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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* - - - - -The Project Gutenberg Etext of Jungle Tales of Tarzan - -by Edgar Rice Burroughs - - -Contents - -CHAPTER - - 1 Tarzan's First Love - 2 The Capture of Tarzan - 3 The Fight for the Balu - 4 The God of Tarzan - 5 Tarzan and the Black Boy - 6 The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance - 7 The End of Bukawai - 8 The Lion - 9 The Nightmare -10 The Battle for Teeka -11 A Jungle Joke -12 Tarzan Rescues the Moon - - - - 1 - - Tarzan's First Love - -TEEKA, STRETCHED AT luxurious ease in the shade of the -tropical forest, presented, unquestionably, a most alluring -picture of young, feminine loveliness. Or at least so -thought Tarzan of the Apes, who squatted upon a low-swinging -branch in a near-by tree and looked down upon her. - -Just to have seen him there, lolling upon the swaying -bough of the jungle-forest giant, his brown skin mottled -by the brilliant equatorial sunlight which percolated -through the leafy canopy of green above him, his clean-limbed -body relaxed in graceful ease, his shapely head partly -turned in contemplative absorption and his intelligent, -gray eyes dreamily devouring the object of their devotion, -you would have thought him the reincarnation of some -demigod of old. - -You would not have guessed that in infancy he had suckled -at the breast of a hideous, hairy she-ape, nor that in all -his conscious past since his parents had passed away in the -little cabin by the landlocked harbor at the jungle's verge, -he had known no other associates than the sullen bulls -and the snarling cows of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape. - -Nor, could you have read the thoughts which passed through -that active, healthy brain, the longings and desires -and aspirations which the sight of Teeka inspired, -would you have been any more inclined to give credence -to the reality of the origin of the ape-man. For, -from his thoughts alone, you could never have gleaned -the truth--that he had been born to a gentle English lady -or that his sire had been an English nobleman of time-honored -lineage. - -Lost to Tarzan of the Apes was the truth of his origin. -That he was John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, with a seat -in the House of Lords, he did not know, nor, knowing, -would have understood. - -Yes, Teeka was indeed beautiful! - -Of course Kala had been beautiful--one's mother is always -that--but Teeka was beautiful in a way all her own, -an indescribable sort of way which Tarzan was just -beginning to sense in a rather vague and hazy manner. - -For years had Tarzan and Teeka been play-fellows, and Teeka -still continued to be playful while the young bulls of her own -age were rapidly becoming surly and morose. Tarzan, if he -gave the matter much thought at all, probably reasoned -that his growing attachment for the young female could -be easily accounted for by the fact that of the former -playmates she and he alone retained any desire to frolic as of -old. - -But today, as he sat gazing upon her, he found himself -noting the beauties of Teeka's form and features--something -he never had done before, since none of them had aught -to do with Teeka's ability to race nimbly through the lower -terraces of the forest in the primitive games of tag and -hide-and-go-seek which Tarzan's fertile brain evolved. -Tarzan scratched his head, running his fingers deep -into the shock of black hair which framed his shapely, -boyish face--he scratched his head and sighed. -Teeka's new-found beauty became as suddenly his despair. -He envied her the handsome coat of hair which covered -her body. His own smooth, brown hide he hated with a -hatred born of disgust and contempt. Years back he had -harbored a hope that some day he, too, would be clothed -in hair as were all his brothers and sisters; but of late -he had been forced to abandon the delectable dream. - -Then there were Teeka's great teeth, not so large as the males, -of course, but still mighty, handsome things by comparison -with Tarzan's feeble white ones. And her beetling brows, -and broad, flat nose, and her mouth! Tarzan had often -practiced making his mouth into a little round circle and then -puffing out his cheeks while he winked his eyes rapidly; -but he felt that he could never do it in the same cute -and irresistible way in which Teeka did it. - -And as he watched her that afternoon, and wondered, -a young bull ape who had been lazily foraging for food -beneath the damp, matted carpet of decaying vegetation -at the roots of a near-by tree lumbered awkwardly -in Teeka's direction. The other apes of the tribe -of Kerchak moved listlessly about or lolled restfully -in the midday heat of the equatorial jungle. From time -to time one or another of them had passed close to Teeka, -and Tarzan had been uninterested. Why was it then that his -brows contracted and his muscles tensed as he saw Taug -pause beside the young she and then squat down close to her? - -Tarzan always had liked Taug. Since childhood they -had romped together. Side by side they had squatted -near the water, their quick, strong fingers ready to -leap forth and seize Pisah, the fish, should that wary -denizen of the cool depths dart surfaceward to the lure -of the insects Tarzan tossed upon the face of the pool. - -Together they had baited Tublat and teased Numa, the lion. -Why, then, should Tarzan feel the rise of the short hairs -at the nape of his neck merely because Taug sat close to Teeka? - -It is true that Taug was no longer the frolicsome ape -of yesterday. When his snarling-muscles bared his giant -fangs no one could longer imagine that Taug was in as -playful a mood as when he and Tarzan had rolled upon -the turf in mimic battle. The Taug of today was a huge, -sullen bull ape, somber and forbidding. Yet he and Tarzan -never had quarreled. - -For a few minutes the young ape-man watched Taug press -closer to Teeka. He saw the rough caress of the huge -paw as it stroked the sleek shoulder of the she, -and then Tarzan of the Apes slipped catlike to the ground -and approached the two. - -As he came his upper lip curled into a snarl, exposing his -fighting fangs, and a deep growl rumbled from his -cavernous chest. Taug looked up, batting his blood-shot eyes. -Teeka half raised herself and looked at Tarzan. -Did she guess the cause of his perturbation? Who may -say? At any rate, she was feminine, and so she reached -up and scratched Taug behind one of his small, flat ears. - -Tarzan saw, and in the instant that he saw, Teeka was no -longer the little playmate of an hour ago; instead she -was a wondrous thing--the most wondrous in the world--and -a possession for which Tarzan would fight to the death -against Taug or any other who dared question his right -of proprietorship. - -Stooped, his muscles rigid and one great shoulder turned -toward the young bull, Tarzan of the Apes sidled nearer -and nearer. His face was partly averted, but his keen -gray eyes never left those of Taug, and as he came, -his growls increased in depth and volume. - -Taug rose upon his short legs, bristling. His fighting -fangs were bared. He, too, sidled, stiff-legged, and growled. - -"Teeka is Tarzan's," said the ape-man, in the low gutturals -of the great anthropoids. - -"Teeka is Taug's," replied the bull ape. - -Thaka and Numgo and Gunto, disturbed by the growlings -of the two young bulls, looked up half apathetic, -half interested. They were sleepy, but they sensed a fight. -It would break the monotony of the humdrum jungle life -they led. - -Coiled about his shoulders was Tarzan's long grass rope, -in his hand was the hunting knife of the long-dead father -he had never known. In Taug's little brain lay a great -respect for the shiny bit of sharp metal which the ape-boy -knew so well how to use. With it had he slain Tublat, -his fierce foster father, and Bolgani, the gorilla. -Taug knew these things, and so he came warily, circling about -Tarzan in search of an opening. The latter, made cautious -because of his lesser bulk and the inferiority of his -natural armament, followed similar tactics. - -For a time it seemed that the altercation would -follow the way of the majority of such differences -between members of the tribe and that one of them would -finally lose interest and wander off to prosecute some -other line of endeavor. Such might have been the end -of it had the CASUS BELLI been other than it was; -but Teeka was flattered at the attention that was being -drawn to her and by the fact that these two young bulls -were contemplating battle on her account. Such a thing -never before had occurred in Teeka's brief life. -She had seen other bulls battling for other and older shes, -and in the depth of her wild little heart she had longed -for the day when the jungle grasses would be reddened -with the blood of mortal combat for her fair sake. - -So now she squatted upon her haunches and insulted -both her admirers impartially. She hurled taunts at -them for their cowardice, and called them vile names, -such as Histah, the snake, and Dango, the hyena. -She threatened to call Mumga to chastise them with a -stick--Mumga, who was so old that she could no longer -climb and so toothless that she was forced to confine -her diet almost exclusively to bananas and grub-worms. - -The apes who were watching heard and laughed. -Taug was infuriated. He made a sudden lunge for Tarzan, -but the ape-boy leaped nimbly to one side, eluding him, -and with the quickness of a cat wheeled and leaped back -again to close quarters. His hunting knife was raised -above his head as he came in, and he aimed a vicious blow -at Taug's neck. The ape wheeled to dodge the weapon -so that the keen blade struck him but a glancing blow upon -the shoulder. - -The spurt of red blood brought a shrill cry of delight -from Teeka. Ah, but this was something worth while! -She glanced about to see if others had witnessed this -evidence of her popularity. Helen of Troy was never -one whit more proud than was Teeka at that moment. - -If Teeka had not been so absorbed in her own vaingloriousness -she might have noted the rustling of leaves in the -tree above her--a rustling which was not caused by -any movement of the wind, since there was no wind. -And had she looked up she might have seen a sleek body -crouching almost directly over her and wicked yellow -eyes glaring hungrily down upon her, but Teeka did not look up. - -With his wound Taug had backed off growling horribly. -Tarzan had followed him, screaming insults at him, -and menacing him with his brandishing blade. Teeka moved -from beneath the tree in an effort to keep close to -the duelists. - -The branch above Teeka bent and swayed a trifle with the -movement of the body of the watcher stretched along it. -Taug had halted now and was preparing to make a new stand. -His lips were flecked with foam, and saliva drooled from -his jowls. He stood with head lowered and arms outstretched, -preparing for a sudden charge to close quarters. -Could he but lay his mighty hands upon that soft, -brown skin the battle would be his. Taug considered -Tarzan's manner of fighting unfair. He would not close. -Instead, he leaped nimbly just beyond the reach of Taug's -muscular fingers. - -The ape-boy had as yet never come to a real trial -of strength with a bull ape, other than in play, -and so he was not at all sure that it would be safe to put -his muscles to the test in a life and death struggle. -Not that he was afraid, for Tarzan knew nothing of fear. -The instinct of self-preservation gave him caution--that -was all. He took risks only when it seemed necessary, -and then he would hesitate at nothing. - -His own method of fighting seemed best fitted to his build -and to his armament. His teeth, while strong and sharp, were, -as weapons of offense, pitifully inadequate by comparison -with the mighty fighting fangs of the anthropoids. -By dancing about, just out of reach of an antagonist, -Tarzan could do infinite injury with his long, -sharp hunting knife, and at the same time escape -many of the painful and dangerous wounds which would -be sure to follow his falling into the clutches of a bull ape. - -And so Taug charged and bellowed like a bull, and Tarzan -of the Apes danced lightly to this side and that, -hurling jungle billingsgate at his foe, the while he -nicked him now and again with his knife. - -There were lulls in the fighting when the two would stand -panting for breath, facing each other, mustering their -wits and their forces for a new onslaught. It was -during a pause such as this that Taug chanced to let -his eyes rove beyond his foeman. Instantly the entire -aspect of the ape altered. Rage left his countenance -to be supplanted by an expression of fear. - -With a cry that every ape there recognized, Taug turned -and fled. No need to question him--his warning proclaimed -the near presence of their ancient enemy. - -Tarzan started to seek safety, as did the other members -of the tribe, and as he did so he heard a panther's -scream mingled with the frightened cry of a she-ape. -Taug heard, too; but he did not pause in his flight. - -With the ape-boy, however, it was different. He looked -back to see if any member of the tribe was close pressed -by the beast of prey, and the sight that met his eyes -filled them with an expression of horror. - -Teeka it was who cried out in terror as she fled across -a little clearing toward the trees upon the opposite side, -for after her leaped Sheeta, the panther, in easy, -graceful bounds. Sheeta appeared to be in no hurry. -His meat was assured, since even though the ape reached -the trees ahead of him she could not climb beyond his -clutches before he could be upon her. - -Tarzan saw that Teeka must die. He cried to Taug -and the other bulls to hasten to Teeka's assistance, -and at the same time he ran toward the pursuing beast, -taking down his rope as he came. Tarzan knew that once -the great bulls were aroused none of the jungle, -not even Numa, the lion, was anxious to measure fangs -with them, and that if all those of the tribe who chanced -to be present today would charge, Sheeta, the great cat, -would doubtless turn tail and run for his life. - -Taug heard, as did the others, but no one came to Tarzan's -assistance or Teeka's rescue, and Sheeta was rapidly -closing up the distance between himself and his prey. - -The ape-boy, leaping after the panther, cried aloud to -the beast in an effort to turn it from Teeka or otherwise -distract its attention until the she-ape could gain the -safety of the higher branches where Sheeta dared not go. -He called the panther every opprobrious name that fell -to his tongue. He dared him to stop and do battle with him; -but Sheeta only loped on after the luscious titbit now -almost within his reach. - -Tarzan was not far behind and he was gaining, but the -distance was so short that he scarce hoped to overhaul -the carnivore before it had felled Teeka. In his right hand -the boy swung his grass rope above his head as he ran. -He hated to chance a miss, for the distance was much -greater than he ever had cast before except in practice. -It was the full length of his grass rope which separated -him from Sheeta, and yet there was no other thing to do. -He could not reach the brute's side before it overhauled Teeka. -He must chance a throw. - -And just as Teeka sprang for the lower limb of a great tree, -and Sheeta rose behind her in a long, sinuous leap, -the coils of the ape-boy's grass rope shot swiftly -through the air, straightening into a long thin line -as the open noose hovered for an instant above the savage -head and the snarling jaws. Then it settled--clean -and true about the tawny neck it settled, and Tarzan, -with a quick twist of his rope-hand, drew the noose taut, -bracing himself for the shock when Sheeta should have -taken up the slack. - -Just short of Teeka's glossy rump the cruel talons raked -the air as the rope tightened and Sheeta was brought to a -sudden stop--a stop that snapped the big beast over upon -his back. Instantly Sheeta was up--with glaring eyes, -and lashing tail, and gaping jaws, from which issued -hideous cries of rage and disappointment. - -He saw the ape-boy, the cause of his discomfiture, -scarce forty feet before him, and Sheeta charged. - -Teeka was safe now; Tarzan saw to that by a quick glance -into the tree whose safety she had gained not an instant -too soon, and Sheeta was charging. It was useless to risk -his life in idle and unequal combat from which no good -could come; but could he escape a battle with the enraged -cat? And if he was forced to fight, what chance had he -to survive? Tarzan was constrained to admit that his -position was aught but a desirable one. The trees were -too far to hope to reach in time to elude the cat. -Tarzan could but stand facing that hideous charge. -In his right hand he grasped his hunting knife--a puny, -futile thing indeed by comparison with the great rows -of mighty teeth which lined Sheeta's powerful jaws, -and the sharp talons encased within his padded paws; -yet the young Lord Greystoke faced it with the same courageous -resignation with which some fearless ancestor went down -to defeat and death on Senlac Hill by Hastings. - -From safety points in the trees the great apes watched, -screaming hatred at Sheeta and advice at Tarzan, for the -progenitors of man have, naturally, many human traits. -Teeka was frightened. She screamed at the bulls to hasten -to Tarzan's assistance; but the bulls were otherwise -engaged--principally in giving advice and making faces. -Anyway, Tarzan was not a real Mangani, so why should they -risk their lives in an effort to protect him? - -And now Sheeta was almost upon the lithe, naked body, -and--the body was not there. Quick as was the great cat, -the ape-boy was quicker. He leaped to one side almost -as the panther's talons were closing upon him, and as Sheeta -went hurtling to the ground beyond, Tarzan was racing -for the safety of the nearest tree. - -The panther recovered himself almost immediately and, -wheeling, tore after his prey, the ape-boy's rope -dragging along the ground behind him. In doubling back -after Tarzan, Sheeta had passed around a low bush. -It was a mere nothing in the path of any jungle creature -of the size and weight of Sheeta--provided it had no -trailing rope dangling behind. But Sheeta was handicapped -by such a rope, and as he leaped once again after Tarzan -of the Apes the rope encircled the small bush, became -tangled in it and brought the panther to a sudden stop. -An instant later Tarzan was safe among the higher branches -of a small tree into which Sheeta could not follow him. - -Here he perched, hurling twigs and epithets at the raging -feline beneath him. The other members of the tribe now -took up the bombardment, using such hard-shelled fruits -and dead branches as came within their reach, until Sheeta, -goaded to frenzy and snapping at the grass rope, -finally succeeded in severing its strands. For a moment -the panther stood glaring first at one of his tormentors -and then at another, until, with a final scream of rage, -he turned and slunk off into the tangled mazes of the jungle. - -A half hour later the tribe was again upon the ground, -feeding as though naught had occurred to interrupt the somber -dullness of their lives. Tarzan had recovered the greater -part of his rope and was busy fashioning a new noose, -while Teeka squatted close behind him, in evident token -that her choice was made. - -Taug eyed them sullenly. Once when he came close, -Teeka bared her fangs and growled at him, and Tarzan -showed his canines in an ugly snarl; but Taug did not -provoke a quarrel. He seemed to accept after the manner -of his kind the decision of the she as an indication -that he had been vanquished in his battle for her favors. - -Later in the day, his rope repaired, Tarzan took to the trees -in search of game. More than his fellows he required meat, -and so, while they were satisfied with fruits and herbs -and beetles, which could be discovered without much effort -upon their part, Tarzan spent considerable time hunting -the game animals whose flesh alone satisfied the cravings -of his stomach and furnished sustenance and strength -to the mighty thews which, day by day, were building -beneath the soft, smooth texture of his brown hide. - -Taug saw him depart, and then, quite casually, the big beast -hunted closer and closer to Teeka in his search for food. -At last he was within a few feet of her, and when he shot -a covert glance at her he saw that she was appraising him -and that there was no evidence of anger upon her face. - -Taug expanded his great chest and rolled about on his -short legs, making strange growlings in his throat. -He raised his lips, baring his fangs. My, but what great, -beautiful fangs he had! Teeka could not but notice them. -She also let her eyes rest in admiration upon Taug's beetling -brows and his short, powerful neck. What a beautiful -creature he was indeed! - -Taug, flattered by the unconcealed admiration in her eyes, -strutted about, as proud and as vain as a peacock. -Presently he began to inventory his assets, mentally, -and shortly he found himself comparing them with those -of his rival. - -Taug grunted, for there was no comparison. How could -one compare his beautiful coat with the smooth and naked -hideousness of Tarzan's bare hide? Who could see beauty -in the stingy nose of the Tarmangani after looking at -Taug's broad nostrils? And Tarzan's eyes! Hideous things, -showing white about them, and entirely unrimmed with red. -Taug knew that his own blood-shot eyes were beautiful, -for he had seen them reflected in the glassy surface of many -a drinking pool. - -The bull drew nearer to Teeka, finally squatting close -against her. When Tarzan returned from his hunting a short -time later it was to see Teeka contentedly scratching -the back of his rival. - -Tarzan was disgusted. Neither Taug nor Teeka saw him -as he swung through the trees into the glade. He paused -a moment, looking at them; then, with a sorrowful grimace, -he turned and faded away into the labyrinth of leafy -boughs and festooned moss out of which he had come. - -Tarzan wished to be as far away from the cause of his heartache -as he could. He was suffering the first pangs of blighted love, -and he didn't quite know what was the matter with him. -He thought that he was angry with Taug, and so he couldn't -understand why it was that he had run away instead -of rushing into mortal combat with the destroyer of his -happiness. - -He also thought that he was angry with Teeka, yet a -vision of her many beauties persisted in haunting him, -so that he could only see her in the light of love -as the most desirable thing in the world. - -The ape-boy craved affection. From babyhood until the -time of her death, when the poisoned arrow of Kulonga -had pierced her savage heart, Kala had represented -to the English boy the sole object of love which he had known. - -In her wild, fierce way Kala had loved her adopted son, -and Tarzan had returned that love, though the outward -demonstrations of it were no greater than might have -been expected from any other beast of the jungle. -It was not until he was bereft of her that the boy -realized how deep had been his attachment for his mother, -for as such he looked upon her. - -In Teeka he had seen within the past few hours a -substitute for Kala--someone to fight for and to hunt -for--someone to caress; but now his dream was shattered. -Something hurt within his breast. He placed his hand -over his heart and wondered what had happened to him. -Vaguely he attributed his pain to Teeka. The more he -thought of Teeka as he had last seen her, caressing Taug, -the more the thing within his breast hurt him. - -Tarzan shook his head and growled; then on and on -through the jungle he swung, and the farther he traveled -and the more he thought upon his wrongs, the nearer -he approached becoming an irreclaimable misogynist. - -Two days later he was still hunting alone--very morose -and very unhappy; but he was determined never to return -to the tribe. He could not bear the thought of seeing -Taug and Teeka always together. As he swung upon -a great limb Numa, the lion, and Sabor, the lioness, -passed beneath him, side by side, and Sabor leaned -against the lion and bit playfully at his cheek. -It was a half-caress. Tarzan sighed and hurled a nut at them. - -Later he came upon several of Mbonga's black warriors. -He was upon the point of dropping his noose about the -neck of one of them, who was a little distance from -his companions, when he became interested in the thing -which occupied the savages. They were building a cage -in the trail and covering it with leafy branches. -When they had completed their work the structure was -scarcely visible. - -Tarzan wondered what the purpose of the thing might be, -and why, when they had built it, they turned away and started -back along the trail in the direction of their village. - -It had been some time since Tarzan had visited the blacks -and looked down from the shelter of the great trees which -overhung their palisade upon the activities of his enemies, -from among whom had come the slayer of Kala. - -Although he hated them, Tarzan derived considerable -entertainment in watching them at their daily life within -the village, and especially at their dances, when the -fires glared against their naked bodies as they leaped -and turned and twisted in mimic warfare. It was rather -in the hope of witnessing something of the kind that he -now followed the warriors back toward their village, -but in this he was disappointed, for there was no dance -that night. - -Instead, from the safe concealment of his tree, Tarzan saw -little groups seated about tiny fires discussing the events -of the day, and in the darker corners of the village he -descried isolated couples talking and laughing together, -and always one of each couple was a young man and the -other a young woman. - -Tarzan cocked his head upon one side and thought, -and before he went to sleep that night, curled in the crotch -of the great tree above the village, Teeka filled his mind, -and afterward she filled his dreams--she and the young -black men laughing and talking with the young black women. - -Taug, hunting alone, had wandered some distance from -the balance of the tribe. He was making his way slowly -along an elephant path when he discovered that it was -blocked with undergrowth. Now Taug, come into maturity, -was an evil-natured brute of an exceeding short temper. -When something thwarted him, his sole idea was to overcome -it by brute strength and ferocity, and so now when he found -his way blocked, he tore angrily into the leafy screen -and an instant later found himself within a strange lair, -his progress effectually blocked, notwithstanding his most -violent efforts to forge ahead. - -Biting and striking at the barrier, Taug finally worked -himself into a frightful rage, but all to no avail; -and at last he became convinced that he must turn back. -But when he would have done so, what was his chagrin to -discover that another barrier had dropped behind him while he -fought to break down the one before him! Taug was trapped. -Until exhaustion overcame him he fought frantically for -his freedom; but all for naught. - -In the morning a party of blacks set out from the village -of Mbonga in the direction of the trap they had constructed -the previous day, while among the branches of the trees above -them hovered a naked young giant filled with the curiosity -of the wild things. Manu, the monkey, chattered and -scolded as Tarzan passed, and though he was not afraid -of the familiar figure of the ape-boy, he hugged closer -to him the little brown body of his life's companion. -Tarzan laughed as he saw it; but the laugh was followed -by a sudden clouding of his face and a deep sigh. - -A little farther on, a gaily feathered bird strutted -about before the admiring eyes of his somber-hued mate. -It seemed to Tarzan that everything in the jungle was -combining to remind him that he had lost Teeka; yet every -day of his life he had seen these same things and thought -nothing of them. - -When the blacks reached the trap, Taug set up a great commotion. -Seizing the bars of his prison, he shook them frantically, -and all the while he roared and growled terrifically. -The blacks were elated, for while they had not built -their trap for this hairy tree man, they were delighted -with their catch. - -Tarzan pricked up his ears when he heard the voice of a -great ape and, circling quickly until he was down wind -from the trap, he sniffed at the air in search of the scent -spoor of the prisoner. Nor was it long before there came -to those delicate nostrils the familiar odor that told -Tarzan the identity of the captive as unerringly as though -he had looked upon Taug with his eyes. Yes, it was Taug, -and he was alone. - -Tarzan grinned as he approached to discover what the blacks -would do to their prisoner. Doubtless they would slay him -at once. Again Tarzan grinned. Now he could have Teeka -for his own, with none to dispute his right to her. -As he watched, he saw the black warriors strip the screen -from about the cage, fasten ropes to it and drag it away -along the trail in the direction of their village. - -Tarzan watched until his rival passed out of sight, -still beating upon the bars of his prison and growling -out his anger and his threats. Then the ape-boy turned -and swung rapidly off in search of the tribe, and Teeka. - -Once, upon the journey, he surprised Sheeta and his family -in a little overgrown clearing. The great cat lay stretched -upon the ground, while his mate, one paw across her lord's -savage face, licked at the soft white fur at his throat. - -Tarzan increased his speed then until he fairly flew -through the forest, nor was it long before he came upon -the tribe. He saw them before they saw him, for of all -the jungle creatures, none passed more quietly than Tarzan -of the Apes. He saw Kamma and her mate feeding side -by side, their hairy bodies rubbing against each other. -And he saw Teeka feeding by herself. Not for long -would she feed thus in loneliness, thought Tarzan, -as with a bound he landed amongst them. - -There was a startled rush and a chorus of angry -and frightened snarls, for Tarzan had surprised them; -but there was more, too, than mere nervous shock to account -for the bristling neck hair which remained standing long -after the apes had discovered the identity of the newcomer. - -Tarzan noticed this as he had noticed it many times -in the past--that always his sudden coming among them -left them nervous and unstrung for a considerable time, -and that they one and all found it necessary to satisfy -themselves that he was indeed Tarzan by smelling about him -a half dozen or more times before they calmed down. - -Pushing through them, he made his way toward Teeka; -but as he approached her the ape drew away. - -"Teeka," he said, "it is Tarzan. You belong to Tarzan. -I have come for you." - -The ape drew closer, looking him over carefully. -Finally she sniffed at him, as though to make assurance -doubly sure. - -"Where is Taug?" she asked. - -"The Gomangani have him," replied Tarzan. "They will -kill him." - -In the eyes of the she, Tarzan saw a wistful expression -and a troubled look of sorrow as he told her of Taug's fate; -but she came quite close and snuggled against him, -and Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, put his arm about her. - -As he did so he noticed, with a start, the strange -incongruity of that smooth, brown arm against the black -and hairy coat of his lady-love. He recalled the paw of -Sheeta's mate across Sheeta's face--no incongruity there. -He thought of little Manu hugging his she, and how the one -seemed to belong to the other. Even the proud male bird, -with his gay plumage, bore a close resemblance to his -quieter spouse, while Numa, but for his shaggy mane, -was almost a counterpart of Sabor, the lioness. -The males and the females differed, it was true; -but not with such differences as existed between Tarzan -and Teeka. - -Tarzan was puzzled. There was something wrong. His arm -dropped from the shoulder of Teeka. Very slowly he drew -away from her. She looked at him with her head cocked -upon one side. Tarzan rose to his full height and beat -upon his breast with his fists. He raised his head toward -the heavens and opened his mouth. From the depths of his -lungs rose the fierce, weird challenge of the victorious -bull ape. The tribe turned curiously to eye him. -He had killed nothing, nor was there any antagonist to be -goaded to madness by the savage scream. No, there was -no excuse for it, and they turned back to their feeding, -but with an eye upon the ape-man lest he be preparing -to suddenly run amuck. - -As they watched him they saw him swing into a near-by -tree and disappear from sight. Then they forgot him, -even Teeka. - -Mbonga's black warriors, sweating beneath their strenuous task, -and resting often, made slow progress toward their village. -Always the savage beast in the primitive cage growled -and roared when they moved him. He beat upon the bars -and slavered at the mouth. His noise was hideous. - -They had almost completed their journey and were making -their final rest before forging ahead to gain the clearing -in which lay their village. A few more minutes would -have taken them out of the forest, and then, doubtless, -the thing would not have happened which did happen. - -A silent figure moved through the trees above them. -Keen eyes inspected the cage and counted the number -of warriors. An alert and daring brain figured upon -the chances of success when a certain plan should be put -to the test. - -Tarzan watched the blacks lolling in the shade. -They were exhausted. Already several of them slept. -He crept closer, pausing just above them. Not a leaf rustled -before his stealthy advance. He waited in the infinite -patience of the beast of prey. Presently but two of the -warriors remained awake, and one of these was dozing. - -Tarzan of the Apes gathered himself, and as he did so the -black who did not sleep arose and passed around to the rear -of the cage. The ape-boy followed just above his head. -Taug was eyeing the warrior and emitting low growls. -Tarzan feared that the anthropoid would awaken the sleepers. - -In a whisper which was inaudible to the ears of the Negro, -Tarzan whispered Taug's name, cautioning the ape to silence, -and Taug's growling ceased. - -The black approached the rear of the cage and examined -the fastenings of the door, and as he stood there the -beast above him launched itself from the tree full upon -his back. Steel fingers circled his throat, choking the -cry which sprang to the lips of the terrified man. -Strong teeth fastened themselves in his shoulder, -and powerful legs wound themselves about his torso. - -The black in a frenzy of terror tried to dislodge -the silent thing which clung to him. He threw himself -to the ground and rolled about; but still those mighty -fingers closed more and more tightly their deadly grip. - -The man's mouth gaped wide, his swollen tongue protruded, -his eyes started from their sockets; but the relentless -fingers only increased their pressure. - -Taug was a silent witness of the struggle. In his fierce -little brain he doubtless wondered what purpose prompted -Tarzan to attack the black. Taug had not forgotten his -recent battle with the ape-boy, nor the cause of it. -Now he saw the form of the Gomangani suddenly go limp. -There was a convulsive shiver and the man lay still. - -Tarzan sprang from his prey and ran to the door of the cage. -With nimble fingers he worked rapidly at the thongs -which held the door in place. Taug could only watch--he -could not help. Presently Tarzan pushed the thing up -a couple of feet and Taug crawled out. The ape would -have turned upon the sleeping blacks that he might wreak -his pent vengeance; but Tarzan would not permit it. - -Instead, the ape-boy dragged the body of the black -within the cage and propped it against the side bars. -Then he lowered the door and made fast the thongs as they -had been before. - -A happy smile lighted his features as he worked, -for one of his principal diversions was the baiting -of the blacks of Mbonga's village. He could imagine -their terror when they awoke and found the dead body -of their comrade fast in the cage where they had left -the great ape safely secured but a few minutes before. - -Tarzan and Taug took to the trees together, the shaggy -coat of the fierce ape brushing the sleek skin of the -English lordling as they passed through the primeval -jungle side by side. - -"Go back to Teeka," said Tarzan. "She is yours. -Tarzan does not want her." - -"Tarzan has found another she?" asked Taug. - -The ape-boy shrugged. - -"For the Gomangani there is another Gomangani," he said; -"for Numa, the lion, there is Sabor, the lioness; -for Sheeta there is a she of his own kind; for Bara, -the deer; for Manu, the monkey; for all the beasts -and the birds of the jungle is there a mate. Only for -Tarzan of the Apes is there none. Taug is an ape. -Teeka is an ape. Go back to Teeka. Tarzan is a man. -He will go alone." - - - - - - - 2 - - The Capture of Tarzan - -THE BLACK WARRIORS labored in the humid heat of the jungle's -stifling shade. With war spears they loosened the thick, -black loam and the deep layers of rotting vegetation. -With heavy-nailed fingers they scooped away the disintegrated -earth from the center of the age-old game trail. Often they -ceased their labors to squat, resting and gossiping, -with much laughter, at the edge of the pit they were digging. - -Against the boles of near-by trees leaned their long, -oval shields of thick buffalo hide, and the spears -of those who were doing the scooping. Sweat glistened -upon their smooth, ebon skins, beneath which rolled -rounded muscles, supple in the perfection of nature's -uncontaminated health. - -A reed buck, stepping warily along the trail toward water, -halted as a burst of laughter broke upon his startled ears. -For a moment he stood statuesque but for his sensitively -dilating nostrils; then he wheeled and fled noiselessly -from the terrifying presence of man. - -A hundred yards away, deep in the tangle of impenetrable -jungle, Numa, the lion, raised his massive head. Numa had -dined well until almost daybreak and it had required much -noise to awaken him. Now he lifted his muzzle and sniffed -the air, caught the acrid scent spoor of the reed buck -and the heavy scent of man. But Numa was well filled. -With a low, disgusted grunt he rose and slunk away. - -Brilliantly plumaged birds with raucous voices darted from -tree to tree. Little monkeys, chattering and scolding, -swung through the swaying limbs above the black warriors. -Yet they were alone, for the teeming jungle with all its -myriad life, like the swarming streets of a great metropolis, -is one of the loneliest spots in God's great universe. - -But were they alone? - -Above them, lightly balanced upon a leafy tree limb, a gray-eyed -youth watched with eager intentness their every move. -The fire of hate, restrained, smoldered beneath the lad's -evident desire to know the purpose of the black men's labors. -Such a one as these it was who had slain his beloved Kala. -For them there could be naught but enmity, yet he liked -well to watch them, avid as he was for greater knowledge -of the ways of man. - -He saw the pit grow in depth until a great hole yawned -the width of the trail--a hole which was amply large -enough to hold at one time all of the six excavators. -Tarzan could not guess the purpose of so great a labor. -And when they cut long stakes, sharpened at their upper ends, -and set them at intervals upright in the bottom of the pit, -his wonderment but increased, nor was it satisfied with -the placing of the light cross-poles over the pit, or the -careful arrangement of leaves and earth which completely -hid from view the work the black men had performed. - -When they were done they surveyed their handiwork with -evident satisfaction, and Tarzan surveyed it, too. Even to -his practiced eye there remained scarce a vestige of evidence -that the ancient game trail had been tampered with in any way. - -So absorbed was the ape-man in speculation as to -the purpose of the covered pit that he permitted -the blacks to depart in the direction of their village -without the usual baiting which had rendered him -the terror of Mbonga's people and had afforded Tarzan -both a vehicle of revenge and a source of inexhaustible delight. - -Puzzle as he would, however, he could not solve the mystery -of the concealed pit, for the ways of the blacks were still -strange ways to Tarzan. They had entered his jungle but a -short time before--the first of their kind to encroach upon -the age-old supremacy of the beasts which laired there. -To Numa, the lion, to Tantor, the elephant, to the great -apes and the lesser apes, to each and all of the myriad -creatures of this savage wild, the ways of man were new. -They had much to learn of these black, hairless creatures -that walked erect upon their hind paws--and they were -learning it slowly, and always to their sorrow. - -Shortly after the blacks had departed, Tarzan swung easily -to the trail. Sniffing suspiciously, he circled the edge -of the pit. Squatting upon his haunches, he scraped -away a little earth to expose one of the cross-bars. He -sniffed at this, touched it, cocked his head upon one side, -and contemplated it gravely for several minutes. Then he -carefully re-covered it, arranging the earth as neatly -as had the blacks. This done, he swung himself back among -the branches of the trees and moved off in search of his -hairy fellows, the great apes of the tribe of Kerchak. - -Once he crossed the trail of Numa, the lion, pausing for a -moment to hurl a soft fruit at the snarling face of his enemy, -and to taunt and insult him, calling him eater of carrion -and brother of Dango, the hyena. Numa, his yellow-green -eyes round and burning with concentrated hate, glared up -at the dancing figure above him. Low growls vibrated his -heavy jowls and his great rage transmitted to his sinuous -tail a sharp, whiplike motion; but realizing from past -experience the futility of long distance argument with the -ape-man, he turned presently and struck off into the tangled -vegetation which hid him from the view of his tormentor. -With a final scream of jungle invective and an apelike -grimace at his departing foe, Tarzan continued along his way. - -Another mile and a shifting wind brought to his keen -nostrils a familiar, pungent odor close at hand, -and a moment later there loomed beneath him a huge, -gray-black bulk forging steadily along the jungle trail. -Tarzan seized and broke a small tree limb, and at the -sudden cracking sound the ponderous figure halted. -Great ears were thrown forward, and a long, supple trunk -rose quickly to wave to and fro in search of the scent -of an enemy, while two weak, little eyes peered suspiciously -and futilely about in quest of the author of the noise -which had disturbed his peaceful way. - -Tarzan laughed aloud and came closer above the head -of the pachyderm. - -"Tantor! Tantor!" he cried. "Bara, the deer, is less fearful -than you--you, Tantor, the elephant, greatest of the jungle -folk with the strength of as many Numas as I have toes upon -my feet and fingers upon my hands. Tantor, who can uproot -great trees, trembles with fear at the sound of a broken twig." - -A rumbling noise, which might have been either a sign -of contempt or a sigh of relief, was Tantor's only reply -as the uplifted trunk and ears came down and the beast's -tail dropped to normal; but his eyes still roved about -in search of Tarzan. He was not long kept in suspense, -however, as to the whereabouts of the ape-man, for a second -later the youth dropped lightly to the broad head of his -old friend. Then stretching himself at full length, -he drummed with his bare toes upon the thick hide, and as -his fingers scratched the more tender surfaces beneath the -great ears, he talked to Tantor of the gossip of the jungle -as though the great beast understood every word that he said. - -Much there was which Tarzan could make Tantor understand, -and though the small talk of the wild was beyond -the great, gray dreadnaught of the jungle, he stood -with blinking eyes and gently swaying trunk as though -drinking in every word of it with keenest appreciation. -As a matter of fact it was the pleasant, friendly voice -and caressing hands behind his ears which he enjoyed, -and the close proximity of him whom he had often borne -upon his back since Tarzan, as a little child, had once -fearlessly approached the great bull, assuming upon the -part of the pachyderm the same friendliness which filled -his own heart. - -In the years of their association Tarzan had discovered -that he possessed an inexplicable power to govern and -direct his mighty friend. At his bidding, Tantor would -come from a great distance--as far as his keen ears could -detect the shrill and piercing summons of the ape-man--and -when Tarzan was squatted upon his head, Tantor would -lumber through the jungle in any direction which his -rider bade him go. It was the power of the man-mind -over that of the brute and it was just as effective -as though both fully understood its origin, though neither did. - -For half an hour Tarzan sprawled there upon Tantor's back. -Time had no meaning for either of them. Life, as they saw it, -consisted principally in keeping their stomachs filled. -To Tarzan this was a less arduous labor than to Tantor, -for Tarzan's stomach was smaller, and being omnivorous, -food was less difficult to obtain. If one sort did not -come readily to hand, there were always many others to -satisfy his hunger. He was less particular as to his diet -than Tantor, who would eat only the bark of certain trees, -and the wood of others, while a third appealed to him only -through its leaves, and these, perhaps, just at certain -seasons of the year. - -Tantor must needs spend the better part of his life -in filling his immense stomach against the needs of his -mighty thews. It is thus with all the lower orders--their -lives are so occupied either with searching for food or -with the processes of digestion that they have little time -for other considerations. Doubtless it is this handicap -which has kept them from advancing as rapidly as man, -who has more time to give to thought upon other matters. - -However, these questions troubled Tarzan but little, -and Tantor not at all. What the former knew was that -he was happy in the companionship of the elephant. -He did not know why. He did not know that because he was -a human being-- a normal, healthy human being--he craved -some living thing upon which to lavish his affection. -His childhood playmates among the apes of Kerchak were -now great, sullen brutes. They felt nor inspired but -little affection. The younger apes Tarzan still played -with occasionally. In his savage way he loved them; -but they were far from satisfying or restful companions. -Tantor was a great mountain of calm, of poise, of stability. -It was restful and satisfying to sprawl upon his rough -pate and pour one's vague hopes and aspirations into -the great ears which flapped ponderously to and fro -in apparent understanding. Of all the jungle folk, -Tantor commanded Tarzan's greatest love since Kala -had been taken from him. Sometimes Tarzan wondered -if Tantor reciprocated his affection. It was difficult -to know. - -It was the call of the stomach--the most compelling and -insistent call which the jungle knows--that took Tarzan -finally back to the trees and off in search of food, -while Tantor continued his interrupted journey in the -opposite direction. - -For an hour the ape-man foraged. A lofty nest yielded -its fresh, warm harvest. Fruits, berries, and tender -plantain found a place upon his menu in the order that he -happened upon them, for he did not seek such foods. -Meat, meat, meat! It was always meat that Tarzan -of the Apes hunted; but sometimes meat eluded him, as today. - -And as he roamed the jungle his active mind busied itself -not alone with his hunting, but with many other subjects. -He had a habit of recalling often the events of the preceding -days and hours. He lived over his visit with Tantor; -he cogitated upon the digging blacks and the strange, -covered pit they had left behind them. He wondered -again and again what its purpose might be. He compared -perceptions and arrived at judgments. He compared judgments, -reaching conclusions--not always correct ones, it is true, -but at least he used his brain for the purpose God -intended it, which was the less difficult because he was -not handicapped by the second-hand, and usually erroneous, -judgment of others. - -And as he puzzled over the covered pit, there loomed -suddenly before his mental vision a huge, gray-black bulk -which lumbered ponderously along a jungle trail. -Instantly Tarzan tensed to the shock of a sudden fear. -Decision and action usually occurred simultaneously in -the life of the ape-man, and now he was away through the -leafy branches ere the realization of the pit's purpose -had scarce formed in his mind. - -Swinging from swaying limb to swaying limb, he raced through -the middle terraces where the trees grew close together. -Again he dropped to the ground and sped, silently and -light of foot, over the carpet of decaying vegetation, -only to leap again into the trees where the tangled -undergrowth precluded rapid advance upon the surface. - -In his anxiety he cast discretion to the winds. -The caution of the beast was lost in the loyalty of -the man, and so it came that he entered a large clearing, -denuded of trees, without a thought of what might lie -there or upon the farther edge to dispute the way with him. - -He was half way across when directly in his path and -but a few yards away there rose from a clump of tall -grasses a half dozen chattering birds. Instantly Tarzan -turned aside, for he knew well enough what manner of creature -the presence of these little sentinels proclaimed. -Simultaneously Buto, the rhinoceros, scrambled to his -short legs and charged furiously. Haphazard charges Buto, -the rhinoceros. With his weak eyes he sees but poorly -even at short distances, and whether his erratic rushes -are due to the panic of fear as he attempts to escape, -or to the irascible temper with which he is generally credited, -it is difficult to determine. Nor is the matter of little -moment to one whom Buto charges, for if he be caught and tossed, -the chances are that naught will interest him thereafter. - -And today it chanced that Buto bore down straight -upon Tarzan, across the few yards of knee-deep grass which -separated them. Accident started him in the direction -of the ape-man, and then his weak eyes discerned the enemy, -and with a series of snorts he charged straight for him. -The little rhino birds fluttered and circled about their -giant ward. Among the branches of the trees at the edge -of the clearing, a score or more monkeys chattered -and scolded as the loud snorts of the angry beast sent -them scurrying affrightedly to the upper terraces. -Tarzan alone appeared indifferent and serene. - -Directly in the path of the charge he stood. There had been -no time to seek safety in the trees beyond the clearing, -nor had Tarzan any mind to delay his journey because -of Buto. He had met the stupid beast before and held -him in fine contempt. - -And now Buto was upon him, the massive head lowered -and the long, heavy horn inclined for the frightful work -for which nature had designed it; but as he struck upward, -his weapon raked only thin air, for the ape-man had sprung -lightly aloft with a catlike leap that carried him above -the threatening horn to the broad back of the rhinoceros. -Another spring and he was on the ground behind the brute -and racing like a deer for the trees. - -Buto, angered and mystified by the strange disappearance -of his prey, wheeled and charged frantically in -another direction, which chanced to be not the direction -of Tarzan's flight, and so the ape-man came in safety -to the trees and continued on his swift way through the forest. - -Some distance ahead of him Tantor moved steadily along the -well-worn