Chapter 7
Akut, discovering that the boy was not close behind him, turned back tosearch for him. He had gone but a short distance in return when he wasbrought to a sudden and startled halt by sight of a strange figuremoving through the trees toward him. It was the boy, yet could it be?In his hand was a long spear, down his back hung an oblong shield suchas the black warriors who had attacked them had worn, and upon ankleand arm were bands of iron and brass, while a loin cloth was twistedabout the youth's middle. A knife was thrust through its folds.
When the boy saw the ape he hastened forward to exhibit his trophies.Proudly he called attention to each of his newly won possessions.Boastfully he recounted the details of his exploit.
"With my bare hands and my teeth I killed him," he said. "I would havemade friends with them but they chose to be my enemies. And now that Ihave a spear I shall show Numa, too, what it means to have me for afoe. Only the white men and the great apes, Akut, are our friends.Them we shall seek, all others must we avoid or kill. This have Ilearned of the jungle."
They made a detour about the hostile village, and resumed their journeytoward the coast. The boy took much pride in his new weapons andornaments. He practiced continually with the spear, throwing it atsome object ahead hour by hour as they traveled their loitering way,until he gained a proficiency such as only youthful muscles may attainto speedily. All the while his training went on under the guidance ofAkut. No longer was there a single jungle spoor but was an open bookto the keen eyes of the lad, and those other indefinite spoor thatelude the senses of civilized man and are only partially appreciable tohis savage cousin came to be familiar friends of the eager boy. Hecould differentiate the innumerable species of the herbivora by scent,and he could tell, too, whether an animal was approaching or departingmerely by the waxing or waning strength of its effluvium. Nor did heneed the evidence of his eyes to tell him whether there were two lionsor four up wind,--a hundred yards away or half a mile.
Much of this had Akut taught him, but far more was instinctiveknowledge--a species of strange intuition inherited from his father.He had come to love the jungle life. The constant battle of wits andsenses against the many deadly foes that lurked by day and by nightalong the pathway of the wary and the unwary appealed to the spirit ofadventure which breathes strong in the heart of every red-blooded sonof primordial Adam. Yet, though he loved it, he had not let hisselfish desires outweigh the sense of duty that had brought him to arealization of the moral wrong which lay beneath the adventurousescapade that had brought him to Africa. His love of father and motherwas strong within him, too strong to permit unalloyed happiness whichwas undoubtedly causing them days of sorrow. And so he held tight tohis determination to find a port upon the coast where he mightcommunicate with them and receive funds for his return to London.There he felt sure that he could now persuade his parents to let himspend at least a portion of his time upon those African estates whichfrom little careless remarks dropped at home he knew his fatherpossessed. That would be something, better at least than a lifetime ofthe cramped and cloying restrictions of civilization.
And so he was rather contented than otherwise as he made his way in thedirection of the coast, for while he enjoyed the liberty and the savagepleasures of the wild his conscience was at the same time clear, for heknew that he was doing all that lay in his power to return to hisparents. He rather looked forward, too, to meeting white menagain--creatures of his own kind--for there had been many occasionsupon which he had longed for other companionship than that of the oldape. The affair with the blacks still rankled in his heart. He hadapproached them in such innocent good fellowship and with suchchildlike assurance of a hospitable welcome that the reception whichhad been accorded him had proved a shock to his boyish ideals. He nolonger looked upon the black man as his brother; but rather as onlyanother of the innumerable foes of the bloodthirsty jungle--a beast ofprey which walked upon two feet instead of four.
But if the blacks were his enemies there were those in the world whowere not. There were those who always would welcome him with openarms; who would accept him as a friend and brother, and with whom hemight find sanctuary from every enemy. Yes, there were always whitemen. Somewhere along the coast or even in the depths of the jungleitself there were white men. To them he would be a welcome visitor.They would befriend him. And there were also the great apes--thefriends of his father and of Akut. How glad they would be to receivethe son of Tarzan of the Apes! He hoped that he could come upon thembefore he found a trading post upon the coast. He wanted to be able totell his father that he had known his old friends of the jungle, thathe had hunted with them, that he had joined with them in their savagelife, and their fierce, primeval ceremonies--the strange ceremonies ofwhich Akut had tried to tell him. It cheered him immensely to dwellupon these happy meetings. Often he rehearsed the long speech which hewould make to the apes, in which he would tell them of the life oftheir former king since he had left them.
