of the city he turned toward the\par
south, continuing his way to the south side of the wall along\par
which were the pens and corrals where the herbivorous flocks\par
were fattened for the herds of domesticated lions within the\par
city. The great black lions of the forest fed with almost equal\par
impartiality upon the flesh of the grass-eaters and man. Like\par
Numa of the pit they occasionally made excursions across the\par
desert to the fertile valley of the Wamabos, but principally\par
they took their toll of meat from the herds of the walled city\par
of Herog, the mad king, or seized upon some of his luckless\par
subjects.\par
\par
Numa of the pit was in some respect an exception to the\par
rule which guided his fellows of the forest in that as a cub he\par
had been trapped and carried into the city, where he was kept\par
for breeding purposes, only to escape in his second year. They\par
had tried to teach him in the city of maniacs that he must not\par
eat the flesh of man, and the result of their schooling was that\par
only when aroused to anger or upon that one occasion that\par
he had been impelled by the pangs of hunger, did he ever at-\par
tack man.\par
\par
The animal corrals of the maniacs are protected by an outer\par
wall or palisade of upright logs, the lower ends of which are\par
imbedded in the ground, the logs themselves being placed as\par
close together as possible and further reinforced and bound\par
together by withes. At intervals there are gates through which\par
the flocks are turned on to the grazing land south of the city\par
during the daytime. It is at such times that the black lions\par
of the forest take their greatest toll from the herds, and it is\par
infrequent that a lion attempts to enter the corrals at night.\par
But Numa of the pit, having scented the spoor of his bene-\par
factor, was minded again to pass into the walled city, and with\par
that idea in his cunning brain he crept stealthily along the\par
outer side of the palisade, testing each gateway with a padded\par
foot until at last he discovered one which seemed insecurely\par
fastened. Lowering his great head he pressed against the gate,\par
surging forward with all the weight of his huge body and the\par
strength of his giant sinews -- one mighty effort and Numa was\par
within the corral.\par
\par
The enclosure contained a herd of goats which immediately\par
upon the advent of the carnivore started a mad stampede to\par
the opposite end of the corral which was bounded by the south\par
wall of the city. Numa had been within such a corral as this\par
before, so that he knew that somewhere in the wall was a small\par
door through which the goatherd might pass from the city\par
to his flock; toward this door he made his way, whether by\par
plan or accident it is difficult to say, though in the light of\par
ensuing events it seems possible that the former was the case.\par
\par
To reach the gate he must pass directly through the herd\par
which had huddled affrightedly close to the opening so that\par
once again there was a furious rush of hoofs as Numa strode\par
quickly to the side of the portal. If Numa had planned, he\par
had planned well, for scarcely had he reached his position\par
when the door opened and a herder's head was projected\par
into the enclosure, the fellow evidently seeking an explana-\par
tion of the disturbance among his flock. Possibly he discov-\par
ered the cause of the commotion, but it is doubtful, for it was\par
dark and the great, taloned paw that reached up and struck\par
downward a mighty blow that almost severed his head from\par
his body, moved so quickly and silently that the man was dead\par
within a fraction of a second from the moment that he opened\par
the door, and then Numa, knowing now his way, passed\par
through the wall into the dimly lighted streets of the city be-\par
yond.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick's first thought when he was accosted by the\par
figure in the yellow tunic of a soldier was to shoot the man\par
dead and trust to his legs and the dimly lighted, winding streets\par
to permit his escape, for he knew that to be accosted was\par
equivalent to recapture since no inhabitant of this weird city\par
but would recognize him as an alien. It would be a simple\par
thing to shoot the man from the pocket where the pistol lay\par
without drawing the weapon, and with this purpose in mind\par
the Englishman slipped his hands into the side pocket of his\par
blouse, but simultaneously with this action his wrist was seized\par
in a powerful grasp and a low voice whispered in English:\par
"Lieutenant, it is I, Tarzan of the Apes."\par
\par
The relief from the nervous strain under which he had\par
been laboring for so long, left Smith-Oldwick suddenly as\par
weak as a babe, so that he was forced to grasp the ape-man's\par
arm for support -- and when he found his voice all he could\par
do was to repeat: "You? You? I thought you were dead!"\par
\par
"No, not dead," replied Tarzan, "and I see that you are not\par
either. But how about the girl?"\par
\par
"I haven't seen her," replied the Englishman, "since we\par
were brought here. We were taken into a building on the\par
plaza close by and there we were separated. She was led away\par
by guards and I was put into a den of lions. I haven't seen\par
her since."\par
\par
"How did you escape?" asked the ape-man.\par
\par
"The lions didn't seem to pay much attention to me and I\par
climbed out of the place by way of a tree and through a win-\par
dow into a room on the second floor. Had a little scrimmage\par
there with a fellow and was hidden by one of their women\par
in a hole in the wall. The loony thing then betrayed me to\par
another bounder who happened in, but I found a way out\par
and up onto the roof where I have been for quite some time\par
now waiting for a chance to get down into the street without\par
being seen. That's all I know, but I haven't the slightest idea\par
in the world where to look for Miss Kircher."\par
\par
"Where were you going now?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick hesitated. "I -- well, I couldn't do anything\par
here alone and I was going to try to get out of the city and\par
in some way reach the British forces east and bring help."\par
\par
"You couldn't do it," said Tarzan. "Even if you got through\par
the forest alive you could never cross the desert country with-\par
out food or water."\par
\par
"What shall we do, then?" asked the Englishman.\par
\par
"We will see if we can find the girl," replied the ape-man,\par
and then, as though he had forgotten the presence of the Eng-\par
lishman and was arguing to convince himself, "She may be a\par
German and a spy, but she is a woman -- a white woman -- I\par
can't leave her here."\par
\par
"But how are we going to find her?" asked the Englishman.\par
\par
"I have followed her this far," replied Tarzan, "and unless\par
I am greatly mistaken I can follow her still farther."\par
\par
"But I cannot accompany you in these clothes without ex-\par
posing us both to detection and arrest," argued Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"We will get you other clothes, then," said Tarzan.\par
\par
"How?" asked the Englishman.\par
\par
"Go back to the roof beside the city wall where I entered,"\par
replied the ape-man with a grim smile, "and ask the naked\par
dead man there how I got my disguise."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick looked quickly up at his companion. "I have\par
it," he exclaimed. "I know where there is a fellow who doesn't\par
need his clothes anymore, and if we can get back on this roof\par
I think we can find him and get his apparel without much\par
resistance. Only a girl and a young fellow whom we could\par
easily surprise and overcome."\par
\par
"What do you mean?" asked Tarzan. "How do you know\par
that the man doesn't need his clothes any more."\par
\par
"I know he doesn't need them," replied the Englishman,\par
"because I killed him."\par
\par
"Oh!" exclaimed the ape-man, "I see. I guess it might be\par
easier that way than to tackle one of these fellows in the street\par
where there is more chance of our being interrupted."\par
\par
"But how are we going to reach the roof again, after all?"\par
queried Smith-Oldwick.\par
\par
"The same way you came down," replied Tarzan. "This\par
roof is low and there is a little ledge formed by the capital\par
of each column; I noticed that when you descended. Some of\par
the buildings wouldn't have been so easy to negotiate."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick looked up toward the eaves of the low roof.\par
"It's not very high," he said, "but I am afraid I can't make it.\par
I'll try -- I've been pretty weak since a lion mauled me and\par
the guards beat me up, and too, I haven't eaten since yester-\par
day."\par
\par
Tarzan thought a moment. "You've got to go with me," he\par
said at last. "I can't leave you here. The only chance you have\par
of escape is through me and I can't go with you now until\par
