Part 12 (2/2)

Abdul raised hile-trained ears, and presently there cah the sand to the east of him, to the west, to the north, and to the south They had been surrounded Then a shot ca, a bullet whirred through the air above his head, and he fired at the flash of the eneun

Instantly the soundless waste was torn with the quick staccato of guns upon every hand Abdul and Tarzan fired only at the flashes--they could not yet see their foemen Presently it beca their position, drawing closer and closer in as they began to realize the paltry numbers of the party which opposed them

But one ca his eyes in the darkness of the jungle night, than which there is no rave, and with a cry of pain a saddle was e, Abdul,” said Tarzan, with a low laugh

But they were still far too one-sided, and when the five reed full upon the of the battle Both Tarzan and Abdul sprang to the shelter of the rocks, that they ht keep the ene hoofs, a volley of shots from both sides, and the Arabs withdrew to repeat the ainst the two

For a fewblackness Tarzan could not tell whether the Arabs, satisfied with their losses, had given up the fight, or aiting farther along the road to waylay them as they proceeded on toward Bou Saada But he was not left long in doubt, for now all froe But scarcely had the first gun spoken ere a dozen shots rang out behind the Arabs There came the wild shouts of a new party to the controversy, and the pounding of the feet of many horses from down the road to Bou Saada

The Arabs did not wait to learn the identity of the onco volley as they dashed by the position which Tarzan and Abdul were holding, they plunged off along the road toward Sidi Aissa A moment later Kadour ben Saden and his men dashed up

The old sheik was much relieved to find that neither Tarzan nor Abdul had received a scratch Not even had their horses been wounded They sought out the twothat both were dead, left them where they lay

”Why did you not tellthose fellows?” asked the sheik in a hurt tone ”We ht have had them all if the seven of us had stopped to meet them”

”Then it would have been useless to stop at all,” replied Tarzan, ”for had we simply ridden on toward Bou Saada they would have been upon us presently, and all could have been engaged It was to prevent the transfer of my own quarrel to another's shoulders that Abdul and I stopped off to question thehter--I could not be the cause of exposing her needlessly to the ed his shoulders He did not relish having been cheated out of a fight

The little battle so close to Bou Saada had drawn out a company of soldiers Tarzan and his party e halted thenificance of the shots

”A handful of marauders,” replied Kadour ben Saden ”They attacked two of our number who had dropped behind, but e returned to them the fellows soon dispersed They left two dead None of my party was injured”

This see the names of the party heback the dead men for purposes of identification, if possible

Two days later, Kadour ben Saden, with his daughter and followers, rode south through the pass below Bou Saada, bound for their hoed Tarzan to accoirl had added her entreaties to those of her father; but, though he could not explain it to thee after the happenings of the past few days, so that he could not think of leaving his post for an instant But he promised to come later if it lay within his power to do so, and they had to content the these two days Tarzan had spent practically all his tihter He was keenly interested in this race of stern and dignified warriors, and embraced the opportunity which their friendshi+p offered to learn what he could of their lives and custouage under the pleasant tutorage of the brown-eyed girl It ith real regret that he saw the to the pass, as far as which he had acco as he could catch a glimpse of them

Here were people after his own heart! Their wild, rough lives, filled with danger and hardshi+p, appealed to this half-savagehad appealed to hireat cities he had visited Here was a life that excelled even that of the jungle, for here he ht have the society of men--real men whom he could honor and respect, and yet be near to the wild nature that he loved In his head revolved an idea that when he had con and return to live for the remainder of his life with the tribe of Kadour ben Saden

Then he turned his horse's head and rode slowly back to Bou Saada

The front of the Hotel du Petit Sahara, where Tarzan stopped in Bou Saada, is taken up with the bar, two dining-roo-rooms open directly off the bar, and one of thearrison As you stand in the barroo-rooms if you wish

It was to the bar that Tarzan repaired after speeding Kadour ben Saden and his party on their way It was yet early in the , for Kadour ben Saden had elected to ride far that day, so that it happened that when Tarzan returned there were guests still at breakfast

As his casual glance wandered into the officers' dining-rooht a look of interest to his eyes Lieutenant Gernois was sitting there, and as Tarzan looked a white-robed Arab approached and, bending, whispered a feords into the lieutenant's ear Then he passed on out of the building through another door

In itself the thing was nothing, but as the ht of so of the man's burnoose had revealed--he carried his left ar

Chapter 9

Numa ”El Adrea”