Tarzan the Untamed...........................................................................................................................................1

Edgar Rice Burroughs ..............................................................................................................................1

Hauptmann Fritz Schneider trudged wearily through the somber aisles of the dark forest. Sweat rolled down

his bullet head and stood upon his heavy jowls and bull neck. His lieutenant marched beside him while

Underlieutenant von Goss brought up the rear, following with a handful of askaris the tired and all but

exhausted porters whom the black soldiers, following the example of their white officer, en couraged with

There were no porters within reach of Hauptmann Schnei der so he vented his Prussian spleen upon the

askaris nearest at hand, yet with greater circumspection since these men bore loaded rifles and the three

Ahead of the hauptmann marched half his company, be hind him the other half thus were the dangers of

the savage jungle minimized for the German captain. At the forefront of the column staggered two naked

savages fastened to each other by a neck chain. These were the native guides im pressed into the service of

Kultur and upon their poor, bruised bodies Kultur's brand was revealed in divers cruel wounds and bruises.

Thus even in darkest Africa was the light of German civili zation commencing to reflect itself upon the

undeserving na tives just as at the same period, the fall of 1914, it was shed ding its glorious effulgence

It is true that the guides had led the party astray; but this is the way of most African guides. Nor did it matter

that ig norance rather than evil intent had been the cause of their failure. It was enough for Hauptmann Fritz

Schneider to know that he was lost in the African wilderness and that he had at hand human beings less

powerful than he who could be made to suffer by torture. That he did not kill them outright was partially due

to a faint hope that they might eventually prove the means of extricating him from his difficulties and

The poor creatures, hoping that chance might lead them at last upon the right trail, insisted that they knew the

way and so led on through a dismal forest along a winding game trail trodden deep by the feet of countless

Here Tantor, the elephant, took his long way from dust wallow to water. Here Buto, the rhinoceros, blundered

blindly in his solitary majesty, while by night the great cats paced silently upon their padded feet beneath the

dense canopy of overreaching trees toward the broad plain beyond, where they found their best hunting.

It was at the edge of this plain which came suddenly and unexpectedly before the eyes of the guides that their

sad hearts beat with renewed hope. Here the hauptmann drew a deep sigh of relief, for after days of hopeless

wandering through almost impenetrable jungle the broad vista of waving grasses dotted here and there with

open parklike woods and in the far distance the winding line of green shrubbery that denoted a river appeared

The Hun smiled in his relief, passed a cheery word with his lieutenant, and then scanned the broad plain with

his field glasses. Back and forth they swept across the rolling land until at last they came to rest upon a point

near the center of the landscape and close to the greenfringed contours of the river.

The lieutenant, who was also gazing through his own glasses, finally brought them to rest upon the same spot

"Yes," he said, "an English farm. It must be Greystoke's, for there is none other in this part of British East

"We have come upon the English schweinhund long before he can have learned that his country is at war

with ours," replied Schneider. "Let him be the first to feel the iron hand of Germany."

"Let us hope that he is at home," said the lieutenant, "that we may take him with us when we report to Kraut

at Nairobi. It will go well indeed with Herr Hauptmann Fritz Schneider if he brings in the famous Tarzan of

Schneider smiled and puffed out his chest. "You are right, my friend," he said, "it will go well with both of

us; but I shall have to travel far to catch General Kraut before he reaches Mombasa. These English pigs with

It was in a better frame of mind that the small force set out across the open country toward the trim and

wellkept farm buildings of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke; but disap pointment was to be their lot since

Lady Jane, ignorant of the fact that a state of war existed between Great Britain and Germany, welcomed the

officers most hospitably and gave orders through her trusted Waziri to prepare a feast for the black soldiers of

Far to the east, Tarzan of the Apes was traveling rapidly from Nairobi toward the farm. At Nairobi he had

received news of the World War that had already started, and, antici pating an immediate invasion of British

East Africa by the Germans, was hurrying homeward to fetch his wife to a place of greater security. With him

were a score of his ebon war riors, but far too slow for the apeman was the progress of these trained and

When necessity demanded, Tarzan of the Apes sloughed the thin veneer of his civilization and with it the

hampering apparel that was its badge. In a moment the polished Eng lish gentleman reverted to the naked

His mate was in danger. For the time, that single thought dominated. He did not think of her as Lady Jane

Greystoke, but rather as the she he had won by the might of his steel thews, and that he must hold and protect

It was no member of the House of Lords who swung swiftly and grimly through the tangled forest or trod

with untiring muscles the wide stretches of open plain it was a great he ape filled with a single purpose

Little Manu, the monkey, scolding and chattering in the upper terraces of the forest, saw him pass. Long had

it been since he had thus beheld the great Tarmangani naked and alone hurtling through the jungle. Bearded

and gray was Manu, the monkey, and to his dim old eyes came the fire of recollection of those days when

Tarzan of the Apes had ruled supreme, Lord of the Jungle, over all the myriad life that trod the matted

vegetation between the boles of the great trees, or flew or swung or climbed in the leafy fastness upward to

And Numa, the lion, lying up for the day close beside last night's successful kill, blinked his yellowgreen

eyes and twitched his tawny tail as he caught the scent spoor of his ancient enemy.

Nor was Tarzan senseless to the presence of Numa or Manu or any of the many jungle beasts he passed in his

rapid flight towards the west. No particle had his shallow probing of English society dulled his marvelous

sense faculties. His nose had picked out the presence of Numa, the lion, even before the majestic king of

He had heard noisy little Manu, and even the soft rustling of the parting shrubbery where Sheeta passed

But however keen the senses of the apeman, however swift his progress through the wild country of his

adoption, however mighty the muscles that bore him, he was still mortal. Time and space placed their

inexorable limits upon him; nor was there another who realized this truth more keenly than Tarzan. He chafed

and fretted that he could not travel with the swiftness of thought and that the long tedious miles stretching far

ahead of him must require hours and hours of tireless effort upon his part before he would swing at last from

the final bough of the fringing forest into the open plain and in sight of his goal.

Days it took, even though he lay up at night for but a few hours and left to chance the finding of meat directly

on his trail. If Wappi, the antelope, or Horta, the boar, chanced in his way when he was hungry, he ate,

Then at last the long journey drew to its close and he was passing through the last stretch of heavy forest that

bounded his estate upon the east, and then this was traversed and he stood upon the plain's edge looking out

At the first glance his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed. Even at that distance he could see that

something was amiss. A thin spiral of smoke arose at the right of the bungalow where the barns had stood,

but there were no barns there now, and from the bungalow chimney from which smoke should have arisen,

Once again Tarzan of the Apes was speeding onward, this time even more swiftly than before, for he was

goaded now by a nameless fear, more product of intuition than of reason. Even as the beasts, Tarzan of the

Apes seemed to possess a sixth sense. Long before he reached the bungalow, he had almost pictured the

Silent and deserted was the vinecovered cottage. Smolder ing embers marked the site of his great barns.

Gone were the thatched huts of his sturdy retainers, empty the fields, the pastures, and corrals. Here and there

It was with a feeling as nearly akin to terror as he ever had experienced that the apeman finally forced

himself to enter his home. The first sight that met his eyes set the red haze of hate and bloodlust across his

vision, for there, crucified against the wall of the livingroom, was Wasimbu, giant son of the faithful

The overturned and shattered furniture of the room, the brown pools of dried blood upon the floor, and prints

of bloody hands on walls and woodwork evidenced something of the frightfulness of the battle that had been

waged within the narrow confines of the apartment. Across the baby grand piano lay the corpse of another

black warrior, while before the door of Lady Jane's boudoir were the dead bodies of three more of the faithful

The door of this room was closed. With drooping shoulders and dull eyes Tarzan stood gazing dumbly at the

Slowly, with leaden feet, he moved toward the door. Grop ingly his hand reached for the knob. Thus he

stood for another long minute, and then with a sudden gesture he straightened his giant frame, threw back his

mighty shoulders and, with fearless head held high, swung back the door and stepped across the threshold

into the room which held for him the dearest memories and associations of his life. No change of expression

crossed his grim and sternset features as he strode across the room and stood beside the little couch and the

inanimate form which lay face downward upon it; the still, silent thing that had pulsed with life and youth

No tear dimmed the eye of the apeman, but the God who made him alone could know the thoughts that

passed through that still halfsavage brain. For a long time he stood there just looking down upon the dead

body, charred beyond recognition, and then he stooped and lifted it in his arms. As he turned the body over

and saw how horribly death had been meted he plumbed, in that instant, the uttermost depths of grief and

Nor did he require the evidence of the broken German rifle in the outer room, or the torn and bloodstained

service cap upon the floor, to tell him who had been the perpetrators of this horrid and useless crime.

For a moment he had hoped against hope that the black ened corpse was not that of his mate, but when his

eyes dis covered and recognized the rings upon her fingers the last faint ray of hope forsook him.

In silence, in love, and in reverence he buried, in the little rose garden that had been Jane Clayton's pride and

love, the poor, charred form and beside it the great black warriors who had given their lives so futilely in their

At one side of the house Tarzan found other newly made graves and in these he sought final evidence of the

identity of the real perpetrators of the atrocities that had been com mitted there in his absence.

Here he disinterred the bodies of a dozen German askaris and found upon their uniforms the insignia of the

company and regiment to which they had belonged. This was enough for the apeman. White officers had

commanded these men, nor would it be a difficult task to discover who they were.

Returning to the rose garden, he stood among the Hun trampled blooms and bushes above the grave of his

dead with bowed head he stood there in a last mute farewell. As the sun sank slowly behind the towering

forests of the west, he turned slowly away upon the stilldistinct trail of Haupt mann Fritz Schneider and his

His was the suffering of the dumb brute mute; but though voiceless no less poignant. At first his vast

sorrow numbed his other faculties of thought his brain was overwhelmed by the calamity to such an extent

that it reacted to but a single objective suggestion: She is dead! She is dead! She is dead! Again and again this

phrase beat monotonously upon his brain a dull, throbbing pain, yet mechanically his feet followed the

trail of her slayer while, subconsciously, his every sense was upon the alert for the everpresent perils of the

Gradually the labor of his great grief brought forth another emotion so real, so tangible, that it seemed a

companion walk ing at his side. It was Hate and it brought to him a measure of solace and of comfort,

for it was a sublime hate that en nobled him as it has ennobled countless thousands since hatred for

Germany and Germans. It centered about the slayer of his mate, of course; but it included everything Ger

man, animate or inanimate. As the thought took firm hold upon him he paused and raising his face to Goro,

the moon, cursed with upraised hand the authors of the hideous crime that had been perpetrated in that once

peaceful bungalow behind him; and he cursed their progenitors, their progeny, and all their kind the while he

There followed almost immediately a feeling of content, for, where before his future at best seemed but a

void, now it was filled with possibilities the contemplation of which brought him, if not happiness, at least a

surcease of absolute grief, for before him lay a great work that would occupy his time.

Stripped not only of all the outward symbols of civilization, Tarzan had also reverted morally and mentally to

the status of the savage beast he had been reared. Never had his civilization been more than a veneer put on

for the sake of her he loved because he thought it made her happier to see him thus. In reality he had always

held the outward evi dences of socalled culture in deep contempt. Civilization meant to Tarzan of the Apes

a curtailment of freedom in all its aspects freedom of action, freedom of thought, freedom of love,

freedom of hate. Clothes he abhorred uncomfort able, hideous, confining things that reminded him

somehow of bonds securing him to the life he had seen the poor crea tures of London and Paris living.

Clothes were the emblems of that hypocrisy for which civilization stood a pretense that the wearers were

ashamed of what the clothes covered, of the human form made in the semblance of God. Tarzan knew how

silly and pathetic the lower orders of animals appeared in the clothing of civilization, for he had seen several

poor creatures thus appareled in various traveling shows in Europe, and he knew, too, how silly and pathetic

man appears in them since the only men he had seen in the first twenty years of his life had been, like

himself, naked savages. The apeman had a keen admiration for a wellmuscled, wellproportioned body,

whether lion, or antelope, or man, and it had ever been beyond him to understand how clothes could be

considered more beautiful than a clear, firm, healthy skin, or coat and trousers more graceful than the gentle

In civilization Tarzan had found greed and selfishness and cruelty far beyond that which he had known in his

familiar, savage jungle, and though civilization had given him his mate and several friends whom he loved

and admired, he never had come to accept it as you and I who have known little or nothing else; so it was

with a sense of relief that he now definitely abandoned it and all that it stood for, and went forth into the

The hunting knife of his father hung at his left hip, his bow and his quiver of arrows were slung across his

shoulders, while around his chest over one shoulder and beneath the opposite arm was coiled the long grass

rope without which Tarzan would have felt quite as naked as would you should you be suddenly thrust upon a

busy highway clad only in a union suit. A heavy war spear which he sometimes carried in one hand and again

slung by a thong about his neck so that it hung down his back completed his armament and his apparel. The

diamondstudded locket with the pictures of his mother and father that he had worn always until he had

given it as a token of his highest devotion to Jane Clayton before their marriage was missing. She always had

worn it since, but it had not been upon her body when he found her slain in her boudoir, so that now his quest

Toward midnight Tarzan commenced to feel the physical strain of his long hours of travel and to realize that

even muscles such as his had their limitations. His pursuit of the murderers had not been characterized by

excessive speed; but rather more in keeping with his mental attitude, which was marked by a dogged

determination to require from the Ger mans more than an eye for an eye and more than a tooth for a tooth,

Inwardly as well as outwardly Tarzan had reverted to beast and in the lives of beasts, time, as a measurable

aspect of duration, has no meaning. The beast is actively interested only in NOW, and as it is always NOW

and always shall be, there is an eternity of time for the accomplishment of objects. The apeman, naturally,

had a slightly more comprehensive realiza tion of the limitations of time; but, like the beasts, he moved with

Having dedicated his life to vengeance, vengeance became his natural state and, therefore, no emergency, so

he took his time in pursuit. That he had not rested earlier was due to the fact that he had felt no fatigue, his

mind being occupied by thoughts of sorrow and revenge; but now he realized that he was tired, and so he

sought a jungle giant that had harbored him upon more than a single other jungle night.

Dark clouds moving swiftly across the heavens now and again eclipsed the bright face of Goro, the moon,

and fore warned the apeman of impending storm. In the depth of the jungle the cloud shadows produced a

thick blackness that might almost be felt a blackness that to you and me might have proven terrifying with

its accompaniment of rustling leaves and cracking twigs, and its even more suggestive inter vals of utter

silence in which the crudest of imaginations might have conjured crouching beasts of prey tensed for the fatal

charge; but through it Tarzan passed unconcerned, yet always alert. Now he swung lightly to the lower

terraces of the overarching trees when some subtle sense warned him that Numa lay upon a kill directly in his

path, or again he sprang lightly to one side as Buto, the rhinoceros, lumbered toward him along the narrow,

deepworn trail, for the ape man, ready to fight upon necessity's slightest pretext, avoided unnecessary

When he swung himself at last into the tree he sought, the moon was obscured by a heavy cloud, and the tree

tops were waving wildly in a steadily increasing wind whose soughing drowned the lesser noises of the

jungle. Upward went Tarzan toward a sturdy crotch across which he long since had laid and secured a little

platform of branches. It was very dark now, darker even than it had been before, for almost the entire sky was

Presently the manbeast paused, his sensitive nostrils dilat ing as he sniffed the air about him. Then, with

the swiftness and agility of a cat, he leaped far outward upon a swaying branch, sprang upward through the

darkness, caught another, swung himself upon it and then to one still higher. What could have so suddenly

transformed his matteroffact ascent of the giant bole to the swift and wary action of his detour among the

branches? You or I could have seen nothing not even the little platform that an instant before had been

just above him and which now was immediately below but as he swung above it we should have heard an

ominous growl; and then as the moon was momentarily uncovered, we should have seen both the platform,

dimly, and a dark mass that lay stretched upon it a dark mass that presently, as our eyes became

In answer to the cat's growl, a low and equally ferocious growl rumbled upward from the apeman's deep

chest a growl of warning that told the panther he was trespassing upon the other's lair; but Sheeta was in

no mood to be dis possessed. With upturned, snarling face he glared at the brownskinned Tarmangani

above him. Very slowly the apeman moved inward along the branch until he was directly above the panther.

In the man's hand was the hunting knife of his longdead father the weapon that had first given him his

real ascendancy over the beasts of the jungle; but he hoped not to be forced to use it, knowing as he did that

more jungle battles were settled by hideous growling than by actual com bat, the law of bluff holding quite

as good in the jungle as elsewhere only in matters of love and food did the great beasts ordinarily close

Tarzan braced himself against the bole of the tree and leaned closer toward Sheeta.

"Stealer of balus!" he cried. The panther rose to a sitting position, his bared fangs but a few feet from the

apeman's taunting face. Tarzan growled hideously and struck at the cat's face with his knife. "I am Tarzan of

the Apes," he roared. "This is Tarzan's lair. Go, or I will kill you." Though he spoke in the language of the

great apes of the jungle, it is doubtful that Sheeta understood the words, though he knew well enough that the

hairless ape wished to frighten him from his wellchosen station past which edible creatures might be

Like lightning the cat reared and struck a vicious blow at his tormentor with great, bared talons that might

well have torn away the apeman's face had the blow landed; but it did not land Tarzan was even quicker

than Sheeta. As the panther came to all fours again upon the little platform, Tar zan unslung his heavy spear

and prodded at the snarling face, and as Sheeta warded off the blows, the two continued their horrid duet of

Goaded to frenzy the cat presently determined to come up after this disturber of his peace; but when he

essayed to leap to the branch that held Tarzan he found the sharp spear point always in his face, and each

time as he dropped back he was prodded viciously in some tender part; but at length, rage having conquered

his better judgment, he leaped up the rough bole to the very branch upon which Tarzan stood. Now the two

faced each other upon even footing and Sheeta saw a quick revenge and a supper all in one. The hairless

The heavy limb bent beneath the weight of the two beasts as Sheeta crept cautiously out upon it and Tarzan

backed slowly away, growling. The wind had risen to the proportions of a gale so that even the greatest giants

of the forest swayed, groaning, to its force and the branch upon which the two faced each other rose and fell

like the deck of a stormtossed ship. Goro was now entirely obscured, but vivid flashes of lightning lit up the

jungle at brief intervals, revealing the grim tableau of primitive passion upon the swaying limb.

Tarzan backed away, drawing Sheeta farther from the stem of the tree and out upon the tapering branch,

where his footing became ever more precarious. The cat, infuriated by the pain of spear wounds, was

overstepping the bounds of caution. Already he had reached a point where he could do little more than

maintain a secure footing, and it was this moment that Tarzan chose to charge. With a roar that mingled with

the booming thunder from above he leaped toward the panther, who could only claw futilely with one huge

paw while he clung to the branch with the other; but the apeman did not come within that parabola of

destruction. Instead he leaped above menacing claws and snapping fangs, turning in midair and alighting

upon Sheeta's back, and at the instant of impact his knife struck deep into the tawny side. Then Sheeta, im

pelled by pain and hate and rage and the first law of Nature, went mad. Screaming and clawing he attempted

to turn upon the apething clinging to his back. For an instant he toppled upon the now wildly gyrating limb,

clutched franti cally to save himself, and then plunged downward into the darkness with Tarzan still

clinging to him. Crashing through splintering branches the two fell. Not for an instant did the apeman

consider relinquishing his deathhold upon his ad versary. He had entered the lists in mortal combat and

true to the primitive instincts of the wild the unwritten law of the jungle one or both must die before

Sheeta, catlike, alighted upon four outsprawled feet, the weight of the apeman crushing him to earth, the

long knife again imbedded in his side. Once the panther struggled to rise; but only to sink to earth again.

Tarzan felt the giant muscles relax beneath him. Sheeta was dead. Rising, the apeman placed a foot upon the

body of his vanquished foe, raised his face toward the thundering heavens, and as the lightning flashed and

the torrential rain broke upon him, screamed forth the wild victory cry of the bull ape.

Having accomplished his aim and driven the enemy from his lair, Tarzan gathered an armful of large fronds

and climbed to his dripping couch. Laying a few of the fronds upon the poles he lay down and covered

himself against the rain with the others, and despite the wailing of the wind and the crashing of the thunder,

The rain lasted for twentyfour hours and much of the time it fell in torrents so that when it ceased, the trail

he had been following was entirely obliterated. Cold and uncom fortable it was a savage Tarzan who

threaded the mazes of the soggy jungle. Manu, the monkey, shivering and chatter ing in the dank trees,

scolded and fled at his approach. Even the panthers and the lions let the growling Tarmangani pass

When the sun shone again upon the second day and a wide, open plain let the full heat of Kudu flood the

chilled, brown body, Tarzan's spirits rose; but it was still a sullen, surly brute that moved steadily onward into

the south where he hoped again to pick up the trail of the Germans. He was now in German East Africa and it

was his intention to skirt the moun tains west of Kilimanjaro, whose rugged peaks he was quite willing to

give a wide berth, and then swing eastward along the south side of the range to the railway that led to Tanga,

for his experience among men suggested that it was toward this railroad that German troops would be likely

Two days later, from the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, he heard the boom of cannon far away to the east.

The after noon had been dull and cloudy and now as he was passing through a narrow gorge a few great

drops of rain began to splatter upon his naked shoulders. Tarzan shook his head and growled his disapproval;

then he cast his eyes about for shelter, for he had had quite enough of the cold and drenching. He wanted to

hasten on in the direction of the booming noise, for he knew that there would be Germans fighting against the

English. For an instant his bosom swelled with pride at the thought that he was English and then he shook his

head again viciously. "No!" he muttered, "Tarzan of the Apes is not English, for the English are men and

Tarzan is Tarman gani;" but he could not hide even from his sorrow or from his sullen hatred of mankind in

general that his heart warmed at the thought it was Englishmen who fought the Germans. His regret was that

"Tomorrow," he thought, "I will travel that way and find the Germans," and then he set himself to the

immediate task of discovering some shelter from the storm. Presently he espied the low and narrow entrance

to what appeared to be a cave at the base of the cliffs which formed the northern side of the gorge. With

drawn knife he approached the spot warily, for he knew that if it were a cave it was doubtless the lair of some

other beast. Before the entrance lay many large fragments of rock of different sizes, similar to others scattered

along the entire base of the cliff, and it was in Tarzan's mind that if he found the cave unoccupied he would

barricade the door and insure himself a quiet and peaceful night's repose within the sheltered interior. Let the

storm rage without Tarzan would remain within until it ceased, comfortable and dry. A tiny rivulet of cold

Close to the cave Tarzan kneeled and sniffed the ground. A low growl escaped him and his upper lip curved

to expose his fighting fangs. "Numa!" he muttered; but he did not stop. Numa might not be at home he

would investigate. The entrance was so low that the apeman was compelled to drop to all fours before he

could poke his head within the aperture; but first he looked, listened, and sniffed in each direction at his rear

His first glance within the cave revealed a narrow tunnel with daylight at its farther end. The interior of the

tunnel was not so dark but that the apeman could readily see that it was untenanted at present. Advancing

cautiously he crawled toward the opposite end imbued with a full realiza tion of what it would mean if

Numa should suddenly enter the tunnel in front of him; but Numa did not appear and the apeman emerged

at length into the open and stood erect, finding himself in a rocky cleft whose precipitous walls rose almost

sheer on every hand, the tunnel from the gorge passing through the cliff and forming a passageway from the

outer world into a large pocket or gulch entirely inclosed by steep walls of rock. Except for the small

passageway from the gorge, there was no other entrance to the gulch which was some hundred feet in length

and about fifty in width and appeared to have been worn from the rocky cliff by the falling of water during

long ages. A tiny stream from Kilimanjaro's eternal snow cap still trickled over the edge of the rocky wall at

the upper end of the gulch, forming a little pool at the bottom of the cliff from which a small rivulet wound

down ward to the tunnel through which it passed to the gorge beyond. A single great tree flourished near the

center of the gulch, while tufts of wiry grass were scattered here and there among the rocks of the gravelly

The bones of many large animals lay about and among them were several human skulls. Tarzan raised his

eyebrows. "A maneater," he murmured, "and from appearances he has held sway here for a long time.

Tonight Tarzan will take the lair of the maneater and Numa may roar and grumble upon the outside."

The apeman had advanced well into the gulch as he in vestigated his surroundings and now as he stood

near the tree, satisfied that the tunnel would prove a dry and quiet retreat for the night, he turned to retrace his

way to the outer end of the entrance that he might block it with bowlders against Numa's return, but even

with the thought there came something to his sensitive ears that froze him into statuesque immobility with

eyes glued upon the tunnel's mouth. A moment later the head of a huge lion framed in a great black mane

appeared in the opening. The yellowgreen eyes glared, round and unblinking, straight at the trespassing

Tarmangani, a low growl rumbled from the deep chest, and lips curled back to expose the mighty fangs.

"Brother of Dango!" shouted Tarzan, angered that Numa's return should have been so timed as to frustrate his

plans for a comfortable night's repose. "I am Tarzan of the Apes, Lord of the Jungle. Tonight I lair here

But Numa did not go. Instead he rumbled forth a menac ing roar and took a few steps in Tarzan's direction.

The ape man picked up a rock and hurled it at the snarling face. One can never be sure of a lion. This one

might turn tail and run at the first intimation of attack Tarzan had bluffed many in his time but not

now. The missile struck Numa full upon the snout a tender part of a cat's anatomy and instead of

causing him to flee it transformed him into an infuriated engine of wrath and destruction.

Up went his tail, stiff and erect, and with a series of fright ful roars he bore down upon the Tarmangani at

the speed of an express train. Not an instant too soon did Tarzan reach the tree and swing himself into its

branches and there he squatted, hurling insults at the king of beasts while Numa paced a circle beneath him,

It was raining now in earnest adding to the apeman's dis comfort and disappointment. He was very angry;

but as only direct necessity had ever led him to close in mortal combat with a lion, knowing as he did that he

had only luck and agility to pit against the frightful odds of muscle, weight, fangs, and talons, he did not now

even consider descending and engaging in so unequal and useless a duel for the mere reward of a little added

creature comfort. And so he sat perched in the tree while the rain fell steadily and the lion padded round and

Tarzan scanned the precipitous walls for an avenue of es cape. They would have baffled an ordinary man;

but the apeman, accustomed to climbing, saw several places where he might gain a foothold, precarious

possibly; but enough to give him reasonable assurance of escape if Numa would but betake himself to the far

end of the gulch for a moment. Numa, however, notwithstanding the rain, gave no evidence of quitting his

post so that at last Tarzan really began to consider seriously if it might not be as well to take the chance of a

battle with him rather than remain longer cold and wet and humiliated in the tree.

But even as he turned the matter over in his mind Numa turned suddenly and walked majestically toward the

tunnel without even a backward glance. The instant that he disap peared, Tarzan dropped lightly to the

ground upon the far side of the tree and was away at top speed for the cliff. The lion had no sooner entered

the tunnel than he backed im mediately out again and, pivoting like a flash, was off across the gulch in full

charge after the flying apeman; but Tarzan's lead was too great if he could find finger or foothold upon

the sheer wall he would be safe; but should he slip from the wet rocks his doom was already sealed as he

would fall directly into Numa's clutches where even the Great Tarman gani would be helpless.

With the agility of a cat Tarzan ran up the cliff for thirty feet before he paused, and there finding a secure

foothold, he stopped and looked down upon Numa who was leaping upward in a wild and futile attempt to

scale the rocky wall to his prey. Fifteen or twenty feet from the ground the lion would scramble only to fall

backward again defeated. Tarzan eyed him for a moment and then commenced a slow and cautious ascent

toward the summit. Several times he had difficulty in finding holds but at last he drew himself over the edge,

Finding an easy descent to the gorge, he was about to pursue his journey in the direction of the stillbooming

guns when a sudden thought caused him to halt and a halfsmile to play about his lips. Turning, he trotted

quickly back to the outer opening of Numa's tunnel. Close beside it he listened for a moment and then rapidly

began to gather large rocks and pile them within the entrance. He had almost closed the aperture when the

lion appeared upon the inside a very ferocious and angry lion that pawed and clawed at the rocks and

uttered mighty roars that caused the earth to tremble; but roars did not frighten Tarzan of the Apes. At Kala's

shaggy breast he had closed his infant eyes in sleep upon countless nights in years gone by to the savage

chorus of similar roars. Scarcely a day or night of his jungle life and practically all his life had been spent

in the jungle had he not heard the roaring of hungry lions, or angry lions, or lovesick lions. Such sounds

affected Tarzan as the tooting of an automobile horn may affect you if you are in front of the automobile

it warns you out of the way, if you are not in front of it you scarcely notice it. Figuratively Tarzan was not in

front of the automobile Numa could not reach him and Tarzan knew it, so he continued deliberately to

choke the entrance until there was no possibility of Numa's getting out again. When he was quite through he

made a grimace at the hidden lion beyond the barrier and resumed his way toward the east. "A maneater

That night Tarzan lay up under an overhanging shelf of rock. The next morning he resumed his journey,

stopping only long enough to make a kill and satisfy his hunger. The other beasts of the wild eat and lie up;

but Tarzan never let his belly interfere with his plans. In this lay one of the great est differences between the

apeman and his fellows of the jungles and forests. The firing ahead rose and fell during the day. He had

noticed that it was highest at dawn and immediately after dusk and that during the night it almost ceased. In

the middle of the afternoon of the second day he came upon troops moving up toward the front. They ap

peared to be raiding parties, for they drove goats and cows along with them and there were native porters

laden with grain and other foodstuffs. He saw that these natives were all secured by neck chains and he also

saw that the troops were composed of native soldiers in German uniforms. The officers were white men. No

one saw Tarzan, yet he was here and there about and among them for two hours. He inspected the insignia

upon their uniforms and saw that they were not the same as that which he had taken from one of the dead

soldiers at the bungalow and then he passed on ahead of them, unseen in the dense bush. He had come upon

Germans and had not killed them; but it was because the killing of Germans at large was not yet the prime

motive of his existence now it was to discover the individual who slew his mate.

After he had accounted for him he would take up the little matter of slaying ALL Germans who crossed his

path, and he meant that many should cross it, for he would hunt them precisely as professional hunters hunt

As he neared the front lines the troops became more numer ous. There were motor trucks and ox teams and

all the impedimenta of a small army and always there were wounded men walking or being carried toward

the rear. He had crossed the railroad some distance back and judged that the wounded were being taken to it

for transportation to a base hospital and possibly as far away as Tanga on the coast.

It was dusk when he reached a large camp hidden in the foothills of the Pare Mountains. As he was

approaching from the rear he found it but lightly guarded and what sentinels there were, were not upon the

alert, and so it was an easy thing for him to enter after darkness had fallen and prowl about listening at the

As he paused at the side of a tent before which sat a num ber of native soldiers he caught a few words

spoken in native dialect that riveted his attention instantly: "The Waziri fought like devils; but we are greater

fighters and we killed them all. When we were through the captain came and killed the woman. He stayed

outside and yelled in a very loud voice until all the men were killed. Underlieutenant von Goss is braver

he came in and stood beside the door shouting at us, also in a very loud voice, and bade us nail one of the

Waziri who was wounded to the wall, and then he laughed loudly because the man suffered. We all laughed.

Like a beast of prey, grim and terrible, Tarzan crouched in the shadows beside the tent. What thoughts passed

through that savage mind? Who may say? No outward sign of passion was revealed by the expression of the

handsome face; the cold, gray eyes denoted only intense watchfulness. Pres ently the soldier Tarzan had

heard first rose and with a parting word turned away. He passed within ten feet of the apeman and continued

on toward the rear of the camp. Tarzan fol lowed and in the shadows of a clump of bushes overtook his

quarry. There was no sound as the man beast sprang upon the back of his prey and bore it to the ground for

steel fingers closed simultaneously upon the soldier's throat, effectually stifling any outcry. By the neck

"Make no sound," he cautioned in the man's own tribal dialect as he released his hold upon the other's throat.

The fellow gasped for breath, rolling frightened eyes up ward to see what manner of creature it might be in

whose power he was. In the darkness he saw only a naked brown body bending above him; but he still

remembered the terrific strength of the mighty muscles that had closed upon his wind and dragged him into

the bushes as though he had been but a little child. If any thought of resistance had crossed his mind he must

"What is the name of the officer who killed the woman at the bungalow where you fought with the Waziri?"

"He is here. It may be that he is at headquarters. Many of the officers go there in the evening to receive

"Lead me there," commanded Tarzan, "and if I am dis covered I will kill you immediately. Get up!"

The black rose and led the way by a roundabout route back through the camp. Several times they were forced

to hide while soldiers passed; but at last they reached a great pile of baled hay from about the corner of which

"Headquarters," he said. "You can go no farther unseen. There are many soldiers about."

Tarzan realized that he could not proceed farther in com pany with the black. He turned and looked at the

"You helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri," he accused in a low yet none the less terrible tone.

The black trembled, his knees giving beneath him. "He ordered us to do it," he plead.

"I shall find him," returned Tarzan, grimly. "You helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri, and, while he

The fellow reeled. It was as though in the accusation he read also his death sentence. With no other word

Tarzan seized the man again by the neck. As before there was no outcry. The giant muscles tensed. The arms

swung quickly upward and with them the body of the black soldier who had helped to crucify Wasimbu, the

Waziri, described a circle in the air once, twice, three times, and then it was flung aside and the apeman

A single sentinel in the rear of the building barred the way. Tarzan crawled, belly to the ground, toward him,

taking ad vantage of cover as only the junglebred beast of prey can do. When the sentinel's eyes were

toward him, Tarzan hugged the ground, motionless as stone; when they were turned away, he moved swiftly

forward. Presently he was within charging distance. He waited until the man had turned his back once more

and then he rose and sped noiselessly down upon him. Again there was no sound as he carried the dead body

The lower floor was lighted, the upper dark. Through the windows Tarzan saw a large front room and a

smaller room in rear of it. In the former were many officers. Some moved about talking to one another, others

sat at field tables writing. The windows were open and Tarzan could hear much of the conversation; but

nothing that interested him. It was mostly about the German successes in Africa and conjectures as to when

the German army in Europe would reach Paris. Some said the Kaiser was doubtlessly already there, and there

In the smaller back room a large, redfaced man sat be hind a table. Some other officers were also sitting a

little in rear of him, while two stood at attention before the general, who was questioning them. As he talked,

the general toyed with an oil lamp that stood upon the table before him. Pres ently there came a knock upon

the door and an aide entered the room. He saluted and reported: "Fraulein Kircher has arrived, sir."

"Bid her enter," commanded the general, and then nodded to the two officers before him in sign of dismissal.

The Fraulein, entering, passed them at the door. The officers in the little room rose and saluted, the Fraulein

acknowledging the courtesy with a bow and a slight smile. She was a very pretty girl. Even the rough, soiled

riding habit and the caked dust upon her face could not conceal the fact, and she was young. She could not

She advanced to the table behind which the general stood and, taking a folded paper from an inside pocket of

"Be seated, Fraulein," he said, and another officer brought her a chair. No one spoke while the general read

Tarzan appraised the various people in the room. He wondered if one might not be Hauptmann Schneider, for

two of them were captains. The girl he judged to be of the intel ligence department a spy. Her beauty

held no appeal for him without a glimmer of compunction he could have wrung that fair, young neck. She

was German and that was enough; but he had other and more important work before him. He wanted

"Good," he said to the girl, and then to one of his aides, "Send for Major Schneider."

Major Schneider! Tarzan felt the short hairs at the back of his neck rise. Already they had promoted the beast

The aide left the room and the others fell into a general conversation from which it became apparent to

Tarzan that the German East African forces greatly outnumbered the British and that the latter were suffering

heavily. The ape man stood so concealed in a clump of bushes that he could watch the interior of the room

without being seen from within, while he was at the same time hidden from the view of any one who might

chance to pass along the post of the sentinel he had slain. Momentarily he was expecting a patrol or a relief to

appear and discover that the sentinel was missing, when he knew an immediate and thorough search would be

Impatiently he awaited the coming of the man he sought and at last he was rewarded by the reappearance of

the aide who had been dispatched to fetch him accompanied by an officer of medium size with fierce,

upstanding mustaches. The newcomer strode to the table, halted and saluted, reporting. The general

Tarzan waited to hear no more. Placing a palm upon the sill of the window he vaulted into the room into the

midst of an astounded company of the Kaiser's officers. With a stride he was at the table and with a sweep of

his hand sent the lamp crashing into the fat belly of the general who, in his mad effort to escape cremation,

fell over backward, chair and all, upon the floor. Two of the aides sprang for the apeman who picked up the

first and flung him in the face of the other. The girl had leaped from her chair and stood flattened against the

wall. The other officers were calling aloud for the guard and for help. Tarzan's purpose centered upon but a

single individual and him he never lost sight of. Freed from attack for an instant he seized Major Schneider,

threw him over his shoulder and was out of the window so quickly that the astonished assemblage could

A single glance showed him that the sentinel's post was still vacant and a moment later he and his burden

were in the shadows of the hay dump. Major Schneider had made no outcry for the very excellent reason that

his wind was shut off. Now Tarzan released his grasp enough to permit the man to breathe.

Cautiously and after infinite patience Tarzan passed the final outpost. Forcing his captive to walk before him

he pushed on toward the west until, late into the night, he recrossed the railway where he felt reasonably safe

from discovery. The German had cursed and grumbled and threatened and asked questions; but his only reply

was another prod from Tarzan's sharp war spear. The apeman herded him along as he would have driven a

hog with the difference that he would have had more respect and therefore more consideration for a hog.

Until now Tarzan had given little thought to the details of revenge. Now he pondered what form the

punishment should take. Of only one thing was he certain it must end in death. Like all brave men and

courageous beasts Tarzan had little natural inclination to torture none, in fact; but this case was unique in

his experience. An inherent sense of justice called for an eye for an eye and his recent oath demanded even

more. Yes, the creature must suffer even as he had caused Jane Clayton to suffer. Tarzan could not hope to

make the man suffer as he had suffered, since physical pain may never approach the exquisiteness of mental

All through the long night the apeman goaded on the exhausted and now terrified Hun. The awful silence of

his captor wrought upon the German's nerves. If he would only speak! Again and again Schneider tried to

force or coax a word from him; but always the result was the same con tinued silence and a vicious and

painful prod from the spear point. Schneider was bleeding and sore. He was so ex hausted that he staggered

at every step, and often he fell only to be prodded to his feet again by that terrifying and re morseless spear.

It was not until morning that Tarzan reached a decision and it came to him then like an inspiration from

above. A slow smile touched his lips and he immediately sought a place to lie up and rest he wished his

prisoner to be fit now for what lay in store for him. Ahead was a stream which Tarzan had crossed the day

before. He knew the ford for a drinking place and a likely spot to make an easy kill. Cau tioning the German

to utter silence with a gesture the two approached the stream quietly. Down the game trail Tarzan saw some

deer about to leave the water. He shoved Schneider into the brush at one side and, squatting next him, waited.

The German watched the silent giant with puzzled, frightened eyes. In the new dawn he, for the first time,

was able to ob tain a good look at his captor, and, if he had been puzzled and frightened before, those

Who and what could this almost naked, white savage be? He had heard him speak but once when he had

cautioned him to silence and then in excellent German and the well modulated tones of culture. He

watched him now as the fascinated toad watches the snake that is about to devour it. He saw the graceful

limbs and symmetrical body motionless as a marble statue as the creature crouched in the conceal ment of

the leafy foliage. Not a muscle, not a nerve moved. He saw the deer coming slowly along the trail, down

wind and unsuspecting. He saw a buck pass an old buck and then a young and plump one came

opposite the giant in am bush, and Schneider's eyes went wide and a scream of terror almost broke from his

lips as he saw the agile beast at his side spring straight for the throat of the young buck and heard from those

human lips the hunting roar of a wild beast. Down went the buck and Tarzan and his captive had meat. The

apeman ate his raw, but he permitted the German to build a fire and cook his portion.

The two lay up until late in the afternoon and then took up the journey once again a journey that was so

frightful to Schneider because of his ignorance of its destination that he at times groveled at Tarzan's feet

begging for an explanation and for mercy; but on and on in silence the apeman went, prodding the failing

It was noon of the third day before they reached their destination. After a steep climb and a short walk they

halted at the edge of a precipitous cliff and Schneider looked down into a narrow gulch where a single tree

grew beside a tiny rivulet and sparse grass broke from a rockstrewn soil. Tarzan motioned him over the

edge; but the German drew back in terror. The Apeman seized him and pushed him roughly toward the

brink. "Descend," he said. It was the second time he had spoken in three days and perhaps his very silence,

ominous in itself, had done more to arouse terror in the breast of the Boche than even the spear point, ever

Schneider looked fearfully over the edge; but was about to essay the attempt when Tarzan halted him. "I am

Lord Greystoke," he said. "It was my wife you murdered in the Waziri country. You will understand now

The German fell upon his knees. "I did not murder your wife," he cried. "Have mercy! I did not murder your

"Descend!" snapped Tarzan, raising the point of his spear. He knew that the man lied and was not surprised

that he did. A man who would murder for no cause would lie for less. Schneider still hesitated and pled. The

apeman jabbed him with the spear and Schneider slid fearfully over the top and began the perilous descent.

Tarzan accompanied and assisted him over the worst places until at last they were within a few feet of the

"Be quiet now," cautioned the apeman. He pointed at the entrance to what appeared to be a cave at the far

end of the gulch. "There is a hungry lion in there. If you can reach that tree before he discovers you, you will

have several days longer in which to enjoy life and then when you are too weak to cling longer to the

branches of the tree Numa, the man eater, will feed again for the last time." He pushed Schneider from his

The German trembling in terror started for the tree. He had almost reached it when a horrid roar broke from

the mouth of the cave and almost simultaneously a gaunt, hunger mad lion leaped into the daylight of the

gulch. Schneider had but a few yards to cover; but the lion flew over the ground to circumvent him while

Schneider won by a slender margin, and as Tarzan scaled the cliff to the summit, he heard behind him

mingled with the roaring of the baffled cat, the gibbering of a human voice that was at the same time more

Upon the brink of the cliff the apeman turned and looked back into the gulch. High in the tree the German

clung frantically to a branch across which his body lay. Beneath him was Numa waiting.

The apeman raised his face to Kudu, the sun, and from his mighty chest rose the savage victory cry of the

Tarzan was not yet fully revenged. There were many millions of Germans yet alive enough to keep

Tarzan pleasantly occupied the balance of his life, and yet not enough, should he kill them all, to recompense

him for the great loss he had suffered nor could the death of all those million Germans bring back his

While in the German camp in the Pare Mountains, which lie just east of the boundary line between German

and British East Africa, Tarzan had overheard enough to suggest that the British were getting the worst of the

fighting in Africa. At first he had given the matter but little thought, since, after the death of his wife, the one

strong tie that had held him to civilization, he had renounced all mankind, considering him self no longer

After accounting for Schneider as satisfactorily as lay within his power he circled Kilimanjaro and hunted in

the foothills to the north of that mightiest of mountains as he had dis covered that in the neighborhood of the

armies there was no hunting at all. Some pleasure he derived through conjuring mental pictures from time to

time of the German he had left in the branches of the lone tree at the bottom of the high walled gulch in

which was penned the starving lion. He could imagine the man's mental anguish as he became weak ened

from hunger and maddened by thirst, knowing that sooner or later he must slip exhausted to the ground where

waited the gaunt maneater. Tarzan wondered if Schneider would have the courage to descend to the little

rivulet for water should Numa leave the gulch and enter the cave, and then he pictured the mad race for the

tree again when the lion charged out to seize his prey as he was certain to do, since the clumsy German could

not descend to the rivulet without making at least some slight noise that would attract Numa's attention.

But even this pleasure palled, and more and more the ape man found himself thinking of the English

soldiers fighting against heavy odds and especially of the fact that it was Ger mans who were beating them.

The thought made him lower his head and growl and it worried him not a little a bit, per haps, because

he was finding it difficult to forget that he was an Englishman when he wanted only to be an ape. And at last

the time came when he could not longer endure the thought of Germans killing Englishmen while he hunted

His decision made, he set out in the direction of the German camp, no welldefined plan formulated; but with

the general idea that once near the field of operations he might find an opportunity to harass the German

command as he so well knew how to do. His way took him along the gorge close to the gulch in which he had

left Schneider, and, yielding to a natural curiosity, he scaled the cliffs and made his way to the edge of the

gulch. The tree was empty, nor was there sign of Numa, the lion. Picking up a rock he hurled it into the gulch,

where it rolled to the very entrance to the cave. Instantly the lion appeared in the aperture; but such a

differentlooking lion from the great sleek brute that Tarzan had trapped there two weeks before. Now he

"Where is the German?" shouted Tarzan. "Was he good eating, or only a bag of bones when he slipped and

Numa growled. "You look hungry, Numa," continued the apeman. "You must have been very hungry to eat

all the grass from your lair and even the bark from the tree as far up as you can reach. Would you like another

A few minutes later he came suddenly upon Bara, the deer, asleep beneath a tree, and as Tarzan was hungry

he made a quick kill, and squatting beside his prey proceeded to eat his fill. As he was gnawing the last

morsel from a bone his quick ears caught the padding of stealthy feet behind him, and turning he confronted

Dango, the hyena, sneaking upon him. With a growl the apeman picked up a fallen branch and hurled it at

the skulking brute. "Go away, eater of carrion!" he cried; but Dango was hungry and being large and power

ful he only snarled and circled slowly about as though watch ing for an opportunity to charge. Tarzan of the

Apes knew Dango even better than Dango knew himself. He knew that the brute, made savage by hunger,

was mustering its courage for an attack, that it was probably accustomed to man and therefore more or less

fearless of him and so he unslung his heavy spear and laid it ready at his side while he continued his meal, all

He felt no fear, for long familiarity with the dangers of his wild world had so accustomed him to them that he

took what ever came as a part of each day's existence as you accept the homely though no less real dangers

of the farm, the range, or the crowded metropolis. Being jungle bred he was ready to protect his kill from all

comers within ordinary limitations of caution. Under favorable conditions Tarzan would face even Numa

himself and, if forced to seek safety by flight, he could do so without any feeling of shame. There was no

braver creature roamed those savage wilds and at the same time there was none more wise the two factors

Dango might have charged sooner but for the savage growls of the apeman growls which, coming from

human lips, raised a question and a fear in the hyena's heart. He had attacked women and children in the

native fields and he had frightened their men about their fires at night; but he never had seen a manthing

When Tarzan had completed his repast he was about to rise and hurl a cleanpicked bone at the beast before

he went his way, leaving the remains of his kill to Dango; but a sud den thought stayed him and instead he

picked up the carcass of the deer, threw it over his shoulder, and set off in the direc tion of the gulch. For a

few yards Dango followed, growling, and then realizing that he was being robbed of even a taste of the

luscious flesh he cast discretion to the winds and charged. Instantly, as though Nature had given him eyes in

the back of his head, Tarzan sensed the impending danger and, dropping Bara to the ground, turned with

raised spear. Far back went the brown, right hand and then forward, lightning like, backed by the power of

giant muscles and the weight of his brawn and bone. The spear, released at the right instant, drove straight for

Dango, caught him in the neck where it joined the shoulders and passed through the body.

When he had withdrawn the shaft from the hyena Tarzan shouldered both carcasses and continued on toward

the gulch. Below lay Numa beneath the shade of the lone tree and at the apeman's call he staggered slowly

to his feet, yet weak as he was, he still growled savagely, even essaying a roar at the sight of his enemy.

Tarzan let the two bodies slide over the rim of the cliff. "Eat, Numa!" he cried. "It may be that I shall need

you again." He saw the lion, quickened to new life at the sight of food, spring upon the body of the deer and

then he left him rending and tearing the flesh as he bolted great pieces into his empty maw.

The following day Tarzan came within sight of the German lines. From a wooded spur of the hills he looked

down upon the enemy's left flank and beyond to the British lines. His position gave him a bird'seye view of

the field of battle, and his keen eyesight picked out many details that would not have been apparent to a man

whose every sense was not trained to the highest point of perfection as were the apeman's. He noted

machinegun emplacements cunningly hidden from the view of the British and listening posts placed well

As his interested gaze moved hither and thither from one point of interest to another he heard from a point

upon the hillside below him, above the roar of cannon and the crack of rifle fire, a single rifle spit.

Immediately his attention was centered upon the spot where he knew a sniper must be hid. Patiently he

awaited the next shot that would tell him more surely the exact location of the rifleman, and when it came he

moved down the steep hillside with the stealth and quietness of a panther. Apparently he took no cognizance

of where he stepped, yet never a loose stone was disturbed nor a twig broken it was as though his feet

Presently, as he passed through a clump of bushes, he came to the edge of a low cliff and saw upon a ledge

some fifteen feet below him a German soldier prone behind an embank ment of loose rock and leafy boughs

that hid him from the view of the British lines. The man must have been an ex cellent shot, for he was well

back of the German lines, firing over the heads of his fellows. His highpowered rifle was equipped with

telescope sights and he also carried binoculars which he was in the act of using as Tarzan discovered him,

either to note the effect of his last shot or to discover a new target. Tarzan let his eye move quickly toward

that part of the British line the German seemed to be scanning, his keen sight revealing many excellent targets

The Hun, evidently satisfied with his observations, laid aside his binoculars and again took up his rifle,

placed its butt in the hollow of his shoulder and took careful aim. At the same instant a brown body sprang

outward from the cliff above him. There was no sound and it is doubtful that the German ever knew what

manner of creature it was that alighted heavily upon his back, for at the instant of impact the sinewy fingers

of the apeman circled the hairy throat of the Boche. There was a moment of futile struggling followed by

Lying behind the rampart of rocks and boughs, Tarzan looked down upon the scene below. Near at hand were

the trenches of the Germans. He could see officers and men mov ing about in them and almost in front of

him a wellhidden machine gun was traversing No Man's Land in an oblique di rection, striking the British

Tarzan watched, toying idly with the rifle of the dead Ger man. Presently he fell to examining the

mechanism of the piece. He glanced again toward the German trenches and changed the adjustment of the

sights, then he placed the rifle to his shoulder and took aim. Tarzan was an excellent shot. With his civilized

friends he had hunted big game with the weapons of civilization and though he never had killed except for

food or in selfdefense he had amused himself firing at inanimate targets thrown into the air and had

perfected himself in the use of firearms without realizing that he had done so. Now indeed would he hunt big

game. A slow smile touched his lips as his finger closed gradually upon the trigger. The rifle spoke and a

German machine gunner collapsed behind his weapon. In three minutes Tarzan picked off the crew of that

gun. Then he spotted a German officer emerging from a dug out and the three men in the bay with him.

Tarzan was care ful to leave no one in the immediate vicinity to question how Germans could be shot in

Again adjusting his sights he took a longrange shot at a distant machinegun crew to his right. With calm

deliberation he wiped them out to a man. Two guns were silenced. He saw men running through the trenches

and he picked off several of them. By this time the Germans were aware that something was amiss that an

uncanny sniper had discovered a point of vantage from which this sector of the trenches was plainly visible to

him. At first they sought to discover his location in No Man's Land; but when an officer looking over the

parapet through a periscope was struck full in the back of the head with a rifle bullet which passed through

his skull and fell to the bottom of the trench they realized that it was beyond the parados rather than the

One of the soldiers picked up the bullet that had killed his officer, and then it was that real excitement

prevailed in that particular bay, for the bullet was obviously of German make. Hugging the parados,

messengers carried the word in both directions and presently periscopes were leveled above the parados and

keen eyes were searching out the traitor. It did not take them long to locate the position of the hidden sniper

and then Tarzan saw a machine gun being trained upon him. Before it had gotten into action its crew lay dead

about it; but there were other men to take their places, reluctantly perhaps; but driven on by their officers they

were forced to it and at the same time two other machine guns were swung around to ward the apeman and

Realizing that the game was about up Tarzan with a fare well shot laid aside the rifle and melted into the

hills behind him. For many minutes he could hear the sputter of machine gun fire concentrated upon the

spot he had just quit and smiled as he contemplated the waste of German ammunition.

"They have paid heavily for Wasimbu, the Waziri, whom they crucified, and for his slain fellows," he mused;

After dark that night he circled the flanks of both armies and passed through the British outguards and into

Headquarters of the Second Rhodesians occupied a shel tered position far enough back of the lines to be

compara tively safe from enemy observation. Even lights were per mitted, and Colonel Capell sat before a

field table, on which was spread a military map, talking with several of his officers. A large tree spread above

them, a lantern sputtered dimly upon the table, while a small fire burned upon the ground close at hand. The

enemy had no planes and no other ob servers could have seen the lights from the German lines.

The officers were discussing the advantage in numbers pos sessed by the enemy and the inability of the

British to more than hold their present position. They could not advance. Al ready they had sustained severe

losses in every attack and had always been driven back by overwhelming numbers. There were hidden

machine guns, too, that bothered the colonel con siderably. It was evidenced by the fact that he often

"Something silenced them for a while this afternoon," said one of the younger officers. "I was observing at

the time and I couldn't make out what the fuss was about; but they seemed to be having a devil of a time in a

section of trench on their left. At one time I could have sworn they were attacked in the rear I reported it

to you at the time, sir, you'll recall for the blighters were pepperin' away at the side of that bluff behind

There was a slight rustling among the branches of the tree above them and simultaneously a lithe, brown

body dropped in their midst. Hands moved quickly to the butts of pistols; but otherwise there was no

movement among the officers. First they looked wonderingly at the almost naked white man standing there

with the firelight playing upon rounded muscles, took in the primitive attire and the equally primitive arma

"I didn't recognize you at first," apologized the major. "The last time I saw you you were in London in

Tarzan smiled and turned toward the colonel. "I overheard your conversation," he said. "I have just come

The colonel looked questioningly toward Major Preswick who quickly rose to the occasion and presented the

apeman to his commanding officer and fellows. Briefly Tarzan told them what it was that brought him out

Tarzan shook his head. "Not regularly," he replied. "I must fight in my own way; but I can help you.

