IRLF 
 
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LC.D. LIBRARY 
 
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 The arrow, aimed with care, lodged in the lion's spine 
 
E ckor'Rice/ *Burrou$lis 
 
 of flv? ^Vpe^ 
 
 U'itli Tllitstrntinus by d.ftllon Shclohi 
 
 Chicago 
 
Copyright 
 
 A. C. McCIurg & Co. 
 1918 
 
 Published, April, 1918 
 Copyrighted in Great Britain 
 
 W. t. HMX PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Belgian and Arab 1 
 
 II On the Road to Opar . 12 
 
 III The Call of the Jungle . . . . ., 21 
 
 IV Prophecy and Fulfillment . . f . / .:. 32 
 V The Altar of the Flaming God . * . * .^ 43 
 
 VI The Arab Raid . ' .*' 55 
 
 VII The Jewel-Room of Opar ... ... *'. 67 
 
 VIII The Escape from Opar. * > . *VV? 76 
 
 IX The Theft of the Jewels . . . ' . > . 87 
 
 X Achmet Zek Sees the Jewels v . . . 103 
 
 XI Tarzan Becomes a Beast Again . . . 117 
 
 XII La Seeks Vengeance . . , . . . 132 
 
 XIII Condemned to Torture and Death' . . 141 
 
 XIV A Priestess but yet a Woman ... 158 
 XV The Flight of Werper . .... 173 
 
 XVI Tarzan Again Leads the Mangani . . 192 
 
 XVII The Deadly Peril of Jane Clayton . . 212 
 
 XVIII The Fight for the Treasure .... 227 
 
 XIX Jane Clayton and the Beasts of the 
 
 Jungle 248 
 
 XX Jane Clayton Again a Prisoner , . . 268 
 
 XXI The Flight to the Jungle 286 
 
 XXII Tarzan Recovers His Reason .... 305 
 
 XXIII A Night of Terror. . . ... . 324 
 
 XXIV Home . 340 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The arrow, aimed with care, lodged in the lion's 
 spine Frontispiece 
 
 The shaggy, knotted, hideous little men seized 
 him 52 
 
 Clutched tightly in his hand was the sacrificial 
 
 knife 102 
 
 Tarzan leaped straight into the air 128 
 
 La approached with upraised knife. 148 
 
 Tantor seized one in the coils of his trunk 156 
 
 The lion dragged the Arab from his saddle 180 
 
 Behind him crept Chulk and Taglat 204 
 
Tarzan and the Jewels 
 of Opar 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BELGIAN AND ARAB 
 
 CEUTENANT ALBERT WERPER had 
 only the prestige of the name he had dishon 
 ored to thank for his narrow escape from being 
 cashiered. At first he had been humbly thank 
 ful, too, that they had sent him to this God 
 forsaken Congo post instead of court-martialing 
 him, as he had so justly deserved; but now six 
 months of the monotony, the frightful isola 
 tion and the loneliness had wrought a change. 
 The young man brooded continually over his 
 fate. His days were filled with morbid self- 
 pity, which eventually engendered in his weak 
 and vacillating mind a hatred for those who 
 had sent him here for the very men he had 
 at first inwardly thanked for saving him from 
 the ignominy of degradation. 
 
 1 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 He regretted the gay life of Brussels as he 
 never had regretted the sins which had snatched 
 him from that gayest of capitals, and as the 
 days passed he came to center his resentment 
 upon the representative in Congo land of the 
 authority which had exiled him his captain 
 and immediate superior. 
 
 This officer was a cold, taciturn man, inspir 
 ing little love in those directly beneath him, 
 yet respected and feared by the black soldiers 
 of his little command. 
 
 Werper was accustomed to sit for hours glar 
 ing at his superior as the two sat upon the 
 veranda of their common quarters, smoking 
 their evening cigarets in a silence which neither 
 seemed desirous of breaking. The senseless 
 hatred of the lieutenant grew at last into a 
 form of mania. The captain's natural taci 
 turnity he distorted into a studied attempt to 
 insult him because of his past shortcomings. 
 He imagined that his superior held him in con 
 tempt, and so he chafed and fumed inwardly 
 until one evening his madness became suddenly 
 homicidal. He fingered the butt of the revolver 
 at his hip, his eyes narrowed and his brows 
 contracted. At last he spoke. 
 
 2 
 
AiMJ AKAJ5 
 
 " You have insulted me for the last time! " 
 he cried, springing to his feet. " I am an offi 
 cer and a gentleman, and I shall put up with it 
 no longer without an accounting from you, you 
 
 pig." 
 
 The captain, an expression of surprise upon 
 his features, turned toward his junior. He had 
 seen men before with the jungle madness upon 
 them the madness of solitude and unre 
 strained brooding, and perhaps a touch of 
 fever. 
 
 He rose and extended his hand to lay it upon 
 the other's shoulder. Quiet words of counsel 
 were upon his lips ; but they were never spoken. 
 Werper construed his superior's action into 
 an attempt to close with him. His revolver 
 was on a level with the captain's heart, and 
 the latter had taken but a step when Werper 
 pulled the trigger. Without a moan the man 
 sank to the rough planking of the veranda, and 
 as he fell the mists that had clouded Werper 's 
 brain lifted, so that he saw himself and the 
 deed that he had done in the same light that 
 those who must judge him would see them. 
 
 He heard excited exclamations from the 
 quarters of the soldiers and he heard men run- 
 
 3 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ning in his direction. They would seize him, 
 and if they didn't Mil him they would take him 
 down the Congo to a point where a properly 
 ordered military tribunal would do so just as 
 effectively, though in a more regular manner. 
 
 Werper had no (iesire to die. Never before 
 had he so yearned for life as in this moment 
 that he had so effectively forfeited his right 
 to live. The men were nearing him. What was 
 he to do? He glanced about as though search 
 ing for the tangible form of a legitimate excuse 
 for his crime; but he could find only the body 
 of the man he had so causelessly shot down. 
 
 In despair, he turned and fled from the on 
 coming soldiery. Across the compound he ran, 
 his revolver still clutched tightly in his hand. 
 At the gates a sentry halted him. Werper did 
 not pause to parley or to exert the influence of 
 his commission he merely raised his weapon 
 and shot down the innocent black. A moment 
 later the fugitive had torn open the gates and 
 vanished into the blackness of the jungle, but 
 not before he had transferred the rifle and 
 ammunition belts of the dead sentry to his own 
 person. 
 
 All that night Werper fled farther and farther 
 4 
 
BELGIAN AND ARAB 
 
 into the heart of the wilderness. Now and again 
 the voice of a lion brought him to a listening 
 halt ; but with cocked and ready rifle he pushed 
 ahead again, more fearful of the human hunts 
 men in his rear than of the wild carnivora 
 ahead. 
 
 i Dawn came at last, but still the man plodded 
 on. All sense of hunger and fatigue were lost 
 in the terrors of contemplated capture. He 
 could think only of escape. He dared not pause 
 to rest or eat until there was no further dan 
 ger from pursuit, and so he staggered on until 
 at last he fell and could rise no more. How 
 long he had fled he did not know, or try to 
 know. When he could flee no longer the knowl 
 edge that he had reached his limit was hidden 
 from him in the unconsciousness of utter 
 exhaustion. 
 
 And thus it was that Achmet Zek, the 
 Arab, found him. Achmet's followers were 
 for running ai spear through the body of their 
 hereditary enemy; but Aohmet would Have it 
 otherwise. First he would question the Bel 
 gian. It were easier to question a man first 
 and kill him afterward, than kill him first and 
 then question him. 
 
 5 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 So he had Lieutenant Albert Werper carried 
 to his own tent, and there slaves administered 
 wine and food in small quantities until at last 
 the prisoner regained consciousness. As he 
 opened his eyes he saw the faces of strange 
 black men about him, and just outside the tent 
 the figure of an Arab. Nowhere was the uni 
 form of his soldiers to be seen. 
 
 The Arab turned and seeing the open eyes 
 of the prisoner upon him, entered the tent. 
 
 ' ' I am Achmet Zek, ' ' he announced. ' ' Who 
 are you, and what were you doing in my coun 
 try! Where are your soldiers? " 
 
 Achmet Zek! Werper's eyes went wide, and 
 his heart sank. He was in the clutches of the 
 most notorious of cut-throats a hater of all 
 Europeans, especially those who wore the uni 
 form of Belgium. For years the military forces 
 of Belgian Congo had waged a fruitless war 
 upon this man and his followers a war in 
 which quarter had never been asked nor ex 
 pected by either side. 
 
 But presently in the very hatred of the man 
 for Belgians, Werper saw a faint ray of hope 
 for himself. He, too, was an outcast and an 
 outlaw. So far, at least, they possessed a com- 
 
 6 
 
BELGIAN AND ARAB 
 
 mon interest, and Werper decided to play upon 
 it for all that it might yield. 
 
 "I have heard of you," he replied, " and 
 was searching for you. My people have turned 
 against me. I hate them. Even now their sol 
 diers are searching for me, to kill me. I knew 
 that you would protect me from them, for you, 
 too, hate them. In return I will take service 
 with you. I am a trained soldier. I can fight, 
 and your enemies are my enemies." 
 
 Achmet Zek eyed the European in silence. 
 In his mind he revolved many thoughts, chief 
 among which was that the unbeliever lied. Of 
 course there was the chance that he did not 
 lie, and if he told the truth then his proposi 
 tion was one well worthy of consideration, since 
 fighting men were never over plentiful espe 
 cially white men with the training and knowl 
 edge of military matters that a European officer 
 must possess. 
 
 Achmet Zek scowled and Werper 's heart 
 sank; hut Werper did not know Achmet Zek, 
 who was quite apt to scowl where another would 
 smile, and smile where another would scowl. 
 
 " And if you have lied to me," said Achmet 
 Zek, " I will kill you at any time. What re- 
 
 7 
 
.TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 turn, other than your life, do you expect for 
 your services? " 
 
 "My keep only, at first/' replied Werper. 
 "Later, if I am worth more, we can easily 
 reach an understanding." Werper 's only de 
 sire at the moment was to preserve his life. 
 And so the agreement was reached and Lieu 
 tenant Albert Werpex became a member of the 
 ivory and slave raiding band of the notorious 
 Achmet Zek. 
 
 For months the renegade Belgian rode with 
 the savage raiders. He fought with a savage 
 abandon, and a vicious cruelty fully equal to 
 that of his fellow desperadoes. Achmet Zek 
 watched his recruit with eagle eye, and with a 
 growing satisfaction which finally found expres 
 sion in a greater confidence in the man, and 
 resulted in an increased independence of action 
 for Werper. 
 
 Achmet Zek look the Belgian into his con 
 fidence to a great extent, and at last unfolded 
 to him a pet scheme which the Arab had long 
 fostered, but which he never had found an 
 opportunity to effect. With the aid of a Euro 
 pean, however, the thing might be easily accom 
 plished. He sounded Werper. 
 
 8 
 
BELGIAN AND ARAB 
 
 " You have heard of the man men call Tar- 
 zan? " he asked. 
 
 Werper nodded. <f I have heard of him; but 
 I do not know him." 
 
 " But for him we might carry on our ' trad 
 ing' in safety and with great profit," contin 
 ued the Arab. " For years he has fought us, 
 driving us from the richest part of the coun 
 try, harassing us, and arming the natives that 
 they may repel us when we come to * trade. ' 
 He is very rich. If we could find some way to 
 make him pay us many pieces of gold we should 
 not only be avenged upon him; but repaid for 
 much that he has prevented us from winning 
 from the natives under his protection." 
 
 Werper withdrew a cigaret from a jeweled 
 case and lighted it 
 
 " And you have a plan to make him pay? " 
 he asked. 
 
 ''He has a wife," replied Achmet Zek, 
 " whom men say is very beautiful. She would 
 bring a great price farther north, if we found 
 it too difficult to collect ransom money from this 
 Tarzan." 
 
 Werper bent his head in thought. Achmet 
 Zek stood awaiting his reply. What good re- 
 
 9 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 mained in Albert Werper revolted at the 
 thought of selling a white woman into the slav 
 ery and degradation of a Moslem harem. He 
 looked up at Achmet Zek. He saw the Arab's 
 eyes narrow, and he guessed that the other 
 had sensed his antagonism to the plan. What 
 would it mean to Werper to refuse? His life 
 lay in the hands of this semi-barbarian, who 
 esteemed the life of an unbeliever less highly 
 than that of a dog. Werper loved life. What 
 was this woman to him, anyway? She was a 
 European, doubtless, a member of organized 
 society. He was an outcast. The hand of 
 every white man was against him. She was 
 his natural enemy, and if he refused to lend 
 himself to her undoing, Achmet Zek would have 
 him killed. 
 
 " You hesitate," murmured the Ajrab. 
 
 " I was but weighing the chances of success, " 
 lied Werper, "and my reward. As a Euro 
 pean I can gain admittance to their home and 
 table. You have no other with you who could 
 do so much. The risk will be great. I should 
 be well paid, Achmet Zek. ' ' 
 
 A smile of relief passed over the raider's 
 face. 
 
 10 
 
BELGIAN AND ARAB 
 
 "Well said, Werper," and Achmet Zek 
 slapped his lieutenant upon the shoulder. 
 "You should be well paid and you shall. Now 
 let us sit together and plan how best the thing 
 may be done," and the two men squatted upon 
 a soft rug beneath the faded silks of Achmet 's 
 once gorgeous tent, and talked together in low 
 voices well into the night. Both were tall and 
 bearded, and the exposure to sun and wind 
 had given an almost Arab hue to the Euro 
 pean's complexion. In every detail of dress, 
 too, he copied the fashions of his chief, so that 
 outwardly he was as much an Arab as the other. 
 It was late when lie arose and retired to his 
 own tent 
 
 The following day Werper spent in over 
 hauling his Belgian uniform, removing from 
 it every vestige of evidence that might indicate 
 its military purposes. From a heterogeneous 
 collection of loot, Achmet Zek procured a pith 
 helmet and a European saddle, and from his 
 black slaves and followers a party of porters, 
 askaris and tent boys to make up a modest 
 safari for a big game hunter. At the head of 
 this party Werper set out from camp. 
 
 11 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ON THE EOAD TO OPAE 
 
 IT WAS two weeks later that John Clayton, 
 Lord Greystoke, riding in from a tour of 
 inspection of his vast African estate, glimpsed 
 the head of a column of men crossing the plain 
 that lay between his bungalow and the forest 
 to the north and west. 
 
 He reined in his horse and watched the little 
 party as it emerged from a concealing swale. 
 His keen eyes caught the reflection of the sun 
 upon the white helmet of a mounted man, and 
 with the conviction that a wandering Euro 
 pean hunter was seeking his hospitality, he 
 wheeled his mount and rode slowly forward to 
 meet the newcomer. 
 
 A half hour later he was mounting the steps 
 leading to the veranda of his bungalow, and 
 introducing M. Jules Frecoult to Lady Grey- 
 stoke. 
 
 "I was completely lost," M. Frecoult was 
 explaining. "My head man had never before 
 been in this part of the country and the guides 
 
 12 
 
ON THE ROAD TO OPAB 
 
 who were to have accompanied me from the 
 last village we passed knew even less of the 
 country than we. They finally deserted us two 
 days since. I am very fortunate indeed to have 
 stumbled sp providentially upon succor. I do 
 not know what I should have done, had I not 
 found you." 
 
 It was decided that Frecoult and his party 
 should remain several days, or until they were 
 thoroughly rested, when Lord Greystoke would 
 furnish guides to lead them safely back into 
 country with which Frecoult 's head man was 
 supposedly familiar. 
 
 In his guise of a French gentleman of leisure, 
 Werper found little difficulty in deceiving his 
 host and in ingratiating himself with both Tar- 
 zan and Jane Clayton; but the longer he re 
 mained the less hopeful he became of an easy 
 accomplishment of his designs. 
 
 Lady Greystoke never rode alone at any great 
 distance from the bungalow, and the savage 
 loyalty of the ferocious Waziri warriors who 
 formed a great part of Tarzan's followers 
 seemed to preclude the possibility of a success 
 ful attempt at forcible abduction, or of the 
 bribery of the Waziri themselves. 
 
 13 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 A week passed, and Werper was no nearer 
 the fulfillment of his plan, in so far as he could 
 judge, than upon the day of his arrival, but at 
 that very moment something occurred which 
 gave him renewed hope and set his mind upon 
 an even greater reward than a woman's ransom. 
 
 A runner had arrived at the bungalow with 
 the weekly mail, and Lord Greystoke had spent 
 the afternoon in his study reading and answer 
 ing letters. At dinner he seemed distraught, 
 and early in the evening he excused himself 
 and retired, Lady Greystoke following him 
 very soon after. Werper, sitting upon the 
 veranda, could hear their voices in earnest dis 
 cussion, and having realized that something of 
 unusual moment was afoot, he quietly rose from 
 his chair, and keeping well in the shadow of the 
 shrubbery growing profusely about the bunga 
 low, made his silent way to a point beneath the 
 window of the room in which his host and host 
 ess slept 
 
 Here he listened, and not without result, for 
 almost the first words he overheard filled him 
 with excitement. Lady Greystoke was speak 
 ing as Werper came within hearing. 
 
 "I always feared for the stability of the 
 14 
 
ON THE ROAD TO OPAR 
 
 company, " she was saying; " but it seems in 
 credible that they should have failed for so 
 enormous a sum unless there has been some 
 dishonest manipulation. ' 9 
 
 " That is what I suspect, " replied Tarzan; 
 " but whatever the cause, the fact remains that 
 I have lost everything, and there is nothing for 
 it but to return to Opar and get more." 
 
 "Oh, John," cried Lady Greystoke, and 
 Werper could feel the shudder through her 
 voice, " is there no other way? I cannot bear 
 to think of you returning to that frightful city. 
 I would rather live in poverty always than 
 to have you risk the hideous dangers of Opar." 
 
 "You need have no fear," replied Tarzan, 
 laughing. " I am pretty well able to take care 
 of myself, and were I not, the Waziri who will 
 accompany me will see that no harm befalls 
 me." 
 
 " They ran away from Opar once, and left 
 you to your fate, ' ' she reminded him. 
 
 " They will not do it again," he answered. 
 * * They were very much ashamed of themselves, 
 and were coming back when I met them." 
 
 "But there must be some other way," in 
 sisted the woman. 
 
 15 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 " There is no other way half so easy to 
 obtain another fortune, as to go to the treasure 
 vaults of Opar and bring it away," he replied. 
 " I shall be very careful, Jane, and the chances 
 are that the inhabitants of Opar will never 
 know that I have been there again and despoiled 
 them of another portion of the treasure, the 
 very existence of which they are as ignorant 
 of as they would be of its value." 
 
 The finality in his tone seemed to assure 
 Lady Greystoke that further argument was 
 futile, and so she abandoned the subject. 
 
 Werper remained, listening, for a short time, 
 and then, confident that he had overheard all 
 that was necessary and fearing discovery, re 
 turned to the veranda, where he smoked numer 
 ous oigarets in rapid succession before retiring. 
 
 The following morning at breakfast, Werper 
 announced his intention of making an early 
 departure, and asked Tarzan's permission to 
 hunt big game in the Waziri country on his way 
 out permission which Lord Greystoke readily 
 granted. 
 
 The Belgian consumed two days in complet 
 ing his preparations, but finally got away with 
 his safari, accompanied by a single Waziri 
 
 16 
 
ON THE ROAD TO OPAE 
 
 guide whom Lord Greystoke had loaned him. 
 The party made but a single short march when 
 Werper simulated illness, and announced his 
 intention of remaining where he was until he 
 had fully recovered. As they had gone but a 
 short distance from the Greystoke bungalow, 
 Werper dismissed the Waziri guide, telling the 
 warrior that he would send for him when he 
 was able to proceed. The Waziri gone, the 
 Belgian summoned one of Achmet Zek's trusted 
 blacks to his tent, and dispatched him to watch 
 for the departure of Tarzan, returning imme 
 diately to advise Werper of the event and the 
 direction taken by the Englishman. 
 
 The Belgian did not have long to wait, for 
 the following day his emissary returned with 
 word that Tarzan and a party of fifty Waziri 
 warriors had set out toward the southeast early 
 in the morning. 
 
 Werper called his head man to him, after 
 writing a long letter to Achmet Zek. This let 
 ter 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 me. If any come from the 
 
 17 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 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 
 askaris the strongest and bravest of the 
 safari and I will march after the English 
 man and discover where his gold is hidden. " 
 
 And so it was that as Tarzan, stripped to the 
 loin cloth and armed after the primitive fash 
 ion he best loved, led his loyal Waziri toward 
 the dead city of Opar, Werper, the renegade, 
 haunted his trail through the long, hot days, 
 and camped close behind him by night. 
 
 And as they marched, Achmet Zek rode with 
 his entire following southward toward the Grey- 
 stoke farm. 
 
 To Tarzan of the Apes the expedition was 
 in the nature of a holiday outing. His civili 
 zation was at best but an outward veneer which 
 he gladly peeled off with his uncomfortable 
 European clothes whenever any reasonable pre 
 text presented itself. It was a woman's love 
 which kept Tarzan even to the semblance of 
 civilization a condition for which familiarity 
 had bred contempt. He hated the shams and 
 the hypocrisies of it and with the clear vision 
 of an unspoiled mind he had penetrated to 
 
 18 
 
ON THE ROAD TO OPAR 
 
 the rotten core of the heart of the thing the 
 cowardly greed for peace and ease and the 
 safeguarding of property rights. That the fine 
 things of life art, music and literature had 
 thriven upon such enervating ideals he strenu 
 ously denied, insisting, rather, that they had 
 endured in spite of civilization. 
 
 " Show me the fat, opulent coward," he was 
 wont to say, " who ever originated a beautiful 
 ideal. In the clash of arms, in the battle for 
 survival, amid hunger and death and danger, 
 in the face of God as manifested in the display 
 of Nature's most terrific forces, is born all that 
 is finest and best in the human heart and mind. ' ' 
 
 And so Tarzan always came back to Nature 
 in the spirit of a lover keeping a long deferred 
 tryst after a period behind prison walls. His 
 Waziri, at marrow, were more civilized than 
 he. They cooked their meat before they ate it 
 and they shunned many articles of food as un 
 clean that Tarzan had eaten with gusto all his 
 life and so insidious is the virus of hypocrisy 
 that even the stalwart ape-man hesitated to 
 give rein to his natural longings before them. 
 He ate burnt flesh when he would have pre 
 ferred it raw and unspoiled, and he brought 
 
 19 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 down game with arrow or spear when he would 
 far rather have leaped upon it from ambush 
 and sunk his strong teeth in its jugular; hut 
 at last the call of the milk of the savage mother 
 that had suckled him in infancy rose to an in 
 sistent demand he craved the hot blood of *a 
 fresh kill and his muscles yearned to pit them 
 selves against the savage jungle in the battle 
 for existence that had been his sole birthright 
 for the first twenty years of his life. 
 
 20 
 
CHAPTER HI 
 
 THE CAIii OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 MOVED by these vague yet all-powerful 
 urgings the ape-man lay awake one 
 night in the little thorn boma that protected, in 
 a way, his party from the depredations of the 
 great carnivora of the jungle. A single war 
 rior stood sleepy guard beside the fire that 
 yellow eyes out of the darkness beyond the 
 camp made imperative. The moans and the 
 coughing of the big cats mingled with the 
 myriad noises of the lesser denizens of the jun 
 gle to fan the savage flame in the breast of this 
 savage English lord. He tossed upon his bed 
 of grasses, sleepless, for an hour and then he 
 rose, noiseless as a wraith, and while the 
 Waziri's back was turned, vaulted the boma 
 wall in the face of the flaming eyes, swung 
 silently into a great tree and was gone. 
 
 For a time in sheer exuberance of animal 
 spirit he raced swiftly through the middle ter 
 race, swinging perilously across wide spans 
 
 21 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 from one jungle giant to the next, and then he 
 clambered upward to the swaying, lesser boughs 
 of the upper terrace where the moon shone full 
 upon him and the air was stirred by little 
 breezes and death lurked ready in each frail 
 branch. Here he paused and raised his face 
 to Goro, the moon. With uplifted arm he stood, 
 the cry of the bull ape quivering upon his lips, 
 yet he remained silent lest he arouse his faithful 
 Waziri who were all too familiar with the hide 
 ous challenge of their master. 
 
 And then he went on more slowly and ^ with 
 greater stealth and caution, for now Tarzan of 
 the Apes was seeking a kill. Down to the 
 ground he came in the utter blackness of the 
 close-set boles and the overhanging verdure of 
 the jungle. He stooped from time to time and 
 put his nose close to earth. He sought and 
 found a wide game trail and at last his nos 
 trils were rewarded with the scent of the fresh 
 spoor of Bara, the deer. Tarzan 's mouth wa 
 tered and a low growl escaped his patrician 
 lips. Sloughed from him was the last vestige 
 of artificial caste once again he was the pri 
 meval hunter the first man the highest 
 caste type of the human race. Up wind be 
 
THE CALL OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 followed the elusive spoor with sense of per 
 ception so transcending that of ordinary man 
 as to be inconceivable to us. Through counter 
 currents of the heavy stench of meat eaters he 
 traced the trail of Bara; the sweet and cloying 
 stink of Horta, the boar, could not drown his 
 quarry's scent the permeating, mellow musk 
 of the deer's foot. 
 
 Presently the body scent of the deer told 
 Tarzan that his prey was close at hand. It 
 sent him into the trees again into the lower 
 terrace where he could watch the ground be 
 low and catch with ears and nose the first in 
 timation of actual contact with his quarry. Nor 
 was it long before the ape-man came upon Bara 
 standing alert at the edge of a moon-bathed 
 clearing. Noiselessly Tarzan crept through the 
 trees until he was directly over the deer. In 
 the ape-man's right hand was the long hunt 
 ing knife of his father and in his heart the 
 blood lust of the carnivore. Just for an instant 
 he poised above the unsuspecting Bara and then 
 he launched himself downward upon the sleek 
 back. The impact of his weight carried the 
 deer to its knees and before the animal could 
 regain its feet the knife had found its heart. 
 
 23 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 As Tarzan rose upon the body of Ms kill to 
 scream forth his hideous victory cry into the 
 face of the moon the wind carried to his nos 
 trils something which froze him to statuesque 
 immobility and silence. His savage eyes 
 blazed into the direction from which the wind 
 had borne down the warning to him and a 
 moment later the grasses at one side of the 
 clearing parted and Numa, the lion, strode ma 
 jestically into view. His yellow-green eyes 
 were fastened upon Tarzan as he halted just 
 within the clearing and glared enviously at the 
 successful hunter, for Numa had had no luck 
 this night. 
 
 From the lips of the ape-man broke a rum 
 bling growl of warning. Numa answered but 
 he did not advance. Instead he stood, waving 
 his tail gently to and fro, and presently Tar- 
 zan squatted upon his kill and cut a generous 
 portion from a hind quarter. Numa eyed him 
 with growing resentment and rage as, between 
 mouthfuls, the ape-man growled out his savage 
 warnings. Now this particular lion 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 man-thing and 
 
 24 
 
THE CALL OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 Numa had tasted of human flesh and learned 
 that though not the most palatable it was cer 
 tainly by far the easiest to secure, yet there was 
 that in the bestial growls of the strange crea 
 ture which reminded him of formidable antago 
 nists and gave him pause, while his hunger and 
 the odor of the hot flesh of Bara goaded him 
 almost to madness. Always Tarzan watched 
 him, guessing what was passing in the little 
 brain of the carnivore and well it was that he 
 did watch him, for at last Numa could stand 
 it no longer. His tail shot suddenly erect and 
 at the same instant the wary ape-man, know 
 ing all too well what the ' signal portended, 
 grasped the remainder of the deer's hind quar 
 ter between his teeth and leaped into a nearby 
 tree as Numa charged him with all the speed 
 and a sufficient semblance of 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 standards pre 
 vail. Had Tarzan been famished he would, 
 doubtless, have stood his ground and met the 
 lion's charge. He had done the thing before 
 upon more than one occasion, just as in the 
 * 25 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 past lie had charged lions himself; but tonight 
 he was far from famished and in the hind 
 quarter he had carried 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 presump 
 tion of this strange Numa must be punished! 
 And forthwith Tarzan set out to make life 
 miserable for the big cat. Close by were many 
 trees bearing large, hard fruits and to one of 
 these the ape-man swung with the agility of 
 a squirrel. Then commenced a bombardment 
 which brought forth earth-shaking roars from 
 Numa. One after another as rapidly as he 
 could gather and hurl them Tarzan pelted the 
 hard fruit down upon the lion. It was impos 
 sible for the tawny cat to eat under that hail 
 of missiles he could but roar and growl and 
 dodge and eventually he was driven away en 
 tirely from the carcass of Bara, the deer. He 
 went roaring and resentful; but in the very 
 center of the clearing his voice was suddenly 
 hushed and Tarzan saw the great head lower 
 and flatten out, the body crouch and the long 
 tail quiver, as the beast slunk cautiously toward 
 the trees upon the opposite side. 
 
 26 
 
THE CALL OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 Immediately Tarzan was alert. He lifted his 
 head and sniffed the slow, jungle breeze. What 
 was it that had attracted Numa's attention and 
 taken him soft-footed and silent away from the 
 scene of his discomfiture? Just as the lion 
 disappeared among the trees beyond the clear 
 ing Tarzan caught upon the down-coming wind 
 the explanation of his new interest the 
 scent spoor of man was wafted strongly to the 
 sensitive nostrils. Caching the remainder of 
 the deer's hind quarter in the crotch of a tree 
 the ape-man wiped his greasy palms upon his 
 naked thighs and swung off in pursuit of Numa. 
 A broad, well-beaten elephant path led into the 
 forest from the clearing. Parallel to this slunk 
 Numa, while above him Tarzan moved through 
 the trees, the shadow of a wraith. The savage 
 cat and the savage man saw Numa's quarry 
 almost simultaneously, though both had known 
 before it came within the vision of their eyes 
 that it was a black man. Their sensitive nos 
 trils had told them this much and Tarzan 's had 
 told him that the scent spoor was that of a 
 stranger old and a male, for race and sex 
 and age each has its own distinctive scent It 
 was an old man that made his way alone through 
 
 27 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 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 grey pate. Tarzan recognized the 
 ear-marks of the witch-doctor and awaited 
 Numa's charge with a feeling of pleasurable 
 anticipation, for the ape-man had no love for 
 witch-doctors ; but in the instant that Numa did 
 charge, the white man suddenly recalled that 
 the lion had stolen his kill a few minutes before 
 and that revenge is sweet. 
 
 The first intimation the black man had that 
 he was in danger was the crash of twigs as 
 Numa charged through the bushes into the 
 game trail not twenty yards behind him. Then 
 he turned to see a huge, black-maned lion rac 
 ing toward him and even as he turned, Numa 
 seized him. At the same instant the ape-man 
 dropped from an overhanging limb full upon 
 the lion's back and as he alighted he plunged 
 his knife into the tawny side behind the left 
 shoulder, tangled the fingers of his right hand 
 in the long mane, buried his teeth in Numa's 
 neck and wound his powerful legs about the 
 beast's torso. With a roar of pain and rage, 
 
 28 
 
THE CALL OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 Numa reared up and fell backward upon the 
 ape-man; but still the mighty man-thing clung 
 to his hold and repeatedly the long knife 
 plunged rapidly into his side. Over and over 
 rolled Numa, the lion, clawing and biting at the 
 air, roaring and growling horribly in savage 
 attempt to reach the thing upon its back. More 
 than once was Tarzan almost brushed from his 
 hold. He was battered and bruised and cov 
 ered with blood from Numa and dirt from the 
 trail, yet not for an instant did he lessen the 
 ferocity of his mad attack nor his grim hold 
 upon the back of his antagonist. To have loos 
 ened for an instant his grip there, would have 
 been to bring him within reach of those tear 
 ing talons or rending fangs, and have ended 
 forever the grim career of this jungle-bred 
 English lord. Where he had fallen beneath 
 the spring of the lion the witch-doctor lay, torn 
 and bleeding, unable to drag himself away and 
 watched the terrific battle between these two 
 lords of the jungle. His sunken eyes glittered 
 and his wrinkled lips moved over toothless 
 gums as he mumbled weird incantations to the 
 demons of his cult 
 
 For a time he felt no doubt as to the out* 
 29 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OP Alt 
 
 come the strange white man must certainly 
 succumb to terrible Simba whoever heard of 
 a lone man armed only with a knife slaying so 
 mighty a beast! Yet presently the old black 
 man's eyes went wider and he commenced to 
 have his doubts and misgivings. What won 
 derful sort of creature was this that battled 
 with Simba and held his own despite the mighty 
 muscles of the king of beasts and slowly there 
 dawned in those sunken eyes, gleaming so 
 brightly from the scarred and wrinkled face, 
 the light of a dawning recollection. Gropingly 
 backward into the past reached the fingers of 
 memory, until at last they seized upon a faint 
 picture, faded and yellow with the passing 
 years. It was the picture of a lithe, white- 
 skinned youth swinging through the trees in 
 company with a band of huge apes, and the 
 old eyes blinked and a great fear came into 
 them the superstitious fear of one who be 
 lieves in ghosts and spirits and demons. 
 
 And came the time once more when the witch 
 doctor no longer doubted the outcome of the 
 duel, yet his first judgment was reversed, for 
 now he knew that the jungle god would slay 
 Simba and the old black was even more terri- 
 
 30 
 
THE CALL OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 fied of Ms own impending fate at the hands 
 of the victor than he had been by the sure and 
 sudden death which the triumphant lion would 
 have meted out to him. He saw the lion weaken 
 from loss of blood. He saw the mighty limbs 
 tremble and stagger and at last he saw the 
 beast sink down to rise no more. He saw the 
 forest god or demon rise from the vanquished 
 foe, and placing a foot upon the still quivering 
 carcass, raise his face to the moon and bay out 
 a hideous cry that froze the ebbing blood in 
 the veins of the witch-doctor. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 PBOFHECY AND FULFILLMENT 
 
 THEN Tarzan turned his attention to the 
 man. He had not slain Numa to save the 
 negro he had merely done it in revenge upon 
 the lion; but now that he saw the old man lying 
 helpless and dying before him something akin 
 to pity tonehed his savage heart. In his youth 
 he would have slain the witch-doctor without 
 the slightest compunction; but civilization had 
 had its softening effect upon him even as it 
 does upon the nations and races which it 
 touches, though it had not yet gone far enough 
 with Tarzan to render him either cowardly or 
 effeminate. He saw an old man suffering and 
 dying, and he stooped and felt of his wounds 
 and stanched the flow of blood. 
 
 "Who are you?" asked the old man in a 
 trembling voice. 
 
 "I am Tarzan Tarzan of the Apes/' re 
 plied the ape-man and not without a greater 
 touch of pride than he would have said, " I am 
 John Clayton, Lord Greystoke." 
 
 32 
 
PROPHECY AND FULFILLMENT 
 
 The witch-doctor shook convulsively and 
 closed his eyes. When he opened them again 
 there was in them a resignation to whatever 
 horrible fate awaited him at the hands of this 
 feared demon of the woods. " Why do you not 
 kill me? " he asked. 
 
 " Why should I kill you? " inquired Tarzan. 
 "You have not harmed me, and anyway you 
 are already dying. Numa, the lion, has killed 
 you." 
 
 "You would not kill me?" Surprise and 
 incredulity were in the tones of the quavering 
 old voice. 
 
 " I would save you if I could," replied Tar 
 zan, " but that cannot be done. Why did you 
 think I would kill you? " 
 
 For a moment the old man was silent. When 
 he spoke it was evidently after some little effort 
 to muster his courage. " I knew you of old," 
 he said, "when you ranged the jungle in the 
 country of Mbonga, the chief. I was already 
 a witch-doctor when you slew Kulonga and the 
 others, and when you robbed our huts and our 
 poison pot. At first I did not remember you; 
 but at last I did the white-skinned ape that 
 lived with the hairy apes and made life miser- 
 
 33 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 able in the village of Mbonga, the chief the 
 forest god the Munango-Keewati for whom 
 we set food outside our gates and who came and 
 ate it. Tell me before I die are you man or 
 devil? " 
 
 Tarzan laughed. " I am a man," he said. 
 
 The old fellow sighed and shook his head. 
 " You have tried to save me from Simba," he 
 said. " For that I shall reward you. I am a 
 great witch-doctor. Listen to me, white man! 
 I see bad days ahead of you. It is writ in my 
 own blood which I have smeared upon my palm. 
 A god greater even than you will rise up and 
 strike you down. Turn back, Munango-Kee 
 wati ! Turn back before it is too late. Danger 
 lies ahead of you and danger lurks behind ; but 
 greater is the danger before. I see " He 
 paused and drew a long, gasping breath. Then 
 he crumpled into a little, wrinkled heap and 
 died. Tarzan wondered what else he had seen. 
 
 It was very late when the ape-man re-entered 
 the boma and lay down among his black war 
 riors. None had seen him go and none saw him 
 return. He thought about the warning of the 
 old witch-doctor before he fell asleep and he 
 thought of it again after he awoke ; but he did 
 
 34 
 
PROPHECY AND FULFILLMENT 
 
 not turn back for he was unafraid, though had 
 he known what lay in store for one he loved 
 most in all the world he would have flown 
 through the trees to her side and allowed the 
 gold of Opar to remain forever hidden in its 
 forgotten storehouse. 
 
 Behind Mm that morning another white man 
 pondered something he had heard during the 
 night and very nearly did he give up his proj 
 ect and turn back upon his trail. It was Wer- 
 per, the murderer, who in the still of the night 
 had heard far away upon the trail ahead of 
 him a sound that had filled his cowardly soul 
 with terror a sound such as he never before 
 had heard in all his life, nor dreamed that such 
 a frightful thing could emanate from the lungs 
 of a God-created creature. He had heard the 
 victory cry of the bull ape as Tarzan had 
 screamed it forth into the face of Goro, the 
 moon, and he had trembled then and hidden 
 his face ; and now in the broad light of a new 
 day he trembled again as he recalled it, and 
 would have turned back from the nameless dan 
 ger the echo of that frightful sound seemed to 
 portend, had he not stood in even greater fear 
 of Achmet Zek, his master. 
 
 35 
 
TAKZAN AND THE JEWELS OF 
 
 And so Tarzan of the Apes forged steadily 
 ahead toward Opar's ruined ramparts and be 
 hind him slunk Werper, jackal-like, and only 
 God knew what lay in store for each. 
 
 At the edge of the desolate valley, overlook 
 ing the golden domes and minarets of Opar, 
 Tarzan halted. By night he would go alone to 
 the treasure vault, reeonnoitering, for he had 
 determined that caution should mark his every 
 move upon this expedition. 
 
 "With the coming of night he set forth, and 
 Werper, who had scaled the cliffs alone behind 
 the ape-man's party, and hidden through the 
 day among the rough boulders of the mountain 
 top, slunk stealthily after him. The boulder- 
 strewn plain between the valley's edge and 
 the mighty granite kopje, outside the city's 
 walls, where lay the entrance to the passage 
 way leading to the treasure vault, gave the 
 Belgian ample cover as he followed Tarzan 
 toward Opar. 
 
 He saw the giant ape-man swing himself 
 nimbly up the face of the great rock. Werper, 
 clawing fearfully during the perilous ascent, 
 wealing in terror, almost palsied by fear, but 
 npnrred on by avarice, followed upward, until 
 
 36 
 
PROPHECY AND FULFILLMENT 
 
 at last he stood upon the summit of the rooky 
 hill 
 
 Tarzan was nowhere in sight. For a time 
 Werper hid behind one of the lesser boulders 
 that were scattered over the top of the hill, but, 
 seeing or hearing nothing of the Englishman, 
 he crept from his place of concealment to under 
 take a systematic search of his surroundings, 
 in the hope that he might discover the location 
 of the treasure in ample time to make his escape 
 before Tarzan returned, for it was the Bel 
 gian 's desire merely to locate the gold, that, 
 after Tarzan had departed, he might come in 
 safety with his followers and carry away as 
 much as he could transport. 
 
 He found the narrow cleft leading downward 
 into the heart of the kopje along well-worn, 
 granite steps. He advanced quite to the dark 
 mouth of the tunnel into which the runway dis 
 appeared ; but here he halted, fearing to enter, 
 lest he meet Tarzan returning. 
 
 The ape-man, far ahead of him, groped his 
 way along the rocky passage, until he came to 
 the ancient wooden door. A moment later he 
 stood within the treasure chamber, where, ages 
 since, long-ctead hands had ranged the lofty 
 
 37 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 rows of precious ingots for the rulers of that 
 great continent which now lies submerged 
 beneath the waters of the Atlantic. 
 
 No sound broke the stillness of the subter 
 ranean vault. There was no evidence that an 
 other had discovered the forgotten wealth since 
 last the ape-man had visited its hiding place. 
 
 Satisfied, Tarzan turned and retraced his 
 steps toward the summit of the kopje. Wer- 
 per, from the concealment of a jutting, granite 
 shoulder, watched him pass up from the shad 
 ows of the stairway and advance toward the 
 edge of the hill which faced the rim of the 
 valley where the Waziri awaited the signal of 
 their master. Then Werper, slipping stealthily 
 from his hiding place, dropped into the somber 
 darkness of the entrance and disappeared. 
 
 Tarzan, halting upon the kopje 's edge, raised 
 his voice in the thunderous roar of a lion. 
 Twice, at regular intervals, he repeated the 
 call, standing in attentive silence for several 
 minutes after the echoes of the third call had 
 died away. And then, from far across the val 
 ley, faintly, came an answering roar once, 
 twice, thrice. Basuli, the Waziri chieftain, had 
 heard and replied. 
 
 38 
 
PEOPHECY AND FULFILLMENT 
 
 Tarzan again made his way toward the treas 
 ure vault, knowing that in a few hours his 
 blacks would be with him, ready to bear away 
 another fortune in the strangely shaped, golden 
 ingots of Opar. In the meantime he would 
 carry as much of the precious metal to the sum 
 mit of the kopje as he could. 
 
 Six trips he made in the five hours before 
 Basuli reached the kopje, and at the end of that 
 time he had transported forty-eight ingots to 
 the edge of the great boulder, carrying upon 
 each trip a load which might well have stag 
 gered two ordinary men, yet his giant frame 
 showed no evidence of fatigue, as he helped 
 to raise his ebon warriors to the hill top with 
 the rope that had been brought for the purpose. 
 
 Six times he had returned to the treasure 
 chamber, and six times Werper, the Belgian, 
 had cowered in the black shadows at the far 
 end of the long vault. Once again came the 
 ape-man, and this time there came with him 
 fifty fighting men, turned porters for love of 
 the only creature in the world who might com 
 mand of their fierce and haughty natures such 
 menial service. Fifty-two more ingots passed 
 out of the vaults, making the total of one hun- 
 
 39 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 dred which Tarzan intended taking away with 
 
 As the last of the Waziri filed from the cham 
 ber, Tarzan turned back for a last glimpse of 
 the fabulous wealth upon which his two in 
 roads had made no appreciable impression. 
 Before he extinguished the single candle he had 
 brought with him for the purpose, and the 
 flickering light of which had cast the first alle 
 viating rays into the impenetrable darkness of 
 the buried chamber, that it had known for the 
 countless ages since it had lain forgotten of 
 man, Tarzan 9 s mind reverted to that first occa 
 sion upon which he had entered the treasure 
 vault, coming upon it by chance as he fled from 
 the pits beneath the temple, where he had been 
 hidden by La, the High Priestess of the Sun 
 Worshipers. 
 
 He recalled the scene within the temple when 
 he had lain stretched upon the sacrificial altar, 
 while La, with high-raised dagger, stood above 
 him, and the rows of priests and priestesses 
 awaited, in the ecstatic hysteria of fanaticism, 
 the first gush of their victim's warm blood, 
 that they might fill their golden goblets and 
 drink to the glory of their Flaming God. 
 
 40 
 
PROPHECY AND FULFILMENT 
 
 The brutal and bloody interruption by Tha, 
 the mad priest, passed vividly before the ape- 
 man's recollective eye, the flight of the votaries 
 before the insane blood lust of the hideous crea 
 ture, the brutal attack upon La, and his own 
 part in the grim tragedy when he had battled 
 with the infuriated Oparian and left him dead 
 at the feet of the priestess he would have pro 
 faned. 
 
 This and much more passed through Tarzan's 
 memory as he stood gazing at the long tiers 
 of dull-yellow metal. He wondered if La still 
 ruled in the temples of the ruined city whose 
 crumbling walls rose upon the very foundations 
 about him. Had she finally been forced into 
 a union with one of her grotesque priests? It 
 seemed a hideous fate, indeed, for one so beau 
 tiful. With a shake of his head, Tarzan stepped 
 to the flickering candle, extinguished its feeble 
 rays and turned toward the exit. 
 
 Behind him the spy waited for him to be 
 gone. He had learned the secret for which he 
 had come, and now he could return at his leisure 
 to his waiting followers, bring them to the 
 treasure vault and carry away all the gold that 
 they could stagger under. 
 
 41 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 The Waziri had reached the outer end of 
 the tunnel, and were winding upward toward 
 the fresh air and the welcome starlight of the 
 kopje's summit, before Tarzan shook off the de 
 taining hand of reverie and started slowly after 
 them. 
 
 Once again, and, he thought, for the last time, 
 he closed the massive door of the treasure 
 room. In the darkness behind him Werper 
 rose and stretched his cramped muscles. He 
 stretched forth a hand and lovingly caressed 
 a golden ingot on the nearest tier. He raised 
 it from its immemorial resting place and 
 weighed it in his hands. He clutched it to his 
 bosom in an ecstasy of avarice. 
 
 Tarzan dreamed of the happy homecoming 
 which lay before him, of dear arms about his 
 neck, and a soft cheek pressed to his ; but there 
 rose to dispel that dream the memory of the 
 old witch-doctor and his warning. 
 
 And then, in the span of a few brief seconds, 
 the hopes of both these men were shattered. 
 The one forgot even his greed in the panic of 
 terror the other was plunged into total for- 
 getfulness of the past by a jagged fragment of 
 rock which gashed a deep cut upon his head. 
 
 42 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 IT WAS at the moment that Tarzan turned 
 from the closed door to pursue his way to the 
 outer world. The thing came without warning. 
 One instant all was quiet and stability the 
 next, and the world rocked, the tortured sides of 
 the narrow passageway split and crumbled, 
 great blocks of granite, dislodged from the ceil 
 ing, tumbled into the narrow way, choking it, 
 and the walls bent inward upon the wreckage. 
 Beneath the blow of a fragment of the roof, 
 Tarzan staggered back against the door to the 
 treasure room, his weight pushed it open and 
 his body rolled inward upon the floor. 
 
