The rain lasted for twenty-four hours and much of the timeit fell in torrents so that when it ceased, the trail he hadbeen following was entirely obliterated. Cold and uncom-fortable -- it was a savage Tarzan who threaded the mazes ofthe soggy jungle. Manu, the monkey, shivering and chatter-ing in the dank trees, scolded and fled at his approach. Eventhe panthers and the lions let the growling Tarmangani passunmolested.

When the sun shone again upon the second day and a wide,open plain let the full heat of Kudu flood the chilled, brownbody, Tarzan's spirits rose; but it was still a sullen, surlybrutethat moved steadily onward into the south where he hopedagain to pick up the trail of the Germans. He was now inGerman East Africa and it was his intention to skirt the moun-tains west of Kilimanjaro, whose rugged peaks he was quitewilling to give a wide berth, and then swing eastward alongthe south side of the range to the railway that led to Tanga,for his experience among men suggested that it was towardthis railroad that German troops would be likely to converge.

Two days later, from the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, heheard the boom of cannon far away to the east. The after-noon had been dull and cloudy and now as he was passingthrough a narrow gorge a few great drops of rain began tosplatter upon his naked shoulders. Tarzan shook his headand growled his disapproval; then he cast his eyes about forshelter, for he had had quite enough of the cold and drenching.He wanted to hasten on in the direction of the booming noise,for he knew that there would be Germans fighting against theEnglish. For an instant his bosom swelled with pride at thethought that he was English and then he shook his headagain viciously. "No!" he muttered, "Tarzan of the Apes isnot English, for the English are men and Tarzan is Tarman-gani;" but he could not hide even from his sorrow or from hissullen hatred of mankind in general that his heart warmedat the thought it was Englishmen who fought the Germans.His regret was that the English were human and not greatwhite apes as he again considered himself.

"Tomorrow," he thought, "I will travel that way and findthe Germans," and then he set himself to the immediate taskof discovering some shelter from the storm. Presently heespied the low and narrow entrance to what appeared to bea cave at the base of the cliffs which formed the northern sideof the gorge. With drawn knife he approached the spotwarily, for he knew that if it were a cave it was doubtless thelair of some other beast. Before the entrance lay many largefragments of rock of different sizes, similar to others scatteredalong the entire base of the cliff, and it was in Tarzan's mindthat if he found the cave unoccupied he would barricade thedoor and insure himself a quiet and peaceful night's reposewithin the sheltered interior. Let the storm rage without --Tarzan would remain within until it ceased, comfortable anddry. A tiny rivulet of cold water trickled outward from theopening.

Close to the cave Tarzan kneeled and sniffed the ground.A low growl escaped him and his upper lip curved to exposehis fighting fangs. "Numa!" he muttered; but he did notstop. Numa might not be at home -- he would investigate.The entrance was so low that the ape-man was compelled todrop to all fours before he could poke his head within theaperture; but first he looked, listened, and sniffed in eachdirection at his rear -- he would not be taken by surprise fromthat quarter.

His first glance within the cave revealed a narrow tunnelwith daylight at its farther end. The interior of the tunnelwas not so dark but that the ape-man could readily see thatit was untenanted at present. Advancing cautiously hecrawled toward the opposite end imbued with a full realiza-tion of what it would mean if Numa should suddenly enterthe tunnel in front of him; but Numa did not appear and theape-man emerged at length into the open and stood erect,finding himself in a rocky cleft whose precipitous walls rosealmost sheer on every hand, the tunnel from the gorge passingthrough the cliff and forming a passageway from the outerworld into a large pocket or gulch entirely inclosed by steepwalls of rock. Except for the small passageway from thegorge, there was no other entrance to the gulch which wassome hundred feet in length and about fifty in width andappeared to have been worn from the rocky cliff by the fallingof water during long ages. A tiny stream from Kilimanjaro'seternal snow cap still trickled over the edge of the rocky wallat the upper end of the gulch, forming a little pool at thebottom of the cliff from which a small rivulet wound down-ward to the tunnel through which it passed to the gorgebeyond. A single great tree flourished near the center of thegulch, while tufts of wiry grass were scattered here and thereamong the rocks of the gravelly floor.

