Show I I By Ey EDGAR RICE RICEr I TA T A R IR Z A N f BURROUGHS J r I A AND THE te of I I Tarzan Tartan of the Apes Apts JEWELS JELLS OF OPAL OPAR OP AR Son of Tarzan Tartan V S. S b br by A. A C. C 1 c Co Ca n NUMA THE LION STRODE M MAJESTICALLY INTO VIEW Synopsis Hiding In the jungle after aCter killing his captain In a a. fit of or brooding madness Albert Belgian officer Is la captured by Achmet Zek Arab slave slavo raider who spares his life lite and proposes to him a n. scheme to kidnap Jane wife wIte of or Tarzan Lord Greystoke and sell her Into slaver slavery ac ac- Posing as Jules French traveler Is hospitably re received received received re- re by the He learns his host Is In financial straits and Is planning an expedition to the treasure vaults of ot Opar to procure gold per Informs Achmet Zek of or the opportunity to seize Lady Greystoke and prepares to follow tollow Tarzan to learn the secret of ot Opar a or CHAPTER 11 Continued Ili 2 2 The Belgian did not have long to wait for the following day his emissary emissary emissary emis emis- sary returned with word that Tarzan and a party of ot fifty warriors had set out toward the southeast early in the morning Verper called his head man to him after atter writing a long letter to Achmet Zek This letter he handed to the head man Send a runner at once to Achmet Zek with this he Instructed the head man Remain here In camp awaiting further Instructions from him or from fromme me If any come from the bungalow of the Englishman tell them that I am very ill within my tent and can see no one Now give me six porters and six the the strongest and bravest of the safari safarI and and I will march after the Englishman and discover where his gold Is hidden And so It was that as Tarzan stripped to the loin cloth and armed after the primitive fashion he best loved loyed led his loyal toward the dead city of Opar Verper the renegade renegade renegade rene rene- gade haunted his trail through the thelong thelong long hot days and camped close be behind Ile- Ile e- e hind him by night And as they marched Achmet Zek rode with his entire foIl following owing southward southward southward south south- ward toward the Greystoke farm To Tarzan of the Apes the expedition expedition tion was In the nature of a n holiday outing His civilization was at best but an nn outward veneer which he gladly gladly gladly glad glad- ly peeled off with his uncomfortable European clothes whenever any reasonable reasonable reasonable rea rea- pretext presented Itself It was a womans woman's love which kept Tarzan Tarzan Tarzan Tar Tar- zan even to the semblance of ot civilization tion a tion-a a condition for which familiarity had bred contempt He lIe hated the shams hams and the hypocrisies of it and with the clear vision of an unspoiled mind he be had penetrated to the rotten core of the heart of the thing thing the the cowardly greed for peace and ease and andI the safeguarding of property rights I And so Tarzan always came back to nature in the spirit of a lover keeping l after behind behind be be- a long deferred n tryst a period hind prison walls His at marrow were more civilized than he lie They cooked their meat before they ate It and they shunned many articles of food as unclean that Tarzan had eaten with gusto all his life Ute and so In- In is the virus of hypocrisy that even the stalwart man ape hesitated to give rein to his natural longings before before before be be- fore them He lIe ate burnt flesh when he ic would have preferred It raw and andun un unspoiled polled and he brought down game with arrow or spear when he would far rather have leaped upon it from ambush and sunk his strong teeth In Ints Its ts Jugular but at last the call of ot the milk of ot the savage mother that had suckled him In Infancy rose to an Insistent Insistent Insistent In In- demand demand he he craved the hot Blood of a n fresh tresh kill and his muscles yearned vearned to pit themselves against the savage a Jungle In the battle for exIstence existence existence exist exIst- ence that had been his sole birthright for or the first twenty years of his life Moved by these vague yet power all ful urgIngs the man ape In lay awake one night In the little thorn boma that protected protected pro pro- in his from the 1 a way party depredations of the great of the jungle A single warrior stood i sleepy guard beside the fire that yel yellow yellow yel- yel el low eyes out of the darkness be beyond ond I the camp made Imperative The moans and ind the coughing of the big cats cuts mingled with the myriad noises of ot the thele le lesser ser denizens of ot the Jungle to fan the savage flame In the breast of this sa savage savage sav sav- v- v age uge English lord He lIe tossed upon upon his bed hed l ed of grasses sleepless for tor an hour and then he rose noiseless as a wraith and while the back was turned vaulted the boma wall In the face of the flaming eyes swung silently silent silent- ly Into a n great tree and was gone For Tor a n time In sheer exuberance of ot animal spirit he raced swiftly through the middle terrace swinging perilously across wide spans from one jungle giant to the tho next and then he clambered clambered clam clam- upward to the swaying lesser boughs of the upper terrace where the moon shone full tun upon him and