 In the great apartment where the treasure 
 lay less damage was wrought by the earth 
 quake. A few ingots toppled from the. higher 
 tiers, a single piece of the rocky ceiling splin 
 tered off and crashed downward to the floor, 
 and the walls cracked, though they did not 
 collapse. 
 
 43 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 There was but the single shock, no other fol 
 lowed to complete the damage undertaken by 
 the first Werper, thrown to his length by the 
 suddenness and violence of the disturbance, 
 staggered to his feet when he found himself 
 unhurt Groping his way toward the far end 
 of the chamber, he sought the candle which Tar- 
 zan had left stuck in its own wax upon the pro 
 truding end of an ingot 
 
 By striking numerous matches the Belgian at 
 last found what he sought, and when, a moment 
 later, the sickly rays relieved the Stygian dark 
 ness about him, he breathed a nervous sigh of 
 relief, for the impenetrable gloom had accentu 
 ated the terrors of his situation. 
 
 As they became accustomed to the light the 
 man turned his eyes toward the door his one 
 thought now was of escape from this fright 
 ful tomb and as he did so he saw the body 
 of the naked giant lying stretched upon the 
 floor just within the doorway. Werper drew 
 back in sudden fear of detection; but a second 
 glance convinced him that the Englishman was 
 dead. From a great gash in the man's head a 
 pool of blood had collected upon the concrete 
 floor. 
 
 44 
 
THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 Quickly, the Belgian leaped over the pros 
 trate form of his erstwhile host, and without a 
 thought of succor for the man in whom, for 
 aught he knew, life still remained, he bolted 
 for the passageway and safety. 
 
 But his renewed hopes were soon dashed. 
 Just beyond the doorway he found the passage 
 completely clogged and choked by impenetra 
 ble masses of shattered rock. Once more he 
 turned and re-entered the treasure vault. Tak 
 ing the candle from its place he commenced 
 a systematic search of the apartment, nor had 
 he gone far before he discovered another door 
 in the opposite end of the room, a door which 
 gave upon creaking hinges to the weight of 
 his body. Beyond the door lay another narrow 
 passageway. Along this Werper made his way, 
 ascending a flight of stone steps to another 
 corridor twenty feet above the level of the 
 first. The flickering candle lighted the way be 
 fore him, and a moment later he was thankful 
 for the possession of this crude and antiquated 
 luminant, which, a few hours before he might 
 have looked upon with contempt, for it showed 
 him, just in time, a yawning pit, apparently 
 terminating the tunnel he was traversing. 
 
 45 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Before him was a circular shaft. He held 
 the candle above it and peered downward. Be 
 low him, at a great distance, he saw the light 
 reflected back from the surface of a pool of 
 water. He had come upon a well. He raised 
 the candle above his head and peered across 
 the black void, and there upon the opposite side 
 he saw the continuation of the tunnel ; but how 
 was he to span the gulf? 
 
 As he stood there measuring the distance to 
 the opposite side and wondering if he dared 
 venture so great a leap, there broke suddenly 
 upon his startled ears a piercing scream which 
 diminished gradually until it ended in a series 
 of dismal moans. The voice seemed partly hu 
 man, yet so hideous that it might well have em 
 anated from the tortured throat of a lost soul, 
 writhing in the fires of hell. 
 
 The Belgian shuddered and looked fearfully 
 upward, for the scream had seemed to come 
 from above him. As he looked he saw an open 
 ing far overhead, and a patch of sky pinked 
 with brilliant stars. 
 
 His half -formed intention to call for help was 
 expunged by the terrifying cry where such 
 a voice lived, no human creatures could dwell. 
 
 46 
 
THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 He dared not reveal himself to whatever in 
 habitants dwelt in the place above him. He 
 cursed himself for a fool that he had ever em 
 barked upon such a mission. He wished him 
 self safely back in the camp of Achmet Zek, 
 and would almost have embraced an opportu 
 nity to give himself up to the military authori 
 ties of the Congo if by so doing he might be 
 rescued from the frightful predicament in which 
 he now was. 
 
 He listened fearfully, but the cry was not 
 repeated, and at last spurred to desperate 
 means, he gathered himself for the leap across 
 the chasm. Going back twenty paces, he took 
 a running start, and at the edge of the well, 
 leaped upward and outward in an attempt to 
 gain the opposite side. 
 
 In his hand he clutched the sputtering can 
 dle, and as he took the leap the rush of air ex 
 tinguished it In utter darkness he flew through 
 space, clutching outward for a hold should his 
 feet miss the invisible ledge. 
 
 He struck the edge of the floor of the oppo 
 site terminus of the rocky tunnel with his 
 knees, slipped backward, clutched desperately 
 for a moment, and at last hung half within and 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 half without the opening ; but he was safe. For 
 several minutes he dared not move ; but clung, 
 weak and sweating, where he lay. At last, cau 
 tiously, he drew himself well within the tun 
 nel, and again he lay at full length upon the 
 floor, fighting to regain control of his shattered 
 nerves. 
 
 When his knees struck the edge of the tun 
 nel he had dropped the candle. Presently, hop 
 ing against hope that it had fallen upon the 
 floor of the passageway, rather than back into 
 the depths of the well, he rose upon all fours 
 and commenced a diligent search for the little 
 tallow cylinder, which now seemed infinitely 
 more precious to him than all the fabulous 
 wealth of the hoarded ingots of Opar. 
 
 And when, at last, he found it, he clasped 
 it to him and sank back sobbing and exhausted. 
 For many minutes he lay trembling and bro 
 ken; but finally he drew himself to a sitting 
 posture, and taking a match from his pocket, 
 lighted the stump of the candle which re 
 mained to him. With the light he found it 
 easier to regain control of his nerves, and pres 
 ently he was again making his way along the 
 tunnel in search of an avenue of escape. The 
 
 48 
 
THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 horrid cry that had come down to him from 
 above through the ancient well-shaft still haunt 
 ed him, so that he trembled in terror at even 
 the sounds of his own cautious advance. 
 
 He had gone forward but a short distance, 
 when, to his chagrin, a wall of masonry barred 
 his farther progress, closing the tunnel com 
 pletely from top to bottom and from side to 
 side. What could it mean? Werper was an 
 educated and intelligent man. His military 
 training had taught him to use his mind for the 
 purpose for which it was intended. A blind 
 tunnel such as this was senseless. It must con 
 tinue beyond the wall Someone, at some time 
 in the past, had had it blocked for an unknown 
 purpose of his own. The man fell to examin 
 ing the masonry by the light of his candle. To 
 his delight he discovered that the thin blocks 
 of hewn stone of which it was constructed were 
 fitted in loosely without mortar or cement. He 
 tugged upon one of them, and to his joy found 
 that it was easily removable. One after an 
 other he pulled out the blocks until he had 
 opened an aperture large enough to admit his 
 body, then he crawled through into a large, low 
 chamber. Across this another door barred his 
 
 49 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 way; but this, too, gave before his efforts, for 
 it was not barred. A long, dark corridor 
 showed before him, but before he had followed 
 it far, his candle burned down until it scorched 
 his fingers. With an oath he dropped it to the 
 floor, where it sputtered for a moment and went 
 out. 
 
 Now he was in total darkness, and again ter 
 ror rode heavily astride his neck. What fur 
 ther pitfalls and dangers lay ahead he could 
 not guess ; but that he was as far as ever from 
 liberty he was quite willing to believe, so de 
 pressing is utter absence of light to one in un 
 familiar surroundings. 
 
 Slowly he groped his way along, feeling with 
 his hands upon the tunnel's walls, and cau 
 tiously with his feet ahead of him upon the 
 floor before he would take a single forward 
 step. How long he crept on thus he could not 
 guess; but at last, feeling that the tunnel's 
 length was interminable, and exhausted by his 
 efforts, by terror, and loss of sleep, he deter 
 mined to lie down and rest before proceeding 
 farther. 
 
 When he awoke there was no change in the 
 surrounding blackness. He might have slept 
 
 50 
 
THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 a second or a day he could not know; but 
 that he had slept for some time was attested 
 by the fact that he felt refreshed and hungry. 
 
 Again he commenced his groping advance; 
 but this time he had gone but a short distance 
 when he emerged into a room, which was 
 lighted through an opening in the ceiling, from 
 which a fligfht of concrete steps led downward 
 to the floor of the chamber. 
 
 Above him, through the aperture, Werper 
 could see sunlight glancing from massive col 
 umns, which were twined about by clinging 
 vines. He listened ; but he heard no sound other 
 than the soughing of the wind through leafy 
 branches, the hoarse cries of birds, and the 
 chattering of monkeys. 
 
 Boldly he ascended the stairway, to find him 
 self in a circular court. Just before him stood 
 a stone altar, stained with rusty-brown discol- 
 orations. At the time Werper gave no thought 
 to an explanation of these stains later their 
 origin became all too hideously apparent to 
 him. 
 
 Besides the opening in the floor, just behind 
 the altar, through which he had entered the 
 court from the subterranean chamber below, 
 
 51 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 the Belgian discovered several doors leading 
 from the enclosure upon the level of the floor. 
 Above, and circling the courtyard, was a se 
 ries of open balconies. Monkeys scampered 
 about the deserted ruins, and gaily plumaged 
 birds flitted in and out among the columns and 
 the galleries far above; but no sign of human 
 presence was discernible. Werper felt re 
 lieved. He sighed, as though a great weight 
 had been lifted from his shoulders. He took a 
 step toward one of the exits, and then he halted, 
 wide-eyed in astonishment and terror, for al 
 most at the same instant a dozen doors opened 
 in the courtyard wall and a horde of fright 
 ful men rushed in upon him. 
 
 They were the priests of the Flaming God 
 of Opar the same, shaggy, knotted, hideous 
 little men who had dragged Jane Clayton to the 
 sacrificial altar at this very spot years before. 
 Their long arms, their short and crooked legs, 
 their close-set, evil eyes, and their low, reced 
 ing foreheads gave them a bestial appearance 
 that sent a qualm of paralyzing fright through 
 the shaken nerves of the Belgian. 
 
 With a scream he turned to flee back into 
 the lesser terrors of the gloomy corridors aad 
 
 52 
 
The shaggy, knotted, hideous little men seized him 
 
THE ALTAR OF THE FLAMING GOD 
 
 apartments from which he had just emerged, 
 but the frightful men anticipated his inten 
 tions. They blocked the way; they seized him, 
 and though he fell, groveling upon his knees 
 before them, begging for his life, they bound 
 him and hurled him to the floor of the inner 
 temple. 
 
 The rest was but a repetition of what Tar- 
 zan and Jane Clayton had passed through. 
 The priestesses came, and with them La, the 
 High Priestess. Werper was raised and laid 
 across the altar. Cold sweat exuded from his 
 every pore as La raised the cruel, sacrificial 
 knife above him. The death chant fell upon his 
 tortured ears. His staring eyes wandered to 
 the golden goblets from which the hideous vo 
 taries would soon quench their inhuman thirst 
 in his own, warm life-blood. 
 
 He wished that he might be granted the brief 
 respite of unconsciousness before the final 
 plunge of the keen blade and then there was 
 a frightful roar that sounded almost in his 
 ears. The High Priestess lowered her dag 
 ger. Her eyes went wide in horror. The priest 
 esses, her votaresses, screamed and fled madly 
 toward the exits. The priests roared out their 
 
 53 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 rage and terror according to the temper of their 
 courage. Werper strained Ms neck about to 
 catch a sight of the cause of their panic, and 
 when, at last he saw it, he too went cold in 
 dread, for what his eyes beheld was the figure 
 of a huge lion standing in the center of the 
 temple, and already a single victim lay man 
 gled beneath his cruel paws. 
 
 Again the lord of the wilderness roared, turn 
 ing his baleful gaze upon the altar. La stag 
 gered forward, reeled, and fell across Werper 
 in a swoon. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ABAB EAID 
 
 AFTER their first terror had subsided sub 
 sequent to the shock of the earthquake, Ba- 
 suli and his warriors hastened back into the 
 passageway in search of Tarzan and two of 
 their own number who were also missing. 
 
 They found the way blocked by jammed and 
 distorted rock. For two days they labored to 
 tear a way through to their imprisoned friends ; 
 but when, after Herculean efforts, they had un 
 earthed but a few yards of the choked passage, 
 and discovered the mangled remains of one of 
 their fellows they were forced to the conclusion 
 that Tarzan and the second Waziri also lay dead 
 beneath the rock mass farther in, beyond human 
 aid, and no longer susceptible of it. 
 
 Again and again as they labored they called 
 aloud the names of their master and their com 
 rade; but no answering call rewarded their 
 listening ears. At last they gave up the search. 
 Tearfully they cast a last look at the shattered 
 
 55 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 tomb of their master, shouldered the heavy 
 burden of gold that would at least furnish com 
 fort, if not happiness, to their bereaved and 
 beloved mistress, and made their mournful 
 way back across the desolate valley of Opar, 
 and downward through the forests beyond to 
 ward the distant bungalow. 
 
 And as they marched what sorry fate was 
 already drawing down upon that peaceful, 
 happy home! 
 
 From the north came Achmet Zek, riding 
 to the summons of his lieutenant's letter. With 
 him came his horde of renegade Arabs, out 
 lawed marauders, these, and equally degraded 
 blacks, garnered from the more debased and 
 ignorant tribes of savage cannibals through 
 whose countries the raider passed to and fro 
 with perfect impunity. 
 
 Mugambi, the ebon Hercules, who had shared 
 the dangers and vicissitudes of his beloved 
 Bwana, from Jungle Island, almost to the head 
 waters of the Ugambi, was the first to note the 
 bold approach of the sinister caravan. 
 
 He it was whom Tarzan had left in charge 
 of the warriors who remained to guard Lady 
 Greystoke, nor could a braver or more loyal 
 
 56 
 
THE ARAB RAID 
 
 guardian have been found in any clime or upon 
 any soil. A giant in stature, a savage, fear 
 less warrior, the huge black possessed also soul 
 and judgment in proportion to his bulk and his 
 ferocity. 
 
 Not once since his master had departed had 
 he been beyond sight or sound of the bungalow, 
 except when Lady Greystoke chose to canter 
 across the broad plain, or relieve the monot 
 ony of her loneliness by a brief hunting ex 
 cursion. On such occasions Mugambi, mounted 
 upon a wiry Arab, had ridden close at her 
 horse's heels. 
 
 The raiders were still a long way off when 
 the warrior's keen eyes discovered them. For 
 a time he stood scrutinizing the advancing 
 party in silence, then he turned and ran rap 
 idly in the direction of the native huts which 
 lay a few hundred yards below the bungalow. 
 
 Here he called out to the lolling warriors. 
 He issued orders rapidly. In compliance with 
 them the men seized upon their weapons and 
 their shields. Some ran to call in the workers 
 from the fields and to warn the tenders of the 
 flocks and herds. The majority followed Mu 
 gambi back toward the bungalow. 
 
 57 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 The dust of the raiders was still a long dis 
 tance away. Mugambi could not know posi 
 tively that it hid an enemy ; but he had spent a 
 lifetime of savage life in savage Africa, and 
 he had seen parties before come thus unher 
 alded. Sometimes they had come in peace and 
 sometimes they had come in war one could 
 never tell. It was well to be prepared. Mu 
 gambi did not like the haste with which the 
 strangers advanced. 
 
 The Greystoke bungalow was not well 
 adapted for defense. No palisade surrounded 
 it, for, situated as it was, in the heart of loyal 
 Waziri, its master had anticipated no possi 
 bility of an attack in force by any enemy. 
 Heavy, wooden shutters there were to close 
 the window apertures against hostile arrows, 
 and these Mugambi was engaged in lowering 
 when Lady Greystoke appeared upon the ve 
 randa. 
 
 " Why, Mugambi! " she exclaimed. " What 
 has happened? Why are you lowering the 
 shutters? " 
 
 Mugambi pointed out across the plain to 
 where a white-robed force of mounted men 
 was now distinctly visible. 
 
 58 
 
THE ARAB RAID 
 
 " Arabs," he explained. " They come for no 
 good purpose in the, absence of the Great 
 Bwana." 
 
 Beyond the neat lawn and the flowering 
 shrubs, Jane Clayton saw the glistening bod 
 ies of her WazirL The sun glanced from the 
 tips of their metal-shod spears, picked out the 
 gorgeous colors in the feathers of their war 
 bonnets, and reflected the high-lights from the 
 glossy skins of their broad shoulders and high 
 cheek bones. 
 
 Jane Clayton surveyed them with unmixed 
 feelings of pride and affection. What harm 
 could befall her with such as these to protect 
 her! 
 
 The raiders had halted now, a hundred yards 
 out upon the plain. Mugambi had hastened 
 down to join his warriors. He advanced a few 
 yards before them and raising his voice hailed 
 the strangers. Achmet Zek sat straight in his 
 saddle before his henchmen. 
 
 " Arab! " cried Mugambi. " What do you 
 here?" 
 
 "We come in peace," Achmet Zek called 
 back. 
 
 " Then turn and go in peace," replied Mu- 
 59 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 gambi. "We do not want you here. There 
 can be no peace between Arab and Waziri." 
 
 Mugambi, although not born a Waziri, had 
 been adopted into the tribe, which now con 
 tained no member more jealous of its traditions 
 and its prowess than he. 
 
 Achmet Zek drew to one side of his horde, 
 speaking to his men in a low voice. A mo 
 ment later, without warning, a ragged volley 
 was poured into the ranks of the Waziri. A 
 couple of the warriors fell, the others were for 
 charging the attackers; but Mugambi was a 
 cautious as well as a brave leader. He knew 
 the futility of charging mounted men armed 
 with muskets. He withdrew his force behind 
 the shrubbery of the garden. Some he dis 
 patched to various other parts of the grounds 
 surrounding the bungalow. Half a dozen he 
 sent to the bungalow itself with instructions 
 to keep their mistress within doors, and to 
 protect her with their lives. 
 
 Adopting the tactics of the desert fighters 
 from which he had sprung, Achmet Zek led 
 his followers at a gallop in a long, thin line, 
 describing a great circle which drew closer 
 and closer in toward the defenders. 
 
 60 
 
 
THE ARAB RAID 
 
 At that part of the circle closest to the Wa- 
 ziri, a constant fusillade of shots was poured 
 into the bushes behind which the black war 
 riors had concealed themselves. The latter, 
 on their part, loosed their slim shafts at the 
 nearest of the enemy. 
 
 The Waziri, justly famed for their archery, 
 found no cause to blush for their performance 
 that day. Time and again some swarthy horse 
 man threw hands above his head and toppled 
 from his saddle, pierced by a deadly arrow; 
 but the contest was uneven. .The Arabs out 
 numbered the Waziri ; their bullets penetrated 
 the shrubbery and found marks that the Arab 
 riflemen had not even seen; and then Achmet 
 Zek circled inward a half mile above the bun 
 galow, tore down a section of the fence, and 
 led his marauders within the grounds. 
 
 Across the fields they charged at a mad run. 
 Not again did they pause to lower fences, in 
 stead, they drove their wild mounts ^straight 
 for them, clearing the obstacles as lightly as 
 winged gulls. 
 
 Mugambi saw them coming, and, calling those 
 of his warriors who remained, ran for the bun 
 galow and the last stand. Upon the veranda 
 
 61 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Lady Greystoke stood, rifle in hand. More 
 than a single raider had accounted to her steady 
 nerves and cool aim for his outlawry; more 
 than a single pony raced, riderless, in the wake 
 of the charging horde. 
 
 Mugambi pushed his mistress back into the 
 greater security of the interior, and with his 
 depleted force prepared to make a last stand 
 against the foe. 
 
 On came the Arabs, shouting and waving 
 their long guns above their heads. Past the 
 veranda they raced, pouring a deadly fire into 
 the kneeling Waziri who discharged their volley 
 of arrows from behind their long, oval shields 
 shields well adapted, perhaps, to stop a hos 
 tile arrow, or deflect a spear; but futile, quite, 
 before the leaden missiles of the riflemen. 
 
 From beneath the half -raised shutters of the 
 bungalow other bowmen did effective service 
 in greater security, and after the first assault, 
 Mugambi withdrew his entire force within the 
 building. 
 
 Again and again the Arabs charged, at last 
 forming a stationary circle about the little 
 fortress, and outside the effective range of the 
 defenders' arrows. From their new position 
 
 62 
 
THE ARAB RAID 
 
 they fired at will at the windows. One by one 
 the Waziri fell. Fewer and fewer were the ar 
 rows that replied to the guns of the raiders, 
 and at last Achmet Zek felt safe in ordering 
 an assault. 
 
 Firing as they ran, the bloodthirsty horde 
 raced for the veranda. A dozen of them fell 
 to the arrows of the defenders; but the ma 
 jority reached the door. Heavy gun butts fell 
 upon it. The crash of splintered wood mingled 
 with the report of a rule as Jane Clayton fired 
 through the panels upon the relentless foe. 
 
 Upon both sides of the door men fell; but 
 at last the frail barrier gave to the vicious as 
 saults of the maddened attackers ; it crumpled 
 inward and a dozen swarthy murderers leaped 
 into the living-room. At the far end stood Jane 
 Clayton surrounded by the remnant of her de 
 voted guardians. The floor was covered by 
 the bodies of those who already had given. up 
 their lives in her defense. In the forefront of 
 her protectors stood the giant Mugambi. The 
 Arabs raised their rifles to pour in the last 
 volley that would effectually end all resistance ; 
 but Achmet Zek roared out a warning order 
 that stayed their trigger fingers. 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 " Fire not upon the woman!" lie cried. 
 " Who harms her, dies. Take the woman 
 alive I" 
 
 The Arabs rushed across the room ; the Wa- 
 ziri met them with their heavy spears. Swords 
 flashed, long-barreled pistols roared out their 
 sullen death dooms. Mugambi launched his 
 spear at the nearest of the enemy with a force 
 that drove the heavy shaft completely through 
 the Arab's body, then he seized a pistol from 
 another, and grasping it by the barrel brained 
 all who forced their way too near his mistress. 
 
 Emulating his example the few warriors who 
 remained to him fought like demons ; but one by 
 one they fell, until only Mugambi remained to 
 defend the life and honor of the ape-man's 
 mate. 
 
 From across the room Achmet Zek watched 
 the unequal struggle and urged on his minions. 
 In his hands was a jeweled musket. Slowly he 
 raised it to his shoulder, waiting until another 
 move should place Mugambi at his mercy with 
 out endangering the lives of the woman or any 
 of his own followers. 
 
 At last the moment came, and Achmet Zek 
 pulled the trigger. Without a sound the brave 
 
 64 
 
THE ARAB RAID 
 
 Mugambi sank to the floor at the feet of Jane 
 Clayton. 
 
 An instant later she was surrounded and Dis 
 armed. Without a word they dragged her from 
 the bungalow. A giant negro lifted her to the 
 pommel of his saddle, and while the raiders 
 searched the bungalow and outhouses for plun 
 der he rode with her beyond the gates and 
 waited the coming of his master. 
 
 Jane Clayton saw the raiders lead the horses 
 from the corral, and drive the herds in from 
 the fields. She saw her home plundered of all 
 that represented intrinsic worth in the eyes 
 of the Arabs, and then she saw the torch ap 
 plied, and the flames lick up what remained. 
 
 And at last, when the raiders assembled after 
 glutting their fury and their avarice, and rode 
 away with her toward the north, she saw the 
 smoke and the flames rising far into the heavens 
 until the winding of the trail into the thick for 
 ests hid the sad view from her eyes. 
 
 As the flames ate their way into the living- 
 room, reaching out forked tongues to lick up 
 the bodies of the dead, one of that gruesome 
 company whose bloody welterings had long 
 since been stilled, moved again. It was a huge 
 
 65 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 black who rolled over upon his side and opened 
 blood-shot, suffering eyes. Mugambi, whom the 
 Arabs had left for dead, still lived. The hot 
 flames were almost upon him as he raised him 
 self painfully upon his hands and knees and 
 crawled slowly toward the doorway. 
 
 Again and again he sank weakly to the floor; 
 but each time he rose again and continued his 
 pitiful way toward safety. After what seemed 
 to him an interminable time, during which the 
 flames had become a veritable fiery furnace at 
 the far side of the room, the great black man 
 aged to reach the veranda, roll down the steps, 
 and crawl off into the cool safety of some near 
 by shrubbery. 
 
 All night he lay there, alternately uncon 
 scious and painfully sentient ; and in the latter 
 state watching with savage hatred the lurid 
 flames which still rose from burning crib and 
 hay cock. A prowling lion roared close at 
 hand; but the giant black was unafraid. There 
 was place for but a single thought in his savage 
 mind revenge! revenge! revenge! 
 
 66 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE JEWEL-BOOM OF OPAR 
 
 FOB some time Tarzan lay where he had 
 fallen upon the floor of the treasure cham 
 ber beneath the ruined walls of Opar. He lay 
 as one dead ; but he was not dead. At length 
 he stirred. His eyes opened upon the utter 
 darkness of the room. He raised his hand to 
 his head and brought it away sticky with clot 
 ted blood. He sniffed at his fingers, as a wild 
 beast might sniff at the life-blood upon a 
 wounded paw. 
 
 Slowly he rose to a sitting posture listen 
 ing. No sound reached to the buried depths of 
 his sepulcher. He staggered to his feet, and 
 groped his way about among the tiers of ingots. 
 What was he? Where was he? His head 
 ached; but otherwise he felt no ill effects from 
 the blow that had felled him. The accident he 
 did not recall, nor did he recall aught of what 
 had led up to it. 
 
 He let his hands grope unf amiliarly over his 
 67 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 limbs, his torso, and his head. He felt of the 
 quiver at his back, the knife in his loin cloth. 
 Something struggled for recognition within his 
 brain. Ah! he had it. There was something 
 missing. He crawled about upon the floor, feel 
 ing with his hands for the thing that instinct 
 warned him was gone. At last he found it 
 the heavy war spear that in past years had 
 formed so important a feature of his daily life, 
 almost of his very existence, so inseparably 
 had it been connected with his every action since 
 the long-gone day that he had wrested his first 
 spear from the body of a black victim of his 
 savage training. 
 
 Tarzan was sure that there was another and 
 more lovely world than that which was confined 
 to the darkness of the four stone walls sur 
 rounding him. He continued his search and at 
 last found the doorway leading inward beneath 
 the city and the temple. This he followed, most 
 incautiously. He came to the stone steps lead 
 ing upward to the higher level. He ascended 
 them and continued onward toward the well. 
 
 Nothing spurred his hurt memory to a recol 
 lection of past familiarity with his surround 
 ings. He blundered on through the darkness 
 
 68 
 
THE JEWEL-ROOM OF OPAR 
 
 as though he were tranversing an open plain 
 under the brilliance of a noonday sun, and 
 suddenly there happened that which had to 
 happen under the circumstances of his rash 
 advance. 
 
 He reached the brink of the well, stepped out 
 ward into space, lunged forward, and shot 
 downward into the inky depths below. Still 
 clutching his spear, he struck the water, and 
 sank beneath its surface, plumming the depths. 
 
 The fall had not injured him, and when he 
 rose to the surface, he shook the water from 
 his eyes, and found that he could see. Daylight 
 was filtering into the well from the orifice far 
 above his head. It illumined the inner walls 
 faintly. Tarzan gazed about him. On the level 
 with the surface of the water he saw a large 
 opening in the dank and slimy wall. He swam 
 to it, and drew himself out upon the wet floor 
 of a tum^l. 
 
 Along this he passed ; but now he went war 
 ily, for Tarzan of the Apes was learning. The 
 unexpected pit had taught him care in the trav 
 ersing of dark passageways he needed no 
 second lesson. 
 
 For a long distance the passage went straight 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 as an arrow. The floor was slippery, as though 
 at times the rising waters of the well over 
 flowed and flooded it. This, in itself, retarded 
 Tarzan 's pace, for it was with difficulty that 
 he kept his footing. 
 
 The foot of a stairway ended the passage. 
 Up this he made his way. It turned back and 
 forth many times, leading, at last, into a small, 
 circular chamber, the gloom of which was re 
 lieved by a faint light which found ingress 
 through a tubular shaft several feet in diameter 
 which rose from the center of the room's ceil 
 ing, upward to a distance of a hundred feet or 
 more, where it terminated in a stone grating 
 through which Tarzan could see a blue and sun 
 lit sky. 
 
 Curiosity prompted the ape-man to investi 
 gate his surroundings. Several metal-bound, 
 copper-studded chests constituted the sole fur 
 niture of the round room. Tarzan let his hands 
 run over these. He felt of the copper studs, he 
 pulled upon the hinges, and at last, by chance, 
 he raised the cover of one. 
 
 An exclamation of delight broke from his lips 
 at sight of the pretty contents. Gleaming 
 and glistening in the subdued light of the cham- 
 
 70 
 
THE JEWEL-ROOM OF OPAR 
 
 ber, lay a great tray full of brilliant stones. 
 Tarzan, reverted to the primitive by his acci 
 dent, had no conception of the fabulous value 
 of his find. To him they were but pretty peb 
 bles. He plunged his hands into them and let 
 the priceless gems filter through his fingers. 
 He went to others of the chests, only to find still 
 further stores of precious stones. Nearly all 
 were cut, and from these he gathered a hand 
 ful and filled the pouch which dangled at his 
 side the uncut stones he tossed back into the 
 chests. 
 
 Unwittingly, the ape-man had stumbled upon 
 the forgotten jewel-room of Opar. For ages 
 it had lain buried beneath the temple of the 
 Flaming God, midway of one of the many inky 
 passages which the superstitious descendants 
 of the ancient Sun,. Worshipers had either dared 
 not or cared not to explore. 
 
 Tiring at last of this diversion, Tarzan took 
 up his way along the corridor which led upward 
 from the jewel-room by a steep incline. Wind 
 ing and twisting, but always tending upward, 
 the tunnel led him nearer and nearer to the sur 
 face, ending finally in a low-ceiled room, lighter 
 than any that he had as yet discovered. 
 
 71 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 Above him an opening in the ceiling at the 
 upper end of a flight of concrete steps revealed 
 a brilliant sunlit scene. Tarzan viewed the 
 vine-covered columns in mild wonderment. He 
 puckered his brows in an attempt to recall 
 some recollection of similar things. He was 
 not sure of himself. There was a tantalizing 
 suggestion always present in his mind that 
 something was eluding him that he should 
 know many things which he did not know. 
 
 His earnest cogitation was rudely interrupted 
 by a thunderous roar from the opening above 
 him. Following the ro$r came the cries and 
 screams of men and women. Tarzan grasped 
 his spear more firmly and ascended the steps. 
 A strange sight met his eyes as he emerged 
 from the semi-darkness of the cellar to the bril 
 liant light of the temple. 
 
 The creatures he saw before him he recog 
 nized for what, they were men and women, 
 and a huge lion. The men and women were 
 scuttling for the safety of the exits. The lion 
 stood upon the body of one who had been less 
 fortunate than the others. He was in the cen 
 ter of the temple. Directly before Tarzan, a 
 woman stood beside a block of stone. Upon 
 
 72 
 
THE JEWEL-BOOM OF OPAR 
 
 the top of the stone lay stretched a man, and 
 as the ape-man watched the scene, he saw the 
 lion glare terribly at the two who remained 
 within the temple. Another thunderous roar 
 broke from the savage throat, the woman 
 screamed and swooned across the body of the 
 man stretched prostrate upon the stone altar 
 before her. 
 
 The lion advanced a few steps and crouched. 
 The tip of his sinuous tail twitched nervously. 
 He was upon the point of charging when his 
 eyes were attracted toward the ape-man. 
 
 Werper, helpless upon the altar, saw the 
 great carnivore preparing to leap upon him. 
 He saw the sudden change in the beast's expres 
 sion as his eyes wandered to something beyond 
 the altar and out of the Belgian's view. He 
 saw the formidable creature rise to a standing 
 position. A figure darted past Werper. He 
 saw a mighty arm upraised, and a stout spear 
 shoot forward toward the lion, to bury itself 
 in the broad chest. 
 
 He saw the lion snapping and tearing at the 
 weapon's shaft, and he saw, wonder of won 
 ders, the naked giant who had hurled the missile 
 charging upon the great beast, only a long 
 
 73 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 knife ready to meet those ferocious fangs and 
 talons. 
 
 The lion reared up to meet this new enemy. 
 The beast was growling frightfully, and then 
 upon the startled ears of the Belgian, broke 
 a similar savage growl from the lips of the man 
 rushing upon the beast 
 
 By a quick side step, Tarzan eluded the first 
 swinging dutch of the lion's paws. Darting to 
 the beast's side, he leaped upon the tawny 
 back. His arms encircled the maned neck, his 
 teeth sank deep into the brute's flesh. Roaring, 
 leaping, rolling and struggling, the giant cat 
 attempted to dislodge this savage enemy, and 
 all the while one great, brown fist was driving 
 a long keen blade repeatedly into the beast's 
 side. 
 
 During the batt|e, La regained consciousness. 
 Spellbound, she stood above her victim watch 
 ing the spectacle. It seemed incredible that 
 a human being could best the king of beasts 
 in personal encounter and yet before her very 
 eyes there was taking place just such an im 
 probability. 
 
 At last Tarzan 's knife found the great heart, 
 and with a final, spasmodic struggle the lion 
 
 74 
 
THE JEWEL-BOOM OF OPAR 
 
 rolled over upon the marble floor, dead Leap 
 ing to his feet the conqueror placed a foot upon 
 the carcass of his kill, raised his face toward 
 the heavens, and gave voice to so hideous a 
 cry that both La and Werper trembled as it 
 reverberated through the temple. 
 
 Then the ape-man turned, and Werper recog 
 nized him as the man he had left for dead in the 
 treasure room. 
 
CHAPTER vm 
 
 THE ESCAPE FROM OPAB 
 
 WEEPER was astounded. Could this 
 creature be the same dignified English 
 man who had entertained him so graciously in 
 his luxurious African home? Could this wild 
 beast, with blazing eyes, and bloody counte 
 nance, be at the same time a man? Could the 
 horrid, victory cry he had but just heard have 
 been formed in human throat? 
 
 Tarzan was eyeing the man and the woman, 
 a puzzled expression in* his eyes, but there was 
 no faintest tinge of recognition. It was as 
 though he had discovered some new species of 
 living creature and was marveling at his find. 
 
 La was studying the ape-man's features. 
 Slowly her large eyes opened very wide. 
 
 " Tarzan! " she exclaimed, and then, in the 
 vernacular of the great apes which constant 
 association with the anthropoids had rendered 
 the common language of the Oparians: " You 
 have come back to me! La has ignored the 
 
 76 
 
THE ESCAPE FJftOM OPAR 
 
 mandates of her religion, waiting, always wait 
 ing for Tarzan for her Tarzan. She has 
 taken no mate, for in all the world there was 
 but one with whom La would mate. And now 
 you have come back! Tell me, Tarzan, that 
 it is for me you have returned." 
 
 Werper listened to the unintelligible jargon. 
 He looked from La to Tarzan. "Would the lat 
 ter understand this strange tongue? To the 
 Belgian's surprise, the Englishman answered 
 in a language evidently identical to hers. 
 
 ' ' Tarzan, " he repeated, musingly. " Tar 
 zan. The name sounds familiar. " 
 
 "It is your name you are Tarzan," cried 
 La. 
 
 " I am Tarzan? " The ape-man shrugged. 
 " Well, it is a good name I know no other, so 
 I will keep it ; but I do not know you. I did not 
 come hither for you. Why I came, I do not 
 know at all; neither do I know from whence I 
 came. Can you tell me? " 
 
 La shook her head. "I never knew," she 
 replied. 
 
 Tarzan turned toward Werper and put the 
 same question to him; but in the language of 
 the great apes. The Belgian shook his head. 
 
 77 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 " I do not understand that language, " lie 
 said in French. 
 
 Without effort, and apparently without real 
 izing that he made the change, Tarzan repeated 
 his question in French. Werper suddenly came 
 to a full realization of the magnitude of the 
 injury of which Tarzan was a victim. The man 
 had lost his memory no longer could he rec 
 ollect past events. The Belgian was upon the 
 point of enlightening him, when it suddenly oc- 
 cured to him that by keeping Tarzan in ignor 
 ance, for a time at least, of his true identity, it 
 might be possible to turn the ape-man's mis 
 fortune to his own advantage. 
 
 " I cannot tell you from whence you came," 
 he said; " but this I can tell you if we do not 
 get out of this horrible place we shall both be 
 slain upon this bloody altar. The woman was 
 about to plunge her knife into my heart when 
 the lion interrupted the fiendish ritual. Come ! 
 Before they recover from their fright and reas 
 semble, let us find a way out of their damnable 
 temple." 
 
 Tarzan turned again toward La. 
 
 " Why," he asked, " would you have killed 
 this man? Are you hungry! " 
 
 78 
 
THE ESCAPE FROM OPAE 
 
 The High Priestess cried out in disgust. 
 
 "Did he attempt to kill you? " continued 
 Tarzan. 
 
 The woman shook her head. 
 
 " Then why should you have wished to kill 
 him? " Tarzan was determined to get to the 
 bottom of the thing. 
 
 La raised her slender arm and pointed 
 toward the sun. 
 
 * ' "We were offering up his soul as a gift to 
 the Flaming God," she said. 
 
 Tarzan looked puzzled. He was again an 
 ape, and apes do not understand such matters 
 as souls and Flaming Gods. 
 
 " Do you wish to die? " he asked Werper. 
 
 The Belgian assured him, with tears in his 
 eyes, that he did not wish to die. 
 
 "Very well then, you shall not," said Tar 
 zan. " Come! We will go. This she would 
 kill you and keep me for herself. It is no place 
 anyway for a Mangani. I should soon die, shut 
 up behind these stone walls." 
 
 He turned toward La. ' ' We are going now," 
 he said. 
 
 The woman rushed forward and seized the 
 ape-man's hands in hers. 
 
 79 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 " Do not leave me! " she cried. " Stay, and 
 you shall be High Priest. La loyes you. All 
 Opar shall be yours. Slaves shall wait upon 
 you. Stay, Tarzan of the Apes, and let love 
 reward you/' 
 
 The ape-man pushed the kneeling woman 
 aside. " Tarzan does not desire you," he said, 
 simply, and stepping to Werper 's side he cut 
 the Belgian's bonds and motioned him to fol 
 low. 
 
 Panting her face convulsed with rage, La 
 sprang to her feet. 
 
 " Stay, you shall! " she screamed. " La will 
 have you if she cannot have you alive, she 
 will have you dead," and raising her face to 
 the sun she gave voice to the same hideous 
 shriek that Werper had heard once before and 
 Tarzan many times. 
 
 In answer to her cry a babel of voices broke 
 from the surrounding chambers and corridors. 
 
 "Come, Guardian Priests!" she cried. 
 ' * The infidels have profaned the holiest of the 
 holies. Come! Strike terror to their hearts; 
 defend La and her altar; wash clean the temple 
 with the blood of the polluters." 
 
 Tarzan understood, though Werper did not. 
 80 
 
THE ESCAPE FROM OPAR 
 
 The former glanced at the Belgian and saw 
 that he was unarmed. Stepping quickly to La's 
 side the ape-man seized her in hfs strong arms 
 and though she fought with all the mad savage 
 ry of a demon, he soon disarmed her, hand 
 ing her long, sacrificial knife to Werper. 
 
 " You will need this," he said, and then from 
 each doorway a horde of the monstrous, little 
 men of Opar streamed into the temple. 
 
 They were armed with bludgeons and knives, 
 and fortified in their courage by fanatical hate 
 and frenzy. Werper was terrified. Tarzan 
 stood eyeing the foe in proud disdain. Slowly 
 he advanced toward the exit he had chosen to 
 utilize in making his way from the temple. A 
 burly priest barred his way. Behind the first 
 was a score of others. Tarzan swung his heavy 
 spear, clublike, down upon the skull of the 
 priest. The fellow collapsed, his head crushed. 
 
 Again and again the weapon fell as Tarzan 
 made his way slowly toward the doorway. 
 Werper pressed close behind, casting backward 
 glances toward the shrieking, dancing mob men 
 acing their rear. He held the sacrificial knife 
 ready to strike whoever might come within its 
 reach ; but none came. For a time he wondered 
 
 81 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 that they should so bravely battle with the giant 
 ape-man, yet hesitate to rush upon him, who 
 was relatively so weak. Had they done so he 
 knew that he must have fallen at the first 
 charge. Tarzan had reached the doorway over 
 the corpses of all that had stood to dispute 
 his way, before Werper guessed at the reason 
 for his immunity. The priests feared the sac 
 rificial knife ! Willingly would they face death 
 and welcome it if it came while they defended 
 their High Priestess and her altar; but evident 
 ly there were deaths, and deaths. Some strange 
 superstition must surround that polished 
 blade, that no Oparian cared to chance a death 
 thrust from it, yet gladly rushed to the slaugh 
 ter of the ape-man's flaying spear. 
 
 Once outside the temple court, Werper com 
 municated his discovery to Tarzan. The ape- 
 man grinned, and let Werper go before him, 
 brandishing the jeweled and holy weapon. Like 
 leaves before a gale, the Oparians scattered in 
 all directions and Tarzan and the Belgian found 
 a clear passage through the corridors and 
 chambers of the ancient temple. 
 
 The Belgian's eyes went wide as they passed 
 through the room of the seven pillars of solid 
 
 82 
 
THE ESCAPE FROM OPAR 
 
 gold. With ill-concealed avarice he looked upon 
 the age-old, golden tablets set in the walls of 
 nearly every room and down the sides of many 
 of the corridors. To the ape-man all this wealth 
 appeared to mean nothing. 
 
 On the two went, chance leading them toward 
 the broad avenue which lay between the stately 
 piles of the half -ruined edifices and the inner 
 wall of the city. Great apes jabbered at them 
 and menaced them; but Tarzan answered them 
 after their own kind, giving back taunt for 
 taunt, insult for insult, challenge for challenge. 
 
 Werper saw a hairy bull swing down from 
 a broken column and advance, stiff -legged and 
 bristling, toward the naked giant. The yellow 
 fangs were bared, angry snarls and barkings 
 rumbled threateningly through the thick and 
 hanging lips. 
 
 The Belgian watched his companion. To his 
 horror, he saw the man stoop until his closed 
 knuckles rested upon the ground as did those 
 of the anthropoid. He saw him circle, stiff- 
 legged about the circling ape. He heard the 
 same bestial barkings and growlings issue from 
 the human throat that were coming from the 
 mouth of the brute. Had his eyes been closed 
 
 83 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 he could not have known but that two giant 
 apes were bridling for combat. 
 
 But there was no battle. It ended as the ma 
 jority of such jungle encounters end one of 
 the boasters loses his nerve, and becomes sud 
 denly interested in a blowing leaf, a beetle, or 
 the lice upon his hairy stomach. 
 
 In this instance it was the anthropoid that 
 retired in stiff dignity to inspect an unhappy 
 caterpillar, which he presently devoured. For 
 a moment Tarzan seemed inclined to pursue the 
 argument He swaggered truculently, stuck out 
 his chest, roared and advanced closer to the 
 bull. It was with difficulty that Werper finally 
 persuaded him to leave well enough alone and 
 continue his way from the ancient city of the 
 Sun Worshipers. 
 
 The two searched for nearly an hour before 
 they found the narrow exit through the inner 
 wall. From there the well-worn trail led them 
 beyond the outer fortification to the desolate 
 valley of Opar. 
 
 Tarzan had no idea, in so far as Werper 
 could discover, as to where he was or whence 
 he came. He wandered aimlessly about, search 
 ing for food, which he discovered beneath small 
 
 84 
 
THE ESCAPE FROM OPAR 
 
 rocks, or hiding in the shade of the scant brush 
 which dotted the ground. 
 
 The Belgian was horrified by the hideous 
 menu of his companion. Beetles, rodents and 
 caterpillars were devoured with seeming relish. 
 Tarzan was indeed an ape again. 
 
 At last Werper succeeded in leading his com 
 panion toward the distant hills which mark the 
 northwestern boundary of the valley, and to 
 gether the two set out in the direction of the 
 Greystoke bungalow. 
 
 What purpose prompted the Belgian in lead 
 ing the victim of his treachery and greed back 
 toward his former home it is difficult to guess, 
 unless it was that without Tarzan there could 
 be no ransom for Tarzan 's wife. 
 
 That night they camped in the valley beyond 
 the hills, and as they sat before a little fire 
 where cooked a wild pig that had fallen to one 
 of Tarzan 's arrows, the latter sat lost in specu 
 lation. He seemed continually to be trying to 
 grasp some mental image which as constantly 
 eluded him. 
 
 At last he opened the leathern pouch which 
 hung at his side. From it he poured into the 
 palm of his hand a quantity of glittering gems. 
 
 85 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 The firelight playing upon them conjured a 
 multitude of scintillating rays, and as the wide 
 eyes of the Belgian looked on in rapt fascina 
 tion, the man's expression at last acknowledged 
 a tangible purpose in courting the society of 
 the ape-man. 
 
 86 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE THEFT OP THE JEWELS 
 
 FOR two days Werper sought for the party 
 that had accompanied him from the camp 
 to the barrier cliffs; but not until late in the 
 afternoon of the second day did he find clew 
 to its whereabouts, and then in such gruesome 
 form that he was totally unnerved by the sight. 
 
 In an open glade he came upon the bodies 
 of three of the blacks, terribly mutilated, nor 
 did it require considerable deductive power to 
 explain their murder. Of the little party only 
 these three had not been slaves. The others, 
 evidently tempted to hope for freedom from 
 their cruel Arab master, had taken advantage 
 of their separation from the main camp, to slay 
 the three representatives of the hated power 
 ;which held them in slavery, and vanish into the 
 jungle. 
 
 Cold weat exuded from Werper 's forehead 
 as he contemplated the fate which chance had 
 permitted him to escape, for had he been pres- 
 
 87 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ent when the conspiracy bore fruit, he, too, 
 must have been of the garnered. 
 
 Tarzan showed not the slightest surprise or 
 interest in the discovery. Inherent in him was 
 a calloused familiarity with violent death. The 
 refinements of his recent civilization expunged 
 by the force of the sad calamity which had be 
 fallen him, left only the primitive sensibilities 
 which his childhood's training had imprinted 
 indelibly upon the fabric of his mind. 
 
 The training of Kala, the examples and pre 
 cepts of Kerchak, of Tublat, and of Terkoz now 
 formed the basis of his every thought and ac 
 tion. He retained a mechanical knowledge of 
 French and English speech. Werper had spo 
 ken to him in French, and Tarzan had replied 
 in the same tongue without conscious realiza 
 tion that he had departed from the anthropoi- 
 dal speech in which he had addressed La. Had 
 Werper used English, the result would have 
 been the same. 
 
 Again, that night, as the two sat before their 
 camp fire, Tarzan played with his shining bau 
 bles. Werper asked him what they were and 
 where he had found them. The ape-man re 
 plied that they were gay-colored stones, with 
 
 88 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 which he purposed fashioning a necklace, and 
 that he had found them far beneath the sacri 
 ficial court of the temple of the Flaming God. 
 
