"'Tarzan the Terrible\n\n\nBy\n\nEdgar Rice Burroughs\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER\n\n I The Pithecanthropus\n II \"To the Death!\"\n III Pan-at-lee\n IV Tarzan-jad-guru\n V In the Kor-ul-GRYF\n VI The Tor-o-don\n VII Jungle Craft\n VIII A-lur\n IX Blood-Stained Altars\n X The Forbidden Garden\n XI The Sentence of Death\n XII The Giant Stranger\n XIII The Masquerader\n XIV The Temple of the Gryf\n XV \"The King Is Dead!\"\n XVI The Secret Way\n XVII By Jad-bal-lul\n XVIII The Lion Pit of Tu-lur\n XIX Diana of the Jungle\n XX Silently in the Night\n XXI The Maniac\n XXII A Journey on a Gryf\n XXIII Taken Alive\n XXIV The Messenger of Death\n XXV Home\n Glossary\n\n\n\n\n\n1\n\nThe Pithecanthropus\n\nSilent as the shadows through which he moved, the great beast slunk\nthrough the midnight jungle, his yellow-green eyes round and staring,\nhis sinewy tail undulating behind him, his head lowered and flattened,\nand every muscle vibrant to the thrill of the hunt. The jungle moon\ndappled an occasional clearing which the great cat was always careful\nto avoid. Though he moved through thick verdure across a carpet of\ninnumerable twigs, broken branches, and leaves, his passing gave forth\nno sound that might have been apprehended by dull human ears.\n\nApparently less cautious was the hunted thing moving even as silently\nas the lion a hundred paces ahead of the tawny carnivore, for instead\nof skirting the moon-splashed natural clearings it passed directly\nacross them, and by the tortuous record of its spoor it might indeed be\nguessed that it sought these avenues of least resistance, as well it\nmight, since, unlike its grim stalker, it walked erect upon two\nfeet--it walked upon two feet and was hairless except for a black\nthatch upon its head; its arms were well shaped and muscular; its hands\npowerful and slender with long tapering fingers and thumbs reaching\nalmost to the first joint of the index fingers. Its legs too were\nshapely but its feet departed from the standards of all races of men,\nexcept possibly a few of the lowest races, in that the great toes\nprotruded at right angles from the foot.\n\nPausing momentarily in the full light of the gorgeous African moon the\ncreature turned an attentive ear to the rear and then, his head lifted,\nhis features might readily have been discerned in the moonlight. They\nwere strong, clean cut, and regular--features that would have attracted\nattention for their masculine beauty in any of the great capitals of\nthe world. But was this thing a man? It would have been hard for a\nwatcher in the trees to have decided as the lion\'s prey resumed its way\nacross the silver tapestry that Luna had laid upon the floor of the\ndismal jungle, for from beneath the loin cloth of black fur that\ngirdled its thighs there depended a long hairless, white tail.\n\nIn one hand the creature carried a stout club, and suspended at its\nleft side from a shoulder belt was a short, sheathed knife, while a\ncross belt supported a pouch at its right hip. Confining these straps\nto the body and also apparently supporting the loin cloth was a broad\ngirdle which glittered in the moonlight as though encrusted with virgin\ngold, and was clasped in the center of the belly with a huge buckle of\nornate design that scintillated as with precious stones.\n\nCloser and closer crept Numa, the lion, to his intended victim, and\nthat the latter was not entirely unaware of his danger was evidenced by\nthe increasing frequency with which he turned his ear and his sharp\nblack eyes in the direction of the cat upon his trail. He did not\ngreatly increase his speed, a long swinging walk where the open places\npermitted, but he loosened the knife in its scabbard and at all times\nkept his club in readiness for instant action.\n\nForging at last through a narrow strip of dense jungle vegetation the\nman-thing broke through into an almost treeless area of considerable\nextent. For an instant he hesitated, glancing quickly behind him and\nthen up at the security of the branches of the great trees waving\noverhead, but some greater urge than fear or caution influenced his\ndecision apparently, for he moved off again across the little plain\nleaving the safety of the trees behind him. At greater or less\nintervals leafy sanctuaries dotted the grassy expanse ahead of him and\nthe route he took, leading from one to another, indicated that he had\nnot entirely cast discretion to the winds. But after the second tree\nhad been left behind the distance to the next was considerable, and it\nwas then that Numa walked from the concealing cover of the jungle and,\nseeing his quarry apparently helpless before him, raised his tail\nstiffly erect and charged.\n\nTwo months--two long, weary months filled with hunger, with thirst,\nwith hardships, with disappointment, and, greater than all, with\ngnawing pain--had passed since Tarzan of the Apes learned from the\ndiary of the dead German captain that his wife still lived. A brief\ninvestigation in which he was enthusiastically aided by the\nIntelligence Department of the British East African Expedition revealed\nthe fact that an attempt had been made to keep Lady Jane in hiding in\nthe interior, for reasons of which only the German High Command might\nbe cognizant.\n\nIn charge of Lieutenant Obergatz and a detachment of native German\ntroops she had been sent across the border into the Congo Free State.\n\nStarting out alone in search of her, Tarzan had succeeded in finding\nthe village in which she had been incarcerated only to learn that she\nhad escaped months before, and that the German officer had disappeared\nat the same time. From there on the stories of the chiefs and the\nwarriors whom he quizzed, were vague and often contradictory. Even the\ndirection that the fugitives had taken Tarzan could only guess at by\npiecing together bits of fragmentary evidence gleaned from various\nsources.\n\nSinister conjectures were forced upon him by various observations which\nhe made in the village. One was incontrovertible proof that these\npeople were man-eaters; the other, the presence in the village of\nvarious articles of native German uniforms and equipment. At great risk\nand in the face of surly objection on the part of the chief, the\nape-man made a careful inspection of every hut in the village from\nwhich at least a little ray of hope resulted from the fact that he\nfound no article that might have belonged to his wife.\n\nLeaving the village he had made his way toward the southwest, crossing,\nafter the most appalling hardships, a vast waterless steppe covered for\nthe most part with dense thorn, coming at last into a district that had\nprobably never been previously entered by any white man and which was\nknown only in the legends of the tribes whose country bordered it. Here\nwere precipitous mountains, well-watered plateaus, wide plains, and\nvast swampy morasses, but neither the plains, nor the plateaus, nor the\nmountains were accessible to him until after weeks of arduous effort he\nsucceeded in finding a spot where he might cross the morasses--a\nhideous stretch infested by venomous snakes and other larger dangerous\nreptiles. On several occasions he glimpsed at distances or by night\nwhat might have been titanic reptilian monsters, but as there were\nhippopotami, rhinoceri, and elephants in great numbers in and about the\nmarsh he was never positive that the forms he saw were not of these.\n\nWhen at last he stood upon firm ground after crossing the morasses he\nrealized why it was that for perhaps countless ages this territory had\ndefied the courage and hardihood of the heroic races of the outer world\nthat had, after innumerable reverses and unbelievable suffering\npenetrated to practically every other region, from pole to pole.\n\nFrom the abundance and diversity of the game it might have appeared\nthat every known species of bird and beast and reptile had sought here\na refuge wherein they might take their last stand against the\nencroaching multitudes of men that had steadily spread themselves over\nthe surface of the earth, wresting the hunting grounds from the lower\norders, from the moment that the first ape shed his hair and ceased to\nwalk upon his knuckles. Even the species with which Tarzan was\nfamiliar showed here either the results of a divergent line of\nevolution or an unaltered form that had been transmitted without\nvariation for countless ages.\n\nToo, there were many hybrid strains, not the least interesting of which\nto Tarzan was a yellow and black striped lion. Smaller than the species\nwith which Tarzan was familiar, but still a most formidable beast,\nsince it possessed in addition to sharp saber-like canines the\ndisposition of a devil. To Tarzan it presented evidence that tigers had\nonce roamed the jungles of Africa, possibly giant saber-tooths of\nanother epoch, and these apparently had crossed with lions with the\nresultant terrors that he occasionally encountered at the present day.\n\nThe true lions of this new, Old World differed but little from those\nwith which he was familiar; in size and conformation they were almost\nidentical, but instead of shedding the leopard spots of cubhood, they\nretained them through life as definitely marked as those of the leopard.\n\nTwo months of effort had revealed no slightest evidence that she he\nsought had entered this beautiful yet forbidding land. His\ninvestigation, however, of the cannibal village and his questioning of\nother tribes in the neighborhood had convinced him that if Lady Jane\nstill lived it must be in this direction that he seek her, since by a\nprocess of elimination he had reduced the direction of her flight to\nonly this possibility. How she had crossed the morass he could not\nguess and yet something within seemed to urge upon him belief that she\nhad crossed it, and that if she still lived it was here that she must\nbe sought. But this unknown, untraversed wild was of vast extent; grim,\nforbidding mountains blocked his way, torrents tumbling from rocky\nfastnesses impeded his progress, and at every turn he was forced to\nmatch wits and muscles with the great carnivora that he might procure\nsustenance.\n\nTime and again Tarzan and Numa stalked the same quarry and now one, now\nthe other bore off the prize. Seldom however did the ape-man go hungry\nfor the country was rich in game animals and birds and fish, in fruit\nand the countless other forms of vegetable life upon which the\njungle-bred man may subsist.\n\nTarzan often wondered why in so rich a country he found no evidences of\nman and had at last come to the conclusion that the parched,\nthorn-covered steppe and the hideous morasses had formed a sufficient\nbarrier to protect this country effectively from the inroads of mankind.\n\nAfter days of searching he had succeeded finally in discovering a pass\nthrough the mountains and, coming down upon the opposite side, had\nfound himself in a country practically identical with that which he had\nleft. The hunting was good and at a water hole in the mouth of a canyon\nwhere it debouched upon a tree-covered plain Bara, the deer, fell an\neasy victim to the ape-man\'s cunning.\n\nIt was just at dusk. The voices of great four-footed hunters rose now\nand again from various directions, and as the canyon afforded among its\ntrees no comfortable retreat the ape-man shouldered the carcass of the\ndeer and started downward onto the plain. At its opposite side rose\nlofty trees--a great forest which suggested to his practiced eye a\nmighty jungle. Toward this the ape-man bent his step, but when midway\nof the plain he discovered standing alone such a tree as best suited\nhim for a night\'s abode, swung lightly to its branches and, presently,\na comfortable resting place.\n\nHere he ate the flesh of Bara and when satisfied carried the balance of\nthe carcass to the opposite side of the tree where he deposited it far\nabove the ground in a secure place. Returning to his crotch he settled\nhimself for sleep and in another moment the roars of the lions and the\nhowlings of the lesser cats fell upon deaf ears.\n\nThe usual noises of the jungle composed rather than disturbed the\nape-man but an unusual sound, however imperceptible to the awakened ear\nof civilized man, seldom failed to impinge upon the consciousness of\nTarzan, however deep his slumber, and so it was that when the moon was\nhigh a sudden rush of feet across the grassy carpet in the vicinity of\nhis tree brought him to alert and ready activity. Tarzan does not\nawaken as you and I with the weight of slumber still upon his eyes and\nbrain, for did the creatures of the wild awaken thus, their awakenings\nwould be few. As his eyes snapped open, clear and bright, so, clear\nand bright upon the nerve centers of his brain, were registered the\nvarious perceptions of all his senses.\n\nAlmost beneath him, racing toward his tree was what at first glance\nappeared to be an almost naked white man, yet even at the first instant\nof discovery the long, white tail projecting rearward did not escape\nthe ape-man. Behind the fleeing figure, escaping, came Numa, the lion,\nin full charge. Voiceless the prey, voiceless the killer; as two\nspirits in a dead world the two moved in silent swiftness toward the\nculminating tragedy of this grim race.\n\nEven as his eyes opened and took in the scene beneath him--even in that\nbrief instant of perception, followed reason, judgment, and decision,\nso rapidly one upon the heels of the other that almost simultaneously\nthe ape-man was in mid-air, for he had seen a white-skinned creature\ncast in a mold similar to his own, pursued by Tarzan\'s hereditary\nenemy. So close was the lion to the fleeing man-thing that Tarzan had\nno time carefully to choose the method of his attack. As a diver leaps\nfrom the springboard headforemost into the waters beneath, so Tarzan of\nthe Apes dove straight for Numa, the lion; naked in his right hand the\nblade of his father that so many times before had tasted the blood of\nlions.\n\nA raking talon caught Tarzan on the side, inflicting a long, deep wound\nand then the ape-man was on Numa\'s back and the blade was sinking again\nand again into the savage side. Nor was the man-thing either longer\nfleeing, or idle. He too, creature of the wild, had sensed on the\ninstant the truth of the miracle of his saving, and turning in his\ntracks, had leaped forward with raised bludgeon to Tarzan\'s assistance\nand Numa\'s undoing. A single terrific blow upon the flattened skull of\nthe beast laid him insensible and then as Tarzan\'s knife found the wild\nheart a few convulsive shudders and a sudden relaxation marked the\npassing of the carnivore.\n\nLeaping to his feet the ape-man placed his foot upon the carcass of his\nkill and, raising his face to Goro, the moon, voiced the savage victory\ncry that had so often awakened the echoes of his native jungle.\n\nAs the hideous scream burst from the ape-man\'s lips the man-thing\nstepped quickly back as in sudden awe, but when Tarzan returned his\nhunting knife to its sheath and turned toward him the other saw in the\nquiet dignity of his demeanor no cause for apprehension.\n\nFor a moment the two stood appraising each other, and then the\nman-thing spoke. Tarzan realized that the creature before him was\nuttering articulate sounds which expressed in speech, though in a\nlanguage with which Tarzan was unfamiliar, the thoughts of a man\npossessing to a greater or less extent the same powers of reason that\nhe possessed. In other words, that though the creature before him had\nthe tail and thumbs and great toes of a monkey, it was, in all other\nrespects, quite evidently a man.\n\nThe blood, which was now flowing down Tarzan\'s side, caught the\ncreature\'s attention. From the pocket-pouch at his side he took a small\nbag and approaching Tarzan indicated by signs that he wished the\nape-man to lie down that he might treat the wound, whereupon, spreading\nthe edges of the cut apart, he sprinkled the raw flesh with powder from\nthe little bag. The pain of the wound was as nothing to the exquisite\ntorture of the remedy but, accustomed to physical suffering, the\nape-man withstood it stoically and in a few moments not only had the\nbleeding ceased but the pain as well.\n\nIn reply to the soft and far from unpleasant modulations of the other\'s\nvoice, Tarzan spoke in various tribal dialects of the interior as well\nas in the language of the great apes, but it was evident that the man\nunderstood none of these. Seeing that they could not make each other\nunderstood, the pithecanthropus advanced toward Tarzan and placing his\nleft hand over his own heart laid the palm of his right hand over the\nheart of the ape-man. To the latter the action appeared as a form of\nfriendly greeting and, being versed in the ways of uncivilized races,\nhe responded in kind as he realized it was doubtless intended that he\nshould. His action seemed to satisfy and please his new-found\nacquaintance, who immediately fell to talking again and finally, with\nhis head tipped back, sniffed the air in the direction of the tree\nabove them and then suddenly pointing toward the carcass of Bara, the\ndeer, he touched his stomach in a sign language which even the densest\nmight interpret. With a wave of his hand Tarzan invited his guest to\npartake of the remains of his savage repast, and the other, leaping\nnimbly as a little monkey to the lower branches of the tree, made his\nway quickly to the flesh, assisted always by his long, strong sinuous\ntail.\n\nThe pithecanthropus ate in silence, cutting small strips from the\ndeer\'s loin with his keen knife. From his crotch in the tree Tarzan\nwatched his companion, noting the preponderance of human attributes\nwhich were doubtless accentuated by the paradoxical thumbs, great toes,\nand tail.\n\nHe wondered if this creature was representative of some strange race or\nif, what seemed more likely, but an atavism. Either supposition would\nhave seemed preposterous enough did he not have before him the evidence\nof the creature\'s existence. There he was, however, a tailed man with\ndistinctly arboreal hands and feet. His trappings, gold encrusted and\njewel studded, could have been wrought only by skilled artisans; but\nwhether they were the work of this individual or of others like him, or\nof an entirely different race, Tarzan could not, of course, determine.\n\nHis meal finished, the guest wiped his fingers and lips with leaves\nbroken from a nearby branch, looked up at Tarzan with a pleasant smile\nthat revealed a row of strong white teeth, the canines of which were no\nlonger than Tarzan\'s own, spoke a few words which Tarzan judged were a\npolite expression of thanks and then sought a comfortable place in the\ntree for the night.\n\nThe earth was shadowed in the darkness which precedes the dawn when\nTarzan was awakened by a violent shaking of the tree in which he had\nfound shelter. As he opened his eyes he saw that his companion was also\nastir, and glancing around quickly to apprehend the cause of the\ndisturbance, the ape-man was astounded at the sight which met his eyes.\n\nThe dim shadow of a colossal form reared close beside the tree and he\nsaw that it was the scraping of the giant body against the branches\nthat had awakened him. That such a tremendous creature could have\napproached so closely without disturbing him filled Tarzan with both\nwonderment and chagrin. In the gloom the ape-man at first conceived the\nintruder to be an elephant; yet, if so, one of greater proportions than\nany he had ever before seen, but as the dim outlines became less\nindistinct he saw on a line with his eyes and twenty feet above the\nground the dim silhouette of a grotesquely serrated back that gave the\nimpression of a creature whose each and every spinal vertebra grew a\nthick, heavy horn. Only a portion of the back was visible to the\nape-man, the rest of the body being lost in the dense shadows beneath\nthe tree, from whence there now arose the sound of giant jaws\npowerfully crunching flesh and bones. From the odors that rose to the\nape-man\'s sensitive nostrils he presently realized that beneath him was\nsome huge reptile feeding upon the carcass of the lion that had been\nslain there earlier in the night.\n\nAs Tarzan\'s eyes, straining with curiosity, bored futilely into the\ndark shadows he felt a light touch upon his shoulder, and, turning, saw\nthat his companion was attempting to attract his attention. The\ncreature, pressing a forefinger to his own lips as to enjoin silence,\nattempted by pulling on Tarzan\'s arm to indicate that they should leave\nat once.\n\nRealizing that he was in a strange country, evidently infested by\ncreatures of titanic size, with the habits and powers of which he was\nentirely unfamiliar, the ape-man permitted himself to be drawn away.\nWith the utmost caution the pithecanthropus descended the tree upon the\nopposite side from the great nocturnal prowler, and, closely followed\nby Tarzan, moved silently away through the night across the plain.\n\nThe ape-man was rather loath thus to relinquish an opportunity to\ninspect a creature which he realized was probably entirely different\nfrom anything in his past experience; yet he was wise enough to know\nwhen discretion was the better part of valor and now, as in the past,\nhe yielded to that law which dominates the kindred of the wild,\npreventing them from courting danger uselessly, whose lives are\nsufficiently filled with danger in their ordinary routine of feeding\nand mating.\n\nAs the rising sun dispelled the shadows of the night, Tarzan found\nhimself again upon the verge of a great forest into which his guide\nplunged, taking nimbly to the branches of the trees through which he\nmade his way with the celerity of long habitude and hereditary\ninstinct, but though aided by a prehensile tail, fingers, and toes, the\nman-thing moved through the forest with no greater ease or surety than\ndid the giant ape-man.\n\nIt was during this journey that Tarzan recalled the wound in his side\ninflicted upon him the previous night by the raking talons of Numa, the\nlion, and examining it was surprised to discover that not only was it\npainless but along its edges were no indications of inflammation, the\nresults doubtless of the antiseptic powder his strange companion had\nsprinkled upon it.\n\nThey had proceeded for a mile or two when Tarzan\'s companion came to\nearth upon a grassy slope beneath a great tree whose branches overhung\na clear brook. Here they drank and Tarzan discovered the water to be\nnot only deliciously pure and fresh but of an icy temperature that\nindicated its rapid descent from the lofty mountains of its origin.\n\nCasting aside his loin cloth and weapons Tarzan entered the little pool\nbeneath the tree and after a moment emerged, greatly refreshed and\nfilled with a keen desire to breakfast. As he came out of the pool he\nnoticed his companion examining him with a puzzled expression upon his\nface. Taking the ape-man by the shoulder he turned him around so that\nTarzan\'s back was toward him and then, touching the end of Tarzan\'s\nspine with his forefinger, he curled his own tail up over his shoulder\nand, wheeling the ape-man about again, pointed first at Tarzan and then\nat his own caudal appendage, a look of puzzlement upon his face, the\nwhile he jabbered excitedly in his strange tongue.\n\nThe ape-man realized that probably for the first time his companion had\ndiscovered that he was tailless by nature rather than by accident, and\nso he called attention to his own great toes and thumbs to further\nimpress upon the creature that they were of different species.\n\nThe fellow shook his head dubiously as though entirely unable to\ncomprehend why Tarzan should differ so from him but at last, apparently\ngiving the problem up with a shrug, he laid aside his own harness,\nskin, and weapons and entered the pool.\n\nHis ablutions completed and his meager apparel redonned he seated\nhimself at the foot of the tree and motioning Tarzan to a place beside\nhim, opened the pouch that hung at his right side taking from it strips\nof dried flesh and a couple of handfuls of thin-shelled nuts with which\nTarzan was unfamiliar. Seeing the other break them with his teeth and\neat the kernel, Tarzan followed the example thus set him, discovering\nthe meat to be rich and well flavored. The dried flesh also was far\nfrom unpalatable, though it had evidently been jerked without salt, a\ncommodity which Tarzan imagined might be rather difficult to obtain in\nthis locality.\n\nAs they ate Tarzan\'s companion pointed to the nuts, the dried meat, and\nvarious other nearby objects, in each instance repeating what Tarzan\nreadily discovered must be the names of these things in the creature\'s\nnative language. The ape-man could but smile at this evident desire\nupon the part of his new-found acquaintance to impart to him\ninstructions that eventually might lead to an exchange of thoughts\nbetween them. Having already mastered several languages and a multitude\nof dialects the ape-man felt that he could readily assimilate another\neven though this appeared one entirely unrelated to any with which he\nwas familiar.\n\nSo occupied were they with their breakfast and the lesson that neither\nwas aware of the beady eyes glittering down upon them from above; nor\nwas Tarzan cognizant of any impending danger until the instant that a\nhuge, hairy body leaped full upon his companion from the branches above\nthem.\n\n\n\n2\n\n\"To the Death!\"\n\nIn the moment of discovery Tarzan saw that the creature was almost a\ncounterpart of his companion in size and conformation, with the\nexception that his body was entirely clothed with a coat of shaggy\nblack hair which almost concealed his features, while his harness and\nweapons were similar to those of the creature he had attacked. Ere\nTarzan could prevent the creature had struck the ape-man\'s companion a\nblow upon the head with his knotted club that felled him, unconscious,\nto the earth; but before he could inflict further injury upon his\ndefenseless prey the ape-man had closed with him.\n\nInstantly Tarzan realized that he was locked with a creature of almost\nsuperhuman strength. The sinewy fingers of a powerful hand sought his\nthroat while the other lifted the bludgeon above his head. But if the\nstrength of the hairy attacker was great, great too was that of his\nsmooth-skinned antagonist. Swinging a single terrific blow with\nclenched fist to the point of the other\'s chin, Tarzan momentarily\nstaggered his assailant and then his own fingers closed upon the shaggy\nthroat, as with the other hand he seized the wrist of the arm that\nswung the club. With equal celerity he shot his right leg behind the\nshaggy brute and throwing his weight forward hurled the thing over his\nhip heavily to the ground, at the same time precipitating his own body\nupon the other\'s chest.\n\nWith the shock of the impact the club fell from the brute\'s hand and\nTarzan\'s hold was wrenched from its throat. Instantly the two were\nlocked in a deathlike embrace. Though the creature bit at Tarzan the\nlatter was quickly aware that this was not a particularly formidable\nmethod of offense or defense, since its canines were scarcely more\ndeveloped than his own. The thing that he had principally to guard\nagainst was the sinuous tail which sought steadily to wrap itself about\nhis throat and against which experience had afforded him no defense.\n\nStruggling and snarling the two rolled growling about the sward at the\nfoot of the tree, first one on top and then the other but each more\noccupied at present in defending his throat from the other\'s choking\ngrasp than in aggressive, offensive tactics. But presently the ape-man\nsaw his opportunity and as they rolled about he forced the creature\ncloser and closer to the pool, upon the banks of which the battle was\nprogressing. At last they lay upon the very verge of the water and now\nit remained for Tarzan to precipitate them both beneath the surface but\nin such a way that he might remain on top.\n\nAt the same instant there came within range of Tarzan\'s vision, just\nbehind the prostrate form of his companion, the crouching, devil-faced\nfigure of the striped saber-tooth hybrid, eyeing him with snarling,\nmalevolent face.\n\nAlmost simultaneously Tarzan\'s shaggy antagonist discovered the\nmenacing figure of the great cat. Immediately he ceased his belligerent\nactivities against Tarzan and, jabbering and chattering to the ape-man,\nhe tried to disengage himself from Tarzan\'s hold but in such a way that\nindicated that as far as he was concerned their battle was over.\nAppreciating the danger to his unconscious companion and being anxious\nto protect him from the saber-tooth the ape-man relinquished his hold\nupon his adversary and together the two rose to their feet.\n\nDrawing his knife Tarzan moved slowly toward the body of his companion,\nexpecting that his recent antagonist would grasp the opportunity for\nescape. To his surprise, however, the beast, after regaining its club,\nadvanced at his side.\n\nThe great cat, flattened upon its belly, remained motionless except for\ntwitching tail and snarling lips where it lay perhaps fifty feet beyond\nthe body of the pithecanthropus. As Tarzan stepped over the body of the\nlatter he saw the eyelids quiver and open, and in his heart he felt a\nstrange sense of relief that the creature was not dead and a\nrealization that without his suspecting it there had arisen within his\nsavage bosom a bond of attachment for this strange new friend.\n\nTarzan continued to approach the saber-tooth, nor did the shaggy beast\nat his right lag behind. Closer and closer they came until at a\ndistance of about twenty feet the hybrid charged. Its rush was directed\ntoward the shaggy manlike ape who halted in his tracks with upraised\nbludgeon to meet the assault. Tarzan, on the contrary, leaped forward\nand with a celerity second not even to that of the swift-moving cat, he\nthrew himself headlong upon him as might a Rugby tackler on an American\ngridiron. His right arm circled the beast\'s neck in front of the right\nshoulder, his left behind the left foreleg, and so great was the force\nof the impact that the two rolled over and over several times upon the\nground, the cat screaming and clawing to liberate itself that it might\nturn upon its attacker, the man clinging desperately to his hold.\n\nSeemingly the attack was one of mad, senseless ferocity unguided by\neither reason or skill. Nothing, however, could have been farther from\nthe truth than such an assumption since every muscle in the ape-man\'s\ngiant frame obeyed the dictates of the cunning mind that long\nexperience had trained to meet every exigency of such an encounter. The\nlong, powerful legs, though seemingly inextricably entangled with the\nhind feet of the clawing cat, ever as by a miracle, escaped the raking\ntalons and yet at just the proper instant in the midst of all the\nrolling and tossing they were where they should be to carry out the\nape-man\'s plan of offense. So that on the instant that the cat believed\nit had won the mastery of its antagonist it was jerked suddenly upward\nas the ape-man rose to his feet, holding the striped back close against\nhis body as he rose and forcing it backward until it could but claw the\nair helplessly.\n\nInstantly the shaggy black rushed in with drawn knife which it buried\nin the beast\'s heart. For a few moments Tarzan retained his hold but\nwhen the body had relaxed in final dissolution he pushed it from him\nand the two who had formerly been locked in mortal combat stood facing\neach other across the body of the common foe.\n\nTarzan waited, ready either for peace or war. Presently two shaggy\nblack hands were raised; the left was laid upon its own heart and the\nright extended until the palm touched Tarzan\'s breast. It was the same\nform of friendly salutation with which the pithecanthropus had sealed\nhis alliance with the ape-man and Tarzan, glad of every ally he could\nwin in this strange and savage world, quickly accepted the proffered\nfriendship.\n\nAt the conclusion of the brief ceremony Tarzan, glancing in the\ndirection of the hairless pithecanthropus, discovered that the latter\nhad recovered consciousness and was sitting erect watching them\nintently. He now rose slowly and at the same time the shaggy black\nturned in his direction and addressed him in what evidently was their\ncommon language. The hairless one replied and the two approached each\nother slowly. Tarzan watched interestedly the outcome of their meeting.\nThey halted a few paces apart, first one and then the other speaking\nrapidly but without apparent excitement, each occasionally glancing or\nnodding toward Tarzan, indicating that he was to some extent the\nsubject of their conversation.\n\nPresently they advanced again until they met, whereupon was repeated\nthe brief ceremony of alliance which had previously marked the\ncessation of hostilities between Tarzan and the black. They then\nadvanced toward the ape-man addressing him earnestly as though\nendeavoring to convey to him some important information. Presently,\nhowever, they gave it up as an unprofitable job and, resorting to sign\nlanguage, conveyed to Tarzan that they were proceeding upon their way\ntogether and were urging him to accompany them.\n\nAs the direction they indicated was a route which Tarzan had not\npreviously traversed he was extremely willing to accede to their\nrequest, as he had determined thoroughly to explore this unknown land\nbefore definitely abandoning search for Lady Jane therein.\n\nFor several days their way led through the foothills parallel to the\nlofty range towering above. Often were they menaced by the savage\ndenizens of this remote fastness, and occasionally Tarzan glimpsed\nweird forms of gigantic proportions amidst the shadows of the nights.\n\nOn the third day they came upon a large natural cave in the face of a\nlow cliff at the foot of which tumbled one of the numerous mountain\nbrooks that watered the plain below and fed the morasses in the\nlowlands at the country\'s edge. Here the three took up their temporary\nabode where Tarzan\'s instruction in the language of his companions\nprogressed more rapidly than while on the march.\n\nThe cave gave evidence of having harbored other manlike forms in the\npast. Remnants of a crude, rock fireplace remained and the walls and\nceiling were blackened with the smoke of many fires. Scratched in the\nsoot, and sometimes deeply into the rock beneath, were strange\nhieroglyphics and the outlines of beasts and birds and reptiles, some\nof the latter of weird form suggesting the extinct creatures of\nJurassic times. Some of the more recently made hieroglyphics Tarzan\'s\ncompanions read with interest and commented upon, and then with the\npoints of their knives they too added to the possibly age-old record of\nthe blackened walls.\n\nTarzan\'s curiosity was aroused, but the only explanation at which he\ncould arrive was that he was looking upon possibly the world\'s most\nprimitive hotel register. At least it gave him a further insight into\nthe development of the strange creatures with which Fate had thrown\nhim. Here were men with the tails of monkeys, one of them as hair\ncovered as any fur-bearing brute of the lower orders, and yet it was\nevident that they possessed not only a spoken, but a written language.\nThe former he was slowly mastering and at this new evidence of\nunlooked-for civilization in creatures possessing so many of the\nphysical attributes of beasts, Tarzan\'s curiosity was still further\npiqued and his desire quickly to master their tongue strengthened, with\nthe result that he fell to with even greater assiduity to the task he\nhad set himself. Already he knew the names of his companions and the\ncommon names of the fauna and flora with which they had most often come\nin contact.\n\nTa-den, he of the hairless, white skin, having assumed the role of\ntutor, prosecuted his task with a singleness of purpose that was\nreflected in his pupil\'s rapid mastery of Ta-den\'s mother tongue.\nOm-at, the hairy black, also seemed to feel that there rested upon his\nbroad shoulders a portion of the burden of responsibility for Tarzan\'s\neducation, with the result that either one or the other of them was\nalmost constantly coaching the ape-man during his waking hours. The\nresult was only what might have been expected--a rapid assimilation of\nthe teachings to the end that before any of them realized it,\ncommunication by word of mouth became an accomplished fact.\n\nTarzan explained to his companions the purpose of his mission but\nneither could give him any slightest thread of hope to weave into the\nfabric of his longing. Never had there been in their country a woman\nsuch as he described, nor any tailless man other than himself that they\never had seen.\n\n\"I have been gone from A-lur while Bu, the moon, has eaten seven\ntimes,\" said Ta-den. \"Many things may happen in seven times\ntwenty-eight days; but I doubt that your woman could have entered our\ncountry across the terrible morasses which even you found an almost\ninsurmountable obstacle, and if she had, could she have survived the\nperils that you already have encountered beside those of which you have\nyet to learn? Not even our own women venture into the savage lands\nbeyond the cities.\"\n\n\"\'A-lur,\' Light-city, City of Light,\" mused Tarzan, translating the\nword into his own tongue. \"And where is A-lur?\" he asked. \"Is it your\ncity, Ta-den, and Om-at\'s?\"\n\n\"It is mine,\" replied the hairless one; \"but not Om-at\'s. The Waz-don\nhave no cities--they live in the trees of the forests and the caves of\nthe hills--is it not so, black man?\" he concluded, turning toward the\nhairy giant beside him.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Om-at, \"We Waz-don are free--only the Hodon imprison\nthemselves in cities. I would not be a white man!\"\n\nTarzan smiled. Even here was the racial distinction between white man\nand black man--Ho-don and Waz-don. Not even the fact that they appeared\nto be equals in the matter of intelligence made any difference--one was\nwhite and one was black, and it was easy to see that the white\nconsidered himself superior to the other--one could see it in his quiet\nsmile.\n\n\"Where is A-lur?\" Tarzan asked again. \"You are returning to it?\"\n\n\"It is beyond the mountains,\" replied Ta-den. \"I do not return to\nit--not yet. Not until Ko-tan is no more.\"\n\n\"Ko-tan?\" queried Tarzan.\n\n\"Ko-tan is king,\" explained the pithecanthropus. \"He rules this land. I\nwas one of his warriors. I lived in the palace of Ko-tan and there I\nmet O-lo-a, his daughter. We loved, Likestar-light, and I; but Ko-tan\nwould have none of me. He sent me away to fight with the men of the\nvillage of Dak-at, who had refused to pay his tribute to the king,\nthinking that I would be killed, for Dak-at is famous for his many fine\nwarriors. And I was not killed. Instead I returned victorious with the\ntribute and with Dak-at himself my prisoner; but Ko-tan was not pleased\nbecause he saw that O-lo-a loved me even more than before, her love\nbeing strengthened and fortified by pride in my achievement.\n\n\"Powerful is my father, Ja-don, the Lion-man, chief of the largest\nvillage outside of A-lur. Him Ko-tan hesitated to affront and so he\ncould not but praise me for my success, though he did it with half a\nsmile. But you do not understand! It is what we call a smile that moves\nonly the muscles of the face and affects not the light of the eyes--it\nmeans hypocrisy and duplicity. I must be praised and rewarded. What\nbetter than that he reward me with the hand of O-lo-a, his daughter?\nBut no, he saves O-lo-a for Bu-lot, son of Mo-sar, the chief whose\ngreat-grandfather was king and who thinks that he should be king. Thus\nwould Ko-tan appease the wrath of Mo-sar and win the friendship of\nthose who think with Mo-sar that Mo-sar should be king.\n\n\"But what reward shall repay the faithful Ta-den? Greatly do we honor\nour priests. Within the temples even the chiefs and the king himself\nbow down to them. No greater honor could Ko-tan confer upon a\nsubject--who wished to be a priest, but I did not so wish. Priests\nother than the high priest must become eunuchs for they may never marry.\n\n\"It was O-lo-a herself who brought word to me that her father had given\nthe commands that would set in motion the machinery of the temple. A\nmessenger was on his way in search of me to summon me to Ko-tan\'s\npresence. To have refused the priesthood once it was offered me by the\nking would have been to have affronted the temple and the gods--that\nwould have meant death; but if I did not appear before Ko-tan I would\nnot have to refuse anything. O-lo-a and I decided that I must not\nappear. It was better to fly, carrying in my bosom a shred of hope,\nthan to remain and, with my priesthood, abandon hope forever.\n\n\"Beneath the shadows of the great trees that grow within the palace\ngrounds I pressed her to me for, perhaps, the last time and then, lest\nby ill-fate I meet the messenger, I scaled the great wall that guards\nthe palace and passed through the darkened city. My name and rank\ncarried me beyond the city gate. Since then I have wandered far from\nthe haunts of the Ho-don but strong within me is the urge to return if\neven but to look from without her walls upon the city that holds her\nmost dear to me and again to visit the village of my birth, to see\nagain my father and my mother.\"\n\n\"But the risk is too great?\" asked Tarzan.\n\n\"It is great, but not too great,\" replied Ta-den. \"I shall go.\"\n\n\"And I shall go with you, if I may,\" said the ape-man, \"for I must see\nthis City of Light, this A-lur of yours, and search there for my lost\nmate even though you believe that there is little chance that I find\nher. And you, Om-at, do you come with us?\"\n\n\"Why not?\" asked the hairy one. \"The lairs of my tribe lie in the crags\nabove A-lur and though Es-sat, our chief, drove me out I should like to\nreturn again, for there is a she there upon whom I should be glad to\nlook once more and who would be glad to look upon me. Yes, I will go\nwith you. Es-sat feared that I might become chief and who knows but\nthat Es-sat was right. But Pan-at-lee! it is she I seek first even\nbefore a chieftainship.\"\n\n\"We three, then, shall travel together,\" said Tarzan.\n\n\"And fight together,\" added Ta-den; \"the three as one,\" and as he spoke\nhe drew his knife and held it above his head.\n\n\"The three as one,\" repeated Om-at, drawing his weapon and duplicating\nTa-den\'s act. \"It is spoken!\"\n\n\"The three as one!\" cried Tarzan of the Apes. \"To the death!\" and his\nblade flashed in the sunlight.\n\n\"Let us go, then,\" said Om-at; \"my knife is dry and cries aloud for the\nblood of Es-sat.\"\n\nThe trail over which Ta-den and Om-at led and which scarcely could be\ndignified even by the name of trail was suited more to mountain sheep,\nmonkeys, or birds than to man; but the three that followed it were\ntrained to ways which no ordinary man might essay. Now, upon the lower\nslopes, it led through dense forests where the ground was so matted\nwith fallen trees and over-rioting vines and brush that the way held\nalways to the swaying branches high above the tangle; again it skirted\nyawning gorges whose slippery-faced rocks gave but momentary foothold\neven to the bare feet that lightly touched them as the three leaped\nchamois-like from one precarious foothold to the next. Dizzy and\nterrifying was the way that Om-at chose across the summit as he led\nthem around the shoulder of a towering crag that rose a sheer two\nthousand feet of perpendicular rock above a tumbling river. And when at\nlast they stood upon comparatively level ground again Om-at turned and\nlooked at them both intently and especially at Tarzan of the Apes.\n\n\"You will both do,\" he said. \"You are fit companions for Om-at, the\nWaz-don.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" asked Tarzan.\n\n\"I brought you this way,\" replied the black, \"to learn if either lacked\nthe courage to follow where Om-at led. It is here that the young\nwarriors of Es-sat come to prove their courage. And yet, though we are\nborn and raised upon cliff sides, it is considered no disgrace to admit\nthat Pastar-ul-ved, the Father of Mountains, has defeated us, for of\nthose who try it only a few succeed--the bones of the others lie at the\nfeet of Pastar-ul-ved.\"\n\nTa-den laughed. \"I would not care to come this way often,\" he said.\n\n\"No,\" replied Om-at; \"but it has shortened our journey by at least a\nfull day. So much the sooner shall Tarzan look upon the Valley of\nJad-ben-Otho. Come!\" and he led the way upward along the shoulder of\nPastar-ul-ved until there lay spread below them a scene of mystery and\nof beauty--a green valley girt by towering cliffs of marble\nwhiteness--a green valley dotted by deep blue lakes and crossed by the\nblue trail of a winding river. In the center a city of the whiteness of\nthe marble cliffs--a city which even at so great a distance evidenced a\nstrange, yet artistic architecture. Outside the city there were visible\nabout the valley isolated groups of buildings--sometimes one, again two\nand three and four in a cluster--but always of the same glaring\nwhiteness, and always in some fantastic form.\n\nAbout the valley the cliffs were occasionally cleft by deep gorges,\nverdure filled, giving the appearance of green rivers rioting downward\ntoward a central sea of green.\n\n\"Jad Pele ul Jad-ben-Otho,\" murmured Tarzan in the tongue of the\npithecanthropi; \"The Valley of the Great God--it is beautiful!\"\n\n\"Here, in A-lur, lives Ko-tan, the king, ruler over all Pal-ul-don,\"\nsaid Ta-den.\n\n\"And here in these gorges live the Waz-don,\" exclaimed Om-at, \"who do\nnot acknowledge that Ko-tan is the ruler over all the Land-of-man.\"\n\nTa-den smiled and shrugged. \"We will not quarrel, you and I,\" he said\nto Om-at, \"over that which all the ages have not proved sufficient time\nin which to reconcile the Ho-don and Waz-don; but let me whisper to you\na secret, Om-at. The Ho-don live together in greater or less peace\nunder one ruler so that when danger threatens them they face the enemy\nwith many warriors, for every fighting Ho-don of Pal-ul-don is there.\nBut you Waz-don, how is it with you? You have a dozen kings who fight\nnot only with the Ho-don but with one another. When one of your tribes\ngoes forth upon the fighting trail, even against the Ho-don, it must\nleave behind sufficient warriors to protect its women and its children\nfrom the neighbors upon either hand. When we want eunuchs for the\ntemples or servants for the fields or the homes we march forth in great\nnumbers upon one of your villages. You cannot even flee, for upon\neither side of you are enemies and though you fight bravely we come\nback with those who will presently be eunuchs in the temples and\nservants in our fields and homes. So long as the Waz-don are thus\nfoolish the Ho-don will dominate and their king will be king of\nPal-ul-don.\"\n\n\"Perhaps you are right,\" admitted Om-at. \"It is because our neighbors\nare fools, each thinking that his tribe is the greatest and should rule\namong the Waz-don. They will not admit that the warriors of my tribe\nare the bravest and our shes the most beautiful.\"\n\nTa-den grinned. \"Each of the others presents precisely the same\narguments that you present, Om-at,\" he said, \"which, my friend, is the\nstrongest bulwark of defense possessed by the Ho-don.\"\n\n\"Come!\" exclaimed Tarzan; \"such discussions often lead to quarrels and\nwe three must have no quarrels. I, of course, am interested in learning\nwhat I can of the political and economic conditions of your land; I\nshould like to know something of your religion; but not at the expense\nof bitterness between my only friends in Pal-ul-don. Possibly, however,\nyou hold to the same god?\"\n\n\"There indeed we do differ,\" cried Om-at, somewhat bitterly and with a\ntrace of excitement in his voice.\n\n\"Differ!\" almost shouted Ta-den; \"and why should we not differ? Who\ncould agree with the preposterous----\"\n\n\"Stop!\" cried Tarzan. \"Now, indeed, have I stirred up a hornets\' nest.\nLet us speak no more of matters political or religious.\"\n\n\"That is wiser,\" agreed Om-at; \"but I might mention, for your\ninformation, that the one and only god has a long tail.\"\n\n\"It is sacrilege,\" cried Ta-den, laying his hand upon his knife;\n\"Jad-ben-Otho has no tail!\"\n\n\"Stop!\" shrieked Om-at, springing forward; but instantly Tarzan\ninterposed himself between them.\n\n\"Enough!\" he snapped. \"Let us be true to our oaths of friendship that\nwe may be honorable in the sight of God in whatever form we conceive\nHim.\"\n\n\"You are right, Tailless One,\" said Ta-den. \"Come, Om-at, let us look\nafter our friendship and ourselves, secure in the conviction that\nJad-ben-Otho is sufficiently powerful to look after himself.\"\n\n\"Done!\" agreed Om-at, \"but----\"\n\n\"No \'buts,\' Om-at,\" admonished Tarzan.\n\nThe shaggy black shrugged his shoulders and smiled. \"Shall we make our\nway down toward the valley?\" he asked. \"The gorge below us is\nuninhabited; that to the left contains the caves of my people. I would\nsee Pan-at-lee once more. Ta-den would visit his father in the valley\nbelow and Tarzan seeks entrance to A-lur in search of the mate that\nwould be better dead than in the clutches of the Ho-don priests of\nJad-ben-Otho. How shall we proceed?\"\n\n\"Let us remain together as long as possible,\" urged Ta-den. \"You,\nOm-at, must seek Pan-at-lee by night and by stealth, for three, even we\nthree, may not hope to overcome Es-sat and all his warriors. At any\ntime may we go to the village where my father is chief, for Ja-don\nalways will welcome the friends of his son. But for Tarzan to enter\nA-lur is another matter, though there is a way and he has the courage\nto put it to the test--listen, come close for Jad-ben-Otho has keen\nears and this he must not hear,\" and with his lips close to the ears of\nhis companions Ta-den, the Tall-tree, son of Ja-don, the Lion-man,\nunfolded his daring plan.\n\nAnd at the same moment, a hundred miles away, a lithe figure, naked but\nfor a loin cloth and weapons, moved silently across a thorn-covered,\nwaterless steppe, searching always along the ground before him with\nkeen eyes and sensitive nostrils.\n\n\n\n3\n\nPan-at-lee\n\nNight had fallen upon unchartered Pal-ul-don. A slender moon, low in\nthe west, bathed the white faces of the chalk cliffs presented to her,\nin a mellow, unearthly glow. Black were the shadows in Kor-ul-JA,\nGorge-of-lions, where dwelt the tribe of the same name under Es-sat,\ntheir chief. From an aperture near the summit of the lofty escarpment a\nhairy figure emerged--the head and shoulders first--and fierce eyes\nscanned the cliff side in every direction.\n\nIt was Es-sat, the chief. To right and left and below he looked as\nthough to assure himself that he was unobserved, but no other figure\nmoved upon the cliff face, nor did another hairy body protrude from any\nof the numerous cave mouths from the high-flung abode of the chief to\nthe habitations of the more lowly members of the tribe nearer the\ncliff\'s base. Then he moved outward upon the sheer face of the white\nchalk wall. In the half-light of the baby moon it appeared that the\nheavy, shaggy black figure moved across the face of the perpendicular\nwall in some miraculous manner, but closer examination would have\nrevealed stout pegs, as large around as a man\'s wrist protruding from\nholes in the cliff into which they were driven. Es-sat\'s four handlike\nmembers and his long, sinuous tail permitted him to move with\nconsummate ease whither he chose--a gigantic rat upon a mighty wall. As\nhe progressed upon his way he avoided the cave mouths, passing either\nabove or below those that lay in his path.\n\nThe outward appearance of these caves was similar. An opening from\neight to as much as twenty feet long by eight high and four to six feet\ndeep was cut into the chalklike rock of the cliff, in the back of this\nlarge opening, which formed what might be described as the front\nveranda of the home, was an opening about three feet wide and six feet\nhigh, evidently forming the doorway to the interior apartment or\napartments. On either side of this doorway were smaller openings which\nit were easy to assume were windows through which light and air might\nfind their way to the inhabitants. Similar windows were also dotted\nover the cliff face between the entrance porches, suggesting that the\nentire face of the cliff was honeycombed with apartments. From many of\nthese smaller apertures small streams of water trickled down the\nescarpment, and the walls above others was blackened as by smoke.\nWhere the water ran the wall was eroded to a depth of from a few inches\nto as much as a foot, suggesting that some of the tiny streams had been\ntrickling downward to the green carpet of vegetation below for ages.\n\nIn this primeval setting the great pithecanthropus aroused no jarring\ndiscord for he was as much a part of it as the trees that grew upon the\nsummit of the cliff or those that hid their feet among the dank ferns\nin the bottom of the gorge.\n\nNow he paused before an entrance-way and listened and then, noiselessly\nas the moonlight upon the trickling waters, he merged with the shadows\nof the outer porch. At the doorway leading into the interior he paused\nagain, listening, and then quietly pushing aside the heavy skin that\ncovered the aperture he passed within a large chamber hewn from the\nliving rock. From the far end, through another doorway, shone a light,\ndimly. Toward this he crept with utmost stealth, his naked feet giving\nforth no sound. The knotted club that had been hanging at his back\nfrom a thong about his neck he now removed and carried in his left hand.\n\nBeyond the second doorway was a corridor running parallel with the\ncliff face. In this corridor were three more doorways, one at each end\nand a third almost opposite that in which Es-sat stood. The light was\ncoming from an apartment at the end of the corridor at his left. A\nsputtering flame rose and fell in a small stone receptacle that stood\nupon a table or bench of the same material, a monolithic bench\nfashioned at the time the room was excavated, rising massively from the\nfloor, of which it was a part.\n\nIn one corner of the room beyond the table had been left a dais of\nstone about four feet wide and eight feet long. Upon this were piled a\nfoot or so of softly tanned pelts from which the fur had not been\nremoved. Upon the edge of this dais sat a young female Waz-don. In one\nhand she held a thin piece of metal, apparently of hammered gold, with\nserrated edges, and in the other a short, stiff brush. With these she\nwas occupied in going over her smooth, glossy coat which bore a\nremarkable resemblance to plucked sealskin. Her loin cloth of yellow\nand black striped JATO-skin lay on the couch beside her with the\ncircular breastplates of beaten gold, revealing the symmetrical lines\nof her nude figure in all its beauty and harmony of contour, for even\nthough the creature was jet black and entirely covered with hair yet\nshe was undeniably beautiful.\n\nThat she was beautiful in the eyes of Es-sat, the chief, was evidenced\nby the gloating expression upon his fierce countenance and the\nincreased rapidity of his breathing. Moving quickly forward he entered\nthe room and as he did so the young she looked up. Instantly her eyes\nfilled with terror and as quickly she seized the loin cloth and with a\nfew deft movements adjusted it about her. As she gathered up her\nbreastplates Es-sat rounded the table and moved quickly toward her.\n\n\"What do you want?\" she whispered, though she knew full well.\n\n\"Pan-at-lee,\" he said, \"your chief has come for you.\"\n\n\"It was for this that you sent away my father and my brothers to spy\nupon the Kor-ul-lul? I will not have you. Leave the cave of my\nancestors!\"\n\nEs-sat smiled. It was the smile of a strong and wicked man who knows\nhis power--not a pleasant smile at all. \"I will leave, Pan-at-lee,\" he\nsaid; \"but you shall go with me--to the cave of Es-sat, the chief, to\nbe the envied of the shes of Kor-ul-JA. Come!\"\n\n\"Never!\" cried Pan-at-lee. \"I hate you. Sooner would I mate with a\nHo-don than with you, beater of women, murderer of babes.\"\n\nA frightful scowl distorted the features of the chief. \"She-JATO!\" he\ncried. \"I will tame you! I will break you! Es-sat, the chief, takes\nwhat he will and who dares question his right, or combat his least\npurpose, will first serve that purpose and then be broken as I break\nthis,\" and he picked a stone platter from the table and broke it in his\npowerful hands. \"You might have been first and most favored in the cave\nof the ancestors of Es-sat; but now shall you be last and least and\nwhen I am done with you you shall belong to all of the men of Es-sat\'s\ncave. Thus for those who spurn the love of their chief!\"\n\nHe advanced quickly to seize her and as he laid a rough hand upon her\nshe struck him heavily upon the side of his head with her golden\nbreastplates. Without a sound Es-sat, the chief, sank to the floor of\nthe apartment. For a moment Pan-at-lee bent over him, her improvised\nweapon raised to strike again should he show signs of returning\nconsciousness, her glossy breasts rising and falling with her quickened\nbreathing. Suddenly she stooped and removed Es-sat\'s knife with its\nscabbard and shoulder belt. Slipping it over her own shoulder she\nquickly adjusted her breastplates and keeping a watchful glance upon\nthe figure of the fallen chief, backed from the room.\n\nIn a niche in the outer room, just beside the doorway leading to the\nbalcony, were neatly piled a number of rounded pegs from eighteen to\ntwenty inches in length. Selecting five of these she made them into a\nlittle bundle about which she twined the lower extremity of her sinuous\ntail and thus carrying them made her way to the outer edge of the\nbalcony. Assuring herself that there was none about to see, or hinder\nher, she took quickly to the pegs already set in the face of the cliff\nand with the celerity of a monkey clambered swiftly aloft to the\nhighest row of pegs which she followed in the direction of the lower\nend of the gorge for a matter of some hundred yards. Here, above her\nhead, were a series of small round holes placed one above another in\nthree parallel rows. Clinging only with her toes she removed two of the\npegs from the bundle carried in her tail and taking one in either hand\nshe inserted them in two opposite holes of the outer rows as far above\nher as she could reach. Hanging by these new holds she now took one of\nthe three remaining pegs in each of her feet, leaving the fifth grasped\nsecurely in her tail. Reaching above her with this member she inserted\nthe fifth peg in one of the holes of the center row and then,\nalternately hanging by her tail, her feet, or her hands, she moved the\npegs upward to new holes, thus carrying her stairway with her as she\nascended.\n\nAt the summit of the cliff a gnarled tree exposed its time-worn roots\nabove the topmost holes forming the last step from the sheer face of\nthe precipice to level footing. This was the last avenue of escape for\nmembers of the tribe hard pressed by enemies from below. There were\nthree such emergency exits from the village and it were death to use\nthem in other than an emergency. This Pan-at-lee well knew; but she\nknew, too, that it were worse than death to remain where the angered\nEs-sat might lay hands upon her.\n\nWhen she had gained the summit, the girl moved quickly through the\ndarkness in the direction of the next gorge which cut the mountain-side\na mile beyond Kor-ul-JA. It was the Gorge-of-water, Kor-ul-lul, to\nwhich her father and two brothers had been sent by Es-sat ostensibly to\nspy upon the neighboring tribe. There was a chance, a slender chance,\nthat she might find them; if not there was the deserted Kor-ul-GRYF\nseveral miles beyond, where she might hide indefinitely from man if she\ncould elude the frightful monster from which the gorge derived its name\nand whose presence there had rendered its caves uninhabitable for\ngenerations.\n\nPan-at-lee crept stealthily along the rim of the Kor-ul-lul. Just where\nher father and brothers would watch she did not know. Sometimes their\nspies remained upon the rim, sometimes they watched from the gorge\'s\nbottom. Pan-at-lee was at a loss to know what to do or where to go. She\nfelt very small and helpless alone in the vast darkness of the night.\nStrange noises fell upon her ears. They came from the lonely reaches of\nthe towering mountains above her, from far away in the invisible valley\nand from the nearer foothills and once, in the distance, she heard what\nshe thought was the bellow of a bull GRYF. It came from the direction\nof the Kor-ul-GRYF. She shuddered.\n\nPresently there came to her keen ears another sound. Something\napproached her along the rim of the gorge. It was coming from above.\nShe halted, listening. Perhaps it was her father, or a brother. It was\ncoming closer. She strained her eyes through the darkness. She did not\nmove--she scarcely breathed. And then, of a sudden, quite close it\nseemed, there blazed through the black night two yellow-green spots of\nfire.\n\nPan-at-lee was brave, but as always with the primitive, the darkness\nheld infinite terrors for her. Not alone the terrors of the known but\nmore frightful ones as well--those of the unknown. She had passed\nthrough much this night and her nerves were keyed to the highest\npitch--raw, taut nerves, they were, ready to react in an exaggerated\nform to the slightest shock.\n\nBut this was no slight shock. To hope for a father and a brother and to\nsee death instead glaring out of the darkness! Yes, Pan-at-lee was\nbrave, but she was not of iron. With a shriek that reverberated among\nthe hills she turned and fled along the rim of Kor-ul-lul and behind\nher, swiftly, came the devil-eyed lion of the mountains of Pal-ul-don.\n\nPan-at-lee was lost. Death was inevitable. Of this there could be no\ndoubt, but to die beneath the rending fangs of the carnivore,\ncongenital terror of her kind--it was unthinkable. But there was an\nalternative. The lion was almost upon her--another instant and he would\nseize her. Pan-at-lee turned sharply to her left. Just a few steps she\ntook in the new direction before she disappeared over the rim of\nKor-ul-lul. The baffled lion, planting all four feet, barely stopped\nupon the verge of the abyss. Glaring down into the black shadows\nbeneath he mounted an angry roar.\n\nThrough the darkness at the bottom of Kor-ul-JA, Om-at led the way\ntoward the caves of his people. Behind him came Tarzan and Ta-den.\nPresently they halted beneath a great tree that grew close to the cliff.\n\n\"First,\" whispered Om-at, \"I will go to the cave of Pan-at-lee. Then\nwill I seek the cave of my ancestors to have speech with my own blood.\nIt will not take long. Wait here--I shall return soon. Afterward shall\nwe go together to Ta-den\'s people.\"\n\nHe moved silently toward the foot of the cliff up which Tarzan could\npresently see him ascending like a great fly on a wall. In the dim\nlight the ape-man could not see the pegs set in the face of the cliff.\nOm-at moved warily. In the lower tier of caves there should be a\nsentry. His knowledge of his people and their customs told him,\nhowever, that in all probability the sentry was asleep. In this he was\nnot mistaken, yet he did not in any way abate his wariness. Smoothly\nand swiftly he ascended toward the cave of Pan-at-lee while from below\nTarzan and Ta-den watched him.\n\n\"How does he do it?\" asked Tarzan. \"I can see no foothold upon that\nvertical surface and yet he appears to be climbing with the utmost\nease.\"\n\nTa-den explained the stairway of pegs. \"You could ascend easily,\" he\nsaid, \"although a tail would be of great assistance.\"\n\nThey watched until Om-at was about to enter the cave of Pan-at-lee\nwithout seeing any indication that he had been observed and then,\nsimultaneously, both saw a head appear in the mouth of one of the lower\ncaves. It was quickly evident that its owner had discovered Om-at for\nimmediately he started upward in pursuit. Without a word Tarzan and\nTa-den sprang forward toward the foot of the cliff. The pithecanthropus\nwas the first to reach it and the ape-man saw him spring upward for a\nhandhold on the lowest peg above him. Now Tarzan saw other pegs roughly\nparalleling each other in zigzag rows up the cliff face. He sprang and\ncaught one of these, pulled himself upward by one hand until he could\nreach a second with his other hand; and when he had ascended far enough\nto use his feet, discovered that he could make rapid progress. Ta-den\nwas outstripping him, however, for these precarious ladders were no\nnovelty to him and, further, he had an advantage in possessing a tail.\n\nNevertheless, the ape-man gave a good account of himself, being\npresently urged to redoubled efforts by the fact that the Waz-don above\nTa-den glanced down and discovered his pursuers just before the Ho-don\novertook him. Instantly a wild cry shattered the silence of the\ngorge--a cry that was immediately answered by hundreds of savage\nthroats as warrior after warrior emerged from the entrance to his cave.\n\nThe creature who had raised the alarm had now reached the recess before\nPan-at-lee\'s cave and here he halted and turned to give battle to\nTa-den. Unslinging his club which had hung down his back from a thong\nabout his neck he stood upon the level floor of the entrance-way\neffectually blocking Ta-den\'s ascent. From all directions the warriors\nof Kor-ul-JA were swarming toward the interlopers. Tarzan, who had\nreached a point on the same level with Ta-den but a little to the\nlatter\'s left, saw that nothing short of a miracle could save them.\nJust at the ape-man\'s left was the entrance to a cave that either was\ndeserted or whose occupants had not as yet been aroused, for the level\nrecess remained unoccupied. Resourceful was the alert mind of Tarzan of\nthe Apes and quick to respond were the trained muscles. In the time\nthat you or I might give to debating an action he would accomplish it\nand now, though only seconds separated his nearest antagonist from him,\nin the brief span of time at his disposal he had stepped into the\nrecess, unslung his long rope and leaning far out shot the sinuous\nnoose, with the precision of long habitude, toward the menacing figure\nwielding its heavy club above Ta-den. There was a momentary pause of\nthe rope-hand as the noose sped toward its goal, a quick movement of\nthe right wrist that closed it upon its victim as it settled over his\nhead and then a surging tug as, seizing the rope in both hands, Tarzan\nthrew back upon it all the weight of his great frame.