Part 8 (1/2)

Perhaps the blow upon his head had numbed his senses, temporarily-who h the reeds The rustling curtain of vegetation parted a few paces from where the sleeper lay, and the massive head of a lion appeared The beast surveyed the ape-man intently for a moment, then he crouched, his hind feet draell beneath hi fro of the beast's tail against the reeds which awakened Tarzan Jungle folk do not awaken slowly-instantly, full consciousness and full command of their every faculty returns to them from the depth of profound slumber

Even as Tarzan opened his eyes he was upon his feet, his spear grasped firain was he Tarzan of the Apes, sentient, vigilant, ready

No two lions have identical characteristics, nor does the same lion invariably act similarly under like circumstances Whether it was surprise, fear or caution which pro upon the man, is iinal design, he did not spring at theback into the reeds as Tarzan arose and confronted hied his broad shoulders and looked about for his companion Werper was nowhere to be seen At first Tarzan suspected that the ed off by another lion, but upon exaian had gone away alone out into the plain

For a moment he was puzzled; but presently cahtened by the approach of the lion, and had sneaked off in terror A sneer touched Tarzan's lips as he pondered the er, and without warning Well, if that was the sort of creature Werper was, Tarzan wished nothing one, and for all the ape-ht remain away-Tarzan would not search for hie tree, alone upon the edge of the reedy jungle Tarzana co its branches, reposed hi

And whenafter the sun had risen His mind, reverted to the priations than those of providing sustenance, and safeguarding his life Therefore, there was nothing to awaken for until danger threatened, or the pangs of hunger assailed It was the latter which eventually aroused hiiant thews, yawned, rose and gazed about hie of his retreat Across the wasted meadowlands and fields of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, Tarzan of the Apes looked, as a stranger, upon the ures of Basuli and his braves as they prepared theirmeal and made ready to set out upon the expedition which Basuli had planned after discovering the havoc and disaster which had befallen the estate of his dead master

The ape-man eyed the blacks with curiosity In the back of his brain loitered a fleeting sense of familiarity with all that he saw, yet he could not connect any of the various forms of life, anie of his vision since he had eed from the darkness of the pits of Opar, with any particular event of the past

Hazily he recalled a griue tenderness doled for recognition His ure of the giant she-ape, Kala, that he saw; but only half recognized He saw, too, other grotesque, manlike forms They were of Terkoz, Tublat, Kerchak, and a sure, that was Neeta, the little playmate of his boyhood

Slowly, very slowly, as these visions of the past aninize the themselves nicely to the various incidents of his life hich they had been inti the apes spread itself in a slow panorahty longing for the coy, loed brutes of his past

He watched the blacks scatter their cook fire and depart; but though the face of each of them had but recently been as familiar to him as his own, they awakened within hione, he descended frorazed numerous herds of wild ruminants Toward a sleek, fat bunch of zebra he wor caused him to circle widely until he was doind froe of every form of cover as he crawled upon all fours and often flat upon his sto razed nearest to hiain it was instinct which selected the forrew but a few yards froathered his spear firrasp Cautiously he drew his feet beneath hile swift move he rose and cast his heavy weapon at the mare's side Nor did he wait to note the effect of his assault, but leaped cat-like after his spear, his hunting knife in his hand

For an instant the two ani of the cruel barb into her side brought a sudden screaht from the mare, and then they both wheeled and broke for safety; but Tarzan of the Apes, for a distance of a few yards, could equal the speed of even these, and the first stride of the e beast at her shoulder She turned, biting and kicking at her foe Her h about to rush to her assistance; but a backward glance revealed to hi heels of the balance of the herd, and with a snort and a shake of his head he wheeled and dashed away

Clinging with one hand to the short ain with his knife at the unprotected heart The result had, froht bravely, but hopelessly, and presently sank to the earth, her heart pierced The ape-man placed a foot upon her carcass and raised his voice in the victory call of the Mangani In the distance, Basuli halted as the faint notes of the hideous screareat apes,” he said to his co since I have heard theht theed it to the partial seclusion of the bush which had hidden his own near approach, and there he squatted upon it, cut a huge hunk of flesh froer with the war meat

