Show w by EDGAR RICE AR ilk I 1 BURROUGHS AND THE author of tarzan of the apes jar 7 OF TT PAR ir A tr son of tarzan COPY copyright tIght hit 1913 tt A C mcclue t co C CHAPTER XII continued 11 but he did not flee alone As frightened beast had pressed lit in sim had not been slow to the qu quickly lely emptied saddle and the op port unity it presented scarcely the lion drugged dragged the arab front from side thau than the belgian seizing the pommel me of the saddle and the horses horse 9 mane leaped upon the horses back from the other A half hour later a naked giant swinging easily through the lower branches of the trees paused and with raised kwad and dilating 17 nostrils sniffed the morning air the smell of blood fell strong upon ills his nose and mingled with it was the scent of numa the lion hon the giant cocked his hlad head upon one side and listened from a short distance up the trail came the unmistakable noises of the greedy feeding of a lion tarzan approached pro proa ached clied the spot still keeping to tile the branches of the trees ne ile made no efort to conceal his approach and presently he lind had evidence that numa bad heard liin him from the ominous rumbling warning that broke from a thicket beside the trail fl halting altIng upon a low branch just above the lion tarzan looked down donn upon the grisly scene could tills flits unrecognizable thin thing be the man he lind had been traill trailing ng lie ile scolded numa and tried to drive the great beast away but only angry prowls growls reworded rewarded his efforts lie tore small brunches branches from a nearby near by himli mb and hurled them at ills his ancient en enemy ertly enma looked up with bared fangs grinning erl nning hideously but lie he did not rise from froin his kill then tarzan fitted an arrow to his low bow and drawing the slim shaft far buck back let drive with all the force of the wood that only lie could bend As the alrow airow sank deeply into his side ninna leaped to his feet with a boar roar of mingled rage and pain ue leaped futilely tit at the grinning ape man tore at the protruding end of the shaft haft and then springing into the trail priced paced back and forth beneath Us lit tormentor again tarzan loosed a swift bolt this time the missile unlined with will care lodged in the lions spine that great creature halted in its tracks end and lurched awkwardly forward upon its face paralyzed tarzan dropped to the trail ran quickly to the beasts side and drove his bis spear deep into the fierce hearth heart then after recovering ills his arrows turned its ills attention to the mutilated moti remains of the animals prey in the nearby near by thicket the face was gone the arab garments aroused no do doubt as to the mans identity since he had trailed him into the arab camp and out again where he might easily have acquired the apparel so sure was tarzan that the body was that of he be who had robbed him that lie he made no effort to verify liis its deductions by scent among the conglomerate odors of the great carnivore tarn ivore and the fresh blood of 0 the ile he confined ills his attentions to a careful search for the pouch but nowhere upon or about the corpse was any sign of t the missing article or its contents the ape man was disappointed possibly not so much because of the loss of ef the colored pebbles as with numa kuma for robbing him of the pleasures of revenge wondering what bat could have become of or his possessions the ape man turned slowly back along the trail in the dl direction irons which he be had come taking to the trees he be moved directly south in search of 0 prey that he might satisfy his hunger before midday and then lie up for the afternoon scarcely had he be quitted the trail when a tall black warrior moving at si 5 dogged trot passed toward the east it was bf searching for his mistress uc continued along the trail halting baiting to examine the body of the dead lion the black looked furtively about mm the body was still warm and from this fact he reasoned that the killer was close at hand yet no sign of living man appeared shook ills his head and continued along the trall trail but with redoubled cautious caution all day he be traveled stopp stopping ln occasionally sio nally to call aloud the single word lady in ID the hope that at last she might hear and respond but in the end his loyal devotion brought him to disaster demster from the northeast tor for several months abdul in command ot of a detachment of abyssinian soldiers had been assiduously marching archIng sc tor for the arab raider achmet zek who six els months previously had affronted the majesty of abdul emperor by conducting a slave raid within the boundaries of Merse eks leks domain and now it happened that abdul had halted bolted for a short rest at noon moon upon this very day and along the same trail that and mu mill gambi were following toward the east it was shortly sifter after the soldiers had that tile the bel belgian ton unaware of their presence rode lit his tirva mount almost into their midst assid A before he be had bad discovered them aln m instantly he was ans add a volley of questions tit m him hills ns fis he was pulled from tic litardo ill led toward tile the presence 11 iii ji rier er rs a i pulling falling back upon his bis european nationality