Part 14 (2/2)
Tarzan had heard of the respect in which Arabs held a lion-killer, and he was not sorry that chance had played into his hands thus favorably to relieve him of the petty tortures of the tribe Shortly after this he was taken to a goat-skin tent upon the upper side of the DOUAR
There he was fed, and then, securely bound, was left lying on a piece of native carpet, alone in the tent
He could see a guard sitting before the door of his frail prison, but when he attempted to force the stout bonds that held him he realized that any extra precaution on the part of his captors was quite unnecessary; not even his giant muscles could part those numerous strands
Just before dusk several men approached the tent where he lay, and entered it All were in Arab dress, but presently one of the number advanced to Tarzan's side, and as he let the folds of cloth that had hidden the lower half of his face fall away the ape-man saw the malevolent features of Nikolas Rokoff There was a nasty smile on the bearded lips ”Ah, Monsieur Tarzan,” he said, ”this is indeed a pleasure But why do you not rise and greet your guest?” Then, with an ugly oath, ”Get up, you dog!” and, drawing back his booted foot, he kicked Tarzan heavily in the side ”And here is another, and another, and another,” he continued, as he kicked Tarzan about the face and side ”One for each of the injuries you have done n to look upon the Russian again after the first glance of recognition Finally the sheik, who had been standing awitness of the cowardly attack, intervened
”Stop!” he commanded ”Kill him if you will, but I will see no brave nities in my presence I have half ayou would kick him then”
This threat put a sudden end to Rokoff's brutality, for he had no craving to see Tarzan loosed from his bonds while he ithin reach of those powerful hands
”Very well,” he replied to the Arab; ”I shall kill him presently”
”Not within the precincts of my DOUAR,” returned the sheik ”When he leaves here he leaves alive What you do with him in the desert is none of my concern, but I shall not have the blood of a Frenchman on the hands of my tribe on account of another man's quarrel--they would send soldiers here and kill many of my people, and burn our tents and drive away our flocks”
”As you say,” growled Rokoff ”I'll take him out into the desert below the DOUAR, and dispatch him”
”You will take him a day's ride from my country,” said the sheik, firmly, ”and some of my children shall follow you to see that you do not disobey me--otherwise there ed ”Then I shall have to wait until the morrow--it is already dark”
”As you will,” said the sheik ”But by an hour after dawn youfor unbelievers, and none at all for a coward”
Rokoff would have made some kind of retort, but he checked himself, for he realized that it would require but little excuse for the old ether they left the tent At the door Rokoff could not resist the te taunt at Tarzan
”Sleep well, et to pray well, for when you die toony that you will be unable to pray for blasphe Tarzan either food or water since noon, and consequently he suffered considerably frouard for water, but afterany response, he decided that it would not
Far up in the mountains he heard a lion roar How much safer one was, he soliloquized, in the haunts of wild beasts than in the haunts of le life had he been more relentlessly tracked down than in the past fewcivilized ain the lion roared It sounded a little nearer Tarzan felt the old, wild ie of his kind His kind?
He had aled at his bonds God, if he could but get the teeth of his He felt a ave of ain his libertyal down into the desert to hunt It was the roar of a hungry lion Tarzan envied hihter hialled the ape-man He did not fear to die, no--it was the humiliation of defeat before death, without even a chance to battle for his life
It ht Tarzan He had several hours to live Possibly he would yet find a way to take Rokoff with hie lord of the desert quite close by now Possibly he sought histhe penned anined, then Tarzan's trained ears caught the sound of a stealthilybody It came from the side of the tent nearest the mountains--the back Nearer and nearer it ca intently, for it to pass For a time there was silence without, such a terrible silence that Tarzan was surprised that he did not hear the breathing of the ani close to the back wall of his tent
There! It is ain Closer it creeps Tarzan turns his head in the direction of the sound It is very dark within the tent
Slowly the back rises froround, forced up by the head and shoulders of a body that looks all black in the selirim smile plays about Tarzan's lips At least Rokoff will be cheated How mad he will be! And death will be more merciful than he could have hoped for at the hands of the Russian