TEEKA, STRETCHED AT luxurious ease in the shade of thetropical forest, presented, unquestionably, a most alluringpicture of young, feminine loveliness. Or at least sothought Tarzan of the Apes, who squatted upon a low-swingingbranch in a near-by tree and looked down upon her.

Just to have seen him there, lolling upon the swayingbough of the jungle-forest giant, his brown skin mottledby the brilliant equatorial sunlight which percolatedthrough the leafy canopy of green above him, his clean-limbedbody relaxed in graceful ease, his shapely head partlyturned in contemplative absorption and his intelligent,gray eyes dreamily devouring the object of their devotion,you would have thought him the reincarnation of somedemigod of old.

You would not have guessed that in infancy he had suckledat the breast of a hideous, hairy she-ape, nor that in allhis conscious past since his parents had passed away in thelittle cabin by the landlocked harbor at the jungle's verge,he had known no other associates than the sullen bullsand the snarling cows of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape.

Nor, could you have read the thoughts which passed throughthat active, healthy brain, the longings and desiresand aspirations which the sight of Teeka inspired,would you have been any more inclined to give credenceto the reality of the origin of the ape-man. For,from his thoughts alone, you could never have gleanedthe truth--that he had been born to a gentle English ladyor that his sire had been an English nobleman of time-honoredlineage.

Lost to Tarzan of the Apes was the truth of his origin. That he was John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, with a seatin the House of Lords, he did not know, nor, knowing,would have understood.

Yes, Teeka was indeed beautiful!

Of course Kala had been beautiful--one's mother is alwaysthat--but Teeka was beautiful in a way all her own,an indescribable sort of way which Tarzan was justbeginning to sense in a rather vague and hazy manner.

For years had Tarzan and Teeka been play-fellows, and Teekastill continued to be playful while the young bulls of her ownage were rapidly becoming surly and morose. Tarzan, if hegave the matter much thought at all, probably reasonedthat his growing attachment for the young female couldbe easily accounted for by the fact that of the formerplaymates she and he alone retained any desire to frolic as ofold.

But today, as he sat gazing upon her, he found himselfnoting the beauties of Teeka's form and features--somethinghe never had done before, since none of them had aughtto do with Teeka's ability to race nimbly through the lowerterraces of the forest in the primitive games of tag andhide-and-go-seek which Tarzan's fertile brain evolved. Tarzan scratched his head, running his fingers deepinto the shock of black hair which framed his shapely,boyish face--he scratched his head and sighed. Teeka's new-found beauty became as suddenly his despair. He envied her the handsome coat of hair which coveredher body. His own smooth, brown hide he hated with ahatred born of disgust and contempt. Years back he hadharbored a hope that some day he, too, would be clothedin hair as were all his brothers and sisters; but of latehe had been forced to abandon the delectable dream.

Then there were Teeka's great teeth, not so large as the males,of course, but still mighty, handsome things by comparisonwith Tarzan's feeble white ones. And her beetling brows,and broad, flat nose, and her mouth! Tarzan had oftenpracticed making his mouth into a little round circle and thenpuffing out his cheeks while he winked his eyes rapidly;but he felt that he could never do it in the same cuteand irresistible way in which Teeka did it.

And as he watched her that afternoon, and wondered,a young bull ape who had been lazily foraging for foodbeneath the damp, matted carpet of decaying vegetationat the roots of a near-by tree lumbered awkwardlyin Teeka's direction. The other apes of the tribeof Kerchak moved listlessly about or lolled restfullyin the midday heat of the equatorial jungle. From timeto time one or another of them had passed close to Teeka,and Tarzan had been uninterested. Why was it then that hisbrows contracted and his muscles tensed as he saw Taugpause beside the young she and then squat down close to her?

Tarzan always had liked Taug. Since childhood theyhad romped together. Side by side they had squattednear the water, their quick, strong fingers ready toleap forth and seize Pisah, the fish, should that warydenizen of the cool depths dart surfaceward to the lureof the insects Tarzan tossed upon the face of the pool.

