Tarzan of the Apes and The Return of Tarzan

— A Pulp-Lit Annotated Edition —

By EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS Edited and annotated by FINN J.D. JOHN

Pulp-Lit PRODUCTIONS Corvallis, Oregon This edition copyright ©2015 by Finn J.D. John.

All rights reserved, with the exception of those portions of this book written by Edgar Rice Burroughs or published in his original works, on which copyright protections have expired.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Pulp-Lit Productions, Post Office Box 77, Corvallis, OR 97339; or e-mail [email protected].

Second edition Interactive PDF

ISBN: 978-1-63591-238-8 This edition, like the original, is dedicated to Emma Hurlbert Burroughs, in gratitude.

Cover design by Fiona Mac Daibheid based on original All-Story Magazine cover art by Clinton Pettee

Pulp-Lit Productions Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.

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This book is available CONTENTS in other formats: Audiobook, e-book, paperback, hardcover. Foreword (Audiobook Chapter 2) ...... 1

Book One: . Tarzan of the Apes...... 9

I. . . . Out to Sea (Audiobook Chapter 3)...... 11 You are reading the complimentary electronic copy of The Tarzan Duology of II. . . .The Savage Home (Audiobook Chapter 4) . . . . 23 Edgar Rice Burroughs in the Adobe PDF format — Pulp-Lit Productions’ version III. . . Life and Death (Audiobook Chapter 5)...... 33 of Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature, only including the entire book. IV. . . The Apes (Audiobook Chapter 6) ...... 41 Whether you’re here checking it out to see if you might want to own a copy, or doing a quick search, or even retrieving a clean digital copy of one of the stories for V. . . .The White Ape (Audiobook Chapter 7) . . . . . 49 a project of your own — welcome! VI. . . Jungle Battles (Audiobook Chapter 8)...... 57 But, of course, PDF is hardly the most convenient format in which to read a book. VII . . .The Light of Knowledge (Audiobook Chapter 9) . .65 Here are a few other options, followed by a link to follow for more information: VIII. . .The Tree-top Hunter (Audiobook Chapter 10) . . .77 • Deluxe 6x9 softcover; IX. . . Man and Man (Audiobook Chapter 11) . . . . . 83 • E-book in EPUB and Kindle formats; (Audiobook Chapter 12) • Audiobook (16 hours, 20 minutes). X. . . .The Fear-Phantom . . . .95 XI. . . “King of the Apes” (Audiobook Chapter 13). . . 101 To learn more about these other formats, please click here to go to the Tarzan Book Support Page at http://pulp-lit.com/230.html. XII . . .Man’s Reason (Audiobook Chapter 14). . . . . 113 XIII. . .His Own Kind (Audiobook Chapter 15). . . . .123 XIV. . .At the Mercy of the Jungle (Audiobook Chapter 16).137 Thank you for reading our books! XV. . . The Forest God (Audiobook Chapter 17) . . . . 147 XVI. . .“Most Remarkable” (Audiobook Chapter 18) . . .153 XVII. . Burials (Audiobook Chapter 19) ...... 163 XVIII . .The Jungle Toll (Audiobook Chapter 20). . . . .175 XIX. . .The Call of the Primitive (Audiobook Chapter 21). 187 XX. . . Heredity (Audiobook Chapter 22)...... 199 XXI. . .The Village of Torture (Audiobook Chapter 23) . .211

ix THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

XXII. . The Search Party (Audiobook Chapter 24) . . . .219 XIX. . .The City of Gold (Audiobook Chapter 49) . . . .489 XXIII . .Brother Men (Audiobook Chapter 25)...... 229 XX. . . La (Audiobook Chapter 50)...... 499 XXIV . .Lost Treasure (Audiobook Chapter 26). . . . . 239 XXI. . .The Castaways (Audiobook Chapter 51) . . . . .509 XXV. . The Outpost of the World (Audiobook Chapter 27).247 XXII. . The Treasure Vaults of Opar(Audiobook Ch. 52). 519 XXVI . .The Height of Civilization (Audiobook Chapter 28).259 XXIII . .The Fifty Frightful Men (Audiobook Chapter 53). 529 XXVII. .The Giant Again (Audiobook Chapter 29)...... 271 XXIV . .How Tarzan Came Again to Opar (Chapter 54). 539 XXVIII. Conclusion (Audiobook Chapter 30)...... 285 XXV. . Through the Forest Primeval(Audiobook Ch. 55). 549 XXVI . .The Passing of the Ape-Man(Audiobook Ch. 56). 561 Book Two: . The Return of Tarzan...... 297

I. . . . The Affair on the Liner (Audiobook Chapter 31) . 299 Afterword: Commentary and Annotations (Audiobook Ch. 57).569 II. . . .Forging bonds of hate and —?(Audiobook Ch. 32).309 III. . . What Happened in the Rue Maule (Chapter 33).319 IV. . . The Countess Explains (Audiobook Chapter 34). .329 V. . . .The Plot that Failed (Audiobook Chapter 35). . .341 VI. . . A Duel (Audiobook Chapter 36)...... 351 VII . . .The Dancing Girl of Sidi Aissa(Chapter 37). . 361 VIII. . .The Fight in the Desert (Audiobook Chapter 38). 371 IX. . . Numa “El Adrea” (Audiobook Chapter 39). . . .381 X. . . .Through the Valley of the Shadow (Chapter 40). 393 XI. . . John Caldwell, London (Audiobook Chapter 41) . 403 XII . . .Ships that Pass (Audiobook Chapter 42). . . . .413 XIII. . .The Wreck of the “Lady Alice” (Chapter 43) . . 423 XIV. . .Back to the Primitive (Audiobook Chapter 44). . 437 XV. . . From Ape to Savage (Audiobook Chapter 45). . .447 XVI. . .The Ivory Raiders (Audiobook Chapter 46). . . .457 XVII. . The White Chief of the Waziri(Chapter 47). . 467 XVIII . .The Lottery of Death (Audiobook Chapter 48). . 477

x xi

FOREWORD

his book comprises the first two of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original Tarzan books, which combine to tell the complete story of Tarzan’s rise from his jungle origins to take his place as John Clayton, Lord Greystoke. It is, essentially, a duology. TIt’s a duology that changed the face of popular literature almost as much as it changed the life of its author. For most of the second half of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ life, Tarzan of the Apes — meaning the character, not the book — was his meal ticket. After the first two books, Burroughs was able to come back to Tarzan again and again: The Beasts of Tarzan (1914), The Son of Tarzan (also 1914), Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916), Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919), Tarzan the Untamed (1920), Tarzan the Terrible (1921) … in all, a total of 24 Tarzan books poured forth from Burroughs’ prolific pen between 1912 and roughly 1945. Tarzan made Burroughs wealthy and famous; it made him beloved of the many and reviled by a few; and it gave him, eventually, the opportunity to transcend the stingy pulp magazines in which he had gotten his literary start. The first novel in the series, Tarzan of the Apes, was Burroughs’ third novel, and it’s one of his very best. But more than that, it’s unquestionably THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS his most misunderstood. The Tarzan to whom Burroughs therein he later wrote, according to Burroughs biographer Irwin Porges introduces us is a tri-lingual gentleman with a very unusual set of skills, (recounted in his beefy, thorough 1975 biography, The Man who Created a complex and admirable ethical code, and an odd relationship with Tarzan). “Yet I was supposed to solve all the problems of our subscribers, civilization that mirrors to a startling degree the relationship of the New among which were some very big concerns.” World with the Old. Tarzan of the Apes is emphatically not the clunky, For a man with a conscience, it was a morally unpleasant position, unsubtle, “me Tarzan you Jane” grunt-fiction that popular opinion, under and Burroughs quite clearly felt that discomfort and resented being the influence of so many Tarzan movies and comics and other derivative forced to assume it. “Ethically, it was about two steps below the patent- works, usually assumes it to be. medicine business,” he wrote. And, “I never so thoroughly disliked any employer.” dgar Rice Burroughs started writing Tarzan of the Apes in late But in 1912, a family man with a wife and two small children didn’t 1911 — the same year that had seen his literary debut with the have the luxury of turning up his nose at his job unless another one was widely praised and still-much-loved A Princess of Mars. It very close at hand. The success of A Princess of Mars had given Burroughs followed directly upon the heels of Burroughs’ then-unsold second hope that his family’s bills might be paid in a more congenial way; but Enovel, The Outlaw of Torn — a historical-fiction work set in medieval the reception of The Outlaw of Torn had dashed those hopes cruelly and Europe, which Burroughs had dashed out in less than a month in a rush left Burroughs prey to those peculiar doubts to which creative minds of energy following the smashing success of A Princess of Mars earlier seem especially prone: Was Princess a mere fluke? Would he never again that year. be able to replicate that success? Burroughs packaged and submitted The Outlaw of Torn to his Of course, we know he would. But when he sat down to work on publisher with great excitement. But when it arrived, it landed with a Tarzan, his own confidence was not high. dull thud. No one expressed any interest. What feedback he was able to Probably it should have been, though. Almost from the start, it was get was clearly motivated by sympathy for Burroughs rather than interest clear that something about the Tarzan project was different from the in his story. After the excitement of his first taste of literary stardom, this other stories Burroughs had tucked into. flat, discouraging response was like a dash of cold water to the face. “Ed’s problems with The Outlaw of Torn during 1912 turned out to Burroughs had tasted literary success. A new lifestyle with a new be of minor importance,” Porges writes, “for late in 1911 he had become career seemed within reach. But Burroughs was still shackled to his daily engrossed in an astonishing plot, the wildest that his imagination had so job as “Service Bureau Manager” for System, a businessmen’s magazine. far projected. As he wrote, the story, fully shaped in his mind, flowed That grandiloquent title simply meant that he was tasked with replying across the pages with ease and certainty.” to requests for business advice; the magazine offered, for $50 a year, a That plot would, of course, be Tarzan of the Apes, the central kernel sort of on-call business consulting service, and when a businessman took of the story franchise that would make Burroughs’ fortune and enable advantage of that deal to request advice, it was Burroughs’ job to furnish him to expand beyond the limited and stingy pulp-magazine markets. some. Tarzan of the Apes was first published, to near-universal acclaim, in The irony of this position was not lost on Burroughs. “I knew little the October 1912 edition of The All-Story Magazine. It was published as or nothing about business, had failed in every enterprise I had ever a novel two years later, and dozens of reprintings followed; millions of attempted and could not have given valuable advice to a peanut vendor,” copies of Tarzan of the Apes have been released into the world since.

2 3 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

As such success stories are wont to do, though, it would also typecast Magazine) which caused him considerable personal embarrassment. In Burroughs as The Tarzan Guy. From his pen would pour forth a torrent the original 1912 manuscript, Sabor was the jungle name for the tiger. of stories over the following several dozen years — about Tarzan as well Unfortunately, though, tigers don’t live in Africa; they’re strictly Asian as John Carter of Mars, David Innes (from At The Earth’s Core), Carson beasts. When this was called to Burroughs’ attention, he red-facedly Napier (from The Pirates of Venus) and many more — and the vast made Sabor the lioness instead, and so she has been in every subsequent majority of them would have words to the effect of “By the author of edition; it would be rather silly to do otherwise here. Tarzan of the Apes” printed on their covers. But some other changes have been made as well, and these present Moreover, the critics would never really take any of them seriously, more of a dilemma. because they thought of Burroughs as a lightweight writer of vapid First, the original edition used “ethnic” spelling for the speech of potboilers, innocent of any literary significance or positive cultural value. Esmerelda, and exploited her character’s clownishness much more than That reputation — a clearly unfair one — owed itself to several later versions did. Later versions did retain some of this (with references factors. Probably the biggest of them was Hollywood. Burroughs was a like “carnivable animals” and “nervous prosecution”), but the first editions newcomer to the world of film rights management when he was laid it on so thick that it was sometimes difficult to puzzle out what approached for movie rights to Tarzan, and when he sold them he made Esmerelda was saying. For instance, the original text contains this bit of the mistake of not retaining any control of how the character was dialogue: presented on the silver screen. He soon understood his mistake, but it was too late, and thousands — perhaps millions — who might otherwise “O Gaberelle, Ah wants to die,” cried the poor woman, but with eyes fast closed. “Lemme die, deah Lawd, but doan lemme see dat have read Tarzan of the Apes for themselves instead dismissed it as awrful face again. Whafer yo’ sen de devil ‘roun’ after po ole macho “grunt fiction” based on what they saw at the movies. Esmeralda? She ain’t done nuffin’ to nobody, Lawd; hones’ she But another factor that kept Burroughs from being taken as seriously ain’t. She’s puffickly indecent, Lawd; yas’m deed she is.” as an author as he ought to have been goes back to Burroughs himself, In later editions, this passage is rendered thus: and to a decision he apparently made when he was mapping out where he would go with the sequel to Tarzan. We’ll discuss that decision in the “O Gaberelle, I want to die!” cried the poor woman, but with eyes Afterword to this edition. fast closed. “Let me die, dear Lord, don’t let me see that awful face again.”

These changes were clearly made to reduce the offensiveness of the Different versions and treatment of race “Mammy” stereotype on which the character of Esmerelda plays, as well ot all official printings of Tarzan of the Apes released over as to increase the clarity of the text. It’s hard to disapprove of that the years have been alike. Along the way, Burroughs and his decision. And although the original version of any cultural work is publishers and editors have made certain modifications. So usually preferable — as any serious Star Wars fan will attest — in the when releasing a printing of Tarzan of the Apes, it is necessary to make present case we’ve opted to use the more recent version. someN choices. Even with the Mammy-speak removed, the depictions of race in Some of those choices are pretty easy. For instance, Burroughs made these early Tarzan books will create some awkwardness for the modern a zoological error in his first version (the one published in All-Story reader. By the standards of 1912 African adventure books, Tarzan of the

4 5 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Apes is relatively progressive; but those standards are, by modern lights, primarily Britain) with its culture and its science and its technology, was remarkably low. Casual racism, offensive ethnic generalizations and bringing a sort of benign Pax Romana to the natives of Africa, or to reflexive acceptance of toxic eugenic notions such as “miscegenation” — India, or to that vast aggregate of diverse peoples then referred to simply all were very common in the literature and culture of 100 years ago, and as “the Orient” — and that the wise and cultured elites of Europe, secure yes, you will find examples of them in the early Tarzan books. It’s in the knowledge of their physical, moral, and cultural superiority, had probably best to think of them as reminders of how much society has the right, the obligation, the duty to subjugate and “civilize” the “little progressed since 1912. brown brothers.” The other major change made in later editions of the book has to do But with the outbreak of the First World War, that would all be with the character of Jane Porter, and cannot be discussed without swept away in a four-year torrent of blood and suffering that would rob dispensing spoilers. We’ll discuss it in the Afterword at the end of this Western civilization of all its delusions of moral supremacy and drain edition. away the wealth, splendor, and confidence of every European nation. The Great War marked Europe’s transition from a culture whose The swan song of a doomed empire people thought of themselves a bit like ivory-skinned demigods There is another thing that a modern reader should bear in mind ministering to the “lesser races,” into a cluster of frightened, clannish when reading these particular Tarzan books: Tarzan, and the storyworld little countries that were all too aware that their feet were made of clay, in which he stars, is one of the very last great literary creations born in and of the fact that they had lost the confidence and certainty of their the golden age of European colonial empire. right to moral leadership. There was left to them only the power sheer Two years after this story was first published, the Great War was to force provides; but whereas before the war that force was seen, on both shatter forever the illusion of moral superiority with which European sides, as a demonstration of their moral righteousness, now that moral civilization had mantled itself — that sense that the colonizing nations authority had been stripped away, leaving only raw force — force of the were doing God’s work in offering to a world of benighted savages the kind pirates use, force of the kind the Nazis would later glory in — force fruits and benefits of a civilization that was the highest and best that no longer looks outside itself for guidance or even for justification. development of humanity, and for which they ought to be grateful and A novel like “Tarzan of the Apes” could never have been written the worshipful. This was a view exemplified nicely by Rudyard Kipling’s way it was after the First World War broke out. In its sunny, innocent 1899 poem “White Man’s Burden” — which Burroughs had quite assumptions of European moral ascendency and worshipful regard for caustically satirized in his local newspaper, the Pocatello (Idaho) Tribune, the British aristocracy, it delivers a sort of concentrated essence of that a month or two after its release. He, like many Americans, was very innocent era — an era tinged with the golden light of nostalgia in the skeptical of colonial imperialism; at the same time, though, the pomp minds of most Europeans, who would come to remember it like a and pageantry of the Old World, and the adventure promised by a wild childhood, a time of innocence when the world had seemed, for a golden world laid open to the European explorer, had an undeniable appeal for moment of glorious self-delusion, to make sense. him. — Finn J.D. John It was a time best captured by the term the French used for it: La August 2015 Belle Epoque (“The Beautiful Era”). The prevailing belief, in those days, was that Britain (or France or Germany or the United States, but

6 7 TARZAN of the APES

1912 [ return to table of contents ]

I

OUT to SEA

had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive influence of an old vintage upon the narrator for the beginning of it, and my own skeptical Iincredulity during the days that followed for the balance of the strange tale. When my convivial host discovered that he had told me so much, and that I was prone to doubtfulness, his foolish pride assumed the task the old vintage had commenced, and so he unearthed written evidence in the form of musty manuscript, and dry official records of the British Colonial Office to support many of the salient features of his remarkable narrative. I do not say the story is true, for I did not witness the happenings which it portrays, but the fact that in the telling of it to you I have taken fictitious names for the principal characters quite sufficiently evidences the sincerity of my own belief that it may be true. The yellow, mildewed pages of the diary of a man long dead, and the records of the Colonial Office dovetail perfectly with the narrative of my convivial host, and so I give you the story as I painstakingly pieced it out THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES from these several various agencies. with a delicate and important commission in the service of the Queen. If you do not find it credible you will at least be as one with me in When he received this appointment he was both elated and appalled. acknowledging that it is unique, remarkable, and interesting. The preferment seemed to him in the nature of a well-merited reward From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead man’s for painstaking and intelligent service, and as a stepping stone to posts diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman, whom we shall of greater importance and responsibility; but, on the other hand, he had call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commissioned to make a been married to the Hon. Alice Rutherford for scarce a three months, peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British West Coast and it was the thought of taking this fair young girl into the dangers and African Colony from whose simple native inhabitants another European isolation of tropical Africa that appalled him. power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it For her sake he would have refused the appointment, but she would used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage not have it so. Instead she insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi. The natives of the British with him. Colony complained that many of their young men were enticed away There were mothers and brothers and sisters, and aunts and cousins through the medium of fair and glowing promises, but that few if any to express various opinions on the subject, but as to what they severally ever returned to their families. advised history is silent. The Englishmen in Africa went even further, saying that these poor We know only that on a bright May morning in 1888, John, Lord blacks were held in virtual slavery, since after their terms of enlistment Greystoke, and Lady Alice sailed from Dover on their way to Africa. expired their ignorance was imposed upon by their white officers, and A month later they arrived at Freetown where they chartered a small they were told that they had yet several years to serve. sailing vessel, the Fuwalda, which was to bear them to their final destination. nd so the Colonial Office appointed John Clayton to a new And here John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice, his wife, vanished post in British West Africa, but his confidential instructions from the eyes and from the knowledge of men. centered on a thorough investigation of the unfair treatment Two months after they weighed anchor and cleared from the port of ofA black British subjects by the officers of a friendly European power. Freetown a half dozen British war vessels were scouring the south Why he was sent, is, however, of little moment to this story, for he never Atlantic for trace of them or their little vessel, and it was almost made an investigation, nor, in fact, did he ever reach his destination. immediately that the wreckage was found upon the shores of St. Helena Clayton was the type of Englishman that one likes best to associate which convinced the world that the Fuwalda had gone down with all on with the noblest monuments of historic achievement upon a thousand board, and hence the search was stopped ere it had scarce begun; though victorious battlefields — a strong, virile man — mentally, morally, and hope lingered in longing hearts for many years. physically. In stature he was above the average height; his eyes were gray, his he Fuwalda, a barkentine of about one hundred tons, was a features regular and strong; his carriage that of perfect, robust health vessel of the type often seen in coastwise trade in the far influenced by his years of army training. southern Atlantic, their crews composed of the offscourings of Political ambition had caused him to seek transference from the Tthe sea — unhanged murderers and cutthroats of every race and every army to the Colonial Office and so we find him, still young, entrusted nation.

12 13 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

The Fuwalda was no exception to the rule. Her officers were swarthy sprang upon the captain crushing him to his knees with a single mighty bullies, hating and hated by their crew. The captain, while a competent blow. seaman, was a brute in his treatment of his men. He knew, or at least he From scarlet the officer’s face went white, for this was mutiny; and used, but two arguments in his dealings with them — a belaying pin and mutiny he had met and subdued before in his brutal career. Without a revolver — nor is it likely that the motley aggregation he signed would waiting to rise he whipped a revolver from his pocket, firing point blank have understood aught else. at the great mountain of muscle towering before him; but, quick as he So it was that from the second day out from Freetown John Clayton was, John Clayton was almost as quick, so that the bullet which was and his young wife witnessed scenes upon the deck of the Fuwalda such intended for the sailor’s heart lodged in the sailor’s leg instead, for Lord as they had believed were never enacted outside the covers of printed Greystoke had struck down the captain’s arm as he had seen the weapon stories of the sea. flash in the sun. It was on the morning of the second day that the first link was Words passed between Clayton and the captain, the former making forged in what was destined to form a chain of circumstances ending in it plain that he was disgusted with the brutality displayed toward the a life for one then unborn such as has never been paralleled in the history crew, nor would he countenance anything further of the kind while he of man. and Lady Greystoke remained passengers. Two sailors were washing down the decks of the Fuwalda, the first The captain was on the point of making an angry reply, but, thinking mate was on duty, and the captain had stopped to speak with John better of it, turned on his heel and black and scowling, strode aft. Clayton and Lady Alice. He did not care to antagonize an English official, for the Queen’s The men were working backwards toward the little party who were mighty arm wielded a punitive instrument which he could appreciate, facing away from the sailors. Closer and closer they came, until one of and which he feared — England’s far-reaching navy. them was directly behind the captain. In another moment he would The two sailors picked themselves up, the older man assisting his have passed by and this strange narrative would never have been recorded. wounded comrade to rise. The big fellow, who was known among his But just that instant the officer turned to leave Lord and Lady mates as Black Michael, tried his leg gingerly, and, finding that it bore Greystoke, and, as he did so, tripped against the sailor and sprawled his weight, turned to Clayton with a word of gruff thanks. headlong upon the deck, overturning the water-pail so that he was Though the fellow’s tone was surly, his words were evidently well drenched in its dirty contents. meant. Ere he had scarce finished his little speech he had turned and For an instant the scene was ludicrous; but only for an instant. With was limping off toward the forecastle with the very apparent intention a volley of awful oaths, his face suffused with the scarlet of mortification of forestalling any further conversation. and rage, the captain regained his feet, and with a terrific blow felled the They did not see him again for several days, nor did the captain sailor to the deck. accord them more than the surliest of grunts when he was forced to The man was small and rather old, so that the brutality of the act speak to them. was thus accentuated. The other seaman, however, was neither old nor They took their meals in his cabin, as they had before the unfortunate small — a huge bear of a man, with fierce black mustachios, and a great occurrence; but the captain was careful to see that his duties never bull neck set between massive shoulders. permitted him to eat at the same time. As he saw his mate go down he crouched, and, with a low snarl, The other officers were coarse, illiterate fellows, but little above the

14 15 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES villainous crew they bullied, and were only too glad to avoid social his greatest fears, and caused him to curse the false pride which had intercourse with the polished English noble and his lady, so that the restrained him from seeking safety for his young wife a few short hours Claytons were left very much to themselves. before, when safety was within reach — a safety which was now gone This in itself accorded perfectly with their desires, but it also rather forever. isolated them from the life of the little ship so that they were unable to keep in touch with the daily happenings which were to culminate so t was mid-afternoon that brought the little old sailor, who had been soon in bloody tragedy. felled by the captain a few days before, to where Clayton and his There was in the whole atmosphere of the craft that undefinable wife stood by the ship’s side watching the ever diminishing outlines something which presages disaster. Outwardly, to the knowledge of the Iof the great battleship. The old fellow was polishing brasses, and as he Claytons, all went on as before upon the little vessel; but that there was came edging along until close to Clayton he said, in an undertone: an undertow leading them toward some unknown danger both felt, “’Ell’s to pay, sir, on this ‘ere craft, an’ mark my word for it, sir. ‘Ell’s though they did not speak of it to each other. to pay.” On the second day after the wounding of Black Michael, Clayton “What do you mean, my good fellow?” asked Clayton. came on deck just in time to see the limp body of one of the crew being “Why, ’asn’t ye seen wats goin’ on? Hasn’t ye ‘eard that devil’s spawn carried below by four of his fellows while the first mate, a heavy belaying of a capting an’ is mates knockin’ the bloomin’ lights outen ‘arf the crew? pin in his hand, stood glowering at the little party of sullen sailors. Two busted ‘eads yeste’day, an’ three to-day. Black Michael’s as good as Clayton asked no questions — he did not need to — and the new agin an’ ‘e’s not the bully to stand fer it, not ‘e; an’ mark my word for following day, as the great lines of a British battleship grew out of the it, sir.” distant horizon, he half determined to demand that he and Lady Alice “You mean, my man, that the crew contemplates mutiny?” asked be put aboard her, for his fears were steadily increasing that nothing but Clayton. harm could result from remaining on the lowering, sullen Fuwalda. “Mutiny!” exclaimed the old fellow. “Mutiny! They means murder, Toward noon they were within speaking distance of the British sir, an’ mark my word for it, sir.” vessel, but when Clayton had nearly decided to ask the captain to put “When?” them aboard her, the obvious ridiculousness of such a request became “Hit’s comin’, sir; hit’s comin’ but I’m not a-sayin’ wen, an’ I’ve said suddenly apparent. What reason could he give the officer commanding too damned much now, but ye was a good sort t’other day an’ I thought her majesty’s ship for desiring to go back in the direction from which he it no more’n right to warn ye. But keep a still tongue in yer ‘ead an’ when had just come! ye ‘ear shootin’ git below an’ stay there. That’s all, only keep a still tongue What if he told them that two insubordinate seamen had been in yer ‘ead, or they’ll put a pill between yer ribs, an’ mark my word for it, roughly handled by their officers? They would but laugh in their sleeves sir,” and the old fellow went on with his polishing, which carried him and attribute his reason for wishing to leave the ship to but one thing away from where the Claytons were standing. — cowardice. “Deuced cheerful outlook, Alice,” said Clayton. John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, did not ask to be transferred to the “You should warn the captain at once, John. Possibly the trouble British man-of-war. Late in the afternoon he saw her upper works fade may yet be averted,” she said. below the far horizon, but not before he learned that which confirmed “I suppose I should, but yet from purely selfish motives I am almost

16 17 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES prompted to ‘keep a still tongue in my ‘ead.’ Whatever they do now they “I have come to report the gist of a conversation I heard to-day, will spare us in recognition of my stand for this fellow Black Michael, because I feel that, while there may be nothing to it, it is as well that you but should they find that I had betrayed them there would be no mercy be forearmed. In short, the men contemplate mutiny and murder.” shown us, Alice.” “It’s a lie!” roared the captain. “And if you have been interfering “You have but one duty, John, and that lies in the interest of vested again with the discipline of this ship, or meddling in affairs that don’t authority. If you do not warn the captain you are as much a party to concern you you can take the consequences, and be damned. I don’t care whatever follows as though you had helped to plot and carry it out with whether you are an English lord or not. I’m captain of this here ship, and your own head and hands.” from now on you keep your meddling nose out of my business.” “You do not understand, dear,” replied Clayton. “It is of you I am The captain had worked himself up to such a frenzy of rage that he thinking — there lies my first duty. The captain has brought this was fairly purple of face, and he shrieked the last words at the top of his condition upon himself, so why then should I risk subjecting my wife to voice, emphasizing his remarks by a loud thumping of the table with one unthinkable horrors in a probably futile attempt to save him from his huge fist, and shaking the other in Clayton’s face. own brutal folly? You have no conception, dear, of what would follow Greystoke never turned a hair, but stood eying the excited man with were this pack of cutthroats to gain control of the Fuwalda.” level gaze. “Duty is duty, John, and no amount of sophistries may change it. I “Captain Billings,” he drawled finally, “if you will pardon my candor, would be a poor wife for an English lord were I to be responsible for his I might remark that you are something of an ass.” shirking a plain duty. I realize the danger which must follow, but I can Whereupon he turned and left the captain with the same indifferent face it with you.” ease that was habitual with him, and which was more surely calculated “Have it as you will then, Alice,” he answered, smiling. “Maybe we to raise the ire of a man of Billings’ class than a torrent of invective. are borrowing trouble. While I do not like the looks of things on board So, whereas the captain might easily have been brought to regret his this ship, they may not be so bad after all, for it is possible that the hasty speech had Clayton attempted to conciliate him, his temper was ‘Ancient Mariner’ was but voicing the desires of his wicked old heart now irrevocably set in the mold in which Clayton had left it, and the last rather than speaking of real facts. chance of their working together for their common good was gone. “Mutiny on the high sea may have been common a hundred years “Well, Alice,” said Clayton, as he rejoined his wife, “I might have ago, but in this good year 1888 it is the least likely of happenings. saved my breath. The fellow proved most ungrateful. Fairly jumped at “But there goes the captain to his cabin now. If I am going to warn me like a mad dog. him I might as well get the beastly job over for I have little stomach to “He and his blasted old ship may hang, for aught I care; and until we talk with the brute at all.” are safely off the thing I shall spend my energies in looking after our So saying he strolled carelessly in the direction of the companionway own welfare. And I rather fancy the first step to that end should be to go through which the captain had passed, and a moment later was knocking to our cabin and look over my revolvers. I am sorry now that we packed at his door. the larger guns and the ammunition with the stuff below.” “Come in,” growled the deep tones of that surly officer. They found their quarters in a bad state of disorder. Clothing from And when Clayton had entered, and closed the door behind him: their open boxes and bags strewed the little apartment, and even their “Well?” beds had been torn to pieces.

18 19 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

“Evidently someone was more anxious about our belongings than them — to refrain on pain of death. we,” said Clayton. “Let’s have a look around, Alice, and see what’s “I rather imagine we’ll be good,” said Clayton with a rueful smile. missing.” “About all we can do is to sit tight and wait for whatever may come.” A thorough search revealed the fact that nothing had been taken but Clayton’s two revolvers and the small supply of ammunition he had saved out for them. “Those are the very things I most wish they had left us,” said Clayton, “and the fact that they wished for them and them alone is most sinister.” “What are we to do, John?” asked his wife. “Perhaps you were right in that our best chance lies in maintaining a neutral position. “If the officers are able to prevent a mutiny, we have nothing to fear, while if the mutineers are victorious our one slim hope lies in not having attempted to thwart or antagonize them.” “Right you are, Alice. We’ll keep in the middle of the road.” As they started to straighten up their cabin, Clayton and his wife simultaneously noticed the corner of a piece of paper protruding from beneath the door of their quarters. As Clayton stooped to reach for it he was amazed to see it move further into the room, and then he realized that it was being pushed inward by someone from without. Quickly and silently he stepped toward the door, but, as he reached for the knob to throw it open, his wife’s hand fell upon his wrist. “No, John,” she whispered. “They do not wish to be seen, and so we cannot afford to see them. Do not forget that we are keeping to the middle of the road.” Clayton smiled and dropped his hand to his side. Thus they stood watching the little bit of white paper until it finally remained at rest upon the floor just inside the door. Then Clayton stooped and picked it up. It was a bit of grimy, white paper roughly folded into a ragged square. Opening it they found a crude message printed almost illegibly, and with many evidences of an unaccustomed task. Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers, or from repeating what the old sailor had told

20 21 [ return to table of contents ]

II

THE SAVAGE HOME

or did they have long to wait, for the next morning as Clayton was emerging on deck for his accustomed walk before breakfast, a shot rang out, and then another, and another. NThe sight which met his eyes confirmed his worst fears. Facing the little knot of officers was the entire motley crew of the Fuwalda, and at their head stood Black Michael. At the first volley from the officers the men ran for shelter, and from points of vantage behind masts, wheel-house and cabin they returned the fire of the five men who represented the hated authority of the ship. Two of their number had gone down before the captain’s revolver. They lay where they had fallen between the combatants. But then the first mate lunged forward upon his face, and at a cry of command from Black Michael the mutineers charged the remaining four. The crew had been able to muster but six firearms, so most of them were armed with boat hooks, axes, hatchets and crowbars. The captain had emptied his revolver and was reloading as the charge was made. The second mate’s gun had jammed, and so there were but two weapons opposed to the mutineers as they bore down upon the THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES officers, who now started to give back before the infuriated rush of their a cry of: “Here’s two more for the fishes,” rushed toward them with men. uplifted ax. Both sides were cursing and swearing in a frightful manner, which, But Black Michael was even quicker, so that the fellow went down together with the reports of the firearms and the screams and groans of with a bullet in his back before he had taken a half dozen steps. the wounded, turned the deck of the Fuwalda to the likeness of a With a loud roar, Black Michael attracted the attention of the madhouse. others, and, pointing to Lord and Lady Greystoke, cried: Before the officers had taken a dozen backward steps the men were “These here are my friends, and they are to be left alone. D’ye upon them. An ax in the hands of a burly Negro cleft the captain from understand? forehead to chin, and an instant later the others were down: dead or “I’m captain of this ship now, an’ what I says goes,” he added, turning wounded from dozens of blows and bullet wounds. to Clayton. “Just keep to yourselves, and nobody’ll harm ye,” and he Short and grisly had been the work of the mutineers of the Fuwalda, looked threateningly on his fellows. and through it all John Clayton had stood leaning carelessly beside the companionway puffing meditatively upon his pipe as though he had he Claytons heeded Black Michael’s instructions so well that been but watching an indifferent cricket match. they saw but little of the crew and knew nothing of the plans As the last officer went down he thought it was time that he returned the men were making. to his wife lest some members of the crew find her alone below. TOccasionally they heard faint echoes of brawls and quarreling Though outwardly calm and indifferent, Clayton was inwardly among the mutineers, and on two occasions the vicious bark of firearms apprehensive and wrought up, for he feared for his wife’s safety at the rang out on the still air. But Black Michael was a fit leader for this band hands of these ignorant, half-brutes into whose hands fate had so of cutthroats, and, withal held them in fair subjection to his rule. remorselessly thrown them. On the fifth day following the murder of the ship’s officers, land was As he turned to descend the ladder he was surprised to see his wife sighted by the lookout. Whether island or mainland, Black Michael did standing on the steps almost at his side. not know, but he announced to Clayton that if investigation showed “How long have you been here, Alice?” that the place was habitable he and Lady Greystoke were to be put “Since the beginning,” she replied. “How awful, John. Oh, how ashore with their belongings. awful! What can we hope for at the hands of such as those?” “You’ll be all right there for a few months,” he explained, “and by “Breakfast, I hope,” he answered, smiling bravely in an attempt to that time we’ll have been able to make an inhabited coast somewhere allay her fears. and scatter a bit. Then I’ll see that yer gover’ment’s notified where you “At least,” he added, “I’m going to ask them. Come with me, Alice. be an’ they’ll soon send a man-o’war to fetch ye off. We must not let them think we expect any but courteous treatment.” “It would be a hard matter to land you in civilization without a lot o’ The men had by this time surrounded the dead and wounded questions being asked, an’ none o’ us here has any very convincin’ answers officers, and without either partiality or compassion proceeded to throw up our sleeves.” both living and dead over the sides of the vessel. With equal heartlessness Clayton remonstrated against the inhumanity of landing them upon they disposed of their own dead and dying. an unknown shore to be left to the mercies of savage beasts, and, possibly, Presently one of the crew spied the approaching Claytons, and with still more savage men.

24 25 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

But his words were of no avail, and only tended to anger Black “I am the only man aboard who would not rather see ye both safely Michael, so he was forced to desist and make the best he could of a bad dead, and, while I know that’s the sensible way to make sure of our own situation. necks, yet Black Michael’s not the man to forget a favor. Ye saved my life About three o’clock in the afternoon they came about off a beautiful once, and in return I’m goin’ to spare yours, but that’s all I can do. wooded shore opposite the mouth of what appeared to be a land-locked “The men won’t stand for any more, and if we don’t get ye landed harbor. pretty quick they may even change their minds about giving ye that Black Michael sent a small boat filled with men to sound the much show. I’ll put all yer stuff ashore with ye as well as cookin’ utensils entrance in an effort to determine if the Fuwalda could be safely worked an’ some old sails for tents, an’ enough grub to last ye until ye can find through the entrance. fruit and game. In about an hour they returned and reported deep water through the “With yer guns for protection, ye ought to be able to live here easy passage as well as far into the little basin. enough until help comes. When I get safely hid away I’ll see to it that Before dark the barkentine lay peacefully at anchor upon the bosom the British gover’ment learns about where ye be; for the life of me I of the still, mirror-like surface of the harbor. couldn’t tell ‘em exactly where, for I don’t know myself. But they’ll find The surrounding shores were beautiful with semitropical verdure, ye all right.” while in the distance the country rose from the ocean in hill and After he had left them they went silently below, each wrapped in tableland, almost uniformly clothed by primeval forest. gloomy forebodings. No signs of habitation were visible, but that the land might easily Clayton did not believe that Black Michael had the slightest support human life was evidenced by the abundant bird and animal life intention of notifying the British government of their whereabouts, nor of which the watchers on the Fuwalda’s deck caught occasional glimpses, was he any too sure but that some treachery was contemplated for the as well as by the shimmer of a little river which emptied into the harbor, following day when they should be on shore with the sailors who would insuring fresh water in plenitude. have to accompany them with their belongings. As darkness settled upon the earth, Clayton and Lady Alice still Once out of Black Michael’s sight any of the men might strike them stood by the ship’s rail in silent contemplation of their future abode. down, and still leave Black Michael’s conscience clear. From the dark shadows of the mighty forest came the wild calls of savage And even should they escape that fate was it not but to be faced beasts — the deep roar of the lion, and, occasionally, the shrill scream of with far graver dangers? Alone, he might hope to survive for years; for a panther. he was a strong, athletic man. The woman shrank closer to the man in terror-stricken anticipation But what of Alice, and that other little life so soon to be launched of the horrors lying in wait for them in the awful blackness of the nights amidst the hardships and grave dangers of a primeval world? to come, when they should be alone upon that wild and lonely shore. The man shuddered as he meditated upon the awful gravity, the Later in the evening Black Michael joined them long enough to fearful helplessness, of their situation. But it was a merciful Providence instruct them to make their preparations for landing on the morrow. which prevented him from foreseeing the hideous reality which awaited They tried to persuade him to take them to some more hospitable coast them in the grim depths of that gloomy wood. near enough to civilization so that they might hope to fall into friendly Early next morning their numerous chests and boxes were hoisted hands. But no pleas, or threats, or promises of reward could move him. on deck and lowered to waiting small boats for transportation to shore.

26 27 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

There was a great quantity and variety of stuff, as the Claytons had He did not attempt to check her tears. It were better that nature expected a possible five to eight years’ residence in their new home. have her way in relieving these long-pent emotions, and it was many Thus, in addition to the many necessities they had brought, there were minutes before the girl — little more than a child she was — could again also many luxuries. gain mastery of herself. Black Michael was determined that nothing belonging to the “Oh, John,” she cried at last, “the horror of it. What are we to do? Claytons should be left on board. Whether out of compassion for them, What are we to do?” or in furtherance of his own self-interests, it would be difficult to say. “There is but one thing to do, Alice,” and he spoke as quietly as There was no question but that the presence of property of a missing though they were sitting in their snug living room at home, “and that is British official upon a suspicious vessel would have been a difficult thing work. Work must be our salvation. We must not give ourselves time to to explain in any civilized port in the world. think, for in that direction lies madness. So zealous was he in his efforts to carry out his intentions that he “We must work and wait. I am sure that relief will come, and come insisted upon the return of Clayton’s revolvers to him by the sailors in quickly, when once it is apparent that the Fuwalda has been lost, even whose possession they were. though Black Michael does not keep his word to us.” Into the small boats were also loaded salt meats and biscuit, with a “But John, if it were only you and I,” she sobbed, “we could endure small supply of potatoes and beans, matches, and cooking vessels, a chest it I know; but — ” of tools, and the old sails which Black Michael had promised them. “Yes, dear,” he answered, gently, “I have been thinking of that, also; As though himself fearing the very thing which Clayton had but we must face it, as we must face whatever comes, bravely and with suspected, Black Michael accompanied them to shore, and was the last the utmost confidence in our ability to cope with circumstances whatever to leave them when the small boats, having filled the ship’s casks with they may be. fresh water, were pushed out toward the waiting Fuwalda. “Hundreds of thousands of years ago our ancestors of the dim and As the boats moved slowly over the smooth waters of the bay, distant past faced the same problems which we must face, possibly in Clayton and his wife stood silently watching their departure — in the these same primeval forests. That we are here today evidences their breasts of both a feeling of impending disaster and utter hopelessness. victory. And behind them, over the edge of a low ridge, other eyes watched “What they did may we not do? And even better, for are we not — close set, wicked eyes, gleaming beneath shaggy brows. armed with ages of superior knowledge, and have we not the means of protection, defense, and sustenance which science has given us, but of s the Fuwalda passed through the narrow entrance to the which they were totally ignorant? What they accomplished, Alice, with harbor and out of sight behind a projecting point, Lady Alice instruments and weapons of stone and bone, surely that may we threw her arms about Clayton’s neck and burst into accomplish also.” uncontrolledA sobs. “Ah, John, I wish that I might be a man with a man’s philosophy, but Bravely had she faced the dangers of the mutiny; with heroic I am but a woman, seeing with my heart rather than my head, and all fortitude she had looked into the terrible future; but now that the horror that I can see is too horrible, too unthinkable to put into words. of absolute solitude was upon them, her overwrought nerves gave way, “I only hope you are right, John. I will do my best to be a brave and the reaction came. primeval woman, a fit mate for the primeval man.”

28 29 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

layton’s first thought was to arrange a sleeping shelter for the lookout they saw nothing of larger animals, though on two occasions night; something which might serve to protect them from they had seen their little simian neighbors come screaming and prowling beasts of prey. chattering from the near-by ridge, casting frightened glances back over CHe opened the box containing his rifles and ammunition, that they their little shoulders, and evincing as plainly as though by speech that might both be armed against possible attack while at work, and then they were fleeing some terrible thing which lay concealed there. together they sought a location for their first night’s sleeping place. Just before dusk Clayton finished his ladder, and, filling a great basin A hundred yards from the beach was a little level spot, fairly free of with water from the near-by stream, the two mounted to the comparative trees; here they decided eventually to build a permanent house, but for safety of their aerial chamber. the time being they both thought it best to construct a little platform in As it was quite warm, Clayton had left the side curtains thrown back the trees out of reach of the larger of the savage beasts in whose realm over the roof, and as they sat, like Turks, upon their blankets, Lady Alice, they were. straining her eyes into the darkening shadows of the wood, suddenly To this end Clayton selected four trees which formed a rectangle reached out and grasped Clayton’s arms. about eight feet square, and cutting long branches from other trees he “John,” she whispered, “look! What is it, a man?” constructed a framework around them, about ten feet from the ground, As Clayton turned his eyes in the direction she indicated, he saw fastening the ends of the branches securely to the trees by means of rope, silhouetted dimly against the shadows beyond, a great figure standing a quantity of which Black Michael had furnished him from the hold of upright upon the ridge. the Fuwalda. For a moment it stood as though listening and then turned slowly, Across this framework Clayton placed other smaller branches quite and melted into the shadows of the jungle. close together. This platform he paved with the huge fronds of elephant’s “What is it, John?” ear which grew in profusion about them, and over the fronds he laid a “I do not know, Alice,” he answered gravely, “it is too dark to see so great sail folded into several thicknesses. far, and it may have been but a shadow cast by the rising moon.” Seven feet higher he constructed a similar, though lighter platform “No, John, if it was not a man it was some huge and grotesque to serve as roof, and from the sides of this he suspended the balance of mockery of man. Oh, I am afraid.” his sailcloth for walls. He gathered her in his arms, whispering words of courage and love When completed he had a rather snug little nest, to which he carried into her ears. their blankets and some of the lighter luggage. Soon after, he lowered the curtain walls, tying them securely to the It was now late in the afternoon, and the balance of the daylight trees so that, except for a little opening toward the beach, they were hours were devoted to the building of a rude ladder by means of which entirely enclosed. Lady Alice could mount to her new home. As it was now pitch dark within their tiny aerie they lay down upon All during the day the forest about them had been filled with excited their blankets to try to gain, through sleep, a brief respite of forgetfulness. birds of brilliant plumage, and dancing, chattering monkeys, who Clayton lay facing the opening at the front, a rifle and a brace of watched these new arrivals and their wonderful nest building operations revolvers at his hand. with every mark of keenest interest and fascination. Scarcely had they closed their eyes than the terrifying cry of a Notwithstanding that both Clayton and his wife kept a sharp panther rang out from the jungle behind them. Closer and closer it came

30 31 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS until they could hear the great beast directly beneath them. For an hour or more they heard it sniffing and clawing at the trees which supported [ return to table of contents ] their platform, but at last it roamed away across the beach, where Clayton could see it clearly in the brilliant moonlight — a great, handsome beast, the largest he had ever seen. During the long hours of darkness they caught but fitful snatches of sleep, for the night noises of a great jungle teeming with myriad animal life kept their overwrought nerves on edge, so that a hundred times they were startled to wakefulness by piercing screams, or the stealthy moving of great bodies beneath them. III

LIFE and DEATH

orning found them but little, if at all refreshed, though it was with a feeling of intense relief that they saw the day dawn. MAs soon as they had made their meager breakfast of salt pork, coffee and biscuit, Clayton commenced work upon their house, for he realized that they could hope for no safety and no peace of mind at night until four strong walls effectually barred the jungle life from them. The task was an arduous one and required the better part of a month, though he built but one small room. He constructed his cabin of small logs about six inches in diameter, stopping the chinks with clay which he found at the depth of a few feet beneath the surface soil. At one end he built a fireplace of small stones from the beach. These also he set in clay and when the house had been entirely completed he applied a coating of the clay to the entire outside surface to the thickness of four inches. In the window opening he set small branches about an inch in diameter both vertically and horizontally, and so woven that they formed a substantial grating that could withstand the strength of a powerful

32 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES animal. Thus they obtained air and proper ventilation without fear of the plain, so that within the first month several of the birds had gone lessening the safety of their cabin. so far as even to accept morsels of food from the friendly hands of the The A-shaped roof was thatched with small branches laid close Claytons. together and over these long jungle grass and palm fronds, with a final coating of clay. ne afternoon, while Clayton was working upon an addition to The door he built of pieces of the packing-boxes which had held their cabin, for he contemplated building several more rooms, their belongings, nailing one piece upon another, the grain of contiguous a number of their grotesque little friends came shrieking and layers running transversely, until he had a solid body some three inches Oscolding through the trees from the direction of the ridge. Ever as they thick and of such great strength that they were both moved to laughter fled they cast fearful glances back of them, and finally they stopped near as they gazed upon it. Clayton jabbering excitedly to him as though to warn him of approaching Here the greatest difficulty confronted Clayton, for he had no means danger. whereby to hang his massive door now that he had built it. After two At last he saw it, the thing the little monkeys so feared — the days’ work, however, he succeeded in fashioning two massive hardwood man-brute of which the Claytons had caught occasional fleeting hinges, and with these he hung the door so that it opened and closed glimpses. easily. It was approaching through the jungle in a semi-erect position, now The stuccoing and other final touches were added after they moved and then placing the backs of its closed fists upon the ground — a great into the house, which they had done as soon as the roof was on, piling anthropoid ape, and, as it advanced, it emitted deep guttural growls and their boxes before the door at night and thus having a comparatively safe an occasional low barking sound. and comfortable habitation. Clayton was at some distance from the cabin, having come to fell a The building of a bed, chairs, table, and shelves was a relatively easy particularly perfect tree for his building operations. Grown careless from matter, so that by the end of the second month they were well settled, months of continued safety, during which time he had seen no dangerous and, but for the constant dread of attack by wild beasts and the ever animals during the daylight hours, he had left his rifles and revolvers all growing loneliness, they were not uncomfortable or unhappy. within the little cabin, and now that he saw the great ape crashing At night great beasts snarled and roared about their tiny cabin, but, through the underbrush directly toward him, and from a direction which so accustomed may one become to oft repeated noises, that soon they practically cut him off from escape, he felt a vague little shiver play up paid little attention to them, sleeping soundly the whole night through. and down his spine. Thrice had they caught fleeting glimpses of great man-like figures He knew that, armed only with an ax, his chances with this ferocious like that of the first night, but never at sufficiently close range to know monster were small indeed — and Alice; O God, he thought, what will positively whether the half-seen forms were those of man or brute. become of Alice? The brilliant birds and the little monkeys had become accustomed There was yet a slight chance of reaching the cabin. He turned and to their new acquaintances, and as they had evidently never seen ran toward it, shouting an alarm to his wife to run in and close the great human beings before they presently, after their first fright had worn door in case the ape cut off his retreat. off, approached closer and closer, impelled by that strange curiosity Lady Greystoke had been sitting a little way from the cabin, and which dominates the wild creatures of the forest and the jungle and when she heard his cry she looked up to see the ape springing with

34 35 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES almost incredible swiftness, for so large and awkward an animal, in an Almost simultaneously Clayton regained his feet, and without effort to head off Clayton. thought of the utter hopelessness of it, he rushed forward to drag the With a low cry she sprang toward the cabin, and, as she entered, ape from his wife’s prostrate form. gave a backward glance which filled her soul with terror, for the brute With little or no effort he succeeded, and the great bulk rolled had intercepted her husband, who now stood at bay grasping his ax with inertly upon the turf before him — the ape was dead. The bullet had both hands ready to swing it upon the infuriated animal when he should done its work. make his final charge. A hasty examination of his wife revealed no marks upon her, and “Close and bolt the door, Alice,” cried Clayton. “I can finish this Clayton decided that the huge brute had died the instant he had sprung fellow with my ax.” toward Alice. But he knew he was facing a horrible death, and so did she. Gently he lifted his wife’s still unconscious form, and bore her to The ape was a great bull, weighing probably three hundred pounds. the little cabin, but it was fully two hours before she regained His nasty, close-set eyes gleamed hatred from beneath his shaggy brows, consciousness. while his great canine fangs were bared in a horrid snarl as he paused a Her first words filled Clayton with vague apprehension. For some moment before his prey. time after regaining her senses, Alice gazed wonderingly about the Over the brute’s shoulder Clayton could see the doorway of his cabin, interior of the little cabin, and then, with a satisfied sigh, said: not twenty paces distant, and a great wave of horror and fear swept over “O, John, it is so good to be really home! I have had an awful dream, him as he saw his young wife emerge, armed with one of his rifles. dear. I thought we were no longer in London, but in some horrible place She had always been afraid of firearms, and would never touch them, where great beasts attacked us.” but now she rushed toward the ape with the fearlessness of a lioness “There, there, Alice,” he said, stroking her forehead, “try to sleep protecting its young. again, and do not worry your head about bad dreams.” “Back, Alice,” shouted Clayton, “for God’s sake, go back.” But she would not heed, and just then the ape charged, so that hat night a little son was born in the tiny cabin beside the Clayton could say no more. primeval forest, while a leopard screamed before the door, and The man swung his ax with all his mighty strength, but the powerful the deep notes of a lion’s roar sounded from beyond the ridge. brute seized it in those terrible hands, and tearing it from Clayton’s grasp TLady Greystoke never recovered from the shock of the great ape’s hurled it far to one side. attack, and, though she lived for a year after her baby was born, she was With an ugly snarl he closed upon his defenseless victim, but ere his never again outside the cabin, nor did she ever fully realize that she was fangs had reached the throat they thirsted for, there was a sharp report not in England. and a bullet entered the ape’s back between his shoulders. Sometimes she would question Clayton as to the strange noises of Throwing Clayton to the ground the beast turned upon his new the nights; the absence of servants and friends, and the strange rudeness enemy. There before him stood the terrified girl vainly trying to fire of the furnishings within her room, but, though he made no effort to another bullet into the animal’s body; but she did not understand the deceive her, never could she grasp the meaning of it all. mechanism of the firearm, and the hammer fell futilely upon an empty In other ways she was quite rational, and the joy and happiness she cartridge. took in the possession of her little son and the constant attentions of her

36 37 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES husband made that year a very happy one for her, the happiest of her books he had brought for their new home. Among these were many for young life. little children — picture books, primers, readers — for they had known That it would have been beset by worries and apprehension had she that their little child would be old enough for such before they might been in full command of her mental faculties Clayton well knew; so that hope to return to England. while he suffered terribly to see her so, there were times when he was At other times Clayton wrote in his diary, which he had always been almost glad, for her sake, that she could not understand. accustomed to keep in French, and in which he recorded the details of Long since had he given up any hope of rescue, except through their strange life. This book he kept locked in a little metal box. accident. With unremitting zeal he had worked to beautify the interior A year from the day her little son was born Lady Alice passed quietly of the cabin. away in the night. So peaceful was her end that it was hours before Skins of lion and panther covered the floor. Cupboards and Clayton could awake to a realization that his wife was dead. bookcases lined the walls. Odd vases made by his own hand from the The horror of the situation came to him very slowly, and it is clay of the region held beautiful tropical flowers. Curtains of grass and doubtful that he ever fully realized the enormity of his sorrow and the bamboo covered the windows, and, most arduous task of all, with his fearful responsibility that had devolved upon him with the care of that meager assortment of tools he had fashioned lumber to neatly seal the wee thing, his son, still a nursing babe. walls and ceiling and lay a smooth floor within the cabin. The last entry in his diary was made the morning following her That he had been able to turn his hands at all to such unaccustomed death, and there he recites the sad details in a matter-of-fact way that labor was a source of mild wonder to him. But he loved the work because adds to the pathos of it; for it breathes a tired apathy born of long sorrow it was for her and the tiny life that had come to cheer them, though and hopelessness, which even this cruel blow could scarcely awake to adding a hundredfold to his responsibilities and to the terribleness of further suffering: their situation. My little son is crying for nourishment — O Alice, Alice, what shall I do? uring the year that followed, Clayton was several times attacked by the great apes which now seemed to continually And as John Clayton wrote the last words his hand was destined infest the vicinity of the cabin; but as he never again ventured ever to pen, he dropped his head wearily upon his outstretched arms outsideD without both rifle and revolvers he had little fear of the huge where they rested upon the table he had built for her who lay still and beasts. cold in the bed beside him. He had strengthened the window protections and fitted a unique For a long time no sound broke the deathlike stillness of the jungle wooden lock to the cabin door, so that when he hunted for game and midday save the piteous wailing of the tiny man-child. fruits, as it was constantly necessary for him to do to insure sustenance, he had no fear that any animal could break into the little home. At first he shot much of the game from the cabin windows, but toward the end the animals learned to fear the strange lair from whence issued the terrifying thunder of his rifle. In his leisure Clayton read, often aloud to his wife, from the store of

38 39 [ return to table of contents ]

IV

THE APES

n the forest of the table-land a mile back from the ocean old Kerchak the Ape was on a rampage of rage among his people. The younger and lighter members of his tribe scampered to the higherI branches of the great trees to escape his wrath; risking their lives upon branches that scarce supported their weight rather than face old Kerchak in one of his fits of uncontrolled anger. The other males scattered in all directions, but not before the infuriated brute had felt the vertebra of one snap between his great, foaming jaws. A luckless young female slipped from an insecure hold upon a high branch and came crashing to the ground almost at Kerchak’s feet. With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth, and striking her viciously upon her head and shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull was crushed to a jelly. And then he spied Kala, who, returning from a search for food with her young babe, was ignorant of the state of the mighty male’s temper until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows caused her to scamper madly for safety. THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

But Kerchak was close upon her, so close that he had almost grasped Kala was the youngest mate of a male called Tublat, meaning broken her ankle had she not made a furious leap far into space from one tree to nose, and the child she had seen dashed to death was her first; for she another — a perilous chance which apes seldom if ever take, unless so was but nine or ten years old. closely pursued by danger that there is no alternative. Notwithstanding her youth, she was large and powerful — a She made the leap successfully, but as she grasped the limb of the splendid, clean-limbed animal, with a round, high forehead, which further tree the sudden jar loosened the hold of the tiny babe where it denoted more intelligence than most of her kind possessed. So, also, she clung frantically to her neck, and she saw the little thing hurled, turning had a great capacity for mother love and mother sorrow. and twisting, to the ground thirty feet below. But she was still an ape, a huge, fierce, terrible beast of a species With a low cry of dismay Kala rushed headlong to its side, closely allied to the gorilla, yet more intelligent; which, with the strength thoughtless now of the danger from Kerchak; but when she gathered the of their cousin, made her kind the most fearsome of those awe-inspiring wee, mangled form to her bosom life had left it. progenitors of man. With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to her; nor did Kerchak When the tribe saw that Kerchak’s rage had ceased they came slowly attempt to molest her. With the death of the babe his fit of demoniacal down from their arboreal retreats and pursued again the various rage passed as suddenly as it had seized him. occupations which he had interrupted. The young played and frolicked about among the trees and bushes. erchak was a huge king ape, weighing perhaps three hundred Some of the adults lay prone upon the soft mat of dead and decaying and fifty pounds. His forehead was extremely low and vegetation which covered the ground, while others turned over pieces of receding, his eyes bloodshot, small and close set to his fallen branches and clods of earth in search of the small bugs and reptiles coarse,K flat nose; his ears large and thin, but smaller than most of his which formed a part of their food. kind. Others, again, searched the surrounding trees for fruit, nuts, small His awful temper and his mighty strength made him supreme birds, and eggs. among the little tribe into which he had been born some twenty years They had passed an hour or so thus when Kerchak called them before. together, and, with a word of command to them to follow him, set off Now that he was in his prime, there was no simian in all the mighty toward the sea. forest through which he roved that dared contest his right to rule, nor They traveled for the most part upon the ground, where it was open, did the other and larger animals molest him. following the path of the great elephants whose comings and goings Old Tantor, the elephant, alone of all the wild savage life, feared him break the only roads through those tangled mazes of bush, vine, creeper, not — and he alone did Kerchak fear. When Tantor trumpeted, the and tree. When they walked it was with a rolling, awkward motion, great ape scurried with his fellows high among the trees of the second placing the knuckles of their closed hands upon the ground and swinging terrace. their ungainly bodies forward. The tribe of anthropoids over which Kerchak ruled with an iron But when the way was through the lower trees they moved more hand and bared fangs, numbered some six or eight families, each family swiftly, swinging from branch to branch with the agility of their smaller consisting of an adult male with his females and their young, numbering cousins, the monkeys. And all the way Kala carried her little dead baby in all some sixty or seventy apes. hugged closely to her breast.

42 43 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

t was shortly after noon when they reached a ridge overlooking the Clayton, Lord Greystoke, he turned his attention toward the little beach where below them lay the tiny cottage which was Kerchak’s cradle; but Kala was there before him, and when he would have grasped goal. the child she snatched it herself, and before he could intercept her she IHe had seen many of his kind go to their deaths before the loud had bolted through the door and taken refuge in a high tree. noise made by the little black stick in the hands of the strange white ape As she took up the little live baby of Alice Clayton she dropped the who lived in that wonderful lair, and Kerchak had made up his brute dead body of her own into the empty cradle; for the wail of the living mind to own that death-dealing contrivance, and to explore the interior had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild breast of the mysterious den. which the dead could not still. He wanted, very, very much, to feel his teeth sink into the neck of High up among the branches of a mighty tree she hugged the the queer animal that he had learned to hate and fear, and because of shrieking infant to her bosom, and soon the instinct that was as dominant this, he came often with his tribe to reconnoiter, waiting for a time when in this fierce female as it had been in the breast of his tender and beautiful the white ape should be off his guard. mother — the instinct of mother love — reached out to the tiny Of late they had quit attacking, or even showing themselves; for man-child’s half-formed understanding, and he became quiet. every time they had done so in the past the little stick had roared out its Then hunger closed the gap between them, and the son of an terrible message of death to some member of the tribe. English lord and an English lady nursed at the breast of Kala, the great Today there was no sign of the man about, and from where they ape. watched they could see that the cabin door was open. Slowly, cautiously, and noiselessly they crept through the jungle toward the little cabin. n the meantime the beasts within the cabin were warily examining There were no growls, no fierce screams of rage — the little black the contents of this strange lair. stick had taught them to come quietly lest they awaken it. Once satisfied that Clayton was dead, Kerchak turned his On, on they came until Kerchak himself slunk stealthily to the very attentionI to the thing which lay upon the bed, covered by a piece of door and peered within. Behind him were two males, and then Kala, sailcloth. closely straining the little dead form to her breast. Gingerly he lifted one corner of the shroud, but when he saw the Inside the den they saw the strange white ape lying half across a body of the woman beneath he tore the cloth roughly from her form and table, his head buried in his arms; and on the bed lay a figure covered by seized the still, white throat in his huge, hairy hands. a sailcloth, while from a tiny rustic cradle came the plaintive wailing of A moment he let his fingers sink deep into the cold flesh, and then, a babe. realizing that she was already dead, he turned from her, to examine the Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouching for the charge; and then contents of the room; nor did he again molest the body of either Lady John Clayton rose with a sudden start and faced them. Alice or Sir John. The sight that met his eyes must have frozen him with horror, for The rifle hanging upon the wall caught his first attention; it was for there, within the door, stood three great bull apes, while behind them this strange, death-dealing thunder-stick that he had yearned for crowded many more; how many he never knew, for his revolvers were months; but now that it was within his grasp he scarcely had the temerity hanging on the far wall beside his rifle, and Kerchak was charging. to seize it. When the king ape released the limp form which had been John Cautiously he approached the thing, ready to flee precipitately

44 45 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES should it speak in its deep roaring tones, as he had heard it speak before, deafening roar in the little room and the apes at and beyond the door fell the last words to those of his kind who, through ignorance or rashness, over one another in their wild anxiety to escape. had attacked the wonderful white ape that had borne it. Kerchak was equally frightened, so frightened, in fact, that he quite Deep in the beast’s intelligence was something which assured him forgot to throw aside the author of that fearful noise, but bolted for the that the thunder-stick was only dangerous when in the hands of one door with it tightly clutched in one hand. who could manipulate it, but yet it was several minutes ere he could As he passed through the opening, the front sight of the rifle caught bring himself to touch it. upon the edge of the in-swung door with sufficient force to close it Instead, he walked back and forth along the floor before it, turning tightly after the fleeing ape. his head so that never once did his eyes leave the object of his desire. When Kerchak came to a halt a short distance from the cabin and Using his long arms as a man uses crutches, and rolling his huge discovered that he still held the rifle, he dropped it as he might have carcass from side to side with each stride, the great king ape paced to dropped a red hot iron, nor did he again attempt to recover it — the and fro, uttering deep growls, occasionally punctuated with the noise was too much for his brute nerves; but he was now quite convinced ear-piercing scream, than which there is no more terrifying noise in all that the terrible stick was quite harmless by itself if left alone. the jungle. It was an hour before the apes could again bring themselves to Presently he halted before the rifle. Slowly he raised a huge hand approach the cabin to continue their investigations, and when they until it almost touched the shining barrel, only to withdraw it once more finally did so, they found to their chagrin that the door was closed and and continue his hurried pacing. so securely fastened that they could not force it. It was as though the great brute by this show of fearlessness, and The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton had made for the through the medium of his wild voice, was endeavoring to bolster up his door had sprung as Kerchak passed out; nor could the apes find means courage to the point which would permit him to take the rifle in his of ingress through the heavily barred windows. hand. After roaming about the vicinity for a short time, they started back Again he stopped, and this time succeeded in forcing his reluctant for the deeper forests and the higher land from whence they had come. hand to the cold steel, only to snatch it away almost immediately and Kala had not once come to earth with her little adopted babe, but resume his restless beat. now Kerchak called to her to descend with the rest, and as there was no Time after time this strange ceremony was repeated, but on each note of anger in his voice she dropped lightly from branch to branch and occasion with increased confidence, until, finally, the rifle was torn from joined the others on their homeward march. its hook and lay in the grasp of the great brute. Those of the apes who attempted to examine Kala’s strange baby Finding that it harmed him not, Kerchak began to examine it closely. were repulsed with bared fangs and low menacing growls, accompanied He felt of it from end to end, peered down the black depths of the by words of warning from Kala. muzzle, fingered the sights, the breech, the stock, and finally the trigger. When they assured her that they meant the child no harm she During all these operations the apes who had entered sat huddled permitted them to come close, but would not allow them to touch her near the door watching their chief, while those outside strained and charge. crowded to catch a glimpse of what transpired within. It was as though she knew that her baby was frail and delicate and Suddenly Kerchak’s finger closed upon the trigger. There was a feared lest the rough hands of her fellows might injure the little thing.

46 47 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Another thing she did, and which made traveling an onerous trial for her. Remembering the death of her own little one, she clung [ return to table of contents ] desperately to the new babe, with one hand, whenever they were upon the march. The other young rode upon their mothers’ backs; their little arms tightly clasping the hairy necks before them, while their legs were locked beneath their mothers’ armpits. Not so with Kala; she held the small form of the little Lord Greystoke tightly to her breast, where the dainty hands clutched the long black hair which covered that portion of her body. She had seen one child fall from her back to a terrible death, and she would take no V further chances with this. THE WHITE APE

enderly Kala nursed her little waif, wondering silently why it did not gain strength and agility as did the little apes of other mothers. It was nearly a year from the time the little fellow Tcame into her possession before he would walk alone, and as for climbing — my, but how stupid he was! Kala sometimes talked with the older females about her young hopeful, but none of them could understand how a child could be so slow and backward in learning to care for itself. Why, it could not even find food alone, and more than twelve moons had passed since Kala had come upon it. Had they known that the child had seen thirteen moons before it had come into Kala’s possession they would have considered its case as absolutely hopeless, for the little apes of their own tribe were as far advanced in two or three moons as was this little stranger after twenty-five. Tublat, Kala’s husband, was sorely vexed, and but for the female’s careful watching would have put the child out of the way. “He will never be a great ape,” he argued. “Always will you have to

48 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES carry him and protect him. What good will he be to the tribe? None; loftiest tropical giant with the ease and swiftness of a squirrel. only a burden. Though but ten years old he was fully as strong as the average man “Let us leave him quietly sleeping among the tall grasses, that you of thirty, and far more agile than the most practiced athlete ever becomes. may bear other and stronger apes to guard us in our old age.” And day by day his strength was increasing. “Never, Broken Nose,” replied Kala. “If I must carry him forever, so His life among these fierce apes had been happy; for his recollection be it.” held no other life, nor did he know that there existed within the universe And then Tublat went to Kerchak to urge him to use his authority aught else than his little forest and the wild jungle animals with which with Kala, and force her to give up little Tarzan, which was the name he was familiar. they had given to the tiny Lord Greystoke, and which meant He was nearly ten before he commenced to realize that a great “White-Skin.” difference existed between himself and his fellows. His little body, But when Kerchak spoke to her about it Kala threatened to run burned brown by exposure, suddenly caused him feelings of intense away from the tribe if they did not leave her in peace with the child; and shame, for he realized that it was entirely hairless, like some low snake, as this is one of the inalienable rights of the jungle folk, if they be or other reptile. dissatisfied among their own people, they bothered her no more, for He attempted to obviate this by plastering himself from head to Kala was a fine clean-limbed young female, and they did not wish to lose foot with mud, but this dried and fell off. Besides it felt so uncomfortable her. that he quickly decided that he preferred the shame to the discomfort. As Tarzan grew he made more rapid strides, so that by the time he In the higher land which his tribe frequented was a little lake, and it was ten years old he was an excellent climber, and on the ground could was here that Tarzan first saw his face in the clear, still waters of its do many wonderful things which were beyond the powers of his little bosom. brothers and sisters. In many ways did he differ from them, and they often marveled at t was on a sultry day of the dry season that he and one of his cousins his superior cunning, but in strength and size he was deficient; for at ten had gone down to the bank to drink. As they leaned over, both little the great anthropoids were fully grown, some of them towering over six faces were mirrored on the placid pool; the fierce and terrible feet in height, while little Tarzan was still but a half-grown boy. Ifeatures of the ape beside those of the aristocratic scion of an old English Yet such a boy! house. From early childhood he had used his hands to swing from branch Tarzan was appalled. It had been bad enough to be hairless, but to to branch after the manner of his giant mother, and as he grew older he own such a countenance! He wondered that the other apes could look at spent hour upon hour daily speeding through the tree tops with his him at all. brothers and sisters. That tiny slit of a mouth and those puny white teeth! How they He could spring twenty feet across space at the dizzy heights of the looked beside the mighty lips and powerful fangs of his more fortunate forest top, and grasp with unerring precision, and without apparent jar, a brothers! limb waving wildly in the path of an approaching tornado. And the little pinched nose of his; so thin was it that it looked half He could drop twenty feet at a stretch from limb to limb in rapid starved. He turned red as he compared it with the beautiful broad descent to the ground, or he could gain the utmost pinnacle of the nostrils of his companion. Such a generous nose! Why it spread half

50 51 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES across his face! It certainly must be fine to be so handsome, thought poor victims in a paralysis of terror for the tiny fraction of an instant which little Tarzan. would suffice for her mighty claws to sink into their soft flesh and hold But when he saw his own eyes; ah, that was the final blow — a them beyond hope of escape. brown spot, a gray circle and then blank whiteness! Frightful! not even So far as the ape was concerned, Sabor reasoned correctly. The little the snakes had such hideous eyes as he. fellow crouched trembling just an instant, but that instant was quite long So intent was he upon this personal appraisement of his features enough to prove his undoing. that he did not hear the parting of the tall grass behind him as a great Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the body pushed itself stealthily through the jungle; nor did his companion, dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self- the ape, hear either, for he was drinking and the noise of his sucking lips confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental and gurgles of satisfaction drowned the quiet approach of the intruder. action far beyond the powers of the apes. Not thirty paces behind the two she crouched — Sabor, the huge So the scream of Sabor, the lioness, galvanized the brain and muscles lioness — lashing her tail. Cautiously she moved a great padded paw of little Tarzan into instant action. forward, noiselessly placing it before she lifted the next. Thus she Before him lay the deep waters of the little lake, behind him certain advanced; her belly low, almost touching the surface of the ground — a death; a cruel death beneath tearing claws and rending fangs. great cat preparing to spring upon its prey. Tarzan had always hated water except as a medium for quenching Now she was within ten feet of the two unsuspecting little playfellows his thirst. He hated it because he connected it with the chill and — carefully she drew her hind feet well up beneath her body, the great discomfort of the torrential rains, and he feared it for the thunder and muscles rolling under the beautiful skin. lightning and wind which accompanied them. So low she was crouching now that she seemed flattened to the The deep waters of the lake he had been taught by his wild mother earth except for the upward bend of the glossy back as it gathered for the to avoid, and further, had he not seen little Neeta sink beneath its quiet spring. surface only a few short weeks before never to return to the tribe? No longer the tail lashed — quiet and straight behind her it lay. But of the two evils his quick mind chose the lesser ere the first note An instant she paused thus, as though turned to stone, and then, of Sabor’s scream had scarce broken the quiet of the jungle, and before with an awful scream, she sprang. the great beast had covered half her leap Tarzan felt the chill waters Sabor, the lioness, was a wise hunter. To one less wise the wild alarm close above his head. of her fierce cry as she sprang would have seemed a foolish thing, for He could not swim, and the water was very deep; but still he lost no could she not more surely have fallen upon her victims had she but particle of that self-confidence and resourcefulness which were the quietly leaped without that loud shriek? badges of his superior being. But Sabor knew well the wondrous quickness of the jungle folk and Rapidly he moved his hands and feet in an attempt to scramble their almost unbelievable powers of hearing. To them the sudden upward, and, possibly more by chance than design, he fell into the stroke scraping of one blade of grass across another was as effectual a warning that a dog uses when swimming, so that within a few seconds his nose as her loudest cry, and Sabor knew that she could not make that mighty was above water and he found that he could keep it there by continuing leap without a little noise. his strokes, and also make progress through the water. Her wild scream was not a warning. It was voiced to freeze her poor He was much surprised and pleased with this new acquirement

52 53 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES which had been so suddenly thrust upon him, but he had no time for they traversed almost continually, occasionally remaining for months in thinking much upon it. one locality; but as they moved through the trees with great speed they He was now swimming parallel to the bank and there he saw the often covered the territory in a very few days. cruel beast that would have seized him crouching upon the still form of Much depended upon food supply, climatic conditions, and the his little playmate. prevalence of animals of the more dangerous species; though Kerchak The lioness was intently watching Tarzan, evidently expecting him often led them on long marches for no other reason than that he had to return to shore, but this the boy had no intention of doing. tired of remaining in the same place. Instead he raised his voice in the call of distress common to his tribe, At night they slept where darkness overtook them, lying upon the adding to it the warning which would prevent would-be rescuers from ground, and sometimes covering their heads, and more seldom their running into the clutches of Sabor. bodies, with the great leaves of the elephant’s ear. Two or three might lie Almost immediately there came an answer from the distance, and cuddled in each other’s arms for additional warmth if the night were presently forty or fifty great apes swung rapidly and majestically through chill, and thus Tarzan had slept in Kala’s arms nightly for all these years. the trees toward the scene of tragedy. That the huge, fierce brute loved this child of another race is beyond In the lead was Kala, for she had recognized the tones of her best question, and he, too, gave to the great, hairy beast all the affection that beloved, and with her was the mother of the little ape who lay dead would have belonged to his fair young mother had she lived. beneath cruel Sabor. When he was disobedient she cuffed him, it is true, but she was Though more powerful and better equipped for fighting than the never cruel to him, and was more often caressing him than chastising apes, the lioness had no desire to meet these enraged adults, and with a him. snarl of hatred she sprang quickly into the brush and disappeared. Tublat, her mate, always hated Tarzan, and on several occasions had Tarzan now swam to shore and clambered quickly upon dry land. come near ending his youthful career. The feeling of freshness and exhilaration which the cool waters had Tarzan on his part never lost an opportunity to show that he fully imparted to him, filled his little being with grateful surprise, and ever reciprocated his foster father’s sentiments, and whenever he could safely after he lost no opportunity to take a daily plunge in lake or stream or annoy him or make faces at him or hurl insults upon him from the safety ocean when it was possible to do so. of his mother’s arms, or the slender branches of the higher trees, he did For a long time Kala could not accustom herself to the sight; for so. though her people could swim when forced to it, they did not like to His superior intelligence and cunning permitted him to invent a enter water, and never did so voluntarily. thousand diabolical tricks to add to the burdens of Tublat’s life. Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and he adventure with the lioness gave Tarzan food for pleasurable tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping memories, for it was such affairs which broke the monotony of Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch. his daily life — otherwise but a dull round of searching for By constant playing and experimenting with these he learned to tie Tfood, eating, and sleeping. rude knots, and make sliding nooses; and with these he and the younger The tribe to which he belonged roamed a tract extending, roughly, apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they tried to do also, but he twenty-five miles along the seacoast and some fifty miles inland. This alone originated and became proficient.

54 55 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

One day while playing thus Tarzan had thrown his rope at one of his fleeing companions, retaining the other end in his grasp. By accident the [ return to table of contents ] noose fell squarely about the running ape’s neck, bringing him to a sudden and surprising halt. Ah, here was a new game, a fine game, thought Tarzan, and immediately he attempted to repeat the trick. And thus, by painstaking and continued practice, he learned the art of roping. Now, indeed, was the life of Tublat a living nightmare. In sleep, upon the march, night or day, he never knew when that quiet noose would slip about his neck and nearly choke the life out of him. Kala punished, Tublat swore dire vengeance, and old Kerchak took VI notice and warned and threatened; but all to no avail. Tarzan defied them all, and the thin, strong noose continued to JUNGLE BATTLES settle about Tublat’s neck whenever he least expected it. The other apes derived unlimited amusement from Tublat’s discomfiture, for Broken Nose was a disagreeable old fellow, whom no one liked, anyway. he wanderings of the tribe brought them often near the closed In Tarzan’s clever little mind many thoughts revolved, and back of and silent cabin by the little land-locked harbor. To Tarzan this these was his divine power of reason. was always a source of never-ending mystery and pleasure. If he could catch his fellow apes with his long arm of many grasses, THe would peek into the curtained windows, or, climbing upon the why not Sabor, the lioness? roof, peer down the black depths of the chimney in vain endeavor to It was the germ of a thought, which, however, was destined to mull solve the unknown wonders that lay within those strong walls. around in his conscious and subconscious mind until it resulted in His child-like imagination pictured wonderful creatures within, and magnificent achievement. the very impossibility of forcing entrance added a thousandfold to his But that came in later years. desire to do so. He could clamber about the roof and windows for hours attempting to discover means of ingress, but to the door he paid little attention, for this was apparently as solid as the walls. It was in the next visit to the vicinity, following the adventure with old Sabor, that, as he approached the cabin, Tarzan noticed that from a distance the door appeared to be an independent part of the wall in which it was set, and for the first time it occurred to him that this might prove the means of entrance which had so long eluded him. He was alone, as was often the case when he visited the cabin, for

56 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES the apes had no love for it; the story of the thunder-stick having lost He opened chests and cupboards, such as did not baffle his small nothing in the telling during these ten years had quite surrounded the experience, and in these he found the contents much better preserved. white man’s deserted abode with an atmosphere of weirdness and terror Among other things he found a sharp hunting knife, on the keen for the simians. blade of which he immediately proceeded to cut his finger. Undaunted The story of his own connection with the cabin had never been told he continued his experiments, finding that he could hack and hew him. The language of the apes had so few words that they could talk but splinters of wood from the table and chairs with this new toy. little of what they had seen in the cabin, having no words to accurately For a long time this amused him, but finally tiring he continued his describe either the strange people or their belongings, and so, long before explorations. In a cupboard filled with books he came across one with Tarzan was old enough to understand, the subject had been forgotten by brightly colored pictures — it was a child’s illustrated alphabet — the tribe. Only in a dim, vague way had Kala explained to him that his father A is for Archer Who shoots with a bow. had been a strange white ape, but he did not know that Kala was not his B is for Boy, own mother. His first name is Joe. On this day, then, he went directly to the door and spent hours The pictures interested him greatly. examining it and fussing with the hinges, the knob and the latch. Finally There were many apes with faces similar to his own, and further he stumbled upon the right combination, and the door swung creakingly over in the book he found, under “M,” some little monkeys such as he open before his astonished eyes. saw daily flitting through the trees of his primeval forest. But nowhere For some minutes he did not dare venture within, but finally, as his was pictured any of his own people; in all the book was none that eyes became accustomed to the dim light of the interior he slowly and resembled Kerchak, or Tublat, or Kala. cautiously entered. At first he tried to pick the little figures from the leaves, but he soon In the middle of the floor lay a skeleton, every vestige of flesh gone saw that they were not real, though he knew not what they might be, nor from the bones to which still clung the mildewed and moldered remnants had he any words to describe them. of what had once been clothing. Upon the bed lay a similar gruesome The boats, and trains, and cows and horses were quite meaningless thing, but smaller, while in a tiny cradle near-by was a third, a wee mite to him, but not quite so baffling as the odd little figures which appeared of a skeleton. beneath and between the colored pictures — some strange kind of bug To none of these evidences of a fearful tragedy of a long dead day he thought they might be, for many of them had legs though nowhere did little Tarzan give but passing heed. His wild jungle life had inured could he find one with eyes and a mouth. It was his first introduction to him to the sight of dead and dying animals, and had he known that he the letters of the alphabet, and he was over ten years old. was looking upon the remains of his own father and mother he would Of course he had never before seen print, or ever had spoken with have been no more greatly moved. any living thing which had the remotest idea that such a thing as a The furnishings and other contents of the room it was which riveted written language existed, nor ever had he seen anyone reading. his attention. He examined many things minutely — strange tools and So what wonder that the little boy was quite at a loss to guess the weapons, books, paper, clothing — what little had withstood the ravages meaning of these strange figures. of time in the humid atmosphere of the jungle coast.

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Near the middle of the book he found his old enemy, Sabor, the met the gorilla squarely and bravely without a tremor of a single muscle, lioness, and further on, coiled Histah, the snake. or any sign of panic. Oh, it was most engrossing! Never before in all his ten years had he In fact he met the brute midway in its charge, striking its huge body enjoyed anything so much. So absorbed was he that he did not note the with his closed fists and as futilely as he had been a fly attacking an approaching dusk, until it was quite upon him and the figures were elephant. But in one hand he still clutched the knife he had found in the blurred. cabin of his father, and as the brute, striking and biting, closed upon him He put the book back in the cupboard and closed the door, for he the boy accidentally turned the point toward the hairy breast. As the did not wish anyone else to find and destroy his treasure, and as he went knife sank deep into its body the gorilla shrieked in pain and rage. out into the gathering darkness he closed the great door of the cabin But the boy had learned in that brief second a use for his sharp and behind him as it had been before he discovered the secret of its lock, but shining toy, so that, as the tearing, striking beast dragged him to earth he before he left he had noticed the hunting knife lying where he had plunged the blade repeatedly and to the hilt into its breast. thrown it upon the floor, and this he picked up and took with him to The gorilla, fighting after the manner of its kind, struck terrific show to his fellows. blows with its open hand, and tore the flesh at the boy’s throat and chest He had taken scarce a dozen steps toward the jungle when a great with its mighty tusks. form rose up before him from the shadows of a low bush. At first he For a moment they rolled upon the ground in the fierce frenzy of thought it was one of his own people but in another instant he realized combat. More and more weakly the torn and bleeding arm struck home that it was Bolgani, the huge gorilla. with the long sharp blade, then the little figure stiffened with a spasmodic jerk, and Tarzan, the young Lord Greystoke, rolled unconscious upon o close was he that there was no chance for flight and little Tarzan the dead and decaying vegetation which carpeted his jungle home. knew that he must stand and fight for his life; for these great A mile back in the forest the tribe had heard the fierce challenge of beasts were the deadly enemies of his tribe, and neither one nor the gorilla, and, as was his custom when any danger threatened, Kerchak Sthe other ever asked or gave quarter. called his people together, partly for mutual protection against a common Had Tarzan been a full-grown bull ape of the species of his tribe enemy, since this gorilla might be but one of a party of several, and also he would have been more than a match for the gorilla, but being only to see that all members of the tribe were accounted for. a little English boy, though enormously muscular for such, he stood It was soon discovered that Tarzan was missing, and Tublat was no chance against his cruel antagonist. In his veins, though, flowed strongly opposed to sending assistance. Kerchak himself had no liking the blood of the best of a race of mighty fighters, and back of this was for the strange little waif, so he listened to Tublat, and, finally, with a the training of his short lifetime among the fierce brutes of the shrug of his shoulders, turned back to the pile of leaves on which he had jungle. made his bed. He knew no fear, as we know it; his little heart beat the faster but But Kala was of a different mind; in fact, she had not waited but to from the excitement and exhilaration of adventure. Had the opportunity learn that Tarzan was absent ere she was fairly flying through the matted presented itself he would have escaped, but solely because his judgment branches toward the point from which the cries of the gorilla were still told him he was no match for the great thing which confronted him. plainly audible. And since reason showed him that successful flight was impossible he Darkness had now fallen, and an early moon was sending its faint

60 61 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES light to cast strange, grotesque shadows among the dense foliage of the At first Tarzan would eat nothing, but rolled and tossed in a wild forest. delirium of fever. All he craved was water, and this she brought him in Here and there the brilliant rays penetrated to earth, but for the the only way she could, bearing it in her own mouth. most part they only served to accentuate the Stygian blackness of the No human mother could have shown more unselfish and sacrificing jungle’s depths. devotion than did this poor, wild brute for the little orphaned waif whom Like some huge phantom, Kala swung noiselessly from tree to tree; fate had thrown into her keeping. now running nimbly along a great branch, now swinging through space At last the fever abated and the boy commenced to mend. No word at the end of another, only to grasp that of a farther tree in her rapid of complaint passed his tight set lips, though the pain of his wounds was progress toward the scene of the tragedy her knowledge of jungle life excruciating. told her was being enacted a short distance before her. A portion of his chest was laid bare to the ribs, three of which had The cries of the gorilla proclaimed that it was in mortal combat been broken by the mighty blows of the gorilla. One arm was nearly with some other denizen of the fierce wood. Suddenly these cries ceased, severed by the giant fangs, and a great piece had been torn from his neck, and the silence of death reigned throughout the jungle. exposing his jugular vein, which the cruel jaws had missed but by a Kala could not understand, for the voice of Bolgani had at last been miracle. raised in the agony of suffering and death, but no sound had come to her With the stoicism of the brutes who had raised him he endured his by which she possibly could determine the nature of his antagonist. suffering quietly, preferring to crawl away from the others and lie That her little Tarzan could destroy a great bull gorilla she knew to huddled in some clump of tall grasses rather than to show his misery be improbable, and so, as she neared the spot from which the sounds of before their eyes. the struggle had come, she moved more warily and at last slowly and Kala, alone, he was glad to have with him, but now that he was with extreme caution she traversed the lowest branches, peering eagerly better she was gone longer at a time, in search of food; for the devoted into the moon-splashed blackness for a sign of the combatants. animal had scarcely eaten enough to support her own life while Tarzan Presently she came upon them, lying in a little open space full under had been so low, and was in consequence, reduced to a mere shadow of the brilliant light of the moon — little Tarzan’s torn and bloody form, her former self. and beside it a great bull gorilla, stone dead. With a low cry Kala rushed to Tarzan’s side, and gathering the poor, blood-covered body to her breast, listened for a sign of life. Faintly she heard it — the weak beating of the little heart. Tenderly she bore him back through the inky jungle to where the tribe lay, and for many days and nights she sat guard beside him, bringing him food and water, and brushing the flies and other insects from his cruel wounds. Of medicine or surgery the poor thing knew nothing. She could but lick the wounds, and thus she kept them cleansed, that healing nature might the more quickly do her work.

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VII

THE LIGHT of KNOWLEDGE

fter what seemed an eternity to the little sufferer he was able to walk once more, and from then on his recovery was so rapid that in another month he was as strong and active as ever. ADuring his convalescence he had gone over in his mind many times the battle with the gorilla, and his first thought was to recover the wonderful little weapon which had transformed him from a hopelessly outclassed weakling to the superior of the mighty terror of the jungle. Also, he was anxious to return to the cabin and continue his investigations of its wondrous contents. So, early one morning, he set forth alone upon his quest. After a little search he located the clean-picked bones of his late adversary, and close by, partly buried beneath the fallen leaves, he found the knife, now red with rust from its exposure to the dampness of the ground and from the dried blood of the gorilla. He did not like the change in its former bright and gleaming surface; but it was still a formidable weapon, and one which he meant to use to advantage whenever the opportunity presented itself. He had in mind that no more would he run from the wanton attacks of old Tublat. THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

In another moment he was at the cabin, and after a short time had And now he had discovered in the text upon the page that these again thrown the latch and entered. His first concern was to learn the three were repeated many times in the same sequence. mechanism of the lock, and this he did by examining it closely while the Another fact he learned — that there were comparatively few door was open, so that he could learn precisely what caused it to hold the individual bugs; but these were repeated many times, occasionally alone, door, and by what means it released at his touch. but more often in company with others. He found that he could close and lock the door from within, and Slowly he turned the pages, scanning the pictures and the text for a this he did so that there would be no chance of his being molested while repetition of the combination B-O-Y. Presently he found it beneath a at his investigation. picture of another little ape and a strange animal which went upon four He commenced a systematic search of the cabin; but his attention was legs like the jackal and resembled him not a little. Beneath this picture soon riveted by the books which seemed to exert a strange and powerful the bugs appeared as: influence over him, so that he could scarce attend to aught else for the lure of the wondrous puzzle which their purpose presented to him. A BOY AND A DOG Among the other books were a primer, some child’s readers, There they were, the three little bugs which always accompanied the numerous picture books, and a great dictionary. All of these he examined, little ape. but the pictures caught his fancy most, though the strange little bugs And so he progressed very, very slowly, for it was a hard and laborious which covered the pages where there were no pictures excited his wonder task which he had set himself without knowing it — a task which might and deepest thought. seem to you or me impossible — learning to read without having the Squatting upon his haunches on the table top in the cabin his father slightest knowledge of letters or written language, or the faintest idea had built — his smooth, brown, naked little body bent over the book that such things existed. which rested in his strong slender hands, and his great shock of long, black He did not accomplish it in a day, or in a week, or in a month, or in hair falling about his well-shaped head and bright, intelligent eyes — a year; but slowly, very slowly, he learned after he had grasped the Tarzan of the apes, little primitive man, presented a picture filled, at once, possibilities which lay in those little bugs, so that by the time he was with pathos and with promise — an allegorical figure of the primordial fifteen he knew the various combinations of letters which stood for groping through the black night of ignorance toward the light of learning. every pictured figure in the little primer and in one or two of the picture His little face was tense in study, for he had partially grasped, in a books. hazy, nebulous way, the rudiments of a thought which was destined to Of the meaning and use of the articles and conjunctions, verbs and prove the key and the solution to the puzzling problem of the strange adverbs and pronouns he had but the faintest conception. little bugs. One day when he was about twelve he found a number of lead In his hands was a primer opened at a picture of a little ape similar pencils in a hitherto undiscovered drawer beneath the table, and in to himself, but covered, except for hands and face, with strange, colored scratching upon the table top with one of them he was delighted to fur, for such he thought the jacket and trousers to be. Beneath the picture discover the black line it left behind it. were three little bugs — He worked so assiduously with this new toy that the table top was BOY. soon a mass of scrawly loops and irregular lines and his pencil-point

66 67 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES worn down to the wood. Then he took another pencil, but this time he his wild and hairy companions. He was a M-A-N, they were A-P-E-S, had a definite object in view. and the little apes which scurried through the forest top were M-O-N- He would attempt to reproduce some of the little bugs that scrambled K-E-Y-S. He knew, too, that old Sabor was a L-I-O-N-E-S-S, and over the pages of his books. Histah a S-N-A-K-E, and Tantor an E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T. And so he It was a difficult task, for he held the pencil as one would grasp the learned to read. From then on his progress was rapid. With the help of hilt of a dagger, which does not add greatly to ease in writing or to the the great dictionary and the active intelligence of a healthy mind legibility of the results. endowed by inheritance with more than ordinary reasoning powers he But he persevered for months, at such times as he was able to come shrewdly guessed at much which he could not really understand, and to the cabin, until at last by repeated experimenting he found a position more often than not his guesses were close to the mark of truth. in which to hold the pencil that best permitted him to guide and control There were many breaks in his education, caused by the migratory it, so that at last he could roughly reproduce any of the little bugs. habits of his tribe, but even when removed from his books his active Thus he made a beginning of writing. brain continued to search out the mysteries of his fascinating avocation. Copying the bugs taught him another thing — their number; and Pieces of bark and flat leaves and even smooth stretches of bare though he could not count as we understand it, yet he had an idea of earth provided him with copy books whereon to scratch with the point quantity, the base of his calculations being the number of fingers upon of his hunting knife the lessons he was learning. one of his hands. Nor did he neglect the sterner duties of life while following the bent His search through the various books convinced him that he had of his inclination toward the solving of the mystery of his library. discovered all the different kinds of bugs most often repeated in He practiced with his rope and played with his sharp knife, which combination, and these he arranged in proper order with great ease he had learned to keep keen by whetting upon flat stones. because of the frequency with which he had perused the fascinating alphabet picture book. he tribe had grown larger since Tarzan had come among them, His education progressed; but his greatest finds were in the for under the leadership of Kerchak they had been able to inexhaustible storehouse of the huge illustrated dictionary, for he learned frighten the other tribes from their part of the jungle so that more through the medium of pictures than text, even after he had Tthey had plenty to eat and little or no loss from predatory incursions of grasped the significance of the bugs. neighbors. When he discovered the arrangement of words in alphabetical order Hence the younger males as they became adult found it more he delighted in searching for and finding the combinations with which comfortable to take mates from their own tribe, or if they captured one he was familiar, and the words which followed them, their definitions, of another tribe to bring her back to Kerchak’s band and live in amity led him still further into the mazes of erudition. with him rather than attempt to set up new establishments of their own, By the time he was seventeen he had learned to read the simple, or fight with the redoubtable Kerchak for supremacy at home. child’s primer and had fully realized the true and wonderful purpose of Occasionally one more ferocious than his fellows would attempt the little bugs. this latter alternative, but none had come yet who could wrest the palm No longer did he feel shame for his hairless body or his human of victory from the fierce and brutal ape. features, for now his reason told him that he was of a different race from Tarzan held a peculiar position in the tribe. They seemed to consider

68 69 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES him one of them and yet in some way different. The older males either unthinkable vistas of the long dead past when our first shaggy ancestor ignored him entirely or else hated him so vindictively that but for his swung from a swaying bough and dropped lightly upon the soft turf of wondrous agility and speed and the fierce protection of the huge Kala he the first meeting place. would have been dispatched at an early age. On the day that Tarzan won his emancipation from the persecution Tublat was his most consistent enemy, but it was through Tublat that had followed him remorselessly for twelve of his thirteen years of that, when he was about thirteen, the persecution of his enemies suddenly life, the tribe, now a full hundred strong, trooped silently through the ceased and he was left severely alone, except on the occasions when one lower terrace of the jungle trees and dropped noiselessly upon the floor of them ran amuck in the throes of one of those strange, wild fits of of the amphitheater. insane rage which attacks the males of many of the fiercer animals of the The rites of the Dum-Dum marked important events in the life of jungle. Then none was safe. the tribe — a victory, the capture of a prisoner, the killing of some large On the day that Tarzan established his right to respect, the tribe was fierce denizen of the jungle, the death or accession of a king, and were gathered about a small natural amphitheater which the jungle had left conducted with set ceremonialism. free from its entangling vines and creepers in a hollow among some low Today it was the killing of a giant ape, a member of another tribe, hills. and as the people of Kerchak entered the arena two mighty bulls were The open space was almost circular in shape. Upon every hand rose seen bearing the body of the vanquished between them. the mighty giants of the untouched forest, with the matted undergrowth They laid their burden before the earthen drum and then squatted banked so closely between the huge trunks that the only opening into there beside it as guards, while the other members of the community the little, level arena was through the upper branches of the trees. curled themselves in grassy nooks to sleep until the rising moon should Here, safe from interruption, the tribe often gathered. In the center give the signal for the commencement of their savage orgy. of the amphitheater was one of those strange earthen drums which the For hours absolute quiet reigned in the little clearing, except as it anthropoids build for the queer rites the sounds of which men have was broken by the discordant notes of brilliantly feathered parrots, or heard in the fastnesses of the jungle, but which none has ever witnessed. the screeching and twittering of the thousand jungle birds flitting Many travelers have seen the drums of the great apes, and some ceaselessly amongst the vivid orchids and flamboyant blossoms which have heard the sounds of their beating and the noise of the wild, weird festooned the myriad, moss-covered branches of the forest kings. revelry of these first lords of the jungle, but Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, is, At length as darkness settled upon the jungle the apes commenced doubtless, the only human being who ever joined in the fierce, mad, to bestir themselves, and soon they formed a great circle about the intoxicating revel of the Dum-Dum. earthen drum. The females and young squatted in a thin line at the outer From this primitive function has arisen, unquestionably, all the periphery of the circle, while just in front of them ranged the adult forms and ceremonials of modern church and state, for through all the males. Before the drum sat three old females, each armed with a knotted countless ages, back beyond the uttermost ramparts of a dawning branch fifteen or eighteen inches in length. humanity our fierce, hairy forebears danced out the rites of the Slowly and softly they began tapping upon the resounding surface Dum-Dum to the sound of their earthen drums, beneath the bright of the drum as the first faint rays of the ascending moon silvered the light of a tropical moon in the depth of a mighty jungle which stands encircling tree tops. unchanged today as it stood on that long forgotten night in the dim, As the light in the amphitheater increased the females augmented

70 71 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES the frequency and force of their blows until presently a wild, rhythmic sweat-streaked, muscular body, glistening in the moonlight, shone din pervaded the great jungle for miles in every direction. Huge, fierce supple and graceful among the uncouth, awkward, hairy brutes about brutes stopped in their hunting, with up-pricked ears and raised heads, him. to listen to the dull booming that betokened the Dum-Dum of the apes. None was more stealthy in the mimic hunt, none more ferocious Occasionally one would raise his shrill scream or thunderous roar in than he in the wild ferocity of the attack, none who leaped so high into answering challenge to the savage din of the anthropoids, but none came the air in the Dance of Death. near to investigate or attack, for the great apes, assembled in all the As the noise and rapidity of the drumbeats increased the dancers power of their numbers, filled the breasts of their jungle neighbors with apparently became intoxicated with the wild rhythm and the savage deep respect. yells. Their leaps and bounds increased, their bared fangs dripped saliva, As the din of the drum rose to almost deafening volume Kerchak and their lips and breasts were flecked with foam. sprang into the open space between the squatting males and the For half an hour the weird dance went on, until, at a sign from drummers. Kerchak, the noise of the drums ceased, the female drummers scampering Standing erect he threw his head far back and looking full into the hurriedly through the line of dancers toward the outer rim of squatting eye of the rising moon he beat upon his breast with his great hairy paws spectators. Then, as one, the males rushed headlong upon the thing and emitted his fearful roaring shriek. which their terrific blows had reduced to a mass of hairy pulp. One — twice — thrice that terrifying cry rang out across the Flesh seldom came to their jaws in satisfying quantities, so a fit teeming solitude of that unspeakably quick, yet unthinkably dead, world. finale to their wild revel was a taste of fresh killed meat, and it was to the Then, crouching, Kerchak slunk noiselessly around the open circle, purpose of devouring their late enemy that they now turned their veering far away from the dead body lying before the altar-drum, but, as attention. he passed, keeping his little, fierce, wicked, red eyes upon the corpse. Great fangs sunk into the carcass tearing away huge hunks, the Another male then sprang into the arena, and, repeating the horrid mightiest of the apes obtaining the choicest morsels, while the weaker cries of his king, followed stealthily in his wake. Another and another circled the outer edge of the fighting, snarling pack awaiting their chance followed in quick succession until the jungle reverberated with the now to dodge in and snatch a dropped tidbit or filch a remaining bone before almost ceaseless notes of their bloodthirsty screams. all was gone. It was the challenge and the hunt. Tarzan, more than the apes, craved and needed flesh. Descended When all the adult males had joined in the thin line of circling from a race of meat eaters, never in his life, he thought, had he once dancers the attack commenced. satisfied his appetite for animal food; and so now his agile little body Kerchak, seizing a huge club from the pile which lay at hand for the wormed its way far into the mass of struggling, rending apes in an purpose, rushed furiously upon the dead ape, dealing the corpse a terrific endeavor to obtain a share which his strength would have been unequal blow, at the same time emitting the growls and snarls of combat. The to the task of winning for him. din of the drum was now increased, as well as the frequency of the blows, At his side hung the hunting knife of his unknown father in a sheath and the warriors, as each approached the victim of the hunt and delivered self-fashioned in copy of one he had seen among the pictures of his his bludgeon blow, joined in the mad whirl of the Death Dance. treasure-books. Tarzan was one of the wild, leaping horde. His brown, At last he reached the fast disappearing feast and with his sharp

72 73 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES knife slashed off a more generous portion than he had hoped for, an of rage. He saw the females and the young scamper to the safety of the entire hairy forearm, where it protruded from beneath the feet of the trees. Then the great bulls in the center of the arena felt the mighty mighty Kerchak, who was so busily engaged in perpetuating the royal fangs of their demented fellow, and with one accord they melted into the prerogative of gluttony that he failed to note the act of lèse-majesté. black shadows of the overhanging forest. So little Tarzan wriggled out from beneath the struggling mass, There was but one in the amphitheater beside Tublat, a belated clutching his grisly prize close to his breast. female running swiftly toward the tree where Tarzan perched, and close Among those circling futilely the outskirts of the banqueters was behind her came the awful Tublat. old Tublat. He had been among the first at the feast, but had retreated It was Kala, and as quickly as Tarzan saw that Tublat was gaining on with a goodly share to eat in quiet, and was now forcing his way back for her he dropped with the rapidity of a falling stone, from branch to more. branch, toward his foster mother. So it was that he spied Tarzan as the boy emerged from the clawing, Now she was beneath the overhanging limbs and close above her pushing throng with that hairy forearm hugged firmly to his body. crouched Tarzan, awaiting the outcome of the race. Tublat’s little, close-set, bloodshot, pig-eyes shot wicked gleams of She leaped into the air grasping a low-hanging branch, but almost hate as they fell upon the object of his loathing. In them, too, was greed over the head of Tublat, so nearly had he distanced her. She should have for the toothsome dainty the boy carried. been safe now but there was a rending, tearing sound, the branch broke But Tarzan saw his arch enemy as quickly, and divining what the and precipitated her full upon the head of Tublat, knocking him to the great beast would do he leaped nimbly away toward the females and the ground. young, hoping to hide himself among them. Tublat, however, was close Both were up in an instant, but as quick as they had been Tarzan had upon his heels, so that he had no opportunity to seek a place of been quicker, so that the infuriated bull found himself facing the concealment, but saw that he would be put to it to escape at all. man-child who stood between him and Kala. Swiftly he sped toward the surrounding trees and with an agile Nothing could have suited the fierce beast better, and with a roar of bound gained a lower limb with one hand, and then, transferring his triumph he leaped upon the little Lord Greystoke. But his fangs never burden to his teeth, he climbed rapidly upward, closely followed by closed in that nut brown flesh. Tublat. A muscular hand shot out and grasped the hairy throat, and another Up, up he went to the waving pinnacle of a lofty monarch of the plunged a keen hunting knife a dozen times into the broad breast. Like forest where his heavy pursuer dared not follow him. There he perched, lightning the blows fell, and only ceased when Tarzan felt the limp form hurling taunts and insults at the raging, foaming beast fifty feet below crumple beneath him. him. As the body rolled to the ground Tarzan of the Apes placed his foot And then Tublat went mad. upon the neck of his lifelong enemy and, raising his eyes to the full With horrifying screams and roars he rushed to the ground, among moon, threw back his fierce young head and voiced the wild and terrible the females and young, sinking his great fangs into a dozen tiny necks cry of his people. and tearing great pieces from the backs and breasts of the females who One by one the tribe swung down from their arboreal retreats and fell into his clutches. formed a circle about Tarzan and his vanquished foe. When they had all In the brilliant moonlight Tarzan witnessed the whole mad carnival come Tarzan turned toward them.