we have found the girl."\par
\par
"I want to go with you," replied Smith-Oldwick. "I'm not\par
much good now but at that two of us may be better than\par
one."\par
\par
"All right," said Tarzan, "come on," and before the Eng-\par
lishman realized what the other contemplated Tarzan had\par
picked him up and thrown him across his shoulder. "Now,\par
hang on," whispered the ape-man, and with a short run he\par
clambered apelike up the front of the low arcade. So quickly\par
and easily was it done that the Englishman scarcely had time\par
to realize what was happening before he was deposited safely\par
upon the roof.\par
\par
"There," remarked Tarzan. "Now, lead me to the place\par
you speak of."\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick had no difficulty in locating the trap in the\par
roof through which he had escaped. Removing the cover the\par
ape-man bent low, listening and sniffing. "Come," he said\par
after a moment's investigation and lowered himself to the\par
floor beneath. Smith-Oldwick followed him, and together the\par
two crept through the darkness toward the door in the back\par
wall of the niche in which the Englishman had been hidden\par
by the girl. They found the door ajar and opening it Tarzan\par
saw a streak of light showing through the hangings that sep-\par
arated it from the alcove.\par
\par
Placing his eye close to the aperture he saw the girl and\par
the young man of which the Englishman had spoken seated\par
on opposite sides of a low table upon which food was spread.\par
Serving them was a giant Negro and it was he whom the ape-\par
man watched most closely. Familiar with the tribal idiosyn-\par
crasies of a great number of African tribes over a considerable\par
proportion of the Dark Continent, the Tarmangani at last felt\par
reasonably assured that he knew from what part of Africa this\par
slave had come, and the dialect of his people. There was, how-\par
ever, the chance that the fellow had been captured in child-\par
hood and that through long years of non-use his native lan-\par
guage had become lost to him, but then there always had been\par
an element of chance connected with nearly every event of\par
Tarzan's life, so he waited patiently until in the performance\par
of his duties the black man approached a little table which\par
stood near the niche in which Tarzan and the Englishman hid.\par
\par
As the slave bent over some dish which stood upon the table\par
his ear was not far from the aperture through which Tarzan\par
looked. Apparently from a solid wall, for the Negro had no\par
knowledge of the existence of the niche, came to him in the\par
tongue of his own people, the whispered words: "If you would\par
return to the land of the Wamabo say nothing, but do as I\par
bid you."\par
\par
The black rolled terrified eyes toward the hangings at his\par
side. The ape-man could see him tremble and for a moment\par
was fearful that in his terror he would betray them. "Fear\par
not," he whispered, "we are your friends."\par
\par
At last the Negro spoke in a low whisper, scarcely audible\par
even to the keen ears of the ape-man. "What," he asked, "can\par
poor Otobu do for the god who speaks to him out of the solid\par
wall?"\par
\par
"This," replied Tarzan. "Two of us are coming into this\par
room. Help us prevent this man and woman from escaping\par
or raising an outcry that will bring others to their aid."\par
\par
"I will help you," replied the Negro, "to keep them within\par
this room, but do not fear that their outcries will bring others.\par
These walls are built so that no sound may pass through, and\par
even if it did what difference would it make in this village\par
which is constantly filled with the screams of its mad people.\par
Do not fear their cries. No one will notice them. I go to do\par
your bidding."\par
\par
Tarzan saw the black cross the room to the table upon which\par
he placed another dish of food before the feasters. Then he\par
stepped to a place behind the man and as he did so raised his\par
eyes to the point in the wall from which the ape-man's voice\par
had come to him, as much as to say, "Master, I am ready."\par
\par
Without more delay Tarzan threw aside the hangings and\par
stepped into the room. As he did so the young man rose from\par
the table to be instantly seized from behind by the black slave.\par
The girl, whose back was toward the ape-man and his com-\par
panion, was not at first aware of their presence but saw only\par
the attack of the slave upon her lover, and with a loud scream\par
she leaped forward to assist the latter. Tarzan sprang to her\par
side and laid a heavy hand upon her arm before she could\par
interfere with Otobu's attentions to the young man. At first,\par
as she turned toward the ape-man, her face reflected only mad\par
rage, but almost instantly this changed into the vapid smile\par
with which Smith-Oldwick was already familiar and her slim\par
fingers commenced their soft appraisement of the newcomer.\par
\par
Almost immediately she discovered Smith-Oldwick but there\par
was neither surprise nor anger upon her countenance. Evi-\par
dently the poor mad creature knew but two principal moods,\par
from one to the other of which she changed with lightning-\par
like rapidity.\par
\par
"Watch her a moment," said Tarzan to the Englishman,\par
"while I disarm that fellow," and stepping to the side of the\par
young man whom Otobu was having difficulty in subduing\par
Tarzan relieved him of his saber. "Tell them," he said to the\par
Negro, "if you speak their language, that we will not harm\par
them if they leave us alone and let us depart in peace."\par
\par
The black had been looking at Tarzan with wide eyes, evi-\par
dently not comprehending how this god could appear in so\par
material a form, and with the voice of a white bwana and the\par
uniform of a warrior of this city to which he quite evidently\par
did not belong. But nevertheless his first confidence in the\par
voice\par
that offered him freedom was not lessened and he did as\par
Tarzan bid him.\par
\par
"They want to know what you want," said Otobu, after he\par
had spoken to the man and the girl.\par
\par
"Tell them that we want food for one thing," said Tarzan,\par
"and something else that we know where to find in this room.\par
Take the man's spear, Otobu; I see it leaning against the wall\par
in the corner of the room. And you, Lieutenant, take his\par
saber," and then again to Otobu, "I will watch the man while\par
you go and bring forth that which is beneath the couch over\par
against this wall," and Tarzan indicated the location of the\par
piece of furniture.\par
\par
Otobu, trained to obey, did as he was bid. The eyes of the\par
man and the girl followed him, and as he drew back the hang-\par
ings and dragged forth the corpse of the man Smith-Oldwick\par
had slain, the girl's lover voiced a loud scream and attempted\par
to leap forward to the side of the corpse. Tarzan, however,\par
seized him and then the fellow turned upon him with teeth\par
and nails. It was with no little difficulty that Tarzan finally\par
sub-\par
dued the man, and while Otobu was removing the outer cloth-\par
ing from the corpse, Tarzan asked the black to question the\par
young man as to his evident excitement at the sight of the body.\par
\par
"I can tell you Bwana," replied Otobu. "This man was his\par
father."\par
\par
"What is he saying to the girl?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"He is asking her if she knew that the body of his father was\par
under the couch. And she is saying that she did not know it."\par
\par
Tarzan repeated the conversation to Smith-Oldwick, who\par
smiled. "If the chap could have seen her removing all evi-\par
dence of the crime and arranging the hangings of the couch\par
so that the body was concealed after she had helped me drag\par
it across the room, he wouldn't have very much doubt as to her\par
knowledge of the affair. The rug you see draped over the\par
bench in the corner was arranged to hide the blood stain -- in\par
some ways they are not so loony after all."\par
\par
The black man had now removed the outer garments from\par
the dead man, and Smith-Oldwick was hastily drawing them\par
on over his own clothing. "And now," said Tarzan, "we will\par
sit down and eat. One accomplishes little on an empty stom-\par
ach." As they ate the ape-man attempted to carry on a conver-\par
sation with the two natives through Otobu. He learned that\par
they were in the palace which had belonged to the dead man\par
lying upon the floor beside them. He had held an official posi-\par
tion of some nature, and he and his family were of the ruling\par
class but were not members of the court.\par
\par
When Tarzan questioned them about Bertha Kircher, the\par
young man said that she had been taken to the king's palace;\par
and when asked why replied: "For the king, of course."\par
\par
During the conversation both the man and the girl appeared\par
quite rational, even asking some questions as to the country\par