elephant trail, and ahead of Tantor a crouching, -black warrior listened intently in the middle of the path. -Presently he heard the sound for which he had been hoping-- -the cracking, snapping sound which heralded the approach -of an elephant. - -To his right and left in other parts of the jungle other -warriors were watching. A low signal, passed from one -to another, apprised the most distant that the quarry -was afoot. Rapidly they converged toward the trail, -taking positions in trees down wind from the point -at which Tantor must pass them. Silently they waited -and presently were rewarded by the sight of a mighty -tusker carrying an amount of ivory in his long tusks -that set their greedy hearts to palpitating. - -No sooner had he passed their positions than the warriors -clambered from their perches. No longer were they silent, -but instead clapped their hands and shouted as they -reached the ground. For an instant Tantor, the elephant, -paused with upraised trunk and tail, with great ears -up-pricked, and then he swung on along the trail at a rapid, -shuffling pace--straight toward the covered pit with its -sharpened stakes upstanding in the ground. - -Behind him came the yelling warriors, urging him on -in the rapid flight which would not permit a careful -examination of the ground before him. Tantor, the elephant, -who could have turned and scattered his adversaries -with a single charge, fled like a frightened deer--fled -toward a hideous, torturing death. - -And behind them all came Tarzan of the Apes, racing through -the jungle forest with the speed and agility of a squirrel, -for he had heard the shouts of the warriors and had -interpreted them correctly. Once he uttered a piercing -call that reverberated through the jungle; but Tantor, -in the panic of terror, either failed to hear, or hearing, -dared not pause to heed. - -Now the giant pachyderm was but a few yards from -the hidden death lurking in his path, and the blacks, -certain of success, were screaming and dancing in his wake, -waving their war spears and celebrating in advance the -acquisition of the splendid ivory carried by their prey -and the surfeit of elephant meat which would be theirs this -night. - -So intent were they upon their gratulations that they -entirely failed to note the silent passage of the man-beast -above their heads, nor did Tantor, either, see or hear him, -even though Tarzan called to him to stop. - -A few more steps would precipitate Tantor upon the sharpened -stakes; -Tarzan fairly flew through the trees until he had come -abreast of the fleeing animal and then had passed him. -At the pit's verge the ape-man dropped to the ground -in the center of the trail. Tantor was almost upon him -before his weak eyes permitted him to recognize his old friend. - -"Stop!" cried Tarzan, and the great beast halted -to the upraised hand. - -Tarzan turned and kicked aside some of the brush which hid -the pit. Instantly Tantor saw and understood. - -"Fight!" growled Tarzan. "They are coming behind you." -But Tantor, the elephant, is a huge bunch of nerves, -and now he was half panic-stricken by terror. - -Before him yawned the pit, how far he did not know, but to -right and left lay the primeval jungle untouched by man. -With a squeal the great beast turned suddenly at right -angles and burst his noisy way through the solid wall -of matted vegetation that would have stopped any but him. - -Tarzan, standing upon the edge of the pit, smiled as he -watched Tantor's undignified flight. Soon the blacks -would come. It was best that Tarzan of the Apes faded -from the scene. He essayed a step from the pit's edge, -and as he threw the weight of his body upon his left foot, -the earth crumbled away. Tarzan made a single Herculean -effort to throw himself forward, but it was too late. -Backward and downward he went toward the sharpened stakes in -the bottom of the pit. - -When, a moment later, the blacks came they saw even -from a distance that Tantor had eluded them, for the -size of the hole in the pit covering was too small -to have accommodated the huge bulk of an elephant. -At first they thought that their prey had put one great -foot through the top and then, warned, drawn back; -but when they had come to the pit's verge and peered over, -their eyes went wide in astonishment, for, quiet and still, -at the bottom lay the naked figure of a white giant. - -Some of them there had glimpsed this forest god before -and they drew back in terror, awed by the presence -which they had for some time believed to possess the -miraculous powers of a demon; but others there were who -pushed forward, thinking only of the capture of an enemy, -and these leaped into the pit and lifted Tarzan out. - -There was no scar upon his body. None of the sharpened -stakes had pierced him--only a swollen spot at the base -of the brain indicated the nature of his injury. -In the falling backward his head had struck upon the -side of one of the stakes, rendering him unconscious. -The blacks were quick to discover this, and equally -quick to bind their prisoner's arms and legs before he -should regain consciousness, for they had learned to -harbor a wholesome respect for this strange man-beast -that consorted with the hairy tree folk. - -They had carried him but a short distance toward their -village when the ape-man's eyelids quivered and raised. -He looked about him wonderingly for a moment, -and then full consciousness returned and he realized -the seriousness of his predicament. Accustomed almost -from birth to relying solely upon his own resources, -he did not cast about for outside aid now, but devoted -his mind to a consideration of the possibilities -for escape which lay within himself and his own powers. - -He did not dare test the strength of his bonds while the -blacks were carrying him, for fear they would become -apprehensive and add to them. Presently his captors -discovered that he was conscious, and as they had little -stomach for carrying a heavy man through the jungle heat, -they set him upon his feet and forced him forward -among them, pricking him now and then with their spears, -yet with every manifestation of the superstitious awe -in which they held him. - -When they discovered that their prodding brought no outward -evidence of suffering, their awe increased, so that they -soon desisted, half believing that this strange white -giant was a supernatural being and so was immune from pain. - -As they approached their village, they shouted aloud the -victorious cries of successful warriors, so that by the time -they reached the gate, dancing and waving their spears, -a great crowd of men, women, and children were gathered -there to greet them and hear the story of their adventure. - -As the eyes of the villagers fell upon the prisoner, -they went wild, and heavy jaws fell open in astonishment -and incredulity. For months they had lived in perpetual -terror of a weird, white demon whom but few had ever -glimpsed and lived to describe. Warriors had disappeared -from the paths almost within sight of the village and -from the midst of their companions as mysteriously and -completely as though they had been swallowed by the earth, -and later, at night, their dead bodies had fallen, -as from the heavens, into the village street. - -This fearsome creature had appeared by night in the huts -of the village, killed, and disappeared, leaving behind -him in the huts with his dead, strange and terrifying -evidences of an uncanny sense of humor. - -But now he was in their power! No longer could he -terrorize them. Slowly the realization of this dawned -upon them. A woman, screaming, ran forward and struck -the ape-man across the face. Another and another followed -her example, until Tarzan of the Apes was surrounded -by a fighting, clawing, yelling mob of natives. - -And then Mbonga, the chief, came, and laying his spear -heavily across the shoulders of his people, drove them -from their prey. - -"We will save him until night," he said. - -Far out in the jungle Tantor, the elephant, his first -panic of fear allayed, stood with up-pricked ears and -undulating trunk. What was passing through the convolutions -of his savage brain? Could he be searching for Tarzan? -Could he recall and measure the service the ape-man -had performed for him? Of that there can be no doubt. -But did he feel gratitude? Would he have risked his own -life to have saved Tarzan could he have known of the -danger which confronted his friend? You will doubt it. -Anyone at all familiar with elephants will doubt it. -Englishmen who have hunted much with elephants in India -will tell you that they never have heard of an instance -in which one of these animals has gone to the aid of a man -in danger, even though the man had often befriended it. -And so it is to be doubted that Tantor would have attempted -to overcome his instinctive fear of the black men in an -effort to succor Tarzan. - -The screams of the infuriated villagers came faintly to -his sensitive ears, and he wheeled, as though in terror, -contemplating flight; but something stayed him, -and again he turned about, raised his trunk, and gave -voice to a shrill cry. - -Then he stood listening. - -In the distant village where Mbonga had restored quiet -and order, the voice of Tantor was scarcely audible -to the blacks, but to the keen ears of Tarzan of the Apes -it bore its message. - -His captors were leading him to a hut where he might be -confined and guarded against the coming of the nocturnal -orgy that would mark his torture-laden death. He halted -as he heard the notes of Tantor's call, and raising -his head, gave vent to a terrifying scream that sent -cold chills through the superstitious blacks and caused -the warriors who guarded him to leap back even though -their prisoner's arms were securely bound behind him. - -With raised spears they encircled him as for a moment -longer he stood listening. Faintly from the distance -came another, an answering cry, and Tarzan of the Apes, -satisfied, turned and quietly pursued his way toward -the hut where he was to be imprisoned. - -The afternoon wore on. From the surrounding village the -ape-man heard the bustle of preparation for the feast. -Through the doorway of the hut he saw the women laying the -cooking fires and filling their earthen caldrons with water; -but above it all his ears were bent across the jungle -in eager listening for the coming of Tantor. - -Even Tarzan but half believed that he would come. -He knew Tantor even better than Tantor knew himself. -He knew the timid heart which lay in the giant body. -He knew the panic of terror which the scent of the Gomangani -inspired within that savage breast, and as night drew on, -hope died within his heart and in the stoic calm of the wild -beast which he was, he resigned himself to meet the fate -which awaited him. - -All afternoon he had been working, working, working with the -bonds that held his wrists. Very slowly they were giving. -He might free his hands before they came to lead him out -to be butchered, and if he did--Tarzan licked his lips -in anticipation, and smiled a cold, grim smile. He could -imagine the feel of soft flesh beneath his fingers and the -sinking of his white teeth into the throats of his foemen. -He would let them taste his wrath before they overpowered him! - -At last they came--painted, befeathered warriors--even -more hideous than nature had intended them. They came -and pushed him into the open, where his appearance was -greeted by wild shouts from the assembled villagers. - -To the stake they led him, and as they pushed him roughly -against it preparatory to binding him there securely -for the dance of death that would presently encircle him, -Tarzan tensed his mighty thews and with a single, -powerful wrench parted the loosened thongs which had -secured his hands. Like thought, for quickness, -he leaped forward among the warriors nearest him. -A blow sent one to earth, as, growling and snarling, -the beast-man leaped upon the breast of another. -His fangs were buried instantly in the jugular of his -adversary and then a half hundred black men had leaped -upon him and borne him to earth. - -Striking, clawing, and snapping, the ape-man fought-- -fought as his foster people had taught him to fight--fought -like a wild beast cornered. His strength, his agility, -his courage, and his intelligence rendered him easily a match -for half a dozen black men in a hand-to-hand struggle, -but not even Tarzan of the Apes could hope to successfully -cope with half a hundred. - -Slowly they were overpowering him, though a score of them -bled from ugly wounds, and two lay very still beneath the -trampling feet, and the rolling bodies of the contestants. - -Overpower him they might, but could they keep him -overpowered while they bound him? A half hour of -desperate endeavor convinced them that they could not, -and so Mbonga, who, like all good rulers, had circled in -the safety of the background, called to one to work his way -in and spear the victim. Gradually, through the milling, -battling men, the warrior approached the object of his quest. - -He stood with poised spear above his head waiting for -the instant that would expose a vulnerable part of the -ape-man's body and still not endanger one of the blacks. -Closer and closer he edged about, following the movements -of the twisting, scuffling combatants. The growls -of the ape-man sent cold chills up the warrior's spine, -causing him to go carefully lest he miss at the first cast -and lay himself open to an attack from those merciless -teeth and mighty hands. - -At last he found an opening. Higher he raised his spear, -tensing his muscles, rolling beneath his glistening, ebon hide, -and then from the jungle just beyond the palisade came -a thunderous crashing. The spear-hand paused, the black -cast a quick glance in the direction of the disturbance, -as did the others of the blacks who were not occupied -with the subjugation of the ape-man. - -In the glare of the fires they saw a huge bulk topping -the barrier. They saw the palisade belly and sway inward. -They saw it burst as though built of straws, and an instant -later Tantor, the elephant, thundered down upon them. - -To right and left the blacks fled, screaming in terror. -Some who hovered upon the verge of the strife with Tarzan -heard and made good their escape, but a half dozen there -were so wrapt in the blood-madness of battle that they -failed to note the approach of the giant tusker. - -Upon these Tantor charged, trumpeting furiously. Above them -he stopped, his sensitive trunk weaving among them, and there, -at the bottom, he found Tarzan, bloody, but still battling. - -A warrior turned his eyes upward from the melee. -Above him towered the gigantic bulk of the pachyderm, -the little eyes flashing with the reflected light of the -fires--wicked, frightful, terrifying. The warrior screamed, -and as he screamed, the sinuous trunk encircled him, -lifted him high above the ground, and hurled him far after -the fleeing crowd. - -Another and another Tantor wrenched from the body -of the ape-man, throwing them to right and to left, -where they lay either moaning or very quiet, as death -came slowly or at once. - -At a distance Mbonga rallied his warriors. His greedy -eyes had noted the great ivory tusks of the bull. -The first panic of terror relieved, he urged his men -forward to attack with their heavy elephant spears; -but as they came, Tantor swung Tarzan to his broad head, -and, wheeling, lumbered off into the jungle through -the great rent he had made in the palisade. - -Elephant hunters may be right when they aver that this -animal would not have rendered such service to a man, -but to Tantor, Tarzan was not a man--he was but a fellow -jungle beast. - -And so it was that Tantor, the elephant, discharged an -obligation to Tarzan of the Apes, cementing even more -closely the friendship that had existed between them -since Tarzan as a little, brown boy rode upon Tantor's huge -back through the moonlit jungle beneath the equatorial stars. - - - - - - - 3 - - - The Fight for the Balu - -TEEKA HAD BECOME a mother. Tarzan of the Apes was -intensely interested, much more so, in fact, than Taug, -the father. Tarzan was very fond of Teeka. Even the cares -of prospective motherhood had not entirely quenched the fires -of carefree youth, and Teeka had remained a good-natured -playmate even at an age when other shes of the tribe -of Kerchak had assumed the sullen dignity of maturity. -She yet retained her childish delight in the primitive -games of tag and hide-and-go-seek which Tarzan's fertile -man-mind had evolved. - -To play tag through the tree tops is an exciting -and inspiring pastime. Tarzan delighted in it, -but the bulls of his childhood had long since abandoned -such childish practices. Teeka, though, had been keen -for it always until shortly before the baby came; -but with the advent of her first-born, even Teeka changed. - -The evidence of the change surprised and hurt Tarzan -immeasurably. -One morning he saw Teeka squatted upon a low branch hugging -something very close to her hairy breast-- a wee something -which squirmed and wriggled. Tarzan approached filled -with the curiosity which is common to all creatures endowed -with brains which have progressed beyond the microscopic stage. - -Teeka rolled her eyes in his direction and strained the -squirming mite still closer to her. Tarzan came nearer. -Teeka drew away and bared her fangs. Tarzan was nonplussed. -In all his experiences with Teeka, never before had she -bared fangs at him other than in play; but today she did -not look playful. Tarzan ran his brown fingers through -his thick, black hair, cocked his head upon one side, -and stared. Then he edged a bit nearer, craning his neck -to have a better look at the thing which Teeka cuddled. - -Again Teeka drew back her upper lip in a warning snarl. -Tarzan reached forth a hand, cautiously, to touch the -thing which Teeka held, and Teeka, with a hideous growl, -turned suddenly upon him. Her teeth sank into the -flesh of his forearm before the ape-man could snatch -it away, and she pursued him for a short distance -as he retreated incontinently through the trees; -but Teeka, carrying her baby, could not overtake him. -At a safe distance Tarzan stopped and turned to regard -his erstwhile play-fellow in unconcealed astonishment. -What had happened to so alter the gentle Teeka? She had -so covered the thing in her arms that Tarzan had not yet -been able to recognize it for what it was; but now, as she -turned from the pursuit of him, he saw it. Through his -pain and chagrin he smiled, for Tarzan had seen young ape -mothers before. In a few days she would be less suspicious. -Still Tarzan was hurt; it was not right that Teeka, -of all others, should fear him. Why, not for the world -would he harm her, or her balu, which is the ape word -for baby. - -And now, above the pain of his injured arm and the hurt -to his pride, rose a still stronger desire to come close -and inspect the new-born son of Taug. Possibly you will -wonder that Tarzan of the Apes, mighty fighter that he was, -should have fled before the irritable attack of a she, -or that he should hesitate to return for the satisfaction -of his curiosity when with ease he might have vanquished -the weakened mother of the new-born cub; but you need -not wonder. Were you an ape, you would know that only -a bull in the throes of madness will turn upon a female -other than to gently chastise her, with the occasional -exception of the individual whom we find exemplified among -our own kind, and who delights in beating up his better -half because she happens to be smaller and weaker than he. - -Tarzan again came toward the young mother--warily -and with his line of retreat safely open. Again Teeka -growled ferociously. Tarzan expostulated. - -"Tarzan of the Apes will not harm Teeka's balu," he said. -"Let me see it." - -"Go away!" commanded Teeka. "Go away, or I will kill you." - -"Let me see it," urged Tarzan. - -"Go away," reiterated the she-ape. "Here comes Taug. -He will make you go away. Taug will kill you. This is -Taug's balu." - -A savage growl close behind him apprised Tarzan of the -nearness of Taug, and the fact that the bull had heard the -warnings and threats of his mate and was coming to her succor. - -Now Taug, as well as Teeka, had been Tarzan's play-fellow -while the bull was still young enough to wish to play. -Once Tarzan had saved Taug's life; but the memory -of an ape is not overlong, nor would gratitude rise -above the parental instinct. Tarzan and Taug had once -measured strength, and Tarzan had been victorious. -That fact Taug could be depended upon still to remember; -but even so, he might readily face another defeat for his -first-born--if he chanced to be in the proper mood. - -From his hideous growls, which now rose in strength -and volume, he seemed to be in quite the mood. Now Tarzan -felt no fear of Taug, nor did the unwritten law of the jungle -demand that he should flee from battle with any male, -unless he cared to from purely personal reasons. -But Tarzan liked Taug. He had no grudge against him, -and his man-mind told him what the mind of an ape would -never have deduced-- that Taug's attitude in no sense -indicated hatred. It was but the instinctive urge -of the male to protect its offspring and its mate. - -Tarzan had no desire to battle with Taug, nor did the blood -of his English ancestors relish the thought of flight, -yet when the bull charged, Tarzan leaped nimbly to one side, -and thus encouraged, Taug wheeled and rushed again madly -to the attack. Perhaps the memory of a past defeat at -Tarzan's hands goaded him. Perhaps the fact that Teeka sat -there watching him aroused a desire to vanquish the ape-man -before her eyes, for in the breast of every jungle male lurks -a vast egotism which finds expression in the performance -of deeds of derring-do before an audience of the opposite sex. - -At the ape-man's side swung his long grass rope--the -play-thing of yesterday, the weapon of today--and -as Taug charged the second time, Tarzan slipped the -coils over his head and deftly shook out the sliding -noose as he again nimbly eluded the ungainly beast. -Before the ape could turn again, Tarzan had fled -far aloft among the branches of the upper terrace. - -Taug, now wrought to a frenzy of real rage, followed him. -Teeka peered upward at them. It was difficult to say -whether she was interested. Taug could not climb as -rapidly as Tarzan, so the latter reached the high levels -to which the heavy ape dared not follow before the former -overtook him. There he halted and looked down upon -his pursuer, making faces at him and calling him such -choice names as occurred to the fertile man-brain. Then, -when he had worked Taug to such a pitch of foaming rage -that the great bull fairly danced upon the bending limb -beneath him, Tarzan's hand shot suddenly outward, a widening -noose dropped swiftly through the air, there was a quick -jerk as it settled about Taug, falling to his knees, -a jerk that tightened it securely about the hairy legs -of the anthropoid. - -Taug, slow of wit, realized too late the intention of -his tormentor. He scrambled to escape, but the ape-man -gave the rope a tremendous jerk that pulled Taug from -his perch, and a moment later, growling hideously, -the ape hung head downward thirty feet above the ground. - -Tarzan secured the rope to a stout limb and descended -to a point close to Taug. - -"Taug," he said, "you are as stupid as Buto, the rhinoceros. -Now you may hang here until you get a little sense -in your thick head. You may hang here and watch while I -go and talk with Teeka." - -Taug blustered and threatened, but Tarzan only grinned -at him as he dropped lightly to the lower levels. Here he -again approached Teeka only to be again greeted with bared -fangs and menacing growls. He sought to placate her; -he urged his friendly intentions, and craned his neck to -have a look at Teeka's balu; but the she-ape was not to be -persuaded that he meant other than harm to her little one. -Her motherhood was still so new that reason was yet -subservient to instinct. - -Realizing the futility of attempting to catch -and chastise Tarzan, Teeka sought to escape him. -She dropped to the ground and lumbered across the little -clearing about which the apes of the tribe were disposed -in rest or in the search of food, and presently Tarzan -abandoned his attempts to persuade her to permit a close -examination of the balu. The ape-man would have liked -to handle the tiny thing. The very sight of it awakened -in his breast a strange yearning. He wished to cuddle -and fondle the grotesque little ape-thing. It was Teeka's -balu and Tarzan had once lavished his young affections upon -Teeka. - -But now his attention was diverted by the voice of Taug. -The threats that had filled the ape's mouth had turned -to pleas. The tightening noose was stopping the circulation -of the blood in his legs--he was beginning to suffer. -Several apes sat near him highly interested in his predicament. -They made uncomplimentary remarks about him, for each of -them had felt the weight of Taug's mighty hands and the -strength of his great jaws. They were enjoying revenge. - -Teeka, seeing that Tarzan had turned back toward -the trees, had halted in the center of the clearing, -and there she sat hugging her balu and casting suspicious -glances here and there. With the coming of the balu, -Teeka's care-free world had suddenly become peopled -with innumerable enemies. She saw an implacable foe -in Tarzan, always heretofore her best friend. Even poor -old Mumga, half blind and almost entirely toothless, -searching patiently for grubworms beneath a fallen log, -represented to her a malignant spirit thirsting for the -blood of little balus. - -And while Teeka guarded suspiciously against harm, -where there was no harm, she failed to note two baleful, -yellow-green eyes staring fixedly at her from behind -a clump of bushes at the opposite side of the clearing. - -Hollow from hunger, Sheeta, the panther, glared greedily -at the tempting meat so close at hand, but the sight -of the great bulls beyond gave him pause. - -Ah, if the she-ape with her balu would but come just a -trifle nearer! A quick spring and he would be upon them -and away again with his meat before the bulls could prevent. - -The tip of his tawny tail moved in spasmodic little jerks; -his lower jaw hung low, exposing a red tongue and -yellow fangs. But all this Teeka did not see, nor did any -other of the apes who were feeding or resting about her. -Nor did Tarzan or the apes in the trees. - -Hearing the abuse which the bulls were pouring upon -the helpless Taug, Tarzan clambered quickly among them. -One was edging closer and leaning far out in an effort -to reach the dangling ape. He had worked himself into -quite a fury through recollection of the last occasion -upon which Taug had mauled him, and now he was bent -upon revenge. Once he had grasped the swinging ape, -he would quickly have drawn him within reach of his jaws. -Tarzan saw and was wroth. He loved a fair fight, -but the thing which this ape contemplated revolted him. -Already a hairy hand had clutched the helpless Taug when, -with an angry growl of protest, Tarzan leaped to the branch -at the attacking ape's side, and with a single mighty cuff, -swept him from his perch. - -Surprised and enraged, the bull clutched madly for -support as he toppled sidewise, and then with an agile -movement succeeded in projecting himself toward another -limb a few feet below. Here he found a hand-hold, -quickly righted himself, and as quickly clambered -upward to be revenged upon Tarzan, but the ape-man was -otherwise engaged and did not wish to be interrupted. -He was explaining again to Taug the depths of the latter's -abysmal ignorance, and pointing out how much greater -and mightier was Tarzan of the Apes than Taug or any other ape. - -In the end he would release Taug, but not until Taug -was fully acquainted with his own inferiority. And then -the maddened bull came from beneath, and instantly Tarzan -was transformed from a good-natured, teasing youth into -a snarling, savage beast. Along his scalp the hair -bristled: his upper lip drew back that his fighting fangs -might be uncovered and ready. He did not wait for the bull -to reach him, for something in the appearance or the voice -of the attacker aroused within the ape-man a feeling -of belligerent antagonism that would not be denied. -With a scream that carried no human note, Tarzan leaped -straight at the throat of the attacker. - -The impetuosity of this act and the weight and momentum -of his body carried the bull backward, clutching and clawing -for support, down through the leafy branches of the tree. -For fifteen feet the two fell, Tarzan's teeth buried in -the jugular of his opponent, when a stout branch stopped -their descent. The bull struck full upon the small of his back -across the limb, hung there for a moment with the ape-man -still upon his breast, and then toppled over toward the ground. - -Tarzan had felt the instantaneous relaxation of the body -beneath him after the heavy impact with the tree limb, -and as the other turned completely over and started again -upon its fall toward the ground, he reached forth a hand -and caught the branch in time to stay his own descent, -while the ape dropped like a plummet to the foot of -the tree. - -Tarzan looked downward for a moment upon the still form -of his late antagonist, then he rose to his full height, -swelled his deep chest, smote upon it with his clenched -fist and roared out the uncanny challenge of the victorious -bull ape. - -Even Sheeta, the panther, crouched for a spring at the edge -of the little clearing, moved uneasily as the mighty voice -sent its weird cry reverberating through the jungle. -To right and left, nervously, glanced Sheeta, as though -assuring himself that the way of escape lay ready at hand. - -"I am Tarzan of the Apes," boasted the ape-man; -"mighty hunter, mighty fighter! None in all the jungle -so great as Tarzan." - -Then he made his way back in the direction of Taug. -Teeka had watched the happenings in the tree. She had -even placed her precious balu upon the soft grasses and -come a little nearer that she might better witness all -that was passing in the branches above her. In her heart -of hearts did she still esteem the smooth-skinned Tarzan? -Did her savage breast swell with pride as she witnessed -his victory over the ape? You will have to ask Teeka. - -And Sheeta, the panther, saw that the she-ape had left -her cub alone among the grasses. He moved his tail again, -as though this closest approximation of lashing in which he -dared indulge might stimulate his momentarily waned courage. -The cry of the victorious ape-man still held his nerves -beneath its spell. It would be several minutes before he -again could bring himself to the point of charging into -view of the giant anthropoids. - -And as he regathered his forces, Tarzan reached Taug's side, -and then clambering higher up to the point where the end -of the grass rope was made fast, he unloosed it and -lowered the ape slowly downward, swinging him in until -the clutching hands fastened upon a limb. - -Quickly Taug drew himself to a position of safety and shook -off the noose. In his rage-maddened heart was no room -for gratitude to the ape-man. He recalled only the fact -that Tarzan had laid this painful indignity upon him. -He would be revenged, but just at present his legs were -so numb and his head so dizzy that he must postpone -the gratification of his vengeance. - -Tarzan was coiling his rope the while he lectured -Taug on the futility of pitting his poor powers, -physical and intellectual, against those of his betters. -Teeka had come close beneath the tree and was peering upward. -Sheeta was worming his way stealthily forward, his belly -close to the ground. In another moment he would be clear -of the underbrush and ready for the rapid charge and the quick -retreat that would end the brief existence of Teeka's balu. - -Then Tarzan chanced to look up and across the clearing. -Instantly his attitude of good-natured bantering and pompous -boastfulness dropped from him. Silently and swiftly he -shot downward toward the ground. Teeka, seeing him coming, -and thinking that he was after her or her balu, bristled and -prepared to fight. But Tarzan sped by her, and as he went, -her eyes followed him and she saw the cause of his sudden -descent and his rapid charge across the clearing. -There in full sight now was Sheeta, the panther, -stalking slowly toward the tiny, wriggling balu which lay -among the grasses many yards away. - -Teeka gave voice to a shrill scream of terror and of warning -as she dashed after the ape-man. Sheeta saw Tarzan coming. -He saw the she-ape's cub before him, and he thought -that this other was bent upon robbing him of his prey. -With an angry growl, he charged. - -Taug, warned by Teeka's cry, came lumbering down to -her assistance. Several other bulls, growling and barking, -closed in toward the clearing, but they were all much farther -from the balu and the panther than was Tarzan of the Apes, -so it was that Sheeta and the ape-man reached Teeka's -little one almost simultaneously; and there they stood, -one upon either side of it, baring their fangs and snarling -at each other over the little creature. - -Sheeta was afraid to seize the balu, for thus he would -give the ape-man an opening for attack; and for the same -reason Tarzan hesitated to snatch the panther's prey -out of harm's way, for had he stooped to accomplish this, -the great beast would have been upon him in an instant. -Thus they stood while Teeka came across the clearing, -going more slowly as she neared the panther, for even her -mother love could scarce overcome her instinctive terror -of this natural enemy of her kind. - -Behind her came Taug, warily and with many pauses and -much bluster, and still behind him came other bulls, -snarling ferociously and uttering their uncanny challenges. -Sheeta's yellow-green eyes glared terribly at Tarzan, -and past Tarzan they shot brief glances at the apes -of Kerchak advancing upon him. Discretion prompted him -to turn and flee, but hunger and the close proximity -of the tempting morsel in the grass before him urged him -to remain. He reached forth a paw toward Teeka's balu, -and as he did so, with a savage guttural, Tarzan of the Apes -was upon him. - -The panther reared to meet the ape-man's attack. -He swung a frightful raking blow for Tarzan that would have -wiped his face away had it landed, but it did not land, -for Tarzan ducked beneath it and closed, his long knife -ready in one strong hand--the knife of his dead father, -of the father he never had known. - -Instantly the balu was forgotten by Sheeta, the panther. -He now thought only of tearing to ribbons with his powerful -talons the flesh of his antagonist, of burying his long, -yellow fangs in the soft, smooth hide of the ape-man, but -Tarzan had fought before with clawed creatures of the jungle. -Before now he had battled with fanged monsters, nor always -had he come away unscathed. He knew the risk that he ran, -but Tarzan of the Apes, inured to the sight of suffering -and death, shrank from neither, for he feared neither. - -The instant that he dodged beneath Sheeta's blow, he leaped -to the beast's rear and then full upon the tawny back, -burying his teeth in Sheeta's neck and the fingers of one -hand in the fur at the throat, and with the other hand -he drove his blade into Sheeta's side. - -Over and over upon the grass rolled Sheeta, growling and -screaming, -clawing and biting, in a mad effort to dislodge his antagonist -or get some portion of his body within range of teeth or talons. - -As Tarzan leaped to close quarters with the panther, -Teeka had run quickly in and snatched up her balu. -Now she sat upon a high branch, safe out of harm's way, -cuddling the little thing close to her hairy breast, -the while her savage little eyes bored down upon the -contestants in the clearing, and her ferocious voice urged -Taug and the other bulls to leap into the melee. - -Thus goaded the bulls came closer, redoubling their -hideous clamor; but Sheeta was already sufficiently engaged-- -he did not even hear them. Once he succeeded in partially -dislodging the ape-man from his back, so that Tarzan swung -for an instant in front of those awful talons, and in the -brief instant before he could regain his former hold, -a raking blow from a hind paw laid open one leg from hip to knee. - - -It was the sight and smell of this blood, possibly, -which wrought upon the encircling apes; but it -was Taug who really was responsible for the thing they did. - -Taug, but a moment before filled with rage toward -Tarzan of the Apes, stood close to the battling pair, -his red-rimmed, wicked little eyes glaring at them. -What was passing in his savage brain? Did he gloat over -the unenviable position of his recent tormentor? Did -he long to see Sheeta's great fangs sink into the soft -throat of the ape-man? Or did he realize the courageous -unselfishness that had prompted Tarzan to rush to the -rescue and imperil his life for Teeka's balu--for Taug's -little balu? Is gratitude a possession of man only, -or do the lower orders know it also? - -With the spilling of Tarzan's blood, Taug answered -these questions. With all the weight of his great body -he leaped, hideously growling, upon Sheeta. His long -fighting fangs buried themselves in the white throat. -His powerful arms beat and clawed at the soft fur until it -flew upward in the jungle breeze. - -And with Taug's example before them the other bulls charged, -burying Sheeta beneath rending fangs and filling all -the forest with the wild din of their battle cries. - -Ah! but it was a wondrous and inspiring sight--this battle -of the primordial apes and the great, white ape-man -with their ancestral foe, Sheeta, the panther. - -In frenzied excitement, Teeka fairly danced upon -the limb which swayed beneath her great weight as she -urged on the males of her people, and Thaka, and Mumga, -and Kamma, with the other shes of the tribe of Kerchak, -added their shrill cries or fierce barkings to the -pandemonium which now reigned within the jungle. - -Bitten and biting, tearing and torn, Sheeta battled -for his life; but the odds were against him. Even Numa, -the lion, would have hesitated to have attacked an equal -number of the great bulls of the tribe of Kerchak, and now, -a half mile away, hearing the sounds of the terrific battle, -the king of beasts rose uneasily from his midday slumber -and slunk off farther into the jungle. - -Presently Sheeta's torn and bloody body ceased its -titanic struggles. It stiffened spasmodically, twitched and -was still, yet the bulls continued to lacerate it until -the beautiful coat was torn to shreds. At last they desisted -from sheer physical weariness, and then from the tangle -of bloody bodies rose a crimson giant, straight as an arrow. - -He placed a foot upon the dead body of the panther, -and lifting his blood-stained face to the blue of the -equatorial heavens, gave voice to the horrid victory -cry of the bull ape. - -One by one his hairy fellows of the tribe of Kerchak -followed his example. The shes came down from their perches -of safety and struck and reviled the dead body of Sheeta. -The young apes refought the battle in mimicry of their -mighty elders. - -Teeka was quite close to Tarzan. He turned and saw her -with the balu hugged close to her hairy breast, and put -out his hands to take the little one, expecting that Teeka -would bare her fangs and spring upon him; but instead -she placed the balu in his arms, and coming nearer, -licked his frightful wounds. - -And presently Taug, who had escaped with only a few scratches, -came and squatted beside Tarzan and watched him as he -played with the little balu, and at last he too leaned -over and helped Teeka with the cleansing and the healing -of the ape-man's hurts. - - - - - - - 4 - - - The God of Tarzan - - -AMONG THE BOOKS of his dead father in the little cabin -by the land-locked harbor, Tarzan of the Apes found -many things to puzzle his young head. By much labor and -through the medium of infinite patience as well, he had, -without assistance, discovered the purpose of the little -bugs which ran riot upon the printed pages. He had learned -that in the many combinations in which he found them they -spoke in a silent language, spoke in a strange tongue, -spoke of wonderful things which a little ape-boy could -not by any chance fully understand, arousing his curiosity, -stimulating his imagination and filling his soul with -a mighty longing for further knowledge. - -A dictionary had proven itself a wonderful storehouse -of information, when, after several years of tireless -endeavor, he had solved the mystery of its purpose -and the manner of its use. He had learned to make -a species of game out of it, following up the spoor of -a new thought through the mazes of the many definitions -which each new word required him to consult. It was like -following a quarry through the jungle-- it was hunting, -and Tarzan of the Apes was an indefatigable huntsman. - -There were, of course, certain words which aroused his -curiosity to a greater extent than others, words which, -for one reason or another, excited his imagination. -There was one, for example, the meaning of which was -rather difficult to grasp. It was the word GOD. -Tarzan first had been attracted to it by the fact that it -was very short and that it commenced with a larger g-bug -than those about it--a male g-bug it was to Tarzan, -the lower-case letters being females. Another fact -which attracted him to this word was the number of he-bugs -which figured in its definition--Supreme Deity, Creator or -Upholder of the Universe. This must be a very important -word indeed, he would have to look into it, and he did, -though it still baffled him after many months of thought -and study. - -However, Tarzan counted no time wasted which he devoted -to these strange hunting expeditions into the game -preserves of knowledge, for each word and each definition -led on and on into strange places, into new worlds where, -with increasing frequency, he met old, familiar faces. -And always he added to his store of knowledge. - -But of the meaning of GOD he was yet in doubt. -Once he thought he had grasped it--that God was a -mighty chieftain, king of all the Mangani. He was not -quite sure, however, since that would mean that God was -mightier than Tarzan-- a point which Tarzan of the Apes, -who acknowledged no equal in the jungle, was loath to concede. - -But in all the books he had there was no picture of God, -though he found much to confirm his belief that God was -a great, an all-powerful individual. He saw pictures of -places where God was worshiped; but never any sign of God. -Finally he began to wonder if God were not of a different -form than he, and at last he determined to set out in search -of Him. - -He commenced by questioning Mumga, who was very old and -had seen many strange things in her long life; but Mumga, -being an ape, had a faculty for recalling the trivial. -That time when Gunto mistook a sting-bug for an edible -beetle had made more impression upon Mumga than all -the innumerable manifestations of the greatness of God -which she had witnessed, and which, of course, she had -not understood. - -Numgo, overhearing Tarzan's questions, managed to wrest -his attention long enough from the diversion of flea -hunting to advance the theory that the power which made -the lightning and the rain and the thunder came from Goro, -the moon. He knew this, he said, because the Dum-Dum -always was danced in the light of Goro. This reasoning, -though entirely satisfactory to Numgo and Mumga, -failed fully to convince Tarzan. However, it gave him -a basis for further investigation along a new line. -He would investigate the moon. - -That night he clambered to the loftiest pinnacle of the -tallest jungle giant. The moon was full, a great, glorious, -equatorial moon. The ape-man, upright upon a slender, -swaying limb, raised his bronzed face to the silver orb. -Now that he had clambered to the highest point within -his reach, he discovered, to his surprise, that Goro -was as far away as when he viewed him from the ground. -He thought that Goro was attempting to elude him. - -"Come, Goro!" he cried, "Tarzan of the Apes will not -harm you!" But still the moon held aloof. - -"Tell me," he continued, "if you be the great king -who sends Ara, the lightning; who makes the great noise -and the mighty winds, and sends the waters down upon -the jungle people when the days are dark and it is cold. -Tell me, Goro, are you God?" - -Of course he did not pronounce God as you or I would -pronounce His name, for Tarzan knew naught of the spoken -language of his English forbears; but he had a name of his -own invention for each of the little bugs which constituted -the alphabet. Unlike the apes he was not satisfied merely -to have a mental picture of the things he knew, he must -have a word descriptive of each. In reading he grasped -a word in its entirety; but when he spoke the words he -had learned from the books of his father, he pronounced -each according to the names he had given the various little -bugs which occurred in it, usually giving the gender prefix for -each. - -Thus it was an imposing word which Tarzan made of GOD. -The masculine prefix of the apes is BU, the feminine -MU; g Tarzan had named LA, o he pronounced TU, -and d was MO. So the word God evolved itself -into BULAMUTUMUMO, or, in English, he-g-she-o-she-d. - -Similarly he had arrived at a strange and wonderful -spelling of his own name. Tarzan is derived from the -two ape words TAR and ZAN, meaning white skin. -It was given him by his foster mother, Kala, the great -she-ape. When Tarzan first put it into the written language -of his own people he had not yet chanced upon either WHITE -or SKIN in the dictionary; but in a primer -he had seen the picture of a little white boy and so he -wrote his name BUMUDE-MUTOMURO, or he-boy. - -To follow Tarzan's strange system of spelling would be -laborious as well as futile, and so we shall in the future, -as we have in the past, adhere to the more familiar forms -of our grammar school copybooks. It would tire you -to remember that DO meant b, TU o, and RO y, -and that to say he-boy you must prefix the ape masculine -gender sound BU before the entire word and the feminine -gender sound MU before each of the lower-case letters -which go to make up boy--it would tire you and it would -bring me to the nineteenth hole several strokes under par. - -And so Tarzan harangued the moon, and when Goro did not reply, -Tarzan of the Apes waxed wroth. He swelled his giant -chest and bared his fighting fangs, and hurled into the -teeth of the dead satellite the challenge of the bull ape. - -"You are not Bulamutumumo," he cried. "You are not king -of the jungle folk. You are not so great as Tarzan, -mighty fighter, mighty hunter. None there is so great -as Tarzan. If there be a Bulamutumumo, Tarzan can kill him. -Come down, Goro, great coward, and fight with Tarzan. -Tarzan will kill you. I am Tarzan, the killer." - -But the moon made no answer to the boasting of the -ape-man, and when a cloud came and obscured her face, -Tarzan thought that Goro was indeed afraid, and was hiding -from him, so he came down out of the trees and awoke -Numgo and told him how great was Tarzan--how he had -frightened Goro out of the sky and made him tremble. -Tarzan spoke of the moon as HE, for all things large -or awe inspiring are male to the ape folk. - -Numgo was not much impressed; but he was very sleepy, -so he told Tarzan to go away and leave his betters alone. - -"But where shall I find God?" insisted Tarzan. "You are -very old; if there is a God you must have seen Him. -What does He look like? Where does He live?" - -"I am God," replied Numgo. "Now sleep and disturb me -no more." - -Tarzan looked at Numgo steadily for several minutes, -his shapely head sank just a trifle between his great shoulders, -his square chin shot forward and his short upper lip -drew back, exposing his white teeth. Then, with a low -growl he leaped upon the ape and buried his fangs -in the other's hairy shoulder, clutching the great neck -in his mighty fingers. Twice he shook the old ape, -then he released his tooth-hold. - -"Are you God?" he demanded. - -"No," wailed Numgo. "I am only a poor, old ape. -Leave me alone. Go ask the Gomangani where God is. -They are hairless like yourself and very wise, too. -They should know." - -Tarzan released Numgo and turned away. The suggestion -that he consult the blacks appealed to him, and though -his relations with the people of Mbonga, the chief, -were the antithesis of friendly, he could at least spy upon -his hated enemies and discover if they had intercourse -with God. - -So it was that Tarzan set forth through the trees toward -the village of the blacks, all excitement at the prospect -of discovering the Supreme Being, the Creator of all things. -As he traveled he reviewed, mentally, his armament--the -condition of his hunting knife, the number of his arrows, -the newness of the gut which strung his bow--he hefted -the war spear which had once been the pride of some black -warrior of Mbonga's tribe. - -If he met God, Tarzan would be prepared. One could never -tell whether a grass rope, a war spear, or a poisoned arrow -would be most efficacious against an unfamiliar foe. -Tarzan of the Apes was quite content--if God wished to fight, -the ape-man had no doubt as to the outcome of the struggle. -There were many questions Tarzan wished to put to the -Creator of the Universe and so he hoped that God would -not prove a belligerent God; but his experience of life -and the ways of living things had taught him that any -creature with the means for offense and defense was quite -likely to provoke attack if in the proper mood. - -It was dark when Tarzan came to the village of Mbonga. -As silently as the silent shadows of the night he -sought his accustomed place among the branches of the -great tree which overhung the palisade. Below him, -in the village street, he saw men and women. The men -were hideously painted--more hideously than usual. -Among them moved a weird and grotesque figure, a tall figure -that went upon the two legs of a man and yet had the head -of a buffalo. A tail dangled to his ankles behind him, -and in one hand he carried a zebra's tail while the other -clutched a bunch of small arrows. - -Tarzan was electrified. Could it be that chance had given -him thus early an opportunity to look upon God? Surely -this thing was neither man nor beast, so what could it -be then other than the Creator of the Universe! The -ape-man watched the every move of the strange creature. -He saw the black men and women fall back at its approach -as though they stood in terror of its mysterious powers. - -Presently he discovered that the deity was speaking and -that all listened in silence to his words. Tarzan was -sure that none other than God could inspire such awe -in the hearts of the Gomangani, or stop their mouths -so effectually without recourse to arrows or spears. -Tarzan had come to look with contempt upon the blacks, -principally because of their garrulity. The small apes -talked a great deal and ran away from an enemy. The big, -old bulls of Kerchak talked but little and fought upon -the slightest provocation. Numa, the lion, was not given -to loquacity, yet of all the jungle folk there were few -who fought more often than he. - -Tarzan witnessed strange things that night, none of which -he understood, and, perhaps because they were strange, -he thought that they must have to do with the God he could -not understand. He saw three youths receive their first war -spears in a weird ceremony which the grotesque witch-doctor -strove successfully to render uncanny and awesome. - -Hugely interested, he watched the slashing of the three brown -arms and the exchange of blood with Mbonga, the chief, -in the rites of the ceremony of blood brotherhood. -He saw the zebra's tail dipped into a caldron of water -above which the witch-doctor had made magical passes -the while he danced and leaped about it, and he saw -the breasts and foreheads of each of the three novitiates -sprinkled with the charmed liquid. Could