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TARZAN OF THE APES

Tarzan
Of The Apes

By Edgar Rice Burroughs

With Frontispitce

A. L. BDRT COMPANY
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

A. a MccLURG & ca

1914

Published Jane, 1914

CofyrigAttd in Great Br^'^

Emma Hubert Burret^kt

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

III

VII

VIII

XII

XIII

XIV

XVI

XVII

XVIII

XIX

XXI

XXII

XXIII

XXIV

XXV

XXVI

XXVII

XXVIII

PAGB

Out to Sea i

The Savage Home ....:•. i8

Life and Death 33

The Apes 44

The White Ape ....•• 55

Jungle Battles 67

The Light of Knowledge . .: . 78

The Tree-Top Hunter .... 96

Man and Man 105

The Fear-Phantom ..... 121

"King of the Apes" ..... 129

Man's Reason ...••- • • 145

His Own Kind . 158

At the Mercy of the Jungle . . 180

The Forest God. ...... 195

" Most Remarkable "..... 204

Burials ....... .. . 219

The Jungle Toll . . . ... .235

The Call of the Primitive . . . 250

Heredity • 266

The Village of Torture .... 285

The Search Party 295

Brother Men 311

Lost Treasure 324

The Outpost of the World . . . 336

The Height of Qviuzation . . . 352

The Giant Again ...... 368

Conclusion • • • •. • •: .• • 388

TARZAN OF THE APES

CHAPTER I

OUT TO SEA

I HAD tjiis story from one who had no busi*
ness to/tSil it to me, or to any other. I may
credit the seductive influence of an old vintage
upon the narrator for the beginning of it, and my
own skeptical incredulity during the days that fol-
lowed for the balance of the strange tale.

When my convivial host discovered that he
had told me so much, and that I was prone to
doubtfulness, his foolish pride assumed the task
the old vintage had commenced, and so he un-
earthed written evidence in the form of musty
manuscript, and dry official records of the British
Colonial Office to support many of the salient
features of his remarkable narrative.

I do not say the story is true, for I did not
witness the happenings which it portrays, but the
fact that in the telling of it to you I have taken
fictitious names for the principal characters quite
sufficiently evidences the sincerity of my own be-
lief that it may be true.

[I]

TARZAN OF THE APES

The yellow, mildewed pages of the diary of a
man long dead, and the records of the Colonial
Office dovetail perfectly with the narrative of my
convivial host, and so I give you the story as I
painstakingly pieced it out from these several
various agencies.

If you do not find it credible you will at least
be as one with me in acknowledging that it is
unique, remarkable, and interesting.

From the records of the Colonial Office and
from the dead man's diary we learn that a certain
young English nobleman, whom we shall call
John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commis-
sioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation
of conditions in a' British West Coast African
Colony from whose simple native inhabitants
another European power was known to be re-
cruiting soldiers for its native army, which it used
solely for the forcible collection of rubber and
ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and
the Aruwimi.

The natives of the British Colony complained
that many of their young men were enticed away
through the medium of fair and glowing prom-
ises, but that few if any ever returned to their
families.

The Englishmen in Africa went even further;
saying that these poor blacks were held in virtual
slavery, since when their terms of enlistment ex-
pired their ignorance was imposed upon by their

[2]

OUT TO SEA

white officers, and they were told that they had
yet several years to serve.

And so the Colonial Office appointed John
Clayton to a new post in British West Africa, but
his confidential instructions centered on a thor«
ough investigation of the unfair treatment of
black British subjects by the officers of a friendly
European power. Why he was sent, is, however,
of little moment to this story, for he never made
an investigation, nor, in fact, did he ever reach
his destination.

Clayton was the type of Englishman that one
likes best to associate with the noblest monu-
ment of historic achievement upon a thousand
victorious battle fields — a strong, virile man —
mentally, morally, and physically.

In stature he was above the average height;
his eyes were gray, his features regular and
strong; his carriage that of perfect, robust health
influenced by his years of army training.

Political ambition had caused him to seek
transference from the army to the Colonial Office
and so we find him, still young, intrusted with a
delicate and important commission in the service
of the Queen.

When he received this appointment he was
both elated and appalled. The preferment seemed
to him in the nature of a well merited reward
for painstaking and intelligent service, and as a
stepping stone to posts of greater importance and

[3l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

responsibility; but, on the other hand, he had
been married to the Hon. Alice Rutherford for
scarce a three months, and it was the thought of
taking this fair young girl into the dangers and
isolation of tropical Africa that dismayed and
appalled him.

For her sake he would have refused the ap-
pointment ; but she would not have it so. Instead
she insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her
with him.

There were mothers and brothers and sisters,
and aunts and cousins to express various opinions
on the subject, but as to what they severally ad-
vised history is silent.

We know only that on a bright May morning
in 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice
sailed from Dover on their way to Africa.

A month later they arrived at Freetown where
they chartered a small sailing vessel, the Fuwalda,
which was to bear them to their final destination.

And here John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady
Alice, his wife, vanished from the eyes and from
the knowledge of men.

Two months after they weighed anchor and
cleared from the port of Freetown a half dozen
British war vessels were scouring the south At-
lantic for trace of them or their little vessel, and
it was almost immediately that the wreckage was
found upon the shores of St. Helena which con-
vinced the world that the Fuwalda had gone

[4]

OUT TO SEA

down with all on board, and hence the search
was stopped ere it had scarce begun ; though hope
lingered in longing hearts for many years.

The Fuwalda, a barkantine of about one hun-
dred tons, was a vessel of the type often seen in
coastwise trade in the far southern Atlantic, their
crews composed of the offscourings of the sea — -
unhanged murderers and cutthroats of every race
and every nation.

The Fuwalda was no exception to the rule*
Her officers were swarthy bullies, hating and
hated by their crew. The captain, while a com-
petent seaman, was a brute in his treatment of
his men. He knew, or at least he used, but two
arguments in his dealings with them — a belay-
ing pin and a revolver — nor is it likely that the
motley aggregation he signed would have under-
stood aught else.

So it was that from the second day out from
Freetown John Clayton and his young wife wit-
nessed scenes upon the deck of the Fuwalda such
as they had believed were never enacted outside
the covers of printed stories of the sea.

It was on the morning of the second day that
the first link was forged of what was destined to
form a chain of circumstances ending in a life
for one then unborn such as has probably never
been paralleled in the history of man.

Two sailors were washing down the decks of
the Fuwalda, the first mate was on duty, and the

[5]

TARZAN OF THE APES

captain had stopped to speak with John Clayton
and Lady Alice.

The men were working backwards toward the
little party who were facing away from the sail-
ors. Closer and closer they came, until one of
them was directly behind the captain. In another
moment he would have passed by and this strange
narrative had never been recorded.

But just that instant the officer turned to leave
Lord and Lady Greystoke, and, as he did so,
tripped against the sailor and sprawled headlong
upon the deck, overturning the water-pail so that
he was drenched in its dirty contents.

For an instant the scene was ludicrous; but
only for an instant. With a volley of awful
oaths, his face suffused with the scarlet of mor«
tiiication and rage, the captain regained his feet,
and with a terrific blow felled the sailor to the
deck.

The man was small and rather old, so that the
brutality of the act was thus accentuated. The
other seaman, however, was neither old nor small
*— - a huge bear of a man, with fierce black mus-
tachios, and a great bull neck set between massive
shoulders.

As he saw his mate go down he crouched, and,
with a low snarl, sprang upon the captain crush-
ing him to his knees with a single mighty blow.

From scarlet the officer's face went white, for
this was mutiny ; and mutiny he had met and sub*

[61

OUT TO SEA

dued before in his brutal career. Without wait-
ing to rise he whipped a revolver from his pocket,
firing point blank at the great mountain of muscle
towering before him; but, quick as he was, John
Clayton was almost as quick, so that the bullet
which was intended for the sailor's heart lodged
in the sailor's leg instead, for Lord Greystoke
had struck down the captain's arm as he had seen
the weapon flash in the sun.

Words passed between Clayton and the cap-
tain, the former making it plain that he was dis-
gusted with the brutality displayed toward the
crew, nor would he countenance anything further
of the kind while he and Lady Greystoke re-
mained passengers.

The captain was on the point of making an
angry reply, but, thinking better of it, turned on
his heel and black and scowling, strode aft.

He did not care to antagonize an English oiE-
cial, for the Queen's mighty arm wielded a puni-
tive instrument which he could appreciate, and
which he feared — England's far reaching navy.

The two sailors picked themselves up, the older
man assisting his wounded comrade to rise. The
big fellow, who was known among his mates as
Black Michael, tried his leg gingerly, and, find-
ing that it bore his weight, turned to Clayton
with a word of gruff thanks.

Though the fellow's tone was surly, his words
were e^dently well meant. Ere he had scarce

[71

TARZAN OF THE APES

finished his little speech he had turned and was
limping off toward the forecastle with the very
apparent intention of forestalling any further
conversation.

They did not see him again for several days,
nor did the captain vouchsafe them more than
the surliest of grunts when he was forced to speak
to them.

They messed in his cabin, as they had before
the unfortunate occurrence; but the captain was
careful to see that his duties never permitted him
to eat at the same time.

The other officers were coarse, illiterate fel-
lows, but little above the villainous crew they
bullied, and were only too glad to avoid social
intercourse with the polished English noble and
his lady, so that the Claytons were left very much
to themselves.

This in itself accorded perfectly with their
desires, but it also rather isolated them from the
life of the little ship so that they were unable to
keep in touch with the daily happenings which
were to culminate so soon in bloody tragedy.

There was in the whole atmosphere of the
craft that undefinable something which presages
disaster. Outwardly, to the knowledge of the
Claytons, all went on as before upon the little
vessel, but that there was an undertow leading
them toward some unknown danger both felt,
though they did not speak of it to each other.

[8]

OUT TO SEA

On the second day after the wounding of Black
Michael, Clayton came on deck just in time to
see the limp body of one of the crew being car-
ried below by four of his fellows while the first
mate, a heavy belaying pin in his hand, stood
glowering at the little party of sullen sailors.

Clayton asked no questions — he did not need
to — and the following day, as the great lines
of a British battle-ship grew out of the distant
horizon, he half determined to demand that he
and Lady Alice be put aboard her, for his fears
were steadily increasing that nothing but harm
could result from remaining on the lowering, sul-
len Fuwalda.

Toward noon they were within speaking dis-
tance of the British vessel, but when Clayton had
about decided to ask the captain to put them
aboard her, the obvious ridiculousness of such a
request became suddenly apparent. What rea-
son could he give the officer commanding her
majesty's ship for desiring to go back in the di-
rection from which he had just come I

Faith, what if he told them that two insubordi-
nate seamen had been roughly handled by their
officers. They would but laugh in their sleeves
and attribute his reason for wishing to leave the
ship to but one thing — cowardice.

John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, did not ask to
be transferred to the British man-of-war, and
late in the afternoon he saw her upper works

[9l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

fade below the far horizon, but not before he
learned that which confirmed his greatest fears,
and caused him to curse the false pride which
had restrained him from seeking safety for hift
young wife a few short hours before, when safety
was within reach — a safety which was now gone
forever.

It was mid-afternoon that brought the little
old sailor, who had been felled by the captain
a few days before, to where Clayton and his wife
stood by the ship's side watching the ever dimin-
ishing outlines of the great battle-ship. The
old fellow was polishing brasses, and as he came
edging along until close to Clayton he said, in an
undertone :

" 'ElFs to pay, sir, on this 'ere craft, an' mark
my word for it, sir. 'Ell's to pay."

" What do you mean, my good fellow ? '*
asked Clayton.

" Wy, hasn't ye seen wats goin' on? Hasn't
ye 'eard that devil's spawn of a capting an' 'is
mates knockin' the bloomin' lights outen 'arf the
crew?

" Two busted 'eads yeste'day, an' three today.
Black Michael's as good as new agin an' 'e's not
the Bully to stand fer it, not 'e; an' mark my
word for it, sir."

" You mean, my man, that the crew contem^
plates mutiny? " asked Clajrton.

" Mutiny! " exclaimed the old fellow. " Mu-

[10]

Mlk^^a^i^mimammmmttmaa^

OUT TO SEA

tiny! They means murder, sir, an' mark my
word for it, sir."

"When?"

"Hit's comin', sir; hit's comin' but I'm not
a-sayin' wen, an' I've said too damned much
now, but ye was a good sort t'other day an' I
thought it no more'n right to warn ye. But keep
a still tongue in yer 'ead an' when ye hear
shootin' git below an' stay there.

"That's all, only keep a still tongue in yer
'ead, or they'll put a pill between yer ribs, an*
mark my word for it, sir," and the old fellow
went on with his polishing, which carried him
away from where the Claytons were standing.

" Deuced cheerful outlook, Alice," said Clay-
ton.

" You should warn the captain at once, John.
Possibly the trouble may yet be averted," she
said

" I suppose I should, but yet from purely self*
tsh motives I am almost prompted to ' keep a
still tongue in my 'ead.' Whatever they do now
they will spare us in recognition of my stand for
this fellow Black Michael, but should they find
that I had betrayed them there would be no
mercy shown us, Alice."

" You have but one duty, Johh, and that lies
in the interest of vested authority. If you do not
warn the captain you are as much a party to
whatever follows as though you had helped to

TJRZJN OF THE APES

plot and carry it out with your own head and
hands."

" You do not understand) dear," replied Clay-
ton. " It is of you I am thinking — there lies
my first duty. The captain has brought this con-
dition upon himself, so why then should I risk
Subjecting my wife to unthinkable horrors in prob-
ably futile attempt to save him from his own
brutal folly? You have no conception, dear, of
what would follow were this pack of cutthroats
to gain control of the Fuwalda/*

" Duty is duty, my husband, and no amount of
sophistries may change it. I would be a poor
wife for an English lord were I to be responsible
for his shirking a plain duty. I realize the dan-
ger which must follow, but I can face it with you
— face it much more bravely than I could face
the dishonor of always knowing that you might
have averted a tragedy had you not neglected
your duty."

" Have it as you will then, Alice," he an-
swered, smiling. " Maybe we are borro\inng
trouble. While I do not like the looks of things
on board this ship, they may not be so bad aftei
all, for it is possible that the *Ancient Mariner*
was but voicing the desires of his wicked old heart
rather than speaking of real facts.

" Mutiny on the high sea may have been com*
mon a hundred years ago, but in this good year
x888 it is the least likely of happenings.

OUT TO SEA

'^ But there goes the captain to his cabin now.
If I am going to warn him I might as well get
the beastly job over for I have little stomach to
talk with the brute at alL"

So saying he strolled carelessly in the direction
of the companiortway through which the captain
had passed, and a moment later was knocking at
his door.

" Come in," growled the deep tones of that
surly oflScer.

And when Clayton had entered, and closed the
door behind him:

"Well?"

" I have come to report the gist of a conver-
sation I heard today, because I feel that, while
there may be nothing to it, it is as well that you
be forearmed. In short, the men contemplate
mutiny and murder."

" It's a lie 1 " roared the captain. " And if
you have been interfering again with the disci-
pline of this ship, or meddling in affairs that
don't concern you you can take the consequences,
and be damned. I don't care whether you are
an English lord or not. Fm captain of this here
ship, and from now on you keep your meddling
nose out of my business."

As he reached this peroration, the captain had
worked himself up to such a frenzy of rage that
he was fairly purple of face, and shrieked the
last words at the top of his voice; emphasizing

[I3l

TARZJN OF THE APES

his remarks by a loud thumping of the table vnth
one huge fist, shaking the other in Clayton's face.

Greystoke never turned a hair, but stood eye-
ing the excited man with level gaze,

" Captain Billings," he drawled finally, *' if
you will pardon my candor, I might remark that
you are something of an ass, don't you know."

Whereupon he turned and left the cabin with
the same indifferent ease that was habitual with
him, and which was more surely calculated to
raise the ire of a man of Billings's class than a
torrent of invective.

So, whereas the captain might easily have
been brought to regret his hasty speech had Clay-
ton attempted to conciliate him, his temper was
now irrevocably set in the mold in which Clayton
had left it, and the last chance of their working
together for their common good and preservation
of life was gone,

"Well, Alice," said Clayton, as he rejoined
his wife, " if I had saved my breath I should
likewise have saved myself a bit of a calling.
The fellow proved most ungrateful. Fairly
jumped at me like a mad dog.

" He and his blasted old ship may go hang,
for aught I care; and until we are safe off the
thing I shall spend my energies in looking after
our own welfare. And I rather fancy the first
step to that end should be to go to our cabin
and look over my revolvers. I am sorry now

[141

OUT TO SEA

that we packed the larger guns and the ammuni-
tion with the stuff below."

They found their quarters in a bad state of
disorder. Clothing from their open boxes and
bags strewed the little apartment, and even their
beds had been torn to pieces.

" Evidently someone was more anxious about
our belongings than we," said Clayton. ** By
jove, I wonder what the bounder was after.
Let's have a look around, Alice, and see what's
missing."

A thorough search revealed the fact that noth-
ing had been taken but Clayton's two revolvers
and the small supply of ammunition he had saved
out for them.

" Those are the very things I most wish they
had left us," said Clayton, " and the fact that
they wished for them and them alone is the most
sinister circumstance of all that have transpired
to endanger us since we set foot on this miserable
hulk."

" What are we to do, John? " asked his wife.
" I shall not urge you to go again to the captain
for I cannot see you affronted further. Possibly
our best chance for salvation lies in maintaining
a neutral position.

" If the officers are able to prevent a mutiny,
we have nothing to fear, while if the mutineers
are victorious our one slim hope lies in not hav-
ing attempted to thwart or antagonize them.**

[15]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

" Right you are, Alice. We'll keep in the
middle of the road."

As they fell to in an effort to straighten up
their cabin, Clayton and his wife simultaneously
noticed the comer of a piece of paper protruding
from beneath the door of their quarters. As
Clajrton stooped to reach for it he was amazed
to see it move further into the room, and then
he realized that it was being pushed inward by
someone from without.

Quickly and silently he stepped toward the
door, but, as he reached for the knob to throw
it open, his wife's hand feU upon his wrist.

" No, John," she whispered. " They do not
wish to be seen, and so we cannot afford to see
them. Do not forget that we are keeping the
middle of the road."

Clayton smiled and dropped his hand to his
side. Thus they stood watching the little bit of
white paper until it finally remained at rest upon
the floor just inside the door.

Then Clayton stooped and picked it up. It
was a bit of grimy, white paper roughly folded
into a ragged square. Opening it they found a
crude message printed in uncouth letters, vnth
many evidences of an unaccustomed task.

Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons
to refrain from reporting the loss of the revol-
vers, or from repeating what the old sailor had
told them ~- to refrain on pain of death.

[16]

OUT TO SEA

" I rather imagine we'll be good," said Clay-
ton mth a rueful smile. '* About all we can do
is to sit tight and wait for whatever may come."

fi7T

CHAPTER II

THE SAVAGE HOME

NOR (fid they have long to wait, for the next
morning as Clayton was emerging on deck
for his accustomed walk before breakfast, a shot
rang out, and then another, and another.

The sight which met his eyes confirmed his
worst fears. Facing the little knot of officers was
the entire motley crew of the Fuwalda, and at
their head stood Black Michael.

At the first volley from the officers the men
ran for shelter, and from points of vantage behind
masts, wheel house and cabin they returned the
fire of the five men who represented the hated
authority of the ship.

Two of their number had gone down before
the captain's revolver. They lay where they had
fallen between the combatants.

Presently the first mate lunged forward upon
his face, and at a cry of command from Black
Michael the bloodthirsty ruffians charged the
remaining four. The crew had been able to
muster but six firearms, so most of them were
armed with boathooks, axes, hatchets and crow-
bars.

Ii8]

THE SAVAGE HOME

The captain had emptied his revolver and was
reloading as the charge was made. The second
mate's gun had jammed, and so there were but
two weapons opposed to the mutineers as they
rapidly approached the officers, who now started
to give back before the infuriated rush of their
men.

Both sides were cursing and swearing In a
frightful manner, which, together with the reports
of the firearms and the screams and groans of
the wounded, turned the deck of the Fuwalda to
the likeness of a madhouse.

Before the officers had taken a dozen back-
ward steps the men were upon them. An axe in
the hands of a burly negro cleft the captain from
forehead to chin, and an instant later the others
were down; dead or wounded from dozens of
blows and bullet wounds.

Short and grisly had been the work of the
mutineers of the Fuwalda, and through it all
John Clayton had stood leaning carelessly beside
the companionway puffing meditatively upon his
pipe as though he had been but watching an indif-
ferent cricket match.

As the last officer went down he bethought him
that it was time that he returned to his wife lest
some member of the crew find her alone below.

Though outwardly calm and indifferent, Clay-
ton was inwardly apprehensive and wrought up,
for he feared for his wife's safety at the hands

[I9l

TARZAN OF THE 'APES

of these Ignorant, half-brutes into whose hands
fate had so remorselessly thrown them.

As he turned to descend the ladder he was sur«
prised to see his wife standing on the steps almost
at his side.

" How long have you been here, Alice? "

" Since the beginning," she replied. " How
awful, John. Oh, how awful I What can we
hope for at the hands of such as those ? "

" Breakfast, I hope," he answered, smiling
bravely in an attempt to allay her fears.

" At least," he added, " I'm going to ask them.
Come with me, Alice. We must not let them
think we expect any but courteous treatment."

The men had by this time surrounded the dead
and wounded officers, and without either par-
tiality or compassion proceeded to throw both
living and dead over the sides of the vessel. With
equal heartlessness they disposed of their owp
wounded and the bodies of the three sailors to
whom a merciful Providence had vouchsafed
instant death before the bullets of the officers.

Presently one of the crew spied the approach-
ing Claytons, and with a cry of : " Here*s two
more for the fishes," rushed toward them with
uplifted axe.

But Black Michael was even quicker, so that
the fellow went down with a bullet in his back
before he had taken a half dozen steps.

With a loud roar. Black Michael attracted the

[20]

THE SAVAGE HOME

attention of the others, and, pointing to Lord and
Lady Greystoke, cried:

" These here are my friends, and they are to
be left alone. D' ye understand ?

" Fm captain of this ship now, an* what I says
goes," he added, turning to Clayton. " Just keep
to yourselves, and nobody'U harm ye," and he
looked threateningly on his fellows.

The Claytons heeded Black MichaePs instruc-
tions so well that they saw but little of the crew
and knew nothing of the plans the men were
making.

Occasionally they heard faint echoes of brawls
and quarreling among the mutineers, and on two
occasions the vicious bark of firearms rang out
on the still air. But Black Michael was a fit
leader for this heterogeneous band of cutthroats,
and, withal, held them in fair subjection to his
rule.

On the fifth day following the murder of the
ship's officers, land was sighted by the lookout.
Whether island or mainland. Black Michael did
not know, but he announced to Clayton that if
.investigation showed that the place was habitable
he and Lady Greystoke were to be put ashore
with their belongings.

" You'll be all right there for a few months,"
he explained, " and by that time we'll have been
able to make an inhabited coast somewheres and
scatter a bit. Then Til see that yer government's

[21]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

notified where you be an' they'll soon send a man-
o'war to fetch ye off,

" You may be all right, but it would be a hard
matter to land you in civilization without a lot o'
questions being asked, an' none o' us here has any
very convincin' answers up our sleeves."

Clayton remonstrated against the inhumanity
of landing them upon an unknown shore to be
left to the mercies of savage beasts, and, possibly,
still more savage men.

But his words were of no avail, and only
tended to anger Black Michael, so he was forced
to desist and make the best he could of a bad
situation.

About three o'clock in the afternoon they came
about off a beautiful wooded shore opposite the
mouth of what appeared to be a land-locked
harbon

Black Michael sent a small boat filled with
men to sound the entrance in an effort to deter-
mine if the Fuwalda could be safely worked
through the entrance.

In about an hour they returned and reported
deep water through the passage as well as far
into the little basin.

Before dark the barkantine lay peacefully at
anchor upon the bosom of the still, mirror-like
surface of the harbor.

The surrounding shores were beautiful with
semi-tropical verdure, while in the distance the

[22]

THE SAVAGE HOME

country rose from the ocean in hill and table land,
almost uniformly clothed by primeval forest.

No signs of habitation were visible, but that
the land might easily support human life was evi-
denced by the abundant bird and animal life of
which the watchers on the Fuwalda^s deck caught
occasional glimpses, as well as by the shimmer
of a little river which emptied into the harbor,
insuring fresh water in plentitude.

As darkness settled upon the earth, Clayton
and Lady Alice still stood by the ship's rail in
silent contemplation of their future abode. From
the dark shadows of the mighty forest came the
wild calls of savage beasts — the deep roar of
the lion, and, occasionally, the shrill scream of a
panther.

The woman shrank closer to the man in terror-
stricken anticipation of the horrors lying in wait
for them in the awful blackness of the nights to
come, when they two should be alone upon that
wild and lonely shore.

Later in the evening Black Michael joined
them long enough to instruct them to make their
preparations for landing on the morrow. They
tried to persuade him to take them to some more
hospitable coast near enough to civilization so
that they might hope to fall into friendly hands.
But no pleas, or threats, or promises of reward
could move him.

"I am the only man aboard who would not

TARZJN OF THE APES

rather see you both safely dead, and, while I
know that that's the sensible way to make sure
of our own necks, yet Black Michael's not the
man to forget a favon You saved my life once,
and in return I'm goin' to spare yours, but that's
all I can do.

" The men won't stand for any more, and if
we don't get you landed pretty quick they may
even change their minds about giving you that
much show. I'll put all your stuff ashore with
you as well as cookin' utensils an' some old sails
for tents, an' enough grub to last you until you
can find fruit and game.

" So that with your guns for protection, you
ought to be able to live here easy enough until
help comes. When I get safely hid away I'll see
to it that the British gover'ment learns about
where you be; for the life of me I couldn't tell
*em exactly where, for I don't know myself. But
they'll find you all right."

After he had left them they went silently
below, each wrapped in gloomy forebodings.

Cla3rton did not believe that Black Michael
had the slightest intention of notifying the Brit-
ish government of their whereabouts, nor was
he any too sure but that some treachery was con-
templated for the following day when they should
be on shore with the sailors who would have to
accompany them with their belongings.

Once out of Black Michael's sight any of the

1^4]

THE SAVAGE HOME

men might strike them down, and still leave Black
Michael's conscience clear.

And even should they escape that fate was it
not but to be faced with far graver dangers?
Alone, he might hope to survive for years; for
he was a strong, athletic man.

But what of Alice, and that other little life so
soon to be launched amidst the hardships and
grave dangers of a primeval world?

The man shuddered as he meditated upon the
awful gravity, the fearful helplessness, of their
situation. But it was a merciful Providence which
prevented him from foreseeing the hideous real-
ity which awaited them in the grim depths of that
gloomy wood.

Early next morning their numerous chests and
I boxes were hoisted on deck and lowered to wait-

ing small boats for transportation to shore.

There was a great quantity and variety of stuff,
as the Claytons had expected a possible five to
eight years' residence In their new home, so that,
in addition to the many necessities they had
brought, were also many luxuries.

Black Michael was determined that nothing
belonging to the Claytons should be left on board.
Whether out of compassion for them, or in fur-
therance of his own self interests, it were difficult
to say.

There n no question but that the presence
of property of a missing British official upon a

TARZAN OF THE APES

suspicious vessel would have been a difficult thing
to explain in any civilized port in the world*

So zealous was he in his efforts to carry out his
intentions that he insisted upon the return of
Clayton's revolvers to him by the sailors in whose
possession they were.

Into the small boats were also loaded salt
meats and biscuit, with a small supply of potatoes
and beans, matches, and cooking vessels, a chest
of tools, and the old sails which Black Michael
had promised them.

As though himself fearing the very thing which
Cla3rton had suspected. Black Michael accom-
panied them to shore, and was the last to leave
them when the small boats, having filled the
ship's casks with fresh water, were pushed out
toward the waiting Fuwalda.

As the boats moved slowly over the smooth
waters of the bay, Clayton and his wife stood
silently watching their departure — in the breasts
of both a feeling of impending disaster and utter
hopelessness.

And behind them, over the edge of a low
ridge, other eyes watched — close set, wicked
eyes, gleaming beneath shaggy brows.

As the Fuwalda passed through the narrow
entrance to the harbor and out of sight behind a
projecting point. Lady Alice threw her arms
about Clayton's neck and burst into uncontrolled
sobs.

[26]

THE SAVAGE HOME

Bravely had she faced the dangers of the
mutiny ; with heroic fortitude she had looked into
the terrible future; but now that the horror of
absolute solitude was upon them, her overwrought
nerves gave way, and the reaction came.

He did not attempt to check her tears. It
were better that nature have her way in reliev-
ing these long pent emotions, and it was many
minutes before the girl — little more than a child
she was — could again gain mastery of herself.

" Oh, John,'' she cried at last, " the horror of
it What are we to do ? What are we to do ? "

" There is but one thing to do, Alice," and he
spoke as quietly as though they were sitting in
their snug living room at home, " and that is
work. Work must be our salvation. We must
not give ourselves time to think, for in that direc-
tion lies madness.

"We must work and wait. I am sure that
relief will come, and come quickly, when once it
is apparent that the Fuwalda has been lost, even
though Black Michael does not keep his word
to us.'*

" But John, if it were only you and I," she
sobbed, " we could endure it I know ; but — "

" Yes, dear," he answered, gently, " I have been
thinking of that, also ; but we must face it, as we
must face whatever comes, bravely and with the
utmost confidence in our ability to cope with cir-
cumstances whatever they may be.

[27]

THE SAVAGE HOME

A hundred yards from the beach was a little
level spot, fairly free of trees and here they
decided eventually to build a permanent house,
but, for the time being, they both thought it best
to construct a little platform in the trees out of
reach of the larger of the savage beasts in whose
realm they were.

To this end Clayton selected four trees which
formed a rectangle about eight feet square, and
cutting long branches from other trees he con-
structed a framework around them, about ten
feet from the ground, fastening the ends of the
branches securely to the trees by means of rope,
a quantity of which Black Michael had furnished
him from the hold of the Fuwalda.

Across this framework Clayton placed othef
smaller branches quite close together This plat*
form he paved with the huge fronds of elephant's
ear which grew in profusion about them, and
over the fronds he laid a great sail folded into
several thickness.

Seven feet higher he constructed a similar,
though lighter platform to serve as roof, and
from the sides of this he suspended the balance
of his sail cloth for walls.

When completed he had a rather snug little
nest, to which he carried their blankets and some
of the lighter luggage.

It was now late in the afternoon, and the bat
ance of the daylight hours were devoted to the

[29]

TARZAN OF THE APES

•* Hundreds of thousands of years ago our
ancestors of the dim and distant past faced the
same problems which we must face, possibly in
these same primeval forests. That we are here
today evidences their victory.

"What they did may we not do? And even
better, for are we not armed with ages of superior
knowledge, and have we not the means of protec-
tion, defense, and sustenance which science has
given us, but of which they were totally ignorant ?
What they accomplished, Alice, with instruments
and weapons of stone and bone, surely that may
we accomplish also."

" Ah, John, I wish that I might be a man with
a man^s philosophy, but I am but a woman, seeing
with my heart rather than my head, and all that
I can see is too horrible, too unthinkable to put
into words.

" I only hope you are right, John. I will do
my best to be a brave primeval woman, a fit mate
for the primeval man."

Clayton's first thought was to arrange a sleep-
ing shelter for the night ; something which might
serve to protect them from prowling beasts of
prey.

He opened the box containing his rifles and
ammunition, that they might both be armed
against possible attack while at work, and then
together they sought a location for their first
night's sleeping place.

[28]

TARZAN OF THE APES

building of a rude ladder by means of which Lady
Alice could mount to her new home^

All during the day the forest about them had
been filled with excited birds of brilliant plumage,
and dancing, chattering monkeys, who watched
these new arrivals and their wonderful nest build-
ing operations with every mark of keenest inter-
est and fascination.

Notwithstanding that both Clayton and his
wife kept a sharp lookout they saw nothing of
larger animals, though on two occasions they had
seen their little simian neighbors come screaming
and chattering from the nearby ridge, casting
affrighted glances back over their little shoulders,
and evincing as plainly as though by speech that
they were fleeing some terrible thing which lay
concealed there.

Just before dusk Clayton finished his ladder,
and, filling a great basin with water from the
nearby stream, the two mounted to the compara-
tive safety of their aerial chamber.

As it was quite warm, Clayton had left the
side curtains thrown back over the roof, and as
they squatted, like Turks, upon their blankets,
Lady Alice, straining her eyes into the darkening
shadows of the wood, suddenly reached out and
grasped Clayton's arm.

"John,*' she whispered, "look! What is it,
a man?"

As Clayton turned his eyes in die direction she

[30]

THE SAVAGE HOME

indicated, he saw silhouetted dimly against the
shadows beyond, a great figure standing upright
upon the ridge.

For a moment it stood as though listening and
then turned slowly, and melted into the shadows
of the jungle.

"What is it, John? •'

" I do not know, Alice," he answered gravely,
" it is too dark to see so far, and it may have
been but a shadow cast by the rising moon."

" No, John, if it was not a man it was some
huge and grotesque mockery of man. Oh, I am
afraid"

He gathered her in his arms, whispering words
of courage and love into her ears, for the greatest
pain of their misfortunes, to Clayton, was the
mental anguish of his young wife. Himself brave
and fearless, yet was he able to appreciate the
awful suffering which fear entails — a rare gift,
though but one of many which had made the
young Lord Greystoke respected and loved by all
who knew him.

Soon after, he lowered the curtain walls, tying
them securely to the trees so that, except for a
little opening toward the beach, they were entirely
enclosed.

As it was now pitch dark within their tiny
aerie they lay down upon their blankets to try to
wrest, through sleep, a brief respite of forgetful-
ness.

[31I

TARZAN OF THE APES

Clayton lay facing the opening at the front,
a rifle and a brace of revolvers at his hand.

Scarcely had they closed their eyes than the
terrifying cry of a panther rang out from the
jungle behind them. Closer and closer it came
until they could hear the great beast directly
beneath them. For an hour or more they heard
it sniffing and clawing at the trees which sup-
ported their platform, but at last it roamed away
across the beach, where Clayton could see it
clearly in the brilliant moonlight — a great, hand-
some beast ; the largest he had ever seen.

During the long hours of darkness they caught
but fitful snatches of sleep, for the night noises
of a great jungle teeming with myriad animal
life kept their overwrought nerves on edge, so
that a hundred times they were startled to wake-
fulness by piercing screams, or the stealthy mov-
ing of great bodies beneath them.

Ts^l

CHAPTER III

LIFE AND DEATH

MORNING found them but little, if at all
refreshed, though it was with a feeling of
Intense relief that they saw the day dawn.

As soon as they had made their meager break-
fast of salt pork, coffee, and biscuit, Clayton com-
menced work upon their house, for he realized
that they could hope for no safety and no peace
of mind at night until four strong walls effectually
barred the jungle life from them.

The task was an arduous one and required the
better part of a month, though he built but one
small room. He constructed his cabin of small
logs about six inches in diameter, stopping the
chinks with clay which he found at the depth'^of
a few feet beneath the surface soil.

At one end he built a fireplace of small stones
from the beach. These also he set in clay and
when the house had been entirely completed he
applied a coating of the clay to the entire outside
surface to the thickness of four inches.

In the window opening he set small branches
about an inch in diameter both vertically and hori-
zontally, and so woven that they formed a sub-
stantial grating that could withstand the strength

[33l

TARZAN OF THE APES

of a powerful animal. Thus they obtained air
and proper ventilation without fear of lessening
the safety of their cabin.

The A-shaped roof was thatched with small
branches laid close together and over these long
jungle grass and palm fronds, with a final coating
of clay.

The door he built of pieces of the packing-
boxes which had held their belongings; nailing
one piece upon another, the grain of contiguous
layers running transversely, until he had a solid
body some three inches thick and of such great
strength that they were both moved to laughter
as they gazed upon it.

Here the greatest diflSiculty confronted Clayton,
for he had no means whereby to hang his massive
door now that he had built it. After two days'
work, however, he succeeded in fashioning two
massive hard-wood hinges, and with these he hung
the door so that it opened and closed easily.

The stuccoing and other final touches were
added after they moved into the house, which
they had done as soon as the roof was on, piling
their boxes before the door at night and thus hav-
ing a comparatively safe and comfortable habita-
tion.

The building of a bed, chairs, table, and shelves
was a relatively easy matter, so that by the end of
the second month they were well settled, and, but
for the constant dread of attack by wild beasts

[34]

LIFE AND DEATH

and the ever growing loneliness, they were not
uncomfortable or unhappy.

At night great beasts snarled and roared about
their tiny cabin, but, so accustomed may one
become to oft repeated noises, that soon they
paid little attention to them, sleeping soundly the
whole night through.

Thrice had they caught fleeting glimpses of
great manlike figures like that of the first night,
but never at sufficiently close range to know posi-
tively whether the half-seen forms were those of
man or brute.

The brilliant birds and the little monkeys had
become accustomed to their new acquaintances,
and as they had evidently never seen human beings
before they presently, after their first fright had
worn off, approached closer and closer, impelled
by that strange curiosity which dominates the
wild creatures of the forest and the jungle and
the plain, so that within the first month several
of the birds had gone so far as even to accept
morsels of food from the friendly hands of the
Claytons.

One afternoon, while Clayton was working
upon an addition to their cabin, for he contem-
plated building several more rooms, a number of
their grotesque little friends came shrieking and
scolding through the trees from the direction of
the ridge. Ever as they fled they cast fearful
glances back of them, and finally they stopped

[35]

TARZAS OF THE APES

near Clayton jabbering excitedly to him as though
to warn him of approaching danger.

At last he saw it, the thing the little monkeys
so feared — the man-brute of which the Claytons
had caught occasional fleeting glimpses.

It was approaching through the jungle in a
semi-erect position, now and then placing the
backs of its closed fists upon the ground — a great
anthropoid ape, and, as it advanced, it emitted
deep guttural growls and an occasional low bark-
ing sound.

Clayton was at some distance from the cabin,
having come to fell a particularly perfect tree,
for his building operations. Grown careless from
months of continued safety, during which time
they had seen no dangerous animals during the
daylight hours, he had left his rifles and revolvers
all within the little cabin, and now that he saw
the great ape crashing through the underbrush
directly toward him, and from a direction which
practically cut him off from escape, he felt a
vague little shiver play up and down his spine.

He knew that, armed only with an axe, his
chances with this ferocious monster were small
indeed — and Alice; O God, he thought, what
will become of Alice?

There was yet a slight chance of reaching the
cabin. He turned and ran toward it, shouting an
alarm to his wife to run in and close the great
door in case the ape cut off his retreat

[36]

LIFE AND DEATH

Lady Greystoke had been sitting a little way
from the cabin, and when she heard his cry she
looked up to see the ape springing with almost
incredible swiftness, for so large and awkward
an animal, in an effort to head off Clayton.

With a low cry she sprang toward the cabin,
and, as she entered, gave a backward glance
which filled her soul with terror, for the brute had
intercepted her husband, who now stood at bay
grasping his axe with both hands ready to swing
it upon the infuriated animal when he should
make his final charge.

" Close and bolt the door, Alice," cried Clay-
ton. " I can finish this fellow with my axe."

But he knew he was facing a horrible death, and
so did she.

The ape was a great bull, weighing probably
three hundred pounds. His nasty, close-set eyes
gleamed hatred from beneath his shaggy brows,
while his great canine fangs were bared in a hor-
rid snarl as he paused a moment before his prey.

Over the brute's shoulder Clayton could see
the doorway of his cabin, not twenty paces distant,
and a great wave of horror and fear swept over
him as he saw his young wife emerge, armed with
one of his rifles.

She had always been afraid of firearms, and
would never touch them, but now she rushed
toward the ape with the fearlessness of a lioness
protecting its young.

[37]

TARZAN OF THE APES

" Back, Alice," shouted Clayton, " for God's
sake, go back."

But she would not heed, and just then the ape
charged, so that Clayton could say no more.

The man swung his axe with all his mighty
strength, but the powerful brute seized it in those
terrible hands, and tearing it from Clayton's grasp
hurled it far to one side.

With an ugly snarl he closed upon his defense-
less victim, but ere his fangs had reached the
throat they thirsted for, there was a sharp report
and a bullet entered the ape's back between his
shoulders.

Throwing Clayton to the ground the beast
turned upon his new enemy. There before him
stood the terrified girl vainly trying to fire another
bullet into the animal's body; but she did not
understand the mechanism of the firearm, and the
hammer fell futilely upon an empty cartridge.

Screaming with rage and pain, the ape flew a^
the delicate woman, who went down beneath him
to merciful unconsciousness.

Almost simultaneously Clayton regained his
feet, and without thought of the utter hopeless-
ness of it, he rushed forward to drag the ape
from his wife's prostrate form.

With little or no effort he succeeded, and the
great bulk rolled inertly upon the turf before
him — the ape was dead. The bullet had done
its work.

138]

LIFE AND DEATH

A hasty examination of his wife revealed no
marks upon her, and Clayton decided that the
huge brute had died the instant he had sprung
toward Alice.

Gently he lifted his wife^s still unconscious
form, and bore her to the little cabin, but it was
fully two hours before she regained conscious-
ness.

Her first words filled Clayton with vague
apprehension. For some time after regaining her
senses, Alice gazed wonderingly about the interior
of the litde cabin, and then, with a satisfied sigh,
said:

" O, John, it Is so good to be really home I I
have had an awful dream, dear. I thought we
were no longer in London, but in some horrible
place where great beasts attacked us."

"There, there, Alice," he said, stroking her
forehead, " try to sleep again, and do not worry
your head about bad dreams."

That night a little son was born in the tiny
cabin beside the primeval forest, while a leopard
screamed before the door, and the deep notes of
a lion's roar sounded from beyond the ridge.

Lady Greystoke never recovered from the
shock of the great ape's attack, and, though she
lived for a year after her baby was born, she was
never again outside the cabin^ nor did she ever
fully realize that she was not in England.

Sometimes she would question Clayton as to

[39]

TARZAN OF THE APES

the strange noises of the nights; the absence of
servants and friends, and the strange rudeness
of the furnishings within her room, but, though
he made no effort to deceive her, never could she
grasp the meaning of it all.

In other ways she was quite rational, and the
joy and happiness she took in the possession of
her little son and the constant attentions of her
husband made that year a very happy one for
her, the happiest of her young life.

That it would have been beset by worries and
apprehension had she been In full command of
her mental faculties Clayton well knew; so that
while he suffered terribly to see her so, there were
times when he was almost glad, for her sake,
that she could not understand.

Long since had he given up any hope of res-
cue, except through accident. With unremitting
zeal he had worked to beautify the Interior of
the cabin.

Skins of lion and panther covered the floor.
Cupboards and bookcases lined the walls. Odd
vases made by his own hand from the clay of the
region held beautiful tropical flowers. Curtains
of grass and bamboo covered the windows, and,
most arduous task of all, with his meager assort-
ment of tools he had fashioned lumber to neatly
seal the walls and ceiling and lay a smooth floor
within the cabin.

That he had been able to turn his hands at all

[40I

LIFE AND DEATH

to such unaccustomed labor was a source of mild
wonder to him. But he loved the work because
it was for her and the tiny life that had come to
cheer them, though adding a hundredfold to his
responsibilities and to the terribleness of their
situation.

During the year that followed, Clayton was
several times attacked by the great apes which
now seemed to continually infest the vicinity of
the cabin; but as he never again ventured outside
Without both rifle and revolvers he had little fear
of the huge beasts.

He had strengthened the window protections
and fitted a unique wooden lock to the cabin
door, so that when he hunted for game and
fruits, as it was constantly necessary for him to
do to insure sustenance, he had no fear that any
animal could break into the little home.

At first he shot much of the game from the cabin
windows, but toward the end the animals learned
to fear the strange lair from whence issued the
terrifying thunder of his rifle.

In his leisure Clayton read, often aloud to his
wife, from the store of books he had brought for
their new home. Among these were many for
little children — picture books, primers, readers
— for they had known that their little child
would be old enough for such before they might
hope to return to England.

At oth^r times Clayton wrote in his diary,

(41]

TARZJN OF THE APES

which he had always been accustomed to keep in
French, and in which he recorded the details of
their strange life. This book he kept locked in
a little metal box.

A year from the day her little son was bom
Lady Alice passed quietly away in the night. So
peaceful was her end that it was hours before
Clayton could awake to a realization that his wife
was dead.

The horror of the situation came to him very
slowly, and it is doubtful that he ever fully real-
ized the enormity of his sorrow and the fearful
responsibility that had devolved upon him with
the care of that wee thing, his son, still a nursing
babe.

The last entry in his diary was made the
morning following her death, and there he re-
cites thfe sad details in a matter of fact way that
adds to the pathos of it; for it breathes a tired
apathy bom of long sorrow and hopelessness,
which even this cruel blow could scarcely awake
to further suffering:

My litdc son is crying for nourishment — O Alice,
Alice, what shall I do?

And as John Clayton wrote the last words his
hand was destined ever to pen, he dropped his
head wearily upon his outstretched arms where

[42]

LIFE AND DEATH

they rested upon the table he had built for her
who lay still and cold in the bed beside him.

For a long time no sound broke the deathlike
stillness of the jungle mid-day save the piteous
wailing of the tiny man-child.

)

T43l

CHAPTER IV

THE APES

N THE forest of the table-land a mile back
from the ocean old Kerchak the Ape was on
a rampage of rage among his people.

The younger and lighter members of his tribe
scampered to the higher branches of the great
trees to escape his wrath ; risking their lives upon
branches that scarce supported their weight
rather than face old Kerchak in one of his fits
of uncontrolled anger.

The other males scattered in all directions, but
not before the infuriated brute had felt the ver-
tebra of one snap between his great, foaming
jaws.

A luckless young female slipped from an inse-
cure hold upon a high branch and came crashing
to the ground almost at Kerchak's feet.

With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing
a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth,
and striking her viciously upon her head and
shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull
was crushed to a jelly.

And then he spied Kala, who, returning from
a search for food with her young babe, was Ig-
norant of the state of the mighty male's temper

[44]

THE APES

until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows
caused her to scamper madly for safety.

But Kerchak was close upon her, so close that
he had almost grasped her ankle had she not
made a furious leap far into space from one tree
to another — a perilous chance which apes sel-
dom if ever take, unless so closely pursued by
danger that there is no alternative.

She made the leap successfully, but as she
grasped the limb of the further tree the sudden
jar loosened the hold of the tiny babe where it
clung frantically to her neck, and she saw the
little thing hurled, turning and twisting, to the
ground thirty feet below.

With a low cry of dismay Kala rushed head-
long to its side, thoughtless now of the danger
from Kerchak; but when she gathered the wee,
mangled form to her bosom life had left it.

With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to
her; nor did Kerchak attempt to molest her.
With the death of the babe his fit of demoniacal
rage passed as suddenly as it had seized him.

Kerchak was a huge king ape, weighing per-
haps three hundred and fifty pounds. His fore-
head was extremely low and receding, his eyes
bloodshot, small and close set to Kh coarse, flat
nose; his ears large and thin, but smaller than
most of his kind.

His awful temper and his mighty strength
made him supreme among the little tribe into

[45]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

which he had been bom some twenty years be-
fore.

Now that he was in his prime, there was no
simian in all the mighty forest through which he
roved that dared contest his right to rule, nor
did the other and larger animals molest him.

Old Tantor, the elephant, alone of all the wild
savage life, feared him not — and he alone did
Kerchak fear. When Tantor trumpeted, the
great ape scurried with his fellows high among
the trees of the second terrace.

The tribe of anthropoids over which Kerchak
ruled ^th an iron hand and bared fangs, num-
bered some six or eight families, each family con-
sisting of an adult male with his wives and their
young, numbering in all some sixty or seventy
apes.

Kala was the youngest wife of a male called
Tublat, meaning broken nose, and the child she
had seen dashed to death was her first; for she
was but nine or ten years old.

Notwithstanding her youth, she was large and '^
powerful — a splendid, clean-limbed animal, with
a round, high forehead, which denoted more in-
telligence than most of her kind possessed. So,
also, she had a greater capacity for mother love
and mother sorrow.

But she was still an ape, a huge, fierce, terrible
beast of a species closely allied to the gorilla, yet
more intelligent ; which, with the strength of their

[46]

THE APES

cousin, made her kind the most fearsome of those
awe-inspiring progenitors of man.

When the tribe saw that Kerchak^s rage had
ceased they came slowly down from their arboreal
retreats and pursued again the various occupa-
tions which he had interrupted.

The young played and frolicked about among
the trees and bushes. Some of the adults lay
prone upon the soft mat of dead and decaying
vegetation which covered the ground, while others
turned over pieces of fallen branches and clods
of earth in search of the small bugs and reptiles
which formed a part of their food.

Others, again, searched the surrounding trees
for fruit, nuts, small birds, and eggs.

They had passed an hour or so thus when Ker-
chak called them together, and, with a word of
xommand to them to follow him, set off toward
the sea.

They traveled for the most part upon the
ground, where it was open, following the path
of the great elephants whose comings and goings
break the only roads through those tangled mazes
of bush, vine, creeper, and tree. When they
walked it was with a rolling, awkward motion,
placing the knuckles of their cfosed hands upon
the ground and swinging their ungainly bodies
forward.

But when the way was through the lower trees
they moved more swiftly, swinging from branch

[471

TJRZJN OF THE APES

to branch with the agility of their smaller cousins,
the monkeys. And all the way Kala carried her
little dead baby hugged closely to her breast.

It was shortly after noon when they reached
a ridge overlooking the beach where below them
lay the tiny cottage which was Kerchak's goal.

He had seen many of his kind go to their
deaths before the loud noise made by the little
black stick in the hands of the strange white ape
who lived in that wonderful lair, and Kerchak
had made up his brute mind to own that death-
dealing contrivance, and to explore the interior
of the mysterious den.

He wanted, very, very much, to feel his teeth
sink into the neck of the queer animal that he
had learned to hate and fear, and because of this,
he came often with his tribe to reconnoiter, wait-
ing for a time when the white ape should be off
his guard.

Of late they had quit attacking, or even show-
ing themselves; for every time they had done so
in the past the little stick had roared out its ter-
rible message of death to some member of the
tribe.

Today there was no sign of the man about,
and from where they watched they could see that
the cabin door was open. Slowly, cautiously, and
noiselessly they crept through the jungle toward
the little cabin.

There were no growls, no fierce screams of

[48]

THE APES

rage — the little black stick had taught them to
come quietly lest they awaken it.

On, on they came until Kerchak himself slunk
stealthily to the very door and peered within.
Behind him were two males, and then Kala,
closely straining the little dead form to her breast.

Inside the den they saw the strange white ape
lying half across a table, his head buried in his
arms; and on the bed lay a figure covered by a
sail cloth, while from a tiny rustic cradle came
the plaintive wailing of a babe.

Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouching for the
charge; and then John Clayton rose with a sud-
den start and faced them.

The sight that met his eyes must have frozen
him with horror, for there, within the door, stood
three great bull apes, while behind them crowded
many more; how many he never knew, for his
revolvers were hanging on the far wall beside his
rifle, and Kerchak was charging.

When the king ape released the limp form
which had been John Clayton, Lord Greystokc,
he turned his attention toward the little cradle;
but Kala was there before him, and when he
would have grasped the child she snatched it her-
self, and before he could intercept her she had
bolted through the door and taken refuge in a
high tree.

As she took up the little live baby of Alice
Clayton she dropped the dead body of her own

[49l

TARZAN OF THE APES

into the empty cradle; for the wail of the living
had answered the call of universal motherhood
within her wild breast which the dead could not
still.

High up among the branches of a mighty tree
she hugged the shrieking infant to her bosom,
and soon the instinct that was as dominant in this
fierce female as it had been in the breast of his
tender and beautiful mother — the instinct of
mother love — reached out to the tiny man-child's
half-formed understanding, and he became quiet.

Then hunger closed the gap between them,
and the son of an English lord and an English
lady nursed at the breast of Kala, the great ape.

In the meantime the beasts within the cabin
were warily examining the contents of this strange
lair.

Once satisfied that Clayton was dead, Kerchak
turned his attention to the thing which lay upon
the bed, covered by a piece of sailcloth.

Gingerly he lifted one comer of the shroud,
but when he saw the body of the woman beneath
he tore the cloth roughly from her form and
seized the still, white throat in his huge, hairy
hands.

A moment he let his fingers sink deep into the
cold flesh, and then, realizing that she was al-
ready dead, he turned from her, to examine the
contents of the room; nor did he again molest
the body of either Lady Alice or Sir John.

[sol

THE APES

The rifle hanging upon the wall caught his first
attention; it was for this strange, death-dealing
thunder-stick that he had yearned for months;
but now that it was within his grasp he scarcely
had the temerity to seize it.

Cautiously he approached the thing, ready to
flee precipitately should it speak in its deep roar-
ing tones, as he had heard it speak before, th6
last words to those of his kind who, through ig-
norance or rashness, had attacked the wonderful
white ape that had borne it.

Deep in the beast's intelligence was something
which assured him that the thunder-stick was only
dangerous when in the hands of one who could
manipulate it, but yet it was several minutes ere
he could bring himself to touch it.

Instead, he walked back and forth along the
floor before it, turning his head so that never
once did his eyes leave the object of his desire.

