Tarzan the Terrible

ithecan

the D

Pan-

zan-ja

he Kor

e Tor

ungle

I A

d-Stain

orbidde

entence

Giant

he Mas

Temple o

King I

e Secr

y Jad-

Lion Pit

na of t

tly in t

The

ourney o

Take

Messenger

V

os

thecan

ead lowered and flattened, and every muscle vibrant to the thrill of the hunt. The jungle moon dappled an occasional clearing which the great cat was always careful to avoid. Though

that it sought these avenues of least resistance, as well it might, since, unlike its grim stalker, it walked erect upon two feet-it walked upon two feet and was hairless except for a black thatch upon its head; its arms were well shaped and muscular; its hands powerful and slender wi

an cut, and regular-features that would have attracted attention for their masculine beauty in any of the great capitals of the world. But was this thing a man? It would have been hard for a watcher in the trees to have decided a

pouch at its right hip. Confining these straps to the body and also apparently supporting the loin cloth was a broad girdle which glittered in the moonlight

g frequency with which he turned his ear and his sharp black eyes in the direction of the cat upon his trail. He did not greatly increase his speed, a lo

than fear or caution influenced his decision apparently, for he moved off again across the little plain leaving the safety of the trees behind him. At greater or less intervals leafy sanctuaries dotted the grassy expanse ahead of him and the route he took, leading from one to another, indicated that he

arned from the diary of the dead German captain that his wife still lived. A brief investigation in which he was enthusiastically aided by the Intelligence Department of the British E

ment of native German troops she had been sen

e, and that the German officer had disappeared at the same time. From there on the stories of the chiefs and the warriors whom he quizzed, were vague and often con

presence in the village of various articles of native German uniforms and equipment. At great risk and in the face of surly objection on the part of the chief, the ape-man mad

whose country bordered it. Here were precipitous mountains, well-watered plateaus, wide plains, and vast swampy morasses, but neither the plains, nor the plateaus, nor the mountains were accessible to him until after weeks of arduous effort he succeeded in finding a spot where he might cross the morasses-a hideous stretch in

ess ages this territory had defied the courage and hardihood of the heroic races of the outer world that had, aft

g multitudes of men that had steadily spread themselves over the surface of the earth, wresting the hunting grounds from the lower orders, from the moment that the first ape shed his hair and ceased to walk upon

ll a most formidable beast, since it possessed in addition to sharp saber-like canines the disposition of a devil. To Tarzan it presented evidence that tigers had once roamed the jung

ar; in size and conformation they were almost identical, but instead of shedding the leopard

rection that he seek her, since by a process of elimination he had reduced the direction of her flight to only this possibility. How she had crossed the morass he could not guess and yet something within seemed to urge upon him belief that she had crossed it, and that if she still lived it was here

Seldom however did the ape-man go hungry for the country was rich in game animals and birds and fish

come to the conclusion that the parched, thorn-covered steppe and the hideous morasses had

ide, had found himself in a country practically identical with that which he had left. The hunting was good and at a water hole i

he carcass of the deer and started downward onto the plain. At its opposite side rose lofty trees-a great forest which suggested to his practiced eye a mighty jungle. Toward this the ape-man bent

tree where he deposited it far above the ground in a secure place. Returning to his crotch he settled himself

d so it was that when the moon was high a sudden rush of feet across the grassy carpet in the vicinity of his tree brought him to alert and ready activity. Tarzan does not awaken as you and I with the weight of slumber still upon his eyes and

ry the long, white tail projecting rearward did not escape the ape-man. Behind the fleeing figure, escaping, came Numa, the lion, in full charge. Voic

ir, for he had seen a white-skinned creature cast in a mold similar to his own, pursued by Tarzan's hereditary enemy. So close was the lion to the fleeing man-thing that Tarzan had no time carefully to choose the method of his attack.

ng, or idle. He too, creature of the wild, had sensed on the instant the truth of the miracle of his saving, and turning in his tracks, had leaped forward with raised bludgeon to Tarzan's assistance and Numa's undoing

is kill and, raising his face to Goro, the moon, voiced the savage vi

as in sudden awe, but when Tarzan returned his hunting knife to its sheath and turned t

ssed in speech, though in a language with which Tarzan was unfamiliar, the thoughts of a man possessing to a greater or less extent the same powers of reason that he p

d the ape-man to lie down that he might treat the wound, whereupon, spreading the edges of the cut apart, he sprinkled the raw flesh with powder from the little bag. The pain of the wound was as

the heart of the ape-man. To the latter the action appeared as a form of friendly greeting and, being versed in the ways of uncivilized races, he responded in kind as he realized it was doubtless intended that he should. His action seemed to satisfy and please his new-found acquaintance, who immediately fell to talking again and finally, with his head tipped back, sniffed the air in the direction of the tree above

ife. From his crotch in the tree Tarzan watched his companion, noting the preponderance of hum

e before him the evidence of the creature's existence. There he was, however, a tailed man with distinctly arboreal hands and feet. His trappings, gold encrusted and jewel studded, could h

pleasant smile that revealed a row of strong white teeth, the canines of which were no longer than Tarzan's own, spoke a few

tree in which he had found shelter. As he opened his eyes he saw that his companion was also astir, and glancing a

if so, one of greater proportions than any he had ever before seen, but as the dim outlines became less indistinct he saw on a line with his eyes and twenty feet above the ground the dim silhouette of a grotesquely serrated back that gave the impression of a creature whose each and every spinal vertebra grew a thick, heavy horn. Only a portion of the back was visible to the

er, and, turning, saw that his companion was attempting to attract his attention. The creature, pressing a forefinger

ntirely unfamiliar, the ape-man permitted himself to be drawn away. With the utmost caution the pithecanthropus descended the tree upon t

experience; yet he was wise enough to know when discretion was the better part of valor and now, as in the past, he yielded to that law which dominates the kin

taking nimbly to the branches of the trees through which he made his way with the celerity of long habitude and hereditary instinct, but though

alons of Numa, the lion, and examining it was surprised to discover that not only was it painless but along its edges were

e whose branches overhung a clear brook. Here they drank and Tarzan discovered the water to be not only deliciousl

nion examining him with a puzzled expression upon his face. Taking the ape-man by the shoulder he turned him around so that Tarzan's back was toward him and then, touching the end of Tarzan's spine with his forefinger, he curl

was tailless by nature rather than by accident, and so he called attention to his own gre

arzan should differ so from him but at last, apparently giving the problem up wit

ied flesh and a couple of handfuls of thin-shelled nuts with which Tarzan was unfamiliar. Seeing the other break them with his teeth and eat the kernel, Tarzan followed the example thus set him, discovering the mea

native language. The ape-man could but smile at this evident desire upon the part of his new-found acquaintance to impart to him instructions that eventually might lead to an exchange of thoughts between them.

es glittering down upon them from above; nor was Tarzan cognizant of any impending danger until

he De

y black hair which almost concealed his features, while his harness and weapons were similar to those of the creature he had attacked. Ere Tarzan could prevent the creature had struck the ape-man's

o was that of his smooth-skinned antagonist. Swinging a single terrific blow with clenched fist to the point of the other's chin, Tarzan momentarily staggered his assailant and then his own fingers closed upon the shaggy throat, as with the other hand he seized

ture bit at Tarzan the latter was quickly aware that this was not a particularly formidable method of offense or defense, since its canines were scarcely more developed than his own.

choking grasp than in aggressive, offensive tactics. But presently the ape-man saw his opportunity and as they rolled about he forced the creature closer and closer to the pool, upon the banks of whic

d the prostrate form of his companion, the crouching, devil-faced figure o

chattering to the ape-man, he tried to disengage himself from Tarzan's hold but in such a way that indicated that as far as he was concerned their battle was over. Appreciating the

ting that his recent antagonist would grasp the opportunity for escape. To hi

pithecanthropus. As Tarzan stepped over the body of the latter he saw the eyelids quiver and open, and in his heart he felt a strange sense of relief that the c

dgeon to meet the assault. Tarzan, on the contrary, leaped forward and with a celerity second not even to that of the swift-moving cat, he threw himself headlong upon him as might a Rugby tackler on an American gridiron. His right arm circled the beast's neck in front of the rig

y exigency of such an encounter. The long, powerful legs, though seemingly inextricably entangled with the hind feet of the clawing cat, ever as by a miracle, escaped the raking talons and yet at just the proper instant in the midst of all the rolling and tossing they were where they should be to carry ou

s Tarzan retained his hold but when the body had relaxed in final dissolution he pushed it from him and the

extended until the palm touched Tarzan's breast. It was the same form of friendly salutation with which the pithecanthropus had sealed his al

same time the shaggy black turned in his direction and addressed him in what evidently was their common language. The hairless one replied and the two approached each other slowly. Tarzan watched interestedly the outcome of their meetin

and the black. They then advanced toward the ape-man addressing him earnestly as though endeavoring to convey to him some important information. Presently, however, they ga

he was extremely willing to accede to their request, as he had determined thoroughly t

above. Often were they menaced by the savage denizens of this remote fastness, and occasio

mountain brooks that watered the plain below and fed the morasses in the lowlands at the country's edge. Here the three took up t

t, and sometimes deeply into the rock beneath, were strange hieroglyphics and the outlines of beasts and birds and reptiles, some of the latter of weird form suggesting the extinct creatures of Jurassic times. S

e of them as hair covered as any fur-bearing brute of the lower orders, and yet it was evident that they possessed not only a spoken, but a written language. The former he was slowly mastering and at this new evidence of unlooked-for civilization in creatures possessing so many of the physical attributes of beasts, Tarzan

also seemed to feel that there rested upon his broad shoulders a portion of the burden of responsibility for Tarzan's education, with the result that either one or the other of them was almost constantly coaching the ape-m

htest thread of hope to weave into the fabric of his longing. Never had there been in their count

ur woman could have entered our country across the terrible morasses which even you found an almost insurmountable obstacle, and if she had, could she have survive

nslating the word into his own tongue. "And where is A-

cities-they live in the trees of the forests and the caves of the hills-is i

ree-only the Hodon imprison themselves

fact that they appeared to be equals in the matter of intelligence made any difference-one was white and one was blac

zan asked again. "You

ed Ta-den. "I do not return to it-n

" querie

me. He sent me away to fight with the men of the village of Dak-at, who had refused to pay his tribute to the king, thinking that I would be killed, for Dak-at is famous for his many fine warriors. And I was not killed. Instead

t we call a smile that moves only the muscles of the face and affects not the light of the eyes-it means hypocrisy and duplicity. I must be praised and rewarded. What better than that he reward me with the hand of O-lo-a, his daughter? But no, he

iefs and the king himself bow down to them. No greater honor could Ko-tan confer upon a subject-who wished to be

n's presence. To have refused the priesthood once it was offered me by the king would have been to have affronted the temple and the gods-that would have meant death; but if I did not appear before Ko-ta

ll that guards the palace and passed through the darkened city. My name and rank carried me beyond the city gate. Since then I have wandered far from the haunts of the Ho-don but strong within m

is too great?"

too great," replied

Light, this A-lur of yours, and search there for my lost mate even though you believ

urn again, for there is a she there upon whom I should be glad to look once more and who would be glad to look upon me. Yes, I will go with you. Es

shall travel toge

e three as one," and as he spoke he dre

t, drawing his weapon and duplica

of the Apes. "To the death!" and

; "my knife is dry and cries

ed with fallen trees and over-rioting vines and brush that the way held always to the swaying branches high above the tangle; again it skirted yawning gorges whose slippery-faced rocks gave but momentary foothold even to the bare feet that lightly touched them as the three leaped chamois-like from one precarious foothold to the next. Dizzy an

id. "You are fit companio

u mean?" as

f Es-sat come to prove their courage. And yet, though we are born and raised upon cliff sides, it is considered no disgrace to admit that Pastar-ul

ld not care to come th

tery and of beauty-a green valley girt by towering cliffs of marble whiteness-a green valley dotted by deep blue lakes and crossed by the blue trail of a winding river. In the center a city of the whiteness of the marble cliffs-a city which even at so great a distan

eep gorges, verdure filled, giving the appearance of gre

n in the tongue of the pithecanthropi; "Th

an, the king, ruler over al

exclaimed Om-at, "who do not acknowledge that

don of Pal-ul-don is there. But you Waz-don, how is it with you? You have a dozen kings who fight not only with the Ho-don but with one another. When one of your tribes goes forth upon the fighting trail, even against the Ho-don, it must leave behind sufficient warriors to protect its women and its children from the neighbors upon either hand. When we want eunuchs for the temples or servants

thinking that his tribe is the greatest and should rule among the Waz-don. They will n

arguments that you present, Om-at," he said, "which, my friend

sted in learning what I can of the political and economic conditions of your land; I should like to know something of your rel

Om-at, somewhat bitterly and with

and why should we not differ? Who

stirred up a hornets' nest. Let us speak

ight mention, for your information, tha

n, laying his hand upon his kn

g forward; but instantly Tarzan

hs of friendship that we may be honorable in the

look after our friendship and ourselves, secure in the conviction

greed Om-

Om-at," admo

at to the left contains the caves of my people. I would see Pan-at-lee once more. Ta-den would visit his father in the valley below and Tarzan seeks

we go to the village where my father is chief, for Ja-don always will welcome the friends of his son. But for Tarzan to enter A-lur is another matter, though there is a way and he has the courage to put it to the

in cloth and weapons, moved silently across a thorn-covered, waterless steppe, s

-at

, unearthly glow. Black were the shadows in Kor-ul-JA, Gorge-of-lions, where dwelt the tribe of the same name under Es-sat, their chief. From an apertu

earer the cliff's base. Then he moved outward upon the sheer face of the white chalk wall. In the half-light of the baby moon it appeared that the heavy, shaggy black figure moved across the face of the perpendicular wall in some miraculous manner, but closer examination would have revealed stout pegs, as large around as a man's wri

g the doorway to the interior apartment or apartments. On either side of this doorway were smaller openings which it were easy to assume were windows through which light and air might find their way to the inhabitants. Similar windows were also dotted over the cliff face between the entrance porches, suggesting that the entire face of the cliff was honeycombed with

or he was as much a part of it as the trees that grew upon the summit of the cl

sed again, listening, and then quietly pushing aside the heavy skin that covered the aperture he passed within a large chamber hewn from the living rock. From the far end, through another doorway, shone a light

in which Es-sat stood. The light was coming from an apartment at the end of the corridor at his left. A sputtering flame rose and fell in a small stone receptacle that s

held a thin piece of metal, apparently of hammered gold, with serrated edges, and in the other a short, stiff brush. With these she was occupied in going over her smooth, glossy coat which bore a remarkable resemblance to plucked sealskin. Her loin cloth of yellow and black striped J

breathing. Moving quickly forward he entered the room and as he did so the young she looked up. Instantly her eyes filled with terror and as quickly she seize

she whispered, thoug

said, "your chief

nd my brothers to spy upon the Kor-ul-lul? I wi

pleasant smile at all. "I will leave, Pan-at-lee," he said; "but you shall go with

ooner would I mate with a Ho-don than wit

purpose, will first serve that purpose and then be broken as I break this," and he picked a stone platter from the table and broke it in his powerful hands. "You might have been first and most favored in

r a moment Pan-at-lee bent over him, her improvised weapon raised to strike again should he show signs of returning consciousness, her glossy breasts rising and falling with her quickened breathing. Suddenly she stooped an

he face of the cliff and with the celerity of a monkey clambered swiftly aloft to the highest row of pegs which she followed in the direction of the lower end of the gorge for a matter of some hundred yards. Here, above her head, were a series of small round holes placed one above another in three parallel rows. Clinging only with her toes she removed two of the pegs from the bundle carried in her tail and taking one in either hand she inserted them in two oppos

his was the last avenue of escape for members of the tribe hard pressed by enemies from below. There were three such emergency exits from the village and it were death to u

her father and two brothers had been sent by Es-sat ostensibly to spy upon the neighboring tribe. There was a chance, a slender chance, that she might find them; if not there was the deserted Kor-ul-GRYF several

t-lee was at a loss to know what to do or where to go. She felt very small and helpless alone in the vast darkness of the night. Strange noises fell upon her ears. They came from the lonely reaches of the towering mountains

lted, listening. Perhaps it was her father, or a brother. It was coming closer. She strained her eyes through the darkness. She did not mo

of the known but more frightful ones as well-those of the unknown. She had passed through much this night and her nerves

s! Yes, Pan-at-lee was brave, but she was not of iron. With a shriek that reverberated among the hills she turned an

was an alternative. The lion was almost upon her-another instant and he would seize her. Pan-at-lee turned sharply to her left. Just a few steps she took in the new direction before she dis

oward the caves of his people. Behind him came Tarzan and Ta-den. Pr

the cave of my ancestors to have speech with my own blood. It will not take long.

of the cliff. Om-at moved warily. In the lower tier of caves there should be a sentry. His knowledge of his people and their customs told him, however, that in all probability the sentry was

o foothold upon that vertical surface and yet h

You could ascend easily," he said, "alth

word Tarzan and Ta-den sprang forward toward the foot of the cliff. The pithecanthropus was the first to reach it and the ape-man saw him spring upward for a handhold on the lowest peg above him. Now Tarzan saw other pegs roughly paralleling each other in zigzag rows up the cliff face. He sprang and caught one of these, pul