 Werper was relieved to find that Tarzan had 
 no conception of the value of the gems This 
 would make it easier for the Belgian to obtain 
 possession of them. Possibly the man would 
 give them to him for the asking. "Werper 
 reached out his hand toward the little pile that 
 Tarzan had arranged upon a piece of flat wood 
 before him. 
 
 "Let me see them," said the Belgian. 
 
 Tarzan placed a large palm over his treas 
 ure. He bared his fighting fangs, and growled. 
 Werper withdrew his hand more quickly than 
 he had advanced it. Tarzan resumed his play 
 ing with the gems, and his conversation with 
 Werper as though nothing unusual had oc 
 curred. He had but exhibited the beast's jeal 
 ous protective instinct for a possession. When 
 he killed he shared the meat with Werper; but 
 had Werper ever, by accident, laid a, hand upon 
 Tarzan 's share, he would have aroused the 
 same savage, and resentful warning. 
 
 From that occurrence dated the beginning 
 of a great fear in the breast of the Belgian for 
 
 89 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 his savage companion. He had never under 
 stood the transformation that had been wrought 
 in Tarzan by the blow upon his head, other than 
 to attribute it to a form of amnesia. That Tar 
 zan had once been, in truth, a savage, jungle 
 beast, Werper had not known, and so, of course, 
 he could not guess that the man had reverted 
 to the state in which his childhood and young 
 manhood had been spent. 
 
 Now Werper saw in the Englishman a dan 
 gerous maniac, whom the slightest untoward 
 accident might turn upon him with rending 
 fangs. Not for a moment did Werper attempt 
 to delude himself into the belief that he could 
 defend himself successfully against an attack 
 by the ape-man. His one hope lay in eluding 
 him, and making for the far distant camp of 
 Achmet Zek as rapidly as he could; but armed 
 only with the sacrificial knife, Werper shrank 
 from attempting the journey through the jun 
 gle. Tarzan constituted a protection that was 
 by no means despicable, even in the face of the 
 larger carnivora, as Werper had reason to ac 
 knowledge from the evidence he had witnessed 
 in the Oparian temple. 
 
 Too, Werper had his covetous soul set upon 
 90 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 the pouch, of gems, and so he was torn between 
 the various emotions of avarice and fear. But 
 avarice it was that burned most strongly in 
 his breast, to the end that he dared the dan 
 gers and suffered the terrors of constant, as 
 sociation with him he thought a mad man, 
 rather than give up the hope of obtaining pos 
 session of the fortune which the contents of 
 the little pouch represented. 
 
 Achmet Zek should know nothing of these 
 these would be for Werper alone, and so soon 
 as he could encompass his design he would 
 reach the coast and take passage for Amer 
 ica, where he could conceal himself beneath 
 the veil of a new identity and enjoy to some 
 measure the fruits of his theft. He had it all 
 planned out, did Lieutenant Albert Werper, 
 living in anticipation the luxurious life of the 
 idle rich. He even found himself regretting 
 that America was so provincial, and that no 
 where in the new world was a city that might 
 compare with his beloved Brussels. 
 
 It was upon the third day of their progress 
 from Opar that the keen ears of Tarzan caught 
 the sound of men behind them. Werper heard 
 nothing above the humming of the jungle in- 
 
 91 
 
iTARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 sects, and the chattering life of the lesser mon 
 keys and the birds. 
 
 For a time Tarzan stood in statuesque si 
 lence, listening, his sensitive nostrils dilating 
 as he assayed each passing breeze. Then he 
 withdrew Werper into the concealment of thick 
 brush, and waited. Presently, along the game 
 trail that Werper and Tarzan had been follow 
 ing, there came in sight a sleek, black warrior, 
 alert and watchful. 
 
 In single file behind him, there followed, 
 one after another, near fifty others, each bur 
 dened with two dull-yellow ingots lashed upon 
 his back. Werper recognized the party imme 
 diately as that which had accompanied Tarzan 
 on his journey to Opar. He glanced at the 
 ape-man; but in the savage, watchful eyes he 
 saw no recognition of Basuli and those other 
 loyal Waziri. 
 
 When all had passed, Tarzan rose and 
 emerged from concealment. He looked down 
 the trail in the direction the party had gone. 
 Then he turned to Werper. 
 
 " We will follow and slay them," he said. 
 
 " Why? " asked the Belgian. 
 
 "They are black," explained Tarzan. "It 
 92 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 was a black who killed Kala. They are the en 
 emies of the Manganis." 
 
 Werper did not relish the idea of engaging in 
 a battle with Basuli and his fierce fighting men. 
 And, again, he had welcomed the sight of them 
 returning toward the Greystoke bungalow, for 
 he had begun to have doubts as to his ability 
 to retrace his steps to .the Waziri country. 
 Tarzan, he knew, had not the remotest idea of 
 whither they were going. By keeping at a safe 
 distance behind the laden warriors, they would 
 have no difficulty in following them home. Once 
 at the bungalow, Werper knew the way to the 
 camp of Achmet Zek. There was still another 
 reason why he did not wish to interfere with 
 the Waziri they were bearing the great bur 
 den of treasure in the direction he wished it 
 borne. The farther they took it, the less the 
 distance that he and Achmet Zek would have to 
 transport it. 
 
 He argued with the ape-man, therefore, 
 against the latter 's desire to exterminate the 
 blacks, and at last he prevailed upon Tarzan 
 to follow them in peace, saying that he was sure 
 they would lead them out of the forest into a 
 rich country, teeming with game. 
 
 93 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 It was many marches from Opar to the Waziri 
 country; but at last came the hour when Tarzan 
 and the Belgian, following the trail of the war 
 riors, topped the last rise, and saw before them 
 the broad Waziri plain, the winding river, and 
 the distant forests to the north and west. 
 
 A mile or more ahead of them, the line of 
 warriors was creeping like a giant caterpil 
 lar through the tall grasses of the plain. Be 
 yond, grazing herds of zebra, hartebeest, and 
 topi dotted the level landscape, while closer to 
 the river a bull buffalo, his head and shoulders 
 protruding from the reeds watched the advanc 
 ing blacks for a moment, only to turn at last 
 and disappear into the safety of his dank and 
 gloomy retreat. 
 
 Tarzan looked out across the familiar vista 
 with no faintest gleam of recognition in his 
 eyes. He saw the game animals, and his mouth 
 watered; but he did not look in the direction 
 of his bungalow. Werper, however, did. A 
 puzzled expression entered the Belgian's eyes. 
 He shaded them with his palms and gazed long 
 and earnestly toward the spot where the bun 
 galow had stood. He could not credit the tes 
 timony of his eyes there was no bungalow 
 
 94 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 no barns no outhouses. The corrals, the hay 
 stacks all were gone. What conld it mean? 
 
 And then, slowly there filtered into Werper's 
 consciousness an explanation of the havoc that 
 had been wrought in that peaceful valley since 
 last his eyes had rested upon it Achmet Zek 
 had been there ! 
 
 Basuli and his warriors had noted the devas 
 tation the moment they had come in sight of 
 the farm. Now they hastened on toward it talk 
 ing excitedly among themselves in animated 
 speculation upon the cause and meaning of the 
 catastrophe. 
 
 When, at last they crossed the trampled 
 garden and stood before the charred ruins of 
 their master's bungalow, their greatest fears 
 became convictions in the light of the evidence 
 about them. 
 
 Remnants of human dead, half devoured by 
 prowling hyenas and others of the carnivora 
 which infested the region, lay rotting upon the 
 ground, and among the corpses remained suf 
 ficient remnants of their clothing and orna 
 ments to make clear to Basuli the frightful 
 story of the disaster that had befallan his 
 master's house. 
 
 95 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 " The Arabs/' lie said, as Ms men clustered 
 about him. 
 
 The Waziri gazed about in mute rage for 
 several minutes. Everywhere they encountered 
 only further evidence of the ruthlessness of the 
 cruel enemy that had come during the Great 
 Bwana's absence and laid waste his property. 
 
 " What did they with ' Lady ' " asked one 
 of the blacks. 
 
 They had always called Lady Greystoke thus. 
 
 " The women they would have taken with 
 them," said Basuli. " Our women and his." 
 
 A giant black raised his spear above his head, 
 and gave voice to a savage cry of rage and hate. 
 The others followed his example. Basuli si 
 lenced them with a gesture. 
 
 " This is no time for useless noises of the 
 mouth," he said. "The Great Bwana has 
 taught us that it is acts by which things are 
 done, not words. Let us save our breath we 
 shall need it all to follow up the Arabs and slay 
 them. If ' Lady ' and our women live the 
 greater the need of haste, and warriors cannot 
 travel fast upon empty lungs." 
 
 From the shelter of the reeds along the river, 
 Werper and Tarzan watched the blacks. They 
 
 96 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 saw them dig a trench with their knives and 
 fingers. They saw them lay their yellow bur 
 dens in it and scoop the overturned earth back 
 over the tops of the ingots. 
 
 Tarzan seemed little interested, after Werper 
 had assured him that that which they buried 
 was not good to eat ; but Werper was intensely 
 interested. He would have given much had he 
 had his own followers with him, that he might 
 take away the treasure as soon as the blacks 
 left, for he was sure that they would leave this 
 scene of desolation and death as soon as pos 
 sible. 
 
 The treasure buried, the blacks removed 
 themselves a short distance up wind from the 
 fetid corpses, where they made camp, that they 
 might rest before setting out in pursuit of the 
 Arabs. It was already dusk. Werper and 
 Tarzan sat devouring some pieces of meat they 
 had brought from their last camp. The Bel 
 gian was occupied with his plans for the imme 
 diate future. He was positive that the Waziri 
 would pursue Achmet Zek, for he knew enough 
 of savage warfare, and of the characteristics 
 of the Arabs and their degraded followers to 
 guess that they had carried the Waziri women 
 
 97 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 off into slavery. This alone would assure im 
 mediate pursuit by so warlike a people as the 
 Waziri. 
 
 Werper felt that he should find the means 
 and the opportunity to push on ahead, that he 
 might warn Achmet Zek of the coming of Ba- 
 suli, and also of the location of the buried 
 treasure. What the Arab would now do with 
 Lady Greystoke, in view of the mental affliction 
 of her husband, Werper neither knew nor cared. 
 It was enough that the golden treasure buried 
 upon the site of the burned bungalow was in 
 finitely more valuable than any ransom that 
 would have occurred even to the avaricious 
 mind of the Arab, and if Werper could persuade 
 the raider to share even a portion of it with 
 him he wouid be well satisfied. 
 
 But by far the most important consideration, 
 to Werper, at least, was the incalculably valua 
 ble treasure in the little leathern pouch at Tar- 
 zan's side. If he could but obtain possession 
 of this! He must! He would! 
 
 His eyes wandered to the object of his greed. 
 They measured Tarzan's giant frame, and 
 rested upon the rounded muscles of his arms. 
 It was hopeless. What could he, Werper, hope 
 
 98 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 to accomplish, other than his own death, by an 
 attempt to wrest the gems from their savage 
 owner? 
 
 Disconsolate, Werper threw himself upon his 
 side. His head was pillowed on one arm, the 
 other rested across his face in such a way that 
 his eyes were hidden from the ape-man, though 
 one of them was fastened upon him from be 
 neath the shadow of the Belgian's forearm. 
 For a time he lay thus, glowering at Tarzan, 
 and originating schemes for plundering him of 
 his treasure schemes that were discarded as 
 futile as rapidly as they were born. 
 
 Tarzan presently let his own eyes rest upon 
 Werper. The Belgian saw that he was being 
 watched, and lay very still. After a few mo 
 ments he simulated the regular breathing of 
 deep slumber. 
 
 Tarzan had been thinking. He had seen the 
 Waziri bury their belongings. Werper had 
 told him that they were hiding them lest some 
 one find them and take them away. This seemed 
 to Tarzan a splendid plan for safeguarding 
 valuables. Since Werper had evinced a desire 
 to possess his glittering pebbles, Tarzan, with 
 the suspicions of a savage, had guarded the 
 
 99 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 baubles, of whose worth he was entirely igno 
 rant, as zealously as though they spelled life or 
 death to him. 
 
 For a long time the ape-man sat watching 
 his companion. At last, convinced that he slept, 
 Tarzan withdrew his hunting knife and com 
 menced to dig a hole in the ground before him. 
 With the blade he loosened up the earth, and 
 with his hands he scooped it out until he had 
 excavated a little cavity a few inches in diam 
 eter, and five or six inches in depth. Into this 
 he placed the pouch of jewels. Werper almost 
 forgot to breathe after the fashion of a sleeper 
 as he saw what the ape-man was doing he 
 scarce repressed an ejaculation of satisfac 
 tion. 
 
 Tarzan became suddenly rigid as his keen 
 ears noted the cessation of the regular inspira 
 tions and expirations of his companion. His 
 narrowed eyes bored straight down upon the 
 Belgian. Werper felt that he was lost he 
 must risk all on his ability to carry on the de 
 ception. He sighed, threw both arms outward, 
 and turned over on his back mumbling as 
 though in the throes of a bad dream. A mo 
 ment later he resumed the regular breathing. 
 
 100 
 
THE THEFT OF THE JEWELS 
 
 Now he could not watch. Tarzan, but he was 
 sure that the man sat for a long time looking 
 at him. Then, faintly, Werper heard the oth 
 er's hands scraping dirt, and later patting it 
 down. He knew then that the jewels were 
 buried. 
 
 It was an hour before Werper moved again, 
 then he rolled over facing Tarzan atod opened 
 his eyes. The ape-man slept. By reaching out 
 his hand Werper could touch the spot where the 
 pouch was buried. 
 
 For a long time he lay watching and listen 
 ing. He moved about, making more noise than 
 necessary, yet Tarzan did not awaken. He drew 
 the sacrificial knife from his belt, and plunged 
 it into the ground. Tarzan did not move. Cau 
 tiously the Belgian pushed the blade downward 
 through the loose earth above the pouch. He 
 felt the point touch the soft, tough fabric of 
 the leather. Then he pried down upon the han 
 dle. Slowly the little mound of loose earth rose 
 and parted. An instant later a corner of the 
 pouch came into view. Werper pulled it from 
 its hiding place, and tucked it in his shirt. Then 
 he refilled the hole and pressed the dirt care 
 fully down as it had been before. 
 
 101 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 Greed had prompted him to an act, the dis 
 covery of which by his companion could lead 
 only to the most frightful consequences for 
 Werper. Already he could almost feel those 
 strong, white fangs burying themselves in his 
 neck. He shuddered. Far out across the plain 
 a leopard screamed, and in the dense reeds be 
 hind him some great beast moved on padded 
 feet. 
 
 Werper feared these prowlers of the night; 
 but infinitely more he feared the just wrath of 
 the human beast sleeping at his side. With ut 
 most caution the Belgian arose. Tarzan did not 
 move. Werper took a few steps toward the 
 plain and the distant forest to the northwest, 
 then he paused and fingered the hilt of the long 
 knife in his belt. He turned and looked down 
 upon the sleeper. 
 
 " Why notr ' he mused. " Then I should be 
 safe." 
 
 He returned and bent abo^e the ape-man. 
 Clutched tightly in his hand was the sacrificial 
 knife of the High Priestess of the Flaming God ! 
 
 102 
 
Clutched tightly in his hand was the sacrificial knife 
 

 CHAPTER X 
 
 ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 MUGAMBI, weak and suffering, had 
 dragged his painful way along the trail 
 of the retreating raiders. He could move hut 
 slowly, resting often; but savage hatred and 
 an equally savage desire for vengeance kept 
 him to his task. As the days passed his wounds 
 healed and his strength returned, until at last 
 his giant frame had regained all of its former 
 mighty powers. Now he went more rapidly; 
 but the mounted Arabs had covered a great dis 
 tance while the wounded black had been pain 
 fully crawling after them. 
 
 They had reached their fortified camp, and 
 there Achmet Zek awaited the return of his 
 lieutenant, Albert Werper. During the long, 
 rough journey, Jane Clayton had suffered more 
 in anticipation of her impending fate than from 
 the hardships of the road. 
 
 Achmet Zek had not deigned to acquaint her 
 with his intentions regarding her future. She 
 
 103 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 prayed that she had been captured in the hope 
 of ransom, for if such should prove the case, 
 no great harm would befall her at the hands of 
 the Arabs ; but there was the chance, the horrid 
 chance, that another fate awaited her. She had 
 heard of many women, among whom were white 
 women, who had been sold by outlaws such as 
 Achmet Zek into the slavery of black harems, 
 or taken farther north into the almost equally 
 hideous existence of some Turkish seraglio. 
 
 Jane Clayton was of sterner stuff than that 
 which bends in spineless terror before danger. 
 Until hope proved futile she would not give it 
 up; nor did she entertain thoughts of self-de 
 struction only as a final escape from dishonor. 
 So long as Tarzan lived there was every reason 
 to expect succor. No man nor beast who 
 roamed the savage continent could boast the 
 cunning and the powers of her lord and master. 
 To her, he was little short of omnipotent in his 
 native world this world of savage beasts and 
 savage men. Tarzan would come, and she 
 should be rescued and avenged, of that she was 
 certain. She counted the days that must elapse 
 before he would return from Opar and dis 
 cover what had transpired during his absence. 
 
 104 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 After that it would be but a short time before 
 he had surrounded the Arab stronghold and 
 punished the motley crew of wrongdoers who 
 inhabited it. 
 
 That he could find her she had no slightest 
 doubt. No spoor, however faint, could elude 
 the keen vigilance of his senses. To him, the 
 trail of the raiders would be as plain as the 
 printed page of an open book to her. 
 
 And while she hoped, there came through the 
 dark jungle another. Terrified by night and 
 by day, came Albert Werper. A dozen times 
 he had escaped the claws and fangs of the giant 
 carnivora only by what seemed a miracle to 
 him. Armed with nothing more than the knife 
 he had brought with him from Opar, he had 
 made his way through as savage a country as 
 yet exists upon the face of the globe. 
 
 By night he had slept in trees. By day he 
 had stumbled fearfully on, often taking refuge 
 among the branches when sight or sound of 
 some great cat warned him from danger. But 
 at last he had come within sight of the palisade 
 behind which were his fierce companions. 
 
 At almost the same time Mugambi came out 
 of the jungle before the walled village. As he 
 
 105 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 stood in the shadow of a great tree, reconnoiter- 
 ing, he saw a man, ragged and disheveled 
 emerge from the jungle almost at his elbow. 
 Instantly he recognized the newcomer as he 
 who had been a guest of his master before the 
 latter had departed for Opar. 
 
 The black was upon the point of hailing the 
 Belgian when something stayed him. He saw 
 the white man walking confidently across the 
 clearing toward the village gate. No sane man 
 thus approached a village in this part of Africa 
 unless he was sure of a friendly welcome. 
 Mugambi waited. His suspicions were aroused. 
 
 He heard Werper halloo; he saw the gates 
 swing open, and he witnessed the surprised and 
 friendly welcome that was accorded the erst 
 while guest of Lord and Lady Greystoke. A 
 light broke upon the understanding of Mu 
 gambi. This white man had been a traitor 
 and a spy. It was to him they owed the raid 
 during the absence of the Great Bwana. To 
 his hate for the Arabs, Mugambi added a still 
 greater hate for the white spy. 
 
 Within the village Werper passed hurriedly 
 toward the silken tent of Achmet Zek. The 
 Arab arose as his lieutenant entered. His face 
 
 106 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 showed surprise as lie viewed the tattered 
 apparel of the Belgian. 
 
 " What has happened? " he asked. 
 
 Werper narrated all, save the little matter 
 of the pouch of gems which were now tightly 
 strapped about his waist, beneath his clothing. 
 The Arab's eyes narrowed greedily as his 
 henchman discribed the treasure that the 
 Waziri had buried beside the ruins of the 
 Greystoke bungalow. 
 
 "It will be a simple matter now to return 
 and get it," said Achmet Zek. " First we will 
 await the coming of the rash Waziri, and after 
 we have slain them we may take our time to 
 the treasure none will disturb it where it 
 lies, for we shall leave none alive who knows 
 of its existence." 
 
 " And the woman? " asked Werper. 
 
 " I shall sell her in the north," replied the 
 raider. " It is the only way, now. She should 
 bring a good price." 
 
 The Belgian nodded. He was thinking rap 
 idly. If he could persuade Achmet Zek to send 
 him in command of the party which took Lady 
 Greystoke north it would give him the oppor 
 tunity he craved to make his escape from his 
 
 107 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 chief. He would forego a share of the gold, if 
 he could but get away unscathed with the 
 jewels. 
 
 He knew Achmet Zek well enough by this 
 time to know that no member of his band ever 
 was voluntarily released from the service of 
 Achmet Zek. Most of the few who deserted 
 were recaptured. More than once had Wer- 
 per listened to their agonized scrfeams as they 
 were tortured before being put to death. The 
 Belgian had no wish to take the slightest chance 
 of recapture. 
 
 "Who will go north with the woman," he 
 asked, "while we are returning for the gold 
 that the Waziri buried by the bungalow of the 
 Englishman? " 
 
 Achmet Zek thought for a moment. The 
 buried gold was of much greater value than the 
 price the woman would bring. It was neces 
 sary to rid himself of her as quickly as pos 
 sible and it was also well to obtain the gold 
 with the least possible delay. Of all his fol 
 lowers, the Belgian was the most logical lieu 
 tenant to intrust with the command of one of 
 the parties. An Arab, as familiar with the 
 trails and tribes as Achmet Zek himself, might 
 
 108 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 collect the woman's price and make good his 
 escape into the far north. Werper, on the 
 other hand, could scarce make his escape alone 
 through a country hostile to Europeans while 
 the men he would send with the Belgian could 
 be carefully selected with a view to prevent 
 ing Werper from persuading any considerable 
 portion of his command to accompany him 
 should he contemplate desertion of his chief. 
 
 At last the Arab spoke: "It is not neces 
 sary that we both return for the gold. You 
 shall go north with the woman, carrying a let 
 ter to a friend of mine who is always in touch 
 with the best markets for such merchandise, 
 while I return for the gold. We can meet again 
 here when our business is concluded.'' 
 
 Werper could scarce disguise the joy with 
 which he received this welcome decision. And 
 that he did entirely disguise it from the keen 
 and suspicious eyes of Achmet Zek is open to 
 question. However, the decision reached, the 
 Arab and his lieutenant discussed the details of 
 their forthcoming ventures for a short time 
 further, when Werper made his excuses and 
 returned to his own tent for the comforts and 
 luxury of a long-desired bath and shave. 
 
 109 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Having bathed, the Belgian tied a small hand 
 mirror to a cord sewn to the rear wall of his 
 tent, placed a rude chair beside an equally rude 
 table that stood beside the glass, and proceeded 
 to remove the rough stubble from his face. 
 
 In the catalog of masculine pleasures there 
 is scarce one which imparts a feeling of greater 
 comfort and refreshment than follows a clean 
 shave, and now, with weariness temporarily 
 banished, Albert Werper sprawled in his rick 
 ety chair to enjoy a final cigaret before retir 
 ing. His thumbs, tucked in his belt in lazy 
 support of the weight of his arms, touched the 
 belt which held the jewel pouch about his waist. 
 He tingled with excitement as he let his mind 
 dwell upon the value of the treasure, which, 
 unknown to all save himself, lay hid beneath 
 his clothing. 
 
 What would Achmet Zek say, if he knew? 
 Werper grinned. How the old rascal's eyes 
 would pop could he but have a glimpse of those 
 scintillating beauties! Werper had never yet 
 had an opportunity to feast his eyes for any 
 great length of time upon them. He had not 
 even counted them only roughly had he 
 guessed at their value. 
 
 110 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 He unfastened the belt and drew the pouch 
 from its hiding place. He was alone. The 
 balance of the camp, save the sentries, had 
 retired none would enter the Belgian's tent. 
 He fingered the pouch, feeling out the shapes 
 and sizes of the precious, little nodules within. 
 He hefted the bag, first in one palm, then in 
 the other, and at last he wheeled his chair 
 slowly around before the table, and in the rays 
 of his small lamp let the glittering gems roll 
 out upon the rough wood. 
 
 The refulgent rays transformed the interior 
 of the soiled and squalid canvas to the splen 
 dor of a palace in the eyes of the dreaming 
 man. He saw the gilded halls of pleasure that 
 would open their portals to the possessor of 
 the wealth which lay scattered upon this stained 
 and dented table top. He dreamed of joys 
 and luxuries and power which always had been 
 beyond his grasp, and as he dreamed his gaze 
 lifted from the table, as the gaze of a dreamer 
 will, to a far distant goal above the mean hori 
 zon of terrestrial commonplaceness. 
 
 Unseeing, his eyes rested upon the shaving 
 mirror which still hung upon the tent wall 
 above the table; but his sight was focused far 
 
 111 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 beyond. And then a reflection moved within 
 the polished surface of the tiny glass, the man's 
 eyes shot back out of space to the mirror's 
 face, and in it he saw reflected the grim vis 
 age of Achmet Zek, framed in the flaps of the 
 tent doorway behind him. 
 
 Werper stifled a gasp of dismay. With rare 
 self-possession he let his gaze drop, without 
 appearing to have halted upon the mirror, until 
 it rested again upon the gems. Without haste, 
 he replaced them in the pouch, tucked the lat 
 ter into his shirt, selected a cigaret from his 
 case, lighted it and rose. Yawning, and stretch 
 ing his arms above his head, he turned slowly 
 toward the opposite end of the tent. The face 
 of Achmet Zek had disappeared from the open 
 ing. 
 
 To say that Albert Werper was terrified 
 would be putting it mildly. He realized that 
 he not only had sacrificed his treasure ; but his 
 life as well. Achmet Zek would never permit 
 the wealth that he had discovered to slip 
 through his fingers, nor would he forgive the 
 duplicity of a lieutenant who had gained pos 
 session of such a treasure without offering to 
 share it with his chief. 
 
 112 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 Slowly the Belgian prepared for bed. If 
 he were being watched, he could not know; but 
 if so the watcher saw no indication of the 
 nervous excitement which the European strove 
 to conceal. When ready for his blankets, the 
 man crossed to the little table and extinguished 
 the light. 
 
 It was two hours later that the flaps at the 
 front of the tent separated silently and gave 
 entrance to a dark-robed figure, which passed 
 noiselessly from the darkness without to the 
 darkness within. Cautiously the prowler 
 crossed the interior. In one hand was a long 
 knife. He came at last to the pile of blankets 
 spread upon several rugs close to one of the 
 tent walls. 
 
 Lightly, his fingers sought and found the 
 bulk beneath the blankets the bulk that 
 should be Albert Werper. They traced out the 
 figure of a man, and then an arm shot up 
 ward, poised for an instant and descended. 
 Again and again it rose and fell, and each 
 time the long blade of the knife buried itself 
 in the thing beneath the blankets. But there 
 was an initial lifelessness in the silent bulk 
 that gave the assassin momentary wonder, 
 
 113 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAE 
 
 Feverishly lie threw back the coverlets, and 
 searched with nervous hands for the pouch of 
 jewels which he expected to find concealed upon 
 his victim's body. 
 
 An instant later he rose with a curse upon 
 his lips. It was Achmet Zek, and he cursed 
 because he had discovered beneath the blankets 
 of his lieutenant only a pile of discarded cloth 
 ing arranged in the form and semblance of a 
 sleeping man Albert Werper had fled. 
 
 Out into the village ran the chief, calling 
 in angry tones to the sleepy Arabs, who 
 tumbled from their tents in answer to his voice. 
 But though they searched the village again 
 and again they found no trace of the Belgian. 
 Foaming with anger, Achmet Zek called his 
 followers to horse, and though the night was 
 pitchy black they set out to scour the adjoin 
 ing forest for their quarry. 
 
 As they galloped from the open gates, 
 Mugambi, hiding in a nearby bush, slipped, 
 unseen, within the palisade. A score of blacks 
 crowded about the entrance to watch the 
 searchers depart, and as the last of them passed 
 out of the village the blacks seized the por 
 tals and drew them to, and Mugambi lent a 
 
ACHMET ZEK SEES THE JEWELS 
 
 hand in the work as though the best of his life 
 had been spent among the raiders. 
 
 In the darkness he passed, unchallenged, as 
 one of their number, and as they returned from 
 the gates to their respective tents and huts, 
 Mugambi melted into the shadows and dis 
 appeared. 
 
 For an hour he crept about in the rear of the 
 various huts and tents in an effort to locate 
 that in which his master's mate was impris 
 oned. One there was which he was reasonably 
 assured contained her, for it was the only hut 
 before the door of which a sentry had been 
 posted. Mugambi was crouching in the shadow 
 of this structure, just around the corner from 
 the unsuspecting guard, when another ap 
 proached to relieve his comrade. 
 
 " The prisoner is safe within? " asked the 
 newcomer. 
 
 " She is," replied the other, " for none has 
 passed this doorway since I came. ' ' 
 
 The new sentry squatted beside the door, 
 while he whom he had relieved made his way 
 to his own hut. Mugambi slunk closer to the 
 corner of the building. In one powerful hand 
 he gripped a heavy knob-stick. No sign of 
 
 115 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 elation disturbed his phlegmatic calm, yet in 
 wardly lie was aroused to joy by the proof he 
 had just had that " Lady " really was within. 
 
 The sentry 's back was toward the corner 
 of the hut which hid the giant black. The fel 
 low did not see the huge form which silently 
 loomed behind him. The knob-stick swung up 
 ward in a curve, and downward again. There 
 was the sound of a dull thud, the crushing of 
 heavy bone, and the sentry slumped into a 
 silent, inanimate lump of clay. 
 
 A moment later Mugambi was searching the 
 interior of the hut. At first slowly, calling, 
 "Lady!" in a low whisper, and finally with 
 almost frantic haste, until the truth presently 
 dawned upon him the hut was empty! 
 
 116 
 
CHAPTEE XI 
 
 TARZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 a moment Werper had stood above the 
 sleeping ape-man, his murderous knife 
 poised for the fatal thrust ; but fear stayed his 
 hand. What if the first blow should fail to 
 drive the point to his victim's heart? Werper 
 shuddered in contemplation of the disastrous 
 consequences to himself. Awakened, and even 
 with a few moments of life remaining, the giant 
 could literally tear his assailant to pieces should 
 he choose, and the Belgian had no doubt but 
 that Tarzan would so choose. 
 
 Again came the soft sound of padded foot 
 steps in the reeds closer this time. Werper 
 abandoned his design. Before him stretched 
 the wide plain and escape. The jewels were 
 in his possession. To remain longer was to 
 risk death at the hands of Tarzan, or the jaws 
 of the hunter creeping ever nearer. Turning, 
 he slunk away through the night, toward the 
 distant forest. 
 
 117 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Tarzan slept on. Where were those uncanny, 
 guardian powers that had formerly rendered 
 him immune from the dangers of surprise? 
 Could this dull sleeper be the alert, sensitive 
 Tarzan of old? 
 
 Perhaps the blow upon his head had numbed 
 his senses, temporarily who may say? Closer 
 crept the stealthy creature through the reeds. 
 The rustling curtain of vegetation parted a 
 few paces from where the sleeper lay, and the 
 massive head of a lion appeared. The beast 
 surveyed the ape-man intently for a moment, 
 then he crouched, his hind feet drawn well 
 beneath him, his tail lashing from side to side. 
 
 It was the beating of the beast's tail against 
 the reeds which awakened Tarzan. Jungle folk 
 do not awaken slowly instantly, full con 
 sciousness and full command of their every fac 
 ulty returns to them from the depth of profound 
 slumber. 
 
 Even as Tarzan opened his eyes he was upon 
 his feet, his spear grasped firmly in his hand 
 and ready for attack. Again was he Tarzan 
 of the Apes, sentient, vigilant, ready. 
 
 No two lions have identical characteristics, 
 nor does the same lion invariably act similarly 
 
 118 
 
TABZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 under like circumstances. Whether it was sur 
 prise, fear or caution which prompted the lion 
 crouching ready to spring upon the man, is 
 immaterial the fact remains that he did not 
 carry out his original design, he did not spring 
 at the man at all, but, instead, wheeled and 
 sprang back into the reeds as Tarzan arose 
 and confronted him. 
 
 The ape-man shrugged his broad shoulders 
 and looked about for his* companion. Werper 
 was nowhere to be seen. At first Tarzan sus 
 pected that the man had been seized and dragged 
 off by another lion; but upon examination of 
 the ground he soon discovered that the Belgian 
 had gone away alone out into the plain. 
 
 For a moment he was puzzled ; but presently 
 came to the conclusion that Werper had been 
 frightened by the approach of the lion, and had 
 sneaked off in terror. A sneer touched Tar 
 zan 's lips as he pondered the man's act the 
 desertion of a comrade in time of danger, and 
 without warning. Well, if that was the sort of 
 creature Werper was, Tarzan wished nothing 
 more of him. He had gone, and for all the 
 ape-man cared, he might remain away Tar 
 zan would not search for him. 
 
 119 
 
TAEZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 A hundred yards from where he stood grew 
 a large tree, alone upon the edge of the reedy 
 jungle. Tarzan made his way to it, clambered 
 into it, and finding a comfortable crotch among 
 its branches, reposed himself for uninterrupted 
 sleep until morning. 
 
 And when morning came Tarzan slept on 
 long after the sun had risen. His mind, re 
 verted to the primitive, was untroubled by any 
 more serious obligations than those of pro 
 viding sustenance, and safeguarding his life. 
 Therefore there was nothing to awaken for 
 until danger threatened, or the pangs of hun 
 ger assailed. It was the latter which eventually 
 aroused him. 
 
 Opening his eyes, he stretched his giant 
 thews, yawned, rose and gazed about him 
 through the leafy foliage of his retreat. Across 
 the wasted meadowlands and fields of John 
 Clayton, Lord Greystoke, Tarzan of the Apes 
 looked, as a stranger, upon the moving figures 
 of Basuli and his braves as they prepared their 
 morning meal and made ready to set out upon 
 the expedition which Basuli had planned after 
 discovering the havoc and disaster which had 
 befallen the estate of his dead master. 
 
 120 
 
TABZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 The ape-man eyed the blacks with curiosity. 
 In the back of his brain loitered a fleeting sense 
 of familiarity with all that he saw, yet he could 
 not connect any of the various forms of life, 
 animate and inanimate, which had fallen within 
 the range of his vision since he had emerged 
 from the darkness of the pits of Opar, with 
 any particular event of the past* 
 
 Hazily he recalled a grim and hideous form, 
 hairy, ferocious. A vague tenderness domi 
 nated his savage sentiments as this phantom 
 memory struggled for recognition. His mind 
 had reverted to his childhood days* it was 
 the figure of the giant she-ape, Kala, that he 
 saw; but only half, recognized. He saw, too, 
 other grotesque, manlike forms. They were of 
 Terkoz, Tublat, Kerchak, and a smalkr, less 
 ferocious figure, that was Neeta, the little play 
 mate of his boyhood. 
 
 Slowly, very slowly, as these visions of the 
 past reanimated his lethargic memory, he came 
 to recognize them. They took definite shape 
 and form, adjusting themselves nicely to the 
 various incidents of his life with which they 
 had been intimately connected. His boyhood 
 among the apes spread itself in a slow pan- 
 
 121 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 orama before him, and as it unfolded it induced 
 within him a mighty longing for the compan 
 ionship of the shaggy, low-browed brutes of his 
 past. 
 
 He watched the blacks scatter their cook 
 fire and depart; but though the face of each of 
 them had but recently been as familiar to him 
 as his own, they awakened within him no recol 
 lections whatsoever. 
 
 When they had gone, he descended from the 
 tree and sought food. Out upon the plain 
 grazed numerous herds of wild ruminants. 
 Toward a sleek, fat bunch of zebra he wormed 
 his stealthy way. No intricate process of rea 
 soning caused him to circle widely until he 
 was down wind from his prey he acted in 
 stinctively. He took advantage of every form 
 of cover as he crawled upon all fours and often 
 flat upon his stomach toward them. 
 
 A plump young mare and a fat stallion 
 grazed nearest to him as he neared the herd. 
 Again it was instinct which selected the former 
 for his meat. A low bush grew but a few yards 
 from the unsuspecting two. The ape-man 
 reached its shelter. He gathered his spear 
 firmly in his grasp. Cautiously he drew his 
 
 122 
 
TABZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 feet beneath him. In a single swift move he 
 rose and cast his heavy weapon at the mare's 
 side. Nor did he wait to note the effect of his 
 assault, but leaped catlike after his spear, his 
 hunting knife in his hand. 
 
 For an instant the two animals stood motion 
 less. The tearing of the cruel barb into her 
 side brought a sudden scream of pain and 
 fright from the mare, and then they both 
 wheeled and broke for safety; but Tarzan of 
 the Apes, for a distance of a few yards, could 
 equal the speed of even these, and the first 
 stride of the mare found her overhauled, with 
 a savage beast at her shoulder. She turned, 
 biting and kicking at her foe. Her mate hesi 
 tated for an instant, as though about to rush 
 to her assistance; but a backward glance re 
 vealed to him the flying heels of the balance 
 of the herd, and with a snort and a shake of 
 his head he wheeled and dashed away. 
 
 Clinging with one hand to the short mane of 
 his quarry, Tarzan struck again and again with 
 his knife at the unprotected heart. The re 
 sult had, from the first, been inevitable. The 
 mare fought bravely, but hopelessly, and pres 
 ently sank to the earth, her heart pierced. The 
 
 123 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 ape-man placed a foot upon her carcass and 
 raised his voice in the victory call of the Man- 
 gani. In the distance, Basuli halted as the 
 faint notes of the hideous scream broke upon 
 his ears. 
 
 " The great apes>" he said to his compan 
 ion. " It has been long since I have heard 
 them in the country of the Waziri. What could 
 have brought them back? " 
 
 Tarzan grasped his kill and dragged it to 
 the partial seclusion of the bush which had 
 hidden his own near approach, and there he 
 squatted upon it, cut a huge hunk of flesh from 
 the loin and proceeded to satisfy his hunger 
 with the warm and dripping meat. 
 
 Attracted by the shrill screams of the mare, 
 a pair of hyenas slunk presently into view. 
 They trotted to a point a few yards from the 
 gorging ape-man, and halted. Tarzan looked 
 up, bared his fighting fangs and growled. The 
 hyenas returned the compliment, and withdrew 
 a couple of paces. They made no move to at 
 tack; but continued to sit at a respectful dis 
 tance until Tarzan had concluded his meal. 
 After the ape-man had cut a few strips from 
 the carcass to carry with him, he walked slowly 
 
 124 
 
TARZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 off in the direction of the river to quench his 
 thirst. His way lay directly toward the hyenas, 
 nor did he alter his course because of them. 
 
 With all the lordly majesty of Numa, the 
 lion, he strode straight toward the growling 
 beasts. For a moment they held their ground, 
 bristling and defiant; but only for a moment, 
 and then slunk away to one side while the in 
 different ape-man passed them on his lordly 
 way. A moment later they were tearing at the 
 remains of the zebra. 
 
 Back to the reeds went Tarzan, and through 
 them toward the river. A herd of buffalo, 
 startled by his approach, rose ready to charge 
 or to fly. A great bull pawed the ground and 
 bellowed as his bloodshot eyes discovered the 
 intruder; but the ape-man passed across their 
 front as though ignorant of their existence. 
 The bull's bellowing lessened to a low rum 
 bling, he turned and scraped a horde of flies 
 from his side with his muzzle, cast a final glance 
 at the ape-man and resumed his feeding. His 
 numerous family either followed his example 
 or stood gazing after Tarzan in mild-eyed curi 
 osity, until the opposite reeds swallowed him 
 from view. 
 
 125 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 At the river, Tarzan drank his fill and bathed. 
 During the heat of the day he lay up under the 
 shade of a tree near the ruins of his burned 
 barns. His eyes wandered out across the plain 
 toward the forest, and a longing for the pleas 
 ures of its mysterious depths possessed his 
 thoughts for a considerable time. With the 
 next sun he would cross the open and enter the 
 forest! There was no hurry there lay before 
 him an endless vista of tomorrows with naught 
 to fill them but the satisfying of the appetites 
 and caprices of the moment. 
 
 The ape-man's mind was untroubled by re 
 gret for the past, or aspiration for the future. 
 He could lie at full length along a swaying 
 branch, stretching his giant limbs, and luxuriat 
 ing in the blessed peace of utter thoughtless 
 ness, without an apprehension or a worry to 
 sap his nervous energy and rob him of his 
 peace of mind. Eecalling only dimly any other 
 existence, the ape-man was happy. Lord Grey- 
 stoke had ceased to exist. 
 
 For several hours Tarzan lolled upon his 
 swaying, leafy couch until once again hunger 
 and thirst suggested an excursion. Stretch 
 ing lazily he dropped to the ground and moved 
 
 126 
 
TAEZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 slowly toward the river. The game trail down 
 which he walked had become by ages of use 
 a deep, narrow trench, its walls topped on 
 either side by impenetrable thicket and dense- 
 growing trees closely interwoven with thick- 
 stemmed creepers and lesser vines inextricably 
 matted into two solid ramparts of vegetation. 
 Tarzan had almost reached the point where 
 the trail debouched npon the open river bot 
 tom when he saw a family of lions approach 
 ing along the path from the direction of the 
 river. The ape-man counted seven a male 
 and two lionesses, full grown, and four young 
 lions as large and quite as formidable as their 
 parents. Tarzan halted, growling, and the lions 
 paused, the great male in the lead baring his 
 fangs and rumbling forth a warning roar. In 
 his hand the ape-man held his heavy spear; 
 but he had no intention of pitting his puny 
 weapon against seven lions ; yet he stood there 
 growling and roaring and the lions did like 
 wise. It was purely an exhibition of jungle 
 bluff. Each was trying to frighten off the 
 other. Neither wished to turn back and give 
 way, nor did either at first desire to precipitate 
 an encounter. The lions were fed up suffi- 
 
 127 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 ciently so as not to be goaded by pangs of hun 
 ger and as for Tarzan he seldom ate the meat of 
 the carnivores ; but a point of ethics was at stake 
 and neither side wished to back down. So they 
 stood there facing one another, making all sorts 
 of hideous noises the while they hurled jungle 
 invective back and forth. How long this blood 
 less duel would have persisted it is difficult to 
 say, though eventually Tarzan would have been 
 forced to yield to superior numbers. 
 
 There came, however, an interruption which 
 put an end to the deadlock and it came from 
 Tarzan 's rear. He and the lions had been mak 
 ing so much noise that neither could hear any 
 thing above their concerted bedlam, and so it 
 was that Tarzan did not hear the great bulk 
 bearing down upon him from behind until an 
 instant before it was upon him, and then he 
 turned to see Buto, the rhinoceros, his little, 
 pig eyes blazing, charging madly toward him 
 and already so close that escape seemed im 
 possible ; yet so perfectly were mind and muscles 
 coordinated in this unspoiled, primitive man 
 that almost simultaneously with the sense per 
 ception of the threatened danger he wheeled 
 and hurled his spear at Buto's chest. It was 
 
 128 
 
Li!i!^i^: 'i : . : _n^. _ __J 
 
 Tarzan leaped straight into the air 
 
TARZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 a heavy spear shod with iron, and behind it 
 were the giant muscles of the ape-man, while 
 coming to meet it was the enormous weight of 
 Buto and the momentum of his rapid rush. All 
 that happened in the instant that Tarzan turned 
 to meet the charge of the irascible rhinoceros 
 might take long to tell, and yet would have 
 taxed the swiftest lens to record. As his spear 
 left his hand the ape-man was looking down 
 upon the mighty horn lowered to toss him, so 
 close was Buto to him. The spear entered the 
 rhinoceros' neck at its junction with the left 
 shoulder and passed almost entirely through 
 the beast's body, and at the instant that he 
 launched it, Tarzan leaped straight into the 
 air alighting upon Buto's back but escaping the 
 mighty horn. 
 
 Then Buto espied the lions and bore madly 
 down upon them while Tarzan of the Apes 
 leaped nimbly into the tangled creepers at one 
 side of the trail. The first lion met Buto's 
 charge and was tossed high over the back of 
 the maddened brute, torn and dying, and then 
 the six remaining lions were upon the rhinoc 
 eros, rending and tearing the while they were 
 being gored or trampled. From the safety 
 
 129 
 
TAB2JAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 of his perch Tarzan watched the battle royal 
 with the keenest interest, for the more intelli 
 gent of the jungle folk are interested in such 
 encounters. They are to them what the race 
 track and the prize ring, the theater and the 
 movies are to us. They see them often; but 
 always they enjoy them for no two are pre 
 cisely alike. 
 
 For a time it seemed to Tarzan that Buto, 
 the rhinoceros, would prove victor in the gory 
 battle. Already had he accounted for four 
 of the seven lions and badly wounded the three 
 remaining when in a momentary lull in the 
 encounter he sank limply to his knees and rolled 
 over upon his side. Tarzan ? s spear had done 
 its wor*k. It was the man-made weapon which 
 killed the great beast that might easily have 
 survived the assault of seven mighty lions, for 
 Tarzan 's spear had pierced the great lungs, 
 and Buto, with victory almost in sight, suc 
 cumbed to internal hemorrhage. 
 
 Then Tarzan came down from his sanctuary 
 and as the wounded lions, growling, dragged 
 themselves away, the ape-man cut his spear 
 from the body of Buto, hacked off a steak and 
 vanished into the jungle. The episode was 
 
 130 
 
TARZAN BECOMES A BEAST AGAIN 
 
 over. It had been all in the day's work some 
 thing which you and I might talk about for a 
 lifetime Tarzan dismissed from his mind the 
 moment that the scene passed from his sight. 
 
 131 
 
s 
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 
 LA SEEKS VENGEANCE 
 
 WINGING back through the jungle in a 
 wide circle the ape-man came to the river at 
 another point, drank and took to the trees again 
 and while he hunted, all oblivious of his past 
 and careless of his future, there came through 
 the dark jungles and the open, parklike places 
 and across the wide meadows, where grazed the 
 countless herbivora of the mysterious conti 
 nent, a weird and terrible caravan in search of 
 him. There were fifty frightful men with hairy 
 bodies and gnarled and crooked legs. They 
 were armed with knives and great bludgeons 
 and at their head marched an almost naked 
 woman, beautiful beyond compare. It was La 
 of Opar, High Priestess of the Flaming God, 
 and fifty of her horrid priests searching for 
 the purloiner of the sacred sacrificial knife. 
 