Using his long arms as a man uses crutches,
and rolling his huge carcass from side to side
with each stride, the great king ape paced to and
fro, uttering deep growls, occasionally punctuated
with that ear-piercing scream, than which there
is no more terrifying noise in all the jungle.

Presently he halted before the rifle. Slowly he
raised a huge hand until it almost touched the
shining barrel, only to withdraw it once more and
continue his hurried pacing.

It was as though the great brute by this show

[51I

TARZAN OF THE APES

of fearlessness, and through the medium of his
wild voice, were endeavoring to bolster up his
courage to the point which would permit him to
take the rifle in his hand.

Again he stopped, and this time succeeded in
forcing his reluctant hand to the cold steel, only*
to snatch it away almost immediately and resume
his restless beat.

Time after time this strange ceremony was re*
peated, but on each occasion with increased con-
fidence, until, finally, the rifle was torn from its
hook and lay in the grasp of the great brute.

Finding that it harmed him not, Kerchak began
to examine it closely. He felt of it from end to
end, peered down the black depths of the muzzle,
fingered the sights, the breech, the stock, and
finally the trigger.

During all these operations the apes who had
entered sat huddled near the door watching their
chief, while those outside strained and crowded
to catch a glimpse of what transpired within.

Suddenly Kerchak's finger closed upon the trig-
ger. There was a deafening roar in the little
room and the apes at and beyond the door fell
over one another in their wild anxiety to escape.

Kerchak was equally frightened; so frightened,
in fact, that he quite forgot to throw aside the
author of that fearful noise, but bolted for the
door with it tightly clutched in one hand.

As he passed through the opening, the front

[52]

THE APES

sight of the rifle caught upon the edge of the in-
swung door with sufficient force to close it tightly
after the fleeing ape.

When Kerchak came to a halt a short distance
from the cabin and discovered that he still held
the rifle, he dropped it as he might have dropped
a red hot iron, nor did he again essay to recover
it — the noise was too much for his brute nerves;
but he was now quite convinced that the terrible
stick was quite harmless by itself if left alone.

It was an hour before the apes could again
bring themselves to approach the cabin to con-
tinue their investigations, and when they finally
did so, they found to their chagrin that the door
was closed and so securely fastened that they
could not force it.

The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton
had made for the door had sprung as Kerchak
passed out; nor could the apes find means of in-
gress through the heavily barred windows.

After roaming about the vicinity for a short
time, they started back for the deeper forests and
the higher land from whence they had come.

Kala had not once come to earth with her little
adopted babe, but now Kerchak called to her to
descend with the rest, and as there was no note
of anger in his voice she dropped lightly from
branch to branch and joined the others on their
homeward march.

Those of the apes who attempted to examine

f33l

TARZAN OF THE APES

Kala^s strange baby were repulsed with bared
iangs and low menacing growls, accompanied by
words of warning from Kala.

When they assured her that they meant the
child no harm she permitted them to come close,
but would not allow them to touch her charge.

It was as though she knew that her baby was
frail and delicate and feared lest the rough hands
of her fellows might injure the little thing.

Another thing she did, and which made travel-
ing an onerous trial for her. Remembering the
death of her own little one, she clung desperately
to the new babe, with one* hand, whenever they
were upon the march.

The other young rode upon their mothers*
backs; their little arms tightly clasping the hairy
necks before them, while their legs were locked
beneath their mothers' arm pits.

Not so with Kala; she held the small form of
the little Lord Greystoke tightly to her breast,
where the dainty hands clutched the long bkck
hair which covered that portion of her body. She
had seen one child fall from her back to a terrible
death, and she would take no further chances with
this.

t54l

CHAPTER V

THE WHITE APE

TENDERLY Kala nursed her little waif, won-
dering silently why it did not gain strength
and agility as did the little apes of other mothers.
It was nearly a year from the time the little fel-
low came into her possession before he would
walk alone, and as for climbing — my, but how
stupid he was!

Kala sometimes talked with the older females
about her young hopeful, but none of them could
understand how a child could be so slow and back-
ward in learning to care for itself. Why, it could
not even find food alone, and more than twelve
moons had passed since Kala had come upon it.

Had they known that the child had seen thir-
teen moons before It had come into Kala's pos-
session they would have considered its case as
absolutely hopeless, for the little apes of their
own tribe were as far advanced in two or three
moons as was this little stranger after twenty-
five.

Tublat, Kala's husband, was sorely vexed, and
but for the female's careful watching would have
put the child out of the way.

"He Will never be a great ape," he argued^

[55l

TJRZAN OF THE APES

" Always will you have to carry him and protect
him. What good will he be to the tribe? None;
only a burden.

" Let us leave him quietly sleeping among the
tall grasses, that you may bear other and stronger
apes to guard us in our old age."

" Never, Broken Nose/' replied Kala. " If i
must carry him forever, so be it."

And then Tublat went to Kerchak to urge him
to use his authority with Kala, and force her to
give up little Tarzan, which was the name they
had given to the tiny Lord Greystoke, and which
meant " White-Skin."

But when Kerchak spoke to her about it Kala
threatened to run away from the tribe if they
did not leave her in peace with the child; and as
this is one of the inalienable rights of the jungle
folk, if they be dissatisfied among their own peo-
ple, they bothered her no more, for Kala was a
fine clean-limbed young female, and they did not
wish to lose her. ^"^

As Tarzan grew he made more rapid strides,
so that by the time he was ten years old he was
an excellent climber, and on the ground could do
many wonderful things which were beyond the
powers of his little brothers and sisters.

In many ways did he differ from them, and they
often marveled at his superior cunning, but in
strength and size he was deficient; for at ten the
great anthropoids were fully grown, some of them

[56]

THE WHITE APE

wm.

towering over six feet in height, while little Tar*
zan was still but a half-grown boy.

Yet such a boyl

From early infanq^ he had used his hands to
swing from branch to branch after the manner
of his giant mother, and as he grew older he spent
hour upon hour daily speeding through the tree
tops with his brothers and sisters.

He could spring twenty feet across space at
the dizzy heights of the forest top, and grasp with
unerring precision, and without apparent jar, a
Umb waving wildly in the path of an approaching
tornado.

He could drop twenty feet at a stretch from
limb to limb in rapid descent to the ground, or
he could gain the utmost pinnacle of |be loftiest
tropical giant with the ease and swiftness of a
squirrel.

Though but ten years old he was fully as strong
as die average man of thirty, and far more agile
than the most practiced athlete ever becomes*
And day by day his strength was increasing.

His life among these fierce apeS had been
happy; for his recollection held no other life, nor
did he know that there existed within the uAiverse
aught else than his little forest and the wild jun-
gle animals with which he was familiar.

He was nearly ten before he commenced to
realize that a great difference existed between
himself and his fellows. His little body, burned

[57]

> •

TARZAN OF THE APES

brown by exposure, suadenly caused him feel-
ings of intense shame, for he realized that it was
entirely hairless, like some low snake, or other
reptile.

He attempted to obviate this by plastering
himself from head to foot with mud, but this
dried and fell off. Beside iflfelt so uncomfortable
that he quickly decided that he preferre4/]the
shame to the discomfort.

In the higher land which his tribe frequented
was a little lake, and it was hei-e that Tarzan
first saw his face in the clear, still waters of its
bosom.

It was on a sultry day of the dry season that
he and one of his cousins had gone down to the
bank to drink. As they leaned over, both little
faces were mirrored on the placid pool ; the fierce
and terrible features of the ape beside those of
the aristocratic scion of an old English house.

Tarzan was appalled. It had been bad enough
to be hairless, but to own such a countenance!
He wondered that the other apes could look at
him at all.

That tiny * slit of a mouth and those puny
white teeth I How they looked beside the mighty
lips and powerful fangs of his more fortunate
brothers I

And the little pinched nose of him; so thin
was it that it looked half starved. He turned
red as he compared it with the beautiful broad

[S8]

• THE WHITE APE

nostrils of his companion. Such a generous
nosel Why it spread half across his facel It
certainly must be fine to be so handsome, thought
poor little Tarzan.

But when he saw his own eyes; ah, that was
the final blow — a brown spot, a gray circle and
then blank whiteness I Frightful! not even the'
snakes had such hideous eyes as he.

So intent was he upon this personal appraise-
ment of his features that he did not hear the
parting of the tall grass behind him as a great
body pushed itself stealthily through the jungle;
nor did his companion, the ape, hear either, for
he was drinking and the noise of his sucking lips
and gurgles of satisfaction drowned the quiet ap-
proach of the intruder.

Not thirty paces behind the two she crouched —
Sabor, the huge lioness — lashing her tail. Cau-
tiously she moved a great padded paw forward,
noiselessly placing it before she lifted the next
Thus she advanced ; her belly low, almost touching
the surface of the ground — a great cat prepar-
ing to spring upon its prey.

Now she was within ten feet of the two unsus-
pecting little playfellows — carefully she drew
her hind feet well up beneifth her body, the great
muscles rolling under the beautiful skin.

So low she was crouching now that she seemed
flattened to the earth except for the upward bend
o^ 4^ glossy back as it gathered for the spring.

[59]

4 *'"

TARZAN OF THE APES

^No longer the tail lashed — quiet and straight
behind her it lay.

An instant she paused tbus as though turned to
stone, and then, with an awful scream, she sprang.

Sabor, the lioness, was a wise hunter. To
one less wise the wild alarm of her fierce cry as
she sprang would have seemed a foolish thing,
for could she not more surely have fallen upon her
victims had she but quietly leaped without that
loud shriek?

But Sabor knew well the wondrous quickness
of the jungle folk and their almost unbelievable
powers of hearing. To them the sudden scraping
of one blade of grass across another was as
effectual a warning as her loudest cry, and Sabor
knew that she could not make that mighty leap
without a little noise.

Her wild scream was not a warning. It was
voiced to freeze her poor victims in a paralysis
of terror for the tiny fraction of an instant which
would suffice for her mighty claws to sink into
their soft flesh and hold them beyond peradven-
ture of escape.

In so far as the ape was concerned, Sabor
reasoned correctly. The little fellow crouched
trembling just an instant, but that instant was
quite long enough to prove his undoing.

Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child.
His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had
taught him to meet emergences with self-con*

[60]

THE WHITE APE

fidence, and his higher Intelligence resulted In a
quickness of mental action far beyond the powers
of the apes.

So the scream of Sabor, the lioness, galvanized
the brain and muscles of little Tarzan into instant
action.

Before him lay the deep waters of the little
lake, behind him certain death; a cruel death
beneath tearing claws and rending fangs.

Tarzan had always hated water except as a
medium for quenching his thirst. He hated It
because he connected it with the chill and discom-
fort of the torrential rains, and he feared it for
the thunder and lightning and wind which accom-
panied them.

The deep waters of the lake he had been taught
by his wild mother to avoid, and further, had he
not seen little Neeta sink beneath its quiet surface
only a few short weeks before never to return to
the tribe ?

But of the two evils his quick mind chose the
lesser ere the first note of Sabor's scream had
scarce broken the quiet of the jungle, and before
the great beast had covered half her leap Tarzan
felt the chill waters close above his head.

He could not swim, and the water was very-
deep; but still he lost no particle of that self-
confidence and resourcefulness which were the
badges of his superior being.

Rapidly he moved his hands and feet In an

[6i]

TARZJN OF THE APES

attempt to scramble upward, and, possibly more
by chance than design, he fell into the stroke that
a dog uses when swimming, so that within a few
seconds his nose was above water and he found
that he could keep it there by continuing his
strokes, and also make progress through the
water.

He was much surprised and pleased with this
new acquirement which had been so suddenly
thrust upon him, but he had no time for thinking
much upon it

He was now swimming parallel to the bank
and there he saw the cruel beast that would have
seized him crouching upon the still form of his
little playmate.

The lioness was intently watching Tarzan, evi-
dently expecting him to return to shore, but this
the boy had no intention of doing.

Instead he raised his voice in the call of (Us-
tress common to his tribe, adding to it the warning
which would prevent would-be rescuers from run-
ning into the clutches of Sabor.

Almost immediately there came an answer from
the distance, and presently forty or fifty great
^es swung rapidly and majestically through the
''trees toward the scene of tragedy.

In the van was Kala, for she had recognized
the tones of her best beloved, and with her was
the mother of the little ape who lay dead beneath
cruel Sabor.

[62]

THE WHITE APE

Though more powerful and better equipped for
fighting than the apes, the lioness had no desire
to meet these enraged adults, and with a snarl of
hatred she sprang quickly^ into the brush and dis-
appeared.

Tarzan now swam to shore and clambered
quickly upon dry land. The feeling of freshness
and exhilaration which the cool waters had
imparted to him, filled his little being with grate-
ful surprise, and ever after he lost no opportunity
to take a daily plunge in lake or stream or ocean
when it was possible to do so.

For a long time Kala could not accustom her-
self to the sight; for though her people could
swim when forced to it, they did not like to enter
water, and never did so voluntarily.

The adventure with the lioness gave Tarzan
food for pleasurable memories, for it was such
affairs which broke the monotony of his daily
life — otherwise but a dull round of searching for
food, eating, and sleeping.

The tribe to which he belonged roamed a tract
extending, roughly, twenty-five miles along the
sea coast and some fifty miles inland. This
they traversed almost continually, occasionally i-^
maining for months in one locality; but as they^
moved through the trees with great speed they
often covered the territory in a very few days.

Much depended upon food supply, climatic con*
ditions, and the prevalence of animals of the

[63]

TARZAN OF THE APES

more dangerous species; though Kerchak often
led them on long marches for no other reason
than that he had tired of remaining in the same,
place.

At night they slept where darkness overtook
them^ lying upon the ground, and sometimes cov-
ering their heads, and more seldom their bodies,
with the great leaves of the elephant^s ear. Two
or three might lie cuddled in each other's arms
for additional warmth if the night were chill, and
thus Tarzan had slept in Kala's arms nightly for
all these years.

That the huge, fierce brute loved this child of
another race is beyond question, and he, too, gave
to the great, hairy beast all the affection that
would have belonged to his fair young mother had
she lived.

When he was disobedient she cuffed him, it is
true, but she was never cruel to him, and was
more often caressing than chastising him.

Tublat, her husband, always hated Tarzan, and
on several occasions had come near ending his
youthful career.

Tarzan on his part never lost an opportunity to
show that he fully reciprocated his foster father's
sentiments, and whenever he could safely annoy
him or make faces at him or hurl insults upon him
from the safety of his mother's arms, or the slen*
der branches of the higher trees, he did so.

His superior intelligence and cunning permitted

[64]

THE WHITE APE

him to invent a thousand diabolical tricks to add
to the burdens of Tublat's life.

Early in his boyhood he had learned to form
ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together,
and with these he was forever tripping Tublat
or attempting to hang him from some overhang-
ing branch.

By constant playing and experimenting with
these he learned to tie rude knots, and make slid-
ing nooses; and with these he and the younger
apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they
tried to do also, but he alone originated and
became proficient.

One day while playing thus Tarzan had thrown
his rope at one of his fleeing companions, retain-
Ing the other end in his grasp. By accident the
noose fell squarely about the running lape's neck,
bringing him to a sudden and surprising halt.

Ah, here was a new game, a fine game, thought
Tarzan, and immediately he attempted to repeat
the trick. And thus, by painstaking and continued
practice, he learned the art of roping.

Now, indeed, was the life of Tublat a living
nightmare. In sleep, upon the march, night or
day, he never knew when that quiet noose would
slip about his neck and nearly choke the life out
of him.

Kala punished, Tublat swore dire vengeance,
and old Kerchak took notice and warned and
threatened; but all to no avail.

[6S1

TARZAN OF THE APES

Tarzan defied them all, and the thin, strong
noose continued to settle about Tublat's neck
whenever he least expected it.

The other apes derived unlimited amusement
from Tublat's discomfiture, for Broken Nose was
a disagreeable old fellow, whom no one liked,
anyway.

In Tarzan's clever little mind many thoughts
revolved, and back of these was his divine power
of reason.

If he could catch his fellow apes with his long
arm of many grasses, why not Sabor, the lioness ?

It was the germ of a thought, which, however,
was destined to mull around in his conscious and
subconscious mind until it resulted In magnificent
achievement.

But that came in later years.

t66l

CHAPTER VI

JUNGLB BATTLES

T^HE wanderings of the tribe brought them
^ often near the closed and silent cabin by the
little land-locked harbor. To Tarzan this was
always a source of never-ending mystery and
pleasure.

He would peek into the curtained windows, or,
climbing upon the roof, peer down the black
depths of the chimney in vain endeavor to solve
the unknown wonders that lay within those strong
walls.

His little childish imagination pictured wonder-
ful creatures within, and the very impossibility of
forcing entrance added a thousandfold to his
desire to do so.

He would clamber about the roof and windows
for hours attempting to discover means of ingress,
but to the door he paid little attention, for this
was apparently as solid as the walls.

It was in the next visit to the vicinity, following
the adventure with old Sabor, that, as he
approached the cabin, Tarzan noticed that from
a distance the door appeared as though an inde-
pendent part of the wall in which it was set, and
for the first time it occurred to him that this

[67]

TARZAN OF THE APES

might prove the means of entrance which had so
long eluded him.

He was alone, as was often the case when he
visited the cabin, for the apes had no love for it ;
the story of the thunder-stick having lost nothing
In the telling during these ten years had quite sur-
rounded the white man^s deserted abode with an
atmosphere of weirdness and terror for the
simians.

The story of his own connection with the cabin
liad never been told him. The language of the
^apes has so few words that they could talk but
little of what they had seen in the cabin, having
ino words to accurately describe either the strange
people or their belongings, and so, long before
Tarzan was old enough to understand, the subject
had been forgotten by the tribe.

Only in a dim, vague way had Kala explained
to him that his father had been a strange white
ape, but he did not know that Kala was not his
own mother.

On this day, then, he went directly to the door
and spent hours examining it and fussing with the
hinges, the knob and the latch. Finally he stum-
bled upon the right combination, and the door
iswung creakingly open before his astonished eyes.

For some minutes he did not dare venture
within, but finally, as his eyes became accustomed
to the dim light of the interior he slowly and
cautiously entered.

[68]

JUNGLE BATTLES

In the middle of the floor lay a skeleton, every
vestige of flesh gone from the bones to which still'
clung the mildewed and mouldered remnants of
what had once been clothing. Upon the bed lay
a similar grewsome thing, but smaller, while in a
tiny cradle nearby was a third, a wee mite of
a skeleton.

To none of these evidences of a fearful trag-
edy of a long dead day did little Tarzan give but
passing heed. His wild jungle life had inured
him to the sight of dead and dying animals, and
had he known that he was looking upon the re-
mains of his own father and mother he would
have been no more greatly moved.

The furnishings and other contents of the room
it was which riveted his attention. He examined
many things minutely — strange tools and weap-
ons, books, papers, clothing — what little had
withstood the ravages of time in the humid at-
mosphere of the jungle coast.

He opened chests and cupboards, such as did
not bafile his small expenence, and in these he
found the contents much better preserved.

Among other things he found a sharp hunting
knife, on the keen blade of which he immediately
proceeded to cut his finger. Nothing daunted he
continued his experiments, finding that he could
hack and hew splinters of wood from the table
and chairs with this new toy.

For a long time this amused him, but finally

[69l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

tiring he continued his explorations. In a cup-
board filled with books he came across one with
• brightly colored pictures — it was a. child's illus-
trated alphabet —

A is for Archer

Who shoots with a bow.

B is for Boy»

His first name is Joe.

The pictures interested him greatly.

There were many apes with faces similar to
his own, and further over in the book lie found,
under " M," sonte little monkeys such as he saw
daily flitting through the trees of his primeval
forest. But nowhere was pictured any of his own
people; in all the book was none that resembled
Kerchak, or Tublat, or Kala.

At first he tried to pick the little figures from
the leaves, but he soon saw that they were not
real, though he knew not what they might be, nor
had he any words to describe them.

The boats, and trains, and cows and horses
were quite meaningless to him, but not quite so
bafiling as the odd little figures which appeared
beneath and between the colored pictures — some
strange kind of bug he thought they might be,
for many of them had legs though nowhere could
he find one with eyes and a mouth. It was his
first introduction to the letters of the alphabet,
and he was over ten years old.

[70]

JUNGLE BATTLES

Of course he had never before seen print, or
never had spoken with any living thing which had
tlie remotest idea that such a thing as a written
language existed, nor ever had he seen anyone
reading.

So what wonder that the little boy was quite at
a loss to guess the meaning of these strange fig.
ures.

Near the middle of the book he found his olii
enemy, Sabor, the lioness, and, further on, coiled
Histah, the snake.

Oh, it was most engrossing! Never before in
all his ten years had he enjoyed anything so much.
So absorbed was he that he did not note the ap-
proaching dusk, until it was quite upon him and
the figures were blurred.

He put the book back in the cupboard and
closed the door, for he did not wish anyone else
to find and destroy his treasure, and as he went
out into the gathering darkness he closed the
great door of the cabin behind him as it had
been before he discovered the secret of Its lock,
but before he left he had noticed the hunting
knife lying where he had thrown it upon the floor,
and this he picked up and took with him to show
to his fellows.

He had taken scarce a dozen steps toward the
jungle when a great form rose up before him
from the shadows of a low bush. At first he
thought it was one of his own people but in

[71]

TARZAN OF THE APES

another instant he realized that it was Bolgani,
the huge gorilla.

So close was he that there was no chance fqr
flight and little Tarzan knew that he must stand
and fight for his life ; for these great beasts were
the deadly enemies of his tribe, and neither one
or the other ever asked or gave quarter.

Had Tarzan been a full grown bull ape of the
species of his tribe he had been more than a
match for the gorilla, but being only a little Eng-
lish |>oy, though enormously muscular for such,
he stbod no show against his cruel antagonist. In
his veins, though, flowed the blood of the best of
a race of mighty fighters, and back of this was
the training of his short lifetime among the fierce
brutes of the jungle^

He knew no fear, as we know it; his little heart
beat the faster but from the excitement and ex-
hilaration of adventure. Had the opportunity
presented itself he would have escaped^ but solely
because his judgment told him he was no match
for the great thing which confronted him. And
since reason showed him that successful flight was
impossible he met the gorilla squarely and bravely
without a tremor of a single muscle, or any sign
of panic.

In fact he met the brute midway In its charge,!
striking its huge body with his closed fists and as
futilely as he had been a fly attacking an elephant.
But in one hand he still clutched the knife he had

[72]

JUNGLE BATTLES

•

found in the cabin of his father, and as the brute,
striking and biting, closed upon him the boy ac-
cidentally turned the; point toward the hairy
breast. As it sank deep into the body of him the
gorilla shrieked in pain and rage.

But the boy had learned in that brief second
a use for his sharp and shining toy, so that, as
the tearing, striking beast dragged him to earth
he plunged the blade repeatedly and to the hilt
into its breast.

The gorilla, fighting after the manner of its
kind, struck terrific blows with its open hand, and
tore the flesh at the boy's throat and chest with
its mighty tusks.

For a moment they rolled upon the ground in
the fierce frenzy of combat. More and more
weakly the torn and bleeding arm struck home
with the long sharp blade, then the little figure
stiffened with a spasmodic jerk, and Tarzan, the
young Lord Grey stoke, rolled lifeless upon the
dead and decajring vegetation which carpeted his
jungle home.

A mile back in the forest the tribe had heard
the fierce challenge of the gorilla, and, as was his
custom when any danger threatened, Kerchak
called his people together, partly for mutual pro-
tection against a common enemy, since this gorilla
might be but one of a party of several, and also
to see that all members of the tribe wer« ac«
counted for.

T73T

TARZAN OF THE APES

It was soon discovered that Tarzan was miss-
ing, and Tiliblat was strongly opposed to sending
assistance. Kerchak himself had no liking for
the strange little waift so he listened to Tublat,
and, finally, with a shrug of his shoulders, turned
back to the pile of leaves on which he had made
his bed.

But Kala was of a different mind; in fact, she
had not waited but to learn that Tarzan was ab-
sent ere she was fairly flying through the matted
branches toward the point from which the cries
of the gorilla were still plainly audible.

Darkness had now fallen, and an early moon
was sending its faint light to cast strange, gro-
tesque shadows among the dense foliage of the
forest.

Here and there the brilliant rays penetrated to
earth, but for the most part they only served to
accentuate the Stygian blackness of the jungle^s
depths.

Like some huge phantom, Kala swung noise-
lessly from tree to tree ; now running nimbly along^j
a great branch, now swinging through space at
the end of another, only to grasp that of a fur-
ther tree in her rapid progress toward the scene
oi^ the tragedy her knowledge of jungle life told
her was being enacted a short distance before
her.

The cries of the gorilla proclaimed that it was
in mortal combat with some other denizen of the

[74]

JUNGLE BATTLES

fierce wood. Suddenly these cries ceased, and the
silence of death reigned throughout the jungle.

Kala could not understand, for the voice of
Bolgani had at the last been raised in the agony of
suffering and death, but no sound had come to
her by which she possibly could determine the na-
ture of his antagonist.

That her little Tarzan could destroy a great
bull gorilla she knew to be improbable, and so,
as she neared the spot from which the sounds of
the struggle had come, she moved more warily
and at last slowly and with extreme caution she
traversed the lowest branches, peering eagerly
into the moon-splashed blackness for a sign of
the combatants.

Presently she came upon them, lying in a little
open space full under the brilliant light of the
moon — little Tarzan's torn and bloody form,
and beside it a great bull gorilla, stone dead.

With a low cry Kala rushed to Tarzan's side,
nd gathering the poor, blood-covered body to
er breast, listened for a sign of life. Faintly
she heard it — the weak beating of the little
heart.

Tenderly she bore him back through the inky
jungle to where the tribe lay, and for many days
and nights she sat guard beside him, bringing
him food and^firater, and brushing the flies and
other insects from his cruel wounds.

Of medicine or surgery the poor thing knew

[75]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

nothing. She could but lick the wounds, and
thus she kept them cleansed, that healing nature
might the more quickly do her work.

At first Tarzan would eat nothing, but rolled
and tossed in a wild delirium of fever. All he
craved was water, and this she brought him in the
only way she could, bearing it in her own mouth.

No human mother could have shown more un-
selfish and sacrificing devotion than did this poor,
wild brute for the little orphaned waif whom fate
had thrown into her keeping.

At last the fever abated and the boy com-
menced to mend. No word of complaint passed
his tight set lips, though the pain of his wounds
was excruciating.

A portion of his chest was laid bare to the ribs,
three of which had been broken by the mighty
blows of the gorilla. One arm was nearly sev-
ered by the giant fangs, and a great piece had
been torn from his neck, exposing his jugular vein,
which the cruel jaws had missed but by a miracle, ^k

With the stoicism of the brutes who had raised ^*
him he endured his suffering quietly, preferring
to crawl away from the others and lie huddled in
some clump of tall grasses rather than to show
his misery before their eyes.

Kala, alone, he was glad to have with him, but
now that he was better she was gone longer at a
time, in search of food; for the devoted animal

[76]

JUNGLE BATTLES

had scarcely eaten enough to support her own life
while Tarzan had been so low, and was In con-
,sequence, reduced to a mere shadow of her
former sdf.

T77|

CHAPTER VII

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

AFTER what seemed an eternity to the little
sufferer he iv^as able to walk once more, and
from then on his recovery was rapid, so that in
another month he was as strong and active as
ever.

During his convalescence he had gone over in
his mind many times the battle with the gorilla,
and his first thought was to recover the wonderful
little weapon which had transformed him from a
hopelessly outclassed weakling to the superior of
the mighty terror of the jungle.

Also, he was anxious to return to the cabin and
continue his investigations of its wondrous con-
tents.

So, early one morning, he set forth alone upoti
his quest After a little search he located the
clean-picked bones of his late adversary, and close
by, partly burled beneath *^^ the fallen leaves, he
found the knife, now red witli riist from its expo*
sure to the dampness of the ground and frctoi the
dried blood of the gorilla.

He did not like the change in Its former bright
and gleaming surface ; but it was still a formidable
weapon, and one which he meant to use to advance

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

tage whenever the opportunity presented itself.
He had in mind that no more would he run from
the wanton attacks of old Tublat.

In another moment he was at the cabin, and
after a short time had again thrown the latch and
entered. His first concern was to learn the mech-
anism of the lock, and this he did by examining
it closely while the door was open, so that he
could learn precisely what caused it to hold the
door, and by what means It released at his touch.

He found that he could close and lock the door
from within, and this he did so that there would
be no chance of his being molested while at his
investigations.

He commenced a systematic search of the
cabin; but his attention was soon riveted by the
books which seemed to exert a strange and pow-
erful influence over him, so that he; could scarce
attend to aught else for the lure of the wondrous
puzzle which their purpose presented to him.

Among the other books were a primer, some
child's readers, numerous picture books, arid a
great dictionary. All of these he examined, but
the pictures caught his fancy most, though the
strange little bugs which covered the pages where
there were no pictures excited his wonder and
deepest thought

Squatting upon his haunches on the table top
In the cabin his father had bi|Il<i* — his smooth,
browUi naked little body bent over the book which

[79l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

rested in his strong slender hands, and his great
shock of long, black hair falling about his well
shaped head and bright, intelligent eyes — Tar-
zan of the apes, little primitive man, presented a
picture filled, at once, with pathos and with
{promise — an allegorical figure of the primordial
groping through the black night of ignorance
toward the light of learning.

His little face was tense in study, for he had
partially grasped, in a hazy, nebulous way, the
rudiments of a thought which was destined to
prove the key and the solution to the puzzling
problem of the strange little bugs.

In his hands was a primer opened at a picture
of a little ape similar to himself, but covered,
except for hands and face, with strange, colored
fur, for such he thought the jacket and trousers
to be. Beneath the picture were three little bugs —

BOY.

And now he had discovered in the text upon
the page that these three were repeated many
times in the same sequence.

Another fact he learned — that there were
comparatively few individual bugs ; but these wer&
repeated many times, occasionally alone, but more
often in company with others.

Slowly he turned the pages, scanning the pic-
tures and the text for a repetition of the com*
binatlon i-o-jr. Presently he found it beneath %

[80]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

picture of another little ape and a strange animal
which went upon four legs like the jackal and
resembled him not a little. Beneath this picture
the bugs appeared as :

A BOY AND A DOG.

There they were, the three little bugs which
always accompanied the little ape.

And so he progressed very, very slowly, for it
was a hard and laborious task which he had set
himself without knowing it — a task which might
seem to you or me impossible — learning to read
without having the slightest knowledge of letters
or written language, or the faintest idea that
such things existed.

He did not accomplish it in a day, or in a week,
or in a month, or in a year; but slowly, very
slowly, he learned after he had grasped the
possibilities which lay in those little bugs, so that
by the time he was fifteen he knew the various
combinations of letters which stood for every
pictured figure in the little primer and in one or
two of the picture books.

Of the meaning and use of the articles and con-
junctions, verbs and adverbs and pronouns he
had but the faintest and haziest conception.

One day when he was about twelve he found
a number of lead pencils in a hitherto undiscovered
drawer beneath the table, and in scratching upon

[8i]

TARZAN OF THE APES

the table top with one of them he was delighted
to discover the black line it left behind it

He worked so assiduously with this new toy
that the table top was soon a mass of scrawly
loops and irregular lines and his pencil-point worn
down to the wood. Then he took another pencil,
but this time he had a definite object in view.

He would attempt to reproduce some of the
little bugs that scrambled over the pages of his
books.

It was a diffia^lt task, for he held the pencil as
one would grasp the hilt of a dagger, which does
not add greatly to ease in writing nor to the
legibility of the results.

But he persevered for months, at such times as
he was able to come to the cabin, until at last by
repeated experimenting he found a position in
which to hold the pencil that best permitted him
to guide and control it, so that at last he could
roughly reproduce any of the little bugs.

Thus he made a beginning at writing.

Copying the bugs taught him another thing,
their number; and though he could not count as
we understand it yet he had an idea of quantity,
the base of his calculations being the number of
fingers upon one of his hands.

His search through the various books convinced
him that he had discovered all the different kinds
of bugs most often repeated in combination, and
these he arranged in proper order with great

[82]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

ease because of the frequenqr with which he had
perused the fascinating alphabet picture book.

His education progressed; but his greatest finds
were in the inexhaustible storehouse of the huge
illustrated dictionary, for he learned more through
the medium of pictures than text, even after he
had grasped the significance of the bugs.

When he discovered the arrangement of words
in alphabetical order he delighted in searching for
and finding the combinations with which he was
familiar, and the words which followed them,
their definitions, led him still further into the
mazes of erudition.

By the time he was seventeen he had learned to
read the simple, child's primer and had fully
realized the true and wonderful purpose of the
little bugs.

No longer did he feel shame for his hairless
body or his human features, for now his reason
told him that he was of a different race from
his wild and hairy companions. He was a
M-A-N, they were A-P-E-S, and the little apes
which scurried through the forest top were
M-O-N-K-E-Y-S. He knew, too, that old Sabor
was a LJ-O-N-E-S-S, and Histah a S-N-A-K-E,
and Tantor an E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T. And so he
learned to read.

From then on his progress was rapid. With
the help of the great dictionary and the active
intelligence of a healthy mind endowed by ihher-

[83]

TARZAN OF THE APES

itance with more than ordinary reasoning powers
he shrewdly guessed at much which he could not
really understand, and more often than not his
guesses were close to the mark of truth.

There were many breaks in his education,
caused by the migratory habits of his tribe, but
even when removed from recourse to his booksi
his active brain continued to search out the
mysteries of his fascinating avocation.

Pieces of bark and flat leaves and even smooth
stretches of bare earth provided him with copy
books whereon to scratch with the point of his
hunting knife the lessons he was learning.

Nor did he neglect the sterner duties of life
while following the bent of his inclination toward
the solving of the mystery of his library.

He practiced with his rope and played with
his sharp knife, which he had learned to keep
keen by whetting upon flat stones.

The tribe had grown larger since Tarzan had
come among them, for under the leadership of
Kerchak they had been able to frighten the other
tribes from their part of the jungle so that they
had plenty to eat and little or no loss from preda-
tory incursions of neighbors.

Hence the younger males as they became adult^
found it more comfortable to take wives from
their own tribe, or if they captured one of another
tribe to bring her back to Kerchak's band and
live in amity with him rather than attempt to set

[84]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

up a new establishment of their own, or fight with
the redoubtable Kerchak for supremacy at home.

Occasionally one more ferocious than his fel-
lows would attempt this latter alternative, but
none had come yet who could wrest the palm of
victory from the fierce and brutal ape.

Tarzan held a peculiar position in the tribe.
They seemed to consider him one of them and yet
in some way different. The older males either
ignored him entirely or else hated him so vindic-
tively that but for his wondrous agility and speed
and the fierce protection of the huge Kala he
would have been dispatched at an early age.

Tublat was his most consistent enemy, but it
was through Tublat that, when he was about
thirteen, the persecution of his enemies suddenly
ceased and he was left severely alone, except on
the occasions when one of them ran amuck in
the throes of one of those strange, wild fits of
insane rage which attacks the males of many of
the fiercer animals of the jungle. Then none was
safe.

On the day that Tarzan established his right
to respect, the tribe was gathered about a small
natural amphitheater which the jungle had left
free from its entangling vines and creepers in a
hollow amongst some low hills.

The open space was almost circular in shape.
Upon every hand rose the mighty giants of the
untouched forest, with the matted undergrowth

[85]

TARZAN OF THE APES

banked so closely between the huge trunks that
the only opening into the little, level arena was
through the upper branches of the trees.

Here, safe from interruption, the tribe often
gathered. In the center of the amphitheater was
one of those strange earthen drums which the
anthropoids build for the queer rites the sounds
of which men have heard in the fastnesses of the
jungle, but which none has ever witnessed.

Many travelers have seen the drums of the
great apes, and some have heard the sounds of
their beating and the noise of the wild, weird rev-
elry of these first lords of the jungle, but Tarzan,
Lord Greystoke, is, doubtless, the only human
being who ever joined in the fierce, mad, intoxi-
cating revel of the Dum-Dum.

From this primitive function has arisen, un-
questionably, all the forms and ceremonials of
modern church and state, for through all the
countless ages, back beyond the last, uttermost
ramparts of a dawning humanity our fierce, hairy
forebears danced out the rites of the Dum-Dum
to the sound of their earthen drums, beneath the
bright light of a tropical moon in the depth of a
mighty jungle which stands unchanged today as
it stood on that long forgotten night in the dim,
unthinkable vistas of the long dead past when
our first shaggy ancestor swung from a swaying
bough and dropped lightly upon the soft turf of
^iie first meeting place.

[86]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

On the day that Tarzan won his emancipation
from the persecution that had followed him
remorselessly for twelve of his thirteen years of
life, the tribe, now a full hundred strong, trooped
silently through the lower terrace of the jungle
trees and dropped noiselessly upon the floor of the
amphitheater.

The rites of the Dum-Dum marked important
events in the life of the tribe — a victory, the
capture of a prisoner, the killing of some large
fierce denizen of the jungle, the death or acces-
sion of a king, and were conducted with set
ceremonialism.

Today it was the killing of a giant ape, a mem-
ber of another tribe, and as the people of Kerchak
entered the arena two mighty bulls might have
been seen bearing the body of the vanquished
between them.

They laid their burden before the earthen drum
and then squatted there beside it as guards, while
the other members of the community curled
themselves in grassy nooks to sleep until the rising
moon should give the signal for the commence-
ment of their savage orgy.

For hours absolute quiet reigned in the little
clearing, except as it was broken by the discordant
notes of brilliantly feathered parrots, or the
screeching and twittering of the thousand jungle
birds flitting ceaselessly amongst the vivid orchids
and flamboyant blossoms which festooned the

[87]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

myriad, moss covered branches of the forest
kings.

At length as darkness settled upon the jungle
the apes commenced to bestir themselves, and
soon they formed a great cirde about the earthen
drum. The females and young squatted in a thin
line at the outer periphery of the circle, while
just in front of them ranged the adult males.
Before the drum sat three old females, each
armed with a knotted branch fifteen or eighteen
inches in length.

Slowly and softly they began tapping upon the
resounding surface of the drum as the first faint
rays of the ascending moon silvered the encircling
tree-tops.

As the light in the amphitheater increased the
females augmented the frequency and force of
their blows until presently a wild, rhythmic din
pervaded the great jungle for miles in every direc-
tion. Huge, fierce brutes stopped in their hunt-
ing, with up-pricked ears and raised heads, to
listen to the dull booming that betokened the
Dum-Dum of the apes.

Occasionally one would raise his shrill scream
or thunderous roar in answering challenge to the
savage din of the anthropoids, but none came
near to investigate or attack, for the great apes,
assembled in all the power of their numbers,
filled the breasts of their jungle neighbors with
deep respect.

[88]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

As the din of the drum rose to almost deafen-
ing volume Kerchak sprang into the open space
between the squatting males and the drummers.

Standing erect he threw his head far back and
looking full into the eye of the rising moon he
beat upon his breast with his great hairy paws
and emitted his fearful roaring shriek.

Once — twice — thrice that terrifying cry rang
out across the teaming solitude of that unspeak-
ably quick, yet unthinkably dead, world.

Then, crouching, Kerchak slunk noiselessly
around the open circle, veering far away from the
dead body lying before the altar-drum, but, as he
passed, keeping his little, fierce, wicked, red eyes
upon the corpse.

Another male then sprang into the arena, and,
repeating the horrid cries of his king, followed
stealthily in his wake. Another and another fol-
lowed in quick succession until the jungle rever-
berated with the now almost ceaseless notes of
their bloodthirsty screams.

It was the challenge and the hunt.

When all the adult males had joined in
the thin line of circling dancers the attack
commenced.

Kerchak, seizing a huge dub from the pile
which lay at hand for the purpose, rushed fu-
riously upon the dead ape, dealing the corpse a
terrific blow, at the same time emitting the growls
and snarls of combat. The din of the drum was

[89]

TARZAN OF THE APES

now Increased, as well as the frequency of the
blows, and the warriors, as each approached the
victim of the hunt and delivered his bludgeon
blow, joined in the mad whirl of the Death
Dance.

Tarzan was one of the wild, leaping horde.
His brown, sweat-streaked, muscular bodv, glis-^
tening in the moonlight, shone supple and graceful
among the uncouth, awkward, hairy brutes about
him.

None more craftily stealthy in the mimic hunt,
none more ferocious than he in the wild ferocity
of the attack, nor none who leaped so high Into
the air in the Dance of Death.

As the noise and rapidity of the drum beats in-
creased the dancers apparently became intoxicated
with the wild rhythm and the savage yells. Their
leaps and bounds increased, their bared fangs
dripped saliva, and their lips and breasts were
flecked with foam.

For half an hour the weird dance went on,
until, at a sign from Kerchak, the noise of the
drums ceased, the female drummers scampering
hurriedly through the line of dancers toward the
outer rim of squatting spectators. Then, as
one man, the males rushed headlong upon the
thing which their terrific blows had reduced to a
mass of hairy pulp.

Flesh seldom came to their jaws in satisfying
quantities, so a fit finale to their wild revel was a

[90]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

taste of fresh killed meat, and it was to the pur«
pose of devouring their late enemy that they now
turned their attention.

Great fangs sunk into the carcass tearing away
huge hunks, the mightiest of the apes obtaining
the choicest morsels, while the weaker circled
the outer edge of the fighting, snarling pack
awaiting their chance to dodge in and snatch a
dropped tit-bit or filch a remaining bone before
all was gone.

Tarzan, more than the apes, craved and needed
flesh. Descended from a race of meat eaters,
never in his life, he thought, had he once satis*
fied his appetite for animal food, and so now his
agile little body wormed its way far into the mass
of struggling, rending apes in an endeavor to
obtain a share which his strength would have
been unequal to the task of winning for him.

At his side hung the hunting knife of his
unknown father in a sheath self-fashioned in copy
of one he had seen among the pictures of his
treasure-books.

At last he reached the fast disappearing feast
and with his sharp knife slashed off a more gen-
erous portion than he had hoped for, an entire
hairy forearm, where it protruded from beneath
the feet of the mighty Kerchak, who was so busily
engaged in perpetuating the royal prerogative o£
hogging that he failed to note the act of Use*
majeste.

[91]

TARZJN OF THE APES

So Iitde Tarzan wrigglxi out from beneath the
struggling mass, clutching his grisly prize close to
his breast.

Among those circling futilely the outskirts of
the banqueters was old Tublat. He had been
among the first at the feast, but had retreated
with a goodly share to eat in quiet, and was now
forcing his way back for more.

So it was that he spied Tarzan as the boy
emerged from the clawing, pushing throng with
that hairy forearm hugged firmly to his body.

Tublat's little, close-set, blood-shot, pig eyes
shot wicked gleams of hate as they fell upon the
object of his loathing. In them, too, was greed
for the toothsome dainty the boy carried.

But Tarzan saw his arch enemy as quickly, and
divining what the great beast would do he leaped
nimbly away toward the women and children, hop-
ing to hide himself among them. Tublat, how-
ever, was close upon his heels, so that he had no
opportunity to seek a place of concealment, but
saw that he would be put to it to escape at all.

Swiftly he sped toward the surrounding trees
and with an ag^le bound gained a lower limb with
one hand, and then, transferring his burden to
his teeth, he climbed rapidly upward, closely fol-
lowed by Tublat.

Up, up he went to the waving pinnacle of a
lofty monarch of the forest where his heavy pur-
suer dared aot follow him. There he perchedi

THE LIGHT OF KNOfFLEDGE

hurling taunts and insults at the raging, foaming
beast fifty feet below him.

And then Tublat went mad.

With horrifying screams and roars he rushed
to the ground, among the females and young,
sinking his great fangs into a dozen tiny necks
and tearing great pieces from the backs and
breasts of the females who fell into his clutches.

In the brilliant moonlight Tarzan witnessed
the whole mad carnival of rage. He saw the
females and the young scamper to the safety of
the ttees. Then the great bulls in the center of
the arena felt the mighty fangs of their demented
fellow, and with one accord they melted into the
black shadows of the over-hanging forest.

There was but one in the amphitheater beside
Tublat, a belated female running swiftly toward
the tree where Tarzan perched, and close behind
her came the awful Tublat.

It was Kala, and as quickly as Tarzan saw that
Tublat was gaining on her he dropped with the
rapidity of a falling stone, from branch to
branch, toward his foster mother.

Now she was beneath the overhanging limbs
and close above her crouched Tarzan, waiting the
outcome of the race.

She leaped into the air grasping a low hanging
brai\ch, but almost over the head of Tublat, so
nearly had he distanced her. She should have
been safe now but there was a rending, tearing

[93]

TARZAN OF THE APES

sound, the branch broke and precipitated h^
full upon the head of Tublat, knocking him to
the ground.

Both were up In an instant, but as quick as they
had been Tarzan had been quicker, so that the
infuriated bull found himself facing the man-child
who stood between him and Kala.

Nothing could have suited the fierce beast
better, and with a roar of triumph he leaped upon
the little Lord Greystoke. But his fangs never
closed in that nut brown flesh.

A muscular hand shot out and grasped the
hairy throat, and another plunged a keen hunting
knife a dozen times into the broad breast. Like
lightning the blows fell, and only ceased when
Tarzan felt the limp form crumple beneath him.

As the body rolled to the ground Tarzan of the
Apes placed his foot upon the neck of his life-
long enemy and raising his eyes to the full moon
threw back his fierce young head and voiced the
wild and terrible cry of his people.

One by one the tribe swung down from their
arboreal retreats and formed a circle about Tar-
zan and his vanquished foe. When they had all
come Tarzan turned toward them.

" I am Tarzan," he cried. " I am a great
killer. Let all respect Tarzan of the Apes and
Kala, his mother. There be none among you as
mighty as Tarzan. Let his enemies beware."

Looking full into the wicked, red eyes of Ker«

[94]

THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE

chak, the young Lord Greystoke beat upon his
mighty breast and screamed out once more his
shrill cry of defiance.

tssi

CHAPIER VIII

THE TREE-TOP HUNTER

THE morning after the Dum-Dum the tribe
started slowly back through the forest toward
the coast.

The body of Tublat lay where it had fallen,
for the people of Kerchak do not eat their own
dead.

The march was but a leisurely search for food.
Cabbage-palm and gray plum, pisang and scita-
mine they found in abundance, with wild pine-
apple, and occasionally small mammals, birds,
eggs, reptiles, and insects. The nuts they cracked
between their powerful jaws, or, if too hard,
broke by pounding between stones.

Once old Sabor, crossing their path, sent them
scurrjring to the safety of the higher branches, for
if she respected their number and their sharp
fangs, they on their part held her cruel and mighty
ferocity in equal esteem.

Upon a low hanging branch sat Tarzan directly
above the majestic, supple body as it forged
silently through the thick jungle. He hurled a
pineapple at the ancient enemy of his people.
The great beast stopped and, turning, eyed the
taunting figure above her.

[96]

THE TREE'TOP HUNTER

With an angry lash of her tail she bared her
yellow fangs, curling her great lips in a hideous
snarl that wrinkled her bristling snout in serried
ridges and closed her wicked eyes to two narrow
slits of rage and hatred.

With back-laid ears she looked straight into the
eyes of Tarzan of the Apes and sounded her
fierce, shrill challenge.

And from the safety of his overhanging limb
the ape-child sent back the fearsome answer of
his kind.

For a moment the two eyed each other in
silence, and then the great cat turned into the
jungle, which swallowed her as the ocean engulfs
a tossed pebble.

But into the mind of Tarzan a great plan
sprang. He had killed the fierce Tublat, so was
he not therefore a mighty fighter? Now would
he track down the crafty Sabor and slay her like-
wise. He would be a mighty hunter, also.

At the bottom of his little English heart beat
the great desire to cover his nakedness with
clothes for he had learned from his picture books
that all men were so covered, while monkeys and
apes and every other living thing went naked.

Clothes therefore, must be truly a badge of
greatness; the insignia of the superiority of man
over all other animals, for surely there could be
no other reason for wearing the hideous things.

Many moons ago, when he had been much

[97]

TARZAN OF THE APES

smaller, he had desired the skin of Sabor, the
lioness, or Numa, the lion, or Sheeta, the leop-
ard to cover his hairless body that he might
no longer resemble hideous Histah, the snake;
but now he was proud of his sleek skin for it
betokened his descent from a mighty race, and the
conflicting desires to go naked in prideful proof
of his ancestry, or to conform to the customs of
his own kind and wear hideous and uncomfortable
apparel found first one and then the other in the
ascendency.

As the tribe continued their slow way through
the forest after the passing of Sabor, Tarzan's
head was filled with his great scheme for slaying
his enemy, and for many days thereafter he
thought of little else.

On this day, however, he presently had other
and more immediate interests to attract his
attention.

Of a sudden it became as midnight; the noises
of the jungle ceased; the trees stood motionless
as though in paralyzed expectancy of some, great
and imminent disaster. All nature waited — but
not for long.

Faintly, from a distance, camic ^ low, sad moan-
ing. Nearer and nearer it apj/iv/ached, mounting
louded and lou<!^*r in volume.

The great trees bent in unison as though
pressed earthward by a mighty hand. Further
Atid further toward the ground they inclined, and

[98]

THE TREE-TOP HUNTER

Still there was no sound save the deep and awe*
some moaning of the wind.

Then, suddenly, the jungle giants whipped
back, lashing their mighty tops in angry and deaf'^
ening protest. A vivid and blinding light flashed
from the whirling, inky clouds above. The deep
canonade of roaring thunder belched forth its
fearsome challenge. The deluge came -— all hell
broke loose upon the jungle.

The tribe huddled, shivering from the cold
rain, at the bases of great trees. The lightning
darting and flashing through the blackness,
showed wildly waving branches, whipping stream-
ers and bending trunks.

Now and again some ancient patriarch of the
woods, rent by a flashing bolt, would crash in a
thousand pieces among the surrounding trees,
carrying down numberless branches and many
smaller neighbors to add to the tangled confusion
of the tropical jungle.

Branches, great and small, torn away by the
ferocity of the tornado, hurtled through the wildly
waving verdure, carrying death and destruction
to countless unhappy denizens of the thickly peo«
pled world below.

For hours the fury of the storm continued \rith-
out surcease, and still the tribe huddled close in
shivering fear. In constant danger from falling
trunks and branches and paralyzed by the vivid
flashing of lightning and the bellowing of thunder

[99]

TARZAN OF THE APES

they crouched in pitiful misery until the storn»
passed.

The end was as sudden as the beginning. The
wind ceased, the sun shone forth — nature smiled
once more.

The dripping leaves and branches, and the
moist petals of gorgeous flowers glistened in the
splendor of the returning day. And, so — as
Nature forgot, her children forgot also. Busy
life went on as it had been before the darkness
and the fright.

But to Tarzan a dawning light had come to
explain the mystery of clothes. How snug he
would have been beneath the heavy coat of Sabor I
And so was added a further incentive to the ad-
venture.

For several months the tribe hovered near the
beach where stood Tarzan's cabin, and his studies
took up the greater portion of his time, but
always when journeying through the forest he
kept his rope in readiness, and many were the
smaller animals that fell into the snare of the
quick thrown noose.

Once it fell about the short neck of Horta, the
boar, and his mad lunge for freedom toppled
Tarzan from the overhanging limb where he had
lain in wait and from whence he had launched his
sinuous coil.

The mighty tusker turned at the sound of his
falling body, and, seeing only the easy prey of a

Iioo]

THE TREE-TOP HUNTER

young ape, he lowered his head and charged
madly at the surprised youth.

Tarzan, happily, was uninjured by the fall,
alighting catlike upon all fours far outspread to
take up the shock. He was on his feet in an
instant and, leaping with the agility of the mon*
key he was, he gained the safety of a low limb
as Horta, the boar, rushed futilely beneath.

Thus it was that Tarzan learned by experience
the limitations as well as the possibilities of his
strange weapon.

He lost a long rope on this occasion, but he
knew that had it been Sabor, who had thus
dragged him from his perch the outcome might
have been very different, for he would have lost
his life, doubtless, into the bargain.

It took him many days to braid a new rope, but
when, finally, it was done he went forth purposely
to hunt, and lie in wait among the dense foliage
of a great branch right above a well-beaten trail
that led to water.

Several small animals passed unharmed be-
neath him. He did not want such insignificant
game. It would take a strong animal to test the
efficacy of his new scheme.

At last came she whom Tarzan sought, with
lithe sinews rolling beneath shimmering hide ; fat
and glossy came Sabor, the lioness.

Her great padded feet fell soft and noiseless
on the narrow trail. Her head was high in ever

[lOl]

TARZJN OF THE APES

alert attention ; her long tail moved slowly in sin-
uous and graceful undulations.

Nearer and nearer she came to where Tarzan
of the Apes crouched upon his limb, the coils of his
long rope poised ready in his hand.

Like a thing of bronze, motionless as death,
sat Tarzan. Sabor passed beneath. One stride
beyond she took — a second, a third, and then
the silent coil shot out above hen

For an instant the spreading noose hung above
her head like a great snake, and then, as she
looked upward to detect the origin of the swishing
sound of the rope, it settled about her neck. With
a quick jerk Tarzan snapped the noose tight about
the glossy throat, and then he dropped the rope
end clung to his support with both hands.

Sabor was trapped.

