Three days the ape-man spent in resting and recuperating,eating fruits and nuts and the smaller animals that weremost easily bagged, and upon the fourth he set out toexplore the valley and search for the great apes. Time was anegligible factor in the equation of life -- it was all the sameto Tarzan if he reached the west coast in a month or a yearor three years. All time was his and all Africa. His was abso-lute freedom -- the last tie that had bound him to civilizationand custom had been severed. He was alone but he was notexactly lonely. The greater part of his life had been spentthus, and though there was no other of his kind, he was at alltimes surrounded by the jungle peoples for whom familiarityhad bred no contempt within his breast. The least of them in-terested him, and, too, there were those with whom he alwaysmade friends easily, and there were his hereditary enemieswhose presence gave a spice to life that might otherwise havebecome humdrum and monotonous.

And so it was that on the fourth day he set out to explorethe valley and search for his fellow-apes. He had proceededsouthward for a short distance when his nostrils were assailedby the scent of man, of Gomangani, the black man. Therewere many of them, and mixed with their scent was another --that of a she Tarmangani.

Swinging through the trees Tarzan approached the authorsof these disturbing scents. He came warily from the flank,but paying no attention to the wind, for he knew that manwith his dull senses could apprehend him only through his eyesor ears and then only when comparatively close. Had he beenstalking Numa or Sheeta he would have circled about until hisquarry was upwind from him, thus taking practically all theadvantage up to the very moment that he came within sightor hearing; but in the stalking of the dull clod, man, he ap-proached with almost contemptuous indifference, so that allthe jungle about him knew that he was passing -- all but themen he stalked.

From the dense foliage of a great tree he watched thempass -- a disreputable mob of blacks, some garbed in the uni-form of German East African native troops, others wearing asingle garment of the same uniform, while many had revertedto the simple dress of their forbears -- approximating nudity.There were many black women with them, laughing and talk-ing as they kept pace with the men, all of whom were armedwith German rifles and equipped with German belts and am-munition.

There were no white officers there, but it was none the lessapparent to Tarzan that these men were from some Germannative command, and he guessed that they had slain theirofficers and taken to the jungle with their women, or had stolensome from native villages through which they must havepassed. It was evident that they were putting as much groundbetween themselves and the coast as possible and doubtlesswere seeking some impenetrable fastness of the vast interiorwhere they might inaugurate a reign of terror among theprimitively armed inhabitants and by raiding, looting, andrape grow rich in goods and women at the expense of thedistrict upon which they settled themselves.

Between two of the black women marched a slender whitegirl. She was hatless and with torn and disheveled clothingthat had evidently once been a trim riding habit. Her coatwas gone and her waist half torn from her body. Occasionallyand without apparent provocation one or the other of theNegresses struck or pushed her roughly. Tarzan watchedthrough half-closed eyes. His first impulse was to leap amongthem and bear the girl from their cruel clutches. He hadrecognized her immediately and it was because of this fact thathe hesitated.

What was it to Tarzan of the Apes what fate befell this en-emy spy? He had been unable to kill her himself because ofan inherent weakness that would not permit him to lay handsupon a woman, all of which of course had no bearing uponwhat others might do to her. That her fate would now beinfinitely more horrible than the quick and painless death thatthe ape-man would have meted to her only interested Tarzanto the extent that the more frightful the end of a German themore in keeping it would be with what they all deserved.

And so he let the blacks pass with Fraulein Bertha Kircherin their midst, or at least until the last straggling warriorsug-gested to his mind the pleasures of blackbaiting -- an amuse-ment and a sport in which he had grown ever more proficientsince that long-gone day when Kulonga, the son of Mbonga,the chief, had cast his unfortunate spear at Kala, the ape-man'sfoster mother.

The last man, who must have stopped for some purpose,was fully a quarter of a mile in rear of the party. He washurrying to catch up when Tarzan saw him, and as he passedbeneath the tree in which the ape-man perched above the trail,a silent noose dropped deftly about his neck. The main bodystill was in plain sight, and as the frightened man voiced apiercing shriek of terror, they looked back to see his body riseas though by magic straight into the air and disappear amidstthe leafy foliage above.