Capell smiled and shook his head. "It's not so easy as you think," he said; "I've lost two good officers in the

last week trying it and they were experienced men; none better in the Intelligence Department."

The colonel was about to reply when a new thought ap peared to occur to him and he looked quizzically at

the ape man. "Who brought you here?" he asked. "Who passed you through our outguards?"

"I have just come through the German lines and yours and passed through your camp," he replied. "Send

"I came alone," replied Tarzan and then, drawing himself to his full height, "You men of civilization, when

you come into the jungle, are as dead among the quick. Manu, the monkey, is a sage by comparison. I marvel

that you exist at all only your numbers, your weapons, and your power of reason ing save you. Had I a

few hundred great apes with your reason ing power I could drive the Germans into the ocean as quickly as

the remnant of them could reach the coast. Fortunate it is for you that the dumb brutes cannot combine. Could

they, Africa would remain forever free of men. But come, can I help you? Would you like to know where

The colonel assured him that they would, and a moment later Tarzan had traced upon the map the location of

three that had been bothering the English. "There is a weak spot here," he said, placing a finger upon the map.

"It is held by blacks; but the machine guns out in front are manned by whites. If wait! I have a plan. You

can fill that trench with your own men and enfilade the trenches to its right with their own machine guns."

"It IS easy for me," replied the apeman. "I can empty that section of trench without a shot. I was raised

in the jungle I know the jungle folk the Gomangani as well as the others. Look for me again on the

"Wait," said the colonel. "I will send an officer to pass you through the lines."

Tarzan smiled and moved away. As he was leaving the little group about headquarters he passed a small

figure wrapped in an officer's heavy overcoat. The collar was turned up and the visor of the military cap

pulled well down over the eyes; but, as the apeman passed, the light from the fire illumi nated the features

of the newcomer for an instant, revealing to Tarzan a vaguely familiar face. Some officer he had known in

London, doubtless, he surmised, and went his way through the British camp and the British lines all unknown

Nearly all night he moved across Kilimanjaro's foothills, tracking by instinct an unknown way, for he guessed

that what he sought would be found on some wooded slope higher up than he had come upon his other recent

journeys in this, to him, little known country. Three hours before dawn his keen nostrils apprised him that

somewhere in the vicinity he would find what he wanted, and so he climbed into a tall tree and settled himself

Kudu, the sun, was well up in the heavens when Tarzan awoke. The apeman stretched his giant limbs, ran

his fingers through his thick hair, and swung lightly down to earth. Immediately he took up the trail he had

come in search of, following it by scent down into a deep ravine. Cautiously he went now, for his nose told

him that the quarry was close at hand, and presently from an overhanging bough he looked down upon Horta,

the boar, and many of his kinsmen. Un slinging his bow and selecting an arrow, Tarzan fitted the shaft and,

drawing it far back, took careful aim at the largest of the great pigs. In the apeman's teeth were other arrows,

and no sooner had the first one sped, than he had fitted and shot another bolt. Instantly the pigs were in

turmoil, not knowing from whence the danger threatened. They stood stupidly at first and then commenced

milling around until six of their number lay dead or dying about them; then with a chorus of grunts and

squeals they started off at a wild run, disappearing quickly in the dense underbrush.

Tarzan then descended from the tree, dispatched those that were not already dead and proceeded to skin the

carcasses. As he worked, rapidly and with great skill, he neither hummed nor whistled as does the average

man of civilization. It was in numerous little ways such as these that he differed from other men, due,

probably, to his early jungle training. The beasts of the jungle that he had been reared among were playful to

maturity but seldom thereafter. His fellowapes, especially the bulls, became fierce and surly as they grew

older. Life was a serious matter during lean seasons one had to fight to secure one's share of food then,

and the habit once formed became lifelong. Hunting for food was the life labor of the jungle bred, and a life

labor is a thing not to be ap proached with levity nor prosecuted lightly. So all work found Tarzan serious,

though he still retained what the other beasts lost as they grew older a sense of humor, which he gave play

to when the mood suited him. It was a grim humor and sometimes ghastly; but it satisfied Tarzan.

Then, too, were one to sing and whistle while working on the ground, concentration would be impossible.

Tarzan pos sessed the ability to concentrate each of his five senses upon its particular business. Now he

worked at skinning the six pigs and his eyes and his fingers worked as though there was naught else in all the

world than these six carcasses; but his ears and his nose were as busily engaged elsewhere the former

ranging the forest all about and the latter assaying each passing zephyr. It was his nose that first discovered

As clearly as though he had seen her with his eyes, Tarzan knew that the lioness had caught the scent of the

freshly killed pigs and immediately had moved down wind in their direction. He knew from the strength of

the scent spoor and the rate of the wind about how far away she was and that she was approaching from

behind him. He was finishing the last pig and he did not hurry. The five pelts lay close at hand he had

been careful to keep them thus together and near him an ample tree waved its low branches above him.

He did not even turn his head for he knew she was not yet in sight; but he bent his ears just a bit more sharply

for the first sound of her nearer approach. When the final skin had been removed he rose. Now he heard

Sabor in the bushes to his rear, but not yet too close. Leisurely he gathered up the six pelts and one of the

carcasses, and as the lioness appeared between the boles of two trees he swung upward into the branches

above him. Here he hung the hides over a limb, seated himself comfortably upon another with his back

against the bole of the tree, cut a hind quarter from the carcass he had carried with him and proceeded to

satisfy his hunger. Sabor slunk, growling, from the brush, cast a wary eye upward toward the apeman and

Tarzan looked down upon her and grinned, recalling an argument he had once had with a famous biggame

hunter who had declared that the king of beasts ate only what he himself had killed. Tarzan knew better for he

Having filled his belly, the apeman fell to work upon the hides all large and strong. First he cut strips

from them about half an inch wide. When he had sufficient number of these strips he sewed two of the hides

together, afterwards piercing holes every three or four inches around the edges. Running another strip through

these holes gave him a large bag with a drawstring. In similar fashion he produced four other like bags, but

All this done he threw a large, juicy fruit at Sabor, cached the remainder of the pig in a crotch of the tree and

swung off toward the southwest through the middle terraces of the forest, carrying his five bags with him.

Straight he went to the rim of the gulch where he had imprisoned Numa, the lion. Very stealthily he

approached the edge and peered over. Numa was not in sight. Tarzan sniffed and listened. He could hear

nothing, yet he knew that Numa must be within the cave. He hoped that he slept much depended upon

Cautiously he lowered himself over the edge of the cliff, and with utter noiselessness commenced the descent

toward the bottom of the gulch. He stopped often and turned his keen eyes and ears in the direction of the

cave's mouth at the far end of the gulch, some hundred feet away. As he neared the foot of the cliff his danger

increased greatly. If he could reach the bottom and cover half the distance to the tree that stood in the center

of the gulch he would feel comparatively safe for then, even if Numa appeared, he felt that he could beat him

either to the cliff or to the tree, but to scale the first thirty feet of the cliff rapidly enough to elude the leaping

beast would require a running start of at least twenty feet as there were no very good hand or footholds dose

to the bottom he had had to run up the first twenty feet like a squirrel running up a tree that other time he

had beaten an infuriated Numa to it. He had no desire to attempt it again unless the conditions were equally

favorable at least, for he had escaped Numa's raking talons by only a matter of inches on the former occasion.

At last he stood upon the floor of the gulch. Silent as a disembodied spirit he advanced toward the tree. He

was half way there and no sign of Numa. He reached the scarred bole from which the famished lion had

devoured the bark and even torn pieces of the wood itself and yet Numa had not appeared. As he drew

himself up to the lower branches he commenced to wonder if Numa were in the cave after all. Could it be

possible that he had forced the barrier of rocks with which Tarzan had plugged the other end of the passage

where it opened into the outer world of freedom? Or was Numa dead? The apeman doubted the verity of the

latter suggestion as he had fed the lion the entire carcasses of a deer and a hyena only a few days since he

could not have starved in so short a time, while the little rivulet running across the gulch furnished him with

Tarzan started to descend and investigate the cavern when it occurred to him that it would save effort were he

to lure Numa out instead. Acting upon the thought he uttered a low growl. Immediately he was rewarded by

the sound of a move ment within the cave and an instant later a wildeyed, haggard lion rushed forth ready

to face the devil himself were he edible. When Numa saw Tarzan, fat and sleek, perched in the tree he

became suddenly the embodiment of frightful rage. His eyes and his nose told him that this was the creature

respon sible for his predicament and also that this creature was good to eat. Frantically the lion sought to

scramble up the bole of the tree. Twice he leaped high enough to catch the lowest branches with his paws, but

both times he fell backward to the earth. Each time he became more furious. His growls and roars were

incessant and horrible and all the time Tarzan sat grinning down upon him, taunting him in jungle billings

gate for his inability to reach him and mentally exulting that always Numa was wasting his already waning

Finally the apeman rose and unslung his rope. He arranged the coils carefully in his left hand and the noose

in his right, and then he took a position with each foot on one of two branches that lay in about the same

horizontal plane and with his back pressed firmly against the stem of the tree. There he stood hurling insults

at Numa until the beast was again goaded into leaping upward at him, and as Numa rose the noose dropped

quickly over his head and about his neck. A quick movement of Tarzan's rope hand tightened the coil and

when Numa slipped backward to the ground only his hind feet touched, for the apeman held him swinging

Moving slowly outward upon the two branches Tarzan swung Numa out so that he could not reach the bole of

the tree with his raking talons, then he made the rope fast after drawing the lion clear of the ground, dropped

his five pigskin sacks to earth and leaped down himself. Numa was striking frantically at the grass rope with

his fore claws. At any mo ment he might sever it and Tarzan must, therefore, work rapidly.

First he drew the larger bag over Numa's head and secured it about his neck with the draw string, then he

managed, after considerable effort, during which he barely escaped being torn to ribbons by the mighty

talons, to hogtie Numa drawing his four legs together and securing them in that position with the strips

By this time the lion's efforts had almost ceased it was evident that he was being rapidly strangled and as

that did not at all suit the purpose of the Tarmangani the latter swung again into the tree, unfastened the rope

from above and lowered the lion to the ground where he immediately fol lowed it and loosed the noose

about Numa's neck. Then he drew his hunting knife and cut two round holes in the front of the head bag

opposite the lion's eyes for the double purpose of permitting him to see and giving him sufficient air to

This done Tarzan busied himself fitting the other bags, one over each of Numa's formidably armed paws.

Those on the hind feet he secured not only by tightening the draw strings but also rigged garters that fastened

tightly around the legs above the hocks. He secured the frontfeet bags in place similarly above the great

knees. Now, indeed, was Numa, the lion, reduced to the harmlessness of Bara, the deer.

By now Numa was showing signs of returning life. He gasped for breath and struggled; but the strips of

pigskin that held his four legs together were numerous and tough. Tarzan watched and was sure that they

would hold, yet Numa is mightily muscled and there was the chance, always, that he might struggle free of

his bonds after which all would depend upon the efficacy of Tarzan's bags and draw strings.

After Numa had again breathed normally and was able to roar out his protests and his rage, his struggles

increased to Titanic proportions for a short time; but as a lion's powers of endurance are in no way

proportionate to his size and strength he soon tired and lay quietly. Amid renewed growling and another futile

attempt to free himself, Numa was finally forced to submit to the further indignity of having a rope secured

about his neck; but this time it was no noose that might tighten and strangle him; but a bowline knot, which

The other end of the rope Tarzan fastened to the stem of the tree, then he quickly cut the bonds securing

Numa's legs and leaped aside as the beast sprang to his feet. For a mo ment the lion stood with legs far

outspread, then he raised first one paw and then another, shaking them energetically in an effort to dislodge

the strange footgear that Tarzan had fastened upon them. Finally he began to paw at the bag upon his head.

The apeman, standing with ready spear, watched Numa's efforts intently. Would the bags hold? He sincerely

As the clinging things upon his feet and face resisted his every effort to dislodge them, Numa became frantic.

He rolled upon the ground, fighting, biting, scratching, and roar ing; he leaped to his feet and sprang into the

air; he charged Tarzan, only to be brought to a sudden stop as the rope secur ing him to the tree tautened.

Then Tarzan stepped in and rapped him smartly on the head with the shaft of his spear. Numa reared upon his

hind feet and struck at the areman and in return received a cuff on one ear that sent him reeling sideways.

When he returned to the attack he was again sent sprawling. After the fourth effort it appeared to dawn upon

the king of beasts that he had met his master, his head and tail dropped and when Tarzan advanced upon him

Leaving Numa tied to the tree Tarzan entered the tunnel and removed the barricade from the opposite end,

after which he returned to the gulch and strode straight for the tree. Numa lay in his path and as Tarzan

approached growled menacingly. The apeman cuffed him aside and unfastened the rope from the tree. Then

ensued a halfhour of stubbornly fought battle while Tarzan endeavored to drive Numa through the tunnel

ahead of him and Numa persistently refused to be driven. At last, however, by dint of the unrestricted use of

his spear point, the apeman succeeded in forcing the lion to move ahead of him and eventually guided him

into the pas sageway. Once inside, the problem became simpler since Tarzan followed closely in the rear

with his sharp spear point, an unremitting incentive to forward movement on the part of the lion. If Numa

hesitated he was prodded. If he backed up the result was extremely painful and so, being a wise lion who was

learning rapidly, he decided to keep on going and at the end of the tunnel, emerging into the outer world, he

Tarzan, still on his hands and knees just inside the entrance, was taken unaware with the result that he was

sprawled forward upon his face and dragged a hundred yards across the rocky ground before Numa was

brought to a stand. It was a scratched and angry Tarzan who scrambled to his feet. At first he was tempted to

chastise Numa; but, as the apeman seldom permitted his temper to guide him in any direction not

Having taught Numa the rudiments of being driven, he now urged him forward and there commenced as

strange a journey as the unrecorded history of the jungle contains. The balance of that day was eventful both

for Tarzan and for Numa. From open rebellion at first the lion passed through stages of stubborn resistance

and grudging obedience to final surrender. He was a very tired, hungry, and thirsty lion when night overtook

them; but there was to be no food for him that day or the next Tarzan did not dare risk removing the head

bag, though he did cut another hole which permitted Numa to quench his thirst shortly after dark. Then he

tied him to a tree, sought food for himself, and stretched out among the branches above his captive for a few

Early the following morning they resumed their journey, winding over the low foothills south of Kilimanjaro,

toward the east. The beasts of the jungle who saw them took one look and fled. The scent spoor of Numa,

alone, might have been enough to have provoked flight in many of the lesser animals, but the sight of this

strange apparition that smelled like a lion, but looked like nothing they ever had seen before, being led

through the jungles by a giant Tarmangani was too much for even the more formidable denizens of the wild.

Sabor, the lioness, recognizing from a distance the scent of her lord and master intermingled with that of a

Tarmangani and the hide of Horta, the boar, trotted through the aisles of the forest to investigate. Tarzan and

Numa heard her coming, for she voiced a plaintive and questioning whine as the baffling mixture of odors

aroused her curiosity and her fears, for lions, however terrible they may appear, are often timid animals and

Sabor, being of the gentler sex, was, naturally, habitually in quisitive as well.

Tarzan unslung his spear for he knew that he might now easily have to fight to retain his prize. Numa halted

and turned his outraged head in the direction of the coming she. He voiced a throaty growl that was almost a

purr. Tarzan was upon the point of prodding him on again when Sabor broke into view, and behind her the

apeman saw that which gave him instant pause four fullgrown lions trailing the lioness.

To have goaded Numa then into active resistance might have brought the whole herd down upon him and so

Tarzan waited to learn first what their attitude would be. He had no idea of relinquishing his lion without a

battle; but knowing lions as he did, he knew that there was no assurance as to just what the newcomers would

The lioness was young and sleek, and the four males were in their prime as handsome lions as he ever had

seen. Three of the males were scantily maned but one, the foremost, car ried a splendid, black mane that

rippled in the breeze as he trotted majestically forward. The lioness halted a hundred feet from Tarzan, while

the lions came on past her and stopped a few feet nearer. Their ears were upstanding and their eyes filled with

curiosity. Tarzan could not even guess what they might do. The lion at his side faced them fully, standing

Suddenly the lioness gave vent to another little whine, at which Tarzan's lion voiced a terrific roar and leaped

forward straight toward the beast of the black mane. The sight of this awesome creature with the strange face

was too much for the lion toward which he leaped, dragging Tarzan after him, and with a growl the lion

Numa attempted to follow them; Tarzan held him in leash and when he turned upon him in rage, beat him

un mercifully across the head with his spear. Shaking his head and growling, the lion at last moved off again

in the direction they had been traveling; but it was an hour before he ceased to sulk. He was very hungry

half famished in fact and consequently of an ugly temper, yet so thoroughly subdued by Tarzan's heroic

methods of lion taming that he was pres ently pacing along at the apeman's side like some huge St.

It was dark when the two approached the British right, after a slight delay farther back because of a German

patrol it had been necessary to elude. A short distance from the British line of outguard sentinels Tarzan tied

Numa to a tree and con tinued on alone. He evaded a sentinel, passed the outguard and support, and by

devious ways came again to Colonel Capell's headquarters, where he appeared before the officers gathered

When they saw who it was that came thus unannounced they smiled and the colonel scratched his head in

"Someone should be shot for this," he said. "I might just as well not establish an outpost if a man can filter

Tarzan smiled. "Do not blame them," he said, "for I am not a man. I am Tarmangani. Any Mangani who

wished to, could enter your camp almost at will; but if you have them for sentinels no one could enter without

"What are the Mangani?" asked the colonel. "Perhaps we might enlist a bunch of the beggars."

Tarzan shook his head. "They are the great apes," he explained; "my people; but you could not use them.

They cannot concentrate long enough upon a single idea. If I told them of this they would be much interested

for a short time I might even hold the interest of a few long enough to get them here and explain their

duties to them; but soon they would lose interest and when you needed them most they might be off in the

forest searching for beetles instead of watching their posts. They have the minds of little children that is

"You call them Mangani and yourself Tarmangani what is the difference?" asked Major Preswick.

"Tar means white," replied Tarzan, "and Mangani, great ape. My name the name they gave me in the tribe

of Ker chak means Whiteskin. When I was a little balu my skin, I presume, looked very white indeed

against the beautiful, black coat of Kala, my foster mother and so they called me Tarzan, the Tarmangani.

Capell smiled. "It is no reproach, Greystoke," he said; "and, by Jove, it would be a mark of distinction if a

fellow could act the part. And now how about your plan? Do you still think you can empty the trench

"What are Gomangani?" inquired the colonel. "It is still held by native troops, if that is what you mean."

"Yes," replied the apeman, "the Gomangani are the great black apes the Negroes."

Tarzan approached the table and placed a finger on the map. "Here is a listening post," he said; "they have a

machine gun in it. A tunnel connects it with this trench at this point." His finger moved from place to place

on the map as he talked. "Give me a bomb and when you hear it burst in this listening post let your men start

across No Man's Land slowly. Pres ently they will hear a commotion in the enemy trench; but they need not

hurry, and, whatever they do, have them come quietly. You might also warn them that I may be in the trench

"And that is all?" queried Capell, after directing an officer to give Tarzan a hand grenade; "you will empty

"Not exactly alone," replied Tarzan with a grim smile; "but I shall empty it, and, by the way, your men may

come in through the tunnel from the listening post if you prefer. In about half an hour, Colonel," and he

As he passed through the camp there flashed suddenly upon the screen of recollection, conjured there by

some reminder of his previous visit to headquarters, doubtless, the image of the officer he had passed as he

quit the colonel that other time and simultaneously recognition of the face that had been revealed by the light

from the fire. He shook his head dubi ously. No, it could not be and yet the features of the young officer

were identical with those of Fraulein Kircher, the Ger man spy he had seen at German headquarters the

night he took Major Schneider from under the nose of the Hun general and his staff.

Beyond the last line of sentinels Tarzan moved quickly in the direction of Numa, the lion. The beast was

lying down as Tarzan approached, but he rose as the apeman reached his side. A low whine escaped his

muzzled lips. Tarzan smiled for he recognized in the new note almost a supplication it was more like the

whine of a hungry dog begging for food than the voice of the proud king of beasts.

"Soon you will kill and feed," he murmured in the ver nacular of the great apes.

He unfastened the rope from about the tree and, with Numa close at his side, slunk into No Man's Land.

There was little rifle fire and only an occasional shell vouched for the presence of artillery behind the

opposing lines. As the shells from both sides were falling well back of the trenches, they consti tuted no

menace to Tarzan; but the noise of them and that of the rifle fire had a marked effect upon Numa who

Cautiously the two beasts moved forward toward the listen ing post of the Germans. In one hand Tarzan

carried the bomb the English had given him, in the other was the coiled rope attached to the lion. At last

Tarzan could see the posi tion a few yards ahead. His keen eyes picked out the head and shoulders of the

sentinel on watch. The apeman grasped the bomb firmly in his right hand. He measured the distance with

his eye and gathered his feet beneath him, then in a single motion he rose and threw the missile, immediately

Five seconds later there was a terrific explosion in the center of the listening post. Numa gave a nervous start

and at tempted to break away; but Tarzan held him and, leaping to his feet, ran forward, dragging Numa

after him. At the edge of the post he saw below him but slight evidence that the position had been occupied at

all, for only a few shreds of torn flesh remained. About the only thing that had not been demolished was a

There was not an instant to lose. Already a relief might be crawling through the communication tunnel, for it

must have been evident to the sentinels in the Hun trenches that the listening post had been demolished.

Numa hesitated to fol low Tarzan into the excavation; but the apeman, who was in no mood to temporize,

jerked him roughly to the bottom. Before them lay the mouth of the tunnel that led back from No Man's Land

to the German trenches. Tarzan pushed Numa forward until his head was almost in the aperture, then as

though it were an afterthought, he turned quickly and, taking the machine gun from the parapet, placed it in

the bottom of the hole close at hand, after which he turned again to Numa, and with his knife quickly cut the

garters that held the bags upon his front paws. Before the lion could know that a part of his formidable

armament was again released for action, Tarzan had cut the rope from his neck and the head bag from his

face, and grabbing the lion from the rear had thrust him partially into the mouth of the tunnel.

Then Numa balked, only to feel the sharp prick of Tarzan's knife point in his hind quarters. Goading him on

the apeman finally succeeded in getting the lion sufficiently far into the tunnel so that there was no chance

of his escaping other than by going forward or deliberately backing into the sharp blade at his rear. Then

Tarzan cut the bags from the great hind feet, placed his shoulder and his knife point against Numa's seat, dug

his toes into the loose earth that had been broken up by the explosion of the bomb, and shoved.

Inch by inch at first Numa advanced. He was growling now and presently he commenced to roar. Suddenly

he leaped forward and Tarzan knew that he had caught the scent of meat ahead. Dragging the machine gun

beside him the apeman followed quickly after the lion whose roars he could plainly hear ahead mingled

with the unmistakable screams of frightened men. Once again a grim smile touched the lips of this

"They murdered my Waziri," he muttered; "they crucified Wasimbu, son of Muviro."

When Tarzan reached the trench and emerged into it there was no one in sight in that particular bay, nor in

the next, nor the next as he hurried forward in the direction of the German center; but in the fourth bay he saw

a dozen men jammed in the angle of the traverse at the end while leaping upon them and rending with talons

Whatever held the men at last gave way as they fought madly with one another in their efforts to escape this

dread creature that from their infancy had filled them with terror, and again they were retreating. Some

clambered over the parados and some even over the parapet preferring the dan gers of No Man's Land to

As the British advanced slowly toward the German trenches, they first met terrified blacks who ran into their

arms only too willing to surrender. That pandemonium had broken loose in the Hun trench was apparent to

the Rhodesians not only from the appearance of the deserters, but from the sounds of screaming, cursing men

which came clearly to their ears; but there was one that baffled them for it resembled nothing more closely

And when at last they reached the trench, those farthest on the left of the advancing Britishers heard a

machine gun sputter suddenly before them and saw a huge lion leap over the German parados with the body

of a screaming Hun soldier between his jaws and vanish into the shadows of the night, while squatting upon a

traverse to their left was Tarzan of the Apes with a machine gun before him with which he was raking the

The foremost Rhodesians saw something else they saw a huge German officer emerge from a dugout just

in rear of the apeman. They saw him snatch up a discarded rifle with bayonet fixed and creep upon the

apparently unconscious Tar zan. They ran forward, shouting warnings; but above the pandemonium of the

trenches and the machine gun their voices could not reach him. The German leaped upon the parapet behind

him the fat hands raised the rifle butt aloft for the cowardly downward thrust into the naked back and

It was no man who leaped forward upon that Boche officer, striking aside the sharp bayonet as one might

strike aside a straw in a baby's hand it was a wild beast and the roar of a wild beast was upon those savage

lips, for as that strange sense that Tarzan owned in common with the other jungle bred creatures of his wild

domain warned him of the presence behind him and he had whirled to meet the attack, his eyes had seen the

corps and regimental insignia upon the other's blouse it was the same as that worn by the murderers of his

It was a wild beast whose teeth fastened upon the shoulder of the Hun it was a wild beast whose talons

sought that fat neck. And then the boys of the Second Rhodesian Regiment saw that which will live forever in

their memories. They saw the giant apeman pick the heavy German from the ground and shake him as a

terrier might shake a rat as Sabor, the lioness, sometimes shakes her prey. They saw the eyes of the Hun

bulge in horror as he vainly struck with his futile hands against the massive chest and head of his assailant.

They saw Tarzan suddenly spin the man about and placing a knee in the middle of his back and an arm about

his neck bend his shoulders slowly backward. The German's knees gave and he sank upon them, but still that

irresistible force bent him further and further. He screamed in agony for a moment then something

The Rhodesians started forward, a cheer upon their lips a cheer that never was uttered a cheer that

froze in their throats, for at that moment Tarzan placed a foot upon the carcass of his kill and, raising his face

to the heavens, gave voice to the weird and terrifying victory cry of the bull ape.

Without a backward glance at the awestruck soldiers Tar zan leaped the trench and was gone.

The little British army in East Africa, after suffering severe reverses at the hands of a numerically much

superior force, was at last coming into its own. The German offen sive had been broken and the Huns were

now slowly and dog gedly retreating along the railway to Tanga. The break in the German lines had

followed the clearing of a section of their leftflank trenches of native soldiers by Tarzan and Numa, the lion,

upon that memorable night that the apeman had loosed a famishing maneater among the superstitious and

terrorstricken blacks. The Second Rhodesian Regiment had immediately taken possession of the abandoned

trench and from this position their flanking fire had raked contiguous sec tions of the German line, the

diversion rendering possible a successful night attack on the part of the balance of the British forces.

Weeks had elapsed. The Germans were contesting stub bornly every mile of waterless, thorncovered

ground and clinging desperately to their positions along the railway. The officers of the Second Rhodesians

had seen nothing more of Tarzan of the Apes since he had slain Underlieutenant von Goss and disappeared

toward the very heart of the German position, and there were those among them who believed that he had

"They may have killed him," assented Colonel Capell; "but I fancy they never captured the beggar alive."

Nor had they, nor killed him either. Tarzan had spent those intervening weeks pleasantly and profitably. He

had amassed a considerable fund of knowledge concerning the disposition and strength of German troops,

their methods of warfare, and the various ways in which a lone Tarmangani might annoy an army and lower

At present he was prompted by a specific desire. There was a certain German spy whom he wished to capture

alive and take back to the British When he had made his first visit to German headquarters, he had seen a

young woman deliver a paper to the German general, and later he had seen that same young woman within

the British lines in the uniform of a British officer. The conclusions were obvious she was a spy.

And so Tarzan haunted German headquarters upon many nights hoping to see her again or to pick up some

clew as to her whereabouts, and at the same time he utilized many an artifice whereby he might bring terror

to the hearts of the Germans. That he was successful was often demonstrated by the snatches of conversation

he overheard as he prowled through the German camps. One night as he lay concealed in the bushes close

beside a regimental headquarters he listened to the conversation of several Boche officers. One of the men

reverted to the stories told by the native troops in connection with their rout by a lion several weeks before

and the simultaneous appearance in their trenches of a naked, white giant whom they were perfectly assured

"The fellow must have been the same as he who leaped into the general's headquarters and carried off

Schneider," asserted one. "I wonder how he happened to single out the poor major. They say the creature

seemed interested in no one but Schneider. He had von Kelter in his grasp, and he might easily have taken the

general himself; but he ignored them all except Schneider. Him he pursued about the room, seized and carried

"Captain Fritz Schneider has some sort of theory," said another. "He told me only a week or two ago that he

thinks he knows why his brother was taken that it was a case of mistaken identity. He was not so sure

about it until von Goss was killed, apparently by the same creature, the night the lion entered the trenches.

Von Goss was attached to Schneid er's company. One of Schneider's men was found with his neck wrung

the same night that the major was carried off and Schneider thinks that this devil is after him and his

command that it came for him that night and got his brother by mistake. He says Kraut told him that in

presenting the major to Fraulein Kircher the former's name was no sooner spoken than this wild man leaped

Suddenly the little group became rigid listening. "What was that?" snapped one, eyeing the bushes from

which a smothered snarl had issued as Tarzan of the Apes realized that through his mistake the perpetrator of

the horrid crime at his bungalow still lived that the murderer of his wife went yet unpunished.

For a long minute the officers stood with tensed nerves, every eye rivetted upon the bushes from whence the

ominous sound had issued. Each recalled recent mysterious disap pearances from the heart of camps as well

as from lonely outguards. Each thought of the silent dead he had seen, slain almost within sight of their

fellows by some unseen creature. They thought of the marks upon dead throats made by talons or by giant

fingers, they could not tell which and those upon shoulders and jugulars where powerful teeth had

Once the bushes moved almost imperceptibly and an instant later one of the officers, without warning, fired

into them; but Tarzan of the Apes was not there. In the interval between the moving of the bushes and the

firing of the shot he had melted into the night. Ten minutes later he was hovering on the outskirts of that part

of camp where were bivouacked for the night the black soldiers of a native company commanded by one

Hauptmann Fritz Schneider. The men were stretched upon the ground without tents; but there were tents

pitched for the officers. Toward these Tarzan crept. It was slow and perilous work, as the Germans were now

upon the alert for the uncanny foe that crept into their camps to take his toll by night, yet the apeman passed

their sentinels, eluded the vigilance of the interior guard, and crept at last to the rear of the officers' line.

Here he flattened himself against the ground close behind the nearest tent and listened. From within came the

regular breathing of a sleeping man one only. Tarzan was satisfied. With his knife he cut the tie strings of

the rear flap and entered. He made no noise. The shadow of a falling leaf, floating gently to earth upon a still

day, could have been no more soundless. He moved to the side of the sleeping man and bent low over him.

He could not know, of course, whether it was Schneider or another, as he had never seen Schneider; but he

meant to know and to know even more. Gently he shook the man by the shoulder. The fellow turned heavily

The Hun opened his eyes. In the dim light he saw a giant figure bending over him. Now a mighty hand

"Make no outcry," commanded Tarzan; "but answer in a whisper my questions. What is your name?"

"Luberg," replied the officer. He was trembling. The weird presence of this naked giant filled him with dread.

He, too, recalled the men mysteriously murdered in the still watches of the night camps. "What do you

"I shall not kill you now," said the apeman. "First I shall go and learn if you have lied to me and if you

have your death shall be the more terrible. Do you know how Major Schneider died?"

"I do," continued Tarzan, "and it was not a nice way to die even for an accursed German. Turn over with

The man did as he was bid and the instant that his eyes were turned away, Tarzan slipped from the tent. An

hour later he was outside the German camp and headed for the little hill town of Wilhelmstal, the summer

Fraulein Bertha Kircher was lost. She was humiliated and angry it was long before she would admit it,

that she, who prided herself upon her woodcraft, was lost in this little patch of country between the Pangani

and the Tanga railway. She knew that Wilhelmstal lay southeast of her about fifty miles; but, through a

combination of untoward circumstances, she found herself unable to determine which was southeast.

In the first place she had set out from German headquarters on a wellmarked road that was being traveled by

troops and with every reason to believe that she would follow that road to Wilhelmstal. Later she had been

warned from this road by word that a strong British patrol had come down the west bank of the Pangani,

effected a crossing south of her, and was even then marching on the railway at Tonda.

After leaving the road she found herself in thick bush and as the sky was heavily overcast she presently had

recourse to her compass and it was not until then that she discovered to her dismay that she did not have it

with her. So sure was she of her woodcraft, however, that she continued on in the direction she thought west

until she had covered sufficient distance to warrant her in feeling assured that, by now turning south, she

Nor did she commence to feel any doubts until long after she had again turned toward the east well south, as

she thought, of the patrol. It was late afternoon she should long since have struck the road again south of

Her horse had traveled all day without food or water, night was approaching and with it a realization that she

was hopelessly lost in a wild and trackless country notorious princi pally for its tsetse flies and savage

beasts. It was maddening to know that she had absolutely no knowledge of the direction she was traveling

that she might be forging steadily further from the railway, deeper into the gloomy and forbidding country

Bertha Kircher was no coward, whatever else she may have been, but as night began to close down around

her she could not shut out from her mind entirely contemplation of the terrors of the long hours ahead before

the rising sun should dissipate the Stygian gloom the horrid jungle night that lures forth all the

She found, just before dark, an open meadowlike break in the almost interminable bush. There was a small

clump of trees near the center and here she decided to camp. The grass was high and thick, affording feed for

her horse and a bed for herself, and there was more than enough dead wood lying about the trees to furnish a

good fire well through the night. Removing the saddle and bridle from her mount she placed them at the foot

of a tree and then picketed the animal close by. Then she busied herself collecting firewood and by the time

From her saddlebags she took cold food and from her canteen a swallow of water. She could not afford more

than a small swallow for she could not know how long a time it might be before she should find more. It

filled her with sor row that her poor horse must go waterless, for even German spies may have hearts and

It was now dark. There was neither moon nor stars and the light from her fire only accentuated the blackness

beyond. She could see the grass about her and the boles of the trees which stood out in brilliant relief against

the solid background of impenetrable night, and beyond the firelight there was nothing.

The jungle seemed ominously quiet. Far away in the dis tance she heard faintly the boom of big guns; but

she could not locate their direction. She strained her ears until her nerves were on the point of breaking; but

she could not tell from whence the sound came. And it meant so much to her to know, for the battlelines

were north of her and if she could but locate the direction of the firing she would know which way to go in

In the morning! Would she live to see another morning? She squared her shoulders and shook herself

together. Such thoughts must be banished they would never do. Bravely she hummed an air as she

arranged her saddle near the fire and pulled a quantity of long grass to make a comfortable seat over which

she spread her saddle blanket. Then she unstrapped a heavy, military coat from the cantle of her saddle and

Seating herself where she could lean against the saddle she prepared to maintain a sleepless vigil throughout

the night. For an hour the silence was broken only by the distant booming of the guns and the low noises of

the feeding horse and then, from possibly a mile away, came the rumbling thunder of a lion's roar. The girl

started and laid her hand upon the rifle at her side. A little shudder ran through her slight frame and she could

Again and again was the awful sound repeated and each time she was certain that it came nearer. She could

locate the direction of this sound although she could not that of the guns, for the origin of the former was

much closer. The lion was up wind and so could not have caught her scent as yet, though he might be

approaching to investigate the light of the fire which could doubtless be seen for a considerable distance.

For another fearfilled hour the girl sat straining her eyes and ears out into the black void beyond her little

island of light. During all that time the lion did not roar again; but there was constantly the sensation that it

was creeping upon her. Again and again she would start and turn to peer into the blackness beyond the trees

behind her as her overwrought nerves conjured the stealthy fall of padded feet. She held the rifle across her

Suddenly her horse raised his head and snorted, and with a little cry of terror the girl sprang to her feet. The

animal turned and trotted back toward her until the picket rope brought him to a stand, and then he wheeled

about and with ears uppricked gazed out into the night; but the girl could neither see nor hear aught.

Still another hour of terror passed during which the horse often raised his head to peer long and searchingly

into the dark. The girl replenished the fire from time to time. She found herself becoming very sleepy. Her

heavy lids persisted in drooping; but she dared not sleep. Fearful lest she might be overcome by the

drowsiness that was stealing through her she rose and walked briskly to and fro, then she threw some more

wood on the fire, walked over and stroked her horse's muzzle and returned to her seat.

Leaning against the saddle she tried to occupy her mind with plans for the morrow; but she must have dozed.

With a start she awoke. It was broad daylight. The hideous night with its indescribable terrors was gone.

She could scarce believe the testimony of her senses. She had slept for hours, the fire was out and yet she and

the horse were safe and alive, nor was there sign of savage beast about. And, best of all, the sun was shining,

pointing the straight road to the east. Hastily she ate a few mouthfuls of her preci ous rations, which with a

swallow of water constituted her breakfast. Then she saddled her horse and mounted. Already she felt that she

Possibly, however, she might have revised her conclusions could she have seen the two pairs of eyes

Lighthearted and unsuspecting, the girl rode across the clearing toward the bush while directly before her

two yellow green eyes glared round and terrible, a tawny tail twitched nervously and great, padded paws

gathered beneath a sleek barrel for a mighty spring. The horse was almost at the edge of the bush when

Numa, the lion, launched himself through the air. He struck the animal's right shoulder at the instant that it

reared, terrified, to wheel in flight. The force of the impact hurled the horse backward to the ground and so

quickly that the girl had no opportunity to extricate herself; but fell to the earth with her mount, her left leg

Horrorstricken, she saw the king of beasts open his mighty jaws and seize the screaming creature by the

back of its neck. The great jaws closed, there was an instant's struggle as Numa shook his prey. She could

hear the vertebrae crack as the mighty fangs crunched through them, and then the muscles of her faithful

Numa crouched upon his kill. His terrifying eyes rivetted themselves upon the girl's face she could feel his

hot breath upon her cheek and the odor of the fetid vapor nauseated her. For what seemed an eternity to the

girl the two lay staring at each other and then the lion uttered a menacing growl.

Never before had Bertha Kircher been so terrified never before had she had such cause for terror. At her

hip was a pistol a formidable weapon with which to face a man; but a puny thing indeed with which to

menace the great beast before her. She knew that at best it could but enrage him and yet she meant to sell her

life dearly, for she felt that she must die. No human succor could have availed her even had it been there to

offer itself. For a moment she tore her gaze from the hypnotic fascination of that awful face and breathed a

last prayer to her God. She did not ask for aid, for she felt that she was beyond even divine succor she

No one can prophesy what a lion will do in any given emergency. This one glared and growled at the girl for

a moment and then fell to feeding upon the dead horse. Fraulein Kircher wondered for an instant and then

attempted to draw her leg cautiously from beneath the body of her mount; but she could not budge it. She

increased the force of her efforts and Numa looked up from his feeding to growl again. The girl desisted. She

hoped that he might satisfy his hunger and then depart to lie up, but she could not believe that he would leave

her there alive. Doubtless he would drag the remains of his kill into the bush for hiding and, as there could be

no doubt that he considered her part of his prey, he would certainly come back for her, or possibly drag her in

Again Numa fell to feeding. The girl's nerves were at the breaking point. She wondered that she had not

fainted under the strain of terror and shock. She recalled that she often had wished she might see a lion, close

to, make a kill and feed upon it. God! how realistically her wish had been granted.

Again she bethought herself of her pistol. As she had fallen, the holster had slipped around so that the weapon

now lay beneath her. Very slowly she reached for it; but in so doing she was forced to raise her body from the

ground. Instantly the lion was aroused. With the swiftness of a cat he reached across the carcass of the horse

and placed a heavy, taloned paw upon her breast, crushing her back to earth, and all the time he growled and

snarled horribly. His face was a picture of frightful rage incarnate. For a moment neither moved and then

Numa suddenly looked up from the girl's face at the thing beyond her. His growls increased to roars as he

drew back, ripping the front of the girl's waist almost from her body with his long talons, exposing her white

Tarzan of the Apes had witnessed the entire encounter from the moment that Numa had leaped upon his prey.

For some time before, he had been watching the girl, and after the lion attacked her he had at first been

minded to let Numa have his way with her. What was she but a hated German and a spy besides? He had seen

her at General Kraut's headquarters, in conference with the German staff and again he had seen her within the

British lines masquerading as a British officer. It was the latter thought that prompted him to interfere.

Doubt less General Jan Smuts would be glad to meet and question her. She might be forced to divulge

Tarzan had recognized not only the girl, but the lion as well. All lions may look alike to you and me; but not

so to their intimates of the jungle. Each has his individual characteristics of face and form and gait as well

defined as those that dif ferentiate members of the human family, and besides these the creatures of the

jungle have a still more positive test that of scent. Each of us, man or beast, has his own peculiar odor, and

it is mostly by this that the beasts of the jungle, endowed with miraculous powers of scent, recognize indi

It is the final proof. You have seen it demonstrated a thou sand times a dog recognizes your voice and

looks at you. He knows your face and figure. Good, there can be no doubt in his mind but that it is you; but is

he satisfied? No, sir he must come up and smell of you. All his other senses may be fallible, but not his

Tarzan recognized Numa as he whom he had muzzled with the hide of Horta, the boar as he whom he

handled by a rope for two days and finally loosed in a German frontline trench, and he knew that Numa

would recognize him that he would remember the sharp spear that had goaded him into submission and

obedience and Tarzan hoped that the lesson he had learned still remained with the lion.

Now he came forward calling to Numa in the language of the great apes warning him away from the girl.

It is open to question that Numa, the lion, understood him; but he did understand the menace of the heavy

spear that the Tarman gani carried so ready in his brown, right hand, and so he drew back, growling, trying

On came the apeman with never a pause, straight for the lion. "Go away, Numa," he cried, "or Tarzan will

tie you up again and lead you through the jungle without food. See Arad, my spear! Do you recall how his

point stuck into you and how with his haft I beat you over the head? Go, Numa! I am Tarzan of the Apes!"

Numa wrinkled the skin of his face into great folds, until his eyes almost disappeared and he growled and

roared and snarled and growled again, and when the spear point came at last quite close to him he struck at it

viciously with his armed paw; but he drew back. Tarzan stepped over the dead horse and the girl lying behind

him gazed in wideeyed astonishment at the handsome figure driving an angry lion deliberately from its kill.

When Numa had retreated a few yards, the apeman called back to the girl in perfect German, "Are you

"I think not," she replied; "but I cannot extricate my foot from beneath my horse."

He backed slowly until he was again beside the horse, when he reached down and grasped the cinch, which

was still intact. Then with one hand he raised the carcass from the ground. The girl freed herself and rose to

"Good," commented the apeman. "Back slowly away be hind me make no sudden movements. I think

With utmost deliberation the two backed toward the bush. Numa stood for a moment, growling, then he

followed them, slowly. Tarzan wondered if he would come beyond his kill or if he would stop there. If he

followed them beyond, then they could look for a charge, and if Numa charged it was very likely that he

would get one of them. When the lion reached the carcass of the horse Tarzan stopped and so did Numa, as

Tarzan had thought that he would and the apeman waited to see what the lion would do next. He eyed them

for a moment, snarled angrily and then looked down at the tempt ing meat. Presently he crouched upon his

The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief as she and the ape man resumed their slow retreat with only an

occasional glance from the lion, and when at last they reached the bush and had turned and entered it, she felt

a sudden giddiness overwhelm her so that she staggered and would have fallen had Tarzan not caught her. It

"I could not help it," she said, in half apology. "I was so close to death such a horrible death it

unnerved me for an instant; but I am all right now. How can I ever thank you? It was so wonderful you

did not seem to fear the frightful creature in the least; yet he was afraid of you. Who are you?"

He was standing facing the girl now and for the first time he had a chance to look at her squarely and closely.

She was very beautiful that was undeniable; but Tarzan realized her beauty only in a subconscious way. It

was superficial it did not color her soul which must be black as sin. She was Ger man a German spy.

He hated her and desired only to compass her destruction; but he would choose the manner so that it would

He saw her naked breasts where Numa had torn her clothing from her and dangling there against the soft,

white flesh he saw that which brought a sudden scowl of surprise and anger to his face the

diamondstudded, golden locket of his youth the love token that had been stolen from the breast of his

mate by Schneider, the Hun. The girl saw the scowl but did not interpret it correctly. Tarzan grasped her

The girl drew herself to her full height. "Take your hand from me," she demanded, but the apeman paid no

"It is mine," he replied. "Tell me who gave it to you or I will throw you back to Numa."

"I was going to take you to headquarters. They would dispose of you there; but Numa can do it quite as

"Headquarters it will be then," said Tarzan. "Come!" The girl moved at his side through the bush and all the

time her mind worked quickly. They were moving east, which suited her, and as long as they continued to

move east she was glad to have the protection of the great, white savage. She speculated much upon the fact

that her pistol still swung at her hip. The man must be mad not to take it from her.

"I saw you at German headquarters," he replied, "and then again inside the British lines."

She could not let him take her back to them. She must reach Wilhelmstal at once and she was determined to

do so even if she must have recourse to her pistol. She cast a side glance at the tall figure. What a magnificent

creature! But yet he was a brute who would kill her or have her killed if she did not slay him. And the locket!

She must have that back it must not fail to reach Wilhelmstal. Tarzan was now a foot or two ahead of her

as the path was very narrow. Cau tiously she drew her pistol. A single shot would suffice and he was so

close that she could not miss. As she figured it all out her eyes rested on the brown skin with the graceful

muscles rolling beneath it and the perfect limbs and head and the carriage that a proud king of old might have

envied. A wave of revulsion for her contemplated act surged through her. No, she could not do it yet, she

must be free and she must regain possession of the locket. And then, almost blindly, she swung the weapon

up and struck Tarzan heavily upon the back of the head with its butt. Like a felled ox he dropped in his

It was an hour later that Sheeta, the panther, hunting, chanced to glance upward into the blue sky where his

at tention was attracted by Ska, the vulture, circling slowly above the bush a mile away and downwind. For

a long minute the yellow eyes stared intently at the gruesome bird. They saw Ska dive and rise again to

continue his ominous circling and in these movements their woodcraft read that which, while obvious to

The hunting cat guessed that on the ground beneath Ska was some living thing of flesh either a beast

feeding upon its kill or a dying animal that Ska did not yet dare attack. In either event it might prove meat for

Sheeta, and so the wary feline stalked by a circuitous route, upon soft, padded feet that gave forth no sound,

until the circling aasvogel> and his intended prey were upwind. Then, sniffing each vagrant zephyr, Sheeta,

the panther, crept cautiously forward, nor had he advanced any considerable distance before his keen nostrils

Sheeta paused. He was not a hunter of men. He was young and in his prime; but always before he had

avoided this hated presence. Of late he had become more accustomed to it with the passing of many soldiers

through his ancient hunting ground, and as the soldiers had frightened away a great part of the game Sheeta

The circling Ska suggested that this Tarmangani might be helpless and upon the point of dying, else Ska

would not have been interested in him, and so easy prey for Sheeta. With this thought in mind the cat

resumed his stalking. Presently he pushed through the thick bush and his yellowgreen eyes rested gloatingly

upon the body of an almost naked Tarman gani lying face down in a narrow game trail.

Numa, sated, rose from the carcass of Bertha Kircher's horse and seized the partially devoured body by the

neck and dragged it into the bush; then he started east toward the lair where he had left his mate. Being

uncomfortably full he was inclined to be sleepy and far from belligerent. He moved slowly and majestically

With an occasional regal glance to right or left he moved along a narrow game trail until at a turn he came to

a sudden stop at what lay revealed before him Sheeta, the panther, creeping stealthily upon the almost

naked body of a Tar mangani lying face down in the deep dust of the pathway. Numa glared intently at the

quiet body in the dust. Recog nition came. It was his Tarmangani. A low growl of warning rumbled from his

throat and Sheeta halted with one paw upon Tarzan's back and turned suddenly to eye the intruder.

What passed within those savage brains? Who may say? The panther seemed debating the wisdom of

defending his find, for he growled horribly as though warning Numa away from the prey. And Numa? Was

the idea of property rights dominating his thoughts? The Tarmangani was his, or he was the Tarmangani's.

Had not the Great White Ape mas tered and subdued him and, too, had he not fed him? Numa recalled the

fear that he had felt of this manthing and his cruel spear; but in savage brains fear is more likely to en

gender respect than hatred and so Numa found that he re spected the creature who had subdued and

mastered him. He saw Sheeta, upon whom he looked with contempt, daring to molest the master of the lion.

Jealousy and greed alone might have been sufficient to prompt Numa to drive Sheeta away, even though the

lion was not sufficiently hungry to devour the flesh that he thus wrested from the lesser cat; but then, too,

there was in the little brain within the massive head a sense of loyalty, and perhaps this it was that sent Numa

For a moment the latter stood his ground with arched back and snarling face, for all the world like a great,

Numa had not felt like fighting; but the sight of Sheeta daring to dispute his rights kindled his ferocious brain

to sudden fire. His rounded eyes glared with rage, his undulating tail snapped to stiff erectness as, with a

It came so suddenly and from so short a distance that Sheeta had no chance to turn and flee the rush, and so

he met it with raking talons and snapping jaws; but the odds were all against him. To the larger fangs and the

more powerful jaws of his adversary were added huge talons and the preponderance of the lion's great weight.

At the first clash Sheeta was crushed and, though he deliberately fell upon his back and drew up his powerful

hind legs beneath Numa with the intention of disemboweling him, the lion forestalled him and at the same

It was soon over. Numa rose, shaking himself, and stood above the torn and mutilated body of his foe. His

own sleek coat was cut and the red blood trickled down his flank; though it was but a minor injury, it angered

him. He glared down at the dead panther and then, in a fit of rage, he seized and mauled the body only to

drop it in a moment, lower his head, voice a single terrific roar, and turn toward the apeman.

Approaching the still form he sniffed it over from head to foot. Then he placed a huge paw upon it and turned

it over with its face up. Again he smelled about the body and at last with his rough tongue licked Tarzan's

Above him towered the huge lion, its hot breath upon his face, its rough tongue upon his cheek. The apeman

had often been close to death; but never before so close as this, he thought, for he was convinced that death

was but a matter of seconds. His brain was still numb from the effects of the blow that had felled him, and so

he did not, for a moment, recognize the lion that stood over him as the one he had so recently encountered.

Presently, however, recognition dawned upon him and with it a realization of the astounding fact that Numa

did not seem bent on devouring him at least not immediately. His po sition was a delicate one. The lion

stood astraddle Tarzan with his front paws. The apeman could not rise, therefore, without pushing the lion

away and whether Numa would tolerate being pushed was an open question. Too, the beast might con sider

him already dead and any movement that indicated the contrary was true would, in all likelihood, arouse the

But Tarzan was tiring of the situation. He was in no mood to lie there forever, especially when he

contemplated the fact that the girl spy who had tried to brain him was undoubtedly escaping as rapidly as

Numa was looking right into his eyes now evidently aware that he was alive. Presently the lion cocked his

head on one side and whined. Tarzan knew the note, and he knew that it spelled neither rage nor hunger, and

"Move, Numa!" he commanded and placing a palm against the tawny shoulder he pushed the lion aside. Then

he rose and with a hand on his hunting knife awaited that which might follow. It was then that his eyes fell

for the first time on the torn body of Sheeta. He looked from the dead cat to the live one and saw the marks of

conflict upon the latter, too, and in an instant realized something of what had happened Numa had saved

It seemed incredible and yet the evidence pointed clearly to the fact. He turned toward the lion and without

fear ap proached and examined his wounds which he found super ficial, and as Tarzan knelt beside him

Numa rubbed an itching ear against the naked, brown shoulder. Then the apeman stroked the great head,

picked up his spear, and looked about for the trail of the girl. This he soon found leading toward the east, and

as he set out upon it something prompted him to feel for the locket he had hung about his neck. It was gone!

No trace of anger was apparent upon the apeman's face un less it was a slight tightening of the jaws; but he

put his hand ruefully to the back of his head where a bump marked the place where the girl had struck him

and a moment later a halfsmile played across his lips. He could not help but ad mit that she had tricked

him neatly, and that it must have taken nerve to do the thing she did and to set out armed only with a pistol

through the trackless waste that lay between them and the railway and beyond into the hills where Wil

Tarzan admired courage. He was big enough to admit it and admire it even in a German spy, but he saw that

in this case it only added to her resourcefulness and made her all the more dangerous and the necessity for

putting her out of the way paramount. He hoped to overtake her before she reached Wilhelmstal and so he set

out at the swinging trot that he could hold for hours at a stretch without apparent fatigue.

