Part 25 (2/2)
Before the rude shelter built a From within there came to his sensitive nostrils the saer attention at the little stream a mile away He crouched upon the branch close to the little door
”Jane,” he called, ”heart of my heart, it is I”
The only answer fro of a breath that was half gasp and half sigh, and the sound of a body falling to the floor Hurriedly Tarzan sought to release the thongs which held the door but they were fastened from the inside, and at last, impatient with further delay, he seized the frail barrier in one giant hand and with a single effort tore it coly lifeless body of his athered her in his arms; her heart beat; she still breathed, and presently he realized that she had but swooned
When Jane Clayton regained consciousness it was to find herself held tightly in two strong arms, her head pillowed upon the broad shoulder where so often before her fears had been soothed and her sorrows comforted At first she was not sure but that it was all a dream Timidly her hand stole to his cheek
”John,” she murmured, ”tell me, is it really you?”
In reply he drew her more closely to hi in ly, ”that led closer to hiood to us, Tarzan of the Apes,” she said
For soh that they were reunited and that each knew that the other was alive and safe But at last they found their voices and when the sun rose they were still talking, so much had each to tell the other; so many questions there were to be asked and answered
”And Jack,” she asked, ”where is he?”
”I do not know,” replied Tarzan ”The last I heard of hionne Front”
”Ah, then our happiness is not quite co into her voice
”No,” he replied, ”but the salish ho to take the place of happiness in these”
She shook her head, ”I want my boy,” she said
”And I too,” replied Tarzan, ”and we may have him yet He was safe and unwounded the last word I had And now,” he said, ”we alow and gather together the remnants of our Waziri or would you rather return to London?”
”Only to find Jack,” she said ”I dreaalow and never of the city, but John, we can only dreaatz told me that he had circled this whole country and found no place where he atz,” Tarzan re ”We will rest today and toe country, but we have crossed it once and we can cross it again”
And so, upon the following ani and his mate went forth upon their journey across the Valley of Jad-ben-Otho, and ahead of thee beasts, and the lofty mountains of Pal-ul-don; and beyond the mountains the reptiles and the morass, and beyond that the arid, thorn-covered steppe, and other savage beasts and men and weary, hostile miles of untracked wilderness between them and the charred ruins of their horass upon all fours, leaving a trail of blood behind hiround beneath her tree Hescreaed the severity of his wound He was quiet because of a great fear that had crept into his warped brain that the devil woman would pursue and slay him And so he crawled away like soht lie down and hide
He thought that he was going to die, but he did not, and with the co of the new day he discovered that his wound was superficial The rough obsidian-shod spear had entered thea painful, but not a fatal wound With the realization of this fact came a renewed desire to put as much distance as possible between hi upon all fours because of a persistent hallucination that in this way he h he fled his mind still revolved muddily about a central desire-while he fled from her he still planned to pursue her, and to his lust of possession was added a desire for revenge She should pay for the suffering she had inflicted upon hi him, but for some reason which he did not try to explain to hih He would come back and when he had finished with her, he would take that smooth throat in his two hands and crush the life fro this over and over to hi, hideous laughter that had terrified Jane Presently he realized his knees were bleeding and that they hurt hiht He listened He could hear no indications of pursuit and so he rose to his feet and continued upon his way a sorry sight-covered with filth and blood, his beard and hair tangled and matted and filled with burrs and dried mud and unspeakable filth He kept no track of ti froers He followed the shore of the lake and the river that he ht be near water, and when JA roared or
And so after a time he came up the southern shore of Jad-ben-lul until a wide river stopped his progress Across the blue water a white city gli his eyes like an owl Slowly a recollection forced itself through his tangled brain This was A-lur, the City of Light The association of ideas recalled Bu-lur and the Waz-ho-don They had called hih aloud and stood up very straight and strode back and forth along the shore ”I am Jad-ben-Otho,” he cried, ”I ah priests What is Jad-ben-Otho doing here alone in the jungle?”
He stepped out into the water and raising his voice shrieked loudly across toward A-lur ”I am Jad-ben-Otho!” he screamed ”Come hither slaves and take your God to his tereat and they did not hear him and no one cas-a bird flying in the air, a school ofto catch theh the water grasping futilely at the elusive fish
Presently it occurred to hiot the fish and lay down and tried to swih they were a tail The hardshi+ps, the privations, the terrors, and for the past feeeks the lack of proper nourishibbering idiot
A water snake swam out upon the surface of the lake and theupon his hands and knees The snake swam toward the shore just within the atz followed,He lost the snake within the reeds but he ca else-a canoe hidden there close to the bank He exahter There were two paddles within it which he took and threw out into the current of the river He watched them for a while and then he sat down beside the canoe and commenced to splash his hands up and down upon the water He liked to hear the noise and see the little splashes of spray He rubbed his left forearht palm and the dirt came off and left a white spot that drew his attention He rubbed again upon the now thoroughly soaked blood and gri to wash hie results ”I alance wandered froriain the white city shi+ht!” he shrieked and that reain of Tu-lur and by the saested it, he recalled that the Waz-ho-don had thought him Jad-ben-Otho