Chapter 25
Through the Forest Primeval
For a brief, sickening moment Tarzan felt the slipping of the rope towhich he clung, and heard the scraping of the block of stone againstthe masonry above.
Then of a sudden the rope was still--the stone had caught at the veryedge. Gingerly the ape-man clambered up the frail rope. In a momenthis head was above the edge of the shaft. The court was empty. Theinhabitants of Opar were viewing the sacrifice. Tarzan could hear thevoice of La from the nearby sacrificial court. The dance had ceased.It must be almost time for the knife to fall; but even as he thoughtthese things he was running rapidly toward the sound of the highpriestess' voice.
Fate guided him to the very doorway of the great roofless chamber.Between him and the altar was the long row of priests and priestesses,awaiting with their golden cups the spilling of the warm blood of theirvictim. La's hand was descending slowly toward the bosom of the frail,quiet figure that lay stretched upon the hard stone. Tarzan gave agasp that was almost a sob as he recognized the features of the girl heloved. And then the scar upon his forehead turned to a flaming band ofscarlet, a red mist floated before his eyes, and, with the awful roarof the bull ape gone mad, he sprang like a huge lion into the midst ofthe votaries.
Seizing a cudgel from the nearest priest, he laid about him like averitable demon as he forged his rapid way toward the altar. The handof La had paused at the first noise of interruption. When she saw whothe author of it was she went white. She had never been able to fathomthe secret of the strange white man's escape from the dungeon in whichshe had locked him. She had not intended that he should ever leaveOpar, for she had looked upon his giant frame and handsome face withthe eyes of a woman and not those of a priestess.
In her clever mind she had concocted a story of wonderful revelationfrom the lips of the flaming god himself, in which she had been orderedto receive this white stranger as a messenger from him to his people onearth. That would satisfy the people of Opar, she knew. The man wouldbe satisfied, she felt quite sure, to remain and be her husband ratherthan to return to the sacrificial altar.
But when she had gone to explain her plan to him he had disappeared,though the door had been tightly locked as she had left it. And now hehad returned--materialized from thin air--and was killing her priestsas though they had been sheep. For the moment she forgot her victim,and before she could gather her wits together again the huge white manwas standing before her, the woman who had lain upon the altar in hisarms.
"One side, La," he cried. "You saved me once, and so I would not harmyou; but do not interfere or attempt to follow, or I shall have to killyou also."
As he spoke he stepped past her toward the entrance to the subterraneanvaults.
"Who is she?" asked the high priestess, pointing at the unconsciouswoman.
"She is mine," said Tarzan of the Apes.
For a moment the girl of Opar stood wide-eyed and staring. Then a lookof hopeless misery suffused her eyes--tears welled into them, and witha little cry she sank to the cold floor, just as a swarm of frightfulmen dashed past her to leap upon the ape-man.
But Tarzan of the Apes was not there when they reached out to seizehim. With a light bound he had disappeared into the passage leading tothe pits below, and when his pursuers came more cautiously after theyfound the chamber empty, they but laughed and jabbered to one another,for they knew that there was no exit from the pits other than the onethrough which he had entered. If he came out at all he must come thisway, and they would wait and watch for him above.
And so Tarzan of the Apes, carrying the unconscious Jane Porter, camethrough the pits of Opar beneath the temple of The Flaming God withoutpursuit. But when the men of Opar had talked further about the matter,they recalled to mind that this very man had escaped once before intothe pits, and, though they had watched the entrance he had not comeforth; and yet today he had come upon them from the outside. Theywould again send fifty men out into the valley to find and capture thisdesecrater of their temple.
After Tarzan reached the shaft beyond the broken wall, he felt sopositive of the successful issue of his flight that he stopped toreplace the tumbled stones, for he was not anxious that any of theinmates should discover this forgotten passage, and through it comeupon the treasure chamber. It was in his mind to return again to Oparand bear away a still greater fortune than he had already buried in theamphitheater of the apes.
On through the passageways he trotted, past the first door and throughthe treasure vault; past the second door and into the long, straighttunnel that led to the lofty hidden exit beyond the city. Jane Porterwas still unconscious.
