Part 1 (2/2)
Here he ate the flesh of Bara and when satisfied carried the balance of the carcass to the opposite side of the tree where he deposited it far above the ground in a secure place Returning to his crotch he settled himself for sleep and in another s of the lesser cats fell upon deaf ears
The usual noises of the jungle composed rather than disturbed the ape-man but an unusual sound, however imperceptible to the awakened ear of civilized e upon the consciousness of Tarzan, however deep his sluh a sudden rush of feet across the grassy carpet in the vicinity of his tree brought him to alert and ready activity Tarzan does not awaken as you and I with the weight of slumber still upon his eyes and brain, for did the creatures of the wild awaken thus, their awakenings would be few As his eyes snapped open, clear and bright, so, clear and bright upon the nerve centers of his brain, were registered the various perceptions of all his senses
Allance appeared to be an almost naked white , white tail projecting rearward did not escape the ape-, cae Voiceless the prey, voiceless the killer; as two spirits in a dead world the two edy of this grim race
Even as his eyes opened and took in the scene beneath him-even in that brief instant of perception, followed reason, judgment, and decision, so rapidly one upon the heels of the other that almost simultaneously the ape-man was in mid-air, for he had seen a white-skinned creature cast in a mold similar to his own, pursued by Tarzan's hereditary ene that Tarzan had no time carefully to choose the board headforemost into the waters beneath, so Tarzan of the Apes dove straight for Nuht hand the blade of his father that so many ti talon caught Tarzan on the side, inflicting a long, deep wound and then the ape-ain into the savage side Nor was the , or idle He too, creature of the wild, had sensed on the instant the truth of thein his tracks, had leaped forith raised bludgeon to Tarzan's assistance and Nule terrific blow upon the flattened skull of the beast laid him insensible and then as Tarzan's knife found the wild heart a few convulsive shudders and a sudden relaxationto his feet the ape-man placed his foot upon the carcass of his kill and, raising his face to Goro, the e victory cry that had so often awakened the echoes of his native jungle
As the hideous screa stepped quickly back as in sudden awe, but when Tarzan returned his hunting knife to its sheath and turned toward hinity of his demeanor no cause for apprehension
For aeach other, and then thespoke Tarzan realized that the creature before hi articulate sounds which expressed in speech, though in a language hich Tarzan was unfareater or less extent the same powers of reason that he possessed In other words, that though the creature before hireat toes of a monkey, it was, in all other respects, quite evidently adown Tarzan's side, caught the creature's attention Fro and approaching Tarzan indicated by signs that he wished the ape-ht treat the wound, whereupon, spreading the edges of the cut apart, he sprinkled the raw flesh with powder fro to the exquisite torture of the re, the ape-man withstood it stoically and in a fewceased but the pain as well
In reply to the soft and far from unpleasant modulations of the other's voice, Tarzan spoke in various tribal dialects of the interior as well as in the language of the great apes, but it was evident that thethat they could not make each other understood, the pithecanthropus advanced toward Tarzan and placing his left hand over his own heart laid the palht hand over the heart of the ape-reeting and, being versed in the ways of uncivilized races, he responded in kind as he realized it was doubtless intended that he should His action seemed to satisfy and please his new-found acquaintance, who iain and finally, with his head tipped back, sniffed the air in the direction of the tree above the toward the carcass of Bara, the deer, he touched his stoht interpret With a wave of his hand Tarzan invited his guest to partake of the re nimbly as a little monkey to the lower branches of the tree, made his way quickly to the flesh, assisted always by his long, strong sinuous tail
The pithecanthropus ate in silence, cutting small strips from the deer's loin with his keen knife Fro the preponderance of human attributes which were doubtless accentuated by the paradoxical thureat toes, and tail
He wondered if this creature was representative of soe race or if, what seemed more likely, but an atavish did he not have before him the evidence of the creature's existence There he was, however, a tailed old encrusted and jewel studded, could have been wrought only by skilled artisans; but whether they were the work of this individual or of others like him, or of an entirely different race, Tarzan could not, of course, deterers and lips with leaves broken from a nearby branch, looked up at Tarzan with a pleasant s white teeth, the canines of which were no longer than Tarzan's own, spoke a feords which Tarzan judged were a polite expression of thanks and then sought a coht