The bones of many large animals lay about and among themwere several human skulls. Tarzan raised his eyebrows. "Aman-eater," he murmured, "and from appearances he has heldsway here for a long time. Tonight Tarzan will take the lairof the man-eater and Numa may roar and grumble upon theoutside."

The ape-man had advanced well into the gulch as he in-vestigated his surroundings and now as he stood near thetree, satisfied that the tunnel would prove a dry and quietretreat for the night, he turned to retrace his way to the outerend of the entrance that he might block it with bowldersagainst Numa's return, but even with the thought there camesomething to his sensitive ears that froze him into statuesqueimmobility with eyes glued upon the tunnel's mouth. Amoment later the head of a huge lion framed in a great blackmane appeared in the opening. The yellow-green eyes glared,round and unblinking, straight at the trespassing Tarmangani,a low growl rumbled from the deep chest, and lips curledback to expose the mighty fangs.

"Brother of Dango!" shouted Tarzan, angered that Numa'sreturn should have been so timed as to frustrate his plans fora comfortable night's repose. "I am Tarzan of the Apes, Lordof the Jungle. Tonight I lair here -- go!"

But Numa did not go. Instead he rumbled forth a menac-ing roar and took a few steps in Tarzan's direction. The ape-man picked up a rock and hurled it at the snarling face. Onecan never be sure of a lion. This one might turn tail and runat the first intimation of attack -- Tarzan had bluffed many inhis time -- but not now. The missile struck Numa full uponthe snout -- a tender part of a cat's anatomy -- and instead ofcausing him to flee it transformed him into an infuriatedengine of wrath and destruction.

Up went his tail, stiff and erect, and with a series of fright-ful roars he bore down upon the Tarmangani at the speed ofan express train. Not an instant too soon did Tarzan reachthe tree and swing himself into its branches and there hesquatted, hurling insults at the king of beasts while Numapaced a circle beneath him, growling and roaring in rage.

It was raining now in earnest adding to the ape-man's dis-comfort and disappointment. He was very angry; but as onlydirect necessity had ever led him to close in mortal combatwith a lion, knowing as he did that he had only luck andagility to pit against the frightful odds of muscle, weight,fangs, and talons, he did not now even consider descendingand engaging in so unequal and useless a duel for the merereward of a little added creature comfort. And so he satperched in the tree while the rain fell steadily and the lionpadded round and round beneath, casting a baleful eye up-ward after every few steps.

Tarzan scanned the precipitous walls for an avenue of es-cape. They would have baffled an ordinary man; but theape-man, accustomed to climbing, saw several places wherehe might gain a foothold, precarious possibly; but enough togive him reasonable assurance of escape if Numa would butbetake himself to the far end of the gulch for a moment.Numa, however, notwithstanding the rain, gave no evidenceof quitting his post so that at last Tarzan really began toconsider seriously if it might not be as well to take the chanceof a battle with him rather than remain longer cold and wetand humiliated in the tree.

But even as he turned the matter over in his mind Numaturned suddenly and walked majestically toward the tunnelwithout even a backward glance. The instant that he disap-peared, Tarzan dropped lightly to the ground upon the farside of the tree and was away at top speed for the cliff. Thelion had no sooner entered the tunnel than he backed im-mediately out again and, pivoting like a flash, was off acrossthe gulch in full charge after the flying ape-man; but Tarzan'slead was too great -- if he could find finger or foothold uponthe sheer wall he would be safe; but should he slip from thewet rocks his doom was already sealed as he would falldirectly into Numa's clutches where even the Great Tarman-gani would be helpless.

With the agility of a cat Tarzan ran up the cliff for thirtyfeet before he paused, and there finding a secure foothold,he stopped and looked down upon Numa who was leapingupward in a wild and futile attempt to scale the rocky wallto his prey. Fifteen or twenty feet from the ground the lionwould scramble only to fall backward again defeated. Tarzaneyed him for a moment and then commenced a slow andcautious ascent toward the summit. Several times he haddifficulty in finding holds but at last he drew himself over theedge, rose, picked up a bit of loose rock, hurled it at Numaand strode away.

