Part 26 (1/2)

”I aain upon the canoe A new idea ca his body, and seeing the filthy loin cloth, noater soaked andit into the lake ”Gods do not wear dirty rags,” he said aloud ”They do not wear anything but wreaths and garlands of flowers and I ao in state to h his matted hair and beard The water had softened the burrs but had not removed them The man shook his head His hair and beard failed to har to think reat idea had taken hold of his scattered wits and concentrated thele purpose, but he was still athat he was now a athered flowers and ferns and wove thereen ferns that trailed about his ears or rose bravely upward like the plumes in a lady's hat

When he was satisfied that his appearance would impress the most casual observer with his evident deity he returned to the canoe, pushed it from shore and jumped in The impetus carried it into the river's current and the current bore it out upon the lake The naked man stood erect in the center of the little craft, his are to the city: ”I ah priest and the under priests attend upon me!”

As the current of the river was dissipated by the waters of the lake the wind caught him and his craft and carried them bravely forward Sometimes he drifted with his back toward A-lur and sometimes with his face toward it, and at intervals he shrieked his e and his commands He was still in the middle of the lake when someone discovered him from the palace wall, and as he drew nearer, a crowd of warriors and wo the teh priest When the boat had drifted close enough for the in it and for the eyes narrowed The high priest had learned of the escape of Tarzan and he feared that should he join Ja-don's forces, as seeht still believe in him, and the Dor-ul-Otho, even if a false one, upon the side of the eneht easily work havoc with Lu-don's plans

The ht in the current that ran close to shore here and carried toward the river that emptied the waters of Jad-ben-lul into Jad-bal-lul The under priests were looking toward Lu-don for instructions

”Fetch him hither!” he commanded ”If he is Jad-ben-Otho I shall know hirounds and suer to Lu-don If he is Jad-ben-Otho we shall know hiht before the high priest at A-lur Lu-don looked closely at the naked man with the fantastic headdress

”Where did you come from?” he asked

”I am Jad-ben-Otho,” cried the Gerh priest?”

”I aatz clapped his hands ”Have ht to me,” he commanded

Lu-don's eyes narrowed toHe bowed low until his forehead touched the feet of the stranger Before the eyes of many priests, and warriors fro; ”fetch water and food for the Great God,” and thus the high priest acknowledged before his people the Godhood of Lieutenant Erich Obergatz, nor was it long before the story ran like wildfire through the palace and out into the city and beyond that to the lesser villages all the way from A-lur to Tu-lur

The real God had come-Jad-ben-Otho hih priest Mo-sar lost no ti hiht about his claiht consider himself fortunate were he allowed to remain in peaceful occupation of his chieftainshi+p at Tu-lur, nor was Mo-sar wrong in his deductions

But Lu-don could still use him and so he let him live and sent word to him to come to A-lur with all his warriors, for it was rureat arht

Obergatz thoroughly enjoyed being a God Plenty of food and peace of ht back to hi from him; but in one respect he was madder than ever, since now no power on earth would ever be able to convince him that he was not a God Slaves were put at his disposal and these he ordered about in Godly fashi+on The saround the mind of Lu-don, so that the two seeer a hty force ith to hold forever his power over all Pal-ul-don and thus the future of Obergatz was assured so long as he cared to play God to Lu-don's high priest

A throne was erected in the main teht sit in person and behold the sacrifices that were offered up to him there each day at sunset So much did the cruel, half-crazed mind enjoy these spectacles that at ti the sacrificial knife himself and upon such occasions the priests and the people fell upon their faces in awe of the dread deity

If Obergatz taught theht them to fear him as they never had before, so that the name of Jad-ben-Otho hispered in the city and little children were frightened into obedience by the h his priests and slaves, circulated the information that Jad-ben-Otho had commanded all his faithful followers to flock to the standard of the high priest at A-lur and that all others were cursed, especially Ja-don and the base impostor who had posed as the Dor-ul-Otho The curse was to take the for, and Lu-don caused it to be published abroad that the naht to hiht be deemed to be under suspicion, since the first effects of the curse would result in slight pains attacking the unholy He counseled those who felt pains to look carefully to their loyalty The result was remarkable and i into A-lur to offer their services to Lu-don while secretly hoping that the little pains they had felt in arravated form

22

A Journey on a Gryf

Tarzan and Jane skirted the shore of Jad-bal-lul and crossed the river at the head of the lake They moved in leisurely fashi+on with an eye to comfort and safety, for the ape-man, now that he had found his ain separate them, or delay or prevent their escape from Pal-ul-don How they were to recross the morass was a h to consider that matter when it became of more immediate moment Their hours were filled with the happiness and content of reunion after long separation; they had h e adventures, and no io unaccounted for since last they met

It was Tarzan's intention to choose a way above A-lur and the scattered Ho-don villages below it, passing about , in so far as possible, both the Ho-don and Waz-don, for in this area lay the neutral territory that was uninhabited by either Thus he would travel northwest until opposite the Kor-ul-JA where he planned to stop to pay his respects to Ound word of Pan-at-lee, and a plan Tarzan had for insuring her safe return to her people It was upon the third day of their journey and they had alh A-lur when Jane suddenly clutched Tarzan's are of a forest that they were approaching Beneath the shadows of the trees loonized

”What is it?” whispered Jane

”A GRYF,” replied the ape-man, ”and we have met him in the worst place that we could possibly have found There is not a large tree within a quarter of awhich he stands Coo back, Jane; I cannot risk it with you along The best we can do is to pray that he does not discover us”