At other times he would play at meeting with white men. Then he wouldenjoy their consternation at sight of a naked white boy trapped in thewar togs of a black warrior and roaming the jungle with only a greatape as his companion.
And so the days passed, and with the traveling and the hunting and theclimbing the boy's muscles developed and his agility increased untileven phlegmatic Akut marvelled at the prowess of his pupil. And theboy, realizing his great strength and revelling in it, became careless.He strode through the jungle, his proud head erect, defying danger.Where Akut took to the trees at the first scent of Numa, the ladlaughed in the face of the king of beasts and walked boldly past him.Good fortune was with him for a long time. The lions he met werewell-fed, perhaps, or the very boldness of the strange creature whichinvaded their domain so filled them with surprise that thoughts ofattack were banished from their minds as they stood, round-eyed,watching his approach and his departure. Whatever the cause, however,the fact remains that on many occasions the boy passed within a fewpaces of some great lion without arousing more than a warning growl.
But no two lions are necessarily alike in character or temper. Theydiffer as greatly as do individuals of the human family. Because tenlions act similarly under similar conditions one cannot say that theeleventh lion will do likewise--the chances are that he will not. Thelion is a creature of high nervous development. He thinks, thereforehe reasons. Having a nervous system and brains he is the possessor oftemperament, which is affected variously by extraneous causes. One daythe boy met the eleventh lion. The former was walking across a smallplain upon which grew little clumps of bushes. Akut was a few yards tothe left of the lad who was the first to discover the presence of Numa.
"Run, Akut," called the boy, laughing. "Numa lies hid in the bushes tomy right. Take to the trees. Akut! I, the son of Tarzan, willprotect you," and the boy, laughing, kept straight along his way whichled close beside the brush in which Numa lay concealed.
The ape shouted to him to come away, but the lad only flourished hisspear and executed an improvised war dance to show his contempt for theking of beasts. Closer and closer to the dread destroyer he came,until, with a sudden, angry growl, the lion rose from his bed not tenpaces from the youth. A huge fellow he was, this lord of the jungleand the desert. A shaggy mane clothed his shoulders. Cruel fangsarmed his great jaws. His yellow-green eyes blazed with hatred andchallenge.
The boy, with his pitifully inadequate spear ready in his hand,realized quickly that this lion was different from the others he hadmet; but he had gone too far now to retreat. The nearest tree layseveral yards to his left--the lion could be upon him before he hadcovered half the distance, and that the beast intended to charge nonecould doubt who looked upon him now. Beyond the lion was a thorntree--only a few feet beyond him. It was the nearest sanctuary butNuma stood between it and his prey.
The feel of the long spear shaft in his hand and the sight of the treebeyond the lion gave the lad an idea--a preposterous idea--aridiculou
s, forlorn hope of an idea; but there was no time now to weighchances--there was but a single chance, and that was the thorn tree.If the lion charged it would be too late--the lad must charge first,and to the astonishment of Akut and none the less of Numa, the boyleaped swiftly toward the beast. Just for a second was the lionmotionless with surprise and in that second Jack Clayton put to thecrucial test an accomplishment which he had practiced at school.
Straight for the savage brute he ran, his spear held butt foremostacross his body. Akut shrieked in terror and amazement. The lionstood with wide, round eyes awaiting the attack, ready to rear upon hishind feet and receive this rash creature with blows that could crushthe skull of a buffalo.
Just in front of the lion the boy placed the butt of his spear upon theground, gave a mighty spring, and, before the bewildered beast couldguess the trick that had been played upon him, sailed over the lion'shead into the rending embrace of the thorn tree--safe but lacerated.
