Daylight overtook them after they had entered the gorge,but, tired as they all were with the exception of Tar-zan, they realized that they must keep on at all costsuntil they found a spot where they might ascend the precipi-tous side of the gorge to the floor of the plateau above. Tarzanand Otobu were both equally confident that the Xujans wouldnot follow them beyond the gorge, but though they scannedevery inch of the frowning cliffs upon either hand noon cameand there was still no indication of any avenue of escape toright or left. There were places where the ape-man alonemight have negotiated the ascent but none where the otherscould hope successfully to reach the plateau, nor where Tar-zan, powerful and agile as he was, could have ventured safelyto carry them aloft.

For half a day the ape-man had been either carrying orsupporting Smith-Oldwick and now, to his chagrin, he sawthat the girl was faltering. He had realized well how muchshe had undergone and how greatly the hardships and dan-gers and the fatigue of the past weeks must have told uponher vitality. He saw how bravely she attempted to keep up,yet how often she stumbled and staggered as she laboredthrough the sand and gravel of the gorge. Nor could he helpbut admire her fortitude and the uncomplaining effort she wasmaking to push on.

The Englishman must have noticed her condition too, forsome time after noon, he stopped suddenly and sat down inthe sand. "It's no use," he said to Tarzan. "I can go no far-ther. Miss Kircher is rapidly weakening. You will have to goon without me."

"No," said the girl, "we cannot do that. We have all beenthrough so much together and the chances of our escape arestill so remote that whatever comes, let us remain together,unless," and she looked up at Tarzan, "you, who have doneso much for us to whom you are under no obligations, willgo on without us. I for one wish that you would. It must beas evident to you as it is to me that you cannot save us, forthough you succeeded in dragging us from the path of ourpursuers, even your great strength and endurance could nevertake one of us across the desert waste which lies betweenhere and the nearest fertile country."

The ape-man returned her serious look with a smile. "Youare not dead," he said to her, "nor is the lieutenant, nor Otobu,nor myself. One is either dead or alive, and until we are deadwe should plan only upon continuing to live. Because weremain here and rest is no indication that we shall die here.I cannot carry you both to the country of the Wamabos, whichis the nearest spot at which we may expect to find game andwater, but we shall not give up on that account. So far wehave found a way. Let us take things as they come. Let usrest now because you and Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick need therest, and when you are stronger we will go on again."

"But the Xujans --?" she asked, "may they not follow ushere?"

"Yes," he said, "they probably will. But we need not beconcerned with them until they come."

"I wish," said the girl, "that I possessed your philosophybut I am afraid it is beyond me."

"You were not born and reared in the jungle by wild beastsand among wild beasts, or you would possess, as I do, thefatalism of the jungle."

And so they moved to the side of the gorge beneath theshade of an overhanging rock and lay down in the hot sand torest. Numa wandered restlessly to and fro and finally, aftersprawling for a moment close beside the ape-man, rose andmoved off up the gorge to be lost to view a moment later be-yond the nearest turn.

For an hour the little party rested and then Tarzan suddenlyrose and, motioning the others to silence, listened. For a min-ute he stood motionless, his keen ears acutely receptive tosounds so faint and distant that none of the other three coulddetect the slightest break in the utter and deathlike quiet ofthegorge. Finally the ape-man relaxed and turned toward them."What is it?" asked the girl.

"They are coming," he replied. "They are yet some distanceaway, though not far, for the sandaled feet of the men and thepads of the lions make little noise upon the soft sands."

"What shall we do -- try to go on?" asked Smith-Oldwick."I believe I could make a go of it now for a short way. I ammuch rested. How about you Miss Kircher?"

"Oh, yes," she said, "I am much stronger. Yes, surely I cango on."

Tarzan knew that neither of them quite spoke the truth,that people do not recover so quickly from utter exhaustion,but he saw no other way and there was always the hope thatjust beyond the next turn would be a way out of the gorge.

