As Tarzan of the Apes hurtled through the trees thediscordant sounds of the battle between the Abyssiniansand the lions smote more and more distinctly upon hissensitive ears, redoubling his assurance that theplight of the human element of the conflict wascritical indeed.

At last the glare of the camp fire shone plainlythrough the intervening trees, and a moment later thegiant figure of the ape-man paused upon an overhangingbough to look down upon the bloody scene of carnagebelow.

His quick eye took in the whole scene with a singlecomprehending glance and stopped upon the figure of awoman standing facing a great lion across the carcassof a horse.

The carnivore was crouching to spring as Tarzandiscovered the tragic tableau. Numa was almost beneaththe branch upon which the ape-man stood, naked andunarmed. There was not even an instant's hesitationupon the part of the latter--it was as though he hadnot even paused in his swift progress through thetrees, so lightning-like his survey and comprehensionof the scene below him--so instantaneous his consequentaction.

So hopeless had seemed her situation to her that JaneClayton but stood in lethargic apathy awaiting theimpact of the huge body that would hurl her to theground--awaiting the momentary agony that cruel talonsand grisly fangs may inflict before the coming of themerciful oblivion which would end her sorrow and hersuffering.

What use to attempt escape? As well face the hideousend as to be dragged down from behind in futile flight.She did not even close her eyes to shut out thefrightful aspect of that snarling face, and so it wasthat as she saw the lion preparing to charge she saw,too, a bronzed and mighty figure leap from anoverhanging tree at the instant that Numa rose in hisspring.

Wide went her eyes in wonder and incredulity, as shebeheld this seeming apparition risen from the dead.The lion was forgotten--her own peril--everything savethe wondrous miracle of this strange recrudescence.With parted lips, with palms tight pressed against herheaving bosom, the girl leaned forward, large-eyed,enthralled by the vision of her dead mate.

She saw the sinewy form leap to the shoulder of thelion, hurtling against the leaping beast like a huge,animate battering ram. She saw the carnivore brushedaside as he was almost upon her, and in the instant sherealized that no substanceless wraith could thus turnthe charge of a maddened lion with brute force greaterthan the brute's.

Tarzan, her Tarzan, lived! A cry of unspeakablegladness broke from her lips, only to die in terror asshe saw the utter defenselessness of her mate, andrealized that the lion had recovered himself and wasturning upon Tarzan in mad lust for vengeance.

At the ape-man's feet lay the discarded rifle of thedead Abyssinian whose mutilated corpse sprawled whereNuma had abandoned it. The quick glance which hadswept the ground for some weapon of defense discoveredit, and as the lion reared upon his hind legs to seizethe rash man-thing who had dared interpose its punystrength between Numa and his prey, the heavy stockwhirred through the air and splintered upon the broadforehead.

Not as an ordinary mortal might strike a blow didTarzan of the Apes strike; but with the maddened frenzyof a wild beast backed by the steel thews which hiswild, arboreal boyhood had bequeathed him. When theblow ended the splintered stock was driven through thesplintered skull into the savage brain, and the heavyiron barrel was bent into a rude V.

In the instant that the lion sank, lifeless, to theground, Jane Clayton threw herself into the eager armsof her husband. For a brief instant he strained herdear form to his breast, and then a glance about himawakened the ape-man to the dangers which stillsurrounded them.

Upon every hand the lions were still leaping upon newvictims. Fear-maddened horses still menaced them withtheir erratic bolting from one side of the enclosure tothe other. Bullets from the guns of the defenders whoremained alive but added to the perils of theirsituation.

To remain was to court death. Tarzan seized JaneClayton and lifted her to a broad shoulder. The blackswho had witnessed his advent looked on in amazement asthey saw the naked giant leap easily into the branchesof the tree from whence he had dropped so uncannilyupon the scene, and vanish as he had come, bearing awaytheir prisoner with him.

They were too well occupied in self-defense to attemptto halt him, nor could they have done so other than bythe wasting of a precious bullet which might be neededthe next instant to turn the charge of a savage foe.

And so, unmolested, Tarzan passed from the camp of theAbyssinians, from which the din of conflict followedhim deep into the jungle until distance graduallyobliterated it entirely.

Back to the spot where he had left Werper went theape-man, joy in his heart now, where fear and sorrow hadso recently reigned; and in his mind a determination toforgive the Belgian and aid him in making good hisescape. But when he came to the place, Werper wasgone, and though Tarzan called aloud many times hereceived no reply. Convinced that the man hadpurposely eluded him for reasons of his own, JohnClayton felt that he was under no obligations to exposehis wife to further danger and discomfort in theprosecution of a more thorough search for the missingBelgian.

"He has acknowledged his guilt by his flight, Jane," hesaid. "We will let him go to lie in the bed that hehas made for himself."

Straight as homing pigeons, the two made their waytoward the ruin and desolation that had once been thecenter of their happy lives, and which was soon to berestored by the willing black hands of laughinglaborers, made happy again by the return of the masterand mistress whom they had mourned as dead.