Together they had baited Tublat and teased Numa, the lion. Why, then, should Tarzan feel the rise of the short hairsat the nape of his neck merely because Taug sat close to Teeka?

It is true that Taug was no longer the frolicsome apeof yesterday. When his snarling-muscles bared his giantfangs no one could longer imagine that Taug was in asplayful a mood as when he and Tarzan had rolled uponthe turf in mimic battle. The Taug of today was a huge,sullen bull ape, somber and forbidding. Yet he and Tarzannever had quarreled.

For a few minutes the young ape-man watched Taug presscloser to Teeka. He saw the rough caress of the hugepaw as it stroked the sleek shoulder of the she,and then Tarzan of the Apes slipped catlike to the groundand approached the two.

As he came his upper lip curled into a snarl, exposing hisfighting fangs, and a deep growl rumbled from hiscavernous chest. Taug looked up, batting his blood-shot eyes.Teeka half raised herself and looked at Tarzan. Did she guess the cause of his perturbation? Who maysay? At any rate, she was feminine, and so she reachedup and scratched Taug behind one of his small, flat ears.

Tarzan saw, and in the instant that he saw, Teeka was nolonger the little playmate of an hour ago; instead shewas a wondrous thing--the most wondrous in the world--anda possession for which Tarzan would fight to the deathagainst Taug or any other who dared question his rightof proprietorship.

Stooped, his muscles rigid and one great shoulder turnedtoward the young bull, Tarzan of the Apes sidled nearerand nearer. His face was partly averted, but his keengray eyes never left those of Taug, and as he came,his growls increased in depth and volume.

Taug rose upon his short legs, bristling. His fightingfangs were bared. He, too, sidled, stiff-legged, and growled.

"Teeka is Tarzan's," said the ape-man, in the low gutturalsof the great anthropoids.

"Teeka is Taug's," replied the bull ape.

Thaka and Numgo and Gunto, disturbed by the growlingsof the two young bulls, looked up half apathetic,half interested. They were sleepy, but they sensed a fight. It would break the monotony of the humdrum jungle lifethey led.

Coiled about his shoulders was Tarzan's long grass rope,in his hand was the hunting knife of the long-dead fatherhe had never known. In Taug's little brain lay a greatrespect for the shiny bit of sharp metal which the ape-boyknew so well how to use. With it had he slain Tublat,his fierce foster father, and Bolgani, the gorilla. Taug knew these things, and so he came warily, circling aboutTarzan in search of an opening. The latter, made cautiousbecause of his lesser bulk and the inferiority of hisnatural armament, followed similar tactics.

For a time it seemed that the altercation wouldfollow the way of the majority of such differencesbetween members of the tribe and that one of them wouldfinally lose interest and wander off to prosecute someother line of endeavor. Such might have been the endof it had the CASUS BELLI been other than it was;but Teeka was flattered at the attention that was beingdrawn to her and by the fact that these two young bullswere contemplating battle on her account. Such a thingnever before had occurred in Teeka's brief life. She had seen other bulls battling for other and older shes,and in the depth of her wild little heart she had longedfor the day when the jungle grasses would be reddenedwith the blood of mortal combat for her fair sake.

So now she squatted upon her haunches and insultedboth her admirers impartially. She hurled taunts atthem for their cowardice, and called them vile names,such as Histah, the snake, and Dango, the hyena. She threatened to call Mumga to chastise them with astick--Mumga, who was so old that she could no longerclimb and so toothless that she was forced to confineher diet almost exclusively to bananas and grub-worms.

The apes who were watching heard and laughed. Taug was infuriated. He made a sudden lunge for Tarzan,but the ape-boy leaped nimbly to one side, eluding him,and with the quickness of a cat wheeled and leaped backagain to close quarters. His hunting knife was raisedabove his head as he came in, and he aimed a vicious blowat Taug's neck. The ape wheeled to dodge the weaponso that the keen blade struck him but a glancing blow uponthe shoulder.