For a moment the blacks stood paralyzed by astonishmentand fear; but presently the burly sergeant, Usanga, who ledthem, started back along the trail at a run, calling to theothersto follow him. Loading their guns as they came the blacksran to succor their fellow, and at Usanga's command theyspread into a thin line that presently entirely surrounded thetree into which their comrade had vanished.

Usanga called but received no reply; then he advancedslowly with rifle at the ready, peering up into the tree. Hecould see no one -- nothing. The circle closed in until fiftyblacks were searching among the branches with their keeneyes. What had become of their fellow? They had seen himrise into the tree and since then many eyes had been fastenedupon the spot, yet there was no sign of him. One, more ven-turesome than his fellows, volunteered to climb into the treeand investigate. He was gone but a minute or two and whenhe dropped to earth again he swore that there was no sign ofa creature there.

Perplexed, and by this time a bit awed, the blacks drewslowly away from the spot and with many backward glancesand less laughing continued upon their journey until, whenabout a mile beyond the spot at which their fellow had disap-peared, those in the lead saw him peering from behind a treeat one side of the trail just in front of them. With shouts totheir companions that he had been found they ran forwards;but those who were first to reach the tree stopped suddenlyand shrank back, their eyes rolling fearfully first in one direc-tion and then in another as though they expected some name-less horror to leap out upon them.

Nor was their terror without foundation. Impaled upon theend of a broken branch the head of their companion waspropped behind the tree so that it appeared to be looking outat them from the opposite side of the bole.

It was then that many wished to turn back, arguing that theyhad offended some demon of the wood upon whose preservethey had trespassed; but Usanga refused to listen to them,assuring them that inevitable torture and death awaited themshould they return and fall again into the hands of their cruelGerman masters. At last his reasoning prevailed to the endthat a much-subdued and terrified band moved in a compactmass, like a drove of sheep, forward through the valley andthere were no stragglers.

It is a happy characteristic of the Negro race, which theyhold in common with little children, that their spirits seldomremain depressed for a considerable length of time after theimmediate cause of depression is removed, and so it was thatin half an hour Usanga's band was again beginning to takeon to some extent its former appearance of carefree light-heartedness. Thus were the heavy clouds of fear slowly dis-sipating when a turn in the trail brought them suddenly uponthe headless body of their erstwhile companion lying directlyin their path, and they were again plunged into the depth offear and gloomy forebodings.

So utterly inexplicable and uncanny had the entire occur-rence been that there was not a one of them who could finda ray of comfort penetrating the dead blackness of its ominousportent. What had happened to one of their number eachconceived as being a wholly possible fate for himself -- in factquite his probable fate. If such a thing could happen in broaddaylight what frightful thing might not fall to their lot whennight had enshrouded them in her mantle of darkness. Theytrembled in anticipation.

The white girl in their midst was no less mystified than they;but far less moved, since sudden death was the most mercifulfate to which she might now look forward. So far she hadbeen subjected to nothing worse than the petty cruelties of thewomen, while, on the other hand, it had alone been the pres-ence of the women that had saved her from worse treatmentat the hands of some of the men -- notably the brutal, blacksergeant, Usanga. His own woman was of the party -- averitable giantess, a virago of the first magnitude -- and shewasevidently the only thing in the world of which Usanga stoodin awe. Even though she was particularly cruel to the youngwoman, the latter believed that she was her sole protectionfrom the degraded black tyrant.

Late in the afternoon the band came upon a small palisadedvillage of thatched huts set in a clearing in the jungle closebeside a placid river. At their approach the villagers camepouring out, and Usanga advanced with two of his warriors topalaver with the chief. The experiences of the day had soshaken the nerves of the black sergeant that he was ready totreat with these people rather than take their village by forceof arms, as would ordinarily have been his preference; but nowa vague conviction influenced him that there watched over thispart of the jungle a powerful demon who wielded miraculouspower for evil against those who offended him. First Usangawould learn how these villagers stood with this savage godand if they had his good will Usanga would be most carefulto treat them with kindness and respect.

At the palaver it developed that the village chief had food,goats, and fowl which he would be glad to dispose of fora proper consideration; but as the consideration would havemeant parting with precious rifles and ammunition, or thevery clothing from their backs, Usanga began to see that afterall it might be forced upon him to wage war to obtain food.