That the girl could hope to reach the town on foot in less than two days seemed improbable, for it was a good

thirty miles and part of it hilly. Even as the thought crossed his mind he heard the whistle of a locomotive to

the east and knew that the railway was in operation again after a shutdown of several days. If the train was

going south the girl would sig nal it if she had reached the right of way. His keen ears caught the whining of

brake shoes on wheels and a few min utes later the signal blast for brakes off. The train had stopped and

started again and, as it gained headway and greater dis tance, Tarzan could tell from the direction of the

The apeman followed the trail to the railway where it ended abruptly on the west side of the track, showing

that the girl had boarded the train, just as he thought. There was nothing now but to follow on to Wilhelmstal,

where he hoped to find Captain Fritz Schneider, as well as the girl, and to re cover his diamondstudded

It was dark when Tarzan reached the little hill town of Wilhelmstal. He loitered on the outskirts, getting his

bear ings and trying to determine how an almost naked white man might explore the village without

arousing suspicion. There were many soldiers about and the town was under guard, for he could see a lone

sentinel walking his post scarce a hundred yards from him. To elude this one would not be difficult; but to

enter the village and search it would be practically impos sible, garbed, or ungarbed, as he was.

Creeping forward, taking advantage of every cover, lying flat and motionless when the sentry's face was

toward him, the apeman at last reached the sheltering shadows of an outhouse just inside the lines. From

there he moved stealthily from building to building until at last he was discovered by a large dog in the rear

of one of the bungalows. The brute came slowly toward him, growling. Tarzan stood motionless be side a

tree. He could see a light in the bungalow and uni formed men moving about and he hoped that the dog

would not bark. He did not; but he growled more savagely and, just at the moment that the rear door of the

He was a large dog, as large as Dango, the hyena, and he charged with all the vicious impetuosity of Numa,

the lion. As he came Tarzan knelt and the dog shot through the air for his throat; but he was dealing with no

man now and he found his quickness more than matched by the quickness of the Tarmangani. His teeth never

reached the soft flesh strong fingers, fingers of steel, seized his neck. He voiced a single startled yelp and

clawed at the naked breast before him with his talons; but he was powerless. The mighty fingers closed upon

his throat; the man rose, snapped the clawing body once, and cast it aside. At the same time a voice from the

There was no response. Repeating the call the man de scended the steps and advanced toward the tree. In

the light from the doorway Tarzan could see that he was a tall, broad shouldered man in the uniform of a

German officer. The ape man withdrew into the shadow of the tree's stem. The man came closer, still calling

the dog he did not see the savage beast, crouching now in the shadow, awaiting him. When he had

approached within ten feet of the Tarmangani, Tarzan leaped upon him as Sabor springs to the kill, so

sprang the apeman. The momentum and weight of his body hurled the German to the ground, powerful

fingers prevented an out cry and, though the officer struggled, he had no chance and a moment later lay

As Tarzan stood for a moment looking down upon his kill and regretting that he could not risk voicing his

beloved vic tory cry, the sight of the uniform suggested a means whereby he might pass to and fro through

Wilhelmstal with the mini mum chance of detection. Ten minutes later a tall, broad shouldered officer

stepped from the yard of the bungalow leaving behind him the corpses of a dog and a naked man.

He walked boldly along the little street and those who passed him could not guess that beneath Imperial

Germany's uniform beat a savage heart that pulsed with implacable hatred for the Hun. Tarzan's first concern

was to locate the hotel, for here he guessed he would find the girl, and where the girl was doubtless would be

Hauptmann Fritz Schneider, who was either her confederate, her sweetheart, or both, and there, too, would be

He found the hotel at last, a low, twostoried building with a veranda. There were lights on both floors and

people, mostly officers, could be seen within. The apeman considered entering and inquiring for those he

sought; but his better judg ment finally prompted him to reconnoiter first. Passing around the building he

looked into all the lighted rooms on the first floor and, seeing neither of those for whom he had come, he

swung lightly to the roof of the veranda and continued his investigations through windows of the second

At one corner of the hotel in a rear room the blinds were drawn; but he heard voices within and once he saw a

figure silhouetted momentarily against the blind. It appeared to be the figure of a woman; but it was gone so

quickly that he could not be sure. Tarzan crept close to the window and listened. Yes, there was a woman

there and a man he heard distinctly the tones of their voices although he could overhear no words, as they

The adjoining room was dark. Tarzan tried the window and found it unlatched. All was quiet within. He

raised the sash and listened again still silence. Placing a leg over the sill he slipped within and hurriedly

glanced about. The room was vacant. Crossing to the door he opened it and looked out into the hall. There

was no one there, either, and he stepped out and approached the door of the adjoining room where the man

Pressing close to the door he listened. Now he distinguished words, for the two had raised their voices as

"I have brought the locket," she said, "as was agreed upon between you and General Kraut, as my

identification. I carry no other credentials. This was to be enough. You have noth ing to do but give me the

The man replied in so low a tone that Tarzan could not catch the words and then the woman spoke again a

"You would not dare, Hauptmann Schneider," she said, and then: "Do not touch me! Take your hands from

It was then that Tarzan of the Apes opened the door and stepped into the room. What he saw was a huge,

bullnecked German officer with one arm about the waist of Fraulein Bertha Kircher and a hand upon her

forehead pushing her head back as he tried to kiss her on the mouth. The girl was struggling against the great

brute; but her efforts were futile. Slowly the man's lips were coming closer to hers and slowly, step by step,

Schneider heard the noise of the opening and closing door behind him and turned. At sight of this strange

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Lieutenant?" he de manded, noting the other's epaulettes. "Leave the

Tarzan made no articulate reply; but the two there with him heard a low growl break from those firm lips

a growl that sent a shudder through the frame of the girl and brought a pallor to the red face of the Hun and

his hand to his pistol but even as he drew his weapon it was wrested from him and hurled through the blind

and window to the yard beyond. Then Tarzan backed against the door and slowly removed the uniform coat.

The two before him saw that he was naked beneath the coat which he threw upon the floor and then he

slipped quickly from the trousers and stood there clothed only in his loin cloth. The girl had recognized him

"Take your hand off that pistol," Tarzan admonished her. Her hand dropped at her side. "Now come here!"

She approached and Tarzan removed the weapon and hurled it after the other. At the mention of his name

Tarzan had noted the sickly pallor that overspread the features of the Hun. At last he had found the right man.

At last his mate would be partially avenged never could she be entirely avenged. Life was too short and

"You are going to pay the price for the thing you did at the little bungalow in the Waziri country," replied the

Schneider commenced to bluster and threaten. Tarzan turned the key in the lock of the door and hurled the

former through the window after the pistols. Then he turned to the girl. "Keep out of the way," he said in a

The Hun ceased blustering and began to plead. "I have a wife and children at home," he cried. "I have done

"You are going to die as befits your kind," said Tarzan, "with blood on your hands and a lie on your lips." He

started across the room toward the burly Hauptmann. Schneider was a large and powerful man about the

height of the apeman but much heavier. He saw that neither threats nor pleas would avail him and so he

prepared to fight as a cornered rat fights for its life with all the maniacal rage, cunning, and ferocity that the

Lowering his bull head he charged for the apeman and in the center of the floor the two clinched. There they

stood locked and swaying for a moment until Tarzan succeeded in forcing his antagonist backward over a

table which crashed to the floor, splintered by the weight of the two heavy bodies.

The girl stood watching the battle with wide eyes. She saw the two men rolling hither and thither across the

floor and she heard with horror the low growls that came from the lips of the naked giant. Schneider was

trying to reach his foe's throat with his fingers while, horror of horrors, Bertha Kircher could see that the

Schneider seemed to realize this too, for he redoubled his efforts to escape and finally succeeded in rolling

over on top of the apeman and breaking away. Leaping to his feet he ran for the window; but the apeman

was too quick for him and before he could leap through the sash a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder and he

was jerked back and hurled across the room to the opposite wall. There Tarzan followed him, and once again

they locked, dealing each other terrific blows, until Schneider in a piercing voice screamed, "Kamerad!

Tarzan grasped the man by the throat and drew his hunting knife. Schneider's back was against the wall so

that though his knees wobbled he was held erect by the apeman. Tarzan brought the sharp point to the lower

The girl staggered forward. "Oh, God, no!" she cried. "Not that. You are too brave you cannot be such a

Tarzan turned at her. "No," he said, "you are right, I cannot do it I am no German," and he raised the point

of his blade and sunk it deep into the putrid heart of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider, putting a bloody period to

Then Tarzan turned toward the girl and held out his hand. "Give me my locket," he said.

She pointed toward the dead officer. "He has it." Tarzan searched him and found the trinket. "Now you may

give me the papers," he said to the girl, and without a word she handed him a folded document.

"I came for you, too," he said. "It would be difficult to take you back from here and so I was going to kill

you, as I have sworn to kill all your kind; but you were right when you said that I was not such a beast as that

slayer of women. I could not slay him as he slew mine, nor can I slay you, who are a woman."

He crossed to the window, raised the sash and an instant later he had stepped out and disappeared into the

night. And then Fraulein Bertha Kircher stepped quickly to the corpse upon the floor, slipped her hand inside

the blouse and drew forth a little sheaf of papers which she tucked into her waist before she went to the

Tarzan of the Apes was disgusted. He had had the Ger man spy, Bertha Kircher, in his power and had left

her unscathed. It is true that he had slain Hauptmann Fritz Schneider, that Underlieutenant von Goss had died

at his hands, and that he had otherwise wreaked vengeance upon the men of the German company who had

murdered, pillaged, and raped at Tarzan's bungalow in the Waziri country. There was still another officer to

be accounted for, but him he could not find. It was Lieutenant Obergatz he still sought, though vainly, for at

last he learned that the man had been sent upon some special mission, whether in Africa or back to Europe

But the fact that he had permitted sentiment to stay his hand when he might so easily have put Bertha Kircher

out of the way in the hotel at Wilhelmstal that night rankled in the apeman's bosom. He was shamed by his

weakness, and when he had handed the paper she had given him to the British chief of staff, even though the

information it contained permitted the British to frustrate a German flank attack, he was still much

dissatisfied with himself. And possibly the root of this dissatis faction lay in the fact that he realized that

were he again to have the same opportunity he would still find it as impossible to slay a woman as it had been

Tarzan blamed this weakness, as he considered it, upon his association with the effeminating influences of

civilization, for in the bottom of his savage heart he held in contempt both civilization and its representatives

the men and women of the civilized countries of the world. Always was he comparing their weaknesses,

their vices, their hypocrisies, and their little vanities with the open, primitive ways of his ferocious jungle

mates, and all the while there battled in that same big heart with these forces another mighty force

The apeman, reared as he had been by savage beasts amid savage beasts, was slow to make friends.

Acquaintances he numbered by the hundreds; but of friends he had few. These few he would have died for as,

doubtless, they would have died for him; but there were none of these fighting with the British forces in East

Africa, and so, sickened and disgusted by the sight of man waging his cruel and inhuman warfare, Tarzan

determined to heed the insistent call of the remote jungle of his youth, for the Germans were now on the run

and the war in East Africa was so nearly over that he realized that his further services would be of negligible

Never regularly sworn into the service of the King, he was under no obligation to remain now that the moral

obligation had been removed, and so it was that he disappeared from the British camp as mysteriously as he

More than once had Tarzan reverted to the primitive only to return again to civilization through love for his

mate; but now that she was gone he felt that this time he had definitely de parted forever from the haunts of

man, and that he should live and die a beast among beasts even as he had been from infancy to maturity.

Between him and destination lay a trackless wilderness of untouched primeval savagery where, doubtless in

many spots, his would be the first human foot to touch the virgin turf. Nor did this prospect dismay the

Tarmangani rather was it an urge and an inducement, for rich in his veins flowed that noble strain of

The question of food and water that would have risen paramount in the mind of an ordinary man

contemplating such an excursion gave Tarzan little concern. The wilderness was his natural habitat and

woodcraft as inherent to him as breath ing. Like other jungle animals he could scent water from a great

distance and, where you or I might die of thirst, the ape man would unerringly select the exact spot at which

For several days Tarzan traversed a country rich in game and watercourses. He moved slowly, hunting and

fishing, or again fraternizing or quarreling with the other savage denizens of the jungle. Now it was little

Manu, the monkey, who chattered and scolded at the mighty Tarmangani and in the next breath warned him

that Histah, the snake, lay coiled in the long grass just ahead. Of Manu Tarzan inquired concern ing the

great apes the Mangani and was told that few inhabited this part of the jungle, and that even these were

Manu's tone was sneering, and Tarzan knew that it was be cause little Manu thought all creatures feared

mighty Bolgani, the gorilla. Tarzan arched his great chest and struck it with a clinched fist. "I am Tarzan," he

cried. "While Tarzan was yet a balu he slew a Bolgani. Tarzan seeks the Mangani, who are his brothers, but

Little Manu, the monkey, was much impressed, for the way of the jungle is to boast and to believe. It was

"They go there and there and there," he said, making a wide sweep with a brown hand first toward the north,

then west, and then south again. "For there," and he pointed due west, "is much hunting; but between lies a

great place where there is no food and no water, so they must go that way," and again he swung his hand

through the halfcircle that explained to Tarzan the great detour the apes made to come to their hunt ing

That was all right for the Mangani, who are lazy and do not care to move rapidly; but for Tarzan the straight

road would be the best. He would cross the dry country and come to the good hunting in a third of the time

that it would take to go far to the north and circle back again. And so it was that he con tinued on toward the

west, and crossing a range of low moun tains came in sight of a broad plateau, rock strewn and deso late.

Far in the distance he saw another range of mountains beyond which he felt must lie the hunting ground of

the Mangani. There he would join them and remain for a while before continuing on toward the coast and the

little cabin that his father had built beside the landlocked harbor at the jungle's edge.

Tarzan was full of plans. He would rebuild and enlarge the cabin of his birth, constructing storage houses

where he would make the apes lay away food when it was plenty against the times that were lean a thing

no ape ever had dreamed of doing. And the tribe would remain always in the locality and he would be king

again as he had in the past. He would try to teach them some of the better things that he had learned from

man, yet knowing the apemind as only Tarzan could, he feared that his labors would be for naught.

The apeman found the country he was crossing rough in the extreme, the roughest he ever had encountered.

The plateau was cut by frequent canyons the passage of which often entailed hours of wearing effort. The

vegetation was sparse and of a faded brown color that lent to the whole landscape a most depressing aspect.

Great rocks were strewn in every direction as far as the eye could see, lying partially embedded in an

impalpable dust that rose in clouds about him at every step. The sun beat down mercilessly out of a cloud

For a day Tarzan toiled across this now hateful land and at the going down of the sun the distant mountains to

the west seemed no nearer than at morn. Never a sign of living thing had the apeman seen, other than Ska,

that bird of ill omen, that had followed him tirelessly since he had entered this parched waste.

No littlest beetle that he might eat had given evidence that life of any sort existed here, and it was a hungry

and thirsty Tarzan who lay down to rest in the evening. He decided now to push on during the cool of the

night, for he realized that even mighty Tarzan had his limitations and that where there was no food one could

not eat and where there was no water the greatest woodcraft in the world could find none. It was a totally new

experience to Tarzan to find so barren and terrible a country in his beloved Africa. Even the Sahara had its

oases; but this frightful world gave no indication of containing a square foot of hospitable ground.

However, he had no misgivings but that he would fare forth into the wonder country of which little Manu had

told him, though it was certain that he would do it with a dry skin and an empty belly. And so he fought on

until daylight, when he again felt the need of rest. He was at the edge of another of those terrible canyons, the

eighth he had crossed, whose pre cipitous sides would have taxed to the uttermost the strength of an untired

man well fortified by food and water, and for the first time, as he looked down into the abyss and then at the

He did not fear death with the memory of his murdered mate still fresh in his mind he almost courted it,

yet strong within him was that primal instinct of selfpreservation the battling force of life that would

keep him an active contender against the Great Reaper until, fighting to the very last, he should be overcome

A shadow swung slowly across the ground beside him, and looking up, the apeman saw Ska, the vulture,

wheeling a wide circle above him. The grim and persistent harbinger of evil aroused the man to renewed

determination. He arose and approached the edge of the canyon, and then, wheeling, with his face turned

upward toward the circling bird of prey, he bellowed forth the challenge of the bull ape.

"I am Tarzan," he shouted, "Lord of the Jungle. Tarzan of the Apes is not for Ska, eater of carrion. Go back to

the lair of Dango and feed off the leavings of the hyenas, for Tarzan will leave no bones for Ska to pick in

But before he reached the bottom of the canyon he again was forced to the realization that his great strength

was waning, and when he dropped exhausted at the foot of the cliff and saw before him the opposite wall that

must be scaled, he bared his fighting fangs and growled. For an hour he lay resting in the cool shade at the

foot of the cliff. All about him reigned utter silence the silence of the tomb. No flutter ing birds, no

humming insects, no scurrying reptiles relieved the deathlike stillness. This indeed was the valley of death.

He felt the depressing influence of the horrible place setting down upon him; but he staggered to his feet,

shaking himself like a great lion, for was he not still Tarzan, mighty Tarzan of the Apes? Yes, and Tarzan the

As he crossed the floor of the canyon he saw something lying close to the base of the side wall he was

approaching something that stood out in startling contrast to all the sur roundings and yet seemed so

much a part and parcel of the somber scene as to suggest an actor amid the settings of a wellappointed stage,

and, as though to carry out the allegory, the pitiless rays of flaming Kudu topped the eastern cliff, picking out

And as Tarzan came nearer he saw the bleached skull and bones of a human being about which were

remnants of clothing and articles of equipment that, as he examined them, filled the apeman with curiosity

to such an extent that for a time he forgot his own predicament in contemplation of the remarkable story

The bones were in a fair state of preservation and indicated by their intactness that the flesh had probably

been picked from them by vultures as none was broken; but the pieces of equipment bore out the suggestion

of their great age. In this protected spot where there were no frosts and evidently but little rainfall, the bones

might have lain for ages without disintegrating, for there were here no other forces to scatter or disturb them.

Near the skeleton lay a helmet of hammered brass and a corroded breastplate of steel while at one side was a

long, straight sword in its scabbard and an ancient harquebus. The bones were those of a large man a man

of wondrous strength and vitality Tarzan knew he must have been to have pene trated thus far through the

The apeman felt a sense of deep admiration for this name less adventurer of a bygone day. What a brute of

a man he must have been and what a glorious tale of battle and kaleido scopic vicissitudes of fortune must

once have been locked within that whitened skull! Tarzan stooped to examine the shreds of clothing that still

lay about the bones. Every particle of leather had disappeared, doubtless eaten by Ska. No boots remained, if

the man had worn boots, but there were several buckles scattered about suggesting that a great part of his

trappings had been of leather, while just beneath the bones of one hand lay a metal cylinder about eight

inches long and two inches in diameter. As Tarzan picked it up he saw that it had been heavily lacquered and

had withstood the slight ravages of time so well as to be in as perfect a state of perserva tion today as it had

As he examined it he discovered that one end was closed with a friction cover which a little twisting force

soon loosened and removed, revealing within a roll of parchment which the apeman removed and opened,

disclosing a number of age yellowed sheets closely written upon in a fine hand in a lan guage which he

guessed to be Spanish but which he could not decipher. Upon the last sheet was a roughly drawn map with

numerous reference points marked upon it, all unintelligible to Tarzan, who, after a brief examination of the

papers, returned them to their metal case, replaced the top and was about to toss the little cylinder to the

ground beside the mute remains of its former possessor when some whim of curiosity unsatisfied prompted

him to slip it into the quiver with his arrows, though as he did so it was with the grim thought that possibly

cen turies hence it might again come to the sight of man beside his own bleached bones.

And then, with a parting glance at the ancient skeleton, he turned to the task of ascending the western wall of

the canyon. Slowly and with many rests he dragged his weakening body upwards. Again and again he slipped

back from sheer ex haustion and would have fallen to the floor of the canyon but for merest chance. How

long it took him to scale that frightful wall he could not have told, and when at last he dragged himself over

the top it was to lie weak and gasping, too spent to rise or even to move a few inches farther from the perilous

At last he arose, very slowly and with evident effort gaining his knees first and then staggering to his feet, yet

his indomi table will was evidenced by a sudden straightening of his shoulders and a determined shake of

his head as he lurched forward on unsteady legs to take up his valiant fight for sur vival. Ahead he scanned

the rough landscape for sign of an other canyon which he knew would spell inevitable doom. The western

hills rose closer now though weirdly unreal as they seemed to dance in the sunlight as though mocking him

with their nearness at the moment that exhaustion was about to render them forever unattainable.

Beyond them he knew must be the fertile hunting grounds of which Manu had told. Even if no canyon

intervened, his chances of surmounting even low hills seemed remote should he have the fortune to reach

their base; but with another canyon hope was dead. Above them Ska still circled, and it seemed to the

apeman that the illomened bird hovered ever lower and lower as though reading in that failing gait the

Mile after mile Tarzan of the Apes put slowly behind him, borne up by sheer force of will where a lesser man

would have lain down to die and rest forever tired muscles whose every move was an agony of effort; but at

last his progress became practically mechanical he staggered on with a dazed mind that reacted numbly to

a single urge on, on, on! The hills were now but a dim, illdefined blur ahead. Sometimes he forgot that

they were hills, and again he wondered vaguely why he must go on forever through all this torture

endeavoring to overtake them the fleeing, elusive hills. Presently he began to hate them and there formed

within his halfdelirious brain the hallucination that the hills were German hills, that they had slain someone

dear to him, whom he could never quite recall, and that he was pursuing to slay them.

This idea, growing, appeared to give him strength a new and revivifying purpose so that for a time he

no longer staggered; but went forward steadily with head erect. Once he stumbled and fell, and when he tried

to rise he found that he could not that his strength was so far gone that he could only crawl forward on his

It was during one of these frequent periods of utter exhaus tion that he heard the flap of dismal wings close

above him. With his remaining strength he turned himself over on his back to see Ska wheel quickly upward.

"Is the end so near as that?" he thought. "Does Ska know that I am so near gone that he dares come down and

perch upon my carcass?" And even then a grim smile touched those swollen lips as into the savage mind

came a sudden thought the cunning of the wild beast at bay. Closing his eyes he threw a forearm across

them to protect them from Ska's powerful beak and then he lay very still and waited.

It was restful lying there, for the sun was now obscured by clouds and Tarzan was very tired. He feared that

he might sleep and something told him that if he did he would never awaken, and so he concentrated all his

remaining powers upon the one thought of remaining awake. Not a muscle moved to Ska, circling above,

it became evident that the end had come that at last he should be rewarded for his long vigil

Circling slowly he dropped closer and closer to the dying man. Why did not Tarzan move? Had he indeed

been over come by the sleep of exhaustion, or was Ska right had death at last claimed that mighty body?

Ska, filled with suspicions, circled warily. Twice he almost alighted upon the great, naked breast only to

wheel suddenly away; but the third time his talons touched the brown skin. It was as though the contact

closed an electric circuit that instantaneously vitalized the quiet clod that had lain motion less so long. A

brown hand swept downward from the brown forehead and before Ska could raise a wing in flight he was in

Ska fought, but he was no match for even a dying Tarzan, and a moment later the apeman's teeth closed

upon the carrioneater. The flesh was coarse and tough and gave off an unpleasant odor and a worse taste;

but it was food and the blood was drink and Tarzan only an ape at heart and a dying ape into the bargain

Even mentally weakened as he was the apeman was still master of his appetite and so he ate but sparingly,

saving the rest, and then, feeling that he now could do so safely, he turned upon his side and slept.

Rain, beating heavily upon his body, awakened him and sitting up he cupped his hands and caught the

precious drops which he transferred to his parched throat. Only a little he got at a time; but that was best. The

few mouthfuls of Ska that he had eaten, together with the blood and rain water and the sleep had refreshed

Now he could see the hills again and they were close and, though there was no sun, the world looked bright

and cheerful, for Tarzan knew that he was saved. The bird that would have devoured him, and the

providential rain, had saved him at the very moment that death seemed inevitable.

Again partaking of a few mouthfuls of the unsavory flesh of Ska, the vulture, the apeman arose with

something of his old force and set out with steady gait toward the hills of promise rising alluringly ahead.

Darkness fell before he reached them; but he kept on until he felt the steeply rising ground that proclaimed

his arrival at the base of the hills proper, and then he lay down and waited until morning should reveal the

easiest passage to the land beyond. The rain had ceased, but the sky still was overcast so that even his keen

eyes could not pene trate the darkness farther than a few feet. And there he slept, after eating again of what

remained of Ska, until the morning sun awakened him with a new sense of strength and well being.

And so at last he came through the hills out of the valley of death into a land of parklike beauty, rich in game.

Below him lay a deep valley through the center of which dense jungle vegetation marked the course of a river

beyond which a primeval forest extended for miles to terminate at last at the foot of lofty, snowcapped

mountains. It was a land that Tarzan never had looked upon before, nor was it likely that the foot of another

white man ever had touched it unless, possibly, in some longgone day the adventurer whose skeleton he had

Three days the apeman spent in resting and recuperating, eating fruits and nuts and the smaller animals that

were most easily bagged, and upon the fourth he set out to explore the valley and search for the great apes.

Time was a negligible factor in the equation of life it was all the same to Tarzan if he reached the west

coast in a month or a year or three years. All time was his and all Africa. His was abso lute freedom the

last tie that had bound him to civilization and custom had been severed. He was alone but he was not exactly

lonely. The greater part of his life had been spent thus, and though there was no other of his kind, he was at

all times surrounded by the jungle peoples for whom familiarity had bred no contempt within his breast. The

least of them in terested him, and, too, there were those with whom he always made friends easily, and there

were his hereditary enemies whose presence gave a spice to life that might otherwise have become humdrum

And so it was that on the fourth day he set out to explore the valley and search for his fellowapes. He had

proceeded southward for a short distance when his nostrils were assailed by the scent of man, of Gomangani,

the black man. There were many of them, and mixed with their scent was another that of a she

Swinging through the trees Tarzan approached the authors of these disturbing scents. He came warily from

the flank, but paying no attention to the wind, for he knew that man with his dull senses could apprehend him

only through his eyes or ears and then only when comparatively close. Had he been stalking Numa or Sheeta

he would have circled about until his quarry was upwind from him, thus taking practically all the advantage

up to the very moment that he came within sight or hearing; but in the stalking of the dull clod, man, he ap

proached with almost contemptuous indifference, so that all the jungle about him knew that he was passing

From the dense foliage of a great tree he watched them pass a disreputable mob of blacks, some garbed in

the uni form of German East African native troops, others wearing a single garment of the same uniform,

while many had reverted to the simple dress of their forbears approximating nudity. There were many

black women with them, laughing and talk ing as they kept pace with the men, all of whom were armed

There were no white officers there, but it was none the less apparent to Tarzan that these men were from

some German native command, and he guessed that they had slain their officers and taken to the jungle with

their women, or had stolen some from native villages through which they must have passed. It was evident

that they were putting as much ground between themselves and the coast as possible and doubtless were

seeking some impenetrable fastness of the vast interior where they might inaugurate a reign of terror among

the primitively armed inhabitants and by raiding, looting, and rape grow rich in goods and women at the

Between two of the black women marched a slender white girl. She was hatless and with torn and disheveled

clothing that had evidently once been a trim riding habit. Her coat was gone and her waist half torn from her

body. Occasionally and without apparent provocation one or the other of the Negresses struck or pushed her

roughly. Tarzan watched through halfclosed eyes. His first impulse was to leap among them and bear the

girl from their cruel clutches. He had recognized her immediately and it was because of this fact that he

What was it to Tarzan of the Apes what fate befell this en emy spy? He had been unable to kill her himself

because of an inherent weakness that would not permit him to lay hands upon a woman, all of which of

course had no bearing upon what others might do to her. That her fate would now be infinitely more horrible

than the quick and painless death that the apeman would have meted to her only interested Tarzan to the

extent that the more frightful the end of a German the more in keeping it would be with what they all

And so he let the blacks pass with Fraulein Bertha Kircher in their midst, or at least until the last straggling

warrior sug gested to his mind the pleasures of blackbaiting an amuse ment and a sport in which he had

grown ever more proficient since that longgone day when Kulonga, the son of Mbonga, the chief, had cast

The last man, who must have stopped for some purpose, was fully a quarter of a mile in rear of the party. He

was hurrying to catch up when Tarzan saw him, and as he passed beneath the tree in which the apeman

perched above the trail, a silent noose dropped deftly about his neck. The main body still was in plain sight,

and as the frightened man voiced a piercing shriek of terror, they looked back to see his body rise as though

For a moment the blacks stood paralyzed by astonishment and fear; but presently the burly sergeant, Usanga,

who led them, started back along the trail at a run, calling to the others to follow him. Loading their guns as

they came the blacks ran to succor their fellow, and at Usanga's command they spread into a thin line that

Usanga called but received no reply; then he advanced slowly with rifle at the ready, peering up into the tree.

He could see no one nothing. The circle closed in until fifty blacks were searching among the branches

with their keen eyes. What had become of their fellow? They had seen him rise into the tree and since then

many eyes had been fastened upon the spot, yet there was no sign of him. One, more ven turesome than his

fellows, volunteered to climb into the tree and investigate. He was gone but a minute or two and when he

Perplexed, and by this time a bit awed, the blacks drew slowly away from the spot and with many backward

glances and less laughing continued upon their journey until, when about a mile beyond the spot at which

their fellow had disap peared, those in the lead saw him peering from behind a tree at one side of the trail

just in front of them. With shouts to their companions that he had been found they ran forwards; but those

who were first to reach the tree stopped suddenly and shrank back, their eyes rolling fearfully first in one

direc tion and then in another as though they expected some name less horror to leap out upon them.

Nor was their terror without foundation. Impaled upon the end of a broken branch the head of their

companion was propped behind the tree so that it appeared to be looking out at them from the opposite side

It was then that many wished to turn back, arguing that they had offended some demon of the wood upon

whose preserve they had trespassed; but Usanga refused to listen to them, assuring them that inevitable

torture and death awaited them should they return and fall again into the hands of their cruel German masters.

At last his reasoning prevailed to the end that a muchsubdued and terrified band moved in a compact mass,

It is a happy characteristic of the Negro race, which they hold in common with little children, that their spirits

seldom remain depressed for a considerable length of time after the immediate cause of depression is

removed, and so it was that in half an hour Usanga's band was again beginning to take on to some extent its

former appearance of carefree light heartedness. Thus were the heavy clouds of fear slowly dis sipating

when a turn in the trail brought them suddenly upon the headless body of their erstwhile companion lying

directly in their path, and they were again plunged into the depth of fear and gloomy forebodings.

So utterly inexplicable and uncanny had the entire occur rence been that there was not a one of them who

could find a ray of comfort penetrating the dead blackness of its ominous portent. What had happened to one

of their number each conceived as being a wholly possible fate for himself in fact quite his probable fate.

If such a thing could happen in broad daylight what frightful thing might not fall to their lot when night had

The white girl in their midst was no less mystified than they; but far less moved, since sudden death was the

most merciful fate to which she might now look forward. So far she had been subjected to nothing worse than

the petty cruelties of the women, while, on the other hand, it had alone been the pres ence of the women that

had saved her from worse treatment at the hands of some of the men notably the brutal, black sergeant,

Usanga. His own woman was of the party a veritable giantess, a virago of the first magnitude and she

was evidently the only thing in the world of which Usanga stood in awe. Even though she was particularly

cruel to the young woman, the latter believed that she was her sole protection from the degraded black tyrant.

Late in the afternoon the band came upon a small palisaded village of thatched huts set in a clearing in the

jungle close beside a placid river. At their approach the villagers came pouring out, and Usanga advanced

with two of his warriors to palaver with the chief. The experiences of the day had so shaken the nerves of the

black sergeant that he was ready to treat with these people rather than take their village by force of arms, as

would ordinarily have been his preference; but now a vague conviction influenced him that there watched

over this part of the jungle a powerful demon who wielded miraculous power for evil against those who

offended him. First Usanga would learn how these villagers stood with this savage god and if they had his

At the palaver it developed that the village chief had food, goats, and fowl which he would be glad to dispose

of for a proper consideration; but as the consideration would have meant parting with precious rifles and

ammunition, or the very clothing from their backs, Usanga began to see that after all it might be forced upon

A happy solution was arrived at by a suggestion of one of his men that the soldiers go forth the following

day and hunt for the villagers, bringing them in so much fresh meat in re turn for their hospitality. This the

chief agreed to, stipulating the kind and quantity of game to be paid in return for flour, goats, and fowl, and a

certain number of huts that were to be turned over to the visitors. The details having been settled after an hour

or more of that bickering argument of which the native African is so fond, the newcomers entered the village

Bertha Kircher found herself alone in a small hut to the palisade at the far end of the village street, and

though she was neither bound nor guarded, she was assured by Usanga that she could not escape the village

without running into almost certain death in the jungle, which the villagers assured them was infested by

lions of great size and ferocity. "Be good to Usanga," he concluded, "and no harm will befall you. I will come

As the brute left her the girl's frame was racked by a con vulsive shudder as she sank to the floor of the hut

and cov ered her face with her hands. She realized now why the women had not been left to guard her. It

was the work of the cunning Usanga, but would not his woman suspect some thing of his intentions? She

was no fool and, further, being imbued with insane jealousy she was ever looking for some overt act upon the

part of her ebon lord. Bertha Kircher felt that only she might save her and that she would save her if word

Left alone and away from the eyes of her captors for the first time since the previous night, the girl

immediately took advantage of the opportunity to assure herself that the papers she had taken from the body

of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider were still safely sewn inside one of her undergarments.

Alas! Of what value could they now ever be to her be loved country? But habit and loyalty were so strong

within her that she still clung to the determined hope of eventually delivering the little packet to her chief.

The natives seemed to have forgotten her existence no one came near the hut, not even to bring her food.

She could hear them at the other end of the village laughing and yelling and knew that they were celebrating

with food and native beer knowledge which only increased her apprehension. To be prisoner in a native

village in the very heart of an unex plored region of Central Africa the only white woman among a band

of drunken Negroes! The very thought appalled her. Yet there was a slight promise in the fact that she had so

far been unmolested the promise that they might, indeed, have forgotten her and that soon they might

Darkness had fallen and still no one came. The girl won dered if she dared venture forth in search of Naratu,

Usanga's woman, for Usanga might not forget that he had promised to return. No one was near as she stepped

out of the hut and made her way toward the part of the village where the revelers were making merry about a

fire. As she approached she saw the villagers and their guests squatting in a large circle about the blaze before

which a halfdozen naked warriors leaped and bent and stamped in some grotesque dance. Pots of food and

gourds of drink were being passed about among the audience. Dirty hands were plunged into the food pots

and the captured portions devoured so greedily that one might have thought the entire community had been

upon the point of starvation. The gourds they held to their lips until the beer ran down their chins and the

vessels were wrested from them by greedy neighbors. The drink had now begun to take noticeable effect

upon most of them, with the result that they were beginning to give themselves up to utter and licentious

As the girl came nearer, keeping in the shadow of the huts, looking for Naratu she was suddenly discovered

by one upon the edge of the crowd a huge woman, who rose, shrieking, and came toward her. From her

aspect the white girl thought that the woman meant literally to tear her to pieces. So ut terly wanton and

uncalledfor was the attack that it found the girl entirely unprepared, and what would have happened had not

a warrior interfered may only be guessed. And then Usanga, noting the interruption, came lurching forward to

"What do you want," he cried, "food and drink? Come with me!" and he threw an arm about her and dragged

This seemed to sober the black for a moment as though he had temporarily forgotten his better half. He cast

quick, fear ful glances about, and then, evidently assured that Naratu had noticed nothing, he ordered the

warrior who was still holding the infuriated black woman from the white girl to take the latter back to her hut

First appropriating a gourd of beer for himself the warrior motioned the girl to precede him, and thus guarded

she re turned to her hut, the fellow squatting down just outside the doorway, where he confined his

Bertha Kircher sat down at the far side of the hut awaiting she knew not what impending fate. She could not

sleep so filled was her mind with wild schemes of escape though each new one must always be discarded as

impractical. Half an hour after the warrior had returned her to her prison he rose and entered the hut, where

he tried to engage in conversation with her. Groping across the interior he leaned his short spear against the

wall and sat down beside her, and as he talked he edged closer and closer until at last he could reach out and

"Do not touch me!" she cried. "I will tell Usanga if you do not leave me alone, and you know what he will do

The man only laughed drunkenly, and, reaching out his hand, grabbed her arm and dragged her toward him.

She fought and cried aloud for Usanga and at the same instant the entrance to the hut was darkened by the

"What is the matter?" shouted the newcomer in the deep tones that the girl recognized as belonging to the

black ser geant. He had come, but would she be any better off? She knew that she would not unless she

When Usanga found what had happened he kicked the war rior out of the hut and bade him begone, and

when the fel low had disappeared, muttering and grumbling, the sergeant approached the white girl. He was

very drunk, so drunk that several times she succeeded in eluding him and twice she pushed him so violently

Finally he became enraged and rushing upon her, seized her in his long, apelike arms. Striking at his face

with clenched fists she tried to protect herself and drive him away. She threatened him with the wrath of

Naratu, and at that he changed his tactics and began to plead, and as he argued with her, promising her safety

and eventual freedom, the warrior he had kicked out of the hut made his staggering way to the hut occupied

Usanga finding that pleas and promises were as unavailing as threats, at last lost both his patience and his

head, seizing the girl roughly, and simultaneously there burst into the hut a raging demon of jealousy. Naratu

had come. Kicking, scratching, striking, biting, she routed the terrified Usanga in short order, and so obsessed

was she by her desire to inflict punishment upon her unfaithful lord and master that she quite forgot the object

Bertha Kircher heard her screaming down the village street at Usanga's heels and trembled at the thought of

what lay in store for her at the hands of these two, for she knew that to morrow at the latest Naratu would

take out upon her the full measure of her jealous hatred after she had spent her first wrath upon Usanga.

The two had departed but a few minutes when the warrior guard returned. He looked into the hut and then

entered. "No one will stop me now, white woman," he growled as he stepped quickly across the hut toward

Tarzan of the Apes, feasting well upon a juicy haunch from Bara, the deer, was vaguely conscious of a

troubled mind. He should have been at peace with himself and all the world, for was he not in his native

element surrounded by game in plenty and rapidly filling his belly with the flesh he loved best? But Tarzan of

the Apes was haunted by the picture of a slight, young girl being shoved and struck by brutal Negresses, and

in imagination could see her now camped in this savage coun try a prisoner among degraded blacks.

Why was it so difficult to remember that she was only a hated German and a spy? Why would the fact that

she was a woman and white always obtrude itself upon his conscious ness? He hated her as he hated all her

kind, and the fate that was sure to be hers was no more terrible than she in common with all her people

deserved. The matter was settled and Tar zan composed himself to think of other things, yet the picture

would not die it rose in all its details and annoyed him. He began to wonder what they were doing to her

and where they were taking her. He was very much ashamed of himself as he had been after the episode in

Wilhelmstal when his weakness had permitted him to spare this spy's life. Was he to be thus weak again? No!

Night came and he settled himself in an ample tree to rest until morning; but sleep would not come. Instead

came the vision of a white girl being beaten by black women, and again of the same girl at the mercy of the

With a growl of anger and selfcontempt Tarzan arose, shook himself, and swung from his tree to that

adjoining, and thus, through the lower terraces, he followed the trail that Usanga's party had taken earlier in

the afternoon. He had little difficulty as the band had followed a wellbeaten path and when toward midnight

the stench of a native village as sailed his delicate nostrils he guessed that his goal was near and that

Prowling stealthily as prowls Numa, the lion, stalking a wary prey, Tarzan moved noiselessly about the

palisade, lis tening and sniffing. At the rear of the village he discovered a tree whose branches extended

over the top of the palisade and a moment later he had dropped quietly into the village.

From hut to hut he went searching with keen ears and nostrils some confirming evidence of the presence of

the girl, and at last, faint and almost obliterated by the odor of the Gomangani, he found it hanging like a

delicate vapor about a small hut. The village was quiet now, for the last of the beer and the food had been

disposed of and the blacks lay in their huts overcome by stupor, yet Tarzan made no noise that even a sober

He passed around to the entrance of the hut and listened. From within came no sound, not even the low

breathing of one awake; yet he was sure that the girl had been here and perhaps was even now, and so he

entered, slipping in as silently as a disembodied spirit. For a moment he stood mo tionless just within the

entranceway, listening. No, there was no one here, of that he was sure, but he would investigate. As his eyes

became accustomed to the greater darkness within the hut an object began to take form that presently outlined

Tarzan stepped closer and leaned over to examine it it was the dead body of a naked warrior from whose

chest pro truded a short spear. Then he searched carefully every square foot of the remaining floor space

and at last returned to the body again where he stooped and smelled of the haft of the weapon that had slain

the black. A slow smile touched his lips that and a slight movement of his head betokened that he

A rapid search of the balance of the village assured him that the girl had escaped and a feeling of relief came

over him that no harm had befallen her. That her life was equally in jeopardy in the savage jungle to which

she must have flown did not impress him as it would have you or me, since to Tarzan the jungle was not a

He had entered the trees again and was outside the palisade when there came faintly to his ears from far

beyond the vil lage an old, familiar sound. Balancing lightly upon a swaying branch he stood, a graceful

statue of a forest god, listening intently. For a minute he stood thus and then there broke from his lips the

long, weird cry of ape calling to ape and he was away through the jungle toward the sound of the boom ing

drum of the anthropoids leaving behind him an awakened and terrified village of cringing blacks, who would

forever after connect that eerie cry with the disappearance of their white prisoner and the death of their

Bertha Kircher, hurrying through the jungle along a well beaten game trail, thought only of putting as much

distance as possible between herself and the village before daylight could permit pursuit of her. Whither she

was going she did not know, nor was it a matter of great moment since death must be her lot sooner or later.

Fortune favored her that night, for she passed unscathed through as savage and lionridden an area as there is

in all Africa a natural hunting ground which the white man has not yet discovered, where deer and

antelope and zebra, giraffe and elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, and the other herbivorous animals of central

Africa abound unmolested by none but their natural enemies, the great cats which, lured here by easy prey

She had fled for an hour or two, perhaps, when her attention was arrested by the sound of animals moving

about, muttering and growling close ahead. Assured that she had covered a sufficient distance to insure her a

good start in the morning before the blacks could take to her trail, and fearful of what the creatures might be,

she climbed into a large tree with the intention of spending the balance of the night there.

She had no sooner reached a safe and comfortable branch when she discovered that the tree stood upon the

edge of a small clearing that had been hidden from her by the heavy undergrowth upon the ground below, and

In the center of the clearing below her, clearly visible in the bright moonlight, she saw fully twenty huge,

manlike apes great, shaggy fellows who went upon their hind feet with only slight assistance from the

knuckles of their hands. The moonlight glanced from their glossy coats, the numerous gray tipped hairs

imparting a sheen that made the hideous creatures almost magnificent in their appearance.

The girl had watched them but a minute or two when the little band was joined by others, coming singly and

in groups until there were fully fifty of the great brutes gathered there in the moonlight. Among them were

young apes and several little ones clinging tightly to their mothers' shaggy shoulders. Presently the group

parted to form a circle about what ap peared to be a small, flattopped mound of earth in the center of the

clearing. Squatting close about this mound were three old females armed with short, heavy clubs with which

they presently began to pound upon the flat top of the earth mound which gave forth a dull, booming sound,

and almost imme diately the other apes commenced to move about restlessly, weaving in and out aimlessly

The beating of the drum was in a slow, ponderous cadence, at first without time but presently settling into a

heavy rhythm to which the apes kept time with measured tread and sway ing bodies. Slowly the mass

separated into two rings, the outer of which was composed of shes and the very young, the inner of mature

bulls. The former ceased to move and squatted upon their haunches, while the bulls now moved slowly about

It was then that there came faintly to the ears of the girl from the direction of the village she had recently

quitted a weird and highpitched cry. The effect upon the apes was electrical they stopped their

movements and stood in atti tudes of intent listening for a moment, and then one fellow, huger than his

companions, raised his face to the heavens and in a voice that sent the cold shudders through the girl's slight

Once again the beaters took up their drumming and the slow dance went on. There was a certain fascination

in the savage ceremony that held the girl spellbound, and as there seemed little likelihood of her being

discovered, she felt that she might as well remain the balance of the night in her tree and r�sum� her flight by

Assuring herself that her packet of papers was safe she sought as comfortable a position as possible among

the branches, and settled herself to watch the weird proceedings in the clearing below her.

A halfhour passed, during which the cadence of the drum increased gradually. Now the great bull that had

replied to the distant call leaped from the inner circle to dance alone between the drummers and the other

bulls. He leaped and crouched and leaped again, now growling and barking, again stopping to raise his

hideous face to Goro, the moon, and, beating upon his shaggy breast, uttered a piercing scream the

He stood thus in the full glare of the great moon, motionless after screaming forth his weird challenge, in the

setting of the primeval jungle and the circling apes a picture of primitive savagery and power a mightily

muscled Hercules out of the dawn of life when from close behind her the girl heard an answering scream,

and an instant later saw an almost naked white man drop from a nearby tree into the clearing.

Instantly the apes became a roaring, snarling pack of angry beasts. Bertha Kircher held her breath. What

maniac was this who dared approach these frightful creatures in their own haunts, alone against fifty? She

saw the brownskinned figure bathed in moonlight walk straight toward the snarling pack. She saw the

symmetry and the beauty of that perfect body its grace, its strength, its wondrous proportioning, and then

she recognized him. It was the same creature whom she had seen carry Major Schneider from General Kraut's

head quarters, the same who had rescued her from Numa, the lion; the same whom she had struck down

with the butt of her pistol and escaped when he would have returned her to her enemies, the same who had

Fearfilled and fascinated she watched him as he neared the apes. She heard sounds issue from his throat

sounds identical with those uttered by the apes and though she could scarce believe the testimony of her

own ears, she knew that this godlike creature was conversing with the brutes in their own tongue.

Tarzan halted just before he reached the shes of the outer circle. "I am Tarzan of the Apes!" he cried. "You do

not know me because I am of another tribe, but Tarzan comes in peace or he comes to fight which shall it

be? Tarzan will talk with your king," and so saying he pushed straight forward through the shes and the

young who now gave way before him, making a narrow lane through which he passed toward the inner circle.

Shes and balus growled and bristled as he passed closer, but none hindered him and thus he came to the inner

circle of bulls. Here bared fangs menaced him and growling faces hideously contorted. "I am Tarzan," he

repeated. "Tarzan comes to dance the DumDum with his brothers. Where is your king?" Again he pressed

forward and the girl in the tree clapped her palms to her cheeks as she watched, wideeyed, this madman

going to a frightful death. In another instant they would be upon him, rending and tearing until that perfect

form had been ripped to shreds; but again the ring parted, and though the apes roared and menaced him they

did not attack, and at last he stood in the inner circle close to the drum and faced the great king ape.

Again he spoke. "I am Tarzan of the Apes," he cried. "Tarzan comes to live with his brothers. He will come

in peace and live in peace or he will kill; but he has come and he will stay. Which shall Tarzan dance the

"I am Golat, King of the Apes," screamed the great bull. "I kill! I kill! I kill!" and with a sullen roar he

The apeman, as the girl watched him, seemed entirely unprepared for the charge and she looked to see him

borne down and slain at the first rush. The great bull was almost upon him with huge hands outstretched to

seize him before Tarzan made a move, but when he did move his quickness would have put Ara, the

lightning, to shame. As darts for ward the head of Histah, the snake, so darted forward the left hand of the

manbeast as he seized the left wrist of his antagonist. A quick turn and the bull's right arm was locked

beneath the right arm of his foe in a jujutsu hold that Tarzan had learned among civilized men a hold with

"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" screamed the apeman. "Shall Tarzan dance in peace or shall Tarzan kill?''

With the quickness of a cat Tarzan swung the king ape over one hip and sent him sprawling to the ground. "I

Golat, infuriated, leaped to his feet and charged again, shouting his war cry: "I kill! I kill! I kill!" and again

Tarzan met him with a sudden hold that the stupid bull, being ig norant of, could not possibly avert a

hold and a throw that brought a scream of delight from the interested audience and suddenly filled the girl

with doubts as to the man's madness evidently he was quite safe among the apes, for she saw him swing

Golat to his back and then catapult him over his shoulder. The king ape fell upon his head and lay very still.

"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" cried the apeman. "I come to dance the DumDum with my brothers," and he

made a mo tion to the drummers, who immediately took up the cadence of the dance where they had

It was then that Golat raised his head and slowly crawled to his feet. Tarzan approached him. "I am Tarzan

of the Apes," he cried. "Shall Tarzan dance the DumDum with his brothers now, or shall he kill first?"

Golat raised his bloodshot eyes to the face of the Tar mangani. "Kagoda!" he cried "Tarzan of the Apes

And then the girl in the tree saw the savage man leaping, bending, and stamping with the savage apes in the

ancient rite of the DumDum. His roars and growls were more beastly than the beasts. His handsome face

was distorted with savage ferocity. He beat upon his great breast and screamed forth his challenge as his

smooth, brown hide brushed the shaggy coats of his fellows. It was weird; it was wonderful; and in its

primitive savagery it was not without beauty the strange scene she looked upon, such a scene as no other

As she gazed, spellbound, a stealthy movement in the tree behind her caused her to turn her head, and there,

back of her, blazing in the reflected moonlight, shone two great, yellow green eyes. Sheeta, the panther, had

The beast was so close that it might have reached out and touched her with a great, taloned paw. There was

no time to think, no time to weigh chances or to choose alternatives. Terrorinspired impulse was her guide

Instantly the apes, now maddened by the effects of the dancing and the moonlight, turned to note the cause of

the interruption. They saw this she Tarmangani, helpless and alone and they started for her. Sheeta, the

panther, knowing that not even Numa, the lion, unless maddened by starvation, dares meddle with the great

apes at their DumDum, had silently vanished into the night, seeking his supper elsewhere.

Tarzan, turning with the other apes toward the cause of the interruption, saw the girl, recognized her and also

her peril. Here again might she die at the hands of others; but why con sider it! He knew that he could not

The leading shes were almost upon the girl when Tarzan leaped among them, and with heavy blows scattered

them to right and left; and then as the bulls came to share in the kill they thought this new apething was

about to make that he might steal all the flesh for himself, they found him facing them with an arm thrown

"This is Tarzan's she," he said. "Do not harm her." It was the only way he could make them understand that

they must not slay her. He was glad that she could not interpret the words. It was humiliating enough to make

So once again Tarzan of the Apes was forced to protect a Hun. Growling, he muttered to himself in

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick, Royal Air Service, was on reconnaissance. A report, or it would be

better to say a rumor, had come to the British headquar ters in German East Africa that the enemy had

landed in force on the west coast and was marching across the dark continent to reinforce their colonial

troops. In fact the new army was supposed to be no more than ten or twelve days' march to the west. Of

course the thing was ridiculous pre posterous but preposterous things often happen in war; and

anyway no good general permits the least rumor of enemy activity to go uninvestigated.

Therefore Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick flew low toward the west, searching with keen eyes for

signs of a Hun army. Vast forests unrolled beneath him in which a German army corps might have lain

concealed, so dense was the overhanging foliage of the great trees. Mountain, meadow land, and desert

Always hoping that he might discover some sign of their passage a discarded lorry, a broken limber, or an

old camp site he continued farther and farther into the west until well into the afternoon. Above a

treedotted plain through the center of which flowed a winding river he determined to turn about and start for

camp. It would take straight flying at top speed to cover the distance before dark; but as he had ample

gasoline and a trustworthy machine there was no doubt in his mind but that he could accomplish his aim. It

He was too low to do anything but land, and that immedi ately, while he had the more open country

accessible, for directly east of him was a vast forest into which a stalled engine could only have plunged him

to certain injury and probable death; and so he came down in the meadowland near the winding river and

As he worked he hummed a tune, some musichall air that had been popular in London the year before, so

that one might have thought him working in the security of an English flying field surrounded by

innumerable comrades rather than alone in the heart of an unexplored African wilderness. It was typical of

the man that he should be wholly indifferent to his surroundings, although his looks entirely belied any

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick was fairhatred, blueeyed, and slender, with a rosy, boyish face

that might have been molded more by an environment of luxury, indo lence, and ease than the more

And not only was the young lieutenant outwardly careless of the immediate future and of his surroundings,

but actually so. That the district might be infested by countless enemies seemed not to have occurred to him

in the remotest degree. He bent assiduously to the work of correcting the adjustment that had caused his

motor to stall without so much as an up ward glance at the surrounding country. The forest to the east of

him, and the more distant jungle that bordered the winding river, might have harbored an army of

bloodthirsty savages, but neither could elicit even a passing show of inter est on the part of Lieutenant

And even had he looked, it is doubtful if he would have seen the score of figures crouching in the

concealment of the undergrowth at the forest's edge. There are those who are reputed to be endowed with that

which is sometimes, for want of a better appellation, known as the sixth sense a species of intuition which

apprises them of the presence of an unseen danger. The concentrated gaze of a hidden observer provokes a

warning sensation of nervous unrest in such as these, but though twenty pairs of savage eyes were gazing

fixedly at Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick, the fact aroused no responsive sensation of impending

danger in his placid breast. He hummed peacefully and, his adjustment completed, tried out his motor for a

minute or two, then shut it off and de scended to the ground with the intention of stretching his legs and

taking a smoke before continuing his return flight to camp. Now for the first time he took note of his

surroundings, to be immediately impressed by both the wildness and the beauty of the scene. In some respects

the treedotted meadow land reminded him of a parklike English forest, and that wild beasts and savage

men could ever be a part of so quiet a scene seemed the remotest of contingencies.

