CHAPTER X

  Escape by Dawn

  For some time Tarzan lay as Narda had left him, seemingly as one under her hypnotic spell and blinded by her venom. But he was neither. At length he stirred. His eyes swept about the dimly lit room as he rose slowly to a sitting position—-listening. No other ears could have caught the faint bubbling sound which reached Tarzan. Narda had spent much time in this secret cavern of hers, and had never heard it. Going back mentally over the events of the previous hours, the ape-man decided the cavern was deep down within the cliff, and very near the volcanic lake he had discovered just before he encountered Lyta. The fresh air seemed to swirl about him, and Tarzan knew there must be a means of escape from this prison. It remained only for him to find it. Reaching to his loincloth he discovered gratefully that Narda and her people had not taken his sharp hunting knife. He would need another weapon, though, and Tarzan began to search about the ancient temple, seeking some artifact that would serve the purpose. In a far corner was a kind of altar, against which leaned four long and heavy spear-like decorations. Molded as they seemed to be, still Tarzan spotted the weakest portion of the structure. Heavy muscles straining, the huge man broke the nearest decoration from its altared base. As tie stood there, hefting the weight of the strange object, determining its usefulness to him, a sudden blast of cold air hit him directly about his sinewy thighs. Kneeling to seek its source, he discovered that in wresting the spear-like object from the altar, he had opened along-unused secret doorway from the side of the altar. Peering into the recess he could see the beginning of a flight of stone steps, leading downward. The bubbling sound of the lake was much more evident. Walking over to one of the piles of earth-like light, Tarzan picked up a handful of the stuff. It was oddly warm to his touch, and its light flowed forth undiminished by separation from the greater mass. Back to the altar strode Tarzan of the Apes, and down through the small doorway he crawled. He then straightened up and walked, almost incautiously, down the stone steps. He moved so rapidly that when he reached a sudden turn in the staircase, he was unable to halt himself in preparation for whatever might be around this corner. So it was that the slippery floor of the water-covered passageway served to delay the ape-man another precious hour, for as his feet hit the moss-covered stone they went out from under him, and in falling he hit his head a glancing blow against the rock walls of the tunnel. In his somewhat weakened position, he lost his consciousness for some time, and when he came to once again, it was to the sight of the bright sun reflecting a glaring light from the rippling waters in the cave. Looking upward, Tarzan could see an orifice far above his head. A though it was the only evident opening to the place, the flow of the water about his feet and the strong gusts of air which cooled the tunnel gave Tarzan reason to believe his quickest escape would be reached by going downward rather than attempting to reach the visible orifice. For a long distance the passage continued straight as an arrow. The waters seemed never to rise, but remained ankle-deep, Just enough to make footing difficult and progress slow. Rounding the first turn of a mile or so, this time Tarzan moved with great caution. From here on, the bright sun was lost, and the gloom of the passageway was relieved only by the substance Tarzan carried in his right hand. The tunnel now became a circuitous passage, turning back and forth, left and right, many times; at last it seemed to end in a small, circular chamber, at one curve of which a faint light could be seen glowing. Tarzan crossed the room, and an exclamation of relieved delight broke from his lips at the sight of the blue and sunlit skies around the bend. As he reached the egress, he stood cautiously, looking out at the Valley of the Volcanos.That he was now safe from the snake-men of Narda, Tarzan knew. How Lyta might react to the knowledge of his freedom he could not be sure. Certainly, hoping still that he might in some way help her, she would not, for the present, harm Kamjei. And Tarzan of the Apes was as wise as he was strong. To attempt to defeat the men of Narda was an impossibility for one man. It was best, he decided, to return to his compound, there to map out a battle plan with his Waziri, from there to the forest of the great apes to enjoin their aid. Then—and only then, a return to the land of the Snake People. As Tarzan moved stealthily across the clearing, past the volcanic lake, and toward the jungle on the other side, he was not aware of the fact that his fall back in the tunnel had actually insured his escape. Had he arrived at this spot one hour earlier he would have found it swarming with Lyta’s forces. As it was, they had gone into the jungle in search of their former brothers, and having found and killed all that had been trapped by the sun, had returned to the cliffside fortress to meet with their priestess, Lyta. Nor was Tarzan aware that his beloved Jane was at this very moment in the chambers of Narda, evil priestess of his foe. The presence of the swarms of day-snakes had obliterated her scent, as well as the scent of the Europeans—either of which would have been enough to turn the ape-man back toward his recently vacated prison.