A happy solution was arrived at by a suggestion of one ofhis men -- that the soldiers go forth the following day and huntfor the villagers, bringing them in so much fresh meat in re-turn for their hospitality. This the chief agreed to, stipulatingthe kind and quantity of game to be paid in return for flour,goats, and fowl, and a certain number of huts that were to beturned over to the visitors. The details having been settledafter an hour or more of that bickering argument of which thenative African is so fond, the newcomers entered the villagewhere they were assigned to huts.

Bertha Kircher found herself alone in a small hut to thepalisade at the far end of the village street, and though she wasneither bound nor guarded, she was assured by Usangathat she could not escape the village without running into almostcertain death in the jungle, which the villagers assured themwas infested by lions of great size and ferocity. "Be good toUsanga," he concluded, "and no harm will befall you. I willcome again to see you after the others are asleep. Let us befriends."

As the brute left her the girl's frame was racked by a con-vulsive shudder as she sank to the floor of the hut and cov-ered her face with her hands. She realized now why thewomen had not been left to guard her. It was the work ofthe cunning Usanga, but would not his woman suspect some-thing of his intentions? She was no fool and, further, beingimbued with insane jealousy she was ever looking for someovert act upon the part of her ebon lord. Bertha Kircher feltthat only she might save her and that she would save her ifword could be but gotten to her. But how?

Left alone and away from the eyes of her captors for thefirst time since the previous night, the girl immediately tookadvantage of the opportunity to assure herself that the papersshe had taken from the body of Hauptmann Fritz Schneiderwere still safely sewn inside one of her undergarments.

Alas! Of what value could they now ever be to her be-loved country? But habit and loyalty were so strong withinher that she still clung to the determined hope of eventuallydelivering the little packet to her chief.

The natives seemed to have forgotten her existence -- noone came near the hut, not even to bring her food. She couldhear them at the other end of the village laughing and yellingand knew that they were celebrating with food and nativebeer -- knowledge which only increased her apprehension. Tobe prisoner in a native village in the very heart of an unex-plored region of Central Africa -- the only white woman amonga band of drunken Negroes! The very thought appalled her.Yet there was a slight promise in the fact that she had so farbeen unmolested -- the promise that they might, indeed, haveforgotten her and that soon they might become so hopelesslydrunk as to be harmless.

Darkness had fallen and still no one came. The girl won-dered if she dared venture forth in search of Naratu, Usanga'swoman, for Usanga might not forget that he had promised toreturn. No one was near as she stepped out of the hut andmade her way toward the part of the village where the revelerswere making merry about a fire. As she approached shesaw the villagers and their guests squatting in a large circleabout the blaze before which a half-dozen naked warriorsleaped and bent and stamped in some grotesque dance. Potsof food and gourds of drink were being passed about amongthe audience. Dirty hands were plunged into the food potsand the captured portions devoured so greedily that one mighthave thought the entire community had been upon the pointof starvation. The gourds they held to their lips until thebeer ran down their chins and the vessels were wrested fromthem by greedy neighbors. The drink had now begun totake noticeable effect upon most of them, with the resultthat they were beginning to give themselves up to utter andlicentious abandon.

As the girl came nearer, keeping in the shadow of the huts,looking for Naratu she was suddenly discovered by one uponthe edge of the crowd -- a huge woman, who rose, shrieking,and came toward her. From her aspect the white girl thoughtthat the woman meant literally to tear her to pieces. So ut-terly wanton and uncalled-for was the attack that it foundthe girl entirely unprepared, and what would have happenedhad not a warrior interfered may only be guessed. And thenUsanga, noting the interruption, came lurching forward toquestion her.

"What do you want," he cried, "food and drink? Comewith me!" and he threw an arm about her and dragged hertoward the circle.

"No!" she cried, "I want Naratu. Where is Naratu?"

This seemed to sober the black for a moment as though hehad temporarily forgotten his better half. He cast quick, fear-ful glances about, and then, evidently assured that Naratuhad noticed nothing, he ordered the warrior who was stillholding the infuriated black woman from the white girl totake the latter back to her hut and to remain there on guardover her.

First appropriating a gourd of beer for himself the warriormotioned the girl to precede him, and thus guarded she re-turned to her hut, the fellow squatting down just outside thedoorway, where he confined his attentions for some time tothe gourd.