The spurt of red blood brought a shrill cry of delightfrom Teeka. Ah, but this was something worth while!She glanced about to see if others had witnessed thisevidence of her popularity. Helen of Troy was neverone whit more proud than was Teeka at that moment.

If Teeka had not been so absorbed in her own vaingloriousnessshe might have noted the rustling of leaves in thetree above her--a rustling which was not caused byany movement of the wind, since there was no wind. And had she looked up she might have seen a sleek bodycrouching almost directly over her and wicked yelloweyes glaring hungrily down upon her, but Teeka did not look up.

With his wound Taug had backed off growling horribly. Tarzan had followed him, screaming insults at him,and menacing him with his brandishing blade. Teeka movedfrom beneath the tree in an effort to keep close tothe duelists.

The branch above Teeka bent and swayed a trifle with themovement of the body of the watcher stretched along it. Taug had halted now and was preparing to make a new stand. His lips were flecked with foam, and saliva drooled fromhis jowls. He stood with head lowered and arms outstretched,preparing for a sudden charge to close quarters. Could he but lay his mighty hands upon that soft,brown skin the battle would be his. Taug consideredTarzan's manner of fighting unfair. He would not close. Instead, he leaped nimbly just beyond the reach of Taug'smuscular fingers.

The ape-boy had as yet never come to a real trialof strength with a bull ape, other than in play,and so he was not at all sure that it would be safe to puthis muscles to the test in a life and death struggle. Not that he was afraid, for Tarzan knew nothing of fear. The instinct of self-preservation gave him caution--thatwas all. He took risks only when it seemed necessary,and then he would hesitate at nothing.

His own method of fighting seemed best fitted to his buildand to his armament. His teeth, while strong and sharp, were,as weapons of offense, pitifully inadequate by comparisonwith the mighty fighting fangs of the anthropoids. By dancing about, just out of reach of an antagonist,Tarzan could do infinite injury with his long,sharp hunting knife, and at the same time escapemany of the painful and dangerous wounds which wouldbe sure to follow his falling into the clutches of a bull ape.

And so Taug charged and bellowed like a bull, and Tarzanof the Apes danced lightly to this side and that,hurling jungle billingsgate at his foe, the while henicked him now and again with his knife.

There were lulls in the fighting when the two would standpanting for breath, facing each other, mustering theirwits and their forces for a new onslaught. It wasduring a pause such as this that Taug chanced to lethis eyes rove beyond his foeman. Instantly the entireaspect of the ape altered. Rage left his countenanceto be supplanted by an expression of fear.

With a cry that every ape there recognized, Taug turnedand fled. No need to question him--his warning proclaimedthe near presence of their ancient enemy.

Tarzan started to seek safety, as did the other membersof the tribe, and as he did so he heard a panther'sscream mingled with the frightened cry of a she-ape.Taug heard, too; but he did not pause in his flight.

With the ape-boy, however, it was different. He lookedback to see if any member of the tribe was close pressedby the beast of prey, and the sight that met his eyesfilled them with an expression of horror.

Teeka it was who cried out in terror as she fled acrossa little clearing toward the trees upon the opposite side,for after her leaped Sheeta, the panther, in easy,graceful bounds. Sheeta appeared to be in no hurry. His meat was assured, since even though the ape reachedthe trees ahead of him she could not climb beyond hisclutches before he could be upon her.

Tarzan saw that Teeka must die. He cried to Taugand the other bulls to hasten to Teeka's assistance,and at the same time he ran toward the pursuing beast,taking down his rope as he came. Tarzan knew that oncethe great bulls were aroused none of the jungle,not even Numa, the lion, was anxious to measure fangswith them, and that if all those of the tribe who chancedto be present today would charge, Sheeta, the great cat,would doubtless turn tail and run for his life.

