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diff --git a/old/tzntr10.txt b/old/tzntr10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe4f91e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/tzntr10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10952 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Tarzan the Terrible, by Burroughs +#8 in our Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs +We are also doing the Pellucidar Sercies, the Mars Series, etc. + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +This etext was prepared by Judy Boss, Omaha, NE + + + + + +TARZAN +THE +TERRIBLE + +Edgar Rice Burroughs + + + + +CHAPTER + I The Pithecanthropus + II "To the Death!" + III Pan-at-lee + IV Tarzan-jad-guru + V In the Kor-ul-gryf + VI The Tor-o-don + VII Jungle Craft + VIII A-lur + IX Blood-Stained Altars + X The Forbidden Garden + XI The Sentence of Death + XII The Giant Stranger + XIII The Masquerader + XIV The Temple of the Gryf + XV "The King Is Dead!" + XVI The Secret Way + XVII By Jad-bal-lul +XVIII The Lion Pit of Tu-lur + XIX Diana of the Jungle + XX Silently in the Night + XXI The Maniac + XXII A Journey on a Gryf +XXIII Taken Alive + XXIV The Messenger of Death + XXV Home + Glossary + + + + +1 + +The Pithecanthropus + +SILENT as the shadows through which he moved, the great beast +slunk through the midnight jungle, his yellow-green eyes round +and staring, his sinewy tail undulating behind him, his head +lowered and flattened, and every muscle vibrant to the thrill of +the hunt. The jungle moon dappled an occasional clearing which +the great cat was always careful to avoid. Though he moved +through thick verdure across a carpet of innumerable twigs, +broken branches, and leaves, his passing gave forth no sound that +might have been apprehended by dull human ears. + +Apparently less cautious was the hunted thing moving even as +silently as the lion a hundred paces ahead of the tawny +carnivore, for instead of skirting the moon-splashed natural +clearings it passed directly across them, and by the tortuous +record of its spoor it might indeed be guessed that it sought +these avenues of least resistance, as well it might, since, +unlike its grim stalker, it walked erect upon two feet--it walked +upon two feet and was hairless except for a black thatch upon its +head; its arms were well shaped and muscular; its hands powerful +and slender with long tapering fingers and thumbs reaching almost +to the first joint of the index fingers. Its legs too were +shapely but its feet departed from the standards of all races of +men, except possibly a few of the lowest races, in that the great +toes protruded at right angles from the foot. + +Pausing momentarily in the full light of the gorgeous African +moon the creature turned an attentive ear to the rear and then, +his head lifted, his features might readily have been discerned +in the moonlight. They were strong, clean cut, and +regular--features that would have attracted attention for their +masculine beauty in any of the great capitals of the world. But +was this thing a man? It would have been hard for a watcher in +the trees to have decided as the lion's prey resumed its way +across the silver tapestry that Luna had laid upon the floor of +the dismal jungle, for from beneath the loin cloth of black fur +that girdled its thighs there depended a long hairless, white +tail. + +In one hand the creature carried a stout club, and suspended at +its left side from a shoulder belt was a short, sheathed knife, +while a cross belt supported a pouch at its right hip. Confining +these straps to the body and also apparently supporting the loin +cloth was a broad girdle which glittered in the moonlight as +though encrusted with virgin gold, and was clasped in the center +of the belly with a huge buckle of ornate design that +scintillated as with precious stones. + +Closer and closer crept Numa, the lion, to his intended victim, +and that the latter was not entirely unaware of his danger was +evidenced by the increasing frequency with which he turned his +ear and his sharp black eyes in the direction of the cat upon his +trail. He did not greatly increase his speed, a long swinging +walk where the open places permitted, but he loosened the knife +in its scabbard and at all times kept his club in readiness for +instant action. + +Forging at last through a narrow strip of dense jungle vegetation +the man-thing broke through into an almost treeless area of +considerable extent. For an instant he hesitated, glancing +quickly behind him and then up at the security of the branches of +the great trees waving overhead, but some greater urge than fear +or caution influenced his decision apparently, for he moved off +again across the little plain leaving the safety of the trees +behind him. At greater or less intervals leafy sanctuaries dotted +the grassy expanse ahead of him and the route he took, leading +from one to another, indicated that he had not entirely cast +discretion to the winds. But after the second tree had been left +behind the distance to the next was considerable, and it was then +that Numa walked from the concealing cover of the jungle and, +seeing his quarry apparently helpless before him, raised his tail +stiffly erect and charged. + +Two months--two long, weary months filled with hunger, with +thirst, with hardships, with disappointment, and, greater than +all, with gnawing pain--had passed since Tarzan of the Apes +learned from the diary of the dead German captain that his wife +still lived. A brief investigation in which he was +enthusiastically aided by the Intelligence Department of the +British East African Expedition revealed the fact that an attempt +had been made to keep Lady Jane in hiding in the interior, for +reasons of which only the German High Command might be cognizant. + +In charge of Lieutenant Obergatz and a detachment of native +German troops she had been sent across the border into the Congo +Free State. + +Starting out alone in search of her, Tarzan had succeeded in +finding the village in which she had been incarcerated only to +learn that she had escaped months before, and that the German +officer had disappeared at the same time. From there on the +stories of the chiefs and the warriors whom he quizzed, were +vague and often contradictory. Even the direction that the +fugitives had taken Tarzan could only guess at by piecing +together bits of fragmentary evidence gleaned from various +sources. + +Sinister conjectures were forced upon him by various observations +which he made in the village. One was incontrovertible proof that +these people were man-eaters; the other, the presence in the +village of various articles of native German uniforms and +equipment. At great risk and in the face of surly objection on +the part of the chief, the ape-man made a careful inspection of +every hut in the village from which at least a little ray of hope +resulted from the fact that he found no article that might have +belonged to his wife. + +Leaving the village he had made his way toward the southwest, +crossing, after the most appalling hardships, a vast waterless +steppe covered for the most part with dense thorn, coming at last +into a district that had probably never been previously entered +by any white man and which was known only in the legends of the +tribes whose country bordered it. Here were precipitous +mountains, well-watered plateaus, wide plains, and vast swampy +morasses, but neither the plains, nor the plateaus, nor the +mountains were accessible to him until after weeks of arduous +effort he succeeded in finding a spot where he might cross the +morasses--a hideous stretch infested by venomous snakes and other +larger dangerous reptiles. On several occasions he glimpsed at +distances or by night what might have been titanic reptilian +monsters, but as there were hippopotami, rhinoceri, and elephants +in great numbers in and about the marsh he was never positive +that the forms he saw were not of these. + +When at last he stood upon firm ground after crossing the +morasses he realized why it was that for perhaps countless ages +this territory had defied the courage and hardihood of the heroic +races of the outer world that had, after innumerable reverses and +unbelievable suffering penetrated to practically every other +region, from pole to pole. + +From the abundance and diversity of the game it might have +appeared that every known species of bird and beast and reptile +had sought here a refuge wherein they might take their last stand +against the encroaching multitudes of men that had steadily +spread themselves over the surface of the earth, wresting the +hunting grounds from the lower orders, from the moment that the +first ape shed his hair and ceased to walk upon his knuckles. +Even the species with which Tarzan was familiar showed here +either the results of a divergent line of evolution or an +unaltered form that had been transmitted without variation for +countless ages. + +Too, there were many hybrid strains, not the least interesting of +which to Tarzan was a yellow and black striped lion. Smaller +than the species with which Tarzan was familiar, but still a most +formidable beast, since it possessed in addition to sharp +saber-like canines the disposition of a devil. To Tarzan it +presented evidence that tigers had once roamed the jungles of +Africa, possibly giant saber-tooths of another epoch, and these +apparently had crossed with lions with the resultant terrors that +he occasionally encountered at the present day. + +The true lions of this new, Old World differed but little from +those with which he was familiar; in size and conformation they +were almost identical, but instead of shedding the leopard spots +of cubhood, they retained them through life as definitely marked +as those of the leopard. + +Two months of effort had revealed no slightest evidence that she +he sought had entered this beautiful yet forbidding land. His +investigation, however, of the cannibal village and his +questioning of other tribes in the neighborhood had convinced him +that if Lady Jane still lived it must be in this direction that +he seek her, since by a process of elimination he had reduced the +direction of her flight to only this possibility. How she had +crossed the morass he could not guess and yet something within +seemed to urge upon him belief that she had crossed it, and that +if she still lived it was here that she must be sought. But this +unknown, untraversed wild was of vast extent; grim, forbidding +mountains blocked his way, torrents tumbling from rocky +fastnesses impeded his progress, and at every turn he was forced +to match wits and muscles with the great carnivora that he might +procure sustenance. + +Time and again Tarzan and Numa stalked the same quarry and now +one, now the other bore off the prize. Seldom however did the +ape-man go hungry for the country was rich in game animals and +birds and fish, in fruit and the countless other forms of +vegetable life upon which the jungle-bred man may subsist. + +Tarzan often wondered why in so rich a country he found no +evidences of man and had at last come to the conclusion that the +parched, thorn-covered steppe and the hideous morasses had formed +a sufficient barrier to protect this country effectively from the +inroads of mankind. + +After days of searching he had succeeded finally in discovering a +pass through the mountains and, coming down upon the opposite +side, had found himself in a country practically identical with +that which he had left. The hunting was good and at a water hole +in the mouth of a canon where it debouched upon a tree-covered +plain Bara, the deer, fell an easy victim to the ape-man's +cunning. + +It was just at dusk. The voices of great four-footed hunters rose +now and again from various directions, and as the canon +afforded among its trees no comfortable retreat the ape-man +shouldered the carcass of the deer and started downward onto the +plain. At its opposite side rose lofty trees--a great forest +which suggested to his practiced eye a mighty jungle. Toward this +the ape-man bent his step, but when midway of the plain he +discovered standing alone such a tree as best suited him for a +night's abode, swung lightly to its branches and, presently, a +comfortable resting place. + +Here he ate the flesh of Bara and when satisfied carried the +balance of the carcass to the opposite side of the tree where he +deposited it far above the ground in a secure place. Returning +to his crotch he settled himself for sleep and in another moment +the roars of the lions and the howlings of the lesser cats fell +upon deaf ears. + +The usual noises of the jungle composed rather than disturbed the +ape-man but an unusual sound, however imperceptible to the +awakened ear of civilized man, seldom failed to impinge upon the +consciousness of Tarzan, however deep his slumber, and so it was +that when the moon was high a sudden rush of feet across the +grassy carpet in the vicinity of his tree brought him to alert +and ready activity. Tarzan does not awaken as you and I with the +weight of slumber still upon his eyes and brain, for did the +creatures of the wild awaken thus, their awakenings would be few. +As his eyes snapped open, clear and bright, so, clear and bright +upon the nerve centers of his brain, were registered the various +perceptions of all his senses. + +Almost beneath him, racing toward his tree was what at first +glance appeared to be an almost naked white man, yet even at the +first instant of discovery the long, white tail projecting +rearward did not escape the ape-man. Behind the fleeing figure, +escaping, came Numa, the lion, in full charge. Voiceless the +prey, voiceless the killer; as two spirits in a dead world the +two moved in silent swiftness toward the culminating tragedy of +this grim race. + +Even as his eyes opened and took in the scene beneath him--even +in that brief instant of perception, followed reason, judgment, +and decision, so rapidly one upon the heels of the other that +almost simultaneously the ape-man was in mid-air, for he had seen +a white-skinned creature cast in a mold similar to his own, +pursued by Tarzan's hereditary enemy. So close was the lion to +the fleeing man-thing that Tarzan had no time carefully to choose +the method of his attack. As a diver leaps from the springboard +headforemost into the waters beneath, so Tarzan of the Apes dove +straight for Numa, the lion; naked in his right hand the blade of +his father that so many times before had tasted the blood of +lions. + +A raking talon caught Tarzan on the side, inflicting a long, deep +wound and then the ape-man was on Numa's back and the blade was +sinking again and again into the savage side. Nor was the +man-thing either longer fleeing, or idle. He too, creature of the +wild, had sensed on the instant the truth of the miracle of his +saving, and turning in his tracks, had leaped forward with raised +bludgeon to Tarzan's assistance and Numa's undoing. A single +terrific blow upon the flattened skull of the beast laid him +insensible and then as Tarzan's knife found the wild heart a few +convulsive shudders and a sudden relaxation marked the passing of +the carnivore. + +Leaping to his feet the ape-man placed his foot upon the carcass +of his kill and, raising his face to Goro, the moon, voiced the +savage victory cry that had so often awakened the echoes of his +native jungle. + +As the hideous scream burst from the ape-man's lips the man-thing +stepped quickly back as in sudden awe, but when Tarzan returned +his hunting knife to its sheath and turned toward him the other +saw in the quiet dignity of his demeanor no cause for +apprehension. + +For a moment the two stood appraising each other, and then the +man-thing spoke. Tarzan realized that the creature before him was +uttering articulate sounds which expressed in speech, though in a +language with which Tarzan was unfamiliar, the thoughts of a man +possessing to a greater or less extent the same powers of reason +that he possessed. In other words, that though the creature +before him had the tail and thumbs and great toes of a monkey, it +was, in all other respects, quite evidently a man. + +The blood, which was now flowing down Tarzan's side, caught the +creature's attention. From the pocket-pouch at his side he took a +small bag and approaching Tarzan indicated by signs that he +wished the ape-man to lie down that he might treat the wound, +whereupon, spreading the edges of the cut apart, he sprinkled the +raw flesh with powder from the little bag. The pain of the wound +was as nothing to the exquisite torture of the remedy but, +accustomed to physical suffering, the ape-man withstood it +stoically and in a few moments not only had the bleeding ceased +but the pain as well. + +In reply to the soft and far from unpleasant modulations of the +other's voice, Tarzan spoke in various tribal dialects of the +interior as well as in the language of the great apes, but it was +evident that the man understood none of these. Seeing that they +could not make each other understood, the pithecanthropus +advanced toward Tarzan and placing his left hand over his own +heart laid the palm of his right hand over the heart of the +ape-man. To the latter the action appeared as a form of friendly +greeting and, being versed in the ways of uncivilized races, he +responded in kind as he realized it was doubtless intended that +he should. His action seemed to satisfy and please his new-found +acquaintance, who immediately fell to talking again and finally, +with his head tipped back, sniffed the air in the direction of +the tree above them and then suddenly pointing toward the carcass +of Bara, the deer, he touched his stomach in a sign language +which even the densest might interpret. With a wave of his hand +Tarzan invited his guest to partake of the remains of his savage +repast, and the other, leaping nimbly as a little monkey to the +lower branches of the tree, made his way quickly to the flesh, +assisted always by his long, strong sinuous tail. + +The pithecanthropus ate in silence, cutting small strips from the +deer's loin with his keen knife. From his crotch in the tree +Tarzan watched his companion, noting the preponderance of human +attributes which were doubtless accentuated by the paradoxical +thumbs, great toes, and tail. + +He wondered if this creature was representative of some strange +race or if, what seemed more likely, but an atavism. Either +supposition would have seemed preposterous enough did he not have +before him the evidence of the creature's existence. There he +was, however, a tailed man with distinctly arboreal hands and +feet. His trappings, gold encrusted and jewel studded, could have +been wrought only by skilled artisans; but whether they were the +work of this individual or of others like him, or of an entirely +different race, Tarzan could not, of course, determine. + +His meal finished, the guest wiped his fingers and lips with +leaves broken from a nearby branch, looked up at Tarzan with a +pleasant smile that revealed a row of strong white teeth, the +canines of which were no longer than Tarzan's own, spoke a few +words which Tarzan judged were a polite expression of thanks and +then sought a comfortable place in the tree for the night. + +The earth was shadowed in the darkness which precedes the dawn +when Tarzan was awakened by a violent shaking of the tree in +which he had found shelter. As he opened his eyes he saw that his +companion was also astir, and glancing around quickly to +apprehend the cause of the disturbance, the ape-man was astounded +at the sight which met his eyes. + +The dim shadow of a colossal form reared close beside the tree +and he saw that it was the scraping of the giant body against the +branches that had awakened him. That such a tremendous creature +could have approached so closely without disturbing him filled +Tarzan with both wonderment and chagrin. In the gloom the ape-man +at first conceived the intruder to be an elephant; yet, if so, +one of greater proportions than any he had ever before seen, but +as the dim outlines became less indistinct he saw on a line with +his eyes and twenty feet above the ground the dim silhouette of a +grotesquely serrated back that gave the impression of a creature +whose each and every spinal vertebra grew a thick, heavy horn. +Only a portion of the back was visible to the ape-man, the rest +of the body being lost in the dense shadows beneath the tree, +from whence there now arose the sound of giant jaws powerfully +crunching flesh and bones. From the odors that rose to the +ape-man's sensitive nostrils he presently realized that beneath +him was some huge reptile feeding upon the carcass of the lion +that had been slain there earlier in the night. + +As Tarzan's eyes, straining with curiosity, bored futilely into +the dark shadows he felt a light touch upon his shoulder, and, +turning, saw that his companion was attempting to attract his +attention. The creature, pressing a forefinger to his own lips as +to enjoin silence, attempted by pulling on Tarzan's arm to +indicate that they should leave at once. + +Realizing that he was in a strange country, evidently infested by +creatures of titanic size, with the habits and powers of which he +was entirely unfamiliar, the ape-man permitted himself to be +drawn away. With the utmost caution the pithecanthropus descended +the tree upon the opposite side from the great nocturnal prowler, +and, closely followed by Tarzan, moved silently away through the +night across the plain. + +The ape-man was rather loath thus to relinquish an opportunity to +inspect a creature which he realized was probably entirely +different from anything in his past experience; yet he was wise +enough to know when discretion was the better part of valor and +now, as in the past, he yielded to that law which dominates the +kindred of the wild, preventing them from courting danger +uselessly, whose lives are sufficiently filled with danger in +their ordinary routine of feeding and mating. + +As the rising sun dispelled the shadows of the night, Tarzan +found himself again upon the verge of a great forest into which +his guide plunged, taking nimbly to the branches of the trees +through which he made his way with the celerity of long habitude +and hereditary instinct, but though aided by a prehensile tail, +fingers, and toes, the man-thing moved through the forest with no +greater ease or surety than did the giant ape-man. + +It was during this journey that Tarzan recalled the wound in his +side inflicted upon him the previous night by the raking talons +of Numa, the lion, and examining it was surprised to discover +that not only was it painless but along its edges were no +indications of inflammation, the results doubtless of the +antiseptic powder his strange companion had sprinkled upon it. + +They had proceeded for a mile or two when Tarzan's companion came +to earth upon a grassy slope beneath a great tree whose branches +overhung a clear brook. Here they drank and Tarzan discovered the +water to be not only deliciously pure and fresh but of an icy +temperature that indicated its rapid descent from the lofty +mountains of its origin. + +Casting aside his loin cloth and weapons Tarzan entered the +little pool beneath the tree and after a moment emerged, greatly +refreshed and filled with a keen desire to breakfast. As he came +out of the pool he noticed his companion examining him with a +puzzled expression upon his face. Taking the ape-man by the +shoulder he turned him around so that Tarzan's back was toward +him and then, touching the end of Tarzan's spine with his +forefinger, he curled his own tail up over his shoulder and, +wheeling the ape-man about again, pointed first at Tarzan and +then at his own caudal appendage, a look of puzzlement upon his +face, the while he jabbered excitedly in his strange tongue. + +The ape-man realized that probably for the first time his +companion had discovered that he was tailless by nature rather +than by accident, and so he called attention to his own great +toes and thumbs to further impress upon the creature that they +were of different species. + +The fellow shook his head dubiously as though entirely unable to +comprehend why Tarzan should differ so from him but at last, +apparently giving the problem up with a shrug, he laid aside his +own harness, skin, and weapons and entered the pool. + +His ablutions completed and his meager apparel redonned he seated +himself at the foot of the tree and motioning Tarzan to a place +beside him, opened the pouch that hung at his right side taking +from it strips of dried flesh and a couple of handfuls of +thin-shelled nuts with which Tarzan was unfamiliar. Seeing the +other break them with his teeth and eat the kernel, Tarzan +followed the example thus set him, discovering the meat to be +rich and well flavored. The dried flesh also was far from +unpalatable, though it had evidently been jerked without salt, a +commodity which Tarzan imagined might be rather difficult to +obtain in this locality. + +As they ate Tarzan's companion pointed to the nuts, the dried +meat, and various other nearby objects, in each instance +repeating what Tarzan readily discovered must be the names of +these things in the creature's native language. The ape-man could +but smile at this evident desire upon the part of his new-found +acquaintance to impart to him instructions that eventually might +lead to an exchange of thoughts between them. Having already +mastered several languages and a multitude of dialects the +ape-man felt that he could readily assimilate another even though +this appeared one entirely unrelated to any with which he was +familiar. + +So occupied were they with their breakfast and the lesson that +neither was aware of the beady eyes glittering down upon them +from above; nor was Tarzan cognizant of any impending danger +until the instant that a huge, hairy body leaped full upon his +companion from the branches above them. + + + +2 + +"To the Death!" + +IN THE moment of discovery Tarzan saw that the creature was +almost a counterpart of his companion in size and conformation, +with the exception that his body was entirely clothed with a coat +of shaggy black hair which almost concealed his features, while +his harness and weapons were similar to those of the creature he +had attacked. Ere Tarzan could prevent the creature had struck +the ape-man's companion a blow upon the head with his knotted +club that felled him, unconscious, to the earth; but before he +could inflict further injury upon his defenseless prey the +ape-man had closed with him. + +Instantly Tarzan realized that he was locked with a creature of +almost superhuman strength. The sinewy fingers of a powerful hand +sought his throat while the other lifted the bludgeon above his +head. But if the strength of the hairy attacker was great, great +too was that of his smooth-skinned antagonist. Swinging a single +terrific blow with clenched fist to the point of the other's +chin, Tarzan momentarily staggered his assailant and then his own +fingers closed upon the shaggy throat, as with the other hand he +seized the wrist of the arm that swung the club. With equal +celerity he shot his right leg behind the shaggy brute and +throwing his weight forward hurled the thing over his hip heavily +to the ground, at the same time precipitating his own body upon +the other's chest. + +With the shock of the impact the club fell from the brute's hand +and Tarzan's hold was wrenched from its throat. Instantly the two +were locked in a deathlike embrace. Though the creature bit at +Tarzan the latter was quickly aware that this was not a +particularly formidable method of offense or defense, since its +canines were scarcely more developed than his own. The thing that +he had principally to guard against was the sinuous tail which +sought steadily to wrap itself about his throat and against which +experience had afforded him no defense. + +Struggling and snarling the two rolled growling about the sward +at the foot of the tree, first one on top and then the other but +each more occupied at present in defending his throat from the +other's choking grasp than in aggressive, offensive tactics. But +presently the ape-man saw his opportunity and as they rolled +about he forced the creature closer and closer to the pool, upon +the banks of which the battle was progressing. At last they lay +upon the very verge of the water and now it remained for Tarzan +to precipitate them both beneath the surface but in such a way +that he might remain on top. + +At the same instant there came within range of Tarzan's vision, +just behind the prostrate form of his companion, the crouching, +devil-faced figure of the striped saber-tooth hybrid, eyeing him +with snarling, malevolent face. + +Almost simultaneously Tarzan's shaggy antagonist discovered the +menacing figure of the great cat. Immediately he ceased his +belligerent activities against Tarzan and, jabbering and +chattering to the ape-man, he tried to disengage himself from +Tarzan's hold but in such a way that indicated that as far as he +was concerned their battle was over. Appreciating the danger to +his unconscious companion and being anxious to protect him from +the saber-tooth the ape-man relinquished his hold upon his +adversary and together the two rose to their feet. + +Drawing his knife Tarzan moved slowly toward the body of his +companion, expecting that his recent antagonist would grasp the +opportunity for escape. To his surprise, however, the beast, +after regaining its club, advanced at his side. + +The great cat, flattened upon its belly, remained motionless +except for twitching tail and snarling lips where it lay perhaps +fifty feet beyond the body of the pithecanthropus. As Tarzan +stepped over the body of the latter he saw the eyelids quiver and +open, and in his heart he felt a strange sense of relief that the +creature was not dead and a realization that without his +suspecting it there had arisen within his savage bosom a bond of +attachment for this strange new friend. + +Tarzan continued to approach the saber-tooth, nor did the shaggy +beast at his right lag behind. Closer and closer they came until +at a distance of about twenty feet the hybrid charged. Its rush +was directed toward the shaggy manlike ape who halted in his +tracks with upraised bludgeon to meet the assault. Tarzan, on the +contrary, leaped forward and with a celerity second not even to +that of the swift-moving cat, he threw himself headlong upon him +as might a Rugby tackler on an American gridiron. His right arm +circled the beast's neck in front of the right shoulder, his left +behind the left foreleg, and so great was the force of the impact +that the two rolled over and over several times upon the ground, +the cat screaming and clawing to liberate itself that it might +turn upon its attacker, the man clinging desperately to his hold. + +Seemingly the attack was one of mad, senseless ferocity unguided +by either reason or skill. Nothing, however, could have been +farther from the truth than such an assumption since every muscle +in the ape-man's giant frame obeyed the dictates of the cunning +mind that long experience had trained to meet every exigency of +such an encounter. The long, powerful legs, though seemingly +inextricably entangled with the hind feet of the clawing cat, +ever as by a miracle, escaped the raking talons and yet at just +the proper instant in the midst of all the rolling and tossing +they were where they should be to carry out the ape-man's plan of +offense. So that on the instant that the cat believed it had won +the mastery of its antagonist it was jerked suddenly upward as +the ape-man rose to his feet, holding the striped back close +against his body as he rose and forcing it backward until it +could but claw the air helplessly. + +Instantly the shaggy black rushed in with drawn knife which it +buried in the beast's heart. For a few moments Tarzan retained +his hold but when the body had relaxed in final dissolution he +pushed it from him and the two who had formerly been locked in +mortal combat stood facing each other across the body of the +common foe. + +Tarzan waited, ready either for peace or war. Presently two +shaggy black hands were raised; the left was laid upon its own +heart and the right extended until the palm touched Tarzan's +breast. It was the same form of friendly salutation with which +the pithecanthropus had sealed his alliance with the ape-man and +Tarzan, glad of every ally he could win in this strange and +savage world, quickly accepted the proffered friendship. + +At the conclusion of the brief ceremony Tarzan, glancing in the +direction of the hairless pithecanthropus, discovered that the +latter had recovered consciousness and was sitting erect watching +them intently. He now rose slowly and at the same time the shaggy +black turned in his direction and addressed him in what evidently +was their common language. The hairless one replied and the two +approached each other slowly. Tarzan watched interestedly the +outcome of their meeting. They halted a few paces apart, first +one and then the other speaking rapidly but without apparent +excitement, each occasionally glancing or nodding toward Tarzan, +indicating that he was to some extent the subject of their +conversation. + +Presently they advanced again until they met, whereupon was +repeated the brief ceremony of alliance which had previously +marked the cessation of hostilities between Tarzan and the black. +They then advanced toward the ape-man addressing him earnestly as +though endeavoring to convey to him some important information. +Presently, however, they gave it up as an unprofitable job and, +resorting to sign language, conveyed to Tarzan that they were +proceeding upon their way together and were urging him to +accompany them. + +As the direction they indicated was a route which Tarzan had not +previously traversed he was extremely willing to accede to their +request, as he had determined thoroughly to explore this unknown +land before definitely abandoning search for Lady Jane therein. + +For several days their way led through the foothills parallel to +the lofty range towering above. Often were they menaced by the +savage denizens of this remote fastness, and occasionally Tarzan +glimpsed weird forms of gigantic proportions amidst the shadows +of the nights. + +On the third day they came upon a large natural cave in the face +of a low cliff at the foot of which tumbled one of the numerous +mountain brooks that watered the plain below and fed the morasses +in the lowlands at the country's edge. Here the three took up +their temporary abode where Tarzan's instruction in the language +of his companions progressed more rapidly than while on the +march. + +The cave gave evidence of having harbored other manlike forms in +the past. Remnants of a crude, rock fireplace remained and the +walls and ceiling were blackened with the smoke of many fires. +Scratched in the soot, and sometimes deeply into the rock +beneath, were strange hieroglyphics and the outlines of beasts +and birds and reptiles, some of the latter of weird form +suggesting the extinct creatures of Jurassic times. Some of the +more recently made hieroglyphics Tarzan's companions read with +interest and commented upon, and then with the points of their +knives they too added to the possibly age-old record of the +blackened walls. + +Tarzan's curiosity was aroused, but the only explanation at which +he could arrive was that he was looking upon possibly the world's +most primitive hotel register. At least it gave him a further +insight into the development of the strange creatures with which +Fate had thrown him. Here were men with the tails of monkeys, one +of them as hair covered as any fur-bearing brute of the lower +orders, and yet it was evident that they possessed not only a +spoken, but a written language. The former he was slowly +mastering and at this new evidence of unlooked-for civilization +in creatures possessing so many of the physical attributes of +beasts, Tarzan's curiosity was still further piqued and his +desire quickly to master their tongue strengthened, with the +result that he fell to with even greater assiduity to the task he +had set himself. Already he knew the names of his companions and +the common names of the fauna and flora with which they had most +often come in contact. + +Ta-den, he of the hairless, white skin, having assumed the +role of tutor, prosecuted his task with a singleness of +purpose that was reflected in his pupil's rapid mastery of +Ta-den's mother tongue. Om-at, the hairy black, also seemed to +feel that there rested upon his broad shoulders a portion of the +burden of responsibility for Tarzan's education, with the result +that either one or the other of them was almost constantly +coaching the ape-man during his waking hours. The result was only +what might have been expected--a rapid assimilation of the +teachings to the end that before any of them realized it, +communication by word of mouth became an accomplished fact. + +Tarzan explained to his companions the purpose of his mission but +neither could give him any slightest thread of hope to weave into +the fabric of his longing. Never had there been in their country +a woman such as he described, nor any tailless man other than +himself that they ever had seen. + +"I have been gone from A-lur while Bu, the moon, has eaten seven +times," said Ta-den. "Many things may happen in seven times +twenty-eight days; but I doubt that your woman could have entered +our country across the terrible morasses which even you found an +almost insurmountable obstacle, and if she had, could she have +survived the perils that you already have encountered beside +those of which you have yet to learn? Not even our own women +venture into the savage lands beyond the cities." + +"'A-lur,' Light-city, City of Light," mused Tarzan, translating +the word into his own tongue. "And where is A-lur?" he asked. "Is +it your city, Ta-den, and Om-at's?" + +"It is mine," replied the hairless one; "but not Om-at's. The +Waz-don have no cities--they live in the trees of the forests and +the caves of the hills--is it not so, black man?" he concluded, +turning toward the hairy giant beside him. + +"Yes," replied Om-at, "We Waz-don are free--only the Hodon +imprison themselves in cities. I would not be a white man!" + +Tarzan smiled. Even here was the racial distinction between white +man and black man--Ho-don and Waz-don. Not even the fact that +they appeared to be equals in the matter of intelligence made any +difference--one was white and one was black, and it was easy to +see that the white considered himself superior to the other--one +could see it in his quiet smile. + +"Where is A-lur?" Tarzan asked again. "You are returning to it?" + +"It is beyond the mountains," replied Ta-den. "I do not return to +it--not yet. Not until Ko-tan is no more." + +"Ko-tan?" queried Tarzan. + +"Ko-tan is king," explained the pithecanthropus. "He rules this +land. I was one of his warriors. I lived in the palace of Ko-tan +and there I met O-lo-a, his daughter. We loved, Likestar-light, +and I; but Ko-tan would have none of me. He sent me away to fight +with the men of the village of Dak-at, who had refused to pay his +tribute to the king, thinking that I would be killed, for Dak-at +is famous for his many fine warriors. And I was not killed. +Instead I returned victorious with the tribute and with Dak-at +himself my prisoner; but Ko-tan was not pleased because he saw +that O-lo-a loved me even more than before, her love being +strengthened and fortified by pride in my achievement. + +"Powerful is my father, Ja-don, the Lion-man, chief of the +largest village outside of A-lur. Him Ko-tan hesitated to affront +and so he could not but praise me for my success, though he did +it with half a smile. But you do not understand! It is what we +call a smile that moves only the muscles of the face and affects +not the light of the eyes--it means hypocrisy and duplicity. I +must be praised and rewarded. What better than that he reward me +with the hand of O-lo-a, his daughter? But no, he saves O-lo-a +for Bu-lot, son of Mo-sar, the chief whose great-grandfather was +king and who thinks that he should be king. Thus would Ko-tan +appease the wrath of Mo-sar and win the friendship of those who +think with Mo-sar that Mo-sar should be king. + +"But what reward shall repay the faithful Ta-den? Greatly do we +honor our priests. Within the temples even the chiefs and the +king himself bow down to them. No greater honor could Ko-tan +confer upon a subject--who wished to be a priest, but I did not +so wish. Priests other than the high priest must become eunuchs +for they may never marry. + +"It was O-lo-a herself who brought word to me that her father had +given the commands that would set in motion the machinery of the +temple. A messenger was on his way in search of me to summon me +to Ko-tan's presence. To have refused the priesthood once it was +offered me by the king would have been to have affronted the +temple and the gods--that would have meant death; but if I did +not appear before Ko-tan I would not have to refuse anything. +O-lo-a and I decided that I must not appear. It was better to +fly, carrying in my bosom a shred of hope, than to remain and, +with my priesthood, abandon hope forever. + +"Beneath the shadows of the great trees that grow within the +palace grounds I pressed her to me for, perhaps, the last time +and then, lest by ill-fate I meet the messenger, I scaled the +great wall that guards the palace and passed through the darkened +city. My name and rank carried me beyond the city gate. Since +then I have wandered far from the haunts of the Ho-don but strong +within me is the urge to return if even but to look from without +her walls upon the city that holds her most dear to me and again +to visit the village of my birth, to see again my father and my +mother." + +"But the risk is too great?" asked Tarzan. + +"It is great, but not too great," replied Ta-den. "I shall go." + +"And I shall go with you, if I may," said the ape-man, "for I +must see this City of Light, this A-lur of yours, and search +there for my lost mate even though you believe that there is +little chance that I find her. And you, Om-at, do you come with +us?" + +"Why not?" asked the hairy one. "The lairs of my tribe lie in the +crags above A-lur and though Es-sat, our chief, drove me out I +should like to return again, for there is a she there upon whom I +should be glad to look once more and who would be glad to look +upon me. Yes, I will go with you. Es-sat feared that I might +become chief and who knows but that Es-sat was right. But +Pan-at-lee! it is she I seek first even before a chieftainship." + +"We three, then, shall travel together," said Tarzan. + +"And fight together," added Ta-den; "the three as one," and as he +spoke he drew his knife and held it above his head. + +"The three as one," repeated Om-at, drawing his weapon and +duplicating Ta-den's act. "It is spoken!" + +"The three as one!" cried Tarzan of the Apes. "To the death!" and +his blade flashed in the sunlight. + +"Let us go, then," said Om-at; "my knife is dry and cries aloud +for the blood of Es-sat." + +The trail over which Ta-den and Om-at led and which scarcely +could be dignified even by the name of trail was suited more to +mountain sheep, monkeys, or birds than to man; but the three that +followed it were trained to ways which no ordinary man might +essay. Now, upon the lower slopes, it led through dense forests +where the ground was so matted with fallen trees and over-rioting +vines and brush that the way held always to the swaying branches +high above the tangle; again it skirted yawning gorges whose +slippery-faced rocks gave but momentary foothold even to the bare +feet that lightly touched them as the three leaped chamois-like +from one precarious foothold to the next. Dizzy and terrifying +was the way that Om-at chose across the summit as he led them +around the shoulder of a towering crag that rose a sheer two +thousand feet of perpendicular rock above a tumbling river. And +when at last they stood upon comparatively level ground again +Om-at turned and looked at them both intently and especially at +Tarzan of the Apes. + +"You will both do," he said. "You are fit companions for Om-at, +the Waz-don." + +"What do you mean?" asked Tarzan. + +"I brought you this way," replied the black, "to learn if either +lacked the courage to follow where Om-at led. It is here that the +young warriors of Es-sat come to prove their courage. And yet, +though we are born and raised upon cliff sides, it is considered +no disgrace to admit that Pastar-ul-ved, the Father of Mountains, +has defeated us, for of those who try it only a few succeed--the +bones of the others lie at the feet of Pastar-ul-ved." + +Ta-den laughed. "I would not care to come this way often," he +said. + +"No," replied Om-at; "but it has shortened our journey by at +least a full day. So much the sooner shall Tarzan look upon the +Valley of Jad-ben-Otho. Come!" and he led the way upward along +the shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved until there lay spread below them a +scene of mystery and of beauty--a green valley girt by towering +cliffs of marble whiteness--a green valley dotted by deep blue +lakes and crossed by the blue trail of a winding river. In the +center a city of the whiteness of the marble cliffs--a city which +even at so great a distance evidenced a strange, yet artistic +architecture. Outside the city there were visible about the +valley isolated groups of buildings--sometimes one, again two and +three and four in a cluster--but always of the same glaring +whiteness, and always in some fantastic form. + +About the valley the cliffs were occasionally cleft by deep +gorges, verdure filled, giving the appearance of green rivers +rioting downward toward a central sea of green. + +"Jad Pele ul Jad-ben-Otho," murmured Tarzan in the tongue of the +pithecanthropi; "The Valley of the Great God--it is beautiful!" + +"Here, in A-lur, lives Ko-tan, the king, ruler over all +Pal-ul-don," said Ta-den. + +"And here in these gorges live the Waz-don," exclaimed Om-at, +"who do not acknowledge that Ko-tan is the ruler over all the +Land-of-man." + +Ta-den smiled and shrugged. "We will not quarrel, you and I," he +said to Om-at, "over that which all the ages have not proved +sufficient time in which to reconcile the Ho-don and Waz-don; but +let me whisper to you a secret, Om-at. The Ho-don live together +in greater or less peace under one ruler so that when danger +threatens them they face the enemy with many warriors, for every +fighting Ho-don of Pal-ul-don is there. But you Waz-don, how is +it with you? You have a dozen kings who fight not only with the +Ho-don but with one another. When one of your tribes goes forth +upon the fighting trail, even against the Ho-don, it must leave +behind sufficient warriors to protect its women and its children +from the neighbors upon either hand. When we want eunuchs for the +temples or servants for the fields or the homes we march forth in +great numbers upon one of your villages. You cannot even flee, +for upon either side of you are enemies and though you fight +bravely we come back with those who will presently be eunuchs in +the temples and servants in our fields and homes. So long as the +Waz-don are thus foolish the Ho-don will dominate and their king +will be king of Pal-ul-don." + +"Perhaps you are right," admitted Om-at. "It is because our +neighbors are fools, each thinking that his tribe is the greatest +and should rule among the Waz-don. They will not admit that the +warriors of my tribe are the bravest and our shes the most +beautiful." + +Ta-den grinned. "Each of the others presents precisely the same +arguments that you present, Om-at," he said, "which, my friend, +is the strongest bulwark of defense possessed by the Ho-don." + +"Come!" exclaimed Tarzan; "such discussions often lead to +quarrels and we three must have no quarrels. I, of course, am +interested in learning what I can of the political and economic +conditions of your land; I should like to know something of your +religion; but not at the expense of bitterness between my only +friends in Pal-ul-don. Possibly, however, you hold to the same +god?" + +"There indeed we do differ," cried Om-at, somewhat bitterly and +with a trace of excitement in his voice. + +"Differ!" almost shouted Ta-den; "and why should we not differ? +Who could agree with the preposterous----" + +"Stop!" cried Tarzan. "Now, indeed, have I stirred up a hornets' +nest. Let us speak no more of matters political or religious." + +"That is wiser," agreed Om-at; "but I might mention, for your +information, that the one and only god has a long tail." + +"It is sacrilege," cried Ta-den, laying his hand upon his knife; +"Jad-ben-Otho has no tail!" + +"Stop!" shrieked Om-at, springing forward; but instantly Tarzan +interposed himself between them. + +"Enough!" he snapped. "Let us be true to our oaths of friendship +that we may be honorable in the sight of God in whatever form we +conceive Him." + +"You are right, Tailless One," said Ta-den. "Come, Om-at, let us +look after our friendship and ourselves, secure in the conviction +that Jad-ben-Otho is sufficiently powerful to look after +himself." + +"Done!" agreed Om-at, "but----" + +"No 'buts,' Om-at," admonished Tarzan. + +The shaggy black shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Shall we +make our way down toward the valley?" he asked. "The gorge below +us is uninhabited; that to the left contains the caves of my +people. I would see Pan-at-lee once more. Ta-den would visit his +father in the valley below and Tarzan seeks entrance to A-lur in +search of the mate that would be better dead than in the clutches +of the Ho-don priests of Jad-ben-Otho. How shall we proceed?" + +"Let us remain together as long as possible," urged Ta-den. +"You, Om-at, must seek Pan-at-lee by night and by stealth, for +three, even we three, may not hope to overcome Es-sat and all his +warriors. At any time may we go to the village where my father is +chief, for Ja-don always will welcome the friends of his son. But +for Tarzan to enter A-lur is another matter, though there is a +way and he has the courage to put it to the test--listen, come +close for Jad-ben-Otho has keen ears and this he must not hear," +and with his lips close to the ears of his companions Ta-den, the +Tall-tree, son of Ja-don, the Lion-man, unfolded his daring plan. + +And at the same moment, a hundred miles away, a lithe figure, +naked but for a loin cloth and weapons, moved silently across a +thorn-covered, waterless steppe, searching always along the +ground before him with keen eyes and sensitive nostrils. + + + +3 + +Pan-at-lee + +NIGHT had fallen upon unchartered Pal-ul-don. A slender moon, low +in the west, bathed the white faces of the chalk cliffs presented +to her, in a mellow, unearthly glow. Black were the shadows in +Kor-ul-ja, Gorge-of-lions, where dwelt the tribe of the same name +under Es-sat, their chief. From an aperture near the summit of +the lofty escarpment a hairy figure emerged--the head and +shoulders first--and fierce eyes scanned the cliff side in every +direction. + +It was Es-sat, the chief. To right and left and below he looked +as though to assure himself that he was unobserved, but no other +figure moved upon the cliff face, nor did another hairy body +protrude from any of the numerous cave mouths from the high-flung +abode of the chief to the habitations of the more lowly members +of the tribe nearer the cliff's base. Then he moved outward upon +the sheer face of the white chalk wall. In the half-light of the +baby moon it appeared that the heavy, shaggy black figure moved +across the face of the perpendicular wall in some miraculous +manner, but closer examination would have revealed stout pegs, as +large around as a man's wrist protruding from holes in the cliff +into which they were driven. Es-sat's four handlike members and +his long, sinuous tail permitted him to move with consummate ease +whither he chose--a gigantic rat upon a mighty wall. As he +progressed upon his way he avoided the cave mouths, passing +either above or below those that lay in his path. + +The outward appearance of these caves was similar. An opening +from eight to as much as twenty feet long by eight high and four +to six feet deep was cut into the chalklike rock of the cliff, in +the back of this large opening, which formed what might be +described as the front veranda of the home, was an opening about +three feet wide and six feet high, evidently forming the doorway +to the interior apartment or apartments. On either side of this +doorway were smaller openings which it were easy to assume were +windows through which light and air might find their way to the +inhabitants. Similar windows were also dotted over the cliff +face between the entrance porches, suggesting that the entire +face of the cliff was honeycombed with apartments. From many of +these smaller apertures small streams of water trickled down the +escarpment, and the walls above others was blackened as by smoke. +Where the water ran the wall was eroded to a depth of from a few +inches to as much as a foot, suggesting that some of the tiny +streams had been trickling downward to the green carpet of +vegetation below for ages. + +In this primeval setting the great pithecanthropus aroused no +jarring discord for he was as much a part of it as the trees that +grew upon the summit of the cliff or those that hid their feet +among the dank ferns in the bottom of the gorge. + +Now he paused before an entrance-way and listened and then, +noiselessly as the moonlight upon the trickling waters, he merged +with the shadows of the outer porch. At the doorway leading into +the interior he paused again, listening, and then quietly pushing +aside the heavy skin that covered the aperture he passed within a +large chamber hewn from the living rock. From the far end, +through another doorway, shone a light, dimly. Toward this he +crept with utmost stealth, his naked feet giving forth no sound. +The knotted club that had been hanging at his back from a thong +about his neck he now removed and carried in his left hand. + +Beyond the second doorway was a corridor running parallel with +the cliff face. In this corridor were three more doorways, one at +each end and a third almost opposite that in which Es-sat stood. +The light was coming from an apartment at the end of the corridor +at his left. A sputtering flame rose and fell in a small stone +receptacle that stood upon a table or bench of the same material, +a monolithic bench fashioned at the time the room was excavated, +rising massively from the floor, of which it was a part. + +In one corner of the room beyond the table had been left a dais +of stone about four feet wide and eight feet long. Upon this +were piled a foot or so of softly tanned pelts from which the fur +had not been removed. Upon the edge of this dais sat a young +female Waz-don. In one hand she held a thin piece of metal, +apparently of hammered gold, with serrated edges, and in the +other a short, stiff brush. With these she was occupied in going +over her smooth, glossy coat which bore a remarkable resemblance +to plucked sealskin. Her loin cloth of yellow and black striped +jato-skin lay on the couch beside her with the circular +breastplates of beaten gold, revealing the symmetrical lines of +her nude figure in all its beauty and harmony of contour, for +even though the creature was jet black and entirely covered with +hair yet she was undeniably beautiful. + +That she was beautiful in the eyes of Es-sat, the chief, was +evidenced by the gloating expression upon his fierce countenance +and the increased rapidity of his breathing. Moving quickly +forward he entered the room and as he did so the young she looked +up. Instantly her eyes filled with terror and as quickly she +seized the loin cloth and with a few deft movements adjusted it +about her. As she gathered up her breastplates Es-sat rounded the +table and moved quickly toward her. + +"What do you want?" she whispered, though she knew full well. + +"Pan-at-lee," he said, "your chief has come for you." + +"It was for this that you sent away my father and my brothers to +spy upon the Kor-ul-lul? I will not have you. Leave the cave of +my ancestors!" + +Es-sat smiled. It was the smile of a strong and wicked man who +knows his power--not a pleasant smile at all. "I will leave, +Pan-at-lee," he said; "but you shall go with me--to the cave of +Es-sat, the chief, to be the envied of the shes of Kor-ul-ja. +Come!" + +"Never!" cried Pan-at-lee. "I hate you. Sooner would I mate with +a Ho-don than with you, beater of women, murderer of babes." + +A frightful scowl distorted the features of the chief. "She-jato!" +he cried. "I will tame you! I will break you! Es-sat, the chief, +takes what he will and who dares question his right, or combat +his least purpose, will first serve that purpose and then be +broken as I break this," and he picked a stone platter from the +table and broke it in his powerful hands. "You might have been +first and most favored in the cave of the ancestors of Es-sat; +but now shall you be last and least and when I am done with you +you shall belong to all of the men of Es-sat's cave. Thus for +those who spurn the love of their chief!" + +He advanced quickly to seize her and as he laid a rough hand upon +her she struck him heavily upon the side of his head with her +golden breastplates. Without a sound Es-sat, the chief, sank to +the floor of the apartment. For a moment Pan-at-lee bent over +him, her improvised weapon raised to strike again should he show +signs of returning consciousness, her glossy breasts rising and +falling with her quickened breathing. Suddenly she stooped and +removed Es-sat's knife with its scabbard and shoulder belt. +Slipping it over her own shoulder she quickly adjusted her +breastplates and keeping a watchful glance upon the figure of the +fallen chief, backed from the room. + +In a niche in the outer room, just beside the doorway leading to +the balcony, were neatly piled a number of rounded pegs from +eighteen to twenty inches in length. Selecting five of these she +made them into a little bundle about which she twined the lower +extremity of her sinuous tail and thus carrying them made her way +to the outer edge of the balcony. Assuring herself that there +was none about to see, or hinder her, she took quickly to the +pegs already set in the face of the cliff and with the celerity +of a monkey clambered swiftly aloft to the highest row of pegs +which she followed in the direction of the lower end of the gorge +for a matter of some hundred yards. Here, above her head, were a +series of small round holes placed one above another in three +parallel rows. Clinging only with her toes she removed two of +the pegs from the bundle carried in her tail and taking one in +either hand she inserted them in two opposite holes of the outer +rows as far above her as she could reach. Hanging by these new +holds she now took one of the three remaining pegs in each of her +feet, leaving the fifth grasped securely in her tail. Reaching +above her with this member she inserted the fifth peg in one of +the holes of the center row and then, alternately hanging by her +tail, her feet, or her hands, she moved the pegs upward to new +holes, thus carrying her stairway with her as she ascended. + +At the summit of the cliff a gnarled tree exposed its time-worn +roots above the topmost holes forming the last step from the +sheer face of the precipice to level footing. This was the last +avenue of escape for members of the tribe hard pressed by enemies +from below. There were three such emergency exits from the +village and it were death to use them in other than an emergency. +This Pan-at-lee well knew; but she knew, too, that it were worse +than death to remain where the angered Es-sat might lay hands +upon her. + +When she had gained the summit, the girl moved quickly through +the darkness in the direction of the next gorge which cut the +mountain-side a mile beyond Kor-ul-ja. It was the Gorge-of-water, +Kor-ul-lul, to which her father and two brothers had been sent by +Es-sat ostensibly to spy upon the neighboring tribe. There was a +chance, a slender chance, that she might find them; if not there +was the deserted Kor-ul-gryf several miles beyond, where she +might hide indefinitely from man if she could elude the frightful +monster from which the gorge derived its name and whose presence +there had rendered its caves uninhabitable for generations. + +Pan-at-lee crept stealthily along the rim of the Kor-ul-lul. +Just where her father and brothers would watch she did not know. +Sometimes their spies remained upon the rim, sometimes they +watched from the gorge's bottom. Pan-at-lee was at a loss to know +what to do or where to go. She felt very small and helpless alone +in the vast darkness of the night. Strange noises fell upon her +ears. They came from the lonely reaches of the towering mountains +above her, from far away in the invisible valley and from the +nearer foothills and once, in the distance, she heard what she +thought was the bellow of a bull gryf. It came from the direction +of the Kor-ul-gryf. She shuddered. + +Presently there came to her keen ears another sound. Something +approached her along the rim of the gorge. It was coming from +above. She halted, listening. Perhaps it was her father, or a +brother. It was coming closer. She strained her eyes through the +darkness. She did not move--she scarcely breathed. And then, of a +sudden, quite close it seemed, there blazed through the black +night two yellow-green spots of fire. + +Pan-at-lee was brave, but as always with the primitive, the +darkness held infinite terrors for her. Not alone the terrors of +the known but more frightful ones as well--those of the unknown. +She had passed through much this night and her nerves were keyed +to the highest pitch--raw, taut nerves, they were, ready to react +in an exaggerated form to the slightest shock. + +But this was no slight shock. To hope for a father and a brother +and to see death instead glaring out of the darkness! Yes, +Pan-at-lee was brave, but she was not of iron. With a shriek that +reverberated among the hills she turned and fled along the rim of +Kor-ul-lul and behind her, swiftly, came the devil-eyed lion of +the mountains of Pal-ul-don. + +Pan-at-lee was lost. Death was inevitable. Of this there could be +no doubt, but to die beneath the rending fangs of the carnivore, +congenital terror of her kind--it was unthinkable. But there was +an alternative. The lion was almost upon her--another instant +and he would seize her. Pan-at-lee turned sharply to her left. +Just a few steps she took in the new direction before she +disappeared over the rim of Kor-ul-lul. The baffled lion, +planting all four feet, barely stopped upon the verge of the +abyss. Glaring down into the black shadows beneath he mounted an +angry roar. + +Through the darkness at the bottom of Kor-ul-ja, Om-at led the +way toward the caves of his people. Behind him came Tarzan and +Ta-den. Presently they halted beneath a great tree that grew +close to the cliff. + +"First," whispered Om-at, "I will go to the cave of Pan-at-lee. +Then will I seek the cave of my ancestors to have speech with my +own blood. It will not take long. Wait here--I shall return soon. +Afterward shall we go together to Ta-den's people." + +He moved silently toward the foot of the cliff up which Tarzan +could presently see him ascending like a great fly on a wall. In +the dim light the ape-man could not see the pegs set in the face +of the cliff. Om-at moved warily. In the lower tier of caves +there should be a sentry. His knowledge of his people and their +customs told him, however, that in all probability the sentry was +asleep. In this he was not mistaken, yet he did not in any way +abate his wariness. Smoothly and swiftly he ascended toward the +cave of Pan-at-lee while from below Tarzan and Ta-den watched +him. + +"How does he do it?" asked Tarzan. "I can see no foothold upon +that vertical surface and yet he appears to be climbing with the +utmost ease." + +Ta-den explained the stairway of pegs. "You could ascend easily," +he said, "although a tail would be of great assistance." + +They watched until Om-at was about to enter the cave of +Pan-at-lee without seeing any indication that he had been +observed and then, simultaneously, both saw a head appear in the +mouth of one of the lower caves. It was quickly evident that its +owner had discovered Om-at for immediately he started upward in +pursuit. Without a word Tarzan and Ta-den sprang forward toward +the foot of the cliff. The pithecanthropus was the first to reach +it and the ape-man saw him spring upward for a handhold on the +lowest peg above him. Now Tarzan saw other pegs roughly +paralleling each other in zigzag rows up the cliff face. He +sprang and caught one of these, pulled himself upward by one hand +until he could reach a second with his other hand; and when he +had ascended far enough to use his feet, discovered that he could +make rapid progress. Ta-den was outstripping him, however, for +these precarious ladders were no novelty to him and, further, he +had an advantage in possessing a tail. + +Nevertheless, the ape-man gave a good account of himself, being +presently urged to redoubled efforts by the fact that the Waz-don +above Ta-den glanced down and discovered his pursuers just before +the Ho-don overtook him. Instantly a wild cry shattered the +silence of the gorge--a cry that was immediately answered by +hundreds of savage throats as warrior after warrior emerged from +the entrance to his cave. + +The creature who had raised the alarm had now reached the recess +before Pan-at-lee's cave and here he halted and turned to give +battle to Ta-den. Unslinging his club which had hung down his +back from a thong about his neck he stood upon the level floor of +the entrance-way effectually blocking Ta-den's ascent. From all +directions the warriors of Kor-ul-ja were swarming toward the +interlopers. Tarzan, who had reached a point on the same level +with Ta-den but a little to the latter's left, saw that nothing +short of a miracle could save them. Just at the ape-man's left +was the entrance to a cave that either was deserted or whose +occupants had not as yet been aroused, for the level recess +remained