the ape-man -have known the purpose of this act, that it was intended -to render the recipient invulnerable to the attacks -of his enemies and fearless in the face of any danger, -he would doubtless have leaped into the village street -and appropriated the zebra's tail and a portion of the -contents of the caldron. - -But he did not know, and so he only wondered, not alone -at what he saw but at the strange sensations which played -up and down his naked spine, sensations induced, doubtless, -by the same hypnotic influence which held the black -spectators in tense awe upon the verge of a hysteric upheaval. - -The longer Tarzan watched, the more convinced he became -that his eyes were upon God, and with the conviction came -determination to have word with the deity. With Tarzan -of the Apes, to think was to act. - -The people of Mbonga were keyed to the highest pitch -of hysterical excitement. They needed little to release -the accumulated pressure of static nerve force which -the terrorizing mummery of the witch-doctor had induced. - -A lion roared, suddenly and loud, close without the palisade. -The blacks started nervously, dropping into utter silence -as they listened for a repetition of that all-too-familiar -and always terrorizing voice. Even the witch-doctor paused -in the midst of an intricate step, remaining momentarily -rigid and statuesque as he plumbed his cunning mind -for a suggestion as how best he might take advantage -of the condition of his audience and the timely interruption. - -Already the evening had been vastly profitable to him. -There would be three goats for the initiation of the -three youths into full-fledged warriorship, and besides -these he had received several gifts of grain and beads, -together with a piece of copper wire from admiring and -terrified members of his audience. - -Numa's roar still reverberated along taut nerves when a -woman's laugh, shrill and piercing, shattered the silence -of the village. It was this moment that Tarzan chose -to drop lightly from his tree into the village street. -Fearless among his blood enemies he stood, taller by a full -head than many of Mbonga's warriors, straight as their -straightest arrow, muscled like Numa, the lion. - -For a moment Tarzan stood looking straight at the -witch-doctor. Every eye was upon him, yet no one had -moved-- a paralysis of terror held them, to be broken -a moment later as the ape-man, with a toss of head, -stepped straight toward the hideous figure beneath the buffalo -head. - -Then the nerves of the blacks could stand no more. -For months the terror of the strange, white, jungle god -had been upon them. Their arrows had been stolen from -the very center of the village; their warriors had been -silently slain upon the jungle trails and their dead -bodies dropped mysteriously and by night into the village -street as from the heavens above. - -One or two there were who had glimpsed the strange figure -of the new demon and it was from their oft-repeated -descriptions that the entire village now recognized Tarzan -as the author of many of their ills. Upon another occasion -and by daylight, the warriors would doubtless have leaped -to attack him, but at night, and this night of all others, -when they were wrought to such a pitch of nervous dread -by the uncanny artistry of their witch-doctor, they were -helpless with terror. As one man they turned and fled, -scattering for their huts, as Tarzan advanced. -For a moment one and one only held his ground. It was -the witch-doctor. More than half self-hypnotized into -a belief in his own charlatanry he faced this new demon -who threatened to undermine his ancient and lucrative profession. - - -"Are you God?" asked Tarzan. - -The witch-doctor, having no idea of the meaning of the -other's words, danced a few strange steps, leaped high -in the air, turning completely around and alighting in a -stooping posture with feet far outspread and head thrust -out toward the ape-man. Thus he remained for an instant -before he uttered a loud "Boo!" which was evidently intended -to frighten Tarzan away; but in reality had no such effect. - -Tarzan did not pause. He had set out to approach and examine -God and nothing upon earth might now stay his feet. -Seeing that his antics had no potency with the visitor, -the witch-doctor tried some new medicine. Spitting upon -the zebra's tail, which he still clutched in one hand, -he made circles above it with the arrows in the other hand, -meanwhile backing cautiously away from Tarzan and speaking -confidentially to the bushy end of the tail. - -This medicine must be short medicine, however, for the creature, -god or demon, was steadily closing up the distance which had -separated them. The circles therefore were few and rapid, -and when they were completed, the witch-doctor struck an attitude -which was intended to be awe inspiring and waving the zebra's -tail before him, drew an imaginary line between himself and -Tarzan. - -"Beyond this line you cannot pass, for my medicine is -strong medicine," he cried. "Stop, or you will fall -dead as your foot touches this spot. My mother was -a voodoo, my father was a snake; I live upon lions' -hearts and the entrails of the panther; I eat young babies -for breakfast and the demons of the jungle are my slaves. -I am the most powerful witch-doctor in the world; -I fear nothing, for I cannot die. I--" But he got no further; -instead he turned and fled as Tarzan of the Apes crossed -the magical dead line and still lived. - -As the witch-doctor ran, Tarzan almost lost his temper. -This was no way for God to act, at least not in accordance -with the conception Tarzan had come to have of God. - -"Come back!" he cried. "Come back, God, I will not harm you." -But the witch-doctor was in full retreat by this time, -stepping high as he leaped over cooking pots and the -smoldering embers of small fires that had burned before -the huts of villagers. Straight for his own hut ran -the witch-doctor, terror-spurred to unwonted speed; -but futile was his effort--the ape-man bore down upon -him with the speed of Bara, the deer. - -Just at the entrance to his hut the witch-doctor was overhauled. -A heavy hand fell upon his shoulder to drag him back. -It seized upon a portion of the buffalo hide, dragging the -disguise from him. It was a naked black man that Tarzan -saw dodge into the darkness of the hut's interior. - -So this was what he had thought was God! Tarzan's lip -curled in an angry snarl as he leaped into the hut after -the terror-stricken witch-doctor. In the blackness within -he found the man huddled at the far side and dragged him -forth into the comparative lightness of the moonlit night. - -The witch-doctor bit and scratched in an attempt to escape; -but a few cuffs across the head brought him to a better -realization of the futility of resistance. Beneath the moon -Tarzan held the cringing figure upon its shaking feet. - -"So you are God!" he cried. "If you be God, then Tarzan -is greater than God," and so the ape-man thought. -"I am Tarzan," he shouted into the ear of the black. -"In all the jungle, or above it, or upon the running -waters, or the sleeping waters, or upon the big water, -or the little water, there is none so great as Tarzan. -Tarzan is greater than the Mangani; he is greater than -the Gomangani. With his own hands he has slain Numa, -the lion, and Sheeta, the panther; there is none so great -as Tarzan. Tarzan is greater than God. See!" and with -a sudden wrench he twisted the black's neck until the -fellow shrieked in pain and then slumped to the earth -in a swoon. - -Placing his foot upon the neck of the fallen witch-doctor, -the ape-man raised his face to the moon and uttered -the long, shrill scream of the victorious bull ape. -Then he stooped and snatched the zebra's tail from the -nerveless fingers of the unconscious man and without -a backward glance retraced his footsteps across the village. - -From several hut doorways frightened eyes watched him. -Mbonga, the chief, was one of those who had seen -what passed before the hut of the witch-doctor. Mbonga -was greatly concerned. Wise old patriarch that he was, -he never had more than half believed in witch-doctors, -at least not since greater wisdom had come with age; -but as a chief he was well convinced of the power of the -witch-doctor as an arm of government, and often it was -that Mbonga used the superstitious fears of his people -to his own ends through the medium of the medicine-man. - -Mbonga and the witch-doctor had worked together and divided -the spoils, and now the "face" of the witch-doctor -would be lost forever if any saw what Mbonga had seen; -nor would this generation again have as much faith -in any future witch-doctor. - -Mbonga must do something to counteract the evil influence -of the forest demon's victory over the witch-doctor. He -raised his heavy spear and crept silently from his hut -in the wake of the retreating ape-man. Down the village -street walked Tarzan, as unconcerned and as deliberate -as though only the friendly apes of Kerchak surrounded -him instead of a village full of armed enemies. - -Seeming only was the indifference of Tarzan, -for alert and watchful was every well-trained sense. -Mbonga, wily stalker of keen-eared jungle creatures, -moved now in utter silence. Not even Bara, the deer, -with his great ears could have guessed from any sound -that Mbonga was near; but the black was not stalking Bara; -he was stalking man, and so he sought only to avoid noise. - -Closer and closer to the slowly moving ape-man he came. -Now he raised his war spear, throwing his spear-hand far back -above his right shoulder. Once and for all would Mbonga, -the chief, rid himself and his people of the menace -of this terrifying enemy. He would make no poor cast; -he would take pains, and he would hurl his weapon with such -great force as would finish the demon forever. - -But Mbonga, sure as he thought himself, erred in -his calculations. He might believe that he was stalking -a man-- he did not know, however, that it was a man -with the delicate sense perception of the lower orders. -Tarzan, when he had turned his back upon his enemies, -had noted what Mbonga never would have thought of considering -in the hunting of man--the wind. It was blowing in the -same direction that Tarzan was proceeding, carrying to -his delicate nostrils the odors which arose behind him. -Thus it was that Tarzan knew that he was being followed, -for even among the many stenches of an African village, -the ape-man's uncanny faculty was equal to the task -of differentiating one stench from another and locating -with remarkable precision the source from whence it came. - -He knew that a man was following him and coming closer, -and his judgment warned him of the purpose of the stalker. -When Mbonga, therefore, came within spear range -of the ape-man, the latter suddenly wheeled upon him, -so suddenly that the poised spear was shot a fraction -of a second before Mbonga had intended. It went a trifle -high and Tarzan stooped to let it pass over his head; -then he sprang toward the chief. But Mbonga did not wait -to receive him. Instead, he turned and fled for the dark -doorway of the nearest hut, calling as he went for his -warriors to fall upon the stranger and slay him. - -Well indeed might Mbonga scream for help, for Tarzan, -young and fleet-footed, covered the distance between -them in great leaps, at the speed of a charging lion. -He was growling, too, not at all unlike Numa himself. -Mbonga heard and his blood ran cold. He could feel the wool -stiffen upon his pate and a prickly chill run up his spine, -as though Death had come and run his cold finger along -Mbonga's back. - -Others heard, too, and saw, from the darkness of their -huts--bold warriors, hideously painted, grasping heavy -war spears in nerveless fingers. Against Numa, the lion, -they would have charged fearlessly. Against many times -their own number of black warriors would they have raced -to the protection of their chief; but this weird jungle -demon filled them with terror. There was nothing human -in the bestial growls that rumbled up from his deep chest; -there was nothing human in the bared fangs, or the catlike leaps. - -Mbonga's warriors were terrified--too terrified to leave -the seeming security of their huts while they watched -the beast-man spring full upon the back of their old chieftain. - -Mbonga went down with a scream of terror. He was -too frightened even to attempt to defend himself. -He just lay beneath his antagonist in a paralysis of fear, -screaming at the top of his lungs. Tarzan half rose -and kneeled above the black. He turned Mbonga over and -looked him in the face, exposing the man's throat, then he -drew his long, keen knife, the knife that John Clayton, -Lord Greystoke, had brought from England many years before. -He raised it close above Mbonga's neck. The old black -whimpered with terror. He pleaded for his life in a tongue -which Tarzan could not understand. - -For the first time the ape-man had a close view of the chief. -He saw an old man, a very old man with scrawny neck -and wrinkled face--a dried, parchment-like face which -resembled some of the little monkeys Tarzan knew so well. -He saw the terror in the man's eyes--never before had -Tarzan seen such terror in the eyes of any animal, or such -a piteous appeal for mercy upon the face of any creature. - -Something stayed the ape-man's hand for an instant. -He wondered why it was that he hesitated to make the kill; -never before had he thus delayed. The old man seemed to -wither and shrink to a bag of puny bones beneath his eyes. -So weak and helpless and terror-stricken he appeared -that the ape-man was filled with a great contempt; -but another sensation also claimed him--something new -to Tarzan of the Apes in relation to an enemy. It was -pity--pity for a poor, frightened, old man. - -Tarzan rose and turned away, leaving Mbonga, the chief, unharmed. - -With head held high the ape-man walked through the village, -swung himself into the branches of the tree which overhung -the palisade and disappeared from the sight of the villagers. - -All the way back to the stamping ground of the apes, -Tarzan sought for an explanation of the strange power which -had stayed his hand and prevented him from slaying Mbonga. -It was as though someone greater than he had commanded -him to spare the life of the old man. Tarzan could -not understand, for he could conceive of nothing, or no one, -with the authority to dictate to him what he should do, -or what he should refrain from doing. - -It was late when Tarzan sought a swaying couch among -the trees beneath which slept the apes of Kerchak, -and he was still absorbed in the solution of his strange -problem when he fell asleep. - -The sun was well up in the heavens when he awoke. -The apes were astir in search of food. Tarzan watched -them lazily from above as they scratched in the rotting -loam for bugs and beetles and grubworms, or sought among -the branches of the trees for eggs and young birds, -or luscious caterpillars. - -An orchid, dangling close beside his head, opened slowly, -unfolding its delicate petals to the warmth and light -of the sun which but recently had penetrated to its -shady retreat. A thousand times had Tarzan of the Apes -witnessed the beauteous miracle; but now it aroused -a keener interest, for the ape-man was just commencing -to ask himself questions about all the myriad wonders -which heretofore he had but taken for granted. - -What made the flower open? What made it grow from a tiny -bud to a full-blown bloom? Why was it at all? Why was he? -Where did Numa, the lion, come from? Who planted the first -tree? How did Goro get way up into the darkness of the night -sky to cast his welcome light upon the fearsome nocturnal -jungle? And the sun! Did the sun merely happen there? - -Why were all the peoples of the jungle not trees? Why were -the trees not something else? Why was Tarzan different -from Taug, and Taug different from Bara, the deer, -and Bara different from Sheeta, the panther, and why -was not Sheeta like Buto, the rhinoceros? Where and how, -anyway, did they all come from--the trees, the flowers, -the insects, the countless creatures of the jungle? - -Quite unexpectedly an idea popped into Tarzan's head. -In following out the many ramifications of the dictionary -definition of GOD he had come upon the word CREATE-- -"to cause to come into existence; to form out of nothing." - -Tarzan almost had arrived at something tangible when a -distant wail startled him from his preoccupation into -sensibility of the present and the real. The wail came -from the jungle at some little distance from Tarzan's -swaying couch. It was the wail of a tiny balu. -Tarzan recognized it at once as the voice of Gazan, -Teeka's baby. They had called it Gazan because its soft, -baby hair had been unusually red, and GAZAN in the -language of the great apes, means red skin. - -The wail was immediately followed by a real scream -of terror from the small lungs. Tarzan was electrified -into instant action. Like an arrow from a bow he shot -through the trees in the direction of the sound. -Ahead of him he heard the savage snarling of an adult -she-ape. It was Teeka to the rescue. The danger must -be very real. Tarzan could tell that by the note of rage -mingled with fear in the voice of the she. - -Running along bending limbs, swinging from one tree -to another, the ape-man raced through the middle -terraces toward the sounds which now had risen in volume -to deafening proportions. From all directions the apes -of Kerchak were hurrying in response to the appeal in -the tones of the balu and its mother, and as they came, -their roars reverberated through the forest. - -But Tarzan, swifter than his heavy fellows, distanced them all. -It was he who was first upon the scene. What he saw -sent a cold chill through his giant frame, for the enemy -was the most hated and loathed of all the jungle creatures. - -Twined in a great tree was Histah, the snake--huge, ponderous, -slimy--and in the folds of its deadly embrace was Teeka's -little balu, Gazan. Nothing in the jungle inspired within -the breast of Tarzan so near a semblance to fear as did -the hideous Histah. The apes, too, loathed the terrifying -reptile and feared him even more than they did Sheeta, -the panther, or Numa, the lion. Of all their enemies there -was none they gave a wider berth than they gave Histah, -the snake. - -Tarzan knew that Teeka was peculiarly fearful of this silent, -repulsive foe, and as the scene broke upon his vision, -it was the action of Teeka which filled him with the -greatest wonder, for at the moment that he saw her, -the she-ape leaped upon the glistening body of the snake, -and as the mighty folds encircled her as well as her offspring, -she made no effort to escape, but instead grasped the writhing -body in a futile effort to tear it from her screaming balu. - -Tarzan knew all too well how deep-rooted was Teeka's terror -of Histah. He scarce could believe the testimony of his -own eyes then, when they told him that she had voluntarily -rushed into that deadly embrace. Nor was Teeka's innate -dread of the monster much greater than Tarzan's own. -Never, willingly, had he touched a snake. Why, he could -not say, for he would admit fear of nothing; nor was it fear, -but rather an inherent repulsion bequeathed to him by many -generations of civilized ancestors, and back of them, perhaps, -by countless myriads of such as Teeka, in the breasts -of each of which had lurked the same nameless terror of the slimy -reptile. - -Yet Tarzan did not hesitate more than had Teeka, -but leaped upon Histah with all the speed and impetuosity -that he would have shown had he been springing upon Bara, -the deer, to make a kill for food. Thus beset the snake -writhed and twisted horribly; but not for an instant -did it loose its hold upon any of its intended victims, -for it had included the ape-man in its cold embrace -the minute that he had fallen upon it. - -Still clinging to the tree, the mighty reptile held -the three as though they had been without weight, -the while it sought to crush the life from them. -Tarzan had drawn his knife and this he now plunged rapidly -into the body of the enemy; but the encircling folds -promised to sap his life before he had inflicted a death -wound upon the snake. Yet on he fought, nor once did he -seek to escape the horrid death that confronted him--his -sole aim was to slay Histah and thus free Teeka and her balu. - -The great, wide-gaping jaws of the snake turned and hovered -above him. The elastic maw, which could accommodate a rabbit -or a horned buck with equal facility, yawned for him; -but Histah, in turning his attention upon the ape-man, brought -his head within reach of Tarzan's blade. Instantly a brown -hand leaped forth and seized the mottled neck, and another -drove the heavy hunting knife to the hilt into the little brain. - -Convulsively Histah shuddered and relaxed, tensed and -relaxed again, whipping and striking with his great body; -but no longer sentient or sensible. Histah was dead, -but in his death throes he might easily dispatch a dozen -apes or men. - -Quickly Tarzan seized Teeka and dragged her from the -loosened embrace, dropping her to the ground beneath, -then he extricated the balu and tossed it to its mother. -Still Histah whipped about, clinging to the ape-man; -but after a dozen efforts Tarzan succeeded in wriggling -free and leaping to the ground out of range of the mighty -battering of the dying snake. - -A circle of apes surrounded the scene of the battle; -but the moment that Tarzan broke safely from the enemy they -turned silently away to resume their interrupted feeding, -and Teeka turned with them, apparently forgetful of all -but her balu and the fact that when the interruption had -occurred she just had discovered an ingeniously hidden -nest containing three perfectly good eggs. - -Tarzan, equally indifferent to a battle that was over, -merely cast a parting glance at the still writhing -body of Histah and wandered off toward the little -pool which served to water the tribe at this point. -Strangely, he did not give the victory cry over the -vanquished Histah. Why, he could not have told you, -other than that to him Histah was not an animal. -He differed in some peculiar way from the other denizens -of the jungle. Tarzan only knew that he hated him. - -At the pool Tarzan drank his fill and lay stretched -upon the soft grass beneath the shade of a tree. -His mind reverted to the battle with Histah, the snake. -It seemed strange to him that Teeka should have placed -herself within the folds of the horrid monster. -Why had she done it? Why, indeed, had he? Teeka did -not belong to him, nor did Teeka's balu. They were both -Taug's. Why then had he done this thing? Histah was not -food for him when he was dead. There seemed to Tarzan, -now that he gave the matter thought, no reason in the world -why he should have done the thing he did, and presently it -occurred to him that he had acted almost involuntarily, -just as he had acted when he had released the old Gomangani -the previous evening. - -What made him do such things? Somebody more powerful than he must -force him to act at times. "All-powerful," thought Tarzan. -"The little bugs say that God is all-powerful. It must -be that God made me do these things, for I never did them -by myself. It was God who made Teeka rush upon Histah. -Teeka would never go near Histah of her own volition. -It was God who held my knife from the throat of the -old Gomangani. God accomplishes strange things for he is -'all-powerful.' I cannot see Him; but I know that it must -be God who does these things. No Mangani, no Gomangani, -no Tarmangani could do them." - -And the flowers--who made them grow? Ah, now it -was all explained--the flowers, the trees, the moon, -the sun, himself, every living creature in the jungle--they -were all made by God out of nothing. - -And what was God? What did God look like? Of that he had -no conception; but he was sure that everything that was good -came from God. His good act in refraining from slaying -the poor, defenseless old Gomangani; Teeka's love that had -hurled her into the embrace of death; his own loyalty to -Teeka which had jeopardized his life that she might live. -The flowers and the trees were good and beautiful. -God had made them. He made the other creatures, -too, that each might have food upon which to live. -He had made Sheeta, the panther, with his beautiful coat; -and Numa, the lion, with his noble head and his shaggy mane. -He had made Bara, the deer, lovely and graceful. - -Yes, Tarzan had found God, and he spent the whole day -in attributing to Him all of the good and beautiful things -of nature; but there was one thing which troubled him. -He could not quite reconcile it to his conception of his -new-found God. - -Who made Histah, the snake? - - - - - - - 5 - - - Tarzan and the Black Boy - - -TARZAN OF THE Apes sat at the foot of a great tree braiding -a new grass rope. Beside him lay the frayed remnants of the -old one, torn and severed by the fangs and talons of Sheeta, -the panther. Only half the original rope was there, -the balance having been carried off by the angry cat as he -bounded away through the jungle with the noose still about -his savage neck and the loose end dragging among the underbrush. - -Tarzan smiled as he recalled Sheeta's great rage, his frantic -efforts to free himself from the entangling strands, -his uncanny screams that were part hate, part anger, -part terror. He smiled in retrospection at the discomfiture -of his enemy, and in anticipation of another day as he -added an extra strand to his new rope. - -This would be the strongest, the heaviest rope that Tarzan -of the Apes ever had fashioned. Visions of Numa, the lion, -straining futilely in its embrace thrilled the ape-man. He -was quite content, for his hands and his brain were busy. -Content, too, were his fellows of the tribe of Kerchak, -searching for food in the clearing and the surrounding -trees about him. No perplexing thoughts of the future -burdened their minds, and only occasionally, dimly arose -recollections of the near past. They were stimulated -to a species of brutal content by the delectable business -of filling their bellies. Afterward they would sleep--it -was their life, and they enjoyed it as we enjoy ours, -you and I--as Tarzan enjoyed his. Possibly they enjoyed -theirs more than we enjoy ours, for who shall say that the -beasts of the jungle do not better fulfill the purposes -for which they are created than does man with his many -excursions into strange fields and his contraventions -of the laws of nature? And what gives greater content -and greater happiness than the fulfilling of a destiny? - -As Tarzan worked, Gazan, Teeka's little balu, played about -him while Teeka sought food upon the opposite side of -the clearing. No more did Teeka, the mother, or Taug, -the sullen sire, harbor suspicions of Tarzan's intentions -toward their first-born. Had he not courted death to save -their Gazan from the fangs and talons of Sheeta? Did he -not fondle and cuddle the little one with even as great -a show of affection as Teeka herself displayed? Their -fears were allayed and Tarzan now found himself often -in the role of nursemaid to a tiny anthropoid-- an -avocation which he found by no means irksome, since Gazan -was a never-failing fount of surprises and entertainment. - -Just now the apeling was developing those arboreal -tendencies which were to stand him in such good stead -during the years of his youth, when rapid flight into -the upper terraces was of far more importance and value -than his undeveloped muscles and untried fighting fangs. -Backing off fifteen or twenty feet from the bole of the tree -beneath the branches of which Tarzan worked upon his rope, -Gazan scampered quickly forward, scrambling nimbly upward -to the lower limbs. Here he would squat for a moment or two, -quite proud of his achievement, then clamber to the ground -again and repeat. Sometimes, quite often in fact, for he -was an ape, his attention was distracted by other things, -a beetle, a caterpillar, a tiny field mouse, and off he -would go in pursuit; the caterpillars he always caught, -and sometimes the beetles; but the field mice, never. - -Now he discovered the tail of the rope upon which Tarzan -was working. Grasping it in one small hand he bounced away, -for all the world like an animated rubber ball, snatching it -from the ape-man's hand and running off across the clearing. -Tarzan leaped to his feet and was in pursuit in an instant, -no trace of anger on his face or in his voice as he called -to the roguish little balu to drop his rope. - -Straight toward his mother raced Gazan, and after him -came Tarzan. Teeka looked up from her feeding, and in the -first instant that she realized that Gazan was fleeing and -that another was in pursuit, she bared her fangs and bristled; -but when she saw that the pursuer was Tarzan she turned back -to the business that had been occupying her attention. -At her very feet the ape-man overhauled the balu and, -though the youngster squealed and fought when Tarzan -seized him, Teeka only glanced casually in their direction. -No longer did she fear harm to her first-born at the hands -of the ape-man. Had he not saved Gazan on two occasions? - -Rescuing his rope, Tarzan returned to his tree and resumed -his labor; but thereafter it was necessary to watch -carefully the playful balu, who was now possessed to steal -it whenever he thought his great, smooth-skinned cousin -was momentarily off his guard. - -But even under this handicap Tarzan finally completed -the rope, a long, pliant weapon, stronger than any he -ever had made before. The discarded piece of his former -one he gave to Gazan for a plaything, for Tarzan had -it in his mind to instruct Teeka's balu after ideas -of his own when the youngster should be old and strong -enough to profit by his precepts. At present the little -ape's innate aptitude for mimicry would be sufficient -to familiarize him with Tarzan's ways and weapons, -and so the ape-man swung off into the jungle, his new rope -coiled over one shoulder, while little Gazan hopped about -the clearing dragging the old one after him in childish glee. - -As Tarzan traveled, dividing his quest for food with one -for a sufficiently noble quarry whereupon to test his -new weapon, his mind often was upon Gazan. The ape-man -had realized a deep affection for Teeka's balu almost from -the first, partly because the child belonged to Teeka, -his first love, and partly for the little ape's own sake, -and Tarzan's human longing for some sentient creature -upon which to expend those natural affections of the soul -which are inherent to all normal members of the GENUS -HOMO. Tarzan envied Teeka. It was true that Gazan -evidenced a considerable reciprocation of Tarzan's fondness -for him, even preferring him to his own surly sire; -but to Teeka the little one turned when in pain or terror, -when tired or hungry. Then it was that Tarzan felt -quite alone in the world and longed desperately for one -who should turn first to him for succor and protection. - -Taug had Teeka; Teeka had Gazan; and nearly every other -bull and cow of the tribe of Kerchak had one or more -to love and by whom to be loved. Of course Tarzan could -scarcely formulate the thought in precisely this way--he -only knew that he craved something which was denied him; -something which seemed to be represented by those -relations which existed between Teeka and her balu, -and so he envied Teeka and longed for a balu of his own. - -He saw Sheeta and his mate with their little family of three; -and deeper inland toward the rocky hills, where one might lie -up during the heat of the day, in the dense shade of a tangled -thicket close under the cool face of an overhanging rock, -Tarzan had found the lair of Numa, the lion, and of Sabor, -the lioness. Here he had watched them with their little -balus--playful creatures, spotted leopard-like. And he -had seen the young fawn with Bara, the deer, and with Buto, -the rhinoceros, its ungainly little one. Each of the -creatures of the jungle had its own--except Tarzan. -It made the ape-man sad to think upon this thing, -sad and lonely; but presently the scent of game cleared -his young mind of all other considerations, as catlike he -crawled far out upon a bending limb above the game trail -which led down to the ancient watering place of the wild -things of this wild world. - -How many thousands of times had this great, old limb bent -to the savage form of some blood-thirsty hunter in the -long years that it had spread its leafy branches above -the deep-worn jungle path! Tarzan, the ape-man, Sheeta, -the panther, and Histah, the snake, it knew well. -They had worn smooth the bark upon its upper surface. - -Today it was Horta, the boar, which came down toward the -watcher in the old tree--Horta, the boar, whose formidable -tusks and diabolical temper preserved him from all but -the most ferocious or most famished of the largest carnivora. - -But to Tarzan, meat was meat; naught that was edible or tasty -might pass a hungry Tarzan unchallenged and unattacked. -In hunger, as in battle, the ape-man out-savaged the -dreariest denizens of the jungle. He knew neither fear -nor mercy, except upon rare occasions when some strange, -inexplicable force stayed his hand--a force inexplicable -to him, perhaps, because of his ignorance of his own origin -and of all the forces of humanitarianism and civilization -that were his rightful heritage because of that origin. - -So today, instead of staying his hand until a less -formidable feast found its way toward him, Tarzan dropped -his new noose about the neck of Horta, the boar. -It was an excellent test for the untried strands. -The angered boar bolted this way and that; but each time -the new rope held him where Tarzan had made it fast -about the stem of the tree above the branch from which he -had cast it. - -As Horta grunted and charged, slashing the sturdy jungle -patriarch with his mighty tusks until the bark flew in -every direction, Tarzan dropped to the ground behind him. -In the ape-man's hand was the long, keen blade that had been -his constant companion since that distant day upon which -chance had directed its point into the body of Bolgani, -the gorilla, and saved the torn and bleeding man-child -from what else had been certain death. - -Tarzan walked in toward Horta, who swung now to face -his enemy. Mighty and muscled as was the young giant, -it yet would have appeared but the maddest folly for him -to face so formidable a creature as Horta, the boar, -armed only with a slender hunting knife. So it would -have seemed to one who knew Horta even slightly and Tarzan -not at all. - -For a moment Horta stood motionless facing the ape-man. -His wicked, deep-set eyes flashed angrily. He shook -his lowered head. - -"Mud-eater!" jeered the ape-man. "Wallower in filth. -Even your meat stinks, but it is juicy and makes Tarzan strong. -Today I shall eat your heart, O Lord of the Great Tusks, -that it shall keep savage that which pounds against my -own ribs." - -Horta, understanding nothing of what Tarzan said, was none -the less enraged because of that. He saw only a naked -man-thing, hairless and futile, pitting his puny fangs -and soft muscles against his own indomitable savagery, -and he charged. - -Tarzan of the Apes waited until the upcut of a wicked -tusk would have laid open his thigh, then he moved--just -the least bit to one side; but so quickly that lightning -was a sluggard by comparison, and as he moved, he stooped -low and with all the great power of his right arm drove -the long blade of his father's hunting knife straight -into the heart of Horta, the boar. A quick leap carried -him from the zone of the creature's death throes, -and a moment later the hot and dripping heart of Horta -was in his grasp. - -His hunger satisfied, Tarzan did not seek a lying-up place -for sleep, as was sometimes his way, but continued on -through the jungle more in search of adventure than of food, -for today he was restless. And so it came that he turned -his footsteps toward the village of Mbonga, the black chief, -whose people Tarzan had baited remorselessly since that -day upon which Kulonga, the chief's son, had slain Kala. - -A river winds close beside the village of the black men. -Tarzan reached its side a little below the clearing where -squat the thatched huts of the Negroes. The river life -was ever fascinating to the ape-man. He found pleasure -in watching the ungainly antics of Duro, the hippopotamus, -and keen sport in tormenting the sluggish crocodile, -Gimla, as he basked in the sun. Then, too, there were -the shes and the balus of the black men of the Gomangani -to frighten as they squatted by the river, the shes with -their meager washing, the balus with their primitive toys. - -This day he came upon a woman and her child farther -down stream than usual. The former was searching for a -species of shellfish which was to be found in the mud -close to the river bank. She was a young black woman -of about thirty. Her teeth were filed to sharp points, -for her people ate the flesh of man. Her under lip -was slit that it might support a rude pendant of copper -which she had worn for so many years that the lip had been -dragged downward to prodigious lengths, exposing the teeth -and gums of her lower jaw. Her nose, too, was slit, -and through the slit was a wooden skewer. Metal ornaments -dangled from her ears, and upon her forehead and cheeks; -upon her chin and the bridge of her nose were tattooings -in colors that were mellowed now by age. She was -naked except for a girdle of grasses about her waist. -Altogether she was very beautiful in her own estimation -and even in the estimation of the men of Mbonga's tribe, -though she was of another people--a trophy of war seized -in her maidenhood by one of Mbonga's fighting men. - -Her child was a boy of ten, lithe, straight and, -for a black, handsome. Tarzan looked upon the two from -the concealing foliage of a near-by bush. He was about -to leap forth before them with a terrifying scream, -that he might enjoy the spectacle of their terror and their -incontinent flight; but of a sudden a new whim seized him. -Here was a balu fashioned as he himself was fashioned. -Of course this one's skin was black; but what of it? -Tarzan had never seen a white man. In so far as he knew, -he was the sole representative of that strange form -of life upon the earth. The black boy should make an -excellent balu for Tarzan, since he had none of his own. -He would tend him carefully, feed him well, protect him -as only Tarzan of the Apes could protect his own, -and teach him out of his half human, half bestial lore -the secrets of the jungle from its rotting surface -vegetation to the high tossed pinnacles of the forest's -upper terraces. - -* * * - -Tarzan uncoiled his rope, and shook out the noose. -The two before him, all ignorant of the near presence of -that terrifying form, continued preoccupied in the search -for shellfish, poking about in the mud with short sticks. - -Tarzan stepped from the jungle behind them; his noose -lay open upon the ground beside him. There was a quick -movement of the right arm and the noose rose gracefully -into the air, hovered an instant above the head of the -unsuspecting youth, then settled. As it encompassed -his body below the shoulders, Tarzan gave a quick jerk -that tightened it about the boy's arms, pinioning them -to his sides. A scream of terror broke from the lad's lips, -and as his mother turned, affrighted at his cry, -she saw him being dragged quickly toward a great white -giant who stood just beneath the shade of a near-by tree, -scarcely a dozen long paces from her. - -With a savage cry of terror and rage, the woman leaped fearlessly -toward the ape-man. In her mien Tarzan saw determination -and courage which would shrink not even from death itself. -She was very hideous and frightful even when her face -was in repose; but convulsed by passion, her expression -became terrifyingly fiendish. Even the ape-man drew back, -but more in revulsion than fear--fear he knew not. - -Biting and kicking was the black she's balu as Tarzan tucked -him beneath his arm and vanished into the branches hanging -low above him, just as the infuriated mother dashed forward -to seize and do battle with him. And as he melted away into -the depth of the jungle with his still struggling prize, -he meditated upon the possibilities which might lie in the -prowess of the Gomangani were the hes as formidable as the shes. - -Once at a safe distance from the despoiled mother and out -of earshot of her screams and menaces, Tarzan paused -to inspect his prize, now so thoroughly terrorized -that he had ceased his struggles and his outcries. - -The frightened child rolled his eyes fearfully toward -his captor, until the whites showed gleaming all about -the irises. - -"I am Tarzan," said the ape-man, in the vernacular of -the anthropoids. "I will not harm you. You are to be -Tarzan's balu. Tarzan will protect you. He will feed you. -The best in the jungle shall be for Tarzan's balu, -for Tarzan is a mighty hunter. None need you fear, -not even Numa, the lion, for Tarzan is a mighty fighter. -None so great as Tarzan, son of Kala. Do not fear." - -But the child only whimpered and trembled, for he did -not understand the tongue of the great apes, and the voice -of Tarzan sounded to him like the barking and growling -of a beast. Then, too, he had heard stories of this bad, -white forest god. It was he who had slain Kulonga -and others of the warriors of Mbonga, the chief. -It was he who entered the village stealthily, by magic, -in the darkness of the night, to steal arrows and poison, -and frighten the women and the children and even the -great warriors. Doubtless this wicked god fed upon -little boys. Had his mother not said as much when he -was naughty and she threatened to give him to the white -god of the jungle if he were not good? Little black Tibo -shook as with ague. - -"Are you cold, Go-bu-balu?" asked Tarzan, using the simian -equivalent of black he-baby in lieu of a better name. -"The sun is hot; why do you shiver?" - -Tibo could not understand; but he cried for his mamma and -begged the great, white god to let him go, promising always -to be a good boy thereafter if his plea were granted. -Tarzan shook his head. Not a word could he understand. -This would never do! He must teach Go-bu-balu a language -which sounded like talk. It was quite certain to Tarzan -that Go-bu-balu's speech was not talk at all. It sounded -quite as senseless as the chattering of the silly birds. -It would be best, thought the ape-man, quickly to get him -among the tribe of Kerchak where he would hear the Mangani -talking among themselves. Thus he would soon learn an -intelligible form of speech. - -Tarzan rose to his feet upon the swaying branch where he -had halted far above the ground, and motioned to the child -to follow him; but Tibo only clung tightly to the bole -of the tree and wept. Being a boy, and a native African, -he had, of course, climbed into trees many times before this; -but the idea of racing off through the forest, leaping from -one branch to another, as his captor, to his horror, -had done when he had carried Tibo away from his mother, -filled his childish heart with terror. - -Tarzan sighed. His newly acquired balu had much indeed -to learn. It was pitiful that a balu of his size and strength -should be so backward. He tried to coax Tibo to follow him; -but the child dared not, so Tarzan picked him up and carried -him upon his back. Tibo no longer scratched or bit. -Escape seemed impossible. Even now, were he set upon -the ground, the chance was remote, he knew, that he could -find his way back to the village of Mbonga, the chief. -Even if he could, there were the lions and the leopards -and the hyenas, any one of which, as Tibo was well aware, -was particularly fond of the meat of little black boys. - -So far the terrible white god of the jungle had offered -him no harm. He could not expect even this much -consideration from the frightful, green-eyed man-eaters. -It would be the lesser of two evils, then, to let the -white god carry him away without scratching and biting, -as he had done at first. - -As Tarzan swung rapidly through the trees, little Tibo -closed his eyes in terror rather than look longer down -into the frightful abysses beneath. Never before in all -his life had Tibo been so frightened, yet as the white -giant sped on with him through the forest there stole -over the child an inexplicable sensation of security as he -saw how true were the leaps of the ape-man, how unerring -his grasp upon the swaying limbs which gave him hand-hold, -and then, too, there was safety in the middle terraces -of the forest, far above the reach of the dreaded lions. - -And so Tarzan came to the clearing where the tribe fed, -dropping among them with his new balu clinging tightly -to his shoulders. He was fairly in the midst of them -before Tibo spied a single one of the great hairy forms, -or before the apes realized that Tarzan was not alone. -When they saw the little Gomangani perched upon his back -some of them came forward in curiosity with upcurled lips -and snarling mien. - -An hour before little Tibo would have said that he -knew the uttermost depths of fear; but now, as he saw -these fearsome beasts surrounding him, he realized that -all that had gone before was as nothing by comparison. -Why did the great white giant stand there so unconcernedly? -Why did he not flee before these horrid, hairy, tree men -fell upon them both and tore them to pieces? And then -there came to Tibo a numbing recollection. It was none -other than the story he had heard passed from mouth -to mouth, fearfully, by the people of Mbonga, the chief, -that this great white demon of the jungle was naught other -than a hairless ape, for had not he been seen in company with -these? - -Tibo could only stare in wide-eyed horror at the -approaching apes. He saw their beetling brows, -their great fangs, their wicked eyes. He noted their -mighty muscles rolling beneath their shaggy hides. -Their every attitude and expression was a menace. -Tarzan saw this, too. He drew Tibo around in front of him. - -"This is Tarzan's Go-bu-balu," he said. "Do not harm him, -or Tarzan will kill you," and he bared his own fangs -in the teeth of the nearest ape. - -"It is a Gomangani," replied the ape. "Let me kill it. -It is a Gomangani. The Gomangani are our enemies. -Let me kill it." - -"Go away," snarled Tarzan. "I tell you, Gunto, it is -Tarzan's balu. Go away or Tarzan will kill you," -and the ape-man took a step toward the advancing ape. - -The latter sidled off, quite stiff and haughty, -after the manner of a dog which meets another and is -too proud to fight and too fearful to turn his back and run. - -Next came Teeka, prompted by curiosity. At her side -skipped little Gazan. They were filled with wonder -like the others; but Teeka did not bare her fangs. -Tarzan saw this and motioned that she approach. - -"Tarzan has a balu now," he said. "He and Teeka's balu -can play together." - -"It is a Gomangani, " replied Teeka. "It will kill my balu. -Take it away, Tarzan." - -Tarzan laughed. "It could not harm Pamba, the rat," -he said. "It is but a little balu and very frightened. -Let Gazan play with it." - -Teeka still was fearful, for with all their mighty -ferocity the great anthropoids are timid; but at last, -assured by her great confidence in Tarzan, she pushed -Gazan forward toward the little black boy. The small ape, -guided by instinct, drew back toward its mother, baring its -small fangs and screaming in mingled fear and rage. - -Tibo, too, showed no signs of desiring a closer acquaintance -with Gazan, so Tarzan gave up his efforts for the time. - -During the week which followed, Tarzan found his time -much occupied. His balu was a greater responsibility -than he had counted upon. Not for a moment did he dare -leave it, since of all the tribe, Teeka alone could have -been depended upon to refrain from slaying the hapless -black had it not been for Tarzan's constant watchfulness. -When the ape-man hunted, he must carry Go-bu-balu about -with him. It was irksome, and then the little black -seemed so stupid and fearful to Tarzan. It was quite -helpless against even the lesser of the jungle creatures. -Tarzan wondered how it had survived at all. He tried -to teach it, and found a ray of hope in the fact that -Go-bu-balu had mastered a few words of the language -of the anthropoids, and that he could now cling to a -high-tossed branch without screaming in fear; but there -was something about the child which worried Tarzan. -He often had watched the blacks within their village. -He had seen the children playing, and always there had -been much laughter; but little Go-bu-balu never laughed. -It was true that Tarzan himself never laughed. Upon occasion -he smiled, grimly, but to laughter he was a stranger. -The black, however, should have laughed, reasoned the ape-man. -It was the way of the Gomangani. - -Also, he saw that the little fellow often refused food -and was growing thinner day by day. At times he surprised -the boy sobbing softly to himself. Tarzan tried to -comfort him, even as fierce Kala had comforted Tarzan -when the ape-man was a balu, but all to no avail. -Go-bu-balu merely no longer feared Tarzan--that was all. -He feared every other living thing within the jungle. -He feared the jungle days with their long excursions -through the dizzy tree tops. He feared the jungle nights -with their swaying, perilous couches far above the ground, -and the grunting and coughing of the great carnivora prowling -beneath him. - -Tarzan did not know what to do. His heritage of English -blood rendered it a difficult thing even to consider -a surrender of his project, though he was forced to admit -to himself that his balu was not all that he had hoped. -Though he was faithful to his self-imposed task, and even -found that he had grown to like Go-bu-balu, he could -not deceive himself into believing that he felt for it -that fierce heat of passionate affection which Teeka -revealed for Gazan, and which the black mother had shown -for Go-bu-balu. - -The little black boy from cringing terror at the sight of -Tarzan passed by degrees into trustfulness and admiration. -Only kindness had he ever received at the hands of the -great white devil-god, yet he had seen with what ferocity -his kindly captor could deal with others. He had seen him -leap upon a certain he-ape which persisted in attempting -to seize and slay Go-bu-balu. He had seen the strong, -white teeth of the ape-man fastened in the neck of -his adversary, and the mighty muscles tensed in battle. -He had heard the savage, bestial snarls and roars -of combat, and he had realized with a shudder that he -could not differentiate between those of his guardian -and those of the hairy ape. - -He had seen Tarzan bring down a buck, just as Numa, the lion, -might have done, leaping upon its back and fastening his fangs -in the creature's neck. Tibo had shuddered at the sight, -but he had thrilled, too, and for the first time there -entered his dull, Negroid mind a vague desire to emulate -his savage foster parent. But Tibo, the little black boy, -lacked the divine spark which had permitted Tarzan, -the white boy, to benefit by his training in the ways -of the fierce jungle. In imagination he was wanting, -and imagination is but another name for super-intelligence. - -Imagination it is which builds bridges, and cities, -and empires. The beasts know it not, the blacks only -a little, while to one in a hundred thousand of earth's -dominant race it is given as a gift from heaven that man -may not perish from the earth. - -While Tarzan pondered his problem concerning the future -of his balu, Fate was arranging to take the matter out -of his hands. Momaya, Tibo's mother, grief-stricken at -the loss of her boy, had consulted the tribal witch-doctor, -but to no avail. The medicine he made was not good medicine, -for though Momaya paid him two goats for it, it did -not bring back Tibo, nor even indicate where she might -search for him with reasonable assurance of finding him. -Momaya, being of a short temper and of another people, -had little respect for