Ta-den glanced down and discovered his pursuers just before the Ho-don overtook him. Instantly a wild cry shattered the silence of the

nothing short of a miracle could save them. Just at the ape-man's left was the entrance to a cave that either was deserted or whose occupants had not as yet been aroused, for the level recess remained unoccupied. Resourceful was the alert mind of Tarzan of the Apes and quick to respond were the trained muscles. In the time that you or I might give to debating an action he would accomplish it and now, though only seconds separated his nearest antagonist from him, in the brief span of time at his d

of the rope and as it did there was a snap of the vertebrae that rose sickeningly in the momentary silence that had followed the doomed man's departing scream. Unshaken by the stress of the sud

llows to attack. This man was the closest to Tarzan. But for him the ape-man could easily have reached Ta-den's side as the latter was urging him to do. Tarzan raised the body of the dead Waz-don above his head, held it poised there for a moment as with face raised to the heavens he screamed forth the horrid ch

the foot of the cliff a great cry arose from the Waz-don. "Jad-gur

n!" repeated the latter, smiling-"The terrible man! Tarzan the

ve to the outer porch. One was Om-at, the other a creature of his own kind but with a rough coat, the hairs of which seemed to grow straight outward from the skin, stiffly, unlike Om-at's sleek covering. The two w

ward to enter the dispute only to be checked by a grunted admon

nderstood and

e. This fellow must be Es-sat, the chief. If Om-at k

attention was drawn to the outer edge of the vestibule. Above it appeared the shaggy face of one of Es-sat's warriors. Tarzan sprang to intercept the man; but Ta-den was there ahead of him. "Back!" cried the Ho-don to the newcomer. "It is g

's friends,"

to you later," he said and disapp

d beat at each other with hands and feet and lashing tails. Es-sat was unarmed-Pan-at-lee had seen to that-but at Om-at's side swung a sheathed knife wh

ther but in that viselike embrace one could not fall alone-Es-sat dragged Om-at with him, toppling upon the brink of the niche. Even Tarzan held his breath. There they su

seemed particularly bent upon dislodging his antagonist from his holds and precipitating him to certain death below. It was soon evident that Om-at, younger and with greater powers of endurance than Es-sat, was gaining an advantage. Now was the chief almost wholly on the defensive. Holding him by the cross belt with one mighty hand Om-at was forcing his foeman straight out from the cliff, and with the other hand and one foot was rapidly breaking first one of Es-sat's holds and then another, alternating his efforts, or rather punctuating them, with vicious blows to the pit of his adversary's stomach. Rapidly was Es-sat weak

others saw the perfidious act and a great cry of rage and disgust arose from savage throats; but as the blade sped toward its goal, the ape-man seized the hairy member that wielded it,

n-jad

ever eventuality might follow the death of Es-sat, the sun that topped the eastern hills touched also the figure of a sleeper upo

that had been their chief, now at one another, and now at Om-at and the two who stood upon his either

or two of the larger young bucks fidgeted re

nality. "Now tell me, where are Pan-a

neither of these questions arouse any tumult in our breasts. There is one that does: Can Om-at be chief of Kor-ul-JA and yet stand at bay against his own people with a Ho-don a

, the ghost of a smile upon the lips of the ape-man. Ta-den, at least, knew that the old warrior

a passing cloud, the moon, a mist, the changing seasons, the sharp clearness following a storm; these things bring each a new chang

. Strangers who are brave men and good friends sha

among the warriors as each eyed the others to see who w

of you helped Es-sat to drive me from the cave of my ancestors; the rest of you permitted it. I owe you nothing. Only these two,

y good judge of men to know that he had listened to no idle bluff-Om-at would back up his words to the death, if necessary, and t

ll be safe-they were not safe while Es-sat ruled. Go now to your crops and your hunting. I leave to search for Pan-at-lee. Ab-on wi

friends," he said, "are free to go among my people;

ll go with Om-at to s

" said

ll go together upon Tarzan's business and Ta-den's. Where first shall

er cave with the others the previous evening-there

e see something that belongs to her-an article

edge upon which Om-at stood. They were In-

id, "we would go with you

d from the mouths of caves as with the passing of a sudden storm. In-sad and O-dan had taken the lead and now all seemed glad to follow. Some came to talk with Om-at and to look more closely at Tarzan; oth

arzan, come with me and I shall show you where Pan-at-lee sleeps, though why you

he way to the apartment in which Es-sat ha

t, "except the war club lying

sensitive nostrils scarcely apparent to his companion who only wond

presently, and led the w

was not his eyes that were examining them. Keener than his keen eyes was that marvelously trained sense of scent that had first been developed in him during infan

che he turned to the right.

e must search for Pan-at-lee

we search?"

Where?" he repeated. "Why a

e scent easily since none had passed that way since Pan-at-lee had fled. At the point at which she had left the permanent pegs and resorted to those carried

s way," said Om-at; "but we will get pegs. In

ed. Om-at handed five to Tarzan and explained their us

would be if you were not deformed," he said

ad and leave the pegs in place for me. I am afraid that otherwise i

o first, you follow and O-dan bring up the rear and coll

s bring their own

know which of all the holes you see are deep enough for pegs-the oth

e trail. Here the scent was fully as strong as upon the pegs and the ap

. "Here she moved swiftly, running at top s

ss?" asked O-dan as the other

"but that we shall determine quickly. No, he did not get her

er, the others presently detected a movement

at. "It is she?" and he

zan. "It is the lio

ee him?" a

can sme

parted and the creature stepped out in full view, facing them. It was a magnificent beast, large and beautifully maned, with the brilliant leopard spot

upon the head. Almost instantly it was up and though the men rushed fearlessly in, it managed to sweep aside their weapons with its mighty paws. A single blow wrenched O-dan's club from his hand and sent it hurtling against Ta-den, knocking him from his feet. Taking advantage of its

ature that had fastened itself upon him. Over and over they rolled and now the onlookers saw a brown hand raised above the lion's side-a brown hand grasping a

to dislodge and punish his tormentor; but always the tousled black head remained half buried in the da

ation. Brave men and mighty hunters they were and

slay him!" cried Om-at, g

you that you did no

erings lay still. The ape-man rose and shook himself, even as might JA,

is own breast and the other on Tarzan's, "Tarzan the Terrib

Om-at's friends," replied the ape-ma

ose to Tarzan and laying a hand upon t

was a hungry lion

ow much of lion

ould not know him be

an she be?" c

e ridge and at a sharp turning of the trail to the left brought them to the verge of the cliff that dropped into the Kor-ul-lul. Fo

m of which a tumultuous river tumbled downward along its rocky bed,

she jumped

look, you can see where his four paws left their impress in the

Om-at, to be suddenly silenced

are running-from down the ridge." He flattened himself upo

e others, too, heard the sound of running fee

cry of men who hunt men. Presently shall we see them and if Jad-be

e the pursued and how many the pursuers we cannot even guess, except that th

come," sa

laimed O-dan. "They will pass without seeing us if we do n

feet and running rapidly to intercept the

d Om-at as An-un and h

echoed O-da

pected reinforcements joined them but they

"Would that we might pause and fight; but

at, "we must wa

dead," sa

" asked one of

" repli

Pan-at-lee said that you wou

broke into sig

see eight charging upon them they will think that many men have come to do battle. They will believe that ther

d to the warriors of Kor-ul-JA that we fight the Kor-ul-l

nforcements, waiting apparently for those behind to catch up with them and, possibly, also to learn how great a force confronted them. The leaders, swifter runners than their fellows, perhaps, were far in advance while the balance of their number had not yet emerged

ued the fleeing enemy. The brush, while not growing so closely together as to impede progress, was of such height as to hide the members of the party from one another when they became separated b

than their own. They made a stand then where the brush was densest-an ambush it was, and into this ran Tarzan of the Apes. They tricked him neatly. Yes, sad as is the narration of it, they tricked the

s Tarzan charged him a score of burly Waz-don leaped from the surrounding brush. Instantly, but too late, the giant Tarmangani realized his peril. There flashed before him a vision of his lost mate and a great an

rashed a shattering blow to the center of the Waz-don's face-a blow that crushed the bones and dropped the fellow in his tracks. Then he swung upon the others with their fallen comrade's bludgeon striking to right and left mighty, unmerciful blows that drove down their own weapons until that wielded by the ape-man was splintered and shattered. On either hand they fell before his cudge

rd fighting at a short distance and it was evident that the Kor-ul-JA were falling slowly bac

l-lul rising from where Tarzan had dropped hi

Kor-u

assed over his shoulders, crossing upon his chest and back, while the third encircled his waist. Slung to his back by its leathern sling-strap was an Enfield, and he carried too a long knife, a bow and a qu

ingle shot from the well-kept rifle at his back. What purpose might he have for conserving this precious ammunition? in risking his life to bring the

reference to the rending fangs of JA. Instead, chance had ordained that she make the frightful plunge at a point where the tumbling river swung close beneath the

tled her way once more to air. Swimming strongly she made the opposite shore and there dragged herself out upon the bank to lie

the rank vegetation that grows so riotousl

skirted the river Pan-at-lee sought rest and food, the latter growing in abundance all about her in the form

turn to Kor-ul-JA. At least not yet while his rage was at white heat. Later, perhaps, her father and brothers returned to their cave, she might risk it; but not no

ached her hiding place. Then, through the veil of foliage she caught glimpses of three figures fleeing along the trail, and behind them the shouting of the pursuers rose louder and louder as they neared her. Again she caught sight of the fugitives crossing the river below the cataract and

e. When they passed she might have joined them, for they were her father and two brothers. Now it was too late. With bated breath and tense muscles she watched the race. Would they reach the summit? Would the Kor-ul-lul overhaul them? They climbed well, but, oh, so slowly. Now one lost his footing in the loose shale and slip

s long tail to the father beneath him. The latter, seizing this support, extended his own tail to the son below-the one who had slipped back-and thus, upon a living ladder of their own making, the three reached the summit and disappear

now might come a hunting party, combing the gorge

e terrifying monsters that brought the chill of fear to every inhabitant of Pal-ul-don; below her, in the valley, was the country of the Ho-don, where she co

re were no men there. As it is now, so it was in the beginning, back to the primitive progenitor of man which is typified by Pan-at-lee and her kind

t. Crossing the ridge she stood at last upon the brink of Kor-ul-GRYF-the horror place of the folklore of her race. Dank and mysterious grew

the firelight tales of her childhood and of how the gryfs had come from the morasses across the mountains and of how at last the people had fled after many had been seized and devoured by the hideous creatures, leaving th

was littered with twigs and old nests and the droppings of birds, until it was half choked. She moved along to another recess and still another, but all were alike in the accumulated filth. Evidently there was no need in looking further. This one seemed large and commodious. With her knife she fell to work cleaning away the debris by the simple expedient of pushing it over the edge, and

ood and for that she must take the risk at least once in two days, for she was sure that she could find fruits and tubers and perhaps small animals, birds, and eggs near the foot of the cliff, the last two, possibly, in the caves themselves. Thus might she live

re depicted in the same crude fashion in the carvings on the walls-evidently there had been little progress in the race of Waz-don during the generations that had come and departed since Kor-ul-GRYF ha

by naked feet in living rock; the hollow in the jamb of a stone doorway where many arms have touched in passing; the endless carvings that cover, ofttimes, the entire face of a g

bris on the porch. In a short time she had made a light by firing a bundle of twigs and lighting others from this fire she explored some of the inner rooms. Nor here did she find aught that was new or strange nor any relic of the departed owners other than a few broken stone dishes. She had been looking for something soft to sleep upon, but was doomed

ng it between her soft body and the hard floor-at best it was only better than nothing. But Pan-at-lee was very tired. She had not slept since two nights before and in th

ment in the trees at the cliff's foot. Again the bellow, low and ominous. It was answered from below the deserted village. Something dropped from the foliage of a tree directly below the cave in which Pan-at-lee slept-it dropped to the ground among the dense shadows. Now it m

hands and feet and with them it clung to the stone pegs and raised itself laboriously aloft toward the cave where Pan-at-l

d falling, focused his arousing perceptions. Presently he saw that he was in a cave. A dozen Waz-don warriors squatted about, talking. A rude stone cres

ne, for there is no scar to mark where a tail had been cut off. The thumbs upon his hands and feet are unlike those of the races of Pal-ul-don. He is

felt hairy hands upon him as he was turned over, none too gently. The gund examined him from

h no tail," he said

riors, "it would surely fal

chief. "It is neither Waz-don nor Ho-don. I wo

' and we thought that they might be calling thi

ns into its head that I may question it. Remain here, In-ta

r little party in great numbers and driven them away. Evidently the swift feet of Id-an had saved the day for the warriors of Om-at. The ape-man smiled, then he partially opened an eye and cast it upon In-tan. The warrior stood at the entran

back as they had left him, but upon his side and his hands were drawn up against his face. In-tan came closer and bent down. The bonds seemed very loose upon the prisoner's wrists. He extended his hand to examine them with his fingers and instantly the two hands leaped from their bonds-one to seize his own wrist, the other his throat. So unexpected the catlike attack that In-tan had not even time to cry out before steel fingers silenced hi

e victory cry of his kind! But he dared not. He discovered that they had not removed his rope from his shoulders and that they had replaced his knife in its sheath. It had been in his hand when he was felled. Strange creatures! He did not know that they held a

cliff. He was about to chance an immediate descent when there occurred to him a thought that brought a grin to his savage lips-a thought that was born of the name the Waz-don had given him-Tarzan-jad-guru-Tarzan the Terrible-and a recollection of the days when he had delighted in baiting the blacks of the distant jungle of his birth. He t

of shaggy hair. Horrible? But you are judging a wild beast by the standards of civilization. You may teach a lion tricks, but he is s

y discovered the thing that he had done and he knew too, that mixed with the rage would be a leaven of fear and it

r-ul-JA. He came at last to a place where the river ran so close to the rocky wall that he was forced to swim it in search of a trail upon the opposite side and here it w

uitously by accident. It led him into the jungle and across the gorge and then to the point at which Pan-at-lee had commenced the ascent of the opposite cliffs. Here Tarzan abandoned the head of In-tan, tying it to the lower branch of a tree, for he knew tha

r was his life and he lived his life as simply and as naturally as you live yours amidst the dangers of the crowded city streets. The black man who goes abroad in the jungle by night is afraid, for he has spent his life since infancy surrounded by numbers of his own kind and safeguarded, especially at night, by such crude means as lie within his powers. But Tarzan had

f examining the pegs his attention was suddenly attracted by something at the foot of the cliff. He could not distinguish its identity, but he saw that it moved and presently that it was ascending slowly, apparently by means of pegs similar to those directly below him. He watched i

t down the stone pegs to the nearest cave and then further along the upper tier. The ape-man raised his eyebrows when he saw the direction in whi

ughout my manuscript, permitting, for example, Kor-ul-JA to answer for both singular and plural. However, for the benefit of those who may be interested in such things I may say that the plurals are fo

Tor-

nd seemed to be dragging her toward it. With a super-human effort of will she opened her eyes. In the instant she knew that she was dreaming and that quickly the hallucination of the dream would fade-it had happened to her many times before. But it persisted. In the dim light that filtered into the dark chamber she saw a form beside her, she felt hairy fingers upon her and a hairy breast against which she was bein

beasts below, whose mighty thunderings had broken out anew with the sudden commotion from the high-flung cave. The beast that held her crouched and the creature that faced it crouched also, and growled-as hideously as the other. Pan-at-lee trembled. This was no Ho-don and though she feared the Ho-don

distinctly. It had no tail. She could see its hands and its feet, and they were not the hands and feet of the races of Pal-ul-don. It was slowly clo

, and go to the cave nearest the pegs you descended from the cliff top. Watch from there. If I am defeated you

ow did this strange creature know her name? How did it know that she had descended the pe

asked, "and from

d just now I came from Om-at,

sts locked in deadly embrace, each seeking the other's throat. Pan-at-lee watched, taking no advantage of the opportunity to escape which their preoccupation gave her. She watched and waited, for into her savage little brain had come the resolve to pin her faith to this strange creature who had unlocked her heart with those four words-"I am Om-at's friend!" And so she waited, with drawn knife, the opportunity to do her bit in the vanquishing of the

tripped him sought his throat as had the tail of In-tan, the Kor-ul-lul. In the effort of turning his antagonist's body during the fall Tarzan had had to relinquish his knife that he might seize the shaggy body with both hands and now the weapon lay out of reach at the very edge

part. The battle seemed to be going against him for the giant beast against which he strove would have been a fair match in weight and strength for Bolgani, the gorilla. And knowing this he suddenly exerted a single super-human effort, thrust far apart the giant hands and with the swiftness of a striking snake buried his fangs in the jugular of the Tor-o-don

ding; and now his brain reeled and his sight grew dim; but not before he reached his goal and a quick hand shot o

e, twice, thrice, and then all went black before him as he felt hims

f moments of the terrific climax she had realized every detail of the danger to Tarzan with which the emergency was fraught and as she saw the two rolling over the outer edge of the niche she seized the ape-man by an ankle at

of endurance failed. She wondered if, after all, the creature was already dead, but that she could not bring herself to believe-and if not dead how long it would be before he regained consciousness. If he did not regain it soon he never would regain it, that she knew, for she felt her fingers numbing to the strain upon them and sli

now and his feet found other pegs. His first thought was of his foe. Where was he? Waiting above there to fi

ve?" sh

arzan. "Where is

downward. "There,

n, clambering to her side. "

ow did you know that I was here and what do you know of Om-at and w

ll you all that you wish to know. Four of us set out with Om-at from Kor-ul-JA to search for you. We were attacked by the Kor-ul-lul and separated. I was taken prisoner, but escaped. Again I stu

und of Kor-ul-JA," she i

w him and now Om-at is gund. Om-at came back seekin

o my cave and I struck him down with

"and you leaped from the cliff into Kor-ul-l

ou know that a lion pursued me and that I leaped from the cliff an

prevented me continuing upon your trail. But now I would ask you a q

creatures with the cunning of man and the ferocity of a beast. Great indeed must

row we shall return to Kor-ul-JA and Om-at, and I

efully into the morning while Tarzan stretched himself

ow menaced by loathsome reptiles, the man advanced only by virtue of Herculean efforts gaining laboriously by inches along the devious way that he was forced to choose in selecting the least precarious footing. Near the center of the morass was open water-slimy, green-hued water. He reached it at last after more th

is was, primarily, a test of the latter, since beyond the open water was another two hours or more of gruelling effort between it and solid ground. He was, perhaps, halfway across and congratulating himsel

of gently moving tree tops. To Tarzan it was neither grim, nor forbidding-it was jungle, beloved jungle. To his right there spread a panorama of the lower reaches of the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho, with its winding streams and its blue lakes. Gleam

ngle! Grew there a jungle that would not feed Tarzan? The ape-man smiled and commenced the descent to the gorge. Was there danger there? Of course. Who knew it better than Tarzan? In all jungles lies death, for life and death go hand in hand and where life tee

ostrils searching each shifting air current for the scent spoor of game. Again he advanced deeper into the wood, his light step giving forth no sound, his bow and arrows in readiness. A light morning breeze was blowing from up the gorge and in this direction he bent his steps. Many odors impinged upon his organs of scent. Some of these h

pidly, but cautiously forward. The prey was not far distant and as the hunter approached it, he took silently to the trees and still in his nostrils was the faint reptilian odor that spoke of a great

came the right hand and the bow, that you or I might not move, bent easily beneath the muscles of the forest god. There was a singing twang and Bara, leaping high in air, collapsed upon the ground, an arrow through his heart. Tarzan dropped to earth and ran to his kill, lest the animal might even yet rise and escape; but Bara was safely dead. As Tarzan stooped to lift it

don and that, so, he might not realize the dangers that lay in that gorge of terror. Why did she not call to him to return? You or I might have done so, but no Pal-ul-don, for they know the ways of the GRYF-they know the weak eyes and the keen ears, and that at the sound of a human voice they come. To have called to Tarzan, then, would but have been to inv

l marked, since he had made no effort to conceal them. She moved rapidly until she reached the point at which Tarzan had taken to the trees. Of course she knew

edge of a clearing when two things happened-she caught sight of Tarzan bending over a dead deer and at the same instant a deafening roar sounded almost beside her. It terrified her beyond description, but it bro

ungry. There was but a single alternative to remaining for annihilation and that was flight-swift and immediate. And Tarzan fled, but he carried the carcass of Bara, the deer, with him. He had not more than a dozen paces start, but on the other hand the nearest tree was almost as close. His greatest danger lay, he imagined, in the great, tow

n the feats of the ape-man. And so it was that the bellowing GRYF came to a baffled stop at the foot of the tree and even though he reared up and sought to seize his prey among the branch

you here?"