unoccupied. Resourceful was the alert mind of Tarzan of +the Apes and quick to respond were the trained muscles. In the +time that you or I might give to debating an action he would +accomplish it and now, though only seconds separated his nearest +antagonist from him, in the brief span of time at his disposal he +had stepped into the recess, unslung his long rope and leaning +far out shot the sinuous noose, with the precision of long +habitude, toward the menacing figure wielding its heavy club +above Ta-den. There was a momentary pause of the rope-hand as +the noose sped toward its goal, a quick movement of the right +wrist that closed it upon its victim as it settled over his head +and then a surging tug as, seizing the rope in both hands, Tarzan +threw back upon it all the weight of his great frame. + +Voicing a terrified shriek, the Waz-don lunged headforemost from +the recess above Ta-den. Tarzan braced himself for the coming +shock when the creature's body should have fallen the full length +of the rope and as it did there was a snap of the vertebrae that +rose sickeningly in the momentary silence that had followed the +doomed man's departing scream. Unshaken by the stress of the +suddenly arrested weight at the end of the rope, Tarzan quickly +pulled the body to his side that he might remove the noose from +about its neck, for he could not afford to lose so priceless a +weapon. + +During the several seconds that had elapsed since he cast the +rope the Waz-don warriors had remained inert as though paralyzed +by wonder or by terror. Now, again, one of them found his voice +and his head and straightway, shrieking invectives at the strange +intruder, started upward for the ape-man, urging his fellows to +attack. This man was the closest to Tarzan. But for him the +ape-man could easily have reached Ta-den's side as the latter was +urging him to do. Tarzan raised the body of the dead Waz-don +above his head, held it poised there for a moment as with face +raised to the heavens he screamed forth the horrid challenge of +the bull apes of the tribe of Kerchak, and with all the strength +of his giant sinews he hurled the corpse heavily upon the +ascending warrior. So great was the force of the impact that not +only was the Waz-don torn from his hold but two of the pegs to +which he clung were broken short in their sockets. + +As the two bodies, the living and the dead, hurtled downward +toward the foot of the cliff a great cry arose from the Waz-don. +"Jad-guru-don! Jad-guru-don!" they screamed, and then: "Kill him! +Kill him!" + +And now Tarzan stood in the recess beside Ta-den. Jad-guru-don!" +repeated the latter, smiling--"The terrible man! Tarzan the +Terrible! They may kill you, but they will never forget you." + +"They shall not ki--What have we here?" Tarzan's statement as to +what "they" should not do was interrupted by a sudden ejaculation +as two figures, locked in deathlike embrace, stumbled through the +doorway of the cave to the outer porch. One was Om-at, the other +a creature of his own kind but with a rough coat, the hairs of +which seemed to grow straight outward from the skin, stiffly, +unlike Om-at's sleek covering. The two were quite evidently well +matched and equally evident was the fact that each was bent upon +murder. They fought almost in silence except for an occasional +low growl as one or the other acknowledged thus some new hurt. + +Tarzan, following a natural impulse to aid his ally, leaped +forward to enter the dispute only to be checked by a grunted +admonition from Om-at. "Back!" he said. "This fight is mine, +alone." + +The ape-man understood and stepped aside. + +"It is a gund-bar," explained Ta-den, "a chief-battle. This +fellow must be Es-sat, the chief. If Om-at kills him without +assistance Om-at may become chief." + +Tarzan smiled. It was the law of his own jungle--the law of the +tribe of Kerchak, the bull ape--the ancient law of primitive man +that needed but the refining influences of civilization to +introduce the hired dagger and the poison cup. Then his +attention was drawn to the outer edge of the vestibule. Above it +appeared the shaggy face of one of Es-sat's warriors. Tarzan +sprang to intercept the man; but Ta-den was there ahead of him. +"Back!" cried the Ho-don to the newcomer. "It is gund-bar." The +fellow looked scrutinizingly at the two fighters, then turned his +face downward toward his fellows. "Back!" he cried, "it is +gund-bar between Es-sat and Om-at." Then he looked back at Ta-den +and Tarzan. "Who are you?" he asked. + +"We are Om-at's friends," replied Ta-den. + +The fellow nodded. "We will attend to you later," he said and +disappeared below the edge of the recess. + +The battle upon the ledge continued with unabated ferocity, +Tarzan and Ta-den having difficulty in keeping out of the way of +the contestants who tore and beat at each other with hands and +feet and lashing tails. Es-sat was unarmed--Pan-at-lee had seen +to that--but at Om-at's side swung a sheathed knife which he made +no effort to draw. That would have been contrary to their savage +and primitive code for the chief-battle must be fought with +nature's weapons. + +Sometimes they separated for an instant only to rush upon each +other again with all the ferocity and nearly the strength of mad +bulls. Presently one of them tripped the other but in that +viselike embrace one could not fall alone--Es-sat dragged Om-at +with him, toppling upon the brink of the niche. Even Tarzan held +his breath. There they surged to and fro perilously for a moment +and then the inevitable happened--the two, locked in murderous +embrace, rolled over the edge and disappeared from the ape-man's +view. + +Tarzan voiced a suppressed sigh for he had liked Om-at and then, +with Ta-den, approached the edge and looked over. Far below, in +the dim light of the coming dawn, two inert forms should be lying +stark in death; but, to Tarzan's amazement, such was far from the +sight that met his eyes. Instead, there were the two figures +still vibrant with life and still battling only a few feet below +him. Clinging always to the pegs with two holds--a hand and a +foot, or a foot and a tail, they seemed as much at home upon the +perpendicular wall as upon the level surface of the vestibule; +but now their tactics were slightly altered, for each seemed +particularly bent upon dislodging his antagonist from his holds +and precipitating him to certain death below. It was soon evident +that Om-at, younger and with greater powers of endurance than +Es-sat, was gaining an advantage. Now was the chief almost wholly +on the defensive. Holding him by the cross belt with one mighty +hand Om-at was forcing his foeman straight out from the cliff, +and with the other hand and one foot was rapidly breaking first +one of Es-sat's holds and then another, alternating his efforts, +or rather punctuating them, with vicious blows to the pit of his +adversary's stomach. Rapidly was Es-sat weakening and with the +knowledge of impending death there came, as there comes to every +coward and bully under similar circumstances, a crumbling of the +veneer of bravado which had long masqueraded as courage and with +it crumbled his code of ethics. Now was Es-sat no longer chief of +Kor-ul-ja--instead he was a whimpering craven battling for life. +Clutching at Om-at, clutching at the nearest pegs he sought any +support that would save him from that awful fall, and as he +strove to push aside the hand of death, whose cold fingers he +already felt upon his heart, his tail sought Om-at's side and the +handle of the knife that hung there. + +Tarzan saw and even as Es-sat drew the blade from its sheath he +dropped catlike to the pegs beside the battling men. Es-sat's +tail had drawn back for the cowardly fatal thrust. Now many +others saw the perfidious act and a great cry of rage and disgust +arose from savage throats; but as the blade sped toward its goal, +the ape-man seized the hairy member that wielded it, and at the +same instant Om-at thrust the body of Es-sat from him with such +force that its weakened holds were broken and it hurtled +downward, a brief meteor of screaming fear, to death. + + + +4 + +Tarzan-jad-guru + +AS TARZAN and Om-at clambered back to the vestibule of +Pan-at-lee's cave and took their stand beside Ta-den in readiness +for whatever eventuality might follow the death of Es-sat, the +sun that topped the eastern hills touched also the figure of a +sleeper upon a distant, thorn-covered steppe awakening him to +another day of tireless tracking along a faint and rapidly +disappearing spoor. + +For a time silence reigned in the Kor-ul-ja. The tribesmen +waited, looking now down upon the dead thing that had been their +chief, now at one another, and now at Om-at and the two who stood +upon his either side. Presently Om-at spoke. "I am Om-at," he +cried. "Who will say that Om-at is not gund of Kor-ul-ja?" + +He waited for a taker of his challenge. One or two of the larger +young bucks fidgeted restlessly and eyed him; but there was no +reply. + +"Then Om-at is gund," he said with finality. "Now tell me, where +are Pan-at-lee, her father, and her brothers?" + +An old warrior spoke. "Pan-at-lee should be in her cave. Who +should know that better than you who are there now? Her father +and her brothers were sent to watch Kor-ul-lul; but neither of +these questions arouse any tumult in our breasts. There is one +that does: Can Om-at be chief of Kor-ul-ja and yet stand at bay +against his own people with a Ho-don and that terrible man at his +side--that terrible man who has no tail? Hand the strangers over +to your people to be slain as is the way of the Waz-don and then +may Om-at be gund." + +Neither Tarzan nor Ta-den spoke then, they but stood watching +Om-at and waiting for his decision, the ghost of a smile upon the +lips of the ape-man. Ta-den, at least, knew that the old warrior +had spoken the truth--the Waz-don entertain no strangers and take +no prisoners of an alien race. + +Then spoke Om-at. "Always there is change," he said. "Even the +old hills of Pal-ul-don appear never twice alike--the brilliant +sun, a passing cloud, the moon, a mist, the changing seasons, the +sharp clearness following a storm; these things bring each a new +change in our hills. From birth to death, day by day, there is +constant change in each of us. Change, then, is one of +Jad-ben-Otho's laws. + +"And now I, Om-at, your gund, bring another change. Strangers +who are brave men and good friends shall no longer be slain by +the Waz-don of Kor-ul-ja!" + +There were growls and murmurings and a restless moving among the +warriors as each eyed the others to see who would take the +initiative against Om-at, the iconoclast. + +"Cease your mutterings," admonished the new gund. "I am your +chief. My word is your law. You had no part in making me chief. +Some of you helped Es-sat to drive me from the cave of my +ancestors; the rest of you permitted it. I owe you nothing. Only +these two, whom you would have me kill, were loyal to me. I am +gund and if there be any who doubts it let him speak--he cannot +die younger." + +Tarzan was pleased. Here was a man after his own heart. He +admired the fearlessness of Om-at's challenge and he was a +sufficiently good judge of men to know that he had listened to no +idle bluff--Om-at would back up his words to the death, if +necessary, and the chances were that he would not be the one to +die. Evidently the majority of the Kor-ul-jaians entertained the +same conviction. + +I will make you a good gund," said Om-at, seeing that no one +appeared inclined to dispute his rights. "Your wives and +daughters will be safe--they were not safe while Es-sat ruled. +Go now to your crops and your hunting. I leave to search for +Pan-at-lee. Ab-on will be gund while I am away--look to him for +guidance and to me for an accounting when I return--and may +Jad-ben-Otho smile upon you." + +He turned toward Tarzan and the Ho-don. "And you, my friends," he +said, "are free to go among my people; the cave of my ancestors +is yours, do what you will." + +"I," said Tarzan, "will go with Om-at to search for Pan-at-lee." + +"And I," said Ta-den. + +Om-at smiled. "Good!" he exclaimed. "And when we have found her +we shall go together upon Tarzan's business and Ta-den's. Where +first shall we search?" He turned toward his warriors. "Who knows +where she may be?" + +None knew other than that Pan-at-lee had gone to her cave with +the others the previous evening--there was no clew, no suggestion +as to her whereabouts. + +"Show me where she sleeps," said Tarzan; "let me see something +that belongs to her--an article of her apparel--then, doubtless, +I can help you." + +Two young warriors climbed closer to the ledge upon which Om-at +stood. They were In-sad and O-dan. It was the latter who spoke. + +"Gund of Kor-ul-ja," he said, "we would go with you to search for +Pan-at-lee." + +It was the first acknowledgment of Om-at's chieftainship and +immediately following it the tenseness that had prevailed seemed +to relax--the warriors spoke aloud instead of in whispers, and +the women appeared from the mouths of caves as with the passing +of a sudden storm. In-sad and O-dan had taken the lead and now +all seemed glad to follow. Some came to talk with Om-at and to +look more closely at Tarzan; others, heads of caves, gathered +their hunters and discussed the business of the day. The women +and children prepared to descend to the fields with the youths +and the old men, whose duty it was to guard them. + +"O-dan and In-sad shall go with us," announced Om-at, "we shall +not need more. Tarzan, come with me and I shall show you where +Pan-at-lee sleeps, though why you should wish to know I cannot +guess--she is not there. I have looked for myself." + +The two entered the cave where Om-at led the way to the apartment +in which Es-sat had surprised Pan-at-lee the previous night. + +"All here are hers," said Om-at, "except the war club lying on +the floor--that was Es-sat's." + +The ape-man moved silently about the apartment, the quivering of +his sensitive nostrils scarcely apparent to his companion who +only wondered what good purpose could be served here and chafed +at the delay. + +"Come!" said the ape-man, presently, and led the way toward the +outer recess. + +Here their three companions were awaiting them. Tarzan passed to +the left side of the niche and examined the pegs that lay within +reach. He looked at them but it was not his eyes that were +examining them. Keener than his keen eyes was that marvelously +trained sense of scent that had first been developed in him +during infancy under the tutorage of his foster mother, Kala, the +she-ape, and further sharpened in the grim jungles by that master +teacher--the instinct of self-preservation. + +From the left side of the niche he turned to the right. Om-at was +becoming impatient. + +"Let us be off," he said. "We must search for Pan-at-lee if we +would ever find her." + +"Where shall we search?" asked Tarzan. + +Om-at scratched his head. "Where?" he repeated. "Why all +Pal-ul-don, if necessary." + +"A large job," said Tarzan. "Come," he added, "she went this +way," and he took to the pegs that led aloft toward the summit of +the cliff. Here he followed the scent easily since none had +passed that way since Pan-at-lee had fled. At the point at which +she had left the permanent pegs and resorted to those carried +with her Tarzan came to an abrupt halt. "She went this way to the +summit," he called back to Om-at who was directly behind him; +"but there are no pegs here." + +"I do not know how you know that she went this way," said Om-at; +"but we will get pegs. In-sad, return and fetch climbing pegs for +five." + +The young warrior was soon back and the pegs distributed. Om-at +handed five to Tarzan and explained their use. The ape-man +returned one. "I need but four," he said. + +Om-at smiled. "What a wonderful creature you would be if you were +not deformed," he said, glancing with pride at his own strong +tail. + +"I admit that I am handicapped," replied Tarzan. "You others go +ahead and leave the pegs in place for me. I am afraid that +otherwise it will be slow work as I cannot hold the pegs in my +toes as you do." + +"All right," agreed Om-at; "Ta-den, In-sad, and I will go first, +you follow and O-dan bring up the rear and collect the pegs--we +cannot leave them here for our enemies." + +"Can't your enemies bring their own pegs?" asked Tarzan. + +"Yes; but it delays them and makes easier our defense and--they +do not know which of all the holes you see are deep enough for +pegs--the others are made to confuse our enemies and are too +shallow to hold a peg." + +At the top of the cliff beside the gnarled tree Tarzan again took +up the trail. Here the scent was fully as strong as upon the pegs +and the ape-man moved rapidly across the ridge in the direction +of the Kor-ul-lul. + +Presently he paused and turned toward Om-at. "Here she moved +swiftly, running at top speed, and, Om-at, she was pursued by a +lion." + +"You can read that in the grass?" asked O-dan as the others +gathered about the ape-man. + +Tarzan nodded. "I do not think the lion got her," he added; "but +that we shall determine quickly. No, he did not get her--look!" +and he pointed toward the southwest, down the ridge. + +Following the direction indicated by his finger, the others +presently detected a movement in some bushes a couple of hundred +yards away. + +"What is it?" asked Om-at. "It is she?" and he started toward the +spot. + +"Wait," advised Tarzan. "It is the lion which pursued her." + +"You can see him?" asked Ta-den. + +"No, I can smell him." + +The others looked their astonishment and incredulity; but of the +fact that it was indeed a lion they were not left long in doubt. +Presently the bushes parted and the creature stepped out in full +view, facing them. It was a magnificent beast, large and +beautifully maned, with the brilliant leopard spots of its kind +well marked and symmetrical. For a moment it eyed them and then, +still chafing at the loss of its prey earlier in the morning, it +charged. + +The Pal-ul-donians unslung their clubs and stood waiting the +onrushing beast. Tarzan of the Apes drew his hunting knife and +crouched in the path of the fanged fury. It was almost upon him +when it swerved to the right and leaped for Om-at only to be sent +to earth with a staggering blow upon the head. Almost instantly +it was up and though the men rushed fearlessly in, it managed to +sweep aside their weapons with its mighty paws. A single blow +wrenched O-dan's club from his hand and sent it hurtling against +Ta-den, knocking him from his feet. Taking advantage of its +opportunity the lion rose to throw itself upon O-dan and at the +same instant Tarzan flung himself upon its back. Strong, white +teeth buried themselves in the spotted neck, mighty arms +encircled the savage throat and the sinewy legs of the ape-man +locked themselves about the gaunt belly. + +The others, powerless to aid, stood breathlessly about as the +great lion lunged hither and thither, clawing and biting +fearfully and futilely at the savage creature that had fastened +itself upon him. Over and over they rolled and now the onlookers +saw a brown hand raised above the lion's side--a brown hand +grasping a keen blade. They saw it fall and rise and fall +again--each time with terrific force and in its wake they saw a +crimson stream trickling down ja's gorgeous coat. + +Now from the lion's throat rose hideous screams of hate and rage +and pain as he redoubled his efforts to dislodge and punish his +tormentor; but always the tousled black head remained half buried +in the dark brown mane and the mighty arm rose and fell to plunge +the knife again and again into the dying beast. + +The Pal-ul-donians stood in mute wonder and admiration. Brave +men and mighty hunters they were and as such the first to accord +honor to a mightier. + +"And you would have had me slay him!" cried Om-at, glancing at +In-sad and O-dan. + +"Jad-ben-Otho reward you that you did not," breathed In-sad. + +And now the lion lunged suddenly to earth and with a few +spasmodic quiverings lay still. The ape-man rose and shook +himself, even as might ja, the leopard-coated lion of Pal-ul-don, +had he been the one to survive. + +O-dan advanced quickly toward Tarzan. Placing a palm upon his own +breast and the other on Tarzan's, "Tarzan the Terrible," he said, +"I ask no greater honor than your friendship." + +"And I no more than the friendship of Om-at's friends," replied +the ape-man simply, returning the other's salute. + +"Do you think," asked Om-at, coming close to Tarzan and laying a +hand upon the other's shoulder, "that he got her?" + +"No, my friend; it was a hungry lion that charged us." + +"You seem to know much of lions," said In-sad. + +"Had I a brother I could not know him better," replied Tarzan. + +"Then where can she be?" continued Om-at. + +"We can but follow while the spoor is fresh," answered the +ape-man and again taking up his interrupted tracking he led them +down the ridge and at a sharp turning of the trail to the left +brought them to the verge of the cliff that dropped into the +Kor-ul-lul. For a moment Tarzan examined the ground to the right +and to the left, then he stood erect and looking at Om-at pointed +into the gorge. + +For a moment the Waz-don gazed down into the green rift at the +bottom of which a tumultuous river tumbled downward along its +rocky bed, then he closed his eyes as to a sudden spasm of pain +and turned away. + +"You--mean--she jumped?" he asked. + +"To escape the lion," replied Tarzan. "He was right behind +her--look, you can see where his four paws left their impress in +the turf as he checked his charge upon the very verge of the +abyss." + +"Is there any chance--" commenced Om-at, to be suddenly silenced +by a warning gesture from Tarzan. + +"Down!" whispered the ape-man, "many men are coming. They are +running--from down the ridge." He flattened himself upon his +belly in the grass, the others following his example. + +For some minutes they waited thus and then the others, too, heard +the sound of running feet and now a hoarse shout followed by many +more. + +"It is the war cry of the Kor-ul-lul," whispered Om-at--"the +hunting cry of men who hunt men. Presently shall we see them and +if Jad-ben-Otho is pleased with us they shall not too greatly +outnumber us." + +"They are many," said Tarzan, "forty or fifty, I should say; but +how many are the pursued and how many the pursuers we cannot even +guess, except that the latter must greatly outnumber the former, +else these would not run so fast." + +"Here they come," said Ta-den. + +"It is An-un, father of Pan-at-lee, and his two sons," exclaimed +O-dan. "They will pass without seeing us if we do not hurry," he +added looking at Om-at, the chief, for a sign. + +"Come!" cried the latter, springing to his feet and running +rapidly to intercept the three fugitives. The others followed +him. + +"Five friends!" shouted Om-at as An-un and his sons discovered +them. + +"Adenen yo!" echoed O-dan and In-sad. + +The fugitives scarcely paused as these unexpected reinforcements +joined them but they eyed Ta-den and Tarzan with puzzled glances. + +"The Kor-ul-lul are many," shouted An-un. "Would that we might +pause and fight; but first we must warn Es-sat and our people." + +"Yes," said Om-at, "we must warn our people." + +"Es-sat is dead," said In-sad. + +"Who is chief?" asked one of An-un's sons. + +"Om-at," replied O-dan. + +"It is well," cried An-un. "Pan-at-lee said that you would come +back and slay Es-sat." + +Now the enemy broke into sight behind them. + +"Come!" cried Tarzan," let us turn and charge them, raising a +great cry. They pursued but three and when they see eight +charging upon them they will think that many men have come to do +battle. They will believe that there are more even than they see +and then one who is swift will have time to reach the gorge and +warn your people." + +"It is well," said Om-at. "Id-an, you are swift--carry word to +the warriors of Kor-ul-ja that we fight the Kor-ul-lul upon the +ridge and that Ab-on shall send a hundred men." + +Id-an, the son of An-un, sped swiftly toward the cliff-dwellings +of the Kor-ul-ja while the others charged the oncoming +Kor-ul-lul, the war cries of the two tribes rising and falling in +a certain grim harmony. The leaders of the Kor-ul-lul paused at +sight of the reinforcements, waiting apparently for those behind +to catch up with them and, possibly, also to learn how great a +force confronted them. The leaders, swifter runners than their +fellows, perhaps, were far in advance while the balance of their +number had not yet emerged from the brush; and now as Om-at and +his companions fell upon them with a ferocity born of necessity +they fell back, so that when their companions at last came in +sight of them they appeared to be in full rout. The natural +result was that the others turned and fled. + +Encouraged by this first success Om-at followed them into the +brush, his little company charging valiantly upon his either +side, and loud and terrifying were the savage yells with which +they pursued the fleeing enemy. The brush, while not growing so +closely together as to impede progress, was of such height as to +hide the members of the party from one another when they became +separated by even a few yards. The result was that Tarzan, always +swift and always keen for battle, was soon pursuing the enemy far +in the lead of the others--a lack of prudence which was to prove +his undoing. + +The warriors of Kor-ul-lul, doubtless as valorous as their +foemen, retreated only to a more strategic position in the brush, +nor were they long in guessing that the number of their pursuers +was fewer than their own. They made a stand then where the brush +was densest--an ambush it was, and into this ran Tarzan of the +Apes. They tricked him neatly. Yes, sad as is the narration of +it, they tricked the wily jungle lord. But then they were +fighting on their own ground, every foot of which they knew as +you know your front parlor, and they were following their own +tactics, of which Tarzan knew nothing. + +A single black warrior appeared to Tarzan a laggard in the rear +of the retreating enemy and thus retreating he lured Tarzan on. +At last he turned at bay confronting the ape-man with bludgeon +and drawn knife and as Tarzan charged him a score of burly +Waz-don leaped from the surrounding brush. Instantly, but too +late, the giant Tarmangani realized his peril. There flashed +before him a vision of his lost mate and a great and sickening +regret surged through him with the realization that if she still +lived she might no longer hope, for though she might never know +of the passing of her lord the fact of it must inevitably seal +her doom. + +And consequent to this thought there enveloped him a blind frenzy +of hatred for these creatures who dared thwart his purpose and +menace the welfare of his wife. With a savage growl he threw +himself upon the warrior before him twisting the heavy club from +the creature's hand as if he had been a little child, and with +his left fist backed by the weight and sinew of his giant frame, +he crashed a shattering blow to the center of the Waz-don's +face--a blow that crushed the bones and dropped the fellow in his +tracks. Then he swung upon the others with their fallen comrade's +bludgeon striking to right and left mighty, unmerciful blows that +drove down their own weapons until that wielded by the ape-man +was splintered and shattered. On either hand they fell before his +cudgel; so rapid the delivery of his blows, so catlike his +recovery that in the first few moments of the battle he seemed +invulnerable to their attack; but it could not last--he was +outnumbered twenty to one and his undoing came from a thrown +club. It struck him upon the back of the head. For a moment he +stood swaying and then like a great pine beneath the woodsman's +ax he crashed to earth. + +Others of the Kor-ul-lul had rushed to engage the balance of +Om-at's party. They could be heard fighting at a short distance +and it was evident that the Kor-ul-ja were falling slowly back +and as they fell Om-at called to the missing one: "Tarzan the +Terrible! Tarzan the Terrible!" + +"Jad-guru, indeed," repeated one of the Kor-ul-lul rising from +where Tarzan had dropped him. "Tarzan-jad-guru! He was worse than +that." + + + +5 + +In the Kor-ul-gryf + +AS TARZAN fell among his enemies a man halted many miles away +upon the outer verge of the morass that encircles Pal-ul-don. +Naked he was except for a loin cloth and three belts of +cartridges, two of which passed over his shoulders, crossing upon +his chest and back, while the third encircled his waist. Slung to +his back by its leathern sling-strap was an Enfield, and he +carried too a long knife, a bow and a quiver of arrows. He had +come far, through wild and savage lands, menaced by fierce beasts +and fiercer men, yet intact to the last cartridge was the +ammunition that had filled his belts the day that he set out. + +The bow and the arrows and the long knife had brought him thus +far safely, yet often in the face of great risks that could have +been minimized by a single shot from the well-kept rifle at his +back. What purpose might he have for conserving this precious +ammunition? in risking his life to bring the last bright shining +missile to his unknown goal? For what, for whom were these +death-dealing bits of metal preserved? In all the world only he +knew. + +When Pan-at-lee stepped over the edge of the cliff above +Kor-ul-lul she expected to be dashed to instant death upon the +rocks below; but she had chosen this in preference to the rending +fangs of ja. Instead, chance had ordained that she make the +frightful plunge at a point where the tumbling river swung close +beneath the overhanging cliff to eddy for a slow moment in a deep +pool before plunging madly downward again in a cataract of +boiling foam, and water thundering against rocks. + +Into this icy pool the girl shot, and down and down beneath the +watery surface until, half choked, yet fighting bravely, she +battled her way once more to air. Swimming strongly she made the +opposite shore and there dragged herself out upon the bank to lie +panting and spent until the approaching dawn warned her to seek +concealment, for she was in the country of her people's enemies. + +Rising, she moved into the concealment of the rank vegetation +that grows so riotously in the well-watered kors(1) of +Pal-ul-don. + +_______________________________________________________________ + +(1) I have used the Pal-ul- don word for gorge with the English +plural, which is not the correct native plural form. The latter, +it seems to me, is awkward for us and so I have generally ignored +it throughout my manuscript, permitting, for example, Kor-ul-ja +to answer for both singular and plural. However, for the benefit +of those who may be interested in such things I may say that the +plurals are formed simply for all words in the Pal-ul-don +language by doubling the initial letter of the word, as k'kor, +gorges, pronounced as though written kakor, the a having the +sound of a in sofa. Lions, then, would be j'ja, or men d' don. +_______________________________________________________________ + +Hidden amidst the plant life from the sight of any who might +chance to pass along the well-beaten trail that skirted the river +Pan-at-lee sought rest and food, the latter growing in abundance +all about her in the form of fruits and berries and succulent +tubers which she scooped from the earth with the knife of the +dead Es-sat. + +Ah! if she had but known that he was dead! What trials and risks +and terrors she might have been saved; but she thought that he +still lived and so she dared not return to Kor-ul-ja. At least not +yet while his rage was at white heat. Later, perhaps, her father +and brothers returned to their cave, she might risk it; but not +now--not now. Nor could she for long remain here in the +neighborhood of the hostile Kor-ul-lul and somewhere she must +find safety from beasts before the night set in. + +As she sat upon the bole of a fallen tree seeking some solution +of the problem of existence that confronted her, there broke upon +her ears from up the gorge the voices of shouting men--a sound +that she recognized all too well. It was the war cry of the +Kor-ul-lul. Closer and closer it approached her hiding place. +Then, through the veil of foliage she caught glimpses of three +figures fleeing along the trail, and behind them the shouting of +the pursuers rose louder and louder as they neared her. Again she +caught sight of the fugitives crossing the river below the +cataract and again they were lost to sight. And now the pursuers +came into view--shouting Kor-ul-lul warriors, fierce and +implacable. Forty, perhaps fifty of them. She waited breathless; +but they did not swerve from the trail and passed her, unguessing +that an enemy she lay hid within a few yards of them. + +Once again she caught sight of the pursued--three Waz-don +warriors clambering the cliff face at a point where portions of +the summit had fallen away presenting a steep slope that might be +ascended by such as these. Suddenly her attention was riveted +upon the three. Could it be? O Jad-ben-Otho! had she but known a +moment before. When they passed she might have joined them, for +they were her father and two brothers. Now it was too late. With +bated breath and tense muscles she watched the race. Would they +reach the summit? Would the Kor-ul-lul overhaul them? They +climbed well, but, oh, so slowly. Now one lost his footing in the +loose shale and slipped back! The Kor-ul-lul were ascending--one +hurled his club at the nearest fugitive. The Great God was +pleased with the brother of Pan-at-lee, for he caused the club to +fall short of its target, and to fall, rolling and bounding, back +upon its owner carrying him from his feet and precipitating him +to the bottom of the gorge. + +Standing now, her hands pressed tight above her golden +breastplates, Pan-at-lee watched the race for life. Now one, her +older brother, reached the summit and clinging there to something +that she could not see he lowered his body and his long tail to +the father beneath him. The latter, seizing this support, +extended his own tail to the son below--the one who had slipped +back--and thus, upon a living ladder of their own making, the +three reached the summit and disappeared from view before the +Kor-ul-lul overtook them. But the latter did not abandon the +chase. On they went until they too had disappeared from sight and +only a faint shouting came down to Pan-at-lee to tell her that +the pursuit continued. + +The girl knew that she must move on. At any moment now might come +a hunting party, combing the gorge for the smaller animals that +fed or bedded there. + +Behind her were Es-sat and the returning party of Kor-ul-lul that +had pursued her kin; before her, across the next ridge, was the +Kor-ul-gryf, the lair of the terrifying monsters that brought the +chill of fear to every inhabitant of Pal-ul-don; below her, in +the valley, was the country of the Ho-don, where she could look +for only slavery, or death; here were the Kor-ul-lul, the ancient +enemies of her people and everywhere were the wild beasts that +eat the flesh of man. + +For but a moment she debated and then turning her face toward the +southeast she set out across the gorge of water toward the +Kor-ul-gryf--at least there were no men there. As it is now, so +it was in the beginning, back to the primitive progenitor of man +which is typified by Pan-at-lee and her kind today, of all the +hunters that woman fears, man is the most relentless, the most +terrible. To the dangers of man she preferred the dangers of the +gryf. + +Moving cautiously she reached the foot of the cliff at the far +side of Kor-ul-lul and here, toward noon, she found a +comparatively easy ascent. Crossing the ridge she stood at last +upon the brink of Kor-ul-gryf--the horror place of the folklore +of her race. Dank and mysterious grew the vegetation below; giant +trees waved their plumed tops almost level with the summit of the +cliff; and over all brooded an ominous silence. + +Pan-at-lee lay upon her belly and stretching over the edge +scanned the cliff face below her. She could see caves there and +the stone pegs which the ancients had fashioned so laboriously by +hand. She had heard of these in the firelight tales of her +childhood and of how the gryfs had come from the morasses across +the mountains and of how at last the people had fled after many +had been seized and devoured by the hideous creatures, leaving +their caves untenanted for no man living knew how long. Some said +that Jad-ben-Otho, who has lived forever, was still a little boy. +Pan-at-lee shuddered; but there were caves and in them she would +be safe even from the gryfs. + +She found a place where the stone pegs reached to the very summit +of the cliff, left there no doubt in the final exodus of the +tribe when there was no longer need of safeguarding the deserted +caves against invasion. Pan-at-lee clambered slowly down toward +the uppermost cave. She found the recess in front of the doorway +almost identical with those of her own tribe. The floor of it, +though, was littered with twigs and old nests and the droppings +of birds, until it was half choked. She moved along to another +recess and still another, but all were alike in the accumulated +filth. Evidently there was no need in looking further. This one +seemed large and commodious. With her knife she fell to work +cleaning away the debris by the simple expedient of +pushing it over the edge, and always her eyes turned constantly +toward the silent gorge where lurked the fearsome creatures of +Pal-ul-don. And other eyes there were, eyes she did not see, but +that saw her and watched her every move--fierce eyes, greedy +eyes, cunning and cruel. They watched her, and a red tongue +licked flabby, pendulous lips. They watched her, and a half-human +brain laboriously evolved a brutish design. + +As in her own Kor-ul-ja, the natural springs in the cliff had +been developed by the long-dead builders of the caves so that +fresh, pure water trickled now, as it had for ages, within easy +access to the cave entrances. Her only difficulty would be in +procuring food and for that she must take the risk at least once +in two days, for she was sure that she could find fruits and +tubers and perhaps small animals, birds, and eggs near the foot +of the cliff, the last two, possibly, in the caves themselves. +Thus might she live on here indefinitely. She felt now a certain +sense of security imparted doubtless by the impregnability of her +high-flung sanctuary that she knew to be safe from all the more +dangerous beasts, and this one from men, too, since it lay in the +abjured Kor-ul-gryf. + +Now she determined to inspect the interior of her new home. The +sun still in the south, lighted the interior of the first +apartment. It was similar to those of her experience--the same +beasts and men were depicted in the same crude fashion in the +carvings on the walls--evidently there had been little progress +in the race of Waz-don during the generations that had come and +departed since Kor-ul-gryf had been abandoned by men. Of course +Pan-at-lee thought no such thoughts, for evolution and progress +existed not for her, or her kind. Things were as they had always +been and would always be as they were. + +That these strange creatures have existed thus for incalculable +ages it can scarce be doubted, so marked are the indications of +antiquity about their dwellings--deep furrows worn by naked feet +in living rock; the hollow in the jamb of a stone doorway where +many arms have touched in passing; the endless carvings that +cover, ofttimes, the entire face of a great cliff and all the +walls and ceilings of every cave and each carving wrought by a +different hand, for each is the coat of arms, one might say, of +the adult male who traced it. + +And so Pan-at-lee found this ancient cave homelike and familiar. +There was less litter within than she had found without and what +there was was mostly an accumulation of dust. Beside the doorway +was the niche in which wood and tinder were kept, but there +remained nothing now other than mere dust. She had however saved +a little pile of twigs from the debris on the porch. In a short +time she had made a light by firing a bundle of twigs and +lighting others from this fire she explored some of the inner +rooms. Nor here did she find aught that was new or strange nor +any relic of the departed owners other than a few broken stone +dishes. She had been looking for something soft to sleep upon, +but was doomed to disappointment as the former owners had +evidently made a leisurely departure, carrying all their +belongings with them. Below, in the gorge were leaves and +grasses and fragrant branches, but Pan-at-lee felt no stomach for +descending into that horrid abyss for the gratification of mere +creature comfort--only the necessity for food would drive her +there. + +And so, as the shadows lengthened and night approached she +prepared to make as comfortable a bed as she could by gathering +the dust of ages into a little pile and spreading it between her +soft body and the hard floor--at best it was only better than +nothing. But Pan-at-lee was very tired. She had not slept since +two nights before and in the interval she had experienced many +dangers and hardships. What wonder then that despite the hard +bed, she was asleep almost immediately she had composed herself +for rest. + +She slept and the moon rose, casting its silver light upon the +cliff's white face and lessening the gloom of the dark forest and +the dismal gorge. In the distance a lion roared. There was a long +silence. From the upper reaches of the gorge came a deep bellow. +There was a movement in the trees at the cliff's foot. Again the +bellow, low and ominous. It was answered from below the deserted +village. Something dropped from the foliage of a tree directly +below the cave in which Pan-at-lee slept--it dropped to the +ground among the dense shadows. Now it moved, cautiously. It +moved toward the foot of the cliff, taking form and shape in the +moonlight. It moved like the creature of a bad dream--slowly, +sluggishly. It might have been a huge sloth--it might have been +a man, with so grotesque a brush does the moon paint--master +cubist. + +Slowly it moved up the face of the cliff--like a great grubworm +it moved, but now the moon-brush touched it again and it had +hands and feet and with them it clung to the stone pegs and +raised itself laboriously aloft toward the cave where Pan-at-lee +slept. From the lower reaches of the gorge came again the sound +of bellowing, and it was answered from above the village. + +Tarzan of the Apes opened his eyes. He was conscious of a pain in +his head, and at first that was about all. A moment later +grotesque shadows, rising and falling, focused his arousing +perceptions. Presently he saw that he was in a cave. A dozen +Waz-don warriors squatted about, talking. A rude stone cresset +containing burning oil lighted the interior and as the flame rose +and fell the exaggerated shadows of the warriors danced upon the +walls behind them. + +"We brought him to you alive, Gund," he heard one of them saying, +"because never before was Ho-don like him seen. He has no +tail--he was born without one, for there is no scar to mark where +a tail had been cut off. The thumbs upon his hands and feet are +unlike those of the races of Pal-ul-don. He is more powerful than +many men put together and he attacks with the fearlessness of ja. +We brought him alive, that you might see him before he is slain." + +The chief rose and approached the ape-man, who closed his eyes +and feigned unconsciousness. He felt hairy hands upon him as he +was turned over, none too gently. The gund examined him from head +to foot, making comments, especially upon the shape and size of +his thumbs and great toes. + +"With these and with no tail," he said, "it cannot climb." + +"No," agreed one of the warriors, "it would surely fall even from +the cliff pegs." + +"I have never seen a thing like it," said the chief. "It is +neither Waz-don nor Ho-don. I wonder from whence it came and what +it is called." + +"The Kor-ul-ja shouted aloud, 'Tarzan-jad-guru!' and we thought +that they might be calling this one," said a warrior. "Shall we +kill it now?" + +"No," replied the chief, "we will wait until it's life returns +into its head that I may question it. Remain here, In-tan, and +watch it. When it can again hear and speak call me." + +He turned and departed from the cave, the others, except In-tan, +following him. As they moved past him and out of the chamber +Tarzan caught snatches of their conversation which indicated that +the Kor-ul-ja reinforcements had fallen upon their little party +in great numbers and driven them away. Evidently the swift feet +of Id-an had saved the day for the warriors of Om-at. The ape-man +smiled, then he partially opened an eye and cast it upon In-tan. +The warrior stood at the entrance to the cave looking out--his +back was toward his prisoner. Tarzan tested the bonds that +secured his wrists. They seemed none too stout and they had tied +his hands in front of him! Evidence indeed that the Waz-don took +few prisoners--if any. + +Cautiously he raised his wrists until he could examine the thongs +that confined them. A grim smile lighted his features. Instantly +he was at work upon the bonds with his strong teeth, but ever a +wary eye was upon In-tan, the warrior of Kor-ul-lul. The last knot +had been loosened and Tarzan's hands were free when In-tan turned +to cast an appraising eye upon his ward. He saw that the +prisoner's position was changed--he no longer lay upon his back +as they had left him, but upon his side and his hands were drawn +up against his face. In-tan came closer and bent down. The bonds +seemed very loose upon the prisoner's wrists. He extended his +hand to examine them with his fingers and instantly the two hands +leaped from their bonds--one to seize his own wrist, the other +his throat. So unexpected the catlike attack that In-tan had not +even time to cry out before steel fingers silenced him. The +creature pulled him suddenly forward so that he lost his balance +and rolled over upon the prisoner and to the floor beyond to stop +with Tarzan upon his breast. In-tan struggled to release +himself--struggled to draw his knife; but Tarzan found it before +him. The Waz-don's tail leaped to the other's throat, encircling +it--he too could choke; but his own knife, in the hands of his +antagonist, severed the beloved member close to its root. + +The Waz-don's struggles became weaker--a film was obscuring his +vision. He knew that he was dying and he was right. A moment +later he was dead. Tarzan rose to his feet and placed one foot +upon the breast of his dead foe. How the urge seized him to roar +forth the victory cry of his kind! But he dared not. He +discovered that they had not removed his rope from his shoulders +and that they had replaced his knife in its sheath. It had been +in his hand when he was felled. Strange creatures! He did not +know that they held a superstitious fear of the weapons of a dead +enemy, believing that if buried without them he would forever +haunt his slayers in search of them and that when he found them +he would kill the man who killed him. Against the wall leaned his +bow and quiver of arrows. + +Tarzan stepped toward the doorway of the cave and looked out. +Night had just fallen. He could hear voices from the nearer caves +and there floated to his nostrils the odor of cooking food. He +looked down and experienced a sensation of relief. The cave in +which he had been held was in the lowest tier--scarce thirty feet +from the base of the cliff. He was about to chance an immediate +descent when there occurred to him a thought that brought a grin +to his savage lips--a thought that was born of the name the +Waz-don had given him Tarzan-jad-guru--Tarzan the Terrible--and a +recollection of the days when he had delighted in baiting the +blacks of the distant jungle of his birth. He turned back into +the cave where lay the dead body of In-tan. With his knife he +severed the warrior's head and carrying it to the outer edge of +the recess tossed it to the ground below, then he dropped swiftly +and silently down the ladder of pegs in a way that would have +surprised the Kor-ul-lul who had been so sure that he could not +climb. + +At the bottom he picked up the head of In-tan and disappeared +among the shadows of the trees carrying the grisly trophy by its +shock of shaggy hair. Horrible? But you are judging a wild beast +by the standards of civilization. You may teach a lion tricks, +but he is still a lion. Tarzan looked well in a Tuxedo, but he +was still a Tarmangani and beneath his pleated shirt beat a wild +and savage heart. + +Nor was his madness lacking in method. He knew that the hearts of +the Kor-ul-lul would be filled with rage when they discovered the +thing that he had done and he knew too, that mixed with the rage +would be a leaven of fear and it was fear of him that had made +Tarzan master of many jungles--one does not win the respect of +the killers with bonbons. + +Below the village Tarzan returned to the foot of the cliff +searching for a point where he could make the ascent to the ridge +and thus back to the village of Om-at, the Kor-ul-ja. He came at +last to a place where the river ran so close to the rocky wall +that he was forced to swim it in search of a trail upon the +opposite side and here it was that his keen nostrils detected a +familiar spoor. It was the scent of Pan-at-lee at the spot where +she had emerged from the pool and taken to the safety of the +jungle. + +Immediately the ape-man's plans were changed. Pan-at-lee lived, +or at least she had lived after the leap from the cliff's summit. +He had started in search of her for Om-at, his friend, and for +Om-at he would continue upon the trail he had picked up thus +fortuitously by accident. It led him into the jungle and across +the gorge and then to the point at which Pan-at-lee had commenced +the ascent of the opposite cliffs. Here Tarzan abandoned the head +of In-tan, tying it to the lower branch of a tree, for he knew +that it would handicap him in his ascent of the steep escarpment. +Apelike he ascended, following easily the scent spoor of +Pan-at-lee. Over the summit and across the ridge the trail lay, +plain as a printed page to the delicate senses of the jungle-bred +tracker. + +Tarzan knew naught of the Kor-ul-gryf. He had seen, dimly in the +shadows of the night, strange, monstrous forms and Ta-den and +Om-at had spoken of great creatures that all men feared; but +always, everywhere, by night and by day, there were dangers. From +infancy death had stalked, grim and terrible, at his heels. He +knew little of any other existence. To cope with danger was his +life and he lived his life as simply and as naturally as you live +yours amidst the dangers of the crowded city streets. The black +man who goes abroad in the jungle by night is afraid, for he has +spent his life since infancy surrounded by numbers of his own +kind and safeguarded, especially at night, by such crude means as +lie within his powers. But Tarzan had lived as the lion lives +and the panther and the elephant and the ape--a true jungle +creature dependent solely upon his prowess and his wits, playing +a lone hand against creation. Therefore he was surprised at +nothing and feared nothing and so he walked through the strange +night as undisturbed and unapprehensive as the farmer to the cow +lot in the darkness before the dawn. + +Once more Pan-at-lee's trail ended at the verge of a cliff; but +this time there was no indication that she had leaped over the +edge and a moment's search revealed to Tarzan the stone pegs upon +which she had made her descent. As he lay upon his belly leaning +over the top of the cliff examining the pegs his attention was +suddenly attracted by something at the foot of the cliff. He +could not distinguish its identity, but he saw that it moved and +presently that it was ascending slowly, apparently by means of +pegs similar to those directly below him. He watched it intently +as it rose higher and higher until he was able to distinguish its +form more clearly, with the result that he became convinced that +it more nearly resembled some form of great ape than a lower +order. It had a tail, though, and in other respects it did not +seem a true ape. + +Slowly it ascended to the upper tier of caves, into one of which +it disappeared. Then Tarzan took up again the trail of +Pan-at-lee. He followed it down the stone pegs to the nearest +cave and then further along the upper tier. The ape-man raised +his eyebrows when he saw the direction in which it led, and +quickened his pace. He had almost reached the third cave when the +echoes of Kor-ul-gryf were awakened by a shrill scream of terror. + + + +6 + +The Tor-o-don + +PAN-AT-LEE slept--the troubled sleep, of physical and nervous +exhaustion, filled with weird dreamings. She dreamed that she +slept beneath a great tree in the bottom of the Kor-ul-gryf and +that one of the fearsome beasts was creeping upon her but she +could not open her eyes nor move. She tried to scream but no +sound issued from her lips. She felt the thing touch her throat, +her breast, her arm, and there it closed and seemed to be +dragging her toward it. With a super-human effort of will she +opened her eyes. In the instant she knew that she was dreaming +and that quickly the hallucination of the dream would fade--it +had happened to her many times before. But it persisted. In the +dim light that filtered into the dark chamber she saw a form +beside her, she felt hairy fingers upon her and a hairy breast +against which she was being drawn. Jad-ben-Otho! this was no +dream. And then she screamed and tried to fight the thing from +her; but her scream was answered by a low growl and another hairy +hand seized her by the hair of the head. The beast rose now upon +its hind legs and dragged her from the cave to the moonlit recess +without and at the same instant she saw the figure of what she +took to be a Ho-don rise above the outer edge of the niche. + +The beast that held her saw it too and growled ominously but it +did not relinquish its hold upon her hair. It crouched as though +waiting an attack, and it increased the volume and frequency of +its growls until the horrid sounds reverberated through the +gorge, drowning even the deep bellowings of the beasts below, +whose mighty thunderings had broken out anew with the sudden +commotion from the high-flung cave. The beast that held her +crouched and the creature that faced it crouched also, and +growled--as hideously as the other. Pan-at-lee trembled. This was +no Ho-don and though she feared the Ho-don she feared this thing +more, with its catlike crouch and its beastly growls. She was +lost--that Pan-at-lee knew. The two things might fight for her, +but whichever won she was lost. Perhaps, during the battle, if it +came to that, she might find the opportunity to throw herself +over into the Kor-ul-gryf. + +The thing that held her she had recognized now as a Tor-o-don, but +the other thing she could not place, though in the moonlight she +could see it very distinctly. It had no tail. She could see its +hands and its feet, and they were not the hands and feet of the +races of Pal-ul-don. It was slowly closing upon the Tor-o-don and +in one hand it held a gleaming knife. Now it spoke and to +Pan-at-lee's terror was added an equal weight of consternation. + +"When it leaves go of you," it said, "as it will presently to +defend itself, run quickly behind me, Pan-at-lee, and go to the +cave nearest the pegs you descended from the cliff top. Watch +from there. If I am defeated you will have time to escape this +slow thing; if I am not I will come to you there. I am Om-at's +friend and yours." + +The last words took the keen edge from Pan-at-lee's terror; but +she did not understand. How did this strange creature know her +name? How did it know that she had descended the pegs by a +certain cave? It must, then, have been here when she came. +Pan-at-lee was puzzled. + +"Who are you?" she asked, "and from whence do you come?" + +"I am Tarzan," he replied, "and just now I came from Om-at, of +Kor-ul-ja, in search of you." + +Om-at, gund of Kor-ul-ja! What wild talk was this? She would have +questioned him further, but now he was approaching the Tor-o-don +and the latter was screaming and growling so loudly as to drown +the sound of her voice. And then it did what the strange creature +had said that it would do--it released its hold upon her hair as +it prepared to charge. Charge it did and in those close quarters +there was no room to fence for openings. Instantly the two beasts +locked in deadly embrace, each seeking the other's throat. +Pan-at-lee watched, taking no advantage of the opportunity to +escape which their preoccupation gave her. She watched and +waited, for into her savage little brain had come the resolve to +pin her faith to this strange creature who had unlocked her heart +with those four words--"I am Om-at's friend!" And so she waited, +with drawn knife, the opportunity to do her bit in the +vanquishing of the Tor-o-don. That the newcomer could do it +unaided she well knew to be beyond the realms of possibility, for +she knew well the prowess of the beastlike man with whom it +fought. There were not many of them in Pal-ul-don, but what few +there were were a terror to the women of the Waz-don and the +Ho-don, for the old Tor-o-don bulls roamed the mountains and the +valleys of Pal-ul-don between rutting seasons and woe betide the +women who fell in their paths. + +With his tail the Tor-o-don sought one of Tarzan's ankles, and +finding it, tripped him. The two fell heavily, but so agile was +the ape-man and so quick his powerful muscles that even in +falling he twisted the beast beneath him, so that Tarzan fell on +top and now the tail that had tripped him sought his throat as +had the tail of In-tan, the Kor-ul-lul. In the effort of turning +his antagonist's body during the fall Tarzan had had to relinquish +his knife that he might seize the shaggy body with both hands and +now the weapon lay out of reach at the very edge of the recess. +Both hands were occupied for the moment in fending off the +clutching fingers that sought to seize him and drag his throat +within reach of his foe's formidable fangs and now the tail was +seeking its deadly hold with a formidable persistence that would +not be denied. + +Pan-at-lee hovered about, breathless, her dagger ready, but there +was no opening that did not also endanger Tarzan, so constantly +were the two duelists changing their positions. Tarzan felt the +tail slowly but surely insinuating itself about his neck though +he had drawn his head down between the muscles of his shoulders +in an effort to protect this vulnerable part. The battle seemed +to be going against him for the giant beast against which he +strove would have been a fair match in weight and strength for +Bolgani, the gorilla. And knowing this he suddenly exerted a +single super-human effort, thrust far apart the giant hands and +with the swiftness of a striking snake buried his fangs in the +jugular of the Tor-o-don. At the same instant the creature's tail +coiled about his own throat and then commenced a battle royal of +turning and twisting bodies as each sought to dislodge the fatal +hold of the other, but the acts of the ape-man were guided by a +human brain and thus it was that the rolling bodies rolled in the +direction that Tarzan wished--toward the edge of the recess. + +The choking tail had shut the air from his lungs, he knew that +his gasping lips were parted and his tongue protruding; and now +his brain reeled and his sight grew dim; but not before he +reached his goal and a quick hand shot out to seize the knife +that now lay within reach as the two bodies tottered perilously +upon the brink of the chasm. + +With all his remaining strength the ape-man drove home the +blade--once, twice, thrice, and then all went black before him as +he felt himself, still in the clutches of the Tor-o-don, topple +from the recess. + +Fortunate it was for Tarzan that Pan-at-lee had not obeyed his +injunction to make good her escape while he engaged the +Tor-o-don, for it was to this fact that he owed his life. Close +beside the struggling forms during the brief moments of the +terrific climax she had realized every detail of the danger to +Tarzan with which the emergency was fraught and as she saw the +two rolling over the outer edge of the niche she seized the +ape-man by an ankle at the same time throwing herself prone upon +the rocky floor. The muscles of the Tor-o-don relaxed in death +with the last thrust of Tarzan's knife and with its hold upon the +ape-man released it shot from sight into the gorge below. + +It was with infinite difficulty that Pan-at-lee retained her hold +upon the ankle of her protector, but she did so and then, slowly, +she sought to drag the dead weight back to the safety of the +niche. This, however, was beyond her strength and she could but +hold on tightly, hoping that some plan would suggest itself +before her powers of endurance failed. She wondered if, after +all, the creature was already dead, but that she could not bring +herself to believe--and if not dead how long it would be before +he regained consciousness. If he did not regain it soon he never +would regain it, that she knew, for she felt her fingers numbing +to the strain upon them and slipping, slowly, slowly, from their +hold. It was then that Tarzan regained consciousness. He could +not know what power upheld him, but he felt that whatever it was +it was slowly releasing its hold upon his ankle. Within easy +reach of his hands were two pegs and these he seized upon just as +Pan-at-lee's fingers slipped from their hold. + +As it was he came near to being precipitated into the gorge +--only his great strength saved him. He was upright now and his +feet found other pegs. His first thought was of his foe. Where +was he? Waiting above there to finish him? Tarzan looked up just +as the frightened face of Pan-at-lee appeared over the threshold +of the recess. + +"You live?" she cried. + +"Yes," replied Tarzan. "Where is the shaggy one?" + +Pan-at-lee pointed downward. "There," she said, "dead." + +"Good!" exclaimed the ape-man, clambering to her side. "You are +unharmed?" he asked. + +"You came just in time," replied Pan-at-lee; "but who are you and +how did you know that I was here and what do you know of Om-at +and where did you come from and what did you mean by calling +Om-at, gund?" + +"Wait, wait," cried Tarzan; "one at a time. My, but you are all +alike--the shes of the tribe of Kerchak, the ladies of England, +and their sisters of Pal-ul-don. Have patience and I will try to +tell you all that you wish to know. Four of us set out with Om-at +from Kor-ul-ja to search for you. We were attacked by the +Kor-ul-lul and separated. I was taken prisoner, but escaped. +Again I stumbled upon your trail and followed it, reaching the +summit of this cliff just as the hairy one was climbing up after +you. I was coming to investigate when I heard your scream--the +rest you know." + +"But you called Om-at, gund of Kor-ul-ja," she insisted. "Es-sat +is gund." + +"Es-sat is dead," explained the ape-man. "Om-at slew him and now +Om-at is gund. Om-at came back seeking you. He found Es-sat in +your cave and killed him." + +"Yes," said the girl, "Es-sat came to my cave and I struck him +down with my golden breastplates and escaped." + +"And a lion pursued you," continued Tarzan, "and you leaped from +the cliff into Kor-ul-lul, but why you were not killed is beyond +me." + +"Is there anything beyond you?" exclaimed Pan-at-lee. "How could +you know that a lion pursued me and that I leaped from the cliff +and not know that it was the pool of deep water below that saved +me?" + +"I would have known that, too, had not the Kor-ul-lul come then +and prevented me continuing upon your trail. But now I would ask +you a question--by what name do you call the thing with which I +just fought?" + +"It was a Tor-o-don," she replied. "I have seen but one before. +They are terrible creatures with the cunning of man and the +ferocity of a beast. Great indeed must be the warrior who slays +one single-handed." She gazed at him in open admiration. + +"And now," said Tarzan, "you must sleep, for tomorrow we shall +return to Kor-ul-ja and Om-at, and I doubt that you have had much +rest these two nights." + +Pan-at-lee, lulled by a feeling of security, slept peacefully +into the morning while Tarzan stretched himself upon the hard +floor of the recess just outside her cave. + +The sun was high in the heavens when he awoke; for two hours it +had looked down upon another heroic figure miles away--the figure +of a godlike man fighting his way through the hideous morass that +lies like a filthy moat defending Pal-ul-don from the creatures +of the outer world. Now waist deep in the sucking ooze, now +menaced by loathsome reptiles, the man advanced only by virtue of +Herculean efforts gaining laboriously by inches along the devious +way that he was forced to choose in selecting the least +precarious footing. Near the center of the morass was open +water--slimy, green-hued water. He reached it at last after more +than two hours of such effort as would have left an ordinary man +spent and dying in the sticky mud, yet he was less than halfway +across the marsh. Greasy with slime and mud was his smooth, +brown hide, and greasy with slime and mud was his beloved Enfield +that had shone so brightly in the first rays of the rising sun. + +He paused a moment upon the edge of the open water and then +throwing himself forward struck out to swim across. He swam with +long, easy, powerful strokes calculated less for speed than for +endurance, for his was, primarily, a test of the latter, since +beyond the open water was another two hours or more of gruelling +effort between it and solid ground. He was, perhaps, halfway +across and congratulating himself upon the ease of the +achievement of this portion of his task when there arose from the +depths directly in his path a hideous reptile, which, with +wide-distended jaws, bore down upon him, hissing shrilly. + +Tarzan arose and stretched, expanded his great chest and drank in +deep draughts of the fresh morning air. His clear eyes scanned +the wondrous beauties of the landscape spread out before them. +Directly below lay Kor-ul-gryf, a dense, somber green of gently +moving tree tops. To Tarzan it was neither grim, nor +forbidding--it was jungle, beloved jungle. To his right there +spread a panorama of the lower reaches of the Valley of +Jad-ben-Otho, with its winding streams and its blue lakes. +Gleaming whitely in the sunlight were scattered groups of +dwellings--the feudal strongholds of the lesser chiefs of the +Ho-don. A-lur, the City of Light, he could not see as it was +hidden by the shoulder of the cliff in which the deserted village +lay. + +For a moment Tarzan gave himself over to that spiritual enjoyment +of beauty that only the man-mind may attain and then Nature +asserted herself and the belly of the beast called aloud that it +was hungry. Again Tarzan looked down at Kor-ul-gryf. There was +the jungle! Grew there a jungle that would not feed Tarzan? The +ape-man smiled and commenced the descent to the gorge. Was there +danger there? Of course. Who knew it better than Tarzan? In all +jungles lies death, for life and death go hand in hand and where +life teems death reaps his fullest harvest. Never had Tarzan met +a creature of the jungle with which he could not cope--sometimes +by virtue of brute strength alone, again by a combination of +brute strength and the cunning of the man-mind; but Tarzan had +never met a gryf. + +He had heard the bellowings in the gorge the night before after +he had lain down to sleep and he had meant to ask Pan-at-lee this +morning what manner of beast so disturbed the slumbers of its +betters. He reached the foot of the cliff and strode into the +jungle and here he halted, his keen eyes and ears watchful and +alert, his sensitive nostrils searching each shifting air current +for the scent spoor of game. Again he advanced deeper into the +wood, his light step giving forth no sound, his bow and arrows in +readiness. A light morning breeze was blowing from up the gorge +and in this direction he bent his steps. Many odors impinged upon +his organs of scent. Some of these he classified without effort, +but others were strange--the odors of beasts and of birds, of +trees and shrubs and flowers with which he was unfamiliar. He +sensed faintly the reptilian odor that he had learned to connect +with the strange, nocturnal forms that had loomed dim and bulky +on several occasions since his introduction to Pal-ul-don. + +And then, suddenly he caught plainly the strong, sweet odor of +Bara, the deer. Were the belly vocal, Tarzan's would have given a +little cry of joy, for it loved the flesh of Bara. The ape-man +moved rapidly, but cautiously forward. The prey was not far +distant and as the hunter approached it, he took silently to the +trees and still in his nostrils was the faint reptilian odor that +spoke of a great creature which he had never yet seen except as a +denser shadow among the dense shadows of the night; but the odor +was of such a faintness as suggests to the jungle bred the +distance of absolute safety. + +And now, moving noiselessly, Tarzan came within sight of Bara +drinking at a pool where the stream that waters Kor-ul-gryf +crosses an open place in the jungle. The deer was too far from +the nearest tree to risk a charge, so the ape-man must depend +upon the accuracy and force of his first arrow, which must drop +the deer in its tracks or forfeit both deer and shaft. Far back +came the right hand and the bow, that you or I might not move, +bent easily beneath the muscles of the forest god. There was a +singing twang and Bara, leaping high in air, collapsed upon the +ground, an arrow through his heart. Tarzan dropped to earth and +ran to his kill, lest the animal might even yet rise and escape; +but Bara was safely dead. As Tarzan stooped to lift it to his +shoulder there fell upon his ears a thunderous bellow that seemed +almost at his right elbow, and as his eyes shot in the direction +of the sound, there broke upon his vision such a creature as +paleontologists have dreamed as having possibly existed in the +dimmest vistas of Earth's infancy--a gigantic creature, vibrant +with mad rage, that charged, bellowing, upon him. + +When Pan-at-lee awoke she looked out upon the niche in search of +Tarzan. He was not there. She sprang to her feet and rushed out, +looking down into Kor-ul-gryf guessing that he had gone down in +search of food and there she caught a glimpse of him disappearing +into the forest. For an instant she was panic-stricken. She knew +that he was a stranger in Pal-ul-don and that, so, he might not +realize the dangers that lay in that gorge of terror. Why did she +not call to him to return? You or I might have done so, but no +Pal-ul-don, for they know the ways of the gryf--they know the +weak eyes and the keen ears, and that at the sound of a human +voice they come. To have called to Tarzan, then, would but have +been to invite disaster and so she did not call. Instead, afraid +though she was, she descended into the gorge for the purpose of +overhauling Tarzan and warning him in whispers of his danger. It +was a brave act, since it was performed in the face of countless +ages of inherited fear of the creatures that she might be called +upon to face. Men have been decorated for less. + +Pan-at-lee, descended from a long line of hunters, assumed that +Tarzan would move up wind and in this direction she sought his +tracks, which she soon found well marked, since he had made no +effort to conceal them. She moved rapidly until she reached the +point at which Tarzan had taken to the trees. Of course she knew +what had happened; since her own people were semi-arboreal; but +she could not track him through the trees, having no such +well-developed sense of scent as he. + +She could but hope that he had continued on up wind and in this +direction she moved, her heart pounding in terror against her +ribs, her eyes glancing first in one direction and then another. +She had reached the edge of a clearing when two things +happened--she caught sight of Tarzan bending over a dead deer and +at the same instant a deafening roar sounded almost beside her. +It terrified her beyond description, but it brought no paralysis +of fear. Instead it galvanized her into instant action with the +result that Pan-at-lee swarmed up the nearest tree to the very +loftiest branch that would sustain her weight. Then she looked +down. + +The thing that Tarzan saw charging him when the warning bellow +attracted his surprised eyes loomed terrifically monstrous before +him--monstrous and awe-inspiring; but it did not terrify Tarzan, +it only angered him, for he saw that it was beyond even his +powers to combat and that meant that it might cause him to lose +his kill, and Tarzan was hungry. There was but a single +alternative to remaining for annihilation and that was +flight--swift and immediate. And Tarzan fled, but he carried the +carcass of Bara, the deer, with him. He had not more than a dozen +paces start, but on the other hand the nearest tree was almost as +close. His greatest danger lay, he imagined, in the great, +towering height of the creature pursuing him, for even though he +reached the tree he would have to climb high in an incredibly +short time as, unless appearances were deceiving, the thing could +reach up and pluck him down from any branch under thirty feet +above the ground, and possibly from those up to fifty feet, if it +reared up on its hind legs. + +But Tarzan was no sluggard and though the gryf was incredibly +fast despite its great bulk, it was no match for Tarzan, and when +it comes to climbing, the little monkeys gaze with envy upon the +feats of the ape-man. And so it was that the bellowing gryf came +to a baffled stop at the foot of the tree and even though he +reared up and sought to seize his prey among the branches, as +Tarzan had guessed he might, he failed in this also. And then, +well out of reach, Tarzan came to a stop and there, just above +him, he saw Pan-at-lee sitting, wide-eyed and trembling. + +"How came you here?" he asked. + +She told him. "You came to warn me!" he said. "It was very brave +and unselfish of you. I am chagrined that I should have been thus +surprised. The creature was up wind from me and yet I did not +sense its near presence until it charged. I cannot understand +it." + +"It is not strange," said Pan-at-lee. "That is one of the +peculiarities of the gryf--it is said that man never knows of its +presence until it is upon him--so silently does it move despite +its great size." + +"But I should have smelled it," cried Tarzan, disgustedly. + +"Smelled it!" ejaculated Pan-at-lee. "Smelled it?" + +"Certainly. How do you suppose I found this deer so quickly? And +I sensed the gryf, too, but faintly as at a great distance." +Tarzan suddenly ceased speaking and looked down at the bellowing +creature below them--his nostrils quivered as though searching +for a scent. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "I have it!" + +"What?" asked Pan-at-lee. + +"I was deceived because the creature gives off practically no +odor," explained the ape-man. "What I smelled was the faint aroma +that doubtless permeates the entire jungle because of the long +presence of many of the creatures--it is the sort of odor that +would remain for a long time, faint as it is. + +"Pan-at-lee, did you ever hear of a triceratops? No? Well this +thing that you call a gryf is a triceratops and it has been +extinct for hundreds of thousands of years. I have seen its +skeleton in the museum in London and a figure of one restored. I +always thought that the scientists who did such work depended +principally upon an overwrought imagination, but I see that I was +wrong. This living thing is not an exact counterpart of the +restoration that I saw; but it is so similar as to be easily +recognizable, and then, too, we must remember that during the +ages that have elapsed since the paleontologist's specimen lived +many changes might have been wrought by evolution in the living +line that has quite evidently persisted in Pal-ul-don." + +"Triceratops, London, paleo--I don't know what you are talking +about," cried Pan-at-lee. + +Tarzan smiled and threw a piece of dead wood at the face of the +angry creature below them. Instantly the great bony hood over the +neck was erected and a mad bellow rolled upward from the gigantic +body. Full twenty feet at the shoulder the thing stood, a dirty +slate-blue in color except for its yellow face with the blue +bands encircling the eyes, the red hood with the yellow lining +and the yellow belly. The three parallel lines of bony +protuberances down the back gave a further touch of color to the +body, those following the line of the spine being red, while +those on either side are yellow. The five- and three-toed hoofs +of the ancient horned dinosaurs had become talons in the gryf, +but the three horns, two large ones above the eyes and a median +horn on the nose, had persisted through all the ages. Weird and +terrible as was its appearance Tarzan could not but admire the +mighty creature looming big below him, its seventy-five feet of +length majestically typifying those things which all his life the +ape-man had admired--courage and strength. In that massive tail +alone was the strength of an elephant. + +The wicked little eyes looked up at him and the horny beak opened +to disclose a full set of powerful teeth. + +"Herbivorous!" murmured the ape-man. "Your ancestors may have +been, but not you," and then to Pan-at-lee: "Let us go now. At +the cave we will have deer meat and then--back to Kor-ul-ja and +Om-at." + +The girl shuddered. "Go?" she repeated. "We will never go from +here." + +"Why not?" asked Tarzan. + +For answer she but pointed to the gryf. + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed the man. "It cannot climb. We can reach the +cliff through the trees and be back in the cave before it knows +what has become of us." + +"You do not know the gryf," replied Pan-at-lee gloomily. + +"Wherever we go it will follow and always it will be ready at the +foot of each tree when we would descend. It will never give us +up." + +"We can live in the trees for a long time if necessary," replied +Tarzan, "and sometime the thing will leave." + +The girl shook her head. "Never," she said, "and then there are +the Tor-o-don. They will come and kill us and after eating a +little will throw the balance to the gryf--the gryf and Tor-o-don +are friends, because the Tor-o-don shares his food with the +gryf." + +"You may be right," said Tarzan; "but even so I don't intend +waiting here for someone to come along and eat part of me and +then feed the balance to that beast below. If I don't get out of +this place whole it won't be my fault. Come along now and we'll +make a try at it," and so saying he moved off through the tree +tops with Pan-at-lee close behind. Below them, on the ground, +moved the horned dinosaur and when they reached the edge of the +forest where there lay fifty yards of open ground to cross to the +foot of the cliff he was there with them, at the bottom of the +tree, waiting. + +Tarzan looked ruefully down and scratched his head. + + + +7 + +Jungle Craft + +PRESENTLY he looked up and at Pan-at-lee. "Can you cross the +gorge through the trees very rapidly?" he questioned. + +"Alone?" she asked. + +"No," replied Tarzan. + +"I can follow wherever you can lead," she said then. + +"Across and back again?" + +"Yes." + +"Then come, and do exactly as I bid." He started back again +through the trees, swiftly, swinging monkey-like from limb to +limb, following a zigzag course that he tried to select with an +eye for the difficulties of the trail beneath. Where the +underbrush was heaviest, where fallen trees blocked the way, he +led the footsteps of the creature below them; but all to no +avail. When they reached the opposite side of the gorge the gryf +was with them. + +"Back again," said Tarzan, and, turning, the two retraced their +high-flung way through the upper terraces of the ancient forest +of Kor-ul-gryf. But the result was the same--no, not quite; it +was worse, for another gryf had joined the first and now two +waited beneath the tree in which they stopped. + +The cliff looming high above them with its innumerable cave +mouths seemed to beckon and to taunt them. It was so near, yet +eternity yawned between. The body of the Tor-o-don lay at the +cliff's foot where it had fallen. It was in plain view of the two +in the tree. One of the gryfs walked over and sniffed about it, +but did not offer to devour it. Tarzan had examined it casually +as he had passed earlier in the morning. He guessed that it +represented either a very high order of ape or a very low order +of man--something akin to the Java man, perhaps; a truer example +of the pithecanthropi than either the Ho-don or the Waz-don; +possibly the precursor of them both. As his eyes wandered idly +over the scene below his active brain was working out the details +of the plan that he had made to permit Pan-at-lee's escape from +the gorge. His thoughts were interrupted by a strange cry from +above them in the gorge. + +"Whee-oo! Whee-oo!" it sounded, coming closer. + +The gryfs below raised their heads and looked in the direction of +the interruption. One of them made a low, rumbling sound in its +throat. It was not a bellow and it did not indicate anger. +Immediately the "Whee-oo!" responded. The gryfs repeated the +rumbling and at intervals the "Whee-oo!" was repeated, coming +ever closer. + +Tarzan looked at Pan-at-lee. "What is it?" he asked. + +"I do not know," she replied. "Perhaps a strange bird, or another +horrid beast that dwells in this frightful place." + +"Ah," exclaimed Tarzan; "there it is. Look!" + +Pan-at-lee voiced a cry of despair. "A Tor-o-don!" + +The creature, walking erect and carrying a stick in one hand, +advanced at a slow, lumbering gait. It walked directly toward the +gryfs who moved aside, as though afraid. Tarzan watched intently. +The Tor-o-don was now quite close to one of the triceratops. It +swung its head and snapped at him viciously. Instantly the +Tor-o-don sprang in and commenced to belabor the huge beast +across the face with his stick. To the ape-man's amazement the +gryf, that might have annihilated the comparatively puny +Tor-o-don instantly in any of a dozen ways, cringed like a +whipped cur. + +"Whee-oo! Whee-oo!" shouted the Tor-o-don and the gryf came +slowly toward him. A whack on the median horn brought it to a +stop. Then the Tor-o-don walked around behind it, clambered up +its tail and seated himself astraddle of the huge back. +"Whee-oo!" he shouted and prodded the beast with a sharp point of +his stick. The gryf commenced to move off. + +So rapt had Tarzan been in the scene below him that he had given +no thought to escape, for he realized that for him and Pan-at-lee +time had in these brief moments turned back countless ages to +spread before their eyes a page of the dim and distant past. They +two had looked upon the first man and his primitive beasts of +burden. + +And now the ridden gryf halted and looked up at them, bellowing. +It was sufficient. The creature had warned its master of their +presence. Instantly the Tor-o-don urged the beast close beneath +the tree which held them, at the same time leaping to his feet +upon the horny back. Tarzan saw the bestial face, the great +fangs, the mighty muscles. From the loins of such had sprung the +human race--and only from such could it have sprung, for only +such as this might have survived the horrid dangers of the age +that was theirs. + +The Tor-o-don beat upon his breast and growled horribly +--hideous, uncouth, beastly. Tarzan rose to his full height upon +a swaying branch--straight and beautiful as a demigod--unspoiled +by the taint of civilization--a perfect specimen of what the +human race might have been had the laws of man not interfered +with the laws of nature. + +The Present fitted an arrow to his bow and drew the shaft far +back. The Past basing its claims upon brute strength sought to +reach the other and drag him down; but the loosed arrow sank deep +into the savage heart and the Past sank back into the oblivion +that had claimed his kind. + +"Tarzan-jad-guru!" murmured Pan-at-lee, unknowingly giving him +out of the fullness of her admiration the same title that the +warriors of her tribe had bestowed upon him. + +The ape-man turned to her. "Pan-at-lee," he said, "these beasts +may keep us treed here indefinitely. I doubt if we can escape +together, but I have a plan. You remain here, hiding yourself in +the foliage, while I start back across the gorge in sight of them +and yelling to attract their attention. Unless they have more +brains than I suspect they will follow me. When they are gone +you make for the cliff. Wait for me in the cave not longer than +today. If I do not come by tomorrow's sun you will have to start +back for Kor-ul-ja alone. Here is a joint of deer meat for you." +He had severed one of the deer's hind legs and this he passed up +to her. + +"I cannot desert you," she said simply; "it is not the way of my +people to desert a friend and ally. Om-at would never forgive +me." + +"Tell Om-at that I commanded you to go," replied Tarzan. + +"It is a command?" she asked. + +"It is! Good-bye, Pan-at-lee. Hasten back to Om-at--you are a +fitting mate for the chief of Kor-ul-ja." He moved off slowly +through the trees. + +"Good-bye, Tarzan-jad-guru!" she called after him. "Fortunate are +my Om-at and his Pan-at-lee in owning such a friend." + +Tarzan, shouting aloud, continued upon his way and the great +gryfs, lured by his voice, followed beneath. His ruse was +evidently proving successful and he was filled with elation as he +led the bellowing beasts farther and farther from Pan-at-lee. He +hoped that she would take advantage of the opportunity afforded +her for escape, yet at the same time he was filled with concern +as to her ability to survive the dangers which lay between +Kor-ul-gryf and Kor-ul-ja. There were lions and Tor-o-dons and +the unfriendly tribe of Kor-ul-lul to hinder her progress, though +the distance in itself to the cliffs of her people was not great. + +He realized her bravery and understood the resourcefulness that +she must share in common with all primitive people who, day by +day, must contend face to face with nature's law of the survival +of the fittest, unaided by any of the numerous artificial +protections that civilization has thrown around its brood of +weaklings. + +Several times during this crossing of the gorge Tarzan endeavored +to outwit his keen pursuers, but all to no avail. Double as he +would he could not throw them off his track and ever as he +changed his course they changed theirs to conform. Along the +verge of the forest upon the southeastern side of the gorge he +sought some point at which the trees touched some negotiable +portion of the cliff, but though he traveled far both up and down +the gorge he discovered no such easy avenue of escape. The +ape-man finally commenced to entertain an idea of the +hopelessness of his case and to realize to the full why the +Kor-ul-gryf had been religiously abjured by the races of +Pal-ul-don for all these many ages. + +Night was falling and though since early morning he had sought +diligently a way out of this cul-de-sac he was no nearer to +liberty than at the moment the first bellowing gryf had charged +him as he stooped over the carcass of his kill: but with the +falling of night came renewed hope for, in common with the great +cats, Tarzan was, to a greater or lesser extent, a nocturnal +beast. It is true he could not see by night as well as they, but +that lack was largely recompensed for by the keenness of his +scent and the highly developed sensitiveness of his other organs +of perception. As the blind follow and interpret their Braille +characters with deft fingers, so Tarzan reads the book of the +jungle with feet and hands and eyes and ears and nose; each +contributing its share to the quick and accurate translation of +the text. + +But again he was doomed to be thwarted by one vital weakness--he +did not know the gryf, and before the night was over he wondered +if the things never slept, for wheresoever he moved they moved +also, and always they barred his road to liberty. Finally, just +before dawn, he relinquished his immediate effort and sought rest +in a friendly tree crotch in the safety of the middle terrace. + +Once again was the sun high when Tarzan awoke, rested and +refreshed. Keen to the necessities of the moment he made no +effort to locate his jailers lest in the act he might apprise +them of his movements. Instead he sought cautiously and silently +to melt away among the foliage of the trees. His first move, +however, was heralded by a deep bellow from below. + +Among the numerous refinements of civilization that Tarzan had +failed to acquire was that of profanity, and possibly it is to be +regretted since there are circumstances under which it is at +least a relief to pent emotion. And it may be that in effect +Tarzan resorted to profanity if there can be physical as well as +vocal swearing, since immediately the bellow announced that his +hopes had been again frustrated, he turned quickly and seeing the +hideous face of the gryf below him seized a large fruit from a +nearby branch and hurled it viciously at the horned snout. The +missile struck full between the creature's eyes, resulting in a +reaction that surprised the ape-man; it did not arouse the beast +to a show of revengeful rage as Tarzan had expected and hoped; +instead the creature gave a single vicious side snap at the fruit +as it bounded from his skull and then turned sulkily away, +walking off a few steps. + +There was that in the act that recalled immediately to Tarzan's +mind similar action on the preceding day when the Tor-o-don had +struck one of the creatures across the face with his staff, and +instantly there sprung to the cunning and courageous brain a plan +of escape from his predicament that might have blanched the cheek +of the most heroic. + +The gambling instinct is not strong among creatures of the wild; +the chances of their daily life are sufficient stimuli for the +beneficial excitement of their nerve centers. It has remained for +civilized man, protected in a measure from the natural dangers of +existence, to invent artificial stimulants in the form of cards +and dice and roulette wheels. Yet when necessity bids there are +no greater gamblers than the savage denizens of the jungle, the +forest, and the hills, for as lightly as you roll the ivory cubes +upon the green cloth they will gamble with death--their own lives +the stake. + +And so Tarzan would gamble now, pitting the seemingly wild +deductions of his shrewd brain against all the proofs of the +bestial ferocity of his antagonists that his experience of them +had adduced--against all the age-old folklore and legend that had +been handed down for countless generations and passed on to him +through the lips of Pan-at-lee. + +Yet as he worked in preparation for the greatest play that man +can make in the game of life, he smiled; nor was there any +indication of haste or excitement or nervousness in his demeanor. + +First he selected a long, straight branch about two inches in +diameter at its base. This he cut from the tree with his knife, +removed the smaller branches and twigs until he had fashioned a +pole about ten feet in length. This he sharpened at the smaller +end. The staff finished to his satisfaction he looked down upon +the triceratops. + +"Whee-oo!" he cried. + +Instantly the beasts raised their heads and looked at him. From +the throat of one of them came faintly a low rumbling sound. + +"Whee-oo!" repeated Tarzan and hurled the balance of the carcass +of the deer to them. + +Instantly the gryfs fell upon it with much bellowing, one of them +attempting to seize it and keep it from the other: but finally +the second obtained a hold and an instant later it had been torn +asunder and greedily devoured. Once again they looked up at the +ape-man and this time they saw him descending to the ground. + +One of them started toward him. Again Tarzan repeated the weird +cry of the Tor-o-don. The gryf halted in his track, apparently +puzzled, while Tarzan slipped lightly to the earth and advanced +toward the nearer beast, his staff raised menacingly and the call +of the first-man upon his lips. + +Would the cry be answered by the low rumbling of the beast of +burden or the horrid bellow of the man-eater? Upon the answer to +this question hung the fate of the ape-man. + +Pan-at-lee was listening intently to the sounds of the departing +gryfs as Tarzan led them cunningly from her, and when she was +sure that they were far enough away to insure her safe retreat +she dropped swiftly from the branches to the ground and sped like +a frightened deer across the open space to the foot of the cliff, +stepped over the body of the Tor-o-don who had attacked her the +night before and was soon climbing rapidly up the ancient stone +pegs of the deserted cliff village. In the mouth of the cave +near that which she had occupied she kindled a fire and cooked +the haunch of venison that Tarzan had left her, and from one of +the trickling streams that ran down the face of the escarpment +she obtained water to satisfy her thirst. + +All day she waited, hearing in the distance, and sometimes close +at hand, the bellowing of the gryfs which pursued the strange +creature that had dropped so miraculously into her life. For him +she felt the same keen, almost fanatical loyalty that many +another had experienced for Tarzan of the Apes. Beast and human, +he had held them to him with bonds that were stronger than +steel--those of them that were clean and courageous, and the weak +and the helpless; but never could Tarzan claim among his admirers +the coward, the ingrate or the scoundrel; from such, both man and +beast, he had won fear and hatred. + +To Pan-at-lee he was all that was brave and noble and heroic and, +too, he was Om-at's friend--the friend of the man she loved. For +any one of these reasons Pan-at-lee would have died for Tarzan, +for such is the loyalty of the simple-minded children of nature. +It has remained for civilization to teach us to weigh the +relative rewards of loyalty and its antithesis. The loyalty of +the primitive is spontaneous, unreasoning, unselfish and such was +the loyalty of Pan-at-lee for the Tarmangani. + +And so it was that she waited that day and night, hoping that he +would return that she might accompany him back to Om-at, for her +experience had taught her that in the face of danger two have a +better chance than one. But Tarzan-jad-guru had not come, and so +upon the following morning Pan-at-lee set out upon her return to +Kor-ul-ja. + +She knew the dangers and yet she faced them with the stolid +indifference of her race. When they directly confronted and +menaced her would be time enough to experience fear or excitement +or confidence. In the meantime it was unnecessary to waste nerve +energy by anticipating them. She moved therefore through her +savage land with no greater show of concern than might mark your +sauntering to a corner drug-store for a sundae. But this is your +life and that is Pan-at-lee's and even now as you read this +Pan-at-lee may be sitting upon the edge of the recess of Om-at's +cave while the ja and jato roar from the gorge below and from the +ridge above, and the Kor-ul-lul threaten upon the south and the +Ho-don from the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho far below, for Pan-at-lee +still lives and preens her silky coat of jet beneath the tropical +moonlight of Pal-ul-don. + +But she was not to reach Kor-ul-ja this day, nor the next, nor +for many days after though the danger that threatened her was +neither Waz-don enemy nor savage beast. + +She came without misadventure to the Kor-ul-lul and after +descending its rocky southern wall without catching the slightest +glimpse of the hereditary enemies of her people, she experienced +a renewal of confidence that was little short of practical +assurance that she would successfully terminate her venture and +be restored once more to her own people and the lover she had not +seen for so many long and weary moons. + +She was almost across the gorge now and moving with an extreme +caution abated no wit by her confidence, for wariness is an +instinctive trait of the primitive, something which cannot be +laid aside even momentarily if one would survive. And so she came +to the trail that follows the windings of Kor-ul-lul from its +uppermost reaches down into the broad and fertile Valley of +Jad-ben-Otho. + +And as she stepped into the trail there arose on either side of +her from out of the bushes that border the path, as though +materialized from thin air, a score of tall, white warriors of +the Ho-don. Like a frightened deer Pan-at-lee cast a single +startled look at these menacers of her freedom and leaped quickly +toward the bushes in an effort to escape; but the warriors were +too close at hand. They closed upon her from every side and then, +drawing her knife she turned at bay, metamorphosed by the fires +of fear and hate from a startled deer to a raging tiger-cat. They +did not try to kill her, but only to subdue and capture her; and +so it was that more than a single Ho-don warrior felt the keen +edge of her blade in his flesh before they had succeeded in +overpowering her by numbers. And still she fought and scratched +and bit after they had taken the knife from her until it was +necessary to tie her hands and fasten a piece of wood between her +teeth by means of thongs passed behind her head. + +At first she refused to walk when they started off in the +direction of the valley but after two of them had seized her by +the hair and dragged her for a number of yards she thought better +of her original decision and came along with them, though still +as defiant as her bound wrists and gagged mouth would permit. + +Near the entrance to Kor-ul-lul they came upon another body of +their warriors with which were several Waz-don prisoners from the +tribe of Kor-ul-lul. It was a raiding party come up from a Ho-don +city of the valley after slaves. This Pan-at-lee knew for the +occurrence was by no means unusual. During her lifetime the +tribe to which she belonged had been sufficiently fortunate, or +powerful, to withstand successfully the majority of such raids +made upon them, but yet Pan-at-lee had known of friends and +relatives who had been carried into slavery by the Ho-don and she +knew, too, another thing which gave her hope, as doubtless it did +to each of the other captives--that occasionally the prisoners +escaped from the cities of the hairless whites. + +After they had joined the other party the entire band set forth +into the valley and presently, from the conversation of her +captors, Pan-at-lee knew that she was headed for A-lur, the City +of Light; while in the cave of his ancestors, Om-at, chief of the +Kor-ul-ja, bemoaned the loss of both his friend and she that was +to have been his mate. + + + +8 + +A-lur + +AS THE hissing reptile bore down upon the stranger swimming in +the open water near the center of the morass on the frontier of +Pal-ul-don it seemed to the man that this indeed must be the +futile termination of an arduous and danger-filled journey. It +seemed, too, equally futile to pit his puny knife against this +frightful creature. Had he been attacked on land it is possible +that he might as a last resort have used his Enfield, though he +had come thus far through all these weary, danger-ridden miles +without recourse to it, though again and again had his life hung +in the balance in the face of the savage denizens of forest, +jungle, and steppe. For whatever it may have been for which he +was preserving his precious ammunition he evidently held it more +sacred even than his life, for as yet he had not used a single +round and now the decision was not required of him, since it +would have been impossible for him to have unslung his Enfield, +loaded and fired with the necessary celerity while swimming. + +Though his chance for survival seemed slender, and hope at its +lowest ebb, he was not minded therefore to give up without a +struggle. Instead he drew his blade and awaited the oncoming +reptile. The creature was like no living thing he ever before had +seen although possibly it resembled a crocodile in some respects +more than it did anything with which he was familiar. + +As this frightful survivor of some extinct progenitor charged +upon him with distended jaws there came to the man quickly a full +consciousness of the futility of endeavoring to stay the mad rush +or pierce the armor-coated hide with his little knife. The thing +was almost upon him now and whatever form of defense he chose +must be made quickly. There seemed but a single alternative to +instant death, and this he took at almost the instant the great +reptile towered directly above him. + +With the celerity of a seal he dove headforemost beneath the +oncoming body and at the same instant, turning upon his back, he +plunged his blade into the soft, cold surface of the slimy belly +as the momentum of the hurtling reptile carried it swiftly over +him; and then with powerful strokes he swam on beneath the +surface for a dozen yards before he rose. A glance showed him the +stricken monster plunging madly in pain and rage upon the surface +of the water behind him. That it was writhing in its death +agonies was evidenced by the fact that it made no effort to +pursue him, and so, to the accompaniment of the shrill screaming +of the dying monster, the man won at last to the farther edge of +the open water to take up once more the almost superhuman effort +of crossing the last stretch of clinging mud which separated him +from the solid ground of Pal-ul-don. + +A good two hours it took him to drag his now weary body through +the clinging, stinking muck, but at last, mud covered and spent, +he dragged himself out upon the soft grasses of the bank. A +hundred yards away a stream, winding its way down from the +distant mountains, emptied into the morass, and, after a short +rest, he made his way to this and seeking a quiet pool, bathed +himself and washed the mud and slime from his weapons, +accouterments, and loin cloth. Another hour was spent beneath the +rays of the hot sun in wiping, polishing, and oiling his Enfield +though the means at hand for drying it consisted principally of +dry grasses. It was afternoon before he had satisfied himself +that his precious weapon was safe from any harm by dirt, or +dampness, and then he arose and took up the search for the spoor +he had followed to the opposite side of the swamp. + +Would he find again the trail that had led into the opposite side +of the morass, to be lost there, even to his trained senses? If +he found it not again upon this side of the almost impassable +barrier he might assume that his long journey had ended in +failure. And so he sought up and down the verge of the stagnant +water for traces of an old spoor that would have been invisible +to your eyes or mine, even had we followed directly in the tracks +of its maker. + +As Tarzan advanced upon the gryfs he imitated as closely as he +could recall them the methods and mannerisms of the Tor-o-don, but +up to the instant that he stood close beside one of the huge +creatures he realized that his fate still hung in the balance, +for the thing gave forth no sign, either menacing or otherwise. +It only stood there, watching him out of its cold, reptilian eyes +and then Tarzan raised his staff and with a menacing "Whee-oo!" +struck the gryf a vicious blow across the face. + +The creature made a sudden side snap in his direction, a snap +that did not reach him, and then turned sullenly away, precisely +as it had when the Tor-o-don commanded it. Walking around to its +rear as he had seen the shaggy first-man do, Tarzan ran up the +broad tail and seated himself upon the creature's back, and then +again imitating the acts of the Tor-o-don he prodded it with the +sharpened point of his staff, and thus goading it forward and +guiding it with blows, first upon one side and then upon the +other, he started it down the gorge in the direction of the +valley. + +At first it had been in his mind only to determine if he could +successfully assert any authority over the great monsters, +realizing that in this possibility lay his only hope of immediate +escape from his jailers. But once seated upon the back of his +titanic mount the ape-man experienced the sensation of a new +thrill that recalled to him the day in his boyhood that he had +first clambered to the broad head of Tantor, the elephant, and +this, together with the sense of mastery that was always meat and +drink to the lord of the jungle, decided him to put his newly +acquired power to some utilitarian purpose. + +Pan-at-lee he judged must either have already reached safety or +met with death. At least, no longer could he be of service to +her, while below Kor-ul-gryf, in the soft green valley, lay +A-lur, the City of Light, which, since he had gazed upon it from +the shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved, had been his ambition and his +goal. + +Whether or not its gleaming walls held the secret of his lost +mate he could not even guess but if she lived at all within the +precincts of Pal-ul-don it must be among the Ho-don, since the +hairy black men of this forgotten world took no prisoners. And +so to A-lur he would go, and how more effectively than upon the +back of this grim and terrible creature that the races of +Pal-ul-don held in such awe? + +A little mountain stream tumbles down from Kor-ul-gryf to be +joined in the foothills with that which empties the waters of +Kor-ul-lul into the valley, forming a small river which runs +southwest, eventually entering the valley's largest lake at the +City of A-lur, through the center of which the stream passes. An +ancient trail, well marked by countless generations of naked feet +of man and beast, leads down toward A-lur beside the river, and +along this Tarzan guided the gryf. Once clear of the forest which +ran below the mouth of the gorge, Tarzan caught occasional +glimpses of the city gleaming in the distance far below him. + +The country through which he passed was resplendent with the +riotous beauties of tropical verdure. Thick, lush grasses grew +waist high upon either side of the trail and the way was broken +now and again by patches of open park-like forest, or perhaps a +little patch of dense jungle where the trees overarched the way +and trailing creepers depended in graceful loops from branch to +branch. + +At times the ape-man had difficulty in commanding obedience upon +the part of his unruly beast, but always in the end its fear of +the relatively puny goad urged it on to obedience. Late in the +afternoon as they approached the confluence of the stream they +were skirting and another which appeared to come from the +direction of Kor-ul-ja the ape-man, emerging from one of the +jungle patches, discovered a considerable party of Ho-don upon +the opposite bank. Simultaneously they saw him and the mighty +creature he bestrode. For a moment they stood in wide-eyed +amazement and then, in answer to the command of their leader, +they turned and bolted for the shelter of the nearby wood. + +The ape-man had but a brief glimpse of them but it was sufficient +indication that there were Waz-don with them, doubtless prisoners +taken in one of the raids upon the Waz-don villages of which +Ta-den and Om-at had told him. + +At the sound of their voices the gryf had bellowed terrifically +and started in pursuit even though a river intervened, but by +dint of much prodding and beating, Tarzan had succeeded in +heading the animal back into the path though thereafter for a +long time it was sullen and more intractable than ever. + +As the sun dropped nearer the summit of the western hills Tarzan +became aware that his plan to enter A-lur upon the back of a gryf +was likely doomed to failure, since the stubbornness of the great +beast was increasing momentarily, doubtless due to the fact that +its huge belly was crying out for food. The ape-man wondered if +the Tor-o-dons had any means of picketing their beasts for the +night, but as he did not know and as no plan suggested itself, he +determined that he should have to trust to the chance of finding +it again in the morning. + +There now arose in his mind a question as to what would be their +relationship when Tarzan had dismounted. Would it again revert to +that of hunter and quarry or would fear of the goad continue to +hold its supremacy over the natural instinct of the hunting +flesh-eater? Tarzan wondered but as he could not remain upon the +gryf forever, and as he preferred dismounting and putting the +matter to a final test while it was still light, he decided to +act at once. + +How to stop the creature he did not know, as up to this time his +sole desire had been to urge it forward. By experimenting with +his staff, however, he found that he could bring it to a halt by +reaching forward and striking the thing upon its beaklike snout. +Close by grew a number of leafy trees, in any one of which the +ape-man could have found sanctuary, but it had occurred to him +that should he immediately take to the trees it might suggest to +the mind of the gryf that the creature that had been commanding +him all day feared him, with the result that Tarzan would once +again be held a prisoner by the triceratops. + +And so, when the gryf halted, Tarzan slid to the ground, struck +the creature a careless blow across the flank as though in +dismissal and walked indifferently away. From the throat of the +beast came a low rumbling sound and without even a glance at +Tarzan it turned and entered the river where it stood drinking +for a long time. + +Convinced that the gryf no longer constituted a menace to him the +ape-man, spurred on himself by the gnawing of hunger, unslung his +bow and selecting a handful of arrows set forth cautiously in +search of food, evidence of the near presence of which was being +borne up to him by a breeze from down river. + +Ten minutes later he had made his kill, again one of the +Pal-ul-don specimens of antelope, all species of which Tarzan had +known since childhood as Bara, the deer, since in the little +primer that had been the basis of his education the picture of a +deer had been the nearest approach to the likeness of the +antelope, from the giant eland to the smaller bushbuck of the +hunting grounds of his youth. + +Cutting off a haunch he cached it in a nearby tree, and throwing +the balance of the carcass across his shoulder trotted back +toward the spot at which he had left the gryf. The great beast +was just emerging from the river when Tarzan, seeing it, issued +the weird cry of the Tor-o-don. The creature looked in the +direction of the sound voicing at the same time the low rumble +with which it answered the call of its master. Twice Tarzan +repeated his cry before the beast moved slowly toward him, and +when it had come within a few paces he tossed the carcass of the +deer to it, upon which it fell with greedy jaws. + +"If anything will keep it within call," mused the ape-man as he +returned to the tree in which he had cached his own portion of +his kill, "it is the knowledge that I will feed it." But as he +finished his repast and settled himself comfortably for the night +high among the swaying branches of his eyrie he had little +confidence that he would ride into A-lur the following day upon +his prehistoric steed. + +When Tarzan awoke early the following morning he dropped lightly +to the ground and made his way to the stream. Removing his +weapons and loin cloth he entered the cold waters of the little +pool, and after his refreshing bath returned to the tree to +breakfast upon another portion of Bara, the deer, adding to his +repast some fruits and berries which grew in abundance nearby. + +His meal over he sought the ground again and raising his voice in +the weird cry that he had learned, he called aloud on the chance +of attracting the gryf, but though he waited for some time and +continued calling there was no response, and he was finally +forced to the conclusion that he had seen the last of his great +mount of the preceding day. + +And so he set his face toward A-lur, pinning his faith upon his +knowledge of the Ho-don tongue, his great strength and his native +wit. + +Refreshed by food and rest, the journey toward A-lur, made in the +cool of the morning along the bank of the joyous river, he found +delightful in the extreme. Differentiating him from his fellows +of the savage jungle were many characteristics other than those +physical and mental. Not the least of these were in a measure +spiritual, and one that had doubtless been as strong as another +in influencing Tarzan's love of the jungle had been his +appreciation of the beauties of nature. The apes cared more for a +grubworm in a rotten log than for all the majestic grandeur of +the forest giants waving above them. The only beauties that Numa +acknowledged were those of his own person as he paraded them +before the admiring eyes of his mate, but in all the +manifestations of the creative power of nature of which Tarzan +was cognizant he appreciated the beauties. + +As Tarzan neared the city his interest became centered upon the +architecture of the outlying buildings which were hewn from the +chalklike limestone of what had once been a group of low hills, +similar to the many grass-covered hillocks that dotted the valley +in every direction. Ta-den's explanation of the Ho-don methods of +house construction accounted for the ofttimes remarkable shapes +and proportions of the buildings which, during the ages that must +have been required for their construction, had been hewn from the +limestone hills, the exteriors chiseled to such architectural +forms as appealed to the eyes of the builders while at the same +time following roughly the original outlines of the hills in an +evident desire to economize both labor and space. The excavation +of the apartments within had been similarly governed by +necessity. + +As he came nearer Tarzan saw that the waste material from these +building operations had been utilized in the construction of +outer walls about each building or group of buildings resulting +from a single hillock, and later he was to learn that it had also +been used for the filling of inequalities between the hills and +the forming of paved streets throughout the city, the result, +possibly, more of the adoption of an easy method of disposing of +the quantities of broken limestone than by any real necessity for +pavements. + +There were people moving about within the city and upon the +narrow ledges and terraces that broke the lines of the buildings +and which seemed to be a peculiarity of Ho-don architecture, a +concession, no doubt, to some inherent instinct that might be +traced back to their early cliff-dwelling progenitors. + +Tarzan was not surprised that at a short distance he aroused no +suspicion or curiosity in the minds of those who saw him, since, +until closer scrutiny was possible, there was little to +distinguish him from a native either in his general conformation +or his color. He had, of course, formulated a plan of action and, +having decided, he did not hesitate in the carrying out his plan. + +With the same assurance that you might venture upon the main +street of a neighboring city Tarzan strode into the Ho-don city of +A-lur. The first person to detect his spuriousness was a little +child playing in the arched gateway of one of the walled +buildings. "No tail! no tail!" it shouted, throwing a stone at +him, and then it suddenly grew dumb and its eyes wide as it +sensed that this creature was something other than a mere Ho-don +warrior who had lost his tail. With a gasp the child turned and +fled screaming into the courtyard of its home. + +Tarzan continued on his way, fully realizing that the moment was +imminent when the fate of his plan would be decided. Nor had he +long to wait since at the next turning of the winding street he +came face to face with a Ho-don warrior. He saw the sudden +surprise in the latter's eyes, followed instantly by one of +suspicion, but before the fellow could speak Tarzan addressed +him. + +"I am a stranger from another land," he said; "I would speak with +Ko-tan, your king." + +The fellow stepped back, laying his hand upon his knife. "There +are no strangers that come to the gates of A-lur," he said, +"other than as enemies or slaves." + +"I come neither as a slave nor an enemy," replied Tarzan. "I +come directly from Jad-ben-Otho. Look!" and he held out his hands +that the Ho-don might see how greatly they differed from his own, +and then wheeled about that the other might see that he was +tailless, for it was upon this fact that his plan had been based, +due to his recollection of the quarrel between Ta-den and Om-at, +in which the Waz-don had claimed that Jad-ben-Otho had a long +tail while the Ho-don had been equally willing to fight for his +faith in the taillessness of his god. + +The warrior's eyes widened and an expression of awe crept into +them, though it was still tinged with suspicion. "Jad-ben-Otho!" +he murmured, and then, "It is true that you are neither Ho-don +nor Waz-don, and it is also true that Jad-ben-Otho has no tail. +Come," he said, "I will take you to Ko-tan, for this is a matter +in which no common warrior may interfere. Follow me," and still +clutching the handle of his knife and keeping a wary side glance +upon the ape-man he led the way through A-lur. + +The city covered a large area. Sometimes there was a considerable +distance between groups of buildings, and again they were quite +close together. There were numerous imposing groups, evidently +hewn from the larger hills, often rising to a height of a hundred +feet or more. As they advanced they met numerous warriors and +women, all of whom showed great curiosity in the stranger, but +there was no attempt to menace him when it was found that he was +being conducted to the palace of the king. + +They came at last to a great pile that sprawled over a +considerable area, its western front facing upon a large blue +lake and evidently hewn from what had once been a natural cliff. +This group of buildings was surrounded by a wall of considerably +greater height than any that Tarzan had before seen. His guide +led him to a gateway before which waited a dozen or more warriors +who had risen to their feet and formed a barrier across the +entrance-way as Tarzan and his party appeared around the corner +of the palace wall, for by this time he had accumulated such a +following of the curious as presented to the guards the +appearance of a formidable mob. + +The guide's story told, Tarzan was conducted into the courtyard +where he was held while one of the warriors entered the palace, +evidently with the intention of notifying Ko-tan. Fifteen minutes +later a large warrior appeared, followed by several others, all +of whom examined Tarzan with every sign of curiosity as they +approached. + +The leader of the party halted before the ape-man. "Who are you?" +he asked, "and what do you want of Ko-tan, the king?" + +"I am a friend," replied the ape-man, "and I have come from the +country of Jad-ben-Otho to visit Ko-tan of Pal-ul-don." + +The warrior and his followers seemed impressed. Tarzan could see +the latter whispering among themselves. + +"How come you here," asked the spokesman, "and what do you want +of Ko-tan?" + +Tarzan drew himself to his full height. "Enough!" he cried. +"Must the messenger of Jad-ben-Otho be subjected to the treatment +that might be accorded to a wandering Waz-don? Take me to the +king at once lest the wrath of Jad-ben-Otho fall upon you." + +There was some question in the mind of the ape-man as to how far +he might carry his unwarranted show of assurance, and he waited +therefore with amused interest the result of his demand. He did +not, however, have long to wait for almost immediately the +attitude of his questioner changed. He whitened, cast an +apprehensive glance toward the eastern sky and then extended his +right palm toward Tarzan, placing his left over his own heart in +the sign of amity that was common among the peoples of +Pal-ul-don. + +Tarzan stepped quickly back as though from a profaning hand, a +feigned expression of horror and disgust upon his face. + +"Stop!" he cried, "who would dare touch the sacred person of the +messenger of Jad-ben-Otho? Only as a special mark of favor from +Jad-ben-Otho may even Ko-tan himself receive this honor from me. +Hasten! Already now have I waited too long! What manner of +reception the Ho-don of A-lur would extend to the son of my +father!" + +At first Tarzan had been inclined to adopt the role of +Jad-ben-Otho himself but it occurred to him that it might prove +embarrassing and considerable of a bore to be compelled constantly +to portray the character of a god, but with the growing success +of his scheme it had suddenly occurred to him that the authority +of the son of Jad-ben-Otho would be far greater than that of an +ordinary messenger of a god, while at the same time giving him +some leeway in the matter of his acts and demeanor, the ape-man +reasoning that a young god would not be held so strictly +accountable in the matter of his dignity and bearing as an older +and greater god. + +This time the effect of his words was immediately and painfully +noticeable upon all those near him. With one accord they shrank +back, the spokesman almost collapsing in evident terror. His +apologies, when finally the paralysis of his fear would permit +him to voice them, were so abject that the ape-man could scarce +repress a smile of amused contempt. + +"Have mercy, O Dor-ul-Otho," he pleaded, "on poor old Dak-lot. +Precede me and I will show you to where Ko-tan, the king, awaits +you, trembling. Aside, snakes and vermin," he cried pushing his +warriors to right and left for the purpose of forming an avenue +for Tarzan. + +"Come!" cried the ape-man peremptorily, "lead the way, and let +these others follow." + +The now thoroughly frightened Dak-lot did as he was bid, and +Tarzan of the Apes was ushered into the palace of Kotan, King of +Pal-ul-don. + + + +9 + +Blood-Stained Altars + +THE entrance through which he caught his first glimpse of the +interior was rather beautifully carved in geometric designs, and +within the walls were similarly treated, though as he proceeded +from one apartment to another he found also the figures of +animals, birds, and men taking their places among the more formal +figures of the mural decorator's art. Stone vessels were much in +evidence as well as ornaments of gold and the skins of many +animals, but nowhere did he see an indication of any woven +fabric, indicating that in that respect at least the Ho-don were +still low in the scale of evolution, and yet the proportions and +symmetry of the corridors and apartments bespoke a degree of +civilization. + +The way led through several apartments and long corridors, up at +least three flights of stone stairs and finally out upon a ledge +upon the western side of the building overlooking the blue lake. +Along this ledge, or arcade, his guide led him for a hundred +yards, to stop at last before a wide entrance-way leading into +another apartment of the palace. + +Here Tarzan beheld a considerable concourse of warriors in an +enormous apartment, the domed ceiling of which was fully fifty +feet above the floor. Almost filling the chamber was a great +pyramid ascending in broad steps well up under the dome in which +were a number of round apertures which let in the light. The +steps of the pyramid were occupied by warriors to the very +pinnacle, upon which sat a large, imposing figure of a man whose +golden trappings shone brightly in the light of the afternoon +sun, a shaft of which poured through one of the tiny apertures of +the dome. + +"Ko-tan!" cried Dak-lot, addressing the resplendent figure at the +pinnacle of the pyramid. "Ko-tan and warriors of Pal-ul-don! +Behold the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done you in sending as his +messenger his own son," and Dak-lot, stepping aside, indicated +Tarzan with a dramatic sweep of his hand. + +Ko-tan rose to his feet and every warrior within sight craned his +neck to have a better view of the newcomer. Those upon the +opposite side of the pyramid crowded to the front as the words of +the old warrior reached them. Skeptical were the expressions on +most of the faces; but theirs was a skepticism marked with +caution. No matter which way fortune jumped they wished to be +upon the right side of the fence. For a moment all eyes were +centered upon Tarzan and then gradually they drifted to Ko-tan, +for from his attitude would they receive the cue that would +determine theirs. But Ko-tan was evidently in the same quandary +as they--the very attitude of his body indicated it--it was one +of indecision and of doubt. + +The ape-man stood erect, his arms folded upon his broad breast, +an expression of haughty disdain upon his handsome face; but to +Dak-lot there seemed to be indications also of growing anger. The +situation was becoming strained. Dak-lot fidgeted, casting +apprehensive glances at Tarzan and appealing ones at Ko-tan. The +silence of the tomb wrapped the great chamber of the throneroom +of Pal-ul-don. + +At last Ko-tan spoke. "Who says that he is Dor-ul-Otho?" he +asked, casting a terrible look at Dak-lot. + +"He does!" almost shouted that terrified noble. + +"And so it must be true?" queried Ko-tan. + +Could it be that there was a trace of irony in the chief's tone? +Otho forbid! Dak-lot cast a side glance at Tarzan--a glance that +he intended should carry the assurance of his own faith; but that +succeeded only in impressing the ape-man with the other's +pitiable terror. + +"O Ko-tan!" pleaded Dak-lot, "your own eyes must convince you +that indeed he is the son of Otho. Behold his godlike figure, his +hands, and his feet, that are not as ours, and that he is +entirely tailless as is his mighty father." + +Ko-tan appeared to be perceiving these facts for the first time +and there was an indication that his skepticism was faltering. At +that moment a young warrior who had pushed his way forward from +the opposite side of the pyramid to where he could obtain a good +look at Tarzan raised his voice. + +"Ko-tan," he cried, "it must be even as Dak-lot says, for I am +sure now that I have seen Dor-ul-Otho before. Yesterday as we +were returning with the Kor-ul-lul prisoners we beheld him seated +upon the back of a great gryf. We hid in the woods before he came +too near, but I saw enough to make sure that he who rode upon the +great beast was none other than the messenger who stands here +now." + +This evidence seemed to be quite enough to convince the majority +of the warriors that they indeed stood in the presence of +deity--their faces showed it only too plainly, and a sudden +modesty that caused them to shrink behind their neighbors. As +their neighbors were attempting to do the same thing, the result +was a sudden melting away of those who stood nearest the ape-man, +until the steps of the pyramid directly before him lay vacant to +the very apex and to Ko-tan. The latter, possibly influenced as +much by the fearful attitude of his followers as by the evidence +adduced, now altered his tone and his manner in such a degree as +might comport with the requirements if the stranger was indeed +the Dor-ul-Otho while leaving his dignity a loophole of escape +should it appear that he had entertained an impostor. + +"If indeed you are the Dor-ul-Otho," he said, addressing Tarzan, +"you will know that our doubts were but natural since we have +received no sign from Jad-ben-Otho that he intended honoring us +so greatly, nor how could we know, even, that the Great God had a +son? If you are he, all Pal-ul-don rejoices to honor you; if you +are not he, swift and terrible shall be the punishment of your +temerity. I, Ko-tan, King of Pal-ul-don, have spoken." + +"And spoken well, as a king should speak," said Tarzan, breaking +his long silence, "who fears and honors the god of his people. It +is well that you insist that I indeed be the Dor-ul-Otho before +you accord me the homage that is my due. Jad-ben-Otho charged me +specially to ascertain if you were fit to rule his people. My +first experience of you indicates that Jad-ben-Otho chose well +when he breathed the spirit of a king into the babe at your +mother's breast." + +The effect of this statement, made so casually, was marked in the +expressions and excited whispers of the now awe-struck +assemblage. At last they knew how kings were made! It was decided +by Jad-ben-Otho while the candidate was still a suckling babe! +Wonderful! A miracle! and this divine creature in whose presence +they stood knew all about it. Doubtless he even discussed such +matters with their god daily. If there had been an atheist among +them before, or an agnostic, there was none now, for had they not +looked with their own eyes upon the son of god? + +"It is well then," continued the ape-man, "that you should assure +yourself that I am no impostor. Come closer that you may see that +I am not as are men. Furthermore it is not meet that you stand +upon a higher level than the son of your god." There was a sudden +scramble to reach the floor of the throne-room, nor was Ko-tan +far behind his warriors, though he managed to maintain a certain +majestic dignity as he descended the broad stairs that countless +naked feet had polished to a gleaming smoothness through the +ages. "And now," said Tarzan as the king stood before him, "you +can have no doubt that I am not of the same race as you. Your +priests have told you that Jad-ben-Otho is tailless. Tailless, +therefore, must be the race of gods that spring from his loins. +But enough of such proofs as these! You know the power of +Jad-ben-Otho; how his lightnings gleaming out of the sky carry +death as he wills it; how the rains come at his bidding, and the +fruits and the berries and the grains, the grasses, the trees and +the flowers spring to life at his divine direction; you have +witnessed birth and death, and those who honor their god honor +him because he controls these things. How would it fare then with +an impostor who claimed to be the son of this all-powerful god? +This then is all the proof that you require, for as he would +strike you down should you deny me, so would he strike down one +who wrongfully claimed kinship with him." + +This line of argument being unanswerable must needs be +convincing. There could be no questioning of this creature's +statements without the tacit admission of lack of faith in the +omnipotence of Jad-ben-Otho. Ko-tan was satisfied that he was +entertaining deity, but as to just what form his entertainment +should take he was rather at a loss to know. His conception of +god had been rather a vague and hazy affair, though in common +with all primitive people his god was a personal one as were his +devils and demons. The pleasures of Jad-ben-Otho he had assumed to +be the excesses which he himself enjoyed, but devoid of any +unpleasant reaction. It therefore occurred to him that the +Dor-ul-Otho would be greatly entertained by eating--eating large +quantities of everything that Ko-tan liked best and that he had +found most injurious; and there was also a drink that the women +of the Ho-don made by allowing corn to soak in the juices of +succulent fruits, to which they had added certain other +ingredients best known to themselves. Ko-tan knew by experience +that a single draught of this potent liquor would bring happiness +and surcease from worry, while several would cause even a king to +do things and enjoy things that he would never even think of +doing or enjoying while not under the magical influence of the +potion, but unfortunately the next morning brought suffering in +direct ratio to the joy of the preceding day. A god, Ko-tan +reasoned, could experience all the pleasure without the headache, +but for the immediate present he must think of the necessary +dignities and honors to be accorded his immortal guest. + +No foot other than a king's had touched the surface of the apex +of the pyramid in the throneroom at A-lur during all the +forgotten ages through which the kings of Pal-ul-don had ruled +from its high eminence. So what higher honor could Ko-tan offer +than to give place beside him to the Dor-ul-Otho? And so he +invited Tarzan to ascend the pyramid and take his place upon the +stone bench that topped it. As they reached the step