Tonight as Tarzan lay thinking, there sprang to his fertile imagination an explanation of the stars and the moon.
He became quite excited about it. Taug was sleeping in a nearby crotch. Tarzan swung over beside him.
“Taug!” he cried. Instantly the great bull was awake and bristling, sensing danger from the nocturnal summons.
“Look, Taug!” exclaimed Tarzan, pointing toward the stars.
“See the eyes of Numa and Sabor, of Sheeta and Dango.
They wait around Goro to leap in upon him for their kill.
See the eyes and the nose and the mouth of Goro. And the light that shines upon his face is the light of the great fire he has built to frighten away Numa and Sabor and Dango and Sheeta.
“All about him are the eyes, Taug, you can see them! But they do not come very close to the fire—there are few eyes close to Goro. They fear the fire! It is the fire that saves Goro from Numa. Do you see them, Taug? Some night Numa will be very hungry and very angry—then he will leap over the thorn bushes which encircle Goro and we will have no more light after Kudu seeks his lair—the night will be black with the blackness that comes when Goro is lazy and sleeps late into the night, or when he wanders through the skies by day, forgetting the jungle and its people.”
Taug looked stupidly at the heavens and then at Tarzan.
A meteor fell, blazing a flaming way through the sky.
“Look!” cried Tarzan. “Goro has thrown a burning branch at Numa.”
Taug grumbled. “Numa is down below,” he said. “Numa does not hunt above the trees.” But he looked curiously and a little fearfully at the bright stars above him, as though he saw them for the first time, and doubtless it was the first time that Taug ever had seen the stars, though they had been in the sky above him every night of his life. To Taug they were as the gorgeous jungle blooms—he could not eat them and so he ignored them.
Taug fidgeted and was nervous. For a long time he lay sleepless, watching the stars—the flaming eyes of the beasts of prey surrounding Goro, the moon—Goro, by whose light the apes danced to the beating of their earthen drums. If Goro should be eaten by Numa there could be no more Dum-Dums. Taug was overwhelmed by the thought.
He glanced at Tarzan half fearfully. Why was his friend so different from the others of the tribe? no one else whom Taug ever had known had had such queer thoughts as Tarzan.
The ape scratched his head and wondered, dimly, if Tarzan was a safe companion, and then he recalled slowly, and by a laborious mental process, that Tarzan had served him better than any other of the apes, even the strong and wise bulls of the tribe.
Tarzan it was who had freed him from the blacks at the very time that Taug had thought Tarzan wanted Teeka.
It was Tarzan who had saved Taug's little balu from death.
It was Tarzan who had conceived and carried out the plan to pursue Teeka's abductor and rescue the stolen one.
Tarzan had fought and bled in Taug's service so many times that Taug, although only a brutal ape, had had impressed upon his mind a fierce loyalty which nothing now could swerve—his friendship for Tarzan had become a habit, a tradition almost, which would endure while Taug endured.
He never showed any outward demonstration of affection—he growled at Tarzan as he growled at the other bulls who came too close while he was feeding—but he would have died for Tarzan. He knew it and Tarzan knew it; but of such things apes do not speak—their vocabulary, for the finer instincts, consisting more of actions than words. But now Taug was worried, and he fell asleep again still thinking of the strange words of his fellow.
The following day he thought of them again, and without any intention of disloyalty he mentioned to Gunto what Tarzan had suggested about the eyes surrounding Goro, and the possibility that sooner or later Numa would charge the moon and devour him. To the apes all large things in nature are male, and so Goro, being the largest creature in the heavens by night, was, to them, a bull.
Gunto bit a sliver from a horny finger and recalled the fact that Tarzan had once said that the trees talked to one another, and Gozan recounted having seen the ape-man dancing alone in the moonlight with Sheeta, the panther.
They did not know that Tarzan had roped the savage beast and tied him to a tree before he came to earth and leaped about before the rearing cat, to tantalize him.