Finding an easy descent to the gorge, he was about to pursuehis journey in the direction of the still-booming guns whena sudden thought caused him to halt and a half-smile to playabout his lips. Turning, he trotted quickly back to the outeropening of Numa's tunnel. Close beside it he listened for amoment and then rapidly began to gather large rocks andpile them within the entrance. He had almost closed theaperture when the lion appeared upon the inside -- a veryferocious and angry lion that pawed and clawed at the rocksand uttered mighty roars that caused the earth to tremble;but roars did not frighten Tarzan of the Apes. At Kala'sshaggy breast he had closed his infant eyes in sleep uponcountless nights in years gone by to the savage chorus ofsimilar roars. Scarcely a day or night of his jungle life -- andpractically all his life had been spent in the jungle -- hadhe not heard the roaring of hungry lions, or angry lions,or love-sick lions. Such sounds affected Tarzan as the tootingof an automobile horn may affect you -- if you are in front ofthe automobile it warns you out of the way, if you are not infront of it you scarcely notice it. Figuratively Tarzan wasnot in front of the automobile -- Numa could not reach himand Tarzan knew it, so he continued deliberately to choke theentrance until there was no possibility of Numa's getting outagain. When he was quite through he made a grimace at thehidden lion beyond the barrier and resumed his way towardthe east. "A man-eater who will eat no more men," he solilo-quized.

That night Tarzan lay up under an overhanging shelf ofrock. The next morning he resumed his journey, stoppingonly long enough to make a kill and satisfy his hunger. Theother beasts of the wild eat and lie up; but Tarzan never lethis belly interfere with his plans. In this lay one of the great-est differences between the ape-man and his fellows of thejungles and forests. The firing ahead rose and fell duringthe day. He had noticed that it was highest at dawn andimmediately after dusk and that during the night it almostceased. In the middle of the afternoon of the second day hecame upon troops moving up toward the front. They ap-peared to be raiding parties, for they drove goats and cowsalong with them and there were native porters laden withgrain and other foodstuffs. He saw that these natives wereall secured by neck chains and he also saw that the troopswere composed of native soldiers in German uniforms. Theofficers were white men. No one saw Tarzan, yet he was hereand there about and among them for two hours. He inspectedthe insignia upon their uniforms and saw that they were notthe same as that which he had taken from one of the deadsoldiers at the bungalow and then he passed on ahead ofthem, unseen in the dense bush. He had come upon Germansand had not killed them; but it was because the killing ofGermans at large was not yet the prime motive of his existence-- now it was to discover the individual who slew his mate.

After he had accounted for him he would take up the littlematter of slaying ALL Germans who crossed his path, and hemeant that many should cross it, for he would hunt themprecisely as professional hunters hunt the man-eaters.

As he neared the front lines the troops became more numer-ous. There were motor trucks and ox teams and all theimpedimenta of a small army and always there were woundedmen walking or being carried toward the rear. He hadcrossed the railroad some distance back and judged that thewounded were being taken to it for transportation to a basehospital and possibly as far away as Tanga on the coast.

It was dusk when he reached a large camp hidden in thefoothills of the Pare Mountains. As he was approaching fromthe rear he found it but lightly guarded and what sentinelsthere were, were not upon the alert, and so it was an easything for him to enter after darkness had fallen and prowlabout listening at the backs of tents, searching for some clewto the slayer of his mate.

As he paused at the side of a tent before which sat a num-ber of native soldiers he caught a few words spoken in nativedialect that riveted his attention instantly: "The Waziri foughtlike devils; but we are greater fighters and we killed them all.When we were through the captain came and killed thewoman. He stayed outside and yelled in a very loud voiceuntil all the men were killed. Underlieutenant von Goss isbraver -- he came in and stood beside the door shouting at us,also in a very loud voice, and bade us nail one of the Waziriwho was wounded to the wall, and then he laughed loudlybecause the man suffered. We all laughed. It was veryfunny."

Like a beast of prey, grim and terrible, Tarzan crouched inthe shadows beside the tent. What thoughts passed throughthat savage mind? Who may say? No outward sign ofpassion was revealed by the expression of the handsome face;the cold, gray eyes denoted only intense watchfulness. Pres-ently the soldier Tarzan had heard first rose and with a partingword turned away. He passed within ten feet of the ape-manand continued on toward the rear of the camp. Tarzan fol-lowed and in the shadows of a clump of bushes overtook hisquarry. There was no sound as the man beast sprang uponthe back of his prey and bore it to the ground for steel fingersclosed simultaneously upon the soldier's throat, effectuallystifling any outcry. By the neck Tarzan dragged his victimwell into the concealment of the bushes.