With a Jbound the startled beast turned into
the jungle, but Tarzan was not to lose another
rope through the same cause as the first. He had
learned from experience. The lioness had taken
but half her second bound when she felt the rope
tighten about her neck; her body turned com-
pletely over in the air and she fell with a heavy
crash upon her back. Tarzan had fastened the
end of the rope securely to the trunk of the great
tree on which he sat.

Thus far his plan had worked to perfection, but
when he grasped the rope, bracing himself behind
a crotch of two mighty branches, he found that

[102]

THE TREE-TOP HUNTER

dragging the mighty, struggling, clawing, biting,
screaming mass of iron-muscled fury up to the
tree and hanging her was a very different proposi-
tion.

The weight of old Sabor was immense, and
when she braced her huge paws nothing less than
Tantor, the elephant, himself, could have budged
her.

The lioness was now back in the path where
she could see the author of the indignity which
had been placed upon her. Screaming with rage
she suddenly charged, leaping high into the air
toward Tarzan, but when her huge body struck
the limb on which Tarzan had been, Tarzan was
no longer there.

Instead he perched lightly upon a smaller
branch twenty feet above the raging captive. For
a moment Sabor hung half across the branch,
while TarzaJL mocked, and hurled twigs and
branches at her unprotected face.

Presently the beast dropped to the earth again
and Tarzan came quickly to seize the rope, but
Sabor, had now found that it was only a slender
cord that held her, and grasping it in her huge
jaws -severed it before Tarzan could tighten the
strangling noose a second time.

Tarzan was much hurt. His well laid plan
had come to naught, so he sat there screaming at
the roaring creature beneath him and making
mocking grimaces at it.

[103]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Sabbr paced back and forth beneath the tree
for hours ; four times she crouched and sprang at
the dancing sprite above her, but as well have
clutched at the illusive wind that murmured
through the tree tops.

At last Tarzan tired of the sport, and with a
parting roar of challenge and a well-aimed ripe
fruit that spread soft and stidcy over the snarling
face of his enemy, he swung rapidly through the
trees, a hundred feet above the ground, and in a
short time was among the members of his tribe.

Here he recounted the details of his adventure,
with swelling chest and so considerable swagger
that he quite impressed even his bitterest enemies,
while Kala fairly danced for joy and pride.

iMftI

X CHAPTER IX

MAN AND MAN

TARZAN of the Apes lived on in his wild,
jungle existence with little change for several
years, only that he grew stronger and wiser, and
learned from his books more and more of the
strange worlds which lay somewhere outside his
primeval forest.

To him life was never monotonous or stale.
There was always Pisah the fish, to be caught in
the many streams and the little lakes, and Sabor,
with her ferocious cousins to keep one ever on
the alert and give zest to every instant that one
spent upon the ground.

Often they hunted him, and more often he
hunted them, but though they never quite reached
him with those cruel, sharp claws of theirs, yet
there were times when one could scarce have
passed a thick leaf between their talons and his
smooth hide.

Quick was Sabor, the lioness, and quick were
Numa and Sheeta, but Tarzan of the Apes was
lightning.

With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends.
How? Ask me not. But this is known to the
denizens of the jungle, that on many moonlit

[los]

TARZAN OF THE APES

flights Tarzan of the Apes and Tantor, the ele«
jhant, walked together, and where the way was
clear Tarzan rode, perched high upon Tantor's
mJghty back.

All else of the jungle were his enemies, except
his i)wn tribe, among whom he now had many
friehids.

Muny days during these years he spent in the
cabin of his father, where still lay, untouched,
the bii nes of his parents and the little skeleton
of Kal.>*s baby. At eighteen he read fluently and
understood nearly all he read in the many and
varied '»^i>lumes on the shelves.

Also could he write, with printed letters,
rapidly aifeid plainly, but script he had not mastered,
for though there were several copy books among
his treasure, there was so little written English
in the cabin that he saw no use for bothering with
this other form of writing, though he could read
it, laboriously.

Thus, at eighteen, we find him, an English
lordling, who could speak no English, and yet who
could read and write his native language.. Never
had he seen a human being other than himself, for
the little area traversed by his tribe was watered
by no great river to bring down the savage natives
of the interior.

High hills shut it off on three sides, the ocean
on the fourth. It was alive with lions and leopards
and poisonous snakes. Its untouched mazes of

[io6]

MAN AND MAN

matted jungle had as yet Invited no hardy pioneer
from the human beasts beyond its frontier.

But as Tarzan of the Apes sat one day in the
cabin of his father delving into the mysteries of
a new book, the ancient security of his jungle was
broken forever.

At the far eastern confine a strange cavalcade
strung, in single file, over the brow of a low hill.

In advance were fifty black warriors armed
with slender wooden spears with ends hard baked
over slow fires, and long bows and poisoned
arrows. On their backs were oval shields, in their
noses huge rings, while from the kinky wool of
their heads protruded tufts of gay feathers.

Across their foreheads were tattooed three
parallel lines of color, and on each breast three
concentric circles. Their yellow teeth were filed
to sharp points, and their great protruding lips
added still further to the low and bestial brutish-
ness of their appearance.

Following them were several hundred women
and children, the former bearing upon their heads
great burdens of cooking pots, household utensils
and ivory. In the rear were a hundred warriors,
similar rn all respects to the advance guard.

That they more greatly feared an attack from
the rear than whatever unknown enemies lurked
in their advance was evidenced by the formation
of the column; and such was the fact, for they
were fleeing from the white man's soldiers who

[107]

TARZAN OF THE APES

had so harassed them for rubber and ivory that
they had turned upon their conquerors one day
and massacred a white officer and a small detach-
ment of his black troops.

For many days they had gorged themselves on
meat, but eventually a stronger body of troops
had come and fallen upon their village by night
to revenge the death of their comrades.

That night the black soldiers of the white man
had had meat a-plenty, and this little remnant of
a once powerful tribe had slunk off into the
gloomy jungle toward the unknown, and freedom.

But what meant freedom and the pursuit of
happiness to these savage blacks meant consterna-
tion and death to many of the wild denizens of
their new home.

For three days the little cavalcade marched
slowly through the heart of this unknown and
untracked forest, until finally, early in the fourth
day, they came upon a little spot, near the banks
of a small river, which seemed less thickly over-
grown than any ground they had yet encountered.

Here they set to work to build a new village,
and in a month a great clearing had b^en made,
huts and palisades erected, plantains, yams and
maize planted, and they had taken up their old
life in their new home. Here there were no white
men, no soldiers; nor any rubber or ivory to be
gathered for cruel and thankless taskmasters.

Several moons passed by ere the blacks veii^

[io8]

MAN AND MAN

turcd far into the territory surrounding their new
village. Several had already fallen prey to old
Sabor, and because the jungle was so infested
with these fierce and blood thirsty cats, and with
lions and leopards, the ebony warriors hesitated
to trust themselves far from the safety of their
palisades.

But one day, Kulonga, a son of the old king,
Mbonga, wandered far into the dense mazes to
the west. Warily he stepped, his slender lance
ever ready, his long oval shield firm grasped in
his left hand close to his sleek ebony body.

At his back his bow, and in the quiver upon
his shield many slim, straight arrows, well smeared
with the thick, dark, tarry substance that ren«
dered deadly their tiniest needle prick.

Night found Kulonga far from the palisades
of his father's village, but still headed westward,
and climbing into the fork of a great tree he
fashioned a rude platform and curled himself for
sleep.

Three miles to the west of him slept the tribe
of Kerchak.

Early the next morning the apes were astiri
moving through the jungle in search of food.
Tarzan, as was his custom, prosecuted his search
in the direction of the cabin so that by leisurely
hunting on the way his stomach was filled by the
time he reached the beach.

The apes scattered by ones, and twos and threes

£109]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

in all directions, but ever within sound of a signal
of alarm.

Kala had moved slowly along an elephant track
toward the east, and was busily engaged in turn-
ing over rotted limbs and logs in search of escu-
lent bugs and fungi, when the faintest shadow of
a strange noise brought her to startled attention.

For fifty yards before her the trail was straight,
and down this leafy tunnel she saw the stealthily
advancing figure of a strange and fearful creature.

It was Kulonga.

Kala did not wait to see more, but, turning,
moved rapidly back along the trail. She did not
run; but, after the manner of her kind when not
aroused, sought rather to avoid than to escape.

Close after her came Kulonga. Here was meat.
He could make a killing and feast well this day.
On he hurried, his spear poised for the throw.

At a turning of the trail he came in sight of
her again upon another straight stretch. His
spear-hand went far back, the muscles rolled,
lightning-like, beneath the sleek hide. Out shot
the arm, and the spear sped toward Kala.

A poor cast. It but grazed her side.

With a cry of rage and pain the she-ape turned
upon her tormentor. In an instant the trees were
crashing beneath the weight of her hurrying fel-
lows, swinging rapidly toward the scene of trouble
in answer to Kala's scream.

As she charged, Kulonga unslung his bow and

[no]

MAN AND MAN

fitted an arrow with almost unthinkable quick-
ness. Drawing the shaft far back he drove the
poisoned missile straight into the heart of the
great anthropoid.

With a horrid scream Kala plunged forward
upon her face before the astonished members of
her tribe.

Roaring and shrieking the apes dashed toward
Kulonga, but that wary savage was fleeing down
the trail like a frightened antelope.

He knew something of the ferocity of these
wild, hairy men, and his one desire was to put
as many miles between himself and them as he
possibly could.

They followed him, racing through the trees,
for a long distance, but finally one by one they
abandoned the chase and returned to the scene of
the tragedy.

None of them had ever seen a man before,
other than Tarzan, and so they wondered vaguely
what strange manner of creature it might be that
had invaded their jungle.

On the far beach, by the little cabin Tarzan
lieard the faint echoes of the conflict and knowing
that something was seriously amiss amohg the
tribe he hastened rapidly toward the direction of
the sound.

When he arrived he found the entire tribe
gathered jabbering about the dead body of his
alain mother.

[ml

TARZJN OF THE APES

Tarzan's grief and anger were unbounded He
roared out his hideous challenge time and again*
He beat upon his great chest with his clenched
fists, and then he fell upon the body of Kala and
sobbed out the pitiful sorrowing of his lonely
heart.

To lose the only creature in all one's world
who ever had manifested love and affection for
one, is a great bereavement indeed.

What though Kala was a fierce and hideous
ape I To Tarzan she had been kind, she had been
beautiful.

Upon her he had lavished, unknown to him-
self, all the reverence and respect and love that a
normal English boy feels for his own mother.
He had never known another, and so to Kala was
given, though mutely, all that would have be-
longed to the fair and lovely Lady Alice had she
lived.

After the first outburst of grief Tarzan con-
trolled himself, and questioning the ^embers of
the tribe who had witnessed the killing of Kala he
learned all that their meagre vocabulary could
vouchsafe him.

It was enough, however, for his needs. It told
him of a strange, hairless, black ape with f eather$
growing upon its head, who launched death from
a slender branch, and then ran, with the fleetness
of Bara, the deer, toward the rising run.

Tarzan waited no longer, but leaping into the

[112]

MAN AND MAN

branches of the trees sped rapidly through the
forest. He knew the windings of the elephant
trail along which Kala's murderer had flown, and
so he cut straight through the jungle to intercept
the black warrior who was evidently following
the tortuous detours of the trail.

At his side was the hunting knife of his unknown
sire, and across his shoulders the coils of his own
long rope. In an hour he struck the trail again,
and coming to earth examined the soil minutely.

In the soft mud on the bank of a tiny rivulet he
found footprints such as he alone in all the jungle
had ever made, but much larger than his. His
heart beat fast. Could it be that he was trailing
a MAN — one of his own race ?

There were two sets of imprints pointing in
opposite directions. So his quarry had already
passed on his return along the trail. As h(
examined the newer spoor a tiny particle of earth
toppled from the outer edge of one of the foot-
prints to the bottom of its shallow depression —
ah, the trail was very fresh, his prey must have
but scarcely passed.

Tarzan swung himself to the trees once more,
and with swift noiselessness sped along high
above the trail.

He had covered barely a mile when he came
upon the black warrior standing in a little open
space. In his hand was his slender bow to which
he had fitted one of his death dealing arrows.

[113]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Opposite him across the little clearing stood
Horta, the boar, with lowered head and foam
flecked tusks, ready to charge.

Tarzan looked with wonder upon the strange
creature beneath him — so like him in form and
yet so different in face and color. His books had
portrayed the negro, but how different had been
the dull, dead print to this sleek and hideous
thing of ebony, pulsing with life.

As the man stood there with taught drawn bow
Tarzan recognized in him not so much the negro
as the Archer of his picture book —

A stands for Archer.

How wonderful! Tarzan almost betrayed his
presence in the deep excitement of his discovery.

But things were conunencing to happen below
him. The sinewy black arm had drawn the shaft
far back; Horta, the boar, was charging, and then
the black released the little poisoned arrow, and
Tarzan saw it fly with the quickness of thought
and lodge in the bristling neck of the boar.

Scarcely had the shaft left his bow ere Kulonga
had fitted another to it, but Horta, the boar, was
upon him so quickly that he had no time to dis-
charge it. With a bound the black leaped entirely
over the rushing beast and turning with incredible
swiftness planted a second arrow in Horta's back.

Then Kulonga sprang into a nearby tree.

Horta wheeled to charge his enemy once more,

MAN AND MAN

a dozen steps he took, then he staggered and fell
upon his side. For a moment his muscles stiffened
and relaxed convulsively, then he lay still.

Kulonga came down from his tree.

With the knife that hung at his side he cut
several large pieces from the boar's body, and in
the center of the trail he built a fire, cooking and ^ ^

eating as much as he wanted. The rest he left
where it had fallen.

Tarzan was an interested spectator. His desire
to kill burned fiercely in his wild breast, but his
desire to learn was even greater. He would folldw
this savage creature for a while and know from
whence he came. He could kill him at his leisure
later, when the bow and deadly arrows were laid
aside.

When Kulonga had finished his repast and dis-
appeared beyond a near turning of the path,
Tarzan dropped quietly to the ground. With his
knife he severed many strips of meat from Horta's
carcass, but he did not cook them.

He had seen fire, but only when Ara, the
lightning, had destroyed some great tree. That
any creature of the jungle could produce the red-
and-yellow fangs which devoured wood and left
nothing but fine dust surprised Tarzan greatly,
and why the black warrior had ruined his delicious
repast by plunging it into the blighting heat was
quite beyond him. Possibly Ara was a friend with
whom the Archer was sharing his food.

[ns]

TARZAN OF THE APES

But, be that as it may, Tarzan would not ruin
good meat in any such foolish manner, so he
gobbled down a great quantity of the raw flesh,
burying the balance of the carcass beside the trail
where he could find it upon his return.

And then Lord Greystoke wiped his greasy
fingers upon his naked thighs and took up the trail
of Kulonga, the son of Mbonga, the king; while
in far-off London another Lord Greystoke, the
younger brother of the real Lord Greystoke's
father, sent back his chops to the club's chef
because they were underdone, and when he had
finished his repast he dipped his finger-ends into a
silver bowl of scented water and dried them upon
a piece of snowy damask.

All day Tarzan followed Kulonga, hovering
above him in the trees like some malign spirit.
Twice more he saw him hurl his arrows of
destruction — once at Dango, the hyena, and
again at Manu, the monkey. In each instance the
animal died almost instantly, for Kulonga's poison
was very fresh and very deadly.

Tarzan thought much on this wonderou^
method of slaying as he swung slowly along at a
safe distance behind his quarry. He knew that
alone the tiny prick of the arrow could not so
quickly dispatch these wild things of the jungle,
who were often torn and scratched and gored in a
frightful manner as they fought with their jungle
neighbors, yet as often recovered as not,

[ii6]

MAN AND MAN

No, there was something mysterious connected
with these tiny slivers of wood which could bring
death by a mere scratch. He must look into the
matter.

That night Kulonga slept in the crotch of a
mighty tree and far above him crouched Tarzan
of the Apes.

When Kulonga awoke he found that his bow
and arrows had disappeared. The black warrior
was furious and frightened, but more frighl3«lfed
than furious. He searched the ground below the
tree, and he searched the tree above the ground;
but there was no sign of either bow or arrows or
of the nocturnal marauder.

Kulonga was panic-stricken. His spear he had
hurled at Kala and had not recovered; and, now
that his bow and arrows were gone, he was
defenseless except for a single knife. His only
hope lay in reaching the village of Mbonga as
quickly as his legs would carry him.

That he was not far from home he was certain,
so he took to the trail at a rapid trot.

From a great mass of impenetrable foliage a
few yards away emerged Tarzan of the Apes to
swing quietly in his wake.

Kulonga's bow and arrows were securely tied
high in the top of a giant tree from which a patch
of bark had been removed by a sharp knife near
to the ground, and a branch half cut through and
left hanging about fifty feet higher up. Thus

[117]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

Tarzan blazed the forest trails and marked his
caches.

As Kulonga continued his journey Tarzan
closed up on him until he traveled almost over
the black's head. His rope he now held coiled in
his right hand; he was almost ready for the kilL

The moment was delayed only because Tarzan
was anxious to ascertain the black warrior's des-
tination, and presently he was rewarded, for they
caj^ suddenly in view of a great clearing, at one
end of which lay many strange lairs.

Tarzan was directly over Kulonga, as he made
the discovery. The forest ended abruptly and
beyond lay two hundred yards of planted fields
between the jungle and the village.

Tarzan must act quickly or his prey would be
gone ; but Tarzan's life training left so little space
between decision and action when an emergency
confronted him that there was not even room for
the shadow of a thought between.

So it was that as Kulonga emerged from the
shadow of the jungle a slender coil of rope sped
sinuously above him from the lowest branch of a
mighty tree directly upon the edge of the fields
of Mbonga, and ere the king's son had taken a
half dozen steps into the clearing a quick noose
tightened about his neck.

So quickly did Tarzan of the Apes drag back
his prey that Kulonga's cry of alarm was throttled
in his windpipe. Hand over hand Tarzan drew

[xi8]

MAN AND MAN

the struggling black until he had him hanging by
his neck in midair; then Tarzan climbed to a
larger branch drawing the still threshing victim
well up into the sheltering verdure of the tree.

Here he fastened the rope securely to a stout
ibranch, and then, descending, plunged his hunt-
ing knife into Kulonga's heart. Kala was
avenged.

Tarzan examined the black minutely, never had
he seen any other human being. The knife with
its sheath and belt caught his eye ; he appropriated
them. A copper anklet also took his fancy, and
this he transferred to his own leg.

He examined and admired the tattooing on the
forehead and breast. He marvelled at the sharp
filed teeth. He investigated and appropriated the
feathered head-dress, and then he prepared to get
down to business, for Tarzan of the Apes was
hungry, and here was meat; meat of the kill,
which jungle ethics permitted him to eat.

How may we judge him, by what standards,
this ape-man with the heart and head and body of.
an English gentleman, and the training of a wild
beast ?

Tublat, whom he had hated and who had
*hated him, he had killed in fair fight, and yet
never had the thought of eating of Tublat's flesh
entered his head. It would have been as revolt-
ing to him as is cannibalism to us.

But who was Kulonga that he might; not be

[119]

TARZAN OF THE APES

eaten as fairly as Horta, the boar, or Bara, the
deer? Was he not simply another of the count-
less wild things of the jungle who preyed upon
one another to satisfy the cravings of hunger?

Of a sudden, a strange doubt stayed his hand*
Had not his books taught him that he was a man ?l
And was not The Archer a man, also ?

Did men eat men? Alas, he did not know.
Why, then, this hesitancy ! Once more he essayed
the effort, but of a sudden a qualm of nausea
overwhelmed him. He did not understand.

All he knew was that he could not eat the flesh
of this black man, and thus hereditary instinct,
ages old, usurped the functions of his untaught
mind and saved him from transgressing a world-
wide law of whose very existence he was
ignorant.

Quickly he lowered Kulonga's body to the
ground, removed the noose, and took to the trees
again.

ti«oI

CHAPTER X

THE FEAR-PHANTOM

FROM a lofty perch Tarzan viewed the village
of thatched huts across the intervening plan-*
tation.

He saw that at one point the forest touched the
village, and to this spot he made his way, lured
by a fever of curiosity to behold animals of his
own kind, and to learn more of their ways and
view the strange lairs in which they lived.

His savage life among the fierce wild brutes of
the jungle left no opening for any thought that
these could be aught else than enemies. Similarity
of form led him into no erroneous conception of
the welcome that would be accorded him should
he be discovered by these, the first of his own kind
he had ever seen.

Tarzan of the Apes was no sentimentalist. He
knew nothing of the brotherhood of man. All
things outside his own tribe were his deadly
enemies, with the few exceptions of which Tantor,
the elephant, was a marked example.

And he realized all this without malice or
hatred. To kill was the law of the wild world he
knew. Few were his primitive pleasures, but the
greatest of these was to hunt and kill, and so he

ri2i]

TARZAN OF THE APES

accorded to others the right to cherish the same
desires as he, even though he himself might be
the object of their hunt.

His strange life had left him neither morose
iior bloodthirsty. That he joyed in killing, and
that he killed with a joyous laugh upon his hand-
some lips betokened no innate cruelty. He killed
for food most often, but, being a man, he some-
times killed for pleasure, a thing which no other
animal does; for it has remained for man alone
among all creatures to kill senselessly and wan-
tonly for the mere pleasure of inflicting suffering
and death.

And when he killed for revenge, or in self-
defense, he did that also without hysteria, but it
was a very businesslike proceeding which admitted
of no levity.

So it was that now, as he cautiously approached
the village of Mbonga, he was quite prepared
either to kill or be killed should he be discovered.
He proceeded with unwonted stealth, for Kulonga
had taught him great respect for the little sharp
splinters of wood which dealt death so swiftly
and unerringly.

At length he came to a great tree, heavy laden
with thick foliage and loaded with pendant loops
of giant creepers. From this almost inpenctrable
bower above the village he crouched, looking
down upon the scene below him, wondering over
every feature of this new, strange life.

[I22l

THE FEAR-PHANTOM

There were naked children running and playing
in the village street. There were women grinding
dried plantain in crude stone mortars, while others
were fashioning cakes from the powdered flour.
Out in the fields he could see still other women
hoeing, weeding, or gathering.

All wore strange protruding girdles of dried
grass about their hips and many were loaded with
brass and copper anklets, armlets and bracelets.
Around many a dusky neck hung curiously coiled
strands of wire, while several were further orna-
mented by huge nose-rings.

Tarzan of the Apes looked with growing
wonder at these strange creatures. Dozing in the
shade he saw several men, while at the extreme
outskirts of the clearing he occasionally caught
glimpses of armed warriors apparently guarding
the village against surprise from an attacking
enemy.

He noticed that the women alone worked. No-
where was there evidence of a man tilling the
fields or performing any of the homely duties of
the village.

Finally his eyes rested upon a woman directly
beneath him.

Before her was a small cauldron standing over a
low fire and in it bubbled a thick, reddish, tarry
mass. On one side of her lay a quantity of
wooden arrows the points of which she dipped
into the seething substance, then laying them upon

[ "3 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

a narrow rack of boughs which stood upon her
other side.

Tarzan of the Apes was fascinated. Here was
the secret of the terrible destructiveness of The
Archer's tiny missiles. He noted the extreme care
which the woman took that none of the matter
should touch her hands, and once when a particle
spattered upon one of her fingers he saw her
plunge the member into a vessel of water and
quickly rub the tiny stain away with a handful of
leaves.

Tarzan of the Apes knew nothing of poison,
but his shrewd reasoning told him that it was this
deadly stuff that killed, and not the little arrow,
which was merely the messenger that carried it
into the body of its victim.

How he should like to have more of those
little death dealing slivers. If the woman would
only leave her work for an instant he could drdp
down, gather up a handful, and be back in the
tree again before she drew three breaths.

As he was trying to think out some plan to dis-
tract her attention he heard a wild cry from across
the clearing. He looked and saw a black war-
rior standing beneath the very tree in which he
had killed the murderer of Kala an hour before.

The fellow was shouting and waving his spear
above his head. Now and again he would point
to something on the ground before him.

The village was in an uproar instantly. Armed

[124]

THE FEAR-PHANTOM

men rushed from the interior of many a hut and
raced madly across the clearing toward the ex-
cited sentry. After them trooped the old men,
and the women and children until, in a moment,
the village was deserted.

Tarzan of the Apes knew that they had found
the body of his victim, but that interested him
far less than the fact that no one remained in the
village to prevent his taking a supply of the
arrows which lay below him.

Quickly and noiselessly he dropped to the
ground beside the cauldron of poison. For a
moment he stood motionless, his quick,, bright
eyes scanning the interior of the palisade.

No one was in sight. His eyes rested upon the
open doorway of a nearby hut. He would take a
look within, thought Tarzan, and so, cautiously,
he approached the low thatched building.

For a moment he stood without, listening
intently. There was no sound, and he glided into
the semi-darkness oi the interior.

Weapons hung against the walls — long spears,
strangely shaped knives, a couple of narrow
shields. In the center of the room was a cooking
pot, and at the far end a litter of dry grasses
covered by woven mats which evidently served the
owners as beds and bedding. Several human
skulls lay upon the floor.

Tarzan of the Apes felt of each article, hefted
the spears, smelled of them, for he " saw " largely

[1^5]

TARZJN OF THE APES

through his sensitive and highly trained nostrils.
He determined to own one of these long, pointed
sticks, but he could not take one on this trip
because of the arrows he meant to carry.

One by one, as he took each article from the
walls, he placed them in a pile in the center of the
room, and on top of all he placed the cooking pot,
inverted, and on top of this he laid one of the
grinning skulls, upon which he fastened the head-
dress of the dead Kulonga.

Then he stood back and surveyed his work,
and grinned. Tarzan of the Apes was a joker.

But now he heard, without, the sounds of many
voices, and long mournful howls, and mighty
wailing. He was startled. Had he remained too
long? Quickly he reached the doorway and
peered down the village street toward the village
gate.

The natives were not yet in sight, though he
could plainly hear them approaching across the
plantation. They must be very near.

Like a flash he sprang across the opening to
the pile of arrows. Gathering up all he could
carry under one arm, he overturned the seething
cauldron with a kick, and disappeared into the
foliage above just as the first of the returning
natives entered the gate at the far end of the
village street. Then he turned to watch the pro*
ceeding below, poised like some wild bird ready
to take swift wing at the first sign of danger.

[126]

THE FEAR-PHANTOM

«JI

The natives filed up the street, four of them
bearing the dead body of Kulonga. Behind
trailed the women, uttering strange cries and
weird lamentation. On they came to the portals
of Kulonga's hut, the very one in which Tarzan
had wrought his depredations.

Scarcely had half a dozen entered the building
ere they came rushing out in wild, jabbering con-
fusion. The others hastened to gather about.
There was much excited gesticulating, pointing,
and chattering; then several of the warriors
approached and peered within.

Finally an old fellow with many ornaments of
metal about his arms and legs, and a necklace
of dried human hands depending upon his chest,
entered the hut.

It was Mbonga, the king, father of Kulonga.

For a few moments all were silent. Then
Mbonga emerged, a look of mingled wrath and
superstitious fear writ upon his hideous counte-
nance. He spoke a few words to the assembled
warriors, and in an instant the men were flying
through the little village searching minutely every
hut and corner within the palisade.

Scarcely had the search commenced than the
overturned cauldron was discovered, and with it
the theft of the poisoned arrows. Nothing more
they found, and it was a thoroughly awed and
frightened group of savages which huddled
around their king a few moments later,

[127]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Mbonga could explain nothing of the strange
events that had taken place* The finding of the
still warm body of Kulonga — on the very verge
of their fields and within easy earshot of the
village — knifed and stripped at the door of his
father's home, was in itself sufficiently mysterious,
but these last awesome discoveries within the vil-
lage, within the dead Kulonga's own hut, filled
their hearts with dismay, and conjured in their
poor brains only the most frightful of super-
stitious explanations.

They stood in little groups, talking in low
tones, and ever casting affrighted glances behind
them from their great rolling eyes.

Tarzan of the Apes watched them for a while
from his lofty perch in the great tree. There
was much in their demeanor which he could not
understand, for of superstition he was ignorant,
and of fear of any kind he had but a vague
conception.

The sun was high in the heavens. Tarzan had
not broken fast this day, and it was many miles
to where lay the toothsome remains of Horta the
boar.

So he turned his back upon the village of
Mbonga and melted away into the leafy fastness
of the forest.

[1281

CHAPTER XI

" KING OF THE APES '*

IT WAS not yet dark when he reached the tribe,
though he stopped to exhume and devour the
remains of the wild boar he had cached the pre-
ceding day, and again to take Kulonga's bow and
arrows from the tree top in which he had hidden
them.

It was a well-laden Tarzan who dropped f ronl
the branches into the midst of the tribe of Ker-
chak.

With swelling chest he narrated the glories of
his adventure and exhibited the spoils of conquest.

Kerchak grunted and turned away, for he was
jealous of this strange member of his band. In
his little evil brain he sought for some excuse to
wreak his hatred upon Tarzan.

The next day Tarzan was practicing with h5&
bow and arrows at the first gleam of dawn. At
first he lost nearly every bolt he shot, but finally
he learned to guide the little shafts with fair
accuracy, and ere a month had passed he was no
mean shot ; but his proficiency had cost him nearly
his entire supply of arrows.

The tribe continued to find the hunting good in
the vicinity of the beach, and so Tarzan of the

[129]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Apes varied his archery practice with further
investigation of his father's choice though little
store of books.

It was during this period that the young English
lord found hidden in the back of one of the cup-
boards in the cabin a small metal box. The key
was in the lock, and a few moments investigation
and experimentation were rewarded with the suc-
cessful opening of the receptacle.

In it he found a faded photograph of a smooth
faced young man, a golden locket studded with
diamonds, linked to a small gold chain, a few
letters and a small book.

Tarzan examined these all minutely.

The photograph he liked most of all, for the
eyes were smiling, and the face was open and
frank. It was his father.

The locket, too, took his fancy, and he placed
the chain about his neck in imitation of the orna-
mentation he had seen to be so common among
the black men he had visited. The brilliant
stones gleamed strangely against his smooth,
brown hide.

The letters he could scarcely decipher for he
had learned little or nothing of script, so he put
them back in the box with the photograph and
turned his attention to the book.

This was almost entirely filled with fine script,
but while the little bugs were all familiar to him,
their arrangement and the combinations in which

[130]

" KING OF THE APES "

they occurred were strange, and entirely incom-
prehensible.

Tarzan had long since learned the use of the
dictionary, but much to his sorrow and perplexity
it proved of no avail to him in this emergency.
Not a word of all that was writ in the book could
he find, and so he put it back in the metal box,
but with a determination to work out the mysteries
of it later on.

Poor little ape-man ! Had he but known it that
tiny, baffling mystery held between its seal covers
the key to his origin; the answer to the strange
riddle of his strange life.

It was the diary of John Clayton, Lord Grey-
stoke — kept in French, as had always been his
custom.

Tarzan replaced the box in the cupboard, But
always thereafter he carried the features of the
strong, smiling face of his father in his heart, and
in his head a fixed determination to solve the
mystery of the strange words in the little black
book.

At present he had more important business in
hand, for his supply of arrows was exhausted,
and he must needs journey to the black men's
village and renew it.

Early the following morning he set out, and,
traveling rapidly, he came before midday to the
clearing. Once more he took up his position in
the great tree, and, as before, he saw the women

[131]

TARZAN OF THE APES

in the fields and the village street, and the cauldron
of bubbling poison directly beneath him.

For hours he lay awaiting his opportunity to
drop down unseen and gather up the arrows for
which he had come ; but nothing now occurred to
call the villagers away from their homes. The
day wore on, and still Tarzan of the Apes
crouched above the unsuspecting woman at the
cauldron.

Presently the workers in the fields returned.
The hunting warriors emerged from the forest,
and when all were within the palisade the gates
were closed and barred.

Many cooking pots were now in evidence about
the village. Before each hut a woman presided
over a boiling stew, while little cakes of plantain,
and cassava puddings were to be seen on every
hand.

Suddenly there came a hail from the edge of the
clearing.

Tarzan looked.

It was a party of belated hunters returning
from the north, and among them they half led,
half carried a struggling animal.

As they approached the village the gates were
thrown open to admit them, and then, as the
people saw the victim of the chase, a savage cry
Fose to the heavens, for the quarry was a man.

As he was dragged, still resisting, into the
village street, the women and children set upon

[ 132 ]

''KING OF THE APES*'

him with sticks and stones, and Tarzan of the
Apes, young and savage beast of the jungle, won-
dered at the cruel brutality of his own kind.

Sheeta, the leopard, alone of all the jungle
folk, tortured his prey. The ethics of all the
others meted a quick and merciful death to their
victims.

Tarzan had learned from his books but scat-
tered fragments of the ways of human beings.

When he had followed Kulonga through the
forest he had expected to come to a city of strange
houses on wheels, puffing clouds of black smoke
from a huge tree stuck in the roof of one of them
— or to a sea covered with mighty floating build-
ings which he had learned were called, variously,
ships and boats and steamers and craft.

He had been sorely disappointed with the poor
little village of the blacks, hidden away in his
own jungle, and with not a single house as large
as his own cabin upon the distant beach.

He saw that these people were more wicked
than his own apes, and as savage and cruel as
Sabor, herself. Tarzan began to hold his own
kind in but low esteem.

Now they had tied their poor victim to a great
post near the center of the village, directly before
Mbonga's hut, and here they formed a dancing,
yelling circle of warriors about him, alive with
flashing knives and menacing spears.

In a larger circle squatted the women, yelling

[ 133 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

and beating upon drums. It reminded Tarzan of
the Dum-Dum^ and so he knew what to expect.
He wondered if they would spring upon their
meat while it was still alive. The Apes did not
do such things as that.

The circle of warriors about the cringing cap-
tive drew closer and closer to their prey as they
danced in wild and savage abandon to the mad-
dening music of the drums. Presently a spear
reached out and pricked the victim. It was the
signal for fifty others.

Eyes, ears, arms and legs were pierced; every
inch of the poor writhing body that did not cover
a vital organ became the target of the cruel
lancers.

The women and children shrieked their delight.
{The warriors licked their hideous lips in antici-
pation of the feast to come, and vied with one
another in the savagery and loathesomeness of
the cruel indignities with which they tortured the
still conscious prisoner.

Then it was that Tarzan of the Apes saw his
chance. All eyes were fixed upon the thrilling
spectacle at the stake. The light of day had given
place to the darkness of a moonless night, and
only the fires in the immediate vicinity of the orgy
had been kept alight to cast a restless glow upon
the restless scene.

Gently the lithe boy dropped to the soft earth
at the end of the village street. Quickly he gath-

[134]

"KING OF THE APES''

ered up the arrows — all of them this time, for he
had brought a number of long fibers to bind them
into a bundle.

Without haste he wrapped them securely, and
then, ere he turned to leave, the devil of capricious-
ness entered his heart. He looked about for some
hint of a wild prank to play upon these strange,
grotesque creatures that they might be again aware
of his presence among them.

Dropping his bundle of arrows at the foot of
the tree, Tarzan crept among the shadows at the
side of the street until he came to the same hut he
had entered on the occasion of his first visit.

Inside all was darkness, but his groping hands
soon found the object for which he sought, and
without further delay he turned again toward the
door.

He had taken but a step, however, ere his quick
ear caught the sound of approaching footsteps
immediately without. In another instant the
figure of a woman darkened the entrance of the
hut.

Tarzan drew back silently to the far wall, and
his hand sought the long, keen hunting knife of
his father. The woman came quickly to the center
of the hut. There she paused for an instant feel-
ing about with her hands for the thing she sought.
Evidently it was not in its accustomed place, for
she explored ever nearer and nearer the wall
where Tarzan stood

[1351

TJRZAN OF THE APES

So close was she now that the ape-man felt the
animal warmth of her naked body. Up went the
hunting knife, and then the woman turned to one
side and soon a guttural '^ ah " proclaimed that
her search had at last been successful.

Immediately she turned and left the hut, and as
she passed through the doorway Tarzan saw that
she carried a cooking pot in her hand.

He followed closely after her, and as he recon-
noitered from the shadows of the doorway he
saw that all the women of the village were hasten-
ing to and from the various huts with pots and
kettles. These they were filling with water and
placing over a number of fires near the stake where
the dying victim now hung, an inert and bloody
mass of suffering.

Choosing a moment when none seemed near,
Tarzan hastened to his bundle of arrows beneath
the great tree at the end of the village street.
As on the former occasion he overthrew the
cauldron before leaping, sinuous and catlike, into
the lower branches of the forest giant.

Silently he climbed to a great height until he
found a point where he could look through a leafy
opening upon the scene beneath him.

The women were now preparing the prisoner
for their cooking pots, while the men stood about
resting after the fatigue of their mad revel. Com-
parative quiet reigned in the village.

Tarzan raised aloft the thing he had pilfered

[136]

"KING OF THE APES''

from the hut, and, with aim made true by years of
fruit and cocoanut throwing, launched it toward
the group of savages.

Squarely among them it fell, striking one of
the warriors full upon the head and felling him to
the ground. Then it rolled among the women and
stopped beside the half butchered thing they were
preparing to feast upon.

All gazedjn consternation at it for an instant,
and then, with one accord, broke and ran for their
huts.

It was a grinning human skull which looked up
at them from the ground. The dropping of the
thing out of the open sky was a miracle well aimed
to work upon their superstitious f eafs.

Thus Tarzan of the Apes left them filled with
terror at this new manifestation of the presence
of some unseen and unearthly evil power which
lurked in the forest about their village.

Later, when they discovered the overturned
cauldron, and that once more their arrows had
been pilfered, it commenced to dawn upon them
that they had offended some great god who ruled
this part of the jungle by placing their village
there without propitiating him. From then on an
offering of food was daily placed below the great
tree from whence the arrows had disappeared, in
an effort to conciliate the mighty one.

But the seed of fear was deep sown, and had he
but known it, Tarzan of the Apes had laid the

[i37l

TJRZAN OF THE APES

foundation for much future misery for himself
and his tribe.

That night he slept in the forest not far from
the village, and early the next morning set out
slowly on his homeward march, hunting as he
traveled. Only a few berries and an occasional
grub worm rewarded his search, and he was half
famished when, looking up from a log he had been
rooting beneath, he saw Sabor, the lioness, stand-
ing in the center of the trail not twenty paces
from him.

The great yellow eyes were fixed upon him
with a wicked and baleful gleam, and the red
tongue licked the longing lips as Sabor crouched,
worming her stealthy way with belly flattened
against the earth.

Tarzan did not attempt to escape. He wel-
comed the opportunity for which, in fact, he had
been searching for days past, not now armed only
with a rope of grass.

Quickly he unslung his bow and fitted a well
daubed arrow, and as Sabor sprang, the tiny
missile leaped to meet her in mid air. At the same
instant Tarzan of the Apes jumped to one side,
and as the great cat struck the ground beyond him
another death-tipped arrow sunk de^p into Sabor's
loin.

With a mighty roar the beast turned and
charged once more, only to be met with a third
arrow full in one eye; but this time she was too

[138]

''KING OF THE APES''

close upon the ape-man for the latter to sidestep
the on-rushing body.

Tarzan of the Apes went down beneath the
great body of his enemy, but with gleaming knife
drawn and striking home. For a moment they lay
there, and then Tarzan realized that the inert
mass lying upon him was beyond power ever again
to injure man or ape.

With difficulty he wriggled from beneath the
great weight, and as he stood erect and gazed
down upon the trophy of his skill, a mighty wave
of exultation swept over him.

With swelling breast, he placed a foot upon
the body of his powerful enemy, and throwing
back his fine young head, roared out the awful
challenge of the victorious bull ape.

The forest echoed to the savage and triumphant
paean. Birds fell still, and the larger animals and
beasts of prey slunk stealthily away, for few there
were of all the jungle who sought for trouble with
the great anthropoids.

And in London another Lord Greystoke was
speaking to his kind in the House of Lords, but
none trembled at the sound of his soft voice.

Sabor proved unsavory eating even to Tarzan
of the Apes, but hunger served as a most effi-
cacious disguise to toughness and rank taste,
and ere long, with well filled stomach, the ape-
man was ready to sleep again. First, however, he
must remove the hide, for it was as much for this

[i39l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

as for any other purpose that he had desired to
encompass the destruction of Sabor.

Deftly he removed the great pelt, for he had
practiced often on smaller animals. When the
task was finished he carried his trophy to the fork
of a high tree, and there, curling himself securely
in a crotch, he fell into deep and dreamless slum-
ber.

What with loss of sleep, arduous exercise, and a
full belly, Tarzan of the Apes slept the sun
around, awakening about noon of the following
day. He straightway repaired to the carcass of
Sabor, but was angered to find the bones picked
clean by other hungry denizens of the jungle.

Half an hour's leisurely progress through the
forest brought to sight a young deer, and before
ever the little creature knew that an enemy was
near a tiny arrow had lodged in its neck.

So quickly the virus worked that at the end of a
dozen leaps the deer plunged headlong into the
undergrowth, dead. Again did Tarzan feast well,
but this time he did not sleep.

Instead, he hastened on toward the point where
he had left the tribe, and when he had found
them proudly exhibited the skin of Sabor, the
lioness.

" Look I " he cried, " Apes of Kerchak. See
«^hat Tarzan, the mighty killer, has done. Who
else among you has ever killed one of Numa's
people? Tarzan is mifrhtiest amongst you for

[140I

''KING OF THE APES''

Tarzan is no ape. Tarzan is — " But here he
stopped, for in the language of the anthropoids
there was no word for man, and Tarzan could
only write the word in English ; he could not pro-
nounce it.

The tribe had gathered about to look upon the
proof of his wondrous prowess, and to listen to
his words.

Only Kerchak hung back, nursing his hatred and
his rage.

Suddenly something snapped in the wicked little
brain of the anthropoid. With a frightful roar the
great beast sprang among the assemblage.

Biting, and striking with his huge hands, he
killed and maimed a dozen ere the balance could
escape to the upper terraces of the forest.

Frothing and shrieking in the insanity of his
fury, Kerchak looked about for the object of his
greatest hatred, and there, upon a nearby limb, he
saw him sitting.

" Come down, Tarzan, great killer," cried Ker-
chak. " Come down and feel the fangs of a
greater! Do mighty fighters fly to the trees at
the first approach of danger? " And then Ker-
chak emitted the volleying challenge of his kind.*

Quietly Tarzan dropped to the ground.'
Breathlessly the tribe watched from their lofty
perches as Kerchak, still roaring, charged the
relatively puny figure.

Nearly seven feet stood Kerchak on his short

[141]

TARZAN OF THE APES

legs. His enormous shoulders were bunched and
rounded with huge muscles. The back of his short
neck was as a single lump of iron sinew which
bulged beyond the base of his skull, so that his
head seemed like a small ball protruding from a
huge mountain of flesh.

His back-drawn, snarling lips exposed his great
fighting fangs, and his little, wicked, bloodshot
eyes gleamed in horrid reflection of his madness.

Awaiting him stood Tarzan, himself a mighty
muscled animal, but his six feet of height and his
great rolling sinews seemed pitifully inadequate
to the ordeal which awaited them.

His bow and arrows lay some distance away
where he had dropped them while showing
Sabor's hide to his fellow apes, so that he con-
fronted Kerchak now with only his hunting knife
and his superior intellect to offset the ferocious
strength of his enemy.

As his antagonist came roaring toward him,
Lord Greystoke tore his long knife from its
sheath, and with an answering challenge as horrid
and blood-curdling as that of the beast he faced,
rushed swiftly to meet the attack. He was too
shrewd to allow those long hairy arms to encircle
him, and just as their bodies were about to crash
together, Tarzan of the Apes grasped one of the
huge wrists of his assailant, and, springing lightly
to one side, drove his knife to the hilt into Ker«
chak's body, below the heart.

[142]

''KING OF THE APES''

Before he could wrench the-4Slade free again,
the bull's quick lunge to seize him in those awful
arms had torn the weapon from Tarzan's grasp.

Kerchak aimed a terrific blow at the ape-man's
head with the flat of his hand, a blow which, had
it landed, might easily have crushed in the side of
Tarzan's skull.

The man was too quick, and, ducking beneath
it, himself delivered a mighty one, with clenched
fist, in the pit of Kerchak's stomach.

The ape was staggered, and what with the
mortal wound in his side had almost collapsed,
when, with one mighty effort he rallied for an
instant — just long enough to enable him to wrest
his arm free from Tarzan's grasp and close in a
terrific clinch with his wiry opponent.

Straining the ape-man close to him, his great
jaws sought Tarzan's throat, but the young lord's
sinewy fingers were at Kerchak's own before the
cruel fangs could close on the sleek brown skin.

Thus they struggled, the one to crush out his
opponent's life with those awful teeth, the other
to close forever the windpipe beneath his strong
grasp, the while he held the snarling mouth from
him.

The greater strength of the ape was slowly pre-
vailing, and the teeth of the straining beast were
scarce an inch from Tarzan*s throat when, with
a shuddering tremor, the great body stiffened for
an instant and then ?f>Ak limply to the groimd.

[143]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

Kerchak wds dead.

Withdrawing the knife that had so often ren-
dered him master of far mightier muscles than his
own, Tantan of the Apes placed his foot upon
the neck of his vanquished enemy, and once again,
loud through the forest rang the fierce, wild cry
of the conqueror.

And thus came the young Lord Greystoke into
the kin(K Sip of the Apes.

f 1441

CHAPTER XII

man's reason

THERE was one of the tribe of Tarzan who
questioned his authority, and that was Ter-
koz, the son of Tublat, but he so feared the keen
knife and the deadly arrows of his new lord that
he confined the manifestation of his objections to
petty disobediences and irritating mannerisms;
Tarzan knew, however, that he but waited his
opportunity to wrest the kingship from him by
some sudden stroke of treachery, and so he was
ever on his guard against surprise. ,

For months the life of the little band went on
much as it had before, except that Tarzan's
greater intelligence and his ability as a hunter
were the means of providing for them more
bountifully than ever before. Most of them,
therefore, were more than content with the change
in rulers.

Tarzan led them by night to the fields of the
black men, and there, warned by their chief's
superior wisdom, they ate only what they required,
nor ever did they destroy what they could not
eat, as is the way of M anu, the monkey, and of
most apes.

So, whilft the blacks were wroth at the con*

[I45l

TARZAN OF THE APES

J0-^

finued pilfering of their fields, they were not dis-
couraged in their efforts to cultivate the land, as
would have been the case had Tarzan permitted
his people to lay waste the plantation wantonly.

During this period Tarzan paid many noc-
turnal visits to the village, where he often renewed
his supply of arrows. He soon noticed the food
always standing at the foot of the tree which was
his avenue into the palisade, and after a little, he
commenced to eat whatever the blacks put there.

When the awe-struck savages saw that the food
disappeared over night they were filled with con-
sternation and awe, for it was one thing to put
food out to propitiate a god or a devil, but quite
another thing to have the spirit really come into
the village and eat it. Such a thing was unheard
of, and it filled their superstitious minds with all
manner of vague fears.

Nor was this all. The periodic disappearance
of their arrows, and the strange pranks per-
petrated by unseen hands, had wrought them to
such a state that life had become a veritable
burden in their new home, and now it was that
Mbonga and his head men began to talk of
abandoning the village and seeking a site further
on in the jungle.

Presently the black warriors began to strike
further and further south into the heart of the
forest when they went to hunt, looking for a site
for a new village.

11461

MAN'S REASON

More often was the tribe of Tarzan dis-
turbed by these wandering huntsmen. Now was
the quiet, fierce solitude of the primeval forest
broken by new, strange cries. No longer was
there safety for bird or beast. Man had come.

Other animals passed up and down the jungle
by day and by night — fierce, cruel beasts — but
their weaker neighbors only fled from their
immediate vicinity to return again when the
danger was past.

With man it is different. Wlien he comes many
of the larger animals instinctively leave the dis-
trict entirely, seldom if ever to return; and thus it
has always been with the great anthropoids.
They flee man as man flees a pestilence.

For a short time the tribe of Tarzan lingered
in the vicinity of the beach because their new
chief hated the thought of leaving the treasured
contents of the little cabin forever. But when one
day a member of the tribe discovered the blacks in
great numbers on the banks of a little stream that
had been their watering place for generations,
and in the act of clearing a space in the jungle and
erecting many huts, the apes would remain no
longer, and so Tarzan led them inland for many
marches to a spot as yet undefiled by the foot of a
human being.

Once every moon Tarzan would go swinging
rapidly back through the swaying branches to have
a day with his books, and to replenish his supply

[147]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

of arrows. This latter task was becoming more
and more difficult, for the blacks had taken to
hiding their supply away at night in granaries and
living huts.

This necessitated watching by day on Tarzan's
part to discover where the arrows were beingj
concealed.

Twice had he entered huts at night while the
inmates lay sleeping upon their mats, and stolen
the arrows from the very sides of the warriors.
But this method he realized to be too fraught with
danger, and so he commenced picking up solitary
hunters with his long, deadly noose, stripping
them of weapons and ornaments and dropping
their bodies from a high tree into the village
street during the still watches of the night.

These various escapades again so terrorized
the blacks that, had it not been for the monthly
respite between Tarzan's visits, in which they
had opportunity to renew hope that each fresh
incursion would prove the last, they soon would
have abandoned their new village.

The blacks had not as yet come upon Tarzan's
cabin on the distant beach, but the ape-man lived
in constant dread that, while he was away with
the tribe, they would discover and despoil his,
treasure. So it came that he spent more and
more time in the vicinity of his father's last home,
and less and less with the tribe. Presently the
members of his little community began to suffer

[148]

MAN'S REASON

on account of his neglect, for disputes and
quarrels constantly arose which only the king
might settle peaceably.

At last some of the older apes spoke to Tarzan
on the subject, and for a month thereafter he
remained constantly with the tribe.

The duties of kingship among the anthropoids
are not many or arduous.

In the afternoon comes Thaka, possibly, to
complain that old Mungo has stolen his new wife.
Then must Tarzan summon all before him, and
if he finds that the wife prefers her new lord he
commands that matters remain as they are, or
possibly that Mungo give Thaka one of his
daughters in exchange.

Whatever his decision, the apes accept It as
final, and return to their occupations satisfied.

Then comes Tana, shrieking and holding tight
her side from which blood is streaming. Gunto,
her husband, has cruelly bitten her 1 And Gunto,
summoned, says that Tana is lazy and will not
bring him nuts and beetles, or scratch his back
for him.

So Tarzan scolds them both and threatens
Gunto with a taste of the death-bearing slivers if
he abuses Tana further, and Tana, for her part,
is compelled to promise better attention to her
wifely duties.

And so it goes, little family differences for the
most part, which, if left unsettled would result

[149]

TARZJN OF THE APES

finally In greater factional strife, and the eventual
dismemberment of the tribe.

But Tarzan tired of It as he found that king-
ship meant the curtailment of his liberty. He
longed for the little cabin and the sun-kissed sea
— for the cool Interior of the well built house,
and for the never-ending wonders of the many
books.

As he had grown older, he found that he had
grown away from his people. Their Interests and
his were far removed. They had not kept pace
with him, nor could they understand aught of the
many strange and wonderful dreams that passed
through the active brain of their human king. So
limited was their vocabulary that Tarzan could
not even talk with them of the many new truths,
and the great fields of thought that his reading
had opened up before his longing eyes, or make
known ambitions which stirred his soul.

Among the tribe he no longer had friends and
cronies as of old. A little child may find com-
panionship in many strange and simple creatures,
but to a grown man there must be some semblance
of equality in Intellect as the basis for agreeable
consociation.

Had Kala lived, Tarzan would have sacrificed
all else to remain near her, but now that she was
dead^, and the playful friends of his childhood
grown Into fierce and surly brutes he felt that he
much preferred the peace and solitude of his

[iSo]

MAN'S REASON

cabin to the irksome duties of leadership amongst
a horde of wild beasts.

The hatred and jealousy of Terkoz, son of
Tublat, did much to counteract the effect of
Tarzan's desire to renounce his kingship among
the apes, for, stubborn young Englishman that
he was, he could not bring himself to retreat in
the face of so malignant an enemy.

That Terkoz would be chosen leader in his
stead he knew full well, for time and again the
ferocious brute had established his claim to phys-
ical supremacy over the few bull apes who had
dared resent his savage bullying.

Tarzan would have liked to subdue the ugly
beast without recourse to knife or arrows. So
much had his great strength and agility increased
in the period following his maturity that he had
come to believe that he might master the redoubt-
able Terkoz in a hand to hand fight were it not
for the terrible advantage the anthropoid's huge
fighting fangs gave him over the poorly armed
Tarzan.

The entire matter was taken out of Tarzan's
hands one day by force of circumstances, and his
future left open to him, so that he might go or
stay without any stain upon his savage escutcheon.

It happened thus :

The tribe was feeding quietly, spread over a
consriderable area, when a great screaming arose
some distance east of where Tarzan lay upon his

[ iSi 1

TJRZJN OF THE APES

belly beside a limpid brook, attempting to catch
an elusive fish in his quick, brown hands.

With one accord the tribe swung rapidly toward
the frightened cries, and there found Terkoz
holding an old female by the hair and beating her
unmercifully with his great hands.

As Tarzan approached he raised his hand
aloft for Terkoz to desist, for the female was not
his, but belonged to a poor old ape whose fighting
days were long over, and who, therefore, could
not protect his family.

Terkoz knew that it was against the laws of
his kind to strike the woman of another, but being
a bully, he had taken advantage of the weakness
of the female^s husband to chastise her because
she had refused to give up to him a tender young
rodent she had captured.