Some gorgeous blooms upon a flowering shrub at a little distance from his machine caught the attention of

his aesthetic eye, and as he puffed upon his cigarette, he walked over to examine the flowers more closely. As

he bent above them he was probably some hundred yards from his plane and it was at this instant that

Numabo, chief of the Wamabo, chose to leap from his ambush and lead his warriors in a sudden rush upon

The young Englishman's first intimation of danger was a chorus of savage yells from the forest behind him.

Turning, he saw a score of naked, black warriors advancing rapidly toward him. They moved in a compact

mass and as they approached more closely their rate of speed noticeably di minished. Lieutenant

SmithOldwick realized in a quick glance that the direction of their approach and their proximity had cut off

all chances of retreating to his plane, and he also understood that their attitude was entirely warlike and

menac ing. He saw that they were armed with spears and with bows and arrows, and he felt quite confident

that notwithstanding the fact that he was armed with a pistol they could overcome him with the first rush.

What he did not know about their tactics was that at any show of resistance they would fall back, which is the

nature of the native Negroes, but that after numerous advances and retreats, during which they would work

themselves into a frenzy of rage by much shrieking, leaping, and dancing, they would eventually come to the

Numabo was in the forefront, a fact which taken in con nection with his considerably greater size and more

warlike appearance, indicated him as the natural target and it was at Numabo that the Englishman aimed his

first shot. Unfortu nately for him it missed its target, as the killing of the chief might have permanently

dispersed the others. The bullet passed Numabo to lodge in the breast of a warrior behind him and as the

fellow lunged forward with a scream the others turned and retreated, but to the lieutenant's chagrin they ran in

the direction of the plane instead of back toward the forest so that he was still cut off from reaching his

Presently they stopped and faced him again. They were talking loudly and gesticulating, and after a moment

one of them leaped into the air, brandishing his spear and uttering savage war cries, which soon had their

effect upon his fellows so that it was not long ere all of them were taking part in the wild show of savagery,

which would bolster their waning courage and presently spur them on to another attack.

The second charge brought them closer to the Englishman, and though he dropped another with his pistol, it

was not before two or three spears had been launched at him. He now had five shots remaining and there

were still eighteen warriors to be accounted for, so that unless he could frighten them off, it was evident that

That they must pay the price of one life for every attempt to take his had its effect upon them and they were

longer now in initiating a new rush and when they did so it was more skilfully ordered than those that had

preceded it, for they scattered into three bands which, partially surrounding him, came simultaneously toward

him from different directions, and though he emptied his pistol with good effect, they reached him at last.

They seemed to know that his ammuni tion was exhausted, for they circled close about him now with the

evident intention of taking him alive, since they might easily have riddled him with their sharp spears with

For two or three minutes they circled about him until, at a word from Numabo, they closed in simultaneously,

and though the slender young lieutenant struck out to right and left, he was soon overwhelmed by superior

He was all but unconscious when they finally dragged him to his feet, and after securing his hands behind his

As the guard prodded him along the narrow trail, Lieuten ant SmithOldwick could not but wonder why

they had wished to take him alive. He knew that he was too far inland for his uniform to have any

significance to this native tribe to whom no inkling of the World War probably ever had come, and he could

only assume that he had fallen into the hands of the warriors of some savage potentate upon whose royal

They had marched for perhaps half an hour when the Englishman saw ahead of them, in a little clearing upon

the bank of the river, the thatched roofs of native huts showing above a crude but strong palisade; and

presently he was ushered into a village street where he was immediately sur rounded by a throng of women

and children and warriors. Here he was soon the center of an excited mob whose intent seemed to be to

dispatch him as quickly as possible. The women were more venomous than the men, striking and scratching

him whenever they could reach him, until at last Numabo, the chief, was obliged to interfere to save his pris

As the warriors pushed the crowd back, opening a space through which the white man was led toward a hut,

Lieu tenant SmithOldwick saw coming from the opposite end of the village a number of Negroes wearing

odds and ends of German uniforms. He was not a little surprised at this, and his first thought was that he had

at last come in contact with some portion of the army which was rumored to be crossing from the west coast

A rueful smile touched his lips as he contemplated the unhappy circumstances which surrounded the

accession of this knowledge for though he was far from being without hope, he realized that only by the

Among the partially uniformed blacks was a huge fellow in the tunic of a sergeant and as this man's eyes fell

upon the British officer, a loud cry of exultation broke from his lips, and immediately his followers took up

"Where did you get the Englishman?" asked Usanga, the black sergeant, of the chief Numabo. "Are there

"He came down from the sky," replied the native chief "in a strange thing which flies like a bird and which

frightened us very much at first; but we watched for a long time and saw that it did not seem to be alive, and

when this white man left it we attacked him and though he killed some of my warriors, we took him, for we

"Yes," said Numabo. "In a great thing which resembled a bird he flew down out of the sky. The thing is still

there where it came down close to the four trees near the second bend in the river. We left it there because,

not knowing what it was, we were afraid to touch it and it is still there if it has not flown away again."

"It cannot fly," said Usanga, "without this man in it. It is a terrible thing which filled the hearts of our soldiers

with ter ror, for it flew over our camps at night and dropped bombs upon us. It is well that you captured this

white man, Numabo, for with his great bird he would have flown over your village tonight and killed all your

"He will fly no more," said Numabo "It is not intended that a man should fly through the air; only wicked

demons do such things as that and Numabo, the chief, will see that this white man does not do it again," and

with the words he pushed the young officer roughly toward a hut in the center of the village, where he was

For an hour or more the prisoner was left to his own devices, which consisted in vain and unremitting

attempts to loosen the strands which fettered his wrists, and then he was inter rupted by the appearance of

"What are they going to do with me?" asked the English man. "My country is not at war with these people.

You speak their language. Tell them that I am not an enemy, that my people are the friends of the black

Usanga laughed. "They do not know an Englishman from a German," he replied. "It is nothing to them what

"Come," said Usanga and he led the Englishman to the doorway of the hut. "Look," he said, and pointed a

black forefinger toward the end of the village street where a wider space between the huts left a sort of plaza.

Here Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick saw a num ber of Negresses engaged in laying fagots around

a stake and in preparing fires beneath a number of large cooking vessels. The sinister suggestion was only too

Usanga was eyeing the white man closely, but if he expected to be rewarded by any signs of fear, he was

doomed to dis appointment and the young lieutenant merely turned toward him with a shrug: "Really now,

"Not my people," replied Usanga. "We do not eat human flesh, but the Wamabos do. It is they who will eat

The Englishman remained standing in the doorway of the hut, an interested spectator of the preparations for

the coming orgy that was so horribly to terminate his earthly existence. It can hardly be assumed that he felt

no fear; yet, if he did, he hid it perfectly beneath an imperturbable mask of coolness. Even the brutal Usanga

must have been impressed by the bravery of his victim since, though he had come to abuse and possibly to

torture the helpless prisoner, he now did neither, contenting himself merely with berating whites as a race and

Englishmen especially, because of the terror the British avia tors had caused Germany's native troops in

"No more," he concluded, "will your great bird fly over our people dropping death among them from the

skies Usanga will see to that," and he walked abruptly away toward a group of his own fighting men who

were congregated near the stake where they were laughing and joking with the women.

A few minutes later the Englishman saw them pass out of the village gate, and once again his thoughts

Several miles north of the village on a little rise of ground close to the river where the jungle, halting at the

base of a knoll, had left a few acres of grassy land sparsely wooded, a man and a girl were busily engaged in

constructing a small boma, in the center of which a thatched hut already had been erected.

They worked almost in silence with only an occasional word of direction or interrogation between them.

Except for a loin cloth, the man was naked, his smooth skin tanned to a deep brown by the action of sun and

wind. He moved with the graceful ease of a jungle cat and when he lifted heavy weights, the action seemed as

When he was not looking at her, and it was seldom that he did, the girl found her eyes wandering toward him,

and at such times there was always a puzzled expression upon her face as though she found in him an enigma

which she could not solve. As a matter of fact, her feelings toward him were not un tinged with awe, since

in the brief period of their association she had discovered in this handsome, godlike giant the attri butes of

the superman and the savage beast closely intermin gled. At first she had felt only that unreasoning feminine

To be alone in the heart of an unexplored wilderness of Central Africa with a savage wild man was in itself

sufficiently appalling, but to feel also that this man was a blood enemy, that he hated her and her kind and

that in addition thereto he owed her a personal grudge for an attack she had made upon him in the past, left no

loophole for any hope that he might accord her even the minutest measure of consideration.

She had seen him first months since when he had entered the headquarters of the German high command in

East Africa and carried off the luckless Major Schneider, of whose fate no hint had ever reached the German

officers; and she had seen him again upon that occasion when he had rescued her from the clutches of the lion

and, after explaining to her that he had recognized her in the British camp, had made her prisoner. It was then

that she had struck him down with the butt of her pistol and escaped. That he might seek no personal revenge

for her act had been evidenced in Wilhelmstal the night that he had killed Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and left

No, she could not fathom him. He hated her and at the same time he had protected her as had been evidenced

again when he had kept the great apes from tearing her to pieces after she had escaped from the Wamabo

village to which Usanga, the black sergeant, had brought her a captive; but why was he saving her? For what

sinister purpose could this savage enemy be protecting her from the other denizens of his cruel jungle? She

tried to put from her mind the probable fate which awaited her, yet it persisted in obtruding itself upon her

thoughts, though always she was forced to admit that there was nothing in the demeanor of the man to

indicate that her fears were well grounded. She judged him perhaps by the standards other men had taught her

and because she looked upon him as a savage creature, she felt that she could not expect more of chivalry

from him than was to be found in the breasts of the civilized men of her acquaintance.

Fraulein Bertha Kircher was by nature a companionable and cheerful character. She was not given to morbid

fore bodings, and above all things she craved the society of her kind and that interchange of thought which

is one of the marked distinctions between man and the lower animals. Tarzan, on the other hand, was

sufficient unto himself. Long years of semisolitude among creatures whose powers of oral expression are

extremely limited had thrown him almost en tirely upon his own resources for entertainment.

His active mind was never idle, but because his jungle mates could neither follow nor grasp the vivid train of

imag inings that his manmind wrought, he had long since learned to keep them to himself; and so now he

found no need for confiding them in others. This fact, linked with that of his dislike for the girl, was

sufficient to seal his lips for other than necessary conversation, and so they worked on together in

comparative silence. Bertha Kircher, however, was nothing if not feminine and she soon found that having

someone to talk to who would not talk was extremely irksome. Her fear of the man was gradually departing,

and she was full of a thou sand unsatisfied curiosities as to his plans for the future in so far as they related to

her, as well as more personal questions regarding himself, since she could not but wonder as to his

antecedents and his strange and solitary life in the jungle, as well as his friendly intercourse with the savage

With the waning of her fears she became sufficiently em boldened to question him, and so she asked him

"I am going to the west coast where I was born," replied Tarzan. "I do not know when. I have all my life

before me and in the jungle there is no reason for haste. We are not forever running as fast as we can from

one place to another as are you of the outer world. When I have been here long enough I will go on toward

the west, but first I must see that you have a safe place in which to sleep, and that you have learned how to

"You are going to leave me here alone?" cried the girl; her tones marked the fear which the prospect induced.

"You are going to leave me here alone in this terrible jungle, a prey to wild beasts and savage men, hundreds

of miles from a white settlement and in a country which gives every evidence of never having been touched

"Why not?" asked Tarzan. "I did not bring you here. Would one of your men accord any better treatment to

"Yes," she exclaimed. "They certainly would. No man of my race would leave a defenseless white woman

Tarzan shrugged his broad shoulders. The conversation seemed profitless and it was further distasteful to him

for the reason that it was carried on in German, a tongue which he detested as much as he did the people who

spoke it. He wished that the girl spoke English and then it occurred to him that as he had seen her in disguise

in the British camp carrying on her nefarious work as a German spy, she probably did speak Eng lish and so

Tarzan looked his wonderment but made no comment. He only wondered why the girl should have any

doubts as to the ability of an Englishman to speak English, and then suddenly it occurred to him that she

probably looked upon him merely as a beast of the jungle who by accident had learned to speak German

through frequenting the district which Germany had colonized. It was there only that she had seen him and so

she might not know that he was an Englishman by birth, and that he had had a home in British East Africa. It

was as well, he thought, that she knew little of him, as the less she knew the more he might learn from her as

to her activities in behalf of the Germans and of the German spy system of which she was a representative;

and so it occurred to him to let her continue to think that he was only what he appeared to be a savage

denizen of his savage jungle, a man of no race and no country, hating all white men impartially; and this in

truth, was what she did think of him. It explained per fectly his attacks upon Major Schneider and the

Again they worked on in silence upon the boma which was now nearly completed, the girl helping the man to

the best of her small ability. Tarzan could not but note with grudging approval the spirit of helpfulness she

manifested in the oft times painful labor of gathering and arranging the thorn bushes which constituted the

temporary protection against roaming carnivores. Her hands and arms gave bloody token of the sharpness of

the numerous points that had lacerated her soft flesh, and even though she were an enemy Tarzan could not

but feel compunction that he had permitted her to do this work, and at last he bade her stop.

"Why?" she asked. "It is no more painful to me than it must be to you, and, as it is solely for my protection

that you are building this boma, there is no reason why I should not do my share."

"You are a woman," replied Tarzan. "This is not a wom an's work. If you wish to do something, take those

gourds I brought this morning and fill them with water at the river. You may need it while I am away."

"When the boma is built I am going out after meat," he replied. "Tomorrow I will go again and take you and

Without a word she took the gourds and walked toward the river. As she filled them, her mind was occupied

with painful forebodings of the future. She knew that Tarzan had passed a death sentence upon her, and that

the moment that he left her, her doom was sealed, for it could be but a question of time a very short time

before the grim jungle would claim her, for how could a lone woman hope successfully to combat the

savage forces of destruction which constituted so large a part of existence in the jungle?

So occupied was she with the gloomy prophecies that she had neither ears nor eyes for what went on about

her. Me chanically she filled the gourds and, taking them up, turned slowly to retrace her steps to the boma

only to voice im mediately a halfstifled scream and shrank back from the menacing figure looming before

Golat, the king ape, hunting a little apart from his tribe, had seen the woman go to the river for water, and it

was he who confronted her when she turned back with her filled gourds. Golat was not a pretty creature

when judged by standards of civilized humanity, though the shes of his tribe and even Golat himself,

considered his glossy black coat shot with silver, his huge arms dangling to his knees, his bullet head sunk

between his mighty shoulders, marks of great per sonal beauty. His wicked, bloodshot eyes and broad nose,

his ample mouth and great fighting fangs only enhanced the claim of this Adonis of the forest upon the

Doubtless in the little, savage brain there was a wellformed conviction that this strange she belonging to the

Tarmangani must look with admiration upon so handsome a creature as Golat, for there could be no doubt

in the mind of any that his beauty entirely eclipsed such as the hairless white ape might lay claim to.

But Bertha Kircher saw only a hideous beast, a fierce and terrible caricature of man. Could Golat have

known what passed through her mind, he must have been terribly cha grined, though the chances are that he

would have attributed it to a lack of discernment on her part. Tarzan heard the girl's cry and looking up saw at

a glance the cause of her terror. Leaping lightly over the boma, he ran swiftly toward her as Golat lumbered

closer to the girl the while he voiced his emotions in low gutturals which, while in reality the most amicable

of advances, sounded to the girl like the growling of an enraged beast. As Tarzan drew nearer he called aloud

to the ape and the girl heard from the human lips the same sounds that had fallen from those of the

"I know it," replied the apeman, "but she does not. She is like Numa and Sheeta, who do not understand our

By this time Tarzan was beside the girl. "He will not harm you," he said to her. "You need not be afraid. This

ape has learned his lesson. He has learned that Tarzan is lord of the jungle. He will not harm that which is

The girl cast a quick glance at the man's face. It was evi dent to her that the words he had spoken meant

nothing to him and that the assumed proprietorship over her was, like the boma, only another means for her

"You must not show your fear. You will be often sur rounded by these apes. At such times you will be

safest. Be fore I leave you I will give you the means of protecting your self against them should one of

them chance to turn upon you. If I were you I would seek their society. Few are the animals of the jungle that

dare attack the great apes when there are several of them together. If you let them know that you are afraid of

them, they will take advantage of it and your life will be constantly menaced. The shes especially would

attack you. I will let them know that you have the means of protecting yourself and of killing them. If

"I will try," said the girl, "but I am afraid that it will be difficult. He is the most frightful creature I ever have

By this time other apes had entered the clearing and they were now the center of a considerable group, among

which were several bulls, some young shes, and some older ones with their little balus clinging to their backs

or frolicking around at their feet. Though they had seen the girl the night of the DumDum when Sheeta had

forced her to leap from her con cealment into the arena where the apes were dancing, they still evinced a

great curiosity regarding her. Some of the shes came very close and plucked at her garments, commenting

upon them to one another in their strange tongue. The girl, by the exercise of all the will power she could

command, suc ceeded in passing through the ordeal without evincing any of the terror and revulsion that she

felt. Tarzan watched her closely, a halfsmile upon his face. He was not so far removed from recent contact

with civilized people that he could not realize the torture that she was undergoing, but he felt no pity for this

woman of a cruel enemy who doubtless deserved the worst suffering that could be meted to her. Yet, not

withstanding his sentiments toward her, he was forced to ad mire her fine display of courage. Suddenly he

"Tarzan goes to hunt for himself and his she," he said. "The she will remain there," and he pointed toward the

"No," said Tarzan. "You will not. For if you do, Tarzan will kill you," and then turning to the girl, "Come,"

he said, "I am going to hunt now. You had better remain at the hut. The apes have promised not to harm you.

I will leave my spear with you. It will be the best weapon you could have in case you should need to protect

yourself, but I doubt if you will be in any danger for the short time that I am away."

He walked with her as far as the boma and when she had entered he closed the gap with thorn bushes and

turned away toward the forest. She watched him moving across the clear ing, noting the easy, catlike tread

and the grace of every move ment that harmonized so well with the symmetry and perfec tion of his figure.

At the forest's edge she saw him swing lightly into a tree and disappear from view, and then, being a woman,

Tarzan sought Bara, the deer, or Horta, the boar, for of all the jungle animals he doubted if any would prove

more palatable to the white woman, but though his keen nos trils were ever on the alert, he traveled far

without being re warded with even the faintest scent spoor of the game he sought. Keeping close to the river

where he hoped to find Bara or Horta approaching or leaving a drinking place he came at last upon the strong

odor of the Wamabo village and being ever ready to pay his hereditary enemies, the Gomangani, an undesired

visit, he swung into a detour and came up in the rear of the village. From a tree which overhung the palisade

he looked down into the street where he saw the preparations going on which his experience told him

indicated the approach of one of those frightful feasts the piece de resistance of which is human flesh.

One of Tarzan's chief divertissements was the baiting of the blacks. He realized more keen enjoyment

through annoying and terrifying them than from any other source of amusement the grim jungle offered. To

rob them of their feast in some way that would strike terror to their hearts would give him the keenest of

pleasure, and so he searched the village with his eyes for some indication of the whereabouts of the prisoner.

His view was circumscribed by the dense foliage of the tree in which he sat, and, so that he might obtain a

better view, he climbed further aloft and moved cautiously out upon a slender branch.

Tarzan of the Apes possessed a woodcraft scarcely short of the marvelous but even Tarzan's wondrous senses

were not infallible. The branch upon which he made his way outward from the bole was no smaller than

many that had borne his weight upon countless other occasions. Outwardly it appeared strong and healthy and

was in full foliage, nor could Tarzan know that close to the stem a burrowing insect had eaten away half the

And so when he reached a point far out upon the limb, it snapped close to the bole of the tree without

warning. Below him were no larger branches that he might clutch and as he lunged downward his foot caught

in a looped creeper so that he turned completely over and alighted on the flat of his back in the center of the

At the sound of the breaking limb and the crashing body falling through the branches the startled blacks

scurried to their huts for weapons, and when the braver of them emerged, they saw the still form of an almost

naked white man lying where he had fallen. Emboldened by the fact that he did not move they approached

more closely, and when their eyes dis covered no signs of others of his kind in the tree, they rushed forward

until a dozen warriors stood about him with ready spears. At first they thought that the falling had killed him,

but upon closer examination they discovered that the man was only stunned. One of the warriors was for

thrusting a spear through his heart, but Numabo, the chief, would not permit it.

And so they bound his hands and feet with thongs of gut and carried him into the hut where Lieutenant

Harold Percy SmithOldwick awaited his fate. The Englishman had also been bound hand and foot by this

time for fear that at the last mo ment he might escape and rob them of their feast. A great crowd of natives

were gathered about the hut attempting to get a glimpse of the new prisoner, but Numabo doubled the guard

before the entrance for fear that some of his people, in the exuberance of their savage joy, might rob the

others of the pleasures of the death dance which would precede the killing of the victims.

The young Englishman had heard the sound of Tarzan's body crashing through the tree to the ground and the

commo tion in the village which immediately followed, and now, as he stood with his back against the wall

of the hut, he looked upon the fellowprisoner that the blacks carried in and laid upon the floor with mixed

feelings of surprise and compassion. He realized that he never had seen a more perfect specimen of manhood

than that of the unconscious figure before him, and he wondered to what sad circumstances the man owed his

capture. It was evident that the new prisoner was himself as much a savage as his captors if apparel and

weapons were any criterion by which to judge; yet it was also equally evident that he was a white man and

from his wellshaped head and cleancut features that he was not one of those unhappy half wits who so

As he watched the man, he presently noticed that his eyelids were moving. Slowly they opened and a pair of

gray eyes looked blankly about. With returning consciousness the eyes assumed their natural expression of

keen intelligence, and a moment later, with an effort, the prisoner rolled over upon his side and drew himself

to a sitting position. He was facing the Englishman, and as his eyes took in the bound ankles and the arms

The Englishman grinned. "From the fuss they made," he said, "the beggars must be awfully hungry. They like

Tarzan shrugged his head ruefully. "It was my own fault," he replied. "I deserve to be eaten. I crawled out

upon a branch that would not bear my weight and when it broke, instead of alighting on my feet, I caught my

foot in a trailer and came down on my head. Otherwise they would not have taken me alive."

"I have escaped them before," replied Tarzan, "and I have seen others escape them. I have seen a man taken

away from the stake after a dozen spear thrusts had pierced his body and the fire had been lighted about his

Lieutenant SmithOldwick shuddered. "God!" he exclaimed, "I hope I don't have to face that. I believe I

could stand any thing but the thought of the fire. I should hate like the devil to go into a funk before the

"Don't worry," said Tarzan. "It doesn't last long and you won't funk. It is really not half as bad as it sounds.

There is only a brief period of pain before you lose consciousness. I have seen it many times before. It is as

good a way to go as another. We must die sometime. What difference whether it be tonight, tomorrow night,

"Your philosophy may be all right, old top," said the young lieutenant, "but I can't say that it is exactly

Tarzan laughed. "Roll over here," he said, "where I can get at your bonds with my teeth." The Englishman

did as he was bid and presently Tarzan was working at the thongs with his strong white teeth. He felt them

giving slowly beneath his efforts. In another moment they would part, and then it would be a comparatively

simple thing for the Englishman to remove the remaining bonds from Tarzan and himself.

It was then that one of the guards entered the hut. In an instant he saw what the new prisoner was doing and

raising his spear, struck the apeman a vicious blow across the head with its shaft. Then he called in the other

guards and together they fell upon the luckless men, kicking and beating them un mercifully, after which

they bound the Englishman more se curely than before and tied both men fast on opposite sides of the hut.

"While there is life," he said, "there is hope," but he grinned as he voiced the ancient truism.

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick returned the other's smile. "I fancy," he said, "that we are getting

Zutag hunted alone far from the balance of the tribe of Golat, the great ape. Zutag (Bigneck) was a

young bull but recently arrived at maturity. He was large, powerful, and ferocious and at the same time far

above the average of his kind in intelligence as was denoted by a fuller and less reced ing forehead. Already

Golat saw in this young ape a possible contender for the laurels of his kingship and consequently the old

bull looked upon Zutag with jealousy and disfavor. It was for this reason, possibly, as much as another that

Zutag hunted so often alone; but it was his utter fearlessness that permitted him to wander far afield away

from the protection which numbers gave the great apes. One of the results of this habit was a greatly

increased resourcefulness which found him constantly growing in intelligence and powers of observation.

Today he had been hunting toward the south and was returning along the river upon a path he often followed

be cause it led by the village of the Gomangani whose strange and almost apelike actions and peculiar

manners of living had aroused his interest and curiosity. As he had done upon other occasions he took up his

position in a tree from which he could overlook the interior of the village and watch the blacks at their

Zutag had scarcely more than established himself in his tree when, with the blacks, he was startled by the

crashing of Tarzan's body from the branches of another jungle giant to the ground within the palisade. He saw

the Negroes gather about the prostrate form and later carry it into the hut; and once he rose to his full height

upon the limb where he had been squatting and raised his face to the heavens to scream out a savage protest

and a challenge, for he had recognized in the brownskinned Tarmangani the strange white ape who had

come among them a night or two before in the midst of their DumDum, and who by so easily mastering the

greatest among them, had won the savage respect and admiration of this fierce young bull.

But Zutag's ferocity was tempered by a certain native cun ning and caution. Before he had voiced his

protest there formed in his mind the thought that he would like to save this wonder ful white ape from the

common enemy, the Gomangani, and so he screamed forth no challenge, wisely determined that more could

At first he thought to enter the village alone and carry off the Tarmangani; but when he saw how numerous

were the warriors and that several sat directly before the entrance to the lair into which the prisoner had been

carried, it occurred to him that this was work for many rather than one, and so, as silently as he had come, he

The tribe was still loitering about the clearing where stood the hut that Tarzan and Bertha Kircher had built.

Some were idly searching for food just within the forest's edge, while others squatted beneath the shade of

The girl had emerged from the hut, her tears dried and was gazing anxiously toward the south into the jungle

where Tar zan had disappeared. Occasionally she cast suspicious glances in the direction of the huge shaggy

anthropoids about her. How easy it would be for one of those great beasts to enter the boma and slay her.

How helpless she was, even with the spear that the white man had left her, she realized as she noted for the

thousandth time the massive shoulders, the bull necks, and the great muscles gliding so easily beneath the

glossy coats. Never, she thought, had she seen such personi fications of brute power as were represented by

these mighty bulls. Those huge hands would snap her futile spear as she might snap a match in two, while

It was while she was occupied with these depressing thoughts that there dropped suddenly into the clearing

from the trees upon the south the figure of a mighty young bull. At that time all of the apes looked much alike

to Bertha Kircher, nor was it until some time later that she realized that each differed from the others in

individual characteristics of face and figure as do individuals of the human races. Yet even then she could not

help but note the wondrous strength and agility of this great beast, and as he approached she even found

It was evident that the newcomer was filled with suppressed excitement. His demeanor and bearing

proclaimed this even from afar, nor was the girl the only one to note it. For as they saw him coming many of

the apes arose and advanced to meet him, bristling and growling as is their way. Golat was among these

latter, and he advanced stiffly with the hairs upon his neck and down his spine erect, uttering low growls and

baring his fighting fangs, for who might say whether Zutag came in peace or otherwise? The old king had

seen other young apes come thus in his day filled with a sudden resolution to wrest the kingship from their

chief. He had seen bulls about to run amuck burst thus suddenly from the jungle upon the members of the

Had Zutag come indolently, feeding as he came, he might have entered the tribe without arousing notice or

suspicion, but when one comes thus precipitately, evidently bursting with some emotion out of the ordinary,

let all apes beware. There was a certain amount of preliminary circling, growling, and sniffing, stifflegged

and stiffhaired, before each side discov ered that the other had no intention of initiating an attack and then

Golat grunted in disgust and turned away. "Let the white ape take care of himself," he said.

"He is a great ape," said Zutag. "He came to live in peace with the tribe of Golat. Let us save him from the

"Zutag will go alone and get him," cried the young ape, "if Golat is afraid of the Gomangani."

The king ape wheeled in anger, growling loudly and beating upon his breast. "Golat is not afraid," he

screamed, "but he will not go, for the white ape is not of his tribe. Go yourself and take the Tarmangani's she

"Zutag will go," replied the younger bull, "and he will take the Tarmangani's she and all the bulls of Golat

who are not cowards," and so saying he cast his eyes inquiringly about at the other apes. "Who will go with

Eight young bulls in the full prime of their vigor pressed forward to Zutag's side, but the old bulls with the

conserva tism and caution of many years upon their gray shoulders, shook their heads and waddled away

"Good," cried Zutag. "We want no old shes to go with us to fight the Gomangani for that is work for the

The old bulls paid no attention to his boastful words, but the eight who had volunteered to accompany him

were filled with selfpride so that they stood around vaingloriously beating upon their breasts, baring their

fangs and screaming their hideous challenge until the jungle reverberated to the horrid sound.

All this time Bertha Kircher was a wideeyed and terrified spectator to what, as she thought, could end only

in a terrific battle between these frightful beasts, and when Zutag and his followers began screaming forth

their fearsome challenge, the girl found herself trembling in terror, for of all the sounds of the jungle there is

none more awe inspiring than that of the great bull ape when he issues his challenge or shrieks forth his

If she had been terrified before she was almost paralyzed with fear now as she saw Zutag and his apes turn

toward the boma and approach her. With the agility of a cat Zutag leaped completely over the protecting

wall and stood before her. Val iantly she held her spear before her, pointing it at his breast. He commenced

to jabber and gesticulate, and even with her scant acquaintance with the ways of the anthropoids, she real

ized that he was not menacing her, for there was little or no baring of fighting fangs and his whole expression

and attitude was of one attempting to explain a knotty problem or plead a worthy cause. At last he became

evidently impatient, for with a sweep of one great paw he struck the spear from her hand and coming close,

seized her by the arm, but not roughly. She shrank away in terror and yet some sense within her seemed to be

trying to assure her that she was in no danger from this great beast. Zutag jabbered loudly, ever and again

pointing into the jungle toward the south and moving toward the boma, pulling the girl with him. He seemed

almost frantic in his efforts to explain something to her. He pointed toward the boma, herself, and then to the

forest, and then, at last, as though by a sudden inspiration, he reached down and, seizing the spear, repeatedly

touched it with his forefinger and again pointed toward the south. Suddenly it dawned upon the girl that what

the ape was trying to explain to her was related in some way to the white man whose property they thought

she was. Possibly her grim protector was in trouble and with this thought firmly established, she no longer

held back, but started forward as though to accompany the young bull. At the point in the boma where Tarzan

had blocked the entrance, she started to pull away the thorn bushes, and, when Zutag saw what she was

doing, he fell to and assisted her so that presently they had an opening through the boma through which she

Immediately Zutag and his eight apes started off rapidly toward the jungle, so rapidly that Bertha Kircher

would have had to run at top speed to keep up with them. This she real ized she could not do, and so she

was forced to lag behind, much to the chagrin of Zutag, who constantly kept running back and urging her to

greater speed. Once he took her by the arm and tried to draw her along. Her protests were of no avail since

the beast could not know that they were protests, nor did he desist until she caught her foot in some tangled

grass and fell to the ground. Then indeed was Zutag furious and growled hideously. His apes were waiting

at the edge of the forest for him to lead them. He suddenly realized that this poor weak she could not keep up

with them and that if they traveled at her slow rate they might be too late to render as sistance to the

Tarmangani, and so without more ado, the giant anthropoid picked Bertha Kircher bodily from the ground

and swung her to his back. Her arms were about his neck and in this position he seized her wrists in one great

paw so that she could not fall off and started at a rapid rate to join his com panions.

Dressed as she was in riding breeches with no entangling skirts to hinder or catch upon passing shrubbery,

she soon found that she could cling tightly to the back of the mighty bull and when a moment later he took to

the lower branches of the trees, she closed her eyes and clung to him in terror lest she be precipitated to the

That journey through the primeval forest with the nine great apes will live in the memory of Bertha Kircher

for the balance of her life, as clearly delineated as at the moment of its enactment.

The first overwhelming wave of fear having passed, she was at last able to open her eyes and view her

surroundings with increased interest and presently the sensation of terror slowly left her to be replaced by one

of comparative security when she saw the ease and surety with which these great beasts trav eled through

the trees; and later her admiration for the young bull increased as it became evident that even burdened with

her additional weight, he moved more rapidly and with no greater signs of fatigue than his unburdened

Not once did Zutag pause until he came to a stop among the branches of a tree no great distance from the

native village. They could hear the noises of the life within the palisade, the laughing and shouting of the

Negroes, and the barking of dogs, and through the foliage the girl caught glimpses of the village from which

she had so recently escaped. She shuddered to think of the possibility of having to return to it and of possi

Now the apes advanced slowly once more and with great caution, moving as noiselessly through the trees as

the squirrels themselves until they had reached a point where they could easily overlook the palisade and the

Zutag squatted upon a great branch close to the bole of the tree and by loosening the girl's arms from about

his neck, indicated that she was to find a footing for herself and when she had done so, he turned toward her

and pointed repeatedly at the open doorway of a hut upon the opposite side of the street below them. By

various gestures he seemed to be try ing to explain something to her and at last she caught at the germ of his

Beneath them was the roof of a hut onto which she saw that she could easily drop, but what she could do after

Darkness was already falling and the fires beneath the cook ing pots had been lighted. The girl saw the stake

in the village street and the piles of fagots about it and in terror she sud denly realized the portent of these

grisly preparations. Oh, if she but only had some sort of a weapon that might give her even a faint hope, some

slight advantage against the blacks. Then she would not hesitate to venture into the village in an at tempt to

save the man who had upon three different occasions saved her. She knew that he hated her and yet strong

within her breast burned the sense of her obligation to him. She could not fathom him. Never in her life had

she seen a man at once so paradoxical and dependable. In many of his ways he was more savage than the

beasts with which he associated and yet, on the other hand, he was as chivalrous as a knight of old. For

several days she had been lost with him in the jungle absolutely at his mercy, yet she had come to trust so

implicitly in his honor that any fear she had had of him was rapidly dis appearing.

On the other hand, that he might be hideously cruel was evidenced to her by the fact that he was planning to

leave her alone in the midst of the frightful dangers which menaced her by night and by day.

Zutag was evidently waiting for darkness to fall before carrying out whatever plans had matured in his

savage little brain, for he and his fellows sat quietly in the tree about her, watching the preparations of the

blacks. Presently it became apparent that some altercation had arisen among the Negroes, for a score or more

of them were gathered around one who ap peared to be their chief, and all were talking and gesticulating

heatedly. The argument lasted for some five or ten minutes when suddenly the little knot broke and two

warriors ran to the opposite side of the village from whence they presently re turned with a large stake

which they soon set up beside the one already in place. The girl wondered what the purpose of the second

It was quite dark by this time, the village being lighted by the fitful glare of many fires, and now she saw a

number of warriors approach and enter the hut Zutag had been watch ing. A moment later they reappeared,

dragging between them two captives, one of whom the girl immediately recognized as her protector and the

other as an Englishman in the uniform of an aviator. This, then, was the reason for the two stakes.

Arising quickly she placed a hand upon Zutag's shoulder and pointed down into the village. "Come," she

said, as if she had been talking to one of her own kind, and with the word she swung lightly to the roof of the

hut below. From there to the ground was but a short drop and a moment later she was circling the hut upon

the side farthest from the fires, keeping in the dense shadows where there was little likelihood of being

discovered. She turned once to see that Zutag was directly behind her and could see his huge bulk looming

up in the dark, while beyond was another one of his eight. Doubtless they had all followed her and this fact

Pausing beside the hut next to the street, she peered cau tiously about the corner. A few inches from her was

the open doorway of the structure, and beyond, farther down the village street, the blacks were congregating

about the prisoners, who were already being bound to the stakes. All eyes were cen tered upon the victims,

and there was only the remotest chance that she and her companions would be discovered until they were

close upon the blacks. She wished, however, that she might have some sort of a weapon with which to lead

the at tack, for she could not know, of course, for a certainty whether the great apes would follow her or not.

Hoping that she might find something within the hut, she slipped quickly around the corner and into the

doorway and after her, one by one, came the nine bulls. Searching quickly about the interior, she pres ently

Tarzan of the Apes and Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith Oldwick were bound securely to their respective

stakes. Neither had spoken for some time. The Englishman turned his head so that he could see his

companion in misery. Tarzan stood straight against his stake. His face was entirely expres sionless in so far

as either fear or anger were concerned. His countenance portrayed bored indifference though both men knew

Tarzan turned his eyes in the direction of the other and smiled. "Goodbye," he said. "If you want to get it

"Thanks," replied the aviator and though he made a wry face, he drew himself up very straight and squared

The women and children had seated themselves in a wide circle about the victims while the warriors,

hideously painted, were forming slowly to commence the dance of death. Again Tarzan turned to his

companion. "If you'd like to spoil their fun," he said, "don't make any fuss no matter how much you suffer. If

you can carry on to the end without changing the expression upon your face or uttering a single word, you

will deprive them of all the pleasures of this part of the entertain ment. Goodbye again and good luck."

The young Englishman made no reply but it was evident from the set of his jaws that the Negroes would get

The warriors were circling now. Presently Numabo would draw first blood with his sharp spear which would

be the signal for the beginning of the torture after a little of which the fagots would be lighted around the feet

Closer and closer danced the hideous chief, his yellow, sharpfiled teeth showing in the firelight between his

thick, red lips. Now bending double, now stamping furiously upon the ground, now leaping into the air, he

danced step by step in the narrowing circle that would presently bring him within spear reach of the intended

At last the spear reached out and touched the apeman on the breast and when it came away, a little trickle of

blood ran down the smooth, brown hide and almost simultaneously there broke from the outer periphery of

the expectant audience a woman's shriek which seemed a signal for a series of hideous screamings, growlings

and barkings, and a great commotion upon that side of the circle. The victims could not see the cause of the

disturbance, but Tarzan did not have to see, for he knew by the voices of the apes the identity of the

disturbers. He only wondered what had brought them and what the pur pose of the attack, for he could not

Numabo and his warriors broke quickly from the circle of their dance to see pushing toward them through the

ranks of their screaming and terrified people the very white girl who had escaped them a few nights before,

and at her back what ap peared to their surprised eyes a veritable horde of the huge and hairy forest men

Striking to right and left with his heavy fists, tearing with his great fangs, came Zutag, the young bull, while

at his heels, emulating his example, surged his hideous apes. Quickly they came through the old men and the

women and children, for straight toward Numabo and his warriors the girl led them. It was then that they

came within range of Tarzan's vision and he saw with unmixed surprise who it was that led the apes to his

To Zutag he shouted: "Go for the big bulls while the she unbinds me," and to Bertha Kircher: "Quick! Cut

Turning from her advance the girl ran to his side. She had no knife and the bonds were tied tightly but she

worked quick ly and coolly and as Zutag and his apes closed with the war riors, she succeeded in

loosening Tarzan's bonds sufficiently to permit him to extricate his own hands so that in another min ute he

"Now unbind the Englishman," he cried, and, leaping for ward, ran to join Zutag and his fellows in their

battle against the blacks. Numabo and his warriors, realizing now the rela tively small numbers of the apes

against them, had made a determined stand and with spears and other weapons were en deavoring to

overcome the invaders. Three of the apes were already down, killed or mortally wounded, when Tarzan, real

izing that the battle must eventually go against the apes unless some means could be found to break the

morale of the Ne groes, cast about him for some means of bringing about the desired end. And suddenly his

eye lighted upon a number of weapons which he knew would accomplish the result. A grim smile touched his

lips as he snatched a vessel of boiling water from one of the fires and hurled it full in the faces of the

warriors. Screaming with terror and pain they fell back though Numabo urged them to rush forward.

Scarcely had the first cauldron of boiling water spilled its contents upon them ere Tarzan deluged them with a

second, nor was there any third needed to send them shrieking in every direction to the security of their huts.

By the time Tarzan had recovered his own weapons the girl had released the young Englishman, and, with the

six remain ing apes, the three Europeans moved slowly toward the vil lage gate, the aviator arming himself

with a spear discarded by one of the scalded warriors, as they eagerly advanced to ward the outer darkness.

Numabo was unable to rally the now thoroughly terrified and painfully burned warriors so that rescued and

rescuers passed out of the village into the blackness of the jungle with out further interference.

Tarzan strode through the jungle in silence. Beside him walked Zutag, the great ape, and behind them strung

the sur viving anthropoids followed by Fraulein Bertha Kircher and Lieutenant Harold Percy

In all his life Tarzan of the Apes had been obliged to ac knowledge but few obligations. He won his way

through his savage world by the might of his own muscle, the superior keenness of his five senses and his

Godgiven power to reason. Tonight the greatest of all obligations had been placed upon him his life had

been saved by another and Tarzan shook his head and growled, for it had been saved by one whom he hated

Tarzan of the Apes, returning from a successful hunt, with the body of Bara, the deer, across one sleek,

brown shoul der, paused in the branches of a great tree at the edge of a clearing and gazed ruefully at two

The apeman shook his tousled head and sighed. His eyes wandered toward the west and his thoughts to the

faraway cabin by the landlocked harbor of the great water that washed the beach of his boyhood home

to the cabin of his longdead father to which the memories and treasures of a happy child hood lured him.

Since the loss of his mate, a great longing had possessed him to return to the haunts of his youth to the

untracked jungle wilderness where he had lived the life he loved best long before man had invaded the

precincts of his wild stamping grounds. There he hoped in a renewal of the old life under the old conditions to

But the little cabin and the landlocked harbor were many long, weary marches away, and he was

handicapped by the duty which he felt he owed to the two figures walking in the clearing before him. One

was a young man in a worn and ragged uniform of the British Royal Air Forces, the other, a young woman in

A freak of fate had thrown these three radically different types together. One was a savage, almost naked

beastman, one an English army officer, and the woman, she whom the apeman knew and hated as a

How he was to get rid of them Tarzan could not imagine unless he accompanied them upon the weary march

back to the east coast, a march that would necessitate his once more retracing the long, weary way he already

had covered towards his goal, yet what else could be done? These two had neither the strength, endurance,

nor junglecraft to accompany him through the unknown country to the west, nor did he wish them with him.

The man he might have tolerated, but he could not even consider the presence of the girl in the faroff cabin,

which had in a way become sacred to him through its mem ories, without a growl or anger rising to his lips.

There re mained, then, but the one way, since he could not desert them. He must move by slow and irksome

marches back to the east coast, or at least to the first white settlement in that direction.

He had, it is true, contemplated leaving the girl to her fate but that was before she had been instrumental in

saving him from torture and death at the hands of the black Wamabos. He chafed under the obligation she

had put upon him, but no less did he acknowledge it and as he watched the two, the rueful expression upon

his face was lightened by a smile as he thought of the helplessness of them. What a puny thing, indeed, was

man! How ill equipped to combat the savage forces of nature and of nature's jungle. Why, even the tiny balu

of the tribe of Golat, the great ape, was better fitted to survive than these, for a balu could at least escape the

numerous crea tures that menaced its existence, while with the possible excep tion of Kota, the tortoise,

Without him these two doubtless would starve in the midst of plenty, should they by some miracle escape the

other forces of destruction which constantly threatened them. That morning Tarzan had brought them fruit,

nuts, and plantain, and now he was bringing them the flesh of his kill, while the best that they might do was

to fetch water from the river. Even now, as they walked across the clearing toward the boma, they were in

utter ignorance of the presence of Tarzan near them. They did not know that his sharp eyes were watching

them, nor that other eyes less friendly were glaring at them from a clump of bushes close beside the boma

entrance. They did not know these things, but Tarzan did. No more than they could he see the creature

crouching in the concealment of the foliage, yet he knew that it was there and what it was and what its inten

A slight movement of the leaves at the top of a single stem had apprised him of the presence of a creature

there, for the movement was not that imparted by the wind. It came from pressure at the bottom of the stem

which communicates a dif ferent movement to the leaves than does the wind passing among them, as

anyone who has lived his lifetime in the jun gle well knows, and the same wind that passed through the

foliage of the bush brought to the apeman's sensitive nos trils indisputable evidence of the fact that Sheeta,

They had covered half the distance to the boma entrance when Tarzan called to them to stop. They looked in

surprise in the direction from which his voice had come to see him drop lightly to the ground and advance

"Come slowly toward me," he called to them. "Do not run for if you run Sheeta will charge."

"What do you mean?" asked the young Englishman. "Who is Sheeta?" but for answer the apeman suddenly

hurled the carcass of Bara, the deer, to the ground and leaped quickly toward them, his eyes upon something

in their rear; and then it was that the two turned and learned the identity of Sheeta, for behind them was a

Sheeta with rising anger and suspicion had seen the apeman leap from the tree and approach the quarry. His

life's expe riences backed by instinct told him that the Tarmangani was about to rob him of his prey and as

Sheeta was hungry, he had no intention of being thus easily deprived of the flesh he al ready considered his

The girl stifled an involuntary scream as she saw the prox imity of the fanged fury bearing down upon them.

She shrank close to the man and clung to him and all unarmed and de fenseless as he was, the Englishman

pushed her behind him and shielding her with his body, stood squarely in the face of the panther's charge.

Tarzan noted the act, and though accus tomed as he was to acts of courage, he experienced a thrill from the

The charging panther moved rapidly, and the distance which separated the bush in which he had concealed

himself from the objects of his desire was not great. In the time that one might understandingly read a dozen

words the stronglimbed cat could have covered the entire distance and made his kill, yet if Sheeta was

quick, quick too was Tarzan. The English lieu tenant saw the apeman flash by him like the wind. He saw

the great cat veer in his charge as though to elude the naked savage rushing to meet him, as it was evidently

Sheeta's inten tion to make good his kill before attempting to protect it from Tarzan.

Lieutenant SmithOldwick saw these things and then with increasing wonder he saw the apeman swerve,

too, and leap for the spotted cat as a football player leaps for a runner. He saw the strong, brown arms

encircling the body of the car nivore, the left arm in front of the beast's left shoulder and the right arm

behind his right foreleg, and with the impact the two together rolling over and over upon the turf. He heard

the snarls and growls of bestial combat, and it was with a feel ing of no little horror that he realized that the

sounds com ing from the human throat of the battling man could scarce be distinguished from those of the

The first momentary shock of terror over, the girl released her grasp upon the Englishman's arm. "Cannot we

The Englishman looked upon the ground for some missile with which to attack the panther and then the girl

uttered an exclamation and started at a run toward the hut. "Wait there," she called over her shoulder. "I will

SmithOldwick saw the raking talons of the panther search ing for the flesh of the man and the man on his

part straining every muscle and using every artifice to keep his body out of range of them. The muscles of his

arms knotted under the brown hide. The veins stood out upon his neck and forehead as with everincreasing

power he strove to crush the life from the great cat. The apeman's teeth were fastened in the back of Sheeta's

neck and now he succeeded in encircling the beast's torso with his legs which he crossed and locked beneath

the cat's belly. Leaping and snarling, Sheeta sought to dislodge the apeman's hold upon him. He hurled

himself upon the ground and rolled over and over. He reared upon his hind legs and threw himself backwards

but always the savage creature upon his back clung tenaciously to him, and always the mighty brown arms

And then the girl, panting from her quick run, returned with the short spear Tarzan had left her as her sole

weapon of pro tection. She did not wait to hand it to the Englishman who ran forward to receive it, but

brushed past him and leaped into close quarters beside the growling, tumbling mass of yel low fur and

smooth brown hide. Several times she attempted to press the point home into the cat's body, but on both

occa sions the fear of endangering the apeman caused her to de sist, but at last the two lay motionless for

a moment as the carnivore sought a moment's rest from the strenuous exertions of battle, and then it was that

Bertha Kircher pressed the point of the spear to the tawny side and drove it deep into the savage heart.

Tarzan rose from the dead body of Sheeta and shook him self after the manner of beasts that are entirely

clothed with hair. Like many other of his traits and mannerisms this was the result of environment rather than

heredity or reversion, and even though he was outwardly a man, the Englishman and the girl were both

impressed with the naturalness of the act. It was as though Numa, emerging from a fight, had shaken himself

to straighten his rumpled mane and coat, and yet, too, there was something uncanny about it as there had been

Tarzan looked at the girl, a quizzical expression upon his face. Again had she placed him under obligations to

her, and Tarzan of the Apes did not wish to be obligated to a German spy; yet in his honest heart he could not

but admit a certain admiration for her courage, a trait which always greatly im pressed the apeman, he

"Here is the kill," he said, picking the carcass of Bara from the ground. "You will want to cook your portion,

They followed him to the boma where he cut several pieces of meat from the carcass for them, retaining a

joint for him self. The young lieutenant prepared a fire, and the girl pre sided over the primitive culinary

rights of their simple meal. As she worked some little way apart from them, the lieuten ant and the apeman

"You do not have to," Tarzan assured him. "It is nothing to me what you believe. I saw her in conference with

the Boche general and his staff at the camp near Taveta. They all knew her and called her by name and she

handed him a paper. The next time I saw her she was inside the British lines in disguise, and again I saw her

bearing word to a German officer at Wilhelmstal. She is a German and a spy, but she is a woman and

"You really believe that what you say is true?" asked the young lieutenant. "My God! I cannot believe it. She

The apeman shrugged his shoulders. "She is brave," he said, "but even Pamba, the rat, must have some good

quality, but she is what I have told you and therefore I hate her and you should hate her."

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick buried his face in his hands. "God forgive me," he said at last. "I

The apeman cast a contemptuous look at his companion and arose. "Tarzan goes again to hunt," he said.

The two watched him until he had disappeared in the foliage of the trees at the further side of the clearing.

When he had gone the girl felt a vague sense of apprehen sion that she never experienced when Tarzan was

present. The invisible menaces lurking in the grim jungle seemed more real and much more imminent now

that the apeman was no longer near. While he had been there talking with them, the little thatched hut and

its surrounding thorn boma had seemed as safe a place as the world might afford. She wished that he had

remained two days seemed an eternity in contemplation two days of constant fear, two days, every

"I wish that he had remained," she said. "I always feel so much safer when he is near. He is very grim and

very terrible, and yet I feel safer with him than with any man I ever have known. He seems to dislike me and

"Neither do I understand him," replied the Englishman; "but I know this much our presence here is

interfering with his plans. He would like to be rid of us, and I half imagine that he rather hopes to find when

he returns that we have succumbed to one of the dangers which must always confront us in this savage land.

"I think that we should try to return to the white settle ments. This man does not want us here, nor is it

reasonable to assume that we could long survive in such a savage wilder ness. I have traveled and hunted in

several parts of Africa, but never have I seen or heard of any single locality so over run with savage beasts

and dangerous natives. If we set out for the east coast at once we would be in but little more danger than we

are here, and if we could survive a day's march, I believe that we will find the means of reaching the coast in

a few hours, for my plane must still be in the same place that I landed just before the blacks captured me. Of

course there is no one here who could operate it nor is there any reason why they should have destroyed it. As

a matter of fact, the natives would be so fearful and suspicious of so strange and incomprehensible a thing

that the chances are they would not dare approach it. Yes, it must be where I left it and all ready to carry us

"But we cannot leave," said the girl, "until he returns. We could not go away like that without thanking him

The man looked at her in silence for a moment. He won dered if she knew how Tarzan felt toward her and

then he himself began to speculate upon the truth of the apeman's charges. The longer he looked at the girl,

the less easy was it to entertain the thought that she was an enemy spy. He was upon the point of asking her

pointblank but he could not bring himself to do so, finally determining to wait until time and longer

"I believe," he said as though there had been no pause in their conversation, "that the man would be more

than glad to find us gone when he returns. It is not necessary to jeop ardize our lives for two more days in

order that we may thank him, however much we may appreciate his services to us. You have more than

balanced your obligations to him and from what he told me I feel that you especially should not remain here

"I do not like to tell," said the Englishman, digging nerv ously at the turf with the point of a stick, "but you

Lieutenant SmithOldwick squared his shoulders and raised his eyes to those of the girl. "He said that he

hated you," he blurted. "He has only aided you at all from a sense of duty because you are a woman."

The girl paled and then flushed. "I will be ready to go," she said, "in just a moment. We had better take some

And so the two set out down the river toward the south. The man carried the short spear that Tarzan had left

with the girl, while she was entirely unarmed except for a stick she had picked up from among those left after

the building of the hut. Before departing she had insisted that the man leave a note for Tarzan thanking him

for his care of them and bidding him goodbye. This they left pinned to the inside wall of the hut with a little

It was necessary that they be constantly on the alert since they never knew what might confront them at the

next turn of the winding jungle trail or what might lie concealed in the tangled bushes at either side. There

was also the everpresent danger of meeting some of Numabo's black warriors and as the village lay directly

in their line of march, there was the necessity for making a wide detour before they reached it in order to pass

"I am not so much afraid of the native blacks," said the girl, "as I am of Usanga and his people. He and his

men were all attached to a German native regiment. They brought me along with them when they deserted,

either with the inten tion of holding me ransom or selling me into the harem of one of the black sultans of

the north. Usanga is much more to be feared than Numabo for he has had the advantage of European military

"It is lucky for me," remarked the Englishman, "that it was the ignorant Numabo who discovered and

captured me rather than the worldly wise Usanga. He would have felt less fear of the giant flying machine

They made their way to a point which they guessed was about a mile above the village, then they turned into

the trackless tangle of undergrowth to the east. So dense was the verdure at many points that it was with the

utmost difficulty they wormed their way through, sometimes on hands and knees and again by clambering

over numerous fallen tree trunks. Interwoven with dead limbs and living branches were the tough and

South of them in an open meadowland a number of black warriors were gathered about an object which

elicited much wondering comment. The blacks were clothed in fragments of what had once been uniforms of

a native German com mand. They were a most unlovely band and chief among them in authority and

repulsiveness was the black sergeant Usanga. The object of their interest was a British aeroplane.