Others told of seeing Tarzan ride upon the back of Tantor, the elephant; of his bringing the black boy, Tibo, to the tribe, and of mysterious things with which he communed in the strange lair by the sea. They had never understood his books, and after he had shown them to one or two of the tribe and discovered that even the pictures carried no impression to their brains, he had desisted.
“Tarzan is not an ape,” said Gunto. “He will bring Numa to eat us, as he is bringing him to eat Goro. We should kill him.”
Immediately Taug bristled. Kill Tarzan! “First you will kill Taug,” he said, and lumbered away to search for food.
But others joined the plotters. They thought of many things which Tarzan had done—things which apes did not do and could not understand. Again Gunto voiced the opinion that the Tarmangani, the white ape, should be slain, and the others, filled with terror about the stories they had heard, and thinking Tarzan was planning to slay Goro, greeted the proposal with growls of accord.
Among them was Teeka, listening with all her ears; but her voice was not raised in furtherance of the plan.
Instead she bristled, showing her fangs, and afterward she went away in search of Tarzan; but she could not find him, as he was roaming far afield in search of meat.
She found Taug, though, and told him what the others were planning, and the great bull stamped upon the ground and roared. His bloodshot eyes blazed with wrath, his upper lip curled up to expose his fighting fangs, and the hair upon his spine stood erect, and then a rodent scurried across the open and Taug sprang to seize it.
In an instant he seemed to have forgotten his rage against the enemies of his friend; but such is the mind of an ape.
Several miles away Tarzan of the Apes lolled upon the broad head of Tantor, the elephant. He scratched beneath the great ears with the point of a sharp stick, and he talked to the huge pachyderm of everything which filled his black-thatched head. Little, or nothing, of what he said did Tantor understand; but Tantor is a good listener.
Swaying from side to side he stood there enjoying the companionship of his friend, the friend he loved, and absorbing the delicious sensations of the scratching.
Numa, the lion, caught the scent of man, and warily stalked it until he came within sight of his prey upon the head of the mighty tusker; then he turned, growling and muttering, away in search of more propitious hunting grounds.
The elephant caught the scent of the lion, borne to him by an eddying breeze, and lifting his trunk trumpeted loudly.
Tarzan stretched back luxuriously, lying supine at full length along the rough hide. Flies swarmed about his face; but with a leafy branch torn from a tree he lazily brushed them away.
“Tantor,” he said, “it is good to be alive. It is good to lie in the cool shadows. It is good to look upon the green trees and the bright colors of the flowers—upon everything which Bulamutumumo has put here for us. He is very good to us, Tantor; He has given you tender leaves and bark, and rich grasses to eat; to me He has given Bara and Horta and Pisah, the fruits and the nuts and the roots. He provides for each the food that each likes best. All that He asks is that we be strong enough or cunning enough to go forth and take it. Yes, Tantor, it is good to live. I should hate to die.”
Tantor made a little sound in his throat and curled his trunk upward that he might caress the ape-man's cheek with the finger at its tip.
“Tantor,” said Tarzan presently, “turn and feed in the direction of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape, that Tarzan may ride home upon your head without walking.”
The tusker turned and moved slowly off along a broad, tree-arched trail, pausing occasionally to pluck a ten
der branch, or strip the edible bark from an adjacent tree.
Tarzan sprawled face downward upon the beast's head and back, his legs hanging on either side, his head supported by his open palms, his elbows resting on the broad cranium.
And thus they made their leisurely way toward the gathering place of the tribe.
Just before they arrived at the clearing from the north there reached it from the south another figure—that of a well-knit black warrior, who stepped cautiously through the jungle, every sense upon the alert against the many dangers which might lurk anywhere along the way.
Yet he passed beneath the southernmost sentry that was posted in a great tree commanding the trail from the south.
The ape permitted the Gomangani to pass unmolested, for he saw that he was alone; but the moment that the warrior had entered the clearing a loud “Kreeg-ah!” rang out from behind him, immediately followed by a chorus of replies from different directions, as the great bulls crashed through the trees in answer to the summons of their fellow.
The black man halted at the first cry and looked about him.