 Never before had La passed beyond the 
 crumbling outer walls of Opar; but never be 
 fore had need been so insistent. The sacred 
 
 132 
 
LA SEEKS VENGEANCE 
 
 knife was gone ! Handed down through count 
 less ages it had come to her as a heritage and 
 an insignia of her religious office and regal 
 authority from some long-dead progenitor of 
 lost and forgotten Atlantis. The loss of the 
 crown jewels or the Great Seal of England 
 could have brought no greater consternation 
 to a British king than did the pilfering of the 
 sacred knife bring to La, the Oparian, Queen 
 and High Priestess of the degraded remnants 
 of the oldest civilization upon earth. When 
 Atlantis, with all her mighty cities and her 
 cultivated fields and her great commerce and 
 culture and riches sank into the sea long ages 
 since, she took with her all but a handful of her 
 colonists working the vast gold mines of Cen 
 tral Africa. From these and their degraded 
 slaves and a later intermixture of the blood 
 of the anthropoids sprung the gnarled men of 
 Opar; but by some queer freak of fate, aided 
 by natural selection, the old Atlantean strain 
 had remained pure and undegraded in the fe 
 males descended from a single princess of the 
 royal house of Atlantis who had been in Opar 
 at the time of the great catastrophe. Such was 
 La. 
 
 133 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 / 
 Burning with white-hot anger was the High 
 
 Priestess, her heart a seething, molten mass 
 of hatred for Tarzan of the Apes. The zeal 
 of the religious fanatic whose altar has been 
 desecrated was triply enhanced by the rage of 
 a woman scorned. Twice had she thrown her 
 heart at the feet of the godlike ape-man and 
 twice had she been repulsed. La knew that she 
 was beautiful and she was beautiful, not by 
 the standards of prehistoric Atlantis alone, but 
 by those of modern times was La physically 
 a creature of perfection. Before Tarzan came 
 that first time to Opar, La had never seen a 
 human male other than the grotesque and 
 knotted men of her clan. With one of these 
 she must mate sooner or later that the direct 
 line of high priestesses might not be broken, 
 unless Fate should bring other men to Opar. 
 Before Tarzan came upon his first visit, La had 
 had no thought that such men as he existed, 
 for she knew only her hideous little priests and 
 the bulls of the tribe of great anthropoids that 
 had dwelt from time immemorial in and about 
 Opar, until they had come to be looked upon 
 almost as equals by the Oparians. Among the 
 legends of Opar were tales of godlike men of the 
 
 134 
 
LA SEEKS VENGEANCE 
 
 olden time and of black men who had come 
 more recently; but these latter had been ene 
 mies who killed and robbed. And, too, these 
 legends always held forth the hope that some 
 day that nameless continent from which their 
 race had sprung, would rise once more out of 
 the sea and with slaves at the long sweeps 
 would send her carven, gold-picked galleys forth 
 to succor the long-exiled colonists. 
 
 The coming of Tarzan had aroused within 
 La's breast the wild hope that at last the ful 
 fillment of this ancient prophecy was at hand ; 
 but more strongly still hkd it aroused the hot 
 fires of love in a heart that never otherwise 
 would have known the meaning of that all-con 
 suming passion, for such a wondrous creature 
 as La could never have felt love for any of the 
 repulsive priests of Opar. Custom, duty and 
 religious zeal might have commanded the un 
 ion; but there could have been no love on La's 
 part. She had grown to young womanhood 
 a cold and heartless creature, daughter of a 
 thousand other cold, heartless, beautiful women 
 who had never known love. And so when love 
 came to her it liberated all the pent passions 
 of a thousand generations, transforming La 
 
 135 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 into a pulsing, throbbing volcano of desire, and 
 with desire thwarted this great force of love 
 and gentleness and sacrifice was transmuted 
 by its own fires into one of hatred and revenge. 
 
 It was in a state of mind superinduced by 
 these conditions that La led forth her jabber 
 ing company to retrieve the sacred emblem of 
 her high office and wreak vengeance upon the 
 author of her wrongs. To Werper she gave 
 little thought. The fact that the knife had been 
 in his hand when it departed from Opar brought 
 down no thoughts of vengeance upon his head. 
 Of course, he should be slain when captured; 
 but his death would give La no pleasure she 
 looked for that in the contemplated death ago 
 nies of Tarzan. He should be tortured. His 
 should be a slow and frightful death. His 
 punishment should be adequate to the immen 
 sity of his crime. He had wrested the sacred 
 knife from La; he had lain sacrilegious hands 
 upon the High Priestess of the Flaming God; 
 he had desecrated the altar and the temple. 
 For these things he should die; but he had 
 scorned the love of La, the woman, and for this 
 he should die horribly with great anguish. 
 
 The march of La and her priests was not 
 136 
 
LA SEEKS VENGEANCE 
 
 without its adventures. Unused were these to 
 the ways of the jungle, since seldom did any 
 venture forth from behind Opar's crumbling 
 walls, yet their very numbers protected them 
 and so they came without fatalities far along 
 the trail of Tarzan and Werper. Three great 
 apes accompanied them and to these was dele 
 gated the business of tracking the quarry, a 
 feat beyond the senses of the Oparians. La 
 commanded. She arranged the order of march, 
 she selected the camps, she set the hour for 
 halting and the hour for resuming and though 
 she was inexperienced in such matters, her na 
 tive intelligence was so far above that of the 
 men or the apes that she did better than they 
 could have done. She was a hard taskmaster, 
 too, for she looked down with loathing and 
 contempt upon the misshapen creatures 
 amongst which cruel Fate had thrown her and 
 to some extent vented upon them her dissatis 
 faction and her thwarted love. She made them 
 build her a strong protection and shelter each 
 night and keep a great fire burning before it 
 from dusk to dawn. When she tired of walk 
 ing they were forced to carry her upon an 
 improvised litter, nor did one dare to ques- 
 
 137 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 tion her authority or her right to such services. 
 In fact they did not question either. To them 
 she was a goddess and each loved her and each 
 hoped that he would be chosen as her mate, 
 so they slaved for her and bore the stinging 
 lash of her displeasure and the habitually 
 haughty disdain of her manner without a 
 murmur. 
 
 For many days they marched, the apes follow 
 ing the trail easily and going a little distance 
 ahead of the body of the caravan that they 
 might warn the others of impending danger. 
 It was during a noonday halt while all were 
 lying resting after a tiresome march that one 
 of the apes rose suddenly and sniffed the breeze. 
 In a low guttural he cautioned the others to 
 silence and a moment later was swinging quietly 
 up wind into the jungle. La and the priests 
 gathered silently together, the hideous little 
 men fingering their knives and bludgeons, and 
 awaited the return of the shaggy anthropoid. 
 
 Nor had they long to wait before they saw 
 him emerge from a leafy thicket and approach 
 them. Straight to La he came and in the lan 
 guage of the great apes which was also the 
 language of decadent Opar he addressed her. 
 
 138 
 
LA SEEKS VENGEANCE 
 
 " The great Tarmangani lies asleep there, " 
 lie said, pointing in the direction from which he 
 had just come. " Come and we can kill him," 
 
 "Do not kill him," commanded La in cold 
 tones. * ' Bring the great Tarmangani to me 
 alive and unhurt. The vengeance is La's. Go; 
 but make no sound ! " and she waved her hands 
 to include all her followers. 
 
 Cautiously the weird party crept through the 
 jungle in the wake of the great ape until at 
 last he halted them with a raised hand and 
 pointed upward and a little ahead. There they 
 saw the giant form of the ape-man stretched 
 along a low bough and even in sleep one hand 
 grasped a stout limb and one strong, brown 
 leg reached out and overlapped another. At 
 ease lay Tarzan of the Apes, sleeping heavily 
 upon a full stomach and dreaming of Numa, the 
 lion, and Horta, the boar, and other creatures 
 of the jungle. No intimation of danger assailed 
 the dormant faculties of the ape-man he saw 
 no crouching hairy figures upon the ground 
 beneath him nor the three apes that swung 
 quietly into the tree beside him. 
 
 The first intimation of danger that came to 
 Tarzan was the impact of three bodies as the 
 
 139 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAE 
 
 three apes leaped upon him and hurled him 
 to the ground, where he alighted half stunned 
 beneath their combined weight and was imme 
 diately set upon by the fifty hairy men or as 
 many of them as could swarm upon his person. 
 Instantly the ape-man became the center of a 
 whirling, striking, biting maelstrom of horror. 
 He fought nobly but the odds against him were 
 too great. Slowly they overcame him though 
 there was scarce one of them that did not feel 
 the weight of his mighty fist or the rending of 
 his fangs. 
 
 140 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 CONDEMNED TO TOETUKE AND DEATH 
 
 LA. HAD followed her company and when she 
 saw them clawing and biting at Tarzan, 
 she raised her voice and cautioned them not to 
 kill him. She saw that he was weakening and 
 that soon the greater numbers would prevail 
 over him, nor had she long to wait before the 
 mighty jungle creature lay helpless and bound 
 at her feet. 
 
 * ' Bring him to the place at which we 
 stopped/' she commanded and they carried 
 Tarzan back to the little clearing and threw 
 him down beneath a tree. 
 
 " Build me a shelter!" ordered La. "We 
 shall stop here tonight and tomorrow in the face 
 of the Flaming God, La will offer up the heart 
 of this defiler of the temple. Where is the 
 sacred knife ? Who took it from him ? ' ' 
 
 But no one had seen it and each was positive 
 in his assurance that the sacrificial weapon had 
 not been upon Tarzan 's person when they cap- 
 
 141 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 tured him. The ape-man looked upon the men 
 acing creatures which surrounded him and 
 snarled his defiance. He looked upon La and 
 smiled. In the face of death he was unafraid. 
 
 " Where is the knife I " La asked him. 
 
 " I do not know," replied Tarzan. " The 
 man took it with him when he slipped away dur 
 ing the night. Since you are so desirous for its 
 return I would look for him and get it back for 
 you, did you not hold me prisoner ; but now that 
 I am to die I cannot get it back. Of what good 
 was your knife, anyway? You can make 
 another. Did you follow us all this way for 
 nothing more than a knife? Let me go and find 
 him and I will bring it back to you." 
 
 La laughed a bitter laugh, for in her heart 
 she knew that Tarzan 's sin was greater than 
 the purloining of the sacred sacrificial knife 
 of Opar; yet as she looked at him lying bound 
 and helpless before her, tears rose to her eyes 
 so that she had to turn away to hide them ; but 
 she remained inflexible in her determination 
 to make him pay in frightful suffering and 
 in eventual death for daring to spurn the love 
 of La, 
 
 When the shelter was completed La had Tar- 
 142 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 zan transferred to it. " All night I shall tor 
 ture him," she muttered to her priests, " and 
 at the first streak of dawn you may prepare 
 the flaming altar upon which his heart shall 
 be offered up to the Flaming God. Gather wood 
 well filled with pitch, lay it in the form and 
 size of the altar at Opar in the center of the 
 clearing that the Flaming God may look down 
 upon our handiwork and be pleased. 
 
 During the balance of the day the priests 
 of Opar were busy erecting an altar in the cen 
 ter of the clearing, and while they worked they 
 chanted weird hymns in the ancient tongue 
 of that lost continent that lies at the bottom 
 of the Atlantic. They knew not the meanings 
 of the words they mouthed ; they but repeated 
 the ritual that had been handed down from 
 preceptor to neophyte since that long-gone day 
 when the ancestors of the Piltdown man still 
 swung by their tails in the humid jungles that 
 are England now. 
 
 And in the shelter of the hut, La paced to 
 and fro beside the stoic ape-man. Eesigned to 
 his fate was Tarzan. No hope of succor 
 gleamed through the dead black of the death 
 sentence hanging over him. He knew that his 
 
 143 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 giant muscles could not part the many strands 
 that bound his wrists and ankles, for he had 
 strained often, but ineffectually for release. He 
 had no hope of outside help and only enemies 
 surrounded him within the camp, and yet he 
 smiled at La as she paced nervously back and 
 forth the length of the shelter. 
 
 And La? She fingered her knife and looked 
 down upon her captive. She glared and mut 
 tered but she did not strike. " Tonight! " she 
 thought. ' t Tonight, when it is dark I will 
 torture him." She looked upon his perfect, 
 godlike figure and upon his handsome, smiling 
 face and then she steeled her heart again by 
 thoughts of her love spurned; by religious 
 thoughts that damned the infidel who had dese 
 crated the holy of holies; who had taken from 
 the blood-stained altar of Opar the offering to 
 the Flaming God and not once but thrice. 
 Three times had Tarzan cheated the god of her 
 fathers. At the thought La paused and knelt 
 at his side. In her hand was a sharp knife. 
 She placed its point against the ape-man's side 
 and pressed upon the hilt; but Tarzan only 
 smiled and shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 How beautiful he was! La bent low over 
 144 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 him, looking into Ms eyes. How perfect was 
 his figure. She compared it with those of the 
 knurled and knotted men from whom she must 
 choose a mate, and La shuddered at the thought. 
 Dusk came and after dusk came night. A great 
 fire blazed within the little thorn boma about 
 the camp. The flames played upon the new 
 altar erected in the center of the clearing, 
 arousing in the mind of the High Priestess of 
 the Flaming God a picture of the event of the 
 coming dawn. She saw this giant and perfect 
 form writhing amid the flames of the burn 
 ing pyre. She saw those smiling lips, burned 
 and blackened, falling away from the strong, 
 white teeth. She saw the shock of black hair 
 tousled upon Tarzan's well-shaped head dis 
 appear in a spurt of flame. She saw these and 
 many other frightful pictures as she stood with 
 closed eyes and clenched fists above the object 
 of her hate ah! was it hate that La of Opar 
 felt? 
 
 The darkness of the jungle night had set 
 tled down upon the camp, relieved only by the 
 fitful flarings of the fire that was kept up to 
 warn off the man-eaters. Tarzan lay quietly 
 in his bonds. He suffered from thirst and from 
 
 145 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OP Alt 
 
 the cutting of the tight strands about his wrists 
 and ankles; but he made no complaint. A 
 jungle beast was Tarzan with the stoicism of 
 the beast and the intelligence of man. He knew 
 that his doom was sealed that no supplica 
 tions would avail to temper the severity of 
 his end and so he wasted no breath in plead 
 ings; but waited patiently in the firm convic 
 tion that his sufferings could not endure for 
 ever. 
 
 In the darkness La stooped above him. In 
 her hand was a sharp knife and in her mind 
 the determination to initiate his torture with 
 out further delay. The knife was pressed 
 against his side and La's face was close to 
 his when a sudden burst of flame from new 
 branches thrown upon the fire without, 
 lighted up the interior of the shelter. Close 
 beneath her lips La saw the perfect features of 
 the forest god and into her woman's heart 
 welled all the great love she had felt for Tar 
 zan since first she had seen him, and all the 
 accumulated passion of the years that she had 
 dreamed of him. 
 
 Dagger in hand, La, the High Priestess, tow 
 ered above the helpless creature that had dared 
 
 146 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 to violate the sanctuary of her deity. There 
 should be no torture there should be instant 
 death. No longer should the denier of the 
 temple pollute the sight of the lord god al 
 mighty. A single stroke of the heavy blade 
 and then the corpse to the flaming pyre with 
 out. The knife arm stiffened ready for the 
 downward plunge, and then La, the woman, 
 collapsed weakly upon the body of the man she 
 loved. 
 
 She ran her hands in mute caress over his 
 naked flesh; she covered his forehead, his eyes, 
 his lips with hot kisses; she covered him with 
 her body as though to protect him from the 
 hideous fate she had ordained for him, and 
 in trembling, piteous tones she begged him for 
 his love. For hours the frenzy of her passion 
 possessed the burning hand-maiden of the Flam 
 ing God, until at last sleep overpowered her 
 and she lasped into unconsciousness beside the 
 man she had sworn to torture and to slay. And 
 Tarzan, untroubled by thoughts of the future, 
 slept peacefully in La's embrace. 
 
 At the first hint of dawn the chanting of the 
 priests of Opar brought Tarzan to wakeful- 
 ness. Initiated in low and subdued tones, the 
 
 147 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 sound soon rose in volume to the open diapa 
 son of barbaric blood lust. La stirred. Her 
 perfect arm pressed Tarzan closer to her a 
 smile parted her lips and then she awoke, and 
 slowly the smile faded and her eyes went wide 
 in horror as the significance of the death chant 
 impinged upon her understanding. 
 
 6 i Love me, Tarzan ! ' ' she cried. ' l Love me, 
 and you shall be saved. ' ' 
 
 Tarzan 's bonds hurt him. He was suffering 
 the tortures of long-restricted circulation. 
 With an angry growl he rolled over with his 
 back toward La. That was her answer! The 
 High Priestess leaped to her feet. A hot flush 
 of shame mantled her cheek and then she went 
 dead white and stepped to the shelter's 
 entrance. 
 
 "Come, Priests of the Flaming God!" she 
 cried, " and make ready the sacrifice." 
 
 The warped things advanced and entered the 
 shelter. They laid hands upon Tarzan and bore 
 him forth, and as they chanted they kept time 
 with their crooked bodies, swaying to and fro 
 to the rhythm of their song of blood and death. 
 Behind them came La, swaying too; but not 
 in unison with the chanted cadence. White and 
 
 148 
 
La approached with upraised knife 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 drawn was the face of the High Priestess 
 white and drawn with unrequited love and hide 
 ous terror of the moments to come. Yet stern 
 in her resolve was La. The infidel should die ! 
 The scoraer of her love should pay the price 
 upon the fiery altar. She saw them lay the 
 perfect body there upon the rough branches. 
 She saw the High Priest, he to whom custom 
 would unite her bent, crooked, gnarled, 
 stunted, hideous advance with the flaming 
 torch and stand awaiting her command to apply 
 it to the faggots surrounding the sacrificial 
 pyre. His hairy, bestial face was distorted in 
 a yellow-fanged grin of anticipatory enjoy 
 ment. His hands were cupped to receive the 
 life blood of the victim the red nectar that 
 at Opar would have filled the golden sacrificial 
 goblets. 
 
 La approached with upraised knife, her face 
 turned toward the rising sun and upon her lips 
 a prayer to the burning deity of her people. 
 The High Priest looked questioningly toward 
 her the brand was burning close to his hand 
 and the faggots lay temptingly near. Tarzan 
 closed his eyes and awaited the end. He knew 
 that he would suffer, for he recalled the faint 
 
 149 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 memories of past bums. He knew that be 
 would suffer and die; but he did not flinch. 
 Death is no great adventure to the jungle bred 
 who walk hand-in-hand with the grim specter 
 by day and lie down at his side by night through 
 all the years of their lives. It is doubtful that 
 the ape-man even speculated upon what came 
 after death. As a matter of fact as his end 
 approached, his mind was occupied by thoughts 
 of the pretty pebbles he had lost, yet his every 
 faculty still was open to what passed around 
 him. 
 
 He felt La lean over him and he opened his 
 eyes. He saw her white, drawn face and he 
 saw tears blinding her eyes. "Tarzan, my 
 Tarzan! " she moaned, " tell me that you love 
 me that you will return to Opar with me 
 and you shall live. Even in the face of the 
 anger of my people I will save you. This last 
 chance I give you. What is your answer! " 
 
 At the last moment the woman in La had 
 triumphed over the High Priestess of a cruel 
 cult. She saw upon the altar the only creature 
 that ever had aroused the fires of love within 
 her virgin breast; she saw the beast-faced 
 fanatic who would one day be her mate, unless 
 
 150 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 she found another less repulsive, standing with 
 the burning torch ready to ignite the pyre ; yet 
 with all her mad passion for the ape-man she 
 would give the word to apply the flame if Tar- 
 zan's final answer was unsatisfactory. With 
 heaving bosom she leaned close above him. 
 ' ' Yes or no 1 ' ' she whispered. 
 
 Through the jungle, out of the distance, came 
 faintly a sound that brought a sudden light of 
 hope to Tarzan's eyes. He raised his voice 
 in a weird scream that sent La back from him 
 a step or two. The impatient priest grumbled 
 and switched the torch from one hand to the 
 other at the same time holding it closer to the 
 tinder at the base of the pyre. 
 
 "Your answer!" insisted La. "What is 
 your answer to the love of La of Opar? " 
 
 Closer came the sound that had attracted 
 Tarzan's attention and now the others heard 
 it the shrill trumpeting of an elephant. As 
 La looked wide-eyed into Tarzan's face, there 
 to read her fate for happiness or heartbreak, 
 she saw an expression of concern shadow his 
 features. Now, for the first time, she guessed 
 the meaning of Tarzan's shrill scream he had 
 summoned Tantor, the elephant, to his rescue ! 
 
 151 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 La's brows contracted in a savage scowl. 
 " You refuse La! " she cried. " Then die! The 
 torch! " she commanded, turning toward the 
 priest. 
 
 Tarzan looked up into her face. ' ' Tantor 
 is coming, " he said. " I thought that he would 
 rescue me ; but I know now from his voice that 
 he will slay me and you and all that fall in his 
 path, searching out with the cunning of Sheeta, 
 the panther, those who would hide from him, for 
 Tantor is mad with the madness of love." 
 
 La knew only too well the insane ferocity 
 of a bull elephant in must. She knew that Tar 
 zan had not exaggerated. She knew that the 
 devil in the cunning, cruel brain of the great 
 beast might send it hither and thither hunt 
 ing through the forest for those who escaped 
 its first charge, or the beast might pass on with 
 out returning no one might guess which. 
 
 "I cannot love you, La," said Tarzan in a 
 low voice. " I do not know why, for you are 
 very beautiful. I could not go back and live 
 in Opar I who have the whole broad jungle 
 for my range. No, I cannot love you but I 
 cannot see you die beneath the goring tusks 
 of mad Tantor. Cut my bonds before it is too 
 
 152 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 late. Already he is almost upon us. Cut them 
 and I may yet save you." 
 
 A little spiral of curling smoke rose from 
 one corner of the pyre the flames licked up 
 ward, crackling. La stood there like a; beauti 
 ful statue of despair gazing at Tarzan and at 
 the spreading flames. In a moment they would 
 reach out and grasp him. From the tangled 
 forest came the sound of cracking limbs and 
 crashing trunks Tantor was coming down 
 upon them, a huge Juggernaut of the jungle. 
 The priests were becoming uneasy. They cast 
 apprehensive glances in the direction of the 
 approaching elephant and then back at La. 
 
 " Fly! " she commanded them and then she 
 stooped and cut the bonds securing her prison 
 er's feet and hands. In an instant Tarzan was 
 upon the ground. The priests screamed out 
 their rage and disappointment. He with the 
 torch took a menacing step toward La and 
 the ape-man. " Traitor! " he shrieked at the 
 woman. " For this you too shall die! " Eais- 
 ing his bludgeon he rushed upon the High 
 Priestess; but Tarzan was there before her. 
 Leaping in to close quarters the ape-man seized 
 the upraised weapon and wrenched it from the 
 
 153 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 hands of the frenzied fanatic and then the 
 priest closed upon him with tooth and nail. 
 Seizing the stocky, stunted body in his mighty 
 hands Tarzan raised the creature high above 
 his head, hurling him at his fellows who were 
 now gathered ready to bear down upon their 
 erstwhile captive. La stood proudly with ready 
 knife behind the ape-man. No faint sign of fear 
 marked her perfect brow only haughty dis 
 dain for her priests and admiration for the 
 man she loved so hopelessly filled her thoughts. 
 
 Suddenly upon this scene burst the mad 
 bull a huge tusker, his little eyes inflamed 
 with insane rage. The priests stood for an in 
 stant paralyzed with terror; but Tarzan turned 
 and gathering La in his arms raced for the 
 nearest tree. Tantor bore down upon him 
 trumpeting shrilly. La clung with both white 
 arms about the ape-man's neck. She felt him 
 leap into the air and marveled at his strength 
 and his agility as, burdened with her weight, he 
 swung nimbly into the lower branches of a large 
 tree and quickly bore her upward beyond reach 
 of the sinuous trunk of the pachyderm. 
 
 Momentarily baffled here, the huge elephant 
 wheeled and bore down upon the hapless priests 
 
 154 
 
CONDEMNED TO TORTURE AND DEATH 
 
 who had now scattered, terror-stricken, in every 
 direction. The nearest he gored and threw 
 high among the branches of a tree. One he 
 seized in the coils of his trunk and broke upon 
 a huge bole, dropping the mangled pulp to 
 charge, trumpeting, after another. Two he 
 trampled beneath his huge feet and by then 
 the others had disappeared into the jungle. 
 Now Tantor turned his attention once more to 
 Tarzan for one of the symptoms of madness is 
 a revulsion of affection objects of sane love 
 become the objects of insane hatred. Peculiar 
 in the unwritten annals of the jungle was the 
 proverbial love that had existed between the 
 ape-man and the tribe of Tantor. No elephant 
 in all the jungle would harm the Tannan- 
 gani the white-ape; but with the madness 
 of must upon him the great bull sought to de 
 stroy his long-time play-fellow. 
 
 Back to the tree where La and Tarzan 
 perched came Tantor, the elephant. He reared 
 up with bis forefeet against the bole and 
 reached high toward them with his long trunk ; 
 but Tarzan had foreseen this and clambered 
 beyond the bull's longest reach. Failure but 
 tended to further enrage the mad creature. 
 
 155 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 He bellowed and trumpeted and screamed until 
 the earth shook to the mighty volume of his 
 noise. He put his head against the tree and 
 pushed and the tree bent before his mighty 
 strength; yet still it held. 
 
 The actions of Tarzan were peculiar in the 
 extreme. Had Numa, or Sabor, or Sheeta, or 
 any other beast of the jungle been seeking to 
 destroy him, the ape-man would have danced 
 about hurling missiles and invective at his as 
 sailant. He would have insulted and taunted 
 them, reviling in the jungle Billingsgate he knew 
 so well; but now he sat silent out of Tantor 's 
 reach and upon his handsome face was an ex 
 pression of deep sorrow and pity, for of all the 
 jungle folk Tarzan loved Tantor the best. 
 Could he have slain him he would not have 
 thought of doing so. His one idea was to 
 escape, for he knew that with the passing of 
 the must Tantor would be sane again and that 
 once more ho might stretch at full length upon 
 that mighty back and make foolish speech into 
 those great, flapping ears. 
 
 Finding that the tree would not fall to his 
 pushing, Tantor was but enraged the more. He 
 looked up at the two perched high above him, 
 
 156 
 
Tantor seized one in the coils of his trunk 
 
CONDEMNED TO TOBTU&E AND DEATH 
 
 his red-rimmed eyes blazing with insane hatred, 
 and then he wound his trunk about the bole of 
 the tree, spread his great feet wide apart and 
 tugged to uproot the jungle giant. A huge crea 
 ture was Tantor, an enormous bull in the full 
 prime of all his stupendous strength. Mightily 
 he strove until presently, to Tarzan's consterna 
 tion, the great tree gave slowly at the roots. 
 The ground rose in little mounds and ridges 
 about the base of the bole, the tree tilted in 
 another moment it would be uprooted and fall. 
 
 The ape-man whirled La to his back and just 
 as the tree inclined slowly in its first movement 
 out of the perpendicular, before the sudden 
 rush of its final collapse, he swung to the 
 branches of a lesser neighbor. It was a long 
 and perilous leap. La closed her eyes and 
 shuddered; but when she opened them again 
 she found herself safe and Tarzan whirling 
 onward through the forest. Behind them the 
 uprooted tree crashed heavily to the ground, 
 carrying with it the lesser trees in its path and 
 then Tantor, realizing that his prey had escaped 
 him, set up once more his hideous trumpeting 
 and followed at a rapid charge upon their trail. 
 
 157 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A PEIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 AT FIRST La closed her eyes and clung to 
 Tarzan in terror, though she made no out 
 cry ; but presently she gained sufficient courage 
 to look about her, to look down at the ground be 
 neath and even to keep her eyes open during the 
 wide, perilous swings from tree to tree, and then 
 there came over her a sense of safety because 
 of her confidence in the perfect physical crea 
 ture in whose strength and nerve and agility 
 her fate lay. Once she raised her eyes to the 
 burning sun and murmured a prayer of thanks 
 to her pagan god that she had not been per 
 mitted to destroy this godlike man, and her 
 long lashes were wet with tears. A strange 
 anomaly was La of Opar a creature of cir 
 cumstance torn by conflicting emotions. Now 
 the cruel and bloodthirsty creature of a heart 
 less god and again a melting woman filled with 
 compassion and tenderness. Sometimes the in 
 carnation of jealousy and revenge and some- 
 
 158 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 times a sobbing maiden, generous and forgiv 
 ing; at once a virgin and a wanton; but always 
 a woman. Such was La. 
 
 She pressed her cheek close to Tarzan 's shoul 
 der. Slowly she turned her head until her hot 
 lips were pressed again his flesh. She loved 
 him and would gladly have died for him; yet 
 within an hour she had been ready to plunge 
 a knife into his heart and might again within 
 the coming hour. 
 
 A hapless priest seeking shelter in the jun 
 gle chanced to show himself to enraged Tantor. 
 The great beast turned to one side, bore down 
 upon the crooked, little man, snuffed him out 
 and then, diverted from his course, blundered 
 away toward the south. In a few minutes even 
 the noise of his trumpeting was lost in the dis 
 tance. 
 
 arzan dropped to the ground and La slipped 
 to her feet from his back. * ' Call your people 
 together," said Tarzan. 
 
 " They will Mil me," replied La. 
 
 "They will not kill you," contradicted the 
 ape-man. ' l No one will kill you while Tarzan 
 of the Apes is here. Call them and we will 
 talk with them." 
 
 159 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 La raised her voice in a weird, flutelike call 
 that carried far into the jungle on every side. 
 From near and far came answering shouts in 
 the barking tones of the Oparian priests : " We 
 come! We come! " Again and again, La re 
 peated her summons until singly and in pairs 
 the greater portion of her following approached 
 and halted a short distance away from the 
 High Priestess and her savior. They came 
 with scowling brows and threatening mien. 
 When all had come Tarzan addressed them. 
 
 ' * Your La is safe, ' ' said the ape-man. * ' Had 
 she slain me she would now herself be dead 
 and many more of you ; but she spared me that 
 I might save her. Go your way with her back 
 to Opar, and Tarzan will go his way into the 
 jungle. Let there be peace always between 
 Tarzan and La. What is your answer? " 
 
 The priests grumbled and shook their heads. 
 They spoke together and La and Tarzan could 
 see that they were not favorably inclined 
 toward the proposition. They did not wish to 
 take La back and they did wish to complete the 
 sacrifice of Tarzan to the Flaming God. At 
 last the ape-man became impatient. 
 
 "You will obey the commands of your 
 160 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 queen," he said, " and go back to Opar with 
 her or Tarzan of the Apes will call together the 
 other creatures of the jungle and slay you all. 
 La saved me that I might save you and her. I 
 have served you better alive than I could have 
 dead. If you are not all fools you will let me 
 go my way in peace and you will return to Opar 
 with La. I know not where the sacred knife 
 is; but you can fashion another. Had I not 
 taken it from La you would have slain me and 
 now your god must be glad that I took it since 
 I have saved his priestess from love-mad Tan- 
 tor. Will you go back to Opar with La, prom 
 ising that no harm shall befall her? " 
 
 The priests gathered together in a little knot 
 arguing and discussing. They pounded upon 
 their breasts with their fists ; they raised their 
 hands and eyes to their fiery god; they growled 
 and barked among themselves until it became 
 evident to Tarzan that one of their number 
 was preventing the acceptance of his propo 
 sal. This was the High Priest whose heart was 
 filled with jealous rage because La openly ac 
 knowledged her love for the stranger, when by 
 the world customs of their cult she should have 
 belonged to him. Seemingly there was to be 
 
 161 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 no solution of the problem until another priest 
 stepped forth and, raising his hand, addressed 
 La. 
 
 " Cadj, the High Priest," he announced, 
 " would sacrifice you both to the Flaming God; 
 but all of us except Cadj would gladly return 
 to Opar with our queen. " 
 
 " You are many against one," spoke up Tar- 
 zan. "Why should you not have your will? 
 Go your way with La to Opar and if Cadj in 
 terferes slay him." 
 
 The priests of Opar welcomed this sugges 
 tion with loud cries of approval. To them it 
 appeared nothing short of divine inspiration. 
 The influence of ages of unquestioning obe 
 dience to high priests had made it seem impos 
 sible to them to question his authority; but 
 when they realized that they could force him 
 to their will they were as happy as children 
 with new toys. 
 
 They rushed forward and seized Cadj. They 
 talked in loud menacing tones into his ear. 
 They threatened him with bludgeon and knife 
 until at last he acquiesced in their demands, 
 though sullenly, and then Tarzan stepped close 
 before Cadj. 
 
 162 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 "Priest," lie said, "La goes back to her 
 temple under the protection of her priests and 
 the threat of Tarzan of the Apes that whoever 
 harms her shall die. Tarzan will go again to 
 Opar before the next rains and if harm has 
 befallen La, woe betide Cadj, the High Priest. " 
 
 Sullenly Cadj promised not to harm his 
 queen. 
 
 " Protect her," cried Tarzan to the other 
 Oparians. ' ' Protect her so that when Tarzan 
 comes again he will find La there to greet 
 him." 
 
 " La will be there to greet thee," exclaimed 
 the High Priestess, " and La will wait, long 
 ing, always longing, until you come again. Oh, 
 tell me that you will come! " 
 
 "Who knows?" asked the ape-man as he 
 swung quickly into the trees and raced off 
 toward the east. 
 
 For a moment La stood looking after him, 
 then her head drooped, a sigh escaped her 
 tips and like an old woman she took up the 
 march toward distant Opar. 
 
 Through the trees raced Tarzan of the Apes 
 until the darkness of night had settled upon the 
 jungle, then he lay down and slept, with no 
 
 163 
 
TAR2SAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 thought beyond the morrow and with even La 
 but the shadow of a memory within his con 
 sciousness. 
 
 But a few marches to the north Lady Grey- 
 stoke looked forward to the day when her 
 mighty lord and master should discover the 
 crime of Achmet Zek, and be speeding to res 
 cue and avenge, and even as she pictured the 
 coming of John Clayton, the object of her 
 thoughts squatted almost naked, beside a fallen 
 log, beneath which he was searching with grimy 
 fingers for a chance beetle or a luscious grub. 
 
 Two days elapsed following the theft of the 
 jewels before Tarzan gave them a thought. 
 Then, as they chanced to enter his mind, he con 
 ceived a desire to play with them again, and, 
 having nothing better to do than satisfy the 
 first whim which possessed him, he rose and 
 started across the plain from the forest in 
 which he had spent the preceding day. 
 
 Though no mark showed where the gems had 
 been buried, and though the spot resembled the 
 balance of an unbroken stretch several miles 
 in length, where the reeds terminated at the 
 edge of the meadowland, yet the ape-man moved 
 
 164 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 with unerring precision directly to the place 
 where he had hid his treasure. 
 
 With his hunting knife he upturned the loose 
 earth, beneath which the pouch should be; but, 
 though he excavated to a greater distance than 
 the depth of the original hole there was no sign 
 of pouch or jewels. Tarzan 's brow clouded as 
 he discovered that he had been despoiled. Little 
 or no reasoning was required to convince him 
 of the identity of the guilty party, and with the 
 same celerity that had marked his decision to 
 unearth the jewels, he set out upon the trail of 
 the thief. 
 
 Though the spoor was two days old, and 
 practically obliterated in many places, Tarzan 
 followed it with comparative ease. A white 
 man could not have followed it twenty paces 
 twelve hours after it had been made, a black 
 man would have lost it within the first mile; 
 but Tarzan of the Apes had been forced in child 
 hood to develop senses that an ordinary mortal 
 scarce ever uses. 
 
 We may note the garlic and whisky on the 
 breath of a fellow strap hanger, or the cheap 
 perfume emanating from the person of the 
 wondrous lady sitting in front of us, and de- 
 
 165 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 plore the fact of our sensitive noses; but, as a 
 matter of fact, we cannot smell at all, our 
 olfactory organs are practically atrophied, by 
 comparison with the development of the sense 
 among the beasts of the wild. 
 
 Where a foot is placed an effluvium remains 
 for a considerable time. It is beyond the range 
 of our sensibilities; but to a creature of the 
 lower orders, especially to the hunters and 
 the hunted, as interesting and ofttimes more 
 lucid than is the printed page to us. 
 
 Nor was Tarzan dependent alone upon his 
 sense of smell. Vision and hearing had been 
 brought to a marvelous state of development by 
 the necessities of his early life, where survival 
 itself depended almost daily upon the exercise 
 of the keenest vigilance and the constant use 
 of all his faculties. 
 
 And so he followed the old trail of the Bel 
 gian through the forest and toward the north; 
 but because of the age of the trail he was con 
 strained to a far from rapid progress. The man 
 he followed was two days ahead of him when 
 Tarzan took up the pursuit, and each day he 
 gained upon the ape-man. The latter, however, 
 felt not the slightest doubt as to the outcome. 
 
 166 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 Some day he would overhaul his quarry he 
 could bide his time in peace until that day 
 dawned. Doggedly he followed the faint spoor, 
 pausing by day only to kill and eat, and at night 
 only to sleep and refresh himself. 
 
 Occasionally he passed parties of savage war 
 riors; but these he gave a wide berth, for he 
 was hunting with a purpose that was not to be 
 distracted by the minor accidents of the trail. 
 
 These parties were of the collecting hordes 
 of the Waziri and their alHes which Basuli had 
 scattered his messengers broadcast to summon. 
 They were marching to a common rendezvous in 
 preparation for an assault upon the stronghold 
 of Achmet Zek; but to Tarzan they were ene 
 mies he retained no conscious memory of any 
 friendship for the black men. 
 
 It was night when he halted outside the pali 
 saded village of the Arab raider. Perched in 
 the branches of a great tree he gazed down 
 upon the life within the enclosure. To this place 
 had the spoor led him. His quarry must be with 
 in ; but how was he to find him among so many 
 huts? Tarzan, although cognizant of his 
 mighty powers, realized also his limitations. 
 ;He knew that he could not successfully cope 
 
 167 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 with great numbers in open battle. He must 
 resort to the stealth and trickery of the wild 
 beast, if he were to succeed. 
 
 Sitting in the safety of his tree, munching 
 upon the leg bone of Horta, the boar, Tarzan, 
 waited a favorable opportunity to enter the 
 village. For awhile he gnawed at the bulging, 
 round ends of the large bone, splintering off 
 small pieces between his strong jaws, and suck 
 ing at the delicious marrow within; but all the 
 time he cast repeated glances into the village. 
 He saw white-robed figures, and half-naked 
 blacks; but not once did he see one who re 
 sembled the stealer of the gems. 
 
 Patiently he waited until the streets were 
 deserted by all save the sentries at the gates, 
 then he droppe'd lightly to the ground, circled 
 to the opposite side of the village and 
 approached the palisade. 
 
 At his side hung a long, rawhide rope a 
 natural and more dependable evolution from 
 the grass rope of his childhood. Loosening this, 
 he spread the noose upon the ground behind 
 him, and with a quick movement of his wrist 
 tossed the coils over one of the sharpened pro 
 jections of the summit of the palisade. 
 
 168 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 Drawing the noose taut, he tested the solidity 
 of its hold. Satisfied, the ape-man ran nimbly 
 up the vertical wall, aided by the rope which he 
 clutched in both hands. Once at the top it re 
 quired but a moment to gather the dangling 
 rope once more into its coils, make it fast again 
 at his waist, take a quick glance downward 
 within the palisade, and, assured that no one 
 lurked directly beneath him, drop softly to the 
 ground. 
 
 Now he was within the village. Before him 
 stretched a series of tents and native huts. The 
 business of exploring each of them would be 
 fraught with danger; but danger was only a 
 natural factor of each day's life it never ap 
 palled Tarzan. The chances appealed to him 
 the chances of life and death, with his prowess 
 and his faculties pitted against those of a 
 worthy antagonist. 
 
 It was not necessary that he enter each habi 
 tation through a door, a window or an open 
 chink, his nose told him whether or no his prey 
 lay within. For some time he found one dis 
 appointment following upon the heels of an 
 other in quick succession. No spoor of the Bel 
 gian was discernible. But at last he came to a 
 
 169 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 tent where the smell of the thief was strong. 
 Tarzan listened, his ear close to the canvas 
 at the rear, but no sound came from within. 
 
 At last he cut one of the pin ropes, raised 
 the bottom of the canvas, and intruded his 
 head within the interior. All was quiet and 
 dark. Tarzan crawled cautiously within the 
 scent of the Belgian was strong; but it was not 
 live scent. Even before he had examined the 
 interior minutely, Tarzan knew that no one was 
 within it. 
 
 In one corner he found a pile of blankets and 
 clothing scattered about ; but no pouch of pretty 
 pebbles. A careful examination of the balance 
 of the tent revealed nothing more, at least noth 
 ing to indicate the presence of the jewels; but 
 at the side where the blankets and clothing lay, 
 the ape-man discovered that the tent wall had 
 been loosened at the bottom, and presently he 
 sensed that the Belgian had recently passed out 
 of the tent by this avenue. 
 
 Tarzan was not long in following the way 
 that his prey had fled. The spoor led always 
 in the shadow and at the rear of the huts and 
 tents of the village it was quite evident to 
 Tarzan that the Belgian had gone alone and se- 
 
 170 
 
A PRIESTESS BUT YET A WOMAN 
 
 cretly upon his mission. Evidently lie feared 
 the inhabitants of the village, or at least his 
 work had been of such a nature that he dared 
 not risk detection. 
 
 At the back of a native hut the spoor led 
 through a small hole recently cut in the brush 
 wall and into the dark interior beyond. Fear 
 lessly, Tarzan followed the trail. On hands and 
 knees he crawled through the small aperture. 
 Within the hut his nostrils were assailed by 
 many odors ; but clear and distinct among them 
 was one that half aroused a latent memory of 
 the past it was the faint and delicate odor of 
 a woman. With the cognizance of it there rose 
 in the breast of the ape-man a strange uneasi 
 ness the result of an irresistible force which 
 he was destined to become acquainted with 
 anew the instinct which draws the male to his 
 mate. 
 
 In the same hut was the scent spoor of the 
 'Belgian, too, and as both these assailed the nos 
 trils of the ape-man, mingling one with the 
 other, a jealous rage leaped and burned within 
 him, though his memory held before the mirror 
 of recollection no image of the she to which he 
 had attached his desire. 
 
 171 
 
TAR2AN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 Like the tent he had investigated, the hut, 
 too, was empty, and after satisfying himself 
 that his stolen pouch was secreted nowhere 
 within, he left, as he had entered, by the hole 
 in the rear wall. 
 
 Here he took up the spoor of the Belgian, fol 
 lowed it across the clearing, over the palisade, 
 and out into the dark jungle beyond. 
 
 172 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE FLIGHT OF WEEPBB 
 
 AFTER Werper had arranged the dummy in 
 his bed, and sneaked ont into the darkness 
 of the village beneath the rear wall of his tent, 
 he had gone directly to the hut in which Jane 
 Clayton was held captive. 
 
 Before the doorway squatted a black sentry. 
 Werper approached him boldly, spoke a few 
 words in his ear, handed him a package of to 
 bacco, and passed into the hut. The black 
 grinned and winked as the European disap 
 peared within the darkness of the interior. 
 
 The Belgian, being one of Achmet Zek's prin 
 cipal lieutenants, might naturally go where he 
 wished within or without the village, and so the 
 sentry had not questioned his right to enter the 
 hut with the white, woman prisoner. 
 
 Within, Werper called in French and in a low 
 whisper: "Lady Greystoke! It is I, M. Fre- 
 coult. Where are you?" But there was no 
 response. Hastily the man felt around the in- 
 
 173 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 terior, groping blindly through the darkness 
 with outstretched hands. There was no one 
 within ! 
 
 Werper's astonishment surpassed words. 
 He was on the point of stepping without to ques 
 tion the sentry, when his eyes, becoming ac 
 customed to the dark, discovered a blotch of 
 lesser blackness near the base of the rear wall 
 of the hut Examination revealed the fact that 
 the blotch was an opening cut in the wall. It 
 was large enough to permit the passage of his 
 body, and, assured as he was, that Lady Grey- 
 stoke had passed out through the aperture in 
 an attempt to escape the village, he lost no time 
 in availing himself of the same avenue; but 
 neither did he lose time in a fruitless search for 
 Jane Clayton. 
 
 His own life depended upon the chance of his 
 eluding, or outdistancing Achmet Zek, when 
 that worthy should have discovered that he had 
 escaped. His original plan had contemplated 
 connivance in the escape of Lady Greystoke 
 for two very good and sufficient reasons. The 
 first was that by saving her he would win the 
 gratitude of the English, and thus lessen the 
 chance of his extradition should his identity and 
 
 174 
 
THE FLIGHT OP WEEPER 
 
 his crime against his superior officer be charged 
 against him. 
 
 The second reason was based upon the fact 
 that only one direction of escape was safely 
 open to him. He could not travel to the west 
 because of the Belgian possessions which lay 
 between him and the Atlantic. The south was 
 closed to him by the feared presence of the sav 
 age ape-man he had robbed. To the north lay 
 the friends and allies of Achmet Zek. Only 
 toward the east, through British East Africa, 
 lay reasonable assurance of freedom. 
 
 Accompanied by a titled Englishwoman whom 
 he had rescued from a frightful fate, and 
 his identity vouched for by her as that of a 
 Frenchman by the name of Frecoult, he had 
 looked forward, and not without reason, to the 
 active assistance of the British from the mo 
 ment that he came in contact with their first 
 outpost. 
 
 But now that Lady Grreystoke had disap 
 peared, though he still looked toward the east 
 for hope, his chances were lessened, and an 
 other, subsidiary design completely dashed. 
 From the moment that he had first laid eyes 
 upon Jane Clayton he had nursed within Ms 
 
 175 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 breast a secret passion for the beautiful Ameri 
 can wife of the English lord, and when Achmet 
 Zek's discovery of the jewels had necessitated 
 flight, the Belgian had dreamed, in his plan 
 ning, of a future in which he might convince 
 Lady Greystoke that her husband was dead, 
 and by playing upon her gratitude win her for 
 himself. 
 
 At that part of the village farthest from 
 the gates, Werper discovered that two or three 
 long poles, taken from a nearby pile which had 
 been collected for the construction of huts, had 
 been leaned against the top of the palisade, 
 forming a precarious, though not impossible 
 avenue of escape. 
 
 Rightly, he inferred that thus had Lady Grey- 
 stoke found the means to scale the wall, nor did 
 he lose even a moment in following her lead. 
 Once in the jungle he struck out directly east 
 ward. 
 
 A few miles south of him, Jane Clayton lay 
 panting among the branches of a tree in which 
 she had taken refuge from a prowling and hun 
 gry lioness. 
 
 Her escape from the village had been much 
 easier than she had anticipated. The knife 
 
 176 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WBEFBB 
 
 which she had used to cut her way through the 
 brush wall of the hut to freedom, she had found 
 sticking in the wall of her prison, doubtless left 
 there by accident when a former tenant had 
 vacated the premises. 
 
 To cross the rear of the village, keeping al 
 ways in the densest shadows, had required but 
 a few moments, and the fortunate circumstance 
 of the discovery of the hut poles lying so near 
 the palisade had solved for her the problem of 
 the passage of the high wall. 
 