Akut had never before seen a pole-vault. Now he leaped up and downwithin the safety of his own tree, screaming taunts and boasts at thediscomfited Numa, while the boy, torn and bleeding, sought someposition in his thorny retreat in which he might find the least agony.He had saved his life; but at considerable cost in suffering. Itseemed to him that the lion would never leave, and it was a full hourbefore the angry brute gave up his vigil and strode majestically awayacross the plain. When he was at a safe distance the boy extricatedhimself from the thorn tree; but not without inflicting new wounds uponhis already tortured flesh.
It was many days before the outward evidence of the lesson he hadlearned had left him; while the impression upon his mind was one thatwas to remain with him for life. Never again did he uselessly temptfate.
He took long chances often in his after life; but only when the takingof chances might further the attainment of some cherished end--and,always thereafter, he practiced pole-vaulting.
For several days the boy and the ape lay up while the former recoveredfrom the painful wounds inflicted by the sharp thorns. The greatanthropoid licked the wounds of his human friend, nor, aside from this,did they receive other treatment, but they soon healed, for healthyflesh quickly replaces itself.
When the lad felt fit again the two continued their journey toward thecoast, and once more the boy's mind was filled with pleasurableanticipation.
And at last the much dreamed of moment came. They were passing througha tangled forest when the boy's sharp eyes discovered from the lowerbranches through which he was traveling an old but well-marked spoor--aspoor that set his heart to leaping--the spoor of man, of white men,for among the prints of naked feet were the well defined outlines ofEuropean made boots. The trail, which marked the passage of agood-sized company, pointed north at right angles to the course the boyand the ape were taking toward the coast.
Doubtless these white men knew the nearest coast settlement. Theymight even be headed for it now. At any rate it would be worth whileovertaking them if even only for the pleasure of meeting againcreatures of his own kind. The lad was all excitement; palpitant witheagerness to be off in pursuit. Akut demurred. He wanted nothing ofmen. To him the lad was a fellow ape, for he was the son of the kingof apes. He tried to dissuade the boy, telling him that soon theyshould come upon a tribe of their own folk where some day when he wasolder the boy should be king as his father had before him. But Jackwas obdurate. He insisted that he wanted to see white men again. Hewanted to send a message to his parents. Akut listened and as helistened the intuition of the beast suggested the truth to him--the boywas planning to return to his own kind.
The thought filled the old ape with sorrow. He loved the boy as he hadloved the father, with the loyalty and faithfulness of a hound for itsmaster. In his ape brain and his ape heart he had nursed the hope thathe and the lad would never be separated. He saw all his fondlycherished plans fading away, and yet he remained loyal to the lad andto his wishes. Though disconsolate he gave in to the boy'sdetermination to pursue the safari of the white men, accompanying himupon what he believed would be their last journey together.
The spoor was but a couple of days old when the two discovered it,which meant that the slow-moving caravan was but a few hours distantfrom them whose trained and agile muscles could carry their bodiesswiftly through the branches above the tangled undergrowth which hadimpeded the progress of the laden carriers of the white men.
The boy was in the lead, excitement and anticipation carrying him aheadof his companion to whom the attainment of their goal meant onlysorrow. And it was the boy who first saw the rear guard of the caravanand the white men he had been so anxious to overtake.
Stumbling along the tangled trail of those ahead a dozen heavily ladenblacks who, from fatigue or sickness, had dropped behind were beingprodded by the black soldiers of the rear guard, kicked when they fell,and then roughly jerked to their feet and hustled onward. On eitherside walked a giant white man, heavy blonde beards almost obliteratingtheir countenances. The boy's lips formed a glad cry of salutation ashis eyes first discovered the whites--a cry that was never uttered, foralmost immediately he witnessed that which turned his happiness toanger as he saw that both the white men were wielding heavy whipsbrutally upon the naked backs of the poor devils staggering alongbeneath loads that would have overtaxed the strength and endurance ofstrong men at the beginning of a new day.