I am chagrined that I should have been thus surprised. The creature was up wind from

ties of the GRYF-it is said that man never knows of its presence un

smelled it," cried

aculated Pan-at-

y as at a great distance." Tarzan suddenly ceased speaking and looked down at the bellowing creatur

asked Pa

smelled was the faint aroma that doubtless permeates the entire jungle because of the long presenc

always thought that the scientists who did such work depended principally upon an overwrought imagination, but I see that I was wrong. This living thing is not an exact counterpart of the restoration that I saw; but it is so similar as to be easi

don't know what you are talk

ellow lining and the yellow belly. The three parallel lines of bony protuberances down the back gave a further touch of color to the body, those following the line of the spine being red, while those on either side are yellow. The five- and three-toed hoofs of the ancient horned dinosaurs had become talons in the GRYF, but the three horns, two large ones above the eyes

him and the horny beak opened to d

n, but not you," and then to Pan-at-lee: "Let us go now. At the c

?" she repeated. "We wi

?" asked

e but pointed

can reach the cliff through the trees and be back

he GRYF," replied

will be ready at the foot of each tree when

time if necessary," replied Tarzan,

ill come and kill us and after eating a little will throw the balance to the GRYF-the

lace whole it won't be my fault. Come along now and we'll make a try at it," and so saying he moved off through the tree tops with Pan-at-lee close behind. Below them, on the ground, moved the h

fully down and sc

le C

ee. "Can you cross the gorge through t

?" she

eplied

rever you can lea

and back

es

ourse that he tried to select with an eye for the difficulties of the trail beneath. Where the underbrush was heaviest, where fallen trees blocked t

rraces of the ancient forest of Kor-ul-GRYF. But the result was the same-no, not quite; it was wors

ed about it, but did not offer to devour it. Tarzan had examined it casually as he had passed earlier in the morning. He guessed that it represented either a very high order of ape or a very low order of man-something akin to the Java man, perhaps; a truer example of the pithecanthropi than either the

oo!" it sounded

rumbling sound in its throat. It was not a bellow and it did not indicate anger. Immediately the "Whee-oo!"

Pan-at-lee. "What

a strange bird, or another horrid bea

d Tarzan; "the

d a cry of despa

tly. The Tor-o-don was now quite close to one of the triceratops. It swung its head and snapped at him viciously. Instantly the Tor-o-don sprang in and commenced to belabor the huge beast a

to a stop. Then the Tor-o-don walked around behind it, clambered up its tail and seated himself astraddle of the hu

or him and Pan-at-lee time had in these brief moments turned back countless ages to spread before their eyes

east close beneath the tree which held them, at the same time leaping to his feet upon the horny back. Tarzan saw the bestial face, the great fangs, the mighty muscles. From

ight upon a swaying branch-straight and beautiful as a demigod-unspoiled by the taint of civilization-a perfe

s upon brute strength sought to reach the other and drag him down; but the loosed arrow sank

ng him out of the fullness of her admiration the same ti

rt back across the gorge in sight of them and yelling to attract their attention. Unless they have more brains than I suspect they will follow me. When they are gone you make for the cliff. Wait for me in the cave n

is not the way of my people to desert a fr

commanded you to

command?"

-at-you are a fitting mate for the chief of Kor

after him. "Fortunate are my Om-at and

farther and farther from Pan-at-lee. He hoped that she would take advantage of the opportunity afforded her for escape, yet at the same time he was filled with concern as to her ability to survive the dangers w

people who, day by day, must contend face to face with nature's law of the survival of the fittest, unaide

orm. Along the verge of the forest upon the southeastern side of the gorge he sought some point at which the trees touched some negotiable portion of the cliff, but though he traveled far both up and down the gorge he discovered no su

wed hope for, in common with the great cats, Tarzan was, to a greater or lesser extent, a nocturnal beast. It is true he could not see by night as well as they, but that lack was largely recompensed for by the keenness of his scent and the highly developed sensitiveness of

if the things never slept, for wheresoever he moved they moved also, and always they barred his road to liberty. Finally, just

effort to locate his jailers lest in the act he might apprise them of his movements. Instead he sought cautiously and

as well as vocal swearing, since immediately the bellow announced that his hopes had been again frustrated, he turned quickly and seeing the hideous face of the GRYF below him seized a large fruit from a nearby branch and hurled it viciously at the horned snout. The missile struck full between the crea

Tor-o-don had struck one of the creatures across the face with his staff, and instantly there sprung to the cunnin

ilized man, protected in a measure from the natural dangers of existence, to invent artificial stimulants in the form of cards and dice and roulette wheels. Yet when necessity bids there are no gre

f the bestial ferocity of his antagonists that his experience of them had adduced-against all the age-old folklore

can make in the game of life, he smiled; nor was there any in

ith his knife, removed the smaller branches and twigs until he had fashioned a pole about ten feet in length. T

oo!" h

nd looked at him. From the throat of one

nd hurled the balance of the

the other: but finally the second obtained a hold and an instant later it had been torn asunder and greedi

alted in his track, apparently puzzled, while Tarzan slipped lightly to the earth and advanced t

st of burden or the horrid bellow of the man-eater? Upon

ped like a frightened deer across the open space to the foot of the cliff, stepped over the body of the Tor-o-don who had attacked her the night before and was soon climbing rapidly up the ancient stone pegs of the deserted cliff village. In the m

he same keen, almost fanatical loyalty that many another had experienced for Tarzan of the Apes. Beast and human, he had held them to him with bonds that were stronger than steel-those of them that were

ee would have died for Tarzan, for such is the loyalty of the simple-minded children of nature. It has remained for civilization to teach us to weigh the relative

to Om-at, for her experience had taught her that in the face of danger two have a better chance than one. But

moved therefore through her savage land with no greater show of concern than might mark your sauntering to a corner drug-store for a sundae. But this is your life and that is Pan-at-lee's and even now as you read this Pan-at-lee may be sitting upon the edge of the recess of Om-at's c

ext, nor for many days after though the danger that th

hereditary enemies of her people, she experienced a renewal of confidence that was little short of practical assurance that she would suc

nctive trait of the primitive, something which cannot be laid aside even momentarily if one would survive. And so she came to th

an effort to escape; but the warriors were too close at hand. They closed upon her from every side and then, drawing her knife she turned at bay, metamorphosed by the fires of fear and hate from a startled deer to a raging tiger-cat. They did not try to kill her, but only to subdue and capture her; and so it was that more than a si

had seized her by the hair and dragged her for a number of yards she thought better of her original deci

for the occurrence was by no means unusual. During her lifetime the tribe to which she belonged had been sufficiently fortunate, or powerful, to withstand successfully the majority of such raids made upon them, but yet Pan-at-lee had known of frie

on of her captors, Pan-at-lee knew that she was headed for A-lur, the City of Light; while in the cave of his ance

-

ad he been attacked on land it is possible that he might as a last resort have used his Enfield, though he had come thus far through all these weary, danger-ridden miles without recourse to it, though again and again had his life hung in the balance in the face of the savage denizens of forest, jungle, and steppe. For whatever it may

struggle. Instead he drew his blade and awaited the oncoming reptile. The creature was like no living thing he ever before

endeavoring to stay the mad rush or pierce the armor-coated hide with his little knife. The thing was almost upon him now and whatever form of defense he chose m

kes he swam on beneath the surface for a dozen yards before he rose. A glance showed him the stricken monster plunging madly in pain and rage upon the surface of the water behind him. That it was writhing in its death agonies was evidenced by the fact that it made no effort to pursue hi

ass, and, after a short rest, he made his way to this and seeking a quiet pool, bathed himself and washed the mud and slime from his weapons, accouterments, and loin cloth. Another hour was spent beneath the rays of the hot sun in wiping, polishing, and oiling his Enfield though the mea

upon this side of the almost impassable barrier he might assume that his long journey had ended in failure. And so he sought up and down the verge of th

se beside one of the huge creatures he realized that his fate still hung in the balance, for the thing gave forth no sign, either menacing or otherwise. It only stoo

rear as he had seen the shaggy first-man do, Tarzan ran up the broad tail and seated himself upon the creature's back, and then again imitating the acts of the Tor-o-don he prodded it with t

s jailers. But once seated upon the back of his titanic mount the ape-man experienced the sensation of a new thrill that recalled to him the day in his boyhood that he had first clambered to the broad h

he be of service to her, while below Kor-ul-GRYF, in the soft green valley, lay A-lur, the City of Light

s of Pal-ul-don it must be among the Ho-don, since the hairy black men of this forgotten world took no prisoners. And so to A-lur he w

ering the valley's largest lake at the City of A-lur, through the center of which the stream passes. An ancient trail, well marked by countless generations of naked feet of man and beast, leads down toward A-l

high upon either side of the trail and the way was broken now and again by patches of open park-like forest, or perhaps a little

onfluence of the stream they were skirting and another which appeared to come from the direction of Kor-ul-JA the ape-man, emerging from one of the jungle patches, discovered a considerable party of Ho-don upon the opposite ba

on that there were Waz-don with them, doubtless prisoners taken in one of

river intervened, but by dint of much prodding and beating, Tarzan had succeeded in heading the ani

ss of the great beast was increasing momentarily, doubtless due to the fact that its huge belly was crying out for food. The ape-man wondered if the Tor-o-dons had any means of pick

arry or would fear of the goad continue to hold its supremacy over the natural instinct of the hunting flesh-eater? Tarzan wondered but as he could not

ard and striking the thing upon its beaklike snout. Close by grew a number of leafy trees, in any one of which the ape-man could have found sanctuary, but it had occurred to him that should he immediately t

as though in dismissal and walked indifferently away. From the throat of the beast came a low rumbling sound

gnawing of hunger, unslung his bow and selecting a handful of arrows set forth cautiously in search o

ce childhood as Bara, the deer, since in the little primer that had been the basis of his education the picture of a deer had been t

ng from the river when Tarzan, seeing it, issued the weird cry of the Tor-o-don. The creature looked in the direction of the sound voicing at the same time the low rumble with which it answered the call

ll, "it is the knowledge that I will feed it." But as he finished his repast and settled himself comfortably for the night high among

weapons and loin cloth he entered the cold waters of the little pool, and after his refreshing bath returned to the tree to

d on the chance of attracting the GRYF, but though he waited for some time and continued calling there was no respo

his faith upon his knowledge of the Ho-don

the least of these were in a measure spiritual, and one that had doubtless been as strong as another in influencing Tarzan's love of the jungle had been his appreciation of the beauties of nature. The apes cared more for a grubworm in a rotten log than for all the majestic grandeur o

-den's explanation of the Ho-don methods of house construction accounted for the ofttimes remarkable shapes and proportions of the buildings which, during the ages that must have been required for their construction, had been hewn from the limestone hills, the exteriors chiseled

ings resulting from a single hillock, and later he was to learn that it had also been used for the filling of inequalities between the hills and the forming of paved streets

lines of the buildings and which seemed to be a peculiarity of Ho-don architecture, a concession, no

, until closer scrutiny was possible, there was little to distinguish him from a native either in his general conformation or h

a little child playing in the arched gateway of one of the walled buildings. "No tail! no tail!" it shouted, throwing a stone at him, and then it suddenly grew dumb and its eyes wid

he long to wait since at the next turning of the winding street he came face to face with a Ho-don warrior. He saw the sudden

r land," he said; "I would s

ife. "There are no strangers that come to the gates

m his own, and then wheeled about that the other might see that he was tailless, for it was upon this fact that his plan had been based, due to his recollection of the quarrel betwee

at you are neither Ho-don nor Waz-don, and it is also true that Jad-ben-Otho has no tail. Come," he said, "I will take you to Ko-tan, for this is a matter in which n

us imposing groups, evidently hewn from the larger hills, often rising to a height of a hundred feet or more. As they advanced they met numerous warriors and women

nded by a wall of considerably greater height than any that Tarzan had before seen. His guide led him to a gateway before which waited a dozen or more warriors who had risen to their feet and formed a barrier across

tered the palace, evidently with the intention of notifying Ko-tan. Fifteen minutes later a large warrior appe

he ape-man. "Who are you?" he asked, "a

and I have come from the country of Jad

ed impressed. Tarzan could see the

d the spokesman, "and wha

Jad-ben-Otho be subjected to the treatment that might be accorded to a wandering

lt of his demand. He did not, however, have long to wait for almost immediately the attitude of his questioner changed. He whitened, cast an apprehensive glance toward

rom a profaning hand, a feigned express

al mark of favor from Jad-ben-Otho may even Ko-tan himself receive this honor from me. Hasten! Already now

a god, but with the growing success of his scheme it had suddenly occurred to him that the authority of the son of Jad-ben-Otho would be far greater than that of an ordinary messenger of a god, while at the same ti

hey shrank back, the spokesman almost collapsing in evident terror. His apologies, when finally the paralysis of his

you to where Ko-tan, the king, awaits you, trembling. Aside, snakes and vermin," he crie

remptorily, "lead the way, a

he was bid, and Tarzan of the Apes was ushere

Staine

the figures of animals, birds, and men taking their places among the more formal figures of the mural decorator's art. Stone vessels were much in evidence as well as ornaments of gold and the skins of many animals, but nowhere did he

upon a ledge upon the western side of the building overlooking the blue lake. Along this ledge, or arcade, his guide

id ascending in broad steps well up under the dome in which were a number of round apertures which let in the light. The steps of the pyramid were occupied by warriors to the very pinnacle, u

and warriors of Pal-ul-don! Behold the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done you in sending as his messe

e expressions on most of the faces; but theirs was a skepticism marked with caution. No matter which way fortune jumped they wished to be upon the right side of the fence. For a moment all eyes were centered upon Tarzan and then gradually

lot there seemed to be indications also of growing anger. The situation was becoming strained. Dak-lot fidgeted, casting apprehensiv

at he is Dor-ul-Otho?" he asked, c

st shouted that

st be true?"

t a side glance at Tarzan-a glance that he intended should carry the assurance of his own

is the son of Otho. Behold his godlike figure, his hands, and his feet, tha

his skepticism was faltering. At that moment a young warrior who had pushed his way forward from

returning with the Kor-ul-lul prisoners we beheld him seated upon the back of a great GRYF. We hid in the woods before he came too

ting to do the same thing, the result was a sudden melting away of those who stood nearest the ape-man, until the steps of the pyramid directly before him lay vacant to the very apex and to Ko-tan. The latter, possibly influenced as much by the fearful attitude of his fo

om Jad-ben-Otho that he intended honoring us so greatly, nor how could we know, even, that the Great God had a son? If you are he, all Pal-ul-don

that I indeed be the Dor-ul-Otho before you accord me the homage that is my due. Jad-ben-Otho charged me specially to ascertain if you were fit to rule h

d by Jad-ben-Otho while the candidate was still a suckling babe! Wonderful! A miracle! and this divine creature in whose presence they stood knew all about it. Doubtless he even discuss

a gleaming smoothness through the ages. "And now," said Tarzan as the king stood before him, "you can have no doubt that I am not of the same race as you. Your priests have told you that Jad-ben-Otho is tailless. Tailless, therefore, must be the race of gods that spring from his loins. But enough of such proofs as these! You know the power of Jad-ben-Otho; how his lightnings gleaming out of the sky carry death as he wills it; how the rains come at his bidding, and the fruits