Immediately after the Englishman had been brought to Numabo's village Usanga had gone out in search of

the plane, prompted partially by curiosity and partially by an intention to destroy it, but when he had found it,

some new thought had deterred him from carrying out his design. The thing repre sented considerable value

as he well knew and it had occurred to him that in some way he might turn his prize to profit. Every day he

had returned to it, and while at first it had filled him with considerable awe, he eventually came to look upon

it with the accustomed eye of a proprietor, so that he now clambered into the fuselage and even advanced so

What a feat it would be indeed to fly like a bird far above the highest tree top! How it would fill his less

favored com panions with awe and admiration! If Usanga could but fly, so great would be the respect of all

the tribesmen throughout the scattered villages of the great interior, they would look upon him as little less

Usanga rubbed his palms together and smacked his thick lips. Then indeed, would he be very rich, for all the

villages would pay tribute to him and he could even have as many as a dozen wives. With that thought,

however, came a mental picture of Naratu, the black termagant, who ruled him with an iron hand. Usanga

made a wry face and tried to forget the extra dozen wives, but the lure of the idea remained and appealed so

strongly to him that he presently found himself reasoning most logically that a god would not be much of a

He fingered the instruments and the control, half hoping and half fearing that he would alight upon the

combination that would put the machine in flight. Often had he watched the British airmen soaring above

the German lines and it looked so simple he was quite sure that he could do it him self if there was

somebody who could but once show him how. There was, of course, always the hope that the white man who

came in the machine and who had escaped from Numabo's village might fall into Usanga's hands and then

indeed would he be able to learn how to fly. It was in this hope that Usanga spent so much time in the vicinity

of the plane, reasoning as he did that eventually the white man would return in search of it.

And at last he was rewarded, for upon this very day after he had quit the machine and entered the jungle with

his war riors, he heard voices to the north and when he and his men had hidden in the dense foliage upon

either side of the trail, Usanga was presently filled with elation by the appearance of the British officer and

The Negro could scarce restrain a shout of elation, for he had not hoped that fate would be so kind as to throw

As the two came down the trail all unconscious of impending danger, the man was explaining that they must

be very close to the point at which the plane had landed. Their entire attention was centered on the trail

directly ahead of them, as they momentarily expected it to break into the meadowland where they were sure

The trail was broad, and they were walking side by side so that at a sharp turn the parklike clearing was

Exclamations of relief and delight broke from their lips, and at the same instant Usanga and his black

The girl was almost crushed by terror and disappointment. To have been thus close to safety and then to have

all hope snatched away by a cruel stroke of fate seemed unendurable. The man was disappointed, too, but

more was he angry. He noted the remnants of the uniforms upon the blacks and immediately he demanded to

"They cannot understand you," said the girl and so in the bastard tongue that is the medium of

communication between the Germans and the blacks of their colony, she repeated the white man's question.

Usanga grinned. "You know where they are, white woman," he replied. "They are dead, and if this white man

Bertha Kircher looked her astonishment, but repeated the demand to the lieutenant.

The Englishman meditated for a moment. "He wants to learn to fly, does he?" he repeated. "Ask him if he

The girl put the question to Usanga, who, degraded, cun ning, and entirely unprincipled, was always

perfectly willing to promise anything whether he had any intentions of fulfilling his promises or not, and so

"Let the white man teach me to fly," he said, "and I will take you back close to the settlements of your

people, but in return for this I shall keep the great bird," and he waved a black hand in the direction of the

When Bertha Kircher had repeated Usanga's proposition to the aviator, the latter shrugged his shoulders and

with a wry face finally agreed. "I fancy there is no other way out of it," he said. "In any event the plane is lost

to the British government. If I refuse the black scoundrel's request, there is no doubt but what he will make

short work of me with the result that the machine will lie here until it rots. If I accept his offer it will at least

be the means of assuring your safe return to civilization and that" he added, "is worth more to me than all the

The girl cast a quick glance at him. These were the first words he had addressed to her that might indicate

that his sentiments toward her were more than those of a companion in distress. She regretted that he had

spoken as he had and he, too, regretted it almost instantly as he saw the shadow cross her face and realized

that he had unwittingly added to the difficulties of her already almost unbearable situation.

"Forgive me," he said quickly. "Please forget what that remark implied. I promise you that I will not offend

She smiled and thanked him, but the thing had been said and could never be unsaid, and Bertha Kircher knew

even more surely than as though he had fallen upon his knees and protested undying devotion that the young

Usanga was for taking his first lesson in aviation immedi ately. The Englishman attempted to dissuade him,

but im mediately the black became threatening and abusive, since, like all those who are ignorant, he was

suspicious that the intentions of others were always ulterior unless they perfectly coincided with his wishes.

"All right, old top," muttered the Englishman, "I will give you the lesson of your life," and then turning to the

girl: "Persuade him to let you accompany us. I shall be afraid to leave you here with these devilish

scoundrels." But when she put the suggestion to Usanga the black immediately suspected some plan to thwart

him possibly to carry him against his will back to the German masters he had traitorously deserted, and

"The white woman will remain here with my people," he said. "They will not harm her unless you fail to

"Tell him," said the Englishman, "that if you are not stand ing in plain sight in this meadow when I return, I

will not land, but will carry Usanga back to the British camp and have him hanged."

Usanga promised that the girl would be in evidence upon their return, and took immediate steps to impress

upon his warriors that under penalty of death they must not harm her. Then, followed by the other members

of his party, he crossed the clearing toward the plane with the Englishman. Once seated within what he

already considered his new possession, the black's courage began to wane and when the motor was started

and the great propeller commenced to whir, he screamed to the Englishman to stop the thing and permit him

to alight, but the aviator could neither hear nor understand the black above the noise of the propeller and

exhaust. By this time the plane was moving along the ground and even then Usanga was upon the verge of

leaping out, and would have done so had he been able to unfasten the strap from about his waist. Then the

plane rose from the ground and in a moment soared gracefully in a wide circle until it topped the trees. The

black sergeant was in a veritable collapse of terror. He saw the earth dropping rapidly from beneath him. He

saw the trees and river and at a distance the little clearing with the thatched huts of Numabo's village. He

tried hard not to think of the results of a sudden fall to the rapidly re ceding ground below. He attempted to

concentrate his mind upon the twentyfour wives which this great bird most as suredly would permit him to

command. Higher and higher rose the plane, swinging in a wide circle above the forest, river, and

meadowland and presently, much to his surprise, Usanga discovered that his terror was rapidly waning, so

that it was not long before there was forced upon him a conscious ness of utter security, and then it was that

he began to take notice of the manner in which the white man guided and manipulated the plane.

After half an hour of skillful maneuvering, the Englishman rose rapidly to a considerable altitude, and then,

suddenly, without warning, he looped and flew with the plane inverted for a few seconds.

"I said I'd give this beggar the lesson of his life," he mur mured as he heard, even above the whir of the

propeller, the shriek of the terrified Negro. A moment later SmithOldwick had righted the machine and was

dropping rapidly toward the earth. He circled slowly a few times above the meadow until he had assured

himself that Bertha Kircher was there and apparently unharmed, then he dropped gently to the ground so that

the machine came to a stop a short distance from where the girl and the warriors awaited them.

It was a trembling and ashenhued Usanga who tumbled out of the fuselage, for his nerves were still on edge

as a result of the harrowing experience of the loop, yet with terra firma once more under foot, he quickly

regained his composure. Strutting about with great show and braggadocio, he strove to impress his followers

with the mere nothingness of so trivial a feat as flying birdlike thousands of yards above the jungle, though it

was long until he had thoroughly convinced himself by the force of autosuggestion that he had enjoyed every

So jealous was the black of his newfound toy that he would not return to the village of Numabo, but insisted

on making camp close beside the plane, lest in some inconceivable fashion it should be stolen from him. For

two days they camped there, and constantly during daylight hours Usanga compelled the Englishman to

SmithOldwick, in recalling the long months of arduous training he had undergone himself before he had

been con sidered sufficiently adept to be considered a finished flier, smiled at the conceit of the ignorant

"If it was not for losing the machine," the Englishman ex plained to the girl, "I'd let the bounder take it up

However, he finally persuaded Usanga to bide his time for a few more days of instruction, but in the

suspicious mind of the Negro there was a growing conviction that the white man's advice was prompted by

some ulterior motive; that it was in the hope of escaping with the machine himself by night that he refused to

admit that Usanga was entirely capable of handling it alone and therefore in no further need of help or

instruction, and so in the mind of the black there formed a determination to outwit the white man. The lure of

the twenty four seductive wives proved in itself a sufficient incentive and there, too, was added his desire

It was with these thoughts in mind that Usanga lay down to sleep in the evening of the second day.

Constantly, however, the thought of Naratu and her temper arose to take the keen edge from his pleasant

imaginings. If he could but rid himself of her! The thought having taken form persisted, but always it was

more than outweighed by the fact that the black sergeant was actually afraid of his woman, so much afraid of

her in fact that he would not have dared to attempt to put her out of the way unless he could do so secretly

while she slept. How ever, as one plan after another was conjured by the strength of his desires, he at last hit

upon one which came to him almost with the force of a blow and brought him sitting upright among his

When morning dawned Usanga could scarce wait for an opportunity to put his scheme into execution, and the

moment that he had eaten, he called several of his warriors aside and talked with them for some moments.

The Englishman, who usually kept an eye upon his black captor, saw now that the latter was explaining

something in detail to his warriors, and from his gestures and his manner it was apparent that he was

persuading them to some new plan as well as giving them instructions as to what they were to do. Several

times, too, he saw the eyes of the Negroes turned upon him and once they flashed simultaneously toward the

Everything about the occurrence, which in itself seemed trivial enough, aroused in the mind of the

Englishman a well defined apprehension that something was afoot that boded ill for him and for the girl. He

could not free himself of the idea and so he kept a still closer watch over the black although, as he was forced

to admit to himself, he was quite powerless to avert any fate that lay in store for them. Even the spear that he

had had when captured had been taken away from him, so that now he was unarmed and absolutely at the

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick did not have long to wait before discovering something of Usanga's

plan, for almost immediately after the sergeant finished giving his in structions, a number of warriors

Without a word of explanation the warriors seized the young officer and threw him to the ground upon his

face. For a moment he struggled to free himself and succeeded in landing a few heavy blows among his

assailants, but he was too greatly outnumbered to hope to more than delay them in the accom plishment of

their object which he soon discovered was to bind him securely hand and foot. When they had finally secured

him to their satisfaction, they rolled him over on his side and then it was he saw Bertha Kircher had been

SmithOldwick lay in such a position that he could see nearly the entire expanse of meadow and the

aeroplane a short distance away. Usanga was talking to the girl who was shaking her head in vehement

"He is going to take me away in the plane," the girl called back. "He is going to take me farther inland to

another coun try where he says that he will be king and I am to be one of his wives," and then to the

Englishman's surprise she turned a smiling face toward him, "but there is no danger," she con tinued, "for

we shall both be dead within a few minutes just give him time enough to get the machine under way, and

if he can rise a hundred feet from the ground I shall never need fear him more."

"God!" cried the man. "Is there no way that you can dis suade him? Promise him anything. Anything that

you want. I have money, more money than that poor fool could imagine there was in the whole world. With it

he can buy anything that money will purchase, fine clothes and food and women, all the women he wants.

Tell him this and tell him that if he will spare you I give him my word that I will fetch it all to him."

The girl shook her head. "It is useless," she said. "He would not understand and if he did understand, he

would not trust you. The blacks are so unprincipled themselves that they can imagine no such thing as

principle or honor in others, and especially do these blacks distrust an Englishman whom the Germans have

taught them to believe are the most treacherous and degraded of people. No, it is better thus. I am sorry that

you cannot go with us, for if he goes high enough my death will be much easier than that which probably

Usanga had been continually interrupting their brief con versation in an attempt to compel the girl to

translate it to him, for he feared that they were concocting some plan to thwart him, and to quiet and appease

him, she told him that the Englishman was merely bidding her farewell and wishing her good luck. Suddenly

she turned to the black. "Will you do something for me?" she asked. "If I go willingly with you?"

"Tell your men to free the white man after we are gone. He can never catch us. That is all I ask of you. If you

"You will go with me anyway," growled Usanga. "It is nothing to me whether you go willingly or not. I am

He had in mind that he would start properly with this woman. There should be no repetition of his harrowing

experi ence with Naratu. This wife and the twentyfour others should be carefully selected and well trained.

Bertha Kircher saw that it was useless to appeal to the brute and so she held her peace though she was filled

with sorrow in contemplating the fate that awaited the young officer, scarce more than a boy, who had

At Usanga's order one of the blacks lifted her from the ground and carried her to the machine, and after

Usanga had clambered aboard, they lifted her up and he reached down and drew her into the fuselage where

he removed the thongs from her wrists and strapped her into her seat and then took his own directly ahead of

The girl turned her eyes toward the Englishman. She was very pale but her lips smiled bravely.

"Goodbye, and God bless you!" he called back his voice the least bit husky and then: "The thing I

Her lips moved but whether they voiced consent or refusal he did not know, for the words were drowned in

The black had learned his lesson sufficiently well so that the motor was started without bungling and the

machine was soon under way across the meadowland. A groan escaped the lips of the distracted Englishman

as he watched the woman he loved being carried to almost certain death. He saw the plane tilt and the

machine rise from the ground. It was a good takeoff as good as Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick

could make himself but he realized that it was only so by chance. At any instant the machine might plunge to

earth and even if, by some miracle of chance, the black could succeed in rising above the tree tops and make

a successful flight, there was not one chance in one hundred thousand that he could ever land again without

For two days Tarzan of the Apes had been hunting leisurely to the north, and swinging in a wide circle, he

had re turned to within a short distance of the clearing where he had left Bertha Kircher and the young

lieutenant. He had spent the night in a large tree that overhung the river only a short distance from the

clearing, and now in the early morning hours he was crouching at the water's edge waiting for an opportunity

to capture Pisah, the fish, thinking that he would take it back with him to the hut where the girl could cook it

Motionless as a bronze statue was the wily apeman, for well he knew how wary is Pisah, the fish. The

slightest move ment would frighten him away and only by infinite patience might he be captured at all.

Tarzan depended upon his own quickness and the suddenness of his attack, for he had no bait or hook. His

knowledge of the ways of the denizens of the water told him where to wait for Pisah. It might be a minute or

it might be an hour before the fish would swim into the little pool above which he crouched, but sooner or

later one would come. That the apeman knew, so with the pa tience of the beast of prey he waited for his

At last there was a glint of shiny scales. Pisah was coming. In a moment he would be within reach and then

with the swiftness of light two strong, brown hands would plunge into the pool and seize him, but, just at the

moment that the fish was about to come within reach, there was a great crashing in the underbrush behind the

apeman. Instantly Pisah was gone and Tarzan, growling, had wheeled about to face what ever creature

might be menacing him. The moment that he turned he saw that the author of the disturbance was Zutag.

"They are hunting for pisangs and scimatines farther back in the forest," replied Zutag.

"They have gone away," replied Zutag. "Kudu has come out of his lair twice since they left."

Tarzan swung quickly through the trees toward the clearing. The hut and boma were as he had left them, but

there was no sign of either the man or the woman. Crossing the clearing, he entered the boma and then the

hut. Both were empty, and his trained nostrils told him that they had been gone for at least two days. As he

was about to leave the hut he saw a paper pinned upon the wall with a sliver of wood and taking it down, he

After what you told me about Miss Kircher, and knowing that you dislike her, I feel that it is not fair to her

and to you that we should impose longer upon you. I know that our presence is keeping you from continuing

your journey to the west coast, and so I have decided that it is better for us to try and reach the white

settlements immediately without im posing further upon you. We both thank you for your kind ness and

protection. If there was any way that I might repay the obligation I feel, I should be only too glad to do so.

Tarzan shrugged his shoulders, crumpled the note in his hand and tossed it aside. He felt a certain sense of

relief from responsibility and was glad that they had taken the matter out of his hands. They were gone and

would for get, but somehow he could not forget. He walked out across the boma and into the clearing. He

felt uneasy and restless. Once he started toward the north in response to a sudden determination to continue

his way to the west coast. He would follow the winding river toward the north a few miles where its course

turned to the west and then on toward its source across a wooded plateau and up into the foothills and the

mountains. Upon the other side of the range he would search for a stream running downward toward the west

coast, and thus following the rivers he would be sure of game and water in plenty.

But he did not go far. A dozen steps, perhaps, and he came to a sudden stop. "He is an Englishman," he

muttered, "and the other is a woman. They can never reach the settlements without my help. I could not kill

her with my own hands when I tried, and if I let them go on alone, I will have killed her just as surely as

though I had run my knife into her heart. No," and again he shook his head. "Tarzan of the Apes is a fool and

Manu, the monkey, had seen the two Tarmangani pass two days before. Chattering and scolding, he told

Tarzan all about it. They had gone in the direction of the village of the Gomangani, that much had Manu seen

with his own eyes, so the apeman swung on through the jungle in a southerly direc tion and though with no

concentrated effort to follow the spoor of those he trailed, he passed numerous evidences that they had gone

this way faint suggestions of their scent spoor clung lightly to leaf or branch or bole that one or the other

had touched, or in the earth of the trail their feet had trod, and where the way wound through the gloomy

depth of dank forest, the impress of their shoes still showed occasionally in the damp mass of decaying

An inexplicable urge spurred Tarzan to increasing, speed. The same still, small voice that chided him for

having neg lected them seemed constantly whispering that they were in dire need of him now. Tarzan's

conscience was troubling him, which accounted for the fact that he compared himself to a weak, old woman,

for the apeman, reared in savagery and inured to hardships and cruelty, disliked to admit any of the gentler

The trail made a detour to the east of the village of the Wamabos, and then returned to the wide elephant path

nearer to the river, where it continued in a southerly direction for several miles. At last there came to the ears

of the apeman a peculiar whirring, throbbing sound. For an instant he paused, listening intently, "An

When Tarzan of the Apes finally reached the edge of the meadowland where SmithOldwick's plane had

landed, he took in the entire scene in one quick glance and grasped the situation, although he could scarce

give credence to the things he saw. Bound and helpless, the English officer lay upon the ground at one side of

the meadow, while around him stood a number of the black deserters from the German command. Tarzan had

seen these men before and knew who they were. Coming toward him down the meadow was an aeroplane

piloted by the black Usanga and in the seat behind the pilot was the white girl, Bertha Kircher. How it befell

that the ignorant savage could operate the plane, Tarzan could not guess nor had he time in which to

speculate upon the subject. His knowledge of Usanga, together with the position of the white man, told him

that the black sergeant was attempting to carry off the white girl. Why he should be doing this when he had

her in his power and had also captured and secured the only creature in the jungle who might wish to defend

her in so far as the black could know, Tarzan could not guess, for he knew nothing of Usanga's twentyfour

dream wives nor of the black's fear of the horrid temper of Naratu, his present mate. He did not know, then,

that Usanga had determined to fly away with the white girl never to return, and to put so great a distance

between himself and Naratu that the latter never could find him again; but it was this very thing that was in

the black's mind although not even his own warriors guessed it. He had told them that he would take the

captive to a sultan of the north and there obtain a great price for her and that when he returned they should

These things Tarzan did not know. All he knew was what he saw a Negro attempting to fly away with a

white girl. Already the machine was slowly leaving the ground. In a moment more it would rise swiftly out of

reach. At first Tar zan thought of fitting an arrow to his bow and slaying Usanga, but as quickly he

abandoned the idea because he knew that the moment the pilot was slain the machine, running wild, would

There was but one way in which he might hope to succor her a way which if it failed must send him to

instant death and yet he did not hesitate in an attempt to put it into execu tion.

Usanga did not see him, being too intent upon the unac customed duties of a pilot, but the blacks across the

meadow saw him and they ran forward with loud and savage cries and menacing rifles to intercept him. They

saw a giant white man leap from the branches of a tree to the turf and race rapidly toward the plane. They saw

him take a long grass rope from about his shoulders as he ran. They saw the noose swinging in an undulating

circle above his head. They saw the white girl in the machine glance down and discover him.

Twenty feet above the running apeman soared the huge plane. The open noose shot up to meet it, and the

girl, half guessing the apeman's intentions, reached out and caught the noose and, bracing herself, clung

tightly to it with both hands. Simultaneously Tarzan was dragged from his feet and the plane lurched

sideways in response to the new strain. Usanga clutched wildly at the control and the machine shot upward at

a steep angle. Dangling at the end of the rope the apeman swung pendulumlike in space. The Englishman,

lying bound upon the ground, had been a witness of all these happenings. His heart stood still as he saw

Tarzan's body hurtling through the air toward the tree tops among which it seemed he must inevitably crash;

but the plane was rising rapidly, so that the beastman cleared the topmost branches. Then slowly, hand

over hand, he climbed toward the fuselage. The girl, clinging desperately to the noose, strained every muscle

Usanga, all unconscious of what was going on behind him, drove the plane higher and higher into the air.

Tarzan glanced downward. Below him the tree tops and the river passed rapidly to the rear and only a slender

grass rope and the muscles of a frail girl stood between him and the death yawning there thousands of feet

It seemed to Bertha Kircher that the fingers of her hands were dead. The numbness was running up her arms

to her elbows. How much longer she could cling to the straining strands she could not guess. It seemed to her

that those lifeless fingers must relax at any instant and then, when she had about given up hope, she saw a

strong brown hand reach up and grasp the side of the fuselage. Instantly the weight upon the rope was

removed and a moment later Tarzan of the Apes raised his body above the side and threw a leg over the edge.

He glanced forward at Usanga and then, placing his mouth close to the girl's ear he cried: "Have you ever

"Have you the courage to climb up there beside the black and seize the control while I take care of him?"

The girl looked toward Usanga and shuddered. "Yes," she replied, "but my feet are bound."

Tarzan drew his hunting knife from its sheath and reaching down, severed the thongs that bound her ankles.

Then the girl unsnapped the strap that held her to her seat. With one hand Tarzan grasped the girl's arm and

steadied her as the two crawled slowly across the few feet which intervened be tween the two seats. A single

slight tip of the plane would have cast them both into eternity. Tarzan realized that only through a miracle of

chance could they reach Usanga and effect the change in pilots and yet he knew that that chance must be

taken, for in the brief moments since he had first seen the plane, he had realized that the black was almost

without experience as a pilot and that death surely awaited them in any event should the black sergeant

The first intimation Usanga had that all was not well with him was when the girl slipped suddenly to his side

and grasped the control and at the same instant steellike fingers seized his throat. A brown hand shot down

with a keen blade and severed the strap about his waist and giant muscles lifted him bodily from his seat.

Usanga clawed the air and shrieked but he was helpless as a babe. Far below the watchers in the meadow

could see the aeroplane careening in the sky, for with the change of control it had taken a sudden dive. They

saw it right itself and, turning in a short circle, return in their direction, but it was so far above them and the

light of the sun so strong that they could see nothing of what was going on within the fuselage; but presently

Lieuten ant SmithOldwick gave a gasp of dismay as he saw a human body plunge downward from the

plane. Turning and twisting in midair it fell with everincreasing velocity and the English man held his

With a muffled thud it flattened upon the turf near the center of the meadow, and when at last the Englishman

could gain the courage to again turn his eyes upon it, he breathed a fervent prayer of thanks, for the shapeless

mass that lay upon the bloodstained turf was covered with an ebon hide. Usanga had reaped his reward.

Again and again the plane circled above the meadow. The blacks, at first dismayed at the death of their

leader, were now worked to a frenzy of rage and a determination to be avenged. The girl and the apeman

saw them gather in a knot about the body of their fallen chief. They saw as they circled above the meadow

the black fists shaken at them, and the rifles brandishing a menace toward them. Tarzan still clung to the

fuselage directly behind the pilot's seat. His face was close beside Bertha Kircher's, and at the top of his

voice, above the noise of propeller, engine and exhaust, he screamed a few words of instruction into her ear.

As the girl grasped the significance of his words she paled, but her lips set in a hard line and her eyes shone

with a sud den fire of determination as she dropped the plane to within a few feet of the ground and at the

opposite end of the meadow from the blacks and then at full speed bore down upon the savages. So quickly

the plane came that Usanga's men had no time to escape it after they realized its menace. It touched the

ground just as it struck among them and mowed through them, a veritable juggernaut of destruction. When it

came to rest at the edge of the forest the apeman leaped quickly to the ground and ran toward the young

lieutenant, and as he went he glanced at the spot where the warriors had stood, ready to defend himself if

necessary, but there was none there to oppose him. Dead and dying they lay strewn for fifty feet along the

By the time Tarzan had freed the Englishman the girl joined them. She tried to voice her thanks to the

"You saved yourself," he insisted, "for had you been unable to pilot the plane, I could not have helped you,

and now," he said, "you two have the means of returning to the settlements. The day is still young. You can

easily cover the distance in a few hours if you have sufficient petrol." He looked inquir ingly toward the

"Then go at once," said the apeman. "Neither of you belong in the jungle." A slight smile touched his lips as

The girl and the Englishman smiled too. "This jungle is no place for us at least," said SmithOldwick, "and it

is no place for any other white man. Why don't you come back to civilization with us?"

The aviator dug his toe into the ground and still looking down, blurted something which he evidently hated to

Tarzan laughed. "No" he said. "I know what you are trying to say. It is not that. I was born in the jungle. I

have lived all my life in the jungle, and I shall die in the jungle. I do not wish to live or die elsewhere."

They walked to the plane together. SmithOldwick pressed the apeman's hand and clambered into the pilot's

seat. "Goodbye," said the girl as she extended her hand to Tarzan. "Before I go won't you tell me you don't

hate me any more?" Tarzan's face clouded. Without a word he picked her up and lifted her to her place

behind the Englishman. An expression of pain crossed Bertha Kircher's face. The motor started and a moment

In the center of the meadow stood the apeman watching them. "It is too bad that she is a German and a spy,"

Numa, the lion, was hungry. He had come out of the desert country to the east into a land of plenty but

though he was young and strong, the wary grasseaters had managed to elude his mighty talons each time he

Numa, the lion, was hungry and very savage. For two days he had not eaten and now he hunted in the ugliest

of humors. No more did Numa roar forth a rumbling challenge to the world but rather he moved silent and

grim, stepping softly that no cracking twig might betray his presence to the keen eared quarry he sought.

Fresh was the spoor of Bara, the deer, that Numa picked up in the wellbeaten game trail he was following.

No hour had passed since Bara had come this way; the time could be measured in minutes and so the great

lion redoubled the cautiousness of his advance as he crept stealthily in pursuit of his quarry.

A light wind was moving through the jungle aisles, and it wafted down now to the nostrils of the eager

carnivore the strong scent spoor of the deer, exciting his already avid appe tite to a point where it became a

gnawing pain. Yet Numa did not permit himself to be carried away by his desires into any premature charge

such as had recently lost him the juicy meat of Pacco, the zebra. Increasing his gait but slightly he followed

the tortuous windings of the trail until suddenly just before him, where the trail wound about the bole of a

Numa judged the distance with his keen eyes, glowing now like two terrible spots of yellow fire in his

wrinkled, snarling face. He could do it this time he was sure. One terrific roar that would paralyze the

poor creature ahead of him into momentary inaction, and a simultaneous charge of lightning like rapidity

and Numa, the lion, would feed. The sinuous tail, undulating slowly at its tufted extremity, whipped sud

denly erect. It was the signal for the charge and the vocal organs were shaped for the thunderous roar when,

as light ning out of a clear sky, Sheeta, the panther, leaped suddenly into the trail between Numa and the

A blundering charge made Sheeta, for with the first crash of his spotted body through the foliage verging the

The roar that was intended to paralyze the deer broke horribly from the deep throat of the great cat an

angry roar of rage against the meddling Sheeta who had robbed him of his kill, and the charge that was

intended for Bara was launched against the panther; but here too Numa was doomed to disappointment, for

with the first notes of his fearsome roar Sheeta, considering well the better part of valor, leaped into a

A halfhour later it was a thoroughly furious Numa who came unexpectedly upon the scent of man.

Heretofore the lord of the jungle had disdained the unpalatable flesh of the despised manthing. Such meat

was only for the old, the toothless, and the decrepit who no longer could make their kills among the

fleetfooted grasseaters. Bara, the deer, Horta, the boar, and, best and wariest, Pacco, the zebra, were for the

young, the strong, and the agile, but Numa was hungry hungrier than he ever had been in the five short

What if he was a young, powerful, cunning, and ferocious beast? In the face of hunger, the great leveler, he

was as the old, the toothless, and the decrepit. His belly cried aloud in anguish and his jowls slavered for

flesh. Zebra or deer or man, what mattered it so that it was warm flesh, red with the hot juices of life? Even

Dango, the hyena, eater of offal, would, at the moment, have seemed a tidbit to Numa.

The great lion knew the habits and frailties of man, though he never before had hunted man for food. He

knew the despised Gomangani as the slowest, the most stupid, and the most defenseless of creatures. No

woodcraft, no cunning, no stealth was necessary in the hunting of man, nor had Numa any stomach for either

His rage had become an almost equally consuming passion with his hunger, so that now, as his delicate

nostrils apprised him of the recent passage of man, he lowered his head and rumbled forth a thunderous roar,

and at a swift walk, careless of the noise he made, set forth upon the trail of his intended quarry.

Majestic and terrible, regally careless of his surroundings, the king of beasts strode down the beaten trail. The

natural caution that is inherent to all creatures of the wild had de serted him. What had he, lord of the jungle,

to fear and, with only man to hunt, what need of caution? And so he did not see or scent what a more wary

Numa might readily have discovered until, with the cracking of twigs and a tumbling of earth, he was

precipitated into a cunningly devised pit that the wily Wamabos had excavated for just this purpose in the

Tarzan of the Apes stood in the center of the clearing watch ing the plane shrinking to diminutive toylike

proportions in the eastern sky. He had breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it rise safely with the British flier

and Fraulein Bertha Kircher. For weeks he had felt the hampering responsibility of their welfare in this

savage wilderness where their utter helplessness would have rendered them easy prey for the savage

carnivores or the cruel Wamabos. Tarzan of the Apes loved unfettered freedom, and now that these two were

safely off his hands, he felt that he could continue upon his journey toward the west coast and the

And yet, as he stood there watching the tiny speck in the east, another sigh heaved his broad chest, nor was it

a sigh of relief, but rather a sensation which Tarzan had never expected to feel again and which he now

disliked to admit even to himself. It could not be possible that he, the jungle bred, who had renounced forever

the society of man to return to his beloved beasts of the wilds, could be feeling anything akin to regret at the

departure of these two, or any slightest loneliness now that they were gone. Lieutenant Harold Percy

SmithOldwick Tarzan had liked, but the woman whom he had known as a German spy he had hated, though

he never had found it in his heart to slay her as he had sworn to slay all Huns. He had attributed this weakness

to the fact that she was a woman, although he had been rather troubled by the apparent inconsistency of his

With an irritable toss of his head he wheeled suddenly toward the west as though by turning his back upon

the fast disappearing plane he might expunge thoughts of its passen gers from his memory. At the edge of

the clearing he paused; a giant tree loomed directly ahead of him and, as though actuated by sudden and

irresistible impulse, he leaped into the branches and swung himself with apelike agility to the topmost limbs

that would sustain his weight. There, balanc ing lightly upon a swaying bough, he sought in the direction of

the eastern horizon for the tiny speck that would be the British plane bearing away from him the last of his

At last his keen eyes picked up the ship flying at a con siderable altitude far in the east. For a few seconds

he watched it speeding evenly eastward, when, to his horror, he saw the speck dive suddenly downward. The

fall seemed interminable to the watcher and he realized how great must have been the altitude of the plane

before the drop com menced. Just before it disappeared from sight its downward momentum appeared to

abate suddenly, but it was still moving rapidly at a steep angle when it finally disappeared from view behind

For half a minute the apeman stood noting distant land marks that he judged might be in the vicinity of the

fallen plane, for no sooner had he realized that these people were again in trouble than his inherent sense of

duty to his own kind impelled him once more to forego his plans and seek to aid them.

The apeman feared from what he judged of the location of the machine that it had fallen among the almost

impassable gorges of the arid country just beyond the fertile basin that was bounded by the hills to the east of

him. He had crossed that parched and desolate country of the dead himself and he knew from his own

experience and the narrow escape he had had from succumbing to its relentless cruelty no lesser man could

hope to win his way to safety from any considerable distance within its borders. Vividly he recalled the

bleached bones of the longdead warrior in the bottom of the pre cipitous gorge that had all but proved a

trap for him as well. He saw the helmet of hammered brass and the corroded breastplate of steel and the long

straight sword in its scabbard and the ancient harquebus mute testimonials to the mighty physique and the

warlike spirit of him who had somehow won, thus illy caparisoned and pitifully armed, to the center of

savage, ancient Africa; and he saw the slender English youth and the slight figure of the girl cast into the

same fate ful trap from which this giant of old had been unable to escape cast there wounded and broken

His judgment told him that the latter possibility was prob ably the fact, and yet there was a chance that they

might have landed without fatal injuries, and so upon this slim chance he started out upon what he knew

would be an ardu ous journey, fraught with many hardships and unspeakable peril, that he might attempt to

He had covered a mile perhaps when his quick ears caught the sound of rapid movement along the game trail

ahead of him. The sound, increasing in volume, proclaimed the fact that whatever caused it was moving in his

direction and moving rapidly. Nor was it long before his trained senses convinced him that the footfalls were

those of Bara, the deer, in rapid flight. Inextricably confused in Tarzan's character were the attributes of man

and of beasts. Long experience had taught him that he fights best or travels fastest who is best nourished, and

so, with few exceptions, Tarzan could delay his most urgent business to take advantage of an op portunity to

kill and feed. This perhaps was the predominant beast trait in him. The transformation from an English

gentle man, impelled by the most humanitarian motives, to that of a wild beast crouching in the

concealment of a dense bush ready to spring upon its approaching prey, was instantaneous.

And so, when Bara came, escaping the clutches of Numa and Sheeta, his terror and his haste precluded the

possibility of his sensing that other equally formidable foe lying in am bush for him. Abreast of the

apeman came the deer; a light brown body shot from the concealing verdure of the bush, strong arms

encircled the sleek neck of the young buck and powerful teeth fastened themselves in the soft flesh. Together

the two rolled over in the trail and a moment later the ape man rose, and, with one foot upon the carcass of

Like an answering challenge came suddenly to the ears of the apeman the thunderous roar of a lion, a

hideous angry roar in which Tarzan thought that he discerned a note of surprise and terror. In the breast of the

wild things of the jungle, as in the breasts of their more enlightened brothers and sisters of the human race,

the characteristic of curiosity is well developed. Nor was Tarzan far from innocent of it. The peculiar note in

the roar of his hereditary enemy aroused a desire to investigate, and so, throwing the carcass of Bara, the

deer, across his shoulder, the apeman took to the lower terraces of the forest and moved quickly in the

direction from which the sound had come, which was in line with the trail he had set out upon.

As the distance lessened, the sounds increased in volume, which indicated that he was approaching a very

angry lion and presently, where a jungle giant overspread the broad game trail that countless thousands of

hoofed and padded feet had worn and trampled into a deep furrow during perhaps count less ages, he saw

beneath him the lion pit of the Wamabos and in it, leaping futilely for freedom such a lion as even Tarzan of

the Apes never before had beheld. A mighty beast it was that glared up at the apeman large, powerful

and young, with a huge black mane and a coat so much darker than any Tarzan ever had seen that in the

Tarzan who had been upon the point of taunting and re viling his captive foe was suddenly turned to open

admira tion for the beauty of the splendid beast. What a creature! How by comparison the ordinary forest

lion was dwarfed into insignificance! Here indeed was one worthy to be called king of beasts. With his first

sight of the great cat the apeman knew that he had heard no note of terror in that initial roar; surprise

doubtless, but the vocal chords of that mighty throat never had reacted to fear.

With growing admiration came a feeling of quick pity for the hapless situation of the great brute rendered

futile and help less by the wiles of the Gomangani. Enemy though the beast was, he was less an enemy to

the apeman than those blacks who had trapped him, for though Tarzan of the Apes claimed many fast and

loyal friends among certain tribes of African natives, there were others of degraded character and bestial

habits that he looked upon with utter loathing, and of such were the human flesheaters of Numabo the chief.

For a mo ment Numa, the lion, glared ferociously at the naked man thing upon the tree limb above him.

Steadily those yellow green eyes bored into the clear eyes of the apeman, and then the sensitive nostrils

caught the scent of the fresh blood of Bara and the eyes moved to the carcass lying across the brown

shoulder, and there came from the cavernous depths of the savage throat a low whine.

Tarzan of the Apes smiled. As unmistakably as though a human voice had spoken, the lion had said to him "I

am hun gry, even more than hungry. I am starving," and the ape man looked down upon the lion beneath

him and smiled, a slow quizzical smile, and then he shifted the carcass from his shoulder to the branch before

him and, drawing the long blade that had been his father's, deftly cut off a hind quarter and, wiping the

bloody blade upon Bara's smooth coat, he returned it to its scabbard. Numa, with watering jaws, looked up at

the tempting meat and whined again and the apeman smiled down upon him his slow smile and, raising the

hind quarter in his strong brown hands buried his teeth in the ten der, juicy flesh.

For the third time Numa, the lion, uttered that low pleading whine and then, with a rueful and disgusted shake

of his head, Tarzan of the Apes raised the balance of the carcass of Bara, the deer, and hurled it to the

"Old woman," muttered the apeman. "Tarzan has become a weak old woman. Presently he would shed tears

because he has killed Bara, the deer. He cannot see Numa, his enemy, go hungry, because Tarzan's heart is

turning to water by con tact with the soft, weak creatures of civilization." But yet he smiled, nor was he

As Tarzan tore the flesh from that portion of the kill he had retained for himself his eyes were taking in each

detail of the scene below. He saw the avidity with which Numa devoured the carcass; he noted with growing

admiration the finer points of the beast, and also the cunning construction of the trap. The ordinary lion pit

with which Tarzan was familiar had stakes imbedded in the bottom, upon whose sharpened points the hapless

lion would be impaled, but this pit was not so made. Here the short stakes were set at intervals of about a foot

around the walls near the top, their sharpened points in clining downward so that the lion had fallen unhurt

into the trap but could not leap out because each time he essayed it his head came in contact with the sharp

Evidently, then, the purpose of the Wamabos was to capture a lion alive. As this tribe had no contact

whatsoever with white men in so far as Tarzan knew, their motive was doubt less due to a desire to torture

Having fed the lion, it presently occurred to Tarzan that his act would be futile were he to leave the beast to

the mercies of the blacks, and then too it occurred to him that he could derive more pleasure through causing

the blacks discomfiture than by leaving Numa to his fate. But how was he to release him? By removing two

stakes there would be left plenty of room for the lion to leap from the pit, which was not of any great depth.

However, what assurance had Tarzan that Numa would not leap out instantly the way to freedom was open,

and before the apeman could gain the safety of the trees? Regardless of the fact that Tarzan felt no such fear

of the lion as you and I might experience under like circumstances, he yet was imbued with the sense of

caution that is necessary to all creatures of the wild if they are to survive. Should necessity require, Tarzan

could face Numa in battle, although he was not so egotistical as to think that he could best a fullgrown lion

in mortal combat other than through accident or the utili zation of the cunning of his superior manmind. To

lay him self liable to death futilely, he would have considered as repre hensible as to have shunned danger

in time of necessity; but when Tarzan elected to do a thing he usually found the means to accomplish it.

He had now fully determined to liberate Numa, and having so determined, he would accomplish it even

though it entailed considerable personal risk. He knew that the lion would be occupied with his feeding for

some time, but he also knew that while feeding he would be doubly resentful of any fancied interference.

Coming to the ground at the side of the pit, he examined the stakes and as he did so was rather surprised to

note that Numa gave no evidence of anger at his approach. Once he turned a searching gaze upon the

apeman for a moment and then returned to the flesh of Bara. Tarzan felt of the stakes and tested them with

his weight. He pulled upon them with the muscles of his strong arms, presently discovering that by work ing

them back and forth he could loosen them: and then a new plan was suggested to him so that he fell to work

excavat ing with his knife at a point above where one of the stakes was imbedded. The loam was soft and

easily removed, and it was not long until Tarzan had exposed that part of one of the stakes which was

imbedded in the wall of the pit to almost its entire length, leaving only enough imbedded to prevent the stake

from falling into the excavation. Then he turned his at tention to an adjoining stake and soon had it similarly

ex posed, after which he threw the noose of his grass rope over the two and swung quickly to the branch of

the tree above. Here he gathered in the slack of the rope and, bracing him self against the bole of the tree,

pulled steadily upward. Slowly the stakes rose from the trench in which they were imbedded and with them

Was this some new encroachment upon his rights and his liberties? He was puzzled and, like all lions, being

short of temper, he was irritated. He had not minded it when the Tar mangani squatted upon the verge of the

pit and looked down upon him, for had not this Tarmangani fed him? But now something else was afoot and

the suspicion of the wild beast was aroused. As he watched, however, Numa saw the stakes rise slowly to an

erect position, tumble against each other and then fall backwards out of his sight upon the surface of the

ground above. Instantly the lion grasped the possibilities of the situation, and, too, perhaps he sensed the fact

that the manthing had deliberately opened a way for his escape. Seiz ing the remains of Bara in his great

jaws, Numa, the lion, leaped agilely from the pit of the Wamabos and Tarzan of the Apes melted into the

On the surface of the ground or through the swaying branches of the trees the spoor of man or beast was an

open book to the apeman, but even his acute senses were baffled by the spoorless trail of the airship. Of

what good were eyes, or ears, or the sense of smell in following a thing whose path had lain through the

shifting air thousands of feet above the tree tops? Only upon his sense of direction could Tarzan de pend in

his search for the fallen plane. He could not even judge accurately as to the distance it might lie from him,

and he knew that from the moment that it disappeared beyond the hills it might have traveled a considerable

distance at right angles to its original course before it crashed to earth. If its occupants were killed or badly

injured the apeman might search futilely in their immediate vicinity for some time be fore finding them.

There was but one thing to do and that was to travel to a point as close as possible to where he judged the

plane had landed, and then to follow in everwidening circles until he picked up their scent spoor. And this

Before he left the valley of plenty he made several kills and carried the choicest cuts of meat with him,

leaving all the dead weight of bones behind. The dense vegetation of the jungle terminated at the foot of the

western slope, growing less and less abundant as he neared the summit beyond which was a sparse growth of

sickly scrub and sunburned grasses, with here and there a gnarled and hardy tree that had withstood the

From the summit of the hills Tarzan's keen eyes searched the arid landscape before him. In the distance he

discerned the ragged tortuous lines that marked the winding course of the hideous gorges which scored the

broad plain at intervals the terrible gorges that had so nearly claimed his life in punish ment for his

For two days Tarzan sought futilely for some clew to the whereabouts of the machine or its occupants. He

cached por tions of his kills at different points, building cairns of rock to mark their locations. He crossed

the first deep gorge and cir cled far beyond it. Occasionally he stopped and called aloud, listening for some

response but only silence rewarded him a sinister silence that his cries only accentuated.

Late in the evening of the second day he came to the well remembered gorge in which lay the cleanpicked

bones of the ancient adventurer, and here, for the first time, Ska, the vul ture, picked up his trail. "Not this

time, Ska," cried the ape man in a taunting voice, "for now indeed is Tarzan Tarzan. Before, you stalked the

grim skeleton of a Tarmangani and even then you lost. Waste not your time upon Tarzan of the Apes in the

full of his strength. But still Ska, the vulture, circled and soared above him, and the apeman,

notwithstanding his boasts, felt a shudder of apprehension. Through his brain ran a persistent and doleful

chant to which he involuntarily set two words, repeated over and over again in horrible mo notony: "Ska

knows! Ska knows!" until, shaking himself in anger, he picked up a rock and hurled it at the grim scav

Lowering himself over the precipitous side of the gorge Tar zan half clambered and half slid to the sandy

floor beneath. He had come upon the rift at almost the exact spot at which he had clambered from it weeks

before, and there he saw, just as he had left it, just, doubtless, as it had lain for centuries, the mighty skeleton

As he stood looking down upon this grim reminder that an other man of might had succumbed to the cruel

powers of the desert, he was brought to startled attention by the report of a firearm, the sound of which came

from the depths of the gorge to the south of him, and reverberated along the steep walls of the narrow rift.

As the British plane piloted by Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick rose above the jungle wilderness

where Bertha Kircher's life had so often been upon the point of extinction, and sped toward the east, the girl

felt a sudden contraction of the muscles of her throat. She tried very hard to swallow something that was not

there. It seemed strange to her that she should feel regret in leaving behind her such hideous perils, and yet it

was plain to her that such was the fact, for she was also leaving behind something beside the dangers that had

menaced her a unique figure that had en tered her life, and for which she felt an unaccountable at

Before her in the pilot's seat sat an English officer and gen tleman whom, she knew, loved her, and yet she

dared to feel regret in his company at leaving the stamping ground of a wild beast!

Lieutenant SmithOldwick, on his part, was in the seventh heaven of elation. He was in possession again of

his beloved ship, he was flying swiftly in the direction of his comrades and his duty, and with him was the

woman he loved. The fly in the ointment, however, was the accusation Tarzan had made against this woman.

He had said that she was a German, and a spy, and from the heights of bliss the English officer was

occasionally plunged to the depths of despair in contempla tion of the inevitable, were the apeman's

charges to prove true. He found himself torn between sentiments of love and honor. On the one hand he could

not surrender the woman he loved to the certain fate that must be meted out to her if she were in truth an

enemy spy, while on the other it would be equally impossible for him as an Englishman and an officer to give

The young man contented himself therefore with repeated mental denials of her guilt. He tried to convince

himself that Tarzan was mistaken, and when he conjured upon the screen of recollection the face of the girl

behind him, he was doubly reassured that those lines of sweet femininity and character, those clear and

And so they sped toward the east, each wrapped in his own thoughts. Below them they saw the dense

vegetation of the jungle give place to the scantier growth upon the hillside, and then before them there spread

the wide expanse of arid waste lands marked by the deep scarring of the narrow gorges that longgone

Shortly after they passed the summit of the ridge which formed the boundary between the desert and the

fertile coun try, Ska, the vulture, winging his way at a high altitude toward his aerie, caught sight of a

strange new bird of gigantic pro portions encroaching upon the preserves of his aerial domain. Whether with

intent to give battle to the interloper or merely impelled by curiosity, Ska rose suddenly upward to meet the

plane. Doubtless he misjudged the speed of the newcomer, but be that as it may, the tip of the propeller blade

touched him and simultaneously many things happened. The lifeless body of Ska, torn and bleeding, dropped

plummetlike toward the ground; a bit of splintered spruce drove backward to strike the pilot on the

forehead; the plane shuddered and trembled and as Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick sank forward in

Only for an instant was the pilot unconscious, but that in stant almost proved their undoing. When he awoke

to a reali zation of their peril it was also to discover that his motor had stalled. The plane had attained

frightful momentum, and the ground seemed too close for him to hope to flatten out in time to make a safe

landing. Directly beneath him was a deep rift in the plateau, a narrow gorge, the bottom of which appeared

In the brief instant in which he must reach a decision, the safest plan seemed to attempt a landing in the

gorge, and this he did, but not without considerable damage to the plane and a severe shakingup for himself

Fortunately neither of them was injured but their condition seemed indeed a hopeless one. It was a grave

question as to whether the man could repair his plane and continue the jour ney, and it seemed equally

questionable as to their ability either to proceed on foot to the coast or retrace their way to the country they

had just left. The man was confident that they could not hope to cross the desert country to the east in the face

of thirst and hunger, while behind them in the valley of plenty lay almost equal danger in the form of

After the plane came to its sudden and disastrous stop, SmithOldwick turned quickly to see what the effect

of the accident had been on the girl. He found her pale but smiling, and for several seconds the two sat

The Englishman shook his head. "It is the end of the first leg, anyway," he replied.

"No," he said, "not if they amount to anything, but I may be able to patch it up. I will have to look her over a

bit first. Let us hope there is nothing serious. It's a long, long way to the Tanga railway."

"We would not get far," said the girl, a slight note of hope lessness in her tone. "Entirely unarmed as we are,

it would be little less than a miracle if we covered even a small fraction of the distance."

"But we are not unarmed," replied the man. "I have an extra pistol here, that the beggars didn't discover," and,

Bertha Kircher leaned back in her seat and laughed aloud, a mirthless, halfhysterical laugh. "That popgun!"

she ex claimed. "What earthly good would it do other than to in furiate any beast of prey you might happen

SmithOldwick looked rather crestfallen. "But it is a weap on," he said. "You will have to admit that, and

"You could if you happened to hit him," said the girl, "or the thing didn't jam. Really, I haven't much faith in

"Oh, of course," he said ironically, "an express rifle would be better, for who knows but we might meet an

The girl saw that he was hurt, and she was sorry, for she realized that there was nothing he would not do in

her service or protection, and that it was through no fault of his that he was so illy armed. Doubtless, too, he

realized as well as she the futility of his weapon, and that he had only called attention to it in the hope of

"Forgive me," she said. "I did not mean to be nasty, but this accident is the proverbial last straw. It seems to

me that I have borne all that I can. Though I was willing to give my life in the service of my country, I did not

imagine that my death agonies would be so long drawn out, for I realize now that I have been dying for many

"What do you mean!" he exclaimed; "what do you mean by that! You are not dying. There is nothing the

"Oh, not that," she said, "I did not mean that. What I mean is that at the moment the black sergeant, Usanga,

and his rene gade German native troops captured me and brought me in land, my death warrant was

signed. Sometimes I have imagined that a reprieve has been granted. Sometimes I have hoped that I might be

upon the verge of winning a full pardon, but really in the depths of my heart I have known that I should never

live to regain civilization. I have done my bit for my country, and though it was not much I can at least go

with the realization that it was the best I was able to offer. All that I can hope for now, all that I ask for, is a

speedy fulfillment of the death sentence. I do not wish to linger any more to face constant terror and

apprehension. Even physical torture would be preferable to what I have passed through. I have no doubt that

you consider me a brave woman, but really my terror has been boundless. The cries of the carnivores at night

fill me with a dread so tangible that I am in actual pain. I feel the rending talons in my flesh and the cruel

fangs munching upon my bones it is as real to me as though I were actually enduring the horrors of such a

"Yes," he said, "I think I can understand it, and because I understand I can appreciate more than you imagine

the hero ism you have shown in your endurance of all that you have passed through. There can be no

bravery where there is no fear. A child might walk into a lion's den, but it would take a very brave man to go

"Thank you," she said, "but I am not brave at all, and now I am very much ashamed of my thoughtlessness

for your own feelings. I will try and take a new grip upon myself and we will both hope for the best. I will

"The first thing," he replied, "is to find out just how serious our damage is, and then to see what we can do in

For two days SmithOldwick worked upon the damaged plane worked in the face of the fact that from the

'I knew it," she said, "but I believe that I felt much as you must have; that however futile our efforts here

might be, it would be infinitely as fatal to attempt to retrace our way to the jungle we just left or to go on

toward the coast. You know and I know that we could not reach the Tanga railway on foot. We should die of

thirst and starvation before we had covered half the distance, and if we return to the jungle, even were we

able to reach it, it would be but to court an equally certain, though different, fate."

"So we might as well sit here and wait for death as to use lessly waste our energies in what we know would

"No," she replied, "I shall never give up like that. What I meant was that it was useless to attempt to reach

either of the places where we know that there is food and water in abun dance, so we must strike out in a

new direction. Somewhere there may be water in this wilderness and if there is, the best chance of our finding

it would be to follow this gorge down ward. We have enough food and water left, if we are careful of it, for

a couple of days and in that time we might stumble upon a spring or possibly even reach the fertile country

which I know lies to the south. When Usanga brought me to the Wamabo country from the coast he took a

southerly route along which there was usually water and game in plenty. It was not until we neared our

destination that the country be came overrun with carnivores. So there is hope if we can reach the fertile

The man shook his head dubiously. "We can try it," he said. "Personally, I do not fancy sitting here waiting

SmithOldwick was leaning against the ship, his dejected gaze directed upon the ground at his feet. The girl

was looking south down the gorge in the direction of their one slender chance of life. Suddenly she touched

The man raised his eyes quickly in the direction of her gaze to see the massive head of a great lion who was

regarding them from beyond a rocky projection at the first turning of the gorge.

"I should imagine not," he replied; "a lion is not particularly strong on endurance."

The man laughed. "Cute little harbinger of hope!" he said. "Reminds me of Cock Robin heralding spring."

The girl cast a quick glance at him. "Don't be silly, and I don't care if you do laugh. He fills me with hope."

"It is probably mutual," replied SmithOldwick, "as we doubtless fill him with hope."

The lion evidently having satisfied himself as to the nature of the creatures before him advanced slowly now

"Come," said the man, 'let's climb aboard," and he helped the girl over the side of the ship.