  Reaching the jungle, Tarzan swung rapidly through the lower and middle terraces, to the upper terrace of lesser boughs and swifter movements. He had been traveling in this fashion for an hour or longer when Tarzan recognized the hunger’ pangs which attacked his flat stomach. It was only then that the ape-man recalled he had eaten nothing since early the previous day. Hurried though he might be to return to Jane and the compound, still his jungle training told him that a hungered man is a weakened man. He must stop long enough to track down and kill a meal for himself, so that he would be in fighting shape for any dangers which might lie ahead of him. Seldom did the ape-man ever go hungry within this jungle he knew so well. It was rich in game animals, birds and fish, as well as in the fruits, grubs, and the countless other forms of vegetable and animal life upon which this jungle-raised man could eat heartily.

  Moving swiftly from the upper terrace down through the middle and finally to the lower, where he could track and kill his quarry, the bronzed man became once again a beast of his own beloved jungle.

  Within but a few minutes of searching, Tarzan had spotted the trail of Bara, the deer. It was at a water hole near a small, tree-covered clearing that Bara fell easy victim to Tarzan’s hunger. This was just before noon. As the ape-man fed, he was also aware of the voices of the great four-footed hunters which rose now and again from each and every direction. Knowing his jungle friends as well as his jungle enemies, and knowing their hunger most of all, Tarzan took the route of discretion—he shouldered the carcass of Bara, the deer, and walked lithely across the clearing, toward the great trees which he knew so well. As he reached the edge of this feeding spot, the sounds of the jungle seemed to well about him. Swinging lightly toward the tree which best suited him, Tarzan found a seat among the branches which served as both chair, table, and a SDOtfor true reconnaissance. He was comfortable. He ate comfortably.

  The flesh of Bara was delicious to the hungry master of the wilds. When he became close to satiated, he carried the remainder of her carcass to the other side of his protective tree, and there he deposited it—far above the ground—most secure. Tarzan would be passing through these wilds once more, en route to ending the reign of the Snake People. At that timeTarzan might not have such luck at hunting. As he placed the carcass carefully in the tree, the roars of the lions and the screams of the other cats seemed to swell with in creasing animosity. Tarzan, with majestic disdain, ignored the sounds. But, suddenly, his sensitive hearing spotted a new sound amid the madness beneath him. As the noon sun grew high above the jungle, Tarzan heard this sound, and the sudden rush of feet across the grassy carpet in the vicinity of his tree. He was at once alert and ready for any strange jungle activity. He was far more alert than you or I might have been, given similar circumstances. He was, after all, a creature of the wild, and his eyes, glaring down upon the clearing, were clear and bright, so vividly clear and bright that they must have registered vivid and clear impressions upon his great brain.

  His eyes widened even further as they focused upon the scene beneath him. For there, racing toward the very tree in which he crouched was Lyta, the Priestess of Day—the strange woman who had, merely a few hours previously, told him she could not leave the protection of her snake-men. Behind her terrified figure, in such close pursuit as to deny the possibility of his quarry escaping, came Numa. A Numa enraged, a gigantic Numa, a Numa in full charge!

  So enraged was the beast that no sound issued from his mouth. So terrified the priestess that no call for help came from her lovely lips. They were as two bound spirits—one the spirit of death—the other, of hope. They moved in swift silence toward the tree of Tarzan, a tragedy inherent within both bestial and human bodies.

  As his eyes widened, and he took in the scene being enacted beneath him, Tarzan was already preparing for his action. His keen brain spotted the dangers, his warm heart told him the necessities. Rapidly, thought upon thought became action upon action. Tarzan was in mid-air as Numa started his final leap toward capture of this elusive prize!

