Show nr A ra y A T by EDGAR RICE TA JL JK 1 ar L AN A N JN BURROUGHS 6 01 AND THE author of f tarzan of the apes s JEWELS OF OPAR son of camans 1911 1918 tr by A C sul a co C U ezit z CHAPTER XIV continued 13 in a I 1 moment tile victim flashed beneath the limb cud nt at tile same instant the ape mill man above sprung sprang out and down upon its hack back the weight of the hie mans body carried the leer deer to the Klo round und it stumbled forward once in ft a futile effort to rise and then mighty In muscles ucles dragged its lend head far back save five the neck if vicious wrench and barn was dead quick had been tile the killing and equally quick ere the lie ape mans subsequent actions for aho who might know what manner of killer pursued pursue il bara or how close at hand he be might he be scarce had the neck deck of the victim snapped thlin lhnn the carcass was hanging over one of Tar brond broad shoulders and an instant later the lie ape man was perched once more among the lower branches of a tree above the troll trail his leen been gray eyes scanning the pathway ilon which the deer had fled ills sharp ey eyes es saw the muzzle le of 0 the leading horse as it came into view round around n I 1 bend in the tortuous trail and one hy by one they scrutinized the riders as they passed beneath him in ali ingle ie tile file beneath him as unconscious ot of his presence its as were viere the before and behind him rode albert aver r per ier while title the ape man ioan scrutinized the belgian 1 for some sign of tile the pouch which lie ho had stolen As the rode toward the south a giant figure hovered ever upon their trall trail a huge almost naked white man who carried the bloody carcass of a leer deer upon his shoulders for tarzan knew that he might not have another opportunity to hunt for some time if he were to follow the belgian A two days march brought them to a level plain beyond which lay mountains mountain a plain which tarzan remembered and which aroused within him vague half memories arid and strange longings beside a charred pile of timbers the Abyssinia ns halted and tarzan sneaking close and concealing himself in nearby shrubbery watched them in wonderment ile he saw them digging 11 ging up the carthand eart hand he wondered it if they had hidden meat there in lie he past and now had come for it it then lie he recalled how lie he had burled his pretty pebbles and the suggestion that had caused him to do it they were digging for the things the blacks had burled buried herel beret presently he be saw them uncover it a dirty ellow bellow object and he witnessed the joy of and of abdul moud rak as the grimy object was exposed expose to view one by one they unearthed many similar pieces all of the same uniform dirty yellow until a pile of them lay upon the ground a pile aich abdul fondled and petted in an ecstasy of greed something stirred lu in the jape ape mans mind its as lie he looked long upon the golden ingots ingols where hall had lie seen such before what were nere they lie ile recalled the block black men who had bad burled buried them the things must be theirs was stealing them as lie he had stolen Tar pouch of pebbles the ape mans eyes blazed in anger ue ile would like to find the black men and lead them thein against these thieves As all these things ran through the active mind a party of men inen moved out of it the forest at the edge of the plain and advanced toward tile the ruins of the burned bungalow abdul always watchful was the first to bee them hut but already they were ere halfway across the opeil open swinging into ills saddle fastened its his eyes upon the newcomers then white and trembling he turned toward abdul it Is achmet zek find and his raiders lie whispered bisp ered they are a come for tee gold it must have been nt about the same instant that achmet zek discovered the pile of u yellow ingols ingots and realized the actuality of what hat he had bad already feared since first his eyes had alighted upon the party beside the ruins of the English mans bungalow some one had forestalled him another had come for the treasure ahead of him the arab cared not whom tile thieves be they would not give up the gold without a nattle dattle of that he was certain and alb a wild and a command to t his followers achmet zek put spurs to ills his horse and dashed down upon tile the and after him waving their long guns above their heads beads yelling and cursing come came his motley horde borde of cutthroat cut throat followers the men of abdul met them with a volley which emptied a few saddles and then the raiders were among th thain nn ond bif sword D atol find and musket J A J each was doing its most moist hideous and bloody work achmet zek spying corper lit at the first charge bore down upon the belgian and the latter terrified by contemplation temp lation of the ante ho he deserved turned his horses head and dashed madly away in id tin an effort to escape shouting to a lieutenant to take command find and urging him upon pain of death to dispatch the abyssinians Abyssinia ns lind and bring the gold back to his camp achmet zek zeb set olt off across the plain in pursuit of the belgian III his wicked nature unable to forego the pleasures of re een cien ut at the risk of sacrificing the treasure going over his rolled afew