At the crest of the great bowlder he halted to cast a backward glancetoward the city. Coming across the plain he saw a band of the hideousmen of Opar. For a moment he hesitated. Should he descend and make arace for the distant cliffs, or should he hide here until night? Andthen a glance at the girl's white face determined him. He could notkeep her here and permit her enemies to get between them and liberty.For aught he knew they might have been followed through the tunnels,and to have foes before and behind would result in almost certaincapture, since he could not fight his way through the enemy burdened ashe was with the unconscious girl.
To descend the steep face of the bowlder with Jane Porter was no easytask, but by binding her across his shoulders with the grass rope hesucceeded in reaching the ground in safety before the Oparians arrivedat the great rock. As the descent had been made upon the side awayfrom the city, the searching party saw nothing of it, nor did theydream that their prey was so close before them.
By keeping the KOPJE between them and their pursuers, Tarzan of theApes managed to cover nearly a mile before the men of Opar rounded thegranite sentinel and saw the fugitive before them. With loud cries ofsavage delight, they broke into a mad run, thinking doubtless that theywould soon overhaul the burdened runner; but they both underestimatedthe powers of the ape-man and overestimated the possibilities of theirown short, crooked legs.
By maintaining an easy trot, Tarzan kept the distance between themalways the same. Occasionally he would glance at the face so near hisown. Had it not been for the faint beating of the heart pressed soclose against his own, he would not have known that she was alive, sowhite and drawn was the poor, tired face.
And thus they came to the flat-topped mountain and the barrier cliffs.During the last mile Tarzan had let himself out, running like a deerthat he might have ample time to descend the face of the cliffs beforethe Oparians could reach the summit and hurl rocks down upon them. Andso it was that he was half a mile down the mountainside ere the fiercelittle men came panting to the edge.
With cries of rage and disappointment they ranged along the cliff topshaking their cudgels, and dancing up and down in a perfect passion ofanger. But this time they did not pursue beyond the boundary of theirown country. Whether it was because they recalled the futility oftheir former long and irksome search, or after witnessing the ease withwhich the ape-man swung along before them, and the last burst of speed,they realized the utter hopelessness of further pursuit, it isdifficult to say; but as Tarzan reached the woods that began at thebase of the foothills which skirted the barrier cliffs they turnedtheir faces once more toward Opar.
Just within the forest's edge, where he could yet watch the cliff tops,Tarzan laid his burden upon the grass, and going to the near-by rivuletbrought water with which he bathed her face and hands; but even thisdid not revive her, and, greatly worried, he gathered the girl into hisstrong arms once more and hurried on toward the west.
Late in the afternoon Jane Porter regained consciousness. She did notopen her eyes at once--she was trying to recall the scenes that she hadlast witnessed. Ah, she remembered now. The altar, the terriblepriestess, the descending knife. She gave a little shudder, for shethought that either this was death or that the knife had buried itselfin her heart and she was experiencing the brief delirium precedingdeath. And when finally she muste
red courage to open her eyes, thesight that met them confirmed her fears, for she saw that she was beingborne through a leafy paradise in the arms of her dead love. "If thisbe death," she murmured, "thank God that I am dead."
"You spoke, Jane!" cried Tarzan. "You are regaining consciousness!"
"Yes, Tarzan of the Apes," she replied, and for the first time inmonths a smile of peace and happiness lighted her face.
"Thank God!" cried the ape-man, coming to the ground in a little grassyclearing beside the stream. "I was in time, after all."
"In time? What do you mean?" she questioned.
"In time to save you from death upon the altar, dear," he replied. "Doyou not remember?" "Save me from death?" she asked, in a puzzled tone."Are we not both dead, my Tarzan?"
He had placed her upon the grass by now, her back resting against thestem of a huge tree. At her question he stepped back where he couldthe better see her face.
"Dead!" he repeated, and then he laughed. "You are not, Jane; and ifyou will return to the city of Opar and ask them who dwell there theywill tell you that I was not dead a few short hours ago. No, dear, weare both very much alive."
"But both Hazel and Monsieur Thuran told me that you had fallen intothe ocean many miles from land," she urged, as though trying toconvince him that he must indeed be dead. "They said that there was noquestion but that it must have been you, and less that you could havesurvived or been picked up."