Taug heard, as did the others, but no one came to Tarzan'sassistance or Teeka's rescue, and Sheeta was rapidlyclosing up the distance between himself and his prey.

The ape-boy, leaping after the panther, cried aloud tothe beast in an effort to turn it from Teeka or otherwisedistract its attention until the she-ape could gain thesafety of the higher branches where Sheeta dared not go. He called the panther every opprobrious name that fellto his tongue. He dared him to stop and do battle with him;but Sheeta only loped on after the luscious titbit nowalmost within his reach.

Tarzan was not far behind and he was gaining, but thedistance was so short that he scarce hoped to overhaulthe carnivore before it had felled Teeka. In his right handthe boy swung his grass rope above his head as he ran. He hated to chance a miss, for the distance was muchgreater than he ever had cast before except in practice. It was the full length of his grass rope which separatedhim from Sheeta, and yet there was no other thing to do. He could not reach the brute's side before it overhauled Teeka. He must chance a throw.

And just as Teeka sprang for the lower limb of a great tree,and Sheeta rose behind her in a long, sinuous leap,the coils of the ape-boy's grass rope shot swiftlythrough the air, straightening into a long thin lineas the open noose hovered for an instant above the savagehead and the snarling jaws. Then it settled--cleanand true about the tawny neck it settled, and Tarzan,with a quick twist of his rope-hand, drew the noose taut,bracing himself for the shock when Sheeta should havetaken up the slack.

Just short of Teeka's glossy rump the cruel talons rakedthe air as the rope tightened and Sheeta was brought to asudden stop--a stop that snapped the big beast over uponhis back. Instantly Sheeta was up--with glaring eyes,and lashing tail, and gaping jaws, from which issuedhideous cries of rage and disappointment.

He saw the ape-boy, the cause of his discomfiture,scarce forty feet before him, and Sheeta charged.

Teeka was safe now; Tarzan saw to that by a quick glanceinto the tree whose safety she had gained not an instanttoo soon, and Sheeta was charging. It was useless to riskhis life in idle and unequal combat from which no goodcould come; but could he escape a battle with the enragedcat? And if he was forced to fight, what chance had heto survive? Tarzan was constrained to admit that hisposition was aught but a desirable one. The trees weretoo far to hope to reach in time to elude the cat. Tarzan could but stand facing that hideous charge. In his right hand he grasped his hunting knife--a puny,futile thing indeed by comparison with the great rowsof mighty teeth which lined Sheeta's powerful jaws,and the sharp talons encased within his padded paws;yet the young Lord Greystoke faced it with the same courageousresignation with which some fearless ancestor went downto defeat and death on Senlac Hill by Hastings.

From safety points in the trees the great apes watched,screaming hatred at Sheeta and advice at Tarzan, for theprogenitors of man have, naturally, many human traits. Teeka was frightened. She screamed at the bulls to hastento Tarzan's assistance; but the bulls were otherwiseengaged--principally in giving advice and making faces. Anyway, Tarzan was not a real Mangani, so why should theyrisk their lives in an effort to protect him?

And now Sheeta was almost upon the lithe, naked body,and--the body was not there. Quick as was the great cat,the ape-boy was quicker. He leaped to one side almostas the panther's talons were closing upon him, and as Sheetawent hurtling to the ground beyond, Tarzan was racingfor the safety of the nearest tree.

The panther recovered himself almost immediately and,wheeling, tore after his prey, the ape-boy's ropedragging along the ground behind him. In doubling backafter Tarzan, Sheeta had passed around a low bush. It was a mere nothing in the path of any jungle creatureof the size and weight of Sheeta--provided it had notrailing rope dangling behind. But Sheeta was handicappedby such a rope, and as he leaped once again after Tarzanof the Apes the rope encircled the small bush, becametangled in it and brought the panther to a sudden stop. An instant later Tarzan was safe among the higher branchesof a small tree into which Sheeta could not follow him.