Otho he had assumed to be the excesses which he himself enjoyed, but devoid of any unpleasant reaction. It therefore occurred to him that the Dor-ul-Otho would be greatly entertained by eating-eating large quantities of everything that Ko-tan liked best and that he had found most injurious; and there was also a drink that the women of the Ho-don made by allowing corn to soak in the juices of succulent fruits, to which they had added certain other ingredients best known to themselves. Ko-tan knew by experience that a single draught o

from its high eminence. So what higher honor could Ko-tan offer than to give place beside him to the Dor-ul-Otho? And so he invited Tarzan to ascend the pyramid and take his place up

and seating himself upon the throne. The abashed Ko-tan showed his embarrassment

ant by inviting him to a place at his side. Come, Ko-ta

pon them, for since the time that he had prevented Ta-den and Om-at from quarreling over a religious difference the subject had been utterly taboo among them. He was therefore quick to note the evident though wordless resen

the throne and which Tarzan was to learn was the place reserved for the higher chiefs of the allied tribes which made up Ko-tan's kingdom. The one who attracted Tarzan's attention was a stalwart warrior of powerful physique and m

the ape-man's interest was permanently crystallized, for Ja-don was the father of Ta-den. That the knowledge would benefit him in any way seemed rath

performed the religious rites coincident to the worship of the Great God. And so the ape-man was conducted by the king himself, followed by

meter lying due east and west. Each was excavated from the summit of a small hillock and all were without roofs. The western altars invariably were a single block of stone the top of which was hollowed into an oblong basin. Those at the eastern ends were similar blocks of stone with f

ce the coming visit of the son of Jad-ben-Otho with the result that they were accompanied through the temple by a considerable procession of priests whose distinguishing mark of profession seemed to consist in grotesque headdresses; sometimes hideous faces carved fro

ic toward him and his pretensions, and he knew too that doubtless of all the people of Pal-ul-don the high priest was most likely to ha

doubts which had originally restrained Ko-tan and his warriors-the doubt that is at the bottom of the minds of all blasphemers even and which is based upon the fear that after all there may be a god. So, f

great room where the votive offerings were kept, gifts from the barbaric chiefs of Pal-ul-don and from their followers. These things ranged in value from presents of dried fruits to massive vessels of b

ed the barred entrance to a dim corridor, Tarzan saw within a great company of pithecanthropi of all ages and of both sexes, Ho-don as well as Waz-don, the majority

he had put to the high priest since entering the temple, and instantly he regretted that he had aske

r than the son of Jad-

e ape-man quietly, "and it may interest Lu-don, the high priest, to know that the blood of

e the offerings whose blood must refresh the eastern al

en-Otho was pleased that his people were slai

sands have died in v

. Some of the poor victims behind the barred gateway had heard and rising, pressed close t

the imprisoned victims of a cruel superstition, "for I can

rbidde

at God offered each night a life to the spirit of Jad-ben-Otho as it returned below the we

Wazdon; your hunters are taken by JA and JATO; no day goes by but witnesses the deaths of few or many in the villages of the Ho-don, and one death each day of those tha

god and his hope that it was not, but at last his fear won and he bowed his head. "The son of Jad-ben-Otho has spoke

all fully aware of the miracle that had saved them, crowded forward and throwin

age-old religious rite. "But what," he cried, "may we do that will be pleasing in t

n-Otho bless, when you may distribute them among those of the city who need them most. With such things are your storerooms filled as I have seen with mine own eyes, and oth

uilding that stood entirely detached from the others as though it had been cut from a little pinnacle of limestone which

dedicated?" he asked of Lu-don.

but not now for many years," and he moved on toward the gateway which led back into the palace. Here he and the pr

cion as to his genuineness, but he determined that before he slept he would put the question to Ko-tan, either directl

came to the eyes of one of the slaves what was apparently an expression of startled recognition, as he looked upon the ape-man for the first time in the banquet hall of Ko-tan. And again later he saw the fellow whisper to another slav

arzan the banquet was a dismal and tiresome affair, since so great was the interest of the guests in gorging themselves with food and drink that they had no time for conversation, the only vocal sounds being

with the result that the grunting gave place to snores, so presently Tar

ack who stood behind him. "I would slee

gain at length to one of his fellows. The latter cast a half-frightened look in the direction of the departing ape-man. "If y

t wrong!" cr

r-ul-Otho was brought to the temple and that while the so-called son of Jad-ben-Otho was

m?" asked th

the temple," rep

him, but be sure to exact the pro

eat importance, and though the hour was late Lu-don saw him, and when he had heard his story he promised h

ved and the moonlight glistened from the shiny barrel of an Enfield that was strapped to the naked back, and brass cartridges shed tiny

e had seen in the villages of the Waz-don, merely a raised dais of stone upon which was piled great quantities o

r than slaves, or at least he saw no others at first, though presently he stumbled upon an enclosure which lay almost within the center of the palace grounds

t of the waving branches of a tree which spread above the top of the wall near him. Finding no other method of access, the ape-man uncoiled his

n. Without waiting to ascertain whether the garden was empty or contained Ho-don, Waz-don, or wild beasts, Tarzan dropped

arts of the palace grounds and so there was added to its natural beauties an absence of mortals which rendered its exploration all the

g bushes, as though it all had been designed by the cunning hand of some master gardener,

t the white cliffs of Pal-ul-don, broken occasionally by s

on a tiny area of flowerstudded sward and at the same time beheld before him the first Ho-don female he had seen since entering the palace. A young and beautiful woman stood in the center of the little open space, str

an alarm be raised were he discovered by the two women, Tarzan moved back to hide himself in the foliage, but before he had succeeded the Ho-don girl

re was no expression of terror reflected in them, nor did she sc

, "who enters thus boldl

d quickly, rising to her feet. "Tarzan-jad-guru!" she

raise a cautioning finger to his lips lest Pan-at-lee further betray him, for it was Pan-at-lee i

rily silenced and then haltingly she groped for a way to extricate herself from her dilemma. "I thought-"

pression of doubt and questioning in her eyes. "But you ha

Tarzan, "of the visitor who arriv

the Dor-ul-Otho?" And now the erstwhile

eplied Tarza

ter of Ko-tan, the

ched more closely the dainty barbarian princess. "Daughter of Ko-tan," he said, "Jad-ben-Otho is pleas

k belied her words. "Bu-lat is a guest in the palace of Ko-tan, my father. I d

u-lat whom you l

urned her face away. "Have I then d

u he is well satisfied and for your

spered the girl, "and his son

ation for omniscience might prove embarrassing. "

be reunited with Ta-den? Surely th

the future," he replied, "other than what Jad-ben-Otho tells me. But I think you nee

" asked O-lo-a. "Te

ave seen him. He was with O

he Waz-don?" int

an honored guest,"

rd the heavens; "do not speak. I am receivi

eir hands, stricken with awe at the thought of the awful nearness

slave girl is from the tribe of Kor-ul-JA, where Ta-den is, and th

imple mind unable to determine whether or not she and her mistress were

t is the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done his poor servant," she cried. "Ca

if you were to cause Pan-at-lee to be retur

ch as she?" asked O-lo-a, a sli

and the beasts and the flowers and of everything that grows upon the earth or beneath the waters. If Pan-at-lee

st she had always been taught that he was solely the god of the Ho-don in every sense, other than that other creatures were created by Jad-ben-Otho to serve some useful purpose for the benefit of the Ho-don race. And now to be told by the son of god that she stood

it lies within my power. But it would be best, O Dor-ul-Ot

" said Tarzan, "and see

me but yesterday," she said, "and never have I had slave w

re others,"

here are others, but ther

brought to the ci

she r

rs come from othe

from the other side of the Valley of Jad-ben-O

ranger to enter the gat

son of Jad-ben-Otho need question

eplied Tarzan, "Jad-ben-O

w this thing," retorted O-lo-

im at his own game, yet in a measure her evasion of the question might be an an

s is the palace of Ko-tan filled with rumors, but how much

such a rumor t

t reached the Forbidde

the question and awaited her answer he thought that his he

this thing, for if it be of sufficient importance to elicit the interest of the g

speak," said Tarzan. "In the name of Jad-ben

cried, "and for the sake of Ta-den

ly features but at sight of Tarzan it gave place to an expression of surprise not unmixed with fear. "Dor-ul-Otho!" he exclaimed, "I did not know that it was you," and then,

inherent fear of man for his Maker. "Come, Dor-ul-Otho," he continued, "I do not know all this foolish child has said to you but whatever you would k

by Pan-at-lee, turned

otto in the miniature cliff into the interior of which Ko-tan led him, and down a rocky stairway to a gloomy corridor the opposite end of which opened into t

ard which Ko-tan was leading his guest was filled with chiefs and warriors awaiting the pleasure of their ruler

im but briefly but in that short period he was aware of a cunning and malevolent expression upon the cruel countenance that h

wner, pausing for a moment, glanced quickly around the interior and then having located him whom he sought moved

me at the temple at once." The under priest turned and departed upon his mission while Lu-don al

"Lu-don, the high priest, desires the presence of Ko-tan, the king, i

ing must obey. "I will return presently, Dor-ul-Otho," he said to Tarza

tence o

ied himself in examining the carvings upon the walls and the numerous specimens of the handicraft of

Into the carved designs of many of these virgin gold had been hammered, presenting the effect of a rich and magnificent cloisonne. A barbarian himself the art of barbarians had always appealed to the ape-man to whom they rep

ed and faced him he was almost shocked by the remarkable alteration of the king's appearance. His face was livid; his hands trembled as with palsy, and his

bad news, Ko-t

right and left. He cast terrified glances at the ape-man and then raising his face and turning his eyes upward he cried: "Jad-ben-Otho be my witness that I do not this thing of my ow

orse than fatal. Already Tarzan had come far by his wits and now that within a few hours he had had his hopes and his suspicions par

his palm against them. "Wh

face your accusers. If you are what you claim to be none knows better than you that you need have no fear in acquiescing to his demands, b

convinced of his duplicity as was eviden

ffect of his words was immediate upon the men in the front rank of those who faced him, each seeming suddenly to acquire a n

"I will go willingly to the audience cham

ex of the pyramid and Lu-don would not consent to occupying an inferior position while Tarzan, to remain consistent with hi

suggestion was repudiated by Ko-tan who argued that no mortal other than a king of Pal-ul-don

an, "is my accuser a

r accuser," ex

our judge," crie

formalities and ask Lu-don to sentence me." His tone was ironical and his sneering face, looking stra

method of dispensing justice. "Only Ko-tan can judge in the throneroom of his palace," said Ja-don, "le

l very possibly be the son of his god, and so he temporized, seeking for an avenue of escape. "It is purely a religi

us as their king to be relieved of all responsibility in the matter. This suggestion was more than

sin is against the temple. Let him

ver it is possible that the corpse of Lu-don, the high priest, will be dragged from the te

ition failed utterly in consummating their purpose. Lu-don s

igion than any of his fellows, realizes fully the falsity of

ll under the spell of their belief in him and upon this fact must he depend in the final act of the drama that Lu-don

l-Otho," he said, "where Lu-don enrages his god, for Jad-ben-Otho can reach

d from the throneroom toward the temple grounds, their faith in Tarzan increased by his appare

tan to a place upon the platform at the left hand of the

The basin hollowed in the top of the altar was filled with water in which floated the n

n flood the eastern altar of the temple the lifeblood of an adult reddens the white stone for the edification of Jad-ben-Otho, and that when the sun rises again from the body of its maker it looks first u

ho knows them not; and if this proof be not enough, there is more. Come, Waz-don," he cried, pointing to a

Tell us what you know of this creatu

the ridge which separates our villages. Among the enemy was this strange creature whom they called Tarzan-jad-guru; and terrible indeed was he for he fought with the strength of ma

tting off the head of the warrior we left to guard him and carrying it down

!" cried Ja-don, who had shown previously

of the house of Ko-tan will have greater weight with the great chief from the north, though the father of a son wh

rms. "You are in the temple of Jad-ben-Otho, Ja-don," they cautioned and the great chief was f

daughter of this matter?" he asked. "You would not b

one who will testify for her." He beckoned to an und

ideous to the scene, the priest stepped forward

e name that the slave from Kor-ul-lul gave him. This woman is not from Kor-ul-lul but from Kor-ul-JA, the very tribe with which the Kor-ul-lul says the creature was associating when he first saw him. And further the princess said that when this woman, whose name is Pan-at-lee, was brought to her yesterday she told a strange story of having been

e is no god. Did he tell you that he was the son of god

rified. "Answer me, slav

than mortal," pa

s the son of god? Answer my

appealing look of forgiveness at Tarzan who re

ad-ben-Otho goes about crying 'I am god! I am god!' Hast ever heard him Lu-do

ity of A-lur, do condemn him to die." There was a moment's silence during which Lu-don evidently paused for the dramatic ef

hich ensued. Lu-don stood with his face turned toward the heavens and his arms outstretched in the attitude of one who bares his breast to the

d, with a sneer that he meant to still further anger the high priest, "he ign

phemer! How can

n impostor, that I, an ordinary mortal, have posed as the son of god. Demand then that Jad-ben-Otho upho

nlookers waited for Lu-don to thus consummate

for you know that I would be stru

d I not but just received a message from Jad-b

e in a state of mental confusion. Secretly they hated and feared Lu-don, but so ingrained was the

e proposition was a fair one," he cried. "Invoke the lightnings of Ja

riest? Seize the prisoner," he cried to the priests and warriors, "and

est's command, but the lesser priests on the other hand, imbued with the courage of fan

ns of defense he best loved. And so the first hideous priest who leaped to the platform was confronted by

for the high priest to stand during the performance of the sacrificial ceremonies and only Lu-do

ad it was he who was seized; seized by steel fingers that snapped him up as though he had been a dummy of straw, grasped him by one leg and the harness at his back and raised him wi

ndemned, Tarzan with all the force of his great muscles dashed the screaming hierophant in the face of the high priest, and, as though the two actions were one, so quickly did he move, he had leaped to the t

-Otho would forsake his son?" and then he d

with involuntary elation at the success of the ape-man's maneuver, and

to the hard pavement. Quickly scrambling to his feet he looked around in fear, in terror and finally in bewilderment, for he had not been a witness to the ape-man's escape. "Seize him," he cried; "seize

of their king or high priest. Ko-tan, more or less secretly pleased by the discomfiture of Lu-don, waited for that worthy to give

from the summit of the temple wall, had had little effect in impressing the majority that his claims had not been disproven by Lu-don, but in the hearts o

arouse the people there that all might be upon the lookout for Tarzan the Terrible. The story of his imposture and of his escape, and the tales that the Waz-don slaves had brought into the city concerning him were soon spread throughout A-lur, nor did they lose aught in the spreading, so that before an hour had p

ant St

lded more levelly before him he swung along with easy strides, though always with the utmost alertness against possible dangers. A gentle breeze came down from the mountains behind him so that only his ears and his eyes were of value in detecting the presence of danger ahead. Generally the trail followed along the banks of the winding brooklet at th

g in its sheath at his left hip from the end of one of his cross belts, the opposite belt supporting a leathern pouch at his right side. It was Ta-den hunting alone in the gorge of his friend, the chief of Kor-ul-JA. He contemplated the stranger

ard Ta-den in that gesture which has been a symbol of peace from pole to pole since m

glad to accept this overture of peace, the sign of which he returned in kind as he ascended the trail to where th

ver a period of many days from some place beyond the mountains and Ta-den was convinced that the n

to conceal, but greater than all was the sense of relief that the first inhabitant of this strange country whom he had met

er interest of his new discovery. He would take the stranger to Om-at and possibly together the two would find some way of discovering the true intentions o

es of growing crops which they cultivate. The fields lay in small level patches that had been cleared of trees and brush. Their farm implements consisted of metal-shod poles which bore a closer resemblance to spears than

doubt in the other's mind, reassured him with a gesture and a smile. The Waz-don, however, gathered around excitedly jabbering questions in a language which the stranger discovered h

that this creature whom he had discovered would have no more difficulty in following him than had Tarzan the Terrible. Nor was

in each instance the latter was more thoroughly impressed with the friendly and peaceable spirit of his hosts, little guessing that he w

only did the attitude of the other black warriors indicate this but it was written also in the mien and bearing of the splendid creature who stood look

f the stranger since he had come among them, his face lightened. "Tarzan!" he cried, "

tion rather than the reverse, but of this Om-at wished to make sure. He pointed to the stranger's knife, and repea

then first placing a hand above his heart

Tarzan-jad-guru,"

or a great liar

down into the gorge, back toward the mountains, or out upon the valley below, and each time he would raise his brows questioningly and voice the universal "eh?" of interrogation which they could not fail to understand. But always Om-at shook his head and s

ive. Again he pointed to the sun and describing an arc with his forefinger starting at the eastern horizon and terminating at the western, he repeated again the words as adenen. It was plain to the stranger that the words meant that the sun had crossed the heavens five times. In other words, five days had passed. Om-at then pointed

e understood he pointed to himself and then indicating th

as yet we have not punished the Kor-u

and make a great raid upon the Kor-ul-lul, and this time, Om-at, do not kill your prisoners.

de prisoners of all the Kor-ul-lul we shall make them tell us what we wish to know. And th

took one and it was also possible that they might even be driven back in defeat, but he knew too that Om-at would not he

de it plain that they would be accompanied by many warriors, that their venture would probably lead them into a hostile country an

ed forth, a hundred savage warriors swarming up the face of the sheer cliff and out upon the summit of the ridge, the main body preceded by two warriors w

as making his way fearfully up the gorge toward the village of his tribe. Him they took prisoner which, strangely, only added to his

-at, to one of his warriors, "and hol

the village. Fortune smiled upon Om-at in that it gave him quickly what he sought-a battle royal, for they had not yet come in sig

the knowledge that they trod their own domain where each rock and stone was as familiar as the features of their mates, the Kor-ul-lul walk

ing clubs and then as the two forces mingled, the battle resolved itself into a number of individual encounters as each warrior singled out a foe and closed upon

uick wit had shown him how to differentiate between Kor-ul-lul and Kor-ul-JA since with the single exception of apparel they were identical,

ferocity of JATO," mused the chief. "Powerful indeed must be the tribe from which he

er who seemed not to know the sense of fatigue. He fought on when each new antagonist would have gladly quit, and when th

ver used it, and that for the most part it seemed but a nuisance and needless encumbrance since it banged and smashed against its owner as he leaped, catlike, hither and thither in the course of his vic

t to terror by the presence of the stranger, a tireless demon who appeared invulnerable to their attacks, lost heart and sought to

upon the Kor-ul-lul in the memory of man, and it marked Om-at as the greatest of chiefs, but that fierce warrior knew that advantage had lain upon his side largely because of the presence of his strange ally. Nor did he hesitate to

survivors spoke in bated breath of this second dem

ve days before but that he had slain the warrior left to guard him and escaped, carrying the head of the unfortunate sentry to the opposite side of Kor-ul-lul where he had left it suspended by its hair from the branch of a tree. But what had