\n\nVoicing a terrified shriek, the Waz-don lunged headforemost from the\nrecess above Ta-den. Tarzan braced himself for the coming shock when\nthe creature\'s body should have fallen the full length of the rope and\nas it did there was a snap of the vertebrae that rose sickeningly in\nthe momentary silence that had followed the doomed man\'s departing\nscream. Unshaken by the stress of the suddenly arrested weight at the\nend of the rope, Tarzan quickly pulled the body to his side that he\nmight remove the noose from about its neck, for he could not afford to\nlose so priceless a weapon.\n\nDuring the several seconds that had elapsed since he cast the rope the\nWaz-don warriors had remained inert as though paralyzed by wonder or by\nterror. Now, again, one of them found his voice and his head and\nstraightway, shrieking invectives at the strange intruder, started\nupward for the ape-man, urging his fellows to attack. This man was the\nclosest to Tarzan. But for him the ape-man could easily have reached\nTa-den\'s side as the latter was urging him to do. Tarzan raised the\nbody of the dead Waz-don above his head, held it poised there for a\nmoment as with face raised to the heavens he screamed forth the horrid\nchallenge of the bull apes of the tribe of Kerchak, and with all the\nstrength of his giant sinews he hurled the corpse heavily upon the\nascending warrior. So great was the force of the impact that not only\nwas the Waz-don torn from his hold but two of the pegs to which he\nclung were broken short in their sockets.\n\nAs the two bodies, the living and the dead, hurtled downward toward the\nfoot of the cliff a great cry arose from the Waz-don. \"Jad-guru-don!\nJad-guru-don!\" they screamed, and then: \"Kill him! Kill him!\"\n\nAnd now Tarzan stood in the recess beside Ta-den. \"Jad-guru-don!\"\nrepeated the latter, smiling--\"The terrible man! Tarzan the Terrible!\nThey may kill you, but they will never forget you.\"\n\n\"They shall not ki--What have we here?\" Tarzan\'s statement as to what\n\"they\" should not do was interrupted by a sudden ejaculation as two\nfigures, locked in deathlike embrace, stumbled through the doorway of\nthe cave to the outer porch. One was Om-at, the other a creature of his\nown kind but with a rough coat, the hairs of which seemed to grow\nstraight outward from the skin, stiffly, unlike Om-at\'s sleek covering.\nThe two were quite evidently well matched and equally evident was the\nfact that each was bent upon murder. They fought almost in silence\nexcept for an occasional low growl as one or the other acknowledged\nthus some new hurt.\n\nTarzan, following a natural impulse to aid his ally, leaped forward to\nenter the dispute only to be checked by a grunted admonition from\nOm-at. \"Back!\" he said. \"This fight is mine, alone.\"\n\nThe ape-man understood and stepped aside.\n\n\"It is a gund-bar,\" explained Ta-den, \"a chief-battle. This fellow must\nbe Es-sat, the chief. If Om-at kills him without assistance Om-at may\nbecome chief.\"\n\nTarzan smiled. It was the law of his own jungle--the law of the tribe\nof Kerchak, the bull ape--the ancient law of primitive man that needed\nbut the refining influences of civilization to introduce the hired\ndagger and the poison cup. Then his attention was drawn to the outer\nedge of the vestibule. Above it appeared the shaggy face of one of\nEs-sat\'s warriors. Tarzan sprang to intercept the man; but Ta-den was\nthere ahead of him. \"Back!\" cried the Ho-don to the newcomer. \"It is\ngund-bar.\" The fellow looked scrutinizingly at the two fighters, then\nturned his face downward toward his fellows. \"Back!\" he cried, \"it is\ngund-bar between Es-sat and Om-at.\" Then he looked back at Ta-den and\nTarzan. \"Who are you?\" he asked.\n\n\"We are Om-at\'s friends,\" replied Ta-den.\n\nThe fellow nodded. \"We will attend to you later,\" he said and\ndisappeared below the edge of the recess.\n\nThe battle upon the ledge continued with unabated ferocity, Tarzan and\nTa-den having difficulty in keeping out of the way of the contestants\nwho tore and beat at each other with hands and feet and lashing tails.\nEs-sat was unarmed--Pan-at-lee had seen to that--but at Om-at\'s side\nswung a sheathed knife which he made no effort to draw. That would have\nbeen contrary to their savage and primitive code for the chief-battle\nmust be fought with nature\'s weapons.\n\nSometimes they separated for an instant only to rush upon each other\nagain with all the ferocity and nearly the strength of mad bulls.\nPresently one of them tripped the other but in that viselike embrace\none could not fall alone--Es-sat dragged Om-at with him, toppling upon\nthe brink of the niche. Even Tarzan held his breath. There they surged\nto and fro perilously for a moment and then the inevitable\nhappened--the two, locked in murderous embrace, rolled over the edge\nand disappeared from the ape-man\'s view.\n\nTarzan voiced a suppressed sigh for he had liked Om-at and then, with\nTa-den, approached the edge and looked over. Far below, in the dim\nlight of the coming dawn, two inert forms should be lying stark in\ndeath; but, to Tarzan\'s amazement, such was far from the sight that met\nhis eyes. Instead, there were the two figures still vibrant with life\nand still battling only a few feet below him. Clinging always to the\npegs with two holds--a hand and a foot, or a foot and a tail, they\nseemed as much at home upon the perpendicular wall as upon the level\nsurface of the vestibule; but now their tactics were slightly altered,\nfor each seemed particularly bent upon dislodging his antagonist from\nhis holds and precipitating him to certain death below. It was soon\nevident that Om-at, younger and with greater powers of endurance than\nEs-sat, was gaining an advantage. Now was the chief almost wholly on\nthe defensive. Holding him by the cross belt with one mighty hand Om-at\nwas forcing his foeman straight out from the cliff, and with the other\nhand and one foot was rapidly breaking first one of Es-sat\'s holds and\nthen another, alternating his efforts, or rather punctuating them, with\nvicious blows to the pit of his adversary\'s stomach. Rapidly was Es-sat\nweakening and with the knowledge of impending death there came, as\nthere comes to every coward and bully under similar circumstances, a\ncrumbling of the veneer of bravado which had long masqueraded as\ncourage and with it crumbled his code of ethics. Now was Es-sat no\nlonger chief of Kor-ul-JA--instead he was a whimpering craven battling\nfor life. Clutching at Om-at, clutching at the nearest pegs he sought\nany support that would save him from that awful fall, and as he strove\nto push aside the hand of death, whose cold fingers he already felt\nupon his heart, his tail sought Om-at\'s side and the handle of the\nknife that hung there.\n\nTarzan saw and even as Es-sat drew the blade from its sheath he dropped\ncatlike to the pegs beside the battling men. Es-sat\'s tail had drawn\nback for the cowardly fatal thrust. Now many others saw the perfidious\nact and a great cry of rage and disgust arose from savage throats; but\nas the blade sped toward its goal, the ape-man seized the hairy member\nthat wielded it, and at the same instant Om-at thrust the body of\nEs-sat from him with such force that its weakened holds were broken and\nit hurtled downward, a brief meteor of screaming fear, to death.\n\n\n\n4\n\nTarzan-jad-guru\n\nAs Tarzan and Om-at clambered back to the vestibule of Pan-at-lee\'s\ncave and took their stand beside Ta-den in readiness for whatever\neventuality might follow the death of Es-sat, the sun that topped the\neastern hills touched also the figure of a sleeper upon a distant,\nthorn-covered steppe awakening him to another day of tireless tracking\nalong a faint and rapidly disappearing spoor.\n\nFor a time silence reigned in the Kor-ul-JA. The tribesmen waited,\nlooking now down upon the dead thing that had been their chief, now at\none another, and now at Om-at and the two who stood upon his either\nside. Presently Om-at spoke. \"I am Om-at,\" he cried. \"Who will say that\nOm-at is not gund of Kor-ul-JA?\"\n\nHe waited for a taker of his challenge. One or two of the larger young\nbucks fidgeted restlessly and eyed him; but there was no reply.\n\n\"Then Om-at is gund,\" he said with finality. \"Now tell me, where are\nPan-at-lee, her father, and her brothers?\"\n\nAn old warrior spoke. \"Pan-at-lee should be in her cave. Who should\nknow that better than you who are there now? Her father and her\nbrothers were sent to watch Kor-ul-lul; but neither of these questions\narouse any tumult in our breasts. There is one that does: Can Om-at be\nchief of Kor-ul-JA and yet stand at bay against his own people with a\nHo-don and that terrible man at his side--that terrible man who has no\ntail? Hand the strangers over to your people to be slain as is the way\nof the Waz-don and then may Om-at be gund.\"\n\nNeither Tarzan nor Ta-den spoke then, they but stood watching Om-at and\nwaiting for his decision, the ghost of a smile upon the lips of the\nape-man. Ta-den, at least, knew that the old warrior had spoken the\ntruth--the Waz-don entertain no strangers and take no prisoners of an\nalien race.\n\nThen spoke Om-at. \"Always there is change,\" he said. \"Even the old\nhills of Pal-ul-don appear never twice alike--the brilliant sun, a\npassing cloud, the moon, a mist, the changing seasons, the sharp\nclearness following a storm; these things bring each a new change in\nour hills. From birth to death, day by day, there is constant change in\neach of us. Change, then, is one of Jad-ben-Otho\'s laws.\n\n\"And now I, Om-at, your gund, bring another change. Strangers who are\nbrave men and good friends shall no longer be slain by the Waz-don of\nKor-ul-JA!\"\n\nThere were growls and murmurings and a restless moving among the\nwarriors as each eyed the others to see who would take the initiative\nagainst Om-at, the iconoclast.\n\n\"Cease your mutterings,\" admonished the new gund. \"I am your chief. My\nword is your law. You had no part in making me chief. Some of you\nhelped Es-sat to drive me from the cave of my ancestors; the rest of\nyou permitted it. I owe you nothing. Only these two, whom you would\nhave me kill, were loyal to me. I am gund and if there be any who\ndoubts it let him speak--he cannot die younger.\"\n\nTarzan was pleased. Here was a man after his own heart. He admired the\nfearlessness of Om-at\'s challenge and he was a sufficiently good judge\nof men to know that he had listened to no idle bluff--Om-at would back\nup his words to the death, if necessary, and the chances were that he\nwould not be the one to die. Evidently the majority of the\nKor-ul-jaians entertained the same conviction.\n\n\"I will make you a good gund,\" said Om-at, seeing that no one appeared\ninclined to dispute his rights. \"Your wives and daughters will be\nsafe--they were not safe while Es-sat ruled. Go now to your crops and\nyour hunting. I leave to search for Pan-at-lee. Ab-on will be gund\nwhile I am away--look to him for guidance and to me for an accounting\nwhen I return--and may Jad-ben-Otho smile upon you.\"\n\nHe turned toward Tarzan and the Ho-don. \"And you, my friends,\" he said,\n\"are free to go among my people; the cave of my ancestors is yours, do\nwhat you will.\"\n\n\"I,\" said Tarzan, \"will go with Om-at to search for Pan-at-lee.\"\n\n\"And I,\" said Ta-den.\n\nOm-at smiled. \"Good!\" he exclaimed. \"And when we have found her we\nshall go together upon Tarzan\'s business and Ta-den\'s. Where first\nshall we search?\" He turned toward his warriors. \"Who knows where she\nmay be?\"\n\nNone knew other than that Pan-at-lee had gone to her cave with the\nothers the previous evening--there was no clew, no suggestion as to her\nwhereabouts.\n\n\"Show me where she sleeps,\" said Tarzan; \"let me see something that\nbelongs to her--an article of her apparel--then, doubtless, I can help\nyou.\"\n\nTwo young warriors climbed closer to the ledge upon which Om-at stood.\nThey were In-sad and O-dan. It was the latter who spoke.\n\n\"Gund of Kor-ul-JA,\" he said, \"we would go with you to search for\nPan-at-lee.\"\n\nIt was the first acknowledgment of Om-at\'s chieftainship and\nimmediately following it the tenseness that had prevailed seemed to\nrelax--the warriors spoke aloud instead of in whispers, and the women\nappeared from the mouths of caves as with the passing of a sudden\nstorm. In-sad and O-dan had taken the lead and now all seemed glad to\nfollow. Some came to talk with Om-at and to look more closely at\nTarzan; others, heads of caves, gathered their hunters and discussed\nthe business of the day. The women and children prepared to descend to\nthe fields with the youths and the old men, whose duty it was to guard\nthem.\n\n\"O-dan and In-sad shall go with us,\" announced Om-at, \"we shall not\nneed more. Tarzan, come with me and I shall show you where Pan-at-lee\nsleeps, though why you should wish to know I cannot guess--she is not\nthere. I have looked for myself.\"\n\nThe two entered the cave where Om-at led the way to the apartment in\nwhich Es-sat had surprised Pan-at-lee the previous night.\n\n\"All here are hers,\" said Om-at, \"except the war club lying on the\nfloor--that was Es-sat\'s.\"\n\nThe ape-man moved silently about the apartment, the quivering of his\nsensitive nostrils scarcely apparent to his companion who only wondered\nwhat good purpose could be served here and chafed at the delay.\n\n\"Come!\" said the ape-man, presently, and led the way toward the outer\nrecess.\n\nHere their three companions were awaiting them. Tarzan passed to the\nleft side of the niche and examined the pegs that lay within reach. He\nlooked at them but it was not his eyes that were examining them. Keener\nthan his keen eyes was that marvelously trained sense of scent that had\nfirst been developed in him during infancy under the tutorage of his\nfoster mother, Kala, the she-ape, and further sharpened in the grim\njungles by that master teacher--the instinct of self-preservation.\n\nFrom the left side of the niche he turned to the right. Om-at was\nbecoming impatient.\n\n\"Let us be off,\" he said. \"We must search for Pan-at-lee if we would\never find her.\"\n\n\"Where shall we search?\" asked Tarzan.\n\nOm-at scratched his head. \"Where?\" he repeated. \"Why all Pal-ul-don, if\nnecessary.\"\n\n\"A large job,\" said Tarzan. \"Come,\" he added, \"she went this way,\" and\nhe took to the pegs that led aloft toward the summit of the cliff. Here\nhe followed the scent easily since none had passed that way since\nPan-at-lee had fled. At the point at which she had left the permanent\npegs and resorted to those carried with her Tarzan came to an abrupt\nhalt. \"She went this way to the summit,\" he called back to Om-at who\nwas directly behind him; \"but there are no pegs here.\"\n\n\"I do not know how you know that she went this way,\" said Om-at; \"but\nwe will get pegs. In-sad, return and fetch climbing pegs for five.\"\n\nThe young warrior was soon back and the pegs distributed. Om-at handed\nfive to Tarzan and explained their use. The ape-man returned one. \"I\nneed but four,\" he said.\n\nOm-at smiled. \"What a wonderful creature you would be if you were not\ndeformed,\" he said, glancing with pride at his own strong tail.\n\n\"I admit that I am handicapped,\" replied Tarzan. \"You others go ahead\nand leave the pegs in place for me. I am afraid that otherwise it will\nbe slow work as I cannot hold the pegs in my toes as you do.\"\n\n\"All right,\" agreed Om-at; \"Ta-den, In-sad, and I will go first, you\nfollow and O-dan bring up the rear and collect the pegs--we cannot\nleave them here for our enemies.\"\n\n\"Can\'t your enemies bring their own pegs?\" asked Tarzan.\n\n\"Yes; but it delays them and makes easier our defense and--they do not\nknow which of all the holes you see are deep enough for pegs--the\nothers are made to confuse our enemies and are too shallow to hold a\npeg.\"\n\nAt the top of the cliff beside the gnarled tree Tarzan again took up\nthe trail. Here the scent was fully as strong as upon the pegs and the\nape-man moved rapidly across the ridge in the direction of the\nKor-ul-lul.\n\nPresently he paused and turned toward Om-at. \"Here she moved swiftly,\nrunning at top speed, and, Om-at, she was pursued by a lion.\"\n\n\"You can read that in the grass?\" asked O-dan as the others gathered\nabout the ape-man.\n\nTarzan nodded. \"I do not think the lion got her,\" he added; \"but that\nwe shall determine quickly. No, he did not get her--look!\" and he\npointed toward the southwest, down the ridge.\n\nFollowing the direction indicated by his finger, the others presently\ndetected a movement in some bushes a couple of hundred yards away.\n\n\"What is it?\" asked Om-at. \"It is she?\" and he started toward the spot.\n\n\"Wait,\" advised Tarzan. \"It is the lion which pursued her.\"\n\n\"You can see him?\" asked Ta-den.\n\n\"No, I can smell him.\"\n\nThe others looked their astonishment and incredulity; but of the fact\nthat it was indeed a lion they were not left long in doubt. Presently\nthe bushes parted and the creature stepped out in full view, facing\nthem. It was a magnificent beast, large and beautifully maned, with the\nbrilliant leopard spots of its kind well marked and symmetrical. For a\nmoment it eyed them and then, still chafing at the loss of its prey\nearlier in the morning, it charged.\n\nThe Pal-ul-donians unslung their clubs and stood waiting the onrushing\nbeast. Tarzan of the Apes drew his hunting knife and crouched in the\npath of the fanged fury. It was almost upon him when it swerved to the\nright and leaped for Om-at only to be sent to earth with a staggering\nblow upon the head. Almost instantly it was up and though the men\nrushed fearlessly in, it managed to sweep aside their weapons with its\nmighty paws. A single blow wrenched O-dan\'s club from his hand and sent\nit hurtling against Ta-den, knocking him from his feet. Taking\nadvantage of its opportunity the lion rose to throw itself upon O-dan\nand at the same instant Tarzan flung himself upon its back. Strong,\nwhite teeth buried themselves in the spotted neck, mighty arms\nencircled the savage throat and the sinewy legs of the ape-man locked\nthemselves about the gaunt belly.\n\nThe others, powerless to aid, stood breathlessly about as the great\nlion lunged hither and thither, clawing and biting fearfully and\nfutilely at the savage creature that had fastened itself upon him. Over\nand over they rolled and now the onlookers saw a brown hand raised\nabove the lion\'s side--a brown hand grasping a keen blade. They saw it\nfall and rise and fall again--each time with terrific force and in its\nwake they saw a crimson stream trickling down JA\'s gorgeous coat.\n\nNow from the lion\'s throat rose hideous screams of hate and rage and\npain as he redoubled his efforts to dislodge and punish his tormentor;\nbut always the tousled black head remained half buried in the dark\nbrown mane and the mighty arm rose and fell to plunge the knife again\nand again into the dying beast.\n\nThe Pal-ul-donians stood in mute wonder and admiration. Brave men and\nmighty hunters they were and as such the first to accord honor to a\nmightier.\n\n\"And you would have had me slay him!\" cried Om-at, glancing at In-sad\nand O-dan.\n\n\"Jad-ben-Otho reward you that you did not,\" breathed In-sad.\n\nAnd now the lion lunged suddenly to earth and with a few spasmodic\nquiverings lay still. The ape-man rose and shook himself, even as might\nJA, the leopard-coated lion of Pal-ul-don, had he been the one to\nsurvive.\n\nO-dan advanced quickly toward Tarzan. Placing a palm upon his own\nbreast and the other on Tarzan\'s, \"Tarzan the Terrible,\" he said, \"I\nask no greater honor than your friendship.\"\n\n\"And I no more than the friendship of Om-at\'s friends,\" replied the\nape-man simply, returning the other\'s salute.\n\n\"Do you think,\" asked Om-at, coming close to Tarzan and laying a hand\nupon the other\'s shoulder, \"that he got her?\"\n\n\"No, my friend; it was a hungry lion that charged us.\"\n\n\"You seem to know much of lions,\" said In-sad.\n\n\"Had I a brother I could not know him better,\" replied Tarzan.\n\n\"Then where can she be?\" continued Om-at.\n\n\"We can but follow while the spoor is fresh,\" answered the ape-man and\nagain taking up his interrupted tracking he led them down the ridge and\nat a sharp turning of the trail to the left brought them to the verge\nof the cliff that dropped into the Kor-ul-lul. For a moment Tarzan\nexamined the ground to the right and to the left, then he stood erect\nand looking at Om-at pointed into the gorge.\n\nFor a moment the Waz-don gazed down into the green rift at the bottom\nof which a tumultuous river tumbled downward along its rocky bed, then\nhe closed his eyes as to a sudden spasm of pain and turned away.\n\n\"You--mean--she jumped?\" he asked.\n\n\"To escape the lion,\" replied Tarzan. \"He was right behind her--look,\nyou can see where his four paws left their impress in the turf as he\nchecked his charge upon the very verge of the abyss.\"\n\n\"Is there any chance--\" commenced Om-at, to be suddenly silenced by a\nwarning gesture from Tarzan.\n\n\"Down!\" whispered the ape-man, \"many men are coming. They are\nrunning--from down the ridge.\" He flattened himself upon his belly in\nthe grass, the others following his example.\n\nFor some minutes they waited thus and then the others, too, heard the\nsound of running feet and now a hoarse shout followed by many more.\n\n\"It is the war cry of the Kor-ul-lul,\" whispered Om-at--\"the hunting\ncry of men who hunt men. Presently shall we see them and if\nJad-ben-Otho is pleased with us they shall not too greatly outnumber\nus.\"\n\n\"They are many,\" said Tarzan, \"forty or fifty, I should say; but how\nmany are the pursued and how many the pursuers we cannot even guess,\nexcept that the latter must greatly outnumber the former, else these\nwould not run so fast.\"\n\n\"Here they come,\" said Ta-den.\n\n\"It is An-un, father of Pan-at-lee, and his two sons,\" exclaimed O-dan.\n\"They will pass without seeing us if we do not hurry,\" he added looking\nat Om-at, the chief, for a sign.\n\n\"Come!\" cried the latter, springing to his feet and running rapidly to\nintercept the three fugitives. The others followed him.\n\n\"Five friends!\" shouted Om-at as An-un and his sons discovered them.\n\n\"Adenen yo!\" echoed O-dan and In-sad.\n\nThe fugitives scarcely paused as these unexpected reinforcements joined\nthem but they eyed Ta-den and Tarzan with puzzled glances.\n\n\"The Kor-ul-lul are many,\" shouted An-un. \"Would that we might pause\nand fight; but first we must warn Es-sat and our people.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Om-at, \"we must warn our people.\"\n\n\"Es-sat is dead,\" said In-sad.\n\n\"Who is chief?\" asked one of An-un\'s sons.\n\n\"Om-at,\" replied O-dan.\n\n\"It is well,\" cried An-un. \"Pan-at-lee said that you would come back\nand slay Es-sat.\"\n\nNow the enemy broke into sight behind them.\n\n\"Come!\" cried Tarzan, \"let us turn and charge them, raising a great\ncry. They pursued but three and when they see eight charging upon them\nthey will think that many men have come to do battle. They will believe\nthat there are more even than they see and then one who is swift will\nhave time to reach the gorge and warn your people.\"\n\n\"It is well,\" said Om-at. \"Id-an, you are swift--carry word to the\nwarriors of Kor-ul-JA that we fight the Kor-ul-lul upon the ridge and\nthat Ab-on shall send a hundred men.\"\n\nId-an, the son of An-un, sped swiftly toward the cliff-dwellings of the\nKor-ul-JA while the others charged the oncoming Kor-ul-lul, the war\ncries of the two tribes rising and falling in a certain grim harmony.\nThe leaders of the Kor-ul-lul paused at sight of the reinforcements,\nwaiting apparently for those behind to catch up with them and,\npossibly, also to learn how great a force confronted them. The leaders,\nswifter runners than their fellows, perhaps, were far in advance while\nthe balance of their number had not yet emerged from the brush; and now\nas Om-at and his companions fell upon them with a ferocity born of\nnecessity they fell back, so that when their companions at last came in\nsight of them they appeared to be in full rout. The natural result was\nthat the others turned and fled.\n\nEncouraged by this first success Om-at followed them into the brush,\nhis little company charging valiantly upon his either side, and loud\nand terrifying were the savage yells with which they pursued the\nfleeing enemy. The brush, while not growing so closely together as to\nimpede progress, was of such height as to hide the members of the party\nfrom one another when they became separated by even a few yards. The\nresult was that Tarzan, always swift and always keen for battle, was\nsoon pursuing the enemy far in the lead of the others--a lack of\nprudence which was to prove his undoing.\n\nThe warriors of Kor-ul-lul, doubtless as valorous as their foemen,\nretreated only to a more strategic position in the brush, nor were they\nlong in guessing that the number of their pursuers was fewer than their\nown. They made a stand then where the brush was densest--an ambush it\nwas, and into this ran Tarzan of the Apes. They tricked him neatly.\nYes, sad as is the narration of it, they tricked the wily jungle lord.\nBut then they were fighting on their own ground, every foot of which\nthey knew as you know your front parlor, and they were following their\nown tactics, of which Tarzan knew nothing.\n\nA single black warrior appeared to Tarzan a laggard in the rear of the\nretreating enemy and thus retreating he lured Tarzan on. At last he\nturned at bay confronting the ape-man with bludgeon and drawn knife and\nas Tarzan charged him a score of burly Waz-don leaped from the\nsurrounding brush. Instantly, but too late, the giant Tarmangani\nrealized his peril. There flashed before him a vision of his lost mate\nand a great and sickening regret surged through him with the\nrealization that if she still lived she might no longer hope, for\nthough she might never know of the passing of her lord the fact of it\nmust inevitably seal her doom.\n\nAnd consequent to this thought there enveloped him a blind frenzy of\nhatred for these creatures who dared thwart his purpose and menace the\nwelfare of his wife. With a savage growl he threw himself upon the\nwarrior before him twisting the heavy club from the creature\'s hand as\nif he had been a little child, and with his left fist backed by the\nweight and sinew of his giant frame, he crashed a shattering blow to\nthe center of the Waz-don\'s face--a blow that crushed the bones and\ndropped the fellow in his tracks. Then he swung upon the others with\ntheir fallen comrade\'s bludgeon striking to right and left mighty,\nunmerciful blows that drove down their own weapons until that wielded\nby the ape-man was splintered and shattered. On either hand they fell\nbefore his cudgel; so rapid the delivery of his blows, so catlike his\nrecovery that in the first few moments of the battle he seemed\ninvulnerable to their attack; but it could not last--he was outnumbered\ntwenty to one and his undoing came from a thrown club. It struck him\nupon the back of the head. For a moment he stood swaying and then like\na great pine beneath the woodsman\'s ax he crashed to earth.\n\nOthers of the Kor-ul-lul had rushed to engage the balance of Om-at\'s\nparty. They could be heard fighting at a short distance and it was\nevident that the Kor-ul-JA were falling slowly back and as they fell\nOm-at called to the missing one: \"Tarzan the Terrible! Tarzan the\nTerrible!\"\n\n\"Jad-guru, indeed,\" repeated one of the Kor-ul-lul rising from where\nTarzan had dropped him. \"Tarzan-jad-guru! He was worse than that.\"\n\n\n\n5\n\nIn the Kor-ul-GRYF\n\nAs Tarzan fell among his enemies a man halted many miles away upon the\nouter verge of the morass that encircles Pal-ul-don. Naked he was\nexcept for a loin cloth and three belts of cartridges, two of which\npassed over his shoulders, crossing upon his chest and back, while the\nthird encircled his waist. Slung to his back by its leathern\nsling-strap was an Enfield, and he carried too a long knife, a bow and\na quiver of arrows. He had come far, through wild and savage lands,\nmenaced by fierce beasts and fiercer men, yet intact to the last\ncartridge was the ammunition that had filled his belts the day that he\nset out.\n\nThe bow and the arrows and the long knife had brought him thus far\nsafely, yet often in the face of great risks that could have been\nminimized by a single shot from the well-kept rifle at his back. What\npurpose might he have for conserving this precious ammunition? in\nrisking his life to bring the last bright shining missile to his\nunknown goal? For what, for whom were these death-dealing bits of metal\npreserved? In all the world only he knew.\n\nWhen Pan-at-lee stepped over the edge of the cliff above Kor-ul-lul she\nexpected to be dashed to instant death upon the rocks below; but she\nhad chosen this in preference to the rending fangs of JA. Instead,\nchance had ordained that she make the frightful plunge at a point where\nthe tumbling river swung close beneath the overhanging cliff to eddy\nfor a slow moment in a deep pool before plunging madly downward again\nin a cataract of boiling foam, and water thundering against rocks.\n\nInto this icy pool the girl shot, and down and down beneath the watery\nsurface until, half choked, yet fighting bravely, she battled her way\nonce more to air. Swimming strongly she made the opposite shore and\nthere dragged herself out upon the bank to lie panting and spent until\nthe approaching dawn warned her to seek concealment, for she was in the\ncountry of her people\'s enemies.\n\nRising, she moved into the concealment of the rank vegetation that\ngrows so riotously in the well-watered kors[1] of Pal-ul-don.\n\nHidden amidst the plant life from the sight of any who might chance to\npass along the well-beaten trail that skirted the river Pan-at-lee\nsought rest and food, the latter growing in abundance all about her in\nthe form of fruits and berries and succulent tubers which she scooped\nfrom the earth with the knife of the dead Es-sat.\n\nAh! if she had but known that he was dead! What trials and risks and\nterrors she might have been saved; but she thought that he still lived\nand so she dared not return to Kor-ul-JA. At least not yet while his\nrage was at white heat. Later, perhaps, her father and brothers\nreturned to their cave, she might risk it; but not now--not now. Nor\ncould she for long remain here in the neighborhood of the hostile\nKor-ul-lul and somewhere she must find safety from beasts before the\nnight set in.\n\nAs she sat upon the bole of a fallen tree seeking some solution of the\nproblem of existence that confronted her, there broke upon her ears\nfrom up the gorge the voices of shouting men--a sound that she\nrecognized all too well. It was the war cry of the Kor-ul-lul. Closer\nand closer it approached her hiding place. Then, through the veil of\nfoliage she caught glimpses of three figures fleeing along the trail,\nand behind them the shouting of the pursuers rose louder and louder as\nthey neared her. Again she caught sight of the fugitives crossing the\nriver below the cataract and again they were lost to sight. And now the\npursuers came into view--shouting Kor-ul-lul warriors, fierce and\nimplacable. Forty, perhaps fifty of them. She waited breathless; but\nthey did not swerve from the trail and passed her, unguessing that an\nenemy she lay hid within a few yards of them.\n\nOnce again she caught sight of the pursued--three Waz-don warriors\nclambering the cliff face at a point where portions of the summit had\nfallen away presenting a steep slope that might be ascended by such as\nthese. Suddenly her attention was riveted upon the three. Could it be?\nO Jad-ben-Otho! had she but known a moment before. When they passed she\nmight have joined them, for they were her father and two brothers. Now\nit was too late. With bated breath and tense muscles she watched the\nrace. Would they reach the summit? Would the Kor-ul-lul overhaul them?\nThey climbed well, but, oh, so slowly. Now one lost his footing in the\nloose shale and slipped back! The Kor-ul-lul were ascending--one hurled\nhis club at the nearest fugitive. The Great God was pleased with the\nbrother of Pan-at-lee, for he caused the club to fall short of its\ntarget, and to fall, rolling and bounding, back upon its owner carrying\nhim from his feet and precipitating him to the bottom of the gorge.\n\nStanding now, her hands pressed tight above her golden breastplates,\nPan-at-lee watched the race for life. Now one, her older brother,\nreached the summit and clinging there to something that she could not\nsee he lowered his body and his long tail to the father beneath him.\nThe latter, seizing this support, extended his own tail to the son\nbelow--the one who had slipped back--and thus, upon a living ladder of\ntheir own making, the three reached the summit and disappeared from\nview before the Kor-ul-lul overtook them. But the latter did not\nabandon the chase. On they went until they too had disappeared from\nsight and only a faint shouting came down to Pan-at-lee to tell her\nthat the pursuit continued.\n\nThe girl knew that she must move on. At any moment now might come a\nhunting party, combing the gorge for the smaller animals that fed or\nbedded there.\n\nBehind her were Es-sat and the returning party of Kor-ul-lul that had\npursued her kin; before her, across the next ridge, was the\nKor-ul-GRYF, the lair of the terrifying monsters that brought the chill\nof fear to every inhabitant of Pal-ul-don; below her, in the valley,\nwas the country of the Ho-don, where she could look for only slavery,\nor death; here were the Kor-ul-lul, the ancient enemies of her people\nand everywhere were the wild beasts that eat the flesh of man.\n\nFor but a moment she debated and then turning her face toward the\nsoutheast she set out across the gorge of water toward the\nKor-ul-GRYF--at least there were no men there. As it is now, so it was\nin the beginning, back to the primitive progenitor of man which is\ntypified by Pan-at-lee and her kind today, of all the hunters that\nwoman fears, man is the most relentless, the most terrible. To the\ndangers of man she preferred the dangers of the GRYF.\n\nMoving cautiously she reached the foot of the cliff at the far side of\nKor-ul-lul and here, toward noon, she found a comparatively easy\nascent. Crossing the ridge she stood at last upon the brink of\nKor-ul-GRYF--the horror place of the folklore of her race. Dank and\nmysterious grew the vegetation below; giant trees waved their plumed\ntops almost level with the summit of the cliff; and over all brooded an\nominous silence.\n\nPan-at-lee lay upon her belly and stretching over the edge scanned the\ncliff face below her. She could see caves there and the stone pegs\nwhich the ancients had fashioned so laboriously by hand. She had heard\nof these in the firelight tales of her childhood and of how the gryfs\nhad come from the morasses across the mountains and of how at last the\npeople had fled after many had been seized and devoured by the hideous\ncreatures, leaving their caves untenanted for no man living knew how\nlong. Some said that Jad-ben-Otho, who has lived forever, was still a\nlittle boy. Pan-at-lee shuddered; but there were caves and in them she\nwould be safe even from the gryfs.\n\nShe found a place where the stone pegs reached to the very summit of\nthe cliff, left there no doubt in the final exodus of the tribe when\nthere was no longer need of safeguarding the deserted caves against\ninvasion. Pan-at-lee clambered slowly down toward the uppermost cave.\nShe found the recess in front of the doorway almost identical with\nthose of her own tribe. The floor of it, though, was littered with\ntwigs and old nests and the droppings of birds, until it was half\nchoked. She moved along to another recess and still another, but all\nwere alike in the accumulated filth. Evidently there was no need in\nlooking further. This one seemed large and commodious. With her knife\nshe fell to work cleaning away the debris by the simple expedient of\npushing it over the edge, and always her eyes turned constantly toward\nthe silent gorge where lurked the fearsome creatures of Pal-ul-don. And\nother eyes there were, eyes she did not see, but that saw her and\nwatched her every move--fierce eyes, greedy eyes, cunning and cruel.\nThey watched her, and a red tongue licked flabby, pendulous lips. They\nwatched her, and a half-human brain laboriously evolved a brutish\ndesign.\n\nAs in her own Kor-ul-JA, the natural springs in the cliff had been\ndeveloped by the long-dead builders of the caves so that fresh, pure\nwater trickled now, as it had for ages, within easy access to the cave\nentrances. Her only difficulty would be in procuring food and for that\nshe must take the risk at least once in two days, for she was sure that\nshe could find fruits and tubers and perhaps small animals, birds, and\neggs near the foot of the cliff, the last two, possibly, in the caves\nthemselves. Thus might she live on here indefinitely. She felt now a\ncertain sense of security imparted doubtless by the impregnability of\nher high-flung sanctuary that she knew to be safe from all the more\ndangerous beasts, and this one from men, too, since it lay in the\nabjured Kor-ul-GRYF.\n\nNow she determined to inspect the interior of her new home. The sun\nstill in the south, lighted the interior of the first apartment. It was\nsimilar to those of her experience--the same beasts and men were\ndepicted in the same crude fashion in the carvings on the\nwalls--evidently there had been little progress in the race of Waz-don\nduring the generations that had come and departed since Kor-ul-GRYF had\nbeen abandoned by men. Of course Pan-at-lee thought no such thoughts,\nfor evolution and progress existed not for her, or her kind. Things\nwere as they had always been and would always be as they were.\n\nThat these strange creatures have existed thus for incalculable ages it\ncan scarce be doubted, so marked are the indications of antiquity about\ntheir dwellings--deep furrows worn by naked feet in living rock; the\nhollow in the jamb of a stone doorway where many arms have touched in\npassing; the endless carvings that cover, ofttimes, the entire face of\na great cliff and all the walls and ceilings of every cave and each\ncarving wrought by a different hand, for each is the coat of arms, one\nmight say, of the adult male who traced it.\n\nAnd so Pan-at-lee found this ancient cave homelike and familiar. There\nwas less litter within than she had found without and what there was\nwas mostly an accumulation of dust. Beside the doorway was the niche in\nwhich wood and tinder were kept, but there remained nothing now other\nthan mere dust. She had however saved a little pile of twigs from the\ndebris on the porch. In a short time she had made a light by firing a\nbundle of twigs and lighting others from this fire she explored some of\nthe inner rooms. Nor here did she find aught that was new or strange\nnor any relic of the departed owners other than a few broken stone\ndishes. She had been looking for something soft to sleep upon, but was\ndoomed to disappointment as the former owners had evidently made a\nleisurely departure, carrying all their belongings with them. Below, in\nthe gorge were leaves and grasses and fragrant branches, but Pan-at-lee\nfelt no stomach for descending into that horrid abyss for the\ngratification of mere creature comfort--only the necessity for food\nwould drive her there.\n\nAnd so, as the shadows lengthened and night approached she prepared to\nmake as comfortable a bed as she could by gathering the dust of ages\ninto a little pile and spreading it between her soft body and the hard\nfloor--at best it was only better than nothing. But Pan-at-lee was very\ntired. She had not slept since two nights before and in the interval\nshe had experienced many dangers and hardships. What wonder then that\ndespite the hard bed, she was asleep almost immediately she had\ncomposed herself for rest.\n\nShe slept and the moon rose, casting its silver light upon the cliff\'s\nwhite face and lessening the gloom of the dark forest and the dismal\ngorge. In the distance a lion roared. There was a long silence. From\nthe upper reaches of the gorge came a deep bellow. There was a movement\nin the trees at the cliff\'s foot. Again the bellow, low and ominous. It\nwas answered from below the deserted village. Something dropped from\nthe foliage of a tree directly below the cave in which Pan-at-lee\nslept--it dropped to the ground among the dense shadows. Now it moved,\ncautiously. It moved toward the foot of the cliff, taking form and\nshape in the moonlight. It moved like the creature of a bad\ndream--slowly, sluggishly. It might have been a huge sloth--it might\nhave been a man, with so grotesque a brush does the moon paint--master\ncubist.\n\nSlowly it moved up the face of the cliff--like a great grubworm it\nmoved, but now the moon-brush touched it again and it had hands and\nfeet and with them it clung to the stone pegs and raised itself\nlaboriously aloft toward the cave where Pan-at-lee slept. From the\nlower reaches of the gorge came again the sound of bellowing, and it\nwas answered from above the village.\n\nTarzan of the Apes opened his eyes. He was conscious of a pain in his\nhead, and at first that was about all. A moment later grotesque\nshadows, rising and falling, focused his arousing perceptions.\nPresently he saw that he was in a cave. A dozen Waz-don warriors\nsquatted about, talking. A rude stone cresset containing burning oil\nlighted the interior and as the flame rose and fell the exaggerated\nshadows of the warriors danced upon the walls behind them.\n\n\"We brought him to you alive, Gund,\" he heard one of them saying,\n\"because never before was Ho-don like him seen. He has no tail--he was\nborn without one, for there is no scar to mark where a tail had been\ncut off. The thumbs upon his hands and feet are unlike those of the\nraces of Pal-ul-don. He is more powerful than many men put together and\nhe attacks with the fearlessness of JA. We brought him alive, that you\nmight see him before he is slain.\"\n\nThe chief rose and approached the ape-man, who closed his eyes and\nfeigned unconsciousness. He felt hairy hands upon him as he was turned\nover, none too gently. The gund examined him from head to foot, making\ncomments, especially upon the shape and size of his thumbs and great\ntoes.\n\n\"With these and with no tail,\" he said, \"it cannot climb.\"\n\n\"No,\" agreed one of the warriors, \"it would surely fall even from the\ncliff pegs.\"\n\n\"I have never seen a thing like it,\" said the chief. \"It is neither\nWaz-don nor Ho-don. I wonder from whence it came and what it is called.\"\n\n\"The Kor-ul-JA shouted aloud, \'Tarzan-jad-guru!\' and we thought that\nthey might be calling this one,\" said a warrior. \"Shall we kill it now?\"\n\n\"No,\" replied the chief, \"we will wait until its life returns into its\nhead that I may question it. Remain here, In-tan, and watch it. When it\ncan again hear and speak call me.\"\n\nHe turned and departed from the cave, the others, except In-tan,\nfollowing him. As they moved past him and out of the chamber Tarzan\ncaught snatches of their conversation which indicated that the\nKor-ul-JA reinforcements had fallen upon their little party in great\nnumbers and driven them away. Evidently the swift feet of Id-an had\nsaved the day for the warriors of Om-at. The ape-man smiled, then he\npartially opened an eye and cast it upon In-tan. The warrior stood at\nthe entrance to the cave looking out--his back was toward his prisoner.\nTarzan tested the bonds that secured his wrists. They seemed none too\nstout and they had tied his hands in front of him! Evidence indeed that\nthe Waz-don took few prisoners--if any.\n\nCautiously he raised his wrists until he could examine the thongs that\nconfined them. A grim smile lighted his features. Instantly he was at\nwork upon the bonds with his strong teeth, but ever a wary eye was upon\nIn-tan, the warrior of Kor-ul-lul. The last knot had been loosened and\nTarzan\'s hands were free when In-tan turned to cast an appraising eye\nupon his ward. He saw that the prisoner\'s position was changed--he no\nlonger lay upon his back as they had left him, but upon his side and\nhis hands were drawn up against his face. In-tan came closer and bent\ndown. The bonds seemed very loose upon the prisoner\'s wrists. He\nextended his hand to examine them with his fingers and instantly the\ntwo hands leaped from their bonds--one to seize his own wrist, the\nother his throat. So unexpected the catlike attack that In-tan had not\neven time to cry out before steel fingers silenced him. The creature\npulled him suddenly forward so that he lost his balance and rolled over\nupon the prisoner and to the floor beyond to stop with Tarzan upon his\nbreast. In-tan struggled to release himself--struggled to draw his\nknife; but Tarzan found it before him. The Waz-don\'s tail leaped to the\nother\'s throat, encircling it--he too could choke; but his own knife,\nin the hands of his antagonist, severed the beloved member close to its\nroot.\n\nThe Waz-don\'s struggles became weaker--a film was obscuring his vision.\nHe knew that he was dying and he was right. A moment later he was dead.\nTarzan rose to his feet and placed one foot upon the breast of his dead\nfoe. How the urge seized him to roar forth the victory cry of his kind!\nBut he dared not. He discovered that they had not removed his rope from\nhis shoulders and that they had replaced his knife in its sheath. It\nhad been in his hand when he was felled. Strange creatures! He did not\nknow that they held a superstitious fear of the weapons of a dead\nenemy, believing that if buried without them he would forever haunt his\nslayers in search of them and that when he found them he would kill the\nman who killed him. Against the wall leaned his bow and quiver of\narrows.\n\nTarzan stepped toward the doorway of the cave and looked out. Night had\njust fallen. He could hear voices from the nearer caves and there\nfloated to his nostrils the odor of cooking food. He looked down and\nexperienced a sensation of relief. The cave in which he had been held\nwas in the lowest tier--scarce thirty feet from the base of the cliff.\nHe was about to chance an immediate descent when there occurred to him\na thought that brought a grin to his savage lips--a thought that was\nborn of the name the Waz-don had given him--Tarzan-jad-guru--Tarzan the\nTerrible--and a recollection of the days when he had delighted in\nbaiting the blacks of the distant jungle of his birth. He turned back\ninto the cave where lay the dead body of In-tan. With his knife he\nsevered the warrior\'s head and carrying it to the outer edge of the\nrecess tossed it to the ground below, then he dropped swiftly and\nsilently down the ladder of pegs in a way that would have surprised the\nKor-ul-lul who had been so sure that he could not climb.\n\nAt the bottom he picked up the head of In-tan and disappeared among the\nshadows of the trees carrying the grisly trophy by its shock of shaggy\nhair. Horrible? But you are judging a wild beast by the standards of\ncivilization. You may teach a lion tricks, but he is still a lion.\nTarzan looked well in a Tuxedo, but he was still a Tarmangani and\nbeneath his pleated shirt beat a wild and savage heart.\n\nNor was his madness lacking in method. He knew that the hearts of the\nKor-ul-lul would be filled with rage when they discovered the thing\nthat he had done and he knew too, that mixed with the rage would be a\nleaven of fear and it was fear of him that had made Tarzan master of\nmany jungles--one does not win the respect of the killers with bonbons.\n\nBelow the village Tarzan returned to the foot of the cliff searching\nfor a point where he could make the ascent to the ridge and thus back\nto the village of Om-at, the Kor-ul-JA. He came at last to a place\nwhere the river ran so close to the rocky wall that he was forced to\nswim it in search of a trail upon the opposite side and here it was\nthat his keen nostrils detected a familiar spoor. It was the scent of\nPan-at-lee at the spot where she had emerged from the pool and taken to\nthe safety of the jungle.\n\nImmediately the ape-man\'s plans were changed. Pan-at-lee lived, or at\nleast she had lived after the leap from the cliff\'s summit. He had\nstarted in search of her for Om-at, his friend, and for Om-at he would\ncontinue upon the trail he had picked up thus fortuitously by accident.\nIt led him into the jungle and across the gorge and then to the point\nat which Pan-at-lee had commenced the ascent of the opposite cliffs.\nHere Tarzan abandoned the head of In-tan, tying it to the lower branch\nof a tree, for he knew that it would handicap him in his ascent of the\nsteep escarpment. Apelike he ascended, following easily the scent\nspoor of Pan-at-lee. Over the summit and across the ridge the trail\nlay, plain as a printed page to the delicate senses of the jungle-bred\ntracker.\n\nTarzan knew naught of the Kor-ul-GRYF. He had seen, dimly in the\nshadows of the night, strange, monstrous forms and Ta-den and Om-at had\nspoken of great creatures that all men feared; but always, everywhere,\nby night and by day, there were dangers. From infancy death had\nstalked, grim and terrible, at his heels. He knew little of any other\nexistence. To cope with danger was his life and he lived his life as\nsimply and as naturally as you live yours amidst the dangers of the\ncrowded city streets. The black man who goes abroad in the jungle by\nnight is afraid, for he has spent his life since infancy surrounded by\nnumbers of his own kind and safeguarded, especially at night, by such\ncrude means as lie within his powers. But Tarzan had lived as the lion\nlives and the panther and the elephant and the ape--a true jungle\ncreature dependent solely upon his prowess and his wits, playing a lone\nhand against creation. Therefore he was surprised at nothing and feared\nnothing and so he walked through the strange night as undisturbed and\nunapprehensive as the farmer to the cow lot in the darkness before the\ndawn.\n\nOnce more Pan-at-lee\'s trail ended at the verge of a cliff; but this\ntime there was no indication that she had leaped over the edge and a\nmoment\'s search revealed to Tarzan the stone pegs upon which she had\nmade her descent. As he lay upon his belly leaning over the top of the\ncliff examining the pegs his attention was suddenly attracted by\nsomething at the foot of the cliff. He could not distinguish its\nidentity, but he saw that it moved and presently that it was ascending\nslowly, apparently by means of pegs similar to those directly below\nhim. He watched it intently as it rose higher and higher until he was\nable to distinguish its form more clearly, with the result that he\nbecame convinced that it more nearly resembled some form of great ape\nthan a lower order. It had a tail, though, and in other respects it did\nnot seem a true ape.\n\nSlowly it ascended to the upper tier of caves, into one of which it\ndisappeared. Then Tarzan took up again the trail of Pan-at-lee. He\nfollowed it down the stone pegs to the nearest cave and then further\nalong the upper tier. The ape-man raised his eyebrows when he saw the\ndirection in which it led, and quickened his pace. He had almost\nreached the third cave when the echoes of Kor-ul-GRYF were awakened by\na shrill scream of terror.\n\n\n[1] I have used the Pal-ul-don word for gorge with the English plural,\nwhich is not the correct native plural form. The latter, it seems to\nme, is awkward for us and so I have generally ignored it throughout my\nmanuscript, permitting, for example, Kor-ul-JA to answer for both\nsingular and plural. However, for the benefit of those who may be\ninterested in such things I may say that the plurals are formed simply\nfor all words in the Pal-ul-don language by doubling the initial letter\nof the word, as k\'kor, gorges, pronounced as though written kakor, the\na having the sound of a in sofa. Lions, d\' don.\n\n\n\n6\n\nThe Tor-o-don\n\nPan-at-lee slept--the troubled sleep, of physical and nervous\nexhaustion, filled with weird dreamings. She dreamed that she slept\nbeneath a great tree in the bottom of the Kor-ul-GRYF and that one of\nthe fearsome beasts was creeping upon her but she could not open her\neyes nor move. She tried to scream but no sound issued from her lips.\nShe felt the thing touch her throat, her breast, her arm, and there it\nclosed and seemed to be dragging her toward it. With a super-human\neffort of will she opened her eyes. In the instant she knew that she\nwas dreaming and that quickly the hallucination of the dream would\nfade--it had happened to her many times before. But it persisted. In\nthe dim light that filtered into the dark chamber she saw a form beside\nher, she felt hairy fingers upon her and a hairy breast against which\nshe was being drawn. Jad-ben-Otho! this was no dream. And then she\nscreamed and tried to fight the thing from her; but her scream was\nanswered by a low growl and another hairy hand seized her by the hair\nof the head. The beast rose now upon its hind legs and dragged her from\nthe cave to the moonlit recess without and at the same instant she saw\nthe figure of what she took to be a Ho-don rise above the outer edge of\nthe niche.\n\nThe beast that held her saw it too and growled ominously but it did not\nrelinquish its hold upon her hair. It crouched as though waiting an\nattack, and it increased the volume and frequency of its growls until\nthe horrid sounds reverberated through the gorge, drowning even the\ndeep bellowings of the beasts below, whose mighty thunderings had\nbroken out anew with the sudden commotion from the high-flung cave. The\nbeast that held her crouched and the creature that faced it crouched\nalso, and growled--as hideously as the other. Pan-at-lee trembled. This\nwas no Ho-don and though she feared the Ho-don she feared this thing\nmore, with its catlike crouch and its beastly growls. She was\nlost--that Pan-at-lee knew. The two things might fight for her, but\nwhichever won she was lost. Perhaps, during the battle, if it came to\nthat, she might find the opportunity to throw herself over into the\nKor-ul-GRYF.\n\nThe thing that held her she had recognized now as a Tor-o-don, but the\nother thing she could not place, though in the moonlight she could see\nit very distinctly. It had no tail. She could see its hands and its\nfeet, and they were not the hands and feet of the races of Pal-ul-don.\nIt was slowly closing upon the Tor-o-don and in one hand it held a\ngleaming knife. Now it spoke and to Pan-at-lee\'s terror was added an\nequal weight of consternation.\n\n\"When it leaves go of you,\" it said, \"as it will presently to defend\nitself, run quickly behind me, Pan-at-lee, and go to the cave nearest\nthe pegs you descended from the cliff top. Watch from there. If I am\ndefeated you will have time to escape this slow thing; if I am not I\nwill come to you there. I am Om-at\'s friend and yours.\"\n\nThe last words took the keen edge from Pan-at-lee\'s terror; but she did\nnot understand. How did this strange creature know her name? How did it\nknow that she had descended the pegs by a certain cave? It must, then,\nhave been here when she came. Pan-at-lee was puzzled.\n\n\"Who are you?\" she asked, \"and from whence do you come?\"\n\n\"I am Tarzan,\" he replied, \"and just now I came from Om-at, of\nKor-ul-JA, in search of you.\"\n\nOm-at, gund of Kor-ul-JA! What wild talk was this? She would have\nquestioned him further, but now he was approaching the Tor-o-don and\nthe latter was screaming and growling so loudly as to drown the sound\nof her voice. And then it did what the strange creature had said that\nit would do--it released its hold upon her hair as it prepared to\ncharge. Charge it did and in those close quarters there was no room to\nfence for openings. Instantly the two beasts locked in deadly embrace,\neach seeking the other\'s throat. Pan-at-lee watched, taking no\nadvantage of the opportunity to escape which their preoccupation gave\nher. She watched and waited, for into her savage little brain had come\nthe resolve to pin her faith to this strange creature who had unlocked\nher heart with those four words--\"I am Om-at\'s friend!\" And so she\nwaited, with drawn knife, the opportunity to do her bit in the\nvanquishing of the Tor-o-don. That the newcomer could do it unaided she\nwell knew to be beyond the realms of possibility, for she knew well the\nprowess of the beastlike man with whom it fought. There were not many\nof them in Pal-ul-don, but what few there were were a terror to the\nwomen of the Waz-don and the Ho-don, for the old Tor-o-don bulls roamed\nthe mountains and the valleys of Pal-ul-don between rutting seasons and\nwoe betide the women who fell in their paths.\n\nWith his tail the Tor-o-don sought one of Tarzan\'s ankles, and finding\nit, tripped him. The two fell heavily, but so agile was the ape-man and\nso quick his powerful muscles that even in falling he twisted the beast\nbeneath him, so that Tarzan fell on top and now the tail that had\ntripped him sought his throat as had the tail of In-tan, the\nKor-ul-lul. In the effort of turning his antagonist\'s body during the\nfall Tarzan had had to relinquish his knife that he might seize the\nshaggy body with both hands and now the weapon lay out of reach at the\nvery edge of the recess. Both hands were occupied for the moment in\nfending off the clutching fingers that sought to seize him and drag his\nthroat within reach of his foe\'s formidable fangs and now the tail was\nseeking its deadly hold with a formidable persistence that would not be\ndenied.\n\nPan-at-lee hovered about, breathless, her dagger ready, but there was\nno opening that did not also endanger Tarzan, so constantly were the\ntwo duelists changing their positions. Tarzan felt the tail slowly but\nsurely insinuating itself about his neck though he had drawn his head\ndown between the muscles of his shoulders in an effort to protect this\nvulnerable part. The battle seemed to be going against him for the\ngiant beast against which he strove would have been a fair match in\nweight and strength for Bolgani, the gorilla. And knowing this he\nsuddenly exerted a single super-human effort, thrust far apart the\ngiant hands and with the swiftness of a striking snake buried his fangs\nin the jugular of the Tor-o-don. At the same instant the creature\'s\ntail coiled about his own throat and then commenced a battle royal of\nturning and twisting bodies as each sought to dislodge the fatal hold\nof the other, but the acts of the ape-man were guided by a human brain\nand thus it was that the rolling bodies rolled in the direction that\nTarzan wished--toward the edge of the recess.\n\nThe choking tail had shut the air from his lungs, he knew that his\ngasping lips were parted and his tongue protruding; and now his brain\nreeled and his sight grew dim; but not before he reached his goal and a\nquick hand shot out to seize the knife that now lay within reach as the\ntwo bodies tottered perilously upon the brink of the chasm.\n\nWith all his remaining strength the ape-man drove home the blade--once,\ntwice, thrice, and then all went black before him as he felt himself,\nstill in the clutches of the Tor-o-don, topple from the recess.\n\nFortunate it was for Tarzan that Pan-at-lee had not obeyed his\ninjunction to make good her escape while he engaged the Tor-o-don, for\nit was to this fact that he owed his life. Close beside the struggling\nforms during the brief moments of the terrific climax she had realized\nevery detail of the danger to Tarzan with which the emergency was\nfraught and as she saw the two rolling over the outer edge of the niche\nshe seized the ape-man by an ankle at the same time throwing herself\nprone upon the rocky floor. The muscles of the Tor-o-don relaxed in\ndeath with the last thrust of Tarzan\'s knife and with its hold upon the\nape-man released it shot from sight into the gorge below.\n\nIt was with infinite difficulty that Pan-at-lee retained her hold upon\nthe ankle of her protector, but she did so and then, slowly, she sought\nto drag the dead weight back to the safety of the niche. This, however,\nwas beyond her strength and she could but hold on tightly, hoping that\nsome plan would suggest itself before her powers of endurance failed.\nShe wondered if, after all, the creature was already dead, but that she\ncould not bring herself to believe--and if not dead how long it would\nbe before he regained consciousness. If he did not regain it soon he\nnever would regain it, that she knew, for she felt her fingers numbing\nto the strain upon them and slipping, slowly, slowly, from their hold.\nIt was then that Tarzan regained consciousness. He could not know what\npower upheld him, but he felt that whatever it was it was slowly\nreleasing its hold upon his ankle. Within easy reach of his hands were\ntwo pegs and these he seized upon just as Pan-at-lee\'s fingers slipped\nfrom their hold.\n\nAs it was he came near to being precipitated into the gorge--only his\ngreat strength saved him. He was upright now and his feet found other\npegs. His first thought was of his foe. Where was he? Waiting above\nthere to finish him? Tarzan looked up just as the frightened face of\nPan-at-lee appeared over the threshold of the recess.\n\n\"You live?\" she cried.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Tarzan. \"Where is the shaggy one?\"\n\nPan-at-lee pointed downward. \"There,\" she said, \"dead.\"\n\n\"Good!\" exclaimed the ape-man, clambering to her side. \"You are\nunharmed?\" he asked.\n\n\"You came just in time,\" replied Pan-at-lee; \"but who are you and how\ndid you know that I was here and what do you know of Om-at and where\ndid you come from and what did you mean by calling Om-at, gund?\"\n\n\"Wait, wait,\" cried Tarzan; \"one at a time. My, but you are all\nalike--the shes of the tribe of Kerchak, the ladies of England, and\ntheir sisters of Pal-ul-don. Have patience and I will try to tell you\nall that you wish to know. Four of us set out with Om-at from Kor-ul-JA\nto search for you. We were attacked by the Kor-ul-lul and separated. I\nwas taken prisoner, but escaped. Again I stumbled upon your trail and\nfollowed it, reaching the summit of this cliff just as the hairy one\nwas climbing up after you. I was coming to investigate when I heard\nyour scream--the rest you know.\"\n\n\"But you called Om-at, gund of Kor-ul-JA,\" she insisted. \"Es-sat is\ngund.\"\n\n\"Es-sat is dead,\" explained the ape-man. \"Om-at slew him and now Om-at\nis gund. Om-at came back seeking you. He found Es-sat in your cave and\nkilled him.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the girl, \"Es-sat came to my cave and I struck him down\nwith my golden breastplates and escaped.\"\n\n\"And a lion pursued you,\" continued Tarzan, \"and you leaped from the\ncliff into Kor-ul-lul, but why you were not killed is beyond me.\"\n\n\"Is there anything beyond you?\" exclaimed Pan-at-lee. \"How could you\nknow that a lion pursued me and that I leaped from the cliff and not\nknow that it was the pool of deep water below that saved me?\"\n\n\"I would have known that, too, had not the Kor-ul-lul come then and\nprevented me continuing upon your trail. But now I would ask you a\nquestion--by what name do you call the thing with which I just fought?\"\n\n\"It was a Tor-o-don,\" she replied. \"I have seen but one before. They\nare terrible creatures with the cunning of man and the ferocity of a\nbeast. Great indeed must be the warrior who slays one single-handed.\"\nShe gazed at him in open admiration.\n\n\"And now,\" said Tarzan, \"you must sleep, for tomorrow we shall return\nto Kor-ul-JA and Om-at, and I doubt that you have had much rest these\ntwo nights.\"\n\nPan-at-lee, lulled by a feeling of security, slept peacefully into the\nmorning while Tarzan stretched himself upon the hard floor of the\nrecess just outside her cave.\n\nThe sun was high in the heavens when he awoke; for two hours it had\nlooked down upon another heroic figure miles away--the figure of a\ngodlike man fighting his way through the hideous morass that lies like\na filthy moat defending Pal-ul-don from the creatures of the outer\nworld. Now waist deep in the sucking ooze, now menaced by loathsome\nreptiles, the man advanced only by virtue of Herculean efforts gaining\nlaboriously by inches along the devious way that he was forced to\nchoose in selecting the least precarious footing. Near the center of\nthe morass was open water--slimy, green-hued water. He reached it at\nlast after more than two hours of such effort as would have left an\nordinary man spent and dying in the sticky mud, yet he was less than\nhalfway across the marsh. Greasy with slime and mud was his smooth,\nbrown hide, and greasy with slime and mud was his beloved Enfield that\nhad shone so brightly in the first rays of the rising sun.\n\nHe paused a moment upon the edge of the open water and then throwing\nhimself forward struck out to swim across. He swam with long, easy,\npowerful strokes calculated less for speed than for endurance, for his\nwas, primarily, a test of the latter, since beyond the open water was\nanother two hours or more of gruelling effort between it and solid\nground. He was, perhaps, halfway across and congratulating himself upon\nthe ease of the achievement of this portion of his task when there\narose from the depths directly in his path a hideous reptile, which,\nwith wide-distended jaws, bore down upon him, hissing shrilly.\n\nTarzan arose and stretched, expanded his great chest and drank in deep\ndraughts of the fresh morning air. His clear eyes scanned the wondrous\nbeauties of the landscape spread out before them. Directly below lay\nKor-ul-GRYF, a dense, somber green of gently moving tree tops. To\nTarzan it was neither grim, nor forbidding--it was jungle, beloved\njungle. To his right there spread a panorama of the lower reaches of\nthe Valley of Jad-ben-Otho, with its winding streams and its blue\nlakes. Gleaming whitely in the sunlight were scattered groups of\ndwellings--the feudal strongholds of the lesser chiefs of the Ho-don.\nA-lur, the City of Light, he could not see as it was hidden by the\nshoulder of the cliff in which the deserted village lay.