It was an hour later that Sheeta, the panther, hunting,chanced to glance upward into the blue sky where his at-tention was attracted by Ska, the vulture, circling slowlyabove the bush a mile away and downwind. For a long minutethe yellow eyes stared intently at the gruesome bird. They sawSka dive and rise again to continue his ominous circling andin these movements their woodcraft read that which, whileobvious to Sheeta, would doubtless have meant nothing toyou or me.

The hunting cat guessed that on the ground beneath Skawas some living thing of flesh -- either a beast feeding uponits kill or a dying animal that Ska did not yet dare attack. Ineither event it might prove meat for Sheeta, and so the waryfeline stalked by a circuitous route, upon soft, padded feetthat gave forth no sound, until the circling aasvogel> and hisintended prey were upwind. Then, sniffing each vagrantzephyr, Sheeta, the panther, crept cautiously forward, norhad he advanced any considerable distance before his keennostrils were rewarded with the scent of man -- a Tarmangani.

Sheeta paused. He was not a hunter of men. He wasyoung and in his prime; but always before he had avoidedthis hated presence. Of late he had become more accustomedto it with the passing of many soldiers through his ancienthunting ground, and as the soldiers had frightened away agreat part of the game Sheeta had been wont to feed upon, thedays had been lean, and Sheeta was hungry.

The circling Ska suggested that this Tarmangani might behelpless and upon the point of dying, else Ska would not havebeen interested in him, and so easy prey for Sheeta. Withthis thought in mind the cat resumed his stalking. Presentlyhe pushed through the thick bush and his yellow-green eyesrested gloatingly upon the body of an almost naked Tarman-gani lying face down in a narrow game trail.

Numa, sated, rose from the carcass of Bertha Kircher'shorse and seized the partially devoured body by the neck anddragged it into the bush; then he started east toward the lairwhere he had left his mate. Being uncomfortably full he wasinclined to be sleepy and far from belligerent. He movedslowly and majestically with no effort at silence or conceal-ment. The king walked abroad, unafraid.

With an occasional regal glance to right or left he movedalong a narrow game trail until at a turn he came to a suddenstop at what lay revealed before him -- Sheeta, the panther,creeping stealthily upon the almost naked body of a Tar-mangani lying face down in the deep dust of the pathway.Numa glared intently at the quiet body in the dust. Recog-nition came. It was his Tarmangani. A low growl of warningrumbled from his throat and Sheeta halted with one pawupon Tarzan's back and turned suddenly to eye the intruder.

What passed within those savage brains? Who may say?The panther seemed debating the wisdom of defending hisfind, for he growled horribly as though warning Numa awayfrom the prey. And Numa? Was the idea of property rightsdominating his thoughts? The Tarmangani was his, or hewas the Tarmangani's. Had not the Great White Ape mas-tered and subdued him and, too, had he not fed him? Numarecalled the fear that he had felt of this man-thing and hiscruel spear; but in savage brains fear is more likely to en-gender respect than hatred and so Numa found that he re-spected the creature who had subdued and mastered him.He saw Sheeta, upon whom he looked with contempt, daringto molest the master of the lion. Jealousy and greed alonemight have been sufficient to prompt Numa to drive Sheetaaway, even though the lion was not sufficiently hungry todevour the flesh that he thus wrested from the lesser cat; butthen, too, there was in the little brain within the massive heada sense of loyalty, and perhaps this it was that sent Numaquickly forward, growling, toward the spitting Sheeta.

For a moment the latter stood his ground with arched backand snarling face, for all the world like a great, spotted tabby.

Numa had not felt like fighting; but the sight of Sheetadaring to dispute his rights kindled his ferocious brain tosudden fire. His rounded eyes glared with rage, his undulatingtail snapped to stiff erectness as, with a frightful roar, hecharged this presuming vassal.

It came so suddenly and from so short a distance that Sheetahad no chance to turn and flee the rush, and so he met it withraking talons and snapping jaws; but the odds were all againsthim. To the larger fangs and the more powerful jaws of hisadversary were added huge talons and the preponderance ofthe lion's great weight. At the first clash Sheeta was crushedand, though he deliberately fell upon his back and drew uphis powerful hind legs beneath Numa with the intention ofdisemboweling him, the lion forestalled him and at the sametime closed his awful jaws upon Sheeta's throat.

It was soon over. Numa rose, shaking himself, and stoodabove the torn and mutilated body of his foe. His own sleekcoat was cut and the red blood trickled down his flank; thoughit was but a minor injury, it angered him. He glared downat the dead panther and then, in a fit of rage, he seized andmauled the body only to drop it in a moment, lower his head,voice a single terrific roar, and turn toward the ape-man.