below the +sacred pinnacle Ko-tan continued as though to mount to his +throne, but Tarzan laid a detaining hand upon his arm. + +"None may sit upon a level with the gods," he admonished, +stepping confidently up and seating himself upon the throne. The +abashed Ko-tan showed his embarrassment, an embarrassment he +feared to voice lest he incur the wrath of the king of kings. + +"But," added Tarzan, "a god may honor his faithful servant by +inviting him to a place at his side. Come, Ko-tan; thus would I +honor you in the name of Jad-ben-Otho." + +The ape-man's policy had for its basis an attempt not only to +arouse the fearful respect of Ko-tan but to do it without making +of him an enemy at heart, for he did not know how strong a hold +the religion of the Ho-don had upon them, for since the time that +he had prevented Ta-den and Om-at from quarreling over a +religious difference the subject had been utterly taboo among +them. He was therefore quick to note the evident though wordless +resentment of Ko-tan at the suggestion that he entirely +relinquish his throne to his guest. On the whole, however, the +effect had been satisfactory as he could see from the renewed +evidence of awe upon the faces of the warriors. + +At Tarzan's direction the business of the court continued where +it had been interrupted by his advent. It consisted principally +in the settling of disputes between warriors. There was present +one who stood upon the step just below the throne and which +Tarzan was to learn was the place reserved for the higher chiefs +of the allied tribes which made up Ko-tan's kingdom. The one who +attracted Tarzan's attention was a stalwart warrior of powerful +physique and massive, lion-like features. He was addressing +Ko-tan on a question that is as old as government and that will +continue in unabated importance until man ceases to exist. It had +to do with a boundary dispute with one of his neighbors. + +The matter itself held little or no interest for Tarzan, but he +was impressed by the appearance of the speaker and when Ko-tan +addressed him as Ja-don the ape-man's interest was permanently +crystallized, for Ja-don was the father of Ta-den. That the +knowledge would benefit him in any way seemed rather a remote +possibility since he could not reveal to Ja-don his friendly +relations with his son without admitting the falsity of his +claims to godship. + +When the affairs of the audience were concluded Ko-tan suggested +that the son of Jad-ben-Otho might wish to visit the temple in +which were performed the religious rites coincident to the +worship of the Great God. And so the ape-man was conducted by the +king himself, followed by the warriors of his court, through the +corridors of the palace toward the northern end of the group of +buildings within the royal enclosure. + +The temple itself was really a part of the palace and similar in +architecture. There were several ceremonial places of varying +sizes, the purposes of which Tarzan could only conjecture. Each +had an altar in the west end and another in the east and were +oval in shape, their longest diameter lying due east and west. +Each was excavated from the summit of a small hillock and all +were without roofs. The western altars invariably were a single +block of stone the top of which was hollowed into an oblong +basin. Those at the eastern ends were similar blocks of stone +with flat tops and these latter, unlike those at the opposite +ends of the ovals were invariably stained or painted a reddish +brown, nor did Tarzan need to examine them closely to be assured +of what his keen nostrils already had told him--that the brown +stains were dried and drying human blood. + +Below these temple courts were corridors and apartments reaching +far into the bowels of the hills, dim, gloomy passages that +Tarzan glimpsed as he was led from place to place on his tour of +inspection of the temple. A messenger had been dispatched by +Ko-tan to announce the coming visit of the son of Jad-ben-Otho +with the result that they were accompanied through the temple by +a considerable procession of priests whose distinguishing mark of +profession seemed to consist in grotesque headdresses; sometimes +hideous faces carved from wood and entirely concealing the +countenances of their wearers, or again, the head of a wild beast +cunningly fitted over the head of a man. The high priest alone +wore no such head-dress. He was an old man with close-set, cunning +eyes and a cruel, thin-lipped mouth. + +At first sight of him Tarzan realized that here lay the greatest +danger to his ruse, for he saw at a glance that the man was +antagonistic toward him and his pretensions, and he knew too that +doubtless of all the people of Pal-ul-don the high priest was +most likely to harbor the truest estimate of Jad-ben-Otho, and, +therefore, would look with suspicion on one who claimed to be the +son of a fabulous god. + +No matter what suspicion lurked within his crafty mind, Lu-don, +the high priest of A-lur, did not openly question Tarzan's right +to the title of Dor-ul-Otho, and it may be that he was restrained +by the same doubts which had originally restrained Ko-tan and his +warriors--the doubt that is at the bottom of the minds of all +blasphemers even and which is based upon the fear that after all +there may be a god. So, for the time being at least Lu-don played +safe. Yet Tarzan knew as well as though the man had spoken aloud +his inmost thoughts that it was in the heart of the high priest +to tear the veil from his imposture. + +At the entrance to the temple Ko-tan had relinquished the +guidance of the guest to Lu-don and now the latter led Tarzan +through those portions of the temple that he wished him to see. +He showed him the great room where the votive offerings were +kept, gifts from the barbaric chiefs of Pal-ul-don and from their +followers. These things ranged in value from presents of dried +fruits to massive vessels of beaten gold, so that in the great +main storeroom and its connecting chambers and corridors was an +accumulation of wealth that amazed even the eyes of the owner of +the secret of the treasure vaults of Opar. + +Moving to and fro throughout the temple were sleek black Waz-don +slaves, fruits of the Ho-don raids upon the villages of their +less civilized neighbors. As they passed the barred entrance to a +dim corridor, Tarzan saw within a great company of pithecanthropi +of all ages and of both sexes, Ho-don as well as Waz-don, the +majority of them squatted upon the stone floor in attitudes of +utter dejection while some paced back and forth, their features +stamped with the despair of utter hopelessness. + +"And who are these who lie here thus unhappily?" he asked of +Lu-don. It was the first question that he had put to the high +priest since entering the temple, and instantly he regretted that +he had asked it, for Lu-don turned upon him a face upon which the +expression of suspicion was but thinly veiled. + +"Who should know better than the son of Jad-ben-Otho?" he +retorted. + +"The questions of Dor-ul-Otho are not with impunity answered with +other questions," said the ape-man quietly, "and it may interest +Lu-don, the high priest, to know that the blood of a false priest +upon the altar of his temple is not displeasing in the eyes of +Jad-ben-Otho." + +Lu-don paled as he answered Tarzan's question. "They are the +offerings whose blood must refresh the eastern altars as the sun +returns to your father at the day's end." + +"And who told you," asked Tarzan, "that Jad-ben-Otho was pleased +that his people were slain upon his altars? What if you were +mistaken?" + +"Then countless thousands have died in vain," replied Ludon. + +Ko-tan and the surrounding warriors and priests were listening +attentively to the dialogue. Some of the poor victims behind the +barred gateway had heard and rising, pressed close to the barrier +through which one was conducted just before sunset each day, +never to return. + +"Liberate them!" cried Tarzan with a wave of his hand toward the +imprisoned victims of a cruel superstition, "for I can tell you +in the name of Jad-ben-Otho that you are mistaken." + + + +10 + +The Forbidden Garden + +LU-DON paled. "It is sacrilege," he cried; "for countless ages +have the priests of the Great God offered each night a life to +the spirit of Jad-ben-Otho as it returned below the western +horizon to its master, and never has the Great God given sign +that he was displeased." + +"Stop!" commanded Tarzan. "It is the blindness of the priesthood +that has failed to read the messages of their god. Your warriors +die beneath the knives and clubs of the Wazdon; your hunters are +taken by ja and jato; no day goes by but witnesses the deaths of +few or many in the villages of the Ho-don, and one death each day +of those that die are the toll which Jad-ben-Otho has exacted for +the lives you take upon the eastern altar. What greater sign of +his displeasure could you require, O stupid priest?" + +Lu-don was silent. There was raging within him a great conflict +between his fear that this indeed might be the son of god and his +hope that it was not, but at last his fear won and he bowed his +head. "The son of Jad-ben-Otho has spoken," he said, and turning +to one of the lesser priests: "Remove the bars and return these +people from whence they came." + +He thus addressed did as he was bid and as the bars came down the +prisoners, now all fully aware of the miracle that had saved +them, crowded forward and throwing themselves upon their knees +before Tarzan raised their voices in thanksgiving. + +Ko-tan was almost as staggered as the high priest by this +ruthless overturning of an age-old religious rite. "But what," he +cried, "may we do that will be pleasing in the eyes of +Jad-ben-Otho?" turning a look of puzzled apprehension toward the +ape-man. + +"If you seek to please your god," he replied, "place upon your +altars such gifts of food and apparel as are most welcome in the +city of your people. These things will Jad-ben-Otho bless, when +you may distribute them among those of the city who need them +most. With such things are your storerooms filled as I have seen +with mine own eyes, and other gifts will be brought when the +priests tell the people that in this way they find favor before +their god," and Tarzan turned and signified that he would leave +the temple. + +As they were leaving the precincts devoted to the worship of +their deity, the ape-man noticed a small but rather ornate +building that stood entirely detached from the others as though +it had been cut from a little pinnacle of limestone which had +stood out from its fellows. As his interested glance passed over +it he noticed that its door and windows were barred. + +"To what purpose is that building dedicated?" he asked of Lu-don. +"Who do you keep imprisoned there?" + +"It is nothing," replied the high priest nervously, "there is no +one there. The place is vacant. Once it was used but not now for +many years," and he moved on toward the gateway which led back +into the palace. Here he and the priests halted while Tarzan with +Ko-tan and his warriors passed out from the sacred precincts of +the temple grounds. + +The one question which Tarzan would have asked he had feared to +ask for he knew that in the hearts of many lay a suspicion as to +his genuineness, but he determined that before he slept he would +put the question to Ko-tan, either directly or indirectly--as to +whether there was, or had been recently within the city of A-lur +a female of the same race as his. + +As their evening meal was being served to them in the banquet +hall of Ko-tan's palace by a part of the army of black slaves +upon whose shoulders fell the burden of all the heavy and menial +tasks of the city, Tarzan noticed that there came to the eyes of +one of the slaves what was apparently an expression of startled +recognition, as he looked upon the ape-man for the first time in +the banquet hall of Ko-tan. And again later he saw the fellow +whisper to another slave and nod his head in his direction. The +ape-man did not recall ever having seen this Waz-don before and +he was at a loss to account for an explanation of the fellow's +interest in him, and presently the incident was all but +forgotten. + +Ko-tan was surprised and inwardly disgusted to discover that his +godly guest had no desire to gorge himself upon rich foods and +that he would not even so much as taste the villainous brew of +the Ho-don. To Tarzan the banquet was a dismal and tiresome +affair, since so great was the interest of the guests in gorging +themselves with food and drink that they had no time for +conversation, the only vocal sounds being confined to a +continuous grunting which, together with their table manners +reminded Tarzan of a visit he had once made to the famous +Berkshire herd of His Grace, the Duke of Westminster at +Woodhouse, Chester. + +One by one the diners succumbed to the stupefying effects of the +liquor with the result that the grunting gave place to snores, so +presently Tarzan and the slaves were the only conscious creatures +in the banquet hall. + +Rising, the ape-man turned to a tall black who stood behind him. +"I would sleep," he said, "show me to my apartment." + +As the fellow conducted him from the chamber the slave who had +shown surprise earlier in the evening at sight of him, spoke +again at length to one of his fellows. The latter cast a +half-frightened look in the direction of the departing ape-man. +"If you are right," he said, "they should reward us with our +liberty, but if you are wrong, O Jad-ben-Otho, what will be our +fate?" + +"But I am not wrong!" cried the other. + +"Then there is but one to tell this to, for I have heard that he +looked sour when this Dor-ul-Otho was brought to the temple and +that while the so-called son of Jad-ben-Otho was there he gave +this one every cause to fear and hate him. I mean Lu-don, the +high priest." + +"You know him?" asked the other slave. + +"I have worked in the temple," replied his companion. + +"Then go to him at once and tell him, but be sure to exact the +promise of our freedom for the proof." + +And so a black Waz-don came to the temple gate and asked to see +Lu-don, the high priest, on a matter of great importance, and +though the hour was late Lu-don saw him, and when he had heard +his story he promised him and his friend not only their freedom +but many gifts if they could prove the correctness of their +claims. + +And as the slave talked with the high priest in the temple at +A-lur the figure of a man groped its way around the shoulder of +Pastar-ul-ved and the moonlight glistened from the shiny barrel +of an Enfield that was strapped to the naked back, and brass +cartridges shed tiny rays of reflected light from their polished +cases where they hung in the bandoliers across the broad brown +shoulders and the lean waist. + +Tarzan's guide conducted him to a chamber overlooking the blue +lake where he found a bed similar to that which he had seen in +the villages of the Waz-don, merely a raised dais of stone upon +which was piled great quantities of furry pelts. And so he lay +down to sleep, the question that he most wished to put still +unasked and unanswered. + +With the coming of a new day he was awake and wandering about the +palace and the palace grounds before there was sign of any of the +inmates of the palace other than slaves, or at least he saw no +others at first, though presently he stumbled upon an enclosure +which lay almost within the center of the palace grounds +surrounded by a wall that piqued the ape-man's curiosity, since +he had determined to investigate as fully as possible every part +of the palace and its environs. + +This place, whatever it might be, was apparently without doors or +windows but that it was at least partially roofless was evidenced +by the sight of the waving branches of a tree which spread above +the top of the wall near him. Finding no other method of access, +the ape-man uncoiled his rope and throwing it over the branch of +the tree where it projected beyond the wall, was soon climbing +with the ease of a monkey to the summit. + +There he found that the wall surrounded an enclosed garden in +which grew trees and shrubs and flowers in riotous profusion. +Without waiting to ascertain whether the garden was empty or +contained Ho-don, Waz-don, or wild beasts, Tarzan dropped lightly +to the sward on the inside and without further loss of time +commenced a systematic investigation of the enclosure. + +His curiosity was aroused by the very evident fact that the place +was not for general use, even by those who had free access to +other parts of the palace grounds and so there was added to its +natural beauties an absence of mortals which rendered its +exploration all the more alluring to Tarzan since it suggested +that in such a place might he hope to come upon the object of his +long and difficult search. + +In the garden were tiny artificial streams and little pools of +water, flanked by flowering bushes, as though it all had been +designed by the cunning hand of some master gardener, so +faithfully did it carry out the beauties and contours of nature +upon a miniature scale. + +The interior surface of the wall was fashioned to represent the +white cliffs of Pal-ul-don, broken occasionally by small replicas +of the verdure-filled gorges of the original. + +Filled with admiration and thoroughly enjoying each new surprise +which the scene offered, Tarzan moved slowly around the garden, +and as always he moved silently. Passing through a miniature +forest he came presently upon a tiny area of flowerstudded sward +and at the same time beheld before him the first Ho-don female he +had seen since entering the palace. A young and beautiful woman +stood in the center of the little open space, stroking the head +of a bird which she held against her golden breastplate with one +hand. Her profile was presented to the ape-man and he saw that by +the standards of any land she would have been accounted more than +lovely. + +Seated in the grass at her feet, with her back toward him, was a +female Waz-don slave. Seeing that she he sought was not there and +apprehensive that an alarm be raised were he discovered by the +two women, Tarzan moved back to hide himself in the foliage, but +before he had succeeded the Ho-don girl turned quickly toward him +as though apprised of his presence by that unnamed sense, the +manifestations of which are more or less familiar to us all. + +At sight of him her eyes registered only her surprise though +there was no expression of terror reflected in them, nor did she +scream or even raise her well-modulated voice as she addressed +him. + +"Who are you," she asked, "who enters thus boldly the Forbidden +Garden?" + +At sound of her mistress' voice the slave maiden turned quickly, +rising to her feet. "Tarzan-jad-guru!" she exclaimed in tones of +mingled astonishment and relief. + +"You know him?" cried her mistress turning toward the slave and +affording Tarzan an opportunity to raise a cautioning finger to +his lips lest Pan-at-lee further betray him, for it was +Pan-at-lee indeed who stood before him, no less a source of +surprise to him than had his presence been to her. + +Thus questioned by her mistress and simultaneously admonished to +silence by Tarzan, Pan-at-lee was momentarily silenced and then +haltingly she groped for a way to extricate herself from her +dilemma. "I thought--" she faltered, "but no, I am mistaken--I +thought that he was one whom I had seen before near the +Kor-ul-gryf." + +The Ho-don looked first at one and then at the other an +expression of doubt and questioning in her eyes. "But you have +not answered me," she continued presently; "who are you?" + +"You have not heard then," asked Tarzan, "of the visitor who +arrived at your king's court yesterday?" + +"You mean," she exclaimed, "that you are the Dor-ul-Otho?" And +now the erstwhile doubting eyes reflected naught but awe. + +"I am he," replied Tarzan; "and you?" + +"I am O-lo-a, daughter of Ko-tan, the king," she replied. + +So this was O-lo-a, for love of whom Ta-den had chosen exile +rather than priesthood. Tarzan had approached more closely the +dainty barbarian princess. "Daughter of Ko-tan," he said, +"Jad-ben-Otho is pleased with you and as a mark of his favor he +has preserved for you through many dangers him whom you love." + +"I do not understand," replied the girl but the flush that +mounted to her cheek belied her words. "Bu-lat is a guest in the +palace of Ko-tan, my father. I do not know that he has faced any +danger. It is to Bu-lat that I am betrothed." + +"But it is not Bu-lat whom you love," said Tarzan. + +Again the flush and the girl half turned her face away. "Have I +then displeased the Great God?" she asked. + +"No," replied Tarzan; "as I told you he is well satisfied and for +your sake he has saved Ta-den for you." + +"Jad-ben-Otho knows all," whispered the girl, "and his son shares +his great knowledge." + +"No," Tarzan hastened to correct her lest a reputation for +omniscience might prove embarrassing. "I know only what +Jad-ben-Otho wishes me to know." + +"But tell me," she said, "I shall be reunited with Ta-den? +Surely the son of god can read the future." + +The ape-man was glad that he had left himself an avenue of +escape. "I know nothing of the future," he replied, "other than +what Jad-ben-Otho tells me. But I think you need have no fear for +the future if you remain faithful to Ta-den and Ta-den's +friends." + +"You have seen him?" asked O-lo-a. "Tell me, where is he?" + +"Yes," replied Tarzan, "I have seen him. He was with Om-at, the +gund of Kor-ul-ja." + +"A prisoner of the Waz-don?" interrupted the girl. + +"Not a prisoner but an honored guest," replied the ape-man. + +"Wait," he exclaimed, raising his face toward the heavens; "do +not speak. I am receiving a message from Jad-ben-Otho, my +father." + +The two women dropped to their knees, covering their faces with +their hands, stricken with awe at the thought of the awful +nearness of the Great God. Presently Tarzan touched O-lo-a on the +shoulder. + +"Rise," he said. "Jad-ben-Otho has spoken. He has told me that +this slave girl is from the tribe of Kor-ul-ja, where Ta-den is, +and that she is betrothed to Om-at, their chief. Her name is +Pan-at-lee." + +O-lo-a turned questioningly toward Pan-at-lee. The latter nodded, +her simple mind unable to determine whether or not she and her +mistress were the victims of a colossal hoax. "It is even as he +says," she whispered. + +O-lo-a fell upon her knees and touched her forehead to Tarzan's +feet. "Great is the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done his poor +servant," she cried. "Carry to him my poor thanks for the +happiness that he has brought to O-lo-a." + +"It would please my father," said Tarzan, "if you were to cause +Pan-at-lee to be returned in safety to the village of her +people." + +"What cares Jad-ben-Otho for such as she?" asked O-lo-a, a slight +trace of hauteur in her tone. + +"There is but one god," replied Tarzan, "and he is the god of the +Waz-don as well as of the Ho-don; of the birds and the beasts and +the flowers and of everything that grows upon the earth or +beneath the waters. If Pan-at-lee does right she is greater in +the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho than would be the daughter of Ko-tan +should she do wrong." + +It was evident that O-lo-a did not quite understand this +interpretation of divine favor, so contrary was it to the +teachings of the priesthood of her people. In one respect only +did Tarzan's teachings coincide with her belief--that there was +but one god. For the rest she had always been taught that he was +solely the god of the Ho-don in every sense, other than that +other creatures were created by Jad-ben-Otho to serve some useful +purpose for the benefit of the Ho-don race. And now to be told by +the son of god that she stood no higher in divine esteem than the +black handmaiden at her side was indeed a shock to her pride, her +vanity, and her faith. But who could question the word of +Dor-ul-Otho, especially when she had with her own eyes seen him +in actual communion with god in heaven? + +"The will of Jad-ben-Otho be done," said O-lo-a meekly, "if it +lies within my power. But it would be best, O Dor-ul-Otho, to +communicate your father's wish directly to the king." + +"Then keep her with you," said Tarzan, "and see that no harm +befalls her." + +O-lo-a looked ruefully at Pan-at-lee. "She was brought to me but +yesterday," she said, "and never have I had slave woman who +pleased me better. I shall hate to part with her." + +"But there are others," said Tarzan. + +"Yes," replied O-lo-a, "there are others, but there is only one +Pan-at-lee." + +"Many slaves are brought to the city?" asked Tarzan. + +"Yes," she replied. + +"And many strangers come from other lands?" he asked. + +She shook her head negatively. "Only the Ho-don from the other +side of the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho," she replied, "and they are +not strangers." + +"Am I then the first stranger to enter the gates of A-lur?" he +asked. + +"Can it be," she parried, "that the son of Jad-ben-Otho need +question a poor ignorant mortal like O-lo-a?" + +"As I told you before," replied Tarzan, "Jad-ben-Otho alone is +all-knowing." + +"Then if he wished you to know this thing," retorted O-lo-a +quickly, "you would know it." + +Inwardly the ape-man smiled that this little heathen's astuteness +should beat him at his own game, yet in a measure her evasion of +the question might be an answer to it. "There have been other +strangers here then recently?" he persisted. + +"I cannot tell you what I do not know," she replied. "Always is +the palace of Ko-tan filled with rumors, but how much fact and +how much fancy how may a woman of the palace know?" + +"There has been such a rumor then?" he asked. + +"It was only rumor that reached the Forbidden Garden," she +replied. + +"It described, perhaps, a woman of another race?" As he put the +question and awaited her answer he thought that his heart ceased +to beat, so grave to him was the issue at stake. + +The girl hesitated before replying, and then. "No," she said, "I +cannot speak of this thing, for if it be of sufficient importance +to elicit the interest of the gods then indeed would I be subject +to the wrath of my father should I discuss it." + +"In the name of Jad-ben-Otho I command you to speak," said +Tarzan. "In the name of Jad-ben-Otho in whose hands lies the fate +of Ta-den!" + +The girl paled. "Have mercy!" she cried, "and for the sake of +Ta-den I will tell you all that I know." + +"Tell what?" demanded a stern voice from the shrubbery behind +them. The three turned to see the figure of Ko-tan emerging from +the foliage. An angry scowl distorted his kingly features but at +sight of Tarzan it gave place to an expression of surprise not +unmixed with fear. "Dor-ul-Otho!" he exclaimed, "I did not know +that it was you," and then, raising his head and squaring his +shoulders he said, "but there are places where even the son of +the Great God may not walk and this, the Forbidden Garden of +Ko-tan, is one." + +It was a challenge but despite the king's bold front there was a +note of apology in it, indicating that in his superstitious mind +there flourished the inherent fear of man for his Maker. "Come, +Dor-ul-Otho," he continued, "I do not know all this foolish child +has said to you but whatever you would know Ko-tan, the king, +will tell you. O-lo-a, go to your quarters immediately," and he +pointed with stern finger toward the opposite end of the garden. + +The princess, followed by Pan-at-lee, turned at once and left +them. + +"We will go this way," said Ko-tan and preceding, led Tarzan in +another direction. Close to that part of the wall which they +approached Tarzan perceived a grotto in the miniature cliff into +the interior of which Ko-tan led him, and down a rocky stairway +to a gloomy corridor the opposite end of which opened into the +palace proper. Two armed warriors stood at this entrance to the +Forbidden Garden, evidencing how jealously were the sacred +precincts of the place guarded. + +In silence Ko-tan led the way back to his own quarters in the +palace. A large chamber just outside the room toward which Ko-tan +was leading his guest was filled with chiefs and warriors +awaiting the pleasure of their ruler. As the two entered, an +aisle was formed for them the length of the chamber, down which +they passed in silence. + +Close to the farther door and half hidden by the warriors who +stood before him was Lu-don, the high priest. Tarzan glimpsed him +but briefly but in that short period he was aware of a cunning +and malevolent expression upon the cruel countenance that he was +subconsciously aware boded him no good, and then with Ko-tan he +passed into the adjoining room and the hangings dropped. + +At the same moment the hideous headdress of an under priest +appeared in the entrance of the outer chamber. Its owner, pausing +for a moment, glanced quickly around the interior and then having +located him whom he sought moved rapidly in the direction of +Lu-don. There was a whispered conversation which was terminated +by the high priest. + +"Return immediately to the quarters of the princess," he said, +"and see that the slave is sent to me at the temple at once." The +under priest turned and departed upon his mission while Lu-don +also left the apartment and directed his footsteps toward the +sacred enclosure over which he ruled. + +A half-hour later a warrior was ushered into the presence of +Ko-tan. "Lu-don, the high priest, desires the presence of Ko-tan, +the king, in the temple," he announced, "and it is his wish that +he come alone." + +Ko-tan nodded to indicate that he accepted the command which even +the king must obey. "I will return presently, Dor-ul-Otho," he +said to Tarzan, "and in the meantime my warriors and my slaves +are yours to command." + + + +11 + +The Sentence of Death + +BUT it was an hour before the king re-entered the apartment and +in the meantime the ape-man had occupied himself in examining the +carvings upon the walls and the numerous specimens of the +handicraft of Pal-ul-donian artisans which combined to impart an +atmosphere of richness and luxury to the apartment. + +The limestone of the country, close-grained and of marble +whiteness yet worked with comparative ease with crude implements, +had been wrought by cunning craftsmen into bowls and urns and +vases of considerable grace and beauty. Into the carved designs +of many of these virgin gold had been hammered, presenting the +effect of a rich and magnificent cloisonne. A barbarian +himself the art of barbarians had always appealed to the ape-man +to whom they represented a natural expression of man's love of +the beautiful to even a greater extent than the studied and +artificial efforts of civilization. Here was the real art of old +masters, the other the cheap imitation of the chromo. + +It was while he was thus pleasurably engaged that Ko-tan +returned. As Tarzan, attracted by the movement of the hangings +through which the king entered, turned and faced him he was +almost shocked by the remarkable alteration of the king's +appearance. His face was livid; his hands trembled as with palsy, +and his eyes were wide as with fright. His appearance was one +apparently of a combination of consuming anger and withering +fear. Tarzan looked at him questioningly. + +"You have had bad news, Ko-tan?" he asked. + +The king mumbled an unintelligible reply. Behind there thronged +into the apartment so great a number of warriors that they choked +the entrance-way. The king looked apprehensively to right and +left. He cast terrified glances at the ape-man and then raising +his face and turning his eyes upward he cried: "Jad-ben-Otho be +my witness that I do not this thing of my own accord." There was +a moment's silence which was again broken by Ko-tan. "Seize him," +he cried to the warriors about him, "for Lu-don, the high priest, +swears that he is an impostor." + +To have offered armed resistance to this great concourse of +warriors in the very heart of the palace of their king would have +been worse than fatal. Already Tarzan had come far by his wits +and now that within a few hours he had had his hopes and his +suspicions partially verified by the vague admissions of O-lo-a +he was impressed with the necessity of inviting no mortal risk +that he could avoid. + +"Stop!" he cried, raising his palm against them. "What is the +meaning of this?" + +"Lu-don claims he has proof that you are not the son of +Jad-ben-Otho," replied Ko-tan. "He demands that you be brought to +the throneroom to face your accusers. If you are what you claim +to be none knows better than you that you need have no fear in +acquiescing to his demands, but remember always that in such +matters the high priest commands the king and that I am only the +bearer of these commands, not their author." + +Tarzan saw that Ko-tan was not entirely convinced of his +duplicity as was evidenced by his palpable design to play safe. + +"Let not your warriors seize me," he said to Ko-tan, "lest +Jad-ben-Otho, mistaking their intention, strike them dead." The +effect of his words was immediate upon the men in the front rank +of those who faced him, each seeming suddenly to acquire a new +modesty that compelled him to self-effacement behind those +directly in his rear--a modesty that became rapidly contagious. + +The ape-man smiled. "Fear not," he said, "I will go willingly to +the audience chamber to face the blasphemers who accuse me." + +Arrived at the great throneroom a new complication arose. Ko-tan +would not acknowledge the right of Lu-don to occupy the apex of +the pyramid and Lu-don would not consent to occupying an inferior +position while Tarzan, to remain consistent with his high claims, +insisted that no one should stand above him, but only to the +ape-man was the humor of the situation apparent. + +To relieve the situation Ja-don suggested that all three of them +occupy the throne, but this suggestion was repudiated by Ko-tan +who argued that no mortal other than a king of Pal-ul-don had ever +sat upon the high eminence, and that furthermore there was not +room for three there. + +"But who," said Tarzan, "is my accuser and who is my judge?" + +"Lu-don is your accuser," explained Ko-tan. + +"And Lu-don is your judge," cried the high priest. + +"I am to be judged by him who accuses me then," said Tarzan. "It +were better to dispense then with any formalities and ask Lu-don +to sentence me." His tone was ironical and his sneering face, +looking straight into that of the high priest, but caused the +latter's hatred to rise to still greater proportions. + +It was evident that Ko-tan and his warriors saw the justice of +Tarzan's implied objection to this unfair method of dispensing +justice. "Only Ko-tan can judge in the throneroom of his palace," +said Ja-don, "let him hear Lu-don's charges and the testimony of +his witnesses, and then let Ko-tan's judgment be final." + +Ko-tan, however, was not particularly enthusiastic over the +prospect of sitting in trial upon one who might after all very +possibly be the son of his god, and so he temporized, seeking for +an avenue of escape. "It is purely a religious matter," he said, +"and it is traditional that the kings of Pal-ul-don interfere not +in questions of the church." + +"Then let the trial be held in the temple," cried one of the +chiefs, for the warriors were as anxious as their king to be +relieved of all responsibility in the matter. This suggestion was +more than satisfactory to the high priest who inwardly condemned +himself for not having thought of it before. + +"It is true," he said, "this man's sin is against the temple. +Let him be dragged thither then for trial." + +"The son of Jad-ben-Otho will be dragged nowhere," cried Tarzan. +"But when this trial is over it is possible that the corpse of +Lu-don, the high priest, will be dragged from the temple of the +god he would desecrate. Think well, then, Lu-don before you commit +this folly." + +His words, intended to frighten the high priest from his position +failed utterly in consummating their purpose. Lu-don showed no +terror at the suggestion the ape-man's words implied. + +"Here is one," thought Tarzan, "who, knowing more of his religion +than any of his fellows, realizes fully the falsity of my claims +as he does the falsity of the faith he preaches." + +He realized, however, that his only hope lay in seeming +indifference to the charges. Ko-tan and the warriors were still +under the spell of their belief in him and upon this fact must he +depend in the final act of the drama that Lu-don was staging for +his rescue from the jealous priest whom he knew had already +passed sentence upon him in his own heart. + +With a shrug he descended the steps of the pyramid. "It matters +not to Dor-ul-Otho," he said, "where Lu-don enrages his god, for +Jad-ben-Otho can reach as easily into the chambers of the temple +as into the throneroom of Ko-tan." + +Immeasurably relieved by this easy solution of their problem the +king and the warriors thronged from the throneroom toward the +temple grounds, their faith in Tarzan increased by his apparent +indifference to the charges against him. Lu-don led them to the +largest of the altar courts. + +Taking his place behind the western altar he motioned Ko-tan to a +place upon the platform at the left hand of the altar and +directed Tarzan to a similar place at the right. + +As Tarzan ascended the platform his eyes narrowed angrily at the +sight which met them. The basin hollowed in the top of the altar +was filled with water in which floated the naked corpse of a +new-born babe. "What means this?" he cried angrily, turning upon +Lu-don. + +The latter smiled malevolently. "That you do not know," he +replied, "is but added evidence of the falsity of your claim. He +who poses as the son of god did not know that as the last rays of +the setting sun flood the eastern altar of the temple the +lifeblood of an adult reddens the white stone for the edification +of Jad-ben-Otho, and that when the sun rises again from the body +of its maker it looks first upon this western altar and rejoices +in the death of a new-born babe each day, the ghost of which +accompanies it across the heavens by day as the ghost of the +adult returns with it to Jad-ben-Otho at night. + +"Even the little children of the Ho-don know these things, while +he who claims to be the son of Jad-ben-Otho knows them not; and +if this proof be not enough, there is more. Come, Waz-don," he +cried, pointing to a tall slave who stood with a group of other +blacks and priests on the temple floor at the left of the altar. + +The fellow came forward fearfully. "Tell us what you know of this +creature," cried Lu-don, pointing to Tarzan. + +"I have seen him before," said the Waz-don. "I am of the tribe of +Kor-ul-lul, and one day recently a party of which I was one +encountered a few of the warriors of the Kor-ul-ja upon the ridge +which separates our villages. Among the enemy was this strange +creature whom they called Tarzan-jad-guru; and terrible indeed +was he for he fought with the strength of many men so that it +required twenty of us to subdue him. But he did not fight as a +god fights, and when a club struck him upon the head he sank +unconscious as might an ordinary mortal. + +"We carried him with us to our village as a prisoner but he +escaped after cutting off the head of the warrior we left to +guard him and carrying it down into the gorge and tying it to the +branch of a tree upon the opposite side." + +"The word of a slave against that of a god!" cried Ja-don, who +had shown previously a friendly interest in the pseudo godling. + +"It is only a step in the progress toward truth," interjected +Lu-don. "Possibly the evidence of the only princess of the house +of Ko-tan will have greater weight with the great chief from the +north, though the father of a son who fled the holy offer of the +priesthood may not receive with willing ears any testimony +against another blasphemer." + +Ja-don's hand leaped to his knife, but the warriors next him laid +detaining fingers upon his arms. "You are in the temple of +Jad-ben-Otho, Ja-don," they cautioned and the great chief was +forced to swallow Lu-don's affront though it left in his heart +bitter hatred of the high priest. + +And now Ko-tan turned toward Lu-don. "What knoweth my daughter of +this matter?" he asked. "You would not bring a princess of my +house to testify thus publicly?" + +"No," replied Lu-don, "not in person, but I have here one who +will testify for her." He beckoned to an under priest. "Fetch +the slave of the princess," he said. + +His grotesque headdress adding a touch of the hideous to the +scene, the priest stepped forward dragging the reluctant +Pan-at-lee by the wrist. + +"The Princess O-lo-a was alone in the Forbidden Garden with but +this one slave," explained the priest, "when there suddenly +appeared from the foliage nearby this creature who claims to be +the Dor-ul-Otho. When the slave saw him the princess says that +she cried aloud in startled recognition and called the creature +by name--Tarzan-jad-guru--the same name that the slave from +Kor-ul-lul gave him. This woman is not from Kor-ul-lul but from +Kor-ul-ja, the very tribe with which the Kor-ul-lul says the +creature was associating when he first saw him. And further the +princess said that when this woman, whose name is Pan-at-lee, was +brought to her yesterday she told a strange story of having been +rescued from a Tor-o-don in the Kor-ul-gryf by a creature such as +this, whom she spoke of then as Tarzan-jad-guru; and of how the +two were pursued in the bottom of the gorge by two monster gryfs, +and of how the man led them away while Pan-at-lee escaped, only +to be taken prisoner in the Kor-ul-lul as she was seeking to +return to her own tribe. + +"Is it not plain now," cried Lu-don, "that this creature is no +god. Did he tell you that he was the son of god?" he almost +shouted, turning suddenly upon Pan-at-lee. + +The girl shrank back terrified. "Answer me, slave!" cried the +high priest. + +"He seemed more than mortal," parried Pan-at-lee. + +"Did he tell you that he was the son of god? Answer my question," +insisted Lu-don. + +"No," she admitted in a low voice, casting an appealing look of +forgiveness at Tarzan who returned a smile of encouragement and +friendship. + +"That is no proof that he is not the son of god," cried Ja-don. +"Dost think Jad-ben-Otho goes about crying 'I am god! I am god!' +Hast ever heard him Lu-don? No, you have not. Why should his son +do that which the father does not do?" + +"Enough," cried Lu-don. "The evidence is clear. The creature is +an impostor and I, the head priest of Jad-ben-Otho in the city of +A-lur, do condemn him to die." There was a moment's silence +during which Lu-don evidently paused for the dramatic effect of +his climax. "And if I am wrong may Jad-ben-Otho pierce my heart +with his lightnings as I stand here before you all." + +The lapping of the wavelets of the lake against the foot of the +palace wall was distinctly audible in the utter and almost +breathless silence which ensued. Lu-don stood with his face +turned toward the heavens and his arms outstretched in the +attitude of one who bares his breast to the dagger of an +executioner. The warriors and the priests and the slaves gathered +in the sacred court awaited the consuming vengeance of their god. + +It was Tarzan who broke the silence. "Your god ignores you +Lu-don," he taunted, with a sneer that he meant to still further +anger the high priest, "he ignores you and I can prove it before +the eyes of your priests and your people." + +"Prove it, blasphemer! How can you prove it?" + +"You have called me a blasphemer," replied Tarzan, "you have +proved to your own satisfaction that I am an impostor, that I, an +ordinary mortal, have posed as the son of god. Demand then that +Jad-ben-Otho uphold his godship and the dignity of his priesthood +by directing his consuming fires through my own bosom." + +Again there ensued a brief silence while the onlookers waited for +Lu-don to thus consummate the destruction of this presumptuous +impostor. + +"You dare not," taunted Tarzan, "for you know that I would be +struck dead no quicker than were you." + +"You lie," cried Lu-don, "and I would do it had I not but just +received a message from Jad-ben-Otho directing that your fate be +different." + +A chorus of admiring and reverential "Ahs" arose from the +priesthood. Ko-tan and his warriors were in a state of mental +confusion. Secretly they hated and feared Lu-don, but so +ingrained was their sense of reverence for the office of the high +priest that none dared raise a voice against him. + +None? Well, there was Ja-don, fearless old Lion-man of the north. +"The proposition was a fair one," he cried. "Invoke the +lightnings of Jad-ben-Otho upon this man if you would ever +convince us of his guilt." + +"Enough of this," snapped Lu-don. "Since when was Ja-don created +high priest? Seize the prisoner," he cried to the priests and +warriors, "and on the morrow he shall die in the manner that +Jad-ben-Otho has willed." + +There was no immediate movement on the part of any of the +warriors to obey the high priest's command, but the lesser +priests on the other hand, imbued with the courage of fanaticism +leaped eagerly forward like a flock of hideous harpies to seize +upon their prey. + +The game was up. That Tarzan knew. No longer could cunning and +diplomacy usurp the functions of the weapons of defense he best +loved. And so the first hideous priest who leaped to the platform +was confronted by no suave ambassador from heaven, but rather a +grim and ferocious beast whose temper savored more of hell. + +The altar stood close to the western wall of the enclosure. +There was just room between the two for the high priest to stand +during the performance of the sacrificial ceremonies and only +Lu-don stood there now behind Tarzan, while before him were +perhaps two hundred warriors and priests. + +The presumptuous one who would have had the glory of first laying +arresting hands upon the blasphemous impersonator rushed forward +with outstretched hand to seize the ape-man. Instead it was he +who was seized; seized by steel fingers that snapped him up as +though he had been a dummy of straw, grasped him by one leg and +the harness at his back and raised him with giant arms high above +the altar. Close at his heels were others ready to seize the +ape-man and drag him down, and beyond the altar was Lu-don with +drawn knife advancing toward him. + +There was no instant to waste, nor was it the way of the ape-man +to fritter away precious moments in the uncertainty of belated +decision. Before Lu-don or any other could guess what was in the +mind of the condemned, Tarzan with all the force of his great +muscles dashed the screaming hierophant in the face of the high +priest, and, as though the two actions were one, so quickly did +he move, he had leaped to the top of the altar and from there to +a handhold upon the summit of the temple wall. As he gained a +footing there he turned and looked down upon those beneath. For a +moment he stood in silence and then he spoke. + +"Who dare believe," he cried, "that Jad-ben-Otho would forsake +his son?" and then he dropped from their sight upon the other +side. + +There were two at least left within the enclosure whose hearts +leaped with involuntary elation at the success of the ape-man's +maneuver, and one of them smiled openly. This was Ja-don, and the +other, Pan-at-lee. + +The brains of the priest that Tarzan had thrown at the head of +Lu-don had been dashed out against the temple wall while the high +priest himself had escaped with only a few bruises, sustained in +his fall to the hard pavement. Quickly scrambling to his feet he +looked around in fear, in terror and finally in bewilderment, for +he had not been a witness to the ape-man's escape. "Seize him," +he cried; "seize the blasphemer," and he continued to look around +in search of his victim with such a ridiculous expression of +bewilderment that more than a single warrior was compelled to +hide his smiles beneath his palm. + +The priests were rushing around wildly, exhorting the warriors to +pursue the fugitive but these awaited now stolidly the command of +their king or high priest. Ko-tan, more or less secretly pleased +by the discomfiture of Lu-don, waited for that worthy to give the +necessary directions which he presently did when one of his +acolytes excitedly explained to him the manner of Tarzan's +escape. + +Instantly the necessary orders were issued and priests and +warriors sought the temple exit in pursuit of the ape-man. His +departing words, hurled at them from the summit of the temple +wall, had had little effect in impressing the majority that his +claims had not been disproven by Lu-don, but in the hearts of the +warriors was admiration for a brave man and in many the same +unholy gratification that had risen in that of their ruler at the +discomfiture of Lu-don. + +A careful search of the temple grounds revealed no trace of the +quarry. The secret recesses of the subterranean chambers, +familiar only to the priesthood, were examined by these while the +warriors scattered through the palace and the palace grounds +without the temple. Swift runners were dispatched to the city to +arouse the people there that all might be upon the lookout for +Tarzan the Terrible. The story of his imposture and of his +escape, and the tales that the Waz-don slaves had brought into +the city concerning him were soon spread throughout A-lur, nor +did they lose aught in the spreading, so that before an hour had +passed the women and children were hiding behind barred doorways +while the warriors crept apprehensively through the streets +expecting momentarily to be pounced upon by a ferocious demon +who, bare-handed, did victorious battle with huge gryfs and whose +lightest pastime consisted in tearing strong men limb from limb. + + + +12 + +The Giant Stranger + +AND while the warriors and the priests of A-lur searched the +temple and the palace and the city for the vanished ape-man there +entered the head of Kor-ul-ja down the precipitous trail from the +mountains, a naked stranger bearing an Enfield upon his back. +Silently he moved downward toward the bottom of the gorge and +there where the ancient trail unfolded more levelly before him he +swung along with easy strides, though always with the utmost +alertness against possible dangers. A gentle breeze came down +from the mountains behind him so that only his ears and his eyes +were of value in detecting the presence of danger ahead. +Generally the trail followed along the banks of the winding +brooklet at the bottom of the gorge, but in some places where the +waters tumbled over a precipitous ledge the trail made a detour +along the side of the gorge, and again it wound in and out among +rocky outcroppings, and presently where it rounded sharply the +projecting shoulder of a cliff the stranger came suddenly face to +face with one who was ascending the gorge. + +Separated by a hundred paces the two halted simultaneously. +Before him the stranger saw a tall white warrior, naked but for a +loin cloth, cross belts, and a girdle. The man was armed with a +heavy, knotted club and a short knife, the latter hanging in its +sheath at his left hip from the end of one of his cross belts, +the opposite belt supporting a leathern pouch at his right side. +It was Ta-den hunting alone in the gorge of his friend, the chief +of Kor-ul-ja. He contemplated the stranger with surprise but no +wonder, since he recognized in him a member of the race with +which his experience of Tarzan the Terrible had made him familiar +and also, thanks to his friendship for the ape-man, he looked +upon the newcomer without hostility. + +The latter was the first to make outward sign of his intentions, +raising his palm toward Ta-den in that gesture which has been a +symbol of peace from pole to pole since man ceased to walk upon +his knuckles. Simultaneously he advanced a few paces and halted. + +Ta-den, assuming that one so like Tarzan the Terrible must be a +fellow-tribesman of his lost friend, was more than glad to accept +this overture of peace, the sign of which he returned in kind as +he ascended the trail to where the other stood. "Who are you?" +he asked, but the newcomer only shook his head to indicate that +he did not understand. + +By signs he tried to carry to the Ho-don the fact that he was +following a trail that had led him over a period of many days +from some place beyond the mountains and Ta-den was convinced +that the newcomer sought Tarzan-jad-guru. He wished, however, +that he might discover whether as friend or foe. + +The stranger perceived the Ho-don's prehensile thumbs and great +toes and his long tail with an astonishment which he sought to +conceal, but greater than all was the sense of relief that the +first inhabitant of this strange country whom he had met had +proven friendly, so greatly would he have been handicapped by the +necessity for forcing his way through a hostile land. + +Ta-den, who had been hunting for some of the smaller mammals, the +meat of which is especially relished by the Ho-don, forgot his +intended sport in the greater interest of his new discovery. He +would take the stranger to Om-at and possibly together the two +would find some way of discovering the true intentions of the +newcomer. And so again through signs he apprised the other that +he would accompany him and together they descended toward the +cliffs of Om-at's people. + +As they approached these they came upon the women and children +working under guard of the old men and the youths--gathering the +wild fruits and herbs which constitute a part of their diet, as +well as tending the small acres of growing crops which they +cultivate. The fields lay in small level patches that had been +cleared of trees and brush. Their farm implements consisted of +metal-shod poles which bore a closer resemblance to spears than +to tools of peaceful agriculture. Supplementing these were +others with flattened blades that were neither hoes nor spades, +but instead possessed the appearance of an unhappy attempt to +combine the two implements in one. + +At first sight of these people the stranger halted and unslung +his bow for these creatures were black as night, their bodies +entirely covered with hair. But Ta-den, interpreting the doubt in +the other's mind, reassured him with a gesture and a smile. The +Waz-don, however, gathered around excitedly jabbering questions +in a language which the stranger discovered his guide understood +though it was entirely unintelligible to the former. They made +no attempt to molest him and he was now sure that he had fallen +among a peaceful and friendly people. + +It was but a short distance now to the caves and when they +reached these Ta-den led the way aloft upon the wooden pegs, +assured that this creature whom he had discovered would have no +more difficulty in following him than had Tarzan the Terrible. +Nor was he mistaken for the other mounted with ease until +presently the two stood within the recess before the cave of +Om-at, the chief. + +The latter was not there and it was mid-afternoon before he +returned, but in the meantime many warriors came to look upon the +visitor and in each instance the latter was more thoroughly +impressed with the friendly and peaceable spirit of his hosts, +little guessing that he was being entertained by a ferocious and +warlike tribe who never before the coming of Ta-den and Tarzan +had suffered a stranger among them. + +At last Om-at returned and the guest sensed intuitively that he +was in the presence of a great man among these people, possibly a +chief or king, for not only did the attitude of the other black +warriors indicate this but it was written also in the mien and +bearing of the splendid creature who stood looking at him while +Ta-den explained the circumstances of their meeting. "And I +believe, Om-at," concluded the Ho-don, "that he seeks Tarzan the +Terrible." + +At the sound of that name, the first intelligible word that had +fallen upon the ears of the stranger since he had come among +them, his face lightened. "Tarzan!" he cried, "Tarzan of the +Apes!" and by signs he tried to tell them that it was he whom he +sought. + +They understood, and also they guessed from the expression of his +face that he sought Tarzan from motives of affection rather than +the reverse, but of this Om-at wished to make sure. He pointed +to the stranger's knife, and repeating Tarzan's name, seized +Ta-den and pretended to stab him, immediately turning +questioningly toward the stranger. + +The latter shook his head vehemently and then first placing a +hand above his heart he raised his palm in the symbol of peace. + +"He is a friend of Tarzan-jad-guru," exclaimed Ta-den. + +"Either a friend or a great liar," replied Om-at. + +"Tarzan," continued the stranger, "you know him? He lives? O +God, if I could only speak your language." And again reverting to +sign language he sought to ascertain where Tarzan was. He would +pronounce the name and point in different directions, in the +cave, down into the gorge, back toward the mountains, or out upon +the valley below, and each time he would raise his brows +questioningly and voice the universal "eh?" of interrogation +which they could not fail to understand. But always Om-at shook +his head and spread his palms in a gesture which indicated that +while he understood the question he was ignorant as to the +whereabouts of the ape-man, and then the black chief attempted as +best he might to explain to the stranger what he knew of the +whereabouts of Tarzan. + +He called the newcomer Jar-don, which in the language of +Pal-ul-don means "stranger," and he pointed to the sun and said +as. This he repeated several times and then he held up one hand +with the fingers outspread and touching them one by one, +including the thumb, repeated the word adenen until the stranger +understood that he meant five. Again he pointed to the sun and +describing an arc with his forefinger starting at the eastern +horizon and terminating at the western, he repeated again the +words as adenen. It was plain to the stranger that the words +meant that the sun had crossed the heavens five times. In other +words, five days had passed. Om-at then pointed to the cave where +they stood, pronouncing Tarzan's name and imitating a walking man +with the first and second fingers of his right hand upon the +floor of the recess, sought to show that Tarzan had walked out of +the cave and climbed upward on the pegs five days before, but +this was as far as the sign language would permit him to go. + +This far the stranger followed him and, indicating that he +understood he pointed to himself and then indicating the pegs +leading above announced that he would follow Tarzan. + +"Let us go with him," said Om-at, "for as yet we have not +punished the Kor-ul-lul for killing our friend and ally." + +"Persuade him to wait until morning," said Ta-den, "that you may +take with you many warriors and make a great raid upon the +Kor-ul-lul, and this time, Om-at, do not kill your prisoners. +Take as many as you can alive and from some of them we may learn +the fate of Tarzan-jad-guru." + +"Great is the wisdom of the Ho-don," replied Om-at. "It shall be +as you say, and having made prisoners of all the Kor-ul-lul we +shall make them tell us what we wish to know. And then we shall +march them to the rim of Kor-ul-gryf and push them over the edge +of the cliff." + +Ta-den smiled. He knew that they would not take prisoner all the +Kor-ul-lul warriors--that they would be fortunate if they took +one and it was also possible that they might even be driven back +in defeat, but he knew too that Om-at would not hesitate to carry +out his threat if he had the opportunity, so implacable was the +hatred of these neighbors for each other. + +It was not difficult to explain Om-at's plan to the stranger or +to win his consent since he was aware, when the great black had +made it plain that they would be accompanied by many warriors, +that their venture would probably lead them into a hostile +country and every safeguard that he could employ he was glad to +avail himself of, since the furtherance of his quest was the +paramount issue. + +He slept that night upon a pile of furs in one of the compartments +of Om-at's ancestral cave, and early the next day following the +morning meal they sallied forth, a hundred savage warriors +swarming up the face of the sheer cliff and out upon the summit +of the ridge, the main body preceded by two warriors whose duties +coincided with those of the point of modern military maneuvers, +safeguarding the column against the danger of too sudden contact +with the enemy. + +Across the ridge they went and down into the Kor-ul-lul and there +almost immediately they came upon a lone and unarmed Waz-don who +was making his way fearfully up the gorge toward the village of +his tribe. Him they took prisoner which, strangely, only added to +his terror since from the moment that he had seen them and +realized that escape was impossible, he had expected to be slain +immediately. + +"Take him back to Kor-ul-ja," said Om-at, to one of his warriors, +"and hold him there unharmed until I return." + +And so the puzzled Kor-ul-lul was led away while the savage +company moved stealthily from tree to tree in its closer advance +upon the village. Fortune smiled upon Om-at in that it gave him +quickly what he sought--a battle royal, for they had not yet come +in sight of the caves of the Kor-ul-lul when they encountered a +considerable band of warriors headed down the gorge upon some +expedition. + +Like shadows the Kor-ul-ja melted into the concealment of the +foliage upon either side of the trail. Ignorant of impending +danger, safe in the knowledge that they trod their own domain +where each rock and stone was as familiar as the features of +their mates, the Kor-ul-lul walked innocently into the ambush. +Suddenly the quiet of that seeming peace was shattered by a +savage cry and a hurled club felled a Kor-ul-lul. + +The cry was a signal for a savage chorus from a hundred Kor-ul-ja +throats with which were soon mingled the war cries of their +enemies. The air was filled with flying clubs and then as the two +forces mingled, the battle resolved itself into a number of +individual encounters as each warrior singled out a foe and +closed upon him. Knives gleamed and flashed in the mottling +sunlight that filtered through the foliage of the trees above. +Sleek black coats were streaked with crimson stains. + +In the thick of the fight the smooth brown skin of the stranger +mingled with the black bodies of friend and foe. Only his keen +eyes and his quick wit had shown him how to differentiate between +Kor-ul-lul and Kor-ul-ja since with the single exception of +apparel they were identical, but at the first rush of the enemy +he had noticed that their loin cloths were not of the +leopard-matted hides such as were worn by his allies. + +Om-at, after dispatching his first antagonist, glanced at Jar-don. +"He fights with the ferocity of jato," mused the chief. +"Powerful indeed must be the tribe from which he and +Tarzan-jad-guru come," and then his whole attention was occupied +by a new assailant. + +The fighters surged to and fro through the forest until those who +survived were spent with exhaustion. All but the stranger who +seemed not to know the sense of fatigue. He fought on when each +new antagonist would have gladly quit, and when there were no +more Kor-ul-lul who were not engaged, he leaped upon those who +stood pantingly facing the exhausted Kor-ul-ja. + +And always he carried upon his back the peculiar thing which +Om-at had thought was some manner of strange weapon but the +purpose of which he could not now account for in view of the fact +that Jar-don never used it, and that for the most part it seemed +but a nuisance and needless encumbrance since it banged and +smashed against its owner as he leaped, catlike, hither and +thither in the course of his victorious duels. The bow and arrows +he had tossed aside at the beginning of the fight but the Enfield +he would not discard, for where he went he meant that it should +go until its mission had been fulfilled. + +Presently the Kor-ul-ja, seemingly shamed by the example of +Jar-don closed once more with the enemy, but the latter, moved no +doubt to terror by the presence of the stranger, a tireless demon +who appeared invulnerable to their attacks, lost heart and sought +to flee. And then it was that at Om-at's command his warriors +surrounded a half-dozen of the most exhausted and made them +prisoners. + +It was a tired, bloody, and elated company that returned +victorious to the Kor-ul-ja. Twenty of their number were carried +back and six of these were dead men. It was the most glorious and +successful raid that the Kor-ul-ja had made upon the Kor-ul-lul +in the memory of man, and it marked Om-at as the greatest of +chiefs, but that fierce warrior knew that advantage had lain upon +his side largely because of the presence of his strange ally. Nor +did he hesitate to give credit where credit belonged, with the +result that Jar-don and his exploits were upon the tongue of +every member of the tribe of Kor-ul-ja and great was the fame of +the race that could produce two such as he and Tarzan-jad-guru. + +And in the gorge of Kor-ul-lul beyond the ridge the survivors +spoke in bated breath of this second demon that had joined forces +with their ancient enemy. + +Returned to his cave Om-at caused the Kor-ul-lul prisoners to be +brought into his presence singly, and each he questioned as to +the fate of Tarzan. Without exception they told him the same +story--that Tarzan had been taken prisoner by them five days +before but that he had slain the warrior left to guard him and +escaped, carrying the head of the unfortunate sentry to the +opposite side of Kor-ul-lul where he had left it suspended by its +hair from the branch of a tree. But what had become of him after, +they did not know; not one of them, until the last prisoner was +examined, he whom they had taken first--the unarmed Kor-ul-lul +making his way from the direction of the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho +toward the caves of his people. + +This one, when he discovered the purpose of their questioning, +bartered with them for the lives and liberty of himself and his +fellows. "I can tell you much of this