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strong hand and grasped him by the shoulder。



〃Wait!〃 said the ape…man to his captive。  〃This

gentleman wishes you; and so do I。 When I am through

with you; he may have you。  Tell me what has become of

my wife。〃



The Belgian officer eyed the almost naked; white giant

with curiosity。  He noted the strange contrast of

primitive weapons and apparel; and the easy; fluent

French which the man spoke。  The former denoted the

lowest; the latter the highest type of culture。  He

could not quite determine the social status of this

strange creature; but he knew that he did not relish

the easy assurance with which the fellow presumed to

dictate when he might take possession of the prisoner。



〃Pardon me;〃 he said; stepping forward and placing his

hand on Werper's other shoulder; 〃but this gentleman is

my prisoner。  He must come with me。〃



〃When I am through with him;〃 replied Tarzan; quietly。



The officer turned and beckoned to the soldiers

standing in the trail behind him。  A company of

uniformed blacks stepped quickly forward and pushing

past the three; surrounded the ape…man and his captive。



〃Both the law and the power to enforce it are upon my

side;〃 announced the officer。  〃Let us have no trouble。

If you have a grievance against this man you may return

with me and enter your charge regularly before an

authorized tribunal。〃



〃Your legal rights are not above suspicion; my friend;〃

replied Tarzan; 〃and your power to enforce your

commands are only apparentnot real。  You have

presumed to enter British territory with an armed

force。  Where is your authority for this invasion?

Where are the extradition papers which warrant the

arrest of this man?  And what assurance have you that I

cannot bring an armed force about you that will prevent

your return to the Congo Free State?〃



The Belgian lost his temper。  〃I have no disposition to

argue with a naked savage;〃 he cried。  〃Unless you wish

to be hurt you will not interfere with me。  Take the

prisoner; Sergeant!〃



Werper raised his lips close to Tarzan's ear。  〃Keep me

from them; and I can show you the very spot where I saw

your wife last night;〃 he whispered。  〃She cannot be

far from here at this very minute。〃



The soldiers; following the signal from their sergeant;

closed in to seize Werper。  Tarzan grabbed the Belgian

about the waist; and bearing him beneath his arm as he

might have borne a sack of flour; leaped forward in an

attempt to break through the cordon。  His right fist

caught the nearest soldier upon the jaw and sent him

hurtling backward upon his fellows。  Clubbed rifles

were torn from the hands of those who barred his way;

and right and left the black soldiers stumbled aside in

the face of the ape…man's savage break for liberty。



So completely did the blacks surround the two that they

dared not fire for fear of hitting one of their own

number; and Tarzan was already through them and upon

the point of dodging into the concealing mazes of the

jungle when one who had sneaked upon him from behind

struck him a heavy blow upon the head with a rifle。



In an instant the ape…man was down and a dozen black

soldiers were upon his back。  When he regained

consciousness he found himself securely bound; as was

Werper also。  The Belgian officer; success having

crowned his efforts; was in good humor; and inclined to

chaff his prisoners about the ease with which they had

been captured; but from Tarzan of the Apes he elicited

no response。  Werper; however; was voluble in his

protests。  He explained that Tarzan was an English

lord; but the officer only laughed at the assertion;

and advised his prisoner to save his breath for his

defense in court。



As soon as Tarzan regained his senses and it was found

that he was not seriously injured; the prisoners were

hastened into line and the return march toward the

Congo Free State boundary commenced。



Toward evening the column halted beside a stream; made

camp and prepared the evening meal。  From the thick

foliage of the nearby jungle a pair of fierce eyes

watched the activities of the uniformed blacks with

silent intensity and curiosity。  From beneath beetling

brows the creature saw the boma constructed; the fires

built; and the supper prepared。



Tarzan and Werper had been lying bound behind a small

pile of knapsacks from the time that the company had

halted; but with the preparation of the meal completed;

their guard ordered them to rise and come forward to

one of the fires where their hands would be unfettered

that they might eat。



As the giant ape…man rose; a startled expression of

recognition entered the eyes of the watcher in the

jungle; and a low guttural broke from the savage lips。

Instantly Tarzan was alert; but the answering growl

died upon his lips; suppressed by the fear that it

might arouse the suspicions of the soldiers。



Suddenly an inspiration came to him。  He turned toward

Werper。



〃I am going to speak to you in a loud voice and in a

tongue which you do not understand。  Appear to listen

intently to what I say; and occasionally mumble

something as though replying in the same languageour

escape may hinge upon the success of your efforts。〃



Werper nodded in assent and understanding; and

immediately there broke from the lips of his companion

a strange jargon which might have been compared with

equal propriety to the barking and growling of a dog

and the chattering of monkeys。



The nearer soldiers looked in surprise at the ape…man。

Some of them laughed; while others drew away in evident

superstitious fear。  The officer approached the

prisoners while Tarzan was still jabbering; and halted

behind them; listening in perplexed interest。  When

Werper mumbled some ridiculous jargon in reply his

curiosity broke bounds; and he stepped forward;

demanding to know what language it was that they spoke。



Tarzan had gauged the measure of the man's culture from

the nature and quality of his conversation during the

march; and he rested the success of his reply upon the

estimate he had made。



〃Greek;〃 he explained。



〃Oh; I thought it was Greek;〃 replied the officer; 〃but

it has been so many years since I studied it that I was

not sure。  In future; however; I will thank you to

speak in a language which I am more familiar with。〃



Werper turned his head to hide a grin; whispering to

Tarzan: 〃It was Greek to him all rightand to me; too。〃



But one of the black soldiers mumbled in a low voice to

a companion: 〃I have heard those sounds beforeonce at

night when I was lost in the jungle; I heard the hairy

men of the trees talking among themselves; and their

words were like the words of this white man。  I wish

that we had not found him。  He is not a man at allhe

is a bad spirit; and we shall have bad luck if we do

not let him go;〃 and the fellow rolled his eyes

fearfully toward the jungle。



His companion laughed nervously; and moved away; to

repeat the conversation; with variations and

exaggerations; to others of the black soldiery; so that

it was not long before a frightful tale of black magic

and sudden death was woven about the giant prisoner;

and had gone the rounds of the camp。



And deep in the gloomy jungle amidst the darkening

shadows of the falling night a hairy; manlike creature

swung swiftly southward upon some secret mission of his

own。







23



A Night of Terror





To Jane Clayton; waiting in the tree where Werper had

placed her; it seemed that the long night would never

end; yet end it did at last; and within an hour of the

coming of dawn her spirits leaped with renewed hope at

sight of a solitary horseman approaching along the

trail。



The flowing burnoose; with its loose hood; hid both the

face and the figure of the rider; but that it was M。

Frecoult the girl well knew; since he had been garbed

as an Arab; and he alone might be expected to seek her

hiding place。



That which she saw relieved the strain of the long

night vigil; but there was much that she did not see。

She did not see the black face beneath the white hood;

nor the file of ebon horsemen beyond the trail's bend

riding slowly in the wake of their leader。  These

things she did not see at first; and so she leaned

downward toward the approaching rider; a cry of welcome

forming in her throat。



At the first word the man looked up; reining in in

surprise; and as she saw the black face of Abdul

Mourak; the Abyssinian; she shrank back in terror among

the branches; but it was too late。  The man had seen

her; and now he called to her to descend。  At first she

refused; but when a dozen black cavalrymen drew up

behind their leader; and at Abdul Mourak's command one

of them started to climb the tree after her she

realized that resistance was futile; and came slowly

down to stand upon the ground before this n

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