from which their uninvited guests had come, and evidencing\par
much surprise when informed that there was anything but\par
waterless wastes beyond their own valley.\par
\par
When Otobu asked the man, at Tarzan's suggestion, if he\par
was familiar with the interior of the king's palace, he replied\par
that he was; that he was a friend of Prince Metak, one of the\par
king's sons, and that he often visited the palace and that Metak\par
also came here to his father's palace frequently. As Tarzan\par
ate he racked his brain for some plan whereby he might utilize\par
the knowledge of the young man to gain entrance to the\par
palace, but he had arrived at nothing which he considered\par
feasible when there came a loud knocking upon the door of\par
the outer room.\par
\par
For a moment no one spoke and then the young man raised\par
his voice and cried aloud to those without. Immediately\par
Otobu sprang for the fellow and attempted to smother his\par
words by clapping a palm over his mouth.\par
\par
"What is he saying?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"He is telling them to break down the door and rescue him\par
and the girl from two strangers who entered and made them\par
prisoners. If they enter they will kill us all."\par
\par
"Tell him," said Tarzan, "to hold his peace or I will slay\par
him."\par
\par
Otobu did as he was instructed and the young maniac lapsed\par
into scowling silence. Tarzan crossed the alcove and entered\par
the outer room to note the effect of the assaults upon the door.\par
Smith-Oldwick followed him a few steps, leaving Otobu to\par
guard the two prionsers. The ape-man saw that the door could\par
not long withstand the heavy blows being dealt the panels\par
from without. "I wanted to use that fellow in the other room,"\par
he said to Smith-Oldwick, "but I am afraid we will have to get\par
out of here the way we came. We can't accomplish anything\par
by waiting here and meeting these fellows. From the noise out\par
there there must be a dozen of them. Come," he said, "you go\par
first and I will follow."\par
\par
As the two turned back from the alcove they witnessed an\par
entirely different scene from that upon which they had turned\par
their backs but a moment or two before. Stretched on the\par
floor and apparently lifeless lay the body of the black slave,\par
while the two prisoners had vanished completely.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Flight from Xuja\par
\par
As Metak bore Bertha Kircher toward the edge of the\par
pool, the girl at first had no conception of the deed he\par
contemplated but when, as they approached the edge,\par
he did not lessen his speed she guessed the frightful truth. As\par
he leaped head foremost with her into the water, she closed\par
her eyes and breathed a silent prayer, for she was confident\par
that the maniac had no other purpose than to drown himself\par
and her. And yet, so potent is the first law of nature that even\par
in the face of certain death, as she surely believed herself, she\par
clung tenaciously to life, and while she struggled to free her-\par
self from the powerful clutches of the madman, she held her\par
breath against the final moment when the asphyxiating waters\par
must inevitably flood her lungs.\par
\par
Through the frightful ordeal she maintained absolute con-\par
trol of her senses so that, after the first plunge, she was aware\par
that the man was swimming with her beneath the surface. He\par
took perhaps not more than a dozen strokes directly toward\par
the end wall of the pool and then he arose; and once again she\par
knew that her head was above the surface. She opened her\par
eyes to see that they were in a corridor dimly lighted by grat-\par
ings set in its roof -- a winding corridor, water filled from\par
wall\par
to wall.\par
\par
Along this the man was swimming with easy powerful\par
strokes, at the same time holding her chin above the water.\par
For ten minutes he swam thus without stopping and the girl\par
heard him speak to her, though she could not understand what\par
he said, as he evidently immediately realized, for, half\par
floating,\par
he shifted his hold upon her so that he could touch her nose\par
and mouth with the fingers of one hand. She grasped what he\par
meant and immediately took a deep breath, whereat he dove\par
quickly beneath the surface pulling her down with him and\par
again for a dozen strokes or more he swam thus wholly\par
submerged.\par
\par
When they again came to the surface, Bertha Kircher saw\par
that they were in a large lagoon and that the bright stars were\par
shining high above them, while on either hand domed and\par
minareted buildings were silhouetted sharply against the star-\par
lit sky. Metak swam swiftly to the north side of the lagoon\par
where, by means of a ladder, the two climbed out upon the\par
embankment. There were others in the plaza but they paid but\par
little if any attention to the two bedraggled figures. As Metak\par
walked quickly across the pavement with the girl at his side,\par
Bertha Kircher could only guess at the man's intentions. She\par
could see no way in which to escape and so she went docilely\par
with him, hoping against hope that some fortuitous circum-\par
stance might eventually arise that would give her the coveted\par
chance for freedom and life.\par
\par
Metak led her toward a building which, as she entered, she\par
recognized as the same to which she and Lieutenant Smith-\par
Oldwick had been led when they were brought into the city.\par
There was no man sitting behind the carved desk now, but\par
about the room were a dozen or more warriors in the tunics\par
of the house to which they were attached, in this case white\par
with a small lion in the form of a crest or badge upon the\par
breast and back of each.\par
\par
As Metak entered and the men recognized him they arose,\par
and in answer to a query he put, they pointed to an arched\par
doorway at the rear of the room. Toward this Metak led the\par
girl, and then, as though filled with a sudden suspicion, his\par
eyes\par
narrowed cunningly and turning toward the soldiery he issued\par
an order which resulted in their all preceding him through the\par
small doorway and up a flight of stairs a short distance beyond.\par
\par
The stairway and the corridor above were lighted by small\par
flares which revealed several doors in the walls of the upper\par
passageway. To one of these the men led the prince. Bertha\par
Kircher saw them knock upon the door and heard a voice reply\par
faintly through the thick door to the summons. The effect\par
upon those about her was electrical. Instantly excitement\par
reigned, and in response to orders from the king's son the\par
soldiers commenced to beat heavily upon the door, to throw\par
their bodies against it and to attempt to hew away the panels\par
with their sabers. The girl wondered at the cause of the evident\par
excitement of her captors.\par
\par
She saw the door giving to each renewed assault, but what\par
she did not see just before it crashed inward was the figures of\par
the two men who alone, in all the world, might have saved\par
her, pass between the heavy hangings in an adjoining alcove\par
and disappear into a dark corridor.\par
\par
As the door gave and the warriors rushed into the apartment\par
followed by the prince, the latter became immediately filled\par
with baffled rage, for the rooms were deserted except for the\par
dead body of the owner of the palace, and the still form of the\par
black slave, Otobu, where they lay stretched upon the floor of\par
the alcove.\par
\par
The prince rushed to the windows and looked out, but as\par
the suite overlooked the barred den of lions from which, the\par
prince thought, there could be no escape, his puzzlement was\par
only increased. Though he searched about the room for some\par
clue to the whereabouts of its former occupants he did not dis-\par
cover the niche behind the hangings. With the fickleness of\par
insanity he quickly tired of the search, and, turning to the\par
soldiers who had accompanied him from the floor below,\par
dismissed them.\par
\par
After setting up the broken door as best they could, the men\par
left the apartment and when they were again alone Metak\par
turned toward the girl. As he approached her, his face dis-\par
torted by a hideous leer, his features worked rapidly in spas-\par
modic twitches. The girl, who was standing at the entrance of\par
the alcove, shrank back, her horror reflected in her face. Step\par
by step she backed across the room, while the crouching\par
maniac crept stealthily after her with clawlike fingers poised\par
in anticipation of the moment they should leap forth and\par
seize her.\par
\par
As she passed the body of the Negro, her foot touched some\par
obstacle at her side, and glancing down she saw the spear with\par
which Otobu had been supposed to hold the prisoners. In-\par
stantly she leaned forward and snatched it from the floor\par