the air was stirred by little breezes and death lurked ready In each frail branch Here he be paused and raised his face to toGoro toGoro toGoro Goro the moon With uplifted arm ann armlie he lie stood the cry of ot the bull bun ape quIvering quivering ering upon his lips Ups yet he remained I silent lest he arouse his Wa Wa- zirl who were all an too familiar with the hideous challenge of ot their master And then he went on more slowly and with greater stealth and caution for or now Tarzan of the Apes was seeking seekIng seeking seek seek- ing a n kill Down to tho the ground he came come In the utter blackness of ot the set close set c-set boles and the overhanging verdure of ot the Jungle He TIe stooped from time to time and put his nose close to earth He TIe sought and found n a wide wille gamA trail and at last his nostrils lI were rewarded with the scent of the fresh spoor of ot Barn Bara the deer Tartans Tartan's Tarzan's Tarzan's Tar- Tar zan's tans mouth watered and a low growl escaped his patrician lips Sloughed from him was the last vestige of artificIal artificial artificial arti arti- caste once caste once again he was the primeval hunter the hunter the first man the man the highest caste type of the human race Up wind he followed the elusive spoor with sense of perception so transcending transcend transcend- ing that of ordinary man as to be inconceivable in- in Inconceivable In In- conceivable able to us Presently the body scent of the deer told Tarzan that his prey was close at hand It sent him into the trees again Into into the lower terrace where he could watch the ground below and catch with ears and nose the first Intimation Intimation In In- of actual contact with his quarry Nor was it long before the man ape came upon Bara Barn standing alert at nt the edge of a moon-bathed moon clearing Noiselessly Tarzan crept through the trees until he was directly over the deer In the mans man's hand was the long hunting knife of his father father father fa fa- fa- fa ther and in his heart the blood lust of the carnivore Just for an instant he poised above the unsuspecting Barn Bam and then he launched himself downward downward down down- ward upon the sleek back The Impact Impact impact Im Im- im- im pact of his weight carried the deer to Its knees and before the animal could regain Its feet the knife had found its heart As Tarzan rose upon the bod body of his kill to scream forth his hideous victory cry into the face of the moon the wind carried to his nostrils something something some some- thing which froze him to statuesque Immobility and silence His savage eyes blazed into the direction from which the wind had borne down the thew w warning to him and a moment later tho grasses a at t one side of the clearing parted and Numa the lion strode majestically majestically majestically ma ma- into view From the lips of the man ape-man broke a rumbling growl of warning Numa answered but he did not advance Instead Instead Instead In In- stead he stood waving his tail taU gently to and fro and presently Tarzan squatted upon his kill and cut a generous generous generous gen gen- erous portion from a hind quarter Numa uma eyed him with growing resentment resentment resentment resent resent- ment and rage as between mouthfuls the man ape-man growled out his savage warnings Now this particular lion ha had never before come In contact with Tarzan of the Apes and he was much mystified Here was the appearance and the scent of a n thing man-thing and Numa had tasted human flesh and learned that though not the most palatable It was certainly by far the easiest to secure yet there was that In the bestial growls of the strange creature which reminded him of formidable antagonists and gave him pause while his hunger an and the theodor theodor theodor odor of the hot flesh of ot Bara Barn goaded him almost to madness At last Numa I 1 I I Il f r Il Numa the Lion Strode Majestically Into View could stand It no longer ills His ton tall shot suddenly erect and at nt the same In Instant instant instant in- in stant the wary man ape knowing all nil too well what the signal portended grasped the remainder of the deers deer's hind quarter between his teeth and leaped Into a n nearby tree as Numa charged him with all the speed and a 1 sufficient semblance of ot the weight of an express train Tarzan's retreat was no Indication that he felt fear Jungle life Is ordered along different lines than ours and different different different dif dif- ferent standards prevail pre Had nall Tarzan been famished he would doubtless have stood his ground and met the thellon's lions lion's charge Ho He had do lode e tho the thing before upon more than one occasion Just as In to the past he lie had bad charged lions Hone himself but tonight he be was far tar from famished and in the hind quarter quarter quarter ter he had carried carriell ot off with him was more raw flesh than he could eat yet It was with no equanimity that he looked down upon Numa rending the flesh of Tarzan's kill The presumption Don tion of this strange Numa must be punished i And nd forthwith Tarzan set setout setout setout out to make life Ufe miserable for the big cat Close by were many trees bearIng bearing bearing bear bear- ing Jarge arge hard fruits and to one of these the man ape swung the agility