Here he perched, hurling twigs and epithets at the ragingfeline beneath him. The other members of the tribe nowtook up the bombardment, using such hard-shelled fruitsand dead branches as came within their reach, until Sheeta,goaded to frenzy and snapping at the grass rope,finally succeeded in severing its strands. For a momentthe panther stood glaring first at one of his tormentorsand then at another, until, with a final scream of rage,he turned and slunk off into the tangled mazes of the jungle.

A half hour later the tribe was again upon the ground,feeding as though naught had occurred to interrupt the somberdullness of their lives. Tarzan had recovered the greaterpart of his rope and was busy fashioning a new noose,while Teeka squatted close behind him, in evident tokenthat her choice was made.

Taug eyed them sullenly. Once when he came close,Teeka bared her fangs and growled at him, and Tarzanshowed his canines in an ugly snarl; but Taug did notprovoke a quarrel. He seemed to accept after the mannerof his kind the decision of the she as an indicationthat he had been vanquished in his battle for her favors.

Later in the day, his rope repaired, Tarzan took to the treesin search of game. More than his fellows he required meat,and so, while they were satisfied with fruits and herbsand beetles, which could be discovered without much effortupon their part, Tarzan spent considerable time huntingthe game animals whose flesh alone satisfied the cravingsof his stomach and furnished sustenance and strengthto the mighty thews which, day by day, were buildingbeneath the soft, smooth texture of his brown hide.

Taug saw him depart, and then, quite casually, the big beasthunted closer and closer to Teeka in his search for food. At last he was within a few feet of her, and when he shota covert glance at her he saw that she was appraising himand that there was no evidence of anger upon her face.

Taug expanded his great chest and rolled about on hisshort legs, making strange growlings in his throat. He raised his lips, baring his fangs. My, but what great,beautiful fangs he had! Teeka could not but notice them. She also let her eyes rest in admiration upon Taug's beetlingbrows and his short, powerful neck. What a beautifulcreature he was indeed!

Taug, flattered by the unconcealed admiration in her eyes,strutted about, as proud and as vain as a peacock.Presently he began to inventory his assets, mentally,and shortly he found himself comparing them with thoseof his rival.

Taug grunted, for there was no comparison. How couldone compare his beautiful coat with the smooth and nakedhideousness of Tarzan's bare hide? Who could see beautyin the stingy nose of the Tarmangani after looking atTaug's broad nostrils? And Tarzan's eyes! Hideous things,showing white about them, and entirely unrimmed with red. Taug knew that his own blood-shot eyes were beautiful,for he had seen them reflected in the glassy surface of manya drinking pool.

The bull drew nearer to Teeka, finally squatting closeagainst her. When Tarzan returned from his hunting a shorttime later it was to see Teeka contentedly scratchingthe back of his rival.

Tarzan was disgusted. Neither Taug nor Teeka saw himas he swung through the trees into the glade. He pauseda moment, looking at them; then, with a sorrowful grimace,he turned and faded away into the labyrinth of leafyboughs and festooned moss out of which he had come.

Tarzan wished to be as far away from the cause of his heartacheas he could. He was suffering the first pangs of blighted love,and he didn't quite know what was the matter with him. He thought that he was angry with Taug, and so he couldn'tunderstand why it was that he had run away insteadof rushing into mortal combat with the destroyer of hishappiness.

He also thought that he was angry with Teeka, yet avision of her many beauties persisted in haunting him,so that he could only see her in the light of loveas the most desirable thing in the world.

The ape-boy craved affection. From babyhood until thetime of her death, when the poisoned arrow of Kulongahad pierced her savage heart, Kala had representedto the English boy the sole object of love which he had known.

In her wild, fierce way Kala had loved her adopted son,and Tarzan had returned that love, though the outwarddemonstrations of it were no greater than might havebeen expected from any other beast of the jungle. It was not until he was bereft of her that the boyrealized how deep had been his attachment for his mother,for as such he looked upon her.