Bertha Kircher sat down at the far side of the hut awaitingshe knew not what impending fate. She could not sleep sofilled was her mind with wild schemes of escape though eachnew one must always be discarded as impractical. Half anhour after the warrior had returned her to her prison he roseand entered the hut, where he tried to engage in conversationwith her. Groping across the interior he leaned his short spearagainst the wall and sat down beside her, and as he talked heedged closer and closer until at last he could reach out andtouch her. Shrinking, she drew away.

"Do not touch me!" she cried. "I will tell Usanga if you donot leave me alone, and you know what he will do to you."

The man only laughed drunkenly, and, reaching out hishand, grabbed her arm and dragged her toward him. Shefought and cried aloud for Usanga and at the same instant theentrance to the hut was darkened by the form of a man.

"What is the matter?" shouted the newcomer in the deeptones that the girl recognized as belonging to the black ser-geant. He had come, but would she be any better off? Sheknew that she would not unless she could play upon Usanga'sfear of his woman.

When Usanga found what had happened he kicked the war-rior out of the hut and bade him begone, and when the fel-low had disappeared, muttering and grumbling, the sergeantapproached the white girl. He was very drunk, so drunk thatseveral times she succeeded in eluding him and twice shepushed him so violently away that he stumbled and fell.

Finally he became enraged and rushing upon her, seized herin his long, apelike arms. Striking at his face with clenchedfists she tried to protect herself and drive him away. Shethreatened him with the wrath of Naratu, and at that hechanged his tactics and began to plead, and as he argued withher, promising her safety and eventual freedom, the warriorhe had kicked out of the hut made his staggering way to thehut occupied by Naratu.

Usanga finding that pleas and promises were as unavailingas threats, at last lost both his patience and his head, seizingthe girl roughly, and simultaneously there burst into the huta raging demon of jealousy. Naratu had come. Kicking,scratching, striking, biting, she routed the terrified Usanga inshort order, and so obsessed was she by her desire to inflictpunishment upon her unfaithful lord and master that she quiteforgot the object of his infatuation.

Bertha Kircher heard her screaming down the village streetat Usanga's heels and trembled at the thought of what lay instore for her at the hands of these two, for she knew that to-morrow at the latest Naratu would take out upon her the fullmeasure of her jealous hatred after she had spent her firstwrath upon Usanga.

The two had departed but a few minutes when the warriorguard returned. He looked into the hut and then entered."No one will stop me now, white woman," he growled as hestepped quickly across the hut toward her.

Tarzan of the Apes, feasting well upon a juicy haunch fromBara, the deer, was vaguely conscious of a troubled mind.He should have been at peace with himself and all the world,for was he not in his native element surrounded by game inplenty and rapidly filling his belly with the flesh he lovedbest?But Tarzan of the Apes was haunted by the picture of a slight,young girl being shoved and struck by brutal Negresses, andin imagination could see her now camped in this savage coun-try a prisoner among degraded blacks.

Why was it so difficult to remember that she was only ahated German and a spy? Why would the fact that she was awoman and white always obtrude itself upon his conscious-ness? He hated her as he hated all her kind, and the fate thatwas sure to be hers was no more terrible than she in commonwith all her people deserved. The matter was settled and Tar-zan composed himself to think of other things, yet the picturewould not die -- it rose in all its details and annoyed him. Hebegan to wonder what they were doing to her and where theywere taking her. He was very much ashamed of himself as hehad been after the episode in Wilhelmstal when his weaknesshad permitted him to spare this spy's life. Was he to be thusweak again? No!

Night came and he settled himself in an ample tree to restuntil morning; but sleep would not come. Instead came thevision of a white girl being beaten by black women, and againof the same girl at the mercy of the warriors somewhere inthat dark and forbidding jungle.

With a growl of anger and self-contempt Tarzan arose,shook himself, and swung from his tree to that adjoining, andthus, through the lower terraces, he followed the trail thatUsanga's party had taken earlier in the afternoon. He hadlittle difficulty as the band had followed a well-beaten pathand when toward midnight the stench of a native village as-sailed his delicate nostrils he guessed that his goal was nearand that presently he should find her whom he sought.

Prowling stealthily as prowls Numa, the lion, stalking awary prey, Tarzan moved noiselessly about the palisade, lis-tening and sniffing. At the rear of the village he discovered atree whose branches extended over the top of the palisade anda moment later he had dropped quietly into the village.