 For an hour she had followed the old game 
 trail toward the south, until there fell upon her 
 trained hearing the stealthy padding of a stalk 
 ing beast behind her. The nearest tree gave 
 her instant sanctuary, for she was too wise in 
 the ways of the jungle to chance her safety for 
 a moment after discovering that she was being 
 hunted. 
 
 Werper, with better success, traveled slowly 
 onward until dawn, when, to his chagrin, he 
 discovered a mounted Arab upon his trail. It 
 was one of Achmet Zek's minions, many of 
 whom were scattered in all directions through 
 the forest, searching for the fugitive Belgian. 
 
 Jane Clayton >s escape had not yet been dis- 
 177 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 covered when Achmet Zek and his searchers 
 set forth to overhaul Werper. The only man 
 who had seen the Belgian after his departure 
 from his tent was the black sentry before the 
 doorway of Lady Greystoke's prison hut, and 
 he had been silenced by the discovery of the 
 dead body of the man who had relieved him, 
 the sentry that Mugambi had dispatched. 
 
 The bribe taker naturally inferred that Wer 
 per had slain his fellow and dared not admit 
 that he had permitted him to enter the hut, 
 fearing as he did, the anger of Achmet Zek. 
 So, as chance directed that he should be the 
 one to discover the body of the sentry when the 
 first alarm had been given following Achmet 
 Zek's discovery that Werper had outwitted him, 
 the crafty black had dragged the dead body to 
 the interior of a nearby tent, and himself re 
 sumed his station before the doorway of the 
 hut in which he still believed the woman to be. 
 
 With the discovery of the Arab close behind 
 him, the Belgian hid in the foliage of a leafy 
 bush. Here the trail ran straight for a consid 
 erable distance, and down the shady forest aisle, 
 beneath the overarching branches of the trees, 
 rode the white-robed figure of the pursuer. 
 
 178 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 Nearer and nearer lie came. Werper 
 crouched closer to the ground behind the leaves 
 of his hiding place. Across the trail a vine 
 moved. Werper's eyes instantly centered upon 
 the spot. There was no wind to stir the foliage 
 in the depths of the jungle. Again the vine 
 moved. In the mind of the Belgian only the 
 presence of a sinister and malevolent force 
 could account for the phenomenon. 
 
 The man's eyes bored steadily into the screen 
 of leaves upon the opposite side of the trail. 
 Gradually a form took shape beyond them a 
 tawny form, grim and terrible, with yellow- 
 green eyes glaring fearsomely across the nar 
 row trail straight into his. 
 
 Werper could have screamed in fright, but 
 up the trail was coming the messenger of an 
 other death, equally sure and no less terrible. 
 He remained silent, almost paralyzed by fear. 
 The Arab approached. Across the trail from 
 Werper the lion crouched for the spring, when 
 suddenly his attention was attracted toward the 
 horseman. 
 
 The Belgian saw the massive bead turn in 
 the direction of the raider and his heart all but 
 ceased its beating as he waited the result of 
 
 179 
 
TAB2AN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 this interruption. At a walk the horseman ap 
 proached. Would the nervous animal he rode 
 take fright at the odor of the carnivore, and, 
 bolting, leave Werper still to the mercies of the 
 king of beasts f 
 
 But he seemed unmindful of the near pres 
 ence of the great cat. On he came, his neck 
 arched, champing at the bit between his teeth. 
 The Belgian turned his eyes again toward the 
 lion. The beast's whole attention now seemed 
 riveted upon the horseman. They were abreast 
 the lion now, and still the brute did not spring. 
 Could he be but waiting for them to pass be 
 fore returning his attenton to the original prey? 
 Werper shuddered and half rose. At the same 
 instant the lion sprang from his place of con 
 cealment, full upon the mounted man. The 
 horse, with a shrill neigh of terror, shrank side 
 ways almost upon the Belgian, the lion dragged 
 the helpless Arab from his saddle, and the horse 
 leaped back into the trail and fled away toward 
 the west. 
 
 But he did not flee alone. As the frightened 
 beast had pressed in upon him, Werper had not 
 been slow to note the quickly emptied saddle 
 and the opportunity it presented. Scarcely had 
 
 180 
 
The lion dragged the Arab from his saddle 
 
THE FLIGHT OP WEEPER 
 
 the lion dragged the Arab down from one side, 
 than the Belgian, seizing the pommel of the 
 saddle and the horse's mane, leaped upon the 
 horse's back from the other. 
 
 A half hour later a naked giant, swinging 
 easily through the lower branches of the trees, 
 paused, and with raised head, and dilating nos 
 trils sniffed the morning air. The smell of 
 blood fell strong upon his sense, and mingled 
 with it was the scent of Numa, the lion. The 
 giant cocked his head upon one side and lis 
 tened. 
 
 From a short distance up the trail came the 
 unmistakable noises of the greedy feeding of 
 a lion. The crunching of bones, the gulping 
 of great pieces, the contented growling, all at 
 tested the nearness of the king at table. 
 
 Tarzan approached the spot, still keeping to 
 the branches of the trees. He made no effort 
 to conceal his approach, and presently he had 
 evidence that Numa had heard him, from the 
 ominous, rumbling warning that broke from a 
 thicket beside the trail. 
 
 Halting upon a low branch just above the 
 lion Tarzan looked down upon the grisly scene. 
 Could this unrecognizable thing be the man he 
 
 181 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 had been trailing? The ape-man wondered. 
 From time to time he had descended to the 
 trail and verified his judgment by the evidence 
 of his scent that the Belgian had followed this 
 game trail toward the east. 
 
 Now he proceeded beyond the lion and his 
 feast, again descended and examined the ground 
 with his nose. There was no scent spoor here 
 of the man he had been trailing. Tarzan re 
 turned to the tree. With keen eyes he searched 
 the ground about the mutilated corpse for a 
 sign of the missing pouch of pretty pebbles ; but 
 naught could he see of it. 
 
 He scolded Numa and tried to drive the great 
 beast away; but only angry growls rewarded 
 his efforts. He tore small branches from a 
 nearby limb and hurled them at his ancient en 
 emy. Numa looked up with bared fangs, grin 
 ning hideously, but he did not rise from his 
 Mil. 
 
 Then Tarzan fitted an arrow to his bow, and 
 drawing the slim shaft far back let drive with 
 all the force of the tough wood that only he 
 could bend. As the arrow sank deeply into his 
 side, Numa leaped to his feet with a roar of min 
 gled rage and pain. He leaped futilely at the 
 
 182 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 grinning ape-man, tore at the protruding end 
 of the shaft, and then, springing into the trail, 
 paced back and forth beneath his tormentor. 
 Again Tarzan loosed .a swift bolt. This time 
 the missile, aimed with care, lodged in the lion's 
 spine. The great creature halted in its tracks, 
 and lurched awkwardly forward upon its face, 
 paralyzed. 
 
 Tarzan dropped to the trail, ran quickly to 
 the beast's side, and drove his spear deep into 
 the fierce heart, then after recovering his ar 
 rows turned his attention to the mutilated re 
 mains of the animal's prey in the nearby 
 thicket. 
 
 The face was gone. The Arab garments 
 aroused no doubt as to the man's 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 who had robbed him that he 
 made no effort to verify his deductions by scent 
 among the conglomerate odors of the great 
 carnivore and the fresh blood of the victim. 
 
 He confined his attentions to a careful search 
 for the pouch, but nowhere upon or about the 
 corpse was any sign of the missing article or 
 
 183 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 its contents. The ape-man was disappointed 
 possibly not so much because of the loss of the 
 colored pebbles as with Numa for robbing him 
 of the pleasures of revenge. 
 
 Wondering what could have become of his 
 possessions, the ape-man turned slowly back 
 along the trail in the direction from which he 
 had come. In his mind he revolved a plan to 
 enter and search the Arab camp, after darkness 
 had again fallen. Taking to the trees, he moved 
 directly south in search of prey, that he might 
 satisfy his hunger before midday, and then lie 
 up for the afternoon in some spot far from the 
 camp, where he might sleep without fear of dis 
 covery until it came time to prosecute his de 
 sign. 
 
 Scarcely had he quitted the trail when a tall, 
 black warrior, moving at a dogged trot, passed 
 toward the east. It was Mugambi, searching 
 for his mistress. He continued along the trail, 
 halting to examine the body of the dead Iion 
 An expression of puzzlement crossed his fea 
 tures as he bent to search for the wounds which 
 had caused the death of the jungle lord. Tarzan 
 had removed his arrows, but to Mugambi the 
 proof of death was as strong as though both 
 
 184 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 the lighter missiles and the spear still protruded 
 from the carcass. 
 
 The black looked furtively about him. The 
 body was still warm, and from this fact he rea 
 soned that the killer was close at hand, yet no 
 sign of living man appeared. Mugambi shook 
 his head, and continued along the trail, but with 
 redoubled caution. 
 
 All day he traveled, stopping occasionally to 
 call aloud the single word, " Lady," in the hope 
 that at last she might hear and respond; but 
 in the end his loyal devotion brought him to 
 disaster. 
 
 From the northeast, for several months, 
 Abdul Mourak, in command of a detachment 
 of Abyssinian soldiers, had been assiduously 
 searching for the Arab raider, AchmetZek, who, 
 six months previously, had affronted the majes 
 ty of Abdul Mourak 's emperor by conducting a 
 slave raid within the boundaries of Menelek's 
 domain. 
 
 And now it happened that Abdul Mourak had 
 halted for a short rest at noon upon this very 
 day and along the same trail that Werper and 
 Mugambi were following toward the east. 
 
 It was shortly after the soldiers had dismount- 
 185 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ed that the Belgian, unaware of their presence, 
 rode his tired mount almost into their midst, 
 before he had discovered them. Instantly he 
 was surrounded, and a volley of questions 
 hurled at him, as he was pulled from his horse 
 and led toward the presence of the commander. 
 
 Falling back upon his European nationality, 
 Werper assured Abdul Mourak that he was a 
 Frenchman, hunting in Africa, and that he had 
 been attacked by strangers, his safari killed or 
 scattered, and himself escaping only by a 
 miracle. 
 
 From a chance remark of the Abyssinian, 
 Werper discovered the purpose of the expedi 
 tion, and when he realized that these men were 
 the enemies of Achmet Zek, he took heart, and 
 immediately blamed his predicament upon the 
 Arab. 
 
 Lest, however, he might again fall into the 
 hands of the raider, he discouraged Abdul 
 Mourak in the further prosecution of his pur 
 suit, assuring the Abyssinian that Achmet Zek 
 commanded a large and dangerous force, and 
 also that he was marching rapidly toward the 
 south. 
 
 Convinced that it would take a long time to 
 186 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 overhaul the raider, and that the chances of 
 engagement made the outcome extremely ques 
 tionable, Mourak, none too unwillingly, aban 
 doned his plan and gave the necessary orders 
 for his command to pitch camp where they were, 
 preparatory to taking up the return march 
 toward Abyssinia the following morning. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon that the atten 
 tion of the camp was attracted toward the west 
 by the sound of a powerful voice calling a single 
 word, repeated several times: " Lady! Lady! 
 Lady!" 
 
 True to their instincts of precaution, a num 
 ber of Abyssinians, acting under orders from 
 Abdul Mourak, advanced stealthily through the 
 jungle toward the author of the call. 
 
 A half hour later they returned, dragging 
 Mugambi among them. The first person the 
 big black's eyes fell upon as he was hustled into 
 the presence of the Abyssinian officer, was M. 
 Jules Frecoult, the Frenchman who had been 
 the guest of his master and whom he last had 
 seen entering the village of Achmet Zek under 
 circumstances which pointed his familiarity and 
 friendship for the raiders. 
 
 Between the disasters that had befallen his 
 187 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 master and his master's house, and the French 
 man, Mugambi saw a sinister relationship, 
 which kept him from recalling to Werper's at 
 tention the identity which the latter evidently 
 failed to recognize. 
 
 Pleading that he was but a harmless hunter 
 from a tribe farther south, Mugambi begged to 
 be allowed to go upon his way ; but Abdul Mou- 
 rak, admiring the warrior's splendid physique, 
 decided to take him back to Adis Abeba and 
 present him to Menelek. A few moments later 
 Mugambi and Werper were marched away un 
 der guard, and the Belgian learned for the first 
 time, that he too was a prisoner rather than a 
 guest. In vain he protested against such treat 
 ment, until a strapping soldier struck him 
 across the mouth and threatened to shoot him 
 if he did not desist. 
 
 Mugambi took the matter less to heart, for 
 he had not the slightest doubt but that during 
 the course of the journey he would find ample 
 opportunity to elude the vigilance of his guards 
 and make good his escape. With this idea al 
 ways uppermost in his mind, he courted the 
 good opinion of the Abyssinians, asked them 
 many questions about their emperor and their 
 
 188 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 country, and evinced a growing desire to reach 
 their destination, that he might enjoy all the 
 good things which they assured him the city 
 of Adis Abeba contained. Thus he disarmed 
 their suspicions, and each day found a slight 
 relaxation of their watchfulness over him. 
 
 By taking advantage of the fact that he and 
 Werper always were kept together, Mugambi 
 sought to learn what the other knew of the 
 whereabouts of Tarzan, or the authorship of 
 the raid upon the bungalow, as well as the fate 
 of Lady Greystoke; but as he was confined to 
 the Accidents of conversation for this informa 
 tion, not daring to acquaint Werper with his 
 true identity, and as Werper was equally anx 
 ious to conceal from the world his part in the 
 destruction of his host's home and happiness, 
 Mugambi learned nothing at least in this 
 way. 
 
 But there came a time when he learned a 
 very surprising thing, by accident. 
 
 The party had camped early in the after 
 noon of a sultry day, upon the banks of a clear 
 and beautiful stream. The bottom of the river 
 was gravelly, there was no indication of croco 
 diles, those menaces to promiscuous bathing in 
 
 189 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QFAB 
 
 the rivers of certain portions of the dark conti 
 nent, and so the Abyssinians took advantage of 
 the opportunity to perform long-deferred, and 
 much needed, ablutions. 
 
 As Werper, who, with Mugambi, had been 
 given permission to enter the water, removed 
 his clothing, the black noted the care with which 
 he unfastened something which circled his waist, 
 and which he took off with his shirt, keeping the 
 latter always around and concealing the object 
 of his suspicious solicitude. 
 
 It was this very carefulness which attracted 
 the black's attention to the thing, arousing a 
 natural curiosity in the warrior's mind, and so 
 it chanced that when the Belgian, in the ner 
 vousness of overcaution, fumbled the hidden ar 
 ticle and dropped it, Mugambi saw it as it fell 
 upon the ground, spilling a portion of its con 
 tents on the sward. 
 
 Now Mugambi had been to London with his 
 master. He was not the unsophisticated sav 
 age that his apparel proclaimed him. He had 
 mingled with the cosmopolitan hordes of the 
 greatest city in the world; he had visited mu 
 seums and inspected shop windows; and, be 
 sides, he was a shrewd and intelligent man. 
 
 190 
 
THE FLIGHT OF WEEPER 
 
 The instant that the jewels of Opar rolled, 
 scintillating, before his astonished eyes, he rec 
 ognized them for what they were ; but he recog 
 nized something else, too, that interested him 
 far more deeply than the value of the stones. A 
 thousand times he had seen the leathern pouch 
 which dangled at his master's side, when Tar- 
 zan of the Apes had, in a spirit of play and ad 
 venture, elected to return for a few hours to 
 the primitive manners and customs of his boy 
 hood, and surrounded by his naked warriors 
 hunt the lion and the leopard, the buffalo and 
 the elephant after the manner he loved best. 
 
 Werper saw that Mugambi had seen the 
 pouch and the stones. Hastily he gathered up 
 the precious gems and returned them to their 
 container, while Mugambi, assuming an air of 
 indifference, strolled down to the river for his 
 bath. 
 
 The following morning Abdul Mourak was 
 enraged and chagrined to discover that his 
 huge, black prisoner had escaped during the 
 night, while Werper was terrified for the same 
 reason, until his trembling fingers discovered 
 the pouch still in its place beneath his shirt, 
 and within it the hard outlines of its contents. 
 
 191 
 
CHAPTER xvi 
 
 TARZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 A2HMET ZEK with two of his followers had 
 circled ,far to the south to intercept the 
 flight of his deserting lieutenant, Werper. Oth 
 ers 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. 
 
 Achmet and the two with him halted for a 
 short rest just before noon. They squatted 
 beneath the trees upon the southern edge of a 
 clearing. The chief of the raiders was in ill 
 humor. To have been outwitted by an unbe 
 liever was bad enough ; but to have, at the same 
 time, lost the jewels upon which he had set his 
 avaricious heart was altogether too much Al 
 lah must, indeed, be angry with his servant. 
 
 Well, he still had the woman. She would 
 bring a fair price in the north, and there was, 
 too, the buried treasure beside the ruins of the 
 Englishman's house. 
 
 192 
 
TABZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 A slight noise in the jungle upon the opposite 
 side of the clearing brought Achmet Zek to 
 immediate and alert attention. He gathered 
 his rifle in readiness for instant use, at the 
 same time motioning his followers to silence 
 and concealment. Crouching behind bushes the 
 three waited, their eyes fastened upon the far 
 side of the open space. 
 
 Presently the foliage parted and a woman's 
 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; mut 
 tered exclamation of incredulity and an impre 
 cation. The woman was the prisoner he had 
 thought safely guarded at his camp ! 
 
 Apparently she was alone, but Achmet Zek 
 waited that he might make sure of it before 
 seizing her. Slowly Jane Clayton started 
 across the clearing. Twice already since she 
 had quitted the village of the raiders had she 
 barely escaped the fangs of carnivora, and once 
 she had almost stumbled into the path of one 
 of the searchers. Though she was almost de- 
 
 193 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAR 
 
 spairing of ever reaching safety she still was 
 determined to fight on, until death or success 
 terminated her endeavors. 
 
 As the Arabs watched her from the safety 
 of their concealment, and Achmet Zek noted 
 with satisfaction that she was walking directly 
 into his clutches, another pair of eyes looked 
 down upon the entire scene from the foliage of 
 an adjacent tree. 
 
 Puzzled, troubled eyes they were, for all their 
 gray and 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 Jane Clayton had emerged into the 
 clearing brought her to a sudden stop and at 
 tracted the attention of the Arabs and the 
 watcher in the tree to the same point. 
 
 The woman wheeled about to see what new 
 danger menaced her from behind, and as she 
 did so a great, anthropoid ape waddled into 
 view. Behind him came another and another; 
 but Lady Greystoke did not wait to learn how 
 many more of the hideous creatures were so 
 close upon her trail. 
 
 194 
 
TABZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 With a smothered scream she rushed toward 
 the opposite jungle, and as she reached the 
 bushes there, Achmet Zek and his two hench 
 men rose up and seized her. At the same in 
 stant a naked, brown giant dropped from the 
 branches of a tree at the right of the clear 
 ing. 
 
 Turning toward the astonished apes he gave 
 voice to a short volley of low gutturals, and 
 without waiting to note the effect of his words 
 upon them, wheeled and charged for the Arabs. 
 
 Achmet Zek was dragging Jane Clayton 
 toward his tethered horse. His two men were 
 hastily unfastening all three mounts. The 
 woman, struggling to escape the Arab, turned 
 and saw the ape-man running toward her. A 
 glad light of hope illumined her face. 
 
 " John! " she cried. " Thank God that you 
 have come in time/' 
 
 Behind Tarzan came the great apes, wonder 
 ing, but obedient to his summons. The Arabs 
 saw that they would not have time to mount and 
 make their escape before the beasts and the 
 man were upon them. Achmet Zek recognized 
 the latter as the redoubtable enemy of such as 
 he, and he saw too in the circumstance an op- 
 
 195 
 
TAR2AN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 portunity to rid himself forever of the menace 
 of the ape-man's presence. 
 
 Calling to his men to follow his example he 
 raised his rifle and leveled it upon the charg 
 ing giant. His followers, acting with no less 
 alacrity than himself, fired almost simulta 
 neously, and with the reports of the rifles, Tar- 
 zan of the Apes and two of his hairy henchmen 
 pitched forward among the jungle grasses. 
 
 The noise of the rifle shots brought the bal 
 ance of the apes to a wondering pause, and, tak 
 ing advantage of their momentary distraction, 
 Achmet Zek and his fellows leaped to their 
 horses' backs and galloped away with the now 
 hopeless and grief-stricken woman. 
 
 Back to the village they rode, and once again 
 Lady Greystoke found herself incarcerated in 
 the filthy, little hut from which she had thought 
 to have escaped for good. But this time she 
 was not only guarded by an additional sentry, 
 but bound as well. 
 
 Singly and in twos the searchers who had 
 ridden out with Achmet Zek upon the trail of 
 the Belgian, returned empty handed. With the 
 report of each the raider's rage and chagrin 
 increased, until he was in such a transport of 
 
 196 
 
TARZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MAKGANI 
 
 ferocious anger that none dared approach him. 
 Threatening and cursing, Achmet Zek paced 
 up and down the floor of his silken tent; but 
 his temper served him naught Werper was 
 gone and with him the fortune in scintillating 
 gems which had aroused the cupidity of his 
 chief and placed the sentence of death upon the 
 head of the lieutenant. 
 
 With the escape of the Arabs the great apes 
 had turned their attention to their fallen com 
 rades. One was dead, but another and the 
 great white ape still breathed. The hairy mon 
 sters gathered about these two, grumbling and 
 muttering after the fashion of their kind. 
 
 Tarzan was 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. Eising slowly to his 
 feet he let his eyes wander toward the spot 
 where test he had seen the she, who had aroused 
 within his savage breast such strange emotions. 
 
 " Where is she? " he asked. 
 
 "The Tarmangani took her away/' replied 
 one of the apes. " Who are you who speak the 
 language of the Mangani? " 
 
 197 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 "I am Tarzan," replied the ape-man; 
 " mighty hunter, greatest of fighters. When I 
 roar, the jungle is silent and trembles with ter 
 ror. I am Tarzan of the Apes. I have been 
 away; but now I have come back to my people. " 
 
 " Yes," spoke up an old ape, " he is Tarzan. 
 I know him. It is well that he has come back. 
 Now we shall have good hunting." 
 
 The other apes came closer and sniff ed at the 
 ape-man. Tarzan stood very still, his fangs 
 half bared, and his muscles tense and ready for 
 action ; but there was none there to question his 
 right to be with them, and presently, the inspec 
 tion satisfactorily concluded, the apes again re 
 turned their attention to the other survivor. 
 
 He too was but slightly wounded, a bullet, 
 grazing his skull, having stunned him, so that 
 when he regained consciousness he was appar 
 ently as fit as ever. 
 
 The apes told Tarzan that they had been trav 
 eling toward the east when the scent spoor of 
 the she had attracted them and they had stalked 
 her. Now they wished to continue upon their in 
 terrupted march; but Tarzan preferred to fol 
 low the Arabs and take the woman from them. 
 After a considerable argument it was decided 
 
 198 
 
TABZAN AGAIN LEAPS THE MANGANI 
 
 that they should first hunt toward the east for 
 a few days and then return and search for the 
 Arabs, and as time is of little moment to the 
 ape folk, Tarzan acceded to their demands, he, 
 himself, having reverted to a mental state but 
 little superior to their own. 
 
 Another circumstance which decided him to 
 postpone pursuit of the Arabs was the painful- 
 ness of his wound. It would be better to wait 
 until that had healed before he pitted himself 
 again against the guns of the Tarmangani. 
 
 And so, as Jane Clayton was pushed into her 
 prison hut and her hands and feet securely 
 bound, her natural protector roamed off toward 
 the east in company with a score of hairy mon 
 sters, with whom he rubbed shoulders as fa 
 miliarly as a few months before he had min 
 gled with his immaculate fellow-members of one 
 of London's most select and exclusive clubs. 
 
 But all the time there lurked in the back of 
 his injured brain a troublesome conviction that 
 he had no business where he was that he 
 should be, for some unaccountable reason, else 
 where and among another sort of creature. 
 Also, there was the compelling urge to be upon 
 the scent of the Arabs, undertaking the rescue 
 
 199 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 of the woman who had appealed so strongly to 
 his savage sentiments; though the thought- 
 word which naturally occurred to him in the 
 contemplation of the venture, was " capture, " 
 rather than " rescue." 
 
 To him she was as any other jungle she, and 
 he had set his heart upon her as his mate. For 
 an instant, as he had approached closer to her 
 in the clearing where the Arabs had seized her, 
 the subtle aroma which had first aroused his 
 desires in the hut that had imprisoned her had 
 fallen upon his nostrils, and told him that he 
 had found the creature for whom he had de 
 veloped so sudden and inexplicable a passion. 
 
 The matter of the pouch of jewels also oc 
 cupied his thoughts to some extent, so that he 
 found a double urge for his return to the oamp 
 of the raiders. He would obtain possession of 
 both his pretty pebbles and the she. Then he 
 would return to the great apes with his new 
 mate and his baubles, and leading his hairy 
 companions into a far wilderness beyond the 
 ken of man, live out his life, hunting and bat 
 tling among the lower orders after the only 
 manner which he now recollected. 
 
 He spoke to his fellow-apes upon the mat- 
 200 
 
TAItZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 ter, in an attempt to persuade them to accom 
 pany him; but all except Taglat and Ghulk 
 refused. The latter was young and strong, 
 endowed with a greater intelligence than his 
 fellows, and therefore the possessor of better 
 developed powers of imagination. To him the 
 expedition savored of adventure, and so ap 
 pealed, strongly. With Taglat there was an 
 other incentive a secret and sinister incen 
 tive, which, had Tarzan of the Apes had knowl 
 edge of it, would have sent him at the other's 
 throat in jealous rage. 
 
 Taglat was no longer young; but he was still 
 a formidable beast, mightily muscled, cruel, and, 
 because of his greater experience, crafty and 
 cunning. Too, he was of giant proportions, the 
 very weight of his huge bulk serving ofttimes 
 to discount in his favor the superior agility of 
 a younger antagonist. 
 
 He was of a morose and sullen disposition 
 that marked him even among his frowning fel 
 lows, where such characteristics are the rule 
 rather than the exception, and, though Tarzan 
 did not guess it, he hated the ape-man with a 
 ferocity that he was able to hide only because 
 the dominant spirit of the nobler creature had 
 
 201 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 inspired within him a species of dread which 
 was as powerful as it was inexplicable to him. 
 
 These two, then, were to be Tarzan >s com 
 panions upon his return to the village of Ach- 
 met Zek. As they set off, the balance of the 
 tribe vouchsafed them but a parting stare, and 
 then resumed the serious business of feeding. 
 
 Tarzan found difficulty in keeping the 
 minds of his fellows set upon the purpose of 
 their adventure, for the mind of an ape lacks 
 the power of long-sustained concentration. To 
 set out upon a long journey, with a definite des 
 tination in view, is one thing, to remember that 
 purpose and keep it uppermost in one's mind 
 continually is quite another. There are so 
 many things to distract one's attention along 
 the way. 
 
 Chulk was, at first, for rushing rapidly ahead 
 as though the village of the raiders lay but an 
 hour's march before them instead of several 
 days; but within a few minutes a fallen tree 
 attracted his attention with its suggestion of 
 rich and succulent forage beneath, and when 
 Tarzan, missing him, returned in search, he 
 found Chulk squatting beside the rotting bole, 
 from beneath which he was assiduously en- 
 
 202 
 
TARZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 gaged in digging out the grubs and beetles, 
 whose kind form a considerable proportion of 
 the diet of the apes. 
 
 Unless Tarzan desired to fight there was 
 nothing to do but wait until Chulk had ex 
 hausted the storehouse, and this he did, only 
 to discover that Taglat was now missing. After 
 a considerable search, he found that worthy 
 gentleman contemplating the sufferings of an 
 injured rodent he had pounced upon. He would 
 sit in apparent indifference, gazing in another 
 direction, while the crippled creature wriggled 
 slowly and painfully away from him, and then, 
 just as his victim felt assured of escape, he 
 would reach out a giant palm and slam it down 
 upon the fugitive. Again and again he re 
 peated this operation, until, tiring of the sport, 
 he ended the sufferings of his plaything by de 
 vouring it. 
 
 Such were the exasperating causes of de 
 lay which retarded Tarzan 's return journey 
 toward the village of Achmet Zek ; but the ape- 
 man was patient, for in his mind was a plan 
 which necessitated the presence of Chulk and 
 Taglat when he should have arrived at his des 
 tination. 
 
 203 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 It was not always an easy thing to maintain 
 in the vacillating minds of the anthropoids a 
 sustained interest in their venture. Chulk was 
 wearying of the continued marching and the in- 
 frequency and short duration of the rests. He 
 would gladly have abandoned this search for 
 adventure had not Tarzan continually filled 
 his mind with alluring pictures of the great 
 stores of food which were to be found in the 
 village of the Tarmangani. 
 
 Taglat nursed his secret purpose to better 
 advantage than might have been expected of 
 an ape, yet there were times when he, too, 
 would have abandoned the adventure had not 
 Tarzan cajoled him on. 
 
 It was mid-afternoon of a sultry, tropical 
 day when the keen senses of the three warned 
 them of the proximity of the Arab camp. 
 Stealthily they approached, keeping to the 
 dense tangle of growing things which made con 
 cealment easy to their uncanny jungle craft. 
 
 First came the giant ape-man, his smooth, 
 brown skin glistening with the sweat of exer 
 tion in the close, hot confines of the jungle. Be 
 hind him crept Chulk and Taglat, grotesque and 
 shaggy caricatures of their godlike leader. 
 
 204 
 
Behind him crept Chulk and Taglat 
 
 _. 
 
TARZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 Silently they made their way to the edge of 
 the clearing which surrounded the palisade, and 
 here they clambered into the lower branches of 
 a large tree overlooking the village occupied by 
 the enemy, the better to spy upon his goings 
 and comings. 
 
 A horseman, white burnoosed, rode out 
 through the gateway of the village. Tarzan, 
 whispering to Chulk and Taglat to remain 
 where they were, swung, monkey-like, through 
 the trees in the direction of the trail the Arab 
 was riding. From one jungle giant to the next 
 he sped with the rapidity of a squirrel and the 
 silence of a ghost. 
 
 The Arab rode slowly onward, unconscious 
 of the danger hovering in the trees behind him. 
 The ape-man made a slight detour and in 
 creased his speed until he had reached a point 
 upon the trail in advance of the horseman. Here 
 he halted upon a leafy bough which overhung 
 the narrow, jungle trail. On came the victim, 
 humming a wild air of the great desert land of 
 the north. Above him poised the savage brute 
 that was today bent upon the destruction of a 
 human life the same creature who a few 
 months before, had occupied his seat in the 
 
 205 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAE, 
 
 House of Lords at London, a respected and 
 distinguished member of that august body. 
 
 The Arab passed beneath the overhanging 
 bough, there was a slight rustling of the leaves 
 above, the horse snorted and plunged as a 
 brown-skinned creature dropped upon its rump. 
 A pair of mighty arms encircled the Arab and 
 he was dragged from his saddle to the trail. 
 
 Ten minutes later the ape-man, carrying the 
 outer garments of an Arab bundled beneath an 
 arm, rejoined his companions. He exhibited 
 his trophies to them, explaining in low gut- 
 terals the details of his exploit. Chulk and 
 Taglat fingered the fabrics, smelled of them, 
 and, placing them to their ears, tried to listen 
 to them. 
 
 Then Tarzan led them back through the jun 
 gle to the trail, where the three hid themselves 
 and waited. Nor had they long to wait before 
 two of Achmet Zek's blacks, clothed in habili 
 ments similar to their master's, came down 
 the trail on foot, returning to the camp. 
 
 One moment they were laughing and talking 
 together the next they lay stretched in death 
 upon the trail, three mighty engines of de 
 struction bending over them. Tarzan removed 
 
 206 
 
TARZAN AOAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 their outer garments as he had removed those 
 of his first victim, and again retired with Chulk 
 and Taglat to the greater seclusion of the tree 
 they had first selected. 
 
 Here the ape-man arranged the garments 
 upon his shaggy fellows and himself, until, at 
 a distance, it might have appeared that three 
 white-robed Arabs squatted silently among the 
 branches of the forest. 
 
 Until dark they remained where they were, 
 for from his point of vantage, Tarzan could 
 view the enclosure within the palisade. He 
 marked the position of the hut in which he had 
 first discovered the scent spoor of the she he 
 sought. He saw the two sentries standing be 
 fore its doorway, and he located the habitation 
 of Achmet Zek, where something told him he 
 would most likely find his missing pouch and 
 pebbles. 
 
 Chulk and Taglat were, at first, greatly in 
 terested in their wonderful raiment. They fin 
 gered the fabric, smelled of it, and regarded 
 each other intently with every mark of satis 
 faction and pride. Chulk, a humorist in his 
 way, stretched forth a long and hairy arm, and 
 grasping the hood of Taglat '& burnoose pulled 
 
 207 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 it down over the latter 's eyes, extinguishing 
 him, snuffer-like, as it were. 
 
 The older ape, pessimistic by nature, recog 
 nized no such thing as humor. Creatures laid 
 their paws upon him for but two things to 
 search for fleas and to attack. The pulling of 
 the Tarmangani-scented thing about his head 
 and eyes could not be for the performance of 
 the former act; therefore it must be the lat 
 ter. He was attacked! Chulk had attacked 
 him. 
 
 With a snarl he was at the other's throat, not 
 even waiting to lift the woolen veil which ob 
 scured his vision. Tarzan leaped upon the two, 
 and swaying and toppling upon their insecure 
 pereh the three great beasts tussled and 
 snapped at one another until the ape-man 
 finally succeeded in separating the enraged 
 anthropoids. 
 
 As apology is unknown to these savage pro 
 genitors of man, and explanation a laborious 
 and usually futile process, Tarzan bridged the 
 dangerous gulf by distracting their attention 
 from their altercation to a consideration of 
 their plans for the immediate future. Accus 
 tomed to frequent arguments in which more 
 
 208 
 
TABZAN AGAIN LEAPS THE MAKGANI 
 
 hair than blood is wasted, the apes speedily for 
 get such trivial encounters, and presently Chulk 
 and Taglat were again squatting in close prox 
 imity to each other and peaceful repose, await 
 ing the moment when the ape-man should lead 
 them into the village of the Tarmangani. 
 
 It was long after darkness had fallen, that 
 Tarzan led his companions from their hiding 
 place in the tree to the ground and around 
 the palisade to the far side of the village. 
 
 Gathering the skirts of his burnoose, beneath 
 one arm, that his legs might have free action, 
 the ape-man took a short running start, and 
 scrambled to the top of the barrier. Fearing 
 lest the apes should rend their garments to 
 shreds in a similar attempt, he had directed 
 them to wait below for him, and himself se 
 curely perched upon the summit of the pali 
 sade he unslung his spear and lowered one end 
 of it to Chulk. 
 
 The ape seized it, and while Tarzan held 
 tightly to the upper end, the anthropoid 
 climbed quickly up the shaft until with one 
 paw he grasped the top of the wall. To scram 
 ble then to Tarzan 's side was the work of but 
 an instant. In like manner Taglat was con- 
 
 209 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ducted to their sides, and a moment later the 
 three dropped silently within the enclosure. 
 
 Tarzan led them first to the rear of the hut 
 in which Jane Clayton was confined, where, 
 through the roughly repaired aperture in the 
 wall, he sought with his sensitive nostrils for 
 proof that the she he had come for was within. 
 
 Chulk and Taglat, their hairy faces pressed 
 close to that of the patrician, sniffed with him. 
 Each caught the scent spoor of the woman 
 within, and each reacted according to his tem 
 perament and his habits of thought. 
 
 It left Chulk indifferent. The she was for 
 Tarzan all that he desired was to bury his 
 snout in the foodstuffs of the Tarmangani. He 
 had come to eat his fill without labor Tarzan 
 had told him that that should be his reward, 
 and he was satisfied. 
 
 But Taglat 's wicked, bloodshot eyes, nar 
 rowed to the realization of the nearing fulfill 
 ment of his carefully nursed plan. It is true 
 that sometimes during the several days that had 
 elapsed since they had set out upon their expe 
 dition it had been difficult for Taglat to hold 
 his idea uppermost in his mind, and on sev 
 eral occasions he had completely forgotten it, 
 
 210 
 
 
TABZAN AGAIN LEADS THE MANGANI 
 
 until Tarzan, by a chance word, had recalled 
 it to him, but, for an ape, Taglat had done 
 well. 
 
 Now, he licked his chops, and made a sick 
 ening, sucking noise with his flabby lips as he 
 drew in his breath. 
 
 Satisfied that the she was where he had hoped 
 to find her, Tarzan led his apes toward the tent 
 of Achmet Zek. A passing Arab and two slaves 
 saw them, but the night was dark and the white 
 burnooses hid the hairy limbs of the apes and 
 the giant figure of their leader, so that the three, 
 by squatting down as though in conversation, 
 were passed by, unsuspected. To the rear of 
 the tent they made their way. Within, Achmet 
 Zek conversed with several of his lieutenants. 
 Without, Tarzan listened. 
 
 211 
 
CHAPTER XVH 
 
 THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 LIEUTENANT ALBERT WEEPER, terri 
 fied by contemplation of the fate which 
 might await him at Adis Abeba, cast about for 
 some scheme of escape, but after the black 
 Mugambi had eluded their vigilance the Abys- 
 sinians redoubled their precautions to prevent 
 Werper following the lead of the negro. 
 
 For some time Werper entertained the idea 
 of bribing Abdul Mourak with a portion of the 
 contents of the pouch ; but fearing that the man 
 would demand all the gems as the price of 
 liberty, the Belgian, influenced by avarice, 
 sought another avenue from his dilemma. 
 
 It was then that there dawned upon him the 
 possibility of the success of a different course 
 which would still leave him in possession of the 
 jewels, while at the same time satisfying the 
 greed of the Abyssinian with the conviction 
 that he had obtained all that Werper had to 
 offer. 
 
 212 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 And so it was that a day or so after Mugambi 
 had disappeared, Werper asked for an audi 
 ence with Abdul Mourak. As the Belgian en 
 tered the presence of his oaptor the scowl upon 
 the features of the latter boded ill for any hope 
 which Werper might entertain, still he fortified 
 himself by recalling the common weakness of 
 mankind, which permits the most inflexible of 
 natures to bend to the consuming desire for 
 wealth. 
 
 Abdul Mourak eyed him, frowningly. " What 
 do you want now? " he asked. 
 
 "My liberty," replied Werper. 
 
 The Abyssinian sneered. ' ' And you dis 
 turbed me thus to tell me what any fool might 
 know," he said. 
 
 "I can pay for it," said Werper. 
 
 Abdul Mourak laughed loudly. "Pay for 
 it I" he cried. "What with the rags that 
 you have upon your back? Or, perhaps you 
 are concealing beneath your coat a thousand 
 pounds of ivory. Get out! You are a fool. 
 Do not bother me again or I shall have you 
 whipped." 
 
 But Werper persisted. His liberty and per 
 haps his life depended upon his success. 
 
 213 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 " Listen to me," he pleaded. " If I can give 
 yon as much gold as ten men may carry will 
 you promise that I shall be conducted in safety 
 to the nearest English commissioner? " 
 
 " As much gold as ten men may carry! " re 
 peated Abdul Mourak. " You are crazy. Where 
 have you so much gold as that I " 
 
 " I know where it is hid," said Wer- 
 per. " Promise, and I will lead you to it if 
 ten loads is enough! " 
 
 Abdul Mourak had ceased to laugh. He was 
 eyeing the Belgian intently. The fellow seemed 
 sane enough yet ten loads of gold! It was 
 preposterous. The Abyssinian thought in si 
 lence for a moment. 
 
 " Well, and if I promise," he said. "How 
 far is this gold! " 
 
 " A long week's march to the south," replied 
 Werper. 
 
 " And if we do not find it where you say it 
 is, do you realize what your punishment will 
 be!" 
 
 ' ' If it is not there I will forfeit my life," re 
 plied the Belgian. " I know it is there, for I 
 saw it buried with my own eyes. And more 
 there are not only ten loads, but as many as 
 
 214 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 fifty men may carry. It is all yours if you will 
 promise to see me safely delivered into the pro 
 tection of the English. " 
 
 " You will stake your life against the finding 
 of the gold? " asked Abdul. 
 
 Werper assented with a nod. 
 
 " Very well," said the Abyssinian, " I prom 
 ise, and even if there be but five loads you shall 
 have your freedom ; but until the gold is in my 
 possession you remain a prisoner." 
 
 " I am satisfied," said Werper. " Tomorrow 
 we start? " 
 
 Abdul Mourak nodded, and the Belgian re 
 turned to his guards. The following day the 
 Abyssinian soldiers were surprised to receive 
 an order which turned their faces from the 
 northeast to the south. And so it happened 
 that upon the very night that Tarzan and the 
 two apes entered the village of the raiders, the 
 Abyssinians camped but a few miles to the east 
 of the same spot. 
 
 While Werper dreamed of freedom and the 
 unmolested enjoyment of the fortune in his 
 stolen pouch, and Abdul Mourak lay awake in 
 greedy contemplation of the fifty loads of gold 
 which lay but a few days farther to the south 
 
 215 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 of him, Achmet Zek gave orders to his lieuten 
 ants that they should prepare a force of fight 
 ing men and carriers to proceed to the ruins of 
 the Englishman's douar on the morrow and 
 bring back the fabulous fortune which his rene 
 gade lieutenant had told him was buried there. 
 
 And as he delivered his instructions to those 
 within, a silent listener crouched without his 
 tent, waiting for the time when he might enter 
 in safety and prosecute his search for the miss 
 ing pouch and the pretty pebbles that had 
 caught his fancy. 
 
 At last the swarthy companions of Achmet 
 Zek quitted his tent, and the leader went with 
 them to smoke a pipe with one of their num 
 ber, leaving his own silken habitation un 
 guarded. Scarcely had they left the interior 
 when a knife blade was thrust through the 
 fabric of the rear wall, some six feet above 
 the ground, and a swift downward stroke 
 opened an entrance to those who waited be 
 yond. 
 
 Through the opening stepped the ape-man, 
 and close behind him came the huge Chulk; but 
 Taglat did not follow them. Instead he turned 
 and slunk through the darkness toward the hut 
 
 216 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 where the she who had arrested his brutish in 
 terest lay securely bound. Before the door 
 way the sentries sat upon their haunches, con 
 versing in monotones. Within, the young 
 woman lay upon a filthy sleeping mat, resigned, 
 through utter hopelessness to whatever fate 
 lay in store for her until the opportunity ar 
 rived which would permit her to free herself 
 by the only means which now seemed even re 
 motely possible the hitherto detested act of 
 self-destruction. 
 
 Creeping silently toward the sentries, a 
 white-burnoosed figure approached the shad 
 ows at one end of the hut. The meager intellect 
 of the creature denied it the advantage it might 
 have taken of its disguise. Where it could 
 have walked boldly to the very sides of the 
 sentries, it chose rather to sneak upon them, 
 unseen, from the rear. 
 
 It came to the corner of the hut and peered 
 around. The sentries were but a few paces 
 away; but the ape did not dare expose himself, 
 even for an instant, to those feared and hated 
 thunder-sticks which the Tarmangani knew so 
 well how to use, if there were another and safer 
 method of attack. 
 
 217 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 Taglat wished that there was a tree nearby 
 from the overhanging branches of which he 
 might spring upon his unsuspecting prey; but, 
 though there was no tree, the idea gave birth 
 to a plan. The eaves of the hut were just above 
 the heads of the sentries from them he could 
 leap upon the Tarmangani, unseen. A quick 
 snap of those mighty jaws would dispose of one 
 of them before the other realized that they were 
 attacked, and the second would fall an easy 
 prey to the strength, agility and ferocity of a 
 second quick charge. 
 
 Taglat withdrew a few paces to the rear of 
 the hut, gathered himself for the effort, ran 
 quickly forward and leaped high into the air. 
 He struck the roof directly above the rear wall 
 of the hut, and the structure, reinforced by the 
 wall beneath, held his enormous weight for an 
 instant, then he moved forward a step, the 
 roof sagged, the thatching parted and the great 
 anthropoid shot through into the interior. 
 
 The sentries, hearing the crashing of the roof 
 poles, leaped to their feet and rushed into the 
 hut. Jane Clayton tried to roll aside as the 
 great form lit upon the floor so close to her 
 that one foot pinned her clothing to the ground. 
 
 218 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 The ape, feeling the movement beside him, 
 reached down and gathered the girl in the hol 
 low of one mighty arm. The burnoose covered 
 the hairy body so that Jane Clayton believed 
 that a human arm supported her, and from the 
 extremity of hopelessness a great hope sprang 
 into her breast that at last she was in the keep 
 ing of a rescuer. 
 
 The two sentries were now within the hut, 
 but hesitating because of doubt as to the nature 
 of the cause of the disturbance. Their eyes, not 
 yet accustomed to the darkness of the interior, 
 told them nothing, nor did they hear any sound, 
 for the ape stood silently awaiting their attack. 
 
 Seeing that they stood without advancing, 
 and realizing that, handicapped as he was by 
 the weight of the she, he could put up but 
 a poor battle, Taglat elected to risk a sudden 
 break for liberty. Lowering his head, he 
 charged straight for the two sentries who 
 blocked the doorway. The impact of his mighty 
 shoulders bowled them over upon their backs, 
 and before they could scramble to their feet, 
 the ape was gone, darting in the shadows of 
 the huts toward the palisade at the far end of 
 the village. 
 
 219 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 The speed and strength of her rescuer filled 
 Jane Clayton with wonder. Could it be that 
 Tarzan had survived the bullet of the Arab? 
 Who else in all the jungle could bear the weight 
 of a grown woman as lightly as he who held 
 her? She spoke his name; but there was no re 
 sponse. Still she did not give up hope. 
 
 At the palisade the beast did not even hesi 
 tate. A single mighty leap carried it to the 
 top, where it poised but for an instant before 
 dropping to the ground upon the opposite side. 
 Now the girl was almost positive that she was 
 safe in the arms of her husband, and when the 
 ape took to the trees and bore her swiftly into 
 the jungle, as Tarzan had done at other times 
 in the past, belief became conviction. 
 
 In a little moonlit glade, a mile or so from 
 the camp of the raiders, her rescuer halted and 
 dropped her to the ground. His roughness sur 
 prised her, but still she had no doubts. Again 
 she called him by name, and at the same instant 
 the ape, fretting under the restraints of the 
 unaccustomed garments of the Tarmangani, 
 tore the burnoose from him, revealing to the 
 eyes of the horror-struck woman the hideous 
 face and hairy form of a giant anthropoid. 
 
 220 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 With a piteous wail of terror, Jane Clayton 
 swooned, while, from the concealment of a 
 nearby bush, Numa, the lion, eyed the pair hun 
 grily and licked his chops. 
 