In Teeka he had seen within the past few hours asubstitute for Kala--someone to fight for and to huntfor--someone to caress; but now his dream was shattered. Something hurt within his breast. He placed his handover his heart and wondered what had happened to him. Vaguely he attributed his pain to Teeka. The more hethought of Teeka as he had last seen her, caressing Taug,the more the thing within his breast hurt him.

Tarzan shook his head and growled; then on and onthrough the jungle he swung, and the farther he traveledand the more he thought upon his wrongs, the nearerhe approached becoming an irreclaimable misogynist.

Two days later he was still hunting alone--very moroseand very unhappy; but he was determined never to returnto the tribe. He could not bear the thought of seeingTaug and Teeka always together. As he swung upona great limb Numa, the lion, and Sabor, the lioness,passed beneath him, side by side, and Sabor leanedagainst the lion and bit playfully at his cheek. It was a half-caress. Tarzan sighed and hurled a nut at them.

Later he came upon several of Mbonga's black warriors. He was upon the point of dropping his noose about theneck of one of them, who was a little distance fromhis companions, when he became interested in the thingwhich occupied the savages. They were building a cagein the trail and covering it with leafy branches. When they had completed their work the structure wasscarcely visible.

Tarzan wondered what the purpose of the thing might be,and why, when they had built it, they turned away and startedback along the trail in the direction of their village.

It had been some time since Tarzan had visited the blacksand looked down from the shelter of the great trees whichoverhung their palisade upon the activities of his enemies,from among whom had come the slayer of Kala.

Although he hated them, Tarzan derived considerableentertainment in watching them at their daily life withinthe village, and especially at their dances, when thefires glared against their naked bodies as they leapedand turned and twisted in mimic warfare. It was ratherin the hope of witnessing something of the kind that henow followed the warriors back toward their village,but in this he was disappointed, for there was no dancethat night.

Instead, from the safe concealment of his tree, Tarzan sawlittle groups seated about tiny fires discussing the eventsof the day, and in the darker corners of the village hedescried isolated couples talking and laughing together,and always one of each couple was a young man and theother a young woman.

Tarzan cocked his head upon one side and thought,and before he went to sleep that night, curled in the crotchof the great tree above the village, Teeka filled his mind,and afterward she filled his dreams--she and the youngblack men laughing and talking with the young black women.

Taug, hunting alone, had wandered some distance fromthe balance of the tribe. He was making his way slowlyalong an elephant path when he discovered that it wasblocked with undergrowth. Now Taug, come into maturity,was an evil-natured brute of an exceeding short temper. When something thwarted him, his sole idea was to overcomeit by brute strength and ferocity, and so now when he foundhis way blocked, he tore angrily into the leafy screenand an instant later found himself within a strange lair,his progress effectually blocked, notwithstanding his mostviolent efforts to forge ahead.

Biting and striking at the barrier, Taug finally workedhimself into a frightful rage, but all to no avail;and at last he became convinced that he must turn back. But when he would have done so, what was his chagrin todiscover that another barrier had dropped behind him while hefought to break down the one before him! Taug was trapped. Until exhaustion overcame him he fought frantically forhis freedom; but all for naught.

In the morning a party of blacks set out from the villageof Mbonga in the direction of the trap they had constructedthe previous day, while among the branches of the trees abovethem hovered a naked young giant filled with the curiosityof the wild things. Manu, the monkey, chattered andscolded as Tarzan passed, and though he was not afraidof the familiar figure of the ape-boy, he hugged closerto him the little brown body of his life's companion. Tarzan laughed as he saw it; but the laugh was followedby a sudden clouding of his face and a deep sigh.

A little farther on, a gaily feathered bird struttedabout before the admiring eyes of his somber-hued mate. It seemed to Tarzan that everything in the jungle wascombining to remind him that he had lost Teeka; yet everyday of his life he had seen these same things and thoughtnothing of them.