When Terkoz saw Tarzan approaching with-
out his arrows, he continued to be-labor the poor
woman in a studied effort to affront his hated
chieftain.

Tarzan did not repeat his warning signal, but
instead rushed bodily upon the waiting Terkoz.

Never had the ape-man fought so terrible a
battle since that long-gone day when, Bolgani, the
great king gorilla had so horribly manhandled
him ere the new-found knife had, by accident,
pricked the savage heart.

Tarzan's knife on the present occasion but
barely offset the gleaming fangs of Terkoz, and

MAN'S REASON

what little advantage the ape had over the man
in brute strength was almost balanced by the lat«
ter*s wonderful quickness and agility.

In the sum total of their points, however, the
anthropoid had a shade the better of the battle,
and had there been no other personal attribute to.
influence the final outcome, Tarzan of the Apes,'
the young Lord Greystoke, had died as he had
lived — an unknown savage beast in equatorial
Africa.

But there was that which had raised him far
above his fellows of the jungle — that little spark
which spells the whole vast difference between
man and brute — Reason. . This it was which
saved him from death beneath the iron muscles
and tearing fangs of Terkoz.

Scarcely had they fought a dozen seconds ere
they were rolling upon the ground, striking, tear-
ing and rending — two great savage beasts bat-
tling to the death.

Terkoz had a dozen knife wounds on head and
breast, and Tarzan was torn and bleeding — his
scalp in one place half torn from his head so that
a great piece hung down over one eye, obstructing
his vision.

But so far the young Englishman had been
able to keep those horrible fangs from his jugular
and now, as they fought less fiercely for a moment,
to regain their breath, Tarzan formed a cunning
plan. He would work his way to the other's

[153]

TARZAN OF THE APES

back and, dinging there with tooth and nail, drive
his knife home until Terkoz was no more.

The maneuver was accomplished more easily
than he had hoped, for the stupid beast, not know-
ing what Tarzan was attempting, made no par-
ticular effort to prevent the accomplishment of the
design.

But when, finally, he realized that his antag-
onist was fastened to him where his teeth and fists
alike were useless against him, Terkoz hurled
himself about upon the ground so violently that
Tarzan could but cling desperately to the leaping,
turning, twisting body, and ere he had struck a
blow the knife was hurled from his hand by a
heavy impact against the earth, and Tarzan
found himself defenceless.

During the rollings and squirmings of the next
few minutes, Tarzan's hold was loosened a dozen
times until finally an accidental circumstance of
those swift and ever-changing evolutions gave
him a new hold with his right hand, which he soon
realized was absolutely unassailable.

His arm was passed beneath Terkoz* arm
from behind and his hand and forearm encircled
the back of Terkoz' neck. It was the half-Nelson
of modern wrestling which the untaught ape-man
had stumbled upon, but divine reason showed
him in an instant the value of the thing he had
discovered. It was the difference to him between
life and death.

[154]

MAN'S REASON

And so he struggled to encompass a similar
hold with the left hand, and in a few moments
Terkoz' bull neck was creaking beneath a full-
Nelson.

There was no more lunging about now. The
two lay perfectly still upon the ground, Tarzan
upon Terkoz' back. Slowly the bullet head of the
ape was being forced lower and lower upon his
chest.

Tarzan knew what the result would be. In an
instant the neck would break. Then there came
to Terkoz' rescue the same thing that had put
him in these sore straits — a man's reasonfng
power.

"If I kill him," thought Tarzan, "what
advantage will it be to me ? Will it not but rob
the tribe of a great fighter? And if Terkoz be
dead, he will know nothing of my supremacy,
while alive he will ever be an example to the other
apes."

'' Ka-godaf ^^ hissed Tarzan in Terkoz' ear,
which, in ape tongue, means, freely translated:
" Do you surrender? "

For a moment there was no reply, and Tarzan
added a few more ounces of pressure, which
elicited a horrified shriek of pain from the great
beast.

^^ Ka-godaf^^ repeated Tarzan.

** Ka-godal^^ cried Terkoz.

" Listen," said Tarzan, easing up a trifle, but

[155]

TARZAN OF THE APES

not releasing his hold. " I am Tarzan, King of
the Apes, mighty hunter, mighty fighter. In all
the jungle there is none so great.

"You have said: ^ Ka-goda^ to me. All the
tribe have he^rd. Quarrel no more with your
king or your people, for next time I shall kill you.
Do you understand? "

" Huh,^' assented Terkoz.

" And you are satisfied? "

** Huhy said the ape.

Tarzan let him up, and in a few minutes all
were back at their vocations, as though naught
had occurred to mar the tranquility of their pri-
meval forest haunts.

But deep in the minds of the apes was rooted
the conviction that Tarzan was a mighty fighter
and a strange creature. Strange because he had
had it in his power to kill his enemy, but had
allowed him to live — unharmed.

That afternoon. as the tribe came together, as
was their wont before darkness settled on the
jungle, Tarzan, his wounds washed in the limpid
waters of the little stream, called the old males
about him.

" You have seen again today that Tarzan of
the Apes is the greatest among you," he said.

*^ Huhy they replied with one voice, " Tarzan
IS great."

" Tarzan," he continued, " is not an ape. He
is not like his people. His ways are not their

[IS6]

MJN'S REASON

ways, and so Tarzan is going back to the lair of
his own kind by the waters of the great lake
which has no further shore. You must choose
another to rule you, for Tarzan will not return."
And thus young Lord Greystoke took the first
step toward the goal which he had set — the find^
ing of other white men like himself.

T 157 1

CHAPTER XIII

HIS OWN KIND

T^HE following morning, Tarzan, lame and

-*• sore from the wounds of his battle with

Terkoz, set out toward the west and the sea coast.

He traveled very slowly, sleeping in the jungle
at night, and reaching his cabin late the following
morning.

For several days he moved about but little,
only enough to gather what fruit and nuts he^
required to satisfy the demands of hunger.

In ten days he was quite sound again, except
for a terrible, half-healed scar, which, starting
above his left eye ran across the top of his head,
ending at the right ear. It was the mark left by
Xerkoz when he had torn the scalp away.

During his convalescence Tarzan tried to fash-
ion a mantle from the skin of Sabor, which had
lain all this time in the cabin. But he found the
hide had dried as stiff as a board, and as he knew
naught of tanning, he was forced to abandon his
cherished plan.

Then he determined to filch what few garments '
he could from one of the black men of Mbonga's
village, for Tarzan of the Apes had decided to
mark his evolution from the lower orders in every

[158I

HIS OWN KIND

possible manner, and nothing seemed to him a
more distinguishing badge of manhood than orna-
ments and clothing.

To this end, therefore, he collected the various
arm and leg ornaments he had taken from the
black warriors who had succumbed to his swift
and silent noose, and donned them all after the
way he had seen them worn.

About his neck hung the golden chain from
which depended the diamond encrusted locket of
his mother, the Lady Alice. At his back was a
quiver of arrows slung from a leathern shoulder
belt, another piece of loot from some vanquished
black.

About his waist was a belt of tiny strips of raw^
hide fashioned by himself as a support for the
home-made scabbard in which hung his father's
hunting knife. The long bow which had been
Kulonga's hung over his left shoulder.

The young Lord Greystoke was indeed a
strange and warlike figure, his mass of black hair
falling to his shoulders behind and cut with his
hunting knife to a rude bang upon his forehead,
that it might not fall before his eyes.

His straight and perfect figure, muscled as
the best of the ancient Roman gladiators must
have been muscled, and yet with the soft and
sinuous curves of a Greek god, told at a glance the
wondrous combination of enormous strength with
suppleness and speed.

[159]

TARZAN OF THE APES

A personification, was Tarzan of the Apes, of
the primitive man, the hunter, the warrior.

With the noble poise of his handsome head
upon those broad shoulders, and the fire of life
and intelligence in those fine, clear eyes, he might
readily have typified some demi-god of a wild and
warlike bygone people of his ancient forest.

But of these things Tarzan did not think. He
was worried because he had no clothing to indi-
cate to all the jungle folks that he was a man
and not an ape, and grave doubt often entered
his mind as to whether he might not yet become
an ape.

Was not hair commencing to grow upon his
face? All the apes had hair upon theirs, but the
black men were entirely hairless, with very few
exceptions.

True, he had seen pictures in his books of men
with great masses of hair upon lip and cheek and
chin, but, nevertheless^ Tarzan was afraid.
Almost daily he whetted his keen knife and
scraped and whittled at his young beard to eradi-
cate this degrading emblem of apehood.

And so he learned to shave — rudely and pain-
fully, it is true — but, nevertheless, effectively.

When he felt quite strong again, after his
bloody battle with Terkoz, Tarzan set off one
morning towards Mbonga's village. He was mov<
ing carelessly along a winding jungle trail, instead
of making his progress through the trees, wh^n

[i6o]

HIS OWN KIND

suddenly he came face to face with a black war-
rior.

The look of surprise on the savage face was
almost comical, and before Tarzan could unsling
his bow the fellow had turned and fled down the
path crying out in alarm as though to others
before him.

Tarzan took to the trees in pursuit, and in a
few moments came in view of the men desperately
striving to escape.

There were three of them, and they were ra cing
madly in single file through the dense under-
growth.

Tarzan easily distanced them, nor did they see
his silent passage above their heads, nor note the
crouching figure squatted upon a low branch ahead
of them beneath which the trail led them.

Tarzan let the first two pass beneath him, but
as the third came swiftly on, the quiet, noose
dropped about the black throat. A quick jerk
drew it taut.

There was an agonized scream from the vic-
tim, and his fellows turned to see his struggling
body rise as by magic slowly into the dense foliage
of the trees above.

With affrighted shrieks they wheeled once more
and plunged on in their efforts to escape.

Tarzan dispatched his prisoner quickly and
silently; removed the weapons and ornaments,
and — oh, the greatest joy of all ' — a handsome

[i6i]

TARZAN OF THE APES

doeskin breechcloth, which he quickly transferred
to his own person.

Now indeed was he dressed as a man should
be. None there was who could now doubt his
high origin. How he should liked to have
returned to the tribe to parade before their envi-
ous gaze this wondrous finery.

Taking the body across his shoulder, he moved
more slowly through the trees toward the little
palisaded village, for he again needed arrows.

As he approached quite close to the enclosure
he saw an excited group surrounding the two fugi-
tives, who, trembling with fright and exhaustion,
were scarce able to recount the uncanny details of
their adventure.

Mirando, they said, who had been ahead of
them a short distance, had suddenly come scream-
ing toward them, crying that a terrible white and
naked warrior was pursuing him. The three of
them had hurried toward the village as rapidly
as their legs would carry them.

Again Mirando's shrill cry of mortal terror
had caused them to look back, and there they had
seen the most horrible sight — their companion's
body flying upwards into the trees, his arms and
legs beating the air and his tongue protruding
from his open mouth. No other sound did he
utter nor was there any creature in sight about
him.

The villagers were worked up into a state of

[162]

HIS OWN KIND

fear bordering on panic, but wise old Mbonga
affected to feel considerable skepticism regarding
the tale, and attributed the whole fabrication to
their fright in the face of some real danger.

" You tell us this great story," he said,
" because you do not dare to speak the truth.
You do not dare admit that when the lion sprang
upon Mirando you ran away and left him. You
are cowards."

Scarcely had Mbonga ceased speaking when a
great crashing of branches in the trees above them
caused the blacks to look up in renewed terror.
The sight that met their eyes made even wise
old Mbonga shudder, for there, turning and
twisting in the air, came the dead body of
Mirando, to sprawl with a sickening reverbera-
tion upon the ground at their feet.

With one accord the blacks took to their heels ;
nor did they stop until the last of them was lost
in the dense shadows of the surrounding jungle.

Again Tarzan came down into the village and
renewed his supply of arrows, and ate of the
offering of food which the blacks had made to
appease his wrath.

Before he left he carried the body of Mirando
to the gate of the village, and propped it up
against the palisade in such a way that the dead
face seemed to be peering around the edge of
the gate-post down the path which led to the
jungle.

[ 163 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Then Tarzan returned, hunting, always hunt-
ing, to the cabin by the beach.

It took a dozen attempts on the part of the
thoroughly frightened blacks to re-enter their vil-
lagCf past the horrible, grinning face of their dead
fellow, and when they found the food and arrows
gone they knew, what they had only too well
feared, that Mirando had seen the evil spirit of
the jungle.

That now seemed to them the logical explana-
tion. Only those who saw this terrible god of
the jungle died; for was it not true that none left
alive in the village had ever seen him? There-
fore, those who had died at his hands must have
seen him and paid the penalty with their lives.

As long as they supplied him with arrows and
food he would not harm them unless they looked
upon him, so it was ordered by Mbonga that in
addition to the food offering there should also
be laid out an offering of arrows for this Mun-
ango-Keewati, and this was done from then on.

If you ever chance to pass that far off African
village you will still see before a tiny thatched
hut, built just without the village, a little iron
pot in which is a quantity of food, and beside it
a quiver of well-daubed arrows.

When Tarzan came in sight of the beach where
stood his cabin, a strange and unusual spectacle
met his vision.

On the placid waters of the land-locked harbor

[164]

HIS OWN KIND

floated a great ship, and on the beach a small
boat was drawn up.

But, most wonderful of all, a number of white
men like himself were moving about between the
beach and his cabin.

Tarzan saw that in many ways they were like
the men of his picture books. He crept closer
through the trees until he was quite dose above
them.

There were ten men. Swarthy, sun-tanned, vil-
lainous looking fellows. Now they had congre-
gated by the boat and were talking in loud, angry
tones, with much gesticulating and shaking of
fists.

Presently one of them, a little, mean-faced,
black-bearded fellow with a countenance which
reminded Tarzan of Pamba, the rat, laid his
hand upon the shoulder of a giant who stood
next him, and with whom all the others had been
arguing and quarreling.

The little man pointed inland, so that the giant
was forced to turn away from the others to look
in the direction indicated. As he turned, the lit-
tle, mean-faced man drew a revolver from his
belt and shot the giant in the back.

The big fellow threw his hands above hU head,
his knees bent beneath him, and without a sound
he tumbled forward upon the beach, dead.

The report of the weapon, the first that Tarzan
had ever heard, filled him with wonderment, but

[i6s]

TARZAN OF THE APES

even this unaccustomed sound could not startle
his healthy nerves into even a semblance of panic.

The conduct of the white strangers it was that
caused him the greatest perturbation. He puck-
ered his brows into a frown of deep thought. It
was well, thought he, that he had not given way
to his first impulse to rush forward and greet these
white men as brothers.

They were evidently no different from the black
men — no more civilized than the apes — no less
cruel than Sabor.

For a moment the others stood looking at the
little, mean-faced man and the giant lying dead
upon the beach.

Then one of them laughed and slapped the
little man upon the back. There was much more
talk and gesticulating, but less quarreling.

Presently they launched the boat and all jumped
into it and rowed away toward the great ship,
where Tarzan could see other figures moving
about upon the deck.

When they had clambered aboard, Tarzan
dropped to earth behind a great tree and crept to
his cabin, keeping it always between himself and
the ship.

Slipping in at the door he found that every-
thing had been ransacked. His books and pen-
cils strewed the floor. His weapons and shields
and other little store of treasures were littered
about.

[166I

HIS OWN KIND

As he saw what had been done a great wave of
anger surged through him, and the new made
scar upon his forehead stood suddenly out, a bar
of inflamed crimson against his tawny hide.

Quickly he ran to the cupboard and searched
in the far recess of the lower shelf. Ahl He
breathed a sigh of relief as he drew out the little
tin box, and, opening it, found his greatest treas-
ures undisturbed.

The photograph of the smiling, strong-faced
young man, and the little black puzzle book were
safe.

What was that?

His quick ear had caught a faint but unfamiliar
sound.

Running to the window Tarzan looked toward
the harbor, and there he saw that a boat was
being lowered from the great ship beside the one
already in the water. Soon he saw many people
clambering over the sides of the larger vessel and
dropping into the boats. They were coming back
in full force.

For a moment longer Tarzan watched while
a number of boxes and bundles were lowered
,into the waiting boats, then, as they shoved off
from the ship's side, the ape-man snatched up a
piece of paper, and with a pencil printed on it
for a few moments until it bore several lines of
strong, well made, almost letter-perfect charac-
ters.

[167]

TJRZAN. OF THE APES

This notice he stuck upon the door with a small
sharp splinter of wood. Then gathering up his
precious tin box, his arrows, and as many bows
and spears as he could carry, he hastened through
the door and disappeared into the forest.

When the two boats were beached upon the
silvery sand it was a strange assortment of human*
ity that clambered ashore.

Some twenty souls in all there were, if the fif-
teen rough and villainous appearing seamen could
have been said to possess that immortal spark,
since they were, forsooth, a most filthy and blood-
thirsty looking aggregation.

The others of the party were of different
stamp.

One was an elderly man, with white hair and
large rimmed spectacles. His slightly stooped
shoulders were draped in an ill-fitting, though
immaculate, frock-coat; a shiny silk hat added to
the incongruity of his garb in an African jungle.

The second member of the party to land was a
tall young man in white ducks, while directly
behind came another elderly man with a very high
forehead and a fussy, excitable manner.

After these came a huge negress clothed like
Solomon as to colors. Her great eyes rolling in
evident terror first toward the jungle and then
toward the cursing band of sailors who were
removing the bales and boxes from the boats.

The last member of the party to disembark

[i68]

mS OWN KIND

«■

was a girl of about nineteen, and it was the young
man who stood at the boat's bow to lift her high
and dry upon land. She gave him a brave and
pretty smile of thanks, but no words passed be-
tween them.

In silence the party advanced toward the cabin.
It was evident that whatever their intentions, all
had been decided upon before they left the ship ;
and so they came to the door, the sailors carry-
ing the boxes and bales, followed by the five who
were of so different a class. The men put down
their burdens, and then one caught sight of the
notice which Tarzan had posted.

"Ho, mates 1" he cried. "What's here?
This sign was not posted an hour ago or I'll
eat the cook."

The others gathered about, craning their necks
over the shoulders of those before them, but as
few of them could read at all, and then only after
the most laborious fashion, one finally turned to
the little old man of the top hat and frock-coat.

" Hi, perfesser," he called, " step for'rd and
read the bloomin' notis."

Thus addressed, the old man came slowly to
where the sailors stood, followed by the other
members of his party. Adjusting his spectacles
he looked for a moment at the placard and then,
turning away, strolled off muttering to himself:
" Most remarkable — most remarkable ! "

" Hi, old fossil," cried the man who had first

[169]

T4RZJN OF THE APES

called on him for assistance, '^ did je think we
wanted of you to read the bloomin' notis to your-
self ? Come back here and read it out loud, you
old barnacle."

The old man stopped and, turning back, said:
" Oh, yes, my dear sir, a thousand pardons. It
was quite thoughtless of me, yes — very thought-
less. Most remarkable — most remarkable 1 "

Again he faced the notice and read it through,
and doubtless would have turned off again to
ruminate upon it had not the sailor grasped him
roughly by the collar and howled into his ear.

** Read it out loud, you blithering, old idiot."

" Ah, yes indeed, yes indeed," replied the pro-
fessor softly, and adjusting his spectacles once
more he read aloud:

THIS IS THE HOUSE OF
TARZAN, THE KILLER OF
BEASTS AND MANY BLACK
MEN. DO NOT HARM THE
THINGS WHICH ARE TAR-
ZAN'S. TARZAN WATCHES.

TARZAN OF THE APES.

'*Who the devil is Tarzan?" cried the sailor
who had before spoken.

" He evidently speaks English," said the young
man.

" But what does * Tarzan of the Apes '
mean?" cried the girl.

[170]

HIS OWN KIND

" I do not know, Miss Porter," replied the
young man, " unless we have discovered a run-
away simian from the London Zoo who has
brought back a European education to his jungle
home. What do you make of it, Professor Por-
ter? " he added, turning to the old man.

Professor Archimedes Q. Porter adjusted his
spectacles.

"Ah, yes, indeed; yes indeed — most remark-
able, most remarkable!" said the professor;
•* but I can add nothing further to what I have
already remarked in elucidation of this truly mo-
mentous occurrence," and the professor turned
tflowly in the direction of the jungle.

" But, papa," cried the girl, " you haven't
#aid anything about it yet."

" Tut — tut, child ; tut — tut," responded Pro-
fessor Porter, in a kindly and indulgent tone,
•* do not trouble your pretty head with such
weighty, and abstruse problems," and again he
wandered slowly off in still another direction, his
eyes bent upon the ground at his feet, his hands
clasped behind him beneath the flowing tails of
his coat.

" I reckon the daffy old bounder don't know
no more'n we do about it," growled the rat-faced
sailor.

" Keep a civil tongue in your head," cried the
young man, his face paling in anger, at the in-
sulting tone of the sailor. " You've murdered

[171]

TARZAN OF THE APES

our officers, and robbed us. We are absolutely
in your power, but you'll treat Professor Porter
and Miss Porter with respect or I'll break that
vile neck of yours with my bare hands — ^guns or
no guns/* and the young fellow stepped so close
to the rat-faced sailor that the latter, though he
bore two revolvers and a villainous looking knife
in his belt, slunk back abashed.

**You damned coward," cried the young man.
'Tfou'd never dare shoot a man until his back
was turned. You don't dare shoot me even
then," and he deliberately turned his back full
upon the sailor and walked nonchalantly away as
if to put him to the test.

The sailor's hand crept slyly to the butt of one
of his revolvers; his wicked eyes glared venge-
fuUy at the retreating form of the young Eng-
lishman. The gaze of his fellows was upon him,
but still he hesitated. At heart he was even a
greater coward than Mr. William Cecil Clayton
had imagined.

What he would have done will never be known,
for there was another factor abroad which none
of the party had yet guessed would enter so
largely into the problems of their life on this in-
hospitable African shore.

Two keen eyes had watched every move of the
party from the foliage of a nearby tree. Tarzan
had seen the surprise caused by his notice, and
while he could understand nothing of the spoken

[172]

HIS OWN KIND

language of these strange people their gestures
and facial expressions told him much.

The act of the little rat-faced sailor in killing
one of his comrades had aroused a strong dislike
in Tarzan, and now that he saw him quarreling
with the fine-looking young man his animosity was
still further stirred.

Tarzan had never seen the effects of a fire*
arm before, though his books had taught him
something of them, but when he saw the rat-
faced one fingering the butt of his revolver he
thought of the scene he had witnessed so short a
time before, and naturally expected to see the
young man murdered as had been the huge sailor
earlier in the day.

So Tarzan fitted a poisoned arrow to his bow
and drew a bead upon the rat-faced sailor, but
the foliage was so thick that he soon saw the
arrow would be deflected by the leaves or some
small branch, and instead he launched a heavy
spear from his lofty perch.

Clajrton had taken but a dozen steps. The
rat-faced sailor had half drawn his revolver; the
other sailors stood watching the scene intently.

Professor Porter had already disappeared into
the jungle, whither he was being followed by the
fussy Samuel T. Philan(ier> his secretary and as-
sistant

Esmeralda, the negress, was busy sorting her
mistress' baggage from the pile of bales and

[ 173 1

TARZAN OF THE APES

boxes beside the cabin, and Miss Porter had
turned away to follow Clayton, when something
caused her to turn again toward the sailor.

And then three things happened almost simul-
taneously — the sailor jerked out his weapon and
leveled it at Clajrton's back, Miss Porter
screamed a warning, and a long, metal-shod spear
shot like a bolt from above and passed entirely
through the right shoulder of the rat-faced man.

The revolver exploded harmlessly in the air,
and the seaman crumpled up with a scream of
pain and terror.

Cla3rton turned and rushed back toward the
scene. The sailors stood in a frightened group,
with drawn weapons, peering into the jungle.
The wounded man writhed and shrieked upon
the ground.

Clayton, unseen by any, picked up the fallen
revolver and slipped it inside his shirt, then he
joined tlie sailors in gazing, mystified, into the
jungle.

"Who could it have been?" whispered Jane
Porter, and the young man turned to see her
standing, wide-eyed and wondering, close beside
him.

" I dare say Tarzan of the Apes is watching
us all right," he answered, in a dubious tone. " I
wonder, now, who that spear was intended for.
If foi Snipes, then our ape friend is a friend in-
deed.

[174]

HIS OWN KIND

" By jove, where are your father and Mr.
Philander? There's some one or something in
that jungle, and it's armed, whatever it is. Ho I
Professor 1 Mr. Philander!" young Claytoa
shouted. There was no response.

"What's to be done, Miss Porter?" contin-
ued the young man, his face clouded by a frowa
of worry and indecision.

** I can't leave you here alone with these cut-
throats, and you certainly can't venture into the
jungle with me; yet some one must go in search
of your father. He is more than apt to wan-
dering off aimlessly, regardless of danger or
direction, and Mr. Philander is only a trifle less
impractical than he. You will pardon my blunt-
ness, but our lives are all in jeopardy hercj'^and
when we get your father back something must be
done to impress upon him the dangers to which
he exposes you as well as himself by his absent-
mindedness."

" I quite agree with you," replied the girl,
^' and I am not offended at all. Dear old papa
would sacrifice his life for me without an instant's
hesitation, provided one could keep his mind on
so frivolous a matter for an entire instant. There
IS only one way to keep him in safety, and that
is to chain him to a tree. The poor dear is so
impractical."

" I have It I " suddenly exclaimed Cla3^on«
** You can use a revolver, can't you?'*

[175]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

"Yes. Why?"

" I have one. With it you and Esmeralda will
be comparatively safe in this cabin while I am
searching for your father and Mrw Philander.
Come, call the woman and I will hurry on. They
can't have gone far."

Jane Porter did as he suggested and when he
saw the door close safely behind them Clayton
turned toward the jungle.

Some of the sailors were drawing the spear
from their wounded comrade and, as Clayton ap-
proached^ he asked if he could borrow a revolver
from one of them while he searched the jungle
for the professor.

The rat-faced one, finding he was not dead,
had regained his composure, and with a volley of
oaths directed at Clayton refused in the name of
his fellows to allow the young man any firearms.

This man, Snipes, had assumed the role of
chief since he had killed their former leader, and
so little time had elapsed that none of his com-
panions had as yet questioned his authority.

Clayton's only response was a shrug of the
shoulders, but as he left them he picked up the
spear which had transfixed Snipes, and thus
primitively armed, the son of the then Lord Grey-
stoke strode into the dense jungle.

Every few moments he called aloud the names
of the wanderers. The watchers in the cabin by
the beach heard the sound of his voice growing

[176]

HIS OWN KIND

ever fainter and fainter, until at last it was swal-
lowed up by the myriad noises of the primeval
wood.

When Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and
his assistant, Samuel T. Philander, after much
insistence on the part of the latter, had finally
turned their steps toward camp, they were as
completely lost in the wild and tangled labyrinth
of the matted jungle as two human beings well
could be, though they did not know it.

It was by the merest caprice of fortune that
they headed toward the west coast of Africa, in-
stead of toward Zanzibar on the opposite side
of the dark continent.

When in a short time they reached the beach,
only to find no camp in sight, Philander was posi-
tive that they were north of their proper destina-
tion, while, as a matter of fact they were about
two hundred yards •'outh of it.

It never occurre^' .o either of these Impractical
theorists to call aloud on the chance of attracting
their friends' attention. Instead, with all the as-
surance that deductive reasoning from a wrong
premise induces in one, Mr. Samuel T. Philander
grasped Professor Archimedes Q. Porter firmly
by the arm and hurried the weakly protesting old
gentleman off in the direction of Cape Town, fif-
teen hundred miles to the south.

When Jane Porter and Esmeralda found them-
selves safely behind the cabin door the negress's

[177]

TARZJN OF THE APES

first thought was to barricade the portal from
the inside. With this idea in mind she turned to
search for some means of putting it into execu-
tion ; but her first view of the interior of the cabin
brought a shriek of terror to her lips, and like a
frightened child the huge black ran to bury her
face on her mistress' shoulder.

Jane Porter, turning at the cry, saw the cause
of it lying prone upon the floor before them —
the whitened skeleton of a man. A further glance
revealed a second skeleton upon the bed.

" What horrible place are we in? " murmured
the awestruck girl. But there was no panic in
her fright.

At last, disengaging herself from the frantic
clutch of the still shrieking Esmeralda, Jane Por-
ter crossed the room to look into the little cradle,
knowing what she should see there before ever
the tiny skeleton disclosed itself in all its pitiful
and pathetic frailty.

What an awful tragedy these poor mute bones
proclaimed! The girl shuddered at thought of
the eventualities which might lie before herself
and her friends in this ill-fated cabin; the haunt of
mysterious, perhaps hostile, beings.

Quickly, with an impatient stamp of her little
foot, she endeavored to shake off the gloomy
forebodings, and turning to Esmeralda bade her
cease her wailing.

" Stop, Esmeralda ; stop It this minute I " she

[178]

HIS OWN KIND

cried. " You are only making it worse. Why, I
never saw such a big baby."

She ended lamely, a little quiver in her own
voice as she thought of the three men, upon whom
she depended for protection, wandering in the
depth of that awful forest.

Soon the girl found that the door was equipped
with a heavy wooden bar upon the inside, and
after several efforts the combined strength of the
two enabled them to slip it into place, the first
time in twenty years.

Then they sat down upon a bench with their
arms about one another, and waited.

Ti7»T

CHAPTER XIV

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

AFTER Clayton had plunged into the jungle,
the sailors — mutineers of the Arrow — fell
into a discussion of their next step; but on one
point all were agreed — that they should hasten
to put pff to the anchored Arrow, where they
could at least be safe from the spears of their
unseen foe. And so, while Jane Porter and
Esmeralda were barricading themselves within
the cabin, the cowardly crew of cutthroats were
pulling rapidly for their ship in the two boats that
had brought them ashore.

So much had Tarzan seen that day that his
head was in a whirl of wonder. But the most
wonderful sight of all, to him, was the face of the
beautiful white girl.

. Here at last was one of his own kind; of that
he was positive. And the young man and the two
old men ; they, too, were much as he had pictured
his own people to be.

But doubtless they were as ferocious and cruel
as other men he had seen. The fact that they
alone of all the party were unarmed might ac-
count for the fact that they had killed no one.

[i8o]

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

They might be very different if provided with
weapons.

Tarzan had seen the young man pick up the
fallen revolver of the wounded Snipes and hide
it away in his breast ; and he had also seen him
slip it cautiously to the girl as she entered the
cabin door.

He did not understand anything of the motives
behind all that he had seen ; but, somehow, intu-
itively he liked the young man and the two old
men, and for the girl he had a strange longing
which he scarcely understood. As for the big
black woman, she was evidently connected in some
way to the girl, and so he liked her, also.

For the sailors, and especially Snipes, he had
developed a great hatred. He knew by their
threatening gestures and by the expressions upon
their evil faces that they were enemies of the
others of the party, and so he decided to watch
them closely.

Tarzan wondered why the men had gone into
the jungle, nor did it ever occur to him that one
could become lost in that maze of undergrowth
which to him was as simple as is the main street
of your own home town to you.

When he saw the sailors row away toward the
ship, and knew that the girl and her companion
were safe in his cabin, Tarzan decided to follow
the young man into the jungle and learn what his
errand might be. He swung off rapidly in the

[i8i]

TARZAN OF THE APES

direction taken by Clayton, and in a short time
heard faintly in the distance the now only occa-
sional calls of the Englishman to his friends.

Presently Tarzan came up with the white man,
who, almost fagged, was leaning against a tree
wiping the perspiration from his forehead. The
ape-man, hiding safe behind a screen of foliage,
sat watching this new specimen of his own race
intently.

At intervals Clayton called aloud and finally it
came to Tarzan that he was searching for the old
man.

Tarzan was on the point of going off to look
for them himself, when he caught the yellow
glint of a sleek hide moving cautiously through
the jungle toward Clayton.

It was Sheeta, the leopard. Now, Tarzan
heard the soft bending of grasses and wondered
why the young white man was not warned. Could
it be he had failed to note the loud warning?
Never before had Tarzan known Sheeta to be so
clumsy.

No, the white man did not hear. Sheeta was
crouching for the spring, and then, shrill and
horrible, there rose upon the stillness of the jun-
gle the awful cry of the challenging ape, and
Sheeta turned, crashing into the underbrush.

Clayton came to his feet with a start. His
blood ran cold. Never in all his life had so fear-
ful a sound smote upon his ears. He was no

1 182 ]

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

»— ■ III II II I .^M—

coward; but if ever man felt the icy fingers of
fear upon his heart, William Cecil Clayton, eldest
son of Lord Greystoke of England, did that day
in the fastness of the African jungle.

The noise of some great body crashing through
the underbrush so close beside him, and the sound
of that blood-curdling shriek from above, tested
Clayton's courage to the limit; but he could not
know that it was to that very voice he owed his
life, nor that the creature who hurled it forth
was his own cousin — the real Lor^i Greystoke.

The afternoon was drawing to a close, and
Clayton, disheartened and discouraged, was in a
terrible quandary as to the proper course to pur-
sue; whether to keep on in search of Professor
Porter, at the almost certain risk of his own
death in the jungle by night, or to return to the
cabin where he might at least serve to protect
Jane Porter from the perils which confronted her
on all sides.

He disliked to return to camp without her
father ; still more, he shrank from the thought of
leaving her alone and unprotected in the hands
of the mutineers of the Arrow, or to the hun-
dred unknown dangers of the jungle.

Possibly, too, he thought, ere this the professor
and Philander had returned to camp. Yes, that
was more than likely. At least he would return
and see, before he continued what bade fare to
be a most fruitless quest. And so he started,

[183]

TARZAN OF THE APES

stumbling back through the thick and matted
underbrush in the direction that he thought the
cabin lay.

To Tarzan's surprise the young man was head-
ing further into the jungle in the general direction
of Mbonga's village, and the shrewd young ape-
man was convinced that he was lost.

To Tarzan this was scarcely comprehensible;
but his judgment told him that no man would
venture toward the village of the cruel blacks
armed only with a spear which, from the awkward
way in which he carried it, was evidently an unac-
custcMned weapon to this white man. Nor was he
following the trail of the old men. That, they
had crossed and left long since, though it had
been fresh and plain before Tarzan's eyes.

Tarzan was perplexed. The fierce jungle
would make easy prey of this unprotected stranger
in a very short time if he were not guided quickly
to the beach.

Yes, there was Numa, the lion, even now»
stalking the white man a dozen paces to the right.

Clayton heard the great body paralleling his
course, and now there rose upon the evening air
the beast's thunderous roar. The man stopped
with upraised spear and faced the brush from
which issued the awful sound. The shadows were
deepening, darkness was settling in.

God I To die here alone, beneath the fangs of
wild beasts; to be torn and rended; to feel the

ri84]

AT THE MERCY OF THE JU NGLE

hot breath of the brute on his face as the great
paw crushed down upon his breast I

For a moment all was still. Clayton stood
rigid, with raised spear. Presently a faint rustling
of the bush apprised him of the stealthy creeping
of the thing behind. It was gathering for the
spring. At last he saw it, not twenty feet away —
the long, lithe, muscular body and tawny head of
a huge black-maned lion.

The beast was upon its belly, moving forward
very slowly. As its eyes met Clayton's it stopped,
and deliberately, cautiously gathered its hind quar-
ters beneath it.

In agony the man watched; fearful to launch
his spear; powerless to fly.

He heard a noise in the tree above him. Some
new danger, he thought, but he dared not take his
eyes from the yellow green orbs before him.
There was a sharp twang as of a broken banjo-
string, and at the same instant an arrow appeared
in the yellow hide of the crouching lion.

With a roar of pain and anger the beast sprang ;
but, somehow, Clayton stumbled to one side, and
as he turned again to face the infuriated king of
beasts, he was appalled at the sight which con-
fronted him. Almost simultaneously with the
lion's turning to renew the attack a naked giant
dropped from the tree above squarely on the
brute's back.

With lightning speed an arm that was banded

[185I

TARZAN OF THE APES

layers of iron muscle encircled the huge neck, and
the great beast was raised from behind, roaring
and pawing the air — raised as easily as Clayton
would have lifted a pet dog.

The scene he witnessed there in the twilight
depths of the African jungle was burned forever
into the Englishman's brain^

The man before him was the embodiment of
physical perfection and giant strength, yet it was
not upon these he depended in his battle with the
great cat, for, mighty as were his muscles, they
were as nothing by comparison with Nutna's. To
his agility, to his brain and to his long keen knife
he owed his supremacy.

His right arm encircled the lion's neck, while
the left hand plunged the knife time and again
into the unprotected side behind the left shoulder.
The infuriated beast, pulled up and backwards
until he stood upon his hind legs, struggled impo-
tendy in this unnatural position.

Had the battle been of a few seconds' longer
duration the outcome might have been different,
but it was all accomplished so quickly that the
lion had scarce time to recover from the confusion
of its surprise ere It sank lifeless to the ground.

Then the strange figure which had vanquished
it stood erect upon the carcass, and throwing back
the wild and handsome head, gave out the fear*
some cry which a few moments earlier had so
startled Clayton*

[i86]

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

Before him he saw the figure of a young manj,
naked except for a loin cloth and a few barbaric
ornaments about arms and legs; on the breast a
priceless diamond locket gleaming against a
smooth brown skin.

The hunting-knife had been returned to its
homely sheath, and the man was gathering up his
bow and quiver from where he had tossed them,
when he leaped to attack the lion,

Clayton spoke to the stranger in English, thank-
ing him for his brave rescue and complimenting
him on the wondrous strength and dexterity he
had displayed, but the only answer was a steady
stare and a faint shrug of the mighty shoulders,
which might betoken either disparagement of the
service rendered, or ignorance of Clayton's lan-
guage.

When the bow and quiver had been slung to
his back the wild man, for such Clayton now
thought him, once more drew his knife and deftly
carved a dozen large strips of meat from the lion's
carcass. Then, squatting upon his haunches, he
proceeded to eat, first motioning Clayton to join
him.

The strong white teeth sank into the raw and
dripping flesh in apparent relish of the meal, but
Clayton could not bring himself to share the
uncooked meat with his strange host; instead he
watched him, and presently there dawned upon
him the conviction that this was Tarzan of the

[187]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Apes, whose notice he had seen posted upon the
cabin door that morning.

If so, he must speak English.

Again Clayton essayed speech with the ape-
man; but the replies, now vocal, were in a strange
tongue, which resembled the chattering of mon-
keys mingled with the growling of some wild
beast.

No, this could not be Tarzan of the Apes, for
it was very evident that he was an utter stranger
to English.

When Tarzan had completed his repast he rose
and, pointing in a very different direction from
that which Clayton had been pursuing, started
off through the jungle toward the point he had
indicated.

Clayton, bewildered and confused, hesitated to
follow him, for he thought he was but being led
more deeply into the mazes of the forest; but
the ape-man, seeing him disinclined to follow,
returned, and, grasping him by the coat, dragged
him along until he was convinced that Clayton
understood what was required of him. Then he
left him to follow voluntarily.

The Englishman, finally concluding that he was
a prisoner, saw no alternative open but to accom-
pany his captor, and thus they traveled slowly
through the jungle while the sable mantle of the
impenetrable forest night fell about them, and
the stealthy footfalls of padded paws mingled

[i88]

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

with the breaking of twigs and the wild calls of
the savage life that Clayton felt closing in upon
him.

Suddenly Clajrton heard the faint report of a
firearm — a single shot, and then silence.

In the cabin by the beach two thoroughly terri-
fied women clung to each other as they crouched
upon the low bench in the gathering darkness.

The negress sobbed hysterically, bemoaning
the evil day that had witnessed her departure from
her dear Maryland, while the white girl, dry eyed
and outwardly calm, was torn by inward fears
and forebodings. She feared not more for her-
self than for the three men whom she knew to
be wandering in the abysmal depths of the savage
jungle, from which she now heard issuing the
almost incessant shrieks and roars, barkings and
growlings of its terrifying and fearsome denizens
as they sought their prey.

And now there came the sound of a heavy body
brushing against the side of the cabin. She could
hear the great padded paws upon the ground
without. Then, for an instant, all was silence;
even the bedlam of the forest died to a faint mur-
mur; then she distinctly heard the beast without
sniffing at the door, not two feet from where she
crouched. Instinctively the girl shuddered, and
shrank closer to the black woman.

" Hush 1 " she whispered. " Hush, Esmeral-
da," for the woman's sobs and groans seemed to

[189]

TARZAN OF THE APES

have attracted the thing that stalked there just
beyond the thin wall.

A gentle scratching sound was heard on the
door. The brute tried to force an entrance; but
presently this ceased, and again she heard the
great pads creeping stealthily around the cabin.
Again they stopped — beneath the window on
which the terrified eyes of the girl now glued
themselves.

" God I " she murmured, for now, silhouetted
against the moonlit sky beyond, she saw framed
in the tiny square of the latticed window the head
of a huge lioness. The gleaming eyes were fixed
upon her in intent ferocity.

" Look, Esmeralda I " she whispered. " For
God's sake, what shall we do? Look! Quick I
The window I "

Esmeralda, cowering still closer to her mistress,
took one affrighted glance toward the little square
of moonlight, just as the lioness emitted a low,
savage snarl.

The sight that met the poor black's eyes was
too much for the already overstrung nerves.

" Oh, Gaberelle I " she shrieked, and slid to the
floor an inert and senseless mass.
; For what seemed an eternity the great brute
stood with its fore paws upon the sill, glaring into
the little room. Presently it tried the strength
of the lattice with its great talons.

The girl had almost ceased to breathei when.

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

to her relief, the head disappeared and she heard
the brute's footsteps leaving the window. But
now they came to the door again, and once more
the scratching commenced; this time with increas-
jing force until the great beast was tearing at the
massive panels in a perfect frenzy of eagerness
to seize its defenseless victims.

Could Jane Porter have known the immense
strength of that door, builded piece by piece, she
would have felt less fear of the lioness reaching
her by this avenue.

Little did John Clayton imagine when he fash-
ioned that crude but mighty portal that one day,
twenty years later, it would shield a fair American
girl, then unborn, from the teeth and talons of
a man-eater.

For fully twenty minutes the brute alternately
sniffed and tore at the door, occasionally giving
voice to a wild, savage cry of baffled rage. At
length, however, she gave up the attempt, and
Jane Porter heard her returning toward the win-
dow, beneath which she paused for an instant, and
then launched her great weight against the time-
worn lattice.

The girl heard the wooden rods groan beneath
the impact; but they held, and the huge body
dropped back to the ground below.

Again and again the lioness repeated these
tactics, until finally the horrified prisoner within
saw a portion of the lattice give way, and in an

[ 191 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

instant one great paw and the head of the animal
were thrust within the room.

Slowly the powerful neck and shoulders spread
the bars apart, and the lithe body protruded fur-
ther and further into the room.

As in a trance, the girl rose, her hand upon her
breast, wide eyes staring horror-stricken into the
snarling face of the beast scarce ten feet from
her. At her feet lay the prostrate form of the
negress. If she could but arouse her, their com-
binded efforts might possibly avail to beat back
the fierce and blood-thirsty intruder.

Jane Porter stooped to grasp the black woman
by the shoulder. Roughly she shook her.

" Esmeralda I Esmeralda I '' she cried. " Help
me, or we are lost."

Esmeralda slowly opened her eyes. The first
object they encountered was the dripping fangs of
the hungry lioness.

With a horrified scream the poor woman rose
to her hands and knees, and in this position scur-
ried across the room, shrieking: " O Gaberellel
O Gaberelle 1 " at the top of her lungs.

Esmeralda weighed some two hundred and
eighty pounds, which enhanced nothing the
gazelle-like grace of her carriage when walking
erect, and her extreme haste, added to her
extreme corpulency, produced a most amazing
result when Esmeralda elected to travel on all
fours.

[192I

AT THE MERCY OF THE JUNGLE

^i^—— ^—i ^i— — — — — — — — III 11 I I— ^1—

For a moment the lioness remained quiet with
intense gaze directed upon the flitting Esmeralda,
whose goal appeared to be the cupboard, into
which she attempted to propel her huge bulk;
but, as the shelves were but nine or ten inches
apart, she only succeeded in getting her head in,
whereupon, with a final screech, which paled the
jungle noises into insignificance, she fainted once
again.

With the subsidence of Esmeralda the lioness
renewed her efforts to wriggle her huge bulk
through the weakening lattice.

The girl, standing pale and rigid against the
further wall, sought with ever-increasing terror
for some loop-hole of escape. Suddenly her
hand, tight-pressed against her bosom, felt the
hard outline of the revolver that Clayton had left
with her earlier in the day.

Quickly she snatched it from its hiding-place,
and, leveling it full at the lioness's face, pulled
the trigger.

There was a flash of flame, the roar of the
discharge, and an answering roar of pain and
anger from the beast.

Jane Porter saw the great form disappear from
the window, and then she, too, fainted, the
revolver falling at her side.

But Sabor was not killed. The bullet had but
inflicted a painful wound in one of the great
shoulders. It was the surprise at the blinding

1 193 1

TJRZAN OF THE APES

-» ^

flash and the deafening roar that had caused her
hasty, though but temporary, retreat.

In another instant she was back at the lattice,
and with renewed fury was clawing at the aper-
ture, but with lessened effect, since the wounded
member was almost useless.

She saw her prey — the two women — lying
senseless upon the floor; there was no longer any
resistance to be overcome. Her meat lay before
her, and Sabor had only to worm her way through
the lattice to claim it.

Slowly she forced her great bulk, inch by inch,
through the opening. Now her head was through,
now one great forearm and shoulder.

Carefully she drew up the wounded member to
insinuate it gently beyond the tight pressing bars.

A moment more and both shoulders through,
the long, sinuous body and the narrow hips would
glide quickly after.

It was on this sight that Jane Porter again
opened her eyes.

T1941

CHAPTER Xy

THE FOREST GOD

WHEN Clayton heard the report of the fire
arm he fell into an agony of fear and
apprehension. He knew that one of the sailors
might be the author of it; but the fact that he
had left the revolver with Jane Porter, together
with the overwrought condition of his nerves,
made him morbidly positive that she was threat-
ened with some great danger; perhaps even now
attempting to defend herself against some savage
man or beast.

What were the thoughts of his strange captor
or guide Clayton could only vaguely conjecture;
but that he had heard the shot, and was in some
manner effected by it was quite evident, for he
quickened his pace so appreciably that Clayton,
stumbling blindly in his wake, was down a dozen
times in as many minutes in a vain effort to keep
pace with him, and soon was left hopelessly be-
hind.

Fearing that he would again be irretrievably
lost, he called aloud to the wild man ahead of
him, and in a moment had the satisfaction of
seeing him drop lightly to his side from the
branches above.

[ I9S 1

TJRZJN OF THE APES

For a moment Tarzan looked at the young
man closely, as though undecided as to just what
was best to do ; then, stooping down before Clay*
ton, he motioned him to grasp him about the
neck, and, with the white man upon his back,
Tarzan took to the trees.

The next few minutes were such as the young
Englishman never forgot. High into bending
and swaying branches he was borne with what
seemed to him incredible swiftness, while Tarzan
chafed at the slowness of his progress.

From one lofty branch the agile creature swung
with Clayton through a dizzy arc to a neighbor-
ing tree; then for a hundred yards maybe the
sure feet threaded a maze of interwoven limbs,
balancing like a tightrope walker high above the
black depths of verdure beneath.

From the first sensation of chilling fear Clay-
ton passed to one of keen admiration and envy
of those giant muscles and that wondrous in-
stinct or knowledge which guided this forest god
through the inky blackness of the night as easily
and safely as Clayton could have strolled a Lon-
don street at high noon. ,

Occasionally they would enter a spot where the
foliage above was less dense, and the bright rays
of the moon lit up before Clayton's wondering
eyes the strange path they were traversing.

At such times the man fairly caught his breath
at sight of the horrid depths below them, for

1 196 1

THE FOREST GOD

Tarzan took the easiest way, which often led
over a hundred feet above the earth.

And yet with all his seeming speed, Tarzan
was in reality feeling his way with comparative
slowness, searching constantly for limbs of ade-
quate strength for the maintenance of this double
weight.

Presently they catne to the clearing before the
beach. Tarzan's quick ears had heard the strange
sounds of Sabor's efforts to force her way through
the lattice, and it seemed to Clayton that they
dropped a straight hundred feet to earth, so
quickly did Tarzan descend. Yet when they
struck the ground it was with scarce a jar; and
as Clayton released his hold on the ape-man he
saw him dart like a squirrel for the opposite side
of the cabin.

The Englishman sprang quickly after him just
in time to see the hind quarters of some huge
animal about to disappear through the window
of the cabin.

As Jane Porter opened her eyes to a realiza-
tion of the again imminent peril which threatened
her, her brave young heart gave up at last its
final vestige of hope, and she turned to grope
for the fallen weapon that she might mete to
herself a merciful death ere the cruel fangs tore
into her fair flesh.

The lioness was almost through the opening
before Jane found the weapon, and she raised it

[197]

TARZAN OF THE APES

quickly to her temple to shut out forever the hide*
ous jaws gaping for their prey.

An instant she hesitated, to breathe a short
and silent prayer to her Maker, and as she did
so her eyes fell upon her poor Esmeralda lying
inert, but alive, beside the cupboard.

How could she leave the poor, faithful thing
to those merciless, yellow fangs? No, she must
use one cartridge on the senseless woman ere she
turned the cold muzzle toward herself again.

How she shrank from the ordeal 1 But it had
been cruelty a thousand times less justifiable to
have left the loving black woman who had reared
her from infancy with all a mother's care and
solicitude, to regain consciousness beneath the
rending claws of the great cat

Quickly Jane Porter sprang to her feet and
ran to the side of the black. She pressed the
muzzle of the revolver tight against that devoted
heart, closed her eyes, and —

Sabor emitted a frightful shriek.

The girl, startled, pulled the trigger and turned
to face the beast, and with the same movement
raised the weapon against her own temple.

She did not fire a second time, for to her sur-
prise she saw the huge animal being slowly drawn
back through the window, and in the moonlight
beyond she saw the heads and shoulders of two
men.

As Clayton rounded the comer of the cabin to

[198]

THE FOREST GOD

behold the animal disappearing within, It was
also to see the ape-man seize the long tail
in both hands, and, bracing himself with his feet
against the side of the cabin, throw all his mighty
strength into the efiort to draw the beast out of
the interior.

Clayton was quick to lend a hand, but the ape-
man jabbered to him in a commanding and per-
emptory tone something which Clayton knew to
be orders, though he could not understand them.

At last, imder their combined efforts, the great
body comijAenced to appear farther and farther
without the window, and then there came to
Clayton's mind a dawning conception of the rash
bravery of his companion's act.

For a naked man to drag a shrieking, clawing
man-eater forth from a window by the tail to
save a strange white g^rl, was indeed the last
word in heroism^

In so far as Clayton was concerned it was a
very different matter, since the girl was not only
of his own kind and race, but was the one woman
in all the world whom he loved.

Though he knew that the lioness would make
short work of both of them, he pulled with a will
to keep it from Jane Porter. And then he re-
called the battle between this man and the great,
black-maned lion which he had witnessed a short
time before, and he commenced to feel more as-
surance.

[199]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

Tarzan was still Issuing orders which Clayton
could not understand.

He was trying to tell the stupid white man to
plunge his poisoned arrows into Sabor's back and
sides, and to reach the savage heart with the
long, thin hunting knife that hung at Tarzan's
hip; but the man would not understand, and
Tarzan did not dare release his hold to do the
things himself, for he knew that the puny white
man never could h(dd mighty Sabor alone, for an
instant.

Slowly the lioness was emerging from the win-
dow. At last her shoulders were out.

And then Clayton saw a thing done which not
even the eternal heavens had ever seen before.
Tarzan, racking his brains for some means to
cope single-handed with the infuriated beast, had
suddenly recalled his battle with Terkoz; and as
the great shoulders came clear of the window, so
that the lioness hung upon the sill only by her fore-
paws, Tarzan suddenly released his hold upon
the brute.

With the quickness of a striking rattler he
launched himself full upon Sabor's back, his
strong young arms seeldng and gaining a full-
Nelson upon the beast, as he had learned it that
other day during his bloody, wrestling victory over
Terkoz.

With a shriek the lioness turned completely
over upon her back, falling full upon her enemy;

[200]

THE FOREST GOD

but the black-haired ^ant only closed tighter his
hold.

Pawing and tearing at earth and air, Sabor
rolled and threw herself this way and that in an
effort to dislodge this strange antagonist; but
ever tighter and tighter drew the iron bands that
were forcing her head lower and lower upon her
tawny breast.

Higher crept the steel forearms of the ape-
man about the back of Sabor's neck. Weaker
and weaker became the lioness's efforts.

At last Clayton saw the immense muscles of
Tarzan's shoulders and biceps leap into corded
knots beneath the silver moonlight. There was
a long sustained and supreme effort on the ape-
man's part — and the vertebrae of Sabor's neck
parted with a sharp snap.

In an instant Tarzan was upon his feet, and
for the second time that day Clayton heard the
bull ape's savage roar of victory. Then he heard
Jane Porter's agonized cry :

"Cecil — Mr. Clayton 1 Oh, what is it?
What is it?"

Running quickly to the cabin door, Clayton
called out that all was right, and bade her open.
As quickly as she could she raised the great bar
and fairly dragged Clayton within.