"For heaven's sake," she cried, "don't shoot at him with that thing. You might hit him."

"I don't intend to shoot at him but I might succeed in fright ening him away if he attempts to reach us here.

Haven't you ever seen a trainer work with lions? He carries a silly little popgun loaded with blank

cartridges. With that and a kitchen chair he subdues the most ferocious of beasts."

"No," he said, "Government is always muddling things. I have always maintained that airplanes should be

Bertha Kircher laughed as evenly and with as little hysteria as though she were moved by the small talk of an

Numa, the lion, came steadily toward them; his attitude seemed more that of curiosity than of belligerency.

"I never saw a more beautiful creature," she replied, "nor one with such a dark coat. Why, he is almost

The sound of their voices seemed not to please the lord of the jungle, for he suddenly wrinkled his great face

into deep furrows as he bared his fangs beneath snarling lips and gave vent to an angry growl. Almost

simultaneously he crouched for a spring and immediately SmithOldwick discharged his pistol into the

ground in front of the lion. The effect of the noise upon Numa seemed but to enrage him further, and with a

horrid roar he sprang for the author of the new and dis quieting sound that had outraged his ears.

Simultaneously Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick vaulted nimbly out of the cockpit on the opposite

side of his plane, calling to the girl to follow his example. The girl, real izing the futility of leaping to the

ground, chose the remaining alternative and clambered to the top of the upper plane.

Numa, unaccustomed to the idiosyncrasies of construction of an airship and having gained the forward

cockpit, watched the girl clamber out of his reach without at first endeavoring to prevent her. Having taken

possession of the plane his anger seemed suddenly to leave him and he made no immediate move toward

following SmithOldwick. The girl, realizing the comparative safety of her position, had crawled to the outer

edge of the wing and was calling to the man to try and reach the opposite end of the upper plane.

It was this scene upon which Tarzan of the Apes looked as he rounded the bend of the gorge above the plane

after the pistol shot had attracted his attention. The girl was so intent upon watching the efforts of the

Englishman to reach a place of safety, and the latter was so busily occupied in attempting to do so that neither

It was Numa who first noticed the intruder. The lion imme diately evinced his displeasure by directing

toward him a snarling countenance and a series of warning growls. His action called the attention of the two

upon the upper plane to the newcomer, eliciting a stifled "Thank God!" from the girl, even though she could

scarce credit the evidence of her own eyes that it was indeed the savage man, whose presence always assured

Almost immediately both were horrified to see Numa leap from the cockpit and advance upon Tarzan. The

apeman, carrying his stout spear in readiness, moved deliberately on ward to meet the carnivore, which he

had recognized as the lion of the Wamabos' pit. He knew from the manner of Numa's approach what neither

Bertha Kircher nor Smith Oldwick knew that there was more of curiosity than bellig erency in it, and

he wondered if in that great head there might not be a semblance of gratitude for the kindness that Tarzan had

There was no question in Tarzan's mind but that Numa recognized him, for he knew his fellows of the jungle

well enough to know that while they ofttimes forgot certain sensa tions more quickly than man there are

others which remain in their memories for years. A welldefined scent spoor might never be forgotten by a

beast if it had first been sensed under unusual circumstances, and so Tarzan was confident that Numa's nose

Love of the sporting chance is inherent in the AngloSaxon race and it was not now Tarzan of the Apes but

rather John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, who smilingly welcomed the sport ing chance which he must take to

SmithOldwick and the girl saw the two nearing each other. The former swore softly beneath his breath

while he nervously fingered the pitiful weapon at his hip. The girl pressed her open palms to her cheeks as

she leaned forward in stonyeyed, horrorstricken silence. While she had every confidence in the prowess of

the godlike creature who thus dared brazenly to face the king of beasts, she had no false conception of what

must certainly happen when they met. She had seen Tarzan battle with Sheeta, the panther, and she had

realized then that powerful as the man was, it was only agility, cunning, and chance that placed him upon

anywhere near an equal footing with his savage adversary, and that of the three factors upon his side chance

She saw the man and the lion stop simultaneously, not more than a yard apart. She saw the beast's tail

whipping from side to side and she could hear his deepthroated growls rumbling from his cavernous breast,

but she could read correctly neither the movement of the lashing tail nor the notes of the growl.

To her they seemed to indicate nothing but bestial rage while to Tarzan of the Apes they were conciliatory

and reas suring in the extreme. And then she saw Numa move forward again until his nose touched the

man's naked leg and she closed her eyes and covered them with her palms. For what seemed an eternity she

waited for the horrid sound of the conflict which she knew must come, but all she heard was an explosive

She looked up to see the great lion rubbing his shaggy head against the man's hip, and Tarzan's free hand

entangled in the black mane as he scratched Numa, the lion, behind a back laid ear.

Strange friendships are often formed between the lower animals of different species, but less often between

man and the savage felidae, because of the former's inherent fear of the great cats. And so after all, therefore,

the friendship so suddenly developed between the savage lion and the savage man was not inexplicable.

As Tarzan approached the plane Numa walked at his side, and when Tarzan stopped and looked up at the girl

"I had about given up hope of finding you," said the ape man, "and it is evident that I found you just in

"I saw your plane fall," replied Tarzan. "I was watching you from a tree beside the clearing where you took

off. I didn't have much to locate you by other than the general direction, but it seems that you volplaned a

considerable dis tance toward the south after you disappeared from my view behind the hills. I have been

looking for you further toward the north. I was just about to turn back when I heard your pistol shot. Is your

"What are your plans, then? What do you wish to do?" Tarzan directed his question to the girl.

"I should have thought so a little while ago," replied the ape man, "but if Numa is here there must be water

within a rea sonable distance. I ran across this lion two days ago in the Wamabo country. I liberated him

from one of their pits. To have reached this spot he must have come by some trail un known to me at

least I crossed no game trail and no spoor of any animal after I came over the hills out of the fertile country.

"It was from the south," replied the girl. "We thought, too, that there must be water in that direction."

"That we will have to discover," replied the apeman, "and we can only do so if you will come down from

The officer shrugged his shoulders. The girl turned her gaze upon him to note the effect of Tarzan's proposal.

The English man grew suddenly very white, but there was a smile upon his lips as without a word he

Bertha Kircher realized that the man was afraid nor did she blame him, and she also realized the remarkable

Numa standing close to Tarzan's side raised his head and glared at the young Englishman, growled once, and

looked up at the apeman. Tarzan retained a hold upon the beast's mane and spoke to him in the language of

the great apes. To the girl and SmithOldwick the growling gutturals falling from human lips sounded

uncanny in the extreme, but whether Numa understood them or not they appeared to have the desired effect

upon him, as he ceased growling, and as Tarzan walked to SmithOldwick's side Numa accompanied him,

Tarzan smiled. "I told him," he replied, "that I am Tarzan of the Apes, mighty hunter, killer of beasts, lord of

the jungle, and that you are my friends. I have never been sure that all of the other beasts understand the

language of the Mangani. I know that Manu, the monkey, speaks nearly the same tongue and I am sure that

Tantor, the elephant, understands all that I say to him. We of the jungle are great boasters. In our speech, in

our carriage, in every detail of our demeanor we must impress others with our physical power and our

ferocity. That is why we growl at our enemies. We are telling them to beware or we shall fall upon them and

tear them to pieces. Perhaps Numa does not understand the words that I use but I believe that my tones and

my manner carry the impression that I wish them to convey. Now you may come down and be introduced."

It required all the courage that Bertha Kircher possessed to lower herself to the ground within reach of the

talons and fangs of this untamed forest beast, but she did it. Nor did Numa do more than bare his teeth and

"I think you are safe from him as long as I am present," said the apeman. "The best thing to do is simply to

ignore him. Make no advances, but be sure to give no indication of fear and, if possible always keep me

between you and him. He will go away presently I am sure and the chances are that we shall not see him

At Tarzan's suggestion SmithOldwick removed the remain ing water and provisions from the plane and,

distributing the burden among them, they set off toward the south. Numa did not follow them, but stood by

the plane watching until they finally disappeared from view around a bend in the gorge.

Tarzan had picked up Numa's trail with the intention of following it southward in the belief that it would lead

to water. In the sand that floored the bottom of the gorge tracks were plain and easily followed. At first only

the fresh tracks of Numa were visible, but later in the day the apeman discovered the older tracks of other

lions and just before dark he stopped suddenly in evident surprise. His two companions looked at him

questioningly, and in answer to their implied interroga tions he pointed at the ground directly in front of

At first neither SmithOldwick nor the girl saw anything but a confusion of intermingled prints of padded

feet in the sand, but presently the girl discovered what Tarzan had seen, and an exclamation of surprise broke

"Then there must be a native village somewhere in the vicinity," said SmithOldwick.

"Yes," replied the apeman, "but not the sort of natives which we would expect to find here in this part of

Africa where others all go unshod with the exception of a few of Usanga's renegade German native troops

who wear German army shoes. I don't know that you can notice it, but it is evident to me that the foot inside

the sandal that made these imprints were not the foot of a Negro. If you will examine them carefully you will

notice that the impression of the heel and ball of the foot are well marked even through the sole of the sandal.

"It looks that way," replied Tarzan, and suddenly, to the surprise of both the girl and SmithOldwick, he

dropped to his hands and knees and sniffed at the tracks again a beast utilizing the senses and woodcraft

of a beast. Over an area of several square yards his keen nostrils sought the identity of the makers of the

"It is not the spoor of the Gomangani," he said, "nor is it exactly like that of white men. There were three who

There was no apparent change in the nature of the gorge except that it had steadily grown deeper as they

followed it downward until now the rocky and precipitous sides rose far above them. At different points

natural caves, which appeared to have been eroded by the action of water in some forgotten age, pitted the

side walls at various heights. Near them was such a cavity at the ground's level an arched cavern floored

"We will lair here tonight," he said, and then with one of his rare, slow smiles: "We will CAMP here tonight."

"You will sleep inside," he said. "The lieutenant and I will lie outside at the entrance."

As the girl turned to bid them good night, she thought that she saw a shadowy form moving in the darkness

beyond them, and almost simultaneously she was sure that she heard the sounds of stealthy movement in the

"Yes," replied Tarzan, "it is a lion. It has been there for some time. Hadn't you noticed it before?"

The officer laughed nervously. "I couldn't help it, you know, old man," he said; "instinct of selfpreservation

"It would prove an instinct of selfdestruction," said Tarzan. "There are at least three hunting lions out there

watching us. If we had a fire or the moon were up you would see their eyes plainly. Presently they may come

after us but the chances are that they will not. If you are very anxious that they should, fire your pistol and hit

The apeman shrugged his shoulders. "One must die some time," he said. "To you doubtless it may seem

terrible such a death; but Tarzan of the Apes has always expected to go out in some such way. Few of us

die of old age in the jungle, nor should I care to die thus. Some day Numa will get me, or Sheeta, or a black

warrior. These or some of the others. What difference does it make which it is, or whether it comes tonight or

The girl shuddered. "Yes," she said in a dull, hopeless voice, "after it is over it will be all the same."

Then she went into the cavern and lay down upon the sand. SmithOldwick sat in the entrance and leaned

"May I smoke?" questioned the officer of Tarzan. "I have been hoarding a few cigarettes and if it won't attract

those bouncers out there I would like to have one last smoke before I cash in. Will you join me?" and he

"No, thanks," said Tarzan, "but it will be all right if you smoke. No wild animal is particularly fond of the

SmithOldwick lighted his cigarette and sat puffing slowly upon it. He had proffered one to the girl but she

had refused, and thus they sat in silence for some time, the silence of the night ruffled occasionally by the

It was SmithOldwick who broke the silence. "Aren't they unusually quiet for lions?" he asked.

"No," replied the apeman; "the lion that goes roaring around the jungle does not do it to attract prey. They

"I wish they would roar," said the officer. "I wish they would do anything, even charge. Just knowing that

they are there and occasionally seeing something like a shadow in the darkness and the faint sounds that

come to us from them are getting on my nerves. But I hope," he said, "that all three don't charge at once."

"I don't know that it would do any good," said Tarzan, "as I have an idea that these lions are a little different

from any that we are familiar with and possibly for the same reason which at first puzzled me a little I

refer to the apparent docility in the presence of a man of the lion who was with us today. A man is out there

Tarzan smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid you would not understand," he replied. "It is difficult for us to

"Well," said Tarzan, "if you had been born without eyes you could not understand sense impressions that the

eyes of others transmit to their brains, and as you have both been born with out any sense of smell I am

"I doubt if the lions or the man are here necessarily for the purpose of harming us," said Tarzan, "because

there has been nothing to prevent their doing so long before had they wished to. I have a theory, but it is

"I think they are here," replied Tarzan, "to prevent us from going some place that they do not wish us to go;

in other words we are under surveillance, and possibly as long as we don't go where we are not wanted we

"We can't know," replied Tarzan, "and the chances are that the very place we are seeking is the place they

For some time they sat in silence which was broken only by an occasional sound of movement from the outer

darkness. It must have been an hour later that the apeman rose quietly and drew his long blade from its

sheath. SmithOldwick was dozing against the rocky wall of the cavern entrance, while the girl, exhausted by

the excitement and fatigue of the day, had fallen into deep slumber. An instant after Tarzan arose,

SmithOldwick and the girl were aroused by a volley of thunderous roars and the noise of many padded feet

Tarzan of the Apes stood directly before the entrance to the cavern, his knife in his hand, awaiting the charge.

The ape man had not expected any such concerted action as he now realized had been taken by those

watching them. He had known for some time that other men had joined those who were with the lions earlier

in the evening, and when he arose to his feet it was because he knew that the lions and the men were moving

cautiously closer to him and his party. He might easily have eluded them, for he had seen that the face of the

cliff rising above the mouth of the cavern might be scaled by as good a climber as himself. It might have been

wiser had he tried to escape, for he knew that in the face of such odds even he was helpless, but he stood his

He owed nothing either of duty or friendship to the girl sleeping in the cavern, nor could he longer be of any

protec tion to her or her companion. Yet something held him there in futile selfsacrifice.

The great Tarmangani had not even the satisfaction of striking a blow in selfdefense. A veritable avalanche

of savage beasts rolled over him and threw him heavily to the ground. In falling his head struck the rocky

It was daylight when he regained consciousness. The first dim impression borne to his awakening mind was a

confusion of savage sounds which gradually resolved themselves into the growling of lions, and then, little by

little, there came back to him the recollections of what had preceded the blow that had felled him.

Strong in his nostrils was the scent of Numa, the lion, and against one naked leg he could feel the coat of

some animal. Slowly Tarzan opened his eyes. He was lying on his side and as he looked down his body, he

saw that a great lion stood straddling him a great lion who growled hideously at some thing which

With the full return of his senses Tarzan's nose told him that the beast above him was Numa of the Wamabo

Thus reassured, the apeman spoke to the lion and at the same time made a motion as though he would arise.

Immedi ately Numa stepped from above him. As Tarzan raised his head, he saw that he still lay where he

had fallen before the opening of the cliff where the girl had been sleeping and that Numa, backed against the

cliffside, was apparently defending him from two other lions who paced to and fro a short distance from their

And then Tarzan turned his eyes into the cave and saw that the girl and SmithOldwick were gone.

His efforts had been for naught. With an angry toss of his head, the apeman turned upon the two lions who

had con tinued to pace back and forth a few yards from him. Numa of the lion pit turned a friendly glance in

Tarzan's direction, rubbed his head against the apeman's side, and then directed his snarling countenance

"I think," said Tarzan to Numa, "that you and I together can make these beasts very unhappy." He spoke in

English, which, of course, Numa did not understand at all, but there must have been something reassuring in

the tone, for Numa whined pleadingly and moved impatiently to and fro parallel with their antagonists.

"Come," said Tarzan suddenly and grasping the lion's mane with his left hand he moved toward the other

lions, his com panion pacing at his side. As the two advanced the others drew slowly back and, finally

separating, moved off to either side. Tarzan and Numa passed between them but neither the great

blackmaned lion nor the man failed to keep an eye upon the beast nearer him so that they were not caught

unawares when, as though at some preconcerted signal, the two cats charged simultaneously from opposite

The apeman met the charge of his antagonist after the same fashion of fighting that he had been accustomed

to employing in previous encounters with Numa and Sheeta. To have at tempted to meet the full shock of a

lion's charge would have been suicidal even for the giant Tarmangani. Instead he re sorted to methods of

agility and cunning, for quick as are the great cats, even quicker is Tarzan of the Apes.

With outspread, raking talons and bared fangs Numa sprang for the naked chest of the apeman. Throwing

up his left arm as a boxer might ward off a blow, Tarzan struck upward beneath the left forearm of the lion, at

the same time rushing in with his shoulder beneath the animal's body and simul taneously drove his blade

into the tawny hide behind the shoulder. With a roar of pain Numa wheeled again, the per sonification of

bestial rage. Now indeed would he exterminate this presumptuous manthing who dared even to think that he

could thwart the king of beasts in his desires. But as he wheeled, his intended quarry wheeled with him,

brown fingers locked in the heavy mane on the powerful neck and again the blade struck deep into the lion's

Then it was that Numa went mad with hate and pain and at the same instant the apeman leaped full upon his

back. Easily before had Tarzan locked his legs beneath the belly of a lion while he clung to its long mane and

stabbed it until his point reached its heart. So easy it had seemed before that he experienced a sharp feeling of

resentment that he was unable to do so now, for the quick movements of the lion prevented him, and

presently, to his dismay, as the lion leaped and threw him about, the apeman realized that he was swinging

With a final effort he threw himself from Numa's back and sought, by his quickness, to elude the frenzied

beast for the fraction of an instant that would permit him to regain his feet and meet the animal again upon a

more even footing. But this time Numa was too quick for him and he was but partially up when a great paw

As he fell he saw a black streak shoot above him and an other lion close upon his antagonist. Rolling from

beneath the two battling lions Tarzan regained his feet, though he was half dazed and staggering from the

impact of the terrible blow he had received. Behind him he saw a lifeless lion lying torn and bleeding upon

He of the black coat tremendously outclassed his adversary in point of size and strength as well as in ferocity.

The battling beasts made a few feints and passes at each other before the larger succeeded in fastening his

fangs in the other's throat, and then, as a cat shakes a mouse, the larger lion shook the lesser, and when his

dying foe sought to roll beneath and rake his conqueror with his hind claws, the other met him halfway at his

own game, and as the great talons buried themselves in the lower part of the other's chest and then were raked

down ward with all the terrific strength of the mighty hind legs, the battle was ended.

As Numa rose from his second victim and shook himself, Tarzan could not but again note the wondrous

proportions and symmetry of the beast. The lions they had bested were splendid specimens themselves and in

their coats Tarzan noted a sugges tion of the black which was such a strongly marked character istic of

Numa of the pit. Their manes were just a trifle darker than an ordinary blackmaned lion but the tawny shade

on the balance of their coats predominated. However, the apeman realized that they were a distinct species

from any he had seen as though they had sprung originally from a cross between the forest lion of his

The immediate obstruction in his way having been removed, Tarzan was for setting out in search of the spoor

of the girl and SmithOldwick, that he might discover their fate. He suddenly found himself tremendously

hungry and as he circled about over the sandy bottom searching among the tangled net work of innumerable

tracks for those of his proteges, there broke from his lips involuntarily the whine of a hungry beast.

Immediately Numa of the pit pricked up his ears and, regard ing the apeman steadily for a moment, he

answered the call of hunger and started briskly off toward the south, stopping occasionally to see if Tarzan

The apeman realized that the beast was leading him to food, and so he followed and as he followed his keen

eyes and sensitive nostrils sought for some indication of the direction taken by the man and the girl. Presently

out of the mass of lion tracks, Tarzan picked up those of many sandaled feet and the scent spoor of the

members of the strange race such as had been with the lions the night before, and then faintly he caught the

scent spoor of the girl and a little later that of SmithOldwick. Presently the tracks thinned and here those of

They had been walking side by side and there had been men and lions to the right and left of them, and men

and lions in front and behind. The apeman was puzzled by the possi bilities suggested by the tracks, but in

the light of any previous experience he could not explain satisfactorily to himself what his perceptions

There was little change in the formation of the gorge; it still wound its erratic course between precipitous

cliffs. In places it widened out and again it became very narrow and always deeper the further south they

traveled. Presently the bottom of the gorge began to slope more rapidly. Here and there were indications of

ancient rapids and waterfalls. The trail became more difficult but was well marked and showed indications of

great antiquity, and, in places, the handiwork of man. They had proceeded for a half or threequarters of a

mile when, at a turning of the gorge, Tarzan saw before him a narrow valley cut deep into the living rock of

the earth's crust, with lofty mountain ranges bounding it upon the south. How far it ex tended east and west

he could not see, but apparently it was no more than three or four miles across from north to south.

That it was a wellwatered valley was indicated by the wealth of vegetation that carpeted its floor from the

Over the edge of the cliffs from which the apeman viewed the valley a trail had been hewn that led

downward to the base. Preceded by the lion Tarzan descended into the valley, which, at this point, was

forested with large trees. Before him the trail wound onward toward the center of the valley. Raucousvoiced

birds of brilliant plumage screamed among the branches while innumerable monkeys chattered and scolded

The forest teemed with life, and yet there was borne in upon the apeman a sense of unutterable loneliness, a

sensation that he never before had felt in his beloved jungles. There was unreality in everything about him

in the valley itself, lying hidden and forgotten in what was supposed to be an arid waste. The birds and the

monkeys, while similar in type to many with which he was familiar, were identical with none, nor was the

vegetation without its idiosyncrasies. It was as though he had been suddenly transported to another world and

he felt a strange restlessness that might easily have been a premonition of danger.

Fruits were growing among the trees and some of these he saw that Manu, the monkey, ate. Being hungry he

swung to the lower branches and, amidst a great chattering of the monkeys, proceeded to eat such of the fruit

as he saw the monkeys ate in safety. When he had partially satisfied his hunger, for meat alone could fully do

Dropping to the ground once more he picked up the trail of the girl and her captors, which he followed easily

along what appeared to be a wellbeaten trail. It was not long before he came to a small stream, where he

quenched his thirst, and thereafter he saw that the trail followed in the general direction of the stream, which

ran southwesterly. Here and there were cross trails and others which joined the main avenue, and always

upon each of them were the tracks and scent of the great cats, of Numa, the lion, and Sheeta, the panther.

With the exception of a few small rodents there appeared to be no other wild life on the surface of the valley.

There was no indication of Bara, the deer, or Horta, the boar, or of Gorgo, the buffalo, Buto, Tantor, or Duro.

Histah, the snake, was there. He saw him in the trees in greater numbers than he ever had seen Histah before;

and once beside a reedy pool he caught a scent that could have belonged to none other than Gimla the

And so, as he craved meat, he turned his attention to the birds above him. His assailants of the night before

had not disarmed him. Either in the darkness and the rush of the charging lions the human foe had overlooked

him or else they had considered him dead; but whatever the reason he still retained his weapons his spear

Fitting a shaft to his bow Tarzan awaited an opportunity to bring down one of the larger birds, and when the

opportunity finally presented itself he drove the arrow straight to its mark. As the gaily plumaged creature

fluttered to earth its compan ions and the little monkeys set up a most terrific chorus of wails and screaming

protests. The whole forest became suddenly a babel of hoarse screams and shrill shrieks.

Tarzan would not have been surprised had one or two birds in the immediate vicinity given voice to terror as

they fled, but that the whole life of the jungle should set up so weird a pro test filled him with disgust. It was

an angry face that he turned up toward the monkeys and the birds as there suddenly stirred within him a

savage inclination to voice his displeasure and his answer to what he considered their challenge. And so it

was that there broke upon this jungle for the first time Tarzan's hideous scream of victory and challenge.

The effect upon the creatures above him was instantaneous. Where before the air had trembled to the din of

their voices, now utter silence reigned and a moment later the apeman was alone with his puny kill.

The silence following so closely the previous tumult carried a sinister impression to the apeman, which still

further aroused his anger. Picking the bird from where it had fallen he withdrew his arrow from the body and

returned it to his quiver. Then with his knife he quickly and deftly removed the skin and feathers together. He

ate angrily, growling as though actually menaced by a nearby foe, and perhaps, too, his growls were

partially induced by the fact that he did not care for the flesh of birds. Better this, however, than nothing and

from what his senses had told him there was no flesh in the vicinity such as he was accustomed to and cared

most for. How he would have enjoyed a juicy haunch from Pacco, the zebra, or a steak from the loin of

Gorgo, the buffalo! The very thought made his mouth water and increased his resentment against this

He had but partially consumed his kill when he suddenly became aware of a movement in the brush at no

great distance from him and downwind, and a moment later his nostrils picked up the scent of Numa from the

opposite direction, and then upon either side he caught the fall of padded feet and the brushing of bodies

against leafy branches. The apeman smiled. What stupid creature did they think him, to be sur prised by

such clumsy stalkers? Gradually the sounds and scents indicated that lions were moving upon him from all

directions, that he was in the center of a steadily converging circle of beasts. Evidently they were so sure of

their prey that they were making no effort toward stealth, for he heard twigs crack beneath their feet, and the

brushing of their bodies against the vegetation through which they forced their way.

He wondered what could have brought them. It seemed unreasonable to believe that the cries of the birds and

the monkeys should have summoned them, and yet, if not, it was indeed a remarkable coincidence. His

judgment told him that the death of a single bird in this forest which teemed with birds could scarce be of

sufficient moment to warrant that which followed. Yet even in the face of reason and past experi ence he

He stood in the center of the trail awaiting the coming of the lions and wondering what would be the method

of their attack or if they would indeed attack. Presently a maned lion came into view along the trail below

him. At sight of him the lion halted. The beast was similar to those that had attacked him earlier in the day, a

trifle larger and a trifle darker than the lions of his native jungles, but neither so large nor so black as Numa

Presently he distinguished the outlines of other lions in the surrounding brush and among the trees. Each of

them halted as it came within sight of the apeman and there they stood regarding him in silence. Tarzan

wondered how long it would be before they charged and while he waited he resumed his feeding, though with

One by one the lions lay down, but always their faces were toward him and their eyes upon him. There had

been no growling and no roaring just the quiet drawing of the silent circle about him. It was all so entirely

foreign to anything that Tarzan ever before had seen lions do that it irritated him so that presently, having

finished his repast, he fell to making insulting remarks to first one and then another of the lions, after the

"Dango, eater of carrion," he called them, and he compared them most unfavorably with Histah, the snake,

the most loathed and repulsive creature of the jungle. Finally he threw handfuls of earth at them and bits of

broken twigs, and then the lions growled and bared their fangs, but none of them advanced.

"Cowards," Tarzan taunted them. "Numa with a heart of Bara, the deer." He told them who he was, and after

the manner of the jungle folk he boasted as to the horrible things he would do to them, but the lions only lay

It must have been a half hour after their coming that Tar zan caught in the distance along the trail the sound

of foot steps approaching. They were the footsteps of a creature who walked upon two legs, and though

Tarzan could catch no scent spoor from that direction he knew that a man was approaching. Nor had he long

to wait before his judgment was confirmed by the appearance of a man who halted in the trail directly behind

At sight of the newcomer the apeman realized that here was one similar to those who had given off the

unfamiliar scent spoor that he had detected the previous night, and he saw that not only in the matter of scent

The fellow was strongly built with skin of a leathery ap pearance, like parchment yellowed with age. His

hair, which was coal black and three or four inches in length, grew out stiffly at right angles to his scalp. His

eyes were close set and the irises densely black and very small, so that the white of the eyeball showed

around them. The man's face was smooth except for a few straggly hairs on his chin and upper lip. The nose

was aquiline and fine, but the hair grew so far down on the forehead as to suggest a very low and brutal type.

The upper lip was short and fine while the lower lip was rather heavy and inclined to be pendulous, the chin

being equally weak. Altogether the face carried the suggestion of a once strong and handsome countenance

entirely altered by physical violence or by degraded habits and thoughts. The man's arms were long, though

He was clothed in tightfitting nether garments and a loose, sleeveless tunic that fell just below his hips,

while his feet were shod in softsoled sandals, the wrappings of which ex tended halfway to his knees,

closely resembling a modern spiral military legging. He carried a short, heavy spear, and at his side swung a

weapon that at first so astonished the ape man that he could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses a

heavy saber in a leathercovered scabbard. The man's tunic appeared to have been fabricated upon a loom

it was certainly not made of skins, while the garments that covered his legs were quite as evidently made

Tarzan noted the utter unconcern with which the man approached the lions, and the equal indifference of

Numa to him. The fellow paused for a moment as though appraising the apeman and then pushed on past

About twenty feet from Tarzan the man stopped, addressing the former in a strange jargon, no syllable of

which was intelligible to the Tarmangani. His gestures indicated numer ous references to the lions

surrounding them, and once he touched his spear with the forefinger of his left hand and twice he struck the

While he spoke Tarzan studied the fellow closely, with the result that there fastened itself upon his mind a

strange con viction that the man who addressed him was what might only be described as a rational

maniac. As the thought came to the apeman he could not but smile, so paradoxical the description seemed.

Yet a closer study of the man's features, carriage, and the contour of his head carried almost incon

trovertibly the assurance that he was insane, while the tones of his voice and his gestures resembled those of a

Presently the man had concluded his speech and appeared to be waiting questioningly Tarzan's reply. The

apeman spoke to the other first in the language of the great apes, but he soon saw that the words carried no

conviction to his listener. Then with equal futility he tried several native dialects but to none of these did the

By this time Tarzan began to lose patience. He had wasted sufficient time by the road, and as he had never

depended much upon speech in the accomplishment of his ends, he now raised his spear and advanced toward

the other. This, evi dently, was a language common to both, for instantly the fellow raised his own weapon

and at the same time a low call broke from his lips, a call which instantly brought to action every lion in the

hitherto silent circle. A volley of roars shattered the silence of the forest and simultaneously lions sprang into

view upon all sides as they closed in rapidly upon their quarry. The man who had called them stepped back,

It was then that Tarzan first noticed that the fellow's upper canines were unusually long and exceedingly

sharp. It was just a flashing glimpse he got of them as he leaped agilely from the ground and, to the

consternation of both the lions and their master, disappeared in the foliage of the lower terrace, flinging back

over his shoulder as he swung rapidly away: "I am Tarzan of the Apes; mighty hunter; mighty fighter! None

A short distance beyond the point at which they had sur rounded him, Tarzan came to the trail again and

sought for the spoor of Bertha Kircher and Lieutenant SmithOldwick. He found them quickly and continued

upon his search for the two. The spoor lay directly along the trail for another half mile when the way

suddenly debouched from the forest into open land and there broke upon the astonished view of the apeman

Directly before him in the wall nearest him Tarzan saw a lowarched gateway to which a wellbeaten trail

led from that which he had been following. In the open space between the forest and the city walls, quantities

of garden stuff was growing, while before him at his feet, in an open manmade ditch, ran a stream of water!

The plants in the garden were laid out in wellspaced, symmetrical rows and appeared to have been given

excellent attention and cultivation. Tiny streams were trickling between the rows from the main ditch before

him and at some distance to his right he could see people at work among the plants.

The city wall appeared to be about thirty feet in height, its plastered expanse unbroken except by occasional

em brasures. Beyond the wall rose the domes of several struc tures and numerous minarets dotted the sky

line of the city. The largest and central dome appeared to be gilded, while others were red, or blue, or yellow.

The architecture of the wall itself was of uncompromising simplicity. It was of a cream shade and appeared to

be plastered and painted. At its base was a line of welltended shrubs and at some distance towards its

As he stood in the shadow of the trail, his keen eyes taking in every detail of the picture before him, he

became aware of the approach of a party in his rear and there was borne to him the scent of the man and the

lions whom he had so readily escaped. Taking to the trees Tarzan moved a short distance to the west and,

finding a comfortable crotch at the edge of the forest where he could watch the trail leading through the

gardens to the city gate, he awaited the return of his wouldbe captors. And soon they came the strange

man followed by the pack of great lions. Like dogs they moved along behind him down the trail among the

Here the man struck upon the panels of the door with the butt of his spear, and when it opened in response to

his signal he passed in with his lions. Beyond the open door Tarzan, from his distant perch, caught but a

fleeting glimpse of life within the city, just enough to indicate that there were other human creatures who

Through that door he knew that the girl and the man whom he sought to succor had been taken into the city.

What fate lay in store for them or whether already it had been meted out to them he could not even guess, nor

where, within that forbidding wall, they were incarcerated he could not know. But of one thing he was

assured: that if he were to aid them he could not do it from outside the wall. He must gain entrance to the city

first, nor did he doubt, that once within, his keen senses would eventually reveal the whereabouts of those

The low sun was casting long shadows across the gardens when Tarzan saw the workers returning from the

eastern field. A man came first, and as he came he lowered little gates along the large ditch of running water,

shutting off the streams that had run between the rows of growing plants; and behind him came other men

carrying burdens of fresh vegetables in great woven baskets upon their shoulders. Tarzan had not realized that

there had been so many men working in the field, but now as he sat there at the close of the day he saw a

procession filing in from the east, bearing the tools and the produce back into the city.

And then, to gain a better view, the apeman ascended to the topmost branches of a tall tree where he

overlooked the nearer wall. From this point of vantage he saw that the city was long and narrow, and that

while the outer walls formed a perfect rectangle, the streets within were winding. Toward the center of the

city there appeared to be a low, white building around which the larger edifices of the city had been built, and

here, in the fastwaning light, Tarzan thought that between two buildings he caught the glint of water, but of

that he was not sure. His experience of the centers of civiliza tion naturally inclined him to believe that this

central area was a plaza about which the larger buildings were grouped and that there would be the most

And then the sun went down and darkness quickly en veloped the city a darkness that was accentuated

for the apeman rather than relieved by the artificial lights which immediately appeared in many of the

Tarzan had noticed that the roofs of most of the buildings were flat, the few exceptions being those of what

he imagined to be the more pretentious public structures. How this city had come to exist in this forgotten

part of unexplored Africa the apeman could not conceive. Better than another, he realized something of the

unsolved secrets of the Great Dark Continent, enormous areas of which have as yet been un touched by the

foot of civilized man. Yet he could scarce believe that a city of this size and apparently thus well con

structed could have existed for the generations that it must have been there, without intercourse with the outer

world. Even though it was surrounded by a trackless desert waste, as he knew it to be, he could not conceive

that generation after generation of men could be born and die there without at tempting to solve the

With the coming of night there arose throughout the jungle the cries of the great cats, the voice of Numa

blended with that of Sheeta, and the thunderous roars of the great males reverberated through the forest until

the earth trembled, and from within the city came the answering roars of other lions.

A simple plan for gaining entrance to the city had occurred to Tarzan, and now that darkness had fallen he set

about to put it into effect. Its success hinged entirely upon the strength of the vines he had seen surmounting

the wall toward the east. In this direction he made his way, while from out of the forest about him the cries of

the flesheaters increased in volume and ferocity. A quarter of a mile intervened between the forest and the

city wall a quarter of a mile of cultivated land unrelieved by a single tree. Tarzan of the Apes realized his

limitations and so he knew that it would undoubtedly spell death for him to be caught in the open space by

one of the great black lions of the forest if, as he had already sur mised, Numa of the pit was a specimen of

He must, therefore, depend entirely upon his cunning and his speed, and upon the chance that the vine would

He moved through the middle terrace, where the way is always easiest, until he reached a point opposite the

vineclad portion of the wall, and there he waited, listening and scenting, until he might assure himself that

there was no Numa within his immediate vicinity, or, at least, none that sought him. And when he was quite

sure that there was no lion close by in the forest, and none in the clearing between himself and the wall, he

The rising moon, just topping the eastern cliffs, cast its bright rays upon the long stretch of open garden

beneath the wall. And, too, it picked out in clear relief for any curious eyes that chanced to be cast in that

direction, the figure of the giant apeman moving across the clearing. It was only chance, of course, that a

great lion hunting at the edge of the forest saw the figure of the man halfway between the forest and the wall.

Suddenly there broke upon Tarzan's ears a menacing sound. It was not the roar of a hungry lion, but the roar

of a lion in rage, and, as he glanced back in the direction from which the sound came, he saw a huge beast

Even in the moonlight and at a distance Tarzan saw that the lion was huge; that it was indeed another of the

black maned monsters similar to Numa of the pit. For an instant he was impelled to turn and fight, but at the

same time the thought of the helpless girl imprisoned in the city flashed through his brain and, without an

instant's hesitation, Tarzan of the Apes wheeled and ran for the wall. Then it was that Numa charged.

Numa, the lion, can run swiftly for a short distance, but he lacks endurance. For the period of an ordinary

charge he can cover the ground with greater rapidity possibly than any other creature in the world. Tarzan, on

the other hand, could run at great speed for long distances, though never as rapidly as Numa when the latter

The question of his fate, then, rested upon whether, with his start he could elude Numa for a few seconds;

and, if so, if the lion would then have sufficient stamina remaining to pursue him at a reduced gait for the

Never before, perhaps, was staged a more thrilling race, and yet it was run with only the moon and stars to

see. Alone and in silence the two beasts sped across the moonlit clearing. Numa gained with appalling

rapidity upon the fleeing man, yet at every bound Tarzan was nearer to the vineclad wall. Once the apeman

glanced back. Numa was so close upon him that it seemed inevitable that at the next bound he should drag

him down; so close was he that the apeman drew his knife as he ran, that he might at least give a good

But Numa had reached the limit of his speed and endurance. Gradually he dropped behind but he did not give

up the pursuit, and now Tarzan realized how much hinged upon the strength of the untested vines.

If, at the inception of the race, only Goro and the stars had looked down upon the contestants, such was not

the case at its finish, since from an embrasure near the summit of the wall two closeset black eyes peered

down upon the two. Tarzan was a dozen yards ahead of Numa when he reached the wall. There was no time

to stop and institute a search for sturdy stems and safe handholds. His fate was in the hands of chance and

with the realization he gave a final spurt and running catlike up the side of the wall among the vines, sought

with his hands for something that would sustain his weight. Below him Numa leaped also.

As the lions swarmed over her protectors, Bertha Kircher shrank back in the cave in a momentary paralysis of

fright superinduced, perhaps, by the long days of ter rific nerve strain which she had undergone.

Mingled with the roars of the lions had been the voices of men, and presently out of the confusion and

turmoil she felt the near presence of a human being, and then hands reached forth and seized her. It was dark

and she could see but little, nor any sign of the English officer or the apeman. The man who seized her kept

the lions from her with what ap peared to be a stout spear, the haft of which he used to beat off the beasts.

The fellow dragged her from the cavern the while he shouted what appeared to be commands and warn ings

Once out upon the light sands of the bottom of the gorge objects became more distinguishable, and then she

saw that there were other men in the party and that two half led and half carried the stumbling figure of a

For a time the lions made frenzied efforts to reach the two captives but always the men with them succeeded

in beating them off. The fellows seemed utterly unafraid of the great beasts leaping and snarling about them,

handling them much the same as one might handle a pack of obstreperous dogs. Along the bed of the old

watercourse that once ran through the gorge they made their way, and as the first faint lightening of the

eastern horizon presaged the coming dawn, they paused for a moment upon the edge of a declivity, which

appeared to the girl in the strange light of the waning night as a vast, bottomless pit; but, as their captors

resumed their way and the light of the new day became stronger, she saw that they were moving downward

Once beneath the overarching trees all was again Cim merian darkness, nor was the gloom relieved until

the sun finally arose beyond the eastern cliffs, when she saw that they were following what appeared to be a

broad and wellbeaten game trail through a forest of great trees. The ground was unusually dry for an

African forest and the underbrush, while heavily foliaged, was not nearly so rank and impenetrable as that

which she had been accustomed to find in similar woods. It was as though the trees and the bushes grew in a

waterless country, nor was there the musty odor of decaying vegetation or the myriads of tiny insects such as

As they proceeded and the sun rose higher, the voices of the arboreal jungle life rose in discordant notes and

loud chattering about them. Innumerable monkeys scolded and screamed in the branches overhead, while

harshvoiced birds of brilliant plumage darted hither and thither. She noticed presently that their captors

often cast apprehensive glances in the direction of the birds and on numerous occasions seemed to be

One incident made a marked impression on her. The man who immediately preceded her was a fellow of

powerful build, yet, when a brilliantly colored parrot swooped down ward toward him, he dropped upon his

knees and covering his face with his arms bent forward until his head touched the ground. Some of the others

looked at him and laughed nervously. Presently the man glanced upward and seeing that the bird had gone,

It was at this brief halt that SmithOldwick was brought to her side by the men who had been supporting

him. He had been rather badly mauled by one of the lions; but was now able to walk alone, though he was

"Pretty mess, what?" he remarked with a wry smile, indi cating his bloody and disheveled state.

"Not as much as I should have expected," he replied, "but I feel as weak as a fool. What sort of creatures are

"I don't know," she replied, "there is something terribly uncanny about their appearance."

The man regarded one of their captors closely for a mo ment and then, turning to the girl asked, "Did you

She looked up at him in quick understanding and with a horrified expression in her eyes. "That's it!" she

"They have all the earmarks," he said. "Whites of the eyes showing all around the irises, hair growing stiffly

erect from the scalp and low down upon the forehead even their man nerisms and their carriage are those

"Another thing about them," continued the Englishman, "that doesn't appear normal is that they are afraid of

"Yes," said the girl; "and did you notice that the birds seem utterly fearless of them really seem to hold

'No," said the man, "I have been trying to figure that out. It's not like any of the few native dialects of which I

"It doesn't sound at all like the native language," said the girl, "but there is something familiar about it. You

know, every now and then I feel that I am just on the verge of understanding what they are saying, or at least

that some where I have heard their tongue before, but final recognition always eludes me."

"I doubt if you ever heard their language spoken," said the man. "These people must have lived in this

outoftheway valley for ages and even if they had retained the original language of their ancestors without

change, which is doubt ful, it must be some tongue that is no longer spoken in the outer world."

At one point where a stream of water crossed the trail the party halted while the lions and the men drank.

They mo tioned to their captors to drink too, and as Bertha Kircher and SmithOldwick, lying prone upon

the ground drank from the clear, cool water of the rivulet, they were suddenly startled by the thunderous roar

of a lion a short distance ahead of them. Instantly the lions with them set up a hideous response, moving

restlessly to and fro with their eyes always either turned in the direction from which the roar had come or

toward their masters, against whom the tawny beasts slunk. The men loosened the sabers in their scabbards,

the weapons that had aroused SmithOldwick's curiosity as they had Tar zan's, and grasped their spears

Evidently there were lions and lions, and while they evinced no fear of the beasts which accompanied them, it

was quite evident that the voice of the newcomer had an entirely differ ent effect upon them, although the

men seemed less terrified than the lions. Neither, however, showed any indication of an inclination to flee; on

the contrary the entire party advanced along the trail in the direction of the menacing roars, and presently

there appeared in the center of the path a black lion of gigantic proportions. To SmithOldwick and the girl

he appeared to be the same lion that they had encountered at the plane and from which Tarzan had rescued

The black beast stood directly in the center of the trail lashing his tail and growling menacingly at the

advancing party. The men urged on their own beasts, who growled and whined but hesitated to charge.

Evidently becoming impa tient, and in full consciousness of his might the intruder raised his tail stiffly erect

and shot forward. Several of the de fending lions made a halfhearted attempt to obstruct his passage, but

they might as well have placed themselves in the path of an express train, as hurling them aside the great

beast leaped straight for one of the men. A dozen spears were launched at him and a dozen sabers leaped

from their scab bards; gleaming, razoredged weapons they were, but for the instant rendered futile by the

Two of the spears entering his body but served to further enrage him as, with demoniacal roars, he sprang

upon the hapless man he had singled out for his prey. Scarcely pausing in his charge he seized the fellow by

the shoulder and, turning quickly at right angles, leaped into the concealing foliage that flanked the trail, and

So quickly had the whole occurrence transpired that the formation of the little party was scarcely altered.

There had been no opportunity for flight, even if it had been contem plated; and now that the lion was gone

with his prey the men made no move to pursue him. They paused only long enough to recall the two or three

"Might be an everyday occurrence from all the effect it has on them," remarked SmithOldwick to the girl.

"Yes," she said. "They seem to be neither surprised nor disconcerted, and evidently they are quite sure that

"I had thought," said the Englishman, "that the lions of the Wamabo country were about the most ferocious in

existence, but they are regular tabby cats by comparison with these big black fellows. Did you ever see

anything more utterly fear less or more terribly irresistible than that charge?"

For a while, as they walked side by side, their thoughts and conversation centered upon this latest experience,

until the trail emerging from the forest opened to their view a walled city and an area of cultivated land.

"And look at the domes and minarets of the city beyond," cried the girl. "There must be a civilized people

SmithOldwick shrugged his shoulders. "I hope so," he said, "though I am not at all sure about people who

travel about with lions and are afraid of parrots. There must be something wrong with them."

The party followed the trail across the field to an arched gateway which opened at the summons of one of

their captors, who beat upon the heavy wooden panels with his spear. Beyond, the gate opened into a narrow

street which seemed but a continuation of the jungle trail leading from the forest. Buildings on either hand

adjoined the wall and fronted the narrow, winding street, which was only visible for a short distance ahead.

The houses were practically all twostoried structures, the upper stories flush with the street while the walls

of the first story were set back some ten feet, a series of simple columns and arches supporting the front of

the second story and forming an arcade on either side of the narrow thoroughfare.

The pathway in the center of the street was unpaved, but the floors of the arcades were cut stone of various

shapes and sizes but all carefully fitted and laid without mortar. These floors gave evidence of great antiquity,

there being a distinct depression down the center as though the stone had been worn away by the passage of

There were few people astir at this early hour, and these were of the same type as their captors. At first those

whom they saw were only men, but as they went deeper into the city they came upon a few naked children

playing in the soft dust of the roadway. Many they passed showed the greatest surprise and curiosity in the

prisoners, and often made in quiries of the guards, which the two assumed must have been in relation to

"Yes," said the girl, "I would like to ask them what they are going to do with us."

"That would be interesting," said the man. "I have been doing considerable wondering along that line

"I don't like the way their canine teeth are filed," said the girl. "It's too suggestive of some of the cannibals I

"You don't really believe they are cannibals, do you?" asked the man. "You don't think white people are ever

"They're not Negroes, that's certain," rejoined the man. "Their skin is yellow, but yet it doesn't resemble the

It was at this juncture that they caught their first glimpse of a native woman. She was similar in most respects

to the men though her stature was smaller and her figure more symmetri cal. Her face was more repulsive

than that of the men, pos sibly because of the fact that she was a woman, which rather accentuated the

idiosyncrasies of eyes, pendulous lip, pointed tusks and stiff, lowgrowing hair. The latter was longer than

that of the men and much heavier. It hung about her shoul ders and was confined by a colored bit of some

lacy fabric. Her single garment appeared to be nothing more than a filmy scarf which was wound tightly

around her body from below her naked breasts, being caught up some way at the bottom near her ankles. Bits

of shiny metal resembling gold, orna mented both the headdress and the skirt. Otherwise the woman was

entirely without jewelry. Her bare arms were slender and shapely and her hands and feet well proportioned

She came close to the party as they passed her, jabbering to the guards who paid no attention to her. The

prisoners had an opportunity to observe her closely as she followed at their side for a short distance.

The street they followed was intersected at irregular in tervals by crossroads which, as they glanced down

them, proved to be equally as tortuous as that through which they were being conducted. The houses varied

but little in design. Occasionally there were bits of color, or some attempt at other architectural

ornamentation. Through open windows and doors they could see that the walls of the houses were very thick

and that all apertures were quite small, as though the people had built against extreme heat, which they

realized must have been necessary in this valley buried deep in an African desert.

Ahead they occasionally caught glimpses of larger struc tures, and as they approached them, came upon

what was evidently a part of the business section of the city. There were numerous small shops and bazaars

interspersed among the residences, and over the doors of these were signs painted in characters strongly

suggesting Greek origin and yet it was not Greek as both the Englishman and the girl knew.

SmithOldwick was by this time beginning to feel more acutely the pain of his wounds and the consequent

weakness that was greatly aggravated by loss of blood. He staggered now occasionally and the girl, seeing his

"No," he expostulated, "you have passed through too much yourself to have any extra burden imposed upon

you." But though he made a valiant effort to keep up with their captors he occasionally lagged, and upon one

such occasion the guards for the first time showed any disposition toward brutality.

It was a big fellow who walked at SmithOldwick's left. Several times he took hold of the Englishman's arm

and pushed him forward not ungently, but when the captive lagged again and again the fellow suddenly, and

certainly with no just provocation, flew into a perfect frenzy of rage. He leaped upon the wounded man,

striking him viciously with his fists and, bearing him to the ground, grasped his throat in his left hand while

with his right he drew his long sharp saber. Screaming terribly he waved the blade above his head.

The others stopped and turned to look upon the encounter with no particular show of interest. It was as

though one of the party had paused to readjust a sandal and the others merely waited until he was ready to

But if their captors were indifferent, Bertha Kircher was not. The closeset blazing eyes, the snarling fanged

face, and the frightful screams filled her with horror, while the brutal and wanton attack upon the wounded

man aroused within her the spirit of protection for the weak that is inherent in all women. Forgetful of

everything other than that a weak and defense less man was being brutally murdered before her eyes, the

girl cast aside discretion and, rushing to SmithOldwick's assist ance, seized the uplifted sword arm of the

Clinging desperately to the fellow she surged backward with all her weight and strength with the result that

she overbal anced him and sent him sprawling to the pavement upon his back. In his efforts to save himself

he relaxed his grasp upon the grip of his saber which had no sooner fallen to the ground than it was seized

upon by the girl. Standing erect beside the prostrate form of the English officer Bertha Kircher, the razor

She was a brave figure; even her soiled and torn riding togs and disheveled hair detracted nothing from her

appearance. The creature she had felled scrambled quickly to his feet and in the instant his whole demeanor

changed. From demoniacal rage he became suddenly convulsed with hysterical laughter although it was a

question in the girl's mind as to which was the more terrifying. His companions stood looking on with

vacuous grins upon their countenances, while he from whom the girl had wrested the weapon leaped up and

down shriek ing with laughter. If Bertha Kircher had needed further evi dence to assure her that they were

in the hands of a mentally deranged people the man's present actions would have been sufficient to convince

her. The sudden uncontrolled rage and now the equally uncontrolled and mirthless laughter but em phasized

Suddenly realizing how helpless she was in the event any one of the men should seek to overpower her, and

moved by a sudden revulsion of feeling that brought on almost a nausea of disgust, the girl hurled the weapon

upon the ground at the feet of the laughing maniac and, turning, kneeled beside the Englishman.

"It was wonderful of you," he said, "but you shouldn't have done it. Don't antagonize them: I believe that they

A sudden light sprang to the man's eyes as he reached out a hand and grasped the girl's fingers. "Do you care

She did not withdraw her hand from his but she shook her head sadly. "Please don't," she said. "I am sorry

The light died from his eyes and his fingers relaxed their grasp on hers. "Please forgive me," he murmured. "I

intended waiting until we got out of this mess and you were safe among your own people. It must have been

the shock or something like that, and seeing you defending me as you did. Anyway, I couldn't help it and

He shrugged and smiled ruefully. "I will never leave this city alive," he said. "I wouldn't mention it except

that I real ize that you must know it as well as I. I was pretty badly torn up by the lion and this fellow here

has about finished me. There might be some hope if we were among civilized people, but here with these

Bertha Kircher knew that he spoke the truth, and yet she could not bring herself to an admission that

SmithOldwick would die. She was very fond of him, in fact her great regret was that she did not love him,

It seemed to her that it could be such an easy thing for any girl to love Lieutenant Harold Percy

SmithOldwick an Eng lish officer and a gentleman, the scion of an old family and himself a man of

ample means, young, goodlooking and af fable. What more could a girl ask for than to have such a man

love her and that she possessed SmithOldwick's love there was no doubt in Bertha Kircher's mind.

She sighed, and then, laying her hand impulsively on his forehead, she whispered, "Do not give up hope,

It was as though new life had suddenly been injected into the man's veins. His face lightened instantly and

with strength that he himself did not know he possessed he rose slowly to his feet, albeit somewhat

For the moment they had been entirely unconscious of their surroundings and now as she looked at their

captors she saw that they had fallen again into their almost habitual manner of stolid indifference, and at a

gesture from one of them the march was resumed as though no untoward incident had occurred.

Bertha Kircher experienced a sudden reaction from the mo mentary exaltation of her recent promise to the

Englishman. She knew that she had spoken more for him than for herself but now that it was over she

realized, as she had realized the moment before she had spoken, that it was unlikely she would ever care for

him the way he wished. But what had she prom ised? Only that she would try to love him. "And now?" she

She realized that there might be little hope of their ever returning to civilization. Even if these people should

prove friendly and willing to let them depart in peace, how were they to find their way back to the coast?