\n\nFor a moment Tarzan gave himself over to that spiritual enjoyment of\nbeauty that only the man-mind may attain and then Nature asserted\nherself and the belly of the beast called aloud that it was hungry.\nAgain Tarzan looked down at Kor-ul-GRYF. There was the jungle! Grew\nthere a jungle that would not feed Tarzan? The ape-man smiled and\ncommenced the descent to the gorge. Was there danger there? Of course.\nWho knew it better than Tarzan? In all jungles lies death, for life and\ndeath go hand in hand and where life teems death reaps his fullest\nharvest. Never had Tarzan met a creature of the jungle with which he\ncould not cope--sometimes by virtue of brute strength alone, again by a\ncombination of brute strength and the cunning of the man-mind; but\nTarzan had never met a GRYF.\n\nHe had heard the bellowings in the gorge the night before after he had\nlain down to sleep and he had meant to ask Pan-at-lee this morning what\nmanner of beast so disturbed the slumbers of its betters. He reached\nthe foot of the cliff and strode into the jungle and here he halted,\nhis keen eyes and ears watchful and alert, his sensitive nostrils\nsearching each shifting air current for the scent spoor of game. Again\nhe advanced deeper into the wood, his light step giving forth no sound,\nhis bow and arrows in readiness. A light morning breeze was blowing\nfrom up the gorge and in this direction he bent his steps. Many odors\nimpinged upon his organs of scent. Some of these he classified without\neffort, but others were strange--the odors of beasts and of birds, of\ntrees and shrubs and flowers with which he was unfamiliar. He sensed\nfaintly the reptilian odor that he had learned to connect with the\nstrange, nocturnal forms that had loomed dim and bulky on several\noccasions since his introduction to Pal-ul-don.\n\nAnd then, suddenly he caught plainly the strong, sweet odor of Bara,\nthe deer. Were the belly vocal, Tarzan\'s would have given a little cry\nof joy, for it loved the flesh of Bara. The ape-man moved rapidly, but\ncautiously forward. The prey was not far distant and as the hunter\napproached it, he took silently to the trees and still in his nostrils\nwas the faint reptilian odor that spoke of a great creature which he\nhad never yet seen except as a denser shadow among the dense shadows of\nthe night; but the odor was of such a faintness as suggests to the\njungle bred the distance of absolute safety.\n\nAnd now, moving noiselessly, Tarzan came within sight of Bara drinking\nat a pool where the stream that waters Kor-ul-GRYF crosses an open\nplace in the jungle. The deer was too far from the nearest tree to risk\na charge, so the ape-man must depend upon the accuracy and force of his\nfirst arrow, which must drop the deer in its tracks or forfeit both\ndeer and shaft. Far back came the right hand and the bow, that you or I\nmight not move, bent easily beneath the muscles of the forest god.\nThere was a singing twang and Bara, leaping high in air, collapsed upon\nthe ground, an arrow through his heart. Tarzan dropped to earth and ran\nto his kill, lest the animal might even yet rise and escape; but Bara\nwas safely dead. As Tarzan stooped to lift it to his shoulder there\nfell upon his ears a thunderous bellow that seemed almost at his right\nelbow, and as his eyes shot in the direction of the sound, there broke\nupon his vision such a creature as paleontologists have dreamed as\nhaving possibly existed in the dimmest vistas of Earth\'s infancy--a\ngigantic creature, vibrant with mad rage, that charged, bellowing, upon\nhim.\n\nWhen Pan-at-lee awoke she looked out upon the niche in search of\nTarzan. He was not there. She sprang to her feet and rushed out,\nlooking down into Kor-ul-GRYF guessing that he had gone down in search\nof food and there she caught a glimpse of him disappearing into the\nforest. For an instant she was panic-stricken. She knew that he was a\nstranger in Pal-ul-don and that, so, he might not realize the dangers\nthat lay in that gorge of terror. Why did she not call to him to\nreturn? You or I might have done so, but no Pal-ul-don, for they know\nthe ways of the GRYF--they know the weak eyes and the keen ears, and\nthat at the sound of a human voice they come. To have called to Tarzan,\nthen, would but have been to invite disaster and so she did not call.\nInstead, afraid though she was, she descended into the gorge for the\npurpose of overhauling Tarzan and warning him in whispers of his\ndanger. It was a brave act, since it was performed in the face of\ncountless ages of inherited fear of the creatures that she might be\ncalled upon to face. Men have been decorated for less.\n\nPan-at-lee, descended from a long line of hunters, assumed that Tarzan\nwould move up wind and in this direction she sought his tracks, which\nshe soon found well marked, since he had made no effort to conceal\nthem. She moved rapidly until she reached the point at which Tarzan had\ntaken to the trees. Of course she knew what had happened; since her own\npeople were semi-arboreal; but she could not track him through the\ntrees, having no such well-developed sense of scent as he.\n\nShe could but hope that he had continued on up wind and in this\ndirection she moved, her heart pounding in terror against her ribs, her\neyes glancing first in one direction and then another. She had reached\nthe edge of a clearing when two things happened--she caught sight of\nTarzan bending over a dead deer and at the same instant a deafening\nroar sounded almost beside her. It terrified her beyond description,\nbut it brought no paralysis of fear. Instead it galvanized her into\ninstant action with the result that Pan-at-lee swarmed up the nearest\ntree to the very loftiest branch that would sustain her weight. Then\nshe looked down.\n\nThe thing that Tarzan saw charging him when the warning bellow\nattracted his surprised eyes loomed terrifically monstrous before\nhim--monstrous and awe-inspiring; but it did not terrify Tarzan, it\nonly angered him, for he saw that it was beyond even his powers to\ncombat and that meant that it might cause him to lose his kill, and\nTarzan was hungry. There was but a single alternative to remaining for\nannihilation and that was flight--swift and immediate. And Tarzan fled,\nbut he carried the carcass of Bara, the deer, with him. He had not more\nthan a dozen paces start, but on the other hand the nearest tree was\nalmost as close. His greatest danger lay, he imagined, in the great,\ntowering height of the creature pursuing him, for even though he\nreached the tree he would have to climb high in an incredibly short\ntime as, unless appearances were deceiving, the thing could reach up\nand pluck him down from any branch under thirty feet above the ground,\nand possibly from those up to fifty feet, if it reared up on its hind\nlegs.\n\nBut Tarzan was no sluggard and though the GRYF was incredibly fast\ndespite its great bulk, it was no match for Tarzan, and when it comes\nto climbing, the little monkeys gaze with envy upon the feats of the\nape-man. And so it was that the bellowing GRYF came to a baffled stop\nat the foot of the tree and even though he reared up and sought to\nseize his prey among the branches, as Tarzan had guessed he might, he\nfailed in this also. And then, well out of reach, Tarzan came to a stop\nand there, just above him, he saw Pan-at-lee sitting, wide-eyed and\ntrembling.\n\n\"How came you here?\" he asked.\n\nShe told him. \"You came to warn me!\" he said. \"It was very brave and\nunselfish of you. I am chagrined that I should have been thus\nsurprised. The creature was up wind from me and yet I did not sense its\nnear presence until it charged. I cannot understand it.\"\n\n\"It is not strange,\" said Pan-at-lee. \"That is one of the peculiarities\nof the GRYF--it is said that man never knows of its presence until it\nis upon him--so silently does it move despite its great size.\"\n\n\"But I should have smelled it,\" cried Tarzan, disgustedly.\n\n\"Smelled it!\" ejaculated Pan-at-lee. \"Smelled it?\"\n\n\"Certainly. How do you suppose I found this deer so quickly? And I\nsensed the GRYF, too, but faintly as at a great distance.\" Tarzan\nsuddenly ceased speaking and looked down at the bellowing creature\nbelow them--his nostrils quivered as though searching for a scent.\n\"Ah!\" he exclaimed. \"I have it!\"\n\n\"What?\" asked Pan-at-lee.\n\n\"I was deceived because the creature gives off practically no odor,\"\nexplained the ape-man. \"What I smelled was the faint aroma that\ndoubtless permeates the entire jungle because of the long presence of\nmany of the creatures--it is the sort of odor that would remain for a\nlong time, faint as it is.\n\n\"Pan-at-lee, did you ever hear of a triceratops? No? Well this thing\nthat you call a GRYF is a triceratops and it has been extinct for\nhundreds of thousands of years. I have seen its skeleton in the museum\nin London and a figure of one restored. I always thought that the\nscientists who did such work depended principally upon an overwrought\nimagination, but I see that I was wrong. This living thing is not an\nexact counterpart of the restoration that I saw; but it is so similar\nas to be easily recognizable, and then, too, we must remember that\nduring the ages that have elapsed since the paleontologist\'s specimen\nlived many changes might have been wrought by evolution in the living\nline that has quite evidently persisted in Pal-ul-don.\"\n\n\"Triceratops, London, paleo--I don\'t know what you are talking about,\"\ncried Pan-at-lee.\n\nTarzan smiled and threw a piece of dead wood at the face of the angry\ncreature below them. Instantly the great bony hood over the neck was\nerected and a mad bellow rolled upward from the gigantic body. Full\ntwenty feet at the shoulder the thing stood, a dirty slate-blue in\ncolor except for its yellow face with the blue bands encircling the\neyes, the red hood with the yellow lining and the yellow belly. The\nthree parallel lines of bony protuberances down the back gave a further\ntouch of color to the body, those following the line of the spine being\nred, while those on either side are yellow. The five- and three-toed\nhoofs of the ancient horned dinosaurs had become talons in the GRYF,\nbut the three horns, two large ones above the eyes and a median horn on\nthe nose, had persisted through all the ages. Weird and terrible as was\nits appearance Tarzan could not but admire the mighty creature looming\nbig below him, its seventy-five feet of length majestically typifying\nthose things which all his life the ape-man had admired--courage and\nstrength. In that massive tail alone was the strength of an elephant.\n\nThe wicked little eyes looked up at him and the horny beak opened to\ndisclose a full set of powerful teeth.\n\n\"Herbivorous!\" murmured the ape-man. \"Your ancestors may have been, but\nnot you,\" and then to Pan-at-lee: \"Let us go now. At the cave we will\nhave deer meat and then--back to Kor-ul-JA and Om-at.\"\n\nThe girl shuddered. \"Go?\" she repeated. \"We will never go from here.\"\n\n\"Why not?\" asked Tarzan.\n\nFor answer she but pointed to the GRYF.\n\n\"Nonsense!\" exclaimed the man. \"It cannot climb. We can reach the cliff\nthrough the trees and be back in the cave before it knows what has\nbecome of us.\"\n\n\"You do not know the GRYF,\" replied Pan-at-lee gloomily.\n\n\"Wherever we go it will follow and always it will be ready at the foot\nof each tree when we would descend. It will never give us up.\"\n\n\"We can live in the trees for a long time if necessary,\" replied\nTarzan, \"and sometime the thing will leave.\"\n\nThe girl shook her head. \"Never,\" she said, \"and then there are the\nTor-o-don. They will come and kill us and after eating a little will\nthrow the balance to the GRYF--the GRYF and Tor-o-don are friends,\nbecause the Tor-o-don shares his food with the GRYF.\"\n\n\"You may be right,\" said Tarzan; \"but even so I don\'t intend waiting\nhere for someone to come along and eat part of me and then feed the\nbalance to that beast below. If I don\'t get out of this place whole it\nwon\'t be my fault. Come along now and we\'ll make a try at it,\" and so\nsaying he moved off through the tree tops with Pan-at-lee close behind.\nBelow them, on the ground, moved the horned dinosaur and when they\nreached the edge of the forest where there lay fifty yards of open\nground to cross to the foot of the cliff he was there with them, at the\nbottom of the tree, waiting.\n\nTarzan looked ruefully down and scratched his head.\n\n\n\n7\n\nJungle Craft\n\nPresently he looked up and at Pan-at-lee. \"Can you cross the gorge\nthrough the trees very rapidly?\" he questioned.\n\n\"Alone?\" she asked.\n\n\"No,\" replied Tarzan.\n\n\"I can follow wherever you can lead,\" she said then.\n\n\"Across and back again?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Then come, and do exactly as I bid.\" He started back again through the\ntrees, swiftly, swinging monkey-like from limb to limb, following a\nzigzag course that he tried to select with an eye for the difficulties\nof the trail beneath. Where the underbrush was heaviest, where fallen\ntrees blocked the way, he led the footsteps of the creature below them;\nbut all to no avail. When they reached the opposite side of the gorge\nthe GRYF was with them.\n\n\"Back again,\" said Tarzan, and, turning, the two retraced their\nhigh-flung way through the upper terraces of the ancient forest of\nKor-ul-GRYF. But the result was the same--no, not quite; it was worse,\nfor another GRYF had joined the first and now two waited beneath the\ntree in which they stopped.\n\nThe cliff looming high above them with its innumerable cave mouths\nseemed to beckon and to taunt them. It was so near, yet eternity yawned\nbetween. The body of the Tor-o-don lay at the cliff\'s foot where it had\nfallen. It was in plain view of the two in the tree. One of the gryfs\nwalked over and sniffed about it, but did not offer to devour it.\nTarzan had examined it casually as he had passed earlier in the\nmorning. He guessed that it represented either a very high order of ape\nor a very low order of man--something akin to the Java man, perhaps; a\ntruer example of the pithecanthropi than either the Ho-don or the\nWaz-don; possibly the precursor of them both. As his eyes wandered idly\nover the scene below his active brain was working out the details of\nthe plan that he had made to permit Pan-at-lee\'s escape from the gorge.\nHis thoughts were interrupted by a strange cry from above them in the\ngorge.\n\n\"Whee-oo! Whee-oo!\" it sounded, coming closer.\n\nThe gryfs below raised their heads and looked in the direction of the\ninterruption. One of them made a low, rumbling sound in its throat. It\nwas not a bellow and it did not indicate anger. Immediately the\n\"Whee-oo!\" responded. The gryfs repeated the rumbling and at intervals\nthe \"Whee-oo!\" was repeated, coming ever closer.\n\nTarzan looked at Pan-at-lee. \"What is it?\" he asked.\n\n\"I do not know,\" she replied. \"Perhaps a strange bird, or another\nhorrid beast that dwells in this frightful place.\"\n\n\"Ah,\" exclaimed Tarzan; \"there it is. Look!\"\n\nPan-at-lee voiced a cry of despair. \"A Tor-o-don!\"\n\nThe creature, walking erect and carrying a stick in one hand, advanced\nat a slow, lumbering gait. It walked directly toward the gryfs who\nmoved aside, as though afraid. Tarzan watched intently. The Tor-o-don\nwas now quite close to one of the triceratops. It swung its head and\nsnapped at him viciously. Instantly the Tor-o-don sprang in and\ncommenced to belabor the huge beast across the face with his stick. To\nthe ape-man\'s amazement the GRYF, that might have annihilated the\ncomparatively puny Tor-o-don instantly in any of a dozen ways, cringed\nlike a whipped cur.\n\n\"Whee-oo! Whee-oo!\" shouted the Tor-o-don and the GRYF came slowly\ntoward him. A whack on the median horn brought it to a stop. Then the\nTor-o-don walked around behind it, clambered up its tail and seated\nhimself astraddle of the huge back. \"Whee-oo!\" he shouted and prodded\nthe beast with a sharp point of his stick. The GRYF commenced to move\noff.\n\nSo rapt had Tarzan been in the scene below him that he had given no\nthought to escape, for he realized that for him and Pan-at-lee time had\nin these brief moments turned back countless ages to spread before\ntheir eyes a page of the dim and distant past. They two had looked upon\nthe first man and his primitive beasts of burden.\n\nAnd now the ridden GRYF halted and looked up at them, bellowing. It was\nsufficient. The creature had warned its master of their presence.\nInstantly the Tor-o-don urged the beast close beneath the tree which\nheld them, at the same time leaping to his feet upon the horny back.\nTarzan saw the bestial face, the great fangs, the mighty muscles. From\nthe loins of such had sprung the human race--and only from such could\nit have sprung, for only such as this might have survived the horrid\ndangers of the age that was theirs.\n\nThe Tor-o-don beat upon his breast and growled horribly--hideous,\nuncouth, beastly. Tarzan rose to his full height upon a swaying\nbranch--straight and beautiful as a demigod--unspoiled by the taint of\ncivilization--a perfect specimen of what the human race might have been\nhad the laws of man not interfered with the laws of nature.\n\nThe Present fitted an arrow to his bow and drew the shaft far back. The\nPast basing its claims upon brute strength sought to reach the other\nand drag him down; but the loosed arrow sank deep into the savage heart\nand the Past sank back into the oblivion that had claimed his kind.\n\n\"Tarzan-jad-guru!\" murmured Pan-at-lee, unknowingly giving him out of\nthe fullness of her admiration the same title that the warriors of her\ntribe had bestowed upon him.\n\nThe ape-man turned to her. \"Pan-at-lee,\" he said, \"these beasts may\nkeep us treed here indefinitely. I doubt if we can escape together, but\nI have a plan. You remain here, hiding yourself in the foliage, while I\nstart back across the gorge in sight of them and yelling to attract\ntheir attention. Unless they have more brains than I suspect they will\nfollow me. When they are gone you make for the cliff. Wait for me in\nthe cave not longer than today. If I do not come by tomorrow\'s sun you\nwill have to start back for Kor-ul-JA alone. Here is a joint of deer\nmeat for you.\" He had severed one of the deer\'s hind legs and this he\npassed up to her.\n\n\"I cannot desert you,\" she said simply; \"it is not the way of my people\nto desert a friend and ally. Om-at would never forgive me.\"\n\n\"Tell Om-at that I commanded you to go,\" replied Tarzan.\n\n\"It is a command?\" she asked.\n\n\"It is! Good-bye, Pan-at-lee. Hasten back to Om-at--you are a fitting\nmate for the chief of Kor-ul-JA.\" He moved off slowly through the trees.\n\n\"Good-bye, Tarzan-jad-guru!\" she called after him. \"Fortunate are my\nOm-at and his Pan-at-lee in owning such a friend.\"\n\nTarzan, shouting aloud, continued upon his way and the great gryfs,\nlured by his voice, followed beneath. His ruse was evidently proving\nsuccessful and he was filled with elation as he led the bellowing\nbeasts farther and farther from Pan-at-lee. He hoped that she would\ntake advantage of the opportunity afforded her for escape, yet at the\nsame time he was filled with concern as to her ability to survive the\ndangers which lay between Kor-ul-GRYF and Kor-ul-JA. There were lions\nand Tor-o-dons and the unfriendly tribe of Kor-ul-lul to hinder her\nprogress, though the distance in itself to the cliffs of her people was\nnot great.\n\nHe realized her bravery and understood the resourcefulness that she\nmust share in common with all primitive people who, day by day, must\ncontend face to face with nature\'s law of the survival of the fittest,\nunaided by any of the numerous artificial protections that civilization\nhas thrown around its brood of weaklings.\n\nSeveral times during this crossing of the gorge Tarzan endeavored to\noutwit his keen pursuers, but all to no avail. Double as he would he\ncould not throw them off his track and ever as he changed his course\nthey changed theirs to conform. Along the verge of the forest upon the\nsoutheastern side of the gorge he sought some point at which the trees\ntouched some negotiable portion of the cliff, but though he traveled\nfar both up and down the gorge he discovered no such easy avenue of\nescape. The ape-man finally commenced to entertain an idea of the\nhopelessness of his case and to realize to the full why the Kor-ul-GRYF\nhad been religiously abjured by the races of Pal-ul-don for all these\nmany ages.\n\nNight was falling and though since early morning he had sought\ndiligently a way out of this cul-de-sac he was no nearer to liberty\nthan at the moment the first bellowing GRYF had charged him as he\nstooped over the carcass of his kill: but with the falling of night\ncame renewed hope for, in common with the great cats, Tarzan was, to a\ngreater or lesser extent, a nocturnal beast. It is true he could not\nsee by night as well as they, but that lack was largely recompensed for\nby the keenness of his scent and the highly developed sensitiveness of\nhis other organs of perception. As the blind follow and interpret their\nBraille characters with deft fingers, so Tarzan reads the book of the\njungle with feet and hands and eyes and ears and nose; each\ncontributing its share to the quick and accurate translation of the\ntext.\n\nBut again he was doomed to be thwarted by one vital weakness--he did\nnot know the GRYF, and before the night was over he wondered if the\nthings never slept, for wheresoever he moved they moved also, and\nalways they barred his road to liberty. Finally, just before dawn, he\nrelinquished his immediate effort and sought rest in a friendly tree\ncrotch in the safety of the middle terrace.\n\nOnce again was the sun high when Tarzan awoke, rested and refreshed.\nKeen to the necessities of the moment he made no effort to locate his\njailers lest in the act he might apprise them of his movements. Instead\nhe sought cautiously and silently to melt away among the foliage of the\ntrees. His first move, however, was heralded by a deep bellow from\nbelow.\n\nAmong the numerous refinements of civilization that Tarzan had failed\nto acquire was that of profanity, and possibly it is to be regretted\nsince there are circumstances under which it is at least a relief to\npent emotion. And it may be that in effect Tarzan resorted to profanity\nif there can be physical as well as vocal swearing, since immediately\nthe bellow announced that his hopes had been again frustrated, he\nturned quickly and seeing the hideous face of the GRYF below him seized\na large fruit from a nearby branch and hurled it viciously at the\nhorned snout. The missile struck full between the creature\'s eyes,\nresulting in a reaction that surprised the ape-man; it did not arouse\nthe beast to a show of revengeful rage as Tarzan had expected and\nhoped; instead the creature gave a single vicious side snap at the\nfruit as it bounded from his skull and then turned sulkily away,\nwalking off a few steps.\n\nThere was that in the act that recalled immediately to Tarzan\'s mind\nsimilar action on the preceding day when the Tor-o-don had struck one\nof the creatures across the face with his staff, and instantly there\nsprung to the cunning and courageous brain a plan of escape from his\npredicament that might have blanched the cheek of the most heroic.\n\nThe gambling instinct is not strong among creatures of the wild; the\nchances of their daily life are sufficient stimuli for the beneficial\nexcitement of their nerve centers. It has remained for civilized man,\nprotected in a measure from the natural dangers of existence, to invent\nartificial stimulants in the form of cards and dice and roulette\nwheels. Yet when necessity bids there are no greater gamblers than the\nsavage denizens of the jungle, the forest, and the hills, for as\nlightly as you roll the ivory cubes upon the green cloth they will\ngamble with death--their own lives the stake.\n\nAnd so Tarzan would gamble now, pitting the seemingly wild deductions\nof his shrewd brain against all the proofs of the bestial ferocity of\nhis antagonists that his experience of them had adduced--against all\nthe age-old folklore and legend that had been handed down for countless\ngenerations and passed on to him through the lips of Pan-at-lee.\n\nYet as he worked in preparation for the greatest play that man can make\nin the game of life, he smiled; nor was there any indication of haste\nor excitement or nervousness in his demeanor.\n\nFirst he selected a long, straight branch about two inches in diameter\nat its base. This he cut from the tree with his knife, removed the\nsmaller branches and twigs until he had fashioned a pole about ten feet\nin length. This he sharpened at the smaller end. The staff finished to\nhis satisfaction he looked down upon the triceratops.\n\n\"Whee-oo!\" he cried.\n\nInstantly the beasts raised their heads and looked at him. From the\nthroat of one of them came faintly a low rumbling sound.\n\n\"Whee-oo!\" repeated Tarzan and hurled the balance of the carcass of the\ndeer to them.\n\nInstantly the gryfs fell upon it with much bellowing, one of them\nattempting to seize it and keep it from the other: but finally the\nsecond obtained a hold and an instant later it had been torn asunder\nand greedily devoured. Once again they looked up at the ape-man and\nthis time they saw him descending to the ground.\n\nOne of them started toward him. Again Tarzan repeated the weird cry of\nthe Tor-o-don. The GRYF halted in his track, apparently puzzled, while\nTarzan slipped lightly to the earth and advanced toward the nearer\nbeast, his staff raised menacingly and the call of the first-man upon\nhis lips.\n\nWould the cry be answered by the low rumbling of the beast of burden or\nthe horrid bellow of the man-eater? Upon the answer to this question\nhung the fate of the ape-man.\n\nPan-at-lee was listening intently to the sounds of the departing gryfs\nas Tarzan led them cunningly from her, and when she was sure that they\nwere far enough away to insure her safe retreat she dropped swiftly\nfrom the branches to the ground and sped like a frightened deer across\nthe open space to the foot of the cliff, stepped over the body of the\nTor-o-don who had attacked her the night before and was soon climbing\nrapidly up the ancient stone pegs of the deserted cliff village. In the\nmouth of the cave near that which she had occupied she kindled a fire\nand cooked the haunch of venison that Tarzan had left her, and from one\nof the trickling streams that ran down the face of the escarpment she\nobtained water to satisfy her thirst.\n\nAll day she waited, hearing in the distance, and sometimes close at\nhand, the bellowing of the gryfs which pursued the strange creature\nthat had dropped so miraculously into her life. For him she felt the\nsame keen, almost fanatical loyalty that many another had experienced\nfor Tarzan of the Apes. Beast and human, he had held them to him with\nbonds that were stronger than steel--those of them that were clean and\ncourageous, and the weak and the helpless; but never could Tarzan claim\namong his admirers the coward, the ingrate or the scoundrel; from such,\nboth man and beast, he had won fear and hatred.\n\nTo Pan-at-lee he was all that was brave and noble and heroic and, too,\nhe was Om-at\'s friend--the friend of the man she loved. For any one of\nthese reasons Pan-at-lee would have died for Tarzan, for such is the\nloyalty of the simple-minded children of nature. It has remained for\ncivilization to teach us to weigh the relative rewards of loyalty and\nits antithesis. The loyalty of the primitive is spontaneous,\nunreasoning, unselfish and such was the loyalty of Pan-at-lee for the\nTarmangani.\n\nAnd so it was that she waited that day and night, hoping that he would\nreturn that she might accompany him back to Om-at, for her experience\nhad taught her that in the face of danger two have a better chance than\none. But Tarzan-jad-guru had not come, and so upon the following\nmorning Pan-at-lee set out upon her return to Kor-ul-JA.\n\nShe knew the dangers and yet she faced them with the stolid\nindifference of her race. When they directly confronted and menaced her\nwould be time enough to experience fear or excitement or confidence. In\nthe meantime it was unnecessary to waste nerve energy by anticipating\nthem. She moved therefore through her savage land with no greater show\nof concern than might mark your sauntering to a corner drug-store for a\nsundae. But this is your life and that is Pan-at-lee\'s and even now as\nyou read this Pan-at-lee may be sitting upon the edge of the recess of\nOm-at\'s cave while the JA and JATO roar from the gorge below and from\nthe ridge above, and the Kor-ul-lul threaten upon the south and the\nHo-don from the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho far below, for Pan-at-lee still\nlives and preens her silky coat of jet beneath the tropical moonlight\nof Pal-ul-don.\n\nBut she was not to reach Kor-ul-JA this day, nor the next, nor for many\ndays after though the danger that threatened her was neither Waz-don\nenemy nor savage beast.\n\nShe came without misadventure to the Kor-ul-lul and after descending\nits rocky southern wall without catching the slightest glimpse of the\nhereditary enemies of her people, she experienced a renewal of\nconfidence that was little short of practical assurance that she would\nsuccessfully terminate her venture and be restored once more to her own\npeople and the lover she had not seen for so many long and weary moons.\n\nShe was almost across the gorge now and moving with an extreme caution\nabated no wit by her confidence, for wariness is an instinctive trait\nof the primitive, something which cannot be laid aside even momentarily\nif one would survive. And so she came to the trail that follows the\nwindings of Kor-ul-lul from its uppermost reaches down into the broad\nand fertile Valley of Jad-ben-Otho.\n\nAnd as she stepped into the trail there arose on either side of her\nfrom out of the bushes that border the path, as though materialized\nfrom thin air, a score of tall, white warriors of the Ho-don. Like a\nfrightened deer Pan-at-lee cast a single startled look at these\nmenacers of her freedom and leaped quickly toward the bushes in an\neffort to escape; but the warriors were too close at hand. They closed\nupon her from every side and then, drawing her knife she turned at bay,\nmetamorphosed by the fires of fear and hate from a startled deer to a\nraging tiger-cat. They did not try to kill her, but only to subdue and\ncapture her; and so it was that more than a single Ho-don warrior felt\nthe keen edge of her blade in his flesh before they had succeeded in\noverpowering her by numbers. And still she fought and scratched and bit\nafter they had taken the knife from her until it was necessary to tie\nher hands and fasten a piece of wood between her teeth by means of\nthongs passed behind her head.\n\nAt first she refused to walk when they started off in the direction of\nthe valley but after two of them had seized her by the hair and dragged\nher for a number of yards she thought better of her original decision\nand came along with them, though still as defiant as her bound wrists\nand gagged mouth would permit.\n\nNear the entrance to Kor-ul-lul they came upon another body of their\nwarriors with which were several Waz-don prisoners from the tribe of\nKor-ul-lul. It was a raiding party come up from a Ho-don city of the\nvalley after slaves. This Pan-at-lee knew for the occurrence was by no\nmeans unusual. During her lifetime the tribe to which she belonged had\nbeen sufficiently fortunate, or powerful, to withstand successfully the\nmajority of such raids made upon them, but yet Pan-at-lee had known of\nfriends and relatives who had been carried into slavery by the Ho-don\nand she knew, too, another thing which gave her hope, as doubtless it\ndid to each of the other captives--that occasionally the prisoners\nescaped from the cities of the hairless whites.\n\nAfter they had joined the other party the entire band set forth into\nthe valley and presently, from the conversation of her captors,\nPan-at-lee knew that she was headed for A-lur, the City of Light; while\nin the cave of his ancestors, Om-at, chief of the Kor-ul-JA, bemoaned\nthe loss of both his friend and she that was to have been his mate.\n\n\n\n8\n\nA-lur\n\nAs the hissing reptile bore down upon the stranger swimming in the open\nwater near the center of the morass on the frontier of Pal-ul-don it\nseemed to the man that this indeed must be the futile termination of an\narduous and danger-filled journey. It seemed, too, equally futile to\npit his puny knife against this frightful creature. Had he been\nattacked on land it is possible that he might as a last resort have\nused his Enfield, though he had come thus far through all these weary,\ndanger-ridden miles without recourse to it, though again and again had\nhis life hung in the balance in the face of the savage denizens of\nforest, jungle, and steppe. For whatever it may have been for which he\nwas preserving his precious ammunition he evidently held it more sacred\neven than his life, for as yet he had not used a single round and now\nthe decision was not required of him, since it would have been\nimpossible for him to have unslung his Enfield, loaded and fired with\nthe necessary celerity while swimming.\n\nThough his chance for survival seemed slender, and hope at its lowest\nebb, he was not minded therefore to give up without a struggle. Instead\nhe drew his blade and awaited the oncoming reptile. The creature was\nlike no living thing he ever before had seen although possibly it\nresembled a crocodile in some respects more than it did anything with\nwhich he was familiar.\n\nAs this frightful survivor of some extinct progenitor charged upon him\nwith distended jaws there came to the man quickly a full consciousness\nof the futility of endeavoring to stay the mad rush or pierce the\narmor-coated hide with his little knife. The thing was almost upon him\nnow and whatever form of defense he chose must be made quickly. There\nseemed but a single alternative to instant death, and this he took at\nalmost the instant the great reptile towered directly above him.\n\nWith the celerity of a seal he dove headforemost beneath the oncoming\nbody and at the same instant, turning upon his back, he plunged his\nblade into the soft, cold surface of the slimy belly as the momentum of\nthe hurtling reptile carried it swiftly over him; and then with\npowerful strokes he swam on beneath the surface for a dozen yards\nbefore he rose. A glance showed him the stricken monster plunging madly\nin pain and rage upon the surface of the water behind him. That it was\nwrithing in its death agonies was evidenced by the fact that it made no\neffort to pursue him, and so, to the accompaniment of the shrill\nscreaming of the dying monster, the man won at last to the farther edge\nof the open water to take up once more the almost superhuman effort of\ncrossing the last stretch of clinging mud which separated him from the\nsolid ground of Pal-ul-don.\n\nA good two hours it took him to drag his now weary body through the\nclinging, stinking muck, but at last, mud covered and spent, he dragged\nhimself out upon the soft grasses of the bank. A hundred yards away a\nstream, winding its way down from the distant mountains, emptied into\nthe morass, and, after a short rest, he made his way to this and\nseeking a quiet pool, bathed himself and washed the mud and slime from\nhis weapons, accouterments, and loin cloth. Another hour was spent\nbeneath the rays of the hot sun in wiping, polishing, and oiling his\nEnfield though the means at hand for drying it consisted principally of\ndry grasses. It was afternoon before he had satisfied himself that his\nprecious weapon was safe from any harm by dirt, or dampness, and then\nhe arose and took up the search for the spoor he had followed to the\nopposite side of the swamp.\n\nWould he find again the trail that had led into the opposite side of\nthe morass, to be lost there, even to his trained senses? If he found\nit not again upon this side of the almost impassable barrier he might\nassume that his long journey had ended in failure. And so he sought up\nand down the verge of the stagnant water for traces of an old spoor\nthat would have been invisible to your eyes or mine, even had we\nfollowed directly in the tracks of its maker.\n\nAs Tarzan advanced upon the gryfs he imitated as closely as he could\nrecall them the methods and mannerisms of the Tor-o-don, but up to the\ninstant that he stood close beside one of the huge creatures he\nrealized that his fate still hung in the balance, for the thing gave\nforth no sign, either menacing or otherwise. It only stood there,\nwatching him out of its cold, reptilian eyes and then Tarzan raised his\nstaff and with a menacing \"Whee-oo!\" struck the GRYF a vicious blow\nacross the face.\n\nThe creature made a sudden side snap in his direction, a snap that did\nnot reach him, and then turned sullenly away, precisely as it had when\nthe Tor-o-don commanded it. Walking around to its rear as he had seen\nthe shaggy first-man do, Tarzan ran up the broad tail and seated\nhimself upon the creature\'s back, and then again imitating the acts of\nthe Tor-o-don he prodded it with the sharpened point of his staff, and\nthus goading it forward and guiding it with blows, first upon one side\nand then upon the other, he started it down the gorge in the direction\nof the valley.\n\nAt first it had been in his mind only to determine if he could\nsuccessfully assert any authority over the great monsters, realizing\nthat in this possibility lay his only hope of immediate escape from his\njailers. But once seated upon the back of his titanic mount the ape-man\nexperienced the sensation of a new thrill that recalled to him the day\nin his boyhood that he had first clambered to the broad head of Tantor,\nthe elephant, and this, together with the sense of mastery that was\nalways meat and drink to the lord of the jungle, decided him to put his\nnewly acquired power to some utilitarian purpose.\n\nPan-at-lee he judged must either have already reached safety or met\nwith death. At least, no longer could he be of service to her, while\nbelow Kor-ul-GRYF, in the soft green valley, lay A-lur, the City of\nLight, which, since he had gazed upon it from the shoulder of\nPastar-ul-ved, had been his ambition and his goal.\n\nWhether or not its gleaming walls held the secret of his lost mate he\ncould not even guess but if she lived at all within the precincts of\nPal-ul-don it must be among the Ho-don, since the hairy black men of\nthis forgotten world took no prisoners. And so to A-lur he would go,\nand how more effectively than upon the back of this grim and terrible\ncreature that the races of Pal-ul-don held in such awe?\n\nA little mountain stream tumbles down from Kor-ul-GRYF to be joined in\nthe foothills with that which empties the waters of Kor-ul-lul into the\nvalley, forming a small river which runs southwest, eventually entering\nthe valley\'s largest lake at the City of A-lur, through the center of\nwhich the stream passes. An ancient trail, well marked by countless\ngenerations of naked feet of man and beast, leads down toward A-lur\nbeside the river, and along this Tarzan guided the GRYF. Once clear of\nthe forest which ran below the mouth of the gorge, Tarzan caught\noccasional glimpses of the city gleaming in the distance far below him.\n\nThe country through which he passed was resplendent with the riotous\nbeauties of tropical verdure. Thick, lush grasses grew waist high upon\neither side of the trail and the way was broken now and again by\npatches of open park-like forest, or perhaps a little patch of dense\njungle where the trees overarched the way and trailing creepers\ndepended in graceful loops from branch to branch.\n\nAt times the ape-man had difficulty in commanding obedience upon the\npart of his unruly beast, but always in the end its fear of the\nrelatively puny goad urged it on to obedience. Late in the afternoon as\nthey approached the confluence of the stream they were skirting and\nanother which appeared to come from the direction of Kor-ul-JA the\nape-man, emerging from one of the jungle patches, discovered a\nconsiderable party of Ho-don upon the opposite bank. Simultaneously\nthey saw him and the mighty creature he bestrode. For a moment they\nstood in wide-eyed amazement and then, in answer to the command of\ntheir leader, they turned and bolted for the shelter of the nearby wood.\n\nThe ape-man had but a brief glimpse of them but it was sufficient\nindication that there were Waz-don with them, doubtless prisoners taken\nin one of the raids upon the Waz-don villages of which Ta-den and Om-at\nhad told him.\n\nAt the sound of their voices the GRYF had bellowed terrifically and\nstarted in pursuit even though a river intervened, but by dint of much\nprodding and beating, Tarzan had succeeded in heading the animal back\ninto the path though thereafter for a long time it was sullen and more\nintractable than ever.\n\nAs the sun dropped nearer the summit of the western hills Tarzan became\naware that his plan to enter A-lur upon the back of a GRYF was likely\ndoomed to failure, since the stubbornness of the great beast was\nincreasing momentarily, doubtless due to the fact that its huge belly\nwas crying out for food. The ape-man wondered if the Tor-o-dons had any\nmeans of picketing their beasts for the night, but as he did not know\nand as no plan suggested itself, he determined that he should have to\ntrust to the chance of finding it again in the morning.\n\nThere now arose in his mind a question as to what would be their\nrelationship when Tarzan had dismounted. Would it again revert to that\nof hunter and quarry or would fear of the goad continue to hold its\nsupremacy over the natural instinct of the hunting flesh-eater? Tarzan\nwondered but as he could not remain upon the GRYF forever, and as he\npreferred dismounting and putting the matter to a final test while it\nwas still light, he decided to act at once.\n\nHow to stop the creature he did not know, as up to this time his sole\ndesire had been to urge it forward. By experimenting with his staff,\nhowever, he found that he could bring it to a halt by reaching forward\nand striking the thing upon its beaklike snout. Close by grew a number\nof leafy trees, in any one of which the ape-man could have found\nsanctuary, but it had occurred to him that should he immediately take\nto the trees it might suggest to the mind of the GRYF that the creature\nthat had been commanding him all day feared him, with the result that\nTarzan would once again be held a prisoner by the triceratops.\n\nAnd so, when the GRYF halted, Tarzan slid to the ground, struck the\ncreature a careless blow across the flank as though in dismissal and\nwalked indifferently away. From the throat of the beast came a low\nrumbling sound and without even a glance at Tarzan it turned and\nentered the river where it stood drinking for a long time.\n\nConvinced that the GRYF no longer constituted a menace to him the\nape-man, spurred on himself by the gnawing of hunger, unslung his bow\nand selecting a handful of arrows set forth cautiously in search of\nfood, evidence of the near presence of which was being borne up to him\nby a breeze from down river.\n\nTen minutes later he had made his kill, again one of the Pal-ul-don\nspecimens of antelope, all species of which Tarzan had known since\nchildhood as Bara, the deer, since in the little primer that had been\nthe basis of his education the picture of a deer had been the nearest\napproach to the likeness of the antelope, from the giant eland to the\nsmaller bushbuck of the hunting grounds of his youth.\n\nCutting off a haunch he cached it in a nearby tree, and throwing the\nbalance of the carcass across his shoulder trotted back toward the spot\nat which he had left the GRYF. The great beast was just emerging from\nthe river when Tarzan, seeing it, issued the weird cry of the\nTor-o-don. The creature looked in the direction of the sound voicing at\nthe same time the low rumble with which it answered the call of its\nmaster. Twice Tarzan repeated his cry before the beast moved slowly\ntoward him, and when it had come within a few paces he tossed the\ncarcass of the deer to it, upon which it fell with greedy jaws.\n\n\"If anything will keep it within call,\" mused the ape-man as he\nreturned to the tree in which he had cached his own portion of his\nkill, \"it is the knowledge that I will feed it.\" But as he finished his\nrepast and settled himself comfortably for the night high among the\nswaying branches of his eyrie he had little confidence that he would\nride into A-lur the following day upon his prehistoric steed.\n\nWhen Tarzan awoke early the following morning he dropped lightly to the\nground and made his way to the stream. Removing his weapons and loin\ncloth he entered the cold waters of the little pool, and after his\nrefreshing bath returned to the tree to breakfast upon another portion\nof Bara, the deer, adding to his repast some fruits and berries which\ngrew in abundance nearby.\n\nHis meal over he sought the ground again and raising his voice in the\nweird cry that he had learned, he called aloud on the chance of\nattracting the GRYF, but though he waited for some time and continued\ncalling there was no response, and he was finally forced to the\nconclusion that he had seen the last of his great mount of the\npreceding day.\n\nAnd so he set his face toward A-lur, pinning his faith upon his\nknowledge of the Ho-don tongue, his great strength and his native wit.\n\nRefreshed by food and rest, the journey toward A-lur, made in the cool\nof the morning along the bank of the joyous river, he found delightful\nin the extreme. Differentiating him from his fellows of the savage\njungle were many characteristics other than those physical and mental.\nNot the least of these were in a measure spiritual, and one that had\ndoubtless been as strong as another in influencing Tarzan\'s love of the\njungle had been his appreciation of the beauties of nature. The apes\ncared more for a grubworm in a rotten log than for all the majestic\ngrandeur of the forest giants waving above them. The only beauties that\nNuma acknowledged were those of his own person as he paraded them\nbefore the admiring eyes of his mate, but in all the manifestations of\nthe creative power of nature of which Tarzan was cognizant he\nappreciated the beauties.\n\nAs Tarzan neared the city his interest became centered upon the\narchitecture of the outlying buildings which were hewn from the\nchalklike limestone of what had once been a group of low hills, similar\nto the many grass-covered hillocks that dotted the valley in every\ndirection. Ta-den\'s explanation of the Ho-don methods of house\nconstruction accounted for the ofttimes remarkable shapes and\nproportions of the buildings which, during the ages that must have been\nrequired for their construction, had been hewn from the limestone\nhills, the exteriors chiseled to such architectural forms as appealed\nto the eyes of the builders while at the same time following roughly\nthe original outlines of the hills in an evident desire to economize\nboth labor and space. The excavation of the apartments within had been\nsimilarly governed by necessity.\n\nAs he came nearer Tarzan saw that the waste material from these\nbuilding operations had been utilized in the construction of outer\nwalls about each building or group of buildings resulting from a single\nhillock, and later he was to learn that it had also been used for the\nfilling of inequalities between the hills and the forming of paved\nstreets throughout the city, the result, possibly, more of the adoption\nof an easy method of disposing of the quantities of broken limestone\nthan by any real necessity for pavements.\n\nThere were people moving about within the city and upon the narrow\nledges and terraces that broke the lines of the buildings and which\nseemed to be a peculiarity of Ho-don architecture, a concession, no\ndoubt, to some inherent instinct that might be traced back to their\nearly cliff-dwelling progenitors.\n\nTarzan was not surprised that at a short distance he aroused no\nsuspicion or curiosity in the minds of those who saw him, since, until\ncloser scrutiny was possible, there was little to distinguish him from\na native either in his general conformation or his color. He had, of\ncourse, formulated a plan of action and, having decided, he did not\nhesitate in the carrying out his plan.\n\nWith the same assurance that you might venture upon the main street of\na neighboring city Tarzan strode into the Ho-don city of A-lur. The\nfirst person to detect his spuriousness was a little child playing in\nthe arched gateway of one of the walled buildings. \"No tail! no tail!\"\nit shouted, throwing a stone at him, and then it suddenly grew dumb and\nits eyes wide as it sensed that this creature was something other than\na mere Ho-don warrior who had lost his tail. With a gasp the child\nturned and fled screaming into the courtyard of its home.\n\nTarzan continued on his way, fully realizing that the moment was\nimminent when the fate of his plan would be decided. Nor had he long to\nwait since at the next turning of the winding street he came face to\nface with a Ho-don warrior. He saw the sudden surprise in the latter\'s\neyes, followed instantly by one of suspicion, but before the fellow\ncould speak Tarzan addressed him.\n\n\"I am a stranger from another land,\" he said; \"I would speak with\nKo-tan, your king.\"\n\nThe fellow stepped back, laying his hand upon his knife. \"There are no\nstrangers that come to the gates of A-lur,\" he said, \"other than as\nenemies or slaves.\"\n\n\"I come neither as a slave nor an enemy,\" replied Tarzan. \"I come\ndirectly from Jad-ben-Otho. Look!\" and he held out his hands that the\nHo-don might see how greatly they differed from his own, and then\nwheeled about that the other might see that he was tailless, for it was\nupon this fact that his plan had been based, due to his recollection of\nthe quarrel between Ta-den and Om-at, in which the Waz-don had claimed\nthat Jad-ben-Otho had a long tail while the Ho-don had been equally\nwilling to fight for his faith in the taillessness of his god.\n\nThe warrior\'s eyes widened and an expression of awe crept into them,\nthough it was still tinged with suspicion. \"Jad-ben-Otho!\" he murmured,\nand then, \"It is true that you are neither Ho-don nor Waz-don, and it\nis also true that Jad-ben-Otho has no tail. Come,\" he said, \"I will\ntake you to Ko-tan, for this is a matter in which no common warrior may\ninterfere. Follow me,\" and still clutching the handle of his knife and\nkeeping a wary side glance upon the ape-man he led the way through\nA-lur.\n\nThe city covered a large area. Sometimes there was a considerable\ndistance between groups of buildings, and again they were quite close\ntogether. There were numerous imposing groups, evidently hewn from the\nlarger hills, often rising to a height of a hundred feet or more. As\nthey advanced they met numerous warriors and women, all of whom showed\ngreat curiosity in the stranger, but there was no attempt to menace him\nwhen it was found that he was being conducted to the palace of the king.\n\nThey came at last to a great pile that sprawled over a considerable\narea, its western front facing upon a large blue lake and evidently\nhewn from what had once been a natural cliff. This group of buildings\nwas surrounded by a wall of considerably greater height than any that\nTarzan had before seen. His guide led him to a gateway before which\nwaited a dozen or more warriors who had risen to their feet and formed\na barrier across the entrance-way as Tarzan and his party appeared\naround the corner of the palace wall, for by this time he had\naccumulated such a following of the curious as presented to the guards\nthe appearance of a formidable mob.\n\nThe guide\'s story told, Tarzan was conducted into the courtyard where\nhe was held while one of the warriors entered the palace, evidently\nwith the intention of notifying Ko-tan. Fifteen minutes later a large\nwarrior appeared, followed by several others, all of whom examined\nTarzan with every sign of curiosity as they approached.\n\nThe leader of the party halted before the ape-man. \"Who are you?\" he\nasked, \"and what do you want of Ko-tan, the king?\"\n\n\"I am a friend,\" replied the ape-man, \"and I have come from the country\nof Jad-ben-Otho to visit Ko-tan of Pal-ul-don.\"\n\nThe warrior and his followers seemed impressed. Tarzan could see the\nlatter whispering among themselves.\n\n\"How come you here,\" asked the spokesman, \"and what do you want of\nKo-tan?\"\n\nTarzan drew himself to his full height. \"Enough!\" he cried. \"Must the\nmessenger of Jad-ben-Otho be subjected to the treatment that might be\naccorded to a wandering Waz-don? Take me to the king at once lest the\nwrath of Jad-ben-Otho fall upon you.\"\n\nThere was some question in the mind of the ape-man as to how far he\nmight carry his unwarranted show of assurance, and he waited therefore\nwith amused interest the result of his demand. He did not, however,\nhave long to wait for almost immediately the attitude of his questioner\nchanged. He whitened, cast an apprehensive glance toward the eastern\nsky and then extended his right palm toward Tarzan, placing his left\nover his own heart in the sign of amity that was common among the\npeoples of Pal-ul-don.\n\nTarzan stepped quickly back as though from a profaning hand, a feigned\nexpression of horror and disgust upon his face.\n\n\"Stop!\" he cried, \"who would dare touch the sacred person of the\nmessenger of Jad-ben-Otho? Only as a special mark of favor from\nJad-ben-Otho may even Ko-tan himself receive this honor from me.\nHasten! Already now have I waited too long! What manner of reception\nthe Ho-don of A-lur would extend to the son of my father!\"\n\nAt first Tarzan had been inclined to adopt the role of Jad-ben-Otho\nhimself but it occurred to him that it might prove embarrassing and\nconsiderable of a bore to be compelled constantly to portray the\ncharacter of a god, but with the growing success of his scheme it had\nsuddenly occurred to him that the authority of the son of Jad-ben-Otho\nwould be far greater than that of an ordinary messenger of a god, while\nat the same time giving him some leeway in the matter of his acts and\ndemeanor, the ape-man reasoning that a young god would not be held so\nstrictly accountable in the matter of his dignity and bearing as an\nolder and greater god.\n\nThis time the effect of his words was immediately and painfully\nnoticeable upon all those near him. With one accord they shrank back,\nthe spokesman almost collapsing in evident terror. His apologies, when\nfinally the paralysis of his fear would permit him to voice them, were\nso abject that the ape-man could scarce repress a smile of amused\ncontempt.\n\n\"Have mercy, O Dor-ul-Otho,\" he pleaded, \"on poor old Dak-lot. Precede\nme and I will show you to where Ko-tan, the king, awaits you,\ntrembling. Aside, snakes and vermin,\" he cried pushing his warriors to\nright and left for the purpose of forming an avenue for Tarzan.\n\n\"Come!\" cried the ape-man peremptorily, \"lead the way, and let these\nothers follow.\"\n\nThe now thoroughly frightened Dak-lot did as he was bid, and Tarzan of\nthe Apes was ushered into the palace of Kotan, King of Pal-ul-don.\n\n\n\n9\n\nBlood-Stained Altars\n\nThe entrance through which he caught his first glimpse of the interior\nwas rather beautifully carved in geometric designs, and within the\nwalls were similarly treated, though as he proceeded from one apartment\nto another he found also the figures of animals, birds, and men taking\ntheir places among the more formal figures of the mural decorator\'s\nart. Stone vessels were much in evidence as well as ornaments of gold\nand the skins of many animals, but nowhere did he see an indication of\nany woven fabric, indicating that in that respect at least the Ho-don\nwere still low in the scale of evolution, and yet the proportions and\nsymmetry of the corridors and apartments bespoke a degree of\ncivilization.\n\nThe way led through several apartments and long corridors, up at least\nthree flights of stone stairs and finally out upon a ledge upon the\nwestern side of the building overlooking the blue lake. Along this\nledge, or arcade, his guide led him for a hundred yards, to stop at\nlast before a wide entrance-way leading into another apartment of the\npalace.\n\nHere Tarzan beheld a considerable concourse of warriors in an enormous\napartment, the domed ceiling of which was fully fifty feet above the\nfloor. Almost filling the chamber was a great pyramid ascending in\nbroad steps well up under the dome in which were a number of round\napertures which let in the light. The steps of the pyramid were\noccupied by warriors to the very pinnacle, upon which sat a large,\nimposing figure of a man whose golden trappings shone brightly in the\nlight of the afternoon sun, a shaft of which poured through one of the\ntiny apertures of the dome.\n\n\"Ko-tan!\" cried Dak-lot, addressing the resplendent figure at the\npinnacle of the pyramid. \"Ko-tan and warriors of Pal-ul-don! Behold the\nhonor that Jad-ben-Otho has done you in sending as his messenger his\nown son,\" and Dak-lot, stepping aside, indicated Tarzan with a dramatic\nsweep of his hand.\n\nKo-tan rose to his feet and every warrior within sight craned his neck\nto have a better view of the newcomer. Those upon the opposite side of\nthe pyramid crowded to the front as the words of the old warrior\nreached them. Skeptical were the expressions on most of the faces; but\ntheirs was a skepticism marked with caution. No matter which way\nfortune jumped they wished to be upon the right side of the fence. For\na moment all eyes were centered upon Tarzan and then gradually they\ndrifted to Ko-tan, for from his attitude would they receive the cue\nthat would determine theirs. But Ko-tan was evidently in the same\nquandary as they--the very attitude of his body indicated it--it was\none of indecision and of doubt.\n\nThe ape-man stood erect, his arms folded upon his broad breast, an\nexpression of haughty disdain upon his handsome face; but to Dak-lot\nthere seemed to be indications also of growing anger. The situation was\nbecoming strained. Dak-lot fidgeted, casting apprehensive glances at\nTarzan and appealing ones at Ko-tan. The silence of the tomb wrapped\nthe great chamber of the throneroom of Pal-ul-don.\n\nAt last Ko-tan spoke. \"Who says that he is Dor-ul-Otho?\" he asked,\ncasting a terrible look at Dak-lot.\n\n\"He does!\" almost shouted that terrified noble.\n\n\"And so it must be true?\" queried Ko-tan.\n\nCould it be that there was a trace of irony in the chief\'s tone? Otho\nforbid! Dak-lot cast a side glance at Tarzan--a glance that he intended\nshould carry the assurance of his own faith; but that succeeded only in\nimpressing the ape-man with the other\'s pitiable terror.\n\n\"O Ko-tan!\" pleaded Dak-lot, \"your own eyes must convince you that\nindeed he is the son of Otho. Behold his godlike figure, his hands, and\nhis feet, that are not as ours, and that he is entirely tailless as is\nhis mighty father.\"\n\nKo-tan appeared to be perceiving these facts for the first time and\nthere was an indication that his skepticism was faltering. At that\nmoment a young warrior who had pushed his way forward from the opposite\nside of the pyramid to where he could obtain a good look at Tarzan\nraised his voice.\n\n\"Ko-tan,\" he cried, \"it must be even as Dak-lot says, for I am sure now\nthat I have seen Dor-ul-Otho before. Yesterday as we were returning\nwith the Kor-ul-lul prisoners we beheld him seated upon the back of a\ngreat GRYF. We hid in the woods before he came too near, but I saw\nenough to make sure that he who rode upon the great beast was none\nother than the messenger who stands here now.\"\n\nThis evidence seemed to be quite enough to convince the majority of the\nwarriors that they indeed stood in the presence of deity--their faces\nshowed it only too plainly, and a sudden modesty that caused them to\nshrink behind their neighbors. As their neighbors were attempting to do\nthe same thing, the result was a sudden melting away of those who stood\nnearest the ape-man, until the steps of the pyramid directly before him\nlay vacant to the very apex and to Ko-tan. The latter, possibly\ninfluenced as much by the fearful attitude of his followers as by the\nevidence adduced, now altered his tone and his manner in such a degree\nas might comport with the requirements if the stranger was indeed the\nDor-ul-Otho while leaving his dignity a loophole of escape should it\nappear that he had entertained an impostor.\n\n\"If indeed you are the Dor-ul-Otho,\" he said, addressing Tarzan, \"you\nwill know that our doubts were but natural since we have received no\nsign from Jad-ben-Otho that he intended honoring us so greatly, nor how\ncould we know, even, that the Great God had a son? If you are he, all\nPal-ul-don rejoices to honor you; if you are not he, swift and terrible\nshall be the punishment of your temerity. I, Ko-tan, King of\nPal-ul-don, have spoken.\"\n\n\"And spoken well, as a king should speak,\" said Tarzan, breaking his\nlong silence, \"who fears and honors the god of his people. It is well\nthat you insist that I indeed be the Dor-ul-Otho before you accord me\nthe homage that is my due. Jad-ben-Otho charged me specially to\nascertain if you were fit to rule his people. My first experience of\nyou indicates that Jad-ben-Otho chose well when he breathed the spirit\nof a king into the babe at your mother\'s breast.\"\n\nThe effect of this statement, made so casually, was marked in the\nexpressions and excited whispers of the now awe-struck assemblage. At\nlast they knew how kings were made! It was decided by Jad-ben-Otho\nwhile the candidate was still a suckling babe! Wonderful! A miracle!\nand this divine creature in whose presence they stood knew all about\nit. Doubtless he even discussed such matters with their god daily. If\nthere had been an atheist among them before, or an agnostic, there was\nnone now, for had they not looked with their own eyes upon the son of\ngod?\n\n\"It is well then,\" continued the ape-man, \"that you should assure\nyourself that I am no impostor. Come closer that you may see that I am\nnot as are men. Furthermore it is not meet that you stand upon a higher\nlevel than the son of your god.\" There was a sudden scramble to reach\nthe floor of the throne-room, nor was Ko-tan far behind his warriors,\nthough he managed to maintain a certain majestic dignity as he\ndescended the broad stairs that countless naked feet had polished to a\ngleaming smoothness through the ages. \"And now,\" said Tarzan as the\nking stood before him, \"you can have no doubt that I am not of the same\nrace as you. Your priests have told you that Jad-ben-Otho is tailless.\nTailless, therefore, must be the race of gods that spring from his\nloins. But enough of such proofs as these! You know the power of\nJad-ben-Otho; how his lightnings gleaming out of the sky carry death as\nhe wills it; how the rains come at his bidding, and the fruits and the\nberries and the grains, the grasses, the trees and the flowers spring\nto life at his divine direction; you have witnessed birth and death,\nand those who honor their god honor him because he controls these\nthings. How would it fare then with an impostor who claimed to be the\nson of this all-powerful god? This then is all the proof that you\nrequire, for as he would strike you down should you deny me, so would\nhe strike down one who wrongfully claimed kinship with him.\"\n\nThis line of argument being unanswerable must needs be convincing.\nThere could be no questioning of this creature\'s statements without the\ntacit admission of lack of faith in the omnipotence of Jad-ben-Otho.\nKo-tan was satisfied that he was entertaining deity, but as to just\nwhat form his entertainment should take he was rather at a loss to\nknow. His conception of god had been rather a vague and hazy affair,\nthough in common with all primitive people his god was a personal one\nas were his devils and demons. The pleasures of Jad-ben-Otho he had\nassumed to be the excesses which he himself enjoyed, but devoid of any\nunpleasant reaction. It therefore occurred to him that the Dor-ul-Otho\nwould be greatly entertained by eating--eating large quantities of\neverything that Ko-tan liked best and that he had found most injurious;\nand there was also a drink that the women of the Ho-don made by\nallowing corn to soak in the juices of succulent fruits, to which they\nhad added certain other ingredients best known to themselves. Ko-tan\nknew by experience that a single draught of this potent liquor would\nbring happiness and surcease from worry, while several would cause even\na king to do things and enjoy things that he would never even think of\ndoing or enjoying while not under the magical influence of the potion,\nbut unfortunately the next morning brought suffering in direct ratio to\nthe joy of the preceding day. A god, Ko-tan reasoned, could experience\nall the pleasure without the headache, but for the immediate present he\nmust think of the necessary dignities and honors to be accorded his\nimmortal guest.\n\nNo foot other than a king\'s had touched the surface of the apex of the\npyramid in the throneroom at A-lur during all the forgotten ages\nthrough which the kings of Pal-ul-don had ruled from its high eminence.\nSo what higher honor could Ko-tan offer than to give place beside him\nto the Dor-ul-Otho? And so he invited Tarzan to ascend the pyramid and\ntake his place upon the stone bench that topped it. As they reached the\nstep below the sacred pinnacle Ko-tan continued as though to mount to\nhis throne, but Tarzan laid a detaining hand upon his arm.\n\n\"None may sit upon a level with the gods,\" he admonished, stepping\nconfidently up and seating himself upon the throne. The abashed Ko-tan\nshowed his embarrassment, an embarrassment he feared to voice lest he\nincur the wrath of the king of kings.\n\n\"But,\" added Tarzan, \"a god may honor his faithful servant by inviting\nhim to a place at his side. Come, Ko-tan; thus would I honor you in the\nname of Jad-ben-Otho.