the witch-doctor of her -husband's tribe, and so, when he suggested that a further -payment of two more fat goats would doubtless enable -him to make stronger medicine, she promptly loosed her -shrewish tongue upon him, and with such good effect that -he was glad to take himself off with his zebra's tail and his pot -of magic. - -When he had gone and Momaya had succeeded in partially -subduing her anger, she gave herself over to thought, -as she so often had done since the abduction of her Tibo, -in the hope that she finally might discover some feasible -means of locating him, or at least assuring herself as to -whether he were alive or dead. - -It was known to the blacks that Tarzan did not eat the flesh -of man, for he had slain more than one of their number, -yet never tasted the flesh of any. Too, the bodies -always had been found, sometimes dropping as though -from the clouds to alight in the center of the village. -As Tibo's body had not been found, Momaya argued that he -still lived, but where? - -Then it was that there came to her mind a recollection -of Bukawai, the unclean, who dwelt in a cave in the hillside -to the north, and who it was well known entertained -devils in his evil lair. Few, if any, had the temerity -to visit old Bukawai, firstly because of fear of his black -magic and the two hyenas who dwelt with him and were -commonly known to be devils masquerading, and secondly -because of the loathsome disease which had caused Bukawai -to be an outcast--a disease which was slowly eating away his -face. - -Now it was that Momaya reasoned shrewdly that if any might -know the whereabouts of her Tibo, it would be Bukawai, -who was in friendly intercourse with gods and demons, -since a demon or a god it was who had stolen her baby; -but even her great mother love was sorely taxed to find -the courage to send her forth into the black jungle toward -the distant hills and the uncanny abode of Bukawai, -the unclean, and his devils. - -Mother love, however, is one of the human passions -which closely approximates to the dignity of an -irresistible force. It drives the frail flesh of weak -women to deeds of heroic measure. Momaya was neither frail -nor weak, physically, but she was a woman, an ignorant, -superstitious, African savage. She believed in devils, -in black magic, and in witchcraft. To Momaya, the jungle -was inhabited by far more terrifying things than lions -and leopards--horrifying, nameless things which possessed -the power of wreaking frightful harm under various innocent -guises. - -From one of the warriors of the village, whom she knew -to have once stumbled upon the lair of Bukawai, the mother -of Tibo learned how she might find it--near a spring of -water which rose in a small rocky canon between two hills, -the easternmost of which was easily recognizable because -of a huge granite boulder which rested upon its summit. -The westerly hill was lower than its companion, and was -quite bare of vegetation except for a single mimosa tree -which grew just a little below its summit. - -These two hills, the man assured her, could be seen -for some distance before she reached them, and together -formed an excellent guide to her destination. -He warned her, however, to abandon so foolish and -dangerous an adventure, emphasizing what she already -quite well knew, that if she escaped harm at the hands -of Bukawai and his demons, the chances were that she -would not be so fortunate with the great carnivora -of the jungle through which she must pass going and returning. - -The warrior even went to Momaya's husband, who, in turn, -having little authority over the vixenish lady of his choice, -went to Mbonga, the chief. The latter summoned Momaya, -threatening her with the direst punishment should she -venture forth upon so unholy an excursion. The old -chief's interest in the matter was due solely to that -age-old alliance which exists between church and state. -The local witch-doctor, knowing his own medicine -better than any other knew it, was jealous of all -other pretenders to accomplishments in the black art. -He long had heard of the power of Bukawai, and feared lest, -should he succeed in recovering Momaya's lost child, -much of the tribal patronage and consequent fees would be -diverted to the unclean one. As Mbonga received, as chief, -a certain proportion of the witch-doctor's fees and could -expect nothing from Bukawai, his heart and soul were, -quite naturally, wrapped up in the orthodox church. - -But if Momaya could view with intrepid heart an excursion -into the jungle and a visit to the fear-haunted abode -of Bukawai, she was not likely to be deterred by threats -of future punishment at the hands of old Mbonga, -whom she secretly despised. Yet she appeared to accede -to his injunctions, returning to her hut in silence. - -She would have preferred starting upon her quest -by day-light, but this was now out of the question, -since she must carry food and a weapon of some sort--things -which she never could pass out of the village with by -day without being subjected to curious questioning -that surely would come immediately to the ears of Mbonga. - -So Momaya bided her time until night, and just before the -gates of the village were closed, she slipped through into -the darkness and the jungle. She was much frightened, -but she set her face resolutely toward the north, and though -she paused often to listen, breathlessly, for the huge -cats which, here, were her greatest terror, she nevertheless -continued her way staunchly for several hours, until a low -moan a little to her right and behind her brought her to a sudden -stop. - -With palpitating heart the woman stood, scarce daring -to breathe, and then, very faintly but unmistakable -to her keen ears, came the stealthy crunching of twigs -and grasses beneath padded feet. - -All about Momaya grew the giant trees of the tropical jungle, -festooned with hanging vines and mosses. She seized -upon the nearest and started to clamber, apelike, to the -branches above. As she did so, there was a sudden -rush of a great body behind her, a menacing roar that -caused the earth to tremble, and something crashed -into the very creepers to which she was clinging--but below her. - -Momaya drew herself to safety among the leafy branches and -thanked the foresight which had prompted her to bring along -the dried human ear which hung from a cord about her neck. -She always had known that that ear was good medicine. -It had been given her, when a girl, by the witch-doctor -of her town tribe, and was nothing like the poor, -weak medicine of Mbonga's witch-doctor. - -All night Momaya clung to her perch, for although the -lion sought other prey after a short time, she dared -not descend into the darkness again, for fear she might -encounter him or another of his kind; but at daylight -she clambered down and resumed her way. - -Tarzan of the Apes, finding that his balu never ceased to give -evidence of terror in the presence of the apes of the tribe, -and also that most of the adult apes were a constant menace -to Go-bu-balu's life, so that Tarzan dared not leave him -alone with them, took to hunting with the little black boy -farther and farther from the stamping grounds of the anthropoids. - - -Little by little his absences from the tribe grew in length -as he wandered farther away from them, until finally he -found himself a greater distance to the north than he ever -before had hunted, and with water and ample game and fruit, -he felt not at all inclined to return to the tribe. - -Little Go-bu-balu gave evidences of a greater interest -in life, an interest which varied in direct proportion -to the distance he was from the apes of Kerchak. -He now trotted along behind Tarzan when the ape-man went -upon the ground, and in the trees he even did his best -to follow his mighty foster parent. The boy was still -sad and lonely. His thin, little body had grown steadily -thinner since he had come among the apes, for while, -as a young cannibal, he was not overnice in the matter -of diet, he found it not always to his taste to stomach -the weird things which tickled the palates of epicures -among the apes. - -His large eyes were very large indeed now, his cheeks sunken, -and every rib of his emaciated body plainly discernible -to whomsoever should care to count them. Constant terror, -perhaps, had had as much to do with his physical condition as -had improper food. Tarzan noticed the change and was worried. -He had hoped to see his balu wax sturdy and strong. -His disappointment was great. In only one respect did -Go-bu-balu seem to progress--he readily was mastering -the language of the apes. Even now he and Tarzan could -converse in a fairly satisfactory manner by supplementing -the meager ape speech with signs; but for the most part, -Go-bu-balu was silent other than to answer questions put -to him. His great sorrow was yet too new and too poignant -to be laid aside even momentarily. Always he pined for -Momaya--shrewish, hideous, repulsive, perhaps, she would -have been to you or me, but to Tibo she was mamma, -the personification of that one great love which knows -no selfishness and which does not consume itself in its own -fires. - -As the two hunted, or rather as Tarzan hunted and Go-bu-balu -tagged along in his wake, the ape-man noticed many things -and thought much. Once they came upon Sabor moaning in -the tall grasses. About her romped and played two little -balls of fur, but her eyes were for one which lay between -her great forepaws and did not romp, one who never would romp -again. - -Tarzan read aright the anguish and the suffering of the -huge mother cat. He had been minded to bait her. It was -to do this that he had sneaked silently through the trees -until he had come almost above her, but something held the -ape-man as he saw the lioness grieving over her dead cub. -With the acquisition of Go-bu-balu, Tarzan had come -to realize the responsibilities and sorrows of parentage, -without its joys. His heart went out to Sabor as it might -not have done a few weeks before. As he watched her, -there rose quite unbidden before him a vision of Momaya, -the skewer through the septum of her nose, her pendulous -under lip sagging beneath the weight which dragged it down. -Tarzan saw not her unloveliness; he saw only the same anguish -that was Sabor's, and he winced. That strange functioning -of the mind which sometimes is called association of ideas -snapped Teeka and Gazan before the ape-man's mental vision. -What if one should come and take Gazan from Teeka. -Tarzan uttered a low and ominous growl as though Gazan were -his own. Go-bu-balu glanced here and there apprehensively, -thinking that Tarzan had espied an enemy. Sabor sprang -suddenly to her feet, her yellow-green eyes blazing, -her tail lashing as she cocked her ears, and raising -her muzzle, sniffed the air for possible danger. -The two little cubs, which had been playing, scampered -quickly to her, and standing beneath her, peered out -from between her forelegs, their big ears upstanding, -their little heads cocked first upon one side and then -upon the other. - -With a shake of his black shock, Tarzan turned away -and resumed his hunting in another direction; but all day -there rose one after another, above the threshold of his -objective mind, memory portraits of Sabor, of Momaya, -and of Teeka--a lioness, a cannibal, and a she-ape, yet -to the ape-man they were identical through motherhood. - -It was noon of the third day when Momaya came within -sight of the cave of Bukawai, the unclean. The old -witch-doctor had rigged a framework of interlaced boughs -to close the mouth of the cave from predatory beasts. -This was now set to one side, and the black cavern beyond -yawned mysterious and repellent. Momaya shivered as from -a cold wind of the rainy season. No sign of life appeared -about the cave, yet Momaya experienced that uncanny -sensation as of unseen eyes regarding her malevolently. -Again she shuddered. She tried to force her unwilling -feet onward toward the cave, when from its depths issued -an uncanny sound that was neither brute nor human, a weird -sound that was akin to mirthless laughter. - -With a stifled scream, Momaya turned and fled into the jungle. -For a hundred yards she ran before she could control -her terror, and then she paused, listening. Was all -her labor, were all the terrors and dangers through -which she had passed to go for naught? She tried to steel -herself to return to the cave, but again fright overcame her. - -Saddened, disheartened, she turned slowly upon the back trail -toward the village of Mbonga. Her young shoulders now were -drooped like those of an old woman who bears a great burden -of many years with their accumulated pains and sorrows, -and she walked with tired feet and a halting step. -The spring of youth was gone from Momaya. - -For another hundred yards she dragged her weary way, -her brain half paralyzed from dumb terror and suffering, -and then there came to her the memory of a little babe -that suckled at her breast, and of a slim boy who romped, -laughing, about her, and they were both Tibo--her Tibo! - -Her shoulders straightened. She shook her savage head, -and she turned about and walked boldly back to the -mouth of the cave of Bukawai, the unclean--of Bukawai, -the witch-doctor. - -Again, from the interior of the cave came the hideous -laughter that was not laughter. This time Momaya -recognized it for what it was, the strange cry of a hyena. -No more did she shudder, but she held her spear ready -and called aloud to Bukawai to come out. - -Instead of Bukawai came the repulsive head of a hyena. -Momaya poked at it with her spear, and the ugly, -sullen brute drew back with an angry growl. Again Momaya -called Bukawai by name, and this time there came an answer -in mumbling tones that were scarce more human than those -of the beast. - -"Who comes to Bukawai?" queried the voice. - -"It is Momaya," replied the woman; "Momaya from the village -of Mbonga, the chief. - -"What do you want?" - -"I want good medicine, better medicine than Mbonga's witch-doctor -can make," replied Momaya. "The great, white, jungle god -has stolen my Tibo, and I want medicine to bring him back, -or to find where he is hidden that I may go and get him." - -"Who is Tibo?" asked Bukawai. - -Momaya told him. - -"Bukawai's medicine is very strong," said the voice. -"Five goats and a new sleeping mat are scarce enough in -exchange for Bukawai's medicine." - -"Two goats are enough," said Momaya, for the spirit -of barter is strong in the breasts of the blacks. - -The pleasure of haggling over the price was a sufficiently -potent lure to draw Bukawai to the mouth of the cave. -Momaya was sorry when she saw him that he had not -remained within. There are some things too horrible, -too hideous, too repulsive for description--Bukawai's face -was of these. When Momaya saw him she understood why it -was that he was almost inarticulate. - -Beside him were two hyenas, which rumor had said were his -only and constant companions. They made an excellent -trio--the most repulsive of beasts with the most repulsive -of humans. - -"Five goats and a new sleeping mat," mumbled Bukawai. - -"Two fat goats and a sleeping mat." Momaya raised her bid; -but Bukawai was obdurate. He stuck for the five goats -and the sleeping mat for a matter of half an hour, -while the hyenas sniffed and growled and laughed hideously. -Momaya was determined to give all that Bukawai asked -if she could do no better, but haggling is second nature -to black barterers, and in the end it partly repaid her, -for a compromise finally was reached which included -three fat goats, a new sleeping mat, and a piece of -copper wire. - -"Come back tonight," said Bukawai, "when the moon is two -hours in the sky. Then will I make the strong medicine -which shall bring Tibo back to you. Bring with you -the three fat goats, the new sleeping mat, and the piece -of copper wire the length of a large man's forearm." - -"I cannot bring them," said Momaya. "You will have -to come after them. When you have restored Tibo to me, -you shall have them all at the village of Mbonga. - -Bukawai shook his head. - -"I will make no medicine," he said, "until I have -the goats and the mat and the copper wire." - -Momaya pleaded and threatened, but all to no avail. -Finally, she turned away and started off through the jungle -toward the village of Mbonga. How she could get three -goats and a sleeping mat out of the village and through -the jungle to the cave of Bukawai, she did not know, -but that she would do it somehow she was quite positive--she -would do it or die. Tibo must be restored to her. - -Tarzan coming lazily through the jungle with little Go-bu-balu, -caught the scent of Bara, the deer. Tarzan hungered for -the flesh of Bara. Naught tickled his palate so greatly; -but to stalk Bara with Go-bu-balu at his heels, was out -of the question, so he hid the child in the crotch of -a tree where the thick foliage screened him from view, -and set off swiftly and silently upon the spoor of Bara. - -Tibo alone was more terrified than Tibo even among the apes. -Real and apparent dangers are less disconcerting than -those which we imagine, and only the gods of his people -knew how much Tibo imagined. - -He had been but a short time in his hiding place when -he heard something approaching through the jungle. -He crouched closer to the limb upon which he lay and prayed -that Tarzan would return quickly. His wide eyes searched -the jungle in the direction of the moving creature. - -What if it was a leopard that had caught his scent! It would -be upon him in a minute. Hot tears flowed from the large -eyes of little Tibo. The curtain of jungle foliage rustled -close at hand. The thing was but a few paces from his tree! -His eyes fairly popped from his black face as he watched -for the appearance of the dread creature which presently would -thrust a snarling countenance from between the vines and -creepers. - -And then the curtain parted and a woman stepped into -full view. With a gasping cry, Tibo tumbled from his -perch and raced toward her. Momaya suddenly started -back and raised her spear, but a second later she cast -it aside and caught the thin body in her strong arms. - -Crushing it to her, she cried and laughed all at one and -the same time, and hot tears of joy, mingled with the tears -of Tibo, trickled down the crease between her naked breasts. - -Disturbed by the noise so close at hand, there arose -from his sleep in a near-by thicket Numa, the lion. -He looked through the tangled underbrush and saw -the black woman and her young. He licked his chops -and measured the distance between them and himself. -A short charge and a long leap would carry him upon them. -He flicked the end of his tail and sighed. - -A vagrant breeze, swirling suddenly in the wrong direction, -carried the scent of Tarzan to the sensitive nostrils -of Bara, the deer. There was a startled tensing of muscles -and cocking of ears, a sudden dash, and Tarzan's meat -was gone. The ape-man angrily shook his head and turned -back toward the spot where he had left Go-bu-balu. He -came softly, as was his way. Before he reached the spot -he heard strange sounds--the sound of a woman laughing -and of a woman weeping, and the two which seemed to come -from one throat were mingled with the convulsive sobbing -of a child. Tarzan hastened, and when Tarzan hastened, -only the birds and the wind went faster. - -And as Tarzan approached the sounds, he heard another, -a deep sigh. Momaya did not hear it, nor did Tibo; -but the ears of Tarzan were as the ears of Bara, the deer. -He heard the sigh, and he knew, so he unloosed the heavy -spear which dangled at his back. Even as he sped through -the branches of the trees, with the same ease that you -or I might take out a pocket handkerchief as we strolled -nonchalantly down a lazy country lane, Tarzan of the Apes -took the spear from its thong that it might be ready against -any emergency. - -Numa, the lion, did not rush madly to attack. -He reasoned again, and reason told him that already the prey -was his, so he pushed his great bulk through the foliage -and stood eyeing his meat with baleful, glaring eyes. - -Momaya saw him and shrieked, drawing Tibo closer to her breast. -To have found her child and to lose him, all in a moment! -She raised her spear, throwing her hand far back of -her shoulder. Numa roared and stepped slowly forward. -Momaya cast her weapon. It grazed the tawny shoulder, -inflicting a flesh wound which aroused all the terrific -bestiality of the carnivore, and the lion charged. - -Momaya tried to close her eyes, but could not. She saw -the flashing swiftness of the huge, oncoming death, -and then she saw something else. She saw a mighty, -naked white man drop as from the heavens into the path -of the charging lion. She saw the muscles of a great arm -flash in the light of the equatorial sun as it filtered, -dappling, through the foliage above. She saw a heavy -hunting spear hurtle through the air to meet the lion -in midleap. - -Numa brought up upon his haunches, roaring terribly and striking -at the spear which protruded from his breast. His great blows -bent and twisted the weapon. Tarzan, crouching and with -hunting knife in hand, circled warily about the frenzied cat. -Momaya, wide-eyed, stood rooted to the spot, watching, -fascinated. - -In sudden fury Numa hurled himself toward the ape-man, -but the wiry creature eluded the blundering charge, -side-stepping quickly only to rush in upon his foe. -Twice the hunting blade flashed in the air. Twice it fell -upon the back of Numa, already weakening from the spear -point so near his heart. The second stroke of the blade -pierced far into the beast's spine, and with a last -convulsive sweep of the fore-paws, in a vain attempt -to reach his tormentor, Numa sprawled upon the ground, -paralyzed and dying. - -Bukawai, fearful lest he should lose any recompense, -followed Momaya with the intention of persuading her -to part with her ornaments of copper and iron against -her return with the price of the medicine--to pay, -as it were, for an option on his services as one pays -a retaining fee to an attorney, for, like an attorney, -Bukawai knew the value of his medicine and that it was -well to collect as much as possible in advance. - -The witch-doctor came upon the scene as Tarzan leaped -to meet the lion's charge. He saw it all and marveled, -guessing immediately that this must be the strange white -demon concerning whom he had heard vague rumors before -Momaya came to him. - -Momaya, now that the lion was past harming her or hers, -gazed with new terror upon Tarzan. It was he who had stolen -her Tibo. Doubtless he would attempt to steal him again. -Momaya hugged the boy close to her. She was determined -to die this time rather than suffer Tibo to be taken from -her again. - -Tarzan eyed them in silence. The sight of the boy clinging, -sobbing, to his mother aroused within his savage breast -a melancholy loneliness. There was none thus to cling -to Tarzan, who yearned so for the love of someone, -of something. - -At last Tibo looked up, because of the quiet that had -fallen upon the jungle, and saw Tarzan. He did not shrink. - -"Tarzan," he said, in the speech of the great apes of the -tribe of Kerchak, "do not take me from Momaya, my mother. -Do not take me again to the lair of the hairy, tree men, -for I fear Taug and Gunto and the others. Let me stay -with Momaya, O Tarzan, God of the Jungle! Let me stay -with Momaya, my mother, and to the end of our days we will -bless you and put food before the gates of the village -of Mbonga that you may never hunger." - -Tarzan sighed. - -"Go," he said, "back to the village of Mbonga, and Tarzan -will follow to see that no harm befalls you." - -Tibo translated the words to his mother, and the two turned -their backs upon the ape-man and started off toward home. -In the heart of Momaya was a great fear and a great exultation, -for never before had she walked with God, and never had -she been so happy. She strained little Tibo to her, -stroking his thin cheek. Tarzan saw and sighed again. - -"For Teeka there is Teeka's balu," he soliloquized; -"for Sabor there are balus, and for the she-Gomangani, -and for Bara, and for Manu, and even for Pamba, the rat; -but for Tarzan there can be none--neither a she nor a balu. -Tarzan of the Apes is a man, and it must be that man -walks alone." - -Bukawai saw them go, and he mumbled through his rotting face, -swearing a great oath that he would yet have the three -fat goats, the new sleeping mat, and the bit of copper wire. - - - - - - - 6 - - - The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance - - -LORD GREYSTOKE was hunting, or, to be more accurate, -he was shooting pheasants at Chamston-Hedding. Lord -Greystoke was immaculately and appropriately garbed--to -the minutest detail he was vogue. To be sure, he was among -the forward guns, not being considered a sporting shot, -but what he lacked in skill he more than made up -in appearance. At the end of the day he would, doubtless, -have many birds to his credit, since he had two guns -and a smart loader-- many more birds than he could eat -in a year, even had he been hungry, which he was not, -having but just arisen from the breakfast table. - -The beaters--there were twenty-three of them, in white -smocks--had but just driven the birds into a patch of gorse, -and were now circling to the opposite side that they -might drive down toward the guns. Lord Greystoke was -quite as excited as he ever permitted himself to become. -There was an exhilaration in the sport that would not -be denied. He felt his blood tingling through his veins -as the beaters approached closer and closer to the birds. -In a vague and stupid sort of way Lord Greystoke felt, -as he always felt upon such occasions, that he was -experiencing a sensation somewhat akin to a reversion -to a prehistoric type--that the blood of an ancient forbear -was coursing hot through him, a hairy, half-naked forbear -who had lived by the hunt. - -And far away in a matted equatorial jungle another -Lord Greystoke, the real Lord Greystoke, hunted. By the -standards which he knew, he, too, was vogue--utterly vogue, -as was the primal ancestor before the first eviction. -The day being sultry, the leopard skin had been left behind. -The real Lord Greystoke had not two guns, to be sure, -nor even one, neither did he have a smart loader; but he -possessed something infinitely more efficacious than guns, -or loaders, or even twenty-three beaters in white smocks--he -possessed an appetite, an uncanny woodcraft, and muscles -that were as steel springs. - -Later that day, in England, a Lord Greystoke ate bountifully -of things he had not killed, and he drank other things -which were uncorked to the accompaniment of much noise. -He patted his lips with snowy linen to remove the faint -traces of his repast, quite ignorant of the fact that he was -an impostor and that the rightful owner of his noble title -was even then finishing his own dinner in far-off Africa. -He was not using snowy linen, though. Instead he drew -the back of a brown forearm and hand across his mouth -and wiped his bloody fingers upon his thighs. Then he -moved slowly through the jungle to the drinking place, -where, upon all fours, he drank as drank his fellows, -the other beasts of the jungle. - -As he quenched his thirst, another denizen of the gloomy -forest approached the stream along the path behind him. -It was Numa, the lion, tawny of body and black of mane, -scowling and sinister, rumbling out low, coughing roars. -Tarzan of the Apes heard him long before he came within sight, -but the ape-man went on with his drinking until he had had -his fill; then he arose, slowly, with the easy grace of a -creature of the wilds and all the quiet dignity that was -his birthright. - -Numa halted as he saw the man standing at the very spot -where the king would drink. His jaws were parted, and his -cruel eyes gleamed. He growled and advanced slowly. -The man growled, too, backing slowly to one side, -and watching, not the lion's face, but its tail. -Should that commence to move from side to side in quick, -nervous jerks, it would be well to be upon the alert, -and should it rise suddenly erect, straight and stiff, -then one might prepare to fight or flee; but it did neither, -so Tarzan merely backed away and the lion came down and drank -scarce fifty feet from where the man stood. - -Tomorrow they might be at one another's throats, but today -there existed one of those strange and inexplicable truces -which so often are seen among the savage ones of the jungle. -Before Numa had finished drinking, Tarzan had returned -into the forest, and was swinging away in the direction -of the village of Mbonga, the black chief. - -It had been at least a moon since the ape-man had called upon -the Gomangani. Not since he had restored little Tibo to his -grief-stricken mother had the whim seized him to do so. -The incident of the adopted balu was a closed one to Tarzan. -He had sought to find something upon which to lavish such -an affection as Teeka lavished upon her balu, but a short -experience of the little black boy had made it quite plain -to the ape-man that no such sentiment could exist between them. - -The fact that he had for a time treated the little black -as he might have treated a real balu of his own had -in no way altered the vengeful sentiments with which he -considered the murderers of Kala. The Gomangani were -his deadly enemies, nor could they ever be aught else. -Today he looked forward to some slight relief from -the monotony of his existence in such excitement as he -might derive from baiting the blacks. - -It was not yet dark when he reached the village and took -his place in the great tree overhanging the palisade. -From beneath came a great wailing out of the depths -of a near-by hut. The noise fell disagreeably upon -Tarzan's ears--it jarred and grated. He did not like it, -so he decided to go away for a while in the hopes that it -might cease; but though he was gone for a couple of hours -the wailing still continued when he returned. - -With the intention of putting a violent termination to the -annoying sound, Tarzan slipped silently from the tree into -the shadows beneath. Creeping stealthily and keeping well -in the cover of other huts, he approached that from which rose -the sounds of lamentation. A fire burned brightly before -the doorway as it did before other doorways in the village. -A few females squatted about, occasionally adding their -own mournful howlings to those of the master artist within. - -The ape-man smiled a slow smile as he thought of the -consternation -which would follow the quick leap that would carry him -among the females and into the full light of the fire. -Then he would dart into the hut during the excitement, -throttle the chief screamer, and be gone into the jungle -before the blacks could gather their scattered nerves for an -assault. - -Many times had Tarzan behaved similarly in the village -of Mbonga, the chief. His mysterious and unexpected -appearances always filled the breasts of the poor, -superstitious blacks with the panic of terror; never, -it seemed, could they accustom themselves to the sight -of him. It was this terror which lent to the adventures -the spice of interest and amusement which the human -mind of the ape-man craved. Merely to kill was not in -itself sufficient. Accustomed to the sight of death, -Tarzan found no great pleasure in it. Long since had he -avenged the death of Kala, but in the accomplishment of it, -he had learned the excitement and the pleasure to be derived -from the baiting of the blacks. Of this he never tired. - -It was just as he was about to spring forward with a savage -roar that a figure appeared in the doorway of the hut. -It was the figure of the wailer whom he had come to still, -the figure of a young woman with a wooden skewer -through the split septum of her nose, with a heavy -metal ornament depending from her lower lip, which it -had dragged down to hideous and repulsive deformity, -with strange tattooing upon forehead, cheeks, and breasts, -and a wonderful coiffure built up with mud and wire. - -A sudden flare of the fire threw the grotesque figure -into high relief, and Tarzan recognized her as Momaya, -the mother of Tibo. The fire also threw out a fitful -flame which carried to the shadows where Tarzan lurked, -picking out his light brown body from the surrounding darkness. -Momaya saw him and knew him. With a cry, she leaped -forward and Tarzan came to meet her. The other women, -turning, saw him, too; but they did not come toward him. -Instead they rose as one, shrieked as one, fled as one. - -Momaya threw herself at Tarzan's feet, raising supplicating -hands toward him and pouring forth from her mutilated -lips a perfect cataract of words, not one of which -the ape-man comprehended. For a moment he looked -down upon the upturned, frightful face of the woman. -He had come to slay, but that overwhelming torrent -of speech filled him with consternation and with awe. -He glanced about him apprehensively, then back at the woman. -A revulsion of feeling seized him. He could not kill -little Tibo's mother, nor could he stand and face this -verbal geyser. With a quick gesture of impatience at -the spoiling of his evening's entertainment, he wheeled -and leaped away into the darkness. A moment later he -was swinging through the black jungle night, the cries -and lamentations of Momaya growing fainter in the distance. - -It was with a sigh of relief that he finally reached -a point from which he could no longer hear them, -and finding a comfortable crotch high among the trees, -composed himself for a night of dreamless slumber, -while a prowling lion moaned and coughed beneath him, -and in far-off England the other Lord Greystoke, -with the assistance of a valet, disrobed and crawled -between spotless sheets, swearing irritably as a cat -meowed beneath his window. - -As Tarzan followed the fresh spoor of Horta, the boar, -the following morning, he came upon the tracks of two Gomangani, -a large one and a small one. The ape-man, accustomed as he -was to questioning closely all that fell to his perceptions, -paused to read the story written in the soft mud of the -game trail. You or I would have seen little of interest -there, even if, by chance, we could have seen aught. -Perhaps had one been there to point them out to us, -we might have noted indentations in the mud, but there -were countless indentations, one overlapping another into -a confusion that would have been entirely meaningless to us. -To Tarzan each told its own story. Tantor, the elephant, -had passed that way as recently as three suns since. -Numa had hunted here the night just gone, and Horta, -the boar, had walked slowly along the trail within an hour; -but what held Tarzan's attention was the spoor tale of -the Gomangani. It told him that the day before an old man -had gone toward the north in company with a little boy, -and that with them had been two hyenas. - -Tarzan scratched his head in puzzled incredulity. -He could see by the overlapping of the footprints that -the beasts had not been following the two, for sometimes -one was ahead of them and one behind, and again both were -in advance, or both were in the rear. It was very strange -and quite inexplicable, especially where the spoor showed -where the hyenas in the wider portions of the path had walked -one on either side of the human pair, quite close to them. -Then Tarzan read in the spoor of the smaller Gomangani -a shrinking terror of the beast that brushed his side, -but in that of the old man was no sign of fear. - -At first Tarzan had been solely occupied by the remarkable -juxtaposition of the spoor of Dango and Gomangani, -but now his keen eyes caught something in the spoor of -the little Gomangani which brought him to a sudden stop. -It was as though, finding a letter in the road, you suddenly -had discovered in it the familiar handwriting of a friend. - -"Go-bu-balu!" exclaimed the ape-man, and at once memory -flashed upon the screen of recollection the supplicating -attitude of Momaya as she had hurled herself before -him in the village of Mbonga the night before. -Instantly all was explained--the wailing and lamentation, -the pleading of the black mother, the sympathetic howling -of the shes about the fire. Little Go-bu-balu had been -stolen again, and this time by another than Tarzan. -Doubtless the mother had thought that he was again in the -power of Tarzan of the Apes, and she had been beseeching -him to return her balu to her. - -Yes, it was all quite plain now; but who could have stolen -Go-bu-balu this time? Tarzan wondered, and he wondered, -too, about the presence of Dango. He would investigate. -The spoor was a day old and it ran toward the north. -Tarzan set out to follow it. In places it was totally -obliterated by the passage of many beasts, and where the way -was rocky, even Tarzan of the Apes was almost baffled; -but there was still the faint effluvium which clung to -the human spoor, appreciable only to such highly trained -perceptive powers as were Tarzan's. - - -It had all happened to little Tibo very suddenly and unexpectedly -within the brief span of two suns. First had come Bukawai, -the witch-doctor--Bukawai, the unclean--with the ragged -bit of flesh which still clung to his rotting face. -He had come alone and by day to the place at the river -where Momaya went daily to wash her body and that of Tibo, -her little boy. He had stepped out from behind a great -bush quite close to Momaya, frightening little Tibo -so that he ran screaming to his mother's protecting arms. - -But Momaya, though startled, had wheeled to face the -fearsome thing with all the savage ferocity of a she-tiger -at bay. When she saw who it was, she breathed a sigh -of partial relief, though she still clung tightly to Tibo. - -"I have come," said Bukawai without preliminary, -"for the three fat goats, the new sleeping mat, -and the bit of copper wire as long as a tall man's arm." - -"I have no goats for you," snapped Momaya, "nor a sleeping mat, -nor any wire. Your medicine was never made. The white -jungle god gave me back my Tibo. You had nothing to do with it." - -"But I did," mumbled Bukawai through his fleshless jaws. -"It was I who commanded the white jungle god to give back -your Tibo." - -Momaya laughed in his face. "Speaker of lies," she cried, -"go back to your foul den and your hyenas. Go back -and hide your stinking face in the belly of the mountain, -lest the sun, seeing it, cover his face with a black cloud." - -"I have come," reiterated Bukawai, "for the three fat goats, -the new sleeping mat, and the bit of copper wire the length -of a tall man's arm, which you were to pay me for the return of -your Tibo." - -"It was to be the length of a man's forearm," corrected Momaya, -"but you shall have nothing, old thief. You would not -make medicine until I had brought the payment in advance, -and when I was returning to my village the great, -white jungle god gave me back my Tibo--gave him to me out -of the jaws of Numa. His medicine is true medicine-- yours -is the weak medicine of an old man with a hole in his face." - -"I have come," repeated Bukawai patiently, "for the -three fat--" But Momaya had not waited to hear more -of what she already knew by heart. Clasping Tibo close -to her side, she was hurrying away toward the palisaded -village of Mbonga, the chief. - -And the next day, when Momaya was working in the plantain -field with others of the women of the tribe, and little -Tibo had been playing at the edge of the jungle, casting a -small spear in anticipation of the distant day when he -should be a full-fledged warrior, Bukawai had come again. - -Tibo had seen a squirrel scampering up the bole of a -great tree. His childish mind had transformed it into -the menacing figure of a hostile warrior. Little Tibo -had raised his tiny spear, his heart filled with the savage -blood lust of his race, as he pictured the night's orgy -when he should dance about the corpse of his human kill -as the women of his tribe prepared the meat for the feast to -follow. - -But when he cast the spear, he missed both squirrel and tree, -losing his missile far among the tangled undergrowth of -the jungle. However, it could be but a few steps within -the forbidden labyrinth. The women were all about in -the field. There were warriors on guard within easy hail, -and so little Tibo boldly ventured into the dark place. - -Just behind the screen of creepers and matted foliage lurked -three horrid figures--an old, old man, black as the pit, -with a face half eaten away by leprosy, his sharp-filed teeth, -the teeth of a cannibal, showing yellow and repulsive -through the great gaping hole where his mouth and nose -had been. And beside him, equally hideous, stood two -powerful hyenas--carrion-eaters consorting with carrion. - -Tibo did not see them until, head down, he had forced -his way through the thickly growing vines in search of his -little spear, and then it was too late. As he looked up -into the face of Bukawai, the old witch-doctor seized him, -muffling his screams with a palm across his mouth. -Tibo struggled futilely. - -A moment later he was being hustled away through the dark -and terrible jungle, the frightful old man still muffling -his screams, and the two hideous hyenas pacing now on -either side, now before, now behind, always prowling, -always growling, snapping, snarling, or, worst of all, -laughing hideously. - -To little Tibo, who within his brief existence had passed -through such experiences as are given to few to pass -through in a lifetime, the northward journey was a nightmare -of terror. He thought now of the time that he had been -with the great, white jungle god, and he prayed with all -his little soul that he might be back again with the -white-skinned giant who consorted with the hairy tree men. -Terror-stricken he had been then, but his surroundings -had been nothing by comparison with those which he now endured. - -The old man seldom addressed Tibo, though he kept up -an almost continuous mumbling throughout the long day. -Tibo caught repeated references to fat goats, sleeping mats, -and pieces of copper wire. "Ten fat goats, ten fat goats," -the old Negro would croon over and over again. By this -little Tibo guessed that the price of his ransom had risen. -Ten fat goats? Where would his mother get ten fat goats, -or thin ones, either, for that matter, to buy back just -a poor little boy? Mbonga would never let her have them, -and Tibo knew that his father never had owned more than -three goats at the same time in all his life. Ten fat -goats! Tibo sniffled. The putrid old man would kill him -and eat him, for the goats would never be forthcoming. -Bukawai would throw his bones to the hyenas. The little -black boy shuddered and became so weak that he almost fell -in his tracks. Bukawai cuffed him on an ear and jerked -him along. - -After what seemed an eternity to Tibo, they arrived at -the mouth of a cave between two rocky hills. The opening -was low and narrow. A few saplings bound together -with strips of rawhide closed it against stray beasts. -Bukawai removed the primitive door and pushed Tibo within. -The hyenas, snarling, rushed past him and were lost to -view in the blackness of the interior. Bukawai replaced -the saplings and seizing Tibo roughly by the arm, -dragged him along a narrow, rocky passage. The floor -was comparatively smooth, for the dirt which lay thick -upon it had been trodden and tramped by many feet until -few inequalities remained. - -The passage was tortuous, and as it was very dark -and the walls rough and rocky, Tibo was scratched and -bruised from the many bumps he received. Bukawai walked -as rapidly through the winding gallery as one would -traverse a familiar lane by daylight. He knew every -twist and turn as a mother knows the face of her child, -and he seemed to be in a hurry. He jerked poor little -Tibo possibly a trifle more ruthlessly than necessary -even at the pace Bukawai set; but the old witch-doctor, -an outcast from the society of man, diseased, shunned, -hated, feared, was far from possessing an angelic temper. -Nature had given him few of the kindlier characteristics -of man, and these few Fate had eradicated entirely. -Shrewd, cunning, cruel, vindictive, was Bukawai, the -witch-doctor. - -Frightful tales were whispered of the cruel tortures he -inflicted upon his victims. Children were frightened into -obedience by the threat of his name. Often had Tibo been -thus frightened, and now he was reaping a grisly harvest -of terror from the seeds his mother had innocently sown. -The darkness, the presence of the dreaded witch-doctor, -the pain of the contusions, with a haunting premonition -of the future, and the fear of the hyenas combined to -almost paralyze the child. He stumbled and reeled until -Bukawai was dragging rather than leading him. - -Presently Tibo saw a faint lightness ahead of them, -and a moment later they emerged into a roughly circular -chamber to which a little daylight filtered through -a rift in the rocky ceiling. The hyenas were there -ahead of them, waiting. As Bukawai entered with Tibo, -the beasts slunk toward them, baring yellow fangs. -They were hungry. Toward Tibo they came, and one snapped -at his naked legs. Bukawai seized a stick from the floor -of the chamber and struck a vicious blow at the beast, -at the same time mumbling forth a volley of execrations. -The hyena dodged and ran to the side of the chamber, where he -stood growling. Bukawai took a step toward the creature, -which bristled with rage at his approach. Fear and hatred -shot from its evil eyes, but, fortunately for Bukawai, -fear predominated. - -Seeing that he was unnoticed, the second beast made a short, -quick rush for Tibo. The child screamed and darted after -the witch-doctor, who now turned his attention to the -second hyena. This one he reached with his heavy stick, -striking it repeatedly and driving it to the wall. -There the two carrion-eaters commenced to circle the chamber -while the human carrion, their master, now in a perfect -frenzy of demoniacal rage, ran to and fro in an effort -to intercept them, striking out with his cudgel and lashing -them with his tongue, calling down upon them the curses -of whatever gods and demons he could summon to memory, -and describing in lurid figures the ignominy of their ancestors. - -Several times one or the other of the beasts would turn -to make a stand against the witch-doctor, and then Tibo -would hold his breath in agonized terror, for never in his -brief life had he seen such frightful hatred depicted upon -the countenance of man or beast; but always fear overcame -the rage of the savage creatures, so that they resumed -their flight, snarling and bare-fanged, just at the moment -that Tibo was certain they would spring at Bukawai's throat. - -At last the witch-doctor tired of the futile chase. -With a snarl quite as bestial as those of the beast, -he turned toward Tibo. "I go to collect the ten fat goats, -the new sleeping mat, and the two pieces of copper wire -that your mother will pay for the medicine I shall make -to bring you back to her," he said. "You will stay here. -There," and he pointed toward the passage which they -had followed to the chamber, "I will leave the hyenas. -If you try to escape, they will eat you." - -He cast aside the stick and called to the beasts. -They came, snarling and slinking, their tails between -their legs. Bukawai led them to the passage and drove -them into it. Then he dragged a rude lattice into -place before the opening after he, himself, had left -the chamber. "This will keep them from you," he said. -"If I do not get the ten fat goats and the other things, -they shall at least have a few bones after I am through." -And he left the boy to think over the meaning of his -all-too-suggestive words. - -When he was gone, Tibo threw himself upon the earth floor -and broke into childish sobs of terror and loneliness. -He knew that his mother had no ten fat goats to give -and that when Bukawai returned, little Tibo would -be killed and eaten. How long he lay there he did -not know, but presently he was aroused by the growling -of the hyenas. They had returned through the passage -and were glaring at him from beyond the lattice. He could -see their yellow eyes blazing through the darkness. -They reared up and clawed at the barrier. Tibo shivered -and withdrew to the opposite side of the chamber. He saw -the lattice sag and sway to the attacks of the beasts. -Momentarily he expected that it would fall inward, -letting the creatures upon him. - -Wearily the horror-ridden hours dragged their slow way. -Night came, and for a time Tibo slept, but it seemed -that the hungry beasts never slept. Always they stood -just beyond the lattice growling their hideous growls -or laughing their hideous laughs. Through the narrow rift -in the rocky roof above him, Tibo could see a few stars, -and once the moon crossed. At last daylight came again. -Tibo was very hungry and thirsty, for he had not eaten -since the morning before, and only once upon the long march -had he been permitted to drink, but even hunger and thirst -were almost forgotten in the terror of his position. - -It was after daylight that the child discovered a second -opening in the walls of the subterranean chamber, -almost opposite that at which the hyenas still stood -glaring hungrily at him. It was only a narrow slit -in the rocky wall. It might lead in but a few feet, -or it might lead to freedom! Tibo approached it and -looked within. He could see nothing. He extended his arm -into the blackness, but he dared not venture farther. -Bukawai never would have left open a way of escape, -Tibo reasoned, so this passage must lead either nowhere -or to some still more hideous danger. - -To the boy's fear of the actual dangers which menaced -him--Bukawai and the two hyenas--his superstition added -countless others quite too horrible even to name, -for in the lives of the blacks, through the shadows of -the jungle day and the black horrors of the jungle night, -flit strange, fantastic shapes peopling the already -hideously peopled forests with menacing figures, as though -the lion and the leopard, the snake and the hyena, -and the countless poisonous insects were not quite -sufficient to strike terror to the hearts of the poor, -simple creatures whose lot is cast in earth's most fearsome spot. - - -And so it was that little Tibo cringed not only from -real menaces but from imaginary ones. He was afraid -even to venture upon a road that might lead to escape, -lest Bukawai had set to watch it some frightful demon -of the jungle. - -But the real menaces suddenly drove the imaginary ones -from the boy's mind, for with the coming of daylight -the half-famished hyenas renewed their efforts to break -down the frail barrier which kept them from their prey. -Rearing upon their hind feet they clawed and struck at -the lattice. With wide eyes Tibo saw it sag and rock. -Not for long, he knew, could it withstand the assaults -of these two powerful and determined brutes. Already one -corner had been forced past the rocky protuberance of the -entrance way which had held it in place. A shaggy forearm -protruded into the chamber. Tibo trembled as with ague, -for he knew that the end was near. - -Backing against the farther wall he stood flattened out -as far from the beasts as he could get. He saw the lattice -give still more. He saw a savage, snarling head forced -past it, and grinning jaws snapping and gaping toward him. -In another instant the pitiful fabric would fall inward, -and the two would be upon him, rending his flesh from -his bones, gnawing the bones themselves, fighting for -possession of his entrails. - -* * * - -Bukawai came upon Momaya outside the palisade of Mbonga, -the chief. At sight of him the woman drew back in revulsion, -then she flew at him, tooth and nail; but Bukawai -threatening her with a spear held her at a safe distance. - -"Where is my baby?" she cried. "Where is my little Tibo?" - -Bukawai opened his eyes in well-simulated amazement. -"Your baby!" he exclaimed. "What should I know of him, -other than that I rescued him from the white god -of the jungle and have not yet received my pay. -I come for the goats and the sleeping mat and the piece -of copper wire the length of a tall man's arm from the -shoulder to the tips of his fingers." "Offal of a hyena!" -shrieked Momaya. "My child has been stolen, and you, -rotting fragment of a man, have taken him. Return him -to me or I shall tear your eyes from your head and feed -your heart to the wild hogs." - -Bukawai shrugged his shoulders. "What do I know about -your child?" he asked. "I have not taken him. If he is -stolen again, what should Bukawai know of the matter? Did -Bukawai steal him before? No, the white jungle god stole him, -and if he stole him once he would steal him again. -It is nothing to me. I returned him to you before and I -have come for my pay. If he is gone and you would -have him returned, Bukawai will return him--for ten -fat goats, a new sleeping mat and two pieces of copper -wire the length of a tall man's arm from the shoulder -to the tips of his fingers, and Bukawai will say nothing -more about the goats and the sleeping mat and the copper -wire which you were to pay for the first medicine." - -"Ten fat goats!" screamed Momaya. "I could not pay you -ten fat goats in as many years. Ten fat goats, indeed!" - -"Ten fat goats," repeated Bukawai. "Ten fat goats, -the new sleeping mat and two pieces of copper wire -the length of--" - -Momaya stopped him with an impatient gesture. -"Wait! she cried. "I have no goats. You waste your breath. -Stay here while I go to my man. He has but three goats, -yet something may be done. Wait!" - -Bukawai sat down beneath a tree. He felt quite content, -for he knew that he should have either payment or revenge. -He did not fear harm at the hands of these people -of another tribe, although he well knew that they must -fear and hate him. His leprosy alone would prevent -their laying hands upon him, while his reputation as a -witch-doctor rendered him doubly immune from attack. -He was planning upon compelling them to drive the ten -goats to the mouth of his cave when Momaya returned. -With her were three warriors-- Mbonga, the chief, Rabba Kega, -the village witch-doctor, and Ibeto, Tibo's father. -They were not pretty men even under ordinary circumstances, -and now, with their faces marked by anger, they well -might have inspired terror in the heart of anyone; -but if Bukawai felt any fear, he did not betray it. -Instead he greeted them with an insolent stare, intended to -awe them, as they came and squatted in a semi-circle -before him. - -"Where is Ibeto's son?" asked Mbonga. - -"How should I know?" returned Bukawai. "Doubtless the -white devil-god has him. If I am paid I will make strong -medicine and then we shall know where is Ibeto's son, -and shall get him back again. It was my medicine which -got him back the last time, for which I got no pay." - -"I have my own witch-doctor to make medicine," -replied Mbonga with dignity. - -Bukawai sneered and rose to his feet. "Very well," -he said, "let him make his medicine and see if he -can bring Ibeto's son back." He took a few steps -away from them, and then he turned angrily back. -"His medicine will not bring the child back--that I know, -and I also know that when you find him it will be too late -for any medicine to bring him back, for he will be dead. -This have I just found out, the ghost of my father's -sister but now came to me and told me." - -Now Mbonga and Rabba Kega might not take much stock -in their own magic, and they might even be skeptical -as to the magic of another; but there was always a chance -of SOMETHING being in it, especially if it were not -their own. Was it not well known that old Bukawai had -speech with the demons themselves and that two even lived -with him in the forms of hyenas! Still they must not -accede too hastily. There was the price to be considered, -and Mbonga had no intention of parting lightly with ten -goats to obtain the return of a single little boy who might -die of smallpox long before he reached a warrior's estate. - -"Wait," said Mbonga. "Let us see some of your magic, -that we may know if it be good magic. Then we can talk -about payment. Rabba Kega will make some magic, too. -We will see who makes the best magic. Sit down, Bukawai." - -"The payment will be ten goats--fat goats--a new sleeping -mat and two pieces of copper wire the length of a tall -man's arm from the shoulder to the ends of his fingers, -and it will be made in advance, the goats being driven -to my cave. Then will I make the medicine, and on -the second day the boy will be returned to his mother. -It cannot be done more quickly than that because it takes -time to make such strong medicine." - -"Make us some medicine now," said Mbonga. "Let us see -what sort of medicine you make." - -"Bring me fire," replied Bukawai, "and I will make you -a little magic." - -Momaya was dispatched for the fire, and while she was away -Mbonga dickered with Bukawai about the price. Ten goats, -he said, was a high price for an able-bodied warrior. -He also called Bukawai's attention to the fact that he, -Mbonga, was very poor, that his people were very poor, -and that ten goats were at least eight too many, -to say nothing of a new sleeping mat and the copper wire; -but Bukawai was adamant. His medicine was very expensive -and he would have to give at least five goats to the gods -who helped him make it. They were still arguing when Momaya -returned with the fire. - -Bukawai placed a little on the ground before him, took a -pinch of powder from a pouch at his side and sprinkled -it on the embers. A cloud of smoke rose with a puff. -Bukawai closed his eyes and rocked back and forth. -Then he made a few passes in the air and pretended -to swoon. Mbonga and the others were much impressed. -Rabba Kega grew nervous. He saw his reputation waning. -There was some fire left in the vessel which Momaya -had brought. He seized the vessel, dropped a handful -of dry leaves into it while no one was watching and then -uttered a frightful scream which drew the attention of -Bukawai's audience to him. It also brought Bukawai quite -miraculously out of his swoon, but when the old witch-doctor -saw the reason for the disturbance he quickly relapsed -into unconsciousness before anyone discovered his FAUX -PAS. - -Rabba Kega, seeing that he had the attention of Mbonga, -Ibeto, and Momaya, blew suddenly into the vessel, -with the result that the leaves commenced to smolder, -and smoke issued from the mouth of the receptacle. -Rabba Kega was careful to hold it so that none might see -the dry leaves. Their eyes opened wide at this remarkable -demonstration of the village witch-doctor's powers. -The latter, greatly elated, let himself out. He shouted, -jumped up and down, and made frightful grimaces; then he put -his face close over the mouth of the vessel and appeared -to be communing with the spirits within. - -It was while he was thus engaged that Bukawai came out of -his trance, his curiosity finally having gotten the better -of him. No one was paying him the slightest attention. -He blinked his one eye angrily, then he, too, let out -a loud roar, and when he was sure that Mbonga had turned -toward him, he stiffened rigidly and made spasmodic -movements with his arms and legs. - -"I see him!" he cried. "He is far away. The white -devil-god did not get him. He is alone and in great danger; -but," he added, "if the ten fat goats and the other -things are paid to me quickly there is yet time to save him." - -Rabba Kega had paused to listen. Mbonga looked toward him. -The chief was in a quandary. He did not know which -medicine was the better. "What does your magic tell you?" -he asked of Rabba Kega. - -"I, too, see him," screamed Rabba Kega; "but he is not -where Bukawai says he is. He is dead at the bottom -of the river." - -At this Momaya commenced to howl loudly. - - -Tarzan had followed the spoor of the old man, -the two hyenas, and the little black boy to the mouth -of the cave in the rocky canon between the two hills. -Here he paused a moment before the sapling barrier which -Bukawai had set up, listening to the snarls and growls -which came faintly from the far recesses of the cavern. - -Presently, mingled with the beastly cries, there came -faintly to the keen ears of the ape-man, the agonized -moan of a child. No longer did Tarzan hesitate. -Hurling the door aside, he sprang into the dark opening. -Narrow and black was the corridor; but long use of his -eyes in the Stygian blackness of the jungle nights had -given to the ape-man something of the nocturnal visionary -powers of the wild things with which he had consorted -since babyhood. - -He moved rapidly and yet with caution, for the place -was dark, unfamiliar and winding. As he advanced, he heard -more and more loudly the savage snarls of the two hyenas, -mingled with the scraping and scratching of their paws -upon wood. The moans of a child grew in volume, -and Tarzan recognized in them the voice of the little -black boy he once had sought to adopt as his balu. - -There was no hysteria in the ape-man's advance. -Too accustomed was he to the passing of life in the -jungle to be greatly wrought even by the death of one -whom he knew; but the lust for battle spurred him on. -He was only a wild beast at heart and his wild beast's -heart beat high in anticipation of conflict. - -In the rocky chamber of the hill's center, little Tibo -crouched low against the wall as far from the hunger-crazed -beasts as he could drag himself. He saw the lattice giving -to the frantic clawing of the hyenas. He knew that in a few -minutes his little life would flicker out horribly beneath -the rending, yellow fangs of these loathsome creatures. - -Beneath the buffetings of the powerful bodies, -the lattice sagged inward, until, with a crash it -gave way, letting the carnivora in upon the boy. -Tibo cast one affrighted glance toward them, then closed -his eyes and buried his face in his arms, sobbing piteously. - -For a moment the hyenas paused, caution and cowardice holding -them from their prey. They stood thus glaring at the lad, -then slowly, stealthily, crouching, they crept toward him. -It was thus that Tarzan came upon them, bursting into -the chamber swiftly and silently; but not so silently -that the keen-eared beasts did not note his coming. -With angry growls they turned from Tibo upon the ape-man, as, -with a smile upon his lips, he ran toward them. -For an instant one of the animals stood its ground; -but the ape-man did not deign even to draw his hunting -knife against despised Dango. Rushing in upon the brute he -grasped it by the scruff of the neck, just as it attempted -to dodge past him, and hurled it across the cavern after -its fellow which already was slinking into the corridor, -bent upon escape. - -Then Tarzan picked Tibo from the floor, and when the -child felt human hands upon him instead of the paws -and fangs of the hyenas, he rolled his eyes upward in -surprise and incredulity, and as they fell upon Tarzan, -sobs of relief broke from the childish lips and his -hands clutched at his deliverer as though the white -devil-god was not the most feared of jungle creatures. - -When Tarzan came to the cave mouth the hyenas were nowhere -in sight, and after permitting Tibo to quench his thirst -in the spring which rose near by, he lifted the boy to his -shoulders and set off toward the jungle at a rapid trot, -determined to still the annoying howlings of Momaya -as quickly as possible, for he shrewdly had guessed that -the absence of her balu was the cause of her lamentation. - - -"He is not dead at the bottom of the river," cried Bukawai. -"What does this fellow know about making magic? Who -is he, anyway, that he dare say Bukawai's magic is not -good magic? Bukawai sees Momaya's son. He is far away -and alone and in great danger. Hasten then with the ten -fat goats, the--" - -But he got no further. There was a sudden interruption -from above, from the branches of the very tree beneath -which they squatted, and as the five blacks looked up -they almost swooned in fright as they saw the great, -white devil-god looking down upon them; but before they could -flee they saw another face, that of the lost little Tibo, -and his face was laughing and very happy. - -And then Tarzan dropped fearlessly among them, the boy -still upon his back, and deposited him before his mother. -Momaya, Ibeto, Rabba Kega, and Mbonga were all crowding -around the lad trying to question him at the same time. -Suddenly Momaya turned ferociously to fall upon Bukawai, -for the boy had told her all that he had suffered at -the hands of the cruel old man; but Bukawai was no longer -there--he had required no recourse to black art to assure -him that the vicinity of Momaya would be no healthful -place for him after Tibo had told his story, and now he -was running through the jungle as fast as his old legs -would carry him toward the distant lair where he knew no -black would dare pursue him. - -Tarzan, too, had vanished, as he had a way of doing, -to the mystification of the blacks. Then Momaya's eyes -lighted upon Rabba Kega. The village witch-doctor saw -something in those eyes of hers which boded no good to him, -and backed away. - -"So my Tibo is dead at the bottom of the river, is he?" -the woman shrieked. "And he's far away and alone and in -great danger, is he? Magic!" The scorn which Momaya crowded -into that single word would have done credit to a Thespian -of the first magnitude. "Magic, indeed!" she screamed. -"Momaya will show you some magic of her own," and with that -she seized upon a broken limb and struck Rabba Kega across -the head. With a howl of pain, the man turned and fled, -Momaya pursuing him and beating him across the shoulders, -through the gateway and up the length of the village street, -to the intense amusement of the warriors, the women, -and the children who were so fortunate as to witness -the spectacle, for one and all feared Rabba Kega, and to fear -is to hate. - -Thus it was that to his host of passive enemies, Tarzan of -the Apes added that day two active foes, both of whom -remained awake long into the night planning means of revenge -upon the white devil-god who had brought them into ridicule -and disrepute, but with their most malevolent schemings -was mingled a vein of real fear and awe that would not down. - -Young Lord Greystoke did not know that they planned -against him, nor, knowing, would have cared. He slept -as well that night as he did on any other night, -and though there was no roof above him, and no doors -to lock against intruders, he slept much better than -his noble relative in England, who had eaten altogether -too much lobster and drank too much wine at dinner that night. - - - - - - - 7 - - - The End of Bukawai - - -WHEN TARZAN OF the Apes was still but a boy he had learned, -among other things, to fashion pliant ropes of fibrous -jungle grass. Strong and tough were the ropes of Tarzan, -the little Tarmangani. Tublat, his foster father, -would have told you this much and more. Had you tempted -him with a handful of fat caterpillars he even might have -sufficiently unbended to narrate to you a few stories -of the many indignities which Tarzan had heaped upon -him by means of his hated rope; but then Tublat always -worked himself into such a frightful rage when he devoted -any considerable thought either to the rope or to Tarzan, -that it might not have proved comfortable for you to have -remained close enough to him to hear what he had to say. - -So often had that snakelike noose settled unexpectedly over -Tublat's head, so often had he been jerked ridiculously -and painfully from his feet when he was least looking -for such an occurrence, that there is little wonder he -found scant space in his savage heart for love of his -white-skinned foster child, or the inventions thereof. -There had been other times, too, when Tublat had swung -helplessly in midair, the noose tightening about his neck, -death staring him in the face, and little Tarzan dancing upon -a near-by limb, taunting him and making unseemly grimaces. - -Then there had been another occasion in which the rope -had figured prominently--an occasion, and the only -one connected with the rope, which Tublat recalled -with pleasure. Tarzan, as active in brain as he was -in body, was always inventing new ways in which to play. -It was through the medium of play that he learned much -during his childhood. This day he learned something, -and that he did not lose his life in the learning of it, -was a matter of great surprise to Tarzan, and the fly -in the ointment, to Tublat. - -The man-child had, in throwing his noose at a playmate -in a tree above him, caught a projecting branch instead. -When he tried to shake it loose it but drew the tighter. -Then Tarzan started to climb the rope to remove it -from the branch. When he was part way up a frolicsome -playmate seized that part of the rope which lay upon -the ground and ran off with it as far as he could go. -When Tarzan screamed at him to desist, the young ape -released the rope a little and then drew it tight again. -The result was to impart a swinging motion to Tarzan's -body which the ape-boy suddenly realized was a new and -pleasurable form of play. He urged the ape to continue -until Tarzan was swinging to and fro as far as the short -length of rope would permit, but the distance was not -great enough, and, too, he was not far enough above the -ground to give the necessary thrills which add so greatly -to the pastimes of the young. - -So he clambered to the branch where the noose was caught -and after removing it carried the rope far aloft and out upon -a long and powerful branch. Here he again made it fast, -and taking the loose end in his hand, clambered quickly -down among the branches as far as the rope would permit -him to go; then he swung out upon the end of it, -his lithe, young body turning and twisting--a human bob -upon a pendulum of grass--thirty feet above the ground. - -Ah, how delectable! This was indeed a new play of the -first magnitude. Tarzan was entranced. Soon he discovered -that by wriggling his body in just the right way at the -proper time he could diminish or accelerate his oscillation, -and, being a boy, he chose, naturally, to accelerate. -Presently he was swinging far and wide, while below him, -the apes of the tribe of Kerchak looked on in mild amaze. - -Had it been you or I swinging there at the end of that -grass rope, the thing which presently happened would -not have happened, for we could not have hung on so long -as to have made it possible; but Tarzan was quite as much -at home swinging by his hands as he was standing upon -his feet, or, at least, almost. At any rate he felt no -fatigue long after the time that an ordinary mortal would -have been numb with the strain of the physical exertion. -And this was his undoing. - -Tublat was watching him as were others of the tribe. -Of all the creatures of the wild, there was none Tublat -so cordially hated as he did this hideous, hairless, -white-skinned, caricature of an ape. But for Tarzan's -nimbleness, -and the zealous watchfulness of savage Kala's mother love, -Tublat would long since have rid himself of this stain upon -his family escutcheon. So long had it been since Tarzan -became a member of the tribe, that Tublat had forgotten -the circumstances surrounding the entrance of the jungle -waif into his family, with the result that he now imagined -that Tarzan was his own offspring, adding greatly to his chagrin. - - -Wide and far swung Tarzan of the Apes, until at last, -as he reached the highest point of the arc the rope, -which rapidly had frayed on the rough bark of the tree limb, -parted suddenly. The watching apes saw the smooth, -brown body shoot outward, and down, plummet-like. Tublat -leaped high in the air, emitting what in a human being -would have been an exclamation of delight. This would -be the end of Tarzan and most of Tublat's troubles. -From now on he could lead his life in peace and security. - -Tarzan fell quite forty feet, alighting on his back in a thick -bush. -Kala was the first to reach his side--ferocious, hideous, -loving Kala. She had seen the life crushed from her own -balu in just such a fall years before. Was she to lose -this one too in the same way? Tarzan was lying quite -still when she found him, embedded deeply in the bush. -It took Kala several minutes to disentangle him and drag -him forth; but he was not killed. He was not even -badly injured. The bush had broken the force of the fall. -A cut upon the back of his head showed where he had struck -the tough stem of the shrub and explained his unconsciousness. - -In a few minutes he was as active as ever. Tublat was furious. -In his rage he snapped at a fellow-ape without first -discovering the identity of his victim, and was badly mauled -for his ill temper, having chosen to vent his spite upon -a husky and belligerent young bull in the full prime of his -vigor. - -But Tarzan had learned something new. He had learned that -continued friction would wear through the strands of his rope, -though it was many years before this knowledge did more -for him than merely to keep him from swinging too long -at a time, or too far above the ground at the end of his rope. - -The day came, however, when the very thing that had once -all but killed him proved the means of saving his life. - -He was no longer a child, but a mighty jungle male. -There was none now to watch over him, solicitously, nor did -he need such. Kala was dead. Dead, too, was Tublat, -and though with Kala passed the one creature that ever -really had loved him, there were still many who hated -him after Tublat departed unto the arms of his fathers. -It was not that he was more cruel or more savage than they -that they hated him, for though he was both cruel and savage -as were the beasts, his fellows, yet too was he often tender, -which they never were. No, the thing which brought Tarzan -most into disrepute with those who did not like him, -was the possession and practice of a characteristic -which they had not and could not understand-- the human -sense of humor. In Tarzan it was a trifle broad, perhaps, -manifesting itself in rough and painful practical jokes -upon his friends and cruel baiting of his enemies. - -But to neither of these did he owe the enmity of Bukawai, -the witch-doctor, who dwelt in the cave between the two -hills far to the north of the village of Mbonga, the chief. -Bukawai was jealous of Tarzan, and Bukawai it was who came -near proving the undoing of the ape-man. For months Bukawai -had nursed his hatred while revenge seemed remote indeed, -since Tarzan of the Apes frequented another part -of the jungle, miles away from the lair of Bukawai. -Only once had the black witch-doctor seen the devil-god, -as he was most often called among the blacks, and upon -that occasion Tarzan had robbed him of a fat fee, -at the same time putting the lie in the mouth of Bukawai, -and making his medicine seem poor medicine. All this -Bukawai never could forgive, though it seemed unlikely -that the opportunity would come to be revenged. - -Yet it did come, and quite unexpectedly. Tarzan was hunting -far to the north. He had wandered away from the tribe, -as he did more and more often as he approached maturity, -to hunt alone for a few days. As a child he had enjoyed -romping and playing with the young apes, his companions; -but now these play-fellows of his had grown to surly, -lowering bulls, or to touchy, suspicious mothers, -jealously guarding helpless balus. So Tarzan found in his -own man-mind a greater and a truer companionship than any -or all of the apes of Kerchak could afford him. - -This day, as Tarzan hunted, the sky slowly became overcast. -Torn clouds, whipped to ragged streamers, fled low above -the tree tops. They reminded Tarzan of frightened antelope -fleeing the charge of a hungry lion. But though the light -clouds raced so swiftly, the jungle was motionless. -Not a leaf quivered and the silence was a great, -dead weight-- insupportable. Even the insects seemed -stilled by apprehension of some frightful thing impending, -and the larger things were soundless. Such a forest, -such a jungle might have stood there in the beginning -of that unthinkably far-gone age before God peopled the -world with life, when there were no sounds because there -were no ears to hear. - -And over all lay a sickly, pallid ocher light through -which the scourged clouds raced. Tarzan had seen all -these conditions many times before, yet he never could -escape a strange feeling at each recurrence of them. -He knew no fear, but in the face of Nature's manifestations -of her cruel, immeasurable powers, he felt very small--very -small and very lonely. - -Now he heard a low moaning, far away. "The lions seek -their prey," he murmured to himself, looking up once again -at the swift-flying clouds. The moaning rose to a great -volume of sound. "They come!" said Tarzan of the Apes, -and sought the shelter of a thickly foliaged tree. -Quite suddenly the trees bent their tops simultaneously -as though God had stretched a hand from the heavens and -pressed His flat palm down upon the world. "They pass!" -whispered Tarzan. "The lions pass." Then came a vivid -flash of lightning, followed by deafening thunder. -"The lions have sprung," cried Tarzan, "and now they roar -above the bodies of their kills." - -The trees were waving wildly in all directions now, -a perfectly demoniacal wind threshed the jungle pitilessly. -In the midst of it the rain came--not as it comes upon us -of the northlands, but in a sudden, choking, blinding deluge. -"The blood of the kill," thought Tarzan, huddling himself -closer to the bole of the great tree beneath which he stood. - -He was close to the edge of the jungle, and at a little -distance he had seen two hills before the storm broke; -but now he could see nothing. It amused him to look out -into the beating rain, searching for the two hills and -imagining that the torrents from above had washed them away, -yet he knew that presently the rain would cease, the sun -come out again and all be as it was before, except where -a few branches had fallen and here and there some old -and rotted patriarch had crashed back to enrich the soil -upon which he had fatted for, maybe, centuries. All about -him branches and leaves filled the air or fell to earth, -torn away by the strength of the tornado and the weight -of the water upon them. A gaunt corpse toppled and fell -a few yards away; but Tarzan was protected from all these -dangers by the wide-spreading branches of the sturdy young -giant beneath which his jungle craft had guided him. -Here there was but a single danger, and that a remote one. -Yet it came. Without warning the tree above him was riven -by lightning, and when the rain ceased and the sun came -out Tarzan lay stretched as he had fallen, upon his face -amidst the wreckage of the jungle giant that should have -shielded him. - -Bukawai came to the entrance of his cave after the rain -and the storm had passed and looked out upon the scene. -From his one eye Bukawai could see; but had he had -a dozen eyes he could have found no beauty in the fresh -sweetness of the revivified jungle, for to such things, -in the chemistry of temperament, his brain failed -to react; nor, even had he had a nose, which he had not -for years, could he have found enjoyment or sweetness -in the clean-washed air. - -At either side of the leper stood his sole and -constant companions, the two hyenas, sniffing the air. -Presently one of them uttered a low growl and with flattened -head started, sneaking and wary, toward the jungle. -The other followed. Bukawai, his curiosity aroused, -trailed after them, in his hand a heavy knob-stick. - -The hyenas halted a few yards from the prostrate Tarzan, -sniffing and growling. Then came Bukawai, and at first he -could not believe the witness of his own eyes; but when he -did and saw that it was indeed the devil-god his rage knew -no bounds, for he thought him dead and himself cheated -of the revenge he had so long dreamed upon. - -The hyenas approached the ape-man with bared fangs. -Bukawai, with an inarticulate scream, rushed upon them, -striking cruel and heavy blows with his knob-stick, for -there might still be life in the apparently lifeless form. -The beasts, snapping and snarling, half turned upon -their master and their tormentor, but long fear still -held them from his putrid throat. They slunk away a few -yards and squatted upon their haunches, hatred and baffled -hunger gleaming from their savage eyes. - -Bukawai stooped and placed his ear above the ape-man's heart. -It still beat. As well as his sloughed features could -register pleasure they did so; but it was not a pretty sight. -At the ape-man's side lay his long, grass rope. -Quickly Bukawai bound the limp arms behind his prisoner's back, -then he raised him to one of his shoulders, for, though -Bukawai was old and diseased, he was still a strong man. -The hyenas fell in behind as the witch-doctor set off -toward the cave, and through the long black corridors -they followed as Bukawai bore his victim into the bowels -of the hills. Through subterranean chambers, connected by -winding passageways, Bukawai staggered with his load. -At a sudden turning of the corridor, daylight flooded -them and Bukawai stepped out into a small, circular basin -in the hill, apparently the crater of an ancient volcano, -one of those which never reached the dignity of a mountain -and are little more than lava-rimmed pits closed to the earth's -surface. - -Steep walls rimmed the cavity. The only exit was -through the passageway by which Bukawai had entered. -A few stunted trees grew upon the rocky floor. A hundred -feet above could be seen the ragged lips of this cold, -dead mouth of hell. - -Bukawai propped Tarzan against a tree and bound him there -with his own grass rope, leaving his hands free but securing -the knots in such a way that the ape-man could not reach them. -The hyenas slunk to and fro, growling. Bukawai hated them -and they hated him. He knew that they but waited for the time -when he should be helpless, or when their hatred should -rise to such a height as to submerge their cringing fear of him. - -In his own heart was not a little fear of these repulsive -creatures, and because of that fear, Bukawai always kept -the beasts well fed, often hunting for them when their own -forages for food failed, but ever was he cruel to them -with the cruelty of a little brain, diseased, bestial, primitive. - - -He had had them since they were puppies. They had known -no other life than that with him, and though they went -abroad to hunt, always they returned. Of late Bukawai -had come to believe that they returned not so much -from habit as from a fiendish patience which would -submit to every indignity and pain rather than forego -the final vengeance, and Bukawai needed but little -imagination to picture what that vengeance would be. -Today he would see for himself what his end would be; -but another should impersonate Bukawai. - -When he had trussed Tarzan securely, Bukawai went back -into the corridor, driving the hyenas ahead of him, -and pulling across the opening a lattice of laced branches, -which shut the pit from the cave during the night that -Bukawai might sleep in security, for then the hyenas -were penned in the crater that they might not sneak upon -a sleeping Bukawai in the darkness. - -Bukawai returned to the outer cave mouth, filled a vessel -with water at the spring which rose in the little canon -close at hand and returned toward the pit. The hyenas -stood before the lattice looking hungrily toward Tarzan. -They had been fed in this manner before. - -With his water, the witch-doctor approached Tarzan and threw -a portion of the contents of the vessel in the ape-man's face. -There was fluttering of the eyelids, and at the second -application Tarzan opened his eyes and looked about. - -"Devil-god," cried Bukawai, "I am the great witch-doctor. -My medicine is strong. Yours is weak. If it is not, -why do you stay tied here like a goat that is bait -for lions?" - -Tarzan understood nothing the witch-doctor said, therefore he -did not reply, but only stared straight at Bukawai with -cold and level gaze. The hyenas crept up behind him. -He heard them growl; but he did not even turn his head. -He was a beast with a man's brain. The beast in him refused -to show fear in the face of a death which the man-mind -already admitted to be inevitable. - -Bukawai, not yet ready to give his victim to the beasts, -rushed upon the hyenas with his knob-stick. There -was a short scrimmage in which the brutes came off -second best, as they always did. Tarzan watched it. -He saw and realized the hatred which existed between -the two animals and the hideous semblance of a man. - -With the hyenas subdued, Bukawai returned to the baiting -of Tarzan; but finding that the ape-man understood -nothing he said, the witch-doctor finally desisted. -Then he withdrew into the corridor and pulled the latticework -barrier across the opening. He went back into the cave -and got a sleeping mat, which he brought to the opening, -that he might lie down and watch the spectacle of his -revenge in comfort. - -The hyenas were sneaking furtively around the ape-man. -Tarzan strained at his bonds for a moment, but soon -realized that the rope he had braided to hold Numa, -the lion, would hold him quite as successfully. -He did not wish to die; but he could look death in the -face now as he had many times before without a quaver. - -As he pulled upon the rope he felt it rub against the -small tree about which it was passed. Like a flash of -the cinematograph upon the screen, a picture was flashed -before his mind's eye from the storehouse of his memory. -He saw a lithe, boyish figure swinging high above the -ground at the end of a rope. He saw many apes watching -from below, and then he saw the rope part and the boy -hurtle downward toward the ground. Tarzan smiled. -Immediately he commenced to draw the rope rapidly back -and forth across the tree trunk. - -The hyenas, gaining courage, came closer. They sniffed -at his legs; but when he struck at them with his free arms -they slunk off. He knew that with the growth of hunger -they would attack. Coolly, methodically, without haste, -Tarzan drew the rope back and forth against the rough -trunk of the small tree. - -In the entrance to the cavern Bukawai fell asleep. -He thought it would be some time before the beasts gained -sufficient courage or hunger to attack the captive. -Their growls and the cries of the victim would awaken him. -In the meantime he might as well rest, and he did. - -Thus the day wore on, for the hyenas were not famished, -and the rope with which Tarzan was bound was a stronger -one than that of his boyhood, which had parted so quickly -to the chafing of the rough tree bark. Yet, all the -while hunger was growing upon the beasts and the strands -of the grass rope were wearing thinner and thinner. -Bukawai slept. - -It was late afternoon before one of the beasts, -irritated by the gnawing of appetite, made a quick, -growling dash at the ape-man. The noise awoke Bukawai. -He sat up quickly and watched what went on within -the crater. He saw the hungry hyena charge the man, -leaping for the unprotected throat. He saw Tarzan reach -out and seize the growling animal, and then he saw -the second beast spring for the devil-god's shoulder. -There was a mighty heave of the great, smooth-skinned body. -Rounded muscles shot into great, tensed piles beneath -the brown hide--the ape-man surged forward with all his -weight and all his great strength--the bonds parted, -and the three were rolling upon the floor of the crater -snarling, snapping, and rending. - -Bukawai leaped to his feet. Could it be that the devil-god -was to prevail against his servants? Impossible! The -creature was unarmed, and he was down with two hyenas -on top of him; but Bukawai did not know Tarzan. - -The ape-man fastened his fingers upon the throat of one -of the hyenas and rose to one knee, though the other beast -tore at him frantically in an effort to pull him down. -With a single hand Tarzan held the one, and with the other -hand he reached forth and pulled toward him the second beast. - -And then Bukawai, seeing the battle going against his forces, -rushed forward from the cavern brandishing his knob-stick. -Tarzan saw him coming, and rising now to both feet, -a hyena in each hand, he hurled one of the foaming beasts -straight at the witch-doctor's head. Down went the two -in a snarling, biting heap. Tarzan tossed the second hyena -across the crater, while the first gnawed at the rotting -face of its master; but this did not suit the ape-man. -With a kick he sent the beast howling after its companion, -and springing to the side of the prostrate witch-doctor, -dragged him to his feet. - -Bukawai, still conscious, saw death, immediate and terrible, -in the cold eyes of his captor, so he turned upon Tarzan -with teeth and nails. The ape-man shuddered at the proximity -of that raw face to his. The hyenas had had enough -and disappeared through the small aperture leading into -the cave. Tarzan had little difficulty in overpowering -and binding Bukawai. Then he led him to the very tree -to which he had been bound; but in binding Bukawai, -Tarzan saw to it that escape after the same fashion that -he had escaped would be out of the question; then he left him. - -As he passed through the winding corridors and the -subterranean apartments, Tarzan saw nothing of the hyenas. - -"They will return," he said to himself. - -In the crater between the towering walls Bukawai, -cold with terror, trembled, trembled as with ague. - -"They will return!" he cried, his voice rising -to a fright-filled shriek. - -And they did. - - - - - - - 8 - - - The Lion - -NUMA, THE LION, crouched behind a thorn bush close beside -the drinking pool where the river eddied just below the bend. -There was a ford there and on either bank a well-worn trail, -broadened far out at the river's brim, where, for countless -centuries, the wild things of the jungle and of the plains -beyond had come down to drink, the carnivora with bold -and fearless majesty, the herbivora timorous, hesitating, -fearful. - -Numa, the lion, was hungry, he was very hungry, and so he -was quite silent now. On his way to the drinking place -he had moaned often and roared not a little; but as he -neared the spot where he would lie in wait for Bara, -the deer, or Horta, the boar, or some other of the many -luscious-fleshed creatures who came hither to drink, -he was silent. It was a grim, a terrible silence, -shot through with yellow-green light of ferocious eyes, -punctuated with undulating tremors of sinuous tail. - -It was Pacco, the zebra, who came first, and Numa, the lion, -could scarce restrain a roar of anger, for of all the -plains people, none are more wary than Pacco, the zebra. -Behind the black-striped stallion came a herd of thirty -or forty of the plump and vicious little horselike beasts. -As he neared the river, the leader paused often, -cocking his ears and raising his muzzle to sniff the -gentle breeze for the tell-tale scent spoor of the dread -flesh-eaters. - -Numa shifted uneasily, drawing his hind quarters far -beneath his tawny body, gathering himself for the sudden -charge and the savage assault. His eyes shot hungry fire. -His great muscles quivered to the excitement of the moment. - -Pacco came a little nearer, halted, snorted, and wheeled. -There was a pattering of scurrying hoofs and the herd was gone; -but Numa, the lion, moved not. He was familiar with the -ways of Pacco, the zebra. He knew that he would return, -though many times he might wheel and fly before he -summoned the courage to lead his harem and his offspring -to the water. There was the chance that Pacco might be -frightened off entirely. Numa had seen this happen before, -and so he became almost rigid lest he be the one to send -them galloping, waterless, back to the plain. - -Again and again came Pacco and his family, and again -and again did they turn and flee; but each time they came -closer to the river, until at last the plump stallion -dipped his velvet muzzle daintily into the water. -The others, stepping warily, approached their leader. -Numa selected a sleek, fat filly and his flaming eyes burned -greedily as they feasted upon her, for Numa, the lion, -loves scarce anything better than the meat of Pacco, -perhaps because Pacco is, of all the grass-eaters, the most -difficult to catch. - -Slowly the lion rose, and as he rose, a twig snapped beneath -one of his great, padded paws. Like a shot from a rifle -he charged upon the filly; but the snapped twig had been -enough to startle the timorous quarry, so that they -were in instant flight simultaneously with Numa's charge. - -The stallion was last, and with a prodigious leap, -the lion catapulted through the air to seize him; -but the snapping twig had robbed Numa of his dinner, -though his mighty talons raked the zebra's glossy rump, -leaving four crimson bars across the beautiful coat. - -It was an angry Numa that quitted the river and prowled, -fierce, dangerous, and hungry, into the jungle. -Far from particular now was his appetite. Even Dango, -the hyena, would have seemed a tidbit to that ravenous maw. -And in this temper it was that the lion came upon the tribe -of Kerchak, the great ape. - -One does not look for Numa, the lion, this late in the morning. -He should be lying up asleep beside his last night's -kill by now; but Numa had made no kill last night. -He was still hunting, hungrier than ever. - -The anthropoids were idling about the clearing, the first -keen desire of the morning's hunger having been satisfied. -Numa scented them long before he saw them. Ordinarily he -would have turned away in search of other game, for even -Numa respected the mighty muscles and the sharp fangs -of the great bulls of the tribe of Kerchak, but today he -kept on steadily toward them, his bristled snout wrinkled -into a savage snarl. - -Without an instant's hesitation, Numa charged the moment -he reached a point from where the apes were visible -to him. There were a dozen or more of the hairy, -manlike creatures upon the ground in a little glade. -In a tree at one side sat a brown-skinned youth. -He saw Numa's swift charge; he saw the apes turn and flee, -huge bulls trampling upon little balus; only a single she -held her ground to meet the charge, a young she inspired -by new motherhood to the great sacrifice that her balu -might escape. - -Tarzan leaped from his perch, screaming at the flying -bulls beneath and at those who squatted in the safety -of surrounding trees. Had the bulls stood their ground, -Numa would not have carried through that charge unless -goaded by great rage or the gnawing pangs of starvation. -Even then he would not have come off unscathed. - -If the bulls heard, they were too slow in responding, -for Numa had seized the mother ape and dragged her into -the jungle before the males had sufficiently collected their -wits and their courage to rally in defense of their fellow. -Tarzan's angry voice aroused similar anger in the breasts -of the apes. Snarling and barking they followed Numa -into the dense labyrinth of foliage wherein he sought -to hide himself from them. The ape-man was in the lead, -moving rapidly and yet with caution, depending even more -upon his ears and nose than upon his eyes for information -of the lion's whereabouts. - -The spoor was easy to follow, for the dragged body of the -victim left a plain trail, blood-spattered and scentful. -Even such dull creatures as you or I might easily have -followed it. To Tarzan and the apes of Kerchak it was -as obvious as a cement sidewalk. - -Tarzan knew that they were nearing the great cat even -before he heard an angry growl of warning just ahead. -Calling to the apes to follow his example, he swung into -a tree and a moment later Numa was surrounded by a ring -of growling beasts, well out of reach of his fangs and talons -but within plain sight of him. The carnivore crouched -with his fore-quarters upon the she-ape. Tarzan could see -that the latter was already dead; but something within -him made it seem quite necessary to rescue the useless -body from the clutches of the enemy and to punish him. - -He shrieked taunts and insults at Numa, and tearing -dead branches from the tree in which he danced, -hurled them at the lion. The apes followed his example. -Numa roared out in rage and vexation. He was hungry, -but under such conditions he could not feed. - -The apes, if they had been left to themselves, -would doubtless soon have left the lion to peaceful -enjoyment of his feast, for was not the she dead? They -could not restore her to life by throwing sticks at Numa, -and they might even now be feeding in quiet themselves; -but Tarzan was of a different mind. Numa must be punished -and driven away. He must be taught that even though -he killed a Mangani, he would not be permitted to feed -upon his kill. The man-mind looked into the future, -while the apes perceived only the immediate present. -They would be content to escape today the menace of Numa, -while Tarzan saw the necessity, and the means as well, -of safeguarding the days to come. - -So he urged the great anthropoids on until Numa was -showered with missiles that kept his head dodging -and his voice pealing forth its savage protest; -but still he clung desperately to his kill. - -The twigs and branches hurled at Numa, Tarzan soon realized, -did not hurt him greatly even when they struck him, -and did not injure him at all, so the ape-man looked about -for more effective missiles, nor did he have to look long. -An out-cropping of decomposed granite not far from Numa -suggested ammunition of a much more painful nature. -Calling to the apes to watch him, Tarzan slipped to -the ground and gathered a handful of small fragments. -He knew that when once they had seen him carry out his -idea they would be much quicker to follow his lead than -to obey his instructions, were he to command them to -procure pieces of rock and hurl them at Numa, for Tarzan -was not then king of the apes of the tribe of Kerchak. -That came in later years. Now he was but a youth, though one -who already had wrested for himself a place in the councils -of the savage beasts among whom a strange fate had cast him. -The sullen bulls of the older generation still hated -him as beasts hate those of whom they are suspicious, -whose scent characteristic is the scent characteristic -of an alien order and, therefore, of an enemy order. -The younger bulls, those who had grown up through -childhood as his playmates, were as accustomed to Tarzan's -scent as to that of any other member of the tribe. -They felt no greater suspicion of him than of any other -bull of their acquaintance; yet they did not love him, -for they loved none outside the mating season, and the -animosities aroused by other bulls during that season lasted -well over until the next. They were a morose and peevish -band at best, though here and there were those among them -in whom germinated the primal seeds of humanity--reversions -to type, these, doubtless; reversions to the ancient -progenitor who took the first step out of ape-hood -toward humanness, when he walked more often upon his hind -feet and discovered other things for idle hands to do. - -So now Tarzan led where he could not yet command. -He had long since discovered the apish propensity for -mimicry and learned to make use of it. Having filled -his arms with fragments of rotted granite, he clambered -again into a tree, and it pleased him to see that the apes -had followed his example. - -During the brief respite while they were gathering -their ammunition, Numa had settled himself to feed; -but scarce had he arranged himself and his kill when -a sharp piece of rock hurled by the practiced hand of -the ape-man struck him upon the cheek. His sudden roar -of pain and rage was smothered by a volley from the apes, -who had seen Tarzan's act. Numa shook his massive -head and glared upward at his tormentors. For a half -hour they pursued him with rocks and broken branches, -and though he dragged his kill into densest thickets, -yet they always found a way to reach him with their missiles, -giving him no opportunity to feed, and driving him on and on. - -The hairless ape-thing with the man scent was worst of all, -for he had even the temerity to advance upon the ground -to within a few yards of the Lord of the Jungle, that he -might with greater accuracy and force hurl the sharp bits -of granite and the heavy sticks at him. Time and again -did Numa charge--sudden, vicious charges--but the lithe, -active tormentor always managed to elude him and with such -insolent ease that the lion forgot even his great hunger -in the consuming passion of his rage, leaving his meat -for considerable spaces of time in vain efforts to catch -his enemy. - -The apes and Tarzan pursued the great beast to a natural -clearing, -where Numa evidently determined to make a last stand, -taking up his position in the center of the open space, -which was far enough from any tree to render him practically -immune from the rather erratic throwing of the apes, though -Tarzan still found him with most persistent and aggravating -frequency. - -This, however, did not suit the ape-man, since Numa now -suffered an occasional missile with no more than a snarl, -while he settled himself to partake of his delayed feast. -Tarzan scratched his head, pondering some more effective -method of offense, for he had determined to prevent Numa -from profiting in any way through his attack upon the tribe. -The man-mind reasoned against the future, while the -shaggy apes thought only of their present hatred of this -ancestral enemy. Tarzan guessed that should Numa find it -an easy thing to snatch a meal from the tribe of Kerchak, -it would be but a short time before their existence would -be one living nightmare of hideous watchfulness and dread. -Numa must be taught that the killing of an ape brought -immediate punishment and no rewards. It would take but -a few lessons to insure the former safety of the tribe. -This must be some old lion whose failing strength and -agility had forced him to any prey that he could catch; -but even a single lion, undisputed, could exterminate -the tribe, or at least make its existence so precarious -and so terrifying that life would no longer be a -pleasant condition. - -"Let him hunt among the Gomangani," thought Tarzan. -"He will find them easier prey. I will teach ferocious -Numa that he may not hunt the Mangani." - -But how to wrest the body of his victim from the -feeding lion was the first question to be solved. -At last Tarzan hit upon a plan. To anyone but Tarzan -of the Apes it might have seemed rather a risky plan, -and perhaps it did even to him; but Tarzan rather liked -things that contained a considerable element of danger. -At any rate, I rather doubt that you or I would have chosen -a similar plan for foiling an angry and a hungry lion. - -Tarzan required assistance in the scheme he had hit upon -and his assistant must be equally as brave and almost -as active as he. The ape-man's eyes fell upon Taug, -the playmate of his childhood, the rival in his first love -and now, of all the bulls of the tribe, the only one -that might be thought to hold in his savage brain any -such feeling toward Tarzan as we describe among ourselves -as friendship. At least, Tarzan knew, Taug was courageous, -and he was young and agile and wonderfully muscled. - -"Taug!" cried the ape-man. The great ape looked up from a dead -limb he was attempting to tear from a lightning-blasted tree. -"Go close to Numa and worry him," said Tarzan. "Worry him -until he charges. Lead him away from the body of Mamka. -Keep him away as long as you can." - -Taug nodded. He was across the clearing from Tarzan. -Wresting the limb at last from the tree he dropped to the -ground and advanced toward Numa, growling and barking out -his insults. The worried lion looked up and rose to his feet. -His tail went stiffly erect and Taug turned in flight, -for he knew that warming signal of the charge. - -From behind the lion, Tarzan ran quickly toward the center -of the clearing and the body of Mamka. Numa, all his -eyes for Taug, did not see the ape-man. Instead he shot -forward after the fleeing bull, who had turned in flight -not an instant too soon, since he reached the nearest -tree but a yard or two ahead of the pursuing