From hut to hut he went searching with keen ears andnostrils some confirming evidence of the presence of the girl,and at last, faint and almost obliterated by the odor of theGomangani, he found it hanging like a delicate vapor about asmall hut. The village was quiet now, for the last of the beerand the food had been disposed of and the blacks lay in theirhuts overcome by stupor, yet Tarzan made no noise that evena sober man keenly alert might have heard.

He passed around to the entrance of the hut and listened. From within came no sound, not even the low breathing ofone awake; yet he was sure that the girl had been here andperhaps was even now, and so he entered, slipping in assilently as a disembodied spirit. For a moment he stood mo-tionless just within the entranceway, listening. No, there wasno one here, of that he was sure, but he would investigate.As his eyes became accustomed to the greater darkness withinthe hut an object began to take form that presently outlineditself in a human form supine upon the floor.

Tarzan stepped closer and leaned over to examine it -- itwas the dead body of a naked warrior from whose chest pro-truded a short spear. Then he searched carefully every squarefoot of the remaining floor space and at last returned to thebody again where he stooped and smelled of the haft of theweapon that had slain the black. A slow smile touched hislips -- that and a slight movement of his head betokened thathe understood.

A rapid search of the balance of the village assured him thatthe girl had escaped and a feeling of relief came over himthat no harm had befallen her. That her life was equally injeopardy in the savage jungle to which she must have flowndid not impress him as it would have you or me, since toTarzan the jungle was not a dangerous place -- he consideredone safer there than in Paris or London by night.

He had entered the trees again and was outside the palisadewhen there came faintly to his ears from far beyond the vil-lage an old, familiar sound. Balancing lightly upon a swayingbranch he stood, a graceful statue of a forest god, listeningintently. For a minute he stood thus and then there brokefrom his lips the long, weird cry of ape calling to ape and hewas away through the jungle toward the sound of the boom-ing drum of the anthropoids leaving behind him an awakenedand terrified village of cringing blacks, who would foreverafter connect that eerie cry with the disappearance of theirwhite prisoner and the death of their fellow-warrior.

Bertha Kircher, hurrying through the jungle along a well-beaten game trail, thought only of putting as much distance aspossible between herself and the village before daylight couldpermit pursuit of her. Whither she was going she did notknow, nor was it a matter of great moment since death mustbe her lot sooner or later.

Fortune favored her that night, for she passed unscathedthrough as savage and lion-ridden an area as there is in allAfrica -- a natural hunting ground which the white man hasnot yet discovered, where deer and antelope and zebra, giraffeand elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, and the other herbivorousanimals of central Africa abound unmolested by none but theirnatural enemies, the great cats which, lured here by easy preyand immunity from the rifles of big-game hunters, swarm thedistrict.

She had fled for an hour or two, perhaps, when her attentionwas arrested by the sound of animals moving about, mutteringand growling close ahead. Assured that she had covered asufficient distance to insure her a good start in the morningbefore the blacks could take to her trail, and fearful of whatthe creatures might be, she climbed into a large tree with theintention of spending the balance of the night there.

She had no sooner reached a safe and comfortable branchwhen she discovered that the tree stood upon the edge of asmall clearing that had been hidden from her by the heavyundergrowth upon the ground below, and simultaneously shediscovered the identity of the beasts she had heard.

In the center of the clearing below her, clearly visible inthe bright moonlight, she saw fully twenty huge, manlike apes-- great, shaggy fellows who went upon their hind feet withonly slight assistance from the knuckles of their hands. Themoonlight glanced from their glossy coats, the numerous gray-tipped hairs imparting a sheen that made the hideous creaturesalmost magnificent in their appearance.

The girl had watched them but a minute or two when thelittle band was joined by others, coming singly and in groupsuntil there were fully fifty of the great brutes gathered therein the moonlight. Among them were young apes and severallittle ones clinging tightly to their mothers' shaggy shoulders.Presently the group parted to form a circle about what ap-peared to be a small, flat-topped mound of earth in the centerof the clearing. Squatting close about this mound were threeold females armed with short, heavy clubs with which theypresently began to pound upon the flat top of the earth moundwhich gave forth a dull, booming sound, and almost imme-diately the other apes commenced to move about restlessly,weaving in and out aimlessly until they carried the impressionof a moving mass of great, black maggots.