\"\n\nThe ape-man\'s policy had for its basis an attempt not only to arouse\nthe fearful respect of Ko-tan but to do it without making of him an\nenemy at heart, for he did not know how strong a hold the religion of\nthe Ho-don had upon them, for since the time that he had prevented\nTa-den and Om-at from quarreling over a religious difference the\nsubject had been utterly taboo among them. He was therefore quick to\nnote the evident though wordless resentment of Ko-tan at the suggestion\nthat he entirely relinquish his throne to his guest. On the whole,\nhowever, the effect had been satisfactory as he could see from the\nrenewed evidence of awe upon the faces of the warriors.\n\nAt Tarzan\'s direction the business of the court continued where it had\nbeen interrupted by his advent. It consisted principally in the\nsettling of disputes between warriors. There was present one who stood\nupon the step just below the throne and which Tarzan was to learn was\nthe place reserved for the higher chiefs of the allied tribes which\nmade up Ko-tan\'s kingdom. The one who attracted Tarzan\'s attention was\na stalwart warrior of powerful physique and massive, lion-like\nfeatures. He was addressing Ko-tan on a question that is as old as\ngovernment and that will continue in unabated importance until man\nceases to exist. It had to do with a boundary dispute with one of his\nneighbors.\n\nThe matter itself held little or no interest for Tarzan, but he was\nimpressed by the appearance of the speaker and when Ko-tan addressed\nhim as Ja-don the ape-man\'s interest was permanently crystallized, for\nJa-don was the father of Ta-den. That the knowledge would benefit him\nin any way seemed rather a remote possibility since he could not reveal\nto Ja-don his friendly relations with his son without admitting the\nfalsity of his claims to godship.\n\nWhen the affairs of the audience were concluded Ko-tan suggested that\nthe son of Jad-ben-Otho might wish to visit the temple in which were\nperformed the religious rites coincident to the worship of the Great\nGod. And so the ape-man was conducted by the king himself, followed by\nthe warriors of his court, through the corridors of the palace toward\nthe northern end of the group of buildings within the royal enclosure.\n\nThe temple itself was really a part of the palace and similar in\narchitecture. There were several ceremonial places of varying sizes,\nthe purposes of which Tarzan could only conjecture. Each had an altar\nin the west end and another in the east and were oval in shape, their\nlongest diameter lying due east and west. Each was excavated from the\nsummit of a small hillock and all were without roofs. The western\naltars invariably were a single block of stone the top of which was\nhollowed into an oblong basin. Those at the eastern ends were similar\nblocks of stone with flat tops and these latter, unlike those at the\nopposite ends of the ovals were invariably stained or painted a reddish\nbrown, nor did Tarzan need to examine them closely to be assured of\nwhat his keen nostrils already had told him--that the brown stains were\ndried and drying human blood.\n\nBelow these temple courts were corridors and apartments reaching far\ninto the bowels of the hills, dim, gloomy passages that Tarzan glimpsed\nas he was led from place to place on his tour of inspection of the\ntemple. A messenger had been dispatched by Ko-tan to announce the\ncoming visit of the son of Jad-ben-Otho with the result that they were\naccompanied through the temple by a considerable procession of priests\nwhose distinguishing mark of profession seemed to consist in grotesque\nheaddresses; sometimes hideous faces carved from wood and entirely\nconcealing the countenances of their wearers, or again, the head of a\nwild beast cunningly fitted over the head of a man. The high priest\nalone wore no such head-dress. He was an old man with close-set,\ncunning eyes and a cruel, thin-lipped mouth.\n\nAt first sight of him Tarzan realized that here lay the greatest danger\nto his ruse, for he saw at a glance that the man was antagonistic\ntoward him and his pretensions, and he knew too that doubtless of all\nthe people of Pal-ul-don the high priest was most likely to harbor the\ntruest estimate of Jad-ben-Otho, and, therefore, would look with\nsuspicion on one who claimed to be the son of a fabulous god.\n\nNo matter what suspicion lurked within his crafty mind, Lu-don, the\nhigh priest of A-lur, did not openly question Tarzan\'s right to the\ntitle of Dor-ul-Otho, and it may be that he was restrained by the same\ndoubts which had originally restrained Ko-tan and his warriors--the\ndoubt that is at the bottom of the minds of all blasphemers even and\nwhich is based upon the fear that after all there may be a god. So, for\nthe time being at least Lu-don played safe. Yet Tarzan knew as well as\nthough the man had spoken aloud his inmost thoughts that it was in the\nheart of the high priest to tear the veil from his imposture.\n\nAt the entrance to the temple Ko-tan had relinquished the guidance of\nthe guest to Lu-don and now the latter led Tarzan through those\nportions of the temple that he wished him to see. He showed him the\ngreat room where the votive offerings were kept, gifts from the\nbarbaric chiefs of Pal-ul-don and from their followers. These things\nranged in value from presents of dried fruits to massive vessels of\nbeaten gold, so that in the great main storeroom and its connecting\nchambers and corridors was an accumulation of wealth that amazed even\nthe eyes of the owner of the secret of the treasure vaults of Opar.\n\nMoving to and fro throughout the temple were sleek black Waz-don\nslaves, fruits of the Ho-don raids upon the villages of their less\ncivilized neighbors. As they passed the barred entrance to a dim\ncorridor, Tarzan saw within a great company of pithecanthropi of all\nages and of both sexes, Ho-don as well as Waz-don, the majority of them\nsquatted upon the stone floor in attitudes of utter dejection while\nsome paced back and forth, their features stamped with the despair of\nutter hopelessness.\n\n\"And who are these who lie here thus unhappily?\" he asked of Lu-don. It\nwas the first question that he had put to the high priest since\nentering the temple, and instantly he regretted that he had asked it,\nfor Lu-don turned upon him a face upon which the expression of\nsuspicion was but thinly veiled.\n\n\"Who should know better than the son of Jad-ben-Otho?\" he retorted.\n\n\"The questions of Dor-ul-Otho are not with impunity answered with other\nquestions,\" said the ape-man quietly, \"and it may interest Lu-don, the\nhigh priest, to know that the blood of a false priest upon the altar of\nhis temple is not displeasing in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho.\"\n\nLu-don paled as he answered Tarzan\'s question. \"They are the offerings\nwhose blood must refresh the eastern altars as the sun returns to your\nfather at the day\'s end.\"\n\n\"And who told you,\" asked Tarzan, \"that Jad-ben-Otho was pleased that\nhis people were slain upon his altars? What if you were mistaken?\"\n\n\"Then countless thousands have died in vain,\" replied Lu-don.\n\nKo-tan and the surrounding warriors and priests were listening\nattentively to the dialogue. Some of the poor victims behind the barred\ngateway had heard and rising, pressed close to the barrier through\nwhich one was conducted just before sunset each day, never to return.\n\n\"Liberate them!\" cried Tarzan with a wave of his hand toward the\nimprisoned victims of a cruel superstition, \"for I can tell you in the\nname of Jad-ben-Otho that you are mistaken.\"\n\n\n\n10\n\nThe Forbidden Garden\n\nLu-don paled. \"It is sacrilege,\" he cried; \"for countless ages have the\npriests of the Great God offered each night a life to the spirit of\nJad-ben-Otho as it returned below the western horizon to its master,\nand never has the Great God given sign that he was displeased.\"\n\n\"Stop!\" commanded Tarzan. \"It is the blindness of the priesthood that\nhas failed to read the messages of their god. Your warriors die beneath\nthe knives and clubs of the Wazdon; your hunters are taken by JA and\nJATO; no day goes by but witnesses the deaths of few or many in the\nvillages of the Ho-don, and one death each day of those that die are\nthe toll which Jad-ben-Otho has exacted for the lives you take upon the\neastern altar. What greater sign of his displeasure could you require,\nO stupid priest?\"\n\nLu-don was silent. There was raging within him a great conflict between\nhis fear that this indeed might be the son of god and his hope that it\nwas not, but at last his fear won and he bowed his head. \"The son of\nJad-ben-Otho has spoken,\" he said, and turning to one of the lesser\npriests: \"Remove the bars and return these people from whence they\ncame.\"\n\nHe thus addressed did as he was bid and as the bars came down the\nprisoners, now all fully aware of the miracle that had saved them,\ncrowded forward and throwing themselves upon their knees before Tarzan\nraised their voices in thanksgiving.\n\nKo-tan was almost as staggered as the high priest by this ruthless\noverturning of an age-old religious rite. \"But what,\" he cried, \"may we\ndo that will be pleasing in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho?\" turning a look\nof puzzled apprehension toward the ape-man.\n\n\"If you seek to please your god,\" he replied, \"place upon your altars\nsuch gifts of food and apparel as are most welcome in the city of your\npeople. These things will Jad-ben-Otho bless, when you may distribute\nthem among those of the city who need them most. With such things are\nyour storerooms filled as I have seen with mine own eyes, and other\ngifts will be brought when the priests tell the people that in this way\nthey find favor before their god,\" and Tarzan turned and signified that\nhe would leave the temple.\n\nAs they were leaving the precincts devoted to the worship of their\ndeity, the ape-man noticed a small but rather ornate building that\nstood entirely detached from the others as though it had been cut from\na little pinnacle of limestone which had stood out from its fellows. As\nhis interested glance passed over it he noticed that its door and\nwindows were barred.\n\n\"To what purpose is that building dedicated?\" he asked of Lu-don. \"Who\ndo you keep imprisoned there?\"\n\n\"It is nothing,\" replied the high priest nervously, \"there is no one\nthere. The place is vacant. Once it was used but not now for many\nyears,\" and he moved on toward the gateway which led back into the\npalace. Here he and the priests halted while Tarzan with Ko-tan and his\nwarriors passed out from the sacred precincts of the temple grounds.\n\nThe one question which Tarzan would have asked he had feared to ask for\nhe knew that in the hearts of many lay a suspicion as to his\ngenuineness, but he determined that before he slept he would put the\nquestion to Ko-tan, either directly or indirectly--as to whether there\nwas, or had been recently within the city of A-lur a female of the same\nrace as his.\n\nAs their evening meal was being served to them in the banquet hall of\nKo-tan\'s palace by a part of the army of black slaves upon whose\nshoulders fell the burden of all the heavy and menial tasks of the\ncity, Tarzan noticed that there came to the eyes of one of the slaves\nwhat was apparently an expression of startled recognition, as he looked\nupon the ape-man for the first time in the banquet hall of Ko-tan. And\nagain later he saw the fellow whisper to another slave and nod his head\nin his direction. The ape-man did not recall ever having seen this\nWaz-don before and he was at a loss to account for an explanation of\nthe fellow\'s interest in him, and presently the incident was all but\nforgotten.\n\nKo-tan was surprised and inwardly disgusted to discover that his godly\nguest had no desire to gorge himself upon rich foods and that he would\nnot even so much as taste the villainous brew of the Ho-don. To Tarzan\nthe banquet was a dismal and tiresome affair, since so great was the\ninterest of the guests in gorging themselves with food and drink that\nthey had no time for conversation, the only vocal sounds being confined\nto a continuous grunting which, together with their table manners\nreminded Tarzan of a visit he had once made to the famous Berkshire\nherd of His Grace, the Duke of Westminster at Woodhouse, Chester.\n\nOne by one the diners succumbed to the stupefying effects of the liquor\nwith the result that the grunting gave place to snores, so presently\nTarzan and the slaves were the only conscious creatures in the banquet\nhall.\n\nRising, the ape-man turned to a tall black who stood behind him. \"I\nwould sleep,\" he said, \"show me to my apartment.\"\n\nAs the fellow conducted him from the chamber the slave who had shown\nsurprise earlier in the evening at sight of him, spoke again at length\nto one of his fellows. The latter cast a half-frightened look in the\ndirection of the departing ape-man. \"If you are right,\" he said, \"they\nshould reward us with our liberty, but if you are wrong, O\nJad-ben-Otho, what will be our fate?\"\n\n\"But I am not wrong!\" cried the other.\n\n\"Then there is but one to tell this to, for I have heard that he looked\nsour when this Dor-ul-Otho was brought to the temple and that while the\nso-called son of Jad-ben-Otho was there he gave this one every cause to\nfear and hate him. I mean Lu-don, the high priest.\"\n\n\"You know him?\" asked the other slave.\n\n\"I have worked in the temple,\" replied his companion.\n\n\"Then go to him at once and tell him, but be sure to exact the promise\nof our freedom for the proof.\"\n\nAnd so a black Waz-don came to the temple gate and asked to see Lu-don,\nthe high priest, on a matter of great importance, and though the hour\nwas late Lu-don saw him, and when he had heard his story he promised\nhim and his friend not only their freedom but many gifts if they could\nprove the correctness of their claims.\n\nAnd as the slave talked with the high priest in the temple at A-lur the\nfigure of a man groped its way around the shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved and\nthe moonlight glistened from the shiny barrel of an Enfield that was\nstrapped to the naked back, and brass cartridges shed tiny rays of\nreflected light from their polished cases where they hung in the\nbandoliers across the broad brown shoulders and the lean waist.\n\nTarzan\'s guide conducted him to a chamber overlooking the blue lake\nwhere he found a bed similar to that which he had seen in the villages\nof the Waz-don, merely a raised dais of stone upon which was piled\ngreat quantities of furry pelts. And so he lay down to sleep, the\nquestion that he most wished to put still unasked and unanswered.\n\nWith the coming of a new day he was awake and wandering about the\npalace and the palace grounds before there was sign of any of the\ninmates of the palace other than slaves, or at least he saw no others\nat first, though presently he stumbled upon an enclosure which lay\nalmost within the center of the palace grounds surrounded by a wall\nthat piqued the ape-man\'s curiosity, since he had determined to\ninvestigate as fully as possible every part of the palace and its\nenvirons.\n\nThis place, whatever it might be, was apparently without doors or\nwindows but that it was at least partially roofless was evidenced by\nthe sight of the waving branches of a tree which spread above the top\nof the wall near him. Finding no other method of access, the ape-man\nuncoiled his rope and throwing it over the branch of the tree where it\nprojected beyond the wall, was soon climbing with the ease of a monkey\nto the summit.\n\nThere he found that the wall surrounded an enclosed garden in which\ngrew trees and shrubs and flowers in riotous profusion. Without\nwaiting to ascertain whether the garden was empty or contained Ho-don,\nWaz-don, or wild beasts, Tarzan dropped lightly to the sward on the\ninside and without further loss of time commenced a systematic\ninvestigation of the enclosure.\n\nHis curiosity was aroused by the very evident fact that the place was\nnot for general use, even by those who had free access to other parts\nof the palace grounds and so there was added to its natural beauties an\nabsence of mortals which rendered its exploration all the more alluring\nto Tarzan since it suggested that in such a place might he hope to come\nupon the object of his long and difficult search.\n\nIn the garden were tiny artificial streams and little pools of water,\nflanked by flowering bushes, as though it all had been designed by the\ncunning hand of some master gardener, so faithfully did it carry out\nthe beauties and contours of nature upon a miniature scale.\n\nThe interior surface of the wall was fashioned to represent the white\ncliffs of Pal-ul-don, broken occasionally by small replicas of the\nverdure-filled gorges of the original.\n\nFilled with admiration and thoroughly enjoying each new surprise which\nthe scene offered, Tarzan moved slowly around the garden, and as always\nhe moved silently. Passing through a miniature forest he came presently\nupon a tiny area of flowerstudded sward and at the same time beheld\nbefore him the first Ho-don female he had seen since entering the\npalace. A young and beautiful woman stood in the center of the little\nopen space, stroking the head of a bird which she held against her\ngolden breastplate with one hand. Her profile was presented to the\nape-man and he saw that by the standards of any land she would have\nbeen accounted more than lovely.\n\nSeated in the grass at her feet, with her back toward him, was a female\nWaz-don slave. Seeing that she he sought was not there and apprehensive\nthat an alarm be raised were he discovered by the two women, Tarzan\nmoved back to hide himself in the foliage, but before he had succeeded\nthe Ho-don girl turned quickly toward him as though apprised of his\npresence by that unnamed sense, the manifestations of which are more or\nless familiar to us all.\n\nAt sight of him her eyes registered only her surprise though there was\nno expression of terror reflected in them, nor did she scream or even\nraise her well-modulated voice as she addressed him.\n\n\"Who are you,\" she asked, \"who enters thus boldly the Forbidden Garden?\"\n\nAt sound of her mistress\' voice the slave maiden turned quickly, rising\nto her feet. \"Tarzan-jad-guru!\" she exclaimed in tones of mingled\nastonishment and relief.\n\n\"You know him?\" cried her mistress turning toward the slave and\naffording Tarzan an opportunity to raise a cautioning finger to his\nlips lest Pan-at-lee further betray him, for it was Pan-at-lee indeed\nwho stood before him, no less a source of surprise to him than had his\npresence been to her.\n\nThus questioned by her mistress and simultaneously admonished to\nsilence by Tarzan, Pan-at-lee was momentarily silenced and then\nhaltingly she groped for a way to extricate herself from her dilemma.\n\"I thought--\" she faltered, \"but no, I am mistaken--I thought that he\nwas one whom I had seen before near the Kor-ul-GRYF.\"\n\nThe Ho-don looked first at one and then at the other an expression of\ndoubt and questioning in her eyes. \"But you have not answered me,\" she\ncontinued presently; \"who are you?\"\n\n\"You have not heard then,\" asked Tarzan, \"of the visitor who arrived at\nyour king\'s court yesterday?\"\n\n\"You mean,\" she exclaimed, \"that you are the Dor-ul-Otho?\" And now the\nerstwhile doubting eyes reflected naught but awe.\n\n\"I am he,\" replied Tarzan; \"and you?\"\n\n\"I am O-lo-a, daughter of Ko-tan, the king,\" she replied.\n\nSo this was O-lo-a, for love of whom Ta-den had chosen exile rather\nthan priesthood. Tarzan had approached more closely the dainty\nbarbarian princess. \"Daughter of Ko-tan,\" he said, \"Jad-ben-Otho is\npleased with you and as a mark of his favor he has preserved for you\nthrough many dangers him whom you love.\"\n\n\"I do not understand,\" replied the girl but the flush that mounted to\nher cheek belied her words. \"Bu-lat is a guest in the palace of Ko-tan,\nmy father. I do not know that he has faced any danger. It is to Bu-lat\nthat I am betrothed.\"\n\n\"But it is not Bu-lat whom you love,\" said Tarzan.\n\nAgain the flush and the girl half turned her face away. \"Have I then\ndispleased the Great God?\" she asked.\n\n\"No,\" replied Tarzan; \"as I told you he is well satisfied and for your\nsake he has saved Ta-den for you.\"\n\n\"Jad-ben-Otho knows all,\" whispered the girl, \"and his son shares his\ngreat knowledge.\"\n\n\"No,\" Tarzan hastened to correct her lest a reputation for omniscience\nmight prove embarrassing. \"I know only what Jad-ben-Otho wishes me to\nknow.\"\n\n\"But tell me,\" she said, \"I shall be reunited with Ta-den? Surely the\nson of god can read the future.\"\n\nThe ape-man was glad that he had left himself an avenue of escape. \"I\nknow nothing of the future,\" he replied, \"other than what Jad-ben-Otho\ntells me. But I think you need have no fear for the future if you\nremain faithful to Ta-den and Ta-den\'s friends.\"\n\n\"You have seen him?\" asked O-lo-a. \"Tell me, where is he?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Tarzan, \"I have seen him. He was with Om-at, the gund of\nKor-ul-JA.\"\n\n\"A prisoner of the Waz-don?\" interrupted the girl.\n\n\"Not a prisoner but an honored guest,\" replied the ape-man.\n\n\"Wait,\" he exclaimed, raising his face toward the heavens; \"do not\nspeak. I am receiving a message from Jad-ben-Otho, my father.\"\n\nThe two women dropped to their knees, covering their faces with their\nhands, stricken with awe at the thought of the awful nearness of the\nGreat God. Presently Tarzan touched O-lo-a on the shoulder.\n\n\"Rise,\" he said. \"Jad-ben-Otho has spoken. He has told me that this\nslave girl is from the tribe of Kor-ul-JA, where Ta-den is, and that\nshe is betrothed to Om-at, their chief. Her name is Pan-at-lee.\"\n\nO-lo-a turned questioningly toward Pan-at-lee. The latter nodded, her\nsimple mind unable to determine whether or not she and her mistress\nwere the victims of a colossal hoax. \"It is even as he says,\" she\nwhispered.\n\nO-lo-a fell upon her knees and touched her forehead to Tarzan\'s feet.\n\"Great is the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done his poor servant,\" she\ncried. \"Carry to him my poor thanks for the happiness that he has\nbrought to O-lo-a.\"\n\n\"It would please my father,\" said Tarzan, \"if you were to cause\nPan-at-lee to be returned in safety to the village of her people.\"\n\n\"What cares Jad-ben-Otho for such as she?\" asked O-lo-a, a slight trace\nof hauteur in her tone.\n\n\"There is but one god,\" replied Tarzan, \"and he is the god of the\nWaz-don as well as of the Ho-don; of the birds and the beasts and the\nflowers and of everything that grows upon the earth or beneath the\nwaters. If Pan-at-lee does right she is greater in the eyes of\nJad-ben-Otho than would be the daughter of Ko-tan should she do wrong.\"\n\nIt was evident that O-lo-a did not quite understand this interpretation\nof divine favor, so contrary was it to the teachings of the priesthood\nof her people. In one respect only did Tarzan\'s teachings coincide with\nher belief--that there was but one god. For the rest she had always\nbeen taught that he was solely the god of the Ho-don in every sense,\nother than that other creatures were created by Jad-ben-Otho to serve\nsome useful purpose for the benefit of the Ho-don race. And now to be\ntold by the son of god that she stood no higher in divine esteem than\nthe black handmaiden at her side was indeed a shock to her pride, her\nvanity, and her faith. But who could question the word of Dor-ul-Otho,\nespecially when she had with her own eyes seen him in actual communion\nwith god in heaven?\n\n\"The will of Jad-ben-Otho be done,\" said O-lo-a meekly, \"if it lies\nwithin my power. But it would be best, O Dor-ul-Otho, to communicate\nyour father\'s wish directly to the king.\"\n\n\"Then keep her with you,\" said Tarzan, \"and see that no harm befalls\nher.\"\n\nO-lo-a looked ruefully at Pan-at-lee. \"She was brought to me but\nyesterday,\" she said, \"and never have I had slave woman who pleased me\nbetter. I shall hate to part with her.\"\n\n\"But there are others,\" said Tarzan.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied O-lo-a, \"there are others, but there is only one\nPan-at-lee.\"\n\n\"Many slaves are brought to the city?\" asked Tarzan.\n\n\"Yes,\" she replied.\n\n\"And many strangers come from other lands?\" he asked.\n\nShe shook her head negatively. \"Only the Ho-don from the other side of\nthe Valley of Jad-ben-Otho,\" she replied, \"and they are not strangers.\"\n\n\"Am I then the first stranger to enter the gates of A-lur?\" he asked.\n\n\"Can it be,\" she parried, \"that the son of Jad-ben-Otho need question a\npoor ignorant mortal like O-lo-a?\"\n\n\"As I told you before,\" replied Tarzan, \"Jad-ben-Otho alone is\nall-knowing.\"\n\n\"Then if he wished you to know this thing,\" retorted O-lo-a quickly,\n\"you would know it.\"\n\nInwardly the ape-man smiled that this little heathen\'s astuteness\nshould beat him at his own game, yet in a measure her evasion of the\nquestion might be an answer to it. \"There have been other strangers\nhere then recently?\" he persisted.\n\n\"I cannot tell you what I do not know,\" she replied. \"Always is the\npalace of Ko-tan filled with rumors, but how much fact and how much\nfancy how may a woman of the palace know?\"\n\n\"There has been such a rumor then?\" he asked.\n\n\"It was only rumor that reached the Forbidden Garden,\" she replied.\n\n\"It described, perhaps, a woman of another race?\" As he put the\nquestion and awaited her answer he thought that his heart ceased to\nbeat, so grave to him was the issue at stake.\n\nThe girl hesitated before replying, and then. \"No,\" she said, \"I cannot\nspeak of this thing, for if it be of sufficient importance to elicit\nthe interest of the gods then indeed would I be subject to the wrath of\nmy father should I discuss it.\"\n\n\"In the name of Jad-ben-Otho I command you to speak,\" said Tarzan. \"In\nthe name of Jad-ben-Otho in whose hands lies the fate of Ta-den!\"\n\nThe girl paled. \"Have mercy!\" she cried, \"and for the sake of Ta-den I\nwill tell you all that I know.\"\n\n\"Tell what?\" demanded a stern voice from the shrubbery behind them. The\nthree turned to see the figure of Ko-tan emerging from the foliage. An\nangry scowl distorted his kingly features but at sight of Tarzan it\ngave place to an expression of surprise not unmixed with fear.\n\"Dor-ul-Otho!\" he exclaimed, \"I did not know that it was you,\" and\nthen, raising his head and squaring his shoulders he said, \"but there\nare places where even the son of the Great God may not walk and this,\nthe Forbidden Garden of Ko-tan, is one.\"\n\nIt was a challenge but despite the king\'s bold front there was a note\nof apology in it, indicating that in his superstitious mind there\nflourished the inherent fear of man for his Maker. \"Come, Dor-ul-Otho,\"\nhe continued, \"I do not know all this foolish child has said to you but\nwhatever you would know Ko-tan, the king, will tell you. O-lo-a, go to\nyour quarters immediately,\" and he pointed with stern finger toward the\nopposite end of the garden.\n\nThe princess, followed by Pan-at-lee, turned at once and left them.\n\n\"We will go this way,\" said Ko-tan and preceding, led Tarzan in another\ndirection. Close to that part of the wall which they approached Tarzan\nperceived a grotto in the miniature cliff into the interior of which\nKo-tan led him, and down a rocky stairway to a gloomy corridor the\nopposite end of which opened into the palace proper. Two armed warriors\nstood at this entrance to the Forbidden Garden, evidencing how\njealously were the sacred precincts of the place guarded.\n\nIn silence Ko-tan led the way back to his own quarters in the palace. A\nlarge chamber just outside the room toward which Ko-tan was leading his\nguest was filled with chiefs and warriors awaiting the pleasure of\ntheir ruler. As the two entered, an aisle was formed for them the\nlength of the chamber, down which they passed in silence.\n\nClose to the farther door and half hidden by the warriors who stood\nbefore him was Lu-don, the high priest. Tarzan glimpsed him but briefly\nbut in that short period he was aware of a cunning and malevolent\nexpression upon the cruel countenance that he was subconsciously aware\nboded him no good, and then with Ko-tan he passed into the adjoining\nroom and the hangings dropped.\n\nAt the same moment the hideous headdress of an under priest appeared in\nthe entrance of the outer chamber. Its owner, pausing for a moment,\nglanced quickly around the interior and then having located him whom he\nsought moved rapidly in the direction of Lu-don. There was a whispered\nconversation which was terminated by the high priest.\n\n\"Return immediately to the quarters of the princess,\" he said, \"and see\nthat the slave is sent to me at the temple at once.\" The under priest\nturned and departed upon his mission while Lu-don also left the\napartment and directed his footsteps toward the sacred enclosure over\nwhich he ruled.\n\nA half-hour later a warrior was ushered into the presence of Ko-tan.\n\"Lu-don, the high priest, desires the presence of Ko-tan, the king, in\nthe temple,\" he announced, \"and it is his wish that he come alone.\"\n\nKo-tan nodded to indicate that he accepted the command which even the\nking must obey. \"I will return presently, Dor-ul-Otho,\" he said to\nTarzan, \"and in the meantime my warriors and my slaves are yours to\ncommand.\"\n\n\n\n11\n\nThe Sentence of Death\n\nBut it was an hour before the king re-entered the apartment and in the\nmeantime the ape-man had occupied himself in examining the carvings\nupon the walls and the numerous specimens of the handicraft of\nPal-ul-donian artisans which combined to impart an atmosphere of\nrichness and luxury to the apartment.\n\nThe limestone of the country, close-grained and of marble whiteness yet\nworked with comparative ease with crude implements, had been wrought by\ncunning craftsmen into bowls and urns and vases of considerable grace\nand beauty. Into the carved designs of many of these virgin gold had\nbeen hammered, presenting the effect of a rich and magnificent\ncloisonne. A barbarian himself the art of barbarians had always\nappealed to the ape-man to whom they represented a natural expression\nof man\'s love of the beautiful to even a greater extent than the\nstudied and artificial efforts of civilization. Here was the real art\nof old masters, the other the cheap imitation of the chromo.\n\nIt was while he was thus pleasurably engaged that Ko-tan returned. As\nTarzan, attracted by the movement of the hangings through which the\nking entered, turned and faced him he was almost shocked by the\nremarkable alteration of the king\'s appearance. His face was livid; his\nhands trembled as with palsy, and his eyes were wide as with fright.\nHis appearance was one apparently of a combination of consuming anger\nand withering fear. Tarzan looked at him questioningly.\n\n\"You have had bad news, Ko-tan?\" he asked.\n\nThe king mumbled an unintelligible reply. Behind there thronged into\nthe apartment so great a number of warriors that they choked the\nentrance-way. The king looked apprehensively to right and left. He cast\nterrified glances at the ape-man and then raising his face and turning\nhis eyes upward he cried: \"Jad-ben-Otho be my witness that I do not\nthis thing of my own accord.\" There was a moment\'s silence which was\nagain broken by Ko-tan. \"Seize him,\" he cried to the warriors about\nhim, \"for Lu-don, the high priest, swears that he is an impostor.\"\n\nTo have offered armed resistance to this great concourse of warriors in\nthe very heart of the palace of their king would have been worse than\nfatal. Already Tarzan had come far by his wits and now that within a\nfew hours he had had his hopes and his suspicions partially verified by\nthe vague admissions of O-lo-a he was impressed with the necessity of\ninviting no mortal risk that he could avoid.\n\n\"Stop!\" he cried, raising his palm against them. \"What is the meaning\nof this?\"\n\n\"Lu-don claims he has proof that you are not the son of Jad-ben-Otho,\"\nreplied Ko-tan. \"He demands that you be brought to the throneroom to\nface your accusers. If you are what you claim to be none knows better\nthan you that you need have no fear in acquiescing to his demands, but\nremember always that in such matters the high priest commands the king\nand that I am only the bearer of these commands, not their author.\"\n\nTarzan saw that Ko-tan was not entirely convinced of his duplicity as\nwas evidenced by his palpable design to play safe.\n\n\"Let not your warriors seize me,\" he said to Ko-tan, \"lest\nJad-ben-Otho, mistaking their intention, strike them dead.\" The effect\nof his words was immediate upon the men in the front rank of those who\nfaced him, each seeming suddenly to acquire a new modesty that\ncompelled him to self-effacement behind those directly in his rear--a\nmodesty that became rapidly contagious.\n\nThe ape-man smiled. \"Fear not,\" he said, \"I will go willingly to the\naudience chamber to face the blasphemers who accuse me.\"\n\nArrived at the great throneroom a new complication arose. Ko-tan would\nnot acknowledge the right of Lu-don to occupy the apex of the pyramid\nand Lu-don would not consent to occupying an inferior position while\nTarzan, to remain consistent with his high claims, insisted that no one\nshould stand above him, but only to the ape-man was the humor of the\nsituation apparent.\n\nTo relieve the situation Ja-don suggested that all three of them occupy\nthe throne, but this suggestion was repudiated by Ko-tan who argued\nthat no mortal other than a king of Pal-ul-don had ever sat upon the\nhigh eminence, and that furthermore there was not room for three there.\n\n\"But who,\" said Tarzan, \"is my accuser and who is my judge?\"\n\n\"Lu-don is your accuser,\" explained Ko-tan.\n\n\"And Lu-don is your judge,\" cried the high priest.\n\n\"I am to be judged by him who accuses me then,\" said Tarzan. \"It were\nbetter to dispense then with any formalities and ask Lu-don to sentence\nme.\" His tone was ironical and his sneering face, looking straight into\nthat of the high priest, but caused the latter\'s hatred to rise to\nstill greater proportions.\n\nIt was evident that Ko-tan and his warriors saw the justice of Tarzan\'s\nimplied objection to this unfair method of dispensing justice. \"Only\nKo-tan can judge in the throneroom of his palace,\" said Ja-don, \"let\nhim hear Lu-don\'s charges and the testimony of his witnesses, and then\nlet Ko-tan\'s judgment be final.\"\n\nKo-tan, however, was not particularly enthusiastic over the prospect of\nsitting in trial upon one who might after all very possibly be the son\nof his god, and so he temporized, seeking for an avenue of escape. \"It\nis purely a religious matter,\" he said, \"and it is traditional that the\nkings of Pal-ul-don interfere not in questions of the church.\"\n\n\"Then let the trial be held in the temple,\" cried one of the chiefs,\nfor the warriors were as anxious as their king to be relieved of all\nresponsibility in the matter. This suggestion was more than\nsatisfactory to the high priest who inwardly condemned himself for not\nhaving thought of it before.\n\n\"It is true,\" he said, \"this man\'s sin is against the temple. Let him\nbe dragged thither then for trial.\"\n\n\"The son of Jad-ben-Otho will be dragged nowhere,\" cried Tarzan. \"But\nwhen this trial is over it is possible that the corpse of Lu-don, the\nhigh priest, will be dragged from the temple of the god he would\ndesecrate. Think well, then, Lu-don before you commit this folly.\"\n\nHis words, intended to frighten the high priest from his position\nfailed utterly in consummating their purpose. Lu-don showed no terror\nat the suggestion the ape-man\'s words implied.\n\n\"Here is one,\" thought Tarzan, \"who, knowing more of his religion than\nany of his fellows, realizes fully the falsity of my claims as he does\nthe falsity of the faith he preaches.\"\n\nHe realized, however, that his only hope lay in seeming indifference to\nthe charges. Ko-tan and the warriors were still under the spell of\ntheir belief in him and upon this fact must he depend in the final act\nof the drama that Lu-don was staging for his rescue from the jealous\npriest whom he knew had already passed sentence upon him in his own\nheart.\n\nWith a shrug he descended the steps of the pyramid. \"It matters not to\nDor-ul-Otho,\" he said, \"where Lu-don enrages his god, for Jad-ben-Otho\ncan reach as easily into the chambers of the temple as into the\nthroneroom of Ko-tan.\"\n\nImmeasurably relieved by this easy solution of their problem the king\nand the warriors thronged from the throneroom toward the temple\ngrounds, their faith in Tarzan increased by his apparent indifference\nto the charges against him. Lu-don led them to the largest of the altar\ncourts.\n\nTaking his place behind the western altar he motioned Ko-tan to a place\nupon the platform at the left hand of the altar and directed Tarzan to\na similar place at the right.\n\nAs Tarzan ascended the platform his eyes narrowed angrily at the sight\nwhich met them. The basin hollowed in the top of the altar was filled\nwith water in which floated the naked corpse of a new-born babe. \"What\nmeans this?\" he cried angrily, turning upon Lu-don.\n\nThe latter smiled malevolently. \"That you do not know,\" he replied, \"is\nbut added evidence of the falsity of your claim. He who poses as the\nson of god did not know that as the last rays of the setting sun flood\nthe eastern altar of the temple the lifeblood of an adult reddens the\nwhite stone for the edification of Jad-ben-Otho, and that when the sun\nrises again from the body of its maker it looks first upon this western\naltar and rejoices in the death of a new-born babe each day, the ghost\nof which accompanies it across the heavens by day as the ghost of the\nadult returns with it to Jad-ben-Otho at night.\n\n\"Even the little children of the Ho-don know these things, while he who\nclaims to be the son of Jad-ben-Otho knows them not; and if this proof\nbe not enough, there is more. Come, Waz-don,\" he cried, pointing to a\ntall slave who stood with a group of other blacks and priests on the\ntemple floor at the left of the altar.\n\nThe fellow came forward fearfully. \"Tell us what you know of this\ncreature,\" cried Lu-don, pointing to Tarzan.\n\n\"I have seen him before,\" said the Waz-don. \"I am of the tribe of\nKor-ul-lul, and one day recently a party of which I was one encountered\na few of the warriors of the Kor-ul-JA upon the ridge which separates\nour villages. Among the enemy was this strange creature whom they\ncalled Tarzan-jad-guru; and terrible indeed was he for he fought with\nthe strength of many men so that it required twenty of us to subdue\nhim. But he did not fight as a god fights, and when a club struck him\nupon the head he sank unconscious as might an ordinary mortal.\n\n\"We carried him with us to our village as a prisoner but he escaped\nafter cutting off the head of the warrior we left to guard him and\ncarrying it down into the gorge and tying it to the branch of a tree\nupon the opposite side.\"\n\n\"The word of a slave against that of a god!\" cried Ja-don, who had\nshown previously a friendly interest in the pseudo godling.\n\n\"It is only a step in the progress toward truth,\" interjected Lu-don.\n\"Possibly the evidence of the only princess of the house of Ko-tan will\nhave greater weight with the great chief from the north, though the\nfather of a son who fled the holy offer of the priesthood may not\nreceive with willing ears any testimony against another blasphemer.\"\n\nJa-don\'s hand leaped to his knife, but the warriors next him laid\ndetaining fingers upon his arms. \"You are in the temple of\nJad-ben-Otho, Ja-don,\" they cautioned and the great chief was forced to\nswallow Lu-don\'s affront though it left in his heart bitter hatred of\nthe high priest.\n\nAnd now Ko-tan turned toward Lu-don. \"What knoweth my daughter of this\nmatter?\" he asked. \"You would not bring a princess of my house to\ntestify thus publicly?\"\n\n\"No,\" replied Lu-don, \"not in person, but I have here one who will\ntestify for her.\" He beckoned to an under priest. \"Fetch the slave of\nthe princess,\" he said.\n\nHis grotesque headdress adding a touch of the hideous to the scene, the\npriest stepped forward dragging the reluctant Pan-at-lee by the wrist.\n\n\"The Princess O-lo-a was alone in the Forbidden Garden with but this\none slave,\" explained the priest, \"when there suddenly appeared from\nthe foliage nearby this creature who claims to be the Dor-ul-Otho. When\nthe slave saw him the princess says that she cried aloud in startled\nrecognition and called the creature by name--Tarzan-jad-guru--the same\nname that the slave from Kor-ul-lul gave him. This woman is not from\nKor-ul-lul but from Kor-ul-JA, the very tribe with which the Kor-ul-lul\nsays the creature was associating when he first saw him. And further\nthe princess said that when this woman, whose name is Pan-at-lee, was\nbrought to her yesterday she told a strange story of having been\nrescued from a Tor-o-don in the Kor-ul-GRYF by a creature such as this,\nwhom she spoke of then as Tarzan-jad-guru; and of how the two were\npursued in the bottom of the gorge by two monster gryfs, and of how the\nman led them away while Pan-at-lee escaped, only to be taken prisoner\nin the Kor-ul-lul as she was seeking to return to her own tribe.\n\n\"Is it not plain now,\" cried Lu-don, \"that this creature is no god. Did\nhe tell you that he was the son of god?\" he almost shouted, turning\nsuddenly upon Pan-at-lee.\n\nThe girl shrank back terrified. \"Answer me, slave!\" cried the high\npriest.\n\n\"He seemed more than mortal,\" parried Pan-at-lee.\n\n\"Did he tell you that he was the son of god? Answer my question,\"\ninsisted Lu-don.\n\n\"No,\" she admitted in a low voice, casting an appealing look of\nforgiveness at Tarzan who returned a smile of encouragement and\nfriendship.\n\n\"That is no proof that he is not the son of god,\" cried Ja-don. \"Dost\nthink Jad-ben-Otho goes about crying \'I am god! I am god!\' Hast ever\nheard him Lu-don? No, you have not. Why should his son do that which\nthe father does not do?\"\n\n\"Enough,\" cried Lu-don. \"The evidence is clear. The creature is an\nimpostor and I, the head priest of Jad-ben-Otho in the city of A-lur,\ndo condemn him to die.\" There was a moment\'s silence during which\nLu-don evidently paused for the dramatic effect of his climax. \"And if\nI am wrong may Jad-ben-Otho pierce my heart with his lightnings as I\nstand here before you all.\"\n\nThe lapping of the wavelets of the lake against the foot of the palace\nwall was distinctly audible in the utter and almost breathless silence\nwhich ensued. Lu-don stood with his face turned toward the heavens and\nhis arms outstretched in the attitude of one who bares his breast to\nthe dagger of an executioner. The warriors and the priests and the\nslaves gathered in the sacred court awaited the consuming vengeance of\ntheir god.\n\nIt was Tarzan who broke the silence. \"Your god ignores you Lu-don,\" he\ntaunted, with a sneer that he meant to still further anger the high\npriest, \"he ignores you and I can prove it before the eyes of your\npriests and your people.\"\n\n\"Prove it, blasphemer! How can you prove it?\"\n\n\"You have called me a blasphemer,\" replied Tarzan, \"you have proved to\nyour own satisfaction that I am an impostor, that I, an ordinary\nmortal, have posed as the son of god. Demand then that Jad-ben-Otho\nuphold his godship and the dignity of his priesthood by directing his\nconsuming fires through my own bosom.\"\n\nAgain there ensued a brief silence while the onlookers waited for\nLu-don to thus consummate the destruction of this presumptuous impostor.\n\n\"You dare not,\" taunted Tarzan, \"for you know that I would be struck\ndead no quicker than were you.\"\n\n\"You lie,\" cried Lu-don, \"and I would do it had I not but just received\na message from Jad-ben-Otho directing that your fate be different.\"\n\nA chorus of admiring and reverential \"Ahs\" arose from the priesthood.\nKo-tan and his warriors were in a state of mental confusion. Secretly\nthey hated and feared Lu-don, but so ingrained was their sense of\nreverence for the office of the high priest that none dared raise a\nvoice against him.\n\nNone? Well, there was Ja-don, fearless old Lion-man of the north. \"The\nproposition was a fair one,\" he cried. \"Invoke the lightnings of\nJad-ben-Otho upon this man if you would ever convince us of his guilt.\"\n\n\"Enough of this,\" snapped Lu-don. \"Since when was Ja-don created high\npriest? Seize the prisoner,\" he cried to the priests and warriors, \"and\non the morrow he shall die in the manner that Jad-ben-Otho has willed.\"\n\nThere was no immediate movement on the part of any of the warriors to\nobey the high priest\'s command, but the lesser priests on the other\nhand, imbued with the courage of fanaticism leaped eagerly forward like\na flock of hideous harpies to seize upon their prey.\n\nThe game was up. That Tarzan knew. No longer could cunning and\ndiplomacy usurp the functions of the weapons of defense he best loved.\nAnd so the first hideous priest who leaped to the platform was\nconfronted by no suave ambassador from heaven, but rather a grim and\nferocious beast whose temper savored more of hell.\n\nThe altar stood close to the western wall of the enclosure. There was\njust room between the two for the high priest to stand during the\nperformance of the sacrificial ceremonies and only Lu-don stood there\nnow behind Tarzan, while before him were perhaps two hundred warriors\nand priests.\n\nThe presumptuous one who would have had the glory of first laying\narresting hands upon the blasphemous impersonator rushed forward with\noutstretched hand to seize the ape-man. Instead it was he who was\nseized; seized by steel fingers that snapped him up as though he had\nbeen a dummy of straw, grasped him by one leg and the harness at his\nback and raised him with giant arms high above the altar. Close at his\nheels were others ready to seize the ape-man and drag him down, and\nbeyond the altar was Lu-don with drawn knife advancing toward him.\n\nThere was no instant to waste, nor was it the way of the ape-man to\nfritter away precious moments in the uncertainty of belated decision.\nBefore Lu-don or any other could guess what was in the mind of the\ncondemned, Tarzan with all the force of his great muscles dashed the\nscreaming hierophant in the face of the high priest, and, as though the\ntwo actions were one, so quickly did he move, he had leaped to the top\nof the altar and from there to a handhold upon the summit of the temple\nwall. As he gained a footing there he turned and looked down upon those\nbeneath. For a moment he stood in silence and then he spoke.\n\n\"Who dare believe,\" he cried, \"that Jad-ben-Otho would forsake his\nson?\" and then he dropped from their sight upon the other side.\n\nThere were two at least left within the enclosure whose hearts leaped\nwith involuntary elation at the success of the ape-man\'s maneuver, and\none of them smiled openly. This was Ja-don, and the other, Pan-at-lee.\n\nThe brains of the priest that Tarzan had thrown at the head of Lu-don\nhad been dashed out against the temple wall while the high priest\nhimself had escaped with only a few bruises, sustained in his fall to\nthe hard pavement. Quickly scrambling to his feet he looked around in\nfear, in terror and finally in bewilderment, for he had not been a\nwitness to the ape-man\'s escape. \"Seize him,\" he cried; \"seize the\nblasphemer,\" and he continued to look around in search of his victim\nwith such a ridiculous expression of bewilderment that more than a\nsingle warrior was compelled to hide his smiles beneath his palm.\n\nThe priests were rushing around wildly, exhorting the warriors to\npursue the fugitive but these awaited now stolidly the command of their\nking or high priest. Ko-tan, more or less secretly pleased by the\ndiscomfiture of Lu-don, waited for that worthy to give the necessary\ndirections which he presently did when one of his acolytes excitedly\nexplained to him the manner of Tarzan\'s escape.\n\nInstantly the necessary orders were issued and priests and warriors\nsought the temple exit in pursuit of the ape-man. His departing words,\nhurled at them from the summit of the temple wall, had had little\neffect in impressing the majority that his claims had not been\ndisproven by Lu-don, but in the hearts of the warriors was admiration\nfor a brave man and in many the same unholy gratification that had\nrisen in that of their ruler at the discomfiture of Lu-don.\n\nA careful search of the temple grounds revealed no trace of the quarry.\nThe secret recesses of the subterranean chambers, familiar only to the\npriesthood, were examined by these while the warriors scattered through\nthe palace and the palace grounds without the temple. Swift runners\nwere dispatched to the city to arouse the people there that all might\nbe upon the lookout for Tarzan the Terrible. The story of his imposture\nand of his escape, and the tales that the Waz-don slaves had brought\ninto the city concerning him were soon spread throughout A-lur, nor did\nthey lose aught in the spreading, so that before an hour had passed the\nwomen and children were hiding behind barred doorways while the\nwarriors crept apprehensively through the streets expecting momentarily\nto be pounced upon by a ferocious demon who, bare-handed, did\nvictorious battle with huge gryfs and whose lightest pastime consisted\nin tearing strong men limb from limb.\n\n\n\n12\n\nThe Giant Stranger\n\nAnd while the warriors and the priests of A-lur searched the temple and\nthe palace and the city for the vanished ape-man there entered the head\nof Kor-ul-JA down the precipitous trail from the mountains, a naked\nstranger bearing an Enfield upon his back. Silently he moved downward\ntoward the bottom of the gorge and there where the ancient trail\nunfolded more levelly before him he swung along with easy strides,\nthough always with the utmost alertness against possible dangers. A\ngentle breeze came down from the mountains behind him so that only his\nears and his eyes were of value in detecting the presence of danger\nahead. Generally the trail followed along the banks of the winding\nbrooklet at the bottom of the gorge, but in some places where the\nwaters tumbled over a precipitous ledge the trail made a detour along\nthe side of the gorge, and again it wound in and out among rocky\noutcroppings, and presently where it rounded sharply the projecting\nshoulder of a cliff the stranger came suddenly face to face with one\nwho was ascending the gorge.\n\nSeparated by a hundred paces the two halted simultaneously. Before him\nthe stranger saw a tall white warrior, naked but for a loin cloth,\ncross belts, and a girdle. The man was armed with a heavy, knotted club\nand a short knife, the latter hanging in its sheath at his left hip\nfrom the end of one of his cross belts, the opposite belt supporting a\nleathern pouch at his right side. It was Ta-den hunting alone in the\ngorge of his friend, the chief of Kor-ul-JA. He contemplated the\nstranger with surprise but no wonder, since he recognized in him a\nmember of the race with which his experience of Tarzan the Terrible had\nmade him familiar and also, thanks to his friendship for the ape-man,\nhe looked upon the newcomer without hostility.\n\nThe latter was the first to make outward sign of his intentions,\nraising his palm toward Ta-den in that gesture which has been a symbol\nof peace from pole to pole since man ceased to walk upon his knuckles.\nSimultaneously he advanced a few paces and halted.\n\nTa-den, assuming that one so like Tarzan the Terrible must be a\nfellow-tribesman of his lost friend, was more than glad to accept this\noverture of peace, the sign of which he returned in kind as he ascended\nthe trail to where the other stood. \"Who are you?\" he asked, but the\nnewcomer only shook his head to indicate that he did not understand.\n\nBy signs he tried to carry to the Ho-don the fact that he was following\na trail that had led him over a period of many days from some place\nbeyond the mountains and Ta-den was convinced that the newcomer sought\nTarzan-jad-guru. He wished, however, that he might discover whether as\nfriend or foe.\n\nThe stranger perceived the Ho-don\'s prehensile thumbs and great toes\nand his long tail with an astonishment which he sought to conceal, but\ngreater than all was the sense of relief that the first inhabitant of\nthis strange country whom he had met had proven friendly, so greatly\nwould he have been handicapped by the necessity for forcing his way\nthrough a hostile land.\n\nTa-den, who had been hunting for some of the smaller mammals, the meat\nof which is especially relished by the Ho-don, forgot his intended\nsport in the greater interest of his new discovery. He would take the\nstranger to Om-at and possibly together the two would find some way of\ndiscovering the true intentions of the newcomer. And so again through\nsigns he apprised the other that he would accompany him and together\nthey descended toward the cliffs of Om-at\'s people.\n\nAs they approached these they came upon the women and children working\nunder guard of the old men and the youths--gathering the wild fruits\nand herbs which constitute a part of their diet, as well as tending the\nsmall acres of growing crops which they cultivate. The fields lay in\nsmall level patches that had been cleared of trees and brush. Their\nfarm implements consisted of metal-shod poles which bore a closer\nresemblance to spears than to tools of peaceful agriculture.\nSupplementing these were others with flattened blades that were neither\nhoes nor spades, but instead possessed the appearance of an unhappy\nattempt to combine the two implements in one.\n\nAt first sight of these people the stranger halted and unslung his bow\nfor these creatures were black as night, their bodies entirely covered\nwith hair. But Ta-den, interpreting the doubt in the other\'s mind,\nreassured him with a gesture and a smile. The Waz-don, however,\ngathered around excitedly jabbering questions in a language which the\nstranger discovered his guide understood though it was entirely\nunintelligible to the former. They made no attempt to molest him and he\nwas now sure that he had fallen among a peaceful and friendly people.\n\nIt was but a short distance now to the caves and when they reached\nthese Ta-den led the way aloft upon the wooden pegs, assured that this\ncreature whom he had discovered would have no more difficulty in\nfollowing him than had Tarzan the Terrible. Nor was he mistaken for\nthe other mounted with ease until presently the two stood within the\nrecess before the cave of Om-at, the chief.\n\nThe latter was not there and it was mid-afternoon before he returned,\nbut in the meantime many warriors came to look upon the visitor and in\neach instance the latter was more thoroughly impressed with the\nfriendly and peaceable spirit of his hosts, little guessing that he was\nbeing entertained by a ferocious and warlike tribe who never before the\ncoming of Ta-den and Tarzan had suffered a stranger among them.\n\nAt last Om-at returned and the guest sensed intuitively that he was in\nthe presence of a great man among these people, possibly a chief or\nking, for not only did the attitude of the other black warriors\nindicate this but it was written also in the mien and bearing of the\nsplendid creature who stood looking at him while Ta-den explained the\ncircumstances of their meeting. \"And I believe, Om-at,\" concluded the\nHo-don, \"that he seeks Tarzan the Terrible.\"\n\nAt the sound of that name, the first intelligible word that had fallen\nupon the ears of the stranger since he had come among them, his face\nlightened. \"Tarzan!\" he cried, \"Tarzan of the Apes!\" and by signs he\ntried to tell them that it was he whom he sought.\n\nThey understood, and also they guessed from the expression of his face\nthat he sought Tarzan from motives of affection rather than the\nreverse, but of this Om-at wished to make sure. He pointed to the\nstranger\'s knife, and repeating Tarzan\'s name, seized Ta-den and\npretended to stab him, immediately turning questioningly toward the\nstranger.\n\nThe latter shook his head vehemently and then first placing a hand\nabove his heart he raised his palm in the symbol of peace.\n\n\"He is a friend of Tarzan-jad-guru,\" exclaimed Ta-den.\n\n\"Either a friend or a great liar,\" replied Om-at.\n\n\"Tarzan,\" continued the stranger, \"you know him? He lives? O God, if I\ncould only speak your language.\" And again reverting to sign language\nhe sought to ascertain where Tarzan was. He would pronounce the name\nand point in different directions, in the cave, down into the gorge,\nback toward the mountains, or out upon the valley below, and each time\nhe would raise his brows questioningly and voice the universal \"eh?\" of\ninterrogation which they could not fail to understand. But always Om-at\nshook his head and spread his palms in a gesture which indicated that\nwhile he understood the question he was ignorant as to the whereabouts\nof the ape-man, and then the black chief attempted as best he might to\nexplain to the stranger what he knew of the whereabouts of Tarzan.\n\nHe called the newcomer Jar-don, which in the language of Pal-ul-don\nmeans \"stranger,\" and he pointed to the sun and said _as_. This he\nrepeated several times and then he held up one hand with the fingers\noutspread and touching them one by one, including the thumb, repeated\nthe word adenen until the stranger understood that he meant five. Again\nhe pointed to the sun and describing an arc with his forefinger\nstarting at the eastern horizon and terminating at the western, he\nrepeated again the words as adenen. It was plain to the stranger that\nthe words meant that the sun had crossed the heavens five times. In\nother words, five days had passed. Om-at then pointed to the cave where\nthey stood, pronouncing Tarzan\'s name and imitating a walking man with\nthe first and second fingers of his right hand upon the floor of the\nrecess, sought to show that Tarzan had walked out of the cave and\nclimbed upward on the pegs five days before, but this was as far as the\nsign language would permit him to go.\n\nThis far the stranger followed him and, indicating that he understood\nhe pointed to himself and then indicating the pegs leading above\nannounced that he would follow Tarzan.\n\n\"Let us go with him,\" said Om-at, \"for as yet we have not punished the\nKor-ul-lul for killing our friend and ally.\"\n\n\"Persuade him to wait until morning,\" said Ta-den, \"that you may take\nwith you many warriors and make a great raid upon the Kor-ul-lul, and\nthis time, Om-at, do not kill your prisoners. Take as many as you can\nalive and from some of them we may learn the fate of Tarzan-jad-guru.\"\n\n\"Great is the wisdom of the Ho-don,\" replied Om-at. \"It shall be as you\nsay, and having made prisoners of all the Kor-ul-lul we shall make them\ntell us what we wish to know. And then we shall march them to the rim\nof Kor-ul-GRYF and push them over the edge of the cliff.\"\n\nTa-den smiled. He knew that they would not take prisoner all the\nKor-ul-lul warriors--that they would be fortunate if they took one and\nit was also possible that they might even be driven back in defeat, but\nhe knew too that Om-at would not hesitate to carry out his threat if he\nhad the opportunity, so implacable was the hatred of these neighbors\nfor each other.\n\nIt was not difficult to explain Om-at\'s plan to the stranger or to win\nhis consent since he was aware, when the great black had made it plain\nthat they would be accompanied by many warriors, that their venture\nwould probably lead them into a hostile country and every safeguard\nthat he could employ he was glad to avail himself of, since the\nfurtherance of his quest was the paramount issue.\n\nHe slept that night upon a pile of furs in one of the compartments of\nOm-at\'s ancestral cave, and early the next day following the morning\nmeal they sallied forth, a hundred savage warriors swarming up the face\nof the sheer cliff and out upon the summit of the ridge, the main body\npreceded by two warriors whose duties coincided with those of the point\nof modern military maneuvers, safeguarding the column against the\ndanger of too sudden contact with the enemy.\n\nAcross the ridge they went and down into the Kor-ul-lul and there\nalmost immediately they came upon a lone and unarmed Waz-don who was\nmaking his way fearfully up the gorge toward the village of his tribe.\nHim they took prisoner which, strangely, only added to his terror since\nfrom the moment that he had seen them and realized that escape was\nimpossible, he had expected to be slain immediately.\n\n\"Take him back to Kor-ul-JA,\" said Om-at, to one of his warriors, \"and\nhold him there unharmed until I return.\"\n\nAnd so the puzzled Kor-ul-lul was led away while the savage company\nmoved stealthily from tree to tree in its closer advance upon the\nvillage. Fortune smiled upon Om-at in that it gave him quickly what he\nsought--a battle royal, for they had not yet come in sight of the caves\nof the Kor-ul-lul when they encountered a considerable band of warriors\nheaded down the gorge upon some expedition.\n\nLike shadows the Kor-ul-JA melted into the concealment of the foliage\nupon either side of the trail. Ignorant of impending danger, safe in\nthe knowledge that they trod their own domain where each rock and stone\nwas as familiar as the features of their mates, the Kor-ul-lul walked\ninnocently into the ambush. Suddenly the quiet of that seeming peace\nwas shattered by a savage cry and a hurled club felled a Kor-ul-lul.\n\nThe cry was a signal for a savage chorus from a hundred Kor-ul-JA\nthroats with which were soon mingled the war cries of their enemies.\nThe air was filled with flying clubs and then as the two forces\nmingled, the battle resolved itself into a number of individual\nencounters as each warrior singled out a foe and closed upon him.\nKnives gleamed and flashed in the mottling sunlight that filtered\nthrough the foliage of the trees above. Sleek black coats were\nstreaked with crimson stains.\n\nIn the thick of the fight the smooth brown skin of the stranger mingled\nwith the black bodies of friend and foe. Only his keen eyes and his\nquick wit had shown him how to differentiate between Kor-ul-lul and\nKor-ul-JA since with the single exception of apparel they were\nidentical, but at the first rush of the enemy he had noticed that their\nloin cloths were not of the leopard-matted hides such as were worn by\nhis allies.\n\nOm-at, after dispatching his first antagonist, glanced at Jar-don. \"He\nfights with the ferocity of JATO,\" mused the chief. \"Powerful indeed\nmust be the tribe from which he and Tarzan-jad-guru come,\" and then his\nwhole attention was occupied by a new assailant.\n\nThe fighters surged to and fro through the forest until those who\nsurvived were spent with exhaustion. All but the stranger who seemed\nnot to know the sense of fatigue. He fought on when each new antagonist\nwould have gladly quit, and when there were no more Kor-ul-lul who were\nnot engaged, he leaped upon those who stood pantingly facing the\nexhausted Kor-ul-JA.\n\nAnd always he carried upon his back the peculiar thing which Om-at had\nthought was some manner of strange weapon but the purpose of which he\ncould not now account for in view of the fact that Jar-don never used\nit, and that for the most part it seemed but a nuisance and needless\nencumbrance since it banged and smashed against its owner as he leaped,\ncatlike, hither and thither in the course of his victorious duels. The\nbow and arrows he had tossed aside at the beginning of the fight but\nthe Enfield he would not discard, for where he went he meant that it\nshould go until its mission had been fulfilled.\n\nPresently the Kor-ul-JA, seemingly shamed by the example of Jar-don\nclosed once more with the enemy, but the latter, moved no doubt to\nterror by the presence of the stranger, a tireless demon who appeared\ninvulnerable to their attacks, lost heart and sought to flee. And then\nit was that at Om-at\'s command his warriors surrounded a half-dozen of\nthe most exhausted and made them prisoners.\n\nIt was a tired, bloody, and elated company that returned victorious to\nthe Kor-ul-JA. Twenty of their number were carried back and six of\nthese were dead men. It was the most glorious and successful raid that\nthe Kor-ul-JA had made upon the Kor-ul-lul in the memory of man, and it\nmarked Om-at as the greatest of chiefs, but that fierce warrior knew\nthat advantage had lain upon his side largely because of the presence\nof his strange ally. Nor did he hesitate to give credit where credit\nbelonged, with the result that Jar-don and his exploits were upon the\ntongue of every member of the tribe of Kor-ul-JA and great was the fame\nof the race that could produce two such as he and Tarzan-jad-guru.\n\nAnd in the gorge of Kor-ul-lul beyond the ridge the survivors spoke in\nbated breath of this second demon that had joined forces with their\nancient enemy.\n\nReturned to his cave Om-at caused the Kor-ul-lul prisoners to be\nbrought into his presence singly, and each he questioned as to the fate\nof Tarzan. Without exception they told him the same story--that Tarzan\nhad been taken prisoner by them five days before but that he had slain\nthe warrior left to guard him and escaped, carrying the head of the\nunfortunate sentry to the opposite side of Kor-ul-lul where he had left\nit suspended by its hair from the branch of a tree. But what had become\nof him after, they did not know; not one of them, until the last\nprisoner was examined, he whom they had taken first--the unarmed\nKor-ul-lul making his way from the direction of the Valley of\nJad-ben-Otho toward the caves of his people.\n\nThis one, when he discovered the purpose of their questioning, bartered\nwith them for the lives and liberty of himself and his fellows. \"I can\ntell you much of this terrible man of whom you ask, Kor-ul-JA,\" he\nsaid. \"I saw him yesterday and I know where he is, and if you will\npromise to let me and my fellows return in safety to the caves of our\nancestors I will tell you all, and truthfully, that which I know.\"\n\n\"You will tell us anyway,\" replied Om-at, \"or we shall kill you.\"\n\n\"You will kill me anyway,\" retorted the prisoner, \"unless you make me\nthis promise; so if I am to be killed the thing I know shall go with\nme.