"How can I convince you that I am no spirit?" he asked, with a laugh."It was I whom the delightful Monsieur Thuran pushed overboard, but Idid not drown--I will tell you all about it after a while--and here Iam very much the same wild man you first knew, Jane Porter."
The girl rose slowly to her feet and came toward him.
"I cannot even yet believe it," she murmured. "It cannot be that suchhappiness can be true after all the hideous things that I have passedthrough these awful months since the LADY ALICE went down."
She came close to him and laid a hand, soft and trembling, upon his arm.
"It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment tosee that awful knife descending toward my heart--kiss me, dear, justonce before I lose my dream forever."
Tarzan of the Apes needed no second invitation. He took the girl heloved in his strong arms, and kissed her not once, but a hundred times,until she lay there panting for breath; yet when he stopped she put herarms about his neck and drew his lips down to hers once more.
"Am I alive and a reality, or am I but a dream?" he asked.
"If you are not alive, my man," she answered, "I pray that I may diethus before I awaken to the terrible realities of my last wakingmoments."
For a while both were silent--gazing into each others' eyes as thougheach still questioned the reality of the wonderful happiness that hadcome to them. The past, with all its hideous disappointments andhorrors, was forgotten--the future did not belong to them; but thepresent--ah, it was theirs; none could take it from them. It was thegirl who first broke the sweet silence.
"Where are we going, dear?" she asked. "What are we going to do?"
"Where would you like best to go?" he asked. "What would you like bestto do?"
"To go where you go, my man; to do whatever seems best to you," sheanswered.
"But Clayton?" he asked. For a moment he had forgotten that thereexisted upon the earth other than they two. "We have forgotten yourhusband."
"I am not married, Tarzan of the Apes," she cried. "Nor am I longerpromised in marriage. The day before those awful creatures captured meI spoke to Mr. Clayton of my love for you, and he understood then thatI could not keep the wicked promise that I had made. It was after wehad been miraculously saved from an attacking lion." She pausedsuddenly and looked up at him, a questioning light in her eyes."Tarzan of the Apes," she cried, "it was you who did that thing? Itcould have been no other."
He dropped his eyes, for he was ashamed.
"How could you have gone away and left me?" she cried reproachfully.
"Don't, Jane!" he pleaded. "Please don't! You cannot know how I havesuffered since for the cruelty of that act, or how I suffered then,first in jealous rage, and then in bitter resentment against the fatethat I had not deserved. I went back to the apes after that, Jane,intending never again to see a human being." He told her then of hislife since he had returned to the jungle--of how he had dropped like aplummet from a civilized Parisian to a savage Waziri warrior, and fromthere back to the brute that he had been raised.
She asked him many questions, and at last fearfully of the things thatMonsieur Thuran had told her--of the woman in Paris. He narrated everydetail of his civilized life to her, omitting nothing, for he felt noshame, since his heart always had been true to her. When he hadfinished he sat looking at her, as though waiting for her judgment, andhis sentence.
"I knew that he was not speaking the truth," she said. "Oh, what ahorrible creature he is!"
"You are not angry with me, then?" he asked.
And her reply, though apparently most irrelevant, was truly feminine.
"Is Olga de Coude very beautiful?" she asked.
And Tarzan laughed and kissed her again. "Not one-tenth so beautifulas you, dear," he said.
She gave a contented little sigh, and let her head rest against hisshoulder. He knew that he was forgiven.
That night Tarzan built a snug little bower high among the swayingbranches of a giant tree, and there the tired girl slept, while in acrotch beneath her the ape-man curled, ready, even in sleep, to protecther.
It took them many days to make the long journey to the coast. Wherethe way was easy they walked hand in hand beneath the arching boughs ofthe mighty forest, as might in a far-gone past have walked theirprimeval forbears. When the underbrush was tangled he took her in hisgreat arms, and bore her lightly through the trees, and the days wereall too short, for they were very happy. Had it not been for theiranxiety to reach and succor Clayton they would have drawn out the sweetpleasure of that wonderful journey indefinitely.
On the last day before they reached the coast Tarzan caught the scentof men ahead of them--the scent of black men. He told the girl, andcautioned her to maintain silence. "There are few friends in thejungle," he remarked dryly.