I can tell you much of this terrible man of whom you ask, Kor-ul-JA," he said. "I saw him yesterday and I know where he is, and if you wi

way," replied Om-at,

r, "unless you make me this promise; so if I am

a-den, "promise him that the

and when you have told me all, you and you

g, when we were surprised and set upon by a large number of Ho-don who took us prisoners and carried us to A-lur where a few were chosen to be slaves and the rest were cast

e who had been selected for slaves among the Ho-don, for they at least

es awaited our fate, I saw to my surprise that it was none other than that terrible man who had so recently been a prisoner in the village of Kor-ul-lul-he whom you call Tarzan-jad-guru but whom they addressed as Dor-ul-Otho. And he looked upon us and questio

way toward Kor-ul-lul. There were three of us, but many are the dangers that lie between A-lur and Kor-ul-lul and we wer

concerning Tarzan-ja

the two priests who guided us out of the city said to the other that the stranger was not Dor-ul-Otho at all; that Lu-don had said so and that

of Kor-ul-JA,

nd Ab-on, send warriors to guard them un

ay toward the summit of the cliff, and when they stood upon the ridge Om-at pointed d

-guru," he said, and

asque

of A-lur until he had satisfied himself that his mate was not a prisoner there, but how, in this strange city in

in which a man might hide, and water and fruits. A cunning jungle creature, if he could reach the spot unsuspected, might remain concealed there for a consider

in his native jungle, but in the citie

ors and chambers of the temple through which he had been conducted the day before, nor any slightest detail of which had escaped his keen eyes. That would be

that led to the apartments beneath. The way that he had been conducted the previous day had followed the windings and turnings o

to witness his trial and his humiliation and his death, and with this idea firmly implanted in his mind he rounded the turn of the corri

w his intention concerning him, and therefore was not compelled to delay action. And so it was that before the pries

eaddress from its shoulders, for the first sight of the creature had su

his hold upon the corpse, set the headdress carefully upon the floor and stooping down severed the tail of the Ho-don close to its root. Near by at

n tucking the tail under his loin cloth behind him, secured it in place as best he could. Then he fitted the headdress over his shoulders and ste

hat the end of the tail be carried in one hand, and so he caught his own tail up thus

e. The pursuit had not yet reached this point though he was conscious of a commotion not far behind him. He met now bot

e beautiful spot that lay before his eyes. To his relief it seemed unoccupied and congratulating himself upon the ease with which he had so far outwitted the hig

ht, there were yet enough to make it possible for him to fare forth under cover of his disguise without attracting the unpleasant attention of the guards, and, too, he had noticed that the priesthood constituted a privileged class that seemed to come and go at will and unchallenged throughout the palace as well as the temple. Altogether then,

s stolen caudal appendage. He arranged it in such a way that it might be quickly assumed or discar

ulders, aprons of wood extending downward a few inches upon his chest and back. From these aprons hung long tassels or switches of hair tapering from the outer edges toward the center which reached below the bottom of his torso. It required but the most cursory examination to indicate to the ape-man that these ornaments consisted of human scalps, ta

ars detected the slow approach of naked feet across the sward. At first he suspected that it might be one stealthily searching the Forbidden Garden for him but a little later the figure came within the limited area of his vision which

ir footsteps proclaimed that they walked neither slowly nor meditatively. They came direct

of Lu-don, the high priest, who exposed him and all his wicked blasphemy. The temple, and the palace, and the city are being searched and we have been sent

garden for some time and have seen nor heard no o

e could not have entered without your knowledge and the connivance of the

est?" ask

ds shortly before us

see him," s

another exit," remar

s strange that I did not see him." The two pri

zan, who considered Buto a very stupid creature in

pidly across the garden in the direction of the princess to an accompaniment

has happened? You look as terrified

d have killed him in the temple. They would have killed

O-lo-a. "You were the

ith the same ease that you might cast your breastplates at me, and then he leaped upon the altar and from there to the to

ked O-lo-a. "Has not one who h

not know him," r

n attempted to deceive me. The slaves of O-lo-a do not such things with impunity. He is

was not she too among her own people already as good as a princess? "P

know of this Tarzan-jad

en now I do not know that he is not the son of Jad-ben-Otho for his courage and his strength are more than those of mortal man, as are also his kindness and his honor: for when he might have harmed me he protected

n, not alone in the conformation of his hands and feet or the fact that he was tailless, bu

win for him the consideration of the princess even though it might not avail him; "and," she said, "did he not

w Ta-den," sug

cave of Es-sat in Kor-ul-JA across Kor-ul-lul and two wide ridges to the very cave in Kor-ul-GRYF where I hid, though many hours had passed since I had come that way and my bare feet

s a god," said O-lo-a, influenced by her sla

d Pan-at-lee. "Would that I might save him. If he lived h

-a, "but alas it is too late for to

ters yesterday with your

hings and his slave women. But come, Pan-at-lee, gather for me some of these beautiful blossoms. I would have them spread around my couch tonight that I may carry away with me in the morning the memory of the fragrance that I love best a

uessed there would be no necessity for them to enter the patch far enough to discover him. With little exclamations of pleasu

flower-No! I will get it myself-it is so large and wonderful no other hand shall touch it," and the princess

fate might be kind to him and lead Ko-tan's daughter away before her eyes dropped from the high-growing bloom to him

he drew back and the ap

. "It is the friend of Ta-den who salute

citedly forward. "O Ja

queried Tarzan, "will you give m

-lo-a's feet. "Princess! Princess!" she bese

would be beyond naming. Even though I am a princess Lu-don might demand that I be sacrif

ou have seen him unless you tell them yourself for as

r," implored O-lo-a,

t more so," replied

then from the hands of mortal

re no less vulnerable than mortals. Even Jad-ben-Otho, s

spoken with him?" she aske

m," replied the ape-man. "For the durati

the ground and a flush mantled her cheek-"he still l

y of O-lo-a and he waits and hopes

give me to Bu-lot

ow," replied Tarzan, "fo

all the tomorrows of my life I must pine in m

d you," said the ape-man. "And who

I know that you would if it were possible for Pan-at-lee ha

," said Tarzan. "And now you two go your way lest

u escape and that Jad-ben-Otho is pleased with what I have done." She turned and

Tarzan put the question that he had been anxious to put

of the mysterious stranger which is supposed to be hidden in A-lur. Hav

selves but of which none dares to speak aloud. They say that there is a strange she hidden in the temple and that Lu-don w

he is hidden in the

not even know that it is more than a story and I

," asked Tarzan, "w

came with her but none seems to

ee," he said. "You may have helped

ou," said the girl as she tu

o," exclaimed Tar

ple of

udged that it would not do to attempt again to pass the guard, especially so late at night as it would be likely to arouse comme

e of his escape. He came thus it is true through a portion of the grounds with which he was unfamiliar but he preferred this to the danger of following the beaten track between the palace apartme

g concerning the purpose of which he had asked Lu-don only to be put off with the assertion that it was forgotten-nothing strange in itself but given

ich was carved from the living rock in representation of the head of a GRYF, whose wide-open mouth constituted the doorway. The head, hood, and front paws of the creature

e was unfamiliar and that they also were probably too strong to be broken even if he could have risked the noise which would have resulted. Nothing was visible within the darkened interi

sure himself that this latter was the case. Moving entirely around the building he examined it carefully. There were other windows but they were s

and there were too the peculiar ledges that ran sometimes in a horizontal plane and again were tilted at an angle, giving ofttimes an impr

He did not delay long at the second floor since he had in mind an idea that he would find the easiest entrance through the roof which he had noticed was roughly dome shaped like the throneroom of Ko-tan. Here there were apertures

ould they be large enough to admit

scent that stripped from him temporarily any remnant of civilization that might have remained and left him a fierce and terrible bull of the jungles of Kerchak. So sud

And haughty and disdainful came the answering words though utter hopelessness spo

the ape-man drew back his mighty fist and struck a single terrific blow upon the bars of the small window befor

o his feet he tore the entangling pelt from about his head only to find himself in utter darkness and in silence. He called aloud a n

his mate had been within this very room. And he had heard her dear voice combatting the base demands of the vile priest. Ah, if he had but acted with greater caution! If he had but continued to move with qu

ore utter than that above. He felt his body strike a smooth surface and he realized that he was hurtling downward as through a polished chute wh

bars, and beyond he saw the moonlight playing on the waters of the blue lake below. Simultaneously he was conscious of a

her than those of the city that came to him through the window overlooking the lake; but presently, faintly, as though from a d

his descent into its cavernous retreat it was approaching to investigate. He could not see it but he knew that it wa

t other occasion when his life and liberty had been the stakes for which he cast. In many respects the conditions were dissimilar. Before, in broad daylight, he had been able to approach the GRYF under normal conditions in its natural state, and the GRYF itself was one that he had seen subjected to the authority of man, or at least of a manlike creature; but here

oided-an encounter the outcome of which there was every reason to apprehend would seal the fate of the mate that he had just found, only to lose again so harrowingly. Yet high as his disappointment and chagrin ran, hopel

entrance into its lair had attracted it. Along the further wall the ape-man hurried. Before him now appeared the black opening of the corridor from which the beast had emerged into the larger chamber. Without hesitation Tarzan plunged into it. Even here his ey

n lair it might lead. There was a feeling that perhaps after all he might better have remained in the larger chamber and risked all on the chance of subduing the GRYF where there was at least sufficient room and light to lend to the experiment some slight chance of success. To be overtaken here in the narrow confines of the black corridor where he was assured the GRYF could not see him at all woul

of the corridor to find himself in a large circular enclosure the towering white walls of which rose high upon every side-smooth perpendicular walls upon the sheer face of which was

ught else to do. Just beyond the entrance to the corridor the GRYF paused, turning its weak eyes in all directions as though searching for its prey. This then seemed the psychological moment for his attempt and raising his voice i

f the pool, while down upon him from before thundered annihilation. The mighty body s

on knew would never again be rekindled. Hope was dead as she faced Lu-don, the high priest, in her prison quarters in the Temple of the Gryf at A-lur. Both time and hardship had failed to leave their impress upon her physical beauty-the contours of her perfect form, the glory of her radiant lovel

to gain time, though what time might bring her of relief or renewed hope she could not even remotely conjecture. A leer of lust and greed shone hungrily upon his cruel countenance as he advanced across the room to seize her. She did not shrink nor cower, but stood th

ave touched her. "One of us shall die b

augh grated upon her ears. "Love d

hing them inward to the floor, to be followed almost simultaneously by a human figure which dove headforemost

pended from the ceiling of the apartment. Instantly there dropped from above a cunningly contrived partition that fell between them and the intruder, effectively barring

her thong and wait in evident expectancy of some consequent happening. He did not have long to wait. She saw the thong move suddenly as though jerked from

est knelt upon the floor, and down tilting a section of it, revealed the dark mouth of a shaft

opening beneath the feet of the unwary until such time

e cried, and then, "Ja-

framed in the entrance-way to the apartment the mighty figure of a warrior, upo

lied Ja-don, "to remove the beautif

he high priest of Jad-

snapped Ja-don, in whose manner was no sig

et protected him from the machinations of the priest. Lu-don cast a surreptitious glance at the thongs hangi

us discuss the matter," and moved toward th

replied Ja-don, yet he followed

priest there was no redeeming quality. Of the two then she might best choose the warrior. With him there was a chance-with Lu-don, none. Even the very process of exchange from one pris

Ja-don, "if you would live ent

glance upon her. "Sil

nger?" Ja-don asked of

priest could prevent she had seized that which controlled the partiti

e neatly but for you," he said; "kept me imprisoned there

floor beyond the partition. When you stepped on that you would have been precipitated into a pit beneath the temple. Lu-don has threatened

though the victims are sometimes those for whom Lu-don has conceived hatred among our own people. He has had his eyes upon me for a long t

d not hope, for hope has died and yet there is the possibility that among so many fighting men, even though they be of anothe

his queen," he said. "That he told me himself and surely that

ld he make me q

ods. And why not? Jad-ben-Otho is tailless, therefore it is not strange that Ko-tan should suspect that only the gods are thus. His queen is dead leav

Jane. "I cannot wed another. I

on simply as though that expla

save me then

replied, "I might protect

a-lur?" she asked, g

he answered. "I am chief ther

she insisted, a

know, however, it lies up the river that empties into Jad-ben-lul whose waters kiss the walls of A-lur-up the western fork it lies with water upon three

would be safe

s," he

ow again! She sighed and shook her head, realizing the inutility

e quarters of the princess beside the Forbidden Garden. There you will remain with

, a shudder passing thr

cupy several days before you become queen, and one of

" she

erform the marriage ceremon

s indeed of life is Hope even though it be reduc

ing Is

ich the temple and the palace are hewn and now they passed from one to the other through a doorway upon one side of which two priests stood guard and upon the other two warriors. The former wo

her progress. Through the hollow eyes of the hideous mask the woman could see those of the priest beneath gle

he said, "and by virtue of the fact that Ja

ard. "We are here, gund of Ja-lur," said one, addr

have received no direct commands from Lu-don to the contrary and it is a law of the

on's wishes," in

t Ja-don must not pas

-bu

are three to two and will pass

aside. "Lu-don will exact an

"And get it when and whe

ay, loitered a small guard of palace warriors and several stalwart black eunuchs belon

," he commanded, "and see

uch led Lady Greystoke halting at last before a doorway concealed by hangings

he called, "here is the stranger w

e heard a sweet voic

figures were evidently intended to represent Waz-don slaves and were not without bold artistic beauty. The ceiling itself was slightly arched to a central dome which was pierced to admit light by day, and air. Upon one side of the room were many windows, the other

and when she stood beside the couch the girl hal

l you are," s

or she had found that

he replied quickly, "from one so

nguage! I was told that you were of another race and from

plained Jane; "but I am from a far country, Princess;

e you his queen," cried the girl;

already wed. Ah, Princess, if you had known what it was to love and

t, "and I am very sorry for you; but if the king's daughter cannot save her

was drunk and so was Bu-lot, his son. For that matter nearly all of the warriors, including the king himself, were drunk. In the heart of Ko-tan was no love either for Mo-sar, or Bu-lot, nor did either of these love the king. Ko-tan was giving his daughter to Bu-lot in the hope that the alliance would prevent Mo-sar from insisting upon his cla

d either tact or diplomacy even when sober; but drunk they know

gle gulp. "And this," seizing a full one from a neighbor, "to her son and

; "nor is Bu-lot yet married to his daughter-and there is ye

owers were so effectually paralyzed by the fumes of liquor that he could not intelligently weigh the consequences of his acts. It is reasonably conceivable that a drunk and angry rabbit might commit a rash deed. Upon no other hypothesis is the thing that Bu-lot now did explicable. He rose suddenly from the seat to which he had sunk after delivering his toast and seizing the kni

wly back toward the doorway at his rear, when suddenly angry warriors leaped with drawn knive

r is king! Let the loyal warriors

him and Bu-lot, but there were many knives against them and now J

ul-don will choose their own king after the assassi

the faction that had surrounded Mo-sar. Fierce and terrible was the fighting, devoid, apparently, of all else than

ty who had not been bidden to the feast of Ko-tan. These were directed quickly to gather together their belongings for immediate departure. When all

s," he whispered. "We must not leave the city wi

"Let us get out of A-lur quickly," he urged, "or we shall have the whole city u

t will be long before they miss us and, with Ko-tan dead, long before any will think to loo

t inside the gateway of the palace. Rapidly the two approached the quarters of the princess

entered the presence of the guards. "The king desires you to come at once and has sent u

be intrusted with the safety of the princess. And then, too, was not Mo-sar a powerful chief to whose orders disobedience might prove a dangerous thing? They were but commo

hall and followed by Bu-lot made his way toward the sleeping apartment of O-lo-a and a moment later, without

ing of this?" she

eded it would prove easier than taking her by force, and then his eyes fell upon Jane Clayton and he almo

ere has been an uprising in the palace and Ko-tan, the king, has been slain. The rebels are drunk with liquor a

am queen until the warriors choose a new ruler-that is the law of Pal-ul-don. And if I am queen none can make me wed whom I do not wish

d again at the beautiful woman who stood beside O-lo-a. He had never before seen her but he well knew from

zing Jane about the waist lifted her in his arms, so that before O-lo-a or Pan-at-lee might even guess his purpose he had disap

ll. When he would have lifted O-lo-a and borne her away Pan-at-lee seized him around the legs and strove to drag him down. Viciously he kicked her, but she would not desist, and finally, realizing that he might n

fe of Bu-lot reached its goal his wrist was seized from behind and a terrific blow crashing to the base of his brain

ter glimmering through a small aperture in the cliff at the surface of the pool upon its farther side. With swift, bold strokes he swam for speed alone knowing that the water would in no way deter his pursuer. Nor did it. Tarzan heard the great splash as the huge creature plunged into the pool behind him; he heard the churning waters as it forged rapidly onward in his wake. He was nearing the opening-would it be large enough to permit the passage of his body? Th

e names of Jad-ben-Otho and all the demons of his faith. He hated Ko-tan. Secretly he had espoused the cause of Mo-sar, in whom he would have a willing tool. Perhaps, then, this would give him the opportunity he had long awaited-a pretext for inciting the revolt that would dethrone Ko-tan and place Mo-sar in power-with Lu-don the real ruler of Pal-ul-don. He licked his thin lips as he sought the

the woman, chancing an encounter with the fierce chief, or bide his time until treachery and intrigue

were most in his confidence and who shared his ambitions for abso

-tan must make way for Mo-sar, for Ko-tan has defied your high priest. Go then, Pan-sat, and summon Mo-sar secretly to the

t a knife into the heart of Ko-tan, for the price of liberty. Another held personal knowledge of an officer of the palace that he could use to compel the latter to admit a number of Lu-don's w

e direction of the pal-e-don-so and a few minutes later Lu-don was surprised t

cried Lu-don. "Are yo

arriors of the palace but they have no head, while Ja-don leads the others. I could learn but little from frightened slaves who had fled at t

the throne from O-lo-a. Spread the word as you know best how to spread it that Ja-don has threatened to destroy the priests and hurl the altars of the temple into Jad-ben-lul. Rouse the warriors of the city and urge the

nt; "saw or heard you anything of the strange white woman that Ja-don

ts with violence if they did not permit him to pass," replied Pan-sat. "

