Part 30 (1/2)
”You have been chosen by The Fla God as his own,” she answered solemnly ”Not even I have the power to save you--should they find you again But I do not intend that they shall find you You risked your life to save mine I may do no less for you It will be no easy matter--it may require days; but in the end I think that I can lead you beyond the walls Come, they will look here for ether we shall both be lost--they would kill me did they think that I had proved false to my God”
”You must not take the risk, then,” he said quickly ”I will return to the teht my way to freedom there will be no suspicion thrown upon you”
But she would not have it so, and finally persuaded hi that they had already re upon her even if they returned to the temple
”I will hide you, and then return alone,” she said, ”telling the unconscious after you killed Tha, and that I do not knohither you escaped”
And so she led hiloom, until finally they caht filtered through a stone grating in the ceiling
”This is the Cha here for you--they would not dare I will return after it is dark By that time I one, and Tarzan of the Apes was left alone in the Cha-dead city of Opar
Chapter 21
The Castaways
Clayton dreahtful drafts of fresh water With a start he gained consciousness to find hi upon his body and his upturned face A heavy tropical shoas beating down upon them He opened his thened that he was enabled to raise his lay Monsieur Thuran A few feet aft Jane Porter was huddled in a pitiful little heap in the bottom of the boat--she was quite still Clayton knew that she was dead
After infinite labor he released hith crawled toward the girl He raised her head froht be life in that poor, starved frame even yet He could not quite abandon all hope, and so he seized a water-soaked rag and squeezed the precious drops between the swollen lips of the hideous thing that had but a few short days before gloith the resplendent life of happy youth and glorious beauty
For so aniht tremor of the half-closed lids He chafed the thin hands, and forced a few irl opened her eyes, looking up at his
”Water?” she whispered ”Are we saved?”
”It is raining,” he explained ”We may at least drink Already it has revived us both”
”Monsieur Thuran?” she asked ”He did not kill you Is he dead?”
”I do not know,” replied Clayton ”If he lives and this rain revives hi too late that he irl already had endured
But she guessed what he would have said
”Where is he?” she asked
Clayton nodded his head toward the prostrate form of the Russian For a time neither spoke
”I will see if I can revive hith
”No,” she whispered, extending a detaining hand toward hiiven hi, let him die Do not leave me alone in this boat with that beast”
Clayton hesitated His honor demanded that he attempt to revive Thuran, and there was the possibility, too, that the Russian was beyond huhting out his battle he presently raised his eyes frounwale of the boat he staggered weakly to his feet with a little cry of joy
”Land, Jane!” he alh his cracked lips ”Thank God, land!”
The girl looked, too, and there, not a hundred yards away, she saw a yellow beach, and, beyond, the luxurious foliage of a tropical jungle