  So close, as a matter of fact, was the tawny Numa that Tarzan was given little or no time in which to carefully choose his method of attack. He leaped as a diver leaps, from the springboard straight into the waters beneath himself. But the waters were, for Tarzan, the body of Numa, his long-time enemy. As he dove toward the beast he held, naked in his hand, the blade of his father; the blood-colored blade of many deaths! In his tree nest remained the artifact from the Valley of Volcanos—the spear-like object that might have proved more helpful to him.

  Tarzan of the Apes was once again an animal—the greatest of all jungle beasts. He needed not to defend himself with man-made objects. As he fell upon Numa, a raking talon caught the ape-man upon one side. It inflicted a long, deep wound, and over and above the sounds of the glade-lit battle, once again Tarzan heard the wailing of Lyta. Subconsciously, he glanced toward the lower terrace, to make sure the quarry of his foe had escaped. She sat upon a lower branch, pristine in her glory, ,but her terror reflected horribly upon her lovely face. As a second talon scraped his taut muscles, the great tarmangani turned his entire enmity toward Numa. The screams of the yellow and tawny beast as the knife of Tarzan found its target seemed to fill the Jungle. Again and again the ape-man raised the knife and again and again it found the mark. Still Numa fought. Still Numa screamed. And still Numa’s talons found the bronzed body of this, his most frightful enemy.

  Finally, a single and terrific blow upon the golden bead of the beast was the undoing of Numa. Coupled with the blow was the last strike of Tarzan’s knife, which found the wild heart, and after a few convulsive shudders, gave it peace. The death of Numa was marked by a sudden relaxation, and a silence comparable to that brought about by the Snake People.

  Leaping to his feet, Tarzan raised his eyes quickly toward Lyta, then, turning them away, he placed his foot upon the carcass of Numa—and as though to reclaim his rightful role as king of this jungle, gave forth the hideous victory cry of the bull apes. The great man knew this was used mainly to brag to Goro, but Tarzan knew the many miles he must travel to reach his ape friends. The sight of Lyta, fleeing though the day was progressing, fleeing without her beloved snake-men, had given his keen mind thoughts of much trouble. He thought, as he uttered the hideous screitM, I shall have not time to call upon my friends. They must come to me! And, as the horrible scream burst forth from his lips, Tarzan returned his knife, bloody from Numa, to his loincloth, and, swiftly returned .to the branch upon which Lyta quietly waited.

  For a moment, the two quietly appraised each other. IIt was Lyta who broke the silence.

  “You have greatly angered Narda, Tarzan of the Apes.”

  “Oh? So the estranged sisters are together again now?”

  “But no. What makes you say such a thing?”

  “I have been gone from Narda’s ‘secret chambers’ I a very short time, comparatively speaking. You, Lyta, move swiftly in this Jungle to which you are so strange. Yet you know of my escape, and you tell me of her anger. What else must I assume than that you and the woman of the night are once again working together?”

  Lyta permitted herself a small grimace at the ape-man’s expense. “You know much, tarmangani, but you obviously did not learn one of the first secrets of the Valley of the Volcanos! I had thought surely it would be immediately evident to you.”

  “Continue, Lyta.” Tarzan ignored her grimace and overlooked the implication of doubt in her words and voice.

  “The acoustics in that accursed place are all but unbelievable. With a certain wind, and even without it, at certain times of the day and night even the slightest of whispers becomes a shout and is echoed over and over again. Both Narda and I have chosen our particular chambers for the location least open to such maddening peculiarities. But even they do not give full protection from the demon of the valley.”

  “What has all of this to do with my escape—or with the anger of Narda, your sister?”

  “Her Belgian returned to her this morning. Somehow, he passed through my men without notice. He must have made the attempt Just as the dawn arose, when their powers are not yet fully their own. The two lovers,” and now the voice of Lyta became laced with bitterness and hatred, “began quarreling within moments of his return, and their eagerly awaited reunion! He cursed her for letting you escape from their fortress, and she cursed him for leaving so many of the people to the whims of my army! Well she might have. We destroyed a large group of them within the hour.”