demon. -Like a cat the heavy anthropoid scampered up the bole -of his sanctuary. Numa's talons missed him by little -more than inches. - -For a moment the lion paused beneath the tree, glaring up -at the ape and roaring until the earth trembled, then he -turned back again toward his kill, and as he did so, -his tail shot once more to rigid erectness and he -charged back even more ferociously than he had come, -for what he saw was the naked man-thing running toward -the farther trees with the bloody carcass of his prey -across a giant shoulder. - -The apes, watching the grim race from the safety of -the trees, screamed taunts at Numa and warnings to Tarzan. -The high sun, hot and brilliant, fell like a spotlight -upon the actors in the little clearing, portraying them -in glaring relief to the audience in the leafy shadows -of the surrounding trees. The light-brown body of the -naked youth, all but hidden by the shaggy carcass of the -killed ape, the red blood streaking his smooth hide, -his muscles rolling, velvety, beneath. Behind him -the black-maned lion, head flattened, tail extended, -racing, a jungle thoroughbred, across the sunlit clearing. - -Ah, but this was life! With death at his heels, -Tarzan thrilled with the joy of such living as this; -but would he reach the trees ahead of the rampant death -so close behind? - -Gunto swung from a limb in a tree before him. Gunto was -screaming warnings and advice. - -"Catch me!" cried Tarzan, and with his heavy burden leaped -straight for the big bull hanging there by his hind feet -and one forepaw. And Gunto caught them--the big ape-man -and the dead weight of the slain she-ape--caught them -with one great, hairy paw and whirled them upward until -Tarzan's fingers closed upon a near-by branch. - -Beneath, Numa leaped; but Gunto, heavy and awkward as he -may have appeared, was as quick as Manu, the monkey, -so that the lion's talons but barely grazed him, -scratching a bloody streak beneath one hairy arm. - -Tarzan carried Mamka's corpse to a high crotch, where even -Sheeta, the panther, could not get it. Numa paced angrily -back and forth beneath the tree, roaring frightfully. -He had been robbed of his kill and his revenge also. -He was very savage indeed; but his despoilers were -well out of his reach, and after hurling a few taunts -and missiles at him they swung away through the trees, -fiercely reviling him. - -Tarzan thought much upon the little adventure of that day. -He foresaw what might happen should the great carnivora -of the jungle turn their serious attention upon the tribe -of Kerchak, the great ape, but equally he thought upon -the wild scramble of the apes for safety when Numa first -charged among them. There is little humor in the jungle -that is not grim and awful. The beasts have little -or no conception of humor; but the young Englishman saw -humor in many things which presented no humorous angle -to his associates. - -Since earliest childhood he had been a searcher after fun, -much to the sorrow of his fellow-apes, and now he -saw the humor of the frightened panic of the apes -and the baffled rage of Numa even in this grim jungle -adventure which had robbed Mamka of life, and jeopardized -that of many members of the tribe. - -It was but a few weeks later that Sheeta, the panther, -made a sudden rush among the tribe and snatched a little -balu from a tree where it had been hidden while its mother -sought food. Sheeta got away with his small prize unmolested. -Tarzan was very wroth. He spoke to the bulls of the ease -with which Numa and Sheeta, in a single moon, had slain -two members of the tribe. - -"They will take us all for food," he cried. "We hunt -as we will through the jungle, paying no heed to -approaching enemies. Even Manu, the monkey, does not so. -He keeps two or three always watching for enemies. -Pacco, the zebra, and Wappi, the antelope, have those about -the herd who keep watch while the others feed, while we, -the great Mangani, let Numa, and Sabor, and Sheeta -come when they will and carry us off to feed their balus. - -"Gr-r-rmph," said Numgo. - -"What are we to do?" asked Taug. - -"We, too, should have two or three always watching for the -approach of Numa, and Sabor, and Sheeta," replied Tarzan. -"No others need we fear, except Histah, the snake, and if -we watch for the others we will see Histah if he comes, -though gliding ever so silently." - -And so it was that the great apes of the tribe of Kerchak -posted sentries thereafter, who watched upon three sides -while the tribe hunted, scattered less than had been -their wont. - -But Tarzan went abroad alone, for Tarzan was a man-thing -and sought amusement and adventure and such humor as the grim -and terrible jungle offers to those who know it and do not -fear it--a weird humor shot with blazing eyes and dappled -with the crimson of lifeblood. While others sought -only food and love, Tarzan of the Apes sought food and joy. - -One day he hovered above the palisaded village of Mbonga, -the chief, the jet cannibal of the jungle primeval. -He saw, as he had seen many times before, the witch-doctor, -Rabba Kega, decked out in the head and hide of Gorgo, -the buffalo. It amused Tarzan to see a Gomangani parading -as Gorgo; but it suggested nothing in particular to him -until he chanced to see stretched against the side of -Mbonga's hut the skin of a lion with the head still on. -Then a broad grin widened the handsome face of the savage -beast-youth. - -Back into the jungle he went until chance, agility, strength, -and cunning backed by his marvelous powers of perception, -gave him an easy meal. If Tarzan felt that the world -owed him a living he also realized that it was for him -to collect it, nor was there ever a better collector than -this son of an English lord, who knew even less of the ways -of his forbears than he did of the forbears themselves, -which was nothing. - -It was quite dark when Tarzan returned to the village -of Mbonga and took his now polished perch in the tree -which overhangs the palisade upon one side of the -walled enclosure. As there was nothing in particular -to feast upon in the village there was little life -in the single street, for only an orgy of flesh -and native beer could draw out the people of Mbonga. -Tonight they sat gossiping about their cooking fires, -the older members of the tribe; or, if they were young, -paired off in the shadows cast by the palm-thatched huts. - -Tarzan dropped lightly into the village, and sneaking -stealthily in the concealment of the denser shadows, -approached the hut of the chief, Mbonga. Here he found -that which he sought. There were warriors all about him; -but they did not know that the feared devil-god slunk -noiselessly so near them, nor did they see him possess -himself of that which he coveted and depart from their -village as noiselessly as he had come. - -Later that night, as Tarzan curled himself for sleep, -he lay for a long time looking up at the burning planets -and the twinkling stars and at Goro the moon, and he smiled. -He recalled how ludicrous the great bulls had appeared -in their mad scramble for safety that day when Numa -had charged among them and seized Mamka, and yet he knew -them to be fierce and courageous. It was the sudden -shock of surprise that always sent them into a panic; -but of this Tarzan was not as yet fully aware. That was -something he was to learn in the near future. - -He fell asleep with a broad grin upon his face. - -Manu, the monkey, awoke him in the morning by dropping -discarded bean pods upon his upturned face from a branch -a short distance above him. Tarzan looked up and smiled. -He had been awakened thus before many times. He and Manu -were fairly good friends, their friendship operating upon -a reciprocal basis. Sometimes Manu would come running early -in the morning to awaken Tarzan and tell him that Bara, -the deer, was feeding close at hand, or that Horta, -the boar, was asleep in a mudhole hard by, and in return -Tarzan broke open the shells of the harder nuts and fruits -for Manu, or frightened away Histah, the snake, and Sheeta, -the panther. - -The sun had been up for some time, and the tribe had -already wandered off in search of food. Manu indicated -the direction they had taken with a wave of his hand -and a few piping notes of his squeaky little voice. - -"Come, Manu," said Tarzan, "and you will see that which -shall make you dance for joy and squeal your wrinkled -little head off. Come, follow Tarzan of the Apes." - -With that he set off in the direction Manu had indicated -and above him, chattering, scolding and squealing, -skipped Manu, the monkey. Across Tarzan's shoulders -was the thing he had stolen from the village of Mbonga, -the chief, the evening before. - -The tribe was feeding in the forest beside the clearing -where Gunto, and Taug, and Tarzan had so harassed Numa -and finally taken away from him the fruit of his kill. -Some of them were in the clearing itself. In peace -and content they fed, for were there not three sentries, -each watching upon a different side of the herd? Tarzan -had taught them this, and though he had been away for -several days hunting alone, as he often did, or visiting -at the cabin by the sea, they had not as yet forgotten -his admonitions, and if they continued for a short time -longer to post sentries, it would become a habit of their -tribal life and thus be perpetuated indefinitely. - -But Tarzan, who knew them better than they knew themselves, -was confident that they had ceased to place the watchers about -them the moment that he had left them, and now he planned -not only to have a little fun at their expense but to teach -them a lesson in preparedness, which, by the way, is even -a more vital issue in the jungle than in civilized places. -That you and I exist today must be due to the preparedness -of some shaggy anthropoid of the Oligocene. Of course -the apes of Kerchak were always prepared, after their own -way--Tarzan had merely suggested a new and additional safeguard. - -Gunto was posted today to the north of the clearing. -He squatted in the fork of a tree from where he might -view the jungle for quite a distance about him. -It was he who first discovered the enemy. A rustling -in the undergrowth attracted his attention, and a moment -later he had a partial view of a shaggy mane and tawny -yellow back. Just a glimpse it was through the matted -foliage beneath him; but it brought from Gunto's leathern -lungs a shrill "Kreeg-ah!" which is the ape for beware, -or danger. - -Instantly the tribe took up the cry until "Kreeg-ahs!" rang -through the jungle about the clearing as apes swung quickly -to places of safety among the lower branches of the trees -and the great bulls hastened in the direction of Gunto. - -And then into the clearing strode Numa, the lion-- majestic -and mighty, and from a deep chest issued the moan and the -cough and the rumbling roar that set stiff hairs to bristling -from shaggy craniums down the length of mighty spines. - -Inside the clearing, Numa paused and on the instant -there fell upon him from the trees near by a shower -of broken rock and dead limbs torn from age-old trees. -A dozen times he was hit, and then the apes ran down -and gathered other rocks, pelting him unmercifully. - -Numa turned to flee, but his way was barred by a fusilade -of sharp-cornered missiles, and then, upon the edge -of the clearing, great Taug met him with a huge fragment -of rock as large as a man's head, and down went the Lord -of the Jungle beneath the stunning blow. - -With shrieks and roars and loud barkings the great apes -of the tribe of Kerchak rushed upon the fallen lion. -Sticks and stones and yellow fangs menaced the still form. -In another moment, before he could regain consciousness, -Numa would be battered and torn until only a bloody mass -of broken bones and matted hair remained of what had once been -the most dreaded of jungle creatures. - -But even as the sticks and stones were raised above him -and the great fangs bared to tear him, there descended -like a plummet from the trees above a diminutive -figure with long, white whiskers and a wrinkled face. -Square upon the body of Numa it alighted and there it -danced and screamed and shrieked out its challenge -against the bulls of Kerchak. - -For an instant they paused, paralyzed by the wonder of -the thing. It was Manu, the monkey, Manu, the little coward, -and here he was daring the ferocity of the great Mangani, -hopping about upon the carcass of Numa, the lion, -and crying out that they must not strike it again. - -And when the bulls paused, Manu reached down and seized a -tawny ear. With all his little might he tugged upon the heavy -head until slowly it turned back, revealing the tousled, -black head and clean-cut profile of Tarzan of the Apes. - -Some of the older apes were for finishing what they had -commenced; -but Taug, sullen, mighty Taug, sprang quickly to the -ape-man's side and straddling the unconscious form warned -back those who would have struck his childhood playmate. -And Teeka, his mate, came too, taking her place with bared -fangs at Taug's side. others followed their example, -until at last Tarzan was surrounded by a ring of hairy -champions who would permit no enemy to approach him. - -It was a surprised and chastened Tarzan who opened -his eyes to consciousness a few minutes later. -He looked about him at the surrounding apes and slowly -there returned to him a realization of what had occurred. - -Gradually a broad grin illuminated his features. -His bruises were many and they hurt; but the good that had -come from his adventure was worth all that it had cost. -He had learned, for instance, that the apes of Kerchak -had heeded his teaching, and he had learned that he -had good friends among the sullen beasts whom he had -thought without sentiment. He had discovered that Manu, -the monkey--even little, cowardly Manu--had risked his life -in his defense. - -It made Tarzan very glad to know these things; -but at the other lesson he had been taught he reddened. -He had always been a joker, the only joker in the grim -and terrible company; but now as he lay there half dead -from his hurts, he almost swore a solemn oath forever -to forego practical joking--almost; but not quite. - - - - - - - 9 - - - The Nightmare - -THE BLACKS OF the village of Mbonga, the chief, were feasting, -while above them in a large tree sat Tarzan of the -Apes--grim, terrible, empty, and envious. Hunting had -proved poor that day, for there are lean days as well -as fat ones for even the greatest of the jungle hunters. -Oftentimes Tarzan went empty for more than a full sun, -and he had passed through entire moons during which he -had been but barely able to stave off starvation; -but such times were infrequent. - -There once had been a period of sickness among the -grass-eaters which had left the plains almost bare of game -for several years, and again the great cats had increased -so rapidly and so overrun the country that their prey, -which was also Tarzan's, had been frightened off for a -considerable time. - -But for the most part Tarzan had fed well always. -Today, though, he had gone empty, one misfortune following -another as rapidly as he raised new quarry, so that now, -as he sat perched in the tree above the feasting blacks, -he experienced all the pangs of famine and his hatred -for his lifelong enemies waxed strong in his breast. -It was tantalizing, indeed, to sit there hungry while -these Gomangani filled themselves so full of food that -their stomachs seemed almost upon the point of bursting, -and with elephant steaks at that! - -It was true that Tarzan and Tantor were the best of friends, -and that Tarzan never yet had tasted of the flesh of -the elephant; but the Gomangani evidently had slain one, -and as they were eating of the flesh of their kill, -Tarzan was assailed by no doubts as to the ethics -of his doing likewise, should he have the opportunity. -Had he known that the elephant had died of sickness -several days before the blacks discovered the carcass, -he might not have been so keen to partake of the feast, -for Tarzan of the Apes was no carrion-eater. Hunger, -however, may blunt the most epicurean taste, and Tarzan -was not exactly an epicure. - -What he was at this moment was a very hungry wild beast -whom caution was holding in leash, for the great cooking -pot in the center of the village was surrounded by -black warriors, through whom not even Tarzan of the Apes -might hope to pass unharmed. It would be necessary, -therefore, for the watcher to remain there hungry until -the blacks had gorged themselves to stupor, and then, -if they had left any scraps, to make the best meal he -could from such; but to the impatient Tarzan it seemed -that the greedy Gomangani would rather burst than leave -the feast before the last morsel had been devoured. -For a time they broke the monotony of eating by executing -portions of a hunting dance, a maneuver which sufficiently -stimulated digestion to permit them to fall to once more -with renewed vigor; but with the consumption of appalling -quantities of elephant meat and native beer they presently -became too loggy for physical exertion of any sort, -some reaching a stage where they no longer could rise -from the ground, but lay conveniently close to the great -cooking pot, stuffing themselves into unconsciousness. - -It was well past midnight before Tarzan even could begin -to see the end of the orgy. The blacks were now falling -asleep rapidly; but a few still persisted. From before -their condition Tarzan had no doubt but that he easily -could enter the village and snatch a handful of meat from -before their noses; but a handful was not what he wanted. -Nothing less than a stomachful would allay the gnawing -craving of that great emptiness. He must therefore have -ample time to forage in peace. - -At last but a single warrior remained true to his ideals-- -an old fellow whose once wrinkled belly was now as smooth -and as tight as the head of a drum. With evidences -of great discomfort, and even pain, he would crawl toward -the pot and drag himself slowly to his knees, from which -position he could reach into the receptacle and seize -a piece of meat. Then he would roll over on his back -with a loud groan and lie there while he slowly forced -the food between his teeth and down into his gorged stomach. - -It was evident to Tarzan that the old fellow would -eat until he died, or until there was no more meat. -The ape-man shook his head in disgust. What foul -creatures were these Gomangani? Yet of all the jungle -folk they alone resembled Tarzan closely in form. -Tarzan was a man, and they, too, must be some manner of men, -just as the little monkeys, and the great apes, and Bolgani, -the gorilla, were quite evidently of one great family, -though differing in size and appearance and customs. -Tarzan was ashamed, for of all the beasts of the jungle, -then, man was the most disgusting--man and Dango, the hyena. -Only man and Dango ate until they swelled up like a dead rat. -Tarzan had seen Dango eat his way into the carcass of a dead -elephant and then continue to eat so much that he had been -unable to get out of the hole through which he had entered. -Now he could readily believe that man, given the opportunity, -would do the same. Man, too, was the most unlovely -of creatures--with his skinny legs and his big stomach, -his filed teeth, and his thick, red lips. Man was disgusting. -Tarzan's gaze was riveted upon the hideous old warrior -wallowing in filth beneath him. - -There! the thing was struggling to its knees to reach -for another morsel of flesh. It groaned aloud in pain -and yet it persisted in eating, eating, ever eating. -Tarzan could endure it no longer--neither his hunger nor -his disgust. Silently he slipped to the ground with the -bole of the great tree between himself and the feaster. - -The man was still kneeling, bent almost double in agony, -before the cooking pot. His back was toward the ape-man. -Swiftly and noiselessly Tarzan approached him. There was -no sound as steel fingers closed about the black throat. -The struggle was short, for the man was old and already half -stupefied from the effects of the gorging and the beer. - -Tarzan dropped the inert mass and scooped several large -pieces of meat from the cooking pot--enough to satisfy even -his great hunger--then he raised the body of the feaster -and shoved it into the vessel. When the other blacks awoke -they would have something to think about! Tarzan grinned. -As he turned toward the tree with his meat, he picked -up a vessel containing beer and raised it to his lips, -but at the first taste he spat the stuff from his mouth -and tossed the primitive tankard aside. He was quite -sure that even Dango would draw the line at such filthy -tasting drink as that, and his contempt for man increased -with the conviction. - -Tarzan swung off into the jungle some half mile or -so before he paused to partake of his stolen food. -He noticed that it gave forth a strange and unpleasant odor, -but assumed that this was due to the fact that it had -stood in a vessel of water above a fire. Tarzan was, -of course, unaccustomed to cooked food. He did not like it; -but he was very hungry and had eaten a considerable -portion of his haul before it was really borne in upon -him that the stuff was nauseating. It required far less -than he had imagined it would to satisfy his appetite. - -Throwing the balance to the ground he curled up in a -convenient crotch and sought slumber; but slumber seemed -difficult to woo. Ordinarily Tarzan of the Apes was asleep -as quickly as a dog after it curls itself upon a hearthrug -before a roaring blaze; but tonight he squirmed and twisted, -for at the pit of his stomach was a peculiar feeling -that resembled nothing more closely than an attempt upon -the part of the fragments of elephant meat reposing there -to come out into the night and search for their elephant; -but Tarzan was adamant. He gritted his teeth and held -them back. He was not to be robbed of his meal after -waiting so long to obtain it. - -He had succeeded in dozing when the roaring of a lion -awoke him. He sat up to discover that it was broad daylight. -Tarzan rubbed his eyes. Could it be that he had really -slept? He did not feel particularly refreshed as he -should have after a good sleep. A noise attracted -his attention, and he looked down to see a lion standing -at the foot of the tree gazing hungrily at him. -Tarzan made a face at the king of beasts, whereat Numa, -greatly to the ape-man's surprise, started to climb up into -the branches toward him. Now, never before had Tarzan seen -a lion climb a tree, yet, for some unaccountable reason, -he was not greatly surprised that this particular lion -should do so. - -As the lion climbed slowly toward him, Tarzan sought -higher branches; but to his chagrin, he discovered that it -was with the utmost difficulty that he could climb at all. -Again and again he slipped back, losing all that he -had gained, while the lion kept steadily at his climbing, -coming ever closer and closer to the ape-man. Tarzan -could see the hungry light in the yellow-green eyes. -He could see the slaver on the drooping jowls, -and the great fangs agape to seize and destroy him. -Clawing desperately, the ape-man at last succeeded in gaining -a little upon his pursuer. He reached the more slender -branches far aloft where he well knew no lion could follow; -yet on and on came devil-faced Numa. It was incredible; -but it was true. Yet what most amazed Tarzan was -that though he realized the incredibility of it all, -he at the same time accepted it as a matter of course, -first that a lion should climb at all and second that he -should enter the upper terraces where even Sheeta, the panther, -dared not venture. - -To the very top of a tall tree the ape-man clawed his awkward -way and after him came Numa, the lion, moaning dismally. -At last Tarzan stood balanced upon the very utmost pinnacle -of a swaying branch, high above the forest. He could go -no farther. Below him the lion came steadily upward, -and Tarzan of the Apes realized that at last the end had come. -He could not do battle upon a tiny branch with Numa, -the lion, especially with such a Numa, to which swaying -branches two hundred feet above the ground provided as -substantial footing as the ground itself. - -Nearer and nearer came the lion. Another moment and he -could reach up with one great paw and drag the ape-man -downward to those awful jaws. A whirring noise above -his head caused Tarzan to glance apprehensively upward. -A great bird was circling close above him. He never had -seen so large a bird in all his life, yet he recognized -it immediately, for had he not seen it hundreds of times -in one of the books in the little cabin by the land-locked -bay--the moss-grown cabin that with its contents was -the sole heritage left by his dead and unknown father -to the young Lord Greystoke? - -In the picture-book the great bird was shown flying far -above the ground with a small child in its talons while, -beneath, a distracted mother stood with uplifted hands. -The lion was already reaching forth a taloned paw to seize -him when the bird swooped and buried no less formidable -talons in Tarzan's back. The pain was numbing; but it -was with a sense of relief that the ape-man felt himself -snatched from the clutches of Numa. - -With a great whirring of wings the bird rose rapidly -until the forest lay far below. It made Tarzan sick -and dizzy to look down upon it from so great a height, -so he closed his eyes tight and held his breath. Higher and -higher climbed the huge bird. Tarzan opened his eyes. -The jungle was so far away that he could see only a dim, -green blur below him, but just above and quite close was -the sun. Tarzan reached out his hands and warmed them, -for they were very cold. Then a sudden madness seized him. -Where was the bird taking him? Was he to submit thus -passively to a feathered creature however enormous? Was he, -Tarzan of the Apes, mighty fighter, to die without striking -a blow in his own defense? Never! - -He snatched the hunting blade from his gee-string -and thrusting upward drove it once, twice, thrice into -the breast above him. The mighty wings fluttered a few -more times, spasmodically, the talons relaxed their hold, -and Tarzan of the Apes fell hurtling downward toward -the distant jungle. - -It seemed to the ape-man that he fell for many minutes before -he crashed through the leafy verdure of the tree tops. -The smaller branches broke his fall, so that he came -to rest for an instant upon the very branch upon which he -had sought slumber the previous night. For an instant he -toppled there in a frantic attempt to regain his equilibrium; -but at last he rolled off, yet, clutching wildly, -he succeeded in grasping the branch and hanging on. - -Once more he opened his eyes, which he had closed during -the fall. Again it was night. With all his old agility he -clambered back to the crotch from which he had toppled. -Below him a lion roared, and, looking downward, Tarzan could -see the yellow-green eyes shining in the moonlight as they -bored hungrily upward through the darkness of the jungle -night toward him. - -The ape-man gasped for breath. Cold sweat stood out -from every pore, there was a great sickness at the pit -of Tarzan's stomach. Tarzan of the Apes had dreamed -his first dream. - -For a long time he sat watching for Numa to climb into the tree -after him, and listening for the sound of the great wings -from above, for to Tarzan of the Apes his dream was a reality. - -He could not believe what he had seen and yet, -having seen even these incredible things, he could -not disbelieve the evidence of his own perceptions. -Never in all his life had Tarzan's senses deceived -him badly, and so, naturally, he had great faith in them. -Each perception which ever had been transmitted to Tarzan's -brain had been, with varying accuracy, a true perception. -He could not conceive of the possibility of apparently -having passed through such a weird adventure in which there -was no grain of truth. That a stomach, disordered by -decayed elephant flesh, a lion roaring in the jungle, -a picture-book, and sleep could have so truly portrayed -all the clear-cut details of what he had seemingly -experienced was quite beyond his knowledge; yet he knew -that Numa could not climb a tree, he knew that there -existed in the jungle no such bird as he had seen, -and he knew, too, that he could not have fallen a tiny -fraction of the distance he had hurtled downward, and lived. - -To say the least, he was a very puzzled Tarzan as he tried -to compose himself once more for slumber--a very puzzled -and a very nauseated Tarzan. - -As he thought deeply upon the strange occurrences of -the night, he witnessed another remarkable happening. -It was indeed quite preposterous, yet he saw it all -with his own eyes--it was nothing less than Histah, -the snake, wreathing his sinuous and slimy way up the bole -of the tree below him--Histah, with the head of the old -man Tarzan had shoved into the cooking pot--the head and -the round, tight, black, distended stomach. As the old -man's frightful face, with upturned eyes, set and glassy, -came close to Tarzan, the jaws opened to seize him. -The ape-man struck furiously at the hideous face, and as he -struck the apparition disappeared. - -Tarzan sat straight up upon his branch trembling in -every limb, wide-eyed and panting. He looked all around -him with his keen, jungle-trained eyes, but he saw naught -of the old man with the body of Histah, the snake, -but on his naked thigh the ape-man saw a caterpillar, -dropped from a branch above him. With a grimace he -flicked it off into the darkness beneath. - -And so the night wore on, dream following dream, nightmare -following nightmare, until the distracted ape-man started -like a frightened deer at the rustling of the wind in the -trees about him, or leaped to his feet as the uncanny laugh -of a hyena burst suddenly upon a momentary jungle silence. -But at last the tardy morning broke and a sick and feverish -Tarzan wound sluggishly through the dank and gloomy mazes -of the forest in search of water. His whole body seemed -on fire, a great sickness surged upward to his throat. -He saw a tangle of almost impenetrable thicket, and, -like the wild beast he was, he crawled into it to die -alone and unseen, safe from the attacks of predatory carnivora. - -But he did not die. For a long time he wanted to; -but presently nature and an outraged stomach relieved -themselves in their own therapeutic manner, the ape-man broke -into a violent perspiration and then fell into a normal and -untroubled sleep which persisted well into the afternoon. -When he awoke he found himself weak but no longer sick. - -Once more he sought water, and after drinking deeply, -took his way slowly toward the cabin by the sea. -In times of loneliness and trouble it had long been his -custom to seek there the quiet and restfulness which he -could find nowhere else. - -As he approached the cabin and raised the crude latch -which his father had fashioned so many years before, -two small, blood-shot eyes watched him from the concealing -foliage of the jungle close by. From beneath shaggy, -beetling brows they glared maliciously upon him, -maliciously and with a keen curiosity; then Tarzan entered -the cabin and closed the door after him. Here, with all -the world shut out from him, he could dream without -fear of interruption. He could curl up and look at -the pictures in the strange things which were books, -he could puzzle out the printed word he had learned to read -without knowledge of the spoken language it represented, -he could live in a wonderful world of which he had no -knowledge beyond the covers of his beloved books. -Numa and Sabor might prowl about close to him, the elements -might rage in all their fury; but here at least, -Tarzan might be entirely off his guard in a delightful -relaxation which gave him all his faculties for the -uninterrupted pursuit of this greatest of all his pleasures. - -Today he turned to the picture of the huge bird which bore -off the little Tarmangani in its talons. Tarzan puckered -his brows as he examined the colored print. Yes, this was -the very bird that had carried him off the day before, -for to Tarzan the dream had been so great a reality -that he still thought another day and a night had passed -since he had lain down in the tree to sleep. - -But the more he thought upon the matter the less positive -he was as to the verity of the seeming adventure through -which he had passed, yet where the real had ceased and -the unreal commenced he was quite unable to determine. -Had he really then been to the village of the blacks at all, -had he killed the old Gomangani, had he eaten of the -elephant meat, had he been sick? Tarzan scratched his -tousled black head and wondered. It was all very strange, -yet he knew that he never had seen Numa climb a tree, -or Histah with the head and belly of an old black man whom -Tarzan already had slain. - -Finally, with a sigh he gave up trying to fathom -the unfathomable, yet in his heart of hearts he knew -that something had come into his life that he never before -had experienced, another life which existed when he slept -and the consciousness of which was carried over into his waking -hours. - -Then he commenced to wonder if some of these strange -creatures which he met in his sleep might not slay him, -for at such times Tarzan of the Apes seemed to be a -different Tarzan, sluggish, helpless and timid--wishing -to flee his enemies as fled Bara, the deer, most fearful -of creatures. - -Thus, with a dream, came the first faint tinge of a knowledge -of fear, a knowledge which Tarzan, awake, had never experienced, -and perhaps he was experiencing what his early forbears -passed through and transmitted to posterity in the form of -superstition first and religion later; for they, as Tarzan, -had seen things at night which they could not explain -by the daylight standards of sense perception or of reason, -and so had built for themselves a weird explanation -which included grotesque shapes, possessed of strange -and uncanny powers, to whom they finally came to attribute -all those inexplicable phenomena of nature which with -each recurrence filled them with awe, with wonder, or with -terror. - -And as Tarzan concentrated his mind on the little bugs -upon the printed page before him, the active recollection -of the strange adventures presently merged into the text -of that which he was reading--a story of Bolgani, -the gorilla, in captivity. There was a more or less -lifelike illustration of Bolgani in colors and in a cage, -with many remarkable looking Tarmangani standing against -a rail and peering curiously at the snarling brute. -Tarzan wondered not a little, as he always did, at the odd -and seemingly useless array of colored plumage which covered -the bodies of the Tarmangani. It always caused him to grin -a trifle when he looked at these strange creatures. -He wondered if they so covered their bodies from shame -of their hairlessness or because they thought the odd things -they wore added any to the beauty of their appearance. -Particularly was Tarzan amused by the grotesque headdresses -of the pictured people. He wondered how some of the shes -succeeded in balancing theirs in an upright position, -and he came as near to laughing aloud as he ever had, -as he contemplated the funny little round things upon -the heads of the hes. - -Slowly the ape-man picked out the meaning of the various -combinations of letters on the printed page, and as he read, -the little bugs, for as such he always thought of the letters, -commenced to run about in a most confusing manner, -blurring his vision and befuddling his thoughts. -Twice he brushed the back of a hand smartly across his eyes; -but only for a moment could he bring the bugs back -to coherent and intelligible form. He had slept ill the -night before and now he was exhausted from loss of sleep, -from sickness, and from the slight fever he had had, -so that it became more and more difficult to fix his attention, -or to keep his eyes open. - -Tarzan realized that he was falling asleep, and just -as the realization was borne in upon him and he had -decided to relinquish himself to an inclination which -had assumed almost the proportions of a physical pain, -he was aroused by the opening of the cabin door. -Turning quickly toward the interruption Tarzan was amazed, -for a moment, to see bulking large in the doorway the huge -and hairy form of Bolgani, the gorilla. - -Now there was scarcely a denizen of the great jungle -with whom Tarzan would rather not have been cooped up -inside the small cabin than Bolgani, the gorilla, yet he -felt no fear, even though his quick eye noted that Bolgani -was in the throes of that jungle madness which seizes -upon so many of the fiercer males. Ordinarily the huge -gorillas avoid conflict, hide themselves from the other -jungle folk, and are generally the best of neighbors; -but when they are attacked, or the madness seizes them, -there is no jungle denizen so bold and fierce as to -deliberately seek a quarrel with them. - -But for Tarzan there was no escape. Bolgani was glowering -at him from red-rimmed, wicked eyes. In a moment he -would rush in and seize the ape-man. Tarzan reached -for the hunting knife where he had lain it on the table -beside him; but as his fingers did not immediately locate -the weapon, he turned a quick glance in search of it. -As he did so his eyes fell upon the book he had been -looking at which still lay open at the picture of Bolgani. -Tarzan found his knife, but he merely fingered it idly -and grinned in the direction of the advancing gorilla. - -Not again would he be fooled by empty things which came -while he slept! In a moment, no doubt, Bolgani would turn -into Pamba, the rat, with the head of Tantor, the elephant. -Tarzan had seen enough of such strange happenings -recently to have some idea as to what he might expect; -but this time Bolgani did not alter his form as he came -slowly toward the young ape-man. - -Tarzan was a bit puzzled, too, that he felt no desire -to rush frantically to some place of safety, as had been -the sensation most conspicuous in the other of his new -and remarkable adventures. He was just himself now, -ready to fight, if necessary; but still sure that no flesh -and blood gorilla stood before him. - -The thing should be fading away into thin air by now, -thought Tarzan, or changing into something else; -yet it did not. Instead it loomed clear-cut and real -as Bolgani himself, the magnificent dark coat glistening -with life and health in a bar of sunlight which shot -across the cabin through the high window behind the young -Lord Greystoke. This was quite the most realistic -of his sleep adventures, thought Tarzan, as he passively -awaited the next amusing incident. - -And then the gorilla charged. Two mighty, calloused hands -seized upon the ape-man, great fangs were bared close -to his face, a hideous growl burst from the cavernous -throat and hot breath fanned Tarzan's cheek, and still he -sat grinning at the apparition. Tarzan might be fooled -once or twice, but not for so many times in succession! -He knew that this Bolgani was no real Bolgani, for had he -been he never could have gained entrance to the cabin, -since only Tarzan knew how to operate the latch. - -The gorilla seemed puzzled by the strange passivity of the -hairless ape. He paused an instant with his jaws snarling -close to the other's throat, then he seemed suddenly -to come to some decision. Whirling the ape-man across -a hairy shoulder, as easily as you or I might lift a babe -in arms, Bolgani turned and dashed out into the open, -racing toward the great trees. - -Now, indeed, was Tarzan sure that this was a sleep -adventure, and so grinned largely as the giant gorilla -bore him, unresisting, away. Presently, reasoned Tarzan, -he would awaken and find himself back in the cabin -where he had fallen asleep. He glanced back at the -thought and saw the cabin door standing wide open. -This would never do! Always had he been careful to close -and latch it against wild intruders. Manu, the monkey, -would make sad havoc there among Tarzan's treasures should -he have access to the interior for even a few minutes. -The question which arose in Tarzan's mind was a baffling one. -Where did sleep adventures end and reality commence? How -was he to be sure that the cabin door was not really open? -Everything about him appeared quite normal--there were none -of the grotesque exaggerations of his former sleep adventures. -It would be better then to be upon the safe side and make -sure that the cabin door was closed--it would do no harm -even if all that seemed to be happening were not happening at -all. - -Tarzan essayed to slip from Bolgani's shoulder; but the -great beast only growled ominously and gripped him tighter. -With a mighty effort the ape-man wrenched himself loose, -and as he slid to the ground, the dream gorilla turned -ferociously upon him, seized him once more and buried -great fangs in a sleek, brown shoulder. - -The grin of derision faded from Tarzan's lips as the pain -and the hot blood aroused his fighting instincts. -Asleep or awake, this thing was no longer a joke! Biting, -tearing, and snarling, the two rolled over upon the ground. -The gorilla now was frantic with insane rage. Again and again -he loosed his hold upon the ape-man's shoulder in an attempt -to seize the jugular; but Tarzan of the Apes had fought -before with creatures who struck first for the vital vein, -and each time he wriggled out of harm's way as he -strove to get his fingers upon his adversary's throat. -At last he succeeded--his great muscles tensed and knotted -beneath his smooth hide as he forced with every ounce -of his mighty strength to push the hairy torso from him. -And as he choked Bolgani and strained him away, -his other hand crept slowly upward between them until -the point of the hunting knife rested over the savage -heart--there was a quick movement of the steel-thewed -wrist and the blade plunged to its goal. - -Bolgani, the gorilla, voiced a single frightful shriek, -tore himself loose from the grasp of the ape-man, rose to -his feet, staggered a few steps and then plunged to earth. -There were a few spasmodic movements of the limbs and the -brute was still. - -Tarzan of the Apes stood looking down upon his kill, -and as he stood there he ran his fingers through his thick, -black shock of hair. Presently he stooped and touched -the dead body. Some of the red life-blood of the gorilla -crimsoned his fingers. He raised them to his nose and sniffed. -Then he shook his head and turned toward the cabin. -The door was still open. He closed it and fastened the latch. -Returning toward the body of his kill he again paused -and scratched his head. - -If this was a sleep adventure, what then was reality? How -was he to know the one from the other? How much of all -that had happened in his life had been real and how much -unreal? - -He placed a foot upon the prostrate form and raising his face -to the heavens gave voice to the kill cry of the bull ape. -Far in the distance a lion answered. It was very real and, -yet, he did not know. Puzzled, he turned away into the jungle. - -No, he did not know what was real and what was not; -but there was one thing that he did know--never again -would he eat of the flesh of Tantor, the elephant. - - - - - - - 10 - - - The Battle for Teeka - -THE DAY WAS perfect. A cool breeze tempered the heat -of the equatorial sun. Peace had reigned within the tribe -for weeks and no alien enemy had trespassed upon its -preserves from without. To the ape-mind all this was -sufficient evidence that the future would be identical -with the immediate past--that Utopia would persist. - -The sentinels, now from habit become a fixed tribal custom, -either relaxed their vigilance or entirely deserted -their posts, as the whim seized them. The tribe was -far scattered in search of food. Thus may peace and -prosperity undermine the safety of the most primitive -community even as it does that of the most cultured. - -Even the individuals became less watchful and alert, -so that one might have thought Numa and Sabor and Sheeta -entirely deleted from the scheme of things. The shes -and the balus roamed unguarded through the sullen jungle, -while the greedy males foraged far afield, and thus it -was that Teeka and Gazan, her balu, hunted upon the extreme -southern edge of the tribe with no great male near them. - -Still farther south there moved through the forest -a sinister figure--a huge bull ape, maddened by solitude -and defeat. A week before he had contended for the -kingship of a tribe far distant, and now battered, -and still sore, he roamed the wilderness an outcast. -Later he might return to his own tribe and submit to the -will of the hairy brute he had attempted to dethrone; -but for the time being he dared not do so, since he -had sought not only the crown but the wives, as well, -of his lord and master. It would require an entire moon -at least to bring forgetfulness to him he had wronged, -and so Toog wandered a strange jungle, grim, terrible, -hate-filled. - -It was in this mental state that Toog came unexpectedly upon -a young she feeding alone in the jungle--a stranger she, -lithe and strong and beautiful beyond compare. -Toog caught his breath and slunk quickly to one side -of the trail where the dense foliage of the tropical -underbrush concealed him from Teeka while permitting -him to feast his eyes upon her loveliness. - -But not alone were they concerned with Teeka--they roved -the surrounding jungle in search of the bulls and cows -and balus of her tribe, though principally for the bulls. -When one covets a she of an alien tribe one must take -into consideration the great, fierce, hairy guardians -who seldom wander far from their wards and who will -fight a stranger to the death in protection of the mate -or offspring of a fellow, precisely as they would fight -for their own. - -Toog could see no sign of any ape other than the strange -she and a young balu playing near by. His wicked, -blood-shot eyes half closed as they rested upon the charms -of the former--as for the balu, one snap of those great -jaws upon the back of its little neck would prevent -it from raising any unnecessary alarm. - -Toog was a fine, big male, resembling in many ways -Teeka's mate, Taug. Each was in his prime, and each was -wonderfully muscled, perfectly fanged and as horrifyingly -ferocious as the most exacting and particular she could wish. -Had Toog been of her own tribe, Teeka might as readily have -yielded to him as to Taug when her mating time arrived; -but now she was Taug's and no other male could claim -her without first defeating Taug in personal combat. -And even then Teeka retained some rights in the matter. -If she did not favor a correspondent, she could enter -the lists with her rightful mate and do her part toward -discouraging his advances, a part, too, which would prove -no mean assistance to her lord and master, for Teeka, -even though her fangs were smaller than a male's, could use -them to excellent effect. - -Just now Teeka was occupied in a fascinating search -for beetles, to the exclusion of all else. She did not -realize how far she and Gazan had become separated from -the balance of the tribe, nor were her defensive senses upon -the alert as they should have been. Months of immunity from -danger under the protecting watchfulness of the sentries, -which Tarzan had taught the tribe to post, had lulled them -all into a sense of peaceful security based on that fallacy -which has wrecked many enlightened communities in the past -and will continue to wreck others in the future--that -because they have not been attacked they never will be. - -Toog, having satisfied himself that only the she and her balu -were in the immediate vicinity, crept stealthily forward. -Teeka's back was toward him when he finally rushed upon her; -but her senses were at last awakened to the presence -of danger and she wheeled to face the strange bull just -before he reached her. Toog halted a few paces from her. -His anger had fled before the seductive feminine charms -of the stranger. He made conciliatory noises--a species -of clucking sound with his broad, flat lips--that were, -too, not greatly dissimilar to that which might be produced -in an osculatory solo. - -But Teeka only bared her fangs and growled. Little Gazan -started to run toward his mother, but she warned him away -with a quick "Kreeg-ah!" telling him to run high into -a tall tree. Evidently Teeka was not favorably impressed -by her new suitor. Toog realized this and altered -his methods accordingly. He swelled his giant chest, -beat upon it with his calloused knuckles and swaggered -to and fro before her. - -"I am Toog," he boasted. "Look at my fighting fangs. -Look at my great arms and my mighty legs. With one bite I -can slay your biggest bull. Alone have I slain Sheeta. -I am Toog. Toog wants you." Then he waited for the effect, -nor did he have long to wait. Teeka turned with a -swiftness which belied her great weight and bolted -in the opposite direction. Toog, with an angry growl, -leaped in pursuit; but the smaller, lighter female was too -fleet for him. He chased her for a few yards and then, -foaming and barking, he halted and beat upon the ground -with his hard fists. - -From the tree above him little Gazan looked down and -witnessed the stranger bull's discomfiture. Being young, -and thinking himself safe above the reach of the heavy male, -Gazan screamed an ill-timed insult at their tormentor. -Toog looked up. Teeka had halted at a little distance--she -would not go far from her balu; that Toog quickly realized -and as quickly determined to take advantage of. He saw -that the tree in which the young ape squatted was isolated -and that Gazan could not reach another without coming -to earth. He would obtain the mother through her love -for her young. - -He swung himself into the lower branches of the tree. -Little Gazan ceased to insult him; his expression of -deviltry changed to one of apprehension, which was quickly -followed by fear as Toog commenced to ascend toward him. -Teeka screamed to Gazan to climb higher, and the little -fellow scampered upward among the tiny branches which would -not support the weight of the great bull; but nevertheless -Toog kept on climbing. Teeka was not fearful. She knew -that he could not ascend far enough to reach Gazan, -so she sat at a little distance from the tree and applied -jungle opprobrium to him. Being a female, she was a past -master of the art. - -But she did not know the malevolent cunning of Toog's -little brain. She took it for granted that the bull -would climb as high as he could toward Gazan and then, -finding that he could not reach him, resume his pursuit -of her, which she knew would prove equally fruitless. -So sure was she of the safety of her balu and her own ability -to take care of herself that she did not voice the cry -for help which would soon have brought the other members -of the tribe flocking to her side. - -Toog slowly reached the limit to which he dared risk -his great weight to the slender branches. Gazan was -still fifteen feet above him. The bull braced himself -and seized the main branch in his powerful hands, then he -commenced shaking it vigorously. Teeka was appalled. -Instantly she realized what the bull purposed. -Gazan clung far out upon a swaying limb. At the first -shake he lost his balance, though he did not quite fall, -clinging still with his four hands; but Toog redoubled -his efforts; the shaking produced a violent snapping -of the limb to which the young ape clung. Teeka saw -all too plainly what the outcome must be and forgetting -her own danger in the depth of her mother love, -rushed forward to ascend the tree and give battle to the -fearsome creature that menaced the life of her little one. - -But before ever she reached the bole, Toog had succeeded, -by violent shaking of the branch, to loosen Gazan's hold. -With a cry the little fellow plunged down through the foliage, -clutching futilely for a new hold, and alighted with -a sickening thud at his mother's feet, where he lay -silent and motionless. Moaning, Teeka stooped to lift -the still form in her arms; but at the