" said Lu-don, "doubtless we shall find her

e had listened was evidenced by his hasty withdrawal to the shadows of a nearby passage as the lesser priest moved across the chamber toward the doorway. Pan-sat went his way in ignorance of the near presence that he

Secr

hought of the comparative ease with which he had defeated the purpose of the high priest but his face clouded again at the ensuing remembrance of the grave danger that threatened his mate. His sole object now must be

ight, upon its smooth, forbidding surface. Above him and quite out of reach were numerous apertures, but there were no means at hand by which he could reach them. Presently, however, his hopes were raised by the sight of an opening level with the surface of the water. It lay just ahead and a few strokes brought him to it-ca

wels of the cave. There was an abrupt turn and then a flight of steps at the top of which lay another corridor running parallel with the face of the cliff. This passage was dimly lighted by flickering cressets set in niches in the walls at considerable distance

lking a wary prey he crept with quivering nostrils to the hangings that shut off his view from the interior of the apartment beyond. A moment later his head disappeared within; then his shoulders, and his lithe body, and the hangings dropped quietly into place again.

close to the skins that concealed the occupants of the room from him, and him from them. Presently he leaped back into the concealing shadows of the diverging gallery and immediately thereafter the hangings by which he had

es, turned abruptly into a small apartment at his left. The tracker followed cautiously in time to see the rays of the flickering light dimly visible from an aper

adroom to a tall man, and it was broken often by flights of steps leading always downward. The steps in each unit seldom numbered more than six and sometimes there was only one or two but in the aggregate the tr

ide of which there appeared to be a further accumulation of rubble. This he also removed until he had a hole of sufficient size to permit the passage of his body, and leaving the cresse

halfway between the surface of the lake and the top of the cliff above. The ledge inclined steeply upward, ending at the rear of a buil

y, the white walls of the palace gleamed against the northern sky. The time that it had taken him to acquire definite knowledge concerning the secret passageway between the temple and the city he did not count as lost, though he begrudged every instant that kept him

iness of the creature he loved best. For her sake he must win allies and it was for this purpose that he had sacrificed these precious moments, but now he lost no

ept his hands behind him and trusted to fate that the sickly light of the single torch which stood beside the doorway would not reveal his un-Pal-ul-donian feet. As a matter of fa

enter it over the wall rather than to chance arousing any suspicion on the part of the guards at the in

time or opportunity for the high priest to remove her from the palace grounds. The garden he knew to be devoted exclusively to the uses of the princess and her women and it was only reasonable to assume therefore th

jacent to the garden, so once more he scaled the wall and passing around its end directed his steps tow

sound he quickly traversed several corridors and chambers until he stood before the hangings which separated him from the chamber from which issued the sounds of altercati

the hair drew his knife and raised it above her head. Casting the encumbering headdress of the dead priest from his shou

owed her head upon his feet had he not, with an impatient gesture, commanded her to rise. He had no time to listen to their p

he woman of my own race whom Ja-

ther of this thing here," and she indicated the body of Bu-l

Tell me quickly, in what

hich Mo-sar had passed. "They would have taken the princess and

is my mate. And if I survive I shall find mean

y all its kind in the Ho-don city wound in and out and up and down, but at last it terminated at a sudden turn which brought him into a courtyard filled with warriors, a p

hemer!" "Defiler of the temple!" burst hoarsely from savage throats, and mingling with these were a few who cried,

a thing impossible of achievement. He must use his wits now and quickly too, for they were closing upon him. He might have turned and f

Lu-don, the high priest, has planned to seize the palace and destroy the loyal warriors that Mo-sar may be made king-Mo-sar who will be the tool and creature of Lu-don. Follow me. There

ded, "that it is not you who would betray us and by leading us now away from the f

ose. But come, there is not time to lose. Already are the lesser priests gathering their warriors in the city below," and without waiting for any further parley

g the ground behind him-a demi-god where another would have been ridiculous. Out into the city he led them and down toward the unpretentious building that hid Lu-don's secret passageway from the city to the

marched at Tarzan's side, "for there are the warrior

, who has done me a great wrong. Tell Ja-don that Jad-ben-Otho is upon his side, nor do you for

e chief. "Go your way. We are e

zan, "how I may know

cond lake below A-lur," replied the chi

de no effort either toward defense or retreat. Suddenly the chief raised his voice in a savage war cry that was immediately taken up by

o the disadvantage of Lu-don, Tarzan turned into a side street and pointed his steps to

ad-b

to go. Instead she threw herself to the ground each time he sought to place her upon her feet, and so of necessity he was compelled to carry her though at last he tied her hands and gagged her to save himself from further lacerations, for the beauty and slenderness of the wom

ween two of Mo-sar's men. At the edge of the lake lay a fleet of strong canoes, hollowed from the trunks of trees, their bows and sterns carved in the sem

ve at a sign from Mo-sar, who came and stood beside her as the warrio

ing to make a good impression on her he removed the gag from her mouth and the thongs from her wrists, knowing well that she could not escape surrou

the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho empty into the great morass to the south. The warriors, resting upon one knee, faced the bow and in the last canoe Mo-sar tiring of his frui

ul emptied-now in the moonlight, now in dense shadow where great trees overhung the stream, and at last out upon th

one day that Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and his band of native German troops had treacherously wrought the Kaiser's work of rapine and destruction on the Greystoke bungalow and carried her away to c

hardship nor oppression, but when the Germans had become hard pressed toward the close of their unsuccessful campaign in East Africa it had been determined to take her fur

is own hands, and one entire section of trench that had made possible a disastrous turning movement by the British. Tarzan had out-generaled them at every point. He had met cunning with cunning and cruelty with cruelties until they feared and loathed his very name. The cunning trick that they had played upon him in destroying his home, murdering his retai

ch was still under the domination of his fear of the ruthless German oppressors. While here only hardships and discomforts assailed her, Obergatz himself being held in leash by the orders of his distant superior but as time went on the life in the village grew to be a veritable hell of cruelties and oppressions practiced by the arrogant Prussia

lay with the villagers and that all were so heartily sickened by his abuse that it needed now but the slightest spark t

Africa was at an end. It did not take long for the lieutenant's native soldiers to realize that the authority that held them in service no longer existed and that with it had gone the power to pay them their miserable wage. Or at least, so they reasoned. To them Obergatz no longer represented aught els

ng as to which one shall p

or us?" asked Jane. "D

none to fight for him they still fear the white man. And

iscovered that the two whites had learned of their intentions. The woman went at once to the hut occupied by

e was inclined to bluster arrogantly, with a great

ch has been brought to them, they believe in it and there is nothing now between you and your Maker other than flight. We shall both be dead before morning if

t?" he said, a noticeable alte

le to hunt. That you have done often. Perhaps it will arouse suspicion that I accompany you but that we must chance. And be sure my dear Herr Lieutenant to bluster and curse and abuse your ser

hief and turned you over to him and then put a bullet into my own head, for unless you swear as I have

es of my God and my Kaiser that no harm sha

, but let it be understood that there is and never can be any semblance even of respect for y

and disagreeable manner he called his servants, telling them that he and the white kali were going out into the brush to hunt. The beaters would go north as far as the little hill and then circle back to the east and in toward the village. The gun carriers he directed to take

owled Obergatz, "that the afternoon befo

nor was there any attempt upon the part of Obergatz' native soldiers, or the warriors of the chief to detain them, for th

ible between them and the village before night fell. They knew from the habits of their erstwhile hosts that there was little danger of pursuit by night since the vil

s nearer but Obergatz positively refused to chance throwing himself into the hands of the British by returning to the territory which they now controlled, insisting instead upon attempting to make his way through an unkn

of the marsh and there is only the open water at the center to materially impede progress. It is a condition that exists perhaps not more than a few weeks, or even days at the termination of long periods of drought, and so the two crossed the otherwise almost impassable barrier without rea

e Great Lake on whose northern shore lies A-lur. As they had come down out of the mountains they had been surprised by a party of Ho-don hunters. Obergatz had escaped while Jane had been taken prisoner and brought to A-lur. She ha

cunning and intrigue. And now at last she was in the power of a new captor, one whom she knew from the gossip of the temple and the palace to be cruel and degraded. And she was in t

e into the chill waters of the lake. She scarcely moved other than to keep her nostrils above the surface while th

d relief. She was free! What if the next moment brought death, she knew again, at least a brief instant of absolute freedom. Her blood tingled to the almost f

inister and awe-inspiring proportions; the hoot of an owl, the distant scream of a great cat, the barking of wild dogs, attested the presence of the myriad life she could not see-the savage life, the free life of which she was now a part. And then there came to her, possib

ers! She longed for no more than this. The parade of cities, the comforts and luxuries of

The woman moved slowly and deliberately toward the wood. Again the lion moaned; this time nearer. She sought a low-hanging branch and finding it swung easily into the friendly shelter of the tree. The long and perilous journey with Obergatz had trained her muscles and her nerves to such unaccustomed habi

nd that might suggest the near presence of enemies, either man or beast. Satisfied at last that there was nothing close of which she need have fear she clambered to the ground. She wished to bathe but the lake was too exposed and just a bit too far from the safety of the trees for her to risk it until she became more familiar with her surroundings. She wandered aimlessly through the forest searching for food which she found in abundance. She ate and rested, for she had no objective as yet. Her freedom was too new to be spoiled by plannings for

nd bits of glassy obsidian. As she gathered a handful of the pebbles and held them up to look at them she noticed that one of her fingers was bleeding from a clean, straight cut. She fell to searching for the cause and presently discovered it in one of the fragments of volcanic g

d. Then she climbed into the great tree to examine them at leisure. There were some that looked like knife blades, and some that c

ded to the ground and searching out a slender sapling that grew arrow-straight she hacked and sawed until she could break it off without splitting the wood. It was just the right diameter for the shaft of a spear-a hunting spear

ee with the spear shaft that was to be. Clambering to her crotch she bent to her work, humming softly a little tune. She

almost feel that John i

d fell to splitting the thick grass stems and pounding and twisting them until she had separated and partially cleaned the fibers. These she took down to the brook and washed and brought back again and wound tightly around the cleft end of the shaft, which she had notched to receive them, and the upper part

n Pit o

eduction was therefore that she had been taken in some other direction. In his search he had many times crossed the fresh tracks of many men leading toward the lake and these he concluded had probably been made by Jane Clayton's abductors. It had only been to minimize the chance of error b

ed for the purpose of pursuit. It was daylight when he passed through the lake which lies next below Ja

ne Clayton would have been reunited then, but an unkind fate had willed otherwise and the opportunity passed with the pa

the north before doubling back to empty into the Jad-in-lul, the a

recalled when she had last been seen, it was impossible to conjecture with any degree of accuracy the place where she had escaped. The consensus of opinion was, however, that it had been in the narrow river connecting Jad-ben-lul with the

h of whom, he knew, had just grievances against him. He would not even spare a boatload of his warriors from his own protection to retur

the courage of the chief returned sufficiently at least to permit him to dispatch three canoes in search of Jane Clayton, and also to go as far as A-lur if possible to learn what had delayed Bu-lot, whose fai

he advance guard of a larger force of Lu-don's followers, although the correctness of such a theory was belied by their knowledge that priests never accepted the risks or perils of a warrior's vocation, nor even fought until driven into a corner and force

e sign of peace and upon being asked if they

o approach. "What do you here," he asked, "in th

Lu-don, the high priest,

f peace or of war?

of peace," rep

o warriors behind you?"

im. "None in A-lur save Lu-don knows

r way," said

pointing toward the upper end of the lake at the

rapidly into Jad-in-lul, the prow of his canoe pointing toward Tu-lur. The warriors

tho," whispered one of the priests. "I would know that

en Tarzan the day that he had first entered Ko-tan's palace.

les in a light canoe. Easily can you reach Tu-lur ahead of him and

and pushed into the lake and they were all but lifted bodily from their feet and put aboard it. Still protesting they were shoved out upon the water where they were immediately in full view of the

lly they had no fear of the outcome, but they did not consider it necessary to go out upon the lake to meet him since they had been sent to look for the escaped prisoner and

hot out in full view. The moment the priests' canoe touched the shore by the city its occupants leaped out and hurried swiftly toward the palace gate

who has always been his friend. Ja-don is gathering warriors to make himself king. Throughout the villages of the Ho-don are thousands who will obey the commands of Lu-don, the high priest. Only with Lu-don

nt was evident. "The Dor-ul-Otho has come to Tu-

Otho!" excla

, the same of whom the warriors that returned from A-lur today told us and whom some call Tarzan-jad-guru and some Dor-ul-

error and indecision, turned qu

fluence of Lu-don's tutorage leaned always toward duplicity. "Receive him graciously and when he is quite convinced of your friendship he will be off his guard, a

turning to the warrior commanded t

d one of the priests. "Give us your answer

ght to bring her to Tu-lur that I might save her for him from the clutches of Ja-don, but during the night she escap

"but they told us nothing of

kept unharmed in Tu-lur for him. Also tell him that I will send my warriors to join with his again

commanded, "and ask the high priest of Tu-lur to see that t

into the presence of Mo-sar, ahead of the warrior whose duty it had been to conduct and announce him. The ape-man made no sign of greeting or of peace but strode dire

mind of Mo-sar a suggestion of cold steel; "I am Dor-ul-Otho, and I come to

and alone enter the presence of a powerful chief and, in the midst of a score of warriors, arrogantly demand an accounting? No, it was beyond reason. Mo-sar was faltering in his decision to betray the stranger by seeming friendliness. He even paled to a sudden thought-Jad-ben-Otho knew everything, even our inmost thoughts. Was

d the ape-man,

t here," c

," repli

ed the chief. "You may search the palace and the temple and t

f she is not here, where is she? Tell me not that harm has befallen her," and he took

ace of Ko-tan to save her for Lu-don, the high priest, lest with Ko-tan dead Ja-don seize her. But during the nigh

that he spoke in part the truth, and that once again he had b

chancing a shrewd guess that the two he had seen paddling so frantically

demand the return of the woman whom Lu-don thought I had stolen f

his own safety. If he could transfer the attention and the wrath of this terrible man from himself to Lu-don's priests it would more than satisfy him and if they should conspire to harm him, then Mo-sar would be safe in the eyes of Jad-ben-Otho if it finall

palace grounds of Tu-lur, which also included the temple as in all of the Ho-don cities, covered a much smaller area than those of the larger

to do with him?" ask

e came in peace and he may depart in peace, for

-lur, who is the highest priest of all the high priests of Pal-ul-don is thus so sure that the creature is an impostor as to stake his life upon his judgment then who are we to give credence to the claims of this stranger? No, Mo-sar, you need not fear him. He is only a warrior who ma

the cowardly breast of Mo-sar, urging him to let

l with him. What you may command shall be the command of Lu-don, the high

you no plan?" they asked. "High indeed will he stand in the counsels of Lu-don a

"It is now vacant and what will hold JA and JATO w

ess too it would hold a GRYF, but first

he said, "if we use the wits that Jad-ben-Otho gave us instead of the worldly muscles which were handed down to us from o

nd lost," suggested Mo-sar. "But this is you

ll the priests make a great show of belief in his kinship to Jad-ben-Otho. And what more natural then than that the high priest should wish to show him through the temple as did Lu-don at A-lur when Ko-tan commanded it, and if by chance h

high priest, "and even though the torches were extinguished he coul

windows tightly with hides,

imself from any suspicion of complicity, "for it will require the presence of no warrio

sts from A-lur were not brought to him at once he would come himself to the temple and get them. Mo-sar shook his head. He could not conceive o

g words that did not entirely deceive him, they acknowledged his kinship to Jad-ben-Otho and begged him in the name of the high priest t

nst him should crystallize into conviction on the part of Mo-sar and his followers that he would be no wor

e questioned the two priests of A-lur from whom he obtained only a repetition of the sto

e grizzly fringes upon the headdresses of the priests attested the fact that the eastern altar was an active force in the rites of the temple. Through the chambers and corridors beneath they led him, and finally, with torch

idly across the stone floor. There was a loud crash as of a heavy weight of stone falling upo

of the

e first hunter had shaped the destinies of mankind so it seemed that this event might shape hers in some new mold. No longer was she dependent upon the wild fruits and vegetab

use to her. Now it was different-she had something to cook and her mouth watered for the flesh of her kill. She would grill it above glowing embers. Jane hastened to her tree. Among the treasures she had gathered in the bed of the stream were several pieces of volcanic glass, clear as crystal. She s

eathlessly. How slow it was! Were her high hopes to be dashed in spite of all her clever planning? No! A thin thread of smoke rose gracefully into the quiet air. Pr

heard for many a month. But she could not wait for the mass of embers that would be required to cook her hare. As quickly as might be she skinned and cleaned her kill, burying the hide and entrail

y that she and Obergatz had spent their last cartridge. She would never forget that day-it had seemed one hideous succession of frightful beast after frightful beast. They had not been long in this strange country, yet they thought that they were hardened to dangers, for daily they had had encounters with ferocious creatures; but this day-she shuddered when she thought of it. And with her last cartridge she had killed a black and yellow striped lion-thing with great saber teeth just as it was about to spring upon Obergatz who had futilely

ings she had determined upon, since she had concluded that this spot presented as ideal a place as she could find t

n's nearest outposts. In the meantime it was necessary to construct some sort of protective shelter in which she might feel a greater sense of security by night, for she knew that there was a possibility

t importance and consuming interest. The windows, there were two of them, were large and the bars permanently fixed; but the door was small, the opening just large enough to permit her to pass through easily on hands and knees, which made it easier to barricade. She lost count of the days that the house cost her; but time was a cheap commodity-she had more of it than of anything else. It meant so little to her that she had not even any desire to keep account of it. How long since she and Obergatz had fled from the wrath of th

as added a considerable store of practical experience derived from her own past adventures in the jungle and the long months with Obergatz, nor was any day now lacking in some added store of useful knowledge. To these facts w

mpleted house behind barred windows and barricaded door was one of almost undiluted peace and happiness. The night noises seemed far removed and impersonal and the soughing of the

hem. With the stealth and cunning of a panther she crept through the forest, circling about to get up wind from the ford, pausing often to look and listen for aught that might menace her-herself the personification of a hunted deer. Now she moved silently down upon the chosen spot. What luck! A beautiful buck stood drinking in the stream. The woman wormed her way closer. Now she lay upon her belly behind a small bush within throwing distance of the quarry. She must rise

layton halted in her tracks-stunned, almost, by surprise. And then a strange, unkempt figure of a man s

gatz!" she cried

nge sight, no doubt; but still it is I, Erich Obe

e harness and ornaments that constitute the apparel of a Ho-don woman-the things that Lu-don h