with its sharp point directed at the body of the madman. The\par
effect upon Metak was electrical. From stealthy silence he\par
broke into harsh peals of laughter, and drawing his saber\par
danced to and fro before the girl, but whichever way he went\par
the point of the spear still threatened him.\par
\par
Gradually the girl noticed a change in the tone of the crea-\par
ture's screams that was also reflected in the changing expres-\par
sion upon his hideous countenance. His hysterical laughter\par
was slowly changing into cries of rage while the silly leer upon\par
his face was supplanted by a ferocious scowl and upcurled\par
lips, which revealed the sharpened fangs beneath.\par
\par
He now ran rapidly in almost to the spear's point, only to\par
jump away, run a few steps to one side and again attempt to\par
make an entrance, the while he slashed and hewed at the\par
spear with such violence that it was with difficulty the girl\par
maintained her guard, and all the time was forced to give\par
ground step by step. She had reached the point where she was\par
standing squarely against the couch at the side of the room\par
when, with an incredibly swift movement, Metak stooped and\par
grasping a low stool hurled it directly at her head.\par
\par
She raised the spear to fend off the heavy missile, but she\par
was not entirely successful, and the impact of the blow carried\par
her backward upon the couch, and instantly Metak was upon her.\par
\par
Tarzan and Smith-Oldwick gave little thought as to what\par
had become of the other two occupants of the room. They\par
were gone, and so far as these two were concerned they might\par
never return. Tarzan's one desire was to reach the street\par
again, where, now that both of them were in some sort of\par
disguise, they should be able to proceed with comparative\par
safety to the palace and continue their search for the girl.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick preceded Tarzan along the corridor and as\par
they reached the ladder he climbed aloft to remove the trap.\par
He worked for a moment and then, turning, addressed Tarzan.\par
\par
"Did we replace the cover on this trap when we came down?\par
I don't recall that we did."\par
\par
"No," said Tarzan, "it was left open."\par
\par
"So I thought," said Smith-Oldwick, "but it's closed now\par
and locked. I cannot move it. Possibly you can," and he\par
descended the ladder.\par
\par
Even Tarzan's immense strength, however, had no effect\par
other than to break one of the rungs of the ladder against\par
which he was pushing, nearly precipitating him to the floor\par
below. After the rung broke he rested for a moment before\par
renewing his efforts, and as he stood with his head near the\par
cover of the trap, he distinctly heard voices on the roof above\par
him.\par
\par
Dropping down to Oldwick's side he told him what he had\par
heard. "We had better find some other way out," he said, and\par
the two started to retrace their steps toward the alcove. Tarzan\par
was again in the lead, and as he opened the door in the back\par
of the niche, he was suddenly startled to hear, in tones of\par
terror and in a woman's voice, the words: "O God, be merci-\par
ful" from just beyond the hangings.\par
\par
Here was no time for cautious investigation and, not even\par
waiting to find the aperture and part the hangings, but with\par
one sweep of a brawny hand dragging them from their sup-\par
port, the ape-man leaped from the niche into the alcove.\par
\par
At the sound of his entry the maniac looked up, and as he\par
saw at first only a man in the uniform of his father's soldiers,\par
he shrieked forth an angry order, but at the second glance,\par
which revealed the face of the newcomer, the madman leaped\par
from the prostrate form of his victim and, apparently for-\par
getful of the saber which he had dropped upon the floor beside\par
the couch as he leaped to grapple with the girl, closed with\par
bare hands upon his antagonist, his sharp-filed teeth searching\par
for the other's throat.\par
\par
Metak, the son of Herog, was no weakling. Powerful by\par
nature and rendered still more so in the throes of one of his\par
maniacal fits of fury he was no mean antagonist, even for the\par
mighty ape-man, and to this a distinct advantage for him was\par
added by the fact that almost at the outset of their battle\par
Tarzan, in stepping backward, struck his heel against the\par
corpse of the man whom Smith-Oldwick had killed, and fell\par
heavily backward to the floor with Metak upon his breast.\par
\par
With the quickness of a cat the maniac made an attempt to\par
fasten his teeth in Tarzan's jugular, but a quick movement of\par
the latter resulted in his finding a hold only upon the Tar-\par
mangani's shoulder. Here he clung while his fingers sought\par
Tarzan's throat, and it was then that the ape-man, realizing\par
the possibility of defeat, called to Smith-Oldwick to take the\par
girl and seek to escape.\par
\par
The Englishman looked questioningly at Bertha Kircher,\par
who had now risen from the couch, shaking and trembling.\par
She saw the question in his eyes and with an effort she drew\par
herself to her full height. "No," she cried, "if he dies here I\par
shall die with him. Go if you wish to. You can do nothing\par
here, but I -- I cannot go."\par
\par
Tarzan had now regained his feet, but the maniac still clung\par
to him tenaciously. The girl turned suddenly to Smith-Oldwick.\par
"Your pistol!" she cried. "Why don't you shoot him?"\par
\par
The man drew the weapon from his pocket and approached\par
the two antagonists, but by this time they were moving so\par
rapidly that there was no opportunity for shooting one without\par
the danger of hitting the other. At the same time Bertha\par
Kircher circled about them with the prince's saber, but neither\par
could she find an opening. Again and again the two men fell\par
to the floor, until presently Tarzan found a hold upon the\par
other's throat, against which contingency Metak had been\par
constantly battling, and slowly, as the giant fingers closed, the\par
other's mad eyes protruded from his livid face, his jaws gaped\par
and released their hold upon Tarzan's shoulder, and then in a\par
sudden excess of disgust and rage the ape-man lifted the body\par
of the prince high above his head and with all the strength of\par
his great arms hurled it across the room and through the\par
window where it fell with a sickening thud into the pit of lions\par
beneath.\par
\par
As Tarzan turned again toward his companions, the girl was\par
standing with the saber still in her hand and an expression\par
upon her face that he never had seen there before. Her eyes\par
were wide and misty with unshed tears, while her sensitive lips\par
trembled as though she were upon the point of giving way to\par
some pent emotion which her rapidly rising and falling bosom\par
plainly indicated she was fighting to control.\par
\par
"If we are going to get out of here," said the ape-man, "we\par
can't lose any time. We are together at last and nothing can\par
be gained by delay. The question now is the safest way. The\par
couple who escaped us evidently departed through the pas-\par
sageway to the roof and secured the trap against us so that\par
we are cut off in that direction. What chance have we below?\par
You came that way," and he turned toward the girl.\par
\par
"At the foot of the stairs," she said, "is a room full of armed\par
men. I doubt if we could pass that way."\par
\par
It was then that Otobu raised himself to a sitting posture.\par
"So you are not dead after all," exclaimed the ape-man.\par
"Come, how badly are you hurt?"\par
\par
The Negro rose gingerly to his feet, moved his arms and\par
legs and felt of his head.\par
\par
"Otobu does not seem to be hurt at all, Bwana," he replied,\par
"only for a great ache in his head."\par
\par
"Good," said the ape-man. "You want to return to the\par
Wamabo country?"\par
\par
"Yes, Bwana."\par
\par
"Then lead us from the city by the safest way."\par
\par
"There is no safe way," replied the black, "and even if we\par
reach the gates we shall have to fight. I can lead you from this\par
building to a side street with little danger of meeting anyone\par
on the way. Beyond that we must take our chance of discov-\par
ery. You are all dressed as are the people of this wicked city so\par
perhaps we may pass unnoticed, but at the gate it will be a dif-\par
ferent matter, for none is permitted to leave the city at night."\par
\par
"Very well," replied the ape-man, "let us be on our way."\par
\par
Otobu led them through the broken door of the outer room,\par
and part way down the corridor he turned into another apart-\par
ment at the right. This they crossed to a passageway beyond,\par
and, finally, traversing several rooms and corridors, he led\par
them down a flight of steps to a door which opened directly\par
upon a side street in rear of the palace.\par
\par
Two men, a woman, and a black slave were not so extraordi-\par