same instant Toog -was upon her. - -Struggling and biting she fought to free herself; but the giant -muscles of the great bull were too much for her lesser strength. -Toog struck and choked her repeatedly until finally, -half unconscious, she lapsed into quasi submission. -Then the bull lifted her to his shoulder and turned -back to the trail toward the south from whence he had come. - -Upon the ground lay the quiet form of little Gazan. -He did not moan. He did not move. The sun rose slowly -toward meridian. A mangy thing, lifting its nose to -scent the jungle breeze, crept through the underbrush. -It was Dango, the hyena. Presently its ugly muzzle broke -through some near-by foliage and its cruel eyes fastened -upon Gazan. - -Early that morning, Tarzan of the Apes had gone to -the cabin by the sea, where he passed many an hour at -such times as the tribe was ranging in the vicinity. -On the floor lay the skeleton of a man--all that remained -of the former Lord Greystoke--lay as it had fallen -some twenty years before when Kerchak, the great ape, -had thrown it, lifeless, there. Long since had the -termites and the small rodents picked clean the sturdy -English bones. For years Tarzan had seen it lying there, -giving it no more attention than he gave the countless -thousand bones that strewed his jungle haunts. -On the bed another, smaller, skeleton reposed and the -youth ignored it as he ignored the other. How could he -know that the one had been his father, the other his -mother? The little pile of bones in the rude cradle, -fashioned with such loving care by the former Lord Greystoke, -meant nothing to him-- that one day that little skull -was to help prove his right to a proud title was as far -beyond his ken as the satellites of the suns of Orion. -To Tarzan they were bones--just bones. He did not -need them, for there was no meat left upon them, and they -were not in his way, for he knew no necessity for a bed, -and the skeleton upon the floor he easily could step over. - -Today he was restless. He turned the pages first of one -book and then of another. He glanced at pictures which he -knew by heart, and tossed the books aside. He rummaged -for the thousandth time in the cupboard. He took out a bag -which contained several small, round pieces of metal. -He had played with them many times in the years gone by; -but always he replaced them carefully in the bag, -and the bag in the cupboard, upon the very shelf where -first he had discovered it. In strange ways did heredity -manifest itself in the ape-man. Come of an orderly race, -he himself was orderly without knowing why. The apes -dropped things wherever their interest in them waned--in -the tall grass or from the high-flung branches of the trees. -What they dropped they sometimes found again, by accident; -but not so the ways of Tarzan. For his few belongings -he had a place and scrupulously he returned each -thing to its proper place when he was done with it. -The round pieces of metal in the little bag always -interested him. Raised pictures were upon either side, -the meaning of which he did not quite understand. -The pieces were bright and shiny. It amused him to arrange -them in various figures upon the table. Hundreds of times -had he played thus. Today, while so engaged, he dropped -a lovely yellow piece-- an English sovereign--which rolled -beneath the bed where lay all that was mortal of the once -beautiful Lady Alice. - -True to form, Tarzan at once dropped to his hands and knees -and searched beneath the bed for the lost gold piece. -Strange as it might appear, he had never before looked -beneath the bed. He found the gold piece, and something -else he found, too--a small wooden box with a loose cover. -Bringing them both out he returned the sovereign to -its bag and the bag to its shelf within the cupboard; -then he investigated the box. It contained a quantity -of cylindrical bits of metal, cone-shaped at one -end and flat at the other, with a projecting rim. -They were all quite green and dull, coated with years -of verdigris. - -Tarzan removed a handful of them from the box and examined them. -He rubbed one upon another and discovered that the green -came off, leaving a shiny surface for two-thirds of -their length and a dull gray over the cone-shaped end. -Finding a bit of wood he rubbed one of the cylinders rapidly -and was rewarded by a lustrous sheen which pleased him. - -At his side hung a pocket pouch taken from the body -of one of the numerous black warriors he had slain. -Into this pouch he put a handful of the new playthings, -thinking to polish them at his leisure; then he replaced -the box beneath the bed, and finding nothing more to -amuse him, left the cabin and started back in the direction -of the tribe. - -Shortly before he reached them he heard a great commotion -ahead of him--the loud screams of shes and balus, -the savage, angry barking and growling of the great bulls. -Instantly he increased his speed, for the "Kreeg-ahs" -that came to his ears warned him that something was amiss -with his fellows. - -While Tarzan had been occupied with his own devices -in the cabin of his dead sire, Taug, Teeka's mighty mate, -had been hunting a mile to the north of the tribe. -At last, his belly filled, he had turned lazily back toward -the clearing where he had last seen the tribe and presently -commenced passing its members scattered alone or in twos -or threes. Nowhere did he see Teeka or Gazan, and soon -he began inquiring of the other apes where they might be; -but none had seen them recently. - -Now the lower orders are not highly imaginative. -They do not, as you and I, paint vivid mental pictures -of things which might have occurred, and so Taug did -not now apprehend that any misfortune had overtaken -his mate and their off-spring-- he merely knew that he -wished to find Teeka that he might lie down in the shade -and have her scratch his back while his breakfast digested; -but though he called to her and searched for her and -asked each whom he met, he could find no trace of Teeka, -nor of Gazan either. - -He was beginning to become peeved and had about made up -his mind to chastise Teeka for wandering so far afield -when he wanted her. He was moving south along a game trail, -his calloused soles and knuckles giving forth no sound, -when he came upon Dango at the opposite side of a -small clearing. The eater of carrion did not see Taug, -for all his eyes were for something which lay in the grass -beneath a tree--something upon which he was sneaking -with the cautious stealth of his breed. - -Taug, always cautious himself, as it behooves one to be -who fares up and down the jungle and desires to survive, -swung noiselessly into a tree, where he could have -a better view of the clearing. He did not fear Dango; -but he wanted to see what it was that Dango stalked. -In a way, possibly, he was actuated as much by curiosity -as by caution. - -And when Taug reached a place in the branches from -which he could have an unobstructed view of the clearing -he saw Dango already sniffing at something directly -beneath him-- something which Taug instantly recognized -as the lifeless form of his little Gazan. - -With a cry so frightful, so bestial, that it momentarily -paralyzed the startled Dango, the great ape launched his -mighty bulk upon the surprised hyena. With a cry and a snarl, -Dango, crushed to earth, turned to tear at his assailant; -but as effectively might a sparrow turn upon a hawk. -Taug's great, gnarled fingers closed upon the hyena's -throat and back, his jaws snapped once on the mangy neck, -crushing the vertebrae, and then he hurled the dead body -contemptuously aside. - -Again he raised his voice in the call of the bull ape -to its mate, but there was no reply; then he leaned down to -sniff at the body of Gazan. In the breast of this savage, -hideous beast there beat a heart which was moved, -however slightly, by the same emotions of paternal love -which affect us. Even had we no actual evidence of this, -we must know it still, since only thus might be explained -the survival of the human race in which the jealousy -and selfishness of the bulls would, in the earliest -stages of the race, have wiped out the young as rapidly -as they were brought into the world had not God implanted -in the savage bosom that paternal love which evidences -itself most strongly in the protective instinct of the male. - -In Taug the protective instinct was not alone highly developed; -but affection for his offspring as well, for Taug was an -unusually intelligent specimen of these great, manlike apes -which the natives of the Gobi speak of in whispers; -but which no white man ever had seen, or, if seeing, -lived to tell of until Tarzan of the Apes came among them. - -And so Taug felt sorrow as any other father might feel -sorrow at the loss of a little child. To you little -Gazan might have seemed a hideous and repulsive creature, -but to Taug and Teeka he was as beautiful and as cute -as is your little Mary or Johnnie or Elizabeth Ann to you, -and he was their firstborn, their only balu, and a he--three -things which might make a young ape the apple of any fond -father's eye. - -For a moment Taug sniffed at the quiet little form. -With his muzzle and his tongue he smoothed and caressed -the rumpled coat. From his savage lips broke a low moan; -but quickly upon the heels of sorrow came the overmastering -desire for revenge. - -Leaping to his feet he screamed out a volley of "Kreegahs," -punctuated from time to time by the blood-freezing -cry of an angry, challenging bull--a rage-mad bull -with the blood lust strong upon him. - -Answering his cries came the cries of the tribe as they swung -through the trees toward him. It was these that Tarzan -heard on his return from his cabin, and in reply to them he -raised his own voice and hurried forward with increased speed -until he fairly flew through the middle terraces of the forest. - -When at last he came upon the tribe he saw their members -gathered about Taug and something which lay quietly upon -the ground. Dropping among them, Tarzan approached -the center of the group. Taug was stiff roaring -out his challenges; but when he saw Tarzan he ceased -and stooping picked up Gazan in his arms and held him -out for Tarzan to see. Of all the bulls of the tribe, -Taug held affection for Tarzan only. Tarzan he trusted -and looked up to as one wiser and more cunning. -To Tarzan he came now--to the playmate of his balu days, -the companion of innumerable battles of his maturity. - -When Tarzan saw the still form in Taug's arms, a low growl -broke from his lips, for he too loved Teeka's little balu. - -"Who did it?" he asked. "Where is Teeka?" - -"I do not know," replied Taug. "I found him lying here -with Dango about to feed upon him; but it was not Dango -that did it--there are no fang marks upon him." - -Tarzan came closer and placed an ear against Gazan's breast. -"He is not dead," he said. "Maybe he will not die." -He pressed through the crowd of apes and circled once -about them, examining the ground step by step. Suddenly he -stopped and placing his nose close to the earth sniffed. -Then he sprang to his feet, giving a peculiar cry. -Taug and the others pressed forward, for the sound told them -that the hunter had found the spoor of his quarry. - -"A stranger bull has been here," said Tarzan. "It was he -that hurt Gazan. He has carried off Teeka." - -Taug and the other bulls commenced to roar and threaten; -but they did nothing. Had the stranger bull been within -sight they would have torn him to pieces; but it did not -occur to them to follow him. - -"If the three bulls had been watching around the tribe -this would not have happened," said Tarzan. "Such things -will happen as long as you do not keep the three bulls -watching for an enemy. The jungle is full of enemies, -and yet you let your shes and your balus feed where they will, -alone and unprotected. Tarzan goes now--he goes to find -Teeka and bring her back to the tribe." - -The idea appealed to the other bulls. "We will all go," -they cried. - -"No," said Tarzan, "you will not all go. We cannot -take shes and balus when we go out to hunt and fight. -You must remain to guard them or you will lose them all." - -They scratched their heads. The wisdom of his advice -was dawning upon them, but at first they had been carried -away by the new idea--the idea of following up an enemy -offender to wrest his prize from him and punish him. -The community instinct was ingrained in their characters -through ages of custom. They did not know why they had not -thought to pursue and punish the offender--they could not know -that it was because they had as yet not reached a mental -plane which would permit them to work as individuals. -In times of stress, the community instinct sent them -huddling into a compact herd where the great bulls, -by the weight of their combined strength and ferocity, -could best protect them from an enemy. The idea of separating -to do battle with a foe had not yet occurred to them--it was -too foreign to custom, too inimical to community interests; -but to Tarzan it was the first and most natural thought. -His senses told him that there was but a single bull -connected with the attack upon Teeka and Gazan. A single -enemy did not require the entire tribe for his punishment. -Two swift bulls could quickly overhaul him and rescue Teeka. - -In the past no one ever had thought to go forth in search -of the shes that were occasionally stolen from the tribe. -If Numa, Sabor, Sheeta or a wandering bull ape from another -tribe chanced to carry off a maid or a matron while no -one was looking, that was the end of it--she was gone, -that was all. The bereaved husband, if the victim chanced -to have been mated, growled around for a day or two and then, -if he were strong enough, took another mate within the tribe, -and if not, wandered far into the jungle on the chance -of stealing one from another community. - -In the past Tarzan of the Apes had condoned this -practice for the reason that he had had no interest -in those who had been stolen; but Teeka had been -his first love and Teeka's balu held a place in his -heart such as a balu of his own would have held. -Just once before had Tarzan wished to follow and revenge. -That had been years before when Kulonga, the son of Mbonga, -the chief, had slain Kala. Then, single-handed, Tarzan -had pursued and avenged. Now, though to a lesser degree, -he was moved by the same passion. - -He turned toward Taug. "Leave Gazan with Mumga," he said. -"She is old and her fangs are broken and she is no good; -but she can take care of Gazan until we return with Teeka, -and if Gazan is dead when we come back," he turned to -address Mumga, "I will kill you, too." - -"Where are we going?" asked Taug. - -"We are going to get Teeka," replied the ape-man, "and -kill the bull who has stolen her. Come!" - -He turned again to the spoor of the stranger bull, -which showed plainly to his trained senses, nor did he -glance back to note if Taug followed. The latter laid -Gazan in Mumga's arms with a parting: "If he dies Tarzan -will kill you," and he followed after the brown-skinned -figure that already was moving at a slow trot along -the jungle trail. - -No other bull of the tribe of Kerchak was so good a -trailer as Tarzan, for his trained senses were aided -by a high order of intelligence. His judgment told him -the natural trail for a quarry to follow, so that he -need but note the most apparent marks upon the way, -and today the trail of Toog was as plain to him as type -upon a printed page to you or me. - -Following close behind the lithe figure of the ape-man came -the huge and shaggy bull ape. No words passed between them. -They moved as silently as two shadows among the myriad -shadows of the forest. Alert as his eyes and ears, -was Tarzan's patrician nose. The spoor was fresh, and now -that they had passed from the range of the strong ape odor -of the tribe he had little difficulty in following Toog -and Teeka by scent alone. Teeka's familiar scent spoor -told both Tarzan and Taug that they were upon her trail, -and soon the scent of Toog became as familiar as the other. - -They were progressing rapidly when suddenly dense -clouds overcast the sun. Tarzan accelerated his pace. -Now he fairly flew along the jungle trail, or, where Toog -had taken to the trees, followed nimbly as a squirrel along -the bending, undulating pathway of the foliage branches, -swinging from tree to tree as Toog had swung before them; -but more rapidly because they were not handicapped by a -burden such as Toog's. - -Tarzan felt that they must be almost upon the quarry, -for the scent spoor was becoming stronger and stronger, -when the jungle was suddenly shot by livid lightning, -and a deafening roar of thunder reverberated through the -heavens and the forest until the earth trembled and shook. -Then came the rain--not as it comes to us of the -temperate zones, but as a mighty avalanche of water--a -deluge which spills tons instead of drops upon the bending -forest giants and the terrified creatures which haunt -their shade. - -And the rain did what Tarzan knew that it would do-- it -wiped the spoor of the quarry from the face of the earth. -For a half hour the torrents fell--then the sun burst forth, -jeweling the forest with a million scintillant gems; -but today the ape-man, usually alert to the changing wonders -of the jungle, saw them not. Only the fact that the spoor -of Teeka and her abductor was obliterated found lodgment -in his thoughts. - -Even among the branches of the trees there are well-worn trails, -just as there are trails upon the surface of the ground; -but in the trees they branch and cross more often, -since the way is more open than among the dense undergrowth -at the surface. Along one of these well-marked trails -Tarzan and Taug continued after the rain had ceased, -because the ape-man knew that this was the most logical -path for the thief to follow; but when they came to a fork, -they were at a loss. Here they halted, while Tarzan -examined every branch and leaf which might have been -touched by the fleeing ape. - -He sniffed the bole of the tree, and with his keen eyes -he sought to find upon the bark some sign of the way -the quarry had taken. It was slow work and all the time, -Tarzan knew, the bull of the alien tribe was forging -steadily away from them--gaining precious minutes that might -carry him to safety before they could catch up with him. - -First along one fork he went, and then another, applying every -test that his wonderful junglecraft was cognizant of; -but again and again he was baffled, for the scent had been -washed away by the heavy downpour, in every exposed place. -For a half hour Tarzan and Taug searched, until at last, -upon the bottom of a broad leaf, Tarzan's keen nose caught -the faint trace of the scent spoor of Toog, where the leaf -had brushed a hairy shoulder as the great ape passed -through the foliage. - -Once again the two took up the trail, but it was slow -work now and there were many discouraging delays when -the spoor seemed lost beyond recovery. To you or me -there would have been no spoor, even before the coming -of the rain, except, possibly, where Toog had come -to earth and followed a game trail. In such places -the imprint of a huge handlike foot and the knuckles -of one great hand were sometimes plain enough for an -ordinary mortal to read. Tarzan knew from these and -other indications that the ape was yet carrying Teeka. -The depth of the imprint of his feet indicated a much greater -weight than that of any of the larger bulls, for they -were made under the combined weight of Toog and Teeka, -while the fact that the knuckles of but one hand touched -the ground at any time showed that the other hand was -occupied in some other business--the business of holding -the prisoner to a hairy shoulder. Tarzan could follow, -in sheltered places, the changing of the burden from one -shoulder to another, as indicated by the deepening of the -foot imprint upon the side of the load, and the changing -of the knuckle imprints from one side of the trail to the other. - -There were stretches along the surface paths where the ape had -gone for considerable distances entirely erect upon his hind -feet--walking as a man walks; but the same might have been -true of any of the great anthropoids of the same species, -for, unlike the chimpanzee and the gorilla, they walk -without the aid of their hands quite as readily as with. -It was such things, however, which helped to identify -to Tarzan and to Taug the appearance of the abductor, -and with his individual scent characteristic already -indelibly impressed upon their memories, they were in a -far better position to know him when they came upon him, -even should he have disposed of Teeka before, than is a modern -sleuth with his photographs and Bertillon measurements, -equipped to recognize a fugitive from civilized justice. - -But with all their high-strung and delicately attuned -perceptive faculties the two bulls of the tribe of Kerchak -were often sore pressed to follow the trail at all, -and at best were so delayed that in the afternoon of the -second day, they still had not overhauled the fugitive. -The scent was now strong, for it had been made since the rain, -and Tarzan knew that it would not be long before they -came upon the thief and his loot. Above them, as they -crept stealthily forward, chattered Manu, the monkey, -and his thousand fellows; squawked and screamed the -brazen-throated birds of plumage; buzzed and hummed the -countless insects amid the rustling of the forest leaves, -and, as they passed, a little gray-beard, squeaking and -scolding upon a swaying branch, looked down and saw them. -Instantly the scolding and squeaking ceased, and off -tore the long-tailed mite as though Sheeta, the panther, -had been endowed with wings and was in close pursuit of him. -To all appearances he was only a very much frightened -little monkey, fleeing for his life--there seemed nothing -sinister about him. - -And what of Teeka during all this time? Was she at last -resigned to her fate and accompanying her new mate -in the proper humility of a loving and tractable spouse? -A single glance at the pair would have answered these -questions to the utter satisfaction of the most captious. -She was torn and bleeding from many wounds, inflicted by the -sullen Toog in his vain efforts to subdue her to his will, -and Toog too was disfigured and mutilated; but with -stubborn ferocity, he still clung to his now useless prize. - -On through the jungle he forced his way in the direction -of the stamping ground of his tribe. He hoped that his -king would have forgotten his treason; but if not he -was still resigned to his fate--any fate would be better -than suffering longer the sole companionship of this -frightful she, and then, too, he wished to exhibit -his captive to his fellows. Maybe he could wish her -on the king--it is possible that such a thought urged him on. - -At last they came upon two bulls feeding in a parklike -grove--a beautiful grove dotted with huge boulders half -embedded in the rich loam--mute monuments, possibly, to a -forgotten age when mighty glaciers rolled their slow course -where now a torrid sun beats down upon a tropic jungle. - -The two bulls looked up, baring long fighting fangs, -as Toog appeared in the distance. The latter recognized -the two as friends. "It is Toog," he growled. "Toog has -come back with a new she." - -The apes waited his nearer approach. Teeka turned a snarling, -fanged face toward them. She was not pretty to look upon, -yet through the blood and hatred upon her countenance -they realized that she was beautiful, and they envied -Toog--alas! they did not know Teeka. - -As they squatted looking at one another there raced through -the trees toward them a long-tailed little monkey with -gray whiskers. He was a very excited little monkey when he -came to a halt upon the limb of a tree directly overhead. -"Two strange bulls come," he cried. One is a Mangani, -the other a hideous ape without hair upon his body. -They follow the spoor of Toog. I saw them." - -The four apes turned their eyes backward along the trail -Toog had just come; then they looked at one another for -a minute. "Come," said the larger of Toog's two friends, -"we will wait for the strangers in the thick bushes beyond -the clearing." - -He turned and waddled away across the open place, -the others following him. The little monkey danced about, -all excitement. His chief diversion in life was to bring -about bloody encounters between the larger denizens of -the forest, that he might sit in the safety of the trees -and witness the spectacles. He was a glutton for gore, -was this little, whiskered, gray monkey, so long as it was -the gore of others-- a typical fight fan was the graybeard. - -The apes hid themselves in the shrubbery beside the -trail along which the two stranger bulls would pass. -Teeka trembled with excitement. She had heard the words -of Manu, and she knew that the hairless ape must be Tarzan, -while the other was, doubtless, Taug. Never, in her -wildest hopes, had she expected succor of this sort. -Her one thought had been to escape and find her way back -to the tribe of Kerchak; but even this had appeared to her -practically impossible, so closely did Toog watch her. - -As Taug and Tarzan reached the grove where Toog had come -upon his friends, the ape scent became so strong that -both knew the quarry was but a short distance ahead. -And so they went even more cautiously, for they wished -to come upon the thief from behind if they could -and charge him before he was aware of their presence. -That a little gray-whiskered monkey had forestalled them -they did not know, nor that three pairs of savage eyes -were already watching their every move and waiting for them -to come within reach of itching paws and slavering jowls. - -On they came across the grove, and as they entered -the path leading into the dense jungle beyond, a sudden -"Kreeg-ah!" shrilled out close before them--a "Kreeg-ah" -in the familiar voice of Teeka. The small brains -of Toog and his companions had not been able to foresee -that Teeka might betray them, and now that she had, -they went wild with rage. Toog struck the she a mighty -blow that felled her, and then the three rushed forth -to do battle with Tarzan and Taug. The little monkey -danced upon his perch and screamed with delight. - -And indeed he might well be delighted, for it was a -lovely fight. There were no preliminaries, no formalities, -no introductions-- the five bulls merely charged and clinched. -They rolled in the narrow trail and into the thick -verdure beside it. They bit and clawed and scratched -and struck, and all the while they kept up the most -frightful chorus of growlings and barkings and roarings. -In five minutes they were torn and bleeding, and the little -graybeard leaped high, shrilling his primitive bravos; -but always his attitude was "thumbs down." He wanted -to see something killed. He did not care whether it -were friend or foe. It was blood he wanted--blood and death. - -Taug had been set upon by Toog and another of the apes, -while Tarzan had the third--a huge brute with the strength -of a buffalo. Never before had Tarzan's assailant beheld -so strange a creature as this slippery, hairless bull with -which he battled. Sweat and blood covered Tarzan's sleek, -brown hide. Again and again he slipped from the clutches -of the great bull, and all the while he struggled to free -his hunting knife from the scabbard in which it had stuck. - -At length he succeeded--a brown hand shot out and clutched -a hairy throat, another flew upward clutching the sharp blade. -Three swift, powerful strokes and the bull relaxed -with a groan, falling limp beneath his antagonist. -Instantly Tarzan broke from the clutches of the dying bull -and sprang to Taug's assistance. Toog saw him coming -and wheeled to meet him. In the impact of the charge, -Tarzan's knife was wrenched from his hand and then Toog -closed with him. Now was the battle even--two against -two--while on the verge, Teeka, now recovered from the blow -that had felled her, slunk waiting for an opportunity -to aid. She saw Tarzan's knife and picked it up. -She never had used it, but knew how Tarzan used it. -Always had she been afraid of the thing which dealt death -to the mightiest of the jungle people with the ease that -Tantor's great tusks deal death to Tantor's enemies. - -She saw Tarzan's pocket pouch torn from his side, -and with the curiosity of an ape, that even danger and -excitement cannot entirely dispel, she picked this up, too. - -Now the bulls were standing--the clinches had been broken. -Blood streamed down their sides--their faces were crimsoned -with it. Little graybeard was so fascinated that at last -he had even forgotten to scream and dance; but sat rigid -with delight in the enjoyment of the spectacle. - -Back across the grove Tarzan and Taug forced their adversaries. -Teeka followed slowly. She scarce knew what to do. -She was lame and sore and exhausted from the frightful -ordeal through which she had passed, and she had -the confidence of her sex in the prowess of her mate -and the other bull of her tribe--they would not need -the help of a she in their battle with these two strangers. - -The roars and screams of the fighters reverberated through -the jungle, awakening the echoes in the distant hills. -From the throat of Tarzan's antagonist had come a score -of "Kreeg-ahs!" and now from behind came the reply he -had awaited. Into the grove, barking and growling, -came a score of huge bull apes--the fighting men of -Toog's tribe. - -Teeka saw them first and screamed a warning to Tarzan and Taug. -Then she fled past the fighters toward the opposite -side of the clearing, fear for a moment claiming her. -Nor can one censure her after the frightful ordeal from -which she was still suffering. - -Down upon them came the great apes. In a moment Tarzan -and Taug would be torn to shreds that would later form -the PIECE DE RESISTANCE of the savage orgy of a Dum-Dum. -Teeka turned to glance back. She saw the impending -fate of her defenders and there sprung to life in her -savage bosom the spark of martyrdom, that some common -forbear had transmitted alike to Teeka, the wild ape, -and the glorious women of a higher order who have invited -death for their men. With a shrill scream she ran toward -the battlers who were rolling in a great mass at the foot -of one of the huge boulders which dotted the grove; -but what could she do? The knife she held she could -not use to advantage because of her lesser strength. -She had seen Tarzan throw missiles, and she had learned -this with many other things from her childhood playmate. -She sought for something to throw and at last her fingers -touched upon the hard objects in the pouch that had been -torn from the ape-man. Tearing the receptacle open, -she gathered a handful of shiny cylinders--heavy for -their size, they seemed to her, and good missiles. -With all her strength she hurled them at the apes battling -in front of the granite boulder. - -The result surprised Teeka quite as much as it did the apes. -There was a loud explosion, which deafened the fighters, -and a puff of acrid smoke. Never before had one there -heard such a frightful noise. Screaming with terror, -the stranger bulls leaped to their feet and fled back -toward the stamping ground of their tribe, while Taug -and Tarzan slowly gathered themselves together and arose, -lame and bleeding, to their feet. They, too, would have -fled had they not seen Teeka standing there before them, -the knife and the pocket pouch in her hands. - -"What was it?" asked Tarzan. - -Teeka shook her head. "I hurled these at the stranger bulls," -and she held forth another handful of the shiny metal -cylinders with the dull gray, cone-shaped ends. - -Tarzan looked at them and scratched his head. - -"What are they?" asked Taug. - -"I do not know," said Tarzan. "I found them." - -The little monkey with the gray beard halted among the trees -a mile away and huddled, terrified, against a branch. -He did not know that the dead father of Tarzan of the Apes, -reaching back out of the past across a span of twenty years, -had saved his son's life. - -Nor did Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, know it either. - - - - - - - 11 - - - A Jungle Joke - -TIME SELDOM HUNG heavily upon Tarzan's hands. Even where -there is sameness there cannot be monotony if most of -the sameness consists in dodging death first in one form -and then in another; or in inflicting death upon others. -There is a spice to such an existence; but even this Tarzan -of the Apes varied in activities of his own invention. - -He was full grown now, with the grace of a Greek god -and the thews of a bull, and, by all the tenets of apedom, -should have been sullen, morose, and brooding; but he -was not. His spirits seemed not to age at all--he was -still a playful child, much to the discomfiture of his -fellow-apes. They could not understand him or his ways, -for with maturity they quickly forgot their youth and -its pastimes. - -Nor could Tarzan quite understand them. It seemed strange -to him that a few moons since, he had roped Taug about an ankle -and dragged him screaming through the tall jungle grasses, -and then rolled and tumbled in good-natured mimic battle -when the young ape had freed himself, and that today when -he had come up behind the same Taug and pulled him over -backward upon the turf, instead of the playful young ape, -a great, snarling beast had whirled and leaped for his throat. - -Easily Tarzan eluded the charge and quickly Taug's anger -vanished, -though it was not replaced with playfulness; yet the ape-man -realized that Taug was not amused nor was he amusing. -The big bull ape seemed to have lost whatever sense of humor -he once may have possessed. With a grunt of disappointment, -young Lord Greystoke turned to other fields of endeavor. -A strand of black hair fell across one eye. He brushed -it aside with the palm of a hand and a toss of his head. -It suggested something to do, so he sought his quiver which -lay cached in the hollow bole of a lightning-riven tree. -Removing the arrows he turned the quiver upside down, -emptying upon the ground the contents of its bottom-- -his few treasures. Among them was a flat bit of stone -and a shell which he had picked up from the beach near -his father's cabin. - -With great care he rubbed the edge of the shell back and -forth upon the flat stone until the soft edge was quite -fine and sharp. He worked much as a barber does who hones -a razor, and with every evidence of similar practice; but his -proficiency was the result of years of painstaking effort. -Unaided he had worked out a method of his own for putting -an edge upon the shell--he even tested it with the ball -of his thumb-- and when it met with his approval he -grasped a wisp of hair which fell across his eyes, -grasped it between the thumb and first finger of his left -hand and sawed upon it with the sharpened shell until it -was severed. All around his head he went until his black -shock was rudely bobbed with a ragged bang in front. -For the appearance of it he cared nothing; but in the -matter of safety and comfort it meant everything. -A lock of hair falling in one's eyes at the wrong moment -might mean all the difference between life and death, -while straggly strands, hanging down one's back were -most uncomfortable, especially when wet with dew or rain -or perspiration. - -As Tarzan labored at his tonsorial task, his active -mind was busy with many things. He recalled his -recent battle with Bolgani, the gorilla, the wounds -of which were but just healed. He pondered the strange -sleep adventures of his first dreams, and he smiled -at the painful outcome of his last practical joke upon -the tribe, when, dressed in the hide of Numa, the lion, -he had come roaring upon them, only to be leaped upon -and almost killed by the great bulls whom he had taught -how to defend themselves from an attack of their ancient enemy. - -His hair lopped off to his entire satisfaction, and seeing -no possibility of pleasure in the company of the tribe, -Tarzan swung leisurely into the trees and set off in -the direction of his cabin; but when part way there his -attention was attracted by a strong scent spoor coming -from the north. It was the scent of the Gomangani. - -Curiosity, that best-developed, common heritage of man -and ape, always prompted Tarzan to investigate where the -Gomangani were concerned. There was that about them -which aroused his imagination. Possibly it was because -of the diversity of their activities and interests. -The apes lived to eat and sleep and propagate. -The same was true of all the other denizens of the jungle, -save the Gomangani. - -These black fellows danced and sang, scratched around in the -earth from which they had cleared the trees and underbrush; -they watched things grow, and when they had ripened, -they cut them down and put them in straw-thatched huts. -They made bows and spears and arrows, poison, cooking pots, -things of metal to wear around their arms and legs. -If it hadn't been for their black faces, their hideously -disfigured features, and the fact that one of them had -slain Kala, Tarzan might have wished to be one of them. -At least he sometimes thought so, but always at the thought -there rose within him a strange revulsion of feeling, which he -could not interpret or understand--he simply knew that he -hated the Gomangani, and that he would rather be Histah, -the snake, than one of these. - -But their ways were interesting, and Tarzan never tired -of spying upon them. and from them he learned much more than -he realized, though always his principal thought was of some -new way in which he could render their lives miserable. -The baiting of the blacks was Tarzan's chief divertissement. - -Tarzan realized now that the blacks were very near -and that there were many of them, so he went silently -and with great caution. Noiselessly he moved through -the lush grasses of the open spaces, and where the forest -was dense, swung from one swaying branch to another, -or leaped lightly over tangled masses of fallen trees -where there was no way through the lower terraces, -and the ground was choked and impassable. - -And so presently he came within sight of the black -warriors of Mbonga, the chief. They were engaged in a -pursuit with which Tarzan was more or less familiar, -having watched them at it upon other occasions. -They were placing and baiting a trap for Numa, the lion. -In a cage upon wheels they were tying a kid, so fastening -it that when Numa seized the unfortunate creature, -the door of the cage would drop behind him, making him -a prisoner. - -These things the blacks had learned in their old home, -before they escaped through the untracked jungle to their -new village. Formerly they had dwelt in the Belgian -Congo until the cruelties of their heartless oppressors -had driven them to seek the safety of unexplored solitudes -beyond the boundaries of Leopold's domain. - -In their old life they often had trapped animals for the -agents of European dealers, and had learned from them -certain tricks, such as this one, which permitted them -to capture even Numa without injuring him, and to transport -him in safety and with comparative ease to their village. - -No longer was there a white market for their savage wares; -but there was still a sufficient incentive for the taking -of Numa--alive. First was the necessity for ridding the -jungle of man-eaters, and it was only after depredations -by these grim and terrible scourges that a lion hunt -was organized. Secondarily was the excuse for an orgy -of celebration was the hunt successful, and the fact that -such fetes were rendered doubly pleasurable by the presence -of a live creature that might be put to death by torture. - -Tarzan had witnessed these cruel rites in the past. -Being himself more savage than the savage warriors -of the Gomangani, he was not so shocked by the cruelty -of them as he should have been, yet they did shock him. -He could not understand the strange feeling of revulsion -which possessed him at such times. He had no love for Numa, -the lion, yet he bristled with rage when the blacks -inflicted upon his enemy such indignities and cruelties -as only the mind of the one creature molded in the image -of God can conceive. - -Upon two occasions he had freed Numa from the trap before -the blacks had returned to discover the success or failure -of their venture. He would do the same today--that he -decided immediately he realized the nature of their intentions. - -Leaving the trap in the center of a broad elephant trail -near the drinking hole, the warriors turned back toward -their village. On the morrow they would come again. -Tarzan looked after them, upon his lips an unconscious -sneer--the heritage of unguessed caste. He saw them file -along the broad trail, beneath the overhanging verdure -of leafy branch and looped and festooned creepers, -brushing ebon shoulders against gorgeous blooms which -inscrutable Nature has seen fit to lavish most profusely -farthest from the eye of man. - -As Tarzan watched, through narrowed lids, the last -of the warriors disappear beyond a turn in the trail, -his expression altered to the urge of a newborn thought. -A slow, grim smile touched his lips. He looked down upon -the frightened, bleating kid, advertising, in its fear -and its innocence, its presence and its helplessness. - -Dropping to the ground, Tarzan approached the trap and entered. -Without disturbing the fiber cord, which was adjusted to drop -the door at the proper time, he loosened the living bait, -tucked it under an arm and stepped out of the cage. - -With his hunting knife he quieted the frightened animal, -severing its jugular; then he dragged it, bleeding, -along the trail down to the drinking hole, the half smile -persisting upon his ordinarily grave face. At the water's -edge the ape-man stooped and with hunting knife and quick -strong fingers deftly removed the dead kid's viscera. -Scraping a hole in the mud, he buried these parts which he -did not eat, and swinging the body to his shoulder took -to the trees. - -For a short distance he pursued his way in the wake of the -black warriors, coming down presently to bury the meat -of his kill where it would be safe from the depredations -of Dango, the hyena, or the other meat-eating beasts -and birds of the jungle. He was hungry. Had he been -all beast he would have eaten; but his man-mind could -entertain urges even more potent than those of the belly, -and now he was concerned with an idea which kept a smile -upon his lips and his eyes sparkling in anticipation. -An idea, it was, which permitted him to forget that he -was hungry. - -The meat safely cached, Tarzan trotted along the elephant -trail after the Gomangani. Two or three miles from the -cage he overtook them and then he swung into the trees -and followed above and behind them--waiting his chance. - -Among the blacks was Rabba Kega, the witch-doctor. Tarzan -hated them all; but Rabba Kega he especially hated. -As the blacks filed along the winding path, Rabba Kega, -being lazy, dropped behind. This Tarzan noted, and it -filled him with satisfaction--his being radiated a grim -and terrible content. Like an angel of death he hovered -above the unsuspecting black. - -Rabba Kega, knowing that the village was but a short -distance ahead, sat down to rest. Rest well, O Rabba -Kega! It is thy last opportunity. - -Tarzan crept stealthily among the branches of the tree -above the well-fed, self-satisfied witch-doctor. -He made no noise that the dull ears of man could -hear above the soughing of the gentle jungle breeze -among the undulating foliage of the upper terraces, -and when he came close above the black man he halted, -well concealed by leafy branch and heavy creeper. - -Rabba Kega sat with his back against the bole of a tree, -facing Tarzan. The position was not such as the waiting -beast of prey desired, and so, with the infinite patience -of the wild hunter, the ape-man crouched motionless and -silent as a graven image until the fruit should be ripe -for the plucking. A poisonous insect buzzed angrily out -of space. It loitered, circling, close to Tarzan's face. -The ape-man saw and recognized it. The virus of its -sting spelled death for lesser things than he--for -him it would mean days of anguish. He did not move. -His glittering eyes remained fixed upon Rabba Kega -after acknowledging the presence of the winged torture -by a single glance. He heard and followed the movements -of the insect with his keen ears, and then he felt it -alight upon his forehead. No muscle twitched, for the -muscles of such as he are the servants of the brain. -Down across his face crept the horrid thing--over nose -and lips and chin. Upon his throat it paused, and turning, -retraced its steps. Tarzan watched Rabba Kega. -Now not even his eyes moved. So motionless he crouched -that only death might counterpart his movelessness. -The insect crawled upward over the nut-brown cheek and stopped -with its antennae brushing the lashes of his lower lid. -You or I would have started back, closing our eyes -and striking at the thing; but you and I are the slaves, -not the masters of our nerves. Had the thing crawled upon -the eyeball of the ape-man, it is believable that he could -yet have remained wide-eyed and rigid; but it did not. -For a moment it loitered there close to the lower lid, -then it rose and buzzed away. - -Down toward Rabba Kega it buzzed and the black man heard it, -saw it, struck at it, and was stung upon the cheek before -he killed it. Then he rose with a howl of pain and anger, -and as he turned up the trail toward the village of Mbonga, -the chief, his broad, black back was exposed to the silent -thing waiting above him. - -And as Rabba Kega turned, a lithe figure shot outward -and downward from the tree above upon his broad shoulders. -The impact of the springing creature carried Rabba Kega -to the ground. He felt strong jaws close upon his neck, -and when he tried to scream, steel fingers throttled his throat. -The powerful black warrior struggled to free himself; -but he was as a child in the grip of his adversary. - -Presently Tarzan released his grip upon the other's throat; -but each time that Rabba Kega essayed a scream, the cruel -fingers choked him painfully. At last the warrior desisted. -Then Tarzan half rose and kneeled upon his victim's back, -and when Rabba Kega struggled to arise, the ape-man -pushed his face down into the dirt of the trail. -With a bit of the rope that had secured the kid, -Tarzan made Rabba Kega's wrists secure behind his back, -then he rose and jerked his prisoner to his feet, -faced him back along the trail and pushed him on ahead. - -Not until he came to his feet did Rabba Kega obtain -a square look at his assailant. When he saw that it -was the white devil-god his heart sank within him and -his knees trembled; but as he walked along the trail -ahead of his captor and was neither injured nor molested -his spirits slowly rose, so that he took heart again. -Possibly the devil-god did not intend to kill him after all. -Had he not had little Tibo in his power for days without -harming him, and had he not spared Momaya, Tibo's mother, -when he easily might have slain her? - -And then they came upon the cage which Rabba Kega, -with the other black warriors of the village of Mbonga, -the chief, had placed and baited for Numa. Rabba Kega -saw that the bait was gone, though there was no lion -within the cage, nor was the door dropped. He saw and he -was filled with wonder not unmixed with apprehension. -It entered his dull brain that in some way this combination -of circumstances had a connection with his presence there -as the prisoner of the white devil-god. - -Nor was he wrong. Tarzan pushed him roughly into -the cage, and in another moment Rabba Kega understood. -Cold sweat broke from every pore of his body--he trembled -as with ague--for the ape-man was binding him securely -in the very spot the kid had previously occupied. -The witch-doctor pleaded, first for his life, and then -for a death less cruel; but he might as well have saved -his pleas for Numa, since already they were directed toward -a wild beast who understood no word of what he said. - -But his constant jabbering not only annoyed Tarzan, -who worked in silence, but suggested that later the black -might raise his voice in cries for succor, so he stepped out -of the cage, gathered a handful of grass and a small stick -and returning, jammed the grass into Rabba Kega's mouth, -laid the stick crosswise between his teeth and fastened -it there with the thong from Rabba Kega's loin cloth. -Now could the witch-doctor but roll his eyes and sweat. -Thus Tarzan left him. - -The ape-man went first to the spot where he had cached -the body of the kid. Digging it up, he ascended into a -tree and proceeded to satisfy his hunger. What remained -he again buried; then he swung away through the trees -to the water hole, and going to the spot where fresh, -cold water bubbled from between two rocks, he drank deeply. -The other beasts might wade in and drink stagnant water; -but not Tarzan of the Apes. In such matters he was fastidious. -From his hands he washed every trace of the repugnant -scent of the Gomangani, and from his face the blood of -the kid. Rising, he stretched himself not unlike some huge, -lazy cat, climbed into a near-by tree and fell asleep. - -When he awoke it was dark, though a faint luminosity still -tinged the western heavens. A lion moaned and coughed -as it strode through the jungle toward water. It was -approaching the drinking hole. Tarzan grinned sleepily, -changed his position and fell asleep again. - -When the blacks of Mbonga, the chief, reached their village -they discovered that Rabba Kega was not among them. -When several hours had elapsed they decided that something -had happened to him, and it was the hope of the majority -of the tribe that whatever had happened to him might -prove fatal. They did not love the witch-doctor. Love -and fear seldom are playmates; but a warrior is a warrior, -and so Mbonga organized a searching party. That his own -grief was not unassuagable might have been gathered from -the fact that he remained at home and went to sleep. -The young warriors whom he sent out remained steadfast to -their purpose for fully half an hour, when, unfortunately for -Rabba Kega-- upon so slight a thing may the fate of a man -rest--a honey bird attracted the attention of the searchers -and led them off for the delicious store it previously -had marked down for betrayal, and Rabba Kega's doom was sealed. - -When the searchers returned empty handed, Mbonga was wroth; -but when he saw the great store of honey they brought with -them his rage subsided. Already Tubuto, young, agile and -evil-minded, with face hideously painted, was practicing -the black art upon a sick infant in the fond hope of -succeeding to the office and perquisites of Rabba Kega. -Tonight the women of the old witch-doctor would moan -and howl. Tomorrow he would be forgotten. Such is life, -such is fame, such is power--in the center of the world's -highest civilization, or in the depths of the black, -primeval jungle. Always, everywhere, man is man, nor has -he altered greatly beneath his veneer since he scurried -into a hole between two rocks to escape the tyrannosaurus -six million years ago. - -The morning following the disappearance of Rabba Kega, -the warriors set out with Mbonga, the chief, to examine -the trap they had set for Numa. Long before they -reached the cage, they heard the roaring of a great -lion and guessed that they had made a successful bag, -so it was with shouts of joy that they approached -the spot where they should find their captive. - -Yes! There he was, a great, magnificent specimen--a huge, -black-maned lion. The warriors were frantic with delight. -They leaped into the air and uttered savage cries--hoarse -victory cries, and then they came closer, and the cries -died upon their lips, and their eyes went wide so that the -whites showed all around their irises, and their pendulous -lower lips drooped with their drooping jaws. They drew -back in terror at the sight within the cage--the mauled -and mutilated corpse of what