Past the village of Achmet Zek their way led them, andthere they found but the charred remains of thepalisade and the native huts, still smoking, as muteevidence of the wrath and vengeance of a powerfulenemy.

"The Waziri," commented Tarzan with a grim smile.

"God bless them!" cried Jane Clayton.

"They cannot be far ahead of us," said Tarzan, "Basuliand the others. The gold is gone and the jewels ofOpar, Jane; but we have each other and the Waziri--andwe have love and loyalty and friendship. And what aregold and jewels to these?"

"If only poor Mugambi lived," she replied, "and thoseother brave fellows who sacrificed their lives in vainendeavor to protect me!"

In the silence of mingled joy and sorrow they passedalong through the familiar jungle, and as the afternoonwas waning there came faintly to the ears of theape-man the murmuring cadence of distant voices.

"We are nearing the Waziri, Jane," he said. "I canhear them ahead of us. They are going into camp forthe night, I imagine."

A half hour later the two came upon a horde of ebonwarriors which Basuli had collected for his war ofvengeance upon the raiders. With them were thecaptured women of the tribe whom they had found in thevillage of Achmet Zek, and tall, even among the giantWaziri, loomed a familiar black form at the side ofBasuli. It was Mugambi, whom Jane had thought deadamidst the charred ruins of the bungalow.

Ah, such a reunion! Long into the night the dancing andthe singing and the laughter awoke the echoes of thesomber wood. Again and again were the stories of theirvarious adventures retold. Again and once again theyfought their battles with savage beast and savage man,and dawn was already breaking when Basuli, for thefortieth time, narrated how he and a handful of hiswarriors had watched the battle for the golden ingotswhich the Abyssinians of Abdul Mourak had waged againstthe Arab raiders of Achmet Zek, and how, when thevictors had ridden away they had sneaked out of theriver reeds and stolen away with the precious ingots tohide them where no robber eye ever could discover them.

Pieced out from the fragments of their variousexperiences with the Belgian the truth concerning themalign activities of Albert Werper became apparent.Only Lady Greystoke found aught to praise in theconduct of the man, and it was difficult even for herto reconcile his many heinous acts with this oneevidence of chivalry and honor.

"Deep in the soul of every man," said Tarzan, "mustlurk the germ of righteousness. It was your ownvirtue, Jane, rather even than your helplessness whichawakened for an instant the latent decency of thisdegraded man. In that one act he retrieved himself,and when he is called to face his Maker may it outweighin the balance, all the sins he has committed."

And Jane Clayton breathed a fervent, "Amen!"

Months had passed. The labor of the Waziri and thegold of Opar had rebuilt and refurnished the wastedhomestead of the Greystokes. Once more the simple lifeof the great African farm went on as it had before thecoming of the Belgian and the Arab. Forgotten were thesorrows and dangers of yesterday.

For the first time in months Lord Greystoke felt thathe might indulge in a holiday, and so a great hunt wasorganized that the faithful laborers might feast incelebration of the completion of their work.

In itself the hunt was a success, and ten days afterits inauguration, a well-laden safari took up itsreturn march toward the Waziri plain. Lord and LadyGreystoke with Basuli and Mugambi rode together at thehead of the column, laughing and talking together inthat easy familiarity which common interests and mutualrespect breed between honest and intelligent men of anyraces.

Jane Clayton's horse shied suddenly at an object halfhidden in the long grasses of an open space in thejungle. Tarzan's keen eyes sought quickly for anexplanation of the animal's action.

"What have we here?" he cried, swinging from hissaddle, and a moment later the four were grouped abouta human skull and a little litter of whitened humanbones.

Tarzan stooped and lifted a leathern pouch from thegrisly relics of a man. The hard outlines of thecontents brought an exclamation of surprise to hislips.

"The jewels of Opar!" he cried, holding the pouchaloft, "and," pointing to the bones at his feet, "allthat remains of Werper, the Belgian."

Mugambi laughed. "Look within, Bwana," he cried, "andyou will see what are the jewels of Opar--you will seewhat the Belgian gave his life for," and the blacklaughed aloud.

"Why do you laugh?" asked Tarzan.

"Because," replied Mugambi, "I filled the Belgian'spouch with river gravel before I escaped the camp ofthe Abyssinians whose prisoners we were. I left theBelgian only worthless stones, while I brought awaywith me the jewels he had stolen from you. That theywere afterward stolen from me while I slept in thejungle is my shame and my disgrace; but at least theBelgian lost them--open his pouch and you will see."

Tarzan untied the thong which held the mouth of theleathern bag closed, and permitted the contents totrickle slowly forth into his open palm. Mugambi'seyes went wide at the sight, and the others utteredexclamations of surprise and incredulity, for from therusty and weatherworn pouch ran a stream of brilliant,scintillating gems.

"The jewels of Opar!" cried Tarzan. "But how didWerper come by them again?"

None could answer, for both Chulk and Werper were dead,and no other knew.

"Poor devil!" said the ape-man, as he swung back intohis saddle. "Even in death he has made restitution--let his sins lie with his bones."