 Tarzan, entering the tent of Achmet Zek, 
 searched the interior thoroughly. He tore the 
 bed to pieces and scattered the contents of box 
 and bag about the floor. He investigated what 
 ever his eyes discovered, nor did those keen 
 organs overlook a single article within the habi 
 tation of the raider chief; but no pouch or 
 pretty pebbles rewarded his thoroughness. 
 
 Satisfied at last that his belongings were 
 not in the possession of Achmet Zek, unless 
 they were on the person of the chief himself, 
 Tarzan decided to secure the person of the she 
 before further prosecuting his search for the 
 pouch. 
 
 Motioning for Chulk to follow him, he passed 
 out of the tent by the same way that he had 
 entered it, and walking boldly through the vil 
 lage, made directly for the hut where Jane 
 Clayton had been imprisoned. 
 
 He noted with surprise the absence of Taglat, 
 whom he had expected to find awaiting him out- 
 
 221 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 side the tent of Achmet Zek; but, accustomed 
 as he was to the unreliability of apes, he gave 
 no serious attention to the present defection 
 of his surly companion. So long as Taglat did 
 not cause interference with his plans, Tarzan 
 was indifferent to his absence. 
 
 As he approached the hut, the ape-man no 
 ticed that a crowd had collected about the en 
 trance. He could see that the men who com 
 posed it were much excited, and fearing lest 
 Chulk's disguise should prove inadequate to 
 the concealment of his true identity in the face 
 of so many observers, he commanded the ape 
 to betake himself to the far end of the village, 
 and there await him. 
 
 As Chulk waddled off, keeping to the shad 
 ows, Tarzan advanced boldly toward the ex 
 cited group before the doorway of the hut. He 
 mingled with the blacks and Arabs in an en 
 deavor to learn the cause of the commotion, in 
 his interest forgetting that he alone of the as 
 semblage carried a spear, a bow and arrows, 
 and thus might become an object of suspicious 
 attention. 
 
 Shouldering his way through the crowd he 
 approached the doorway, and had almost 
 
 222 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 reached it when one of the Arabs laid a hand 
 upon his shoulder, crying: " Who is this? " at 
 the same time snatching back the hood from the 
 ape-man's face. 
 
 Tarzan of the Apes in all his savage life had 
 never been accustomed to pause in argument 
 with an antagonist. The primitive instinct of 
 self-preservation acknowledges many arts and 
 wiles; but argument is not one of them, nor 
 did he now waste precious time in an attempt 
 to convince the raiders that he was not a wolf 
 in sheep's clothing. Instead he had his un- 
 masker by the throat ere the man's words 
 had scarce quitted his lips, and hurling him 
 from side to side brushed away those who would 
 have swarmed upon him. 
 
 Using the Arab as a weapon, Tarzan forced 
 his way quickly to the doorway, and a moment 
 later was within the hut. A hasty examination 
 revealed the fact that it was empty, and his 
 sense of smell discovered, too, the scent spoor 
 of Taglat, the ape. Tarzan uttered a low, omi 
 nous growl. Those who were pressing forward 
 at the doorway to seize him, fell back as the 
 savage notes of the bestial challenge smote upon 
 their ears. They looked at one another in sur- 
 
 223 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAE 
 
 prise and consternation. A man had entered 
 the hut alone, and yet with their own ears they 
 had heard the voice of a wild beast within. 
 What could it mean? Had a lion or a leopard 
 sought sanctuary in the interior, unbeknown to 
 the sentries? 
 
 Tarzan 's quick eyes discovered the opening 
 in the roof, through which Taglat had fallen. 
 He guessed that the ape had either come or 
 gone by way of the break, and while the Arabs 
 hesitated without, he sprang, catlike, for the 
 opening, grasped the top of the wall and clam 
 bered out upon the roof, dropping instantly to 
 the ground at the rear of the hut. 
 
 When the Arabs finally mustered courage 
 to enter the hut, after firing several volleys 
 through the walls, they found the interior de 
 serted. At the same time Tarzan, at the far end 
 of the village, sought for Chulk; but the ape 
 was nowhere to be found. 
 
 Robbed of his she, deserted by his compan 
 ions, and as much in ignorance as ever as to the 
 whereabouts of his pouch and pebbles, it was an 
 angry Tarzan who climbed the palisade and 
 vanished into the darkness of the jungle. 
 
 For the present he must give up the search 
 224 
 
THE DEADLY PERIL OF JANE CLAYTON 
 
 for his pouch, since it would be paramount to 
 self-destruction to enter the Arab camp now 
 while all its inhabitants were aroused and upon 
 the alert. 
 
 In his escape from the village, the ape-man 
 had lost the spoor of the fleeing Taglat, and 
 now he circled widely through the forest in an 
 endeavor to again pick it up. 
 
 Chulk had remained at his post until the 
 cries and shots of the Arabs had filled his sim 
 ple soul with terror, for above all things the 
 ape folk fear the thunder-sticks of the Tar- 
 mangani; then he had clambered nimbly over 
 the palisade, tearing his burnoose in the effort, 
 and fled into the depths of the jungle, grumbling 
 and scolding as he went. 
 
 Tarzan, roaming the jungle in search of the 
 trail of Taglat and the she, traveled swiftly. 
 In a little moonlit glade ahead of him the great 
 ape was bending over the prostrate form of 
 the woman Tarzan sought. The beast was 
 tearing at the bonds that confined her ankles 
 and wrists, pulling and gnawing upon the cords. 
 
 The course the ape-man was taking would 
 carry him but a short distance to the right of 
 them, and though he could not have seen them 
 
 225 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 the wind was bearing down from them to him, 
 carrying their scent spoor strongly toward him. 
 A moment more and Jane Clayton's safety 
 might have been assured, even though Numa, 
 the lion, was already gathering himself in prep 
 aration for a charge; but Fate, already all too 
 cruel, now outdid herself the wind veered 
 suddenly for a few moments, the scent spoor 
 that would have led the ape-man to the girl's 
 side was wafted in the opposite direction; Tar- 
 zan passed within fifty yards of the tragedy 
 that was being enacted in the glade, and the op 
 portunity was gone beyond recall. 
 
 226 
 
CHAPTER XVIH 
 
 THE FIGHT FOB THE TREASURE 
 
 IT WAS morning before Tarzan could bring 
 himself to a realization of the possibility of 
 failure in his quest, and even then he would 
 only admit that success was but delayed. He 
 would eat and sleep, and then set forth again. 
 The jungle was wide; but wide too were the 
 experience and cunning of Tarzan. Taglat 
 might travel far; but Tarzan would find him 
 in the end, though he had to search every tree 
 in the mighty forest. 
 
 Soliloquizing thus, the ape-man followed the 
 spoor of Bara, the deer, the unfortunate upon 
 which he had decided to satisfy his hunger. 
 For half an hour the trail led the ape-man to 
 ward the east along a well-marked game path, 
 when suddenly, to the stalker's astonishment, 
 the quarry broke into sight, racing madly back 
 along the narrow way straight toward the 
 hunter. 
 
 Tarzan, who had been following along the 
 227 
 
TAB2AK AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 trail, leaped so quickly to the concealing ver 
 dure at the side that the deer was still unaware 
 of the presence of an enemy in this direction, 
 and while the animal was still some distance 
 away, the ape-man swung into the lower 
 branches of a tree which overhung the trail. 
 There he crouched, a savage beast of prey, 
 awaiting the coming of its victim. 
 
 What had frightened the deer into so frantic 
 a retreat, Tarzan did not know Numa, the 
 lion, perhaps, or Sheeta, the panther; but what 
 soever it was mattered little to Tarzan of the 
 Apes he was ready and willing to defend his 
 kill against any other denizen of the jungle. 
 If he were unable to do it by means of physical 
 prowess, he had at his command another and 
 a greater power his shrewd intelligence. 
 
 And so, on came the running deer, straight 
 into the jaws of death. The ape-man turned 
 so that his back was toward the approaching 
 animal. He poised with bent knees upon the 
 gently swaying limb above the trail, timing with 
 keen ears the nearing hoof beats of frightened 
 Bar a. 
 
 In a moment the victim flashed beneath the 
 limb and at the same instant the ape-man 
 
 228 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 above sprang out and down upon its back. The 
 weight of the man's body carried the deer to 
 the ground. It stumbled forward once in a 
 futile effort to rise, and then mighty muscles 
 dragged its head far back, gave the neck a 
 vicious wrench, and Bara was dead. 
 
 Quick had been the killing, and equally quick 
 were the ape-man's subsequent actions, for who 
 might know what manner of killer pursued 
 Bara, or how close at hand he might be ? Scarce 
 had the neck of the victim snapped than the 
 carcass was hanging over one of Tarzan's 
 broad shoulders, and an instant later the ape- 
 man was perched once more among the lower 
 branches of a tree above the trail, his keen, gray 
 eyes scanning the pathway down which the deer 
 had fled. 
 
 Nor was it long before the cause of Bara's 
 fright became evident to Tarzan, for presently 
 came the unmistakable sounds of approaching 
 horsemen. Dragging his kill after him the ape^ 
 man ascended to the middle terrace, and set 
 tling himself comfortably in the crotch of a 
 tree where he could still view the trail beneath, 
 cut a juicy steak from the deer's loin, and bury 
 ing his strong, white teeth in the hot flesh pro- 
 
 229 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ceeded to enjoy the fruits of his prowess and 
 Ms cunning. 
 
 Nor did he neglect the trail beneath while 
 he satisfied his hunger. His sharp eyes saw 
 the muzzle of the leading horse as it came into 
 view around a bend in the tortuous trail, and 
 one by one they scrutinized the riders as they 
 passed beneath him in single file. 
 
 Among them came one whom Tarzan recog 
 nized, but so schooled was the ape-man in the 
 control of his emotions that no slightest change 
 of expression, much less any hysterical demon 
 stration that might have revealed his presence, 
 betrayed the fact of his inward excitement. 
 
 Beneath him, as unconscious of his presence 
 as were the Abyssinians before and behind him, 
 rode Albert Werper, while the ape-man scrutin 
 ized the Belgian for some sign of the pouch 
 which he had stolen. 
 
 As the Abyssinians rode toward the south, 
 a giant figure hovered ever upon their trail 
 a huge, almost naked white man, who carried 
 the bloody carcass of a deer upon his shoul 
 ders, for Tarzan knew that he might not have 
 another opportunity to hunt for some time if he 
 were to follow the Belgian. 
 
 230 
 
THE FIGHT FOB THE TREASURE 
 
 To endeavor to snatch him from the midst of 
 the armed horsemen, not even Tarzan would 
 attempt other than in the last extremity, for 
 the way of the wild is the way of caution and 
 cunning, unless they be aroused to rashness by 
 pain or anger. 
 
 So the Abyssinians and the Belgian marched 
 southward and Tarzan of the Apes swung si 
 lently after them through the swaying branches 
 of the middle terrace. 
 
 A two days' march brought them to a level 
 plain beyond which lay mountains a plain 
 which Tarzan remembered and which aroused 
 within him vague half memories and strange 
 longings. Out upon the plain the horsemen 
 rode, and at a safe distance behind them crept 
 the ape-man, taking advantage of such cover 
 as the ground afforded. 
 
 Beside a charred pile of timbers the Abys 
 sinians halted, and Tarzan, sneaking close and 
 concealing himself in nearby shrubbery, 
 watched them in wonderment. He saw them 
 digging up the earth, and he wondered if they 
 had hidden meat there in the past and now had 
 come for it. Then he recalled how he had 
 buried his pretty pebbles, and the suggestion 
 
 231 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 that had caused him to do it. They were dig 
 ging for the things the blacks had buried here ! 
 
 Presently he saw them uncover a dirty, yel 
 low object, and he witnessed the joy of Werper 
 and of Abdul Mourak as the grimy object was 
 exposed 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 which Abdul Mourak fondled and 
 petted in an ecstasy of greed. 
 
 Something stirred in the ape-man's mind as 
 he looked long upon the golden ingots. Where 
 had he seen such before? What were they? 
 Why did these Tarmangani covet them so 
 greatly? To whom did they belong? 
 
 He recalled the black men who had buried 
 them. The things must be theirs. Werper was 
 stealing them as he had stolen Tarzan's pouch 
 of pebbles. The ape-man's eyes blazed in 
 anger. He would like to find the black men and 
 lead them against these thieves. He wondered 
 where their village might be. 
 
 As all these things ran through the active 
 mind, a party of men moved out of the forest 
 at the edge of the plain and advanced toward 
 the ruins of the burned bungalow. 
 
 232 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 Abdul Mourak, always watchful, was the first 
 to see them, but already they were halfway 
 across the open. He called to his men to mount 
 and hold themselves in readiness, for in the 
 heart of Africa who may know whether a 
 strange host be friend or foe? 
 
 Werper, swinging into his saddle, fastened 
 his eyes upon the newcomers, then., white and 
 trembling he turned toward Abdul Mourak. 
 
 " It is Achmet Zek and his raiders," he whis 
 pered. " They are come for the gold." 
 
 It must have been at about the same instant 
 that Achmet Zek discovered the pile of yellow 
 ingots and realized the actuality of what he 
 had already feared since first his eyes had 
 alighted upon the party beside the ruins of the 
 Englishman's bungalow. Someone had fore 
 stalled him another had come for the treasure 
 ahead of him. 
 
 The Arab was crazed by rage. Eecently 
 everything had gone against him. He had lost 
 the jewels, the Belgian, and for the second 
 time he had lost the Englishwoman. Now some 
 one had come to rob him of this treasure which 
 he had thought as safe from disturbance here 
 as though it never had been mined. 
 
 233 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 He cared not whom the thieves might be. 
 They would not give up the gold without a 
 battle, of that he was certain, and with a wild 
 whoop and a command to his followers, Achmet 
 Zek put spurs to his horse and dashed down 
 upon the Abyssinians, and after him, waving 
 their long guns above their heads, yelling and 
 cursing, came his motley horde of cut-throat 
 followers. 
 
 The men of Abdul Mourak met them with a 
 volley which emptied a; few saddles, and then 
 the raiders were among them, and sword, pistol 
 and musket, each was doing its most hideous 
 and bloody work. 
 
 Achmet Zek, spying Werper at the first 
 charge, bore down upon the Belgian, and the 
 latter, terrified by contemplation of the fate 
 he deserved, turned his horse 's head and dashed 
 madly away in an effort to escape. Shouting to 
 a lieutenant to take command, and urging him 
 upon pain of death to dispatch the Abyssinians 
 and bring the gold back to his camp, Achmet 
 Zek set off across the plain in pursuit of the 
 Belgian, his wicked nature unable to forego 
 the pleasures of revenge, even at the risk of 
 sacrificing the treasure. 
 
 234 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 As the pursued and the pursuer raced madly 
 toward the distant forest the battle behind 
 them raged with bloody savageness. No quar 
 ter was asked or given by either the ferocious 
 Abyssinians or the murderous cut-throats of 
 Achmet Zek. 
 
 From the concealment of the shrubbery Tar- 
 zan watched the sanguinary conflict which so 
 effectually surrounded him that he found no 
 loop-hole through which he might escape to 
 follow Werper and the Arab chief. 
 
 The Abyssinians were formed in a circle 
 which included Tarzan's position, and around 
 and into them galloped the yelling raiders, now 
 darting away, now charging in to deliver thrusts 
 and cuts with their curved swords. 
 
 Numerically the men of Achmet Zek were 
 superior, and slowly but surely the soldiers of 
 Menelek were being exterminated. To Tarzan 
 the result was immaterial. He watched with 
 but a single purpose to escape the ring of 
 blood-mad fighters and be away after the Bel 
 gian and his pouch. 
 
 When he had first discovered Werper upon 
 the trail where he had slain Bara, he had 
 thought that his eyes must be playing him 
 
 235 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 false, so certain had he been that the thief 
 had been slain and devoured by Numa; but 
 after following the detachment for two days, 
 with his keen eyes always upon the Belgian, 
 he no longer doubted the identity of the man, 
 though he was put to it to explain the identity 
 of the mutilated corpse he had supposed was 
 the man he sought. 
 
 As he crouched in hiding among the unkempt 
 shrubbery which so short a while since had 
 been the delight and pride of the wife he no 
 longer recalled, an Arab and an Abyssinian 
 wheeled their mounts close to his position as 
 they slashed at each other with their swords. 
 
 Step by step the Arab beat back his adver 
 sary until the latter 9 s horse all but trod upon 
 the ape-man, and then a vicious cut clove the 
 black warrior's skull, and the corpse toppled 
 backward almost upon Tarzan. 
 
 As the Abyssinian tumbled from his saddle 
 the possibility of escape whiefh was represented 
 by the riderless horse electrified the ape-man 
 to instant action. Before the frightened beast 
 could gather himself for flight a naked giant 
 was astride his back. A strong hand had 
 grasped his bridle rein, and the surprised Arab 
 
 236 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 discovered a new foe in the saddle of Mm, whom 
 he had slain. 
 
 But this enemy wielded no sword, and his 
 spear and bow remained upon his back. The 
 Arab, recovered from his first surprise, dashed 
 in with raised sword to annihilate this pre- 
 sumptious stranger. He aimed a mighty blow 
 at the ape-man's head, a blow which swung 
 harmlessly through thin air as Tarzan ducked 
 from its path, and then the Arab felt the other's 
 horse brushing his leg, a great arm shot out 
 and encircled his waist, and before he could 
 recover himself he was dragged from his sad 
 dle, and forming a shield for his antagonist 
 was borne at a mad run straight through the 
 encircling ranks of his fellows. 
 
 Just beyond them he was tossed aside upon 
 the ground, and the last he saw of his strange 
 f oeman the latter was galloping off across the 
 plain in the direction of the forest at its farther 
 edge. 
 
 For another hour the battle raged nor did 
 it cease until the last of the Abyssinians lay 
 dead upon the ground, or had galloped off 
 toward the north in flight. But a handful of 
 men escaped, among them Abdul Mourak. 
 
 237 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 The victorious raiders collected about the 
 pile of golden ingots which the Abyssinians 
 had uncovered, and there awaited the return 
 of their leader. Their exultation was slightly 
 tempered by the glimpse they had had of the 
 strange apparition of the naked white man 
 galloping away upon the horse of one of their 
 f oemen and carrying a companion who was now 
 among them expatiating upon the superhuman 
 strength of the ape-man. None of them there 
 but was familiar with the name and fame of 
 Tarzan of the Apes, and the fact that they had 
 recognized the white giant as the ferocious 
 enemy of the wrongdoers of the jungle, added 
 to their terror, for they had been assured that 
 Tarzan was dead. 
 
 Naturally superstitious, they fully believed 
 that they had seen the disembodied spirit of 
 the dead man, and now they cast fearful glances 
 about them in expectation of the ghost's early 
 return to the scene of the ruin they had in 
 flicted upon him during their recent raid upon 
 his home, and discussed in affrighted whispers 
 the probable nature of the vengeance which the 
 spirit would inflict upon them should he return 
 to find them in possession of his gold. 
 
 238 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 As they conversed their terror grew, while 
 from the concealment of the reeds along the 
 river below them a small party of naked, black 
 warriors watched their every move. From the 
 heights beyond the river these black men had 
 heard the noise of the conflict, and creeping 
 warily down to the stream had forded it and 
 advanced through the reeds until they were in 
 a position to watch every move of the com 
 batants. 
 
 For a half hour the raiders awaited Achmet 
 Zek's return, their fear of the earlier return 
 of the ghost of Tarzan constantly undermining 
 their loyalty to and fear of their chief. Finally 
 one among them voiced the desires of all when 
 he announced that he intended riding forth 
 toward the forest in search of Achmet Zek. 
 Instantly every man of them sprang to his 
 mount. 
 
 " The gold will be safe here," cried one. 
 "We have killed the Abyssinians and there 
 are no others to carry it away. Let us ride in 
 search of Achmet Zek! " 
 
 And a moment later, amidst a cloud of dust, 
 the raiders were galloping madly across the 
 plain, and out from the concealment of the reeds 
 
 239 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 along the river, crept a party of black warriors 
 toward the spot where the golden ingots of Opar 
 lay piled on the ground. 
 
 Werper had still been in advance of Achmet 
 Zek when he reached the forest ; but the latter, 
 better mounted, was gaining upon him. Rid 
 ing with the reckless courage of desperation the 
 Belgian urged his mount to greater speed even 
 within the narrow confines of the winding, game 
 trail that the beast was following. 
 
 Behind him he could hear the voice of Achmet 
 Zek crying to him to halt; but Werper only 
 dug the spurs deeper into the bleeding sides 
 of his panting mount. Two hundred yards 
 within the forest a: broken branch lay across 
 the trail. It was a small thing that a horse 
 might ordinarily take in his natural stride with 
 out noticing its presence; but Werper 's horse 
 was jaded, his feet were heavy with weariness, 
 and as the branch caught between his front legs 
 he stumbled, was unable to recover himself, and 
 went down, sprawling in the trail. 
 
 Werper, going over his head rolled a few 
 yards farther on, scrambled to his feet and ran 
 back. Seizing the reins he tugged to drag the 
 beast to his feet; but the animal would not or 
 
 210 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 could not rise, and as the Belgian cursed and 
 struck at him, Achmet Zek appeared in view. 
 
 Instantly the Belgian ceased his efforts with 
 the dying animal at his feet, and seizing his 
 rifle, dropped behind, the horse and fired at the 
 oncoming Arab. 
 
 His bullet, going low, struck Achmet Zek's 
 horse in the breast, bringing him down a hun 
 dred yards from where Werper lay preparing 
 to fire a second shot. 
 
 The Arab, who had gone down with his mount, 
 was standing astride him, and seeing the Bel 
 gian's strategic position behind his fallen 
 horse, lost no time in taking up si similar one 
 behind his own. 
 
 And there the two lay, alternately firing at 
 and cursing each other, while from behind the 
 Arab, Tarzan of the Apes approached to the 
 edge of the forest. Here he heard the occa 
 sional shots of the duelists, and choosing the 
 safer and swifter avenue of the forest branches 
 to the uncertain transportation afforded by a 
 half -broken Abyssinian pony, took to the trees. 
 
 Keeping to one side of the trail, the ape-man 
 came presently to a point where he could look 
 down in comparative safety upon the fighters. 
 
 241 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 First one and then the other would partially 
 raise himself above his breastwork of horse 
 flesh, fire his weapon and immediately drop 
 flat behind his shelter, where he would reload 
 and repeat the act a moment later. 
 
 Werper had but little ammunition, having 
 been hastily armed by Abdul Mourak from the 
 body of one of the first of the Abyssinians who 
 had fallen in the fight about the pile of ingots, 
 and now he realized that soon he would have 
 used his last bullet, and be at the mercy of the 
 Arab a mercy with which he was well 
 acquainted. 
 
 Facing both death and despoilment of his 
 treasure, the Belgian cast about for some plan 
 of escape, and the only one that appealed to 
 him as containing even a remote possibility of 
 success hinged upon the chance of bribing 
 Achmet Zek. 
 
 Werper had fired all but a single cartridge, 
 when, during a lull in the fighting, he called 
 aloud to his opponent. 
 
 "Achmet Zek," he cried, " Allah alone 
 knows which one of us may leave our bones to 
 rot where he lies upon this trail today if we 
 keep up our foolish battle. You wish the con- 
 
 242 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 tents of the pouch I wear about my waist, and 
 I wish my life and my liberty even more than 
 I do the jewels. Let us each, then, take that 
 which he most desires and go our separate 
 ways in peace. I will lay the pouch upon the 
 carcass of my horse, where you may see it, 
 and you, in turn, will lay your gun upon your 
 horse, with butt toward me. Then I will go 
 away, leaving the pouch to you, and you will 
 let me go in safety. I want only my life, and 
 my freedom. " 
 
 The Arab thought in silence for a moment. 
 Then he spoke. His reply was influenced by 
 the fact that he had expended his last shot. 
 
 1 'Go your way, then," he growled, "leav 
 ing the pouch in plain sight behind you. See, 
 I lay my gun thus, with the butt toward you. 
 Go." 
 
 Werper removed the pouch from about his 
 waist. Sorrowfully and affectionately he let 
 his fingers press the hard outlines of the con 
 tents. Ah, if he could but extract a little hand 
 ful of the precious stones! But Achmet Zek 
 was standing now, his eagle eyes commanding a 
 plain view of the Belgian and his every act. 
 
 Eegretfully Werper laid the pouch, its con- 
 243 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAR 
 
 tents undisturbed, upon the body of his horse, 
 rose, and taking his rifle with him, backed slowly 
 down the trail until a turn hid him from the 
 view of the watchful Arab. 
 
 Even then Achmet Zek did not advance, fear 
 ful as he was of some such treachery as he him 
 self might have been guilty of under like cir 
 cumstances ; nor were his suspicions groundless, 
 for the Belgian, no sooner had he passed out of 
 the range of the Arab's vision, halted behind 
 the bole of a tree, where he still commanded 
 an unobstructed view of his dead horse and the 
 pouch, and raising his rifle covered the spot 
 where the other's body must appear when he 
 came forward to seize the treasure. 
 
 But Achmet Zek was no fool to expose him 
 self to the blackened honor of a thief and a 
 murderer. Taking his long gun with him, he 
 left the trail, entering the rank and tangled 
 vegetation which walled it, and crawling slowly 
 forward on hands and knees he paralleled the 
 trail; but never for an instant was his body 
 exposed to the rifle of the 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 dis- 
 
 244 
 
THE FIGHT FOR THE TREASURE 
 
 tance along the trail, Werper waited in grow 
 ing impatience and nervousness, wondering why 
 the Arab did not come to claim his reward. 
 
 Presently he saw the muzzle of a rifle appear 
 suddenly and mysteriously a few inches above 
 the pouch, and before he could realize the cun 
 ning trick that the Arab had played upon him 
 the sight of the weapon was adroitly hooked 
 into the rawhide thong which formed the carry 
 ing strap of the pouch, and the latter was drawn 
 quickly from his view into the dense foliage at 
 the trail's side. 
 
 Not for an instant had the raider exposed a 
 square inch of his body, and Werper dared not 
 fire his one remaining shot unless every chance 
 of a successful hit was in his favor. 
 
 Chuckling to himself, Achmet Zek withdrew 
 a few paces farther into the jungle, for he was 
 as positive that Werper was waiting nearby 
 for a chance to pot him as though his eyes had 
 penetrated the jungle trees to the figure of the 
 hiding Belgian, fingering his rifle behind the 
 bole of the buttressed giant. 
 
 Werper did not dare advance his cupidity 
 would not permit him to depart, and so he stood 
 there, his rifle ready in his hands, his eyes 
 
 245 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 watching the trail before him with catlike in 
 tensity. 
 
 But there was another who had seen the 
 pouch and recognized it, who did advance with 
 Achmet Zek, hovering above him, as silent and 
 as sure as death itself, and as the Arab, find 
 ing a little spot less overgrown with bushes 
 than he had yet encountered, prepared to gloat 
 his eyes upon the contents of the pouch, Tar- 
 zan paused directly above him, intent upon the 
 same object 
 
 Wetting his thin lips with his tongue, Ach 
 met Zek loosened the tie strings which closed 
 the mouth of the pouch, and cupping one claw- 
 like hand poured forth a portion of the con 
 tents into his palm. 
 
 A single look he took at the stones lying in 
 his hand. His eyes narrowed, a curse broke 
 from his lips, and he hurled the small objects 
 upon the ground, disdainfully. Quickly he 
 emptied the balance of the contents until he 
 had scanned each separate stone, and as he 
 dumped them all upon the ground and stamped 
 upon them his rage grew until the muscles of 
 his face worked in demon-like fury, and his fin 
 gers clenched until his nails bit into the flesh. 
 
 246 
 
THE FIGHT FOB THE TREASURE 
 
 Above, Tarzan watched in wonderment. He 
 had been curious to discover what all the pow 
 wow about his pouch had meant. He wanted 
 to see what the Arab would do after the other 
 had gone away, leaving the pouch behind him, 
 and, having satisfied his curiosity, he would 
 then have pounced upon Achmet Zek and taken 
 the pouch and his pretty pebbles away from 
 him, for did they not belong to Tarzan? 
 
 He saw the Arab now throw aside the empty 
 pouch, and grasping his long gun by the bar 
 rel, clublike, sneak stealthily through the jungle 
 beside the trail along which Werper had gone. 
 
 As the man disappeared from his view, 
 Tarzan dropped to the ground and commenced 
 gathering up the spilled contents of the pouch, 
 and the moment that he obtained his first near 
 view of the scattered pebbles he understood the 
 rage of the Arab, for instead of the glittering 
 and scintillating gems which had first caught 
 and held thg attention of the ape-man, the pouch 
 had now contained but a collection of ordinary 
 river pebbles. 
 
 247 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 JANE CLAYTON AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 MUGAMBI, after his successful break for 
 liberty, had fallen upon hard times. 
 His way had led him through a, country with 
 which he was unfamiliar, a jungle country in 
 which he could find no water, and but little 
 food, so that after several days of wandering 
 he found himself so reduced in strength that 
 he could barely drag himself along. 
 
 It was with growing difficulty that he found 
 the strength necessary to construct a shelter by 
 night wherein he might be reasonably safe from 
 the large carnivora, and by day he still further 
 exhausted his strength in digging for edible 
 roots, and searching for water. 
 
 A few stagnant pools at considerable dis 
 tances apart saved him from death by thirst; 
 but his was a pitiable state when finally he 
 stumbled by accident upon a large river in a 
 country where fruit was abundant, and small 
 game which he might bag by means of a combi- 
 
 248 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 nation of stealth, cunning, and a crude knob 
 stick which he had fashioned from a fallen limb. 
 
 Eealizing that he still had a long march ahead 
 of him before he could reach even the outskirts 
 of the Waziri country, Mugambi wisely decided 
 to remain where he was until he had recuper 
 ated his strength and health. A few days' rest 
 would accomplish wonders for him, he knew, 
 and he could ill afford to sacrifice his chances 
 for a safe return by setting forth handicapped 
 by weakness. 
 
 And so it was that he constructed a substan 
 tial thorn boma, and rigged a thatched shelter 
 within it, where he might sleep by night in 
 security, and from which he sallied forth by 
 day to hunt the flesh which alone could return 
 to his giant thews their normal prowess. 
 
 One day, as he hunted, a pair of savage eyes 
 discovered him from the concealment of the 
 branches of a great tree beneath which the black 
 warrior passed. Bloodshot, wicked eyes they 
 were, set in a fierce and hairy face. 
 
 They watched Mugambi make his little kill of 
 a small rodent, and they followed him as he re 
 turned to his hut, their owner moving quietly 
 through the trees upon the trail of the negro. 
 
 249 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 The creature was Chulk, and he looked down 
 upon the unconscious man more in curiosity 
 than in hate. The wearing of the Arab 
 burnoose which Tarzan had placed upon his 
 person had aroused in the mind of the anthro 
 poid a desire for similar mimicry of the 
 Tarmangani. The burnoose, though, had ob 
 structed his movements and proven such a 
 nuisance that the ape had long since torn it 
 from him and thrown it away. 
 
 Now, however, he saw a Gomangani arrayed 
 in less cumbersome apparel a loin cloth, a few 
 copper ornaments and a feather headdress. 
 These were more in line with Chulk 's desires 
 than a flowing robe which was constantly get 
 ting between ones legs, and catching upon every 
 limb and bush along the leafy trail. 
 
 Chulk eyed the pouch, which, suspended over 
 Mugambi's shoulder, swung beside his black 
 hip. This took his fancy, for it was ornamented 
 with feathers and a fringe, and so the ape hung 
 about Mugambi's boma, waiting an opportu 
 nity to seize either by stealth or might some 
 object of the black's apparel. 
 
 Nor was it long before the opportunity came. 
 Feeling safe within his thorny enclosure, 
 
 250 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 Mugambi was wont to stretch himself in the 
 shade of his shelter during the heat of the day, 
 and sleep in peaceful security until the declin 
 ing sun carried with it the enervating tem 
 perature of midday. 
 
 Watching from above, Chulk saw the black 
 warrior stretched thus in the unconsciousness 
 of sleep one sultry afternoon. Creeping out 
 upon an overhanging branch the anthropoid 
 dropped to the ground within the boma. He 
 approached the sleeper upon padded feet which 
 gave forth no sound, and with an uncanny wood 
 craft that rustled not a leaf or a grass blade. 
 
 Pausing beside the man, the ape bent over 
 and examined his belongings. Great as was 
 the strength of Chulk there lay in the back of 
 his little brain a something which deterred him 
 from arousing the man to combat a sense 
 that is inherent in all of the lower orders, a 
 strange fear of man, that rules even the most 
 powerful of the jungle creatures at times. 
 
 To remove Mugambi *s loin cloth without 
 awakening him would be impossible, and the 
 only detachable things were the knob-stick and 
 the pouch, which had fallen from the black's 
 shoulder as he rolled in sleep. 
 
 251 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 Seizing these two articles, as better than 
 nothing at all, Chulk retreated with haste, and 
 every indication of nervous terror, to the safety 
 of the tree from which he had dropped, and, 
 still haunted by that indefinable terror which 
 the close proximity of man awakened in his 
 breast, fled precipitately through the jungle. 
 Aroused by attack, or supported by the pres 
 ence of another of his kind, Chulk could have 
 braved the presence of a score of human be 
 ings, but alone ah, that was a different mat 
 ter alone, and unenraged. 
 
 It was some time after Mugambi awoke that 
 he missed the pouch. Instantly he was all 
 excitement. What could have become of it? 
 It had been at his side when he lay down to 
 sleep of that he was certain, for had he not 
 pushed it from beneath him when its bulging 
 bulk, pressing against his ribs, caused him dis 
 comfort? Yes, it had been there when he lay 
 down to sleep. How then had it vanished? 
 
 Mugambi 's savage imagination was filled 
 with visions of the spirits of departed friends 
 and enemies, for only to the machinations of 
 such as these could he attribute the disappear 
 ance of his pouch and knob-stick in the first 
 
 252 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 excitement of the discovery of their loss; but 
 later and more careful investigation, such as 
 his woodcraft made possible, revealed indis 
 putable evidence of a more material explanation 
 than his excited fancy and superstition had 
 at first led him to accept. 
 
 In the trampled turf beside him was the 
 faint impress of huge, manlike feet. Mugambi 
 raised his brows as the truth dawned upon 
 him. Hastily leaving the boma he searched in 
 all directions about the enclosure for some 
 further sign of the tell-tale spoor. He climbed 
 trees and sought for evidence of the direc 
 tion of the thief's flight; but the faint signs 
 left by a wary ape who elects to travel through 
 the trees eluded the woodcraft of Mugambi. 
 Tarzan might have followed them ; but no ordi 
 nary mortal could perceive them, or perceiving, 
 translate. 
 
 The black, now strengthened and refreshed 
 by his rest, felt ready to set out again for Wa- 
 ziri, and finding himself another knob-stick, 
 turned his back upon the river and plunged 
 into the mazes of the jungle. 
 
 As Taglat struggled with the bonds which se 
 cured the ankles and wrists of his captive, the 
 
 253 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 great lion that eyed the two from behind a 
 nearby clump of bushes wormed closer to his 
 intended prey. 
 
 The ape's back was toward the lion. He did 
 not see the broad head, fringed by its rough 
 mane, protruding through the leafy wall. He 
 could not know that the powerful hind paws 
 were gathering close beneath the tawny belly 
 preparatory to a sudden spring, and his first 
 intimation of impending danger was the thun 
 derous and triumphant roar which the charg 
 ing lion could no longer suppress. 
 
 Scarce pausing for a backward glance, Tag- 
 lat abandoned the unconscious woman and fled 
 in the opposite direction from the horrid sound 
 which had broken in so unexpected and terri 
 fying a manner upon his startled ears ; but the 
 warning had come too late to save him, and 
 the lion, in his second bound, alighted full upon 
 the broad shoulders of the anthropoid. 
 
 As the great bull went down there was awak 
 ened in him to the full all the cunning, all the 
 ferocity, all the physical prowess which obey 
 the mightiest of the fundamental laws of na 
 ture, the law of self-preservation, and turning 
 upon his back he closed with the carnivore in 
 
 254 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 a death struggle so fearless and abandoned, 
 that for a moment the great Numa himself may 
 have trembled for the outcome. 
 
 Seizing the lion by the mane, Taglat buried 
 his yellowed fangs deep in the monster's throat, 
 growling hideously through the muffled gag of 
 blood and hair. Mixed with the ape's voice 
 the lion's roars of rage and pain reverberated 
 through the jungle, till the lesser creatures of 
 the wild, startled from their peaceful pursuits, 
 scurried fearfully away. 
 
 Boiling over and over upon the turf the two 
 battled with demoniac fury, until the colossal 
 cat, by doubling his hind paws far up beneath 
 his belly sank his talons deep into Taglat 's 
 chest, then, ripping downward with all his 
 strength, Numa accomplished his design, and 
 the disemboweled anthropoid, with # last spas 
 modic struggle, relaxed in limp and bloody dis 
 solution beneath his titanic adversary. 
 
 Scrambling to his feet, Numa looked about 
 quickly in all directions, as though seeking to 
 detect the possible presence of other foes; but 
 only the still and unconscious form of the girl, 
 lying a few paces from him met his gaze, and 
 with an angry growl he placed a f orepaw upon 
 
 255 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAR 
 
 the body of his kill and raising his head gave 
 voice to his savage victory cry. 
 
 For another moment he stood with fierce eyes 
 roving to and fro about the clearing. At last 
 they halted for a second time upon the girl. 
 A low growl rumbled from the lion's throat. 
 His lower jaw rose and fell, and the slaver 
 drooled and dripped upon the dead face of 
 Taglat. 
 
 Like two yellow-green augurs, wide and un 
 blinking, the terrible eyes remained fixed upon 
 Jane Clayton. The erect and majestic pose of 
 the great frame shrank suddenly into a sinis 
 ter crouch as> slowly and gently as one who 
 treads /on eggs, the devil-faced cat crept for 
 ward toward the girl. 
 
 Beneficent Fate maintained her in happy un 
 consciousness of the dread presence sneaking 
 stealthily upon her. She did not know when 
 the lion paused at her side. She did not hear 
 the sniffing of his nostrils as he smelled about 
 her. She did not feel the heat of the fetid 
 breath upon her face, nor the dripping of the 
 saliva from the frightful jaws half opened so 
 close above her. 
 
 Finally the lion lifted a f orepaw and turned 
 256 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 the body of the girl half over, then he stood 
 again eyeing her as though still undetermined 
 whether life was extinct or not. Some noise 
 or odor from the nearby jungle attracted his 
 attention for a moment. His eyes did not again 
 return ta Jane Clayton, and presently he left 
 her, walked over to the remains of Taglat, and 
 crouching down upon his kill with his back 
 toward the girl, proceeded to devour the ape. 
 
 It was upon this scene that Jane Clayton at 
 last opened her eyes. Inured to danger, she 
 maintained her self-possession in the face of 
 the startling surprise which her new-found con 
 sciousness revealed to her. She neither cried 
 out nor moved a muscle, until she had taken 
 in every detail of the scene which lay within 
 the range of her vision. 
 
 She saw that the lion had killed the ape, and 
 that he was devouring his prey less than fifty 
 feet from where she lay; but what could she 
 do? Her hands and feet were bound. She 
 must wait then, in what patience she could 
 command, until Numa had eaten and digested 
 the ape, when, without doubt, he would re 
 turn to feast upon her, unless, in the meantime, 
 the dread hyenas should discover her, or some 
 
 257 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 other of the numerous prowling carnivora of 
 the jungle. 
 
 As she lay tormented by these frightful 
 thoughts she suddenly became conscious that 
 the bonds at her wrists and ankles no longer 
 hurt her, and then of the fact that her hands 
 were separated, one lying upon either side of 
 her, instead of both being confined at her back. 
 
 Wonderingly she moved a hand. What mir 
 acle had been performed! It was not bound! 
 Stealthily and noiselessly she moved her other 
 limbs, only to discover that she was free. She 
 could not know how the thing had happened, 
 that Taglat, gnawing upon them for sinister 
 purposes of his own, had cut them through but 
 an instant before Numa had frightened him 
 from his victim. 
 
 For a moment Jane Clayton was over 
 whelmed with joy and thanksgiving; but only 
 for a moment. What good was her new-found 
 liberty in the face of the frightful beast crouch 
 ing so close beside her? If she could have had 
 this chance under different conditions, how 
 happily she would have taken advantage of it ; 
 but now it was given to her when escape was 
 practically impossible. 
 
 258 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 The nearest tree was a hundred feet away, 
 the lion less than fifty. To rise and attempt 
 to reach the safety of those tantalizing 
 branches would be but to invite instant destruc 
 tion, for Numa would doubtless be too jealous 
 of this future meal to permit it to escape with 
 ease. And yet, too, there was another possi 
 bility a chance which hinged entirely upon 
 the unknown temper of the great beast. 
 
 His belly already partially filled, he might 
 watch with indifference the departure of the 
 girl ; yet could she afford to choice so improb 
 able a contingency? She doubted it. Upon 
 the other hand she was no more minded to allow 
 this frail opportunity for life to entirely elude 
 her without taking or attempting to take some 
 advantage from it. 
 
 She watched the lion narrowly. He could 
 not see her without turning his head more than 
 halfway around. She would attempt a ruse. 
 Silently she rolled over in the direction of the 
 nearest tree, and away from the lion, until she 
 lay again in the same position in which Numa 
 had left her, but a few feet farther from him. 
 
 Here she lay breathless watching the lion; 
 but the beast gave no indication that he had 
 
 259 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 heard aught to arouse his suspicions. Again 
 she rolled over, gaining a few more feet and 
 again she lay in rigid contemplation of the 
 beast's back. 
 
 During what seemed hours to her tense 
 nerves, Jane Clayton continued these tactics, 
 and still the lion fed on in apparent uncon 
 sciousness that his second prey was escaping 
 him. Already the girl was but a few paces 
 from the tree a moment more and she would 
 be close enough to chance springing to her 
 feet, throwing caution aside and making a sud 
 den, bold dash for safety. She was halfway 
 over in her turn, her face away from the lion, 
 when he suddenly turned his great head and 
 fastened his eyes upon her. He saw her roll 
 over upon her side away from him, and then 
 her eyes were turned again toward him, and the 
 cold sweat broke from the girl's every pore as 
 she realized that with life almost within her 
 grasp, death had found her out. 
 
 For a long time neither the girl nor the lion 
 moved. The beast lay motionless, his head 
 turned upon his shoulders and his glaring eyes 
 fixed upon the rigid victim, now nearly fifty 
 yards away. The girl stared back straight into 
 
 260 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 those cruel orbs, daring not to move even a 
 muscle. 
 
 The strain upon her nerves was becoming 
 so unbearable that she could scarcely restrain 
 a growing desire to scream, when Numa de 
 liberately turned back to the business of feed 
 ing; but his back-layed ears attested a sinister 
 regard for the actions of the girl behind him. 
 
 Eealizing that she could not again turn with 
 out attracting his immediate and perhaps 
 fatal attention, Jane Clayton resolved to risk 
 all in one last attempt to reach the tree and 
 clamber to the lower branches. 
 
 Gathering herself stealthily for the effort, 
 she leaped suddenly to her feet, but almost 
 simultaneously the lion sprang up, wheeled and 
 with wide-distended jaws and terrific roars, 
 charged swiftly down upon her. 
 
 Those who have spent lifetimes hunting the 
 big game of Africa will tell you that scarcely 
 any other creature in the world attains the 
 speed of a charging lion. For the short dis 
 tance that the great cat can maintain it, it 
 resembles nothing more closely than the on- 
 rushing of a giant locomotive under full speed, 
 and so, though the distance that Jane Clayton 
 
 261 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 must cover was relatively small, the terrific 
 speed of the lion rendered her hopes of escape 
 almost negligible. 
 
 Yet fear can work wonders, and though the 
 upward spring of the lion as he neared the 
 tree into which she was scrambling brought his 
 talons in contact with her boots she eluded his 
 raking grasp, and as he hurtled against the 
 bole of her sanctuary, the girl drew herself into 
 the safety of the branches above his reach. 
 
 For some time the lion paced, growling and 
 moaning, beneath the tree in which Jane Clay 
 ton crouched, panting and trembling. The girl 
 was a prey to the nervous reaction from the 
 frightful ordeal through which she had so re 
 cently passed, and in her overwrought state it 
 seemed that never again should she dare 
 descend to the ground among the fearsome dan 
 gers which infested the broad stretch of jungle 
 that she knew must lie between herself and the 
 nearest village of her faithful Waziri. 
 
 It was almost dark before the lion finally quit 
 the clearing, and even had his place beside the 
 remnants of the mangled ape not been imme 
 diately usurped by a pack of hyenas, Jane Clay 
 ton would scarcely have dared venture from 
 
 262 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 her refuge in the face of impending night, and 
 so she composed herself as best she could for 
 the long and tiresome wait, until daylight might 
 offer some means of escape from the dread vi 
 cinity in which she had witnessed such terrify 
 ing adventures. 
 
 Tired nature at last overcame even her fears, 
 and she dropped into a deep slumber, cradled 
 in a comparatively safe, though rather uncom 
 fortable, position against the bole of the tree, 
 and supported by two large branches which 
 grew outward, almost horizontally, but a few 
 inches apart. 
 
 The sun was high in the heavens when she 
 at last awoke, and beneath her was no sign 
 either of Numa or the hyenas. Only the clean- 
 picked bones of the ape, scattered about the 
 ground, attested the fact of what had trans 
 pired in this seemingly peaceful spot but a 
 few hours before. 
 
 Both hunger and thirst assailed her now, and 
 realizing that she must descend or die of starva 
 tion, she at last summoned courage to under 
 take the ordeal of continuing her journey 
 through the jungle. 
 
 Descending from the tree, she set out in a 
 263 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 southerly direction, toward the. [point where 
 she believed the plains of Waziri lay, and 
 though she knew that only ruin and desolation 
 marked the spot where once her happy home 
 had stood, she hoped that by coming to the 
 broad plain she might eventually reach one of 
 the numerous Waziri villages that were scat 
 tered over the surrounding country, or chance 
 upon a roving band of these indefatigable 
 huntsmen. 
 
 The day was half spent when there broke 
 unexpectedly upon her startled ears the sound 
 of a rifle shot not far ahead of her. As she 
 paused to listen, this first shot was followed 
 by another and another and another. What 
 could it mean? The first explanation which 
 sprung to her mind attributed the firing to an 
 encounter between the Arab raiders and a party 
 of Waziri ; but as she did not know upon which 
 side victory might rest, or whether she were 
 behind friend or foe, she dared not advance 
 nearer on the chance of revealing herself to an 
 enemy. 
 
