Tarzan of the Apes

ble to walk once more, and from then on his recovery was so r

a, and his first thought was to recover the wonderful little weapon which had transformed h

the cabin and continue his inves

d bones of his late adversary, and close by, partly buried beneath the fallen leaves, he found the knife,

rmidable weapon, and one which he meant to use to advantage whenever the opportunity presen

concern was to learn the mechanism of the lock, and this he did by examining it closely while the door was ope

within, and this he did so that there would be no ch

ks which seemed to exert a strange and powerful influence over him, so that he could scarce

tionary. All of these he examined, but the pictures caught his fancy most, though the strange litt

er hands, and his great shock of long, black hair falling about his well-shaped head and bright, intelligent eyes — Tarzan of the apes, little primitive man, presented a

y, nebulous way, the rudiments of a thought which was destined to prove th

but covered, except for hands and face, with strange, colored fur, for such he t

O

upon the page that these three were re

ew individual bugs; but these were repeated many times, o

O-Y. Presently he found it beneath a picture of another little ape and a strange animal which went up

AND

little bugs which always

without knowing it — a task which might seem to you or me impossible — learning to read without having

he had grasped the possibilities which lay in those little bugs, so that by the time he was fifteen he knew the various

d conjunctions, verbs and adverbs and pro

to undiscovered drawer beneath the table, and in scratching upon the table top

of scrawly loops and irregular lines and his pencil-point worn down to the woo

me of the little bugs that scram

uld grasp the hilt of a dagger, which does not add greatl

by repeated experimenting he found a position in which to hold the pencil that best permitted

a beginning

ould not count as we understand it, yet he had an idea of quantity, the b

ds of bugs most often repeated in combination, and these he arranged in proper order with great

ehouse of the huge illustrated dictionary, for he learned more through the medi

rching for and finding the combinations with which he was familiar, and the words whi

d the simple, child’s primer and had fully realize

gh the forest top were M-O-N-K-E-Y-S. He knew, too, that old Sabor was a L-I-O-N-E-S-S, and Histah a S-N-A-K-E, and Tantor an E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T. And so he learned to read. From then on his progress was rapid. With the help of the great dictionary

ts of his tribe, but even when removed from his books his active brai

are earth provided him with copy books whereon to scratch wit

while following the bent of his inclination to

h his sharp knife, which he had learned t

Kerchak they had been able to frighten the other tribes from their part of the jungle so

f they captured one of another tribe to bring her back to Kerchak’s band and live in amity with him rather than

mpt this latter alternative, but none had come yet who coul

ferent. The older males either ignored him entirely or else hated him so vindictively that but for his wondro

s suddenly ceased and he was left severely alone, except on the occasions when one of them ran amuck in the throes of one of th

athered about a small natural amphitheater which the jungle had left fre

untouched forest, with the matted undergrowth banked so closely between the huge trunks tha

one of those strange earthen drums which the anthropoids build for the queer rites the sound

d the noise of the wild, weird revelry of these first lords of the jungle, but Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, i

r fierce, hairy forebears danced out the rites of the Dum-Dum to the sound of their earthen drums, beneath the bright light of a tropical moon in the depth of a mighty jungle which stands unchanged today as it

for twelve of his thirteen years of life, the tribe, now a full hundred strong, trooped silently thro

ory, the capture of a prisoner, the killing of some large fierce denizen of the ju

ibe, and as the people of Kerchak entered the arena two mighty

rds, while the other members of the community curled themselves in grassy nooks to slee

antly feathered parrots, or the screeching and twittering of the thousand jungle birds flitting ceaselessly amongs

he earthen drum. The females and young squatted in a thin line at the outer periphery of the circle, while just in front of them r

ding surface of the drum as the first faint rays of

ly a wild, rhythmic din pervaded the great jungle for miles in every direction. Huge, fierce brutes stopped in their

ge din of the anthropoids, but none came near to investigate or attack, for the great apes, assemble

ng volume Kerchak sprang into the open space

nto the eye of the rising moon he beat upon his breast with

g out across the teeming solitude of that un

ring far away from the dead body lying before the altar-drum, but, as

llowed stealthily in his wake. Another and another followed in quick succession until th

challenge a

ined in the thin line of circli

ic blow, at the same time emitting the growls and snarls of combat. The din of the drum was now increased, as well as the frequency of the bl

eaked, muscular body, glistening in the moonlight, shone supple

ocious than he in the wild ferocity of the attack, none

toxicated with the wild rhythm and the savage yells. Their leaps and bounds increased

le drummers scampering hurriedly through the line of dancers toward the outer rim of squatting spectators. Then,

to their wild revel was a taste of fresh killed meat, and it was to the

choicest morsels, while the weaker circled the outer edge of the fighting, snarling pack awaiting

he once satisfied his appetite for animal food; and so now his agile little body wormed its way far into the mass of struggl

father in a sheath self-fashioned in copy of one h

e had hoped for, an entire hairy forearm, where it protruded from beneath the feet of the mighty Kerchak, who was

neath the struggling mass, clutching

blat. He had been among the first at the feast, but had retreated with a

erged from the clawing, pushing throng with

eams of hate as they fell upon the object of his loathing. In

rd the females and the young, hoping to hide himself among them. Tublat, however, was close upon his heels, so

gained a lower limb with one hand, and then, transferring his burde

where his heavy pursuer dared not follow him. There he perched, hurli

Tublat

and young, sinking his great fangs into a dozen tiny necks and tearing grea

g scamper to the safety of the trees. Then the great bulls in the center of the arena felt the mighty fangs

belated female running swiftly toward the tree where Ta

s gaining on her he dropped with the rapidity of a falli

imbs and close above her crouched Tar

arly had he distanced her. She should have been safe now but there was a rending, tearing sound,

arzan had been quicker, so that the infuriated bull found h

th a roar of triumph he leaped upon the little Lord Greys

keen hunting knife a dozen times into the broad breast. Like lightning the bl

neck of his lifelong enemy and, raising his eyes to the full moon, threw ba

reats and formed a circle about Tarzan and his vanquish

spect Tarzan of the Apes and Kala, his mother. There be n

ng Lord Greystoke beat upon his mighty breast and screamed