Part 3 (1/2)
Pan-at-lee was lost Death was inevitable Of this there could be no doubt, but to die beneath the rending fangs of the carnivore, congenital terror of her kind-it was unthinkable But there was an alternative The lion was almost upon her-another instant and he would seize her Pan-at-lee turned sharply to her left Just a few steps she took in the new direction before she disappeared over the ri all four feet, barely stopped upon the verge of the abyss Glaring down into the black shadows beneath he h the darkness at the bottom of Kor-ul-JA, Om-at led the way toward the caves of his people Behind hireat tree that grew close to the cliff
”First,” whispered Oo to the cave of Pan-at-lee Then will I seek the cave of my ancestors to have speech withWait here-I shall return soon Afterward shall we go together to Ta-den's people”
He moved silently toward the foot of the cliff up which Tarzan could presently see hiht the ape-s set in the face of the cliff Om-at moved warily In the lower tier of caves there should be a sentry His knowledge of his people and their customs told him, however, that in all probability the sentry was asleep In this he was not mistaken, yet he did not in any way abate his wariness Smoothly and swiftly he ascended toward the cave of Pan-at-lee while from below Tarzan and Ta-den watched him
”How does he do it?” asked Tarzan ”I can see no foothold upon that vertical surface and yet he appears to be cli with the uts ”You could ascend easily,” he said, ”although a tail would be of great assistance”
They watched until O any indication that he had been observed and then, simultaneously, both saw a head appear in the mouth of one of the lower caves It was quickly evident that its owner had discovered Om-at for immediately he started upward in pursuit Without a word Tarzan and Ta-den sprang forward toward the foot of the cliff The pithecanthropus was the first to reach it and the ape- above hi each other in zigzag rows up the cliff face He sprang and caught one of these, pulled himself upward by one hand until he could reach a second with his other hand; and when he had ascended far enough to use his feet, discovered that he couldhim, however, for these precarious ladders were no novelty to hi a tail
Nevertheless, the ape-ed to redoubled efforts by the fact that the Waz-don above Ta-den glanced down and discovered his pursuers just before the Ho-don overtook hie-a cry that was ie throats as warrior after warrior eed from the entrance to his cave
The creature who had raised the alarm had now reached the recess before Pan-at-lee's cave and here he halted and turned to give battle to Ta-den Unslinging his club which had hung down his back fro about his neck he stood upon the level floor of the entrance-way effectually blocking Ta-den's ascent Fro toward the interlopers Tarzan, who had reached a point on the same level with Ta-den but a little to the latter's left, saw that nothing short of a miracle could save them Just at the ape-man's left was the entrance to a cave that either was deserted or whose occupants had not as yet been aroused, for the level recess remained unoccupied Resourceful was the alert mind of Tarzan of the Apes and quick to respond were the trainedan action he would accoh only seconds separated his nearest antagonist from him, in the brief span of ti his long rope and leaning far out shot the sinuous noose, with the precision of long habitude, toward theits heavy club above Ta-den There was a mooal, a quick ht wrist that closed it upon its victi as, seizing the rope in both hands, Tarzan threw back upon it all the weight of his great fraed headforemost from the recess above Ta-den Tarzan braced hi shock when the creature's body should have fallen the full length of the rope and as it did there was a snap of the vertebrae that rose sickeningly in thescreaht at the end of the rope, Tarzan quickly pulled the body to his side that he ht remove the noose from about its neck, for he could not afford to lose so priceless a weapon
During the several seconds that had elapsed since he cast the rope the Waz-don warriors had reh paralyzed by wonder or by terror Now, again, one of the invectives at the strange intruder, started upward for the ape- his fellows to attack This man was the closest to Tarzan But for him the ape-man could easily have reached Ta-den's side as the latter was urging him to do Tarzan raised the body of the dead Waz-don above his head, held it poised there for a moment as with face raised to the heavens he screae of the bull apes of the tribe of Kerchak, and with all the strength of his giant sinews he hurled the corpse heavily upon the ascending warrior So great was the force of the impact that not only was the Waz-don torn fro were broken short in their sockets
As the two bodies, the living and the dead, hurtled doard toward the foot of the cliff a great cry arose frouru-don!” they screamed, and then: ”Kill him! Kill him!”
And now Tarzan stood in the recess beside Ta-den ”Jad-guru-don!” repeated the latter, s-”The terrible man! Tarzan the Terrible! They et you”
”They shall not ki-What have we here?” Tarzan's statement as to what ”they” should not do was interrupted by a sudden ejaculation as two figures, locked in deathlike eh the doorway of the cave to the outer porch One was Oh coat, the hairs of which seeht outward fro The tere quite evidently well matched and equally evident was the fact that each was bent upon ht alrowl as one or the other acknowledged thus so a natural impulse to aid his ally, leaped forward to enter the dispute only to be checked by a grunted adht is mine, alone”
The ape-und-bar,” explained Ta-den, ”a chief-battle This fellow must be Es-sat, the chief If Om-at kills him without assistance Om-at may becole-the law of the tribe of Kerchak, the bull ape-the ancient law of pri influences of civilization to introduce the hired dagger and the poison cup Then his attention was drawn to the outer edge of the vestibule Above it appeared the shaggy face of one of Es-sat's warriors Tarzan sprang to intercept the man; but Ta-den was there ahead of hiund-bar” The fellow looked scrutinizingly at the two fighters, then turned his face doard toward his fellows ”Back!” he cried, ”it is gund-bar between Es-sat and Om-at” Then he looked back at Ta-den and Tarzan ”Who are you?” he asked
”We are Om-at's friends,” replied Ta-den
The fellow nodded ”We will attend to you later,” he said and disappeared below the edge of the recess
The battle upon the ledge continued with unabated ferocity, Tarzan and Ta-den having difficulty in keeping out of the way of the contestants who tore and beat at each other with hands and feet and lashi+ng tails Es-sat was unar a sheathed knife which he made no effort to draw That would have been contrary to their savage and priht with nature's weapons
Sometimes they separated for an instant only to rush upon each other again with all the ferocity and nearly the strength of mad bulls Presently one of them tripped the other but in that viselike eed O upon the brink of the niche Even Tarzan held his breath There they surged to and fro perilously for a moment and then the inevitable happened-the two, locked in e and disappeared froh for he had liked Oe and looked over Far below, in the di stark in death; but, to Tarzan's aht that ures still vibrant with life and still battling only a few feet below his with two holds-a hand and a foot, or a foot and a tail, they seemed as much at home upon the perpendicular wall as upon the level surface of the vestibule; but now their tactics were slightly altered, for each seeonist fro him to certain death below It was soon evident that Oreater powers of endurance than Es-sat, was gaining an advantage Noas the chief al hi his foeht out from the cliff, and with the other hand and one foot was rapidly breaking first one of Es-sat's holds and then another, alternating his efforts, or rather punctuating them, with vicious blows to the pit of his adversary's stoe of i death there came, as there comes to every coward and bully under si of the veneer of bravado which had long e and with it cruer chief of Kor-ul-JA-instead he was a whi at Oht any support that would save him from that awful fall, and as he strove to push aside the hand of death, whose cold fingers he already felt upon his heart, his tail sought O there
Tarzan saw and even as Es-sat drew the blade fros beside the battling men Es-sat's tail had drawn back for the cowardly fatal thrust Now e and disgust arose frooal, the ape-man seized the hairy member that wielded it, and at the same instant Om-at thrust the body of Es-sat from him with such force that its weakened holds were broken and it hurtled doard, a brieffear, to death
4
Tarzan-jad-guru