"I had thought you safely among civiliz

e. The bog! The frightful bog! I have searched its shores for a place to cross until I have entirely circled the hideous country. Easily enough we entered; but the rains have come si

you escaped th

d weapons-clubs and spears-and I have learned to use them. I have slain a lion with my club. So even will a cornered rat fight. And we are no better than

hatred and contempt for him lessened through the long weeks and months of their constant companionship, and now that he could be of no service in returning her to civilization, she shrank from the thought of seeing him daily. And, too,

ty of A-lur?" he said, speakin

d this tongue?"

eated me with kindness. As I learned their language I sought to impress them more and more with the idea that I was a god, and I succeeded, too, until an old fellow who was something of a priest among them, or medicine-man, became jealous of my growing power. That was the beginning of the end and came near to being the end in fact. He told them that if I was a god I would not bleed if a knife was stuck into me-if I did bleed it would prove conclusively that I was not a god. Without my knowledge he arranged to stage the ordeal before the whole village upon a certain night-it was upon one of those numerous occasions when they eat and drink to Jad-ben-Otho, their pagan deity. Under the influence of their vile liquor they would be ripe for any bloodthirsty scheme the medicine-man might e

to heaven at on

that she must leave at once and not return to the spot for at least an hour. I also impressed upon her the fact that should any

know that I was no less than Jad-ben-Otho himself, and so they must think me, for I can assure you that I was gone in much less than an hour, nor have I ve

r, the while he continually ran his filthy fingers through his matted hair and beard. His face and body were caked with dirt and he was naked except for a torn greasy hide about his loins. His weapons consisted of a

as much meat as she might consume before it spoiled, as she was not sufficiently a true jun

ents which may have been engendered by my natural dislike and suspicion of you, one of the authors of all the misery and sorrow that I have endured for endless months. This little corner of t

or a moment in silence, then there broke from

o one will ever know what we do or what becomes of us and now you ask me to go away and live alone in this hellish solitude." Again h

our promise

e broken-we taught the world that at Liege and Louvain.

" she insisted. "You have alrea

e you here alone-you are but a woman. No, no; I am

We could be very happy

shudder, nor, in fact, did she

l; it is too sad. But some day you will

and this she now raised and threw across her shoulder.

This is my country and I shall defend it. If I see

Obergatz' features. He raised

and you have said truthfully that no one will ever know what we do here. Put these two facts

what he intended as a conciliatory tone. "Let us be friends, Lady Greystoke

do not follow me. As far as you can walk in a day from this spot in any direction you may co

d for he but stood sullenly eyeing her as she backed from sight beyond a turn in th

y in th

ster. Their first rush had been met with soft words from the priests. They had been exhorted to defend the faith of their fathers from blasphemers. Ja-don was painted to them as a defiler of temples, and the wrath of Jad-b

y could influence outnumbered those who remained loyal to the palace, they caused the former to fall upon the latter with the

nquet hall had spread over a considerable portion of the palace grounds and had at last resulted in the temporary defeat of those who had opposed Ja-don. This force, counseled by und

to whose safety he had attended at the first opportunity and he had also lea

mer inclinations of friendliness toward the ape-man, and n

otho an issue of their original quarrel with Lu-don. Whether this occurred as the natural sequence to repeated narrations of the ape-man's exploits, which lost nothing by repetition, in conjunction with Lu-don's enmity toward him, or whether it was the shrewd design of some wily o

presence were unanswered, the weaker spirits among them commenced to suspect that their cause did not have divine favor. There was also another and a potent cause for defection from the ranks of Ja-don. It emanated from the city where the

he temple which resulted in the defeat of the palace forces, and though they were able to withdraw in

ut from the city of A-lur as well and fell back upon his own city of Ja-lur. Here he remained, recruiting his forces from the surrounding villages of the north which, being far removed f

ween himself and the high priest he might use his prisoner to his own advantage, for he had heard whisperings among even his own people that suggested that there were those who were more than a trifle inclined to belief in the divinity of the stranger and that he might indeed be the Do

o had his pouch, in which were the various odds and ends which are the natural accumulation of all receptacles from a gold meshbag to an attic. There were bits of obsidian and choice feathers for arrows

bove the base of the hill from which the temple was hewn. The windows were so closely barred that he could not see over the edge of the thick wall in which they were cut to determine what lay close in below him. At a little distance were the blue waters of Jad-in-lul and beyond, the verdure-clad farther shore, and beyond that the mountains. It was a beautiful picture upon which he looked-a picture of peace and harmony and quiet. Nor anywhere a slightest suggestion of the savage men and beasts that claimed thi

th Pole and the South; it had circled Pal-ul-don once, perhaps many times, but it had never touched her. God grant that it never would. Perhaps He was saving

o the floor. The two windows were small and closely barred with the first iron that Tarzan had seen in Pal-ul-don. The bars were let into holes in the casing, and the whole so strongly and neatly contrived that escape seemed impossible. Yet within a few minutes of his incarcer

receptacles to pass in. The prisoner began to believe that he was being preserved for something beside lions. However that was immaterial. I

ar should be king and he invited Mo-sar to come at once to A-lur and then Pan-sat, having delivered the message, asked that he might go to the temple of Tu-lur and pray, and there he s

ger who claims to be the Dor-ul-Otho and Lu-don wishes to kill him, and now," he leaned even closer t

ected. To be high priest at A-lur! That was almost as good as being king of all Pal-ul-do

h priest. "How may I bec

replied he. Then he rose and departed knowing that the other had swallowed the bai

other was perfectly aware that only by publicly sacrificing the false Dor-ul-Otho could the high priest at A-lur bolster his waning power and that the assassination of Mo-sar, the pretender, would remove from Lu-don's camp the only obstacle to his combining the offices of high priest and king. The high priest at Tu-lur thought that he had been commissioned to kill Tarzan and bri

neath the temple to slay Tarzan in the lion pit. Night had fallen. A single torch guided the footsteps of the murderers as they crept stealthily upon

r door. Always before had they come to the smaller door-the footsteps of a single slave who brought his food. This time there were many more than one and their coming at this time of night carried a s

and hurl their clubs at the prisoner. They would take no chances, for the stories that had circulated in A-lur had been brought to Tu-lur-stories of the great strength a

ross the room toward a darker shadow that lay in the shadow of the opposite wall, then the flare of the torch in the priest's hand lighted the interior and

as gone and to this was tied one end of a braided rope f

er nervous system yet it seemed to her as she thought of him that if this man should ever touch her she should scream, and, possibly, even faint. Again and again during the day following their unexpected meeting the woman reproached herself for not having killed him as she would JA or JATO or any other predatory beast that menaced her existence or her safety. There was no attempt at self-justification for these sinister reflections-they needed no justification. The standards by which the acts of such as you or I may be judged could not apply to hers. We have recourse to the protection of friends and relatives and the

and grasped her spear. Now she felt a slight sagging of one of the limbs that supported her shelter as though the thing, whatever it was, was slowly raising its weight to the branch. It came nearer. Now she thought that she could detect its breathing. It was at the door. She could hear it fumbling with the frail barrier. What could it be? It made no sound by which she might identify it. She raised herself upon her hands and knees and crept stealthily the little distance to the doorway, her spear clutched tightly in her hand. Whatever the thing was, it was evidently attempting to gain entrance without awakening her. It was just beyond the pitiful little contraption of slender boughs that she had bound together with grasses and ca

it. To be freed from the menace of this loathsome creature were relief indeed. During all the balance of the night she lay there awake, listening. Belo

the drowsy hum of the jungle. She was glad that he was dead, but she dreaded the gruesome ordeal that awaited her on the morro

se, that her act was justified; but she was still a woman of today, and strong upon her were the i

done. She steeled herself and untied the rawhide thong that secured the barrier. She looked down and only the grass and the flowers looked up at her. She came from her shelter and examined the ground

th the shore of Jad-ben-lul. Then she had not slain him! She was vaguely aware of a peculiar, double sensation of relief

r, worse yet badly wounded. What then could she do? She could not finish him with her spear-no, she knew that she could not do that, nor could she bring him back and nurse him, no

and that this was the reaction. Tomorrow it might be different, but something told her that never again would her little shelter and the patch of forest and jungle that she called her

t tears to those brave and beautiful eyes-visions of a rambling bungalow that had been home to her and that was no more, destroyed by the same cruel force that haunted her even now in this remote, uncharted corner of the earth; visions of a strong man whose protecting arm would never press her close again; visions of a tall, stra

scuffing of a body against the bark of her tree and again the limb bent to a heavy weight. He had returned! She went cold, trembling as with ague. W

s it had been last night. Her hands trembled as she placed the point o

Ma

door of his prison. Long since had the rope of hide been braided. To secure one end to the remaining bar that he had left for this purpose was the work o

as best he might from the window after he had removed enough bars to permit him to pass his head through the opening, so that he knew what lay immedi

thus would he disarm suspicion. In the darkness he easily could pass for a Ho-don and in truth, though he passed several after leaving the deserted alley, no one accosted or detained him, and thus he came at last to the guard of a half-dozen warriors before the p

low recognized him. "Xot tor!" he exclaimed: "Here he is now.

Pal-ul-don. And as he learned great had grown his respect for this most primitive of arms. He had come to realize that the black savages he had known had never appreciated the possibilities of their knob sticks, nor had he, and he had discovered, too, why the Pal-ul-donians had turned their ancient spears into plowshares and pinned their faith to the heavy-ended club alone. In deadly execution it was far more effective than a spear and it answered, too, every purpose of a shield, combining the two in one and t

ack of experience with the war club he handled so dexterously. Weapon after weapon he warded off and always he moved with a single idea in mind-to place himself within reach of one of his antagonists. But they were wary for they feared this strange creature to whom the superstitious fears of many of them attributed

. He himself retrieved several of them which he hurled with such deadly effect as to dispose of two of his antagonists, but now he heard the approach of hurrying war

twist, the snapping of a bone and an agonized scream, then the warrior was lifted bodily from his feet and held as a shield between his fellows and the fugitive as the latter backed through the gateway. Beside Tarzan stood the single torch that lighted the entrance to the palace grounds. The warriors were advancing to the succor of their fellow when th

hat they trailed away and died in the direction of Jad-in-lul informed him that they were searching in the wrong direction, for he had turned south out

n his way he did not know but he believed that he could make better time on foot than by attempting to steal a canoe and force his way up stream with a single paddle. It was his intention to put as much distance as p

e trees, or crawled upon its belly had any advantage over the ape-man in his native heath. As myrrh and frankincense were the dank odors of rotting vegetation in the nostrils of the great Tarmangani. He squared his broad shoulders and lifting his head filled his l

bespoke more a strange uncanny sense than wondrous skill. He heard JA moaning somewhere ahead and an owl hooted mournfully to the right of him-long familiar sounds that imparted to him no sense of lone

marble. Only his dilating nostrils bespoke his pulsing vitality. For a long moment he stood there thus and then swiftly, but with a caution and silence that were inherent in him he moved forward again, but now his whole attitude bespoke a new urge. There was a

he dim outlines of a roughly rectangular bulk loomed darkly. There was a choking sensation in Tarzan's throat as he raise

ame to his sensitive nostrils the same delicate aroma that had arrested his eager attenti

d, "heart of my

an sought to release the thongs which held the door but they were fastened from the inside, and at last, impatient with further delay, he seized the frail barrier

beat; she still breathed, and present

ead pillowed upon the broad shoulder where so often before her fears had been soothed and her sorrows

ured, "tell me,

he replied. "But there is something in my throat," he

to him. "God has been good to u

er was alive and safe. But at last they found their voices and when the sun rose they were still t

she asked, "

an. "The last I heard of him

e complete," she said, a little not

tless other English homes today, and pride is l

ead, "I want my

rd I had. And now," he said, "we must plan upon our return. Would you like to rebuild the bu

the city, but John, we can only dream, for Obergatz told me that he had ci

today and tomorrow we will set out toward the north. It is a sava

fierce men and savage beasts, and the lofty mountains of Pal-ul-don; and beyond the mountains the reptiles and the morass, and beyond that the arid, t

her tree. He made no sound after the one piercing scream that had acknowledged the severity of his wound. He was quiet because of a great fear that had crept into his

ible between himself and Jane Clayton. And so he moved on, still going upon all fours because of a persistent hallucination that in this way he might escape observation. Yet though he fled his mind still revolved muddily about a central desire-while he fled from her he still planned to pursue her, and to his lust of possession was added a desire for re

sight. He listened. He could hear no indications of pursuit and so he rose to his feet and continued upon his way a sorry sight-covered with filth and blood, his beard and hair tangled and matted and filled with burrs and dried mud and unspeakable filth. H

owl. Slowly a recollection forced itself through his tangled brain. This was A-lur, the City of Light. The association of ideas recalled Bu-lur and the Waz-ho-don. They had called him Jad-ben-Otho. He commenced to laugh al

ple." But the distance was great and they did not hear him and no one came, and the feeble mind was distracted by other things-a bird flying in the air, a school of minnow

ggling his feet in the water as though they were a tail. The hardships, the privations, the terrors, and for the

t with cackling laughter. There were two paddles within it which he took and threw out into the current of the river. He watched them for a while and then he sat down beside the canoe and commenced to splash his hands up and down upon the water. He liked to hear the noise and see the little splashes of spray. He rubbed his left forearm with his right palm and the dirt came off and le

lur and by the same process of associated ideas that had before sugge

d seeing the filthy loin cloth, now water soaked and more bedraggled than before, he tore it from him and flung it into the lake. "Gods do not wear dirty rags

g to think more clearly now, for the great idea had taken hold of his scattered wits and concentrated them upon a single purpose, but he was still a maniac. The only difference being that he was now a maniac with a fixed inte

mped in. The impetus carried it into the river's current and the current bore it out upon the lake. The naked man stood erect in the center of the little cra

d him from the palace wall, and as he drew nearer, a crowd of warriors and women and children were congregated there watching him and along the temple walls were many priests and among them Lu-don, the high priest. When the boat had drifted close enough for them to distinguish the bizarre figure standing in it and for them to catch the meanin

n close to shore here and carried toward the river that emptied the waters of Jad-be

mmanded. "If he is Jad-be

ummoned warriors. "Go, bring the stranger to Lu

ore the high priest at A-lur. Lu-don looked clos

ou come from

he German. "I came from heav

h priest," re

Have my feet bathed and food

low until his forehead touched the feet of the stranger. Before

before his people the godhood of Lieutenant Erich Obergatz, nor was it long before the story ran like wildfire t

self at the disposal of Lu-don, nor did he mention aught about his claims to the throne. It was Mo-sar's opinion that he might consider

o come to A-lur with all his warriors, for it was rumored that Ja-don was ra

th would ever be able to convince him that he was not a god. Slaves were put at his disposal and these he ordered about in godly fashion. The same portion of his naturally cruel mind met upon common ground the mind of Lu-don, so that the

ere offered up to him there each day at sunset. So much did the cruel, half-crazed mind enjoy these spectacles that at times he even insisted

the high priest at A-lur and that all others were cursed, especially Ja-don and the base impostor who had posed as the Dor-ul-Otho. The curse was to take the form of early death following terrible suffering, and Lu-don caused it to be published abroad that the name of any warrior who complained of a pain should be brought to him, for such might be deemed to be under suspicion, since the first

ney on

ght again separate them, or delay or prevent their escape from Pal-ul-don. How they were to recross the morass was a matter of little concern to him as yet-it would be time enough to consider that matter when it became of more immediate moment. Their ho

habited by either. Thus he would travel northwest until opposite the Kor-ul-JA where he planned to stop to pay his respects to Om-at and give the gund word of Pan-at-lee, and a plan Tarzan had for insuring her safe return to her people. It was upon the third day of their jo

it?" whis

e is not a large tree within a quarter of a mile, other than those among which he stands. Come, we shall have

if he

all have t

k wh

I subdued one of his fellows," repl

o huge a creature. Why, John,

hough I'll admit he looks quite as

wly so as not to attract

r voice tense with suppressed excitement. A low rumble roll

st and kissed her. "One can never tell, Jane," he said. "We'll do our best-that is all we can do. Give me your spear,