The earth was shadowed in the darkness which precedes the dahen Tarzan akened by a violent shaking of the tree in which he had found shelter As he opened his eyes he saw that his co around quickly to apprehend the cause of the disturbance, the ape-ht which met his eyes
The dim shadow of a colossal form reared close beside the tree and he saw that it was the scraping of the giant body against the branches that had awakened him That such a tremendous creature could have approached so closely without disturbing hiloom the ape-man at first conceived the intruder to be an elephant; yet, if so, one of greater proportions than any he had ever before seen, but as the dim outlines became less indistinct he saw on a line with his eyes and twenty feet above the ground the diave the irew a thick, heavy horn Only a portion of the back was visible to the ape- lost in the dense shadows beneath the tree, froiant jaerfully crunching flesh and bones From the odors that rose to the ape-man's sensitive nostrils he presently realized that beneath hi upon the carcass of the lion that had been slain there earlier in the night
As Tarzan's eyes, straining with curiosity, bored futilely into the dark shadows he felt a light touch upon his shoulder, and, turning, saw that his co to attract his attention The creature, pressing a forefinger to his own lips as to enjoin silence, atte on Tarzan's ar that he was in a strange country, evidently infested by creatures of titanic size, with the habits and powers of which he was entirely unfamiliar, the ape-man permitted himself to be draay With the utmost caution the pithecanthropus descended the tree upon the opposite side froreat nocturnal prowler, and, closely followed by Tarzan, ht across the plain
The ape-man was rather loath thus to relinquish an opportunity to inspect a creature which he realized was probably entirely different froh to knohen discretion was the better part of valor and now, as in the past, he yielded to that lahich do danger uselessly, whose lives are sufficiently filled with danger in their ordinary routine of feeding andsun dispelled the shadows of the night, Tarzan found hiuide plunged, taking nih which hehabitude and hereditary instinct, but though aided by a prehensile tail, fingers, and toes, the reater ease or surety than did the giant ape- this journey that Tarzan recalled the wound in his side inflicted upon hi talons of Nu it was surprised to discover that not only was it painless but along its edges were no indications of inflammation, the results doubtless of the antiseptic powder his strange companion had sprinkled upon it
They had proceeded for a rassy slope beneath a great tree whose branches overhung a clear brook Here they drank and Tarzan discovered the water to be not only deliciously pure and fresh but of an icy temperature that indicated its rapid descent fro aside his loin cloth and weapons Tarzan entered the little pool beneath the tree and after a reatly refreshed and filled with a keen desire to breakfast As he ca hi the ape-man by the shoulder he turned him around so that Tarzan's back was toward hi the end of Tarzan's spine with his forefinger, he curled his own tail up over his shoulder and, wheeling the ape-ain, pointed first at Tarzan and then at his own caudal appendage, a look of puzzlement upon his face, the while he jabbered excitedly in his strange tongue
The ape-man realized that probably for the first time his companion had discovered that he was tailless by nature rather than by accident, and so he called attention to his own great toes and thumbs to further impress upon the creature that they were of different species
The fellow shook his head dubiously as though entirely unable to comprehend why Tarzan should differ so fro the proble, he laid aside his own harness, skin, and weapons and entered the pool
His ablutions coer apparel redonned he seated hi Tarzan to a place beside hi from it strips of dried flesh and a couple of handfuls of thin-shelled nuts hich Tarzan was unfa the other break them with his teeth and eat the kernel, Tarzan followed the exa the meat to be rich and well flavored The dried flesh also was far froh it had evidently been jerked without salt, a coht be rather difficult to obtain in this locality
As they ate Tarzan's companion pointed to the nuts, the dried meat, and various other nearby objects, in each instance repeating what Tarzan readily discovered s in the creature's native language The ape-man could but smile at this evident desire upon the part of his new-found acquaintance to iht lead to an exchange of thoughts between thees and a multitude of dialects the ape-h this appeared one entirely unrelated to any hich he was familiar