I. — TARZAN'S FIRST LOVE
Teeka,
stretched at luxurious ease in the shade of the tropical forest, presented,
unquestionably, a most alluring picture of young, feminine loveliness. Or at
least so thought Tarzan of the Apes, who squatted upon a low-swinging branch in
a near-by tree and looked down upon her.
Just
to have seen him there, lolling upon the swaying bough of the jungle-forest
giant, his brown skin mottled by the brilliant equatorial sunlight which
percolated through the leafy canopy of green above him, his clean-limbed body
relaxed in graceful ease, his shapely head partly turned in contemplative
absorption and his intelligent, gray eyes dreamily devouring the object of
their devotion, you would have thought him the reincarnation of some demigod of
old.
You
would not have guessed that in infancy he had suckled at the breast of a
hideous, hairy she-ape, nor that in all his conscious past since his parents
had passed away in the little cabin by the landlocked harbor at the jungle's
verge, he had known no other associates than the sullen bulls and the snarling
cows of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape.
Nor,
could you have read the thoughts which passed through that active, healthy
brain, the longings and desires and aspirations which the sight of Teeka
inspired, would you have been any more inclined to give credence to the reality
of the origin of the ape-man. For, from his thoughts alone, you could never
have gleaned the truth—that he had been born to a gentle English lady or that
his sire had been an English nobleman of time-honored lineage.
Lost
to Tarzan of the Apes was the truth of his origin. That he was John Clayton,
Lord Greystoke, with a seat in 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 always that —but Teeka was
beautiful in a way all her own, an indescribable sort of way which Tarzan was
just beginning to sense in a rather vague and hazy manner.
For
years had Tarzan and Teeka been play-fellows, and Teeka still continued to be
playful while the young bulls of her own age were rapidly becoming surly and
morose. Tarzan, if he gave the matter much thought at all, probably reasoned
that his growing attachment for the young female could be easily accounted for
by the fact that of the former playmates she and he alone retained any desire
to frolic as of old.
But
today, as he sat gazing upon her, he found himself noting the beauties of
Teeka's form and features—something he never had done before, since none of
them had aught to do with Teeka's ability to race nimbly through the lower
terraces of the forest in the primitive games of tag and hide-and-go-seek which
Tarzan's fertile brain evolved. Tarzan scratched his head, running his fingers
deep into 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 covered her body. His
own smooth, brown hide he hated with a hatred born of disgust and contempt.
Years back he had harbored a hope that some day he, too, would be clothed in
hair as were all his brothers and sisters; but of late he 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 comparison with Tarzan's feeble white ones. And her
beetling brows, and broad, flat nose, and her mouth! Tarzan had often practiced
making his mouth into a little round circle and then puffing out his cheeks
while he winked his eyes rapidly; but he felt that he could never do it in the
same cute and 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 food beneath the damp, matted carpet of decaying vegetation
at the roots of a near-by tree lumbered awkwardly in Teeka's direction. The
other apes of the tribe of Kerchak moved listlessly about or lolled restfully
in the midday heat of the equatorial jungle. From time to time one or another
of them had passed close to Teeka, and Tarzan had been uninterested. Why was it
then that his brows contracted and his muscles tensed as he saw Taug pause
beside the young she and then squat down close to her?
Tarzan
always had liked Taug. Since childhood they had romped together. Side by side
they had squatted near the water, their quick, strong fingers ready to leap
forth and seize Pisah, the fish, should that wary denizen of the cool depths
dart surfaceward to the lure of 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 hairs at the nape of his neck merely because Taug sat
close to Teeka?
It
is true that Taug was no longer the frolicsome ape of yesterday. When his
snarling-muscles bared his giant fangs no one could longer imagine that Taug
was in as playful a mood as when he and Tarzan had rolled upon the turf in
mimic battle. The Taug of today was a huge, sullen bull ape, somber and
forbidding. Yet he and Tarzan never had quarreled.
For
a few minutes the young ape-man watched Taug press closer to Teeka. He saw the
rough caress of the huge paw as it stroked the sleek shoulder of the she, and
then Tarzan of the Apes slipped catlike to the ground and approached the two.
As
he came his upper lip curled into a snarl, exposing his fighting fangs, and a
deep growl rumbled from his cavernous 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 may say? At any rate, she was feminine, and
so she reached up and scratched Taug behind one of his small, flat ears.
Tarzan
saw, and in the instant that he saw, Teeka was no longer the little playmate of
an hour ago; instead she was a wondrous thing—the most wondrous in the world—and
a possession for which Tarzan would fight to the death against Taug or any
other who dared question his right of proprietorship.
