Chapter XV
The Forest God
When Clayton heard the report of the firearm he fell into an agony offear and apprehension. He knew that one of the sailors might be theauthor of it; but the fact that he had left the revolver with Jane,together with the overwrought condition of his nerves, made himmorbidly positive that she was threatened with some great danger.Perhaps even now she was attempting to defend herself against somesavage man or beast.
What were the thoughts of his strange captor or guide Clayton couldonly vaguely conjecture; but that he had heard the shot, and was insome manner affected by it was quite evident, for he quickened his paceso appreciably that Clayton, stumbling blindly in his wake, was down adozen times in as many minutes in a vain effort to keep pace with him,and soon was left hopelessly behind.
Fearing that he would again be irretrievably lost, he called aloud tothe wild man ahead of him, and in a moment had the satisfaction ofseeing him drop lightly to his side from the branches above.
For a moment Tarzan looked at the young man closely, as thoughundecided as to just what was best to do; then, stooping down beforeClayton, he motioned him to grasp him about the neck, and, with thewhite man upon his back, Tarzan took to the trees.
The next few minutes the young Englishman never forgot. High intobending and swaying branches he was borne with what seemed to himincredible swiftness, while Tarzan chafed at the slowness of hisprogress.
From one lofty branch the agile creature swung with Clayton through adizzy arc to a neighboring tree; then for a hundred yards maybe thesure feet threaded a maze of interwoven limbs, balancing like atightrope walker high above the black depths of verdure beneath.
From the first sensation of chilling fear Clayton passed to one of keenadmiration and envy of those giant muscles and that wondrous instinctor knowledge which guided this forest god through the inky blackness ofthe night as easily and safely as Clayton would have strolled a Londonstreet at high noon.
Occasionally they would enter a spot where the foliage above was lessdense, and the bright rays of the moon lit up before Clayton'swondering eyes the strange path they were traversing.
At such times the man fairly caught his breath at sight of the horriddepths below them, for Tarzan took the easiest way, which often ledover a hundred feet above the earth.
And yet with all his seeming speed, Tarzan was in reality feeling hisway with comparative slowness, searching constantly for limbs ofadequate strength for the maintenance of this double weight.
Presently they came to the clearing before the beach. Tarzan's quickears had heard the strange sounds of Sabor's efforts to force her waythrough the lattice, and it seemed to Clayton that they dropped astraight hundred feet to earth, so quickly did Tarzan descend. Yetwhen they struck the ground it was with scarce a jar; and as Claytonreleased his hold on the ape-man he saw him dart like a squirrel forthe opposite side of the cabin.
The Englishman sprang quickly after him just in time to see the hindquarters of some huge animal about to disappear through the window ofthe cabin.
As Jane opened her eyes to a realization of the imminent peril whichthreatened her, her brave young heart gave up at last its final vestigeof hope. But then to her surprise she saw the huge animal being slowlydrawn back through the window, and in the moonlight beyond she saw theheads and shoulders of two men.
As Clayton rounded the corner of the cabin to behold the animaldisappearing within, it was also to see the ape-man seize the long tailin both hands, and, bracing himself with his feet against the side ofthe cabin, throw all his mighty strength into the effort to draw thebeast out of the interior.
Clayton was quick to lend a hand, but the ape-man jabbered to him in acommanding and peremptory tone something which Clayton knew to beorders, though he could not understand them.
At last, under their combined efforts, the great body was slowlydragged farther and farther outside the window, and then there came toClayton's mind a dawning conception of the rash bravery of hiscompanion's act.
For a naked man to drag a shrieking, clawing man-eater forth from awindow by the tail to save a strange white girl, was indeed the lastword in heroism.
Insofar as Clayton was concerned it was a very different matter, sincethe girl was not only of his own kind and race, but was the one womanin all the world whom he loved.
Though he knew that the lioness would make short work of both of them,he pulled with a will to keep it from Jane Porter. And then herecalled the battle between this man and the great, black-maned lionwhich he had witnessed a short time before, and he commenced to feelmore assurance.
Tarzan was still issuing orders which Clayton could not understand.
He was trying to tell the stupid white man to plunge his poisonedarrows into Sabor's back and sides, and to reach the savage heart withthe long, thin hunting knife that hung at Tarzan's hip; but the manwould not understand, and Tarzan did not dare release his hold to dothe things himself, for he knew that the puny white man never couldhold mighty Sabor alone, for an instant.
Slowly the lioness was emerging from the window. At last her shoulderswere out.
And then Clayton saw an incredible thing. Tarzan, racking his brainsfor some means to cope single-handed with the infuriated beast, hadsuddenly recalled his battle with Terkoz; and as the great shoulderscame clear of the window, so that the lioness hung upon the sill onlyby her forepaws, Tarzan suddenly released his hold upon the brute.
With the quickness of a striking rattler he launched himself full uponSabor's back, his strong young arms seeking and gaining a full-Nelsonupon the beast, as he had learned it that other day during his bloody,wrestling victory over Terkoz.
With a roar the lioness turned completely over upon her back, fallingfull upon her enemy; but the black-haired giant only closed tighter hishold.
Pawing and tearing at earth and air, Sabor rolled and threw herselfthis way and that in an effort to dislodge this strange antagonist; butever tighter and tighter drew the iron bands that were forcing her headlower and lower upon her tawny breast.
Higher crept the steel forearms of the ape-man about the back ofSabor's neck. Weaker and weaker became the lioness's efforts.
At last Clayton saw the immense muscles of Tarzan's shoulders andbiceps leap into corded knots beneath the silver moonlight. There wasa long sustained and supreme effort on the ape-man's part--and thevertebrae of Sabor's neck parted with a sharp snap.
In an instant Tarzan was upon his feet, and for the second time thatday Clayton heard the bull ape's savage roar of victory. Then he heardJane's agonized cry:
"Cecil--Mr. Clayton! Oh, what is it? What is it?"
Running quickly to the cabin door, Clayton called out that all wasright, and shouted to her to open the door. As quickly as she couldshe raised the great bar and fairly dragged Clayton within.
"What was that awful noise?" she whispered, shrinking close to him.
"It was the cry of the kill from the throat of the man who has justsaved your life, Miss Porter. Wait, I will fetch him so you may thankhim."
The frightened girl would not be left alone, so she accompanied Claytonto the side of the cabin where lay the dead body of the lioness.
Tarzan of the Apes was gone.
Clayton called several times, but there was no reply, and so the tworeturned to the greater safety of the interior.
"What a frightful sound!" cried Jane, "I shudder at the mere thought ofit. Do not tell me that a human throat voiced that hideous andfearsome shriek."
"But it did, Miss Porter," replied Clayton; "or at least if not a humanthroat that of a forest god."
And then he told her of his experiences with this strange creature--ofhow twice the wild man had saved his life--of the wondrous strength,and agility, and bravery--of the brown skin and the handsome face.
"I cannot make it out at all," he concluded. "At first I thought hemight be Tarzan of the Apes; but he neither speaks nor understandsEnglish, so that theory is untenable."<
br />
"Well, whatever he may be," cried the girl, "we owe him our lives, andmay God bless him and keep him in safety in his wild and savage jungle!"
"Amen," said Clayton, fervently.
"For the good Lord's sake, ain't I dead?"
The two turned to see Esmeralda sitting upright upon the floor, hergreat eyes rolling from side to side as though she could not believetheir testimony as to her whereabouts.
And now, for Jane Porter, the reaction came, and she threw herself uponthe bench, sobbing with hysterical laughter.
Tarzan of the Apes Page 15