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“I am Tarzan,” he cried. “I am a great killer. Let all respect Tarzan of the Apes and Kala, his mother. There be none among you as mighty as [ return to table of contents ] Tarzan. Let his enemies beware.” Looking full into the wicked, red eyes of Kerchak, the young Lord Greystoke beat upon his mighty breast and screamed out once more his shrill cry of defiance.

VIII

THE TREE-TOP HUNTER

he morning after the Dum-Dum the tribe started slowly back through the forest toward the coast. The body of Tublat lay where it had fallen, for the people ofT Kerchak do not eat their own dead. The march was but a leisurely search for food. Cabbage palm and gray plum, pisang and scitamine they found in abundance, with wild pineapple, and occasionally small mammals, birds, eggs, reptiles, and insects. The nuts they cracked between their powerful jaws, or, if too hard, broke by pounding between stones. Once old Sabor, crossing their path, sent them scurrying to the safety of the higher branches, for if she respected their number and their sharp fangs, they on their part held her cruel and mighty ferocity in equal esteem. Upon a low-hanging branch sat Tarzan directly above the majestic, supple body as it forged silently through the thick jungle. He hurled a pineapple at the ancient enemy of his people. The great beast stopped and, turning, eyed the taunting figure above her. With an angry lash of her tail she bared her yellow fangs, curling

76 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES her great lips in a hideous snarl that wrinkled her bristling snout in n this day, however, he presently had other and more serried ridges and closed her wicked eyes to two narrow slits of rage immediate interests to attract his attention. Suddenly it and hatred. became as midnight; the noises of the jungle ceased; the trees With back-laid ears she looked straight into the eyes of Tarzan of Ostood motionless as though in paralyzed expectancy of some great and the Apes and sounded her fierce, shrill challenge. And from the safety imminent disaster. All nature waited — but not for long. of his overhanging limb the ape-child sent back the fearsome answer Faintly, from a distance, came a low, sad moaning. Nearer and nearer of his kind. it approached, mounting louder and louder in volume. For a moment the two eyed each other in silence, and then the The great trees bent in unison as though pressed earthward by a great cat turned into the jungle, which swallowed her as the ocean mighty hand. Farther and farther toward the ground they inclined, and engulfs a tossed pebble. still there was no sound save the deep and awesome moaning of the But into the mind of Tarzan a great plan sprang. He had killed the wind. fierce Tublat, so was he not therefore a mighty fighter? Now would he Then, suddenly, the jungle giants whipped back, lashing their track down the crafty Sabor and slay her likewise. He would be a mighty tops in angry and deafening protest. A vivid and blinding light mighty hunter, also. flashed from the whirling, inky clouds above. The deep cannonade of At the bottom of his little English heart beat the great desire to roaring thunder belched forth its fearsome challenge. The deluge came cover his nakedness with CLOTHES for he had learned from his — all hell broke loose upon the jungle. picture books that all MEN were so covered, while MONKEYS and The tribe shivering from the cold rain, huddled at the bases of great APES and every other living thing went naked. trees. The lightning, darting and flashing through the blackness, showed CLOTHES therefore, must be truly a badge of greatness; the wildly waving branches, whipping streamers and bending trunks. insignia of the superiority of MAN over all other animals, for surely Now and again some ancient patriarch of the woods, rent by a there could be no other reason for wearing the hideous things. flashing bolt, would crash in a thousand pieces among the surrounding Many moons ago, when he had been much smaller, he had desired trees, carrying down numberless branches and many smaller neighbors the skin of Sabor, the lioness, or Numa, the lion, or Sheeta, the leopard to add to the tangled confusion of the tropical jungle. to cover his hairless body that he might no longer resemble hideous Branches, great and small, torn away by the ferocity of the tornado, Histah, the snake; but now he was proud of his sleek skin for it hurtled through the wildly waving verdure, carrying death and betokened his descent from a mighty race, and the conflicting desires destruction to countless unhappy denizens of the thickly peopled world to go naked in prideful proof of his ancestry, or to conform to the below. customs of his own kind and wear hideous and uncomfortable apparel For hours the fury of the storm continued without surcease, and still found first one and then the other in the ascendency. the tribe huddled close in shivering fear. In constant danger from falling As the tribe continued their slow way through the forest after the trunks and branches and paralyzed by the vivid flashing of lightning and passing of Sabor, Tarzan’s head was filled with his great scheme for the bellowing of thunder they crouched in pitiful misery until the storm slaying his enemy, and for many days thereafter he thought of little passed. else. The end was as sudden as the beginning. The wind ceased, the sun shone forth — nature smiled once more.

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The dripping leaves and branches, and the moist petals of gorgeous want such insignificant game. It would take a strong animal to test the flowers glistened in the splendor of the returning day. And, so — as efficacy of his new scheme. Nature forgot, her children forgot also. Busy life went on as it had been At last came she whom Tarzan sought, with lithe sinews rolling before the darkness and the fright. beneath shimmering hide; fat and glossy came Sabor, the lioness. But to Tarzan a dawning light had come to explain the mystery of Her great padded feet fell soft and noiseless on the narrow trail. Her CLOTHES. How snug he would have been beneath the heavy coat of head was high in ever alert attention; her long tail moved slowly in Sabor! And so was added a further incentive to the adventure. sinuous and graceful undulations. Nearer and nearer she came to where Tarzan of the Apes crouched or several months the tribe hovered near the beach where stood upon his limb, the coils of his long rope poised ready in his hand. Tarzan’s cabin, and his studies took up the greater portion of his Like a thing of bronze, motionless as death, sat Tarzan. Sabor passed time, but always when journeying through the forest he kept his beneath. One stride beyond she took — a second, a third, and then the ropeF in readiness, and many were the smaller animals that fell into the silent coil shot out above her. snare of the quick thrown noose. For an instant the spreading noose hung above her head like a great Once it fell about the short neck of Horta, the boar, and his mad snake, and then, as she looked upward to detect the origin of the swishing lunge for freedom toppled Tarzan from the overhanging limb where he sound of the rope, it settled about her neck. With a quick jerk Tarzan had lain in wait and from whence he had launched his sinuous coil. snapped the noose tight about the glossy throat, and then he dropped The mighty tusker turned at the sound of his falling body, and, the rope and clung to his support with both hands. seeing only the easy prey of a young ape, he lowered his head and charged Sabor was trapped. madly at the surprised youth. With a bound the startled beast turned into the jungle, but Tarzan Tarzan, happily, was uninjured by the fall, alighting catlike upon all was not to lose another rope through the same cause as the first. He had fours far outspread to take up the shock. He was on his feet in an instant learned from experience. The lioness had taken but half her second and, leaping with the agility of the monkey he was, he gained the safety bound when she felt the rope tighten about her neck; her body turned of a low limb as Horta, the boar, rushed futilely beneath. completely over in the air and she fell with a heavy crash upon her back. Thus it was that Tarzan learned by experience the limitations as well Tarzan had fastened the end of the rope securely to the trunk of the as the possibilities of his strange weapon. great tree on which he sat. He lost a long rope on this occasion, but he knew that had it been Thus far his plan had worked to perfection, but when he grasped the Sabor who had thus dragged him from his perch the outcome might rope, bracing himself behind a crotch of two mighty branches, he found have been very different, for he would have lost his life, doubtless, into that dragging the mighty, struggling, clawing, biting, screaming mass of the bargain. iron-muscled fury up to the tree and hanging her was a very different It took him many days to braid a new rope, but when, finally, it was proposition. done he went forth purposely to hunt, and lie in wait among the dense The weight of old Sabor was immense, and when she braced her foliage of a great branch right above the well-beaten trail that led to huge paws nothing less than Tantor, the elephant, himself, could have water. budged her. Several small animals passed unharmed beneath him. He did not The lioness was now back in the path where she could see the author

80 81 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS of the indignity which had been placed upon her. Screaming with rage she suddenly charged, leaping high into the air toward Tarzan, but when [ return to table of contents ] her huge body struck the limb on which Tarzan had been, Tarzan was no longer there. Instead he perched lightly upon a smaller branch twenty feet above the raging captive. For a moment Sabor hung half across the branch, while Tarzan mocked, and hurled twigs and branches at her unprotected face. Presently the beast dropped to the earth again and Tarzan came quickly to seize the rope, but Sabor had now found that it was only a slender cord that held her, and grasping it in her huge jaws severed it IX before Tarzan could tighten the strangling noose a second time. Tarzan was much hurt. His well-laid plan had come to naught, so he MAN and MAN sat there screaming at the roaring creature beneath him and making mocking grimaces at it. Sabor paced back and forth beneath the tree for hours; four times she crouched and sprang at the dancing sprite above her, but might as arzan of the Apes lived on in his wild, jungle existence with well have clutched at the illusive wind that murmured through the tree little change for several years, only that he grew stronger and tops. wiser, and learned from his books more and more of the strange At last Tarzan tired of the sport, and with a parting roar of challenge Tworlds which lay somewhere outside his primeval forest. and a well-aimed ripe fruit that spread soft and sticky over the snarling To him life was never monotonous or stale. There was always Pisah, face of his enemy, he swung rapidly through the trees, a hundred feet the fish, to be caught in the many streams and the little lakes, and Sabor, above the ground, and in a short time was among the members of his with her ferocious cousins to keep one ever on the alert and give zest to tribe. every instant that one spent upon the ground. Here he recounted the details of his adventure, with swelling chest Often they hunted him, and more often he hunted them, but though and so considerable swagger that he quite impressed even his bitterest they never quite reached him with those cruel, sharp claws of theirs, yet enemies, while Kala fairly danced for joy and pride. there were times when one could scarce have passed a thick leaf between their talons and his smooth hide. Quick was Sabor, the lioness, and quick were Numa and Sheeta, but Tarzan of the Apes was lightning. With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends. How? Ask not. But this is known to the denizens of the jungle, that on many moonlight nights Tarzan of the Apes and Tantor, the elephant, walked together, and where the way was clear Tarzan rode, perched high upon Tantor’s mighty back.

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Many days during these years he spent in the cabin of his father, household utensils and ivory. In the rear were a hundred warriors, where still lay, untouched, the bones of his parents and the skeleton of similar in all respects to the advance guard. Kala’s baby. At eighteen he read fluently and understood nearly all he That they more greatly feared an attack from the rear than whatever read in the many and varied volumes on the shelves. unknown enemies lurked in their advance was evidenced by the Also could he write, with printed letters, rapidly and plainly, but formation of the column; and such was the fact, for they were fleeing script he had not mastered, for though there were several copy books from the white man’s soldiers who had so harassed them for rubber among his treasure, there was so little written English in the cabin that and ivory that they had turned upon their conquerors one day and he saw no use for bothering with this other form of writing, though he massacred a white officer and a small detachment of his black troops. could read it, laboriously. For many days they had gorged themselves on meat, but eventually Thus, at eighteen, we find him, an English lordling, who could a stronger body of troops had come and fallen upon their village by speak no English, and yet who could read and write his native language. night to revenge the death of their comrades. Never had he seen a human being other than himself, for the little area That night the black soldiers of the white man had had meat traversed by his tribe was watered by no greater river to bring down the a-plenty, and this little remnant of a once powerful tribe had slunk off savage natives of the interior. into the gloomy jungle toward the unknown, and freedom. High hills shut it off on three sides, the ocean on the fourth. It was But that which meant freedom and the pursuit of happiness to alive with lions and leopards and poisonous snakes. Its untouched mazes these savage blacks meant consternation and death to many of the wild of matted jungle had as yet invited no hardy pioneer from the human denizens of their new home. beasts beyond its frontier. For three days the little cavalcade marched slowly through the But as Tarzan of the Apes sat one day in the cabin of his father heart of this unknown and untracked forest, until finally, early in the delving into the mysteries of a new book, the ancient security of his fourth day, they came upon a little spot near the banks of a small river, jungle was broken forever. which seemed less thickly overgrown than any ground they had yet encountered. t the far eastern confine a strange cavalcade strung, in single Here they set to work to build a new village, and in a month a great file, over the brow of a low hill. In advance were fifty black clearing had been made, huts and palisades erected, plantains, yams warriors armed with slender wooden spears with ends hard and maize planted, and they had taken up their old life in their new bakedA over slow fires, and long bows and poisoned arrows. On their home. Here there were no white men, no soldiers, nor any rubber or backs were oval shields, in their noses huge rings, while from the kinky ivory to be gathered for cruel and thankless taskmasters. wool of their heads protruded tufts of gay feathers. Several moons passed by ere the blacks ventured far into the Across their foreheads were tattooed three parallel lines of color, territory surrounding their new village. Several had already fallen prey and on each breast three concentric circles. Their yellow teeth were to old Sabor, and because the jungle was so infested with these fierce filed to sharp points, and their great protruding lips added still further and bloodthirsty cats, and with lions and leopards, the ebony warriors to the low and bestial brutishness of their appearance. hesitated to trust themselves far from the safety of their palisades. Following them were several hundred women and children, the But one day, Kulonga, a son of the old king, Mbonga, wandered far former bearing upon their heads great burdens of cooking pots, into the dense mazes to the west. Warily he stepped, his slender lance

84 85 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES ever ready, his long oval shield firmly grasped in his left hand close to A poor cast. It but grazed her side. his sleek ebony body. With a cry of rage and pain the she-ape turned upon her tormentor. At his back his bow, and in the quiver upon his shield many slim, In an instant the trees were crashing beneath the weight of her hurrying straight arrows, well smeared with the thick, dark, tarry substance that fellows, swinging rapidly toward the scene of trouble in answer to Kala’s rendered deadly their tiniest needle prick. scream. Night found Kulonga far from the palisades of his father’s village, As she charged, Kulonga unslung his bow and fitted an arrow with but still headed westward, and climbing into the fork of a great tree he almost unthinkable quickness. Drawing the shaft far back he drove the fashioned a rude platform and curled himself for sleep. poisoned missile straight into the heart of the great anthropoid. Three miles to the west slept the tribe of Kerchak. With a horrid scream Kala plunged forward upon her face before Early the next morning the apes were astir, moving through the the astonished members of her tribe. jungle in search of food. Tarzan, as was his custom, prosecuted his search Roaring and shrieking the apes dashed toward Kulonga, but that in the direction of the cabin so that by leisurely hunting on the way his wary savage was fleeing down the trail like a frightened antelope. stomach was filled by the time he reached the beach. He knew something of the ferocity of these wild, hairy men, and his The apes scattered by ones, and twos, and threes in all directions, but one desire was to put as many miles between himself and them as he ever within sound of a signal of alarm. possibly could. Kala had moved slowly along an elephant track toward the east, and They followed him, racing through the trees, for a long distance, but was busily engaged in turning over rotted limbs and logs in search of finally one by one they abandoned the chase and returned to the scene succulent bugs and fungi, when the faintest shadow of a strange noise of the tragedy. brought her to startled attention. None of them had ever seen a man before, other than Tarzan, and so For fifty yards before her the trail was straight, and down this leafy they wondered vaguely what strange manner of creature it might be that tunnel she saw the stealthy advancing figure of a strange and fearful had invaded their jungle. creature. It was Kulonga. n the far beach by the little cabin Tarzan heard the faint echoes of the conflict and knowing that something was ala did not wait to see more, but, turning, moved rapidly back seriously amiss among the tribe he hastened rapidly toward along the trail. She did not run; but, after the manner of her Othe direction of the sound. kind when not aroused, sought rather to avoid than to escape. When he arrived he found the entire tribe gathered jabbering about KClose after her came Kulonga. Here was meat. He could make a the dead body of his slain mother. killing and feast well this day. On he hurried, his spear poised for the Tarzan’s grief and anger were unbounded. He roared out his hideous throw. challenge time and again. He beat upon his great chest with his clenched At a turning of the trail he came in sight of her again upon another fists, and then he fell upon the body of Kala and sobbed out the pitiful straight stretch. His spear hand went far back, the muscles rolled, sorrowing of his lonely heart. lightning-like, beneath the sleek hide. Out shot the arm, and the spear To lose the only creature in all his world who ever had manifested sped toward Kala. love and affection for him was the greatest tragedy he had ever known.

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What though Kala was a fierce and hideous ape! To Tarzan she had he had fitted one of his death dealing arrows. been kind, she had been beautiful. Opposite him across the little clearing stood Horta, the boar, with Upon her he had lavished, unknown to himself, all the reverence and lowered head and foam flecked tusks, ready to charge. respect and love that a normal English boy feels for his own mother. He Tarzan looked with wonder upon the strange creature beneath him had never known another, and so to Kala was given, though mutely, all — so like him in form and yet so different in face and color. His books that would have belonged to the fair and lovely Lady Alice had she lived. had portrayed the NEGRO, but how different had been the dull, dead After the first outburst of grief Tarzan controlled himself, and print to this sleek thing of ebony, pulsing with life. questioning the members of the tribe who had witnessed the killing of As the man stood there with taut drawn bow Tarzan recognized Kala he learned all that their meager vocabulary could convey. him not so much the NEGRO as the ARCHER of his picture book — It was enough, however, for his needs. It told him of a strange, hairless, black ape with feathers growing upon its head, who launched A stands for Archer death from a slender branch, and then ran, with the fleetness of Bara, the How wonderful! Tarzan almost betrayed his presence in the deep deer, toward the rising sun. excitement of his discovery. Tarzan waited no longer, but leaping into the branches of the trees But things were commencing to happen below him. The sinewy sped rapidly through the forest. He knew the windings of the elephant black arm had drawn the shaft far back; Horta, the boar, was charging, trail along which Kala’s murderer had flown, and so he cut straight and then the black released the little poisoned arrow, and Tarzan saw it through the jungle to intercept the black warrior who was evidently fly with the quickness of thought and lodge in the bristling neck of the following the tortuous detours of the trail. boar. At his side was the hunting knife of his unknown sire, and across his Scarcely had the shaft left his bow ere Kulonga had fitted another to shoulders the coils of his own long rope. In an hour he struck the trail it, but Horta, the boar, was upon him so quickly that he had no time to again, and coming to earth examined the soil minutely. discharge it. With a bound the black leaped entirely over the rushing In the soft mud on the bank of a tiny rivulet he found footprints beast and turning with incredible swiftness planted a second arrow in such as he alone in all the jungle had ever made, but much larger than Horta’s back. his. His heart beat fast. Could it be that he was trailing a MAN — one Then Kulonga sprang into a near-by tree. of his own race? Horta wheeled to charge his enemy once more; a dozen steps he There were two sets of imprints pointing in opposite directions. So took, then he staggered and fell upon his side. For a moment his muscles his quarry had already passed on his return along the trail. As he stiffened and relaxed convulsively, then he lay still. examined the newer spoor a tiny particle of earth toppled from the outer Kulonga came down from his tree. edge of one of the footprints to the bottom of its shallow depression — With a knife that hung at his side he cut several large pieces from ah, the trail was very fresh, his prey must have but scarcely passed. the boar’s body, and in the center of the trail he built a fire, cooking and Tarzan swung himself to the trees once more, and with swift eating as much as he wanted. The rest he left where it had fallen. noiselessness sped along high above the trail. Tarzan was an interested spectator. His desire to kill burned fiercely He had covered barely a mile when he came upon the black warrior in his wild breast, but his desire to learn was even greater. He would standing in a little open space. In his hand was his slender bow to which follow this savage creature for a while and know from whence he came.

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He could kill him at his leisure later, when the bow and deadly arrows frightful manner as they fought with their jungle neighbors, yet as often were laid aside. recovered as not. When Kulonga had finished his repast and disappeared beyond a No, there was something mysterious connected with these tiny near turning of the path, Tarzan dropped quietly to the ground. With slivers of wood which could bring death by a mere scratch. He must look his knife he severed many strips of meat from Horta’s carcass, but he did into the matter. not cook them. That night Kulonga slept in the crotch of a mighty tree and far He had seen fire, but only when Ara, the lightning, had destroyed above him crouched Tarzan of the Apes. some great tree. That any creature of the jungle could produce the When Kulonga awoke he found that his bow and arrows had red-and-yellow fangs which devoured wood and left nothing but fine disappeared. The black warrior was furious and frightened, but more dust surprised Tarzan greatly, and why the black warrior had ruined his frightened than furious. He searched the ground below the tree, and he delicious repast by plunging it into the blighting heat was quite beyond searched the tree above the ground; but there was no sign of either bow him. Possibly Ara was a friend with whom the Archer was sharing his or arrows or of the nocturnal marauder. food. Kulonga was panic-stricken. His spear he had hurled at Kala and But, be that as it may, Tarzan would not ruin good meat in any such had not recovered; and, now that his bow and arrows were gone, he was foolish manner, so he gobbled down a great quantity of the raw flesh, defenseless except for a single knife. His only hope lay in reaching the burying the balance of the carcass beside the trail where he could find it village of Mbonga as quickly as his legs would carry him. upon his return. That he was not far from home he was certain, so he took the trail And then Lord Greystoke wiped his greasy fingers upon his naked at a rapid trot. thighs and took up the trail of Kulonga, the son of Mbonga, the king; From a great mass of impenetrable foliage a few yards away emerged while in far-off London another Lord Greystoke, the younger brother Tarzan of the Apes to swing quietly in his wake. of the real Lord Greystoke’s father, sent back his chops to the club’s chef Kulonga’s bow and arrows were securely tied high in the top of a because they were underdone, and when he had finished his repast he giant tree from which a patch of bark had been removed by a sharp knife dipped his finger-ends into a silver bowl of scented water and dried near to the ground, and a branch half cut through and left hanging about them upon a piece of snowy damask. fifty feet higher up. Thus Tarzan blazed the forest trails and marked his caches. ll day Tarzan followed Kulonga, hovering above him in the As Kulonga continued his journey Tarzan closed on him until he trees like some malign spirit. Twice more he saw him hurl his traveled almost over the black’s head. His rope he now held coiled in his arrows of destruction — once at Dango, the hyena, and again right hand; he was almost ready for the kill. atA Manu, the monkey. In each instance the animal died almost instantly, The moment was delayed only because Tarzan was anxious to for Kulonga’s poison was very fresh and very deadly. ascertain the black warrior’s destination, and presently he was rewarded, Tarzan thought much on this wondrous method of slaying as he for they came suddenly in view of a great clearing, at one end of which swung slowly along at a safe distance behind his quarry. He knew that lay many strange lairs. alone the tiny prick of the arrow could not so quickly dispatch these wild Tarzan was directly over Kulonga, as he made the discovery. The things of the jungle, who were often torn and scratched and gored in a forest ended abruptly and beyond lay two hundred yards of planted

90 91 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES fields between the jungle and the village. to us. Tarzan must act quickly or his prey would be gone; but Tarzan’s life But who was Kulonga that he might not be eaten as fairly as Horta, training left so little space between decision and action when an the boar, or Bara, the deer? Was he not simply another of the countless emergency confronted him that there was not even room for the shadow wild things of the jungle who preyed upon one another to satisfy the of a thought between. cravings of hunger? So it was that as Kulonga emerged from the shadow of the jungle a Suddenly, a strange doubt stayed his hand. Had not his books taught slender coil of rope sped sinuously above him from the lowest branch of him that he was a man? And was not The Archer a man, also? a mighty tree directly upon the edge of the fields of Mbonga, and ere the Did men eat men? Alas, he did not know. Why, then, this hesitancy! king’s son had taken a half dozen steps into the clearing a quick noose Once more he essayed the effort, but a qualm of nausea overwhelmed tightened about his neck. him. He did not understand. So quickly did Tarzan of the Apes drag back his prey that Kulonga’s All he knew was that he could not eat the flesh of this black man, cry of alarm was throttled in his windpipe. Hand over hand Tarzan drew and thus hereditary instinct, ages old, usurped the functions of his the struggling black until he had him hanging by his neck in mid-air; untaught mind and saved him from transgressing a worldwide law of then Tarzan climbed to a larger branch drawing the still threshing victim whose very existence he was ignorant. well up into the sheltering verdure of the tree. Quickly he lowered Kulonga’s body to the ground, removed the Here he fastened the rope securely to a stout branch, and then, noose, and took to the trees again. descending, plunged his hunting knife into Kulonga’s heart. Kala was avenged.

arzan examined the black minutely, for he had never seen any other human being. The knife with its sheath and belt caught his eye; he appropriated them. A copper anklet also took his Tfancy, and this he transferred to his own leg. He examined and admired the tattooing on the forehead and breast. He marveled at the sharp filed teeth. He investigated and appropriated the feathered headdress, and then he prepared to get down to business, for Tarzan of the Apes was hungry, and here was meat; meat of the kill, which jungle ethics permitted him to eat. How may we judge him, by what standards, this ape-man with the heart and head and body of an English gentleman, and the training of a wild beast? Tublat, whom he had hated and who had hated him, he had killed in a fair fight, and yet never had the thought of eating Tublat’s flesh entered his head. It would have been as revolting to him as is cannibalism

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X

THE FEAR-PHANTOM

rom a lofty perch Tarzan viewed the village of thatched huts across the intervening plantation. He saw that at one point the forest touched the village, and toF this spot he made his way, lured by a fever of curiosity to behold animals of his own kind, and to learn more of their ways and view the strange lairs in which they lived. His savage life among the fierce wild brutes of the jungle left no opening for any thought that these could be aught else than enemies. Similarity of form led him into no erroneous conception of the welcome that would be accorded him should he be discovered by these, the first of his own kind he had ever seen. Tarzan of the Apes was no sentimentalist. He knew nothing of the brotherhood of man. All things outside his own tribe were his deadly enemies, with the few exceptions of which Tantor, the elephant, was a marked example. And he realized all this without malice or hatred. To kill was the law of the wild world he knew. Few were his primitive pleasures, but the greatest of these was to hunt and kill, and so he accorded to others the THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES right to cherish the same desires as he, even though he himself might be evidence of a man tilling the fields or performing any of the homely the object of their hunt. duties of the village. His strange life had left him neither morose nor bloodthirsty. That he Finally his eyes rested upon a woman directly beneath him. joyed in killing, and that he killed with a joyous laugh upon his handsome Before her was a small cauldron standing over a low fire and in it lips betokened no innate cruelty. He killed for food most often, but, being bubbled a thick, reddish, tarry mass. On one side of her lay a quantity of a man, he sometimes killed for pleasure, a thing which no other animal wooden arrows the points of which she dipped into the seething does; for it has remained for man alone among all creatures to kill substance, then laying them upon a narrow rack of boughs which stood senselessly and wantonly for the mere pleasure of inflicting suffering and upon her other side. death. Tarzan of the Apes was fascinated. Here was the secret of the terrible And when he killed for revenge, or in self-defense, he did that also destructiveness of The Archer’s tiny missiles. He noted the extreme care without hysteria, for it was a very businesslike proceeding which admitted which the woman took that none of the matter should touch her hands, of no levity. and once when a particle spattered upon one of her fingers he saw her So it was that now, as he cautiously approached the village of Mbonga, plunge the member into a vessel of water and quickly rub the tiny stain he was quite prepared either to kill or be killed should he be discovered. away with a handful of leaves. He proceeded with unwonted stealth, for Kulonga had taught him great Tarzan knew nothing of poison, but his shrewd reasoning told him respect for the little sharp splinters of wood which dealt death so swiftly that it was this deadly stuff that killed, and not the little arrow, which and unerringly. was merely the messenger that carried it into the body of its victim. At length he came to a great tree, heavy laden with thick foliage and How he should like to have more of those little death-dealing slivers. loaded with pendant loops of giant creepers. From this almost impenetrable If the woman would only leave her work for an instant he could drop bower above the village he crouched, looking down upon the scene below down, gather up a handful, and be back in the tree again before she drew him, wondering over every feature of this new, strange life. three breaths. There were naked children running and playing in the village street. As he was trying to think out some plan to distract her attention he There were women grinding dried plantain in crude stone mortars, while heard a wild cry from across the clearing. He looked and saw a black others were fashioning cakes from the powdered flour. Out in the fields he warrior standing beneath the very tree in which he had killed the could see still other women hoeing, weeding, or gathering. murderer of Kala an hour before. All wore strange protruding girdles of dried grass about their hips and The fellow was shouting and waving his spear above his head. Now many were loaded with brass and copper anklets, armlets and bracelets. and again he would point to something on the ground before him. Around many a dusky neck hung curiously coiled strands of wire, while The village was in an uproar instantly. Armed men rushed from the several were further ornamented by huge nose rings. interior of many a hut and raced madly across the clearing toward the Tarzan of the Apes looked with growing wonder at these strange excited sentry. After them trooped the old men, and the women and creatures. Dozing in the shade he saw several men, while at the extreme children until, in a moment, the village was deserted. outskirts of the clearing he occasionally caught glimpses of armed warriors Tarzan of the Apes knew that they had found the body of his victim, apparently guarding the village against surprise from an attacking enemy. but that interested him far less than the fact that no one remained in the He noticed that the women alone worked. Nowhere was there village to prevent his taking a supply of the arrows which lay below him.

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Quickly and noiselessly he dropped to the ground beside the like some wild bird ready to take swift wing at the first sign of danger. cauldron of poison. For a moment he stood motionless, his quick, bright The natives filed up the street, four of them bearing the dead body eyes scanning the interior of the palisade. of Kulonga. Behind trailed the women, uttering strange cries and weird No one was in sight. His eyes rested upon the open doorway of a lamentation. On they came to the portals of Kulonga’s hut, the very one nearby hut. He would take a look within, thought Tarzan, and so, in which Tarzan had wrought his depredations. cautiously, he approached the low thatched building. Scarcely had half a dozen entered the building ere they came rushing For a moment he stood without, listening intently. There was no out in wild, jabbering confusion. The others hastened to gather about. sound, and he glided into the semi-darkness of the interior. There was much excited gesticulating, pointing, and chattering; then Weapons hung against the walls — long spears, strangely shaped several of the warriors approached and peered within. knives, a couple of narrow shields. In the center of the room was a Finally an old fellow with many ornaments of metal about his arms cooking pot, and at the far end a litter of dry grasses covered by woven and legs, and a necklace of dried human hands depending upon his mats which evidently served the owners as beds and bedding. Several chest, entered the hut. human skulls lay upon the floor. It was Mbonga, the king, father of Kulonga. Tarzan of the Apes felt of each article, hefted the spears, smelled of For a few moments all was silent. Then Mbonga emerged, a look of them, for he “saw” largely through his sensitive and highly trained mingled wrath and superstitious fear writ upon his hideous countenance. nostrils. He determined to own one of these long, pointed sticks, but he He spoke a few words to the assembled warriors, and in an instant the could not take one on this trip because of the arrows he meant to carry. men were flying through the little village searching minutely every hut As he took each article from the walls, he placed it in a pile in the and corner within the palisades. center of the room. On top of all he placed the cooking pot, inverted, Scarcely had the search commenced than the overturned cauldron and on top of this he laid one of the grinning skulls, upon which he was discovered, and with it the theft of the poisoned arrows. Nothing fastened the headdress of the dead Kulonga. more they found, and it was a thoroughly awed and frightened group of Then he stood back, surveyed his work, and grinned. Tarzan of the savages which huddled around their king a few moments later. Apes enjoyed a joke. Mbonga could explain nothing of the strange events that had taken But now he heard, outside, the sounds of many voices, and long place. The finding of the still warm body of Kulonga — on the very mournful howls, and mighty wailing. He was startled. Had he remained verge of their fields and within easy earshot of the village — knifed and too long? Quickly he reached the doorway and peered down the village stripped at the door of his father’s home, was in itself sufficiently street toward the village gate. mysterious, but these last awesome discoveries within the village, within The natives were not yet in sight, though he could plainly hear them the dead Kulonga’s own hut, filled their hearts with dismay, and conjured approaching across the plantation. They must be very near. in their poor brains only the most frightful of superstitious explanations. Like a flash he sprang across the opening to the pile of arrows. They stood in little groups, talking in low tones, and ever casting Gathering up all he could carry under one arm, he overturned the affrighted glances behind them from their great rolling eyes. seething cauldron with a kick, and disappeared into the foliage above Tarzan of the Apes watched them for a while from his lofty perch in just as the first of the returning natives entered the gate at the far end of the great tree. There was much in their demeanor which he could not the village street. Then he turned to watch the proceeding below, poised understand, for of superstition he was ignorant, and of fear of any kind

98 99 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS he had but a vague conception. The sun was high in the heavens. Tarzan had not broken fast this [ return to table of contents ] day, and it was many miles to where lay the toothsome remains of Horta the boar. So he turned his back upon the village of Mbonga and melted away into the leafy fastness of the forest.

XI

“KING of the APES”

t was not yet dark when he reached the tribe, though he stopped to exhume and devour the remains of the wild boar he had cached the preceding day, and again to take Kulonga’s bow and arrows from the Itree top in which he had hidden them. It was a well-laden Tarzan who dropped from the branches into the midst of the tribe of Kerchak. With swelling chest he narrated the glories of his adventure and exhibited the spoils of conquest. Kerchak grunted and turned away, for he was jealous of this strange member of his band. In his little evil brain he sought for some excuse to wreak his hatred upon Tarzan. The next day Tarzan was practicing with his bow and arrows at the first gleam of dawn. At first he lost nearly every bolt he shot, but finally he learned to guide the little shafts with fair accuracy, and ere a month had passed he was no mean shot; but his proficiency had cost him nearly his entire supply of arrows. The tribe continued to find the hunting good in the vicinity of the beach, and so Tarzan of the Apes varied his archery practice with further

100 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES investigation of his father’s choice though little store of books. and in his head a fixed determination to solve the mystery of the strange It was during this period that the young English lord found hidden words in the little black book. in the back of one of the cupboards in the cabin a small metal box. The At present he had more important business in hand, for his supply key was in the lock, and a few moments of investigation and of arrows was exhausted, and he must needs journey to the black men’s experimentation were rewarded with the successful opening of the village and renew it. receptacle. In it he found a faded photograph of a smooth faced young man, a arly the following morning he set out, and, traveling rapidly, he golden locket studded with diamonds, linked to a small gold chain, a few came before midday to the clearing. Once more he took up his letters and a small book. position in the great tree, and, as before, he saw the women in Tarzan examined these all minutely. Ethe fields and the village street, and the cauldron of bubbling poison The photograph he liked most of all, for the eyes were smiling, and directly beneath him. the face was open and frank. It was his father. For hours he lay awaiting his opportunity to drop down unseen and The locket, too, took his fancy, and he placed the chain about his gather up the arrows for which he had come; but nothing now occurred neck in imitation of the ornamentation he had seen to be so common to call the villagers away from their homes. The day wore on, and still among the black men he had visited. The brilliant stones gleamed Tarzan of the Apes crouched above the unsuspecting woman at the strangely against his smooth, brown hide. cauldron. The letters he could scarcely decipher for he had learned little or Presently the workers in the fields returned. The hunting warriors nothing of script, so he put them back in the box with the photograph emerged from the forest, and when all were within the palisade the gates and turned his attention to the book. were closed and barred. This was almost entirely filled with fine script, but while the Many cooking pots were now in evidence about the village. Before little bugs were all familiar to him, their arrangement and the each hut a woman presided over a boiling stew, while little cakes of combinations in which they occurred were strange, and entirely plantain, and cassava puddings were to be seen on every hand. incomprehensible. Suddenly there came a hail from the edge of the clearing. Tarzan had long since learned the use of the dictionary, but much to Tarzan looked. his sorrow and perplexity it proved of no avail to him in this emergency. It was a party of belated hunters returning from the north, and Not a word of all that was writ in the book could he find, and so he put among them they half led, half carried a struggling animal. it back in the metal box, but with a determination to work out the As they approached the village the gates were thrown open to admit mysteries of it later on. them, and then, as the people saw the victim of the chase, a savage cry Little did he know that this book held between its covers the key to rose to the heavens, for the quarry was a man. his origin — the answer to the strange riddle of his strange life. It was As he was dragged, still resisting, into the village street, the women the diary of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke — kept in French, as had and children set upon him with sticks and stones, and Tarzan of the always been his custom. Apes, young and savage beast of the jungle, wondered at the cruel Tarzan replaced the box in the cupboard, but always thereafter he brutality of his own kind. carried the features of the strong, smiling face of his father in his heart, Sheeta, the leopard, alone of all the jungle folk, tortured his prey.

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The ethics of all the others meted a quick and merciful death to their Then it was that Tarzan of the Apes saw his chance. All eyes were victims. fixed upon the thrilling spectacle at the stake. The light of day had given Tarzan had learned from his books but scattered fragments of the place to the darkness of a moonless night, and only the fires in the ways of human beings. immediate vicinity of the orgy had been kept alight to cast a restless When he had followed Kulonga through the forest he had expected glow upon the restless scene. to come to a city of strange houses on wheels, puffing clouds of black Gently the lithe boy dropped to the soft earth at the end of the smoke from a huge tree stuck in the roof of one of them — or to a sea village street. Quickly he gathered up the arrows — all of them this time, covered with mighty floating buildings which he had learned were for he had brought a number of long fibers to bind them into a bundle. called, variously, ships and boats and steamers and craft. Without haste he wrapped them securely, and then, ere he turned to He had been sorely disappointed with the poor little village of the leave, the devil of capriciousness entered his heart. He looked about for blacks, hidden away in his own jungle, and with not a single house as some hint of a wild prank to play upon these strange, grotesque creatures large as his own cabin upon the distant beach. that they might be again aware of his presence among them. He saw that these people were more wicked than his own apes, and Dropping his bundle of arrows at the foot of the tree, Tarzan crept as savage and cruel as Sabor, herself. Tarzan began to hold his own kind among the shadows at the side of the street until he came to the same in low esteem. hut he had entered on the occasion of his first visit. Now they had tied their poor victim to a great post near the center Inside all was darkness, but his groping hands soon found the object of the village, directly before Mbonga’s hut, and here they formed a for which he sought, and without further delay he turned again toward dancing, yelling circle of warriors about him, alive with flashing knives the door. and menacing spears. He had taken but a step, however, ere his quick ear caught the sound In a larger circle squatted the women, yelling and beating upon of approaching footsteps immediately without. In another instant the drums. It reminded Tarzan of the Dum-Dum, and so he knew what to figure of a woman darkened the entrance of the hut. expect. He wondered if they would spring upon their meat while it was Tarzan drew back silently to the far wall, and his hand sought the still alive. The Apes did not do such things as that. long, keen hunting knife of his father. The woman came quickly to the The circle of warriors about the cringing captive drew closer and center of the hut. There she paused for an instant feeling about with her closer to their prey as they danced in wild and savage abandon to the hands for the thing she sought. Evidently it was not in its accustomed maddening music of the drums. Presently a spear reached out and place, for she explored ever nearer and nearer the wall where Tarzan pricked the victim. It was the signal for fifty others. stood. Eyes, ears, arms and legs were pierced; every inch of the poor So close was she now that the ape-man felt the animal warmth of writhing body that did not cover a vital organ became the target of the her naked body. Up went the hunting knife, and then the woman turned cruel lancers. to one side and soon a guttural “ah” proclaimed that her search had at The women and children shrieked their delight. last been successful. The warriors licked their hideous lips in anticipation of the feast to Immediately she turned and left the hut, and as she passed through come, and vied with one another in the savagery and loathsomeness of the doorway Tarzan saw that she carried a cooking pot in her hand. the cruel indignities with which they tortured the still conscious prisoner. He followed closely after her, and as he reconnoitered from the

104 105 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES shadows of the doorway he saw that all the women of the village were But the seed of fear was deep sown, and had he but known it, Tarzan hastening to and from the various huts with pots and kettles. These they of the Apes had laid the foundation for much future misery for himself were filling with water and placing over a number of fires near the stake and his tribe. where the dying victim now hung, an inert and bloody mass of suffering. Choosing a moment when none seemed near, Tarzan hastened to hat night he slept in the forest not far from the village, and his bundle of arrows beneath the great tree at the end of the village early the next morning set out slowly on his homeward march, street. As on the former occasion he overthrew the cauldron before hunting as he traveled. Only a few berries and an occasional leaping, sinuous and catlike, into the lower branches of the forest giant. Tgrub worm rewarded his search, and he was half famished when, looking Silently he climbed to a great height until he found a point where up from a log he had been rooting beneath, he saw Sabor, the lioness, he could look through a leafy opening upon the scene beneath him. standing in the center of the trail not twenty paces from him. The women were now preparing the prisoner for their cooking pots, The great yellow eyes were fixed upon him with a wicked and baleful while the men stood about resting after the fatigue of their mad revel. gleam, and the red tongue licked the longing lips as Sabor crouched, Comparative quiet reigned in the village. worming her stealthy way with belly flattened against the earth. Tarzan raised aloft the thing he had pilfered from the hut, and, with Tarzan did not attempt to escape. He welcomed the opportunity for aim made true by years of fruit and coconut throwing, launched it toward which, in fact, he had been searching for days past, now that he was the group of savages. armed with something more than a rope of grass. Squarely among them it fell, striking one of the warriors full upon Quickly he unslung his bow and fitted a well-daubed arrow, and as the head and felling him to the ground. Then it rolled among the women Sabor sprang, the tiny missile leaped to meet her in mid-air. At the same and stopped beside the half-butchered thing they were preparing to instant Tarzan of the Apes jumped to one side, and as the great cat feast upon. struck the ground beyond him another death-tipped arrow sunk deep All gazed in consternation at it for an instant, and then, with one into Sabor’s loin. accord, broke and ran for their huts. With a mighty roar the beast turned and charged once more, only to It was a grinning human skull which looked up at them from the be met with a third arrow full in one eye; but this time she was too close ground. The dropping of the thing out of the open sky was a miracle to the ape-man for the latter to sidestep the onrushing body. well aimed to work upon their superstitious fears. Tarzan of the Apes went down beneath the great body of his enemy, Thus Tarzan of the Apes left them filled with terror at this new but with gleaming knife drawn and striking home. For a moment they manifestation of the presence of some unseen and unearthly evil power lay there, and then Tarzan realized that the inert mass lying upon him which lurked in the forest about their village. was beyond power ever again to injure man or ape. Later, when they discovered the overturned cauldron, and that once With difficulty he wriggled from beneath the great weight, and as more their arrows had been pilfered, it commenced to dawn upon them he stood erect and gazed down upon the trophy of his skill, a mighty that they had offended some great god by placing their village in this wave of exultation swept over him. part of the jungle without propitiating him. From then on an offering of With swelling breast, he placed a foot upon the body of his powerful food was daily placed below the great tree from whence the arrows had enemy, and throwing back his fine young head, roared out the awful disappeared in an effort to conciliate the mighty one. challenge of the victorious bull ape.

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The forest echoed to the savage and triumphant paean. Birds fell was no word for man, and Tarzan could only write the word in English; still, and the larger animals and beasts of prey slunk stealthily away, for he could not pronounce it. few there were of all the jungle who sought for trouble with the great The tribe had gathered about to look upon the proof of his wondrous anthropoids. prowess, and to listen to his words. And in London another Lord Greystoke was speaking to his kind in Only Kerchak hung back, nursing his hatred and his rage. the House of Lords, but none trembled at the sound of his soft voice. Suddenly something snapped in the wicked little brain of the anthropoid. With a frightful roar the great beast sprang among the abor proved unsavory eating even to Tarzan of the Apes, but assemblage. hunger served as a most efficacious disguise to toughness and Biting, and striking with his huge hands, he killed and maimed a rank taste, and ere long, with well-filled stomach, the ape-man dozen ere the balance could escape to the upper terraces of the forest. Swas ready to sleep again. First, however, he must remove the hide, for it Frothing and shrieking in the insanity of his fury, Kerchak looked was as much for this as for any other purpose that he had desired to about for the object of his greatest hatred, and there, upon a near-by destroy Sabor. limb, he saw him sitting. Deftly he removed the great pelt, for he had practiced often on “Come down, Tarzan, great killer,” cried Kerchak. “Come down and smaller animals. When the task was finished he carried his trophy to the feel the fangs of a greater! Do mighty fighters fly to the trees at the first fork of a high tree, and there, curling himself securely in a crotch, he fell approach of danger?” And then Kerchak emitted the volleying challenge into deep and dreamless slumber. of his kind. What with loss of sleep, arduous exercise, and a full belly, Tarzan of Quietly Tarzan dropped to the ground. Breathlessly the tribe the Apes slept the sun around, awakening about noon of the following watched from their lofty perches as Kerchak, still roaring, charged the day. He straightway repaired to the carcass of Sabor, but was angered to relatively puny figure. find the bones picked clean by other hungry denizens of the jungle. Nearly seven feet stood Kerchak on his short legs. His enormous Half an hour’s leisurely progress through the forest brought to sight shoulders were bunched and rounded with huge muscles. The back of a young deer, and before the little creature knew that an enemy was near his short neck was as a single lump of iron sinew which bulged beyond a tiny arrow had lodged in its neck. the base of his skull, so that his head seemed like a small ball protruding So quickly the virus worked that at the end of a dozen leaps the deer from a huge mountain of flesh. plunged headlong into the undergrowth, dead. Again did Tarzan feast His back-drawn, snarling lips exposed his great fighting fangs, and well, but this time he did not sleep. his little, wicked, blood-shot eyes gleamed in horrid reflection of his Instead, he hastened on toward the point where he had left the tribe, madness. and when he had found them proudly exhibited the skin of Sabor, the Awaiting him stood Tarzan, himself a mighty muscled animal, but lioness. his six feet of height and his great rolling sinews seemed pitifully “Look!” he cried, “Apes of Kerchak. See what Tarzan, the mighty inadequate to the ordeal which awaited them. killer, has done. Who else among you has ever killed one of Numa’s His bow and arrows lay some distance away where he had dropped people? Tarzan is mightiest amongst you for Tarzan is no ape. Tarzan is them while showing Sabor’s hide to his fellow apes, so that he — ” But here he stopped, for in the language of the anthropoids there confronted Kerchak now with only his hunting knife and his superior

108 109 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES intellect to offset the ferocious strength of his enemy. the neck of his vanquished enemy, and once again, loud through the As his antagonist came roaring toward him, Lord Greystoke tore his forest rang the fierce, wild cry of the conqueror. long knife from its sheath, and with an answering challenge as horrid And thus came the young Lord Greystoke into the kingship of the and bloodcurdling as that of the beast he faced, rushed swiftly to meet Apes. the attack. He was too shrewd to allow those long hairy arms to encircle him, and just as their bodies were about to crash together, Tarzan of the Apes grasped one of the huge wrists of his assailant, and, springing lightly to one side, drove his knife to the hilt into Kerchak’s body, below the heart. Before he could wrench the blade free again, the bull’s quick lunge to seize him in those awful arms had torn the weapon from Tarzan’s grasp. Kerchak aimed a terrific blow at the ape-man’s head with the flat of his hand, a blow which, had it landed, might easily have crushed in the side of Tarzan’s skull. The man was too quick, and, ducking beneath it, himself delivered a mighty one, with clenched fist, in the pit of Kerchak’s stomach. The ape was staggered, and what with the mortal wound in his side had almost collapsed, when, with one mighty effort he rallied for an instant — just long enough to enable him to wrest his arm free from Tarzan’s grasp and close in a terrific clinch with his wiry opponent. Straining the ape-man close to him, his great jaws sought Tarzan’s throat, but the young lord’s sinewy fingers were at Kerchak’s own before the cruel fangs could close on the sleek brown skin. Thus they struggled, the one to crush out his opponent’s life with those awful teeth, the other to close forever the windpipe beneath his strong grasp while he held the snarling mouth from him. The greater strength of the ape was slowly prevailing, and the teeth of the straining beast were scarce an inch from Tarzan’s throat when, with a shuddering tremor, the great body stiffened for an instant and then sank limply to the ground. Kerchak was dead. Withdrawing the knife that had so often rendered him master of far mightier muscles than his own, Tarzan of the Apes placed his foot upon

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XII

MAN’S REASON

here was one of the tribe of Tarzan who questioned his authority, and that was Terkoz, the son of Tublat, but he so feared the keen knife and the deadly arrows of his new lord that he Tconfined the manifestation of his objections to petty disobediences and irritating mannerisms; Tarzan knew, however, that he but waited his opportunity to wrest the kingship from him by some sudden stroke of treachery, and so he was ever on his guard against surprise. For months the life of the little band went on much as it had before, except that Tarzan’s greater intelligence and his ability as a hunter were the means of providing for them more bountifully than ever before. Most of them, therefore, were more than content with the change in rulers. Tarzan led them by night to the fields of the black men, and there, warned by their chief ’s superior wisdom, they ate only what they required, nor ever did they destroy what they could not eat, as is the way of Manu, the monkey, and of most apes. So, while the blacks were wroth at the continued pilfering of their fields, they were not discouraged in their efforts to cultivate the land, as THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES would have been the case had Tarzan permitted his people to lay waste contents of the little cabin forever. But when one day a member of the the plantation wantonly. tribe discovered the blacks in great numbers on the banks of a little During this period Tarzan paid many nocturnal visits to the village, stream that had been their watering place for generations, and in the act where he often renewed his supply of arrows. He soon noticed the food of clearing a space in the jungle and erecting many huts, the apes would always standing at the foot of the tree which was his avenue into the remain no longer; and so Tarzan led them inland for many marches to a palisade, and after a little, he commenced to eat whatever the blacks put spot as yet undefiled by the foot of a human being. there. Once every moon Tarzan would go swinging rapidly back through When the awe-struck savages saw that the food disappeared the swaying branches to have a day with his books, and to replenish his overnight they were filled with consternation and dread, for it was one supply of arrows. This latter task was becoming more and more difficult, thing to put food out to propitiate a god or a devil, but quite another for the blacks had taken to hiding their supply away at night in granaries thing to have the spirit really come into the village and eat it. Such a and living huts. thing was unheard of, and it clouded their superstitious minds with all This necessitated watching by day on Tarzan’s part to discover where manner of vague fears. the arrows were being concealed. Nor was this all. The periodic disappearance of their arrows, and the Twice had he entered huts at night while the inmates lay sleeping strange pranks perpetrated by unseen hands, had wrought them to such upon their mats, and stolen the arrows from the very sides of the warriors. a state that life had become a veritable burden in their new home, and But this method he realized to be too fraught with danger, and so he now it was that Mbonga and his head men began to talk of abandoning commenced picking up solitary hunters with his long, deadly noose, the village and seeking a site farther on in the jungle. stripping them of weapons and ornaments and dropping their bodies Presently the black warriors began to strike farther and farther south from a high tree into the village street during the still watches of the into the heart of the forest when they went to hunt, looking for a site for night. a new village. These various escapades again so terrorized the blacks that, had it More often was the tribe of Tarzan disturbed by these wandering not been for the monthly respite between Tarzan’s visits, in which they huntsmen. Now was the quiet, fierce solitude of the primeval forest had opportunity to renew hope that each fresh incursion would prove broken by new, strange cries. No longer was there safety for bird or beast. the last, they soon would have abandoned their new village. Man had come. The blacks had not as yet come upon Tarzan’s cabin on the distant Other animals passed up and down the jungle by day and by night beach, but the ape-man lived in constant dread that, while he was away — fierce, cruel beasts — but their weaker neighbors only fled from their with the tribe, they would discover and despoil his treasure. So it came immediate vicinity to return again when the danger was past. that he spent more and more time in the vicinity of his father’s last With man it is different. When he comes many of the larger animals home, and less and less with the tribe. Presently the members of his little instinctively leave the district entirely, seldom if ever to return; and thus community began to suffer on account of his neglect, for disputes and it has always been with the great anthropoids. They flee man as man quarrels constantly arose which only the king might settle peaceably. flees a pestilence. At last some of the older apes spoke to Tarzan on the subject, and For a short time the tribe of Tarzan lingered in the vicinity of the for a month thereafter he remained constantly with the tribe. beach because their new chief hated the thought of leaving the treasured

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he duties of kingship among the anthropoids are not many or the basis for agreeable association. arduous. Had Kala lived, Tarzan would have sacrificed all else to remain near In the afternoon comes Thaka, possibly, to complain that her, but now that she was dead, and the playful friends of his childhood oldT Mungo has stolen his new wife. Then must Tarzan summon all grown into fierce and surly brutes he felt that he much preferred the before him, and if he finds that the wife prefers her new lord he peace and solitude of his cabin to the irksome duties of leadership commands that matters remain as they are, or possibly that Mungo amongst a horde of wild beasts. give Thaka one of his daughters in exchange. The hatred and jealousy of Terkoz, son of Tublat, did much to Whatever his decision, the apes accept it as final, and return to counteract the effect of Tarzan’s desire to renounce his kingship among their occupations satisfied. the apes, for, stubborn young Englishman that he was, he could not Then comes Tana, shrieking and holding tight her side from which bring himself to retreat in the face of so malignant an enemy. blood is streaming. Gunto, her husband, has cruelly bitten her! And That Terkoz would be chosen leader in his stead he knew full well, Gunto, summoned, says that Tana is lazy and will not bring him nuts for time and again the ferocious brute had established his claim to and beetles, or scratch his back for him. physical supremacy over the few bull apes who had dared resent his So Tarzan scolds them both and threatens Gunto with a taste of savage bullying. the death-bearing slivers if he abuses Tana further, and Tana, for her Tarzan would have liked to subdue the ugly beast without recourse part, is compelled to promise better attention to her wifely duties. to knife or arrows. So much had his great strength and agility increased And so it goes, little family differences for the most part, which, if in the period following his maturity that he had come to believe that he left unsettled would result finally in greater factional strife, and the might master the redoubtable Terkoz in a hand to hand fight were it not eventual dismemberment of the tribe. for the terrible advantage the anthropoid’s huge fighting fangs gave him But Tarzan tired of it, as he found that kingship meant the over the poorly armed Tarzan. curtailment of his liberty. He longed for the little cabin and the The entire matter was taken out of Tarzan’s hands one day by force sun-kissed sea — for the cool interior of the well-built house, and for of circumstances, and his future left open to him, so that he might go or the never-ending wonders of the many books. stay without any stain upon his savage escutcheon. As he had grown older, he found that he had grown away from his It happened thus: people. Their interests and his were far removed. They had not kept pace with him, nor could they understand aught of the many strange he tribe was feeding quietly, spread over a considerable area, and wonderful dreams that passed through the active brain of their when a great screaming arose some distance east of where human king. So limited was their vocabulary that Tarzan could not Tarzan lay upon his belly beside a limpid brook, attempting to even talk with them of the many new truths, and the great fields of Tcatch an elusive fish in his quick, brown hands. thought that his reading had opened up before his longing eyes, or With one accord the tribe swung rapidly toward the frightened make known ambitions which stirred his soul. cries, and there found Terkoz holding an old female by the hair and Among the tribe he no longer had friends as of old. A little child beating her unmercifully with his great hands. may find companionship in many strange and simple creatures, but to As Tarzan approached he raised his hand aloft for Terkoz to desist, a grown man there must be some semblance of equality in intellect as for the female was not his, but belonged to a poor old ape whose fighting

116 117 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES days were long over, and who, therefore, could not protect his family. a moment, to regain their breath, Tarzan formed a cunning plan. He Terkoz knew that it was against the laws of his kind to strike this would work his way to the other’s back and, clinging there with tooth woman of another, but being a bully, he had taken advantage of the and nail, drive his knife home until Terkoz was no more. weakness of the female’s husband to chastise her because she had refused The maneuver was accomplished more easily than he had hoped, to give up to him a tender young rodent she had captured. for the stupid beast, not knowing what Tarzan was attempting, made When Terkoz saw Tarzan approaching without his arrows, he no particular effort to prevent the accomplishment of the design. continued to belabor the poor woman in a studied effort to affront his But when, finally, he realized that his antagonist was fastened to hated chieftain. him where his teeth and fists alike were useless against him, Terkoz Tarzan did not repeat his warning signal, but instead rushed bodily hurled himself about upon the ground so violently that Tarzan could upon the waiting Terkoz. but cling desperately to the leaping, turning, twisting body, and ere he Never had the ape-man fought so terrible a battle since that long- had struck a blow the knife was hurled from his hand by a heavy impact gone day when Bolgani, the great king gorilla had so horribly manhandled against the earth, and Tarzan found himself defenseless. him ere the new-found knife had, by accident, pricked the savage heart. During the rollings and squirmings of the next few minutes, Tarzan’s knife on the present occasion but barely offset the gleaming Tarzan’s hold was loosened a dozen times until finally an accidental fangs of Terkoz, and what little advantage the ape had over the man in circumstance of those swift and everchanging evolutions gave him a brute strength was almost balanced by the latter’s wonderful quickness new hold with his right hand, which he realized was absolutely and agility. unassailable. In the sum total of their points, however, the anthropoid had a His arm was passed beneath Terkoz’s arm from behind and his shade the better of the battle, and had there been no other personal hand and forearm encircled the back of Terkoz’s neck. It was the half- attribute to influence the final outcome, Tarzan of the Apes, the young Nelson of modern wrestling which the untaught ape-man had Lord Greystoke, would have died as he had lived — an unknown stumbled upon, but superior reason showed him in an instant the value savage beast in equatorial Africa. of the thing he had discovered. It was the difference to him between But there was that which had raised him far above his fellows of life and death. the jungle — that little spark which spells the whole vast difference And so he struggled to encompass a similar hold with the left between man and brute — Reason. This it was which saved him from hand, and in a few moments Terkoz’s bull neck was creaking beneath death beneath the iron muscles and tearing fangs of Terkoz. a full-Nelson. Scarcely had they fought a dozen seconds ere they were rolling There was no more lunging about now. The two lay perfectly still upon the ground, striking, tearing and rending — two great savage upon the ground, Tarzan upon Terkoz’s back. Slowly the bullet head of beasts battling to the death. the ape was being forced lower and lower upon his chest. Terkoz had a dozen knife wounds on head and breast, and Tarzan Tarzan knew what the result would be. In an instant the neck was torn and bleeding — his scalp in one place half torn from his head would break. Then there came to Terkoz’s rescue the same thing that so that a great piece hung down over one eye, obstructing his vision. had put him in these sore straits — a man’s reasoning power. But so far the young Englishman had been able to keep those “If I kill him,” thought Tarzan, “what advantage will it be to me? horrible fangs from his jugular and now, as they fought less fiercely for Will it not rob the tribe of a great fighter? And if Terkoz be dead, he

118 119 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES will know nothing of my supremacy, while alive he will ever be an You must choose another to rule you, for Tarzan will not return.” example to the other apes.” And thus young Lord Greystoke took the first step toward the “Ka-goda?” hissed Tarzan in Terkoz’s ear, which, in ape tongue, goal which he had set — the finding of other white men like himself. means, freely translated: “Do you surrender?” For a moment there was no reply, and Tarzan added a few more ounces of pressure, which elicited a horrified shriek of pain from the great beast. “Ka-goda?” repeated Tarzan. “Ka-goda!” cried Terkoz. “Listen,” said Tarzan, easing up a trifle, but not releasing his hold. “I am Tarzan, King of the Apes, mighty hunter, mighty fighter. In all the jungle there is none so great. “You have said: ‘Ka-goda to me. All the tribe have heard. Quarrel no more with your king or your people, for next time I shall kill you. Do you understand?” “Huh,” assented Terkoz. “And you are satisfied?” “Huh,” said the ape. Tarzan let him up, and in a few minutes all were back at their vocations, as though naught had occurred to mar the tranquility of their primeval forest haunts. But deep in the minds of the apes was rooted the conviction that Tarzan was a mighty fighter and a strange creature. Strange because he had had it in his power to kill his enemy, but had allowed him to live — unharmed. That afternoon as the tribe came together, as was their wont before darkness settled on the jungle, Tarzan, his wounds washed in the waters of the stream, called the old males about him. “You have seen again to-day that Tarzan of the Apes is the greatest among you,” he said. “Huh,” they replied with one voice, “Tarzan is great.” “Tarzan,” he continued, “is not an ape. He is not like his people. His ways are not their ways, and so Tarzan is going back to the lair of his own kind by the waters of the great lake which has no farther shore.

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XIII

HIS OWN KIND

he following morning, Tarzan, lame and sore from the wounds of his battle with Terkoz, set out toward the west and the seacoast. THe traveled very slowly, sleeping in the jungle at night, and reaching his cabin late the following morning. For several days he moved about but little, only enough to gather what fruits and nuts he required to satisfy the demands of hunger. In ten days he was quite sound again, except for a terrible, half- healed scar, which, starting above his left eye ran across the top of his head, ending at the right ear. It was the mark left by Terkoz when he had torn the scalp away. During his convalescence Tarzan tried to fashion a mantle from the skin of Sabor, which had lain all this time in the cabin. But he found the hide had dried as stiff as a board, and as he knew naught of tanning, he was forced to abandon his cherished plan. Then he determined to filch what few garments he could from one of the black men of Mbonga’s village, for Tarzan of the Apes had decided to mark his evolution from the lower orders in every possible manner, THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES and nothing seemed to him a more distinguishing badge of manhood True, he had seen pictures in his books of men with great masses of than ornaments and clothing. hair upon lip and cheek and chin, but, nevertheless, Tarzan was afraid. To this end, therefore, he collected the various arm and leg ornaments Almost daily he whetted his keen knife and scraped and whittled at his he had taken from the black warriors who had succumbed to his swift and young beard to eradicate this degrading emblem of apehood. silent noose, and donned them all after the way he had seen them worn. And so he learned to shave — rudely and painfully, it is true — but, About his neck hung the golden chain from which depended the nevertheless, effectively. diamond encrusted locket of his mother, the Lady Alice. At his back was a quiver of arrows slung from a leathern shoulder belt, another piece of hen he felt quite strong again, after his bloody battle with loot from some vanquished black. Terkoz, Tarzan set off one morning towards Mbonga’s About his waist was a belt of tiny strips of rawhide fashioned by village. He was moving carelessly along a winding jungle himself as a support for the home-made scabbard in which hung his trail,W instead of making his progress through the trees, when suddenly he father’s hunting knife. The long bow which had been Kulonga’s hung over came face to face with a black warrior. his left shoulder. The look of surprise on the savage face was almost comical, and The young Lord Greystoke was indeed a strange and war-like figure, before Tarzan could unsling his bow the fellow had turned and fled his mass of black hair falling to his shoulders behind and cut with his down the path crying out in alarm as though to others before him. hunting knife to a rude bang upon his forehead, that it might not fall Tarzan took to the trees in pursuit, and in a few moments came in before his eyes. view of the men desperately striving to escape. His straight and perfect figure, muscled as the best of the ancient There were three of them, and they were racing madly in single file Roman gladiators must have been muscled, and yet with the soft and through the dense undergrowth. sinuous curves of a Greek god, told at a glance the wondrous combination Tarzan easily distanced them, nor did they see his silent passage of enormous strength with suppleness and speed. above their heads, nor note the crouching figure squatted upon a low A personification, was Tarzan of the Apes, of the primitive man, the branch ahead of them beneath which the trail led them. hunter, the warrior. Tarzan let the first two pass beneath him, but as the third came With the noble poise of his handsome head upon those broad swiftly on, the quiet noose dropped about the black throat. A quick jerk shoulders, and the fire of life and intelligence in those fine, clear eyes, he drew it taut. might readily have typified some demigod of a wild and warlike bygone There was an agonized scream from the victim, and his fellows people of his ancient forest. turned to see his struggling body rise as by magic slowly into the dense But of these things Tarzan did not think. He was worried because he foliage of the trees above. had not clothing to indicate to all the jungle folks that he was a man and With frightened shrieks they wheeled once more and plunged on in not an ape, and grave doubt often entered his mind as to whether he their efforts to escape. might not yet become an ape. Tarzan dispatched his prisoner quickly and silently; removed the Was not hair commencing to grow upon his face? All the apes had weapons and ornaments, and — oh, the greatest joy of all — a handsome hair upon theirs but the black men were entirely hairless, with very few deerskin breechcloth, which he quickly transferred to his own person. exceptions. Now indeed was he dressed as a man should be. None there was

124 125 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES who could now doubt his high origin. How he should have liked to have appease his wrath. returned to the tribe to parade before their envious gaze this wondrous Before he left he carried the body of Mirando to the gate of the finery. village, and propped it up against the palisade in such a way that the Taking the body across his shoulder, he moved more slowly through dead face seemed to be peering around the edge of the gatepost down the trees toward the little palisaded village, for he again needed arrows. the path which led to the jungle. As he approached quite close to the enclosure he saw an excited Then Tarzan returned, hunting, always hunting, to the cabin by the group surrounding the two fugitives, who, trembling with fright and beach. exhaustion, were scarce able to recount the uncanny details of their It took a dozen attempts on the part of the thoroughly frightened adventure. blacks to reenter their village, past the horrible, grinning face of their Mirando, they said, who had been ahead of them a short distance, dead fellow, and when they found the food and arrows gone they knew, had suddenly come screaming toward them, crying that a terrible white what they had only too well feared, that Mirando had seen the evil spirit and naked warrior was pursuing him. The three of them had hurried of the jungle. toward the village as rapidly as their legs would carry them. That now seemed to them the logical explanation. Only those who Again Mirando’s shrill cry of mortal terror had caused them to look saw this terrible god of the jungle died; for was it not true that none left back, and there they had seen the most horrible sight — their companion’s alive in the village had ever seen him? Therefore, those who had died at body flying upwards into the trees, his arms and legs beating the air and his hands must have seen him and paid the penalty with their lives. his tongue protruding from his open mouth. No other sound did he As long as they supplied him with arrows and food he would not utter nor was there any creature in sight about him. harm them unless they looked upon him, so it was ordered by Mbonga The villagers were worked up into a state of fear bordering on panic, that in addition to the food offering there should also be laid out an but wise old Mbonga affected to feel considerable skepticism regarding offering of arrows for this Munan-go-Keewati, and this was done from the tale, and attributed the whole fabrication to their fright in the face then on. of some real danger. If you ever chance to pass that far off African village you will still see “You tell us this great story,” he said, “because you do not dare to before a tiny thatched hut, built just without the village, a little iron pot in speak the truth. You do not dare admit that when the lion sprang upon which is a quantity of food, and beside it a quiver of well-daubed arrows. Mirando you ran away and left him. You are cowards.” Scarcely had Mbonga ceased speaking when a great crashing of hen Tarzan came in sight of the beach where stood his branches in the trees above them caused the blacks to look up in renewed cabin, a strange and unusual spectacle met his vision. terror. The sight that met their eyes made even wise old Mbonga shudder, On the placid waters of the landlocked harbor floated for there, turning and twisting in the air, came the dead body of Mirando, aW great ship, and on the beach a small boat was drawn up. to sprawl with a sickening reverberation upon the ground at their feet. But, most wonderful of all, a number of white men like himself were With one accord the blacks took to their heels; nor did they stop until moving about between the beach and his cabin. the last of them was lost in the dense shadows of the surrounding jungle. Tarzan saw that in many ways they were like the men of his picture Again Tarzan came down into the village and renewed his supply of books. He crept closer through the trees until he was quite close above arrows and ate of the offering of food which the blacks had made to them.

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There were ten men, swarthy, sun-tanned, villainous looking fellows. His books and pencils strewed the floor. His weapons and shields and Now they had congregated by the boat and were talking in loud, angry other little store of treasures were littered about. tones, with much gesticulating and shaking of fists. As he saw what had been done a great wave of anger surged through Presently one of them, a little, mean-faced, black-bearded fellow him, and the new made scar upon his forehead stood suddenly out, a bar with a countenance which reminded Tarzan of Pamba, the rat, laid his of inflamed crimson against his tawny hide. hand upon the shoulder of a giant who stood next him, and with whom Quickly he ran to the cupboard and searched in the far recess of the all the others had been arguing and quarreling. lower shelf. Ah! He breathed a sigh of relief as he drew out the little tin The little man pointed inland, so that the giant was forced to turn box, and, opening it, found his greatest treasures undisturbed. away from the others to look in the direction indicated. As he turned, The photograph of the smiling, strong-faced young man, and the the little, mean-faced man drew a revolver from his belt and shot the little black puzzle book were safe. giant in the back. What was that? The big fellow threw his hands above his head, his knees bent His quick ear had caught a faint but unfamiliar sound. beneath him, and without a sound he tumbled forward upon the beach, Running to the window Tarzan looked toward the harbor, and there dead. he saw that a boat was being lowered from the great ship beside the one The report of the weapon, the first that Tarzan had ever heard, filled already in the water. Soon he saw many people clambering over the sides him with wonderment, but even this unaccustomed sound could not of the larger vessel and dropping into the boats. They were coming back startle his healthy nerves into even a semblance of panic. in full force. The conduct of the white strangers it was that caused him the For a moment longer Tarzan watched while a number of boxes and greatest perturbation. He puckered his brows into a frown of deep bundles were lowered into the waiting boats, then, as they shoved off thought. It was well, thought he, that he had not given way to his first from the ship’s side, the ape-man snatched up a piece of paper, and with impulse to rush forward and greet these white men as brothers. a pencil printed on it for a few moments until it bore several lines of They were evidently no different from the black men — no more strong, well-made, almost letter-perfect characters. civilized than the apes — no less cruel than Sabor. This notice he stuck upon the door with a small sharp splinter of For a moment the others stood looking at the little, mean-faced wood. Then gathering up his precious tin box, his arrows, and as many man and the giant lying dead upon the beach. bows and spears as he could carry, he hastened through the door and Then one of them laughed and slapped the little man upon the disappeared into the forest. back. There was much more talk and gesticulating, but less quarreling. Presently they launched the boat and all jumped into it and rowed hen the two boats were beached upon the silvery sand it away toward the great ship, where Tarzan could see other figures moving was a strange assortment of humanity that clambered about upon the deck. ashore. When they had clambered aboard, Tarzan dropped to earth behind WSome twenty souls in all there were, fifteen of them rough and a great tree and crept to his cabin, keeping it always between himself and villainous appearing seamen. the ship. The others of the party were of different stamp. Slipping in at the door he found that everything had been ransacked. One was an elderly man, with white hair and large rimmed spectacles.

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His slightly stooped shoulders were draped in an ill-fitting, though The old man stopped and, turning back, said: “Oh, yes, my dear sir, immaculate, frock coat, and a shiny silk hat added to the incongruity of a thousand pardons. It was quite thoughtless of me, yes — very his garb in an African jungle. thoughtless. Most remarkable — most remarkable!” The second member of the party to land was a tall young man in Again he faced the notice and read it through, and doubtless would white ducks, while directly behind came another elderly man with a very have turned off again to ruminate upon it had not the sailor grasped him high forehead and a fussy, excitable manner. roughly by the collar and howled into his ear. After these came a huge Negress clothed like Solomon as to colors. “Read it out loud, you blithering old idiot.” Her great eyes rolled in evident terror, first toward the jungle and then “Ah, yes indeed, yes indeed,” replied the professor softly, and toward the cursing band of sailors who were removing the bales and adjusting his spectacles once more he read aloud: boxes from the boats. The last member of the party to disembark was a girl of about THIS IS THE HOUSE OF TARZAN, THE KILLER OF BEASTS AND MANY BLACK MEN. nineteen, and it was the young man who stood at the boat’s prow to lift her high and dry upon land. She gave him a brave and pretty smile of DO NOT HARM THE THINGS WHICH ARE TARZAN’S. TARZAN WATCHES. thanks, but no words passed between them. In silence the party advanced toward the cabin. It was evident that TARZAN OF THE APES. whatever their intentions, all had been decided upon before they left the “Who the devil is Tarzan?” cried the sailor who had before spoken. ship; and so they came to the door, the sailors carrying the boxes and “He evidently speaks English,” said the young man. bales, followed by the five who were of so different a class. The men put “But what does ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ mean?” cried the girl. down their burdens, and then one caught sight of the notice which “I do not know, Miss Porter,” replied the young man, “unless we Tarzan had posted. have discovered a runaway simian from the London Zoo who has “Ho, mates!” he cried. “What’s here? This sign was not posted an brought back a European education to his jungle home. What do you hour ago or I’ll eat the cook.” make of it, Professor Porter?” he added, turning to the old man. The others gathered about, craning their necks over the shoulders of Professor Archimedes Q. Porter adjusted his spectacles. those before them, but as few of them could read at all, and then only “Ah, yes, indeed; yes indeed — most remarkable, most remarkable!” after the most laborious fashion, one finally turned to the little old man said the professor; “but I can add nothing further to what I have already of the top hat and frock coat. remarked in elucidation of this truly momentous occurrence,” and the “Hi, perfesser,” he called, “step for’rd and read the bloomin’ notis.” professor turned slowly in the direction of the jungle. Thus addressed, the old man came slowly to where the sailors stood, “But, papa,” cried the girl, “you haven’t said anything about it yet.” followed by the other members of his party. Adjusting his spectacles he “Tut, tut, child; tut, tut,” responded Professor Porter, in a kindly and looked for a moment at the placard and then, turning away, strolled off indulgent tone, “do not trouble your pretty head with such weighty and muttering to himself: “Most remarkable — most remarkable!” abstruse problems,” and again he wandered slowly off in still another “Hi, old fossil,” cried the man who had first called on him for direction, his eyes bent upon the ground at his feet, his hands clasped assistance, “did je think we wanted of you to read the bloomin’ notis to behind him beneath the flowing tails of his coat. yourself? Come back here and read it out loud, you old barnacle.” “I reckon the daffy old bounder don’t know no more’n we do about

130 131 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES it,” growled the rat-faced sailor. the rat-faced sailor, but the foliage was so thick that he soon saw the “Keep a civil tongue in your head,” cried the young man, his face arrow would be deflected by the leaves or some small branch, and instead paling in anger, at the insulting tone of the sailor. “You’ve murdered our he launched a heavy spear from his lofty perch. officers and robbed us. We are absolutely in your power, but you’ll treat Clayton had taken but a dozen steps. The rat-faced sailor had half Professor Porter and Miss Porter with respect or I’ll break that vile neck drawn his revolver; the other sailors stood watching the scene intently. of yours with my bare hands — guns or no guns,” and the young fellow Professor Porter had already disappeared into the jungle, whither he stepped so close to the rat-faced sailor that the latter, though he bore was being followed by the fussy Samuel T. Philander, his secretary and two revolvers and a villainous looking knife in his belt, slunk back assistant. abashed. Esmeralda, the Negress, was busy sorting her mistress’ baggage from “You damned coward,” cried the young man. “You’d never dare shoot the pile of bales and boxes beside the cabin, and Miss Porter had turned a man until his back was turned. You don’t dare shoot me even then,” and away to follow Clayton, when something caused her to turn again he deliberately turned his back full upon the sailor and walked toward the sailor. nonchalantly away as if to put him to the test. And then three things happened almost simultaneously. The sailor The sailor’s hand crept slyly to the butt of one of his revolvers; his jerked out his weapon and leveled it at Clayton’s back, Miss Porter wicked eyes glared vengefully at the retreating form of the young screamed a warning, and a long, metal-shod spear shot like a bolt from Englishman. The gaze of his fellows was upon him, but still he hesitated. above and passed entirely through the right shoulder of the rat-faced At heart he was even a greater coward than Mr. William Cecil Clayton man. had imagined. The revolver exploded harmlessly in the air, and the seaman crumpled up with a scream of pain and terror. wo keen eyes had watched every move of the party from the Clayton turned and rushed back toward the scene. The sailors stood foliage of a nearby tree. Tarzan had seen the surprise caused by in a frightened group, with drawn weapons, peering into the jungle. The his notice, and while he could understand nothing of the wounded man writhed and shrieked upon the ground. Tspoken language of these strange people their gestures and facial Clayton, unseen by any, picked up the fallen revolver and slipped it expressions told him much. inside his shirt, then he joined the sailors in gazing, mystified, into the The act of the little rat-faced sailor in killing one of his comrades jungle. had aroused a strong dislike in Tarzan, and now that he saw him “Who could it have been?” whispered Jane Porter, and the young quarreling with the fine-looking young man his animosity was still man turned to see her standing, wide-eyed and wondering, close beside further stirred. him. Tarzan had never seen the effects of a firearm before, though his “I dare say Tarzan of the Apes is watching us all right,” he answered, books had taught him something of them, but when he saw the rat-faced in a dubious tone. “I wonder, now, who that spear was intended for. If for one fingering the butt of his revolver he thought of the scene he had Snipes, then our ape friend is a friend indeed. witnessed so short a time before, and naturally expected to see the young “By jove, where are your father and Mr. Philander? There’s someone man murdered as had been the huge sailor earlier in the day. or something in that jungle, and it’s armed, whatever it is. Ho! Professor! So Tarzan fitted a poisoned arrow to his bow and drew a bead upon Mr. Philander!” young Clayton shouted. There was no response.

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“What’s to be done, Miss Porter?” continued the young man, his primitively armed, the son of the then Lord Greystoke strode into the face clouded by a frown of worry and indecision. “I can’t leave you here dense jungle. alone with these cutthroats, and you certainly can’t venture into the Every few moments he called aloud the names of the wanderers. jungle with me; yet someone must go in search of your father. He is The watchers in the cabin by the beach heard the sound of his voice more than apt to wandering off aimlessly, regardless of danger or growing ever fainter and fainter, until at last it was swallowed up by the direction, and Mr. Philander is only a trifle less impractical than he. You myriad noises of the primeval wood. will pardon my bluntness, but our lives are all in jeopardy here, and when we get your father back something must be done to impress upon him hen Professor Archimedes Q. Porter and his assistant, the dangers to which he exposes you as well as himself by his Samuel T. Philander, after much insistence on the part of absent-mindedness.” the latter, had finally turned their steps toward camp, they “I quite agree with you,” replied the girl, “and I am not offended at wereW as completely lost in the wild and tangled labyrinth of the matted all. Dear old papa would sacrifice his life for me without an instant’s jungle as two human beings well could be, though they did not know it. hesitation, provided one could keep his mind on so frivolous a matter for It was by the merest caprice of fortune that they headed toward the an entire instant. There is only one way to keep him in safety, and that is west coast of Africa, instead of toward Zanzibar on the opposite side of to chain him to a tree. The poor dear is SO impractical.” the dark continent. “I have it!” suddenly exclaimed Clayton. “You can use a revolver, When in a short time they reached the beach, only to find no camp can’t you?” in sight, Philander was positive that they were north of their proper “Yes. Why?” destination, while, as a matter of fact they were about two hundred yards “I have one. With it you and Esmeralda will be comparatively safe south of it. in this cabin while I am searching for your father and Mr. Philander. It never occurred to either of these impractical theorists to call aloud Come, call the woman and I will hurry on. They can’t have gone far.” on the chance of attracting their friends’ attention. Instead, with all the Jane did as he suggested and when he saw the door close safely assurance that deductive reasoning from a wrong premise induces in behind them Clayton turned toward the jungle. one, Mr. Samuel T. Philander grasped Professor Archimedes Q. Porter Some of the sailors were drawing the spear from their wounded firmly by the arm and hurried the weakly protesting old gentleman off comrade and, as Clayton approached, he asked if he could borrow a in the direction of Cape Town, fifteen hundred miles to the south. revolver from one of them while he searched the jungle for the professor. When Jane and Esmeralda found themselves safely behind the The rat-faced one, finding he was not dead, had regained his cabin door the Negress’s first thought was to barricade the portal from composure, and with a volley of oaths directed at Clayton refused in the the inside. With this idea in mind she turned to search for some means name of his fellows to allow the young man any firearms. of putting it into execution; but her first view of the interior of the cabin This man, Snipes, had assumed the role of chief since he had killed brought a shriek of terror to her lips, and like a frightened child the huge their former leader, and so little time had elapsed that none of his woman ran to bury her face on her mistress’ shoulder. companions had as yet questioned his authority. Jane, turning at the cry, saw the cause of it lying prone upon the Clayton’s only response was a shrug of the shoulders, but as he left floor before them — the whitened skeleton of a man. A further glance them he picked up the spear which had transfixed Snipes, and thus revealed a second skeleton upon the bed.

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“What horrible place are we in?” murmured the awe-struck girl. But there was no panic in her fright. [ return to table of contents ] At last, disengaging herself from the frantic clutch of the still shrieking Esmeralda, Jane crossed the room to look into the little cradle, knowing what she should see there even before the tiny skeleton disclosed itself in all its pitiful and pathetic frailty. What an awful tragedy these poor mute bones proclaimed! The girl shuddered at thought of the eventualities which might lie before herself and her friends in this ill-fated cabin, the haunt of mysterious, perhaps hostile, beings. Quickly, with an impatient stamp of her little foot, she endeavored XIV to shake off the gloomy forebodings, and turning to Esmeralda bade her cease her wailing. AT THE MERCY of the JUNGLE “Stop, Esmeralda, stop it this minute!” she cried. “You are only making it worse.” She ended lamely, a little quiver in her own voice as she thought of the three men, upon whom she depended for protection, wandering in fter Clayton had plunged into the jungle, the sailors — the depth of that awful forest. mutineers of the Arrow — fell into a discussion of their next Soon the girl found that the door was equipped with a heavy wooden step; but on one point all were agreed — that they should bar upon the inside, and after several efforts the combined strength of hastenA to put off to the anchored Arrow, where they could at least be safe the two enabled them to slip it into place, the first time in twenty years. from the spears of their unseen foe. And so, while Jane Porter and Then they sat down upon a bench with their arms about one another, Esmeralda were barricading themselves within the cabin, the cowardly and waited. crew of cutthroats were pulling rapidly for their ship in the two boats that had brought them ashore. So much had Tarzan seen that day that his head was in a whirl of wonder. But the most wonderful sight of all, to him, was the face of the beautiful white girl. Here at last was one of his own kind; of that he was positive. And the young man and the two old men; they, too, were much as he had pictured his own people to be. But doubtless they were as ferocious and cruel as other men he had seen. The fact that they alone of all the party were unarmed might account for the fact that they had killed no one. They might be very different if provided with weapons.

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Tarzan had seen the young man pick up the fallen revolver of the No, the white man did not hear. Sheeta was crouching for the spring, wounded Snipes and hide it away in his breast; and he had also seen him slip and then, shrill and horrible, there rose from the stillness of the jungle it cautiously to the girl as she entered the cabin door. the awful cry of the challenging ape, and Sheeta turned, crashing into He did not understand anything of the motives behind all that he had the underbrush. seen; but, somehow, intuitively he liked the young man and the two old men, and for the girl he had a strange longing which he scarcely understood. layton came to his feet with a start. His blood ran cold. Never As for the big black woman, she was evidently connected in some way to the in all his life had so fearful a sound smote upon his ears. He girl, and so he liked her, also. was no coward; but if ever man felt the icy fingers of fear upon For the sailors, and especially Snipes, he had developed a great hatred. Chis heart, William Cecil Clayton, eldest son of Lord Greystoke of He knew by their threatening gestures and by the expression upon their evil England, did that day in the fastness of the African jungle. faces that they were enemies of the others of the party, and so he decided to The noise of some great body crashing through the underbrush so watch closely. close beside him, and the sound of that bloodcurdling shriek from above, Tarzan wondered why the men had gone into the jungle, nor did it ever tested Clayton’s courage to the limit; but he could not know that it was occur to him that one could become lost in that maze of undergrowth which to that very voice he owed his life, nor that the creature who hurled it to him was as simple as is the main street of your own home town to you. forth was his own cousin — the real Lord Greystoke. When he saw the sailors row away toward the ship, and knew that the The afternoon was drawing to a close, and Clayton, disheartened girl and her companion were safe in his cabin, Tarzan decided to follow the and discouraged, was in a terrible quandary as to the proper course to young man into the jungle and learn what his errand might be. He swung pursue; whether to keep on in search of Professor Porter, at the almost off rapidly in the direction taken by Clayton, and in a short time heard certain risk of his own death in the jungle by night, or to return to the faintly in the distance the now only occasional calls of the Englishman to cabin where he might at least serve to protect Jane from the perils which his friends. confronted her on all sides. Presently Tarzan came up with the white man, who, almost fagged, was He did not wish to return to camp without her father; still more, he leaning against a tree wiping the perspiration from his forehead. The shrank from the thought of leaving her alone and unprotected in the ape-man, hiding safe behind a screen of foliage, sat watching this new hands of the mutineers of the Arrow, or to the hundred unknown specimen of his own race intently. dangers of the jungle. At intervals Clayton called aloud and finally it came to Tarzan that he Possibly, too, he thought, the professor and Philander might have was searching for the old man. returned to camp. Yes, that was more than likely. At least he would return Tarzan was on the point of going off to look for them himself, when he and see, before he continued what seemed to be a most fruitless quest. caught the yellow glint of a sleek hide moving cautiously through the jungle And so he started, stumbling back through the thick and matted toward Clayton. underbrush in the direction that he thought the cabin lay. It was Sheeta, the leopard. Now, Tarzan heard the soft bending of grasses and wondered why the young white man was not warned. Could it o Tarzan’s surprise the young man was heading further into the be he had failed to note the loud warning? Never before had Tarzan known jungle in the general direction of Mbonga’s village, and the Sheeta to be so clumsy. shrewd young ape-man was convinced that he was lost.

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To Tarzan this was scarcely comprehensible; his judgment told him With a roar of pain and anger the beast sprang; but, somehow, that no man would venture toward the village of the cruel blacks armed Clayton stumbled to one side, and as he turned again to face the only with a spear which, from the awkward way in which he carried it, infuriated king of beasts, he was appalled at the sight which confronted was evidently an unaccustomed weapon to this white man. Nor was he him. Almost simultaneously with the lion’s turning to renew the attack following the trail of the old men. That, they had crossed and left long a half-naked giant dropped from the tree above squarely on the brute’s since, though it had been fresh and plain before Tarzan’s eyes. back. Tarzan was perplexed. The fierce jungle would make easy prey of With lightning speed an arm that was banded layers of iron muscle this unprotected stranger in a very short time if he were not guided encircled the huge neck, and the great beast was raised from behind, quickly to the beach. roaring and pawing the air — raised as easily as Clayton would have Yes, there was Numa, the lion, even now, stalking the white man a lifted a pet dog. dozen paces to the right. The scene he witnessed there in the twilight depths of the African jungle was burned forever into the Englishman’s brain. layton heard the great body paralleling his course, and now The man before him was the embodiment of physical perfection there rose upon the evening air the beast’s thunderous roar. and giant strength; yet it was not upon these he depended in his battle The man stopped with upraised spear and faced the brush with the great cat, for mighty as were his muscles, they were as nothing Cfrom which issued the awful sound. The shadows were deepening, by comparison with Numa’s. To his agility, to his brain and to his long darkness was settling in. keen knife he owed his supremacy. God! To die here alone, beneath the fangs of wild beasts; to be torn His right arm encircled the lion’s neck, while the left hand plunged and rended; to feel the hot breath of the brute on his face as the great the knife time and again into the unprotected side behind the left paw crushed down upon his breast! shoulder. The infuriated beast, pulled up and backwards until he stood For a moment all was still. Clayton stood rigid, with raised spear. upon his hind legs, struggled impotently in this unnatural position. Presently a faint rustling of the bush apprised him of the stealthy Had the battle been of a few seconds’ longer duration the outcome creeping of the thing behind. It was gathering for the spring. At last he might have been different, but it was all accomplished so quickly that saw it, not twenty feet away — the long, lithe, muscular body and tawny the lion had scarce time to recover from the confusion of its surprise ere head of a huge black-maned lion. it sank lifeless to the ground. The beast was upon its belly, moving forward very slowly. As its eyes Then the strange figure which had vanquished it stood erect upon met Clayton’s it stopped, and deliberately, cautiously gathered its hind the carcass, and throwing back the wild and handsome head, gave out quarters behind it. the fearsome cry which a few moments earlier had so startled Clayton. In agony the man watched, fearful to launch his spear, powerless to Before him he saw the figure of a young man, naked except for a loin fly. cloth and a few barbaric ornaments about arms and legs; on the breast a He heard a noise in the tree above him. Some new danger, he priceless diamond locket gleaming against a smooth brown skin. thought, but he dared not take his eyes from the yellow green orbs before The hunting knife had been returned to its homely sheath, and the him. There was a sharp twang as of a broken banjo-string, and at the man was gathering up his bow and quiver from where he had tossed same instant an arrow appeared in the yellow hide of the crouching lion. them when he leaped to attack the lion.

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Clayton spoke to the stranger in English, thanking him for his brave forest night fell about them, and the stealthy footfalls of padded paws rescue and complimenting him on the wondrous strength and dexterity mingled with the breaking of twigs and the wild calls of the savage life he had displayed, but the only answer was a steady stare and a faint that Clayton felt closing in upon him. shrug of the mighty shoulders, which might betoken either disparagement Suddenly Clayton heard the faint report of a firearm — a single of the service rendered, or ignorance of Clayton’s language. shot, and then silence. When the bow and quiver had been slung to his back the wild man, for such Clayton now thought him, once more drew his knife and deftly n the cabin by the beach two thoroughly terrified women clung to carved a dozen large strips of meat from the lion’s carcass. Then, squatting each other as they crouched upon the low bench in the gathering upon his haunches, he proceeded to eat, first motioning Clayton to join darkness. him. IThe Negress sobbed hysterically, bemoaning the evil day that had The strong white teeth sank into the raw and dripping flesh in witnessed her departure from her dear Maryland, while the white girl, apparent relish of the meal, but Clayton could not bring himself to share dry eyed and outwardly calm, was torn by inward fears and forebodings. the uncooked meat with his strange host; instead he watched him, and She feared not more for herself than for the three men whom she knew presently there dawned upon him the conviction that this was Tarzan of to be wandering in the abysmal depths of the savage jungle, from which the Apes, whose notice he had seen posted upon the cabin door that she now heard issuing the almost incessant shrieks and roars, barkings morning. and growlings of its terrifying and fearsome denizens as they sought If so he must speak English. their prey. Again Clayton attempted speech with the ape-man; but the replies, And now there came the sound of a heavy body brushing against the now vocal, were in a strange tongue, which resembled the chattering of side of the cabin. She could hear the great padded paws upon the ground monkeys mingled with the growling of some wild beast. outside. For an instant, all was silence; even the bedlam of the forest died No, this could not be Tarzan of the Apes, for it was very evident that to a faint murmur. Then she distinctly heard the beast outside sniffing at he was an utter stranger to English. the door, not two feet from where she crouched. Instinctively the girl When Tarzan had completed his repast he rose and, pointing a very shuddered, and shrank closer to the black woman. different direction from that which Clayton had been pursuing, started “Hush!” she whispered. “Hush, Esmeralda,” for the woman’s sobs off through the jungle toward the point he had indicated. and groans seemed to have attracted the thing that stalked there just Clayton, bewildered and confused, hesitated to follow him, for he beyond the thin wall. thought he was but being led more deeply into the mazes of the forest; A gentle scratching sound was heard on the door. The brute tried to but the ape-man, seeing him disinclined to follow, returned, and, force an entrance; but presently this ceased, and again she heard the grasping him by the coat, dragged him along until he was convinced that great pads creeping stealthily around the cabin. Again they stopped — Clayton understood what was required of him. Then he left him to beneath the window on which the terrified eyes of the girl now glued follow voluntarily. themselves. The Englishman, finally concluding that he was a prisoner, saw no “God!” she murmured, for now, silhouetted against the moonlit sky alternative open but to accompany his captor, and thus they traveled beyond, she saw framed in the tiny square of the latticed window the head slowly through the jungle while the sable mantle of the impenetrable of a huge lioness. The gleaming eyes were fixed upon her in intent ferocity.