Stooped,
his muscles rigid and one great shoulder turned toward the young bull, Tarzan
of the Apes sidled nearer and nearer. His face was partly averted, but his keen
gray 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 fighting fangs were bared. He, too,
sidled, stiff-legged, and growled.
"Teeka
is Tarzan's," said the ape-man, in the low gutturals of the great
anthropoids.
"Teeka
is Taug's," replied the bull ape.
Thaka
and Numgo and Gunto, disturbed by the growlings of 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 life they led.
Coiled
about his shoulders was Tarzan's long grass rope, in his hand was the hunting
knife of the long-dead father he had never known. In Taug's little brain lay a
great respect for the shiny bit of sharp metal which the ape-boy knew 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 about
Tarzan in search of an opening. The latter, made cautious because of his lesser
bulk and the inferiority of his natural armament, followed similar tactics.
For
a time it seemed that the altercation would follow the way of the majority of
such differences between members of the tribe and that one of them would
finally lose interest and wander off to prosecute some other line of endeavor.
Such might have been the end of it had the casus belli been other than it was;
but Teeka was flattered at the attention that was being drawn to her and by the
fact that these two young bulls were contemplating battle on her account. Such
a thing never 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 longed for the day when the jungle grasses would be reddened with
the blood of mortal combat for her fair sake.
So
now she squatted upon her haunches and insulted both her admirers impartially.
She hurled taunts at them 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 a stick—Mumga, who was so old that she could no longer climb
and so toothless that she was forced to confine her 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 back again to close quarters.
His hunting knife was raised above his head as he came in, and he aimed a vicious
blow at Taug's neck. The ape wheeled to dodge the weapon so that the keen blade
struck him but a glancing blow upon the shoulder.
The
spurt of red blood brought a shrill cry of delight from Teeka. Ah, but this was
something worthwhile! She glanced about to see if others had witnessed this
evidence of her popularity. Helen of Troy was never one whit more proud than
was Teeka at that moment.
If
Teeka had not been so absorbed in her own vaingloriousness she might have noted
the rustling of leaves in the tree above her—a rustling which was not caused by
any movement of the wind, since there was no wind. And had she looked up she
might have seen a sleek body crouching almost directly over her and wicked
yellow eyes 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
moved from beneath the tree in an effort to keep close to the duelists.
The
branch above Teeka bent and swayed a trifle with the movement 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 from his 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 considered Tarzan's manner of fighting unfair. He
would not close. Instead, he leaped nimbly just beyond the reach of Taug's
muscular fingers.
The
ape-boy had as yet never come to a real trial of strength with a bull ape,
other than in play, and so he was not at all sure that it would be safe to put
his 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—that was 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 build and to his armament. His
teeth, while strong and sharp, were, as weapons of offense, pitifully
inadequate by comparison with 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 escape many of
the painful and dangerous wounds which would be sure to follow his falling into
the clutches of a bull ape.
And
so Taug charged and bellowed like a bull, and Tarzan of the Apes danced lightly
to this side and that, hurling jungle billingsgate at his foe, the while he
nicked him now and again with his knife.
There
were lulls in the fighting when the two would stand panting for breath, facing
each other, mustering their wits and their forces for a new onslaught. It was
during a pause such as this that Taug chanced to let his eyes rove beyond his
foeman. Instantly the entire aspect of the ape altered. Rage left his
countenance to be supplanted by an expression of fear.
With
a cry that every ape there recognized, Taug turned and fled. No need to
question him—his warning proclaimed the near presence of their ancient enemy.
Tarzan
started to seek safety, as did the other members of the tribe, and as he did so
he heard a panther's scream 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 looked back to see if any member of
the tribe was close pressed by the beast of prey, and the sight that met his
eyes filled them with an expression of horror.
Teeka
it was who cried out in terror as she fled across a 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 reached the trees ahead of him she could not climb
beyond his clutches before he could be upon her.
Tarzan
saw that Teeka must die. He cried to Taug and 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 once the great bulls were
aroused none of the jungle, not even Numa, the lion, was anxious to measure
fangs with them, and that if all those of the tribe who chanced to 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's assistance or Teeka's
rescue, and Sheeta was rapidly closing up the distance between himself and his
prey.
The
ape-boy, leaping after the panther, cried aloud to the beast in an effort to
turn it from Teeka or otherwise distract its attention until the she-ape could
gain the safety of the higher branches where Sheeta dared not go. He called the
panther every opprobrious name that fell to his tongue. He dared him to stop
and do battle with him; but Sheeta only loped on after the luscious tidbit now
almost within his reach.
