Part 9 (2/2)
Tarzan looked up into her face ”Tantor is coht that he would rescue me; but I kno from his voice that he will slayout with the cunning of Sheeta, the panther, those ould hide from him, for Tantor is mad with the madness of love”
La knew only too well the insane ferocity of a bull elephant in MUST She knew that Tarzan had not exaggerated She knew that the devil in the cunning, cruel brain of the great beast h the forest for those who escaped its first charge, or the beast uess which
”I cannot love you, La,” said Tarzan in a low voice ”I do not knohy, for you are very beautiful I could not go back and live in Opar-I who have the whole broad jungle for e No, I cannot love you but I cannot see you die beneath the goring tusks of mad Tantor Cut my bonds before it is too late Already he is almost upon us Cut the smoke rose fro La stood there like a beautiful statue of despair gazing at Tarzan and at the spreading flarasp hi li down upon the uneasy They cast apprehensive glances in the direction of the approaching elephant and then back at La
”Fly!” she co her prisoner's feet and hands In an instant Tarzan was upon the ground The priests screae and disappoint step toward La and the ape-man ”Traitor!” He shrieked at the woeon he rushed upon the High Priestess; but Tarzan was there before her Leaping in to close quarters the ape-man seized the upraised weapon and wrenched it from the hands of the frenzied fanatic and then the priest closed upon hi the stocky, stunted body in his h above his head, hurling hiathered ready to bear down upon their erstwhile captive La stood proudly with ready knife behind the ape-hty disdain for her priests and adhts
Suddenly upon this scene burst the e tusker, his little eyes inflae The priests stood for an instant paralyzed with terror; but Tarzan turned and gathering La in his arms raced for the nearest tree Tantor bore down upon hi with both white arms about the ape-man's neck She felt hith and his ability as, burdened with her weight, he swung nie tree and quickly bore her upward beyond reach of the sinuous trunk of the pachydere elephant wheeled and bore down upon the hapless priests who had now scattered, terror-stricken, in every direction The nearest he gored and threw high a the branches of a tree One he seized in the coils of his trunk and broke upon a huge bole, dropping the , after another Two he trae feet and by then the others had disappeared into the jungle Now Tantor turned his attention once more to Tarzan for one of the symptoms of madness is a revulsion of affection-objects of sane love become the objects of insane hatred Peculiar in the unwritten annals of the jungle was the proverbial love that had existed between the ape-le would harani-the white-ape; but with the ht to destroy his long-time play-fellow
Back to the tree where La and Tarzan perched caainst the bole and reached high toward the trunk; but Tarzan had foreseen this and claest reach Failure but tended to further enrage the mad creature He bellowed and truhty voluainst the tree and pushed and the tree bent before his th; yet still it held
The actions of Tarzan were peculiar in the extreme Had Nule been seeking to destroy hi missiles and invectives at his assailant He would have insulted and taunted theate he kneell; but now he sat silent out of Tantor's reach and upon his handsome face was an expression of deep sorrow and pity, for of all the jungle folk Tarzan loved Tantor the best Could he have slain hi so His one idea was to escape, for he knew that with the passing of the MUST Tantor would be sane again and that once hty back andears
Finding that the tree would not fall to his pushi+ng, Tantor was but enraged the h above hi with insane hatred, and then he wound his trunk about the bole of the tree, spread his giant feet wide apart and tugged to uproot the jungle giant A huge creature was Tantor, an enorth Mightily he strove until presently, to Tarzan's consternation, the great tree gave slowly at the roots The ground rose in little es about the base of the bole, the tree tilted-in another moment it would be uprooted and fall
The ape-man whirled La to his back and just as the tree inclined slowly in its first movement out of the perpendicular, before the sudden rush of its final collapse, he swung to the branches of a lesser neighbor It was a long and perilous leap La closed her eyes and shuddered; but when she opened the onward through the forest Behind the with it the lesser trees in its path and then Tantor, realizing that his prey had escaped hi and followed at a rapid charge upon their trail
14
A Priestess But Yet a Wo to Tarzan in terror, though she e to look about her, to look down at the ground beneath and even to keep her eyes open during the wide, perilous swings from tree to tree, and then there came over her a sense of safety because of her confidence in the perfect physical creature in whose strength and nerve and agility her fate lay Once she raised her eyes to the burning sun and an God that she had not been per lashes ith tears A strange anomaly was La of Opar-a creature of circu emotions Now the cruel and bloodthirsty creature of a heartless God and again awoman filled with compassion and tenderness Soe and so; at once a virgin and a wanton; but always-a woman Such was La
She pressed her cheek close to Tarzan's shoulder Slowly she turned her head until her hot lips were pressed against his flesh She loved hiladly have died for hie a knife into his heart andhour
A hapless priest seeking shelter in the jungle chanced to show hireat beast turned to one side, bore down upon the crooked, little man, snuffed him out and then, diverted from his course, blundered away toward the south In a fewwas lost in the distance
Tarzan dropped to the ground and La slipped to her feet froether,” said Tarzan
”They will kill me,” replied La
”They will not kill you,” contradicted the ape-man ”No one will kill you while Tarzan of the Apes is here Call them and ill talk with them”
La raised her voice in a weird, flutelike call that carried far into the jungle on every side Fro tones of the Oparian priests: ”We coain, La repeated her sureater portion of her following approached and halted a short distance away fro brows and threatening mien When all had come Tarzan addressed them
”Your La is safe,” said the ape-man ”Had she slain me she would now herself be dead and ht save her Go your ith her back to Opar, and Tarzan will go his way into the jungle Let there be peace always between Tarzan and La What is your answer?”
The priests gruether and La and Tarzan could see that they were not favorably inclined toward the proposition They did not wish to take La back and they did wish to co God At last the ape-man became impatient
”You will obey the coo back to Opar with her or Tarzan of the Apes will call together the other creatures of the jungle and slay you all La saved ht save you and her I have served you better alive than I could have dead If you are not all fools you will let o my way in peace and you will return to Opar with La I know not where the sacred knife is; but you can fashi+on another Had I not taken it frolad that I took it since I have saved his priestess fro that no harether in a little knot arguing and discussing They pounded upon their breasts with their fists; they raised their hands and eyes to their fiery God; they growled and barked a themselves until it beca the acceptance of his proposal This was the High Priest whose heart was filled with jealous rage because La openly acknowledged her love for the stranger, when by the worldly custoly there was to be no solution of the proble his hand, addressed La