\"\n\n\"He is right, Om-at,\" said Ta-den, \"promise him that they shall have\ntheir liberty.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said Om-at. \"Speak Kor-ul-lul, and when you have told me\nall, you and your fellows may return unharmed to your tribe.\"\n\n\"It was thus,\" commenced the prisoner. \"Three days since I was hunting\nwith a party of my fellows near the mouth of Kor-ul-lul not far from\nwhere you captured me this morning, when we were surprised and set upon\nby a large number of Ho-don who took us prisoners and carried us to\nA-lur where a few were chosen to be slaves and the rest were cast into\na chamber beneath the temple where are held for sacrifice the victims\nthat are offered by the Ho-don to Jad-ben-Otho upon the sacrificial\naltars of the temple at A-lur.\n\n\"It seemed then that indeed was my fate sealed and that lucky were\nthose who had been selected for slaves among the Ho-don, for they at\nleast might hope to escape--those in the chamber with me must be\nwithout hope.\n\n\"But yesterday a strange thing happened. There came to the temple,\naccompanied by all the priests and by the king and many of his\nwarriors, one whom all did great reverence, and when he came to the\nbarred gateway leading to the chamber in which we wretched ones awaited\nour fate, I saw to my surprise that it was none other than that\nterrible man who had so recently been a prisoner in the village of\nKor-ul-lul--he whom you call Tarzan-jad-guru but whom they addressed as\nDor-ul-Otho. And he looked upon us and questioned the high priest and\nwhen he was told of the purpose for which we were imprisoned there he\ngrew angry and cried that it was not the will of Jad-ben-Otho that his\npeople be thus sacrificed, and he commanded the high priest to liberate\nus, and this was done.\n\n\"The Ho-don prisoners were permitted to return to their homes and we\nwere led beyond the City of A-lur and set upon our way toward\nKor-ul-lul. There were three of us, but many are the dangers that lie\nbetween A-lur and Kor-ul-lul and we were only three and unarmed.\nTherefore none of us reached the village of our people and only one of\nus lives. I have spoken.\"\n\n\"That is all you know concerning Tarzan-jad-guru?\" asked Om-at.\n\n\"That is all I know,\" replied the prisoner, \"other than that he whom\nthey call Lu-don, the high priest at A-lur, was very angry, and that\none of the two priests who guided us out of the city said to the other\nthat the stranger was not Dor-ul-Otho at all; that Lu-don had said so\nand that he had also said that he would expose him and that he should\nbe punished with death for his presumption. That is all they said\nwithin my hearing.\n\n\"And now, chief of Kor-ul-JA, let us depart.\"\n\nOm-at nodded. \"Go your way,\" he said, \"and Ab-on, send warriors to\nguard them until they are safely within the Kor-ul-lul.\n\n\"Jar-don,\" he said beckoning to the stranger, \"come with me,\" and\nrising he led the way toward the summit of the cliff, and when they\nstood upon the ridge Om-at pointed down into the valley toward the City\nof A-lur gleaming in the light of the western sun.\n\n\"There is Tarzan-jad-guru,\" he said, and Jar-don understood.\n\n\n\n13\n\nThe Masquerader\n\nAs Tarzan dropped to the ground beyond the temple wall there was in his\nmind no intention to escape from the City of A-lur until he had\nsatisfied himself that his mate was not a prisoner there, but how, in\nthis strange city in which every man\'s hand must be now against him, he\nwas to live and prosecute his search was far from clear to him.\n\nThere was only one place of which he knew that he might find even\ntemporary sanctuary and that was the Forbidden Garden of the king.\nThere was thick shrubbery in which a man might hide, and water and\nfruits. A cunning jungle creature, if he could reach the spot\nunsuspected, might remain concealed there for a considerable time, but\nhow he was to traverse the distance between the temple grounds and the\ngarden unseen was a question the seriousness of which he fully\nappreciated.\n\n\"Mighty is Tarzan,\" he soliloquized, \"in his native jungle, but in the\ncities of man he is little better than they.\"\n\nDepending upon his keen observation and sense of location he felt safe\nin assuming that he could reach the palace grounds by means of the\nsubterranean corridors and chambers of the temple through which he had\nbeen conducted the day before, nor any slightest detail of which had\nescaped his keen eyes. That would be better, he reasoned, than crossing\nthe open grounds above where his pursuers would naturally immediately\nfollow him from the temple and quickly discover him.\n\nAnd so a dozen paces from the temple wall he disappeared from sight of\nany chance observer above, down one of the stone stairways that led to\nthe apartments beneath. The way that he had been conducted the previous\nday had followed the windings and turnings of numerous corridors and\napartments, but Tarzan, sure of himself in such matters, retraced the\nroute accurately without hesitation.\n\nHe had little fear of immediate apprehension here since he believed\nthat all the priests of the temple had assembled in the court above to\nwitness his trial and his humiliation and his death, and with this idea\nfirmly implanted in his mind he rounded the turn of the corridor and\ncame face to face with an under priest, his grotesque headdress\nconcealing whatever emotion the sight of Tarzan may have aroused.\n\nHowever, Tarzan had one advantage over the masked votary of\nJad-ben-Otho in that the moment he saw the priest he knew his intention\nconcerning him, and therefore was not compelled to delay action. And so\nit was that before the priest could determine on any suitable line of\nconduct in the premises a long, keen knife had been slipped into his\nheart.\n\nAs the body lunged toward the floor Tarzan caught it and snatched the\nheaddress from its shoulders, for the first sight of the creature had\nsuggested to his ever-alert mind a bold scheme for deceiving his\nenemies.\n\nThe headdress saved from such possible damage as it must have sustained\nhad it fallen to the floor with the body of its owner, Tarzan\nrelinquished his hold upon the corpse, set the headdress carefully upon\nthe floor and stooping down severed the tail of the Ho-don close to its\nroot. Near by at his right was a small chamber from which the priest\nhad evidently just emerged and into this Tarzan dragged the corpse, the\nheaddress, and the tail.\n\nQuickly cutting a thin strip of hide from the loin cloth of the priest,\nTarzan tied it securely about the upper end of the severed member and\nthen tucking the tail under his loin cloth behind him, secured it in\nplace as best he could. Then he fitted the headdress over his shoulders\nand stepped from the apartment, to all appearances a priest of the\ntemple of Jad-ben-Otho unless one examined too closely his thumbs and\nhis great toes.\n\nHe had noticed that among both the Ho-don and the Waz-don it was not at\nall unusual that the end of the tail be carried in one hand, and so he\ncaught his own tail up thus lest the lifeless appearance of it dragging\nalong behind him should arouse suspicion.\n\nPassing along the corridor and through the various chambers he emerged\nat last into the palace grounds beyond the temple. The pursuit had not\nyet reached this point though he was conscious of a commotion not far\nbehind him. He met now both warriors and slaves but none gave him more\nthan a passing glance, a priest being too common a sight about the\npalace.\n\nAnd so, passing the guards unchallenged, he came at last to the inner\nentrance to the Forbidden Garden and there he paused and scanned\nquickly that portion of the beautiful spot that lay before his eyes. To\nhis relief it seemed unoccupied and congratulating himself upon the\nease with which he had so far outwitted the high powers of A-lur he\nmoved rapidly to the opposite end of the enclosure. Here he found a\npatch of flowering shrubbery that might safely have concealed a dozen\nmen.\n\nCrawling well within he removed the uncomfortable headdress and sat\ndown to await whatever eventualities fate might have in store for him\nthe while he formulated plans for the future. The one night that he had\nspent in A-lur had kept him up to a late hour, apprising him of the\nfact that while there were few abroad in the temple grounds at night,\nthere were yet enough to make it possible for him to fare forth under\ncover of his disguise without attracting the unpleasant attention of\nthe guards, and, too, he had noticed that the priesthood constituted a\nprivileged class that seemed to come and go at will and unchallenged\nthroughout the palace as well as the temple. Altogether then, he\ndecided, night furnished the most propitious hours for his\ninvestigation--by day he could lie up in the shrubbery of the Forbidden\nGarden, reasonably free from detection. From beyond the garden he heard\nthe voices of men calling to one another both far and near, and he\nguessed that diligent was the search that was being prosecuted for him.\n\nThe idle moments afforded him an opportunity to evolve a more\nsatisfactory scheme for attaching his stolen caudal appendage. He\narranged it in such a way that it might be quickly assumed or\ndiscarded, and this done he fell to examining the weird mask that had\nso effectively hidden his features.\n\nThe thing had been very cunningly wrought from a single block of wood,\nvery probably a section of a tree, upon which the features had been\ncarved and afterward the interior hollowed out until only a\ncomparatively thin shell remained. Two-semicircular notches had been\nrounded out from opposite sides of the lower edge. These fitted snugly\nover his shoulders, aprons of wood extending downward a few inches upon\nhis chest and back. From these aprons hung long tassels or switches of\nhair tapering from the outer edges toward the center which reached\nbelow the bottom of his torso. It required but the most cursory\nexamination to indicate to the ape-man that these ornaments consisted\nof human scalps, taken, doubtless, from the heads of the sacrifices\nupon the eastern altars. The headdress itself had been carved to depict\nin formal design a hideous face that suggested both man and GRYF. There\nwere the three white horns, the yellow face with the blue bands\nencircling the eyes and the red hood which took the form of the\nposterior and anterior aprons.\n\nAs Tarzan sat within the concealing foliage of the shrubbery meditating\nupon the hideous priest-mask which he held in his hands he became aware\nthat he was not alone in the garden. He sensed another presence and\npresently his trained ears detected the slow approach of naked feet\nacross the sward. At first he suspected that it might be one stealthily\nsearching the Forbidden Garden for him but a little later the figure\ncame within the limited area of his vision which was circumscribed by\nstems and foliage and flowers. He saw then that it was the princess\nO-lo-a and that she was alone and walking with bowed head as though in\nmeditation--sorrowful meditation for there were traces of tears upon\nher lids.\n\nShortly after his ears warned him that others had entered the\ngarden--men they were and their footsteps proclaimed that they walked\nneither slowly nor meditatively. They came directly toward the princess\nand when Tarzan could see them he discovered that both were priests.\n\n\"O-lo-a, Princess of Pal-ul-don,\" said one, addressing her, \"the\nstranger who told us that he was the son of Jad-ben-Otho has but just\nfled from the wrath of Lu-don, the high priest, who exposed him and all\nhis wicked blasphemy. The temple, and the palace, and the city are\nbeing searched and we have been sent to search the Forbidden Garden,\nsince Ko-tan, the king, said that only this morning he found him here,\nthough how he passed the guards he could not guess.\"\n\n\"He is not here,\" said O-lo-a. \"I have been in the garden for some time\nand have seen nor heard no other than myself. However, search it if you\nwill.\"\n\n\"No,\" said the priest who had before spoken, \"it is not necessary since\nhe could not have entered without your knowledge and the connivance of\nthe guards, and even had he, the priest who preceded us must have seen\nhim.\"\n\n\"What priest?\" asked O-lo-a.\n\n\"One passed the guards shortly before us,\" explained the man.\n\n\"I did not see him,\" said O-lo-a.\n\n\"Doubtless he left by another exit,\" remarked the second priest.\n\n\"Yes, doubtless,\" acquiesced O-lo-a, \"but it is strange that I did not\nsee him.\" The two priests made their obeisance and turned to depart.\n\n\"Stupid as Buto, the rhinoceros,\" soliloquized Tarzan, who considered\nButo a very stupid creature indeed. \"It should be easy to outwit such\nas these.\"\n\nThe priests had scarce departed when there came the sound of feet\nrunning rapidly across the garden in the direction of the princess to\nan accompaniment of rapid breathing as of one almost spent, either from\nfatigue or excitement.\n\n\"Pan-at-lee,\" exclaimed O-lo-a, \"what has happened? You look as\nterrified as the doe for which you were named!\"\n\n\"O Princess of Pal-ul-don,\" cried Pan-at-lee, \"they would have killed\nhim in the temple. They would have killed the wondrous stranger who\nclaimed to be the Dor-ul-Otho.\"\n\n\"But he escaped,\" said O-lo-a. \"You were there. Tell me about it.\"\n\n\"The head priest would have had him seized and slain, but when they\nrushed upon him he hurled one in the face of Lu-don with the same ease\nthat you might cast your breastplates at me, and then he leaped upon\nthe altar and from there to the top of the temple wall and disappeared\nbelow. They are searching for him, but, O Princess, I pray that they do\nnot find him.\"\n\n\"And why do you pray that?\" asked O-lo-a. \"Has not one who has so\nblasphemed earned death?\"\n\n\"Ah, but you do not know him,\" replied Pan-at-lee.\n\n\"And you do, then?\" retorted O-lo-a quickly. \"This morning you betrayed\nyourself and then attempted to deceive me. The slaves of O-lo-a do not\nsuch things with impunity. He is then the same Tarzan-jad-guru of whom\nyou told me? Speak woman and speak only the truth.\"\n\nPan-at-lee drew herself up very erect, her little chin held high, for\nwas not she too among her own people already as good as a princess?\n\"Pan-at-lee, the Kor-ul-JA does not lie,\" she said, \"to protect\nherself.\"\n\n\"Then tell me what you know of this Tarzan-jad-guru,\" insisted O-lo-a.\n\n\"I know that he is a wondrous man and very brave,\" said Pan-at-lee,\n\"and that he saved me from the Tor-o-don and the GRYF as I told you,\nand that he is indeed the same who came into the garden this morning;\nand even now I do not know that he is not the son of Jad-ben-Otho for\nhis courage and his strength are more than those of mortal man, as are\nalso his kindness and his honor: for when he might have harmed me he\nprotected me, and when he might have saved himself he thought only of\nme. And all this he did because of his friendship for Om-at, who is\ngund of Kor-ul-JA and with whom I should have mated had the Ho-don not\ncaptured me.\"\n\n\"He was indeed a wonderful man to look upon,\" mused O-lo-a, \"and he was\nnot as are other men, not alone in the conformation of his hands and\nfeet or the fact that he was tailless, but there was that about him\nwhich made him seem different in ways more important than these.\"\n\n\"And,\" supplemented Pan-at-lee, her savage little heart loyal to the\nman who had befriended her and hoping to win for him the consideration\nof the princess even though it might not avail him; \"and,\" she said,\n\"did he not know all about Ta-den and even his whereabouts. Tell me, O\nPrincess, could mortal know such things as these?\"\n\n\"Perhaps he saw Ta-den,\" suggested O-lo-a.\n\n\"But how would he know that you loved Ta-den,\" parried Pan-at-lee. \"I\ntell you, my Princess, that if he is not a god he is at least more than\nHo-don or Waz-don. He followed me from the cave of Es-sat in Kor-ul-JA\nacross Kor-ul-lul and two wide ridges to the very cave in Kor-ul-GRYF\nwhere I hid, though many hours had passed since I had come that way and\nmy bare feet left no impress upon the ground. What mortal man could do\nsuch things as these? And where in all Pal-ul-don would virgin maid\nfind friend and protector in a strange male other than he?\"\n\n\"Perhaps Lu-don may be mistaken--perhaps he is a god,\" said O-lo-a,\ninfluenced by her slave\'s enthusiastic championing of the stranger.\n\n\"But whether god or man he is too wonderful to die,\" cried Pan-at-lee.\n\"Would that I might save him. If he lived he might even find a way to\ngive you your Ta-den, Princess.\"\n\n\"Ah, if he only could,\" sighed O-lo-a, \"but alas it is too late for\ntomorrow I am to be given to Bu-lot.\"\n\n\"He who came to your quarters yesterday with your father?\" asked\nPan-at-lee.\n\n\"Yes; the one with the awful round face and the big belly,\" exclaimed\nthe Princess disgustedly. \"He is so lazy he will neither hunt nor\nfight. To eat and to drink is all that Bu-lot is fit for, and he thinks\nof naught else except these things and his slave women. But come,\nPan-at-lee, gather for me some of these beautiful blossoms. I would\nhave them spread around my couch tonight that I may carry away with me\nin the morning the memory of the fragrance that I love best and which I\nknow that I shall not find in the village of Mo-sar, the father of\nBu-lot. I will help you, Pan-at-lee, and we will gather armfuls of\nthem, for I love to gather them as I love nothing else--they were\nTa-den\'s favorite flowers.\"\n\nThe two approached the flowering shrubbery where Tarzan hid, but as the\nblooms grew plentifully upon every bush the ape-man guessed there would\nbe no necessity for them to enter the patch far enough to discover him.\nWith little exclamations of pleasure as they found particularly large\nor perfect blooms the two moved from place to place upon the outskirts\nof Tarzan\'s retreat.\n\n\"Oh, look, Pan-at-lee,\" cried O-lo-a presently; \"there is the king of\nthem all. Never did I see so wonderful a flower--No! I will get it\nmyself--it is so large and wonderful no other hand shall touch it,\" and\nthe princess wound in among the bushes toward the point where the great\nflower bloomed upon a bush above the ape-man\'s head.\n\nSo sudden and unexpected her approach that there was no opportunity to\nescape and Tarzan sat silently trusting that fate might be kind to him\nand lead Ko-tan\'s daughter away before her eyes dropped from the\nhigh-growing bloom to him. But as the girl cut the long stem with her\nknife she looked down straight into the smiling face of Tarzan-jad-guru.\n\nWith a stifled scream she drew back and the ape-man rose and faced her.\n\n\"Have no fear, Princess,\" he assured her. \"It is the friend of Ta-den\nwho salutes you,\" raising her fingers to his lips.\n\nPan-at-lee came now excitedly forward. \"O Jad-ben-Otho, it is he!\"\n\n\"And now that you have found me,\" queried Tarzan, \"will you give me up\nto Lu-don, the high priest?\"\n\nPan-at-lee threw herself upon her knees at O-lo-a\'s feet. \"Princess!\nPrincess!\" she beseeched, \"do not discover him to his enemies.\"\n\n\"But Ko-tan, my father,\" whispered O-lo-a fearfully, \"if he knew of my\nperfidy his rage would be beyond naming. Even though I am a princess\nLu-don might demand that I be sacrificed to appease the wrath of\nJad-ben-Otho, and between the two of them I should be lost.\"\n\n\"But they need never know,\" cried Pan-at-lee, \"that you have seen him\nunless you tell them yourself for as Jad-ben-Otho is my witness I will\nnever betray you.\"\n\n\"Oh, tell me, stranger,\" implored O-lo-a, \"are you indeed a god?\"\n\n\"Jad-ben-Otho is not more so,\" replied Tarzan truthfully.\n\n\"But why do you seek to escape then from the hands of mortals if you\nare a god?\" she asked.\n\n\"When gods mingle with mortals,\" replied Tarzan, \"they are no less\nvulnerable than mortals. Even Jad-ben-Otho, should he appear before you\nin the flesh, might be slain.\"\n\n\"You have seen Ta-den and spoken with him?\" she asked with apparent\nirrelevancy.\n\n\"Yes, I have seen him and spoken with him,\" replied the ape-man. \"For\nthe duration of a moon I was with him constantly.\"\n\n\"And--\" she hesitated--\"he--\" she cast her eyes toward the ground and a\nflush mantled her cheek--\"he still loves me?\" and Tarzan knew that she\nhad been won over.\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, \"Ta-den speaks only of O-lo-a and he waits and hopes\nfor the day when he can claim her.\"\n\n\"But tomorrow they give me to Bu-lot,\" she said sadly.\n\n\"May it be always tomorrow,\" replied Tarzan, \"for tomorrow never comes.\"\n\n\"Ah, but this unhappiness will come, and for all the tomorrows of my\nlife I must pine in misery for the Ta-den who will never be mine.\"\n\n\"But for Lu-don I might have helped you,\" said the ape-man. \"And who\nknows that I may not help you yet?\"\n\n\"Ah, if you only could, Dor-ul-Otho,\" cried the girl, \"and I know that\nyou would if it were possible for Pan-at-lee has told me how brave you\nare, and at the same time how kind.\"\n\n\"Only Jad-ben-Otho knows what the future may bring,\" said Tarzan. \"And\nnow you two go your way lest someone should discover you and become\nsuspicious.\"\n\n\"We will go,\" said O-lo-a, \"but Pan-at-lee will return with food. I\nhope that you escape and that Jad-ben-Otho is pleased with what I have\ndone.\" She turned and walked away and Pan-at-lee followed while the\nape-man again resumed his hiding.\n\nAt dusk Pan-at-lee came with food and having her alone Tarzan put the\nquestion that he had been anxious to put since his conversation earlier\nin the day with O-lo-a.\n\n\"Tell me,\" he said, \"what you know of the rumors of which O-lo-a spoke\nof the mysterious stranger which is supposed to be hidden in A-lur.\nHave you too heard of this during the short time that you have been\nhere?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Pan-at-lee, \"I have heard it spoken of among the other\nslaves. It is something of which all whisper among themselves but of\nwhich none dares to speak aloud. They say that there is a strange she\nhidden in the temple and that Lu-don wants her for a priestess and that\nKo-tan wants her for a wife and that neither as yet dares take her for\nfear of the other.\"\n\n\"Do you know where she is hidden in the temple?\" asked Tarzan.\n\n\"No,\" said Pan-at-lee. \"How should I know? I do not even know that it\nis more than a story and I but tell you that which I have heard others\nsay.\"\n\n\"There was only one,\" asked Tarzan, \"whom they spoke of?\"\n\n\"No, they speak of another who came with her but none seems to know\nwhat became of this one.\"\n\nTarzan nodded. \"Thank you Pan-at-lee,\" he said. \"You may have helped me\nmore than either of us guess.\"\n\n\"I hope that I have helped you,\" said the girl as she turned back\ntoward the palace.\n\n\"And I hope so too,\" exclaimed Tarzan emphatically.\n\n\n\n14\n\nThe Temple of the Gryf\n\nWhen night had fallen Tarzan donned the mask and the dead tail of the\npriest he had slain in the vaults beneath the temple. He judged that it\nwould not do to attempt again to pass the guard, especially so late at\nnight as it would be likely to arouse comment and suspicion, and so he\nswung into the tree that overhung the garden wall and from its branches\ndropped to the ground beyond.\n\nAvoiding too grave risk of apprehension the ape-man passed through the\ngrounds to the court of the palace, approaching the temple from the\nside opposite to that at which he had left it at the time of his\nescape. He came thus it is true through a portion of the grounds with\nwhich he was unfamiliar but he preferred this to the danger of\nfollowing the beaten track between the palace apartments and those of\nthe temple. Having a definite goal in mind and endowed as he was with\nan almost miraculous sense of location he moved with great assurance\nthrough the shadows of the temple yard.\n\nTaking advantage of the denser shadows close to the walls and of what\nshrubs and trees there were he came without mishap at last to the\nornate building concerning the purpose of which he had asked Lu-don\nonly to be put off with the assertion that it was forgotten--nothing\nstrange in itself but given possible importance by the apparent\nhesitancy of the priest to discuss its use and the impression the\nape-man had gained at the time that Lu-don lied.\n\nAnd now he stood at last alone before the structure which was three\nstories in height and detached from all the other temple buildings. It\nhad a single barred entrance which was carved from the living rock in\nrepresentation of the head of a GRYF, whose wide-open mouth constituted\nthe doorway. The head, hood, and front paws of the creature were\ndepicted as though it lay crouching with its lower jaw on the ground\nbetween its outspread paws. Small oval windows, which were likewise\nbarred, flanked the doorway.\n\nSeeing that the coast was clear, Tarzan stepped into the darkened\nentrance where he tried the bars only to discover that they were\ningeniously locked in place by some device with which he was unfamiliar\nand that they also were probably too strong to be broken even if he\ncould have risked the noise which would have resulted. Nothing was\nvisible within the darkened interior and so, momentarily baffled, he\nsought the windows. Here also the bars refused to yield up their\nsecret, but again Tarzan was not dismayed since he had counted upon\nnothing different.\n\nIf the bars would not yield to his cunning they would yield to his\ngiant strength if there proved no other means of ingress, but first he\nwould assure himself that this latter was the case. Moving entirely\naround the building he examined it carefully. There were other windows\nbut they were similarly barred. He stopped often to look and listen but\nhe saw no one and the sounds that he heard were too far away to cause\nhim any apprehension.\n\nHe glanced above him at the wall of the building. Like so many of the\nother walls of the city, palace, and temple, it was ornately carved and\nthere were too the peculiar ledges that ran sometimes in a horizontal\nplane and again were tilted at an angle, giving ofttimes an impression\nof irregularity and even crookedness to the buildings. It was not a\ndifficult wall to climb, at least not difficult for the ape-man.\n\nBut he found the bulky and awkward headdress a considerable handicap\nand so he laid it aside upon the ground at the foot of the wall. Nimbly\nhe ascended to find the windows of the second floor not only barred but\ncurtained within. He did not delay long at the second floor since he\nhad in mind an idea that he would find the easiest entrance through the\nroof which he had noticed was roughly dome shaped like the throneroom\nof Ko-tan. Here there were apertures. He had seen them from the ground,\nand if the construction of the interior resembled even slightly that of\nthe throneroom, bars would not be necessary upon these apertures, since\nno one could reach them from the floor of the room.\n\nThere was but a single question: would they be large enough to admit\nthe broad shoulders of the ape-man.\n\nHe paused again at the third floor, and here, in spite of the hangings,\nhe saw that the interior was lighted and simultaneously there came to\nhis nostrils from within a scent that stripped from him temporarily any\nremnant of civilization that might have remained and left him a fierce\nand terrible bull of the jungles of Kerchak. So sudden and complete was\nthe metamorphosis that there almost broke from the savage lips the\nhideous challenge of his kind, but the cunning brute-mind saved him\nthis blunder.\n\nAnd now he heard voices within--the voice of Lu-don he could have\nsworn, demanding. And haughty and disdainful came the answering words\nthough utter hopelessness spoke in the tones of this other voice which\nbrought Tarzan to the pinnacle of frenzy.\n\nThe dome with its possible apertures was forgotten. Every consideration\nof stealth and quiet was cast aside as the ape-man drew back his mighty\nfist and struck a single terrific blow upon the bars of the small\nwindow before him, a blow that sent the bars and the casing that held\nthem clattering to the floor of the apartment within.\n\nInstantly Tarzan dove headforemost through the aperture carrying the\nhangings of antelope hide with him to the floor below. Leaping to his\nfeet he tore the entangling pelt from about his head only to find\nhimself in utter darkness and in silence. He called aloud a name that\nhad not passed his lips for many weary months. \"Jane, Jane,\" he cried,\n\"where are you?\" But there was only silence in reply.\n\nAgain and again he called, groping with outstretched hands through the\nStygian blackness of the room, his nostrils assailed and his brain\ntantalized by the delicate effluvia that had first assured him that his\nmate had been within this very room. And he had heard her dear voice\ncombatting the base demands of the vile priest. Ah, if he had but acted\nwith greater caution! If he had but continued to move with quiet and\nstealth he might even at this moment be holding her in his arms while\nthe body of Lu-don, beneath his foot, spoke eloquently of vengeance\nachieved. But there was no time now for idle self-reproaches.\n\nHe stumbled blindly forward, groping for he knew not what till suddenly\nthe floor beneath him tilted and he shot downward into a darkness even\nmore utter than that above. He felt his body strike a smooth surface\nand he realized that he was hurtling downward as through a polished\nchute while from above there came the mocking tones of a taunting laugh\nand the voice of Lu-don screamed after him: \"Return to thy father, O\nDor-ul-Otho!\"\n\nThe ape-man came to a sudden and painful stop upon a rocky floor.\nDirectly before him was an oval window crossed by many bars, and beyond\nhe saw the moonlight playing on the waters of the blue lake below.\nSimultaneously he was conscious of a familiar odor in the air of the\nchamber, which a quick glance revealed in the semidarkness as of\nconsiderable proportion.\n\nIt was the faint, but unmistakable odor of the GRYF, and now Tarzan\nstood silently listening. At first he detected no sounds other than\nthose of the city that came to him through the window overlooking the\nlake; but presently, faintly, as though from a distance he heard the\nshuffling of padded feet along a stone pavement, and as he listened he\nwas aware that the sound approached.\n\nNearer and nearer it came, and now even the breathing of the beast was\naudible. Evidently attracted by the noise of his descent into its\ncavernous retreat it was approaching to investigate. He could not see\nit but he knew that it was not far distant, and then, deafeningly there\nreverberated through those gloomy corridors the mad bellow of the GRYF.\n\nAware of the poor eyesight of the beast, and his own eyes now grown\naccustomed to the darkness of the cavern, the ape-man sought to elude\nthe infuriated charge which he well knew no living creature could\nwithstand. Neither did he dare risk the chance of experimenting upon\nthis strange GRYF with the tactics of the Tor-o-don that he had found\nso efficacious upon that other occasion when his life and liberty had\nbeen the stakes for which he cast. In many respects the conditions were\ndissimilar. Before, in broad daylight, he had been able to approach the\nGRYF under normal conditions in its natural state, and the GRYF itself\nwas one that he had seen subjected to the authority of man, or at least\nof a manlike creature; but here he was confronted by an imprisoned\nbeast in the full swing of a furious charge and he had every reason to\nsuspect that this GRYF might never have felt the restraining influence\nof authority, confined as it was in this gloomy pit to serve likely but\nthe single purpose that Tarzan had already seen so graphically\nportrayed in his own experience of the past few moments.\n\nTo elude the creature, then, upon the possibility of discovering some\nloophole of escape from his predicament seemed to the ape-man the\nwisest course to pursue. Too much was at stake to risk an encounter\nthat might be avoided--an encounter the outcome of which there was\nevery reason to apprehend would seal the fate of the mate that he had\njust found, only to lose again so harrowingly. Yet high as his\ndisappointment and chagrin ran, hopeless as his present estate now\nappeared, there tingled in the veins of the savage lord a warm glow of\nthanksgiving and elation. She lived! After all these weary months of\nhopelessness and fear he had found her. She lived!\n\nTo the opposite side of the chamber, silently as the wraith of a\ndisembodied soul, the swift jungle creature moved from the path of the\ncharging Titan that, guided solely in the semi-darkness by its keen\nears, bore down upon the spot toward which Tarzan\'s noisy entrance into\nits lair had attracted it. Along the further wall the ape-man hurried.\nBefore him now appeared the black opening of the corridor from which\nthe beast had emerged into the larger chamber. Without hesitation\nTarzan plunged into it. Even here his eyes, long accustomed to darkness\nthat would have seemed total to you or to me, saw dimly the floor and\nthe walls within a radius of a few feet--enough at least to prevent him\nplunging into any unguessed abyss, or dashing himself upon solid rock\nat a sudden turning.\n\nThe corridor was both wide and lofty, which indeed it must be to\naccommodate the colossal proportions of the creature whose habitat it\nwas, and so Tarzan encountered no difficulty in moving with reasonable\nspeed along its winding trail. He was aware as he proceeded that the\ntrend of the passage was downward, though not steeply, but it seemed\ninterminable and he wondered to what distant subterranean lair it might\nlead. There was a feeling that perhaps after all he might better have\nremained in the larger chamber and risked all on the chance of subduing\nthe GRYF where there was at least sufficient room and light to lend to\nthe experiment some slight chance of success. To be overtaken here in\nthe narrow confines of the black corridor where he was assured the GRYF\ncould not see him at all would spell almost certain death and now he\nheard the thing approaching from behind. Its thunderous bellows fairly\nshook the cliff from which the cavernous chambers were excavated. To\nhalt and meet this monstrous incarnation of fury with a futile whee-oo!\nseemed to Tarzan the height of insanity and so he continued along the\ncorridor, increasing his pace as he realized that the GRYF was\noverhauling him.\n\nPresently the darkness lessened and at the final turning of the passage\nhe saw before him an area of moonlight. With renewed hope he sprang\nrapidly forward and emerged from the mouth of the corridor to find\nhimself in a large circular enclosure the towering white walls of which\nrose high upon every side--smooth perpendicular walls upon the sheer\nface of which was no slightest foothold. To his left lay a pool of\nwater, one side of which lapped the foot of the wall at this point. It\nwas, doubtless, the wallow and the drinking pool of the GRYF.\n\nAnd now the creature emerged from the corridor and Tarzan retreated to\nthe edge of the pool to make his last stand. There was no staff with\nwhich to enforce the authority of his voice, but yet he made his stand\nfor there seemed naught else to do. Just beyond the entrance to the\ncorridor the GRYF paused, turning its weak eyes in all directions as\nthough searching for its prey. This then seemed the psychological\nmoment for his attempt and raising his voice in peremptory command the\nape-man voiced the weird whee-oo! of the Tor-o-don. Its effect upon the\nGRYF was instantaneous and complete--with a terrific bellow it lowered\nits three horns and dashed madly in the direction of the sound.\n\nTo right nor to left was any avenue of escape, for behind him lay the\nplacid waters of the pool, while down upon him from before thundered\nannihilation. The mighty body seemed already to tower above him as the\nape-man turned and dove into the dark waters.\n\nDead in her breast lay hope. Battling for life during harrowing months\nof imprisonment and danger and hardship it had fitfully flickered and\nflamed only to sink after each renewal to smaller proportions than\nbefore and now it had died out entirely leaving only cold, charred\nembers that Jane Clayton knew would never again be rekindled. Hope was\ndead as she faced Lu-don, the high priest, in her prison quarters in\nthe Temple of the Gryf at A-lur. Both time and hardship had failed to\nleave their impress upon her physical beauty--the contours of her\nperfect form, the glory of her radiant loveliness had defied them, yet\nto these very attributes she owed the danger which now confronted her,\nfor Lu-don desired her. From the lesser priests she had been safe, but\nfrom Lu-don, she was not safe, for Lu-don was not as they, since the\nhigh priestship of Pal-ul-don may descend from father to son.\n\nKo-tan, the king, had wanted her and all that had so far saved her from\neither was the fear of each for the other, but at last Lu-don had cast\naside discretion and had come in the silent watches of the night to\nclaim her. Haughtily had she repulsed him, seeking ever to gain time,\nthough what time might bring her of relief or renewed hope she could\nnot even remotely conjecture. A leer of lust and greed shone hungrily\nupon his cruel countenance as he advanced across the room to seize her.\nShe did not shrink nor cower, but stood there very erect, her chin up,\nher level gaze freighted with the loathing and contempt she felt for\nhim. He read her expression and while it angered him, it but increased\nhis desire for possession. Here indeed was a queen, perhaps a goddess;\nfit mate for the high priest.\n\n\"You shall not!\" she said as he would have touched her. \"One of us\nshall die before ever your purpose is accomplished.\"\n\nHe was close beside her now. His laugh grated upon her ears. \"Love\ndoes not kill,\" he replied mockingly.\n\nHe reached for her arm and at the same instant something clashed\nagainst the bars of one of the windows, crashing them inward to the\nfloor, to be followed almost simultaneously by a human figure which\ndove headforemost into the room, its head enveloped in the skin window\nhangings which it carried with it in its impetuous entry.\n\nJane Clayton saw surprise and something of terror too leap to the\ncountenance of the high priest and then she saw him spring forward and\njerk upon a leather thong that depended from the ceiling of the\napartment. Instantly there dropped from above a cunningly contrived\npartition that fell between them and the intruder, effectively barring\nhim from them and at the same time leaving him to grope upon its\nopposite side in darkness, since the only cresset the room contained\nwas upon their side of the partition.\n\nFaintly from beyond the wall Jane heard a voice calling, but whose it\nwas and what the words she could not distinguish. Then she saw Lu-don\njerk upon another thong and wait in evident expectancy of some\nconsequent happening. He did not have long to wait. She saw the thong\nmove suddenly as though jerked from above and then Lu-don smiled and\nwith another signal put in motion whatever machinery it was that raised\nthe partition again to its place in the ceiling.\n\nAdvancing into that portion of the room that the partition had shut off\nfrom them, the high priest knelt upon the floor, and down tilting a\nsection of it, revealed the dark mouth of a shaft leading below.\nLaughing loudly he shouted into the hole: \"Return to thy father, O\nDor-ul-Otho!\"\n\nMaking fast the catch that prevented the trapdoor from opening beneath\nthe feet of the unwary until such time as Lu-don chose the high priest\nrose again to his feet.\n\n\"Now, Beautiful One!\" he cried, and then, \"Ja-don! what do you here?\"\n\nJane Clayton turned to follow the direction of Lu-don\'s eyes and there\nshe saw framed in the entrance-way to the apartment the mighty figure\nof a warrior, upon whose massive features sat an expression of stern\nand uncompromising authority.\n\n\"I come from Ko-tan, the king,\" replied Ja-don, \"to remove the\nbeautiful stranger to the Forbidden Garden.\"\n\n\"The king defies me, the high priest of Jad-ben-Otho?\" cried Lu-don.\n\n\"It is the king\'s command--I have spoken,\" snapped Ja-don, in whose\nmanner was no sign of either fear or respect for the priest.\n\nLu-don well knew why the king had chosen this messenger whose heresy\nwas notorious, but whose power had as yet protected him from the\nmachinations of the priest. Lu-don cast a surreptitious glance at the\nthongs hanging from the ceiling. Why not? If he could but maneuver to\nentice Ja-don to the opposite side of the chamber!\n\n\"Come,\" he said in a conciliatory tone, \"let us discuss the matter,\"\nand moved toward the spot where he would have Ja-don follow him.\n\n\"There is nothing to discuss,\" replied Ja-don, yet he followed the\npriest, fearing treachery.\n\nJane watched them. In the face and figure of the warrior she found\nreflected those admirable traits of courage and honor that the\nprofession of arms best develops. In the hypocritical priest there was\nno redeeming quality. Of the two then she might best choose the\nwarrior. With him there was a chance--with Lu-don, none. Even the very\nprocess of exchange from one prison to another might offer some\npossibility of escape. She weighed all these things and decided, for\nLu-don\'s quick glance at the thongs had not gone unnoticed nor\nuninterpreted by her.\n\n\"Warrior,\" she said, addressing Ja-don, \"if you would live enter not\nthat portion of the room.\"\n\nLu-don cast an angry glance upon her. \"Silence, slave!\" he cried.\n\n\"And where lies the danger?\" Ja-don asked of Jane, ignoring Lu-don.\n\nThe woman pointed to the thongs. \"Look,\" she said, and before the high\npriest could prevent she had seized that which controlled the partition\nwhich shot downward separating Lu-don from the warrior and herself.\n\nJa-don looked inquiringly at her. \"He would have tricked me neatly but\nfor you,\" he said; \"kept me imprisoned there while he secreted you\nelsewhere in the mazes of his temple.\"\n\n\"He would have done more than that,\" replied Jane, as she pulled upon\nthe other thong. \"This releases the fastenings of a trapdoor in the\nfloor beyond the partition. When you stepped on that you would have\nbeen precipitated into a pit beneath the temple. Lu-don has threatened\nme with this fate often. I do not know that he speaks the truth, but he\nsays that a demon of the temple is imprisoned there--a huge GRYF.\"\n\n\"There is a GRYF within the temple,\" said Ja-don. \"What with it and the\nsacrifices, the priests keep us busy supplying them with prisoners,\nthough the victims are sometimes those for whom Lu-don has conceived\nhatred among our own people. He has had his eyes upon me for a long\ntime. This would have been his chance but for you. Tell me, woman, why\nyou warned me. Are we not all equally your jailers and your enemies?\"\n\n\"None could be more horrible than Lu-don,\" she replied; \"and you have\nthe appearance of a brave and honorable warrior. I could not hope, for\nhope has died and yet there is the possibility that among so many\nfighting men, even though they be of another race than mine, there is\none who would accord honorable treatment to a stranger within his\ngates--even though she be a woman.\"\n\nJa-don looked at her for a long minute. \"Ko-tan would make you his\nqueen,\" he said. \"That he told me himself and surely that were\nhonorable treatment from one who might make you a slave.\"\n\n\"Why, then, would he make me queen?\" she asked.\n\nJa-don came closer as though in fear his words might be overheard. \"He\nbelieves, although he did not tell me so in fact, that you are of the\nrace of gods. And why not? Jad-ben-Otho is tailless, therefore it is\nnot strange that Ko-tan should suspect that only the gods are thus. His\nqueen is dead leaving only a single daughter. He craves a son and what\nmore desirable than that he should found a line of rulers for\nPal-ul-don descended from the gods?\"\n\n\"But I am already wed,\" cried Jane. \"I cannot wed another. I do not\nwant him or his throne.\"\n\n\"Ko-tan is king,\" replied Ja-don simply as though that explained and\nsimplified everything.\n\n\"You will not save me then?\" she asked.\n\n\"If you were in Ja-lur,\" he replied, \"I might protect you, even against\nthe king.\"\n\n\"What and where is Ja-lur?\" she asked, grasping at any straw.\n\n\"It is the city where I rule,\" he answered. \"I am chief there and of\nall the valley beyond.\"\n\n\"Where is it?\" she insisted, and \"is it far?\"\n\n\"No,\" he replied, smiling, \"it is not far, but do not think of\nthat--you could never reach it. There are too many to pursue and\ncapture you. If you wish to know, however, it lies up the river that\nempties into Jad-ben-lul whose waters kiss the walls of A-lur--up the\nwestern fork it lies with water upon three sides. Impregnable city of\nPal-ul-don--alone of all the cities it has never been entered by a\nfoeman since it was built there while Jad-ben-Otho was a boy.\"\n\n\"And there I would be safe?\" she asked.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" he replied.\n\nAh, dead Hope; upon what slender provocation would you seek to glow\nagain! She sighed and shook her head, realizing the inutility of\nHope--yet the tempting bait dangled before her mind\'s eye--Ja-lur!\n\n\"You are wise,\" commented Ja-don interpreting her sigh. \"Come now, we\nwill go to the quarters of the princess beside the Forbidden Garden.\nThere you will remain with O-lo-a, the king\'s daughter. It will be\nbetter than this prison you have occupied.\"\n\n\"And Ko-tan?\" she asked, a shudder passing through her slender frame.\n\n\"There are ceremonies,\" explained Ja-don, \"that may occupy several days\nbefore you become queen, and one of them may be difficult of\narrangement.\" He laughed, then.\n\n\"What?\" she asked.\n\n\"Only the high priest may perform the marriage ceremony for a king,\" he\nexplained.\n\n\"Delay!\" she murmured; \"blessed delay!\" Tenacious indeed of life is\nHope even though it be reduced to cold and lifeless char--a veritable\nphoenix.\n\n\n\n15\n\n\"The King Is Dead!\"\n\nAs they conversed Ja-don had led her down the stone stairway that leads\nfrom the upper floors of the Temple of the Gryf to the chambers and the\ncorridors that honeycomb the rocky hills from which the temple and the\npalace are hewn and now they passed from one to the other through a\ndoorway upon one side of which two priests stood guard and upon the\nother two warriors. The former would have halted Ja-don when they saw\nwho it was that accompanied him for well known throughout the temple\nwas the quarrel between king and high priest for possession of this\nbeautiful stranger.\n\n\"Only by order of Lu-don may she pass,\" said one, placing himself\ndirectly in front of Jane Clayton, barring her progress. Through the\nhollow eyes of the hideous mask the woman could see those of the priest\nbeneath gleaming with the fires of fanaticism. Ja-don placed an arm\nabout her shoulders and laid his hand upon his knife.\n\n\"She passes by order of Ko-tan, the king,\" he said, \"and by virtue of\nthe fact that Ja-don, the chief, is her guide. Stand aside!\"\n\nThe two warriors upon the palace side pressed forward. \"We are here,\ngund of Ja-lur,\" said one, addressing Ja-don, \"to receive and obey your\ncommands.\"\n\nThe second priest now interposed. \"Let them pass,\" he admonished his\ncompanion. \"We have received no direct commands from Lu-don to the\ncontrary and it is a law of the temple and the palace that chiefs and\npriests may come and go without interference.\"\n\n\"But I know Lu-don\'s wishes,\" insisted the other.\n\n\"He told you then that Ja-don must not pass with the stranger?\"\n\n\"No--but--\"\n\n\"Then let them pass, for they are three to two and will pass anyway--we\nhave done our best.\"\n\nGrumbling, the priest stepped aside. \"Lu-don will exact an accounting,\"\nhe cried angrily.\n\nJa-don turned upon him. \"And get it when and where he will,\" he snapped.\n\nThey came at last to the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a where, in the\nmain entrance-way, loitered a small guard of palace warriors and\nseveral stalwart black eunuchs belonging to the princess, or her women.\nTo one of the latter Ja-don relinquished his charge.\n\n\"Take her to the princess,\" he commanded, \"and see that she does not\nescape.\"\n\nThrough a number of corridors and apartments lighted by stone cressets\nthe eunuch led Lady Greystoke halting at last before a doorway\nconcealed by hangings of JATO skin, where the guide beat with his staff\nupon the wall beside the door.\n\n\"O-lo-a, Princess of Pal-ul-don,\" he called, \"here is the stranger\nwoman, the prisoner from the temple.\"\n\n\"Bid her enter,\" Jane heard a sweet voice from within command.\n\nThe eunuch drew aside the hangings and Lady Greystoke stepped within.\nBefore her was a low-ceiled room of moderate size. In each of the four\ncorners a kneeling figure of stone seemed to be bearing its portion of\nthe weight of the ceiling upon its shoulders. These figures were\nevidently intended to represent Waz-don slaves and were not without\nbold artistic beauty. The ceiling itself was slightly arched to a\ncentral dome which was pierced to admit light by day, and air. Upon one\nside of the room were many windows, the other three walls being blank\nexcept for a doorway in each. The princess lay upon a pile of furs\nwhich were arranged over a low stone dais in one corner of the\napartment and was alone except for a single Waz-don slave girl who sat\nupon the edge of the dais near her feet.\n\nAs Jane entered O-lo-a beckoned her to approach and when she stood\nbeside the couch the girl half rose upon an elbow and surveyed her\ncritically.\n\n\"How beautiful you are,\" she said simply.\n\nJane smiled, sadly; for she had found that beauty may be a curse.\n\n\"That is indeed a compliment,\" she replied quickly, \"from one so\nradiant as the Princess O-lo-a.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" exclaimed the princess delightedly; \"you speak my language! I was\ntold that you were of another race and from some far land of which we\nof Pal-ul-don have never heard.\"\n\n\"Lu-don saw to it that the priests instructed me,\" explained Jane; \"but\nI am from a far country, Princess; one to which I long to return--and I\nam very unhappy.\"\n\n\"But Ko-tan, my father, would make you his queen,\" cried the girl;\n\"that should make you very happy.\"\n\n\"But it does not,\" replied the prisoner; \"I love another to whom I am\nalready wed. Ah, Princess, if you had known what it was to love and to\nbe forced into marriage with another you would sympathize with me.\"\n\nThe Princess O-lo-a was silent for a long moment. \"I know,\" she said at\nlast, \"and I am very sorry for you; but if the king\'s daughter cannot\nsave herself from such a fate who may save a slave woman? for such in\nfact you are.\"\n\nThe drinking in the great banquet hall of the palace of Ko-tan, king of\nPal-ul-don had commenced earlier this night than was usual, for the\nking was celebrating the morrow\'s betrothal of his only daughter to\nBu-lot, son of Mo-sar, the chief, whose great-grandfather had been king\nof Pal-ul-don and who thought that he should be king, and Mo-sar was\ndrunk and so was Bu-lot, his son. For that matter nearly all of the\nwarriors, including the king himself, were drunk. In the heart of\nKo-tan was no love either for Mo-sar, or Bu-lot, nor did either of\nthese love the king. Ko-tan was giving his daughter to Bu-lot in the\nhope that the alliance would prevent Mo-sar from insisting upon his\nclaims to the throne, for, next to Ja-don, Mo-sar was the most powerful\nof the chiefs and while Ko-tan looked with fear upon Ja-don, too, he\nhad no fear that the old Lion-man would attempt to seize the throne,\nthough which way he would throw his influence and his warriors in the\nevent that Mo-sar declare war upon Ko-tan, the king could not guess.\n\nPrimitive people who are also warlike are seldom inclined toward either\ntact or diplomacy even when sober; but drunk they know not the words,\nif aroused. It was really Bu-lot who started it.\n\n\"This,\" he said, \"I drink to O-lo-a,\" and he emptied his tankard at a\nsingle gulp. \"And this,\" seizing a full one from a neighbor, \"to her\nson and mine who will bring back the throne of Pal-ul-don to its\nrightful owners!\"\n\n\"The king is not yet dead!\" cried Ko-tan, rising to his feet; \"nor is\nBu-lot yet married to his daughter--and there is yet time to save\nPal-ul-don from the spawn of the rabbit breed.\"\n\nThe king\'s angry tone and his insulting reference to Bu-lot\'s\nwell-known cowardice brought a sudden, sobering silence upon the\nroistering company. Every eye turned upon Bu-lot and Mo-sar, who sat\ntogether directly opposite the king. The first was very drunk though\nsuddenly he seemed quite sober. He was so drunk that for an instant he\nforgot to be a coward, since his reasoning powers were so effectually\nparalyzed by the fumes of liquor that he could not intelligently weigh\nthe consequences of his acts. It is reasonably conceivable that a drunk\nand angry rabbit might commit a rash deed. Upon no other hypothesis is\nthe thing that Bu-lot now did explicable. He rose suddenly from the\nseat to which he had sunk after delivering his toast and seizing the\nknife from the sheath of the warrior upon his right hurled it with\nterrific force at Ko-tan. Skilled in the art of throwing both their\nknives and their clubs are the warriors of Pal-ul-don and at this short\ndistance and coming as it did without warning there was no defense and\nbut one possible result--Ko-tan, the king, lunged forward across the\ntable, the blade buried in his heart.\n\nA brief silence followed the assassin\'s cowardly act. White with\nterror, now, Bu-lot fell slowly back toward the doorway at his rear,\nwhen suddenly angry warriors leaped with drawn knives to prevent his\nescape and to avenge their king. But Mo-sar now took his stand beside\nhis son.\n\n\"Ko-tan is dead!\" he cried. \"Mo-sar is king! Let the loyal warriors of\nPal-ul-don protect their ruler!\"\n\nMo-sar commanded a goodly following and these quickly surrounded him\nand Bu-lot, but there were many knives against them and now Ja-don\npressed forward through those who confronted the pretender.\n\n\"Take them both!\" he shouted. \"The warriors of Pal-ul-don will choose\ntheir own king after the assassin of Ko-tan has paid the penalty of his\ntreachery.\"\n\nDirected now by a leader whom they both respected and admired those who\nhad been loyal to Ko-tan rushed forward upon the faction that had\nsurrounded Mo-sar. Fierce and terrible was the fighting, devoid,\napparently, of all else than the ferocious lust to kill and while it\nwas at its height Mo-sar and Bu-lot slipped unnoticed from the banquet\nhall.\n\nTo that part of the palace assigned to them during their visit to A-lur\nthey hastened. Here were their servants and the lesser warriors of\ntheir party who had not been bidden to the feast of Ko-tan. These were\ndirected quickly to gather together their belongings for immediate\ndeparture. When all was ready, and it did not take long, since the\nwarriors of Pal-ul-don require but little impedimenta on the march,\nthey moved toward the palace gate.\n\nSuddenly Mo-sar approached his son. \"The princess,\" he whispered. \"We\nmust not leave the city without her--she is half the battle for the\nthrone.\"\n\nBu-lot, now entirely sober, demurred. He had had enough of fighting and\nof risk. \"Let us get out of A-lur quickly,\" he urged, \"or we shall have\nthe whole city upon us. She would not come without a struggle and that\nwould delay us too long.\"\n\n\"There is plenty of time,\" insisted Mo-sar. \"They are still fighting in\nthe pal-e-don-so. It will be long before they miss us and, with Ko-tan\ndead, long before any will think to look to the safety of the princess.\nOur time is now--it was made for us by Jad-ben-Otho. Come!\"\n\nReluctantly Bu-lot followed his father, who first instructed the\nwarriors to await them just inside the gateway of the palace. Rapidly\nthe two approached the quarters of the princess. Within the\nentrance-way only a handful of warriors were on guard. The eunuchs had\nretired.\n\n\"There is fighting in the pal-e-don-so,\" Mo-sar announced in feigned\nexcitement as they entered the presence of the guards. \"The king\ndesires you to come at once and has sent us to guard the apartments of\nthe princess. Make haste!\" he commanded as the men hesitated.\n\nThe warriors knew him and that on the morrow the princess was to be\nbetrothed to Bu-lot, his son. If there was trouble what more natural\nthan that Mo-sar and Bu-lot should be intrusted with the safety of the\nprincess. And then, too, was not Mo-sar a powerful chief to whose\norders disobedience might prove a dangerous thing? They were but common\nfighting men disciplined in the rough school of tribal warfare, but\nthey had learned to obey a superior and so they departed for the\nbanquet hall--the place-where-men-eat.\n\nBarely waiting until they had disappeared Mo-sar crossed to the\nhangings at the opposite end of the entrance-hall and followed by\nBu-lot made his way toward the sleeping apartment of O-lo-a and a\nmoment later, without warning, the two men burst in upon the three\noccupants of the room. At sight of them O-lo-a sprang to her feet.\n\n\"What is the meaning of this?\" she demanded angrily.\n\nMo-sar advanced and halted before her. Into his cunning mind had\nentered a plan to trick her. If it succeeded it would prove easier than\ntaking her by force, and then his eyes fell upon Jane Clayton and he\nalmost gasped in astonishment and admiration, but he caught himself and\nreturned to the business of the moment.\n\n\"O-lo-a,\" he cried, \"when you know the urgency of our mission you will\nforgive us. We have sad news for you. There has been an uprising in the\npalace and Ko-tan, the king, has been slain. The rebels are drunk with\nliquor and now on their way here. We must get you out of A-lur at\nonce--there is not a moment to lose. Come, and quickly!\"\n\n\"My father dead?\" cried O-lo-a, and suddenly her eyes went wide. \"Then\nmy place is here with my people,\" she cried. \"If Ko-tan is dead I am\nqueen until the warriors choose a new ruler--that is the law of\nPal-ul-don. And if I am queen none can make me wed whom I do not wish\nto wed--and Jad-ben-Otho knows I never wished to wed thy cowardly son.\nGo!\" She pointed a slim forefinger imperiously toward the doorway.\n\nMo-sar saw that neither trickery nor persuasion would avail now and\nevery precious minute counted. He looked again at the beautiful woman\nwho stood beside O-lo-a. He had never before seen her but he well knew\nfrom palace gossip that she could be no other than the godlike stranger\nwhom Ko-tan had planned to make his queen.\n\n\"Bu-lot,\" he cried to his son, \"take you your own woman and I will\ntake--mine!\" and with that he sprang suddenly forward and seizing Jane\nabout the waist lifted her in his arms, so that before O-lo-a or\nPan-at-lee might even guess his purpose he had disappeared through the\nhangings near the foot of the dais and was gone with the stranger woman\nstruggling and fighting in his grasp.\n\nAnd then Bu-lot sought to seize O-lo-a, but O-lo-a had her\nPan-at-lee--fierce little tiger-girl of the savage\nKor-ul-JA--Pan-at-lee whose name belied her--and Bu-lot found that with\nthe two of them his hands were full. When he would have lifted O-lo-a\nand borne her away Pan-at-lee seized him around the legs and strove to\ndrag him down. Viciously he kicked her, but she would not desist, and\nfinally, realizing that he might not only lose his princess but be so\ndelayed as to invite capture if he did not rid himself of this clawing,\nscratching she-JATO, he hurled O-lo-a to the floor and seizing\nPan-at-lee by the hair drew his knife and--\n\nThe curtains behind him suddenly parted. In two swift bounds a lithe\nfigure crossed the room and before ever the knife of Bu-lot reached its\ngoal his wrist was seized from behind and a terrific blow crashing to\nthe base of his brain dropped him, lifeless, to the floor. Bu-lot,\ncoward, traitor, and assassin, died without knowing who struck him down.\n\nAs Tarzan of the Apes leaped into the pool in the GRYF pit of the\ntemple at A-lur one might have accounted for his act on the hypothesis\nthat it was the last blind urge of self-preservation to delay, even for\na moment, the inevitable tragedy in which each some day must play the\nleading role upon his little stage; but no--those cool, gray eyes had\ncaught the sole possibility for escape that the surroundings and the\ncircumstances offered--a tiny, moonlit patch of water glimmering\nthrough a small aperture in the cliff at the surface of the pool upon\nits farther side. With swift, bold strokes he swam for speed alone\nknowing that the water would in no way deter his pursuer. Nor did it.\nTarzan heard the great splash as the huge creature plunged into the\npool behind him; he heard the churning waters as it forged rapidly\nonward in his wake. He was nearing the opening--would it be large\nenough to permit the passage of his body? That portion of it which\nshowed above the surface of the water most certainly would not. His\nlife, then, depended upon how much of the aperture was submerged. And\nnow it was directly before him and the GRYF directly behind. There was\nno alternative--there was no other hope. The ape-man threw all the\nresources of his great strength into the last few strokes, extended his\nhands before him as a cutwater, submerged to the water\'s level and shot\nforward toward the hole.\n\nFrothing with rage was the baffled Lu-don as he realized how neatly the\nstranger she had turned his own tables upon him. He could of course\nescape the Temple of the Gryf in which her quick wit had temporarily\nimprisoned him; but during the delay, however brief, Ja-don would find\ntime to steal her from the temple and deliver her to Ko-tan. But he\nwould have her yet--that the high priest swore in the names of\nJad-ben-Otho and all the demons of his faith. He hated Ko-tan. Secretly\nhe had espoused the cause of Mo-sar, in whom he would have a willing\ntool. Perhaps, then, this would give him the opportunity he had long\nawaited--a pretext for inciting the revolt that would dethrone Ko-tan\nand place Mo-sar in power--with Lu-don the real ruler of Pal-ul-don. He\nlicked his thin lips as he sought the window through which Tarzan had\nentered and now Lu-don\'s only avenue of escape. Cautiously he made his\nway across the floor, feeling before him with his hands, and when they\ndiscovered that the trap was set for him an ugly snarl broke from the\npriest\'s lips. \"The she-devil!\" he muttered; \"but she shall pay, she\nshall pay--ah, Jad-ben-Otho; how she shall pay for the trick she has\nplayed upon Lu-don!\"\n\nHe crawled through the window and climbed easily downward to the\nground. Should he pursue Ja-don and the woman, chancing an encounter\nwith the fierce chief, or bide his time until treachery and intrigue\nshould accomplish his design? He chose the latter solution, as might\nhave been expected of such as he.\n\nGoing to his quarters he summoned several of his priests--those who\nwere most in his confidence and who shared his ambitions for absolute\npower of the temple over the palace--all men who hated Ko-tan.\n\n\"The time has come,\" he told them, \"when the authority of the temple\nmust be placed definitely above that of the palace. Ko-tan must make\nway for Mo-sar, for Ko-tan has defied your high priest. Go then,\nPan-sat, and summon Mo-sar secretly to the temple, and you others go to\nthe city and prepare the faithful warriors that they may be in\nreadiness when the time comes.\"\n\nFor another hour they discussed the details of the coup d\'etat that was\nto overthrow the government of Pal-ul-don. One knew a slave who, as\nthe signal sounded from the temple gong, would thrust a knife into the\nheart of Ko-tan, for the price of liberty. Another held personal\nknowledge of an officer of the palace that he could use to compel the\nlatter to admit a number of Lu-don\'s warriors to various parts of the\npalace. With Mo-sar as the cat\'s paw, the plan seemed scarce possible\nof failure and so they separated, going upon their immediate errands to\npalace and to city.\n\nAs Pan-sat entered the palace grounds he was aware of a sudden\ncommotion in the direction of the pal-e-don-so and a few minutes later\nLu-don was surprised to see him return to the apartments of the high\npriest, breathless and excited.\n\n\"What now, Pan-sat?\" cried Lu-don. \"Are you pursued by demons?\"\n\n\"O master, our time has come and gone while we sat here planning.\nKo-tan is already dead and Mo-sar fled. His friends are fighting with\nthe warriors of the palace but they have no head, while Ja-don leads\nthe others. I could learn but little from frightened slaves who had\nfled at the outburst of the quarrel. One told me that Bu-lot had slain\nthe king and that he had seen Mo-sar and the assassin hurrying from the\npalace.\"\n\n\"Ja-don,\" muttered the high priest. \"The fools will make him king if we\ndo not act and act quickly. Get into the city, Pan-sat--let your feet\nfly and raise the cry that Ja-don has killed the king and is seeking to\nwrest the throne from O-lo-a. Spread the word as you know best how to\nspread it that Ja-don has threatened to destroy the priests and hurl\nthe altars of the temple into Jad-ben-lul. Rouse the warriors of the\ncity and urge them to attack at once. Lead them into the temple by the\nsecret way that only the priests know and from here we may spew them\nout upon the palace before they learn the truth. Go, Pan-sat,\nimmediately--delay not an instant.\"\n\n\"But stay,\" he called as the under priest turned to leave the\napartment; \"saw or heard you anything of the strange white woman that\nJa-don stole from the Temple of the Gryf where we have had her\nimprisoned?\"\n\n\"Only that Ja-don took her into the palace where he threatened the\npriests with violence if they did not permit him to pass,\" replied\nPan-sat. \"This they told me, but where within the palace she is hidden\nI know not.\"\n\n\"Ko-tan ordered her to the Forbidden Garden,\" said Lu-don, \"doubtless\nwe shall find her there. And now, Pan-sat, be upon your errand.