Tarzan
was not far behind and he was gaining, but the distance was so short that he
scarce hoped to overhaul the carnivore before it had felled Teeka. In his right
hand the boy swung his grass rope above his head as he ran. He hated to chance
a miss, for the distance was much greater than he ever had cast before except
in practice. It was the full length of his grass rope which separated him 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 swiftly
through the air, straightening into a long thin line as the open noose hovered
for an instant above the savage head and the snarling jaws. Then it
settled—clean and 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 have taken up the slack.
Just
short of Teeka's glossy rump the cruel talons raked the air as the rope
tightened and Sheeta was brought to a sudden stop—a stop that snapped the big
beast over upon his back. Instantly Sheeta was up— with glaring eyes, and
lashing tail, and gaping jaws, from which issued hideous 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 glance into the tree whose safety
she had gained not an instant too soon, and Sheeta was charging. It was useless
to risk his life in idle and unequal combat from which no good could come; but
could he escape a battle with the enraged cat? And if he was forced to fight,
what chance had he to survive? Tarzan was constrained to admit that his
position was aught but a desirable one. The trees were too 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 rows of 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 courageous resignation with which some
fearless ancestor went down to 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 the progenitors of man have, naturally, many human
traits. Teeka was frightened. She screamed at the bulls to hasten to Tarzan's
assistance; but the bulls were otherwise engaged— principally in giving advice
and making faces. Anyway, Tarzan was not a real Mangani, so why should they
risk 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
almost as the panther's talons were closing upon him, and as Sheeta went
hurtling to the ground beyond, Tarzan was racing for the safety of the nearest
tree.
The
panther recovered himself almost immediately and, wheeling, tore after his
prey, the ape-boy's rope dragging along the ground behind him. In doubling back
after Tarzan, Sheeta had passed around a low bush. It was a mere nothing in the
path of any jungle creature of the size and weight of Sheeta—provided it had no
trailing rope dangling behind. But Sheeta was handicapped by such a rope, and
as he leaped once again after Tarzan of the Apes the rope encircled the small
bush, became tangled in it and brought the panther to a sudden stop. An instant
later Tarzan was safe among the higher branches of a small tree into which
Sheeta could not follow him.
Here
he perched, hurling twigs and epithets at the raging feline beneath him. The
other members of the tribe now took up the bombardment, using such hard-shelled
fruits and 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 moment the panther stood glaring first at one of his tormentors
and 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 somber dullness of their lives. Tarzan had
recovered the greater part of his rope and was busy fashioning a new noose,
while Teeka squatted close behind him, in evident token that her choice was
made.
Taug
eyed them sullenly. Once when he came close, Teeka bared her fangs and growled
at him, and Tarzan showed his canines in an ugly snarl; but Taug did not
provoke a quarrel. He seemed to accept after the manner of his kind the
decision of the she as an indication that he had been vanquished in his battle
for her favors.
Later
in the day, his rope repaired, Tarzan took to the trees in search of game. More
than his fellows he required meat, and so, while they were satisfied with
fruits and herbs and beetles, which could be discovered without much effort
upon their part, Tarzan spent considerable time hunting the game animals whose
flesh alone satisfied the cravings of his stomach and furnished sustenance and
strength to the mighty thews which, day by day, were building beneath the soft,
smooth texture of his brown hide.
Taug
saw him depart, and then, quite casually, the big beast hunted closer and
closer to Teeka in his search for food. At last he was within a few feet of
her, and when he shot a covert glance at her he saw that she was appraising him
and that there was no evidence of anger upon her face.
Taug
expanded his great chest and rolled about on his short 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 beetling brows and his short, powerful
neck. What a beautiful creature 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 those of his rival.
Taug
grunted, for there was no comparison. How could one compare his beautiful coat
with the smooth and naked hideousness of Tarzan's bare hide? Who could see
beauty in the stingy nose of the Tarmangani after looking at Taug'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 many a
drinking pool.
The
bull drew nearer to Teeka, finally squatting close against her. When Tarzan
returned from his hunting a short time later it was to see Teeka contentedly
scratching the back of his rival.
Tarzan
was disgusted. Neither Taug nor Teeka saw him as he swung through the trees
into the glade. He paused a moment, looking at them; then, with a sorrowful
grimace, he turned and faded away into the labyrinth of leafy boughs and
festooned moss out of which he had come.