had, yesterday, been Rabba Kega, -the witch-doctor. - -The captured lion had been too angry and frightened to feed -upon the body of his kill; but he had vented upon it much -of his rage, until it was a frightful thing to behold. - -From his perch in a near-by tree Tarzan of the Apes, -Lord Greystoke, looked down upon the black warriors -and grinned. Once again his self-pride in his ability -as a practical joker asserted itself. It had lain dormant -for some time following the painful mauling he had received -that time he leaped among the apes of Kerchak clothed -in the skin of Numa; but this joke was a decided success. - -After a few moments of terror, the blacks came closer to -the cage, rage taking the place of fear--rage and curiosity. -How had Rabba Kega happened to be in the cage? Where was -the kid? There was no sign nor remnant of the original bait. -They looked closely and they saw, to their horror, -that the corpse of their erstwhile fellow was bound -with the very cord with which they had secured the kid. -Who could have done this thing? They looked at one another. - -Tubuto was the first to speak. He had come hopefully out -with the expedition that morning. Somewhere he might find -evidence of the death of Rabba Kega. Now he had found it, -and he was the first to find an explanation. - -"The white devil-god," he whispered. "It is the work -of the white devil-god!" - -No one contradicted Tubuto, for, indeed, who else could it -have been but the great, hairless ape they all so feared? And -so their hatred of Tarzan increased again with an increased -fear of him. And Tarzan sat in his tree and hugged himself. - -No one there felt sorrow because of the death of Rabba Kega; -but each of the blacks experienced a personal fear of -the ingenious mind which might discover for any of them -a death equally horrible to that which the witch-doctor -had suffered. It was a subdued and thoughtful company -which dragged the captive lion along the broad elephant -path back to the village of Mbonga, the chief. - -And it was with a sigh of relief that they finally rolled -it into the village and closed the gates behind them. -Each had experienced the sensation of being spied upon from -the moment they left the spot where the trap had been set, -though none had seen or heard aught to give tangible food -to his fears. - -At the sight of the body within the cage with the lion, -the women and children of the village set up a most -frightful lamentation, working themselves into a joyous -hysteria which far transcended the happy misery derived -by their more civilized prototypes who make a business of -dividing their time between the movies and the neighborhood -funerals of friends and strangers--especially strangers. - -From a tree overhanging the palisade, Tarzan watched -all that passed within the village. He saw the frenzied -women tantalizing the great lion with sticks and stones. -The cruelty of the blacks toward a captive always induced -in Tarzan a feeling of angry contempt for the Gomangani. -Had he attempted to analyze this feeling he would have -found it difficult, for during all his life he had been -accustomed to sights of suffering and cruelty. He, himself, -was cruel. All the beasts of the jungle were cruel; -but the cruelty of the blacks was of a different order. -It was the cruelty of wanton torture of the helpless, -while the cruelty of Tarzan and the other beasts was the -cruelty of necessity or of passion. - -Perhaps, had he known it, he might have credited this -feeling of repugnance at the sight of unnecessary -suffering to heredity--to the germ of British love -of fair play which had been bequeathed to him by his -father and his mother; but, of course, he did not know, -since he still believed that his mother had been Kala, -the great ape. - -And just in proportion as his anger rose against the -Gomangani his savage sympathy went out to Numa, the lion, -for, though Numa was his lifetime enemy, there was neither -bitterness nor contempt in Tarzan's sentiments toward him. -In the ape-man's mind, therefore, the determination -formed to thwart the blacks and liberate the lion; -but he must accomplish this in some way which would -cause the Gomangani the greatest chagrin and discomfiture. - -As he squatted there watching the proceeding beneath him, -he saw the warriors seize upon the cage once more and drag -it between two huts. Tarzan knew that it would remain -there now until evening, and that the blacks were planning -a feast and orgy in celebration of their capture. -When he saw that two warriors were placed beside the cage, -and that these drove off the women and children and young -men who would have eventually tortured Numa to death, -he knew that the lion would be safe until he was needed -for the evening's entertainment, when he would be more -cruelly and scientifically tortured for the edification of -the entire tribe. - -Now Tarzan preferred to bait the blacks in as theatric -a manner as his fertile imagination could evolve. -He had some half-formed conception of their superstitious -fears and of their especial dread of night, and so he -decided to wait until darkness fell and the blacks partially -worked to hysteria by their dancing and religious rites -before he took any steps toward the freeing of Numa. -In the meantime, he hoped, an idea adequate to the -possibilities of the various factors at hand would occur -to him. Nor was it long before one did. - -He had swung off through the jungle to search for food -when the plan came to him. At first it made him smile -a little and then look dubious, for he still retained -a vivid memory of the dire results that had followed -the carrying out of a very wonderful idea along almost -identical lines, yet he did not abandon his intention, -and a moment later, food temporarily forgotten, he was -swinging through the middle terraces in rapid flight -toward the stamping ground of the tribe of Kerchak, -the great ape. - -As was his wont, he alighted in the midst of the little -band without announcing his approach save by a hideous -scream just as he sprang from a branch above them. -Fortunate are the apes of Kerchak that their kind is -not subject to heart failure, for the methods of Tarzan -subjected them to one severe shock after another, -nor could they ever accustom themselves to the ape-man's -peculiar style of humor. - -Now, when they saw who it was they merely snarled and -grumbled angrily for a moment and then resumed their -feeding or their napping which he had interrupted, and he, -having had his little joke, made his way to the hollow tree -where he kept his treasures hid from the inquisitive eyes -and fingers of his fellows and the mischievous little manus. -Here he withdrew a closely rolled hide--the hide of Numa with -the head on; a clever bit of primitive curing and mounting, -which had once been the property of the witch-doctor, -Rabba Kega, until Tarzan had stolen it from the village. - -With this he made his way back through the jungle toward -the village of the blacks, stopping to hunt and feed upon -the way, and, in the afternoon, even napping for an hour, -so that it was already dusk when he entered the great -tree which overhung the palisade and gave him a view -of the entire village. He saw that Numa was still alive -and that the guards were even dozing beside the cage. -A lion is no great novelty to a black man in the lion country, -and the first keen edge of their desire to worry the brute -having worn off, the villagers paid little or no attention -to the great cat, preferring now to await the grand event -of the night. - -Nor was it long after dark before the festivities commenced. -To the beating of tom-toms, a lone warrior, crouched -half doubled, leaped into the firelight in the center -of a great circle of other warriors, behind whom stood -or squatted the women and the children. The dancer -was painted and armed for the hunt and his movements -and gestures suggested the search for the spoor of game. -Bending low, sometimes resting for a moment on one knee, -he searched the ground for signs of the quarry; -again he poised, statuesque, listening. The warrior -was young and lithe and graceful; he was full-muscled -and arrow-straight. The firelight glistened upon his ebon -body and brought out into bold relief the grotesque -designs painted upon his face, breasts, and abdomen. - -Presently he bent low to the earth, then leaped high in air. -Every line of face and body showed that he had struck the scent. -Immediately he leaped toward the circle of warriors about him, -telling them of his find and summoning them to the hunt. -It was all in pantomime; but so truly done that even -Tarzan could follow it all to the least detail. - -He saw the other warriors grasp their hunting spears -and leap to their feet to join in the graceful, -stealthy "stalking dance." It was very interesting; -but Tarzan realized that if he was to carry his design -to a successful conclusion he must act quickly. -He had seen these dances before and knew that after -the stalk would come the game at bay and then the kill, -during which Numa would be surrounded by warriors, -and unapproachable. - -With the lion's skin under one arm the ape-man dropped -to the ground in the dense shadows beneath the tree and -then circled behind the huts until he came out directly -in the rear of the cage, in which Numa paced nervously -to and fro. The cage was now unguarded, the two warriors -having left it to take their places among the other dancers. - -Behind the cage Tarzan adjusted the lion's skin about him, -just as he had upon that memorable occasion when the apes -of Kerchak, failing to pierce his disguise, had all but -slain him. Then, on hands and knees, he crept forward, -emerged from between the two huts and stood a few paces -back of the dusky audience, whose whole attention was -centered upon the dancers before them. - -Tarzan saw that the blacks had now worked themselves to a -proper pitch of nervous excitement to be ripe for the lion. -In a moment the ring of spectators would break at a point -nearest the caged lion and the victim would be rolled -into the center of the circle. It was for this moment -that Tarzan waited. - -At last it came. A signal was given by Mbonga, the chief, -at which the women and children immediately in front -of Tarzan rose and moved to one side, leaving a broad -path opening toward the caged lion. At the same instant -Tarzan gave voice to the low, couching roar of an angry -lion and slunk slowly forward through the open lane toward -the frenzied dancers. - -A woman saw him first and screamed. Instantly there -was a panic in the immediate vicinity of the ape-man. The -strong light from the fire fell full upon the lion head -and the blacks leaped to the conclusion, as Tarzan had -known they would, that their captive had escaped his cage. - -With another roar, Tarzan moved forward. The dancing -warriors paused but an instant. They had been hunting -a lion securely housed within a strong cage, and now -that he was at liberty among them, an entirely different -aspect was placed upon the matter. Their nerves were not -attuned to this emergency. The women and children already -had fled to the questionable safety of the nearest huts, -and the warriors were not long in following their example, -so that presently Tarzan was left in sole possession -of the village street. - -But not for long. Nor did he wish to be left thus -long alone. It would not comport with his scheme. -Presently a head peered forth from a near-by hut, and then -another and another until a score or more of warriors were -looking out upon him, waiting for his next move--waiting -for the lion to charge or to attempt to escape from the village. - -Their spears were ready in their hands against either -a charge or a bolt for freedom, and then the lion rose -erect upon its hind legs, the tawny skin dropped from it -and there stood revealed before them in the firelight -the straight young figure of the white devil-god. - -For an instant the blacks were too astonished to act. -They feared this apparition fully as much as they did Numa, -yet they would gladly have slain the thing could they -quickly enough have gathered together their wits; -but fear and superstition and a natural mental density -held them paralyzed while the ape-man stooped and gathered -up the lion skin. They saw him turn then and walk -back into the shadows at the far end of the village. -Not until then did they gain courage to pursue him, -and when they had come in force, with brandished spears -and loud war cries, the quarry was gone. - -Not an instant did Tarzan pause in the tree. Throwing the -skin over a branch he leaped again into the village upon -the opposite side of the great bole, and diving into the -shadow of a hut, ran quickly to where lay the caged lion. -Springing to the top of the cage he pulled upon the cord -which raised the door, and a moment later a great lion -in the prime of his strength and vigor leaped out into -the village. - -The warriors, returning from a futile search for Tarzan, -saw him step into the firelight. Ah! there was the -devil-god again, up to his old trick. Did he think -he could twice fool the men of Mbonga, the chief, -the same way in so short a time? They would show him! -For long they had waited for such an opportunity to rid -themselves forever of this fearsome jungle demon. -As one they rushed forward with raised spears. - -The women and the children came from the huts to witness -the slaying of the devil-god. The lion turned blazing eyes -upon them and then swung about toward the advancing warriors. - -With shouts of savage joy and triumph they came toward him, -menacing him with their spears. The devil-god was theirs! - -And then, with a frightful roar, Numa, the lion, charged. - -The men of Mbonga, the chief, met Numa with ready spears -and screams of raillery. In a solid mass of muscled ebony -they waited the coming of the devil-god; yet beneath -their brave exteriors lurked a haunting fear that all -might not be quite well with them--that this strange -creature could yet prove invulnerable to their weapons -and inflict upon them full punishment for their effrontery. -The charging lion was all too lifelike--they saw that in -the brief instant of the charge; but beneath the tawny -hide they knew was hid the soft flesh of the white man, -and how could that withstand the assault of many war spears? - -In their forefront stood a huge young warrior in the full -arrogance of his might and his youth. Afraid? Not he! He -laughed as Numa bore down upon him; he laughed and couched -his spear, setting the point for the broad breast. -And then the lion was upon him. A great paw swept away -the heavy war spear, splintering it as the hand of man -might splinter a dry twig. - -Down went the black, his skull crushed by another blow. -And then the lion was in the midst of the warriors, -clawing and tearing to right and left. Not for long did -they stand their ground; but a dozen men were mauled before -the others made good their escape from those frightful -talons and gleaming fangs. - -In terror the villagers fled hither and thither. -No hut seemed a sufficiently secure asylum with Numa -ranging within the palisade. From one to another fled -the frightened blacks, while in the center of the village -Numa stood glaring and growling above his kills. - -At last a tribesman flung wide the gates of the village -and sought safety amid the branches of the forest -trees beyond. Like sheep his fellows followed him, -until the lion and his dead remained alone in the village. - -From the nearer trees the men of Mbonga saw the lion lower -his great head and seize one of his victims by the shoulder -and then with slow and stately tread move down the village -street past the open gates and on into the jungle. -They saw and shuddered, and from another tree Tarzan -of the Apes saw and smiled. - -A full hour elapsed after the lion had disappeared -with his feast before the blacks ventured down from -the trees and returned to their village. Wide eyes -rolled from side to side, and naked flesh contracted -more to the chill of fear than to the chill of the jungle night. - -"It was he all the time," murmured one. "It was the devil-god." - -"He changed himself from a lion to a man, and back again -into a lion," whispered another. - -"And he dragged Mweeza into the forest and is eating him," -said a third, shuddering. - -"We are no longer safe here," wailed a fourth. "Let us -take our belongings and search for another village site -far from the haunts of the wicked devil-god." - -But with morning came renewed courage, so that the -experiences of the preceding evening had little -other effect than to increase their fear of Tarzan -and strengthen their belief in his supernatural origin. - -And thus waxed the fame and the power of the ape-man in the -mysterious haunts of the savage jungle where he ranged, -mightiest of beasts because of the man-mind which directed -his giant muscles and his flawless courage. - - - - - - - 12 - - - Tarzan Rescues the Moon - -THE MOON SHONE down out of a cloudless sky--a huge, -swollen moon that seemed so close to earth that one might -wonder that she did not brush the crooning tree tops. -It was night, and Tarzan was abroad in the jungle--Tarzan, -the ape-man; mighty fighter, mighty hunter. Why he swung -through the dark shadows of the somber forest he could -not have told you. It was not that he was hungry--he had -fed well this day, and in a safe cache were the remains -of his kill, ready against the coming of a new appetite. -Perhaps it was the very joy of living that urged him -from his arboreal couch to pit his muscles and his senses -against the jungle night, and then, too, Tarzan always was -goaded by an intense desire to know. - -The jungle which is presided over by Kudu, the sun, -is a very different jungle from that of Goro, the moon. -The diurnal jungle has its own aspect--its own lights -and shades, its own birds, its own blooms, its own beasts; -its noises are the noises of the day. The lights and -shades of the nocturnal jungle are as different as one -might imagine the lights and shades of another world -to differ from those of our world; its beasts, its blooms, -and its birds are not those of the jungle of Kudu, -the sun. - -Because of these differences Tarzan loved to investigate -the jungle by night. Not only was the life another life; -but it was richer in numbers and in romance; it was -richer in dangers, too, and to Tarzan of the Apes danger -was the spice of life. And the noises of the jungle -night--the roar of the lion, the scream of the leopard, -the hideous laughter of Dango, the hyena, were music -to the ears of the ape-man. - -The soft padding of unseen feet, the rustling of leaves -and grasses to the passage of fierce beasts, the sheen -of opalesque eyes flaming through the dark, the million -sounds which proclaimed the teeming life that one might -hear and scent, though seldom see, constituted the appeal -of the nocturnal jungle to Tarzan. - -Tonight he had swung a wide circle--toward the east first -and then toward the south, and now he was rounding back again -into the north. His eyes, his ears and his keen nostrils -were ever on the alert. Mingled with the sounds he knew, -there were strange sounds--weird sounds which he never -heard until after Kudu had sought his lair below the far -edge of the big water-sounds which belonged to Goro, -the moon--and to the mysterious period of Goro's supremacy. -These sounds often caused Tarzan profound speculation. -They baffled him because he thought that he knew his jungle -so well that there could be nothing within it unfamiliar to him. -Sometimes he thought that as colors and forms appeared -to differ by night from their familiar daylight aspects, -so sounds altered with the passage of Kudu and the coming -of Goro, and these thoughts roused within his brain a vague -conjecture that perhaps Goro and Kudu influenced these changes. -And what more natural that eventually he came to attribute -to the sun and the moon personalities as real as his -own? The sun was a living creature and ruled the day. -The moon, endowed with brains and miraculous powers, -ruled the night. - -Thus functioned the untrained man-mind groping through the -dark night of ignorance for an explanation of the things -he could not touch or smell or hear and of the great, -unknown powers of nature which he could not see. - -As Tarzan swung north again upon his wide circle -the scent of the Gomangani came to his nostrils, -mixed with the acrid odor of wood smoke. The ape-man -moved quickly in the direction from which the scent -was borne down to him upon the gentle night wind. -Presently the ruddy sheen of a great fire filtered -through the foliage to him ahead, and when Tarzan came -to a halt in the trees near it, he saw a party of half -a dozen black warriors huddled close to the blaze. -It was evidently a hunting party from the village of Mbonga, -the chief, caught out in the jungle after dark. -In a rude circle about them they had constructed a thorn -boma which, with the aid of the fire, they apparently -hoped would discourage the advances of the larger carnivora. - -That hope was not conviction was evidenced by the very palpable -terror in which they crouched, wide-eyed and trembling, -for already Numa and Sabor were moaning through the jungle -toward them. There were other creatures, too, in the shadows -beyond the firelight. Tarzan could see their yellow -eyes flaming there. The blacks saw them and shivered. -Then one arose and grasping a burning branch from the fire -hurled it at the eyes, which immediately disappeared. -The black sat down again. Tarzan watched and saw that it -was several minutes before the eyes began to reappear -in twos and fours. - -Then came Numa, the lion, and Sabor, his mate. The other -eyes scattered to right and left before the menacing -growls of the great cats, and then the huge orbs of the -man-eaters flamed alone out of the darkness. Some of -the blacks threw themselves upon their faces and moaned; -but he who before had hurled the burning branch now -hurled another straight at the faces of the hungry lions, -and they, too, disappeared as had the lesser lights -before them. Tarzan was much interested. He saw a new -reason for the nightly fires maintained by the blacks--a -reason in addition to those connected with warmth and -light and cooking. The beasts of the jungle feared fire, -and so fire was, in a measure, a protection from them. -Tarzan himself knew a certain awe of fire. Once he had, -in investigating an abandoned fire in the village of the blacks, -picked up a live coal. Since then he had maintained -a respectful distance from such fires as he had seen. -One experience had sufficed. - -For a few minutes after the black hurled the firebrand no -eyes appeared, though Tarzan could hear the soft padding -of feet all about him. Then flashed once more the twin -fire spots that marked the return of the lord of the -jungle and a moment later, upon a slightly lower level, -there appeared those of Sabor, his mate. - -For some time they remained fixed and unwavering--a -constellation of fierce stars in the jungle night--then -the male lion advanced slowly toward the boma, where all -but a single black still crouched in trembling terror. -When this lone guardian saw that Numa was again approaching, -he threw another firebrand, and, as before, Numa retreated -and with him Sabor, the lioness; but not so far, this time, -nor for so long. Almost instantly they turned and began -circling the boma, their eyes turning constantly toward -the firelight, while low, throaty growls evidenced their -increasing displeasure. Beyond the lions glowed the flaming -eyes of the lesser satellites, until the black jungle was -shot all around the black men's camp with little spots of fire. - -Again and again the black warrior hurled his puny brands at -the two big cats; but Tarzan noticed that Numa paid little -or no attention to them after the first few retreats. -The ape-man knew by Numa's voice that the lion was hungry -and surmised that he had made up his mind to feed upon -a Gomangani; but would he dare a closer approach to the -dreaded flames? - -Even as the thought was passing in Tarzan's mind, -Numa stopped his restless pacing and faced the boma. -For a moment he stood motionless, except for the quick, -nervous upcurving of his tail, then he walked deliberately -forward, while Sabor moved restlessly to and fro where he -had left her. The black man called to his comrades -that the lion was coming, but they were too far gone -in fear to do more than huddle closer together and moan -more loudly than before. - -Seizing a blazing branch the man cast it straight -into the face of the lion. There was an angry roar, -followed by a swift charge. With a single bound -the savage beast cleared the boma wall as, with almost -equal agility, the warrior cleared it upon the opposite -side and, chancing the dangers lurking in the darkness, -bolted for the nearest tree. - -Numa was out of the boma almost as soon as he was inside it; -but as he went back over the low thorn wall, he took -a screaming negro with him. Dragging his victim along -the ground he walked back toward Sabor, the lioness, -who joined him, and the two continued into the blackness, -their savage growls mingling with the piercing shrieks of -the doomed and terrified man. - -At a little distance from the blaze the lions halted, -there ensued a short succession of unusually vicious growls -and roars, during which the cries and moans of the black -man ceased--forever. - -Presently Numa reappeared in the firelight. He made -a second trip into the boma and the former grisly tragedy -was reenacted with another howling victim. - -Tarzan rose and stretched lazily. The entertainment -was beginning to bore him. He yawned and turned upon -his way toward the clearing where the tribe would -be sleeping in the encircling trees. - -Yet even when he had found his familiar crotch and curled -himself for slumber, he felt no desire to sleep. -For a long time he lay awake thinking and dreaming. -He looked up into the heavens and watched the moon and -the stars. He wondered what they were and what power -kept them from falling. His was an inquisitive mind. -Always he had been full of questions concerning all that -passed around him; but there never had been one to answer -his questions. In childhood he had wanted to KNOW, and, -denied almost all knowledge, he still, in manhood, -was filled with the great, unsatisfied curiosity of -a child. - -He was never quite content merely to perceive that things -happened--he desired to know WHY they happened. -He wanted to know what made things go. The secret -of life interested him immensely. The miracle of death -he could not quite fathom. Upon innumerable occasions -he had investigated the internal mechanism of his kills, -and once or twice he had opened the chest cavity of victims -in time to see the heart still pumping. - -He had learned from experience that a knife thrust through -this organ brought immediate death nine times out of ten, -while he might stab an antagonist innumerable times -in other places without even disabling him. And so he -had come to think of the heart, or, as he called it, -"the red thing that breathes," as the seat and origin -of life. - -The brain and its functionings he did not comprehend at all. -That his sense perceptions were transmitted to his brain -and there translated, classified, and labeled was something -quite beyond him. He thought that his fingers knew when -they touched something, that his eyes knew when they saw, -his ears when they heard, his nose when it scented. - -He considered his throat, epidermis, and the hairs -of his head as the three principal seats of emotion. -When Kala had been slain a peculiar choking sensation -had possessed his throat; contact with Histah, the snake, -imparted an unpleasant sensation to the skin of his whole body; -while the approach of an enemy made the hairs on his scalp -stand erect. - -Imagine, if you can, a child filled with the wonders -of nature, bursting with queries and surrounded only -by beasts of the jungle to whom his questionings were -as strange as Sanskrit would have been. If he asked -Gunto what made it rain, the big old ape would but gaze -at him in dumb astonishment for an instant and then -return to his interesting and edifying search for fleas; -and when he questioned Mumga, who was very old and should -have been very wise, but wasn't, as to the reason for -the closing of certain flowers after Kudu had deserted -the sky, and the opening of others during the night, -he was surprised to discover that Mumga had never -noticed these interesting facts, though she could tell -to an inch just where the fattest grubworm should be hiding. - -To Tarzan these things were wonders. They appealed to his -intellect and to his imagination. He saw the flowers -close and open; he saw certain blooms which turned their -faces always toward the sun; he saw leaves which moved -when there was no breeze; he saw vines crawl like living -things up the boles and over the branches of great trees; -and to Tarzan of the Apes the flowers and the vines and -the trees were living creatures. He often talked to them, -as he talked to Goro, the moon, and Kudu, the sun, -and always was he disappointed that they did not reply. -He asked them questions; but they could not answer, -though he knew that the whispering of the leaves was the -language of the leaves--they talked with one another. - -The wind he attributed to the trees and grasses. He thought -that they swayed themselves to and fro, creating the wind. -In no other way could he account for this phenomenon. -The rain he finally attributed to the stars, the moon, -and the sun; but his hypothesis was entirely unlovely -and unpoetical. - -Tonight as Tarzan lay thinking, there sprang to his fertile -imagination an explanation of the stars and the moon. -He became quite excited about it. Taug was sleeping -in a nearby crotch. Tarzan swung over beside him. - -"Taug!" he cried. Instantly the great bull was awake -and bristling, sensing danger from the nocturnal summons. -"Look, Taug!" exclaimed Tarzan, pointing toward the stars. -"See the eyes of Numa and Sabor, of Sheeta and Dango. -They wait around Goro to leap in upon him for their kill. -See the eyes and the nose and the mouth of Goro. And the -light that shines upon his face is the light of the great -fire he has built to frighten away Numa and Sabor and Dango -and Sheeta. - -"All about him are the eyes, Taug, you can see them! But -they do not come very close to the fire--there are few -eyes close to Goro. They fear the fire! It is the fire -that saves Goro from Numa. Do you see them, Taug? Some -night Numa will be very hungry and very angry--then he -will leap over the thorn bushes which encircle Goro and we -will have no more light after Kudu seeks his lair--the -night will be black with the blackness that comes when -Goro is lazy and sleeps late into the night, or when he -wanders through the skies by day, forgetting the jungle -and its people." - -Taug looked stupidly at the heavens and then at Tarzan. -A meteor fell, blazing a flaming way through the sky. - -"Look!" cried Tarzan. "Goro has thrown a burning branch -at Numa." - -Taug grumbled. "Numa is down below," he said. "Numa does -not hunt above the trees." But he looked curiously -and a little fearfully at the bright stars above him, -as though he saw them for the first time, and doubtless -it was the first time that Taug ever had seen the stars, -though they had been in the sky above him every night -of his life. To Taug they were as the gorgeous jungle -blooms--he could not eat them and so he ignored them. - -Taug fidgeted and was nervous. For a long time he -lay sleepless, watching the stars--the flaming eyes -of the beasts of prey surrounding Goro, the moon--Goro, -by whose light the apes danced to the beating of their -earthen drums. If Goro should be eaten by Numa there could -be no more Dum-Dums. Taug was overwhelmed by the thought. -He glanced at Tarzan half fearfully. Why was his friend -so different from the others of the tribe? No one else whom -Taug ever had known had had such queer thoughts as Tarzan. -The ape scratched his head and wondered, dimly, if Tarzan -was a safe companion, and then he recalled slowly, -and by a laborious mental process, that Tarzan had served -him better than any other of the apes, even the strong -and wise bulls of the tribe. - -Tarzan it was who had freed him from the blacks at the -very time that Taug had thought Tarzan wanted Teeka. -It was Tarzan who had saved Taug's little balu from death. -It was Tarzan who had conceived and carried out the plan -to pursue Teeka's abductor and rescue the stolen one. -Tarzan had fought and bled in Taug's service so many times -that Taug, although only a brutal ape, had had impressed -upon his mind a fierce loyalty which nothing now could -swerve--his friendship for Tarzan had become a habit, -a tradition almost, which would endure while Taug endured. -He never showed any outward demonstration of affection--he -growled at Tarzan as he growled at the other bulls -who came too close while he was feeding--but he would -have died for Tarzan. He knew it and Tarzan knew it; -but of such things apes do not speak--their vocabulary, -for the finer instincts, consisting more of actions -than words. But now Taug was worried, and he fell -asleep again still thinking of the strange words of -his fellow. - -The following day he thought of them again, and without -any intention of disloyalty he mentioned to Gunto what -Tarzan had suggested about the eyes surrounding Goro, -and the possibility that sooner or later Numa would -charge the moon and devour him. To the apes all large -things in nature are male, and so Goro, being the largest -creature in the heavens by night, was, to them, a bull. - -Gunto bit a sliver from a horny finger and recalled -the fact that Tarzan had once said that the trees talked -to one another, and Gozan recounted having seen the ape-man -dancing alone in the moonlight with Sheeta, the panther. -They did not know that Tarzan had roped the savage beast -and tied him to a tree before he came to earth and leaped -about before the rearing cat, to tantalize him. - -Others told of seeing Tarzan ride upon the back of Tantor, -the elephant; of his bringing the black boy, Tibo, -to the tribe, and of mysterious things with which he -communed in the strange lair by the sea. They had never -understood his books, and after he had shown them to one -or two of the tribe and discovered that even the pictures -carried no impression to their brains, he had desisted. - -"Tarzan is not an ape," said Gunto. "He will bring -Numa to eat us, as he is bringing him to eat Goro. -We should kill him." - -Immediately Taug bristled. Kill Tarzan! "First you will -kill Taug," he said, and lumbered away to search for food. - -But others joined the plotters. They thought of many -things which Tarzan had done--things which apes did not do -and could not understand. Again Gunto voiced the opinion -that the Tarmangani, the white ape, should be slain, -and the others, filled with terror about the stories they -had heard, and thinking Tarzan was planning to slay Goro, -greeted the proposal with growls of accord. - -Among them was Teeka, listening with all her ears; -but her voice was not raised in furtherance of the plan. -Instead she bristled, showing her fangs, and afterward -she went away in search of Tarzan; but she could not -find him, as he was roaming far afield in search of meat. -She found Taug, though, and told him what the others -were planning, and the great bull stamped upon the ground -and roared. His bloodshot eyes blazed with wrath, -his upper lip curled up to expose his fighting fangs, -and the hair upon his spine stood erect, and then a rodent -scurried across the open and Taug sprang to seize it. -In an instant he seemed to have forgotten his rage -against the enemies of his friend; but such is the mind of -an ape. - -Several miles away Tarzan of the Apes lolled upon the -broad head of Tantor, the elephant. He scratched beneath -the great ears with the point of a sharp stick, and he -talked to the huge pachyderm of everything which filled -his black-thatched head. Little, or nothing, of what he -said did Tantor understand; but Tantor is a good listener. -Swaying from side to side he stood there enjoying -the companionship of his friend, the friend he loved, -and absorbing the delicious sensations of the scratching. - -Numa, the lion, caught the scent of man, and warily stalked -it until he came within sight of his prey upon the head -of the mighty tusker; then he turned, growling and muttering, -away in search of more propitious hunting grounds. - -The elephant caught the scent of the lion, borne to him by -an eddying breeze, and lifting his trunk trumpeted loudly. -Tarzan stretched back luxuriously, lying supine at full -length along the rough hide. Flies swarmed about his face; -but with a leafy branch torn from a tree he lazily brushed -them away. - -"Tantor," he said, "it is good to be alive. It is good -to lie in the cool shadows. It is good to look upon -the green trees and the bright colors of the flowers--upon -everything which Bulamutumumo has put here for us. -He is very good to us, Tantor; He has given you tender leaves -and bark, and rich grasses to eat; to me He has given Bara -and Horta and Pisah, the fruits and the nuts and the roots. -He provides for each the food that each likes best. -All that He asks is that we be strong enough or cunning enough -to go forth and take it. Yes, Tantor, it is good to live. -I should hate to die." - -Tantor made a little sound in his throat and curled his -trunk upward that he might caress the ape-man's cheek -with the finger at its tip. - -"Tantor," said Tarzan presently, "turn and feed in -the direction of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape, -that Tarzan may ride home upon your head without walking." - -The tusker turned and moved slowly off along a broad, -tree-arched trail, pausing occasionally to pluck a tender -branch, or strip the edible bark from an adjacent tree. -Tarzan sprawled face downward upon the beast's head and back, -his legs hanging on either side, his head supported by his -open palms, his elbows resting on the broad cranium. -And thus they made their leisurely way toward the gathering -place of the tribe. - -Just before they arrived at the clearing from the north -there reached it from the south another figure--that -of a well-knit black warrior, who stepped cautiously -through the jungle, every sense upon the alert against -the many dangers which might lurk anywhere along the way. -Yet he passed beneath the southernmost sentry that was -posted in a great tree commanding the trail from the south. -The ape permitted the Gomangani to pass unmolested, for he -saw that he was alone; but the moment that the warrior -had entered the clearing a loud "Kreeg-ah!" rang out from -behind him, immediately followed by a chorus of replies -from different directions, as the great bulls crashed -through the trees in answer to the summons of their fellow. - -The black man halted at the first cry and looked about him. -He could see nothing, but he knew the voice of the hairy -tree men whom he and his kind feared, not alone because -of the strength and ferocity of the savage beings, -but as well through a superstitious terror engendered -by the manlike appearance of the apes. - -But Bulabantu was no coward. He heard the apes all about him; -he knew that escape was probably impossible, so he stood -his ground, his spear ready in his hand and a war cry -trembling on his lips. He would sell his life dearly, -would Bulabantu, under-chief of the village of Mbonga, -the chief. - -Tarzan and Tantor were but a short distance away when the -first cry of the sentry rang out through the quiet jungle. -Like a flash the ape-man leaped from the elephant's -back to a near-by tree and was swinging rapidly -in the direction of the clearing before the echoes -of the first "Kreeg-ah" had died away. When he arrived -he saw a dozen bulls circling a single Gomangani. -With a blood-curdling scream Tarzan sprang to the attack. -He hated the blacks even more than did the apes, -and here was an opportunity for a kill in the open. -What had the Gomangani done? Had he slain one of the tribe? - -Tarzan asked the nearest ape. No, the Gomangani had -harmed none. Gozan, being on watch, had seen him coming -through the forest and had warned the tribe--that was all. -The ape-man pushed through the circle of bulls, none of -which as yet had worked himself into sufficient frenzy -for a charge, and came where he had a full and close -view of the black. He recognized the man instantly. -Only the night before he had seen him facing the eyes -in the dark, while his fellows groveled in the dirt -at his feet, too terrified even to defend themselves. -Here was a brave man, and Tarzan had deep admiration -for bravery. Even his hatred of the blacks was not so -strong a passion as his love of courage. He would have -joyed in battling with a black warrior at almost any time; -but this one he did not wish to kill--he felt, vaguely, -that the man had earned his life by his brave defense -of it on the preceding night, nor did he fancy the odds -that were pitted against the lone warrior. - -He turned to the apes. "Go back to your feeding," -he said, "and let this Gomangani go his way in peace. -He has not harmed us, and last night I saw him fighting Numa -and Sabor with fire, alone in the jungle. He is brave. -Why should we kill one who is brave and who has not attacked -us? Let him go." - -The apes growled. They were displeased. "Kill the Gomangani!" -cried one. - -"Yes." roared another, "kill the Gomangani and the -Tarmangani as well." - -"Kill the white ape!" screamed Gozan, "he is no ape at all; -but a Gomangani with his skin off." - -"Kill Tarzan!" bellowed Gunto. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" - -The bulls were now indeed working themselves into the frenzy -of slaughter; but against Tarzan rather than the black man. -A shaggy form charged through them, hurling those it -came in contact with to one side as a strong man might -scatter children. It was Taug--great, savage Taug. - -"Who says 'kill Tarzan'?" he demanded. "Who kills Tarzan -must kill Taug, too. Who can kill Taug? Taug will tear -your insides from you and feed them to Dango." - -"We can kill you all," replied Gunto. "There are many -of us and few of you," and he was right. Tarzan knew -that he was right. Taug knew it; but neither would admit -such a possibility. It is not the way of bull apes. - -"I am Tarzan," cried the ape-man. "I am Tarzan. -Mighty hunter; mighty fighter. In all the jungle none -so great as Tarzan." - -Then, one by one, the opposing bulls recounted their virtues -and their prowess. And all the time the combatants came -closer and closer to one another. Thus do the bulls work -themselves to the proper pitch before engaging in battle. - -Gunto came, stiff-legged, close to Tarzan and sniffed at him, -with bared fangs. Tarzan rumbled forth a low, menacing growl. -They might repeat these tactics a dozen times; but sooner -or later one bull would close with another and then the -whole hideous pack would be tearing and rending at their prey. - -Bulabantu, the black man, had stood wide-eyed in wonder from -the moment he had seen Tarzan approaching through the apes. -He had heard much of this devil-god who ran with the -hairy tree people; but never before had he seen him in -full daylight. He knew him well enough from the description -of those who had seen him and from the glimpses he had had -of the marauder upon several occasions when the ape-man -had entered the village of Mbonga, the chief, by night, -in the perpetration of one of his numerous ghastly jokes. - -Bulabantu could not, of course, understand anything -which passed between Tarzan and the apes; but he saw -that the ape-man and one of the larger bulls were in -argument with the others. He saw that these two were -standing with their back toward him and between him -and the balance of the tribe, and he guessed, though it -seemed improbable, that they might be defending him. -He knew that Tarzan had once spared the life of Mbonga, -the chief, and that he had succored Tibo, and Tibo's -mother, Momaya. So it was not impossible that he would -help Bulabantu; but how he could accomplish it Bulabantu -could not guess; nor as a matter of fact could Tarzan, -for the odds against him were too great. - -Gunto and the others were slowly forcing Tarzan and Taug -back toward Bulabantu. The ape-man thought of his words -with Tantor just a short time before: "Yes, Tantor, -it is good to live. I should hate to die." And now -he knew that he was about to die, for the temper -of the great bulls was mounting rapidly against him. -Always had many of them hated him, and all were suspicious -of him. They knew he was different. Tarzan knew it too; -but he was glad that he was--he was a MAN; that he had -learned from his picture-books, and he was very proud of -the distinction. Presently, though, he would be a dead man. - -Gunto was preparing to charge. Tarzan knew the signs. -He knew that the balance of the bulls would charge -with Gunto. Then it would soon be over. Something moved -among the verdure at the opposite side of the clearing. -Tarzan saw it just as Gunto, with the terrifying cry -of a challenging ape, sprang forward. Tarzan voiced -a peculiar call and then crouched to meet the assault. -Taug crouched, too, and Bulabantu, assured now that -these two were fighting upon his side, couched his spear -and sprang between them to receive the first charge of -the enemy. - -Simultaneously a huge bulk broke into the clearing -from the jungle behind the charging bulls. -The trumpeting of a mad tusker rose shrill above -the cries of the anthropoids, as Tantor, the elephant, -dashed swiftly across the clearing to the aid of his friend. - -Gunto never closed upon the ape-man, nor did a fang enter -flesh upon either side. The terrific reverberation of -Tantor's challenge sent the bulls scurrying to the trees, -jabbering and scolding. Taug raced off with them. -Only Tarzan and Bulabantu remained. The latter stood -his ground because he saw that the devil-god did not run, -and because the black had the courage to face a certain -and horrible death beside one who had quite evidently dared -death for him. - -But it was a surprised Gomangani who saw the mighty -elephant come to a sudden halt in front of the ape-man -and caress him with his long, sinuous trunk. - -Tarzan turned toward the black man. "Go!" he said in -the language of the apes, and pointed in the direction -of the village of Mbonga. Bulabantu understood the gesture, -if not the word, nor did he lose time in obeying. -Tarzan stood watching him until he had disappeared. -He knew that the apes would not follow. Then he said -to the elephant: "Pick me up!" and the tusker swung him -lightly to his head. - -"Tarzan goes to his lair by the big water," shouted the -ape-man to the apes in the trees. "All of you are more -foolish than Manu, except Taug and Teeka. Taug and Teeka -may come to see Tarzan; but the others must keep away. -Tarzan is done with the tribe of Kerchak." - -He prodded Tantor with a calloused toe and the big beast -swung off across the clearing, the apes watching them -until they were swallowed up by the jungle. - -Before the night fell Taug killed Gunto, picking a quarrel -with him over his attack upon Tarzan. - -For a moon the tribe saw nothing of Tarzan of the Apes. -Many of them probably never gave him a thought; but there -were those who missed him more than Tarzan imagined. -Taug and Teeka often wished that he was back, and Taug determined -a dozen times to go and visit Tarzan in his seaside lair; -but first one thing and then another interfered. - -One night when Taug lay sleepless looking up at the starry -heavens he recalled the strange things that Tarzan once -had suggested to him--that the bright spots were the eyes -of the meat-eaters waiting in the dark of the jungle -sky to leap upon Goro, the moon, and devour him. -The more he thought about this matter the more perturbed -he became. - -And then a strange thing happened. Even as Taug looked -at Goro, he saw a portion of one edge disappear, -precisely as though something was gnawing upon it. -Larger and larger became the hole in the side of Goro. -With a scream, Taug leaped to his feet. His frenzied -"Kreeg-ahs!" brought the terrified tribe screaming and -chattering toward him. - -"Look!" cried Taug, pointing at the moon. "Look! It -is as Tarzan said. Numa has sprung through the fires -and is devouring Goro. You called Tarzan names and -drove him from the tribe; now see how wise he was. -Let one of you who hated Tarzan go to Goro's aid. -See the eyes in the dark jungle all about Goro. He is -in danger and none can help him--none except Tarzan. -Soon Goro will be devoured by Numa and we shall have no -more light after Kudu seeks his lair. How shall we dance -the Dum-Dum without the light of Goro?" - -The apes trembled and whimpered. Any manifestation -of the powers of nature always filled them with terror, -for they could not understand. - -"Go and bring Tarzan," cried one, and then they all took up -the cry of "Tarzan!" "Bring Tarzan!" "He will save Goro." -But who was to travel the dark jungle by night to fetch -him? - -"I will go," volunteered Taug, and an instant later he -was off through the Stygian gloom toward the little -land-locked harbor by the sea. - -And as the tribe waited they watched the slow devouring -of the moon. Already Numa had eaten out a great -semicircular piece. At that rate Goro would be entirely gone -before Kudu came again. The apes trembled at the thought -of perpetual darkness by night. They could not sleep. -Restlessly they moved here and there among the branches -of trees, watching Numa of the skies at his deadly feast, -and listening for the coming of Taug with Tarzan. - -Goro was nearly gone when the apes heard the sounds of -the approach through the trees of the two they awaited, -and presently Tarzan, followed by Taug, swung into -a nearby tree. - -The ape-man wasted no time in idle words. In his hand was -his long bow and at his back hung a quiver full of arrows, -poisoned arrows that he had stolen from the village of -the blacks; just as he had stolen the bow. Up into a great -tree he clambered, higher and higher until he stood swaying -upon a small limb which bent low beneath his weight. -Here he had a clear and unobstructed view of the heavens. -He saw Goro and the inroads which the hungry Numa had made -into his shining surface. - -Raising his face to the moon, Tarzan shrilled forth -his hideous challenge. Faintly and from afar came -the roar of an answering lion. The apes shivered. -Numa of the skies had answered Tarzan. - -Then the ape-man fitted an arrow to his bow, and drawing -the shaft far back, aimed its point at the heart of Numa -where he lay in the heavens devouring Goro. There was a loud -twang as the released bolt shot into the dark heavens. -Again and again did Tarzan of the Apes launch his arrows -at Numa, and all the while the apes of the tribe of Kerchak -huddled together in terror. - -At last came a cry from Taug. "Look! Look!" he screamed. -"Numa is killed. Tarzan has killed Numa. See! Goro is -emerging from the belly of Numa," and, sure enough, the moon -was gradually emerging from whatever had devoured her, -whether it was Numa, the lion, or the shadow of the earth; -but were you to try to convince an ape of the tribe of -Kerchak that it was aught but Numa who so nearly devoured -Goro that night, or that another than Tarzan preserved -the brilliant god of their savage and mysterious rites -from a frightful death, you would have difficulty--and -a fight on your hands. - -And so Tarzan of the Apes came back to the tribe of Kerchak, -and in his coming he took a long stride toward the kingship, -which he ultimately won, for now the apes looked up to him -as a superior being. - -In all the tribe there was but one who was at all -skeptical about the plausibility of Tarzan's remarkable -rescue of Goro, and that one, strange as it may seem, -was Tarzan of the Apes. - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of Jungle Tales of Tarzan - |