\"\n\nIn a corridor by Lu-don\'s chamber a hideously masked priest leaned\nclose to the curtained aperture that led within. Were he listening he\nmust have heard all that passed between Pan-sat and the high priest,\nand that he had listened was evidenced by his hasty withdrawal to the\nshadows of a nearby passage as the lesser priest moved across the\nchamber toward the doorway. Pan-sat went his way in ignorance of the\nnear presence that he almost brushed against as he hurried toward the\nsecret passage that leads from the temple of Jad-ben-Otho, far beneath\nthe palace, to the city beyond, nor did he sense the silent creature\nfollowing in his footsteps.\n\n\n\n16\n\nThe Secret Way\n\nIt was a baffled GRYF that bellowed in angry rage as Tarzan\'s sleek\nbrown body cutting the moonlit waters shot through the aperture in the\nwall of the GRYF pool and out into the lake beyond. The ape-man smiled\nas he thought of the comparative ease with which he had defeated the\npurpose of the high priest but his face clouded again at the ensuing\nremembrance of the grave danger that threatened his mate. His sole\nobject now must be to return as quickly as he might to the chamber\nwhere he had last seen her on the third floor of the Temple of the\nGryf, but how he was to find his way again into the temple grounds was\na question not easy of solution.\n\nIn the moonlight he could see the sheer cliff rising from the water for\na great distance along the shore--far beyond the precincts of the\ntemple and the palace--towering high above him, a seemingly impregnable\nbarrier against his return. Swimming close in, he skirted the wall\nsearching diligently for some foothold, however slight, upon its\nsmooth, forbidding surface. Above him and quite out of reach were\nnumerous apertures, but there were no means at hand by which he could\nreach them. Presently, however, his hopes were raised by the sight of\nan opening level with the surface of the water. It lay just ahead and a\nfew strokes brought him to it--cautious strokes that brought forth no\nsound from the yielding waters. At the nearer side of the opening he\nstopped and reconnoitered. There was no one in sight. Carefully he\nraised his body to the threshold of the entrance-way, his smooth brown\nhide glistening in the moonlight as it shed the water in tiny sparkling\nrivulets.\n\nBefore him stretched a gloomy corridor, unlighted save for the faint\nillumination of the diffused moonlight that penetrated it for but a\nshort distance from the opening. Moving as rapidly as reasonable\ncaution warranted, Tarzan followed the corridor into the bowels of the\ncave. There was an abrupt turn and then a flight of steps at the top of\nwhich lay another corridor running parallel with the face of the cliff.\nThis passage was dimly lighted by flickering cressets set in niches in\nthe walls at considerable distances apart. A quick survey showed the\nape-man numerous openings upon each side of the corridor and his quick\nears caught sounds that indicated that there were other beings not far\ndistant--priests, he concluded, in some of the apartments letting upon\nthe passageway.\n\nTo pass undetected through this hive of enemies appeared quite beyond\nthe range of possibility. He must again seek disguise and knowing from\nexperience how best to secure such he crept stealthily along the\ncorridor toward the nearest doorway. Like Numa, the lion, stalking a\nwary prey he crept with quivering nostrils to the hangings that shut\noff his view from the interior of the apartment beyond. A moment later\nhis head disappeared within; then his shoulders, and his lithe body,\nand the hangings dropped quietly into place again. A moment later there\nfiltered to the vacant corridor without a brief, gasping gurgle and\nagain silence. A minute passed; a second, and a third, and then the\nhangings were thrust aside and a grimly masked priest of the temple of\nJad-ben-Otho strode into the passageway.\n\nWith bold steps he moved along and was about to turn into a diverging\ngallery when his attention was aroused by voices coming from a room\nupon his left. Instantly the figure halted and crossing the corridor\nstood with an ear close to the skins that concealed the occupants of\nthe room from him, and him from them. Presently he leaped back into\nthe concealing shadows of the diverging gallery and immediately\nthereafter the hangings by which he had been listening parted and a\npriest emerged to turn quickly down the main corridor. The eavesdropper\nwaited until the other had gained a little distance and then stepping\nfrom his place of concealment followed silently behind.\n\nThe way led along the corridor which ran parallel with the face of the\ncliff for some little distance and then Pan-sat, taking a cresset from\none of the wall niches, turned abruptly into a small apartment at his\nleft. The tracker followed cautiously in time to see the rays of the\nflickering light dimly visible from an aperture in the floor before\nhim. Here he found a series of steps, similar to those used by the\nWaz-don in scaling the cliff to their caves, leading to a lower level.\n\nFirst satisfying himself that his guide was continuing upon his way\nunsuspecting, the other descended after him and continued his stealthy\nstalking. The passageway was now both narrow and low, giving but bare\nheadroom to a tall man, and it was broken often by flights of steps\nleading always downward. The steps in each unit seldom numbered more\nthan six and sometimes there was only one or two but in the aggregate\nthe tracker imagined that they had descended between fifty and\nseventy-five feet from the level of the upper corridor when the\npassageway terminated in a small apartment at one side of which was a\nlittle pile of rubble.\n\nSetting his cresset upon the ground, Pan-sat commenced hurriedly to\ntoss the bits of broken stone aside, presently revealing a small\naperture at the base of the wall upon the opposite side of which there\nappeared to be a further accumulation of rubble. This he also removed\nuntil he had a hole of sufficient size to permit the passage of his\nbody, and leaving the cresset still burning upon the floor the priest\ncrawled through the opening he had made and disappeared from the sight\nof the watcher hiding in the shadows of the narrow passageway behind\nhim.\n\nNo sooner, however, was he safely gone than the other followed, finding\nhimself, after passing through the hole, on a little ledge about\nhalfway between the surface of the lake and the top of the cliff above.\nThe ledge inclined steeply upward, ending at the rear of a building\nwhich stood upon the edge of the cliff and which the second priest\nentered just in time to see Pan-sat pass out into the city beyond.\n\nAs the latter turned a nearby corner the other emerged from the doorway\nand quickly surveyed his surroundings. He was satisfied the priest who\nhad led him hither had served his purpose in so far as the tracker was\nconcerned. Above him, and perhaps a hundred yards away, the white walls\nof the palace gleamed against the northern sky. The time that it had\ntaken him to acquire definite knowledge concerning the secret\npassageway between the temple and the city he did not count as lost,\nthough he begrudged every instant that kept him from the prosecution of\nhis main objective. It had seemed to him, however, necessary to the\nsuccess of a bold plan that he had formulated upon overhearing the\nconversation between Lu-don and Pan-sat as he stood without the\nhangings of the apartment of the high priest.\n\nAlone against a nation of suspicious and half-savage enemies he could\nscarce hope for a successful outcome to the one great issue upon which\nhung the life and happiness of the creature he loved best. For her sake\nhe must win allies and it was for this purpose that he had sacrificed\nthese precious moments, but now he lost no further time in seeking to\nregain entrance to the palace grounds that he might search out whatever\nnew prison they had found in which to incarcerate his lost love.\n\nHe found no difficulty in passing the guards at the entrance to the\npalace for, as he had guessed, his priestly disguise disarmed all\nsuspicion. As he approached the warriors he kept his hands behind him\nand trusted to fate that the sickly light of the single torch which\nstood beside the doorway would not reveal his un-Pal-ul-donian feet. As\na matter of fact so accustomed were they to the comings and goings of\nthe priesthood that they paid scant attention to him and he passed on\ninto the palace grounds without even a moment\'s delay.\n\nHis goal now was the Forbidden Garden and this he had little difficulty\nin reaching though he elected to enter it over the wall rather than to\nchance arousing any suspicion on the part of the guards at the inner\nentrance, since he could imagine no reason why a priest should seek\nentrance there thus late at night.\n\nHe found the garden deserted, nor any sign of her he sought. That she\nhad been brought hither he had learned from the conversation he had\noverheard between Lu-don and Pan-sat, and he was sure that there had\nbeen no time or opportunity for the high priest to remove her from the\npalace grounds. The garden he knew to be devoted exclusively to the\nuses of the princess and her women and it was only reasonable to assume\ntherefore that if Jane had been brought to the garden it could only\nhave been upon an order from Ko-tan. This being the case the natural\nassumption would follow that he would find her in some other portion of\nO-lo-a\'s quarters.\n\nJust where these lay he could only conjecture, but it seemed reasonable\nto believe that they must be adjacent to the garden, so once more he\nscaled the wall and passing around its end directed his steps toward an\nentrance-way which he judged must lead to that portion of the palace\nnearest the Forbidden Garden.\n\nTo his surprise he found the place unguarded and then there fell upon\nhis ear from an interior apartment the sound of voices raised in anger\nand excitement. Guided by the sound he quickly traversed several\ncorridors and chambers until he stood before the hangings which\nseparated him from the chamber from which issued the sounds of\naltercation. Raising the skins slightly he looked within. There were\ntwo women battling with a Ho-don warrior. One was the daughter of\nKo-tan and the other Pan-at-lee, the Kor-ul-JA.\n\nAt the moment that Tarzan lifted the hangings, the warrior threw O-lo-a\nviciously to the ground and seizing Pan-at-lee by the hair drew his\nknife and raised it above her head. Casting the encumbering headdress\nof the dead priest from his shoulders the ape-man leaped across the\nintervening space and seizing the brute from behind struck him a single\nterrible blow.\n\nAs the man fell forward dead, the two women recognized Tarzan\nsimultaneously. Pan-at-lee fell upon her knees and would have bowed her\nhead upon his feet had he not, with an impatient gesture, commanded her\nto rise. He had no time to listen to their protestations of gratitude\nor answer the numerous questions which he knew would soon be flowing\nfrom those two feminine tongues.\n\n\"Tell me,\" he cried, \"where is the woman of my own race whom Ja-don\nbrought here from the temple?\"\n\n\"She is but this moment gone,\" cried O-lo-a. \"Mo-sar, the father of\nthis thing here,\" and she indicated the body of Bu-lot with a scornful\nfinger, \"seized her and carried her away.\"\n\n\"Which way?\" he cried. \"Tell me quickly, in what direction he took her.\"\n\n\"That way,\" cried Pan-at-lee, pointing to the doorway through which\nMo-sar had passed. \"They would have taken the princess and the stranger\nwoman to Tu-lur, Mo-sar\'s city by the Dark Lake.\"\n\n\"I go to find her,\" he said to Pan-at-lee, \"she is my mate. And if I\nsurvive I shall find means to liberate you too and return you to Om-at.\"\n\nBefore the girl could reply he had disappeared behind the hangings of\nthe door near the foot of the dais. The corridor through which he ran\nwas illy lighted and like nearly all its kind in the Ho-don city wound\nin and out and up and down, but at last it terminated at a sudden turn\nwhich brought him into a courtyard filled with warriors, a portion of\nthe palace guard that had just been summoned by one of the lesser\npalace chiefs to join the warriors of Ko-tan in the battle that was\nraging in the banquet hall.\n\nAt sight of Tarzan, who in his haste had forgotten to recover his\ndisguising headdress, a great shout arose. \"Blasphemer!\" \"Defiler of\nthe temple!\" burst hoarsely from savage throats, and mingling with\nthese were a few who cried, \"Dor-ul-Otho!\" evidencing the fact that\nthere were among them still some who clung to their belief in his\ndivinity.\n\nTo cross the courtyard armed only with a knife, in the face of this\ngreat throng of savage fighting men seemed even to the giant ape-man a\nthing impossible of achievement. He must use his wits now and quickly\ntoo, for they were closing upon him. He might have turned and fled back\nthrough the corridor but flight now even in the face of dire necessity\nwould but delay him in his pursuit of Mo-sar and his mate.\n\n\"Stop!\" he cried, raising his palm against them. \"I am the Dor-ul-Otho\nand I come to you with a word from Ja-don, who it is my father\'s will\nshall be your king now that Ko-tan is slain. Lu-don, the high priest,\nhas planned to seize the palace and destroy the loyal warriors that\nMo-sar may be made king--Mo-sar who will be the tool and creature of\nLu-don. Follow me. There is no time to lose if you would prevent the\ntraitors whom Lu-don has organized in the city from entering the palace\nby a secret way and overpowering Ja-don and the faithful band within.\"\n\nFor a moment they hesitated. At last one spoke. \"What guarantee have\nwe,\" he demanded, \"that it is not you who would betray us and by\nleading us now away from the fighting in the banquet hall cause those\nwho fight at Ja-don\'s side to be defeated?\"\n\n\"My life will be your guarantee,\" replied Tarzan. \"If you find that I\nhave not spoken the truth you are sufficient in numbers to execute\nwhatever penalty you choose. But come, there is not time to lose.\nAlready are the lesser priests gathering their warriors in the city\nbelow,\" and without waiting for any further parley he strode directly\ntoward them in the direction of the gate upon the opposite side of the\ncourtyard which led toward the principal entrance to the palace ground.\n\nSlower in wit than he, they were swept away by his greater initiative\nand that compelling power which is inherent to all natural leaders. And\nso they followed him, the giant ape-man with a dead tail dragging the\nground behind him--a demi-god where another would have been ridiculous.\nOut into the city he led them and down toward the unpretentious\nbuilding that hid Lu-don\'s secret passageway from the city to the\ntemple, and as they rounded the last turn they saw before them a\ngathering of warriors which was being rapidly augmented from all\ndirections as the traitors of A-lur mobilized at the call of the\npriesthood.\n\n\"You spoke the truth, stranger,\" said the chief who marched at Tarzan\'s\nside, \"for there are the warriors with the priests among them, even as\nyou told us.\"\n\n\"And now,\" replied the ape-man, \"that I have fulfilled my promise I\nwill go my way after Mo-sar, who has done me a great wrong. Tell\nJa-don that Jad-ben-Otho is upon his side, nor do you forget to tell\nhim also that it was the Dor-ul-Otho who thwarted Lu-don\'s plan to\nseize the palace.\"\n\n\"I will not forget,\" replied the chief. \"Go your way. We are enough to\noverpower the traitors.\"\n\n\"Tell me,\" asked Tarzan, \"how I may know this city of Tu-lur?\"\n\n\"It lies upon the south shore of the second lake below A-lur,\" replied\nthe chief, \"the lake that is called Jad-in-lul.\"\n\nThey were now approaching the band of traitors, who evidently thought\nthat this was another contingent of their own party since they made no\neffort either toward defense or retreat. Suddenly the chief raised his\nvoice in a savage war cry that was immediately taken up by his\nfollowers, and simultaneously, as though the cry were a command, the\nentire party broke into a mad charge upon the surprised rebels.\n\nSatisfied with the outcome of his suddenly conceived plan and sure that\nit would work to the disadvantage of Lu-don, Tarzan turned into a side\nstreet and pointed his steps toward the outskirts of the city in search\nof the trail that led southward toward Tu-lur.\n\n\n\n17\n\nBy Jad-bal-lul\n\nAs Mo-sar carried Jane Clayton from the palace of Ko-tan, the king, the\nwoman struggled incessantly to regain her freedom. He tried to compel\nher to walk, but despite his threats and his abuse she would not\nvoluntarily take a single step in the direction in which he wished her\nto go. Instead she threw herself to the ground each time he sought to\nplace her upon her feet, and so of necessity he was compelled to carry\nher though at last he tied her hands and gagged her to save himself\nfrom further lacerations, for the beauty and slenderness of the woman\nbelied her strength and courage. When he came at last to where his men\nhad gathered he was glad indeed to turn her over to a couple of\nstalwart warriors, but these too were forced to carry her since\nMo-sar\'s fear of the vengeance of Ko-tan\'s retainers would brook no\ndelays.\n\nAnd thus they came down out of the hills from which A-lur is carved, to\nthe meadows that skirt the lower end of Jad-ben-lul, with Jane Clayton\ncarried between two of Mo-sar\'s men. At the edge of the lake lay a\nfleet of strong canoes, hollowed from the trunks of trees, their bows\nand sterns carved in the semblance of grotesque beasts or birds and\nvividly colored by some master in that primitive school of art, which\nfortunately is not without its devotees today.\n\nInto the stern of one of these canoes the warriors tossed their captive\nat a sign from Mo-sar, who came and stood beside her as the warriors\nwere finding their places in the canoes and selecting their paddles.\n\n\"Come, Beautiful One,\" he said, \"let us be friends and you shall not be\nharmed. You will find Mo-sar a kind master if you do his bidding,\" and\nthinking to make a good impression on her he removed the gag from her\nmouth and the thongs from her wrists, knowing well that she could not\nescape surrounded as she was by his warriors, and presently, when they\nwere out on the lake, she would be as safely imprisoned as though he\nheld her behind bars.\n\nAnd so the fleet moved off to the accompaniment of the gentle splashing\nof a hundred paddles, to follow the windings of the rivers and lakes\nthrough which the waters of the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho empty into the\ngreat morass to the south. The warriors, resting upon one knee, faced\nthe bow and in the last canoe Mo-sar tiring of his fruitless attempts\nto win responses from his sullen captive, squatted in the bottom of the\ncanoe with his back toward her and resting his head upon the gunwale\nsought sleep.\n\nThus they moved in silence between the verdure-clad banks of the little\nriver through which the waters of Jad-ben-lul emptied--now in the\nmoonlight, now in dense shadow where great trees overhung the stream,\nand at last out upon the waters of another lake, the black shores of\nwhich seemed far away under the weird influence of a moonlight night.\n\nJane Clayton sat alert in the stern of the last canoe. For months she\nhad been under constant surveillance, the prisoner first of one\nruthless race and now the prisoner of another. Since the long-gone day\nthat Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and his band of native German troops had\ntreacherously wrought the Kaiser\'s work of rapine and destruction on\nthe Greystoke bungalow and carried her away to captivity she had not\ndrawn a free breath. That she had survived unharmed the countless\ndangers through which she had passed she attributed solely to the\nbeneficence of a kind and watchful Providence.\n\nAt first she had been held on the orders of the German High Command\nwith a view of her ultimate value as a hostage and during these months\nshe had been subjected to neither hardship nor oppression, but when the\nGermans had become hard pressed toward the close of their unsuccessful\ncampaign in East Africa it had been determined to take her further into\nthe interior and now there was an element of revenge in their motives,\nsince it must have been apparent that she could no longer be of any\npossible military value.\n\nBitter indeed were the Germans against that half-savage mate of hers\nwho had cunningly annoyed and harassed them with a fiendishness of\npersistence and ingenuity that had resulted in a noticeable loss in\nmorale in the sector he had chosen for his operations. They had to\ncharge against him the lives of certain officers that he had\ndeliberately taken with his own hands, and one entire section of trench\nthat had made possible a disastrous turning movement by the British.\nTarzan had out-generaled them at every point. He had met cunning with\ncunning and cruelty with cruelties until they feared and loathed his\nvery name. The cunning trick that they had played upon him in\ndestroying his home, murdering his retainers, and covering the\nabduction of his wife in such a way as to lead him to believe that she\nhad been killed, they had regretted a thousand times, for a\nthousandfold had they paid the price for their senseless ruthlessness,\nand now, unable to wreak their vengeance directly upon him, they had\nconceived the idea of inflicting further suffering upon his mate.\n\nIn sending her into the interior to avoid the path of the victorious\nBritish, they had chosen as her escort Lieutenant Erich Obergatz who\nhad been second in command of Schneider\'s company, and who alone of its\nofficers had escaped the consuming vengeance of the ape-man. For a long\ntime Obergatz had held her in a native village, the chief of which was\nstill under the domination of his fear of the ruthless German\noppressors. While here only hardships and discomforts assailed her,\nObergatz himself being held in leash by the orders of his distant\nsuperior but as time went on the life in the village grew to be a\nveritable hell of cruelties and oppressions practiced by the arrogant\nPrussian upon the villagers and the members of his native command--for\ntime hung heavily upon the hands of the lieutenant and with idleness\ncombining with the personal discomforts he was compelled to endure, his\nnone too agreeable temper found an outlet first in petty interference\nwith the chiefs and later in the practice of absolute cruelties upon\nthem.\n\nWhat the self-sufficient German could not see was plain to Jane\nClayton--that the sympathies of Obergatz\' native soldiers lay with the\nvillagers and that all were so heartily sickened by his abuse that it\nneeded now but the slightest spark to detonate the mine of revenge and\nhatred that the pig-headed Hun had been assiduously fabricating beneath\nhis own person.\n\nAnd at last it came, but from an unexpected source in the form of a\nGerman native deserter from the theater of war. Footsore, weary, and\nspent, he dragged himself into the village late one afternoon, and\nbefore Obergatz was even aware of his presence the whole village knew\nthat the power of Germany in Africa was at an end. It did not take long\nfor the lieutenant\'s native soldiers to realize that the authority that\nheld them in service no longer existed and that with it had gone the\npower to pay them their miserable wage. Or at least, so they reasoned.\nTo them Obergatz no longer represented aught else than a powerless and\nhated foreigner, and short indeed would have been his shrift had not a\nnative woman who had conceived a doglike affection for Jane Clayton\nhurried to her with word of the murderous plan, for the fate of the\ninnocent white woman lay in the balance beside that of the guilty\nTeuton.\n\n\"Already they are quarreling as to which one shall possess you,\" she\ntold Jane.\n\n\"When will they come for us?\" asked Jane. \"Did you hear them say?\"\n\n\"Tonight,\" replied the woman, \"for even now that he has none to fight\nfor him they still fear the white man. And so they will come at night\nand kill him while he sleeps.\"\n\nJane thanked the woman and sent her away lest the suspicion of her\nfellows be aroused against her when they discovered that the two whites\nhad learned of their intentions. The woman went at once to the hut\noccupied by Obergatz. She had never gone there before and the German\nlooked up in surprise as he saw who his visitor was.\n\nBriefly she told him what she had heard. At first he was inclined to\nbluster arrogantly, with a great display of bravado but she silenced\nhim peremptorily.\n\n\"Such talk is useless,\" she said shortly. \"You have brought upon\nyourself the just hatred of these people. Regardless of the truth or\nfalsity of the report which has been brought to them, they believe in\nit and there is nothing now between you and your Maker other than\nflight. We shall both be dead before morning if we are unable to escape\nfrom the village unseen. If you go to them now with your silly\nprotestations of authority you will be dead a little sooner, that is\nall.\"\n\n\"You think it is as bad as that?\" he said, a noticeable alteration in\nhis tone and manner.\n\n\"It is precisely as I have told you,\" she replied. \"They will come\ntonight and kill you while you sleep. Find me pistols and a rifle and\nammunition and we will pretend that we go into the jungle to hunt. That\nyou have done often. Perhaps it will arouse suspicion that I accompany\nyou but that we must chance. And be sure my dear Herr Lieutenant to\nbluster and curse and abuse your servants unless they note a change in\nyour manner and realizing your fear know that you suspect their\nintention. If all goes well then we can go out into the jungle to hunt\nand we need not return.\n\n\"But first and now you must swear never to harm me, or otherwise it\nwould be better that I called the chief and turned you over to him and\nthen put a bullet into my own head, for unless you swear as I have\nasked I were no better alone in the jungle with you than here at the\nmercies of these degraded blacks.\"\n\n\"I swear,\" he replied solemnly, \"in the names of my God and my Kaiser\nthat no harm shall befall you at my hands, Lady Greystoke.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" she said, \"we will make this pact to assist each other to\nreturn to civilization, but let it be understood that there is and\nnever can be any semblance even of respect for you upon my part. I am\ndrowning and you are the straw. Carry that always in your mind, German.\"\n\nIf Obergatz had held any doubt as to the sincerity of her word it would\nhave been wholly dissipated by the scathing contempt of her tone. And\nso Obergatz, without further parley, got pistols and an extra rifle for\nJane, as well as bandoleers of cartridges. In his usual arrogant and\ndisagreeable manner he called his servants, telling them that he and\nthe white kali were going out into the brush to hunt. The beaters would\ngo north as far as the little hill and then circle back to the east and\nin toward the village. The gun carriers he directed to take the extra\npieces and precede himself and Jane slowly toward the east, waiting for\nthem at the ford about half a mile distant. The blacks responded with\ngreater alacrity than usual and it was noticeable to both Jane and\nObergatz that they left the village whispering and laughing.\n\n\"The swine think it is a great joke,\" growled Obergatz, \"that the\nafternoon before I die I go out and hunt meat for them.\"\n\nAs soon as the gun bearers disappeared in the jungle beyond the village\nthe two Europeans followed along the same trail, nor was there any\nattempt upon the part of Obergatz\' native soldiers, or the warriors of\nthe chief to detain them, for they too doubtless were more than willing\nthat the whites should bring them in one more mess of meat before they\nkilled them.\n\nA quarter of a mile from the village, Obergatz turned toward the south\nfrom the trail that led to the ford and hurrying onward the two put as\ngreat a distance as possible between them and the village before night\nfell. They knew from the habits of their erstwhile hosts that there was\nlittle danger of pursuit by night since the villagers held Numa, the\nlion, in too great respect to venture needlessly beyond their stockade\nduring the hours that the king of beasts was prone to choose for\nhunting.\n\nAnd thus began a seemingly endless sequence of frightful days and\nhorror-laden nights as the two fought their way toward the south in the\nface of almost inconceivable hardships, privations, and dangers. The\neast coast was nearer but Obergatz positively refused to chance\nthrowing himself into the hands of the British by returning to the\nterritory which they now controlled, insisting instead upon attempting\nto make his way through an unknown wilderness to South Africa where,\namong the Boers, he was convinced he would find willing sympathizers\nwho would find some way to return him in safety to Germany, and the\nwoman was perforce compelled to accompany him.\n\nAnd so they had crossed the great thorny, waterless steppe and come at\nlast to the edge of the morass before Pal-ul-don. They had reached this\npoint just before the rainy season when the waters of the morass were\nat their lowest ebb. At this time a hard crust is baked upon the dried\nsurface of the marsh and there is only the open water at the center to\nmaterially impede progress. It is a condition that exists perhaps not\nmore than a few weeks, or even days at the termination of long periods\nof drought, and so the two crossed the otherwise almost impassable\nbarrier without realizing its latent terrors. Even the open water in\nthe center chanced to be deserted at the time by its frightful denizens\nwhich the drought and the receding waters had driven southward toward\nthe mouth of Pal-ul-don\'s largest river which carries the waters out of\nthe Valley of Jad-ben-Otho.\n\nTheir wanderings carried them across the mountains and into the Valley\nof Jad-ben-Otho at the source of one of the larger streams which bears\nthe mountain waters down into the valley to empty them into the main\nriver just below The Great Lake on whose northern shore lies A-lur. As\nthey had come down out of the mountains they had been surprised by a\nparty of Ho-don hunters. Obergatz had escaped while Jane had been\ntaken prisoner and brought to A-lur. She had neither seen nor heard\naught of the German since that time and she did not know whether he had\nperished in this strange land, or succeeded in successfully eluding its\nsavage denizens and making his way at last into South Africa.\n\nFor her part, she had been incarcerated alternately in the palace and\nthe temple as either Ko-tan or Lu-don succeeded in wresting her\ntemporarily from the other by various strokes of cunning and intrigue.\nAnd now at last she was in the power of a new captor, one whom she knew\nfrom the gossip of the temple and the palace to be cruel and degraded.\nAnd she was in the stern of the last canoe, and every enemy back was\ntoward her, while almost at her feet Mo-sar\'s loud snores gave ample\nevidence of his unconsciousness to his immediate surroundings.\n\nThe dark shore loomed closer to the south as Jane Clayton, Lady\nGreystoke, slid quietly over the stern of the canoe into the chill\nwaters of the lake. She scarcely moved other than to keep her nostrils\nabove the surface while the canoe was yet discernible in the last rays\nof the declining moon. Then she struck out toward the southern shore.\n\nAlone, unarmed, all but naked, in a country overrun by savage beasts\nand hostile men, she yet felt for the first time in many months a\nsensation of elation and relief. She was free! What if the next moment\nbrought death, she knew again, at least a brief instant of absolute\nfreedom. Her blood tingled to the almost forgotten sensation and it was\nwith difficulty that she restrained a glad triumphant cry as she\nclambered from the quiet waters and stood upon the silent beach.\n\nBefore her loomed a forest, darkly, and from its depths came those\nnameless sounds that are a part of the night life of the jungle--the\nrustling of leaves in the wind, the rubbing together of contiguous\nbranches, the scurrying of a rodent, all magnified by the darkness to\nsinister and awe-inspiring proportions; the hoot of an owl, the distant\nscream of a great cat, the barking of wild dogs, attested the presence\nof the myriad life she could not see--the savage life, the free life of\nwhich she was now a part. And then there came to her, possibly for the\nfirst time since the giant ape-man had come into her life, a fuller\nrealization of what the jungle meant to him, for though alone and\nunprotected from its hideous dangers she yet felt its lure upon her and\nan exaltation that she had not dared hope to feel again.\n\nAh, if that mighty mate of hers were but by her side! What utter joy\nand bliss would be hers! She longed for no more than this. The parade\nof cities, the comforts and luxuries of civilization held forth no\nallure half as insistent as the glorious freedom of the jungle.\n\nA lion moaned in the blackness to her right, eliciting delicious\nthrills that crept along her spine. The hair at the back of her head\nseemed to stand erect--yet she was unafraid. The muscles bequeathed her\nby some primordial ancestor reacted instinctively to the presence of an\nancient enemy--that was all. The woman moved slowly and deliberately\ntoward the wood. Again the lion moaned; this time nearer. She sought a\nlow-hanging branch and finding it swung easily into the friendly\nshelter of the tree. The long and perilous journey with Obergatz had\ntrained her muscles and her nerves to such unaccustomed habits. She\nfound a safe resting place such as Tarzan had taught her was best and\nthere she curled herself, thirty feet above the ground, for a night\'s\nrest. She was cold and uncomfortable and yet she slept, for her heart\nwas warm with renewed hope and her tired brain had found temporary\nsurcease from worry.\n\nShe slept until the heat of the sun, high in the heavens, awakened her.\nShe was rested and now her body was well as her heart was warm. A\nsensation of ease and comfort and happiness pervaded her being. She\nrose upon her gently swaying couch and stretched luxuriously, her naked\nlimbs and lithe body mottled by the sunlight filtering through the\nfoliage above combined with the lazy gesture to impart to her\nappearance something of the leopard. With careful eye she scrutinized\nthe ground below and with attentive ear she listened for any warning\nsound that might suggest the near presence of enemies, either man or\nbeast. Satisfied at last that there was nothing close of which she\nneed have fear she clambered to the ground. She wished to bathe but the\nlake was too exposed and just a bit too far from the safety of the\ntrees for her to risk it until she became more familiar with her\nsurroundings. She wandered aimlessly through the forest searching for\nfood which she found in abundance. She ate and rested, for she had no\nobjective as yet. Her freedom was too new to be spoiled by plannings\nfor the future. The haunts of civilized man seemed to her now as vague\nand unattainable as the half-forgotten substance of a dream. If she\ncould but live on here in peace, waiting, waiting for--HIM. It was the\nold hope revived. She knew that he would come some day, if he lived.\nShe had always known that, though recently she had believed that he\nwould come too late. If he lived! Yes, he would come if he lived, and\nif he did not live she were as well off here as elsewhere, for then\nnothing mattered, only to wait for the end as patiently as might be.\n\nHer wanderings brought her to a crystal brook and there she drank and\nbathed beneath an overhanging tree that offered her quick asylum in the\nevent of danger. It was a quiet and beautiful spot and she loved it\nfrom the first. The bottom of the brook was paved with pretty stones\nand bits of glassy obsidian. As she gathered a handful of the pebbles\nand held them up to look at them she noticed that one of her fingers\nwas bleeding from a clean, straight cut. She fell to searching for the\ncause and presently discovered it in one of the fragments of volcanic\nglass which revealed an edge that was almost razor-like. Jane Clayton\nwas elated. Here, God-given to her hands, was the first beginning with\nwhich she might eventually arrive at both weapons and tools--a cutting\nedge. Everything was possible to him who possessed it--nothing without.\n\nShe sought until she had collected many of the precious bits of\nstone--until the pouch that hung at her right side was almost filled.\nThen she climbed into the great tree to examine them at leisure. There\nwere some that looked like knife blades, and some that could easily be\nfashioned into spear heads, and many smaller ones that nature seemed to\nhave intended for the tips of savage arrows.\n\nThe spear she would essay first--that would be easiest. There was a\nhollow in the bole of the tree in a great crotch high above the ground.\nHere she cached all of her treasure except a single knifelike sliver.\nWith this she descended to the ground and searching out a slender\nsapling that grew arrow-straight she hacked and sawed until she could\nbreak it off without splitting the wood. It was just the right diameter\nfor the shaft of a spear--a hunting spear such as her beloved Waziri\nhad liked best. How often had she watched them fashioning them, and\nthey had taught her how to use them, too--them and the heavy war\nspears--laughing and clapping their hands as her proficiency increased.\n\nShe knew the arborescent grasses that yielded the longest and toughest\nfibers and these she sought and carried to her tree with the spear\nshaft that was to be. Clambering to her crotch she bent to her work,\nhumming softly a little tune. She caught herself and smiled--it was the\nfirst time in all these bitter months that song had passed her lips or\nsuch a smile.\n\n\"I feel,\" she sighed, \"I almost feel that John is near--my John--my\nTarzan!\"\n\nShe cut the spear shaft to the proper length and removed the twigs and\nbranches and the bark, whittling and scraping at the nubs until the\nsurface was all smooth and straight. Then she split one end and\ninserted a spear point, shaping the wood until it fitted perfectly.\nThis done she laid the shaft aside and fell to splitting the thick\ngrass stems and pounding and twisting them until she had separated and\npartially cleaned the fibers. These she took down to the brook and\nwashed and brought back again and wound tightly around the cleft end of\nthe shaft, which she had notched to receive them, and the upper part of\nthe spear head which she had also notched slightly with a bit of stone.\nIt was a crude spear but the best that she could attain in so short a\ntime. Later, she promised herself, she should have others--many of\nthem--and they would be spears of which even the greatest of the Waziri\nspear-men might be proud.\n\n\n\n18\n\nThe Lion Pit of Tu-lur\n\nThough Tarzan searched the outskirts of the city until nearly dawn he\ndiscovered nowhere the spoor of his mate. The breeze coming down from\nthe mountains brought to his nostrils a diversity of scents but there\nwas not among them the slightest suggestion of her whom he sought. The\nnatural deduction was therefore that she had been taken in some other\ndirection. In his search he had many times crossed the fresh tracks of\nmany men leading toward the lake and these he concluded had probably\nbeen made by Jane Clayton\'s abductors. It had only been to minimize the\nchance of error by the process of elimination that he had carefully\nreconnoitered every other avenue leading from A-lur toward the\nsoutheast where lay Mo-sar\'s city of Tu-lur, and now he followed the\ntrail to the shores of Jad-ben-lul where the party had embarked upon\nthe quiet waters in their sturdy canoes.\n\nHe found many other craft of the same description moored along the\nshore and one of these he commandeered for the purpose of pursuit. It\nwas daylight when he passed through the lake which lies next below\nJad-ben-lul and paddling strongly passed within sight of the very tree\nin which his lost mate lay sleeping.\n\nHad the gentle wind that caressed the bosom of the lake been blowing\nfrom a southerly direction the giant ape-man and Jane Clayton would\nhave been reunited then, but an unkind fate had willed otherwise and\nthe opportunity passed with the passing of his canoe which presently\nhis powerful strokes carried out of sight into the stream at the lower\nend of the lake.\n\nFollowing the winding river which bore a considerable distance to the\nnorth before doubling back to empty into the Jad-in-lul, the ape-man\nmissed a portage that would have saved him hours of paddling.\n\nIt was at the upper end of this portage where Mo-sar and his warriors\nhad debarked that the chief discovered the absence of his captive. As\nMo-sar had been asleep since shortly after their departure from A-lur,\nand as none of the warriors recalled when she had last been seen, it\nwas impossible to conjecture with any degree of accuracy the place\nwhere she had escaped. The consensus of opinion was, however, that it\nhad been in the narrow river connecting Jad-ben-lul with the lake next\nbelow it, which is called Jad-bal-lul, which freely translated means\nthe lake of gold. Mo-sar had been very wroth and having himself been\nthe only one at fault he naturally sought with great diligence to fix\nthe blame upon another.\n\nHe would have returned in search of her had he not feared to meet a\npursuing company dispatched either by Ja-don or the high priest, both\nof whom, he knew, had just grievances against him. He would not even\nspare a boatload of his warriors from his own protection to return in\nquest of the fugitive but hastened onward with as little delay as\npossible across the portage and out upon the waters of Jad-in-lul.\n\nThe morning sun was just touching the white domes of Tu-lur when\nMo-sar\'s paddlers brought their canoes against the shore at the city\'s\nedge. Safe once more behind his own walls and protected by many\nwarriors, the courage of the chief returned sufficiently at least to\npermit him to dispatch three canoes in search of Jane Clayton, and also\nto go as far as A-lur if possible to learn what had delayed Bu-lot,\nwhose failure to reach the canoes with the balance of the party at the\ntime of the flight from the northern city had in no way delayed\nMo-sar\'s departure, his own safety being of far greater moment than\nthat of his son.\n\nAs the three canoes reached the portage on their return journey the\nwarriors who were dragging them from the water were suddenly startled\nby the appearance of two priests, carrying a light canoe in the\ndirection of Jad-in-lul. At first they thought them the advance guard\nof a larger force of Lu-don\'s followers, although the correctness of\nsuch a theory was belied by their knowledge that priests never accepted\nthe risks or perils of a warrior\'s vocation, nor even fought until\ndriven into a corner and forced to do so. Secretly the warriors of\nPal-ul-don held the emasculated priesthood in contempt and so instead\nof immediately taking up the offensive as they would have had the two\nmen been warriors from A-lur instead of priests, they waited to\nquestion them.\n\nAt sight of the warriors the priests made the sign of peace and upon\nbeing asked if they were alone they answered in the affirmative.\n\nThe leader of Mo-sar\'s warriors permitted them to approach. \"What do\nyou here,\" he asked, \"in the country of Mo-sar, so far from your own\ncity?\"\n\n\"We carry a message from Lu-don, the high priest, to Mo-sar,\" explained\none.\n\n\"Is it a message of peace or of war?\" asked the warrior.\n\n\"It is an offer of peace,\" replied the priest.\n\n\"And Lu-don is sending no warriors behind you?\" queried the fighting\nman.\n\n\"We are alone,\" the priest assured him. \"None in A-lur save Lu-don\nknows that we have come upon this errand.\"\n\n\"Then go your way,\" said the warrior.\n\n\"Who is that?\" asked one of the priests suddenly, pointing toward the\nupper end of the lake at the point where the river from Jad-bal-lul\nentered it.\n\nAll eyes turned in the direction that he had indicated to see a lone\nwarrior paddling rapidly into Jad-in-lul, the prow of his canoe\npointing toward Tu-lur. The warriors and the priests drew into the\nconcealment of the bushes on either side of the portage.\n\n\"It is the terrible man who called himself the Dor-ul-Otho,\" whispered\none of the priests. \"I would know that figure among a great multitude\nas far as I could see it.\"\n\n\"You are right, priest,\" cried one of the warriors who had seen Tarzan\nthe day that he had first entered Ko-tan\'s palace. \"It is indeed he who\nhas been rightly called Tarzan-jad-guru.\"\n\n\"Hasten priests,\" cried the leader of the party. \"You are two paddles\nin a light canoe. Easily can you reach Tu-lur ahead of him and warn\nMo-sar of his coming, for he has but only entered the lake.\"\n\nFor a moment the priests demurred for they had no stomach for an\nencounter with this terrible man, but the warrior insisted and even\nwent so far as to threaten them. Their canoe was taken from them and\npushed into the lake and they were all but lifted bodily from their\nfeet and put aboard it. Still protesting they were shoved out upon the\nwater where they were immediately in full view of the lone paddler\nabove them. Now there was no alternative. The city of Tu-lur offered\nthe only safety and bending to their paddles the two priests sent their\ncraft swiftly in the direction of the city.\n\nThe warriors withdrew again to the concealment of the foliage. If\nTarzan had seen them and should come hither to investigate there were\nthirty of them against one and naturally they had no fear of the\noutcome, but they did not consider it necessary to go out upon the lake\nto meet him since they had been sent to look for the escaped prisoner\nand not to intercept the strange warrior, the stories of whose ferocity\nand prowess doubtless helped them to arrive at their decision to\nprovoke no uncalled-for quarrel with him.\n\nIf he had seen them he gave no sign, but continued paddling steadily\nand strongly toward the city, nor did he increase his speed as the two\npriests shot out in full view. The moment the priests\' canoe touched\nthe shore by the city its occupants leaped out and hurried swiftly\ntoward the palace gate, casting affrighted glances behind them. They\nsought immediate audience with Mo-sar, after warning the warriors on\nguard that Tarzan was approaching.\n\nThey were conducted at once to the chief, whose court was a smaller\nreplica of that of the king of A-lur. \"We come from Lu-don, the high\npriest,\" explained the spokesman. \"He wishes the friendship of Mo-sar,\nwho has always been his friend. Ja-don is gathering warriors to make\nhimself king. Throughout the villages of the Ho-don are thousands who\nwill obey the commands of Lu-don, the high priest. Only with Lu-don\'s\nassistance can Mo-sar become king, and the message from Lu-don is that\nif Mo-sar would retain the friendship of Lu-don he must return\nimmediately the woman he took from the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a.\"\n\nAt this juncture a warrior entered. His excitement was evident. \"The\nDor-ul-Otho has come to Tu-lur and demands to see Mo-sar at once,\" he\nsaid.\n\n\"The Dor-ul-Otho!\" exclaimed Mo-sar.\n\n\"That is the message he sent,\" replied the warrior, \"and indeed he is\nnot as are the people of Pal-ul-don. He is, we think, the same of whom\nthe warriors that returned from A-lur today told us and whom some call\nTarzan-jad-guru and some Dor-ul-Otho. But indeed only the son of god\nwould dare come thus alone to a strange city, so it must be that he\nspeaks the truth.\"\n\nMo-sar, his heart filled with terror and indecision, turned\nquestioningly toward the priests.\n\n\"Receive him graciously, Mo-sar,\" counseled he who had spoken before,\nhis advice prompted by the petty shrewdness of his defective brain\nwhich, under the added influence of Lu-don\'s tutorage leaned always\ntoward duplicity. \"Receive him graciously and when he is quite\nconvinced of your friendship he will be off his guard, and then you may\ndo with him as you will. But if possible, Mo-sar, and you would win the\nundying gratitude of Lu-don, the high-priest, save him alive for my\nmaster.\"\n\nMo-sar nodded understandingly and turning to the warrior commanded that\nhe conduct the visitor to him.\n\n\"We must not be seen by the creature,\" said one of the priests. \"Give\nus your answer to Lu-don, Mo-sar, and we will go our way.\"\n\n\"Tell Lu-don,\" replied the chief, \"that the woman would have been lost\nto him entirely had it not been for me. I sought to bring her to Tu-lur\nthat I might save her for him from the clutches of Ja-don, but during\nthe night she escaped. Tell Lu-don that I have sent thirty warriors to\nsearch for her. It is strange you did not see them as you came.\"\n\n\"We did,\" replied the priests, \"but they told us nothing of the purpose\nof their journey.\"\n\n\"It is as I have told you,\" said Mo-sar, \"and if they find her, assure\nyour master that she will be kept unharmed in Tu-lur for him. Also tell\nhim that I will send my warriors to join with his against Ja-don\nwhenever he sends word that he wants them. Now go, for Tarzan-jad-guru\nwill soon be here.\"\n\nHe signaled to a slave. \"Lead the priests to the temple,\" he commanded,\n\"and ask the high priest of Tu-lur to see that they are fed and\npermitted to return to A-lur when they will.\"\n\nThe two priests were conducted from the apartment by the slave through\na doorway other than that at which they had entered, and a moment later\nTarzan-jad-guru strode into the presence of Mo-sar, ahead of the\nwarrior whose duty it had been to conduct and announce him. The ape-man\nmade no sign of greeting or of peace but strode directly toward the\nchief who, only by the exertion of his utmost powers of will, hid the\nterror that was in his heart at sight of the giant figure and the\nscowling face.\n\n\"I am the Dor-ul-Otho,\" said the ape-man in level tones that carried to\nthe mind of Mo-sar a suggestion of cold steel; \"I am Dor-ul-Otho, and I\ncome to Tu-lur for the woman you stole from the apartments of O-lo-a,\nthe princess.\"\n\nThe very boldness of Tarzan\'s entry into this hostile city had had the\neffect of giving him a great moral advantage over Mo-sar and the savage\nwarriors who stood upon either side of the chief. Truly it seemed to\nthem that no other than the son of Jad-ben-Otho would dare so heroic an\nact. Would any mortal warrior act thus boldly, and alone enter the\npresence of a powerful chief and, in the midst of a score of warriors,\narrogantly demand an accounting? No, it was beyond reason. Mo-sar was\nfaltering in his decision to betray the stranger by seeming\nfriendliness. He even paled to a sudden thought--Jad-ben-Otho knew\neverything, even our inmost thoughts. Was it not therefore possible\nthat this creature, if after all it should prove true that he was the\nDor-ul-Otho, might even now be reading the wicked design that the\npriests had implanted in the brain of Mo-sar and which he had\nentertained so favorably? The chief squirmed and fidgeted upon the\nbench of hewn rock that was his throne.\n\n\"Quick,\" snapped the ape-man, \"Where is she?\"\n\n\"She is not here,\" cried Mo-sar.\n\n\"You lie,\" replied Tarzan.\n\n\"As Jad-ben-Otho is my witness, she is not in Tu-lur,\" insisted the\nchief. \"You may search the palace and the temple and the entire city\nbut you will not find her, for she is not here.\"\n\n\"Where is she, then?\" demanded the ape-man. \"You took her from the\npalace at A-lur. If she is not here, where is she? Tell me not that\nharm has befallen her,\" and he took a sudden threatening step toward\nMo-sar, that sent the chief shrinking back in terror.\n\n\"Wait,\" he cried, \"if you are indeed the Dor-ul-Otho you will know that\nI speak the truth. I took her from the palace of Ko-tan to save her for\nLu-don, the high priest, lest with Ko-tan dead Ja-don seize her. But\nduring the night she escaped from me between here and A-lur, and I have\nbut just sent three canoes full-manned in search of her.\"\n\nSomething in the chief\'s tone and manner assured the ape-man that he\nspoke in part the truth, and that once again he had braved incalculable\ndangers and suffered loss of time futilely.\n\n\"What wanted the priests of Lu-don that preceded me here?\" demanded\nTarzan chancing a shrewd guess that the two he had seen paddling so\nfrantically to avoid a meeting with him had indeed come from the high\npriest at A-lur.\n\n\"They came upon an errand similar to yours,\" replied Mo-sar; \"to demand\nthe return of the woman whom Lu-don thought I had stolen from him, thus\nwronging me as deeply, O Dor-ul-Otho, as have you.\"\n\n\"I would question the priests,\" said Tarzan. \"Bring them hither.\" His\nperemptory and arrogant manner left Mo-sar in doubt as to whether to be\nmore incensed, or terrified, but ever as is the way with such as he, he\nconcluded that the first consideration was his own safety. If he could\ntransfer the attention and the wrath of this terrible man from himself\nto Lu-don\'s priests it would more than satisfy him and if they should\nconspire to harm him, then Mo-sar would be safe in the eyes of\nJad-ben-Otho if it finally developed that the stranger was in reality\nthe son of god. He felt uncomfortable in Tarzan\'s presence and this\nfact rather accentuated his doubt, for thus indeed would mortal feel in\nthe presence of a god. Now he saw a way to escape, at least temporarily.\n\n\"I will fetch them myself, Dor-ul-Otho,\" he said, and turning, left the\napartment. His hurried steps brought him quickly to the temple, for the\npalace grounds of Tu-lur, which also included the temple as in all of\nthe Ho-don cities, covered a much smaller area than those of the larger\ncity of A-lur. He found Lu-don\'s messengers with the high priest of his\nown temple and quickly transmitted to them the commands of the ape-man.\n\n\"What do you intend to do with him?\" asked one of the priests.\n\n\"I have no quarrel with him,\" replied Mo-sar. \"He came in peace and he\nmay depart in peace, for who knows but that he is indeed the\nDor-ul-Otho?\"\n\n\"We know that he is not,\" replied Lu-don\'s emissary. \"We have every\nproof that he is only mortal, a strange creature from another country.\nAlready has Lu-don offered his life to Jad-ben-Otho if he is wrong in\nhis belief that this creature is not the son of god. If the high priest\nof A-lur, who is the highest priest of all the high priests of\nPal-ul-don is thus so sure that the creature is an impostor as to stake\nhis life upon his judgment then who are we to give credence to the\nclaims of this stranger? No, Mo-sar, you need not fear him. He is only\na warrior who may be overcome with the same weapons that subdue your\nown fighting men. Were it not for Lu-don\'s command that he be taken\nalive I would urge you to set your warriors upon him and slay him, but\nthe commands of Lu-don are the commands of Jad-ben-Otho himself, and\nthose we may not disobey.\"\n\nBut still the remnant of a doubt stirred within the cowardly breast of\nMo-sar, urging him to let another take the initiative against the\nstranger.\n\n\"He is yours then,\" he replied, \"to do with as you will. I have no\nquarrel with him. What you may command shall be the command of Lu-don,\nthe high priest, and further than that I shall have nothing to do in\nthe matter.\"\n\nThe priests turned to him who guided the destinies of the temple at\nTu-lur. \"Have you no plan?\" they asked. \"High indeed will he stand in\nthe counsels of Lu-don and in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho who finds the\nmeans to capture this impostor alive.\"\n\n\"There is the lion pit,\" whispered the high priest. \"It is now vacant\nand what will hold JA and JATO will hold this stranger if he is not the\nDor-ul-Otho.\"\n\n\"It will hold him,\" said Mo-sar; \"doubtless too it would hold a GRYF,\nbut first you would have to get the GRYF into it.\"\n\nThe priests pondered this bit of wisdom thoughtfully and then one of\nthose from A-lur spoke. \"It should not be difficult,\" he said, \"if we\nuse the wits that Jad-ben-Otho gave us instead of the worldly muscles\nwhich were handed down to us from our fathers and our mothers and which\nhave not even the power possessed by those of the beasts that run about\non four feet.\"\n\n\"Lu-don matched his wits with the stranger and lost,\" suggested Mo-sar.\n\"But this is your own affair. Carry it out as you see best.\"\n\n\"At A-lur, Ko-tan made much of this Dor-ul-Otho and the priests\nconducted him through the temple. It would arouse in his mind no\nsuspicion were you to do the same, and let the high priest of Tu-lur\ninvite him to the temple and gathering all the priests make a great\nshow of belief in his kinship to Jad-ben-Otho. And what more natural\nthen than that the high priest should wish to show him through the\ntemple as did Lu-don at A-lur when Ko-tan commanded it, and if by\nchance he should be led through the lion pit it would be a simple\nmatter for those who bear the torches to extinguish them suddenly and\nbefore the stranger was aware of what had happened, the stone gates\ncould be dropped, thus safely securing him.\"\n\n\"But there are windows in the pit that let in light,\" interposed the\nhigh priest, \"and even though the torches were extinguished he could\nstill see and might escape before the stone door could be lowered.\"\n\n\"Send one who will cover the windows tightly with hides,\" said the\npriest from A-lur.\n\n\"The plan is a good one,\" said Mo-sar, seeing an opportunity for\nentirely eliminating himself from any suspicion of complicity, \"for it\nwill require the presence of no warriors, and thus with only priests\nabout him his mind will entertain no suspicion of harm.\"\n\nThey were interrupted at this point by a messenger from the palace who\nbrought word that the Dor-ul-Otho was becoming impatient and if the\npriests from A-lur were not brought to him at once he would come\nhimself to the temple and get them. Mo-sar shook his head. He could not\nconceive of such brazen courage in mortal breast and glad he was that\nthe plan evolved for Tarzan\'s undoing did not necessitate his active\nparticipation.\n\nAnd so, while Mo-sar left for a secret corner of the palace by a\nroundabout way, three priests were dispatched to Tarzan and with\nwhining words that did not entirely deceive him, they acknowledged his\nkinship to Jad-ben-Otho and begged him in the name of the high priest\nto honor the temple with a visit, when the priests from A-lur would be\nbrought to him and would answer any questions that he put to them.\n\nConfident that a continuation of his bravado would best serve his\npurpose, and also that if suspicion against him should crystallize into\nconviction on the part of Mo-sar and his followers that he would be no\nworse off in the temple than in the palace, the ape-man haughtily\naccepted the invitation of the high priest.\n\nAnd so he came into the temple and was received in a manner befitting\nhis high claims. He questioned the two priests of A-lur from whom he\nobtained only a repetition of the story that Mo-sar had told him, and\nthen the high priest invited him to inspect the temple.\n\nThey took him first to the altar court, of which there was only one in\nTu-lur. It was almost identical in every respect with those at A-lur.\nThere was a bloody altar at the east end and the drowning basin at the\nwest, and the grizzly fringes upon the headdresses of the priests\nattested the fact that the eastern altar was an active force in the\nrites of the temple. Through the chambers and corridors beneath they\nled him, and finally, with torch bearers to light their steps, into a\ndamp and gloomy labyrinth at a low level and here in a large chamber,\nthe air of which was still heavy with the odor of lions, the crafty\npriests of Tu-lur encompassed their shrewd design.\n\nThe torches were suddenly extinguished. There was a hurried confusion\nof bare feet moving rapidly across the stone floor. There was a loud\ncrash as of a heavy weight of stone falling upon stone, and then\nsurrounding the ape-man naught but the darkness and the silence of the\ntomb.\n\n\n\n19\n\nDiana of the Jungle\n\nJane had made her first kill and she was very proud of it. It was not a\nvery formidable animal--only a hare; but it marked an epoch in her\nexistence. Just as in the dim past the first hunter had shaped the\ndestinies of mankind so it seemed that this event might shape hers in\nsome new mold. No longer was she dependent upon the wild fruits and\nvegetables for sustenance. Now she might command meat, the giver of the\nstrength and endurance she would require successfully to cope with the\nnecessities of her primitive existence.\n\nThe next step was fire. She might learn to eat raw flesh as had her\nlord and master; but she shrank from that. The thought even was\nrepulsive. She had, however, a plan for fire. She had given the matter\nthought, but had been too busy to put it into execution so long as fire\ncould be of no immediate use to her. Now it was different--she had\nsomething to cook and her mouth watered for the flesh of her kill. She\nwould grill it above glowing embers. Jane hastened to her tree. Among\nthe treasures she had gathered in the bed of the stream were several\npieces of volcanic glass, clear as crystal. She sought until she had\nfound the one in mind, which was convex. Then she hurried to the ground\nand gathered a little pile of powdered bark that was very dry, and some\ndead leaves and grasses that had lain long in the hot sun. Near at hand\nshe arranged a supply of dead twigs and branches--small and large.\n\nVibrant with suppressed excitement she held the bit of glass above the\ntinder, moving it slowly until she had focused the sun\'s rays upon a\ntiny spot. She waited breathlessly. How slow it was! Were her high\nhopes to be dashed in spite of all her clever planning? No! A thin\nthread of smoke rose gracefully into the quiet air. Presently the\ntinder glowed and broke suddenly into flame. Jane clasped her hands\nbeneath her chin with a little gurgling exclamation of delight. She had\nachieved fire!\n\nShe piled on twigs and then larger branches and at last dragged a small\nlog to the flames and pushed an end of it into the fire which was\ncrackling merrily. It was the sweetest sound that she had heard for\nmany a month. But she could not wait for the mass of embers that would\nbe required to cook her hare. As quickly as might be she skinned and\ncleaned her kill, burying the hide and entrails. That she had learned\nfrom Tarzan. It served two purposes. One was the necessity for keeping\na sanitary camp and the other the obliteration of the scent that most\nquickly attracts the man-eaters.\n\nThen she ran a stick through the carcass and held it above the flames.\nBy turning it often she prevented burning and at the same time\npermitted the meat to cook thoroughly all the way through. When it was\ndone she scampered high into the safety of her tree to enjoy her meal\nin quiet and peace. Never, thought Lady Greystoke, had aught more\ndelicious passed her lips. She patted her spear affectionately. It had\nbrought her this toothsome dainty and with it a feeling of greater\nconfidence and safety than she had enjoyed since that frightful day\nthat she and Obergatz had spent their last cartridge. She would never\nforget that day--it had seemed one hideous succession of frightful\nbeast after frightful beast. They had not been long in this strange\ncountry, yet they thought that they were hardened to dangers, for daily\nthey had had encounters with ferocious creatures; but this day--she\nshuddered when she thought of it. And with her last cartridge she had\nkilled a black and yellow striped lion-thing with great saber teeth\njust as it was about to spring upon Obergatz who had futilely emptied\nhis rifle into it--the last shot--his final cartridge. For another day\nthey had carried the now useless rifles; but at last they had discarded\nthem and thrown away the cumbersome bandoleers, as well. How they had\nmanaged to survive during the ensuing week she could never quite\nunderstand, and then the Ho-don had come upon them and captured her.\nObergatz had escaped--she was living it all over again. Doubtless he\nwas dead unless he had been able to reach this side of the valley which\nwas quite evidently less overrun with savage beasts.\n\nJane\'s days were very full ones now, and the daylight hours seemed all\ntoo short in which to accomplish the many things she had determined\nupon, since she had concluded that this spot presented as ideal a place\nas she could find to live until she could fashion the weapons she\nconsidered necessary for the obtaining of meat and for self-defense.\n\nShe felt that she must have, in addition to a good spear, a knife, and\nbow and arrows. Possibly when these had been achieved she might\nseriously consider an attempt to fight her way to one of civilization\'s\nnearest outposts. In the meantime it was necessary to construct some\nsort of protective shelter in which she might feel a greater sense of\nsecurity by night, for she knew that there was a possibility that any\nnight she might receive a visit from a prowling panther, although she\nhad as yet seen none upon this side of the valley. Aside from this\ndanger she felt comparatively safe in her aerial retreat.\n\nThe cutting of the long poles for her home occupied all of the daylight\nhours that were not engaged in the search for food. These poles she\ncarried high into her tree and with them constructed a flooring across\ntwo stout branches binding the poles together and also to the branches\nwith fibers from the tough arboraceous grasses that grew in profusion\nnear the stream. Similarly she built walls and a roof, the latter\nthatched with many layers of great leaves. The fashioning of the barred\nwindows and the door were matters of great importance and consuming\ninterest. The windows, there were two of them, were large and the bars\npermanently fixed; but the door was small, the opening just large\nenough to permit her to pass through easily on hands and knees, which\nmade it easier to barricade. She lost count of the days that the house\ncost her; but time was a cheap commodity--she had more of it than of\nanything else. It meant so little to her that she had not even any\ndesire to keep account of it. How long since she and Obergatz had fled\nfrom the wrath of the Negro villagers she did not know and she could\nonly roughly guess at the seasons. She worked hard for two reasons; one\nwas to hasten the completion of her little place of refuge, and the\nother a desire for such physical exhaustion at night that she would\nsleep through those dreaded hours to a new day. As a matter of fact the\nhouse was finished in less than a week--that is, it was made as safe as\nit ever would be, though regardless of how long she might occupy it she\nwould keep on adding touches and refinements here and there.