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“Look, Esmeralda!” she whispered. “For God’s sake, what shall we room. do? Look! Quick! The window!” Slowly the powerful neck and shoulders spread the bars apart, and Esmeralda, cowering still closer to her mistress, took one frightened the lithe body protruded farther and farther into the room. glance toward the little square of moonlight, just as the lioness emitted As in a trance, the girl rose, her hand upon her breast, wide eyes a low, savage snarl. staring horror-stricken into the snarling face of the beast scarce ten feet The sight that met the poor woman’s eyes was too much for the from her. At her feet lay the prostrate form of the Negress. If she could already overstrung nerves. but arouse her, their combined efforts might possibly avail to beat back “Oh, Gaberelle!” she shrieked, and slid to the floor an inert and the fierce and bloodthirsty intruder. senseless mass. Jane stooped to grasp the black woman by the shoulder. Roughly she For what seemed an eternity the great brute stood with its forepaws shook her. upon the sill, glaring into the little room. Presently it tried the strength “Esmeralda! Esmeralda!” she cried. “Help me, or we are lost.” of the lattice with its great talons. Esmeralda opened her eyes. The first object they encountered was The girl had almost ceased to breathe, when, to her relief, the head the dripping fangs of the hungry lioness. disappeared and she heard the brute’s footsteps leaving the window. But With a horrified scream the poor woman rose to her hands and now they came to the door again, and once more the scratching knees, and in this position scurried across the room, shrieking: “O commenced; this time with increasing force until the great beast was Gaberelle! O Gaberelle!” at the top of her lungs. tearing at the massive panels in a perfect frenzy of eagerness to seize its Esmeralda weighed some two hundred and eighty pounds, and her defenseless victims. extreme haste, added to her extreme corpulency, produced a most Could Jane have known the immense strength of that door, built amazing result when Esmeralda elected to travel on all fours. piece by piece, she would have felt less fear of the lioness reaching her by For a moment the lioness remained quiet with intense gaze directed this avenue. upon the flitting Esmeralda, whose goal appeared to be the cupboard, Little did John Clayton imagine when he fashioned that crude but into which she attempted to propel her huge bulk; but as the shelves mighty portal that one day, twenty years later, it would shield a fair were but nine or ten inches apart, she only succeeded in getting her head American girl, then unborn, from the teeth and talons of a man-eater. in; whereupon, with a final screech, which paled the jungle noises into For fully twenty minutes the brute alternately sniffed and tore at the insignificance, she fainted once again. door, occasionally giving voice to a wild, savage cry of baffled rage. At With the subsidence of Esmeralda the lioness renewed her efforts length, however, she gave up the attempt, and Jane heard her returning to wriggle her huge bulk through the weakening lattice. toward the window, beneath which she paused for an instant, and then The girl, standing pale and rigid against the farther wall, sought launched her great weight against the timeworn lattice. with ever-increasing terror for some loophole of escape. Suddenly her The girl heard the wooden rods groan beneath the impact; but they hand, tight-pressed against her bosom, felt the hard outline of the held, and the huge body dropped back to the ground below. revolver that Clayton had left with her earlier in the day. Again and again the lioness repeated these tactics, until finally the Quickly she snatched it from its hiding-place, and, leveling it full at horrified prisoner within saw a portion of the lattice give way, and in an the lioness’s face, pulled the trigger. instant one great paw and the head of the animal were thrust within the There was a flash of flame, the roar of the discharge, and an

144 145 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS answering roar of pain and anger from the beast. Jane Porter saw the great form disappear from the window, and then [ return to table of contents ] she, too, fainted, the revolver falling at her side. But Sabor was not killed. The bullet had but inflicted a painful wound in one of the great shoulders. It was the surprise at the blinding flash and the deafening roar that had caused her hasty but temporary retreat. In another instant she was back at the lattice, and with renewed fury was clawing at the aperture, but with lessened effect, since the wounded member was almost useless. She saw her prey — the two women — lying senseless upon the XV floor. There was no longer any resistance to be overcome. Her meat lay before her, and Sabor had only to worm her way through the lattice to THE FOREST GOD claim it. Slowly she forced her great bulk, inch by inch, through the opening. Now her head was through, now one great forearm and shoulder. Carefully she drew up the wounded member to insinuate it gently hen Clayton heard the report of the firearm he fell into an beyond the tight pressing bars. agony of fear and apprehension. He knew that one of the A moment more and both shoulders through, the long, sinuous sailors might be the author of it; but the fact that he had body and the narrow hips would glide quickly after. leftW the revolver with Jane, together with the overwrought condition of It was on this sight that Jane Porter again opened her eyes. his nerves, made him morbidly positive that she was threatened with some great danger. Perhaps even now she was attempting to defend herself against some savage man or beast. What were the thoughts of his strange captor or guide Clayton could only vaguely conjecture; but that he had heard the shot, and was in some manner affected by it was quite evident, for he quickened his pace so appreciably that Clayton, stumbling blindly in his wake, was down a dozen times in as many minutes in a vain effort to keep pace with him, and soon was left hopelessly behind. Fearing that he would again be irretrievably lost, he called aloud to the wild man ahead of him, and in a moment had the satisfaction of seeing him drop lightly to his side from the branches above. For a moment Tarzan looked at the young man closely, as though undecided as to just what was best to do; then, stooping down before

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Clayton, he motioned him to grasp him about the neck, and, with the imminent peril which threatened her, her brave young heart gave up at white man upon his back, Tarzan took to the trees. last its final vestige of hope. But then to her surprise she saw the huge The next few minutes the young Englishman never forgot. High animal slowly being drawn back through the window, and in the into bending and swaying branches he was borne with what seemed to moonlight beyond she saw the heads and shoulders of two men. him incredible swiftness, while Tarzan chafed at the slowness of his progress. s Clayton rounded the corner of the cabin to behold the animal From one lofty branch the agile creature swung with Clayton disappearing within, it was also to see the ape-man seize the through a dizzy arc to a neighboring tree; then for a hundred yards long tail in both hands, and, bracing himself with his feet maybe the sure feet threaded a maze of interwoven limbs, balancing like againstA the side of the cabin, throw all his mighty strength into the effort a tightrope walker high above the black depths of verdure beneath. to draw the beast out of the interior. From the first sensation of chilling fear Clayton passed to one of Clayton was quick to lend a hand, but the ape-man jabbered to him keen admiration and envy of those giant muscles and that wondrous in a commanding and peremptory tone something which Clayton knew instinct or knowledge which guided this forest god through the inky to be orders, though he could not understand them. blackness of the night as easily and safely as Clayton would have strolled At last, under their combined efforts, the great body was slowly a London street at high noon. dragged farther and farther outside the window, and then there came to Occasionally they would enter a spot where the foliage above was Clayton’s mind a dawning conception of the rash bravery of his less dense, and the bright rays of the moon lit up before Clayton’s companion’s act. wondering eyes the strange path they were traversing. For a naked man to drag a shrieking, clawing man-eater forth from At such times the man fairly caught his breath at sight of the horrid a window by the tail to save a strange white girl, was indeed the last depths below them, for Tarzan took the easiest way, which often led over word in heroism. a hundred feet above the earth. Insofar as Clayton was concerned it was a very different matter, And yet with all his seeming speed, Tarzan was in reality feeling his since the girl was not only of his own kind and race, but was the one way with comparative slowness, searching constantly for limbs of woman in all the world whom he loved. adequate strength for the maintenance of this double weight. Though he knew that the lioness would make short work of both of Presently they came to the clearing before the beach. Tarzan’s quick them, he pulled with a will to keep it from Jane Porter. And then he ears had heard the strange sounds of Sabor’s efforts to force her way recalled the battle between this man and the great, black-maned lion through the lattice, and it seemed to Clayton that they dropped a straight which he had witnessed a short time before, and he commenced to feel hundred feet to earth, so quickly did Tarzan descend. Yet when they more assurance. struck the ground it was with scarce a jar; and as Clayton released his Tarzan was still issuing orders which Clayton could not understand. hold on the ape-man he saw him dart like a squirrel for the opposite side He was trying to tell the stupid white man to plunge his poisoned of the cabin. arrows into Sabor’s back and sides, and to reach the savage heart with The Englishman sprang quickly after him just in time to see the the long, thin hunting knife that hung at Tarzan’s hip; but the man hind quarters of some huge animal about to disappear through the would not understand, and Tarzan did not dare release his hold to do window of the cabin. As Jane opened her eyes to a realization of the the things himself, for he knew that the puny white man never could

148 149 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES hold mighty Sabor alone, for an instant. saved your life, Miss Porter. Wait, I will fetch him so you may thank Slowly the lioness was emerging from the window. At last her him.” shoulders were out. The frightened girl would not be left alone, so she accompanied And then Clayton saw an incredible thing. Tarzan, racking his Clayton to the side of the cabin where lay the dead body of the lioness. brains for some means to cope single-handed with the infuriated beast, Tarzan of the Apes was gone. had suddenly recalled his battle with Terkoz; and as the great shoulders Clayton called several times, but there was no reply, and so the two came clear of the window, so that the lioness hung upon the sill only by returned to the greater safety of the interior. her forepaws, Tarzan suddenly released his hold upon the brute. “What a frightful sound!” cried Jane, “I shudder at the mere thought With the quickness of a striking rattler he launched himself full of it. Do not tell me that a human throat voiced that hideous and upon Sabor’s back, his strong young arms seeking and gaining a full- fearsome shriek.” Nelson upon the beast, as he had learned it that other day during his “But it did, Miss Porter,” replied Clayton; “or at least if not a human bloody, wrestling victory over Terkoz. throat that of a forest god.” With a roar the lioness turned completely over upon her back, And then he told her of his experiences with this strange creature falling full upon her enemy; but the black-haired giant only closed — of how twice the wild man had saved his life — of the wondrous tighter his hold. strength, and agility, and bravery — of the brown skin and the handsome Pawing and tearing at earth and air, Sabor rolled and threw herself face. this way and that in an effort to dislodge this strange antagonist; but “I cannot make it out at all,” he concluded. “At first I thought he ever tighter and tighter drew the iron bands that were forcing her head might be Tarzan of the Apes; but he neither speaks nor understands lower and lower upon her tawny breast. English, so that theory is untenable.” Higher crept the steel forearms of the ape-man about the back of “Well, whatever he may be,” cried the girl, “we owe him our lives, Sabor’s neck. Weaker and weaker became the lioness’s efforts. and may God bless him and keep him in safety in his wild and savage At last Clayton saw the immense muscles of Tarzan’s shoulders and jungle!” biceps leap into corded knots beneath the silver moonlight. There was a “Amen,” said Clayton, fervently. long sustained and supreme effort on the ape-man’s part — and the “For the good Lord’s sake, ain’t I dead?” vertebrae of Sabor’s neck parted with a sharp snap. The two turned to see Esmeralda sitting upright upon the floor, her In an instant Tarzan was upon his feet, and for the second time that great eyes rolling from side to side as though she could not believe their day Clayton heard the bull ape’s savage roar of victory. Then he heard testimony as to her whereabouts. Jane’s agonized cry: And now, for Jane Porter, the reaction came, and she threw herself “Cecil — Mr. Clayton! Oh, what is it? What is it?” upon the bench, sobbing with hysterical laughter. Running quickly to the cabin door, Clayton called out that all was right, and shouted to her to open the door. As quickly as she could she raised the great bar and fairly dragged Clayton within. “What was that awful noise?” she whispered, shrinking close to him. “It was the cry of the kill from the throat of the man who has just

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XVI

“MOST REMARKABLE”

everal miles south of the cabin, upon a strip of sandy beach, stood two old men, arguing. Before them stretched the broad Atlantic. At their backs was Sthe Dark Continent. Close around them loomed the impenetrable blackness of the jungle. Savage beasts roared and growled; noises, hideous and weird, assailed their ears. They had wandered for miles in search of their camp, but always in the wrong direction. They were as hopelessly lost as though they suddenly had been transported to another world. At such a time, indeed, every fiber of their combined intellects must have been concentrated upon the vital question of the minute — the life-and-death question to them of retracing their steps to camp. Samuel T. Philander was speaking. “But, my dear professor,” he was saying, “I still maintain that but for the victories of Ferdinand and Isabella over the fifteenth-century Moors in Spain the world would be today a thousand years in advance of where we now find ourselves. The Moors were essentially a tolerant, broad- minded, liberal race of agriculturists, artisans and merchants — the very THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES type of people that has made possible such civilization as we find today never before in my life have I known one of these animals to be permitted in America and Europe — while the Spaniards — ” to roam at large from its cage. I shall most certainly report this outrageous “Tut, tut, dear Mr. Philander,” interrupted Professor Porter; “their breach of ethics to the directors of the adjacent zoological garden.” religion positively precluded the possibilities you suggest. Moslemism “Quite right, Professor,” agreed Mr. Philander, “and the sooner it is was, is, and always will be, a blight on that scientific progress which has done the better. Let us start now.” marked — ” Seizing the professor by the arm, Mr. Philander set off in the “Bless me! Professor,” interjected Mr. Philander, who had turned his direction that would put the greatest distance between themselves and gaze toward the jungle, “there seems to be someone approaching.” the lion. Professor Archimedes Q. Porter turned in the direction indicated by They had proceeded but a short distance when a backward glance the nearsighted Mr. Philander. revealed to the horrified gaze of Mr. Philander that the lion was following “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander,” he chided. “How often must I urge you to them. He tightened his grip upon the protesting professor and increased seek that absolute concentration of your mental faculties which alone his speed. may permit you to bring to bear the highest powers of intellectuality “As I was saying, Mr. Philander,” repeated Professor Porter. upon the momentous problems which naturally fall to the lot of great Mr. Philander took another hasty glance rearward. The lion also had minds? And now I find you guilty of a most flagrant breach of courtesy quickened his gait, and was doggedly maintaining an unvarying distance in interrupting my learned discourse to call attention to a mere quadruped behind them. of the genus felis. As I was saying, Mr. — ” “He is following us!” gasped Mr. Philander, breaking into a run. “Heavens, Professor, a lion?” cried Mr. Philander, straining his weak “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander,” remonstrated the professor, “this unseemly eyes toward the dim figure outlined against the dark tropical underbrush. haste is most unbecoming to men of letters. What will our friends think “Yes, yes, Mr. Philander, if you insist upon employing slang in your of us, who may chance to be upon the street and witness our frivolous discourse, a ‘lion.’ But as I was saying — ” antics? Pray let us proceed with more decorum.” “Bless me, Professor,” again interrupted Mr. Philander; “permit me Mr. Philander stole another observation astern. to suggest that doubtless the Moors who were conquered in the fifteenth The lion was bounding along in easy leaps scarce five paces behind. century will continue in that most regrettable condition for the time Mr. Philander dropped the professor’s arm, and broke into a mad being at least, even though we postpone discussion of that world calamity orgy of speed that would have done credit to any varsity track team. until we may attain the enchanting view of yon felis carnivora which “As I was saying, Mr. Philander — ” screamed Professor Porter, as, distance proverbially is credited with lending.” metaphorically speaking, he himself “threw her into high.” He, too, had In the meantime the lion had approached with quiet dignity to caught a fleeting backward glimpse of cruel yellow eyes and half open within ten paces of the two men, where he stood curiously watching mouth within startling proximity of his person. them. With streaming coat tails and shiny silk hat Professor Archimedes The moonlight flooded the beach, and the strange group stood out Q. Porter fled through the moonlight close upon the heels of Mr. Samuel in bold relief against the yellow sand. T. Philander. “Most reprehensible, most reprehensible,” exclaimed Professor Before them a point of the jungle ran out toward a narrow Porter, with a faint trace of irritation in his voice. “Never, Mr. Philander, promontory, and it was for the haven of the trees he saw there that Mr.

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Samuel T. Philander directed his prodigious leaps and bounds; while appears garbed in the mantle of virtue. You have accused me of cowardice. from the shadows of this same spot peered two keen eyes in interested You have insinuated that you ran only to overtake me, not to escape the appreciation of the race. clutches of the lion. Have a care, Professor Archimedes Q. Porter! I am It was Tarzan of the Apes who watched, with face a-grin, this odd a desperate man. Goaded by long-suffering patience the worm will game of follow-the-leader. turn.” He knew the two men were safe enough from attack in so far as the “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut!” cautioned Professor Porter; “you lion was concerned. The very fact that Numa had foregone such easy forget yourself.” prey at all convinced the wise forest craft of Tarzan that Numa’s belly “I forget nothing as yet, Professor Archimedes Q. Porter; but, believe already was full. me, sir, I am tottering on the verge of forgetfulness as to your exalted The lion might stalk them until hungry again; but the chances were position in the world of science, and your gray hairs.” that if not angered he would soon tire of the sport, and slink away to his The professor sat in silence for a few minutes, and the darkness hid jungle lair. the grim smile that wreathed his wrinkled countenance. Presently he Really, the one great danger was that one of the men might stumble spoke. and fall, and then the yellow devil would be upon him in a moment and “Look here, Skinny Philander,” he said, in belligerent tones, “if you the joy of the kill would be too great a temptation to withstand. are lookin’ for a scrap, peel off your coat and come on down on the So Tarzan swung quickly to a lower limb in line with the approaching ground, and I’ll punch your head just as I did sixty years ago in the alley fugitives; and as Mr. Samuel T. Philander came panting and blowing back of Porky Evans’ barn.” beneath him, already too spent to struggle up to the safety of the limb, “Ark!” gasped the astonished Mr. Philander. “Lordy, how good that Tarzan reached down and, grasping him by the collar of his coat, yanked sounds! When you’re human, Ark, I love you; but somehow it seems as him to the limb by his side. though you had forgotten how to be human for the last twenty years.” Another moment brought the professor within the sphere of the The professor reached out a thin, trembling old hand through the friendly grip, and he, too, was drawn upward to safety just as the baffled darkness until it found his old friend’s shoulder. Numa, with a roar, leaped to recover his vanishing quarry. “Forgive me, Skinny,” he said, softly. “It hasn’t been quite twenty For a moment the two men clung panting to the great branch, while years, and God alone knows how hard I have tried to be ‘human’ for Tarzan squatted with his back to the stem of the tree, watching them Jane’s sake, and yours, too, since He took my other Jane away.” with mingled curiosity and amusement. Another old hand stole up from Mr. Philander’s side to clasp the It was the professor who first broke the silence. one that lay upon his shoulder, and no other message could better have “I am deeply pained, Mr. Philander, that you should have evinced translated the one heart to the other. such a paucity of manly courage in the presence of one of the lower They did not speak for some minutes. The lion below them paced orders, and by your crass timidity have caused me to exert myself to such nervously back and forth. The third figure in the tree was hidden by the an unaccustomed degree in order that I might resume my discourse. As dense shadows near the stem. He, too, was silent — motionless as a I was saying, Mr. Philander, when you interrupted me, the Moors — ” graven image. “Professor Archimedes Q. Porter,” broke in Mr. Philander, in icy “You certainly pulled me up into this tree just in time,” said the tones, “the time has arrived when patience becomes a crime and mayhem professor at last. “I want to thank you. You saved my life.”

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“But I didn’t pull you up here, Professor,” said Mr. Philander. “Bless surprise, it responded to his will as in days gone by. He now drew up its me! The excitement of the moment quite caused me to forget that I mate and stretched it forth again. myself was drawn up here by some outside agency — there must be “Most remarkable, most remarkable,” he murmured. someone or something in this tree with us.” “Thank God, Professor,” whispered Mr. Philander, fervently, “you “Eh?” ejaculated Professor Porter. “Are you quite positive, Mr. are not dead, then?” Philander?” “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut,” cautioned Professor Porter, “I do “Most positive, Professor,” replied Mr. Philander, “and,” he added, “I not know with accuracy as yet.” think we should thank the party. He may be sitting right next to you With infinite solicitude Professor Porter wiggled his right arm — now, Professor.” joy! It was intact. Breathlessly he waved his left arm above his prostrate “Eh? What’s that? Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut!” said Professor body — it waved! Porter, edging cautiously nearer to Mr. Philander. “Most remarkable, most remarkable,” he said. Just then it occurred to Tarzan of the Apes that Numa had loitered “To whom are you signaling, Professor?” asked Mr. Philander, in an beneath the tree for a sufficient length of time, so he raised his young excited tone. head toward the heavens, and there rang out upon the terrified ears of Professor Porter deigned to make no response to this puerile inquiry. the two old men the awful warning challenge of the anthropoid. Instead he raised his head gently from the ground, nodding it back and The two friends, huddled trembling in their precarious position on forth a half dozen times. the limb, saw the great lion halt in his restless pacing as the blood- “Most remarkable,” he breathed. “It remains intact.” curdling cry smote his ears, and then slink quickly into the jungle, to be Mr. Philander had not moved from where he had fallen; he had not instantly lost to view. dared the attempt. How indeed could one move when one’s arms and “Even the lion trembles in fear,” whispered Mr. Philander. legs and back were broken? “Most remarkable, most remarkable,” murmured Professor Porter, One eye was buried in the soft loam; the other, rolling sidewise, was clutching frantically at Mr. Philander to regain the balance which the fixed in awe upon the strange gyrations of Professor Porter. sudden fright had so perilously endangered. Unfortunately for them “How sad!” exclaimed Mr. Philander, half aloud. “Concussion of the both, Mr. Philander’s center of equilibrium was at that very moment brain, superinducing total mental aberration. How very sad indeed! and hanging upon the ragged edge of nothing, so that it needed but the for one still so young!” gentle impetus supplied by the additional weight of Professor Porter’s Professor Porter rolled over upon his stomach; gingerly he bowed body to topple the devoted secretary from the limb. his back until he resembled a huge tom cat in proximity to a yelping dog. For a moment they swayed uncertainly, and then, with mingled and Then he sat up and felt of various portions of his anatomy. most unscholarly shrieks, they pitched headlong from the tree, locked in “They are all here,” he exclaimed. “Most remarkable!” frenzied embrace. Whereupon he arose, and, bending a scathing glance upon the still It was quite some moments ere either moved, for both were positive prostrate form of Mr. Samuel T. Philander, he said: that any such attempt would reveal so many breaks and fractures as to “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander; this is no time to indulge in slothful ease. make further progress impossible. We must be up and doing.” At length Professor Porter made an attempt to move one leg. To his Mr. Philander lifted his other eye out of the mud and gazed in

158 159 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES speechless rage at Professor Porter. Then he attempted to rise; nor could worthy gentleman knew whether he was being killed or merely maimed there have been any more surprised than he when his efforts were for life, Tarzan had tied one end of his rope securely about Mr. Philander’s immediately crowned with marked success. neck. He was still bursting with rage, however, at the cruel injustice of “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander,” remonstrated Professor Porter; “it is most Professor Porter’s insinuation, and was on the point of rendering a tart unbeseeming in you to submit to such indignities.” rejoinder when his eyes fell upon a strange figure standing a few paces But scarcely were the words out of his mouth ere he, too, had been away, scrutinizing them intently. seized and securely bound by the neck with the same rope. Then Tarzan Professor Porter had recovered his shiny silk hat, which he had set off toward the north, leading the now thoroughly frightened professor brushed carefully upon the sleeve of his coat and replaced upon his head. and his secretary. When he saw Mr. Philander pointing to something behind him he In deathly silence they proceeded for what seemed hours to the two turned to behold a giant, naked but for a loin cloth and a few metal tired and hopeless old men; but presently as they topped a little rise of ornaments, standing motionless before him. ground they were overjoyed to see the cabin lying before them, not a “Good evening, sir!” said the professor, lifting his hat. hundred yards distant. For reply the giant motioned them to follow him, and set off up the Here Tarzan released them, and, pointing toward the little building, beach in the direction from which they had recently come. vanished into the jungle beside them. “I think it the better part of discretion to follow him,” said Mr. “Most remarkable, most remarkable!” gasped the professor. “But you Philander. see, Mr. Philander, that I was quite right, as usual; and but for your “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander,” returned the professor. “A short time since stubborn willfulness we should have escaped a series of most humiliating, you were advancing a most logical argument in substantiation of your not to say dangerous accidents. Pray allow yourself to be guided by a theory that camp lay directly south of us. I was skeptical, but you finally more mature and practical mind hereafter when in need of wise counsel.” convinced me; so now I am positive that toward the south we must Mr. Samuel T. Philander was too much relieved at the happy travel to reach our friends. Therefore I shall continue south.” outcome to their adventure to take umbrage at the professor’s cruel fling. “But, Professor Porter, this man may know better than either of us. Instead he grasped his friend’s arm and hastened him forward in the He seems to be indigenous to this part of the world. Let us at least direction of the cabin. follow him for a short distance.” “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander,” repeated the professor. “I am a difficult t was a much-relieved party of castaways that found itself once man to convince, but when once convinced my decision is unalterable. I more united. Dawn discovered them still recounting their various shall continue in the proper direction, if I have to circumambulate the adventures and speculating upon the identity of the strange guardian continent of Africa to reach my destination.” Iand protector they had found on this savage shore. Further argument was interrupted by Tarzan, who, seeing that these Esmeralda was positive that it was none other than an angel of the strange men were not following him, had returned to their side. Lord, sent down especially to watch over them. Again he beckoned to them; but still they stood in argument. “Had you seen him devour the raw meat of the lion, Esmeralda,” Presently the ape-man lost patience with their stupid ignorance. He laughed Clayton, “you would have thought him a very material angel.” grasped the frightened Mr. Philander by the shoulder, and before that “There was nothing heavenly about his voice,” said Jane Porter, with

160 161 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS a little shudder at recollection of the awful roar which had followed the killing of the lioness. [ return to table of contents ] “Nor did it precisely comport with my preconceived ideas of the dignity of divine messengers,” remarked Professor Porter, “when the — ah — gentleman tied two highly respectable and erudite scholars neck to neck and dragged them through the jungle as though they had been cows.” XVII

BURIALS

s it was now quite light, the party, none of whom had eaten or slept since the previous morning, began to bestir themselves to prepare food. AThe mutineers of the Arrow had landed a small supply of dried meats, canned soups and vegetables, crackers, flour, tea, and coffee for the five they had marooned, and these were hurriedly drawn upon to satisfy the craving of long-famished appetites. The next task was to make the cabin habitable, and to this end it was decided to at once remove the gruesome relics of the tragedy which had taken place there on some bygone day. Professor Porter and Mr. Philander were deeply interested in examining the skeletons. The two larger, they stated, had belonged to a male and female of one of the higher white races. The smallest skeleton was given but passing attention, as its location, in the crib, left no doubt as to its having been the infant offspring of this unhappy couple. As they were preparing the skeleton of the man for burial, Clayton discovered a massive ring which had evidently encircled the man’s finger

162 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES at the time of his death, for one of the slender bones of the hand still lay And so the white-haired old man repeated the burial service over within the golden bauble. this strange grave, while his four companions stood with bowed and Picking it up to examine it, Clayton gave a cry of astonishment, for uncovered heads about him. the ring bore the crest of the house of Greystoke. From the trees Tarzan of the Apes watched the solemn ceremony; At the same time, Jane discovered the books in the cupboard, and on but most of all he watched the sweet face and graceful figure of Jane opening the fly-leaf of one of them saw the name, JOHN CLAYTON, Porter. LONDON. In a second book which she hurriedly examined was the In his savage, untutored breast new emotions were stirring. He could single name, GREYSTOKE. not fathom them. He wondered why he felt so great an interest in these “Why, Mr. Clayton,” she cried, “what does this mean? Here are the people — why he had gone to such pains to save the three men. But he names of some of your own people in these books.” did not wonder why he had torn Sabor from the tender flesh of the “And here,” he replied gravely, “is the great ring of the house of strange girl. Greystoke which has been lost since my uncle, John Clayton, the former Surely the men were stupid and ridiculous and cowardly. Even Lord Greystoke, disappeared, presumably lost at sea.” Manu, the monkey, was more intelligent than they. If these were creatures “But how do you account for these things being here, in this savage of his own kind he was doubtful if his past pride in blood was warranted. African jungle?” exclaimed the girl. But the girl, ah — that was a different matter. He did not reason “There is but one way to account for it, Miss Porter,” said Clayton. here. He knew that she was created to be protected, and that he was “The late Lord Greystoke was not drowned. He died here in this cabin created to protect her. and this poor thing upon the floor is all that is mortal of him.” He wondered why they had dug a great hole in the ground merely “Then this must have been Lady Greystoke,” said Jane reverently, to bury dry bones. Surely there was no sense in that; no one wanted to indicating the poor mass of bones upon the bed. steal dry bones. “The beautiful Lady Alice,” replied Clayton, “of whose many virtues Had there been meat upon them he could have understood, for thus and remarkable personal charms I often have heard my mother and alone might one keep his meat from Dango, the hyena, and the other father speak. Poor woman,” he murmured sadly. robbers of the jungle. With deep reverence and solemnity the bodies of the late Lord and Lady Greystoke were buried beside their little African cabin, and hen the grave had been filled with earth the little party between them was placed the tiny skeleton of the baby of Kala, the ape. turned back toward the cabin, and Esmeralda, still weeping As Mr. Philander was placing the frail bones of the infant in a bit of copiously for the two she had never heard of before today, sail cloth, he examined the skull minutely. Then he called Professor andW who had been dead twenty years, chanced to glance toward the Porter to his side, and the two argued in low tones for several minutes. harbor. Instantly her tears ceased. “Most remarkable, most remarkable,” said Professor Porter. “Look at them low down white trash out there!” she shrilled, “Bless me,” said Mr. Philander, “we must acquaint Mr. Clayton with pointing toward the Arrow. “They-all’s a desecrating us, right here on our discovery at once.” this here perverted island.” “Tut, tut, Mr. Philander, tut, tut!” remonstrated Professor Archimedes And, sure enough, the Arrow was being worked toward the open sea, Q. Porter. “’Let the dead past bury its dead.’” slowly, through the harbor’s entrance.

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“They promised to leave us firearms and ammunition,” said Clayton. arzan had seen the consternation depicted upon the faces of the “The merciless beasts!” little group as they witnessed the departure of the Arrow; so, as “It is the work of that fellow they call Snipes, I am sure,” said Jane. the ship was a wonderful novelty to him in addition, he “King was a scoundrel, but he had a little sense of humanity. If they had Tdetermined to hasten out to the point of land at the north of the harbor’s not killed him I know that he would have seen that we were properly mouth and obtain a nearer view of the boat, as well as to learn, if possible, provided for before they left us to our fate.” the direction of its flight. “I regret that they did not visit us before sailing,” said Professor Swinging through the trees with great speed, he reached the point Porter. “I had proposed requesting them to leave the treasure with us, as only a moment after the ship had passed out of the harbor, so that he I shall be a ruined man if that is lost.” obtained an excellent view of the wonders of this strange, floating house. Jane looked at her father sadly. There were some twenty men running hither and thither about the “Never mind, dear,” she said. “It wouldn’t have done any good, deck, pulling and hauling on ropes. because it is solely for the treasure that they killed their officers and A light land breeze was blowing, and the ship had been worked landed us upon this awful shore.” through the harbor’s mouth under scant sail, but now that they had “Tut, tut, child, tut, tut!” replied Professor Porter. “You are a good cleared the point every available shred of canvas was being spread that child, but inexperienced in practical matters,” and Professor Porter she might stand out to sea as handily as possible. turned and walked slowly away toward the jungle, his hands clasped Tarzan watched the graceful movements of the ship in rapt beneath his long coat tails and his eyes bent upon the ground. admiration, and longed to be aboard her. Presently his keen eyes caught His daughter watched him with a pathetic smile upon her lips, and the faintest suspicion of smoke on the far northern horizon, and he then turning to Mr. Philander, she whispered: wondered over the cause of such a thing out on the great water. “Please don’t let him wander off again as he did yesterday. We About the same time the look-out on the Arrow must have discerned depend upon you, you know, to keep a close watch upon him.” it, for in a few minutes Tarzan saw the sails being shifted and shortened. “He becomes more difficult to handle each day,” replied Mr. The ship came about, and presently he knew that she was beating back Philander, with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I presume he is now off toward land. to report to the directors of the Zoo that one of their lions was at large A man at the bows was constantly heaving into the sea a rope to the last night. Oh, Miss Jane, you don’t know what I have to contend with.” end of which a small object was fastened. Tarzan wondered what the “Yes, I do, Mr. Philander; but while we all love him, you alone are purpose of this action might be. best fitted to manage him; for, regardless of what he may say to you, he At last the ship came up directly into the wind; the anchor was respects your great learning, and, therefore, has immense confidence in lowered; down came the sails. There was great scurrying about on deck. your judgment. The poor dear cannot differentiate between erudition A boat was lowered, and in it a great chest was placed. Then a dozen and wisdom.” sailors bent to the oars and pulled rapidly toward the point where Tarzan Mr. Philander, with a mildly puzzled expression on his face, turned crouched in the branches of a tree. to pursue Professor Porter, and in his mind he was revolving the question In the stern of the boat, as it drew nearer, Tarzan saw the rat-faced of whether he should feel complimented or aggrieved at Miss Porter’s man. rather backhanded compliment. It was but a few minutes later that the boat touched the beach. The

166 167 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES men jumped out and lifted the great chest to the sand. They were on the head and ringleader of the mutineers, had only added fuel to the flames north side of the point so that their presence was concealed from those of their hatred. at the cabin. “Do you mean to say that you don’t intend to take a shovel, and lend The men argued angrily for a moment. Then the rat-faced one, with a hand with this work? Your shoulder’s not hurt so all-fired bad as that,” several companions, ascended the low bluff on which stood the tree that said Tarrant, the sailor who had before spoken. concealed Tarzan. They looked about for several minutes. “Not by a damned sight,” replied Snipes, fingering the butt of his “Here is a good place,” said the rat-faced sailor, indicating a spot revolver nervously. beneath Tarzan’s tree. “Then, by God,” replied Tarrant, “if you won’t take a shovel you’ll “It is as good as any,” replied one of his companions. “If they catch take a pickax.” us with the treasure aboard it will all be confiscated anyway. We might With the words he raised his pick above his head, and, with a mighty as well bury it here on the chance that some of us will escape the gallows blow, he buried the point in Snipes’ brain. to come back and enjoy it later.” For a moment the men stood silently looking at the result of their The rat-faced one now called to the men who had remained at the fellow’s grim humor. Then one of them spoke. boat, and they came slowly up the bank carrying picks and shovels. “Served the skunk jolly well right,” he said. “Hurry, you!” cried Snipes. One of the others commenced to ply his pick to the ground. The “Stow it!” retorted one of the men, in a surly tone. “You’re no admiral, soil was soft and he threw aside the pick and grasped a shovel; then the you damned shrimp.” others joined him. There was no further comment on the killing, but the “I’m Cap’n here, though, I’ll have you to understand, you swab,” men worked in a better frame of mind than they had since Snipes had shrieked Snipes, with a volley of frightful oaths. assumed command. “Steady, boys,” cautioned one of the men who had not spoken before. When they had a trench of ample size to bury the chest, Tarrant “It ain’t goin’ to get us nothing by fightin’ amongst ourselves.” suggested that they enlarge it and inter Snipes’ body on top of the chest. “Right enough,” replied the sailor who had resented Snipes’ “It might ‘elp fool any as ‘appened to be diggin’ ‘ereabouts,” he autocratic tones; “but it ain’t a-goin’ to get nobody nothin’ to put on airs explained. in this bloomin’ company neither.” The others saw the cunning of the suggestion, and so the trench was “You fellows dig here,” said Snipes, indicating a spot beneath the lengthened to accommodate the corpse, and in the center a deeper hole tree. “And while you’re diggin’, Peter kin be a-makin’ of a map of the was excavated for the box, which was first wrapped in sailcloth and then location so’s we kin find it again. You, Tom, and Bill, take a couple more lowered to its place, which brought its top about a foot below the bottom down and fetch up the chest.” of the grave. Earth was shovelled in and tramped down about the chest “Wot are you a-goin’ to do?” asked he of the previous altercation. until the bottom of the grave showed level and uniform. “Just boss?” Two of the men rolled the rat-faced corpse unceremoniously into “Git busy there,” growled Snipes. “You didn’t think your Cap’n was the grave, after first stripping it of its weapons and various other articles a-goin’ to dig with a shovel, did you?” which the several members of the party coveted for their own. The men all looked up angrily. None of them liked Snipes, and this They then filled the grave with earth and tramped upon it until it disagreeable show of authority since he had murdered King, the real would hold no more.

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The balance of the loose earth was thrown far and wide, and a mass of the Apes picked it up as though it had been an empty packing case, of dead undergrowth spread in as natural a manner as possible over the and with the spade slung to his back by a piece of rope, carried it off into new-made grave to obliterate all signs of the ground having been the densest part of the jungle. disturbed. He could not well negotiate the trees with his awkward burden, but Their work done the sailors returned to the small boat, and pulled he kept to the trails, and so made fairly good time. off rapidly toward the Arrow. For several hours he traveled a little north of east until he came to The breeze had increased considerably, and as the smoke upon the an impenetrable wall of matted and tangled vegetation. Then he took to horizon was now plainly discernible in considerable volume, the the lower branches, and in another fifteen minutes he emerged into the mutineers lost no time in getting under full sail and bearing away toward amphitheater of the apes, where they met in council, or to celebrate the the southwest. rites of the Dum-Dum. Near the center of the clearing, and not far from the drum, or altar, arzan, an interested spectator of all that had taken place, sat he commenced to dig. This was harder work than turning up the freshly speculating on the strange actions of these peculiar creatures. excavated earth at the grave, but Tarzan of the Apes was persevering and Men were indeed more foolish and more cruel than the so he kept at his labor until he was rewarded by seeing a hole sufficiently beastsT of the jungle! How fortunate was he who lived in the peace and deep to receive the chest and effectually hide it from view. security of the great forest! Why had he gone to all this labor without knowing the value of the Tarzan wondered what the chest they had buried contained. If they contents of the chest? did not want it why did they not merely throw it into the water? That Tarzan of the Apes had a man’s figure and a man’s brain, but he was would have been much easier. an ape by training and environment. His brain told him that the chest Ah, he thought, but they do want it. They have hidden it here contained something valuable, or the men would not have hidden it. His because they intend returning for it later. training had taught him to imitate whatever was new and unusual, and Tarzan dropped to the ground and commenced to examine the now the natural curiosity, which is as common to men as to apes, earth about the excavation. He was looking to see if these creatures had prompted him to open the chest and examine its contents. dropped anything which he might like to own. Soon he discovered a But the heavy lock and massive iron bands baffled both his cunning spade hidden by the underbrush which they had laid upon the grave. and his immense strength, so that he was compelled to bury the chest He seized it and attempted to use it as he had seen the sailors do. It without having his curiosity satisfied. was awkward work and hurt his bare feet, but he persevered until he had partially uncovered the body. This he dragged from the grave and laid to y the time Tarzan had hunted his way back to the vicinity of the one side. cabin, feeding as he went, it was quite dark. Then he continued digging until he had unearthed the chest. This Within the little building a light was burning, for Clayton also he dragged to the side of the corpse. Then he filled in the smaller hadB found an unopened tin of oil which had stood intact for twenty hole below the grave, replaced the body and the earth around and above years, a part of the supplies left with the Claytons by Black Michael. The it, covered it over with underbrush, and returned to the chest. lamps also were still useable, and thus the interior of the cabin appeared Four sailors had sweated beneath the burden of its weight — Tarzan as bright as day to the astonished Tarzan.

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He had often wondered at the exact purpose of the lamps. His been writing, and as cautiously withdrew his arm and hand, holding the reading and the pictures had told him what they were, but he had no precious treasure. idea of how they could be made to produce the wondrous sunlight that Tarzan folded the sheets into a small parcel which he tucked into some of his pictures had portrayed them as diffusing upon all surrounding the quiver with his arrows. Then he melted away into the jungle as softly objects. and as noiselessly as a shadow. As he approached the window nearest the door he saw that the cabin had been divided into two rooms by a rough partition of boughs and sailcloth. In the front room were the three men; the two older deep in argument, while the younger, tilted back against the wall on an improvised stool, was deeply engrossed in reading one of Tarzan’s books. Tarzan was not particularly interested in the men, however, so he sought the other window. There was the girl. How beautiful her features! How delicate her snowy skin! She was writing at Tarzan’s own table beneath the window. Upon a pile of grasses at the far side of the room lay the Negress asleep. For an hour Tarzan feasted his eyes upon her while she wrote. How he longed to speak to her, but he dared not attempt it, for he was convinced that, like the young man, she would not understand him, and he feared, too, that he might frighten her away. At length she arose, leaving her manuscript upon the table. She went to the bed upon which had been spread several layers of soft grasses. These she rearranged. Then she loosened the soft mass of golden hair which crowned her head. Like a shimmering waterfall turned to burnished metal by a dying sun it fell about her oval face; in waving lines, below her waist it tumbled. Tarzan was spellbound. Then she extinguished the lamp and all within the cabin was wrapped in Cimmerian darkness. Still Tarzan watched. Creeping close beneath the window he waited, listening, for half an hour. At last he was rewarded by the sounds of the regular breathing within which denotes sleep. Cautiously he intruded his hand between the meshes of the lattice until his whole arm was within the cabin. Carefully he felt upon the desk. At last he grasped the manuscript upon which Jane Porter had

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XVIII

THE JUNGLE TOLL

arly the following morning Tarzan awoke, and his first thought of the new day, as the last of yesterday, was of the wonderful writing which lay hidden in his quiver. EHurriedly he brought it forth, hoping against hope that he could read what the beautiful white girl had written there the preceding evening. At the first glance he suffered a bitter disappointment; never before had he so yearned for anything as now he did for the ability to interpret a message from that golden-haired divinity who had come so suddenly and so unexpectedly into his life. What did it matter if the message were not intended for him? It was an expression of her thoughts, and that was sufficient for Tarzan of the Apes. And now to be baffled by strange, uncouth characters the like of which he had never seen before! Why, they even tipped in the opposite direction from all that he had ever examined either in printed books or the difficult script of the few letters he had found. Even the little bugs of the black book were familiar friends, though THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES their arrangement meant nothing to him; but these bugs were new and transpired, and the old man had become a respected citizen of an unheard of. obscure Spanish town, but the love of gold was still so strong upon him that he risked all to acquaint his son with the means of For twenty minutes he pored over them, when suddenly they attaining fabulous wealth for them both. commenced to take familiar though distorted shapes. Ah, they were his The writer told how when but a week out from Spain the crew old friends, but badly crippled. had mutinied and murdered every officer and man who opposed Then he began to make out a word here and a word there. His heart them; but they defeated their own ends by this very act, for there leaped for joy. He could read it, and he would. was none left competent to navigate a ship at sea. In another half hour he was progressing rapidly, and, but for an They were blown hither and thither for two months, until sick exceptional word now and again, he found it very plain sailing. and dying of scurvy, starvation, and thirst, they had been wrecked on a small islet. Here is what he read: The galleon was washed high upon the beach where she went to WEST COAST OF AFRICA, ABOUT 10 DEGREES pieces; but not before the survivors, who numbered but ten souls, SOUTH LATITUDE. (So Mr. Clayton says.) had rescued one of the great chests of treasure.

February 3 (?), 1909. This they buried well up on the island, and for three years they lived there in constant hope of being rescued. DEAREST HAZEL: One by one they sickened and died, until only one man was left, It seems foolish to write you a letter that you may never see, but I the writer of the letter. simply must tell somebody of our awful experiences since we sailed from Europe on the ill-fated Arrow. The men had built a boat from the wreckage of the galleon, but having no idea where the island was located they had not dared to If we never return to civilization, as now seems only too likely, put to sea. this will at least prove a brief record of the events which led up to our final fate, whatever it may be. When all were dead except himself, however, the awful loneliness so weighed upon the mind of the sole survivor that he could endure As you know, we were supposed to have set out upon a scientific it no longer, and choosing to risk death upon the open sea rather expedition to the Congo. Papa was presumed to entertain some than madness on the lonely isle, he set sail in his little boat after wondrous theory of an unthinkably ancient civilization, the nearly a year of solitude. remains of which lay buried somewhere in the Congo valley. But after we were well under sail the truth came out. Fortunately he sailed due north, and within a week was in the track of the Spanish merchantmen plying between the West Indies It seems that an old bookworm who has a book and curio shop in and Spain, and was picked up by one of these vessels homeward Baltimore discovered between the leaves of a very old Spanish bound. manuscript a letter written in 1550 detailing the adventures of a crew of mutineers of a Spanish galleon bound from Spain to South The story he told was merely one of shipwreck in which all but a America with a vast treasure of “doubloons” and “pieces of eight,” few had perished, the balance, except himself, dying after they I suppose, for they certainly sound weird and piraty. reached the island. He did not mention the mutiny or the chest of buried treasure. The writer had been one of the crew, and the letter was to his son, who was, at the very time the letter was written, master of a The master of the merchantman assured him that from the Spanish merchantman. position at which they had picked him up, and the prevailing winds for the past week he could have been on no other island Many years had elapsed since the events the letter narrated had than one of the Cape Verde group, which lie off the West Coast of

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Africa in about 16 degrees or 17 degrees north latitude. we landed.

His letter described the island minutely, as well as the location of I wish you could know Mr. Clayton; he is the dearest fellow the treasure, and was accompanied by the crudest, funniest little imaginable, and unless I am mistaken he has fallen very much in old map you ever saw; with trees and rocks all marked by scrawly love with me. X’s to show the exact spot where the treasure had been buried. He is the only son of Lord Greystoke, and some day will inherit When papa explained the real nature of the expedition, my heart the title and estates. In addition, he is wealthy in his own right, sank, for I know so well how visionary and impractical the poor but the fact that he is going to be an English Lord makes me very dear has always been that I feared that he had again been duped; sad — you know what my sentiments have always been relative especially when he told me he had paid a thousand dollars for the to American girls who married titled foreigners. Oh, if he were letter and map. only a plain American gentleman!

To add to my distress, I learned that he had borrowed ten thousand But it isn’t his fault, poor fellow, and in everything except birth he dollars more from Robert Canler, and had given his notes for the would do credit to my country, and that is the greatest compliment amount. Mr. Canler had asked for no security, and you know, I know how to pay any man. dearie, what that will mean for me if papa cannot meet them. Oh, how I detest that man! We have had the most weird experiences since we were landed here. Papa and Mr. Philander lost in the jungle, and chased by a We all tried to look on the bright side of things, but Mr. Philander, real lion. and Mr. Clayton — he joined us in London just for the adventure — both felt as skeptical as I. Mr. Clayton lost, and attacked twice by wild beasts. Esmeralda and I cornered in an old cabin by a perfectly awful man-eating Well, to make a long story short, we found the island and the lioness. Oh, it was simply “terrifical,” as Esmeralda would say. treasure — a great iron-bound oak chest, wrapped in many layers of oiled sailcloth, and as strong and firm as when it had been But the strangest part of it all is the wonderful creature who buried nearly two hundred years ago. rescued us. I have not seen him, but Mr. Clayton and papa and Mr. Philander have, and they say that he is a perfectly god-like It was SIMPLY FILLED with gold coin, and was so heavy that white man tanned to a dusky brown, with the strength of a wild four men bent underneath its weight. elephant, the agility of a monkey, and the bravery of a lion.

The horrid thing seems to bring nothing but murder and He speaks no English and vanishes as quickly and as mysteriously misfortune to those who have anything to do with it, for three after he has performed some valorous deed, as though he were a days after we sailed from the Cape Verde Islands our own crew disembodied spirit. mutinied and killed every one of their officers. Oh, it was the most terrifying experience one could imagine — I cannot even write of Then we have another weird neighbor, who printed a beautiful it. sign in English and tacked it on the door of his cabin, which we have preempted, warning us to destroy none of his belongings, and They were going to kill us too, but one of them, the leader, named signing himself “Tarzan of the Apes.” King, would not let them, and so they sailed south along the coast to a lonely spot where they found a good harbor, and here they We have never seen him, though we think he is about, for one of landed and have left us. the sailors, who was going to shoot Mr. Clayton in the back, received a spear in his shoulder from some unseen hand in the They sailed away with the treasure to-day, but Mr. Clayton says jungle. they will meet with a fate similar to the mutineers of the ancient galleon, because King, the only man aboard who knew aught of The sailors left us but a meager supply of food, so, as we have only navigation, was murdered on the beach by one of the men the day a single revolver with but three cartridges left in it, we do not know how we can procure meat, though Mr. Philander says that

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we can exist indefinitely on the wild fruit and nuts which abound left a very substantial memento of his friendship outside the cabin door in the jungle. last night, for I just found the carcass of a wild boar there as I came out.” I am very tired now, so I shall go to my funny bed of grasses which From then on scarcely a day passed that did not bring its offering of Mr. Clayton gathered for me, but will add to this from day to day game or other food. Sometimes it was a young deer, again a quantity of as things happen. strange, cooked food — cassava cakes pilfered from the village of Lovingly, Mbonga — or a boar, or leopard, and once a lion. JANE PORTER. Tarzan derived the greatest pleasure of his life in hunting meat for these strangers. It seemed to him that no pleasure on earth could TO HAZEL STRONG, BALTIMORE, MD. compare with laboring for the welfare and protection of the beautiful Tarzan sat in a brown study for a long time after he finished reading white girl. the letter. It was filled with so many new and wonderful things that his Some day he would venture into the camp in daylight and talk with brain was in a whirl as he attempted to digest them all. these people through the medium of the little bugs which were familiar So they did not know that he was Tarzan of the Apes. He would tell to them and to Tarzan. them. But he found it difficult to overcome the timidity of the wild thing In his tree he had constructed a rude shelter of leaves and boughs, of the forest, and so day followed day without seeing a fulfillment of his beneath which, protected from the rain, he had placed the few treasures good intentions. brought from the cabin. Among these were some pencils. The party in the camp, emboldened by familiarity, wandered farther He took one, and beneath Jane Porter’s signature he wrote: and yet farther into the jungle in search of nuts and fruit. Scarcely a day passed that did not find Professor Porter straying in I AM TARZAN OF THE APES his preoccupied indifference toward the jaws of death. Mr. Samuel T. Philander, never what one might call robust, was worn to the shadow of He thought that would be sufficient. Later he would return the a shadow through the ceaseless worry and mental distraction resultant letter to the cabin. from his Herculean efforts to safeguard the professor. In the matter of food, thought Tarzan, they had no need to worry — he would provide, and he did. month passed. Tarzan had finally determined to visit the camp The next morning Jane found her missing letter in the exact spot by daylight. from which it had disappeared two nights before. She was mystified; but It was early afternoon. Clayton had wandered to the point when she saw the printed words beneath her signature, she felt a cold, at the harbor’s mouth to look for passing vessels. Here he kept a great clammy chill run up her spine. She showed the letter, or rather the last A mass of wood, high piled, ready to be ignited as a signal should a steamer sheet with the signature, to Clayton. or a sail top the far horizon. “And to think,” she said, “that uncanny thing was probably watching Professor Porter was wandering along the beach south of the camp me all the time that I was writing — oo! It makes me shudder just to with Mr. Philander at his elbow, urging him to turn his steps back before think of it.” the two became again the sport of some savage beast. “But he must be friendly,” reassured Clayton, “for he has returned The others gone, Jane and Esmeralda had wandered into the jungle your letter, nor did he offer to harm you, and unless I am mistaken he

180 181 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES to gather fruit, and in their search were led farther and farther from the Instantly, Clayton, followed by the two old men, plunged into the cabin. jungle, calling the girl’s name aloud. For half an hour they stumbled on, Tarzan waited in silence before the door of the little house until they until Clayton, by merest chance, came upon the prostrate form of should return. His thoughts were of the beautiful white girl. They were Esmeralda. always of her now. He wondered if she would fear him, and the thought He stopped beside her, feeling for her pulse and then listening for all but caused him to relinquish his plan. her heartbeats. She lived. He shook her. He was rapidly becoming impatient for her return, that he might “Esmeralda!” he shrieked in her ear. “Esmeralda! For God’s sake, feast his eyes upon her and be near her, perhaps touch her. The ape-man where is Miss Porter? What has happened? Esmeralda!” knew no god, but he was as near to worshipping his divinity as mortal Slowly Esmeralda opened her eyes. She saw Clayton. She saw the man ever comes to worship. While he waited he passed the time printing jungle about her. a message to her; whether he intended giving it to her he himself could “Oh, Gaberelle!” she screamed, and fainted again. not have told, but he took infinite pleasure in seeing his thoughts By this time Professor Porter and Mr. Philander had come up. expressed in print — in which he was not so uncivilized after all. He “What shall we do, Mr. Clayton?” asked the old professor. “Where wrote: shall we look? God could not have been so cruel as to take my little girl away from me now.” I am Tarzan of the Apes. I want you. I am yours. You are mine. We live “We must arouse Esmeralda first,” replied Clayton. “She can tell us here together always in my house. I will bring you the best of fruits, the what has happened. Esmeralda!” he cried again, shaking the black tenderest deer, the finest meats that roam the jungle. I will hunt for you. I am woman roughly by the shoulder. the greatest of the jungle fighters. I will fight for you. I am the mightiest of the “O Gaberelle, I want to die!” cried the poor woman, but with eyes jungle fighters. You are Jane Porter, I saw it in your letter. When you see this fast closed. “Let me die, dear Lord, don’t let me see that awful face again.” you will know that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you. “Come, come, Esmeralda,” cried Clayton. “The Lord isn’t here; it’s Mr. Clayton. Open your eyes.” As he stood, straight as a young Indian, by the door, waiting after he Esmeralda did as she was bade. had finished the message, there came to his keen ears a familiar sound. “O Gaberelle! Thank the Lord,” she said. It was the passing of a great ape through the lower branches of the “Where’s Miss Porter? What happened?” questioned Clayton. forest. “Ain’t Miss Jane here?” cried Esmeralda, sitting up with wonderful For an instant he listened intently, and then from the jungle came celerity for one of her bulk. “Oh, Lord, now I remember! It must have the agonized scream of a woman, and Tarzan of the Apes, dropping his took her away,” and the Negress commenced to sob, and wail her first love letter upon the ground, shot like a panther into the forest. lamentations. Clayton, also, heard the scream, and Professor Porter and Mr. “What took her away?” cried Professor Porter. Philander, and in a few minutes they came panting to the cabin, calling “A great big giant all covered with hair.” out to each other a volley of excited questions as they approached. A “A gorilla, Esmeralda?” questioned Mr. Philander, and the three men glance within confirmed their worst fears. scarcely breathed as he voiced the horrible thought. Jane and Esmeralda were not there. “I thought it was the devil; but I guess it must have been one of

182 183 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES them gorilephants. Oh, my poor baby, my poor little honey,” and again “No; it is I alone who may go, for she was my daughter — all that Esmeralda broke into uncontrollable sobbing. was left on earth for me to love.” Clayton immediately began to look about for tracks, but he could “I shall go with you,” said Clayton simply. find nothing save a confusion of trampled grasses in the close vicinity, The old man looked up, regarding the strong, handsome face of and his woodcraft was too meager for the translation of what he did see. William Cecil Clayton intently. Perhaps he read there the love that lay All the balance of the day they sought through the jungle; but as in the heart beneath — the love for his daughter. night drew on they were forced to give up in despair and hopelessness, He had been too preoccupied with his own scholarly thoughts in for they did not even know in what direction the thing had borne Jane. the past to consider the little occurrences, the chance words, which would have indicated to a more practical man that these young people t was long after dark ere they reached the cabin, and a sad and grief- were being drawn more and more closely to one another. Now they stricken party it was that sat silently within the little structure. came back to him, one by one. Professor Porter finally broke the silence. His tones were no “As you wish,” he said. longerI those of the erudite pedant theorizing upon the abstract and the “You may count on me, also,” said Mr. Philander. unknowable; but those of the man of action — determined, but tinged “No, my dear old friend,” said Professor Porter. “We may not all go. also by a note of indescribable hopelessness and grief which wrung an It would be cruelly wicked to leave poor Esmeralda here alone, and three answering pang from Clayton’s heart. of us would be no more successful than one. “I shall lie down now,” said the old man, “and try to sleep. Early “There be enough dead things in the cruel forest as it is. Come — to-morrow, as soon as it is light, I shall take what food I can carry and let us try to sleep a little.” continue the search until I have found Jane. I will not return without her.” His companions did not reply at once. Each was immersed in his own sorrowful thoughts, and each knew, as did the old professor, what the last words meant — Professor Porter would never return from the jungle. At length Clayton arose and laid his hand gently upon Professor Porter’s bent old shoulder. “I shall go with you, of course,” he said. “I knew that you would offer — that you would wish to go, Mr. Clayton; but you must not. Jane is beyond human assistance now. What was once my dear little girl shall not lie alone and friendless in the awful jungle. “The same vines and leaves will cover us, the same rains beat upon us; and when the spirit of her mother is abroad, it will find us together in death, as it has always found us in life.

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XIX

THE CALL of the PRIMITIVE

rom the time Tarzan left the tribe of great anthropoids in which he had been raised, it was torn by continual strife and discord. Terkoz proved a cruel and capricious king, so that, one by one, Fmany of the older and weaker apes, upon whom he was particularly prone to vent his brutish nature, took their families and sought the quiet and safety of the far interior. But at last those who remained were driven to desperation by the continued truculence of Terkoz, and it so happened that one of them recalled the parting admonition of Tarzan: “If you have a chief who is cruel, do not do as the other apes do, and attempt, any one of you, to pit yourself against him alone. But, instead, let two or three or four of you attack him together. Then, if you will do this, no chief will dare to be other than he should be, for four of you can kill any chief who may ever be over you.” And the ape who recalled this wise counsel repeated it to several of his fellows, so that when Terkoz returned to the tribe that day he found a warm reception awaiting him. There were no formalities. As Terkoz reached the group, five THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES huge, hairy beasts sprang upon him. advent of the ape had confused her to such an extent that she thought At heart he was an arrant coward, which is the way with bullies now that he was bearing her toward the beach. among apes as well as among men; so he did not remain to fight and die, For this reason she conserved her energies and her voice until she but tore himself away from them as quickly as he could and fled into the could see that they had approached near enough to the camp to attract sheltering boughs of the forest. the succor she craved. Two more attempts he made to rejoin the tribe, but on each occasion She could not have known it, but she was being borne farther and he was set upon and driven away. At last he gave it up, and turned, farther into the impenetrable jungle. foaming with rage and hatred, into the jungle. For several days he wandered aimlessly, nursing his spite and looking he scream that had brought Clayton and the two older men for some weak thing on which to vent his pent anger. stumbling through the undergrowth had led Tarzan of the It was in this state of mind that the horrible, man-like beast, Apes straight to where Esmeralda lay, but it was not Esmeralda swinging from tree to tree, came suddenly upon two women in the Tin whom his interest centered, though pausing over her he saw that she jungle. was unhurt. He was right above them when he discovered them. The first For a moment he scrutinized the ground below and the trees above, intimation Jane Porter had of his presence was when the great hairy until the ape that was in him by virtue of training and environment, body dropped to the earth beside her, and she saw the awful face and the combined with the intelligence that was his by right of birth, told his snarling, hideous mouth thrust within a foot of her. wondrous woodcraft the whole story as plainly as though he had seen One piercing scream escaped her lips as the brute hand clutched her the thing happen with his own eyes. arm. Then she was dragged toward those awful fangs which yawned at And then he was gone again into the swaying trees, following the her throat. But ere they touched that fair skin another mood claimed the high-flung spoor which no other human eye could have detected, much anthropoid. less translated. The tribe had kept his women. He must find others to replace them. At boughs’ ends, where the anthropoid swings from one tree to This hairless white ape would be the first of his new household, and so another, there is most to mark the trail, but least to point the direction he threw her roughly across his broad, hairy shoulders and leaped back of the quarry; for there the pressure is downward always, toward the into the trees, bearing Jane away. small end of the branch, whether the ape be leaving or entering a tree. Esmeralda’s scream of terror had mingled once with that of Jane, Nearer the center of the tree, where the signs of passage are fainter, the and then, as was Esmeralda’s manner under stress of emergency which direction is plainly marked. required presence of mind, she swooned. Here, on this branch, a caterpillar has been crushed by the fugitive’s But Jane did not once lose consciousness. It is true that that awful great foot, and Tarzan knows instinctively where that same foot would face, pressing close to hers, and the stench of the foul breath beating touch in the next stride. Here he looks to find a tiny particle of the upon her nostrils, paralyzed her with terror; but her brain was clear, and demolished larva, ofttimes not more than a speck of moisture. she comprehended all that transpired. Again, a minute bit of bark has been upturned by the scraping hand, With what seemed to her marvelous rapidity the brute bore her and the direction of the break indicates the direction of the passage. Or through the forest, but still she did not cry out or struggle. The sudden some great limb, or the stem of the tree itself has been brushed by the

188 189 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES hairy body, and a tiny shred of hair tells him by the direction from which leopard into the arena which nature had provided for this primeval-like it is wedged beneath the bark that he is on the right trail. battle. Nor does he need to check his speed to catch these seemingly faint When Terkoz saw that it was Tarzan who pursued him, he jumped records of the fleeing beast. to the conclusion that this was Tarzan’s woman, since they were of the To Tarzan they stand out boldly against all the myriad other scars same kind — white and hairless — and so he rejoiced at this opportunity and bruises and signs upon the leafy way. But strongest of all is the scent, for double revenge upon his hated enemy. for Tarzan is pursuing up the wind, and his trained nostrils are as sensitive as a hound’s. o Jane the strange apparition of this god-like man was as wine There are those who believe that the lower orders are specially to sick nerves. endowed by nature with better olfactory nerves than man, but it is From the description which Clayton and her father and merely a matter of development. Mr.T Philander had given her, she knew that it must be the same wonderful Man’s survival does not hinge so greatly upon the perfection of his creature who had saved them, and she saw in him only a protector and a senses. His power to reason has relieved them of many of their duties, friend. and so they have, to some extent, atrophied, as have the muscles which But as Terkoz pushed her roughly aside to meet Tarzan’s charge, and move the ears and scalp, merely from disuse. she saw the great proportions of the ape and the mighty muscles and the The muscles are there, about the ears and beneath the scalp, and so fierce fangs, her heart quailed. How could any vanquish such a mighty are the nerves which transmit sensations to the brain, but they are under- antagonist? developed because they are not needed. Like two charging bulls they came together, and like two wolves Not so with Tarzan of the Apes. From early infancy his survival had sought each other’s throat. Against the long canines of the ape was depended upon acuteness of eyesight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste far pitted the thin blade of the man’s knife. more than upon the more slowly developed organ of reason. Jane — her lithe, young form flattened against the trunk of a great The least developed of all in Tarzan was the sense of taste, for he tree, her hands tight pressed against her rising and falling bosom, and could eat luscious fruits, or raw flesh, long buried with almost equal her eyes wide with mingled horror, fascination, fear, and admiration — appreciation; but in that he differed but slightly from more civilized watched the primordial ape battle with the primeval man for possession epicures. of a woman — for her. Almost silently the ape-man sped on in the track of Terkoz and his As the great muscles of the man’s back and shoulders knotted prey, but the sound of his approach reached the ears of the fleeing beast beneath the tension of his efforts, and the huge biceps and forearm held and spurred it on to greater speed. at bay those mighty tusks, the veil of centuries of civilization and culture Three miles were covered before Tarzan overtook them, and then was swept from the blurred vision of the Baltimore girl. Terkoz, seeing that further flight was futile, dropped to the ground in a When the long knife drank deep a dozen times of Terkoz’ heart’s small open glade, that he might turn and fight for his prize or be free to blood, and the great carcass rolled lifeless upon the ground, it was a escape unhampered if he saw that the pursuer was more than a match primeval woman who sprang forward with outstretched arms toward for him. the primeval man who had fought for her and won her. He still grasped Jane in one great arm as Tarzan bounded like a And Tarzan?

190 191 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

He did what no red-blooded man needs lessons in doing. He took harbor’s mouth, he saw two vessels lying at anchor. his woman in his arms and smothered her upturned, panting lips with One was the Arrow and the other a small French cruiser. The sides kisses. of the latter were crowded with men gazing shoreward, and it was evident to Clayton, as to the others who had now joined him, that the or a moment Jane lay there with half-closed eyes. For a moment gun which they had heard had been fired to attract their attention if they — the first in her young life — she knew the meaning of love. still remained at the cabin. But as suddenly as the veil had been withdrawn it dropped Both vessels lay at a considerable distance from shore, and it was again,F and an outraged conscience suffused her face with its scarlet doubtful if their glasses would locate the waving hats of the little party mantle, and a mortified woman thrust Tarzan of the Apes from her and far in between the harbor’s points. buried her face in her hands. Esmeralda had removed her red apron and was waving it frantically Tarzan had been surprised when he had found the girl he had above her head; but Clayton, still fearing that even this might not be learned to love after a vague and abstract manner a willing prisoner in seen, hurried off toward the northern point where lay his signal pyre his arms. Now he was surprised that she repulsed him. ready for the match. He came close to her once more and took hold of her arm. She It seemed an age to him, as to those who waited breathlessly behind, turned upon him like a tigress, striking his great breast with her tiny ere he reached the great pile of dry branches and underbrush. hands. As he broke from the dense wood and came in sight of the vessels Tarzan could not understand it. again, he was filled with consternation to see that the Arrow was making A moment ago and it had been his intention to hasten Jane back to sail and that the cruiser was already under way. her people, but that little moment was lost now in the dim and distant Quickly lighting the pyre in a dozen places, he hurried to the past of things which were but can never be again, and with it the good extreme point of the promontory, where he stripped off his shirt, and, intentions had gone to join the impossible. tying it to a fallen branch, stood waving it back and forth above him. Since then Tarzan of the Apes had felt a warm, lithe form close But still the vessels continued to stand out; and he had given up all pressed to his. Hot, sweet breath against his cheek and mouth had hope, when the great column of smoke, rising above the forest in one fanned a new flame to life within his breast, and perfect lips had clung dense vertical shaft, attracted the attention of a lookout aboard the to his in burning kisses that had seared a deep brand into his soul — a cruiser, and instantly a dozen glasses were leveled on the beach. brand which marked a new Tarzan. Presently Clayton saw the two ships come about again; and while Again he laid his hand upon her arm. Again she repulsed him. And the Arrow lay drifting quietly on the ocean, the cruiser steamed slowly then Tarzan of the Apes did just what his first ancestor would have back toward shore. done. At some distance away she stopped, and a boat was lowered and He took his woman in his arms and carried her into the jungle. dispatched toward the beach. As it was drawn up a young officer stepped out. arly the following morning the four within the little cabin “Monsieur Clayton, I presume?” he asked. by the beach were awakened by the booming of a cannon. “Thank God, you have come!” was Clayton’s reply. “And it may be Clayton was the first to rush out, and there, beyond the that it is not too late even now.”

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“What do you mean, Monsieur?” asked the officer. that it was the same vessel that had run from them a few weeks earlier. Clayton told of the abduction of Jane Porter and the need of armed Her forestaysail and mizzen spanker were set as though an effort had men to aid in the search for her. been made to hold her head up into the wind, but the sheets had parted, “Mon dieu!” exclaimed the officer, sadly. “Yesterday and it would not and the sails were tearing to ribbons in the half gale of wind. have been too late. Today and it may be better that the poor lady were In the high sea that was running it was a difficult and dangerous never found. It is horrible, Monsieur. It is too horrible.” task to attempt to put a prize crew aboard her; and as no signs of life had Other boats had now put off from the cruiser, and Clayton, having been seen above deck, it was decided to stand by until the wind and sea pointed out the harbor’s entrance to the officer, entered the boat with abated; but just then a figure was seen clinging to the rail and feebly him and its nose was turned toward the little landlocked bay, into which waving a mute signal of despair toward them. the other craft followed. Immediately a boat’s crew was ordered out and an attempt was Soon the entire party had landed where stood Professor Porter, Mr. successfully made to board the Arrow. Philander and the weeping Esmeralda. The sight that met the Frenchmen’s eyes as they clambered over the Among the officers in the last boats to put off from the cruiser was ship’s side was appalling. the commander of the vessel; and when he had heard the story of Jane’s A dozen dead and dying men rolled hither and thither upon the abduction, he generously called for volunteers to accompany Professor pitching deck, the living intermingled with the dead. Two of the corpses Porter and Clayton in their search. appeared to have been partially devoured as though by wolves. Not an officer or a man was there of those brave and sympathetic The prize crew soon had the vessel under proper sail once more and Frenchmen who did not quickly beg leave to be one of the expedition. the living members of the ill-starred company carried below to their The commander selected twenty men and two officers, Lieutenant hammocks. D’Arnot and Lieutenant Charpentier. A boat was dispatched to the The dead were wrapped in tarpaulins and lashed on deck to be cruiser for provisions, ammunition, and carbines; the men were already identified by their comrades before being consigned to the deep. armed with revolvers. None of the living was conscious when the Frenchmen reached the Then, to Clayton’s inquiries as to how they had happened to anchor Arrow’s deck. Even the poor devil who had waved the single despairing off shore and fire a signal gun, the commander, Captain Dufranne, signal of distress had lapsed into unconsciousness before he had learned explained that a month before they had sighted the Arrow bearing whether it had availed or not. southwest under considerable canvas, and that when they had signaled It did not take the French officer long to learn what had caused the her to come about she had but crowded on more sail. terrible condition aboard; for when water and brandy were sought to They had kept her hull-up until sunset, firing several shots after her, restore the men, it was found that there was none, nor even food of any but the next morning she was nowhere to be seen. They had then description. continued to cruise up and down the coast for several weeks, and had He immediately signalled to the cruiser to send water, medicine, and about forgotten the incident of the recent chase, when, early one morning provisions, and another boat made the perilous trip to the Arrow. a few days before the lookout had described a vessel laboring in the When restoratives had been applied several of the men regained trough of a heavy sea and evidently entirely out of control. consciousness, and then the whole story was told. That part of it we As they steamed nearer to the derelict they were surprised to note know up to the sailing of the Arrow after the murder of Snipes, and the

194 195 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES burial of his body above the treasure chest. They had anchored by night so as not to neglect a particle of the It seems that the pursuit by the cruiser had so terrorized the mutineers shore line, and it had happened that the preceding night had brought that they had continued out across the Atlantic for several days after losing them off the very beach where lay the little camp they sought. her; but on discovering the meager supply of water and provisions aboard, The signal guns of the afternoon before had not been heard by those they had turned back toward the east. on shore, it was presumed, because they had doubtless been in the thick With no one on board who understood navigation, discussions soon of the jungle searching for Jane Porter, where the noise of their own arose as to their whereabouts; and as three days’ sailing to the east did not crashing through the underbrush would have drowned the report of a raise land, they bore off to the north, fearing that the high north winds that far distant gun. had prevailed had driven them south of the southern extremity of Africa. By the time the two parties had narrated their several adventures, They kept on a north-northeasterly course for two days, when they the cruiser’s boat had returned with supplies and arms for the expedition. were overtaken by a calm which lasted for nearly a week. Their water was Within a few minutes the little body of sailors and the two French gone, and in another day they would be without food. officers, together with Professor Porter and Clayton, set off upon their Conditions changed rapidly from bad to worse. One man went mad hopeless and ill-fated quest into the untracked jungle. and leaped overboard. Soon another opened his veins and drank his own blood. When he died they threw him overboard also, though there were those among them who wanted to keep the corpse on board. Hunger was changing them from human beasts to wild beasts. Two days before they had been picked up by the cruiser they had become too weak to handle the vessel, and that same day three men died. On the following morning it was seen that one of the corpses had been partially devoured. All that day the men lay glaring at each other like beasts of prey, and the following morning two of the corpses lay almost entirely stripped of flesh. The men were but little stronger for their ghoulish repast, for the want of water was by far the greatest agony with which they had to contend. And then the cruiser had come. When those who could had recovered, the entire story had been told to the French commander; but the men were too ignorant to be able to tell him at just what point on the coast the professor and his party had been marooned, so the cruiser had steamed slowly along within sight of land, firing occasional signal guns and scanning every inch of the beach with glasses.

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XX

HEREDITY

hen Jane realized that she was being borne away a captive by the strange forest creature who had rescued her from the clutches of the ape she struggled desperately to escape, butW the strong arms that held her as easily as though she had been but a day-old babe only pressed a little more tightly. So presently she gave up the futile effort and lay quietly, looking through half-closed lids at the face of the man who strode easily through the tangled undergrowth with her. The face above her was one of extraordinary beauty. A perfect type of the strongly masculine, unmarred by dissipation, or brutal or degrading passions. For, though Tarzan of the Apes was a killer of men and of beasts, he killed as the hunter kills, dispassionately, except on those rare occasions when he had killed for hate — though not the brooding, malevolent hate which marks the features of its own with hideous lines. When Tarzan killed he more often smiled than scowled, and smiles are the foundation of beauty. One thing the girl had noticed particularly when she had seen THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

Tarzan rushing upon Terkoz — the vivid scarlet band upon his forehead, have fallen to the girl had he not rescued her from Terkoz. from above the left eye to the scalp; but now as she scanned his features He knew why the ape had not killed her, and he commenced to she noticed that it was gone, and only a thin white line marked the spot compare his intentions with those of Terkoz. where it had been. True, it was the order of the jungle for the male to take his mate by As she lay more quietly in his arms Tarzan slightly relaxed his grip force; but could Tarzan be guided by the laws of the beasts? Was not upon her. Tarzan a Man? But what did men do? He was puzzled; for he did not Once he looked down into her eyes and smiled, and the girl had to know. close her own to shut out the vision of that handsome, winning face. He wished that he might ask the girl, and then it came to him that Presently Tarzan took to the trees, and Jane, wondering that she felt she had already answered him in the futile struggle she had made to no fear, began to realize that in many respects she had never felt more escape and to repulse him. secure in her whole life than now as she lay in the arms of this strong, But now they had come to their destination, and Tarzan of the Apes wild creature, being borne, God alone knew where or to what fate, deeper with Jane in his strong arms, swung lightly to the turf of the arena where and deeper into the savage fastness of the untamed forest. the great apes held their councils and danced the wild orgy of the When, with closed eyes, she commenced to speculate upon the Dum-Dum. future, and terrifying fears were conjured by a vivid imagination, she had but to raise her lids and look upon that noble face so close to hers to hough they had come many miles, it was still but midafternoon, dissipate the last remnant of apprehension. and the amphitheater was bathed in the half light which filtered No, he could never harm her; of that she was convinced when she through the maze of encircling foliage. translated the fine features and the frank, brave eyes above her into the TThe green turf looked soft and cool and inviting. The myriad noises chivalry which they proclaimed. of the jungle seemed far distant and hushed to a mere echo of blurred On and on they went through what seemed to Jane a solid mass of sounds, rising and falling like the surf upon a remote shore. verdure, yet ever there appeared to open before this forest god a passage, A feeling of dreamy peacefulness stole over Jane as she sank down as by magic, which closed behind them as they passed. upon the grass where Tarzan had placed her, and as she looked up at his Scarce a branch scraped against her, yet above and below, before and great figure towering above her, there was added a strange sense of behind, the view presented naught but a solid mass of inextricably perfect security. interwoven branches and creepers. As she watched him from beneath half-closed lids, Tarzan crossed As Tarzan moved steadily onward his mind was occupied with many the little circular clearing toward the trees upon the further side. She strange and new thoughts. Here was a problem the like of which he had noted the graceful majesty of his carriage, the perfect symmetry of his never encountered, and he felt rather than reasoned that he must meet it magnificent figure and the poise of his well-shaped head upon his broad as a man and not as an ape. shoulders. The free movement through the middle terrace, which was the route What a perfect creature! There could be naught of cruelty or he had followed for the most part, had helped to cool the ardor of the baseness beneath that godlike exterior. Never, she thought had such a first fierce passion of his new found love. man strode the earth since God created the first in his own image. Now he discovered himself speculating upon the fate which would With a bound Tarzan sprang into the trees and disappeared. Jane

200 201 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES wondered where he had gone. Had he left her there to her fate in the wholly entrancing, she pointed to the fruit upon the ground, and seated lonely jungle? herself upon the edge of the earthen drum of the anthropoids, for hunger She glanced nervously about. Every vine and bush seemed but the was asserting itself. lurking-place of some huge and horrible beast waiting to bury gleaming Tarzan quickly gathered up the fruit, and, bringing it, laid it at her fangs into her soft flesh. Every sound she magnified into the stealthy feet; and then he, too, sat upon the drum beside her, and with his knife creeping of a sinuous and malignant body. opened and prepared the various fruits for her meal. How different now that he had left her! Together and in silence they ate, occasionally stealing sly glances at For a few minutes that seemed hours to the frightened girl, she sat one another, until finally Jane broke into a merry laugh in which Tarzan with tense nerves waiting for the spring of the crouching thing that was joined. to end her misery of apprehension. “I wish you spoke English,” said the girl. She almost prayed for the cruel teeth that would give her Tarzan shook his head, and an expression of wistful and pathetic unconsciousness and surcease from the agony of fear. longing sobered his laughing eyes. She heard a sudden, slight sound behind her. With a cry she sprang Then Jane tried speaking to him in French, and then in German; to her feet and turned to face her end. but she had to laugh at her own blundering attempt at the latter tongue. There stood Tarzan, his arms filled with ripe and luscious fruit. “Anyway,” she said to him in English, “you understand my German Jane reeled and would have fallen, had not Tarzan, dropping his as well as they did in Berlin.” burden, caught her in his arms. She did not lose consciousness, but she Tarzan had long since reached a decision as to what his future clung tightly to him, shuddering and trembling like a frightened deer. procedure should be. He had had time to recollect all that he had read of Tarzan of the Apes stroked her soft hair and tried to comfort and the ways of men and women in the books at the cabin. He would act as quiet her as Kala had him, when, as a little ape, he had been frightened he imagined the men in the books would have acted were they in his by Sabor, the lioness, or Histah, the snake. place. Once he pressed his lips lightly upon her forehead, and she did not Again he rose and went into the trees, but first he tried to explain by move, but closed her eyes and sighed. means of signs that he would return shortly, and he did so well that Jane She could not analyze her feelings, nor did she wish to attempt it. understood and was not afraid when he had gone. She was satisfied to feel the safety of those strong arms, and to leave her Only a feeling of loneliness came over her and she watched the future to fate; for the last few hours had taught her to trust this strange point where he had disappeared, with longing eyes, awaiting his return. wild creature of the forest as she would have trusted but few of the men As before, she was appraised of his presence by a soft sound behind her, of her acquaintance. and turned to see him coming across the turf with a great armful of As she thought of the strangeness of it, there commenced to dawn branches. upon her the realization that she had, possibly, learned something else Then he went back again into the jungle and in a few minutes which she had never really known before — love. She wondered and reappeared with a quantity of soft grasses and ferns. then she smiled. Two more trips he made until he had quite a pile of material at And still smiling, she pushed Tarzan gently away; and looking at hand. him with a half-smiling, half-quizzical expression that made her face Then he spread the ferns and grasses upon the ground in a soft flat

202 203 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES bed, and above it leaned many branches together so that they met a few Carefully he unwrapped it, removing layer after layer of leaves until feet over its center. Upon these he spread layers of huge leaves of the at length he held a photograph in his hand. great elephant’s ear, and with more branches and more leaves he closed Pointing to the miniature of the man within the locket he handed one end of the little shelter he had built. the photograph to Jane, holding the open locket beside it. Then they sat down together again upon the edge of the drum and The photograph only served to puzzle the girl still more, for it was tried to talk by signs. evidently another likeness of the same man whose picture rested in the The magnificent diamond locket which hung about Tarzan’s neck, locket beside that of the beautiful young woman. had been a source of much wonderment to Jane. She pointed to it now, Tarzan was looking at her with an expression of puzzled bewilderment and Tarzan removed it and handed the pretty bauble to her. in his eyes as she glanced up at him. He seemed to be framing a question She saw that it was the work of a skilled artisan and that the with his lips. diamonds were of great brilliancy and superbly set, but the cutting of The girl pointed to the photograph and then to the miniature and them denoted that they were of a former day. She noticed too that the then to him, as though to indicate that she thought the likenesses were locket opened, and, pressing the hidden clasp, she saw the two halves of him, but he only shook his head, and then shrugging his great spring apart to reveal in either section an ivory miniature. shoulders, he took the photograph from her and having carefully One was of a beautiful woman and the other might have been a rewrapped it, placed it again in the bottom of his quiver. likeness of the man who sat beside her, except for a subtle difference of For a few moments he sat in silence, his eyes bent upon the ground, expression that was scarcely definable. while Jane held the little locket in her hand, turning it over and over in She looked up at Tarzan to find him leaning toward her gazing on an endeavor to find some further clue that might lead to the identity of the miniatures with an expression of astonishment. He reached out his its original owner. hand for the locket and took it away from her, examining the likenesses At length a simple explanation occurred to her. within with unmistakable signs of surprise and new interest. His manner The locket had belonged to Lord Greystoke, and the likenesses clearly denoted that he had never before seen them, nor imagined that were of himself and Lady Alice. the locket opened. This wild creature had simply found it in the cabin by the beach. This fact caused Jane to indulge in further speculation, and it taxed How stupid of her not to have thought of that solution before. her imagination to picture how this beautiful ornament came into the But to account for the strange likeness between Lord Greystoke and possession of a wild and savage creature of the unexplored jungles of this forest god — that was quite beyond her, and it is not strange that Africa. she could not imagine that this naked savage was indeed an English Still more wonderful was how it contained the likeness of one who nobleman. might be a brother, or, more likely, the father of this woodland demi-god At length Tarzan looked up to watch the girl as she examined the who was even ignorant of the fact that the locket opened. locket. He could not fathom the meaning of the faces within, but he Tarzan was still gazing with fixity at the two faces. Presently he could read the interest and fascination upon the face of the live young removed the quiver from his shoulder, and emptying the arrows upon the creature by his side. ground reached into the bottom of the bag-like receptacle and drew forth She noticed that he was watching her and thinking that he wished a flat object wrapped in many soft leaves and tied with bits of long grass. his ornament again she held it out to him. He took it from her and

204 205 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES taking the chain in his two hands he placed it about her neck, smiling at upon the ground across the entrance. her expression of surprise at his unexpected gift. And thus the rising sun found them in the morning. Jane shook her head vehemently and would have removed the golden links from about her throat, but Tarzan would not let her. Taking hen Jane awoke, she did not at first recall the strange her hands in his, when she insisted upon it, he held them tightly to events of the preceding day, and so she wondered at her prevent her. odd surroundings — the little leafy bower, the soft grasses At last she desisted and with a little laugh raised the locket to her ofW her bed, the unfamiliar prospect from the opening at her feet. lips. Slowly the circumstances of her position crept one by one into her Tarzan did not know precisely what she meant, but he guessed mind. And then a great wonderment arose in her heart — a mighty correctly that it was her way of acknowledging the gift, and so he rose, wave of thankfulness and gratitude that though she had been in such and taking the locket in his hand, stooped gravely like some courtier of terrible danger, yet she was unharmed. old, and pressed his lips upon it where hers had rested. She moved to the entrance of the shelter to look for Tarzan. He was It was a stately and gallant little compliment performed with the gone; but this time no fear assailed her for she knew that he would grace and dignity of utter unconsciousness of self. It was the hall-mark return. of his aristocratic birth, the natural outcropping of many generations of In the grass at the entrance to her bower she saw the imprint of his fine breeding, an hereditary instinct of graciousness which a lifetime of body where he had lain all night to guard her. She knew that the fact uncouth and savage training and environment could not eradicate. that he had been there was all that had permitted her to sleep in such It was growing dark now, and so they ate again of the fruit which peaceful security. was both food and drink for them; then Tarzan rose, and leading Jane to With him near, who could entertain fear? She wondered if there was the little bower he had erected, motioned her to go within. another man on earth with whom a girl could feel so safe in the heart of For the first time in hours a feeling of fear swept over her, and this savage African jungle. Even the lions and panthers had no fears for Tarzan felt her draw away as though shrinking from him. her now. Contact with this girl for half a day had left a very different Tarzan She looked up to see his lithe form drop softly from a near-by tree. from the one on whom the morning’s sun had risen. As he caught her eyes upon him his face lighted with that frank and Now, in every fiber of his being, heredity spoke louder than training. radiant smile that had won her confidence the day before. He had not in one swift transition become a polished gentleman As he approached her Jane’s heart beat faster and her eyes brightened from a savage ape-man, but at last the instincts of the former as they had never done before at the approach of any man. predominated, and over all was the desire to please the woman he loved, He had again been gathering fruit and this he laid at the entrance of and to appear well in her eyes. her bower. Once more they sat down together to eat. So Tarzan of the Apes did the only thing he knew to assure Jane of Jane commenced to wonder what his plans were. Would he take her her safety. He removed his hunting knife from its sheath and handed it back to the beach or would he keep her here? Suddenly she realized that to her hilt first, again motioning her into the bower. the matter did not seem to give her much concern. Could it be that she The girl understood, and taking the long knife she entered and lay did not care! down upon the soft grasses while Tarzan of the Apes stretched himself She began to comprehend, also, that she was entirely contented

206 207 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES sitting here by the side of this smiling giant eating delicious fruit in a The girl came close to him, looking up with pleading eyes. Somehow sylvan paradise far within the remote depths of an African jungle — that she could not bear the thought of his going back into the terrible jungle she was contented and very happy. alone. She could not understand it. Her reason told her that she should be Still he shook his head, and finally he drew her to him very gently torn by wild anxieties, weighted by dread fears, cast down by gloomy and stooped to kiss her, but first he looked into her eyes and waited to forebodings; but instead, her heart was singing and she was smiling into learn if she were pleased, or if she would repulse him. the answering face of the man beside her. Just an instant the girl hesitated, and then she realized the truth, and When they had finished their breakfast Tarzan went to her bower throwing her arms about his neck she drew his face to hers and kissed and recovered his knife. The girl had entirely forgotten it. She realized him — unashamed. that it was because she had forgotten the fear that prompted her to “I love you — I love you,” she murmured. accept it. From far in the distance came the faint sound of many guns. Tarzan Motioning her to follow, Tarzan walked toward the trees at the edge and Jane raised their heads. of the arena, and taking her in one strong arm swung to the branches From the cabin came Mr. Philander and Esmeralda. above. From where Tarzan and the girl stood they could not see the two The girl knew that he was taking her back to her people, and she vessels lying at anchor in the harbor. could not understand the sudden feeling of loneliness and sorrow which Tarzan pointed toward the sounds, touched his breast and pointed crept over her. again. She understood. He was going, and something told her that it was For hours they swung slowly along. because he thought her people were in danger. Again he kissed her. arzan of the Apes did not hurry. He tried to draw out the sweet “Come back to me,” she whispered. “I shall wait for you — always.” pleasure of that journey with those dear arms about his neck as He was gone — and Jane turned to walk across the clearing to the long as possible, and so he went far south of the direct route to cabin. Tthe beach. Several times they halted for brief rests, which Tarzan did not need, r. Philander was the first to see her. It was dusk and Mr. and at noon they stopped for an hour at a little brook, where they Philander was very near sighted. quenched their thirst, and ate. “Quickly, Esmeralda!” he cried. “Let us seek safety So it was nearly sunset when they came to the clearing, and Tarzan, within;M it is a lioness. Bless me!” dropping to the ground beside a great tree, parted the tall jungle grass Esmeralda did not bother to verify Mr. Philander’s vision. His tone and pointed out the little cabin to her. was enough. She was within the cabin and had slammed and bolted the She took him by the hand to lead him to it, that she might tell her door before he had finished pronouncing her name. The “Bless me” was father that this man had saved her from death and worse than death, startled out of Mr. Philander by the discovery that Esmeralda, in the that he had watched over her as carefully as a mother might have done. exuberance of her haste, had fastened him upon the same side of the But again the timidity of the wild thing in the face of human habitation door as was the close-approaching lioness. swept over Tarzan of the Apes. He drew back, shaking his head. He beat furiously upon the heavy portal.

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“Esmeralda! Esmeralda!” he shrieked. “Let me in. I am being devoured by a lion.” [ return to table of contents ] Esmeralda thought that the noise upon the door was made by the lioness in her attempts to pursue her, so, after her custom, she fainted. Mr. Philander cast a frightened glance behind him. Horrors! The thing was quite close now. He tried to scramble up the side of the cabin, and succeeded in catching a fleeting hold upon the thatched roof. For a moment he hung there, clawing with his feet like a cat on a clothesline, but presently a piece of the thatch came away, and Mr. Philander, preceding it, was precipitated upon his back. XXI At the instant he fell a remarkable item of natural history leaped to his mind. If one feigns death lions and lionesses are supposed to ignore THE VILLAGE of TORTURE one, according to Mr. Philander’s faulty memory. So Mr. Philander lay as he had fallen, frozen into the horrid semblance of death. As his arms and legs had been extended stiffly upward as he came to earth upon his back the attitude of death was s the little expedition of sailors toiled through the dense jungle anything but impressive. searching for signs of Jane Porter, the futility of their venture Jane had been watching his antics in mild-eyed surprise. Now she became more and more apparent, but the grief of the old man laughed — a little choking gurgle of a laugh; but it was enough. Mr. Aand the hopeless eyes of the young Englishman prevented the kind Philander rolled over upon his side and peered about. At length he hearted D’Arnot from turning back. discovered her. He thought that there might be a bare possibility of finding her “Jane!” he cried. “Jane Porter. Bless me!” body, or the remains of it, for he was positive that she had been devoured He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward her. He could not by some beast of prey. He deployed his men into a skirmish line from the believe that it was she, and alive. point where Esmeralda had been found, and in this extended formation “Bless me!” Where did you come from? Where in the world have they pushed their way, sweating and panting, through the tangled vines you been? How — ” and creepers. It was slow work. Noon found them but a few miles inland. “Mercy, Mr. Philander,” interrupted the girl, “I can never remember They halted for a brief rest then, and after pushing on for a short distance so many questions.” further one of the men discovered a well-marked trail. “Well, well,” said Mr. Philander. “Bless me! I am so filled with It was an old elephant track, and D’Arnot after consulting with surprise and exuberant delight at seeing you safe and well again that I Professor Porter and Clayton decided to follow it. scarcely know what I am saying, really. But come, tell me all that has The path wound through the jungle in a northeasterly direction, happened to you.” and along it the column moved in single file. Lieutenant D’Arnot was in the lead and moving at a quick pace, for

210 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES the trail was comparatively open. Immediately behind him came daylight. Lieutenant Charpentier ordered a clearing made and a circular Professor Porter, but as he could not keep pace with the younger man abatis of underbrush constructed about the camp. D’Arnot was a hundred yards in advance when suddenly a half dozen This work was not completed until long after dark, the men building black warriors arose about him. a huge fire in the center of the clearing to give them light to work by. D’Arnot gave a warning shout to his column as the blacks closed on When all was safe as possible against attack of wild beasts and savage him, but before he could draw his revolver he had been pinioned and men, Lieutenant Charpentier placed sentries about the little camp and dragged into the jungle. the tired and hungry men threw themselves upon the ground to sleep. His cry had alarmed the sailors and a dozen of them sprang forward The groans of the wounded, mingled with the roaring and growling past Professor Porter, running up the trail to their officer’s aid. of the great beasts which the noise and firelight had attracted, kept sleep, They did not know the cause of his outcry, only that it was a warning except in its most fitful form, from the tired eyes. It was a sad and hungry of danger ahead. They had rushed past the spot where D’Arnot had been party that lay through the long night praying for dawn. seized when a spear hurled from the jungle transfixed one of the men, and then a volley of arrows fell among them. he blacks who had seized D’Arnot had not waited to participate Raising their rifles they fired into the underbrush in the direction in the fight which followed, but instead had dragged their from which the missiles had come. prisoner a little way through the jungle and then struck the trail By this time the balance of the party had come up, and volley after Tfurther on beyond the scene of the fighting in which their fellows were volley was fired toward the concealed foe. It was these shots that Tarzan engaged. and Jane Porter had heard. They hurried him along, the sounds of battle growing fainter and Lieutenant Charpentier, who had been bringing up the rear of the fainter as they drew away from the contestants until there suddenly column, now came running to the scene, and on hearing the details of broke upon D’Arnot’s vision a good-sized clearing at one end of which the ambush ordered the men to follow him, and plunged into the tangled stood a thatched and palisaded village. vegetation. It was now dusk, but the watchers at the gate saw the approaching In an instant they were in a hand-to-hand fight with some fifty trio and distinguished one as a prisoner ere they reached the portals. black warriors of Mbonga’s village. Arrows and bullets flew thick and A cry went up within the palisade. A great throng of women and fast. children rushed out to meet the party. Queer African knives and French gun butts mingled for a moment And then began for the French officer the most terrifying experience in savage and bloody duels, but soon the natives fled into the jungle, which man can encounter upon earth — the reception of a white leaving the Frenchmen to count their losses. prisoner into a village of African cannibals. Four of the twenty were dead, a dozen others were wounded, and To add to the fiendishness of their cruel savagery was the poignant Lieutenant D’Arnot was missing. Night was falling rapidly, and their memory of still crueler barbarities practiced upon them and theirs by the predicament was rendered doubly worse when they could not even find white officers of that arch hypocrite, Leopold II of Belgium, because of the elephant trail which they had been following. whose atrocities they had fled the Congo Free State — a pitiful remnant There was but one thing to do, make camp where they were until of what once had been a mighty tribe. They fell upon D’Arnot tooth and nail, beating him with sticks and

212 213 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES stones and tearing at him with claw-like hands. Every vestige of clothing arzan of the Apes needed no interpreter to translate the story was torn from him, and the merciless blows fell upon his bare and of those distant shots. With Jane Porter’s kisses still warm upon quivering flesh. But not once did the Frenchman cry out in pain. He his lips he was swinging with incredible rapidity through the breathed a silent prayer that he be quickly delivered from his torture. Tforest trees straight toward the village of Mbonga. But the death he prayed for was not to be so easily had. Soon the He was not interested in the location of the encounter, for he judged warriors beat the women away from their prisoner. He was to be saved that that would soon be over. Those who were killed he could not aid, for nobler sport than this, and the first wave of their passion having those who escaped would not need his assistance. subsided they contented themselves with crying out taunts and insults It was to those who had neither been killed or escaped that he and spitting upon him. hastened. And he knew that he would find them by the great post in the Presently they reached the center of the village. There D’Arnot was center of Mbonga village. bound securely to the great post from which no live man had ever been Many times had Tarzan seen Mbonga’s black raiding parties return released. from the northward with prisoners, and always were the same scenes A number of the women scattered to their several huts to fetch pots enacted about that grim stake, beneath the flaring light of many fires. and water, while others built a row of fires on which portions of the feast He knew, too, that they seldom lost much time before consummating were to be boiled while the balance would be slowly dried in strips for the fiendish purpose of their captures. He doubted that he would arrive future use, as they expected the other warriors to return with many in time to do more than avenge. prisoners. The festivities were delayed awaiting the return of the warriors On he sped. Night had fallen and he traveled high along the upper who had remained to engage in the skirmish with the white men, so that terrace where the gorgeous tropic moon lighted the dizzy pathway it was quite late when all were in the village, and the dance of death through the gently undulating branches of the tree tops. commenced to circle around the doomed officer. Presently he caught the reflection of a distant blaze. It lay to the Half fainting from pain and exhaustion, D’Arnot watched from right of his path. It must be the light from the camp fire the two men beneath half-closed lids what seemed but the vagary of delirium, or had built before they were attacked — Tarzan knew nothing of the some horrid nightmare from which he must soon awake. presence of the sailors. The bestial faces, daubed with color — the huge mouths and flabby So sure was Tarzan of his jungle knowledge that he did not turn hanging lips — the yellow teeth, sharp filed — the rolling, demon eyes from his course, but passed the glare at a distance of a half mile. It was — the shining naked bodies — the cruel spears. Surely no such creatures the camp fire of the Frenchmen. really existed upon earth — he must indeed be dreaming. In a few minutes more Tarzan swung into the trees above Mbonga’s The savage, whirling bodies circled nearer. Now a spear sprang forth village. Ah, he was not quite too late! Or, was he? He could not tell. The and touched his arm. The sharp pain and the feel of hot, trickling blood figure at the stake was very still, yet the black warriors were but pricking assured him of the awful reality of his hopeless position. it. Another spear and then another touched him. He closed his eyes Tarzan knew their customs. The death blow had not been struck. and held his teeth firm set — he would not cry out. He could tell almost to a minute how far the dance had gone. He was a soldier of France, and he would teach these beasts how an In another instant Mbonga’s knife would sever one of the victim’s officer and a gentleman died. ears — that would mark the beginning of the end, for very shortly after

214 215 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES only a writhing mass of mutilated flesh would remain. D’Arnot saw a clean-limbed young giant emerge from the shadows There would still be life in it, but death then would be the only into the firelight and come quickly toward him. charity it craved. What could it mean? Who could it be? Some new creature of torture The stake stood forty feet from the nearest tree. Tarzan coiled his and destruction, doubtless. rope. D’Arnot waited. His eyes never left the face of the advancing man. Then there rose suddenly above the fiendish cries of the dancing Nor did the other’s frank, clear eyes waver beneath D’Arnot’s fixed gaze. demons the awful challenge of the ape-man. D’Arnot was reassured, but still without much hope, though he felt that that face could not mask a cruel heart. he dancers halted as though turned to stone. Without a word Tarzan of the Apes cut the bonds which held the The rope sped with singing whir high above the heads of Frenchman. Weak from suffering and loss of blood, he would have fallen the blacks. It was quite invisible in the flaring lights of the but for the strong arm that caught him. Tcamp fires. He felt himself lifted from the ground. There was a sensation as of D’Arnot opened his eyes. A huge black, standing directly before flying, and then he lost consciousness. him, lunged backward as though felled by an invisible hand. Struggling and shrieking, his body, rolling from side to side, moved quickly toward the shadows beneath the trees. The blacks, their eyes protruding in horror, watched spellbound. Once beneath the trees, the body rose straight into the air, and as it disappeared into the foliage above, the terrified negroes, screaming with fright, broke into a mad race for the village gate. D’Arnot was left alone. He was a brave man, but he had felt the short hairs bristle upon the nape of his neck when that uncanny cry rose upon the air. As the writhing body of the black soared, as though by unearthly power, into the dense foliage of the forest, D’Arnot felt an icy shiver run along his spine, as though death had risen from a dark grave and laid a cold and clammy finger on his flesh. As D’Arnot watched the spot where the body had entered the tree he heard the sounds of movement there. The branches swayed as though under the weight of a man’s body — there was a crash and the black came sprawling to earth again, — to lie very quietly where he had fallen. Immediately after him came a white body, but this one alighted erect.

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XXII

THE SEARCH PARTY

hen dawn broke upon the little camp of Frenchmen in the heart of the jungle it found a sad and disheartened group. As soon as it was light enough to see their surroundings LieutenantW Charpentier sent men in groups of three in several directions to locate the trail, and in ten minutes it was found and the expedition was hurrying back toward the beach. It was slow work, for they bore the bodies of six dead men, two more having succumbed during the night, and several of those who were wounded required support to move even very slowly. Charpentier had decided to return to camp for reinforcements, and then make an attempt to track down the natives and rescue D’Arnot. It was late in the afternoon when the exhausted men reached the clearing by the beach, but for two of them the return brought so great a happiness that all their suffering and heartbreaking grief was forgotten on the instant. As the little party emerged from the jungle the first person that Professor Porter and Cecil Clayton saw was Jane, standing by the cabin door. THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

With a little cry of joy and relief she ran forward to greet them, longer have endured the pathos of his quiet and uncomplaining grief. throwing her arms about her father’s neck and bursting into tears for the “It was the saddest experience of my life, Miss Porter; and then, first time since they had been cast upon this hideous and adventurous added to it, there was my own grief — the greatest I have ever known. shore. But his was so hopeless — his was pitiful. It taught me that no love, not Professor Porter strove manfully to suppress his own emotions, but even that of a man for his wife may be so deep and terrible and self- the strain upon his nerves and weakened vitality were too much for him, sacrificing as the love of a father for his daughter.” and at length, burying his old face in the girl’s shoulder, he sobbed The girl bowed her head. There was a question she wanted to ask, quietly like a tired child. but it seemed almost sacrilegious in the face of the love of these two men Jane led him toward the cabin, and the Frenchmen turned toward and the terrible suffering they had endured while she sat laughing and the beach from which several of their fellows were advancing to meet happy beside a godlike creature of the forest, eating delicious fruits and them. looking with eyes of love into answering eyes. Clayton, wishing to leave father and daughter alone, joined the But love is a strange master, and human nature is still stranger, so sailors and remained talking with the officers until their boat pulled she asked her question. away toward the cruiser whither Lieutenant Charpentier was bound to “Where is the forest man who went to rescue you? Why did he not report the unhappy outcome of his adventure. return?” Then Clayton turned back slowly toward the cabin. His heart was “I do not understand,” said Clayton. “Whom do you mean?” filled with happiness. The woman he loved was safe. “He who has saved each of us — who saved me from the gorilla.” He wondered by what manner of miracle she had been spared. To “Oh,” cried Clayton, in surprise. “It was he who rescued you? You see her alive seemed almost unbelievable. have not told me anything of your adventure, you know.” As he approached the cabin he saw Jane coming out. When she saw “But the wood man,” she urged. “Have you not seen him? When we him she hurried forward to meet him. heard the shots in the jungle, very faint and far away, he left me. We had “Jane!” he cried, “God has been good to us, indeed. Tell me how you just reached the clearing, and he hurried off in the direction of the escaped — what form Providence took to save you for — us.” fighting. I know he went to aid you.” He had never before called her by her given name. Forty-eight hours Her tone was almost pleading — her manner tense with suppressed before it would have suffused Jane with a soft glow of pleasure to have emotion. Clayton could not but notice it, and he wondered, vaguely, why heard that name from Clayton’s lips — now it frightened her. she was so deeply moved — so anxious to know the whereabouts of this “Mr. Clayton,” she said quietly, extending her hand, “first let me strange creature. thank you for your chivalrous loyalty to my dear father. He has told me Yet a feeling of apprehension of some impending sorrow haunted how noble and self-sacrificing you have been. How can we repay you!” him, and in his breast, unknown to himself, was implanted the first germ Clayton noticed that she did not return his familiar salutation, but of jealousy and suspicion of the ape-man, to whom he owed his life. he felt no misgivings on that score. She had been through so much. This “We did not see him,” he replied quietly. “He did not join us.” was no time to force his love upon her, he quickly realized. And then after a moment of thoughtful pause: “Possibly he joined “I am already repaid,” he said. “Just to see you and Professor Porter his own tribe — the men who attacked us.” He did not know why he both safe, well, and together again. I do not think that I could much had said it, for he did not believe it.