He could see nothing, but he knew the voice of the hairy tree men whom he and his kind feared, not alone because of the strength and ferocity of the savage beings, but as well through a superstitious terror engendered by the manlike appearance of the apes.
But Bulabantu was no coward. He heard the apes all about him; he knew that escape was probably impossible, so he stood his ground, his spear ready in his hand and a war cry trembling on his lips. He would sell his life dearly, would Bulabantu, under-chief of the village of Mbonga , the chief.
Tarzan and Tantor were but a short distance away when the first cry of the sentry rang out through the quiet jungle.
Like a flash the ape-man leaped from the elephant's back to a near-by tree and was swinging rapidly in the direction of the clearing before the echoes of the first “Kreeg-ah” had died away. When he arrived he saw a dozen bulls circling a single Gomangani.
With a blood-curdling scream Tarzan sprang to the attack.
He hated the blacks even more than did the apes, and here was an opportunity for a kill in the open.
What had the Gomangani done? Had he slain one of the tribe?
Tarzan asked the nearest ape. No, the Gomangani had harmed none. Gozan, being on watch, had seen him coming through the forest and had warned the tribe—that was all.
The ape-man pushed through the circle of bulls, none of which as yet had worked himself into sufficient frenzy for a charge, and came where he had a full and close view of the black. He recognized the man instantly.
Only the night before he had seen him facing the eyes in the dark, while his fellows groveled in the dirt at his feet, too terrified even to defend themselves.
Here was a brave man, and Tarzan had deep admiration for bravery. Even his hatred of the blacks was not so strong a passion as his love of courage. He would have joyed in battling with a black warrior at almost any time; but this one he did not wish to kill—he felt, vaguely, that the man had earned his life by his brave defense of it on the preceding night, nor did he fancy the odds that were pitted against the lone warrior.
He turned to the apes. “Go back to your feeding,” he said, “and let this Gomangani go his way in peace.
He has not harmed us, and last night I saw him fighting Numa and Sabor with fire, alone in the jungle. He is brave.
Why should we kill one who is brave and who has not attacked us? Let him go.”
The apes growled. They were displeased. “Kill the Gomangani!” cried one.
“Yes.” roared another, “kill the Gomangani and the Tarmangani as well.”
“Kill the white ape!” screamed Gozan, “he is no ape at all; but a Gomangani with his skin off.”
“Kill Tarzan!” bellowed Gunto. “Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The bulls were now indeed working themselves into the frenzy of slaughter; but against Tarzan rather than the black man.
A shaggy form charged through them, hurling those it came in contact with to one side as a strong man might scatter children. It was Taug—great, savage Taug.
“Who says ‘kill Tarzan’?” he demanded. “Who kills Tarzan must kill Taug, too. Who can kill Taug? Taug will tear your insides from you and feed them to Dango.”
“We can kill you all,” replied Gunto. “There are many of us and few of you,” and he was right. Tarzan knew that he was right. Taug knew it; but neither would admit such a possibility. It is not the way of bull apes.
“I am Tarzan,” cried the ape-man. “I am Tarzan. Mighty hunter; mighty fighter. In all the jungle none so great as Tarzan.”
Then, one by one, the opposing bulls recounted their virtues and their prowess. And all the time the combatants came closer and closer to one another. Thus do the bulls work themselves to the proper pitch before engaging in battle.
Gunto came, stiff-legged, close to Tarzan and sniffed at him, with bared fangs. Tarzan rumbled forth a low, menacing growl.
They might repeat these tactics a dozen times; but sooner or later one bull would close with another and then the whole hideous pack would be tearing and rending at their prey.
Bulabantu, the black man, had stood wide-eyed in wonder from the moment he had seen Tarzan approaching through the apes.
He had heard much of this devil-god who ran with the hairy tree people; but never before had he seen him in full daylight. He knew him well enough from the description of those who had seen him and from the glimpses he had had of the marauder upon several occasions when the ape-man had entered the village of Mbonga , the chief, by night, in the perpetration of one of his numerous ghastly jokes.