Approaching the still form he sniffed it over from head tofoot. Then he placed a huge paw upon it and turned it overwith its face up. Again he smelled about the body and atlast with his rough tongue licked Tarzan's face. It was thenthat Tarzan opened his eyes.

Above him towered the huge lion, its hot breath upon hisface, its rough tongue upon his cheek. The ape-man hadoften been close to death; but never before so close as this,he thought, for he was convinced that death was but a matterof seconds. His brain was still numb from the effects of theblow that had felled him, and so he did not, for a moment,recognize the lion that stood over him as the one he had sorecently encountered.

Presently, however, recognition dawned upon him and withit a realization of the astounding fact that Numa did not seembent on devouring him -- at least not immediately. His po-sition was a delicate one. The lion stood astraddle Tarzan withhis front paws. The ape-man could not rise, therefore, withoutpushing the lion away and whether Numa would toleratebeing pushed was an open question. Too, the beast might con-sider him already dead and any movement that indicated thecontrary was true would, in all likelihood, arouse the killinginstinct of the man-eater.

But Tarzan was tiring of the situation. He was in no moodto lie there forever, especially when he contemplated the factthat the girl spy who had tried to brain him was undoubtedlyescaping as rapidly as possible.

Numa was looking right into his eyes now evidently awarethat he was alive. Presently the lion cocked his head on oneside and whined. Tarzan knew the note, and he knew that itspelled neither rage nor hunger, and then he risked all on asingle throw, encouraged by that low whine.

"Move, Numa!" he commanded and placing a palm againstthe tawny shoulder he pushed the lion aside. Then he roseand with a hand on his hunting knife awaited that which mightfollow. It was then that his eyes fell for the first time on thetorn body of Sheeta. He looked from the dead cat to the liveone and saw the marks of conflict upon the latter, too, and inan instant realized something of what had happened -- Numahad saved him from the panther!

It seemed incredible and yet the evidence pointed clearly tothe fact. He turned toward the lion and without fear ap-proached and examined his wounds which he found super-ficial, and as Tarzan knelt beside him Numa rubbed an itchingear against the naked, brown shoulder. Then the ape-manstroked the great head, picked up his spear, and looked aboutfor the trail of the girl. This he soon found leading toward theeast, and as he set out upon it something prompted him to feelfor the locket he had hung about his neck. It was gone!

No trace of anger was apparent upon the ape-man's face un-less it was a slight tightening of the jaws; but he put his handruefully to the back of his head where a bump marked theplace where the girl had struck him and a moment later ahalf-smile played across his lips. He could not help but ad-mit that she had tricked him neatly, and that it must havetaken nerve to do the thing she did and to set out armed onlywith a pistol through the trackless waste that lay betweenthem and the railway and beyond into the hills where Wil-helmstal lies.

Tarzan admired courage. He was big enough to admit itand admire it even in a German spy, but he saw that in thiscase it only added to her resourcefulness and made her allthe more dangerous and the necessity for putting her out ofthe way paramount. He hoped to overtake her before shereached Wilhelmstal and so he set out at the swinging trot thathe could hold for hours at a stretch without apparent fatigue.

That the girl could hope to reach the town on foot in lessthan two days seemed improbable, for it was a good thirtymiles and part of it hilly. Even as the thought crossed hismind he heard the whistle of a locomotive to the east and knewthat the railway was in operation again after a shutdown ofseveral days. If the train was going south the girl would sig-nal it if she had reached the right of way. His keen earscaught the whining of brake shoes on wheels and a few min-utes later the signal blast for brakes off. The train had stoppedand started again and, as it gained headway and greater dis-tance, Tarzan could tell from the direction of the sound thatit was moving south.

The ape-man followed the trail to the railway where itended abruptly on the west side of the track, showing that thegirl had boarded the train, just as he thought. There wasnothing now but to follow on to Wilhelmstal, where he hopedto find Captain Fritz Schneider, as well as the girl, and to re-cover his diamond-studded locket.

It was dark when Tarzan reached the little hill town ofWilhelmstal. He loitered on the outskirts, getting his bear-ings and trying to determine how an almost naked white manmight explore the village without arousing suspicion. Therewere many soldiers about and the town was under guard, forhe could see a lone sentinel walking his post scarce a hundredyards from him. To elude this one would not be difficult; butto enter the village and search it would be practically impos-sible, garbed, or ungarbed, as he was.