nary a sight upon the streets of the city as to arouse comment.\par
When passing beneath the flares the three Europeans were\par
careful to choose a moment when no chance pedestrian might\par
happen to get a view of their features, but in the shadow of\par
the arcades there seemed little danger of detection. They had\par
covered a good portion of the distance to the gate without mis-\par
hap when there came to their ears from the central portion\par
of the city sounds of a great commotion.\par
\par
"What does that mean?" Tarzan asked of Otobu, who was\par
now trembling violently.\par
\par
"Master," he replied, "they have discovered that which has\par
happened in the palace of Veza, mayor of the city. His son and\par
the girl escaped and summoned soldiers who have now doubt-\par
less discovered the body of Veza."\par
\par
"I wonder," said Tarzan, "if they have discovered the party\par
I threw through the window."\par
\par
Bertha Kircher, who understood enough of the dialect to\par
follow their conversation, asked Tarzan if he knew that the\par
man he had thrown from the window was the king's son. The\par
ape-man laughed. "No," he said, "I did not. That rather\par
complicates matters -- at least if they have found him."\par
\par
Suddenly there broke above the turmoil behind them the\par
clear strains of a bugle. Otobu increased his pace. "Hurry,\par
Master," he cried, "it is worse than I had thought."\par
\par
"What do you mean?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"For some reason the king's guard and the king's lions are\par
being called out. I fear, O Bwana, that we cannot escape them.\par
But why they should be called out for us I do not know."\par
\par
But if Otobu did not know, Tarzan at least guessed that they\par
had found the body of the king's son. Once again the notes of\par
the bugle rose high and clear upon the night air. "Calling more\par
lions?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"No, Master," replied Otobu. "It is the parrots they are\par
calling."\par
\par
They moved on rapidly in silence for a few minutes when\par
their attention was attracted by the flapping of the wings of a\par
bird above them. They looked up to discover a parrot circling\par
about over their heads.\par
\par
"Here are the parrots, Otobu," said Tarzan with a grin.\par
"Do they expect to kill us with parrots?"\par
\par
The Negro moaned as the bird darted suddenly ahead of\par
them toward the city wall. "Now indeed are we lost, Master,"\par
cried the black. "The bird that found us has flown to the gate\par
to warn the guard."\par
\par
"Come, Otobu, what are you talking about?" exclaimed\par
Tarzan irritably. "Have you lived among these lunatics so\par
long that you are yourself mad?"\par
\par
"No, Master," replied Otobu. "I am not mad. You do not\par
know them. These terrible birds are like human beings with-\par
out hearts or souls. They speak the language of the people of\par
this city of Xuja. They are demons, Master, and when in\par
sufficient numbers they might even attack and kill us."\par
\par
"How far are we from the gate?" asked Tarzan.\par
\par
"We are not very far," replied the Negro. "Beyond this next\par
turn we will see it a few paces ahead of us. But the bird has\par
reached it before us and by now they are summoning the\par
guard," the truth of which statement was almost immediately\par
indicated by sounds of many voices raised evidently in com-\par
mands just ahead of them, while from behind came increased\par
evidence of approaching pursuit -- loud screams and the roars\par
of lions.\par
\par
A few steps ahead a narrow alley opened from the east into\par
the thoroughfare they were following and as they approached\par
it there emerged from its dark shadows the figure of a mighty\par
lion. Otobu halted in his tracks and shrank back against\par
Tarzan. "Look, Master," he whimpered, "a great black lion\par
of the forest!"\par
\par
Tarzan drew the saber which still hung at his side. "We\par
cannot go back," he said. "Lions, parrots, or men, it must be\par
all the same," and he moved steadily forward in the direction\par
of the gate. What wind was stirring in the city street moved\par
from Tarzan toward the lion and when the ape-man had ap-\par
proached to within a few yards of the beast, who had stood\par
silently eyeing them up to this time, instead of the expected\par
roar, a whine broke from the beast's throat. The ape-man was\par
conscious of a very decided feeling of relief. "It's Numa of\par
the pit," he called back to his companions, and to Otobu, "Do\par
not fear, this lion will not harm us."\par
\par
Numa moved forward to the ape-man's side and then\par
turning, paced beside him along the narrow street. At the next\par
turn they came in sight of the gate, where, beneath several\par
flares, they saw a group of at least twenty warriors prepared\par
to seize them, while from the opposite direction the roars of\par
the pursuing lions sounded close upon them, mingling with the\par
screams of numerous parrots which now circled about their\par
heads. Tarzan halted and turned to the young aviator. "How\par
many rounds of ammunition have you left?" he asked.\par
\par
"I have seven in the pistol," replied Smith-Oldwick, "and\par
perhaps a dozen more cartridges in my blouse pocket."\par
\par
"I'm going to rush them," said Tarzan. "Otobu, you stay at\par
the side of the woman. Oldwick, you and I will go ahead, you\par
upon my left. I think we need not try to tell Numa what to\par
do," for even then the great lion was baring his fangs and\par
growling ferociously at the guardsmen, who appeared uneasy\par
in the face of this creature which, above all others, they\par
feared.\par
\par
"As we advance, Oldwick," said the ape-man, "fire one shot.\par
It may frighten them, and after that fire only when necessary.\par
All ready? Let's go!" and he moved forward toward the gate.\par
At the same time, Smith-Oldwick discharged his weapon and a\par
yellow-coated warrior screamed and crumpled forward upon\par
his face. For a minute the others showed symptoms of panic\par
but one, who seemed to be an officer, rallied them. "Now,"\par
said Tarzan, "all together!" and he started at a run for the\par
gate. Simultaneously the lion, evidently scenting the purpose\par
of the Tarmangani, broke into a full charge toward the guard.\par
\par
Shaken by the report of the unfamiliar weapon, the ranks\par
of the guardsmen broke before the furious assault of the great\par
beast. The officer screamed forth a volley of commands in a\par
mad fury of uncontrolled rage but the guardsmen, obeying the\par
first law of nature as well as actuated by their inherent fear of\par
the black denizen of the forest scattered to right and left to\par
elude the monster. With ferocious growls Numa wheeled to\par
the right, and with raking talons struck right and left among a\par
little handful of terrified guardsmen who were endeavoring\par
to elude him, and then Tarzan and Smith-Oldwick closed with\par
the others.\par
\par
For a moment their most formidable antagonist was the\par
officer in command. He wielded his curved saber as only an\par
adept might as he faced Tarzan, to whom the similar weapon\par
in his own hand was most unfamiliar. Smith-Oldwick could\par
not fire for fear of hitting the ape-man when suddenly to his\par
dismay he saw Tarzan's weapon fly from his grasp as the\par
Xujan warrior neatly disarmed his opponent. With a scream\par
the fellow raised his saber for the final cut that would termi-\par
nate the earthly career of Tarzan of the Apes when, to the\par
astonishment of both the ape-man and Smith-Oldwick, the\par
fellow stiffened rigidly, his weapon dropped from the nerve-\par
less fingers of his upraised hand, his mad eyes rolled upward\par
and foam flecked his bared lip. Gasping as though in the\par
throes of strangulation the fellow pitched forward at Tarzan's\par
feet.\par
\par
Tarzan stooped and picked up the dead man's weapon, a\par
smile upon his face as he turned and glanced toward the\par
young Englishman.\par
\par
"The fellow is an epileptic," said Smith-Oldwick. "I sup-\par
pose many of them are. Their nervous condition is not with-\par
out its good points -- a normal man would have gotten you."\par
\par
The other guardsmen seemed utterly demoralized at the\par
loss of their leader. They were huddled upon the opposite\par
side of the street at the left of the gate, screaming at the tops\par
of their voices and looking in the direction from which sounds\par
of reinforcements were coming, as though urging on the men\par
and lions that were already too close for the comfort of the\par
fugitives. Six guardsmen still stood with their backs against\par
the gate, their weapons flashing in the light of the flares and\par
their parchment-like faces distorted in horrid grimaces of rage\par
and terror.\par
\par
Numa had pursued two fleeing warriors down the street\par
which paralleled the wall for a short distance at this point.\par
The ape-man turned to Smith-Oldwick. "You will have to\par