With Tarzan dead, as she fully believed him after having seen his body lying life less at the mouth of the

cave when she had been dragged forth by her captor, there seemed no power at their command which could

The two had scarcely mentioned the apeman since their capture, for each realized fully what his loss meant

to them. They had compared notes relative to those few exciting mo ments of the final attack and capture

and had found that they agreed perfectly upon all that had occurred. SmithOldwick had even seen the lion

leap upon Tarzan at the instant that the former was awakened by the roars of the charging beasts, and though

the night had been dark, he had been able to see that the body of the savage apeman had never moved from

And so, if at other times within the past few weeks Bertha Kircher had felt that her situation was particularly

The streets were beginning to fill with the strange men and women of this strange city. Sometimes

individuals would notice them and seem to take a great interest in them, and again others would pass with

vacant stares, seemingly unconscious of their immediate surroundings and paying no attention whatsoever to

the prisoners. Once they heard hideous screams up a side street, and looking they saw a man in the throes of a

demoniacal outburst of rage, similar to that which they had witnessed in the recent attack upon

SmithOldwick. This creature was venting his insane rage upon a child which he repeatedly struck and bit,

pausing only long enough to shriek at frequent intervals. Finally, just before they passed out of sight the

creature raised the limp body of the child high above his head and cast it down with all his strength upon the

pave ment, and then, wheeling and screaming madly at the top of his lungs, he dashed headlong up the

Two women and several men had stood looking on at the cruel attack. They were at too great a distance for

the Euro peans to know whether their facial expressions portrayed pity or rage, but be that as it may, none

A few yards farther on a hideous hag leaned from a second story window where she laughed and jibbered and

made hor rid grimaces at all who passed her. Others went their ways apparently attending to whatever duties

The girl turned suddenly toward him. "You still have your pistol?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "I tucked it inside my shirt. They did not search me and it was too dark for them to see

whether I carried any weapons or not. So I hid it in the hope that I might get through with it."

She moved closer to him and took hold of his hand. "Save one cartridge for me, please?" she begged.

SmithOldwick looked down at her and blinked his eyes very rapidly. An unfamiliar and disconcerting

moisture had come into them. He had realized, of course, how bad a plight was theirs but somehow it had

seemed to affect him only: it did not seem possible that anyone could harm this sweet and beautiful girl.

And that she should have to be destroyed destroyed by him! It was too hideous: it was unbelievable,

unthinkable! If he had been filled with apprehension before, he was doubly perturbed now.

The street that they were following suddenly opened upon a wide avenue, and before them spread a broad and

beautiful lagoon, the quiet surface of which mirrored the clear cerulean of the sky. Here the aspect of all their

surroundings changed. The buildings were higher and much more pretentious in de sign and ornamentation.

The street itself was paved in mosaics of barbaric but stunningly beautiful design. In the ornamen tation of

the buildings there was considerable color and a great deal of what appeared to be gold leaf. In all the

decora tions there was utilized in various ways the conventional figure of the parrot, and, to a lesser extent,

Their captors led them along the pavement beside the la goon for a short distance and then through an

arched doorway into one of the buildings facing the avenue. Here, directly within the entrance was a large

room furnished with massive benches and tables, many of which were elaborately hand carved with the

figures of the inevitable parrot, the lion, or the monkey, the parrot always predominating.

Behind one of the tables sat a man who differed in no way that the captives could discover from those who

accompanied them. Before this person the party halted, and one of the men who had brought them made what

seemed to be an oral report. Whether they were before a judge, a military officer, or a civil dignitary they

could not know, but evidently he was a man of authority, for, after listening to whatever recital was being

made to him the while he closely scrutinized the two captives, he made a single futile attempt to converse

Almost immediately two of the men approached Bertha Kircher and signaled her to accompany them.

SmithOldwick started to follow her but was intercepted by one of their guards. The girl stopped then and

turned back, at the same time looking at the man at the table and making signs with her hands, indicating, as

best she could, that she wished Smith Oldwick to remain with her, but the fellow only shook his head

negatively and motioned to the guards to remove her. The Englishman again attempted to follow but was

restrained. He was too weak and helpless even to make an attempt to enforce his wishes. He thought of the

pistol inside his shirt and then of the futility of attempting to overcome an entire city with the few rounds of

So far, with the single exception of the attack made upon him, they had no reason to believe that they might

not receive fair treatment from their captors, and so he reasoned that it might be wiser to avoid antagonizing

them until such a time as he became thoroughly convinced that their intentions were entirely hostile. He saw

the girl led from the building and just before she disappeared from his view she turned and waved her hand to

The lions that had entered the building with the party had, during their examination by the man at the table,

been driven from the apartment through a doorway behind him. Toward this same doorway two of the men

now led SmithOldwick. He found himself in a long corridor from the sides of which other doorways

opened, presumably into other apartments of the building. At the far end of the corridor he saw a heavy

grating beyond which appeared an open courtyard. Into this courtyard the prisoner was conducted, and as he

entered it with the two guards he found himself in an opening which was bounded by the inner walls of the

building. It was in the nature of a garden in which a number of trees and flowering shrubs grew. Beneath

several of the trees were benches and there was a bench along the south wall, but what aroused his most

immediate attention was the fact that the lions who had assisted in their capture and who had accompanied

them upon the return to the city, lay sprawled about upon the ground or wandered restlessly to and fro.

Just inside the gate his guard halted. The two men ex changed a few words and then turned and reentered

the corridor. The Englishman was horrorstricken as the full realization of his terrible plight forced itself

upon his tired brain. He turned and seized the grating in an attempt to open it and gain the safety of the

corridor, but he found it securely locked against his every effort, and then he called aloud to the retreating

figure of the men within. The only reply he received was a highpitched, mirthless laugh, and then the two

passed through the doorway at the far end of the corridor and he was alone with the lions.

In the meantime Bertha Kircher was conducted the length of the plaza toward the largest and most pretentious

of the buildings surrounding it. This edifice covered the entire width of one end of the plaza. It was several

stories in height, the main entrance being approached by a wide flight of stone steps, the bottom of which was

guarded by enormous stone lions, while at the top there were two pedestals flanking the entrance and of the

same height, upon each of which was the stone image of a large parrot. As the girl neared these latter images

she saw that the capital of each column was hewn into the semblance of a human skull upon which the

parrots perched. Above the arched doorway and upon the walls of the building were the figures of other

parrots, of lions, and of monkeys. Some of these were carved in basrelief; others were delineated in

mosaics, while still others appeared to have been painted upon the surface of the wall.

The colorings of the last were apparently much subdued by age with the result that the general effect was soft

and beauti ful. The sculpturing and mosaic work were both finely exe cuted, giving evidence of a high

degree of artistic skill. Unlike the first building into which she had been conducted, the entrance to which had

been doorless, massive doors closed the entrance which she now approached. In the niches formed by the

columns which supported the door's arch, and about the base of the pedestals of the stone parrots, as well as

in various other places on the broad stairway, lolled some score of armed men. The tunics of these were all of

a vivid yellow and upon the breast and back of each was embroidered the figure of a parrot.

As she was conducted up the stairway one of these yellow coated warriors approached and halted her guides

at the top of the steps. Here they exchanged a few words and while they were talking the girl noticed that he

who had halted them, as well as those whom she could see of his companions, appeared to be, if possible, of a

Their coarse, bristling hair grew so low upon their foreheads as, in some instances, to almost join their

eyebrows, while the irises were smaller, exposing more of the white of the eyeball.

After a short parley the man in charge of the doorway, for such he seemed to be, turned and struck upon one

of the panels with the butt of his spear, at the same time calling to several of his companions, who rose and

came forward at his com mand. Soon the great doors commenced slowly to swing creakingly open, and

presently, as they separated, the girl saw behind them the motive force which operated the massive doors

At the doorway her two guards were turned back and their places taken by a half dozen of the yellowcoated

soldiery. These conducted her through the doorway which the blacks, pulling upon heavy chains, closed

behind them. And as the girl watched them she noted with horror that the poor crea tures were chained by

Before her led a broad hallway in the center of which was a little pool of clear water. Here again in floor and

walls was repeated in new and everchanging combinations and designs, the parrots, the monkeys, and the

lions, but now many of the figures were of what the girl was convinced must be gold. The walls of the

corridor consisted of a series of open arch ways through which, upon either side, other spacious apart

ments were visible. The hallway was entirely unfurnished, but the rooms on either side contained benches

and tables. Glimpses of some of the walls revealed the fact that they were covered with hangings of some

colored fabric, while upon the floors were thick rugs of barbaric design and the skins of black lions and

The room directly to the right of the entrance was filled with men wearing the yellow tunics of her new guard

while the walls were hung with numerous spears and sabers. At the far end of the corridor a low flight of

steps led to another closed doorway. Here the guard was again halted. One of the guards at this doorway,

after receiving the report of one of those who accompanied her, passed through the door, leaving them

standing outside. It was fully fifteen minutes before he returned, when the guard was again changed and the

Through three other chambers and past three more massive doors, at each of which her guard was changed,

the girl was conducted before she was ushered into a comparatively small room, back and forth across the

floor of which paced a man in a scarlet tunic, upon the front and back of which was embroidered an

enormous parrot and upon whose head was a barbaric headdress surmounted by a stuffed parrot.

The walls of this room were entirely hidden by hangings upon which hundreds, even thousands, of parrots

were em broidered. Inlaid in the floor were golden parrots, while, as thickly as they could be painted, upon

the ceiling were bril lianthued parrots with wings outspread as though in the act of flying.

The man himself was larger of stature than any she had yet seen within the city. His parchmentlike skin was

wrinkled with age and he was much fatter than any other of his kind that she had seen. His bared arms,

however, gave evidence of great strength and his gait was not that of an old man. His facial expression

denoted almost utter imbecility and he was quite the most repulsive creature that ever Bertha Kircher had

For several minutes after she was conducted into his pres ence he appeared not to be aware that she was

there but continued his restless pacing to and fro. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, and while he was

at the far end of the room from her with his back toward her, he wheeled and rushed madly at her.

Involuntarily the girl shrank back, extending her open palms toward the frightful creature as though to hold

him aloof but a man upon either side of her, the two who had conducted her into the apartment, seized and

Although he rushed violently toward her the man stopped without touching her. For a moment his horrid

whiterimmed eyes glared searchingly into her face, immediately following which he burst into maniacal

laughter. For two or three minutes the creature gave himself over to merriment and then, stopping as suddenly

as he had commenced to laugh, he fell to examining the prisoner. He felt of her hair, her skin, the texture of

the garment she wore and by means of signs made her understand she was to open her mouth. In the latter he

seemed much interested, calling the attention of one of the guards to her canine teeth and then baring his own

Presently he resumed pacing to and fro across the floor, and it was fully fifteen minutes before he again

noticed the pris oner, and then it was to issue a curt order to her guards, who immediately conducted her

The guards now led the girl through a series of corridors and apartments to a narrow stone stairway which led

to the floor above, finally stopping before a small door where stood a naked Negro armed with a spear. At a

word from one of her guards the Negro opened the door and the party passed into a lowceiled apartment, the

windows of which immedi ately caught the girl's attention through the fact that they were heavily barred.

The room was furnished similarly to those that she had seen in other parts of the building, the same carved

tables and benches, the rugs upon the floor, the decorations upon the walls, although in every respect it was

simpler than anything she had seen on the floor below. In one corner was a low couch covered with a rug

similar to those on the floor ex cept that it was of a lighter texture, and upon this sat a woman.

As Bertha Kircher's eyes alighted upon the occupant of the room the girl gave a little gasp of astonishment,

for she recog nized immediately that here was a creature more nearly of her own kind than any she had seen

within the city's walls. An old woman it was who looked at her through faded blue eyes, sunken deep in a

wrinkled and toothless face. But the eyes were those of a sane and intelligent creature, and the wrinkled face

At sight of the girl the woman rose and came forward, her gait so feeble and unsteady that she was forced to

support herself with a long staff which she grasped in both her hands. One of the guards spoke a few words to

her and then the men turned and left the apartment. The girl stood just within the door waiting in silence for

The old woman crossed the room and stopped before her, raising her weak and watery eyes to the fresh

young face of the newcomer. Then she scanned her from head to foot and once again the old eyes returned to

the girl's face. Bertha Kircher on her part was not less frank in her survey of the little old woman. It was the

latter who spoke first. In a thin, cracked voice she spoke, hesitatingly, falteringly, as though she were using

"You are from the outer world?" she asked in English. "God grant that you may speak and understand this

"Thank God!" cried the little old woman. "I did not know whether I myself might speak it so that another

could under stand. For sixty years I have spoken only their accursed gibberish. For sixty years I have not

heard a word in my native language. Poor creature! Poor creature!" she mumbled. "What accursed misfortune

"You are an English woman?" asked Bertha Kircher. "Did I understand you aright that you are an English

The old woman nodded her head affirmatively. "For sixty years I have never been outside of this palace.

Come," she said, stretching forth a bony hand. "I am very old and cannot stand long. Come and sit with me

The girl took the proffered hand and assisted the old lady back to the opposite side of the room and when she

"Poor child! Poor child!" moaned the old woman. "Far better to have died than to have let them bring you

here. At first I might have destroyed myself but there was always the hope that someone would come who

Very briefly the girl narrated the principal incidents which led up to her capture by some of the creatures of

"Yes," said the girl, "but I do not know where he is nor what are their intentions in regard to him. In fact, I do

"No one might even guess," said the old woman. "They do not know themselves from one minute to the next

what their intentions are, but I think you can rest assured, my poor child, that you will never see your friend

"But they haven't slain you," the girl reminded her, "and you have been their prisoner, you say, for sixty

"No," replied her companion, "they have not killed me, nor will they kill you, though God knows before you

"Who are they " asked Bertha Kircher, "what kind of people? They differ from any that I ever have seen.

"It was long ago," said the old woman, rocking back and forth on the couch. "It was long ago. Oh, how long

it was! I was only twenty then. Think of it, child! Look at me. I have no mirror other than my bath, I cannot

see what I look like for my eyes are old, but with my fingers I can feel my old and wrinkled face, my sunken

eyes, and these flabby lips drawn in over toothless gums. I am old and bent and hideous, but then I was young

and they said that I was beautiful. No, I will not be a hypocrite; I was beautiful. My glass told me that.

"My father was a missionary in the interior and one day there came a band of Arabian slave raiders. They

took the men and women of the little native village where my father labored, and they took me, too. They did

not know much about our part of the country so they were compelled to rely upon the men of our village

whom they had captured to guide them. They told me that they never before had been so far south and that

they had heard there was a country rich in ivory and slaves west of us. They wanted to go there and from

there they would take us north, where I was to be sold into the harem of some black sultan.

"They often discussed the price I would bring, and that that price might not lessen, they guarded me jealously

from one another so the journeys were made as little fatiguing for me as possible. I was given the best food at

"But after a short time, when we had reached the confines of the country with which the men of our village

were familiar and had entered upon a desolate and arid desert waste, the Arabs realized at last that we were

lost. But they still kept on, ever toward the west, crossing hideous gorges and marching across the face of a

burning land beneath the pitiless sun. The poor slaves they had captured were, of course, compelled to carry

all the camp equipage and loot and thus heavily bur dened, half starved and without water, they soon

"We had not been in the desert land long before the Arabs were forced to kill their horses for food, and when

we reached the first gorge, across which it would have been impossible to transport the animals, the balance

of them were slaughtered and the meat loaded upon the poor staggering blacks who still survived.

"Thus we continued for two more days and now all but a handful of blacks were dead, and the Arabs

themselves had commenced to succumb to hunger and thirst and the intense heat of the desert. As far as the

eye could reach back toward the land of plenty from whence we had come, our route was marked by circling

vultures in the sky and by the bodies of the dead who lay down in the trackless waste for the last time. The

ivory had been abandoned tusk by tusk as the blacks gave out, and along the trail of death was strewn the

"For some reason the Arab chief favored me to the last, possibly with the idea that of all his other treasures I

could be most easily transported, for I was young and strong and after the horses were killed I had walked

and kept up with the best of the men. We English, you know, are great walkers, while these Arabians had

"I cannot tell you how much longer we kept on but at last, with our strength almost gone, a handful of us

reached the bottom of a deep gorge. To scale the opposite side was out of the question and so we kept on

down along the sands of what must have been the bed of an ancient river, until finally we came to a point

where we looked out upon what appeared to be a beautiful valley in which we felt assured that we would find

"By then there were only two of us left the chief and my self. I do not need to tell you what the valley

was, for you found it in much the same way as I did. So quickly were we captured that it seemed they must

have been waiting for us, and I learned later that such was the case, just as they were waiting for you.

"As you came through the forest you must have seen the monkeys and parrots and since you have entered the

palace, how constantly these animals, and the lions, are used in the decorations. At home we were all familiar

with talking par rots who repeated the things that they were taught to say, but these parrots are different in

that they all talk in the same lan guage that the people of the city use, and they say that the monkeys talk to

the parrots and the parrots fly to the city and tell the people what the monkeys say. And, although it is hard to

believe, I have learned that this is so, for I have lived here among them for sixty years in the palace of their

"They brought me, as they brought you, directly to the pal ace. The Arabian chief was taken elsewhere. I

never knew what became of him. Ago XXV was king then. I have seen many kings since that day. He was a

"They are a race of maniacs," replied the old woman. "Had you not guessed it? Among them are excellent

craftsmen and good farmers and a certain amount of law and order, such as it is.

"They reverence all birds, but the parrot is their chief deity. There is one who is held here in the palace in a

very beautiful apartment. He is their god of gods. He is a very old bird. If what Ago told me when I came is

true, he must be nearly three hundred years old by now. Their religious rites are re volting in the extreme,

and I believe that it may be the prac tice of these rites through ages that has brought the race to its present

"And yet, as I said, they are not without some redeeming qualities. If legend may be credited, their forebears

a little handful of men and women who came from somewhere out of the north and became lost in the

wilderness of central Af rica found here only a barren desert valley. To my own knowledge rain seldom,

if ever, falls here, and yet you have seen a great forest and luxuriant vegetation outside of the city as well as

within. This miracle is accomplished by the utilization of natural springs which their ancestors developed,

and upon which they have improved to such an extent that the entire valley receives an adequate amount of

"Ago told me that many generations before his time the forest was irrigated by changing the course of the

streams which carried the spring water to the city but that when the trees had sent their roots down to the

natural moisture of the soil and required no further irrigation, the course of the stream was changed and other

trees were planted. And so the forest grew until today it covers almost the entire floor of the valley except for

the open space where the city stands. I do not know that this is true. It may be that the forest has always been

here, but it is one of their legends and it is borne out by the fact that there is not sufficient rainfall here to

"They are peculiar people in many respects, not only in their form of worship and religious rites but also in

that they breed lions as other people breed cattle. You have seen how they use some of these lions but the

majority of them they fatten and eat. At first, I imagine, they ate lion meat as a part of their religious

ceremony but after many generations they came to crave it so that now it is practically the only flesh they eat.

They would, of course, rather die than eat the flesh of a bird, nor will they eat monkey's meat, while the

herbivorous animals they raise only for milk, hides, and flesh for the lions. Upon the south side of the city are

the corrals and pastures where the herbivorous animals are raised. Boar, deer, and an telope are used

principally for the lions, while goats are kept for milk for the human inhabitants of the city."

"And you have lived here all these years," exclaimed the girl, "without ever seeing one of your own kind?"

"For sixty years you have lived here," continued Bertha Kircher, "and they have not harmed you!"

"I did not say they had not harmed me," said the old wom an, "they did not kill me, that is all."

"What" the girl hesitated "what," she continued at last, "was your position among them? Pardon me,"

she added quickly, "I think I know but I should like to hear from your own lips, for whatever your position

The old woman nodded. "Yes," she said, "doubtless; if they can keep you away from the women."

"For sixty years I have never been allowed near a woman. They would kill me, even now, if they could reach

me. The men are frightful, God knows they are frightful! But heaven keep you from the women!"

"Ago XXV made me his queen," said the old woman. "But he had many other queens, nor were they all

human. He was not murdered for ten years after I came here. Then the next king took me, and so it has been

always. I am the oldest queen now. Very few of their women live to a great age. Not only are they constantly

liable to assassination but, owing to their subnormal mentalities, they are subject to periods of de pression

She turned suddenly and pointed to the barred windows. "You see this room," she said, "with the black

eunuch out side? Wherever you see these you will know that there are women, for with very few exceptions

they are never allowed out of captivity. They are considered and really are more vio lent than the men."

For several minutes the two sat in silence, and then the younger woman turned to the older.

The old woman pointed again to the barred windows and then to the door, saying: "And there is the armed

eunuch. And if you should pass him, how could you reach the street? And if you reached the street, how

could you pass through the city to the outer wall? And even if, by some miracle, you should gain the outer

wall, and, by another miracle, you should be permitted to pass through the gate, could you ever hope to

traverse the forest where the great black lions roam and feed upon men? No!" she exclaimed, answering her

own ques tion, "there is no escape, for after one had escaped from the palace and the city and the forest it

"In sixty years you are the first to find this buried city. In a thousand no denizen of this valley has ever left it,

and within the memory of man, or even in their legends, none had found them prior to my coming other than

a single warlike giant, the story of whom has been handed down from father to son.

"I think from the description that he must have been a Spaniard, a giant of a man in buckler and helmet, who

fought his way through the terrible forest to the city gate, who fell upon those who were sent out to capture

him and slew them with his mighty sword. And when he had eaten of the vege tables from the gardens, and

the fruit from the trees and drank of the water from the stream, he turned about and fought his way back

through the forest to the mouth of the gorge. But though he escaped the city and the forest he did not escape

the desert. For a legend runs that the king, fearful that he would bring others to attack them, sent a party after

"For three weeks they did not find him, for they went in the wrong direction, but at last they came upon his

bones picked clean by the vultures, lying a day's march up the same gorge through which you and I entered

the valley. I do not know," continued the old woman, "that this is true. It is just one of their many legends."

"Yes," said the girl, "it is true. I am sure it is true, for I have seen the skeleton and the corroded armor of this

At this juncture the door was thrown open without ceremony and a Negro entered bearing two flat vessels in

which were several smaller ones. These he set down on one of the tables near the women, and, without a

word, turned and left. With the entrance of the man with the vessels, a delightful odor of cooked food had

aroused the realization in the girl's mind that she was very hungry, and at a word from the old woman she

walked to the table to examine the viands. The larger vessels which contained the smaller ones were of

pottery while those within them were quite evidently of hammered gold. To her intense surprise she found

lying between the smaller vessels a spoon and a fork, which, while of quaint design, were quite as serviceable

as any she had seen in more civilized communities. The tines of the fork were quite evidently of iron or steel,

the girl did not know which, while the handle and the spoon were of the same material as the smaller vessels.

There was a highly seasoned stew with meat and vegetables, a dish of fresh fruit, and a bowl of milk beside

which was a little jug containing something which resembled marmalade. So ravenous was she that she did

not even wait for her com panion to reach the table, and as she ate she could have sworn that never before

had she tasted more palatable food. The old woman came slowly and sat down on one of the benches

As she removed the smaller vessels from the larger and arranged them before her on the table a crooked smile

"I venture to say that a few weeks ago you would have been nauseated at the idea of eating cat."

"Yes," said the old woman, "and as they prepare it, it is very palatable. You will grow very fond of it."

Bertha Kircher smiled a trifle dubiously. "I could not tell it," she said, "from lamb or veal."

"No," said the woman, "it tastes as good to me. But these lions are very carefully kept and very carefully fed

and their flesh is so seasoned and prepared that it might be anything so far as taste is concerned."

And so Bertha Kircher broke her long fast upon strange fruits, lion meat, and goat's milk.

Scarcely had she finished when again the door opened and there entered a yellowcoated soldier. He spoke to

"The king," she said, "has commanded that you be prepared and brought to him. You are to share these

apartments with me. The king knows that I am not like his other women. He never would have dared to put

you with them. Herog XVI has occasional lucid intervals. You must have been brought to him during one of

these. Like the rest of them he thinks that he alone of all the community is sane, but more than once I have

thought that the various men with whom I have come in contact here, including the kings themselves, looked

upon me as, at least, less mad than the others. Yet how I have re tained my senses all these years is beyond

"What do you mean by prepare?" asked Bertha Kircher. "You said that the king had commanded I be

"Is there no escape?" asked the girl. "Is there no way even in which I can kill myself?"

The woman handed her the fork. "This is the only way," she said, "and you will notice that the tines are very

The girl shuddered and the old woman laid a hand gently upon her shoulder. "He may only look at you and

send you away," she said. "Ago XXV sent for me once, tried to talk with me, discovered that I could not

understand him and that he could not understand me, ordered that I be taught the language of his people, and

then apparently forgot me for a year. Sometimes I do not see the king for a long period. There was one king

who ruled for five years whom I never saw. There is always hope; even I whose very memory has doubtless

been forgotten beyond these palace walls still hope, though none knows better how futilely."

The old woman led Bertha Kircher to an adjoining apart ment in the floor of which was a pool of water.

Here the girl bathed and afterward her companion brought her one of the clinging garments of the native

women and adjusted it about her figure. The material of the robe was of a gauzy fabric which accentuated the

"There," said the old woman, as she gave a final pat to one of the folds of the garment, "you are a queen

The girl looked down at her naked breasts and but half concealed limbs in horror. "They are going to lead

The old woman smiled her crooked smile. "It is nothing," she said. "You will become accustomed to it as did

I who was brought up in the home of a minister of the gospel, where it was considered little short of a crime

for a woman to expose her stockinged ankle. By comparison with what you will doubtless see and the things

For what seemed hours to the distraught girl she paced the floor of her apartment, awaiting the final summons

to the presence of the mad king. Darkness had fallen and the oil flares within the palace had been lighted long

before two messengers appeared with instructions that Herog demanded her immediate presence and that the

old woman, whom they called Xanila, was to accompany her. The girl felt some slight relief when she

discovered that she was to have at least one friend with her, however powerless to assist her the old woman

The messengers conducted the two to a small apartment on the floor below. Xanila explained that this was

one of the anterooms off the main throneroom in which the king was accustomed to hold court with his entire

retinue. A number of yellowtunicked warriors sat about upon the benches within the room. For the most part

their eyes were bent upon the floor and their attitudes that of moody dejection. As the two women entered

several glanced indifferently at them, but for the most part no attention was paid to them.

While they were waiting in the anteroom there entered from another apartment a young man uniformed

similarly to the others with the exception that upon his head was a fillet of gold, in the front of which a single

parrot feather rose erectly above his forehead. As he entered, the other soldiers in the room rose to their feet.

The prince was crossing the room toward the audience chamber when his glance happened to fall upon

Bertha Kircher. He halted in his tracks and stood looking at her for a full minute without speaking. The girl,

embarrassed by his bold stare and her scant attire, flushed and, dropping her gaze to the floor, turned away.

Metak suddenly commenced to tremble from head to foot and then, without warning other than a loud, hoarse

Instantly pandemonium ensued. The two messengers who had been charged with the duty of conducting the

girl to the king's presence danced, shrieking, about the prince, waving their arms and gesticulating wildly as

though they would force him to relinquish her, the while they dared not lay hands upon royalty. The other

guardsmen, as though suffering in sympathy the madness of their prince, ran forward screaming and

The girl fought to release herself from the horrid embrace of the maniac, but with his left arm about her he

held her as easily as though she had been but a babe, while with his free hand he drew his saber and struck

One of the messengers was the first to feel the keen edge of Metak's blade. With a single fierce cut the prince

drove through the fellow's collar bone and downward to the center of his chest. With a shrill shriek that rose

above the screaming of the other guardsmen the man dropped to the floor, and as the blood gushed from the

frightful wound he struggled to rise once more to his feet and then sank back again and died in a great pool of

In the meantime Metak, still clinging desperately to the girl, had backed toward the opposite door. At the

sight of the blood two of the guardsmen, as though suddenly aroused to maniacal frenzy, dropped their sabers

to the floor and fell upon each other with nails and teeth, while some sought to reach the prince and some to

defend him. In a corner of the room sat one of the guardsmen laughing uproariously and just as Metak

succeeded in reaching the door and taking the girl through, she thought that she saw another of the men

During the orgy of madness Xanila had kept closely at the girl's side but at the door of the room Metak had

seen her and, wheeling suddenly, cut viciously at her. Fortunately for Xanila she was halfway through the

door at the time, so that Metak's blade but dented itself upon the stone arch of the portal, and then Xanila,

guided doubtless by the wisdom of sixty years of similar experiences, fled down the corridor as fast as her old

Metak, once outside the door, returned his saber to its scabbard and lifting the girl bodily from the ground

Just before dark that evening, an almost exhausted flier entered the headquarters of Colonel Capell of the

"Well, Thompson," asked the superior, "what luck? The others have all returned. Never saw a thing of

Oldwick or his plane. I guess we shall have to give it up unless you were more successful."

"It is in the rottenest hole in the ground you ever saw, quite a bit inland. Narrow gorge. Saw the plane all

right but can't reach it. There was a regular devil of a lion wandering around it. I landed near the edge of the

cliff and was going to climb down and take a look at the plane. But this fellow hung around for an hour or

"I doubt it," replied Lieutenant Thompson, "from the fact that there was no indication that the lion had fed

anywhere about the plane. I arose after I found it was impossible to get down around the plane and

reconnoitered up and down the gorge. Several miles to the south I found a small, wooded valley in the center

of which please don't think me crazy, sir is a regular city streets, buildings, a central plaza with a

lagoon, goodsized buildings with domes and minarets and all that sort of stuff."

The elder officer looked at the younger compassionately. "You're all wrought up, Thompson," he said. "Go

and take a good sleep. You have been on this job now for a long while and it must have gotten on your

The young man shook his head a bit irritably. "Pardon me, sir," he said, "but I am telling you the truth. I am

not mis taken. I circled over the place several times. It may be that Oldwick has found his way there or

"No," replied Thompson, "the country is all cut up with these deep gorges. Even infantry would have a devil

of a time of it, and there is absolutely no water that I could dis cover for at least a two days' march."

It was at this juncture that a big Vauxhall drew up in front of the headquarters of the Second Rhodesians and

a moment later General Smuts alighted and entered. Colonel Capell arose from his chair and saluted his

"I was passing," said the general, "and I thought I would stop for a chat. By the way, how is the search for

Lieutenant SmithOldwick progressing? I see Thompson here and I believe he was one of those detailed to

"Yes," said Capell, "he was. He is the last to come in. He found the lieutenant's ship," and then he repeated

what Lieu tenant Thompson had reported to him. The general sat down at the table with Colonel Capell, and

together the two officers, with the assistance of the flier, marked the approximate loca tion of the city which

"It's a mighty rough country," remarked Smuts, "but we can't leave a stone unturned until we have exhausted

every re source to find that boy. We will send out a small force; a small one will be more likely to succeed

than a large one. About one company, Colonel, or say two, with sufficient motor lorries for transport of

rations and water. Put a good man in command and let him establish a base as far to the west as the motors

can travel. You can leave one company there and send the other forward. I am inclined to believe you can

establish your base within a day's march of the city and if such is the case the force you send ahead should

have no trouble on the score of lack of water as there certainly must be water in the valley where the city lies.

Detail a couple of planes for reconnais sance and messenger service so that the base can keep in touch at all

"We can load the lorries tonight," replied Capell, "and march about one o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Good," said the general, "keep me advised," and returning the others' salutes he departed.

As Tarzan leaped for the vines he realized that the lion was close upon him and that his life depended upon

the strength of the creepers clinging to the city walls; but to his intense relief he found the stems as large

around as a man's arm, and the tendrils which had fastened themselves to the wall so firmly fixed, that his

He heard Numa's baffled roar as the lion slipped downward clawing futilely at the leafy creepers, and then

with the agility of the apes who had reared him, Tarzan bounded nimbly aloft to the summit of the wall.

A few feet below him was the flat roof of the adjoining building and as he dropped to it his back was toward

the niche from which an embrasure looked out upon the gardens and the forest beyond, so that he did not see

the figure crouching there in the dark shadow. But if he did not see he was not long in ignorance of the fact

that he was not alone, for scarcely had his feet touched the roof when a heavy body leaped upon him from

Taken at a disadvantage and lifted from his feet, the ape man was, for the time being, helpless. Whatever the

creature was that had seized him, it apparently had a welldefined purpose in mind, for it walked directly

toward the edge of the roof so that it was soon apparent to Tarzan that he was to be hurled to the pavement

below a most efficacious manner of disposing of an intruder. That he would be either maimed or killed the

apeman was confident; but he had no intention of permitting his assailant to carry out the plan.

Tarzan's arms and legs were free but he was in such a disad vantageous position that he could not use them

to any good effect. His only hope lay in throwing the creature off its balance, and to this end Tarzan

straightened his body and leaned as far back against his captor as he could, and then suddenly lunged

forward. The result was as satisfactory as he could possibly have hoped. The great weight of the ape man

thrown suddenly out from an erect position caused the other also to lunge violently forward with the result

that to save himself he involuntarily released his grasp. Catlike in his movements, the apeman had no sooner

touched the roof than he was upon his feet again, facing his adversary, a man almost as large as himself and

armed with a saber which he now whipped from its scabbard. Tarzan, however, had no mind to allow the use

of this formidable weapon and so he dove for the other's legs beneath the vicious cut that was directed at him

from the side, and as a football player tackles an opposing runner, Tarzan tackled his antagonist, carrying him

No sooner had the man touched the roof than the apeman was upon his chest, one brawny hand sought and

found the sword wrist and the other the throat of the yellowtunicked guardsman. Until then the fellow had

fought in silence but just as Tarzan's fingers touched his throat he emitted a single piercing shriek that the

brown fingers cut off almost instantly. The fellow struggled to escape the clutch of the naked creature upon

his breast but equally as well might he have fought to escape the talons of Numa, the lion.

Gradually his struggles lessened, his pinpoint eyes popped from their sockets, rolling horribly upward,

while from his foamflecked lips his swollen tongue protruded. As his struggles ceased Tarzan arose, and

placing a foot upon the carcass of his kill, was upon the point of screaming forth his victory cry when the

Walking to the edge of the roof he looked down into the narrow, winding street below. At intervals,

apparently at each street intersection, an oil flare sputtered dimly from brackets set in the walls a trifle higher

than a man's head. For the most part the winding alleys were in dense shadow and even in the immediate

vicinity of the flares the illumination was far from brilliant. In the restricted area of his vision he could see

that there were still a few of the strange inhabitants moving about the narrow thoroughfares.

To prosecute his search for the young officer and the girl he must be able to move about the city as freely as

possible, but to pass beneath one of the corner flares, naked as he was except for a loin cloth, and in every

other respect markedly different from the inhabitants of the city, would be but to court almost immediate

discovery. As these thoughts flashed through his mind and he cast about for some feasible plan of action, his

eyes fell upon the corpse upon the roof near him, and immediately there occurred to him the possibility of

It required but a few moments for the apeman to clothe himself in the tights, sandals, and parrot emblazoned

yellow tunic of the dead soldier. Around his waist he buckled the saber belt but beneath the tunic he retained

the hunting knife of his dead father. His other weapons he could not lightly dis card, and so, in the hope that

he might eventually recover them, he carried them to the edge of the wall and dropped them among the

foliage at its base. At the last moment he found it difficult to part with his rope, which, with his knife, was his

most accustomed weapon, and one which he had used for the greatest length of time. He found that by

removing the saber belt he could wind the rope about his waist beneath his tunic, and then replacing the belt

At last, satisfactorily disguised, and with even his shock of black hair adding to the verisimilitude of his

likeness to the natives of the city, he sought for some means of reaching the street below. While he might

have risked a drop from the eaves of the roof he feared to do so lest he attract the attention of passersby, and

probable discovery. The roofs of the build ings varied in height but as the ceilings were all low he found

that he could easily travel along the roof tops and this he did for some little distance, until he suddenly

discovered just ahead of him several figures reclining upon the roof of a nearby building.

He had noticed openings in each roof, evidently giving ingress to the apartments below, and now, his advance

cut off by those ahead of him, he decided to risk the chance of reaching the street through the interior of one

of the build ings. Approaching one of the openings he leaned over the black hole and, listened for sounds of

life in the apartment below. Neither his ears nor his nose registered evidence of the presence of any living

creature in the immediate vicinity, and so without further hesitation the apeman lowered his body through

the aperture and was about to drop when his foot came in contact with the rung of a ladder, which he im

Here, all was almost total darkness until his eyes became accustomed to the interior, the darkness of which

was slightly alleviated by the reflected light from a distant street flare which shone intermittently through the

narrow windows front ing the thoroughfare. Finally, assured that the apartment was unoccupied, Tarzan

sought for a stairway to the ground floor. This he found in a dark hallway upon which the room opened a

flight of narrow stone steps leading downward toward the street. Chance favored him so that he reached the

Once on the street he was not at a loss as to the direction in which he wished to go, for he had tracked the two

Europeans practically to the gate, which he felt assured must have given them entry to the city. His keen

sense of direction and loca tion made it possible for him to judge with considerable ac curacy the point

within the city where he might hope to pick up the spoor of those whom he sought.

The first need, however, was to discover a street paralleling the northern wall along which he could make his

way in the direction of the gate he had seen from the forest. Realizing that his greatest hope of success lay in

the boldness of his operations he moved off in the direction of the nearest street flare without making any

other attempt at concealment than keeping in the shadows of the arcade, which he judged would draw no

particular attention to him in that he saw other pedestrians doing likewise. The few he passed gave him no

heed, and he had almost reached the nearest intersection when he saw several men wearing yellow tunics

They were coming directly toward him and the apeman saw that should he continue on he would meet them

directly at the intersection of the two streets in the full light of the flare. His first inclination was to go

steadily on, for personally he had no objection to chancing a scrimmage with them; but a sudden recollection

of the girl, possibly a helpless prisoner in the hands of these people, caused him to seek some other and less

He had almost emerged from the shadow of the arcade into the full light of the flare and the approaching men

were but a few yards from him, when he suddenly kneeled and pretended to adjust the wrappings of his

sandals wrappings, which, by the way, he was not at all sure that he had adjusted as their makers had

intended them to be adjusted. He was still kneel ing when the soldiers came abreast of him. Like the others

he had passed they paid no attention to him and the moment they were behind him he continued upon his

The street he now took was, at this point, so extremely winding that, for the most part, it received no benefit

from the flares at either corner, so that he was forced practically to grope his way in the dense shadows of the

arcade. The street became a little straighter just before he reached the next flare, and as he came within sight

of it he saw silhouetted against a patch of light the figure of a lion. The beast was coming slowly down the

A woman crossed the way directly in front of it and the lion paid no attention to her, nor she to the lion. An

instant later a little child ran after the woman and so close did he run before the lion that the beast was forced

to turn out of its way a step to avoid colliding with the little one. The apeman grinned and crossed quickly to

the opposite side of the street, for his delicate senses indicated that at this point the breeze stirring through the

city streets and deflected by the opposite wall would now blow from the lion toward him as the beast passed,

whereas if he remained upon the side of the street upon which he had been walking when he discovered the

carnivore, his scent would have been borne to the nostrils of the animal, and Tarzan was sufficiently

junglewise to realize that while he might deceive the eyes of man and beast he could not so easily disguise

from the nostrils of one of the great cats that he was a creature of a different species from the inhabitants of

the city, the only human beings, possibly, that Numa was familiar with. In him the cat would recognize a

stranger, and, therefore, an enemy, and Tarzan had no desire to be delayed by an en counter with a savage

lion. His ruse worked successfully, the lion passing him with not more than a side glance in his direction.

He had proceeded for some little distance and had about reached a point where he judged he would find the

street which led up from the city gate when, at an intersection of two streets, his nostrils caught the scent

spoor of the girl. Out of a maze of other scent spoors the apeman picked the familiar odor of the girl and, a

second later, that of SmithOldwick. He had been forced to accomplish it, however, by bending very low at

each street intersection in repeated attention to his sandal wrappings, bringing his nostrils as close to the

As he advanced along the street through which the two had been conducted earlier in the day he noted, as had

they, the change in the type of buildings as he passed from a residence district into that portion occupied by

shops and bazaars. Here the number of flares was increased so that they appeared not only at street

intersections but midway between as well, and there were many more people abroad. The shops were open

and lighted, for with the setting of the sun the intense heat of the day had given place to a pleasant coolness.

Here also the number of lions, roaming loose through the thoroughfares, increased, and also for the first time

Once he was nearly upset by a naked man running rapidly through the street screaming at the top of his voice.

And again he nearly stumbled over a woman who was making her way in the shadows of one of the arcades

upon all fours. At first the apeman thought she was hunting for something she had dropped, but as he drew

to one side to watch her, he saw that she was doing nothing of the kind that she had merely elected to

walk upon her hands and knees rather than erect upon her feet. In another block he saw two creatures strug

gling upon the roof of an adjacent building until finally one of them, wrenching himself free from the grasp

of the other, gave his adversary a mighty push which hurled him to the pavement below, where he lay

motionless upon the dusty road. For an instant a wild shriek reechoed through the city from the lungs of the

victor and then, without an instant's hesitation, the fel low leaped headfirst to the street beside the body of

his victim. A lion moved out from the dense shadows of a door way and approached the two bloody and

lifeless things before him. Tarzan wondered what effect the odor of blood would have upon the beast and was

surprised to see that the animal only sniffed at the corpses and the hot red blood and then lay down beside the

He had passed the lion but a short distance when his atten tion was called to the figure of a man lowering

himself la boriously from the roof of a building upon the east side of the thoroughfare. Tarzan's curiosity

As SmithOldwick realized that he was alone and practi cally defenseless in an enclosure filled with great

lions he was, in his weakened condition, almost in a state verging upon hysterical terror. Clinging to the

grating for support he dared not turn his head in the direction of the beasts behind him. He felt his knees

giving weakly beneath him. Something within his head spun rapidly around. He be came very dizzy and

nauseated and then suddenly all went black before his eyes as his limp body collapsed at the foot of the

How long he lay there unconscious he never knew; but as reason slowly reasserted itself in his

semiconscious state he was aware that he lay in a cool bed upon the whitest of linen in a bright and cheery

room, and that upon one side close to him was an open window, the delicate hangings of which were

fluttering in a soft summer breeze which blew in from a sunkissed orchard of ripening fruit which he could

see with out an old orchard in which soft, green grass grew between the laden trees, and where the sun

filtered through the foliage; and upon the dappled greensward a little child was playing with a frolicsome

"God," thought the man, "what a horrible nightmare I have passed through!" and then he felt a hand stroking

his brow and cheek a cool and gentle hand that smoothed away his troubled recollections. For a long

minute SmithOldwick lay in utter peace and content until gradually there was forced upon his sensibilities

the fact that the hand had become rough, and that it was no longer cool but hot and moist; and suddenly he

Lieutenant Harold Percy SmithOldwick was not only an English gentleman and an officer in name, he was

also what these implied a brave man; but when he realized that the sweet picture he had looked upon was

but the figment of a dream, and that in reality he still lay where he had fallen at the foot of the grating with a

lion standing over him licking his face, the tears sprang to his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Never, he

For some time he lay feigning death while the lion, having ceased to lick him, sniffed about his body. There

are some things than which death is to be preferred; and there came at last to the Englishman the realization

that it would be better to die swiftly than to lie in this horrible predicament until his mind broke beneath the

And so, deliberately and without haste, he rose, clinging to the grating for support. At his first move the lion

growled, but after that he paid no further attention to the man, and when at last SmithOldwick had regained

his feet the lion moved indifferently away. Then it was that the man turned and looked about the enclosure.

Sprawled beneath the shade of the trees and lying upon the long bench beside the south wall the great beasts

rested, with the exception of two or three who moved restlessly about. It was these that the man feared and

yet when two more of them had passed him by he began to feel reassured, recalling the fact that they were

And yet he dared not move from the grating. As the man examined his surroundings he noted that the

branches of one of the trees near the further wall spread close beneath an open window. If he could reach that

tree and had strength to do so, he could easily climb out upon the branch and escape, at least, from the

enclosure of the lions. But in order to reach the tree he must pass the full length of the enclosure, and at the

For half an hour the man stood gazing longingly at this seeming avenue of escape, and at last, with a muttered

oath, he straightened up and throwing back his shoulders in a ges ture of defiance, he walked slowly and

deliberately down the center of the courtyard. One of the prowling lions turned from the side wall and moved

toward the center directly in the man's path, but SmithOldwick was committed to what he considered his

one chance, for even temporary safety, and so he kept on, ignoring the presence of the beast. The lion

SmithOldwick drew the pistol from his shirt. "If he has made up his mind to kill me," he thought. "I can't

see that it will make any difference in the long run whether I infuriate him or not. The beggar can't kill me

But with the man's movement in withdrawing the weapon from his shirt the lion's attitude suddenly altered

and though he still growled he turned and sprang away, and then at last the Englishman stood almost at the

foot of the tree that was his goal, and between him and safety sprawled a sleeping lion.

Above him was a limb that ordinarily he could have leaped for and reached with ease; but weak from his

wounds and loss of blood he doubted his ability to do so now. There was even a question as to whether he

would be able to ascend the tree at all. There was just one chance: the lowest branch left the bole within easy

reach of a man standing on the ground close to the tree's stem, but to reach a position where the branch would

be accessible he must step over the body of a lion. Taking a deep breath he placed one foot between the

sprawled legs of the beast and gingerly raised the other to plant it upon the opposite side of the tawny body.

"What," he thought, "if the beggar should happen to wake now?" The suggestion sent a shudder through his

frame but he did not hesitate or withdraw his foot. Gingerly he planted it beyond the lion, threw his weight

forward upon it and cautiously brought his other foot to the side of the first. He had passed and the lion had

SmithOldwick was weak from loss of blood and the hard ships he had undergone, but the realization of his

situation impelled him to a show of agility and energy which he prob ably could scarcely have equaled

when in possession of his normal strength. With his life depending upon the success of his efforts, he swung

himself quickly to the lower branches of the tree and scrambled upward out of reach of possible harm from

the lions below though the sudden movement in the branches above them awakened both the sleeping

beasts. The animals raised their heads and looked questioningly up for a moment and then lay back again to

So easily had the Englishman succeeded thus far that he suddenly began to question as to whether he had at

any time been in real danger. The lions, as he knew, were accustomed to the presence of men, but yet they

were still lions and he was free to admit that he breathed more easily now that he was safe above their

Before him lay the open window he had seen from the ground. He was now on a level with it and could see

an apparently unoccupied chamber beyond, and toward this he made his way along a stout branch that swung

beneath the opening. It was not a difficult feat to reach the window, and a moment later he drew himself over

He found himself in a rather spacious apartment, the floor of which was covered with rugs of barbaric design,

while the few pieces of furniture were of a similar type to that which he had seen in the room on the first floor

into which he and Bertha Kircher had been ushered at the conclusion of their journey. At one end of the room

was what appeared to be a curtained alcove, the heavy hangings of which completely hid the inte rior. In the

wall opposite the window and near the alcove was a closed door, apparently the only exit from the room.

He could see, in the waning light without, that the close of the day was fast approaching, and he hesitated

while he de liberated the advisability of waiting until darkness had fallen, or of immediately searching for

some means of escape from the building and the city. He at last decided that it would do no harm to

investigate beyond the room, that he might have some idea as how best to plan his escape after dark. To this

end he crossed the room toward the door but he had taken only a few steps when the hangings before the

She was young and beautifully formed; the single drapery wound around her body from below her breasts left

no detail of her symmetrical proportions unrevealed, but her face was the face of an imbecile. At sight of her

SmithOldwick halted, momentarily expecting that his presence would elicit screams for help from her. On

the contrary she came toward him smiling, and when she was close her slender, shapely fingers touched the

sleeve of his torn blouse as a curious child might handle a new toy, and still with the same smile she

examined him from head to foot, taking in, in childish wonderment, every detail of his apparel.

Presently she spoke to him in a soft, wellmodulated voice which contrasted sharply with her facial

appearance. The voice and the girlish figure harmonized perfectly and seemed to belong to each other, while

the head and face were those of another creature. SmithOldwick could understand no word of what she said,

but nevertheless he spoke to her in his own cultured tone, the effect of which upon her was evidently most

gratifying, for before he realized her intentions or could prevent her she had thrown both arms about his neck

The man tried to free himself from her rather surprising attentions, but she only clung more tightly to him,

and sud denly, as he recalled that he had always heard that one must humor the mentally deficient, and at

the same time seeing in her a possible agency of escape, he dosed his eyes and re turned her embraces.

It was at this juncture that the door opened and a man entered. With the sound from the first movement of the

latch, SmithOldwick opened his eyes, but though he endeavored to disengage himself from the girl he

realized that the newcomer had seen their rather compromising position. The girl, whose back was toward the

door, seemed at first not to realize that someone had entered, but when she did she turned quickly and as her

eyes fell upon the man whose terrible face was now distorted with an expression of hideous rage she turned,

screaming, and fled toward the alcove. The Englishman, flushed and embarrassed, stood where she had left

him. With the sudden realization of the futility of attempting an explana tion, came that of the menacing

appearance of the man, whom he now recognized as the official who had received them in the room below.

The fellow's face, livid with insane rage and, possibly, jealousy, was twitching violently, accentuating the

For a moment he seemed paralyzed by anger, and then with a loud shriek that rose into an uncanny wail, he

drew his curved saber and sprang toward the Englishman. To Smith Oldwick there seemed no possible hope

of escaping the keen edged weapon in the hands of the infuriated man, and though he felt assured that it

would draw down upon him an equally sudden and possibly more terrible death, he did the only thing that

remained for him to do drew his pistol and fired straight for the heart of the oncoming man. Without even

so much as a groan the fellow lunged forward upon the floor at Smith Oldwick's feet killed instantly

with a bullet through the heart. For several seconds the silence of the tomb reigned in the apartment.

The Englishman, standing over the prostrate figure of the dead man, watched the door with drawn weapon,

expecting momentarily to hear the rush of feet of those whom he was sure would immediately investigate the

report of the pistol. But no sounds came from below to indicate that anyone there had heard the explosion,

and presently the man's attention was distracted from the door to the alcove, between the hang ings of which

the face of the girl appeared. The eyes were widely dilated and the lower jaw dropped in an expression of

The girl's gaze was riveted upon the figure upon the floor, and presently she crept stealthily into the room and

tiptoed toward the corpse. She appeared as though constantly poised for flight, and when she had come to

within two or three feet of the body she stopped and, looking up at SmithOldwick, voiced some

interrogation which he could not, of course, un derstand. Then she came close to the side of the dead man

Presently she shook the corpse by the shoulder, and then with a show of strength which her tenderly girlish

form belied, she turned the body over on its back. If she had been in doubt before, one glance at the hideous

features set in death must have convinced her that life was extinct, and with the realization there broke from

her lips peal after peal of mad, maniacal laughter as with her little hands she beat upon the upturned face and

breast of the dead man. It was a gruesome sight from which the Englishman involuntarily drew back a

gruesome, disgusting sight such as, he realized, might never be witnessed outside a madhouse or this frightful

In the midst of her frenzied rejoicing at the death of the man, and SmithOldwick could attribute her actions

to no other cause, she suddenly desisted from her futile attacks upon the insensate flesh and, leaping to her

feet, ran quickly to the door, where she shot a wooden bolt into its socket, thus secur ing them from

interference from without. Then she returned to the center of the room and spoke rapidly to the Englishman,

gesturing occasionally toward the body of the slain man. When he could not understand, she presently

became provoked and in a sudden hysteria of madness she rushed forward as though to strike the

Englishman. SmithOldwick dropped back a few steps and leveled his pistol upon her. Mad though she must

have been, she evidently was not so mad but what she had connected the loud report, the diminutive weapon,

and the sudden death of the man in whose house she dwelt, for she instantly desisted and quite as suddenly as

Again the vacuous, imbecile smile took possession of her features, and her voice, dropping its harshness,

resumed the soft, wellmodulated tones with which she had first addressed him. Now she attempted by signs

to indicate her wishes, and motioning SmithOldwick to follow her she went to the hang ings and opening

them disclosed the alcove. It was rather more than an alcove, being a fairsized room heavy with rugs and

hangings and soft, pillowed couches. Turning at the entrance she pointed to the corpse upon the floor of the

outer room, and then crossing the alcove she raised some draperies which covered a couch and fell to the

To this opening she pointed and then again to the corpse, indicating plainly to the Englishman that it was her

desire that the body be hidden here. But if he had been in doubt, she essayed to dispel it by grasping his

sleeve and urging him in the direction of the body which the two of them then lifted and half carried and half

dragged into the alcove. At first they encountered some difficulty when they endeavored to force the body of

the man into the small space she had selected for it, but eventually they succeeded in doing so. SmithOld

wick was again impressed by the fiendish brutality of the girl. In the center of the room lay a bloodstained

rug which the girl quickly gathered up and draped over a piece of furniture in such a way that the stain was

hidden. By rearranging the other rugs and by bringing one from the alcove she restored the room to order so

These things attended to, and the hangings draped once more about the couch that they might hide the

gruesome thing beneath, the girl once more threw her arms about the English man's neck and dragged him

toward the soft and luxurious pillows above the dead man. Acutely conscious of the horror of his position,

filled with loathing, disgust, and an outraged sense of decency, SmithOldwick was also acutely alive to the

demands of selfpreservation. He felt that he was warranted in buying his life at almost any price; but there

It was at this juncture that a loud knock sounded upon the door of the outer room. Springing from the couch,

the girl seized the man by the arm and dragged him after her to the wall close by the head of the couch. Here

she drew back one of the hangings, revealing a little niche behind, into which she shoved the Englishman and

dropped the hangings before him, effectually hiding him from observation from the rooms be yond.

He heard her cross the alcove to the door of the outer room, and heard the bolt withdrawn followed by the

voice of a man mingled with that of the girl. The tones of both seemed rational so that he might have been

listening to an ordinary conversation in some foreign tongue. Yet with the gruesome experiences of the day

behind him, he could not but momen tarily expect some insane outbreak from beyond the hangings.

