Part 15 (1/2)

A two days' ht them to a level plain beyond which lay mountains-a plain which Tarzan reue half s Out upon the plain the horsemen rode, and at a safe distance behind theround afforded

Beside a charred pile of ti close and concealing himself in nearby shrubbery, watched the up the earth, and he wondered if they had hidden meat there in the past and now had come for it Then he recalled how he had buried his pretty pebbles, and the suggestion that had caused his the blacks had buried here!

Presently he saw them uncover a dirty, yellow object, and he witnessed the joy of Werper and of Abdul Mourak as the grimy object was exposed to view One by one they unearthed many similar pieces, all of the saround, a pile which Abdul Mourak fondled and petted in an ecstasy of greed

So upon the golden ingots Where had he seen such before? What were they? Why did these Tar?

He recalled the black sthem as he had stolen Tarzan's pouch of pebbles The ape-er He would like to find the black ainst these thieves He wondered where their village h the active e of the plain and advanced toward the ruins of the burned bungalow

Abdul Mourak, alatchful, was the first to see them, but already they were halfway across the open He called to his men to mount and hold themselves in readiness, for in the heart of Africa who e host be friend or foe?

Werper, swinging into his saddle, fastened his eyes upon the newco he turned toward Abdul Mourak

”It is Achmet Zek and his raiders,” he whispered ”They are coold”

It must have been at about the saots and realized the actuality of what he had already feared since first his eyes had alighted upon the party beside the ruins of the Englishalow Someone had forestalled him-another had come for the treasure ahead of hi had gone against hiian, and for the second tilishwoman Now soht as safe froh it never had been ht be They would not give up the gold without a battle, of that he was certain, and with a hoop and a command to his followers, Achmet Zek put spurs to his horse and dashed down upon the Abyssinians, and after hi and cursing, came his motley horde of cut-throat followers

The men of Abdul Mourak met them with a volley which e the itsWerper at the first charge, bore down upon the Belgian, and the latter, terrified by contemplation of the fate he deserved, turned his horse's head and dashedto a lieutenant to take co hi the gold back to his caian, his wicked nature unable to forego the pleasures of revenge, even at the risk of sacrificing the treasure

As the pursued and the pursuer raced ed with bloody savageness No quarter was asked or given by either the ferocious Abyssinians or the murderous cut-throats of Achmet Zek

Frouinary conflict which so effectually surrounded hiht escape to follow Werper and the Arab chief

The Abyssinians were formed in a circle which included Tarzan's position, and around and into the in to deliver thrusts and cuts with their curved swords

Numerically the men of Achmet Zek were superior, and slowly but surely the soldiers of Menelek were being exterminated To Tarzan the result was ile purpose-to escape the ring of blood-ian and his pouch

When he had first discovered Werper upon the trail where he had slain Bara, he had thought that his eyeshim false, so certain had he been that the thief had been slain and devoured by Nu the detachian, he no longer doubted the identity of the h he was put to it to explain the identity of the ht

As he crouched in hiding a the unkeht and pride of the wife he no longer recalled, an Arab and an Abyssinian wheeled their mounts close to his position as they slashed at each other with their swords

Step by step the Arab beat back his adversary until the latter's horse all but trod upon the ape-man, and then a vicious cut clove the black warrior's skull, and the corpse toppled backward almost upon Tarzan

As the Abyssinian tumbled from his saddle the possibility of escape which was represented by the riderless horse electrified the ape-ather hi hand had grasped his bridle rein, and the surprised Arab discovered a new foe in the saddle of him, whom he had slain

But this enemy wielded no sword, and his spear and bow remained upon his back The Arab, recovered from his first surprise, dashed in with raised sword to annihilate this presuhty blow at the ape-h thin air as Tarzan ducked from its path, and then the Arab felt the other's horse brushi+ng his leg, a great arm shot out and encircled his waist, and before he could recover hi a shi+eld for his antagonist was borne at aranks of his fellows

Just beyond theround, and the last he saw of his strange foe off across the plain in the direction of the forest at its farther edge