  “You told me you never separated yourself from your people. Why then, Lyta, have you come after me alone this day?” His steely grey eyes peered with deep penetration into her pale blue orbs. To his surprise and amazement tears welled to the surface and the voice of the snake priestess was choked as she gave her reply.

  “I also had told you of the many great things I have known of you, Tarzan of the Apes, and the reason I had decided to ask for your help. You will recall I warned you not to go out into the evil night. I had told you that your runner Kamjei was well and safe. You did not choose to believe me. Now, I hope you will have learned that I speak only the truth. For now, Tarzan, you must believe me!”

  A strange sensation of almost unknown fear began to creep through the body of the handsome man. Somehow, he knew full well that Lyta would speak the truth, and somehow he knew the truth would be fraught with horror for him. “Speak up, Lyta. What is it that I must believe from you?”

  “Narda and her Belgian have your mate, Jane. She is their captive, and they intend to use her to recapture you and to kill me and all of my people!”

  Jane! In the midst of those ghastly snake-men! At the mercy of the evil Narda and the corrupt Belgian. It was the first inclination of Tarzan to swing back into the upper terrace, race back through the jungles to Jthe Valley of theVolcanos, and to invade, singlehandedly, that horrid den of vileness. His own good judgement and courage came to his rescue almost immediately. If he had not been able to cope with the snake-men of Narda when only his personal safety was at stake, how could he hope to do so when the great love of his life was involved? He must carry out his original plan. He must return to the compound and prepare a strategy of war, and seek the help of his many Jungle friends. Without asking, he knew that Lyta and her people would Join with him in this fight.

  “How long can you remain away from your men, Lyta?” He asked the question rapidly.

  “I should return to them before the sun goes down. They become helpless then, and if I am not there to protect them Narda will surely destroy the entire fortress.”

  “Then you must return now.”

  “You are not coming back with me?” The amazement in the voice of the priestess was deep.

  “I am not coming back with you now, Lyta,” and the ape-man looked down at the lovely woman with warm understanding, ” but you must not fear nor lose hope. For Tarzan of the Apes will help your people. I will return to the Valley of the Volcanos. I will take my woman from the vile clutches of those two and their misbegotten followers. But I cannot do it alone. I go now to my fortress to gather together my army. It may take a few hours more than you can spare, Lyta, but return to your home with full heart. For Tarzan is with you in this time of trouble. And Tarzan of the Apes will fight and win your battle for you!”

  As he spoke, he turned, waved a quick farewell to the slim priestess and disappeared as if by magic into the trees above.

  CHAPTER XI

  The Note of Ransom

  The quarrel which had given Lyta the information as to Tarzan’s escape and the capture of Jane Clayton raged continuously throughout the morning. Not only was Narda enraged and heartsick because of the loss of so many of her valued warriors, she was also, unknown to Leopold Keinin, utterly furious that she had lost her chance to capture the handsome ape-man. Add to these two good reasons for her anger the immediate feminine instinct which had told her that the wife of Tarzan, this Jane Clayton who stood so proudly, albeit under hypnotic influence, before her, was as lovely and seductive as Narda herself, and her rage was within reason.

  Before giving way to the stream of invectives with which she was to abuse the unfortunate Belgian for hours, Narda had led Jane and Bill Harvey to one of her secret chambers, supposedly, in front of them, planning to install Keinin and the sill-terrified Pierre Sortie in another. Actually, as the quarrel continued unabated, the German began to wish he had indeed been incarcerated!

  “Three hundred! Three hundred of my finest men lost to you and your fanatical ideas! How many more will go next? You know full well, Keinin, that there is no hope of replenishing our forces until the next fuH moon. At the rate you are going, kind sir” and the curtsy of respect she gave to match her words was a gesture of utter scorn, “there will be none of my people left to father another army for you!”

  “Narda, Narda,” the weary Belgian tried once again to interject, as he had so frequently and unsuccessfully in the past hours, “if you will only listen to me!”