use your pistol now," he said, "and we must get by these\par
fellows at once;" and as the young Englishman fired, Tarzan\par
rushed in to close quarters as though he had not already dis-\par
covered that with the saber he was no match for these trained\par
swordsmen. Two men fell to Smith-Oldwick's first two shots\par
and then he missed, while the four remaining divided, two\par
leaping for the aviator and two for Tarzan.\par
\par
The ape-man rushed in in an effort to close with one of his\par
antagonists where the other's saber would be comparatively\par
useless. Smith-Oldwick dropped one of his assailants with a\par
bullet through the chest and pulled his trigger on the second,\par
only to have the hammer fall futilely upon an empty chamber.\par
The cartridges in his weapon were exhausted and the warrior\par
with his razor-edged, gleaming saber was upon him.\par
\par
Tarzan raised his own weapon but once and that to divert a\par
vicious cut for his head. Then he was upon one of his assail-\par
ants and before the fellow could regain his equilibrium and\par
leap back after delivering his cut, the ape-man had seized him\par
by the neck and crotch. Tarzan's other antagonist was edging\par
around to one side where he might use his weapon, and as he\par
raised the blade to strike at the back of the Tarmangani's neck,\par
the latter swung the body of his comrade upward so that it\par
received the full force of the blow. The blade sank deep into\par
the body of the warrior, eliciting a single frightful scream, and\par
then Tarzan hurled the dying man in the face of his final\par
adversary.\par
\par
Smith-Oldwick, hard pressed and now utterly defenseless,\par
had given up all hope in the instant that he realized his\par
weapon was empty, when, from his left, a living bolt of black-\par
maned ferocity shot past him to the breast of his opponent.\par
Down went the Xujan, his face bitten away by one snap of the\par
powerful jaws of Numa of the pit.\par
\par
In the few seconds that had been required for the consum-\par
mation of these rapidly ensuing events, Otobu had dragged\par
Bertha Kircher to the gate which he had unbarred and thrown\par
open, and with the vanquishing of the last of the active guards-\par
men, the party passed out of the maniac city of Xuja into the\par
outer darkness beyond. At the same moment a half dozen\par
lions rounded the last turn in the road leading back toward the\par
plaza, and at sight of them Numa of the pit wheeled and\par
charged. For a moment the lions of the city stood their\par
ground, but only for a moment, and then before the black\par
beast was upon them, they turned and fled, while Tarzan and\par
his party moved rapidly toward the blackness of the forest\par
beyond the garden.\par
\par
"Will they follow us out of the city?" Tarzan asked Otobu.\par
\par
"Not at night," replied the black. "I have been a slave here\par
for five years but never have I known these people to leave\par
the city by night. If they go beyond the forest in the daytime\par
they usually wait until the dawn of another day before they\par
return, as they fear to pass through the country of the black\par
lions after dark. No, I think, Master, that they will not follow\par
us tonight, but tomorrow they will come, and, O Bwana, then\par
will they surely get us, or those that are left of us, for at\par
least\par
one among us must be the toll of the black lions as we pass\par
through their forest."\par
\par
As they crossed the garden, Smith-Oldwick refilled the\par
magazine of his pistol and inserted a cartridge in the chamber.\par
The girl moved silently at Tarzan's left, between him and the\par
aviator. Suddenly the ape-man stopped and turned toward\par
the city, his mighty frame, clothed in the yellow tunic of\par
Herog's soldiery, plainly visible to the others beneath the light\par
of the stars. They saw him raise his head and they heard\par
break from his lips the plaintive note of a lion calling to his\par
fellows. Smith-Oldwick felt a distinct shudder pass through\par
his frame, while Otobu, rolling the whites of his eyes in ter-\par
rified surprise, sank tremblingly to his knees. But the girl\par
thrilled and she felt her heart beat in a strange exultation, and\par
then she drew nearer to the beast-man until her shoulder\par
touched his arm. The act was involuntary and for a moment\par
she scarce realized what she had done, and then she stepped\par
silently back, thankful that the light of the stars was not\par
sufficient to reveal to the eyes of her companions the flush\par
which she felt mantling her cheek. Yet she was not ashamed\par
of the impulse that had prompted her, but rather of the act\par
itself which she knew, had Tarzan noticed it, would have been\par
repulsive to him.\par
\par
From the open gate of the city of maniacs came the answer-\par
ing cry of a lion. The little group waited where they stood\par
until presently they saw the majestic proportions of the black\par
lion as he approached them along the trail. When he had\par
rejoined them Tarzan fastened the fingers of one hand in the\par
black mane and started on once more toward the forest. Be-\par
hind them, from the city, rose a bedlam of horrid sounds, the\par
roaring of lions mingling with the raucous voices of the\par
screaming parrots and the mad shrieks of the maniacs. As\par
they entered the Stygian darkness of the forest the girl once\par
again involuntarily shrank closer to the ape-man, and this time\par
Tarzan was aware of the contact.\par
\par
Himself without fear, he yet instinctively appreciated how\par
terrified the girl must be. Actuated by a sudden kindly im-\par
pulse he found her hand and took it in his own and thus they\par
continued upon their way, groping through the blackness of\par
the trail. Twice they were approached by forest lions, but\par
upon both occasions the deep growls of Numa of the pit drove\par
off their assailants. Several times they were compelled to rest,\par
for Smith-Oldwick was constantly upon the verge of exhaus-\par
tion, and toward morning Tarzan was forced to carry him on\par
the steep ascent from the bed of the valley.\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
The Tommies\par
\par
Daylight overtook them after they had entered the gorge,\par
but, tired as they all were with the exception of Tar-\par
zan, they realized that they must keep on at all costs\par
until they found a spot where they might ascend the precipi-\par
tous side of the gorge to the floor of the plateau above. Tarzan\par
and Otobu were both equally confident that the Xujans would\par
not follow them beyond the gorge, but though they scanned\par
every inch of the frowning cliffs upon either hand noon came\par
and there was still no indication of any avenue of escape to\par
right or left. There were places where the ape-man alone\par
might have negotiated the ascent but none where the others\par
could hope successfully to reach the plateau, nor where Tar-\par
zan, powerful and agile as he was, could have ventured safely\par
to carry them aloft.\par
\par
For half a day the ape-man had been either carrying or\par
supporting Smith-Oldwick and now, to his chagrin, he saw\par
that the girl was faltering. He had realized well how much\par
she had undergone and how greatly the hardships and dan-\par
gers and the fatigue of the past weeks must have told upon\par
her vitality. He saw how bravely she attempted to keep up,\par
yet how often she stumbled and staggered as she labored\par
through the sand and gravel of the gorge. Nor could he help\par
but admire her fortitude and the uncomplaining effort she was\par
making to push on.\par
\par
The Englishman must have noticed her condition too, for\par
some time after noon, he stopped suddenly and sat down in\par
the sand. "It's no use," he said to Tarzan. "I can go no far-\par
ther. Miss Kircher is rapidly weakening. You will have to go\par
on without me."\par
\par
"No," said the girl, "we cannot do that. We have all been\par
through so much together and the chances of our escape are\par
still so remote that whatever comes, let us remain together,\par
unless," and she looked up at Tarzan, "you, who have done\par
so much for us to whom you are under no obligations, will\par
go on without us. I for one wish that you would. It must be\par
as evident to you as it is to me that you cannot save us, for\par
though you succeeded in dragging us from the path of our\par
pursuers, even your great strength and endurance could never\par
take one of us across the desert waste which lies between\par
here and the nearest fertile country."\par
\par
The ape-man returned her serious look with a smile. "You\par
are not dead," he said to her, "nor is the lieutenant, nor Otobu,\par
nor myself. One is either dead or alive, and until we are dead\par
we should plan only upon continuing to live. Because we\par
remain here and rest is no indication that we shall die here.\par
I cannot carry you both to the country of the Wamabos, which\par
is the nearest spot at which we may expect to find game and\par