" What was that awful noise? " she whispered,
shrinking close to him.

** It was the cry of the kill from the throat of

[201I

TARZAN OF THE APES

the man who has just saved your life, Miss Por-
ter. Wait, I will fetch him that you may thank
him."

The frightened girl would not be left alone,
so she accompanied Clayton to the side of the
cabin where lay the dead body of the lioness.

Tarzan of the Apes was gone.

Clayton called several times, but there was no
reply, and so the two returned to the greater
safety of the interior.

"What a frightful sound 1" cried Jane Por-
ter, " I shudder at the mere thought of it. Do
not tell me that human throat voiced that hideous
and fearsome shriek."

" But it did, Miss Porter," replied Clayton;
" or at least if not a human throat that of a forest
god."

And then he told her of his experiences with
this strange creature — ^ of how twice the wild
man had saved his life — of the wondrous
strength, and agility, and bravery — of the brown
skin and the handsome face.

" I cannot make it out at all," he concluded.
"At first I thought he might be Tarzan of the
Apes ; but he neither speaks nor understands Eng-
lish, so that theory is untenable."

" Well, whatever he may be," cried the girl,
" we owe him our lives, and may God bless him
and keep him in safety in his wild and savage
jungle I "

[202]

THE FOREST GOD

** Amen/* said Clayton, fervently.

" Fo' de good Lawd's sake, ain' Ah daid? '*

The two turned to see Esmeralda sitting up-
right upon the floor, her great eyes rolling from
side to side as though she could not believe their
testimony as to her whereabouts.

The lioness's shriek, as Jane Porter had been
about to put a bullet into poor Esmeralda, had
saved the black's life, for the little start the girl
gave had turned the muzzle of the revolver to
one side, and the bullet had passed harmlessly
into the floor.

And now, for Jane Porter, the reaction came,
and she threw herself upon the bench, screaming
with hysterical laughter.

T303I

CHAPTER XVI

"most remarkable"

OEVERAL miles south of the cabin, upon a
^ strip of sandy beach, stood two old men,
arguing.

Before them stretched the broad Atlantic; at
their backs the Dark Continent; close around
them loomed the impenetrable blackness of the
jungle.

Savage beasts roared and growled; noises,
hideous and weird, assailed their ears. They had
wandered for miles in search of their camp; but
always in the wrong direction.^ They were as
hopelessly lost as though they suddenly had been
transported to another world.

At such a time indeed must every fiber of their
combined intellects have been concentrated upon
the vital question of the minute — the life-and-
death question to them of retracing their steps to
camp.

Samuel T. Philander was speaking.

" But, my dear professor," he was saying, " I
still maintain that but for the victories of Ferdi-
nand and Isabella over the fifteenth-century
Moors in Spain the world would be today a thou-
sand years in advance of where wc now find
ourselves.

[ao4]

''MOST REMARKABLE''

" The Moors were essentially a tolerant, broad-
minded, liberal race of agriculturists, artisans
and merchants — the very type of people that
has made possible such civilization as we find
today in America and Europe — while the Span-
iards — "

"Tut, tut, dear Mr. Philander," Interrupted
Professor Porter; "their religion positively pre-
cluded the possibilities you suggest, Moslemism
was, is, and always will be, a blight on that scien-
tific progress which has marked — "

"Bless mel Professor," interjected Mr. Phi*
lander, who had turned his gaze toward the
jungle, " there seems to be someone approaching."

Professor Archimedes Q. Porter turned in the
direction Indicated by the nearsighted Mr. Phi-
lander.

" Tut, tut, Mr, Philander," he chided. " How
often must I urge you to seek that absolute con-
centration of your mental faculties which alone
may permit you to bring to bear the highest pow-
ers of intellectuality upon the momentous prob-
lems which naturally fall to the lot of great
minds? And now I find you guilty of a most
flagrant breach of courtesy in interrupting my
learned discourse to call attention to a mere quad-
ruped of the genus Felts. As I was saying,
Mr.— "

" Heavens, Professor, a lion? " cried Mr. Phi-
lander, straining his weak eyes toward the dim

[205]

TARZJN OF THE APES

figure outlined against the dark tropical under-
bmsh.

" Yes, yes, Mr. Philander, if you insist upon
employing slang^in your discourse, a * lion.' But
jas I was saying — "

' " Bless me, Professor," again interrupted Mr.
Philander; "permit me to suggest that doubtless
the Moors who were conquered in the fifteenth
century will continue in that most regrettable con-
dition for the time being at least, even though
we postpone discussion of that world calamity
until we may attain the enchanting view of yon
Felis carnivora which distance proverbially is
credited with lending."

In the meantime the lion had approached with
quiet dignity to within ten paces of the two men,
where he stood curiously watching them.

The moonlight flooded the beach, and the
strange group stood out in bold relief against
the yellow sand.

" Most reprehensible, most reprehensible," ex-
claimed Professor Porter, with a faint trace of
irritation in his voice.

" Never, Mr. Philander, never before in my
life have I known one of these animals to be per-
mitted to roam at large from its cage. I shall
most certainly report this outrageous breach of
ethics to the directors of the adjacent zoological
garden."

" Quite right, Professor," agreed Mr. Philan*

[206]

"MOST REMARKABLE

der, " and the sooner it is done the better. Let
us start now."

Seizing the professor by the arm, Mr. Philan-
der set off in the direction that would put the
greatest distance between themselves and the lion.

They had proceeded but a short distance wheni
a backward glance revealed to the horrified gaze-
of Mr. Philander that the lion was following
them. He tightened his grip upon the protesting
professor and increased his speed.

" As I was saying, Mr. Philander," repeated
Professor Porter.

Mr. Philander took another hasty glance rear-
ward. The lion also had quickened hit gait, and
was doggedly maintaining an unvarying distance
behind them.

" He is following usl " gasped Mr. Philander,
breaking into a run.

"Tut, tut, Mr. Philander," remonstrated the
professor, " this unseemly haste is most unbecom-
ing men of letters.

" What will our friends think of us, who may
chance to be upon the street and witness our friv-
olous antics? Pray let us proceed with more
decorum."

Mr. Philander stole another observation
astern.

Horrors! The lion was bounding along in
easy leaps scarce five paces behind.

Mr. Philander dropped the professor's anuy

[207]

TARZAN OF THE APES

and broke into a mad orgy of speed that would
have done credit to any varsity track team.

"As I was saying, Mr. Philander — '*
screamed Professor Porter, as, metaphorically
speaking, he himself " threw her into high." He,
too, had caught a fleeting backward glimpse of
cruel yellow eyes and half open mouth within
startling proximity of his person.

With streaming coat-tails ai^ ahiny silk hat
Professor Archimedes Q. Porter fled through the
moonlight close upon the heels of Mr. Samuel
T. Philander.

Before them a point of the jungle ran out to-
ward a narrow promontory, and it was for the
haven of the trees he saw there that Mr. Samuel
T. Philander directed his prodigious leaps and
bounds; while from the shadows of this same
spot peered two keen eyes in interested appre-
ciation of the race.

It was Tarzan of the Apes who watched, with
face a-grin, this odd game of foUow-the-leaden

He knew the two men were safe enough from
attack in so far as the lion was concerned. The
very fact that Numa had foregone such easy prey
at all convinced the \nse forest craft of Tarzan
that Numa's belly already was full.

The lion might stalk them until hungry again;
but the chances were that if not angered he would
soon tire of the sport, and slink away to his jun*
gle lain

raoS]

" MOST REMARKABLE ''

Really, the one great danger was that one of
the men might stumble and fall, and then the
yellow devil would be upon him in a moment and
the joy of the kill would be too great a tempta-
tion to withstand.

So Tarzan swung quickly to a lower limb in
line with the approaching fugitives; and as Mr.
Samuel T. Philander came panting and blowing
beneath him, already too spent to struggle up to
the safety of the limb, Tarzan reached down and,
grasping him by the collar of his coat, yanked
him to the limb by his side.

Another moment brought the professor within
the sphere of the friendly grip, and he, too, was
drawn upward to safety just as the baffled Numa,
with a roar, leaped to recover his vanishing
quarry.

For a moment the two men clung panting ta
the great branch, while Tarzan squatted with
his back to the stem of the tree, watching them
with mingled curiosity and amusement.

It was the professor who first broke the silence.

" I am deeply pained, Mr. Philander, that you
should have evinced such a paucity of manly
courage in the presence of one of the lower or-
ders, and by your crass timidity have caused me
to exert myself to such an unaccustomed degree
in order that I might resume my discourse.

" As I was saying, Mr. Philander, when you
interrupted me, the Moors — "

[209]

TARZAN OF THE APES

"•»■

" Professor Archimedes Q. Porter," broke in
Mr. Philander, in icy tones, " the time has ar-
rived when patience becomes a crime and may-
hem appears garbed in the mantle of virtue. You
have accused me of cowardice. You have insin-
uated that you ran only to overtake me, not to
escape the clutches of the lion.

" Have a care, Professor Archimedes Q. Por-
ter! I am a desperate man. Goaded by long-
suffering patience the worm will turn."

" Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut ! " cautioned
Professor Porter; " you forget yourself."

" I forget nothing as yet. Professor Archi-
medes Q. Porter; but, believe me, sir, I am tot-
tering on the verge of f orgetfulness as to your
exalted position in the world of science, and your
gray hairs."

The professor sat in silence for a few min-
utes, and the darkness hid the grim smile that
wreathed his wrinkled countenance. Presently he
spoke.

" Look here, Skinny Philander," he said, in
belligerent tones, " if you are lookin' for a scrap,
peel off your coat and come on down on the
ground, and I'll punch your head just as I did
sixty years ago in the alley back of Porky Evans'
barn."

" Ark 1 " gasped the astonished Mr. Philander.
" Lordy, how good that sounds 1 When you're
human, Ark, I love you; but somehow it seems

[210]

" MOST REMARKABLE "

as though you had forgotten how to be human
for the last twenty years."

The professor reached out a thin, trembling
old hand through the darkness until it found his
old friend's shoulder.

" Forgive me, Skinny," he said, softly. " It
hasn't been quite twenty years, and God alone
knows how hard I have tried to be * human '
for Jane's sake, and yours, too, since He took
my other Jane away."

Another old hand stole up from Mr. Philan-
der's side to clasp the one that lay upon his
shoulder, and no other message could better have
translated the one heart to the other.

They did not speak for some minutes. The
lion below them paced nervously back and forth.
The third figure in the tree was hidden by the
dense shadows near the stem. He, too, was
silent — motionless as a graven image.

** You certainly pulled me up into this tree
just in time," said the professor at last. " I want
to thank you. You saved my life."

" But I didn't pull you up here, Professor,"
said Mr. Philander. " Bless me 1 The excite-
ment of the moment quite caused me to forget
that I myself was drawn up here by some out-
side agency — there must be someone or some-
thing in this tree with us."

"Eh?" ejaculated Professor Porter. "Arc
you quite positive, Mr. Philander? "

[211]

TARZAN OF THE APES

" Most positive, Professor," replied Mr. Phi-
lander, *' and," he added, *' I think we should
thank the party. He may be sitting right next
to you now. Professor."

"Eh? What's that? Tut, tut, Mr. Philan-
der, tut, tut 1 " said Professor Porter, edgingj
cautiously nearer to Mr. Philander.

Just then it occurred to Tarzan of the Apes
that Numa had loitered beneath the tree for a
sufficient length of time, so he raised his young
head toward the heavens, and there rang out upon
the terrified ears of the two old men the awful
warning challenge of the anthropoid.

The two friends, huddled trembling in their
precarious position on the limb, saw the great lion
halt in his restless pacing as the blood-curdling
cry smote his ears, and then slink quickly into the
jungle, to be instantly lost to view.

" Even the lion trembles in fear," whispered
Mr. Philander.

" Most remarkable, most remarkable," mur-
mured Professor Porter, clutching frantically at
Mr. Philander to regain the balance which the
sudden fright had so perilously endangered.
Unfortunately for them both, Mr. Philander's
center of equilibrium was at that very mohient
hanging upon the ragged edge of nothing, so that
it needed but the gentle impetus supplied by the
additional weight of Professor Porter's body to
topple the devoted secretary from the limb.

[212]

''MOST REMARKABLE*'

For a moment they swayed uncertainly, and
then, with mingled and most unscholarly shrieks,
they pitched headlong from the tree, locked in
frenzied embrace.

It was quite some moments ere either moved,
for both were positive that any such attempt would
reveal so many breaks and fractures as to make
further progress impossible.

At length Professor Porter essayed an attempt
to move one leg. To his surprise, it responded
to his will as in days gone by. He now drew up
its mate and stretched it forth again.

" Most remarkable, most remarkable," he mur-
mured.

" Thank God, Professor," whispered Mr. Phi-
lander, fervently, " you are not dead, then? "

" Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut," cautioned
Professor Porter, " I do not know with accuracy
as yet."

With infinite solicitude Professor Porter wig-
gled his right arm — joy I It was intact. Breath-
lessly he waved his left arm above his prostrate
body — it waved 1

" Most remarkable, most remarkable," he saiA

"To whom are you signaling, Professor?"
asked Mr. Philander, in an excited tone.

Professor Porter deigned to make no response
to this puerile inquiry. Instead he raised his head
gently from the ground, nodding it back and forth
a half-dozen times.

[213I

TJRZJN OF THE APES

" Most remarkable," he breathed " It remains
intact"

Mn Philander had not moved from where he
had fallen; he had not dared the attempt. How
indeed could one move when one's arms and legs
and back were broken?

One eye was buried in the soft loam; the other,
rolling sidewise, was fixed in awe upon the strange
gyrations of Professor Porten

" How sad ! " exclaimed Mr. Philander, half
aloud. " Concussion of the brain, superinducing
total mental aberration. How very sad indeed!
and for one still so young ! "

Professor Porter rolled over upon his stomach ;
gingerly he bowed his back until he resembled a
huge tom cat in proximity to a yelping dog. Then
he sat up and felt of various portions of his anat-
omy.

" They are all here," he ejaculated. " Most
remarkable ! "

Whereupon he arose, and, bending a scathing
glance upon the still prostrate form of Mr. Sam-
uel T. Philander, he said :

"Tut, tut, Mr. Philander; this is no time to
indulge in slothful ease. We must be up and
doing. "-

Mr. Philander lifted his other eye out of the
'mud, and gazed in speechless rage at Professor
Porter. Then he attempted to rise; npr could
there have been any more surprised than he when

[214]

''MOST REMARKABLE'"

his efforts were immediately crowned with marked
success.

He was still bursting with rage, however, at
the cruel injustice of Professor Porter's insinua-
tion, and was on the point of rendering a tart
rejoinder when his eyes fell upon a strange figure
standing a few paces away, scrutinizing them
intently.

Professor Porter had recovered his shiny silk
hat, which he had brushed carefully upon the
sleeve of his coat and replaced upon his head.
When he saw Mr. Philander pointing to some-
thing behind him he turned to behold a giant,
naked but for a loin cloth and a few metal orna-
ments, standing motionless before him.

" Good evening, sir! " said the professor, lift-
ing his hat.

For reply the giant motioned them to follow
him, and set off up the beach in the direction from
which they had recently come.

" I think it the part of discretion to follow
him," said Mr. Philander.

" Tut, tut, Mr. Philander," returned the pro-
fessor. " A short time since you were advancing
most logical argument in substantiation of your
theory that camp lay directly south of us. I was
skeptical, but you finally convinced me ; so now
I am positive that toward the south we must
travel to reach our friends. Therefore 1 shall
continue south."

TARZAN OF THE APES

" But, Professor Porter, this man may know
better than either of us. He seems to be indig-
enous to this part of the world. Let us at least
follow him for a short distance."

" Tut, tut, Mr. Philander," repeated the pro-
fessor. ^' I am a difficult man to convince, but
when once convinced my decision is unalterable.
I shall continue in the proper direction, if I have
to circumambulate the continent of Africa to
reach my destination."

Further argument was interrupted by Tarzan,
who, seeing that these strange men were not fol-
lowing him, had returned to their side.

Again he beckoned to them ; but still they stood
in argument.

Presently the ape-man lost patience with their
stupid ignorance. He grasped the frightened Mr.
Philander by the shoulder, and before that worthy
gentleman knew whether he was being killed or
merely maimed for life, Tarzan had tied one end
of his rope securely about Mr. Philander's neck.

" Tut, tut, Mr. Philander," remonstrated Pro-
fessor Porter; " it is most unbeseeming in you to
submit to such indignities."

But scarcely were the words out of his mouth
ere he, too, had been seized and securely bound
by the neck with the same rope. Then Tarzan
set off toward the north, leading the now thor*
oughly frightened professor and his secretary.

In deathly silence they proceeded for what

[216I

"MOST REMARKABLE

»»

seemed hours to the two tired and hopeless old
men; but presently as they topped a little rise of
ground they were overjoyed to see the cabin lying
before them, not a hundred yards distant.

Here Tarzan released them, and, pointing
toward the little building, vanished into the jun-
gle beside them.

** Most remarkable, most remsirkable I " gasped
the professor. " But you see, Mr. Philander,
that I was quite right, as usual ; and but for your
stubborn wilfulness we should have escaped a
series of most humiliating, not to say dangerous
accidents. Pray allow yourself to be guided by a
more mature and practical mind hereafter when in
need of wise counsel."

Mr. Samuel T. Philander was too much
relieved at the happy outcome of their adventure
to take umbrage at the professor^s cruel fling.
Instead he grasped his friend's arm and hastened
him forward in the direction of the cabin.

It was a much-relieved party of castaways that
found itself once more united. Dawn discovered
them still recounting their various adventures, and
speculating upon the identity of the strange guard-
ian and protector they had found on this savage
shore.

Esmeralda was positive that it was none other
than an angel of the Lord, sent down especially
to watch over them.

" Had you seen him devour the raw meat of

I217I

TJRZJN OF THE APES

the lion, Esmeralda," laughed Clayton, "you
would have thought him a very material angel."

" Ah doan know nuffin' 'bout dat, Marse Clay-
ton," rejoined Esmeralda ; " but Ah 'specs de
Lawd clean fergot to gib him any matches. He
sent him down in sech a hurry to look after we-
all. An' he suttinly cain't cook nuffin' 'thout
matches — no, sah."

" There was nothing heavenly about his voice,"
said Jane Porter, with a little shudder at recollec-
tion of the awful roar which had followed the
killing of the lioness.

" Nor did it precisely comport with my pre-
conceived ideas of the dignity of divine messen-
gers," remarked Professor Porter, " when the —
ah — gentleman tied two highly respectable and
erudite scholars neck to neck and dragged them
through the jungle as though they had been cows."

t^iSl

CHAPTER XVII

BURIALS

AS IT was now quite light, the party, none of
whom had eaten or slept since the previous
morning, began to bestir themselves to prepare
food.

The mutineers of the Arrow had landed a
small supply of dried meats, canned soups and
vegetables, crackers, flour, tea, and coffee for the
five they had marooned, and these were hurriedly
drawn upon to satisfy the craving of long-famished
appetites.

The next task was to make the cabin habitable,
and to this end it was decided to at once remove
the gruesome relics of the tragedy which had
taken place there on some bygone day.

Professor Porter and Mr. Philander were
deeply interested in examining the skeletons. The
two larger, they stated, had belonged to a male
and female of one of the higher white races.

The smallest skeleton was given but passing
attention, as its location, in the crib, left no doubt
as to its having been the infant offspring of this
unhappy couple.

As they were preparing the skeleton of the man
for burial, Clayton discovered a massive ring

[ax9l

TARZAN OF THE APES

which had evidently encircled the man's finger at
the time of his death, for one of the slender bones
of the hand still lay within the golden bauble.

Picking it up to examine it, Clayton gave a cry
of astonishment, for the ring bore the crest of the
house of Greystoke.

At the same time, Jane Porter discovered the
books in the cupboard, and on opening to the fly-
leaf of one of them saw the name, John Clayton,
London. In a second book which she hurriedly
examined was the single name, Greystoke.

" Why, Mr. Clayton," she cried, " what does
this mean? Here are the names of some of your
own people in these books."

" And here," he replied gravely, " Is the great
ring of the house of Greystoke which has been
lost since my uncle, John Clayton, the former
Lord Greystoke, disappeared, presumably lost at
sea."

" But how do you account for these things being
here, in this savage African jungle?" exclaimed
the girl.

" There is but one way to account for it. Miss
Porter," said Clayton. "The late Lord Grey-
stoke was not drowned. He died here in this
cabin and this poor thing upon the floor is all that
is mortal of him."

" Then this must have been Lady Greystoke,"
said Jane Porter reverently, indicating the poof
mass of bones upon the bed.

[220]

BURIALS

** The beautiful Lady Alice," replied Clayton,
" of whose many virtues and remarkable personal
charms I often have heard my mother and father
speak. Poor, unhappy lady," he murmured sadly.

With deep reverence and solemnity the bodies
of the late Lord and Lady Greystoke were buried
beside their little African cabin, and between them
was placed the tiny skeleton of the baby of Kala,
the ape.

As Mr. Philander was placing the frail bones
of the infant in a bit of sail cloth, he exammed
the skull minutely. Then he called Professor
Porter to his side, and the two argued in low
tones for several minutes.

'^ Most remarkable, most remarkable," said
Professor Porter.

" Bless me," said Mr. Philander, " we must
acquaint Mr. Clayton with our discovery at once."

"Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tutl" remon-
strated Professor Archimedes Q. Porter. " * Let
the dead past bury its dead.' "

And so the white-haired old man repeated the
burial service over this strange grave, while his
four companions stood with bowed and uncovered
heads about him.

From the trees Tarzan of the Apes watched
the solemn ceremony; but most of all he watched
the sweet face and graceful figure of Jane Porter.

In his savage, untutored breast new emotions
were stirring. He could not fathom them. He

[221I

TARZAN OF THE APES

wondered why he felt so great an interest in these
people — why he had gone to such pains to save
the three mem But he did not wonder why he
had torn Sabor f roni the tender flesh of the strange

girl.

Surply the men were stupid and ridiculous and
cowardly. Even Manu, the monkey, was more
intelligent than they. If these were creatures of
his own kind he was doubtful if his past pride in
blood was warranted.

But the girl, ah — -that was a different matter.
He did not reason here. He knew that she was
created to be protected, and that he was created
to protect her.

He wondered why they had dug a great hole
in the ground merely to bury dry bones. Surely
there was no sense in that ; no one wanted to steal
dry bones.

Had there been meat upon them he could have
understood, for thus alone might one keep his
meat from Dango, the hyena, and the other rob-
bers of the jungle.

When the grave had been filled with earth the
little party turned back toward the cabin^ and
Esmeralda, still weeping copiously for the two
she had never heard of before today, and who
had been dead twenty years, chanced to glance
toward the harbor. Instantly her tears ceased.

" Look at dem low down white trash out
dere 1 " she shrilled, pointing toward the Arrow.

I 222]

BURIALS

" They-all's a desecratin* us, right yerc on dis
yere perverted islan'."

And, sure enough, the Arrow was being
worked toward the open sea, slowly, through the
harbor's entrance.

" They promised to leave us firearms and
ammunition,'* said Clayton. " The merciless
beasts I"

" It is the work of that fellow they call Snipes,
I am sure," said Jane Porter. "King was a
scoundrel, but he had a little sense of humanity.
If they had not killed him I know that he would
have seen that we were properly provided for
before they left us to our fate."

" I regret that they did not visit us before sail-
ing," said Professor Porter. " I had purposed
requesting them to leave the treasure with us, as
I shall be a ruined man if that is lost."

Jane Porter looked at her father sadly.

" Never mind, dear," she said. " It wouldn't
have done any good, because it is solely for the
treasure that they killed their officers and landed
us upon this awful shore."

" Tut, tut, child, tut, tut I " replied Professor
Porter. " You are a good child, but inexperienced
in practical matters," and Professor Porter turned
and walked slowly away toward the jungle, his
hands clasped beneath his long coat-tails and his
eyes bent upon the ground.

His daughter watched him with a pathetic smile

[223]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

upon her lips, and then turning to Mr. Philander,
she whispered :

** Please don't let him wander off again as he
did yesterday. We depend upon you, you know,
to keep a close watch upon him."

" He becomes more difficult to handle each
day," replied Mr. Philander, with a sigh and a
shake of his head. " I presume he is now off to
report to the directors of the Zoo that one of
their lions was at large last night. Oh, Miss
Jane, you don't* know what I have to contend
with."

"Yes, I do, Mr. Philander; but while we all
love him, you alone are best fitted to manage him ;
for, regardless of what he may say to you, he
respects your great learning, and, therefore, has
immense confidence in your judgment. The poor
dear cannot differentiate between erudition and
wisdom."

Mr. Philander, with a mildly puzzled expres-
sion on his face, turned to pursue Professor Por-
ter, and in his mind he was revolving the question
of whether he should feel complimented or
aggrieved at Miss Porter's rather back-handed
compliment.

Tarzan had seen the consternation depicted
upon the faces of the little group as they witnessed
the departure of the Arrow; so, as the ship was a
wonderful novelty to him in addition, he deter-
mined to hasten out to the point of land at the

[224]

BURIALS

■*ii^-

north of the harbor^s mouth and obtain a nearer
view of the boat, as well as to learn, if possible,
the direction of its flight.

Swinging through the trees with great speed, he
reached the point but a moment after the ship
had passed out of the harbor, so that he obtained
an excellent view of the wonders of this strange,
floating house.

There were some twenty men running hither
and thither about the deck, pulling and hauling
on ropes.

A light land breeze was blowing, and the ship
had been worked through the harbor's mouth
under scant sail, but now that they had cleared the
point every available shred of canvas was being
spread that she might stand out to sea as handily
as possible.

Tarzan watched the graceful movements of the
ship in rapt admiration, and longed to be aboard
her. Presently his keen eyes caught the faintest
suspicion of smoke on the far northern horizon,
and he wondered over the cause of such a thing
out on the great water.

At about the same time the look-out on the
Arrow must have discerned it, for in a few min*
utes Tarzan saw the sails being shifted and short*
ened. The ship came about, and presently he
knew that she was beating back toward land.

A man at the bows was constantly heaving into
the sea a rope to the end of which a small object

[22s]

TARZAN OF THE APES

was fastened. Tarzan wondered what the pur-
pose of this action might be.

At last the ship came up directly into the wind;
the anchor was lowered; down came the sails.
There was great scurrying about on deck.

A boat was lowered, and in it a great chest
was placed. Then a dozen sailors bent to the
oars and pulled rapidly toward the point where
Tarzan crouched in the branches of a tree.

In the stern of the boat, as it drew nearer, Tar-
zan saw the rat-faced man.

It was but a few minutes later that the boat
touched the beach. The men jumped out and
lifted the great chest to the sand. They were on
the north side of the point so that their presence
was concealed from those at the cabin.

The men argued angrily for a moment. Then
the rat-fac;ed one, with several companions,
ascended the low bluff on which stood the tree
that concealed Tarzan. They looked about for
several minutes.

" Here is a good place," said the rat-faced
sailor, indicating a spot beneath Tarzan's tree.

" It is as good as any," replied one of his com-
panions. " If they catch us with the treasure
aboard it will all be confiscated anyway. We
might as well bury it here on the chance that some
of us will escape the gallows to come back and
enjoy it later."

The rat-faced one now called to the men who

[226]

BURIALS

had remained at the boat, and they came slowly
up the bank carrying picks and shovels.

" Hurry, you I " cried Snipes.

" Stow it! " retorted one of the men, in a surly

tone. " You're no admiral, you

shrimpJ

" I'm Cap'n here, though, I'll have you to
understand, you swab," shrieked Snipes, with a
volley of frightful oaths.

" Steady, boys," cautioned one of the men who
had not spoken before. '* It ain't goin' to get us
nothing by fightin' amongst ourselves."

" Right enough," replied the sailor who had
resented Snipes' autocratic tones; "but by the
same token it ain't a-goin' to get nobody nothin'
to put on airs in this bloomin' company neither."

" You fellows dig here," said Snipes, indicating
a spot beneath the tree. " And while you're dig-
gin', Peter kin be a-makin' of a map of the loca^
tion, so's we kin find it again. You, Tom, and
Bill, take a couple more down and fetch up the
chest"

" Wot are you a-goin' to do ? " asked he of the
previous altercation. "Just boss? "
, " Git busy there," growled Snipes. " You
didn't think your Cap'n was a-^goin' to dig with
a shovel, did you ? "

The men all looked up angrily. None of them
liked Snipes, and his disagreeable show of author-
ity since he had murdered King, the real head and

[227]

TARZAN OF THE APES

ringleader of the mutineers, had only added fuel
to the flames of their hatred.

" Do you mean to say that you don't intend to
take a shovel, and lend a hand with this work?
YouVe shoulder's not hurted so all-fired bad as
that," said Tarrant, the sailor who had before
spoken.

" Not by a sight," replied Snipes, finger-
ing the butt of his revolver nervously.

"Then, by God," replied Tarrant, '^if you
won't take a shovel you'll take a pick ax."

With the words he raised his pick above his
head, and, with a mighty blow, buried the point in
Snipes' brain.

For a moment the men stood silently looking
at the result of their fellow's grim humor. Then
one of them spoke.

** Served the skunk jolly well right," he said.

One of the others commenced to ply his pick to
the ground. The soil was soft and he threw
aside the pick and grasped a shovel; then the
others joined him. There was no further com-
ment on the killing, but the men worked in a
better frame of mind than they had since Snipes
had assumed command.

When they had a trench of ample size to bury
the chest, Tarrant suggested that they enlarge it
and inter Snipes' body on top of the chest.

" It might 'elp fool any as 'appened to be dig*
gin' 'ereabouts," he explained.

[228]

BURIALS

The others saw the cunning of the suggestion,
and so the trench was lengthened to accommo-
date the corpse, and in the center a deeper hole
was excavated for the box, which was first
wrapped in sail cloth and then lowered to its place,
which brought its top about a foot below the bot-
tom of the grave. Earth was shovelled in and
tramped down about the chest until the bottom
of the grave showed level and uniform.

Two of the men rolled the rat-faced corpse
unceremoniously into the grave, after first strip-
ping it of its weapons and various other articles
which the several members of the party coveted
for their own.

They then filled the grave with earth and
tramped upon it until it would hold no more.

The balance of the loose earth was thrown
far and wide, and a mass of dead undergrowth
spread in as natural a manner as possible over
the new made grave to obliterate all signs of the
ground having been disturbed.

Their work done the sailors returned to the
small boat, and pulled off rapidly toward the
Jrrow.

The breeze had increased considerably, and as
the smoke upon the horizon was now plainly dis-
cernible in considerable volume, the mutineers
lost no time in getting under full sail and bear-
ing away toward the southwest.

Tarzan, an interested spectator of all that had

[ 229 ]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

taken place, sat speculating on the strange actions
of these peculiar creatures.

Men were indeed more foolish and more cruel
than the beasts of the jungle 1 How fortunate
was he who lived in the peace and security of
the great forest!

Tarzan wondered what the chest they had
buried contained. If they did not want it why
did they not merely throw it into the water?
That would have been much easier.

Ah, he thought, but they do want it They
have hidden it here because they intend returning
for it later.

tarzan dropped to the ground and com-
menced to examine the earth about the excava-
tion. He was looking to see if these creatures
had dropped anything which he might like to
own. Soon he discovered a spade hidden by the
underbrush which they had laid upon the grave.

He seized it and attempted to use it as he had
seen the sailors do. It was awkward work and
hurt his bare jFeet, but he persevered until he had
partially uncovered the body. This he dragged
from the grave and laid to one side.

Then he continued digging until he had un-
earthed the chest. This also he dragged to the
side of the corpse. Then he filled in the smaller
hole below the grave, replaced the body and the
earth around and above it; covered it over with
underbrush and returned to the chest.

U30I

BURIALS

Four sailors had sweated beneath the burden
of its weight — Tarzan of the Apes picked it up
as though it had been an empty packing case, and
with the spade slung to his back by a piece of
rope, carried it off into the densest part of the
jungle.

He could not well negotiate the trees with this
awkward burden, but he kept to the trails, and so
made fairly good time.

For several hours he traveled a little north of
east until he came to an impenetrable wall of
matted and tangled vegetation. Then he took
to the lower branches, and in another fifteen min-
utes he emerged into the amphitheater of the
apes, where they met in council, or to celebrate
the rites of the Dum-Dum.

Near the center of the clearing, and not far
from the drum, or altar, he commenced to dig.
This was harder work than turning up the freshly
excavated earth at the grave, but Tarzan of the
Apes was persevering and so he kept at his labor
until he was rewarded by seeing a hole sufficiently
deep to receive the chest and effectually hide it
from view.

Why had he gone to all this labor without
knowing the value of the contents of the chest?

Tarzan of the Apes had a man's figure and a
man's brain, but he was an ape by training and
environment. His brain told him that the chest
contained something valuable, or the men would

[231I

TARZJN OF THE APES

not have hidden it; his training had taught ium
to imitate whatever was new and unusual, and
now the natural curiosity, which is as common to
men as to apes, prompted him to open the chest
and examine its contents.

But the heavy lock and massive iron bands
baffled both his cunning and his immense strengtlT,
vH> that he was compelled to bury the chest with-
out having his curiosity satisfied.

By the time Tarzan had hunted his way back
to the vicinity of the cabin, feeding as he went,
it was quite dark.

Within the little building a light was burning,
for Cla3^on had found an unopened tin of oil
which had stood intact for twenty years; a part
of the supplies left with the Claytons by Black
Michael, The lamps also were still useable, and
thus the interior of the cabin appeared as bright
as day to the astonished Tarzan.

He had often wondered at the exact purpose
of the lamps. His reading and the pictures had
told him what they were, but he had no idea of
how they could be made to produce the wond-
rous sunlight that some of his pictures had por-
trayed them as diffusing upon all surrounding ob-
jects.

As he approached the window nearest the door
he saw that the cabin had been divided into two
rooms by a rough partition of boughs and sail-
cloth.

1 231 T

BURIALS

In the front room were the three men ; the two
older deep in argument, while the younger, tilted
back against the wall on an improvised stool, was
deeply engrossed in reading one of Tarzan's
books.

Tarzan was not particularly interested in the
men, however, so he sought the other window.
There was the girl. How beautiful her features I
How delicate her snowy skinl

She was writing at Tarzan's own table beneath
the window. Upon a pile of grasses at the far
side of the room lay the negress, asleep*

For an hour Tarzan feasted his eyes upon her
while she wrote. How he longed to speak to her,
but he dared not attempt it, for he was convinced
that, like the young men, she would not under-
stand him, and he feared, too, that he might
frighten her away.

At length she arose, leaving her manuscript
upon the table. She went to the bed upon which
had been spread several layers of soft grasses.
These she rearranged.

Then she loosened the soft mass of golden hair
which crowned her head. Like a shimmering
waterfall turned to burnished metal by a djnng
sun it fell about her oval face; in waving lines,
below her waist it tumbled.

Tarzan was spellbound. Then she extinguished
the lamp and all within the cabin was wrapped
in Cimmerian darkness.

[2331

TARZAN OF THE APES

Still Tarzan watched without. Creeping close
beneath the window he waited, listening, for half
an hour. At last he was rewarded by the sounds
of the regular breathing within which denotes
sleep.

Cautiously he intruded his hand between thp
meshes of the lattice until his whole arm was
within the cabin. Carefully he felt upon the desk.
At last he grasped the manuscript upon which
Jane Porter had been writing, and as cautiously
withdrew his arm and hand, holding the precious
treasure.

Tarzan folded the sheets into a small parcel
which he tucked into the quiver with his arrows.
Then he melted away into the jungle as softly
and as noiselessly as a shadow.

[ 234 1

CHAPTER XVIII

THE JUNGLE TOLL

EARLY the following morning Tarzan awoke,
and the first thought of the new day, as the
last of yesterday, was of the wonderful writing
which lay hidden in his quiver.

Hurriedly he brought it forth, hoping against
hope that he could read what the beautiful white
girl had written there the preceding evening.

At the first glance he suffered the bitterest dis-
appointment of his whole life; never before had
he so yearned for anything as now he did for the
ability to interpret a message from that golden-
haired divinity who had come so suddenly and
so unexpectedly into his life.

What if the message were not intended for
him? It was an expression of her thoughts, and
that was all sufficient for Tarzan of the Apes.

And now to be baffled by strange, uncouth
characters the like of which he had never seen
before 1 Why, they even tipped in the opposite
direction from all that he had ever examined
either in printed books or the difficult script of
the few letters he had found.

Even the little bugs of the black book were
familiar friends, though their arrangement

[ 235 ]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

meant nothing to him; but these bugs were new
and unheard of.

For twenty minutes he poured over them, when
suddenly they commenced to take familiar though
distorted shapes. Ah, they were his old friends,
but badly crippled.

Then he began to make out a word here and
a word there. His heart leaped for joy. He
could read it, and he would.

In another half hour he was progressing rap-
idly, and, but for an exceptional word now and
again, he found it very plain sailing.

Here is what he read:

West Coast of Africa, About io® Dbgrees South
Latitude. (So Mr. Clayton says.)

February 3(f), IQOQ.

Dearest Hazel:

It seems foolish to write you a letter that you may never
see, but I simply must tell somebody of our awful expe-
riences since we sailed from Europe on the ill-fated
Arrow.

If we never return to civilization, as now seems only
too likely, this will at least prove a brief record of the
events which led up to our final fate, whatever it may be.

As you know, we were supposed to have set out upon
a scientific expedition to the Congo. Papa was presumed
to entertain some wondrous theory of an . unthinkably
ancient civilization, the remains of which lay buried some-
where in the Congo valley. But after we were well under
sail the truth came out.

It seems that an old bookworm who has a book and
curio shop in Baltimore discovered between the leaves ol
a very old Spanish manuscript a letter written in 155a

[236]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

detailing the adventures of a crew of mutineers of a Span-
ish galleon bound from Spain to South America with a
vast treasure of " doubloons " and " pieces of eight," I
suppose, for they certainly sound weird and piraty.

The writer had been one of the crew, and the letter
was to his son, who was, at the very time the letter was
written, master of a Spanish merchantman.

Many years had elapsed since the events the letter nar-
rated had transpired, and the old man had become a re-
spected citizen of an obscure Spanish town, but the love
of gold was still so strong upon him that he risked all to
acquaint his son with the means of attaining fabulous
wealth for them both.

The writer told how when but a week out from Spain
the crew had mutinied and murdered every officer and
man who opposed them ; but they defeated their own ends
by this very act, for there was none left competent to navi-
gate a ship at sea.

They were blown hither and thither for two months,
until sick and dying of scurvy, starvation, and thirst, they
had been wrecked on a small islet.

The galleon was washed high upon the beach where she
went to pieces; but not before the survivors, who num-
bered but ten souls, had rescued one of the great chests
of treasure.

This they buried well up on the island, and for three
years they lived there in constant hope of being rescued.

One by one they sickened and died, until only one man
was left, the writer of the letter.

The men had built a boat from the wreckage of the
galleon, but having no idea where the island was located
they had not dared to put to sea.

When all were dead except himself, however, the aw-
ful loneliness so weighed upon the mind of the sole sur-
vivor that he could endure it no longer, and choosing to
risk death upon the open sea rather than madness on the
lonely isle, he set sail in his little boat after nearly a y^r
of solitude.

Fortunately he sailed due north, and within a week

[2371

TARZAN OF THE APES

was in the trade of the Spanish merdiantmen pishing be-
tween the West Indies and Spain, and was picked up by
one of these vessels homeward bound.

The story he told was merely one of shipwreck in which
all but a few had perished, the balance, except himself,
dying after they reached the island. He did not men-
tion the mutiny or the chest of buried treasure.

The master of the merchantman assured him that from
the position at which they had picked him up, and the
prevailing winds for the past week he could have been
on no other island than one of the Cape Verde group,
which lie ofiE the West Coast of Africa in about i6° or
17° north latitude.

His letter described the island minutely, as well as the
location of the treasure, and was accompanied by the crud-
est, funniest little old map you ever saw ; with trees and
rocks all marked by scrawly X*s to show the exact spot
where the treasure had been buried.

When papa explained the real nature of the expedi-
tion, my heart sank, for I know so well how visionary
and impractical the poor dear has always been that I
feared that he had again been duped; especially when he
told me that he had paid a thousand dollars for the letter
and map.

To add to my distress, I learned that he had borrowed
ten thousand dollars more from Robert Canler, and had
given his notes for the amount.

Mr. Canler had asked for no. security, and you know,
dearie, what that will mean for me if papa cannot meet
them. Ob, how I detest that man!

We all tried to look on the bright side of things, but
Mr. Philander, and Mr. Qayton — he joined us in Lon-
don just for the adventure — both felt as skeptical as I.

Well, to make a long story short, we found the island
and the treasure — a great iron bound oak chest, wrapped
in many layers of oiled sail doth, and as strong and firm
as when it had been buried nearly two hundred years ago.

It was simply filled with gold coin, and was so heavy
that four men bent beneath its weight.

[238]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

The horrid thing seems to bring nothing but murder
and misfortune to those who have to do with it, for three
days after we sailed from the Cape Verde Islands our own
crew mutinied and killed every one of their officers.

Oh, it was the most terrifying experience one could
imagine — I cannot even write of it.

They were going to kill us too, but one of them, the
leader, a man named King, would not let them, and so
they sailed south along the coast to a lonely spot where
they found a good harbor, and here they landed and have
left us.

They sailed away with the treasure today, but Mr.
Cla3rton says they will meet with a fate similar to the
mutineers of the ancient galleon, because King, the only
man aboard who knew aught of navigation, was mur-
dered on the beach by one of the men the day we landed.

I wish you could know Mr* Clayton ; he is the dearest
fellow imaginable, and unless I am mistaken he has fallen
very much in love with poor little me.

He is the only son of Lord Greystoke, and some day
will inherit the title and estates. In addition, he is
wealthy in his own right, but the fact that he is going to
be an English Lord makes me very sad — you know what
my sentiments have always been relative to American
girls who married titled foreigners. Oh, if he were only
a plain American gentleman I

But it isn't his fault, poor fellow, and in everything
except birth he would do credit to my darling old coun-
try, and that is the greatest compliment I know how to
pay any man.

We have had the most weird experiences since we were
landed here. Papa and Mr. Philander lost in the jungle,
and chased by a real lion.

Mr. Qayton lost, and attacked twice by wild beasts.
Esmeralda and I cornered in an old cabin by a perfectly
awful man-eating lioness. Oh, it was simply " terrifical,"
as Esmeralda would say.

But the strangest part of it all is the wonderful creature
who rescued us. I have not seen him, but Mr. Claytoa

[ 239 1

TARZJN OF THE APES

and papa and Mr. Philander have, and they say that
he is a perfectly god-like white man tanned to a dusky
brown; with the strength of a wild elephant, the agility
of a monkey, and the bravery of a lion.

He speaks no English and vanishes as quickly and as
mysteriously after he has performed some valorous deed,
as though he were a disembodied spirit.

Then we have another weird neighbor, who printed
a beautiful sign in English and tacked it on the door of
his cabin, which we have preempted, warning us to destroy
none of his belongings, and signing himself ^'Tarzan of
the Apes.'*

We have never seen him, though we think he is about,
for one of the sailors, who was going to shoot Mr. Clay-
ton in the back, received a spear in his shoulder from
some unseen hand in the jungle.

The sailors left us but a meagre supply of food, so, as
we have only a single revolver with but three cartridges
left in it, we do not know how we can procure meat,
though Mr. Philander says that we can exist indefinitely
on the wild fruit and nuts which abound in the jungle.

I am very tired now, so I shall go to my funny bed
of grasses which Mr. Clayton gathered for me, but will
add to this from day to day as things happen.

Lovingly,

Jane Porter.
To Hazel Strong, Baltimore, Md.

Tarzan sat in a brown study for a long time
after he finished reading the letter. It was filled
with so many new and wonderful things that his
brain was in a whirl as he attempted to digest
them all.

So they did not know that he was Tarzan of
the Apes. He would tell them.

In his tree he had constructed a rude shelter

[240]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

of leaves and boughs, beneath which, protected
from the rain, he had placed the few treasures
brought from the cabin. Among these were some
pencils.

He took one, and beneath Jane Porter's signa-
ture he wrote:

I am Tarzan of the Apes.

He thought that would be sufficient. Later he
would return the letter to the cabin.

In the matter of food, thought Tarzan, they
had no need to worry — he would provide, and
he did.

The next morning Jane Porter found her miss-
ing letter in the exact spot from which it had
disappeared two nights before. She was mysti-
fied; but when she saw the printed words beneath
her signature, she felt a cold, clammy chill run
up her spine. She showed the letter, or rather
the last sheet with the signature, to Clayton.

" And to think,'* she said, " that uncanny
thing was probably watching me all the time that
I was writing — oo I It makes me shudder just
to think of it."

" But he must be friendly," reassured Clayton,
" for he has returned your letter, nor did he offer
to harm you, and unless I am mistaken he left
a very substantial memento of his friendship out-
side the cabin door last night, for I just found
the carcass of a wild boar there as I came out."

[241]

TARZAN OF THE APES

From then on scarcely a day passed that did
not bring its offering of game or other food.
Sometimes it was a young deer, again a quantity
of strange, cooked food — cassava cakes pilfered
from the village of Mbonga — or a boar, or
leopard, and once a lion.

Tarzan derived the greatest pleasure of his
life in hunting meat for these strangers. It
seemed to him that no pleasure on earth could
compare with laboring for the welfare and pro-
tection of the beautiful white girl.

Some day he would venture into the camp in
daylight and talk with these people through the
medium of the little bugs which were familiar to
them and to Tarzan.

But he found it difficult to overcome the timid-
ity of the wild thing of the forest, and so day
followed day without seeing a fulfillment of his
good intentions.

The party in the camp, emboldened by famili-
arity, wandered further and yet further into the
jungle in search of nuts and fruit.

Scarcely a day passed that did not find Pro-
fessor Porter straying in his preoccupied indiffer-
ence toward the jaws of death. Mr. Samuel T.
Philander, never what one might call robust, was
worn to the shadow of a shadow through the
ceaseless worry and mental distraction resultant
from his Herculean efforts to safeguard the pro-
fessor.

1 242 ]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

A month passed. Tarzan had finally deter*
mined to visit the camp by daylight.

It was early afternoon. Clayton had wandered
to the point at the harbor's mouth to look for
passing vessels. Here he kept a great mass of
wood, high piled, ready to be ignited a^ a signal
should a steamer or a sail top the far horizon.

Professor Porter was wandering along the
beach south of the camp with Mr. Philander at
his elbow, urging him to turn his steps back be-
fore the two became again the sport of some
savage beast.

The others gone, Jane Porter and Esmeralda
had wandered into the jungle to gather fruit,
and in their search were led further and further
from the cabin.

Tarzan waited in silence before the door of
the little house until they should return. His
thoughts were of the beautiful white girl. They
were always of her now. He wondered if she
would fear him, and the thought all but caused
him to relinquish his plan.

He was rapidly becoming impatient for her
return, that he might feast his eyes upon her and
be near her, perhaps touch her. The ape-man
knew no god, but he was as near to worshipping
his divinity as mortal man ever comes to wor-
ship.

While he waited he passed the time printing
a message to her; whether he intended giving it

[ ^43 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

to her he himself could not have told, but he took
infinite pleasure in seeing his thoughts expressed
in print — in which he was not so uncivilized
after all. He wrote:

I am Tarzan of the Apes. I want 3rou. I am srours.
You arc mine. We will live here together always in my
house. I will bring you the best fruits, the tenderest deer,
the finest meats that roam the jungle. I will hunt for
you. I am the greatest of the jungle hunters. I will
fight for you. I am the mightiest of the jungle fighters.
You are Jane Porter, I saw it in your letter. When you
see this you will know that it is for you and that Tarxan
of the Apes loves you.

As he stood, straight as a young Indian, by
the door, waiting after he had finished the mes-
sage, there came to his keen ears a familiar sound.
It was the passing of a great ape through the
lower branches of the forest.

For an instant he listened intently, and then
from the jungle came the agonized scream of a
woman, and Tarzan of the Apes, dropping his
first love letter upon the ground, shot like a pan-*
ther into the forest.

Clayton, also, heard the scream, and Professor
Porter and Mr. Philander, and in a few minutes
they came panting to the cabin, calling out to
each other a volley of excited questions as they
approached. A glance within confirmed their
worst fears.

Jane Porter and Esmeralda were not theiie.

[^44]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

Instantly, Clayton, followed by the two old
men, plunged into the jungle, calling the girl's
name aloud. For half an hour they stumbled on»
until Clayton, by merest chance, came upon the
prostrate form of Esmeralda.

He stooped beside her, feeling for her pulse
and then listening for her heart beats. She lived.
He shook her.

" Esmeralda ! " he shrieked in her ear. " Es-
meralda! For God's sake, where is Miss Por-
ter? What has happened? Esmeralda 1 '*

Slowly the black opened her eyes. She saw
Cla3^on. She saw the jungle about her.

" Oh, Gaberelle I '* she screamed, and fainted
again.

By this time Professor Porter and Mr. Philan-
der had come up.

"What shall we do, Mr. Clayton?" asked
the old professor. " Where shall we look? God
could not have been so cruel as to take my little
girl away from me now."

" We must arouse Esmeralda first," replied
Clayton- " She can tell us what has happened.
Esmeralda I " he cried again, shaking the black
woman roughly by the shoulder.

" O Gaberelle, Ah wants to die I " cried the
poor woman, but with eyes fast closed. " Lemme
die, deah Lawd, but doan lemme see dat awrful
face again. Whafer yo' sen de devil 'roun' after
po ole Esmeralda? She ain't done nuffin' to

[245]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

nobody, Lawd; hones' she ain't She's puffickly
indecent, Lawd; yas'm» deed she is."

** Come, come, Esmeralda," cried Clayton.

" The Lord isn't here ; it's Mr. Clayton. Open
your eyes."

Esmeralda did as she was bade.

" O Gaberelle I T'ank de Lawd," she said.

"Where's Miss Porter? What happened?'*
questioned Clayton.

" Ain' Miss Jane here ? " cried Esmeralda, sit-
ting up with wonderful celerity for one of her
bulk. "Oh, Lawd, now Ah 'members I It done
must have tooked her away," and the negress
commenced to sob, and wail her lamentations.

" What took her away? " cried Professor Por-
ter.

" A great big gi'nt all covered with hair."

" A gorilla, Esmeralda ?" questioned Mr. Phi-
lander, and the three men scarcely breathed as he
voiced the horrible thought.

"Ah done thought it was de devil; but Ah
guess it mus' a-been one of dem gorilephants.
Oh, my po baby, my po li'l honey," and again
Esmeralda broke into uncontrollable sobbing.

Cla3^on immediately began to look about for
tracks, but he could find nothing save a confusion
of trampled grasses in the close vicinity, and his
woodcraft was too meagre for the translation of
what he did see.

All the balance of the day they sought through

[246]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

the jungle ; but as night drew on they were forced
to give up in despair and hopelessness, for they
did not even know in what direction the thing had
borne Jane Porter.

It was long after dark ere they reached the
cabin, and a sad and grief-stricken party it was
that sat silently within the little structure.

Professor Porter finally broke the silence. His
tones were no longer those of the erudite pedant
theorizing upon the abstract and the unknow-
able; but those of the man of action -^ deter-
mined, but tinged also by a note of indescribable
hopelessness and grief which wrung an answering
pang from Clayton's heart.

^' I shall lie down now,'' said the old man,
" and try to sleep. Early tomorrow, so soon as
it is light, I shall take what food I can carry and
continue the search until I have found Jane. I
will not return without her."

His companions did not reply at once. Each
was immersed in his own sorrowful thoughts, and
each knew, as did the old professor, what the last
words meant — Professor Porter would never
return from the jungle.

At length Clayton arose and laid his hand
gently upon Professor Porter's bent old shoulder.

" I shall go with you, of course," he said.
" Do not tell me that I need even have said so."

" I knew that you would offer — that you
would wish to go, Mr. Clayton; but you must

[247I

TARZAN OF THE AFES

not. Jane is beyond human assistance now. I
simply go that I may face my Maker with her>
and know, too, that what was once my dear little
girl lies not alone and friendless in the awful
jungle.

" The same vines and leaves will cover us, the
same rains beat upon us; and when the spirit of
her mother is abroad, it will find us together in
death, as it has always found us in life.

" No ; it is I alone who may go, for she was
my daughter — all that was left on earth for me
to love."

" I shall go with you,'* said Clayton simply.

The old man looked up, regarding the strong,
handsome face of William Cecil Clayton intently.
Perhaps he read there the love that lay in the
heart beneath — the love for his daughter.

He had been too preoccupied with his own
scholarly thoughts in the past to consider the little
occurrences, the chance words, which would have
indicated to a more practical man that these young
people were being drawn more and more closely
to one another. Now they came back to him,
one by one.

" As you wish," he said.

" You may count on me, also," said Mr. Phi-
lander.

"No, my dear old friend," said Professor
Porter. "We may not all go. It would be
cruelly wicked to leave poor Esmeralda here

[^48]

THE JUNGLE TOLL

alone, and three of us would be no more success-
ful than one.

" There be enough dead things in the cruel
forest as it is. Come — let us try to sleep a
little."