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The girl looked at him wide eyed for a moment. She saw him as she introduced him to her friends — uncouth, “No!” she exclaimed vehemently, much too vehemently he thought. illiterate — a boor; and the girl winced. “It could not be. They were savages.” She had reached her room now, and as she sat upon the edge of her Clayton looked puzzled. bed of ferns and grasses, with one hand resting upon her rising and “He is a strange, half-savage creature of the jungle, Miss Porter. We falling bosom, she felt the hard outlines of the man’s locket. know nothing of him. He neither speaks nor understands any European She drew it out, holding it in the palm of her hand for a moment tongue — and his ornaments and weapons are those of the West Coast with tear-blurred eyes bent upon it. Then she raised it to her lips, and savages.” crushing it there buried her face in the soft ferns, sobbing. Clayton was speaking rapidly. “Beast?” she murmured. “Then God make me a beast; for, man or “There are no other human beings than savages within hundreds of beast, I am yours.” miles, Miss Porter. He must belong to the tribes which attacked us, or to some other equally savage — he may even be a cannibal.” he did not see Clayton again that day. Esmeralda brought her Jane blanched. supper to her, and she sent word to her father that she was “I will not believe it,” she half whispered. “It is not true. You shall suffering from the reaction following her adventure. see,” she said, addressing Clayton, “that he will come back and that he SThe next morning Clayton left early with the relief expedition in will prove that you are wrong. You do not know him as I do. I tell you search of Lieutenant D’Arnot. There were two hundred armed men this that he is a gentleman.” time, with ten officers and two surgeons, and provisions for a week. Clayton was a generous and chivalrous man, but something in the They carried bedding and hammocks, the latter for transporting girl’s breathless defense of the forest man stirred him to unreasoning their sick and wounded. jealousy, so that for the instant he forgot all that they owed to this wild It was a determined and angry company — a punitive expedition as demi-god, and he answered her with a half sneer upon his lip. well as one of relief. They reached the site of the skirmish of the previous “Possibly you are right, Miss Porter,” he said, “but I do not think that expedition shortly after noon, for they were now traveling a known trail any of us need worry about our carrion-eating acquaintance. The chances and no time was lost in exploring. are that he is some half-demented castaway who will forget us more From there on the elephant-track led straight to Mbonga’s village. It quickly, but no more surely, than we shall forget him. He is only a beast was but two o’clock when the head of the column halted upon the edge of the jungle, Miss Porter.” of the clearing. The girl did not answer, but she felt her heart shrivel within her. Lieutenant Charpentier, who was in command, immediately sent a She knew that Clayton spoke merely what he thought, and for the portion of his force through the jungle to the opposite side of the village. first time she began to analyze the structure which supported her Another detachment was dispatched to a point before the village gate, newfound love, and to subject its object to a critical examination. while he remained with the balance upon the south side of the clearing. Slowly she turned and walked back to the cabin. She tried to imagine It was arranged that the party which was to take its position to the her wood-god by her side in the saloon of an ocean liner. She saw him north, and which would be the last to gain its station should commence eating with his hands, tearing his food like a beast of prey, and wiping the assault, and that their opening volley should be the signal for a his greasy fingers upon his thighs. She shuddered. concerted rush from all sides in an attempt to carry the village by storm

222 223 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES at the first charge. response to their inquiries concerning their fellow; and at last they For half an hour the men with Lieutenant Charpentier crouched in became convinced that these were but evidences of the guilt of these the dense foliage of the jungle, waiting the signal. To them it seemed like demons who had slaughtered and eaten their comrade two nights before. hours. They could see natives in the fields, and others moving in and out At length all hope left them, and they prepared to camp for the of the village gate. night within the village. The prisoners were herded into three huts At length the signal came — a sharp rattle of musketry, and like one where they were heavily guarded. Sentries were posted at the barred man, an answering volley tore from the jungle to the west and to the gates, and finally the village was wrapped in the silence of slumber, south. except for the wailing of the native women for their dead. The natives in the field dropped their implements and broke madly for the palisade. The French bullets mowed them down, and the French he next morning they set out upon the return march. Their sailors bounded over their prostrate bodies straight for the village gate. original intention had been to burn the village, but this idea So sudden and unexpected the assault had been that the whites was abandoned and the prisoners were left behind, weeping reached the gates before the frightened natives could bar them, and in Tand moaning, but with roofs to cover them and a palisade for refuge another minute the village street was filled with armed men fighting from the beasts of the jungle. hand to hand in an inextricable tangle. Slowly the expedition retraced its steps of the preceding day. Ten For a few moments the blacks held their ground within the entrance loaded hammocks retarded its pace. In eight of them lay the more to the street, but the revolvers, rifles and cutlasses of the Frenchmen seriously wounded, while two swung beneath the weight of the dead. crumpled the native spearmen and struck down the black archers with Clayton and Lieutenant Charpentier brought up the rear of the their bows halfdrawn. column; the Englishman silent in respect for the other’s grief, for Soon the battle turned to a wild rout, and then to a grim massacre; D’Arnot and Charpentier had been inseparable friends since boyhood. for the French sailors had seen bits of D’Arnot’s uniform upon several of Clayton could not but realize that the Frenchman felt his grief the the black warriors who opposed them. more keenly because D’Arnot’s sacrifice had been so futile, since Jane They spared the children and those of the women whom they were had been rescued before D’Arnot had fallen into the hands of the not forced to kill in self-defense, but when at length they stopped, savages, and again because the service in which he had lost his life had panting, blood covered and sweating, it was because there lived to oppose been outside his duty and for strangers and aliens; but when he spoke of them no single warrior of all the savage village of Mbonga. it to Lieutenant Charpentier, the latter shook his head. Carefully they ransacked every hut and corner of the village, but no “No, Monsieur,” he said, “D’Arnot would have chosen to die thus. I sign of D’Arnot could they find. They questioned the prisoners by signs, only grieve that I could not have died for him, or at least with him. I and finally one of the sailors who had served in the French Congo found wish that you could have known him better, Monsieur. He was indeed that he could make them understand the bastard tongue that passes for an officer and a gentleman — a title conferred on many, but deserved by language between the whites and the more degraded tribes of the coast, so few. but even then they could learn nothing definite regarding the fate of “He did not die futilely, for his death in the cause of a strange D’Arnot. American girl will make us, his comrades, face our ends the more Only excited gestures and expressions of fear could they obtain in bravely, however they may come to us.”

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Clayton did not reply, but within him rose a new respect for him once more. Frenchmen which remained undimmed ever after. And then in sudden brutality that was as unlike Clayton as courteous It was quite late when they reached the cabin by the beach. A single consideration is unlike an ape, he blurted out: shot before they emerged from the jungle had announced to those in “When your forest god left you he was doubtless hurrying to the camp as well as on the ship that the expedition had been too late — for feast.” it had been prearranged that when they came within a mile or two of He was sorry ere the words were spoken though he did not know camp one shot was to be fired to denote failure, or three for success, how cruelly they had cut the girl. His regret was for his baseless disloyalty while two would have indicated that they had found no sign of either to one who had saved the lives of every member of his party, and offered D’Arnot or his black captors. harm to none. So it was a solemn party that awaited their coming, and few words The girl’s head went high. were spoken as the dead and wounded men were tenderly placed in “There could be but one suitable reply to your assertion, Mr. boats and rowed silently toward the cruiser. Clayton,” she said icily, “and I regret that I am not a man, that I might make it.” She turned quickly and entered the cabin. layton, exhausted from his five days of laborious marching Clayton was an Englishman, so the girl had passed quite out of sight through the jungle and from the effects of his two battles with before he deduced what reply a man would have made. the blacks, turned toward the cabin to seek a mouthful of food “Upon my word,” he said ruefully, “she called me a liar. And I fancy Cand then the comparative ease of his bed of grasses after two nights in I jolly well deserved it,” he added thoughtfully. “Clayton, my boy, I know the jungle. you are tired out and unstrung, but that’s no reason why you should By the cabin door stood Jane. make an ass of yourself. You’d better go to bed.” “The poor lieutenant?” she asked. “Did you find no trace of him?” But before he did so he called gently to Jane upon the opposite side “We were too late, Miss Porter,” he replied sadly. of the sailcloth partition, for he wished to apologize, but he might as “Tell me. What had happened?” she asked. well have addressed the Sphinx. Then he wrote upon a piece of paper “I cannot, Miss Porter, it is too horrible.” and shoved it beneath the partition. “You do not mean that they had tortured him?” she whispered. Jane saw the little note and ignored it, for she was very angry and “We do not know what they did to him BEFORE they killed him,” hurt and mortified, but — she was a woman, and so eventually she he answered, his face drawn with fatigue and the sorrow he felt for poor picked it up and read it. D’Arnot and he emphasized the word before. “BEFORE they killed him! What do you mean? They are not — ? MY DEAR MISS PORTER: They are not — ?” I had no reason to insinuate what I did. My only excuse is that my nerves She was thinking of what Clayton had said of the forest man’s probable must be unstrung — which is no excuse at all. relationship to this tribe and she could not frame the awful word. Please try and think that I did not say it. I am very sorry. I would not “Yes, Miss Porter, they were — cannibals,” he said, almost bitterly, have hurt YOU, above all others in the world. Say that you forgive me. for to him too had suddenly come the thought of the forest man, and the WM. CECIL CLAYTON. strange, unaccountable jealousy he had felt two days before swept over “He did think it or he never would have said it,” reasoned the girl,

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“but it cannot be true — oh, I know it is not true!” One sentence in the letter frightened her: “I would not have hurt [ return to table of contents ] YOU above all others in the world.” A week ago that sentence would have filled her with delight, now it depressed her. She wished she had never met Clayton. She was sorry that she had ever seen the forest god. No, she was glad. And there was that other note she had found in the grass before the cabin the day after her return from the jungle, the love note signed by Tarzan of the Apes. Who could be this new suitor? If he were another of the wild denizens of this terrible forest what might he not do to claim her? XXIII “Esmeralda! Wake up,” she cried. “You make me so irritable, sleeping there peacefully when you know BROTHER MEN perfectly well that the world is filled with sorrow.” “Gaberelle!” screamed Esmeralda, sitting up. “What is it now? A hipponocerous? Where is he, Miss Jane?” “Nonsense, Esmeralda, there is nothing. Go back to sleep. You are hen D’Arnot regained consciousness, he found himself bad enough asleep, but you are infinitely worse awake.” lying upon a bed of soft ferns and grasses beneath a little “Yes honey, but what’s the matter with you, precious? You acts sort “A” shaped shelter of boughs. of disgranulated this evening.” WAt his feet an opening looked out upon a green sward, and at a “Oh, Esmeralda, I’m just plain ugly to-night,” said the girl. “Don’t little distance beyond was the dense wall of jungle and forest. pay any attention to me — that’s a dear.” He was very lame and sore and weak, and as full consciousness “Yes, honey; now you go right to sleep. Your nerves are all on edge. returned he felt the sharp torture of many cruel wounds and the dull What with all these ripotamuses and man eating geniuses that Mister aching of every bone and muscle in his body as a result of the hideous Philander been telling about — Lord, it ain’t no wonder we all get beating he had received. nervous prosecution.” Even the turning of his head caused him such excruciating agony Jane crossed the little room, laughing, and kissing the faithful that he lay still with closed eyes for a long time. woman, bid Esmeralda good night. He tried to piece out the details of his adventure prior to the time he lost consciousness to see if they would explain his present whereabouts — he wondered if he were among friends or foes. At length he recollected the whole hideous scene at the stake, and finally recalled the strange white figure in whose arms he had sunk into oblivion. D’Arnot wondered what fate lay in store for him now. He could

228 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES neither see nor hear any signs of life about him. minutes later with several pieces of bark and — wonder of wonders The incessant hum of the jungle — the rustling of millions of — a lead pencil. leaves — the buzz of insects — the voices of the birds and monkeys Squatting beside D’Arnot he wrote for a minute on the smooth seemed blended into a strangely soothing purr, as though he lay apart, inner surface of the bark; then he handed it to the Frenchman. far from the myriad life whose sounds came to him only as a blurred D’Arnot was astonished to see, in plain print-like characters, a echo. message in English: At length he fell into a quiet slumber, nor did he awake again until afternoon. I am Tarzan of the Apes. Who are you? Can you read this language? Once more he experienced the strange sense of utter bewilderment that had marked his earlier awakening, but soon he recalled the recent D’Arnot seized the pencil — then he stopped. This strange man past, and looking through the opening at his feet he saw the figure of wrote English — evidently he was an Englishman. a man squatting on his haunches. “Yes,” said D’Arnot, “I read English. I speak it also. Now we may The broad, muscular back was turned toward him, but, tanned talk. First let me thank you for all that you have done for me.” though it was, D’Arnot saw that it was the back of a white man, and The man only shook his head and pointed to the pencil and the he thanked God. bark. The Frenchman called faintly. The man turned, and rising, came “Mon Dieu!” cried D’Arnot. “If you are English why is it then that toward the shelter. His face was very handsome — the handsomest, you cannot speak English?” thought D’Arnot, that he had ever seen. And then in a flash it came to him — the man was a mute, possibly Stooping, he crawled into the shelter beside the wounded officer, a deaf mute. and placed a cool hand upon his forehead. So D’Arnot wrote a message on the bark, in English. D’Arnot spoke to him in French, but the man only shook his head — sadly, it seemed to the Frenchman. I am Paul d’Arnot, Lieutenant in the navy of France. I thank you for what you have done for me. You have saved my life, and all Then D’Arnot tried English, but still the man shook his head. that I have is yours. May I ask how it is that one who writes Italian, Spanish and German brought similar discouragement. English does not speak it? D’Arnot knew a few words of Norwegian, Russian, Greek, and also had a smattering of the language of one of the West Coast negro Tarzan’s reply filled D’Arnot with still greater wonder: tribes — the man denied them all. I speak only the language of my tribe — the great apes who were After examining D’Arnot’s wounds the man left the shelter and Kerchak’s; and a little of the languages of Tantor, the elephant, disappeared. In half an hour he was back with fruit and a hollow and Numa, the lion, and of the other folks of the jungle I gourd-like vegetable filled with water. understand. With a human being I have never spoken, except once with Jane Porter, by signs. This is the first time I have spoken D’Arnot drank and ate a little. He was surprised that he had no with another of my kind through written words. fever. Again he tried to converse with his strange nurse, but the attempt was useless. D’Arnot was mystified. It seemed incredible that there lived upon Suddenly the man hastened from the shelter only to return a few earth a full-grown man who had never spoken with a fellow man, and

230 231 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES still more preposterous that such a one could read and write. Tarzan shook his head and taking the bark, wrote: He looked again at Tarzan’s message — ”except once, with Jane Porter.” That was the American girl who had been carried into the jungle I had thought of that — the first day; but I dared not. The great apes come often to this spot, and if they found you here, wounded by a gorilla. and alone, they would kill you. A sudden light commenced to dawn on D’Arnot — this then was the “gorilla.” He seized the pencil and wrote: D’Arnot turned on his side and closed his eyes. He did not wish to die; but he felt that he was going, for the fever was mounting higher and Where is Jane Porter? higher. That night he lost consciousness.

And Tarzan replied, below: or three days he was in delirium, and Tarzan sat beside him and Back with her people in the cabin of Tarzan of the Apes. bathed his head and hands and washed his wounds. On the fourth day the fever broke as suddenly as it had She is not dead then? Where was she? What happened to her? come, but it left D’Arnot a shadow of his former self, and very weak. She is not dead. She was taken by Terkoz to be his wife; but F Tarzan had to lift him that he might drink from the gourd. Tarzan of the Apes took her away from Terkoz and killed him The fever had not been the result of infection, as D’Arnot had before he could harm her. None in all the jungle may face Tarzan of the Apes in battle, and live. I am Tarzan of the Apes — mighty thought, but one of those that commonly attack whites in the jungles of fighter. Africa, and either kill or leave them as suddenly as D’Arnot’s had left him. D’Arnot wrote: Two days later, D’Arnot was tottering about the amphitheater, I am glad she is safe. It pains me to write, I will rest a while. Tarzan’s strong arm about him to keep him from falling. They sat beneath the shade of a great tree, and Tarzan found some And then Tarzan: smooth bark that they might converse. D’Arnot wrote the first message: Yes, rest. When you are well I shall take you back to your people. What can I do to repay you for all that you have done for me? For many days D’Arnot lay upon his bed of soft ferns. The second day a fever had come and D’Arnot thought that it meant infection and And Tarzan, in reply: he knew that he would die. An idea came to him. He wondered why he had not thought of it Teach me to speak the language of men. before. And so D’Arnot commenced at once, pointing out familiar objects He called Tarzan and indicated by signs that he would write, and and repeating their names in French, for he thought that it would be when Tarzan had fetched the bark and pencil, D’Arnot wrote: easier to teach this man his own language, since he understood it himself Can you go to my people and lead them here? I will write a best of all. message that you may take to them, and they will follow you. It meant nothing to Tarzan, of course, for he could not tell one language from another, so when he pointed to the word man which he

232 233 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES had printed upon a piece of bark he learned from D’Arnot that it was No one was in sight outside the cabin, and D’Arnot was perplexed pronounced HOMME, and in the same way he was taught to pronounce to note that neither the cruiser nor the Arrow was at anchor in the bay. ape, SINGE and tree, ARBRE. An atmosphere of loneliness pervaded the spot, which caught He was a most eager student, and in two more days had mastered so suddenly at both men as they strode toward the cabin. much French that he could speak little sentences such as: “That is a Neither spoke, yet both knew before they opened the closed door tree,” “this is grass,” “I am hungry,” and the like, but D’Arnot found that what they would find beyond. it was difficult to teach him the French construction upon a foundation Tarzan lifted the latch and pushed the great door in upon its of English. wooden hinges. It was as they had feared. The cabin was deserted. The Frenchman wrote little lessons for him in English and had The men turned and looked at one another. D’Arnot knew that his Tarzan repeat them in French, but as a literal translation was usually people thought him dead; but Tarzan thought only of the woman who very poor French Tarzan was often confused. had kissed him in love and now had fled from him while he was serving D’Arnot realized now that he had made a mistake, but it seemed too one of her people. late to go back and do it all over again and force Tarzan to unlearn all A great bitterness rose in his heart. He would go away, far into the that he had learned, especially as they were rapidly approaching a point jungle and join his tribe. Never would he see one of his own kind where they would be able to converse. again, nor could he bear the thought of returning to the cabin. He On the third day after the fever broke Tarzan wrote a message would leave that forever behind him with the great hopes he had asking D’Arnot if he felt strong enough to be carried back to the cabin. nursed there of finding his own race and becoming a man among men. Tarzan was as anxious to go as D’Arnot, for he longed to see Jane again. And the Frenchman? D’Arnot? What of him? He could get along It had been hard for him to remain with the Frenchman all these as Tarzan had. Tarzan did not want to see him more. He wanted to get days for that very reason, and that he had unselfishly done so spoke more away from everything that might remind him of Jane. glowingly of his nobility of character than even did his rescuing the As Tarzan stood upon the threshold brooding, D’Arnot had French officer from Mbonga’s clutches. entered the cabin. Many comforts he saw that had been left behind. D’Arnot, only too willing to attempt the journey, wrote: He recognized numerous articles from the cruiser — a camp oven, some kitchen utensils, a rifle and many rounds of ammunition, canned But you cannot carry me all the distance through this tangled foods, blankets, two chairs and a cot — and several books and forest. periodicals, mostly American. Tarzan laughed. “They must intend returning,” thought D’Arnot. “Mais oui,” he said, and D’Arnot laughed aloud to hear the phrase He walked over to the table that John Clayton had built so many that he used so often glide from Tarzan’s tongue. years before to serve as a desk, and on it he saw two notes addressed to So they set out, D’Arnot marveling as had Clayton and Jane at the Tarzan of the Apes. wondrous strength and agility of the apeman. One was in a strong masculine hand and was unsealed. The other, Mid-afternoon brought them to the clearing, and as Tarzan dropped in a woman’s hand, was sealed. to earth from the branches of the last tree his heart leaped and bounded “Here are two messages for you, Tarzan of the Apes,” cried against his ribs in anticipation of seeing Jane so soon again. D’Arnot, turning toward the door; but his companion was not there.

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D’Arnot walked to the door and looked out. Tarzan was nowhere ’Arnot closed the cabin door. He was very nervous. Even in sight. He called aloud but there was no response. brave men, and D’Arnot was a brave man, are sometimes “Mon dieu!” exclaimed D’Arnot, “he has left me. I feel it. He has frightened by solitude. gone back into his jungle and left me here alone.” DHe loaded one of the rifles and placed it within easy reach. Then he And then he remembered the look on Tarzan’s face when they had went to the desk and took up the unsealed letter addressed to Tarzan. discovered that the cabin was empty — such a look as the hunter sees Possibly it contained word that his people had but left the beach in the eyes of the wounded deer he has wantonly brought down. temporarily. He felt that it would be no breach of ethics to read this The man had been hard hit — D’Arnot realized it now — but letter, so he took the enclosure from the envelope and read: why? He could not understand. The Frenchman looked about him. The loneliness and the horror TO TARZAN OF THE APES: of the place commenced to get on his nerves — already weakened by We thank you for the use of your cabin, and are sorry that you did the ordeal of suffering and sickness he had passed through. not permit us the pleasure of seeing and thanking you in person. To be left here alone beside this awful jungle — never to hear a We have harmed nothing, but have left many things for you which human voice or see a human face — in constant dread of savage beasts may add to your comfort and safety here in your lonely home. and more terribly savage men — a prey to solitude and hopelessness. It If you know the strange white man who saved our lives so many was awful. times, and brought us food, and if you can converse with him, And far to the east Tarzan of the Apes was speeding through the thank him, also, for his kindness. middle terrace back to his tribe. Never had he traveled with such We sail within the hour, never to return; but we wish you and reckless speed. He felt that he was running away from himself — that that other jungle friend to know that we shall always thank you for what you did for strangers on your shore, and that we should by hurtling through the forest like a frightened squirrel he was escaping have done infinitely more to reward you both had you given us the from his own thoughts. But no matter how fast he went he found them opportunity. always with him. Very respectfully, He passed above the sinuous body of Sabor, the lioness, going in the opposite direction — toward the cabin, thought Tarzan. WM. CECIL CLAYTON. What could D’Arnot do against Sabor — or if Bolgani, the gorilla, “’Never to return,’” muttered D’Arnot, and threw himself face should come upon him — or Numa, the lion, or cruel Sheeta? downward upon the cot. Tarzan paused in his flight. An hour later he started up listening. Something was at the door “What are you, Tarzan?” he asked aloud. “An ape or a man?” trying to enter. “If you are an ape you will do as the apes would do — leave one of D’Arnot reached for the loaded rifle and placed it to his shoulder. your kind to die in the jungle if it suited your whim to go elsewhere. Dusk was falling, and the interior of the cabin was very dark; but the “If you are a man, you will return to protect your kind. You will not man could see the latch moving from its place. run away from one of your own people, because one of them has run He felt his hair rising upon his scalp. away from you.” Gently the door opened until a thin crack showed something standing just beyond.

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D’Arnot sighted along the blue barrel at the crack of the door — and then he pulled the trigger. [ return to table of contents ]

XXIV

LOST TREASURE

hen the expedition returned, following their fruitless endeavor to succor D’Arnot, Captain Dufranne was anxious to steam away as quickly as possible, and all save JaneW had acquiesced. “No,” she said, determinedly, “I shall not go, nor should you, for there are two friends in that jungle who will come out of it some day expecting to find us awaiting them. “Your officer, Captain Dufranne, is one of them, and the forest man who has saved the lives of every member of my father’s party is the other. “He left me at the edge of the jungle two days ago to hasten to the aid of my father and Mr. Clayton, as he thought, and he has stayed to rescue Lieutenant D’Arnot; of that you may be sure. “Had he been too late to be of service to the lieutenant he would have been back before now — the fact that he is not back is sufficient proof to me that he is delayed because Lieutenant D’Arnot is wounded, or he has had to follow his captors further than the village which your sailors attacked.” “But poor D’Arnot’s uniform and all his belongings were found in

238 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES that village, Miss Porter,” argued the captain, “and the natives showed in need of his services, either because he is wounded, or still is a prisoner great excitement when questioned as to the white man’s fate.” in a more distant native village.” “Yes, Captain, but they did not admit that he was dead and as for his “It has been suggested ,” ventured Lieutenant Charpentier, “that the clothes and accouterments being in their possession — why more wild man may have been a member of the tribe of blacks who attacked civilized peoples than these poor savage negroes strip their prisoners of our party — that he was hastening to aid them — his own people.” every article of value whether they intend killing them or not. Jane shot a quick glance at Clayton. “Even the soldiers of my own dear South looted not only the living “It seems vastly more reasonable,” said Professor Porter. but the dead. It is strong circumstantial evidence, I will admit, but it is “I do not agree with you,” objected Mr. Philander. “He had ample not positive proof.” opportunity to harm us himself, or to lead his people against us. Instead, “Possibly your forest man, himself was captured or killed by the during our long residence here, he has been uniformly consistent in his savages,” suggested Captain Dufranne. role of protector and provider.” The girl laughed. “That is true,” interjected Clayton, “yet we must not overlook the “You do not know him,” she replied, a little thrill of pride setting her fact that except for himself the only human beings within hundreds of nerves a-tingle at the thought that she spoke of her own. miles are savage cannibals. He was armed precisely as are they, which “I admit that he would be worth waiting for, this superman of yours,” indicates that he has maintained relations of some nature with them, laughed the captain. “I most certainly should like to see him.” and the fact that he is but one against possibly thousands suggests that “Then wait for him, my dear captain,” urged the girl, “for I intend these relations could scarcely have been other than friendly.” doing so.” “It seems improbable then that he is not connected with them,” The Frenchman would have been a very much surprised man could remarked the captain; “possibly a member of this tribe.” he have interpreted the true meaning of the girl’s words. “Otherwise,” added another of the officers, “how could he have lived They had been walking from the beach toward the cabin as they a sufficient length of time among the savage denizens of the jungle, talked, and now they joined a little group sitting on camp stools in the brute and human, to have become proficient in woodcraft, or in the use shade of a great tree beside the cabin. of African weapons.” Professor Porter was there, and Mr. Philander and Clayton, with “You are judging him according to your own standards, gentlemen,” Lieutenant Charpentier and two of his brother officers, while Esmeralda said Jane. “An ordinary white man such as any of you — pardon me, I hovered in the background, ever and anon venturing opinions and did not mean just that — rather, a white man above the ordinary in comments with the freedom of an old and much-indulged family physique and intelligence could never, I grant you, have lived a year alone servant. and naked in this tropical jungle; but this man not only surpasses the The officers arose and saluted as their superior approached, and average white man in strength and agility, but as far transcends our Clayton surrendered his camp stool to Jane. trained athletes and ‘strong men’ as they surpass a day-old babe; and his “We were just discussing poor Paul’s fate,” said Captain Dufranne. courage and ferocity in battle are those of the wild beast.” “Miss Porter insists that we have no absolute proof of his death — nor “He has certainly won a loyal champion, Miss Porter,” said Captain have we. And on the other hand she maintains that the continued Dufranne, laughing. “I am sure that there be none of us here but would absence of your omnipotent jungle friend indicates that D’Arnot is still willingly face death a hundred times in its most terrifying forms to

240 241 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES deserve the tributes of one even half so loyal — or so beautiful.” been able to find the right word for them but that’s it, don’t you know, “You would not wonder that I defend him,” said the girl, “could you lonesome noises.” have seen him as I saw him, battling in my behalf with that huge hairy “You and Esmeralda had better go and live on the cruiser,” said Jane, brute. in fine scorn. “What would you think if you had to live all of your life in “Could you have seen him charge the monster as a bull might charge that jungle as our forest man has done?” a grizzly — absolutely without sign of fear or hesitation — you would “I’m afraid I’d be a blooming bounder as a wild man,” laughed have believed him more than human. Clayton, ruefully. “Those noises at night make the hair on my head “Could you have seen those mighty muscles knotting under the bristle. I suppose that I should be ashamed to admit it, but it’s the truth.” brown skin — could you have seen them force back those awful fangs “I don’t know about that,” said Lieutenant Charpentier. “I never — you too would have thought him invincible. thought much about fear and that sort of thing — never tried to “And could you have seen the chivalrous treatment which he determine whether I was a coward or brave man; but the other night as accorded a strange girl of a strange race, you would feel the same absolute we lay in the jungle there after poor D’Arnot was taken, and those jungle confidence in him that I feel.” noises rose and fell around us I began to think that I was a coward “You have won your suit, my fair pleader,” cried the captain. “This indeed. It was not the roaring and growling of the big beasts that affected court finds the defendant not guilty, and the cruiser shall wait a few days me so much as it was the stealthy noises — the ones that you heard longer that he may have an opportunity to come and thank the divine suddenly close by and then listened vainly for a repetition of — the Portia.” unaccountable sounds as of a great body moving almost noiselessly, and “For the Lord’s sake honey,” cried Esmeralda. “You all don’t mean to the knowledge that you didn’t know how close it was, or whether it were tell ME that you’re going to stay right here in this here land of carnivable creeping closer after you ceased to hear it? It was those noises — and the animals when you all got the opportunity to escapade on that boat? eyes. Don’t you tell me that, honey.” “Mon dieu! I shall see them in the dark forever — the eyes that you “Why, Esmeralda! You should be ashamed of yourself,” cried Jane. see, and those that you don’t see, but feel — ah, they are the worst.” “Is this any way to show your gratitude to the man who saved your life All were silent for a moment, and then Jane spoke. twice?” “And he is out there,” she said, in an awe-hushed whisper. “Those “Well, Miss Jane, that’s all jest as you say; but that there forest man eyes will be glaring at him to-night, and at your comrade Lieutenant never did save us to stay here. He done save us so we all could get away D’Arnot. Can you leave them, gentlemen, without at least rendering from here. I expect he be mighty peevish when he find we ain’t got no them the passive succor which remaining here a few days longer might more sense than to stay right here after he done give us the chance to get insure them?” away. “Tut, tut, child,” said Professor Porter. “Captain Dufranne is willing “I hoped I’d never have to sleep in this here geological garden to remain, and for my part I am perfectly willing, perfectly willing — as another night and listen to all them lonesome noises that come out of I always have been to humor your childish whims.” that jumble after dark.” “We can utilize the morrow in recovering the chest, Professor,” “I don’t blame you a bit, Esmeralda,” said Clayton, “and you certainly suggested Mr. Philander. did hit it off right when you called them ‘lonesome’ noises. I never have “Quite so, quite so, Mr. Philander, I had almost forgotten the

242 243 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES treasure,” exclaimed Professor Porter. “Possibly we can borrow some do not know that you would suspect our men, but I am glad that there is men from Captain Dufranne to assist us, and one of the prisoners to now no chance for suspicion to fall on them,” he concluded. point out the location of the chest.” “It would never have occurred to me to suspect the men to whom we “Most assuredly, my dear Professor, we are all yours to command,” owe so much,” replied Professor Porter, graciously. “I would as soon said the captain. suspect my dear Clayton here, or Mr. Philander.” And so it was arranged that on the next day Lieutenant Charpentier The Frenchmen smiled, both officers and sailors. It was plain to see was to take a detail of ten men, and one of the mutineers of the Arrow that a burden had been lifted from their minds. as a guide, and unearth the treasure; and that the cruiser would remain “The treasure has been gone for some time,” continued Clayton. “In for a full week in the little harbor. At the end of that time it was to be fact the body fell apart as we lifted it, which indicates that whoever assumed that D’Arnot was truly dead, and that the forest man would not removed the treasure did so while the corpse was still fresh, for it was return while they remained. Then the two vessels were to leave with all intact when we first uncovered it.” the party. “There must have been several in the party,” said Jane, who had Professor Porter did not accompany the treasure-seekers on the joined them. “You remember that it took four men to carry it.” following day, but when he saw them returning empty-handed toward “By jove!” cried Clayton. “That’s right. It must have been done by a noon, he hastened forward to meet them — his usual preoccupied party of blacks. Probably one of them saw the men bury the chest and indifference entirely vanished, and in its place a nervous and excited then returned immediately after with a party of his friends, and carried manner. it off.” “Where is the treasure?” he cried to Clayton, while yet a hundred “Speculation is futile,” said Professor Porter sadly. “The chest is feet separated them. gone. We shall never see it again, nor the treasure that was in it.” Clayton shook his head. Only Jane knew what the loss meant to her father, and none there “Gone,” he said, as he neared the professor. knew what it meant to her. “Gone! It cannot be. Who could have taken it?” cried Professor Porter. ix days later Captain Dufranne announced that they would sail “God only knows, Professor,” replied Clayton. “We might have early on the morrow. thought the fellow who guided us was lying about the location, but his Jane would have begged for a further reprieve, had it not surprise and consternation on finding no chest beneath the body of the Sbeen that she too had begun to believe that her forest lover would return murdered Snipes were too real to be feigned. And then our spades no more. showed us that something had been buried beneath the corpse, for a hole In spite of herself she began to entertain doubts and fears. The had been there and it had been filled with loose earth.” reasonableness of the arguments of these disinterested French officers “But who could have taken it?” repeated Professor Porter. commenced to convince her against her will. “Suspicion might naturally fall on the men of the cruiser,” said That he was a cannibal she would not believe, but that he was an Lieutenant Charpentier, “but for the fact that sub-lieutenant Janviers adopted member of some savage tribe at length seemed possible to her. here assures me that no men have had shore leave — that none has been She would not admit that he could be dead. It was impossible to on shore since we anchored here except under command of an officer. I believe that that perfect body, so filled with triumphant life, could ever

244 245 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS cease to harbor the vital spark — as soon believe that immortality were dust. [ return to table of contents ] As Jane permitted herself to harbor these thoughts, others equally unwelcome forced themselves upon her. If he belonged to some savage tribe he had a savage wife — a dozen of them perhaps — and wild, half-caste children. The girl shuddered, and when they told her that the cruiser would sail on the morrow she was almost glad. It was she, though, who suggested that arms, ammunition, supplies and comforts be left behind in the cabin, ostensibly for that intangible personality who had signed himself Tarzan of the Apes, and for D’Arnot XXV should he still be living, but really, she hoped, for her forest god — even though his feet should prove of clay. THE OUTPOST of the WORLD And at the last minute she left a message for him, to be transmitted by Tarzan of the Apes. She was the last to leave the cabin, returning on some trivial pretext after the others had started for the boat. ith the report of his gun D’Arnot saw the door fly open She kneeled down beside the bed in which she had spent so many and the figure of a man pitch headlong within onto the nights, and offered up a prayer for the safety of her primeval man, and cabin floor. crushing his locket to her lips she murmured: WThe Frenchman in his panic raised his gun to fire again into the “I love you, and because I love you I believe in you. But if I did not prostrate form, but suddenly in the half dusk of the open door he saw believe, still should I love. Had you come back for me, and had there that the man was white and in another instant realized that he had shot been no other way, I would have gone into the jungle with you his friend and protector, Tarzan of the Apes. — forever.” With a cry of anguish D’Arnot sprang to the ape-man’s side, and kneeling, lifted the latter’s head in his arms — calling Tarzan’s name aloud. There was no response, and then D’Arnot placed his ear above the man’s heart. To his joy he heard its steady beating beneath. Carefully he lifted Tarzan to the cot, and then, after closing and bolting the door, he lighted one of the lamps and examined the wound. The bullet had struck a glancing blow upon the skull. There was an ugly flesh wound, but no signs of a fracture of the skull. D’Arnot breathed a sigh of relief, and went about bathing the blood from Tarzan’s face.

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Soon the cool water revived him, and presently he opened his eyes I do not know his name. He is the great white giant who wore the to look in questioning surprise at D’Arnot. diamond locket upon his breast. The latter had bound the wound with pieces of cloth, and as he saw If you know him and can speak his language carry my thanks to that Tarzan had regained consciousness he arose and going to the table him, and tell him that I waited seven days for him to return. wrote a message, which he handed to the ape-man, explaining the Tell him, also, that in my home in America, in the city of terrible mistake he had made and how thankful he was that the wound Baltimore, there will always be a welcome for him if he cares to come. was not more serious. Tarzan, after reading the message, sat on the edge of the couch and I found a note you wrote me lying among the leaves beneath a tree laughed. near the cabin. I do not know how you learned to love me, who have never spoken to me, and I am very sorry if it is true, for I “It is nothing,” he said in French, and then, his vocabulary failing have already given my heart to another. him, he wrote: But know that I am always your friend,

You should have seen what Bolgani did to me, and Kerchak, and JANE PORTER. Terkoz, before I killed them — then you would laugh at such a little scratch. Tarzan sat with gaze fixed upon the floor for nearly an hour. It was evident to him from the notes that they did not know that he and Tarzan D’Arnot handed Tarzan the two messages that had been left for him. of the Apes were one and the same. Tarzan read the first one through with a look of sorrow on his face. “I have given my heart to another,” he repeated over and over again The second one he turned over and over, searching for an opening — he to himself. had never seen a sealed envelope before. At length he handed it to D’Arnot. Then she did not love him! How could she have pretended love, and The Frenchman had been watching him, and knew that Tarzan was raised him to such a pinnacle of hope only to cast him down to such puzzled over the envelope. How strange it seemed that to a full-grown utter depths of despair! white man an envelope was a mystery. D’Arnot opened it and handed Maybe her kisses were only signs of friendship. How did he know, the letter back to Tarzan. who knew nothing of the customs of human beings? Sitting on a camp stool the ape-man spread the written sheet before Suddenly he arose, and, bidding D’Arnot good night as he had him and read: learned to do, threw himself upon the couch of ferns that had been Jane TO TARZAN OF THE APES: Porter’s. D’Arnot extinguished the lamp, and lay down upon the cot. Before I leave let me add my thanks to those of Mr. Clayton for the kindness you have shown in permitting us the use of your cabin. or a week they did little but rest, D’Arnot coaching Tarzan in That you never came to make friends with us has been a great regret to us. We should have liked so much to have seen and French. At the end of that time the two men could converse thanked our host. quite easily. One night, as they were sitting within the cabin before retiring, There is another I should like to thank also, but he did not come F back, though I cannot believe that he is dead. Tarzan turned to D’Arnot.

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“Where is America?” he said. Again D’Arnot smiled and shook his head. D’Arnot pointed toward the northwest. “It is too far. We should die long before we reached them.” “Many thousands of miles across the ocean,” he replied. “Why?” “Do you wish to stay here then forever?” asked Tarzan. “I am going there.” “No,” said D’Arnot. D’Arnot shook his head. “Then we shall start to-morrow. I do not like it here longer. I should “It is impossible, my friend,” he said. rather die than remain here.” Tarzan rose, and, going to one of the cupboards, returned with a “Well,” answered D’Arnot, with a shrug, “I do not know, my friend, well-thumbed geography. but that I also would rather die than remain here. If you go, I shall go Turning to a map of the world, he said: with you.” “I have never quite understood all this; explain it to me, please.” “It is settled then,” said Tarzan. “I shall start for America to-morrow.” When D’Arnot had done so, showing him that the blue represented “How will you get to America without money?” asked D’Arnot. all the water on the earth, and the bits of other colors the continents and “What is money?” inquired Tarzan. islands, Tarzan asked him to point out the spot where they now were. It took a long time to make him understand even imperfectly. D’Arnot did so. “How do men get money?” he asked at last. “Now point out America,” said Tarzan. “They work for it.” And as D’Arnot placed his finger upon North America, Tarzan “Very well. I will work for it, then.” smiled and laid his palm upon the page, spanning the great ocean that “No, my friend,” returned D’Arnot, “you need not worry about lay between the two continents. money, nor need you work for it. I have enough money for two — enough “You see it is not so very far,” he said; “scarce the width of my hand.” for twenty. Much more than is good for one man and you shall have all D’Arnot laughed. How could he make the man understand? you need if ever we reach civilization.” Then he took a pencil and made a tiny point upon the shore of So on the following day they started north along the shore. Each Africa. man carrying a rifle and ammunition, beside bedding and some food “This little mark,” he said, “is many times larger upon this map than and cooking utensils. your cabin is upon the earth. Do you see now how very far it is?” The latter seemed to Tarzan a most useless encumbrance, so he Tarzan thought for a long time. threw his away. “Do any white men live in Africa?” he asked. “But you must learn to eat cooked food, my friend,” remonstrated “Yes.” D’Arnot. “No civilized men eat raw flesh.” “Where are the nearest?” “There will be time enough when I reach civilization,” said Tarzan. D’Arnot pointed out a spot on the shore just north of them. “I do not like the things and they only spoil the taste of good meat.” “So close?” asked Tarzan, in surprise. “Yes,” said D’Arnot; “but it is not close.” or a month they traveled north. Sometimes finding food in “Have they big boats to cross the ocean?” plenty and again going hungry for days. “Yes.” They saw no signs of natives nor were they molested by wild “We shall go there to-morrow,” announced Tarzan. beasts.F Their journey was a miracle of ease. 250 251 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

Tarzan asked questions and learned rapidly. D’Arnot taught him or two, I shall feel safer for you to know that you are not alone on the many of the refinements of civilization — even to the use of knife and trail. When I see how helpless you are, D’Arnot, I often wonder how the fork; but sometimes Tarzan would drop them in disgust and grasp his human race has escaped annihilation all these ages which you tell me food in his strong brown hands, tearing it with his molars like a wild about. Why, Sabor, single handed, could exterminate a thousand of you.” beast. D’Arnot laughed. Then D’Arnot would expostulate with him, saying: “You will think more highly of your genus when you have seen its “You must not eat like a brute, Tarzan, while I am trying to make a armies and navies, its great cities, and its mighty engineering works. gentleman of you. Mon dieu! Gentlemen do not thus — it is terrible.” Then you will realize that it is mind, and not muscle, that makes the Tarzan would grin sheepishly and pick up his knife and fork again, human animal greater than the mighty beasts of your jungle. but at heart he hated them. “Alone and unarmed, a single man is no match for any of the larger On the journey he told D’Arnot about the great chest he had seen beasts; but if ten men were together, they would combine their wits and the sailors bury; of how he had dug it up and carried it to the gathering their muscles against their savage enemies, while the beasts, being unable place of the apes and buried it there. to reason, would never think of combining against the men. Otherwise, “It must be the treasure chest of Professor Porter,” said D’Arnot. “It Tarzan of the Apes, how long would you have lasted in the savage is too bad, but of course you did not know.” wilderness?” Then Tarzan recalled the letter written by Jane to her friend — the “You are right, D’Arnot,” replied Tarzan, “for if Kerchak had come one he had stolen when they first came to his cabin, and now he knew to Tublat’s aid that night at the Dum-Dum, there would have been an what was in the chest and what it meant to Jane. end of me. But Kerchak could never think far enough ahead to take “To-morrow we shall go back after it,” he announced to D’Arnot. advantage of any such opportunity. Even Kala, my mother, could never “Go back?” exclaimed D’Arnot. “But, my dear fellow, we have now plan ahead. She simply ate what she needed when she needed it, and if been three weeks upon the march. It would require three more to return the supply was very scarce, even though she found plenty for several to the treasure, and then, with that enormous weight which required, meals, she would never gather any ahead. you say, four sailors to carry, it would be months before we had again “I remember that she used to think it very silly of me to burden reached this spot.” myself with extra food upon the march, though she was quite glad to eat “It must be done, my friend,” insisted Tarzan. “You may go on toward it with me, if the way chanced to be barren of sustenance.” civilization, and I will return for the treasure. I can go very much faster “Then you knew your mother, Tarzan?” asked D’Arnot, in surprise. alone.” “Yes. She was a great, fine ape, larger than I, and weighing twice as “I have a better plan, Tarzan,” exclaimed D’Arnot. “We shall go on much.” together to the nearest settlement, and there we will charter a boat and “And your father?” asked D’Arnot. sail back down the coast for the treasure and so transport it easily. That “I did not know him. Kala told me he was a white ape, and hairless will be safer and quicker and also not require us to be separated. What like myself. I know now that he must have been a white man.” do you think of that plan?” D’Arnot looked long and earnestly at his companion. “Very well,” said Tarzan. “The treasure will be there whenever we go “Tarzan,” he said at length, “it is impossible that the ape, Kala, was for it; and while I could fetch it now, and catch up with you in a moon your mother. If such a thing can be, which I doubt, you would have

252 253 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES inherited some of the characteristics of the ape, but you have not — you taking his father’s place in the world — the second John Clayton are pure man, and, I should say, the offspring of highly bred and — and bringing added honors to the house of Greystoke. intelligent parents. Have you not the slightest clue to your past?” There — as though to give my prophecy the weight of his “Not the slightest,” replied Tarzan. endorsement — he has grabbed my pen in his chubby fists and with his inkbegrimed little fingers has placed the seal of his tiny “No writings in the cabin that might have told something of the finger prints upon the page. lives of its original inmates?” “I have read everything that was in the cabin with the exception of And there, on the margin of the page, were the partially blurred one book which I know now to be written in a language other than imprints of four wee fingers and the outer half of the thumb. English. Possibly you can read it.” When D’Arnot had finished the diary the two men sat in silence for Tarzan fished the little black diary from the bottom of his quiver, some minutes. and handed it to his companion. “Well! Tarzan of the Apes, what think you?” asked D’Arnot. “Does D’Arnot glanced at the title page. not this little book clear up the mystery of your parentage? “It is the diary of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, an English “Why man, you are Lord Greystoke.” nobleman, and it is written in French,” he said. “The book speaks of but one child,” he replied. “Its little skeleton lay Then he proceeded to read the diary that had been written over in the crib, where it died crying for nourishment, from the first time I twenty years before, and which recorded the details of the story which entered the cabin until Professor Porter’s party buried it, with its father we already know — the story of adventure, hardships and sorrow of John and mother, beside the cabin. Clayton and his wife Alice, from the day they left England until an hour “No, that was the babe the book speaks of — and the mystery of my before he was struck down by Kerchak. origin is deeper than before, for I have thought much of late of the D’Arnot read aloud. At times his voice broke, and he was forced to possibility of that cabin having been my birthplace. I am afraid that Kala stop reading for the pitiful hopelessness that spoke between the lines. spoke the truth,” he concluded sadly. Occasionally he glanced at Tarzan; but the ape-man sat upon his D’Arnot shook his head. He was unconvinced, and in his mind had haunches, like a carven image, his eyes fixed upon the ground. sprung the determination to prove the correctness of his theory, for he Only when the little babe was mentioned did the tone of the diary had discovered the key which alone could unlock the mystery, or consign alter from the habitual note of despair which had crept into it by degrees it forever to the realms of the unfathomable. after the first two months upon the shore. Then the passages were tinged with a subdued happiness that was week later the two men came suddenly upon a clearing in the even sadder than the rest. forest. One entry showed an almost hopeful spirit: In the distance were several buildings surrounded by a strong palisade. Between them and the enclosure stretched a cultivated To-day our little boy is six months old. He is sitting in Alice’s lap A field in which a number of negroes were working. beside the table where I am writing — a happy, healthy, perfect The two halted at the edge of the jungle. child. Tarzan fitted his bow with a poisoned arrow, but D’Arnot placed a Somehow, even against all reason, I seem to see him a grown man, hand upon his arm.

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“What would you do, Tarzan?” he asked. “Halt, then!” was the reply. “They will try to kill us if they see us,” replied Tarzan. “I prefer to be “Stop, Tarzan!” cried D’Arnot. “He thinks we are enemies.” the killer.” Tarzan dropped into a walk, and together he and D’Arnot advanced “Maybe they are friends,” suggested D’Arnot. toward the white man by the gate. “They are black,” was Tarzan’s only reply. The latter eyed them in puzzled bewilderment. And again he drew back his shaft. “What manner of men are you?” he asked, in French. “You must not, Tarzan!” cried D’Arnot. “White men do not kill “White men,” replied D’Arnot. “We have been lost in the jungle for wantonly. Mon dieu! but you have much to learn. a long time.” “I pity the ruffian who crosses you, my wild man, when I take you to The man had lowered his rifle and now advanced with outstretched Paris. I will have my hands full keeping your neck from beneath the hand. guillotine.” “I am Father Constantine of the French Mission here,” he said, “and Tarzan lowered his bow and smiled. I am glad to welcome you.” “I do not know why I should kill the blacks back there in my jungle, “This is Monsieur Tarzan, Father Constantine,” replied D’Arnot, yet not kill them here. Suppose Numa, the lion, should spring out upon indicating the ape-man; and as the priest extended his hand to Tarzan, us, I should say, then, I presume: Good morning, Monsieur Numa, how D’Arnot added: “and I am Paul D’Arnot, of the French Navy.” is Madame Numa; eh?” Father Constantine took the hand which Tarzan extended in “Wait until the blacks spring upon you,” replied D’Arnot, “then you imitation of the priest’s act, while the latter took in the superb physique may kill them. Do not assume that men are your enemies until they and handsome face in one quick, keen glance. prove it.” And thus came Tarzan of the Apes to the first outpost of civilization. “Come,” said Tarzan, “let us go and present ourselves to be killed,” For a week they remained there, and the ape-man, keenly observant, and he started straight across the field, his head high held and the learned much of the ways of men; meanwhile black women sewed white tropical sun beating upon his smooth, brown skin. duck garments for himself and D’Arnot so that they might continue Behind him came D’Arnot, clothed in some garments which had their journey properly clothed. been discarded at the cabin by Clayton when the officers of the French cruiser had fitted him out in more presentable fashion. Presently one of the blacks looked up, and beholding Tarzan, turned, shrieking, toward the palisade. In an instant the air was filled with cries of terror from the fleeing gardeners, but before any had reached the palisade a white man emerged from the enclosure, rifle in hand, to discover the cause of the commotion. What he saw brought his rifle to his shoulder, and Tarzan of the Apes would have felt cold lead once again had not D’Arnot cried loudly to the man with the leveled gun: “Do not fire! We are friends!”

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XXVI

THE HEIGHT of CIVILIZATION

nother month brought them to a little group of buildings at the mouth of a wide river, and there Tarzan saw many boats, and was filled with the timidity of the wild thing by the sight ofA many men. Gradually he became accustomed to the strange noises and the odd ways of civilization, so that presently none might know that two short months before, this handsome Frenchman in immaculate white ducks, who laughed and chatted with the gayest of them, had been swinging naked through primeval forests to pounce upon some unwary victim, which, raw, was to fill his savage belly. The knife and fork, so contemptuously flung aside a month before, Tarzan now manipulated as exquisitely as did the polished D’Arnot. So apt a pupil had he been that the young Frenchman had labored assiduously to make of Tarzan of the Apes a polished gentleman in so far as nicety of manners and speech were concerned. “God made you a gentleman at heart, my friend,” D’Arnot had said; “but we want His works to show upon the exterior also.” As soon as they had reached the little port, D’Arnot had cabled his THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES government of his safety, and requested a three-months’ leave, which when the monarch of the jungle roared about a camp at night. had been granted. D’Arnot and Tarzan had agreed that his past be kept secret, and so He had also cabled his bankers for funds, and the enforced wait of a none other than the French officer knew of the ape-man’s familiarity month, under which both chafed, was due to their inability to charter a with the beasts of the jungle. vessel for the return to Tarzan’s jungle after the treasure. “Monsieur Tarzan has not expressed himself,” said one of the party. During their stay at the coast town “Monsieur Tarzan” became the “A man of his prowess who has spent some time in Africa, as I understand wonder of both whites and blacks because of several occurrences which Monsieur Tarzan has, must have had experiences with lions — yes?” to Tarzan seemed the merest of nothings. “Some,” replied Tarzan, dryly. “Enough to know that each of you are Once a huge black, crazed by drink, had run amuck and terrorized right in your judgment of the characteristics of the lions — you have the town, until his evil star had led him to where the black-haired French met. But one might as well judge all blacks by the fellow who ran amuck giant lolled upon the veranda of the hotel. last week, or decide that all whites are cowards because one has met a Mounting the broad steps, with brandished knife, the Negro made cowardly white. straight for a party of four men sitting at a table sipping the inevitable “There is as much individuality among the lower orders, gentlemen, absinthe. as there is among ourselves. Today we may go out and stumble upon a Shouting in alarm, the four took to their heels, and then the black lion which is over-timid — he runs away from us. To-morrow we may spied Tarzan. meet his uncle or his twin brother, and our friends wonder why we do With a roar he charged the ape-man, while half a hundred heads not return from the jungle. For myself, I always assume that a lion is peered from sheltering windows and doorways to witness the butchering ferocious, and so I am never caught off my guard.” of the poor Frenchman by the giant black. “There would be little pleasure in hunting,” retorted the first speaker, Tarzan met the rush with the fighting smile that the joy of battle “if one is afraid of the thing he hunts.” always brought to his lips. D’Arnot smiled. Tarzan afraid! As the Negro closed upon him, steel muscles gripped the black wrist “I do not exactly understand what you mean by fear,” said Tarzan. of the uplifted knife-hand, and a single swift wrench left the hand “Like lions, fear is a different thing in different men, but to me the only dangling below a broken bone. pleasure in the hunt is the knowledge that the hunted thing has power With the pain and surprise, the madness left the black man, and as to harm me as much as I have to harm him. If I went out with a couple Tarzan dropped back into his chair the fellow turned, crying with agony, of rifles and a gun bearer, and twenty or thirty beaters, to hunt a lion, I and dashed wildly toward the native village. should not feel that the lion had much chance, and so the pleasure of the hunt would be lessened in proportion to the increased safety which I n another occasion as Tarzan and D’Arnot sat at dinner with felt.” a number of other whites, the talk fell upon lions and lion “Then I am to take it that Monsieur Tarzan would prefer to go hunting. naked into the jungle, armed only with a jackknife, to kill the king of OOpinion was divided as to the bravery of the king of beasts — some beasts,” laughed the other, good naturedly, but with the merest touch of maintaining that he was an arrant coward, but all agreeing that it was sarcasm in his tone. with a feeling of greater security that they gripped their express rifles “And a piece of rope,” added Tarzan.

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Just then the deep roar of a lion sounded from the distant jungle, as “I will accede that you have won,” he said, “and the ten thousand though to challenge whoever dared enter the lists with him. francs are yours if you will but give up this foolish attempt, which can “There is your opportunity, Monsieur Tarzan,” bantered the only end in your death.” Frenchman. Tarzan laughed, and in another moment the jungle had swallowed “I am not hungry,” said Tarzan simply. him. The men laughed, all but D’Arnot. He alone knew that a savage The men stood silent for some moments and then slowly turned beast had spoken its simple reason through the lips of the ape-man. and walked back to the hotel veranda. “But you are afraid, just as any of us would be, to go out there naked, armed only with a knife and a piece of rope,” said the banterer. “Is it not arzan had no sooner entered the jungle than he took to the so?” trees, and it was with a feeling of exultant freedom that he “No,” replied Tarzan. “Only a fool performs any act without reason.” swung once more through the forest branches. “Five thousand francs is a reason,” said the other. “I wager you that TThis was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like amount you cannot bring back a lion from the jungle under the this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions conditions we have named — naked and armed only with a knife and a and conventionalities. Even clothes were a hindrance and a nuisance. piece of rope.” At last he was free. He had not realized what a prisoner he had been. Tarzan glanced toward D’Arnot and nodded his head. How easy it would be to circle back to the coast, and then make “Make it ten thousand,” said D’Arnot. toward the south and his own jungle and cabin. “Done,” replied the other. Now he caught the scent of Numa, for he was traveling up wind. Tarzan arose. Presently his quick ears detected the familiar sound of padded feet and “I shall have to leave my clothes at the edge of the settlement, so the brushing of a huge, fur-clad body through the undergrowth. that if I do not return before daylight I shall have something to wear Tarzan came quietly above the unsuspecting beast and silently through the streets.” stalked him until he came into a little patch of moonlight. “You are not going now,” exclaimed the wagerer — “at night?” Then the quick noose settled and tightened about the tawny throat, “Why not?” asked Tarzan. “Numa walks abroad at night — it will be and, as he had done it a hundred times in the past, Tarzan made fast the easier to find him.” end to a strong branch and, while the beast fought and clawed for “No,” said the other, “I do not want your blood upon my hands. It freedom, dropped to the ground behind him, and leaping upon the great will be foolhardy enough if you go forth by day.” back, plunged his long thin blade a dozen times into the fierce heart. “I shall go now,” replied Tarzan, and went to his room for his knife Then with his foot upon the carcass of Numa, he raised his voice in and rope. the awesome victory cry of his savage tribe. The men accompanied him to the edge of the jungle, where he left For a moment Tarzan stood irresolute, swayed by conflicting his clothes in a small storehouse. emotions of loyalty to D’Arnot and a mighty lust for the freedom of his But when he would have entered the blackness of the undergrowth own jungle. At last the vision of a beautiful face, and the memory of they tried to dissuade him; and the wagerer was most insistent of all that warm lips crushed to his dissolved the fascinating picture he had been he abandon his foolhardy venture. drawing of his old life.

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The ape-man threw the warm carcass of Numa across his shoulders To Tarzan it was as though one should eulogize a butcher for his and took to the trees once more. heroism in killing a cow, for Tarzan had killed so often for food and for self-preservation that the act seemed anything but remarkable to him. he men upon the veranda had sat for an hour, almost in silence. But he was indeed a hero in the eyes of these men — men accustomed They had tried ineffectually to converse on various subjects, to hunting big game. and always the thing uppermost in the mind of each had caused Incidentally, he had won ten thousand francs, for D’Arnot insisted Tthe conversation to lapse. that he keep it all. “Mon dieu!” said the wagerer at length, “I can endure it no longer. This was a very important item to Tarzan, who was just commencing I am going into the jungle with my express and bring back that mad to realize the power which lay beyond the little pieces of metal and paper man.” which always changed hands when human beings rode, or ate, or slept, “I will go with you,” said one. or clothed themselves, or drank, or worked, or played, or sheltered “And I” — ”And I” — ”And I,” chorused the others. themselves from the rain or cold or sun. As though the suggestion had broken the spell of some horrid It had become evident to Tarzan that without money one must die. nightmare they hastened to their various quarters, and presently were D’Arnot had told him not to worry, since he had more than enough for headed toward the jungle — each one heavily armed. both, but the ape-man was learning many things and one of them was “God! What was that?” suddenly cried one of the party, an that people looked down upon one who accepted money from another Englishman, as Tarzan’s savage cry came faintly to their ears. without giving something of equal value in exchange. “I heard the same thing once before,” said a Belgian, “when I was in the gorilla country. My carriers said it was the cry of a great bull ape who hortly after the episode of the lion hunt, D’Arnot succeeded in has made a kill.” chartering an ancient tub for the coastwise trip to Tarzan’s land- D’Arnot remembered Clayton’s description of the awful roar with locked harbor. which Tarzan had announced his kills, and he half smiled in spite of the SIt was a happy morning for them both when the little vessel weighed horror which filled him to think that the uncanny sound could have anchor and made for the open sea. issued from a human throat — from the lips of his friend. The trip to the beach was uneventful, and the morning after they As the party stood finally near the edge of the jungle, debating as to dropped anchor before the cabin, Tarzan, garbed once more in his jungle the best distribution of their forces, they were startled by a low laugh regalia and carrying a spade, set out alone for the amphitheater of the near them, and turning, beheld advancing toward them a giant figure apes where lay the treasure. bearing a dead lion upon its broad shoulders. Late the next day he returned, bearing the great chest upon his Even D’Arnot was thunderstruck, for it seemed impossible that the shoulder, and at sunrise the little vessel worked through the harbor’s man could have so quickly dispatched a lion with the pitiful weapons he mouth and took up her northward journey. had taken, or that alone he could have borne the huge carcass through Three weeks later Tarzan and D’Arnot were passengers on board a the tangled jungle. French steamer bound for Lyons, and after a few days in that city The men crowded about Tarzan with many questions, but his only D’Arnot took Tarzan to Paris. answer was a laughing depreciation of his feat. The ape-man was anxious to proceed to America, but D’Arnot

264 265 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES insisted that he must accompany him to Paris first, nor would he divulge must leave room for the thumb and the fingers of the left hand. There, the nature of the urgent necessity upon which he based his demand. that’s it. Now the same with the left.” “Come, Tarzan,” cried D’Arnot, “let’s see what your whorls look ne of the first things which D’Arnot accomplished after their like.” arrival was to arrange to visit a high official of the police Tarzan complied readily, asking many questions of the officer during department, an old friend; and to take Tarzan with him. the operation. OAdroitly D’Arnot led the conversation from point to point until the “Do fingerprints show racial characteristics?” he asked. “Could you policeman had explained to the interested Tarzan many of the methods determine, for example, solely from fingerprints whether the subject was in vogue for apprehending and identifying criminals. Negro or Caucasian?” Not the least interesting to Tarzan was the part played by finger “I think not,” replied the officer. prints in this fascinating science. “Could the finger prints of an ape be detected from those of a man?” “But of what value are these imprints,” asked Tarzan, “when, after a “Probably, because the ape’s would be far simpler than those of the few years the lines upon the fingers are entirely changed by the wearing higher organism.” out of the old tissue and the growth of new?” “But a cross between an ape and a man might show the characteristics “The lines never change,” replied the official. “From infancy to of either progenitor?” continued Tarzan. senility the fingerprints of an individual change only in size, except as “Yes, I should think likely,” responded the official; “but the science injuries alter the loops and whorls. But if imprints have been taken of has not progressed sufficiently to render it exact enough in such matters. the thumb and four fingers of both hands one must needs lose all entirely I should hate to trust its findings further than to differentiate between to escape identification.” individuals. There it is absolute. No two people born into the world “It is marvelous,” exclaimed D’Arnot. “I wonder what the lines upon probably have ever had identical lines upon all their digits. It is very my own fingers may resemble.” doubtful if any single fingerprint will ever be exactly duplicated by any “We can soon see,” replied the police officer, and ringing a bell he finger other than the one which originally made it.” summoned an assistant to whom he issued a few directions. “Does the comparison require much time or labor?” asked D’Arnot. The man left the room, but presently returned with a little hardwood “Ordinarily but a few moments, if the impressions are distinct.” box which he placed on his superior’s desk. D’Arnot drew a little black book from his pocket and commenced “Now,” said the officer, “you shall have your fingerprints in a second.” turning the pages. He drew from the little case a square of plate glass, a little tube of Tarzan looked at the book in surprise. How did D’Arnot come to thick ink, a rubber roller, and a few snowy white cards. have his book? Squeezing a drop of ink onto the glass, he spread it back and forth Presently D’Arnot stopped at a page on which were five tiny little with the rubber roller until the entire surface of the glass was covered to smudges. his satisfaction with a very thin and uniform layer of ink. He handed the open book to the policeman. “Place the four fingers of your right hand upon the glass, thus,” he “Are these imprints similar to mine or Monsieur Tarzan’s or can you said to D’Arnot. “Now the thumb. That is right. Now place them in just say that they are identical with either?” The officer drew a powerful glass the same position upon this card, here, no — a little to the right. We from his desk and examined all three specimens carefully, making

266 267 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES notations meanwhile upon a pad of paper. “There is evidently a great deal at stake which must hinge to a Tarzan realized now what was the meaning of their visit to the greater or lesser extent upon the absolute correctness of this comparison. police officer. I therefore ask that you leave the entire matter in my hands until The answer to his life’s riddle lay in these tiny marks. Monsieur Desquerc, our expert returns. It will be but a matter of a few With tense nerves he sat leaning forward in his chair, but suddenly days.” he relaxed and dropped back, smiling. “I had hoped to know at once,” said D’Arnot. “Monsieur Tarzan D’Arnot looked at him in surprise. sails for America tomorrow.” “You forget that for twenty years the dead body of the child who “I will promise that you can cable him a report within two weeks,” made those fingerprints lay in the cabin of his father, and that all my life replied the officer; “but what it will be I dare not say. There are I have seen it lying there,” said Tarzan bitterly. resemblances, yet — well, we had better leave it for Monsieur Desquerc The policeman looked up in astonishment. to solve.” “Go ahead, captain, with your examination,” said D’Arnot, “we will tell you the story later — provided Monsieur Tarzan is agreeable.” Tarzan nodded his head. “But you are mad, my dear D’Arnot,” he insisted. “Those little fingers are buried on the west coast of Africa.” “I do not know as to that, Tarzan,” replied D’Arnot. “It is possible, but if you are not the son of John Clayton then how in heaven’s name did you come into that God forsaken jungle where no white man other than John Clayton had ever set foot?” “You forget — Kala,” said Tarzan. “I do not even consider her,” replied D’Arnot. The friends had walked to the broad window overlooking the boulevard as they talked. For some time they stood there gazing out upon the busy throng beneath, each wrapped in his own thoughts. “It takes some time to compare finger prints,” thought D’Arnot, turning to look at the police officer. To his astonishment he saw the official leaning back in his chair hastily scanning the contents of the little black diary. D’Arnot coughed. The policeman looked up, and, catching his eye, raised his finger to admonish silence. D’Arnot turned back to the window, and presently the police officer spoke. “Gentlemen,” he said. Both turned toward him.

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XXVII

THE GIANT AGAIN

taxicab drew up before an old-fashioned residence upon the outskirts of Baltimore. A man of about forty, well built and with strong, regular features, stepped out, and paying the chauffeurA dismissed him. A moment later the passenger was entering the library of the old home. “Ah, Mr. Canler!” exclaimed an old man, rising to greet him. “Good evening, my dear Professor,” cried the man, extending a cordial hand. “Who admitted you?” asked the professor. “Esmeralda.” “Then she will acquaint Jane with the fact that you are here,” said the old man. “No, Professor,” replied Canler, “for I came primarily to see you.” “Ah, I am honored,” said Professor Porter. “Professor,” continued Robert Canler, with great deliberation, as though carefully weighing his words, “I have come this evening to speak with you about Jane. THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

“You know my aspirations, and you have been generous enough to “Clayton has gone there?” exclaimed Canler, visibly chagrined. approve my suit.” “Why was I not told? I would gladly have gone and seen that every Professor Archimedes Q. Porter fidgeted in his armchair. The comfort was provided.” subject always made him uncomfortable. He could not understand why. “Jane feels that we are already too much in your debt, Mr. Canler,” Canler was a splendid match. said Professor Porter. “But Jane,” continued Canler, “I cannot understand her. She puts me Canler was about to reply, when the sound of footsteps came from off first on one ground and then another. I have always the feeling that the hall without, and Jane entered the room. she breathes a sigh of relief every time I bid her good-by.” “Oh, I beg your pardon!” she exclaimed, pausing on the threshold. “I “Tut, tut,” said Professor Porter. “Tut, tut, Mr. Canler. Jane is a most thought you were alone, papa.” obedient daughter. She will do precisely as I tell her.” “It is only I, Jane,” said Canler, who had risen, “won’t you come in “Then I can still count on your support?” asked Canler, a tone of and join the family group? We were just speaking of you.” relief marking his voice. “Thank you,” said Jane, entering and taking the chair Canler placed “Certainly, sir; certainly, sir,” exclaimed Professor Porter. “How could for her. “I only wanted to tell papa that Tobey is coming down from the you doubt it?” college tomorrow to pack his books. I want you to be sure, papa, to “There is young Clayton, you know,” suggested Canler. “He has indicate all that you can do without until fall. Please don’t carry this been hanging about for months. I don’t know that Jane cares for him; entire library to Wisconsin, as you would have carried it to Africa, if I but beside his title they say he has inherited a very considerable estate had not put my foot down.” from his father, and it might not be strange, — if he finally won her, “Was Tobey here?” asked Professor Porter. unless — ” and Canler paused. “Yes, I just left him. He and Esmeralda are exchanging religious “Tut — tut, Mr. Canler; unless — what?” experiences on the back porch now.” “Unless, you see fit to request that Jane and I be married at once,” “Tut, tut, I must see him at once!” cried the professor. “Excuse me said Canler, slowly and distinctly. just a moment, children,” and the old man hastened from the room. “I have already suggested to Jane that it would be desirable,” said As soon as he was out of earshot Canler turned to Jane. Professor Porter sadly, “for we can no longer afford to keep up this house, “See here, Jane,” he said bluntly. “How long is this thing going on and live as her associations demand.” like this? You haven’t refused to marry me, but you haven’t promised “What was her reply?” asked Canler. either. I want to get the license tomorrow, so that we can be married “She said she was not ready to marry anyone yet,” replied Professor quietly before you leave for Wisconsin. I don’t care for any fuss or Porter, “and that we could go and live upon the farm in northern feathers, and I’m sure you don’t either.” Wisconsin which her mother left her. The girl turned cold, but she held her head bravely. “It is a little more than self-supporting. The tenants have always “Your father wishes it, you know,” added Canler. made a living from it, and been able to send Jane a trifle beside, each “Yes, I know.” year. She is planning on our going up there the first of the week. She spoke scarcely above a whisper. Philander and Mr. Clayton have already gone to get things in readiness “Do you realize that you are buying me, Mr. Canler?” she said finally, for us.” and in a cold, level voice. “Buying me for a few paltry dollars? Of course

272 273 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES you do, Robert Canler, and the hope of just such a contingency was in At their destination they were met by Clayton and Mr. Philander in your mind when you loaned papa the money for that hair-brained a huge touring car belonging to the former, and quickly whirled away escapade, which but for a most mysterious circumstance would have through the dense northern woods toward the little farm which the girl been surprisingly successful. had not visited before since childhood. “But you, Mr. Canler, would have been the most surprised. You had The farmhouse, which stood on a little elevation some hundred no idea that the venture would succeed. You are too good a businessman yards from the tenant house, had undergone a complete transformation for that. And you are too good a businessman to loan money for buried during the three weeks that Clayton and Mr. Philander had been there. treasure seeking, or to loan money without security — unless you had The former had imported a small army of carpenters and plasterers, some special object in view. plumbers and painters from a distant city, and what had been but a “You knew that without security you had a greater hold on the honor dilapidated shell when they reached it was now a cosy little two-story of the Porters than with it. You knew the one best way to force me to house filled with every modern convenience procurable in so short a marry you, without seeming to force me. time. “You have never mentioned the loan. In any other man I should “Why, Mr. Clayton, what have you done?” cried Jane Porter, her have thought that the prompting of a magnanimous and noble character. heart sinking within her as she realized the probable size of the But you are deep, Mr. Robert Canler. I know you better than you think expenditure that had been made. I know you. “S-sh,” cautioned Clayton. “Don’t let your father guess. If you don’t “I shall certainly marry you if there is no other way, but let us tell him he will never notice, and I simply couldn’t think of him living in understand each other once and for all.” the terrible squalor and sordidness which Mr. Philander and I found. It While she spoke Robert Canler had alternately flushed and paled, was so little when I would like to do so much, Jane. For his sake, please, and when she ceased speaking he arose, and with a cynical smile upon never mention it.” his strong face, said: “But you know that we can’t repay you,” cried the girl. “Why do you “You surprise me, Jane. I thought you had more self-control — more want to put me under such terrible obligations?” pride. Of course you are right. I am buying you, and I knew that you “Don’t, Jane,” said Clayton sadly. “If it had been just you, believe me, knew it, but I thought you would prefer to pretend that it was otherwise. I wouldn’t have done it, for I knew from the start that it would only hurt I should have thought your self-respect and your Porter pride would me in your eyes, but I couldn’t think of that dear old man living in the have shrunk from admitting, even to yourself, that you were a bought hole we found here. Won’t you please believe that I did it just for him woman. But have it your own way, dear girl,” he added lightly. “I am and give me that little crumb of pleasure at least?” going to have you, and that is all that interests me.” “I do believe you, Mr. Clayton,” said the girl, “because I know you Without a word the girl turned and left the room. are big enough and generous enough to have done it just for him — and, oh Cecil, I wish I might repay you as you deserve — as you would wish.” ane was not married before she left with her father and Esmeralda “Why can’t you, Jane?” for her little Wisconsin farm, and as she coldly bid Robert Canler “Because I love another.” goodbye as her train pulled out, he called to her that he would join “Canler?” themJ in a week or two. “No.”

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“But you are going to marry him. He told me as much before I left bout noon Jane started off for a walk. She would not let Baltimore.” Clayton accompany her. She wanted to be alone, she said, and The girl winced. he respected her wishes. “I do not love him,” she said, almost proudly. AIn the house Professor Porter and Mr. Philander were immersed in “Is it because of the money, Jane?” an absorbing discussion of some weighty scientific problem. Esmeralda She nodded. dozed in the kitchen, and Clayton, heavy-eyed after a sleepless night, “Then am I so much less desirable than Canler? I have money threw himself down upon the couch in the living room and soon dropped enough, and far more, for every need,” he said bitterly. into a fitful slumber. “I do not love you, Cecil,” she said, “but I respect you. If I must To the east the black smoke clouds rose higher into the heavens, disgrace myself by such a bargain with any man, I prefer that it be one I suddenly they eddied, and then commenced to drift rapidly toward the already despise. I should loathe the man to whom I sold myself without west. love, whomsoever he might be. You will be happier,” she concluded, On and on they came. The inmates of the tenant house were gone, “alone — with my respect and friendship, than with me and my for it was market day, and none was there to see the rapid approach of contempt.” the fiery demon. He did not press the matter further, but if ever a man had murder in Soon the flames had spanned the road to the south and cut off his heart it was William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke, when, a week Canler’s return. A little fluctuation of the wind now carried the path of later, Robert Canler drew up before the farmhouse in his purring the forest fire to the north, then blew back and the flames nearly stood six-cylinder. still as though held in leash by some master hand. Suddenly, out of the northeast, a great black car came careening week passed; a tense, uneventful, but uncomfortable week for down the road. all the inmates of the little Wisconsin farmhouse. Canler was With a jolt it stopped before the cottage, and a black-haired giant insistent that Jane marry him at once. At length she gave in leaped out to run up onto the porch. Without a pause he rushed into the Afrom sheer loathing of the continued and hateful importuning. house. On the couch lay Clayton. The man started in surprise, but with It was agreed that on the morrow Canler was to drive to town and a bound was at the side of the sleeping man. bring back the license and a minister. Shaking him roughly by the shoulder, he cried: Clayton had wanted to leave as soon as the plan was announced, but “My God, Clayton, are you all mad here? Don’t you know you are the girl’s tired, hopeless look kept him. He could not desert her. nearly surrounded by fire? Where is Miss Porter?” Something might happen yet, he tried to console himself by Clayton sprang to his feet. He did not recognize the man, but he thinking. And in his heart, he knew that it would require but a tiny spark understood the words and was upon the veranda in a bound. to turn his hatred for Canler into the blood lust of the killer. “Scott!” he cried, and then, dashing back into the house, “Jane! Jane! Early the next morning Canler set out for town. where are you?” In the east smoke could be seen lying low over the forest, for a fire In an instant Esmeralda, Professor Porter and Mr. Philander had had been raging for a week not far from them, but the wind still lay in joined the two men. the west and no danger threatened them. “Where is Miss Jane?” cried Clayton, seizing Esmeralda by the

276 277 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES shoulders and shaking her roughly. forcing their way between herself and the cottage. “Oh, Gaberelle, Mister Clayton, she done gone for a walk.” At length she was compelled to turn into the dense thicket and “Hasn’t she come back yet?” and, without waiting for a reply, Clayton attempt to force her way to the west in an effort to circle around the dashed out into the yard, followed by the others. “Which way did she flames and reach the house. go?” cried the black-haired giant of Esmeralda. In a short time the futility of her attempt became apparent and then “Down that road,” cried the frightened woman, pointing toward the her one hope lay in retracing her steps to the road and flying for her life south where a mighty wall of roaring flames shut out the view. to the south toward the town. “Put these people in the other car,” shouted the stranger to Clayton. The twenty minutes that it took her to regain the road was all that “I saw one as I drove up — and get them out of here by the north road. had been needed to cut off her retreat as effectually as her advance had “Leave my car here. If I find Miss Porter we shall need it. If I don’t, been cut off before. no one will need it. Do as I say,” as Clayton hesitated, and then they saw A short run down the road brought her to a horrified stand, for the lithe figure bound away cross the clearing toward the northwest there before her was another wall of flame. An arm of the main where the forest still stood, untouched by flame. conflagration had shot out a half mile south of its parent to embrace this In each rose the unaccountable feeling that a great responsibility tiny strip of road in its implacable clutches. had been raised from their shoulders; a kind of implicit confidence in Jane knew that it was useless again to attempt to force her way the power of the stranger to save Jane if she could be saved. through the undergrowth. “Who was that?” asked Professor Porter. She had tried it once, and failed. Now she realized that it would be “I do not know,” replied Clayton. “He called me by name and he but a matter of minutes ere the whole space between the north and the knew Jane, for he asked for her. And he called Esmeralda by name.” south would be a seething mass of billowing flames. “There was something most startlingly familiar about him,” Calmly the girl kneeled down in the dust of the roadway and prayed exclaimed Mr. Philander, “And yet, bless me, I know I never saw him for strength to meet her fate bravely, and for the delivery of her father before.” and her friends from death. “Tut, tut!” cried Professor Porter. “Most remarkable! Who could it Suddenly she heard her name being called aloud through the forest: have been, and why do I feel that Jane is safe, now that he has set out in “Jane! Jane Porter!” It rang strong and clear, but in a strange voice. search of her?” “Here!” she called in reply. “Here! In the roadway!” “I can’t tell you, Professor,” said Clayton soberly, “but I know I have Then through the branches of the trees she saw a figure swinging the same uncanny feeling.” with the speed of a squirrel. “But come,” he cried, “we must get out of here ourselves, or we shall A veering of the wind blew a cloud of smoke about them and she be shut off,” and the party hastened toward Clayton’s car. could no longer see the man who was speeding toward her, but suddenly she felt a great arm about her. Then she was lifted up, and she felt the hen Jane turned to retrace her steps homeward, she was rushing of the wind and the occasional brush of a branch as she was alarmed to note how near the smoke of the forest fire borne along. seemed, and as she hastened onward her alarm became She opened her eyes. almostW a panic when she perceived that the rushing flames were rapidly Far below her lay the undergrowth and the hard earth. 278 279 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

About her was the waving foliage of the forest. Apes had written in English, and you could not understand a word of From tree to tree swung the giant figure which bore her, and it any language.” seemed to Jane that she was living over in a dream the experience that Again he laughed. had been hers in that far African jungle. “It is a long story, but it was I who wrote what I could not speak — Oh, if it were but the same man who had borne her so swiftly and now D’Arnot has made matters worse by teaching me to speak through the tangled verdure on that other day! but that was impossible! French instead of English. Yet who else in all the world was there with the strength and agility to “Come,” he added, “jump into my car, we must overtake your father, do what this man was now doing? they are only a little way ahead.” She stole a sudden glance at the face close to hers, and then she gave As they drove along, he said: a little frightened gasp. It was he! “Then when you said in your note to Tarzan of the Apes that you “My forest man!” she murmured. “No, I must be delirious!” loved another — you might have meant me?” “Yes, your man, Jane Porter. Your savage, primeval man come out of “I might have,” she answered, simply. the jungle to claim his mate — the woman who ran away from him,” he “But in Baltimore — Oh, how I have searched for you — they told added almost fiercely. me you would possibly be married by now. That a man named Canler “I did not run away,” she whispered. “I would only consent to leave had come up here to wed you. Is that true?” when they had waited a week for you to return.” “Yes.” They had come to a point beyond the fire now, and he had turned “Do you love him?” back to the clearing. “No.” Side by side they were walking toward the cottage. The wind had “Do you love me?” changed once more and the fire was burning back upon itself — another She buried her face in her hands. hour like that and it would be burned out. “I am promised to another. I cannot answer you, Tarzan of the “Why did you not return?” she asked. Apes,” she cried. “I was nursing D’Arnot. He was badly wounded.” “You have answered. Now, tell me why you would marry one you do “Ah, I knew it!” she exclaimed. not love.” “They said you had gone to join the blacks — that they were your “My father owes him money.” people.” Suddenly there came back to Tarzan the memory of the letter he He laughed. had read — and the name Robert Canler and the hinted trouble which “But you did not believe them, Jane?” he had been unable to understand then. “No; — what shall I call you?” she asked. “What is your name?” He smiled. “I was Tarzan of the Apes when you first knew me,” he said. “If your father had not lost the treasure you would not feel forced to “Tarzan of the Apes!” she cried — ”and that was your note I answered keep your promise to this man Canler?” when I left?” “I could ask him to release me.” “Yes, whose did you think it was?” “And if he refused?” “I did not know; only that it could not be yours, for Tarzan of the “I have given my promise.”

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He was silent for a moment. The car was plunging along the uneven “I do not know what answer to make,” said Jane sadly. “I do not road at a reckless pace, for the fire showed threateningly at their right, know my own mind.” and another change of the wind might sweep it on with raging fury “You do not love me, then?” he asked, in a level tone. across this one avenue of escape. “Do not ask me. You will be happier without me. You were never Finally they passed the danger point, and Tarzan reduced their meant for the formal restrictions and conventionalities of society — speed. civilization would become irksome to you, and in a little while you would “Suppose I should ask him?” ventured Tarzan. long for the freedom of your old life — a life to which I am as totally “He would scarcely accede to the demand of a stranger,” said the unfitted as you to mine.” girl. “Especially one who wanted me himself.” “I think I understand you,” he replied quietly. “I shall not urge you, “Terkoz did,” said Tarzan, grimly. for I would rather see you happy than to be happy myself. I see now that Jane shuddered and looked fearfully up at the giant figure beside you could not be happy with — an ape.” her, for she knew that he meant the great anthropoid he had killed in her There was just the faintest tinge of bitterness in his voice. defense. “Don’t,” she remonstrated. “Don’t say that. You do not understand.” “This is not the African jungle,” she said. “You are no longer a savage But before she could go on a sudden turn in the road brought them beast. You are a gentleman, and gentlemen do not kill in cold blood.” into the midst of a little hamlet. “I am still a wild beast at heart,” he said, in a low voice, as though to Before them stood Clayton’s car surrounded by the party he had himself. brought from the cottage. Again they were silent for a time. “Jane,” said the man, at length, “if you were free, would you marry me?” She did not reply at once, but he waited patiently. The girl was trying to collect her thoughts. What did she know of this strange creature at her side? What did he know of himself? Who was he? Who, his parents? Why, his very name echoed his mysterious origin and his savage life. He had no name. Could she be happy with this jungle waif? Could she find anything in common with a husband whose life had been spent in the tree tops of an African wilderness, frolicking and fighting with fierce anthropoids; tearing his food from the quivering flank of fresh- killed prey, sinking his strong teeth into raw flesh, and tearing away his portion while his mates growled and fought about him for their share? Could he ever rise to her social sphere? Could she bear to think of sinking to his? Would either be happy in such a horrible misalliance? “You do not answer,” he said. “Do you shrink from wounding me?”

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XXVIII

CONCLUSION

t the sight of Jane, cries of relief and delight broke from every lip, and as Tarzan’s car stopped beside the other, Professor Porter caught his daughter in his arms. AFor a moment no one noticed Tarzan, sitting silently in his seat. Clayton was the first to remember, and, turning, held out his hand. “How can we ever thank you?” he exclaimed. “You have saved us all. You called me by name at the cottage, but I do not seem to recall yours, though there is something very familiar about you. It is as though I had known you well under very different conditions a long time ago.” Tarzan smiled as he took the proffered hand. “You are quite right, Monsieur Clayton,” he said, in French. “You will pardon me if I do not speak to you in English. I am just learning it, and while I understand it fairly well I speak it very poorly.” “But who are you?” insisted Clayton, speaking in French this time himself. “Tarzan of the Apes.” Clayton started back in surprise. “By Jove!” he exclaimed. “It is true.” THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES

And Professor Porter and Mr. Philander pressed forward to add only D’Arnot could have taught a gentleman to do it, but he did not their thanks to Clayton’s, and to voice their surprise and pleasure at seem to see Canler’s hand. seeing their jungle friend so far from his savage home. Nor did Canler appear to notice the oversight. The party now entered the modest little hostelry, where Clayton “This is the Reverend Mr. Tousley, Jane,” said Canler, turning to the soon made arrangements for their entertainment. clerical party behind him. “Mr. Tousley, Miss Porter.” They were sitting in the little, stuffy parlor when the distant Mr. Tousley bowed and beamed. chugging of an approaching automobile caught their attention. Canler introduced him to the others. Mr. Philander, who was sitting near the window, looked out as the “We can have the ceremony at once, Jane,” said Canler. “Then you car drew in sight, finally stopping beside the other automobiles. and I can catch the midnight train in town.” “Bless me!” said Mr. Philander, a shade of annoyance in his tone. “It Tarzan understood the plan instantly. He glanced out of half-closed is Mr. Canler. I had hoped, er — I had thought or — er — how very eyes at Jane, but he did not move. happy we should be that he was not caught in the fire,” he ended lamely. The girl hesitated. The room was tense with the silence of taut “Tut, tut! Mr. Philander,” said Professor Porter. “Tut, tut! I have nerves. often admonished my pupils to count ten before speaking. Were I you, All eyes turned toward Jane, awaiting her reply. Mr. Philander, I should count at least a thousand, and then maintain a “Can’t we wait a few days?” she asked. “I am all unstrung. I have been discreet silence.” through so much today.” “Bless me, yes!” acquiesced Mr. Philander. “But who is the clerical Canler felt the hostility that emanated from each member of the appearing gentleman with him?” party. It made him angry. Jane blanched. “We have waited as long as I intend to wait,” he said roughly. “You Clayton moved uneasily in his chair. have promised to marry me. I shall be played with no longer. I have the Professor Porter removed his spectacles nervously, and breathed license and here is the preacher. Come Mr. Tousley; come Jane. There upon them, but replaced them on his nose without wiping. are plenty of witnesses — more than enough,” he added with a The ubiquitous Esmeralda grunted. disagreeable inflection; and taking Jane Porter by the arm, he started to Only Tarzan did not comprehend. lead her toward the waiting minister. Presently Robert Canler burst into the room. But scarcely had he taken a single step ere a heavy hand closed upon “Thank God!” he cried. “I feared the worst, until I saw your car, his arm with a grip of steel. Clayton. I was cut off on the south road and had to go away back to Another hand shot to his throat and in a moment he was being town, and then strike east to this road. I thought we’d never reach the shaken high above the floor, as a cat might shake a mouse. cottage.” Jane turned in horrified surprise toward Tarzan. No one seemed to enthuse much. Tarzan eyed Robert Canler as And, as she looked into his face, she saw the crimson band upon his Sabor eyes her prey. forehead that she had seen that other day in far distant Africa, when Jane glanced at him and coughed nervously. Tarzan of the Apes had closed in mortal combat with the great “Mr. Canler,” she said, “this is Monsieur Tarzan, an old friend.” anthropoid — Terkoz. Canler turned and extended his hand. Tarzan rose and bowed as She knew that murder lay in that savage heart, and with a little cry

286 287 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES of horror she sprang forward to plead with the ape-man. But her fears my daughter and Mr. Canler? I had promised him her hand, sir, and were more for Tarzan than for Canler. She realized the stern retribution regardless of our personal likes or dislikes, sir, that promise must be which justice metes to the murderer. kept.” Before she could reach them, however, Clayton had jumped to “I interfered, Professor Porter,” replied Tarzan, “because your Tarzan’s side and attempted to drag Canler from his grasp. daughter does not love Mr. Canler — she does not wish to marry him. With a single sweep of one mighty arm the Englishman was hurled That is enough for me to know.” across the room, and then Jane laid a firm white hand upon Tarzan’s “You do not know what you have done,” said Professor Porter. “Now wrist, and looked up into his eyes. he will doubtless refuse to marry her.” “For my sake,” she said. “He most certainly will,” said Tarzan, emphatically. The grasp upon Canler’s throat relaxed. “And further,” added Tarzan, “you need not fear that your pride will Tarzan looked down into the beautiful face before him. suffer, Professor Porter, for you will be able to pay the Canler person “Do you wish this to live?” he asked in surprise. what you owe him the moment you reach home.” “I do not wish him to die at your hands, my friend,” she replied. “I “Tut, tut, sir!” exclaimed Professor Porter. “What do you mean, sir?” do not wish you to become a murderer.” “Your treasure has been found,” said Tarzan. Tarzan removed his hand from Canler’s throat. “What — what is that you are saying?” cried the professor. “You are “Do you release her from her promise?” he asked. “It is the price of mad, man. It cannot be.” your life.” “It is, though. It was I who stole it, not knowing either its value or Canler, gasping for breath, nodded. to whom it belonged. I saw the sailors bury it, and, ape-like, I had to dig “Will you go away and never molest her further?” it up and bury it again elsewhere. When D’Arnot told me what it was Again the man nodded his head, his face distorted by fear of the and what it meant to you I returned to the jungle and recovered it. It had death that had been so close. caused so much crime and suffering and sorrow that D’Arnot thought it Tarzan released him, and Canler staggered toward the door. In best not to attempt to bring the treasure itself on here, as had been my another moment he was gone, and the terror-stricken preacher with intention, so I have brought a letter of credit instead. him. “Here it is, Professor Porter,” and Tarzan drew an envelope from his Tarzan turned toward Jane. pocket and handed it to the astonished professor, “two hundred and “May I speak with you for a moment, alone,” he asked. forty-one thousand dollars. The treasure was most carefully appraised by The girl nodded and started toward the door leading to the narrow experts, but lest there should be any question in your mind, D’Arnot veranda of the little hotel. She passed out to await Tarzan and so did not himself bought it and is holding it for you, should you prefer the treasure hear the conversation which followed. to the credit.” “Wait,” cried Professor Porter, as Tarzan was about to follow. “To the already great burden of the obligations we owe you, sir,” said The professor had been stricken dumb with surprise by the rapid Professor Porter, with trembling voice, “is now added this greatest of all developments of the past few minutes. services. You have given me the means to save my honor.” “Before we go further, sir, I should like an explanation of the events Clayton, who had left the room a moment after Canler, now which have just transpired. By what right, sir, did you interfere between returned.

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“Pardon me,” he said. “I think we had better try to reach town before very near future. dark and take the first train out of this forest. A native just rode by from He was not the sort of person one could put off, and somehow that the north, who reports that the fire is moving slowly in this direction.” very thought made her wonder if she did not really fear him. This announcement broke up further conversation, and the entire And could she love where she feared? party went out to the waiting automobiles. She realized the spell that had been upon her in the depths of that far-off jungle, but there was no spell of enchantment now in prosaic layton, with Jane, the professor and Esmeralda occupied Wisconsin. Clayton’s car, while Tarzan took Mr. Philander in with him. Nor did the immaculate young Frenchman appeal to the primal “Bless me!” exclaimed Mr. Philander, as the car moved off woman in her, as had the stalwart forest god. afterC Clayton. “Who would ever have thought it possible! The last time Did she love him? She did not know — now. I saw you you were a veritable wild man, skipping about among the She glanced at Clayton out of the corner of her eye. Was not here a branches of a tropical African forest, and now you are driving me along man trained in the same school of environment in which she had been a Wisconsin road in a French automobile. Bless me! But it is most trained — a man with social position and culture such as she had been remarkable.” taught to consider as the prime essentials to congenial association? “Yes,” assented Tarzan, and then, after a pause, “Mr. Philander, do Did not her best judgment point to this young English nobleman, you recall any of the details of the finding and burying of three skeletons whose love she knew to be of the sort a civilized woman should crave, as found in my cabin beside that African jungle?” the logical mate for such as herself? “Very distinctly, sir, very distinctly,” replied Mr. Philander. Could she love Clayton? She could see no reason why she could not. “Was there anything peculiar about any of those skeletons?” Jane was not coldly calculating by nature, but training, environment and Mr. Philander eyed Tarzan narrowly. heredity had all combined to teach her to reason even in matters of the “Why do you ask?” heart. “It means a great deal to me to know,” replied Tarzan. “Your answer That she had been carried off her feet by the strength of the young may clear up a mystery. It can do no worse, at any rate, than to leave it giant when his great arms were about her in the distant African forest, still a mystery. I have been entertaining a theory concerning those and again today, in the Wisconsin woods, seemed to her only attributable skeletons for the past two months, and I want you to answer my question to a temporary mental reversion to type on her part — to the psychological to the best of your knowledge — were the three skeletons you buried all appeal of the primeval man to the primeval woman in her nature. human skeletons?” If he should never touch her again, she reasoned, she would never “No,” said Mr. Philander, “the smallest one, the one found in the feel attracted toward him. She had not loved him, then. It had been crib, was the skeleton of an anthropoid ape.” nothing more than a passing hallucination, super-induced by excitement “Thank you,” said Tarzan. and by personal contact. Excitement would not always mark their future relations, should she n the car ahead, Jane was thinking fast and furiously. She had felt marry him, and the power of personal contact eventually would be dulled the purpose for which Tarzan had asked a few words with her, and by familiarity. she knew that she must be prepared to give him an answer in the Again she glanced at Clayton. He was very handsome and every

I 290 291 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK ONE TARZAN of the APES inch a gentleman. She should be very proud of such a husband. The others were entering the room now and Tarzan turned toward And then he spoke — a minute sooner or a minute later might have the little window. made all the difference in the world to three lives — but chance stepped But he saw nothing outside — within he saw a patch of greensward in and pointed out to Clayton the psychological moment. surrounded by a matted mass of gorgeous tropical plants and flowers, “You are free now, Jane,” he said. “Won’t you say yes — I will devote and, above, the waving foliage of mighty trees, and, over all, the blue of my life to making you very happy.” an equatorial sky. “Yes,” she whispered. In the center of the greensward a young woman sat upon a little mound of earth, and beside her sat a young giant. They ate pleasant fruit hat evening in the little waiting room at the station Tarzan and looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. They were very happy, and caught Jane alone for a moment. they were all alone. “You are free now, Jane,” he said, “and I have come across His thoughts were broken in upon by the station agent who entered theT ages out of the dim and distant past from the lair of the primeval asking if there was a gentleman by the name of Tarzan in the party. man to claim you — for your sake I have become a civilized man — for “I am Monsieur Tarzan,” said the ape-man. your sake I have crossed oceans and continents — for your sake I will be “Here is a message for you, forwarded from Baltimore; it is a whatever you will me to be. I can make you happy, Jane, in the life you cablegram from Paris.” know and love best. Will you marry me?” Tarzan took the envelope and tore it open. The message was from For the first time she realized the depths of the man’s love — all that D’Arnot. he had accomplished in so short a time solely for love of her. Turning her It read: head she buried her face in her arms. What had she done? Because she had been afraid she might succumb Fingerprints prove you Greystoke. Congratulations. — D’ARNOT. to the pleas of this giant, she had burned her bridges behind her — in her groundless apprehension that she might make a terrible mistake, she had made a worse one. s Tarzan finished reading, Clayton entered and came toward And then she told him all — told him the truth word by word, him with extended hand. without attempting to shield herself or condone her error. Here was the man who had Tarzan’s title, and Tarzan’s “What can we do?” he asked. “You have admitted that you love me. estates, and was going to marry the woman whom Tarzan loved — the You know that I love you; but I do not know the ethics of society by A woman who loved Tarzan. A single word from Tarzan would make a which you are governed. I shall leave the decision to you, for you know great difference in this man’s life. best what will be for your eventual welfare.” It would take away his title and his lands and his castles, and — it “I cannot tell him, Tarzan,” she said. “He too, loves me, and he is a would take them away from Jane Porter also. good man. I could never face you nor any other honest person if I “I say, old man,” cried Clayton, “I haven’t had a chance to thank you repudiated my promise to Mr. Clayton. I shall have to keep it — and you for all you’ve done for us. It seems as though you had your hands full must help me bear the burden, though we may not see each other again saving our lives in Africa and here. after tonight.” “I’m awfully glad you came on here. We must get better acquainted.

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I often thought about you, you know, and the remarkable circumstances of your environment. “If it’s any of my business, how the devil did you ever get into that bally jungle?” “I was born there,” said Tarzan, quietly. “My mother was an Ape, and of course she couldn’t tell me much about it. I never knew who my father was.”