water, but we shall not give up on that account. So far we\par
have found a way. Let us take things as they come. Let us\par
rest now because you and Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick need the\par
rest, and when you are stronger we will go on again."\par
\par
"But the Xujans --?" she asked, "may they not follow us\par
here?"\par
\par
"Yes," he said, "they probably will. But we need not be\par
concerned with them until they come."\par
\par
"I wish," said the girl, "that I possessed your philosophy\par
but I am afraid it is beyond me."\par
\par
"You were not born and reared in the jungle by wild beasts\par
and among wild beasts, or you would possess, as I do, the\par
fatalism of the jungle."\par
\par
And so they moved to the side of the gorge beneath the\par
shade of an overhanging rock and lay down in the hot sand to\par
rest. Numa wandered restlessly to and fro and finally, after\par
sprawling for a moment close beside the ape-man, rose and\par
moved off up the gorge to be lost to view a moment later be-\par
yond the nearest turn.\par
\par
For an hour the little party rested and then Tarzan suddenly\par
rose and, motioning the others to silence, listened. For a min-\par
ute he stood motionless, his keen ears acutely receptive to\par
sounds so faint and distant that none of the other three could\par
detect the slightest break in the utter and deathlike quiet of\par
the\par
gorge. Finally the ape-man relaxed and turned toward them.\par
"What is it?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"They are coming," he replied. "They are yet some distance\par
away, though not far, for the sandaled feet of the men and the\par
pads of the lions make little noise upon the soft sands."\par
\par
"What shall we do -- try to go on?" asked Smith-Oldwick.\par
"I believe I could make a go of it now for a short way. I am\par
much rested. How about you Miss Kircher?"\par
\par
"Oh, yes," she said, "I am much stronger. Yes, surely I can\par
go on."\par
\par
Tarzan knew that neither of them quite spoke the truth,\par
that people do not recover so quickly from utter exhaustion,\par
but he saw no other way and there was always the hope that\par
just beyond the next turn would be a way out of the gorge.\par
\par
"You help the lieutenant, Otobu," he said, turning to the\par
black, "and I will carry Miss Kircher," and though the girl\par
objected, saying that he must not waste his strength, he lifted\par
her lightly in his arms and moved off up the canyon, followed\par
by Otobu and the Englishman. They had gone no great dis-\par
tance when the others of the party became aware of the sounds\par
of pursuit, for now the lions were whining as though the fresh\par
scent spoor of their quarry had reached their nostrils.\par
\par
"I wish that your Numa would return," said the girl.\par
\par
"Yes," said Tarzan, "but we shall have to do the best we can\par
without him. I should like to find some place where we can\par
barricade ourselves against attack from all sides. Possibly then\par
we might hold them off. Smith-Oldwick is a good shot and if\par
there are not too many men he might be able to dispose of\par
them provided they can only come at him one at a time. The\par
lions don't bother me so much. Sometimes they are stupid\par
animals, and I am sure that these that pursue us, and who are\par
so dependent upon the masters that have raised and trained\par
them, will be easily handled after the warriors are disposed of."\par
\par
"You think there is some hope, then?" she asked.\par
\par
"We are still alive," was his only answer.\par
\par
"There," he said presently, "I thought I recalled this very\par
spot." He pointed toward a fragment that had evidently fallen\par
from the summit of the cliff and which now lay imbedded in\par
the sand a few feet from the base. It was a jagged fragment of\par
rock which rose some ten feet above the surface of the sand,\par
leaving a narrow aperture between it and the cliff behind. To-\par
ward this they directed their steps and when finally they\par
reached their goal they found a space about two feet wide and\par
ten feet long between the rock and the cliff. To be sure it was\par
open at both ends but at least they could not be attacked\par
upon all sides at once.\par
\par
They had scarcely concealed themselves before Tarzan's\par
quick ears caught a sound upon the face of the cliff above\par
them, and looking up he saw a diminutive monkey perched\par
upon a slight projection -- an ugly-faced little monkey who\par
looked down upon them for a moment and then scampered\par
away toward the south in the direction from which their pur-\par
suers were coming. Otobu had seen the monkey too. "He will\par
tell the parrots," said the black, "and the parrots will tell the\par
madmen."\par
\par
"It is all the same," replied Tarzan; "the lions would have\par
found us here. We could not hope to hide from them."\par
\par
He placed Smith-Oldwick, with his pistol, at the north open-\par
ing of their haven and told Otobu to stand with his spear at\par
the Englishman's shoulder, while he himself prepared to guard\par
the southern approach. Between them he had the girl lie down\par
in the sand. "You will be safe there in the event that they use\par
their spears," he said.\par
\par
The minutes that dragged by seemed veritable eternities to\par
Bertha Kircher and then at last, and almost with relief, she\par
knew that the pursuers were upon them. She heard the angry\par
roaring of the lions and the cries of the madmen. For several\par
minutes the men seemed to be investigating the stronghold\par
which their quarry had discovered. She could hear them both\par
to the north and south and then from where she lay she saw\par
a lion charging for the ape-man before her. She saw the giant\par
arm swing back with the curved saber and she saw it fall\par
with terrific velocity and meet the lion as he rose to grapple\par
with the man, cleaving his skull as cleanly as a butcher opens\par
up a sheep.\par
\par
Then she heard footsteps running rapidly toward Smith-\par
Oldwick and, as his pistol spoke, there was a scream and the\par
sound of a falling body. Evidently disheartened by the failure\par
of their first attempt the assaulters drew off, but only for a\par
short time. Again they came, this time a man opposing Tar-\par
zan and a lion seeking to overcome Smith-Oldwick. Tarzan\par
had cautioned the young Englishman not to waste his car-\par
tridges upon the lions and it was Otobu with the Xujan spear\par
who met the beast, which was not subdued until both he and\par
Smith-Oldwick had been mauled, and the latter had succeeded\par
in running the point of the saber the girl had carried, into the\par
beast's heart. The man who opposed Tarzan inadvertently\par
came too close in an attempt to cut at the ape-man's head, with\par
the result that an instant later his corpse lay with the neck\par
broken upon the body of the lion.\par
\par
Once again the enemy withdrew, but again only for a short\par
time, and now they came in full force, the lions and the men,\par
possibly a half dozen of each, the men casting their spears\par
and the lions waiting just behind, evidently for the signal to\par
charge.\par
\par
"Is this the end?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"No," cried the ape-man, "for we still live!"\par
\par
The words had scarcely passed his lips when the remaining\par
warriors, rushing in, cast their spears simultaneously from\par
both sides. In attempting to shield the girl, Tarzan received\par
one of the shafts in the shoulder, and so heavily had the\par
weapon been hurled that it bore him backward to the ground.\par
Smith-Oldwick fired his pistol twice when he too was struck\par
down, the weapon entering his right leg midway between hip\par
and knee. Only Otobu remained to face the enemy, for the\par
Englishman, already weak from his wounds and from the\par
latest mauling he had received at the claws of the lion, had lost\par
consciousness as he sank to the ground with this new hurt.\par
\par
As he fell his pistol dropped from his fingers, and the girl,\par
seeing, snatched it up. As Tarzan struggled to rise, one of the\par
warriors leaped full upon his breast and bore him back as, with\par
fiendish shrieks, he raised the point of his saber above the\par
other's heart. Before he could drive it home the girl leveled\par
Smith-Oldwick's pistol and fired point-blank at the fiend's\par
face.\par
\par
Simultaneously there broke upon the astonished ears of both\par
attackers and attacked a volley of shots from the gorge. With\par
the sweetness of the voice of an angel from heaven the Euro-\par
peans heard the sharp-barked commands of an English non-\par
com. Even above the roars of the lions and the screams of\par
the maniacs, those beloved tones reached the ears of Tarzan\par
and the girl at the very moment that even the ape-man had\par
given up the last vestige of hope.\par
\par
Rolling the body of the warrior to one side Tarzan strug-\par
gled to his feet, the spear still protruding from his shoulder.\par