terrible man of whom you +ask, Kor-ul-ja," he said. "I saw him yesterday and I know where +he is, and if you will promise to let me and my fellows return in +safety to the caves of our ancestors I will tell you all, and +truthfully, that which I know." + +"You will tell us anyway," replied Om-at, "or we shall kill you." + +"You will kill me anyway," retorted the prisoner, "unless you +make me this promise; so if I am to be killed the thing I know +shall go with me." + +"He is right, Om-at," said Ta-den, "promise him that they shall +have their liberty." + +"Very well," said Om-at. "Speak Kor-ul-lul, and when you have +told me all, you and your fellows may return unharmed to your +tribe." + +"It was thus," commenced the prisoner. "Three days since I was +hunting with a party of my fellows near the mouth of Kor-ul-lul +not far from where you captured me this morning, when we were +surprised and set upon by a large number of Ho-don who took us +prisoners and carried us to A-lur where a few were chosen to be +slaves and the rest were cast into a chamber beneath the temple +where are held for sacrifice the victims that are offered by the +Ho-don to Jad-ben-Otho upon the sacrificial altars of the temple +at A-lur. + +"It seemed then that indeed was my fate sealed and that lucky +were those who had been selected for slaves among the Ho-don, for +they at least might hope to escape--those in the chamber with me +must be without hope. + +"But yesterday a strange thing happened. There came to the +temple, accompanied by all the priests and by the king and many +of his warriors, one whom all did great reverence, and when he +came to the barred gateway leading to the chamber in which we +wretched ones awaited our fate, I saw to my surprise that it was +none other than that terrible man who had so recently been a +prisoner in the village of Kor-ul-lul--he whom you call +Tarzan-jad-guru but whom they addressed as Dor-ul-Otho. And he +looked upon us and questioned the high priest and when he was +told of the purpose for which we were imprisoned there he grew +angry and cried that it was not the will of Jad-ben-Otho that his +people be thus sacrificed, and he commanded the high priest to +liberate us, and this was done. + +"The Ho-don prisoners were permitted to return to their homes and +we were led beyond the City of A-lur and set upon our way toward +Kor-ul-lul. There were three of us, but many are the dangers that +lie between A-lur and Kor-ul-lul and we were only three and +unarmed. Therefore none of us reached the village of our people +and only one of us lives. I have spoken." + +"That is all you know concerning Tarzan-jad-guru?" asked Om-at. + +"That is all I know," replied the prisoner, "other than that he +whom they call Lu-don, the high priest at A-lur, was very angry, +and that one of the two priests who guided us out of the city +said to the other that the stranger was not Dor-ul-Otho at all; +that Lu-don had said so and that he had also said that he would +expose him and that he should be punished with death for his +presumption. That is all they said within my hearing. + +"And now, chief of Kor-ul-ja, let us depart." + +Om-at nodded. "Go your way," he said, "and Ab-on, send warriors +to guard them until they are safely within the Kor-ul-lul. + +"Jar-don," he said beckoning to the stranger, "come with me," and +rising he led the way toward the summit of the cliff, and when +they stood upon the ridge Om-at pointed down into the valley +toward the City of A-lur gleaming in the light of the western +sun. + +"There is Tarzan-jad-guru," he said, and Jar-don understood. + + + +13 + +The Masquerader + +AS TARZAN dropped to the ground beyond the temple wall there was +in his mind no intention to escape from the City of A-lur until +he had satisfied himself that his mate was not a prisoner there, +but how, in this strange city in which every man's hand must be +now against him, he was to live and prosecute his search was far +from clear to him. + +There was only one place of which he knew that he might find even +temporary sanctuary and that was the Forbidden Garden of the +king. There was thick shrubbery in which a man might hide, and +water and fruits. A cunning jungle creature, if he could reach +the spot unsuspected, might remain concealed there for a +considerable time, but how he was to traverse the distance +between the temple grounds and the garden unseen was a question +the seriousness of which he fully appreciated. + +"Mighty is Tarzan," he soliloquized, "in his native jungle, but +in the cities of man he is little better than they." + +Depending upon his keen observation and sense of location he felt +safe in assuming that he could reach the palace grounds by means +of the subterranean corridors and chambers of the temple through +which he had been conducted the day before, nor any slightest +detail of which had escaped his keen eyes. That would be better, +he reasoned, than crossing the open grounds above where his +pursuers would naturally immediately follow him from the temple +and quickly discover him. + +And so a dozen paces from the temple wall he disappeared from +sight of any chance observer above, down one of the stone +stairways that led to the apartments beneath. The way that he had +been conducted the previous day had followed the windings and +turnings of numerous corridors and apartments, but Tarzan, sure +of himself in such matters, retraced the route accurately without +hesitation. + +He had little fear of immediate apprehension here since he +believed that all the priests of the temple had assembled in the +court above to witness his trial and his humiliation and his +death, and with this idea firmly implanted in his mind he rounded +the turn of the corridor and came face to face with an under +priest, his grotesque headdress concealing whatever emotion the +sight of Tarzan may have aroused. + +However, Tarzan had one advantage over the masked votary of +Jad-ben-Otho in that the moment he saw the priest he knew his +intention concerning him, and therefore was not compelled to +delay action. And so it was that before the priest could +determine on any suitable line of conduct in the premises a long, +keen knife had been slipped into his heart. + +As the body lunged toward the floor Tarzan caught it and snatched +the headdress from its shoulders, for the first sight of the +creature had suggested to his ever-alert mind a bold scheme for +deceiving his enemies. + +The headdress saved from such possible damage as it must have +sustained had it fallen to the floor with the body of its owner, +Tarzan relinquished his hold upon the corpse, set the headdress +carefully upon the floor and stooping down severed the tail of +the Ho-don close to its root. Near by at his right was a small +chamber from which the priest had evidently just emerged and into +this Tarzan dragged the corpse, the headdress, and the tail. + +Quickly cutting a thin strip of hide from the loin cloth of the +priest, Tarzan tied it securely about the upper end of the +severed member and then tucking the tail under his loin cloth +behind him, secured it in place as best he could. Then he fitted +the headdress over his shoulders and stepped from the apartment, +to all appearances a priest of the temple of Jad-ben-Otho unless +one examined too closely his thumbs and his great toes. + +He had noticed that among both the Ho-don and the Waz-don it was +not at all unusual that the end of the tail be carried in one +hand, and so he caught his own tail up thus lest the lifeless +appearance of it dragging along behind him should arouse +suspicion. + +Passing along the corridor and through the various chambers he +emerged at last into the palace grounds beyond the temple. The +pursuit had not yet reached this point though he was conscious of +a commotion not far behind him. He met now both warriors and +slaves but none gave him more than a passing glance, a priest +being too common a sight about the palace. + +And so, passing the guards unchallenged, he came at last to the +inner entrance to the Forbidden Garden and there he paused and +scanned quickly that portion of the beautiful spot that lay +before his eyes. To his relief it seemed unoccupied and +congratulating himself upon the ease with which he had so far +outwitted the high powers of A-lur he moved rapidly to the +opposite end of the enclosure. Here he found a patch of flowering +shrubbery that might safely have concealed a dozen men. + +Crawling well within he removed the uncomfortable headdress and +sat down to await whatever eventualities fate might have in store +for him the while he formulated plans for the future. The one +night that he had spent in A-lur had kept him up to a late hour, +apprising him of the fact that while there were few abroad in the +temple grounds at night, there were yet enough to make it +possible for him to fare forth under cover of his disguise +without attracting the unpleasant attention of the guards, and, +too, he had noticed that the priesthood constituted a privileged +class that seemed to come and go at will and unchallenged +throughout the palace as well as the temple. Altogether then, he +decided, night furnished the most propitious hours for his +investigation--by day he could lie up in the shrubbery of the +Forbidden Garden, reasonably free from detection. From beyond the +garden he heard the voices of men calling to one another both far +and near, and he guessed that diligent was the search that was +being prosecuted for him. + +The idle moments afforded him an opportunity to evolve a more +satisfactory scheme for attaching his stolen caudal appendage. He +arranged it in such a way that it might be quickly assumed or +discarded, and this done he fell to examining the weird mask that +had so effectively hidden his features. + +The thing had been very cunningly wrought from a single block of +wood, very probably a section of a tree, upon which the features +had been carved and afterward the interior hollowed out until +only a comparatively thin shell remained. Two-semicircular +notches had been rounded out from opposite sides of the lower +edge. These fitted snugly over his shoulders, aprons of wood +extending downward a few inches upon his chest and back. From +these aprons hung long tassels or switches of hair tapering from +the outer edges toward the center which reached below the bottom +of his torso. It required but the most cursory examination to +indicate to the ape-man that these ornaments consisted of human +scalps, taken, doubtless, from the heads of the sacrifices upon +the eastern altars. The headdress itself had been carved to +depict in formal design a hideous face that suggested both man +and gryf. There were the three white horns, the yellow face with +the blue bands encircling the eyes and the red hood which took +the form of the posterior and anterior aprons. + +As Tarzan sat within the concealing foliage of the shrubbery +meditating upon the hideous priest-mask which he held in his +hands he became aware that he was not alone in the garden. He +sensed another presence and presently his trained ears detected +the slow approach of naked feet across the sward. At first he +suspected that it might be one stealthily searching the Forbidden +Garden for him but a little later the figure came within the +limited area of his vision which was circumscribed by stems and +foliage and flowers. He saw then that it was the princess O-lo-a +and that she was alone and walking with bowed head as though in +meditation--sorrowful meditation for there were traces of tears +upon her lids. + +Shortly after his ears warned him that others had entered the +garden--men they were and their footsteps proclaimed that they +walked neither slowly nor meditatively. They came directly toward +the princess and when Tarzan could see them he discovered that +both were priests. + +"O-lo-a, Princess of Pal-ul-don," said one, addressing her, "the +stranger who told us that he was the son of Jad-ben-Otho has but +just fled from the wrath of Lu-don, the high priest, who exposed +him and all his wicked blasphemy. The temple, and the palace, and +the city are being searched and we have been sent to search the +Forbidden Garden, since Ko-tan, the king, said that only this +morning he found him here, though how he passed the guards he +could not guess." + +"He is not here," said O-lo-a. "I have been in the garden for +some time and have seen nor heard no other than myself. However, +search it if you will." + +"No," said the priest who had before spoken, "it is not necessary +since he could not have entered without your knowledge and the +connivance of the guards, and even had he, the priest who +preceded us must have seen him." + +"What priest?" asked O-lo-a. + +"One passed the guards shortly before us," explained the man. + +"I did not see him," said O-lo-a. + +"Doubtless he left by another exit," remarked the second priest. + +"Yes, doubtless," acquiesced O-lo-a, "but it is strange that I +did not see him." The two priests made their obeisance and turned +to depart. + +"Stupid as Buto, the rhinoceros," soliloquized Tarzan, who +considered Buto a very stupid creature indeed. "It should be easy +to outwit such as these." + +The priests had scarce departed when there came the sound of feet +running rapidly across the garden in the direction of the +princess to an accompaniment of rapid breathing as of one almost +spent, either from fatigue or excitement. + +"Pan-at-lee," exclaimed O-lo-a, "what has happened? You look as +terrified as the doe for which you were named!" + +"O Princess of Pal-ul-don," cried Pan-at-lee, "they would have +killed him in the temple. They would have killed the wondrous +stranger who claimed to be the Dor-ul-Otho." + +"But he escaped," said O-lo-a. "You were there. Tell me about +it." + +"The head priest would have had him seized and slain, but when +they rushed upon him he hurled one in the face of Lu-don with the +same ease that you might cast your breastplates at me, and then +he leaped upon the altar and from there to the top of the temple +wall and disappeared below. They are searching for him, but, O +Princess, I pray that they do not find him." + +"And why do you pray that?" asked O-lo-a. "Has not one who has so +blasphemed earned death?" + +"Ah, but you do not know him," replied Pan-at-lee. + +"And you do, then?" retorted O-lo-a quickly. "This morning you +betrayed yourself and then attempted to deceive me. The slaves of +O-lo-a do not such things with impunity. He is then the same +Tarzan-jad-guru of whom you told me? Speak woman and speak only +the truth." + +Pan-at-lee drew herself up very erect, her little chin held high, +for was not she too among her own people already as good as a +princess? "Pan-at-lee, the Kor-ul-ja does not lie," she said, "to +protect herself." + +"Then tell me what you know of this Tarzan-jad-guru," insisted +O-lo-a. + +"I know that he is a wondrous man and very brave," said +Pan-at-lee, "and that he saved me from the Tor-o-don and the gryf +as I told you, and that he is indeed the same who came into the +garden this morning; and even now I do not know that he is not +the son of Jad-ben-Otho for his courage and his strength are more +than those of mortal man, as are also his kindness and his honor: +for when he might have harmed me he protected me, and when he +might have saved himself he thought only of me. And all this he +did because of his friendship for Om-at, who is gund of Kor-ul-ja +and with whom I should have mated had the Ho-don not captured +me." + +"He was indeed a wonderful man to look upon," mused O-lo-a, "and +he was not as are other men, not alone in the conformation of his +hands and feet or the fact that he was tailless, but there was +that about him which made him seem different in ways more +important than these." + +"And," supplemented Pan-at-lee, her savage little heart loyal to +the man who had befriended her and hoping to win for him the +consideration of the princess even though it might not avail him; +"and," she said, "did he not know all about Ta-den and even his +whereabouts. Tell me, O Princess, could mortal know such things +as these?" + +"Perhaps he saw Ta-den," suggested O-lo-a. + +"But how would he know that you loved Ta-den," parried +Pan-at-lee. "I tell you, my Princess, that if he is not a god he +is at least more than Ho-don or Waz-don. He followed me from the +cave of Es-sat in Kor-ul-ja across Kor-ul-lul and two wide ridges +to the very cave in Kor-ul-gryf where I hid, though many hours +had passed since I had come that way and my bare feet left no +impress upon the ground. What mortal man could do such things as +these? And where in all Pal-ul-don would virgin maid find friend +and protector in a strange male other than he?" + +"Perhaps Lu-don may be mistaken--perhaps he is a god," said +O-lo-a, influenced by her slave's enthusiastic championing of the +stranger." + +"But whether god or man he is too wonderful to die," cried +Pan-at-lee. "Would that I might save him. If he lived he might +even find a way to give you your Ta-den, Princess." + +"Ah, if he only could," sighed O-lo-a, "but alas it is too late +for tomorrow I am to be given to Bu-lot." + +"He who came to your quarters yesterday with your father?" asked +Pan-at-lee. + +"Yes; the one with the awful round face and the big belly," +exclaimed the Princess disgustedly. "He is so lazy he will +neither hunt nor fight. To eat and to drink is all that Bu-lot is +fit for, and he thinks of naught else except these things and his +slave women. But come, Pan-at-lee, gather for me some of these +beautiful blossoms. I would have them spread around my couch +tonight that I may carry away with me in the morning the memory +of the fragrance that I love best and which I know that I shall +not find in the village of Mo-sar, the father of Bu-lot. I will +help you, Pan-at-lee, and we will gather armfuls of them, for I +love to gather them as I love nothing else--they were Ta-den's +favorite flowers." + +The two approached the flowering shrubbery where Tarzan hid, but +as the blooms grew plentifully upon every bush the ape-man +guessed there would be no necessity for them to enter the patch +far enough to discover him. With little exclamations of pleasure +as they found particularly large or perfect blooms the two moved +from place to place upon the outskirts of Tarzan's retreat. + +"Oh, look, Pan-at-lee," cried O-lo-a presently; "there is the +king of them all. Never did I see so wonderful a flower--No! I +will get it myself--it is so large and wonderful no other hand +shall touch it," and the princess wound in among the bushes +toward the point where the great flower bloomed upon a bush above +the ape-man's head. + +So sudden and unexpected her approach that there was no +opportunity to escape and Tarzan sat silently trusting that fate +might be kind to him and lead Ko-tan's daughter away before her +eyes dropped from the high-growing bloom to him. But as the girl +cut the long stem with her knife she looked down straight into +the smiling face of Tarzan-jad-guru. + +With a stifled scream she drew back and the ape-man rose and +faced her. + +"Have no fear, Princess," he assured her. "It is the friend of +Ta-den who salutes you," raising her fingers to his lips. + +Pan-at-lee came now excitedly forward. "O Jad-ben-Otho, it is +he!" + +"And now that you have found me," queried Tarzan, "will you give +me up to Lu-don, the high priest?" + +Pan-at-lee threw herself upon her knees at O-lo-a's feet. +"Princess! Princess!" she beseeched, "do not discover him to his +enemies." + +"But Ko-tan, my father," whispered O-lo-a fearfully, "if he knew +of my perfidy his rage would be beyond naming. Even though I am a +princess Lu-don might demand that I be sacrificed to appease the +wrath of Jad-ben-Otho, and between the two of them I should be +lost." + +"But they need never know," cried Pan-at-lee, "that you have seen +him unless you tell them yourself for as Jad-ben-Otho is my +witness I will never betray you." + +"Oh, tell me, stranger," implored O-lo-a, "are you indeed a god?" + +"Jad-ben-Otho is not more so," replied Tarzan truthfully. + +"But why do you seek to escape then from the hands of mortals if +you are a god?" she asked. + +"When gods mingle with mortals," replied Tarzan, "they are no +less vulnerable than mortals. Even Jad-ben-Otho, should he appear +before you in the flesh, might be slain." + +"You have seen Ta-den and spoken with him?" she asked with +apparent irrelevancy. + +"Yes, I have seen him and spoken with him," replied the ape-man. +"For the duration of a moon I was with him constantly." + +"And--" she hesitated--"he--" she cast her eyes toward the ground +and a flush mantled her cheek--"he still loves me?" and Tarzan +knew that she had been won over. + +"Yes," he said, "Ta-den speaks only of O-lo-a and he waits and +hopes for the day when he can claim her." + +"But tomorrow they give me to Bu-lot," she said sadly. + +"May it be always tomorrow," replied Tarzan, "for tomorrow never +comes." + +"Ah, but this unhappiness will come, and for all the tomorrows of +my life I must pine in misery for the Ta-den who will never be +mine." + +"But for Lu-don I might have helped you," said the ape-man. "And +who knows that I may not help you yet?" + +"Ah, if you only could, Dor-ul-Otho," cried the girl, "and I know +that you would if it were possible for Pan-at-lee has told me how +brave you are, and at the same time how kind." + +"Only Jad-ben-Otho knows what the future may bring," said Tarzan. +"And now you two go your way lest someone should discover you and +become suspicious." + +"We will go," said O-lo-a, "but Pan-at-lee will return with food. +I hope that you escape and that Jad-ben-Otho is pleased with what +I have done." She turned and walked away and Pan-at-lee followed +while the ape-man again resumed his hiding. + +At dusk Pan-at-lee came with food and having her alone Tarzan put +the question that he had been anxious to put since his +conversation earlier in the day with O-lo-a. + +"Tell me," he said, "what you know of the rumors of which O-lo-a +spoke of the mysterious stranger which is supposed to be hidden +in A-lur. Have you too heard of this during the short time that +you have been here?" + +"Yes," said Pan-at-lee, "I have heard it spoken of among the +other slaves. It is something of which all whisper among +themselves but of which none dares to speak aloud. They say that +there is a strange she hidden in the temple and that Lu-don wants +her for a priestess and that Ko-tan wants her for a wife and that +neither as yet dares take her for fear of the other." + +"Do you know where she is hidden in the temple?" asked Tarzan. + +"No," said Pan-at-lee. "How should I know? I do not even know +that it is more than a story and I but tell you that which I have +heard others say." + +"There was only one," asked Tarzan, "whom they spoke of?" + +"No, they speak of another who came with her but none seems to +know what became of this one." + +Tarzan nodded. "Thank you Pan-at-lee," he said. "You may have +helped me more than either of us guess." + +"I hope that I have helped you," said the girl as she turned back +toward the palace. + +"And I hope so too," exclaimed Tarzan emphatically. + + + +14 + +The Temple of the Gryf + +WHEN night had fallen Tarzan donned the mask and the dead tail of +the priest he had slain in the vaults beneath the temple. He +judged that it would not do to attempt again to pass the guard, +especially so late at night as it would be likely to arouse +comment and suspicion, and so he swung into the tree that +overhung the garden wall and from its branches dropped to the +ground beyond. + +Avoiding too grave risk of apprehension the ape-man passed +through the grounds to the court of the palace, approaching the +temple from the side opposite to that at which he had left it at +the time of his escape. He came thus it is true through a portion +of the grounds with which he was unfamiliar but he preferred this +to the danger of following the beaten track between the palace +apartments and those of the temple. Having a definite goal in +mind and endowed as he was with an almost miraculous sense of +location he moved with great assurance through the shadows of the +temple yard. + +Taking advantage of the denser shadows close to the walls and of +what shrubs and trees there were he came without mishap at last +to the ornate building concerning the purpose of which he had +asked Lu-don only to be put off with the assertion that it was +forgotten--nothing strange in itself but given possible +importance by the apparent hesitancy of the priest to discuss its +use and the impression the ape-man had gained at the time that +Lu-don lied. + +And now he stood at last alone before the structure which was +three stories in height and detached from all the other temple +buildings. It had a single barred entrance which was carved from +the living rock in representation of the head of a gryf, whose +wide-open mouth constituted the doorway. The head, hood, and +front paws of the creature were depicted as though it lay +crouching with its lower jaw on the ground between its outspread +paws. Small oval windows, which were likewise barred, flanked the +doorway. + +Seeing that the coast was clear, Tarzan stepped into the darkened +entrance where he tried the bars only to discover that they were +ingeniously locked in place by some device with which he was +unfamiliar and that they also were probably too strong to be +broken even if he could have risked the noise which would have +resulted. Nothing was visible within the darkened interior and +so, momentarily baffled, he sought the windows. Here also the +bars refused to yield up their secret, but again Tarzan was not +dismayed since he had counted upon nothing different. + +If the bars would not yield to his cunning they would yield to +his giant strength if there proved no other means of ingress, but +first he would assure himself that this latter was the case. +Moving entirely around the building he examined it carefully. +There were other windows but they were similarly barred. He +stopped often to look and listen but he saw no one and the sounds +that he heard were too far away to cause him any apprehension. + +He glanced above him at the wall of the building. Like so many of +the other walls of the city, palace, and temple, it was ornately +carved and there were too the peculiar ledges that ran sometimes +in a horizontal plane and again were tilted at an angle, giving +ofttimes an impression of irregularity and even crookedness to +the buildings. It was not a difficult wall to climb, at least not +difficult for the ape-man. + +But he found the bulky and awkward headdress a considerable +handicap and so he laid it aside upon the ground at the foot of +the wall. Nimbly he ascended to find the windows of the second +floor not only barred but curtained within. He did not delay long +at the second floor since he had in mind an idea that he would +find the easiest entrance through the roof which he had noticed +was roughly dome shaped like the throneroom of Ko-tan. Here there +were apertures. He had seen them from the ground, and if the +construction of the interior resembled even slightly that of the +throneroom, bars would not be necessary upon these apertures, +since no one could reach them from the floor of the room. + +There was but a single question: would they be large enough to +admit the broad shoulders of the ape-man. + +He paused again at the third floor, and here, in spite of the +hangings, he saw that the interior was lighted and simultaneously +there came to his nostrils from within a scent that stripped from +him temporarily any remnant of civilization that might have +remained and left him a fierce and terrible bull of the jungles +of Kerchak. So sudden and complete was the metamorphosis that +there almost broke from the savage lips the hideous challenge of +his kind, but the cunning brute-mind saved him this blunder. + +And now he heard voices within--the voice of Lu-don he could have +sworn, demanding. And haughty and disdainful came the answering +words though utter hopelessness spoke in the tones of this other +voice which brought Tarzan to the pinnacle of frenzy. + +The dome with its possible apertures was forgotten. Every +consideration of stealth and quiet was cast aside as the ape-man +drew back his mighty fist and struck a single terrific blow upon +the bars of the small window before him, a blow that sent the +bars and the casing that held them clattering to the floor of the +apartment within. + +Instantly Tarzan dove headforemost through the aperture carrying +the hangings of antelope hide with him to the floor below. +Leaping to his feet he tore the entangling pelt from about his +head only to find himself in utter darkness and in silence. He +called aloud a name that had not passed his lips for many weary +months. "Jane, Jane," he cried, "where are you?" But there was +only silence in reply. + +Again and again he called, groping with outstretched hands +through the Stygian blackness of the room, his nostrils assailed +and his brain tantalized by the delicate effluvia that had first +assured him that his mate had been within this very room. And he +had heard her dear voice combatting the base demands of the vile +priest. Ah, if he had but acted with greater caution! If he had +but continued to move with quiet and stealth he might even at +this moment be holding her in his arms while the body of Lu-don, +beneath his foot, spoke eloquently of vengeance achieved. But +there was no time now for idle self-reproaches. + +He stumbled blindly forward, groping for he knew not what till +suddenly the floor beneath him tilted and he shot downward into a +darkness even more utter than that above. He felt his body strike +a smooth surface and he realized that he was hurtling downward as +through a polished chute while from above there came the mocking +tones of a taunting laugh and the voice of Lu-don screamed after +him: "Return to thy father, O Dor-ul-Otho!" + +The ape-man came to a sudden and painful stop upon a rocky floor. +Directly before him was an oval window crossed by many bars, and +beyond he saw the moonlight playing on the waters of the blue +lake below. Simultaneously he was conscious of a familiar odor in +the air of the chamber, which a quick glance revealed in the +semidarkness as of considerable proportion. + +It was the faint, but unmistakable odor of the gryf, and now +Tarzan stood silently listening. At first he detected no sounds +other than those of the city that came to him through the window +overlooking the lake; but presently, faintly, as though from a +distance he heard the shuffling of padded feet along a stone +pavement, and as he listened he was aware that the sound +approached. + +Nearer and nearer it came, and now even the breathing of the +beast was audible. Evidently attracted by the noise of his +descent into its cavernous retreat it was approaching to +investigate. He could not see it but he knew that it was not far +distant, and then, deafeningly there reverberated through those +gloomy corridors the mad bellow of the gryf. + +Aware of the poor eyesight of the beast, and his own eyes now +grown accustomed to the darkness of the cavern, the ape-man +sought to elude the infuriated charge which he well knew no +living creature could withstand. Neither did he dare risk the +chance of experimenting upon this strange gryf with the tactics +of the Tor-o-don that he had found so efficacious upon that other +occasion when his life and liberty had been the stakes for which +he cast. In many respects the conditions were dissimilar. Before, +in broad daylight, he had been able to approach the gryf under +normal conditions in its natural state, and the gryf itself was +one that he had seen subjected to the authority of man, or at +least of a manlike creature; but here he was confronted by an +imprisoned beast in the full swing of a furious charge and he had +every reason to suspect that this gryf might never have felt the +restraining influence of authority, confined as it was in this +gloomy pit to serve likely but the single purpose that Tarzan had +already seen so graphically portrayed in his own experience of +the past few moments. + +To elude the creature, then, upon the possibility of discovering +some loophole of escape from his predicament seemed to the +ape-man the wisest course to pursue. Too much was at stake to +risk an encounter that might be avoided--an encounter the outcome +of which there was every reason to apprehend would seal the fate +of the mate that he had just found, only to lose again so +harrowingly. Yet high as his disappointment and chagrin ran, +hopeless as his present estate now appeared, there tingled in the +veins of the savage lord a warm glow of thanksgiving and elation. +She lived! After all these weary months of hopelessness and fear +he had found her. She lived! + +To the opposite side of the chamber, silently as the wraith of a +disembodied soul, the swift jungle creature moved from the path +of the charging Titan that, guided solely in the semi-darkness by +its keen ears, bore down upon the spot toward which Tarzan's +noisy entrance into its lair had attracted it. Along the further +wall the ape-man hurried. Before him now appeared the black +opening of the corridor from which the beast had emerged into the +larger chamber. Without hesitation Tarzan plunged into it. Even +here his eyes, long accustomed to darkness that would have seemed +total to you or to me, saw dimly the floor and the walls within a +radius of a few feet--enough at least to prevent him plunging +into any unguessed abyss, or dashing himself upon solid rock at a +sudden turning. + +The corridor was both wide and lofty, which indeed it must be to +accommodate the colossal proportions of the creature whose +habitat it was, and so Tarzan encountered no difficulty in moving +with reasonable speed along its winding trail. He was aware as he +proceeded that the trend of the passage was downward, though not +steeply, but it seemed interminable and he wondered to what +distant subterranean lair it might lead. There was a feeling +that perhaps after all he might better have remained in the +larger chamber and risked all on the chance of subduing the gryf +where there was at least sufficient room and light to lend to the +experiment some slight chance of success. To be overtaken here in +the narrow confines of the black corridor where he was assured +the gryf could not see him at all would spell almost certain +death and now he heard the thing approaching from behind. Its +thunderous bellows fairly shook the cliff from which the +cavernous chambers were excavated. To halt and meet this +monstrous incarnation of fury with a futile whee-oo! seemed to +Tarzan the height of insanity and so he continued along the +corridor, increasing his pace as he realized that the gryf was +overhauling him. + +Presently the darkness lessened and at the final turning of the +passage he saw before him an area of moonlight. With renewed hope +he sprang rapidly forward and emerged from the mouth of the +corridor to find himself in a large circular enclosure the +towering white walls of which rose high upon every side--smooth +perpendicular walls upon the sheer face of which was no slightest +foothold. To his left lay a pool of water, one side of which +lapped the foot of the wall at this point. It was, doubtless, the +wallow and the drinking pool of the gryf. + +And now the creature emerged from the corridor and Tarzan +retreated to the edge of the pool to make his last stand. There +was no staff with which to enforce the authority of his voice, +but yet he made his stand for there seemed naught else to do. +Just beyond the entrance to the corridor the gryf paused, turning +its weak eyes in all directions as though searching for its prey. +This then seemed the psychological moment for his attempt and +raising his voice in peremptory command the ape-man voiced the +weird whee-oo! of the Tor-o-don. Its effect upon the gryf was +instantaneous and complete--with a terrific bellow it lowered its +three horns and dashed madly in the direction of the sound. + +To right nor to left was any avenue of escape, for behind him lay +the placid waters of the pool, while down upon him from before +thundered annihilation. The mighty body seemed already to tower +above him as the ape-man turned and dove into the dark waters. + +Dead in her breast lay hope. Battling for life during harrowing +months of imprisonment and danger and hardship it had fitfully +flickered and flamed only to sink after each renewal to smaller +proportions than before and now it had died out entirely leaving +only cold, charred embers that Jane Clayton knew would never +again be rekindled. Hope was dead as she faced Lu-don, the high +priest, in her prison quarters in the Temple of the Gryf at +A-lur. Both time and hardship had failed to leave their impress +upon her physical beauty--the contours of her perfect form, the +glory of her radiant loveliness had defied them, yet to these +very attributes she owed the danger which now confronted her, for +Lu-don desired her. From the lesser priests she had been safe, +but from Lu-don, she was not safe, for Lu-don was not as they, +since the high priestship of Pal-ul-don may descend from father +to son. + +Ko-tan, the king, had wanted her and all that had so far saved +her from either was the fear of each for the other, but at last +Lu-don had cast aside discretion and had come in the silent +watches of the night to claim her. Haughtily had she repulsed +him, seeking ever to gain time, though what time might bring her +of relief or renewed hope she could not even remotely conjecture. +A leer of lust and greed shone hungrily upon his cruel +countenance as he advanced across the room to seize her. She did +not shrink nor cower, but stood there very erect, her chin up, +her level gaze freighted with the loathing and contempt she felt +for him. He read her expression and while it angered him, it but +increased his desire for possession. Here indeed was a queen, +perhaps a goddess; fit mate for the high priest. + +"You shall not!" she said as he would have touched her. "One of +us shall die before ever your purpose is accomplished." + +He was close beside her now. His laugh grated upon her ears. +"Love does not kill," he replied mockingly. + +He reached for her arm and at the same instant something clashed +against the bars of one of the windows, crashing them inward to +the floor, to be followed almost simultaneously by a human figure +which dove headforemost into the room, its head enveloped in the +skin window hangings which it carried with it in its impetuous +entry. + +Jane Clayton saw surprise and something of terror too leap to the +countenance of the high priest and then she saw him spring +forward and jerk upon a leather thong that depended from the +ceiling of the apartment. Instantly there dropped from above a +cunningly contrived partition that fell between them and the +intruder, effectively barring him from them and at the same time +leaving him to grope upon its opposite side in darkness, since +the only cresset the room contained was upon their side of the +partition. + +Faintly from beyond the wall Jane heard a voice calling, but +whose it was and what the words she could not distinguish. Then +she saw Lu-don jerk upon another thong and wait in evident +expectancy of some consequent happening. He did not have long to +wait. She saw the thong move suddenly as though jerked from above +and then Lu-don smiled and with another signal put in motion +whatever machinery it was that raised the partition again to its +place in the ceiling. + +Advancing into that portion of the room that the partition had +shut off from them, the high priest knelt upon the floor, and +down tilting a section of it, revealed the dark mouth of a shaft +leading below. Laughing loudly he shouted into the hole: "Return +to thy father, O Dor-ul-Otho!" + +Making fast the catch that prevented the trapdoor from opening +beneath the feet of the unwary until such time as Lu-don chose +the high priest rose again to his feet. + +"Now, Beautiful One!" he cried, and then, "Ja-don! what do you +here?" + +Jane Clayton turned to follow the direction of Lu-don's eyes and +there she saw framed in the entrance-way to the apartment the +mighty figure of a warrior, upon whose massive features sat an +expression of stern and uncompromising authority. + +"I come from Ko-tan, the king," replied Ja-don, "to remove the +beautiful stranger to the Forbidden Garden." + +"The king defies me, the high priest of Jad-ben-Otho?" cried +Lu-don. + +"It is the king's command--I have spoken," snapped Ja-don, in +whose manner was no sign of either fear or respect for the +priest. + +Lu-don well knew why the king had chosen this messenger whose +heresy was notorious, but whose power had as yet protected him +from the machinations of the priest. Lu-don cast a surreptitious +glance at the thongs hanging from the ceiling. Why not? If he +could but maneuver to entice Ja-don to the opposite side of the +chamber! + +"Come," he said in a conciliatory tone, "let us discuss the +matter," and moved toward the spot where he would have Ja-don +follow him. + +"There is nothing to discuss," replied Ja-don, yet he followed +the priest, fearing treachery. + +Jane watched them. In the face and figure of the warrior she +found reflected those admirable traits of courage and honor that +the profession of arms best develops. In the hypocritical priest +there was no redeeming quality. Of the two then she might best +choose the warrior. With him there was a chance--with Lu-don, +none. Even the very process of exchange from one prison to +another might offer some possibility of escape. She weighed all +these things and decided, for Ludon's quick glance at the thongs +had not gone unnoticed nor uninterpreted by her. + +"Warrior," she said, addressing Ja-don, "if you would live enter +not that portion of the room." + +Lu-don cast an angry glance upon her. "Silence, slave!" he cried. + +"And where lies the danger?" Ja-don asked of Jane, ignoring +Lu-don. + +The woman pointed to the thongs. "Look," she said, and before the +high priest could prevent she had seized that which controlled +the partition which shot downward separating Lu-don from the +warrior and herself. + +Ja-don looked inquiringly at her. "He would have tricked me +neatly but for you," he said; "kept me imprisoned there while he +secreted you elsewhere in the mazes of his temple." + +"He would have done more than that," replied Jane, as she pulled +upon the other thong. "This releases the fastenings of a trapdoor +in the floor beyond the partition. When you stepped on that you +would have been precipitated into a pit beneath the temple. +Lu-don has threatened me with this fate often. I do not know +that he speaks the truth, but he says that a demon of the temple +is imprisoned there--a huge gryf." + +"There is a gryf within the temple," said Ja-don. "What with it +and the sacrifices, the priests keep us busy supplying them with +prisoners, though the victims are sometimes those for whom Lu-don +has conceived hatred among our own people. He has had his eyes +upon me for a long time. This would have been his chance but for +you. Tell me, woman, why you warned me. Are we not all equally +your jailers and your enemies?" + +"None could be more horrible than Lu-don," she replied; "and you +have the appearance of a brave and honorable warrior. I could not +hope, for hope has died and yet there is the possibility that +among so many fighting men, even though they be of another race +than mine, there is one who would accord honorable treatment to a +stranger within his gates--even though she be a woman." + +Ja-don looked at her for a long minute. "Kg-tan would make you +his queen," he said. "That he told me himself and surely that +were honorable treatment from one who might make you a slave." + +"Why, then, would he make me queen?" she asked. + +Ja-don came closer as though in fear his words might be +overheard. "He believes, although he did not tell me so in fact, +that you are of the race of gods. And why not? Jad-ben-Otho is +tailless, therefore it is not strange that Ko-tan should suspect +that only the gods are thus. His queen is dead leaving only a +single daughter. He craves a son and what more desirable than +that he should found a line of rulers for Pal-ul-don descended +from the gods?" + +"But I am already wed," cried Jane. "I cannot wed another. I do +not want him or his throne." + +"Ko-tan is king," replied Ja-don simply as though that explained +and simplified everything. + +"You will not save me then?" she asked. + +"If you were in Ja-lur," he replied, "I might protect you, even +against the king." + +"What and where is Ja-lur?" she asked, grasping at any straw. + +"It is the city where I rule," he answered. "I am chief there and +of all the valley beyond." + +"Where is it?" she insisted, and "is it far?" + +"No," he replied, smiling, "it is not far, but do not think of +that--you could never reach it. There are too many to pursue and +capture you. If you wish to know, however, it lies up the river +that empties into Jad-ben-lul whose waters kiss the walls of +A-lur--up the western fork it lies with water upon three sides. +Impregnable city of Pal-ul-don--alone of all the cities it has +never been entered by a foeman since it was built there while +Jad-ben-Otho was a boy." + +"And there I would be safe?" she asked. + +"Perhaps," he replied. + +Ah, dead Hope; upon what slender provocation would you seek to +glow again! She sighed and shook her head, realizing the +inutility of Hope--yet the tempting bait dangled before her +mind's eye--Ja-lur! + +"You are wise," commented Ja-don interpreting her sigh. "Come +now, we will go to the quarters of the princess beside the +Forbidden Garden. There you will remain with O-lo-a, the king's +daughter. It will be better than this prison you have occupied." + +"And Ko-tan?" she asked, a shudder passing through her slender +frame. + +"There are ceremonies," explained Ja-don, "that may occupy +several days before you become queen, and one of them may be +difficult of arrangement." He laughed, then. + +"What?" she asked. + +"Only the high priest may perform the marriage ceremony for a +king," he explained. + +"Delay!" she murmured; "blessed delay!" Tenacious indeed of life +is Hope even though it be reduced to cold and lifeless char--a +veritable phoenix. + + + +15 + +"The King Is Dead!" + +AS THEY conversed Ja-don had led her down the stone stairway that +leads from the upper floors of the Temple of the Gryf to the +chambers and the corridors that honeycomb the rocky hills from +which the temple and the palace are hewn and now they passed from +one to the other through a doorway upon one side of which two +priests stood guard and upon the other two warriors. The former +would have halted Ja-don when they saw who it was that +accompanied him for well known throughout the temple was the +quarrel between king and high priest for possession of this +beautiful stranger. + +"Only by order of Lu-don may she pass," said one, placing himself +directly in front of Jane Clayton, barring her progress. Through +the hollow eyes of the hideous mask the woman could see those of +the priest beneath gleaming with the fires of fanaticism. Ja-don +placed an arm about her shoulders and laid his hand upon his +knife. + +"She passes by order of Ko-tan, the king," he said, "and by +virtue of the fact that Ja-don, the chief, is her guide. Stand +aside!" + +The two warriors upon the palace side pressed forward. "We are +here, gund of Ja-lur," said one, addressing Ja-don, "to receive +and obey your commands." + +The second priest now interposed. "Let them pass," he admonished +his companion. "We have received no direct commands from Lu-don +to the contrary and it is a law of the temple and the palace that +chiefs and priests may come and go without interference." + +"But I know Lu-don's wishes," insisted the other. + +"He told you then that Ja-don must not pass with the stranger?" + +"No--but--" + +"Then let them pass, for they are three to two and will pass +anyway--we have done our best." + +Grumbling, the priest stepped aside. "Lu-don will exact an +accounting," he cried angrily. + +Ja-don turned upon him. "And get it when and where he will," he +snapped. + +They came at last to the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a where, +in the main entrance-way, loitered a small guard of palace +warriors and several stalwart black eunuchs belonging to the +princess, or her women. To one of the latter Ja-don relinquished +his charge. + +"Take her to the princess," he commanded, "and see that she does +not escape." + +Through a number of corridors and apartments lighted by stone +cressets the eunuch led Lady Greystoke halting at last before a +doorway concealed by hangings of jato skin, where the guide beat +with his staff upon the wall beside the door. + +"O-lo-a, Princess of Pal-ul-don," he called, "here is the +stranger woman, the prisoner from the temple." + +"Bid her enter," Jane heard a sweet voice from within command. + +The eunuch drew aside the hangings and Lady Greystoke stepped +within. Before her was a low-ceiled room of moderate size. In +each of the four corners a kneeling figure of stone seemed to be +bearing its portion of the weight of the ceiling upon its +shoulders. These figures were evidently intended to represent +Waz-don slaves and were not without bold artistic beauty. The +ceiling itself was slightly arched to a central dome which was +pierced to admit light by day, and air. Upon one side of the room +were many windows, the other three walls being blank except for a +doorway in each. The princess lay upon a pile of furs which were +arranged over a low stone dais in one corner of the apartment and +was alone except for a single Waz-don slave girl who sat upon the +edge of the dais near her feet. + +As Jane entered O-lo-a beckoned her to approach and when she +stood beside the couch the girl half rose upon an elbow and +surveyed her critically. + +"How beautiful you are," she said simply. + +Jane smiled, sadly; for she had found that beauty may be a curse. + +"That is indeed a compliment," she replied quickly, "from one so +radiant as the Princess O-lo-a." + +"Ah!" exclaimed the princess delightedly; "you speak my language! +I was told that you were of another race and from some far land +of which we of Pal-ul-don have never heard." + +"Lu-don saw to it that the priests instructed me," explained +Jane; "but I am from a far country, Princess; one to which I long +to return--and I am very unhappy." + +"But Ko-tan, my father, would make you his queen," cried the +girl; "that should make you very happy." + +"But it does not," replied the prisoner; "I love another to whom +I am already wed. Ah, Princess, if you had known what it was to +love and to be forced into marriage with another you would +sympathize with me." + +The Princess O-lo-a was silent for a long moment. "I know," she +said at last, "and I am very sorry for you; but if the king's +daughter cannot save herself from such a fate who may save a +slave woman? for such in fact you are." + +The drinking in the great banquet hall of the palace of Ko-tan, +king of Pal-ul-don had commenced earlier this night than was +usual, for the king was celebrating the morrow's betrothal of his +only daughter to Bu-lot, son of Mo-sar, the chief, whose +great-grandfather had been king of Pal-ul-don and who thought +that he should be king, and Mo-sar was drunk and so was Bu-lot, +his son. For that matter nearly all of the warriors, including +the king himself, were drunk. In the heart of Ko-tan was no love +either for Mo-sar, or Bu-lot, nor did either of these love the +king. Ko-tan was giving his daughter to Bu-lot in the hope that +the alliance would prevent Mo-sar from insisting upon his claims +to the throne, for, next to Ja-don, Mo-sar was the most powerful +of the chiefs and while Ko-tan looked with fear upon Ja-don, too, +he had no fear that the old Lion-man would attempt to seize the +throne, though which way he would throw his influence and his +warriors in the event that Mo-sar declare war upon Ko-tan, the +king could not guess. + +Primitive people who are also warlike are seldom inclined toward +either tact or diplomacy even when sober; but drunk they know not +the words, if aroused. It was really Bu-lot who started it. + +"This," he said, "I drink to O-lo-a," and he emptied his tankard +at a single gulp. "And this," seizing a full one from a neighbor, +"to her son and mine who will bring back the throne of Pal-ul-don +to its rightful owners!" + +"The king is not yet dead!" cried Ko-tan, rising to his feet; +"nor is Bu-lot yet married to his daughter--and there is yet time +to save Pal-ul-don from the spawn of the rabbit breed." + +The king's angry tone and his insulting reference to Bu-lot's +well-known cowardice brought a sudden, sobering silence upon the +roistering company. Every eye turned upon Bu-lot and Mo-sar, who +sat together directly opposite the king. The first was very drunk +though suddenly he seemed quite sober. He was so drunk that for +an instant he forgot to be a coward, since his reasoning powers +were so effectually paralyzed by the fumes of liquor that he +could not intelligently weigh the consequences of his acts. It is +reasonably conceivable that a drunk and angry rabbit might commit +a rash deed. Upon no other hypothesis is the thing that Bu-lot +now did explicable. He rose suddenly from the seat to which he +had sunk after delivering his toast and seizing the knife from +the sheath of the warrior upon his right hurled it with terrific +force at Ko-tan. Skilled in the art of throwing both their knives +and their clubs are the warriors of Pal-ul-don and at this short +distance and coming as it did without warning there was no +defense and but one possible result--Ko-tan, the king, lunged +forward across the table, the blade buried in his heart. + +A brief silence followed the assassin's cowardly act. White with +terror, now, Bu-lot fell slowly back toward the doorway at his +rear, when suddenly angry warriors leaped with drawn knives to +prevent his escape and to avenge their king. But Mo-sar now took +his stand beside his son. + +"Ko-tan is dead!" he cried. "Mo-sar is king! Let the loyal +warriors of Pal-ul-don protect their ruler!" + +Mo-sar commanded a goodly following and these quickly surrounded +him and Bu-lot, but there were many knives against them and now +Ja-don pressed forward through those who confronted the +pretender. + +"Take them both!" he shouted. "The warriors of Pal-ul-don will +choose their own king after the assassin of Ko-tan has paid the +penalty of his treachery." + +Directed now by a leader whom they both respected and admired +those who had been loyal to Ko-tan rushed forward upon the +faction that had surrounded Mo-sar. Fierce and terrible was the +fighting, devoid, apparently, of all else than the ferocious lust +to kill and while it was at its height Mo-sar and Bu-lot slipped +unnoticed from the banquet hall. + +To that part of the palace assigned to them during their visit to +A-lur they hastened. Here were their servants and the lesser +warriors of their party who had not been bidden to the feast of +Ko-tan. These were directed quickly to gather together their +belongings for immediate departure. When all was ready, and it +did not take long, since the warriors of Pal-ul-don require but +little impedimenta on the march, they moved toward the palace +gate. + +Suddenly Mo-sar approached his son. "The princess," he whispered. +"We must not leave the city without her--she is half the battle +for the throne." + +Bu-lot, now entirely sober, demurred. He had had enough of +fighting and of risk. "Let us get out of A-lur quickly," he +urged, "or we shall have the whole city upon us. She would not +come without a struggle and that would delay us too long." + +"There is plenty of time," insisted Mo-sar. "They are still +fighting in the pal-e-don-so. It will be long before they miss us +and, with Ko-tan dead, long before any will think to look to the +safety of the princess. Our time is now--it was made for us by +Jad-ben-Otho. Come!" + +Reluctantly Bu-lot followed his father, who first instructed the +warriors to await them just inside the gateway of the palace. +Rapidly the two approached the quarters of the princess. Within +the entrance-way only a handful of warriors were on guard. The +eunuchs had retired. + +"There is fighting in the pal-e-don-so," Mo-sar announced in +feigned excitement as they entered the presence of the guards. +"The king desires you to come at once and has sent us to guard +the apartments of the princess. Make haste!" he commanded as the +men hesitated. + +The warriors knew him and that on the morrow the princess was to +be betrothed to Bu-lot, his son. If there was trouble what more +natural than that Mo-sar and Bu-lot should be intrusted with the +safety of the princess. And then, too, was not Mo-sar a powerful +chief to whose orders disobedience might prove a dangerous thing? +They were but common fighting men disciplined in the rough school +of tribal warfare, but they had learned to obey a superior and so +they departed for the banquet hall--the place-where-men-eat. + +Barely waiting until they had disappeared Mo-sar crossed to the +hangings at the opposite end of the entrance-hall and followed by +Bu-lot made his way toward the sleeping apartment of O-lo-a and a +moment later, without warning, the two men burst in upon the +three occupants of the room. At sight of them O-lo-a sprang to +her feet. + +"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded angrily. + +Mo-sar advanced and halted before her. Into his cunning mind had +entered a plan to trick her. If it succeeded it would prove +easier than taking her by force, and then his eyes fell upon Jane +Clayton and he almost gasped in astonishment and admiration, but +he caught himself and returned to the business of the moment. + +"O-lo-a," he cried, "when you know the urgency of our mission you +will forgive us. We have sad news for you. There has been an +uprising in the palace and Ko-tan, the king, has been slain. The +rebels are drunk with liquor and now on their way here. We must +get you out of A-lur at once--there is not a moment to lose. +Come, and quickly!" + +"My father dead?" cried O-lo-a, and suddenly her eyes went wide. +"Then my place is here with my people," she cried. "If Ko-tan is +dead I am queen until the warriors choose a new ruler--that is +the law of Pal-ul-don. And if I am queen none can make me wed +whom I do not wish to wed--and Jad-ben-Otho knows I never wished +to wed thy cowardly son. Go!" She pointed a slim forefinger +imperiously toward the doorway. + +Mo-sar saw that neither trickery nor persuasion would avail now +and every precious minute counted. He looked again at the +beautiful woman who stood beside O-lo-a. He had never before seen +her but he well knew from palace gossip that she could be no +other than the godlike stranger whom Ko-tan had planned to make +his queen. + +"Bu-lot," he cried to his son, "take you your own woman and I +will take--mine!" and with that he sprang suddenly forward and +seizing Jane about the waist lifted her in his arms, so that +before O-lo-a or Pan-at-lee might even guess his purpose he had +disappeared through the hangings near the foot of the dais and +was gone with the stranger woman struggling and fighting in his +grasp. + +And then Bu-lot sought to seize O-lo-a, but O-lo-a had her +Pan-at-lee--fierce little tiger-girl of the savage +Kor-ul-ja--Pan-at-lee whose name belied her--and Bu-lot found that +with the two of them his hands were full. When he would have +lifted O-lo-a and borne her away Pan-at-lee seized him around the +legs and strove to drag him down. Viciously he kicked her, but +she would not desist, and finally, realizing that he might not +only lose his princess but be so delayed as to invite capture if +he did not rid himself of this clawing, scratching she-jato, he +hurled O-lo-a to the floor and seizing Pan-at-lee by the hair +drew his knife and-- + +The curtains behind him suddenly parted. In two swift bounds a +lithe figure crossed the room and before ever the knife of Bu-lot +reached its goal his wrist was seized from behind and a terrific +blow crashing to the base of his brain dropped him, lifeless, to +the floor. Bu-lot, coward, traitor, and assassin, died without +knowing who struck him down. + +As Tarzan of the Apes leaped into the pool in the gryf pit of the +temple at A-lur one might have accounted for his act on the +hypothesis that it was the last blind urge of self-preservation +to delay, even for a moment, the inevitable tragedy in which each +some day must play the leading role upon his little stage; +but no--those cool, gray eyes had caught the sole possibility for +escape that the surroundings and the circumstances offered--a +tiny, moonlit patch of water glimmering through a small aperture +in the cliff at the surface of the pool upon its farther side. +With swift, bold strokes he swam for speed alone knowing that the +water would in no way deter his pursuer. Nor did it. Tarzan heard +the great splash as the huge creature plunged into the pool +behind him; he heard the churning waters as it forged rapidly +onward in his wake. He was nearing the opening--would it be large +enough to permit the passage of his body? That portion of it +which showed above the surface of the water most certainly would +not. His life, then, depended upon how much of the aperture was +submerged. And now it was directly before him and the gryf +directly behind. There was no alternative--there was no other +hope. The ape-man threw all the resources of his great strength +into the last few strokes, extended his hands before him as a +cutwater, submerged to the water's level and shot forward toward +the hole. + +Frothing with rage was the baffled Lu-don as he realized how +neatly the stranger she had turned his own tables upon him. He +could of course escape the Temple of the Gryf in which her quick +wit had temporarily imprisoned him; but during the delay, however +brief, Ja-don would find time to steal her from the temple and +deliver her to Ko-tan. But he would have her yet--that the high +priest swore in the names of Jad-ben-Otho and all the demons of +his faith. He hated Ko-tan. Secretly he had espoused the cause of +Mo-sar, in whom he would have a willing tool. Perhaps, then, this +would give him the opportunity he had long awaited--a pretext for +inciting the revolt that would dethrone Ko-tan and place Mo-sar +in power--with Lu-don the real ruler of Pal-ul-don. He licked his +thin lips as he sought the window through which Tarzan had +entered and now Lu-don's only avenue of escape. Cautiously he +made his way across the floor, feeling before him with his hands, +and when they discovered that the trap was set for him an ugly +snarl broke from the priest's lips. "The she-devil!" he +muttered; "but she shall pay, she shall pay--ah, Jad-ben-Otho; +how she shall pay for the trick she has played upon Lu-don!" + +He crawled through the window and climbed easily downward to the +ground. Should he pursue Ja-don and the woman, chancing an +encounter with the fierce chief, or bide his time until treachery +and intrigue should accomplish his design? He chose the latter +solution, as might have been expected of such as he. + +Going to his quarters he summoned several of his priests--those +who were most in his confidence and who shared his ambitions for +absolute power of the temple over the palace--all men who hated +Ko-tan. + +"The time has come," he told them, "when the authority of the +temple must be placed definitely above that of the palace. +Ko-tan must make way for Mo-sar, for Ko-tan has defied your high +priest. Go then, Pan-sat, and summon Mo-sar secretly to the +temple, and you others go to the city and prepare the faithful +warriors that they may be in readiness when the time comes." + +For another hour they discussed the details of the coup +d'etat that was to overthrow the government of Pal-ul-don. +One knew a slave who, as the signal sounded from the temple gong, +would thrust a knife into the heart of Ko-tan, for the price of +liberty. Another held personal knowledge of an officer of the +palace that he could use to compel the latter to admit a number +of Lu-don's warriors to various parts of the palace. With Mo-sar +as the cat's paw, the plan seemed scarce possible of failure and +so they separated, going upon their immediate errands to palace +and to city. + +As Pan-sat entered the palace grounds he was aware of a sudden +commotion in the direction of the pal-e-don-so and a few minutes +later Lu-don was surprised to see him return to the apartments of +the high priest, breathless and excited. + +"What now, Pan-sat?" cried Lu-don. "Are you pursued by demons?" + +"O master, our time has come and gone while we sat here planning. +Ko-tan is already dead and Mo-sar fled. His friends are fighting +with the warriors of the palace but they have no head, while +Ja-don leads the others. I could learn but little from frightened +slaves who had fled at the outburst of the quarrel. One told me +that Bu-lot had slain the king and that he had seen Mo-sar and +the assassin hurrying from the palace." + +"Ja-don," muttered the high priest. "The fools will make him king +if we do not act and act quickly. Get into the city, Pan-sat--let +your feet fly and raise the cry that Ja-don has killed the king +and is seeking to wrest the throne from O-lo-a. Spread the word +as you know best how to spread it that Ja-don has threatened to +destroy the priests and hurl the altars of the temple into +Jad-ben-lul. Rouse the warriors of the city and urge them to +attack at once. Lead them into the temple by the secret way that +only the priests know and from here we may spew them out upon the +palace before they learn the truth. Go, Pan-sat, +immediately--delay not an instant." + +"But stay," he called as the under priest turned to leave the +apartment; "saw or heard you anything of the strange white woman +that Ja-don stole from the Temple of the Gryf where we have had +her imprisoned?" + +"Only that Ja-don took her into the palace where he threatened +the priests with violence if they did not permit him to pass," +replied Pan-sat. "This they told me, but where within the palace +she is hidden I know not." + +"Ko-tan ordered her to the Forbidden Garden," said Lu-don, +"doubtless we shall find her there. And