a cow yards far farther theron on scrambled to ills feet and ran back seizing the reins lie tugged to 10 drag the beast to ills his feet hut but the animal would not or could not rise find as the belgian cursed and struck him achnick zek nim eared lu in view instantly the belgian ceased his efforts with the da diang ing animal at his feet and seizing his rille rifle dropped behind the horse and fired at the oncoming fill ng arab ills his bullet going low struck achmet aks horse in ili the breast bringing him dow n a hundred yards from w N here lay preparing to tire lire a second shot thol the arab who ho had gone down doan nith ill ills mount wits was standing astride him and seeing the belgians strategic position behind his fallen horse lost no time little in taking up a similar one behind his own and there the two lay alternately firing at and cursing each other while title from behind the arab tarzan of the apes approached to the edge of the forest keeping to one side of oe the trail the ape man come came presently to a point where be could look down in comparative safety upon the fighters first one find and then the other would partially raise himself above ills his breastwork of horseflesh fire his weapon and immediately drop flat behind ills his shelter where he be would reload and repeat the act a moment later had bad fired all but a single cartridge when during n R lull in the fighting he called aloud to his opponent achmet zek he cried allah alone alon knows which one of us may leave our ou bones to rot where lie lies iles upon this trail today if we keep up our foolish battle you wish nish the contents of the pouch I 1 wear about my waist find and I 1 wish my life and my liberty even more than I 1 do the jewels jewel si let us each cacti then take that which lie he most desires find and go our separate ways in peace 11 1 will lay the pouch upon the carcass ot my horse where you may see it and you in turn will lay your gun upon your horse with butt toward me then I 1 will go away leaving the pouch to you and you will let me go in solely safety I 1 want only my lily life and my iny f freedom reed om the arab thought in silence for a moment momen t then he spoke lils reply was influenced by tile the fact that he had expended his last shot 1100 go your way then lie he growled leaving the pouch in plain sight behind you see sec I 1 NY iny my gun thus with the butt toward you CO regretfully laid the pouch its contents con lents undisturbed upon the body bode of his big horse bore rose roe and taking ills his rifle with him backed slowly down the trail until a turn hid bid him from the vie view ov of the watchful arab but achmet zek was no ool fool to expose himself to the blackened honor of a thief and a murderer taking his long iong gun with him he be left the trail entering the rank and tangled vegetation which walled it and crawling slowly forward on hands and knees lie he paralleled tile the trail but never for an instant was his body exposed to the rifle of the lie hidden assassin thus achmet zek advanced until he had come opposite the dead horse of his enemy the pouch lay there in full view while a short distance alone the trail waited in growing impatience and nervousness wondering in why the arab did not come to claim his reward presently lie he saw the muzzle of a rifle appear suddenly and mysteriously a few inches Inc lic above the pouch and before he could realize the cunning trick that the arab hall had played upon him the slight of the weapon was war adroitly hooked booked into the rawhide thong which formed the carrying strap of the pouch and the latter wat wai wa t drawn quickly from his alq view into the dense nt at the trails side there was li nother who had seen the he pouch and it who nl fid minced with achmet zek hovering hover hov erIns liis above ciui 1 I is silent find as sure n death lt itself elf tin and ns its the aral anil finding a little spot less overgrown with bushes than lie had yet encountered prepared to gloat ills his eyes upon the contents odthe of the pouch tarzan paused directly above him intent upon the same object wetting his thin lips with his tongue achmet zek loosened the tie tic strings which closed the mouth of the pouch and cupping one claw like hand bond poured forth a portion of the contents into his palm A single look lie be took at the stones lying in his hand uis ills eyes narrowed a curse broke from ills his lips and he be hurled the small objects upon the ground disdainfully quickly he emptied the balance of 0 the contents until he had scanned each separate blone and as lie he dumped them all upon the ground and stamped upon them his rage ange grew until the muscles of his face worked in fury and ills his fingers clenched until his nails bit into the flesh above tarzan watched in bonde wonderment r ne ile had been curious to discover what all the powwow pow wow about his pouch had ni meant enrit ile he wanted to see v what ii at the arab would do after the other had gone away leaving the pouch behind him and having satis tied lied ills his curiosity he be would then have pounced upon zek and taken the lie pouch and his pretty pebbles away from him tor for did they not belong to Tar tarzan zari tie he saw the arab now throw aside tile lie empty pouch and grasping his long gun