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1913 I

THE AFFAIR on the LINER

[ return to table of contents ] agnifique!” ejaculated the Countess de Coude, beneath her breath. “Eh?” questioned the count, turning toward his young wife. “What is it that is magnificent?” and the count bent his eyes “Min various directions in quest of the object of her admiration. “Oh, nothing at all, my dear,” replied the countess, a slight flush momentarily coloring her already pink cheek. “I was but recalling with admiration those stupendous skyscrapers, as they call them, of New York,” and the fair countess settled herself more comfortably in her steamer chair, and resumed the magazine which “nothing at all” had caused her to let fall upon her lap. Her husband again buried himself in his book, but not without a THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN mild wonderment that three days out from New York his countess They reminded Tarzan of melodramatic villains he had seen at the should suddenly have realized an admiration for the very buildings she theaters in Paris. Both were very dark, and this, in connection with the had but recently characterized as horrid. shrugs and stealthy glances that accompanied their palpable intriguing, Presently the count put down his book. “It is very tiresome, Olga,” lent still greater force to the similarity. he said. “I think that I shall hunt up some others who may be equally Tarzan entered the smoking-room, and sought a chair a little apart bored, and see if we cannot find enough for a game of cards.” from the others who were there. He felt in no mood for conversation, “You are not very gallant, my husband,” replied the young woman, and as he sipped his absinth he let his mind run rather sorrowfully over smiling, “but as I am equally bored I can forgive you. Go and play at your the past few weeks of his life. Time and again he had wondered if he had tiresome old cards, then, if you will.” acted wisely in renouncing his birthright to a man to whom he owed When he had gone she let her eyes wander slyly to the figure of a nothing. It is true that he liked Clayton, but — ah, but that was not the tall young man stretched lazily in a chair not far distant. question. It was not for William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke, that he “Magnifique!” she breathed once more. had denied his birth. It was for the woman whom both he and Clayton The Countess Olga de Coude was twenty. Her husband forty. She had loved, and whom a strange freak of fate had given to Clayton instead was a very faithful and loyal wife, but as she had had nothing whatever of to him. to do with the selection of a husband, it is not at all unlikely that she was That she loved him made the thing doubly difficult to bear, yet he not wildly and passionately in love with the one that fate and her titled knew that he could have done nothing less than he did do that night Russian father had selected for her. However, simply because she was within the little railway station in the far Wisconsin woods. To him her surprised into a tiny exclamation of approval at sight of a splendid young happiness was the first consideration of all, and his brief experience with stranger it must not be inferred therefrom that her thoughts were in any civilization and civilized men had taught him that without money and way disloyal to her spouse. She merely admired, as she might have position life to most of them was unendurable. admired a particularly fine specimen of any species. Furthermore, the Jane Porter had been born to both, and had Tarzan taken them away young man was unquestionably good to look at. from her future husband it would doubtless have plunged her into a life As her furtive glance rested upon his profile he rose to leave the of misery and torture. That she would have spurned Clayton once he deck. The Countess de Coude beckoned to a passing steward. “Who is had been stripped of both his title and his estates never for once occurred that gentleman?” she asked. to Tarzan, for he credited to others the same honest loyalty that was so “He is booked, madam, as Monsieur Tarzan, of Africa,” replied the inherent a quality in himself. Nor, in this instance, had he erred. Could steward. any one thing have further bound Jane Porter to her promise to Clayton “Rather a large estate,” thought the girl, but now her interest was it would have been in the nature of some such misfortune as this still further aroused. overtaking him. Tarzan’s thoughts drifted from the past to the future. He tried to s Tarzan walked slowly toward the smoking-room he came look forward with pleasurable sensations to his return to the jungle of unexpectedly upon two men whispering excitedly just without. his birth and boyhood; the cruel, fierce jungle in which he had spent He would have vouchsafed them not even a passing thought twenty of his twenty-two years. But who or what of all the myriad jungle butA for the strangely guilty glance that one of them shot in his direction. life would there be to welcome his return? Not one. Only Tantor, the 300 301 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN elephant, could he call friend. The others would hunt him or flee from thing that was in it was transferred to the count’s pocket. The man him as had been their way in the past. remained standing where he could watch the Frenchman’s cards. Tarzan Not even the apes of his own tribe would extend the hand of was puzzled, but he was all attention now, nor did he permit another fellowship to him. detail of the incident to escape him. If civilization had done nothing else for Tarzan of the Apes, it had The play went on for some ten minutes after this, until the count to some extent taught him to crave the society of his own kind, and to won a considerable wager from him who had last joined the game, and feel with genuine pleasure the congenial warmth of companionship. then Tarzan saw the fellow back of the count’s chair nod his head to his And in the same ratio had it made any other life distasteful to him. It confederate. Instantly the player arose and pointed a finger at the count. was difficult to imagine a world without a friend — without a living “Had I known that monsieur was a professional card sharp I had not thing who spoke the new tongues which Tarzan had learned to love so been so ready to be drawn into the game,” he said. well. And so it was that Tarzan looked with little relish upon the future Instantly the count and the two other players were upon their feet. he had mapped out for himself. De Coude’s face went white. As he sat musing over his cigarette his eyes fell upon a mirror before “What do you mean, sir?” he cried. “Do you know to whom you him, and in it he saw reflected a table at which four men sat at cards. speak?” Presently one of them rose to leave, and then another approached, and “I know that I speak, for the last time, to one who cheats at cards,” Tarzan could see that he courteously offered to fill the vacant chair, that replied the fellow. the game might not be interrupted. He was the smaller of the two whom The count leaned across the table, and struck the man full in the Tarzan had seen whispering just outside the smoking-room. mouth with his open palm, and then the others closed in between them. It was this fact that aroused a faint spark of interest in Tarzan, and “There is some mistake, sir,” cried one of the other players. “Why, so as he speculated upon the future he watched in the mirror the this is Count de Coude, of France.” reflection of the players at the table behind him. Aside from the man “If I am mistaken,” said the accuser, “I shall gladly apologize; but who had but just entered the game Tarzan knew the name of but one of before I do so first let monsieur le count explain the extra cards which I the other players. It was he who sat opposite the new player, Count saw him drop into his side pocket.” Raoul de Coude, whom an over-attentive steward had pointed out as And then the man whom Tarzan had seen drop them there turned one of the celebrities of the passage, describing him as a man high in the to sneak from the room, but to his annoyance he found the exit barred official family of the French minister of war. by a tall, gray-eyed stranger. Suddenly Tarzan’s attention was riveted upon the picture in the “Pardon,” said the man brusquely, attempting to pass to one side. glass. The other swarthy plotter had entered, and was standing behind “Wait,” said Tarzan. the count’s chair. Tarzan saw him turn and glance furtively about the “But why, monsieur?” exclaimed the other petulantly. “Permit me to room, but his eyes did not rest for a sufficient time upon the mirror to pass, monsieur.” note the reflection of Tarzan’s watchful eyes. Stealthily the man withdrew “Wait,” said Tarzan. “I think that there is a matter in here that you something from his pocket. Tarzan could not discern what the object may doubtless be able to explain.” was, for the man’s hand covered it. The fellow had lost his temper by this time, and with a low oath Slowly the hand approached the count, and then, very deftly, the seized Tarzan to push him to one side. The ape-man but smiled as he

302 303 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN twisted the big fellow about and, grasping him by the collar of his coat, knowledge as he sat at play. From where I sat in that chair yonder I saw escorted him back to the table, struggling, cursing, and striking in futile the reflection of it all in the mirror before me. This person whom I just remonstrance. It was Nikolas Rokoff ’s first experience with the muscles intercepted in an effort to escape placed the cards in the count’s that had brought their savage owner victorious through encounters with pocket.” Numa, the lion, and Terkoz, the great bull ape. De Coude had glanced from Tarzan to the man in his grasp. The man who had accused De Coude, and the two others who had “Mon dieu, Nikolas!” he cried. “You?” been playing, stood looking expectantly at the count. Several other Then he turned to his accuser, and eyed him intently for a moment. passengers had drawn toward the scene of the altercation, and all awaited “And you, monsieur, I did not recognize you without your beard. It the denouement. quite disguises you, Paulvitch. I see it all now. It is quite clear, gentlemen.” “The fellow is crazy,” said the count. “Gentlemen, I implore that one “What shall we do with them, monsieur?” asked Tarzan. “Turn them of you search me.” over to the captain?” “The accusation is ridiculous.” This from one of the players. “No, my friend,” said the count hastily. “It is a personal matter, and I “You have but to slip your hand in the count’s coat pocket and you beg that you will let it drop. It is sufficient that I have been exonerated will see that the accusation is quite serious,” insisted the accuser. And from the charge. The less we have to do with such fellows, the better. then, as the others still hesitated to do so: “Come, I shall do it myself if But, monsieur, how can I thank you for the great kindness you have done no other will,” and he stepped forward toward the count. me? Permit me to offer you my card, and should the time come when I “No, monsieur,” said De Coude. “I will submit to a search only at the may serve you, remember that I am yours to command.” hands of a gentleman.” Tarzan had released Rokoff, who, with his confederate, Paulvitch, “It is unnecessary to search the count. The cards are in his pocket. I had hastened from the smoking-room. Just as he was leaving, Rokoff myself saw them placed there.” turned to Tarzan. “Monsieur will have ample opportunity to regret his All turned in surprise toward this new speaker, to behold a very interference in the affairs of others.” well-built young man urging a resisting captive toward them by the Tarzan smiled, and then, bowing to the count, handed him his own scruff of his neck. card. “It is a conspiracy,” cried De Coude angrily. “There are no cards in The count read: my coat,” and with that he ran his hand into his pocket. As he did so tense silence reigned in the little group. The count went dead white, and M. JEAN C. TARZAN then very slowly he withdrew his hand, and in it were three cards. “Monsieur Tarzan,” he said, “may indeed wish that he had never He looked at them in mute and horrified surprise, and slowly the befriended me, for I can assure him that he has won the enmity of two red of mortification suffused his face. Expressions of pity and contempt of the most unmitigated scoundrels in all Europe. Avoid them, monsieur, tinged the features of those who looked on at the death of a man’s by all means.” honor. “I have had more awe-inspiring enemies, my dear count,” replied “It is a conspiracy, monsieur.” It was the gray-eyed stranger who Tarzan with a quiet smile, “yet I am still alive and unworried. I think that spoke. “Gentlemen,” he continued, “monsieur le count did not know neither of these two will ever find the means to harm me.” that those cards were in his pocket. They were placed there without his “Let us hope not, monsieur,” said De Coude; “but yet it will do no

304 305 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN harm to be on the alert, and to know that you have made at least one arch scoundrel, Paulvitch. Olga, I cannot endure his persecution much enemy today who never forgets and never forgives, and in whose longer. No, not even for you. Sooner or later I shall turn him over to the malignant brain there are always hatching new atrocities to perpetrate authorities. In fact, I am half minded to explain all to the captain before upon those who have thwarted or offended him. To say that Nikolas we land. On a French liner it were an easy matter, Olga, permanently to Rokoff is a devil would be to place a wanton affront upon his satanic settle this Nemesis of ours.” majesty.” “Oh, no, Raoul!” cried the countess, sinking to her knees before him That night as Tarzan entered his cabin he found a folded note upon as he sat with bowed head upon a divan. “Do not do that. Remember the floor that had evidently been pushed beneath the door. He opened it your promise to me. Tell me, Raoul, that you will not do that. Do not and read: even threaten him, Raoul.” De Coude took his wife’s hands in his, and gazed upon her pale and M. TARZAN: troubled countenance for some time before he spoke, as though he Doubtless you did not realize the gravity of your offense, or you would wrest from those beautiful eyes the real reason which prompted would not have done the thing you did today. I am willing to her to shield this man. believe that you acted in ignorance and without any intention to offend a stranger. For this reason I shall gladly permit you to offer “Let it be as you wish, Olga,” he said at length. “I cannot understand. an apology, and on receiving your assurances that you will not He has forfeited all claim upon your love, loyalty, or respect. He is a again interfere in affairs that do not concern you, I shall drop the menace to your life and honor, and the life and honor of your husband. matter. I trust you may never regret championing him.” Otherwise — but I am sure that you will see the wisdom of “I do not champion him, Raoul,” she interrupted vehemently. “I adopting the course I suggest. believe that I hate him as much as you do, but — Oh, Raoul, blood is Very respectfully, thicker than water.”

NIKOLAS ROKOFF. “I should today have liked to sample the consistency of his,” growled De Coude grimly. “The two deliberately attempted to besmirch my honor, Olga,” and then he told her of all that had happened in the Tarzan permitted a grim smile to play about his lips for a moment, smoking-room. “Had it not been for this utter stranger, they had then he promptly dropped the matter from his mind, and went to bed. succeeded, for who would have accepted my unsupported word against the damning evidence of those cards hidden on my person? I had almost n a nearby cabin the Countess de Coude was speaking to her begun to doubt myself when this Monsieur Tarzan dragged your husband. precious Nikolas before us, and explained the whole cowardly “Why so grave, my dear Raoul?” she asked. “You have been as transaction.” glumI as could be all evening. What worries you?” “Monsieur Tarzan?” asked the countess, in evident surprise. “Olga, Nikolas is on board. Did you know it?” “Yes. Do you know him, Olga?” “Nikolas!” she exclaimed. “But it is impossible, Raoul. It cannot be. “I have seen him. A steward pointed him out to me.” Nikolas is under arrest in Germany.” “I did not know that he was a celebrity,” said the count. “So I thought myself until I saw him today — him and that other Olga de Coude changed the subject. She discovered suddenly that

306 307 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS she might find it difficult to explain just why the steward had pointed out the handsome Monsieur Tarzan to her. Perhaps she flushed the least little bit, for was not the count, her husband, gazing at her with a strangely quizzical expression. “Ah,” she thought, “a guilty conscience is a most suspicious thing.”

II

FORGING BONDS of HATE AND — ?

[ return to table of contents ] t was not until late the following afternoon that Tarzan saw anything more of the fellow passengers into the midst of whose affairs his love of fair play had thrust him. And then he came most unexpectedly Iupon Rokoff and Paulvitch at a moment when of all others the two might least appreciate his company. They were standing on deck at a point which was temporarily deserted, and as Tarzan came upon them they were in heated argument with a woman. Tarzan noted that she was richly appareled, and that her slender, well-modeled figure denoted youth; but as she was heavily veiled he could not discern her features. The men were standing on either side of her, and the backs of all were toward Tarzan, so that he was quite close to them without their

308 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN being aware of his presence. He noticed that Rokoff seemed to be not concern him. Twice he has taken it upon himself to humiliate threatening, the woman pleading; but they spoke in a strange tongue, Nikolas Rokoff. The first offense was overlooked on the assumption and he could only guess from appearances that the girl was afraid. that monsieur acted through ignorance, but this affair shall not be Rokoff ’s attitude was so distinctly filled with the threat of physical overlooked. If monsieur does not know who Nikolas Rokoff is, this last violence that the ape-man paused for an instant just behind the trio, piece of effrontery will insure that monsieur later has good reason to instinctively sensing an atmosphere of danger. Scarcely had he hesitated remember him.” ere the man seized the woman roughly by the wrist, twisting it as though “That you are a coward and a scoundrel, monsieur,” replied Tarzan, to wring a promise from her through torture. What would have happened “is all that I care to know of you,” and he turned to ask the girl if the man next had Rokoff had his way we may only conjecture, since he did not had hurt her, but she had disappeared. Then, without even a glance have his way at all. Instead, steel fingers gripped his shoulder, and he was toward Rokoff and his companion, he continued his stroll along the swung unceremoniously around, to meet the cold gray eyes of the deck. stranger who had thwarted him on the previous day. Tarzan could not but wonder what manner of conspiracy was on “Sapristi!” screamed the infuriated Rokoff. “What do you mean? Are foot, or what the scheme of the two men might be. There had been you a fool that you thus again insult Nikolas Rokoff?” something rather familiar about the appearance of the veiled woman to “This is my answer to your note, monsieur,” said Tarzan, in a low whose rescue he had just come, but as he had not seen her face he could voice. And then he hurled the fellow from him with such force that not be sure that he had ever seen her before. The only thing about her Rokoff lunged sprawling against the rail. that he had particularly noticed was a ring of peculiar workmanship “Name of a name!” shrieked Rokoff. “Pig, but you shall die for upon a finger of the hand that Rokoff had seized, and he determined to this,” and, springing to his feet, he rushed upon Tarzan, tugging the note the fingers of the women passengers he came upon thereafter, that meanwhile to draw a revolver from his hip pocket. The girl shrank he might discover the identity of her whom Rokoff was persecuting, and back in terror. learn if the fellow had offered her further annoyance. “Nikolas!” she cried. “Do not — oh, do not do that. Quick, monsieur, Tarzan had sought his deck chair, where he sat speculating on the fly, or he will surely kill you!” But instead of flying Tarzan advanced to numerous instances of human cruelty, selfishness, and spite that had meet the fellow. “Do not make a fool of yourself, monsieur,” he said. fallen to his lot to witness since that day in the jungle four years since Rokoff, who was in a perfect frenzy of rage at the humiliation the that his eyes had first fallen upon a human being other than himself — stranger had put upon him, had at last succeeded in drawing the revolver. the sleek, black Kulonga, whose swift spear had that day found the vitals He had stopped, and now he deliberately raised it to Tarzan’s breast and of Kala, the great she-ape, and robbed the youth, Tarzan, of the only pulled the trigger. The hammer fell with a futile click on an empty mother he had ever known. chamber — the ape-man’s hand shot out like the head of an angry He recalled the murder of King by the rat-faced Snipes; the python; there was a quick wrench, and the revolver sailed far out across abandonment of Professor Porter and his party by the mutineers of the the ship’s rail, and dropped into the Atlantic. Arrow; the cruelty of the black warriors and women of Mbonga to their For a moment the two men stood there facing one another. Rokoff captives; the petty jealousies of the civil and military officers of the West had regained his self-possession. He was the first to speak. Coast colony that had afforded him his first introduction to the civilized “Twice now has monsieur seen fit to interfere in matters which do world.

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“Mon dieu!” he soliloquized, “but they are all alike. Cheating, Tarzan wondered in a lazy sort of way whom she might be, and what murdering, lying, fighting, and all for things that the beasts of the jungle relations one so lovely could have with the surly, bearded Russian. would not deign to possess — money to purchase the effeminate fter dinner that evening Tarzan strolled forward, where he pleasures of weaklings. And yet withal bound down by silly customs that remained until after dark, in conversation with the second make them slaves to their unhappy lot while firm in the belief that they officer, and when that gentleman’s duties called him elsewhere be the lords of creation enjoying the only real pleasures of existence. In TarzanA lolled lazily by the rail watching the play of the moonlight upon the jungle one would scarcely stand supinely aside while another took the gently rolling waters. He was half hidden by a davit, so that two men his mate. It is a silly world, an idiotic world, and Tarzan of the Apes was who approached along the deck did not see him, and as they passed a fool to renounce the freedom and the happiness of his jungle to come Tarzan caught enough of their conversation to cause him to fall in into it.” behind them, to follow and learn what deviltry they were up to. He had Presently, as he sat there, the sudden feeling came over him that eyes recognized the voice as that of Rokoff, and had seen that his companion were watching from behind, and the old instinct of the wild beast broke was Paulvitch. through the thin veneer of civilization, so that Tarzan wheeled about so Tarzan had overheard but a few words: “And if she screams you may quickly that the eyes of the young woman who had been surreptitiously choke her until — ” But those had been enough to arouse the spirit of regarding him had not even time to drop before the gray eyes of the adventure within him, and so he kept the two men in sight as they ape-man shot an inquiring look straight into them. Then, as they fell, walked, briskly now, along the deck. To the smoking-room he followed Tarzan saw a faint wave of crimson creep swiftly over the now half- them, but they merely halted at the doorway long enough, apparently, to averted face. assure themselves that one whose whereabouts they wished to establish He smiled to himself at the result of his very uncivilized and was within. ungallant action, for he had not lowered his own eyes when they met Then they proceeded directly to the first-class cabins upon the those of the young woman. She was very young, and equally good to promenade deck. Here Tarzan found greater difficulty in escaping look upon. Further, there was something rather familiar about her that detection, but he managed to do so successfully. As they halted before set Tarzan to wondering where he had seen her before. He resumed his one of the polished hardwood doors, Tarzan slipped into the shadow of former position, and presently he was aware that she had arisen and was a passageway not a dozen feet from them. leaving the deck. As she passed, Tarzan turned to watch her, in the hope To their knock a woman’s voice asked in French: “Who is it?” that he might discover a clue to satisfy his mild curiosity as to her “It is I, Olga — Nikolas,” was the answer, in Rokoff ’s now familiar identity. guttural. “May I come in?” Nor was he disappointed entirely, for as she walked away she raised “Why do you not cease persecuting me, Nikolas?” came the voice of one hand to the black, waving mass at the nape of her neck — the the woman from beyond the thin panel. “I have never harmed you.” peculiarly feminine gesture that admits cognizance of appraising eyes “Come, come, Olga,” urged the man, in propitiary tones; “I but ask behind her — and Tarzan saw upon a finger of this hand the ring of a half dozen words with you. I shall not harm you, nor shall I enter your strange workmanship that he had seen upon the finger of the veiled cabin; but I cannot shout my message through the door.” woman a short time before. Tarzan heard the catch click as it was released from the inside. So it was this beautiful young woman Rokoff had been persecuting. He stepped out from his hiding-place far enough to see what

312 313 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN transpired when the door was opened, for he could not but recall the when they read of it at breakfast on — let me see, this is Tuesday — yes, sinister words he had heard a few moments before upon the deck, when they read of it at breakfast next Friday morning. Nor will it detract “And if she screams you may choke her.” from the interest they will all feel when they learn that the man whom Rokoff was standing directly in front of the door. Paulvitch had madame entertained is a Russian servant — her brother’s valet, to be flattened himself against the paneled wall of the corridor beyond. The quite exact.” door opened. Rokoff half entered the room, and stood with his back “Alexis Paulvitch,” came the woman’s voice, cold and fearless, “you against the door, speaking in a low whisper to the woman, whom Tarzan are a coward, and when I whisper a certain name in your ear you will could not see. Then Tarzan heard the woman’s voice, level, but loud think better of your demands upon me and your threats against me, and enough to distinguish her words. then you will leave my cabin quickly, nor do I think that ever again will “No, Nikolas,” she was saying, “it is useless. Threaten as you will, I you, at least, annoy me,” and there came a moment’s silence in which shall never accede to your demands. Leave the room, please; you have no Tarzan could imagine the woman leaning toward the scoundrel and right here. You promised not to enter.” whispering the thing she had hinted at into his ear. Only a moment of “Very well, Olga, I shall not enter; but before I am done with you, silence, and then a startled oath from the man — the scuffling of feet you shall wish a thousand times that you had done at once the favor I — a woman’s scream — and silence. have asked. In the end I shall win anyway, so you might as well save But scarcely had the cry ceased before the ape-man had leaped from trouble and time for me, and disgrace for yourself and your — ” his hiding-place. Rokoff started to run, but Tarzan grasped him by the “Never, Nikolas!” interrupted the woman, and then Tarzan saw collar and dragged him back. Neither spoke, for both felt instinctively Rokoff turn and nod to Paulvitch, who sprang quickly toward the that murder was being done in that room, and Tarzan was confident that doorway of the cabin, rushing in past Rokoff, who held the door open Rokoff had had no intention that his confederate should go that far — for him. Then the latter stepped quickly out. The door closed. Tarzan he felt that the man’s aims were deeper than that — deeper and even heard the click of the lock as Paulvitch turned it from the inside. Rokoff more sinister than brutal, cold-blooded murder. Without hesitating to remained standing before the door, with head bent, as though to catch question those within, the ape-man threw his giant shoulder against the the words of the two within. A nasty smile curled his bearded lip. frail panel, and in a shower of splintered wood he entered the cabin, Tarzan could hear the woman’s voice commanding the fellow to dragging Rokoff after him. Before him, on a couch, the woman lay, and leave her cabin. “I shall send for my husband,” she cried. “He will show on top of her was Paulvitch, his fingers gripping the fair throat, while his you no mercy.” victim’s hands beat futilely at his face, tearing desperately at the cruel Paulvitch’s sneering laugh came through the polished panels. fingers that were forcing the life from her. “The purser will fetch your husband, madame,” said the man. “In The noise of his entrance brought Paulvitch to his feet, where he fact, that officer has already been notified that you are entertaining a stood glowering menacingly at Tarzan. The girl rose falteringly to a man other than your husband behind the locked door of your cabin.” sitting posture upon the couch. One hand was at her throat, and her “Bah!” cried the woman. “My husband will know!” breath came in little gasps. Although disheveled and very pale, Tarzan “Most assuredly your husband will know, but the purser will not; nor recognized her as the young woman whom he had caught staring at him will the newspaper men who shall in some mysterious way hear of it on on deck earlier in the day. our landing. But they will think it a fine story, and so will all your friends “What is the meaning of this?” said Tarzan, turning to Rokoff,

314 315 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN whom he intuitively singled out as the instigator of the outrage. The “Ah, monsieur,” she answered, “I hope that you will not suffer for the man remained silent, scowling. “Touch the button, please,” continued kind deed you attempted. You have made a very wicked and resourceful the ape-man; “we will have one of the ship’s officers here — this affair enemy, who will stop at nothing to satisfy his hatred. You must be very has gone quite far enough.” careful indeed, Monsieur — ” “No, no,” cried the girl, coming suddenly to her feet. “Please do not “Pardon me, madame, my name is Tarzan.” do that. I am sure that there was no real intention to harm me. I angered “Monsieur Tarzan. And because I would not consent to notify the this person, and he lost control of himself, that is all. I would not care to officers, do not think that I am not sincerely grateful to you for the brave have the matter go further, please, monsieur,” and there was such a note and chivalrous protection you rendered me. Good night, Monsieur of pleading in her voice that Tarzan could not press the matter, though Tarzan. I shall never forget the debt I owe you,” and, with a most his better judgment warned him that there was something afoot here of winsome smile that displayed a row of perfect teeth, the girl curtsied to which the proper authorities should be made cognizant. Tarzan, who bade her good night and made his way on deck. “You wish me to do nothing, then, in the matter?” he asked. It puzzled the man considerably that there should be two on board “Nothing, please,” she replied. — this girl and Count de Coude — who suffered indignities at the “You are content that these two scoundrels should continue hands of Rokoff and his companion, and yet would not permit the persecuting you?” offenders to be brought to justice. Before he turned in that night his She did not seem to know what answer to make, and looked very thoughts reverted many times to the beautiful young woman into the troubled and unhappy. Tarzan saw a malicious grin of triumph curl evidently tangled web of whose life fate had so strangely introduced Rokoff ’s lip. The girl evidently was in fear of these two — she dared not him. It occurred to him that he had not learned her name. That she was express her real desires before them. married had been evidenced by the narrow gold band that encircled the “Then,” said Tarzan, “I shall act on my own responsibility. To you,” third finger of her left hand. Involuntarily he wondered who the lucky he continued, turning to Rokoff, “and this includes your accomplice, I man might be. may say that from now on to the end of the voyage I shall take it upon Tarzan saw nothing further of any of the actors in the little drama myself to keep an eye on you, and should there chance to come to my that he had caught a fleeting glimpse of until late in the afternoon of the notice any act of either one of you that might even remotely annoy this last day of the voyage. Then he came suddenly face to face with the young woman you shall be called to account for it directly to me, nor young woman as the two approached their deck chairs from opposite shall the calling or the accounting be pleasant experiences for either of directions. She greeted him with a pleasant smile, speaking almost you. immediately of the affair he had witnessed in her cabin two nights “Now get out of here,” and he grabbed Rokoff and Paulvitch each by before. It was as though she had been perturbed by a conviction that he the scruff of the neck and thrust them forcibly through the doorway, might have construed her acquaintance with such men as Rokoff and giving each an added impetus down the corridor with the toe of his Paulvitch as a personal reflection upon herself. boot. Then he turned back to the stateroom and the girl. She was looking “I trust monsieur has not judged me,” she said, “by the unfortunate at him in wide-eyed astonishment. occurrence of Tuesday evening. I have suffered much on account of it “And you, madame, will confer a great favor upon me if you will but — this is the first time that I have ventured from my cabin since; I have let me know if either of those rascals troubles you further.” been ashamed,” she concluded simply.

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“One does not judge the gazelle by the lions that attack it,” replied Tarzan. “I had seen those two work before — in the smoking-room the day prior to their attack on you, if I recollect it correctly, and so, knowing their methods, I am convinced that their enmity is a sufficient guarantee of the integrity of its object. Men such as they must cleave only to the vile, hating all that is noblest and best.” “It is very kind of you to put it that way,” she replied, smiling. “I have already heard of the matter of the card game. My husband told me the entire story. He spoke especially of the strength and bravery of Monsieur Tarzan, to whom he feels that he owes an immense debt of gratitude.” “Your husband?” repeated Tarzan questioningly. “Yes. I am the Countess de Coude.” “I am already amply repaid, madame, in knowing that I have rendered a service to the wife of the Count de Coude.” “Alas, monsieur, I already am so greatly indebted to you that I may III never hope to settle my own account, so pray do not add further to my obligations,” and she smiled so sweetly upon him that Tarzan felt that a WHAT HAPPENED in the RUE MAULE man might easily attempt much greater things than he had accomplished, solely for the pleasure of receiving the benediction of that smile. He did not see her again that day, and in the rush of landing on the following morning he missed her entirely, but there had been something [ return to table of contents ] in the expression of her eyes as they parted on deck the previous day that n his arrival in Paris, Tarzan had gone directly to the haunted him. It had been almost wistful as they had spoken of the apartments of his old friend, D’Arnot, where the naval strangeness of the swift friendships of an ocean crossing, and of the lieutenant had scored him roundly for his decision to renounce equal ease with which they are broken forever. the title and estates that were rightly his from his father, John Clayton, Tarzan wondered if he should ever see her again. O the late Lord Greystoke. “You must be mad, my friend,” said D’Arnot, “thus lightly to give up not alone wealth and position, but an opportunity to prove beyond doubt to all the world that in your veins flows the noble blood of two of England’s most honored houses — instead of the blood of a savage she-ape. It is incredible that they could have believed you — Miss Porter least of all. “Why, I never did believe it, even back in the wilds of your African

318 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN jungle, when you tore the raw meat of your kills with mighty jaws, like to do. You cannot show me your friendship in a more convincing manner some wild beast, and wiped your greasy hands upon your thighs. Even than to find employment for me — I shall die of inactivity in a short then, before there was the slightest proof to the contrary, I knew that you while. As for my birthright — it is in good hands. Clayton is not guilty were mistaken in the belief that Kala was your mother. of robbing me of it. He truly believes that he is the real Lord Greystoke, “And now, with your father’s diary of the terrible life led by him and and the chances are that he will make a better English lord than a man your mother on that wild African shore; with the account of your birth, who was born and raised in an African jungle. You know that I am but and, final and most convincing proof of all, your own baby finger prints half civilized even now. Let me see red in anger but for a moment, and upon the pages of it, it seems incredible to me that you are willing to all the instincts of the savage beast that I really am, submerge what little remain a nameless, penniless vagabond.” I possess of the milder ways of culture and refinement. “I do not need any better name than Tarzan,” replied the ape-man; “And then again, had I declared myself I should have robbed the “and as for remaining a penniless vagabond, I have no intention of so woman I love of the wealth and position that her marriage to Clayton doing. In fact, the next, and let us hope the last, burden that I shall be will now insure to her. I could not have done that — could I, Paul? forced to put upon your unselfish friendship will be the finding of “Nor is the matter of birth of great importance to me,” he went on, employment for me.” without waiting for a reply. “Raised as I have been, I see no worth in man “Pooh, pooh!” scoffed D’Arnot. “You know that I did not mean that. or beast that is not theirs by virtue of their own mental or physical Have I not told you a dozen times that I have enough for twenty men, prowess. And so I am as happy to think of Kala as my mother as I would and that half of what I have is yours? And if I gave it all to you, would it be to try to picture the poor, unhappy little English girl who passed away represent even the tenth part of the value I place upon your friendship, a year after she bore me. Kala was always kind to me in her fierce and my Tarzan? Would it repay the services you did me in Africa? I do not savage way. I must have nursed at her hairy breast from the time that my forget, my friend, that but for you and your wondrous bravery I had died own mother died. She fought for me against the wild denizens of the at the stake in the village of Mbonga’s cannibals. Nor do I forget that to forest, and against the savage members of our tribe, with the ferocity of your self-sacrificing devotion I owe the fact that I recovered from the real mother love. terrible wounds I received at their hands — I discovered later something “And I, on my part, loved her, Paul. I did not realize how much until of what it meant to you to remain with me in the amphitheater of apes after the cruel spear and the poisoned arrow of Mbonga’s black warrior while your heart was urging you on to the coast. had stolen her away from me. I was still a child when that occurred, and “When we finally came there, and found that Miss Porter and her I threw myself upon her dead body and wept out my anguish as a child party had left, I commenced to realize something of what you had done might for his own mother. To you, my friend, she would have appeared for an utter stranger. Nor am I trying to repay you with money, Tarzan. a hideous and ugly creature, but to me she was beautiful — so gloriously It is that just at present you need money; were it sacrifice that I might does love transfigure its object. And so I am perfectly content to remain offer you it were the same — my friendship must always be yours, forever the son of Kala, the she-ape.” because our tastes are similar, and I admire you. That I cannot command, “I do not admire you the less for your loyalty,” said D’Arnot, “but the but the money I can and shall.” time will come when you will be glad to claim your own. Remember “Well,” laughed Tarzan, “we shall not quarrel over the money. I must what I say, and let us hope that it will be as easy then as it is now. You live, and so I must have it; but I shall be more contented with something must bear in mind that Professor Porter and Mr. Philander are the only

320 321 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN people in the world who can swear that the little skeleton found in the look at him, but he was confident that he had seen those eyes before and cabin with those of your father and mother was that of an infant that they had been fastened on him this evening through no passing anthropoid ape, and not the offspring of Lord and Lady Greystoke. accident. He had had the uncanny feeling for some time that he was That evidence is most important. They are both old men. They may not being watched, and it was in response to this animal instinct that was live many years longer. And then, did it not occur to you that once Miss strong within him that he had turned suddenly and surprised the eyes in Porter knew the truth she would break her engagement with Clayton? the very act of watching him. You might easily have your title, your estates, and the woman you love, Before he left the music hall the matter had been forgotten, nor did Tarzan. Had you not thought of that?” he notice the swarthy individual who stepped deeper into the shadows Tarzan shook his head. “You do not know her,” he said. “Nothing of an opposite doorway as Tarzan emerged from the brilliantly lighted could bind her closer to her bargain than some misfortune to Clayton. amusement hall. She is from an old southern family in America, and southerners pride Had Tarzan but known it, he had been followed many times from themselves upon their loyalty.” this and other places of amusement, but seldom if ever had he been alone. Tonight D’Arnot had had another engagement, and Tarzan had arzan spent the two following weeks renewing his former brief come by himself. acquaintance with Paris. In the daytime he haunted the libraries As he turned in the direction he was accustomed to taking from this and picture galleries. He had become an omnivorous reader, part of Paris to his apartments, the watcher across the street ran from his Tand the world of possibilities that were opened to him in this seat of hiding-place and hurried on ahead at a rapid pace. culture and learning fairly appalled him when he contemplated the very infinitesimal crumb of the sum total of human knowledge that a single arzan had been wont to traverse the Rue Maule on his way individual might hope to acquire even after a lifetime of study and home at night. Because it was very quiet and very dark it research; but he learned what he could by day, and threw himself into a reminded him more of his beloved African jungle than did the search for relaxation and amusement at night. Nor did he find Paris a Tnoisy and garish streets surrounding it. If you are familiar with your whit less fertile field for his nocturnal avocation. Paris you will recall the narrow, forbidding precincts of the Rue Maule. If he smoked too many cigarettes and drank too much absinth it was If you are not, you need but ask the police about it to learn that in all because he took civilization as he found it, and did the things that he Paris there is no street to which you should give a wider berth after dark. found his civilized brothers doing. The life was a new and alluring one, On this night Tarzan had proceeded some two squares through the and in addition he had a sorrow in his breast and a great longing which dense shadows of the squalid old tenements which line this dismal way he knew could never be fulfilled, and so he sought in study and in when he was attracted by screams and cries for help from the third floor dissipation — the two extremes — to forget the past and inhibit of an opposite building. The voice was a woman’s. Before the echoes of contemplation of the future. her first cries had died Tarzan was bounding up the stairs and through He was sitting in a music hall one evening, sipping his absinth and the dark corridors to her rescue. admiring the art of a certain famous Russian dancer, when he caught a At the end of the corridor on the third landing a door stood slightly passing glimpse of a pair of evil black eyes upon him. The man turned ajar, and from within Tarzan heard again the same appeal that had lured and was lost in the crowd at the exit before Tarzan could catch a good him from the street. Another instant found him in the center of a

322 323 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN dimly-lighted room. An oil lamp burned upon a high, old-fashioned At the end of the corridor without stood Rokoff, waiting the mantel, casting its dim rays over a dozen repulsive figures. All but one outcome of the affair. He wished to be sure that Tarzan was dead before were men. The other was a woman of about thirty. Her face, marked by he left, but it was not a part of his plan to be one of those within the low passions and dissipation, might once have been lovely. She stood room when the murder occurred. with one hand at her throat, crouching against the farther wall. The woman still stood where she had when Tarzan entered, but her “Help, monsieur,” she cried in a low voice as Tarzan entered the face had undergone a number of changes with the few minutes which room; “they were killing me.” had elapsed. From the semblance of distress which it had worn when As Tarzan turned toward the men about him he saw the crafty, evil Tarzan first saw it, it had changed to one of craftiness as he had wheeled faces of habitual criminals. He wondered that they had made no effort to meet the attack from behind; but the change Tarzan had not seen. to escape. A movement behind him caused him to turn. Two things his Later an expression of surprise and then one of horror superseded eyes saw, and one of them caused him considerable wonderment. A man the others. And who may wonder. For the immaculate gentleman her was sneaking stealthily from the room, and in the brief glance that cries had lured to what was to have been his death had been suddenly Tarzan had of him he saw that it was Rokoff. But the other thing that metamorphosed into a demon of revenge. Instead of soft muscles and a he saw was of more immediate interest. It was a great brute of a fellow weak resistance, she was looking upon a veritable Hercules gone mad. tiptoeing upon him from behind with a huge bludgeon in his hand, and “Mon dieu!” she cried; “he is a beast!” For the strong, white teeth of then, as the man and his confederates saw that he was discovered, there the ape-man had found the throat of one of his assailants, and Tarzan was a concerted rush upon Tarzan from all sides. Some of the men drew fought as he had learned to fight with the great bull apes of the tribe of knives. Others picked up chairs, while the fellow with the bludgeon Kerchak. raised it high above his head in a mighty swing that would have crushed He was in a dozen places at once, leaping hither and thither about Tarzan’s head had it ever descended upon it. the room in sinuous bounds that reminded the woman of a panther she But the brain, and the agility, and the muscles that had coped with had seen at the zoo. Now a wrist-bone snapped in his iron grip, now a the mighty strength and cruel craftiness of Terkoz and Numa in the shoulder was wrenched from its socket as he forced a victim’s arm fastness of their savage jungle were not to be so easily subdued as these backward and upward. apaches of Paris had believed. With shrieks of pain the men escaped into the hallway as quickly as Selecting his most formidable antagonist, the fellow with the they could; but even before the first one staggered, bleeding and broken, bludgeon, Tarzan charged full upon him, dodging the falling weapon, from the room, Rokoff had seen enough to convince him that Tarzan and catching the man a terrific blow on the point of the chin that felled would not be the one to lie dead in that house this night, and so the him in his tracks. Russian had hastened to a nearby den and telephoned the police that a Then he turned upon the others. This was sport. He was reveling in man was committing murder on the third floor of Rue Maule, 27. When the joy of battle and the lust of blood. As though it had been but a brittle the officers arrived they found three men groaning on the floor, a shell, to break at the least rough usage, the thin veneer of his civilization frightened woman lying upon a filthy bed, her face buried in her arms, fell from him, and the ten burly villains found themselves penned in a and what appeared to be a well-dressed young gentleman standing in small room with a wild and savage beast, against whose steel muscles the center of the room awaiting the reinforcements which he had their puny strength was less than futile. thought the footsteps of the officers hurrying up the stairway had

324 325 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN announced — but they were mistaken in the last; it was a wild beast that beyond, the stem of a tree, or a telegraph pole — he could not tell which. looked upon them through those narrowed lids and steel-gray eyes. As the last officer went down, one of his fellows succeeded in drawing With the smell of blood the last vestige of civilization had deserted his revolver and, from where he lay on the floor, fired at Tarzan. The shot Tarzan, and now he stood at bay, like a lion surrounded by hunters, missed, and before the man could fire again Tarzan had swept the lamp awaiting the next overt act, and crouching to charge its author. from the mantel and plunged the room into darkness. “What has happened here?” asked one of the policemen. The next they saw was a lithe form spring to the sill of the open Tarzan explained briefly, but when he turned to the woman for window and leap, panther-like, onto the pole across the walk. When the confirmation of his statement he was appalled by her reply. police gathered themselves together and reached the street their prisoner “He lies!” she screamed shrilly, addressing the policeman. “He came was nowhere to be seen. to my room while I was alone, and for no good purpose. When I repulsed They did not handle the woman and the men who had not escaped him he would have killed me had not my screams attracted these any too gently when they took them to the station; they were a very sore gentlemen, who were passing the house at the time. He is a devil, and humiliated detail of police. It galled them to think that it would be messieurs; alone he has all but killed ten men with his bare hands and necessary to report that a single unarmed man had wiped the floor with his teeth.” the whole lot of them, and then escaped them as easily as though they So shocked was Tarzan by her ingratitude that for a moment he was had not existed. struck dumb. The police were inclined to be a little skeptical, for they The officer who had remained in the street swore that no one had had had other dealings with this same lady and her lovely coterie of leaped from the window or left the building from the time they entered gentlemen friends. However, they were policemen, not judges, so they until they had come out. His comrades thought that he lied, but they decided to place all the inmates of the room under arrest, and let another, could not prove it. whose business it was, separate the innocent from the guilty. But they found that it was one thing to tell this well-dressed young hen Tarzan found himself clinging to the pole outside the man that he was under arrest, but quite another to enforce it. window, he followed his jungle instinct and looked below “I am guilty of no offense,” he said quietly. “I have but sought to for enemies before he ventured down. It was well he did, defend myself. I do not know why the woman has told you what she has. forW just beneath stood a policeman. Above, Tarzan saw no one, so he She can have no enmity against me, for never until I came to this room went up instead of down. in response to her cries for help had I seen her.” The top of the pole was opposite the roof of the building, so it was “Come, come,” said one of the officers; “there are judges to listen to but the work of an instant for the muscles that had for years sent him all that,” and he advanced to lay his hand upon Tarzan’s shoulder. An hurtling through the treetops of his primeval forest to carry him across instant later he lay crumpled in a corner of the room, and then, as his the little space between the pole and the roof. From one building he comrades rushed in upon the ape-man, they experienced a taste of what went to another, and so on, with much climbing, until at a cross street he the apaches had but recently gone through. So quickly and so roughly discovered another pole, down which he ran to the ground. did he handle them that they had not even an opportunity to draw their For a square or two he ran swiftly; then he turned into a little revolvers. all-night cafe and in the lavatory removed the evidences of his over-roof During the brief fight Tarzan had noted the open window and, promenade from hands and clothes. When he emerged a few moments

326 327 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS later it was to saunter slowly on toward his apartments. Not far from them he came to a well-lighted boulevard which it was necessary to cross. As he stood directly beneath a brilliant arc light, waiting for a limousine that was approaching to pass him, he heard his name called in a sweet feminine voice. Looking up, he met the smiling eyes of Olga de Coude as she leaned forward upon the back seat of the machine. He bowed very low in response to her friendly greeting. When he straightened up the machine had borne her away. “Rokoff and the Countess de Coude both in the same evening,” he soliloquized; “Paris is not so large, after all.” IV

THE COUNTESS EXPLAINS

[ return to table of contents ] our Paris is more dangerous than my savage jungles, Paul,” concluded Tarzan, after narrating his adventures to his friend the morning following his encounter “Ywith the apaches and police in the Rue Maule. “Why did they lure me there? Were they hungry?” D’Arnot feigned a horrified shudder, but he laughed at the quaint suggestion. “It is difficult to rise above the jungle standards and reason by the light of civilized ways, is it not, my friend?” he queried banteringly. “Civilized ways, forsooth,” scoffed Tarzan. “Jungle standards do not countenance wanton atrocities. There we kill for food and for self- preservation, or in the winning of mates and the protection of the young. Always, you see, in accordance with the dictates of some great natural law. But here! Faugh, your civilized man is more brutal than the brutes.

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He kills wantonly, and, worse than that, he utilizes a noble sentiment, “You have much to learn, Tarzan,” he said gravely. “The law of man the brotherhood of man, as a lure to entice his unwary victim to his must be respected, whether you relish it or no. Nothing but trouble can doom. It was in answer to an appeal from a fellow being that I hastened come to you and your friends should you persist in defying the police. I to that room where the assassins lay in wait for me. can explain it to them once for you, and that I shall do this very day, but “I did not realize, I could not realize for a long time afterward, that hereafter you must obey the law. If its representatives say ‘Come,’ you any woman could sink to such moral depravity as that one must have to must come; if they say ‘Go,’ you must go. Now we shall go to my great call a would-be rescuer to death. But it must have been so — the sight friend in the department and fix up this matter of the Rue Maule. of Rokoff there and the woman’s later repudiation of me to the police Come!” make it impossible to place any other construction upon her acts. Rokoff Together they entered the office of the police official a half hour must have known that I frequently passed through the Rue Maule. He later. He was very cordial. He remembered Tarzan from the visit the two lay in wait for me — his entire scheme worked out to the last detail, even had made him several months prior in the matter of finger prints. to the woman’s story in case a hitch should occur in the program such as When D’Arnot had concluded the narration of the events which really did happen. It is all perfectly plain to me.” had transpired the previous evening, a grim smile was playing about the “Well,” said D’Arnot, “among other things, it has taught you what I lips of the policeman. He touched a button near his hand, and as he have been unable to impress upon you — that the Rue Maule is a good waited for the clerk to respond to its summons he searched through the place to avoid after dark.” papers on his desk for one which he finally located. “On the contrary,” replied Tarzan, with a smile, “it has convinced me “Here, Joubon,” he said as the clerk entered. “Summon these officers that it is the one worth-while street in all Paris. Never again shall I miss — have them come to me at once,” and he handed the man the paper he an opportunity to traverse it, for it has given me the first real entertainment had sought. Then he turned to Tarzan. I have had since I left Africa.” “You have committed a very grave offense, monsieur,” he said, not “It may give you more than you will relish even without another unkindly, “and but for the explanation made by our good friend here I visit,” said D’Arnot. “You are not through with the police yet, remember. should be inclined to judge you harshly. I am, instead, about to do a I know the Paris police well enough to assure you that they will not soon rather unheard-of-thing. I have summoned the officers whom you forget what you did to them. Sooner or later they will get you, my dear maltreated last night. They shall hear Lieutenant D’Arnot’s story, and Tarzan, and then they will lock the wild man of the woods up behind then I shall leave it to their discretion to say whether you shall be iron bars. How will you like that?” prosecuted or not. “They will never lock Tarzan of the Apes behind iron bars,” replied “You have much to learn about the ways of civilization. Things that he, grimly. seem strange or unnecessary to you, you must learn to accept until you There was something in the man’s voice as he said it that caused are able to judge the motives behind them. The officers whom you D’Arnot to look up sharply at his friend. What he saw in the set jaw and attacked were but doing their duty. They had no discretion in the matter. the cold, gray eyes made the young Frenchman very apprehensive for Every day they risk their lives in the protection of the lives or property this great child, who could recognize no law mightier than his own of others. They would do the same for you. They are very brave men, and mighty physical prowess. He saw that something must be done to set they are deeply mortified that a single unarmed man bested and beat Tarzan right with the police before another encounter was possible. them.

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“Make it easy for them to overlook what you did. Unless I am gravely became a subject of much conversation in the barracks of the police, and in error you are yourself a very brave man, and brave men are proverbially increased the number of his friends by four brave men at least. magnanimous.” On their return to D’Arnot’s apartments the lieutenant found a Further conversation was interrupted by the appearance of the four letter awaiting him from an English friend, William Cecil Clayton, policemen. As their eyes fell on Tarzan, surprise was writ large on each Lord Greystoke. The two had maintained a correspondence since the countenance. birth of their friendship on that ill-fated expedition in search of Jane “My children,” said the official, “here is the gentleman whom you Porter after her theft by Terkoz, the bull ape. met in the Rue Maule last evening. He has come voluntarily to give “They are to be married in London in about two months,” said himself up. I wish you to listen attentively to Lieutenant D’Arnot, who D’Arnot, as he completed his perusal of the letter. Tarzan did not need will tell you a part of the story of monsieur’s life. It may explain his to be told who was meant by “they.” He made no reply, but he was very attitude toward you of last night. Proceed, my dear lieutenant.” quiet and thoughtful during the balance of the day. D’Arnot spoke to the policemen for half an hour. He told them something of Tarzan’s wild jungle life. He explained the savage training hat evening they attended the opera. Tarzan’s mind was still that had taught him to battle like a wild beast in self-preservation. It occupied by his gloomy thoughts. He paid little or no attention became plain to them that the man had been guided by instinct rather to what was transpiring upon the stage. Instead he saw only the than reason in his attack upon them. He had not understood their Tlovely vision of a beautiful American girl, and heard naught but a sad, intentions. To him they had been little different from any of the various sweet voice acknowledging that his love was returned. And she was to forms of life he had been accustomed to in his native jungle, where marry another! practically all were his enemies. He shook himself to be rid of his unwelcome thoughts, and at the “Your pride has been wounded,” said D’Arnot, in conclusion. “It is same instant he felt eyes upon him. With the instinct that was his by the fact that this man overcame you that hurts the most. But you need virtue of training he looked up squarely into the eyes that were looking feel no shame. You would not make apologies for defeat had you been at him, to find that they were shining from the smiling face of Olga, penned in that small room with an African lion, or with the great gorilla Countess de Coude. As Tarzan returned her bow he was positive that of the jungles. there was an invitation in her look, almost a plea. The next intermission “And yet you were battling with muscles that have time and time found him beside her in her box. again been pitted, and always victoriously, against these terrors of the “I have so much wished to see you,” she was saying. “It has troubled dark continent. It is no disgrace to fall beneath the superhuman strength me not a little to think that after the service you rendered to both my of Tarzan of the Apes.” husband and myself no adequate explanation was ever made you of what And then, as the men stood looking first at Tarzan and then at their must have seemed ingratitude on our part in not taking the necessary superior the ape-man did the one thing which was needed to erase the steps to prevent a repetition of the attacks upon us by those two men.” last remnant of animosity which they might have felt for him. With “You wrong me,” replied Tarzan. “My thoughts of you have been outstretched hand he advanced toward them. only the most pleasant. You must not feel that any explanation is due me. “I am sorry for the mistake I made,” he said simply. “Let us be Have they annoyed you further?” friends.” And that was the end of the whole matter, except that Tarzan “They never cease,” she replied sadly. “I feel that I must tell someone,

332 333 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN and I do not know another who so deserves an explanation as you. You has in his possession papers that foreign powers would give a fortune to must permit me to do so. It may be of service to you, for I know Nikolas possess — secrets of state that their agents would commit murder and Rokoff quite well enough to be positive that you have not seen the last worse than murder to learn. of him. He will find some means to be revenged upon you. What I wish “There is such a matter now in his possession that would make the to tell you may be of aid to you in combating any scheme of revenge he fame and fortune of any Russian who could divulge it to his government. may harbor. I cannot tell you here, but tomorrow I shall be at home to Rokoff and Paulvitch are Russian spies. They will stop at nothing to Monsieur Tarzan at five.” procure this information. The affair on the liner — I mean the matter of “It will be an eternity until tomorrow at five,” he said, as he bade her the card game — was for the purpose of blackmailing the knowledge good night. From a corner of the theater Rokoff and Paulvitch saw they seek from my husband. Monsieur Tarzan in the box of the Countess de Coude, and both men “Had he been convicted of cheating at cards, his career would have smiled. been blighted. He would have had to leave the war department. He would have been socially ostracized. They intended to hold this club t four-thirty the following afternoon a swarthy, bearded man over him — the price of an avowal on their part that the count was but rang the bell at the servants’ entrance of the palace of the the victim of the plot of enemies who wished to besmirch his name was Count de Coude. The footman who opened the door raised to have been the papers they seek. hisA eyebrows in recognition as he saw who stood without. A low “You thwarted them in this. Then they concocted the scheme conversation passed between the two. whereby my reputation was to be the price, instead of the count’s. When At first the footman demurred from some proposition that the Paulvitch entered my cabin he explained it to me. If I would obtain the bearded one made, but an instant later something passed from the hand information for them he promised to go no farther, otherwise Rokoff, of the caller to the hand of the servant. Then the latter turned and led who stood without, was to notify the purser that I was entertaining a the visitor by a roundabout way to a little curtained alcove off the man other than my husband behind the locked doors of my cabin. He apartment in which the countess was wont to serve tea of an afternoon. was to tell everyone he met on the boat, and when we landed he was to A half hour later Tarzan was ushered into the room, and presently have given the whole story to the newspaper men. his hostess entered, smiling, and with outstretched hands. “Was it not too horrible? But I happened to know something of “I am so glad that you came,” she said. Monsieur Paulvitch that would send him to the gallows in Russia if it “Nothing could have prevented,” he replied. were known by the police of St. Petersburg. I dared him to carry out his For a few moments they spoke of the opera, of the topics that were plan, and then I leaned toward him and whispered a name in his ear. then occupying the attention of Paris, of the pleasure of renewing their Like that” — and she snapped her fingers — ”he flew at my throat as a brief acquaintance which had had its inception under such odd madman. He would have killed me had you not interfered.” circumstances, and this brought them to the subject that was uppermost “The brutes!” muttered Tarzan. in the minds of both. “They are worse than that, my friend,” she said. “They are devils. I fear “You must have wondered,” said the countess finally, “what the for you because you have gained their hatred. I wish you to be on your object of Rokoff ’s persecution could be. It is very simple. The count is guard constantly. Tell me that you will, for my sake, for I should never intrusted with many of the vital secrets of the ministry of war. He often forgive myself should you suffer through the kindness you did me.”

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“I do not fear them,” he replied. “I have survived grimmer enemies “Have not his attempted crimes against you and your husband than Rokoff and Paulvitch.” He saw that she knew nothing of the forfeited whatever rights the bonds of kinship might have accorded occurrence in the Rue Maule, nor did he mention it, fearing that it him?” asked Tarzan. “The fact that you are his sister has not deterred might distress her. him from seeking to besmirch your honor. You owe him no loyalty, “For your own safety,” he continued, “why do you not turn the madame.” scoundrels over to the authorities? They should make quick work of “Ah, but there is that other reason. If I owe him no loyalty though them.” he be my brother, I cannot so easily disavow the fear I hold him in She hesitated for a moment before replying. because of a certain episode in my life of which he is cognizant. “There are two reasons,” she said finally. “One of them it is that “I might as well tell you all,” she resumed after a pause, “for I see that keeps the count from doing that very thing. The other, my real reason for it is in my heart to tell you sooner or later. I was educated in a convent. fearing to expose them, I have never told — only Rokoff and I know it. While there I met a man whom I supposed to be a gentleman. I knew I wonder,” and then she paused, looking intently at him for a long time. little or nothing about men and less about love. I got it into my foolish “And what do you wonder?” he asked, smiling. head that I loved this man, and at his urgent request I ran away with “I was wondering why it is that I want to tell you the thing that I him. We were to have been married. have not dared tell even to my husband. I believe that you would “I was with him just three hours. All in the daytime and in public understand, and that you could tell me the right course to follow. I places — railroad stations and upon a train. When we reached our believe that you would not judge me too harshly.” destination where we were to have been married, two officers stepped up “I fear that I should prove a very poor judge, madame,” Tarzan to my escort as we descended from the train, and placed him under replied, “for if you had been guilty of murder I should say that the victim arrest. They took me also, but when I had told my story they did not should be grateful to have met so sweet a fate.” detain me, other than to send me back to the convent under the care of “Oh, dear, no,” she expostulated; “it is not so terrible as that. But first a matron. It seemed that the man who had wooed me was no gentleman let me tell you the reason the count has for not prosecuting these men; at all, but a deserter from the army as well as a fugitive from civil justice. then, if I can hold my courage, I shall tell you the real reason that I dare He had a police record in nearly every country in Europe. not. The first is that Nikolas Rokoff is my brother. We are Russians. “The matter was hushed up by the authorities of the convent. Not Nikolas has been a bad man since I can remember. He was cashiered even my parents knew of it. But Nikolas met the man afterward, and from the Russian army, in which he held a captaincy. There was a scandal learned the whole story. Now he threatens to tell the count if I do not do for a time, but after a while it was partially forgotten, and my father just as he wishes me to.” obtained a position for him in the secret service. Tarzan laughed. “You are still but a little girl. The story that you “There have been many terrible crimes laid at Nikolas’ door, but he have told me cannot reflect in any way upon your reputation, and were has always managed to escape punishment. Of late he has accomplished you not a little girl at heart you would know it. Go to your husband it by trumped-up evidence convicting his victims of treason against the tonight, and tell him the whole story, just as you have told it to me. czar, and the Russian police, who are always only too ready to fasten Unless I am much mistaken he will laugh at you for your fears, and take guilt of this nature upon any and all, have accepted his version and immediate steps to put that precious brother of yours in prison where he exonerated him.” belongs.”

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“I only wish that I dared,” she said; “but I am afraid. I learned early it is no fault of yours that he is not. Had he one-tenth the knowledge of to fear men. First my father, then Nikolas, then the fathers in the convent. women that I have you would be in his arms this minute. He is a stupid Nearly all my friends fear their husbands — why should I not fear mine?” fool, Olga. Why, your every word and act was an open invitation to him, “It does not seem right that women should fear men,” said Tarzan, and he had not the sense to see it.” an expression of puzzlement on his face. “I am better acquainted with The woman put her hands to her ears. the jungle folk, and there it is more often the other way around, except “I will not listen. You are wicked to say such things as that. No among the black men, and they to my mind are in most ways lower in matter what you may threaten me with, you know that I am a good the scale than the beasts. No, I cannot understand why civilized women woman. After tonight you will not dare to annoy me, for I shall tell should fear men, the beings that are created to protect them. I should Raoul all. He will understand, and then, Monsieur Nikolas, beware!” hate to think that any woman feared me.” “You shall tell him nothing,” said Rokoff. “I have this affair now, and “I do not think that any woman would fear you, my friend,” said with the help of one of your servants whom I may trust it will lack Olga de Coude softly. “I have known you but a short while, yet though nothing in the telling when the time comes that the details of the sworn it may seem foolish to say it, you are the only man I have ever known evidence shall be poured into your husband’s ears. The other affair served whom I think that I should never fear — it is strange, too, for you are its purpose well — we now have something tangible to work on, Olga. very strong. I wondered at the ease with which you handled Nikolas and A real affair — and you a trusted wife. Shame, Olga,” and the brute Paulvitch that night in my cabin. It was marvellous.” laughed. As Tarzan was leaving her a short time later he wondered a little at So the countess told her count nothing, and matters were worse the clinging pressure of her hand at parting, and the firm insistence with than they had been. From a vague fear her mind was transferred to a very which she exacted a promise from him that he would call again on the tangible one. It may be, too, that conscience helped to enlarge it out of morrow. all proportion. The memory of her half-veiled eyes and perfect lips as she had stood smiling up into his face as he bade her good-by remained with him for the balance of the day. Olga de Coude was a very beautiful woman, and Tarzan of the Apes a very lonely young man, with a heart in him that was in need of the doctoring that only a woman may provide.

s the countess turned back into the room after Tarzan’s departure, she found herself face to face with Nikolas Rokoff. “How long have you been here?” she cried, shrinking away fromA him. “Since before your lover came,” he answered, with a nasty leer. “Stop!” she commanded. “How dare you say such a thing to me — your sister!” “Well, my dear Olga, if he is not your lover, accept my apologies; but

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THE PLOT that FAILED

[ return to table of contents ] or a month Tarzan was a regular and very welcome devotee at the shrine of the beautiful Countess de Coude. Often he met other members of the select little coterie that dropped in for tea ofF an afternoon. More often Olga found devices that would give her an hour of Tarzan alone. For a time she had been frightened by what Nikolas had insinuated. She had not thought of this big, young man as anything more than friend, but with the suggestion implanted by the evil words of her brother she had grown to speculate much upon the strange force which seemed to attract her toward the gray-eyed stranger. She did not wish to love him, nor did she wish his love. She was much younger than her husband, and without having realized it she had been craving the haven of a friendship with one nearer her own age. Twenty is shy in exchanging confidences with forty. Tarzan THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN was but two years her senior. He could understand her, she felt. Then he evening by the German minister. De Coude’s name was among those of was clean and honorable and chivalrous. She was not afraid of him. That the invited guests. If he attended this meant that he would be absent she could trust him she had felt instinctively from the first. from his home until after midnight. From a distance Rokoff had watched this growing intimacy with On the night of the banquet Paulvitch waited at the curb before the malicious glee. Ever since he had learned that Tarzan knew that he was residence of the German minister, where he could scan the face of each a Russian spy there had been added to his hatred for the ape-man a great guest that arrived. He had not long to wait before De Coude descended fear that he would expose him. He was but waiting now until the from his car and passed him. That was enough. Paulvitch hastened back moment was propitious for a master stroke. He wanted to rid himself to his quarters, where Rokoff awaited him. There they waited until after forever of Tarzan, and at the same time reap an ample revenge for the eleven, then Paulvitch took down the receiver of their telephone. He humiliations and defeats that he had suffered at his hands. called a number. Tarzan was nearer to contentment than he had been since the peace “The apartments of Lieutenant D’Arnot?” he asked, when he had and tranquility of his jungle had been broken in upon by the advent of obtained his connection. the marooned Porter party. He enjoyed the pleasant social intercourse “A message for Monsieur Tarzan, if he will be so kind as to step to with Olga’s friends, while the friendship which had sprung up between the telephone.” the fair countess and himself was a source of never-ending delight. It For a minute there was silence. broke in upon and dispersed his gloomy thoughts, and served as a balm “Monsieur Tarzan?” to his lacerated heart. “Ah, yes, monsieur, this is Francois — in the service of the Countess Sometimes D’Arnot accompanied him on his visits to the De Coude de Coude. Possibly monsieur does poor Francois the honor to recall him home, for he had long known both Olga and the count. Occasionally De — yes? Coude dropped in, but the multitudinous affairs of his official position “Yes, monsieur. I have a message, an urgent message from the and the never-ending demands of politics kept him from home usually countess. She asks that you hasten to her at once — she is in trouble, until late at night. monsieur. Rokoff spied upon Tarzan almost constantly, waiting for the time “No, monsieur, poor Francois does not know. Shall I tell madame that he should call at the De Coude palace at night, but in this he was that monsieur will be here shortly? doomed to disappointment. On several occasions Tarzan accompanied “Thank you, monsieur. The good God will bless you.” the countess to her home after the opera, but he invariably left her at the Paulvitch hung up the receiver and turned to grin at Rokoff. entrance — much to the disgust of the lady’s devoted brother. “It will take him thirty minutes to get there. If you reach the German Finding that it seemed impossible to trap Tarzan through any minister’s in fifteen, De Coude should arrive at his home in about forty- voluntary act of his own, Rokoff and Paulvitch put their heads together five minutes. It all depends upon whether the fool will remain fifteen to hatch a plan that would trap the ape-man in all the circumstantial minutes after he finds that a trick has been played upon him; but unless evidence of a compromising position. I am mistaken Olga will be loath to let him go in so short a time as that. For days they watched the papers as well as the movements of De Here is the note for De Coude. Hasten!” Coude and Tarzan. At length they were rewarded. A morning paper Paulvitch lost no time in reaching the German minister’s. At the made brief mention of a smoker that was to be given on the following door he handed the note to a footman. “This is for the Count de Coude.

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It is very urgent. You must see that it is placed in his hands at once,” and “If there is a drop of red blood in the man the count will break in he dropped a piece of silver into the willing hand of the servant. Then upon a very pretty love scene in about fifteen minutes from now. I think he returned to his quarters. we have planned marvelously, my dear Alexis. Let us go out and drink to A moment later De Coude was apologizing to his host as he tore the very good health of Monsieur Tarzan in some of old Plancon’s open the envelope. What he read left his face white and his hand unparalleled absinth; not forgetting that the Count de Coude is one of trembling. the best swordsmen in Paris, and by far the best shot in all France.”

MONSIEUR LE COUNT DE COUDE: hen Tarzan reached Olga’s, Jacques was awaiting him at One who wishes to save the honor of your name takes this means the entrance. to warn you that the sanctity of your home is this minute in “This way, Monsieur,” he said, and led the way up the jeopardy. broad, marble staircase. In another moment he had opened a door, and, A certain man who for months has been a constant visitor there W drawing aside a heavy curtain, obsequiously bowed Tarzan into a dimly during your absence is now with your wife. If you go at once to lighted apartment. Then Jacques vanished. your countess’ boudoir you will find them together. Across the room from him Tarzan saw Olga seated before a little A FRIEND. desk on which stood her telephone. She was tapping impatiently upon Twenty minutes after Paulvitch had called Tarzan, Rokoff obtained the polished surface of the desk. She had not heard him enter. a connection with Olga’s private line. Her maid answered the telephone “Olga,” he said, “what is wrong?” which was in the countess’ boudoir. She turned toward him with a little cry of alarm. “But madame has retired,” said the maid, in answer to Rokoff ’s “Jean!” she cried. “What are you doing here? Who admitted you? request to speak with her. What does it mean?” “This is a very urgent message for the countess’ ears alone,” replied Tarzan was thunderstruck, but in an instant he realized a part of the Rokoff. “Tell her that she must arise and slip something about her and truth. come to the telephone. I shall call up again in five minutes.” Then he “Then you did not send for me, Olga?” hung up his receiver. A moment later Paulvitch entered. “Send for you at this time of night? Mon dieu! Jean, do you think “The count has the message?” asked Rokoff. that I am quite mad?” “He should be on his way to his home by now,” replied Paulvitch. “Francois telephoned me to come at once; that you were in trouble “Good! My lady will be sitting in her boudoir, very much in negligee, and wanted me.” about now. In a minute the faithful Jacques will escort Monsieur Tarzan “Francois? Who in the world is Francois?” into her presence without announcing him. It will take a few minutes for “He said that he was in your service. He spoke as though I should explanations. Olga will look very alluring in the filmy creation that is her recall the fact.” night-dress, and the clinging robe which but half conceals the charms “There is no one by that name in my employ. Some one has played that the former does not conceal at all. Olga will be surprised, but not a joke upon you, Jean,” and Olga laughed. displeased. “I fear that it may be a most sinister ‘joke,’ Olga,” he replied. “There is more back of it than humor.”

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“What do you mean? You do not think that — ” of his wife’s boudoir. In his hand was a heavy walking stick — in his “Where is the count?” he interrupted. heart, murder. “At the German ambassador’s.” Olga was the first to see him. With a horrified shriek she tore herself “This is another move by your estimable brother. Tomorrow the from Tarzan’s arms, and the ape-man turned just in time to ward with count will hear of it. He will question the servants. Everything will point his arm a terrific blow that De Coude had aimed at his head. Once, to — to what Rokoff wishes the count to think.” twice, three times the heavy stick fell with lightning rapidity, and each “The scoundrel!” cried Olga. She had arisen, and come close to blow aided in the transition of the ape-man back to the primordial. Tarzan, where she stood looking up into his face. She was very frightened. With the low, guttural snarl of the bull ape he sprang for the In her eyes was an expression that the hunter sees in those of a poor, Frenchman. The great stick was torn from his grasp and broken in two terrified doe — puzzled — questioning. She trembled, and to steady as though it had been matchwood, to be flung aside as the now infuriated herself raised her hands to his broad shoulders. “What shall we do, Jean?” beast charged for his adversary’s throat. Olga de Coude stood a horrified she whispered. “It is terrible. Tomorrow all Paris will read of it — he will spectator of the terrible scene which ensued during the next brief see to that.” moment, then she sprang to where Tarzan was murdering her husband Her look, her attitude, her words were eloquent of the age-old — choking the life from him — shaking him as a terrier might shake a appeal of defenseless woman to her natural protector — man. Tarzan rat. took one of the warm little hands that lay on his breast in his own strong Frantically she tore at his great hands. “Mother of God!” she cried. one. The act was quite involuntary, and almost equally so was the instinct “You are killing him, you are killing him! Oh, Jean, you are killing my of protection that threw a sheltering arm around the girl’s shoulders. husband!” The result was electrical. Never before had he been so close to her. Tarzan was deaf with rage. Suddenly he hurled the body to the floor, In startled guilt they looked suddenly into each other’s eyes, and where and, placing his foot upon the upturned breast, raised his head. Then Olga de Coude should have been strong she was weak, for she crept through the palace of the Count de Coude rang the awesome challenge closer into the man’s arms, and clasped her own about his neck. And of the bull ape that has made a kill. From cellar to attic the horrid sound Tarzan of the Apes? He took the panting figure into his mighty arms, searched out the servants, and left them blanched and trembling. The and covered the hot lips with kisses. woman in the room sank to her knees beside the body of her husband, and prayed. aoul de Coude made hurried excuses to his host after he had Slowly the red mist faded from before Tarzan’s eyes. Things began read the note handed him by the ambassador’s butler. Never to take form — he was regaining the perspective of civilized man. His afterward could he recall the nature of the excuses he made. eyes fell upon the figure of the kneeling woman. “Olga,” he whispered. EverythingR was quite a blur to him up to the time that he stood on the She looked up, expecting to see the maniacal light of murder in the eyes threshold of his own home. Then he became very cool, moving quietly above her. Instead she saw sorrow and contrition. and with caution. For some inexplicable reason Jacques had the door “Oh, Jean!” she cried. “See what you have done. He was my husband. open before he was halfway to the steps. It did not strike him at the time I loved him, and you have killed him.” as being unusual, though afterward he remarked it. Very gently Tarzan raised the limp form of the Count de Coude and Very softly he tiptoed up the stairs and along the gallery to the door bore it to a couch. Then he put his ear to the man’s breast.

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“Some brandy, Olga,” he said. I shall appreciate it.” She brought it, and together they forced it between his lips. Presently A few minutes later he bade the policeman adieu, and, with a slip of a faint gasp came from the white lips. The head turned, and De Coude paper in his pocket bearing a certain address in a semi-respectable groaned. quarter, he walked briskly toward the nearest taxi stand. “He will not die,” said Tarzan. “Thank God!” “Why did you do it, Jean?” she asked. okoff and Paulvitch had returned to their rooms, and were “I do not know. He struck me, and I went mad. I have seen the apes sitting talking over the probable outcome of the evening’s of my tribe do the same thing. I have never told you my story, Olga. It events. They had telephoned to the offices of two of the would have been better had you known it — this might not have morningR papers from which they momentarily expected representatives happened. I never saw my father. The only mother I knew was a ferocious to hear the first report of the scandal that was to stir social Paris on the she-ape. Until I was fifteen I had never seen a human being. I was twenty morrow. before I saw a white man. A little more than a year ago I was a naked A heavy step sounded on the stairway. “Ah, but these newspaper beast of prey in an African jungle. men are prompt,” exclaimed Rokoff, and as a knock fell upon the door “Do not judge me too harshly. Two years is too short a time in which of their room: “Enter, monsieur.” to attempt to work the change in an individual that it has taken countless The smile of welcome froze upon the Russian’s face as he looked ages to accomplish in the white race.” into the hard, gray eyes of his visitor. “I do not judge at all, Jean. The fault is mine. You must go now — he “Name of a name!” he shouted, springing to his feet, “What brings must not find you here when he regains consciousness. Good-by.” you here!” It was a sorrowful Tarzan who walked with bowed head from the “Sit down!” said Tarzan, so low that the men could barely catch the palace of the Count de Coude. words, but in a tone that brought Rokoff to his chair, and kept Paulvitch Once outside his thoughts took definite shape, to the end that in his. twenty minutes later he entered a police station not far from the Rue “You know what has brought me here,” he continued, in the same Maule. Here he soon found one of the officers with whom he had had low tone. “It should be to kill you, but because you are Olga de Coude’s the encounter several weeks previous. The policeman was genuinely glad brother I shall not do that — now. to see again the man who had so roughly handled him. After a moment “I shall give you a chance for your lives. Paulvitch does not count of conversation Tarzan asked if he had ever heard of Nikolas Rokoff or much — he is merely a stupid, foolish little tool, and so I shall not kill Alexis Paulvitch. him so long as I permit you to live. Before I leave you two alive in this “Very often, indeed, monsieur. Each has a police record, and while room you will have done two things. The first will be to write a full there is nothing charged against them now, we make it a point to know confession of your connection with tonight’s plot — and sign it. pretty well where they may be found should the occasion demand. It is “The second will be to promise me upon pain of death that you will only the same precaution that we take with every known criminal. Why permit no word of this affair to get into the newspapers. If you do not do does monsieur ask?” both, neither of you will be alive when I pass next through that doorway. “They are known to me,” replied Tarzan. “I wish to see Monsieur Do you understand?” And, without waiting for a reply: “Make haste; Rokoff on a little matter of business. If you can direct me to his lodgings there is ink before you, and paper and a pen.”

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Rokoff assumed a truculent air, attempting by bravado to show how little he feared Tarzan’s threats. An instant later he felt the ape-man’s steel fingers at his throat, and Paulvitch, who attempted to dodge them and reach the door, was lifted completely off the floor, and hurled senseless into a corner. When Rokoff commenced to blacken about the face Tarzan released his hold and shoved the fellow back into his chair. After a moment of coughing Rokoff sat sullenly glaring at the man standing opposite him. Presently Paulvitch came to himself, and limped painfully back to his chair at Tarzan’s command. “Now write,” said the ape-man. “If it is necessary to handle you again I shall not be so lenient.” Rokoff picked up a pen and commenced to write. VI “See that you omit no detail, and that you mention every name,” cautioned Tarzan. Presently there was a knock at the door. “Enter,” said Tarzan. A DUEL A dapper young man came in. “I am from Le Matin,” he announced. “I understand that Monsieur Rokoff has a story for me.” “Then you are mistaken, monsieur,” replied Tarzan. “You have no story for publication, have you, my dear Nikolas.” [ return to table of contents ] Rokoff looked up from his writing with an ugly scowl upon his face. Arnot was asleep when Tarzan entered their apartments “No,” he growled, “I have no story for publication — now.” after leaving Rokoff ’s. Tarzan did not disturb him, but the “Nor ever, my dear Nikolas,” and the reporter did not see the nasty following morning he narrated the happenings of the light in the ape-man’s eye; but Nikolas Rokoff did. previous evening, omitting not a single detail. “Nor ever,” he repeated hastily. D’ “What a fool I have been,” he concluded. “De Coude and his wife “It is too bad that monsieur has been troubled,” said Tarzan, turning were both my friends. How have I returned their friendship? Barely did to the newspaper man. “I bid monsieur good evening,” and he bowed the I escape murdering the count. I have cast a stigma on the name of a good dapper young man out of the room, and closed the door in his face. woman. It is very probable that I have broken up a happy home.” An hour later Tarzan, with a rather bulky manuscript in his coat “Do you love Olga de Coude?” asked D’Arnot. pocket, turned at the door leading from Rokoff ’s room. “Were I not positive that she does not love me I could not answer “Were I you I should leave France,” he said, “for sooner or later I your question, Paul; but without disloyalty to her I tell you that I do not shall find an excuse to kill you that will not in any way compromise your love her, nor does she love me. For an instant we were the victims of a sister.” sudden madness — it was not love — and it would have left us, unharmed, as suddenly as it had come upon us even though De Coude had not returned. As you know, I have had little experience of women. Olga de

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Coude is very beautiful; that, and the dim light and the seductive “He will kill you, Jean.” surroundings, and the appeal of the defenseless for protection, might “I have no doubt of it,” replied Tarzan. “I must die someday.” have been resisted by a more civilized man, but my civilization is not “We had better make it swords,” said D’Arnot. “He will be satisfied even skin deep — it does not go deeper than my clothes. with wounding you, and there is less danger of a mortal wound.” “Paris is no place for me. I will but continue to stumble into more “Pistols,” said Tarzan, with finality. and more serious pitfalls. The man-made restrictions are irksome. I feel D’Arnot tried to argue him out of it, but without avail, so pistols it always that I am a prisoner. I cannot endure it, my friend, and so I think was. that I shall go back to my own jungle, and lead the life that God intended D’Arnot returned from his conference with Monsieur Flaubert that I should lead when He put me there.” shortly after four. “Do not take it so to heart, Jean,” responded D’Arnot. “You have “It is all arranged,” he said. “Everything is satisfactory. Tomorrow acquitted yourself much better than most ‘civilized’ men would have morning at daylight — there is a secluded spot on the road not far from under similar circumstances. As to leaving Paris at this time, I rather Etamps. For some personal reason Monsieur Flaubert preferred it. I did think that Raoul de Coude may be expected to have something to say on not demur.” that subject before long.” “Good!” was Tarzan’s only comment. He did not refer to the matter Nor was D’Arnot mistaken. A week later a Monsieur Flaubert was again even indirectly. That night he wrote several letters before he announced about eleven in the morning, as D’Arnot and Tarzan were retired. After sealing and addressing them he placed them all in an breakfasting. Monsieur Flaubert was an impressively polite gentleman. envelope addressed to D’Arnot. As he undressed D’Arnot heard him With many low bows he delivered Monsieur le Count de Coude’s humming a music-hall ditty. challenge to Monsieur Tarzan. Would monsieur be so very kind as to The Frenchman swore under his breath. He was very unhappy, for arrange to have a friend meet Monsieur Flaubert at as early an hour as he was positive that when the sun rose the next morning it would look convenient, that the details might be arranged to the mutual satisfaction down upon a dead Tarzan. It grated upon him to see Tarzan so of all concerned? unconcerned. Certainly. Monsieur Tarzan would be delighted to place his interests unreservedly in the hands of his friend, Lieutenant D’Arnot. And so it his is a most uncivilized hour for people to kill each was arranged that D’Arnot was to call on Monsieur Flaubert at two that other,” remarked the ape-man when he had been afternoon, and the polite Monsieur Flaubert, with many bows, left them. routed out of a comfortable bed in the blackness of When they were again alone D’Arnot looked quizzically at Tarzan. the early morning hours. He had slept well, and so it seemed that “Well?” he said. “T his head scarcely touched the pillow ere his man deferentially “Now to my sins I must add murder, or else myself be killed,” said aroused him. His remark was addressed to D’Arnot, who stood Tarzan. “I am progressing rapidly in the ways of my civilized brothers.” fully dressed in the doorway of Tarzan’s bedroom. “What weapons shall you select?” asked D’Arnot. “De Coude is D’Arnot had scarcely slept at all during the night. He was nervous, accredited with being a master with the sword, and a splendid shot.” and therefore inclined to be irritable. “I might then choose poisoned arrows at twenty paces, or spears at “I presume you slept like a baby all night,” he said. the same distance,” laughed Tarzan. “Make it pistols, Paul.” Tarzan laughed. “From your tone, Paul, I infer that you rather harbor

352 353 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN the fact against me. I could not help it, really.” heart of his primeval forest. “No, Jean; it is not that,” replied D’Arnot, himself smiling. “But you Presently his reminiscences were broken in upon by the stopping of take the entire matter with such infernal indifference — it is exasperating. the car — they were at their destination. Tarzan’s mind returned to the One would think that you were going out to shoot at a target, rather affairs of the moment. He knew that he was about to die, but there was than to face one of the best shots in France.” no fear of death in him. To a denizen of the cruel jungle death is a Tarzan shrugged his shoulders. “I am going out to expiate a great commonplace. The first law of nature compels them to cling tenaciously wrong, Paul. A very necessary feature of the expiation is the marksmanship to life — to fight for it; but it does not teach them to fear death. of my opponent. Wherefore, then, should I be dissatisfied? Have you not D’Arnot and Tarzan were first upon the field of honor. A moment yourself told me that Count de Coude is a splendid marksman?” later De Coude, Monsieur Flaubert, and a third gentleman arrived. The “You mean that you hope to be killed?” exclaimed D’Arnot, in last was introduced to D’Arnot and Tarzan; he was a physician. horror. D’Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert spoke together in whispers for a “I cannot say that I hope to be; but you must admit that there is little brief time. The Count de Coude and Tarzan stood apart at opposite reason to believe that I shall not be killed.” sides of the field. Presently the seconds summoned them. D’Arnot and Had D’Arnot known the thing that was in the ape-man’s mind — Monsieur Flaubert had examined both pistols. The two men who were that had been in his mind almost from the first intimation that De to face each other a moment later stood silently while Monsieur Flaubert Coude would call him to account on the field of honor — he would have recited the conditions they were to observe. been even more horrified than he was. They were to stand back to back. At a signal from Monsieur Flaubert In silence they entered D’Arnot’s great car, and in similar silence they were to walk in opposite directions, their pistols hanging by their they sped over the dim road that leads to Etamps. Each man was sides. When each had proceeded ten paces D’Arnot was to give the final occupied with his own thoughts. D’Arnot’s were very mournful, for he signal — then they were to turn and fire at will until one fell, or each had was genuinely fond of Tarzan. The great friendship which had sprung expended the three shots allowed. up between these two men whose lives and training had been so widely While Monsieur Flaubert spoke Tarzan selected a cigarette from his different had but been strengthened by association, for they were both case, and lighted it. De Coude was the personification of coolness — men to whom the same high ideals of manhood, of personal courage, was he not the best shot in France? and of honor appealed with equal force. They could understand one Presently Monsieur Flaubert nodded to D’Arnot, and each man another, and each could be proud of the friendship of the other. placed his principal in position. Tarzan of the Apes was wrapped in thoughts of the past; pleasant “Are you quite ready, gentlemen?” asked Monsieur Flaubert. memories of the happier occasions of his lost jungle life. He recalled the “Quite,” replied De Coude. countless boyhood hours that he had spent cross-legged upon the table Tarzan nodded. Monsieur Flaubert gave the signal. He and D’Arnot in his dead father’s cabin, his little brown body bent over one of the stepped back a few paces to be out of the line of fire as the men paced slowly fascinating picture books from which, unaided, he had gleaned the secret apart. Six! Seven! Eight! There were tears in D’Arnot’s eyes. He loved of the printed language long before the sounds of human speech fell Tarzan very much. Nine! Another pace, and the poor lieutenant gave the upon his ears. A smile of contentment softened his strong face as he signal he so hated to give. To him it sounded the doom of his best friend. thought of that day of days that he had had alone with Jane Porter in the Quickly De Coude wheeled and fired. Tarzan gave a little start. His

354 355 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN pistol still dangled at his side. De Coude hesitated, as though waiting to “Mon dieu, monsieur!” cried the latter. “Are you mad?” see his antagonist crumple to the ground. The Frenchman was too “No, my friend,” replied the ape-man; “but I deserve to die. It is the experienced a marksman not to know that he had scored a hit. Still only way in which I may atone for the wrong I have done a very good Tarzan made no move to raise his pistol. De Coude fired once more, but woman. Take my pistol and do as I bid.” the attitude of the ape-man — the utter indifference that was so apparent “It would be murder,” replied De Coude. “But what wrong did you in every line of the nonchalant ease of his giant figure, and the even do my wife? She swore to me that — ” unruffled puffing of his cigarette — had disconcerted the best marksman “I do not mean that,” said Tarzan quickly. “You saw all the wrong in France. This time Tarzan did not start, but again De Coude knew that that passed between us. But that was enough to cast a shadow upon her he had hit. name, and to ruin the happiness of a man against whom I had no enmity. Suddenly the explanation leaped to his mind — his antagonist was The fault was all mine, and so I hoped to die for it this morning. I am coolly taking these terrible chances in the hope that he would receive no disappointed that monsieur is not so wonderful a marksman as I had staggering wound from any of De Coude’s three shots. Then he would been led to believe.” take his own time about shooting De Coude down deliberately, coolly, “You say that the fault was all yours?” asked De Coude eagerly. and in cold blood. A little shiver ran up the Frenchman’s spine. It was “All mine, monsieur. Your wife is a very pure woman. She loves only fiendish — diabolical. What manner of creature was this that could you. The fault that you saw was all mine. The thing that brought me stand complacently with two bullets in him, waiting for the third? there was no fault of either the Countess de Coude or myself. Here is a And so De Coude took careful aim this time, but his nerve was paper which will quite positively demonstrate that,” and Tarzan drew gone, and he made a clean miss. Not once had Tarzan raised his pistol from his pocket the statement Rokoff had written and signed. hand from where it hung beside his leg. De Coude took it and read. D’Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert had For a moment the two stood looking straight into each other’s eyes. drawn near. They were interested spectators of this strange ending of a On Tarzan’s face was a pathetic expression of disappointment. On De strange duel. None spoke until De Coude had quite finished, then he Coude’s a rapidly growing expression of horror — yes, of terror. looked up at Tarzan. He could endure it no longer. “You are a very brave and chivalrous gentleman,” he said. “I thank “Mother of God! Monsieur — shoot!” he screamed. God that I did not kill you.” But Tarzan did not raise his pistol. Instead, he advanced toward De De Coude was a Frenchman. Frenchmen are impulsive. He threw Coude, and when D’Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert, misinterpreting his his arms about Tarzan and embraced him. Monsieur Flaubert embraced intention, would have rushed between them, he raised his left hand in a D’Arnot. There was no one to embrace the doctor. So possibly it was sign of remonstrance. pique which prompted him to interfere, and demand that he be permitted “Do not fear,” he said to them, “I shall not harm him.” to dress Tarzan’s wounds. It was most unusual, but they halted. Tarzan advanced until he was “This gentleman was hit once at least,” he said. “Possibly thrice.” quite close to De Coude. “Twice,” said Tarzan. “Once in the left shoulder, and again in the left “There must have been something wrong with monsieur’s pistol,” he side — both flesh wounds, I think.” But the doctor insisted upon said. “Or monsieur is unstrung. Take mine, monsieur, and try again,” and stretching him upon the sward, and tinkering with him until the wounds Tarzan offered his pistol, butt foremost, to the astonished De Coude. were cleansed and the flow of blood checked.

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One result of the duel was that they all rode back to Paris together upon the field of honor. in D’Arnot’s car, the best of friends. De Coude was so relieved to have “I think that I have found just the thing for you, Monsieur Tarzan,” had this double assurance of his wife’s loyalty that he felt no rancor at all said the count. “It is a position of much trust and responsibility, which toward Tarzan. It is true that the latter had assumed much more of the also requires considerably physical courage and prowess. I cannot fault than was rightly his, but if he lied a little he may be excused, for he imagine a man better fitted than you, my dear Monsieur Tarzan, for this lied in the service of a woman, and he lied like a gentleman. very position. It will necessitate travel, and later it may lead to a very much better post — possibly in the diplomatic service. he ape-man was confined to his bed for several days. He felt “At first, for a short time only, you will be a special agent in the that it was foolish and unnecessary, but the doctor and D’Arnot service of the ministry of war. Come, I will take you to the gentleman took the matter so to heart that he gave in to please them, who will be your chief. He can explain the duties better than I, and then Tthough it made him laugh to think of it. you will be in a position to judge if you wish to accept or no.” “It is droll,” he said to D’Arnot. “To lie abed because of a pin prick! De Coude himself escorted Tarzan to the office of General Rochere, Why, when Bolgani, the king gorilla, tore me almost to pieces, while I the chief of the bureau to which Tarzan would be attached if he accepted was still but a little boy, did I have a nice soft bed to lie on? No, only the the position. There the count left him, after a glowing description to the damp, rotting vegetation of the jungle. Hidden beneath some friendly general of the many attributes possessed by the ape-man which should bush I lay for days and weeks with only Kala to nurse me — poor, faithful fit him for the work of the service. Kala, who kept the insects from my wounds and warned off the beasts of A half hour later Tarzan walked out of the office the possessor of the prey. first position he had ever held. On the morrow he was to return for “When I called for water she brought it to me in her own mouth further instructions, though General Rochere had made it quite plain — the only way she knew to carry it. There was no sterilized gauze, there that Tarzan might prepare to leave Paris for an almost indefinite period, was no antiseptic bandage — there was nothing that would not have possibly on the morrow. driven our dear doctor mad to have seen. Yet I recovered — recovered to It was with feelings of the keenest elation that he hastened home to lie in bed because of a tiny scratch that one of the jungle folk would bear the good news to D’Arnot. At last he was to be of some value in the scarce realize unless it were upon the end of his nose.” world. He was to earn money, and, best of all, to travel and see the world. But the time was soon over, and before he realized it Tarzan found He could scarcely wait to get well inside D’Arnot’s sitting room himself abroad again. Several times De Coude had called, and when he before he burst out with the glad tidings. D’Arnot was not so pleased. found that Tarzan was anxious for employment of some nature he “It seems to delight you to think that you are to leave Paris, and that promised to see what could be done to find a berth for him. we shall not see each other for months, perhaps. Tarzan, you are a most It was the first day that Tarzan was permitted to go out that he ungrateful beast!” and D’Arnot laughed. received a message from De Coude requesting him to call at the count’s “No, Paul; I am a little child. I have a new toy, and I am tickled to office that afternoon. death.” He found De Coude awaiting him with a very pleasant welcome, And so it came that on the following day Tarzan left Paris en route and a sincere congratulation that he was once more upon his feet. for Marseilles and Oran. Neither had ever mentioned the duel or the cause of it since that morning

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THE DANCING GIRL of SIDI AISSA

[ return to table of contents ] arzan’s first mission did not bid fair to be either exciting or vastly important. There was a certain lieutenant of Spahis whom the government had reason to suspect of improper relations Twith a great European power. This Lieutenant Gernois, who was at present stationed at Sidi-bel-Abbes, had recently been attached to the general staff, where certain information of great military value had come into his possession in the ordinary routine of his duties. It was this information which the government suspected the great power was bartering for with the officer. It was at most but a vague hint dropped by a certain notorious Parisienne in a jealous mood that had caused suspicion to rest upon the lieutenant. But general staffs are jealous of their secrets, and treason so serious a thing that even a hint of it may not be safely neglected. And so it was that Tarzan had come to Algeria in the guise of an American THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN hunter and traveler to keep a close eye upon Lieutenant Gernois. was made in the saddle. As Tarzan was dickering at Bouira for a mount He had looked forward with keen delight to again seeing his beloved he caught a brief glimpse of a man in European clothes eying him from Africa, but this northern aspect of it was so different from his tropical the doorway of a native coffeehouse, but as Tarzan looked the man jungle home that he might as well have been back in Paris for all the turned and entered the little, low-ceilinged mud hut, and but for a heart thrills of homecoming that he experienced. At Oran he spent a haunting impression that there had been something familiar about the day wandering through the narrow, crooked alleys of the Arab quarter face or figure of the fellow, Tarzan gave the matter no further thought. enjoying the strange, new sights. The next day found him at Sidi-bel- The march to Aumale was fatiguing to Tarzan, whose equestrian Abbes, where he presented his letters of introduction to both civil and experiences hitherto had been confined to a course of riding lessons in a military authorities — letters which gave no clue to the real significance Parisian academy, and so it was that he quickly sought the comforts of a of his mission. bed in the Hotel Grossat, while the officers and troops took up their Tarzan possessed a sufficient command of English to enable him to quarters at the military post. pass among Arabs and Frenchmen as an American, and that was all that Although Tarzan was called early the following morning, the was required of it. When he met an Englishman he spoke French in company of Spahis was on the march before he had finished his breakfast. order that he might not betray himself, but occasionally talked in English He was hurrying through his meal that the soldiers might not get too far to foreigners who understood that tongue, but could not note the slight in advance of him when he glanced through the door connecting the imperfections of accent and pronunciation that were his. dining room with the bar. Here he became acquainted with many of the French officers, and To his surprise, he saw Gernois standing there in conversation with soon became a favorite among them. He met Gernois, whom he found the very stranger he had seen in the coffee-house at Bouira the day to be a taciturn, dyspeptic-looking man of about forty, having little or no previous. He could not be mistaken, for there was the same strangely social intercourse with his fellows. familiar attitude and figure, though the man’s back was toward him. For a month nothing of moment occurred. Gernois apparently had As his eyes lingered on the two, Gernois looked up and caught the no visitors, nor did he on his occasional visits to the town hold intent expression on Tarzan’s face. The stranger was talking in a low communication with any who might even by the wildest flight of whisper at the time, but the French officer immediately interrupted him, imagination be construed into secret agents of a foreign power. Tarzan and the two at once turned away and passed out of the range of Tarzan’s was beginning to hope that, after all, the rumor might have been false, vision. when suddenly Gernois was ordered to Bou Saada in the Petit Sahara This was the first suspicious occurrence that Tarzan had ever far to the south. witnessed in connection with Gernois’ actions, but he was positive that A company of Spahis and three officers were to relieve another the men had left the barroom solely because Gernois had caught Tarzan’s company already stationed there. Fortunately one of the officers, Captain eyes upon them; then there was the persistent impression of familiarity Gerard, had become an excellent friend of Tarzan’s, and so when the about the stranger to further augment the ape-man’s belief that here at ape-man suggested that he should embrace the opportunity of length was something which would bear watching. accompanying him to Bou Saada, where he expected to find hunting, it A moment later Tarzan entered the barroom, but the men had left, caused not the slightest suspicion. nor did he see aught of them in the street beyond, though he found a At Bouira the detachment detrained, and the balance of the journey pretext to ride to various shops before he set out after the column which

362 363 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN had now considerable start of him. He did not overtake them until he “Unless he be bent on robbery,” returned Abdul. reached Sidi Aissa shortly after noon, where the soldiers had halted for “Then all we can do is wait until he is ready to try his hand upon us,” an hour’s rest. Here he found Gernois with the column, but there was no laughed Tarzan, “and I warrant that he will get his bellyful of robbing sign of the stranger. now that we are prepared for him,” and so he dismissed the subject from It was market day at Sidi Aissa, and the numberless caravans of his mind, though he was destined to recall it before many hours through camels coming in from the desert, and the crowds of bickering Arabs in a most unlooked-for occurrence. the market place, filled Tarzan with a consuming desire to remain for a day that he might see more of these sons of the desert. Thus it was that adour ben Saden, having dined well, prepared to take leave of the company of Spahis marched on that afternoon toward Bou Saada his host. With dignified protestations of friendship, he invited without him. He spent the hours until dark wandering about the market Tarzan to visit him in his wild domain, where the antelope, the in company with a youthful Arab, one Abdul, who had been recommended stag,K the boar, the panther, and the lion might still be found in sufficient to him by the innkeeper as a trustworthy servant and interpreter. numbers to tempt an ardent huntsman. Here Tarzan purchased a better mount than the one he had selected On his departure the ape-man, with Abdul, wandered again into the at Bouira, and, entering into conversation with the stately Arab to whom streets of Sidi Aissa, where he was soon attracted by the wild din of the animal had belonged, learned that the seller was Kadour ben Saden, sound coming from the open doorway of one of the numerous cafés sheik of a desert tribe far south of Djelfa. Through Abdul, Tarzan invited maures. It was after eight, and the dancing was in full swing as Tarzan his new acquaintance to dine with him. As the three were making their entered. The room was filled to repletion with Arabs. All were smoking, way through the crowds of marketers, camels, donkeys, and horses that and drinking their thick, hot coffee. filled the market place with a confusing babel of sounds, Abdul plucked Tarzan and Abdul found seats near the center of the room, though at Tarzan’s sleeve. the terrific noise produced by the musicians upon their Arab drums and “Look, master, behind us,” and he turned, pointing at a figure which pipes would have rendered a seat farther from them more acceptable to disappeared behind a camel as Tarzan turned. “He has been following us the quiet-loving ape-man. A rather good-looking Ouled Naïl was about all afternoon,” continued Abdul. dancing, and, perceiving Tarzan’s European clothes, and scenting a “I caught only a glimpse of an Arab in a dark-blue burnoose and generous gratuity, she threw her silken handkerchief upon his shoulder, white turban,” replied Tarzan. “Is it he you mean?” to be rewarded with a franc. “Yes. I suspected him because he seems a stranger here, without When her place upon the floor had been taken by another the other business than following us, which is not the way of the Arab who bright-eyed Abdul saw her in conversation with two Arabs at the far is honest, and also because he keeps the lower part of his face hidden, side of the room, near a side door that let upon an inner court, around only his eyes showing. He must be a bad man, or he would have honest the gallery of which were the rooms occupied by the girls who danced in business of his own to occupy his time.” this cafe. “He is on the wrong scent then, Abdul,” replied Tarzan, “for no one At first he thought nothing of the matter, but presently he noticed here can have any grievance against me. This is my first visit to your from the corner of his eye one of the men nod in their direction, and the country, and none knows me. He will soon discover his error, and cease girl turn and shoot a furtive glance at Tarzan. Then the Arabs melted to follow us.” through the doorway into the darkness of the court.

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When it came again the girl’s turn to dance she hovered close to easily indicated the trend of the sympathies of the majority of the Tarzan, and for the ape-man alone were her sweetest smiles. Many an audience. ugly scowl was cast upon the tall European by swarthy, dark-eyed sons Tarzan did not like being laughed at, neither did he relish the terms of the desert, but neither smiles nor scowls produced any outwardly applied to him by the Arab, but he showed no sign of anger as he arose visible effect upon him. Again the girl cast her handkerchief upon his from his seat upon the bench. A half smile played about his lips, but of shoulder, and again was she rewarded with a franc piece. As she was a sudden a mighty fist shot into the face of the scowling Arab, and back sticking it upon her forehead, after the custom of her kind, she bent low of it were the terrible muscles of the ape-man. toward Tarzan, whispering a quick word in his ear. At the instant that the man fell a half dozen fierce plainsmen sprang “There are two without in the court,” she said quickly, in broken into the room from where they had apparently been waiting for their cue French, “who would harm m’sieur. At first I promised to lure you to in the street before the cafe. With cries of “Kill the unbeliever!” and them, but you have been kind, and I cannot do it. Go quickly, before they “Down with the dog of a Christian!” they made straight for Tarzan. A find that I have failed them. I think that they are very bad men.” number of the younger Arabs in the audience sprang to their feet to join Tarzan thanked the girl, assuring her that he would be careful, and, in the assault upon the unarmed white man. Tarzan and Abdul were having finished her dance, she crossed to the little doorway and went out rushed back toward the end of the room by the very force of numbers into the court. But Tarzan did not leave the cafe as she had urged. opposing them. The young Arab remained loyal to his master, and with For another half hour nothing unusual occurred, then a surly- drawn knife fought at his side. looking Arab entered the cafe from the street. He stood near Tarzan, With tremendous blows the ape-man felled all who came within where he deliberately made insulting remarks about the European, but reach of his powerful hands. He fought quietly and without a word, as they were in his native tongue Tarzan was entirely innocent of their upon his lips the same half smile they had worn as he rose to strike down purport until Abdul took it upon himself to enlighten him. the man who had insulted him. It seemed impossible that either he or “This fellow is looking for trouble,” warned Abdul. “He is not alone. Abdul could survive the sea of wicked-looking swords and knives that In fact, in case of a disturbance, nearly every man here would be against surrounded them, but the very numbers of their assailants proved the you. It would be better to leave quietly, master.” best bulwark of their safety. So closely packed was the howling, cursing “Ask the fellow what he wants,” commanded Tarzan. mob that no weapon could be wielded to advantage, and none of the “He says that ‘the dog of a Christian’ insulted the Ouled Naïl, who Arabs dared use a firearm for fear of wounding one of his compatriots. belongs to him. He means trouble, m’sieur.” Finally Tarzan succeeded in seizing one of the most persistent of his “Tell him that I did not insult his or any other Ouled Naïl, that I attackers. With a quick wrench he disarmed the fellow, and then, holding wish him to go away and leave me alone. That I have no quarrel with him before them as a shield, he backed slowly beside Abdul toward the him, nor has he any with me.” little door which led into the inner courtyard. At the threshold he paused “He says,” replied Abdul, after delivering this message to the Arab, for an instant, and, lifting the struggling Arab above his head, hurled “that besides being a dog yourself that you are the son of one, and that him, as though from a catapult, full in the faces of his on-pressing your grandmother was a hyena. Incidentally you are a liar.” fellows. The attention of those nearby had now been attracted by the Then Tarzan and Abdul stepped into the semidarkness of the court. altercation, and the sneering laughs that followed this torrent of invective The frightened Ouled Naïls were crouching at the tops of the stairs

366 367 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN which led to their respective rooms, the only light in the courtyard room to the street beyond. Before they discover that you are no longer in coming from the sickly candles which each girl had stuck with its own the court of the buildings you will be safe within the hotel.” grease to the woodwork of her door-frame, the better to display her But even as she spoke, several men had started up the stairway at the charms to those who might happen to traverse the dark inclosure. head of which they stood. There was a sudden cry from one of the Scarcely had Tarzan and Abdul emerged from the room ere a searchers. They had been discovered. Quickly the crowd rushed for the revolver spoke close at their backs from the shadows beneath one of the stairway. The foremost assailant leaped quickly upward, but at the top he stairways, and as they turned to meet this new antagonist, two muffled met the sudden sword that he had not expected — the quarry had been figures sprang toward them, firing as they came. Tarzan leaped to meet unarmed before. these two new assailants. The foremost lay, a second later, in the trampled With a cry, the man toppled back upon those behind him. Like dirt of the court, disarmed and groaning from a broken wrist. Abdul’s tenpins they rolled down the stairs. The ancient and rickety structure knife found the vitals of the second in the instant that the fellow’s could not withstand the strain of this unwonted weight and jarring. revolver missed fire as he held it to the faithful Arab’s forehead. With a creaking and rending of breaking wood it collapsed beneath the The maddened horde within the cafe were now rushing out in Arabs, leaving Tarzan, Abdul, and the girl alone upon the frail platform pursuit of their quarry. The Ouled Naïls had extinguished their candles at the top. at a cry from one of their number, and the only light within the yard “Come!” cried the Ouled Naïl. “They will reach us from another came feebly from the open and half-blocked door of the cafe. Tarzan stairway through the room next to mine. We have not a moment to had seized a sword from the man who had fallen before Abdul’s knife, spare.” and now he stood waiting for the rush of men that was coming in search Just as they were entering the room Abdul heard and translated a of them through the darkness. cry from the yard below for several to hasten to the street and cut off Suddenly he felt a light hand upon his shoulder from behind, and a escape from that side. woman’s voice whispering, “Quick, m’sieur; this way. Follow me.” “We are lost now,” said the girl simply. “Come, Abdul,” said Tarzan, in a low tone, to the youth; “we can be “We?” questioned Tarzan. no worse off elsewhere than we are here.” “Yes, m’sieur,” she responded; “they will kill me as well. Have I not The woman turned and led them up the narrow stairway that ended aided you?” at the door of her quarters. Tarzan was close beside her. He saw the gold This put a different aspect on the matter. Tarzan had rather been and silver bracelets upon her bare arms, the strings of gold coin that enjoying the excitement and danger of the encounter. He had not for an depended from her hair ornaments, and the gorgeous colors of her dress. instant supposed that either Abdul or the girl could suffer except through He saw that she was a Ouled Naïl, and instinctively he knew that she was accident, and he had only retreated just enough to keep from being the same who had whispered the warning in his ear earlier in the evening. killed himself. He had had no intention of running away until he saw As they reached the top of the stairs they could hear the angry crowd that he was hopelessly lost were he to remain. searching the yard beneath. Alone he could have sprung into the midst of that close-packed “Soon they will search here,” whispered the girl. “They must not mob, and, laying about him after the fashion of Numa, the lion, have find you, for, though you fight with the strength of many men, they will struck the Arabs with such consternation that escape would have been kill you in the end. Hasten; you can drop from the farther window of my easy. Now he must think entirely of these two faithful friends.