"Make no sound," he cautioned in the man's own tribaldialect as he released his hold upon the other's throat.

The fellow gasped for breath, rolling frightened eyes up-ward to see what manner of creature it might be in whosepower he was. In the darkness he saw only a naked brownbody bending above him; but he still remembered the terrificstrength of the mighty muscles that had closed upon his windand dragged him into the bushes as though he had been buta little child. If any thought of resistance had crossed his mindhe must have discarded it at once, as he made no move toescape.

"What is the name of the officer who killed the womanat the bungalow where you fought with the Waziri?" askedTarzan.

"Hauptmann Schneider," replied the black when he couldagain command his voice.

"Where is he?" demanded the ape-man.

"He is here. It may be that he is at headquarters. Manyof the officers go there in the evening to receive orders."

"Lead me there," commanded Tarzan, "and if I am dis-covered I will kill you immediately. Get up!"

The black rose and led the way by a roundabout routeback through the camp. Several times they were forced tohide while soldiers passed; but at last they reached a greatpile of baled hay from about the corner of which the blackpointed out a two-story building in the distance.

"Headquarters," he said. "You can go no farther unseen.There are many soldiers about."

Tarzan realized that he could not proceed farther in com-pany with the black. He turned and looked at the fellow fora moment as though pondering what disposition to make ofhim.

"You helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri," he accusedin a low yet none the less terrible tone.

The black trembled, his knees giving beneath him. "Heordered us to do it," he plead.

"Who ordered it done?" demanded Tarzan.

"Underlieutenant von Goss," replied the soldier. "He, too,is here."

"I shall find him," returned Tarzan, grimly. "You helped tocrucify Wasimbu, the Waziri, and, while he suffered, youlaughed."

The fellow reeled. It was as though in the accusation heread also his death sentence. With no other word Tarzanseized the man again by the neck. As before there was nooutcry. The giant muscles tensed. The arms swung quicklyupward and with them the body of the black soldier whohad helped to crucify Wasimbu, the Waziri, described acircle in the air -- once, twice, three times, and then it wasflung aside and the ape-man turned in the direction of GeneralKraut's headquarters.

A single sentinel in the rear of the building barred the way.Tarzan crawled, belly to the ground, toward him, taking ad-vantage of cover as only the jungle-bred beast of prey cando. When the sentinel's eyes were toward him, Tarzan huggedthe ground, motionless as stone; when they were turned away,he moved swiftly forward. Presently he was within chargingdistance. He waited until the man had turned his back oncemore and then he rose and sped noiselessly down upon him.Again there was no sound as he carried the dead body withhim toward the building.

The lower floor was lighted, the upper dark. Through thewindows Tarzan saw a large front room and a smaller roomin rear of it. In the former were many officers. Some movedabout talking to one another, others sat at field tables writing.The windows were open and Tarzan could hear much of theconversation; but nothing that interested him. It was mostlyabout the German successes in Africa and conjectures as towhen the German army in Europe would reach Paris. Somesaid the Kaiser was doubtlessly already there, and there was agreat deal of damning Belgium.

In the smaller back room a large, red-faced man sat be-hind a table. Some other officers were also sitting a little inrear of him, while two stood at attention before the general,who was questioning them. As he talked, the general toyedwith an oil lamp that stood upon the table before him. Pres-ently there came a knock upon the door and an aide enteredthe room. He saluted and reported: "Fraulein Kircher hasarrived, sir."

"Bid her enter," commanded the general, and then noddedto the two officers before him in sign of dismissal.

The Fraulein, entering, passed them at the door. Theofficers in the little room rose and saluted, the Frauleinacknowledging the courtesy with a bow and a slight smile.She was a very pretty girl. Even the rough, soiled riding habitand the caked dust upon her face could not conceal the fact,and she was young. She could not have been over nineteen.

She advanced to the table behind which the general stoodand, taking a folded paper from an inside pocket of her coat,handed it to him.

"Be seated, Fraulein," he said, and another officer broughther a chair. No one spoke while the general read the con-tents of the paper.