Tarzan
wished to be as far away from the cause of his heartache as 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't
understand why it was that he had run away instead of rushing into mortal
combat with the destroyer of his happiness.
He
also thought that he was angry with Teeka, yet a vision of her many beauties
persisted in haunting him, so that he could only see her in the light of love
as the most desirable thing in the world.
The
ape-boy craved affection. From babyhood until the time of her death, when the
poisoned arrow of Kulonga had pierced her savage heart, Kala had represented to
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 outward demonstrations of it were no greater than might
have been expected from any other beast of the jungle. It was not until he was
bereft of her that the boy realized 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 a substitute for Kala—someone to
fight for and to hunt for—someone to caress; but now his dream was shattered.
Something hurt within his breast. He placed his hand over his heart and
wondered what had happened to him. Vaguely he attributed his pain to Teeka. The
more he thought 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 on through the jungle he swung, and the
farther he traveled and the more he thought upon his wrongs, the nearer he
approached becoming an irreclaimable misogynist.
Two
days later he was still hunting alone—very morose and very unhappy; but he was
determined never to return to the tribe. He could not bear the thought of
seeing Taug and Teeka always together. As he swung upon a great limb Numa, the
lion, and Sabor, the lioness, passed beneath him, side by side, and Sabor
leaned against 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 the neck of one of them, who was a little distance
from his companions, when he became interested in the thing which occupied the
savages. They were building a cage in the trail and covering it with leafy
branches. When they had completed their work the structure was scarcely
visible.
Tarzan
wondered what the purpose of the thing might be, and why, when they had built
it, they turned away and started back along the trail in the direction of their
village.
It
had been some time since Tarzan had visited the blacks and looked down from the
shelter of the great trees which overhung their palisade upon the activities of
his enemies, from among whom had come the slayer of Kala.
Although
he hated them, Tarzan derived considerable entertainment in watching them at
their daily life within the village, and especially at their dances, when the
fires glared against their naked bodies as they leaped and turned and twisted
in mimic warfare. It was rather in the hope of witnessing something of the kind
that he now followed the warriors back toward their village, but in this he was
disappointed, for there was no dance that night.
Instead,
from the safe concealment of his tree, Tarzan saw little groups seated about
tiny fires discussing the events of the day, and in the darker corners of the
village he descried isolated couples talking and laughing together, and always
one of each couple was a young man and the other a young woman.
Tarzan
cocked his head upon one side and thought, and before he went to sleep that
night, curled in the crotch of the great tree above the village, Teeka filled
his mind, and afterward she filled his dreams—she and the young black men
laughing and talking with the young black women.
Taug,
hunting alone, had wandered some distance from the balance of the tribe. He was
making his way slowly along an elephant path when he discovered that it was
blocked 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 overcome it by brute strength and ferocity, and so now when he found his
way blocked, he tore angrily into the leafy screen and an instant later found
himself within a strange lair, his progress effectually blocked,
notwithstanding his most violent efforts to forge ahead.
Biting
and striking at the barrier, Taug finally worked himself 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 to discover that another
barrier had dropped behind him while he fought to break down the one before
him! Taug was trapped. Until exhaustion overcame him he fought frantically for
his freedom; but all for naught.
In
the morning a party of blacks set out from the village of Mbonga in the
direction of the trap they had constructed the previous day, while among the
branches of the trees above them hovered a naked young giant filled with the
curiosity of the wild things. Manu, the monkey, chattered and scolded as Tarzan
passed, and though he was not afraid of the familiar figure of the ape-boy, he
hugged closer to him the little brown body of his life's companion. Tarzan laughed
as he saw it; but the laugh was followed by a sudden clouding of his face and a
deep sigh.
A
little farther on, a gaily feathered bird strutted about before the admiring
eyes of his somber-hued mate. It seemed to Tarzan that everything in the jungle
was combining to remind him that he had lost Teeka; yet every day of his life
he had seen these same things and thought nothing 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 built their trap
for this hairy tree man, they were delighted with their catch.
Tarzan
pricked up his ears when he heard the voice of a great ape and, circling
quickly until he was down wind from the trap, he sniffed at the air in search
of the scent spoor of the prisoner. Nor was it long before there came to those
delicate nostrils the familiar odor that told Tarzan the identity of the
captive as unerringly as though he had looked upon Taug with his eyes. Yes, it
was Taug, and he was alone.