Ta49T

CHAPTER XIX

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

FROM the time Tarzan left the tribe of great
anthropoids in which he had been raised, it
was torn by continual strife and discord. Terkoz
proved a cruel and capricious king, so that, one
by one, many of the older and weaker apes, upon
whom he was particularly prone to vent his brut^
ish nature, took their families and sought the
quiet and safety of the far interior.

But at last those who remained were driven
to desperation by the continued truculence of Ter-
koz, and it so happened that one of them recalled
the parting admonition of Tarzan:

" If you have a chief who is cruel, do not do as
the other apes do, and attempt, any one of you,
to pit yourself against him alone. But, instead,
let two or three or four of you attack him
together. Then, if you will do this, no chief will
dare to be other than he should be, for four of
you can kill any chief who may ever be over
you.'*

And the ape who recalled this wise counsel
repeated it to several of his fellows, so that when
Terkoz returned to the tribe that day he found
a warm reception awaiting him.

[ZSO]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

* p ' ■■ ■ ■■ 11

There were no formalities. As Terkoz reached
the group, five huge, hairy beasts sprang upon
him.

At heart he was an arrant coward, which is the
way with bullies among apes as well as among
men; so he did not remain to fight and die, but
tore himself away from them as quickly as he
could and fled into the sheltering boughs of the
forest.

Two more attempts he made to rejoin the tribe,
but on each occasion he was set upon and driven
away. At last he gave it up, and turned, foaming
with rage and hatred, into the jungle.

For several days he wandered aimlessly, nurs-
ing his spite and looking for some weak thing on
which to vent his pent anger.

It was in this state of mind that the horrible,
man-like beast, swinging from tree to tree, came
suddenly upon two women in the jungle.

He was right above them when he discovered
them. The first intimation Jane Porter had of
his presence was when the great hairy body
dropped to the earth beside her, and she saw the
awful face and the snarling, hideous mouth thrust
within a foot of her.

One piercing scream escaped her lips a*s the
brute hand clutched her arm. Then she was
dragged toward those awful fangs which yawned
at her throat. But ere they touched that fair skin
another mood claimed the anthropoid.

[251]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

The tribe had kept his women. He must find
others to replace them. . This hairless white ape
would be the first of his new household, and so
he threw her roughly across his broad, hairy
shoulders and leaped back into the trees, bearing
Jane Porter away toward a fate a thousand times
worse than death.

Esmeralda's scream of terror had mingled once
with that of Jane Porter, and then, as was Esmer-
alda's manner under stress of emergency which
required presence of mind, she swooned.

But Jane Porter did not once lose conscious-
ness. It is true that that awful face, pressing
close to hers, and the stench of the foul breath
beating upon her nostrils, paralyzed her with ter-
ror; but her brain was clear, and she compre-
hended all that transpired.

With what seemed to her marvelous rapidity
the brute bore her through the forest, but still she
did not cry out or struggle. The sudden advent
of the ape had confused her to such an extent that
she thought now that he was bearing her toward
the beach.

For this reason she conserved her energies
and her voice until she could see that they had
approached near enough to the camp to attract the
succor she craved.

Poor child I Could she but have known it, she
was being borne farther and farther into the
impenetrable jungle.

[252]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

«•

The scream that had brought Clayton and the
two older men stumbling through the undergrowth
had led Tarzan of the Apes straight to where
Esmeralda lay, but it was not Esmeralda in whom
his interest centered, though pausing over her he
saw that she was unhurt.

For a moment he scrutinized the ground below
and the trees above, until the ape that was in him
by virtue of training and environment, combined
with the intelligence that was his by right of birth,
told his wondrous woodcraft the whole story as
plainly as though he had seen the thing happen
with his own eyes.

And then he was gone again into the swaying
trees, following the high-flung spoor which no
other human eye could have detected, much less
translated.

At boughs' ends, where the anthropoid swings
from one tree to another, there is most to mark
the trail, but least to point the direction of the
quarry, for there the pressure is downward
always, toward the small end of the branch,
whether the ape be leaving or entering a tree ; but
nearer the center of the tree, where the signs
of passage are fainteri the direction is plainly
marked.

Here, on this branch, a caterpillar has been
crushed by the fugitive's great foot, and Tarzan
knows instinctively where that same foot would
touch in the next stride. Here he looks to find a

[^53]

TARZAN OF THE APES

tiny particle of the demolished larva, oft-times not
more than a speck of moisture.

Again, a minute bit of bark has been upturned
by the scraping hand, and the direction of the
break indicates the direction of the passage. Or
some great limb, or the stem of the tree itself has'
been brushed by the hairy body, and a tiny shred
of hair tells him by the direction from which it is
wedged beneath the bark that he is on the right
trail.

Nor does he need to check his speed to catch
these seemingly faint records of the fleeing beast.

To Tarzan they stand out boldly against all
the myriad other scars and bruises and signs upon
the leafy way. But strongest of all is the scent,
for Tarzan is pursuing up the wind, and his
trained nostrils are as sensitive as a hound's.

There are those who believe that the lower
orders are specially endowed by nature with bet-
ter olfactory nerves than man, but it is merely a
matter of development.

Man's survival does not hinge so greatly upon
the perfection of his senses. His power to reason
has relieved them of many of their duties, and so
they have, to some extent, atrophied, as have the
muscles which move the ears and scalp, merely
from disuse.

The muscles are there, about your ears and
beneath your scalp, and so are the nerves which
transmit sensations to your brain, but they are

[254]

THE CALL OF TB € PRIMITIVE

under-developed in you because you do not need
them.

Not so with Tarzan of the Apes. From early
infancy his survival haa depended upon acuteness
of eyesight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste far
more than upon the more slowly developed organ
of reason.

The least developed of all, in Tarzan, was the
sense of taste, for he could eat luscious fruits, or
raw flesh, long buried, with almost equal appre-
ciation; but in that he differed but slightly from
more civilized epicures.

Almost silently the ape-man sped on in the
track of Terkoz and his prey, but the sound of
his approach reached the ears of the fleeing beast
and spurred it on to greater speed.

Three miles were covered before Tarzan over-
took them, and then Terkoz, seeing that further
flight was futile, dropped to the ground in a
small open glade, that he might turn and flght
for his prize, or be free to escape unhampered if
he saw that the pursuer was more than a match
for him.

He still grasped Jane Porter in one great arm
as Tarzan bounded like a leopard into the arena
which nature had provided for this primeval-like
battle.

When Terkoz saw that it was Tarzan who
pursued him, he jumped to the conclusion that
this was Tarzan's woman, since they were of the

[2551

TJRZAN OF THE APES

same kind — white and hairless — and so he
rejoiced at this opportunity for double revenge
upon his hated enemy.

To Jane Porter the strange apparition of this
god-like man was as wine to sick nerves.

From the description which Clayton and her
father and Mr. Philander had given her, she
knew that it must be the same wonderful creature
who had saved them, and she saw in him only a
protector and a friend.

But as Terkoz pushed her roughly aside to meet
Tarzan's charge, and she saw the great propor-
tions of the ape and the mighty muscles and the
fierce fangs, her heart quailed. How could any
animal vanquish such a mighty antagonist ?

Like two charging bulls they came together,
and like two wolves sought each other*s throat.
Against the long canines of the ape was pitted the
thin blade of the man's knife.

Jane Porter — her lithe, young form flattened
against the trunk of a great tree, her hands tight
pressed against her rising and falling bosom, and
her eyes wide with mingled horror, fascination,
fear, and admiration — watched the primordial
ape battle with the prinieval man for possession
of a woman — for her.

As the great muscles of the man's back and
shoulders knotted beneath the tension of his
efforts, and the huge biceps and forearm held at
bay those mighty tusks, the veil of centuries of

[256]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

civilization and culture was swept from the blurred
vision of the Baltimore girl

When the long knife drank deep a dozen times
of Terkoz' heart's blood, and the great carcass
rolled lifeless upon the ground, it was a primeval
woman who sprang forward with outstretched
arms toward the primeval man who had fought
for her and won her.

And Tarzan ?

He did what no red-blooded man needs lessons
in doing. He took his woman in his arms and
smothered her upturned, panting lips with kisses.

For a moment Jane Porter lay there with half-
closed eyes. For a moment — the first in her
young life — she knew the meaning of love.

But as suddenly as the veil had been withdrawn
it dropped again, and an outraged conscience suf-
fused her face with its scarlet mantle, and a morti--
fied woman thrust Tarzan of the Apes from her
and buried her face in her hands.

Tarzan had been surprised when he had found
the girl he had learned to love after a vague and
abstract manner a willing prisoner in his arms.
Now he was surprised that she repulsed him.

He came dose to her once more and took hold
of her arm. She turned upon him like a tigress,
striking his great breast with her tiny hands.

Tarzan could not understand it.

A moment ago and it had been his intention to
hasten Jane Porter back to her people, but that

[2S7l

TJRZJN OF THE APES

little moment was lost now in the dim and distant
past of things which were but can never be again»
and with it the good intention had gone to join
the impossible.

Since then Tarzan of the Apes had felt a warm,
lithe form close pressed to his. Hot, sweet breath
against his cheek and mouth had fanned a new
flame to life within his breast, and perfect lips
had clung to his in burning kisses that had seared
a deep brand into his soul — a brand which
marked a new Tarzan.

Again he laid his hand upon her arm. Again
she repulsed him. And then Tarzan of the Apes
did just what his first ancestor would have done.

He took his woman in his arms and carried her
into the jungle.

Early the following morning the four within
the little cabin by the beach were awakened by
the booming of ^ cannon. Clajrton was the first
to rush out, and there, beyond the harbor's mouth,
he saw two vessels lying at anchor.

One was the Arrow and the other a smajl
French cruiser. The sides of the latter were
crowded with men gazing shoreward, and it was
evident to Clayton, as to the others who had now
joined him, that the gun which they had heard
had been fired to attract their attention if they
still remained at the cabin.

Both vessels lay at a considerable distance from

[258]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

shore, and it was doubtful if their glasses would
locate the waving hats of the little party far in
between the harbor's points.

Esmeralda had removed her red apron and was
waving it frantically above her head; but Clay-
ton, still fearing that even this might not be
seen, hurried off toward the northern point where
lay his signal pyre ready for the match.

It seemed an age to him, as to those who waited
breathlessly behind, ere he reached the great pile
of dry branches and underbrush.

As he broke from the dense wood and came in
sight of the vessels again, he was filled with con-
sternation to see that the Arrow was making sail
and that the cruiser was already under way.

Quickly lighting the pyre in a dozen places, he
hurried to the extreme point of the promontory,
where he stripped off his shirt, and, tying it to a
fallen branch, stood waving it back and forth
above him.

But still the vessels continued to stand out ; and
he had given up all hope, when the great column
of smoke, arising above the forest in one dense
vertical shaft, attracted the attention of a look-
out aboard the cruiser, and instantly a dozen
glasses were leveled on the beach.

Presently Clayton saw the two ships come
about again; and while the Arrow lay drifting
quietly on the ocean, the cruiser steamed slowly
back toward shore.

[^591

TARZAN OF THE APES

At some distance away she stopped, and a
boat was lowered and dispatched toward the
beach.

As it was drawn up a young officer stepped out.

" Monsieur Clayton, I presume? " he asked

" Thank God, you have come 1 " was Clayton's
reply. " And it may be that it is not too late even

now.

"What do you mean. Monsieur?" asked the
officer.

Clayton told of the abduction of Jane Porter
and the need of armed men to aid in the search
for her.

" Mon Dieuf exclaimed the officer, sadly.
" Yesterday and it would not have been too late.
Today and it may be better that the poor lady
were never found. It is horrible, Monsieur. It is
too horrible."

Other boats had now put off from the cruiser,
and Clayton, having pointed out the harbor's
entrance to the officer, entered the boat with him
and its nose was turned toward the little land-
locked bay, into which the other craft followed.

Soon the entire party had landed where stood
Professor Porter, Mr. Philander and the weeping
Esmeralda.

Among the officers in the last boats to put off
from the cruiser was the commander of the ves-
sel; and when he had heard the story of Jane
Porter's abduction, he generously called for vol-

[260]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

^— 1^^^— I III. Ill II — »^—

unteers to accompany Professor Porter and Clay-
ton in their search.

Not an officer or a man was there of those brave
and sympathetic Frenchmen who did not quickly
beg leave to be one of the expedition.

The commander selected twenty men and two
officers, Lieutenant d'Arnot and Lieutenant Char-
pentier. A boat was dispatched to the cruiser for
provisions, ammunition, and carbines; the men
were already armed with revolvers.

Then, to Clayton's inquiries as to how they had
happened to anchor oiff shore and fire a signal gun,
the commander, Captain Dufranne, explained that
a month before they had sighted the Arrow bear-
ing s»;uthwest under considerable canvas, and that
when they had signaled her to come about she had
but crowded on more sail.

They had kept her hull-up until sunset, firing
several shots after her, but the next morning she
was nowhere to be seen. They had then continued
to cruise up and down the coast for several weeks,
and had about forgotten the incident of the recent
chase, when, early one morning a few days before,
the lookout had descried a vessel laboring in the
trough of a heavy sea and evidently entirely from
under control.

As they steamed nearer to the derelict they
were surprised to note that it was the same vessel
that had run from them a few weeks earlier. Her
fore-stay-sail and mizzen-spanker were set as

[361]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

though an effort had been made to hold her head
up into the wind, but the sheets had parted, and
the sails were tearing to ribbons in the half gale
of wind.

In the high sea that was running it was a diffi-
cult and dangerous task to attempt to put a prize
crew aboard her; and as no signs of life had been
seen above deck, it was decided to stand by until
the wind and sea abated; but just then a figure
was seen clinging to the rail and feebly waving a
mute signal of despair toward them.

Immediately a boat's crew was ordered out and
an attempt was successfully made to board the
Arrow. The sight that met the Frenchmen's eyes
as they clambered over the ship's side was appal-
ling.

A dozen dead and dying men rolled hither and
thither upon the pitching deck, the living inter-
mingled with the dead. Two of the corpses
appeared to have been partially devoured as
though by wolves.

The prize crew soon had the vessel under
proper sail once more and the living members of
the ill-starred company carried below to their
hammocks.

The dead were wrapped in tarpaulins and lashed
on deck to be identified by their comrades before
being consigned to the deep.

None of the living was conscious when the
Frenchmen reached the Arrow^s deck. Even the

[a62l

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

poor devil who had waved the single despairing
signal of distress had lapsed into unconsciousness
before he had learned whether it had availed or
not

It did not take the French officer long to learn
what had caused the terrible condition aboard;
for when water and brandy were sought to restore
the men, it was found that not only was there not
any of either, but not a vestige of food of any
description.

He immediately signalled to the cruiser to send
water, medicine, and provisions, and another boat
made the perilous trip to the Arrow.

When restoratives had been applied several of
the men regained consciousness, and then the
whole story was told. That part of it we know
up to the sailing of the Arrow after the murder
of Snipes, and the burial of his body above the
treasure-chest

It seems that the pursuit by the cruiser had so
terrorized the mutineers that they had continued
out across the Atlantic for several days after
losing her ; but on discovering the meagre supply
of water and provisions aboard, they had turned
back toward the east.

With no one on board who understood naviga-
tion, discussions soon arose as to their where-
abouts; and as three days' sailing to the east did
not raise land, they bore oif to the north, fearing
that the high north winds that had prevailed had

[^63]

TARZAN OF THE APES

driven them south of the southern extremity of
Africa.

They kept on a north-northeasterly course for
two days, when they were overtaken by a calm
which lasted for nearly a week. Their wafer was
gone, and in another day they would be without
food.

Conditions changed rapidly from bad to worse.
One man went mad and leaped overboard. Soon
another opened his veins and drank his own blood.

When he died they threw him overboard also,
though there were those among them who wanted
to keep the corpse on board. Hunger was chang-
ing them from human beasts to wild beasts.

Two days before they had been picked up by
the cruiser they had become too weak to handle
the vessel, and that same day three men died. On
the following morning it was seen that one of the
corpses had been partially devoured.

All that day the men lay glaring at each other
like beasts of prey, and the following morning
two of the corpses lay almost entirely stripped of
flesh.

The men were but little stronger for their
ghoulish repast, for the want of water was by far
the greatest agony with which they had to contend.
And then the cruiser had come.

When those who could had recovered, the
entire story had been told to the French com-
mander, but the men were too ignorant to be able

[264]

THE CALL OF THE PRIMITIVE

to tell him at just what point on the coast the
professor and his party had been marooned, so
the cruiser had steamed slowly along within sight
of land, firing occasional signal guns and scanning
every inch of the beach with glasses.

They had anchored by night so as not to neglect
a particle of the shore line, and it had happened
that the preceding night had brought them off the
very beach where lay the little camp they sought.

The signal guns of the afternoon before had
not been heard by those on shore, it was presumed,
because they had doubtless been in the thick of the
jungle searching for Jane Porter, where the noise
of their own crashing through the imderbrush
would have drowned the report of a far distant
gun.

By the time the two parties had narrated their
several adventures, the cruiser's boat had returned
with supplies and arms for the expedition.

Within a few minutes the little body of sailors
and the two French officers, together with Pro-
fessor Porter and Clayton, set off upon their
hopeless and ill-fated quest into the untracked
jungle.

[265I

CHAPTER XX

HEREDITY

WHEN Jane Porter realized that she was
being borne away a captive by the strange
forest creature who had rescued her from the
clutches of the ape she struggled desperately to
escape, but the strong arms, that held her as easily
as though she had been but a day-old babe, only
pressed a little more tightly.

So presently she gave up the futile effort and
lay quietly, looking through half closed lids at
the face of the man who strode easily through the
tangled undergrowth with her.

The face above her was one of extraordinary
beauty.

A perfect type of the strongly masculine, un-
marred by dissipation, or brutal or degrading pas-
sions. For, though Tarzan of the Apes was a
killer of men and of beasts, he killed as the hunter
kills, dispassionately, except on those rare occa-
sions when he had killed jfor hate — though not
the brooding, malevolent hate which marks the
features of its own with hideous lines.

When Tarzan killed he more often smiled than
scowled, and smiles are the foundation of beauty.

[266]

HEREDITY

aw—— I III I III I la

One thing the girl had noticed particularly
when she had seen Tarzan rushing upon Terkoz
•— the vivid scarlet band upon his forehead, from
above the left eye to the scalp; but now as she
scanned his features she noticed that it was gone,
and only a thin white line marked the spot where
it had been.

As she lay more quietly In his arms TarzJn
slightly relaxed his grip upon her.

Once he looked down into her eyes- and smiled,
and the girl had to close her own to shut out the
vision of that handsome, winning face.

Presently Tarzan took to the trees, and Jane
Porter, wondering that she felt no fear, began to
realize that in many respects she had never felt
more secure in her whole life than now as she
lay in the arms of this strong, wild creature, being
borne, God alone knew where or to what fate,
deeper and deeper into the savage fastness of the
untamed forest.

When, with closed eyes, she commenced to
speculate upon the future, and terrifying fears
were conjured by a vivid imagination, she had but
to raise her lids and look upon that noble face so
dose to hers to dissipate the last remnant of appre-
hension.

No, he could never harm her; of that she was
convinced when she translated the fine features
and the frank, brave eyes above her into the
chivalry which they proclaimed.

[267I

TARZAN OF THE APES

On and on they went through what seemed to
Jane Porter a solid mass of verdure, yet ever
there appeared to open before this forest god a
passage, as by magic, which closed behind them as
they passed.

Scarce a branch scraped against her, yet above
and below, before and behind, the view presented
naught but a solid mass of inextricably interwoven
branches and creepers.

As Tarzan moved steadily onward his mind
was occupied with many strange and new thoughts.
Here was a problem the like of which he had
never encountered, and he felt rather than
reasoned that he must meet it as a man and not
as an ape.

The free movement through the middle terrace,
which was the route he had followed for the most
part, had helped to cool the ardor of the first
fierce passion of his new found love.

Now he discovered himself speculating upon
the fate which would have fallen to the girl had he
not rescued her from Terkoz.

He knew why the ape had not killed her, and
he commenced to compare his inten^ons with those
of Terkoz.

True, it was the order of the jungle for the
male to take his mate by force ; but could Tarzan
be guided by the laws of the beasts? Was not
Tarzan a Man? But how did men do? He was
puzzled ; for he did not know.

[268]

HEREDITY

He wished that he might ask the girl, and
then it came to him that she had already answered
him in the futile struggle she had made to escape
and to repulse him.

But now they had come to their destination, and
Tarzan of the Apes with Jane Porter in his strong
arms, swung lightly to the turf of the arena where
the great apes held their councils and danced the
wild orgy of the Dum-Dum.

Though they had come many miles, it was still
but mid-afternoon, and the amphitheater was
bathed in the half light which filtered through the
maze of encircling foliage.

The green turf looked soft and cool and invit-
ing. The myriad noises of the jungle seemed far
distant and hushed to a mere echo of blurred
sounds, rising and falling like the surf upon a
remote shore.

A feeling of dreamy peacefulness stole over
Jane Porter as she sank down upon the grass
where Tarzan had placed her, and as she looked
up at his great figure towering above her, there
was added a strange sense of perfect security.

As she watched him from beneath half closed
lids, Tarzan crossed the little circular clearing
toward the tr^es upon the further side. She noted
the graceful majesty of his carriage, the perfect
symmetry of his magnificent figure and the poise
of his well shaped head upon his broad shoulders.

What a perfect creature! There could be

I269I

TARZAN OF THE APES

naught of cruelty or baseness beneath that god*
like exterior. Never, she thought had such a man
strode the earth since God created the first in his
own image.

With a bound Tarzan sprang into the trees and
[disappeared. Jane Porter wondered where he
had gone. Had he left her there to her fate in
the lonely jungle?

She glanced nervously about. Every vine and
bush seemed but the lurking-place of some huge
and horrible beast waiting to bury gleaming fangs
in her soft flesh. Every sound she magnified into
the stealthy creeping of a sinuous and malignant
body.

How different now that he had left her 1

For a few minutes, that seemed hours to the
frightened girl, she sat with tense nerves waiting
for the spring of the crouching thing that was to
end her misery of apprehension.

She almost prayed for the cruel teeth that would
give her unconsciousness and surcease from the
agony of fear.

She heard a sudden, slight sound behind her.
With a shriek she sprang to her feet and turned
to face her end.

There stood Tarzan^ his arms filled with ripe
and luscious fruit.

Jane Porter reeled and would have fallen, had
not Tarzan, dropping his burden, caught her in
his arms. She did not lose consciousness, but

HEREDITY

• I .III ^ ■ ■■ I — — —

she clung tightly to him, shuddering and trembling
like a frightened deer.

Tarzan of the Apes stroked her soft hair, and
tried to comfort and quiet her as Kala had him,
when, as a little ape, he had been frightened by
Sabor, the lioness, or Histah, the snake.

Once he pressed his lips lightly upon her fore-
head, and she did not move, but closed her eyes
and sighed

She could not analyze her feelings, nor did she
wish to attempt it. She was satisfied to feel the
safety of those strong arms, and to leave her
future to fate ; for the last few hours had taught
her to trust this strange wild creature of the forest
as she would have trusted but few of the men of
her acquaintance.

As she thought of the strangeness of it, theie
commenced to dawn upon her the realization that
she had, possibly, learned something else which
she had never really known before — love. She
wondered and then she smiled.

And still smiling, she pushed Tarzan gently
away; and looking at him with a half-smilmg,
half-quizzical expression that made her face
wholly entrancing, she pointed to the fruit upon
the ground, and seated herself upon the edge of
the earthen drum of the anthropoids, for hunger
was asserting itself.

Tarzan quickly gathered up the fruit, and,
bringing it, laid it at her feet; and then he, too,

[271I

TARZAN OF THE APES

sat upon the drum beside her, and with his knife
opened and prepared the various viands for her
meal.

Together and in silence they ate, occasionally
stealing sly glances at one another, until finally
Jane Porter broke into a merry laugh in which
Tarzan joined.

" I wish you spoke English,'* said the girL

Tarzan shook his head, and an expression of
wistful and pathetic longing sobered his laughing
eyes.

Then Jane Porter tried speaking to him in
French, and then in German ; but she had to laugh
at her own blundering attempt at the latter tongue.

" Any way," she said to him in English, " you
understand my German as well as they did in
Berlin.'*

Tarzan had long since reached a decision as
to what his future procedure should be. He had
had time to recollect all that he had read of the
ways of men and women in the books at the cabin.
He would act as he imagined the men in the books
would have acted were they in his place.

Again he arose and went into the trees, but
first he tried to explain by means of signs that he
would return shortly, and he did so well that
Jane Porter understood and was not afraid when
he had gone.

Only a feeling of loneliness came over her and
she watched the point where he had disappeared^

[272]

HEREDITY

with longing eyes, awaiting his return. As before,
she was appraised of his presence by a soft sound
behind her, and turned to see him coming across
the turf with a great armful of branches.

Then he went back again into the jungle and
in a few minutes reappeared with a quantity of
soft grasses and ferns. Two more trips he made
until he had quite a pile of material at hand.

Then he spread the ferns and grasses upon the
ground in a soft fiat bed, and above it he leaned
many branches together so that they met a few
feet over its center. Upon these he spread layers
of huge leaves of the great elephant's ear, and
with more branches and more leaves he closed
one end of the little shelter he had built.

Then they sat down together again upon the
edge of the drum and tried to talk by signs.

The magnificent diamond locket which hung
about Tarzan's neck, had been a source of much
wonderment to Jane Porter. She pointed to it
now, and Tarzan removed it and handed the
pretty bauble to her.

She saw that it was the work of a skilled artizan
and that the diamonds were of great brilliancy
and superbly set, but the cutting of them denoted
that they were of a former day.

She noticed too that the locket opened, and,
pressing the hidden clasp, she saw the two halves
spring apart to reveal in either section an ivory
miniature.

[273]

TARZJN OF THE APES

One was of a beautiful woman and the other
might have been a likeness of the man who sat
beside her, except for a subtile difference of
expression that was scarcely definable.

She looked up at Tarzan to find him leaning
toward her gazing on the miniatures with an ex*
pression of astonishment He reached out his
hand for the locket and took it away from her^
examining the likenesses within with unmistak-
able signs of surprise and new interest. His man-
ner clearly denoted that he had never before seen
them, nor imagined that the locket opened.

This fact caused Jane Porter to indulge in
further speculation, and it taxed her imagination
to picture how this beautiful ornament came into
the possession of a wild and savage creature of
the unexplored jungles of Africa.

Still more wonderful, how it contained the like-
ness of one who might be a brother, or, more
likely, the father of this woodland demi-god who
was even ignorant of the fact that the locket
opened.

Tarzan was still gazing with fixity at the two
faces. Presently he removed the quiver from his
shoulder, and emptying the arrows upon the
ground reached into the bottom of the bag-like
receptacle and drew forth a flat object wrapped
in many soft leaves and tied with bits of long
grass.

Carefully he unwrapped it, removing layer

[274]

HEREDITY

after layer of leaves until at length he held a
photograph in his hand.

Pointing to the miniature of the man within
the locket he handed the photograph to Jane Por-
ter, holding the open locket beside it.

The photograph only served to puzzle the girl
still more, for it was evidently another likeness
of the same man whose picture rested in the locket
beside that of the beautiful young woman.

Tarzan was looking at her with an expression
of puzzled bewilderment in his eyes as she glanced
up at him. He seemed to be framing a question
with his lips.

The girl pointed to the photograph and then to
the miniature and then to him, as though to indi-
cate that she thought the likenesses were of him,
but he only shook his head, and then shrugging
his great shoulders, he took the photograph from
her and having carefully rewrapped it, placed it
again in the bottom of his quiver.

For a few moments he sat in silence, his eyes
bent upon the ground, while Jane Porter held the
little locket in her hand, turning it over and over
in an endeavor to find some further clew that
might lead to the identity of Its original owner.

At length a simple explanation occurred to her.

The locket had belonged to Lord Greystoke,
and the likenesses were of himself and Lady
Alice.

This wild creature had simply found it in the

[275]

TARZAN OF THE APES

cabin by the beach. How stupid of her not to
have thought of that solution before.

But to account for the strange likeness between
Lord Greystoke and this forest god — that was
quite beyond her, and it is not strange that she
did not imagine that this naked savage was indeed!
an English nobleman.

At length Tarzan looked up to watch the girl
as she examined the locket. He could not fathom
the meaning of the faces within, but he could read
the interest and fascination upon the face of the
live young creature by his side.

She noticed that he was watching her and
thinking that he wished his ornament again she
held it out to him. He took it from her and taking
the chain in his two hands he placed it about her
neck, smiling at her expression of surprise at his
unexpected gift.

Jane Porter shook her head vehemently and
would have removed the golden links from about
her throat, but Tarzan would not let her. Taking
her hands in his, when she insisted upon it, he
held them tightly to prevent her.

At last she desisted and with a little laugh raised
the locket to her lips, and, rising, dropped him a
little courtesy.

Tarzan did not know precisely what she meant,
but he guessed correctly that it was her way of
acknowledging the gift, and so he rose, too, and
taking the locket in his hand, stooped gravely like

[ 276 ]

HEREDITY

some courtier of old, and pressed hirs lips upon it
where hers had rested.

It was a stately and gallant little compliment
performed with the grace and dignity of utter
unconsciousness of self. It was the hall-mark of
his aristocratic birth, the natural outcropping of
many generations of fine breeding, an hereditary
instinct of graciousness which a lifetime of un-
couth and savage training and environment could
not eradicate.

It was growing dark now, and so they ate again
of the fruit which was both food and drink for
them, and then Tarzan rose and leading Jane
Porter to the little bower he had erected, motioned
her to go within.

For the first time in hours a feeling of fear
swept over her, and Tarzan felt her draw away
as though shrinking from him.

Contact with this girl for half a day had left a
very different Tarzan from the one on whom the
morning's sun had risen.

Now, in every fiber of his being, heredity spoke
louder than training.

He had not in one swift transition become a
polished gentleman from a savage ape-man, but
at last the instincts of the former predominated,
and over all was the desire to please the woman
he loved, and to appear well in her eyes.

So Tarzan of the Apes did the only thing he
knew to assure Jane Porter of her safety. He

[277]

TARZAN OF THE APES

removed his hunting knife from its sheath and
handed it to her hilt first, again motioning her into
the bower.

The girl understood, and taking the long knife
she entered and lay down upon the soft grasses
while Tarzan of the Apes stretched himself upon
the ground across the entrance.

And thus the rising sun found them in the
morning.

When Jane Porter awoke, she did not at first
recall the strange events of the preceding day,
and so she wondered at her odd surroundings ^ —
the little leafy bower, the soft grasses of her bed,
the unfamiliar prospect from the opening at her
feet.

Slowly the circumstances of her position crept
one by one into her mind. And then a great
wonderment arose in her heart — a mighty wave
of thankfulness and gratitude that though she had
been in such terrible danger, yet she was un-
harmed.

She moved to the entrance of the shelter to
look for Tarzan. He was gone; but this time no
fear assailed her for she knew that he would
return.

In the grass at the entrance to her bower she
saw the imprint of his body where he had lain all
night to guard her. She knew that the fact that
he had been there was all that had permitted her
to sleep in such peaceful security.

[278]

HEREDITY

With him near, who could entertain fear? She
wondered if there was another man on earth with
whom a girl could feel so safe in the heart of this
savage African jungle. Why even the lions and
panthers had no fears for her now.

She looked up to see his lithe form drop softly
from a nearby tree. As he caught her eyes upon
him his face lighted with that frank and radiant
smile that had won her confidence the day before.

As he approached her Jane t^orter's heart beat
faster and her eyes brightened as they had never
done before at the approach of any man.

He had again been gathering fruit and this he
laid at the entrance of her bower. Once more
they sat down together to eat.

Jane Porter commenced to wonder what his
plans were. Would he take her back to the beach
or would he keep her here ? Suddenly she realized
that the matter did not seem to give her much
concern. Could it be that she did not care 1

She began to comprehend, also, that she was
entirely contented sitting here by the side of this
smiling giant eating delicious fruit in a sylvan
paradise far within the remote depths of an
African jungle — that she was contented and
very happy.

She could not understand it. Her reason told
her that she should be torn by wild anxieties,
weighted by dread fears, cast down by gloomy
forebodings; but instead, her heart was singing

[279]

TARZJN OF THE APES

and she was smiling into the answering face of the
man beside hen

When they had finished their breakfast Tarzan
went to her bower and recovered his knife. The
girl had entirely forgotten it. She realized that
it was because she had forgotten the fear that
prompted her to accept it.

Motioning her to foUowi Tarzan walked
toward the trees at the edge of the arena, and
taking her in one strong arm swung to the branches
above.

The girl knew that he was taking her back to
her people, and she could not understand the sud-
den feeling of loneliness and sorrow which crept
over her.

For hours they swung slowly along.

Tarzan of the Apes did not hurry. He tried to
draw out the sweet pleasure of that journey with
those dear arms about his neck as long as possible,
and so he went far south of the direct route to the
beach.

Several times they halted for brief rests, which
Tarzan did not need, and at noon they stopped
for an hour at a little brook, where they quenched
their thirst, and ate.

So it was nearly sunset when they came to the
clearing, and Tarzan, dropping to the ground
beside a great tree, parted the tall jungle grass
and pointed out the little cabin to her.

She took him by the hand to lead him to it.

HEREDITY

that she might tell her father that this man had
saved her from death and worse than death, that
he had watched over her as carefully as a mother
might have done.

But again the timidity of the wild thing in the
face of human habitation swept over Tarzan of
the Apes. He drew back, shaking his head.

The girl came close to him, looking up with
pleading eyes. Somehow she could not bear the
thought of his going back into the terrible jungle
alone.

Still he shook his head, and finally he drew her
to him very gently and stooped to kiss her», but
first he looked into her eyes and waited to learn if
she were pleased, or if she would repulse him.

Just an instant the girl hesitated, and then she
realized the truth, and throwing her arms about
his neck she drew his face to hers and kissed him
— unashamed.

" I love you — I love you,*' she murmured.

From far in the distance cam^ the faint sound
of many guns. Tarzan and Jane Porter raised
their heads.

From the cabin came Mr. Philander and
Esmeralda.

From where Tarzan and the girl stood they
could not see the two vessels lying at anchor in
the harbor.

Tarzan pointed toward the sounds, touched his
Breast and pointed again. She understood. He

TARZAN OF THE APES

was going, and something told her that it was
because he thought her people were in danger.

Again he kissed her.

" Come back to me," she whispered. " I shall
wait for you — always."

He was gone — and Jane Porter turned to
walk across the clearing to the cabin.

Mr. Philander was the first to see her. It was
dusk and Mr. Philander was very near sighted.

" Quickly,, Esmeralda I " he cried. " Let us
seek safety within; it is a lioness. Bless me I "

Esmeralda did not bother to verify Mr. Phil-
ander's vision. His tone was enough. She was
within the cabin and had slammed and bolted the
door before he had finished pronouncing her
name. The " Bless me " was startled out of Mr.
Philander by the discovery that Esmeralda, in the
exuberance of her haste, had fastened him upon
the same side of the door as was the close-
approaching lioness.

He beat furiously upon the heavy portal.

" Esmeralda ! Esmeralda ! " he shrieked. " Let
me in. I am being devoured by a lion."

Esmeralda thought that the noise upon the
door was made by the lioness in her attempts to
pursue her^ so, after her custom, she fainted.

Mr. Philander cast a, frightened glance behind
him.

Horrors ! The thing was quite dose now. He
tried to scramble up the side of the cabin, and

[28a]

HEREDITY

succeeded in catching a fleeting hold upon the
thatched roof.

For a moment he hung there, clawing with his
feet like a cat on a clothesline, but presently a
piece of the thatch came away, and Mr. Philander,
preceding it, was precipitated upon his back.

At the instant he fell a remarkable item of
natural history leaped to his mind. If one feigns
death lions and lionesses are supposed to ignore
one, according to Mr. Philander's faulty memory.

So Mr. Philander lay as he had fallen, frozen
into the horrid semblance of death. As his arms
and legs had been extended stifily upward as he
came to earth upon his back the attitude of death
was anything but impressive.

Jane Porter had been watching his antics in
mild -eyed surprise. Now she laughed — a little
choking, gurgle of a laugh; but it was enough.
Mr. Philander rolled over upon his side and
peered about. At length he discovered her.

" Jane I *' he cried. " Jane Porter. Bless
me I"

He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward
her. He could not believe that It was she, and
alive.

"Bless me I Where did you come from?
Where In the world have you been? How — "

"Mercy, Mr. Philander," interrupted the girl,
•* I never can remember so many questions."

" WeU, well," said Mr. Philander. " Bless

[283I

TJRZJN OF THE APES

me I I am so filled with surprise and exuberant
delight at seeing you safe and well again that I
scarcely know what I am saying, really. But
come, tell me all that has happened to you.'*

[284]

CHAPTER XXI

THE VILLAGE OF TORTURE

AS THE little expedition of sailors toiled
through the dense jungle searching for signs
of Jane Porter, the futility of their venture became
more and more apparent, but the grief of the old
man and the hopeless eyes of the young English-
man prevented the kind hearted D'Arnot from
turning back.

He thought that there might be a bare pos-
sibility of finding her body, or the remains of it,
for he was positive that she had been devoured
by some beast of prey* He deployed his men
into a skirmish line from the point where Esmer-
alda had been found, and in this extended forma-
tion they pushed their way, sweating and pant-
ing, through the tangled vines and creepers.

It was slow work. Noon found them but a few
miles inland. They halted for a brief rest then,
and after pushing on for a short distance further
one of th^. men discovered a well marked trail.

It was an old elephant track, and D'Arnot after
consulting with Professor Porter and Clayton
decided to follow it.

The path wound through the jungle in a north-
easterly direction, and along it the column moved
in single file.

[28s]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Lieutenant d'Arnot was in the lead and moving
at a quick pace, for the trail was comparatively
open. Immediately behind him came Professor
Porter, but as he could not keep pace with the
younger man D'Arnot was a hundred yards in
advance when suddenly a half dozen black war-
riors arose about him.

D'Arnot gave a warning shout to his column
as the blacks closed on him, but before he could
draw his revolver he had been pinioned and
dragged into the jungle.

His cry had alarmed the sailors and a dozen of
them sprang forward past Professor Porter, run-
ning up the trail to their officer's aid.

They did not know the cause of his outcry,
only that it was a warning of danger ahead.

They had rushed past the spot where D'Arnot
had been seized when a spear hurled from the
jungle transfixed one of the men, and then a
volley of arrows fell among them.

Raising their rifles they fired into the under-
brush in the direction from which the missiles had
come.

By this time the balance of the party had come
up, and volley after volley was fired toward the
concealed foe. It was these shots that Tarzan
and Jane Porter had heard.

Lieutenant Charpentler, who had been bring-
ing up the rear of the column, now came running
to the scene, and on hearing the details of the

[a86]

THE VILLAGE OF TORTURE

ambuscade ordered the men to follow him, and
plunged into the tangled vegetation.

In an instant they were in a h^nd-to-hand fight
with some fifty black warriors of Mbonga's vil-
lage. Arrows and bullets flew thick and fast.

Queer African knives and French gun butts
mingled for a moment in savage and bloody
duels, but soon the natives fled into the jungle,
leaving the Frenchmen to count their losses.

Four of the twenty were dead, a dozen others
were wounded, and Lieutenant d'Arnot was
missing. Night was falling rapidly, and their
predicament Was rendered doubly worse through
the fact that they could not even find the elephant
trail which they had been following.

There was but one thing to do, make camp
where they were until daylight. Lieutenant Char-
pentier ordered a clearing made and a circular
abatis of underbrush constructed about the camp.

This work was not completed until long after
dark, the men building a huge fire in the center
of the clearing to give them light to work by.

When all was safe as could be made from the
attack of wild beasts and savage men, Lieuten-
ant Charpentier placed sentries about the little
camp and the tired and hungry men threw them-
selves upon the ground to sleep.

The groans of the wounded, mingled with the
roaring and growling of the great beasts which
the noise and firelight had attracted, kept sleep,

[287]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

•except in its most fitful form, from the tired eyes.
It was a sad and hungry party that lay through
the long night praying for dawn.

The blacks who had seized D'Arnot, had not
waited to participate in the fight which followed,
but instead had dragged their prisoner a little
way through the jungle and then struck the trail
further on beyond the scene of the fighting in
which their fellows were engaged.

They hurried him along, the sounds of battle
growing fainter and fainter as they drew away
from the contestants until there suddenly broke
upon D'Arnot's vision a good sized clearing at
one end of which stood a thatched and palisaded
village.

It was now dusk, but the watchers at the gate
saw the approaching trio and distinguished one
as a prisoner ere they reached the portals.

A cry went up within the palisade. A great
throng of women and children rushed out to meet
the party.

And then began for the French officer the most
terrifying experience which man can encounter
upon earth — the reception of a white prisoner
into a village of African cannibals.

To add to the fiendishness of their cruel sav-
agery was the poignant memory of still crueler
barbarities practiced upon them and theirs by the
white officers of that arch hypocrite, Leopold ll
of Belgium, because of whose atrocities they had

[288]

THE FTLLAGE OF TORTURE

fled the Congo Free State — a pitiful remnant of
what once had been a mighty tribe.

They fell upon D'Arnot tooth and nail, beating
him with sticks and stones and tearing at him
with claw-like hands. Every vestige of clothing
was torn from him, and the merciless blows fell
upon his bare and quivering flesh. But not once
did the Frenchman cry out in pain. A silent
prayer rose to his Maker that he be quickly
delivered from his torture.

But the death he prayed for was not to be sa
easily had. Soon the warriors beat the women
away from their prisoner. He was to be saved
for nobler sport than this; and the first wave of
their passion having subsided they contented
themselves with crying out taunts and insults, and
spitting upon him.

Presently they gained the center of the village.
There D'Arnot was bound securely to the great ^
post from which no live man had ever been
/eleased.

A number of the women scattered to their sev-
eral huts to fetch pots and water, while others
built a row of fires on which portions of the feast
were to be boiled while the balance would be
slowly dried in strips for future use, as they
expected the other warriors to return with many
prisoners.

The festivities were delayed awaiting the
return of the warriors who had remained tQ

[289]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

engage in the skirmish with the white men, so
that it was quite late when all were in the village,
and the dance of death commenced to circle
around the doomed officer.

Half fainting from pain and exhaustion,
D'Arnot watched from beneath half closed lids
what seemed but the vagary of delirium, or some
horrid night-mare from which he must soon
awake.

The bestial faces, daubed with color — the
huge mouths and flabby hanging lips -^ the
yellow teeth, sharp filed — the foiling, demon
eyes — the shining naked bodies — the cruel
spears. Surely no such creatures really existed
upon earth — he must indeed be dreaming.

The savage, whirling bodies circled nearer.
Now a spear sprang forth and touched his arm.
The sharp pain and the feel of hot, trickling blood
assured him of the awful reality of his hopeless
position.

Another spear and then another touched him.
He closed his eyes and held his teeth firm set — •
he would not cry out.

He was a soldier of France, and he would teach
these beasts how an officer and a gentleman died.

Tarzan of the Apes needed no interpreter to
translate the story of those distant shots. With
Jane Porter's kisses still warm upon his lips he
was swinging with incredible rapidity through the

[290]

THE VILLAGE OF TORTURE

forest trees straight toward the village of
Mbonga.

He was not interested in the location of the
encounter, for he judged that that would soon be
over. Those who were killed he could not aid,
those who escaped would not need his assistance.

It was to those who had neither been killed or
escaped that he hastened. And he knew that he
would find them by the great post in the center
of Mbonga's village.

Many times had Tarzan seen Mbonga's black
raiding parties return from the northward with
prisoners, and always were the same scenes en-
acted about that grim stake, beneath the flaring
light of many fires.

He knew, too, that they seldom lost much time
before consummating the fiendish purpose of their
captures. He doubted that he would arrive in
time to do more than avenge.

Tarzan had looked with complacency upon
their former orgies, only occasionally interfering
for the pleasure of baiting the blacks ; but hereto-
fore their victims had been men of their own
color.

Tonight It was different — white men, men of
Tarzan's own race — might be even now suffer-
ing the agonies of torture in that grim, jungle
fortress.

On he sped. Night had fallen and he traveled
high along the upper terrace where the gorgeous

[291]

TARZAN OF THE APES

tropic moon lighted the dizzy pathway through
the gently undulating branches of the tree tops.

Presently he caught the reflection of a distant
blaze. It lay to the right of his path. It must
be the light from the <:amp fire the two men had
built before they were attacked — Tarzan knew
nothing of the presence of the sailors.

So sure was Tarzan of his jungle knowledge
that he did not turn from his course, but passed
the glare at a distance of a half mile. It was
the camp fire of the Frenchmen.

In a few minutes more Tarzan swung into the
trees above Mbonga's village. Ah, he was not
quite too late 1 Or, was he ? He could not tell.
The figure at the stake was very still, yet the black
warriors were but pricking It.

Tarzan knew their customs. The death blow
had not been struck. He could tell almost to a
minute how far the dance had gone.

In another instant Mbonga's knife would
sever one of the victim's ears — that would mark
the beginning of the end, for very shortly after
only a writhing mass of mutilated flesh would
remain.

There would still be life in it, but death ther\
would be the only charity it craved.

The stake stood forty feet from the nearest
tree. Tarzan coiled his rope. Then there rose
suddenly above the fiendish cries of the dancing
demons the awful challenge of the ape-man.

^292]

THE VILLAGE OF TORTURE

The dancers halted as though turned to stone.

The rope sped with singing whir high above
the heads of the blacks. It was quite invisible
in the flaring lights of the camp fires.

D'Amot opened his eyes. A huge black, stand-
ing directly before him, lunged backward as
though felled by an invisible hand.

Struggling and shrieking, his body, rolling from
side to side, moved quickly toward the shadows
beneath the trees.

The blacks, their eyes protruding in horror,
watched spell-bound.

Once beneath the trees, the body rose straight
into the air, and as it disappeared into the foliage
above, the terrified negroes, screaming with fright,
broke into a mad race for the village gate.

D'Arnot was left alone.

He was a brave man, but he had felt the short
hairs bristle upon the nape of his neck when that
uncanny cry rose upon the air.

As the writhing body of the black soared, as
though by unearthly power, into the dense foliage
of the forest, D'Arnot felt an icy shiver run along
his spine, as though death had risen from a dark
grave and laid a cold and clammy finger on his^
flesh.

As D'Arnot watched the spot where the body
had entered the tree he heard the sounds of move-
ment there.

The branches swayed as though under ..the

[293]

TARZJN OF THE APES

weight of a man's body — there was a crash and
the black came sprawling to earth again — to lie
very quietly where he had fallen.

Immediately after him came a white body, but
this one alighted erect.

D'Arnot saw a clean limbed young giantj
emerge from the shadows into the firelight and
come quickly toward him.

What could it mean? Who could it be?
Some new creature of torture and destruction,
doubtless.

D'Arnot waited. His eyes never left the face
of the advancing man. Nor did those frank,
clear eyes waver beneath his fixed gaze.

D'Arnot was reassured, but still without much
hope, though he felt that that face could not mask
a cruel heart.

Without a word Tarzan of the Apes cut the
bonds which held the Frenchman. Weak from
suffering and loss of blood, he would have fallen
but for the strong arm that caught him.

He felt himself lifted from the ground. There
was a sensation as of flying, and then he lost
consciousness.

T 294 1

CHAPTER XXII

THE SEARCH PARTY

AX JHEN dawn broke upon the little camp of
^ ^ Frenchmen in the heart of the jungle it
found a sad and disheartened group.

As soon as it was light enough to see their
surroundings Lieutenant Charpentier sent men in
groups of three in several directions to locate the
trail, and in ten minutes it was found and the
expedition was hurrying back toward the beach.

It was slow work, for they bore the bodies of
six dead men, two more having succumbed dur-
ing the night, and several of those who were
wounded required support to move even very
slowly.

Charpentier had decided to return to camp for
reinforcements, and then make an attempt to
track down the natives and rescue D'Arnot.

It was late in the afternoon when the exhausted
men reached the clearing by the beach, but for
two of them the return brought so great a hap-
piness that all their suffering and heart breaking
grief was forgotten on the instant.

As the little party emerged from the jungle
the first person that Professor Porter and Cecil
Clayton saw was Jane Porter, standing by the
cabin door.

[29s]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

With a little cry of joy and relief she ran for-
ward to greet them, throwing her arms about
her father's neck and bursting into tears for the
first time since they had been cast upon this
hideous and adventurous shore.

Professor Porter strove manfully to suppress
his own emotions, but the strain upon his nerves
and weakened vitality were too much for him,
and at length, burying his old face in the girl's
shoulder, he sobbed quietly like a tired child.

Jane Porter led him toward the cabin, and the
Frenchmen turned toward the beach from which
several of their fellows were advancing to meet
them.

Clayton, wishing to leave father and daughter
alone, joined the sailors and remained talking
with the officers until their boat pulled away to-
ward the cruiser whither Lieutenant Charpentier
was bound to report the unhappy outcome of his
adventure.

Then Clayton turned back slowly toward the
cabin. His heart was filled with happiness. The
woman he loved was safe.

He wondered by what manner of miracle she
had been spared. To see her alive seemed almost
unbelievable.

As he approached the cabin he saw Jane Porter
coming out. When she saw him she hurried for-
ward to meet him.

" Jane ! " he cried, " God has been good to us,

[296]

THE SEARCH PARTY

indeed. Tell me how you escaped — what form
Providence took to save you for — us.*'

He had never before called her by her given
name. Forty-eight hours before it would have
suffused Jane Porter with a soft glow of pleasure
to have heard that name from Clayton^ lips — ♦
now it frightened her.

" Mr. Clayton," she said quietly, extending
her hand, " first let me thank you for your
chivalrous loyalty to my dear father. He has told
me how noble and self-sacrificing you have been.
How can we ever repay you ! "

Clayton noticed that she did not return his
familiar salutation, but he felt no misgivings on
that score. She had been through so much. This
was no time to force his love upon her, he quickly
realized.

" I am already repaid," he said. " Just to
see you and Professor Porter both safe, well,
and together again. I do not think that I could
much longer have endured the pathos of his quiet
and uncomplaining grief.

" It was the saddest experience of my life, Miss
Porter; and then, added to it, there was my own
grief — the greatest I have ever known. But
his was so hopeless — it was pitiful. It taught
me that no love, not even that of a man for his
wife may be so deep and terrible and self*
sacrificing as the love of a father for his
daughter."

[297 J

TJRZJN OF THE APES

The girl bowed her head. There was a ques^
tlon she wanted to ask, but it seemed almost
sacrilegious in the face of the love of these two
men, and the terrible suffering they had endured
while she sat laughing and happy beside a god*
Uike creature of the forest, eating delicious fruits
and looking with eyes of love into answering eyes.

But love is a strange master, and human nature

• is still stranger, so she asked her question, though

she was not coward enough to attempt to justify

herself to her own conscience. She felt self-hate,

but she asked her question nevertheless.

" Where is the forest man who went to rescue
you? Why did he not return? "

" I do not understand," said Clayton. " Whom
do you mean ? *'

" He who has saved each of us — who saved
me from the gorilla.'*

" Oh," cried Clayton, in surprise. " It was he
who rescued you? You have not told me any-
thing of your adventure, don't you know; tell
me, do."

" But the wood man," she urged. " Have you
not seen him? When we heard the shots in the
jungle, very faint and far away, he left me. We
fhad just reached the clearing, and he hurried off
in the direction of the fighting. I know he went
to aid you."

Her tone was abnost pleading — her manner
tense with suppressed emotion. Clayton could

[298]

THE SEARCH PARTY

not but notice it, and he wondered, vaguely, why
she was so deeply moved — so anxious to know
the whereabouts of this strange creature. He
did not suspect the truth, for how could he ?

Yet a feeling of apprehension of some impend-
ing sorrow haunted him, and in his breast, un-
known to himself, was implanted the first germ
of jealousy and suspicion of the ape-man to whom
he owed his life.

" We did not sec him," he replied quietly.
" He did hot join us." And then after a moment
of thoughful pause : " Possibly he joined his own
tribe — the men who attacked us." He did not
know why he had said it, for he did not believe
it; but love is a strange master.

The girl looked at him wide eyed for a
moment.

" No 1 " she exclaimed vehemently, much too
vehemently he thought. " It could not be. They
were negroes — he is a white man — and a
gentleman."

Clayton looked puzzled. The little green-
eyed devil taunted him.

" He is a strange, half-savage creature of the
jungle. Miss Porter. We know nothing of him.
H« neither speaks nor understands any European
tongue — - and his ornaments and weapons are
those of the West Coast savages."

Clayton was speaking rapidly.

'* There are no other human beings than sav-

1 299 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

ages within hundreds of miles, Miss Porter. He
must belong to the tribes which attacked us, or to
some other equally savage — he may even be a
cannibal."

Jane Porter blanched.
' "I will not believe it," she half whispered.
" It is not true. You shall see," she said, address-
ing Clayton, " that he will come back and that he
will prove that you are wrong. You do not know
him as I do. I tell you that he is a gentleman."

Clayton was a generous and chivalrous man,
but something in the girl's breathless defense of
the forest man stirred him to unreasoning jeal-
ousy, so that for the instant he forgot all that
they owed to this wild demi-god, and he answered
her with a half sneer upon his lip.

" Possibly you are right, Miss Porter," he
said, "but I do not think that any of us need
worry about our carrion-eating acquaintance.
The chances are that he is some half-demented
castaway who will forget us more quickly, but no
more surely, than we shall forget him. He is
only a beast of the jungle. Miss Porter."