The beating of the drum was in a slow, ponderous cadence,at first without time but presently settling into a heavy rhythmto which the apes kept time with measured tread and sway-ing bodies. Slowly the mass separated into two rings, theouter of which was composed of shes and the very young, theinner of mature bulls. The former ceased to move andsquatted upon their haunches, while the bulls now movedslowly about in a circle the center of which was the drum andall now in the same direction.

It was then that there came faintly to the ears of the girlfrom the direction of the village she had recently quitted aweird and high-pitched cry. The effect upon the apes waselectrical -- they stopped their movements and stood in atti-tudes of intent listening for a moment, and then one fellow,huger than his companions, raised his face to the heavens andin a voice that sent the cold shudders through the girl's slightframe answered the far-off cry.

Assuring herself that her packet of papers was safe shesought as comfortable a position as possible among thebranches, and settled herself to watch the weird proceedingsin the clearing below her.

A half-hour passed, during which the cadence of the drumincreased gradually. Now the great bull that had replied tothe distant call leaped from the inner circle to dance alonebetween the drummers and the other bulls. He leaped andcrouched and leaped again, now growling and barking, againstopping to raise his hideous face to Goro, the moon, and,beating upon his shaggy breast, uttered a piercing scream --the challenge of the bull ape, had the girl but known it.

He stood thus in the full glare of the great moon, motionlessafter screaming forth his weird challenge, in the setting of theprimeval jungle and the circling apes a picture of primitivesavagery and power -- a mightily muscled Hercules out of thedawn of life -- when from close behind her the girl heard ananswering scream, and an instant later saw an almost nakedwhite man drop from a near-by tree into the clearing.

Instantly the apes became a roaring, snarling pack of angrybeasts. Bertha Kircher held her breath. What maniac wasthis who dared approach these frightful creatures in theirown haunts, alone against fifty? She saw the brown-skinnedfigure bathed in moonlight walk straight toward the snarlingpack. She saw the symmetry and the beauty of that perfectbody -- its grace, its strength, its wondrous proportioning, andthen she recognized him. It was the same creature whom shehad seen carry Major Schneider from General Kraut's head-quarters, the same who had rescued her from Numa, the lion;the same whom she had struck down with the butt of herpistol and escaped when he would have returned her to herenemies, the same who had slain Hauptmann Fritz Schneiderand spared her life that night in Wilhelmstal.

Fear-filled and fascinated she watched him as he nearedthe apes. She heard sounds issue from his throat -- soundsidentical with those uttered by the apes -- and though shecould scarce believe the testimony of her own ears, she knewthat this godlike creature was conversing with the brutes intheir own tongue.

Tarzan halted just before he reached the shes of the outercircle. "I am Tarzan of the Apes!" he cried. "You do notknow me because I am of another tribe, but Tarzan comes inpeace or he comes to fight -- which shall it be? Tarzan willtalk with your king," and so saying he pushed straight forwardthrough the shes and the young who now gave way beforehim, making a narrow lane through which he passed towardthe inner circle.

Shes and balus growled and bristled as he passed closer,but none hindered him and thus he came to the inner circle ofbulls. Here bared fangs menaced him and growling faceshideously contorted. "I am Tarzan," he repeated. "Tarzancomes to dance the Dum-Dum with his brothers. Where isyour king?" Again he pressed forward and the girl in the treeclapped her palms to her cheeks as she watched, wide-eyed,this madman going to a frightful death. In another instantthey would be upon him, rending and tearing until that perfectform had been ripped to shreds; but again the ring parted,and though the apes roared and menaced him they did notattack, and at last he stood in the inner circle close to thedrumand faced the great king ape.

Again he spoke. "I am Tarzan of the Apes," he cried."Tarzan comes to live with his brothers. He will come inpeace and live in peace or he will kill; but he has come andhe will stay. Which -- shall Tarzan dance the Dum-Dum inpeace with his brothers, or shall Tarzan kill first?"

"I am Go-lat, King of the Apes," screamed the great bull."I kill! I kill! I kill!" and with a sullen roar he charged theTarmangani.