"You help the lieutenant, Otobu," he said, turning to theblack, "and I will carry Miss Kircher," and though the girlobjected, saying that he must not waste his strength, he liftedher lightly in his arms and moved off up the canyon, followedby Otobu and the Englishman. They had gone no great dis-tance when the others of the party became aware of the soundsof pursuit, for now the lions were whining as though the freshscent spoor of their quarry had reached their nostrils.

"I wish that your Numa would return," said the girl.

"Yes," said Tarzan, "but we shall have to do the best we canwithout him. I should like to find some place where we canbarricade ourselves against attack from all sides. Possibly thenwe might hold them off. Smith-Oldwick is a good shot and ifthere are not too many men he might be able to dispose ofthem provided they can only come at him one at a time. Thelions don't bother me so much. Sometimes they are stupidanimals, and I am sure that these that pursue us, and who areso dependent upon the masters that have raised and trainedthem, will be easily handled after the warriors are disposed of."

"You think there is some hope, then?" she asked.

"We are still alive," was his only answer.

"There," he said presently, "I thought I recalled this veryspot." He pointed toward a fragment that had evidently fallenfrom the summit of the cliff and which now lay imbedded inthe sand a few feet from the base. It was a jagged fragment ofrock which rose some ten feet above the surface of the sand,leaving a narrow aperture between it and the cliff behind. To-ward this they directed their steps and when finally theyreached their goal they found a space about two feet wide andten feet long between the rock and the cliff. To be sure it wasopen at both ends but at least they could not be attackedupon all sides at once.

They had scarcely concealed themselves before Tarzan'squick ears caught a sound upon the face of the cliff abovethem, and looking up he saw a diminutive monkey perchedupon a slight projection -- an ugly-faced little monkey wholooked down upon them for a moment and then scamperedaway toward the south in the direction from which their pur-suers were coming. Otobu had seen the monkey too. "He willtell the parrots," said the black, "and the parrots will tell themadmen."

"It is all the same," replied Tarzan; "the lions would havefound us here. We could not hope to hide from them."

He placed Smith-Oldwick, with his pistol, at the north open-ing of their haven and told Otobu to stand with his spear atthe Englishman's shoulder, while he himself prepared to guardthe southern approach. Between them he had the girl lie downin the sand. "You will be safe there in the event that they usetheir spears," he said.

The minutes that dragged by seemed veritable eternities toBertha Kircher and then at last, and almost with relief, sheknew that the pursuers were upon them. She heard the angryroaring of the lions and the cries of the madmen. For severalminutes the men seemed to be investigating the strongholdwhich their quarry had discovered. She could hear them bothto the north and south and then from where she lay she sawa lion charging for the ape-man before her. She saw the giantarm swing back with the curved saber and she saw it fallwith terrific velocity and meet the lion as he rose to grapplewith the man, cleaving his skull as cleanly as a butcher opensup a sheep.

Then she heard footsteps running rapidly toward Smith-Oldwick and, as his pistol spoke, there was a scream and thesound of a falling body. Evidently disheartened by the failureof their first attempt the assaulters drew off, but only for ashort time. Again they came, this time a man opposing Tar-zan and a lion seeking to overcome Smith-Oldwick. Tarzanhad cautioned the young Englishman not to waste his car-tridges upon the lions and it was Otobu with the Xujan spearwho met the beast, which was not subdued until both he andSmith-Oldwick had been mauled, and the latter had succeededin running the point of the saber the girl had carried, into thebeast's heart. The man who opposed Tarzan inadvertentlycame too close in an attempt to cut at the ape-man's head, withthe result that an instant later his corpse lay with the neckbroken upon the body of the lion.

Once again the enemy withdrew, but again only for a shorttime, and now they came in full force, the lions and the men,possibly a half dozen of each, the men casting their spearsand the lions waiting just behind, evidently for the signal tocharge.

"Is this the end?" asked the girl.

"No," cried the ape-man, "for we still live!"

The words had scarcely passed his lips when the remainingwarriors, rushing in, cast their spears simultaneously fromboth sides. In attempting to shield the girl, Tarzan receivedone of the shafts in the shoulder, and so heavily had theweapon been hurled that it bore him backward to the ground.Smith-Oldwick fired his pistol twice when he too was struckdown, the weapon entering his right leg midway between hipand knee. Only Otobu remained to face the enemy, for theEnglishman, already weak from his wounds and from thelatest mauling he had received at the claws of the lion, had lostconsciousness as he sank to the ground with this new hurt.