tiona tlona lity assured inis abdul that hint lie he was a frenchman hunting in africa and that ke he had been attacked by strangers his safari killed hilled or scattered and himself escaping only by a miracle from a chance remark of the abyssinian discovered the purpose of tile the expedition lost lest he might again fall into the hands of the raider it lie e ell discouraged 3 cou raged abdul in the further prosecution of his pursuit assuring the abig abyssinian that achilich zek commanded a large and dong dangerous erous force and also that lie he was marching rapidly toward the lie south convinced that it would woula take a long time to overhaul aul the raider and that the chances of engagement made the outcome extremely questionable mou rak none too unwillingly abandoned his plan and gave the necessary orders for ills his command to pitch camp where they were preparatory to taking up up tile the return march toward abyssinia the following morning it was late in the afternoon that the attention ot of the camp was attracted toward the west by the sound of a powerful voice calling a single word repeated several times lady lady ladal I 1 lady title to their instincts of precaution a number of acting under orders from abdul advanced stealthily through the jungle toward the author of the call A half hour later they returned drugging Alu gambi among them the first person the big blacks e yes eyes tell fell upon as lie he was hustled into the presence of the abyssinian officer was II BI jules Fre coult the frenchman who had been the guest of his master and whom he last had seen entering the village of achmet brzek zek under circumstances which pointed to his fa familiarity millar jand friendship for the raiders between the disasters that had befallen his master and his masters house and the frenchman saw a sinister relationship which kept him from recalling to carpers War pers attention the identity which the latter evidently failed to recognize pleading that he was but a harm le leis s hunter from a tribe farther south 3 begged to be allowed to go upon his way but abdul admiring the warriors splendid physique decided to take him back to adis abeba and present him to Afen menelek elek had not the slightest doubt but that during the course of the journey he would end ample opportunity to elude the vigilance of his guards and make good his escape then there came a time when he be learned a very surprising thin thing by accident the party had camped early in the afternoon of a sultry day upon the banks of a clear and beautiful stream the bottom of the river was gravelly gravel ay there was no indication of 0 crocodile those menaces to promiscuous bathing in the rivers of certain portions of the dark continent and so the took advantage of the opportunity to perform long deferred and much needed ablutions As who with abug Mu ga gambl had been given permission to enter the rater ater removed ills his clothing tile the black noted the care with which lie he un unfastened fasten something which circled ills his waist and which he took oft off with ills his shirt the latter always around aa and concealing the object of his suspicious solicitude it was this very carefulness which attracted the blacks attention to the thing arousing a natural curiosity in the warriors mind and so it chanced k john she cried that when the belgian in tile the nervousness of furn tumbled bled tile hidden article and dropped it slug lilii saw raw it as it fell upon the ground pilling IV portion of its contents or on the sward now blu gambi had been to lantion lo nilon with his muster master lie ile was not itte ut unsophisticated savage that thai lit hi proclaimed him the instant that the je jewels els of opar rolled scintillating before his cislon astonished 1 hed eyes lie he recognized them tor for what ila t they were but lie he recognized recognize d soni something ethIng else too that interested him far more deeply than the value of tile the stones A thousand times ile he had seen lie leathern pouch which dangled tit at his masters side when tarzan of tile the apes ape had in a spirit of pin play Y and adventure elected to return tor for a few hours to the primitive minders manners and customs of his boyhood and surrounded or by his naked warriors hunt the lion and the leopard the buffalo and the elephant after tile the manner he loved best saw that Alu gambl had seen tile the pouch and the stones JIas nastily tily he be gathered up the precious gems and returned them to their container while Mu gambl assuming an air of indifference strolled down to the river for his bath the following morning abdul mou rate was enraged and chagrined to discover that his huge black prisoner had escaped during toe the night while was terrified for the same r reason 0 aon q until his trembling fingers discovered the pouch still in its place beneath ills his shirt and within it the hard outlines of its contents CHAPTER XIII tarzan again leads the mangan Man gant achmet zek with two of his followers had circled far to the south to intercept the flight ot of his deserting lieutenant others had spread out in various directions so that a vast circle had been formed by them during the night and now they were beating in toward the center A slight noise in the jungle upon the opposite side