When the blacks reached the trap, Taug set up a great commotion. Seizing the bars of his prison, he shook them frantically,and all the while he roared and growled terrifically. The blacks were elated, for while they had not builttheir trap for this hairy tree man, they were delightedwith their catch.

Tarzan pricked up his ears when he heard the voice of agreat ape and, circling quickly until he was down windfrom the trap, he sniffed at the air in search of the scentspoor of the prisoner. Nor was it long before there cameto those delicate nostrils the familiar odor that toldTarzan the identity of the captive as unerringly as thoughhe had looked upon Taug with his eyes. Yes, it was Taug,and he was alone.

Tarzan grinned as he approached to discover what the blackswould do to their prisoner. Doubtless they would slay himat once. Again Tarzan grinned. Now he could have Teekafor his own, with none to dispute his right to her. As he watched, he saw the black warriors strip the screenfrom about the cage, fasten ropes to it and drag it awayalong the trail in the direction of their village.

Tarzan watched until his rival passed out of sight,still beating upon the bars of his prison and growlingout his anger and his threats. Then the ape-boy turnedand swung rapidly off in search of the tribe, and Teeka.

Once, upon the journey, he surprised Sheeta and his familyin a little overgrown clearing. The great cat lay stretchedupon the ground, while his mate, one paw across her lord'ssavage face, licked at the soft white fur at his throat.

Tarzan increased his speed then until he fairly flewthrough the forest, nor was it long before he came uponthe tribe. He saw them before they saw him, for of allthe jungle creatures, none passed more quietly than Tarzanof the Apes. He saw Kamma and her mate feeding sideby side, their hairy bodies rubbing against each other. And he saw Teeka feeding by herself. Not for longwould she feed thus in loneliness, thought Tarzan,as with a bound he landed amongst them.

There was a startled rush and a chorus of angryand frightened snarls, for Tarzan had surprised them;but there was more, too, than mere nervous shock to accountfor the bristling neck hair which remained standing longafter the apes had discovered the identity of the newcomer.

Tarzan noticed this as he had noticed it many timesin the past--that always his sudden coming among themleft them nervous and unstrung for a considerable time,and that they one and all found it necessary to satisfythemselves that he was indeed Tarzan by smelling about hima half dozen or more times before they calmed down.

Pushing through them, he made his way toward Teeka;but as he approached her the ape drew away.

"Teeka," he said, "it is Tarzan. You belong to Tarzan. I have come for you."

The ape drew closer, looking him over carefully. Finally she sniffed at him, as though to make assurancedoubly sure.

"Where is Taug?" she asked.

"The Gomangani have him," replied Tarzan. "They willkill him."

In the eyes of the she, Tarzan saw a wistful expressionand a troubled look of sorrow as he told her of Taug's fate;but she came quite close and snuggled against him,and Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, put his arm about her.

As he did so he noticed, with a start, the strangeincongruity of that smooth, brown arm against the blackand hairy coat of his lady-love. He recalled the paw ofSheeta's mate across Sheeta's face--no incongruity there. He thought of little Manu hugging his she, and how the oneseemed to belong to the other. Even the proud male bird,with his gay plumage, bore a close resemblance to hisquieter spouse, while Numa, but for his shaggy mane,was almost a counterpart of Sabor, the lioness. The males and the females differed, it was true;but not with such differences as existed between Tarzanand Teeka.

Tarzan was puzzled. There was something wrong. His armdropped from the shoulder of Teeka. Very slowly he drewaway from her. She looked at him with her head cockedupon one side. Tarzan rose to his full height and beatupon his breast with his fists. He raised his head towardthe heavens and opened his mouth. From the depths of hislungs rose the fierce, weird challenge of the victoriousbull ape. The tribe turned curiously to eye him.He had killed nothing, nor was there any antagonist to begoaded to madness by the savage scream. No, there wasno excuse for it, and they turned back to their feeding,but with an eye upon the ape-man lest he be preparingto suddenly run amuck.