Attracted by the shrill screams of the mare, a pair of hyenas slunk presently into view They trotted to a point a few yards fro ape-s and growled The hyenas returned the compliment, and withdrew a couple of paces They made no move to attack; but continued to sit at a respectful distance until Tarzan had concluded his meal After the ape-man had cut a few strips from the carcass to carry with him, he walked slowly off in the direction of the river to quench his thirst His way lay directly toward the hyenas, nor did he alter his course because of them

With all the lordly rowling beasts For aand defiant; but only for a moment, and then slunk away to one side while the indifferent ape-man passed the at the remains of the zebra

Back to the reeds went Tarzan, and through them toward the river A herd of buffalo, startled by his approach, rose ready to charge or to fly A great bull pawed the ground and bellowed as his bloodshot eyes discovered the intruder; but the ape-norant of their existence The bull's bellowing lessened to a low ru, he turned and scraped a horde of flies frolance at the ape- His nu after Tarzan in mild-eyed curiosity, until the opposite reeds sed him from view

At the river, Tarzan drank his fill and bathed During the heat of the day he lay up under the shade of a tree near the ruins of his burned barns His eyes wandered out across the plain toward the forest, and a longing for the pleasures of its hts for a considerable time With the next sun he would cross the open and enter the forest! There was no hurry-there lay before hiht to fill the of the appetites and caprices of the ret for the past, or aspiration for the future He could lie at full length along a swaying branch, stretching his giant lihtlessness, without an apprehension or a worry to sap his nervous energy and rob hi only dimly any other existence, the ape-man was happy Lord Greystoke had ceased to exist

For several hours Tarzan lolled upon his swaying, leafy couch until once again hunger and thirst suggested an excursion Stretching lazily he dropped to the ground and aes of use a deep, narrow trench, its walls topped on either side by i trees closely interwoven with thick-stemmed creepers and lesser vines inextricably etation Tarzan had almost reached the point where the trail debouched upon the open river botto the path from the direction of the river The ape-rown, and four young lions as large and quite as for, and the lions paused, the greatroar In his hand the ape- his puny weapon against seven lions; yet he stood there growling and roaring and the lions did likewise It was purely an exhibition of jungle bluff Each was trying to frighten off the other Neither wished to turn back and give way, nor did either at first desire to precipitate an encounter The lions were fed sufficiently so as not to be goaded by pangs of hunger and as for Tarzan he seldom ate the meat of the carnivores; but a point of ethics was at stake and neither side wished to back down So they stood there facing one another, le invective back and forth How long this bloodless duel would have persisted it is difficult to say, though eventually Tarzan would have been forced to yield to superior numbers

There came, however, an interruption which put an end to the deadlock and it ca soabove their concerted bedlareat bulk bearing down upon him from behind until an instant before it was upon him, and then he turned to see Buto, the rhinoceros, his little, pig eyes blazing, charging madly toward him and already so close that escape seemed impossible; yet so perfectly were mind and muscles coordinated in this unspoiled, primitive man that almost sier he wheeled and hurled his spear at Buto's chest It was a heavy spear shod with iron, and behind it were the giantto ht of Buto and the momentum of his rapid rush All that happened in the instant that Tarzan turned toto tell, and yet would have taxed the swiftest lens to record As his spear left his hand the ape-hty horn lowered to toss him, so close was Buto to him The spear entered the rhinoceros' neck at its junction with the left shoulder and passed alh the beast's body, and at the instant that he launched it, Tarzan leaped straight into the air alighting upon Buto's back but escaping the hty horn

Then Buto espied the lions and bore madly down upon theled creepers at one side of the trail The first lion h over the back of thelions were upon the rhinoceros, rending and tearing the while they were being gored or trampled From the safety of his perch Tarzan watched the royal battle with the keenest interest, for the le folk are interested in such encounters They are to the, the theater and the movies are to us They see them often; but always they enjoy them for no two are precisely alike