The girl did not answer, but she felt her heart
shrivel within her. Anger and hate against one
we love steels our hearts, but contempt or pity
leaves us silent and ashamed.

She knew that Clayton spoke merely what he
thought, and for the first time she began to
analyze the structure which supported her new

[300]

THE SEARCH PARTY

found love, and to subject its object to a critical
examination.

Slowly she turned and walked back to the
cabin. She tried to imagine her wood-god by her
side in the saloon of an ocean liner. She saw
him eating with his hands, tearing his food like
a beast of prey, and wiping his greasy fingers upon
his thighs. She shuddered.

She saw him as she introduced him to her
friends — uncouth, illiterate' — a boor; and the
girl winced.

She had reached her room now, and as she sat
upon the edge of her bed of ferns and grasses,
with one hand resting upon her rising and falling
bosom, she felt the hard outlines of the man's
locket beneath her waist.

She drew it out, holding it in the palm of her
hand for a moment with tear-blurred eyes bent
upon it. Then she raised it to her lips, and crush-
ing it there buried her face in the soft ferns,
sobbing.

" Beast? " she murmured. " Then God make
me a beast; for, man or beast, I am yours.'*

She did not see Clayton again that day.
Esmeralda brought her supper to her, and she
sent word to her father that she was suffering
from the reaction following her adventure.

The next morning Clayton left early with the
relief expedition in search of Lieutenant d'Amot.
Vhere were two hundred armed men this time,

[ 30l|1

TARZAN OF THE APES

with ten officers and two surgeons, and pro-
visions for a week.

They carried bedding and hammocks, the latter
for transporting their sick and wounded.
, It was a determined and angry company— a
punitive expedition as well as one of relief. They
.reached the sight of the skirmish of the previous
expedition shortly after noon, for they were now
traveling a known trail and no time was lost in
exploring.

From there on the elephant-track led straight
to Mbonga's village. It was but two o'clock
when the head of the column halted upon the
edge of the clearing.

Lieutenant Charpentier, who was in command,
immediately sent a portion of his force through
the jungle to the opposite side of the village.
Another detachment was dispatched to a point
before the village gate, while he remained with
the balance upon the south side of the clearing.

It was arranged that the party which was to
take position to the north, and which would be
the last to gain its station should commence the
^assault, and that their opening volley should be
the signal for a concerted rush from all sides in
an attempt to carry the village by storm at the
first charge.

For half an hour the men with Lieutenant
Charpentier crouched in the dense foliage of the
Jungle, waiting the signal. To them it seemed

[302]

THE SEARCH PARTY

like hours. They could see natives in the fields,
and others moving in and out of the village gate«

At length the signal came — a sharp rattle of
musketry, and like one man, an answering volley
tore from the jungle to the west and to the south.

The natives in the field dropped their imple-
ments and broke madly for the palisade. The
French bullets mowed them down, and the French
sailors bounded over their prostrate bodies
straight for the village gate.

So sudden and unexpected the assault had been
that the whites reached the gates before the
frightened natives could bar them, and in another
minute the village street was filled with armed
men fighting hand to hand in an inextricable
tangle.

For a few moments the blacks held their
ground within the entrance to the street, but
the revolvers, rifles and cutlasses of the French-
men crumpled the native spearmen and struck
down the black archers with their bolts half-
drawn.

Soon the battle turned to a wild rout, and then
to grim massacre; for the French sailors had
seen bits of D'Arnot's uniform upon several of
the black warriors who opposed them.

They spared the children and those of the
women whom they were not forced to kill in self-
defense, but when at length they stopped, pant-
ing, blood covered and sweating, it was because

[ 303 ]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

there lived to oppose them no single warrior of
all the savage village of Mbonga.

Carefully they ransacked every hut and comer
of the village, but no sign of D'Arnot could they
find. They questioned the prisoners by signs^
and finally one of the sailors who had served in
the French Congo found that he could make them
understand the bastard tongue that passes for
language between the whites and the more de-
graded tribes of the coast, but even then they
could learn nothing definite regarding the fate of
D'Arnot

Only excited gestures and expressions of fear
could they obtain in response to their inquiries
concerning their fellow; and at last they became
convinced that these were but evidences of the
guilt of these demons who had slaughtered and
eaten their comrade two nights before.

At length all hope left them, and they pre-
pared to camp for the night within the village*
The prisoners were herded into three huts where
they were heavily guarded. Sentries were posted
at the barred gates, and finally the village was
wrapped in the silence of slumber, except for the
wailing of the native women for their dead.

The next morning they set out upon the retura
march. Their original intention had been to bura
the village, but this idea was abandoned and the
prisoners were left behind, weeping and moaning,,

I304I

THE SEARCH PARTY

but with roofs to cover them and a palisade for
refuge from the beasts of the jungle.

Slowly the expedition retraced its steps of the
preceding day. Ten loaded hammocks retarded
its pace. In eight of them lay the more seriously
wounded, while two swung beneath the weight of
the dead.

Clayton and Lieutenant Charpentier brought up
the rear of the column; the Englishman silent in
respect for the other's grief, for D'Arnot and
Charpentier had been inseparable friends sinc6
boyhood.

Clayton could not but realize that the French-
man felt his grief the more keenly because
D'Arnot's sacrifice had been so futile, since Jane
Porter had been rescued before D'Arnot had
fallen into the hands of the savages, and again
because the service in which he had lost his life
had been outside his duty and for strangers and
aliens ; but when he spoke of it to Lieutenant Char-
pentier, the latter shook his head.

" No, monsieur," he said, " D'Arnot would
have chosen to die thus. I only grieve that I coufd
not have died for him, or at least with him. I
wish that you could have known him better, mon-
sieur. He was indeed an officer and a gentleman
—- a title conferred on many, but deserved by so
few.

" He did not die futilely, for his death in the
cause of a strange American girl will make uSf

[305I

TJRZAN OF THE APES

his comrades, face our ends the more bravelyi
however they may come to us."

Clayton did not reply, but within him rose a
new respect for Frenchmen which remained un-
dimmed ever after.

It was quite late when they reached the cabin
by the beach. A single shot before they emerged
from the jungle had announced to those in camp
as well as on the ship that the expedition had been
too late — for it had been prearranged that when
they came within a mile or two of camp one shot
was to be fired to denote failure, or three for
success, while two would have indicated that they
had found no sign of either D'Arnot or his black
captors.

So it was a solemn party that awaited their
coming, and few words were spoken as the dead
and wounded men were tenderly placed in boats
and rowed silently toward the cruiser*

Clayton, exhausted from his five days of labor-
ious marching through the jungle and from the
effects of his two battles with the blacks, turned
toward the ^abin to seek a mouthful of food and
then the comparative ease of hi^ bed of grasses,
after two nights in the jungle.

By the cabin door stood Jane Porter.

" The poor lieutenant? " she a^ked. " Did you
find no trace of him? "

" We were too late, Miss Porter," he replied
sadly.

[306]

THE SEARCH PARTY.

" Tell me. What had happened? " she asked.

** I cannot, Miss Porter, it is too horrible."

"You do not mean that they had tortured
him? " she whispered.

" We do not know what they did to him before
they killed him," he answered, his face drawn with
fatigue and the sorrow he felt for poor D'Arnot
— and he emphasized the word before.

" Before they killed him I What do you mean?
They are not — ? They are not — ? "

She was thinking of what Clayton had said of
the forest man's probable relationship to this tribe
and she could not frame the awful word.

" Yes, Miss Porter, they were — cannibals," he
said, almost bitterly, for to him too had suddenly
come the thought of the forest man, and the
strange, unaccountable jealousy he had felt two
days before swept over him once more.

And then in sudden brutality that was as unlike
Clayton as courteous consideration is unlike an
ape, he blurted out :

** When your forest god left you he was doubt-
less hurrying to the feast."

He was sorry ere the words were spoken though
■he did not know how cruelly they had cut the
girl. His regret was for his baseless disloyalty to
one who had saved the lives of every member of
his party, nor ever offered harm to one.

The girl's head went high.

** There could be but one suitable reply to

[307 1

TARZAN OF THE APES

your assertion, Mr. Clayton," she said icily, " and
I regret that I am not a man, that I might make
it." She turned quickly and entered the cabin.

Clayton was an Englishman, so the girl had
passed quite out of sight before he deduced what
reply a man would have made.

" Upon my word," he said ruefully, " she called
me a liar. And I fancy I jolly well deserved it,"
he added thoughtfully. " Clayton, my boy, I
know you are tired out and unstrung, but that's
no reason why you should make an ass of your-
self. You'd better go to bed."

But before he did so he called gently to Jane
Porter upon the opposite side of the sail cloth
partition, for he wished to apologize, but he might
as well have addressed the Sphinx. Then he wrote
upon a piece of paper and shoved it beneath the
partition.

Jane Porter saw the little note and ignored it,
for she was very angry and hurt and mortified,
but — she was a woman, and so eventually she
picked it up and read it.

My Dear Miss Porter:

I had no reason to insinuate what I did. My only ex-
cuse is that my nerves must be unstrung — which is no
excuse at all.

Please try and think that I did not say it. I am very
sorry. I would not have hurt you, above all others in
the world. Say that you forgive me.

Wm. Cecil Clayton.

** He did think it or he never would have said

[308]

THE SEARCH PARTY

it," reasoned the girl, " but it cannot be true —
oh, I know it is not true ! "

One sentence in the letter frightened her: " I
wotild not have hurt you above all others in the
world."

A week ago that sentence would have filled her
with delight, now it depressed her.

She wished she had never met Clayton. She
was sorry that she had ever seen the forest god —
no, she was glad. And there was that other note
she had found in the grass before the cabin the
day after her return from the jungle, the love note
signed by Tarzan of the Apes.

Who could be this new suitor? If he were
another of the wild denizens of this terrible forest
what might he not do to claim her?

" Esmeralda! Wake up," she cried.

" You make me so irritable, sleeping there
peacefully when you know perfectly well that the
world is filled with sorrow."

" Gaberelle! " screamed Esmeralda, sitting up.
"What am it now? A hipponocerous ? Where
am he. Miss Jane ? "

' " Nonsense, Esmeralda, there is nothing. Go
back to sleep. You are bad enough asleep, but
you are infinitely worse awake."

" Yasm honey, but what's de matter wif you-all
precious? You acts sorter kinder disgranulated
dis ebenin'."

" Oh, Esmeralda, Fm just plain ugly tonight/*

[309]

TARZAN OF THE APES

said the girl. "Don't pay any attention to me —
that's a dear/'

''Yasm, honey; now you-all go right to sleep.
Yo' nerves am all on aidge. What wif all dese
ripotamuses an' man eaten geniuses dat Marse
Philander been a tellin' about — ^laws, it ain't no
wonder we all get nervous prosecution."

Jane Porter crossed the little room» laughing,
and kissing the faithful old black cheek, bid
Esmeralda good night.

[310]

CHAPTER XXIII

BROTHER MEN

WHEN D'Arnot regained consciousness, he
found himself lying upon a bed of soft
ferns and grasses beneath a little "A" shaped
shelter of boughs.

At his feet an opening looked out upon a green
sward, and at a little distance beyond was the
dense wall of jungle and forest.

He was very lame and sore and weak, and as
full consciousness returned he felt the sharp tor-
ture of many cruel wounds, and the dull aching of
every bone and muscle in his body as a result of
the hideous beating he had received.

Even the turning of his head caused him such
excruciating agony that he lay still with closed
eyes for a long time.

He tried to piece out the details of his adven-
ture prior to the time he lost consciousness to see
^if they would explain his present whereabouts —
he wondered if he were among friends or foes.

At length he recollected the whole hideous
scene at the stake, ai;id finally recalled the strange
white figure in whose arms he had sunk into
oblivion.

D'Arnot wondered what fate lay in store for

[311T

TJRZJN OF THE APES

him now. He could neither see nor hear any
signs of life about him.

The incessant hum of the jungle — the rustling
of millions of leaves — the buzz of insects — the
voices of the birds and monkeys seemed blended
into a strangely soothing purr, as though he lay
apart, far from the myriad life whose sounds
came to him only as a blurred echo.

At length he fell In a quiet slumber, nor did he
awake again until afternoon.

Once more he experienced the strange sense of
utter bewilderment that had marked his earlier
awakening, but soon he recalled the recent past,
and looking through the opening at his feet he
saw the figure of a man squatting on his haunches.

The broad, muscular back was turned toward
him, but, tanned though it was, D'Arnot saw that
it was the back of a white man, and he thanked
his God.

The Frenchman called faintly. The man
turned, and, rising, came toward the shelter. His
face was very handsome — the handsomest,
thought D'Arnot, that he had ever seen.

Stooping, he crawled into the shelter beside the
wounded officer, and placed a cool hand upon his
forehead.

D'Arnot spoke to him in French, but the man
only shook his head — sadly, it seemed to the
Frenchman.

Then D'Amot tried English, but still the man

[312]

BROTHER MEN

shook his head. Italian, Spanish and German
brought similar discouragement.

D^Arnot knew a few words of Norwegian,
Russian, Greek, and also had a smattering of the
language of one of the West Coast negro tribes
— the man denied them all.

After examining D'Arnot's wounds the man
left the shelter and disappeared. In half an hour
he was back with fruit and a hollow gourd-like
vegetable filled with water.

D'Arnot drank and ate a little. He was sur-
prised that he had no fever. Again he tried to
converse with his strange nurse, but the attempt
was useless.

Suddenly the man hastened from the shelter
only to return a few minutes later with several
pieces of bark and — wonder of wonders — a
lead pencil.

Squatting beside D'Arnot he wrote for a minute
on the smooth inner surface of the bark; then he
handed it to the Frenchman.

D'Arnot was astonished to see, in plain print-
like characters, a message in English :

I am Tarzan of the Apes. Who are you? Can you
read this language ?

D'Arnot seized the pencil — then he stopped.
This strange man wrote English — evidently he
was an Engliishman.

" Yes," said D'Arnot, " I read English. I speak

r 31.^ 1

TJRZJN OF THE APES

it also. Now we may talk. First let me thank vou
for all that you have done for me."

The man only shook his head and pointed to the
pencil and the bark.

" Mon Dieul " cried D'Arnot. " If you are
English why is it then that you cannot speak
English?"

And then in a flash it came to him — the man
was a mute, possibly a deaf mute.

So D'Arnot wrote a message on the bark, in
English.

I am Paul d'Ar'not, Lieutenant in the navy of France.
I thank you for what you have done for me. You have
saved my life, and all that I have is yours. May I ask
how it is that one who writes English does not speak it?

Tarzan's reply filled D'Arnot with still greater
wonder :

I^ speak only the language of my tribe — the great apes
who were Kerchak's; and a little of the languages of
Tantor, the elephant, and Numa, the lion, and of the
other folks of the jungle I understand. With a human
being I have never spoken, except once with Jane Por-
ter, by signs. This is the first time I have spoken with
another of my kind through written words.

D'Arnot was mystified. It seemed incredible
that there lived upon earth a full grown man who
had never spoken with a fellow man, and still
more preposterous thpt 3uch a one could read and
write.

He looked again at Tarzan's message — " ex-
cept once, with Jane Porter." That was the

[314]

BROTHER MEN

American girl who had been carried into the
iungle by a gorilla.

' A sudden light commenced to dawn on D'Arnot
— this then was the "gorilla." He seized the
pencil and wrote :

Where is Jane Porter? i

And Tarzan replied, below:

Back with her people in the cabin of Tarzan of the
Apes.

She is not dead then? Where was she? What hap-
pened to her?

She is not dead. She was taken by Terkoz to be his
wife; but Tarzan of the Apes took her away from Ter-
koz and killed him before he could harm her.

None in all the jungle may face Tarzan of the Apes
in batde, and live. I am Tarzan of the Apes— -mighty
fighter.

D'Arnot wrote:

I am glad she is safe. It pains me to write, I wQl
rest a while.

And then Tarzan :

Yes, rest. When you arc well I shall take you back
to your people.

For many days D'Amot lay upon his bed of
soft ferns. The second day a fever had come and
D'Arnot thought that it meant infection and he
knew that he would die.

An idea came to him. He wondered why he
had not rfiought of it before.

He called Tarzan and indicated by signs that

[315]

TARZJN OF THE APES

he would write, and when Tarzan had fetched the
bark and pencil, D' Arnot wrote :

Can you go to my people and lead them here? I will
write a message that you may take to them, and they will
follow you.

Tarzan shook his head and taking the bark,
wrote :

I had thought of that — the first day; but I dared not
The great apes come often to this spot, and if they found
you here, wounded and alone, they would kill you.

D' Arnot turned on his side and closed his eyes.
He did not wish to die; but he felt that he was
going, for the fever was mounting higher and
higher. That night he lost consciousness.

For three days he was in delirium, and Tarzan
sat beside him and bathed his head and hands and
washed his wounds.

On the fourth day the fever broke as suddenly
as it had come, but it left D'Arnot a shadow of
his former self, and very weak. Tarzan had to
lift him that he might drink from the gourd.

The fever had not been the result of infection,
as D'Arnot had thought, but one of those that
commonly attack whites in the jungles of Africa,
and either kill Or leave them as suddenly as
D'Arnot's had left him.

Two days after, D'Amot jfM tottering about
the amphitheater, Tarzan's strong arm about him
to keep him from falling.

They sat beneath the shade of a great treei

I316I

BROTHER MEN

and Tarzan found some smooth bark that they
might converse.

D'Arnot wrote the first message :

What can I do to repay you for all diat 3rou have
done forme?

And Tarzan, in reply :
Teach me to speak the language of men.

And so D'Arnot commenced at once, pointing
out familiar objects and repeating their names in
French, for he thought that it would be easier to
teach this man his own language, since he under-
stood it himself best of all.

It meant nothing to Tarzan, of course, for he
could not tell one language from another, so when
he pointed to the word man which he had printed
upon a piece of bark he learned from D'Arnot
that it was pronounced homme, and in the same
way he was taught to pronounce ape, siriffe, and
tree, arbre.

He was a most eager student, and in two more
days had mastered so much French diat he could
speak little sentences such as : ^^ That is a tree,''
" this is grass," " I am hungry," and the like, but
D'Arnot found that it was difficult to teach hiin
the French construction upon a foundation of
English.

The Frenchman wrote little lessons for him in
English and had Tarzan repeat them in French^

[317 1

TJRZJN OF THE APES

but as a literal translation was usually very poor
French Tarzan was often confused.

D'Arnot realized now that he had made a
mistake, but it seemed too late to go back and do
it all over again and force Tarzan to unlearn all
that he had learned, especially as they were
rapidly approaching a point where they would be
able to converse.

On the third day after the fever broke Tarzan
wrote a message asking D'Amot if he felt strong
enough to be carried back to the cabin. Tarzan
was as anxious to go as D'Arnot, for he longed to
see Jane Porter again.

It had been hard for him to remain with the
Frenchman all these days for that very reason,
and that he had unselfishly done so spoke more
glowingly for his nobility of character than even
did his rescuing of the French officer from
Mbonga's clutches.

D'Arnot, only too willing to attempt the
journey, wrote:

But you cannot carry me all the distance through this
tangled forest.

Tarzan laughed.

"Mais oui/^ he said, yand D'Arnot laughed
aloud to hear the phrase that he used so often
glide from Tarzan's tongue.

So they set out, D'Arnot marveling as had
Clayton and Jane Porter at the wondrous strength
and agility of the ape-man.

[318]

BROTHER MEN

Mid-afternoon brought them to the clearings
and as Tarzan dropped to earth from the branches
of the last tree his heart leaped and bounded
against his ribs in anticipation of seeing Jane
Porter so soon again.

No one was in sight without the cabin, and-
D'Arnot was perplexed to note that neither the
cruiser nor the Arrow was at anchor in the bay.

An atmosphere of loneliness pervaded the spot^
which caught suddenly at both men as they strode
toward the cabin.

Neither spoke, yet both knew before they
opened the closed door what they would find
beyond.

Tarzan lifted the latch and pushed the great
door in upon its wooden hinges. It was as they
had feared. The cabin was deserted.

The men turned and looked at one another.
D'Arnot knew that his people thought him dead;
but Tarzan thought only of the woman who had
kissed him in love and now had fled from him
while he was serving one of her people.

A great bitterness rose in his heart. He would
go away, far into the jungle and join his tribe.
Never would he see one of his own kind again;
nor could he bear the thought of returning to the
cabin. He would leave that forever behind him
with the great hopes he had nursed there of find-
ing his own race and becoming a man among men.

And the Frenchman? D'Arnot? What of

[319I

TJRZAN OF THE APES

him? He could get along as Tarzan had Tar-
zan did not want to see him more. He wanted
to get away from everything that might remind
him of Jane Porter.

As Tarzan stood upon the threshold, brooding,
D'Arnot had entered the cabin. Many comforts
he saw that had been left behind. He recognized
numerous articles from the cruiser — a camp
oven, some kitchen utensils, a rifle and many
rounds of ammunition, canned foods, blankets,
two chairs and a cot — and several books and
periodicals, mostly American.

" They must intend returning," thought
D'Arnot.

He walked over to the table that John Clayton
had built so many years before to serve as a desk,
and on it he saw two notes addressed to Tarzan
of the Apes.

One was in a strong masculine hand and was
unsealed. The other, in a woman's hand, was
sealed.

" Here are two messages for you, Tarzan of
the Apes," cried D'Arnot, turning toward the
door; but his companion was not there.

D'Arnot walked to the door and looked out.
Tarzan was no where in sight. He called aloud
but there was no response.

" Mon Dieul '' exclaimed D'Arnot, " he has
left me. I feel it. He has gone back into his
jungle and left me here alone."

[320]

BROTHER MEN

And then he remembered the look on Tarzan's
face when they had discovered that the cabin was
emgty — such a look as the hunter sees in the
eyes of the wounded deer he has wantonly brought
down.

I The man had been hard hit — D'Ainot re-
alized it now — but why? He could n^t under-
stand.

The Frenchman looked about hvm. The
loneliness and the horror of the place commenced
to get on his nerves — already weakened by the
ordeal of suffering and sickness he had passed
through.

To be left here alone beside this awful jungle
-— never to hear a human voice or see a human
face — in constant dread of savage beasts and
more terribly savage men — a prey to solitude
and hopelessness. It was awful.

And far to the east Tarzan of the Apes was
speeding through the middle terrace back to his
tribe. Never had he traveled with such reckless
speed. He felt that he was running away from
himself — that by hurtling through the forest
like a frightened squirrel he was escaping from
his own thoughts. But no matter how fast he
went he found them always with him.

He passed above the sinuous body of Sabor,
the lioness, going in the opposite direction ; toward
the cabin, thought Tarzan.

What could D'Arnot do against Sabor — or if

[321]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Bolgani, the gorilla, should come upoir him — or
Numa, the Hon, or cruel Sheeta ?

Tarzan paused In his flight.

"What are you, Tarzan?" he asked aloud.

An ape or a man?

If you are an ape you will do a^ the apes
would do — leave one of your kind tc die in the
jungle If It suited your whim to go els^^where.

" If you are a man, you will return to protect
your kind. You will not run away fp^m one of
your own people, because one of them has run
away from you."

D'Amot closed the cabin door. He «ras very
nervous. Even brave men, and D'Arnot was a
brave man, are sometimes frightened b]" solitude.

He loaded one of the rifles and placed it within
easy reach. Then he went to the desk and took
up the unsealed letter addressed to Tarzan.

Possibly it contained word that his people had
but left the beach temporarily. He felt that It
would be no breach of ethics to read this letter,
so he took the enclosure from the envelop* and
read:

To Tarzan of the Apes:

We thank you for the use of your cabin, and arc •\)rry
that you did not permit us the pleasure of seeing and
thanking you in person.

We have harmed nothing, but have left many things
for you which may add to your comfort and safety
in your lonely home.

[ 3" 1

BROTHER MEN

If you know the strange white man who saved our lives
so many times, and brought us food, and if you can con-
verse with him, thank him, also, for his kindness.

We sail within the hour, never to return ; but we wish
you and that other jungle friend to know that we shall
always thank you for what you did for strangers on your
shore, and that we should have done infinitely more to
reward you both had you given us the opportunity.

Very respectfully,

Wm. Cecil Clayton.

" * Never to return,' " muttered D'Arnot, and
threw himself face downward upon the cot.

An hour later he started up, listening. Some-
thing was at the door trying to enter.

D'Arnot reached for the loaded rifle and
placed it to his shoulder.

Dusk was falling, and the interior of the cabin
was very dark; but the man could see the latch
moving from its place.

He felt his hair rising upon his scalp.

Gently the door opened until a thin crack
showed something standing just without.
, D'Amot sighted along the blue barrel at the
crack of the door — and then he pulled the
trigger.

1 32s ]

CHAPTER XXIV

LOST TREASURE

\X JHEN the expedition returned, following
^ ^ their fruitless endeavor to succor D'Arnot;,
Captain Dufranne was anxious to steam away as
quickly as possible, and all save Jane Porter h^d
acquiesced.

" No," she said, determinedly, " I shall siot
go, nor should you, for there are two friends in
that jungle who will come out of it some day
expecting to find us awaiting them.

*' Your officer. Captain Dufranne, Is one of
them, and the forest man who has saved the
lives of every member of my father's party is
the other.

" He left me at the edge of the jungle two
days ago to hasten to the aid of my father and
Mr. Clayton, as he thought, and he has stayed
to rescue Lieutenant d'Amot; of that you may
be sure.

" Had he been too late to be of service to the
lieutenant he would have been back before now —
the fact that he Is not back Is sufficient proof to
me that he is delayed because Lieutenant d'Arnot
is wounded, or he has had to follow his captors
further than the village which your sailoi^
attacked."

[324]

LOST TREASURE

" But poor D'Arnot's uniform and all his be-
longings were found in that village, Miss Porter,'*
argued the captain, ^' and the natives showed
great excitement when questioned as to the white
man's fate."

'' Yes, Captain, but they did not admit that he
was dead, and as for his clothes and accoutre-
ments being in their possession — why more civ-
ilized peoples than these poor savage negroes
strip their prisoners of every article of value
whether they intend killing them or not.

" Even the soldiers of my own dear South
looted not only the living but the dead. It is
strong circumstantial evidence, I will admit, but
it is not positive proof."

" Possibly your forest man, himself, was cap-
tured or killed by the savages," suggested Cap-
tain Dufranne.

The girl laughed.

" You do not know him," she replied, a little
thrill of pride setting her nerves a-tingle at the
thought that she spoke of her own.

" I admit that he would be worth waiting for,
this super-man of yours," laughed the captain.
" I most certainly should like to see him."

" Then wait for him, my dear captain," urged «

the girl, " for I intend doing so."

The Frenchman would have been a very much
surprised man could he have interpreted the true
meaning of the girl's words.

[325I

TARZJN OF THE APES

They had been walking from the beach toward
the cabin as they talked, and now they joined a
little group sitting on camp stools in the shade of
a great tree beside the cabin.

Professor Porter was there, and Mr. Philander
and Clayton, with Lieutenant Charpentier and
two of his brother officers, while Esmeralda hov-
ered in the background, ever and anon venturing
opinions and comments with the freedom of an
old and much indulged family servant.

The officers arose and saluted as their superior
approached, and Clayton surrendered his camp-
stool to Jane Porter.

" We were just discussing poor Paul's fate,"
said Captain Dufranne. " Miss Porter insists
that we have no absolute proof of his death —
nor have we. And on the other hand she main-
tains that the continued absence of your omni-
potent jungle friend indicates that D'Arnot is still
in need of his services, either because he is
wounded, or still is a prisoner in a more distant
native village."

" It has been suggested," ventured Lieutenant
Charpentier, " that the wild man may have been ,
a member of the tribe of blacks who attacked our
party — that he was hastening to aid them--
his own people."

Jane Porter shot a quick glance at Clayton.

" It seems vastly more reasonable," said Pro-
fessor Porter.

[326]

LOST TREASURE

■ft

" I do not agree with you," objected Mr. Phi-
lander. " He had ample opportunity to harm us
himself, or to lead his people against us. Instead,
during our long residence here, he has been uni-
formly consistent in his role of protector and
provider."

" That is true," interjected Clayton, " yet we
must not overlook the fact that except for him-
self the only human beings within hundreds of
miles are savage cannibals. He was armed pre-
cisely as are they, which indicates that he has
maintained relations of some nature with them,
and the fact that he is but one against possibly
thousands suggests that these relations could
scarcely have been other than friendly."

" It seems improbable then that he is not con-
nected with them," remarked the captain ; " pos-
sibly a member of this tribe."

" Or," added another of the officers, " that
otherwise he could even have lived a sufficient
length of time among the savage denizens of the
jungle, brute and human, to have become proficient
in wood craft, or in the use of African weapons."

" You are judging him according to your own
•standards, gentlemen," said Jane Porter. " An
'ordinary white man such as any of you — • pardon
me, I did not mean just that — rather, a white
man above the ordinary in physique and intel-
ligence could never, I grant you, have lived a year
alone and naked in this tropical jungle; but this

[327I

TARZAN OF THE APES

man not only surpasses the average white man in
strength and agility, but as far transcends our
trained athletes and ' strong men ' as they sur«
pass a day old babe ; and his courage and ferocity
in battle are those of the wild beast."

" He has certainly won a loyal champion, Miss
Porter," said Captain Dufranne, laughing. " I
am sure that there be none of us here but would
willingly face death a hundred times in its most
terrifying forms to deserve the tributes of one
even half so loyal — or so beautiful."

" You would not wonder that I defend him,"
said the girl, " could you have seen him as I saw
him, battling in my behalf with that huge hairy
brute.

" Could you have seen him change the monster
as a bull might charge a grizzly — absolutely
without sign of fear or hesitation — you would
have believed him more than human.

" Could you have seen those mighty muscles
knotting under the brown skin — could you have
seen them force back those awful fangs — you too
would have thought him invincible.

"And could you have seen the chivalrous
treatment which he accorded a strange girl of a
strange race, you would feel the same absolute
confidence in him that I feel."

" You have won your suit, my fair pleader,"
cried the captain. " This court finds the defend-
ant not guilty, and the cruiser shall tvait a few

[328]

LOST TREASURE

days longer that he may have an opportunity to
come and thank the divine Portia."

" Fo' dc Lawd's sake honey," cried Esmeralda.
" You all doan mean to tell me dat youse a-goin'
to stay right yere in dis yere Ian* of camivable
animals when you all done got de oppahtunity to
escapade on dat crosier? Doan yo' tell me dat,
honey."

" Why, Esmeralda I You should be ashamed
of yourself," cried Jane Porter. " Is this any
way to show your gratitude to the man who saved
your life twice? "

" Well Miss Jane, das all jes' as yo' say; but
dat dere fores' lawd never did save us to stay
yere. He done save us so we all could get away
from yere. Ah expec' he be mighty peevish when
he fin* we ain't got no mo' sense 'n to stay right
yere after he done give us de chanct to get away.

" Ah hoped Ah'd never have to sleep in dis
yere geological garden anothei* night and listen
to all dem lonesome noises dat come out of dat
jumble after dark."

" I don't blame you a bit, Esmeralda," said
Clayton, ^* and you certainly did hit it off right
when you called them * lonesome ' noises. I
never have been able to find the right word for
them but that's it, don't you know, lonesome
noises."

•* You and Esmeralda had better go and live
otK the cruiser," said Jane Porter, in fine scorn.

{ml

TJRZJN OF THE APES

** What would you think if you had to live all of
your life in that jungle ^s our forest man has
done?"

*^ I'm afraid I'd be a blooming bounder as a
wild man," laughed Clayton, ruefully. " Those
noises at night make the hair on my head bristle.
I suppose that I should be ashamed to admit it,
but it's the truth."

^' I don't know about that," said Lieutenant
Charpentier. " I never thought much about fear
and that sort of thing — never tried to determine
whether I was a coward or a brave man; but the
other night as we lay in the jungle there after
poor D'Arnot was taken, and those jungle noises
rose and fell around us I began to think that I
was a coward indeed. It was not the roaring
and growling of the big beasts that effected me so
much as it was the stealthy noises — the ones that
you heard suddenly close by and then listened
vainly foi; a repetition of — the unaccountable
sounds as of a great body moving almost noise-
lessly, and the knowledge that you didn't know
how close it was, or whether it were creeping
closer after you ceased to hear it? It was those
noises — and the eyes.

*' Man Dieuf I shall see them in the dark
forever — the eyes that you see, and those that
you don't see, but feel; ah, they are the worst. "^

All were silent for a moment, and then Jane
Porter spoke.

[330]

LOST TREASURE

" And he is out there," she said, in an awe-
hushed whisper. " Those eyes will be glaring at
him tonight, and at your comrade Lieutenant
d'Amot. Can you leave them, gentlemen, with-,
out at least rendering them the passive succor^
which remaining here a few days longer might'
insure them ? "

"Tut, tut, child," said Professor Porter.l
" Captain Dufranne is willing to remain, and for
my part I am perfectly willing, perfectly willing
— as I always have been to humor your childish
whims."

" We can utilize the morrow in recovering the
chest, Professor," suggested Mr. Philander.

" Quite so, quite so, Mr. Philander, I had
almost forgotten the treasure," exclaimed Pro-
fessor Porter. " Possibly we can borrow some
men from Captain Dufranne to assist us, and one
of the prisoners to point out the location of the
chest."

" Most assuredly, my dear Professor, we are
all yours to command," said the captain.

And so it was arranged that on the next day
Lieutenant Charpentier was to take a detail of ten
men, and one of the mutineers of the Arrow as a
guide, and unearth the treasure; and that the
cruiser would remain for a full week in the little
harbor. At the end of that time it was to be
assumed that D'Arnot was truly dead, and that
the forest man would not return while they

1 331]

TARZAN OF THE APES

remained Then the two vessels were to leave
with all the party.

Professor Porter did not accompany the treas-
ure-seekers on the following day, but when he saw
them returning empty-handed toward noon, he
liastened forward to meet them — his usual pre-
occupied indifference entirely vanished, and in its
place a nervous and excited manner.

" Where is the treasure? '' he cried to Clayton,
while yet a hundred feet separated them.

Clayton shook his head.

" Gone," he said, as he neared the professor.

" Gone I It cannot be. Who could have
taken it ? " cried Professor Porter.

" God only knows, Professor," replied Clayton.
" We might have thought the fellow who guided
us was lying about the location, but his surprise
and consternation on finding no chest beneath the
body of the murdered Snipes were too real to be
feigned.

'^And then our spades showed us that somC'
thing had been buried beneath the corpse, for a
hole had been there and it had been filled with
loose earth."

" But who could have taken it? '* repeated Pro-
fessor Porter.

" Suspicion might naturally fall on the men of
the cruiser," said Lieutenant Charpentier, "but
for the fact that sub-lieutenant Janviers here as-
sures me that no men have had shore leave -^ that

^332]

LOST TREASURE

none has been on shore since we anchored here
except under command of an officer.

" I do not know that you would suspect our
men, but I am glad that there is now no chance
for suspicion to fall on them/^ he concluded

" It would never have occurred to me to suspect
the men to whom we owe so much," replied Pro-
fessor Porter, graciously. " I would as soon
suspect my dear Clayton here, or Mr. Philander."

The Frenchmen smiled, both officers and sailors.
It was plain to see that a burden had been lifted
from their minds.

" The treasure has been gone some time," con-
tinued Clayton. " In fact the body fell apart as
we lifted it, which indicates that whoever removed
the treasure did so while the corpse was still
fresh, for it was intact when we first uncovered
it."

" There must have been several in the party,"
said Jane Porter, who had joined them. " You
remember that it took four men to carry it."

" By jove I " cried Clayton. " That's right.
It must have been done by a party of blacks.
Probably one of them saw the men bury the chest
and then returned immediately after with a party
of his friends, and carried it oflF."

" Speculation is futile," said Professor Porter,
sadly. " The chest is gone. We shall never see
it more, nor the treasure that was in it."

Only Jane Porter knew what the loss meant to

[3331

TJRZJN OF THE APES

her f atheii and none there knew what it meant to
her.

Six days later Captain Duf ranne announced
that they would sail early on the morrow.

Jane Porter would have begged for a further
jreprieve, had It not been that she too had began
to believe that her forest lover would return no
more.

In spite of herself she began to entertain doubts
and fears. The reasonableness of the arguments
of these disinterested French officers commenced
to convince her against her will.

That he was a cannibal she would not believe^
but that he was an adopted member of some
savage tribe at length seemed possible to her.

She would not admit that he could be dead. It
was impossible to believe that that perfect body,
so filled with triumphant life, could ever cease to
harbor the vital spark — as soon believe that
immortality were dust.

As Jane Porter permitted herself to harbor
these thoughts, others equally unwelcome forced
themselves upon her.

If he belonged to some savage tribe he had a
savage wife — a dozen of them perhaps — and
wild, half-caste children. The girl shuddered,
and when they told her that the cruiser would
sail on the morrow she was almost glad.

It was she, though, who suggested that arms,
ammunition, supplies and comforts be left behind

[334]

LOST TREASURE

in the cabin, ostensibly for that intangible person-
ality who had signed himself Tarzan of the A^es,
and for D'Arnot should he still be living, but
really, she hoped, for her forest god — even
though his feet should prove of clay.

And at the last minute she left a message for
him, to be transmitted by Tarzan of the Apes.

Jane Porter was the last to leave the cabin, re-
turning on some trivial pretext, after the others
had started for the boat.

She kneeled down beside the bed in which she
had spent so many nights, and offered up a prayer
for the safety of her primeval man, and crushing
his locket to her lips she murmured:

" I love you, and because I love you I believe
in you. But If I did not believe, still should I
love. May God have pity on my soul that I
should acknowledge It. Had you come back for
me, and there had been no other way, I would
have gone into the jungle with you — forever."

1 335 1

CHAPTER XXV

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

WITH the report of his gun D'Arnot saw
the door fly open and the figure of a man
pitch headlong within onto the cabin floor.

The Frenchman in his panic raised his gun to
fire again into the prostrate form, but suddenly
in the half dusk of the open door he saw that the
man was white and in another instant realized
that he had shot his friend and protector, Tarzan
of the Apes.

With a cry of anguish D'Arnot sprang to the
ape-man's side, and kneeling, lifted the black
head in his arms — calling Tarzan's name aloud.

There was no response, and then D'Arnot
placed his ear above the man's heart. To his
joy he heard its steady beating beneath.

Carefully he lifted Tarzan to the cot, and
then, after closing and bolting the door, he
lighted one of the lamps and examined the
wound.

The bullet had struck a glancing blow upon
the skulL There was an ugly flesh wound, but
no signs of a fracture of the skull.

D'Arnot breathed a sigh of relief, and went
about bathing the blood from Tarzan's face.

[336I

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

B ill I I I I ■111 ■ ■. Ill I t

Soon the cool water revived him, and presently
he opened his eyes to look in questioning sur-
prise at D'Arnot.

The latter had bound the wound with pieces
of cloth, and as he saw that Tarzan had regained
consciousness he arose and gding to the table
wrote a message, which he handed to the ape-
man, explaining the terrible mistake he had made
and how thankful he was that the wound was noC
more serious.

Tarzan, after reading the message, sat on the
edge of the couch and laughed.

" It is nothing," he said in French, and then^
his vocabulary failing him, he wrote :

You should have seen what Bolgani did to me, and
Kerchak, and Terkoz, before I killed them — then you
would laugh at such a litde scratch.

D'Arnot handed Tarzan the two messages that
had been left for him.

Tarzan read the first one through with a look
of sorrow on his face. The second one he turned
over and over, searching for an opening — ho
had never seen a sealed envelope before. Af
length he handed it to D'Arnot.

The Frenchman had been watching him, and
knew that Tarzan was puzzled over the envelope.
How strange it seemed that to a fuUgrown white
man an envelope was a mystery. D'Arnot opened
it and handed the letter back to Tarzan.

[337]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

Sitting on a camp stool the ape-man spread
the written sheet before him and read:

To Tarzan of the Apes:

Before I leave let me add my thanks to those of Mr.
Clayton for the kindness you have shown in permitting
us die use of your cabin.

That you never came to make friends with us has been
a great regret to us. We should have liked so much to
have seen and thanked our host.

There is another I should like to thank also, but he did
not come back, though I cannot believe that he is dead.

I do not know his name. He is the great white giant
who wore the diamond locket upon his breast.

If you know him and can speak his language carry
my thanks to him, and tell him that I waited seven days
for him to return.

Tell him, also, that in my home in America, in the city
of Baltimore, there will always be a welcome for him if
he cares to come.

I found a note you wrote me lying among the leaves
beneath a tree near the cabin. I do hot know how you
learned to love me, who have never spoken to me, and
I am very sorry if it is true, for I have already given my
heart to another.

But know that I am alwajrs your friend,

Jane Porter.

Tarzan sat Tudth gaze fixed upon the floor for
nearly an hour. It was evident to him from the
notes that they did not know that he and Tarzan
of the Apes were one and the same.

" I have given my heart to another," he re-
peated over and over again to himself.

Then she did not love himl How could she
have pretended love, and raised him to such a

[338]

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

pinnacle of hope only to cast him down to such
utter depths of despair!

Maybe her kisses were only signs of friend-
ship. How did he know, who knew nothing of
the customs of human beings?

Suddenly he arose, and, bidding D'Arnot good
night as he had learned to do, threw himself upon
the couch of ferns that had been Jane Porter's.

D'Arnot extinguished the lamp, and lay down
upon the cot.

For a week they did little but rest; D'Arnot
coaching Tarzan in French. At the end of that
time the two men could converse quite easily.

One night, as they were sitting within the cabin
before retiring, Tarzan turned to D'Arnot.

"Where is America?" he said.

D'Arnot pointed toward the northwest.

" Many thousands of miles across the ocean,"
he replied. "Why?"

" I am going there.'*

D'Arnot shook his head.

" It is impossible, my friend," he said.

Tarzan rose, and, going to one of the cup-
boards, returned with a well thumbed geography.

Turning to a map of the world, he said :

" I have never quite understood all this ; ex-
plain it to me, please."

When D'Arnot had done so, showing him that
the blue represented all the water on the earth,
and the bits of other colors the continents and

[339]

TARZAN OF THE APES

islands, Tarzan asked him to point out the spot
where they now were.

D'Amot did so.

" Now point out America," said Tarzan.

And as D'Arnot placed his finger upon North
America, Tarzan smiled and laid his palm uponj
the page, spanning the great ocean that lay be-*
tween the two continents.

** You see it is not so very far," he said;
" scarce the width of my hand."

D'Amot laughed. How could he make the
man understand?

Then he took a pencil and made a tiny point
upon the shore of Africa.

** This little mark," he said, ** is many times
larger upon this map than your cabin is upon the
earth. Do you see now how very far it is? "

Tarzan thought for a long time.

" Do any white men live in Africa? " he asked.

" Yes."

"Where are the nearest?"

D'Arnot pointed out a spot on the shore just
north of them.

" So close ? " asked Tarzan, in surprise.

" Yes," said D'Arnot; " but it is not close."

" Have they big boats to cross the ocean? "

" Yes."

"We shall go there tomorrow," announced
Tarzan.

Again D'Arnot smiled and shook his head.

[340]

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

" It IS too far. We should die long before
we reached them."

"Do you wish to stay here then forever?"
asked Tarzan.

" No," said D'Arnot.

" Then we shall start tomorrow. I do not like
it here longer. I should rather die than remain
here."

^ " Well," answered D'Arnot, with a shrug, " I
do not know, my friend, but that I also would
rather die than remain here. If you go, I shall
go with you."

" It is settled then," said Tarzan. " I shall
start for America tomorrow."

" How will you get to America without
money? " asked D'Arnot.

"What is money?" inquired Tarzan.

It took a long time to make him understand
even imperfectly.

How do men get money? " he asked at last.

They work for it."

Very well. I will work for It, then."

" No, my friend," returned D'Arnot, " you
need not worry about money, nor need you work
for it. I have enough for two — enough for
twenty. Much more than is good for one mang
and you shall have all you need if ever we reach
civilization."

So on the following day they started north
along the shore. Each man canying a rifle and

U4i]

cc
li
u

TARZJN OF THE APES

ammunition, beside bedding and some food and
cooking utensils.

The latter seemed to Tarzan a most useless
encumbrance, so he threw his away.

" But you must learn to eat cooked food, my
friend," remonstrated D'Arnot " No civilized^
men eat raw flesh."

" There will be time enough when I reach civil-
ization," said Tarzan. ^' I do not like the things
and they only spoil the taste of good meat."

For a month they traveled north. Sometimes
finding food in plenty and again going hungry for
days.

They saw no signs of natives nor were they
molested by wild beasts. Their journey was a
miracle of ease.

Tarzan asked questions and learned rapidly.
D'Amot taught him many of the refinements of
civilization — even to the use of knife and fork;
but sometimes Tarzan would drop them in dis-
gust and grasp his food in his strong brown
hands, tearing it with his molars like a wild beast.

Then D'Arnot would expostulate with him,
saying :

" You must not eat like a brute, Tarzan, while
I am trying to make a gentleman of you. Mon
Dieul Gentlemen do not thus — it is terrible."

Tarzan would grin sheepishly and pick up his
knife and fork again, but at heart he hated them.

On the journey he told D'Arnot about the great

[ 342 1

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

chest he had seen the sailors bury; of how he had
dug it up and carried it to the gathering place of
the apes and buried it there.

" It must be the treasure-chest of Professor
Porter," said D'Arnot. " It is too bad, but of
'course you did not know."

Then Tarzan recalled the letter written by
Jane Porter to her friend — the one he had stolen
when they first came to his cabin, and now he
knew what was in the chest and what it meant to
Jane Porter.

" Tomorrow we shall go back after it," he an-
nounced to D'Arnot.

" Go back? " exclaimed D'Arnot. " But, my
dear fellow, we have now been three weeks upon
the march. It would require three more to re-
turn to the treasure, and then, with that enor-
mous weight which required, you say, four sailors
to carry, it would be months before we had again
reached this spot."

" It must be done, my friend," insisted Tarzan.
** You may go on toward civilization, and I will
return for the treasure. I can go very much '
faster alone."

I " I have a better plan, Tarzan," exclaimed
D'Arnot. " We shall go on together to the near-
est settlement, and there we will charter a boat
and sail back down the coast for the treasure and
so transport it easily.

" That will be safer and quicker and also not

r^ 343 ]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

require us to be separated. What do you think
of that plan?"

" Very well," said Tarzan. " The treasure
will be there whenever we go for it ; and while I
could fetch it now, and catch up with you in a
moon or two, I shall feel safer for you to know
that you are not alone on the trail.

" When I see how helpless you are, D'Ar-
not, I often wonder how the human race has es-
caped annihilation all these ages which you tell
me about. Why, Sabor, single handed, could ex-
terminate a thousand of you."

D'Arnot laughed.

" You will think more highly of your genus
when you have seen its armies and navies, its great
cities, and its mighty engineering works. Then
you will realize that it is mind, and not muscle,
that makes the human animal greater than the
mighty beasts of your jungle.

" Alone and unarmed, a single man is no match
for any of the larger beasts; but if ten men were
together, they would combine their wits and their
muscles against their savage enemies, while the
beasts, being unable to reason, would never think
of combining against the men.

" Otherwise, Tarzan of the Apes, how long
would you have lasted in the savage wilderness? '^

" You are right, D'Arnot," replied Tarzan,
'* for if Kerchak had come to Tublat's aid that
night at the Dum-Dum, there would have been

[344]

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

an end of me. But Kerchak could never think
far enough ahead to take advantage of any such
opportunity.

" Even Kala, my mother, could never plan
ahead. She simply ate what she needed when
she needed it, and if the supply was very scarce,
even though she found plenty for several meals,
she would never gather any ahead.

" I remember that she used to think it very
silly of me to burden myself with extra food upon
the march, though she was quite glad to eat it
with me, if the way chanced to be barren of sus-
tenance."

"Then you knew your mother, Tarzan?"
asked D'Arnot, in surprise.

" Yes. She was a great, fine ape, larger than
I, and weighing twice as much."

" And your father? " asked D'Arnot.

" I did not know him. Kala told me he was
a white ape, and hairless like myself. I know
now that he must have been a white man."

D'Amot looked long and earnestly at his com-
panion.

" Tarzan," he said at length, " it is impos-
sible that the ape, Kala, was your mother. If
such a thing can be, which I doubt, you would
have inherited some of the characteristics of the
ape, but you have not — you are pure man, and,
Z should say, the offspring of highly bred and in-
telligent parents.

[345]

TARZAN OF THE APES

" Have you not the slightest due to your
past?"

" Not the slightest," replied Tarzan.

" No writings in the cabin that might have
told something of the lives of its original in-
mates? "

" I have read everything that was in the cabin
with the exception of one book which I know
now to be written in a language other than Eng.
lish. Possibly you can read it."

Tarzan fished the little black diary from the
bottom of his quiver, and handed it to his com-
panion.

D'Arnot glanced at the title page.

" It is the diary of John Clayton, Lord Grey-
stoke, an English nobleman, and it is written in
French," he said.

Then he proceeded to read the diary that had
been written over twenty years before, and which
recorded the details of the story which we already
know — the stoiy of adventure, hardships and
sorrow of John Clayton and his wife Alice, from
the day they left England until an hour before he
was struck down by Kerchak.

D'Arnot read aloud. At times his voice broke,
and he was forced to stop reading for the pitiful,
hopelessness that spoke between the lines.

Occasionally he glanced at Tarzan; but the
ape-man sat upon his haunches, like a carveti
image, his eyes fixed upon the ground.

[346]

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

Only when the little babe was mentioned did
the tone of the diary^ alter from the habitual
note of despair which had crept into it by degrees
after the first two months upon the shore.

Then the passages were tinged with a subdued
happiness that was even sadder than the rest.

One entry showed an almost hopeful spirit.

Today our little boy is six months old. He is sitting
in Alice's lap beside the table where I am writing — a
happy, healthy, perfect child.

Somehow, even against all reason, I seem to see him
a grown man, taking his father's place in the world— ^
the second John Clayton — and bringing added honors to
the house of Greystoke.

There — as though to give my propheqr the weight of
his endorsement — he has grabbed my pen in his chubby
fist and with his inkbegrimed little fingers has placed
the seal of his tiny finger prints upon the page. .

And there, on the margin of the page, were
the partially blurred imprints of four wee fingers
and the outer half of the thumb.

When D'Arnot had finished the diary the two
men sat in silence for some minutes.

" Well I Tarzan of the Apes, what think you? "
asked D'Arnot. " Does not this little book clear
up the mystery of your parentage?

" Why, man, you are Lord Greystoke."

Tarzan sl\ook his head.

"The book speaks of but one child," he re-
plied. " Its little skeleton lay In the crib, where
It died crying for nourishment, from the first time
I entered the cabin until Professor Porter's party

[347]

TARZJN OF THE APES

buried ity with its father and mothefi beside the
cabin.

'' No, that was the babe the book speaks of —
and the mystery of my origin in deeper than be-
fore, for I have thought much of late of the pos-
sibility of that cabin having been my birthplace.

*' I am afraid that Kala spoke the truth,'' he
concluded sadly.

D'Arnot shook his head. He was unconvinced,
and in his mind had sprung the determination to
prove the correctness of his theory, for he had
discovered the key which alone could unlock the
mystery, or consign it forever to the realms of
the unfathomable.

A week later the two men came suddenly upon
a clearing in the forest.

In the distance were several buildings sur-
rounded by a strong palisade. Between them
and the enclosure stretched a cultivated field in
which a number of negroes were working.

The two halted at the edge of the jungle.

Tarzan fitted his bow with a poisoned arrow,
but D'Arnot placed a hand upon his arm.

" What would you do, Tarzan? " he asked.

" They will try to kill us if they see us," re-
plied Tarzan. " I prefer to be the killer."

" Maybe they are friends," suggested D'Arnot.

" They are black," was Tarzan's only reply.

And again he drew back his shaft.

" You must not, Tarzan 1 " cried D'Arnot

[348I

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

" White men do not kill wantonly. Mon Dieul
but you have much to learn.

" I pity the ruffler who crosses you, my wild
man, when I take you to Paris. I will have my
hands full keeping your neck from beneath the
guillotine."

Tarzan lowered his bow and smiled.

^' I do not know why I should kill the blacks
back there in my jungle, yet not kill them here.
Suppose Numa, the lion, should spring out upon
us, I should say, then, I presume : Good morning
Monsieur Numa, how is Madame Numa; eh?"

" Wait until the blacks spring upon you," re-
plied D'Arnot, " then you may kill them. Do
not assume that men are your enemies until they
prove it."

" Come," said Tarzan, " let us go and present
ourselves to be killed," and he started straight
across the field, his head high held and the trop-
ical sun beating upon his smooth, brown skin.

Behind him came D'Arnot, clothed in some gar-
ments which had been discarded at the cabin by
Clayton when the officers of the French cruiset
had fitted him out in more presentable fashion.

Presently one of the blacks looked up, and be-
holding Tarzan, turned, shrieking, toward the
palisade.

In an instant the air was filled with cries of
terror from the fleeing gardeners, but before any
had reached the palisade a white man emerged

[349I

TARZAN OF THE APES

from the enclosure, rifle in hand, to discover the
cause of the commotion.