Tarzan appraised the various people in the room. Hewondered if one might not be Hauptmann Schneider, for twoof them were captains. The girl he judged to be of the intel-ligence department -- a spy. Her beauty held no appeal forhim -- without a glimmer of compunction he could have wrungthat fair, young neck. She was German and that was enough;but he had other and more important work before him. Hewanted Hauptmann Schneider.

Finally the general looked up from the paper.

"Good," he said to the girl, and then to one of his aides,"Send for Major Schneider."

Major Schneider! Tarzan felt the short hairs at the backof his neck rise. Already they had promoted the beast whohad murdered his mate -- doubtless they had promoted himfor that very crime.

The aide left the room and the others fell into a generalconversation from which it became apparent to Tarzan thatthe German East African forces greatly outnumbered theBritish and that the latter were suffering heavily. The ape-man stood so concealed in a clump of bushes that he couldwatch the interior of the room without being seen from within,while he was at the same time hidden from the view of any-one who might chance to pass along the post of the sentinelhe had slain. Momentarily he was expecting a patrol or arelief to appear and discover that the sentinel was missing,when he knew an immediate and thorough search would bemade.

Impatiently he awaited the coming of the man he soughtand at last he was rewarded by the reappearance of the aidewho had been dispatched to fetch him accompanied by anofficer of medium size with fierce, upstanding mustaches. Thenewcomer strode to the table, halted and saluted, reporting.The general acknowledged the salute and turned toward thegirl.

"Fraulein Kircher," he said, "allow me to present MajorSchneider --"

Tarzan waited to hear no more. Placing a palm upon thesill of the window he vaulted into the room into the midst ofan astounded company of the Kaiser's officers. With a stridehe was at the table and with a sweep of his hand sent thelamp crashing into the fat belly of the general who, in hismad effort to escape cremation, fell over backward, chair andall, upon the floor. Two of the aides sprang for the ape-manwho picked up the first and flung him in the face of the other.The girl had leaped from her chair and stood flattened againstthe wall. The other officers were calling aloud for the guardand for help. Tarzan's purpose centered upon but a singleindividual and him he never lost sight of. Freed from attackfor an instant he seized Major Schneider, threw him over hisshoulder and was out of the window so quickly that theastonished assemblage could scarce realize what had occurred.

A single glance showed him that the sentinel's post wasstill vacant and a moment later he and his burden were inthe shadows of the hay dump. Major Schneider had madeno outcry for the very excellent reason that his wind was shutoff. Now Tarzan released his grasp enough to permit the manto breathe.

"If you make a sound you will be choked again," he said.

Cautiously and after infinite patience Tarzan passed the final outpost. Forcing his captive to walk before him he pushedon toward the west until, late into the night, he recrossed therailway where he felt reasonably safe from discovery. TheGerman had cursed and grumbled and threatened and askedquestions; but his only reply was another prod from Tarzan'ssharp war spear. The ape-man herded him along as he wouldhave driven a hog with the difference that he would have hadmore respect and therefore more consideration for a hog.

Until now Tarzan had given little thought to the details ofrevenge. Now he pondered what form the punishment shouldtake. Of only one thing was he certain -- it must end in death.Like all brave men and courageous beasts Tarzan had littlenatural inclination to torture -- none, in fact; but this casewasunique in his experience. An inherent sense of justice calledfor an eye for an eye and his recent oath demanded evenmore. Yes, the creature must suffer even as he had causedJane Clayton to suffer. Tarzan could not hope to make theman suffer as he had suffered, since physical pain may neverapproach the exquisiteness of mental torture.

All through the long night the ape-man goaded on theexhausted and now terrified Hun. The awful silence of hiscaptor wrought upon the German's nerves. If he would onlyspeak! Again and again Schneider tried to force or coax aword from him; but always the result was the same -- con-tinued silence and a vicious and painful prod from the spearpoint. Schneider was bleeding and sore. He was so ex-hausted that he staggered at every step, and often he fell onlyto be prodded to his feet again by that terrifying and re-morseless spear.

