Part 29 (2/2)
The girl, who had been half paralyzed by fear as the two ht to her probable fate now that, though released from the clutches of a madman, she had fallen into the hands of one who She looked about for so corridor was near at hand, but as she turned to dart into it the ape-man's eyes fell upon her, and with a quick leap he was at her side, and a restraining hand was laid upon her are of the tribe of Kerchak
The girl looked at him in astonishuage of the first man?”
”I am Tarzan of the Apes,” he answered in the vernacular of the anthropoids
”What do you want of me?” she continued ”For what purpose did you save me from Tha?”
”I could not see a woman murdered?” It was a half question that answered her
”But what do you intend to do with ,” he replied, ”but you can do so for me--you can lead estion without the slightest thought that she would accede He felt quite sure that the sacrifice would go on froh priestess had her way, though he was equally positive that they would find Tarzan of the Apes unbound and with a long dagger in his hand a much less tractable victi at hi moment before she spoke
”You are a very wonderful man,” she said ”You are such a irl You are such a ine the forbears of reat race of people who built this ht wrest from the bowels of the earth the fabulous wealth for which they had sacrificed their far-distant civilization
”I cannot understand why you came to my rescue in the first place, and now I cannot understand why, having ed uponalmost put you to death with my own hand”
”I presus of your religion I cannot blame YOU for that, no matter what I may think of your creed But who are you--what people have I fallen ah priestess of the Temple of the Sun, in the city of Opar
We are descendants of a people who cao in search of gold Their cities stretched froreat sea into which the sun descends at night to cool his fla brow They were very rich and very powerful, but they lived only a few nificent palaces here; the rest of the time they spent in their native land, far, far to the north
”Many shi+ps went back and forth between this neorld and the old
During the rainy season there were but few of the inhabitants re of the mines by the black slaves, and the merchants who had to stay to supply their wants, and the soldiers who guarded the cities and the reat cala thousands to return none caalley to learn why no one cah they sailed about for hty land that had for countless ages borne their ancient civilization--it had sunk into the sea
”From that day dated the downfall of my people Disheartened and unhappy, they soon became a prey to the black hordes of the north and the black hordes of the south One by one the cities were deserted or overcome The last rehty mountain fortress Sloe have dwindled in power, in civilization, in intellect, in nue apes
”In fact, the apes live with us, and have for e quite as much as we do our own; only in the rituals of the teue In tie of the apes; in tier banish those of our people who mate with apes, and so in tio our progenitors ”
”But why are you more human than the others?” asked the man
”For soery so rapidly as the men It may be because only the lower types of reat catastrophe, while the tehters of the race My strain has rees h priestesses--the sacred office descends frohter Our husbands are chosen for us from the noblest in the land The most perfect man, mentally and physically, is selected to be the husband of the high priestess”
”Frorin, ”there should be little trouble in choosing froirl looked at hiious,” she said ”They are very holy men--they are priests”
”Then there are others who are better to look upon?” he asked
”The others are all ly than the priests,” she replied
Tarzan shuddered at her fate, for even in the diht of the vault he was impressed by her beauty
”But how aboutto lead me to liberty?”