Tarzan
grinned as he approached to discover what the blacks would do to their
prisoner. Doubtless they would slay him at once. Again Tarzan grinned. Now he
could have Teeka for his own, with none to dispute his right to her. As he
watched, he saw the black warriors strip the screen from about the cage, fasten
ropes to it and drag it away along 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 growling out his anger and his threats. Then the ape-boy turned and
swung rapidly off in search of the tribe, and Teeka.
Once,
upon the journey, he surprised Sheeta and his family in a little overgrown
clearing. The great cat lay stretched upon the ground, while his mate, one paw
across her lord's savage face, licked at the soft white fur at his throat.
Tarzan
increased his speed then until he fairly flew through the forest, nor was it
long before he came upon the tribe. He saw them before they saw him, for of all
the jungle creatures, none passed more quietly than Tarzan of the Apes. He saw
Kamma and her mate feeding side by side, their hairy bodies rubbing against
each other. And he saw Teeka feeding by herself. Not for long would she feed
thus in loneliness, thought Tarzan, as with a bound he landed amongst them.
There
was a startled rush and a chorus of angry and frightened snarls, for Tarzan had
surprised them; but there was more, too, than mere nervous shock to account for
the bristling neck hair which remained standing long after the apes had
discovered the identity of the newcomer.
Tarzan
noticed this as he had noticed it many times in the past— that always his
sudden coming among them left them nervous and unstrung for a considerable
time, and that they one and all found it necessary to satisfy themselves that
he was indeed Tarzan by smelling about him a 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 assurance doubly sure.
"Where
is Taug?" she asked.
"The
Gomangani have him," replied Tarzan. "They will kill him."
In
the eyes of the she, Tarzan saw a wistful expression and 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 strange incongruity of that smooth,
brown arm against the black and hairy coat of his lady-love. He recalled the
paw of Sheeta's mate across Sheeta's face—no incongruity there. He thought of
little Manu hugging his she, and how the one seemed to belong to the other.
Even the proud male bird, with his gay plumage, bore a close resemblance to his
quieter 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 Tarzan and Teeka.
Tarzan
was puzzled. There was something wrong. His arm dropped from the shoulder of
Teeka. Very slowly he drew away from her. She looked at him with her head
cocked upon one side. Tarzan rose to his full height and beat upon his breast
with his fists. He raised his head toward the heavens and opened his mouth.
From the depths of his lungs rose the fierce, weird challenge of the victorious
bull ape. The tribe turned curiously to eye him. He had killed nothing, nor was
there any antagonist to be goaded to madness by the savage scream. No, there
was no excuse for it, and they turned back to their feeding, but with an eye
upon the ape-man lest he be preparing to suddenly run amuck.
As
they watched him they saw him swing into a near-by tree 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 growled and roared when they moved him. He beat upon the bars and slavered
at the mouth. His noise was hideous.
They
had almost completed their journey and were making their final rest before
forging ahead to gain the clearing in which lay their village. A few more
minutes would have 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 number of warriors. An alert and daring brain figured upon the
chances of success when a certain plan should be put to 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 rustled
before his stealthy advance. He waited in the infinite patience of the beast of
prey. Presently but two of the warriors remained awake, and one of these was
dozing.
Tarzan
of the Apes gathered himself, and as he did so the black who did not sleep
arose and passed around to the rear of 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 examined the fastenings of the door,
and as he stood there the beast above him launched itself from the tree full
upon his back. Steel fingers circled his throat, choking the cry 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 dislodge the silent thing which clung to
him. He threw himself to the ground and rolled about; but still those mighty
fingers 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 relentless fingers only increased their pressure.
Taug
was a silent witness of the struggle. In his fierce little brain he doubtless
wondered what purpose prompted Tarzan to attack the black. Taug had not
forgotten his recent 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 thongs which held the door in place. Taug could only
watch—he could not help. Presently Tarzan pushed the thing up a couple of feet
and Taug crawled out. The ape would have turned upon the sleeping blacks that
he might wreak his pent vengeance; but Tarzan would not permit it.
Instead,
the ape-boy dragged the body of the black within the cage and propped it
against the side bars. Then he lowered the door and made fast the thongs as
they had been before.
A
happy smile lighted his features as he worked, for one of his principal
diversions was the baiting of the blacks of Mbonga's village. He could imagine
their terror when they awoke and found the dead body of their comrade fast in
the cage where they had left the great ape safely secured but a few minutes
before.
Tarzan
and Taug took to the trees together, the shaggy coat of the fierce ape brushing
the sleek skin of the English lordling as they passed through the primeval
jungle 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 beasts and the birds of
the jungle is there a mate. Only for Tarzan 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."