It was not until morning that Tarzan reached a decisionand it came to him then like an inspiration from above. Aslow smile touched his lips and he immediately sought aplace to lie up and rest -- he wished his prisoner to be fit nowfor what lay in store for him. Ahead was a stream whichTarzan had crossed the day before. He knew the ford for adrinking place and a likely spot to make an easy kill. Cau-tioning the German to utter silence with a gesture the twoapproached the stream quietly. Down the game trail Tarzansaw some deer about to leave the water. He shoved Schneiderinto the brush at one side and, squatting next him, waited.The German watched the silent giant with puzzled, frightenedeyes. In the new dawn he, for the first time, was able to ob-tain a good look at his captor, and, if he had been puzzledand frightened before, those sensations were nothing to whathe experienced now.

Who and what could this almost naked, white savage be?He had heard him speak but once -- when he had cautionedhim to silence -- and then in excellent German and the well-modulated tones of culture. He watched him now as thefascinated toad watches the snake that is about to devour it.He saw the graceful limbs and symmetrical body motionlessas a marble statue as the creature crouched in the conceal-ment of the leafy foliage. Not a muscle, not a nerve moved.He saw the deer coming slowly along the trail, down windand unsuspecting. He saw a buck pass -- an old buck -- andthen a young and plump one came opposite the giant in am-bush, and Schneider's eyes went wide and a scream of terroralmost broke from his lips as he saw the agile beast at his sidespring straight for the throat of the young buck and heardfrom those human lips the hunting roar of a wild beast. Downwent the buck and Tarzan and his captive had meat. Theape-man ate his raw, but he permitted the German to builda fire and cook his portion.

The two lay up until late in the afternoon and then took upthe journey once again -- a journey that was so frightful toSchneider because of his ignorance of its destination that he attimes groveled at Tarzan's feet begging for an explanationand for mercy; but on and on in silence the ape-man went,prodding the failing Hun whenever the latter faltered.

It was noon of the third day before they reached theirdestination. After a steep climb and a short walk they haltedat the edge of a precipitous cliff and Schneider looked downinto a narrow gulch where a single tree grew beside a tinyrivulet and sparse grass broke from a rock-strewn soil. Tarzanmotioned him over the edge; but the German drew back interror. The Ape-man seized him and pushed him roughlytoward the brink. "Descend," he said. It was the secondtime he had spoken in three days and perhaps his very silence,ominous in itself, had done more to arouse terror in the breastof the Boche than even the spear point, ever ready as it al-ways was.

Schneider looked fearfully over the edge; but was aboutto essay the attempt when Tarzan halted him. "I am LordGreystoke," he said. "It was my wife you murdered in theWaziri country. You will understand now why I came for you. Descend."

The German fell upon his knees. "I did not murder yourwife," he cried. "Have mercy! I did not murder your wife.I do not know anything about --"

"Descend!" snapped Tarzan, raising the point of his spear.He knew that the man lied and was not surprised that he did.A man who would murder for no cause would lie for less.Schneider still hesitated and pled. The ape-man jabbed himwith the spear and Schneider slid fearfully over the top andbegan the perilous descent. Tarzan accompanied and assistedhim over the worst places until at last they were within a fewfeet of the bottom.

"Be quiet now," cautioned the ape-man. He pointed at theentrance to what appeared to be a cave at the far end of thegulch. "There is a hungry lion in there. If you can reachthat tree before he discovers you, you will have several dayslonger in which to enjoy life and then -- when you are too weakto cling longer to the branches of the tree Numa, the man-eater, will feed again for the last time." He pushed Schneiderfrom his foothold to the ground below. "Now run," he said.

The German trembling in terror started for the tree. Hehad almost reached it when a horrid roar broke from themouth of the cave and almost simultaneously a gaunt, hunger-mad lion leaped into the daylight of the gulch. Schneiderhad but a few yards to cover; but the lion flew over the groundto circumvent him while Tarzan watched the race with aslight smile upon his lips.

Schneider won by a slender margin, and as Tarzan scaledthe cliff to the summit, he heard behind him mingled with theroaring of the baffled cat, the gibbering of a human voice thatwas at the same time more bestial than the beast's.

Upon the brink of the cliff the ape-man turned and lookedback into the gulch. High in the tree the German clungfrantically to a branch across which his body lay. Beneathhim was Numa -- waiting.

The ape-man raised his face to Kudu, the sun, and fromhis mighty chest rose the savage victory cry of the bull ape.