by the barrel clu blike sneak stealthily through the jungle beside the trail along which had gone As the man disappeared from III his view tarzan dropped to the ground and commenced gathering up the spilled contents of the pouch find and the az achmet zek set off across the plain laan in pursuit nio that lie obtained his first near view of the sea scattered pebbles lie he understood der stood the rage of the arab tor instead of the giett glittering ering and scintillating 9 gems ems atch had first caught and held the attention of the ape man tile the pouch had now contained but a collection tion of ordinary river pebbles CHAPTER XV jane clayton again a prisoner Mu blu gambl niter after his bis successful break for liberty had fallen upon hard times ills way had led him through a country with ith which he was unfamiliar a jungle country in which I 1 he le could find no water and but little food so that after several days of wandering he found himself so reduced in strength that be could barely drag himself along A few stagnant pools at considerable distances apart s saved aved him from death by thirst but his was a pitiable state when finally he stumbled by accident upon a large river in a country vi where here fruit was abundant and also game which he might bog bag by means of a combination of stealth cunning and a crude knob stick which he had bad fashioned from a fallen limb one day as he hunted a pair of savage eyes discovered him from tile concealment ceal ment of the branches of it great tree beneath which aich the black warrior p passed assed bloodshot wicked eyes they were mere set in a 11 fierce and halry hairy face the cren creature turo was chulk chilli anil and lie looked down tho tin indorf in ili curiosity thiu thau in u hate chulk eyed the pouch which suspend 1 i ed over shoulder swung I beside his hla black hip this took his fancy tor for it was ornamented with feathers and a fringe and so the ape hung about boma waiting en an opportunity to seize it either by stealth or might nor was it long before the opportunity came feeling safe within alq thorny enclosure SIu Blu gambl was wont to stretch himself in tile the shade of ills his shelter during the heat 0 of the day and steep sleep in peaceful security until the declining sun with it the enervating temperature of ml in dilay Watch lilg from above C chulk bulk av saw the black warrior stretched thus in the unconsciousness of sleep 0 one ne sultry atter afternoon ter noon lie he approached the sleeper upon padded feet which gave forth no sound and with on an uncanny woodcraft that rustled not a leaf or a grass blade pausing beside the man tile the ape bent over and examined his belongings belonging 4 the only detachable things were the and the pouch which ha had d fall fallen ell from the blacks shoulder as lie he rolled in sleep seizing these two articles chulk retreated with haste and every indication of nervous terror to the safe safety of the tree from which he had dropped and still haunted by that indefinable terror which the close proximity of ninn man awakened in his breast tied fled pre elpi through rough tb the jungle it was some time after awoke that he missed the pouch instantly he was all excitement what could anve become of it it had bad been there when he lay down to sleep ilow how then had it vanished in the trampled turf beside him was the faint impress of huge inan manlike like feet raised his brows as the truth dawned upon him hastily leaving the boma he searched I 1 in nil all directions about the enclosure for some further sign of the telltale tell tale spoor but the faint signs left by a wary ape who elects to travel through the hiees eluded the woodcraft of 7 SIu gambi tarzan might have followed them but no ordinary mortal could perceive them or perceiving translate the block black now strengthened and refreshed by his rest felt ready to set out again for and finding himself another knob stick turned his back upon tho river find and plunged into tile the mazes of the jungle 0 0 0 As struggled with the bonds which secured the ankles and wrists of his captive the great lion that eydi the two from behind a nearby clump of bushes wormed closer to his intended prey the apes back was toward the lion ills his first intimation of impending danger was the thunderous and triumphant roar alch chich the charging lion could no ion lonear pr suppress scarce pausing for a backward glance abandoned the unconscious woman and fled in the opposite direction from the horrid sound which had broken in so unexpected find and terrifying a manner upon his startled ears cars but the wa warning riling had come too late to save him nud and the lion in his second bound alighted full upon uon the broad shoulders of the anthropoid As the great bull went down there was awakened in him to the full nil all the cunning all the ferocity all the physic physician ial prowess which obey the mightiest of the fundamental laws 0 of nature the law of self preservation and turning upon ills his back he closed with the carnivore in a death struggle so fearless and abandoned d that for a moment the great numa himself may bave trembled trem bleil for the outcome rolling over and over upon the turf the lie tuo to battled with demoniac fury until the colossal cat by doubling his hind paws far up |