\n\nHer daily life was filled with her house building and her hunting, to\nwhich was added an occasional spice of excitement contributed by roving\nlions. To the woodcraft that she had learned from Tarzan, that master\nof the art, was added a considerable store of practical experience\nderived from her own past adventures in the jungle and the long months\nwith Obergatz, nor was any day now lacking in some added store of\nuseful knowledge. To these facts was attributable her apparent immunity\nfrom harm, since they told her when JA was approaching before he crept\nclose enough for a successful charge and, too, they kept her close to\nthose never-failing havens of retreat--the trees.\n\nThe nights, filled with their weird noises, were lonely and depressing.\nOnly her ability to sleep quickly and soundly made them endurable. The\nfirst night that she spent in her completed house behind barred windows\nand barricaded door was one of almost undiluted peace and happiness.\nThe night noises seemed far removed and impersonal and the soughing of\nthe wind in the trees was gently soothing. Before, it had carried a\nmournful note and was sinister in that it might hide the approach of\nsome real danger. That night she slept indeed.\n\nShe went further afield now in search of food. So far nothing but\nrodents had fallen to her spear--her ambition was an antelope, since\nbeside the flesh it would give her, and the gut for her bow, the hide\nwould prove invaluable during the colder weather that she knew would\naccompany the rainy season. She had caught glimpses of these wary\nanimals and was sure that they always crossed the stream at a certain\nspot above her camp. It was to this place that she went to hunt them.\nWith the stealth and cunning of a panther she crept through the forest,\ncircling about to get up wind from the ford, pausing often to look and\nlisten for aught that might menace her--herself the personification of\na hunted deer. Now she moved silently down upon the chosen spot. What\nluck! A beautiful buck stood drinking in the stream. The woman wormed\nher way closer. Now she lay upon her belly behind a small bush within\nthrowing distance of the quarry. She must rise to her full height and\nthrow her spear almost in the same instant and she must throw it with\ngreat force and perfect accuracy. She thrilled with the excitement of\nthe minute, yet cool and steady were her swift muscles as she rose and\ncast her missile. Scarce by the width of a finger did the point strike\nfrom the spot at which it had been directed. The buck leaped high,\nlanded upon the bank of the stream, and fell dead. Jane Clayton sprang\nquickly forward toward her kill.\n\n\"Bravo!\" A man\'s voice spoke in English from the shrubbery upon the\nopposite side of the stream. Jane Clayton halted in her\ntracks--stunned, almost, by surprise. And then a strange, unkempt\nfigure of a man stepped into view. At first she did not recognize him,\nbut when she did, instinctively she stepped back.\n\n\"Lieutenant Obergatz!\" she cried. \"Can it be you?\"\n\n\"It can. It is,\" replied the German. \"I am a strange sight, no doubt;\nbut still it is I, Erich Obergatz. And you? You have changed too, is it\nnot?\"\n\nHe was looking at her naked limbs and her golden breastplates, the loin\ncloth of JATO-hide, the harness and ornaments that constitute the\napparel of a Ho-don woman--the things that Lu-don had dressed her in as\nhis passion for her grew. Not Ko-tan\'s daughter, even, had finer\ntrappings.\n\n\"But why are you here?\" Jane insisted. \"I had thought you safely among\ncivilized men by this time, if you still lived.\"\n\n\"Gott!\" he exclaimed. \"I do not know why I continue to live. I have\nprayed to die and yet I cling to life. There is no hope. We are doomed\nto remain in this horrible land until we die. The bog! The frightful\nbog! I have searched its shores for a place to cross until I have\nentirely circled the hideous country. Easily enough we entered; but the\nrains have come since and now no living man could pass that slough of\nslimy mud and hungry reptiles. Have I not tried it! And the beasts that\nroam this accursed land. They hunt me by day and by night.\"\n\n\"But how have you escaped them?\" she asked.\n\n\"I do not know,\" he replied gloomily. \"I have fled and fled and fled. I\nhave remained hungry and thirsty in tree tops for days at a time. I\nhave fashioned weapons--clubs and spears--and I have learned to use\nthem. I have slain a lion with my club. So even will a cornered rat\nfight. And we are no better than rats in this land of stupendous\ndangers, you and I. But tell me about yourself. If it is surprising\nthat I live, how much more so that you still survive.\"\n\nBriefly she told him and all the while she was wondering what she might\ndo to rid herself of him. She could not conceive of a prolonged\nexistence with him as her sole companion. Better, a thousand times\nbetter, to be alone. Never had her hatred and contempt for him lessened\nthrough the long weeks and months of their constant companionship, and\nnow that he could be of no service in returning her to civilization,\nshe shrank from the thought of seeing him daily. And, too, she feared\nhim. Never had she trusted him; but now there was a strange light in\nhis eye that had not been there when last she saw him. She could not\ninterpret it--all she knew was that it gave her a feeling of\napprehension--a nameless dread.\n\n\"You lived long then in the city of A-lur?\" he said, speaking in the\nlanguage of Pal-ul-don.\n\n\"You have learned this tongue?\" she asked. \"How?\"\n\n\"I fell in with a band of half-breeds,\" he replied, \"members of a\nproscribed race that dwells in the rock-bound gut through which the\nprincipal river of the valley empties into the morass. They are called\nWaz-ho-don and their village is partly made up of cave dwellings and\npartly of houses carved from the soft rock at the foot of the cliff.\nThey are very ignorant and superstitious and when they first saw me and\nrealized that I had no tail and that my hands and feet were not like\ntheirs they were afraid of me. They thought that I was either god or\ndemon. Being in a position where I could neither escape them nor defend\nmyself, I made a bold front and succeeded in impressing them to such an\nextent that they conducted me to their city, which they call Bu-lur,\nand there they fed me and treated me with kindness. As I learned their\nlanguage I sought to impress them more and more with the idea that I\nwas a god, and I succeeded, too, until an old fellow who was something\nof a priest among them, or medicine-man, became jealous of my growing\npower. That was the beginning of the end and came near to being the end\nin fact. He told them that if I was a god I would not bleed if a knife\nwas stuck into me--if I did bleed it would prove conclusively that I\nwas not a god. Without my knowledge he arranged to stage the ordeal\nbefore the whole village upon a certain night--it was upon one of those\nnumerous occasions when they eat and drink to Jad-ben-Otho, their pagan\ndeity. Under the influence of their vile liquor they would be ripe for\nany bloodthirsty scheme the medicine-man might evolve. One of the women\ntold me about the plan--not with any intent to warn me of danger, but\nprompted merely by feminine curiosity as to whether or not I would\nbleed if stuck with a dagger. She could not wait, it seemed, for the\norderly procedure of the ordeal--she wanted to know at once, and when I\ncaught her trying to slip a knife into my side and questioned her she\nexplained the whole thing with the utmost naivete. The warriors\nalready had commenced drinking--it would have been futile to make any\nsort of appeal either to their intellects or their superstitions. There\nwas but one alternative to death and that was flight. I told the woman\nthat I was very much outraged and offended at this reflection upon my\ngodhood and that as a mark of my disfavor I should abandon them to\ntheir fate.\n\n\"\'I shall return to heaven at once!\' I exclaimed.\n\n\"She wanted to hang around and see me go, but I told her that her eyes\nwould be blasted by the fire surrounding my departure and that she must\nleave at once and not return to the spot for at least an hour. I also\nimpressed upon her the fact that should any other approach this part of\nthe village within that time not only they, but she as well, would\nburst into flames and be consumed.\n\n\"She was very much impressed and lost no time in leaving, calling back\nas she departed that if I were indeed gone in an hour she and all the\nvillage would know that I was no less than Jad-ben-Otho himself, and so\nthey must think me, for I can assure you that I was gone in much less\nthan an hour, nor have I ventured close to the neighborhood of the city\nof Bu-lur since,\" and he fell to laughing in harsh, cackling notes that\nsent a shiver through the woman\'s frame.\n\nAs Obergatz talked Jane had recovered her spear from the carcass of the\nantelope and commenced busying herself with the removal of the hide.\nThe man made no attempt to assist her, but stood by talking and\nwatching her, the while he continually ran his filthy fingers through\nhis matted hair and beard. His face and body were caked with dirt and\nhe was naked except for a torn greasy hide about his loins. His weapons\nconsisted of a club and knife of Waz-don pattern, that he had stolen\nfrom the city of Bu-lur; but what more greatly concerned the woman than\nhis filth or his armament were his cackling laughter and the strange\nexpression in his eyes.\n\nShe went on with her work, however, removing those parts of the buck\nshe wanted, taking only as much meat as she might consume before it\nspoiled, as she was not sufficiently a true jungle creature to relish\nit beyond that stage, and then she straightened up and faced the man.\n\n\"Lieutenant Obergatz,\" she said, \"by a chance of accident we have met\nagain. Certainly you would not have sought the meeting any more than I.\nWe have nothing in common other than those sentiments which may have\nbeen engendered by my natural dislike and suspicion of you, one of the\nauthors of all the misery and sorrow that I have endured for endless\nmonths. This little corner of the world is mine by right of discovery\nand occupation. Go away and leave me to enjoy here what peace I may. It\nis the least that you can do to amend the wrong that you have done me\nand mine.\"\n\nThe man stared at her through his fishy eyes for a moment in silence,\nthen there broke from his lips a peal of mirthless, uncanny laughter.\n\n\"Go away! Leave you alone!\" he cried. \"I have found you. We are going\nto be good friends. There is no one else in the world but us. No one\nwill ever know what we do or what becomes of us and now you ask me to\ngo away and live alone in this hellish solitude.\" Again he laughed,\nthough neither the muscles of his eyes or his mouth reflected any\nmirth--it was just a hollow sound that imitated laughter.\n\n\"Remember your promise,\" she said.\n\n\"Promise! Promise! What are promises? They are made to be broken--we\ntaught the world that at Liege and Louvain. No, no! I will not go\naway. I shall stay and protect you.\"\n\n\"I do not need your protection,\" she insisted. \"You have already seen\nthat I can use a spear.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he said; \"but it would not be right to leave you here alone--you\nare but a woman. No, no; I am an officer of the Kaiser and I cannot\nabandon you.\"\n\nOnce more he laughed. \"We could be very happy here together,\" he added.\n\nThe woman could not repress a shudder, nor, in fact, did she attempt to\nhide her aversion.\n\n\"You do not like me?\" he asked. \"Ah, well; it is too sad. But some day\nyou will love me,\" and again the hideous laughter.\n\nThe woman had wrapped the pieces of the buck in the hide and this she\nnow raised and threw across her shoulder. In her other hand she held\nher spear and faced the German.\n\n\"Go!\" she commanded. \"We have wasted enough words. This is my country\nand I shall defend it. If I see you about again I shall kill you. Do\nyou understand?\"\n\nAn expression of rage contorted Obergatz\' features. He raised his club\nand started toward her.\n\n\"Stop!\" she commanded, throwing her spear-hand backward for a cast.\n\"You saw me kill this buck and you have said truthfully that no one\nwill ever know what we do here. Put these two facts together, German,\nand draw your own conclusions before you take another step in my\ndirection.\"\n\nThe man halted and his club-hand dropped to his side. \"Come,\" he begged\nin what he intended as a conciliatory tone. \"Let us be friends, Lady\nGreystoke. We can be of great assistance to each other and I promise\nnot to harm you.\"\n\n\"Remember Liege and Louvain,\" she reminded him with a sneer. \"I am\ngoing now--be sure that you do not follow me. As far as you can walk in\na day from this spot in any direction you may consider the limits of my\ndomain. If ever again I see you within these limits I shall kill you.\"\n\nThere could be no question that she meant what she said and the man\nseemed convinced for he but stood sullenly eyeing her as she backed\nfrom sight beyond a turn in the game trail that crossed the ford where\nthey had met, and disappeared in the forest.\n\n\n\n20\n\nSilently in the Night\n\nIn A-lur the fortunes of the city had been tossed from hand to hand.\nThe party of Ko-tan\'s loyal warriors that Tarzan had led to the\nrendezvous at the entrance to the secret passage below the palace gates\nhad met with disaster. Their first rush had been met with soft words\nfrom the priests. They had been exhorted to defend the faith of their\nfathers from blasphemers. Ja-don was painted to them as a defiler of\ntemples, and the wrath of Jad-ben-Otho was prophesied for those who\nembraced his cause. The priests insisted that Lu-don\'s only wish was to\nprevent the seizure of the throne by Ja-don until a new king could be\nchosen according to the laws of the Ho-don.\n\nThe result was that many of the palace warriors joined their fellows of\nthe city, and when the priests saw that those whom they could influence\noutnumbered those who remained loyal to the palace, they caused the\nformer to fall upon the latter with the result that many were killed\nand only a handful succeeded in reaching the safety of the palace\ngates, which they quickly barred.\n\nThe priests led their own forces through the secret passageway into the\ntemple, while some of the loyal ones sought out Ja-don and told him all\nthat had happened. The fight in the banquet hall had spread over a\nconsiderable portion of the palace grounds and had at last resulted in\nthe temporary defeat of those who had opposed Ja-don. This force,\ncounseled by under priests sent for the purpose by Lu-don, had\nwithdrawn within the temple grounds so that now the issue was plainly\nmarked as between Ja-don on the one side and Lu-don on the other.\n\nThe former had been told of all that had occurred in the apartments of\nO-lo-a to whose safety he had attended at the first opportunity and he\nhad also learned of Tarzan\'s part in leading his men to the gathering\nof Lu-don\'s warriors.\n\nThese things had naturally increased the old warrior\'s former\ninclinations of friendliness toward the ape-man, and now he regretted\nthat the other had departed from the city.\n\nThe testimony of O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee was such as to strengthen\nwhatever belief in the godliness of the stranger Ja-don and others of\nthe warriors had previously entertained, until presently there appeared\na strong tendency upon the part of this palace faction to make the\nDor-ul-otho an issue of their original quarrel with Lu-don. Whether\nthis occurred as the natural sequence to repeated narrations of the\nape-man\'s exploits, which lost nothing by repetition, in conjunction\nwith Lu-don\'s enmity toward him, or whether it was the shrewd design of\nsome wily old warrior such as Ja-don, who realized the value of adding\na religious cause to their temporal one, it were difficult to\ndetermine; but the fact remained that Ja-don\'s followers developed\nbitter hatred for the followers of Lu-don because of the high priest\'s\nantagonism to Tarzan.\n\nUnfortunately however Tarzan was not there to inspire the followers of\nJa-don with the holy zeal that might have quickly settled the dispute\nin the old chieftain\'s favor. Instead, he was miles away and because\ntheir repeated prayers for his presence were unanswered, the weaker\nspirits among them commenced to suspect that their cause did not have\ndivine favor. There was also another and a potent cause for defection\nfrom the ranks of Ja-don. It emanated from the city where the friends\nand relatives of the palace warriors, who were largely also the friends\nand relatives of Lu-don\'s forces, found the means, urged on by the\npriesthood, to circulate throughout the palace pernicious propaganda\naimed at Ja-don\'s cause.\n\nThe result was that Lu-don\'s power increased while that of Ja-don\nwaned. Then followed a sortie from the temple which resulted in the\ndefeat of the palace forces, and though they were able to withdraw in\ndecent order withdraw they did, leaving the palace to Lu-don, who was\nnow virtually ruler of Pal-ul-don.\n\nJa-don, taking with him the princess, her women, and their slaves,\nincluding Pan-at-lee, as well as the women and children of his faithful\nfollowers, retreated not only from the palace but from the city of\nA-lur as well and fell back upon his own city of Ja-lur. Here he\nremained, recruiting his forces from the surrounding villages of the\nnorth which, being far removed from the influence of the priesthood of\nA-lur, were enthusiastic partisans in any cause that the old chieftain\nespoused, since for years he had been revered as their friend and\nprotector.\n\nAnd while these events were transpiring in the north, Tarzan-jad-guru\nlay in the lion pit at Tu-lur while messengers passed back and forth\nbetween Mo-sar and Lu-don as the two dickered for the throne of\nPal-ul-don. Mo-sar was cunning enough to guess that should an open\nbreach occur between himself and the high priest he might use his\nprisoner to his own advantage, for he had heard whisperings among even\nhis own people that suggested that there were those who were more than\na trifle inclined to belief in the divinity of the stranger and that he\nmight indeed be the Dor-ul-Otho. Lu-don wanted Tarzan himself. He\nwanted to sacrifice him upon the eastern altar with his own hands\nbefore a multitude of people, since he was not without evidence that\nhis own standing and authority had been lessened by the claims of the\nbold and heroic figure of the stranger.\n\nThe method that the high priest of Tu-lur had employed to trap Tarzan\nhad left the ape-man in possession of his weapons though there seemed\nlittle likelihood of their being of any service to him. He also had his\npouch, in which were the various odds and ends which are the natural\naccumulation of all receptacles from a gold meshbag to an attic. There\nwere bits of obsidian and choice feathers for arrows, some pieces of\nflint and a couple of steel, an old knife, a heavy bone needle, and\nstrips of dried gut. Nothing very useful to you or me, perhaps; but\nnothing useless to the savage life of the ape-man.\n\nWhen Tarzan realized the trick that had been so neatly played upon him\nhe had awaited expectantly the coming of the lion, for though the scent\nof JA was old he was sure that sooner or later they would let one of\nthe beasts in upon him. His first consideration was a thorough\nexploration of his prison. He had noticed the hide-covered windows and\nthese he immediately uncovered, letting in the light, and revealing the\nfact that though the chamber was far below the level of the temple\ncourts it was yet many feet above the base of the hill from which the\ntemple was hewn. The windows were so closely barred that he could not\nsee over the edge of the thick wall in which they were cut to determine\nwhat lay close in below him. At a little distance were the blue waters\nof Jad-in-lul and beyond, the verdure-clad farther shore, and beyond\nthat the mountains. It was a beautiful picture upon which he looked--a\npicture of peace and harmony and quiet. Nor anywhere a slightest\nsuggestion of the savage men and beasts that claimed this lovely\nlandscape as their own. What a paradise! And some day civilized man\nwould come and--spoil it! Ruthless axes would raze that age-old wood;\nblack, sticky smoke would rise from ugly chimneys against that azure\nsky; grimy little boats with wheels behind or upon either side would\nchurn the mud from the bottom of Jad-in-lul, turning its blue waters to\na dirty brown; hideous piers would project into the lake from squalid\nbuildings of corrugated iron, doubtless, for of such are the pioneer\ncities of the world.\n\nBut would civilized man come? Tarzan hoped not. For countless\ngenerations civilization had ramped about the globe; it had dispatched\nits emissaries to the North Pole and the South; it had circled\nPal-ul-don once, perhaps many times, but it had never touched her. God\ngrant that it never would. Perhaps He was saving this little spot to be\nalways just as He had made it, for the scratching of the Ho-don and the\nWaz-don upon His rocks had not altered the fair face of Nature.\n\nThrough the windows came sufficient light to reveal the whole interior\nto Tarzan. The room was fairly large and there was a door at each\nend--a large door for men and a smaller one for lions. Both were closed\nwith heavy masses of stone that had been lowered in grooves running to\nthe floor. The two windows were small and closely barred with the first\niron that Tarzan had seen in Pal-ul-don. The bars were let into holes\nin the casing, and the whole so strongly and neatly contrived that\nescape seemed impossible. Yet within a few minutes of his incarceration\nTarzan had commenced to undertake his escape. The old knife in his\npouch was brought into requisition and slowly the ape-man began to\nscrape and chip away the stone from about the bars of one of the\nwindows. It was slow work but Tarzan had the patience of absolute\nhealth.\n\nEach day food and water were brought him and slipped quickly beneath\nthe smaller door which was raised just sufficiently to allow the stone\nreceptacles to pass in. The prisoner began to believe that he was being\npreserved for something beside lions. However that was immaterial. If\nthey would but hold off for a few more days they might select what fate\nthey would--he would not be there when they arrived to announce it.\n\nAnd then one day came Pan-sat, Lu-don\'s chief tool, to the city of\nTu-lur. He came ostensibly with a fair message for Mo-sar from the high\npriest at A-lur. Lu-don had decided that Mo-sar should be king and he\ninvited Mo-sar to come at once to A-lur and then Pan-sat, having\ndelivered the message, asked that he might go to the temple of Tu-lur\nand pray, and there he sought the high priest of Tu-lur to whom was the\ntrue message that Lu-don had sent. The two were closeted alone in a\nlittle chamber and Pan-sat whispered into the ear of the high priest.\n\n\"Mo-sar wishes to be king,\" he said, \"and Lu-don wishes to be king.\nMo-sar wishes to retain the stranger who claims to be the Dor-ul-Otho\nand Lu-don wishes to kill him, and now,\" he leaned even closer to the\near of the high priest of Tu-lur, \"if you would be high priest at A-lur\nit is within your power.\"\n\nPan-sat ceased speaking and waited for the other\'s reply. The high\npriest was visibly affected. To be high priest at A-lur! That was\nalmost as good as being king of all Pal-ul-don, for great were the\npowers of him who conducted the sacrifices upon the altars of A-lur.\n\n\"How?\" whispered the high priest. \"How may I become high priest at\nA-lur?\"\n\nAgain Pan-sat leaned close: \"By killing the one and bringing the other\nto A-lur,\" replied he. Then he rose and departed knowing that the other\nhad swallowed the bait and could be depended upon to do whatever was\nrequired to win him the great prize.\n\nNor was Pan-sat mistaken other than in one trivial consideration. This\nhigh priest would indeed commit murder and treason to attain the high\noffice at A-lur; but he had misunderstood which of his victims was to\nbe killed and which to be delivered to Lu-don. Pan-sat, knowing himself\nall the details of the plannings of Lu-don, had made the quite natural\nerror of assuming that the other was perfectly aware that only by\npublicly sacrificing the false Dor-ul-Otho could the high priest at\nA-lur bolster his waning power and that the assassination of Mo-sar,\nthe pretender, would remove from Lu-don\'s camp the only obstacle to his\ncombining the offices of high priest and king. The high priest at\nTu-lur thought that he had been commissioned to kill Tarzan and bring\nMo-sar to A-lur. He also thought that when he had done these things he\nwould be made high priest at A-lur; but he did not know that already\nthe priest had been selected who was to murder him within the hour that\nhe arrived at A-lur, nor did he know that a secret grave had been\nprepared for him in the floor of a subterranean chamber in the very\ntemple he dreamed of controlling.\n\nAnd so when he should have been arranging the assassination of his\nchief he was leading a dozen heavily bribed warriors through the dark\ncorridors beneath the temple to slay Tarzan in the lion pit. Night had\nfallen. A single torch guided the footsteps of the murderers as they\ncrept stealthily upon their evil way, for they knew that they were\ndoing the thing that their chief did not want done and their guilty\nconsciences warned them to stealth.\n\nIn the dark of his cell the ape-man worked at his seemingly endless\nchipping and scraping. His keen ears detected the coming of footsteps\nalong the corridor without--footsteps that approached the larger door.\nAlways before had they come to the smaller door--the footsteps of a\nsingle slave who brought his food. This time there were many more than\none and their coming at this time of night carried a sinister\nsuggestion. Tarzan continued to work at his scraping and chipping. He\nheard them stop beyond the door. All was silence broken only by the\nscrape, scrape, scrape of the ape-man\'s tireless blade.\n\nThose without heard it and listening sought to explain it. They\nwhispered in low tones making their plans. Two would raise the door\nquickly and the others would rush in and hurl their clubs at the\nprisoner. They would take no chances, for the stories that had\ncirculated in A-lur had been brought to Tu-lur--stories of the great\nstrength and wonderful prowess of Tarzan-jad-guru that caused the sweat\nto stand upon the brows of the warriors, though it was cool in the damp\ncorridor and they were twelve to one.\n\nAnd then the high priest gave the signal--the door shot upward and ten\nwarriors leaped into the chamber with poised clubs. Three of the heavy\nweapons flew across the room toward a darker shadow that lay in the\nshadow of the opposite wall, then the flare of the torch in the\npriest\'s hand lighted the interior and they saw that the thing at which\nthey had flung their clubs was a pile of skins torn from the windows\nand that except for themselves the chamber was vacant.\n\nOne of them hastened to a window. All but a single bar was gone and to\nthis was tied one end of a braided rope fashioned from strips cut from\nthe leather window hangings.\n\nTo the ordinary dangers of Jane Clayton\'s existence was now added the\nmenace of Obergatz\' knowledge of her whereabouts. The lion and the\npanther had given her less cause for anxiety than did the return of the\nunscrupulous Hun, whom she had always distrusted and feared, and whose\nrepulsiveness was now immeasurably augmented by his unkempt and filthy\nappearance, his strange and mirthless laughter, and his unnatural\ndemeanor. She feared him now with a new fear as though he had suddenly\nbecome the personification of some nameless horror. The wholesome,\noutdoor life that she had been leading had strengthened and rebuilt her\nnervous system yet it seemed to her as she thought of him that if this\nman should ever touch her she should scream, and, possibly, even faint.\nAgain and again during the day following their unexpected meeting the\nwoman reproached herself for not having killed him as she would JA or\nJATO or any other predatory beast that menaced her existence or her\nsafety. There was no attempt at self-justification for these sinister\nreflections--they needed no justification. The standards by which the\nacts of such as you or I may be judged could not apply to hers. We have\nrecourse to the protection of friends and relatives and the civil\nsoldiery that upholds the majesty of the law and which may be invoked\nto protect the righteous weak against the unrighteous strong; but Jane\nClayton comprised within herself not only the righteous weak but all\nthe various agencies for the protection of the weak. To her, then,\nLieutenant Erich Obergatz presented no different problem than did JA,\nthe lion, other than that she considered the former the more dangerous\nanimal. And so she determined that should he ignore her warning there\nwould be no temporizing upon the occasion of their next meeting--the\nsame swift spear that would meet JA\'s advances would meet his.\n\nThat night her snug little nest perched high in the great tree seemed\nless the sanctuary that it had before. What might resist the sanguinary\nintentions of a prowling panther would prove no great barrier to man,\nand influenced by this thought she slept less well than before. The\nslightest noise that broke the monotonous hum of the nocturnal jungle\nstartled her into alert wakefulness to lie with straining ears in an\nattempt to classify the origin of the disturbance, and once she was\nawakened thus by a sound that seemed to come from something moving in\nher own tree. She listened intently--scarce breathing. Yes, there it\nwas again. A scuffing of something soft against the hard bark of the\ntree. The woman reached out in the darkness and grasped her spear. Now\nshe felt a slight sagging of one of the limbs that supported her\nshelter as though the thing, whatever it was, was slowly raising its\nweight to the branch. It came nearer. Now she thought that she could\ndetect its breathing. It was at the door. She could hear it fumbling\nwith the frail barrier. What could it be? It made no sound by which she\nmight identify it. She raised herself upon her hands and knees and\ncrept stealthily the little distance to the doorway, her spear clutched\ntightly in her hand. Whatever the thing was, it was evidently\nattempting to gain entrance without awakening her. It was just beyond\nthe pitiful little contraption of slender boughs that she had bound\ntogether with grasses and called a door--only a few inches lay between\nthe thing and her. Rising to her knees she reached out with her left\nhand and felt until she found a place where a crooked branch had left\nan opening a couple of inches wide near the center of the barrier. Into\nthis she inserted the point of her spear. The thing must have heard her\nmove within for suddenly it abandoned its efforts for stealth and tore\nangrily at the obstacle. At the same moment Jane thrust her spear\nforward with all her strength. She felt it enter flesh. There was a\nscream and a curse from without, followed by the crashing of a body\nthrough limbs and foliage. Her spear was almost dragged from her grasp,\nbut she held to it until it broke free from the thing it had pierced.\n\nIt was Obergatz; the curse had told her that. From below came no\nfurther sound. Had she, then, killed him? She prayed so--with all her\nheart she prayed it. To be freed from the menace of this loathsome\ncreature were relief indeed. During all the balance of the night she\nlay there awake, listening. Below her, she imagined, she could see the\ndead man with his hideous face bathed in the cold light of the\nmoon--lying there upon his back staring up at her.\n\nShe prayed that JA might come and drag it away, but all during the\nremainder of the night she heard never another sound above the drowsy\nhum of the jungle. She was glad that he was dead, but she dreaded the\ngruesome ordeal that awaited her on the morrow, for she must bury the\nthing that had been Erich Obergatz and live on there above the shallow\ngrave of the man she had slain.\n\nShe reproached herself for her weakness, repeating over and over that\nshe had killed in self-defense, that her act was justified; but she was\nstill a woman of today, and strong upon her were the iron mandates of\nthe social order from which she had sprung, its interdictions and its\nsuperstitions.\n\nAt last came the tardy dawn. Slowly the sun topped the distant\nmountains beyond Jad-in-lul. And yet she hesitated to loosen the\nfastenings of her door and look out upon the thing below. But it must\nbe done. She steeled herself and untied the rawhide thong that secured\nthe barrier. She looked down and only the grass and the flowers looked\nup at her. She came from her shelter and examined the ground upon the\nopposite side of the tree--there was no dead man there, nor anywhere as\nfar as she could see. Slowly she descended, keeping a wary eye and an\nalert ear ready for the first intimation of danger.\n\nAt the foot of the tree was a pool of blood and a little trail of\ncrimson drops upon the grass, leading away parallel with the shore of\nJad-ben-lul. Then she had not slain him! She was vaguely aware of a\npeculiar, double sensation of relief and regret. Now she would be\nalways in doubt. He might return; but at least she would not have to\nlive above his grave.\n\nShe thought some of following the bloody spoor on the chance that he\nmight have crawled away to die later, but she gave up the idea for fear\nthat she might find him dead nearby, or, worse yet badly wounded. What\nthen could she do? She could not finish him with her spear--no, she\nknew that she could not do that, nor could she bring him back and nurse\nhim, nor could she leave him there to die of hunger or of thirst, or to\nbecome the prey of some prowling beast. It were better then not to\nsearch for him for fear that she might find him.\n\nThat day was one of nervous starting to every sudden sound. The day\nbefore she would have said that her nerves were of iron; but not today.\nShe knew now the shock that she had suffered and that this was the\nreaction. Tomorrow it might be different, but something told her that\nnever again would her little shelter and the patch of forest and jungle\nthat she called her own be the same. There would hang over them always\nthe menace of this man. No longer would she pass restful nights of\ndeep slumber. The peace of her little world was shattered forever.\n\nThat night she made her door doubly secure with additional thongs of\nrawhide cut from the pelt of the buck she had slain the day that she\nmet Obergatz. She was very tired for she had lost much sleep the night\nbefore; but for a long time she lay with wide-open eyes staring into\nthe darkness. What saw she there? Visions that brought tears to those\nbrave and beautiful eyes--visions of a rambling bungalow that had been\nhome to her and that was no more, destroyed by the same cruel force\nthat haunted her even now in this remote, uncharted corner of the\nearth; visions of a strong man whose protecting arm would never press\nher close again; visions of a tall, straight son who looked at her\nadoringly out of brave, smiling eyes that were like his father\'s.\nAlways the vision of the crude simple bungalow rather than of the\nstately halls that had been as much a part of her life as the other.\nBut he had loved the bungalow and the broad, free acres best and so she\nhad come to love them best, too.\n\nAt last she slept, the sleep of utter exhaustion. How long it lasted\nshe did not know; but suddenly she was wide awake and once again she\nheard the scuffing of a body against the bark of her tree and again the\nlimb bent to a heavy weight. He had returned! She went cold, trembling\nas with ague. Was it he, or, O God! had she killed him then and was\nthis--? She tried to drive the horrid thought from her mind, for this\nway, she knew, lay madness.\n\nAnd once again she crept to the door, for the thing was outside just as\nit had been last night. Her hands trembled as she placed the point of\nher weapon to the opening. She wondered if it would scream as it fell.\n\n\n\n21\n\nThe Maniac\n\nThe last bar that would make the opening large enough to permit his\nbody to pass had been removed as Tarzan heard the warriors whispering\nbeyond the stone door of his prison. Long since had the rope of hide\nbeen braided. To secure one end to the remaining bar that he had left\nfor this purpose was the work of but a moment, and while the warriors\nwhispered without, the brown body of the ape-man slipped through the\nsmall aperture and disappeared below the sill.\n\nTarzan\'s escape from the cell left him still within the walled area\nthat comprised the palace and temple grounds and buildings. He had\nreconnoitered as best he might from the window after he had removed\nenough bars to permit him to pass his head through the opening, so that\nhe knew what lay immediately before him--a winding and usually deserted\nalleyway leading in the direction of the outer gate that opened from\nthe palace grounds into the city.\n\nThe darkness would facilitate his escape. He might even pass out of the\npalace and the city without detection. If he could elude the guard at\nthe palace gate the rest would be easy. He strode along confidently,\nexhibiting no fear of detection, for he reasoned that thus would he\ndisarm suspicion. In the darkness he easily could pass for a Ho-don and\nin truth, though he passed several after leaving the deserted alley, no\none accosted or detained him, and thus he came at last to the guard of\na half-dozen warriors before the palace gate. These he attempted to\npass in the same unconcerned fashion and he might have succeeded had it\nnot been for one who came running rapidly from the direction of the\ntemple shouting: \"Let no one pass the gates! The prisoner has escaped\nfrom the pal-ul-JA!\"\n\nInstantly a warrior barred his way and simultaneously the fellow\nrecognized him. \"Xot tor!\" he exclaimed: \"Here he is now. Fall upon\nhim! Fall upon him! Back! Back before I kill you.\"\n\nThe others came forward. It cannot be said that they rushed forward. If\nit was their wish to fall upon him there was a noticeable lack of\nenthusiasm other than that which directed their efforts to persuade\nsomeone else to fall upon him. His fame as a fighter had been too long\na topic of conversation for the good of the morale of Mo-sar\'s\nwarriors. It were safer to stand at a distance and hurl their clubs and\nthis they did, but the ape-man had learned something of the use of this\nweapon since he had arrived in Pal-ul-don. And as he learned great had\ngrown his respect for this most primitive of arms. He had come to\nrealize that the black savages he had known had never appreciated the\npossibilities of their knob sticks, nor had he, and he had discovered,\ntoo, why the Pal-ul-donians had turned their ancient spears into\nplowshares and pinned their faith to the heavy-ended club alone. In\ndeadly execution it was far more effective than a spear and it\nanswered, too, every purpose of a shield, combining the two in one and\nthus reducing the burden of the warrior. Thrown as they throw it,\nafter the manner of the hammer-throwers of the Olympian games, an\nordinary shield would prove more a weakness than a strength while one\nthat would be strong enough to prove a protection would be too heavy to\ncarry. Only another club, deftly wielded to deflect the course of an\nenemy missile, is in any way effective against these formidable weapons\nand, too, the war club of Pal-ul-don can be thrown with accuracy a far\ngreater distance than any spear.\n\nAnd now was put to the test that which Tarzan had learned from Om-at\nand Ta-den. His eyes and his muscles trained by a lifetime of necessity\nmoved with the rapidity of light and his brain functioned with an\nuncanny celerity that suggested nothing less than prescience, and these\nthings more than compensated for his lack of experience with the war\nclub he handled so dexterously. Weapon after weapon he warded off and\nalways he moved with a single idea in mind--to place himself within\nreach of one of his antagonists. But they were wary for they feared\nthis strange creature to whom the superstitious fears of many of them\nattributed the miraculous powers of deity. They managed to keep between\nTarzan and the gateway and all the time they bawled lustily for\nreinforcements. Should these come before he had made his escape the\nape-man realized that the odds against him would be unsurmountable, and\nso he redoubled his efforts to carry out his design.\n\nFollowing their usual tactics two or three of the warriors were always\ncircling behind him collecting the thrown clubs when Tarzan\'s attention\nwas directed elsewhere. He himself retrieved several of them which he\nhurled with such deadly effect as to dispose of two of his antagonists,\nbut now he heard the approach of hurrying warriors, the patter of their\nbare feet upon the stone pavement and then the savage cries which were\nto bolster the courage of their fellows and fill the enemy with fear.\n\nThere was no time to lose. Tarzan held a club in either hand and,\nswinging one he hurled it at a warrior before him and as the man dodged\nhe rushed in and seized him, at the same time casting his second club\nat another of his opponents. The Ho-don with whom he grappled reached\ninstantly for his knife but the ape-man grasped his wrist. There was a\nsudden twist, the snapping of a bone and an agonized scream, then the\nwarrior was lifted bodily from his feet and held as a shield between\nhis fellows and the fugitive as the latter backed through the gateway.\nBeside Tarzan stood the single torch that lighted the entrance to the\npalace grounds. The warriors were advancing to the succor of their\nfellow when the ape-man raised his captive high above his head and\nflung him full in the face of the foremost attacker. The fellow went\ndown and two directly behind him sprawled headlong over their companion\nas the ape-man seized the torch and cast it back into the palace\ngrounds to be extinguished as it struck the bodies of those who led the\ncharging reinforcements.\n\nIn the ensuing darkness Tarzan disappeared in the streets of Tu-lur\nbeyond the palace gate. For a time he was aware of sounds of pursuit\nbut the fact that they trailed away and died in the direction of\nJad-in-lul informed him that they were searching in the wrong\ndirection, for he had turned south out of Tu-lur purposely to throw\nthem off his track. Beyond the outskirts of the city he turned directly\ntoward the northwest, in which direction lay A-lur.\n\nIn his path he knew lay Jad-bal-lul, the shore of which he was\ncompelled to skirt, and there would be a river to cross at the lower\nend of the great lake upon the shores of which lay A-lur. What other\nobstacles lay in his way he did not know but he believed that he could\nmake better time on foot than by attempting to steal a canoe and force\nhis way up stream with a single paddle. It was his intention to put as\nmuch distance as possible between himself and Tu-lur before he slept\nfor he was sure that Mo-sar would not lightly accept his loss, but that\nwith the coming of day, or possibly even before, he would dispatch\nwarriors in search of him.\n\nA mile or two from the city he entered a forest and here at last he\nfelt such a measure of safety as he never knew in open spaces or in\ncities. The forest and the jungle were his birthright. No creature that\nwent upon the ground upon four feet, or climbed among the trees, or\ncrawled upon its belly had any advantage over the ape-man in his native\nheath. As myrrh and frankincense were the dank odors of rotting\nvegetation in the nostrils of the great Tarmangani. He squared his\nbroad shoulders and lifting his head filled his lungs with the air that\nhe loved best. The heavy fragrance of tropical blooms, the commingled\nodors of the myriad-scented life of the jungle went to his head with a\npleasurable intoxication far more potent than aught contained in the\noldest vintages of civilization.\n\nHe took to the trees now, not from necessity but from pure love of the\nwild freedom that had been denied him so long. Though it was dark and\nthe forest strange yet he moved with a surety and ease that bespoke\nmore a strange uncanny sense than wondrous skill. He heard JA moaning\nsomewhere ahead and an owl hooted mournfully to the right of him--long\nfamiliar sounds that imparted to him no sense of loneliness as they\nmight to you or to me, but on the contrary one of companionship for\nthey betokened the presence of his fellows of the jungle, and whether\nfriend or foe it was all the same to the ape-man.\n\nHe came at last to a little stream at a spot where the trees did not\nmeet above it so he was forced to descend to the ground and wade\nthrough the water and upon the opposite shore he stopped as though\nsuddenly his godlike figure had been transmuted from flesh to marble.\nOnly his dilating nostrils bespoke his pulsing vitality. For a long\nmoment he stood there thus and then swiftly, but with a caution and\nsilence that were inherent in him he moved forward again, but now his\nwhole attitude bespoke a new urge. There was a definite and masterful\npurpose in every movement of those steel muscles rolling softly beneath\nthe smooth brown hide. He moved now toward a certain goal that quite\nevidently filled him with far greater enthusiasm than had the possible\nevent of his return to A-lur.\n\nAnd so he came at last to the foot of a great tree and there he stopped\nand looked up above him among the foliage where the dim outlines of a\nroughly rectangular bulk loomed darkly. There was a choking sensation\nin Tarzan\'s throat as he raised himself gently into the branches. It\nwas as though his heart were swelling either to a great happiness or a\ngreat fear.\n\nBefore the rude shelter built among the branches he paused listening.\nFrom within there came to his sensitive nostrils the same delicate\naroma that had arrested his eager attention at the little stream a mile\naway. He crouched upon the branch close to the little door.\n\n\"Jane,\" he called, \"heart of my heart, it is I.\"\n\nThe only answer from within was as the sudden indrawing of a breath\nthat was half gasp and half sigh, and the sound of a body falling to\nthe floor. Hurriedly Tarzan sought to release the thongs which held the\ndoor but they were fastened from the inside, and at last, impatient\nwith further delay, he seized the frail barrier in one giant hand and\nwith a single effort tore it completely away. And then he entered to\nfind the seemingly lifeless body of his mate stretched upon the floor.\n\nHe gathered her in his arms; her heart beat; she still breathed, and\npresently he realized that she had but swooned.\n\nWhen Jane Clayton regained consciousness it was to find herself held\ntightly in two strong arms, her head pillowed upon the broad shoulder\nwhere so often before her fears had been soothed and her sorrows\ncomforted. At first she was not sure but that it was all a dream.\nTimidly her hand stole to his cheek.\n\n\"John,\" she murmured, \"tell me, is it really you?\"\n\nIn reply he drew her more closely to him. \"It is I,\" he replied. \"But\nthere is something in my throat,\" he said haltingly, \"that makes it\nhard for me to speak.\"\n\nShe smiled and snuggled closer to him. \"God has been good to us, Tarzan\nof the Apes,\" she said.\n\nFor some time neither spoke. It was enough that they were reunited and\nthat each knew that the other was alive and safe. But at last they\nfound their voices and when the sun rose they were still talking, so\nmuch had each to tell the other; so many questions there were to be\nasked and answered.\n\n\"And Jack,\" she asked, \"where is he?\"\n\n\"I do not know,\" replied Tarzan. \"The last I heard of him he was on the\nArgonne Front.\"\n\n\"Ah, then our happiness is not quite complete,\" she said, a little note\nof sadness creeping into her voice.\n\n\"No,\" he replied, \"but the same is true in countless other English\nhomes today, and pride is learning to take the place of happiness in\nthese.\"\n\nShe shook her head, \"I want my boy,\" she said.\n\n\"And I too,\" replied Tarzan, \"and we may have him yet. He was safe and\nunwounded the last word I had. And now,\" he said, \"we must plan upon\nour return. Would you like to rebuild the bungalow and gather together\nthe remnants of our Waziri or would you rather return to London?\"\n\n\"Only to find Jack,\" she said. \"I dream always of the bungalow and\nnever of the city, but John, we can only dream, for Obergatz told me\nthat he had circled this whole country and found no place where he\nmight cross the morass.\"\n\n\"I am not Obergatz,\" Tarzan reminded her, smiling. \"We will rest today\nand tomorrow we will set out toward the north. It is a savage country,\nbut we have crossed it once and we can cross it again.\"\n\nAnd so, upon the following morning, the Tarmangani and his mate went\nforth upon their journey across the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho, and ahead\nof them were fierce men and savage beasts, and the lofty mountains of\nPal-ul-don; and beyond the mountains the reptiles and the morass, and\nbeyond that the arid, thorn-covered steppe, and other savage beasts and\nmen and weary, hostile miles of untracked wilderness between them and\nthe charred ruins of their home.\n\nLieutenant Erich Obergatz crawled through the grass upon all fours,\nleaving a trail of blood behind him after Jane\'s spear had sent him\ncrashing to the ground beneath her tree. He made no sound after the one\npiercing scream that had acknowledged the severity of his wound. He was\nquiet because of a great fear that had crept into his warped brain that\nthe devil woman would pursue and slay him. And so he crawled away like\nsome filthy beast of prey, seeking a thicket where he might lie down\nand hide.\n\nHe thought that he was going to die, but he did not, and with the\ncoming of the new day he discovered that his wound was superficial. The\nrough obsidian-shod spear had entered the muscles of his side beneath\nhis right arm inflicting a painful, but not a fatal wound. With the\nrealization of this fact came a renewed desire to put as much distance\nas possible between himself and Jane Clayton. And so he moved on, still\ngoing upon all fours because of a persistent hallucination that in this\nway he might escape observation. Yet though he fled his mind still\nrevolved muddily about a central desire--while he fled from her he\nstill planned to pursue her, and to his lust of possession was added a\ndesire for revenge. She should pay for the suffering she had inflicted\nupon him. She should pay for rebuffing him, but for some reason which\nhe did not try to explain to himself he would crawl away and hide. He\nwould come back though. He would come back and when he had finished\nwith her, he would take that smooth throat in his two hands and crush\nthe life from her.\n\nHe kept repeating this over and over to himself and then he fell to\nlaughing out loud, the cackling, hideous laughter that had terrified\nJane. Presently he realized his knees were bleeding and that they hurt\nhim. He looked cautiously behind. No one was in sight. He listened. He\ncould hear no indications of pursuit and so he rose to his feet and\ncontinued upon his way a sorry sight--covered with filth and blood, his\nbeard and hair tangled and matted and filled with burrs and dried mud\nand unspeakable filth. He kept no track of time. He ate fruits and\nberries and tubers that he dug from the earth with his fingers. He\nfollowed the shore of the lake and the river that he might be near\nwater, and when JA roared or moaned he climbed a tree and hid there,\nshivering.\n\nAnd so after a time he came up the southern shore of Jad-ben-lul until\na wide river stopped his progress. Across the blue water a white city\nglimmered in the sun. He looked at it for a long time, blinking his\neyes like an owl. Slowly a recollection forced itself through his\ntangled brain. This was A-lur, the City of Light. The association of\nideas recalled Bu-lur and the Waz-ho-don. They had called him\nJad-ben-Otho. He commenced to laugh aloud and stood up very straight\nand strode back and forth along the shore. \"I am Jad-ben-Otho,\" he\ncried, \"I am the Great God. In A-lur is my temple and my high priests.\nWhat is Jad-ben-Otho doing here alone in the jungle?\"\n\nHe stepped out into the water and raising his voice shrieked loudly\nacross toward A-lur. \"I am Jad-ben-Otho!\" he screamed. \"Come hither\nslaves and take your god to his temple.\" But the distance was great and\nthey did not hear him and no one came, and the feeble mind was\ndistracted by other things--a bird flying in the air, a school of\nminnows swimming around his feet. He lunged at them trying to catch\nthem, and falling upon his hands and knees he crawled through the water\ngrasping futilely at the elusive fish.\n\nPresently it occurred to him that he was a sea lion and he forgot the\nfish and lay down and tried to swim by wriggling his feet in the water\nas though they were a tail. The hardships, the privations, the terrors,\nand for the past few weeks the lack of proper nourishment had reduced\nErich Obergatz to little more than a gibbering idiot.\n\nA water snake swam out upon the surface of the lake and the man pursued\nit, crawling upon his hands and knees. The snake swam toward the shore\njust within the mouth of the river where tall reeds grew thickly and\nObergatz followed, making grunting noises like a pig. He lost the snake\nwithin the reeds but he came upon something else--a canoe hidden there\nclose to the bank. He examined it with cackling laughter. There were\ntwo paddles within it which he took and threw out into the current of\nthe river. He watched them for a while and then he sat down beside the\ncanoe and commenced to splash his hands up and down upon the water. He\nliked to hear the noise and see the little splashes of spray. He rubbed\nhis left forearm with his right palm and the dirt came off and left a\nwhite spot that drew his attention. He rubbed again upon the now\nthoroughly soaked blood and grime that covered his body. He was not\nattempting to wash himself; he was merely amused by the strange\nresults. \"I am turning white,\" he cried. His glance wandered from his\nbody now that the grime and blood were all removed and caught again the\nwhite city shimmering beneath the hot sun.\n\n\"A-lur--City of Light!\" he shrieked and that reminded him again of\nTu-lur and by the same process of associated ideas that had before\nsuggested it, he recalled that the Waz-ho-don had thought him\nJad-ben-Otho.\n\n\"I am Jad-ben-Otho!\" he screamed and then his eyes fell again upon the\ncanoe. A new idea came and persisted. He looked down at himself,\nexamining his body, and seeing the filthy loin cloth, now water soaked\nand more bedraggled than before, he tore it from him and flung it into\nthe lake. \"Gods do not wear dirty rags,\" he said aloud. \"They do not\nwear anything but wreaths and garlands of flowers and I am a god--I am\nJad-ben-Otho--and I go in state to my sacred city of A-lur.\"\n\nHe ran his fingers through his matted hair and beard. The water had\nsoftened the burrs but had not removed them. The man shook his head.\nHis hair and beard failed to harmonize with his other godly attributes.\nHe was commencing to think more clearly now, for the great idea had\ntaken hold of his scattered wits and concentrated them upon a single\npurpose, but he was still a maniac. The only difference being that he\nwas now a maniac with a fixed intent. He went out on the shore and\ngathered flowers and ferns and wove them in his beard and hair--blazing\nblooms of different colors--green ferns that trailed about his ears or\nrose bravely upward like the plumes in a lady\'s hat.\n\nWhen he was satisfied that his appearance would impress the most casual\nobserver with his evident deity he returned to the canoe, pushed it\nfrom shore and jumped in. The impetus carried it into the river\'s\ncurrent and the current bore it out upon the lake. The naked man stood\nerect in the center of the little craft, his arms folded upon his\nchest. He screamed aloud his message to the city: \"I am Jad-ben-Otho!\nLet the high priest and the under priests attend upon me!\"\n\nAs the current of the river was dissipated by the waters of the lake\nthe wind caught him and his craft and carried them bravely forward.\nSometimes he drifted with his back toward A-lur and sometimes with his\nface toward it, and at intervals he shrieked his message and his\ncommands. He was still in the middle of the lake when someone\ndiscovered him from the palace wall, and as he drew nearer, a crowd of\nwarriors and women and children were congregated there watching him and\nalong the temple walls were many priests and among them Lu-don, the\nhigh priest. When the boat had drifted close enough for them to\ndistinguish the bizarre figure standing in it and for them to catch the\nmeaning of his words Lu-don\'s cunning eyes narrowed. The high priest\nhad learned of the escape of Tarzan and he feared that should he join\nJa-don\'s forces, as seemed likely, he would attract many recruits who\nmight still believe in him, and the Dor-ul-Otho, even if a false one,\nupon the side of the enemy might easily work havoc with Lu-don\'s plans.\n\nThe man was drifting close in. His canoe would soon be caught in the\ncurrent that ran close to shore here and carried toward the river that\nemptied the waters of Jad-ben-lul into Jad-bal-lul. The under priests\nwere looking toward Lu-don for instructions.\n\n\"Fetch him hither!\" he commanded. \"If he is Jad-ben-Otho I shall know\nhim.\"\n\nThe priests hurried to the palace grounds and summoned warriors. \"Go,\nbring the stranger to Lu-don. If he is Jad-ben-Otho we shall know him.\"\n\nAnd so Lieutenant Erich Obergatz was brought before the high priest at\nA-lur. Lu-don looked closely at the naked man with the fantastic\nheaddress.\n\n\"Where did you come from?\" he asked.\n\n\"I am Jad-ben-Otho,\" cried the German. \"I came from heaven. Where is my\nhigh priest?\"\n\n\"I am the high priest,\" replied Lu-don.\n\nObergatz clapped his hands. \"Have my feet bathed and food brought to\nme,\" he commanded.\n\nLu-don\'s eyes narrowed to mere slits of crafty cunning. He bowed low\nuntil his forehead touched the feet of the stranger. Before the eyes of\nmany priests, and warriors from the palace he did it.\n\n\"Ho, slaves,\" he cried, rising; \"fetch water and food for the Great\nGod,\" and thus the high priest acknowledged before his people the\ngodhood of Lieutenant Erich Obergatz, nor was it long before the story\nran like wildfire through the palace and out into the city and beyond\nthat to the lesser villages all the way from A-lur to Tu-lur.\n\nThe real god had come--Jad-ben-Otho himself, and he had espoused the\ncause of Lu-don, the high priest. Mo-sar lost no time in placing\nhimself at the disposal of Lu-don, nor did he mention aught about his\nclaims to the throne. It was Mo-sar\'s opinion that he might consider\nhimself fortunate were he allowed to remain in peaceful occupation of\nhis chieftainship at Tu-lur, nor was Mo-sar wrong in his deductions.\n\nBut Lu-don could still use him and so he let him live and sent word to\nhim to come to A-lur with all his warriors, for it was rumored that\nJa-don was raising a great army in the north and might soon march upon\nthe City of Light.\n\nObergatz thoroughly enjoyed being a god. Plenty of food and peace of\nmind and rest partially brought back to him the reason that had been so\nrapidly slipping from him; but in one respect he was madder than ever,\nsince now no power on earth would ever be able to convince him that he\nwas not a god. Slaves were put at his disposal and these he ordered\nabout in godly fashion. The same portion of his naturally cruel mind\nmet upon common ground the mind of Lu-don, so that the two seemed\nalways in accord. The high priest saw in the stranger a mighty force\nwherewith to hold forever his power over all Pal-ul-don and thus the\nfuture of Obergatz was assured so long as he cared to play god to\nLu-don\'s high priest.\n\nA throne was erected in the main temple court before the eastern altar\nwhere Jad-ben-Otho might sit in person and behold the sacrifices that\nwere offered up to him there each day at sunset. So much did the\ncruel, half-crazed mind enjoy these spectacles that at times he even\ninsisted upon wielding the sacrificial knife himself and upon such\noccasions the priests and the people fell upon their faces in awe of\nthe dread deity.\n\nIf Obergatz taught them not to love their god more he taught them to\nfear him as they never had before, so that the name of Jad-ben-Otho was\nwhispered in the city and little children were frightened into\nobedience by the mere mention of it. Lu-don, through his priests and\nslaves, circulated the information that Jad-ben-Otho had commanded all\nhis faithful followers to flock to the standard of the high priest at\nA-lur and that all others were cursed, especially Ja-don and the base\nimpostor who had posed as the Dor-ul-Otho. The curse was to take the\nform of early death following terrible suffering, and Lu-don caused it\nto be published abroad that the name of any warrior who complained of a\npain should be brought to him, for such might be deemed to be under\nsuspicion, since the first effects of the curse would result in slight\npains attacking the unholy. He counseled those who felt pains to look\ncarefully to their loyalty. The result was remarkable and\nimmediate--half a nation without a pain, and recruits pouring into\nA-lur to offer their services to Lu-don while secretly hoping that the\nlittle pains they had felt in arm or leg or belly would not recur in\naggravated form.\n\n\n\n22\n\nA Journey on a Gryf\n\nTarzan and Jane skirted the shore of Jad-bal-lul and crossed the river\nat the head of the lake. They moved in leisurely fashion with an eye to\ncomfort and safety, for the ape-man, now that he had found his mate,\nwas determined to court no chance that might again separate them, or\ndelay or prevent their escape from Pal-ul-don. How they were to recross\nthe morass was a matter of little concern to him as yet--it would be\ntime enough to consider that matter when it became of more immediate\nmoment. Their hours were filled with the happiness and content of\nreunion after long separation; they had much to talk of, for each had\npassed through many trials and vicissitudes and strange adventures, and\nno important hour might go unaccounted for since last they met.\n\nIt was Tarzan\'s intention to choose a way above A-lur and the scattered\nHo-don villages below it, passing about midway between them and the\nmountains, thus avoiding, in so far as possible, both the Ho-don and\nWaz-don, for in this area lay the neutral territory that was\nuninhabited by either. Thus he would travel northwest until opposite\nthe Kor-ul-JA where he planned to stop to pay his respects to Om-at and\ngive the gund word of Pan-at-lee, and a plan Tarzan had for insuring\nher safe return to her people. It was upon the third day of their\njourney and they had almost reached the river that passes through A-lur\nwhen Jane suddenly clutched Tarzan\'s arm and pointed ahead toward the\nedge of a forest that they were approaching. Beneath the shadows of the\ntrees loomed a great bulk that the ape-man instantly recognized.\n\n\"What is it?\" whispered Jane.\n\n\"A GRYF,\" replied the ape-man, \"and we have met him in the worst place\nthat we could possibly have found. There is not a large tree within a\nquarter of a mile, other than those among which he stands. Come, we\nshall have to go back, Jane; I cannot risk it with you along. The best\nwe can do is to pray that he does not discover us.\"\n\n\"And if he does?\"\n\n\"Then I shall have to risk it.\"\n\n\"Risk what?\"\n\n\"The chance that I can subdue him as I subdued one of his fellows,\"\nreplied Tarzan. \"I told you--you recall?\"\n\n\"Yes, but I did not picture so huge a creature. Why, John, he is as big\nas a battleship.\"\n\nThe ape-man laughed. \"Not quite, though I\'ll admit he looks quite as\nformidable as one when he charges.\"\n\nThey were moving away slowly so as not to attract the attention of the\nbeast.\n\n\"I believe we\'re going to make it,\" whispered the woman, her voice\ntense with suppressed excitement. A low rumble rolled like distant\nthunder from the wood. Tarzan shook his head.\n\n\"\'The big show is about to commence in the main tent,\'\" he quoted,\ngrinning. He caught the woman suddenly to his breast and kissed her.\n\"One can never tell, Jane,\" he said. \"We\'ll do our best--that is all we\ncan do. Give me your spear, and--don\'t run. The only hope we have lies\nin that little brain more than in us. If I can control it--well, let\nus see.\"\n\nThe beast had emerged from the forest and was looking about through his\nweak eyes, evidently in search of them. Tarzan raised his voice in the\nweird notes of the Tor-o-don\'s cry, \"Whee-oo! Whee-oo! Whee-oo!\" For a\nmoment the great beast stood motionless, his attention riveted by the\ncall. The ape-man advanced straight toward him, Jane Clayton at his\nelbow. \"Whee-oo!\" he cried again peremptorily. A low rumble rolled\nfrom the GRYF\'s cavernous chest in answer to the call, and the beast\nmoved slowly toward them.\n\n\"Fine!\" exclaimed Tarzan. \"The odds are in our favor now. You can keep\nyour nerve?--but I do not need to ask.\"\n\n\"I know no fear when I am with Tarzan of the Apes,\" she replied softly,\nand he felt the pressure of her soft fingers on his arm.