of a squirrel Then commenced a bombardment which brought forth shaking earth roars from Numa It was impossible for the tawny cat to cat un under er that hail han of missiles mIssiles mIssiles-he he could but roar and growl and dodge and eventually he was driven away entirely entirely entirely en en- from the carcass of Barn Bara the deer He lie went roaring and resentful but in the very center of the clearing his voice yolee was suddenly hushed and Tarzan saw the great head lower and flatten out the body crouch and the thelong thelong thelong long tall tail quiver as the beast slunk cautiously toward the trees upon the opposite side Immediately Tarzan was alert He lifted his head and sniffed the slow jungle breeze What was it that had attracted Numas Numa's attention and token him soft-footed soft and silent away from the scene of his discomfiture Just Justas as the lion disappeared among the trees beyond the clearing Tarzan caught upon the down-coming down wind the explanation of ot his new Interest the Interest the scent spoor of man was wafted strongly strong strong- ly Iy to the sensitive nostrils Caching the remainder of the deers deer's hind quarter quarter quarter ter in the crotch of a tree the ape- ape man moved through the trees the shadow of a wraith The savage cat and the savage man saw Numas Numa's quarry quarry quarry ry almost almos simultaneously though both had known before it came within the vision of their eyes that it was a black man Their sensitive nostrils had told them this much and Tarzan's had told him that the scent spoor was that of a stranger stranger old old and a male for race and sex and age each has its own distinctive distinctive distinctive tive scent It was an old man that made his way alone through the gloomy jungle a wrinkled dried up little old man hideously scarred and tattooed and strangely garbed with the skin of a hyena about his shoulders and the dried head mounted upon his gray pate Tarzan recognized the earmarks earmarks earmarks ear ear- marks of the witch-doctor witch and awaited await await- ed Numas Numa's charge with a feeling of pleasurable antl anticipation for the ape ape- man had no love for witch-doctors witch but in the instant that Numa did charge the white man suddenly recalled recalled re re- re- re called that the lion Uon had stolen his kill killa a n few minutes before and that revenge Is sweet The first intimation the black block man had that he was in danger was the crash of twigs as Numa charged through the bushes Into the game trail troll not twenty yards behind him Then he turned to see a huge black lion racing toward him and even as ns ashe ashe he turned Numa seized liim At the same instant the man ape dropped from an overhanging limb full fun upon the lions lion's back and he he lIe lIea as alighted a plunged his knife Into the tawny side behind the left shoulder tangled the fingers of his right hand In the long mane burled buried his teeth in Numas Numa's neck and wound his powerful legs about the beasts beast's torso With a roar of pain and rage Numa reared up and fell backward upon the man ape but still I the mighty thing man-thing clung to his hold and repeatedly the long knife plunged deeply Into his side Over O and over rolled roIled Numa the lion clawing and bitIng bitIng biting bit bit- Ing at the air all roaring and growling horribly In savage attempt to reach the thing upon Its It back More than once was Tarzan almost brushed from his hold He lie was battered and bruised and covered with blood from Numa and dirt from the thc trail yet not for an Instant Instant instant In In- stant did he lessen the ferocity of ot his mad attack nor his grim hold upon the back of ot his antagonist Where he had fallen anen beneath the spring of ot the lion Uon the witch-doctor witch lay torn and bleeding bleeding bleed bleed- ing unable to drag himself away and watched the terrific battle between these two lords of ot the Jungle II His Is sunken eyes glittered and his wrinkled lips moved over oyer toothless gums as he hp mumbled weird incantations to the demons of his cult For a time he felt no doubt as to the outcome the outcome the strange white man must certainly succumb to terrible Numa Numa whoever whoever heard of a lone man armed only with a knife slaying so mighty a n beast I Yet presently the old black mans man's eyes went Vent wider and he commenced to to have ha his doubts and anel misgivings What wonderful sort of ot creature was this that battled with Numa and held his own despite the mighty muscles of ot the king of beasts Then slowly there dawned In those sunken eyes gleaming so brightly from rom the scarred and wrinkled face the light of ot a n dawning downing recollection It was the picture of ot a lithe white skinned youth swinging through the trees rees In company with a band of ot huge apes and th old theold old eyes blinked and a n great fear came Into them them the the superstitious superstitious super super- fear tear of one who believes In ghosts hosts and spirits and demons And came the time once more when the witch-doctor witch no longer doubted the outcome of the tho duel yet his first judgment judgment judgment judg judg- ment was reversed for now ho bo knew that the jungle jangle god would slay Numa and the old black was even en more terrified |