now, Pan-sat, be upon +your errand." + +In a corridor by Lu-don's chamber a hideously masked priest +leaned close to the curtained aperture that led within. Were he +listening he must have heard all that passed between Pan-sat and +the high priest, and that he had listened was evidenced by his +hasty withdrawal to the shadows of a nearby passage as the lesser +priest moved across the chamber toward the doorway. Pan-sat went +his way in ignorance of the near presence that he almost brushed +against as he hurried toward the secret passage that leads from +the temple of Jad-ben-Otho, far beneath the palace, to the city +beyond, nor did he sense the silent creature following in his +footsteps. + + + +16 + +The Secret Way + +IT WAS a baffled gryf that bellowed in angry rage as Tarzan's +sleek brown body cutting the moonlit waters shot through the +aperture in the wall of the gryf pool and out into the lake +beyond. The ape-man smiled as he thought of the comparative ease +with which he had defeated the purpose of the high priest but his +face clouded again at the ensuing remembrance of the grave danger +that threatened his mate. His sole object now must be to return +as quickly as he might to the chamber where he had last seen her +on the third floor of the Temple of the Gryf, but how he was to +find his way again into the temple grounds was a question not +easy of solution. + +In the moonlight he could see the sheer cliff rising from the +water for a great distance along the shore--far beyond the +precincts of the temple and the palace--towering high above him, +a seemingly impregnable barrier against his return. Swimming +close in, he skirted the wall searching diligently for some +foothold, however slight, upon its smooth, forbidding surface. +Above him and quite out of reach were numerous apertures, but +there were no means at hand by which he could reach them. +Presently, however, his hopes were raised by the sight of an +opening level with the surface of the water. It lay just ahead +and a few strokes brought him to it--cautious strokes that +brought forth no sound from the yielding waters. At the nearer +side of the opening he stopped and reconnoitered. There was no +one in sight. Carefully he raised his body to the threshold of +the entrance-way, his smooth brown hide glistening in the +moonlight as it shed the water in tiny sparkling rivulets. + +Before him stretched a gloomy corridor, unlighted save for the +faint illumination of the diffused moonlight that penetrated it +for but a short distance from the opening. Moving as rapidly as +reasonable caution warranted, Tarzan followed the corridor into +the bowels of the cave. There was an abrupt turn and then a +flight of steps at the top of which lay another corridor running +parallel with the face of the cliff. This passage was dimly +lighted by flickering cressets set in niches in the walls at +considerable distances apart. A quick survey showed the ape-man +numerous openings upon each side of the corridor and his quick +ears caught sounds that indicated that there were other beings +not far distant--priests, he concluded, in some of the apartments +letting upon the passageway. + +To pass undetected through this hive of enemies appeared quite +beyond the range of possibility. He must again seek disguise and +knowing from experience how best to secure such he crept +stealthily along the corridor toward the nearest doorway. Like +Numa, the lion, stalking a wary prey he crept with quivering +nostrils to the hangings that shut off his view from the interior +of the apartment beyond. A moment later his head disappeared +within; then his shoulders, and his lithe body, and the hangings +dropped quietly into place again. A moment later there filtered +to the vacant corridor without a brief, gasping gurgle and again +silence. A minute passed; a second, and a third, and then the +hangings were thrust aside and a grimly masked priest of the +temple of Jad-ben-Otho strode into the passageway. + +With bold steps he moved along and was about to turn into a +diverging gallery when his attention was aroused by voices coming +from a room upon his left. Instantly the figure halted and +crossing the corridor stood with an ear close to the skins that +concealed the occupants of the room from him, and him from them. +Presently he leaped back into the concealing shadows of the +diverging gallery and immediately thereafter the hangings by +which he had been listening parted and a priest emerged to turn +quickly down the main corridor. The eavesdropper waited until the +other had gained a little distance and then stepping from his +place of concealment followed silently behind. + +The way led along the corridor which ran parallel with the face +of the cliff for some little distance and then Pan-sat, taking a +cresset from one of the wall niches, turned abruptly into a small +apartment at his left. The tracker followed cautiously in time to +see the rays of the flickering light dimly visible from an +aperture in the floor before him. Here he found a series of +steps, similar to those used by the Waz-don in scaling the cliff +to their caves, leading to a lower level. + +First satisfying himself that his guide was continuing upon his +way unsuspecting, the other descended after him and continued his +stealthy stalking. The passageway was now both narrow and low, +giving but bare headroom to a tall man, and it was broken often +by flights of steps leading always downward. The steps in each +unit seldom numbered more than six and sometimes there was only +one or two but in the aggregate the tracker imagined that they +had descended between fifty and seventy-five feet from the level +of the upper corridor when the passageway terminated in a small +apartment at one side of which was a little pile of rubble. + +Setting his cresset upon the ground, Pan-sat commenced hurriedly +to toss the bits of broken stone aside, presently revealing a +small aperture at the base of the wall upon the opposite side of +which there appeared to be a further accumulation of rubble. This +he also removed until he had a hole of sufficient size to permit +the passage of his body, and leaving the cresset still burning +upon the floor the priest crawled through the opening he had made +and disappeared from the sight of the watcher hiding in the +shadows of the narrow passageway behind him. + +No sooner, however, was he safely gone than the other followed, +finding himself, after passing through the hole, on a little +ledge about halfway between the surface of the lake and the top +of the cliff above. The ledge inclined steeply upward, ending at +the rear of a building which stood upon the edge of the cliff and +which the second priest entered just in time to see Pan-sat pass +out into the city beyond. + +As the latter turned a nearby corner the other emerged from the +doorway and quickly surveyed his surroundings. He was satisfied +the priest who had led him hither had served his purpose in so +far as the tracker was concerned. Above him, and perhaps a +hundred yards away, the white walls of the palace gleamed against +the northern sky. The time that it had taken him to acquire +definite knowledge concerning the secret passageway between the +temple and the city he did not count as lost, though he begrudged +every instant that kept him from the prosecution of his main +objective. It had seemed to him, however, necessary to the +success of a bold plan that he had formulated upon overhearing +the conversation between Lu-don and Pan-sat as he stood without +the hangings of the apartment of the high priest. + +Alone against a nation of suspicious and half-savage enemies he +could scarce hope for a successful outcome to the one great issue +upon which hung the life and happiness of the creature he loved +best. For her sake he must win allies and it was for this purpose +that he had sacrificed these precious moments, but now he lost no +further time in seeking to regain entrance to the palace grounds +that he might search out whatever new prison they had found in +which to incarcerate his lost love. + +He found no difficulty in passing the guards at the entrance to +the palace for, as he had guessed, his priestly disguise disarmed +all suspicion. As he approached the warriors he kept his hands +behind him and trusted to fate that the sickly light of the +single torch which stood beside the doorway would not reveal his +un-Pal-ul-donian feet. As a matter of fact so accustomed were +they to the comings and goings of the priesthood that they paid +scant attention to him and he passed on into the palace grounds +without even a moment's delay. + +His goal now was the Forbidden Garden and this he had little +difficulty in reaching though he elected to enter it over the +wall rather than to chance arousing any suspicion on the part of +the guards at the inner entrance, since he could imagine no +reason why a priest should seek entrance there thus late at +night. + +He found the garden deserted, nor any sign of her he sought. +That she had been brought hither he had learned from the +conversation he had overheard between Lu-don and Pan-sat, and he +was sure that there had been no time or opportunity for the high +priest to remove her from the palace grounds. The garden he knew +to be devoted exclusively to the uses of the princess and her +women and it was only reasonable to assume therefore that if Jane +had been brought to the garden it could only have been upon an +order from Ko-tan. This being the case the natural assumption +would follow that he would find her in some other portion of +O-lo-a's quarters. + +Just where these lay he could only conjecture, but it seemed +reasonable to believe that they must be adjacent to the garden, +so once more he scaled the wall and passing around its end +directed his steps toward an entrance-way which he judged must +lead to that portion of the palace nearest the Forbidden Garden. + +To his surprise he found the place unguarded and then there fell +upon his ear from an interior apartment the sound of voices +raised in anger and excitement. Guided by the sound he quickly +traversed several corridors and chambers until he stood before +the hangings which separated him from the chamber from which +issued the sounds of altercation. Raising the skins slightly he +looked within. There were two women battling with a Ho-don +warrior. One was the daughter of Ko-tan and the other Pan-at-lee, +the Kor-ul-ja. + +At the moment that Tarzan lifted the hangings, the warrior threw +O-lo-a viciously to the ground and seizing Pan-at-lee by the hair +drew his knife and raised it above her head. Casting the +encumbering headdress of the dead priest from his shoulders the +ape-man leaped across the intervening space and seizing the brute +from behind struck him a single terrible blow. + +As the man fell forward dead, the two women recognized Tarzan +simultaneously. Pan-at-lee fell upon her knees and would have +bowed her head upon his feet had he not, with an impatient +gesture, commanded her to rise. He had no time to listen to their +protestations of gratitude or answer the numerous questions which +he knew would soon be flowing from those two feminine tongues. + +"Tell me," he cried, "where is the woman of my own race whom +Ja-don brought here from the temple?" + +"She is but this moment gone," cried O-lo-a. "Mo-sar, the father +of this thing here," and she indicated the body of Bu-lot with a +scornful finger, "seized her and carried her away." + +"Which way?" he cried. "Tell me quickly, in what direction he +took her." + +"That way," cried Pan-at-lee, pointing to the doorway through +which Mo-sar had passed. "They would have taken the princess and +the stranger woman to Tu-lur, Mo-sar's city by the Dark Lake." + +"I go to find her," he said to Pan-at-lee, "she is my mate. And +if I survive I shall find means to liberate you too and return +you to Om-at." + +Before the girl could reply he had disappeared behind the +hangings of the door near the foot of the dais. The corridor +through which he ran was illy lighted and like nearly all its +kind in the Ho-don city wound in and out and up and down, but at +last it terminated at a sudden turn which brought him into a +courtyard filled with warriors, a portion of the palace guard +that had just been summoned by one of the lesser palace chiefs to +join the warriors of Ko-tan in the battle that was raging in the +banquet hall. + +At sight of Tarzan, who in his haste had forgotten to recover his +disguising headdress, a great shout arose. "Blasphemer!" "Defiler +of the temple!" burst hoarsely from savage throats, and mingling +with these were a few who cried, "Dor-ul-Otho!" evidencing the +fact that there were among them still some who clung to their +belief in his divinity. + +To cross the courtyard armed only with a knife, in the face of +this great throng of savage fighting men seemed even to the giant +ape-man a thing impossible of achievement. He must use his wits +now and quickly too, for they were closing upon him. He might +have turned and fled back through the corridor but flight now +even in the face of dire necessity would but delay him in his +pursuit of Mo-sar and his mate. + +"Stop!" he cried, raising his palm against them. "I am the +Dor-ul-Otho and I come to you with a word from Ja-don, who it is +my father's will shall be your king now that Ko-tan is slain. +Lu-don, the high priest, has planned to seize the palace and +destroy the loyal warriors that Mo-sar may be made king--Mo-sar +who will be the tool and creature of Lu-don. Follow me. There is +no time to lose if you would prevent the traitors whom Lu-don has +organized in the city from entering the palace by a secret way +and overpowering Ja-don and the faithful band within." + +For a moment they hesitated. At last one spoke. "What guarantee +have we," he demanded, "that it is not you who would betray us +and by leading us now away from the fighting in the banquet hall +cause those who fight at Ja-don's side to be defeated?" + +"My life will be your guarantee," replied Tarzan. "If you find +that I have not spoken the truth you are sufficient in numbers to +execute whatever penalty you choose. But come, there is not time +to lose. Already are the lesser priests gathering their warriors +in the city below," and without waiting for any further parley he +strode directly toward them in the direction of the gate upon the +opposite side of the courtyard which led toward the principal +entrance to the palace ground. + +Slower in wit than he, they were swept away by his greater +initiative and that compelling power which is inherent to all +natural leaders. And so they followed him, the giant ape-man with +a dead tail dragging the ground behind him--a demi-god where +another would have been ridiculous. Out into the city he led them +and down toward the unpretentious building that hid Lu-don's +secret passageway from the city to the temple, and as they +rounded the last turn they saw before them a gathering of +warriors which was being rapidly augmented from all directions as +the traitors of A-lur mobilized at the call of the priesthood. + +"You spoke the truth, stranger," said the chief who marched at +Tarzan's side, "for there are the warriors with the priests among +them, even as you told us." + +"And now," replied the ape-man, "that I have fulfilled my promise +I will go my way after Mo-sar, who has done me a great wrong. +Tell Ja-don that Jad-ben-Otho is upon his side, nor do you forget +to tell him also that it was the Dor-ul-Otho who thwarted +Lu-don's plan to seize the palace." + +"I will not forget," replied the chief. "Go your way. We are +enough to overpower the traitors." + +"Tell me," asked Tarzan, "how I may know this city of Tu-lur?" + +"It lies upon the south shore of the second lake below A-lur," +replied the chief, "the lake that is called Jad-in-lul." + +They were now approaching the band of traitors, who evidently +thought that this was another contingent of their own party since +they made no effort either toward defense or retreat. Suddenly +the chief raised his voice in a savage war cry that was +immediately taken up by his followers, and simultaneously, as +though the cry were a command, the entire party broke into a mad +charge upon the surprised rebels. + +Satisfied with the outcome of his suddenly conceived plan and +sure that it would work to the disadvantage of Lu-don, Tarzan +turned into a side street and pointed his steps toward the +outskirts of the city in search of the trail that led southward +toward Tu-lur. + + + +17 + +By Jad-bal-lul + +AS MO-SAR carried Jane Clayton from the palace of Ko-tan, the +king, the woman struggled incessantly to regain her freedom. He +tried to compel her to walk, but despite his threats and his +abuse she would not voluntarily take a single step in the +direction in which he wished her to go. Instead she threw herself +to the ground each time he sought to place her upon her feet, and +so of necessity he was compelled to carry her though at last he +tied her hands and gagged her to save himself from further +lacerations, for the beauty and slenderness of the woman belied +her strength and courage. When he came at last to where his men +had gathered he was glad indeed to turn her over to a couple of +stalwart warriors, but these too were forced to carry her since +Mo-sar's fear of the vengeance of Ko-tan's retainers would brook +no delays. + +And thus they came down out of the hills from which A-lur is +carved, to the meadows that skirt the lower end of Jad-ben-lul, +with Jane Clayton carried between two of Mo-sar's men. At the +edge of the lake lay a fleet of strong canoes, hollowed from the +trunks of trees, their bows and sterns carved in the semblance of +grotesque beasts or birds and vividly colored by some master in +that primitive school of art, which fortunately is not without +its devotees today. + +Into the stern of one of these canoes the warriors tossed their +captive at a sign from Mo-sar, who came and stood beside her as +the warriors were finding their places in the canoes and +selecting their paddles. + +"Come, Beautiful One," he said, "let us be friends and you shall +not be harmed. You will find Mo-sar a kind master if you do his +bidding," and thinking to make a good impression on her he +removed the gag from her mouth and the thongs from her wrists, +knowing well that she could not escape surrounded as she was by +his warriors, and presently, when they were out on the lake, she +would be as safely imprisoned as though he held her behind bars. + +And so the fleet moved off to the accompaniment of the gentle +splashing of a hundred paddles, to follow the windings of the +rivers and lakes through which the waters of the Valley of +Jad-ben-Otho empty into the great morass to the south. The +warriors, resting upon one knee, faced the bow and in the last +canoe Mo-sar tiring of his fruitless attempts to win responses +from his sullen captive, squatted in the bottom of the canoe with +his back toward her and resting his head upon the gunwale sought +sleep. + +Thus they moved in silence between the verdure-clad banks of the +little river through which the waters of Jad-ben-lul emptied--now +in the moonlight, now in dense shadow where great trees overhung +the stream, and at last out upon the waters of another lake, the +black shores of which seemed far away under the weird influence +of a moonlight night. + +Jane Clayton sat alert in the stern of the last canoe. For months +she had been under constant surveillance, the prisoner first of +one ruthless race and now the prisoner of another. Since the +long-gone day that Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and his band of +native German troops had treacherously wrought the Kaiser's work +of rapine and destruction on the Greystoke bungalow and carried +her away to captivity she had not drawn a free breath. That she +had survived unharmed the countless dangers through which she had +passed she attributed solely to the beneficence of a kind and +watchful Providence. + +At first she had been held on the orders of the German High +Command with a view of her ultimate value as a hostage and during +these months she had been subjected to neither hardship nor +oppression, but when the Germans had become hard pressed toward +the close of their unsuccessful campaign in East Africa it had +been determined to take her further into the interior and now +there was an element of revenge in their motives, since it must +have been apparent that she could no longer be of any possible +military value. + +Bitter indeed were the Germans against that half-savage mate of +hers who had cunningly annoyed and harassed them with a +fiendishness of persistence and ingenuity that had resulted in a +noticeable loss in morale in the sector he had chosen for his +operations. They had to charge against him the lives of certain +officers that he had deliberately taken with his own hands, and +one entire section of trench that had made possible a disastrous +turning movement by the British. Tarzan had out-generaled them at +every point. He had met cunning with cunning and cruelty with +cruelties until they feared and loathed his very name. The +cunning trick that they had played upon him in destroying his +home, murdering his retainers, and covering the abduction of his +wife in such a way as to lead him to believe that she had been +killed, they had regretted a thousand times, for a thousandfold +had they paid the price for their senseless ruthlessness, and +now, unable to wreak their vengeance directly upon him, they had +conceived the idea of inflicting further suffering upon his mate. + +In sending her into the interior to avoid the path of the +victorious British, they had chosen as her escort Lieutenant +Erich Obergatz who had been second in command of Schneider's +company, and who alone of its officers had escaped the consuming +vengeance of the ape-man. For a long time Obergatz had held her +in a native village, the chief of which was still under the +domination of his fear of the ruthless German oppressors. While +here only hardships and discomforts assailed her, Obergatz +himself being held in leash by the orders of his distant superior +but as time went on the life in the village grew to be a +veritable hell of cruelties and oppressions practiced by the +arrogant Prussian upon the villagers and the members of his +native command--for time hung heavily upon the hands of the +lieutenant and with idleness combining with the personal +discomforts he was compelled to endure, his none too agreeable +temper found an outlet first in petty interference with the +chiefs and later in the practice of absolute cruelties upon them. + +What the self-sufficient German could not see was plain to Jane +Clayton--that the sympathies of Obergatz' native soldiers lay +with the villagers and that all were so heartily sickened by his +abuse that it needed now but the slightest spark to detonate the +mine of revenge and hatred that the pig-headed Hun had been +assiduously fabricating beneath his own person. + +And at last it came, but from an unexpected source in the form of +a German native deserter from the theater of war. Footsore, +weary, and spent, he dragged himself into the village late one +afternoon, and before Obergatz was even aware of his presence the +whole village knew that the power of Germany in Africa was at an +end. It did not take long for the lieutenant's native soldiers to +realize that the authority that held them in service no longer +existed and that with it had gone the power to pay them their +miserable wage. Or at least, so they reasoned. To them Obergatz +no longer represented aught else than a powerless and hated +foreigner, and short indeed would have been his shrift had not a +native woman who had conceived a doglike affection for Jane +Clayton hurried to her with word of the murderous plan, for the +fate of the innocent white woman lay in the balance beside that +of the guilty Teuton. + +"Already they are quarreling as to which one shall possess you," +she told Jane. + +"When will they come for us?" asked Jane. "Did you hear them +say?" + +"Tonight," replied the woman, "for even now that he has none to +fight for him they still fear the white man. And so they will +come at night and kill him while he sleeps." + +Jane thanked the woman and sent her away lest the suspicion of +her fellows be aroused against her when they discovered that the +two whites had learned of their intentions. The woman went at +once to the hut occupied by Obergatz. She had never gone there +before and the German looked up in surprise as he saw who his +visitor was. + +Briefly she told him what she had heard. At first he was inclined +to bluster arrogantly, with a great display of bravado but she +silenced him peremptorily. + +"Such talk is useless," she said shortly. "You have brought upon +yourself the just hatred of these people. Regardless of the truth +or falsity of the report which has been brought to them, they +believe in it and there is nothing now between you and your Maker +other than flight. We shall both be dead before morning if we are +unable to escape from the village unseen. If you go to them now +with your silly protestations of authority you will be dead a +little sooner, that is all." + +"You think it is as bad as that?" he said, a noticeable alteration +in his tone and manner. + +"It is precisely as I have told you," she replied. "They will +come tonight and kill you while you sleep. Find me pistols and a +rifle and ammunition and we will pretend that we go into the +jungle to hunt. That you have done often. Perhaps it will arouse +suspicion that I accompany you but that we must chance. And be +sure my dear Herr Lieutenant to bluster and curse and abuse your +servants unless they note a change in your manner and realizing +your fear know that you suspect their intention. If all goes well +then we can go out into the jungle to hunt and we need not +return. + +"But first and now you must swear never to harm me, or otherwise +it would be better that I called the chief and turned you over to +him and then put a bullet into my own head, for unless you swear +as I have asked I were no better alone in the jungle with you +than here at the mercies of these degraded blacks." + +"I swear," he replied solemnly, "in the names of my God and my +Kaiser that no harm shall befall you at my hands, Lady +Greystoke." + +"Very well," she said, "we will make this pact to assist each +other to return to civilization, but let it be understood that +there is and never can be any semblance even of respect for you +upon my part. I am drowning and you are the straw. Carry that +always in your mind, German." + +If Obergatz had held any doubt as to the sincerity of her word it +would have been wholly dissipated by the scathing contempt of her +tone. And so Obergatz, without further parley, got pistols and an +extra rifle for Jane, as well as bandoleers of cartridges. In his +usual arrogant and disagreeable manner he called his servants, +telling them that he and the white kali were going out into the +brush to hunt. The beaters would go north as far as the little +hill and then circle back to the east and in toward the village. +The gun carriers he directed to take the extra pieces and precede +himself and Jane slowly toward the east, waiting for them at the +ford about half a mile distant. The blacks responded with greater +alacrity than usual and it was noticeable to both Jane and +Obergatz that they left the village whispering and laughing. + +"The swine think it is a great joke," growled Obergatz, "that the +afternoon before I die I go out and hunt meat for them." + +As soon as the gun bearers disappeared in the jungle beyond the +village the two Europeans followed along the same trail, nor was +there any attempt upon the part of Obergatz' native soldiers, or +the warriors of the chief to detain them, for they too doubtless +were more than willing that the whites should bring them in one +more mess of meat before they killed them. + +A quarter of a mile from the village, Obergatz turned toward the +south from the trail that led to the ford and hurrying onward the +two put as great a distance as possible between them and the +village before night fell. They knew from the habits of their +erstwhile hosts that there was little danger of pursuit by night +since the villagers held Numa, the lion, in too great respect to +venture needlessly beyond their stockade during the hours that +the king of beasts was prone to choose for hunting. + +And thus began a seemingly endless sequence of frightful days and +horror-laden nights as the two fought their way toward the south +in the face of almost inconceivable hardships, privations, and +dangers. The east coast was nearer but Obergatz positively +refused to chance throwing himself into the hands of the British +by returning to the territory which they now controlled, +insisting instead upon attempting to make his way through an +unknown wilderness to South Africa where, among the Boers, he was +convinced he would find willing sympathizers who would find some +way to return him in safety to Germany, and the woman was +perforce compelled to accompany him. + +And so they had crossed the great thorny, waterless steppe and +come at last to the edge of the morass before Pal-ul-don. They +had reached this point just before the rainy season when the +waters of the morass were at their lowest ebb. At this time a +hard crust is baked upon the dried surface of the marsh and there +is only the open water at the center to materially impede +progress. It is a condition that exists perhaps not more than a +few weeks, or even days at the termination of long periods of +drought, and so the two crossed the otherwise almost impassable +barrier without realizing its latent terrors. Even the open +water in the center chanced to be deserted at the time by its +frightful denizens which the drought and the receding waters had +driven southward toward the mouth of Pal-ul-don's largest river +which carries the waters out of the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho. + +Their wanderings carried them across the mountains and into the +Valley of Jad-ben-Otho at the source of one of the larger streams +which bears the mountain waters down into the valley to empty +them into the main river just below The Great Lake on whose +northern shore lies A-lur. As they had come down out of the +mountains they had been surprised by a party of Ho-don hunters. +Obergatz had escaped while Jane had been taken prisoner and +brought to A-lur. She had neither seen nor heard aught of the +German since that time and she did not know whether he had +perished in this strange land, or succeeded in successfully +eluding its savage denizens and making his way at last into South +Africa. + +For her part, she had been incarcerated alternately in the palace +and the temple as either Ko-tan or Lu-don succeeded in wresting +her temporarily from the other by various strokes of cunning and +intrigue. And now at last she was in the power of a new captor, +one whom she knew from the gossip of the temple and the palace to +be cruel and degraded. And she was in the stern of the last +canoe, and every enemy back was toward her, while almost at her +feet Mo-sar's loud snores gave ample evidence of his +unconsciousness to his immediate surroundings. + +The dark shore loomed closer to the south as Jane Clayton, Lady +Greystoke, slid quietly over the stern of the canoe into the +chill waters of the lake. She scarcely moved other than to keep +her nostrils above the surface while the canoe was yet +discernible in the last rays of the declining moon. Then she +struck out toward the southern shore. + +Alone, unarmed, all but naked, in a country overrun by savage +beasts and hostile men, she yet felt for the first time in many +months a sensation of elation and relief. She was free! What if +the next moment brought death, she knew again, at least a brief +instant of absolute freedom. Her blood tingled to the almost +forgotten sensation and it was with difficulty that she +restrained a glad triumphant cry as she clambered from the quiet +waters and stood upon the silent beach. + +Before her loomed a forest, darkly, and from its depths came +those nameless sounds that are a part of the night life of the +jungle--the rustling of leaves in the wind, the rubbing together +of contiguous branches, the scurrying of a rodent, all magnified +by the darkness to sinister and awe-inspiring proportions; the +hoot of an owl, the distant scream of a great cat, the barking of +wild dogs, attested the presence of the myriad life she could not +see--the savage life, the free life of which she was now a part. +And then there came to her, possibly for the first time since the +giant ape-man had come into her life, a fuller realization of +what the jungle meant to him, for though alone and unprotected +from its hideous dangers she yet felt its lure upon her and an +exaltation that she had not dared hope to feel again. + +Ah, if that mighty mate of hers were but by her side! What utter +joy and bliss would be hers! She longed for no more than this. +The parade of cities, the comforts and luxuries of civilization +held forth no allure half as insistent as the glorious freedom of +the jungle. + +A lion moaned in the blackness to her right, eliciting delicious +thrills that crept along her spine. The hair at the back of her +head seemed to stand erect--yet she was unafraid. The muscles +bequeathed her by some primordial ancestor reacted instinctively +to the presence of an ancient enemy--that was all. The woman +moved slowly and deliberately toward the wood. Again the lion +moaned; this time nearer. She sought a low-hanging branch and +finding it swung easily into the friendly shelter of the tree. +The long and perilous journey with Obergatz had trained her +muscles and her nerves to such unaccustomed habits. She found a +safe resting place such as Tarzan had taught her was best and +there she curled herself, thirty feet above the ground, for a +night's rest. She was cold and uncomfortable and yet she slept, +for her heart was warm with renewed hope and her tired brain had +found temporary surcease from worry. + +She slept until the heat of the sun, high in the heavens, +awakened her. She was rested and now her body was well as her +heart was warm. A sensation of ease and comfort and happiness +pervaded her being. She rose upon her gently swaying couch and +stretched luxuriously, her naked limbs and lithe body mottled by +the sunlight filtering through the foliage above combined with +the lazy gesture to impart to her appearance something of the +leopard. With careful eye she scrutinized the ground below and +with attentive ear she listened for any warning sound that might +suggest the near presence of enemies, either man or beast. +Satisfied at last that there was nothing close of which she need +have fear she clambered to the ground. She wished to bathe but +the lake was too exposed and just a bit too far from the safety +of the trees for her to risk it until she became more familiar +with her surroundings. She wandered aimlessly through the forest +searching for food which she found in abundance. She ate and +rested, for she had no objective as yet. Her freedom was too new +to be spoiled by plannings for the future. The haunts of +civilized man seemed to her now as vague and unattainable as the +half-forgotten substance of a dream. If she could but live on +here in peace, waiting, waiting for--him. It was the old hope +revived. She knew that he would come some day, if he lived. She +had always known that, though recently she had believed that he +would come too late. If he lived! Yes, he would come if he lived, +and if he did not live she were as well off here as elsewhere, +for then nothing mattered, only to wait for the end as patiently +as might be. + +Her wanderings brought her to a crystal brook and there she drank +and bathed beneath an overhanging tree that offered her quick +asylum in the event of danger. It was a quiet and beautiful spot +and she loved it from the first. The bottom of the brook was +paved with pretty stones and bits of glassy obsidian. As she +gathered a handful of the pebbles and held them up to look at +them she noticed that one of her fingers was bleeding from a +clean, straight cut. She fell to searching for the cause and +presently discovered it in one of the fragments of volcanic glass +which revealed an edge that was almost razor-like. Jane Clayton +was elated. Here, God-given to her hands, was the first beginning +with which she might eventually arrive at both weapons and +tools--a cutting edge. Everything was possible to him who +possessed it--nothing without. + +She sought until she had collected many of the precious bits of +stone--until the pouch that hung at her right side was almost +filled. Then she climbed into the great tree to examine them at +leisure. There were some that looked like knife blades, and some +that could easily be fashioned into spear heads, and many smaller +ones that nature seemed to have intended for the tips of savage +arrows. + +The spear she would essay first--that would be easiest. There +was a hollow in the bole of the tree in a great crotch high above +the ground. Here she cached all of her treasure except a single +knifelike sliver. With this she descended to the ground and +searching out a slender sapling that grew arrow-straight she +hacked and sawed until she could break it off without splitting +the wood. It was just the right diameter for the shaft of a +spear--a hunting spear such as her beloved Waziri had liked best. +How often had she watched them fashioning them, and they had +taught her how to use them, too--them and the heavy war +spears--laughing and clapping their hands as her proficiency +increased. + +She knew the arborescent grasses that yielded the longest and +toughest fibers and these she sought and carried to her tree with +the spear shaft that was to be. Clambering to her crotch she bent +to her work, humming softly a little tune. She caught herself and +smiled--it was the first time in all these bitter months that +song had passed her lips or such a smile. + +"I feel," she sighed, "I almost feel that John is near--my +John--my Tarzan!" + +She cut the spear shaft to the proper length and removed the +twigs and branches and the bark, whittling and scraping at the +nubs until the surface was all smooth and straight. Then she +split one end and inserted a spear point, shaping the wood until +it fitted perfectly. This done she laid the shaft aside and fell +to splitting the thick grass stems and pounding and twisting them +until she had separated and partially cleaned the fibers. These +she took down to the brook and washed and brought back again and +wound tightly around the cleft end of the shaft, which she had +notched to receive them, and the upper part of the spear head +which she had also notched slightly with a bit of stone. It was a +crude spear but the best that she could attain in so short a +time. Later, she promised herself, she should have others--many +of them--and they would be spears of which even the greatest of +the Waziri spear-men might be proud. + + + +18 + +The Lion Pit of Tu-lur + +THOUGH Tarzan searched the outskirts of the city until nearly +dawn he discovered nowhere the spoor of his mate. The breeze +coming down from the mountains brought to his nostrils a +diversity of scents but there was not among them the slightest +suggestion of her whom he sought. The natural deduction was +therefore that she had been taken in some other direction. In his +search he had many times crossed the fresh tracks of many men +leading toward the lake and these he concluded had probably been +made by Jane Clayton's abductors. It had only been to minimize +the chance of error by the process of elimination that he had +carefully reconnoitered every other avenue leading from A-lur +toward the southeast where lay Mo-sar's city of Tu-lur, and now +he followed the trail to the shores of Jad-ben-lul where the +party had embarked upon the quiet waters in their sturdy canoes. + +He found many other craft of the same description moored along +the shore and one of these he commandeered for the purpose of +pursuit. It was daylight when he passed through the lake which +lies next below Jad-ben-lul and paddling strongly passed within +sight of the very tree in which his lost mate lay sleeping. + +Had the gentle wind that caressed the bosom of the lake been +blowing from a southerly direction the giant ape-man and Jane +Clayton would have been reunited then, but an unkind fate had +willed otherwise and the opportunity passed with the passing of +his canoe which presently his powerful strokes carried out of +sight into the stream at the lower end of the lake. + +Following the winding river which bore a considerable distance to +the north before doubling back to empty into the Jad-in-lul, the +ape-man missed a portage that would have saved him hours of +paddling. + +It was at the upper end of this portage where Mo-sar and his +warriors had debarked that the chief discovered the absence of +his captive. As Mo-sar had been asleep since shortly after their +departure from A-lur, and as none of the warriors recalled when +she had last been seen, it was impossible to conjecture with any +degree of accuracy the place where she had escaped. The consensus +of opinion was, however, that it had been in the narrow river +connecting Jad-ben-lul with the lake next below it, which is +called Jad-bal-lul, which freely translated means the lake of +gold. Mo-sar had been very wroth and having himself been the only +one at fault he naturally sought with great diligence to fix the +blame upon another. + +He would have returned in search of her had he not feared to meet +a pursuing company dispatched either by Ja-don or the high +priest, both of whom, he knew, had just grievances against him. +He would not even spare a boatload of his warriors from his own +protection to return in quest of the fugitive but hastened onward +with as little delay as possible across the portage and out upon +the waters of Jad-in-lul. + +The morning sun was just touching the white domes of Tu-lur when +Mo-sar's paddlers brought their canoes against the shore at the +city's edge. Safe once more behind his own walls and protected by +many warriors, the courage of the chief returned sufficiently at +least to permit him to dispatch three canoes in search of Jane +Clayton, and also to go as far as A-lur if possible to learn what +had delayed Bu-lot, whose failure to reach the canoes with the +balance of the party at the time of the flight from the northern +city had in no way delayed Mo-sar's departure, his own safety +being of far greater moment than that of his son. + +As the three canoes reached the portage on their return journey +the warriors who were dragging them from the water were suddenly +startled by the appearance of two priests, carrying a light canoe +in the direction of Jad-in-lul. At first they thought them the +advance guard of a larger force of Lu-don's followers, although +the correctness of such a theory was belied by their knowledge +that priests never accepted the risks or perils of a warrior's +vocation, nor even fought until driven into a corner and forced +to do so. Secretly the warriors of Pal-ul-don held the +emasculated priesthood in contempt and so instead of immediately +taking up the offensive as they would have had the two men been +warriors from A-lur instead of priests, they waited to question +them. + +At sight of the warriors the priests made the sign of peace and +upon being asked if they were alone they answered in the +affirmative. + +The leader of Mo-sar's warriors permitted them to approach. +"What do you here," he asked, "in the country of Mo-sar, so far +from your own city?" + +"We carry a message from Lu-don, the high priest, to Mo-sar," +explained one. + +"Is it a message of peace or of war?" asked the warrior. + +"It is an offer of peace," replied the priest. + +"And Lu-don is sending no warriors behind you?" queried the +fighting man. + +"We are alone," the priest assured him. "None in A-lur save +Lu-don knows that we have come upon this errand." + +"Then go your way," said the warrior. + +"Who is that?" asked one of the priests suddenly, pointing toward +the upper end of the lake at the point where the river from +Jad-bal-lul entered it. + +All eyes turned in the direction that he had indicated to see a +lone warrior paddling rapidly into Jad-in-lul, the prow of his +canoe pointing toward Tu-lur. The warriors and the priests drew +into the concealment of the bushes on either side of the portage. + +"It is the terrible man who called himself the Dor-ul-Otho," +whispered one of the priests. "I would know that figure among a +great multitude as far as I could see it." + +"You are right, priest," cried one of the warriors who had seen +Tarzan the day that he had first entered Ko-tan's palace. "It is +indeed he who has been rightly called Tarzan-jad-guru." + +"Hasten priests," cried the leader of the party. "You are two +paddles in a light canoe. Easily can you reach Tu-lur ahead of +him and warn Mo-sar of his coming, for he has but only entered +the lake." + +For a moment the priests demurred for they had no stomach for an +encounter with this terrible man, but the warrior insisted and +even went so far as to threaten them. Their canoe was taken from +them and pushed into the lake and they were all but lifted bodily +from their feet and put aboard it. Still protesting they were +shoved out upon the water where they were immediately in full +view of the lone paddler above them. Now there was no +alternative. The city of Tu-lur offered the only safety and +bending to their paddles the two priests sent their craft swiftly +in the direction of the city. + +The warriors withdrew again to the concealment of the foliage. If +Tarzan had seen them and should come hither to investigate there +were thirty of them against one and naturally they had no fear of +the outcome, but they did not consider it necessary to go out +upon the lake to meet him since they had been sent to look for +the escaped prisoner and not to intercept the strange warrior, +the stories of whose ferocity and prowess doubtless helped them +to arrive at their decision to provoke no uncalled-for quarrel +with him. + +If he had seen them he gave no sign, but continued paddling +steadily and strongly toward the city, nor did he increase his +speed as the two priests shot out in full view. The moment the +priests' canoe touched the shore by the city its occupants leaped +out and hurried swiftly toward the palace gate, casting +affrighted glances behind them. They sought immediate audience +with Mo-sar, after warning the warriors on guard that Tarzan was +approaching. + +They were conducted at once to the chief, whose court was a +smaller replica of that of the king of A-lur. "We come from +Lu-don, the high priest," explained the spokesman. "He wishes the +friendship of Mo-sar, who has always been his friend. Ja-don is +gathering warriors to make himself king. Throughout the villages +of the Ho-don are thousands who will obey the commands of Lu-don, +the high priest. Only with Lu-don's assistance can Mo-sar become +king, and the message from Lu-don is that if Mo-sar would retain +the friendship of Lu-don he must return immediately the woman he +took from the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a." + +At this juncture a warrior entered. His excitement was evident. +"The Dor-ul-Otho has come to Tu-lur and demands to see Mo-sar at +once," he said. + +"The Dor-ul-Otho!" exclaimed Mo-sar. + +"That is the message he sent," replied the warrior, "and indeed +he is not as are the people of Pal-ul-don. He is, we think, the +same of whom the warriors that returned from A-lur today told us +and whom some call Tarzan-jad-guru and some Dor-ul-Otho. But +indeed only the son of god would dare come thus alone to a +strange city, so it must be that he speaks the truth." + +Mo-sar, his heart filled with terror and indecision, turned +questioningly toward the priests. + +"Receive him graciously, Mo-sar," counseled he who had spoken +before, his advice prompted by the petty shrewdness of his +defective brain which, under the added influence of Lu-don's +tutorage leaned always toward duplicity. "Receive him graciously +and when he is quite convinced of your friendship he will be off +his guard, and then you may do with him as you will. But if +possible, Mo-sar, and you would win the undying gratitude of +Lu-don, the high-priest, save him alive for my master." + +Mo-sar nodded understandingly and turning to the warrior +commanded that he conduct the visitor to him. + +"We must not be seen by the creature," said one of the priests. +"Give us your answer to Lu-don, Mo-sar, and we will go our way." + +"Tell Lu-don," replied the chief, "that the woman would have been +lost to him entirely had it not been for me. I sought to bring +her to Tu-lur that I might save her for him from the clutches of +Ja-don, but during the night she escaped. Tell Lu-don that I have +sent thirty warriors to search for her. It is strange you did not +see them as you came." + +"We did," replied the priests, "but they told us nothing of the +purpose of their journey." + +"It is as I have told you," said Mo-sar, "and if they find her, +assure your master that she will be kept unharmed in Tu-lur for +him. Also tell him that I will send my warriors to join with his +against Ja-don whenever he sends word that he wants them. Now go, +for Tarzan-jad-guru will soon be here." + +He signaled to a slave. "Lead the priests to the temple," he +commanded, "and ask the high priest of Tu-lur to see that they +are fed and permitted to return to A-lur when they will." + +The two priests were conducted from the apartment by the slave +through a doorway other than that at which they had entered, and +a moment later Tarzan-jad-guru strode into the presence of +Mo-sar, ahead of the warrior whose duty it had been to conduct +and announce him. The ape-man made no sign of greeting or of +peace but strode directly toward the chief who, only by the +exertion of his utmost powers of will, hid the terror that was in +his heart at sight of the giant figure and the scowling face. + +"I am the Dor-ul-Otho," said the ape-man in level tones that +carried to the mind of Mo-sar a suggestion of cold steel; "I am +Dor-ul-Otho, and I come to Tu-lur for the woman you stole from +the apartments of O-lo-a, the princess." + +The very boldness of Tarzan's entry into this hostile city had +had the effect of giving him a great moral advantage over Mo-sar +and the savage warriors who stood upon either side of the chief. +Truly it seemed to them that no other than the son of +Jad-ben-Otho would dare so heroic an act. Would any mortal +warrior act thus boldly, and alone enter the presence of a +powerful chief and, in the midst of a score of warriors, +arrogantly demand an accounting? No, it was beyond reason. Mo-sar +was faltering in his decision to betray the stranger by seeming +friendliness. He even paled to a sudden thought--Jad-ben-Otho +knew everything, even our inmost thoughts. Was it not therefore +possible that this creature, if after all it should prove true +that he was the Dor-ul-Otho, might even now be reading the wicked +design that the priests had implanted in the brain of Mo-sar and +which he had entertained so favorably? The chief squirmed and +fidgeted upon the bench of hewn rock that was his throne. + +"Quick," snapped the ape-man, "Where is she?" + +"She is not here," cried Mo-sar. + +"You lie," replied Tarzan. + +"As Jad-ben-Otho is my witness, she is not in Tu-lur," insisted +the chief. "You may search the palace and the temple and the +entire city but you will not find her, for she is not here." + +"Where is she, then?" demanded the ape-man. "You took her from +the palace at A-lur. If she is not here, where is she? Tell me +not that harm has befallen her," and he took a sudden threatening +step toward Mo-sar, that sent the chief shrinking back in terror. + +"Wait," he cried, "if you are indeed the Dor-ul-Otho you will +know that I speak the truth. I took her from the palace of Ko-tan +to save her for Lu-don, the high priest, lest with Ko-tan dead +Ja-don seize her. But during the night she escaped from me +between here and A-lur, and I have but just sent three canoes +full-manned in search of her." + +Something in the chief's tone and manner assured the ape-man that +he spoke in part the truth, and that once again he had braved +incalculable dangers and suffered loss of time futilely. + +"What wanted the priests of Lu-don that preceded me here?" +demanded Tarzan chancing a shrewd guess that the two he had seen +paddling so frantically to avoid a meeting with him had indeed +come from the high priest at A-lur. + +"They came upon an errand similar to yours," replied Mo-sar; "to +demand the return of the woman whom Lu-don thought I had stolen +from him, thus wronging me as deeply, O Dor-ul-Otho, as have +you." + +"I would question the priests," said Tarzan. "Bring them hither." +His peremptory and arrogant manner left Mo-sar in doubt as to +whether to be more incensed, or terrified, but ever as is the way +with such as he, he concluded that the first consideration was +his own safety. If he could transfer the attention and the wrath +of this terrible man from himself to Lu-don's priests it would +more than satisfy him and if they should conspire to harm him, +then Mo-sar would be safe in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho if it +finally developed that the stranger was in reality the son of +god. He felt uncomfortable in Tarzan's presence and this fact +rather accentuated his doubt, for thus indeed would mortal feel +in the presence of a god. Now he saw a way to escape, at least +temporarily. + +"I will fetch them myself, Dor-ul-Otho," he said, and turning, +left the apartment. His hurried steps brought him quickly to the +temple, for the palace grounds of Tu-lur, which also included the +temple as in all of the Ho-don cities, covered a much smaller +area than those of the larger city of A-lur. He found Lu-don's +messengers with the high priest of his own temple and quickly +transmitted to them the commands of the ape-man. + +"What do you intend to do with him?" asked one of the priests. + +"I have no quarrel with him," replied Mo-sar. "He came in peace +and he may depart in peace, for who knows but that he is indeed +the Dor-ul-Otho?" + +"We know that he is not," replied Lu-don's emissary. "We have +every proof that he is only mortal, a strange creature from +another country. Already has Lu-don offered his life to +Jad-ben-Otho if he is wrong in his belief that this creature is +not the son of god. If the high priest of A-lur, who is the +highest priest of all the high priests of Pal-ul-don is thus so +sure that the creature in an impostor as to stake his life upon +his judgment then who are we to give credence to the claims of +this stranger? No, Mo-sar, you need not fear him. He is only a +warrior who may be overcome with the same weapons that subdue +your own fighting men. Were it not for Lu-don's command that he +be taken alive I would urge you to set your warriors upon him and +slay him, but the commands of Lu-don are the commands of +Jad-ben-Otho himself, and those we may not disobey." + +But still the remnant of a doubt stirred within the cowardly +breast of Mo-sar, urging him to let another take the initiative +against the stranger. + +"He is yours then," he replied, "to do with as you will. I have +no quarrel with him. What you may command shall be the command of +Lu-don, the high priest, and further than that I shall have +nothing to do in the matter." + +The priests turned to him who guided the destinies of the temple +at Tu-lur. "Have you no plan?" they asked. "High indeed will he +stand in the counsels of Lu-don and in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho +who finds the means to capture this impostor alive." + +"There is the lion pit," whispered the high priest. "It is now +vacant and what will hold ja and jato will hold this stranger if +he is not the Dor-ul-Otho." + +"It will hold him," said Mo-sar; "doubtless too it would hold a +gryf, but first you would have to get the gryf into it." + +The priests pondered this bit of wisdom thoughtfully and then one +of those from A-lur spoke. "It should not be difficult," he said, +"if we use the wits that Jad-ben-Otho gave us instead of the +worldly muscles which were handed down to us from our fathers and +our mothers and which have not even the power possessed by those +of the beasts that run about on four feet." + +"Lu-don matched his wits with the stranger and lost," suggested +Mo-sar. "But this is your own affair. Carry it out as you see +best." + +"At A-lur, Ko-tan made much of this Dor-ul-Otho and the priests +conducted him through the temple. It would arouse in his mind no +suspicion were you to do the same, and let the high priest of +Tu-lur invite him to the temple and gathering all the priests +make a great show of belief in his kinship to Jad-ben-Otho. And +what more natural then than that the high priest should wish to +show him through the temple as did Lu-don at A-lur when Ko-tan +commanded it, and if by chance he should be led through the lion +pit it would be a simple matter for those who bear the torches to +extinguish them suddenly and before the stranger was aware of +what had happened, the stone gates could be dropped, thus safely +securing him." + +"But there are windows in the pit that let in light," interposed +the high priest, "and even though the torches were extinguished +he could still see and might escape before the stone door could +be lowered." + +"Send one who will cover the windows tightly with hides," said +the priest from A-lur. + +"The plan is a good one," said Mo-sar, seeing an opportunity for +entirely eliminating himself from any suspicion of complicity, +"for it will require the presence of no warriors, and thus with +only priests about him his mind will entertain no suspicion of +harm." + +They were interrupted at this point by a messenger from the +palace who brought word that the Dor-ul-Otho was becoming +impatient and if the priests from A-lur were not brought to him +at once he would come himself to the temple and get them. Mo-sar +shook his head. He could not conceive of such brazen courage in +mortal breast and glad he was that the plan evolved for Tarzan's +undoing did not necessitate his active participation. + +And so, while Mo-sar left for a secret corner of the palace by a +roundabout way, three priests were dispatched to Tarzan and with +whining words that did not entirely deceive him, they +acknowledged his kinship to Jad-ben-Otho and begged him in the +name of the high priest to honor the temple with a visit, when +the priests from A-lur would be brought to him and would answer +any questions that he put to them. + +Confident that a continuation of his bravado would best serve his +purpose, and also that if suspicion against him should +crystallize into conviction on the part of Mo-sar and his +followers that he would be no worse off in the temple than in the +palace, the ape-man haughtily accepted the invitation of the high +priest. + +And so he came into the temple and was received in a manner +befitting his high claims. He questioned the two priests of A-lur +from whom he obtained only a repetition of the story that Mo-sar +had told him, and then the high priest invited him to inspect the +temple. + +They took him first to the altar court, of which there was only +one in Tu-lur. It was almost identical in every respect with +those at A-lur. There was a bloody altar at the east end and the +drowning basin at the west, and the grizzly fringes upon the +headdresses of the priests attested the fact that the eastern +altar was an active force in the rites of the temple. Through +the chambers and corridors beneath they led him, and finally, +with torch bearers to light their steps, into a damp and gloomy +labyrinth at a low level and here in a large chamber, the air of +which was still heavy with the odor of lions, the crafty priests +of Tu-lur encompassed their shrewd design. + +The torches were suddenly extinguished. There was a hurried +confusion of bare feet moving rapidly across the stone floor. +There was a loud crash as of a heavy weight of stone falling upon +stone, and then surrounding the ape-man naught but the darkness +and the silence of the tomb. + + + +19 + +Diana of the Jungle + +JANE had made her first kill and she was very proud of it. It +was not a very formidable animal--only a hare; but it marked an +epoch in her existence. Just as in the dim past the first hunter +had shaped the destinies of mankind so it seemed that this event +might shape hers in some new mold. No longer was she dependent +upon the wild fruits and vegetables for sustenance. Now she might +command meat, the giver of the strength and endurance she would +require successfully to cope with the necessities of her +primitive existence. + +The next step was fire. She might learn to eat raw flesh as had +her lord and master; but she shrank from that. The thought even +was repulsive. She had, however, a plan for fire. She had given +the matter thought, but had been too busy to put it into +execution so long as fire could be of no immediate use to her. +Now it was different--she had something to cook and her mouth +watered for the flesh of her kill. She would grill it above +glowing embers. Jane hastened to her tree. Among the treasures +she had gathered in the bed of the stream were several pieces of +volcanic glass, clear as crystal. She sought until she had found +the one in mind, which was convex. Then she hurried to the ground +and gathered a little pile of powdered bark that was very dry, +and some dead leaves and grasses that had lain long in the hot +sun. Near at hand she arranged a supply of dead twigs and +branches--small and large. + +Vibrant with suppressed excitement she held the bit of glass +above the tinder, moving it slowly until she had focused the +sun's rays upon a tiny spot. She waited breathlessly. How slow it +was! Were her high hopes to be dashed in spite of all her clever +planning? No! A thin thread of smoke rose gracefully into the +quiet air. Presently the tinder glowed and broke suddenly into +flame. Jane clasped her hands beneath her chin with a little +gurgling exclamation of delight. She had achieved fire! + +She piled on twigs and then larger branches and at last dragged a +small log to the flames and pushed an end of it into the fire +which was crackling merrily. It was the sweetest sound that she +had heard for many a month. But she could not wait for the mass +of embers that would be required to cook her hare. As quickly as +might be she skinned and cleaned her kill, burying the hide and +entrails. That she had learned from Tarzan. It served two +purposes. One was the necessity for keeping a sanitary camp and +the other the obliteration of the scent that most quickly +attracts the man-eaters. + +Then she ran a stick through the carcass and held it above the +flames. By turning it often she prevented burning and at the same +time permitted the meat to cook thoroughly all the way through. +When it was done she scampered high into the safety of her tree +to enjoy her meal in quiet and peace. Never, thought Lady +Greystoke, had aught more delicious passed her lips. She patted +her spear affectionately. It had brought her this toothsome +dainty and with it a feeling of greater confidence and safety +than she had enjoyed since that frightful day that she and +Obergatz had spent their last cartridge. She would never forget +that day--it had seemed one hideous succession of frightful beast +after frightful beast. They had not been long in this strange +country, yet they thought that they were hardened to dangers, for +daily they had had encounters with ferocious creatures; but this +day--she shuddered when she thought of it. And with her last +cartridge she had killed a black and yellow striped lion-thing +with great saber teeth just as it was about to spring upon +Obergatz who had futilely emptied his rifle into it--the last +shot--his final cartridge. For another day they had carried the +now useless rifles; but at last they had discarded them and +thrown away the cumbersome bandoleers, as well. How they had +managed to survive during the ensuing week she could never quite +understand, and then the Ho-don had come upon them and captured +her. Obergatz had escaped--she was living it all over again. +Doubtless he was dead unless he had been able to reach this side +of the valley which was quite evidently less overrun with savage +beasts. + +Jane's days were very full ones now, and the daylight hours +seemed all too short in which to accomplish the many things she +had determined upon, since she had concluded that this spot +presented as ideal a place as she could find to live until she +could fashion the weapons she considered necessary for the +obtaining of meat and for self-defense. + +She felt that she must have, in addition to a good spear, a +knife, and bow and arrows. Possibly when these had been achieved +she might seriously consider an attempt to fight her way to one +of civilization's nearest outposts. In the meantime it was +necessary to construct some sort of protective shelter in which +she might feel a greater sense of security by night, for she knew +that there was a possibility that any night she might receive a +visit from a prowling panther, although she had as yet seen none +upon this side of the valley. Aside from this danger she felt +comparatively safe in her aerial retreat. + +The cutting of the long poles for her home occupied all of the +daylight hours that were not engaged in the search for food. +These poles she carried high into her tree and with them +constructed a flooring across two stout branches binding the +poles together and also to the branches with fibers from the +tough arboraceous grasses that grew in profusion near the stream. +Similarly she built walls and a roof, the latter thatched with +many layers of great leaves. The fashioning of the barred windows +and the door were matters of great importance and consuming +interest. The windows, there were two of them, were large and the +bars permanently fixed; but the door was small, the opening just +large enough to permit her to pass through easily on hands and +knees, which made it easier to barricade. She lost count of the +days that the house cost her; but