The girl rose too, and as Tarzan wrenched the weapon from\par
his flesh and stepped out from behind the concealment of\par
their refuge, she followed at his side. The skirmish that had\par
resulted in their rescue was soon over. Most of the lions es-\par
caped but all of the pursuing Xujans had been slain. As Tar-\par
zan and the girl came into full view of the group, a British\par
Tommy leveled his rifle at the ape-man. Seeing the fellow's\par
actions and realizing instantly the natural error that Tarzan's\par
yellow tunic had occasioned the girl sprang between him and\par
the soldier. "Don't shoot," she cried to the latter, "we are both\par
friends."\par
\par
"Hold up your hands, you, then," he commanded Tarzan.\par
"I ain't taking no chances with any duffer with a yellow shirt."\par
\par
At this juncture the British sergeant who had been in com-\par
mand of the advance guard approached and when Tarzan and\par
the girl spoke to him in English, explaining their disguises, he\par
accepted their word, since they were evidently not of the\par
same race as the creatures which lay dead about them. Ten\par
minutes later the main body of the expedition came into view.\par
Smith-Oldwick's wounds were dressed, as well as were those\par
of the ape-man, and in half an hour they were on their way to\par
the camp of their rescuers.\par
\par
That night it was arranged that the following day Smith-\par
Oldwick and Bertha Kircher should be transported to British\par
headquarters near the coast by aeroplane, the two planes\par
attached to the expeditionary force being requisitioned for the\par
purpose. Tarzan and Otobu declined the offers of the British\par
captain to accompany his force overland on the return march\par
as Tarzan explained that his country lay to the west, as did\par
Otobu's, and that they would travel together as far as the\par
country of the Wamabos.\par
\par
"You are not going back with us, then?" asked the girl.\par
\par
"No," replied the ape-man. "My home is upon the west\par
coast. I will continue my journey in that direction."\par
\par
She cast appealing eyes toward him. "You will go back into\par
that terrible jungle?" she asked. "We shall never see you\par
again?"\par
\par
He looked at her a moment in silence. "Never," he said,\par
and without another word turned and walked away.\par
\par
In the morning Colonel Capell came from the base camp in\par
one of the planes that was to carry Smith-Oldwick and the girl\par
to the east. Tarzan was standing some distance away as the\par
ship landed and the officer descended to the ground. He saw\par
the colonel greet his junior in command of the advance de-\par
tachment, and then he saw him turn toward Bertha Kircher\par
who was standing a few paces behind the captain. Tarzan won-\par
dered how the German spy felt in this situation, especially\par
when she must know that there was one there who knew her\par
real status. He saw Colonel Capell walk toward her with out-\par
stretched hands and smiling face and, although he could\par
not hear the words of his greeting, he saw that it was friendly\par
and cordial to a degree.\par
\par
Tarzan turned away scowling, and if any had been close by\par
they might have heard a low growl rumble from his chest. He\par
knew that his country was at war with Germany and that not\par
only his duty to the land of his fathers, but also his personal\par
grievance against the enemy people and his hatred of them,\par
demanded that he expose the girl's perfidy, and yet he hesi-\par
tated, and because he hesitated he growled -- not at the German\par
spy but at himself for his weakness.\par
\par
He did not see her again before she entered a plane and was\par
borne away toward the east. He bid farewell to Smith-Oldwick\par
and received again the oft-repeated thanks of the young Eng-\par
lishman. And then he saw him too borne aloft in the high\par
circling plane and watched until the ship became a speck far\par
above the eastern horizon to disappear at last high in air.\par
\par
The Tommies, their packs and accouterments slung, were\par
waiting the summons to continue their return march. Colonel\par
Capell had, through a desire to personally observe the stretch\par
of country between the camp of the advance detachment and\par
the base, decided to march back his troops. Now that all was\par
in readiness for departure he turned to Tarzan. "I wish you\par
would come back with us, Greystoke," he said, "and if my\par
appeal carries no inducement possibly that of Smith-Oldwick\par
'and the young lady who just left us may. They asked me to\par
urge you to return to civilization."\par
\par
"No;" said Tarzan, "I shall go my own way. Miss Kircher\par
and Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick were only prompted by a sense\par
of gratitude in considering my welfare."\par
\par
"Miss Kircher?" exclaimed Capell and then he laughed,\par
"You know her then as Bertha Kircher, the German spy?"\par
\par
Tarzan looked at the other a moment in silence. It was\par
beyond him to conceive that a British officer should thus laco-\par
nically speak of an enemy spy whom he had had within his\par
power and permitted to escape. "Yes," he replied, "I knew\par
that she was Bertha Kircher, the German spy?"\par
\par
"Is that all you knew?" asked Capell.\par
\par
"That is all," said the ape-man.\par
\par
"She is the Honorable Patricia Canby," said Capell, "one\par
of the most valuable members of the British Intelligence Serv-\par
ice attached to the East African forces. Her father and I\par
served in India together and I have known her ever since she\par
was born.\par
\par
"Why, here's a packet of papers she took from a German\par
officer and has been carrying it through all her vicissitudes --\par
single-minded in the performance of her duty. Look! I\par
haven't yet had time to examine them but as you see here is a\par
military sketch map, a bundle of reports, and the diary of one\par
Hauptmann Fritz Schneider."\par
\par
"The diary of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider!" repeated Tar-\par
zan in a constrained voice. "May I see it, Capell? He is the\par
man who murdered Lady Greystoke."\par
\par
The Englishman handed the little volume over to the other\par
without a word. Tarzan ran through the pages quickly look-\par
ing for a certain date -- the date that the horror had been com-\par
mitted -- and when he found it he read rapidly. Suddenly a\par
gasp of incredulity burst from his lips. Capell looked at him\par
questioningly.\par
\par
"God!" exclaimed the ape-man. "Can this be true? Listen!"\par
and he read an excerpt from the closely written page:\par
\par
"'Played a little joke on the English pig. When he comes\par
home he will find the burned body of his wife in her boudoir --\par
but he will only think it is his wife. Had von Goss substitute\par
the body of a dead Negress and char it after putting Lady\par
Greystoke's rings on it -- Lady G will be of more value to the\par
High Command alive than dead.'"\par
\par
"She lives!" cried Tarzan.\par
\par
"Thank God!" exclaimed Capell. "And now?"\par
\par
"I will return with you, of course. How terribly I have\par
wronged Miss Canby, but how could I know? I even told\par
Smith-Oldwick, who loves her, that she was a German spy.\par
\par
"Not only must I return to find my wife but I must right\par
this wrong."\par
\par
"Don't worry about that," said Capell, "she must have con-\par
vinced him that she is no enemy spy, for just before they left\par
this morning he told me she had promised to marry him."\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Tarzan the Untamed, by Burroughs\par
\par
Note: I have made the following changes to the text:\par
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO\par
25 10 noislessly noiselessly\par
40 34 hole bole\par
41 45 later latter\par
53 43 but "but\par
66 19 half-smiled half-smile\par
69 45 to many too many\par
75 16 fine find\par
81 3 forth fourth\par
86 14 hoplessly hopelessly\par
86 42 interferred interfered\par
93 15 born borne\par
101 40 Englishman Englishmen\par
108 16 divertisements divertissements\par
110 29 asid said\par
127 14 apppreciate appreciate\par
128 45 fuseluge fuselage\par
138 25 as the at the\par
142 34 girls' girl's\par
146 44 sourroundings, surroundings,\par
148 30 spirit on spirit of\par
149 33 upon upon.\par
153 3 immediately immediate\par
153 39 nothwithstanding notwithstanding\par
159 43 "The The\par
163 45 known know\par
171 8 one the on the\par
172 8 sandled sandaled\par
175 2 junlgle jungle\par
181 46 swifty swiftly\par
189 23 not, not.\par
198 45 "Come," Come,"\par
219 1 still sill\par
225 21 sigh or sigh of\par
227 20 occasionaly occasionally\par
228 5 gazing grazing\par
234 24 prionsers. prisoners.\par
237 11 qiuckly quickly\par
237 16 opproached approached\par
243 16 is his in his\par
244 32 second seconds\par
I have also omitted the page-wide line beneath each chapter\par
heading.\par
\par
\par
\par
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