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He crossed to the window which overlooked the street. In a minute there would be enemies below. Already he could hear the mob clambering the stairway to the next quarters — they would be at the door beside him in another instant. He put a foot upon the sill and leaned out, but he did not look down. Above him, within arm’s reach, was the low roof of the building. He called to the girl. She came and stood beside him. He put a great arm about her and lifted her across his shoulder. “Wait here until I reach down for you from above,” he said to Abdul. “In the meantime shove everything in the room against that door — it may delay them long enough.” Then he stepped to the sill of the narrow window with the girl upon his shoulders. “Hold tight,” he cautioned her. A moment later he had clambered to the roof above with the ease and dexterity of an ape. Setting the girl down, he leaned far over the roof ’s edge, calling softly to Abdul. The youth ran to the window. VIII “Your hand,” whispered Tarzan. The men in the room beyond were battering at the door. With a sudden crash it fell splintering in, and at THE FIGHT in the DESERT the same instant Abdul felt himself lifted like a feather onto the roof above. They were not a moment too soon, for as the men broke into the room which they had just quitted a dozen more rounded the corner in the street below and came running to a spot beneath the girl’s window. [ return to table of contents ] s the three squatted upon the roof above the quarters of the Ouled Naïls they heard the angry cursing of the Arabs in the room beneath. Abdul translated from time to time to Tarzan. A“They are berating those in the street below now,” said Abdul, “for permitting us to escape so easily. Those in the street say that we did not come that way — that we are still within the building, and that those above, being too cowardly to attack us, are attempting to deceive them into believing that we have escaped. In a moment they will have fighting of their own to attend to if they continue their brawling.” Presently those in the building gave up the search, and returned to the cafe. A few remained in the street below, smoking and talking. Tarzan spoke to the girl, thanking her for the sacrifice she had made for him, a total stranger.

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“I liked you,” she said simply. “You were unlike the others who come “It is he who followed m’sieur about the market today,” exclaimed to the cafe. You did not speak coarsely to me — the manner in which Abdul. “I saw him again within the cafe — him and another; and the you gave me money was not an insult.” two went out into the inner court after talking with this girl here. It was “What shall you do after tonight?” he asked. “You cannot return to they who attacked and fired upon us, as we came out of the cafe. Why the cafe. Can you even remain with safety in Sidi Aissa?” do they wish to kill you, m’sieur?” “Tomorrow it will be forgotten,” she replied. “But I should be glad if “I do not know,” replied Tarzan, and then, after a pause: “Unless — ” it might be that I need never return to this or another cafe. I have not But he did not finish, for the thought that had come to his mind, while remained because I wished to; I have been a prisoner.” it seemed the only reasonable solution of the mystery, appeared at the “A prisoner!” ejaculated Tarzan incredulously. same time quite improbable. Presently the men in the street went away. “A slave would be the better word,” she answered. “I was stolen in The courtyard and the cafe were deserted. Cautiously Tarzan lowered the night from my father’s douar by a band of marauders. They brought himself to the sill of the girl’s window. The room was empty. He returned me here and sold me to the Arab who keeps this cafe. It has been nearly to the roof and let Abdul down, then he lowered the girl to the arms of two years now since I saw the last of mine own people. They are very far the waiting Arab. to the south. They never come to Sidi Aissa.” From the window Abdul dropped the short distance to the street “You would like to return to your people?” asked Tarzan. “Then I below, while Tarzan took the girl in his arms and leaped down as he had shall promise to see you safely so far as Bou Saada at least. There we can done on so many other occasions in his own forest with a burden in his doubtless arrange with the commandant to send you the rest of the way.” arms. A little cry of alarm was startled from the girl’s lips, but Tarzan “Oh, m’sieur,” she cried, “how can I ever repay you! You cannot really landed in the street with but an imperceptible jar, and lowered her in mean that you will do so much for a poor Ouled Naïl. But my father can safety to her feet. reward you, and he will, for is he not a great sheik? He is Kadour ben She clung to him for a moment. Saden.” “How strong m’sieur is, and how active,” she cried. “El Adrea, the “Kadour ben Saden!” ejaculated Tarzan. “Why, Kadour ben Saden is black lion, himself is not more so.” in Sidi Aissa this very night. He dined with me but a few hours since.” “I should like to meet this El Adrea of yours,” he said. “I have heard “My father in Sidi Aissa?” cried the amazed girl. “Allah be praised much about him.” then, for I am indeed saved.” “And you come to the douar of my father you shall see him,” said the “Hssh!” cautioned Abdul. “Listen.” girl. “He lives in a spur of the mountains north of us, and comes down From below came the sound of voices, quite distinguishable upon from his lair at night to rob my father’s douar. With a single blow of his the still night air. Tarzan could not understand the words, but Abdul and mighty paw he crushes the skull of a bull, and woe betide the belated the girl translated. wayfarer who meets El Adrea abroad at night.” “They have gone now,” said the latter. “It is you they want, m’sieur. Without further mishap they reached the hotel. The sleepy landlord One of them said that the stranger who had offered money for your objected strenuously to instituting a search for Kadour ben Saden until slaying lay in the house of Akmed din Soulef with a broken wrist, but the following morning, but a piece of gold put a different aspect on the that he had offered a still greater reward if some would lay in wait for matter, so that a few moments later a servant had started to make the you upon the road to Bou Saada and kill you.” rounds of the lesser native hostelries where it might be expected that a

372 373 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN desert sheik would find congenial associations. Tarzan had felt it until Tarzan’s lips were parched and cracked. What little he could see of necessary to find the girl’s father that night, for fear he might start on his the surrounding country was far from alluring — a vast expanse of rough homeward journey too early in the morning to be intercepted. country, rolling in little, barren hillocks, and tufted here and there with They had waited perhaps half an hour when the messenger returned clumps of dreary shrub. Far to the south rose the dim lines of the Saharan with Kadour ben Saden. The old sheik entered the room with a Atlas range. How different, thought Tarzan, from the gorgeous Africa of questioning expression upon his proud face. his boyhood! “Monsieur has done me the honor to — ” he commenced, and then Abdul, always on the alert, looked backward quite as often as he did his eyes fell upon the girl. With outstretched arms he crossed the room ahead. At the top of each hillock that they mounted he would draw in to meet her. “My daughter!” he cried. “Allah is merciful!” and tears his horse and, turning, scan the country to the rear with utmost care. At dimmed the martial eyes of the old warrior. last his scrutiny was rewarded. When the story of her abduction and her final rescue had been told “Look!” he cried. “There are six horsemen behind us.” to Kadour ben Saden he extended his hand to Tarzan. “Your friends of last evening, no doubt, monsieur,” remarked Kadour “All that is Kadour ben Saden’s is thine, my friend, even to his life,” ben Saden dryly to Tarzan. he said very simply, but Tarzan knew that those were no idle words. “No doubt,” replied the ape-man. “I am sorry that my society should It was decided that although three of them would have to ride after endanger the safety of your journey. At the next village I shall remain practically no sleep, it would be best to make an early start in the and question these gentlemen, while you ride on. There is no necessity morning, and attempt to ride all the way to Bou Saada in one day. It for my being at Bou Saada tonight, and less still why you should not ride would have been comparatively easy for the men, but for the girl it was in peace.” sure to be a fatiguing journey. “If you stop we shall stop,” said Kadour ben Saden. “Until you are She, however, was the most anxious to undertake it, for it seemed to safe with your friends, or the enemy has left your trail, we shall remain her that she could not quickly enough reach the family and friends from with you. There is nothing more to say.” whom she had been separated for two years. Tarzan nodded his head. He was a man of few words, and possibly it was for this reason as much as any that Kadour ben Saden had taken t seemed to Tarzan that he had not closed his eyes before he was to him, for if there be one thing that an Arab despises it is a talkative awakened, and in another hour the party was on its way south man. toward Bou Saada. For a few miles the road was good, and they All the balance of the day Abdul caught glimpses of the horsemen Imade rapid progress, but suddenly it became only a waste of sand, into in their rear. They remained always at about the same distance. During which the horses sank fetlock deep at nearly every step. In addition to the occasional halts for rest, and at the longer halt at noon, they Tarzan, Abdul, the sheik, and his daughter were four of the wild approached no closer. plainsmen of the sheik’s tribe who had accompanied him upon the trip “They are waiting for darkness,” said Kadour ben Saden. to Sidi Aissa. Thus, seven guns strong, they entertained little fear of And darkness came before they reached Bou Saada. The last glimpse attack by day, and if all went well they should reach Bou Saada before that Abdul had of the grim, white-robed figures that trailed them, just nightfall. before dusk made it impossible to distinguish them, had made it apparent A brisk wind enveloped them in the blowing sand of the desert, that they were rapidly closing up the distance that intervened between

374 375 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN them and their intended quarry. He whispered this fact to Tarzan, for he Instantly the soundless waste was torn with the quick staccato of did not wish to alarm the girl. The ape-man drew back beside him. guns upon every hand. Abdul and Tarzan fired only at the flashes — “You will ride ahead with the others, Abdul,” said Tarzan. “This is they could not yet see their foemen. Presently it became evident that the my quarrel. I shall wait at the next convenient spot, and interview these attackers were circling their position, drawing closer and closer in as fellows.” they began to realize the paltry numbers of the party which opposed “Then Abdul shall wait at thy side,” replied the young Arab, nor them. would any threats or commands move him from his decision. But one came too close, for Tarzan was accustomed to using his eyes “Very well, then,” replied Tarzan. “Here is as good a place as we in the darkness of the jungle night, than which there is no more utter could wish. Here are rocks at the top of this hillock. We shall remain darkness this side the grave, and with a cry of pain a saddle was emptied. hidden here and give an account of ourselves to these gentlemen when “The odds are evening, Abdul,” said Tarzan, with a low laugh. they appear.” But they were still far too one-sided, and when the five remaining They drew in their horses and dismounted. The others riding ahead horsemen whirled at a signal and charged full upon them it looked as if were already out of sight in the darkness. Beyond them shone the lights there would be a sudden ending of the battle. Both Tarzan and Abdul of Bou Saada. Tarzan removed his rifle from its boot and loosened his sprang to the shelter of the rocks, that they might keep the enemy in revolver in its holster. He ordered Abdul to withdraw behind the rocks front of them. There was a mad clatter of galloping hoofs, a volley of with the horses, so that they should be shielded from the enemies’ bullets shots from both sides, and the Arabs withdrew to repeat the maneuver; should they fire. The young Arab pretended to do as he was bid, but but there were now only four against the two. when he had fastened the two animals securely to a low shrub he crept For a few moments there came no sound from out of the surrounding back to lie on his belly a few paces behind Tarzan. blackness. Tarzan could not tell whether the Arabs, satisfied with their The ape-man stood erect in the middle of the road, waiting. Nor did losses, had given up the fight, or were waiting farther along the road to he have long to wait. The sound of galloping horses came suddenly out waylay them as they proceeded on toward Bou Saada. But he was not of the darkness below him, and a moment later he discerned the moving left long in doubt, for now all from one direction came the sound of a blotches of lighter color against the solid background of the night. new charge. But scarcely had the first gun spoken ere a dozen shots rang “Halt,” he cried, “or we fire!” out behind the Arabs. There came the wild shouts of a new party to the The white figures came to a sudden stop, and for a moment there controversy, and the pounding of the feet of many horses from down the was silence. Then came the sound of a whispered council, and like ghosts road to Bou Saada. the phantom riders dispersed in all directions. Again the desert lay still The Arabs did not wait to learn the identity of the oncomers. With about him, yet it was an ominous stillness that foreboded evil. a parting volley as they dashed by the position which Tarzan and Abdul Abdul raised himself to one knee. Tarzan cocked his jungle-trained were holding, they plunged off along the road toward Sidi Aissa. A ears, and presently there came to him the sound of horses walking quietly moment later Kadour ben Saden and his men dashed up. through the sand to the east of him, to the west, to the north, and to the The old sheik was much relieved to find that neither Tarzan nor south. They had been surrounded. Then a shot came from the direction Abdul had received a scratch. Not even had their horses been wounded. in which he was looking, a bullet whirred through the air above his head, They sought out the two men who had fallen before Tarzan’s shots, and, and he fired at the flash of the enemy’s gun. finding that both were dead, left them where they lay.

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“Why did you not tell me that you contemplated ambushing those which their friendship offered to learn what he could of their lives and fellows?” asked the sheik in a hurt tone. “We might have had them all if customs. He even commenced to acquire the rudiments of their language the seven of us had stopped to meet them.” under the pleasant tutorage of the brown-eyed girl. It was with real “Then it would have been useless to stop at all,” replied Tarzan, “for regret that he saw them depart, and he sat his horse at the opening to the had we simply ridden on toward Bou Saada they would have been upon pass, as far as which he had accompanied them, gazing after the little us presently, and all could have been engaged. It was to prevent the party as long as he could catch a glimpse of them. transfer of my own quarrel to another’s shoulders that Abdul and I Here were people after his own heart! Their wild, rough lives, filled stopped off to question them. Then there is your daughter — I could not with danger and hardship, appealed to this half-savage man as nothing be the cause of exposing her needlessly to the marksmanship of six men.” had appealed to him in the midst of the effeminate civilization of the Kadour ben Saden shrugged his shoulders. He did not relish having great cities he had visited. Here was a life that excelled even that of the been cheated out of a fight. jungle, for here he might have the society of men — real men whom he The little battle so close to Bou Saada had drawn out a company of could honor and respect, and yet be near to the wild nature that he loved. soldiers. Tarzan and his party met them just outside the town. The In his head revolved an idea that when he had completed his mission he officer in charge halted them to learn the significance of the shots. would resign and return to live for the remainder of his life with the “A handful of marauders,” replied Kadour ben Saden. “They attacked tribe of Kadour ben Saden. two of our number who had dropped behind, but when we returned to Then he turned his horse’s head and rode slowly back to Bou Saada. them the fellows soon dispersed. They left two dead. None of my party The front of the Hotel du Petit Sahara, where Tarzan stopped in was injured.” Bou Saada, is taken up with the bar, two dining-rooms, and the kitchens. This seemed to satisfy the officer, and after taking the names of the Both of the dining-rooms open directly off the bar, and one of them is party he marched his men on toward the scene of the skirmish to bring reserved for the use of the officers of the garrison. As you stand in the back the dead men for purposes of identification, if possible. barroom you may look into either of the dining-rooms if you wish. It was to the bar that Tarzan repaired after speeding Kadour ben wo days later, Kadour ben Saden, with his daughter and Saden and his party on their way. It was yet early in the morning, for followers, rode south through the pass below Bou Saada, bound Kadour ben Saden had elected to ride far that day, so that it happened for their home in the far wilderness. The sheik had urged that when Tarzan returned there were guests still at breakfast. TTarzan to accompany him, and the girl had added her entreaties to those As his casual glance wandered into the officers’ dining-room, Tarzan of her father; but, though he could not explain it to them, Tarzan’s duties saw something which brought a look of interest to his eyes. Lieutenant loomed particularly large after the happenings of the past few days, so Gernois was sitting there, and as Tarzan looked a white-robed Arab that he could not think of leaving his post for an instant. But he promised approached and, bending, whispered a few words into the lieutenant’s to come later if it lay within his power to do so, and they had to content ear. Then he passed on out of the building through another door. themselves with that assurance. In itself the thing was nothing, but as the man had stooped to speak During these two days Tarzan had spent practically all his time with to the officer, Tarzan had caught sight of something which the accidental Kadour ben Saden and his daughter. He was keenly interested in this parting of the man’s burnoose had revealed — he carried his left arm in race of stern and dignified warriors, and embraced the opportunity a sling.

378 379 IX

NUMA “EL ADREA”

[ return to table of contents ] n the same day that Kadour ben Saden rode south the diligence from the north brought Tarzan a letter from D’Arnot which had been forwarded from Sidi-bel-Abbes. It Oopened the old wound that Tarzan would have been glad to have forgotten; yet he was not sorry that D’Arnot had written, for one at least of his subjects could never cease to interest the ape-man. Here is the letter:

MY DEAR JEAN:

Since last I wrote you I have been across to London on a matter of business. I was there but three days. The very first day I came upon an old friend of yours — quite unexpectedly — in Henrietta Street. Now you never in the world would guess whom. None other than Mr. Samuel T. Philander. But it is true. I can see your look of incredulity. Nor is this all. He insisted that I return to the THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN

hotel with him, and there I found the others — Professor know. He is about to set out upon one of his interminable cruises Archimedes Q. Porter, Miss Porter, and that enormous black in that yacht of his, and was urging the entire party to accompany woman, Miss Porter’s maid — Esmeralda, you will recall. While him. Tried to inveigle me into it, too. Is thinking of I was there Clayton came in. They are to be married soon, or circumnavigating Africa this time. I told him that his precious toy rather sooner, for I rather suspect that we shall receive would take him and some of his friends to the bottom of the ocean announcements almost any day. On account of his father’s death it one of these days if he didn’t get it out of his head that she was a is to be a very quiet affair — only blood relatives. liner or a battleship.

While I was alone with Mr. Philander the old fellow became I returned to Paris day before yesterday, and yesterday I met the rather confidential. Said Miss Porter had already postponed the Count and Countess de Coude at the races. They inquired after wedding on three different occasions. He confided that it you. De Coude really seems quite fond of you. Doesn’t appear to appeared to him that she was not particularly anxious to marry harbor the least ill will. Olga is as beautiful as ever, but a trifle Clayton at all; but this time it seems that it is quite likely to go subdued. I imagine that she learned a lesson through her through. acquaintance with you that will serve her in good stead during the balance of her life. It is fortunate for her, and for De Coude as Of course they all asked after you, but I respected your wishes in the well, that it was you and not another man more sophisticated. matter of your true origin, and only spoke to them of your present affairs. Had you really paid court to Olga’s heart I am afraid that there would have been no hope for either of you. Miss Porter was especially interested in everything I had to say about you, and asked many questions. I am afraid I took a rather She asked me to tell you that Nikolas had left France. She paid unchivalrous delight in picturing your desire and resolve to go him twenty thousand francs to go away, and stay. She is back eventually to your native jungle. I was sorry afterward, for congratulating herself that she got rid of him before he tried to it did seem to cause her real anguish to contemplate the awful carry out a threat he recently made her that he should kill you at dangers to which you wished to return. “And yet,” she said, “I do the first opportunity. She said that she should hate to think that not know. There are more unhappy fates than the grim and her brother’s blood was on your hands, for she is very fond of you, terrible jungle presents to Monsieur Tarzan. At least his conscience and made no bones in saying so before the count. It never for a will be free from remorse. And there are moments of quiet and moment seemed to occur to her that there might be any possibility restfulness by day, and vistas of exquisite beauty. You may find it of any other outcome of a meeting between you and Nikolas. The strange that I should say it, who experienced such terrifying count quite agreed with her in that. He added that it would take experiences in that frightful forest, yet at times I long to return, a regiment of Rokoffs to kill you. He has a most healthy respect for for I cannot but feel that the happiest moments of my life were your prowess. spent there.” Have been ordered back to my ship. She sails from Havre in two There was an expression of ineffable sadness on her face as she days under sealed orders. If you will address me in her care, the spoke, and I could not but feel that she knew that I knew her secret, letters will find me eventually. I shall write you as soon as another and that this was her way of transmitting to you a last tender opportunity presents. message from a heart that might still enshrine your memory, though its possessor belonged to another. Your sincere friend,

Clayton appeared nervous and ill at ease while you were the PAUL D’ARNOT. subject of conversation. He wore a worried and harassed expression. Yet he was very kindly in his expressions of interest in you. I wonder if he suspects the truth about you? “I fear,” mused Tarzan, half aloud, “that Olga has thrown away her Tennington came in with Clayton. They are great friends, you twenty thousand francs.”

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He read over that part of D’Arnot’s letter several times in which he cork helmet he wore. Although he turned at once and galloped rapidly had quoted from his conversation with Jane Porter. Tarzan derived a to the top of the ravine, there was no sign of any enemy, nor did he see rather pathetic happiness from it, but it was better than no happiness at aught of another human being until he reached Bou Saada. all. “Yes,” he soliloquized, in recalling the occurrence, “Olga has indeed thrown away her twenty thousand francs.” he following three weeks were quite uneventful. On several That night he was Captain Gerard’s guest at a little dinner. occasions Tarzan saw the mysterious Arab, and once again he “Your hunting has not been very fortunate?” questioned the officer. had been exchanging words with Lieutenant Gernois; but no “No,” replied Tarzan; “the game hereabout is timid, nor do I care Tamount of espionage or shadowing by Tarzan revealed the Arab’s particularly about hunting game birds or antelope. I think I shall move lodgings, the location of which Tarzan was anxious to ascertain. on farther south, and have a try at some of your Algerian lions.” Gernois, never cordial, had kept more than ever aloof from Tarzan “Good!” exclaimed the captain. “We are marching toward Djelfa on since the episode in the dining-room of the hotel at Aumale. His attitude the morrow. You shall have company that far at least. Lieutenant Gernois on the few occasions that they had been thrown together had been and I, with a hundred men, are ordered south to patrol a district in distinctly hostile. which the marauders are giving considerable trouble. Possibly we may That he might keep up the appearance of the character he was have the pleasure of hunting the lion together — what say you?” playing, Tarzan spent considerable time hunting in the vicinity of Bou Tarzan was more than pleased, nor did he hesitate to say so; but the Saada. He would spend entire days in the foothills, ostensibly searching captain would have been astonished had he known the real reason of for gazelle, but on the few occasions that he came close enough to any Tarzan’s pleasure. Gernois was sitting opposite the ape-man. He did not of the beautiful little animals to harm them he invariably allowed them seem so pleased with his captain’s invitation. to escape without so much as taking his rifle from its boot. The ape-man “You will find lion hunting more exciting than gazelle shooting,” could see no sport in slaughtering the most harmless and defenseless of remarked Captain Gerard, “and more dangerous.” God’s creatures for the mere pleasure of killing. “Even gazelle shooting has its dangers,” replied Tarzan. “Especially In fact, Tarzan had never killed for “pleasure,” nor to him was there when one goes alone. I found it so today. I also found that while the pleasure in killing. It was the joy of righteous battle that he loved — the gazelle is the most timid of animals, it is not the most cowardly.” ecstasy of victory. And the keen and successful hunt for food in which he He let his glance rest only casually upon Gernois after he had pitted his skill and craftiness against the skill and craftiness of another; spoken, for he did not wish the man to know that he was under suspicion, but to come out of a town filled with food to shoot down a soft-eyed, or surveillance, no matter what he might think. The effect of his remark pretty gazelle — ah, that was crueller than the deliberate and cold- upon him, however, might tend to prove his connection with, or blooded murder of a fellow man. Tarzan would have none of it, and so knowledge of, certain recent happenings. Tarzan saw a dull red creep up he hunted alone that none might discover the sham that he was from beneath Gernois’ collar. He was satisfied, and quickly changed the practicing. subject. And once, probably because of the fact that he rode alone, he was like to have lost his life. He was riding slowly through a little ravine when a shot sounded close behind him, and a bullet passed through the

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hen the column rode south from Bou Saada the next instructions relative to the new move. Only Gernois and Tarzan knew morning there were half a dozen Arabs bringing up the the direction of the proposed march. All the soldiers knew was that they rear. were to be prepared to break camp early the next morning. Tarzan W“They are not attached to the command,” replied Gerard in response wondered if Gernois could have revealed their destination to the Arabs. to Tarzan’s query. “They merely accompany us on the road for Late that afternoon they went into camp at a little oasis in which companionship.” was the douar of a sheik whose flocks were being stolen, and whose Tarzan had learned enough about Arab character since he had been herdsmen were being killed. The Arabs came out of their goatskin tents, in Algeria to know that this was no real motive, for the Arab is never and surrounded the soldiers, asking many questions in the native tongue, overfond of the companionship of strangers, and especially of French for the soldiers were themselves natives. Tarzan, who, by this time, with soldiers. So his suspicions were aroused, and he decided to keep a sharp the assistance of Abdul, had picked up quite a smattering of Arabic, eye on the little party that trailed behind the column at a distance of questioned one of the younger men who had accompanied the sheik about a quarter of a mile. But they did not come close enough even while the latter paid his respects to Captain Gerard. during the halts to enable him to obtain a close scrutiny of them. No, he had seen no party of six horsemen riding from the direction He had long been convinced that there were hired assassins on his of Djelfa. There were other oases scattered about — possibly they had trail, nor was he in great doubt but that Rokoff was at the bottom of the been journeying to one of these. Then there were the marauders in the plot. Whether it was to be revenge for the several occasions in the past mountains above — they often rode north to Bou Saada in small parties, that Tarzan had defeated the Russian’s purposes and humiliated him, or and even as far as Aumale and Bouira. It might indeed have been a few was in some way connected with his mission in the Gernois affair, he marauders returning to the band from a pleasure trip to one of these could not determine. If the latter, and it seemed probable since the cities. evidence he had had that Gernois suspected him, then he had two rather powerful enemies to contend with, for there would be many opportunities arly the next morning Captain Gerard split his command in in the wilds of Algeria, for which they were bound, to dispatch a two, giving Lieutenant Gernois command of one party, while suspected enemy quietly and without attracting suspicion. he headed the other. They were to scour the mountains upon After camping at Djelfa for two days the column moved to the Eopposite sides of the plain. southwest, from whence word had come that the marauders were “And with which detachment will Monsieur Tarzan ride?” asked the operating against the tribes whose douars were situated at the foot of the captain. “Or maybe it is that monsieur does not care to hunt marauders?” mountains. “Oh, I shall be delighted to go,” Tarzan hastened to explain. He was The little band of Arabs who had accompanied them from Bou wondering what excuse he could make to accompany Gernois. His Saada had disappeared suddenly the very night that orders had been embarrassment was short-lived, and was relieved from a most unexpected given to prepare for the morrow’s march from Djelfa. Tarzan made source. It was Gernois himself who spoke. casual inquiries among the men, but none could tell him why they had “If my captain will forego the pleasure of Monsieur Tarzan’s left, or in what direction they had gone. He did not like the looks of it, company for this once, I shall esteem it an honor indeed to have monsieur especially in view of the fact that he had seen Gernois in conversation ride with me today,” he said, nor was his tone lacking in cordiality. In with one of them some half hour after Captain Gerard had issued his fact, Tarzan imagined that he had overdone it a trifle, but, even so, he

386 387 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN was both astounded and pleased, hastening to express his delight at the tethered his horse, and sat down upon the ground to smoke. Inwardly he arrangement. swore at Gernois for the trick he had played upon him. A mean little And so it was that Lieutenant Gernois and Tarzan rode off side by revenge, thought Tarzan, and then suddenly it occurred to him that the side at the head of the little detachment of Spahis. Gernois’ cordiality man would not be such a fool as to antagonize him through a trivial was short-lived. No sooner had they ridden out of sight of Captain annoyance of so petty a description. There must be something deeper Gerard and his men than he lapsed once more into his accustomed than this behind it. With the thought he arose and removed his rifle taciturnity. As they advanced the ground became rougher. Steadily it from its boot. He looked to its loads and saw that the magazine was full. ascended toward the mountains, into which they filed through a narrow Then he inspected his revolver. After this preliminary precaution he canyon close to noon. By the side of a little rivulet Gernois called the scanned the surrounding heights and the mouths of the several gorges midday halt. Here the men prepared and ate their frugal meal, and — he was determined that he should not be caught napping. refilled their canteens. The sun sank lower and lower, yet there was no sign of returning After an hour’s rest they advanced again along the canyon, until they Spahis. At last the valley was submerged in shadow. Tarzan was too presently came to a little valley, from which several rocky gorges diverged. proud to go back to camp until he had given the detachment ample time Here they halted, while Gernois minutely examined the surrounding to return to the valley, which he thought was to have been their heights from the center of the depression. rendezvous. With the closing in of night he felt safer from attack, for he “We shall separate here,” he said, “several riding into each of these was at home in the dark. He knew that none might approach him so gorges,” and then he commenced to detail his various squads and issue cautiously as to elude those alert and sensitive ears of his; then there instructions to the non-commissioned officers who were to command were his eyes, too, for he could see well at night; and his nose, if they them. When he had done he turned to Tarzan. “Monsieur will be so came toward him from up-wind, would apprise him of the approach of good as to remain here until we return.” an enemy while they were still a great way off. Tarzan demurred, but the officer cut him short. “There may be So he felt that he was in little danger, and thus lulled to a sense of fighting for one of these sections,” he said, “and troops cannot be security he fell asleep, with his back against the tree. embarrassed by civilian noncombatants during action.” “But, my dear lieutenant,” expostulated Tarzan, “I am most ready e must have slept for several hours, for when he was suddenly and willing to place myself under command of yourself or any of your awakened by the frightened snorting and plunging of his sergeants or corporals, and to fight in the ranks as they direct. It is what horse. The moon was shining full upon the little valley, and I came for.” Hthere, not ten paces before him, stood the grim cause of the terror of his “I should be glad to think so,” retorted Gernois, with a sneer he mount. made no attempt to disguise. Then shortly: “You are under my orders, Superb, majestic, his graceful tail extended and quivering, and his and they are that you remain here until we return. Let that end the two eyes of fire riveted full upon his prey, stood Numa El Adrea, the matter,” and he turned and spurred away at the head of his men. A black lion. A little thrill of joy tingled through Tarzan’s nerves. It was moment later Tarzan found himself alone in the midst of a desolate like meeting an old friend after years of separation. For a moment he sat mountain fastness. rigid to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of this lord of the wilderness. The sun was hot, so he sought the shelter of a nearby tree, where he But now Numa was crouching for the spring. Very slowly Tarzan

388 389 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN raised his gun to his shoulder. He had never killed a large animal with a come to devastate their flocks. gun in all his life — heretofore he had depended upon his spear, his A half mile from the valley in which Tarzan stood, a score of white- poisoned arrows, his rope, his knife, or his bare hands. Instinctively he robed figures, bearing long, wicked-looking guns, halted at the sound, wished that he had his arrows and his knife — he would have felt surer and looked at one another with questioning eyes. But presently, as it was with them. not repeated, they took up their silent, stealthy way toward the valley. Numa was lying quite flat upon the ground now, presenting only his Tarzan was now confident that Gernois had no intention of head. Tarzan would have preferred to fire a little from one side, for he returning for him, but he could not fathom the object that had prompted knew what terrific damage the lion could do if he lived two minutes, or the officer to desert him, yet leave him free to return to camp. His horse even a minute after he was hit. The horse stood trembling in terror at gone, he decided that it would be foolish to remain longer in the Tarzan’s back. The ape-man took a cautious step to one side — Numa mountains, so he set out toward the desert. but followed him with his eyes. Another step he took, and then another. He had scarcely entered the confines of the canon when the first of Numa had not moved. Now he could aim at a point between the eye and the white-robed figures emerged into the valley upon the opposite side. the ear. For a moment they scanned the little depression from behind sheltering His finger tightened upon the trigger, and as he fired Numa sprang. boulders, but when they had satisfied themselves that it was empty they At the same instant the terrified horse made a last frantic effort to escape advanced across it. Beneath the tree at one side they came upon the body — the tether parted, and he went careening down the canyon toward the of El Adrea. With muttered exclamations they crowded about it. Then, a desert. moment later, they hurried down the canyon which Tarzan was threading No ordinary man could have escaped those frightful claws when a brief distance in advance of them. They moved cautiously and in Numa sprang from so short a distance, but Tarzan was no ordinary man. silence, taking advantage of shelter, as men do who are stalking man. From earliest childhood his muscles had been trained by the fierce exigencies of his existence to act with the rapidity of thought. As quick as was El Adrea, Tarzan of the Apes was quicker, and so the great beast crashed against a tree where he had expected to feel the soft flesh of man, while Tarzan, a couple of paces to the right, pumped another bullet into him that brought him clawing and roaring to his side. Twice more Tarzan fired in quick succession, and then El Adrea lay still and roared no more. It was no longer Monsieur Jean Tarzan; it was Tarzan of the Apes that put a savage foot upon the body of his savage kill, and, raising his face to the full moon, lifted his mighty voice in the weird and terrible challenge of his kind — a bull ape had made his kill. And the wild things in the wild mountains stopped in their hunting, and trembled at this new and awful voice, while down in the desert the children of the wilderness came out of their goatskin tents and looked toward the mountains, wondering what new and savage scourge had

390 391 X

THROUGH THE VALLEY of the SHADOW

[ return to table of contents ] s Tarzan walked down the wild canyon beneath the brilliant African moon the call of the jungle was strong upon him. The solitude and the savage freedom filled his heart with life and buoyancy.A Again he was Tarzan of the Apes — every sense alert against the chance of surprise by some jungle enemy — yet treading lightly and with head erect, in proud consciousness of his might. The nocturnal sounds of the mountains were new to him, yet they fell upon his ears like the soft voice of a half-forgotten love. Many he intuitively sensed — ah, there was one that was familiar indeed; the distant coughing of Sheeta, the leopard; but there was a strange note in the final wail which made him doubt. It was a panther he heard. Presently a new sound — a soft, stealthy sound — obtruded itself THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN among the others. No human ears other than the ape-man’s would releasing the alfa-grass ropes which bound him to his mount they were have detected it. At first he did not translate it, but finally he realized surrounded by a mob of men, women, and children. Many of the tribe, that it came from the bare feet of a number of human beings. They and more especially the women, appeared to take delight in heaping were behind him, and they were coming toward him quietly. He was insults upon the prisoner, and some had even gone so far as to throw being stalked. stones at him and strike him with sticks, when an old sheik appeared In a flash he knew why he had been left in that little valley by and drove them away. Gernois; but there had been a hitch in the arrangements — the men had “Ali-ben-Ahmed tells me,” he said, “that this man sat alone in the come too late. Closer and closer came the footsteps. Tarzan halted and mountains and slew El Adrea. What the business of the stranger who faced them, his rifle ready in his hand. Now he caught a fleeting glimpse sent us after him may be, I know not, and what he may do with this man of a white burnoose. He called aloud in French, asking what they would when we turn him over to him, I care not; but the prisoner is a brave of him. His reply was the flash of a long gun, and with the sound of the man, and while he is in our hands he shall be treated with the respect shot Tarzan of the Apes plunged forward upon his face. that be due one who hunts The Lord with the Large Head alone and by The Arabs did not rush out immediately; instead, they waited to be night — and slays him.” sure that their victim did not rise. Then they came rapidly from their Tarzan had heard of the respect in which Arabs held a lion-killer, concealment, and bent over him. It was soon apparent that he was not and he was not sorry that chance had played into his hands thus favorably dead. One of the men put the muzzle of his gun to the back of Tarzan’s to relieve him of the petty tortures of the tribe. Shortly after this he was head to finish him, but another waved him aside. “If we bring him alive taken to a goat-skin tent upon the upper side of the douar. There he was the reward is to be greater,” explained the latter. So they bound his hands fed, and then, securely bound, was left lying on a piece of native carpet, and feet, and, picking him up, placed him on the shoulders of four of alone in the tent. their number. Then the march was resumed toward the desert. When He could see a guard sitting before the door of his frail prison, but they had come out of the mountains they turned toward the south, and when he attempted to force the stout bonds that held him he realized about daylight came to the spot where their horses stood in care of two that any extra precaution on the part of his captors was quite unnecessary; of their number. not even his giant muscles could part those numerous strands. From here on their progress was more rapid. Tarzan, who had regained consciousness, was tied to a spare horse, which they evidently ust before dusk several men approached the tent where he lay, and had brought for the purpose. His wound was but a slight scratch, which entered it. All were in Arab dress, but presently one of the number had furrowed the flesh across his temple. It had stopped bleeding, but advanced to Tarzan’s side, and as he let the folds of cloth that had the dried and clotted blood smeared his face and clothing. He had said hiddenJ the lower half of his face fall away the ape-man saw the no word since he had fallen into the hands of these Arabs, nor had they malevolent features of Nikolas Rokoff. There was a nasty smile on the addressed him other than to issue a few brief commands to him when bearded lips. “Ah, Monsieur Tarzan,” he said, “this is indeed a pleasure. the horses had been reached. But why do you not rise and greet your guest?” Then, with an ugly oath, For six hours they rode rapidly across the burning desert, avoiding “Get up, you dog!” and, drawing back his booted foot, he kicked Tarzan the oases near which their way led. About noon they came to a douar of heavily in the side. “And here is another, and another, and another,” he about twenty tents. Here they halted, and as one of the Arabs was continued, as he kicked Tarzan about the face and side. “One for each of

394 395 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN the injuries you have done me.” for when you die tomorrow it will be in such agony that you will be The ape-man made no reply — he did not even deign to look upon unable to pray for blaspheming.” the Russian again after the first glance of recognition. Finally the sheik, o one had bothered to bring Tarzan either food or water since who had been standing a mute and frowning witness of the cowardly noon, and consequently he suffered considerably from thirst. attack, intervened. He wondered if it would be worthwhile to ask his guard for “Stop!” he commanded. “Kill him if you will, but I will see no brave Nwater, but after making two or three requests without receiving any man subjected to such indignities in my presence. I have half a mind to response, he decided that it would not. turn him loose, that I may see how long you would kick him then.” Far up in the mountains he heard a lion roar. How much safer one This threat put a sudden end to Rokoff ’s brutality, for he had no was, he soliloquized, in the haunts of wild beasts than in the haunts of craving to see Tarzan loosed from his bonds while he was within reach men. Never in all his jungle life had he been more relentlessly tracked of those powerful hands. down than in the past few months of his experience among civilized “Very well,” he replied to the Arab; “I shall kill him presently.” men. Never had he been any nearer death. “Not within the precincts of my douar,” returned the sheik. “When Again the lion roared. It sounded a little nearer. Tarzan felt the old, he leaves here he leaves alive. What you do with him in the desert is wild impulse to reply with the challenge of his kind. His kind? He had none of my concern, but I shall not have the blood of a Frenchman on almost forgotten that he was a man and not an ape. He tugged at his the hands of my tribe on account of another man’s quarrel — they would bonds. God, if he could but get them near those strong teeth of his. He send soldiers here and kill many of my people, and burn our tents and felt a wild wave of madness sweep over him as his efforts to regain his drive away our flocks.” liberty met with failure. “As you say,” growled Rokoff. “I’ll take him out into the desert below Numa was roaring almost continually now. It was quite evident that the douar, and dispatch him.” he was coming down into the desert to hunt. It was the roar of a hungry “You will take him a day’s ride from my country,” said the sheik, lion. Tarzan envied him, for he was free. No one would tie him with firmly, “and some of my children shall follow you to see that you do not ropes and slaughter him like a sheep. It was that which galled the disobey me — otherwise there may be two dead Frenchmen in the ape-man. He did not fear to die, no — it was the humiliation of defeat desert.” before death, without even a chance to battle for his life. Rokoff shrugged. “Then I shall have to wait until the morrow — it It must be near midnight, thought Tarzan. He had several hours to is already dark.” live. Possibly he would yet find a way to take Rokoff with him on the “As you will,” said the sheik. “But by an hour after dawn you must be long journey. He could hear the savage lord of the desert quite close by gone from my douar. I have little liking for unbelievers, and none at all now. Possibly he sought his meat from among the penned animals for a coward.” within the douar. Rokoff would have made some kind of retort, but he checked For a long time silence reigned, then Tarzan’s trained ears caught the himself, for he realized that it would require but little excuse for the old sound of a stealthily moving body. It came from the side of the tent man to turn upon him. Together they left the tent. At the door Rokoff nearest the mountains — the back. Nearer and nearer it came. He could not resist the temptation to turn and fling a parting taunt at waited, listening intently, for it to pass. For a time there was silence Tarzan. “Sleep well, monsieur,” he said, “and do not forget to pray well, without, such a terrible silence that Tarzan was surprised that he did not

396 397 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN hear the breathing of the animal he felt sure must be crouching close to “El Adrea is abroad tonight, and after I left the horses I think he winded the back wall of his tent. me and was following — I was terribly frightened.” There! It is moving again. Closer it creeps. Tarzan turns his head in “What a brave girl,” he said. “And you ran all that risk for a stranger the direction of the sound. It is very dark within the tent. Slowly the — an alien — an unbeliever?” back rises from the ground, forced up by the head and shoulders of a She drew herself up very proudly. body that looks all black in the semi-darkness. Beyond is a faint glimpse “I am the daughter of the Sheik Kabour ben Saden,” she answered. of the dimly starlit desert. A grim smile plays about Tarzan’s lips. At “I should be no fit daughter of his if I would not risk my life to save that least Rokoff will be cheated. How mad he will be! And death will be of the man who saved mine while he yet thought that I was but a more merciful than he could have hoped for at the hands of the Russian. common Ouled Naïl.” Now the back of the tent drops into place, and all is darkness again “Nevertheless,” he insisted, “you are a very brave girl. But how did — whatever it is is inside the tent with him. He hears it creeping close you know that I was a prisoner back there?” to him — now it is beside him. He closes his eyes and waits for the “Achmet-din-Taieb, who is my cousin on my father’s side, was mighty paw. Upon his upturned face falls the gentle touch of a soft hand visiting some friends who belong to the tribe that captured you. He was groping in the dark, and then a girl’s voice in a scarcely audible whisper at the douar when you were brought in. When he reached home he was pronounces his name. telling us about the big Frenchman who had been captured by Ali-ben- “Yes, it is I,” he whispers in reply. “But in the name of Heaven who Ahmed for another Frenchman who wished to kill him. From the are you?” description I knew that it must be you. My father was away. I tried to “The Ouled Naïl of Sidi Aissa,” came the answer. While she spoke persuade some of the men to come and save you, but they would not do Tarzan could feel her working about his bonds. Occasionally the cold it, saying: ‘Let the unbelievers kill one another if they wish. It is none of steel of a knife touched his flesh. A moment later he was free. our affair, and if we go and interfere with Ali-ben-Ahmed’s plans we “Come!” she whispered. shall only stir up a fight with our own people.’ On hands and knees he followed her out of the tent by the way she “So when it was dark I came alone, riding one horse and leading had come. She continued crawling thus flat to the ground until she another for you. They are tethered not far from here. By morning we reached a little patch of shrub. There she halted until he gained her side. shall be within my father’s douar. He should be there himself by now For a moment he looked at her before he spoke. — then let them come and try to take Kadour ben Saden’s friend.” “I cannot understand,” he said at last. “Why are you here? How did For a few moments they walked on in silence. you know that I was a prisoner in that tent? How does it happen that it “We should be near the horses,” she said. “It is strange that I do not is you who have saved me?” see them here.” She smiled. “I have come a long way tonight,” she said, “and we have Then a moment later she stopped, with a little cry of consternation. a long way to go before we shall be out of danger. Come; I shall tell you “They are gone!” she exclaimed. “It is here that I tethered them.” all about it as we go.” Tarzan stooped to examine the ground. He found that a large shrub Together they rose and set off across the desert in the direction of had been torn up by the roots. Then he found something else. There was the mountains. a wry smile on his face as he rose and turned toward the girl. “I was not quite sure that I should ever reach you,” she said at last. “El Adrea has been here. From the signs, though, I rather think that

398 399 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN his prey escaped him. With a little start they would be safe enough from terror-inspiring roar of the hungry lion which is also angry. him in the open.” “Your knife,” said Tarzan to the girl, extending his hand. She slipped There was nothing to do but continue on foot. The way led them the hilt of the weapon into his waiting palm. As his fingers closed upon across a low spur of the mountains, but the girl knew the trail as well as it he drew her back and pushed her behind him. “Walk back to the she did her mother’s face. They walked in easy, swinging strides, Tarzan desert as rapidly as you can. If you hear me call you will know that all is keeping a hand’s breadth behind the girl’s shoulder, that she might set well, and you may return.” the pace, and thus be less fatigued. As they walked they talked, “It is useless,” she replied, resignedly. “This is the end.” occasionally stopping to listen for sounds of pursuit. “Do as I tell you,” he commanded. “Quickly! He is about to charge.” It was now a beautiful, moonlit night. The air was crisp and The girl dropped back a few paces, where she stood watching for the invigorating. Behind them lay the interminable vista of the desert, dotted terrible sight that she knew she should soon witness. here and there with an occasional oasis. The date palms of the little The lion was advancing slowly toward Tarzan, his nose to the fertile spot they had just left, and the circle of goatskin tents, stood out ground, like a challenging bull, his tail extended now and quivering as in sharp relief against the yellow sand — a phantom paradise upon a though with intense excitement. phantom sea. Before them rose the grim and silent mountains. Tarzan’s The ape-man stood, half crouching, the long Arab knife glistening blood leaped in his veins. This was life! He looked down upon the girl in the moonlight. Behind him the tense figure of the girl, motionless as beside him — a daughter of the desert walking across the face of a dead a carven statue. She leaned slightly forward, her lips parted, her eyes world with a son of the jungle. He smiled at the thought. He wished that wide. Her only conscious thought was wonder at the bravery of the man he had had a sister, and that she had been like this girl. What a bully who dared face with a puny knife the lord with the large head. A man of chum she would have been! her own blood would have knelt in prayer and gone down beneath those They had entered the mountains now, and were progressing more awful fangs without resistance. In either case the result would be the slowly, for the trail was steeper and very rocky. same — it was inevitable; but she could not repress a thrill of admiration For a few minutes they had been silent. The girl was wondering if as her eyes rested upon the heroic figure before her. Not a tremor in the they would reach her father’s douar before the pursuit had overtaken whole giant frame — his attitude as menacing and defiant as that of El them. Tarzan was wishing that they might walk on thus forever. If the Adrea himself. girl were only a man they might. He longed for a friend who loved the The lion was quite close to him now — but a few paces intervened same wild life that he loved. He had learned to crave companionship, but — he crouched, and then, with a deafening roar, he sprang. it was his misfortune that most of the men he knew preferred immaculate linen and their clubs to nakedness and the jungle. It was, of course, difficult to understand, yet it was very evident that they did. The two had just turned a projecting rock around which the trail ran when they were brought to a sudden stop. There, before them, directly in the middle of the path, stood Numa, El Adrea, the black lion. His green eyes looked very wicked, and he bared his teeth, and lashed his bay-black sides with his angry tail. Then he roared — the fearsome,

400 401 XI

JOHN CALDWELL, LONDON

[ return to table of contents ] s Numa El Adrea launched himself with widespread paws and bared fangs he looked to find this puny man as easy prey as the score who had gone down beneath him in the past. To him manA was a clumsy, slow-moving, defenseless creature — he had little respect for him. But this time he found that he was pitted against a creature as agile and as quick as himself. When his mighty frame struck the spot where the man had been he was no longer there. The watching girl was transfixed by astonishment at the ease with which the crouching man eluded the great paws. And now, O Allah! He had rushed in behind El Adrea’s shoulder even before the beast could turn, and had grasped him by the mane. The lion reared upon his hind legs like a horse — Tarzan had known that he would do this, and he was ready. A giant arm encircled the black-maned throat, and once, twice, a THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN dozen times a sharp blade darted in and out of the bay-black side behind No sign of pursuit developed, and they came in safety about nine the left shoulder. o’clock to their destination. The sheik had but just returned. He was Frantic were the leaps of Numa — awful his roars of rage and pain; frantic with grief at the absence of his daughter, whom he thought had but the giant upon his back could not be dislodged or brought within been again abducted by the marauders. With fifty men he was already reach of fangs or talons in the brief interval of life that remained to the mounted to go in search of her when the two rode into the douar. lord with the large head. He was quite dead when Tarzan of the Apes His joy at the safe return of his daughter was only equaled by his released his hold and arose. Then the daughter of the desert witnessed a gratitude to Tarzan for bringing her safely to him through the dangers thing that terrified her even more than had the presence of El Adrea. of the night, and his thankfulness that she had been in time to save the The man placed a foot upon the carcass of his kill, and, with his man who had once saved her. handsome face raised toward the full moon, gave voice to the most No honor that Kadour ben Saden could heap upon the ape-man in frightful cry that ever had smote upon her ears. acknowledgment of his esteem and friendship was neglected. When the With a little cry of fear she shrank away from him — she thought girl had recited the story of the slaying of El Adrea Tarzan was surrounded that the fearful strain of the encounter had driven him mad. As the last by a mob of worshiping Arabs — it was a sure road to their admiration note of that fiendish challenge died out in the diminishing echoes of the and respect. distance the man dropped his eyes until they rested upon the girl. The old sheik insisted that Tarzan remain indefinitely as his guest. Instantly his face was lighted by the kindly smile that was ample He even wished to adopt him as a member of the tribe, and there was for assurance of his sanity, and the girl breathed freely once again, smiling in some time a half-formed resolution in the ape-man’s mind to accept and response. remain forever with these wild people, whom he understood and who “What manner of man are you?” she asked. “The thing you have seemed to understand him. His friendship and liking for the girl were done is unheard of. Even now I cannot believe that it is possible for a potent factors in urging him toward an affirmative decision. lone man armed only with a knife to have fought hand to hand with El Had she been a man, he argued, he should not have hesitated, for it Adrea and conquered him, unscathed — to have conquered him at all. would have meant a friend after his own heart, with whom he could ride And that cry — it was not human. Why did you do that?” and hunt at will; but as it was they would be hedged by the conventionalities Tarzan flushed. “It is because I forget,” he said, “sometimes, that I that are even more strictly observed by the wild nomads of the desert am a civilized man. When I kill it must be that I am another creature.” than by their more civilized brothers and sisters. And in a little while she He did not try to explain further, for it always seemed to him that a would be married to one of these swarthy warriors, and there would be woman must look with loathing upon one who was yet so nearly a beast. an end to their friendship. So he decided against the sheik’s proposal, Together they continued their journey. The sun was an hour high though he remained a week as his guest. when they came out into the desert again beyond the mountains. Beside When he left, Kadour ben Saden and fifty white-robed warriors a little rivulet they found the girl’s horses grazing. They had come this rode with him to Bou Saada. While they were mounting in the douar of far on their way home, and with the cause of their fear no longer present Kadour ben Saden the morning of their departure, the girl came to bid had stopped to feed. farewell to Tarzan. With little trouble Tarzan and the girl caught them, and, mounting, “I have prayed that you would remain with us,” she said simply, as he rode out into the desert toward the douar of Sheik Kadour ben Saden. leaned from his saddle to clasp her hand in farewell, “and now I shall

404 405 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN pray that you will return.” There was an expression of wistfulness in her second day after your disappearance. We could not doubt. Lieutenant beautiful eyes, and a pathetic droop at the corners of her mouth. Tarzan Gernois was grief-stricken — he took all the blame upon himself. It was was touched. he who insisted on carrying on the search himself. It was he who found “Who knows?” and then he turned and rode after the departing the Arab with your gun. He will be delighted to know that you are safe.” Arabs. “Doubtless,” said Tarzan, with a grim smile. “He is down in the town now, or I should send for him,” continued utside Bou Saada he bade Kadour ben Saden and his men Captain Gerard. “I shall tell him as soon as he returns.” good-by, for there were reasons which made him wish to Tarzan let the officer think that he had been lost, wandering finally make his entry into the town as secret as possible, and when into the douar of Kadour ben Saden, who had escorted him back to Bou Ohe had explained them to the sheik the latter concurred in his decision. Saada. As soon as possible he bade the good officer adieu, and hastened The Arabs were to enter Bou Saada ahead of him, saying nothing as to back into the town. At the native inn he had learned through Kadour his presence with them. Later Tarzan would come in alone, and go ben Saden a piece of interesting information. It told of a black-bearded directly to an obscure native inn. white man who went always disguised as an Arab. For a time he had Thus, making his entrance after dark, as he did, he was not seen by nursed a broken wrist. More recently he had been away from Bou Saada, anyone who knew him, and reached the inn unobserved. After dining but now he was back, and Tarzan knew his place of concealment. It was with Kadour ben Saden as his guest, he went to his former hotel by a for there he headed. roundabout way, and, coming in by a rear entrance, sought the proprietor, Through narrow, stinking alleys, black as Erebus, he groped, and who seemed much surprised to see him alive. then up a rickety stairway, at the end of which was a closed door and a Yes, there was mail for monsieur; he would fetch it. No, he would tiny, unglazed window. The window was high under the low eaves of the mention monsieur’s return to no one. Presently he returned with a packet mud building. Tarzan could just reach the sill. He raised himself slowly of letters. One was an order from his superior to lay off on his present until his eyes topped it. The room within was lighted, and at a table sat work, and hasten to Cape Town by the first steamer he could get. His Rokoff and Gernois. Gernois was speaking. further instructions would be awaiting him there in the hands of another “Rokoff, you are a devil!” he was saying. “You have hounded me until agent whose name and address were given. That was all — brief but I have lost the last shred of my honor. You have driven me to murder, for explicit. Tarzan arranged to leave Bou Saada early the next morning. the blood of that man Tarzan is on my hands. If it were not that that Then he started for the garrison to see Captain Gerard, whom the hotel other devil’s spawn, Paulvitch, still knew my secret, I should kill you here man had told him had returned with his detachment the previous day. tonight with my bare hands.” He found the officer in his quarters. He was filled with surprise and Rokoff laughed. “You would not do that, my dear lieutenant,” he pleasure at seeing Tarzan alive and well. said. “The moment I am reported dead by assassination that dear Alexis “When Lieutenant Gernois returned and reported that he had not will forward to the minister of war full proof of the affair you so ardently found you at the spot that you had chosen to remain while the detachment long to conceal; and, further, will charge you with my murder. Come, be was scouting, I was filled with alarm. We searched the mountain for sensible. I am your best friend. Have I not protected your honor as days. Then came word that you had been killed and eaten by a lion. As though it were my own?” proof your gun was brought to us. Your horse had returned to camp the Gernois sneered, and spat out an oath.

406 407 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN

“Just one more little payment,” continued Rokoff, “and the papers I he halted and half turned, as though to retrace his steps. wish, and you have my word of honor that I shall never ask another cent Tarzan knew that discovery would be inevitable. Rokoff still stood from you, or further information.” on the threshold a foot from him, but he was looking in the opposite “And a good reason why,” growled Gernois. “What you ask will take direction, toward Gernois. Then the officer evidently reconsidered his my last cent, and the only valuable military secret I hold. You ought to decision, and resumed his downward course. Tarzan could hear Rokoff ’s be paying me for the information, instead of taking both it and money, sigh of relief. A moment later the Russian went back into the room and too.” closed the door. “I am paying you by keeping a still tongue in my head,” retorted Tarzan waited until Gernois had had time to get well out of hearing, Rokoff. “But let’s have done. Will you, or will you not? I give you three then he pushed open the door and stepped into the room. He was on top minutes to decide. If you are not agreeable I shall send a note to your of Rokoff before the man could rise from the chair where he sat scanning commandant tonight that will end in the degradation that Dreyfus the paper Gernois had given him. As his eyes turned and fell upon the suffered — the only difference being that he did not deserve it.” ape-man’s face his own went livid. For a moment Gernois sat with bowed head. At length he arose. He “You!” he gasped. drew two pieces of paper from his blouse. “I,” replied Tarzan. “Here,” he said hopelessly. “I had them ready, for I knew that there “What do you want?” whispered Rokoff, for the look in the ape-man’s could be but one outcome.” He held them toward the Russian. eyes frightened him. “Have you come to kill me? You do not dare. They Rokoff ’s cruel face lighted in malignant gloating. He seized the bits would guillotine you. You do not dare kill me.” of paper. “I dare kill you, Rokoff,” replied Tarzan, “for no one knows that you “You have done well, Gernois,” he said. “I shall not trouble you again are here or that I am here, and Paulvitch would tell them that it was — unless you happen to accumulate some more money or information,” Gernois. I heard you tell Gernois so. But that would not influence me, and he grinned. Rokoff. I would not care who knew that I had killed you; the pleasure of “You never shall again, you dog!” hissed Gernois. “The next time I killing you would more than compensate for any punishment they might shall kill you. I came near doing it tonight. For an hour I sat with these inflict upon me. You are the most despicable cur of a coward, Rokoff, I two pieces of paper on my table before me ere I came here — beside have ever heard of. You should be killed. I should love to kill you,” and them lay my loaded revolver. I was trying to decide which I should bring. Tarzan approached closer to the man. Next time the choice shall be easier, for I already have decided. You had Rokoff ’s nerves were keyed to the breaking point. With a shriek he a close call tonight, Rokoff; do not tempt fate a second time.” sprang toward an adjoining room, but the ape-man was upon his back Then Gernois rose to leave. Tarzan barely had time to drop to the while his leap was yet but half completed. Iron fingers sought his throat landing and shrink back into the shadows on the far side of the door. — the great coward squealed like a stuck pig, until Tarzan had shut off Even then he scarcely hoped to elude detection. The landing was very his wind. Then the ape-man dragged him to his feet, still choking him. small, and though he flattened himself against the wall at its far edge he The Russian struggled futilely — he was like a babe in the mighty grasp was scarcely more than a foot from the doorway. Almost immediately it of Tarzan of the Apes. opened, and Gernois stepped out. Rokoff was behind him. Neither Tarzan sat him in a chair, and long before there was danger of the spoke. Gernois had taken perhaps three steps down the stairway when man’s dying he released his hold upon his throat. When the Russian’s

408 409 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN coughing spell had abated Tarzan spoke to him again. would have a two days’ wait before he could catch a ship bound for Cape “I have given you a taste of the suffering of death,” he said. “But I Town. He occupied his time in writing out a full report of his mission. shall not kill — this time. I am sparing you solely for the sake of a very The secret papers he had taken from Rokoff he did not enclose, for he good woman whose great misfortune it was to have been born of the did not dare trust them out of his own possession until he had been same woman who gave birth to you. But I shall spare you only this once authorized to turn them over to another agent, or himself return to Paris on her account. Should I ever learn that you have again annoyed her or with them. her husband — should you ever annoy me again — should I hear that As Tarzan boarded his ship after what seemed a most tedious wait you have returned to France or to any French possession, I shall make it to him, two men watched him from an upper deck. Both were fashionably my sole business to hunt you down and complete the choking I dressed and smooth shaven. The taller of the two had sandy hair, but his commenced tonight.” Then he turned to the table, on which the two eyebrows were very black. Later in the day they chanced to meet Tarzan pieces of paper still lay. As he picked them up Rokoff gasped in horror. on deck, but as one hurriedly called his companion’s attention to Tarzan examined both the check and the other. He was amazed at something at sea their faces were turned from Tarzan as he passed, so the information the latter contained. Rokoff had partially read it, but that he did not notice their features. In fact, he had paid no attention to Tarzan knew that no one could remember the salient facts and figures it them at all. held which made it of real value to an enemy of France. Following the instructions of his chief, Tarzan had booked his “These will interest the chief of staff,” he said, as he slipped them passage under an assumed name — John Caldwell, London. He did not into his pocket. Rokoff groaned. He did not dare curse aloud. understand the necessity of this, and it caused him considerable speculation. He wondered what role he was to play in Cape Town. he next morning Tarzan rode north on his way to Bouira and “Well,” he thought, “thank Heaven that I am rid of Rokoff. He was Algiers. As he had ridden past the hotel Lieutenant Gernois commencing to annoy me. I wonder if I am really becoming so civilized was standing on the veranda. As his eyes discovered Tarzan he that presently I shall develop a set of nerves. He would give them to me Twent white as chalk. The ape-man would have been glad had the meeting if anyone could, for he does not fight fair. One never knows through not occurred, but he could not avoid it. He saluted the officer as he rode what new agency he is going to strike. It is as though Numa, the lion, past. Mechanically Gernois returned the salute, but those terrible, wide had induced Tantor, the elephant, and Histah, the snake, to join him in eyes followed the horseman, expressionless except for horror. It was as attempting to kill me. I would then never have known what minute, or though a dead man looked upon a ghost. by whom, I was to be attacked next. But the brutes are more chivalrous At Sidi Aissa Tarzan met a French officer with whom he had than man — they do not stoop to cowardly intrigue.” become acquainted on the occasion of his recent sojourn in the town. At dinner that night Tarzan sat next to a young woman whose place “You left Bou Saada early?” questioned the officer. “Then you have was at the captain’s left. The officer introduced them. not heard about poor Gernois.” Miss Strong! Where had he heard the name before? It was very “He was the last man I saw as I rode away,” replied Tarzan. “What familiar. And then the girl’s mother gave him the clue, for when she about him?” addressed her daughter she called her Hazel. “He is dead. He shot himself about eight o’clock this morning.” Hazel Strong! What memories the name inspired. It had been a Two days later Tarzan reached Algiers. There he found that he letter to this girl, penned by the fair hand of Jane Porter, that had carried

410 411 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS to him the first message from the woman he loved. How vividly he recalled the night he had stolen it from the desk in the cabin of his long- dead father, where Jane Porter had sat writing it late into the night, while he crouched in the darkness without. How terror-stricken she would have been that night had she known that the wild jungle beast squatted outside her window, watching her every move. And this was Hazel Strong — Jane Porter’s best friend!

XII

SHIPS that PASS

[ return to table of contents ] et us go back a few months to the little, windswept platform of a railway station in northern Wisconsin. The smoke of forest fires hangs low over the surrounding landscape, its acrid fumes smartingL the eyes of a little party of six who stand waiting the coming of the train that is to bear them away toward the south. Professor Archimedes Q. Porter, his hands clasped beneath the tails of his long coat, paces back and forth under the ever-watchful eye of his faithful secretary, Mr. Samuel T. Philander. Twice within the past few minutes he has started absent-mindedly across the tracks in the direction of a near-by swamp, only to be rescued and dragged back by the tireless Mr. Philander. Jane Porter, the professor’s daughter, is in strained and lifeless

412 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN conversation with William Cecil Clayton and Tarzan of the Apes. read it, and he knew that he was an untitled and penniless beggar. It was Within the little waiting room, but a bare moment before, a confession D’Arnot’s cablegram to Tarzan, and it read: of love and a renunciation had taken place that had blighted the lives Finger prints prove you Greystoke. Congratulations. — D’ARNOT. and happiness of two of the party, but William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was not one of them. He staggered as though he had received a mortal blow. Just then he Behind Miss Porter hovered the motherly Esmeralda. She, too, was heard the others calling to him to hurry — the train was coming to a happy, for was she not returning to her beloved Maryland? Already she stop at the little platform. Like a man dazed he gathered up his ulster. could see dimly through the fog of smoke the murky headlight of the He would tell them about the cablegram when they were all on board oncoming engine. The men began to gather up the hand baggage. the train. Then he ran out upon the platform just as the engine whistled Suddenly Clayton exclaimed. twice in the final warning that precedes the first rumbling jerk of “By Jove! I’ve left my ulster in the waiting-room,” and hastened off coupling pins. The others were on board, leaning out from the platform to fetch it. of a Pullman, crying to him to hurry. Quite five minutes elapsed before “Good-bye, Jane,” said Tarzan, extending his hand. “God bless you!” they were settled in their seats, nor was it until then that Clayton “Good-bye,” replied the girl faintly. “Try to forget me — no, not that discovered that Tarzan was not with them. — I could not bear to think that you had forgotten me.” “Where is Tarzan?” he asked Jane Porter. “In another car?” “There is no danger of that, dear,” he answered. “I wish to Heaven “No,” she replied; “at the last minute he determined to drive his that I might forget. It would be so much easier than to go through life machine back to New York. He is anxious to see more of America than always remembering what might have been. You will be happy, though; is possible from a car window. He is returning to France, you know.” I am sure you shall — you must be. You may tell the others of my Clayton did not reply. He was trying to find the right words to decision to drive my car on to New York — I don’t feel equal to bidding explain to Jane Porter the calamity that had befallen him — and her. He Clayton good-bye. I want always to remember him kindly, but I fear wondered just what the effect of his knowledge would be on her. Would that I am too much of a wild beast yet to be trusted too long with the she still wish to marry him — to be plain Mrs. Clayton? Suddenly the man who stands between me and the one person in all the world I awful sacrifice which one of them must make loomed large before his want.” imagination. Then came the question: Will Tarzan claim his own? The As Clayton stooped to pick up his coat in the waiting room his ape-man had known the contents of the message before he calmly eyes fell on a telegraph blank lying face down upon the floor. He denied knowledge of his parentage! He had admitted that Kala, the ape, stooped to pick it up, thinking it might be a message of importance was his mother! Could it have been for love of Jane Porter? which someone had dropped. He glanced at it hastily, and then There was no other explanation which seemed reasonable. Then, suddenly he forgot his coat, the approaching train — everything but having ignored the evidence of the message, was it not reasonable to that terrible little piece of yellow paper in his hand. He read it twice assume that he meant never to claim his birthright? If this were so, what before he could fully grasp the terrific weight of meaning that it bore right had he, William Cecil Clayton, to thwart the wishes, to balk the to him. self-sacrifice of this strange man? If Tarzan of the Apes could do this When he had picked it up he had been an English nobleman, the thing to save Jane Porter from unhappiness, why should he, to whose proud and wealthy possessor of vast estates — a moment later he had care she was entrusting her whole future, do aught to jeopardize her

414 415 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN interests? that once Jane was there, and home ties had been broken, she would not And so he reasoned until the first generous impulse to proclaim the so dread the step which she had so long hesitated to take. truth and relinquish his titles and his estates to their rightful owner was So the evening that he received Clayton’s letter Professor Porter forgotten beneath the mass of sophistries which self-interest had announced that they would leave for London the following week. advanced. But during the balance of the trip, and for many days thereafter, But once in London Jane Porter was no more tractable than she had he was moody and distraught. Occasionally the thought obtruded itself been in Baltimore. She found one excuse after another, and when, finally, that possibly at some later day Tarzan would regret his magnanimity, Lord Tennington invited the party to cruise around Africa in his yacht, and claim his rights. she expressed the greatest delight in the idea, but absolutely refused to Several days after they reached Baltimore Clayton broached the be married until they had returned to London. As the cruise was to subject of an early marriage to Jane. consume a year at least, for they were to stop for indefinite periods at “What do you mean by early?” she asked. various points of interest, Clayton mentally anathematized Tennington “Within the next few days. I must return to England at once — I for ever suggesting such a ridiculous trip. want you to return with me, dear.” It was Lord Tennington’s plan to cruise through the Mediterranean, “I can’t get ready so soon as that,” replied Jane. “It will take a whole and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and thus down the East Coast, month, at least.” putting in at every port that was worth the seeing. She was glad, for she hoped that whatever called him to England might still further delay the wedding. She had made a bad bargain, but nd so it happened that on a certain day two vessels passed in she intended carrying her part loyally to the bitter end — if she could the Strait of Gibraltar. The smaller, a trim white yacht, was manage to secure a temporary reprieve, though, she felt that she was speeding toward the east, and on her deck sat a young woman warranted in doing so. His reply disconcerted her. whoA gazed with sad eyes upon a diamond-studded locket which she idly “Very well, Jane,” he said. “I am disappointed, but I shall let my trip fingered. Her thoughts were far away, in the dim, leafy fastness of a to England wait a month; then we can go back together.” tropical jungle — and her heart was with her thoughts. But when the month was drawing to a close she found still another She wondered if the man who had given her the beautiful bauble, excuse upon which to hang a postponement, until at last, discouraged that had meant so much more to him than the intrinsic value which he and doubting, Clayton was forced to go back to England alone. had not even known could ever have meant to him, was back in his The several letters that passed between them brought Clayton no savage forest. nearer to a consummation of his hopes than he had been before, and so And upon the deck of the larger vessel, a passenger steamer passing it was that he wrote directly to Professor Porter, and enlisted his services. toward the east, the man sat with another young woman, and the two The old man had always favored the match. He liked Clayton, and, idly speculated upon the identity of the dainty craft gliding so gracefully being of an old southern family, he put rather an exaggerated value on through the gentle swell of the lazy sea. the advantages of a title, which meant little or nothing to his daughter. When the yacht had passed the man resumed the conversation that Clayton urged that the professor accept his invitation to be his guest her appearance had broken off. in London, an invitation which included the professor’s entire little “Yes,” he said, “I like America very much, and that means, of course, family — Mr. Philander, Esmeralda, and all. The Englishman argued that I like Americans, for a country is only what its people make it. I met

416 417 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN some very delightful people while I was there. I recall one family from with Jane and she with him, though she never really knew it for sure your own city, Miss Strong, whom I liked particularly — Professor until she had promised herself to Lord Greystoke.” Porter and his daughter.” “Most remarkable,” murmured Tarzan, cudgeling his brain for some “Jane Porter!” exclaimed the girl. “Do you mean to tell me that you pretext upon which to turn the subject. He delighted in hearing Hazel know Jane Porter? Why, she is the very best friend I have in the world. Strong talk of Jane, but when he was the subject of the conversation he We were little children together — we have known each other for ages.” was bored and embarrassed. But he was soon given a respite, for the girl’s “Indeed!” he answered, smiling. “You would have difficulty in mother joined them, and the talk became general. persuading any one of the fact who had seen either of you.” The next few days passed uneventfully. The sea was quiet. The sky “I’ll qualify the statement, then,” she answered, with a laugh. “We was clear. The steamer plowed steadily on toward the south without have known each other for two ages — hers and mine. But seriously we pause. Tarzan spent quite a little time with Miss Strong and her mother. are as dear to each other as sisters, and now that I am going to lose her I They whiled away their hours on deck reading, talking, or taking pictures am almost heartbroken.” with Miss Strong’s camera. When the sun had set they walked. “Going to lose her?” exclaimed Tarzan. “Why, what do you mean? One day Tarzan found Miss Strong in conversation with a stranger, Oh, yes, I understand. You mean that now that she is married and living a man he had not seen on board before. As he approached the couple the in England, you will seldom if ever see her.” man bowed to the girl and turned to walk away. “Yes,” replied she; “and the saddest part of it all is that she is not “Wait, Monsieur Thuran,” said Miss Strong; “you must meet Mr. marrying the man she loves. Oh, it is terrible. Marrying from a sense of Caldwell. We are all fellow passengers, and should be acquainted.” duty! I think it is perfectly wicked, and I told her so. I have felt so The two men shook hands. As Tarzan looked into the eyes of strongly on the subject that although I was the only person outside of Monsieur Thuran he was struck by the strange familiarity of their blood relations who was to have been asked to the wedding I would not expression. let her invite me, for I should not have gone to witness the terrible “I have had the honor of monsieur’s acquaintance in the past, I am mockery. But Jane Porter is peculiarly positive. She has convinced herself sure,” said Tarzan, “though I cannot recall the circumstances.” that she is doing the only honorable thing that she can do, and nothing Monsieur Thuran appeared ill at ease. in the world will ever prevent her from marrying Lord Greystoke except “I cannot say, monsieur,” he replied. “It may be so. I have had that Greystoke himself, or death.” identical sensation myself when meeting a stranger.” “I am sorry for her,” said Tarzan. “Monsieur Thuran has been explaining some of the mysteries of “And I am sorry for the man she loves,” said the girl, “for he loves navigation to me,” explained the girl. her. I never met him, but from what Jane tells me he must be a very Tarzan paid little heed to the conversation that ensued — he was wonderful person. It seems that he was born in an African jungle, attempting to recall where he had met Monsieur Thuran before. That it and brought up by fierce, anthropoid apes. He had never seen a white had been under peculiar circumstances he was positive. Presently the sun man or woman until Professor Porter and his party were marooned reached them, and the girl asked Monsieur Thuran to move her chair on the coast right at the threshold of his tiny cabin. He saved them farther back into the shade. Tarzan happened to be watching the man at from all manner of terrible beasts, and accomplished the most the time, and noticed the awkward manner in which he handled the wonderful feats imaginable, and then to cap the climax he fell in love chair — his left wrist was stiff. That clue was sufficient — a sudden train

418 419 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN of associated ideas did the rest. the ocean with him. If you were not such a stupid coward, Alexis, you Monsieur Thuran had been trying to find an excuse to make a would find a way to enter his stateroom and search for the documents.” graceful departure. The lull in the conversation following the moving of Paulvitch smiled. “You are supposed to be the brains of this their position gave him an opportunity to make his excuses. Bowing low partnership, my dear Nikolas,” he replied. “Why do you not find the to Miss Strong, and inclining his head to Tarzan, he turned to leave means to search Monsieur Caldwell’s stateroom — eh?” them. Two hours later fate was kind to them, for Paulvitch, who was ever “Just a moment,” said Tarzan. “If Miss Strong will pardon me I will on the watch, saw Tarzan leave his room without locking the door. Five accompany you. I shall return in a moment, Miss Strong.” minutes later Rokoff was stationed where he could give the alarm in case Monsieur Thuran looked uncomfortable. When the two men had Tarzan returned, and Paulvitch was deftly searching the contents of the passed out of the girl’s sight, Tarzan stopped, laying a heavy hand on the ape-man’s luggage. other’s shoulder. He was about to give up in despair when he saw a coat which Tarzan “What is your game now, Rokoff?” he asked. had just removed. A moment later he grasped an official envelope in his “I am leaving France as I promised you,” replied the other, in a surly hand. A quick glance at its contents brought a broad smile to the voice. Russian’s face. “I see you are,” said Tarzan; “but I know you so well that I can When he left the stateroom Tarzan himself could not have told that scarcely believe that your being on the same boat with me is purely a an article in it had been touched since he left it — Paulvitch was a past coincidence. If I could believe it the fact that you are in disguise would master in his chosen field. When he handed the packet to Rokoff in the immediately disabuse my mind of any such idea.” seclusion of their stateroom the larger man rang for a steward, and “Well,” growled Rokoff, with a shrug, “I cannot see what you are ordered a pint of champagne. going to do about it. This vessel flies the English flag. I have as much “We must celebrate, my dear Alexis,” he said. right on board her as you, and from the fact that you are booked under “It was luck, Nikolas,” explained Paulvitch. “It is evident that he an assumed name I imagine that I have more right.” carries these papers always upon his person — just by chance he “We will not discuss it, Rokoff. All I wanted to say to you is that you neglected to transfer them when he changed coats a few minutes since. must keep away from Miss Strong — she is a decent woman.” But there will be the deuce to pay when he discovers his loss. I am afraid Rokoff turned scarlet. that he will immediately connect you with it. Now that he knows that “If you don’t I shall pitch you overboard,” continued Tarzan. “Do not you are on board he will suspect you at once.” forget that I am just waiting for some excuse.” Then he turned on his “It will make no difference whom he suspects — after to-night,” heel, and left Rokoff standing there trembling with suppressed rage. said Rokoff, with a nasty grin. After Miss Strong had gone below that night Tarzan stood leaning e did not see the man again for days, but Rokoff was not idle. over the rail looking far out to sea. Every night he had done this since he In his stateroom with Paulvitch he fumed and swore, had come on board — sometimes he stood thus for an hour. And the threatening the most terrible of revenges. eyes that had been watching his every movement since he had boarded H“I would throw him overboard tonight,” he cried, “were I sure that the ship at Algiers knew that this was his habit. those papers were not on his person. I cannot chance pitching them into Even as he stood there this night those eyes were on him. Presently

420 421 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS the last straggler had left the deck. It was a clear night, but there was no moon — objects on deck were barely discernible. From the shadows of the cabin two figures crept stealthily upon the ape-man from behind. The lapping of the waves against the ship’s sides, the whirring of the propeller, the throbbing of the engines, drowned the almost soundless approach of the two. They were quite close to him now, and crouching low, like tacklers on a gridiron. One of them raised his hand and lowered it, as though counting off seconds — one — two — three! As one man the two leaped for their victim. Each grasped a leg, and before Tarzan of the Apes, lightning though he was, could turn to save himself he had been pitched over the low rail and was falling into the Atlantic. Hazel Strong was looking from her darkened port across the dark XIII sea. Suddenly a body shot past her eyes from the deck above. It dropped so quickly into the dark waters below that she could not be sure of what it was — it might have been a man, she could not say. She listened for THE WRECK of the “LADY ALICE” some outcry from above — for the always-fearsome call, “Man overboard!” but it did not come. All was silence on the ship above — all was silence in the sea below. The girl decided that she had but seen a bundle of refuse thrown [ return to table of contents ] overboard by one of the ship’s crew, and a moment later sought her he next morning at breakfast Tarzan’s place was vacant. Miss berth. Strong was mildly curious, for Mr. Caldwell had always made it a point to wait that he might breakfast with her and her Tmother. As she was sitting on deck later Monsieur Thuran paused to exchange a half dozen pleasant words with her. He seemed in most excellent spirits — his manner was the extreme of affability. As he passed on Miss Strong thought what a very delightful man was Monsieur Thuran. The day dragged heavily. She missed the quiet companionship of Mr. Caldwell — there had been something about him that had made the girl like him from the first; he had talked so entertainingly of the places he had seen — the peoples and their customs — the wild beasts; and he had always had a droll way of drawing striking comparisons between savage animals and civilized men that showed a considerable knowledge of the

422 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN former, and a keen, though somewhat cynical, estimate of the latter. A moment later the steward returned to say that Mr. Caldwell was When Monsieur Thuran stopped again to chat with her in the not in his stateroom. “I cannot find him, Miss Strong, and” — he afternoon she welcomed the break in the day’s monotony. But she had hesitated — ”I have learned that his berth was not occupied last night. I begun to become seriously concerned in Mr. Caldwell’s continued think that I had better report the matter to the captain.” absence; somehow she constantly associated it with the start she had had “Most assuredly,” exclaimed Miss Strong. “I shall go with you to the the night before, when the dark object fell past her port into the sea. captain myself. It is terrible! I know that something awful has happened. Presently she broached the subject to Monsieur Thuran. Had he seen My presentiments were not false, after all.” Mr. Caldwell today? He had not. Why? It was a very frightened young woman and an excited steward who “He was not at breakfast as usual, nor have I seen him once since presented themselves before the captain a few moments later. He listened yesterday,” explained the girl. to their stories in silence — a look of concern marking his expression as Monsieur Thuran was extremely solicitous. the steward assured him that he had sought for the missing passenger in “I did not have the pleasure of intimate acquaintance with Mr. every part of the ship that a passenger might be expected to frequent. Caldwell,” he said. “He seemed a most estimable gentleman, however. “And are you sure, Miss Strong, that you saw a body fall overboard Can it be that he is indisposed, and has remained in his stateroom? It last night?” he asked. would not be strange.” “There is not the slightest doubt about that,” she answered. “I cannot “No,” replied the girl, “it would not be strange, of course; but for say that it was a human body — there was no outcry. It might have been some inexplicable reason I have one of those foolish feminine only what I thought it was — a bundle of refuse. But if Mr. Caldwell is presentiments that all is not right with Mr. Caldwell. It is the strangest not found on board I shall always be positive that it was he whom I saw feeling — it is as though I knew that he was not on board the ship.” fall past my port.” Monsieur Thuran laughed pleasantly. “Mercy, my dear Miss Strong,” The captain ordered an immediate and thorough search of the entire he said; “where in the world could he be then? We have not been within ship from stem to stern — no nook or cranny was to be overlooked. Miss sight of land for days.” Strong remained in his cabin, waiting the outcome of the quest. The “Of course, it is ridiculous of me,” she admitted. And then: “But I captain asked her many questions, but she could tell him nothing about am not going to worry about it any longer; I am going to find out where the missing man other than what she had herself seen during their brief Mr. Caldwell is,” and she motioned to a passing steward. acquaintance on shipboard. For the first time she suddenly realized how “That may be more difficult than you imagine, my dear girl,” thought very little indeed Mr. Caldwell had told her about himself or his past life. Monsieur Thuran, but aloud he said: “By all means.” That he had been born in Africa and educated in Paris was about all she “Find Mr. Caldwell, please,” she said to the steward, “and tell him knew, and this meager information had been the result of her surprise that that his friends are much worried by his continued absence.” an Englishman should speak English with such a marked French accent. “You are very fond of Mr. Caldwell?” suggested Monsieur Thuran. “Did he ever speak of any enemies?” asked the captain. “I think he is splendid,” replied the girl. “And mamma is perfectly “Never.” infatuated with him. He is the sort of man with whom one has a feeling “Was he acquainted with any of the other passengers?” of perfect security — no one could help but have confidence in Mr. “Only as he had been with me — through the circumstance of casual Caldwell.” meeting as fellow shipmates.”

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“Er — was he, in your opinion, Miss Strong, a man who drank to “You must not reproach yourself, my dear Miss Strong,” urged excess?” Monsieur Thuran. “It was in no way your fault. Another would have “I do not know that he drank at all — he certainly had not been done as you did. Who would think that because something fell into the drinking up to half an hour before I saw that body fall overboard,” she sea from a ship that it must necessarily be a man? Nor would the outcome answered, “for I was with him on deck up to that time.” have been different had you given an alarm. For a while they would have “It is very strange,” said the captain. “He did not look to me like a doubted your story, thinking it but the nervous hallucination of a woman man who was subject to fainting spells, or anything of that sort. And — had you insisted it would have been too late to have rescued him by even had he been it is scarcely credible that he should have fallen the time the ship could have been brought to a stop, and the boats completely over the rail had he been taken with an attack while leaning lowered and rowed back miles in search of the unknown spot where the upon it — he would rather have fallen inside, upon the deck. If he is not tragedy had occurred. No, you must not censure yourself. You have done on board, Miss Strong, he was thrown overboard — and the fact that more than any other of us for poor Mr. Caldwell — you were the only you heard no outcry would lead to the assumption that he was dead one to miss him. It was you who instituted the search.” before he left the ship’s deck — murdered.” The girl could not help but feel grateful to him for his kind and The girl shuddered. encouraging words. He was with her often — almost constantly for the It was a full hour later that the first officer returned to report the remainder of the voyage — and she grew to like him very much indeed. outcome of the search. Monsieur Thuran had learned that the beautiful Miss Strong, of “Mr. Caldwell is not on board, sir,” he said. Baltimore, was an American heiress — a very wealthy girl in her own “I fear that there is something more serious than accident here, Mr. right, and with future prospects that quite took his breath away when he Brently,” said the captain. “I wish that you would make a personal and very contemplated them, and since he spent most of his time in that delectable careful examination of Mr. Caldwell’s effects, to ascertain if there is any clue pastime it is a wonder that he breathed at all. to a motive either for suicide or murder — sift the thing to the bottom.” “Aye, aye, sir!” responded Mr. Brently, and left to commence his t had been Monsieur Thuran’s intention to leave the ship at the first investigation. port they touched after the disappearance of Tarzan. Did he not Hazel Strong was prostrated. For two days she did not leave her have in his coat pocket the thing he had taken passage upon this cabin, and when she finally ventured on deck she was very wan and Ivery boat to obtain? There was nothing more to detain him here. He white, with great, dark circles beneath her eyes. Waking or sleeping, it could not return to the Continent fast enough, that he might board the seemed that she constantly saw that dark body dropping, swift and first express for St. Petersburg. silent, into the cold, grim sea. But now another idea had obtruded itself, and was rapidly crowding Shortly after her first appearance on deck following the tragedy, his original intentions into the background. That American fortune was Monsieur Thuran joined her with many expressions of kindly solicitude. not to be sneezed at, nor was its possessor a whit less attractive. “Oh, but it is terrible, Miss Strong,” he said. “I cannot rid my mind “Sapristi! but she would cause a sensation in St. Petersburg.” And he of it.” would, too, with the assistance of her inheritance. “Nor I,” said the girl wearily. “I feel that he might have been saved After Monsieur Thuran had squandered a few million dollars, he had I but given the alarm.” discovered that the vocation was so entirely to his liking that he would

426 427 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN continue on down to Cape Town, where he suddenly decided that he us go on as we have been — then I can consider you from an entirely had pressing engagements that might detain him there for some time. different angle for a time. It may be that I shall discover that my feeling Miss Strong had told him that she and her mother were to visit the for you is more than friendship. I certainly have not thought for a latter’s brother there — they had not decided upon the duration of their moment that I loved you.” stay, and it would probably run into months. This arrangement was perfectly satisfactory to Monsieur Thuran. She was delighted when she found that Monsieur Thuran was to be He deeply regretted that he had been hasty, but he had loved her for so there also. long a time, and so devotedly, that he thought that every one must know “I hope that we shall be able to continue our acquaintance,” she said. it. “You must call upon mamma and me as soon as we are settled.” “From the first time I saw you, Hazel,” he said, “I have loved you. I Monsieur Thuran was delighted at the prospect, and lost no time in am willing to wait, for I am certain that so great and pure a love as mine saying so. Mrs. Strong was not quite so favorably impressed by him as will be rewarded. All that I care to know is that you do not love another. her daughter. Will you tell me?” “I do not know why I should distrust him,” she said to Hazel one “I have never been in love in my life,” she replied, and he was quite day as they were discussing him. “He seems a perfect gentleman in every satisfied. On the way home that night he purchased a steam yacht, and respect, but sometimes there is something about his eyes — a fleeting built a million-dollar villa on the Black Sea. expression which I cannot describe, but which when I see it gives me a very uncanny feeling.” he next day Hazel Strong enjoyed one of the happiest surprises The girl laughed. “You are a silly dear, mamma,” she said. of her life — she ran face to face upon Jane Porter as she was “I suppose so, but I am sorry that we have not poor Mr. Caldwell for coming out of a jeweler’s shop. company instead.” T“Why, Jane Porter!” she exclaimed. “Where in the world did you “And I, too,” replied her daughter. drop from? Why, I can’t believe my own eyes.” Monsieur Thuran became a frequent visitor at the home of Hazel “Well, of all things!” cried the equally astonished Jane. “And here I Strong’s uncle in Cape Town. His attentions were very marked, but they have been wasting whole reams of perfectly good imagination picturing were so punctiliously arranged to meet the girl’s every wish that she you in Baltimore — the very idea!” And she threw her arms about her came to depend upon him more and more. Did she or her mother or a friend once more, and kissed her a dozen times. cousin require an escort — was there a little friendly service to be By the time mutual explanations had been made Hazel knew that rendered, the genial and ubiquitous Monsieur Thuran was always Lord Tennington’s yacht had put in at Cape Town for at least a week’s available. Her uncle and his family grew to like him for his unfailing stay, and at the end of that time was to continue on her voyage — this courtesy and willingness to be of service. Monsieur Thuran was becoming time up the West Coast — and so back to England. “Where,” concluded indispensable. At length, feeling the moment propitious, he proposed. Jane, “I am to be married.” Miss Strong was startled. She did not know what to say. “Then you are not married yet?” asked Hazel. “I had never thought that you cared for me in any such way,” she told “Not yet,” replied Jane, and then, quite irrelevantly, “I wish England him. “I have looked upon you always as a very dear friend. I shall not give were a million miles from here.” you my answer now. Forget that you have asked me to be your wife. Let Visits were exchanged between the yacht and Hazel’s relatives.

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Dinners were arranged, and trips into the surrounding country to rough on a fellow just because you didn’t happen to suggest this trip entertain the visitors. Monsieur Thuran was a welcome guest at every yourself — you’ve acted a regular bounder ever since we sailed. function. He gave a dinner himself to the men of the party, and managed “No, sir,” he continued, “it’s a bully idea, and you’ll all say so. It’s to to ingratiate himself in the good will of Lord Tennington by many little take Mrs. Strong and Miss Strong, and Thuran, too, if he’ll come, as far acts of hospitality. as England with us on the yacht. Now, isn’t that a corker?” Monsieur Thuran had heard dropped a hint of something which “Forgive me, Tenny, old boy,” cried Clayton. “It certainly IS a corking might result from this unexpected visit of Lord Tennington’s yacht, and idea — I never should have suspected you of it. You’re quite sure it’s he wanted to be counted in on it. Once when he was alone with the original, are you?” Englishman he took occasion to make it quite plain that his engagement “And we’ll sail the first of the week, or any other time that suits your to Miss Strong was to be announced immediately upon their return to convenience, Mrs. Strong,” concluded the big-hearted Englishman, as America. “But not a word of it, my dear Tennington — not a word of it.” though the thing were all arranged except the sailing date. “Certainly, I quite understand, my dear fellow,” Tennington had “Mercy, Lord Tennington, you haven’t even given us an opportunity replied. “But you are to be congratulated — ripping girl, don’t you know to thank you, much less decide whether we shall be able to accept your — really.” generous invitation,” said Mrs. Strong. The next day it came. Mrs. Strong, Hazel, and Monsieur Thuran “Why, of course you’ll come,” responded Tennington. “We’ll make were Lord Tennington’s guests aboard his yacht. Mrs. Strong had been as good time as any passenger boat, and you’ll be fully as comfortable; telling them how much she had enjoyed her visit at Cape Town, and that and, anyway, we all want you, and won’t take no for an answer.” she regretted that a letter just received from her attorneys in Baltimore And so it was settled that they should sail the following Monday. had necessitated her cutting her visit shorter than they had intended. “When do you sail?” asked Tennington. wo days out the girls were sitting in Hazel’s cabin, looking at “The first of the week, I think,” she replied. “Indeed?” exclaimed some prints she had had finished in Cape Town. They Monsieur Thuran. “I am very fortunate. I, too, have found that I must represented all the pictures she had taken since she had left return at once, and now I shall have the honor of accompanying and TAmerica, and the girls were both engrossed in them, Jane asking many serving you.” questions, and Hazel keeping up a perfect torrent of comment and “That is nice of you, Monsieur Thuran,” replied Mrs. Strong. “I am explanation of the various scenes and people. sure that we shall be glad to place ourselves under your protection.” But “And here,” she said suddenly, “here’s a man you know. Poor fellow, in the bottom of her heart was the wish that they might escape him. I have so often intended asking you about him, but I never have been Why, she could not have told. able to think of it when we were together.” She was holding the little “By Jove!” ejaculated Lord Tennington, a moment later. “Bully idea, print so that Jane did not see the face of the man it portrayed. by Jove!” “His name was John Caldwell,” continued Hazel. “Do you recall “Yes, Tennington, of course,” ventured Clayton; “it must be a bully him? He said that he met you in America. He is an Englishman.” idea if you had it, but what the deuce is it? Goin’ to steam to China via “I do not recollect the name,” replied Jane. “Let me see the picture.” the south pole?” “The poor fellow was lost overboard on our trip down the coast,” she “Oh, I say now, Clayton,” returned Tennington, “you needn’t be so said, as she handed the print to Jane.

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“Lost over — Why, Hazel, Hazel — don’t tell me that he is dead marked either with a ‘T’ alone, or with ‘J. C. T.’ We thought that he was — drowned at sea! Hazel! Why don’t you say that you are joking!” And traveling incognito under his first two names — the J. C. standing for before the astonished Miss Strong could catch her Jane Porter had John Caldwell.” slipped to the floor in a swoon. “Tarzan of the Apes took the name Jean C. Tarzan,” said Jane, in the After Hazel had restored her chum to consciousness she sat looking same lifeless monotone. “And he is dead! Oh! Hazel, it is horrible! He at her for a long time before either spoke. died all alone in this terrible ocean! It is unbelievable that that brave “I did not know, Jane,” said Hazel, in a constrained voice, “that you heart should have ceased to beat — that those mighty muscles are quiet knew Mr. Caldwell so intimately that his death could prove such a shock and cold forever! That he who was the personification of life and health to you.” and manly strength should be the prey of slimy, crawling things, that — ” “John Caldwell?” questioned Miss Porter. “You do not mean to tell But she could go no further, and with a little moan she buried her head me that you do not know who this man was, Hazel?” in her arms, and sank sobbing to the floor. “Why, yes, Jane; I know perfectly well who he was — his name was John Caldwell; he was from London.” or days Miss Porter was ill, and would see no one except Hazel “Oh, Hazel, I wish I could believe it,” moaned the girl. “I wish I and the faithful Esmeralda. When at last she came on deck all could believe it, but those features are burned so deep into my memory were struck by the sad change that had taken place in her. She and my heart that I should recognize them anywhere in the world from wasF no longer the alert, vivacious American beauty who had charmed among a thousand others, who might appear identical to anyone but and delighted all who came in contact with her. Instead she was a very me.” quiet and sad little girl — with an expression of hopeless wistfulness that “What do you mean, Jane?” cried Hazel, now thoroughly alarmed. none but Hazel Strong could interpret. “Who do you think it is?” The entire party strove their utmost to cheer and amuse her, but all “I don’t think, Hazel. I know that that is a picture of Tarzan of the to no avail. Occasionally the jolly Lord Tennington would wring a wan Apes.” smile from her, but for the most part she sat with wide eyes looking out “Jane!” across the sea. “I cannot be mistaken. Oh, Hazel, are you sure that he is dead? Can With Jane Porter’s illness one misfortune after another seemed to there be no mistake?” attack the yacht. First an engine broke down, and they drifted for two “I am afraid not, dear,” answered Hazel sadly. “I wish I could think days while temporary repairs were being made. Then a squall struck that you are mistaken, but now a hundred and one little pieces of them unaware, that carried overboard nearly everything above deck that corroborative evidence occur to me that meant nothing to me while I was portable. Later two of the seamen fell to fighting in the forecastle, thought that he was John Caldwell, of London. He said that he had with the result that one of them was badly wounded with a knife, and been born in Africa, and educated in France.” the other had to be put in irons. Then, to cap the climax, the mate fell “Yes, that would be true,” murmured Jane Porter dully. overboard at night, and was drowned before help could reach him. The “The first officer, who searched his luggage, found nothing to yacht cruised about the spot for ten hours, but no sign of the man was identify John Caldwell, of London. Practically all his belongings had seen after he disappeared from the deck into the sea. been made, or purchased, in Paris. Everything that bore an initial was Every member of the crew and guests was gloomy and depressed

432 433 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN after these series of misfortunes. All were apprehensive of worse to come, the officer who had gone below had returned to report. But his opinion and this was especially true of the seamen who recalled all sorts of was scarcely needed to assure the huddled group of men and women terrible omens and warnings that had occurred during the early part of that the end of the Lady Alice was at hand. the voyage, and which they could now clearly translate into the precursors “Well, sir?” said the captain, as his officer hesitated. of some grim and terrible tragedy to come. “I dislike to frighten the ladies, sir,” he said, “but she can’t float a Nor did the croakers have long to wait. The second night after the dozen minutes, in my opinion. There’s a hole in her you could drive a drowning of the mate the little yacht was suddenly wracked from stem bally cow through, sir.” to stern. About one o’clock in the morning there was a terrific impact For five minutes the Lady Alice had been settling rapidly by the bow. that threw the slumbering guests and crew from berth and bunk. A Already her stern loomed high in the air, and foothold on the deck was mighty shudder ran through the frail craft; she lay far over to starboard; of the most precarious nature. She carried four boats, and these were all the engines stopped. For a moment she hung there with her decks at an filled and lowered away in safety. As they pulled rapidly from the stricken angle of forty-five degrees — then, with a sullen, rending sound, she little vessel Jane Porter turned to have one last look at her. Just then slipped back into the sea and righted. there came a loud crash and an ominous rumbling and pounding from Instantly the men rushed upon deck, followed closely by the women. the heart of the ship — her machinery had broken loose, and was Though the night was cloudy, there was little wind or sea, nor was it so dashing its way toward the bow, tearing out partitions and bulkheads as dark but that just off the port bow a black mass could be discerned it went — the stern rose rapidly high above them; for a moment she floating low in the water. seemed to pause there — a vertical shaft protruding from the bosom of “A derelict,” was the terse explanation of the officer of the watch. the ocean, and then swiftly she dove headforemost beneath the waves. Presently the engineer hurried on deck in search of the captain. In one of the boats the brave Lord Tennington wiped a tear from his “That patch we put on the cylinder head’s blown out, sir,” he eye — he had not seen a fortune in money go down forever into the sea, reported, “and she’s makin’ water fast for’ard on the port bow.” but a dear, beautiful friend whom he had loved. An instant later a seaman rushed up from below. At last the long night broke, and a tropical sun smote down upon “My Gawd!” he cried. “Her whole bleedin’ bottom’s ripped out. She the rolling water. Jane Porter had dropped into a fitful slumber — the can’t float twenty minutes.” fierce light of the sun upon her upturned face awoke her. She looked “Shut up!” roared Tennington. “Ladies, go below and get some of about her. In the boat with her were three sailors, Clayton, and Monsieur your things together. It may not be so bad as that, but we may have to Thuran. Then she looked for the other boats, but as far as the eye could take to the boats. It will be safer to be prepared. Go at once, please. And, reach there was nothing to break the fearful monotony of that waste of Captain Jerrold, send some competent man below, please, to ascertain waters — they were alone in a small boat upon the broad Atlantic. the exact extent of the damage. In the meantime I might suggest that you have the boats provisioned.” The calm, low voice of the owner did much to reassure the entire party, and a moment later all were occupied with the duties he had suggested. By the time the ladies had returned to the deck the rapid provisioning of the boats had been about completed, and a moment later

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[ return to table of contents ] s Tarzan struck the water, his first impulse was to swim clear of the ship and possible danger from her propellers. He knew whom to thank for his present predicament, and as he lay in theA sea, just supporting himself by a gentle movement of his hands, his chief emotion was one of chagrin that he had been so easily bested by Rokoff. He lay thus for some time, watching the receding and rapidly diminishing lights of the steamer without it ever once occurring to him to call for help. He never had called for help in his life, and so it is not strange that he did not think of it now. Always had he depended upon his own prowess and resourcefulness, nor had there ever been since the days of Kala any to answer an appeal for succor. When it did occur to him it was too late. There was, thought Tarzan, a possible one chance in a hundred THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN thousand that he might be picked up, and an even smaller chance that bottom up, rose and fell an overturned lifeboat; the other was the faint, he would reach land, so he determined that to combine what slight dim line of a far-distant shore showing on the horizon in the east. chances there were, he would swim slowly in the direction of the coast Tarzan dove into the water, and swam around the wreck to the — the ship might have been closer in than he had known. lifeboat. The cool ocean refreshed him almost as much as would a draft His strokes were long and easy — it would be many hours before of water, so that it was with renewed vigor that he brought the smaller those giant muscles would commence to feel fatigue. As he swam, guided boat alongside the derelict, and, after many herculean efforts, succeeded toward the east by the stars, he noticed that he felt the weight of his in dragging it onto the slimy ship’s bottom. There he righted and shoes, and so he removed them. His trousers went next, and he would examined it — the boat was quite sound, and a moment later floated have removed his coat at the same time but for the precious papers in its upright alongside the wreck. Then Tarzan selected several pieces of pocket. To assure himself that he still had them he slipped his hand in to wreckage that might answer him as paddles, and presently was making feel, but to his consternation they were gone. good headway toward the far-off shore. Now he knew that something more than revenge had prompted Rokoff to pitch him overboard — the Russian had managed to obtain t was late in the afternoon by the time he came close enough to possession of the papers Tarzan had wrested from him at Bou Saada. distinguish objects on land, or to make out the contour of the shore The ape-man swore softly, and let his coat and shirt sink into the line. Before him lay what appeared to be the entrance to a little, Atlantic. Before many hours he had divested himself of his remaining Ilandlocked harbor. The wooded point to the north was strangely familiar. garments, and was swimming easily and unencumbered toward the east. Could it be possible that fate had thrown him up at the very threshold The first faint evidence of dawn was paling the stars ahead of him of his own beloved jungle! But as the bow of his boat entered the mouth when the dim outlines of a low-lying black mass loomed up directly in of the harbor the last shred of doubt was cleared away, for there before his track. A few strong strokes brought him to its side — it was the him upon the farther shore, under the shadows of his primeval forest, bottom of a wave-washed derelict. Tarzan clambered upon it — he stood his own cabin — built before his birth by the hand of his long- would rest there until daylight at least. He had no intention to remain dead father, John Clayton, Lord Greystoke. there inactive — a prey to hunger and thirst. If he must die he preferred With long sweeps of his giant muscles Tarzan sent the little craft dying in action while making some semblance of an attempt to save speeding toward the beach. Its prow had scarcely touched when the himself. ape-man leaped to shore — his heart beat fast in joy and exultation as The sea was quiet, so that the wreck had only a gently undulating each long-familiar object came beneath his roving eyes — the cabin, the motion, that was nothing to the swimmer who had had no sleep for beach, the little brook, the dense jungle, the black, impenetrable forest. twenty hours. Tarzan of the Apes curled up upon the slimy timbers, and The myriad birds in their brilliant plumage — the gorgeous tropical was soon asleep. blooms upon the festooned creepers falling in great loops from the giant The heat of the sun awoke him early in the forenoon. His first trees. conscious sensation was of thirst, which grew almost to the proportions Tarzan of the Apes had come into his own again, and that all the of suffering with full returning consciousness; but a moment later it was world might know it he threw back his young head, and gave voice to forgotten in the joy of two almost simultaneous discoveries. The first the fierce, wild challenge of his tribe. For a moment silence reigned upon was a mass of wreckage floating beside the derelict in the midst of which, the jungle, and then, low and weird, came an answering challenge — it

438 439 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN was the deep roar of Numa, the lion; and from a great distance, faintly, On a low branch he squatted above the trail. For an hour he waited. the fearsome answering bellow of a bull ape. It was growing dark. A little to one side of the ford in the densest thicket Tarzan went to the brook first, and slaked his thirst. Then he he heard the faint sound of padded feet, and the brushing of a huge body approached his cabin. The door was still closed and latched as he and against tall grasses and tangled creepers. None other than Tarzan might D’Arnot had left it. He raised the latch and entered. Nothing had been have heard it, but the ape-man heard and translated — it was Numa, the disturbed; there were the table, the bed, and the little crib built by his lion, on the same errand as himself. Tarzan smiled. father — the shelves and cupboards just as they had stood for over Presently he heard an animal approaching warily along the trail twenty-three years — just as he had left them nearly two years before. toward the drinking place. A moment more and it came in view — it His eyes satisfied, Tarzan’s stomach began to call aloud for attention was Horta, the boar. Here was delicious meat — and Tarzan’s mouth — the pangs of hunger suggested a search for food. There was nothing watered. The grasses where Numa lay were very still now — ominously in the cabin, nor had he any weapons; but upon a wall hung one of his still. Horta passed beneath Tarzan — a few more steps and he would be old grass ropes. It had been many times broken and spliced, so that he within the radius of Numa’s spring. Tarzan could imagine how old had discarded it for a better one long before. Tarzan wished that he had Numa’s eyes were shining — how he was already sucking in his breath a knife. Well, unless he was mistaken he should have that and a spear for the awful roar which would freeze his prey for the brief instant and bows and arrows before another sun had set — the rope would take between the moment of the spring and the sinking of terrible fangs into care of that, and in the meantime it must be made to procure food for splintering bones. him. He coiled it carefully, and, throwing it about his shoulder, went out, But as Numa gathered himself, a slender rope flew through the air closing the door behind him. from the low branches of a near-by tree. A noose settled about Horta’s Close to the cabin the jungle commenced, and into it Tarzan of the neck. There was a frightened grunt, a squeal, and then Numa saw his Apes plunged, wary and noiseless — once more a savage beast hunting quarry dragged backward up the trail, and, as he sprang, Horta, the boar, its food. For a time he kept to the ground, but finally, discovering no soared upward beyond his clutches into the tree above, and a mocking spoor indicative of nearby meat, he took to the trees. With the first dizzy face looked down and laughed into his own. swing from tree to tree all the old joy of living swept over him. Vain Then indeed did Numa roar. Angry, threatening, hungry, he paced regrets and dull heartache were forgotten. Now was he living. Now, back and forth beneath the taunting ape-man. Now he stopped, and, indeed, was the true happiness of perfect freedom his. Who would go rising on his hind legs against the stem of the tree that held his enemy, back to the stifling, wicked cities of civilized man when the mighty sharpened his huge claws upon the bark, tearing out great pieces that reaches of the great jungle offered peace and liberty? Not he. laid bare the white wood beneath. While it was yet light Tarzan came to a drinking place by the side of And in the meantime Tarzan had dragged the struggling Horta to a jungle river. There was a ford there, and for countless ages the beasts of the limb beside him. Sinewy fingers completed the work the choking the forest had come down to drink at this spot. Here of a night might noose had commenced. The ape-man had no knife, but nature had always be found either Sabor or Numa crouching in the dense foliage of equipped him with the means of tearing his food from the quivering the surrounding jungle awaiting an antelope or a water buck for their flank of his prey, and gleaming teeth sank into the succulent flesh while meal. Here came Horta, the boar, to water, and here came Tarzan of the the raging lion looked on from below as another enjoyed the dinner that Apes to make a kill, for he was very empty. he had thought already his.