He was aware from the sounds that the two had entered the alcove, and, prompted by a desire to know what

manner of man he might next have to contend with, he slightly parted the heavy folds that hid the two from

his view and looking out saw them sitting on the couch with their arms about each other, the girl with the

same expressionless smile upon her face that she had vouchsafed him. He found he could so arrange the

hangings that a very narrow slit between two of them permitted him to watch the actions of those in the

He saw the girl lavishing her kisses upon the newcomer, a much younger man than he whom SmithOldwick

had dis patched. Presently the girl disengaged herself from the em brace of her lover as though struck by a

sudden memory. Her brows puckered as in labored thought and then with a startled expression, she threw a

glance backward toward the hidden niche where the Englishman stood, after which she whispered rapidly to

her companion, occasionally jerking her head in the direction of the niche and on several occasions making a

move with one hand and forefinger, which Smith Oldwick could not mistake as other than an attempt to de

It was evident then to him that she was betraying him, and without further loss of time he turned his back

toward the hangings and commenced a rapid examination of his hiding place. In the alcove the man and the

girl whispered, and then cautiously and with great stealth, the man rose and drew his curved saber. On tiptoe

he approached the hangings, the girl creeping at his side. Neither spoke now, nor was there any sound in the

room as the girl sprang forward and with outstretched arm and pointing finger indicated a point upon the

curtain at the height of a man's breast. Then she stepped to one side, and her companion, raising his blade to a

hori zontal position, lunged suddenly forward and with the full weight of his body and his right arm, drove

the sharp point through the hangings and into the niche behind for its full length.

Bertha Kircher, finding her struggles futile and realizing that she must conserve her strength for some chance

oppor tunity of escape, desisted from her efforts to break from the grasp of Prince Metak as the fellow fled

with her through the dimly lighted corridors of the palace. Through many cham bers the prince fled, bearing

his prize. It was evident to the girl that, though her captor was the king's son, he was not above capture and

punishment for his deeds, as otherwise he would not have shown such evident anxiety to escape with her, as

From the fact that he was constantly turning affrighted eyes behind them, and glancing suspiciously into

every nook and corner that they passed, she guessed that the prince's punishment might be both speedy and

She knew from their route that they must have doubled back several times although she had quite lost all

sense of direction; but she did not know that the prince was as equally confused as she, and that really he was

running in an aimless, erratic manner, hoping that he might stumble eventually upon a place of refuge.

Nor is it to be wondered at that this offspring of maniacs should have difficulty in orienting himself in the

winding mazes of a palace designed by maniacs for a maniac king. Now a corridor turned gradually and

almost imperceptibly in a new direction, again one doubled back upon and crossed itself; here the floor rose

gradually to the level of another story, or again there might be a spiral stairway down which the mad prince

rushed dizzily with his burden. Upon what floor they were or in what part of the palace even Metak had no

idea until, halting abruptly at a closed door, he pushed it open to step into a brilliantly lighted chamber filled

with warriors, at one end of which sat the king upon a great throne; beside this, to the girl's surprise, she saw

another throne where was seated a huge lioness, recalling to her the words of Xanila which, at the time, had

made no impression on her: "But he had many other queens, nor were they all human."

At sight of Metak and the girl, the king rose from his throne and started across the chamber, all semblance of

royalty vanishing in the maniac's uncontrollable passion. And as he came he shrieked orders and commands

at the top of his voice. No sooner had Metak so unwarily opened the door to this hornets' nest than he

immediately withdrew and, turning, fled again in a new direction. But now a hundred men were close upon

his heels, laughing, shrieking, and possibly cursing. He dodged hither and thither, distancing them for several

minutes until, at the bottom of a long runway that inclined steeply downward from a higher level, he burst

In the center of the room was a pool of considerable size, the level of the water being but a few inches below

the floor. Those behind the fleeing prince and his captive entered the chamber in time to see Metak leap into

the water with the girl and disappear beneath the surface taking his captive with him, nor, though they waited

When SmithOldwick turned to investigate his hiding place, his hands, groping upon the rear wall,

immediately came in contact with the wooden panels of a door and a bolt such as that which secured the door

of the outer room. Cautiously and silently drawing the wooden bar he pushed gently against the panel to find

that the door swung easily and noiselessly outward into utter darkness. Moving carefully and feeling forward

Peeling about, he discovered that he was in a narrow cor ridor which he followed cautiously for a few yards

to be brought up suddenly by what appeared to be a ladder across the passageway. He felt of the obstruction

carefully with his hands until he was assured that it was indeed a ladder and that a solid wall was just beyond

it, ending the corridor. Therefore, as he could not go forward and as the ladder ended at the floor upon which

he stood, and as he did not care to retrace his steps, there was no alternative but to climb up ward, and this

He had ascended but two or three rungs when his head came suddenly and painfully in contact with a hard

surface above him. Groping about with one hand over his head he discovered that the obstacle seemed to be

the covering to a trap door in the ceiling which, with a little effort, he succeeded in raising a couple of inches,

With a sigh of relief, but with unabated caution, he gently slid the trapdoor to one side far enough to permit

him to raise his eyes above the level of the roof. A quick glance assured him that there was none near enough

to observe his move ments, nor, in fact, as far as he could see, was anyone in sight.

Drawing himself quickly through the aperture he replaced the cover and endeavored to regain his bearings.

Directly to the south of him the low roof he stood upon adjoined a much loftier portion of the building, which

rose several stories above his head. A few yards to the west he could see the flickering light of the flares of a

From the edge of the roof he looked down upon the night life of the mad city. He saw men and women and

children and lions, and of all that he saw it was quite evident to him that only the lions were sane. With the

aid of the stars he easily picked out the points of the compass, and following carefully in his memory the

steps that had led him into the city and to the roof upon which he now stood, he knew that the thoroughfare

upon which he looked was the same along which he and Bertha Kircher had been led as prisoners earlier in

If he could reach this he might be able to pass undetected in the shadows of the arcade to the city gate. He

had already given up as futile the thought of seeking out the girl and attempting to succor her, for he knew

that alone and with the few remaining rounds of ammunition he possessed, he could do nothing against this

cityfull of armed men. That he could live to cross the lioninfested forest beyond the city was doubtful, and

having, by some miracle, won to the desert beyond, his fate would be certainly sealed; but yet he was

consumed with but one desire to leave behind him as far as possible this horrid city of maniacs.

He saw that the roofs rose to the same level as that upon which he stood unbroken to the north to the next

street inter section. Directly below him was a flare. To reach the pave ment in safety it was necessary that

he find as dark a portion of the avenue as possible. And so he sought along the edge of the roofs for a place

He had proceeded some little way beyond a point where the street curved abruptly to the east before he

discovered a location sufficiently to his liking. But even here he was com pelled to wait a considerable time

for a satisfactory moment for his descent, which he had decided to make down one of the pillars of the

arcade. Each time he prepared to lower himself over the edge of the roofs, footsteps approaching in one

direction or another deterred him until at last he had almost come to the conclusion that he would have to

But finally came a moment which he felt propitious and though with inward qualms, it was with outward

When at last he stood beneath the arcade he was con gratulating himself upon the success that had attended

his efforts up to this point when, at a slight sound behind him, he turned to see a tall figure in the yellow tunic

Numa, the lion, growled futilely in baffled rage as he slipped back to the ground at the foot of the wall after

his unsuccessful attempt to drag down the fleeing ape man. He poised to make a second effort to follow his

escaping quarry when his nose picked up a hitherto unnoticed quality in the scent spoor of his intended prey.

Sniffing at the ground that Tarzan's feet had barely touched, Numa's growl changed to a low whine, for he

had recognized the scent spoor of the manthing that had rescued him from the pit of the Wama bos.

What thoughts passed through that massive head? Who may say? But now there was no indication of baffled

rage as the great lion turned and moved majestically eastward along the wall. At the eastern end of the city he

turned toward the south, continuing his way to the south side of the wall along which were the pens and

corrals where the herbivorous flocks were fattened for the herds of domesticated lions within the city. The

great black lions of the forest fed with almost equal impartiality upon the flesh of the grasseaters and man.

Like Numa of the pit they occasionally made excursions across the desert to the fertile valley of the

Wamabos, but principally they took their toll of meat from the herds of the walled city of Herog, the mad

Numa of the pit was in some respect an exception to the rule which guided his fellows of the forest in that as

a cub he had been trapped and carried into the city, where he was kept for breeding purposes, only to escape

in his second year. They had tried to teach him in the city of maniacs that he must not eat the flesh of man,

and the result of their schooling was that only when aroused to anger or upon that one occasion that he had

The animal corrals of the maniacs are protected by an outer wall or palisade of upright logs, the lower ends of

which are imbedded in the ground, the logs themselves being placed as close together as possible and further

reinforced and bound together by withes. At intervals there are gates through which the flocks are turned on

to the grazing land south of the city during the daytime. It is at such times that the black lions of the forest

take their greatest toll from the herds, and it is infrequent that a lion attempts to enter the corrals at night. But

Numa of the pit, having scented the spoor of his bene factor, was minded again to pass into the walled city,

and with that idea in his cunning brain he crept stealthily along the outer side of the palisade, testing each

gateway with a padded foot until at last he discovered one which seemed insecurely fastened. Lowering his

great head he pressed against the gate, surging forward with all the weight of his huge body and the strength

The enclosure contained a herd of goats which immediately upon the advent of the carnivore started a mad

stampede to the opposite end of the corral which was bounded by the south wall of the city. Numa had been

within such a corral as this before, so that he knew that somewhere in the wall was a small door through

which the goatherd might pass from the city to his flock; toward this door he made his way, whether by plan

or accident it is difficult to say, though in the light of ensuing events it seems possible that the former was the

To reach the gate he must pass directly through the herd which had huddled affrightedly close to the opening

so that once again there was a furious rush of hoofs as Numa strode quickly to the side of the portal. If Numa

had planned, he had planned well, for scarcely had he reached his position when the door opened and a

herder's head was projected into the enclosure, the fellow evidently seeking an explana tion of the

disturbance among his flock. Possibly he discov ered the cause of the commotion, but it is doubtful, for it

was dark and the great, taloned paw that reached up and struck downward a mighty blow that almost severed

his head from his body, moved so quickly and silently that the man was dead within a fraction of a second

from the moment that he opened the door, and then Numa, knowing now his way, passed through the wall

SmithOldwick's first thought when he was accosted by the figure in the yellow tunic of a soldier was to

shoot the man dead and trust to his legs and the dimly lighted, winding streets to permit his escape, for he

knew that to be accosted was equivalent to recapture since no inhabitant of this weird city but would

recognize him as an alien. It would be a simple thing to shoot the man from the pocket where the pistol lay

without drawing the weapon, and with this purpose in mind the Englishman slipped his hands into the side

pocket of his blouse, but simultaneously with this action his wrist was seized in a powerful grasp and a low

The relief from the nervous strain under which he had been laboring for so long, left SmithOldwick

suddenly as weak as a babe, so that he was forced to grasp the apeman's arm for support and when he

found his voice all he could do was to repeat: "You? You? I thought you were dead!"

"No, not dead," replied Tarzan, "and I see that you are not either. But how about the girl?"

"I haven't seen her," replied the Englishman, "since we were brought here. We were taken into a building on

the plaza close by and there we were separated. She was led away by guards and I was put into a den of lions.

"The lions didn't seem to pay much attention to me and I climbed out of the place by way of a tree and

through a win dow into a room on the second floor. Had a little scrimmage there with a fellow and was

hidden by one of their women in a hole in the wall. The loony thing then betrayed me to another bounder who

happened in, but I found a way out and up onto the roof where I have been for quite some time now waiting

for a chance to get down into the street without being seen. That's all I know, but I haven't the slightest idea in

SmithOldwick hesitated. "I well, I couldn't do anything here alone and I was going to try to get out of

"You couldn't do it," said Tarzan. "Even if you got through the forest alive you could never cross the desert

"We will see if we can find the girl," replied the apeman, and then, as though he had forgotten the presence

of the Eng lishman and was arguing to convince himself, "She may be a German and a spy, but she is a

"I have followed her this far," replied Tarzan, "and unless I am greatly mistaken I can follow her still farther."

"But I cannot accompany you in these clothes without ex posing us both to detection and arrest," argued

"Go back to the roof beside the city wall where I entered," replied the apeman with a grim smile, "and ask

SmithOldwick looked quickly up at his companion. "I have it," he exclaimed. "I know where there is a

fellow who doesn't need his clothes anymore, and if we can get back on this roof I think we can find him and

get his apparel without much resistance. Only a girl and a young fellow whom we could easily surprise and

"What do you mean?" asked Tarzan. "How do you know that the man doesn't need his clothes any more."

"Oh!" exclaimed the apeman, "I see. I guess it might be easier that way than to tackle one of these fellows in

"But how are we going to reach the roof again, after all?" queried SmithOldwick.

"The same way you came down," replied Tarzan. "This roof is low and there is a little ledge formed by the

capital of each column; I noticed that when you descended. Some of the buildings wouldn't have been so easy

SmithOldwick looked up toward the eaves of the low roof. "It's not very high," he said, "but I am afraid I

can't make it. I'll try I've been pretty weak since a lion mauled me and the guards beat me up, and too, I

Tarzan thought a moment. "You've got to go with me," he said at last. "I can't leave you here. The only

chance you have of escape is through me and I can't go with you now until we have found the girl."

"I want to go with you," replied SmithOldwick. "I'm not much good now but at that two of us may be better

"All right," said Tarzan, "come on," and before the Eng lishman realized what the other contemplated

Tarzan had picked him up and thrown him across his shoulder. "Now, hang on," whispered the apeman, and

with a short run he clambered apelike up the front of the low arcade. So quickly and easily was it done that

the Englishman scarcely had time to realize what was happening before he was deposited safely upon the

SmithOldwick had no difficulty in locating the trap in the roof through which he had escaped. Removing the

cover the apeman bent low, listening and sniffing. "Come," he said after a moment's investigation and

lowered himself to the floor beneath. SmithOldwick followed him, and together the two crept through the

darkness toward the door in the back wall of the niche in which the Englishman had been hidden by the girl.

They found the door ajar and opening it Tarzan saw a streak of light showing through the hangings that sep

Placing his eye close to the aperture he saw the girl and the young man of which the Englishman had spoken

seated on opposite sides of a low table upon which food was spread. Serving them was a giant Negro and it

was he whom the ape man watched most closely. Familiar with the tribal idiosyn crasies of a great number

of African tribes over a considerable proportion of the Dark Continent, the Tarmangani at last felt reasonably

assured that he knew from what part of Africa this slave had come, and the dialect of his people. There was,

how ever, the chance that the fellow had been captured in child hood and that through long years of

nonuse his native lan guage had become lost to him, but then there always had been an element of chance

connected with nearly every event of Tarzan's life, so he waited patiently until in the performance of his

duties the black man approached a little table which stood near the niche in which Tarzan and the Englishman

As the slave bent over some dish which stood upon the table his ear was not far from the aperture through

which Tarzan looked. Apparently from a solid wall, for the Negro had no knowledge of the existence of the

niche, came to him in the tongue of his own people, the whispered words: "If you would return to the land of

The black rolled terrified eyes toward the hangings at his side. The apeman could see him tremble and for a

moment was fearful that in his terror he would betray them. "Fear not," he whispered, "we are your friends."

At last the Negro spoke in a low whisper, scarcely audible even to the keen ears of the apeman. "What," he

"This," replied Tarzan. "Two of us are coming into this room. Help us prevent this man and woman from

"I will help you," replied the Negro, "to keep them within this room, but do not fear that their outcries will

bring others. These walls are built so that no sound may pass through, and even if it did what difference

would it make in this village which is constantly filled with the screams of its mad people. Do not fear their

Tarzan saw the black cross the room to the table upon which he placed another dish of food before the

feasters. Then he stepped to a place behind the man and as he did so raised his eyes to the point in the wall

from which the apeman's voice had come to him, as much as to say, "Master, I am ready."

Without more delay Tarzan threw aside the hangings and stepped into the room. As he did so the young man

rose from the table to be instantly seized from behind by the black slave. The girl, whose back was toward the

apeman and his com panion, was not at first aware of their presence but saw only the attack of the slave

upon her lover, and with a loud scream she leaped forward to assist the latter. Tarzan sprang to her side and

laid a heavy hand upon her arm before she could interfere with Otobu's attentions to the young man. At first,

as she turned toward the apeman, her face reflected only mad rage, but almost instantly this changed into the

vapid smile with which SmithOldwick was already familiar and her slim fingers commenced their soft

Almost immediately she discovered SmithOldwick but there was neither surprise nor anger upon her

countenance. Evi dently the poor mad creature knew but two principal moods, from one to the other of

"Watch her a moment," said Tarzan to the Englishman, "while I disarm that fellow," and stepping to the side

of the young man whom Otobu was having difficulty in subduing Tarzan relieved him of his saber. "Tell

them," he said to the Negro, "if you speak their language, that we will not harm them if they leave us alone

The black had been looking at Tarzan with wide eyes, evi dently not comprehending how this god could

appear in so material a form, and with the voice of a white bwana and the uniform of a warrior of this city to

which he quite evidently did not belong. But nevertheless his first confidence in the voice that offered him

"They want to know what you want," said Otobu, after he had spoken to the man and the girl.

"Tell them that we want food for one thing," said Tarzan, "and something else that we know where to find in

this room. Take the man's spear, Otobu; I see it leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. And you,

Lieutenant, take his saber," and then again to Otobu, "I will watch the man while you go and bring forth that

which is beneath the couch over against this wall," and Tarzan indicated the location of the piece of furniture.

Otobu, trained to obey, did as he was bid. The eyes of the man and the girl followed him, and as he drew back

the hang ings and dragged forth the corpse of the man SmithOldwick had slain, the girl's lover voiced a

loud scream and attempted to leap forward to the side of the corpse. Tarzan, however, seized him and then

the fellow turned upon him with teeth and nails. It was with no little difficulty that Tarzan finally sub dued

the man, and while Otobu was removing the outer cloth ing from the corpse, Tarzan asked the black to

"He is asking her if she knew that the body of his father was under the couch. And she is saying that she did

Tarzan repeated the conversation to SmithOldwick, who smiled. "If the chap could have seen her removing

all evi dence of the crime and arranging the hangings of the couch so that the body was concealed after she

had helped me drag it across the room, he wouldn't have very much doubt as to her knowledge of the affair.

The rug you see draped over the bench in the corner was arranged to hide the blood stain in some ways

The black man had now removed the outer garments from the dead man, and SmithOldwick was hastily

drawing them on over his own clothing. "And now," said Tarzan, "we will sit down and eat. One

accomplishes little on an empty stom ach." As they ate the apeman attempted to carry on a conver sation

with the two natives through Otobu. He learned that they were in the palace which had belonged to the dead

man lying upon the floor beside them. He had held an official posi tion of some nature, and he and his

When Tarzan questioned them about Bertha Kircher, the young man said that she had been taken to the king's

During the conversation both the man and the girl appeared quite rational, even asking some questions as to

the country from which their uninvited guests had come, and evidencing much surprise when informed that

When Otobu asked the man, at Tarzan's suggestion, if he was familiar with the interior of the king's palace,

he replied that he was; that he was a friend of Prince Metak, one of the king's sons, and that he often visited

the palace and that Metak also came here to his father's palace frequently. As Tarzan ate he racked his brain

for some plan whereby he might utilize the knowledge of the young man to gain entrance to the palace, but he

had arrived at nothing which he considered feasible when there came a loud knocking upon the door of the

For a moment no one spoke and then the young man raised his voice and cried aloud to those without.

Immediately Otobu sprang for the fellow and attempted to smother his words by clapping a palm over his

"He is telling them to break down the door and rescue him and the girl from two strangers who entered and

Otobu did as he was instructed and the young maniac lapsed into scowling silence. Tarzan crossed the alcove

and entered the outer room to note the effect of the assaults upon the door. SmithOldwick followed him a

few steps, leaving Otobu to guard the two prionsers. The apeman saw that the door could not long withstand

the heavy blows being dealt the panels from without. "I wanted to use that fellow in the other room," he said

to SmithOldwick, "but I am afraid we will have to get out of here the way we came. We can't accomplish

anything by waiting here and meeting these fellows. From the noise out there there must be a dozen of them.

As the two turned back from the alcove they witnessed an entirely different scene from that upon which they

had turned their backs but a moment or two before. Stretched on the floor and apparently lifeless lay the body

As Metak bore Bertha Kircher toward the edge of the pool, the girl at first had no conception of the deed he

contemplated but when, as they approached the edge, he did not lessen his speed she guessed the frightful

truth. As he leaped head foremost with her into the water, she closed her eyes and breathed a silent prayer, for

she was confident that the maniac had no other purpose than to drown himself and her. And yet, so potent is

the first law of nature that even in the face of certain death, as she surely believed herself, she clung

tenaciously to life, and while she struggled to free her self from the powerful clutches of the madman, she

held her breath against the final moment when the asphyxiating waters must inevitably flood her lungs.

Through the frightful ordeal she maintained absolute con trol of her senses so that, after the first plunge, she

was aware that the man was swimming with her beneath the surface. He took perhaps not more than a dozen

strokes directly toward the end wall of the pool and then he arose; and once again she knew that her head was

above the surface. She opened her eyes to see that they were in a corridor dimly lighted by grat ings set in

Along this the man was swimming with easy powerful strokes, at the same time holding her chin above the

water. For ten minutes he swam thus without stopping and the girl heard him speak to her, though she could

not understand what he said, as he evidently immediately realized, for, half floating, he shifted his hold upon

her so that he could touch her nose and mouth with the fingers of one hand. She grasped what he meant and

immediately took a deep breath, whereat he dove quickly beneath the surface pulling her down with him and

When they again came to the surface, Bertha Kircher saw that they were in a large lagoon and that the bright

stars were shining high above them, while on either hand domed and minareted buildings were silhouetted

sharply against the star lit sky. Metak swam swiftly to the north side of the lagoon where, by means of a

ladder, the two climbed out upon the embankment. There were others in the plaza but they paid but little if

any attention to the two bedraggled figures. As Metak walked quickly across the pavement with the girl at his

side, Bertha Kircher could only guess at the man's intentions. She could see no way in which to escape and so

she went docilely with him, hoping against hope that some fortuitous circum stance might eventually arise

Metak led her toward a building which, as she entered, she recognized as the same to which she and

Lieutenant Smith Oldwick had been led when they were brought into the city. There was no man sitting

behind the carved desk now, but about the room were a dozen or more warriors in the tunics of the house to

which they were attached, in this case white with a small lion in the form of a crest or badge upon the breast

As Metak entered and the men recognized him they arose, and in answer to a query he put, they pointed to an

arched doorway at the rear of the room. Toward this Metak led the girl, and then, as though filled with a

sudden suspicion, his eyes narrowed cunningly and turning toward the soldiery he issued an order which

resulted in their all preceding him through the small doorway and up a flight of stairs a short distance beyond.

The stairway and the corridor above were lighted by small flares which revealed several doors in the walls of

the upper passageway. To one of these the men led the prince. Bertha Kircher saw them knock upon the door

and heard a voice reply faintly through the thick door to the summons. The effect upon those about her was

electrical. Instantly excitement reigned, and in response to orders from the king's son the soldiers commenced

to beat heavily upon the door, to throw their bodies against it and to attempt to hew away the panels with

their sabers. The girl wondered at the cause of the evident excitement of her captors.

She saw the door giving to each renewed assault, but what she did not see just before it crashed inward was

the figures of the two men who alone, in all the world, might have saved her, pass between the heavy

As the door gave and the warriors rushed into the apartment followed by the prince, the latter became

immediately filled with baffled rage, for the rooms were deserted except for the dead body of the owner of

the palace, and the still form of the black slave, Otobu, where they lay stretched upon the floor of the alcove.

The prince rushed to the windows and looked out, but as the suite overlooked the barred den of lions from

which, the prince thought, there could be no escape, his puzzlement was only increased. Though he searched

about the room for some clue to the whereabouts of its former occupants he did not dis cover the niche

behind the hangings. With the fickleness of insanity he quickly tired of the search, and, turning to the soldiers

After setting up the broken door as best they could, the men left the apartment and when they were again

alone Metak turned toward the girl. As he approached her, his face dis torted by a hideous leer, his features

worked rapidly in spas modic twitches. The girl, who was standing at the entrance of the alcove, shrank

back, her horror reflected in her face. Step by step she backed across the room, while the crouching maniac

crept stealthily after her with clawlike fingers poised in anticipation of the moment they should leap forth and

As she passed the body of the Negro, her foot touched some obstacle at her side, and glancing down she saw

the spear with which Otobu had been supposed to hold the prisoners. In stantly she leaned forward and

snatched it from the floor with its sharp point directed at the body of the madman. The effect upon Metak was

electrical. From stealthy silence he broke into harsh peals of laughter, and drawing his saber danced to and

fro before the girl, but whichever way he went the point of the spear still threatened him.

Gradually the girl noticed a change in the tone of the crea ture's screams that was also reflected in the

changing expres sion upon his hideous countenance. His hysterical laughter was slowly changing into cries

of rage while the silly leer upon his face was supplanted by a ferocious scowl and upcurled lips, which

He now ran rapidly in almost to the spear's point, only to jump away, run a few steps to one side and again

attempt to make an entrance, the while he slashed and hewed at the spear with such violence that it was with

difficulty the girl maintained her guard, and all the time was forced to give ground step by step. She had

reached the point where she was standing squarely against the couch at the side of the room when, with an

incredibly swift movement, Metak stooped and grasping a low stool hurled it directly at her head.

She raised the spear to fend off the heavy missile, but she was not entirely successful, and the impact of the

Tarzan and SmithOldwick gave little thought as to what had become of the other two occupants of the

room. They were gone, and so far as these two were concerned they might never return. Tarzan's one desire

was to reach the street again, where, now that both of them were in some sort of disguise, they should be able

to proceed with comparative safety to the palace and continue their search for the girl.

SmithOldwick preceded Tarzan along the corridor and as they reached the ladder he climbed aloft to

"Did we replace the cover on this trap when we came down? I don't recall that we did."

"So I thought," said SmithOldwick, "but it's closed now and locked. I cannot move it. Possibly you can,"

Even Tarzan's immense strength, however, had no effect other than to break one of the rungs of the ladder

against which he was pushing, nearly precipitating him to the floor below. After the rung broke he rested for

a moment before renewing his efforts, and as he stood with his head near the cover of the trap, he distinctly

Dropping down to Oldwick's side he told him what he had heard. "We had better find some other way out,"

he said, and the two started to retrace their steps toward the alcove. Tarzan was again in the lead, and as he

opened the door in the back of the niche, he was suddenly startled to hear, in tones of terror and in a woman's

Here was no time for cautious investigation and, not even waiting to find the aperture and part the hangings,

but with one sweep of a brawny hand dragging them from their sup port, the apeman leaped from the niche

At the sound of his entry the maniac looked up, and as he saw at first only a man in the uniform of his father's

soldiers, he shrieked forth an angry order, but at the second glance, which revealed the face of the newcomer,

the madman leaped from the prostrate form of his victim and, apparently for getful of the saber which he

had dropped upon the floor beside the couch as he leaped to grapple with the girl, closed with bare hands

Metak, the son of Herog, was no weakling. Powerful by nature and rendered still more so in the throes of one

of his maniacal fits of fury he was no mean antagonist, even for the mighty apeman, and to this a distinct

advantage for him was added by the fact that almost at the outset of their battle Tarzan, in stepping backward,

struck his heel against the corpse of the man whom SmithOldwick had killed, and fell heavily backward to

With the quickness of a cat the maniac made an attempt to fasten his teeth in Tarzan's jugular, but a quick

movement of the latter resulted in his finding a hold only upon the Tar mangani's shoulder. Here he clung

while his fingers sought Tarzan's throat, and it was then that the apeman, realizing the possibility of defeat,

The Englishman looked questioningly at Bertha Kircher, who had now risen from the couch, shaking and

trembling. She saw the question in his eyes and with an effort she drew herself to her full height. "No," she

cried, "if he dies here I shall die with him. Go if you wish to. You can do nothing here, but I I cannot go."

Tarzan had now regained his feet, but the maniac still clung to him tenaciously. The girl turned suddenly to

The man drew the weapon from his pocket and approached the two antagonists, but by this time they were

moving so rapidly that there was no opportunity for shooting one without the danger of hitting the other. At

the same time Bertha Kircher circled about them with the prince's saber, but neither could she find an

opening. Again and again the two men fell to the floor, until presently Tarzan found a hold upon the other's

throat, against which contingency Metak had been constantly battling, and slowly, as the giant fingers closed,

the other's mad eyes protruded from his livid face, his jaws gaped and released their hold upon Tarzan's

shoulder, and then in a sudden excess of disgust and rage the apeman lifted the body of the prince high

above his head and with all the strength of his great arms hurled it across the room and through the window

As Tarzan turned again toward his companions, the girl was standing with the saber still in her hand and an

expression upon her face that he never had seen there before. Her eyes were wide and misty with unshed

tears, while her sensitive lips trembled as though she were upon the point of giving way to some pent emotion

which her rapidly rising and falling bosom plainly indicated she was fighting to control.

"If we are going to get out of here," said the apeman, "we can't lose any time. We are together at last and

nothing can be gained by delay. The question now is the safest way. The couple who escaped us evidently

departed through the pas sageway to the roof and secured the trap against us so that we are cut off in that

direction. What chance have we below? You came that way," and he turned toward the girl.

"At the foot of the stairs," she said, "is a room full of armed men. I doubt if we could pass that way."

It was then that Otobu raised himself to a sitting posture. "So you are not dead after all," exclaimed the

The Negro rose gingerly to his feet, moved his arms and legs and felt of his head.

"Otobu does not seem to be hurt at all, Bwana," he replied, "only for a great ache in his head."

"There is no safe way," replied the black, "and even if we reach the gates we shall have to fight. I can lead

you from this building to a side street with little danger of meeting anyone on the way. Beyond that we must

take our chance of discov ery. You are all dressed as are the people of this wicked city so perhaps we may

pass unnoticed, but at the gate it will be a dif ferent matter, for none is permitted to leave the city at night."

Otobu led them through the broken door of the outer room, and part way down the corridor he turned into

another apart ment at the right. This they crossed to a passageway beyond, and, finally, traversing several

rooms and corridors, he led them down a flight of steps to a door which opened directly upon a side street in

Two men, a woman, and a black slave were not so extraordi nary a sight upon the streets of the city as to

arouse comment. When passing beneath the flares the three Europeans were careful to choose a moment

when no chance pedestrian might happen to get a view of their features, but in the shadow of the arcades

there seemed little danger of detection. They had covered a good portion of the distance to the gate without

mis hap when there came to their ears from the central portion of the city sounds of a great commotion.

"Master," he replied, "they have discovered that which has happened in the palace of Veza, mayor of the city.

His son and the girl escaped and summoned soldiers who have now doubt less discovered the body of

"I wonder," said Tarzan, "if they have discovered the party I threw through the window."

Bertha Kircher, who understood enough of the dialect to follow their conversation, asked Tarzan if he knew

that the man he had thrown from the window was the king's son. The apeman laughed. "No," he said, "I did

Suddenly there broke above the turmoil behind them the clear strains of a bugle. Otobu increased his pace.

"For some reason the king's guard and the king's lions are being called out. I fear, O Bwana, that we cannot

But if Otobu did not know, Tarzan at least guessed that they had found the body of the king's son. Once again

the notes of the bugle rose high and clear upon the night air. "Calling more lions?" asked Tarzan.

They moved on rapidly in silence for a few minutes when their attention was attracted by the flapping of the

wings of a bird above them. They looked up to discover a parrot circling about over their heads.

"Here are the parrots, Otobu," said Tarzan with a grin. "Do they expect to kill us with parrots?"

The Negro moaned as the bird darted suddenly ahead of them toward the city wall. "Now indeed are we lost,

Master," cried the black. "The bird that found us has flown to the gate to warn the guard."

"Come, Otobu, what are you talking about?" exclaimed Tarzan irritably. "Have you lived among these

"No, Master," replied Otobu. "I am not mad. You do not know them. These terrible birds are like human

beings with out hearts or souls. They speak the language of the people of this city of Xuja. They are

demons, Master, and when in sufficient numbers they might even attack and kill us."

"We are not very far," replied the Negro. "Beyond this next turn we will see it a few paces ahead of us. But

the bird has reached it before us and by now they are summoning the guard," the truth of which statement

was almost immediately indicated by sounds of many voices raised evidently in com mands just ahead of

them, while from behind came increased evidence of approaching pursuit loud screams and the roars of

A few steps ahead a narrow alley opened from the east into the thoroughfare they were following and as they

approached it there emerged from its dark shadows the figure of a mighty lion. Otobu halted in his tracks and

shrank back against Tarzan. "Look, Master," he whimpered, "a great black lion of the forest!"

Tarzan drew the saber which still hung at his side. "We cannot go back," he said. "Lions, parrots, or men, it

must be all the same," and he moved steadily forward in the direction of the gate. What wind was stirring in

the city street moved from Tarzan toward the lion and when the apeman had ap proached to within a few

yards of the beast, who had stood silently eyeing them up to this time, instead of the expected roar, a whine

broke from the beast's throat. The apeman was conscious of a very decided feeling of relief. "It's Numa of

the pit," he called back to his companions, and to Otobu, "Do not fear, this lion will not harm us."

Numa moved forward to the apeman's side and then turning, paced beside him along the narrow street. At

the next turn they came in sight of the gate, where, beneath several flares, they saw a group of at least twenty

warriors prepared to seize them, while from the opposite direction the roars of the pursuing lions sounded

close upon them, mingling with the screams of numerous parrots which now circled about their heads. Tarzan

halted and turned to the young aviator. "How many rounds of ammunition have you left?" he asked.

"I have seven in the pistol," replied SmithOldwick, "and perhaps a dozen more cartridges in my blouse

"I'm going to rush them," said Tarzan. "Otobu, you stay at the side of the woman. Oldwick, you and I will go

ahead, you upon my left. I think we need not try to tell Numa what to do," for even then the great lion was

baring his fangs and growling ferociously at the guardsmen, who appeared uneasy in the face of this creature

"As we advance, Oldwick," said the apeman, "fire one shot. It may frighten them, and after that fire only

when necessary. All ready? Let's go!" and he moved forward toward the gate. At the same time,

SmithOldwick discharged his weapon and a yellowcoated warrior screamed and crumpled forward upon

his face. For a minute the others showed symptoms of panic but one, who seemed to be an officer, rallied

them. "Now," said Tarzan, "all together!" and he started at a run for the gate. Simultaneously the lion,

evidently scenting the purpose of the Tarmangani, broke into a full charge toward the guard.

Shaken by the report of the unfamiliar weapon, the ranks of the guardsmen broke before the furious assault of

the great beast. The officer screamed forth a volley of commands in a mad fury of uncontrolled rage but the

guardsmen, obeying the first law of nature as well as actuated by their inherent fear of the black denizen of

the forest scattered to right and left to elude the monster. With ferocious growls Numa wheeled to the right,

and with raking talons struck right and left among a little handful of terrified guardsmen who were

endeavoring to elude him, and then Tarzan and SmithOldwick closed with the others.

For a moment their most formidable antagonist was the officer in command. He wielded his curved saber as

only an adept might as he faced Tarzan, to whom the similar weapon in his own hand was most unfamiliar.

SmithOldwick could not fire for fear of hitting the apeman when suddenly to his dismay he saw Tarzan's

weapon fly from his grasp as the Xujan warrior neatly disarmed his opponent. With a scream the fellow

raised his saber for the final cut that would termi nate the earthly career of Tarzan of the Apes when, to the

astonishment of both the apeman and SmithOldwick, the fellow stiffened rigidly, his weapon dropped

from the nerve less fingers of his upraised hand, his mad eyes rolled upward and foam flecked his bared lip.

Gasping as though in the throes of strangulation the fellow pitched forward at Tarzan's feet.

Tarzan stooped and picked up the dead man's weapon, a smile upon his face as he turned and glanced toward

"The fellow is an epileptic," said SmithOldwick. "I sup pose many of them are. Their nervous condition is

The other guardsmen seemed utterly demoralized at the loss of their leader. They were huddled upon the

opposite side of the street at the left of the gate, screaming at the tops of their voices and looking in the

direction from which sounds of reinforcements were coming, as though urging on the men and lions that were

already too close for the comfort of the fugitives. Six guardsmen still stood with their backs against the gate,

their weapons flashing in the light of the flares and their parchmentlike faces distorted in horrid grimaces of

Numa had pursued two fleeing warriors down the street which paralleled the wall for a short distance at this

point. The apeman turned to SmithOldwick. "You will have to use your pistol now," he said, "and we must

get by these fellows at once;" and as the young Englishman fired, Tarzan rushed in to close quarters as

though he had not already dis covered that with the saber he was no match for these trained swordsmen.

Two men fell to SmithOldwick's first two shots and then he missed, while the four remaining divided, two

The apeman rushed in in an effort to close with one of his antagonists where the other's saber would be

comparatively useless. SmithOldwick dropped one of his assailants with a bullet through the chest and

pulled his trigger on the second, only to have the hammer fall futilely upon an empty chamber. The cartridges

in his weapon were exhausted and the warrior with his razoredged, gleaming saber was upon him.

Tarzan raised his own weapon but once and that to divert a vicious cut for his head. Then he was upon one of

his assail ants and before the fellow could regain his equilibrium and leap back after delivering his cut, the

apeman had seized him by the neck and crotch. Tarzan's other antagonist was edging around to one side

where he might use his weapon, and as he raised the blade to strike at the back of the Tarmangani's neck, the

latter swung the body of his comrade upward so that it received the full force of the blow. The blade sank

deep into the body of the warrior, eliciting a single frightful scream, and then Tarzan hurled the dying man in

SmithOldwick, hard pressed and now utterly defenseless, had given up all hope in the instant that he

realized his weapon was empty, when, from his left, a living bolt of black maned ferocity shot past him to

the breast of his opponent. Down went the Xujan, his face bitten away by one snap of the powerful jaws of

In the few seconds that had been required for the consum mation of these rapidly ensuing events, Otobu had

dragged Bertha Kircher to the gate which he had unbarred and thrown open, and with the vanquishing of the

last of the active guards men, the party passed out of the maniac city of Xuja into the outer darkness beyond.

At the same moment a half dozen lions rounded the last turn in the road leading back toward the plaza, and at

sight of them Numa of the pit wheeled and charged. For a moment the lions of the city stood their ground, but

only for a moment, and then before the black beast was upon them, they turned and fled, while Tarzan and his

"Not at night," replied the black. "I have been a slave here for five years but never have I known these people

to leave the city by night. If they go beyond the forest in the daytime they usually wait until the dawn of

another day before they return, as they fear to pass through the country of the black lions after dark. No, I

think, Master, that they will not follow us tonight, but tomorrow they will come, and, O Bwana, then will

they surely get us, or those that are left of us, for at least one among us must be the toll of the black lions as

As they crossed the garden, SmithOldwick refilled the magazine of his pistol and inserted a cartridge in the

chamber. The girl moved silently at Tarzan's left, between him and the aviator. Suddenly the apeman

stopped and turned toward the city, his mighty frame, clothed in the yellow tunic of Herog's soldiery, plainly

visible to the others beneath the light of the stars. They saw him raise his head and they heard break from his

lips the plaintive note of a lion calling to his fellows. SmithOldwick felt a distinct shudder pass through his

frame, while Otobu, rolling the whites of his eyes in ter rified surprise, sank tremblingly to his knees. But

the girl thrilled and she felt her heart beat in a strange exultation, and then she drew nearer to the beastman

until her shoulder touched his arm. The act was involuntary and for a moment she scarce realized what she

had done, and then she stepped silently back, thankful that the light of the stars was not sufficient to reveal to

the eyes of her companions the flush which she felt mantling her cheek. Yet she was not ashamed of the

impulse that had prompted her, but rather of the act itself which she knew, had Tarzan noticed it, would have

From the open gate of the city of maniacs came the answer ing cry of a lion. The little group waited where

they stood until presently they saw the majestic proportions of the black lion as he approached them along the

trail. When he had rejoined them Tarzan fastened the fingers of one hand in the black mane and started on

once more toward the forest. Be hind them, from the city, rose a bedlam of horrid sounds, the roaring of

lions mingling with the raucous voices of the screaming parrots and the mad shrieks of the maniacs. As they

entered the Stygian darkness of the forest the girl once again involuntarily shrank closer to the apeman, and

Himself without fear, he yet instinctively appreciated how terrified the girl must be. Actuated by a sudden

kindly im pulse he found her hand and took it in his own and thus they continued upon their way, groping

through the blackness of the trail. Twice they were approached by forest lions, but upon both occasions the

deep growls of Numa of the pit drove off their assailants. Several times they were compelled to rest, for

SmithOldwick was constantly upon the verge of exhaus tion, and toward morning Tarzan was forced to

Daylight overtook them after they had entered the gorge, but, tired as they all were with the exception of

Tar zan, they realized that they must keep on at all costs until they found a spot where they might ascend the

precipi tous side of the gorge to the floor of the plateau above. Tarzan and Otobu were both equally

confident that the Xujans would not follow them beyond the gorge, but though they scanned every inch of the

frowning cliffs upon either hand noon came and there was still no indication of any avenue of escape to right

or left. There were places where the apeman alone might have negotiated the ascent but none where the

others could hope successfully to reach the plateau, nor where Tar zan, powerful and agile as he was, could

For half a day the apeman had been either carrying or supporting SmithOldwick and now, to his chagrin,

he saw that the girl was faltering. He had realized well how much she had undergone and how greatly the

hardships and dan gers and the fatigue of the past weeks must have told upon her vitality. He saw how

bravely she attempted to keep up, yet how often she stumbled and staggered as she labored through the sand

and gravel of the gorge. Nor could he help but admire her fortitude and the uncomplaining effort she was

The Englishman must have noticed her condition too, for some time after noon, he stopped suddenly and sat

down in the sand. "It's no use," he said to Tarzan. "I can go no far ther. Miss Kircher is rapidly weakening.

"No," said the girl, "we cannot do that. We have all been through so much together and the chances of our

escape are still so remote that whatever comes, let us remain together, unless," and she looked up at Tarzan,

"you, who have done so much for us to whom you are under no obligations, will go on without us. I for one

wish that you would. It must be as evident to you as it is to me that you cannot save us, for though you

succeeded in dragging us from the path of our pursuers, even your great strength and endurance could never

take one of us across the desert waste which lies between here and the nearest fertile country."

The apeman returned her serious look with a smile. "You are not dead," he said to her, "nor is the lieutenant,

nor Otobu, nor myself. One is either dead or alive, and until we are dead we should plan only upon

continuing to live. Because we remain here and rest is no indication that we shall die here. I cannot carry you

both to the country of the Wamabos, which is the nearest spot at which we may expect to find game and

water, but we shall not give up on that account. So far we have found a way. Let us take things as they come.

Let us rest now because you and Lieutenant SmithOldwick need the rest, and when you are stronger we will

"Yes," he said, "they probably will. But we need not be concerned with them until they come."

"I wish," said the girl, "that I possessed your philosophy but I am afraid it is beyond me."

"You were not born and reared in the jungle by wild beasts and among wild beasts, or you would possess, as I

And so they moved to the side of the gorge beneath the shade of an overhanging rock and lay down in the hot

sand to rest. Numa wandered restlessly to and fro and finally, after sprawling for a moment close beside the

apeman, rose and moved off up the gorge to be lost to view a moment later be yond the nearest turn.

For an hour the little party rested and then Tarzan suddenly rose and, motioning the others to silence, listened.

For a min ute he stood motionless, his keen ears acutely receptive to sounds so faint and distant that none of

the other three could detect the slightest break in the utter and deathlike quiet of the gorge. Finally the

"They are coming," he replied. "They are yet some distance away, though not far, for the sandaled feet of the

"What shall we do try to go on?" asked SmithOldwick. "I believe I could make a go of it now for a short

Tarzan knew that neither of them quite spoke the truth, that people do not recover so quickly from utter

exhaustion, but he saw no other way and there was always the hope that just beyond the next turn would be a

"You help the lieutenant, Otobu," he said, turning to the black, "and I will carry Miss Kircher," and though

the girl objected, saying that he must not waste his strength, he lifted her lightly in his arms and moved off up

the canyon, followed by Otobu and the Englishman. They had gone no great dis tance when the others of

the party became aware of the sounds of pursuit, for now the lions were whining as though the fresh scent

"Yes," said Tarzan, "but we shall have to do the best we can without him. I should like to find some place

where we can barricade ourselves against attack from all sides. Possibly then we might hold them off.

SmithOldwick is a good shot and if there are not too many men he might be able to dispose of them

provided they can only come at him one at a time. The lions don't bother me so much. Sometimes they are

stupid animals, and I am sure that these that pursue us, and who are so dependent upon the masters that have

raised and trained them, will be easily handled after the warriors are disposed of."

"There," he said presently, "I thought I recalled this very spot." He pointed toward a fragment that had

evidently fallen from the summit of the cliff and which now lay imbedded in the sand a few feet from the

base. It was a jagged fragment of rock which rose some ten feet above the surface of the sand, leaving a

narrow aperture between it and the cliff behind. To ward this they directed their steps and when finally they

reached their goal they found a space about two feet wide and ten feet long between the rock and the cliff. To

be sure it was open at both ends but at least they could not be attacked upon all sides at once.

They had scarcely concealed themselves before Tarzan's quick ears caught a sound upon the face of the cliff

above them, and looking up he saw a diminutive monkey perched upon a slight projection an uglyfaced

little monkey who looked down upon them for a moment and then scampered away toward the south in the

direction from which their pur suers were coming. Otobu had seen the monkey too. "He will tell the

"It is all the same," replied Tarzan; "the lions would have found us here. We could not hope to hide from

He placed SmithOldwick, with his pistol, at the north open ing of their haven and told Otobu to stand with

his spear at the Englishman's shoulder, while he himself prepared to guard the southern approach. Between

them he had the girl lie down in the sand. "You will be safe there in the event that they use their spears," he

The minutes that dragged by seemed veritable eternities to Bertha Kircher and then at last, and almost with

relief, she knew that the pursuers were upon them. She heard the angry roaring of the lions and the cries of

the madmen. For several minutes the men seemed to be investigating the stronghold which their quarry had

discovered. She could hear them both to the north and south and then from where she lay she saw a lion

charging for the apeman before her. She saw the giant arm swing back with the curved saber and she saw it

fall with terrific velocity and meet the lion as he rose to grapple with the man, cleaving his skull as cleanly as

Then she heard footsteps running rapidly toward Smith Oldwick and, as his pistol spoke, there was a scream

and the sound of a falling body. Evidently disheartened by the failure of their first attempt the assaulters drew

off, but only for a short time. Again they came, this time a man opposing Tar zan and a lion seeking to

overcome SmithOldwick. Tarzan had cautioned the young Englishman not to waste his car tridges upon

the lions and it was Otobu with the Xujan spear who met the beast, which was not subdued until both he and

SmithOldwick had been mauled, and the latter had succeeded in running the point of the saber the girl had

carried, into the beast's heart. The man who opposed Tarzan inadvertently came too close in an attempt to cut

at the apeman's head, with the result that an instant later his corpse lay with the neck broken upon the body

Once again the enemy withdrew, but again only for a short time, and now they came in full force, the lions

and the men, possibly a half dozen of each, the men casting their spears and the lions waiting just behind,

The words had scarcely passed his lips when the remaining warriors, rushing in, cast their spears

simultaneously from both sides. In attempting to shield the girl, Tarzan received one of the shafts in the

shoulder, and so heavily had the weapon been hurled that it bore him backward to the ground.

SmithOldwick fired his pistol twice when he too was struck down, the weapon entering his right leg

midway between hip and knee. Only Otobu remained to face the enemy, for the Englishman, already weak

from his wounds and from the latest mauling he had received at the claws of the lion, had lost consciousness

As he fell his pistol dropped from his fingers, and the girl, seeing, snatched it up. As Tarzan struggled to rise,

one of the warriors leaped full upon his breast and bore him back as, with fiendish shrieks, he raised the point

of his saber above the other's heart. Before he could drive it home the girl leveled SmithOldwick's pistol and

Simultaneously there broke upon the astonished ears of both attackers and attacked a volley of shots from the

gorge. With the sweetness of the voice of an angel from heaven the Euro peans heard the sharpbarked

commands of an English non com. Even above the roars of the lions and the screams of the maniacs, those

beloved tones reached the ears of Tarzan and the girl at the very moment that even the apeman had given up

Rolling the body of the warrior to one side Tarzan strug gled to his feet, the spear still protruding from his

shoulder. The girl rose too, and as Tarzan wrenched the weapon from his flesh and stepped out from behind

the concealment of their refuge, she followed at his side. The skirmish that had resulted in their rescue was

soon over. Most of the lions es caped but all of the pursuing Xujans had been slain. As Tar zan and the girl

came into full view of the group, a British Tommy leveled his rifle at the apeman. Seeing the fellow's

actions and realizing instantly the natural error that Tarzan's yellow tunic had occasioned the girl sprang

between him and the soldier. "Don't shoot," she cried to the latter, "we are both friends."

"Hold up your hands, you, then," he commanded Tarzan. "I ain't taking no chances with any duffer with a

At this juncture the British sergeant who had been in com mand of the advance guard approached and when

Tarzan and the girl spoke to him in English, explaining their disguises, he accepted their word, since they

were evidently not of the same race as the creatures which lay dead about them. Ten minutes later the main

body of the expedition came into view. SmithOldwick's wounds were dressed, as well as were those of the

apeman, and in half an hour they were on their way to the camp of their rescuers.

That night it was arranged that the following day Smith Oldwick and Bertha Kircher should be transported

to British headquarters near the coast by aeroplane, the two planes attached to the expeditionary force being

requisitioned for the purpose. Tarzan and Otobu declined the offers of the British captain to accompany his

force overland on the return march as Tarzan explained that his country lay to the west, as did Otobu's, and

"No," replied the apeman. "My home is upon the west coast. I will continue my journey in that direction."

She cast appealing eyes toward him. "You will go back into that terrible jungle?" she asked. "We shall never

He looked at her a moment in silence. "Never," he said, and without another word turned and walked away.

In the morning Colonel Capell came from the base camp in one of the planes that was to carry

SmithOldwick and the girl to the east. Tarzan was standing some distance away as the ship landed and the

officer descended to the ground. He saw the colonel greet his junior in command of the advance de

tachment, and then he saw him turn toward Bertha Kircher who was standing a few paces behind the captain.

Tarzan won dered how the German spy felt in this situation, especially when she must know that there was

one there who knew her real status. He saw Colonel Capell walk toward her with out stretched hands and

smiling face and, although he could not hear the words of his greeting, he saw that it was friendly and cordial

Tarzan turned away scowling, and if any had been close by they might have heard a low growl rumble from

his chest. He knew that his country was at war with Germany and that not only his duty to the land of his

fathers, but also his personal grievance against the enemy people and his hatred of them, demanded that he

expose the girl's perfidy, and yet he hesi tated, and because he hesitated he growled not at the German

He did not see her again before she entered a plane and was borne away toward the east. He bid farewell to

SmithOldwick and received again the oftrepeated thanks of the young Eng lishman. And then he saw him

too borne aloft in the high circling plane and watched until the ship became a speck far above the eastern

The Tommies, their packs and accouterments slung, were waiting the summons to continue their return

march. Colonel Capell had, through a desire to personally observe the stretch of country between the camp of

the advance detachment and the base, decided to march back his troops. Now that all was in readiness for

departure he turned to Tarzan. "I wish you would come back with us, Greystoke," he said, "and if my appeal

carries no inducement possibly that of SmithOldwick 'and the young lady who just left us may. They asked

"No;" said Tarzan, "I shall go my own way. Miss Kircher and Lieutenant SmithOldwick were only

"Miss Kircher?" exclaimed Capell and then he laughed, "You know her then as Bertha Kircher, the German

Tarzan looked at the other a moment in silence. It was beyond him to conceive that a British officer should

thus laco nically speak of an enemy spy whom he had had within his power and permitted to escape. "Yes,"

"She is the Honorable Patricia Canby," said Capell, "one of the most valuable members of the British

Intelligence Serv ice attached to the East African forces. Her father and I served in India together and I have

"Why, here's a packet of papers she took from a German officer and has been carrying it through all her

vicissitudes singleminded in the performance of her duty. Look! I haven't yet had time to examine them

but as you see here is a military sketch map, a bundle of reports, and the diary of one Hauptmann Fritz

"The diary of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider!" repeated Tar zan in a constrained voice. "May I see it, Capell?

The Englishman handed the little volume over to the other without a word. Tarzan ran through the pages

quickly look ing for a certain date the date that the horror had been com mitted and when he found

it he read rapidly. Suddenly a gasp of incredulity burst from his lips. Capell looked at him questioningly.

"God!" exclaimed the apeman. "Can this be true? Listen!" and he read an excerpt from the closely written

"'Played a little joke on the English pig. When he comes home he will find the burned body of his wife in her

boudoir but he will only think it is his wife. Had von Goss substitute the body of a dead Negress and char

it after putting Lady Greystoke's rings on it Lady G will be of more value to the High Command alive

"I will return with you, of course. How terribly I have wronged Miss Canby, but how could I know? I even

"Don't worry about that," said Capell, "she must have con vinced him that she is no enemy spy, for just