 After listening for several minutes she be 
 came convinced that no more than two or three 
 rifles were engaged in the fight, since nothing 
 
 264 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 approximating the sound of a volley reached 
 her ears; but still she hesitated to approach, 
 and at last, determining to take no chance, she 
 climbed into the concealing foliage of a tree 
 beside the trail she had been following and 
 there fearfully awaited whatever might reveal 
 itself. 
 
 As the firing became less rapid she caught 
 the sound of men's voices, though she could 
 distinguish no words, and at last the reports 
 of the guns ceased, and she heard two men call 
 ing to each other in loud tones. Then there 
 was a long silence which was finally broken by 
 the stealthy padding of footfalls on the trail 
 ahead of her, and in another moment a man 
 appeared in view backing toward her, a rifle 
 ready in his hands, and his eyes directed in 
 careful watchfulness along the way that he 
 had come. 
 
 Almost instantly Jane Clayton recognized the 
 man as M. Jules Frecoult, who so recently had 
 been a guest in her home. She was upon the 
 point of calling to him in glad relief when she 
 saw him leap quickly to one side and hide him 
 self in the thick verdure at the trail's side. It 
 was evident that he was being followed by an 
 
 265 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 enemy, and so Jane Clayton kept silence, lest 
 she distract Frecoult 's attention, or guide his 
 foe to his hiding place. 
 
 Scarcely had Frecoult hidden himself than 
 the figure of a white-robed Arab crept silently 
 along the trail in pursuit. From her hiding 
 place, Jane Clayton could see both men plainly. 
 She recognized Achmet Zek as the leader of the 
 band of ruffians who had raided her home and 
 made her a prisoner, and as she saw Frecoult, 
 the supposed friend and ally, raise his gun and 
 take careful aim at the Arab, her heart stood 
 still and every power of her soul was directed 
 upon a fervent prayer for the accuracy of his 
 aim. 
 
 Achmet Zek paused in the middle of the trail. 
 His keen eyes scanned every bush and tree 
 within the radius of his vision. His tall figure 
 presented a perfect target to the perfidious 
 assassin. There was a sharp report, and a 
 little puff of smoke arose from the bush that hid 
 the Belgian, as Achmet Zek stumbled forward 
 and pitched, face down, upon the trail. 
 
 As Werper stepped back into the trail, he was 
 startled by the sound of a glad cry from above 
 him, and as he wheeled about to discover the 
 
 266 
 
JANE AND THE BEASTS OF THE JUNGLE 
 
 author of this unexpected interruption, he saw 
 Jane Clayton drop lightly from a nearby tree 
 and run forward with outstretched hands to 
 congratulate him upon his victory. 
 
 267 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONEB 
 
 THOUGH her clothes were torn and her 
 hair disheveled, Albert Werper realized 
 that he never before had looked upon such a 
 vision of loveliness as that which Lady Grey- 
 stoke presented in the relief and joy which she 
 felt in coming so unexpectedly upon a friend 
 and rescuer when hope had seemed so far away. 
 
 If the Belgian had entertained any doubts 
 as to the woman's knowledge of his part in the 
 perfidious attack upon her home and herself, 
 it was quickly dissipated by the genuine friend 
 liness of her greeting. She told him quickly 
 of all that had befallen her since he had de 
 parted from her home, and as she spoke of the 
 death of her husband her eyes were veiled by 
 the tears which she could not repress. 
 
 " I am shocked," said Werper, in well-simu 
 lated sympathy; "but I am not surprised. 
 That devil there," and he pointed toward 
 the body of Achmet Zek, "has terrorized the 
 
 268 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 entire country. Your Waziri are either exter 
 minated, or have been driven out of their coun 
 try, far to the south. The men of Achmet Zek 
 occupy the plain about your former home 
 there is neither sanctuary nor escape in that 
 direction. Our only hope lies in traveling 
 northward as rapidly as we may, of coming 
 to the camp of the raiders before the knowledge 
 of Achmet Zek's death reaches those who were 
 left there, and of obtaining, through some ruse, 
 an escort toward the north. 
 
 " I think that the thing can be accomplished, 
 for I was a guest of the raider's before I knew 
 the nature of the man, and those at the camp 
 are not aware that I turned against him when 
 I discovered his villainy. 
 
 ' * Come ! We will make all possible haste to 
 reach the camp before those who accompanied 
 Achmet Zek upon his last raid have found his 
 body and carried the news of his death to the 
 cut-throats who remained behind. It is our 
 only hope, Lady Greystoke, and you must place 
 your entire faith in me if I am to succeed. 
 Wait for me here a moment while I take from 
 the Arab's body the wallet that he stole 
 from me," and Werper stepped quickly to the 
 
 269 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 dead man's side, and, kneeling, sought with 
 quick fingers the pouch of jewels. To his con 
 sternation, there was no sign of them in the 
 garments of Achmet Zek. Rising, he walked 
 back along the trail, searching for some trace 
 of the missing pouch or its contents; but he 
 found nothing, even though he searched care 
 fully the vicinity of his dead horse, and for 
 a few paces into the jungle on either side. Puz 
 zled, disappointed and angry, he at last re 
 turned to the girl. " The wallet is gone," he 
 explained, crisply, " and I dare not delay longer 
 in search of it. We must reach the camp before 
 the returning raiders. " 
 
 Unsuspicious of the man's true character, 
 Jane Clayton saw nothing peculiar in his plans, 
 or in his specious explanation of his former 
 friendship for the raider, and so she grasped 
 with alacrity the seeming hope for safety which 
 he proffered her, and turning about she set out 
 with Albert Werper toward the hostile camp 
 in which she so lately had been a prisoner. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon of the second day 
 before they reached their destination, and as 
 they paused upon the edge of the clearing be 
 fore the gates of the walled village, Werper 
 
 270 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 cautioned the girl to accede to whatever he 
 might suggest by his conversation with the 
 raiders. 
 
 " I shall tell them," he said, " that I appre 
 hended you after you escaped from the camp, 
 that I took you to Achmet Zek, and that as he 
 was engaged in a stubborn battle with the Wa- 
 ziri, he directed me to return to camp with 
 you, to obtain here a sufficient guard, and to 
 ride north with you as rapidly as possible and 
 dispose of you at the most advantageous terms 
 to a certain slave broker whose name he gave 
 me." 
 
 Again the girl was deceived by the appar 
 ent frankness of the Belgian, She realized 
 that desperate situations required desperate 
 handling, and though she trembled inwardly 
 at the thought of again entering the vile and 
 hideous village of the raiders she saw no bet 
 ter course than that which her companion had 
 suggested. 
 
 Calling aloud to those who tended the gates, 
 Werper, grasping Jane Clayton by the arm, 
 walked boldly across the clearing. Those who 
 opened the gates to him permitted their sur 
 prise to show clearly in their expressions. 
 
 271 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 That the discredited and hunted lieutenant 
 should be thus returning fearlessly of his own 
 volition, seemed to disarm them quite as ef 
 fectually as his manner toward Lady Greystoke 
 had deceived her. 
 
 The sentries at the gate returned Werper's 
 salutations, and viewed with astonishment the 
 prisoner whom he brought into the village with 
 him. 
 
 Immediately the Belgian sought the Arab 
 who had been left in charge of the camp during 
 Achmet Zek's absence, and again his boldness 
 disarmed suspicion and won the acceptance of 
 his false explanation of his return. The fact 
 that he had brought back with him the woman 
 prisoner who had escaped, added strength to 
 his claims, and Mohammed Beyd soon found 
 himself fraternizing good-naturedly with the 
 very man whom he would have slain without 
 compunction had he discovered him alone in the 
 jungle a half hour before, 
 
 Jane Clayton was again confined to the prison 
 hut she had formerly occupied, but as she real 
 ized that this was but a part of the deception 
 which she and Frecoult were playing upon the 
 credulous raiders, it was with quite a different 
 
 272 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 sensation that she again entered the vile and 
 filthy interior, from that which she had 
 previously experienced, when hope was sx> far 
 away. 
 
 Once more she was bound and sentries placed 
 before the door of her prison ; but before "Wer- 
 per left her he whispered words of cheer into 
 her ear. Then he left, and made his way back 
 to the tent of Mohammed Beyd. He had been 
 wondering how long it would be before the 
 raiders who had ridden out with Achmet Zek 
 would return with the murdered body of their 
 chief, and the more he thought upon the matter 
 the greater his fears became, that without ac 
 complices his plan would fail. 
 
 What, -even, if he got away from the camp 
 in safety before any returned with the true 
 story of his guilt of what value would this 
 advantage be other than to protract for a few 
 days his mental torture and his life? These 
 hard riders, familiar with every trail and by 
 path, would get him long before he could hope 
 to reach the coast. 
 
 As these thoughts passed through his mind 
 he entered the tent where Mohammed Beyd sat 
 cross-legged upon a rug, smoking. The Arab 
 
 273 
 
TARZAN AND THE. JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 looked up as the European came into his 
 presence. 
 
 " Greetings, 0, Brother! " he said. 
 
 " Greetings! " replied Werper. 
 
 For a while neither spoke further. The Arab 
 was the first to break the silence. 
 
 " And my master, Achmet Zek, was* well when 
 last you saw him? " he asked. 
 
 ' ' Never was he safer from the sins and 
 dangers of mortality/' replied the Belgian. 
 
 "It is well," said Mohammed Beyd, blow 
 ing a little puff of blue smoke straight out be 
 fore him. 
 
 Again there was silence for several minutes. 
 
 " And if he were dead? " asked the Belgian, 
 determined to lead up to the truth, and attempt 
 to bribe Mohammed Beyd into his service. 
 
 The Arab's eyes narrowed and he leaned for 
 ward, his gaze boring straight into the eyes of 
 the Belgian. 
 
 " I have been thinking much, Werper, since 
 you returned so unexpectedly to the camp of 
 the man whom you had deceived, and who 
 sought you with death in his heart. I have 
 been with Achmet Zek for many years his 
 own mother never knew him so well as I. He 
 
 274 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 never forgives much less would he again 
 trust a man who had once betrayed him; that 
 I know. 
 
 " I have thought much, as I said, and the re 
 sult of my thinking has assured me that Achmet 
 Zek is dead for otherwise you would never 
 have dared return to his camp, unless you be 
 either a braver man or a bigger fool than I 
 have imagined. And, if this evidence of my 
 judgment is not sufficient, I have but just now 
 received from your own lips even more confirm 
 atory witness for did you not say that Achmet 
 Zek was never more safe from the sins and 
 dangers of mortality? 
 
 " Achmet Zek is dead you need not deny 
 it. I was not his mother, or his mistress, so 
 do not fear that my wailings shall disturb you. 
 Tell me why you have come back here. Tell 
 me what you want, and, Werper, if you still 
 possess the jewels of which Achmet Zek told 
 me, there is no reason why you and I should 
 not ride north together and divide the ransom 
 of the white woman and the contents of the 
 pouch you wear about your person. Eh? " 
 
 The evil eyes narrowed, a vicious, thin-lipped 
 smile tortured the villainous face, as Mo- 
 
 275 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 hammed Beyd grinned knowingly into the face 
 of the Belgian. 
 
 Werper was both relieved and disturbed by 
 the Arab's attitude. The complacency with 
 which he accepted the death of his chief lifted 
 a considerable burden of apprehension from 
 the shoulders of Achmet Zek's assassin; but his 
 demand for a share of the jewels boded ill for 
 Werper when Mohammed Beyd should have 
 learned that the precious stones were no longer 
 in the Belgian's possession. 
 
 To acknowledge that he had lost the jewels 
 might be to arouse the wrath or suspicion of 
 the Arab to such an extent as would jeopardize 
 his new-found chances of escape. His one hope 
 seemed, then, to lie in fostering Mohammed 
 Beyd's belief that the jewels were still in his 
 possession, and depend upon the accidents of 
 the future to open an avenue of escape. 
 
 Could he contrive to tent with the Arab upon 
 the march north, he might find opportunity in 
 plenty to remove this menace to his life and 
 liberty it was worth trying, and, further, 
 there seemed no other way out of his difficulty. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " Achmet Zek is dead. He 
 fell in battle with a company of Abyssinian 
 
 276 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 cavalry that held me captive. During the fight 
 ing I escaped; but I doubt if any of Achmet 
 Zek's men live, and the gold they sought is in 
 the possession of the Abyssinians. Even now 
 they are doubtless marching on this camp, for 
 they were sent by Menelek to punish Achmet 
 Zek and his followers for a raid upon an Abys 
 sinian village. There are many of them, and 
 if we do not make haste to escape we shall all 
 suffer the same fate as Achmet Zek." 
 
 Mohammed Beyd listened in silence. How 
 much of the unbeliever's story he might safely 
 believe he did not know ; but as it afforded him 
 an excuse for deserting the village and making 
 for the north he was not inclined to cross-ques 
 tion the Belgian too minutely. 
 
 " And if I ride north with you," he asked, 
 "half the jewels and half the ransom of the 
 woman shall be mine? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Werper. 
 
 " Good," said Mohammed Beyd. " I go now 
 to give the order for the breaking of camp early 
 on the morrow," and he rose to leave the tent. 
 
 Werper laid a detaining hand upon his arm. 
 
 "Wait," he said, "let us determine how 
 many shall accompany us. It is not well that we 
 
 277 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 be burdened by the women and children, for 
 then indeed we might be overtaken by the Abys- 
 sinians. It would be far better to select a small 
 guard of your bravest men, and leave word be 
 hind that we are riding west. Then, when the 
 Abyssinians come they will be put upon the 
 wrong trail should they have it in their hearts 
 to pursue us, and if they do not they will at 
 least ride north with less rapidity than as 
 though they thought that we were ahead of 
 them." 
 
 " The serpent is less wise than thou, Wer- 
 per," said Mohammed Beyd with a smile. " It 
 shall be done as you say. Twenty men shall ac 
 company us, and we shall ride west when we 
 leave the village." 
 
 " Good," cried the Belgian, and so it was ar 
 ranged. 
 
 Early the next morning Jane Clayton, after 
 an almost sleepless night, was aroused by the 
 sound of voices outside her prison, and a mo 
 ment later, M. Frecoult, and two Arabs en 
 tered. The latter unbound her ankles and lifted 
 her to her feet. Then her wrists were loosed, 
 she was given a handful of dry bread, and led 
 out into the faint light of dawn. 
 
 278 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 She looked questioningly at Freeoult, and at 
 a moment that the Arab's attention was at 
 tracted in another direction the man leaned 
 toward her and whispered that all was working 
 out as he had planned. Thus assured, the young 
 woman felt a renewal of the hope which the 
 long and miserable night of bondage had al 
 most expunged. 
 
 Shortly after, she was lifted to the back of a 
 horse, and surrounded by Arabs, was escorted 
 through the gateway of the village and off into 
 the jungle toward the west. Half an hour later 
 the party turned north, and northerly was their 
 direction for the balance of the march. 
 
 M. Frecoult spoke with her but seldom, and 
 she understood that in carrying out his decep 
 tion he must maintain the semblance of her cap 
 tor, rather than protector, and so she suspected 
 nothing though she saw the friendly relations 
 which seemed to exist between the European 
 and the Arab leader of the band. 
 
 If Werper succeeded in keeping himself from 
 conversation with the young woman, he failed 
 signally to expel her from his thoughts. A hun 
 dred times a day he found his eyes wandering 
 in her direction and feasting themselves upon 
 
 279 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 her charms of face and figure. Each hour his 
 infatuation for her grew, until his desire to pos 
 sess her gained almost the proportions of mad 
 ness. 
 
 If either the girl or Mohammed Beyd could 
 have guessed what passed in the mind of the 
 man which each thought a friend and ally, the 
 apparent harmony of the little company would 
 have been rudely disturbed. 
 
 Werper had not succeeded in arranging to 
 tent with Mohammed Beyd, and so he revolved 
 many plans for the assassination of the Arab 
 that would have been greatly simplified had he 
 been permitted to share the other's nightly 
 shelter. 
 
 Upon the second day out Mohammed Beyd 
 reined his horse to the side of the animal on 
 which the captive was mounted. It was, ap 
 parently, the first notice which the Arab had 
 taken of the girl ; but many times during these 
 two days had his cunning eyes peered greedily 
 from beneath the hood of his burnoose to gloat 
 upon the beauties of the prisoner. 
 
 Nor was this hidden infatuation of any re 
 cent origin. He had conceived it when first the 
 wife of the Englishman had fallen into the 
 
 280 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 hands of Achmet Zek; but while that austere 
 chieftain lived, Mohammed Beyd had not even 
 dared hope for a realization of his imaginings. 
 
 Now, though, it was different only a de 
 spised dog of a Christian stood between him 
 self and possession of the girl. How easy it 
 would be to slay the unbeliever, and take unto 
 himself both the woman and the jewels ! With 
 the latter in his possession, the ransom which 
 might be obtained for the captive would form no 
 great inducement to her relinquishment in the 
 face of the pleasures of sole ownership of her. 
 Yes, he would kill Werper, retain all the jewels 
 and keep the Englishwoman. 
 
 He turned his eyes upon her as she rode along 
 at his side. How beautiful she was ! His fin 
 gers opened and closed skinny, brown talons 
 itching to feel the soft flesh of the victim in 
 their remorseless clutch. 
 
 "Do you know," he asked, leaning toward 
 her, " where this man would take you? " 
 
 Jane Clayton nodded affirmatively. 
 
 "And you are willing to become the play 
 thing of a black sultan? " 
 
 The girl drew herself up to her full height, 
 and turned her head away; but she did not re- 
 
 281 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAK 
 
 ply. She feared lest her knowledge of the ruse 
 that M. Frecoult was playing upon the Arab 
 might cause her to betray herself through an in 
 sufficient display of terror and aversion. 
 
 "You can escape this fate," continued the 
 Arab; " Mohammed Beyd will save you," and 
 he reached out a brown hand and seized the 
 fingers of her right hand in a grasp so sudden 
 and so fierce that his brutal passion was re 
 vealed as clearly in the act as though his lips 
 had confessed it in words. 
 
 Jane Clayton wrenched herself from his 
 grasp. 
 
 ' ' You beast ! ' ' she cried. ' ' Leave me or I 
 shall call M. Frecoult." 
 
 Mohammed Beyd drew back with a scowl. 
 His thin, upper lip curled upward, revealing 
 his smooth, white teeth. 
 
 "M. Frecoult?" he jeered. "There is no 
 such person. The man's name is Werper. He 
 is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. He killed 
 his captain in the Congo country and fled to 
 the protection of Achmet Zek. He led Ach- 
 met Zek to the plunder of your home. He fol 
 lowed your husband, and planned to steal his 
 gold from him. He has told me that you think 
 
 282 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 him your protector, and he has played upon this 
 to win your confidence that it might be easier 
 to carry you north and sell you into some black 
 sultan 's harem. Mohammed Beyd is your only 
 hope," and with this assertion to provide the 
 captive with food for thought, the Arab spurred 
 forward toward the head of the column. 
 
 Jane Clayton could not know how much of 
 Mohammed Beyd's indictment might be true, 
 or how much false ; but at least it had the effect 
 of dampening her hopes and causing her to re 
 view with suspicion every past act of the man 
 upon whom she had been looking as her sole 
 protector in the midst of a world of enemies 
 and dangers. 
 
 On the march a separate tent had been pro 
 vided for the captive, and at night it was pitched 
 between those of Mohammed Beyd and Werper. 
 A sentry was posted at the front and another at 
 the back, and with these precautions it had not 
 been thought necessary to confine the prisoner 
 in bonds. 
 
 The evening following her interview with Mo 
 hammed Beyd, Jane Clayton sat for some time 
 at the opening of her tent watching the rough 
 activities of the camp. She had eaten the meal 
 
 283 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 that had been brought her by Mohammed 
 Beyd's negro slave a meal of cassava cakes 
 and a nondescript stew in which a new-killed 
 monkey, a couple of squirrels and the remains of 
 a zebra, slain the previous day, were impar 
 tially and unsavorily combined; but the one 
 time Baltimore belle had long since submerged 
 in the stern battle for existence, an estheticism 
 which formerly revolted at much slighter 
 provocation. 
 
 As the girl's eyes wandered across the tram 
 pled jungle clearing, already squalid from the 
 presence of man, she no longer apprehended 
 either the nearer objects of the foreground, the 
 uncouth men laughing or quarreling among 
 themselves, or the jungle beyond, which circum 
 scribed the extreme range of her material 
 vision. Her gaze passed through all these, un 
 seeing, to center itself upon a distant bunga 
 low and scenes of happy security which brought 
 to her eyes tears of mingled joy and sorrow. 
 She saw a tall, broad-shouldered man riding 
 in from distant fields ; she saw herself waiting 
 to greet him with an armful of fresh-cut roses 
 from the bushes which flanked the little rustic 
 gate before her. All this was gone, vanished 
 
 284 
 
JANE CLAYTON AGAIN A PRISONER 
 
 into the past, wiped out by the torches and 
 bullets and hatred of these hideous and de 
 generate men. With a stifled sob, and a lit 
 tle shudder, Jane Clayton turned back into her 
 tent and sought the pile of unclean blankets 
 which were her bed. Throwing herself face 
 downward upon them she sobbed forth her mis 
 ery until kindly sleep brought her, at least tem 
 porary, relief. 
 
 And while she slept a figure stole from the 
 tent that stood to the right of hers. It ap 
 proached the sentry before the doorway and 
 whispered a few words in the man's ear. The 
 latter nodded, and strode off through the dark 
 ness in the direction of his own blankets. The 
 figure passed to the rear of Jane Clayton's 
 tent and spoke again to the sentry there, and 
 this man also left, following in the trail of the 
 first. 
 
 Then he who had sent them away stole 
 silently to the tent flap and untying the fasten 
 ings entered with the noiselessness of a disem 
 bodied spirit. 
 
 285 
 
CHAPTEB XXI 
 
 THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 QLEEPLESS upon his blankets, Albert Wer- 
 O per let his evil mind dwell upon the charms 
 of the woman in the nearby tent. He had noted 
 Mohammed Beyd's sudden interest in the girl, 
 and judging the man by his own standards, had 
 guessed at the basis of the Arab's sudden 
 change of attitude toward the prisoner. 
 
 And as he let his imaginings run riot they 
 aroused within him a bestial jealousy of Mo 
 hammed Beyd, and a great fear that the other 
 might encompass his base designs upon the de 
 fenseless girl. By a strange process of reason 
 ing, Werper, whose designs were identical with 
 the Arab's, pictured himself as Jane Clayton's 
 protector, and presently convinced himself that 
 the attentions which might seem hideous to her 
 if proffered by Mohammed Beyd, would be wel 
 comed from Albert Werper. 
 
 Her husband was dead, and Werper fancied 
 that he could replace in the girl's heart the po- 
 
 286 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 sition which had been vacated by the act of 
 the grim reaper. He could offer Jane Clayton 
 marriage a thing which Mohammed Beyd 
 would not offer, and which the girl would spurn 
 from him with as deep disgust as she would his 
 unholy lust. 
 
 It was not long before the Belgian had suc 
 ceeded in convincing himself that the captive 
 not only had every reason for having conceived 
 sentiments of love for him ; but that she had by 
 various feminine methods acknowledged her 
 new-bom affection. 
 
 And then a sudden resolution possessed him. 
 He threw the blankets from him and rose to his 
 feet. Pulling on his boots and buckling his cart 
 ridge belt and revolver about his hips he 
 stepped to the flap of his tent and looked out. 
 There was no sentry before the entrance to 
 the prisoner's tent ! What could it mean? Fate 
 was indeed playing into his hands. 
 
 Stepping outside he passed to the rear of the 
 girl's tent. There was no sentry there, either! 
 And now, boldly, he walked to the entrance and 
 stepped within. 
 
 Dimly the moonlight illumined the interior. 
 Across the tent a figure bent above the blankets 
 ' 287 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 of a bed. There was a whispered word, and an 
 other figure rose from the blankets to a sitting 
 position. Slowly Albert Werper's eyes were 
 becoming accustomed to the half darkness of 
 the tent. He saw that the figure leaning over 
 the bed was that of a man, and he guessed at 
 the truth of the nocturnal visitor's identity. 
 
 A sullen, jealous rage enveloped him. He 
 took a step in the direction of the two. He 
 heard a frightened cry break from the girl's 
 lips as she recognized the features of the man 
 above her, and he saw Mohammed Beyd seize 
 her by the throat and bear her back upon the 
 blankets. 
 
 Cheated passion cast a red blur before the 
 eyes of the Belgian. No ! The man should not 
 have her. She was for him and him alone. He 
 would not be robbed of his rights. 
 
 Quickly he ran across the tent and threw him 
 self upon the back of Mohammed Beyd. The 
 latter, though surprised by this sudden and un 
 expected attack, was not one to give up with 
 out a battle. The Belgian's fingers were feel 
 ing for his throat, but the Arab tore them away, 
 and rising wheeled upon his adversary. As 
 they faced each other Werper struck the Arab 
 
 288 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 a heavy blow in the face, sending him stagger 
 ing backward. If he had followed up his ad 
 vantage he would have had Mohammed Beyd 
 at his mercy in another moment; but instead 
 he tugged at his revolver to draw it from its 
 holster, and Fate ordained that at that par 
 ticular moment the weapon should stick in its 
 leather scabbard. 
 
 Before he could disengage it, Mohammed 
 Beyd had recovered himself and was dashing 
 upon him. Again "Werper struck the other in 
 the face, and the Arab returned the blow. Strik 
 ing at each other and ceaselessly attempting to 
 clinch, the two battled about the small interior 
 of the tent, while the girl, wide-eyed in terror 
 and astonishment, watched the duel in frozen 
 silence. 
 
 Again and again Werper struggled to draw 
 his weapon. Mohammed Beyd, anticipating no 
 such opposition to his base desires, had come to 
 the tent unarmed, except for a long knife which 
 he now drew as he stood panting during the first 
 brief rest of the encounter. 
 
 " Dog of a Christian," he whispered, " look 
 upon this knife in the hands of Mohammed 
 Beyd! Look well, unbeliever, for it is the last 
 
 289 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 thing in life that you shall see or feel. "With 
 it Mohammed Beyd will cut out your black 
 heart. If you have a God pray to him now 
 in a minute more you shall be dead," and with 
 that he rushed viciously upon the Belgian, his 
 knife raised high above his head. 
 
 Werper was still dragging f utilely at his wea 
 pon. The Arab was almost upon him. In 
 desperation the European waited until Moham 
 med B eyd was all but against him, then he threw 
 himself to one side to the floor of the tent, leav 
 ing a leg extended in the path of the Arab. 
 
 The trick succeeded. Mohammed Beyd, car 
 ried on by the momentum of his charge, stum 
 bled over the projecting obstacle and crashed to 
 the ground. Instantly he was up again and 
 wheeling to renew the battle; but Werper was 
 on foot ahead of him, and now his revolver, loos 
 ened from its holster, flashed in his hand. 
 
 The Arab dove headfirst to grapple with him, 
 there was a sharp report, a lurid gleam of flame 
 in the darkness, and Mohammed Beyd rolled 
 over and over upon the floor to come to a final 
 rest beside the bed of the woman he had sought 
 to dishonor. 
 
 Almost immediately following the report 
 290 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 came the sound of excited voices in the camp 
 without. Men were calling back and forth to 
 one another asking the meaning of the shot. 
 Werper could hear them running hither and 
 thither, investigating. 
 
 Jane Clayton <had risen to her feet as the 
 Arab died, and now she came forward with out 
 stretched hands toward Werper. 
 
 "How can I ever thank you, my friend? " 
 she asked. "And to think that only today I 
 had almost believed the infamous story which 
 this beast told me of your perfidy and of your 
 past. Forgive me, M. Frecoult. I might have 
 known that a white man and a gentleman could 
 be naught else than the protector of a woman 
 of his own race amid the dangers of this savage 
 land." 
 
 Werper 's hands dropped limply at his sides. 
 He stood looking at the girl ; but he could find 
 no words to reply to her. Her innocent arraign 
 ment of his true purposes was unanswerable. 
 
 Outside, the Arabs were searching for the 
 author of the disturbing shot. The two sen 
 tries who had been relieved and sent to their 
 blankets by Mohammed Beyd were the first to 
 suggest going to the tent of the prisoner. It 
 
 291 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS Off QPAB 
 
 occurred to them that possibly the woman had 
 successfully defended herself against their 
 leader. 
 
 Werper heard the men approaching. To fee 
 apprehended as the slayer of Mohammed Beyd 
 would be equivalent to a sentence of immediate 
 death. The fierce and brutal raiders would tear 
 to pieces a Christian who had dared spill the 
 blood of their leader. He must find some ex 
 cuse to delay the finding of Mohammed Beyd's 
 dead body. 
 
 Beturning his revolver to its holster, he 
 walked quickly to the entrance of the tent. 
 Parting the flaps he stepped out and confronted 
 the men, who were rapidly approaching. Some 
 how he found within him the necessary bravado 
 to force a smile to his lips, as he held up his 
 hand to bar their farther progress. 
 
 " The woman resisted," he said, " and Mo 
 hammed Beyd was forced to shoot her. She is 
 not dead only slightly wounded. You may 
 go back to your blankets. Mohammed Beyd 
 and I will look after the prisoner ;" then he 
 turned and re-entered the tent, and the raid 
 ers, satisfied by this explanation, gladly re 
 turned to their broken slumbers. 
 
 292 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 As he again faced Jane Clayton, Werper 
 found himself animated by quite different in 
 tentions than those which had lured him from 
 his blankets but a few minutes before. The ex 
 citement of his encounter with Mohammed 
 Beyd, as well as the dangers which he now 
 faced at the hands of the raiders when morn 
 ing must inevitably reveal the truth of what 
 had occurred in the tent of the prisoner that 
 night, had naturally cooled the hot passion 
 which had dominated him when he entered the 
 tent. 
 
 But another and stronger force was exert 
 ing itself in the girl's favor. However low a 
 man may sink, honor and chivalry, has he ever 
 possessed them, are never entirely eradicated 
 from his character, and though Albert Werper 
 had long since ceased to evidence the slightest 
 claim to either the one or the other, the spon 
 taneous acknowledgment of them which the 
 girPs speech had presumed had reawakened 
 them both within him. 
 
 For the first time he realized the almost hope 
 less and frightful position of the fair captive, 
 an'd the depths of ignominy to which he had 
 sunk, that had made it possible for him, a well- 
 
 293 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 born, European gentleman, to have entertained 
 even for a moment the part that he had taken 
 in the ruin of her home, happiness, and herself. 
 
 Too much of baseness already lay at the 
 threshold of his conscience for him ever to hope 
 entirely to redeem himself; but in the first, 
 sudden burst of contrition the man conceived 
 an honest intention to undo, in so far as lay 
 within his power, the evil that his criminal 
 avarice had brought upon this sweet and un 
 offending woman. 
 
 As he stood apparently listening to the 
 retreating footsteps of the Arabs, though actu 
 ally engrossed in thought, Jane Clayton ap 
 proached him. 
 
 "What are we to do now?" she asked. 
 "Morning will bring discovery of this," and 
 she pointed to the still body of Mohammed 
 Beyd. " They will kill you when they find 
 him." 
 
 For a time Werper did not reply, then he 
 turned suddenly toward the woman. 
 
 " I have a plan," he cried. " It will require 
 nerve and courage on your part ; but you have 
 already shown that you possess both. Can 
 you endure still more? " 
 
 294 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 "I can endure anything," she replied with 
 a brave smile, " that may offer us even a slight 
 chance for escape. " 
 
 " You must simulate death," he explained, 
 * ' while I carry you from the camp. I will 
 explain to the sentries that Mohammed Beyd 
 has ordered me to take your body into the jun 
 gle. This seemingly unnecessary act I shall 
 explain upon the grounds that Mohammed 
 Beyd had conceived a violent passion for you 
 and that he so regretted the act by which he 
 had become your slayer that he could not en 
 dure the silent reproach of your lifeless body. ' ' 
 
 The girl held up her hand to stop. A smile 
 touched her lips. 
 
 " Are you quite mad? " she asked. " Do you 
 imagine that the sentries will credit any such 
 ridiculous tale? " 
 
 " You do not know them," he replied. " Be 
 neath their rough exteriors, despite their cal 
 loused and criminal natures, there exists in 
 each a well-defined strain of romantic emotion 
 alism you will find it among such as these 
 throughout the world. It is romance which 
 lures men to lead wild lives of outlawry and 
 crime. The ruse will succeed never fear." 
 
 295 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 Jane Clayton shrugged. "We can but try 
 it and then what? " 
 
 " I shall hide you in the jungle," continued 
 the Belgian, " coming for you alone and with 
 two horses in the morning." 
 
 "But how will you explain Mohammed 
 Beyd's death?" she asked. "It will be dis 
 covered before ever you can escape the camp 
 in the morning." 
 
 " I shall not explain it," replied Werper. 
 "Mohammed Beyd shall explain it himself 
 we must leave that to him. Are you ready for 
 the venture? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " But wait, I must get you a weapon and am 
 munition," and Werper walked quickly from 
 the tent. 
 
 Very shortly he returned with an extra 
 revolver and ammunition belt strapped about 
 his waist. 
 
 "Are you ready? " he asked. 
 
 "Quite ready," replied the girl. 
 
 " Then come and throw yourself limply 
 across my left shoulder," and Werper knelt to 
 receive her. 
 
 "There," he said, as he rose to his feet. 
 296 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 " Now, let your arms, your legs and your head 
 hang limply. Eemember that you are dead." 
 
 A moment later the man walked out into the 
 camp, the body of the woman across his shoul 
 der. 
 
 A thorn boma had been thrown up about the 
 camp, to discourage the bolder of the hungry 
 carnivora. A couple of sentries paced to and 
 fro in the light of a fire which they kept burn 
 ing brightly. The nearer of these looked up in 
 surprise as he saw Werper approaching. 
 
 "Who are you? " he cried. "What have 
 you there? " 
 
 Werper raised the hood of his burnoose that 
 the fellow might see his face. 
 
 "This is the body of the woman/' he ex 
 plained. " Mohammed Beyd has asked me to 
 take it into the jungle, for he cannot bear to 
 look upon the face of her whom he loved, and 
 whom necessity compelled him to slay. He suf 
 fers greatly he is inconsolable. It was with 
 difficulty that I prevented him taking his own 
 life." 
 
 Across the speaker's: shoulder, limp and 
 frightened, the girl waited for the Arab's re 
 ply. He would laugh at this preposterous 
 
 297 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 story; of that she was sure. In an instant lie 
 would unmask the deception that M. Frecoult 
 was attempting to practice upon him, and they 
 would both be lost. She tried to plan how best 
 she might aid her would-be rescuer in the fight 
 which must most certainly follow within a mo 
 ment or two. 
 
 Then she heard the voice of the Arab as he 
 replied to M. Frecoult. 
 
 ' ' Are you going alone, or do you wish me 
 to awaken someone to accompany you? " he 
 asked, and his tone denoted not the least sur 
 prise that Mohammed Beyd had suddenly dis 
 covered such remarkably sensitive characteris- 
 istics. 
 
 " I shall go alone," replied Werper, and he 
 passed on and out through the narrow open 
 ing in the boma, by which the sentry stood. 
 
 A moment later he had entered among the 
 boles of the trees with Ms burden, and when 
 safely hidden from the sentry's view lowered 
 the girl to her feet, with a low, " Sh-sh," when 
 she would have spoken. 
 
 Then he led her a little farther into the for 
 est, halted beneath a large tree with spread 
 ing branches, buckled a; cartridge belt and 
 
 298 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 revolver about her waist, and assisted her to 
 clamher into the lower branches. . 
 
 " Tomorrow, " he whispered, " as soon as I 
 can elude them, I will return for you. Be brave, 
 Lady Greystoke we may yet escape. " 
 
 " Thank you," she replied in a low tone. 
 " You have been very kind, and very brave." 
 
 Werper did not reply, and the darkness of 
 the night hid the scarlet flush of shame which 
 swept upward across his face. Quickly he 
 turned and made his way back to camp. The 
 sentry, from his post, saw him enter his own 
 tent; but he did not see him crawl under the 
 canvas at the rear and sneak cautiously to 
 the tent which the prisoner had occupied, where 
 now lay the dead body of Mohammed Beyd. 
 
 Eaising the lower edge of the rear wall, Wer 
 per crept within and approached the corpse. 
 Without an instant's hesitation he seized the 
 dead wrists and dragged the body upon its back 
 to the point where he had just entered. On 
 hands and knees he backed out as he had come 
 in, drawing the corpse after him. Once outside 
 the Belgian crept to the side of the tent and 
 surveyed as much of the camp as lay within his 
 vision no one was watching. 
 
 299 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Beturning to the body, he lifted it to his 
 shoulder, and risking all on a quick sally, ran 
 swiftly across the narrow opening which sepa 
 rated the prisoner's tent from that of the dead 
 man. Behind the silken wall he halted and 
 lowered his burden to the ground, and there he 
 remained motionless for several minutes, lis 
 tening. 
 
 Satisfied, at last, that no one had seen him, 
 he stooped and raised the bottom of the tent 
 wall, backed in and dragged the thing that had 
 been Mohammed Beyd after him. To the sleep 
 ing rugs of the dead raider he drew the corpse, 
 then he fumbled about in the darkness until he 
 had found Mohammed Beyd's revolver. With 
 the weapon in his hand lie returned to the side 
 of the dead man, kneeled beside the bedding, 
 and inserting his right hand with the weapon 
 beneath the rugs, piled a number of thicknesses 
 of the closely woven fabric over and about the 
 revolver with Ms left hand. Then he pulled 
 the trigger, and at the same instant he coughed. 
 
 The muffled report could not have been heard 
 above the sound of his cough by one directly 
 outside the tent. Werper was satisfied. A 
 grim smile touched his lips as he withdrew the 
 
 300 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 weapon from the rugs and placed it carefully 
 in the right hand of the dead man, fixing three 
 of the fingers around the grip and the index 
 finger inside the trigger guard. 
 
 A moment longer he tarried to rearrange the 
 disordered rugs, and then he left as he had en 
 tered, fastening down the rear wall of the tent 
 as it had been before he had raised it. 
 
 Going to the tent of the prisoner he removed 
 there also the evidence that someone might 
 have come or gone beneath the rear wall. Then 
 he returned to his own tent, entered, fastened 
 down the canvas, and crawled into his blankets. 
 
 The following morning he was awakened by 
 the excited voice of Mohammed Beyd's slave 
 calling to him at the entrance of his tent. 
 
 * ' Quick ! Quick ! ' > cried the black in a fright 
 ened tone. " Come ! Mohammed Beyd is dead 
 in his tent dead by his own hand/' 
 
 Werper sat up quickly in his blankets at the 
 first alarm, a startled expression upon his coun 
 tenance; but at the last words of the black a 
 sigh of relief escaped his lips and a slight 
 smile replaced the tense lines upon his face. 
 
 " I come," he called to the slave, and draw 
 ing on his boots, rose and went out of his tent. 
 
 301 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAE 
 
 Excited Arabs and blacks were running from 
 all parts of the camp toward the silken tent of 
 Mohammed Beyd, and when Werper entered he 
 found a number of the raiders crowded about 
 the corpse, now cold and stiff. 
 
 Shouldering his way among them, the Belgian 
 halted beside the dead body of the raider. He 
 looked down in silence for a moment upon the 
 still face, then he wheeled upon the Arabs. 
 
 " Who has done this thing? " he cried. His 
 tone was both menacing and accusing. * * Who 
 has murdered Mohammed Beyd? " 
 
 A sudden chorus of voices arose in tumultu 
 ous protest. 
 
 " Mohammed Beyd was not murdered,'' they 
 cried. " He died by his own hand. This, and 
 Allah, are our witnesses," and they pointed to 
 a revolver in the dead man's hand. 
 
 For a time Werper pretended to be skeptical ; 
 but at last permitted himself to be convinced 
 that Mohammed Beyd had indeed killed him 
 self in remorse for the death of the white 
 woman he had, all unknown to his followers, 
 loved so devotedly. 
 
 Werper himself wrapped the blankets of the 
 dead man about the corpse, taking care to fold 
 
 302 
 
THE FLIGHT TO THE JUNGLE 
 
 inward the scorched and bullet-torn fabric that 
 had muffled the report of the weapon he had 
 fired the night before. Then six husky blacks 
 carried the body out into the clearing where 
 the camp stood, and deposited it in a shallow 
 grave. As the loose earth fell upon the silent 
 form beneath the tell-tale blankets, Albert Wer- 
 per heaved another sigh of relief his plan 
 had worked out even better than he had dared 
 hope. 
 
 With Achmet Zek and Mohammed Beyd both 
 dead, the raiders were without a leader, and 
 after a brief conference they decided to return 
 into the north on visits to the various tribes 
 to which they belonged. Werper, after learning 
 the direction they intended taking, announced 
 that for his part, he was going east to the coast, 
 and as they knew of nothing he possessed which 
 any of them coveted, they signified their willing 
 ness that he should go his way. 
 
 As they rode off, he sat his horse in the cen 
 ter of the clearing watching them disappear one 
 by one into the jungle, and thanked his God that 
 he had at last escaped their villainous clutches. 
 
 When he could no longer hear any sound of 
 them, he turned to the right and rode into the 
 
 303 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 forest toward the tree where he had hidden 
 Lady Greystoke, and drawing rein beneath it, 
 called up in a gay and hopeful voice a pleasant, 
 " Good morning! " 
 
 There was no reply, and though his eyes 
 searched the thick foliage above him, he could 
 see no sign of the girl. Dismounting, he quick 
 ly climbed into the tree, where he could ob 
 tain a view of all its branches. The tree was 
 empty Jane Clayton had vanished during the 
 silent watches of the jungle night. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 TABZAN BECOVEBS HIS BEASON 
 
 A3 TAEZAN let the pebbles from the recov 
 ered pouch run through his fingers, his 
 thoughts returned to the pile of yellow ingots 
 about which the Arabs and the Abyssinians had 
 waged their relentless battle. 
 
 What was there in common between that pile 
 of dirty metal and the beautiful, sparkling peb 
 bles that had formerly been in his pouch? 
 What was the metal? From whence had it 
 come? What was that tantalizing half -convic 
 tion which seemed to demand the recognition of 
 his memory that the yellow pile for which these 
 men had fought and died had been intimately 
 connected with his past that it had been his? 
 
 What had been his past? He shook his head. 
 Vaguely the memory of his apish childhood 
 passed slowly in review then came a strange 
 ly tangled mass of faces, figures and events 
 which seemed to have no relation to Tarzan of 
 the Apes, and yet which were, even in their 
 fragmentary form, familiar. 
 
 805 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Slowly 4 and painfully, recollection was at 
 tempting to reassert itself, the hurt brain was 
 mending, as the cause of its recent failure to 
 function was being slowly absorbed or removed 
 by the healing processes of perfect circula 
 tion. 
 
 The people who now passed before his mind's 
 eye for the first time in weeks wore familiar 
 faces ; but yet he could neither place them in 
 the niches they had once filled in his past life, 
 nor call them by name. One was a fair she, 
 and it was her face which most often moved 
 through the tangled recollections of his conva 
 lescing brain. Who was she? What had she 
 been to Tarzan of the Apes? He seemed to 
 see her about the very spot upon which the 
 pile of gold had been unearthed by the Abys- 
 sinians ; but the surroundings were vastly dif 
 ferent from those which now obtained. 
 
 There was a building there were many 
 buildings and there were hedges, fences, and 
 flowers. Tarzan puckered his brow in puzzled 
 study of the wonderful problem. For an in 
 stant he seemed to grasp the whole of a true 
 explanation, and then, just as success was 
 within his grasp, the picture faded into a jun- 
 
 306 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 gle scene where a naked, white youth danced 
 in company with a band of hairy, primordial 
 ape-things. 
 
 Tarzan shook his head and sighed. Why 
 was it that he could not recollect? At least he 
 was sure that in some way the pile of gold, the 
 place where it lay, the subtle aroma of the elu 
 sive she he had been pursuing, the memory fig 
 ure of the white woman, and he, himself, were 
 inextricably connected by the ties of a forgotten 
 past. 
 
 If the woman belonged there, what better 
 place to search or await her than the very spot 
 which his broken recollections seemed to as 
 sign to her? It was worth trying. Tarzan 
 slipped the thong of the empty pouch over his 
 shoulder and started off through the trees in 
 the direction of the plain. 
 
 At the outskirts of the forest he met the 
 Arabs returning in search of Achmet Zek. Hid 
 ing, he let them pass, and then resumed his way 
 toward the charred ruins of the home he had 
 been almost upon the point of recalling to his 
 memory. 
 
 His journey across the plain was interrupted 
 by the discovery of a small herd of antelope in 
 
 307 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 a little swale, where the cover and the wind 
 were well combined to make stalking easy. A 
 fat yearling rewarded a half hour of stealthy 
 creeping and a sudden, savage rush, and it was 
 late in the afternoon when the ape-man settled 
 himself upon his haunches beside his kill to 
 enjoy the fruits of his skill, his cunning, and his 
 prowess. 
 
 His hunger satisfied, thirst next claimed his 
 attention. The river lured him by the shortest 
 path toward its refreshing waters, and when 
 he had drunk, night already had fallen and he 
 was some half mile or more down stream from 
 the point where he had seen the pile of yellow 
 ingots, and where he hoped to meet the memory 
 woman, or find some clew to her whereabouts or 
 her identity. 
 
 To the jungle bred, time is usually a matter 
 of small moment, and haste, except when en 
 gendered by terror, by rage, or by hunger, is 
 distasteful. Today was gone. Therefore to 
 morrow, of which there was an infinite proces 
 sion, would answer admirably for Tarzan's fur 
 ther quest. And, besides, the ape-man was tired 
 and would sleep. 
 
 A tree afforded him the safety, seclusion and 
 808 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 comforts of a well-appointed bedchamber, and 
 to the chorus of the hunters and the hunted of 
 the wild river bank he soon dropped off into 
 deep slumber. 
 
 Morning found him both hungry and thirsty 
 again, and dropping from his tree he made his 
 way to the drinking place at the river's edge. 
 There he found Numa, the lion, ahead of him. 
 The big fellow was lapping the water greed 
 ily, and at the approach of Tarzan along the 
 trail in his rear, he raised his head, and turn 
 ing his gaze backward across his maned shoul 
 ders glared at the intruder. A low growl of 
 warning rumbled from his throat; but Tarzan, 
 guessing that the beast had but just quitted 
 his kill and was well filled, merely made a slight 
 detour and continued to the river, where he 
 stopped a few yards above the tawny cat, and 
 dropping upon his hands and knees plunged his 
 face into the cool water. For a moment the 
 lion continued to eye the man ; then he resumed 
 his drinking, and man and beast quenched their 
 thirst side by side each apparently oblivious of 
 the other's presence. 
 
 Numa was the first to finish. Eaising his 
 head, he gazed across the river for a few min- 
 
 309 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 utes with that stony fixity of attention which is 
 a characteristic of his kind. But for the ruf 
 fling of his black mane to the touch of the pass 
 ing breeze he might have been wrought from 
 golden bronze, so motionless, so statuesque his 
 pose. 
 
