Part 14 (1/2)

And as he delivered his instructions to those within, a silent listener crouched without his tent, waiting for the tiht enter in safety and prosecute his search for the ht his fancy

At last the swarthy companions of Achmet Zek quitted his tent, and the leader ith the his own silken habitation unguarded Scarcely had they left the interior when a knife blade was thrust through the fabric of the rear wall, soround, and a swift doard stroke opened an entrance to those aited beyond

Through the opening stepped the ape-lat did not follow theh the darkness toward the hut where the she who had arrested his brutish interest lay securely bound Before the doorway the sentries sat upon their haunches, conversing inh utter hopelessness to whatever fate lay in store for her until the opportunity arrived which would permit her to free herself by the only means which now seemed even remotely possible-the hitherto detested act of self-destruction

Creeping silently toward the sentries, a white-burnoosed figure approached the shadows at one end of the hut The e it uise Where it could have walked boldly to the very sides of the sentries, it chose rather to sneak upon them, unseen, from the rear

It came to the corner of the hut and peered around The sentries were but a few paces away; but the ape did not dare expose himself, even for an instant, to those feared and hated thunder-sticks which the Tarani kneell how to use, if there were another and safer lat wished that there was a tree nearby fro upon his unsuspecting prey; but, though there was no tree, the idea gave birth to a plan The eaves of the hut were just above the heads of the sentries-froani, unseen A quick snap of those hty jaould dispose of one of them before the other realized that they were attacked, and the second would fall an easy prey to the strength, agility and ferocity of a second quick charge

Taglat withdrew a few paces to the rear of the hut, gathered hih into the air He struck the roof directly above the rear wall of the hut, and the structure, reinforced by the wall beneath, held his enorht for an instant, then heparted and the great anthropoid shot through into the interior

The sentries, hearing the crashi+ng of the roof poles, leaped to their feet and rushed into the hut Jane Clayton tried to roll aside as the great form lit upon the floor so close to her that one foot pinned her clothing to the ground

The ape, feeling the irl in the hollow of one hty arm The burnoose covered the hairy body so that Jane Clayton believed that a human arreat hope sprang into her breast that at last she was in the keeping of a rescuer

The two sentries were noithin the hut, but hesitating because of doubt as to the nature of the cause of the disturbance Their eyes, not yet accusto, nor did they hear any sound, for the ape stood silently awaiting their attack

Seeing that they stood without advancing, and realizing that, handicapped as he was by the weight of the she, he could put up but a poor battle, Taglat elected to risk a sudden break for liberty Lowering his head, he charged straight for the two sentries who blocked the doorway The ihty shoulders bowled them over upon their backs, and before they could scra in the shadows of the huts toward the palisade at the far end of the village

The speed and strength of her rescuer filled Jane Clayton onder Could it be that Tarzan had survived the bullet of the Arab? Who else in all the jungle could bear the weight of a groohtly as he who held her? She spoke his naive up hope

At the palisade the beast did not even hesitate A single hty leap carried it to the top, where it poised but for an instant before dropping to the ground upon the opposite side Now the girl was almost positive that she was safe in the arms of her husband, and when the ape took to the trees and bore her swiftly into the jungle, as Tarzan had done at other times in the past, belief becalade, a mile or so from the caround His roughness surprised her, but still she had no doubts Again she called hi under the restraints of the unaccustoani, tore the burnoose fro to the eyes of the horror-struck woiant anthropoid

With a piteous wail of terror, Jane Clayton swooned, while, from the concealrily and licked his chops

Tarzan, entering the tent of Achhly He tore the bed to pieces and scattered the contents of box and bag about the floor He investigated whatever his eyes discovered, nor did those keen organs overlook a single article within the habitation of the raider chief; but no pouch or pretty pebbles rewarded his thoroughness

Satisfied at last that his belongings were not in the possession of Achmet Zek, unless they were on the person of the chief himself, Tarzan decided to secure the person of the she before further prosecuting his search for the pouch

Motioning for Chulk to follow him, he passed out of the tent by the sah the village, made directly for the hut where Jane Clayton had been ilat, who him outside the tent of Achmet Zek; but, accustoave no serious attention to the present defection of his surly colat did not cause interference with his plans, Tarzan was indifferent to his absence

As he approached the hut, the ape-man noticed that a crowd had collected about the entrance He could see that thelest Chulk's disguise should prove inadequate to the concealment of his true identity in the face of so many observers, he coe, and there await hi to the shadows, Tarzan advanced boldly toward the excited group before the doorway of the hut He led with the blacks and the Arabs in an endeavor to learn the cause of the co that he alone of the asseht beco his way through the crowd he approached the doorway, and had almost reached it when one of the Arabs laid a hand upon his shoulder, crying: ”Who is this?” at the sa back the hood from the ape-e life had never been accustoonist The pries ument is not one of them, nor did he noaste precious time in an attempt to convince the raiders that he was not a wolf in sheep's clothing Instead he had his unmasker by the throat ere thehim from side to side brushed away those ould have swar the Arab as a weapon, Tarzan forced his way quickly to the doorway, and a moment later ithin the hut A hasty examination revealed the fact that it was empty, and his sense of slat, the ape Tarzan uttered a low, o forward at the doorway to seize hie smote upon their ears They looked at one another in surprise and consternation A man had entered the hut alone, and yet with their own ears they had heard the voice of a wild beast within What could it ht sanctuary in the interior, unbeknown to the sentries?

Tarzan's quick eyes discovered the opening in the roof, through which Taglat had fallen He guessed that the ape had either coone by way of the break, and while the Arabs hesitated without, he sprang, catlike, for the opening, grasped the top of the wall and claround at the rear of the hut

When the Arabs finallyseveral volleys through the walls, they found the interior deserted At the saht for Chulk; but the ape was nowhere to be found