time was a cheap commodity--she +had more of it than of anything else. It meant so little to her +that she had not even any desire to keep account of it. How long +since she and Obergatz had fled from the wrath of the Negro +villagers she did not know and she could only roughly guess at +the seasons. She worked hard for two reasons; one was to hasten +the completion of her little place of refuge, and the other a +desire for such physical exhaustion at night that she would sleep +through those dreaded hours to a new day. As a matter of fact the +house was finished in less than a week--that is, it was made as +safe as it ever would be, though regardless of how long she might +occupy it she would keep on adding touches and refinements here +and there. + +Her daily life was filled with her house building and her +hunting, to which was added an occasional spice of excitement +contributed by roving lions. To the woodcraft that she had +learned from Tarzan, that master of the art, was added a +considerable store of practical experience derived from her own +past adventures in the jungle and the long months with Obergatz, +nor was any day now lacking in some added store of useful +knowledge. To these facts was attributable her apparent immunity +from harm, since they told her when ja was approaching before he +crept close enough for a successful charge and, too, they kept +her close to those never-failing havens of retreat--the trees. + +The nights, filled with their weird noises, were lonely and +depressing. Only her ability to sleep quickly and soundly made +them endurable. The first night that she spent in her completed +house behind barred windows and barricaded door was one of almost +undiluted peace and happiness. The night noises seemed far +removed and impersonal and the soughing of the wind in the trees +was gently soothing. Before, it had carried a mournful note and +was sinister in that it might hide the approach of some real +danger. That night she slept indeed. + +She went further afield now in search of food. So far nothing but +rodents had fallen to her spear--her ambition was an antelope, +since beside the flesh it would give her, and the gut for her +bow, the hide would prove invaluable during the colder weather +that she knew would accompany the rainy season. She had caught +glimpses of these wary animals and was sure that they always +crossed the stream at a certain spot above her camp. It was to +this place that she went to hunt them. With the stealth and +cunning of a panther she crept through the forest, circling about +to get up wind from the ford, pausing often to look and listen +for aught that might menace her--herself the personification of +a hunted deer. Now she moved silently down upon the chosen spot. +What luck! A beautiful buck stood drinking in the stream. The +woman wormed her way closer. Now she lay upon her belly behind a +small bush within throwing distance of the quarry. She must rise +to her full height and throw her spear almost in the same instant +and she must throw it with great force and perfect accuracy. She +thrilled with the excitement of the minute, yet cool and steady +were her swift muscles as she rose and cast her missile. Scarce +by the width of a finger did the point strike from the spot at +which it had been directed. The buck leaped high, landed upon the +bank of the stream, and fell dead. Jane Clayton sprang quickly +forward toward her kill. + +"Bravo!" A man's voice spoke in English from the shrubbery upon +the opposite side of the stream. Jane Clayton halted in her +tracks--stunned, almost, by surprise. And then a strange, unkempt +figure of a man stepped into view. At first she did not recognize +him, but when she did, instinctively she stepped back. + +"Lieutenant Obergatz!" she cried. "Can it be you?" + +"It can. It is," replied the German. "I am a strange sight, no +doubt; but still it is I, Erich Obergatz. And you? You have +changed too, is it not?" + +He was looking at her naked limbs and her golden breastplates, +the loin cloth of jato-hide, the harness and ornaments that +constitute the apparel of a Ho-don woman--the things that Lu-don +had dressed her in as his passion for her grew. Not Ko-tan's +daughter, even, had finer trappings. + +"But why are you here?" Jane insisted. "I had thought you safely +among civilized men by this time, if you still lived." + +"Gott!" he exclaimed. "I do not know why I continue to live. I +have prayed to die and yet I cling to life. There is no hope. We +are doomed to remain in this horrible land until we die. The bog! +The frightful bog! I have searched its shores for a place to +cross until I have entirely circled the hideous country. Easily +enough we entered; but the rains have come since and now no +living man could pass that slough of slimy mud and hungry +reptiles. Have I not tried it! And the beasts that roam this +accursed land. They hunt me by day and by night." + +"But how have you escaped them?" she asked. + +"I do not know," he replied gloomily. "I have fled and fled and +fled. I have remained hungry and thirsty in tree tops for days at +a time. I have fashioned weapons--clubs and spears--and I have +learned to use them. I have slain a lion with my club. So even +will a cornered rat fight. And we are no better than rats in this +land of stupendous dangers, you and I. But tell me about +yourself. If it is surprising that I live, how much more so that +you still survive." + +Briefly she told him and all the while she was wondering what she +might do to rid herself of him. She could not conceive of a +prolonged existence with him as her sole companion. Better, a +thousand times better, to be alone. Never had her hatred and +contempt for him lessened through the long weeks and months of +their constant companionship, and now that he could be of no +service in returning her to civilization, she shrank from the +thought of seeing him daily. And, too, she feared him. Never had +she trusted him; but now there was a strange light in his eye +that had not been there when last she saw him. She could not +interpret it--all she knew was that it gave her a feeling of +apprehension--a nameless dread. + +"You lived long then in the city of A-lur?" he said, speaking in +the language of Pal-ul-don. + +"You have learned this tongue?" she asked. "How?" + +"I fell in with a band of half-breeds," he replied, "members of a +proscribed race that dwells in the rock-bound gut through which +the principal river of the valley empties into the morass. They +are called Waz-ho-don and their village is partly made up of cave +dwellings and partly of houses carved from the soft rock at the +foot of the cliff. They are very ignorant and superstitious and +when they first saw me and realized that I had no tail and that +my hands and feet were not like theirs they were afraid of me. +They thought that I was either god or demon. Being in a position +where I could neither escape them nor defend myself, I made a +bold front and succeeded in impressing them to such an extent +that they conducted me to their city, which they call Bu-lur, and +there they fed me and treated me with kindness. As I learned +their language I sought to impress them more and more with the +idea that I was a god, and I succeeded, too, until an old fellow +who was something of a priest among them, or medicine-man, became +jealous of my growing power. That was the beginning of the end +and came near to being the end in fact. He told them that if I +was a god I would not bleed if a knife was stuck into me--if I +did bleed it would prove conclusively that I was not a god. +Without my knowledge he arranged to stage the ordeal before the +whole village upon a certain night--it was upon one of those +numerous occasions when they eat and drink to Jad-ben-Otho, their +pagan deity. Under the influence of their vile liquor they would +be ripe for any bloodthirsty scheme the medicine-man might +evolve. One of the women told me about the plan--not with any +intent to warn me of danger, but prompted merely by feminine +curiosity as to whether or not I would bleed if stuck with a +dagger. She could not wait, it seemed, for the orderly procedure +of the ordeal--she wanted to know at once, and when I caught her +trying to slip a knife into my side and questioned her she +explained the whole thing with the utmost naivete. +The warriors already had commenced drinking--it would have been +futile to make any sort of appeal either to their intellects or +their superstitions. There was but one alternative to death and +that was flight. I told the woman that I was very much outraged +and offended at this reflection upon my godhood and that as a +mark of my disfavor I should abandon them to their fate. + +"'I shall return to heaven at once!' I exclaimed. + +"She wanted to hang around and see me go, but I told her that her +eyes would be blasted by the fire surrounding my departure and +that she must leave at once and not return to the spot for at +least an hour. I also impressed upon her the fact that should any +other approach this part of the village within that time not only +they, but she as well, would burst into flames and be consumed. + +"She was very much impressed and lost no time in leaving, calling +back as she departed that if I were indeed gone in an hour she +and all the village would know that I was no less than +Jad-ben-Otho himself, and so they must thank me, for I can assure +you that I was gone in much less than an hour, nor have I +ventured close to the neighborhood of the city of Bu-lur since," +and he fell to laughing in harsh, cackling notes that sent a +shiver through the woman's frame. + +As Obergatz talked Jane had recovered her spear from the carcass +of the antelope and commenced busying herself with the removal of +the hide. The man made no attempt to assist her, but stood by +talking and watching her, the while he continually ran his filthy +fingers through his matted hair and beard. His face and body +were caked with dirt and he was naked except for a torn greasy +hide about his loins. His weapons consisted of a club and knife +of Waz-don pattern, that he had stolen from the city of Bu-lur; +but what more greatly concerned the woman than his filth or his +armament were his cackling laughter and the strange expression in +his eyes. + +She went on with her work, however, removing those parts of the +buck she wanted, taking only as much meat as she might consume +before it spoiled, as she was not sufficiently a true jungle +creature to relish it beyond that stage, and then she +straightened up and faced the man. + +"Lieutenant Obergatz," she said, "by a chance of accident we have +met again. Certainly you would not have sought the meeting any +more than I. We have nothing in common other than those +sentiments which may have been engendered by my natural dislike +and suspicion of you, one of the authors of all the misery and +sorrow that I have endured for endless months. This little corner +of the world is mine by right of discovery and occupation. Go +away and leave me to enjoy here what peace I may. It is the least +that you can do to amend the wrong that you have done me and +mine." + +The man stared at her through his fishy eyes for a moment in +silence, then there broke from his lips a peal of mirthless, +uncanny laughter. + +"Go away! Leave you alone!" he cried. "I have found you. We are +going to be good friends. There is no one else in the world but +us. No one will ever know what we do or what becomes of us and +now you ask me to go away and live alone in this hellish +solitude." Again he laughed, though neither the muscles of his +eyes or his mouth reflected any mirth--it was just a hollow sound +that imitated laughter. + +"Remember your promise," she said. + +"Promise! Promise! What are promises? They are made to be +broken--we taught the world that at Liege and Louvain. +No, no! I will not go away. I shall stay and protect you." + +"I do not need your protection," she insisted. "You have already +seen that I can use a spear." + +"Yes," he said; "but it would not be right to leave you here +alone--you are but a woman. No, no; I am an officer of the Kaiser +and I cannot abandon you." + +Once more he laughed. "We could be very happy here together," he +added. + +The woman could not repress a shudder, nor, in fact, did she +attempt to hide her aversion. + +"You do not like me?" he asked. "Ah, well; it is too sad. But +some day you will love me," and again the hideous laughter. + +The woman had wrapped the pieces of the buck in the hide and this +she now raised and threw across her shoulder. In her other hand +she held her spear and faced the German. + +"Go!" she commanded. "We have wasted enough words. This is my +country and I shall defend it. If I see you about again I shall +kill you. Do you understand?" + +An expression of rage contorted Obergatz' features. He raised his +club and started toward her. + +"Stop!" she commanded, throwing her spear-hand backward for a +cast. "You saw me kill this buck and you have said truthfully +that no one will ever know what we do here. Put these two facts +together, German, and draw your own conclusions before you take +another step in my direction." + +The man halted and his club-hand dropped to his side. "Come," he +begged in what he intended as a conciliatory tone. "Let us be +friends, Lady Greystoke. We can be of great assistance to each +other and I promise not to harm you." + +"Remember Liege and Louvain," she reminded him with a +sneer. "I am going now--be sure that you do not follow me. As +far as you can walk in a day from this spot in any direction you +may consider the limits of my domain. If ever again I see you +within these limits I shall kill you." + +There could be no question that she meant what she said and the +man seemed convinced for he but stood sullenly eyeing her as she +backed from sight beyond a turn in the game trail that crossed +the ford where they had met, and disappeared in the forest. + + + +20 + +Silently in the Night + +IN A-LUR the fortunes of the city had been tossed from hand to +hand. The party of Ko-tan's loyal warriors that Tarzan had led to +the rendezvous at the entrance to the secret passage below the +palace gates had met with disaster. Their first rush had been met +with soft words from the priests. They had been exhorted to +defend the faith of their fathers from blasphemers. Ja-don was +painted to them as a defiler of temples, and the wrath of +Jad-ben-Otho was prophesied for those who embraced his cause. The +priests insisted that Lu-don's only wish was to prevent the +seizure of the throne by Ja-don until a new king could be chosen +according to the laws of the Ho-don. + +The result was that many of the palace warriors joined their +fellows of the city, and when the priests saw that those whom +they could influence outnumbered those who remained loyal to the +palace, they caused the former to fall upon the latter with the +result that many were killed and only a handful succeeded in +reaching the safety of the palace gates, which they quickly +barred. + +The priests led their own forces through the secret passageway +into the temple, while some of the loyal ones sought out Ja-don +and told him all that had happened. The fight in the banquet hall +had spread over a considerable portion of the palace grounds and +had at last resulted in the temporary defeat of those who had +opposed Ja-don. This force, counseled by under priests sent for +the purpose by Lu-don, had withdrawn within the temple grounds so +that now the issue was plainly marked as between Ja-don on the +one side and Lu-don on the other. + +The former had been told of all that had occurred in the +apartments of O-lo-a to whose safety he had attended at the first +opportunity and he had also learned of Tarzan's part in leading +his men to the gathering of Lu-don's warriors. + +These things had naturally increased the old warrior's former +inclinations of friendliness toward the ape-man, and now he +regretted that the other had departed from the city. + +The testimony of O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee was such as to strengthen +whatever belief in the godliness of the stranger Ja-don and +others of the warriors had previously entertained, until +presently there appeared a strong tendency upon the part of this +palace faction to make the Dor-ul-otho an issue of their original +quarrel with Lu-don. Whether this occurred as the natural +sequence to repeated narrations of the ape-man's exploits, which +lost nothing by repetition, in conjunction with Lu-don's enmity +toward him, or whether it was the shrewd design of some wily old +warrior such as Ja-don, who realized the value of adding a +religious cause to their temporal one, it were difficult to +determine; but the fact remained that Ja-don's followers +developed bitter hatred for the followers of Lu-don because of +the high priest's antagonism to Tarzan. + +Unfortunately however Tarzan was not there to inspire the +followers of Ja-don with the holy zeal that might have quickly +settled the dispute in the old chieftain's favor. Instead, he was +miles away and because their repeated prayers for his presence +were unanswered, the weaker spirits among them commenced to +suspect that their cause did not have divine favor. There was +also another and a potent cause for defection from the ranks of +Ja-don. It emanated from the city where the friends and relatives +of the palace warriors, who were largely also the friends and +relatives of Lu-don's forces, found the means, urged on by the +priesthood, to circulate throughout the palace pernicious +propaganda aimed at Ja-don's cause. + +The result was that Lu-don's power increased while that of Ja-don +waned. Then followed a sortie from the temple which resulted in +the defeat of the palace forces, and though they were able to +withdraw in decent order withdraw they did, leaving the palace to +Lu-don, who was now virtually ruler of Pal-ul-don. + +Ja-don, taking with him the princess, her women, and their +slaves, including Pan-at-lee, as well as the women and children +of his faithful followers, retreated not only from the palace but +from the city of A-lur as well and fell back upon his own city of +Ja-lur. Here he remained, recruiting his forces from the +surrounding villages of the north which, being far removed from +the influence of the priesthood of A-lur, were enthusiastic +partisans in any cause that the old chieftain espoused, since for +years he had been revered as their friend and protector. + +And while these events were transpiring in the north, +Tarzan-jad-guru lay in the lion pit at Tu-lur while messengers +passed back and forth between Mo-sar and Lu-don as the two +dickered for the throne of Pal-ul-don. Mo-sar was cunning enough +to guess that should an open breach occur between himself and the +high priest he might use his prisoner to his own advantage, for +he had heard whisperings among even his own people that suggested +that there were those who were more than a trifle inclined to +belief in the divinity of the stranger and that he might indeed +be the Dor-ul-Otho. Lu-don wanted Tarzan himself. He wanted to +sacrifice him upon the eastern altar with his own hands before a +multitude of people, since he was not without evidence that his +own standing and authority had been lessened by the claims of the +bold and heroic figure of the stranger. + +The method that the high priest of Tu-lur had employed to trap +Tarzan had left the ape-man in possession of his weapons though +there seemed little likelihood of their being of any service to +him. He also had his pouch, in which were the various odds and +ends which are the natural accumulation of all receptacles from a +gold meshbag to an attic. There were bits of obsidian and choice +feathers for arrows, some pieces of flint and a couple of steel, +an old knife, a heavy bone needle, and strips of dried gut. +Nothing very useful to you or me, perhaps; but nothing useless to +the savage life of the ape-man. + +When Tarzan realized the trick that had been so neatly played +upon him he had awaited expectantly the coming of the lion, for +though the scent of ja was old he was sure that sooner or later +they would let one of the beasts in upon him. His first +consideration was a thorough exploration of his prison. He had +noticed the hide-covered windows and these he immediately +uncovered, letting in the light, and revealing the fact that +though the chamber was far below the level of the temple courts +it was yet many feet above the base of the hill from which the +temple was hewn. The windows were so closely barred that he could +not see over the edge of the thick wall in which they were cut to +determine what lay close in below him. At a little distance were +the blue waters of Jad-in-lul and beyond, the verdure-clad farther +shore, and beyond that the mountains. It was a beautiful picture +upon which he looked--a picture of peace and harmony and quiet. +Nor anywhere a slightest suggestion of the savage men and beasts +that claimed this lovely landscape as their own. What a paradise! +And some day civilized man would come and--spoil it! Ruthless +axes would raze that age-old wood; black, sticky smoke would rise +from ugly chimneys against that azure sky; grimy little boats +with wheels behind or upon either side would churn the mud from +the bottom of Jad-in-lul, turning its blue waters to a dirty +brown; hideous piers would project into the lake from squalid +buildings of corrugated iron, doubtless, for of such are the +pioneer cities of the world. + +But would civilized man come? Tarzan hoped not. For countless +generations civilization had ramped about the globe; it had +dispatched its emissaries to the North Pole and the South; it had +circled Pal-ul-don once, perhaps many times, but it had never +touched her. God grant that it never would. Perhaps He was +saving this little spot to be always just as He had made it, for +the scratching of the Ho-don and the Waz-don upon His rocks had +not altered the fair face of Nature. + +Through the windows came sufficient light to reveal the whole +interior to Tarzan. The room was fairly large and there was a +door at each end--a large door for men and a smaller one for +lions. Both were closed with heavy masses of stone that had been +lowered in grooves running to the floor. The two windows were +small and closely barred with the first iron that Tarzan had seen +in Pal-ul-don. The bars were let into holes in the casing, and +the whole so strongly and neatly contrived that escape seemed +impossible. Yet within a few minutes of his incarceration Tarzan +had commenced to undertake his escape. The old knife in his pouch +was brought into requisition and slowly the ape-man began to +scrape and chip away the stone from about the bars of one of the +windows. It was slow work but Tarzan had the patience of absolute +health. + +Each day food and water were brought him and slipped quickly +beneath the smaller door which was raised just sufficiently to +allow the stone receptacles to pass in. The prisoner began to +believe that he was being preserved for something beside lions. +However that was immaterial. If they would but hold off for a few +more days they might select what fate they would--he would not be +there when they arrived to announce it. + +And then one day came Pan-sat, Lu-don's chief tool, to the city +of Tu-lur. He came ostensibly with a fair message for Mo-sar from +the high priest at A-lur. Lu-don had decided that Mo-sar should +be king and he invited Mo-sar to come at once to A-lur and then +Pan-sat, having delivered the message, asked that he might go to +the temple of Tu-lur and pray, and there he sought the high +priest of Tu-lur to whom was the true message that Lu-don had +sent. The two were closeted alone in a little chamber and Pan-sat +whispered into the ear of the high priest. + +"Mo-sar wishes to be king," he said, "and Lu-don wishes to be +king. Mo-sar wishes to retain the stranger who claims to be the +Dor-ul-Otho and Lu-don wishes to kill him, and now," he leaned +even closer to the ear of the high priest of Tu-lur, "if you +would be high priest at A-lur it is within your power." + +Pan-sat ceased speaking and waited for the other's reply. The +high priest was visibly affected. To be high priest at A-lur! +That was almost as good as being king of all Pal-ul-don, for great +were the powers of him who conducted the sacrifices upon the +altars of A-lur. + +"How?" whispered the high priest. "How may I become high priest +at A-lur?" + +Again Pan-sat leaned close: "By killing the one and bringing the +other to A-lur," replied he. Then he rose and departed knowing +chat the other had swallowed the bait and could be depended upon +to do whatever was required to win him the great prize. + +Nor was Pan-sat mistaken other than in one trivial consideration. +This high priest would indeed commit murder and treason to attain +the high office at A-lur; but he had misunderstood which of his +victims was to be killed and which to be delivered to Lu-don. +Pan-sat, knowing himself all the details of the plannings of +Lu-don, had made the quite natural error of assuming that the +ocher was perfectly aware that only by publicly sacrificing the +false Dor-ul-Otho could the high priest at A-lur bolster his +waning power and that the assassination of Mo-sar, the pretender, +would remove from Lu-don's camp the only obstacle to his +combining the offices of high priest and king. The high priest at +Tu-lur thought that he had been commissioned to kill Tarzan and +bring Mo-sar to A-lur. He also thought that when he had done +these things he would be made high priest at A-lur; but he did +not know that already the priest had been selected who was to +murder him within the hour that he arrived at A-lur, nor did he +know that a secret grave had been prepared for him in the floor +of a subterranean chamber in the very temple he dreamed of +controlling. + +And so when he should have been arranging the assassination of +his chief he was leading a dozen heavily bribed warriors through +the dark corridors beneath the temple to slay Tarzan in the lion +pit. Night had fallen. A single torch guided the footsteps of the +murderers as they crept stealthily upon their evil way, for they +knew that they were doing the thing that their chief did not want +done and their guilty consciences warned them to stealth. + +In the dark of his cell the ape-man worked at his seemingly +endless chipping and scraping. His keen ears detected the coming +of footsteps along the corridor without--footsteps that +approached the larger door. Always before had they come to the +smaller door--the footsteps of a single slave who brought his +food. This time there were many more than one and their coming at +this time of night carried a sinister suggestion. Tarzan +continued to work at his scraping and chipping. He heard them +stop beyond the door. All was silence broken only by the scrape, +scrape, scrape of the ape-man's tireless blade. + +Those without heard it and listening sought to explain it. They +whispered in low tones making their plans. Two would raise the +door quickly and the others would rush in and hurl their clubs at +the prisoner. They would take no chances, for the stories that +had circulated in A-lur had been brought to Tu-lur--stories of +the great strength and wonderful prowess of Tarzan-jad-guru that +caused the sweat to stand upon the brows of the warriors, though +it was cool in the damp corridor and they were twelve to one. + +And then the high priest gave the signal--the door shot upward +and ten warriors leaped into the chamber with poised clubs. Three +of the heavy weapons flew across the room toward a darker shadow +that lay in the shadow of the opposite wall, then the flare of +the torch in the priest's hand lighted the interior and they saw +that the thing at which they had flung their clubs was a pile of +skins torn from the windows and that except for themselves the +chamber was vacant. + +One of them hastened to a window. All but a single bar was gone +and to this was tied one end of a braided rope fashioned from +strips cut from the leather window hangings. + +To the ordinary dangers of Jane Clayton's existence was now added +the menace of Obergatz' knowledge of her whereabouts. The lion +and the panther had given her less cause for anxiety than did the +return of the unscrupulous Hun, whom she had always distrusted +and feared, and whose repulsiveness was now immeasurably +augmented by his unkempt and filthy appearance, his strange and +mirthless laughter, and his unnatural demeanor. She feared him +now with a new fear as though he had suddenly become the +personification of some nameless horror. The wholesome, outdoor +life that she had been leading had strengthened and rebuilt her +nervous system yet it seemed to her as she thought of him that if +this man should ever touch her she should scream, and, possibly, +even faint. Again and again during the day following their +unexpected meeting the woman reproached herself for not having +killed him as she would ja or jato or any other predatory beast +that menaced her existence or her safety. There was no attempt at +self-justification for these sinister reflections--they needed no +justification. The standards by which the acts of such as you or +I may be judged could not apply to hers. We have recourse to the +protection of friends and relatives and the civil soldiery that +upholds the majesty of the law and which may be invoked to +protect the righteous weak against the unrighteous strong; but +Jane Clayton comprised within herself not only the righteous weak +but all the various agencies for the protection of the weak. To +her, then, Lieutenant Erich Obergatz presented no different +problem than did ja, the lion, other than that she considered the +former the more dangerous animal. And so she determined that +should he ignore her warning there would be no temporizing upon +the occasion of their next meeting--the same swift spear that +would meet ja's advances would meet his. + +That night her snug little nest perched high in the great tree +seemed less the sanctuary that it had before. What might resist +the sanguinary intentions of a prowling panther would prove no +great barrier to man, and influenced by this thought she slept +less well than before. The slightest noise that broke the +monotonous hum of the nocturnal jungle startled her into alert +wakefulness to lie with straining ears in an attempt to classify +the origin of the disturbance, and once she was awakened thus by +a sound that seemed to come from something moving in her own +tree. She listened intently--scarce breathing. Yes, there it was +again. A scuffing of something soft against the hard bark of the +tree. The woman reached out in the darkness and grasped her +spear. Now she felt a slight sagging of one of the limbs that +supported her shelter as though the thing, whatever it was, was +slowly raising its weight to the branch. It came nearer. Now she +thought that she could detect its breathing. It was at the door. +She could hear it fumbling with the frail barrier. What could it +be? It made no sound by which she might identify it. She raised +herself upon her hands and knees and crept stealthily the little +distance to the doorway, her spear clutched tightly in her hand. +Whatever the thing was, it was evidently attempting to gain +entrance without awakening her. It was just beyond the pitiful +little contraption of slender boughs that she had bound together +with grasses and called a door--only a few inches lay between the +thing and her. Rising to her knees she reached out with her left +hand and felt until she found a place where a crooked branch had +left an opening a couple of inches wide near the center of the +barrier. Into this she inserted the point of her spear. The thing +must have heard her move within for suddenly it abandoned its +efforts for stealth and tore angrily at the obstacle. At the same +moment Jane thrust her spear forward with all her strength. She +felt it enter flesh. There was a scream and a curse from without, +followed by the crashing of a body through limbs and foliage. Her +spear was almost dragged from her grasp, but she held to it until +it broke free from the thing it had pierced. + +It was Obergatz; the curse had told her that. From below came no +further sound. Had she, then, killed him? She prayed so--with all +her heart she prayed it. To be freed from the menace of this +loathsome creature were relief indeed. During all the balance of +the night she lay there awake, listening. Below her, she +imagined, she could see the dead man with his hideous face bathed +in the cold light of the moon--lying there upon his back staring +up at her. + +She prayed that ja might come and drag it away, but all during +the remainder of the night she heard never another sound above +the drowsy hum of the jungle. She was glad that he was dead, but +she dreaded the gruesome ordeal that awaited her on the morrow, +for she must bury the thing that had been Erich Obergatz and live +on there above the shallow grave of the man she had slain. + +She reproached herself for her weakness, repeating over and over +that she had killed in self-defense, that her act was justified; +but she was still a woman of today, and strong upon her were the +iron mandates of the social order from which she had sprung, its +interdictions and its superstitions. + +At last came the tardy dawn. Slowly the sun topped the distant +mountains beyond Jad-in-lul. And yet she hesitated to loosen the +fastenings of her door and look out upon the thing below. But it +must be done. She steeled herself and untied the rawhide thong +that secured the barrier. She looked down and only the grass and +the flowers looked up at her. She came from her shelter and +examined the ground upon the opposite side of the tree--there was +no dead man there, nor anywhere as far as she could see. Slowly +she descended, keeping a wary eye and an alert ear ready for the +first intimation of danger. + +At the foot of the tree was a pool of blood and a little trail of +crimson drops upon the grass, leading away parallel with the +shore of Jad-ben-lul. Then she had not slain him! She was vaguely +aware of a peculiar, double sensation of relief and regret. Now +she would be always in doubt. He might return; but at least she +would not have to live above his grave. + +She thought some of following the bloody spoor on the chance that +he might have crawled away to die later, but she gave up the idea +for fear that she might find him dead nearby, or, worse yet badly +wounded. What then could she do? She could not finish him with +her spear--no, she knew that she could not do that, nor could she +bring him back and nurse him, nor could she leave him there to +die of hunger or of thirst, or to become the prey of some +prowling beast. It were better then not to search for him for +fear that she might find him. + +That day was one of nervous starting to every sudden sound. The +day before she would have said that her nerves were of iron; but +not today. She knew now the shock that she had suffered and that +this was the reaction. Tomorrow it might be different, but +something told her that never again would her little shelter and +the patch of forest and jungle that she called her own be the +same. There would hang over them always the menace of this man. +No longer would she pass restful nights of deep slumber. The +peace of her little world was shattered forever. + +That night she made her door doubly secure with additional thongs +of rawhide cut from the pelt of the buck she had slain the day +that she met Obergatz. She was very tired for she had lost much +sleep the night before; but for a long time she lay with +wide-open eyes staring into the darkness. What saw she there? +Visions that brought tears to those brave and beautiful +eyes--visions of a rambling bungalow that had been home to her +and that was no more, destroyed by the same cruel force that +haunted her even now in this remote, uncharted corner of the +earth; visions of a strong man whose protecting arm would never +press her close again; visions of a tall, straight son who looked +at her adoringly out of brave, smiling eyes that were like his +father's. Always the vision of the crude simple bungalow rather +than of the stately halls that had been as much a part of her +life as the other. But he had loved the bungalow and the broad, +free acres best and so she had come to love them best, too. + +At last she slept, the sleep of utter exhaustion. How long it +lasted she did not know; but suddenly she was wide awake and once +again she heard the scuffing of a body against the bark of her +tree and again the limb bent to a heavy weight. He had returned! +She went cold, trembling as with ague. Was it he, or, O God! had +she killed him then and was this--? She tried to drive the horrid +thought from her mind, for this way, she knew, lay madness. + +And once again she crept to the door, for the thing was outside +just as it had been last night. Her hands trembled as she placed +the point of her weapon to the opening. She wondered if it would +scream as it fell. + + + +21 + +The Maniac + +THE last bar that would make the opening large enough to permit +his body to pass had been removed as Tarzan heard the warriors +whispering beyond the stone door of his prison. Long since had +the rope of hide been braided. To secure one end to the remaining +bar that he had left for this purpose was the work of but a +moment, and while the warriors whispered without, the brown body +of the ape-man slipped through the small aperture and disappeared +below the sill. + +Tarzan's escape from the cell left him still within the walled +area that comprised the palace and temple grounds and buildings. +He had reconnoitered as best he might from the window after he +had removed enough bars to permit him to pass his head through +the opening, so that he knew what lay immediately before him--a +winding and usually deserted alleyway leading in the direction of +the outer gate that opened from the palace grounds into the city. + +The darkness would facilitate his escape. He might even pass out +of the palace and the city without detection. If he could elude +the guard at the palace gate the rest would be easy. He strode +along confidently, exhibiting no fear of detection, for he +reasoned that thus would he disarm suspicion. In the darkness he +easily could pass for a Ho-don and in truth, though he passed +several after leaving the deserted alley, no one accosted or +detained him, and thus he came at last to the guard of a +half-dozen warriors before the palace gate. These he attempted to +pass in the same unconcerned fashion and he might have succeeded +had it not been for one who came running rapidly from the +direction of the temple shouting: "Let no one pass the gates! The +prisoner has escaped from the pal-ul-ja!" + +Instantly a warrior barred his way and simultaneously the fellow +recognized him. "Xot tor!" he exclaimed: "Here he is now. Fall +upon him! Fall upon him! Back! Back before I kill you." + +The others came forward. It cannot be said that they rushed +forward. If it was their wish to fall upon him there was a +noticeable lack of enthusiasm other than that which directed +their efforts to persuade someone else to fall upon him. His fame +as a fighter had been too long a topic of conversation for the +good of the morale of Mo-sar's warriors. It were safer to stand +at a distance and hurl their clubs and this they did, but the +ape-man had learned something of the use of this weapon since he +had arrived in Pal-ul-don. And as he learned great had grown his +respect for this most primitive of arms. He had come to realize +that the black savages he had known had never appreciated the +possibilities of their knob sticks, nor had he, and he had +discovered, too, why the Pal-ul-donians had turned their ancient +spears into plowshares and pinned their faith to the heavy-ended +club alone. In deadly execution it was far more effective than a +spear and it answered, too, every purpose of a shield, combining +the two in one and thus reducing the burden of the warrior. +Thrown as they throw it, after the manner of the hammer-throwers +of the Olympian games, an ordinary shield would prove more a +weakness than a strength while one that would be strong enough to +prove a protection would be too heavy to carry. Only another +club, deftly wielded to deflect the course of an enemy missile, +is in any way effective against these formidable weapons and, +too, the war club of Pal-ul-don can be thrown with accuracy a far +greater distance than any spear. + +And now was put to the test that which Tarzan had learned from +Om-at and Ta-den. His eyes and his muscles trained by a lifetime +of necessity moved with the rapidity of light and his brain +functioned with an uncanny celerity that suggested nothing less +than prescience, and these things more than compensated for his +lack of experience with the war club he handled so dexterously. +Weapon after weapon he warded off and always he moved with a +single idea in mind--to place himself within reach of one of his +antagonists. But they were wary for they feared this strange +creature to whom the superstitious fears of many of them +attributed the miraculous powers of deity. They managed to keep +between Tarzan and the gateway and all the time they bawled +lustily for reinforcements. Should these come before he had made +his escape the ape-man realized that the odds against him would +be unsurmountable, and so he redoubled his efforts to carry out +his design. + +Following their usual tactics two or three of the warriors were +always circling behind him collecting the thrown clubs when +Tarzan's attention was directed elsewhere. He himself retrieved +several of them which he hurled with such deadly effect as to +dispose of two of his antagonists, but now he heard the approach +of hurrying warriors, the patter of their bare feet upon the +stone pavement and then the savage cries which were to bolster +the courage of their fellows and fill the enemy with fear. + +There was no time to lose. Tarzan held a club in either hand and, +swinging one he hurled it at a warrior before him and as the man +dodged he rushed in and seized him, at the same time casting his +second club at another of his opponents. The Ho-don with whom he +grappled reached instantly for his knife but the ape-man grasped +his wrist. There was a sudden twist, the snapping of a bone and +an agonized scream, then the warrior was lifted bodily from his +feet and held as a shield between his fellows and the fugitive as +the latter backed through the gateway. Beside Tarzan stood the +single torch that lighted the entrance to the palace grounds. The +warriors were advancing to the succor of their fellow when the +ape-man raised his captive high above his head and flung him full +in the face of the foremost attacker. The fellow went down and +two directly behind him sprawled headlong over their companion as +the ape-man seized the torch and cast it back into the palace +grounds to be extinguished as it struck the bodies of those who +led the charging reinforcements. + +In the ensuing darkness Tarzan disappeared in the streets of +Tu-lur beyond the palace gate. For a time he was aware of sounds +of pursuit but the fact that they trailed away and died in the +direction of Jad-in-lul informed him that they were searching in +the wrong direction, for he had turned south out of Tu-lur +purposely to throw them off his track. Beyond the outskirts of +the city he turned directly toward the northwest, in which +direction lay A-lur. + +In his path he knew lay Jad-bal-lul, the shore of which he was +compelled to skirt, and there would be a river to cross at the +lower end of the great lake upon the shores of which lay A-lur. +What other obstacles lay in his way he did not know but he +believed that he could make better time on foot than by +attempting to steal a canoe and force his way up stream with a +single paddle. It was his intention to put as much distance as +possible between himself and Tu-lur before he slept for he was +sure that Mo-sar would not lightly accept his loss, but that with +the coming of day, or possibly even before, he would dispatch +warriors in search of him. + +A mile or two from the city he entered a forest and here at last +he felt such a measure of safety as he never knew in open spaces +or in cities. The forest and the jungle were his birthright. No +creature that went upon the ground upon four feet, or climbed +among the trees, or crawled upon its belly had any advantage over +the ape-man in his native heath. As myrrh and frankincense were +the dank odors of rotting vegetation in the nostrils of the great +Tarmangani. He squared his broad shoulders and lifting his head +filled his lungs with the air that he loved best. The heavy +fragrance of tropical blooms, the commingled odors of the +myriad-scented life of the jungle went to his head with a +pleasurable intoxication far more potent than aught contained in +the oldest vintages of civilization. + +He took to the trees now, not from necessity but from pure love +of the wild freedom that had been denied him so long. Though it +was dark and the forest strange yet he moved with a surety and +ease that bespoke more a strange uncanny sense than wondrous +skill. He heard ja moaning somewhere ahead and an owl hooted +mournfully to the right of him--long familiar sounds that +imparted to him no sense of loneliness as they might to you or to +me, but on the contrary one of companionship for they betokened +the presence of his fellows of the jungle, and whether friend or +foe it was all the same to the ape-man. + +He came at last to a little stream at a spot where the trees did +not meet above it so he was forced to descend to the ground and +wade through the water and upon the opposite shore he stopped as +though suddenly his godlike figure had been transmuted from flesh +to marble. Only his dilating nostrils bespoke his pulsing +vitality. For a long moment he stood there thus and then swiftly, +but with a caution and silence that were inherent in him he moved +forward again, but now his whole attitude bespoke a new urge. +There was a definite and masterful purpose in every movement of +those steel muscles rolling softly beneath the smooth brown hide. +He moved now toward a certain goal that quite evidently filled +him with far greater enthusiasm than had the possible event of +his return to A-lur. + +And so he came at last to the foot of a great tree and there he +stopped and looked up above him among the foliage where the dim +outlines of a roughly rectangular bulk loomed darkly. There was +a choking sensation in Tarzan's throat as he raised himself +gently into the branches. It was as though his heart were +swelling either to a great happiness or a great fear. + +Before the rude shelter built among the branches he paused +listening. From within there came to his sensitive nostrils the +same delicate aroma that had arrested his eager attention at the +little stream a mile away. He crouched upon the branch close to +the little door. + +"Jane," he called, "heart of my heart, it is I." + +The only answer from within was as the sudden indrawing of a +breath that was half gasp and half sigh, and the sound of a body +falling to the floor. Hurriedly Tarzan sought to release the +thongs which held the door but they were fastened from the +inside, and at last, impatient with further delay, he seized the +frail barrier in one giant hand and with a single effort tore it +completely away. And then he entered to find the seemingly +lifeless body of his mate stretched upon the floor. + +He gathered her in his arms; her heart beat; she still breathed, +and presently he realized that she had but swooned. + +When Jane Clayton regained consciousness it was to find herself +held tightly in two strong arms, her head pillowed upon the broad +shoulder where so often before her fears had been soothed and her +sorrows comforted. At first she was not sure but that it was all +a dream. Timidly her hand stole to his cheek. + +"John," she murmured, "tell me, is it really you?" + +In reply he drew her more closely to him. "It is I," he replied. +"But there is something in my throat," he said haltingly, "that +makes it hard for me to speak." + +She smiled and snuggled closer to him. "God has been good to us, +Tarzan of the Apes," she said. + +For some time neither spoke. It was enough that they were +reunited and that each knew that the other was alive and safe. +But at last they found their voices and when the sun rose they +were still talking, so much had each to tell the other; so many +questions there were to be asked and answered. + +"And Jack," she asked, "where is he?" + +"I do not know," replied Tarzan. "The last I heard of him he was +on the Argonne Front." + +"Ah, then our happiness is not quite complete," she said, a +little note of sadness creeping into her voice. + +"No," he replied, "but the same is true in countless other +English homes today, and pride is learning to take the place of +happiness in these." + +She shook her head, "I want my boy," she said. + +"And I too," replied Tarzan, "and we may have him yet. He was +safe and unwounded the last word I had. And now," he said, "we +must plan upon our return. Would you like to rebuild the bungalow +and gather together the remnants of our Waziri or would you +rather return to London?" + +"Only to find Jack," she said. "I dream always of the bungalow +and never of the city, but John, we can only dream, for Obergatz +told me that he had circled this whole country and found no place +where he might cross the morass." + +"I am not Obergatz," Tarzan reminded her, smiling. "We will rest +today and tomorrow we will set out toward the north. It is a +savage country, but we have crossed it once and we can cross it +again." + +And so, upon the following morning, the Tarmangani and his mate +went forth upon their journey across the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho, +and ahead of them were fierce men and savage beasts, and the +lofty mountains of Pal-ul-don; and beyond the mountains the +reptiles and the morass, and beyond that the arid, thorn-covered +steppe, and other savage beasts and men and weary, hostile miles +of untracked wilderness between them and the charred ruins of +their home. + +Lieutenant Erich Obergatz crawled through the grass upon all +fours, leaving a trail of blood behind him after Jane's spear had +sent him crashing to the ground beneath her tree. He made no +sound after the one piercing scream that had acknowledged the +severity of his wound. He was quiet because of a great fear that +had crept into his warped brain that the devil woman would pursue +and slay him. And so he crawled away like some filthy beast of +prey, seeking a thicket where he might lie down and hide. + +He thought that he was going to die, but he did not, and with the +coming of the new day he discovered that his wound was +superficial. The rough obsidian-shod spear had entered the +muscles of his side beneath his right arm inflicting a painful, +but not a fatal wound. With the realization of this fact came a +renewed desire to put as much distance as possible between +himself and Jane Clayton. And so he moved on, still going upon +all fours because of a persistent hallucination that in this way +he might escape observation. Yet though he fled his mind still +revolved muddily about a central desire--while he fled from her +he still planned to pursue her, and to his lust of possession was +added a desire for revenge. She should pay for the suffering she +had inflicted upon him. She should pay for rebuffing him, but for +some reason which he did not try to explain to himself he would +crawl away and hide. He would come back though. He would come +back and when he had finished with her, he would take that smooth +throat in his two hands and crush the life from her. + +He kept repeating this over and over to himself and then he fell +to laughing out loud, the cackling, hideous laughter that had +terrified Jane. Presently he realized his knees were bleeding and +that they hurt him. He looked cautiously behind. No one was in +sight. He listened. He could hear no indications of pursuit and +so he rose to his feet and continued upon his way a sorry +sight--covered with filth and blood, his beard and hair tangled +and matted and filled with burrs and dried mud and unspeakable +filth. He kept no track of time. He ate fruits and berries and +tubers that he dug from the earth with his fingers. He followed +the shore of the lake and the river that he might be near water, +and when ja roared or moaned he climbed a tree and hid there, +shivering. + +And so after a time he came up the southern shore of Jad-ben-lul +until a wide river stopped his progress. Across the blue water a +white city glimmered in the sun. He looked at it for a long time, +blinking his eyes like an owl. Slowly a recollection forced +itself through his tangled brain. This was A-lur, the City of +Light. The association of ideas recalled Bu-lur and the +Waz-ho-don. They had called him Jad-ben-Otho. He commenced to +laugh aloud and stood up very straight and strode back and forth +along the shore. "I am Jad-ben-Otho," he cried, "I am the Great +God. In A-lur is my temple and my high priests. What is +Jad-ben-Otho doing here alone in the jungle?" + +He stepped out into the water and raising his voice shrieked +loudly across toward A-lur. "I am Jad-ben-Otho!" he screamed. +"Come hither slaves and take your god to his temple." But the +distance was great and they did not hear him and no one came, and +the feeble mind was distracted by other things--a bird flying in +the air, a school of minnows swimming around his feet. He lunged +at them trying to catch them, and falling upon his hands and +knees he crawled through the water grasping futilely at the +elusive fish. + +Presently it occurred to him that he was a sea lion and he forgot +the fish and lay down and tried to swim by wriggling his feet in +the water as though they were a tail. The hardships, the +privations, the terrors, and for the past few weeks the lack of +proper nourishment had reduced Erich Obergatz to little more than +a gibbering idiot. + +A water snake swam out upon the surface of the lake and the man +pursued it, crawling upon his hands and knees. The snake swam +toward the shore just within the mouth of the river where tall +reeds grew thickly and Obergatz followed, making grunting noises +like a pig. He lost the snake within the reeds but he came upon +something else--a canoe hidden there close to the bank. He +examined it with cackling laughter. There were two paddles within +it which he took and threw out into the current of the river. He +watched them for a while and then he sat down beside the canoe +and commenced to splash his hands up and down upon the water. He +liked to hear the noise and see the little splashes of spray. He +rubbed his left forearm with his right palm and the dirt came off +and left a white spot that drew his attention. He rubbed again +upon the now thoroughly soaked blood and grime that covered his +body. He was not attempting to wash himself; he was merely amused +by the strange results. "I am turning white," he cried. His +glance wandered from his body now that the grime and blood were +all removed and caught again the white city shimmering beneath +the hot sun. + +"A-lur--City of Light!" he shrieked and that reminded him again +of Tu-lur and by the same process of associated ideas that had +before suggested it, he recalled that the Waz-ho-don had thought +him Jad-ben-Otho. + +"I am Jad-ben-Otho!" he screamed and then his eyes fell again +upon the canoe. A new idea came and persisted. He looked down at +himself, examining his body, and seeing the filthy loin cloth, +now water soaked and more bedraggled than before, he tore it from +him and flung it into the lake. "Gods do not wear dirty rags," he +said aloud. "They do not wear anything but wreaths and garlands +of flowers and I am a god--I am Jad-ben-Otho--and I go in state +to my sacred city of A-lur." + +He ran his fingers through his matted hair and beard. The water +had softened the burrs but had not removed them. The man shook +his head. His hair and beard failed to harmonize with his other +godly attributes. He was commencing to think more clearly now, +for the great idea had taken hold of his scattered wits and +concentrated them upon a single purpose, but he was still a +maniac. The only difference being that he was now a maniac with a +fixed intent. He went out on the shore and gathered flowers and +ferns and wove them in his beard and hair--blazing blooms of +different colors--green ferns that trailed about his ears or rose +bravely upward like the plumes in a lady's hat. + +When he was satisfied that his appearance would impress the most +casual observer with his evident deity he returned to the canoe, +pushed it from shore and jumped in. The impetus carried it into +the river's current and the current bore it out upon the lake. +The naked man stood erect in the center of the little craft, his +arms folded upon his chest. He screamed aloud his message to the +city: "I am Jad-ben-Otho! Let the high priest and the under +priests attend upon me!" + +As the current of the river was dissipated by the waters of the +lake the wind caught him and his craft and carried them bravely +forward. Sometimes he drifted with his back toward A-lur and +sometimes with his face toward it, and at intervals he shrieked +his message and his commands. He was still in the middle of the +lake when someone discovered him from the palace wall, and as he +drew nearer, a crowd of warriors and women and children were +congregated there watching him and along the temple walls were +many priests and among them Lu-don, the high priest. When the +boat had drifted close enough for them to distinguish the bizarre +figure standing in it and for them to catch the meaning of his +words Lu-don's cunning eyes narrowed. The high priest had learned +of the escape of Tarzan and he feared that should he join +Ja-don's forces, as seemed likely, he would attract many recruits +who might still believe in him, and the Dor-ul-Otho, even if a +false one, upon the side of the enemy might easily work havoc +with Lu-don's plans. + +The man was drifting close in. His canoe would soon be caught in +the current that ran close to shore here and carried toward the +river that emptied the waters of Jad-ben-lul into Jad-bal-lul. +The under priests were looking toward Lu-don for instructions. + +"Fetch him hither!" he commanded. "If he is Jad-ben-Otho I shall +know him." + +The priests hurried to the palace grounds and summoned warriors. +"Go, bring the stranger to Lu-don. If he is Jad-ben-Otho we shall +know him." + +And so Lieutenant Erich Obergatz was brought before the high +priest at A-lur. Lu-don looked closely at the naked man with the +fantastic headdress. + +"Where did you come from?" he asked. + +"I am Jad-ben-Otho," cried the German. "I came from heaven. Where +is my high priest?" + +"I am the high priest," replied Lu-don. + +Obergatz clapped his hands. "Have my feet bathed and food brought +to me," he commanded. + +Lu-don's eyes narrowed to mere slits of crafty cunning. He bowed +low until his forehead touched the feet of the stranger. Before +the eyes of many priests, and warriors from the palace he did it. + +"Ho, slaves"" he cried, rising; "fetch water and food for the +Great God," and thus the high priest acknowledged before his +people the godhood of Lieutenant Erich Obergatz, nor was it long +before the story ran like wildfire through the palace and out +into the city and beyond that to the lesser villages all the way +from A-lur to Tu-lur. + +The real god had come--Jad-ben-Otho himself, and he had espoused +the cause of Lu-don, the high priest. Mo-sar lost no time in +placing himself at the disposal of Lu-don, nor did he mention +aught about his claims to the throne. It was Mo-sar's opinion that +he might consider himself fortunate were he allowed to remain in +peaceful occupation of his chieftainship at Tu-lur, nor was +Mo-sar wrong in his deductions. + +But Lu-don could still use him and so he let him live and sent +word to him to come to A-lur with all his warriors, for it was +rumored that Ja-don was raising a great army in the north and +might soon march upon the City of Light. + +Obergatz thoroughly enjoyed being a god. Plenty of food and peace +of mind and rest partially brought back to him the reason that +had been so rapidly slipping from him; but in one respect he was +madder than ever, since now no power on earth would ever be able +to convince him that he was not a god. Slaves were put at his +disposal and these he ordered about in godly fashion. The same +portion of his naturally cruel mind met upon common ground the +mind of Lu-don, so that the two seemed always in accord. The high +priest saw in the stranger a mighty force wherewith to hold +forever his power over all Pal-ul-don and thus the future of +Obergatz was assured so long as he cared to play god to Lu-don's +high priest. + +A throne was erected in the main temple court before the eastern +altar where Jad-ben-Otho might sit in person and behold the +sacrifices that were offered up to him there each day at sunset. +So much did the cruel, half-crazed mind enjoy these spectacles +that at times he even insisted upon wielding the sacrificial +knife himself and upon such occasions the priests and the people +fell upon their faces in awe of the dread deity. + +If Obergatz taught them not to love their god more he taught them +to fear him as they never had before, so that the name of +Jad-ben-Otho was whispered in the city and little children were +frightened into obedience by the mere mention of it. Lu-don, +through his priests and slaves, circulated the information that +Jad-ben-Otho had commanded all his faithful followers to flock to +the standard of the high priest at A-lur and that all others were +cursed, especially Ja-don and the base impostor who had posed as +the Dor-ul-Otho. The curse was to take the form of early death +following terrible suffering, and Lu-don caused it to be +published abroad that the name of any warrior who complained of a +pain should be brought to him, for such might be deemed to be +under suspicion, since the first effects of the curse would +result in slight pains attacking the unholy. He counseled those +who felt pains to look carefully to their loyalty. The result was +remarkable and immediate--half a nation without a pain, and +recruits pouring into A-lur to offer their services to Lu-don +while secretly hoping that the little pains they had felt in arm +or leg or belly would not recur in aggravated form. + + + +22 + +A Journey on a Gryf + +TARZAN and Jane skirted the shore of Jad-bal-lul and crossed the +river at the head of the lake. They moved in leisurely fashion +with an eye to comfort and safety, for the ape-man, now that he +had found his mate, was determined to court no chance that might +again separate them, or delay or prevent their escape from +Pal-ul-don. How they were to recross the morass was a matter of +little concern to him as yet--it would be time enough to +consider that matter when it became of more immediate moment. +Their hours were filled with the happiness and content of reunion +after long separation; they had much to talk of, for each had +passed through many trials and vicissitudes and strange +adventures, and no important hour might go unaccounted for since +last they met. + +It was Tarzan's intention to choose a way above A-lur and the +scattered Ho-don villages below it, passing about midway between +them and the mountains, thus avoiding, in so far as possible, +both the Ho-don and Waz-don, for in this area lay the neutral +territory that was uninhabited by either. Thus he would travel +northwest until opposite the Kor-ul-ja where he planned to stop +to pay his respects to Om-at and give the gund word of +Pan-at-lee, and a plan Tarzan had for insuring her safe return to +her people. It was upon the third day of their journey and they +had almost reached the river that passes through A-lur when Jane +suddenly clutched Tarzan's arm and pointed ahead toward the edge +of a forest that they were approaching. Beneath the shadows of +the trees loomed a great bulk that the ape-man instantly +recognized. + +"What is it?" whispered Jane. + +"A gryf," replied the ape-man, "and we have met him in the worst +place that we could possibly have found. There is not a large +tree within a quarter of a mile, other than those among which he +stands. Come, we shall have to go back, Jane; I cannot risk it +with you along. The best we can do is to pray that he does not +discover us." + +"And if he does?" + +"Then I shall have to risk it." + +"Risk what?" + +"The chance that I can subdue him as I subdued one of his +fellows," replied Tarzan. "I told you--you recall?" + +"Yes, but I did not picture so huge a creature. Why, John, he is +as big as a battleship." + +The ape-man laughed. "Not quite, though I'll admit he looks quite +as formidable as one when he charges." + +They were moving away slowly so as not to attract the attention +of the beast. + +"I believe we're going to make it," whispered the woman, her +voice tense with suppressed excitement. A low rumble rolled like +distant thunder from the wood. Tarzan shook his head. + +"'The big show is about to commence in the main tent,'" he +quoted, grinning. He caught the woman suddenly to his breast and +kissed her. "One can never tell, Jane," he said. "We'll do our +best--that is all we can do. Give me your spear, and--don't run. +The only hope we have lies in that little brain more than in us. +If I can control it--well, let us see." + +The beast had emerged from the forest and was looking about +through his weak eyes, evidently in search of them. Tarzan +raised his voice in the weird notes of the Tor-o-don's cry, +"Whee-oo! Whee-oo! Whee-oo!" For a moment the great beast stood +motionless, his attention riveted by the call. The ape-man +advanced straight toward him, Jane Clayton at his elbow. +"Whee-oo!" he cried again peremptorily. A low rumble rolled from +the gryf's cavernous chest in answer to the call, and the beast +moved slowly toward them. + +"Fine!" exclaimed Tarzan. "The odds are in our favor now. You +can keep your nerve?