 A deep sigh from the cavernous lungs dis 
 pelled the illusion. The mighty head swung 
 slowly around until the yellow eyes rested upon 
 the man. The bristled lip curved upward, ex 
 posing yellow fangs. Another warning growl 
 vibrated the heavy jowls, and the king of 
 beasts turned majestically about and paced 
 slowly up the trail into the dense reeds. 
 
 Tarzan of the Apes drank on, but from the 
 corners of his gray eyes he watched the great 
 brute's every move until he had disappeared 
 from view, and, after, his keen ears marked 
 the movements of the carnivore. 
 
 A plunge in the river was followed by a scant 
 breakfast of eggs which chance discovered to 
 him, and then he set off up river toward the 
 ruins of the bungalow where the golden ingots 
 had marked the center of yesterday's battle. 
 
 And when he came upon the spot, great was 
 his surprise and consternation, for the yellow 
 
 310 
 
TABZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 metal had disappeared. The earth, trampled 
 by the feet of horses and men, gave no clew. It 
 was as though the ingots had evaporated into 
 thin air. 
 
 The ape-man was at a loss to know where 
 to turn or what next to do. There was no sign 
 of any spoor which might denote that the she 
 had been here. The metal was gone, and if 
 there was any connection between the she and 
 the metal it seemed useless to wait for her now 
 that the latter had been removed elsewhere. 
 
 Everything seemed to elude him the pretty 
 pebbles, the yellow metal, the she, his memory. 
 Tarzan was disgusted. He would go back into 
 the jungle and look for Chulk, and so he turned 
 his steps once more toward the forest. He 
 moved rapidly, swinging across the plain in a 
 long, easy trot, and at the edge of the forest, 
 taking to the trees with the agility and speed 
 of a small monkey. 
 
 His direction was aimless he merely raced 
 on and on through the jungle, the joy of unfet 
 tered action his principal urge, with the hope 
 of stumbling upon some clew to Chulk or the 
 she, a secondary incentive. 
 
 For two days he roamed about, killing, eat- 
 311 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 ing, drinking and sleeping wherever inclination 
 and the means to indulge it occurred simulta 
 neously. It was upon the morning of the third 
 day that the scent spoor of horse and man were 
 wafted faintly to his nostrils. Instantly he al 
 tered his course to glide silently through the 
 branches in the direction from which the scent 
 came. 
 
 It was not long before he came upon a soli 
 tary horseman riding 1 toward the east. In 
 stantly his eyes confirmed what his nose had 
 previously suspected the rider was he who 
 had stolen his pretty pebbles. The light of 
 rage flared suddenly in the gray eyes as the 
 ape-man dropped lower among the branches 
 until he moved almost directly above the un 
 conscious "Werper. 
 
 There was a quick leap, and the Belgian felt 
 a heavy body hurtle onto the rump of his ter 
 ror-stricken mount. The horse, snorting, leaped 
 forward. Giant arms encircled the rider, and 
 in the twinkling of an eye he was dragged from 
 his saddle to find himself lying in the narrow 
 trail with a naked, white giant kneeling upon 
 his breast. 
 
 Recognition came to Werper with the first 
 312 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 glance at his captor's face, and a pallor of fear 
 overspread his features. Strong fingers were 
 at his throat, fingers of steel. He tried to cry 
 out, to plead for his life ; but the cruel fingers 
 denied him speech, as they were as surely de 
 nying him life. 
 
 " The pretty pebbles? " cried the man upon 
 his breast. " What did you with the pretty 
 pebbles with Tarzan *s pretty pebbles? " 
 
 The fingers relaxed to permit of a reply. 
 For some time Werper could only choke and 
 cough at last he regained the powers of 
 speech. 
 
 "Achmet Zek, the Arab, stole them from 
 me," he cried; " he made me give up the pouch 
 and the pebbles." 
 
 "I saw all that," replied Tarzan; "but 
 the pebbles in the pouch were not the pebbles 
 of Tarzan they were only such pebbles as fill 
 the bottoms of the rivers, and the shelving 
 banks beside them. Even the Arab would not 
 have them, for he threw them away in anger 
 when he had looked upon them. It is my pretty 
 pebbles that I want where are they? " 
 
 " I do not know, I do not know," cried Wer 
 per. " I gave them to Achmet Zek or he would 
 
 313 
 
TARZAN AND TtaE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 have killed me. A few minutes later he followed 
 me along the trail to slay me, although he had 
 promised to molest me no further, and I shot 
 and killed him ; but the pouch was not upon his 
 person and though I searched about the jungle 
 for some time I could not find it." 
 
 "I found it, I tell you," growled Tarzan, 
 " and I also found the pebbles which Achmet 
 Zek had thrown away in disgust. They were 
 not Tarzan 's pebbles. You have hidden them! 
 Tell me where they are or I will kill you," and 
 the brown fingers of the ape-man closed a lit 
 tle tighter upon the throat of his victim. 
 
 Werper struggled to free himself. " My God, 
 Lord Greystoke," he managed to scream, 
 " would you commit murder for a handful of 
 stones? " 
 
 The fingers at his throat relaxed, a puzzled, 
 far-away expression softened the gray eyes. 
 
 "Lord Greystoke!" repeated the ape-man. 
 "Lord Greystoke! Who is Lord Greystoke? 
 Where have I heard that name before? " 
 
 " Why man, you are Lord Greystoke," cried 
 the Belgian. " You were injured by a falling 
 rock when the earthquake shattered the pas 
 sage to the underground chamber to which you 
 
 314 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 and your black Waziri had come to fetch golden 
 ingots back to your bungalow. The blow shat 
 tered your memory. You are John Clayton, 
 Lord Greystoke don't you remember! " 
 
 ' ' John Clayton, Lord Greystoke ! ' ' repeated 
 Tarzan. Then for a moment he was silent. 
 Presently his hand went falteringly to his fore 
 head, an expression of wonderment filled his 
 eyes of wonderment and sudden understand 
 ing. The forgotten name had reawakened the 
 returning memory that had been struggling 
 to reassert itself. The ape-man relinquished 
 his grasp upon the throat of the Belgian, and 
 leaped to his feet. 
 
 " God! " he cried, and then, " Jane! " Sud 
 denly he turned toward Werper. " My wife? " 
 he asked. "What has become of her? The 
 farm is in ruins. You know. You have had 
 something to do with all this. You followed 
 me to Opar, you stole the jewels which I thought 
 but pretty pebbles. You are a crook! Do not 
 try to tell me that you are not." 
 
 "He is worse than a crook," aaid a quiet 
 voice close behind them. 
 
 Tarzan turned in astonishment to see a tall 
 man in uniform standing in the trail a few 
 
 315 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 paces from him. Back of the man were a num 
 ber of black soldiers in the uniform of the 
 Congo Free State. 
 
 "He is a murderer, Monsieur," continued 
 the officer. "I have followed him for a long 
 time to take him back to stand trial for the kill 
 ing of his superior officer." 
 
 Werper was upon his feet now, gazing, white 
 and trembling, at the fate which had overtaken 
 him even in the fastness of the labyrinthine 
 jungle. Instinctively he turned to flee; but 
 Tarzan of the Apes reached out a strong hand 
 and grasped him by the shoulder. 
 
 "Wait!" said the ape-man to his captive. 
 ' ' This gentleman wishes you, and so do I. 
 When I am through with you, he may have you. 
 Tell me what has become of my wife." 
 
 The Belgian officer eyed the almost naked, 
 white giant with curiosity. He noted the 
 strange contrast of primitive weapons and ap 
 parel, and the easy, fluent French which the 
 man spoke. The former denoted the lowest, 
 the latter the highest type of culture. He could 
 not quite determine the social status of this 
 strange creature ; but he knew that he did not 
 relish the easy assurance with which the fellow 
 
 316 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 presumed to dictate when lie might take pos 
 session of the prisoner. 
 
 " Pardon me," he said, stepping forward and 
 placing his hand on Werper's other shoulder; 
 " but this gentleman is my prisoner. He must 
 come with me." 
 
 "When I am through with him," replied 
 Tarzan, quietly. 
 
 The officer turned and beckoned to the sol 
 diers standing in the trail behind him. A com 
 pany of uniformed blacks stepped quickly for 
 ward and pushing past the three, surrounded 
 the ape-man and his captive. 
 
 " Both the law and the power to enforce it 
 are upon my side," announced the officer. " Let 
 us have no trouble. If you have a grievance 
 against this man you may return with me and 
 enter your charge regularly before an author 
 ized tribunal." 
 
 " Your legal rights are not above suspicion, 
 my friend," replied Tarzan, " and your power 
 to enforce your commands are only apparent 
 not real. You have presumed to enter Brit 
 ish territory with an armed force. Where is 
 your authority for this invasion? Where are 
 the extradition papers which warrant the ar- 
 
 317 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 rest of this man? And what assurance have 
 you that I cannot bring an armed force about 
 you that will prevent your return to the Congo 
 Free State!" 
 
 The Belgian lost his temper. ' ' I have no dis 
 position to argue with a naked savage," he 
 cried. "Unless you wish to be hurt you will 
 not interfere with me. Take the prisoner, Ser 
 geant! " 
 
 Werper raised his lips close to Tarzan's 
 ear. " Keep me from them, and I can show 
 you the very spot where I saw your wife last 
 night," he whispered. " She cannot be far 
 from here at this very minute." 
 
 The soldiers, following the signal from their 
 sergeant, closed in to seize Werper. Tarzan 
 grabbed the Belgian about the waist, and bear 
 ing him beneath his arm as he might have borne 
 a sack of flour, leaped forward in an attempt 
 to break through the cordon. His right fist 
 caught the nearest soldier upon the jaw and 
 sent him hurtling backward upon his fellows. 
 Clubbed rifles were torn from the hands of those 
 who barred his way, and right and left the black 
 soldiers stumbled aside in the face of the ape- 
 man's savage break for liberty. 
 
 318 
 
TAR&AN REOOVEES HIS REASON 
 
 So completely did the blacks surround the 
 two that they dared not fire for fear of hitting 
 one of their own number, and Tarzan was al 
 ready through theni and upon the point of 
 dodging into the concealing mazes of the jungle 
 when one who had sneaked upon him from be 
 hind struck him a heavy blow upon the head 
 with a rifle. 
 
 In an instant the ape-man was down and a 
 dozen black soldiers were upon his back. When 
 he regained consciousness he found himself se 
 curely bound, as was Werper also. The Bel 
 gian officer, success having crowned his efforts, 
 was in good humor, and inclined to chaff his 
 prisoners about the ease with which they had 
 been captured; but from Tarzan of the Apes 
 he elicited no response. Werper, however, was 
 voluble in his protests. He explained that Tar 
 zan was an English lord; but the officer only 
 laughed at the assertion, and advised his pris 
 oner to save his breath for his defense in court. 
 
 As soon as Tarzan regained his senses and 
 it was found that he was not seriously injured, 
 the prisoners were hastened into line and the 
 return march toward the Congo Free State 
 boundary commenced. 
 
 319 
 
TAEZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 Toward evening the column halted beside a 
 stream, made camp and prepared the evening 
 meal. From the thick foliage of the nearby 
 jungle a pair of fierce eyes watched the activi 
 ties of the uniformed blacks with silent inten 
 sity and curiosity. From beneath beetling 
 brows the creature saw the boma constructed, 
 the fires built, and the supper prepared. 
 
 Tarzan and Werper had been lying bound be 
 hind a small pile of knapsacks from the time 
 that the company had halted; but with the 
 preparation of the meal completed, their guard 
 ordered them to rise and come forward to one 
 of the fires where their hands would be unfet 
 tered that they might eat. 
 
 As the giant ape-man rose, a startled expres 
 sion of recognition entered the eyes of the 
 watcher in the jungle, and a low guttural broke 
 from the savage lips. Instantly Tarzan was 
 alert, but the answering growl died upon his 
 lips, suppressed by the fear that it might arouse 
 the suspicions of the soldiers. 
 
 Suddenly an inspiration came to him. He 
 turned toward Werper. 
 
 " I am going to speak to you in a loud voice 
 and in a tongue which you do not understand. 
 
 320 
 
TABZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 Appear to listen intently to what I say, and 
 occasionally mumble something as though re 
 plying in the same language our escape may 
 hinge upon the success of your efforts." 
 
 "Werper nodded in assent and understanding, 
 and immediately there broke from the lips of 
 his companion a strange jargon which might 
 have been compared with equal propriety to 
 the barking and growling of a dog and the chat 
 tering of monkeys. 
 
 The nearer soldiers looked in surprise at the 
 ape-man. Some of them laughed, while others 
 drew away in evident superstitious fear. The 
 officer approached the prisoners while Tarzan 
 was still jabbering, and halted behind them, lis 
 tening in perplexed interest. When "Werper 
 mumbled some ridiculous jargon in reply his 
 curiosity broke bounds, and he stepped forward, 
 demanding to know what language it was that 
 they spoke. 
 
 Tarzan had gauged the measure of the man's 
 culture from the nature and quality of his con 
 versation during the march, and he rested the 
 success of his reply upon the estimate he had 
 made. 
 
 11 Greek," he explained. 
 321 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 " Oh, I thought it was Greek, " replied the 
 officer ; ' ' but it has been so many years since I 
 studied it that I was not sure. In future, how 
 ever, I will thank you to speak in a language 
 which I am more familiar with." 
 
 Werper turned his head to hide a grin, whis 
 pering to Tarzan: " It was Greek to him all 
 right and to me, too." 
 
 But one of the black soldiers mumbled in a 
 low voice to a companion: "I have heard 
 those sounds before once at night when I 
 was lost in the jungle, I heard the hairy men of 
 the trees talking among themselves, and their 
 words were like the words of this white man. 
 I wish that we had not found him. He is not a 
 man at all he is a bad spirit, and we shall 
 have bad luck if we do not let him go," and the 
 fellow rolled his eyes fearfully toward the 
 jungle. 
 
 His companion laughed nervously, and moved 
 away, to repeat the conversation, with varia 
 tions and exaggerations, to others of the black 
 soldiery, so that it was not long before a fright 
 ful tale of black magic and sudden death was 
 woven about the giant prisoner, and had gone 
 the rounds of the camp. 
 
 322 
 
TARZAN RECOVERS HIS REASON 
 
 And deep in the gloomy jungle amidst the 
 darkening shadows of the falling night a hairy, 
 manlike creature swung swiftly southward Upon 
 some secret mission of his own. 
 
CHAPTER XXHI 
 
 A NIGHT OF TEBBOB 
 
 TO JANE CLAYTON, waiting in the tree 
 where Werper had placed her, it seemed 
 that the long night would never end, yet end 
 it did at last, and within an hour of the coming 
 of dawn her spirits leaped with renewed hope 
 at sight of a solitary horseman approaching 
 along the trail. 
 
 The flowing burnoose, with its loose hood, 
 hid both the face and the figure of the rider; 
 but that it was M. Frecoult the girl well knew, 
 since he had been garbed as an Arab, and he 
 alone might be expected to seek her hiding 
 place. 
 
 That which she saw relieved the strain of 
 the long night vigil; but there was much that 
 she did not see. She did not see the black face 
 beneath the white hood, nor the file of ebon 
 horsemen beyond the trail 's bend riding slowly 
 in the wake of their leader. These things she 
 did not see at first, and so she leaned down- 
 
 324 
 
A NIOHT OF TERROR 
 
 ward toward the approaching rider, a cry of 
 welcome forming in her throat. 
 
 At the first word the man looked up, reining 
 in in surprise, and as she saw the black face of 
 Abdul Mourak, the Abyssinian, she shrank back 
 in terror among the branches; but it was too 
 late. The man had seen her, and now he called 
 to her to descend. At first she refused; but 
 when a dozen black cavalrymen drew up be 
 hind their leader, and at Abdul Mourak 's com 
 mand one of them started to climb the tree 
 after her she realized that resistance was futile, 
 and came slowly down to stand upon the ground 
 before this new captor and plead her cause in 
 the name of justice and humanity. 
 
 Angered by recent defeat, and by the loss of 
 the gold, the jewels, and his prisoners, Abdul 
 Mourak was in no mood to be influenced by 
 any appeal to those softer sentiments to which, 
 as a matter of fact, he was almost a stranger 
 even under the most favorable conditions. 
 
 He looked for degredation and possible death 
 in punishment for his failures and his misfor 
 tunes when he should have returned to his na 
 tive land and made his report to Menelek; but 
 an acceptable gift might temper the wrath of 
 
 325 
 
L TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 the emperor, and surely this fair flower of an 
 other race should be gratefully received by the 
 black ruler! 
 
 When Jane Clayton had concluded her ap 
 peal, Abdul Mourak replied briefly that he 
 would promise her protection ; but that he must 
 take her to his emperor. The girl did not need 
 ask him why, and once again hope died within 
 her breast. Eesignedly she permitted herself 
 to be lifted to a seat behind one of the troop 
 ers, and again, under new masters, her journey 
 was resumed toward what she now began to be 
 lieve was her inevitable fate. 
 
 Abdul Mourak, bereft of his guides by the 
 battle he had waged against the raiders, and 
 himself unfamiliar with the country, had wan 
 dered far from the trail he should have fol 
 lowed, and as a result had made but little prog 
 ress toward the north since the beginning of 
 his flight. Today he was beating toward the 
 west in the hope of coming upon a village where 
 he might obtain guides; but night found him 
 still as far from a realization of his hopes as 
 had the rising sun. 
 
 It was a dispirited company which went into 
 camp, waterless and hungry, in the dense jun- 
 
 326 
 
A NIGHT OF TERROR 
 
 gle. Attracted by the horses, lions roared about 
 the boma, and to their hideous din was added 
 the shrill neighs of the terror-stricken beasts 
 they hunted. There was little sleep for man 
 or beast, and the sentries were doubled that 
 there might be enough on duty both to guard 
 against the sudden charge of an overbold, or 
 overhungry lion, and to keep the fire blazing 
 which was an even more effectual barrier 
 against them than the thorny boma. 
 
 It was well past midnight, and as yet Jane 
 Clayton, notwithstanding that she had passed 
 a sleepless night the night before, had scarcely 
 more than dozed. A sense of impending danger 
 seemed to hang like a black pall over the camp. 
 The veteran troopers of the black emperor were 
 nervous and ill at ease. Abdul Mourak left his 
 blankets a dozen times to pace restlessly back 
 and forth between the tethered horses and the 
 crackling fire. The girl could see his great 
 frame silhouetted against the lurid glare of the 
 flames, and she guessed from the quick, nervous 
 movements of the man that he was afraid. 
 
 The roaring of the lions rose in sudden fury 
 until the earth trembled to the hideous chorus. 
 The horses shrilled their neighs of terror as 
 
 327 
 
TABZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 they lay back upon their halter ropes in their 
 mad endeavors to break loose. A trooper, 
 braver than his fellows, leaped among the kick 
 ing, plunging, fear-maddened beasts in a futile 
 attempt to quiet them. A lion, large, and fierce, 
 and courageous, leaped almost to the boma, 
 full in the bright light from the fire. A sentry 
 raised his piece and fired, and the little leaden 
 pellet unstoppered the vials of hell upon the 
 terror-stricken camp. 
 
 The shot ploughed a deep and painful furrow 
 in the lion's side, arousing all the bestial fury 
 of the little brain; but abating not a whit the 
 power and vigor of the great body. 
 
 Unwounded, the boma and the flames might 
 have turned him back; but now the pain and 
 the rage wiped caution from his mind, and with 
 a loud, and angry roar he topped the barrier 
 with an easy leap and was among the horses. 
 
 What had been pandemonium before became 
 now an indescribable tumult of hideous sound. 
 The stricken horse upon which the lion leaped 
 shrieked out its terror and its agony. Several 
 about it broke their tethers and plunged madly 
 about the camp. Men leaped from their blan 
 kets and with guns ready ran toward the picket 
 
 328 
 
A NIGHT OF TERROR 
 
 line, and then from the jungle beyond the boma 
 a dozen lions, emboldened by the example of 
 their fellow charged fearlessly upon the camp. 
 
 Singly and in twos and threes they leaped 
 the boma, until the little enclosure was filled 
 with cursing men and screaming horses battling 
 for their lives with the green-eyed devils of the 
 jungle. 
 
 With the charge of the first lion, Jane Clayton 
 had scrambled to her feet, and now she stood 
 horror-struck at the scene of savage slaughter 
 that swirled and eddied about her. Once a 
 bolting horse knocked her down, and a moment 
 later a lion, leaping in pursuit of another ter 
 ror-stricken animal, brushed her so closely that 
 she was again thrown from her feet. 
 
 Amidst the cracking of the rifles and the 
 growls of the carnivora rose the death screams 
 of stricken men and horses as they were 
 dragged down by the blood-mad cats. The leap 
 ing carnivora and the plunging horses, pre 
 vented any concerted action by the Abyssin- 
 ians it was every man for himself and in 
 the melee, the defenseless woman was either 
 forgotten or ignored by her black captors. A 
 score of times was her life menaced by charging 
 
 329 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 lions, by plunging horses, or by the wildly fired 
 bullets of the frightened troopers, yet there was 
 no chance of escape, for now with the fiendish 
 cunning of their kind, the tawny hunters com 
 menced to circle about their prey, hemming 
 them within a ring of mighty, yellow fangs, and 
 sharp, long talons. Again and again an in 
 dividual lion would dash suddenly among the 
 frightened men and horses, and occasionally a 
 horse, goaded to frenzy by pain or terror, suo- 
 ceded in racing safely through the circling lions, 
 leaping the boma, and escaping into the jungle ; 
 but for the men and the woman no such escape 
 was possible. 
 
 A horse, struck by a stray bullet, fell beside 
 Jane Clayton, a lion leaped across the expiring 
 beast full upon the breast of a black trooper 
 just beyond. The man clubbed his rifle and 
 struck futilely at the broad head, and then he 
 was down and the carnivore was standing above 
 him. 
 
 Shrieking out his terror, the soldier clawed 
 with puny fingers at the shaggy breast in vain 
 endeavor to push away the grinning jaws. The 
 lion lowered his head, the gaping fangs closed 
 with a single sickening crunch upon the fear- 
 
 330 
 
A NIGHT OF TEBBOR 
 
 distorted face, and turning strode back across 
 the body of the dead horse dragging his limp 
 and bloody burden with him. 
 
 Wide-eyed the girl stood watching. She saw 
 the carnivore step upon the corpse, stumblingly, 
 as the grisly thing swung between its f orepaws, 
 and her eyes remained fixed in fascination while 
 the beast passed within a few paces of her. 
 
 The interference of the body seemed to en 
 rage the lion. He shook the inanimate clay 
 venomously. He growled and roared hideously 
 at the dead, insensate thing, and then he 
 dropped it and raised his head to look about in 
 search of some living victim upon which to 
 wreak his ill temper. His yellow eyes fastened 
 themselves balefully upon the figure of the girl, 
 the bristling lips raised, disclosing the grinning 
 fangs. A terrific roar broke from the savage 
 throat, and the great beast crouched to spring 
 ur>on this new and helpless victim. 
 
 Quiet had fallen early upon the camp where 
 Tarzan and Werper lay securely bound. Two 
 nervous sentries paced their beats, their eyes 
 rolling often toward the impenetrable shadows 
 of the gloomy jungle. The others slept or tried 
 
 331 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 to sleep all bnt the ape-man. Silently and 
 powerfully he strained at the bonds which fet 
 tered his wrists. 
 
 The muscles knotted beneath the smooth, 
 brown skin of his arms and shoulders, the veins 
 stood out upon his temples from the force of 
 his exertions a strand parted, another and 
 another, and one hand was free. Then from 
 the jungle came a low guttural, and the ape- 
 man became suddenly a silent, rigid statue, 
 with ears and nostrils straining to span the 
 black void where his eyesight could not reach. 
 
 Again came the uncanny sound from the thick 
 verdure beyond the camp. A sentry halted 
 abruptly, straining his eyes into the gloom. 
 The kinky wool upon his head stiffened and 
 raised. He called to his comrade in a hoarse 
 whisper. 
 
 " Did you hear it? " he asked. 
 
 The other came closer, trembling. 
 
 "Hear what?" 
 
 Again was the weird sound repeated, followed 
 almost immediately by a similar and answer 
 ing sound from the camp. The sentries drew 
 close together, watching the black spot from 
 which the voice seemed to come. 
 
 332 
 
A NIGHT OF TEBEOR 
 
 Trees overhung the boma at this point which 
 was upon the opposite side of the camp from 
 them. They dared not approach. Their terror 
 even prevented them from arousing their fel 
 lows they could only stand in frozen fear and 
 watch for the fearsome apparition they momen 
 tarily expected to see leap from the jungle. 
 
 Nor had they long to wait. A dim, bulky 
 form dropped lightly from the branches of a 
 tree into the camp. At sight of it one of the 
 sentries recovered command of his muscles and 
 his voice. Screaming loudly to awaken the 
 sleeping camp, he leaped toward the flickering 
 watch fire and threw a mass of brush upon it. 
 
 The white officer and the black soldiers 
 sprang from their blankets. The flames leaped 
 high upon the rejuvenated fire, lighting the en 
 tire camp, and the awakened men shrank back 
 in superstitious terror from the sight that met 
 their frightened and astonished vision. 
 
 A dozen huge and hairy forms loomed large 
 beneath the trees at the far side of the enclo 
 sure. The white giant, one hand freed, had 
 struggled to his knees and was calling to the 
 frightful, nocturnal visitors in a hideous medley 
 of bestial gutterals, barkings and growlings. 
 
 333 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 Werper had managed to sit up. He, too, saw 
 the savage faces of the approaching anthro 
 poids and scarcely knew whether to be relieved 
 or terror-stricken. 
 
 Growling, the great apes leaped forward 
 toward Tarzan and Werper. Chulk led them. 
 The Belgian officer called to his men to fire npon 
 the intruders; but the negroes held back, filled 
 as they were with superstitious terror of the 
 hairy tree-men, and with the conviction that the 
 white giant who could thus summon the beasts 
 of the jungle to his aid was more than human. 
 
 Drawing his own weapon, the officer fired, 
 and Tarzan fearing the effect of the noise upon 
 his really timid friends called to them to has 
 ten and fulfill his commands. 
 
 A couple of the apes turned and fled at the 
 sound of the firearm; but Chulk and a half 
 dozen others waddled rapidly forward, and, 
 following the ape-man's directions, seized both 
 him and Werper and bore them off toward the 
 jungle. 
 
 By dint of threats, reproaches and profanity 
 the Belgian officer succeeded in persuading his 
 trembling command to fire a volley after the 
 retreating apes. A ragged, straggling volley 
 
 334 
 
A NIGHT OF TERROR 
 
 it was, but at least one of its bullets found a 
 mark, for as the jungle closed about the hairy 
 rescuers, Chulk, who bore Werper across one 
 broad shoulder, staggered and fell. 
 
 In an instant he was up again; but the Bel 
 gian guessed from his unsteady gait that he 
 was hard hit. He lagged far behind the oth 
 ers, and it was several minutes after they had 
 halted at Tarzan's command before he came 
 slowly up to them, reeling from side to side, and 
 at last falling again beneath the weight of his 
 burden and the shock of his wound. 
 
 As Chulk went down he dropped Werper, so 
 that the latter fell face downward with the body 
 of the ape lying half across him. In this posi 
 tion the Belgian felt something resting against 
 his hands, which were still bound at his back 
 something that was not a part of the hairy body 
 of the ape. 
 
 Mechanically the man's fingers felt of the ob 
 ject resting almost in their grasp it was a 
 soft pouch, filled with small, hard particles. 
 Werper gasped in wonderment as recognition 
 filtered through the incredulity of his mind. It 
 was impossible, and yet it was true ! 
 
 Feverishly he strove to remove the pouch 
 3B5 
 
IAJJZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 from the ape and transfer it to his own pos 
 session; but the restricted radius to which his 
 bonds held his hands prevented this, though he 
 did succeed in tucking the pouch with its pre 
 cious contents inside the waist band of 
 his trousers. 
 
 Tarzan, sitting at a short distance, was busy 
 with the remaining knots of the cords which 
 bound him. Presently *he flung aside the last 
 of them and rose to his feet. Approaching 
 Werper he knelt beside him. For a moment he 
 examined the ape. 
 
 " Quite dead," he announced. "It is too 
 bad he was a splendid creature," and then he 
 turned to the work of liberating the Belgian. 
 
 He freed his hands first, and then commenced 
 upon the knots at his ankles. 
 
 " I can do the rest," said the Belgian. " I 
 have a small pocketknife which they over 
 looked when they searched me," and in this 
 way he succeeded in ridding himself of the ape- 
 man 's attentions that he might find and open 
 his little knife and cut the thong which fastened 
 the pouch about Chulk's shoulder, and transfer 
 it from his waist band to the breast of his 
 sMrt. Then he rose and approached Tarzan. 
 
 336 
 
A NIGHT OE TERROR 
 
 Once again had avarice claimed hmi T For 
 gotten were the good intentions which the 
 confidence of Jane Clayton in his honor had 
 awakened. What she had done, the little pouch 
 had undone. How it had come upon the person 
 of the great ape, Werper could not imagine, un 
 less it had been that the anthropoid had wit 
 nessed his fight with Achmet Zek, seen the 
 Arab with the pouch and taken it away from 
 him; but that this pouch contained the jewels 
 of Opar, Werper was positive, and that was all 
 that interested him greatly. 
 
 " Now," said the ape-man, " keep your prom 
 ise to me. Lead me to the spot where you last 
 saw my wife. ' ' 
 
 It was slow work pushing through the jun 
 gle in the dead of night behind the slow-mov 
 ing Belgian. The ape-man chafed at the de 
 lay, but the European could not swing through 
 the trees as could his more agile and muscular 
 companions, and so the speed of #11 was limited 
 to that of the slowest. 
 
 The apes trailed out behind the two white 
 men for a matter of a few miles ; but presently 
 their interest lagged, the foremost of them 
 halted in a little glade and the others stopped 
 
 337 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS Off QPAB 
 
 at his side. There they sat peering from be 
 neath their shaggy brows at the figures of the 
 two men forging steadily ahead, until the lat 
 ter disappeared in the leafy trail beyond the 
 clearing. Then an ape sought a comfortable 
 couch beneath a tree, and one by one the oth 
 ers followed his example, so that Werper and 
 Tarzan continued their journey alone ; nor was 
 the latter either surprised or concerned. 
 
 The two had gone but a short distance be 
 yond the glade where the apes had deserted 
 them, when the roaring of distant lions fell 
 upon their ears. The ape-man paid no atten 
 tion to the familiar sounds until the crack of a 
 rule came faintly from the same direction, and 
 when this was followed by the shrill neighing 
 of horses, and an almost continuous fusillade 
 of shots intermingled with increased and sav 
 age roaring of a large troop of lions, he be 
 came immediately concerned. 
 
 " Someone is having trouble over there," he 
 said, turning toward Werper. " I'll have to go 
 to them they may be friends." 
 
 "Your wife might be among them," sug 
 gested the Belgian, for since he had again come 
 into possession of the pouch he had become 
 
 338 
 
A NIGHT OF TERROR 
 
 fearful and suspicions of the ape-man, and in 
 his mind had constantly revolved many plans 
 for eluding this giant Englishman, who was at 
 once his savior and his captor. 
 
 At the suggestion Tarzan started as though 
 struck with a whip. 
 
 " God! " he cried, " she might be, and the 
 lions are attacking them they are in the camp. 
 I can tell from the screams of the horses and 
 there ! that was the cry of a man in his death 
 agonies. Stay here man I will come back for 
 you. I must go first to them/' and swinging 
 into a tree the lithe figure swung rapidly off into 
 the night with the speed and silence of a dis 
 embodied spirit. 
 
 For a moment Werper stood where the ape- 
 man had left him. Then a cunning smile 
 crossed his lips. " Stay here? " he asked him 
 self. " Stay here and wait until you return 
 to find and take these jewels from me? Not I, 
 my friend, not I," and turning abruptly east 
 ward Albert Werper passed through the foli 
 age of a hanging vine and out of the sight of 
 his fellow-man forever. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 HOME 
 
 AS TAEZAN of the Apes hurtled through 
 2iL the trees the discordant sounds of the bat 
 tle between the Abyssinians and the lions smote 
 more and more distinctly upon his sensitive 
 ears, redoubling his assurance that the plight 
 of the human element of the conflict was criti 
 cal indeed. 
 
 At last the glare of the camp fire shone 
 plainly through the intervening trees, and a 
 moment later the giant figure of the ape-man 
 paused upon an overhanging bough to look 
 down upon the bloody scene of carnage below. 
 
 His quick eye took in the whole scene with 
 a single comprehending glance and stopped 
 upon the figure of a woman standing facing a 
 great lion across the carcass of a horse. 
 
 The carnivore was crouching to spring as 
 Tarzan discovered the tragic tableau. Numa 
 was almost beneath the branch upon which the 
 ape-man stood, naked and unarmed. There 
 
 340 
 
HOME 
 
 was not even an instant's hesitation upon the 
 part of the latter it was as though he had 
 not even paused in his swift progress through 
 the trees, so lightning-like his survey and com 
 prehension of the scene below him so instan 
 taneous his consequent action. 
 
 So hopeless had seemed her situation to her 
 that Jane Clayton but stood in lethargic apathy 
 awaiting the impact of the huge body that would 
 hurl her to the ground awaiting the momen 
 tary agony that cruel talons and grisly fangs 
 may inflict before the coming of the merciful ob 
 livion which would end her sorrow and her suf 
 fering. 
 
 What use to attempt escape? As well face 
 the hideous end as to be dragged down from be 
 hind in futile flight. She did not even close 
 her eyes to shut out the frightful aspect of that 
 snarling face, and so it was that as she saw 
 the lion preparing to charge she saw, too, a 
 bronzed and mighty figure leap from an over 
 hanging tree at the instant that Numa rose in 
 his spring. 
 
 Wide went her eyes in wonder and incredu 
 lity, as she beheld this seeming apparition risen 
 from the dead. The lion was forgotten her 
 
 341 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR 
 
 own peril everything save the wondrous mir 
 acle of this strange recrudescence. With 
 parted lips, with palms tight pressed against 
 her heaving bosom, the girl leaned forward, 
 large-eyed, enthralled by the vision of her dead 
 mate. 
 
 She saw the sinewy form leap to the shoulder 
 of the lion, hurtling against the leaping beast 
 like a huge, animate battering ram. She saw 
 the carnivore brushed aside as he was almost 
 upon her, and in the instant she realized that 
 no substanceless wraith could thus turn the 
 charge of a maddened lion with brute force 
 greater than the brute's. 
 
 Tarzan, her Tarzan, lived ! A cry of unspeak 
 able gladness broke from her lips, only to die 
 in terror as she saw the utter def enselessness of 
 her mate, and realized that the lion had recov 
 ered himself and was turning upon Tarzan in 
 mad lust for vengeance. 
 
 At the ape-man's feet lay the discarded rifle 
 of the dead Abyssinian whose mutilated corpse 
 sprawled where Numa had abandoned it. The 
 quick glance which had swept the ground for 
 some weapon of defense discovered it, and as 
 the lion reared upon his hind legs to seize the 
 
 342 
 
HOME 
 
 rash man-thing who had dared interpose its 
 puny strength between Numa and his prey, the 
 heavy stock whirred through the air and splin 
 tered upon the broad forehead. 
 
 Not as an ordinary mortal might strike a 
 blow did Tarzan of the Apes strike ; but with 
 the maddened frenzy of a wild beast backed by 
 the steel thews which his wild, arboreal boyhood 
 had bequeathed him. When the blow ended the 
 splintered stock was driven through the splin 
 tered skull into the savage brain, and the heavy 
 iron barrel was bent into a rude V. 
 
 In the instant that the lion sank, lifeless, to 
 the ground, Jane Clayton threw herself into the 
 eager arms of her husband. For a brief instant 
 he strained her dear form to his breast, and 
 then a glance about him awakened the ape-man 
 *o the dangers which still surrounded them. 
 
 Upon every hand the lions were still leaping 
 upon new victims. Fear-maddened horses still 
 menaced them with their erratic bolting from 
 one side of the enclosure to the other. Bullets 
 from the guns of the defenders who remained 
 alive but added to the perils of their situation. 
 
 To remain was to court death. Tarzan seized 
 Jane Clayton and lifted her to a broad shoulder. 
 
 343 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 The blacks who had witnessed his advent looked 
 on in amazement as they saw the naked giant 
 leap easily into the branches of the tree from 
 whence he had dropped so uncannily npon the 
 scene, and vanish as he had come, bearing away 
 their prisoner with him. 
 
 They were too well occupied in self-defense 
 to attempt to halt him, nor could they have 
 done so other than by the wasting of a precious 
 bullet which might be needed the next instant 
 to turn the charge of a savage foe. 
 
 And so, unmolested, Tarzan passed, from the 
 camp of the Abyssinians, from which the din 
 of conflict followed him deep into the jungle 
 until distance gradually obliterated it entirely. 
 
 Back to the spot where he had left Werper 
 went the ape-man, joy in his heart now, where 
 fear and sorrow had so recently reigned; and 
 in his mind a determination to forgive the Bel 
 gian and aid him in making good his escape. 
 But when he came to the place, Werper was 
 gone, and though Tarzan called aloud many 
 times he received no reply. Convinced that the 
 man had purposely eluded him for reasons of 
 his own, John Clayton felt that he was under 
 no obligations to expose his wife to further dan- 
 
 344 
 
HOME 
 
 ger and discomfort in the prosecution of a more 
 thorough search for the missing Belgian. 
 
 * * He has acknowledged his guilt by his flight, 
 Jane," he said. " We will let him go to lie in 
 the bed that he has made for himself." 
 
 Straight as homing pigeons, the two made 
 their way toward the ruin and desolation that 
 had once been the center of their happy lives, 
 and which was soon to be restored by the will 
 ing black hands of laughing laborers, made 
 happy again by the return of the master and 
 mistress whom they had mourned as dead. 
 
 Past the village of Achmet Zek their way led 
 them, and there they found but the charred 
 remains of the palisade and the native huts, still 
 smoking, as mute evidence of the wrath and 
 vengeance of a powerful enemy. 
 
 "The Waziri," commented Tarzan with a 
 grim smile. 
 
 "God bless them!" cried Jane Clayton. 
 
 " They cannot be far ahead of us," said Tar 
 zan, " Basuli and the others. The gold is gone 
 and the jewels of Opar, Jane; but we have each 
 other and the Waziri we have love and loy 
 alty and friendship. And what are gold and 
 jewels to these? " 
 
 345 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 "If only poor Mugambi lived," she replied, 
 ' ' and those other brave fellows who sacrificed 
 their lives in vain endeavor to protect me! " 
 
 In the silence of mingled joy and sorrow they 
 passed along through the familiar jungle, and 
 as the afternoon was waning there came faintly 
 to the ears of the ape-man the murmuring ca 
 dence of distant voices. 
 
 " We are nearing the Waziri, Jane," he said. 
 " I can hear them ahead of us. They are going 
 into camp for the night, I imagine." 
 
 A half hour later the two came upon a horde 
 of ebon warriors which Basuli had collected 
 for his war of vengeance upon the raiders. With 
 them were the captured women of the tribe 
 whom they had found in the village of Achmet 
 Zek, and tall, even among the giant Waziri, 
 loomed a familiar black form at the side of Ba 
 suli. It was Mugambi, whom Jane had thought 
 dead amidst the charred ruins of the bungalow. 
 
 Ah, such a reunion ! Long into the night the 
 dancing and the singing and the laughter awoke 
 the echoes of the somber wood. Again and 
 again were the stories of their various adven 
 tures retold. Again and once again they fought 
 their battles with savage beast and savage man, 
 
 346 
 
HOME 
 
 and dawn was already breaking when Basuli, 
 for the fortieth time, narrated how he and a 
 handful of his warriors had watched the battle 
 for the golden ingots which the Abyssinians of 
 Abdul Mourak had waged against the Arab 
 raiders of Achmet Zek, and how, when the vic 
 tors had ridden away they had sneaked out of 
 the river reeds and stolen away with the 
 precious ingots to hide them where no robber 
 eye ever could discover them. 
 
 Pieced out from the fragments of their va 
 rious -experiences with the Belgian the truth 
 concerning the malign activities of Albert Wer- 
 per became apparent. Only Lady Greystoke 
 found aught to praise in the conduct of the man, 
 and it was difficult even for her to reconcile his 
 many heinous acts with this one evidence of 
 chivalry and honor. 
 
 " Deep in the soul of every man," said Tar- 
 zan, " must lurk the germ of righteousness. It 
 was your own virtue, Jane, rather even than 
 your helplessness which awakened for an in 
 stant the latent decency of this degraded man. 
 In that one act he retrieved himself, and when 
 he is called to face his Maker may it outweigh 
 in the balance, all the sins he has committed." 
 
 347 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAB 
 
 And Jane Clayton breathed a fervent, 
 "Amen!" 
 
 Months had passed. The labor of the Waziri 
 and the gold of Opar had rebuilt and refur 
 nished the wasted homestead of the Greystokes. 
 Once more the simple life of the great African 
 farm went on as it had before the coming of 
 the Belgian and the Arab. Forgotten were the 
 sorrows and dangers of yesterday. 
 
 For the first time in months Lord Greystoke 
 felt that he might indulge in a holiday, and so 
 a great hunt was organized that the faithful 
 laborers might feast in celebration of the com 
 pletion of their work. 
 
 In itself the hunt was a success, and ten days 
 after its inauguration, a well-laden safari took 
 up its return march toward the Waziri plain. 
 Lord and Lady Greystoke with Basuli and Mu- 
 gambi rode together at the head of the column, 
 laughing and talking together in that easy fa 
 miliarity which common interests and mutual 
 respect breed between honest and intelligent 
 men of any races. 
 
 Jane Clayton's horse shied suddenly at an ob 
 ject half hidden in the long grasses of an open 
 
 348 
 
HOME 
 
 space in the jungle. Tarzan's keen eyes sought 
 quickly for an explanation of the animal's ac 
 tion. 
 
 " What have we here! " he cried, swinging 
 from his saddle, and a moment later the four 
 were grouped about a human skull and a little 
 litter of whitened human bones. 
 
 Tarzan stooped and lifted a leathern pouch 
 from the grisly relics of a man. The hard out 
 lines of the contents brought an exclamation of 
 surprise to his lips. 
 
 "The jewels of Opar!" he cried, holding 
 the pouch aloft, " and," pointing to the bones at 
 his feet, " all that remains of Werper, the Bel 
 gian." 
 
 Mugambi laughed. " Look within, Bwana," 
 he cried, " and you will see what are the jewels 
 of Opar you will see what the Belgian gave 
 his life for," and the black laughed aloud. 
 
 " Why do you laugh? " asked Tarzan. 
 
 "Because," replied Mugambi, "I filled the 
 Belgian's pouch with river gravel before I es 
 caped the camp of the Abyssinians whose pris 
 oners we were. I left the Belgian only worth 
 less stones, while I brought away with me the 
 jewels he had stolen from you. That they were 
 
 349 
 
TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF QPAB 
 
 afterward stolen from me while I slept in the 
 jungle is my shame and my disgrace; but at 
 least the Belgian lost them open his pouch 
 and you will see." 
 
 Tarzan untied the thong which held the 
 mouth of the leathern bag closed, and permit 
 ted the contents to trickle slowly forth into his 
 open palm. Mugambi's eyes went wide at the 
 sight, and the others uttered exclamations of 
 surprise and incredulity, for from the rusty 
 and weatherworn pouch ran a stream of bril 
 liant, scintillating gems. 
 
 " The jewels of Opar! " cried Tarzan. " But 
 how did Werper come by them again? " 
 
 None could answer, for both Chulk and Wer 
 per were dead, and no other knew. 
 
 " Poor devil ! " said the ape-man, as he swung 
 back into his saddle. ' ' Even in death he has 
 made restitution let his sins lie with his 
 bones. " 
 
 350 
 
THE "TARZAN" BOOKS 
 by 
 
 EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS 
 
TARZAN OF THE APES 
 
 A white child of noble line 
 age brought up by a tribe of 
 gigantic anthropoid apes and 
 becoming, by virtue of his 
 fighting ability and superior 
 mentality, King of the tribe 
 and Master of the Jungle. 
 Such was Tarzan, the most 
 popular character in fiction to 
 day, as introduced to the pub 
 lic in "Tarzan of the Apes." 
 
 THE RETURN OF TARZAN 
 
 A sequel to "Tarzan of the 
 Apes." It deals in its opening 
 chapters with the young giant 
 of the jungle in civilization, 
 meeting wherever he goes with 
 adventures as strange and 
 thrilling as those of his boy 
 hood in the primeval forests. 
 Then it tells of Tarzan's return 
 to the tropical wilderness and 
 of his astounding adventures 
 with ferocious animals and 
 savage native tribes. 
 
THE BEASTS OF TARZAN 
 
 Another great jungle yarn. 
 Tarzan's wife and child are 
 abducted by his enemies. He 
 follows them to Wildest Africa 
 and, with a yell and a bound, 
 is back at home again among 
 the beasts of the jungle, plung 
 ing into a series of adventures, 
 so startling, exciting, and hair- 
 raising that one gasps with 
 astonishment. 
 
 THE SON OF TARZAN 
 
 Tarzan's son inherits his 
 father's love of the jungle and 
 by an extraordinary combina 
 tion of circumstances is taken to 
 the African Wilderness. The 
 lore of the jungle came easily 
 to him; he battles mightily 
 with Numa, the Lion, with 
 Hista, the Snake, with crafty 
 savages and slave traders till 
 there is no one greater in the 
 forest than Korak (the Killer), 
 son of Tarzan. 
 
A PRINCESS OF MARS 
 
 by 
 
 EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS 
 
 An absorbing tale of adventure and 
 romance forty-three million miles from 
 Earth. It is hardly too much to say it 
 is the boldest piece of imaginative fic 
 tion in this generation. 
 
 John Carter, American, goes to sleep 
 in a mysterious cave in the Arizona 
 desert and when he wakes up finds him 
 self on the planet Mars. There he 
 meets with a succession of weird and 
 astounding adventures, told in that fas 
 cinating and realistic way that makes 
 Burroughs easily the foremost roman 
 ticist of his time. 
 
 Think for a moment of this young American 
 battling for a woman, beautiful as a houri, with 
 the Green Men of Mars, creatures fifteen feet high, 
 and of fearsome aspect, with two extra limbs, which 
 will function either as legs or arms, mounted on 
 horses like dragons, and attended by watch-dogs like 
 enormous frogs with ten legs, and you can get some 
 idea of the thrills in the yarn. 
 
 Only the man who created Tarzan, The Ape 
 Man, could write so bold a story. 
 
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