In half an hour they came stealthily upon a small party of blackwarriors filing toward the west. As Tarzan saw them he gave a cry ofdelight--it was a band of his own Waziri. Busuli was there, and otherswho had accompanied him to Opar. At sight of him they danced and criedout in exuberant joy. For weeks they had been searching for him, theytold him.
The blacks exhibited considerable wonderment at the presence of thewhite girl with him, and when they found that she was to be his womanthey vied with one another to do her honor. With the happy Wazirilaughing and dancing about them they came to the rude shelter by theshore.
There was no sign of life, and no response to their calls. Tarzanclambered quickly to the interior of the little tree hut, only toemerge a moment later with an empty tin. Throwing it down to Busuli,he told him to fetch water, and then he beckoned Jane Porter to come up.
Together they leaned over the emaciated thing that once had been anEnglish nobleman. Tears came to the girl's eyes as she saw the poor,sunken cheeks and hollow eyes, and the lines of suffering upon the onceyoung and handsome face.
"He still lives," said Tarzan. "We will do all that can be done forhim, but I fear that we are too late."
When Busuli had brought the water Tarzan forced a few drops between thecracked and swollen lips. He wetted the hot forehead and bathed thepitiful limbs.
Presently Clayton opened his eyes. A faint, shadowy smile lighted hiscountenance as he saw the girl leaning over him. At sight of Tarzanthe expression changed to one of wonderment.
"It's all right, old fellow," said the ape-man. "We've found you intime. Everything will be all right now, and we'll have you on yourfeet again before you know it."
The Englishman shook his head weakly. "
It's too late," he whispered."But it's just as well. I'd rather die."
"Where is Monsieur Thuran?" asked the girl.
"He left me after the fever got bad. He is a devil. When I begged forthe water that I was too weak to get he drank before me, threw the restout, and laughed in my face." At the thought of it the man was suddenlyanimated by a spark of vitality. He raised himself upon one elbow."Yes," he almost shouted; "I will live. I will live long enough tofind and kill that beast!" But the brief effort left him weaker thanbefore, and he sank back again upon the rotting grasses that, with hisold ulster, had been the bed of Jane Porter.
"Don't worry about Thuran," said Tarzan of the Apes, laying areassuring hand on Clayton's forehead. "He belongs to me, and I shallget him in the end, never fear."
For a long time Clayton lay very still. Several times Tarzan had toput his ear quite close to the sunken chest to catch the faint beatingof the worn-out heart. Toward evening he aroused again for a briefmoment.
"Jane," he whispered. The girl bent her head closer to catch the faintmessage. "I have wronged you--and him," he nodded weakly toward theape-man. "I loved you so--it is a poor excuse to offer for injuringyou; but I could not bear to think of giving you up. I do not ask yourforgiveness. I only wish to do now the thing I should have done over ayear ago." He fumbled in the pocket of the ulster beneath him forsomething that he had discovered there while he lay between theparoxysms of fever. Presently he found it--a crumpled bit of yellowpaper. He handed it to the girl, and as she took it his arm felllimply across his chest, his head dropped back, and with a little gasphe stiffened and was still. Then Tarzan of the Apes drew a fold of theulster across the upturned face.
For a moment they remained kneeling there, the girl's lips moving insilent prayer, and as they rose and stood on either side of the nowpeaceful form, tears came to the ape-man's eyes, for through theanguish that his own heart had suffered he had learned compassion forthe suffering of others.
Through her own tears the girl read the message upon the bit of fadedyellow paper, and as she read her eyes went very wide. Twice she readthose startling words before she could fully comprehend their meaning.
Finger prints prove you Greystoke. Congratulations.
D'ARNOT.
She handed the paper to Tarzan. "And he has known it all this time,"she said, "and did not tell you?"
"I knew it first, Jane," replied the man. "I did not know that he knewit at all. I must have dropped this message that night in the waitingroom. It was there that I received it."
"And afterward you told us that your mother was a she-ape, and that youhad never known your father?" she asked incredulously.
"The title and the estates meant nothing to me without you, dear," hereplied. "And if I had taken them away from him I should have beenrobbing the woman I love--don't you understand, Jane?" It was asthough he attempted to excuse a fault.
She extended her arms toward him across the body of the dead man, andtook his hands in hers.
"And I would have thrown away a love like that!" she said.
The Return of Tarzan Page 25