Bulabantu could not, of course, understand anything which passed between Tarzan and the apes; but he saw that the ape-man and one of the larger bulls were in argument with the others. He saw that these two were standing with their back toward him and between him and the balance of the tribe, and he guessed, though it seemed improbable, that they might be defending him.
He knew that Tarzan had once spared the life of Mbonga, the chief, and that he had succored Tibo, and Tibo's mother, Momaya. So it was not impossible that he would help Bulabantu; but how he could accomplish it Bulabantu could not guess; nor as a matter of fact could Tarzan, for the odds against him were too great.
Gunto and the others were slowly forcing Tarzan and Taug back toward Bulabantu. The ape-man thought of his words with Tantor just a short time before: “Yes, Tantor, it is good to live. I should hate to die.” And now he knew that he was about to die, for the temper of the great bulls was mounting rapidly against him.
Always had many of them hated him, and all were suspicious of him. They knew he was different. Tarzan knew it too; but he was glad that he was—he was a MAN; that he had learned from his picture-books, and he was very proud of the distinction. Presently, though, he would be a dead man.
Gunto was preparing to charge. Tarzan knew the signs.
He knew that the balance of the bulls would charge with Gunto. Then it would soon be over. Something moved among the verdure at the opposite side of the clearing.
Tarzan saw it just as Gunto, with the terrifying cry of a challenging ape, sprang forward. Tarzan voiced a peculiar call and then crouched to meet the assault.
Taug crouched, too, and Bulabantu, assured now that these two were fighting upon his side, couched his spear and sprang between them to receive the first charge of the enemy.
Simultaneously a huge bulk broke into the clearing from the jungle behind the charging bulls.
The trumpeting of a mad tusker rose shrill above the cries of the anthropoids, as Tantor, the elephant, dashed swiftly across the clearing to the aid of his friend.
Gunto never closed upon the ape-man, nor did a fang enter flesh upon either side. The terrific reverberation of Tantor's challenge sent the bulls scurrying to the trees, jabbering and scolding. Taug raced off with them.
Only Tarzan and Bulabantu remained. The latter stood his ground because he saw
that the devil-god did not run, and because the black had the courage to face a certain and horrible death beside one who had quite evidently dared death for him.
But it was a surprised Gomangani who saw the mighty elephant come to a sudden halt in front of the ape-man and caress him with his long, sinuous trunk.
Tarzan turned toward the black man. “Go!” he said in the language of the apes, and pointed in the direction of the village of Mbonga . Bulabantu understood the gesture, if not the word, nor did he lose time in obeying.
Tarzan stood watching him until he had disappeared.
He knew that the apes would not follow. Then he said to the elephant: “Pick me up!” and the tusker swung him lightly to his head.
“Tarzan goes to his lair by the big water,” shouted the ape-man to the apes in the trees. “All of you are more foolish than Manu, except Taug and Teeka. Taug and Teeka may come to see Tarzan; but the others must keep away.
Tarzan is done with the tribe of Kerchak.”
He prodded Tantor with a calloused toe and the big beast swung off across the clearing, the apes watching them until they were swallowed up by the jungle.
Before the night fell Taug killed Gunto, picking a quarrel with him over his attack upon Tarzan.
For a moon the tribe saw nothing of Tarzan of the Apes.
Many of them probably never gave him a thought; but there were those who missed him more than Tarzan imagined.
Taug and Teeka often wished that he was back, and Taug determined a dozen times to go and visit Tarzan in his seaside lair; but first one thing and then another interfered.
One night when Taug lay sleepless looking up at the starry heavens he recalled the strange things that Tarzan once had suggested to him—that the bright spots were the eyes of the meat-eaters waiting in the dark of the jungle sky to leap upon Goro, the moon, and devour him.
The more he thought about this matter the more perturbed he became.
And then a strange thing happened. Even as Taug looked at Goro, he saw a portion of one edge disappear, precisely as though something was gnawing upon it.
Larger and larger became the hole in the side of Goro.
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