of the clearing clearen brought achmet zek to immediate and alert attention lie be gathered his rifle in readiness tor for instant use at the same time motioning his followers to silence and concealment presently the foliage parted and a womans comans face appeared glancing fearfully from side to side A moment later evidently satisfied that no immediate danger lurked before her she stepped out into the clearing in full view of the arab achmet zek caught his breath with a muttered exclamation of incredulity and an imprecation the woman was the prisoner he had thought safely guarded at his big camp I 1 apparently she was alone but aab achmet zek waited that hat ile he might make sure of it before seizing her slowly jane clayton started across the clearing though she was almost despairing of ever reaching safety she still nas determined to fight on until death or success terminated her endeavors As the arabs watched her from the safety of their concealment ind and achmet zek noted with satisfaction that she was walking directly into ills his clutches another pair of eyes looked down clown upon the entire scene from the foliage of an adjacent tree puzzled troubled eyes they were for all their gray savage glint for their owner was struggling with an intangible suggestion of the familiarity of the face and figure of the woman below him A sudden crashing of the bushes at the point from which alch jane clayton had emerged into the clearing brought tier her to sudden a stop and attracted the attention of the arabs and the watcher lit in the tree to the time same point the woman wheeled about to see what that new danger menaced her from behind and as she did so a great anthropoid ape waddled into view behind him coune come another and another but lady greystoke did not wait to learn how many more of the hideous creatures were so close upon tier her trail with a smothered scream she rushed toward the opposite jungle and as she t reached cached the bushes there achnick zek and ills bis two henchmen rose up and seized her at the same instant a naked brown giant dropped from thu the branches of a tree tit at the right of the clearing turning toward the astonished apes he gave voice to a short volley of low gutturals guttu rals and without waiting to note the effect of lit his words upon them wheeled and charged for the arabs achmet zek was drag dragging glug jane clayton toward his tethered horse ills IS two moil were hastily un fastening all three noun mounts ts the woman struggling to escapite the arab turned and saw th the e ape man running toward her A glad light of hope illumined tier her race john I 1 she cried thank god cod that you have come in time behind tarzan barzun crime came the great apes wondering but obedient to ills his summons the arabs saw that they would not have time to mount and make their escape before the beasts and tile lie mini man were upon them machinot zok recognized the latter ns as tile hie redoubtable redoubt uhle enemy of such as lie he atin he saw too in the an opportunity to rid himself t forever of tile hie tn anea ea or of the olie innas presence calling ceillina on oil iiii iners to in follow ills example he be raised his rifle ride and love leveled lell it 11 upon the charging glant 11 rol fol lowers acting with no ll 11 14 less q alacrity crity than ali in himself fired colinot iiii mid k aul 01 the it nf I 1 tit alir rafleh tsi rz Z a ini 11 if tile the alif abete slut auml I 1 iwu wu ut ul ills hairy henchmen pitched tilt ched forward among the jungle grasses gra saes the noise of the rifle shots brought bron ht the balance of the apes to a won wondering wonderlin derin baure and takla advantage of their moment momentary airy distraction adli zek and his followers looped lp cd to it their I 1 horses lincks backs and galloped away with the now hopeless and grief stricken woman back to the village they rode and on once ce again lady greystoke found herself incarcerated in the filthy little hut from which she had thought to have escaped escape for good singly and in twos the searchers who had bad ridden out with achmet zek upon fit HIP trail of the belgian returned empty billini hil lINI with the report of each the raiders rage and hadrin increased until lie was in such a transport of 0 ferocious anger that rione none dared approach him film with the escape of the arabs the great apes had turned their attention to their fallen comrades tarzan was tile the first to regain consciousness sitting up he looked about him blood was flowing from a wound in his shoulder the shock had thrown him down and dazed him but he was far from dead rising slowly to his feet he let ills his eyes wander ander a toward the spot where last he had seen the she who had aroused within his savage breast such strange emotions where is she he asked the Tar mangani took her away replied one of the apes who are you who speak the language of the mangani 1 I am tarzan replied the ape man mighty hunter greatest of lighters fighters 4 aj stealthily they approached when I 1 roar the jungle Is silent and trembles with terror I 1 am tarzan of the apes I 1 have been away but now I 1 have come back to my people yes spoke up an old ape he Is Tar tarzan zari I 1 know him it I 1 Is s well ivell that he has come back now kow we shall have good hunting |