Creeping forward, taking advantage of every cover, lyingflat and motionless when the sentry's face was toward him, theape-man at last reached the sheltering shadows of an outhousejust inside the lines. From there he moved stealthily frombuilding to building until at last he was discovered by a largedog in the rear of one of the bungalows. The brute cameslowly toward him, growling. Tarzan stood motionless be-side a tree. He could see a light in the bungalow and uni-formed men moving about and he hoped that the dog wouldnot bark. He did not; but he growled more savagely and,just at the moment that the rear door of the bungalow openedand a man stepped out, the animal charged.

He was a large dog, as large as Dango, the hyena, and hecharged with all the vicious impetuosity of Numa, the lion.As he came Tarzan knelt and the dog shot through the air forhis throat; but he was dealing with no man now and he foundhis quickness more than matched by the quickness of theTarmangani. His teeth never reached the soft flesh -- strongfingers, fingers of steel, seized his neck. He voiced a singlestartled yelp and clawed at the naked breast before him withhis talons; but he was powerless. The mighty fingers closedupon his throat; the man rose, snapped the clawing body once,and cast it aside. At the same time a voice from the openbungalow door called: "Simba!"

There was no response. Repeating the call the man de-scended the steps and advanced toward the tree. In the lightfrom the doorway Tarzan could see that he was a tall, broad-shouldered man in the uniform of a German officer. The ape-man withdrew into the shadow of the tree's stem. The mancame closer, still calling the dog -- he did not see the savagebeast, crouching now in the shadow, awaiting him. Whenhe had approached within ten feet of the Tarmangani, Tarzanleaped upon him -- as Sabor springs to the kill, so sprang theape-man. The momentum and weight of his body hurledthe German to the ground, powerful fingers prevented an out-cry and, though the officer struggled, he had no chance and amoment later lay dead beside the body of the dog.

As Tarzan stood for a moment looking down upon his killand regretting that he could not risk voicing his beloved vic-tory cry, the sight of the uniform suggested a means wherebyhe might pass to and fro through Wilhelmstal with the mini-mum chance of detection. Ten minutes later a tall, broad-shouldered officer stepped from the yard of the bungalowleaving behind him the corpses of a dog and a naked man.

He walked boldly along the little street and those whopassed him could not guess that beneath Imperial Germany'suniform beat a savage heart that pulsed with implacablehatred for the Hun. Tarzan's first concern was to locate thehotel, for here he guessed he would find the girl, and wherethe girl was doubtless would be Hauptmann Fritz Schneider,who was either her confederate, her sweetheart, or both, andthere, too, would be Tarzan's precious locket.

He found the hotel at last, a low, two-storied building witha veranda. There were lights on both floors and people,mostly officers, could be seen within. The ape-man consideredentering and inquiring for those he sought; but his better judg-ment finally prompted him to reconnoiter first. Passing aroundthe building he looked into all the lighted rooms on the firstfloor and, seeing neither of those for whom he had come, heswung lightly to the roof of the veranda and continued hisinvestigations through windows of the second story.

At one corner of the hotel in a rear room the blinds weredrawn; but he heard voices within and once he saw a figuresilhouetted momentarily against the blind. It appeared to bethe figure of a woman; but it was gone so quickly that he couldnot be sure. Tarzan crept close to the window and listened.Yes, there was a woman there and a man -- he heard distinctlythe tones of their voices although he could overhear no words,as they seemed to be whispering.

The adjoining room was dark. Tarzan tried the windowand found it unlatched. All was quiet within. He raised thesash and listened again -- still silence. Placing a leg over thesill he slipped within and hurriedly glanced about. The roomwas vacant. Crossing to the door he opened it and looked outinto the hall. There was no one there, either, and he steppedout and approached the door of the adjoining room wherethe man and woman were.

Pressing close to the door he listened. Now he distinguishedwords, for the two had raised their voices as though in argu-ment. The woman was speaking.

"I have brought the locket," she said, "as was agreed uponbetween you and General Kraut, as my identification. I carryno other credentials. This was to be enough. You have noth-ing to do but give me the papers and let me go."

The man replied in so low a tone that Tarzan could notcatch the words and then the woman spoke again -- a note ofscorn and perhaps a little of fear in her voice.

"You would not dare, Hauptmann Schneider," she said, andthen: "Do not touch me! Take your hands from me!"

It was then that Tarzan of the Apes opened the door andstepped into the room. What he saw was a huge, bull-neckedGerman officer with one arm about the waist of FrauleinBertha Kircher and a hand upon her forehead pushing herhead back as he tried to kiss her on the mouth. The girl wasstruggling against the great brute; but her efforts were futile.Slowly the man's lips were coming closer to hers and slowly,step by step, she was being carried backward.

Schneider heard the noise of the opening and closing doorbehind him and turned. At sight of this strange officer hedropped the girl and straightened up.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Lieutenant?" he de-manded, noting the other's epaulettes. "Leave the room atonce."