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It was quite dark by the time Tarzan had gorged himself. Ah, but it arzan slept late into the following forenoon, for he had been had been delicious! Never had he quite accustomed himself to the ruined very tired from the labors and exertion of the long night and flesh that civilized men had served him, and in the bottom of his savage day upon the ocean, and the jungle jaunt that had brought into heart there had constantly been the craving for the warm meat of the Tplay muscles that he had scarce used for nearly two years. When he fresh kill, and the rich, red blood. awoke he ran to the brook first to drink. Then he took a plunge into the He wiped his bloody hands upon a bunch of leaves, slung the sea, swimming about for a quarter of an hour. Afterward he returned to remains of his kill across his shoulder, and swung off through the his cabin, and breakfasted off the flesh of Horta. This done, he buried middle terrace of the forest toward his cabin, and at the same instant the balance of the carcass in the soft earth outside the cabin, for his Jane Porter and William Cecil Clayton arose from a sumptuous dinner evening meal. upon the Lady Alice, thousands of miles to the east, in the Indian Once more he took his rope and vanished into the jungle. This time Ocean. he hunted nobler quarry — man; although had you asked him his own Beneath Tarzan walked Numa, the lion, and when the ape-man opinion he could have named a dozen other denizens of the jungle deigned to glance downward he caught occasional glimpses of the which he considered far the superiors in nobility of the men he hunted. baleful green eyes following through the darkness. Numa did not roar Today Tarzan was in quest of weapons. He wondered if the women and now — instead, he moved stealthily, like the shadow of a great cat; but children had remained in Mbonga’s village after the punitive expedition yet he took no step that did not reach the sensitive ears of the ape-man. from the French cruiser had massacred all the warriors in revenge for Tarzan wondered if he would stalk him to his cabin door. He hoped D’Arnot’s supposed death. He hoped that he should find warriors there, not, for that would mean a night’s sleep curled in the crotch of a tree, for he knew not how long a quest he should have to make were the and he much preferred the bed of grasses within his own abode. But he village deserted. knew just the tree and the most comfortable crotch, if necessity The ape-man traveled swiftly through the forest, and about noon demanded that he sleep out. A hundred times in the past some great came to the site of the village, but to his disappointment found that the jungle cat had followed him home, and compelled him to seek shelter in jungle had overgrown the plantain fields and that the thatched huts had this same tree, until another mood or the rising sun had sent his enemy fallen in decay. There was no sign of man. He clambered about among away. the ruins for half an hour, hoping that he might discover some forgotten But presently Numa gave up the chase and, with a series of blood- weapon, but his search was without fruit, and so he took up his quest curdling moans and roars, turned angrily back in search of another and once more, following up the stream, which flowed from a southeasterly an easier dinner. So Tarzan came to his cabin unattended, and a few direction. He knew that near fresh water he would be most likely to find moments later was curled up in the mildewed remnants of what had another settlement. once been a bed of grasses. As he traveled he hunted as he had hunted with his ape people in Thus easily did Monsieur Jean C. Tarzan slough the thin skin of his the past, as Kala had taught him to hunt, turning over rotted logs to find artificial civilization, and sink happy and contented into the deep sleep some toothsome vermin, running high into the trees to rob a bird’s nest, of the wild beast that has fed to repletion. Yet a woman’s “yes” would or pouncing upon a tiny rodent with the quickness of a cat. There were have bound him to that other life forever, and made the thought of this other things that he ate, too, but the less detailed the account of an ape’s savage existence repulsive. diet, the better — and Tarzan was again an ape, the same fierce, brutal

442 443 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN anthropoid that Kala had taught him to be, and that he had been for the thought of taking human life needlessly; and thus it happened that first twenty years of his life. while he was trying to decide just what to do, they had come to a little Occasionally he smiled as he recalled some friend who might even clearing, at the far side of which lay a palisaded village of beehive huts. at the moment be sitting placid and immaculate within the precincts of As the warrior emerged from the forest, Tarzan caught a fleeting his select Parisian club — just as Tarzan had sat but a few months before; glimpse of a tawny hide worming its way through the matted jungle and then he would stop, as though turned suddenly to stone as the gentle grasses in his wake — it was Numa, the lion. He, too, was stalking the breeze carried to his trained nostrils the scent of some new prey or a black man. With the instant that Tarzan realized the native’s danger his formidable enemy. attitude toward his erstwhile prey altered completely — now he was a That night he slept far inland from his cabin, securely wedged into fellow man threatened by a common enemy. the crotch of a giant tree, swaying a hundred feet above the ground. He Numa was about to charge — there was little time in which to had eaten heartily again — this time from the flesh of Bara, the deer, compare various methods or weigh the probable results of any. And then who had fallen prey to his quick noose. a number of things happened, almost simultaneously — the lion sprang Early the next morning he resumed his journey, always following from his ambush toward the retreating black — Tarzan cried out in the course of the stream. For three days he continued his quest, until he warning — and the black turned just in time to see Numa halted in had come to a part of the jungle in which he never before had been. mid-flight by a slender strand of grass rope, the noosed end of which Occasionally upon the higher ground the forest was much thinner, and had fallen cleanly about his neck. in the far distance through the trees he could see ranges of mighty The ape-man had acted so quickly that he had been unable to mountains, with wide plains in the foreground. Here, in the open spaces, prepare himself to withstand the strain and shock of Numa’s great were new game — countless antelope and vast herds of zebra. Tarzan weight upon the rope, and so it was that though the rope stopped the was entranced — he would make a long visit to this new world. beast before his mighty talons could fasten themselves in the flesh of the On the morning of the fourth day his nostrils were suddenly black, the strain overbalanced Tarzan, who came tumbling to the ground surprised by a faint new scent. It was the scent of man, but yet a long way not six paces from the infuriated animal. Like lightning Numa turned off. The ape-man thrilled with pleasure. Every sense was on the alert as upon this new enemy, and, defenseless as he was, Tarzan of the Apes was with crafty stealth he moved quickly through the trees, up-wind, in the nearer to death that instant than he ever before had been. It was the direction of his prey. Presently he came upon it — a lone warrior treading black who saved him. The warrior realized in an instant that he owed his softly through the jungle. life to this strange white man, and he also saw that only a miracle could Tarzan followed close above his quarry, waiting for a clearer space in save his preserver from those fierce yellow fangs that had been so near to which to hurl his rope. As he stalked the unconscious man, new thoughts his own flesh. presented themselves to the ape-man — thoughts born of the refining With the quickness of thought his spear arm flew back, and then influences of civilization, and of its cruelties. It came to him that seldom shot forward with all the force of the sinewy muscles that rolled beneath if ever did civilized man kill a fellow being without some pretext, the shimmering ebon hide. True to its mark the iron-shod weapon flew, however slight. It was true that Tarzan wished this man’s weapons and transfixing Numa’s sleek carcass from the right groin to beneath the left ornaments, but was it necessary to take his life to obtain them? shoulder. With a hideous scream of rage and pain the brute turned again The longer he thought about it, the more repugnant became the upon the black. A dozen paces he had gone when Tarzan’s rope brought

444 445 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS him to a stand once more — then he wheeled again upon the ape-man, only to feel the painful prick of a barbed arrow as it sank half its length in his quivering flesh. Again he stopped, and by this time Tarzan had run twice around the stem of a great tree with his rope, and made the end fast. The black saw the trick, and grinned, but Tarzan knew that Numa must be quickly finished before those mighty teeth had found and parted the slender cord that held him. It was a matter of but an instant to reach the black’s side and drag his long knife from its scabbard. Then he signed the warrior to continue to shoot arrows into the great beast while he attempted to close in upon him with the knife; so as one tantalized upon one side, the other sneaked cautiously in upon the other. Numa was furious. He raised his voice in a perfect frenzy of shrieks, growls, and hideous moans, the while he reared upon his hind legs in futile attempt to reach first one and then the other of his tormentors. XV But at length the agile ape-man saw his chance, and rushed in upon the beast’s left side behind the mighty shoulder. A giant arm encircled FROM APE to SAVAGE the tawny throat, and a long blade sank once, true as a die, into the fierce heart. Then Tarzan arose, and the black man and the white looked into each other’s eyes across the body of their kill — and the black made the sign of peace and friendship, and Tarzan of the Apes answered in kind. [ return to table of contents ] he noise of their battle with Numa had drawn an excited horde of savages from the nearby village, and a moment after the lion’s death the two men were surrounded by lithe, ebon warriors, Tgesticulating and jabbering — a thousand questions that drowned each ventured reply. And then the women came, and the children — eager, curious, and, at sight of Tarzan, more questioning than ever. The ape-man’s new friend finally succeeded in making himself heard, and when he had done talking the men and women of the village vied with one another in doing honor to the strange creature who had saved their fellow and battled single-handed with fierce Numa. At last they led him back to their village, where they brought him

446 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN gifts of fowl, and goats, and cooked food. When he pointed to their savages of Africa, other than the trifling baubles those near the coast had weapons the warriors hastened to fetch spear, shield, arrows, and a bow. purchased or stolen from Europeans. He tried to ask them from whence His friend of the encounter presented him with the knife with which he the metal came, but he could not make them understand. had killed Numa. There was nothing in all the village he could not have When the dance was done Tarzan signified his intention to leave had for the asking. them, but they almost implored him to accept the hospitality of a great How much easier this was, thought Tarzan, than murder and robbery hut which the chief set apart for his sole use. He tried to explain that he to supply his wants. How close he had been to killing this man whom he would return in the morning, but they could not understand. When he never had seen before, and who now was manifesting by every primitive finally walked away from them toward the side of the village opposite means at his command friendship and affection for his would-be slayer. the gate, they were still further mystified as to his intentions. Tarzan of the Apes was ashamed. Hereafter he would at least wait until Tarzan, however, knew just what he was about. In the past he had he knew men deserved it before he thought of killing them. had experience with the rodents and vermin that infest every native The idea recalled Rokoff to his mind. He wished that he might have village, and, while he was not overscrupulous about such matters, he the Russian to himself in the dark jungle for a few minutes. There was a much preferred the fresh air of the swaying trees to the fetid atmosphere man who deserved killing if ever any one did. And if he could have seen of a hut. Rokoff at that moment as he assiduously bent every endeavor to the The natives followed him to where a great tree overhung the pleasant task of ingratiating himself into the affections of the beautiful palisade, and as Tarzan leaped for a lower branch and disappeared into Miss Strong, he would have longed more than ever to mete out to the the foliage above, precisely after the manner of Manu, the monkey, there man the fate he deserved. were loud exclamations of surprise and astonishment. For half an hour Tarzan’s first night with the savages was devoted to a wild orgy in they called to him to return, but as he did not answer them they at last his honor. There was feasting, for the hunters had brought in an antelope desisted, and sought the sleeping-mats within their huts. and a zebra as trophies of their skill, and gallons of the weak native beer Tarzan went back into the forest a short distance until he had found were consumed. As the warriors danced in the firelight, Tarzan was a tree suited to his primitive requirements, and then, curling himself in again impressed by the symmetry of their figures and the regularity of a great crotch, he fell immediately into a deep sleep. their features — the flat noses and thick lips of the typical West Coast savage were entirely missing. In repose the faces of the men were he following morning he dropped into the village street as intelligent and dignified, those of the women ofttimes prepossessing. suddenly as he had disappeared the preceding night. For a It was during this dance that the ape-man first noticed that some of moment the natives were startled and afraid, but when they the men and many of the women wore ornaments of gold — principally Trecognized their guest of the night before they welcomed him with anklets and armlets of great weight, apparently beaten out of the solid shouts and laughter. That day he accompanied a party of warriors to the metal. When he expressed a wish to examine one of these, the owner nearby plains on a great hunt, and so dexterous did they find this white removed it from her person and insisted, through the medium of signs, man with their own crude weapons that another bond of respect and that Tarzan accept it as a gift. A close scrutiny of the bauble convinced admiration was thereby wrought. the ape-man that the article was of virgin gold, and he was surprised, for For weeks Tarzan lived with his savage friends, hunting buffalo, it was the first time that he had ever seen golden ornaments among the antelope, and zebra for meat, and elephant for ivory. Quickly he learned

448 449 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN their simple speech, their native customs, and the ethics of their wild, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Presently he recalled the question he primitive tribal life. He found that they were not cannibals — that they had tried to ask when he first came to the tribe — the question he could looked with loathing and contempt upon men who ate men. not at that time make them understand. For weeks he had forgotten so Busuli, the warrior whom he had stalked to the village, told him trivial a thing as gold, for he had been for the time a truly primeval man many of the tribal legends — how, many years before, his people had with no thought beyond today. But of a sudden the sight of gold come many long marches from the north; how once they had been a awakened the sleeping civilization that was in him, and with it came the great and powerful tribe; and how the slave raiders had wrought such lust for wealth. That lesson Tarzan had learned well in his brief experience havoc among them with their death-dealing guns that they had been of the ways of civilized man. He knew that gold meant power and reduced to a mere remnant of their former numbers and power. pleasure. He pointed to the bauble. “They hunted us down as one hunts a fierce beast,” said Busuli. “From whence came the yellow metal, Busuli?” he asked. “There was no mercy in them. When it was not slaves they sought it was The black pointed toward the southeast. ivory, but usually it was both. Our men were killed and our women “A moon’s march away — maybe more,” he replied. driven away like sheep. We fought against them for many years, but our “Have you been there?” asked Tarzan. arrows and spears could not prevail against the sticks which spit fire and “No, but some of our people were there years ago, when my father lead and death to many times the distance that our mightiest warrior was yet a young man. One of the parties that searched farther for a could place an arrow. At last, when my father was a young man, the location for the tribe when first they settled here came upon a strange Arabs came again, but our warriors saw them a long way off, and people who wore many ornaments of yellow metal. Their spears were Chowambi, who was chief then, told his people to gather up their tipped with it, as were their arrows, and they cooked in vessels made all belongings and come away with him — that he would lead them far to of solid metal like my armlet. the south until they found a spot to which the Arab raiders did not “They lived in a great village in huts that were built of stone and come. surrounded by a great wall. They were very fierce, rushing out and falling “And they did as he bid, carrying all their belongings, including upon our warriors before ever they learned that their errand was a many tusks of ivory. For months they wandered, suffering untold peaceful one. Our men were few in number, but they held their own at hardships and privations, for much of the way was through dense jungle, the top of a little rocky hill, until the fierce people went back at sunset and across mighty mountains, but finally they came to this spot, and into their wicked city. Then our warriors came down from their hill, and, although they sent parties farther on to search for an even better location, after taking many ornaments of yellow metal from the bodies of those none has ever been found.” they had slain, they marched back out of the valley, nor have any of us “And the raiders have never found you here?” asked Tarzan. ever returned. “About a year ago a small party of Arabs and Manyuema stumbled “They are wicked people — neither white like you nor black like me, upon us, but we drove them off, killing many. For days we followed but covered with hair as is Bolgani, the gorilla. Yes, they are very bad them, stalking them for the wild beasts they are, picking them off one by people indeed, and Chowambi was glad to get out of their country.” one, until but a handful remained, but these escaped us.” “And are none of those alive who were with Chowambi, and saw As Busuli talked he fingered a heavy gold armlet that encircled the these strange people and their wonderful city?” asked Tarzan. glossy hide of his left arm. Tarzan’s eyes had been upon the ornament, “Waziri, our chief, was there,” replied Busuli. “He was a very young

450 451 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN man then, but he accompanied Chowambi, who was his father.” will wait until the rainy season is over and the rivers have gone down I So that night Tarzan asked Waziri about it, and Waziri, who was will take some of my warriors and go with you.” now an old man, said that it was a long march, but that the way was not And Tarzan had to be contented with that arrangement, though he difficult to follow. He remembered it well. would have liked it well enough to have set off the next morning — he “For ten days we followed this river which runs beside our village. was as impatient as a child. Really Tarzan of the Apes was but a child, or Up toward its source we traveled until on the tenth day we came to a a primeval man, which is the same thing in a way. little spring far up upon the side of a lofty mountain range. In this little he next day a small party of hunters returned to the village from spring our river is born. The next day we crossed over the top of the the south to report a large herd of elephant some miles away. mountain, and upon the other side we came to a tiny rivulet which we By climbing trees they had had a fairly good view of the herd, followed down into a great forest. For many days we traveled along the Twhich they described as numbering several large tuskers, a great many winding banks of the rivulet that had now become a river, until we came cows and calves, and full-grown bulls whose ivory would be worth to a greater river, into which it emptied, and which ran down the center having. of a mighty valley. The balance of the day and evening was filled with preparation for “Then we followed this large river toward its source, hoping to come a great hunt — spears were overhauled, quivers were replenished, bows to more open land. After twenty days of marching from the time we had were restrung; and all the while the village witch doctor passed through crossed the mountains and passed out of our own country we came again the busy throngs disposing of various charms and amulets designed to to another range of mountains. Up their side we followed the great river, protect the possessor from hurt, or bring him good fortune in the that had now dwindled to a tiny rivulet, until we came to a little cave morrow’s hunt. near the mountain-top. In this cave was the mother of the river. At dawn the hunters were off. There were fifty sleek, black warriors, “I remember that we camped there that night, and that it was very and in their midst, lithe and active as a young forest god, strode Tarzan cold, for the mountains were high. The next day we decided to ascend to of the Apes, his brown skin contrasting oddly with the ebony of his the top of the mountains, and see what the country upon the other side companions. Except for color he was one of them. His ornaments and looked like, and if it seemed no better than that which we had so far weapons were the same as theirs — he spoke their language — he traversed we would return to our village and tell them that they had laughed and joked with them, and leaped and shouted in the brief wild already found the best place in all the world to live. dance that preceded their departure from the village, to all intent and “And so we clambered up the face of the rocky cliffs until we reached purpose a savage among savages. Nor, had he questioned himself, is it to the summit, and there from a flat mountain-top we saw, not far beneath be doubted that he would have admitted that he was far more closely us, a shallow valley, very narrow; and upon the far side of it was a great allied to these people and their life than to the Parisian friends whose village of stone, much of which had fallen and crumbled into decay.” ways, apelike, he had successfully mimicked for a few short months. The balance of Waziri’s story was practically the same as that which But he did think of D’Arnot, and a grin of amusement showed his Busuli had told. strong white teeth as he pictured the immaculate Frenchman’s expression “I should like to go there and see this strange city,” said Tarzan, “and could he by some means see Tarzan as he was that minute. Poor Paul, get some of their yellow metal from its fierce inhabitants.” who had prided himself on having eradicated from his friend the last “It is a long march,” replied Waziri, “and I am an old man, but if you traces of wild savagery. “How quickly have I fallen!” thought Tarzan; but

452 453 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN in his heart he did not consider it a fall — rather, he pitied the poor at the two marked beasts. There was not a single miss; twenty-five spears creatures of Paris, penned up like prisoners in their silly clothes, and were embedded in the sides of each of the giant animals. One never watched by policemen all their poor lives, that they might do nothing moved from the spot where it stood when the avalanche of spears struck that was not entirely artificial and tiresome. it, for two, perfectly aimed, had penetrated its heart, and it lunged A two hours’ march brought them close to the vicinity in which the forward upon its knees, rolling to the ground without a struggle. elephants had been seen the previous day. From there on they moved The other, standing nearly head-on toward the hunters, had not very quietly indeed searching for the spoor of the great beasts. At length proved so good a mark, and though every spear struck not one entered they found the well-marked trail along which the herd had passed not the great heart. For a moment the huge bull stood trumpeting in rage many hours before. In single file they followed it for about half an hour. and pain, casting about with its little eyes for the author of its hurt. The It was Tarzan who first raised his hand in signal that the quarry was at blacks had faded into the jungle before the weak eyes of the monster had hand — his sensitive nose had warned him that the elephants were not fallen upon any of them, but now he caught the sound of their retreat, far ahead of them. and, amid a terrific crashing of underbrush and branches, he charged in The blacks were skeptical when he told them how he knew. the direction of the noise. “Come with me,” said Tarzan, “and we shall see.” It so happened that chance sent him in the direction of Busuli, With the agility of a squirrel he sprang into a tree and ran nimbly to whom he was overtaking so rapidly that it was as though the black were the top. One of the blacks followed more slowly and carefully. When he standing still instead of racing at full speed to escape the certain death had reached a lofty limb beside the ape-man the latter pointed to the which pursued him. Tarzan had witnessed the entire performance from south, and there, some few hundred yards away, the black saw a number the branches of a nearby tree, and now that he saw his friend’s peril he of huge black backs swaying back and forth above the top of the lofty raced toward the infuriated beast with loud cries, hoping to distract him. jungle grasses. He pointed the direction to the watchers below, indicating But it had been as well had he saved his breath, for the brute was with his fingers the number of beasts he could count. deaf and blind to all else save the particular object of his rage that raced Immediately the hunters started toward the elephants. The black in futilely before him. And now Tarzan saw that only a miracle could save the tree hastened down, but Tarzan stalked, after his own fashion, along Busuli, and with the same unconcern with which he had once hunted the leafy way of the middle terrace. this very man he hurled himself into the path of the elephant to save the black warrior’s life. t is no child’s play to hunt wild elephants with the crude weapons He still grasped his spear, and while Tantor was yet six or eight paces of primitive man. Tarzan knew that few native tribes ever attempted behind his prey, a sinewy white warrior dropped as from the heavens, it, and the fact that his tribe did so gave him no little pride — almost directly in his path. With a vicious lunge the elephant swerved to Ialready he was commencing to think of himself as a member of the little the right to dispose of this temerarious foeman who dared intervene community. As Tarzan moved silently through the trees he saw the between himself and his intended victim; but he had not reckoned on warriors below creeping in a half circle upon the still unsuspecting the lightning quickness that could galvanize those steel muscles into elephants. Finally they were within sight of the great beasts. Now they action so marvelously swift as to baffle even a keener eyesight than singled out two large tuskers, and at a signal the fifty men rose from the Tantor’s. ground where they had lain concealed, and hurled their heavy war spears And so it happened that before the elephant realized that his new

454 455 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS enemy had leaped from his path Tarzan had driven his iron-shod spear from behind the massive shoulder straight into the fierce heart, and the colossal pachyderm had toppled to his death at the feet of the ape-man. Busuli had not beheld the manner of his deliverance, but Waziri, the old chief, had seen, and several of the other warriors, and they hailed Tarzan with delight as they swarmed about him and his great kill. When he leaped upon the mighty carcass, and gave voice to the weird challenge with which he announced a great victory, the blacks shrank back in fear, for to them it marked the brutal Bolgani, whom they feared fully as much as they feared Numa, the lion; but with a fear with which was mixed a certain uncanny awe of the manlike thing to which they attributed supernatural powers. But when Tarzan lowered his raised head and smiled upon them XVI they were reassured, though they did not understand. Nor did they ever fully understand this strange creature who ran through the trees as quickly as Manu, yet was even more at home upon the ground than THE IVORY RAIDERS themselves; who was except as to color like unto themselves, yet as powerful as ten of them, and singlehanded a match for the fiercest denizens of the fierce jungle. When the remainder of the warriors had gathered, the hunt was [ return to table of contents ] again taken up and the stalking of the retreating herd once more begun; aziri’s warriors marched at a rapid trot through the jungle but they had covered a bare hundred yards when from behind them, at a in the direction of the village. For a few minutes, the sharp great distance, sounded faintly a strange popping. cracking of guns ahead warned them to haste, but finally For an instant they stood like a group of statuary, intently listening. the reports dwindled to an occasional shot, presently ceasing altogether. Then Tarzan spoke. W Nor was this less ominous than the rattle of musketry, for it suggested “Guns!” he said. “The village is being attacked.” but a single solution to the little band of rescuers — that the illy “Come!” cried Waziri. “The Arab raiders have returned with their garrisoned village had already succumbed to the onslaught of a superior cannibal slaves for our ivory and our women!” force. The returning hunters had covered a little more than three miles of the five that had separated them from the village when they met the first of the fugitives who had escaped the bullets and clutches of the foe. There were a dozen women, youths, and girls in the party, and so excited were they that they could scarce make themselves understood as they tried to relate to Waziri the calamity that had befallen his people.

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“They are as many as the leaves of the forest,” cried one of the “Yes,” said the old chief. “Go!” women, in attempting to explain the enemy’s force. “There are many So Tarzan sprang into the trees and disappeared in the direction of Arabs and countless Manyuema, and they all have guns. They crept close the village. He moved more cautiously than was his wont, for he knew to the village before we knew that they were about, and then, with many that men with guns could reach him quite as easily in the treetops as on shouts, they rushed in upon us, shooting down men, and women, and the ground. And when Tarzan of the Apes elected to adopt stealth, no children. Those of us who could fled in all directions into the jungle, but creature in all the jungle could move so silently or so completely efface more were killed. I do not know whether they took any prisoners or not himself from the sight of an enemy. — they seemed only bent upon killing us all. The Manyuema called us In five minutes he had wormed his way to the great tree that many names, saying that they would eat us all before they left our overhung the palisade at one end of the village, and from his point of country — that this was our punishment for killing their friends last vantage looked down upon the savage horde beneath. He counted fifty year. I did not hear much, for I ran away quickly.” Arabs and estimated that there were five times as many Manyuema. The The march toward the village was now resumed, more slowly and latter were gorging themselves upon food and, under the very noses of with greater stealth, for Waziri knew that it was too late to rescue — their white masters, preparing the gruesome feast which is the piece de their only mission could be one of revenge. Inside the next mile a resistance that follows a victory in which the bodies of their slain enemies hundred more fugitives were met. There were many men among these, fall into their horrid hands. and so the fighting strength of the party was augmented. The ape-man saw that to charge that wild horde, armed as they were Now a dozen warriors were sent creeping ahead to reconnoiter. with guns, and barricaded behind the locked gates of the village, would Waziri remained with the main body, which advanced in a thin line that be a futile task, and so he returned to Waziri and advised him to wait; spread in a great crescent through the forest. By the chief ’s side walked that he, Tarzan, had a better plan. Tarzan. But a moment before one of the fugitives had related to Waziri the Presently one of the scouts returned. He had come within sight of story of the atrocious murder of the old chief ’s wife, and so crazed with the village. rage was the old man that he cast discretion to the winds. Calling his “They are all within the palisade,” he whispered. warriors about him, he commanded them to charge, and, with “Good!” said Waziri. “We shall rush in upon them and slay them brandishing spears and savage yells, the little force of scarcely more than all,” and he made ready to send word along the line that they were to halt a hundred dashed madly toward the village gates. Before the clearing at the edge of the clearing until they saw him rush toward the village had been half crossed the Arabs opened up a withering fire from behind — then all were to follow. the palisade. “Wait!” cautioned Tarzan. “If there are even fifty guns within the With the first volley Waziri fell. The speed of the chargers slackened. palisade we shall be repulsed and slaughtered. Let me go alone through Another volley brought down a half dozen more. A few reached the the trees, so that I may look down upon them from above, and see just barred gates, only to be shot in their tracks, without the ghost of a chance how many there be, and what chance we might have were we to charge. to gain the inside of the palisade, and then the whole attack crumpled, It were foolish to lose a single man needlessly if there be no hope of and the remaining warriors scampered back into the forest. As they ran success. I have an idea that we can accomplish more by cunning than by the raiders opened the gates, rushing after them, to complete the day’s force. Will you wait, Waziri?” work with the utter extermination of the tribe. Tarzan had been among

458 459 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN the last to turn back toward the forest, and now, as he ran slowly, he There was a sudden twang as the brown fingers released their hold, and turned from time to time to speed a well-aimed arrow into the body of without a sound the raider sank forward upon his face, a wooden shaft a pursuer. transfixing his heart and protruding a foot from his black chest. Once within the jungle, he found a little knot of determined blacks Then Tarzan turned his attention to the fifty women and youths waiting to give battle to the oncoming horde, but Tarzan cried to them chained neck to neck on the long slave chain. There was no releasing of to scatter, keeping out of harm’s way until they could gather in force after the ancient padlocks in the time that was left him, so the ape-man called dark. to them to follow him as they were, and, snatching the gun and cartridge “Do as I tell you,” he urged, “and I will lead you to victory over these belt from the dead sentry, he led the now happy band out through the enemies of yours. Scatter through the forest, picking up as many village gate and into the forest upon the far side of the clearing. stragglers as you can find, and at night, if you think that you have been It was a slow and arduous march, for the slave chain was new to followed, come by roundabout ways to the spot where we killed the these people, and there were many delays as one of their number would elephants today. Then I will explain my plan, and you will find that it is stumble and fall, dragging others down with her. Then, too, Tarzan had good. You cannot hope to pit your puny strength and simple weapons been forced to make a wide detour to avoid any possibility of meeting against the numbers and the guns of the Arabs and the Manyuema.” with returning raiders. He was partially guided by occasional shots They finally assented. “When you scatter,” explained Tarzan, in which indicated that the Arab horde was still in touch with the villagers; conclusion, “your foes will have to scatter to follow you, and so it may but he knew that if they would but follow his advice there would be but happen that if you are watchful you can drop many a Manyuema with few casualties other than on the side of the marauders. your arrows from behind some great trees.” Toward dusk the firing ceased entirely, and Tarzan knew that the They had barely time to hasten away farther into the forest before Arabs had all returned to the village. He could scarce repress a smile of the first of the raiders had crossed the clearing and entered it in pursuit triumph as he thought of their rage on discovering that their guard had of them. been killed and their prisoners taken away. Tarzan had wished that he Tarzan ran a short distance along the ground before he took to the might have taken some of the great store of ivory the village contained, trees. Then he raced quickly to the upper terrace, there doubling on his solely for the purpose of still further augmenting the wrath of his tracks and making his way rapidly back toward the village. Here he enemies; but he knew that that was not necessary for its salvation, since found that every Arab and Manyuema had joined in the pursuit, leaving he already had a plan mapped out which would effectually prevent the the village deserted except for the chained prisoners and a single guard. Arabs leaving the country with a single tusk. And it would have been The sentry stood at the open gate, looking in the direction of the cruel to have needlessly burdened these poor, overwrought women with forest, so that he did not see the agile giant that dropped to the ground the extra weight of the heavy ivory. at the far end of the village street. With drawn bow the ape-man crept It was after midnight when Tarzan, with his slow-moving caravan, stealthily toward his unsuspecting victim. The prisoners had already approached the spot where the elephants lay. Long before they reached discovered him, and with wide eyes filled with wonder and with hope it they had been guided by the huge fire the natives had built in the they watched their would-be rescuer. Now he halted not ten paces from center of a hastily improvised boma, partially for warmth and partially to the unconscious Manyuema. The shaft was drawn back its full length at keep off chance lions. the height of the keen gray eye that sighted along its polished surface. When they had come close to the encampment Tarzan called aloud

460 461 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN to let them know that friends were coming. It was a joyous reception the suddenly realized that they did not know which way to turn to find the little party received when the blacks within the boma saw the long file of foe. As they stood debating with many angry shouts and much fettered friends and relatives enter the firelight. These had all been given gesticulating, one of the Arabs sank silently to the ground in their very up as lost forever, as had Tarzan as well, so that the happy blacks would midst — a thin arrow protruding from his heart. have remained awake all night to feast on elephant meat and celebrate Tarzan had placed the finest marksmen of the tribe in the the return of their fellows, had not Tarzan insisted that they take what surrounding trees, with directions never to reveal themselves while the sleep they could, against the work of the coming day. enemy was faced in their direction. As a black released his messenger of At that, sleep was no easy matter, for the women who had lost their death he would slink behind the sheltering stem of the tree he had men or their children in the day’s massacre and battle made night selected, nor would he again aim until a watchful eye told him that none hideous with their continued wailing and howling. Finally, however, was looking toward his tree. Tarzan succeeded in silencing them, on the plea that their noise would Three times the Arabs started across the clearing in the direction attract the Arabs to their hiding-place, when all would be slaughtered. from which they thought the arrows came, but each time another arrow would come from behind to take its toll from among their number. Then hen dawn came Tarzan explained his plan of battle to the they would turn and charge in a new direction. Finally they set out upon warriors, and without demur one and all agreed that it was a determined search of the forest, but the blacks melted before them, so the safest and surest way in which to rid themselves of that they saw no sign of an enemy. theirW unwelcome visitors and be revenged for the murder of their fellows. But above them lurked a grim figure in the dense foliage of the First the women and children, with a guard of some twenty old mighty trees — it was Tarzan of the Apes, hovering over them as if he warriors and youths, were started southward, to be entirely out of the had been the shadow of death. Presently a Manyuema forged ahead of zone of danger. They had instructions to erect temporary shelter and his companions; there was none to see from what direction death came, construct a protecting boma of thorn bush; for the plan of campaign and so it came quickly, and a moment later those behind stumbled over which Tarzan had chosen was one which might stretch out over many the dead body of their comrade — the inevitable arrow piercing the still days, or even weeks, during which time the warriors would not return to heart. the new camp. It does not take a great deal of this manner of warfare to get upon Two hours after daylight a thin circle of black warriors surrounded the nerves of white men, and so it is little to be wondered at that the the village. At intervals one was perched high in the branches of a tree Manyuema were soon panic-stricken. Did one forge ahead an arrow which could overlook the palisade. Presently a Manyuema within the found his heart; did one lag behind he never again was seen alive; did village fell, pierced by a single arrow. There had been no sound of attack one stumble to one side, even for a bare moment from the sight of his — none of the hideous war-cries or vainglorious waving of menacing fellows, he did not return — and always when they came upon the spears that ordinarily marks the attack of savages — just a silent bodies of their dead they found those terrible arrows driven with the messenger of death from out of the silent forest. accuracy of superhuman power straight through the victim’s heart. But The Arabs and their followers were thrown into a fine rage at this worse than all else was the hideous fact that not once during the morning unprecedented occurrence. They ran for the gates, to wreak dire had they seen or heard the slightest sign of an enemy other than the vengeance upon the foolhardy perpetrator of the outrage; but they pitiless arrows.

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When finally they returned to the village it was no better. Every They were frightened when he threatened this, and promised to now and then, at varying intervals that were maddening in the terrible obey him scrupulously if he would but promise not to desert them. suspense they caused, a man would plunge forward dead. The blacks “Very well,” he said. “We shall return to the elephant boma for the besought their masters to leave this terrible place, but the Arabs feared night. I have a plan to give the Arabs a little taste of what they may to take up the march through the grim and hostile forest beset by this expect if they remain in our country, but I shall need no help. Come! If new and terrible enemy while laden with the great store of ivory they they suffer no more for the balance of the day they will feel reassured, had found within the village; but, worse yet, they hated to leave the ivory and the relapse into fear will be even more nerve-racking than as though behind. we continued to frighten them all afternoon.” Finally the entire expedition took refuge within the thatched huts So they marched back to their camp of the previous night, and, — here, at least, they would be free from the arrows. Tarzan, from the lighting great fires, ate and recounted the adventures of the day until tree above the village, had marked the hut into which the chief Arabs long after dark. Tarzan slept until midnight, then he arose and crept into had gone, and, balancing himself upon an overhanging limb, he drove the Cimmerian blackness of the forest. An hour later he came to the his heavy spear with all the force of his giant muscles through the edge of the clearing before the village. There was a camp-fire burning thatched roof. A howl of pain told him that it had found a mark. With within the palisade. The ape-man crept across the clearing until he stood this parting salute to convince them that there was no safety for them before the barred gates. Through the interstices he saw a lone sentry anywhere within the country, Tarzan returned to the forest, collected his sitting before the fire. warriors, and withdrew a mile to the south to rest and eat. He kept Quietly Tarzan went to the tree at the end of the village street. He sentries in several trees that commanded a view of the trail toward the climbed softly to his place, and fitted an arrow to his bow. For several village, but there was no pursuit. minutes he tried to sight fairly upon the sentry, but the waving branches An inspection of his force showed not a single casualty — not even and flickering firelight convinced him that the danger of a miss was too a minor wound; while rough estimates of the enemies’ loss convinced the great — he must touch the heart full in the center to bring the quiet and blacks that no fewer than twenty had fallen before their arrows. They sudden death his plan required. were wild with elation, and were for finishing the day in one glorious He had brought, besides, his bow, arrows, and rope, the gun he had rush upon the village, during which they would slaughter the last of taken the previous day from the other sentry he had killed. Caching all their foemen. They were even picturing the various tortures they would these in a convenient crotch of the tree, he dropped lightly to the ground inflict, and gloating over the suffering of the Manyuema, for whom they within the palisade, armed only with his long knife. The sentry’s back entertained a peculiar hatred, when Tarzan put his foot down flatly upon was toward him. Like a cat Tarzan crept upon the dozing man. He was the plan. within two paces of him now — another instant and the knife would “You are crazy!” he cried. “I have shown you the only way to fight slide silently into the fellow’s heart. these people. Already you have killed twenty of them without the loss of Tarzan crouched for a spring, for that is ever the quickest and surest a single warrior, whereas, yesterday, following your own tactics, which attack of the jungle beast — when the man, warned, by some subtle you would now renew, you lost at least a dozen, and killed not a single sense, sprang to his feet and faced the ape-man. Arab or Manyuema. You will fight just as I tell you to fight, or I shall leave you and go back to my own country.”

464 465 XVII

THE WHITE CHIEF of the WAZIRI

[ return to table of contents ] hen the eyes of the black Manyuema savage fell upon the strange apparition that confronted him with menacing knife they went wide in horror. He forgot the gun within hisW hands; he even forgot to cry out — his one thought was to escape this fearsome-looking white savage, this giant of a man upon whose massive rolling muscles and mighty chest the flickering firelight played. But before he could turn Tarzan was upon him, and then the sentry thought to scream for aid, but it was too late. A great hand was upon his windpipe, and he was being borne to the earth. He battled furiously but futilely — with the grim tenacity of a bulldog those awful fingers were clinging to his throat. Swiftly and surely life was being choked from him. His eyes bulged, his tongue protruded, his face turned to a ghastly THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN purplish hue — there was a convulsive tremor of the stiffening muscles, mysterious deaths occurred among them they took heart again. But it and the Manyuema sentry lay quite still. was a short-lived respite, for just as they had concluded that they would The ape-man threw the body across one of his broad shoulders and, not be disturbed again Tarzan gave voice to a weird moan, and as the gathering up the fellow’s gun, trotted silently up the sleeping village raiders looked up in the direction from which the sound seemed to street toward the tree that gave him such easy ingress to the palisaded come, the ape-man, who stood swinging the dead body of the sentry village. He bore the dead sentry into the midst of the leafy maze above. gently to and fro, suddenly shot the corpse far out above their heads. First he stripped the body of cartridge belt and such ornaments as With howls of alarm the throng broke in all directions to escape this he craved, wedging it into a convenient crotch while his nimble fingers new and terrible creature who seemed to be springing upon them. To ran over it in search of the loot he could not plainly see in the dark. their fear-distorted imaginations the body of the sentry, falling with When he had finished he took the gun that had belonged to the man, wide-sprawled arms and legs, assumed the likeness of a great beast of and walked far out upon a limb, from the end of which he could obtain prey. In their anxiety to escape, many of the blacks scaled the palisade, a better view of the huts. Drawing a careful bead on the beehive structure while others tore down the bars from the gates and rushed madly across in which he knew the chief Arabs to be, he pulled the trigger. Almost the clearing toward the jungle. instantly there was an answering groan. Tarzan smiled. He had made For a time no one turned back toward the thing that had frightened another lucky hit. them, but Tarzan knew that they would in a moment, and when they Following the shot there was a moment’s silence in the camp, and discovered that it was but the dead body of their sentry, while they would then Manyuema and Arab came pouring from the huts like a swarm of doubtless be still further terrified, he had a rather definite idea as to what angry hornets; but if the truth were known they were even more they would do, and so he faded silently away toward the south, taking frightened than they were angry. The strain of the preceding day had the moonlit upper terrace back toward the camp of the Waziri. wrought upon the fears of both black and white, and now this single Presently one of the Arabs turned and saw that the thing that had shot in the night conjured all manner of terrible conjectures in their leaped from the tree upon them lay still and quiet where it had fallen in terrified minds. the center of the village street. Cautiously he crept back toward it until When they discovered that their sentry had disappeared, their fears he saw that it was but a man. A moment later he was beside the figure, were in no way allayed, and as though to bolster their courage by warlike and in another had recognized it as the corpse of the Manyuema who actions, they began to fire rapidly at the barred gates of the village, had stood on guard at the village gate. although no enemy was in sight. Tarzan took advantage of the deafening His companions rapidly gathered around at his call, and after a roar of this fusillade to fire into the mob beneath him. moment’s excited conversation they did precisely what Tarzan had No one heard his shot above the din of rattling musketry in the reasoned they would. Raising their guns to their shoulders, they poured street, but some who were standing close saw one of their number volley after volley into the tree from which the corpse had been thrown crumple suddenly to the earth. When they leaned over him he was dead. — had Tarzan remained there he would have been riddled by a hundred They were panic-stricken, and it took all the brutal authority of the bullets. Arabs to keep the Manyuema from rushing helter-skelter into the jungle When the Arabs and Manyuema discovered that the only marks of — anywhere to escape from this terrible village. violence upon the body of their dead comrade were giant finger prints After a time they commenced to quiet down, and as no further upon his swollen throat they were again thrown into deeper apprehension

468 469 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN and despair. That they were not even safe within a palisaded village at Manyuema threw away their torches and fled from the village. The last night came as a distinct shock to them. That an enemy could enter into Tarzan saw of them they were racing toward the jungle, while their the midst of their camp and kill their sentry with bare hands seemed former masters knelt upon the ground and fired at them. outside the bounds of reason, and so the superstitious Manyuema But however angry the Arabs might have been at the insubordination commenced to attribute their ill luck to supernatural causes; nor were of their slaves, they were at least convinced that it would be the better the Arabs able to offer any better explanation. part of wisdom to forego the pleasure of firing the village that had given With at least fifty of their number flying through the black jungle, them two such nasty receptions. In their hearts, however, they swore to and without the slightest knowledge of when their uncanny foemen return again with such force as would enable them to sweep the entire might resume the cold-blooded slaughter they had commenced, it was a country for miles around, until no vestige of human life remained. desperate band of cut-throats that waited sleeplessly for the dawn. Only They had looked in vain for the owner of the voice which had on the promise of the Arabs that they would leave the village at daybreak, frightened off the men who had been detailed to put the torch to the and hasten onward toward their own land, would the remaining huts, but not even the keenest eye among them had been able to locate Manyuema consent to stay at the village a moment longer. Not even fear him. They had seen the puff of smoke from the tree following the shot of their cruel masters was sufficient to overcome this new terror. that brought down the Arab, but, though a volley had immediately been loosed into its foliage, there had been no indication that it had been nd so it was that when Tarzan and his warriors returned to the effective. attack the next morning they found the raiders prepared to Tarzan was too intelligent to be caught in any such trap, and so the march out of the village. The Manyuema were laden with report of his shot had scarcely died away before the ape-man was on the stolenA ivory. As Tarzan saw it he grinned, for he knew that they would ground and racing for another tree a hundred yards away. Here he again not carry it far. Then he saw something which caused him anxiety — a found a suitable perch from which he could watch the preparations of number of the Manyuema were lighting torches in the remnant of the the raiders. It occurred to him that he might have considerable more fun camp-fire. They were about to fire the village. with them, so again he called to them through his improvised trumpet. Tarzan was perched in a tall tree some hundred yards from the “Leave the ivory!” he cried. “Leave the ivory! Dead men have no use palisade. Making a trumpet of his hands, he called loudly in the Arab for ivory!” tongue: “Do not fire the huts, or we shall kill you all! Do not fire the Some of the Manyuema started to lay down their loads, but this was huts, or we shall kill you all!” altogether too much for the avaricious Arabs. With loud shouts and A dozen times he repeated it. The Manyuema hesitated, then one of curses they aimed their guns full upon the bearers, threatening instant them flung his torch into the campfire. The others were about to do the death to any who might lay down his load. They could give up firing the same when an Arab sprung upon them with a stick, beating them toward village, but the thought of abandoning this enormous fortune in ivory the huts. Tarzan could see that he was commanding them to fire the was quite beyond their conception — better death than that. little thatched dwellings. Then he stood erect upon the swaying branch And so they marched out of the village of the Waziri, and on the a hundred feet above the ground, and, raising one of the Arab guns to shoulders of their slaves was the ivory ransom of a score of kings. Toward his shoulder, took careful aim and fired. With the report the Arab who the north they marched, back toward their savage settlement in the wild was urging on his men to burn the village fell in his tracks, and the and unknown country which lies back from the Kongo in the uttermost

470 471 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN depths of The Great Forest, and on either side of them traveled an clear and strong, from the jungle: “Today you die, oh, Manyuema, unless invisible and relentless foe. you lay down the ivory. Fall upon your cruel masters and kill them! You Under Tarzan’s guidance the black Waziri warriors stationed have guns, why do you not use them? Kill the Arabs, and we will not themselves along the trail on either side in the densest underbrush. They harm you. We will take you back to our village and feed you, and lead stood at far intervals, and, as the column passed, a single arrow or a heavy you out of our country in safety and in peace. Lay down the ivory, and spear, well aimed, would pierce a Manyuema or an Arab. Then the Waziri fall upon your masters — we will help you. Else you die!” would melt into the distance and run ahead to take his stand farther on. As the voice died down the raiders stood as though turned to stone. They did not strike unless success were sure and the danger of detection The Arabs eyed their Manyuema slaves; the slaves looked first at one of almost nothing, and so the arrows and the spears were few and far their fellows, and then at another — they were but waiting for someone between, but so persistent and inevitable that the slow-moving column to take the initiative. There were some thirty Arabs left, and about one of heavy-laden raiders was in a constant state of panic — panic at the hundred and fifty blacks. All were armed — even those who were acting uncertainty of who the next would be to fall, and when. as porters had their rifles slung across their backs. It was with the greatest difficulty that the Arabs prevented their The Arabs drew together. The sheik ordered the Manyuema to take men a dozen times from throwing away their burdens and fleeing like up the march, and as he spoke he cocked his rifle and raised it. But at the frightened rabbits up the trail toward the north. And so the day wore on same instant one of the blacks threw down his load, and, snatching his — a frightful nightmare of a day for the raiders — a day of weary but rifle from his back, fired point-blank at the group of Arabs. In an instant well-repaid work for the Waziri. At night the Arabs constructed a rude the camp was a cursing, howling mass of demons, fighting with guns boma in a little clearing by a river, and went into camp. and knives and pistols. The Arabs stood together, and defended their At intervals during the night a rifle would bark close above their lives valiantly, but with the rain of lead that poured upon them from heads, and one of the dozen sentries which they now had posted would their own slaves, and the shower of arrows and spears which now leaped tumble to the ground. Such a condition was insupportable, for they saw from the surrounding jungle aimed solely at them, there was little that by means of these hideous tactics they would be completely wiped question from the first what the outcome would be. In ten minutes from out, one by one, without inflicting a single death upon their enemy. But the time the first porter had thrown down his load the last of the Arabs yet, with the persistent avariciousness of the white man, the Arabs clung lay dead. to their loot, and when morning came forced the demoralized Manyuema When the firing had ceased Tarzan spoke again to the Manyuema: to take up their burdens of death and stagger on into the jungle. “Take up our ivory, and return it to our village, from whence you For three days the withering column kept up its frightful march. stole it. We shall not harm you.” Each hour was marked by its deadly arrow or cruel spear. The nights For a moment the Manyuema hesitated. They had no stomach to were made hideous by the barking of the invisible gun that made sentry retrace that difficult three days’ trail. They talked together in low duty equivalent to a death sentence. whispers, and one turned toward the jungle, calling aloud to the voice that had spoken to them from out of the foliage. n the morning of the fourth day the Arabs were compelled to “How do we know that when you have us in your village you will not shoot two of their blacks before they could compel the balance kill us all?” he asked. to take up the hated ivory, and as they did so a voice rang out, “You do not know,” replied Tarzan, “other than that we have

O 472 473 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN promised not to harm you if you will return our ivory to us. But this you been directing the warriors in battle, and the temporary command had do know, that it lies within our power to kill you all if you do not return been tacitly conceded to him. There had been no time to choose a new as we direct, and are we not more likely to do so if you anger us than if chief from among their own number, and, in fact, so remarkably you do as we bid?” successful had they been under the ape-man’s generalship that they had “Who are you that speaks the tongue of our Arab masters?” cried had no wish to delegate the supreme authority to another for fear that the Manyuema spokesman. “Let us see you, and then we shall give you what they already had gained might be lost. They had so recently seen our answer.” the results of running counter to this savage white man’s advice in the Tarzan stepped out of the jungle a dozen paces from them. disastrous charge ordered by Waziri, in which he himself had died, that “Look!” he said. When they saw that he was white they were filled it had not been difficult for them to accept Tarzan’s authority as final. with awe, for never had they seen a white savage before, and at his great The principal warriors sat in a circle about a small fire to discuss the muscles and giant frame they were struck with wonder and admiration. relative merits of whomever might be suggested as old Waziri’s successor. “You may trust me,” said Tarzan. “So long as you do as I tell you, and It was Busuli who spoke first: harm none of my people, we shall do you no hurt. Will you take up our “Since Waziri is dead, leaving no son, there is but one among us ivory and return in peace to our village, or shall we follow along your whom we know from experience is fitted to make us a good king. There trail toward the north as we have followed for the past three days?” is only one who has proved that he can successfully lead us against the The recollection of the horrid days that had just passed was the guns of the white man, and bring us easy victory without the loss of a thing that finally decided the Manyuema, and so, after a short conference, single life. There is only one, and that is the white man who has led us they took up their burdens and set off to retrace their steps toward the for the past few days,” and Busuli sprang to his feet, and with uplifted village of the Waziri. At the end of the third day they marched into the spear and half-bent, crouching body commenced to dance slowly about village gate, and were greeted by the survivors of the recent massacre, to Tarzan, chanting in time to his steps: “Waziri, king of the Waziri; Waziri, whom Tarzan had sent a messenger in their temporary camp to the killer of Arabs; Waziri, king of the Waziri.” south on the day that the raiders had quitted the village, telling them One by one the other warriors signified their acceptance of Tarzan that they might return in safety. as their king by joining in the solemn dance. The women came and squatted about the rim of the circle, beating upon tom-toms, clapping t took all the mastery and persuasion that Tarzan possessed to their hands in time to the steps of the dancers, and joining in the chant prevent the Waziri falling on the Manyuema tooth and nail, and of the warriors. In the center of the circle sat Tarzan of the Apes — tearing them to pieces, but when he had explained that he had Waziri, king of the Waziri, for, like his predecessor, he was to take the Igiven his word that they would not be molested if they carried the ivory name of his tribe as his own. back to the spot from which they had stolen it, and had further impressed Faster and faster grew the pace of the dancers, louder and louder upon his people that they owed their entire victory to him, they finally their wild and savage shouts. The women rose and fell in unison, acceded to his demands, and allowed the cannibals to rest in peace shrieking now at the tops of their voices. The spears were brandishing within their palisade. fiercely, and as the dancers stooped down and beat their shields upon the That night the village warriors held a big palaver to celebrate their hard-tramped earth of the village street the whole sight was as terribly victories, and to choose a new chief. Since old Waziri’s death Tarzan had primeval and savage as though it were being staged in the dim dawn of

474 475 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS humanity, countless ages in the past. As the excitement waxed the ape-man sprang to his feet and joined in the wild ceremony. In the center of the circle of glittering black bodies he leaped and roared and shook his heavy spear in the same mad abandon that enthralled his fellow savages. The last remnant of his civilization was forgotten — he was a primitive man to the fullest now; reveling in the freedom of the fierce, wild life he loved, gloating in his kingship among these wild blacks. Ah, if Olga de Coude had but seen him then — could she have recognized the well-dressed, quiet young man whose well-bred face and irreproachable manners had so captivated her but a few short months ago? And Jane Porter! Would she have still loved this savage warrior chieftain, dancing naked among his naked savage subjects? And XVIII D’Arnot! Could D’Arnot have believed that this was the same man he had introduced into half a dozen of the most select clubs of Paris? What would his fellow peers in the House of Lords have said had one pointed THE LOTTERY of DEATH to this dancing giant, with his barbaric headdress and his metal ornaments, and said: “There, my lords, is John Clayton, Lord Greystoke.” And so Tarzan of the Apes came into a real kingship among men — slowly but surely was he following the evolution of his ancestors, for [ return to table of contents ] had he not started at the very bottom? ane Porter had been the first of those in the lifeboat to awaken the morning after the wreck of the Lady Alice. The other members of the party were asleep upon the thwarts or huddled in cramped positions inJ the bottom of the boat. When the girl realized that they had become separated from the other boats she was filled with alarm. The sense of utter loneliness and helplessness which the vast expanse of deserted ocean aroused in her was so depressing that, from the first, contemplation of the future held not the slightest ray of promise for her. She was confident that they were lost — lost beyond possibility of succor. Presently Clayton awoke. It was several minutes before he could gather his senses sufficiently to realize where he was, or recall the disaster of the previous night. Finally his bewildered eyes fell upon the girl. “Jane!” he cried. “Thank God that we are together!”

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“Look,” said the girl dully, indicating the horizon with an apathetic from no — furriner — you ain’t captain o’ this ship yet.” gesture. “We are all alone.” The result was that Clayton himself had to get the tin, and then Clayton scanned the water in every direction. another angry altercation ensued when one of the sailors accused “Where can they be?” he cried. “They cannot have gone down, for Clayton and Monsieur Thuran of conspiring to control the provisions so there has been no sea, and they were afloat after the yacht sank — I saw that they could have the lion’s share. them all.” “Some one should take command of this boat,” spoke up Jane Porter, He awoke the other members of the party, and explained their thoroughly disgusted with the disgraceful wrangling that had marked plight. the very opening of a forced companionship that might last for many “It is just as well that the boats are scattered, sir,” said one of the days. “It is terrible enough to be alone in a frail boat on the Atlantic, sailors. “They are all provisioned, so that they do not need each other on without having the added misery and danger of constant bickering and that score, and should a storm blow up they could be of no service to one brawling among the members of our party. You men should elect a another even if they were together, but scattered about the ocean there leader, and then abide by his decisions in all matters. There is greater is a much better chance that one at least will be picked up, and then a need for strict discipline here than there is upon a well-ordered ship.” search will be at once started for the others. Were we together there She had hoped before she voiced her sentiments that it would not would be but one chance of rescue, where now there may be four.” be necessary for her to enter into the transaction at all, for she believed They saw the wisdom of his philosophy, and were cheered by it, but that Clayton was amply able to cope with every emergency, but she had their joy was short-lived, for when it was decided that they should row to admit that so far at least he had shown no greater promise of steadily toward the east and the continent, it was discovered that the successfully handling the situation than any of the others, though he had sailors who had been at the only two oars with which the boat had been at least refrained from adding in any way to the unpleasantness, even provided had fallen asleep at their work, and allowed both to slip into going so far as to give up the tin to the sailors when they objected to its the sea, nor were they in sight anywhere upon the water. being opened by him. During the angry words and recriminations which followed the The girl’s words temporarily quieted the men, and finally it was sailors nearly came to blows, but Clayton succeeded in quieting them; decided that the two kegs of water and the four tins of food should be though a moment later Monsieur Thuran almost precipitated another divided into two parts, one-half going forward to the three sailors to do row by making a nasty remark about the stupidity of all Englishmen, with as they saw best, and the balance aft to the three passengers. and especially English sailors. Thus was the little company divided into two camps, and when the “Come, come, mates,” spoke up one of the men, Tompkins, who had provisions had been apportioned each immediately set to work to open taken no part in the altercation, “shootin’ off our bloomin’ mugs won’t get and distribute food and water. The sailors were the first to get one of the us nothin’. As Spider ‘ere said afore, we’ll all bloody well be picked up, tins of “food” open, and their curses of rage and disappointment caused anyway, sez ‘e, so wot’s the use o’ squabblin’? Let’s eat, sez I.” Clayton to ask what the trouble might be. “That’s not a bad idea,” said Monsieur Thuran, and then, turning to “Trouble!” shrieked Spider. “Trouble! It’s worse than trouble — it’s the third sailor, Wilson, he said: “Pass one of those tins aft, my good death! This — tin is full of coal oil!” man.” Hastily now Clayton and Monsieur Thuran tore open one of theirs, “Fetch it yerself,” retorted Wilson sullenly. “I ain’t a-takin’ no orders only to learn the hideous truth that it also contained, not food, but coal

478 479 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN oil. One after another the four tins on board were opened. And as the the agony of the sailors was pitiful, as their weak and impoverished contents of each became known howls of anger announced the grim stomachs attempted to cope with the bits of leather with which they had truth — there was not an ounce of food upon the boat. filled them. Tompkins was the first to succumb. Just a week from the day “Well, thank Gawd it wasn’t the water,” cried Thompkins. “It’s easier the Lady Alice went down the sailor died horribly in frightful convulsions. to get along without food than it is without water. We can eat our shoes For hours his contorted and hideous features lay grinning back at if worse comes to worst, but we couldn’t drink ‘em.” those in the stern of the little boat, until Jane Porter could endure the As he spoke Wilson had been boring a hole in one of the water kegs, sight no longer. “Can you not drop his body overboard, William?” she and as Spider held a tin cup he tilted the keg to pour a draft of the asked. precious fluid. A thin stream of blackish, dry particles filtered slowly Clayton rose and staggered toward the corpse. The two remaining through the tiny aperture into the bottom of the cup. With a groan sailors eyed him with a strange, baleful light in their sunken orbs. Futilely Wilson dropped the keg, and sat staring at the dry stuff in the cup, the Englishman tried to lift the corpse over the side of the boat, but his speechless with horror. strength was not equal to the task. “The kegs are filled with gunpowder,” said Spider, in a low tone, “Lend me a hand here, please,” he said to Wilson, who lay nearest turning to those aft. And so it proved when the last had been opened. him. “Coal oil and gunpowder!” cried Monsieur Thuran. “Sapristi! What “Wot do you want to throw ‘im over for?” questioned the sailor, in a a diet for shipwrecked mariners!” querulous voice. With the full knowledge that there was neither food nor water on “We’ve got to before we’re too weak to do it,” replied Clayton. “He’d board, the pangs of hunger and thirst became immediately aggravated, be awful by tomorrow, after a day under that broiling sun.” and so on the first day of their tragic adventure real suffering commenced “Better leave well enough alone,” grumbled Wilson. “We may need in grim earnest, and the full horrors of shipwreck were upon them. him before tomorrow.” Slowly the meaning of the man’s words percolated into Clayton’s s the days passed conditions became horrible. Aching eyes understanding. At last he realized the fellow’s reason for objecting to the scanned the horizon day and night until the weak and weary disposal of the dead man. watchers would sink exhausted to the bottom of the boat, and “God!” whispered Clayton, in a horrified tone. “You don’t mean thereA wrest in dream-disturbed slumber a moment’s respite from the — ” horrors of the waking reality. “W’y not?” growled Wilson. “Ain’t we gotta live? He’s dead,” he The sailors, goaded by the remorseless pangs of hunger, had eaten added, jerking his thumb in the direction of the corpse. “He won’t care.” their leather belts, their shoes, the sweatbands from their caps, although “Come here, Thuran,” said Clayton, turning toward the Russian. both Clayton and Monsieur Thuran had done their best to convince “We’ll have something worse than death aboard us if we don’t get rid of them that these would only add to the suffering they were enduring. this body before dark.” Weak and hopeless, the entire party lay beneath the pitiless tropic Wilson staggered up menacingly to prevent the contemplated act, sun, with parched lips and swollen tongues, waiting for the death they but when his comrade, Spider, took sides with Clayton and Monsieur were beginning to crave. The intense suffering of the first few days had Thuran he gave up, and sat eying the corpse hungrily as the three men, become deadened for the three passengers who had eaten nothing, but by combining their efforts, succeeded in rolling it overboard.

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All the balance of the day Wilson sat glaring at Clayton, in his eyes “There might be a chance if we had food, but without food there is the gleam of insanity. Toward evening, as the sun was sinking into the none. There remains for us, then, but one of two alternatives, and we sea, he commenced to chuckle and mumble to himself, but his eyes never must choose at once. Either we must all die together within a few days, left Clayton. or one must be sacrificed that the others may live. Do you quite clearly After it became quite dark Clayton could still feel those terrible eyes grasp my meaning?” upon him. He dared not sleep, and yet so exhausted was he that it was a Jane Porter, who had overheard, was horrified. If the proposition constant fight to retain consciousness. After what seemed an eternity of had come from the poor, ignorant sailor, she might possibly have not suffering his head dropped upon a thwart, and he slept. How long he been so surprised; but that it should come from one who posed as a man was unconscious he did not know — he was awakened by a shuffling of culture and refinement, from a gentleman, she could scarcely credit. noise quite close to him. The moon had risen, and as he opened his “It is better that we die together, then,” said Clayton. startled eyes he saw Wilson creeping stealthily toward him, his mouth “That is for the majority to decide,” replied Monsieur Thuran. “As open and his swollen tongue hanging out. only one of us three will be the object of sacrifice, we shall decide. Miss The slight noise had awakened Jane Porter at the same time, and as Porter is not interested, since she will be in no danger.” she saw the hideous tableau she gave a shrill cry of alarm, and at the “How shall we know who is to be first?” asked Spider. same instant the sailor lurched forward and fell upon Clayton. Like a “It may be fairly fixed by lot,” replied Monsieur Thuran. “I have a wild beast his teeth sought the throat of his intended prey, but Clayton, number of franc pieces in my pocket. We can choose a certain date from weak though he was, still found sufficient strength to hold the maniac’s among them — the one to draw this date first from beneath a piece of mouth from him. cloth will be the first.” At Jane Porter’s scream Monsieur Thuran and Spider awoke. On “I shall have nothing to do with any such diabolical plan,” muttered seeing the cause of her alarm, both men crawled to Clayton’s rescue, and Clayton; “even yet land may be sighted or a ship appear — in time.” between the three of them were able to subdue Wilson and hurl him to “You will do as the majority decide, or you will be ‘the first’ without the bottom of the boat. For a few minutes he lay there chattering and the formality of drawing lots,” said Monsieur Thuran threateningly. laughing, and then, with an awful scream, and before any of his “Come, let us vote on the plan; I for one am in favor of it. How about companions could prevent, he staggered to his feet and leaped overboard. you, Spider?” The reaction from the terrific strain of excitement left the weak “And I,” replied the sailor. survivors trembling and prostrated. Spider broke down and wept; Jane “It is the will of the majority,” announced Monsieur Thuran, “and Porter prayed; Clayton swore softly to himself; Monsieur Thuran sat now let us lose no time in drawing lots. It is as fair for one as for another. with his head in his hands, thinking. The result of his cogitation That three may live, one of us must die perhaps a few hours sooner than developed the following morning in a proposition he made to Spider otherwise.” and Clayton. Then he began his preparation for the lottery of death, while Jane “Gentlemen,” said Monsieur Thuran, “you see the fate that awaits us Porter sat wide-eyed and horrified at thought of the thing that she was all unless we are picked up within a day or two. That there is little hope about to witness. Monsieur Thuran spread his coat upon the bottom of of that is evidenced by the fact that during all the days we have drifted the boat, and then from a handful of money he selected six franc pieces. we have seen no sail, nor the faintest smudge of smoke upon the horizon. The other two men bent close above him as he inspected them. Finally

482 483 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN he handed them all to Clayton. had been five to one, and Clayton’s four to one. “Look at them carefully,” he said. “The oldest date is eighteen- The Russian was very patient, and did not hurry the man, for he seventy-five, and there is only one of that year.” knew that he himself was quite safe whether the 1875 piece came out Clayton and the sailor inspected each coin. To them there seemed this time or not. When the sailor withdrew his hand and looked at the not the slightest difference that could be detected other than the dates. piece of money within, he dropped fainting to the bottom of the boat. They were quite satisfied. Had they known that Monsieur Thuran’s past Both Clayton and Monsieur Thuran hastened weakly to examine the experience as a card sharp had trained his sense of touch to so fine a coin, which had rolled from the man’s hand and lay beside him. It was point that he could almost differentiate between cards by the mere feel not dated 1875. The reaction from the state of fear he had been in had of them, they would scarcely have felt that the plan was so entirely fair. overcome Spider quite as effectually as though he had drawn the fated The 1875 piece was a hair thinner than the other coins, but neither piece. Clayton nor Spider could have detected it without the aid of a micrometer. But now the whole proceeding must be gone through again. Once “In what order shall we draw?” asked Monsieur Thuran, knowing more the Russian drew forth a harmless coin. Jane Porter closed her eyes from past experience that the majority of men always prefer last chance as Clayton reached beneath the coat. Spider bent, wide-eyed, toward the in a lottery where the single prize is some distasteful thing — there is hand that was to decide his fate, for whatever luck was Clayton’s on this always the chance and the hope that another will draw it first. Monsieur last draw, the opposite would be Spider’s. Then William Cecil Clayton, Thuran, for reasons of his own, preferred to draw first if the drawing Lord Greystoke, removed his hand from beneath the coat, and with a should happen to require a second adventure beneath the coat. coin tight pressed within his palm where none might see it, he looked at And so when Spider elected to draw last he graciously offered to Jane Porter. He did not dare open his hand. take the first chance himself. His hand was under the coat for but a “Quick!” hissed Spider. “My Gawd, let’s see it.” moment, yet those quick, deft fingers had felt of each coin, and found Clayton opened his fingers. Spider was the first to see the date, and and discarded the fatal piece. When he brought forth his hand it ere any knew what his intention was he raised himself to his feet, and contained an 1888 franc piece. Then Clayton drew. Jane Porter leaned lunged over the side of the boat, to disappear forever into the green forward with a tense and horrified expression on her face as the hand of depths beneath — the coin had not been the 1875 piece. the man she was to marry groped about beneath the coat. Presently he The strain had exhausted those who remained to such an extent that withdrew it, a franc piece lying in the palm. For an instant he dared not they lay half unconscious for the balance of the day, nor was the subject look, but Monsieur Thuran, who had leaned nearer to see the date, referred to again for several days. Horrible days of increasing weakness exclaimed that he was safe. and hopelessness. At length Monsieur Thuran crawled to where Clayton Jane Porter sank weak and trembling against the side of the boat. lay. She felt sick and dizzy. And now, if Spider should not draw the 1875 “We must draw once more before we are too weak even to eat,” he piece she must endure the whole horrid thing again. whispered. The sailor already had his hand beneath the coat. Great beads of Clayton was in such a state that he was scarcely master of his own sweat were standing upon his brow. He trembled as though with a fit of will. Jane Porter had not spoken for three days. He knew that she was ague. Aloud he cursed himself for having taken the last draw, for now his dying. Horrible as the thought was, he hoped that the sacrifice of either chances for escape were but three to one, whereas Monsieur Thuran’s Thuran or himself might be the means of giving her renewed strength,

484 485 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN and so he immediately agreed to the Russian’s proposal. Russian wail. “It is too late. You have tricked me, you dirty English dog.” They drew under the same plan as before, but there could be but one “I have not tricked you, monsieur,” replied Clayton. “I have done my result — Clayton drew the 1875 piece. best to rise, but I shall try again, and if you will try possibly each of us “When shall it be?” he asked Thuran. can crawl halfway, and then you shall have your ‘winnings.’“ The Russian had already drawn a pocketknife from his trousers, and Again Clayton exerted his remaining strength to the utmost, and he was weakly attempting to open it. heard Thuran apparently doing the same. Nearly an hour later the “Now,” he muttered, and his greedy eyes gloated upon the Englishman succeeded in raising himself to his hands and knees, but at Englishman. the first forward movement he pitched upon his face. “Can’t you wait until dark?” asked Clayton. “Miss Porter must not A moment later he heard an exclamation of relief from Monsieur see this thing done. We were to have been married, you know.” Thuran. A look of disappointment came over Monsieur Thuran’s face. “I am coming,” whispered the Russian. “Very well,” he replied hesitatingly. “It will not be long until night. I Again Clayton essayed to stagger on to meet his fate, but once more have waited for many days — I can wait a few hours longer.” he pitched headlong to the boat’s bottom, nor, try as he would, could he “Thank you, my friend,” murmured Clayton. “Now I shall go to her again rise. His last effort caused him to roll over on his back, and there side and remain with her until it is time. I would like to have an hour or he lay looking up at the stars, while behind him, coming ever nearer and two with her before I die.” nearer, he could hear the laborious shuffling, and the stertorous breathing When Clayton reached the girl’s side she was unconscious — he of the Russian. knew that she was dying, and he was glad that she should not have to see It seemed that he must have lain thus an hour waiting for the thing or know the awful tragedy that was shortly to be enacted. He took her to crawl out of the dark and end his misery. It was quite close now, but hand and raised it to his cracked and swollen lips. For a long time he lay there were longer and longer pauses between its efforts to advance, and caressing the emaciated, clawlike thing that had once been the beautiful, each forward movement seemed to the waiting Englishman to be almost shapely white hand of the young Baltimore belle. imperceptible. It was quite dark before he knew it, but he was recalled to himself by Finally he knew that Thuran was quite close beside him. He heard a voice out of the night. It was the Russian calling him to his doom. a cackling laugh, something touched his face, and he lost consciousness. “I am coming, Monsieur Thuran,” he hastened to reply. Thrice he attempted to turn himself upon his hands and knees, that he might crawl back to his death, but in the few hours that he had lain there he had become too weak to return to Thuran’s side. “You will have to come to me, monsieur,” he called weakly. “I have not sufficient strength to gain my hands and knees.” “Sapristi!” muttered Monsieur Thuran. “You are attempting to cheat me out of my winnings.” Clayton heard the man shuffling about in the bottom of the boat. Finally there was a despairing groan. “I cannot crawl,” he heard the

486 487 XIX

THE CITY of GOLD

[ return to table of contents ] he very night that Tarzan of the Apes became chief of the Waziri the woman he loved lay dying in a tiny boat two hundred miles west of him upon the Atlantic. As he danced among his Tnaked fellow savages, the firelight gleaming against his great, rolling muscles, the personification of physical perfection and strength, the woman who loved him lay thin and emaciated in the last coma that precedes death by thirst and starvation. The week following the induction of Tarzan into the kingship of the Waziri was occupied in escorting the Manyuema of the Arab raiders to the northern boundary of Waziri in accordance with the promise which Tarzan had made them. Before he left them he exacted a pledge from them that they would not lead any expeditions against the Waziri in the THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN future, nor was it a difficult promise to obtain. They had had sufficient the pass through which they were entering the forbidden valley. Behind experience with the fighting tactics of the new Waziri chief not to have him stretched the wooded valley across which they had marched for the slightest desire to accompany another predatory force within the many days, and at the opposite side the low range which marked the boundaries of his domain. boundary of their own country. Almost immediately upon his return to the village Tarzan But before him was the view that centered his attention. Here lay a commenced making preparations for leading an expedition in search of desolate valley — a shallow, narrow valley dotted with stunted trees and the ruined city of gold which old Waziri had described to him. He covered with many great boulders. And on the far side of the valley lay selected fifty of the sturdiest warriors of his tribe, choosing only men what appeared to be a mighty city, its great walls, its lofty spires, its who seemed anxious to accompany him on the arduous march, and share turrets, minarets, and domes showing red and yellow in the sunlight. the dangers of a new and hostile country. Tarzan was yet too far away to note the marks of ruin — to him it The fabulous wealth of the fabled city had been almost constantly in appeared a wonderful city of magnificent beauty, and in imagination he his mind since Waziri had recounted the strange adventures of the peopled its broad avenues and its huge temples with a throng of happy, former expedition which had stumbled upon the vast ruins by chance. active people. The lure of adventure may have been quite as powerful a factor in urging For an hour the little expedition rested upon the mountain-top, and Tarzan of the Apes to undertake the journey as the lure of gold, but the then Tarzan led them down into the valley below. There was no trail, but lure of gold was there, too, for he had learned among civilized men the way was less arduous than the ascent of the opposite face of the something of the miracles that may be wrought by the possessor of the mountain had been. Once in the valley their progress was rapid, so that magic yellow metal. What he would do with a golden fortune in the it was still light when they halted before the towering walls of the ancient heart of savage Africa it had not occurred to him to consider — it would city. be enough to possess the power to work wonders, even though he never The outer wall was fifty feet in height where it had not fallen into had an opportunity to employ it. ruin, but nowhere as far as they could see had more than ten or twenty So one glorious tropical morning Waziri, chief of the Waziri, set out feet of the upper courses fallen away. It was still a formidable defense. at the head of fifty clean-limbed ebon warriors in quest of adventure and On several occasions Tarzan had thought that he discerned things of riches. They followed the course which old Waziri had described to moving behind the ruined portions of the wall near to them, as though Tarzan. For days they marched — up one river, across a low divide; down creatures were watching them from behind the bulwarks of the ancient another river; up a third, until at the end of the twenty-fifth day they pile. And often he felt the sensation of unseen eyes upon him, but not camped upon a mountainside, from the summit of which they hoped to once could he be sure that it was more than imagination. catch their first view of the marvelous city of treasure. Early the next morning they were climbing the almost perpendicular hat night they camped outside the city. Once, at midnight, they crags which formed the last, but greatest, natural barrier between them were awakened by a shrill scream from beyond the great wall. It and their destination. It was nearly noon before Tarzan, who headed the was very high at first, descending gradually until it ended in a thin line of climbing warriors, scrambled over the top of the last cliff and Tseries of dismal moans. It had a strange effect upon the blacks, almost stood upon the little flat table-land of the mountaintop. paralyzing them with terror while it lasted, and it was an hour before the On either hand towered mighty peaks thousands of feet higher than camp settled down to sleep once more. In the morning the effects of it

490 491 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN were still visible in the fearful, sidelong glances that the Waziri continually were looking. Dim, shadowy shapes appeared to be moving about in the cast at the massive and forbidding structure which loomed above them. semi-darkness of the interior. There was nothing tangible that the eye It required considerable encouragement and urging on Tarzan’s part could grasp — only an uncanny suggestion of life where it seemed that to prevent the blacks from abandoning the venture on the spot and there should be no life, for living things seemed out of place in this hastening back across the valley toward the cliffs they had scaled the day weird, dead city of the long-dead past. before. But at length, by dint of commands, and threats that he would Tarzan recalled something that he had read in the library at Paris of enter the city alone, they agreed to accompany him. a lost race of white men that native legend described as living in the For fifteen minutes they marched along the face of the wall before heart of Africa. He wondered if he were not looking upon the ruins of they discovered a means of ingress. Then they came to a narrow cleft the civilization that this strange people had wrought amid the savage about twenty inches wide. Within, a flight of concrete steps, worn hollow surroundings of their strange and savage home. Could it be possible that by centuries of use, rose before them, to disappear at a sharp turning of even now a remnant of that lost race inhabited the ruined grandeur that the passage a few yards ahead. had once been their progenitor? Again he became conscious of a stealthy Into this narrow alley Tarzan made his way, turning his giant movement within the great temple before him. “Come!” he said, to his shoulders sideways that they might enter at all. Behind him trailed his Waziri. “Let us have a look at what lies behind those ruined walls.” black warriors. At the turn in the cleft the stairs ended, and the path was His men were loath to follow him, but when they saw that he was level; but it wound and twisted in a serpentine fashion, until suddenly at bravely entering the frowning portal they trailed a few paces behind in a a sharp angle it debouched upon a narrow court, across which loomed an huddled group that seemed the personification of nervous terror. A inner wall equally as high as the outer. This inner wall was set with little single shriek such as they had heard the night before would have been round towers alternating along its entire summit with pointed monoliths. sufficient to have sent them all racing madly for the narrow cleft that led In places these had fallen, and the wall was ruined, but it was in a much through the great walls to the outer world. better state of preservation than the outer wall. As Tarzan entered the building he was distinctly aware of many eyes Another narrow passage led through this wall, and at its end Tarzan upon him. There was a rustling in the shadows of a near-by corridor, and and his warriors found themselves in a broad avenue, on the opposite he could have sworn that he saw a human hand withdrawn from an side of which crumbling edifices of hewn granite loomed dark and embrasure that opened above him into the domelike rotunda in which forbidding. Upon the crumbling debris along the face of the buildings he found himself. trees had grown, and vines wound in and out of the hollow, staring The floor of the chamber was of concrete, the walls of smooth windows; but the building directly opposite them seemed less overgrown granite, upon which strange figures of men and beasts were carved. In than the others, and in a much better state of preservation. It was a places tablets of yellow metal had been set in the solid masonry of the massive pile, surmounted by an enormous dome. At either side of its walls. great entrance stood rows of tall pillars, each capped by a huge, grotesque When he approached closer to one of these tablets he saw that it bird carved from the solid rock of the monoliths. was of gold, and bore many hieroglyphics. Beyond this first chamber As the ape-man and his companions stood gazing in varying degrees there were others, and back of them the building branched out into of wonderment at this ancient city in the midst of savage Africa, several enormous wings. Tarzan passed through several of these chambers, of them became aware of movement within the structure at which they finding many evidences of the fabulous wealth of the original builders.

492 493 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN

In one room were seven pillars of solid gold, and in another the floor Then Tarzan wheeled and passed on into the depths of the temple. itself was of the precious metal. And all the while that he explored, his From room to room he went, until he came to one at which a rude, blacks huddled close together at his back, and strange shapes hovered barred door still stood, and as he put his shoulder against it to push it in, upon either hand and before them and behind, yet never close enough again the shriek of warning rang out almost beside him. It was evident that any might say that they were not alone. that he was being warned to refrain from desecrating this particular The strain, however, was telling upon the nerves of the Waziri. They room. Or could it be that within lay the secret to the treasure stores? begged Tarzan to return to the sunlight. They said that no good could At any rate, the very fact that the strange, invisible guardians of this come of such an expedition, for the ruins were haunted by the spirits of weird place had some reason for wishing him not to enter this particular the dead who had once inhabited them. chamber was sufficient to treble Tarzan’s desire to do so, and though the “They are watching us, O king,” whispered Busuli. “They are waiting shrieking was repeated continuously, he kept his shoulder to the door until they have led us into the innermost recesses of their stronghold, until it gave before his giant strength to swing open upon creaking and then they will fall upon us and tear us to pieces with their teeth. wooden hinges. That is the way with spirits. My mother’s uncle, who is a great witch doctor, has told me all about it many times.” ithin all was black as the tomb. There was no window to Tarzan laughed. “Run back into the sunlight, my children,” he said. let in the faintest ray of light, and as the corridor upon “I will join you when I have searched this old ruin from top to bottom, which it opened was itself in semi-darkness, even the open and found the gold, or found that there is none. At least we may take the doorW shed no relieving rays within. Feeling before him upon the floor tablets from the walls, though the pillars are too heavy for us to handle; with the butt of his spear, Tarzan entered the Stygian gloom. Suddenly but there should be great storerooms filled with gold — gold that we can the door behind him closed, and at the same time hands clutched him carry away upon our backs with ease. Run on now, out into the fresh air from every direction out of the darkness. where you may breathe easier.” The ape-man fought with all the savage fury of self-preservation Some of the warriors started to obey their chief with alacrity, but backed by the herculean strength that was his. But though he felt his Busuli and several others hesitated to leave him — hesitated between blows land, and his teeth sink into soft flesh, there seemed always two new love and loyalty for their king, and superstitious fear of the unknown. hands to take the place of those that he fought off. At last they dragged And then, quite unexpectedly, that occurred which decided the question him down, and slowly, very slowly, they overcame him by the mere weight without the necessity for further discussion. Out of the silence of the of their numbers. And then they bound him — his hands behind his back ruined temple there rang, close to their ears, the same hideous shriek and his feet trussed up to meet them. He had heard no sound except the they had heard the previous night, and with horrified cries the black heavy breathing of his antagonists, and the noise of the battle. He knew warriors turned and fled through the empty halls of the age-old edifice. not what manner of creatures had captured him, but that they were human Behind them stood Tarzan of the Apes where they had left him, a seemed evident from the fact that they had bound him. grim smile upon his lips — waiting for the enemy he fully expected was Presently they lifted him from the floor, and half dragging, half about to pounce upon him. But again silence reigned, except for the pushing him, they brought him out of the black chamber through faint suggestion of the sound of naked feet moving stealthily in near-by another doorway into an inner courtyard of the temple. Here he saw his places. captors. There must have been a hundred of them — short, stocky men,

494 495 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN with great beards that covered their faces and fell upon their hairy the crucial test until darkness had fallen, or he felt that no spying eyes breasts. were upon him. The thick, matted hair upon their heads grew low over their receding He had lain within the court for several hours before the first rays of brows, and hung about their shoulders and their backs. Their crooked sunlight penetrated the vertical shaft; almost simultaneously he heard legs were short and heavy, their arms long and muscular. About their the pattering of bare feet in the corridors about him, and a moment later loins they wore the skins of leopards and lions, and great necklaces of the saw the galleries above fill with crafty faces as a score or more entered claws of these same animals depended upon their breasts. Massive the courtyard. circlets of virgin gold adorned their arms and legs. For weapons they For a moment every eye was bent upon the noonday sun, and then carried heavy, knotted bludgeons, and in the belts that confined their in unison the people in the galleries and those in the court below took single garments each had a long, wicked-looking knife. up the refrain of a low, weird chant. Presently those about Tarzan began But the feature of them that made the most startling impression to dance to the cadence of their solemn song. They circled him slowly, upon their prisoner was their white skins — neither in color nor feature resembling in their manner of dancing a number of clumsy, shuffling was there a trace of the negroid about them. Yet, with their receding bears; but as yet they did not look at him, keeping their little eyes fixed foreheads, wicked little close-set eyes, and yellow fangs, they were far upon the sun. from prepossessing in appearance. For ten minutes or more they kept up their monotonous chant and During the fight within the dark chamber, and while they had been steps, and then suddenly, and in perfect unison, they turned toward their dragging Tarzan to the inner court, no word had been spoken, but now victim with upraised bludgeons and emitting fearful howls, the while several of them exchanged grunting, monosyllabic conversation in a they contorted their features into the most diabolical expressions, they language unfamiliar to the ape-man, and presently they left him lying rushed upon him. upon the concrete floor while they trooped off on their short legs into At the same instant a female figure dashed into the midst of the another part of the temple beyond the court. bloodthirsty horde, and, with a bludgeon similar to their own, except As Tarzan lay there upon his back he saw that the temple entirely that it was wrought from gold, beat back the advancing men. surrounded the little inclosure, and that on all sides its lofty walls rose high above him. At the top a little patch of blue sky was visible, and, in one direction, through an embrasure, he could see foliage, but whether it was beyond or within the temple he did not know. About the court, from the ground to the top of the temple, were series of open galleries, and now and then the captive caught glimpses of bright eyes gleaming from beneath masses of tumbling hair, peering down upon him from above. The ape-man gently tested the strength of the bonds that held him, and while he could not be sure it seemed that they were of insufficient strength to withstand the strain of his mighty muscles when the time came to make a break for freedom; but he did not dare to put them to

496 497 XX

LA

[ return to table of contents ] or a moment Tarzan thought that by some strange freak of fate a miracle had saved him, but when he realized the ease with which the girl had, single-handed, beaten off twenty gorilla-like males,F and an instant later, as he saw them again take up their dance about him while she addressed them in a singsong monotone, which bore every evidence of rote, he came to the conclusion that it was all but a part of the ceremony of which he was the central figure. After a moment or two the girl drew a knife from her girdle, and, leaning over Tarzan, cut the bonds from his legs. Then, as the men stopped their dance, and approached, she motioned to him to rise. Placing the rope that had been about his legs around his neck, she led him across the courtyard, the men following in twos. Through winding corridors she led, farther and farther into the remoter precincts of the temple, until they came to a great chamber in THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN the center of which stood an altar. Then it was that Tarzan translated the rather intelligent and shapely face. Her ornaments were similar to those strange ceremony that had preceded his introduction into this holy of worn by her votaries, but much more elaborate, many being set with holies. diamonds. Her bare arms and legs were almost concealed by the massive, He had fallen into the hands of descendants of the ancient sun bejeweled ornaments which covered them, while her single leopard skin worshippers. His seeming rescue by a votaress of the high priestess of was supported by a close-fitting girdle of golden rings set in strange the sun had been but a part of the mimicry of their heathen ceremony designs with innumerable small diamonds. In the girdle she carried a — the sun looking down upon him through the opening at the top of long, jeweled knife, and in her hand a slender wand in lieu of a bludgeon. the court had claimed him as his own, and the priestess had come from As she advanced to the opposite side of the altar she halted, and the the inner temple to save him from the polluting hands of worldlings — chanting ceased. The priests and priestesses knelt before her, while with to save him as a human offering to their flaming deity. wand extended above them she recited a long and tiresome prayer. Her And had he needed further assurance as to the correctness of his voice was soft and musical — Tarzan could scarce realize that its theory he had only to cast his eyes upon the brownish-red stains that possessor in a moment more would be transformed by the fanatical caked the stone altar and covered the floor in its immediate vicinity, or ecstasy of religious zeal into a wild-eyed and bloodthirsty executioner, to the human skulls which grinned from countless niches in the towering who, with dripping knife, would be the first to drink her victim’s red, walls. warm blood from the little golden cup that stood upon the altar. The priestess led the victim to the altar steps. Again the galleries As she finished her prayer she let her eyes rest for the first time upon above filled with watchers, while from an arched doorway at the east end Tarzan. With every indication of considerable curiosity she examined of the chamber a procession of females filed slowly into the room. They him from head to foot. Then she addressed him, and when she had wore, like the men, only skins of wild animals caught about their waists finished stood waiting, as though she expected a reply. with rawhide belts or chains of gold; but the black masses of their hair “I do not understand your language,” said Tarzan. “Possibly we may were incrusted with golden headgear composed of many circular and speak together in another tongue?” But she could not understand him, oval pieces of gold ingeniously held together to form a metal cap from though he tried French, English, Arab, Waziri, and, as a last resort, the which depended at each side of the head, long strings of oval pieces mongrel tongue of the West Coast. falling to the waist. She shook her head, and it seemed that there was a note of weariness The females were more symmetrically proportioned than the males, in her voice as she motioned to the priests to continue with the rites. their features were much more perfect, the shapes of their heads and These now circled in a repetition of their idiotic dance, which was their large, soft, black eyes denoting far greater intelligence and humanity terminated finally at a command from the priestess, who had stood than was possessed by their lords and masters. throughout, still looking intently upon Tarzan. Each priestess bore two golden cups, and as they formed in line At her signal the priests rushed upon the ape-man, and, lifting him along one side of the altar the men formed opposite them, advancing bodily, laid him upon his back across the altar, his head hanging over one and taking each a cup from the female opposite. Then the chant began edge, his legs over the opposite. Then they and the priestesses formed in once more, and presently from a dark passageway beyond the altar two lines, with their little golden cups in readiness to capture a share of another female emerged from the cavernous depths beneath the chamber. the victim’s lifeblood after the sacrificial knife had accomplished its The high priestess, thought Tarzan. She was a young woman with a work.