As he fell his pistol dropped from his fingers, and the girl,seeing, snatched it up. As Tarzan struggled to rise, one of thewarriors leaped full upon his breast and bore him back as, withfiendish shrieks, he raised the point of his saber above theother's heart. Before he could drive it home the girl leveledSmith-Oldwick's pistol and fired point-blank at the fiend'sface.

Simultaneously there broke upon the astonished ears of bothattackers and attacked a volley of shots from the gorge. Withthe sweetness of the voice of an angel from heaven the Euro-peans heard the sharp-barked commands of an English non-com. Even above the roars of the lions and the screams ofthe maniacs, those beloved tones reached the ears of Tarzanand the girl at the very moment that even the ape-man hadgiven up the last vestige of hope.

Rolling the body of the warrior to one side Tarzan strug-gled to his feet, the spear still protruding from his shoulder.The girl rose too, and as Tarzan wrenched the weapon fromhis flesh and stepped out from behind the concealment oftheir refuge, she followed at his side. The skirmish that hadresulted in their rescue was soon over. Most of the lions es-caped but all of the pursuing Xujans had been slain. As Tar-zan and the girl came into full view of the group, a BritishTommy leveled his rifle at the ape-man. Seeing the fellow'sactions and realizing instantly the natural error that Tarzan'syellow tunic had occasioned the girl sprang between him andthe soldier. "Don't shoot," she cried to the latter, "we are bothfriends."

"Hold up your hands, you, then," he commanded Tarzan."I ain't taking no chances with any duffer with a yellow shirt."

At this juncture the British sergeant who had been in com-mand of the advance guard approached and when Tarzan andthe girl spoke to him in English, explaining their disguises, heaccepted their word, since they were evidently not of thesame race as the creatures which lay dead about them. Tenminutes later the main body of the expedition came into view.Smith-Oldwick's wounds were dressed, as well as were thoseof the ape-man, and in half an hour they were on their way tothe camp of their rescuers.

That night it was arranged that the following day Smith-Oldwick and Bertha Kircher should be transported to Britishheadquarters near the coast by aeroplane, the two planesattached to the expeditionary force being requisitioned for thepurpose. Tarzan and Otobu declined the offers of the Britishcaptain to accompany his force overland on the return marchas Tarzan explained that his country lay to the west, as didOtobu's, and that they would travel together as far as thecountry of the Wamabos.

"You are not going back with us, then?" asked the girl.

"No," replied the ape-man. "My home is upon the westcoast. I will continue my journey in that direction."

She cast appealing eyes toward him. "You will go back intothat terrible jungle?" she asked. "We shall never see youagain?"

He looked at her a moment in silence. "Never," he said,and without another word turned and walked away.

In the morning Colonel Capell came from the base camp inone of the planes that was to carry Smith-Oldwick and the girlto the east. Tarzan was standing some distance away as theship landed and the officer descended to the ground. He sawthe colonel greet his junior in command of the advance de-tachment, and then he saw him turn toward Bertha Kircherwho was standing a few paces behind the captain. Tarzan won-dered how the German spy felt in this situation, especiallywhen she must know that there was one there who knew herreal status. He saw Colonel Capell walk toward her with out-stretched hands and smiling face and, although he couldnot hear the words of his greeting, he saw that it was friendlyand cordial to a degree.

Tarzan turned away scowling, and if any had been close bythey might have heard a low growl rumble from his chest. Heknew that his country was at war with Germany and that notonly his duty to the land of his fathers, but also his personalgrievance against the enemy people and his hatred of them,demanded that he expose the girl's perfidy, and yet he hesi-tated, and because he hesitated he growled -- not at the Germanspy but at himself for his weakness.

He did not see her again before she entered a plane and wasborne away toward the east. He bid farewell to Smith-Oldwickand received again the oft-repeated thanks of the young Eng-lishman. And then he saw him too borne aloft in the highcircling plane and watched until the ship became a speck farabove the eastern horizon to disappear at last high in air.