Tarzan made no articulate reply; but the two there withhim heard a low growl break from those firm lips -- a growlthat sent a shudder through the frame of the girl and broughta pallor to the red face of the Hun and his hand to his pistolbut even as he drew his weapon it was wrested from him andhurled through the blind and window to the yard beyond.Then Tarzan backed against the door and slowly removed theuniform coat.

"You are Hauptmann Schneider," he said to the German.

"What of it?" growled the latter.

"I am Tarzan of the Apes," replied the ape-man. "Now youknow why I intrude."

The two before him saw that he was naked beneath thecoat which he threw upon the floor and then he slipped quicklyfrom the trousers and stood there clothed only in his loin cloth.The girl had recognized him by this time, too.

"Take your hand off that pistol," Tarzan admonished her.Her hand dropped at her side. "Now come here!"

She approached and Tarzan removed the weapon andhurled it after the other. At the mention of his name Tarzanhad noted the sickly pallor that overspread the features of theHun. At last he had found the right man. At last his matewould be partially avenged -- never could she be entirelyavenged. Life was too short and there were too many Germans.

"What do you want of me?" demanded Schneider.

"You are going to pay the price for the thing you did at thelittle bungalow in the Waziri country," replied the ape-man.

Schneider commenced to bluster and threaten. Tarzan turnedthe key in the lock of the door and hurled the former throughthe window after the pistols. Then he turned to the girl. "Keepout of the way," he said in a low voice. "Tarzan of the Apesis going to kill."

The Hun ceased blustering and began to plead. "I have awife and children at home," he cried. "I have done nothing,"I --"

"You are going to die as befits your kind," said Tarzan,"with blood on your hands and a lie on your lips." He startedacross the room toward the burly Hauptmann. Schneider wasa large and powerful man -- about the height of the ape-manbut much heavier. He saw that neither threats nor pleas wouldavail him and so he prepared to fight as a cornered rat fightsfor its life with all the maniacal rage, cunning, and ferocitythat the first law of nature imparts to many beasts.

Lowering his bull head he charged for the ape-man andin the center of the floor the two clinched. There they stoodlocked and swaying for a moment until Tarzan succeeded inforcing his antagonist backward over a table which crashed tothe floor, splintered by the weight of the two heavy bodies.

The girl stood watching the battle with wide eyes. She sawthe two men rolling hither and thither across the floor and sheheard with horror the low growls that came from the lips ofthe naked giant. Schneider was trying to reach his foe'sthroat with his fingers while, horror of horrors, Bertha Kirchercould see that the other was searching for the German'sjugular with his teeth!

Schneider seemed to realize this too, for he redoubled hisefforts to escape and finally succeeded in rolling over on topof the ape-man and breaking away. Leaping to his feet he ranfor the window; but the ape-man was too quick for him andbefore he could leap through the sash a heavy hand fell uponhis shoulder and he was jerked back and hurled across theroom to the opposite wall. There Tarzan followed him, andonce again they locked, dealing each other terrific blows,until Schneider in a piercing voice screamed, "Kamerad!Kamerad!"

Tarzan grasped the man by the throat and drew his huntingknife. Schneider's back was against the wall so that thoughhis knees wobbled he was held erect by the ape-man. Tarzanbrought the sharp point to the lower part of the German'sabdomen.

"Thus you slew my mate," he hissed in a terrible voice."Thus shall you die!"

The girl staggered forward. "Oh, God, no!" she cried."Not that. You are too brave -- you cannot be such a beast asthat!"

Tarzan turned at her. "No," he said, "you are right, I cannotdo it -- I am no German," and he raised the point of his bladeand sunk it deep into the putrid heart of Hauptmann FritzSchneider, putting a bloody period to the Hun's last gaspingcry: "I did not do it! She is not --"

Then Tarzan turned toward the girl and held out his hand."Give me my locket," he said.

She pointed toward the dead officer. "He has it." Tarzansearched him and found the trinket. "Now you may give methe papers," he said to the girl, and without a word she handedhim a folded document.

For a long time he stood looking at her before ho spokeagain.

"I came for you, too," he said. "It would be difficult to takeyou back from here and so I was going to kill you, as I havesworn to kill all your kind; but you were right when you saidthat I was not such a beast as that slayer of women. I couldnot slay him as he slew mine, nor can I slay you, who are awoman."

He crossed to the window, raised the sash and an instantlater he had stepped out and disappeared into the night. Andthen Fraulein Bertha Kircher stepped quickly to the corpseupon the floor, slipped her hand inside the blouse and drewforth a little sheaf of papers which she tucked into her waistbefore she went to the window and called for help.