\n\nAnd thus the two approached the giant monster of a forgotten epoch\nuntil they stood close in the shadow of a mighty shoulder. \"Whee-oo!\"\nshouted Tarzan and struck the hideous snout with the shaft of the\nspear. The vicious side snap that did not reach its mark--that\nevidently was not intended to reach its mark--was the hoped-for answer.\n\n\"Come,\" said Tarzan, and taking Jane by the hand he led her around\nbehind the monster and up the broad tail to the great, horned back.\n\"Now will we ride in the state that our forebears knew, before which\nthe pomp of modern kings pales into cheap and tawdry insignificance.\nHow would you like to canter through Hyde Park on a mount like this?\"\n\n\"I am afraid the Bobbies would be shocked by our riding habits, John,\"\nshe cried, laughingly.\n\nTarzan guided the GRYF in the direction that they wished to go. Steep\nembankments and rivers proved no slightest obstacle to the ponderous\ncreature.\n\n\"A prehistoric tank, this,\" Jane assured him, and laughing and talking\nthey continued on their way. Once they came unexpectedly upon a dozen\nHo-don warriors as the GRYF emerged suddenly into a small clearing. The\nfellows were lying about in the shade of a single tree that grew alone.\nWhen they saw the beast they leaped to their feet in consternation and\nat their shouts the GRYF issued his hideous, challenging bellow and\ncharged them. The warriors fled in all directions while Tarzan\nbelabored the beast across the snout with his spear in an effort to\ncontrol him, and at last he succeeded, just as the GRYF was almost upon\none poor devil that it seemed to have singled out for its special prey.\nWith an angry grunt the GRYF stopped and the man, with a single\nbackward glance that showed a face white with terror, disappeared in\nthe jungle he had been seeking to reach.\n\nThe ape-man was elated. He had doubted that he could control the beast\nshould it take it into its head to charge a victim and had intended\nabandoning it before they reached the Kor-ul-JA. Now he altered his\nplans--they would ride to the very village of Om-at upon the GRYF, and\nthe Kor-ul-JA would have food for conversation for many generations to\ncome. Nor was it the theatric instinct of the ape-man alone that gave\nfavor to this plan. The element of Jane\'s safety entered into the\nmatter for he knew that she would be safe from man and beast alike so\nlong as she rode upon the back of Pal-ul-don\'s most formidable creature.\n\nAs they proceeded slowly in the direction of the Kor-ul-JA, for the\nnatural gait of the GRYF is far from rapid, a handful of terrified\nwarriors came panting into A-lur, spreading a weird story of the\nDor-ul-Otho, only none dared call him the Dor-ul-Otho aloud. Instead\nthey spoke of him as Tarzan-jad-guru and they told of meeting him\nmounted upon a mighty GRYF beside the beautiful stranger woman whom\nKo-tan would have made queen of Pal-ul-don. This story was brought to\nLu-don who caused the warriors to be hailed to his presence, when he\nquestioned them closely until finally he was convinced that they spoke\nthe truth and when they had told him the direction in which the two\nwere traveling, Lu-don guessed that they were on their way to Ja-lur to\njoin Ja-don, a contingency that he felt must be prevented at any cost.\nAs was his wont in the stress of emergency, he called Pan-sat into\nconsultation and for long the two sat in close conference. When they\narose a plan had been developed. Pan-sat went immediately to his own\nquarters where he removed the headdress and trappings of a priest to\ndon in their stead the harness and weapons of a warrior. Then he\nreturned to Lu-don.\n\n\"Good!\" cried the latter, when he saw him. \"Not even your\nfellow-priests or the slaves that wait upon you daily would know you\nnow. Lose no time, Pan-sat, for all depends upon the speed with which\nyou strike and--remember! Kill the man if you can; but in any event\nbring the woman to me here, alive. You understand?\"\n\n\"Yes, master,\" replied the priest, and so it was that a lone warrior\nset out from A-lur and made his way northwest in the direction of\nJa-lur.\n\nThe gorge next above Kor-ul-JA is uninhabited and here the wily Ja-don\nhad chosen to mobilize his army for its descent upon A-lur. Two\nconsiderations influenced him--one being the fact that could he keep\nhis plans a secret from the enemy he would have the advantage of\ndelivering a surprise attack upon the forces of Lu-don from a direction\nthat they would not expect attack, and in the meantime he would be able\nto keep his men from the gossip of the cities where strange tales were\nalready circulating relative to the coming of Jad-ben-Otho in person to\naid the high priest in his war against Ja-don. It took stout hearts and\nloyal ones to ignore the implied threats of divine vengeance that these\ntales suggested. Already there had been desertions and the cause of\nJa-don seemed tottering to destruction.\n\nSuch was the state of affairs when a sentry posted on the knoll in the\nmouth of the gorge sent word that he had observed in the valley below\nwhat appeared at a distance to be nothing less than two people mounted\nupon the back of a GRYF. He said that he had caught glimpses of them,\nas they passed open spaces, and they seemed to be traveling up the\nriver in the direction of the Kor-ul-JA.\n\nAt first Ja-don was inclined to doubt the veracity of his informant;\nbut, like all good generals, he could not permit even palpably false\ninformation to go uninvestigated and so he determined to visit the\nknoll himself and learn precisely what it was that the sentry had\nobserved through the distorting spectacles of fear. He had scarce taken\nhis place beside the man ere the fellow touched his arm and pointed.\n\"They are closer now,\" he whispered, \"you can see them plainly.\" And\nsure enough, not a quarter of a mile away Ja-don saw that which in his\nlong experience in Pal-ul-don he had never before seen--two humans\nriding upon the broad back of a GRYF.\n\nAt first he could scarce credit even this testimony of his own eyes,\nbut soon he realized that the creatures below could be naught else than\nthey appeared, and then he recognized the man and rose to his feet with\na loud cry.\n\n\"It is he!\" he shouted to those about him. \"It is the Dor-ul-Otho\nhimself.\"\n\nThe GRYF and his riders heard the shout though not the words. The\nformer bellowed terrifically and started in the direction of the knoll,\nand Ja-don, followed by a few of his more intrepid warriors, ran to\nmeet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary quarrel, tried to turn\nthe animal, but as the beast was far from tractable it always took a\nfew minutes to force the will of its master upon it; and so the two\nparties were quite close before the ape-man succeeded in stopping the\nmad charge of his furious mount.\n\nJa-don and his warriors, however, had come to the realization that this\nbellowing creature was bearing down upon them with evil intent and they\nhad assumed the better part of valor and taken to trees, accordingly.\nIt was beneath these trees that Tarzan finally stopped the GRYF. Ja-don\ncalled down to him.\n\n\"We are friends,\" he cried. \"I am Ja-don, Chief of Ja-lur. I and my\nwarriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and pray that\nhe will aid us in our righteous fight with Lu-don, the high priest.\"\n\n\"You have not defeated him yet?\" asked Tarzan. \"Why I thought you would\nbe king of Pal-ul-don long before this.\"\n\n\"No,\" replied Ja-don. \"The people fear the high priest and now that he\nhas in the temple one whom he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho many of my\nwarriors are afraid. If they but knew that the Dor-ul-Otho had returned\nand that he had blessed the cause of Ja-don I am sure that victory\nwould be ours.\"\n\nTarzan thought for a long minute and then he spoke. \"Ja-don,\" he said,\n\"was one of the few who believed in me and who wished to accord me fair\ntreatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an account to settle with\nLu-don, not alone on my own behalf, but principally upon that of my\nmate. I will go with you Ja-don to mete to Lu-don the punishment he\ndeserves. Tell me, chief, how may the Dor-ul-Otho best serve his\nfather\'s people?\"\n\n\"By coming with me to Ja-lur and the villages between,\" replied Ja-don\nquickly, \"that the people may see that it is indeed the Dor-ul-Otho and\nthat he smiles upon the cause of Ja-don.\"\n\n\"You think that they will believe in me more now than before?\" asked\nthe ape-man.\n\n\"Who will dare doubt that he who rides upon the great GRYF is less than\na god?\" returned the old chief.\n\n\"And if I go with you to the battle at A-lur,\" asked Tarzan, \"can you\nassure the safety of my mate while I am gone from her?\"\n\n\"She shall remain in Ja-lur with the Princess O-lo-a and my own women,\"\nreplied Ja-don. \"There she will be safe for there I shall leave trusted\nwarriors to protect them. Say that you will come, O Dor-ul-Otho, and my\ncup of happiness will be full, for even now Ta-den, my son, marches\ntoward A-lur with a force from the northwest and if we can attack, with\nthe Dor-ul-Otho at our head, from the northeast our arms should be\nvictorious.\"\n\n\"It shall be as you wish, Ja-don,\" replied the ape-man; \"but first you\nmust have meat fetched for my GRYF.\"\n\n\"There are many carcasses in the camp above,\" replied Ja-don, \"for my\nmen have little else to do than hunt.\"\n\n\"Good,\" exclaimed Tarzan. \"Have them brought at once.\"\n\nAnd when the meat was brought and laid at a distance the ape-man\nslipped from the back of his fierce charger and fed him with his own\nhand. \"See that there is always plenty of flesh for him,\" he said to\nJa-don, for he guessed that his mastery might be short-lived should the\nvicious beast become over-hungry.\n\nIt was morning before they could leave for Ja-lur, but Tarzan found the\nGRYF lying where he had left him the night before beside the carcasses\nof two antelope and a lion; but now there was nothing but the GRYF.\n\n\"The paleontologists say that he was herbivorous,\" said Tarzan as he\nand Jane approached the beast.\n\nThe journey to Ja-lur was made through the scattered villages where\nJa-don hoped to arouse a keener enthusiasm for his cause. A party of\nwarriors preceded Tarzan that the people might properly be prepared,\nnot only for the sight of the GRYF but to receive the Dor-ul-Otho as\nbecame his high station. The results were all that Ja-don could have\nhoped and in no village through which they passed was there one who\ndoubted the deity of the ape-man.\n\nAs they approached Ja-lur a strange warrior joined them, one whom none\nof Ja-don\'s following knew. He said he came from one of the villages to\nthe south and that he had been treated unfairly by one of Lu-don\'s\nchiefs. For this reason he had deserted the cause of the high priest\nand come north in the hope of finding a home in Ja-lur. As every\naddition to his forces was welcome to the old chief he permitted the\nstranger to accompany them, and so he came into Ja-lur with them.\n\nThere arose now the question as to what was to be done with the GRYF\nwhile they remained in the city. It was with difficulty that Tarzan had\nprevented the savage beast from attacking all who came near it when\nthey had first entered the camp of Ja-don in the uninhabited gorge next\nto the Kor-ul-JA, but during the march to Ja-lur the creature had\nseemed to become accustomed to the presence of the Ho-don. The latter,\nhowever, gave him no cause for annoyance since they kept as far from\nhim as possible and when he passed through the streets of the city he\nwas viewed from the safety of lofty windows and roofs. However\ntractable he appeared to have become there would have been no\nenthusiastic seconding of a suggestion to turn him loose within the\ncity. It was finally suggested that he be turned into a walled\nenclosure within the palace grounds and this was done, Tarzan driving\nhim in after Jane had dismounted. More meat was thrown to him and he\nwas left to his own devices, the awe-struck inhabitants of the palace\nnot even venturing to climb upon the walls to look at him.\n\nJa-don led Tarzan and Jane to the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a who,\nthe moment that she beheld the ape-man, threw herself to the ground and\ntouched her forehead to his feet. Pan-at-lee was there with her and she\ntoo seemed happy to see Tarzan-jad-guru again. When they found that\nJane was his mate they looked with almost equal awe upon her, since\neven the most skeptical of the warriors of Ja-don were now convinced\nthat they were entertaining a god and a goddess within the city of\nJa-lur, and that with the assistance of the power of these two, the\ncause of Ja-don would soon be victorious and the old Lion-man set upon\nthe throne of Pal-ul-don.\n\nFrom O-lo-a Tarzan learned that Ta-den had returned and that they were\nto be united in marriage with the weird rites of their religion and in\naccordance with the custom of their people as soon as Ta-den came home\nfrom the battle that was to be fought at A-lur.\n\nThe recruits were now gathering at the city and it was decided that the\nnext day Ja-don and Tarzan would return to the main body in the hidden\ncamp and immediately under cover of night the attack should be made in\nforce upon Lu-don\'s forces at A-lur. Word of this was sent to Ta-den\nwhere he awaited with his warriors upon the north side of Jad-ben-lul,\nonly a few miles from A-lur.\n\nIn the carrying out of these plans it was necessary to leave Jane\nbehind in Ja-don\'s palace at Ja-lur, but O-lo-a and her women were with\nher and there were many warriors to guard them, so Tarzan bid his mate\ngood-bye with no feelings of apprehension as to her safety, and again\nseated upon the GRYF made his way out of the city with Ja-don and his\nwarriors.\n\nAt the mouth of the gorge the ape-man abandoned his huge mount since it\nhad served its purpose and could be of no further value to him in their\nattack upon A-lur, which was to be made just before dawn the following\nday when, as he could not have been seen by the enemy, the effect of\nhis entry to the city upon the GRYF would have been totally lost. A\ncouple of sharp blows with the spear sent the big animal rumbling and\ngrowling in the direction of the Kor-ul-GRYF nor was the ape-man sorry\nto see it depart since he had never known at what instant its short\ntemper and insatiable appetite for flesh might turn it upon some of his\ncompanions.\n\nImmediately upon their arrival at the gorge the march on A-lur was\ncommenced.\n\n\n\n23\n\nTaken Alive\n\nAs night fell a warrior from the palace of Ja-lur slipped into the\ntemple grounds. He made his way to where the lesser priests were\nquartered. His presence aroused no suspicion as it was not unusual for\nwarriors to have business within the temple. He came at last to a\nchamber where several priests were congregated after the evening meal.\nThe rites and ceremonies of the sacrifice had been concluded and there\nwas nothing more of a religious nature to make call upon their time\nuntil the rites at sunrise.\n\nNow the warrior knew, as in fact nearly all Pal-ul-don knew, that there\nwas no strong bond between the temple and the palace at Ja-lur and that\nJa-don only suffered the presence of the priests and permitted their\ncruel and abhorrent acts because of the fact that these things had been\nthe custom of the Ho-don of Pal-ul-don for countless ages, and rash\nindeed must have been the man who would have attempted to interfere\nwith the priests or their ceremonies. That Ja-don never entered the\ntemple was well known, and that his high priest never entered the\npalace, but the people came to the temple with their votive offerings\nand the sacrifices were made night and morning as in every other temple\nin Pal-ul-don.\n\nThe warriors knew these things, knew them better perhaps than a simple\nwarrior should have known them. And so it was here in the temple that\nhe looked for the aid that he sought in the carrying out of whatever\ndesign he had.\n\nAs he entered the apartment where the priests were he greeted them\nafter the manner which was customary in Pal-ul-don, but at the same\ntime he made a sign with his finger that might have attracted little\nattention or scarcely been noticed at all by one who knew not its\nmeaning. That there were those within the room who noticed it and\ninterpreted it was quickly apparent, through the fact that two of the\npriests rose and came close to him as he stood just within the doorway\nand each of them, as he came, returned the signal that the warrior had\nmade.\n\nThe three talked for but a moment and then the warrior turned and left\nthe apartment. A little later one of the priests who had talked with\nhim left also and shortly after that the other.\n\nIn the corridor they found the warrior waiting, and led him to a little\nchamber which opened upon a smaller corridor just beyond where it\njoined the larger. Here the three remained in whispered conversation\nfor some little time and then the warrior returned to the palace and\nthe two priests to their quarters.\n\nThe apartments of the women of the palace at Ja-lur are all upon the\nsame side of a long, straight corridor. Each has a single door leading\ninto the corridor and at the opposite end several windows overlooking a\ngarden. It was in one of these rooms that Jane slept alone. At each end\nof the corridor was a sentinel, the main body of the guard being\nstationed in a room near the outer entrance to the women\'s quarters.\n\nThe palace slept for they kept early hours there where Ja-don ruled.\nThe pal-e-don-so of the great chieftain of the north knew no such wild\norgies as had resounded through the palace of the king at A-lur. Ja-lur\nwas a quiet city by comparison with the capital, yet there was always a\nguard kept at every entrance to the chambers of Ja-don and his\nimmediate family as well as at the gate leading into the temple and\nthat which opened upon the city.\n\nThese guards, however, were small, consisting usually of not more than\nfive or six warriors, one of whom remained awake while the others\nslept. Such were the conditions then when two warriors presented\nthemselves, one at either end of the corridor, to the sentries who\nwatched over the safety of Jane Clayton and the Princess O-lo-a, and\neach of the newcomers repeated to the sentinels the stereotyped words\nwhich announced that they were relieved and these others sent to watch\nin their stead. Never is a warrior loath to be relieved of sentry duty.\nWhere, under different circumstances he might ask numerous questions he\nis now too well satisfied to escape the monotonies of that universally\nhated duty. And so these two men accepted their relief without question\nand hastened away to their pallets.\n\nAnd then a third warrior entered the corridor and all of the newcomers\ncame together before the door of the ape-man\'s slumbering mate. And one\nwas the strange warrior who had met Ja-don and Tarzan outside the city\nof Ja-lur as they had approached it the previous day; and he was the\nsame warrior who had entered the temple a short hour before, but the\nfaces of his fellows were unfamiliar, even to one another, since it is\nseldom that a priest removes his hideous headdress in the presence even\nof his associates.\n\nSilently they lifted the hangings that hid the interior of the room\nfrom the view of those who passed through the corridor, and stealthily\nslunk within. Upon a pile of furs in a far corner lay the sleeping form\nof Lady Greystoke. The bare feet of the intruders gave forth no sound\nas they crossed the stone floor toward her. A ray of moonlight entering\nthrough a window near her couch shone full upon her, revealing the\nbeautiful contours of an arm and shoulder in cameo-distinctness against\nthe dark furry pelt beneath which she slept, and the perfect profile\nthat was turned toward the skulking three.\n\nBut neither the beauty nor the helplessness of the sleeper aroused such\nsentiments of passion or pity as might stir in the breasts of normal\nmen. To the three priests she was but a lump of clay, nor could they\nconceive aught of that passion which had aroused men to intrigue and to\nmurder for possession of this beautiful American girl, and which even\nnow was influencing the destiny of undiscovered Pal-ul-don.\n\nUpon the floor of the chamber were numerous pelts and as the leader of\nthe trio came close to the sleeping woman he stooped and gathered up\none of the smaller of these. Standing close to her head he held the rug\noutspread above her face. \"Now,\" he whispered and simultaneously he\nthrew the rug over the woman\'s head and his two fellows leaped upon\nher, seizing her arms and pinioning her body while their leader stifled\nher cries with the furry pelt. Quickly and silently they bound her\nwrists and gagged her and during the brief time that their work\nrequired there was no sound that might have been heard by occupants of\nthe adjoining apartments.\n\nJerking her roughly to her feet they forced her toward a window but she\nrefused to walk, throwing herself instead upon the floor. They were\nvery angry and would have resorted to cruelties to compel her obedience\nbut dared not, since the wrath of Lu-don might fall heavily upon\nwhoever mutilated his fair prize.\n\nAnd so they were forced to lift and carry her bodily. Nor was the task\nany sinecure since the captive kicked and struggled as best she might,\nmaking their labor as arduous as possible. But finally they succeeded\nin getting her through the window and into the garden beyond where one\nof the two priests from the Ja-lur temple directed their steps toward a\nsmall barred gateway in the south wall of the enclosure.\n\nImmediately beyond this a flight of stone stairs led downward toward\nthe river and at the foot of the stairs were moored several canoes.\nPan-sat had indeed been fortunate in enlisting aid from those who knew\nthe temple and the palace so well, or otherwise he might never have\nescaped from Ja-lur with his captive. Placing the woman in the bottom\nof a light canoe Pan-sat entered it and took up the paddle. His\ncompanions unfastened the moorings and shoved the little craft out into\nthe current of the stream. Their traitorous work completed they turned\nand retraced their steps toward the temple, while Pan-sat, paddling\nstrongly with the current, moved rapidly down the river that would\ncarry him to the Jad-ben-lul and A-lur.\n\nThe moon had set and the eastern horizon still gave no hint of\napproaching day as a long file of warriors wound stealthily through the\ndarkness into the city of A-lur. Their plans were all laid and there\nseemed no likelihood of their miscarriage. A messenger had been\ndispatched to Ta-den whose forces lay northwest of the city. Tarzan,\nwith a small contingent, was to enter the temple through the secret\npassageway, the location of which he alone knew, while Ja-don, with the\ngreater proportion of the warriors, was to attack the palace gates.\n\nThe ape-man, leading his little band, moved stealthily through the\nwinding alleys of A-lur, arriving undetected at the building which hid\nthe entrance to the secret passageway. This spot being best protected\nby the fact that its existence was unknown to others than the priests,\nwas unguarded. To facilitate the passage of his little company through\nthe narrow winding, uneven tunnel, Tarzan lighted a torch which had\nbeen brought for the purpose and preceding his warriors led the way\ntoward the temple.\n\nThat he could accomplish much once he reached the inner chambers of the\ntemple with his little band of picked warriors the ape-man was\nconfident since an attack at this point would bring confusion and\nconsternation to the easily overpowered priests, and permit Tarzan to\nattack the palace forces in the rear at the same time that Ja-don\nengaged them at the palace gates, while Ta-den and his forces swarmed\nthe northern walls. Great value had been placed by Ja-don on the moral\neffect of the Dor-ul-Otho\'s mysterious appearance in the heart of the\ntemple and he had urged Tarzan to take every advantage of the old\nchieftain\'s belief that many of Lu-don\'s warriors still wavered in\ntheir allegiance between the high priest and the Dor-ul-Otho, being\nheld to the former more by the fear which he engendered in the breasts\nof all his followers than by any love or loyalty they might feel toward\nhim.\n\nThere is a Pal-ul-donian proverb setting forth a truth similar to that\ncontained in the old Scotch adage that \"The best laid schemes o\' mice\nand men gang aft a-gley.\" Freely translated it might read, \"He who\nfollows the right trail sometimes reaches the wrong destination,\" and\nsuch apparently was the fate that lay in the footsteps of the great\nchieftain of the north and his godlike ally.\n\nTarzan, more familiar with the windings of the corridors than his\nfellows and having the advantage of the full light of the torch, which\nat best was but a dim and flickering affair, was some distance ahead of\nthe others, and in his keen anxiety to close with the enemy he gave too\nlittle thought to those who were to support him. Nor is this strange,\nsince from childhood the ape-man had been accustomed to fight the\nbattles of life single-handed so that it had become habitual for him to\ndepend solely upon his own cunning and prowess.\n\nAnd so it was that he came into the upper corridor from which opened\nthe chambers of Lu-don and the lesser priests far in advance of his\nwarriors, and as he turned into this corridor with its dim cressets\nflickering somberly, he saw another enter it from a corridor before\nhim--a warrior half carrying, half dragging the figure of a woman.\nInstantly Tarzan recognized the gagged and fettered captive whom he had\nthought safe in the palace of Ja-don at Ja-lur.\n\nThe warrior with the woman had seen Tarzan at the same instant that the\nlatter had discovered him. He heard the low beastlike growl that broke\nfrom the ape-man\'s lips as he sprang forward to wrest his mate from her\ncaptor and wreak upon him the vengeance that was in the Tarmangani\'s\nsavage heart. Across the corridor from Pan-sat was the entrance to a\nsmaller chamber. Into this he leaped carrying the woman with him.\n\nClose behind came Tarzan of the Apes. He had cast aside his torch and\ndrawn the long knife that had been his father\'s. With the impetuosity\nof a charging bull he rushed into the chamber in pursuit of Pan-sat to\nfind himself, when the hangings dropped behind him, in utter darkness.\nAlmost immediately there was a crash of stone on stone before him\nfollowed a moment later by a similar crash behind. No other evidence\nwas necessary to announce to the ape-man that he was again a prisoner\nin Lu-don\'s temple.\n\nHe stood perfectly still where he had halted at the first sound of the\ndescending stone door. Not again would he easily be precipitated to the\nGRYF pit, or some similar danger, as had occurred when Lu-don had\ntrapped him in the Temple of the Gryf. As he stood there his eyes\nslowly grew accustomed to the darkness and he became aware that a dim\nlight was entering the chamber through some opening, though it was\nseveral minutes before he discovered its source. In the roof of the\nchamber he finally discerned a small aperture, possibly three feet in\ndiameter and it was through this that what was really only a lesser\ndarkness rather than a light was penetrating its Stygian blackness of\nthe chamber in which he was imprisoned.\n\nSince the doors had fallen he had heard no sound though his keen ears\nwere constantly strained in an effort to discover a clue to the\ndirection taken by the abductor of his mate. Presently he could discern\nthe outlines of his prison cell. It was a small room, not over fifteen\nfeet across. On hands and knees, with the utmost caution, he examined\nthe entire area of the floor. In the exact center, directly beneath the\nopening in the roof, was a trap, but otherwise the floor was solid.\nWith this knowledge it was only necessary to avoid this spot in so far\nas the floor was concerned. The walls next received his attention.\nThere were only two openings. One the doorway through which he had\nentered, and upon the opposite side that through which the warrior had\nborne Jane Clayton. These were both closed by the slabs of stone which\nthe fleeing warrior had released as he departed.\n\nLu-don, the high priest, licked his thin lips and rubbed his bony white\nhands together in gratification as Pan-sat bore Jane Clayton into his\npresence and laid her on the floor of the chamber before him.\n\n\"Good, Pan-sat!\" he exclaimed. \"You shall be well rewarded for this\nservice. Now, if we but had the false Dor-ul-Otho in our power all\nPal-ul-don would be at our feet.\"\n\n\"Master, I have him!\" cried Pan-sat.\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed Lu-don, \"you have Tarzan-jad-guru? You have slain him\nperhaps. Tell me, my wonderful Pan-sat, tell me quickly. My breast is\nbursting with a desire to know.\"\n\n\"I have taken him alive, Lu-don, my master,\" replied Pan-sat. \"He is in\nthe little chamber that the ancients built to trap those who were too\npowerful to take alive in personal encounter.\"\n\n\"You have done well, Pan-sat, I--\"\n\nA frightened priest burst into the apartment. \"Quick, master, quick,\"\nhe cried, \"the corridors are filled with the warriors of Ja-don.\"\n\n\"You are mad,\" cried the high priest. \"My warriors hold the palace and\nthe temple.\"\n\n\"I speak the truth, master,\" replied the priest, \"there are warriors in\nthe corridor approaching this very chamber, and they come from the\ndirection of the secret passage which leads hither from the city.\"\n\n\"It may be even as he says,\" exclaimed Pan-sat. \"It was from that\ndirection that Tarzan-jad-guru was coming when I discovered and trapped\nhim. He was leading his warriors to the very holy of holies.\"\n\nLu-don ran quickly to the doorway and looked out into the corridor. At\na glance he saw that the fears of the frightened priest were well\nfounded. A dozen warriors were moving along the corridor toward him but\nthey seemed confused and far from sure of themselves. The high priest\nguessed that deprived of the leadership of Tarzan they were little\nbetter than lost in the unknown mazes of the subterranean precincts of\nthe temple.\n\nStepping back into the apartment he seized a leathern thong that\ndepended from the ceiling. He pulled upon it sharply and through the\ntemple boomed the deep tones of a metal gong. Five times the clanging\nnotes rang through the corridors, then he turned toward the two\npriests. \"Bring the woman and follow me,\" he directed.\n\nCrossing the chamber he passed through a small doorway, the others\nlifting Jane Clayton from the floor and following him. Through a\nnarrow corridor and up a flight of steps they went, turning to right\nand left and doubling back through a maze of winding passageways which\nterminated in a spiral staircase that gave forth at the surface of the\nground within the largest of the inner altar courts close beside the\neastern altar.\n\nFrom all directions now, in the corridors below and the grounds above,\ncame the sound of hurrying footsteps. The five strokes of the great\ngong had summoned the faithful to the defense of Lu-don in his private\nchambers. The priests who knew the way led the less familiar warriors\nto the spot and presently those who had accompanied Tarzan found\nthemselves not only leaderless but facing a vastly superior force. They\nwere brave men but under the circumstances they were helpless and so\nthey fell back the way they had come, and when they reached the narrow\nconfines of the smaller passageway their safety was assured since only\none foeman could attack them at a time. But their plans were frustrated\nand possibly also their entire cause lost, so heavily had Ja-don banked\nupon the success of their venture.\n\nWith the clanging of the temple gong Ja-don assumed that Tarzan and his\nparty had struck their initial blow and so he launched his attack upon\nthe palace gate. To the ears of Lu-don in the inner temple court came\nthe savage war cries that announced the beginning of the battle.\nLeaving Pan-sat and the other priest to guard the woman he hastened\ntoward the palace personally to direct his force and as he passed\nthrough the temple grounds he dispatched a messenger to learn the\noutcome of the fight in the corridors below, and other messengers to\nspread the news among his followers that the false Dor-ul-Otho was a\nprisoner in the temple.\n\nAs the din of battle rose above A-lur, Lieutenant Erich Obergatz turned\nupon his bed of soft hides and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked\nabout him. It was still dark without.\n\n\"I am Jad-ben-Otho,\" he cried, \"who dares disturb my slumber?\"\n\nA slave squatting upon the floor at the foot of his couch shuddered and\ntouched her forehead to the floor. \"It must be that the enemy have\ncome, O Jad-ben-Otho.\" She spoke soothingly for she had reason to know\nthe terrors of the mad frenzy into which trivial things sometimes threw\nthe Great God.\n\nA priest burst suddenly through the hangings of the doorway and falling\nupon his hands and knees rubbed his forehead against the stone\nflagging. \"O Jad-ben-Otho,\" he cried, \"the warriors of Ja-don have\nattacked the palace and the temple. Even now they are fighting in the\ncorridors near the quarters of Lu-don, and the high priest begs that\nyou come to the palace and encourage your faithful warriors by your\npresence.\"\n\nObergatz sprang to his feet. \"I am Jad-ben-Otho,\" he screamed. \"With\nlightning I will blast the blasphemers who dare attack the holy city of\nA-lur.\"\n\nFor a moment he rushed aimlessly and madly about the room, while the\npriest and the slave remained upon hands and knees with their foreheads\nagainst the floor.\n\n\"Come,\" cried Obergatz, planting a vicious kick in the side of the\nslave girl. \"Come! Would you wait here all day while the forces of\ndarkness overwhelm the City of Light?\"\n\nThoroughly frightened as were all those who were forced to serve the\nGreat God, the two arose and followed Obergatz towards the palace.\n\nAbove the shouting of the warriors rose constantly the cries of the\ntemple priests: \"Jad-ben-Otho is here and the false Dor-ul-Otho is a\nprisoner in the temple.\" The persistent cries reached even to the ears\nof the enemy as it was intended that they should.\n\n\n\n24\n\nThe Messenger of Death\n\nThe sun rose to see the forces of Ja-don still held at the palace gate.\nThe old warrior had seized the tall structure that stood just beyond\nthe palace and at the summit of this he kept a warrior stationed to\nlook toward the northern wall of the palace where Ta-den was to make\nhis attack; but as the minutes wore into hours no sign of the other\nforce appeared, and now in the full light of the new sun upon the roof\nof one of the palace buildings appeared Lu-don, the high priest,\nMo-sar, the pretender, and the strange, naked figure of a man, into\nwhose long hair and beard were woven fresh ferns and flowers. Behind\nthem were banked a score of lesser priests who chanted in unison: \"This\nis Jad-ben-Otho. Lay down your arms and surrender.\" This they repeated\nagain and again, alternating it with the cry: \"The false Dor-ul-Otho is\na prisoner.\"\n\nIn one of those lulls which are common in battles between forces armed\nwith weapons that require great physical effort in their use, a voice\nsuddenly arose from among the followers of Ja-don: \"Show us the\nDor-ul-Otho. We do not believe you!\"\n\n\"Wait,\" cried Lu-don. \"If I do not produce him before the sun has moved\nhis own width, the gates of the palace shall be opened to you and my\nwarriors will lay down their arms.\"\n\nHe turned to one of his priests and issued brief instructions.\n\nThe ape-man paced the confines of his narrow cell. Bitterly he\nreproached himself for the stupidity which had led him into this trap,\nand yet was it stupidity? What else might he have done other than rush\nto the succor of his mate? He wondered how they had stolen her from\nJa-lur, and then suddenly there flashed to his mind the features of the\nwarrior whom he had just seen with her. They were strangely familiar.\nHe racked his brain to recall where he had seen the man before and then\nit came to him. He was the strange warrior who had joined Ja-don\'s\nforces outside of Ja-lur the day that Tarzan had ridden upon the great\nGRYF from the uninhabited gorge next to the Kor-ul-JA down to the\ncapital city of the chieftain of the north. But who could the man be?\nTarzan knew that never before that other day had he seen him.\n\nPresently he heard the clanging of a gong from the corridor without and\nvery faintly the rush of feet, and shouts. He guessed that his warriors\nhad been discovered and a fight was in progress. He fretted and chafed\nat the chance that had denied him participation in it.\n\nAgain and again he tried the doors of his prison and the trap in the\ncenter of the floor, but none would give to his utmost endeavors. He\nstrained his eyes toward the aperture above but he could see nothing,\nand then he continued his futile pacing to and fro like a caged lion\nbehind its bars.\n\nThe minutes dragged slowly into hours. Faintly sounds came to him as of\nshouting men at a great distance. The battle was in progress. He\nwondered if Ja-don would be victorious and should he be, would his\nfriends ever discover him in this hidden chamber in the bowels of the\nhill? He doubted it.\n\nAnd now as he looked again toward the aperture in the roof there\nappeared to be something depending through its center. He came closer\nand strained his eyes to see. Yes, there was something there. It\nappeared to be a rope. Tarzan wondered if it had been there all the\ntime. It must have, he reasoned, since he had heard no sound from above\nand it was so dark within the chamber that he might easily have\noverlooked it.\n\nHe raised his hand toward it. The end of it was just within his reach.\nHe bore his weight upon it to see if it would hold him. Then he\nreleased it and backed away, still watching it, as you have seen an\nanimal do after investigating some unfamiliar object, one of the little\ntraits that differentiated Tarzan from other men, accentuating his\nsimilarity to the savage beasts of his native jungle. Again and again\nhe touched and tested the braided leather rope, and always he listened\nfor any warning sound from above.\n\nHe was very careful not to step upon the trap at any time and when\nfinally he bore all his weight upon the rope and took his feet from the\nfloor he spread them wide apart so that if he fell he would fall\nastride the trap. The rope held him. There was no sound from above, nor\nany from the trap below.\n\nSlowly and cautiously he drew himself upward, hand over hand. Nearer\nand nearer the roof he came. In a moment his eyes would be above the\nlevel of the floor above. Already his extended arms projected into the\nupper chamber and then something closed suddenly upon both his\nforearms, pinioning them tightly and leaving him hanging in mid-air\nunable to advance or retreat.\n\nImmediately a light appeared in the room above him and presently he saw\nthe hideous mask of a priest peering down upon him. In the priest\'s\nhands were leathern thongs and these he tied about Tarzan\'s wrists and\nforearms until they were completely bound together from his elbows\nalmost to his fingers. Behind this priest Tarzan presently saw others\nand soon several lay hold of him and pulled him up through the hole.\n\nAlmost instantly his eyes were above the level of the floor he\nunderstood how they had trapped him. Two nooses had lain encircling the\naperture into the cell below. A priest had waited at the end of each of\nthese ropes and at opposite sides of the chamber. When he had climbed\nto a sufficient height upon the rope that had dangled into his prison\nbelow and his arms were well within the encircling snares the two\npriests had pulled quickly upon their ropes and he had been made an\neasy captive without any opportunity of defending himself or inflicting\ninjury upon his captors.\n\nAnd now they bound his legs from his ankles to his knees and picking\nhim up carried him from the chamber. No word did they speak to him as\nthey bore him upward to the temple yard.\n\nThe din of battle had risen again as Ja-don had urged his forces to\nrenewed efforts. Ta-den had not arrived and the forces of the old\nchieftain were revealing in their lessened efforts their increasing\ndemoralization, and then it was that the priests carried\nTarzan-jad-guru to the roof of the palace and exhibited him in the\nsight of the warriors of both factions.\n\n\"Here is the false Dor-ul-Otho,\" screamed Lu-don.\n\nObergatz, his shattered mentality having never grasped fully the\nmeaning of much that was going on about him, cast a casual glance at\nthe bound and helpless prisoner, and as his eyes fell upon the noble\nfeatures of the ape-man, they went wide in astonishment and fright, and\nhis pasty countenance turned a sickly blue. Once before had he seen\nTarzan of the Apes, but many times had he dreamed that he had seen him\nand always was the giant ape-man avenging the wrongs that had been\ncommitted upon him and his by the ruthless hands of the three German\nofficers who had led their native troops in the ravishing of Tarzan\'s\npeaceful home. Hauptmann Fritz Schneider had paid the penalty of his\nneedless cruelties; Unter-lieutenant von Goss, too, had paid; and now\nObergatz, the last of the three, stood face to face with the Nemesis\nthat had trailed him through his dreams for long, weary months. That he\nwas bound and helpless lessened not the German\'s terror--he seemed not\nto realize that the man could not harm him. He but stood cringing and\njibbering and Lu-don saw and was filled with apprehension that others\nmight see and seeing realize that this bewhiskered idiot was no\ngod--that of the two Tarzan-jad-guru was the more godly figure. Already\nthe high priest noted that some of the palace warriors standing near\nwere whispering together and pointing. He stepped closer to Obergatz.\n\"You are Jad-ben-Otho,\" he whispered, \"denounce him!\"\n\nThe German shook himself. His mind cleared of all but his great terror\nand the words of the high priest gave him the clue to safety.\n\n\"I am Jad-ben-Otho!\" he screamed.\n\nTarzan looked him straight in the eye. \"You are Lieutenant Obergatz of\nthe German Army,\" he said in excellent German. \"You are the last of the\nthree I have sought so long and in your putrid heart you know that God\nhas not brought us together at last for nothing.\"\n\nThe mind of Lieutenant Obergatz was functioning clearly and rapidly at\nlast. He too saw the questioning looks upon the faces of some of those\naround them. He saw the opposing warriors of both cities standing by\nthe gate inactive, every eye turned upon him, and the trussed figure of\nthe ape-man. He realized that indecision now meant ruin, and ruin,\ndeath. He raised his voice in the sharp barking tones of a Prussian\nofficer, so unlike his former maniacal screaming as to quickly arouse\nthe attention of every ear and to cause an expression of puzzlement to\ncross the crafty face of Lu-don.\n\n\"I am Jad-ben-Otho,\" snapped Obergatz. \"This creature is no son of\nmine. As a lesson to all blasphemers he shall die upon the altar at the\nhand of the god he has profaned. Take him from my sight, and when the\nsun stands at zenith let the faithful congregate in the temple court\nand witness the wrath of this divine hand,\" and he held aloft his right\npalm.\n\nThose who had brought Tarzan took him away then as Obergatz had\ndirected, and the German turned once more to the warriors by the gate.\n\"Throw down your arms, warriors of Ja-don,\" he cried, \"lest I call down\nmy lightnings to blast you where you stand. Those who do as I bid shall\nbe forgiven. Come! Throw down your arms.\"\n\nThe warriors of Ja-don moved uneasily, casting looks of appeal at their\nleader and of apprehension toward the figures upon the palace roof.\nJa-don sprang forward among his men. \"Let the cowards and knaves throw\ndown their arms and enter the palace,\" he cried, \"but never will Ja-don\nand the warriors of Ja-lur touch their foreheads to the feet of Lu-don\nand his false god. Make your decision now,\" he cried to his followers.\n\nA few threw down their arms and with sheepish looks passed through the\ngateway into the palace, and with the example of these to bolster their\ncourage others joined in the desertion from the old chieftain of the\nnorth, but staunch and true around him stood the majority of his\nwarriors and when the last weakling had left their ranks Ja-don voiced\nthe savage cry with which he led his followers to the attack, and once\nagain the battle raged about the palace gate.\n\nAt times Ja-don\'s forces pushed the defenders far into the palace\nground and then the wave of combat would recede and pass out into the\ncity again. And still Ta-den and the reinforcements did not come. It\nwas drawing close to noon. Lu-don had mustered every available man that\nwas not actually needed for the defense of the gate within the temple,\nand these he sent, under the leadership of Pan-sat, out into the city\nthrough the secret passageway and there they fell upon Ja-don\'s forces\nfrom the rear while those at the gate hammered them in front.\n\nAttacked on two sides by a vastly superior force the result was\ninevitable and finally the last remnant of Ja-don\'s little army\ncapitulated and the old chief was taken a prisoner before Lu-don. \"Take\nhim to the temple court,\" cried the high priest. \"He shall witness the\ndeath of his accomplice and perhaps Jad-ben-Otho shall pass a similar\nsentence upon him as well.\"\n\nThe inner temple court was packed with humanity. At either end of the\nwestern altar stood Tarzan and his mate, bound and helpless. The sounds\nof battle had ceased and presently the ape-man saw Ja-don being led\ninto the inner court, his wrists bound tightly together before him.\nTarzan turned his eyes toward Jane and nodded in the direction of\nJa-don. \"This looks like the end,\" he said quietly. \"He was our last\nand only hope.\"\n\n\"We have at least found each other, John,\" she replied, \"and our last\ndays have been spent together. My only prayer now is that if they take\nyou they do not leave me.\"\n\nTarzan made no reply for in his heart was the same bitter thought that\nher own contained--not the fear that they would kill him but the fear\nthat they would not kill her. The ape-man strained at his bonds but\nthey were too many and too strong. A priest near him saw and with a\njeering laugh struck the defenseless ape-man in the face.\n\n\"The brute!\" cried Jane Clayton.\n\nTarzan smiled. \"I have been struck thus before, Jane,\" he said, \"and\nalways has the striker died.\"\n\n\"You still have hope?\" she asked.\n\n\"I am still alive,\" he said as though that were sufficient answer. She\nwas a woman and she did not have the courage of this man who knew no\nfear. In her heart of hearts she knew that he would die upon the altar\nat high noon for he had told her, after he had been brought to the\ninner court, of the sentence of death that Obergatz had pronounced upon\nhim, and she knew too that Tarzan knew that he would die, but that he\nwas too courageous to admit it even to himself.\n\nAs she looked upon him standing there so straight and wonderful and\nbrave among his savage captors her heart cried out against the cruelty\nof the fate that had overtaken him. It seemed a gross and hideous wrong\nthat that wonderful creature, now so quick with exuberant life and\nstrength and purpose should be presently naught but a bleeding lump of\nclay--and all so uselessly and wantonly. Gladly would she have offered\nher life for his but she knew that it was a waste of words since their\ncaptors would work upon them whatever it was their will to do--for him,\ndeath; for her--she shuddered at the thought.\n\nAnd now came Lu-don and the naked Obergatz, and the high priest led the\nGerman to his place behind the altar, himself standing upon the other\'s\nleft. Lu-don whispered a word to Obergatz, at the same time nodding in\nthe direction of Ja-don. The Hun cast a scowling look upon the old\nwarrior.\n\n\"And after the false god,\" he cried, \"the false prophet,\" and he\npointed an accusing finger at Ja-don. Then his eyes wandered to the\nform of Jane Clayton.\n\n\"And the woman, too?\" asked Lu-don.\n\n\"The case of the woman I will attend to later,\" replied Obergatz. \"I\nwill talk with her tonight after she has had a chance to meditate upon\nthe consequences of arousing the wrath of Jad-ben-Otho.\"\n\nHe cast his eyes upward at the sun. \"The time approaches,\" he said to\nLu-don. \"Prepare the sacrifice.\"\n\nLu-don nodded to the priests who were gathered about Tarzan. They\nseized the ape-man and lifted him bodily to the altar where they laid\nhim upon his back with his head at the south end of the monolith, but a\nfew feet from where Jane Clayton stood. Impulsively and before they\ncould restrain her the woman rushed forward and bending quickly kissed\nher mate upon the forehead. \"Good-bye, John,\" she whispered.\n\n\"Good-bye,\" he answered, smiling.\n\nThe priests seized her and dragged her away. Lu-don handed the\nsacrificial knife to Obergatz. \"I am the Great God,\" cried the German,\n\"thus falleth the divine wrath upon all my enemies!\" He looked up at\nthe sun and then raised the knife high above his head.\n\n\"Thus die the blasphemers of God!\" he screamed, and at the same instant\na sharp staccato note rang out above the silent, spell-bound multitude.\nThere was a screaming whistle in the air and Jad-ben-Otho crumpled\nforward across the body of his intended victim. Again the same alarming\nnoise and Lu-don fell, a third and Mo-sar crumpled to the ground. And\nnow the warriors and the people, locating the direction of this new and\nunknown sound turned toward the western end of the court.\n\nUpon the summit of the temple wall they saw two figures--a Ho-don\nwarrior and beside him an almost naked creature of the race of\nTarzan-jad-guru, across his shoulders and about his hips were strange\nbroad belts studded with beautiful cylinders that glinted in the\nmid-day sun, and in his hands a shining thing of wood and metal from\nthe end of which rose a thin wreath of blue-gray smoke.\n\nAnd then the voice of the Ho-don warrior rang clear upon the ears of\nthe silent throng. \"Thus speaks the true Jad-ben-Otho,\" he cried,\n\"through this his Messenger of Death. Cut the bonds of the prisoners.\nCut the bonds of the Dor-ul-Otho and of Ja-don, King of Pal-ul-don, and\nof the woman who is the mate of the son of god.\"\n\nPan-sat, filled with the frenzy of fanaticism saw the power and the\nglory of the regime he had served crumpled and gone. To one and only\none did he attribute the blame for the disaster that had but just\noverwhelmed him. It was the creature who lay upon the sacrificial altar\nwho had brought Lu-don to his death and toppled the dreams of power\nthat day by day had been growing in the brain of the under priest.\n\nThe sacrificial knife lay upon the altar where it had fallen from the\ndead fingers of Obergatz. Pan-sat crept closer and then with a sudden\nlunge he reached forth to seize the handle of the blade, and even as\nhis clutching fingers were poised above it, the strange thing in the\nhands of the strange creature upon the temple wall cried out its\ncrashing word of doom and Pan-sat the under priest, screaming, fell\nback upon the dead body of his master.\n\n\"Seize all the priests,\" cried Ta-den to the warriors, \"and let none\nhesitate lest Jad-ben-Otho\'s messenger send forth still other bolts of\nlightning.\"\n\nThe warriors and the people had now witnessed such an exhibition of\ndivine power as might have convinced an even less superstitious and\nmore enlightened people, and since many of them had but lately wavered\nbetween the Jad-ben-Otho of Lu-don and the Dor-ul-Otho of Ja-don it was\nnot difficult for them to swing quickly back to the latter, especially\nin view of the unanswerable argument in the hands of him whom Ta-den\nhad described as the Messenger of the Great God.\n\nAnd so the warriors sprang forward now with alacrity and surrounded the\npriests, and when they looked again at the western wall of the temple\ncourt they saw pouring over it a great force of warriors. And the thing\nthat startled and appalled them was the fact that many of these were\nblack and hairy Waz-don.\n\nAt their head came the stranger with the shiny weapon and on his right\nwas Ta-den, the Ho-don, and on his left Om-at, the black gund of\nKor-ul-JA.\n\nA warrior near the altar had seized the sacrificial knife and cut\nTarzan\'s bonds and also those of Ja-don and Jane Clayton, and now the\nthree stood together beside the altar and as the newcomers from the\nwestern end of the temple court pushed their way toward them the eyes\nof the woman went wide in mingled astonishment, incredulity, and hope.\nAnd the stranger, slinging his weapon across his back by a leather\nstrap, rushed forward and took her in his arms.\n\n\"Jack!\" she cried, sobbing on his shoulder. \"Jack, my son!\"\n\nAnd Tarzan of the Apes came then and put his arms around them both, and\nthe King of Pal-ul-don and the warriors and the people kneeled in the\ntemple court and placed their foreheads to the ground before the altar\nwhere the three stood.\n\n\n\n25\n\nHome\n\nWithin an hour of the fall of Lu-don and Mo-sar, the chiefs and\nprincipal warriors of Pal-ul-don gathered in the great throneroom of\nthe palace at A-lur upon the steps of the lofty pyramid and placing\nJa-don at the apex proclaimed him king. Upon one side of the old\nchieftain stood Tarzan of the Apes, and upon the other Korak, the\nKiller, worthy son of the mighty ape-man.\n\nAnd when the brief ceremony was over and the warriors with upraised\nclubs had sworn fealty to their new ruler, Ja-don dispatched a trusted\ncompany to fetch O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee and the women of his own\nhousehold from Ja-lur.\n\nAnd then the warriors discussed the future of Pal-ul-don and the\nquestion arose as to the administration of the temples and the fate of\nthe priests, who practically without exception had been disloyal to the\ngovernment of the king, seeking always only their own power and comfort\nand aggrandizement. And then it was that Ja-don turned to Tarzan. \"Let\nthe Dor-ul-Otho transmit to his people the wishes of his father,\" he\nsaid.\n\n\"Your problem is a simple one,\" said the ape-man, \"if you but wish to\ndo that which shall be pleasing in the eyes of God. Your priests, to\nincrease their power, have taught you that Jad-ben-Otho is a cruel god,\nthat his eyes love to dwell upon blood and upon suffering. But the\nfalsity of their teachings has been demonstrated to you today in the\nutter defeat of the priesthood.\n\n\"Take then the temples from the men and give them instead to the women\nthat they may be administered in kindness and charity and love. Wash\nthe blood from your eastern altar and drain forever the water from the\nwestern.\n\n\"Once I gave Lu-don the opportunity to do these things but he ignored\nmy commands, and again is the corridor of sacrifice filled with its\nvictims. Liberate these from every temple in Pal-ul-don. Bring\nofferings of such gifts as your people like and place them upon the\naltars of your god. And there he will bless them and the priestesses of\nJad-ben-Otho can distribute them among those who need them most.\"\n\nAs he ceased speaking a murmur of evident approval ran through the\nthrong. Long had they been weary of the avarice and cruelty of the\npriests and now that authority had come from a high source with a\nfeasible plan for ridding themselves of the old religious order without\nnecessitating any change in the faith of the people they welcomed it.\n\n\"And the priests,\" cried one. \"We shall put them to death upon their\nown altars if it pleases the Dor-ul-Otho to give the word.\"\n\n\"No,\" cried Tarzan. \"Let no more blood be spilled. Give them their\nfreedom and the right to take up such occupations as they choose.\"\n\nThat night a great feast was spread in the pal-e-don-so and for the\nfirst time in the history of ancient Pal-ul-don black warriors sat in\npeace and friendship with white. And a pact was sealed between Ja-don\nand Om-at that would ever make his tribe and the Ho-don allies and\nfriends.\n\nIt was here that Tarzan learned the cause of Ta-den\'s failure to attack\nat the stipulated time. A messenger had come from Ja-don carrying\ninstructions to delay the attack until noon, nor had they discovered\nuntil almost too late that the messenger was a disguised priest of\nLu-don. And they had put him to death and scaled the walls and come to\nthe inner temple court with not a moment to spare.\n\nThe following day O-lo-a and Pan-at-lee and the women of Ja-don\'s\nfamily arrived at the palace at A-lur and in the great throneroom\nTa-den and O-lo-a were wed, and Om-at and Pan-at-lee.\n\nFor a week Tarzan and Jane and Korak remained the guests of Ja-don, as\ndid Om-at and his black warriors. And then the ape-man announced that\nhe would depart from Pal-ul-don. Hazy in the minds of their hosts was\nthe location of heaven and equally so the means by which the gods\ntraveled between their celestial homes and the haunts of men and so no\nquestionings arose when it was found that the Dor-ul-Otho with his mate\nand son would travel overland across the mountains and out of\nPal-ul-don toward the north.\n\nThey went by way of the Kor-ul-JA accompanied by the warriors of that\ntribe and a great contingent of Ho-don warriors under Ta-den. The king\nand many warriors and a multitude of people accompanied them beyond the\nlimits of A-lur and after they had bid them good-bye and Tarzan had\ninvoked the blessings of God upon them the three Europeans saw their\nsimple, loyal friends prostrate in the dust behind them until the\ncavalcade had wound out of the city and disappeared among the trees of\nthe nearby forest.\n\nThey rested for a day among the Kor-ul-JA while Jane investigated the\nancient caves of these strange people and then they moved on, avoiding\nthe rugged shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved and winding down the opposite\nslope toward the great morass. They moved in comfort and in safety,\nsurrounded by their escort of Ho-don and Waz-don.\n\nIn the minds of many there was doubtless a question as to how the three\nwould cross the great morass but least of all was Tarzan worried by the\nproblem. In the course of his life he had been confronted by many\nobstacles only to learn that he who will may always pass. In his mind\nlurked an easy solution of the passage but it was one which depended\nwholly upon chance.\n\nIt was the morning of the last day that, as they were breaking camp to\ntake up the march, a deep bellow thundered from a nearby grove. The\nape-man smiled. The chance had come. Fittingly then would the\nDor-ul-Otho and his mate and their son depart from unmapped Pal-ul-don.\n\nHe still carried the spear that Jane had made, which he had prized so\nhighly because it was her handiwork that he had caused a search to be\nmade for it through the temple in A-lur after his release, and it had\nbeen found and brought to him. He had told her laughingly that it\nshould have the place of honor above their hearth as the ancient\nflintlock of her Puritan grandsire had held a similar place of honor\nabove the fireplace of Professor Porter, her father.\n\nAt the sound of the bellowing the Ho-don warriors, some of whom had\naccompanied Tarzan from Ja-don\'s camp to Ja-lur, looked questioningly\nat the ape-man while Om-at\'s Waz-don looked for trees, since the GRYF\nwas the one creature of Pal-ul-don which might not be safely\nencountered even by a great multitude of warriors. Its tough, armored\nhide was impregnable to their knife thrusts while their thrown clubs\nrattled from it as futilely as if hurled at the rocky shoulder of\nPastar-ul-ved.\n\n\"Wait,\" said the ape-man, and with his spear in hand he advanced toward\nthe GRYF, voicing the weird cry of the Tor-o-don. The bellowing ceased\nand turned to low rumblings and presently the huge beast appeared. What\nfollowed was but a repetition of the ape-man\'s previous experience with\nthese huge and ferocious creatures.\n\nAnd so it was that Jane and Korak and Tarzan rode through the morass\nthat hems Pal-ul-don, upon the back of a prehistoric triceratops while\nthe lesser reptiles of the swamp fled hissing in terror. Upon the\nopposite shore they turned and called back their farewells to Ta-den\nand Om-at and the brave warriors they had learned to admire and\nrespect. And then Tarzan urged their titanic mount onward toward the\nnorth, abandoning him only when he was assured that the Waz-don and the\nHo-don had had time to reach a point of comparative safety among the\ncraggy ravines of the foothills.\n\nTurning the beast\'s head again toward Pal-ul-don the three dismounted\nand a sharp blow upon the thick hide sent the creature lumbering\nmajestically back in the direction of its native haunts. For a time\nthey stood looking back upon the land they had just quit--the land of\nTor-o-don and GRYF; of JA and JATO; of Waz-don and Ho-don; a primitive\nland of terror and sudden death and peace and beauty; a land that they\nall had learned to love.\n\nAnd then they turned once more toward the north and with light hearts\nand brave hearts took up their long journey toward the land that is\nbest of all--home.\n\n\n\nGlossary\n\nFrom conversations with Lord Greystoke and from his notes, there have\nbeen gleaned a number of interesting items relative to the language and\ncustoms of the inhabitants of Pal-ul-don that are not brought out in\nthe story. For the benefit of those who may care to delve into the\nderivation of the proper names used in the text, and thus obtain some\nslight insight into the language of the race, there is appended an\nincomplete glossary taken from some of Lord Greystoke\'s notes.\n\nA point of particular interest hinges upon the fact that the names of\nall male hairless pithecanthropi begin with a consonant, have an even\nnumber of syllables, and end with a consonant, while the names of the\nfemales of the same species begin with a vowel, have an odd number of\nsyllables, and end with a vowel. On the contrary, the names of the male\nhairy black pithecanthropi while having an even number of syllables\nbegin with a vowel and end with a consonant; while the females of this\nspecies have an odd number of syllables in their names which begin\nalways with a consonant and end with a vowel.\n\n\n A. Light.\n ab. Boy.\n Ab-on. Acting gund of Kor-ul-JA.\n Ad. Three.\n Adad. Six.\n Adadad. Nine.\n Adaden. Seven.\n Aden. Four.\n Adenaden. Eight.\n Adenen. Five.\n A-lur. City of light.\n An. Spear.\n An-un. Father of Pan-at-lee.\n As. The sun.\n At. Tail.\n\n Bal. Gold or golden.\n Bar. Battle.\n Ben. Great.\n Bu. Moon.\n Bu-lot (moon face). Son of chief Mo-sar.\n Bu-lur (moon city). The city of the Waz-ho-don.\n\n Dak. Fat.\n Dak-at (fat tail). Chief of a Ho-don village.\n Dak-lot. One of Ko-tan\'s palace warriors.\n Dan. Rock.\n Den. Tree.\n Don. Man.\n Dor. Son.\n Dor-ul-Otho\n (son of god). Tarzan.\n\n E. Where.\n Ed. Seventy.\n El. Grace or graceful.\n En. One.\n Enen. Two.\n Es. Rough.\n Es-sat (rough skin). Chief of Om-at\'s tribe of hairy blacks.\n Et. Eighty.\n\n Fur. Thirty.\n\n Ged. Forty.\n Go. Clear.\n Gryf. \"Triceratops. A genus of huge\n herbivorous dinosaurs of the group\n Ceratopsia. The skull had two large\n horns above the eyes, a median\n horn on the nose, a horny beak, and a\n great bony hood or transverse crest over\n the neck. Their toes, five in front and\n three behind, were provided with hoofs,\n and the tail was large and strong.\"\n Webster\'s Dict. The GRYF of Pal-ul-don\n is similar except that it is\n omnivorous, has strong, powerfully\n armed jaws and talons instead of hoofs.\n Coloration: face yellow with blue bands\n encircling the eyes; hood red on top,\n yellow underneath; belly yellow; body a\n dirty slate blue; legs same. Bony\n protuberances yellow except along the\n spine--these are red. Tail conforms with\n body and belly. Horns, ivory.\n Gund. Chief.\n Guru. Terrible.\n\n Het. Fifty.\n Ho. White.\n Ho-don. The hairless white men of Pal-ul-don.\n\n Id. Silver.\n Id-an. One of Pan-at-lee\'s two brothers.\n In. Dark.\n In-sad. Kor-ul-JA warrior accompanying Tarzan, Om-at,\n and Ta-den in search of Pan-at-lee.\n In-tan. Kor-ul-lul left to guard Tarzan\n\n Ja. Lion.\n Jad. The\n Jad-bal-lul. The golden lake.\n Jad-ben-lul. The big lake.\n Jad-ben-Otho. The Great God.\n Jad-guru-don. The terrible man.\n Jad-in-lul. The dark lake.\n Ja-don (the lion-man). Chief of a Ho-don village and father of Ta-den.\n Jad Pele ul\n Jad-ben-Otho. The valley of the Great God.\n Ja-lur (lion city). Ja-don\'s capital.\n Jar. Strange.\n Jar-don. Name given Korak by Om-at.\n Jato. Saber-tooth hybrid.\n\n Ko. Mighty.\n Kor. Gorge.\n Kor-ul-GRYF. Gorge of the GRYF.\n Kor-ul-JA. Name of Es-sat\'s gorge and tribe.\n Kor-ul-lul. Name of another Waz-don gorge and tribe.\n Ko-tan. King of the Ho-don.\n\n Lav. Run or running.\n Lee. Doe.\n Lo. Star.\n Lot. Face.\n Lu. Fierce.\n Lu-don (fierce man). High priest of A-lur.\n Lul. Water.\n Lur. City.\n\n Ma. Child.\n Mo. Short.\n Mo-sar (short nose). Chief and pretender.\n Mu. Strong.\n\n No. Brook.\n\n O. Like or similar.\n Od. Ninety.\n O-dan. Kor-ul-JA warrior accompanying Tarzan, Om-at,\n and Ta-den in search of Pan-at-lee.\n Og. Sixty.\n O-lo-a\n (like-star-light). Ko-tan\'s daughter\n Om. Long.\n Om-at (long tail). A black.\n On. Ten.\n Otho. God.\n\n Pal. Place; land; country.\n Pal-e-don-so\n (place where men eat). Banquet hall.\n Pal-ul-don\n (land of man). Name of the country.\n Pal-ul-JA. Place of lions.\n Pan. Soft.\n Pan-at-lee. Om-at\'s sweetheart.\n Pan-sat (soft skin). A priest.\n Pastar. Father.\n Pastar-ul-ved. Father of Mountains.\n Pele. Valley.\n\n Ro. Flower.\n\n Sad. Forest.\n San. One hundred\n Sar. Nose.\n Sat. Skin.\n So. Eat.\n Sod. Eaten.\n Sog. Eating.\n Son. Ate.\n\n Ta. Tall.\n Ta-den (tall tree). A white.\n Tan. Warrior.\n Tarzan-jad-guru. Tarzan the Terrible.\n To. Purple.\n Ton. Twenty.\n Tor. Beast.\n Tor-o-don. Beastlike man.\n Tu. Bright.\n Tu-lur (bright city). Mo-sar\'s city.\n\n Ul. Of.\n Un. Eye.\n Ut. Corn.\n\n Ved. Mountain\n\n Waz. Black.\n Waz-don. The hairy black men of Pal-ul-don.\n Waz-ho-don\n (black white men). A mixed race\n\n Xot. One thousand.\n\n Yo. Friend.\n\n Za. Girl.'"