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In the line of priests an altercation arose as to who should have first the floor, the victim upon the altar, the high priestess, and the madman. place. A burly brute with all the refined intelligence of a gorilla stamped As the cunning eyes of the latter fell upon the woman they lighted with upon his bestial face was attempting to push a smaller man to second a new and sudden lust. Slowly he crept toward her, and now he spoke; place, but the smaller one appealed to the high priestess, who in a cold but this time there fell upon Tarzan’s surprised ears a language he could peremptory voice sent the larger to the extreme end of the line. Tarzan understand; the last one that he would ever have thought of employing could hear him growling and rumbling as he went slowly to the inferior in attempting to converse with human beings — the low guttural barking station. of the tribe of great anthropoids — his own mother tongue. And the Then the priestess, standing above him, began reciting what Tarzan woman answered the man in the same language. took to be an invocation, the while she slowly raised her thin, sharp knife He was threatening — she attempting to reason with him, for it was aloft. It seemed ages to the ape-man before her arm ceased its upward quite evident that she saw that he was past her authority. The brute was progress and the knife halted high above his unprotected breast. quite close now — creeping with clawlike hands extended toward her Then it started downward, slowly at first, but as the incantation around the end of the altar. Tarzan strained at the bonds which held his increased in rapidity, with greater speed. At the end of the line Tarzan arms pinioned behind him. The woman did not see — she had forgotten could still hear the grumbling of the disgruntled priest. The man’s voice her prey in the horror of the danger that threatened herself. As the brute rose louder and louder. A priestess near him spoke in sharp tones of leaped past Tarzan to clutch his victim, the ape-man gave one rebuke. The knife was quite near to Tarzan’s breast now, but it halted for superhuman wrench at the thongs that held him. The effort sent him an instant as the high priestess raised her eyes to shoot her swift rolling from the altar to the stone floor on the opposite side from that on displeasure at the instigator of this sacrilegious interruption. which the priestess stood; but as he sprang to his feet the thongs dropped There was a sudden commotion in the direction of the disputants, from his freed arms, and at the same time he realized that he was alone and Tarzan rolled his head in their direction in time to see the burly in the inner temple — the high priestess and the mad priest had brute of a priest leap upon the woman opposite him, dashing out her disappeared. brains with a single blow of his heavy cudgel. Then that happened which And then a muffled scream came from the cavernous mouth of the Tarzan had witnessed a hundred times before among the wild denizens dark hole beyond the sacrificial altar through which the priestess had of his own savage jungle. He had seen the thing fall upon Kerchak, and entered the temple. Without even a thought for his own safety, or the Tublat, and Terkoz; upon a dozen of the other mighty bull apes of his possibility for escape which this rapid series of fortuitous circumstances tribe; and upon Tantor, the elephant; there was scarce any of the males had thrust upon him, Tarzan of the Apes answered the call of the woman of the forest that did not at times fall prey to it. The priest went mad, in danger. With a little bound he was at the gaping entrance to the and with his heavy bludgeon ran amok among his fellows. subterranean chamber, and a moment later was running down a flight of His screams of rage were frightful as he dashed hither and thither, age-old concrete steps that led he knew not where. dealing terrific blows with his giant weapon, or sinking his yellow fangs into the flesh of some luckless victim. And during it the priestess stood he faint light that filtered in from above showed him a large, with poised knife above Tarzan, her eyes fixed in horror upon the low-ceiled vault from which several doorways led off into inky maniacal thing that was dealing out death and destruction to her votaries. darkness, but there was no need to thread an unknown way, for Presently the room was emptied except for the dead and dying on Tthere before him lay the objects of his search — the mad brute had the 502 503 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN girl upon the floor, and gorilla-like fingers were clutching frantically at “Who are you,” she whispered, “who speaks the language of the first her throat as she struggled to escape the fury of the awful thing upon man?” her. “I am Tarzan of the Apes,” he answered in the vernacular of the As Tarzan’s heavy hand fell upon his shoulder the priest dropped his anthropoids. victim, and turned upon her would-be rescuer. With foam-flecked lips “What do you want of me?” she continued. “For what purpose did and bared fangs the mad sun-worshiper battled with the tenfold power you save me from Tha?” of the maniac. In the blood lust of his fury the creature had undergone a “I could not see a woman murdered?” It was a half question that sudden reversion to type, which left him a wild beast, forgetful of the answered her. dagger that projected from his belt — thinking only of nature’s weapons “But what do you intend to do with me now?” she continued. with which his brute prototype had battled. “Nothing,” he replied, “but you can do something for me — you can But if he could use his teeth and hands to advantage, he found one lead me out of this place to freedom.” He made the suggestion without even better versed in the school of savage warfare to which he had the slightest thought that she would accede. He felt quite sure that the reverted, for Tarzan of the Apes closed with him, and they fell to the sacrifice would go on from the point where it had been interrupted if the floor tearing and rending at one another like two bull apes; while the high priestess had her way, though he was equally positive that they primitive priestess stood flattened against the wall, watching with wide, would find Tarzan of the Apes unbound and with a long dagger in his fear-fascinated eyes the growling, snapping beasts at her feet. hand a much less tractable victim than Tarzan disarmed and bound. At last she saw the stranger close one mighty hand upon the throat The girl stood looking at him for a long moment before she spoke. of his antagonist, and as he forced the brute man’s head far back rain “You are a very wonderful man,” she said. “You are such a man as I blow after blow upon the upturned face. A moment later he threw the have seen in my daydreams ever since I was a little girl. You are such a still thing from him, and, arising, shook himself like a lion. He placed a man as I imagine the forbears of my people must have been — the great foot upon the carcass before him, and raised his head to give the victory race of people who built this mighty city in the heart of a savage world cry of his kind, but as his eyes fell upon the opening above him leading that they might wrest from the bowels of the earth the fabulous wealth into the temple of human sacrifice he thought better of his intended act. for which they had sacrificed their far-distant civilization. The girl, who had been half paralyzed by fear as the two men fought, “I cannot understand why you came to my rescue in the first place, had just commenced to give thought to her probable fate now that, and now I cannot understand why, having me within your power, you do though released from the clutches of a madman, she had fallen into the not wish to be revenged upon me for having sentenced you to death — hands of one whom but a moment before she had been upon the point for having almost put you to death with my own hand.” of killing. She looked about for some means of escape. The black mouth “I presume,” replied the ape-man, “that you but followed the of a diverging corridor was near at hand, but as she turned to dart into it teachings of your religion. I cannot blame YOU for that, no matter what the ape-man’s eyes fell upon her, and with a quick leap he was at her side, I may think of your creed. But who are you — what people have I fallen and a restraining hand was laid upon her arm. among?” “Wait!” said Tarzan of the Apes, in the language of the tribe of “I am La, high priestess of the Temple of the Sun, in the city of Kerchak. Opar. We are descendants of a people who came to this savage world The girl looked at him in astonishment. more than ten thousand years ago in search of gold. Their cities stretched

504 505 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN from a great sea under the rising sun to a great sea into which the sun remained here at the time of the great catastrophe, while the temples descends at night to cool his flaming brow. They were very rich and very were filled with the noblest daughters of the race. My strain has remained powerful, but they lived only a few months of the year in their magnificent clearer than the rest because for countless ages my foremothers were palaces here; the rest of the time they spent in their native land, far, far high priestesses — the sacred office descends from mother to daughter. to the north. Our husbands are chosen for us from the noblest in the land. The most “Many ships went back and forth between this new world and the perfect man, mentally and physically, is selected to be the husband of the old. During the rainy season there were but few of the inhabitants high priestess.” remained here, only those who superintended the working of the mines “From what I saw of the gentlemen above,” said Tarzan, with a grin, by the black slaves, and the merchants who had to stay to supply their “there should be little trouble in choosing from among them.” wants, and the soldiers who guarded the cities and the mines. The girl looked at him quizzically for a moment. “It was at one of these times that the great calamity occurred. When “Do not be sacrilegious,” she said. “They are very holy men — they the time came for the teeming thousands to return none came. For are priests.” weeks the people waited. Then they sent out a great galley to learn why “Then there are others who are better to look upon?” he asked. no one came from the mother country, but though they sailed about for “The others are all more ugly than the priests,” she replied. many months, they were unable to find any trace of the mighty land that Tarzan shuddered at her fate, for even in the dim light of the vault had for countless ages borne their ancient civilization — it had sunk into he was impressed by her beauty. the sea. “But how about myself?” he asked suddenly. “Are you going to lead “From that day dated the downfall of my people. Disheartened and me to liberty?” unhappy, they soon became a prey to the black hordes of the north and “You have been chosen by The Flaming God as his own,” she the black hordes of the south. One by one the cities were deserted or answered solemnly. “Not even I have the power to save you — should overcome. The last remnant was finally forced to take shelter within this they find you again. But I do not intend that they shall find you. You mighty mountain fortress. Slowly we have dwindled in power, in risked your life to save mine. I may do no less for you. It will be no easy civilization, in intellect, in numbers, until now we are no more than a matter — it may require days; but in the end I think that I can lead you small tribe of savage apes. beyond the walls. Come, they will look here for me presently, and if they “In fact, the apes live with us, and have for many ages. We call them find us together we shall both be lost — they would kill me did they the first men — we speak their language quite as much as we do our think that I had proved false to my god.” own; only in the rituals of the temple do we make any attempt to retain “You must not take the risk, then,” he said quickly. “I will return to our mother tongue. In time it will be forgotten, and we will speak only the temple, and if I can fight my way to freedom there will be no the language of the apes; in time we will no longer banish those of our suspicion thrown upon you.” people who mate with apes, and so in time we shall descend to the very But she would not have it so, and finally persuaded him to follow beasts from which ages ago our progenitors may have sprung.” her, saying that they had already remained in the vault too long to “But why are you more human than the others?” asked the man. prevent suspicion from falling upon her even if they returned to the “For some reason the women have not reverted to savagery so temple. rapidly as the men. It may be because only the lower types of men “I will hide you, and then return alone,” she said, “telling them that

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I was long unconscious after you killed Tha, and that I do not know whither you escaped.” And so she led him through winding corridors of gloom, until finally they came to a small chamber into which a little light filtered through a stone grating in the ceiling. “This is the Chamber of the Dead,” she said. “None will think of searching here for you — they would not dare. I will return after it is dark. By that time I may have found a plan to effect your escape.” She was gone, and Tarzan of the Apes was left alone in the Chamber of the Dead, beneath the long-dead city of Opar. XXI

THE CASTAWAYS

[ return to table of contents ] layton dreamed that he was drinking his fill of water, pure, delightful drafts of fresh water. With a start he gained consciousness to find himself wet through by torrents of rain Cthat were falling upon his body and his upturned face. A heavy tropical shower was beating down upon them. He opened his mouth and drank. Presently he was so revived and strengthened that he was enabled to raise himself upon his hands. Across his legs lay Monsieur Thuran. A few feet aft Jane Porter was huddled in a pitiful little heap in the bottom of the boat — she was quite still. Clayton knew that she was dead. After infinite labor he released himself from Thuran’s pinioning body, and with renewed strength crawled toward the girl. He raised her head from the rough boards of the boat’s bottom. There might be life in that poor, starved frame even yet. He could not quite abandon all hope, and so he seized a water-soaked rag and squeezed the precious drops

508 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN between the swollen lips of the hideous thing that had but a few short “Now you may revive him,” said Jane Porter, for she, too, had been days before glowed with the resplendent life of happy youth and glorious haunted with the pangs of conscience which had resulted from her beauty. decision to prevent Clayton from offering succor to their companion. For some time there was no sign of returning animation, but at last It required the better part of half an hour before the Russian evinced his efforts were rewarded by a slight tremor of the half-closed lids. He sufficient symptoms of returning consciousness to open his eyes, and it chafed the thin hands, and forced a few more drops of water into the was some time later before they could bring him to a realization of their parched throat. The girl opened her eyes, looking up at him for a long good fortune. By this time the boat was scraping gently upon the sandy time before she could recall her surroundings. bottom. “Water?” she whispered. “Are we saved?” Between the refreshing water that he had drunk and the stimulus of “It is raining,” he explained. “We may at least drink. Already it has renewed hope, Clayton found strength to stagger through the shallow revived us both.” water to the shore with a line made fast to the boat’s bow. This he “Monsieur Thuran?” she asked. “He did not kill you. Is he dead?” fastened to a small tree which grew at the top of a low bank, for the tide “I do not know,” replied Clayton. “If he lives and this rain revives was at flood, and he feared that the boat might carry them all out to sea him — ” But he stopped there, remembering too late that he must not again with the ebb, since it was quite likely that it would be beyond his add further to the horrors which the girl already had endured. strength to get Jane Porter to the shore for several hours. Next he But she guessed what he would have said. managed to stagger and crawl toward the near-by jungle, where he had “Where is he?” she asked. seen evidences of profusion of tropical fruit. His former experience in Clayton nodded his head toward the prostrate form of the Russian. the jungle of Tarzan of the Apes had taught him which of the many For a time neither spoke. growing things were edible, and after nearly an hour of absence he “I will see if I can revive him,” said Clayton at length. returned to the beach with a little armful of food. “No,” she whispered, extending a detaining hand toward him. “Do The rain had ceased, and the hot sun was beating down so mercilessly not do that — he will kill you when the water has given him strength. If upon her that Jane Porter insisted on making an immediate attempt to he is dying, let him die. Do not leave me alone in this boat with that gain the land. Still further invigorated by the food Clayton had brought, beast.” the three were able to reach the half shade of the small tree to which Clayton hesitated. His honor demanded that he attempt to revive their boat was moored. Here, thoroughly exhausted, they threw Thuran, and there was the possibility, too, that the Russian was beyond themselves down to rest, sleeping until dark. human aid. It was not dishonorable to hope so. As he sat fighting out his battle he presently raised his eyes from the body of the man, and as they or a month they lived upon the beach in comparative safety. As passed above the gunwale of the boat he staggered weakly to his feet their strength returned the two men constructed a rude shelter with a little cry of joy. in the branches of a tree, high enough from the ground to insure “Land, Jane!” he almost shouted through his cracked lips. “Thank safetyF from the larger beasts of prey. By day they gathered fruits and God, land!” trapped small rodents; at night they lay cowering within their frail The girl looked, too, and there, not a hundred yards away, she saw a shelter while savage denizens of the jungle made hideous the hours of yellow beach, and, beyond, the luxurious foliage of a tropical jungle. darkness.

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They slept upon litters of jungle grasses, and for covering at night blame entirely upon her. Not succeeding in this, he ran away from France Jane Porter had only an old ulster that belonged to Clayton, the same to escape meeting the husband upon the field of honor. That is why he garment that he had worn upon that memorable trip to the Wisconsin was on board the ship that bore Miss Strong and myself to Cape Town. woods. Clayton had erected a frail partition of boughs to divide their I know whereof I speak, for the woman in the case is my sister. Something arboreal shelter into two rooms — one for the girl and the other for more I know that I have never told another — your brave Monsieur Monsieur Thuran and himself. Tarzan leaped overboard in an agony of fear because I recognized him, From the first the Russian had exhibited every trait of his true and insisted that he make reparation to me the following morning — we character — selfishness, boorishness, arrogance, cowardice, and lust. Twice could have fought with knives in my stateroom.” had he and Clayton come to blows because of Thuran’s attitude toward Jane Porter laughed. “You do not for a moment imagine that one the girl. Clayton dared not leave her alone with him for an instant. The who has known both Monsieur Tarzan and you could ever believe such existence of the Englishman and his fiancee was one continual nightmare an impossible tale?” of horror, and yet they lived on in hope of ultimate rescue. “Then why did he travel under an assumed name?” asked Monsieur Jane Porter’s thoughts often reverted to her other experience on this Thuran. savage shore. Ah, if the invincible forest god of that dead past were but “I do not believe you,” she cried, but nevertheless the seed of with them now. No longer would there be aught to fear from prowling suspicion was sown, for she knew that Hazel Strong had known her beasts, or from the bestial Russian. She could not well refrain from forest god only as John Caldwell, of London. comparing the scant protection afforded her by Clayton with what she might have expected had Tarzan of the Apes been for a single instant scant five miles north of their rude shelter, all unknown to confronted by the sinister and menacing attitude of Monsieur Thuran. them, and practically as remote as though separated by Once, when Clayton had gone to the little stream for water, and Thuran thousands of miles of impenetrable jungle, lay the snug little had spoken coarsely to her, she voiced her thoughts. Acabin of Tarzan of the Apes. While farther up the coast, a few miles “It is well for you, Monsieur Thuran,” she said, “that the poor beyond the cabin, in crude but well-built shelters, lived a little party of Monsieur Tarzan who was lost from the ship that brought you and Miss eighteen souls — the occupants of the three boats from the Lady Alice Strong to Cape Town is not here now.” from which Clayton’s boat had become separated. “You knew the pig?” asked Thuran, with a sneer. Over a smooth sea they had rowed to the mainland in less than “I knew the man,” she replied. “The only real man, I think, that I three days. None of the horrors of shipwreck had been theirs, and though have ever known.” depressed by sorrow, and suffering from the shock of the catastrophe There was something in her tone of voice that led the Russian to and the unaccustomed hardships of their new existence there was none attribute to her a deeper feeling for his enemy than friendship, and he much the worse for the experience. grasped at the suggestion to be further revenged upon the man whom he All were buoyed by the hope that the fourth boat had been picked supposed dead by besmirching his memory to the girl. up, and that a thorough search of the coast would be quickly made. As “He was worse than a pig,” he cried. “He was a poltroon and a all the firearms and ammunition on the yacht had been placed in Lord coward. To save himself from the righteous wrath of the husband of a Tennington’s boat, the party was well equipped for defense, and for woman he had wronged, he perjured his soul in an attempt to place the hunting the larger game for food.

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Professor Archimedes Q. Porter was their only immediate anxiety. Jane Porter’s Esmeralda was in a constant state of tears at the cruel Fully assured in his own mind that his daughter had been picked up by a fate which had separated her from her “po, li’l honey.” passing steamer, he gave over the last vestige of apprehension concerning Lord Tennington’s great-hearted good nature never deserted him her welfare, and devoted his giant intellect solely to the consideration of for a moment. He was still the jovial host, seeking always for the comfort those momentous and abstruse scientific problems which he considered and pleasure of his guests. With the men of his yacht he remained the the only proper food for thought in one of his erudition. His mind just but firm commander — there was never any more question in the appeared blank to the influence of all extraneous matters. jungle than there had been on board the Lady Alice as to who was the “Never,” said the exhausted Mr. Samuel T. Philander, to Lord final authority in all questions of importance, and in all emergencies Tennington, “never has Professor Porter been more difficult — er — I requiring cool and intelligent leadership. might say, impossible. Why, only this morning, after I had been forced to relinquish my surveillance for a brief half hour he was entirely missing ould this well-organized and comparatively secure party of upon my return. And, bless me, sir, where do you imagine I discovered castaways have seen the ragged, fear-haunted trio a few miles him? A half mile out in the ocean, sir, in one of the lifeboats, rowing south of them they would scarcely have recognized in them away for dear life. I do not know how he attained even that magnificent Cthe formerly immaculate members of the little company that had distance from shore, for he had but a single oar, with which he was laughed and played upon the Lady Alice. Clayton and Monsieur Thuran blissfully rowing about in circles. were almost naked, so torn had their clothes been by the thorn bushes “When one of the sailors had taken me out to him in another boat and tangled vegetation of the matted jungle through which they had the professor became quite indignant at my suggestion that we return at been compelled to force their way in search of their ever more difficult once to land. ‘Why, Mr. Philander,’ he said, ‘I am surprised that you, sir, food supply. a man of letters yourself, should have the temerity so to interrupt the Jane Porter had of course not been subjected to these strenuous progress of science. I had about deduced from certain astronomic expeditions, but her apparel was, nevertheless, in a sad state of disrepair. phenomena I have had under minute observation during the past several Clayton, for lack of any better occupation, had carefully saved the tropic nights an entirely new nebular hypothesis which will skin of every animal they had killed. By stretching them upon the stems unquestionably startle the scientific world. I wish to consult a very of trees, and diligently scraping them, he had managed to save them in a excellent monograph on Laplace’s hypothesis, which I understand is in fair condition, and now that his clothes were threatening to cover his a certain private collection in New York City. Your interference, Mr. nakedness no longer, he commenced to fashion a rude garment of them, Philander, will result in an irreparable delay, for I was just rowing over to using a sharp thorn for a needle, and bits of tough grass and animal obtain this pamphlet.’ And it was with the greatest difficulty that I tendons in lieu of thread. persuaded him to return to shore, without resorting to force,” concluded The result when completed was a sleeveless garment which fell Mr. Philander. nearly to his knees. As it was made up of numerous small pelts of Miss Strong and her mother were very brave under the strain of different species of rodents, it presented a rather strange and wonderful almost constant apprehension of the attacks of savage beasts. Nor were appearance, which, together with the vile stench which permeated it, they quite able to accept so readily as the others the theory that Jane, rendered it anything other than a desirable addition to a wardrobe. But Clayton, and Monsieur Thuran had been picked up safely. the time came when for the sake of decency he was compelled to don it,

514 515 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN and even the misery of their condition could not prevent Jane Porter Numa, ravenous with hunger, had long since learned the futility of from laughing heartily at sight of him. roaring and moaning as he searched for prey, but now that it was as Later, Thuran also found it necessary to construct a similar primitive surely his as though already he had felt the soft flesh beneath his still garment, so that, with their bare legs and heavily bearded faces, they mighty paw, he opened his huge jaws, and gave vent to his long-pent looked not unlike reincarnations of two prehistoric progenitors of the rage in a series of deafening roars that made the air tremble. human race. Thuran acted like one. “Run, Jane!” cried Clayton. “Quick! Run for the shelter!” But her paralyzed muscles refused to respond, and she stood mute and rigid, early two months of this existence had passed when the first staring with ghastly countenance at the living death creeping toward great calamity befell them. It was prefaced by an adventure them. which came near terminating abruptly the sufferings of two of Thuran, at the sound of that awful roar, had come to the opening of Nthem — terminating them in the grim and horrible manner of the the shelter, and as he saw the tableau below him he hopped up and jungle, forever. down, shrieking to them in Russian. Thuran, down with an attack of jungle fever, lay in the shelter among “Run! Run!” he cried. “Run, or I shall be left all alone in this horrible the branches of their tree of refuge. Clayton had been into the jungle a place,” and then he broke down and commenced to weep. For a moment few hundred yards in search of food. As he returned Jane Porter walked this new voice distracted the attention of the lion, who halted to cast an to meet him. Behind the man, cunning and crafty, crept an old and inquiring glance in the direction of the tree. Clayton could endure the mangy lion. For three days his ancient thews and sinews had proved strain no longer. Turning his back upon the beast, he buried his head in insufficient for the task of providing his cavernous belly with meat. For his arms and waited. months he had eaten less and less frequently, and farther and farther had The girl looked at him in horror. Why did he not do something? If he roamed from his accustomed haunts in search of easier prey. At last he must die, why not die like a man — bravely; beating at that terrible he had found nature’s weakest and most defenseless creature — in a face with his puny stick, no matter how futile it might be. Would Tarzan moment more Numa would dine. of the Apes have done thus? Would he not at least have gone down to Clayton, all unconscious of the lurking death behind him, strode out his death fighting heroically to the last? into the open toward Jane. He had reached her side, a hundred feet from Now the lion was crouching for the spring that would end their the tangled edge of jungle when past his shoulder the girl saw the tawny young lives beneath cruel, rending, yellow fangs. Jane Porter sank to her head and the wicked yellow eyes as the grasses parted, and the huge knees in prayer, closing her eyes to shut out the last hideous instant. beast, nose to ground, stepped softly into view. Thuran, weak from fever, fainted. So frozen with horror was she that she could utter no sound, but the Seconds dragged into minutes, long minutes into an eternity, and fixed and terrified gaze of her fear-widened eyes spoke as plainly to yet the beast did not spring. Clayton was almost unconscious from the Clayton as words. A quick glance behind him revealed the hopelessness prolonged agony of fright — his knees trembled — a moment more and of their situation. The lion was scarce thirty paces from them, and they he would collapse. were equally as far from the shelter. The man was armed with a stout Jane Porter could endure it no longer. She opened her eyes. Could stick — as efficacious against a hungry lion, he realized, as a toy pop-gun she be dreaming? charged with a tethered cork. “William,” she whispered; “look!”

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Clayton mastered himself sufficiently to raise his head and turn toward the lion. An ejaculation of surprise burst from his lips. At their very feet the beast lay crumpled in death. A heavy war spear protruded from the tawny hide. It had entered the great back above the right shoulder, and, passing entirely through the body, had pierced the savage heart. Jane Porter had risen to her feet; as Clayton turned back to her she staggered in weakness. He put out his arms to save her from falling, and then drew her close to him — pressing her head against his shoulder, he stooped to kiss her in thanksgiving. Gently the girl pushed him away. “Please do not do that, William,” she said. “I have lived a thousand years in the past brief moments. I have learned in the face of death how to live. I do not wish to hurt you more than is necessary; but I can no longer bear to live out the impossible position I have attempted because of a false sense of loyalty to an impulsive promise I made you. XXII “The last few seconds of my life have taught me that it would be hideous to attempt further to deceive myself and you, or to entertain for an instant longer the possibility of ever becoming your wife, should we THE TREASURE VAULTS of OPAR regain civilization.” “Why, Jane,” he cried, “what do you mean? What has our providential rescue to do with altering your feelings toward me? You are but unstrung — tomorrow you will be yourself again.” [ return to table of contents ] “I am more nearly myself this minute than I have been for over a t was quite dark before La, the high priestess, returned to the year,” she replied. “The thing that has just happened has again forced to Chamber of the Dead with food and drink for Tarzan. She bore my memory the fact that the bravest man that ever lived honored me no light, feeling with her hands along the crumbling walls until with his love. Until it was too late I did not realize that I returned it, and she gained the chamber. Through the stone grating above, a tropic so I sent him away. He is dead now, and I shall never marry. I certainly I moon served dimly to illuminate the interior. could not wed another less brave than he without harboring constantly Tarzan, crouching in the shadows at the far side of the room as the a feeling of contempt for the relative cowardice of my husband. Do you first sound of approaching footsteps reached him, came forth to meet understand me?” the girl as he recognized that it was she. “Yes,” he answered, with bowed head, his face mantling with the “They are furious,” were her first words. “Never before has a human flush of shame. sacrifice escaped the altar. Already fifty have gone forth to track you And it was the next day that the great calamity befell. down. They have searched the temple — all save this single room.” “Why do they fear to come here?” he asked.

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“It is the Chamber of the Dead. Here the dead return to worship. here Tarzan stood it was dark as Erebus. Not even his See this ancient altar? It is here that the dead sacrifice the living — if trained eyes could penetrate the utter blackness. Cautiously they find a victim here. That is the reason our people shun this chamber. he moved forward until his out-stretched hand touched a Were one to enter he knows that the waiting dead would seize him for wall,W then very slowly he traveled around the four walls of the chamber. their sacrifice.” Apparently it was about twenty feet square. The floor was of “But you?” he asked. concrete, the walls of the dry masonry that marked the method of “I am high priestess — I alone am safe from the dead. It is I who construction above ground. Small pieces of granite of various sizes were at rare intervals bring them a human sacrifice from the world above. I ingeniously laid together without mortar to construct these ancient alone may enter here in safety.” foundations. “Why have they not seized me?” he asked, humoring her grotesque The first time around the walls Tarzan thought he detected a strange belief. phenomenon for a room with no windows but a single door. Again he She looked at him quizzically for a moment. Then she replied: crept carefully around close to the wall. No, he could not be mistaken! “It is the duty of a high priestess to instruct, to interpret — He paused before the center of the wall opposite the door. For a moment according to the creed that others, wiser than herself, have laid down; he stood quite motionless, then he moved a few feet to one side. Again but there is nothing in the creed which says that she must believe. The he returned, only to move a few feet to the other side. more one knows of one’s religion the less one believes — no one living Once more he made the entire circuit of the room, feeling carefully knows more of mine than I.” every foot of the walls. Finally he stopped again before the particular “Then your only fear in aiding me to escape is that your fellow section that had aroused his curiosity. There was no doubt of it! A mortals may discover your duplicity?” distinct draft of fresh air was blowing into the chamber through the “That is all — the dead are dead; they cannot harm — or help. We intersection of the masonry at that particular point — and nowhere else. must therefore depend entirely upon ourselves, and the sooner we act Tarzan tested several pieces of the granite which made up the wall the better it will be. I had difficulty in eluding their vigilance but now at this spot, and finally was rewarded by finding one which lifted out in bringing you this morsel of food. To attempt to repeat the thing readily. It was about ten inches wide, with a face some three by six inches daily would be the height of folly. Come, let us see how far we may go showing within the chamber. One by one the ape-man lifted out toward liberty before I must return.” similarly shaped stones. The wall at this point was constructed entirely, She led him back to the chamber beneath the altar room. Here she it seemed, of these almost perfect slabs. In a short time he had removed turned into one of the several corridors leading from it. In the darkness some dozen, when he reached in to test the next layer of masonry. To his Tarzan could not see which one. For ten minutes they groped slowly surprise, he felt nothing behind the masonry he had removed as far as along a winding passage, until at length they came to a closed door. his long arm could reach. Here he heard her fumbling with a key, and presently came the sound It was a matter of but a few minutes to remove enough of the wall of a metal bolt grating against metal. The door swung in on scraping to permit his body to pass through the aperture. Directly ahead of him hinges, and they entered. he thought he discerned a faint glow — scarcely more than a less “You will be safe here until tomorrow night,” she said. impenetrable darkness. Cautiously he moved forward on hands and Then she went out, and, closing the door, locked it behind her. knees, until at about fifteen feet, or the average thickness of the

520 521 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN foundation walls, the floor ended abruptly in a sudden drop. As far out steps leading downward into Stygian gloom. Some twenty feet below, as he could reach he felt nothing, nor could he find the bottom of the the level floor of the tunnel recommenced, and shortly afterward his black abyss that yawned before him, though, clinging to the edge of the progress was stopped by a heavy wooden door which was secured by floor, he lowered his body into the darkness to its full length. massive wooden bars upon the side of Tarzan’s approach. This fact Finally it occurred to him to look up, and there above him he saw suggested to the ape-man that he might surely be in a passageway through a round opening a tiny circular patch of starry sky. Feeling up leading to the outer world, for the bolts, barring progress from the along the sides of the shaft as far as he could reach, the ape-man opposite side, tended to substantiate this hypothesis, unless it were discovered that so much of the wall as he could feel converged toward merely a prison to which it led. the center of the shaft as it rose. This fact precluded possibility of escape Along the tops of the bars were deep layers of dust — a further in that direction. indication that the passage had lain long unused. As he pushed the As he sat speculating on the nature and uses of this strange passage massive obstacle aside, its great hinges shrieked out in weird protest and its terminal shaft, the moon topped the opening above, letting a against this unaccustomed disturbance. For a moment Tarzan paused to flood of soft, silvery light into the shadowy place. Instantly the nature of listen for any responsive note which might indicate that the unusual the shaft became apparent to Tarzan, for far below him he saw the night noise had alarmed the inmates of the temple; but as he heard shimmering surface of water. He had come upon an ancient well — but nothing he advanced beyond the doorway. what was the purpose of the connection between the well and the Carefully feeling about, he found himself within a large chamber, dungeon in which he had been hidden? along the walls of which, and down the length of the floor, were piled As the moon crossed the opening of the shaft its light flooded the many tiers of metal ingots of an odd though uniform shape. To his whole interior, and then Tarzan saw directly across from him another groping hands they felt not unlike double-headed bootjacks. The ingots opening in the opposite wall. He wondered if this might not be the were quite heavy, and but for the enormous number of them he would mouth of a passage leading to possible escape. It would be worth have been positive that they were gold; but the thought of the fabulous investigating, at least, and this he determined to do. wealth these thousands of pounds of metal would have represented were Quickly returning to the wall he had demolished to explore what lay they in reality gold, almost convinced him that they must be of some beyond it, he carried the stones into the passageway and replaced them baser metal. from that side. The deep deposit of dust which he had noticed upon the At the far end of the chamber he discovered another barred door, blocks as he had first removed them from the wall had convinced him and again the bars upon the inside renewed the hope that he was that even if the present occupants of the ancient pile had knowledge of traversing an ancient and forgotten passageway to liberty. Beyond the this hidden passage they had made no use of it for perhaps generations. door the passage ran straight as a war spear, and it soon became evident The wall replaced, Tarzan turned to the shaft, which was some to the ape-man that it had already led him beyond the outer walls of the fifteen feet wide at this point. To leap across the intervening space was a temple. If he but knew the direction it was leading him! If toward the small matter to the ape-man, and a moment later he was proceeding west, then he must also be beyond the city’s outer walls. along a narrow tunnel, moving cautiously for fear of being precipitated With increasing hopes he forged ahead as rapidly as he dared, until into another shaft such as he had just crossed. at the end of half an hour he came to another flight of steps leading He had advanced some hundred feet when he came to a flight of upward. At the bottom this flight was of concrete, but as he ascended his

522 523 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN naked feet felt a sudden change in the substance they were treading. The the direction of the smoke. Striking the forest’s edge about a quarter of steps of concrete had given place to steps of granite. Feeling with his a mile from the point at which the slender column arose into the still air, hands, the ape-man discovered that these latter were evidently hewed he took to the trees. Cautiously he approached until there suddenly from rock, for there was no crack to indicate a joint. burst upon his view a rude boma, in the center of which, squatted about For a hundred feet the steps wound spirally up, until at a sudden their tiny fires, sat his fifty black Waziri. He called to them in their own turning Tarzan came into a narrow cleft between two rocky walls. Above tongue: him shone the starry sky, and before him a steep incline replaced the “Arise, my children, and greet thy king!” steps that had terminated at its foot. Up this pathway Tarzan hastened, With exclamations of surprise and fear the warriors leaped to their and at its upper end came out upon the rough top of a huge granite feet, scarcely knowing whether to flee or not. Then Tarzan dropped boulder. lightly from an overhanging branch into their midst. When they realized A mile away lay the ruined city of Opar, its domes and turrets bathed that it was indeed their chief in the flesh, and no materialized spirit, they in the soft light of the equatorial moon. Tarzan dropped his eyes to the went mad with joy. ingot he had brought away with him. For a moment he examined it by “We were cowards, oh, Waziri,” cried Busuli. “We ran away and left the moon’s bright rays, then he raised his head to look out upon the you to your fate; but when our panic was over we swore to return and ancient piles of crumbling grandeur in the distance. save you, or at least take revenge upon your murderers. We were but now “Opar,” he mused, “Opar, the enchanted city of a dead and forgotten preparing to scale the heights once more and cross the desolate valley to past. The city of the beauties and the beasts. City of horrors and death; the terrible city.” but — city of fabulous riches.” The ingot was of virgin gold. “Have you seen fifty frightful men pass down from the cliffs into The boulder on which Tarzan found himself lay well out in the plain this forest, my children?” asked Tarzan. between the city and the distant cliffs he and his black warriors had “Yes, Waziri,” replied Busuli. “They passed us late yesterday, as we scaled the morning previous. To descend its rough and precipitous face were about to turn back after you. They had no woodcraft. We heard was a task of infinite labor and considerable peril even to the ape-man; them coming for a mile before we saw them, and as we had other but at last he felt the soft soil of the valley beneath his feet, and without business in hand we withdrew into the forest and let them pass. They a backward glance at Opar he turned his face toward the guardian cliffs, were waddling rapidly along upon short legs, and now and then one and at a rapid trot set off across the valley. would go upon all fours like Bolgani, the gorilla. They were indeed fifty frightful men, Waziri.” he sun was just rising as he gained the summit of the flat When Tarzan had related his adventures and told them of the yellow mountain at the valley’s western boundary. Far beneath him he metal he had found, not one demurred when he outlined a plan to return saw smoke arising above the tree-tops of the forest at the base by night and bring away what they could carry of the vast treasure; and Tof the foothills. so it was that as dusk fell across the desolate valley of Opar fifty ebon “Man,” he murmured. “And there were fifty who went forth to track warriors trailed at a smart trot over the dry and dusty ground toward the me down. Can it be they?” giant boulder that loomed before the city. Swiftly he descended the face of the cliff, and, dropping into a If it had seemed a difficult task to descend the face of the boulder, narrow ravine which led down to the far forest, he hastened onward in Tarzan soon found that it would be next to impossible to get his fifty

524 525 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN warriors to the summit. Finally the feat was accomplished by dint of harmless denizens of the savage jungle. herculean efforts upon the part of the ape-man. Ten spears were fastened Fifty trips Tarzan made before he had deposited all the ingots end to end, and with one end of this remarkable chain attached to his within the precincts of the amphitheater. Then from the hollow of an waist, Tarzan at last succeeded in reaching the summit. ancient, lightning-blasted tree he produced the very spade with which Once there, he drew up one of his blacks, and in this way the entire he had uncovered the chest of Professor Archimedes Q. Porter which he party was finally landed in safety upon the boulder’s top. Immediately had once, apelike, buried in this selfsame spot. With this he dug a long Tarzan led them to the treasure chamber, where to each was allotted a trench, into which he laid the fortune that his blacks had carried from load of two ingots, for each about eighty pounds. the forgotten treasure vaults of the city of Opar. By midnight the entire party stood once more at the foot of the That night he slept within the amphitheater, and early the next boulder, but with their heavy loads it was mid-forenoon ere they reached morning set out to revisit his cabin before returning to his Waziri. the summit of the cliffs. From there on the homeward journey was slow, Finding things as he had left them, he went forth into the jungle to as these proud fighting men were unaccustomed to the duties of porters. hunt, intending to bring his prey to the cabin where he might feast in But they bore their burdens uncomplainingly, and at the end of thirty comfort, spending the night upon a comfortable couch. days entered their own country. For five miles toward the south he roamed, toward the banks of a Here, instead of continuing on toward the northwest and their fair-sized river that flowed into the sea about six miles from his cabin. village, Tarzan guided them almost directly west, until on the morning He had gone inland about half a mile when there came suddenly to his of the thirty-third day he bade them break camp and return to their own trained nostrils the one scent that sets the whole savage jungle aquiver village, leaving the gold where they had stacked it the previous night. — Tarzan smelled man. “And you, Waziri?” they asked. The wind was blowing off the ocean, so Tarzan knew that the “I shall remain here for a few days, my children,” he replied. “Now authors of the scent were west of him. Mixed with the man scent was the hasten back to thy wives and children.” scent of Numa. Man and lion. “I had better hasten,” thought the ape-man, for he had recognized the scent of whites. “Numa may be hen they had gone Tarzan gathered up two of the ingots a-hunting.” and, springing into a tree, ran lightly above the tangled When he came through the trees to the edge of the jungle he saw a and impenetrable mass of undergrowth for a couple of woman kneeling in prayer, and before her stood a wild, primitive-looking hundredW yards, to emerge suddenly upon a circular clearing about which white man, his face buried in his arms. Behind the man a mangy lion the giants of the jungle forest towered like a guardian host. In the center was advancing slowly toward this easy prey. The man’s face was averted; of this natural amphitheater, was a little flat-topped mound of hard the woman’s bowed in prayer. He could not see the features of either. earth. Already Numa was about to spring. There was not a second to spare. Hundreds of times before had Tarzan been to this secluded spot, Tarzan could not even unsling his bow and fit an arrow in time to send which was so densely surrounded by thorn bushes and tangled vines and one of his deadly poisoned shafts into the yellow hide. He was too far creepers of huge girth that not even Sheeta, the leopard, could worm his away to reach the beast in time with his knife. There was but a single sinuous way within, nor Tantor, with his giant strength, force the barriers hope — a lone alternative. And with the quickness of thought the which protected the council chamber of the great apes from all but the ape-man acted.

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A brawny arm flew back — for the briefest fraction of an instant a huge spear poised above the giant’s shoulder — and then the mighty arm shot out, and swift death tore through the intervening leaves to bury itself in the heart of the leaping lion. Without a sound he rolled over at the very feet of his intended victims — dead. For a moment neither the man nor the woman moved. Then the latter opened her eyes to look with wonder upon the dead beast behind her companion. As that beautiful head went up Tarzan of the Apes gave a gasp of incredulous astonishment. Was he mad? It could not be the woman he loved! But, indeed, it was none other. And the woman rose, and the man took her in his arms to kiss her, and of a sudden the ape-man saw red through a bloody mist of murder, and the old scar upon his forehead burned scarlet against his brown hide. There was a terrible expression upon his savage face as he fitted a XXIII poisoned shaft to his bow. An ugly light gleamed in those gray eyes as he sighted full at the back of the unsuspecting man beneath him. THE FIFTY FRIGHTFUL MEN For an instant he glanced along the polished shaft, drawing the bowstring far back, that the arrow might pierce through the heart for which it was aimed.

But he did not release the fatal messenger. Slowly the point of the [ return to table of contents ] arrow drooped; the scar upon the brown forehead faded; the bowstring or several long minutes Jane Porter and William Cecil Clayton relaxed; and Tarzan of the Apes, with bowed head, turned sadly into the stood silently looking at the dead body of the beast whose prey jungle toward the village of the Waziri. they had so narrowly escaped becoming. FThe girl was the first to speak again after her outbreak of impulsive avowal. “Who could it have been?” she whispered. “God knows!” was the man’s only reply. “If it is a friend, why does he not show himself?” continued Jane. “Wouldn’t it be well to call out to him, and at least thank him?” Mechanically Clayton did her bidding, but there was no response. Jane Porter shuddered. “The mysterious jungle,” she murmured. “The terrible jungle. It renders even the manifestations of friendship terrifying.”

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“We had best return to the shelter,” said Clayton. “You will be at least another head appeared, and then another and another. The man in the a little safer there. I am no protection whatever,” he added bitterly. shelter commenced to rave again, and the heads disappeared as silently “Do not say that, William,” she hastened to urge, acutely sorry for the and as suddenly as they had come. But soon they were thrust forth once wound her words had caused. “You have done the best you could. You have more, as the girl gave no sign of perturbation at the continued wailing of been noble, and self-sacrificing, and brave. It is no fault of yours that you the man above. are not a superman. There is only one other man I have ever known who One by one grotesque forms emerged from the jungle to creep could have done more than you. My words were ill chosen in the excitement stealthily upon the unsuspecting woman. A faint rustling of the grasses of the reaction — I did not wish to wound you. All that I wish is that we attracted her attention. She turned, and at the sight that confronted her may both understand once and for all that I can never marry you — that staggered to her feet with a little shriek of fear. Then they closed upon her such a marriage would be wicked.” with a rush. Lifting her bodily in his long, gorilla-like arms, one of the “I think I understand,” he replied. “Let us not speak of it again — at creatures turned and bore her into the jungle. A filthy paw covered her least until we are back in civilization.” mouth to stifle her screams. Added to the weeks of torture she had already The next day Thuran was worse. Almost constantly he was in a state undergone, the shock was more than she could withstand. Shattered of delirium. They could do nothing to relieve him, nor was Clayton over- nerves collapsed, and she lost consciousness. anxious to attempt anything. On the girl’s account he feared the Russian When she regained her senses she found herself in the thick of the — in the bottom of his heart he hoped the man would die. The thought primeval forest. It was night. A huge fire burned brightly in the little that something might befall him that would leave her entirely at the mercy clearing in which she lay. About it squatted fifty frightful men. Their of this beast caused him greater anxiety than the probability that almost heads and faces were covered with matted hair. Their long arms rested certain death awaited her should she be left entirely alone upon the upon the bent knees of their short, crooked legs. They were gnawing, like outskirts of the cruel forest. beasts, upon unclean food. A pot boiled upon the edge of the fire, and out The Englishman had extracted the heavy spear from the body of the of it one of the creatures would occasionally drag a hunk of meat with a lion, so that when he went into the forest to hunt that morning he had a sharpened stick. feeling of much greater security than at any time since they had been cast When they discovered that their captive had regained consciousness, upon the savage shore. The result was that he penetrated farther from the a piece of this repulsive stew was tossed to her from the foul hand of a shelter than ever before. nearby feaster. It rolled close to her side, but she only closed her eyes as a To escape as far as possible from the mad ravings of the fever-stricken qualm of nausea surged through her. Russian, Jane Porter had descended from the shelter to the foot of the tree For many days they traveled through the dense forest. The girl, — she dared not venture farther. Here, beside the crude ladder Clayton footsore and exhausted, was half dragged, half pushed through the long, had constructed for her, she sat looking out to sea, in the always surviving hot, tedious days. Occasionally, when she would stumble and fall, she was hope that a vessel might be sighted. cuffed and kicked by the nearest of the frightful men. Long before they Her back was toward the jungle, and so she did not see the grasses reached their journey’s end her shoes had been discarded — the soles part, or the savage face that peered from between. Little, bloodshot, entirely gone. Her clothes were torn to mere shreds and tatters, and close-set eyes scanned her intently, roving from time to time about the through the pitiful rags her once white and tender skin showed raw and open beach for indications of the presence of others than herself. Presently bleeding from contact with the thousand pitiless thorns and brambles

530 531 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN through which she had been dragged. s Tarzan of the Apes moved slowly through the jungle after The last two days of the journey found her in such utter exhaustion casting the spear that saved Clayton and Jane Porter from the that no amount of kicking and abuse could force her to her poor, bleeding fangs of Numa, his mind was filled with all the sorrow that feet. Outraged nature had reached the limit of endurance, and the girl was belongsA to a freshly opened heart wound. physically powerless to raise herself even to her knees. He was glad that he had stayed his hand in time to prevent the As the beasts surrounded her, chattering threateningly the while they consummation of the thing that in the first mad wave of jealous wrath goaded her with their cudgels and beat and kicked her with their fists and he had contemplated. Only the fraction of a second had stood between feet, she lay with closed eyes, praying for the merciful death that she knew Clayton and death at the hands of the ape-man. In the short moment alone could give her surcease from suffering; but it did not come, and that had elapsed after he had recognized the girl and her companion and presently the fifty frightful men realized that their victim was no longer the relaxing of the taut muscles that held the poisoned shaft directed at able to walk, and so they picked her up and carried her the balance of the the Englishman’s heart, Tarzan had been swayed by the swift and savage journey. impulses of brute life. Late one afternoon she saw the ruined walls of a mighty city looming He had seen the woman he craved — his woman — his mate — in before them, but so weak and sick was she that it inspired not the faintest the arms of another. There had been but one course open to him, shadow of interest. Wherever they were bearing her, there could be but according to the fierce jungle code that guided him in this other one end to her captivity among these fierce half brutes. existence; but just before it had become too late the softer sentiments of At last they passed through two great walls and came to the ruined his inherent chivalry had risen above the flaming fires of his passion and city within. Into a crumbling pile they bore her, and here she was saved him. A thousand times he gave thanks that they had triumphed surrounded by hundreds more of the same creatures that had brought her; before his fingers had released that polished arrow. but among them were females who looked less horrible. At sight of them As he contemplated his return to the Waziri the idea became the first faint hope that she had entertained came to mitigate her misery. repugnant. He did not wish to see a human being again. At least he But it was short-lived, for the women offered her no sympathy, though, on would range alone through the jungle for a time, until the sharp edge of the other hand, neither did they abuse her. his sorrow had become blunted. Like his fellow beasts, he preferred to After she had been inspected to the entire satisfaction of the inmates suffer in silence and alone. of the building she was borne to a dark chamber in the vaults beneath, and That night he slept again in the amphitheater of the apes, and for here upon the bare floor she was left, with a metal bowl of water and several days he hunted from there, returning at night. On the another of food. afternoon of the third day he returned early. He had lain stretched For a week she saw only some of the women whose duty it was to upon the soft grass of the circular clearing for but a few moments bring her food and water. Slowly her strength was returning — soon she when he heard far to the south a familiar sound. It was the passing would be in fit condition to offer as a sacrifice to The Flaming God. through the jungle of a band of great apes — he could not mistake Fortunate indeed it was that she could not know the fate for which she that. For several minutes he lay listening. They were coming in the was destined. direction of the amphitheater. Tarzan arose lazily and stretched himself. His keen ears followed every movement of the advancing tribe. They were upwind, and presently

532 533 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN he caught their scent, though he had not needed this added evidence to comprehending, dull wonderment upon his savage face. assure him that he was right. “And Magor,” continued Tarzan, addressing another, “do you not As they came closer to the amphitheater Tarzan of the Apes melted recall your former king — he who slew the mighty Kerchak? Look at into the branches upon the other side of the arena. There he waited to me! Am I not the same Tarzan — mighty hunter — invincible fighter inspect the newcomers. Nor had he long to wait. — that you all knew for many seasons?” Presently a fierce, hairy face appeared among the lower branches The apes all crowded forward now, but more in curiosity than opposite him. The cruel little eyes took in the clearing at a glance, then threatening. They muttered among themselves for a few moments. there was a chattered report returned to those behind. Tarzan could hear “What do you want among us now?” asked Karnath. the words. The scout was telling the other members of the tribe that the “Only peace,” answered the ape-man. coast was clear and that they might enter the amphitheater in safety. Again the apes conferred. At length Karnath spoke again. First the leader dropped lightly upon the soft carpet of the grassy “Come in peace, then, Tarzan of the Apes,” he said. floor, and then, one by one, nearly a hundred anthropoids followed him. There were the huge adults and several young. A few nursing babes nd so Tarzan of the Apes dropped lightly to the turf into the clung close to the shaggy necks of their savage mothers. midst of the fierce and hideous horde — he had completed the Tarzan recognized many members of the tribe. It was the same into cycle of evolution, and had returned to be once again a brute which he had come as a tiny babe. Many of the adults had been little amongA brutes. apes during his boyhood. He had frolicked and played about this very There were no greetings such as would have taken place among men jungle with them during their brief childhood. He wondered if they after a separation of two years. The majority of the apes went on about would remember him — the memory of some apes is not overlong, and the little activities that the advent of the ape-man had interrupted, two years may be an eternity to them. paying no further attention to him than as though he had not been gone From the talk which he overheard he learned that they had come to from the tribe at all. choose a new king — their late chief had fallen a hundred feet beneath One or two young bulls who had not been old enough to remember a broken limb to an untimely end. him sidled up on all fours to sniff at him, and one bared his fangs and Tarzan walked to the end of an overhanging limb in plain view of growled threateningly — he wished to put Tarzan immediately into his them. The quick eyes of a female caught sight of him first. With a proper place. Had Tarzan backed off, growling, the young bull would barking guttural she called the attention of the others. Several huge bulls quite probably have been satisfied, but always after Tarzan’s station stood erect to get a better view of the intruder. With bared fangs and among his fellow apes would have been beneath that of the bull which bristling necks they advanced slowly toward him, with deep-throated, had made him step aside. ominous growls. But Tarzan of the Apes did not back off. Instead, he swung his giant “Karnath, I am Tarzan of the Apes,” said the ape-man in the palm with all the force of his mighty muscles, and, catching the young vernacular of the tribe. “You remember me. Together we teased Numa bull alongside the head, sent him sprawling across the turf. The ape was when we were still little apes, throwing sticks and nuts at him from the up and at him again in a second, and this time they closed with tearing safety of high branches.” fingers and rending fangs — or at least that had been the intention of The brute he had addressed stopped with a look of half- the young bull; but scarcely had they gone down, growling and snapping,

534 535 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN than the ape-man’s fingers found the throat of his antagonist. sorrow and jealousy to stand between Jane Porter and safety. As the days Presently the young bull ceased to struggle, and lay quite still. Then passed the thing preyed more and more upon his mind, and he had Tarzan released his hold and arose — he did not wish to kill, only to about determined to return to the coast and place himself on guard over teach the young ape, and others who might be watching, that Tarzan of Jane Porter and Clayton, when news reached him that altered all his the Apes was still master. plans and sent him dashing madly toward the east in reckless disregard The lesson served its purpose — the young apes kept out of his way, of accident and death. as young apes should when their betters were about, and the old bulls Before Tarzan had returned to the tribe, a certain young bull, not made no attempt to encroach upon his prerogatives. For several days the being able to secure a mate from among his own people, had, according she-apes with young remained suspicious of him, and when he ventured to custom, fared forth through the wild jungle, like some knight-errant too near rushed upon him with wide mouths and hideous roars. Then of old, to win a fair lady from some neighboring community. Tarzan discreetly skipped out of harm’s way, for that also is a custom He had but just returned with his bride, and was narrating his among the apes — only mad bulls will attack a mother. But after a while adventures quickly before he should forget them. Among other things even they became accustomed to him. he told of seeing a great tribe of strange-looking apes. He hunted with them as in days gone by, and when they found that “They were all hairy-faced bulls but one,” he said, “and that one was his superior reason guided him to the best food sources, and that his a she, lighter in color even than this stranger,” and he chucked a thumb cunning rope ensnared toothsome game that they seldom if ever tasted, at Tarzan. they came again to look up to him as they had in the past after he had The ape-man was all attention in an instant. He asked questions as become their king. And so it was that before they left the amphitheater rapidly as the slow-witted anthropoid could answer them. to return to their wanderings they had once more chosen him as their “Were the bulls short, with crooked legs?” leader. “They were.” The ape-man felt quite contented with his new lot. He was not “Did they wear the skins of Numa and Sheeta about their loins, and happy — that he never could be again, but he was at least as far from carry sticks and knives?” everything that might remind him of his past misery as he could be. “They did.” Long since he had given up every intention of returning to civilization, “And were there many yellow rings about their arms and legs?” and now he had decided to see no more his black friends of the Waziri. “Yes.” He had foresworn humanity forever. He had started life an ape — as an “And the she one — was she small and slender, and very white?” ape he would die. “Yes.” He could not, however, erase from his memory the fact that the “Did she seem to be one of the tribe, or was she a prisoner?” woman he loved was within a short journey of the stamping-ground of “They dragged her along — sometimes by an arm — sometimes by his tribe; nor could he banish the haunting fear that she might be the long hair that grew upon her head; and always they kicked and beat constantly in danger. That she was illy protected he had seen in the brief her. Oh, but it was great fun to watch them.” instant that had witnessed Clayton’s inefficiency. The more Tarzan “God!” muttered Tarzan. thought of it, the more keenly his conscience pricked him. “Where were they when you saw them, and which way were they Finally he came to loathe himself for permitting his own selfish going?” continued the ape-man.

536 537 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

“They were beside the second water back there,” and he pointed to the south. “When they passed me they were going toward the morning, upward along the edge of the water.” “When was this?” asked Tarzan. “Half a moon since.” Without another word the ape-man sprang into the trees and fled like a disembodied spirit eastward in the direction of the forgotten city of Opar.

XXIV

HOW TARZAN CAME AGAIN to OPAR

[ return to table of contents ] hen Clayton returned to the shelter and found Jane Porter was missing, he became frantic with fear and grief. He found Monsieur Thuran quite rational, the fever having leftW him with the surprising suddenness which is one of its peculiarities. The Russian, weak and exhausted, still lay upon his bed of grasses within the shelter. When Clayton asked him about the girl he seemed surprised to know that she was not there. “I have heard nothing unusual,” he said. “But then I have been unconscious much of the time.” Had it not been for the man’s very evident weakness, Clayton should have suspected him of having sinister knowledge of the girl’s whereabouts;

538 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN but he could see that Thuran lacked sufficient vitality even to descend, Thuran watched him on these occasions with an expression of unaided, from the shelter. He could not, in his present physical condition, malignant pleasure — he seemed really to enjoy the suffering of the man have harmed the girl, nor could he have climbed the rude ladder back to who, despite the just contempt in which he held him, had ministered to the shelter. him to the best of his ability while he lay suffering the same agonies. At Until dark the Englishman searched the nearby jungle for a trace of last Clayton became so weak that he was no longer able to descend from the missing one or a sign of the trail of her abductor. But though the the shelter. For a day he suffered for water without appealing to the spoor left by the fifty frightful men, unversed in woodcraft as they were, Russian, but finally, unable to endure it longer, he asked Thuran to fetch would have been as plain to the densest denizen of the jungle as a city him a drink. The Russian came to the entrance to Clayton’s room, a dish street to the Englishman, yet he crossed and recrossed it twenty times of water in his hand. A nasty grin contorted his features. without observing the slightest indication that many men had passed “Here is water,” he said. “But first let me remind you that you that way but a few short hours since. maligned me before the girl — that you kept her to yourself, and would As he searched, Clayton continued to call the girl’s name aloud, but not share her with me — ” the only result of this was to attract Numa, the lion. Fortunately the man Clayton interrupted him. “Stop!” he cried. “Stop! What manner of saw the shadowy form worming its way toward him in time to climb cur are you that you traduce the character of a good woman whom we into the branches of a tree before the beast was close enough to reach believe dead! God! I was a fool ever to let you live — you are not fit to him. This put an end to his search for the balance of the afternoon, as live even in this vile land.” the lion paced back and forth beneath him until dark. “Here is your water,” said the Russian. “All you will get,” and he Even after the beast had left, Clayton dared not descend into the raised the basin to his lips and drank; what was left he threw out upon awful blackness beneath him, and so he spent a terrifying and hideous the ground below. Then he turned and left the sick man. night in the tree. The next morning he returned to the beach, relinquishing Clayton rolled over, and, burying his face in his arms, gave up the the last hope of succoring Jane Porter. battle. During the week that followed, Monsieur Thuran rapidly regained The next day Thuran determined to set out toward the north along his strength, lying in the shelter while Clayton hunted food for both. the coast, for he knew that eventually he must come to the habitations The men never spoke except as necessity demanded. Clayton now of civilized men — at least he could be no worse off than he was here, occupied the section of the shelter which had been reserved for Jane and, furthermore, the ravings of the dying Englishman were getting on Porter, and only saw the Russian when he took food or water to him, or his nerves. So he stole Clayton’s spear and set off upon his journey. He performed the other kindly offices which common humanity required. would have killed the sick man before he left had it not occurred to him When Thuran was again able to descend in search of food, Clayton that it would really have been a kindness to do so. was stricken with fever. For days he lay tossing in delirium and suffering, That same day he came to a little cabin by the beach, and his heart but not once did the Russian come near him. Food the Englishman filled with renewed hope as he saw this evidence of the proximity of could not have eaten, but his craving for water amounted practically to civilization, for he thought it but the outpost of a nearby settlement. torture. Between the recurrent attacks of delirium, weak though he was, Had he known to whom it belonged, and that its owner was at that very he managed to reach the brook once a day and fill a tiny can that had moment but a few miles inland, Nikolas Rokoff would have fled the been among the few appointments of the lifeboat. place as he would a pestilence. But he did not know, and so he remained

540 541 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN for a few days to enjoy the security and comparative comforts of the reported to Washington at once.’ cabin. Then he took up his northward journey once more. “And would you believe it, Miss Strong,” continued Tennington, “I n Lord Tennington’s camp preparations were going forward to had the very deuce of a job to convince the old fellow that there was not build permanent quarters, and then to send out an expedition of a only no rural free delivery, but no town, and that he was not even on the few men to the north in search of relief. same continent as Washington, nor in the same hemisphere. IAs the days had passed without bringing the longed-for succor, “When he did realize he commenced to worry about his daughter hope that Jane Porter, Clayton, and Monsieur Thuran had been rescued — I think it is the first time that he really has appreciated our position began to die. No one spoke of the matter longer to Professor Porter, and here, or the fact that Miss Porter may not have been rescued.” he was so immersed in his scientific dreaming that he was not aware of “I hate to think about it,” said the girl, “and yet I can think of nothing the elapse of time. else than the absent members of our party.” Occasionally he would remark that within a few days they should “Let us hope for the best,” replied Tennington. “You yourself have certainly see a steamer drop anchor off their shore, and that then they set us each a splendid example of bravery, for in a way your loss has been should all be reunited happily. Sometimes he spoke of it as a train, and the greatest.” wondered if it were being delayed by snowstorms. “Yes,” she replied; “I could have loved Jane Porter no more had she “If I didn’t know the dear old fellow so well by now,” Tennington been my own sister.” remarked to Miss Strong, “I should be quite certain that he was — er Tennington did not show the surprise he felt. That was not at all — not quite right, don’t you know.” what he meant. He had been much with this fair daughter of Maryland “If it were not so pathetic it would be ridiculous,” said the girl, sadly. since the wreck of the Lady Alice, and it had recently come to him that “I, who have known him all my life, know how he worships Jane; but to he had grown much more fond of her than would prove good for the others it must seem that he is perfectly callous to her fate. It is only that peace of his mind, for he recalled almost constantly now the confidence he is so absolutely impractical that he cannot conceive of so real a thing which Monsieur Thuran had imparted to him that he and Miss Strong as death unless nearly certain proof of it is thrust upon him.” were engaged. He wondered if, after all, Thuran had been quite accurate “You’d never guess what he was about yesterday,” continued in his statement. He had never seen the slightest indication on the girl’s Tennington. “I was coming in alone from a little hunt when I met him part of more than ordinary friendship. walking rapidly along the game trail that I was following back to camp. “And then in Monsieur Thuran’s loss, if they are lost, you would His hands were clasped beneath the tails of his long black coat, and his suffer a severe bereavement,” he ventured. top hat was set firmly down upon his head, as with eyes bent upon the She looked up at him quickly. “Monsieur Thuran had become a very ground he hastened on, probably to some sudden death had I not dear friend,” she said. “I liked him very much, though I have known him intercepted him. but a short time.” “‘Why, where in the world are you bound, professor?’ I asked him. ‘I “Then you were not engaged to marry him?” he blurted out. am going into town, Lord Tennington,’ he said, as seriously as possible, “Heavens, no!” she cried. “I did not care for him at all in that way.” ‘to complain to the postmaster about the rural free delivery service we There was something that Lord Tennington wanted to say to Hazel are suffering from here. Why, sir, I haven’t had a piece of mail in weeks. Strong — he wanted very badly to say it, and to say it at once; but somehow There should be several letters for me from Jane. The matter must be the words stuck in his throat. He started lamely a couple of times, cleared his

542 543 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN throat, became red in the face, and finally ended by remarking that he hoped not seen before came with several others to her dungeon. Here some sort the cabins would be finished before the rainy season commenced. of ceremony was performed — that it was of a religious nature the girl But, though he did not know it, he had conveyed to the girl the very was sure, and so she took new heart, and rejoiced that she had fallen message he intended, and it left her happy — happier than she had ever among people upon whom the refining and softening influences of before been in all her life. religion evidently had fallen. They would treat her humanely — of that Just then further conversation was interrupted by the sight of a she was now quite sure. strange and terrible-looking figure which emerged from the jungle just And so when they led her from her dungeon, through long, dark south of the camp. Tennington and the girl saw it at the same time. The corridors, and up a flight of concrete steps to a brilliant courtyard, she Englishman reached for his revolver, but when the half-naked, bearded went willingly, even gladly — for was she not among the servants of creature called his name aloud and came running toward them he God? It might be, of course, that their interpretation of the supreme dropped his hand and advanced to meet it. being differed from her own, but that they owned a god was sufficient None would have recognized in the filthy, emaciated creature, evidence to her that they were kind and good. covered by a single garment of small skins, the immaculate Monsieur But when she saw a stone altar in the center of the courtyard, and Thuran the party had last seen upon the deck of the Lady Alice. dark-brown stains upon it and the nearby concrete of the floor, she Before the other members of the little community were apprised of began to wonder and to doubt. And as they stooped and bound her his presence Tennington and Miss Strong questioned him regarding the ankles, and secured her wrists behind her, her doubts were turned to fear. other occupants of the missing boat. A moment later, as she was lifted and placed supine across the altar’s top, “They are all dead,” replied Thuran. “The three sailors died before hope left her entirely, and she trembled in an agony of fright. we made land. Miss Porter was carried off into the jungle by some wild During the grotesque dance of the votaries which followed, she lay animal while I was lying delirious with fever. Clayton died of the same frozen in horror, nor did she require the sight of the thin blade in the fever but a few days since. And to think that all this time we have been hands of the high priestess as it rose slowly above her to enlighten her separated by but a few miles — scarcely a day’s march. It is terrible!” further as to her doom. As the hand began its descent, Jane Porter closed her eyes and sent ow long Jane Porter lay in the darkness of the vault beneath up a silent prayer to the Maker she was so soon to face — then she the temple in the ancient city of Opar she did not know. For succumbed to the strain upon her tired nerves, and swooned. a time she was delirious with fever, but after this passed she Hcommenced slowly to regain her strength. Every day the woman who ay and night Tarzan of the Apes raced through the primeval brought her food beckoned to her to arise, but for many days the girl forest toward the ruined city in which he was positive the could only shake her head to indicate that she was too weak. woman he loved lay either a prisoner or dead. But eventually she was able to gain her feet, and then to stagger a DIn a day and a night he covered the same distance that the fifty few steps by supporting herself with one hand upon the wall. Her captors frightful men had taken the better part of a week to traverse, for Tarzan now watched her with increasing interest. The day was approaching, and of the Apes traveled along the middle terrace high above the tangled the victim was gaining in strength. obstacles that impede progress upon the ground. Presently the day came, and a young woman whom Jane Porter had The story the young bull ape had told made it clear to him that the

544 545 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN girl captive had been Jane Porter, for there was not another small white cement floor of the dungeon. “she” in all the jungle. The “bulls” he had recognized from the ape’s crude With a single leap he cleared the length of the chamber and threw description as the grotesque parodies upon humanity who inhabit the himself against the ancient door. But here he stopped. The mighty bars ruins of Opar. And the girl’s fate he could picture as plainly as though he upon the other side were proof even against such muscles as his. It were an eyewitness to it. When they would lay her across that trim altar needed but a moment’s effort to convince him of the futility of he could not guess, but that her dear, frail body would eventually find its endeavoring to force that impregnable barrier. There was but one other way there he was confident. way, and that led back through the long tunnels to the bowlder a mile But, finally, after what seemed long ages to the impatient ape-man, beyond the city’s walls, and then back across the open as he had come to he topped the barrier cliffs that hemmed the desolate valley, and below the city first with his Waziri. him lay the grim and awful ruins of the now hideous city of Opar. At a He realized that to retrace his steps and enter the city from above rapid trot he started across the dry and dusty, boulder-strewn ground ground would mean that he would be too late to save the girl, if it were toward the goal of his desires. indeed she who lay upon the sacrificial altar above him. But there seemed Would he be in time to rescue? He hoped against hope. At least he no other way, and so he turned and ran swiftly back into the passageway could be revenged, and in his wrath it seemed to him that he was equal beyond the broken wall. At the well he heard again the monotonous to the task of wiping out the entire population of that terrible city. It was voice of the high priestess, and, as he glanced aloft, the opening, twenty nearly noon when he reached the great boulder at the top of which feet above, seemed so near that he was tempted to leap for it in a mad terminated the secret passage to the pits beneath the city. Like a cat he endeavor to reach the inner courtyard that lay so near. scaled the precipitous sides of the frowning granite kopje. A moment If he could but get one end of his grass rope caught upon some later he was running through the darkness of the long, straight tunnel projection at the top of that tantalizing aperture! In the instant’s pause that led to the treasure vault. Through this he passed, then on and on and thought an idea occurred to him. He would attempt it. Turning back until at last he came to the well-like shaft upon the opposite side of to the tumbled wall, he seized one of the large, flat slabs that had which lay the dungeon with the false wall. composed it. Hastily making one end of his rope fast to the piece of As he paused a moment upon the brink of the well a faint sound granite, he returned to the shaft, and, coiling the balance of the rope on came to him through the opening above. His quick ears caught and the floor beside him, the ape-man took the heavy slab in both hands, translated it — it was the dance of death that preceded a sacrifice, and and, swinging it several times to get the distance and the direction fixed, the singsong ritual of the high priestess. He could even recognize the he let the weight fly up at a slight angle, so that, instead of falling straight woman’s voice. Could it be that the ceremony marked the very thing he back into the shaft again, it grazed the far edge, tumbling over into the had so hastened to prevent? A wave of horror swept over him. Was he, court beyond. after all, to be just a moment too late? Like a frightened deer he leaped Tarzan dragged for a moment upon the slack end of the rope until across the narrow chasm to the continuation of the passage beyond. At he felt that the stone was lodged with fair security at the shaft’s top, then the false wall he tore like one possessed to demolish the barrier that he swung out over the black depths beneath. The moment his full weight confronted him — with giant muscles he forced the opening, thrusting came upon the rope he felt it slip from above. He waited there in awful his head and shoulders through the first small hole he made, and carrying suspense as it dropped in little jerks, inch by inch. The stone was being the balance of the wall with him, to clatter resoundingly upon the dragged up the outside of the masonry surrounding the top of the shaft

546 547 — would it catch at the very edge, or would his weight drag it over to fall upon him as he hurtled into the unknown depths below?

XXV

THROUGH the FOREST PRIMEVAL

[ return to table of contents ] or a brief, sickening moment Tarzan felt the slipping of the rope to which he clung, and heard the scraping of the block of stone against the masonry above. FThen of a sudden the rope was still — the stone had caught at the very edge. Gingerly the ape-man clambered up the frail rope. In a moment his head was above the edge of the shaft. The court was empty. The inhabitants of Opar were viewing the sacrifice. Tarzan could hear the voice of La from the nearby sacrificial court. The dance had ceased. It must be almost time for the knife to fall; but even as he thought these things he was running rapidly toward the sound of the high priestess’ voice. Fate guided him to the very doorway of the great roofless chamber. Between him and the altar was the long row of priests and priestesses, awaiting with their golden cups the spilling of the warm blood of their THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN victim. La’s hand was descending slowly toward the bosom of the frail, “She is mine,” said Tarzan of the Apes. quiet figure that lay stretched upon the hard stone. Tarzan gave a gasp For a moment the girl of Opar stood wide-eyed and staring. Then a that was almost a sob as he recognized the features of the girl he loved. look of hopeless misery suffused her eyes — tears welled into them, and And then the scar upon his forehead turned to a flaming band of scarlet, with a little cry she sank to the cold floor, just as a swarm of frightful a red mist floated before his eyes, and, with the awful roar of the bull ape men dashed past her to leap upon the ape-man. gone mad, he sprang like a huge lion into the midst of the votaries. But Tarzan of the Apes was not there when they reached out to Seizing a cudgel from the nearest priest, he laid about him like a seize him. With a light bound he had disappeared into the passage veritable demon as he forged his rapid way toward the altar. The hand of leading to the pits below, and when his pursuers came more cautiously La had paused at the first noise of interruption. When she saw who the after they found the chamber empty. They but laughed and jabbered to author of it was she went white. She had never been able to fathom the one another, for they knew that there was no exit from the pits other secret of the strange white man’s escape from the dungeon in which she than the one through which he had entered. If he came out at all he had locked him. She had not intended that he should ever leave Opar, must come this way, and they would wait and watch for him above. for she had looked upon his giant frame and handsome face with the And so Tarzan of the Apes, carrying the unconscious Jane Porter, eyes of a woman and not those of a priestess. came through the pits of Opar beneath the temple of The Flaming God In her clever mind she had concocted a story of wonderful revelation without pursuit. But when the men of Opar had talked further about the from the lips of the flaming god himself, in which she had been ordered matter, they recalled to mind that this very man had escaped once before to receive this white stranger as a messenger from him to his people on into the pits, and, though they had watched the entrance he had not earth. That would satisfy the people of Opar, she knew. The man would come forth; and yet today he had come upon them from the outside. be satisfied, she felt quite sure, to remain and be her husband rather than They would again send fifty men out into the valley to find and capture to return to the sacrificial altar. this desecrater of their temple. But when she had gone to explain her plan to him he had disappeared, After Tarzan reached the shaft beyond the broken wall, he felt so though the door had been tightly locked as she had left it. And now he positive of the successful issue of his flight that he stopped to replace the had returned — materialized from thin air — and was killing her priests tumbled stones, for he was not anxious that any of the inmates should as though they had been sheep. For the moment she forgot her victim, discover this forgotten passage, and through it come upon the treasure and before she could gather her wits together again the huge white man chamber. It was in his mind to return again to Opar and bear away a still was standing before her, the woman who had lain upon the altar in his greater fortune than he had already buried in the amphitheater of the arms. apes. “One side, La,” he cried. “You saved me once, and so I would not On through the passageways he trotted, past the first door and harm you; but do not interfere or attempt to follow, or I shall have to kill through the treasure vault; past the second door and into the long, you also.” straight tunnel that led to the lofty hidden exit beyond the city. Jane As he spoke he stepped past her toward the entrance to the Porter was still unconscious. subterranean vaults. At the crest of the great boulder he halted to cast a backward glance “Who is she?” asked the high priestess, pointing at the unconscious toward the city. Coming across the plain he saw a band of the hideous woman. men of Opar. For a moment he hesitated. Should he descend and make

550 551 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN a race for the distant cliffs, or should he hide here until night? And then own country. Whether it was because they recalled the futility of their a glance at the girl’s white face determined him. He could not keep her former long and irksome search, or after witnessing the ease with which here and permit her enemies to get between them and liberty. For aught the ape-man swung along before them, and the last burst of speed, they he knew they might have been followed through the tunnels, and to realized the utter hopelessness of further pursuit, it is difficult to say; but have foes before and behind would result in almost certain capture, since as Tarzan reached the woods that began at the base of the foothills he could not fight his way through the enemy burdened as he was with which skirted the barrier cliffs they turned their faces once more toward the unconscious girl. Opar. To descend the steep face of the boulder with Jane Porter was no easy task, but by binding her across his shoulders with the grass rope he ust within the forest’s edge, where he could yet watch the cliff tops, succeeded in reaching the ground in safety before the Oparians arrived Tarzan laid his burden upon the grass, and going to the near-by at the great rock. As the descent had been made upon the side away rivulet brought water with which he bathed her face and hands; but from the city, the searching party saw nothing of it, nor did they dream evenJ this did not revive her, and, greatly worried, he gathered the girl that their prey was so close before them. into his strong arms once more and hurried on toward the west. By keeping the kopje between them and their pursuers, Tarzan of the Late in the afternoon Jane Porter regained consciousness. She did Apes managed to cover nearly a mile before the men of Opar rounded not open her eyes at once — she was trying to recall the scenes that she the granite sentinel and saw the fugitive before them. With loud cries of had last witnessed. Ah, she remembered now. The altar, the terrible savage delight, they broke into a mad run, thinking doubtless that they priestess, the descending knife. She gave a little shudder, for she thought would soon overhaul the burdened runner; but they both underestimated that either this was death or that the knife had buried itself in her heart the powers of the ape-man and overestimated the possibilities of their and she was experiencing the brief delirium preceding death. And when own short, crooked legs. finally she mustered courage to open her eyes, the sight that met them By maintaining an easy trot, Tarzan kept the distance between them confirmed her fears, for she saw that she was being borne through a leafy always the same. Occasionally he would glance at the face so near his paradise in the arms of her dead love. “If this be death,” she murmured, own. Had it not been for the faint beating of the heart pressed so close “thank God that I am dead.” against his own, he would not have known that she was alive, so white “You spoke, Jane!” cried Tarzan. “You are regaining consciousness!” and drawn was the poor, tired face. “Yes, Tarzan of the Apes,” she replied, and for the first time in And thus they came to the flat-topped mountain and the barrier months a smile of peace and happiness lighted her face. cliffs. During the last mile Tarzan had let himself out, running like a “Thank God!” cried the ape-man, coming to the ground in a little deer that he might have ample time to descend the face of the cliffs grassy clearing beside the stream. “I was in time, after all.” before the Oparians could reach the summit and hurl rocks down upon “In time? What do you mean?” she questioned. them. And so it was that he was half a mile down the mountainside ere “In time to save you from death upon the altar, dear,” he replied. “Do the fierce little men came panting to the edge. you not remember?” With cries of rage and disappointment they ranged along the cliff “Save me from death?” she asked, in a puzzled tone. “Are we not top shaking their cudgels, and dancing up and down in a perfect passion both dead, my Tarzan?” of anger. But this time they did not pursue beyond the boundary of their He had placed her upon the grass by now, her back resting against

552 553 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN the stem of a huge tree. At her question he stepped back where he could horrors, was forgotten — the future did not belong to them; but the the better see her face. present — ah, it was theirs; none could take it from them. It was the girl “Dead!” he repeated, and then he laughed. “You are not, Jane; and if who first broke the sweet silence. you will return to the city of Opar and ask them who dwell there they “Where are we going, dear?” she asked. “What are we going to do?” will tell you that I was not dead a few short hours ago. No, dear, we are “Where would you like best to go?” he asked. “What would you like both very much alive.” best to do?” “But both Hazel and Monsieur Thuran told me that you had fallen “To go where you go, my man; to do whatever seems best to you,” into the ocean many miles from land,” she urged, as though trying to she answered. convince him that he must indeed be dead. “They said that there was no “But Clayton?” he asked. For a moment he had forgotten that there question but that it must have been you, and less that you could have existed upon the earth other than they two. “We have forgotten your survived or been picked up.” husband.” “How can I convince you that I am no spirit?” he asked, with a laugh. “I am not married, Tarzan of the Apes,” she cried. “Nor am I longer “It was I whom the delightful Monsieur Thuran pushed overboard, but promised in marriage. The day before those awful creatures captured me I I did not drown — I will tell you all about it after a while — and here I spoke to Mr. Clayton of my love for you, and he understood then that I am very much the same wild man you first knew, Jane Porter.” could not keep the wicked promise that I had made. It was after we had The girl rose slowly to her feet and came toward him. been miraculously saved from an attacking lion.” She paused suddenly and “I cannot even yet believe it,” she murmured. “It cannot be that such looked up at him, a questioning light in her eyes. “Tarzan of the Apes,” she happiness can be true after all the hideous things that I have passed cried, “it was you who did that thing? It could have been no other.” through these awful months since the Lady Alice went down.” He dropped his eyes, for he was ashamed. She came close to him and laid a hand, soft and trembling, upon his “How could you have gone away and left me?” she cried reproachfully. arm. “Don’t, Jane!” he pleaded. “Please don’t! You cannot know how I “It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment have suffered since for the cruelty of that act, or how I suffered then, first to see that awful knife descending toward my heart — kiss me, dear, just in jealous rage, and then in bitter resentment against the fate that I had once before I lose my dream forever.” not deserved. I went back to the apes after that, Jane, intending never Tarzan of the Apes needed no second invitation. He took the girl he again to see a human being.” He told her then of his life since he had loved in his strong arms, and kissed her not once, but a hundred times, returned to the jungle — of how he had dropped like a plummet from a until she lay there panting for breath; yet when he stopped she put her civilized Parisian to a savage Waziri warrior, and from there back to the arms about his neck and drew his lips down to hers once more. brute that he had been raised. “Am I alive and a reality, or am I but a dream?” he asked. She asked him many questions, and at last fearfully of the things “If you are not alive, my man,” she answered, “I pray that I may die that Monsieur Thuran had told her — of the woman in Paris. He thus before I awaken to the terrible realities of my last waking moments.” narrated every detail of his civilized life to her, omitting nothing, for he For a while both were silent — gazing into each others’ eyes as felt no shame, since his heart always had been true to her. When he had though each still questioned the reality of the wonderful happiness that finished he sat looking at her, as though waiting for her judgment, and had come to them. The past, with all its hideous disappointments and his sentence.

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“I knew that he was not speaking the truth,” she said. “Oh, what a Waziri laughing and dancing about them they came to the rude shelter horrible creature he is!” by the shore. “You are not angry with me, then?” he asked. There was no sign of life, and no response to their calls. Tarzan And her reply, though apparently most irrelevant, was truly feminine. clambered quickly to the interior of the little tree hut, only to emerge a “Is Olga de Coude very beautiful?” she asked. moment later with an empty tin. Throwing it down to Busuli, he told And Tarzan laughed and kissed her again. “Not one-tenth so him to fetch water, and then he beckoned Jane Porter to come up. beautiful as you, dear,” he said. Together they leaned over the emaciated thing that once had been She gave a contented little sigh, and let her head rest against his an English nobleman. Tears came to the girl’s eyes as she saw the poor, shoulder. He knew that he was forgiven. sunken cheeks and hollow eyes, and the lines of suffering upon the once That night Tarzan built a snug little bower high among the swaying young and handsome face. branches of a giant tree, and there the tired girl slept, while in a crotch “He still lives,” said Tarzan. “We will do all that can be done for him, beneath her the ape-man curled, ready, even in sleep, to protect her. but I fear that we are too late.” When Busuli had brought the water Tarzan forced a few drops t took them many days to make the long journey to the coast. between the cracked and swollen lips. He wetted the hot forehead and Where the way was easy they walked hand in hand beneath the bathed the pitiful limbs. arching boughs of the mighty forest, as might in a far-gone past Presently Clayton opened his eyes. A faint, shadowy smile lighted Ihave walked their primeval forbears. When the underbrush was tangled his countenance as he saw the girl leaning over him. At sight of Tarzan he took her in his great arms, and bore her lightly through the trees, and the expression changed to one of wonderment. the days were all too short, for they were very happy. Had it not been for “It’s all right, old fellow,” said the ape-man. “We’ve found you in their anxiety to reach and succor Clayton they would have drawn out the time. Everything will be all right now, and we’ll have you on your feet sweet pleasure of that wonderful journey indefinitely. again before you know it.” On the last day before they reached the coast Tarzan caught the The Englishman shook his head weakly. “It’s too late,” he whispered. scent of men ahead of them — the scent of black men. He told the girl, “But it’s just as well. I’d rather die.” and cautioned her to maintain silence. “There are few friends in the “Where is Monsieur Thuran?” asked the girl. jungle,” he remarked dryly. “He left me after the fever got bad. He is a devil. When I begged for In half an hour they came stealthily upon a small party of black the water that I was too weak to get he drank before me, threw the rest warriors filing toward the west. As Tarzan saw them he gave a cry of out, and laughed in my face.” At the thought of it the man was suddenly delight — it was a band of his own Waziri. Busuli was there, and others animated by a spark of vitality. He raised himself upon one elbow. “Yes,” who had accompanied him to Opar. At sight of him they danced and he almost shouted; “I will live. I will live long enough to find and kill cried out in exuberant joy. For weeks they had been searching for him, that beast!” But the brief effort left him weaker than before, and he sank they told him. back again upon the rotting grasses that, with his old ulster, had been the The blacks exhibited considerable wonderment at the presence of bed of Jane Porter. the white girl with him, and when they found that she was to be his “Don’t worry about Thuran,” said Tarzan of the Apes, laying a woman they vied with one another to do her honor. With the happy reassuring hand on Clayton’s forehead. “He belongs to me, and I shall

556 557 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN get him in the end, never fear.” you had never known your father?” she asked incredulously. For a long time Clayton lay very still. Several times Tarzan had to “The title and the estates meant nothing to me without you, dear,” put his ear quite close to the sunken chest to catch the faint beating of he replied. “And if I had taken them away from him I should have been the worn-out heart. Toward evening he aroused again for a brief moment. robbing the woman I love — don’t you understand, Jane?” It was as “Jane,” he whispered. The girl bent her head closer to catch the faint though he attempted to excuse a fault. message. “I have wronged you — and him,” he nodded weakly toward She extended her arms toward him across the body of the dead man, the ape-man. “I loved you so — it is a poor excuse to offer for injuring and took his hands in hers. you; but I could not bear to think of giving you up. I do not ask your “And I would have thrown away a love like that!” she said. forgiveness. I only wish to do now the thing I should have done over a year ago.” He fumbled in the pocket of the ulster beneath him for something that he had discovered there while he lay between the paroxysms of fever. Presently he found it — a crumpled bit of yellow paper. He handed it to the girl, and as she took it his arm fell limply across his chest, his head dropped back, and with a little gasp he stiffened and was still. Then Tarzan of the Apes drew a fold of the ulster across the upturned face. For a moment they remained kneeling there, the girl’s lips moving in silent prayer, and as they rose and stood on either side of the now peaceful form, tears came to the ape-man’s eyes, for through the anguish that his own heart had suffered he had learned compassion for the suffering of others. Through her own tears the girl read the message upon the bit of faded yellow paper, and as she read her eyes went very wide. Twice she read those startling words before she could fully comprehend their meaning.

Finger prints prove you Greystoke. Congratulations. — D’ARNOT.

She handed the paper to Tarzan. “And he has known it all this time,” she said, “and did not tell you?” “I knew it first, Jane,” replied the man. “I did not know that he knew it at all. I must have dropped this message that night in the waiting room. It was there that I received it.” “And afterward you told us that your mother was a she-ape, and that

558 559 XXVI

THE PASSING of the APE-MAN

[ return to table of contents ] he next morning they set out upon the short journey to Tarzan’s cabin. Four Waziri bore the body of the dead Englishman. It had been the ape-man’s suggestion that Clayton be buried Tbeside the former Lord Greystoke near the edge of the jungle against the cabin that the older man had built. Jane Porter was glad that it was to be so, and in her heart of hearts she wondered at the marvelous fineness of character of this wondrous man, who, though raised by brutes and among brutes, had the true chivalry and tenderness which only associates with the refinements of the highest civilization. They had proceeded some three miles of the five that had separated them from Tarzan’s own beach when the Waziri who were ahead stopped suddenly, pointing in amazement at a strange figure approaching them THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOK TWO THE RETURN of TARZAN along the beach. It was a man with a shiny silk hat, who walked slowly on board the following morning, and carry them back to civilization. with bent head, and hands clasped behind him underneath the tails of Hazel Strong and her mother, Esmeralda, and Mr. Samuel T. his long, black coat. Philander were almost overcome by happiness at Jane Porter’s safe At sight of him Jane Porter uttered a little cry of surprise and joy, and return. Her escape seemed to them little short of miraculous, and it was ran quickly ahead to meet him. At the sound of her voice the old man the consensus of opinion that it could have been achieved by no other looked up, and when he saw who it was confronting him he, too, cried out man than Tarzan of the Apes. They loaded the uncomfortable ape-man in relief and happiness. As Professor Archimedes Q. Porter folded his with eulogies and attentions until he wished himself back in the daughter in his arms tears streamed down his seamed old face, and it was amphitheater of the apes. several minutes before he could control himself sufficiently to speak. All were interested in his savage Waziri, and many were the gifts the When a moment later he recognized Tarzan it was with difficulty black men received from these friends of their king, but when they that they could convince him that his sorrow had not unbalanced his learned that he might sail away from them upon the great canoe that lay mind, for with the other members of the party he had been so thoroughly at anchor a mile off shore they became very sad. convinced that the ape-man was dead it was a problem to reconcile the As yet the newcomers had seen nothing of Lord Tennington and conviction with the very lifelike appearance of Jane’s “forest god.” The Monsieur Thuran. They had gone out for fresh meat early in the day, old man was deeply touched at the news of Clayton’s death. and had not yet returned. “I cannot understand it,” he said. “Monsieur Thuran assured us that “How surprised this man, whose name you say is Rokoff, will be to Clayton passed away many days ago.” see you,” said Jane Porter to Tarzan. “Thuran is with you?” asked Tarzan. “His surprise will be short-lived,” replied the ape-man grimly, and there “Yes; he but recently found us and led us to your cabin. We were was that in his tone that made her look up into his face in alarm. What she camped but a short distance north of it. Bless me, but he will be delighted read there evidently confirmed her fears, for she put her hand upon his arm, to see you both.” and pleaded with him to leave the Russian to the laws of France. “And surprised,” commented Tarzan. “In the heart of the jungle, dear,” she said, “with no other form of right A short time later the strange party came to the clearing in which or justice to appeal to other than your own mighty muscles, you would be stood the ape-man’s cabin. It was filled with people coming and going, warranted in executing upon this man the sentence he deserves; but with and almost the first whom Tarzan saw was D’Arnot. the strong arm of a civilized government at your disposal it would be “Paul!” he cried. “In the name of sanity what are you doing here? Or murder to kill him now. Even your friends would have to submit to your are we all insane?” arrest, or if you resisted it would plunge us all into misery and unhappiness It was quickly explained, however, as were many other seemingly again. I cannot bear to lose you again, my Tarzan. Promise me that you strange things. D’Arnot’s ship had been cruising along the coast, on will but turn him over to Captain Dufranne, and let the law take its course patrol duty, when at the lieutenant’s suggestion they had anchored off — the beast is not worth risking our happiness for.” the little landlocked harbor to have another look at the cabin and the He saw the wisdom of her appeal, and promised. jungle in which many of the officers and men had taken part in exciting adventures two years before. On landing they had found Lord Tennington’s party, and arrangements were being made to take them all

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half hour later Rokoff and Tennington emerged from the of the strange story of the ape-man as told by himself, Jane Porter, and jungle. They were walking side by side. Tennington was the Lieutenant D’Arnot to convince Lord Tennington that they were not all first to note the presence of strangers in the camp. He saw the quite mad. Ablack warriors palavering with the sailors from the cruiser, and then he At sunset they buried William Cecil Clayton beside the jungle saw a lithe, brown giant talking with Lieutenant D’Arnot and Captain graves of his uncle and his aunt, the former Lord and Lady Greystoke. Dufranne. And it was at Tarzan’s request that three volleys were fired over the last “Who is that, I wonder,” said Tennington to Rokoff, and as the resting place of “a brave man, who met his death bravely.” Russian raised his eyes and met those of the ape-man full upon him, he Professor Porter, who in his younger days had been ordained a staggered and went white. minister, conducted the simple services for the dead. About the grave, “Sapristi!” he cried, and before Tennington realized what he intended with bowed heads, stood as strange a company of mourners as the sun he had thrown his gun to his shoulder, and aiming point-blank at Tarzan ever looked down upon. There were French officers and sailors, two pulled the trigger. But the Englishman was close to him — so close that English lords, Americans, and a score of savage African braves. his hand reached the leveled barrel a fraction of a second before the Following the funeral Tarzan asked Captain Dufranne to delay the hammer fell upon the cartridge, and the bullet that was intended for sailing of the cruiser a couple of days while he went inland a few miles Tarzan’s heart whirred harmlessly above his head. to fetch his “belongings,” and the officer gladly granted the favor. Before the Russian could fire again the ape-man was upon him and Late the next afternoon Tarzan and his Waziri returned with the had wrested the firearm from his grasp. Captain Dufranne, Lieutenant first load of “belongings,” and when the party saw the ancient ingots of D’Arnot, and a dozen sailors had rushed up at the sound of the shot, and virgin gold they swarmed upon the ape-man with a thousand questions; now Tarzan turned the Russian over to them without a word. He had but he was smilingly obdurate to their appeals — he declined to give explained the matter to the French commander before Rokoff arrived, them the slightest clue as to the source of his immense treasure. “There and the officer gave immediate orders to place the Russian in irons and are a thousand that I left behind,” he explained, “for every one that I confine him on board the cruiser. brought away, and when these are spent I may wish to return for more.” Just before the guard escorted the prisoner into the small boat that The next day he returned to camp with the balance of his ingots, was to transport him to his temporary prison Tarzan asked permission and when they were stored on board the cruiser Captain Dufranne said to search him, and to his delight found the stolen papers concealed upon he felt like the commander of an old-time Spanish galleon returning his person. from the treasure cities of the Aztecs. “I don’t know what minute my The shot had brought Jane Porter and the others from the cabin, crew will cut my throat, and take over the ship,” he added. and a moment after the excitement had died down she greeted the surprised Lord Tennington. Tarzan joined them after he had taken the he next morning, as they were preparing to embark upon the papers from Rokoff, and, as he approached, Jane Porter introduced him cruiser, Tarzan ventured a suggestion to Jane Porter. to Tennington. “Wild beasts are supposed to be devoid of sentiment,” he “John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, my lord,” she said. said,T “but nevertheless I should like to be married in the cabin where I The Englishman looked his astonishment in spite of his most was born, beside the graves of my mother and my father, and surrounded herculean efforts to appear courteous, and it required many repetitions by the savage jungle that always has been my home.”

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“Would it be quite regular, dear?” she asked. “For if it would I know of no other place in which I should rather be married to my forest god than beneath the shade of his primeval forest.” And when they spoke of it to the others they were assured that it would be quite regular, and a most splendid termination of a remarkable romance. So the entire party assembled within the little cabin and about the door to witness the second ceremony that Professor Porter was to solemnize within three days. D’Arnot was to be best man, and Hazel Strong bridesmaid, until Tennington upset all the arrangements by another of his marvelous “ideas.” “If Mrs. Strong is agreeable,” he said, taking the bridesmaid’s hand in his, “Hazel and I think it would be ripping to make it a double wedding.” The next day they sailed, and as the cruiser steamed slowly out to sea a tall man, immaculate in white flannel, and a graceful girl leaned against the rail to watch the receding shore line upon which danced twenty naked, black warriors of the Waziri, waving their war spears above their savage heads, and shouting farewells to their departing king. “I should hate to think that I am looking upon the jungle for the last time, dear,” he said, “were it not that I know that I am going to a new world of happiness with you forever,” and, bending down, Tarzan of the Apes kissed his mate upon her lips.

THE END

566

AFTERWORD: ON JANE PORTER Finn J.D. John

[ return to table of contents ] ver the years since the publication of Tarzan of the Apes, critics have generally been unkind to Edgar Rice Burroughs — although, to be quite fair, not everything he has written has Orepresented him at his best. “Among other ostensible justifications for relegating Burroughs to oblivion, if not banning him entirely, have been his [alleged] reliance on formulas, belief in Darwinian evolution, inferiority to Kipling, preposterousness, antireligious tendencies and right-wing extremism, excessive violence, infantile appeal, lack of imagination and snobbery,” author Erling B. Holtsmark writes dryly in Tarzan and Tradition (1981). Burroughs’ vulnerability to this sort of criticism, if vulnerability it was, stemmed partly from his remarkable ability to take a ridiculously improbable series of events and, by an sophisticated use of language and storytelling technique that owes much to classical Greek techniques, make it believable. Not credible, you understand — nothing could make THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS the adoption of a one-year-old baby by a family of great apes credible. This assumption cannot survive the faintest breath of critical But you could, under Burroughs’ guidance, silence your inner critic just analysis, especially in comparison with other Burroughs heroines. enough to admit the remote possibility that it might actually be a thing Our first introduction to Jane Porter — the very first scene we see that could happen; and that was enough. through her point of view — is a scene in which she is locked in Tarzan’s The problem came when a reader was unwilling to, as it were, take cabin, a loaded revolver in her hand, as a hungry lioness claws her way in the ride by fully suspending his disbelief. It becomes very easy to scoff at through a tiny hole in the window. She has already shot the beast once, a narrative that earnestly assures one that it’s possible for a baby born in to some effect, before fainting; when she wakes back up, she has the African jungle to be raised by apes and to become their king — and, (according to the count she gives later in her letter to Hazel Strong) four as well, to comfortably assume that a narrative shot through with such more bullets remaining with which to finish the job. crude manipulation of the laws of physics can hold no deeper subtleties. And this is the point at which a very significant revision of the story This is likely why so many sophisticated critics have spent the last 100 occurs — a major difference between the original 1912 manuscript and years taking Burroughs’ ironic references, soft sarcasms and subtle the later editions. witticisms at face value. There is a noticeable tendency of critics to As a reminder, here’s how the lioness-and-cabin scene is handled in assume Burroughs’ stories are so simple, one need not spend much time the version that was used for this edition: on them to understand them fully. In some cases, this has worked to Burroughs’ advantage — as in the As Jane opened her eyes to a realization of the imminent peril which threatened her, her brave young heart gave up at last its case of the California librarian who, in 1961, inspired a massive final vestige of hope. But then to her surprise she saw the huge resurgence of interest in all the Tarzan books when she censored them animal slowly being drawn back through the window, and in the from the library shelves on the grounds that Tarzan and Jane were living moonlight beyond she saw the heads and shoulders of two men. in sin. In that extreme case, the critic didn’t even feel it necessary to read Now, compare that with the original 1912 version of the same scene: the offending material to understand it well enough to pass critical judgement. As Jane opened her eyes to a realization of the imminent peril Whatever the reason that lies behind this recurring presumption of which threatened her, her brave young heart gave up at last its vapidness, the list that author Holtsmark rattles off demonstrates one of final vestige of hope, and she turned to grope for the fallen weapon the remarkable features of criticism of Burroughs’ work over the years: that she might mete to herself a merciful death ere the cruel fangs tore into her fair flesh. the frequency with which his irony is attacked as if it were in earnest, and his characters are critiqued as if they were projections of his personal The lioness was almost through the opening before Jane found the weapon, and she raised it quickly to her temple to shut out forever fantasies. the hideous jaws gaping for their prey. Case in point: the character of Jane Porter. An instant she hesitated, to breathe a short and silent prayer to her Maker, and as she did so her eyes fell upon poor Esmerelda lying ane Porter, in the pantheon of Burroughs heroines, cuts a very odd inert, but alive, beside the cupboard. figure. She is passive, dim, and helpless; yet critics have always How could she leave the poor, faithful thing to those merciless, seemed to blithely assume that she represents Burroughs’ vision of yellow fangs? No, she must use one cartridge on the senseless anJ ideal woman. woman ere she turned the cold muzzle toward herself again. 570 571 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

How she shrank from the ordeal! But it had been cruelty a not intended to be Tarzan’s mate when Burroughs wrote Tarzan of the thousand times less justifiable to have left the loving black woman Apes. who had reared her from infancy with all a mother’s care and solicitude, to regain consciousness beneath the rending claws of the great cat.

Quickly Jane Porter sprang to her feet and ran to the side of the The Case Against Jane black. She pressed the muzzle of the revolver tight against that emember, it was only with considerable reluctance (and under devoted heart, closed her eyes, and — some financial pressure) that Burroughs agreed to write a Sabor emitted a frightful shriek. sequel to Tarzan of the Apes. The book, standing on its own, The girl, startled, pulled the trigger and turned to face the beast, feels complete. At its end, Jane Porter, having renounced Tarzan and with the same movement raised the weapon against her own Rfollowing lengthy and calculating ruminations on the effect marrying temple. him might have upon her social standing, has given Tarzan ample cause She did not fire a second time, for to her surprise she saw the huge and justification to simply walk away, and indeed a “civilized” man would animal being slowly drawn back through the window, and in the likely do exactly that. But then, in comes the telegram, and Tarzan moonlight beyond she saw the heads and shoulders of two men. repudiates his entire patrimony for her sake. A greater act of love and self-sacrifice is hard to imagine. It’s made all the more remarkable and (By the way, in the original manuscript, Sabor’s scream causes Jane tragic by the unworthiness of its recipient. The only solace Tarzan allows to miss when she tries to shoot Esmerelda.) himself is to keep what he has done secret from her. So, just to be clear — Jane Porter is holding a pistol that she knows It is a masterful conclusion to a gripping and skillfully told story how to use; there’s a lioness semi-immobilized in the window; and her — a sort of romantic tragedy softened to perfection by the reader’s response is to set about using two of her remaining four bullets to knowledge that Jane Porter is not a good match for Tarzan, and that euthanize herself and murder Esmerelda. Tarzan is a big enough person that he does not need the lands and Can you imagine Dejah Thoris, heroine of A Princess of Mars, resources of the House of Greystoke to make his way in the world. behaving like this? Or Dian the Beautiful, from At the Earth’s Core, or But, of course, it drove 1912 readers mad. They wanted a happy Princess Victory from The Lost Continent? Absolutely not — because ending — with wedding bells. They didn’t want to be left mulling over those three are true Burroughs heroines. They are bold, strong, capable, the outcome of this great romantic tragedy, in which the hero not only relatable — worthy of our respect. But Jane Porter is none of these doesn’t get the girl but transcends his own desire for the girl and sacrifices things. Jane Porter — like her father and Mr. Philander and Esmerelda all his romantic hopes so that she can be happy. — is noticeably clownish. She’s an overdrawn trope of the silly, frivolous Soon cards and letters were pouring in, expressing various degrees of Southern belle. You might call her — if you’ll pardon the anachronism frustration at being denied a clean-cut happy ending. That popular — Baltimore Barbie. response made two things very clear to Burroughs: And yet she is Tarzan’s One True Love, right? From the moment he First, Tarzan of the Apes was clearly a winner. The buzz around the saw her he knew she was his soul-mate, no? story was strong and growing as the decade wore on. He may not have I would argue that the answer is, in fact, no — that Jane Porter was recognized it as his great lifelong meal ticket yet, but he could see that it

572 573 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS was going to be well worthwhile. It would be incumbent on him not to stands there judging him for not resisting more showily. ruin it. Moreover, Tarzan himself is noticeably less of an admirable man at The second thing was a reinforcement of what Burroughs, as a the end of The Return of Tarzan than he is at the end of Tarzan of the seasoned businessman, well knew: that giving the public what they want Apes — as evidenced by his almost greedy attitude toward the 4,000 is how you sell things. He very much wanted to sell things, so that he pounds of gold ingots retrieved from the city of Opar. Is it a coincidence could leave his horrible job at System Magazine. And the public was that that chapter is titled “The Passing of the Ape-Man”? I don’t believe making it very clear that it wanted Tarzan and Jane to be together. it is. Civilization has claimed John C. Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, for its Another author, perhaps a younger one with fewer family obligations own. and more of a romantic view of his art, would have told the public to go But the most striking change is that dumb luck suddenly starts get lost. But Burroughs was not about to do that. Burroughs was a playing a major role in Tarzan’s personal story in The Return of Tarzan. businessman and family man first, and an artist second. Moreover, for Throughout the entire text of Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan is never once him, writing these stories was developing into a sideline business — one saved from death by luck alone (except, of course, for the extraordinary that he hoped might yet rescue him from dependency on his ethically events of his babyhood). All his successes and survivals are earned with cavalier employer. Taking a hard line on Tarzan made no sense as a skill and intrepidity — sometimes heavily augmented by luck, but never business proposition. The definitive failure of The Outlaw of Torn, his wholly dependent on it. But that changes almost immediately in The second book, was still vivid in his memory. That appeared to be what Return of Tarzan. Dumb luck saves Tarzan’s life no fewer than seven happened when one indulged in the luxury of writing (or not writing) times in The Return of Tarzan: in Chapter 2 when Rokoff ’s revolver whatever one wanted, without regard to public opinion. And Burroughs misfires; in Chapter 6 when Raoul de Coude inexplicably shoots poorly needed, above all, for his next book to not be another Outlaw of Torn. (three times!); in Chapter 7, when Rokoff misses with several point- And so Burroughs capitulated, and wrote the sequel the public was blank revolver shots at Tarzan’s back during the bar fight; in Chapter 9 clamoring for: one that resulted in wedding bells for Tarzan and Jane when someone (presumably Rokoff ) shoots his hat off from concealment and finished with the same contemptuous flourish we saw at the end of while he’s out hunting; in Chapter 10 when he stands in the middle of The Warlord of Mars — with the hero kissing his wife upon the lips at the the road challenging the men who are stalking him, a la Clint Eastwood, end of a triumphal ceremony. and is shot down with a badly-aimed rifle bullet; in Chapter 19, when But along the way, we meet the woman Tarzan was really supposed he is saved from La’s knife by the fortuitously-timed tantrum of a priest; to marry. It’s not hard to spot her — although we never even get to learn and finally in Chapter 26, when he’s saved from Rokoff ’s rifle shot only her name; she is identified only as “the Ouled-Naïl.” She saves Tarzan’s by Tennington’s quick reflexes. life twice; she is fierce and dangerous and beautiful, like all real Burroughs There’s clearly something going on between the lines here. heroines; and she strikes a remarkable contrast with Jane Porter’s Burroughs is giving the public what it wants … but he is, at the same continued puerile passiveness. Just a few dozen pages after we read about time, leaving his subtle footprints of disapproval all over the story. the Ouled-Naïl’s daring, lion-defying rescue of Tarzan from Rokoff ’s Burroughs came close to expressing himself openly on this subject clutches, we’re reading about Jane Porter on the beach with Clayton — in a letter to his publisher after the first Tarzan book came out, but the scene when Clayton tries to sacrifice himself to a hungry lion to save before The Return of Tarzan was complete: her, and instead of running for cover or picking up a cudgel herself, she “There is so much reference to the “punk ending” that I am inclined

574 575 THE TARZAN DUOLOGY of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS to think that that is the very feature of the story that really clinched their could never be, and simply could not help showing his frustration just a interest,” he wrote, according to biographer Irwin Porges in The Man little bit as he built the comparatively-ordinary story that would take who Created Tarzan (1975). “For two cents I’d give them another surprise that masterpiece’s place. in the sequel. I have a bully little Arab girl, daughter of a sheik, who is the only logical mate for a savage like Tarzan. I am just ‘thinking,’ however, and probably shall not do it, though it would be quite artistic.” e hope you have enjoyed this annotated edition of the From the standpoint of a modern reader, it’s hard to avoid concluding Tarzan Duology of Edgar Rice Burroughs. If you have that Burroughs was right on both counts. And it’s perfectly clear from any thoughts that you would like to share on this or any this passage what Burroughs really wanted to do. It also seems pretty other classic pulp title, or questions you would like to ask, please reach likely that the real purpose of writing this to his editor was to discreetly Wout to us at [email protected], or on our Facebook page at facebook. sound him out on the possibility. Burroughs would, within just a few com/pulp-lit-project. And for more information about this and other years, be master of his own literary destiny; but at that time, he still Pulp-Lit Productions annotated editions, please see http://pulp-lit.com. needed his editor’s approval and support. There’s another factor to consider, too, which must have entered into Burroughs’ decision. The Ouled-Naïl was Arabic, and Tarzan was an English nobleman. Would the reading public of 1914 have accepted a marriage between them? Or would they have seen in such a match an example of “miscegenation” or “race-suicide,” to use the then-current terms for intermarriage between white Westerners and members of other ethnic groups? Would doing what he wanted to do have spoiled everything? With Tarzan of the Apes, Burroughs hadn’t needed to worry about spoiling the franchise, because there wasn’t one yet. But once Tarzan had hit the scene with such explosive force, the danger of destroying the readers’ enthusiasm by transgressing the era’s taboos too blatantly was just too great. Burroughs, I would suggest, had a choice: Disregard the public and create the novel he wanted to create; or give the public what it wanted, and try to control his instinctive artistic resentment. We know which of these two courses Burroughs followed; and he certainly cannot be blamed for doing so. But if, in reading The Return of Tarzan, you noticed a few points in which the characters didn’t seem like they were getting the same level of respect that they enjoyed in the first book, well, perhaps this is why. Perhaps Burroughs, the storytelling genius, was grieving the lost masterpiece that might have been and now

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