As they watched him they saw him swing into a near-bytree and disappear from sight. Then they forgot him,even Teeka.

Mbonga's black warriors, sweating beneath their strenuous task,and resting often, made slow progress toward their village. Always the savage beast in the primitive cage growledand roared when they moved him. He beat upon the barsand slavered at the mouth. His noise was hideous.

They had almost completed their journey and were makingtheir final rest before forging ahead to gain the clearingin which lay their village. A few more minutes wouldhave taken them out of the forest, and then, doubtless,the thing would not have happened which did happen.

A silent figure moved through the trees above them. Keen eyes inspected the cage and counted the numberof warriors. An alert and daring brain figured uponthe chances of success when a certain plan should be putto the test.

Tarzan watched the blacks lolling in the shade. They were exhausted. Already several of them slept. He crept closer, pausing just above them. Not a leaf rustledbefore his stealthy advance. He waited in the infinitepatience of the beast of prey. Presently but two of thewarriors remained awake, and one of these was dozing.

Tarzan of the Apes gathered himself, and as he did so theblack who did not sleep arose and passed around to the rearof the cage. The ape-boy followed just above his head. Taug was eyeing the warrior and emitting low growls. Tarzan feared that the anthropoid would awaken the sleepers.

In a whisper which was inaudible to the ears of the Negro,Tarzan whispered Taug's name, cautioning the ape to silence,and Taug's growling ceased.

The black approached the rear of the cage and examinedthe fastenings of the door, and as he stood there thebeast above him launched itself from the tree full uponhis back. Steel fingers circled his throat, choking thecry which sprang to the lips of the terrified man. Strong teeth fastened themselves in his shoulder,and powerful legs wound themselves about his torso.

The black in a frenzy of terror tried to dislodgethe silent thing which clung to him. He threw himselfto the ground and rolled about; but still those mightyfingers closed more and more tightly their deadly grip.

The man's mouth gaped wide, his swollen tongue protruded,his eyes started from their sockets; but the relentlessfingers only increased their pressure.

Taug was a silent witness of the struggle. In his fiercelittle brain he doubtless wondered what purpose promptedTarzan to attack the black. Taug had not forgotten hisrecent battle with the ape-boy, nor the cause of it. Now he saw the form of the Gomangani suddenly go limp. There was a convulsive shiver and the man lay still.

Tarzan sprang from his prey and ran to the door of the cage. With nimble fingers he worked rapidly at the thongswhich held the door in place. Taug could only watch--hecould not help. Presently Tarzan pushed the thing upa couple of feet and Taug crawled out. The ape wouldhave turned upon the sleeping blacks that he might wreakhis pent vengeance; but Tarzan would not permit it.

Instead, the ape-boy dragged the body of the blackwithin the cage and propped it against the side bars. Then he lowered the door and made fast the thongs as theyhad been before.

A happy smile lighted his features as he worked,for one of his principal diversions was the baitingof the blacks of Mbonga's village. He could imaginetheir terror when they awoke and found the dead bodyof their comrade fast in the cage where they had leftthe great ape safely secured but a few minutes before.

Tarzan and Taug took to the trees together, the shaggycoat of the fierce ape brushing the sleek skin of theEnglish lordling as they passed through the primevaljungle side by side.

"Go back to Teeka," said Tarzan. "She is yours. Tarzan does not want her."

"Tarzan has found another she?" asked Taug.

The ape-boy shrugged.

"For the Gomangani there is another Gomangani," he said;"for Numa, the lion, there is Sabor, the lioness;for Sheeta there is a she of his own kind; for Bara,the deer; for Manu, the monkey; for all the beastsand the birds of the jungle is there a mate. Only forTarzan of the Apes is there none. Taug is an ape. Teeka is an ape. Go back to Teeka. Tarzan is a man. He will go alone."