Every now and then the rear guard and the white men cast apprehensiveglances rearward as though momentarily expecting the materialization ofsome long expected danger from that quarter. The boy had paused afterhis first sight of the caravan, and now was following slowly in thewake of the sordid, brutal spectacle. Presently Akut came up with him.To the beast there was less of horror in the sight than to the lad, yeteven the great ape growled beneath his breath at useless torture beinginflicted upon the helpless slaves. He looked at the boy. Now that hehad caught up with the creatures of his own kind, why was it that hedid not rush forward and greet them? He put the question to hiscompanion.
"They are fiends," muttered the boy. "I would not travel with such asthey, for if I did I should set upon them and kill them the first timethey beat their people as they are beating them now; but," he added,after a moment's thought, "I can ask them the whereabouts of thenearest port, and then, Akut, we can leave them."
The ape made no reply, and the boy swung to the ground and started at abrisk walk toward the safari. He was a hundred yards away, perhaps,when one of the whites caught sight of him. The man gave a shout ofalarm, instantly levelling his rifle upon the boy and firing. Thebullet struck just in front of its mark, scattering turf and fallenleaves against the lad's legs. A second later the other white and theblack soldiers of the rear guard were firing hysterically at the boy.
Jack leaped behind a tree, unhit. Days of panic ridden flight throughthe jungle had filled Carl Jenssen and Sven Malbihn with janglingnerves and their native boys with unreasoning terror. Every new notefrom behind sounded to their frightened ears the coming of The Sheikand his bloodthirsty entourage. They were in a blue funk, and thesight of the naked white warrior stepping silently out of the junglethrough which they had just passed had been sufficient shock to letloose in action all the pent nerve energy of Malbihn, who had been thefirst to see the strange apparition. And Malbihn's shout and shot hadset the others going.
When their nervous energy had spent itself and they came to take stockof what they had been fighting it developed that Malbihn alone had seenanything clearly. Several of the blacks averred that they too hadobtained a good view of the creature but their descriptions of itvaried so greatly that Jenssen, who had seen nothing himself, wasinclined to be a trifle skeptical. One of the blacks insisted that thething had been eleven feet tall, with a man's body and the head of anelephant. Another had seen THREE immense Arabs with huge, blackbeards; but when, after conquering their nervousness, the rear guardadvanced upon the enemy's position to investigate they found nothing,for Akut and the boy had retreated ou
t of range of the unfriendly guns.
Jack was disheartened and sad. He had not entirely recovered from thedepressing effect of the unfriendly reception he had received at thehands of the blacks, and now he had found an even more hostile oneaccorded him by men of his own color.
"The lesser beasts flee from me in terror," he murmured, half tohimself, "the greater beasts are ready to tear me to pieces at sight.Black men would kill me with their spears or arrows. And now whitemen, men of my own kind, have fired upon me and driven me away. Areall the creatures of the world my enemies? Has the son of Tarzan nofriend other than Akut?"
The old ape drew closer to the boy.
"There are the great apes," he said. "They only will be the friends ofAkut's friend. Only the great apes will welcome the son of Tarzan.You have seen that men want nothing of you. Let us go now and continueour search for the great apes--our people."
The language of the great apes is a combination of monosyllabicgutturals, amplified by gestures and signs. It may not be literallytranslated into human speech; but as near as may be this is what Akutsaid to the boy.
The two proceeded in silence for some time after Akut had spoken. Theboy was immersed in deep thought--bitter thoughts in which hatred andrevenge predominated. Finally he spoke: "Very well, Akut," he said,"we will find our friends, the great apes."
The anthropoid was overjoyed; but he gave no outward demonstration ofhis pleasure. A low grunt was his only response, and a moment later hehad leaped nimbly upon a small and unwary rodent that had beensurprised at a fatal distance from its burrow. Tearing the unhappycreature in two Akut handed the lion's share to the lad.
The Son of Tarzan Page 7