--but I do not need to ask." + +"I know no fear when I am with Tarzan of the Apes," she replied +softly, and he felt the pressure of her soft fingers on his arm. + +And thus the two approached the giant monster of a forgotten +epoch until they stood close in the shadow of a mighty shoulder. +"Whee-oo!" shouted Tarzan and struck the hideous snout with the +shaft of the spear. The vicious side snap that did not reach its +mark--that evidently was not intended to reach its mark--was the +hoped-for answer. + +"Come," said Tarzan, and taking Jane by the hand he led her +around behind the monster and up the broad tail to the great, +horned back. "Now will we ride in the state that our forebears +knew, before which the pomp of modern kings pales into cheap and +tawdry insignificance. How would you like to canter through Hyde +Park on a mount like this?" + +"I am afraid the Bobbies would be shocked by our riding habits, +John," she cried, laughingly. + +Tarzan guided the gryf in the direction that they wished to go. +Steep embankments and rivers proved no slightest obstacle to the +ponderous creature. + +"A prehistoric tank, this," Jane assured him, and laughing and +talking they continued on their way. Once they came unexpectedly +upon a dozen Ho-don warriors as the gryf emerged suddenly into a +small clearing. The fellows were lying about in the shade of a +single tree that grew alone. When they saw the beast they leaped +to their feet in consternation and at their shouts the gryf +issued his hideous, challenging bellow and charged them. The +warriors fled in all directions while Tarzan belabored the beast +across the snout with his spear in an effort to control him, and +at last he succeeded, just as the gryf was almost upon one poor +devil that it seemed to have singled out for its special prey. +With an angry grunt the gryf stopped and the man, with a single +backward glance that showed a face white with terror, disappeared +in the jungle he had been seeking to reach. + +The ape-man was elated. He had doubted that he could control the +beast should it take it into its head to charge a victim and had +intended abandoning it before they reached the Kor-ul-ja. Now he +altered his plans--they would ride to the very village of Om-at +upon the gryf, and the Kor-ul-ja would have food for conversation +for many generations to come. Nor was it the theatric instinct of +the ape-man alone that gave favor to this plan. The element of +Jane's safety entered into the matter for he knew that she would +be safe from man and beast alike so long as she rode upon the +back of Pal-ul-don's most formidable creature. + +As they proceeded slowly in the direction of the Kor-ul-ja, for +the natural gait of the gryf is far from rapid, a handful of +terrified warriors came panting into A-lur, spreading a weird +story of the Dor-ul-Otho, only none dared call him the Dor-ul-Otho +aloud. Instead they spoke of him as Tarzan-jad-guru and they told +of meeting him mounted upon a mighty gryf beside the beautiful +stranger woman whom Ko-tan would have made queen of Pal-ul-don. +This story was brought to Lu-don who caused the warriors to be +hailed to his presence, when he questioned them closely until +finally he was convinced that they spoke the truth and when they +had told him the direction in which the two were traveling, +Lu-don guessed that they were on their way to Ja-lur to join +Ja-don, a contingency that he felt must be prevented at any cost. +As was his wont in the stress of emergency, he called Pan-sat +into consultation and for long the two sat in close conference. +When they arose a plan had been developed. Pan-sat went +immediately to his own quarters where he removed the headdress +and trappings of a priest to don in their stead the harness and +weapons of a warrior. Then he returned to Lu-don. + +"Good!" cried the latter, when he saw him. "Not even your +fellow-priests or the slaves that wait upon you daily would know +you now. Lose no time, Pan-sat, for all depends upon the speed +with which you strike and--remember! Kill the man if you can; but +in any event bring the woman to me here, alive. You understand?" + +"Yes, master," replied the priest, and so it was that a lone +warrior set out from A-lur and made his way northwest in the +direction of Ja-lur. + +The gorge next above Kor-ul-ja is uninhabited and here the wily +Ja-don had chosen to mobilize his army for its descent upon +A-lur. Two considerations influenced him--one being the fact that +could he keep his plans a secret from the enemy he would have the +advantage of delivering a surprise attack upon the forces of +Lu-don from a direction that they would not expect attack, and in +the meantime he would be able to keep his men from the gossip of +the cities where strange tales were already circulating relative +to the coming of Jad-ben-Otho in person to aid the high priest in +his war against Ja-don. It took stout hearts and loyal ones to +ignore the implied threats of divine vengeance that these tales +suggested. Already there had been desertions and the cause of +Ja-don seemed tottering to destruction. + +Such was the state of affairs when a sentry posted on the knoll +in the mouth of the gorge sent word that he had observed in the +valley below what appeared at a distance to be nothing less than +two people mounted upon the back of a gryf. He said that he had +caught glimpses of them, as they passed open spaces, and they +seemed to be traveling up the river in the direction of the +Kor-ul-ja. + +At first Ja-don was inclined to doubt the veracity of his +informant; but, like all good generals, he could not permit even +palpably false information to go uninvestigated and so he +determined to visit the knoll himself and learn precisely what it +was that the sentry had observed through the distorting +spectacles of fear. He had scarce taken his place beside the man +ere the fellow touched his arm and pointed. "They are closer +now," he whispered, "you can see them plainly." And sure enough, +not a quarter of a mile away Ja-don saw that which in his long +experience in Pal-ul-don he had never before seen--two humans +riding upon the broad back of a gryf. + +At first he could scarce credit even this testimony of his own +eyes, but soon he realized that the creatures below could be +naught else than they appeared, and then he recognized the man +and rose to his feet with a loud cry. + +"It is he!" he shouted to those about him. "It is the Dor-ul-Otho +himself." + +The gryf and his riders heard the shout though not the words. The +former bellowed terrifically and started in the direction of the +knoll, and Ja-don, followed by a few of his more intrepid +warriors, ran to meet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary +quarrel, tried to turn the animal, but as the beast was far from +tractable it always took a few minutes to force the will of its +master upon it; and so the two parties were quite close before +the ape-man succeeded in stopping the mad charge of his furious +mount. + +Ja-don and his warriors, however, had come to the realization +that this bellowing creature was bearing down upon them with evil +intent and they had assumed the better part of valor and taken to +trees, accordingly. It was beneath these trees that Tarzan +finally stopped the gryf. Ja-don called down to him. + +"We are friends," he cried. "I am Ja-don, Chief of Ja-lur. I and +my warriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and +pray that he will aid us in our righteous fight with Lu-don, the +high priest." + +"You have not defeated him yet?" asked Tarzan. "Why I thought you +would be king of Pal-ul-don long before this." + +"No," replied Ja-don. "The people fear the high priest and now +that he has in the temple one whom he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho +many of my warriors are afraid. If they but knew that the +Dor-ul-Otho had returned and that he had blessed the cause of +Ja-don I am sure that victory would be ours." + +Tarzan thought for a long minute and then he spoke. "Ja-don," he +said, "was one of the few who believed in me and who wished to +accord me fair treatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an +account to settle with Lu-don, not alone on my own behalf, but +principally upon that of my mate. I will go with you Ja-don to +mete to Lu-don the punishment he deserves. Tell me, chief, how +may the Dor-ul-Otho best serve his father's people?" + +"By coming with me to Ja-lur and the villages between," replied +Ja-don quickly, "that the people may see that it is indeed the +Dor-ul-Otho and that he smiles upon the cause of Ja-don." + +"You think that they will believe in me more now than before?" +asked the ape-man. + +"Who will dare doubt that he who rides upon the great gryf is +less than a god?" returned the old chief. + +"And if I go with you to the battle at A-lur," asked Tarzan, "can +you assure the safety of my mate while I am gone from her?" + +"She shall remain in Ja-lur with the Princess O-lo-a and my own +women," replied Ja-don. "There she will be safe for there I shall +leave trusted warriors to protect them. Say that you will come, O +Dor-ul-Otho, and my cup of happiness will be full, for even now +Ta-den, my son, marches toward A-lur with a force from the +northwest and if we can attack, with the Dor-ul-Otho at our head, +from the northeast our arms should be victorious." + +"It shall be as you wish, Ja-don," replied the ape-man; "but +first you must have meat fetched for my gryf." + +"There are many carcasses in the camp above," replied Ja-don, "for +my men have little else to do than hunt." + +"Good," exclaimed Tarzan. "Have them brought at once." + +And when the meat was-brought and laid at a distance the ape-man +slipped from the back of his fierce charger and fed him with his +own hand. "See that there is always plenty of flesh for him," he +said to Ja-don, for he guessed that his mastery might be +short-lived should the vicious beast become over-hungry. + +It was morning before they could leave for Ja-lur, but Tarzan +found the gryf lying where he had left him the night before +beside the carcasses of two antelope and a lion; but now there +was nothing but the gryf. + +"The paleontologists say that he was herbivorous," said Tarzan as +he and Jane approached the beast. + +The journey to Ja-lur was made through the scattered villages +where Ja-don hoped to arouse a keener enthusiasm for his cause. A +party of warriors preceded Tarzan that the people might properly +be prepared, not only for the sight of the gryf but to receive +the Dor-ul-Otho as became his high station. The results were all +that Ja-don could have hoped and in no village through which they +passed was there one who doubted the deity of the ape-man. + +As they approached Ja-lur a strange warrior joined them, one whom +none of Ja-don's following knew. He said he came from one of the +villages to the south and that he had been treated unfairly by +one of Lu-don's chiefs. For this reason he had deserted the cause +of the high priest and come north in the hope of finding a home +in Ja-lur. As every addition to his forces was welcome to the old +chief he permitted the stranger to accompany them, and so he came +into Ja-lur with them. + +There arose now the question as to what was to be done with the +gryf while they remained in the city. It was with difficulty that +Tarzan had prevented the savage beast from attacking all who came +near it when they had first entered the camp of Ja-don in the +uninhabited gorge next to the Kor-ul-ja, but during the march to +Ja-lur the creature had seemed to become accustomed to the +presence of the Ho-don. The latter, however, gave him no cause +for annoyance since they kept as far from him as possible and +when he passed through the streets of the city he was viewed from +the safety of lofty windows and roofs. However tractable he +appeared to have become there would have been no enthusiastic +seconding of a suggestion to turn him loose within the city. It +was finally suggested that he be turned into a walled enclosure +within the palace grounds and this was done, Tarzan driving him +in after Jane had dismounted. More meat was thrown to him and he +was left to his own devices, the awe-struck inhabitants of the +palace not even venturing to climb upon the walls to look at him. + +Ja-don led Tarzan and Jane to the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a +who, the moment that she beheld the ape-man, threw herself to the +ground and touched her forehead to his feet. Pan-at-lee was +there with her and she too seemed happy to see Tarzan-jad-guru +again. When they found that Jane was his mate they looked with +almost equal awe upon her, since even the most skeptical of the +warriors of Ja-don were now convinced that they were entertaining +a god and a goddess within the city of Ja-lur, and that with the +assistance of the power of these two, the cause of Ja-don would +soon be victorious and the old Lion-man set upon the throne of +Pal-ul-don. + +From O-lo-a Tarzan learned that Ta-den had returned and that they +were to be united in marriage with the weird rites of their +religion and in accordance with the custom of their people as +soon as Ta-den came home from the battle that was to be fought at +A-lur. + +The recruits were now gathering at the city and it was decided +that the next day Ja-don and Tarzan would return to the main body +in the hidden camp and immediately under cover of night the +attack should be made in force upon Lu-don's forces at A-lur. Word +of this was sent to Ta-den where he awaited with his warriors +upon the north side of Jad-ben-lul, only a few miles from A-lur. + +In the carrying out of these plans it was necessary to leave Jane +behind in Ja-don's palace at Ja-lur, but O-lo-a and her women +were with her and there were many warriors to guard them, so +Tarzan bid his mate good-bye with no feelings of apprehension as +to her safety, and again seated upon the gryf made his way out of +the city with Ja-don and his warriors. + +At the mouth of the gorge the ape-man abandoned his huge mount +since it had served its purpose and could be of no further value +to him in their attack upon A-lur, which was to be made just +before dawn the following day when, as he could not have been +seen by the enemy, the effect of his entry to the city upon the +gryf would have been totally lost. A couple of sharp blows with +the spear sent the big animal rumbling and growling in the +direction of the Kor-ul-gryf nor was the ape-man sorry to see it +depart since he had never known at what instant its short temper +and insatiable appetite for flesh might turn it upon some of his +companions. + +Immediately upon their arrival at the gorge the march on A-lur +was commenced. + + + +23 + +Taken Alive + +AS NIGHT fell a warrior from the palace of Ja-lur slipped into +the temple grounds. He made his way to where the lesser priests +were quartered. His presence aroused no suspicion as it was not +unusual for warriors to have business within the temple. He came +at last to a chamber where several priests were congregated after +the evening meal. The rites and ceremonies of the sacrifice had +been concluded and there was nothing more of a religious nature +to make call upon their time until the rites at sunrise. + +Now the warrior knew, as in fact nearly all Pal-ul-don knew, that +there was no strong bond between the temple and the palace at +Ja-lur and that Ja-don only suffered the presence of the priests +and permitted their cruel and abhorrent acts because of the fact +that these things had been the custom of the Ho-don of Pal-ul-don +for countless ages, and rash indeed must have been the man who +would have attempted to interfere with the priests or their +ceremonies. That Ja-don never entered the temple was well known, +and that his high priest never entered the palace, but the people +came to the temple with their votive offerings and the sacrifices +were made night and morning as in every other temple in +Pal-ul-don. + +The warriors knew these things, knew them better perhaps than a +simple warrior should have known them. And so it was here in the +temple that he looked for the aid that he sought in the carrying +out of whatever design he had. + +As he entered the apartment where the priests were he greeted +them after the manner which was customary in Pal-ul-don, but at +the same time he made a sign with his finger that might have +attracted little attention or scarcely been noticed at all by one +who knew not its meaning. That there were those within the room +who noticed it and interpreted it was quickly apparent, through +the fact that two of the priests rose and came close to him as he +stood just within the doorway and each of them, as he came, +returned the signal that the warrior had made. + +The three talked for but a moment and then the warrior turned and +left the apartment. A little later one of the priests who had +talked with him left also and shortly after that the other. + +In the corridor they found the warrior waiting, and led him to a +little chamber which opened upon a smaller corridor just beyond +where it joined the larger. Here the three remained in whispered +conversation for some little time and then the warrior returned +to the palace and the two priests to their quarters. + +The apartments of the women of the palace at Ja-lur are all upon +the same side of a long, straight corridor. Each has a single +door leading into the corridor and at the opposite end several +windows overlooking a garden. It was in one of these rooms that +Jane slept alone. At each end of the corridor was a sentinel, the +main body of the guard being stationed in a room near the outer +entrance to the women's quarters. + +The palace slept for they kept early hours there where Ja-don +ruled. The pal-e-don-so of the great chieftain of the north knew +no such wild orgies as had resounded through the palace of the +king at A-lur. Ja-lur was a quiet city by comparison with the +capital, yet there was always a guard kept at every entrance to +the chambers of Ja-don and his immediate family as well as at the +gate leading into the temple and that which opened upon the city. + +These guards, however, were small, consisting usually of not more +than five or six warriors, one of whom remained awake while the +others slept. Such were the conditions then when two warriors +presented themselves, one at either end of the corridor, to the +sentries who watched over the safety of Jane Clayton and the +Princess O-lo-a, and each of the newcomers repeated to the +sentinels the stereotyped words which announced that they were +relieved and these others sent to watch in their stead. Never is +a warrior loath to be relieved of sentry duty. Where, under +different circumstances he might ask numerous questions he is now +too well satisfied to escape the monotonies of that universally +hated duty. And so these two men accepted their relief without +question and hastened away to their pallets. + +And then a third warrior entered the corridor and all of the +newcomers came together before the door of the ape-man's +slumbering mate. And one was the strange warrior who had met +Ja-don and Tarzan outside the city of Ja-lur as they had +approached it the previous day; and he was the same warrior who +had entered the temple a short hour before, but the faces of his +fellows were unfamiliar, even to one another, since it is seldom +that a priest removes his hideous headdress in the presence even +of his associates. + +Silently they lifted the hangings that hid the interior of the +room from the view of those who passed through the corridor, and +stealthily slunk within. Upon a pile of furs in a far corner lay +the sleeping form of Lady Greystoke. The bare feet of the +intruders gave forth no sound as they crossed the stone floor +toward her. A ray of moonlight entering through a window near her +couch shone full upon her, revealing the beautiful contours of an +arm and shoulder in cameo-distinctness against the dark furry +pelt beneath which she slept, and the perfect profile that was +turned toward the skulking three. + +But neither the beauty nor the helplessness of the sleeper +aroused such sentiments of passion or pity as might stir in the +breasts of normal men. To the three priests she was but a lump of +clay, nor could they conceive aught of that passion which had +aroused men to intrigue and to murder for possession of this +beautiful American girl, and which even now was influencing the +destiny of undiscovered Pal-ul-don. + +Upon the floor of the chamber were numerous pelts and as the +leader of the trio came close to the sleeping woman he stooped +and gathered up one of the smaller of these. Standing close to +her head he held the rug outspread above her face. "Now," he +whispered and simultaneously he threw the rug over the woman's +head and his two fellows leaped upon her, seizing her arms and +pinioning her body while their leader stifled her cries with the +furry pelt. Quickly and silently they bound her wrists and gagged +her and during the brief time that their work required there was +no sound that might have been heard by occupants of the adjoining +apartments. + +Jerking her roughly to her feet they forced her toward a window +but she refused to walk, throwing herself instead upon the floor. +They were very angry and would have resorted to -cruelties to +compel her obedience but dared not, since the wrath of Lu-don +might fall heavily upon whoever mutilated his fair prize. + +And so they were forced to lift and carry her bodily. Nor was the +task any sinecure since the captive kicked and struggled as best +she might, making their labor as arduous as possible. But finally +they succeeded in getting her through the window and into the +garden beyond where one of the two priests from the Ja-lur temple +directed their steps toward a small barred gateway in the south +wall of the enclosure. + +Immediately beyond this a flight of stone stairs led downward +toward the river and at the foot of the stairs were moored +several canoes. Pan-sat had indeed been fortunate in enlisting +aid from those who knew the temple and the palace so well, or +otherwise he might never have escaped from Ja-lur with his +captive. Placing the woman in the bottom of a light canoe Pan-sat +entered it and took up the paddle. His companions unfastened the +moorings and shoved the little craft out into the current of the +stream. Their traitorous work completed they turned and retraced +their steps toward the temple, while Pan-sat, paddling strongly +with the current, moved rapidly down the river that would carry +him to the Jad-ben-lul and A-lur. + +The moon had set and the eastern horizon still gave no hint of +approaching day as a long file of warriors wound stealthily +through the darkness into the city of A-lur. Their plans were all +laid and there seemed no likelihood of their miscarriage. A +messenger had been dispatched to Ta-den whose forces lay +northwest of the city. Tarzan, with a small contingent, was to +enter the temple through the secret passageway, the location of +which he alone knew, while Ja-don, with the greater proportion of +the warriors, was to attack the palace gates. + +The ape-man, leading his little band, moved stealthily through +the winding alleys of A-lur, arriving undetected at the building +which hid the entrance to the secret passageway. This spot being +best protected by the fact that its existence was unknown to +others than the priests, was unguarded. To facilitate the passage +of his little company through the narrow winding, uneven tunnel, +Tarzan lighted a torch which had been brought for the purpose and +preceding his warriors led the way toward the temple. + +That he could accomplish much once he reached the inner chambers +of the temple with his little band of picked warriors the ape-man +was confident since an attack at this point would bring confusion +and consternation to the easily overpowered priests, and permit +Tarzan to attack the palace forces in the rear at the same time +that Ja-don engaged them at the palace gates, while Ta-den and +his forces swarmed the northern walls. Great value had been +placed by Ja-don on the moral effect of the Dor-ul-Otho's +mysterious appearance in the heart of the temple and he had urged +Tarzan to take every advantage of the old chieftain's belief that +many of Lu-don's warriors still wavered in their allegiance +between the high priest and the Dor-ul-Otho, being held to the +former more by the fear which he engendered in the breasts of all +his followers than by any love or loyalty they might feel toward +him. + +There is a Pal-ul-donian proverb setting forth a truth similar to +that contained in the old Scotch adage that "The best laid +schemes o' mice and men gang aft a-gley." Freely translated it +might read, "He who follows the right trail sometimes reaches the +wrong destination," and such apparently was the fate that lay in +the footsteps of the great chieftain of the north and his godlike +ally. + +Tarzan, more familiar with the windings of the corridors than his +fellows and having the advantage of the full light of the torch, +which at best was but a dim and flickering affair, was some +distance ahead of the others, and in his keen anxiety to close +with the enemy he gave too little thought to those who were to +support him. Nor is this strange, since from childhood the +ape-man had been accustomed to fight the battles of life +single-handed so that it had become habitual for him to depend +solely upon his own cunning and prowess. + +And so it was that he came into the upper corridor from which +opened the chambers of Lu-don and the lesser priests far in +advance of his warriors, and as he turned into this corridor with +its dim cressets flickering somberly, he saw another enter it +from a corridor before him--a warrior half carrying, half +dragging the figure of a woman. Instantly Tarzan recognized the +gagged and fettered captive whom he had thought safe in the +palace of Ja-don at Ja-lur. + +The warrior with the woman had seen Tarzan at the same instant +that the latter had discovered him. He heard the low beastlike +growl that broke from the ape-man's lips as he sprang forward to +wrest his mate from her captor and wreak upon him the vengeance +that was in the Tarmangani's savage heart. Across the corridor +from Pan-sat was the entrance to a smaller chamber. Into this he +leaped carrying the woman with him. + +Close behind came Tarzan of the Apes. He had cast aside his torch +and drawn the long knife that had been his father's. With the +impetuosity of a charging bull he rushed into the chamber in +pursuit of Pan-sat to find himself, when the hangings dropped +behind him, in utter darkness. Almost immediately there was a +crash of stone on stone before him followed a moment later by a +similar crash behind. No other evidence was necessary to announce +to the ape-man that he was again a prisoner in Lu-don's temple. + +He stood perfectly still where he had halted at the first sound +of the descending stone door. Not again would he easily be +precipitated to the gryf pit, or some similar danger, as had +occurred when Lu-don had trapped him in the Temple of the Gryf. +As he stood there his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness +and he became aware that a dim light was entering the chamber +through some opening, though it was several minutes before he +discovered its source. In the roof of the chamber he finally +discerned a small aperture, possibly three feet in diameter and +it was through this that what was really only a lesser darkness +rather than a light was penetrating its Stygian blackness of the +chamber in which he was imprisoned. + +Since the doors had fallen he had heard no sound though his keen +ears were constantly strained in an effort to discover a clue to +the direction taken by the abductor of his mate. Presently he +could discern the outlines of his prison cell. It was a small +room, not over fifteen feet across. On hands and knees, with the +utmost caution, he examined the entire area of the floor. In the +exact center, directly beneath the opening in the roof, was a +trap, but otherwise the floor was solid. With this knowledge it +was only necessary to avoid this spot in so far as the floor was +concerned. The walls next received his attention. There were only +two openings. One the doorway through which he had entered, and +upon the opposite side that through which the warrior had borne +Jane Clayton. These were both closed by the slabs of stone which +the fleeing warrior had released as he departed. + +Lu-don, the high priest, licked his thin lips and rubbed his bony +white hands together in gratification as Pan-sat bore Jane +Clayton into his presence and laid her on the floor of the chamber +before him. + +"Good, Pan-sat!" he exclaimed. "You shall be well rewarded for +this service. Now, if we but had the false Dor-ul-Otho in our +power all Pal-ul-don would be at our feet." + +"Master, I have him!" cried Pan-sat. + +"What!" exclaimed Lu-don, "you have Tarzan-jad-guru? You have +slain him perhaps. Tell me, my wonderful Pan-sat, tell me +quickly. My breast is bursting with a desire to know." + +"I have taken him alive, Lu-don, my master," replied Pan-sat. "He +is in the little chamber that the ancients built to trap those +who were too powerful to take alive in personal encounter." + +"You have done well, Pan-sat, I--" + +A frightened priest burst into the apartment. "Quick, master, +quick," he cried, "the corridors are filled with the warriors of +Ja-don." + +"You are mad," cried the high priest. "My warriors hold the +palace and the temple." + +"I speak the truth, master," replied the priest, "there are +warriors in the corridor approaching this very chamber, and they +come from the direction of the secret passage which leads hither +from the city." + +"It may be even as he says," exclaimed Pan-sat. "It was from that +direction that Tarzan-jad-guru was coming when I discovered and +trapped him. He was leading his warriors to the very holy of +holies." + +Lu-don ran quickly to the doorway and looked out into the +corridor. At a glance he saw that the fears of the frightened +priest were well founded. A dozen warriors were moving along the +corridor toward him but they seemed confused and far from sure of +themselves. The high priest guessed that deprived of the +leadership of Tarzan they were little better than lost in the +unknown mazes of the subterranean precincts of the temple. + +Stepping back into the apartment he seized a leathern thong that +depended from the ceiling. He pulled upon it sharply and through +the temple boomed the deep tones of a metal gong. Five times the +clanging notes rang through the corridors, then he turned toward +the two priests. "Bring the woman and follow me," he directed. + +Crossing the chamber he passed through a small doorway, the +others lifting Jane Clayton from the floor and following him. +Through a narrow corridor and up a flight of steps they went, +turning to right and left and doubling back through a maze of +winding passageways which terminated in a spiral staircase that +gave forth at the surface of the ground within the largest of the +inner altar courts close beside the eastern altar. + +From all directions now, in the corridors below and the grounds +above, came the sound of hurrying footsteps. The five strokes of +the great gong had summoned the faithful to the defense of Lu-don +in his private chambers. The priests who knew the way led the +less familiar warriors to the spot and presently those who had +accompanied Tarzan found themselves not only leaderless but +facing a vastly superior force. They were brave men but under +the circumstances they were helpless and so they fell back the +way they had come, and when they reached the narrow confines of +the smaller passageway their safety was assured since only one +foeman could attack them at a time. But their plans were +frustrated and possibly also their entire cause lost, so heavily +had Ja-don banked upon the success of their venture. + +With the clanging of the temple gong Ja-don assumed that Tarzan +and his party had struck their initial blow and so he launched +his attack upon the palace gate. To the ears of Lu-don in the +inner temple court came the savage war cries that announced the +beginning of the battle. Leaving Pan-sat and the other priest to +guard the woman he hastened toward the palace personally to +direct his force and as he passed through the temple grounds he +dispatched a messenger to learn the outcome of the fight in the +corridors below, and other messengers to spread the news among +his followers that the false Dor-ul-Otho was a prisoner in the +temple. + +As the din of battle rose above A-lur, Lieutenant Erich Obergatz +turned upon his bed of soft hides and sat up. He rubbed his eyes +and looked about him. It was still dark without. + +"I am Jad-ben-Otho," he cried, "who dares disturb my slumber?" + +A slave squatting upon the floor at the foot of his couch +shuddered and touched her forehead to the floor. "It must be that +the enemy have come, O Jad-ben-Otho." She spoke soothingly for +she had reason to know the terrors of the mad frenzy into which +trivial things sometimes threw the Great God. + +A priest burst suddenly through the hangings of the doorway and +falling upon his hands and knees rubbed his forehead against the +stone flagging. "O Jad-ben-Otho," he cried, "the warriors of +Ja-don have attacked the palace and the temple. Even now they +are fighting in the corridors near the quarters of Lu-don, and +the high priest begs that you come to the palace and encourage +your faithful warriors by your presence." + +Obergatz sprang to his feet. "I am Jad-ben-Otho," he screamed. +"With lightning I will blast the blasphemers who dare attack the +holy city of A-lur." + +For a moment he rushed aimlessly and madly about the room, while +the priest and the slave remained upon hands and knees with their +foreheads against the floor. + +"Come," cried Obergatz, planting a vicious kick in the side of +the slave girl. "Come! Would you wait here all day while the +forces of darkness overwhelm the City of Light?" + +Thoroughly frightened as were all those who were forced to serve +the Great God, the two arose and followed Obergatz towards the +palace. + +Above the shouting of the warriors rose constantly the cries of +the temple priests: "Jad-ben-Otho is here and the false +Dor-ul-Otho is a prisoner in the temple." The persistent cries +reached even to the ears of the enemy as it was intended that +they should. + + + +24 + +The Messenger of Death + +THE sun rose to see the forces of Ja-don still held at the palace +gate. The old warrior had seized the tall structure that stood +just beyond the palace and at the summit of this he kept a +warrior stationed to look toward the northern wall of the palace +where Ta-den was to make his attack; but as the minutes wore into +hours no sign of the other force appeared, and now in the full +light of the new sun upon the roof of one of the palace buildings +appeared Lu-don, the high priest, Mo-sar, the pretender, and the +strange, naked figure of a man, into whose long hair and beard +were woven fresh ferns and flowers. Behind them were banked a +score of lesser priests who chanted in unison: "This is +Jad-ben-Otho. Lay down your arms and surrender." This they +repeated again and again, alternating it with the cry: "The false +Dor-ul-Otho is a prisoner." + +In one of those lulls which are common in battles between forces +armed with weapons that require great physical effort in their +use, a voice suddenly arose from among the followers of Ja-don: +"Show us the Dor-ul-Otho. We do not believe you!" + +"Wait," cried Lu-don. "If I do not produce him before the sun has +moved his own width, the gates of the palace shall be opened to +you and my warriors will lay down their arms." + +He turned to one of his priests and issued brief instructions. + +The ape-man paced the confines of his narrow cell. Bitterly he +reproached himself for the stupidity which had led him into this +trap, and yet was it stupidity? What else might he have done +other than rush to the succor of his mate? He wondered how they +had stolen her from Ja-lur, and then suddenly there flashed to +his mind the features of the warrior whom he had just seen with +her. They were strangely familiar. He racked his brain to recall +where he had seen the man before and then it came to him. He was +the strange warrior who had joined Ja-don's forces outside of +Ja-lur the day that Tarzan had ridden upon the great gryf from +the uninhabited gorge next to the Kor-ul-ja down to the capital +city of the chieftain of the north. But who could the man be? +Tarzan knew that never before that other day had he seen him. + +Presently he heard the clanging of a gong from the corridor +without and very faintly the rush of feet, and shouts. He guessed +that his warriors had been discovered and a fight was in +progress. He fretted and chafed at the chance that had denied him +participation in it. + +Again and again he tried the doors of his prison and the trap in +the center of the floor, but none would give to his utmost +endeavors. He strained his eyes toward the aperture above but he +could see nothing, and then he continued his futile pacing to and +fro like a caged lion behind its bars. + +The minutes dragged slowly into hours. Faintly sounds came to him +as of shouting men at a great distance. The battle was in +progress. He wondered if Ja-don would be victorious and should he +be, would his friends ever discover him in this hidden chamber in +the bowels of the hill? He doubted it. + +And now as he looked again toward the aperture in the roof there +appeared to be something depending through its center. He came +closer and strained his eyes to see. Yes, there was something +there. It appeared to be a rope. Tarzan wondered if it had been +there all the time. It must have, he reasoned, since he had heard +no sound from above and it was so dark within the chamber that he +might easily have overlooked it. + +He raised his hand toward it. The end of it was just within his +reach. He bore his weight upon it to see if it would hold him. +Then he released it and backed away, still watching it, as you +have seen an animal do after investigating some unfamiliar +object, one of the little traits that differentiated Tarzan from +other men, accentuating his similarity to the savage beasts of +his native jungle. Again and again he touched and tested the +braided leather rope, and always he listened for any warning +sound from above. + +He was very careful not to step upon the trap at any time and +when finally he bore all his weight upon the rope and took his +feet from the floor he spread them wide apart so that if he fell +he would fall astride the trap. The rope held him. There was no +sound from above, nor any from the trap below. + +Slowly and cautiously he drew himself upward, hand over hand. +Nearer and nearer the roof he came. In a moment his eyes would be +above the level of the floor above. Already his extended arms +projected into the upper chamber and then something closed +suddenly upon both his forearms, pinioning them tightly and +leaving him hanging in mid-air unable to advance or retreat. + +Immediately a light appeared in the room above him and presently +he saw the hideous mask of a priest peering down upon him. In the +priest's hands were leathern thongs and these he tied about +Tarzan's wrists and forearms until they were completely bound +together from his elbows almost to his fingers. Behind this +priest Tarzan presently saw others and soon several lay hold of +him and pulled him up through the hole. + +Almost instantly his eyes were above the level of the floor he +understood how they had trapped him. Two nooses had lain +encircling the aperture into the cell below. A priest had waited +at the end of each of these ropes and at opposite sides of the +chamber. When he had climbed to a sufficient height upon the rope +that had dangled into his prison below and his arms were well +within the encircling snares the two priests had pulled quickly +upon their ropes and he had been made an easy captive without any +opportunity of defending himself or inflicting injury upon his +captors. + +And now they bound his legs from his ankles to his knees and +picking him up carried him from the chamber. No word did they +speak to him as they bore him upward to the temple yard. + +The din of battle had risen again as Ja-don had urged his forces +to renewed efforts. Ta-den had not arrived and the forces of the +old chieftain were revealing in their lessened efforts their +increasing demoralization, and then it was that the priests +carried Tarzan-jad-guru to the roof of the palace and exhibited +him in the sight of the warriors of both factions. + +"Here is the false Dor-ul-Otho," screamed Lu-don. + +Obergatz, his shattered mentality having never grasped fully the +meaning of much that was going on about him, cast a casual glance +at the bound and helpless prisoner, and as his eyes fell upon the +noble features of the ape-man, they went wide in astonishment and +fright, and his pasty countenance turned a sickly blue. Once +before had he seen Tarzan of the Apes, but many times had he +dreamed that he had seen him and always was the giant ape-man +avenging the wrongs that had been committed upon him and his by +the ruthless hands of the three German officers who had led their +native troops in the ravishing of Tarzan's peaceful home. +Hauptmann Fritz Schneider had paid the penalty of his needless +cruelties; Unter-lieutenant von Goss, too, had paid; and now +Obergatz, the last of the three, stood face to face with the +Nemesis that had trailed him through his dreams for long, weary +months. That he was bound and helpless lessened not the German's +terror--he seemed not to realize that the man could not harm him. +He but stood cringing and jibbering and Lu-don saw and was filled +with apprehension that others might see and seeing realize that +this bewhiskered idiot was no god--that of the two +Tarzan-jad-guru was the more godly figure. Already the high +priest noted that some of the palace warriors standing near were +whispering together and pointing. He stepped closer to Obergatz. +"You are Jad-ben-Otho," he whispered, "denounce him!" + +The German shook himself. His mind cleared of all but his great +terror and the words of the high priest gave him the clue to +safety. + +"I am Jad-ben-Otho!" he screamed. + +Tarzan looked him straight in the eye. "You are Lieutenant +Obergatz of the German Army," he said in excellent German. "You +are the last of the three I have sought so long and in your +putrid heart you know that God has not brought us together at +last for nothing." + +The mind of Lieutenant Obergatz was functioning clearly and +rapidly at last. He too saw the questioning looks upon the faces +of some of those around them. He saw the opposing warriors of +both cities standing by the gate inactive, every eye turned upon +him, and the trussed figure of the ape-man. He realized that +indecision now meant ruin, and ruin, death. He raised his voice +in the sharp barking tones of a Prussian officer, so unlike his +former maniacal screaming as to quickly arouse the attention of +every ear and to cause an expression of puzzlement to cross the +crafty face of Lu-don. + +"I am Jad-ben-Otho," snapped Obergatz. "This creature is no son +of mine. As a lesson to all blasphemers he shall die upon the +altar at the hand of the god he has profaned. Take him from my +sight, and when the sun stands at zenith let the faithful +congregate in the temple court and witness the wrath of this +divine hand," and he held aloft his right palm. + +Those who had brought Tarzan took him away then as Obergatz had +directed, and the German turned once more to the warriors by the +gate. "Throw down your arms, warriors of Ja-don," he cried, "lest +I call down my lightnings to blast you where you stand. Those who +do as I bid shall be forgiven. Come! Throw down your arms." + +The warriors of Ja-don moved uneasily, casting looks of appeal at +their leader and of apprehension toward the figures upon the +palace roof. Ja-don sprang forward among his men. "Let the +cowards and knaves throw down their arms and enter the palace," +he cried, "but never will Ja-don and the warriors of Ja-lur touch +their foreheads to the feet of Lu-don and his false god. Make +your decision now," he cried to his followers. + +A few threw down their arms and with sheepish looks passed +through the gateway into the palace, and with the example of +these to bolster their courage others joined in the desertion +from the old chieftain of the north, but staunch and true around +him stood the majority of his warriors and when the last weakling +had left their ranks Ja-don voiced the savage cry with which he +led his followers to the attack, and once again the battle raged +about the palace gate. + +At times Ja-don's forces pushed the defenders far into the palace +ground and then the wave of combat would recede and pass out into +the city again. And still Ta-den and the reinforcements did not +come. It was drawing close to noon. Lu-don had mustered every +available man that was not actually needed for the defense of the +gate within the temple, and these he sent, under the leadership +of Pan-sat, out into the city through the secret passageway and +there they fell upon Ja-don's forces from the rear while those at +the gate hammered them in front. + +Attacked on two sides by a vastly superior force the result was +inevitable and finally the last remnant of Ja-don's little army +capitulated and the old chief was taken a prisoner before Lu-don. +"Take him to the temple court," cried the high priest. "He shall +witness the death of his accomplice and perhaps Jad-ben-Otho shall +pass a similar sentence upon him as well." + +The inner temple court was packed with humanity. At either end of +the western altar stood Tarzan and his mate, bound and helpless. +The sounds of battle had ceased and presently the ape-man saw +Ja-don being led into the inner court, his wrists bound tightly +together before him. Tarzan turned his eyes toward Jane and +nodded in the direction of Ja-don. "This looks like the end," he +said quietly. "He was our last and only hope." + +"We have at least found each other, John," she replied, "and our +last days have been spent together. My only prayer now is that if +they take you they do not leave me." + +Tarzan made no reply for in his heart was the same bitter thought +that her own contained--not the fear that they would kill him but +the fear that they would not kill her. The ape-man strained at his +bonds but they were too many and too strong. A priest near him +saw and with a jeering laugh struck the defenseless ape-man in +the face. + +"The brute!" cried Jane Clayton. + +Tarzan smiled. "I have been struck thus before, Jane," he said, +"and always has the striker died." + +"You still have hope?" she asked. + +"I am still alive," he said as though that were sufficient answer. +She was a woman and she did not have the courage of this man who +knew no fear. In her heart of hearts she knew that he would die +upon the altar at high noon for he had told her, after he had +been brought to the inner court, of the sentence of death that +Obergatz had pronounced upon him, and she knew too that Tarzan +knew that he would die, but that he was too courageous to admit +it even to himself. + +As she looked upon him standing there so straight and wonderful +and brave among his savage captors her heart cried out against +the cruelty of the fate that had overtaken him. It seemed a gross +and hideous wrong that that wonderful creature, now so quick with +exuberant life and strength and purpose should be presently +naught but a bleeding lump of clay--and all so uselessly and +wantonly. Gladly would she have offered her life for his but she +knew that it was a waste of words since their captors would work +upon them whatever it was their will to do--for him, death; for +her--she shuddered at the thought. + +And now came Lu-don and the naked Obergatz, and the high priest +led the German to his place behind the altar, himself standing +upon the other's left. Lu-don whispered a word to Obergatz, at +the same time nodding in the direction of Ja-don. The Hun cast a +scowling look upon the old warrior. + +"And after the false god," he cried, "the false prophet," and he +pointed an accusing finger at Ja-don. Then his eyes wandered to +the form of Jane Clayton. + +"And the woman, too?" asked Lu-don. + +"The case of the woman I will attend to later," replied Obergatz. +"I will talk with her tonight after she has had a chance to +meditate upon the consequences of arousing the wrath of +Jad-ben-Otho." + +He cast his eyes upward at the sun. "The time approaches," he +said to Lu-don. "Prepare the sacrifice." + +Lu-don nodded to the priests who were gathered about Tarzan. They +seized the ape-man and lifted him bodily to the altar where they +laid him upon his back with his head at the south end of the +monolith, but a few feet from where Jane Clayton stood. +Impulsively and before they could restrain her the woman rushed +forward and bending quickly kissed her mate upon the forehead. +"Good-bye, John," she whispered. + +"Good-bye," he answered, smiling. + +The priests seized her and dragged her away. Lu-don handed the +sacrificial knife to Obergatz. "I am the Great God," cried the +German, "thus falleth the divine wrath upon all my enemies!" He +looked up at the sun and then raised the knife high above his +head. + +"Thus die the blasphemers of God!" he screamed, and at the same +instant a sharp staccato note rang out above the silent, +spell-bound multitude. There was a screaming whistle in the air +and Jad-ben-Otho crumpled forward across the body of his intended +victim. Again the same alarming noise and Lu-don fell, a third +and Mo-sar crumpled to the ground. And now the warriors and the +people, locating the direction of this new and unknown sound +turned toward the western end of the court. + +Upon the summit of the temple wall they saw two figures--a +Ho-don warrior and beside him an almost naked creature of the +race of Tarzan-jad-guru, across his shoulders and about his hips +were strange broad belts studded with beautiful cylinders that +glinted in the mid-day sun, and in his hands a shining thing of +wood and metal from the end of which rose a thin wreath of +blue-gray smoke. + +And then the voice of the Ho-don warrior rang clear upon the ears +of the silent throng. "Thus speaks the true Jad-ben-Otho," he +cried, "through this his Messenger of Death. Cut the bonds of the +prisoners. Cut the bonds of the Dor-ul-Otho and of Ja-don, King +of Pal-ul-don, and of the woman who is the mate of the son of +god." + +Pan-sat, filled with the frenzy of fanaticism saw the power and +the glory of the regime he had served crumpled and gone. To one +and only one did he attribute the blame for the disaster that had +but just overwhelmed him. It was the creature who lay upon the +sacrificial altar who had brought Lu-don to his death and toppled +the dreams of power that day by day had been growing in the brain +of the under priest. + +The sacrificial knife lay upon the altar where it had fallen from +the dead fingers of Obergatz. Pan-sat crept closer and then with +a sudden lunge he reached forth to seize the handle of the blade, +and even as his clutching fingers were poised above it, the +strange thing in the hands of the strange creature upon the +temple wall cried out its crashing word of doom and Pan-sat the +under priest, screaming, fell back upon the dead body of his +master. + +"Seize all the priests," cried Ta-den to the warriors, "and let +none hesitate lest Jad-ben-Otho's messenger send forth still +other bolts of lightning." + +The warriors and the people had now witnessed such an exhibition +of divine power as might have convinced an even less +superstitious and more enlightened people, and since many of them +had but lately wavered between the Jad-ben-Otho of Lu-don and the +Dor-ul-Otho of Ja-don it was not difficult for them to swing +quickly back to the latter, especially in view of the +unanswerable argument in the hands of him whom Ta-den had +described as the Messenger of the Great God. + +And so the warriors sprang forward now with alacrity and +surrounded the priests, and when they looked again at the western +wall of the temple court they saw pouring over it a great force +of warriors. And the thing that startled and appalled them was +the fact that many of these were black and hairy Waz-don. + +At their head came the stranger with the shiny weapon and on his +right was Ta-den, the Ho-don, and on his left Om-at, the black +gund of Kor-ul-ja. + +A warrior near the altar had seized the sacrificial knife and cut +Tarzan's bonds and also those of Ja-don and Jane Clayton, and now +the three stood together beside the altar and as the newcomers +from the western end of the temple court pushed their way toward +them the eyes of the woman went wide in mingled astonishment, +incredulity, and hope. And the stranger, slinging his weapon +across his back by a leather strap, rushed forward and took her +in his arms. + +"Jack!" she cried, sobbing on his shoulder. "Jack, my son!" + +And Tarzan of the Apes came then and put his arms around them +both, and the King of Pal-ul-don and the warriors and the people +kneeled in the temple court and placed their foreheads to the +ground before the altar where the three stood. + + + +25 + +Home + +WITHIN an hour of the fall of Lu-don and Mo-sar, the chiefs and +principal warriors of Pal-ul-don gathered in the great throneroom +of the palace at A-lur upon the steps of the lofty pyramid and +placing Ja-don at the apex proclaimed him king. Upon one side of +the old chieftain stood Tarzan of the Apes, and upon the other +Korak, the Killer, worthy son of the mighty ape-man. + +And when the brief ceremony was over and the warriors with +upraised clubs had sworn fealty to their new ruler, Ja-don +dispatched a trusted company to fetch O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee and +the women of his own household from Ja-lur. + +And then the warriors discussed the future of Pal-ul-don and the +question arose as to the administration of the temples and the +fate of the priests, who practically without exception had been +disloyal to the government of the king, seeking always only their +own power and comfort and aggrandizement. And then it was that +Ja-don turned to Tarzan. "Let the Dor-ul-Otho transmit to his +people the wishes of his father," he said. + +"Your problem is a simple one," said the ape-man, "if you but +wish to do that which shall be pleasing in the eyes of God. Your +priests, to increase their power, have taught you that +Jad-ben-Otho is a cruel god, that his eyes love to dwell upon +blood and upon suffering. But the falsity of their teachings has +been demonstrated to you today in the utter defeat of the +priesthood. + +"Take then the temples from the men and give them instead to the +women that they may be administered in kindness and charity and +love. Wash the blood from your eastern altar and drain forever +the water from the western. + +"Once I gave Lu-don the opportunity to do these things but he +ignored my commands, and again is the corridor of sacrifice +filled with its victims. Liberate these from every temple in +Pal-ul-don. Bring offerings of such gifts as your people like and +place them upon the altars of your god. And there he will bless +them and the priestesses of Jad-ben-Otho can distribute them among +those who need them most." + +As he ceased speaking a murmur of evident approval ran through +the throng. Long had they been weary of the avarice and cruelty +of the priests and now that authority had come from a high source +with a feasible plan for ridding themselves of the old religious +order without necessitating any change in the faith of the people +they welcomed it. + +"And the priests," cried one. "We shall put them to death upon +their own altars if it pleases the Dor-ul-Otho to give the word." + +"No," cried Tarzan. "Let no more blood be spilled. Give them +their freedom and the right to take up such occupations as they +choose." + +That night a great feast was spread in the pal-e-don-so and for +the first time in the history of ancient Pal-ul-don black +warriors sat in peace and friendship with white. And a pact was +sealed between Ja-don and Om-at that would ever make his tribe +and the Ho-don allies and friends. + +It was here that Tarzan learned the cause of Ta-den's failure to +attack at the stipulated time. A messenger had come from Ja-don +carrying instructions to delay the attack until noon, nor had +they discovered until almost too late that the messenger was a +disguised priest of Lu-don. And they had put him to death and +scaled the walls and come to the inner temple court with not a +moment to spare. + +The following day O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee and the women of Ja-don's +family arrived at the palace at A-lur and in the great throneroom +Ta-den and O-lo-a were wed, and Om-at and Pan-at-lee. + +For a week Tarzan and Jane and Korak remained the guests of +Ja-don, as did Om-at and his black warriors. And then the ape-man +announced that he would depart from Pal-ul-don. Hazy in the +minds of their hosts was the location of heaven and equally so +the means by which the gods traveled between their celestial +homes and the haunts of men and so no questionings arose when it +was found that the Dor-ul-Otho with his mate and son would travel +overland across the mountains and out of Pal-ul-don toward the +north. + +They went by way of the Kor-ul-ja accompanied by the warriors of +that tribe and a great contingent of Ho-don warriors under +Ta-den. The king and many warriors and a multitude of people +accompanied them beyond the limits of A-lur and after they had +bid them good-bye and Tarzan had invoked the blessings of God +upon them the three Europeans saw their simple, loyal friends +prostrate in the dust behind them until the cavalcade had wound +out of the city and disappeared among the trees of the nearby +forest. + +They rested for a day among the Kor-ul-ja while Jane investigated +the ancient caves of these strange people and then they moved on, +avoiding the rugged shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved and winding down +the opposite slope toward the great morass. They moved in +comfort and in safety, surrounded by their escort of Ho-don and +Waz-don. + +In the minds of many there was doubtless a question as to how the +three would cross the great morass but least of all was Tarzan +worried by the problem. In the course of his life he had been +confronted by many obstacles only to learn that he who will may +always pass. In his mind lurked an easy solution of the passage +but it was one which depended wholly upon chance. + +It was the morning of the last day that, as they were breaking +camp to take up the march, a deep bellow thundered from a nearby +grove. The ape-man smiled. The chance had come. Fittingly then +would the Dor-ul-Otho and his mate and their son depart from +unmapped Pal-ul-don. + +He still carried the spear that Jane had made, which he had +prized so highly because it was her handiwork that he had caused +a search to be made for it through the temple in A-lur after his +release, and it had been found and brought to him. He had told +her laughingly that it should have the place of honor above their +hearth as the ancient flintlock of her Puritan grandsire had held +a similar place of honor above the fireplace of Professor Porter, +her father. + +At the sound of the bellowing the Ho-don warriors, some of whom +had accompanied Tarzan from Ja-don's camp to Ja-lur, looked +questioningly at the ape-man while Om-at's Waz-don looked for +trees, since the gryf was the one creature of Pal-ul-don which +might not be safely encountered even by a great multitude of +warriors. Its tough, armored hide was impregnable to their knife +thrusts while their thrown clubs rattled from it as futilely as +if hurled at the rocky shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved. + +"Wait," said the ape-man, and with his spear in hand he advanced +toward the gryf, voicing the weird cry of the Tor-o-don. The +bellowing ceased and turned to low rumblings and presently the +huge beast appeared. What followed was but a repetition of the +ape-man's previous experience with these huge and ferocious +creatures. + +And so it was that Jane and Korak and Tarzan rode through the +morass that hems Pa-ul-don, upon the back of a prehistoric +triceratops while the lesser reptiles of the swamp fled hissing +in terror. Upon the opposite shore they turned and called back +their farewells to Ta-den and Om-at and the brave warriors they +had learned to admire and respect. And then Tarzan urged their +titanic mount onward toward the north, abandoning him only when +he was assured that the Waz-don and the Ho-don had had time to +reach a point of comparative safety among the craggy ravines of +the foothills. + +Turning the beast's head again toward Pal-ul-don the three +dismounted and a sharp blow upon the thick hide sent the creature +lumbering majestically back in the direction of its native +haunts. For a time they stood looking back upon the land they had +just quit--the land of Tor-o-don and gryf; of ja and jato; of +Waz-don and Ho-don; a primitive land of terror and sudden death +and peace and beauty; a land that they all had learned to love. + +And then they turned once more toward the north and with light +hearts and brave hearts took up their long journey toward the +land that is best of all--home. + + + +Glossary + +From conversations with Lord Greystoke and from his notes, there +have been gleaned a number of interesting items relative to the +language and customs of the inhabitants of Pal-ul-don that are +not brought out in the story. For the benefit of those who may +care to delve into the derivation of the proper names used in the +text, and thus obtain some slight insight into the language of +the race, there is appended an incomplete glossary taken from +some of Lord Greystoke's notes. + +A point of particular interest hinges upon the fact that the +names of all male hairless pithecanthropi begin with a consonant, +have an even number of syllables, and end with a consonant, while +the names of the females of the same species begin with a vowel, +have an odd number of syllables, and end with a vowel. On the +contrary, the names of the male hairy black pithecanthropi while +having an even number of syllables begin with a vowel and end +with a consonant; while the females of this species have an odd +number of syllables in their names which begin always with a +consonant and end with a vowel. + + +A. Light. +ab. Boy. +Ab-on. Acting gund of Kor-ul-ja. +Ad. Three. +Adad. Six +Adadad. Nine. +Adaden. Seven. +Aden. Four. +Adenaden. Eight. +Adenen. Five. +A-lur. City of light. +An. Spear. +An-un. Father of Pan-at-lee. +As. The sun. +At. Tail. + +Bal. Gold or golden. +Bar. Battle. +Ben. Great. +Bu. Moon. +Bu-lot (moon face). Son of chief Mo-sar. +Bu-lur (moon city). The city of the Waz-ho-don. + +Dak. Fat. +Dak-at (fat tail). Chief of a Ho-don village. +Dak-lot. One of Ko-tan's palace warriors. +Dan. Rock. +Den. Tree. +Don. Man. +Dor. Son. +Dor-ul-Otho +(son of god). Tarzan. + +E. Where. +Ed. Seventy. +El. Grace or graceful. +En. One. +Enen. Two. +Es. Rough. +Es-sat (rough skin). Chief of Om-at's tribe of hairy blacks. +Et. Eighty. + +Fur. Thirty. + +Ged. Forty. +Go. Clear. +Gryf. "Triceratops. A genus of huge + herbivorous dinosaurs of the group + Ceratopsia. The skull had two large + horns above the eyes, a median + horn on the nose, a horny beak, and a + great bony hood or transverse crest over + the neck. Their toes, five in front and + three behind, were provided with hoofs, + and the tail was large and strong." + Webster's Dict. The gryf of Pal-ul-don + is similar except that it is + omnivorous, has strong, powerfully + armed jaws and talons instead of hoofs. + Coloration: face yellow with blue bands + encircling the eyes; hood red on top, + yellow underneath; belly yellow; body a + dirty slate blue; legs same. Bony + protuberances yellow except along the + spine--these are red. Tail conforms with + body and belly. Horns, ivory. +Gund. Chief. +Guru. Terrible. + +Het. Fifty. +Ho. White. +Ho-don. The hairless white men of Pal-ul-don. + +Id. Silver. +Id-an. One of Pan-at-lee's two brothers. +In. Dark. +In-sad. Kor-ul-ja warrior accompanying Tarzan, Om-at, + and Ta-den in search of Pan-at-lee. +In-tan. Kor-ul-lul left to guard Tarzan + +Ja. Lion. +Jad. The +Jad-bal-lul. The golden lake. +Jad-ben-lul. The big lake. +Jad-ben-Otho. The Great God. +Jad-guru-don. The terrible man. +Jad-in-lul. The dark lake. +Ja-don (the lion-man). Chief of a Ho-don village and father of Ta-den. +Jad Pele ul +Jad-ben-Otho. The valley of the Great God. +Ja-lur (lion city). Ja-don's capital. +Jar. Strange. +Jar-don. Name given Korak by Om-at. +Jato. Saber-tooth hybrid. + +Ko. Mighty. +Kor. Gorge. +Kor-ul-gryf. Gorge of the gryf. +Kor-ul-ja. Name of Es-sat's gorge and tribe. +Kor-ul-lul. Name of another Waz-don gorge and tribe. +Ko-tan. King of the Ho-don. + +Lav. Run or running. +Lee. Doe. +Lo. Star. +Lot. Face. +Lu. Fierce. +Lu-don (fierce man). High priest of A-lur. +Lul. Water. +Lur. City. + +Ma. Child. +Mo. Short. +Mo-sar (short nose). Chief and pretender. +Mu. Strong. + +No. Brook. + +O. Like or similar. +Od. Ninety. +O-dan. Kor-ul-ja warrior accompanying Tarzan, Om-at, + and Ta-den in search of Pan-at-lee. +Og. Sixty. +O-lo-a +(like-star-light). Ko-tan's daughter +Om. Long. +Om-at (long tail). A black. +On. Ten. +Otho. God. + +Pal. Place; land; country. +Pal-e-don-so +(place where men eat). Banquet hall. +Pal-ul-don +(land of man). Name of the country. +Pal-ul-ja. Place of lions. +Pan. Soft. +Pan-at-lee. Om-at's sweetheart. +Pan-sat (soft skin). A priest. +Pastar. Father. +Pastar-ul-ved. Father of Mountains. +Pele. Valley. + +Ro. Flower. + +Sad. Forest. +San. One hundred +Sar. Nose. +Sat. Skin. +So. Eat. +Sod. Eaten. +Sog. Eating. +Son. Ate. + +Ta. Tall. +Ta-den (tall tree). A white. +Tan. Warrior. +Tarzan-jad-guru. Tarzan the Terrible. +To. Purple. +Ton. Twenty. +Tor. Beast. +Tor-o-don. Beastlike man. +Tu. Bright. +Tu-lur (bright city). Mo-sar's city. + +Ul. Of. +Un. Eye. +Ut. Corn. + +Ved. Mountain + +Waz. Black. +Waz-don. The hairy black men of Pal-ul-don. +Waz-ho-don +(black white men). A mixed race + +Xot. One thousand. + +Yo. Friend. + +Za. Girl. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Tarzan the Terrible, by Burroughs + |