The Tommies, their packs and accouterments slung, werewaiting the summons to continue their return march. ColonelCapell had, through a desire to personally observe the stretchof country between the camp of the advance detachment andthe base, decided to march back his troops. Now that all wasin readiness for departure he turned to Tarzan. "I wish youwould come back with us, Greystoke," he said, "and if myappeal carries no inducement possibly that of Smith-Oldwick'and the young lady who just left us may. They asked me tourge you to return to civilization."

"No;" said Tarzan, "I shall go my own way. Miss Kircherand Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick were only prompted by a senseof gratitude in considering my welfare."

"Miss Kircher?" exclaimed Capell and then he laughed,"You know her then as Bertha Kircher, the German spy?"

Tarzan looked at the other a moment in silence. It wasbeyond him to conceive that a British officer should thus laco-nically speak of an enemy spy whom he had had within hispower and permitted to escape. "Yes," he replied, "I knewthat she was Bertha Kircher, the German spy?"

"Is that all you knew?" asked Capell.

"That is all," said the ape-man.

"She is the Honorable Patricia Canby," said Capell, "oneof the most valuable members of the British Intelligence Serv-ice attached to the East African forces. Her father and Iserved in India together and I have known her ever since shewas born.

"Why, here's a packet of papers she took from a Germanofficer and has been carrying it through all her vicissitudes --single-minded in the performance of her duty. Look! Ihaven't yet had time to examine them but as you see here is amilitary sketch map, a bundle of reports, and the diary of oneHauptmann Fritz Schneider."

"The diary of Hauptmann Fritz Schneider!" repeated Tar-zan in a constrained voice. "May I see it, Capell? He is theman who murdered Lady Greystoke."

The Englishman handed the little volume over to the otherwithout a word. Tarzan ran through the pages quickly look-ing for a certain date -- the date that the horror had been com-mitted -- and when he found it he read rapidly. Suddenly agasp of incredulity burst from his lips. Capell looked at himquestioningly.

"God!" exclaimed the ape-man. "Can this be true? Listen!"and he read an excerpt from the closely written page:

"'Played a little joke on the English pig. When he comeshome he will find the burned body of his wife in her boudoir --but he will only think it is his wife. Had von Goss substitutethe body of a dead Negress and char it after putting LadyGreystoke's rings on it -- Lady G will be of more value to theHigh Command alive than dead.'"

"She lives!" cried Tarzan.

"Thank God!" exclaimed Capell. "And now?"

"I will return with you, of course. How terribly I havewronged Miss Canby, but how could I know? I even toldSmith-Oldwick, who loves her, that she was a German spy.

"Not only must I return to find my wife but I must rightthis wrong."

"Don't worry about that," said Capell, "she must have con-vinced him that she is no enemy spy, for just before they leftthis morning he told me she had promised to marry him."

End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Tarzan the Untamed, by Burroughs

Note: I have made the following changes to the text:PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO25 10 noislessly noiselessly40 34 hole bole41 45 later latter53 43 but "but66 19 half-smiled half-smile69 45 to many too many75 16 fine find81 3 forth fourth86 14 hoplessly hopelessly86 42 interferred interfered93 15 born borne101 40 Englishman Englishmen108 16 divertisements divertissements110 29 asid said127 14 apppreciate appreciate128 45 fuseluge fuselage138 25 as the at the142 34 girls' girl's146 44 sourroundings, surroundings,148 30 spirit on spirit of149 33 upon upon.153 3 immediately immediate153 39 nothwithstanding notwithstanding159 43 "The The163 45 known know171 8 one the on the172 8 sandled sandaled175 2 junlgle jungle181 46 swifty swiftly189 23 not, not.198 45 "Come," Come,"219 1 still sill225 21 sigh or sigh of227 20 occasionaly occasionally228 5 gazing grazing234 24 prionsers. prisoners.237 11 qiuckly quickly237 16 opproached approached243 16 is his in his244 32 second secondsI have also omitted the page-wide line beneath each chapterheading.