What he saw brought his rifle to his shoulder,
and Tarzan of the Apes would have felt cold
lead once again had not D'Arnot cried loudly to
the man with the leveled gun:

" Do not fire 1 We are friends 1 ''

** Halt, then ! " was the reply.

" Stop, Tarzan 1 " cried D' Arnot " He thinks
we are enemies."

Tarzan dropped into a walk, and together he
and D^Arnot advanced toward the white man by
the gate.

The latter eyed them in puzzled bewilderment.

"What manner of men are you?" he asked,
in French.

" White men," replied D'ArnoL " We have
been lost in the jungle for a long time."

The man had lowered his^ rifle and now ad-
vanced with outstretched hand.

" I am Father Constantine of the French Mis-
sion here," he said, " and I am glad to welcome
you."

"This is Monsieur Tarzan, Father Constan-
tine," replied D'Arnot, indicating the ape-man;
and as the priest extended his hand to Tarzan,
D'Arnot added: " and I am Paul d'Arnot, of the
French Navy."

Father Constantine took the hand whidi Tar-
can extended in imitation of the priest's act,

[3So]

THE OUTPOST OF THE WORLD

while the latter took In the superb physique and
handsome face in one quick, keen glance.

And thus came Tarzan of the Apes to the first
outpost of civilizattdn.

For a week they remained there, and the ape-
man, keenly observant, learned much of the waysi
of men; while black women sewed upon white'
duck garments for himself and D'Arnot that they
might continue their journey properly clothed.

T331T

CHAPTER XXVI

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

ANOTHER month brought them to a littlt
group of buildings at the mouth of a wide
river, and there Tarzan saw many boats, and was
filled with the old timidity of the wild thing by
the sight of many men.

Gradually he became accustomed to the strange
noises and the odd ways of civilization, so that
presently none might know that two short months
before, this handsome Frenchman in immaculate
white ducks, who laughed and chatted with the
gayest of them, had been swinging naked through
primeval forests to pounce upon some unwary
victim, which, raw, was to fill his savage belly.

The knife and fork, so contemptuously flung
aside a month before, Tarzan now manipulated
as exquisitely as did the polished D'Arnot.

So apt a pupil had he been that the young
Frenchman had labored assiduously to make of
Tarzan of the Apes a polished gentleman In so
far as nicety of manners and speech were con-
cerned.

" God made you a gentleman at heart, my
friend," D'Arnot had said; "but we want His
works to show upon the exterior also/'

[35^1

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

As soon as they had reached the little port,
D'Arnot had cabled his government of his saf ety>
and requested a three-months leave, which had
been granted.

He had also cabled his bankers for funds, and
the inforccd wait of a month, under which both
chafed, was due to their inability to charter a ves-
sel for the return to Tarzan's jungle after the
treasure.

During their stay at the coast town " Mon-
sieur Tarzan " became the wonder of both whites
and blacks because of several occurrences which
to Tarzan seemed the merest of nothings.

Once a huge black, crazed by drink, had run
amuck and terrorized the town, until his evil star
had led him to where the blackhaired French
giant lolled upon the veranda of the hotel.

Mounting the broad steps, with brandishing
knife, the negro made straight for a party of
four men sitting at a table sipping the inevitable
absinthe.

Shouting in alarm, the four took to their heels,
and then the black spied Tarzan.

With a roar he charged the ape-man, while
half a hundred heads peered from sheltering win-
dows and doorways to witness the butchering of
the poor Frenchman by the giant black.

Tarzan met the rush with the fighting smile
that the joy of battle always brought to his lips.

As the negro dosed upon him, steel muscles

[353]

TARZAN OF THE APES

gripped the black wrist of the uplifted knife*
hand, and a single swift wrench left the hand
dangling below a broken bone.

With the pain and surprise, the madness left
the black man, and as Tarzan dropped back into
his chair the fellow turned, crying with agony,
and dashed wildly toward the native village.

On another occasion as Tarzan and D'Arnot
sat at dinner with a number of other whites, the
talk fell upon lions and lion hunting.

Opinion was divided as to the bravery of the
king of beasts — some maintaining that he was
an arrant coward, but all agreeing that it was with
a feeling of greater security that they gripped
their express rifles when the monarch of the jun-
gle roared about a camp at night,

D'Arnot and Tarzan had agreed that his past
be kept secret, and so none other than the French
officer knew of the ape-man's familiarity with the
beasts of the jungle.

" Monsieur Tarzan has not expressed himself,'*
said one of the party. " A man of his prowess
who has spent some time in Africa, as I under-
stand Monsieur Tarzan has, must have had ex-
periences with lions — yes?"

" Some," replied Tarzan, dryly. " Enough to
know that each of you are right in your judgment
of the characteristics of the lions — you have
met. But one might as well judge all blacks by
the fellow who ran amuck last week, or decide

[3541

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

that all whites are cowards because one has met
a cowardly white.

" There is as much individuality among the
lower orders, gentlemen, as there is among our«
selves.

" Today we may go out and stumble upon a
lion which is over-timid — he runs away from us.
Tomorrow we may meet his uncle or his twin-
brother, and our friends wonder why we do not
return from the jungle.

" For myself, I always assume that a lion is
ferocious, and so I am never caught off my
guard."

"There would be little pleasure in hunting,"
retorted the first speaker, " if one is afraid of the
thing he hunts."

D'Amot smiled. Tarzan afraid 1

" I do not exactly understand what you mean
by fear," said Tarzan. " Like lions, fear is a
different thing in different men, but to me the only
pleasure in the hunt is the knowledge that the
hunted thing has power to harm me as much as
I have to harm him.

" If I went out with a couple of rifles and a
gun bearer, and twenty or thirty beaters, to hunt
a lion, I should not feel that the lion had much
chance, and so the pleasure of the hunt would be
lessened in proportion to the increased safety
which I felt."

** Then I am to take it that Monsieur Tarzan

[355]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

would prefer to go naked into the jungle^ armed
only with a jack knife, to kill the king of beasts/'
laughed the other, good naturedly, but with the
merest touch of sarcasm in his tone.

"And a piece of rope," added Tarzan.

Just then the deep roar of a lion sounded from
the distant jungle, as though to challenge whoever
dared enter the lists with him.

" There is your opportunity, Monsieur Tar-
zan," bantered the Frenchman.

" I am not hungry," said Tarzan simply.

The men laughed, all but D'Arnot. He alone
knew that a savage beast had spoken its simple
reason through the lips of the ape-man.

" But you are afraid, just as any of us would
be, to go out there naked, armed only with a
knife and a piece of rope," said the banterer.
" Is it not so ? "

" No," replied Tarzan. " Only a fool per-
forms any act without reason."

*' Five thousand francs is a reason," said the
other. " I wager yop that amount you can not
bring back a lion from the jungle under the con-
ditions we have named — naked and armed only
with a knife and a piece of rope."

Tarzan glanced toward D'Arnot and nodded
his head.

" Make it ten thousand," said D*ArnoL

" Done," replied the other.

Tarzan arose.

1 356 1

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

'* I shall have to leave my clothes at the edge
of the settlementy so that if I do not return be-
fore daylight I shall have something to wear
through the streets."

" You are not going now,'* exclaimed the
wagerer — " at night? "

"Why not?" asked Tarzan. "Numa walks
abroad at night — it will be easier to find him."

" No," said the other, " I do not want your
blood upon my hands. It will be foolhardy
enough if you go forth by day."

" I shall go now," replied Tarzan, and went
to his room for his knife and rope.

The men accompanied him to the edge of the
jungle, where he left his clothes in a small store-
house.

But when he would have entered the blackness
of the undergrowth they tried to dissuade him;
and the wagerer was most insistent of all that he
abandon his foolhardy venture.

" I will accede that you have won," he said,
" and the ten thousand francs are yours if you
will but give up this foolish attempt, which can
only end in your death."

Tarzan laughed, and in another moment the
jungle had swallowed him.

The men stood silent for some moments and
then slowly turned and walked back to the hotel
veranda.

Tarzan had no sooner entered the jungle than

[357.1

TARZAN OF THE APES

he took to the trees, and it was with a feeling of
exultant freedom that he swung once more
through the forest branches.

This was life 1 ah, how he loved it I Civiliza-
tion held nothing like this in its narrow and cir-
cumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and
conventionalities. Even clothes were a hinder-
ance and a nuisance.

At last he was free. He had not realized what
a prisoner he had been.

How easy it would be to circle back to the
coast, and then make toward the south and his
own jungle and cabin.

Now he cauglit the scent of Numa, for he was
traveling up wind. Presently his quick ears de-
tected the familiar sound of padded feet and the
brushing of a huge, furdad body through the
undergrowth.

Tarzan came quietly above the unsuspecting
beast and silently stalked him until he came into
a little patch of moonlight..

Then the quick noose settled and tightened
about the tawny throat, and, as he had done it
a hundred times in the past, Tarzan made fast
the end to a strong branch and, while the beast^
fought and clawed for freedom, dropped to the)
ground behind him, and leaping upon the great'
back, plunged his long thin blade a dozen times
into the fierce heart.

Then with his foot upon the carcass of Numa,

[358 ]

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

he raised his voice in the awesome victory cry of
his savage tribe.

For a moment Tarzan stood irresolute, swayed
by conflicting emotions of loyalty to D'Arnot and
a mighty lust for the freedom of his own jungle.
At last the vision of a beautiful face, and the
memory of warm lips crushed to his dissolved the
fascinating picture he had been drawing of his
old life.

The ape-man threw the warm carcass of Numa
across his shoulders and took to the trees once
more.

The men upon the veranda had sat for an
hour, almost in silence.

They had tried ineffectually to converse on
various subjects, and always the thing uppermost
in the mind of each had caused the conversation
to lapse.

'' Mon Dieu/^ said the wagerer at length, " I
can endure it no longer. I am going into the
jungle with my express and bring back that mad
man.

" I will go with you," said one.

" And I " — " And I " — " And I," chorused
the others.

As though the suggestion had broken the spell
of some horrid nightmare they hastened to their
various quarters, and presently were headed
toward the jungle — each man heavily armed.

** Godl What was that? " suddenly cried one

[359]

TARZAN OF THE APES

of the party, an Englishman, as Tarzan's savage
cry came faintly to their ears.

" I heard the same thing once before," said a
Belgian, " when I was in the gorilla country.
My carriers said it was the cry of a great bull
ape who has made a kill.'^

D'Amot remembered Clayton's description of
the awful roar with which Tarzan had announced
his kills, and he half smiled in spite of the horror
which £lled him to think that the uncanny sound
could have issued from a human throat — from
the lips of his friend.

As the party stood finally near the edge of the
jungle, debating as to the best distribution of
their forces, they were startled by a low laugh
near them, and turning, beheld advancing toward
them a giant figure bearing a dead lion upon its
broad shoulders.

Even D'Arnot was thunderstruck, for it seemed
impossible that the man could have so quickly dis^
patched a lion with the pitiful weapons he had
taken, or that alone he could have borne the huge
carcass through the tangled jungle.

The men crowded about Tarzan with many
questions, but his only answer was a laughing de-
preciation of his feat.

To Tarzan it was as though one should eulo-
gize a butcher for his heroism in killing a cow, for
Tarzan had killed so often for food and for self*,
preservation that the act seemed anything but rc-

[360]

THE HEIG HT OF C IVILIZATION

markable to him. But he was Indeed a hero in
the ey^s of these men — men accustomed to hunt-
ing big game.

Incidentally, he h^d won ten thousand francs,
for D'Arnot insisted that he keep it all.

This was a very important item to Tarzan,
who was just commencing to realize the power
which lay behind the little pieces of metal and
paper which always changed hands when human
beings rode, or ate, or slept, or clothed them-
selves, or drank, or worked, or played, or shel-
tered themselves from the rain or cold or sun.

It had become evident to Tarzan that without
money one must die. D'Amot had told him not
to worry, since he had more than enough for
both, but the ape-man was learning many things
and one of them was that people looked down
upon one who accepted money from another
without giving something of equal value in ex-
change.

Shortly after the episode of the lion hunt,
D'Amot succeeded in chartering an ancient tub
for the coastwise trip to Tarzan's land-locked
harbor.

It was a happy morning for them both when
the little vessel weighed anchor and rtiade for the
open sea.

The trip to the beach was uneventful, and the
morning after they dropped anchor before the
cabin, Tarzan, garbed once more in his jimgle re-

[361 1

TJRZAN OF THE APES

galia, and carrying a spade, set out alone for the
amphitheater of the apes where lay the treasure.

Late the next day he returned, bearing the
great chest upon his shoulder, and at sunrise the
little vessel was worked through the harbor's
mouth and took up her northward journey.

Three weeks later Tarzan and D'Arnot were
passengers on board a French steamer bound for
Lyons, and after a few days in that city D'Arnot
took Tarzan to Paris.

The ape-man was anxious to proceed to Amer-
ica, but D'Arnot insisted that he must accompany
him to Paris first, nor would he divulge the nature
of the urgent necessity upon which he based his
demand.

One of the first things which D'Arnot accom-
plished after their arrival was to arrange to visit
a high official of the police department, an old
friend; and to take Tarzan with him.

Adroitly D'Arnot led the conversation fr6m
point to point until the policeman had explained
to the interested Tarzan many of the methods in
vogue for apprehending and identifying criminals*

Not the least interesting to Tarzan was the
part played by finger prints in this fascinating
science. i

" But of what value are these imprints," asked
Tarzan, "when, after a few years the lines upon
the fingers are entirely changed by the wearing
out of the old tissue and the growth of new?'*

I362I

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

The lines never change," replied the officiaL

From infancy to senility the finger prints of an
individual change only in size, except as injuries
alter the loops and whorls. But if imprints have
been taken of the thumb and four fingers of both
hands one must needs lose all entirely to escape
identification."

" It is marvellous," exclaimed D'Arnot. " I
wonder what the lines upon my own fingers may
resemble."

" We can soon see," replied the police officer,
and ringing a bell he summoned an assistant to
whom he issued a few directions.

The man left the room, but presently returned
with a little hard wood box which he placed on
his superior's desk.

" Now," said the officer, " you shall have your
finger prints in a second."

He drew from the little case a square of plate
glass, a little tube of thick ink, a rubber roller,
and a few snowy white cards.

Squeezing a drop of ink onto the glass, he
spread it back and forth with the rubber roller
until the entire surface of the glass was covered
to his satisfaction with a very thin and uniform
layer of ink.

" Place the four fingers of your right hand
upon the glass, thus," he said to D'Arnot. " Now
the thumb. That is right. Now place them in just
the same position upon this card, here, no — a!

[363]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

little to the right. We must leave room for the
thumb and the fingers of the left hand. There,
that's it. Now the same with the left."

" Come, Tarzan," cried D'Arnot, " let's see
what your whorls look like."
) Tarzan complied readily, asking many ques*
tions of the officer during the operation.

" Do finger prints show racial characteristics? '*
he asked. *' Could you determine, for example,
solely from finger prints whether the subject was
Negro or Caucasian?"

" I think not," replied the officer, " although
some claim that those of the negro are less com*
plex."

^^ Could the finger prints of an ape be detected
from those of a man? "

" Probably, because the ape's would be far
simpler than those of the higher organism."

" But a cross between an ape and a man might
show the characteristics of either progenitor?'*
continued Tarzan.

"Yes, I should think likely," responded the
official; "but the science has not progressed suf*
ficiently to render it exact enough in such mat-
ters. I should hate to trust its findings further
than to differentiate between individuals.

" There it is absolute. No two people bom
into the world probably have ever had identical
lines upon all their digits. It is very doubtful if
any single finger print will ever be exactly dupli«

I364I

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

cated by any finger other than the one which
originally made it."

^' Does the comparison require much time or
labor? " asked D'Arnot, ^

"Ordinarily but a few moments, if the im-
pressions are distinct."

D'Amot drew a little black book from his
pocket and commenced turning the pages.

Tarzan looked at the book in surprise. How
did D'Arnot come to have his book?

Presently D'Arnot stopped at a page on which
were five tiny little smudges.

He handed the open book to the policeman.

" Are these imprints similar to mine or Mon-
sieur Tarzan's, or can you say that they are iden-
tical with either? "

The officer drew a powerful glass from his
desk and examined all three specimens carefully,
making notations meanwhile upon a pad of paper.

Tarzan realized now what was the meaning of
their visit to the police officer.

The answer to his life's riddle lay in these tiny
marks.

With tense nerves he sat leaning forward in
his chair, but suddenly he relaxed and dropped
back, smiling.

D'Arnot looked at him in surprise.

" You forget that for twenty years the dead
body of the child who made those finger prints
lay in the cabin of his father, and that all my

1 365]

TARZJN OF THE APES

life I have seen It lying there/' said Tarzan bit*
terly.
• The policeman looked up in astonishment.

" Go ahead, captain, with your examination,*'
said D'Arnot, " we will tell you the story later —
provided Monsieur Tarzan is agreeable/'

Tarzan nodded his head.

" But you are mad, my dear D'Arnot," he in»
sisted. *^ Those little fingers are buried on the
west coast of Africa."

" I do not know as to that, Tarzan," replied
D'Arnot. *' It is possible, but if you are not the
son of John Clayton then how in heaven's name
did you come into that God forsaken jungle where
no white man other than John Clayton had ever
set foot ? "

" You f oiget — Kala," said Tarzan.

" I do not even consider her," replied D'Arnot.

The friends had walked to the broad window
overlooking the boulevard as they talked. For
some time they stood there gazing out upon the
busy throng beneath, each wrapped in his own
thoughts.

" It takes some time to compare finger prints,'*
thought D'Arnot, turning to look at the police
officer.

To his astonishment he saw the official leaning
back in his chair hastily scanning the contents of
the little black diary.

D'Arnot coughed. The policeman looked up^

[366]

THE HEIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

and, catching his eye, raised his finger to admon«
ish silence.

D'Amot turned back to the window, and pres-
ently the police officer spoke.

" Gentlemen," he said.

Both turned toward him.

"There is evidently a great deal at stake
which must hinge to a greater or lesser extent
upon the absolute correctness of this comparison.
I therefore ask that you leave the entire matter
in my hands until Monsieur Desquerc, our expert,
returns. It will be but a matter of a few days."

" I had hoped to know at once," said D'Arnot
** Monsieur Tarzan sails for America tomor-
row.

" I will promise that you can cable him a re-
port within two weeks," replied the officer; " but
what It will be I dare not say. There are resem-
blances, yet — well, we had better leave it for
Monsieur Desquerc to solve."

T367I

CHAPTER XXVII

THE GIAKf AGAIN

ATAXICAB drew up before an ol4-fashioned
residence upon the outskirts of Baltimore.

A man of about forty, well built and with
strong, regular features, stepped out, and paying
the chauffeur dismissed him.

A moment later the passenger was entering the
library of the old home.

" Ah, Mr. Canler I " exclaimed an old man,
rising to greet him.

" Good evening, my dear Professor," cried the
man, extending a cordial hand.

"Who admitted you?" asked the professor.

" Esmeralda."

"Then she will acquaint Jane with the fact
that you are here," said the old man.

" No, Professor," replied Canler, " for I came
primarily to see you."

"Ah, I am honored," said Professor Porter.

" Professor," continued Robert Canler, with
great deliberation, as though carefully weighing
his words, " I have come this evening to speak
with you about Jane.

" You know my aspirations, and you have been
generous enough to approve my suit."

[368]

THE GIANT AGAIN

Professor Archimedes Q. Porter fidgeted in
his armchain The subject always made him un-
comfortable. He could not understand why.
Canler was a splendid match.

" But Jane," continued Canler, " I cannot un-
derstand her. She puts me off first on one ground
and then another. I have always the feeling that
she breathes a sigh of relief every time I bid her
good by."

"Tut — tut," said Professor Porter. "Tut
— tut, Mr. Canler. Jane is a most obedient
daughter. She will do precisely as I tell her."

"Then I can still count on your support?"
asked Canler, a tone of relief marking his voice.

" Certainly, sir; certainly, sir," exclaimed Pro-
fessor Porter. " How could you doubt it? "

"There is young Clayton, you know," sug-
gested Canler. " He has been hanging about for
months.

"I don't know that Jane cares for him; but
beside his title they say he has inherited a very
considerable estate from his father, and it might
not be strange, if he finally won her, unless — "
and Canler paused.

" Tut — tut, Mr. Canler; unless — what? "

" Unless, you see fit to request that Jane and
I be married at once," said Canler, slowly and
distinctly.

" I have already suggested to Jane that it would
he desirable," said Professor Porter sadly, " for

1 369]

TARZAN OF THE APES

we can no longer afford to keep up this house,
and live as her associations demand/'

" What was her reply? " asked Canler.

^' She said she was not ready to marry anyone
yet," replied Professor Porter, " and that we
could go and live upon the farm in northern Wis-
consin which her mother left her.

" It is a little more than self-supporting. The
tenants have always made a living from it, and
been able to send Jane a trifle beside, each yean

'' She is planning on our going up there the
first of the week. Philander and Mr. Clayton
have already gone to get things in readiness
for us."

" Clayton has gone there ? " exclaimed Canler,
visibly chagrined. "Why was not I told? I
would gladly have gone and seen that every com-
fort was provided."

" Jane feels that we are already too much in
your debt, Mr. Canler," said Professor Porter.

Canler was about to reply, when the sound of
footsteps came from the hall without, and Jane
Porter entered the room.

" Oh, I beg your pardon 1 " she exdaimed,^
pausing on the threshold. " I thought you were
alone, papa."

" It is only I, Jane," said Canler, who had
risen, " won't you come in and join the family
group ? We were just speaking of you."

" Thank you," said Jane Porter, entering and

1 370 ]

THE GIANT AGAIN

taking the chair Canler placed for her. " I only
wanted to tell papa that Tobey is coming down
from the college tomorrow to pack his books.
I want you to be sure, papa, to indicate all that
you can do without until fall. Please don't carry
this entire library to Wisconsin, as you would
have carried it to Africa, if I had not put my foot
down."

" Was Tobey here? " asked Professor Porter.

" Yes, I just left him. He and Esmeralda are
exchanging religious experiences on the back
porch now."

" Tut — tut, I must see him at once 1 " cried the
professor. " Excuse me just a moment, children,"
and the old man hastened from the room.

As soon as he was out of ear-shot Canler turned
to Jane Porter.

" See here, Jane," he said bluntly. " How long
is this thing going on like this?

** You haven't refused to marry me, but you
hjiven't promised either.

" I want to get the license tomorrow, so that we
can be married quietly before you leave for Wis-
consin. I don't care for any fuss or feathers, and
I'm sure you don't either."

The girl turned cold, but she held her head
bravely.

"Your father wishes it, you know," added
Canler.

Yea, I know."

[371]

TJRZJN OF THE APES

She spoke scarcely above a whisper.

" Do you realize that you are buying me,
Mr. Carder?" she said finally, and in a cold,
level voice. " Buying me for a few paltry dol-
lars? Of course you do, Robert Canler, and the
hope of just such a contingency was in your mind
when you loaned papa the money for that hair-
brained escapade, which but for a most myste-
rious circumstance would have been surprisingly
successful.

" But you, Mr. Canler, would have been the
most surprised. You had no idea that the venture
would succeed. You are too good a business man
for that. And you are too good a business man
to loan money for buried-treasure seeking, or to
loan money without security — unless you had
some special object in view.

" You knew that without security you had a
greater hold on the honor of the Porters than
with it. You knew the one best way to force me
to marry you, without seeming to force me.

" You have never mentioned the loan. In any
other man I should have thought that the prompt-
ing of a magnanimous and noble character. But
you are deep, Mr. Robert Canler. I know you
better than you think I know you.

** I shall certainly marry you if there is no
other way, but let us understand each other once
and for all."

While she spoke Robert Canler had alternately

[ 372 ]

THE GIANT AGAIN

flushed and paled, and when she ceased speaking
he arose, and with a cynical smile upon his strong
face, said:

" You surprise me, Jane. I thought you had
more self control — more pride.

" Of course you are right. I am buying you,
and I knew that you knew it, but I thought you
would prefer to pretend that it was otherwise. I
should have thought your self-respect and your
Porter pride would have shrunk from admitting,
even to yourself, that you were a bought woman.

" But have it your own way, dear girl," he
added lightly. ** I am going to have you, and
that is all that interests me."

Without a word the girl turned and left the
room.

Jane Porter was not married before she left
with her father and Esmeralda for her little Wis-
consin farm, and as she coldly bid Robert Canler
good by as her train pulled out, he called to her
that he would join them in a week or two.

At their destination they were met by Clayton
and Mr. Philander in a huge touring car belong-
ing to the former, and quickly whirled away
through the dense * northern woods toward the
little farm which the girl had not visited before
since childhood.

The farm house, which stood on a little eleva-
tion some hundred yards from the tenant house,
had undergone a complete transformation, during

[373 1

TJRZAN OF THE APES

the three weeks that Clayton and Mr. Philander
had been there.

The former had imported a small army of
carpenters and plasterers, plumbers and painters
from a distant city, and what had been but a
dilapidated shell when they reached it was now
a cosy little two story house filled with every
modern convenience procurable in so short a time.

"Why, Mr. Clayton, what have you done?"
cried Jane Porter, her heart sinking within her
as she realized the probable size of the expendi-
ture that had been made.

** S-sh," cautioned Clayton. " Don't let your
father guess. If you don't tell him he will never
notice, and I simply couldn't think of him living
in the terrible squalor and sordidness which Mr.
Philander and I found. It was so little when I
would do so much, Jane. For his sake, please,

never mention it."

" But you know that we can't repay you,'*
cried the girl. " Why do you want to put me
under such terrible obligations?"

" Don't, Jane," said Clayton sadly. " If it had
been just you, believe me, I wouldn't have done
it, for I knew from the start that it would only
hurt me in your eyes, but I couldn't think of that
dear old man living in the hole we found here.

" Won't you please believe that I did it just for
him and give me that little crumb of pleasure at
least?"

T 374 1

THE GIANT AGAIN

" I do believe you, Mr. Clayton," said the
girl, '' because I know you are big enough and
generous enough to have done it just for him —
and, oh Cecil, I wish I might repay you as you
deserve — as you would wish,"

" Why can't you, Jane? "

" Because I love another.'*

"Canler?"

" No."

" But you are going to marry him. He told my
as much before I left Baltimore."

The girl winced.

" I do not love him," she said, almost proudly.

" Is it because of the money, Jane? "

She nodded.

" Then am I so much less desirable than Can-
ler? I have money enough, and far more, for
every need," he said bitterly.

*' I do not love you, Cecil," she said, " but I
respect you. If I must disgrace myself by such a
bargain with any man, I prefer that it be one I
already despise. I should loathe the man to whom
I sold myself without love, whomsoever he might
be.

•* You will be happier," she concluded, " alone
.r— with my respect and friendship, than with me
and my contempt."

He did not press the matter further, but if
ever a man had murder in his heart it was William
Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke, when, a week

[3751

TARZAN OF THE APES

later, Robert Canler drew up before the farm
house in his purring six cylinder.

A week passed ; a tense, uneventful, but uncom-
fortable week for all the inmates of the little
Wisconsin farm house.

Canler was insistent that Jane marry him at
once.

At length she gave in from sheer loathing of
the continued and hateful importuning.

It was agreed that on the morrow Canler was
to drive to town and bring back the license and a
minister.

Clayton had wanted to leave as soon as the
plan was announced, but the girl's tired, hopeless
look kept him. He could not desert her.

Something might happen yet, he tried to con-
sole himself by thinking. And in his heart, he
knew that it would require but a tiny spark to
turn his hatred for Canler into the blood lust of
the killer.

tarly the next morning Canler set out for
town.

In the east smoke could be seen lying low over
the forest, for a fire had been raging for a week
not far from them, but the wind still lay in the
west and no danger threatened them.

About noon Jane Porter started off for a walk.
She would not let Clayton accompany her. She
wanted to be alone, she said, and he respected her
wishes.

[376I

THE GIANT AGAIN

In the house Professor Porter and Mr. Phi-
lander were immersed in an absorbing discussion
of some weighty scientific problem. Esmeralda
dozed in the kitchen, and Clayton, heavy-eyed
after a sleepless night, ihrew himself down upon
the couch in the living room and soon dropped
into a fitful slumber.

To the east the black smoke clouds rose higher
into the heavens, suddenly they eddied, and then
commenced to drift rapidly toward the west.

On and on they came. The inmates of the
tenant house were gone, for it was market day,
and none there was to see the rapid approach of
the fiery demon.

Soon the flames had spanned the road to the
south and cut off Canler's return. A little fluctu-
ation of the wind now carried the path of the
forest fire to the north, then blew back and the
flames nearly stood still as though held in leash
by some master hand.

Suddenly, out of the north-east, a great black
car came careening down the road.

With a jolt it stopped before the cottage, and
a black haired giant leaped out to run up onto
the porch. Without a pause he rushed into the
house. On the couch lay Clayton. The man
started in surprise, but with a bound was at the
side of the sleeping man.

Shaking him roughly by the shoulder, he cried :

"My God, Clayton, are you all mad here?

T 377 1

TJRZJN OF THE APES

\ mmt

Don't you know you arc nearly surrounded by
fire? Where is Miss Porter? "

Clayton sprang to his feet He did not recog-
nize the man, but he understood the words and
was upon the veranda in a bound.

^' Scott I " he cried, and then, dashing back
into the house, " Jane I Jane I where arc you ? "

In an instant Esmeralda, Professor Porter and
Mr. Philander had joined the two men.

"Where is Miss Jane?" cried Clayton, seiz-
ing Esmeralda by the shoulders and shaking her
roughly.

" Oh, Gaberelle, Marse Clayton, she done
gone for a walk."

" Hasn't she come back yet? " and, without
waiting for a reply, Clayton dashed out into the
yard, followed by the others.

" Which way did she go ? " cried the black
haired giant of Esmeralda.

" Down dat road," cried the frightened black,
pointing toward the south where a mighty wall
of roaring flames shut out the view.

" Put these people in the other car," shouted
the stranger to Clayton. " I saw one as I drove
up — and get them out of here by the north
road.

" Leave my car here. If I find Miss Porter
we shall need it. If I don't, no one will need
it. Do as I say," as Clayton hesitated, and then
they saw the lithe figure bound away across the

[378]

THE GIANT AGAIN

clearing toward the northwest where the forest
still stood, untouched by flame.

In each rose the unaccountable feeling that a
great responsibility had been raised from their
shoulders; a kind of implicit confidence in the
power of the stranger to save Jane Porter if she
could be saved.

" Who was that? " asked Professor Porter.

" I do not know," replied Clayton. " He
called me by name and he knew Jane, for he
asked for hen And he called Esmeralda by
name."

" There was something most startlingly famil-
iar about him," exclaimed Mr. Philander, " and
yet, bless me, I know I never saw him before."

" Tut — tut I " cried Professor Porter. " Most
remarkable I Who could it have been, and why
do I feel that Jane is safe, now that he has set
out in search of her? "

" I can't tell you. Professor," said Clayton
soberly, "but I know I have the same uncanny
feeling."

" But come," he cried, " we must get out of
here ourselves, or we shall be shut off," and the
party hastened toward Clayton's machine.

When Jane Porter turned to retrace her steps
homeward, she was alarmed to note how near
the smoke of the forest fire seemed, and as she
hastened onward, her alarm became almost a
panic when she perceived that the rushing flames

[379]

TJRZAN OF THE APES

were rapidly forcing their way between herself
and the cottage.

At length she was compelled to turn into the
dense thicket and attempt to force her way to
the west in an effort to circle around the flames
and regain her home.

In a short time the futility of her attempt
became apparent and then her one hope lay in
retracing her steps to the road and flying for
her life to the south toward the town.

The twenty minutes that it took her to regain
the road was all that had been needed to cut off
her retreat as effectually as her advance had been
cut off before.

A short run down the road brought her to a
horrified stand, for there before her was another
wall of flame. An arm of the parent conflagra-
tion had shot out a half mile south of its mate
to embrace this tiny strip of road in its impla-
cable clutches.

Jane Porter knew that it was useless again to
attempt to force her way through the under-
growth.

She had tried it once, and failed. Now she
realized that it would be but a matter of minutes
ere the whole space between the enemy on the
north and the enemy on the south woulil be a
seething mass of billowing flames.

Calmly the girl kneeled down in the dust of
the roadway and prayed to her Maker to give

[380]

THE GIANT AGAIN

her strength to meet her fate bravely, and to
deliver her father and her friends from death.

She did not think to pray for deliverance for
herself; for she knew there was no hope — not
even God could save her now.

Suddenly she heard her name being called aloud
through the forest:

" Jane I Jane Porter ! " It rang strong and
clear, but in a strange voice.

"Here I" she called in reply. "Herel In
the roadway I "

Then through the branches of the trees she saw
a figure swinging with the speed of a squirrel.

A veering of the wind blew a cloud of smoke
about them and she could no longer see the man
who was speeding toward her, but suddenly she
felt a great arm about her. Then she was lifted
up, and she felt the rushing of the wind and the
occasional brush of a branch as she was borne
along.

She opened her eyes.

Far below her lay the undergrowth and the
hard earth.

About her was the waving foliage of the forest

From tree to tree swung the giant figure which
bore her, and it seemed to Jane Porter that she
was living over in a dream the experience that
had been hers in that far African jungle.

Oh, if it were but the same man who had borne
her so swiftly through the tangled verdure on that

I381I

TJRZJN OF THE APES

other day; but that were impossible. Yet who
else in all the world was there with the strength
and agility to do what this man was now doing?

She stole a sudden glance at the face close to
hers, and then she gave a little frightened gasp
— • it was he I

" My man I " she murmured. " No, it is the
delirium which precedes death."

She must have spoken aloud, for the eyes that
bent occasionally to hers lighted with a smile.

"Yes, your man, Jane Porter; your savage,
primeval man come out of the jungle to claim
his mate — the woman who ran away from him,'*
he added almost fiercely.

" I did not run away," she whispered. " I
would only consent to leave when they had waited
a week for you to return."

They had come to a point beyond the fire now,
and he had turned back to the clearing.

Side by side they were walking toward the cot-
tage. The wind had changed once more and the
fire was burning back upon itself — another hour
like that and it would be burned out.

" Why did you not return? " she asked.

" I was nursing D'Arnot He was badly
wounded."

" Ah, I knew it I " she exclaimed.

" They said you had gone to join the blacks —
that they were your people."

He laughed

1 382 1

THE GIANT AGAIN

" But you did not believe them, Jane? "

" No; what shall I call you? " she asked.

" What is your name? "

" I was Tarzan of the Apes when you first
knew me," he said.

" Tarzan of the Apes ! " she cried — " and
that was your note I answered when I left? "

'' Yes, •w'hose did you think it was? '*

" I did not know ; only that it could not be
yours, for Tarzan of the Apes had written in
English, and you could not understand a word
of any language."

Again he laughed.

" It is a long story, but it was I who wrote
what I could not speak — and now D'Arnot has
made matters worse by teaching me to speak
French instead of English,"

" Come," he added, " jump into my car, we
must overtake your father, they are only a little
way ahead."

As they drove along, he said :

" Then when you said in your note to Tarzan
of the Apes that you loved another — you might
have meant me? "

" I might have," she answered, simply.

" But in Baltimore — Oh, how I have searched
for you — they told me you would possibly be
married by now. That a man named Canler h*-"^
come up here to wed you. Is that true ? "

" Yes."

I383]

TARZAN OF THE 4PES

** Do you love him? '*

" No."

" Do you love me? "

She buried her face in her hands.

" I am promised to another. I cannot answer
you, Tarzan of the Apes," she cried.

** You have answered. Now, tell me why you
would marry one you do not love."

" My father owes him money."

Suddenly there came back to Tarzan the
memory of the letter he had read — and the
name Robert Canler and the hinted trouble which
he had been unable to understand then.

He smiled.

" If your father had not lost the treasure you
would not feel forced to keep your promise to this
man Canler?"

'' I could ask him to release me."

"And if he refused?"

" I have given my promise."

He was silent for a moment. The car was
plunging along the uneven road at a reckless pace,
for the fire showed threateningly at their right,
and another change of the wind might sweep it
on with raging fury across this one avenue of
escape.

Finally they passed the danger point, and Tar-
zan reduced their speed.

"Suppose I should ask him?" ventured Tar-
zan.

[384I

THE GIANT AGAIN

He would scarcely accede to the demand of
a stranger," said the girl. " Especially one who
wanted me himself."

" Terkoz did," said Tarzan, grimly.

Jane Porter shuddered and looked fearfully
,up at the g^ant figure beside her, for she knew
that he meant the great anthropoid he had killed
in her defense.

** This is not an African jungle," she said.
** You are no longer a savage beast. You are a
gentleman, and gentlemen do not kill in cold
blood."

" I am still a wild beast at heart," he said, in
a low voice, as though to himself.

Again they were silent for a time.

" Jane Porter," said the man, at length, " if you
were free, would you marry me?"

She did not reply at once, but he waited pa-
tiently.

The girl was trying to collect her thoughts.

What did she know of this strange creature at
her side? What did he know of himself? Who
was he ? Who, his parents ?

Why, his very name echoed his mysterious or*
igin and his savage life.

He had no name. Could she be happy with this
jungle waif? Could she find anything in common
with a husband whose life had been spent in the
tree tops of an African wilderness, frolicing and
£ghtiog with fierce anthropoids; tearing his food

[385]

TARZAN OF THE APES

from the quivering flank of fresh-killed prey, sink-
ing his strong teeth into raw flesh, and tearing
away his portion while his mates growled and
fought about him for their share ?

Could he ever rise to her social sphere ? Could
she bear to think of sinking to his ? Would either
be happy in such a horrible misalliance?

" You do not answer," he said. " Do you
shrink from wounding me? "

" I do not know what answer to make," said
Jane Porter sadly. " I do not know my own
mind."

" You do not love me, then? " he asked, in a
level tone.

" Do not ask me. You will be happier without
me. You were never meant for the formal restric-
tions and conventionalities of society — civiliza-
tion would become irksome to you, and in a little
while you would long for the freedom of your
old life — a life to which I am as totally unfitted
as you to mine."

" I think I understand you," he replied quietly.
" I shall not urge you, for I would rather see you
happy than to be happy myself.

"I see now that you could not be happy with
— an ape."

There was just the faintest tinge of bitterness
in his voice.

" Don't," she remonstrated. " Don*t say
that. You do not understand."

[386]

THE GIANT AGAIN

But before she could go on a sudden turn in
the road brought them into the midst of a little
hamlet.

Before them stood CIayton*s car surrounded by
the party he had brought from the cottage.

I3«7l

CHAPTER XXVIII

CONCLUSION

AT THE sight of Jane Porter, cries of relief
and delight broke from every lip, and, as
Tar:&an's car stopped beside the other. Professor
Porter caught his daughter in his arms.

For a moment no one noticed Tarzan, sitting
silently in his seat.

Clayton was the first to remember, and, turn-
ing, held out his hand.

" How can we ever thank you ? " he exclaimed.
" You have saved us all.

** You called me by name at the cottage, but I
do not seem to recall yours, though there is some-
thing very familiar about you.

"It is as though I had known you well under
very different conditions a long time ago."

Tarzan smiled as he took the proferred hand.

" You are quite right. Monsieur Clayton," he
said, in French. " You will pardon me if I do
not speak to you in English. I am just learning
it, and while I understand it fairly well I speak
it very poorly."

" But who are you? " insisted Clayton, speak*
ing in French this time himself.

" Tarzan of the Apes."

[388]

CONCLUSION

Clayton started back in surprise.

" By Jove 1 " he exclaimed. " It is true."

And Professor Porter and Mr. Philander
pressed forward to add their thanks to Clayton's,
and to voice their surprise and pleasure at seeing
their jungle friend so far from his savage home.

The party now entered the modest little hos-
telry, where Clayton soon made arrangements for
their entertainment.

They were sitting in the little, stuffy parlor
when the distant chugging of an approaching au-
tomobile caught their attention.

Mr. Philander, who was sitting near the win-
dow, looked out as the machine drew in sight,
finally stopping beside the other cars.

" Bless me I " said Mr. Philander, a shade of
annoyance in his tone. " It is Mr. Canler. I had
hoped, er — I had thought or — er — how very
happy we should be that he was not caught in
the fire," he ended lamely.

" Tut — tut I Mr. Philander," said Professor
Porter. " Tut — tut ! I have often admonished
my pupils to count ten before speaking. Were I
you, Mr. Philander, I should count at least a
thousand, and then maintain a discreet silence."

" Bless me, yes ! " acquiesced Mr. Philander.
" But who is fh« clerical appearing gentlemen with
him?"

Jane Porter blanched.

CUyton 3noved uneasily in his chair.

[389]

TARZAN OF THE APES

Professor Porter removed his spectacles nerv-
ously, and breathed upon them, but replaced them
on his nose without wiping.

The ubiquitous Esmeralda grunted.

Only Tarzan did not comprehend.

Presently Robert Canler burst into the room.

"Thank God!" he cried. "I feared the
worst, until I saw your car, Clayton. I was cut
off on the south road and had to go away back
to town, and then strike east to this road. I
thought we'd never reach the cottage."

No one seemed to enthuse much. Tarzan eyed
Robert Canler as Sabor eyes her prey.

Jane Porter glanced at him and coughed nerv-
ously.

" Mr. Canler," she said, " this is Monsieur
Tarzan, an old friend."

Canler turned and extended his hand. Tarzan
rose and bowed as only D'Arnot could have
taught a gentleman to do it, but he did not seem
to see Canler's hand.

Nor did Canler appear to notice the oversight.

" This is the Reverend Mr. Tousley, Jane,"
said Canler, turning to the clerical party behind
him. " Mr. Tousley, Miss Porter."

Mr. Tousley bowed and beamed.

Canler introduced him to the others.

" We can have the ceremony at once, Jane,"
said Canler. "Then you and I can catch the
midnight train in town."

[390]

CONCLUSION

Tarzan understood the plan instantly. He
glanced out of half closed eyes at Jane Porter,
but he did not move.

The girl hesitated. The room was tense with
the silence of taut nerves.

All eyes turned toward Jane Porter, awaiting
her reply.

" Can't we wait a few days? " she asked. " I
am all unstrung. I have been through so much
today.**

Canler felt the hostility that emanated from
each member of the party. It made him angry.

" We have waited as long as I intend to wait,"
he said roughly. " You have promised to marry
me. I shall be played with no longer. I have
the license and here is the preacher. Come Mr.
Tousley; come Jane. There are witnesses a-
plenty — more than enough," he added with a
disagreeable inflection, and taking Janq Porter
by the arm, he started to lead her toward the
waiting minister.

But scarcely had he taken a single step ere a
heavy hand closed upon his arm with a grip
of steel.

Another hand shot to his throat and in a mo-
ment he was being shaken high above the floor,
as a cat might shake a mouse.

Jane Porter turned in horrified surprise toward
Tarzan.

And, as she looked into his face, she saw the

[391}

TARZAN OF THE APES

crimson band upon his forehead that she had
seen that other day in far distant Africa, when
Tarzan of the Apes had closed in mortal com-
bat with the great anthropoid — Terkoz.

She knew that murder lay in that savage heart,
and with a little cry of horror she sprang for-
ward to plead with the ape-man. But her fears
were more for Tarzan than for Canler. She
realized the stern retribution which justice metes
to the murderer.

Before she could reach them, however, Clay-
ton had jumped to Tarzan's side and attempted
to drag Canler from his grasp.

With a single sweep of one mighty arm the
lEnglishman was hurled across the room, and
then Jane Porter laid a firm white hand upon
Xarzan's wrist, and looked up into his eyes,

" For my sake," she said.

The grasp upon Canler's throat relaxed.

Tarzan looked down into the beautiful face
before him.

" Do you wish this to live ? " he asked in sur-
prise.

" I do not wish him to die at your hands, my
friend," she replied. " I do not wish you to
become a murderer."

Tarzan removed his hand from Canler's
throat.

" Do you release her from her promise?" he
asked. " It is the price of your life."

f392]

CONCLUSION

Canler, gasping for breath, nodded.

" Will you go away and never molest her
further?"

Again the man nodded his head, his face dis-
torted by fear of the death that had been so
close.

Tarzan released him, and Canler staggered
toward the door. In another moment he was
gone, and the terror stricken preacher with him.

Tarzan turned toward Jane Porter.

" May I speak with you for a moment, alone,"
he asked.

The girl nodded and started toward the door
leading to the narrow veranda of the little hotel.
She passed out to await Tarzan and so did not
hear the conversation which followed.

" Wait," cried Professor Porter, as Tarzan
was about to follow.

The professor had been stricken dumb with
surprise by the rapid developments of the past
few minutes.

" Before we go further, sir, I should like an
explanation of the events which have just tran-
spired.

" By what right, sir, did you interfere between
my daughter and Mr. Canler?

" I had promised him her hand, sir, and re-
gardless of our personal likes or dislikes, sir, that
promise must be kept."

" I interfered, Professor Porter," replied Tar-

[393I

TARZAN OF THE APES

zan, " because your daughter does not love Mr.
Canlcr — she does not wish to marry him. That
is enough for me to know."

" You do not know what you have done,"
said Professor Porter. " Now he will doubtless
refuse to marry her."

" He most certainly will," said Tarzan, em-
phatically.

" And further," added Tarzan, " you need not
fear that your pride will suffer, Professor Porter,
for you will be able to pay the Canler person
what you owe him the moment you reach home."

"Tut — tut, sirl " exclaimed Professor Por-
ter. " What do you mean, sir ? "

** Your treasure has been found," said Tarzan!

" What — what is that you are saying? " cried
the professor. " You are mad, man. It cannot
be."

" It is, though. It was I who stole it, not
knowing either its value or to whom it belonged.
I saw the sailors bury it, and, ape-like, I had to
dig it up and bury it again elsewhere.

" When D'Arnot told me what it was and what
it meant to you I returned to the jungle and re-
covered it. It had caused so much crime and
suffering and sorrow that D'Arnot thought it best
not to attempt to bring the treasure itself on here,
as had been my intention, so I have brought a
letter of credit instead.

" Here it is. Professor Porter," and Tarzan

1394]

CONCLUSION

drew an envelope from his pocket and handed it
to the astonished Professor, "two hundred and
forty-one thousand dollars.

" The treasure was most carefully appraised by
experts, but lest there should be any question in
your mind, D'Arnot himself bought it and is
holding it for you, should you prefer the treasure
to the credit."

" To the already great burden of the obliga-
tions we owe you, sir," said Professor Porter,
with trembling voice, " is now added this great-
est of all services. You have given me the means
to save my honor."

Clayton, who had left the room a moment
after Canler, now returned.

" Pardon me," he said. " I think we had bet-
ter try to reach town before dark and take the
first train out of this forest. A native just rode
by from the north, who reports that the fire is
moving slowly in this direction."

This announcement broke up further conver-
sation, and the entire party went out to the wait-
ing machines.

Clayton, with Jane Porter, the professor and
Esmeralda occupied Clayton's car, while Tarzan
took Mr. Philander in with him.

** Bless me I " exclaimed Mr. Philander, as the
car moved off after Clayton's machine. "Who
would ever have thought it possible! The last
dme I saw you you were a veritable wild man,

[395]

TARZAN OF THE APES

skipping about among the branches of a tropical
African forest, and now you are driving me along
a Wisconsin road in a French automobile. Bless
me 1 But it is most remarkable."

** Yes," assented Tarzan, and then, after a
pause ; " Mr. Philander, do you recall any of the
details of the finding and burying of three skele-
tons found in my cabin beside that African
jungle? "

" Very distinctly, sir, very distinctly," replied
Mr. Philander.

" Was there anything peculiar about any of
those skeletons ? "

Mr. Philander eyed Tarzan narrowly.

"Why do you ask?"

" It means a great deal to me to know," replied
Tarzan. " Your answer may clear up a mystery.
It can do no worse, at any rate, than to leave it
still a mystery.

" I have been entertaining a theory concerning
those skeletons for the past two months, and I
want you to answer my question to the best of
your knowledge — were the three skeletons you
buried all human skeletons ? "

" No," said Mr. Philander, " the smallest one,
the one found in the crib, was the skeleton of an
anthropoid ape."

" Thank you," said Tarzan.

In the car ahead, Jane Porter was thinking
fast and furiously. She had felt the purpose for

[396]

CONCLUSION

which Tarzan had asked a few words with her,
and she knew that she must be prepared to give
him an answer in the very near future.

He was not the sort of person one could put
off, and somehow that very thought made her
wonder if she did not really fear him.

And could she love where she feared?

She realized the spell that had been upon her
in the depths of that far-off jungle, but there was
no spell of enchantment now in prosaic Wis-
consin.

Nor did the immaculate young Frenchman ap-
peal to the primal woman in her, as had the stal-
wart forest god.

Did she love him? She did not know — now.

She glanced at Clayton out of the corner of
her eye. Was not here a man trained in the same
school of environment in which she had been
trained — a man with social position and culture
such as she had been taught to consider as the
prime essentials to congenial association?

Did not her best judgment point to this young
English nobleman, whose love she knew to be of
the sort a civilized woman should crave, as the
logical mate for such as herself?

Could she love Clayton? She could see no
reason why she could not. Jane Porter was not
coldly calculating by nature, but training, environ-
ment and heredity had all combined to teach her
to reason even in matters of the heart

[ 397 ]

TARZAN OF THE APES

That she had been carried off her feet by the
strength of the ypung giant when his great arms
were about her in the distant African forest, and
again today, in the Wisconsin woods, seemed to
her only attributable to a temporary mental rever-
Ision to type on her part — to the psychological
appeal of the primeval man to the primeval
woman in her nature.

If he should never touch her again, she
reasoned, she would never feel attracted toward
him. She had not loved him, then. It had been
nothing more than a passing hallucination, super*
induced by excitement and by personal contact.

Excitement would not always mark their future
relations, should she marry him, and the power of
personal contact eventually would be dulled by
familiarity.

Again she glanced at Clayton. He was very
handsome and every inch a gentleman. She
should be very proud of such a husband.

And then he spoke — a minute sooner or a
minute later might have made all the difference
in the world to three lives — but chance stepped
in and pointed out to Clayton tlie psychological
moment

" You are free now, Jane," he said. " Won't
you say yes — I will devote my life to making
you very happy."

" Yes," she whispered.

That evening in the little waiting room at the

[398]

CONCLUSION

station Tarzan caught Jane Porter alone for a
moment.

" You are free now, Jane," he said, " and I
have come across the ages out of the dim and
distant past from the lair of the primeval man to
claim you — for your sake I have become a civil-
ized man — for your sake I have crossed oceans
and continents — for your sake I will be what-
ever you will me to be. I can make you happy,
Jane, in the life you know and love best. Will
you marry me ? "

For the first time she realized the depths of
the man's love — all that he had accomplished
in so short a time solely for love of her. Turn-
ing her head she buried her face in her arms.

What had she done? Because she had been
afraid she might succumb to the pleas of this
giant, she had burned her bridges behind her —
in her groundless apprehension that she might
make a terrible mistake^ she had made a worse
one.

And then she told him all — told him the
truth word by word, without attempting to shield
herself or condone her error.

" What can we do ? " he asked. " You have
admitted that you love me. You know that I
love you ; but I do not know the ethics of society
by which you are governed. I shall leave the
decision to you, for you know best what will be
for your eventual welfare."

[399]

TARZAN OF THE APES

" I cannot tell him, Tarzan," she said. " He,
too, loves me, and he is a good man. I could
never face you nor any other honest person if I
repudiated my promise to Mr. Clayton.

" I shall have to keep it — and you must help
me bear the burden, though we may not see each
other again after tonight."

The others were entering the room now and
Tarzan turned toward the little window.

But he saw nothing without — within he saw
a patch of greensward surrounded by a matted
mass of gorgeous tropical plants and flowers, and^
above, the waving foliage of mighty trees, and,
over all, the blue of an equatorial sky.

In the center of the greensward a young
woman sat upon a little mound of earth, and
beside her sat a young giant. They ate pleasant
fruit and looked into each other's eyes and smiled.
They were very happy, and they were all alone.^

His thoughts were broken in upon by the
station agent who entered asking if there wa» a
gentleman by the name of Tarzan in the party.

" I am Monsieur Tarzan," said the ape-man.

" Here is a message for you, forwarded from
Baltimore; it is a cablegram from Paris."

Tarzan took the envelope and tore it open*
The message was from D'Arnot

It read:

Finger prints prove 3rou Gre3rstoke. Congratulations*

D'Arnot.

[400]

CONCLUSION

As Tarzan finished reading Clayton entered,
and came toward him with extended hand.

Here was the man who had Tarzan's title, and
Tarzan's estates, and was going to marry the
woman whom Tarzan loved — the woman who
loved Tarzan. A single word from Tarzan would
make a great difference in this man's life.

It would take away his title and his lands and
his castles, and — it would take them away from
Jane Porter also.

" I say, old man," cried Clayton, " I haven't
had a chance to thank you for all you've done
for us. It seems as though you had your hands
full saving our lives in Africa and here.

" I'm awfully glad you came on here. We
must get better acquainted. I often thought about
you, you know, and the remarkable circumstances
of your environment.

** If it's any of my business, how the devil did
you ever get into that bally jungle? "

" I was born there," said Tarzan, quietly.
" My mother was an Ape, and of course she
couldn't tell me much about it. I never knew
who my father was." *

THE END

*The further adventures of Tarzan, and what came of his ooble
act ci self-reaunciation. will be told in the next book of Ta»aa«

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