The ape-man, as the girl watched him, seemed entirelyunprepared for the charge and she looked to see him bornedown and slain at the first rush. The great bull was almostupon him with huge hands outstretched to seize him beforeTarzan made a move, but when he did move his quicknesswould have put Ara, the lightning, to shame. As darts for-ward the head of Histah, the snake, so darted forward theleft hand of the man-beast as he seized the left wrist of hisantagonist. A quick turn and the bull's right arm was lockedbeneath the right arm of his foe in a jujutsu hold that Tarzanhad learned among civilized men -- a hold with which hemight easily break the great bones, a hold that left the apehelpless.

"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" screamed the ape-man. "ShallTarzan dance in peace or shall Tarzan kill?''

"I kill! I kill! I kill!" shrieked Go-lat.

With the quickness of a cat Tarzan swung the king apeover one hip and sent him sprawling to the ground. "I amTarzan, King of all the Apes!" he shouted. "Shall it be peace?"

Go-lat, infuriated, leaped to his feet and charged again,shouting his war cry: "I kill! I kill! I kill!" and again Tarzanmet him with a sudden hold that the stupid bull, being ig-norant of, could not possibly avert -- a hold and a throw thatbrought a scream of delight from the interested audience andsuddenly filled the girl with doubts as to the man's madness-- evidently he was quite safe among the apes, for she sawhim swing Go-lat to his back and then catapult him over hisshoulder. The king ape fell upon his head and lay very still.

"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" cried the ape-man. "I come todance the Dum-Dum with my brothers," and he made a mo-tion to the drummers, who immediately took up the cadenceof the dance where they had dropped it to watch their kingslay the foolish Tarmangani.

It was then that Go-lat raised his head and slowly crawledto his feet. Tarzan approached him. "I am Tarzan of theApes," he cried. "Shall Tarzan dance the Dum-Dum with hisbrothers now, or shall he kill first?"

Go-lat raised his bloodshot eyes to the face of the Tar-mangani. "Kagoda!" he cried "Tarzan of the Apes will dancethe Dum-Dum with his brothers and Go-lat will dance with him!"

And then the girl in the tree saw the savage man leaping,bending, and stamping with the savage apes in the ancientrite of the Dum-Dum. His roars and growls were morebeastly than the beasts. His handsome face was distortedwith savage ferocity. He beat upon his great breast andscreamed forth his challenge as his smooth, brown hidebrushed the shaggy coats of his fellows. It was weird; it waswonderful; and in its primitive savagery it was not withoutbeauty -- the strange scene she looked upon, such a scene asno other human being, probably, ever had witnessed -- andyet, withal, it was horrible.

As she gazed, spell-bound, a stealthy movement in the treebehind her caused her to turn her head, and there, back ofher, blazing in the reflected moonlight, shone two great, yellow-green eyes. Sheeta, the panther, had found her out.

The beast was so close that it might have reached out andtouched her with a great, taloned paw. There was no time tothink, no time to weigh chances or to choose alternatives.Terror-inspired impulse was her guide as, with a loud scream,she leaped from the tree into the clearing.

Instantly the apes, now maddened by the effects of thedancing and the moonlight, turned to note the cause of theinterruption. They saw this she Tarmangani, helpless andalone and they started for her. Sheeta, the panther, knowingthat not even Numa, the lion, unless maddened by starvation,dares meddle with the great apes at their Dum-Dum, hadsilently vanished into the night, seeking his supper elsewhere.

Tarzan, turning with the other apes toward the cause of theinterruption, saw the girl, recognized her and also her peril.Here again might she die at the hands of others; but why con-sider it! He knew that he could not permit it, and though theacknowledgment shamed him, it had to be admitted.

The leading shes were almost upon the girl when Tarzanleaped among them, and with heavy blows scattered them toright and left; and then as the bulls came to share in the killthey thought this new ape-thing was about to make that hemight steal all the flesh for himself, they found him facingthem with an arm thrown about the creature as though toprotect her.

"This is Tarzan's she," he said. "Do not harm her." It wasthe only way he could make them understand that they mustnot slay her. He was glad that she could not interpret thewords. It was humiliating enough to make such a statementto wild apes about this hated enemy.

So once again Tarzan of the Apes was forced to protect aHun. Growling, he muttered to himself in extenuation:

"She is a woman and I am not a German, so it could not beotherwise!"