's cry, "Whee-oo! Whee-oo! Whee-oo!" For a moment the great beast stood motionless, his attention riveted by the call. The ape-man advanced straight toward him, Jane Clayt

are in our favor now. You can keep y

he Apes," she replied softly, and he felt

ghty shoulder. "Whee-oo!" shouted Tarzan and struck the hideous snout with the shaft of the spear. The vicious

great, horned back. "Now will we ride in the state that our forebears knew, before which the pomp of modern kings

be shocked by our riding habits

wished to go. Steep embankments and rivers prove

they saw the beast they leaped to their feet in consternation and at their shouts the GRYF issued his hideous, challenging bellow and charged them. The warriors fled in all directions while Tarzan belabored the beast across the snout with his spear in an effort to control him, and at last

lans-they would ride to the very village of Om-at upon the GRYF, and the Kor-ul-JA would have food for conversation for many generations to come. Nor was it the theatric instinct of the ape-man alone that gav

man whom Ko-tan would have made queen of Pal-ul-don. This story was brought to Lu-don who caused the warriors to be hailed to his presence, when he questioned them closely until finally he was convinced that they spoke the truth and when they had told him the direction in which the two were traveling, Lu-don guessed that they were on their way to Ja-lur to join Ja-don, a contingency that he

daily would know you now. Lose no time, Pan-sat, for all depends upon the speed with which you strike an

s that a lone warrior set out from A-lur and ma

delivering a surprise attack upon the forces of Lu-don from a direction that they would not expect attack, and in the meantime he would be able to keep his men from the gossip of the cities where strange tales were already circulating relative to the coming of Jad-ben

alley below what appeared at a distance to be nothing less than two people mounted upon the back of a GRYF. He said that he had c

and learn precisely what it was that the sentry had observed through the distorting spectacles of fear. He had scarce taken his place beside the man ere the fellow touched his arm and pointed. "They are closer now," h

oon he realized that the creatures below could be naught else than they ap

those about him. "It is

is more intrepid warriors, ran to meet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary quarrel, tried to turn the animal, but as the beast was far from tractable it always took

g down upon them with evil intent and they had assumed the better part of valor and taken to trees, a

warriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and pray tha

d Tarzan. "Why I thought you would be

he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho many of my warriors are afraid. If they but knew that the Dor-ul-Ot

reatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an account to settle with Lu-don, not alone on my own behalf, but principally upon that of my mate.

ed Ja-don quickly, "that the people may see that it is indeed

elieve in me more now than

ides upon the great GRYF is less t

lur," asked Tarzan, "can you assure the s

arriors to protect them. Say that you will come, O Dor-ul-Otho, and my cup of happiness will be full, for even now Ta-den, my son, marches toward

replied the ape-man; "but first you

p above," replied Ja-don, "for my me

Tarzan. "Have them

harger and fed him with his own hand. "See that there is always plenty of flesh for him," he said to J

e GRYF lying where he had left him the night before beside the carcass

was herbivorous," said Tarzan as

eceded Tarzan that the people might properly be prepared, not only for the sight of the GRYF but to receive the Dor-ul-Otho as became his high stati

at he had been treated unfairly by one of Lu-don's chiefs. For this reason he had deserted the cause of the high priest and come north in the hope of finding a

ome accustomed to the presence of the Ho-don. The latter, however, gave him no cause for annoyance since they kept as far from him as possible and when he passed through the streets of the city he was viewed from the safety of lofty windows and roofs. However tractable he appeared to have become there would have been no enthusiastic seconding of a suggestion

o seemed happy to see Tarzan-jad-guru again. When they found that Jane was his mate they looked with almost equal awe upon her, since even the most skeptical of the warriors of Ja-don were now convinced that they were

marriage with the weird rites of their religion and in accordance with the custom of

y in the hidden camp and immediately under cover of night the attack should be made in force upon Lu-don's forces at A-lur. Wor

er women were with her and there were many warriors to guard them, so Tarzan bid his mate good-bye with no feelings of

day when, as he could not have been seen by the enemy, the effect of his entry to the city upon the GRYF would have been totally lost. A couple of sharp blows with the spear sent the big animal rumbling and growli

rival at the gorge the ma

en

uspicion as it was not unusual for warriors to have business within the temple. He came at last to a chamber where several priests were congregated after the evening me

because of the fact that these things had been the custom of the Ho-don of Pal-ul-don for countless ages, and rash indeed must have been the man who would have attempted to interfere with the priests or their ceremonies. That Ja-don nev

rior should have known them. And so it was here in the temple that he look

ve attracted little attention or scarcely been noticed at all by one who knew not its meaning. That there were those within the room who noticed it and interpreted it was quickly appar

and left the apartment. A little later one of the priests who

ller corridor just beyond where it joined the larger. Here the three remained in whispered conversation

into the corridor and at the opposite end several windows overlooking a garden. It was in one of these rooms that Jane slept alone. At eac

had resounded through the palace of the king at A-lur. Ja-lur was a quiet city by comparison with the capital, yet there was always a guard kept at

o watched over the safety of Jane Clayton and the Princess O-lo-a, and each of the newcomers repeated to the sentinels the stereotyped words which announced that they were relieved and these others sent to watch in their stead. Never is a warrior loath to be relieved

had met Ja-don and Tarzan outside the city of Ja-lur as they had approached it the previous day; and he was the same warrior who had entered the temple a short hour before

ping form of Lady Greystoke. The bare feet of the intruders gave forth no sound as they crossed the stone floor toward her. A ray of moonlight entering through a window near her couch shone full upon h

mal men. To the three priests she was but a lump of clay, nor could they conceive aught of that passion which had aroused men to intrigue

spread above her face. "Now," he whispered and simultaneously he threw the rug over the woman's head and his two fellows leaped upon her, seizing her arms and pinioning her body while their leader stifled her cries

lf instead upon the floor. They were very angry and would have resorted to cruelties to compel her obed

ght, making their labor as arduous as possible. But finally they succeeded in getting her through the window and into the garden beyond w

or otherwise he might never have escaped from Ja-lur with his captive. Placing the woman in the bottom of a light canoe Pan-sat entered it and took up the paddle. His companions unfastened the moorings and shoved the little craft out into th

ere all laid and there seemed no likelihood of their miscarriage. A messenger had been dispatched to Ta-den whose forces lay northwest of the city. Tarzan, with a small contingent,

sageway. This spot being best protected by the fact that its existence was unknown to others than the priests, was unguarded. To facilitate the passage of his little co

the rear at the same time that Ja-don engaged them at the palace gates, while Ta-den and his forces swarmed the northern walls. Great value had been placed by Ja-don on the moral effect of the Dor-ul-Otho's mysterious appearance in the heart of the temple and he had urged Tarzan to take every adv

es o' mice and men gang aft a-gley." Freely translated it might read, "He who follows the right trail sometimes reaches the wrong

ir, was some distance ahead of the others, and in his keen anxiety to close with the enemy he gave too little thought to those who were to support him. Nor is this strange, since

s he turned into this corridor with its dim cressets flickering somberly, he saw another enter it from a corridor before him-a warrior half carrying, ha

oke from the ape-man's lips as he sprang forward to wrest his mate from her captor and wreak upon him the vengeance that was in the Tarmang

into the chamber in pursuit of Pan-sat to find himself, when the hangings dropped behind him, in utter darkness. Almost immediately there was a crash of stone on stone

Gryf. As he stood there his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness and he became aware that a dim light was entering the chamber through some opening, though it was several minutes before he discovered its source. In the roof of the cham

ands and knees, with the utmost caution, he examined the entire area of the floor. In the exact center, directly beneath the opening in the roof, was a trap, but otherwise the floor was solid. With this knowledge it was only necessary to avoid this spot in so far as the floor was concerned. Th

hite hands together in gratification as Pan-sat bore Jane Clayton i

ed for this service. Now, if we but had the false Dor-ul

ave him!" cr

ave slain him perhaps. Tell me, my wonderful Pan-sat, tell

"He is in the little chamber that the ancients built to trap t

one well, P

"Quick, master, quick," he cried, "the corri

gh priest. "My warriors hol

in the corridor approaching this very chamber, and they come from t

direction that Tarzan-jad-guru was coming when I discovered and tr

ed. A dozen warriors were moving along the corridor toward him but they seemed confused and far from sure of themselves. The high priest guess

it sharply and through the temple boomed the deep tones of a metal gong. Five times the clanging notes rang

ridor and up a flight of steps they went, turning to right and left and doubling back through a maze of winding passageways which terminated i

ar warriors to the spot and presently those who had accompanied Tarzan found themselves not only leaderless but facing a vastly superior force. They were brave men but under the circumstances they were helpless and so they fell back the way they had come, and when the

the savage war cries that announced the beginning of the battle. Leaving Pan-sat and the other priest to guard the woman he hastened toward the palace personally to direct his force and as he passed through the te

rgatz turned upon his bed of soft hides and sat up. He rubb

he cried, "who dare

e floor. "It must be that the enemy have come, O Jad-ben-Otho." She spoke soothingly for she had r

ging. "O Jad-ben-Otho," he cried, "the warriors of Ja-don have attacked the palace and the temple. Even now they are fighting in the corrid

he screamed. "With lightning I will blast the bl

room, while the priest and the slave remained upon ha

de of the slave girl. "Come! Would you wait here all day

ere forced to serve the Great God, the two ar

Jad-ben-Otho is here and the false Dor-ul-Otho is a prisoner in the temple." The pers

senger

attack; but as the minutes wore into hours no sign of the other force appeared, and now in the full light of the new sun upon the roof of one of the palace buildings appeared Lu-don, the high priest, Mo-sar, the pretender, and the strange, naked figure of a man, into whose long hai

ons that require great physical effort in their use, a voice suddenly arose from

sun has moved his own width, the gates of the palace shall

his priests and issu

a-lur, and then suddenly there flashed to his mind the features of the warrior whom he had just seen with her. They were strangely familiar. He racked his brain to recall where he had seen the man before and then it came to him. He was the strange warrior who had joined Ja-

rush of feet, and shouts. He guessed that his warriors had been discovered and a fight wa

e would give to his utmost endeavors. He strained his eyes toward the aperture above but he could

stance. The battle was in progress. He wondered if Ja-don would be victorious and should he be, wo

strained his eyes to see. Yes, there was something there. It appeared to be a rope. Tarzan wondered if it had been there all the time. It m

tching it, as you have seen an animal do after investigating some unfamiliar object, one of the little traits that differentiated Tarzan from other men, accentuating his si

on the rope and took his feet from the floor he spread them wide apart so that if he fell he would f

d be above the level of the floor above. Already his extended arms projected into the upper chamber and then something clos

s hands were leathern thongs and these he tied about Tarzan's wrists and forearms until they were completely bound together from his elbow

end of each of these ropes and at opposite sides of the chamber. When he had climbed to a sufficient height upon the rope that had dangled into his prison below and his arms were well within t

d picking him up carried him from the chamber. No word did

s of the old chieftain were revealing in their lessened efforts their increasing demoralization, and then it was that the

se Dor-ul-Otho,"

n committed upon him and his by the ruthless hands of the three German officers who had led their native troops in the ravishing of Tarzan's peaceful home. Hauptmann Fritz Schneider had paid the penalty of his needless cruelties; Unter-lieutenant von Goss, too, had paid; and now Obergatz, the last of the three, stood face to face with the Nemesis that had trailed him through his dreams for long, weary months. That he was bound and helpless lessened not the German's terror-he

f all but his great terror and the words of

en-Otho!" h

" he said in excellent German. "You are the last of the three I have sought so long and

s standing by the gate inactive, every eye turned upon him, and the trussed figure of the ape-man. He realized that indecision now meant ruin, and ruin, death. He raised his voice in the sharp bark

pon the altar at the hand of the god he has profaned. Take him from my sight, and when the sun stands at zenith let th

to the warriors by the gate. "Throw down your arms, warriors of Ja-don," he cried, "lest I call down my li

a-don sprang forward among his men. "Let the cowards and knaves throw down their arms and enter the palace," he cried, "but never will Ja-don

ers joined in the desertion from the old chieftain of the north, but staunch and true around him stood the majority of his warriors and when the last weak

ents did not come. It was drawing close to noon. Lu-don had mustered every available man that was not actually needed for the defense of the gate within the temple, and these he sent,

army capitulated and the old chief was taken a prisoner before Lu-don. "Take him to the temple court," cried the high pri

of battle had ceased and presently the ape-man saw Ja-don being led into the inner court, his wrists bound tightly together before him. Tarzan

"and our last days have been spent together. My only p

would kill him but the fear that they would not kill her. The ape-man strained at his bonds but they were too

!" cried J

ck thus before, Jane," he said,

have hope?"

art of hearts she knew that he would die upon the altar at high noon for he had told her, after he had been brought to the inner court, of the sentence of

ous wrong that that wonderful creature, now so quick with exuberant life and strength and purpose should be presently naught but a bleeding lump of clay-and all so uselessly and wantonly. Gladly would

nd the altar, himself standing upon the other's left. Lu-don whispered a word to Obergatz, at th

phet," and he pointed an accusing finger at Ja-don.

man, too?"

"I will talk with her tonight after she has had a chance to medi

. "The time approaches," he said t

him upon his back with his head at the south end of the monolith, but a few feet from where Jane Clayton stood. Impulsively and before

he answere

bergatz. "I am the Great God," cried the German, "thus falleth the divine wrath upon

aming whistle in the air and Jad-ben-Otho crumpled forward across the body of his intended victim. Again the same alarming noise and Lu-don fell, a third and Mo

arzan-jad-guru, across his shoulders and about his hips were strange broad belts studded with beautiful cylinders that glinted in

e Jad-ben-Otho," he cried, "through this his Messenger of Death. Cut the bonds of the prisoners. Cut the bon

one did he attribute the blame for the disaster that had but just overwhelmed him. It was the creature who lay upon the sacrificial alt

reached forth to seize the handle of the blade, and even as his clutching fingers were poised above it, the strange thing in the hands of the strange

ors, "and let none hesitate lest Jad-ben-Otho's me

ople, and since many of them had but lately wavered between the Jad-ben-Otho of Lu-don and the Dor-ul-Otho of Ja-don it was not difficult for them to swing

again at the western wall of the temple court they saw pouring over it a great force of warriors. And

eapon and on his right was Ta-den, the Ho-don, a

her beside the altar and as the newcomers from the western end of the temple court pushed their way toward them the eyes of the woman went wide in mingle

sobbing on his shou

ng of Pal-ul-don and the warriors and the people kneeled in the temple court a

o

eroom of the palace at A-lur upon the steps of the lofty pyramid and placing Ja-don at the apex proclaimed him king. Upon on

ad sworn fealty to their new ruler, Ja-don dispatched a trusted company to

riests, who practically without exception had been disloyal to the government of the king, seeking always only their own power and comfort an

priests, to increase their power, have taught you that Jad-ben-Otho is a cruel god, that his eyes love to dwell upon blood an

at they may be administered in kindness and charity and love. Wash the bl

ts victims. Liberate these from every temple in Pal-ul-don. Bring offerings of such gifts as your people like and place them upon the a

e and cruelty of the priests and now that authority had come from a high source with a feasible plan for ridding

t them to death upon their own altars if i

illed. Give them their freedom and the right

of ancient Pal-ul-don black warriors sat in peace and friendship with white. And a pact was se

rrying instructions to delay the attack until noon, nor had they discovered until almost too late that the messenger was a disguise

on's family arrived at the palace at A-lur and in the great t

on. Hazy in the minds of their hosts was the location of heaven and equally so the means by which the gods traveled between their celestial homes and the haunts of men an

titude of people accompanied them beyond the limits of A-lur and after they had bid them good-bye and Tarzan had invoked the blessings of God upon them the three Europe

and then they moved on, avoiding the rugged shoulder of Pastar-ul-ved and winding down the opposite slope to

Tarzan worried by the problem. In the course of his life he had been confronted by many obstacles only to learn that he wh

a deep bellow thundered from a nearby grove. The ape-man smiled. The chance had come. Fitt

rough the temple in A-lur after his release, and it had been found and brought to him. He had told her laughingly that it should have the place of honor a

at's Waz-don looked for trees, since the GRYF was the one creature of Pal-ul-don which might not be safely encountered even by a great multitude of warriors. Its

the Tor-o-don. The bellowing ceased and turned to low rumblings and presently the huge beast appeared. What

or. Upon the opposite shore they turned and called back their farewells to Ta-den and Om-at and the brave warriors they had learned to admire and respect. And then Tarzan urged their titanic mo

y back in the direction of its native haunts. For a time they stood looking back upon the land they had just quit-the land of Tor-o-don and GRYF;

with light hearts and brave hearts took up their l

os

habitants of Pal-ul-don that are not brought out in the story. For the benefit of those who may care to delve into the derivation of the proper names used in t

s of the females of the same species begin with a vowel, have an odd number of syllables, and end with a vowel. On the contrary, the names of the male hairy black pithecanthropi while having an even nu

Lig

.

ing gund o

Th

d.

ad.

en.

n.

den.

en.

City of

Sp

ther of P

The

Ta

old or

Bat

. G

Mo

face). Son of

ty). The city o

. F

l). Chief of a

of Ko-tan's p

. R

. T

. M

. S

-ul

god).

Whe

Seve

ce or g

.

n.

Ro

Chief of Om-at's tr

Ei

Thi

. F

Cl

eratops. A

dinosaurs

The skull

e the eyes

nose, a horn

od or transve

ir toes, five

were provide

l was large

ct. The GRYF

r except

has strong

d talons inst

ace yellow wi

he eyes; hoo

eath; belly y

blue; legs

s yellow exc

re red. Tail

belly. Ho

. Ch

Terr

. F

Wh

rless white men

Si

Pan-at-lee's

Da

warrior accompan

in search o

l-lul left to

Li

d.

ul. The g

lul. The

tho. The

on. The te

ul. The

Chief of a Ho-don villa

Pe

The valley of

city). Ja-d

Str

me given Ko

ber-toot

Mi

. G

F. Gorge o

e of Es-sat's

of another Waz-do

ing of th

un or

. D

St

. F

Fi

man). High pr

. W

. C

Ch

Sh

nose). Chief

St

Br

e or s

Ni

warrior accompany

in search o

Si

lo

ight). Ko-ta

Lo

ng tail).

.

o.

ce; land

e-do

men eat). B

-ul

n). Name of

A. Place

. S

. Om-at's

oft skin).

r. Fa

ed. Father

. Va

Fl

For

One h

. N

. S

.

. E

Eat

. A

Ta

all tree)

War

uru. Tarzan

Pu

Twe

. B

n. Beast

Br

ht city). Mo

.

.

Co

Mou

. B

airy black men

-ho

te men). A

ne tho

Fr

Gi