Part 13 (1/2)
But it was an hour before the king re-entered the apartment and in thethe carvings upon the walls and the numerous specimens of the handicraft of Pal-ul-donian artisans which combined to impart an atmosphere of richness and luxury to the apartrained and of marble whiteness yet worked with coht by cunning craftsrace and beauty Into the carved designs ofthe effect of a rich and nificent cloisonne A barbarian himself the art of barbarians had always appealed to the ape-man to whom they represented a natural expression of reater extent than the studied and artificial efforts of civilization Here was the real art of old masters, the other the cheap imitation of the chroed that Ko-tan returned As Tarzan, attracted by theentered, turned and faced him he was al's appearance His face was livid; his hands treht His appearance was one apparently of a co fear Tarzan looked at hily
”You have had bad news, Ko-tan?” he asked
The king ed into the apartreat a nu looked apprehensively to right and left He cast terrified glances at the ape- his eyes upward he cried: ”Jad-ben-Otho beof ain broken by Ko-tan ”Seize hih priest, swears that he is an ireat concourse of warriors in the very heart of the palace of their king would have been worse than fatal Already Tarzan had come far by his wits and now that within a few hours he had had his hopes and his suspicions partially verified by the vague admissions of O-lo-a he was i no mortal risk that he could avoid
”Stop!” he cried, raising his pal of this?”
”Lu-don claims he has proof that you are not the son of Jad-ben-Otho,” replied Ko-tan ”He deht to the throneroom to face your accusers If you are what you claim to be none knows better than you that you need have no fear in acquiescing to his deh priest co and that I am only the bearer of these commands, not their author”
Tarzan saw that Ko-tan was not entirely convinced of his duplicity as was evidenced by his palpable design to play safe
”Let not your warriors seizetheir intention, strike them dead” The effect of his words was immediate upon thesuddenly to acquire a new modesty that compelled him to self-effacement behind those directly in his rear-a ious
The ape-ly to the audience chamber to face the blasphereat thronerooe the right of Lu-don to occupy the apex of the pyra an inferior position while Tarzan, to reh claims, insisted that no one should stand above him, but only to the ape-man was the humor of the situation apparent
To relieve the situation Ja-don suggested that all three of theestion was repudiated by Ko-tan who argued that noof Pal-ul-don had ever sat upon the high eminence, and that furthermore there was not room for three there
”But who,” said Tarzan, ”is e?”
”Lu-don is your accuser,” explained Ko-tan
”And Lu-don is your judge,” cried the high priest
”I aed by him who accuses me then,” said Tarzan ”It were better to dispense then with any formalities and ask Lu-don to sentencestraight into that of the high priest, but caused the latter's hatred to rise to still greater proportions
It was evident that Ko-tan and his warriors saw the justice of Tarzan's i justice ”Only Ko-tan can judge in the thronerooes and the testiment be final”
Ko-tan, however, was not particularly enthusiastic over the prospect of sitting in trial upon one who ht after all very possibly be the son of his God, and so he te for an avenue of escape ”It is purely a religious s of Pal-ul-don interfere not in questions of the church”
”Then let the trial be held in the temple,” cried one of the chiefs, for the warriors were as anxious as their king to be relieved of all responsibility in the h priest who inwardly condeht of it before
”It is true,” he said, ”this ed thither then for trial”
”The son of Jad-ben-Otho will be dragged nowhere,” cried Tarzan ”But when this trial is over it is possible that the corpse of Lu-don, the high priest, will be dragged from the temple of the God he would desecrate Think well, then, Lu-don before you cohten the high priest fro their purpose Lu-don showed no terror at the suggestion the ape-ht Tarzan, ”who, knowing ion than any of his fellows, realizes fully the falsity of my claims as he does the falsity of the faith he preaches”
He realized, however, that his only hope lay in seees Ko-tan and the warriors were still under the spell of their belief in him and upon this fact must he depend in the final act of the dra for his rescue from the jealous priest whom he knew had already passed sentence upon hi he descended the steps of the pyramid ”It es his God, for Jad-ben-Otho can reach as easily into the chambers of the temple as into the throneroom of Ko-tan”
Immeasurably relieved by this easy solution of their probleed frorounds, their faith in Tarzan increased by his apparent indifference to the charges against hiest of the altar courts
Taking his place behind the western altar he motioned Ko-tan to a place upon the platform at the left hand of the altar and directed Tarzan to a siht