The wildly furious woman spun about on her dainty arched feet. “All right, Keinin. I’ll listen. But you had better have something important to say, and something sensible to say ! Or so help me, I’ll give my remaining troops a feast this night!”

  “My very beautiful lady, if you will stop screaming and start thinking, you will have to realize that three hundred of our people is but a minor loss when compared to the advantage we have won with the capture of Tarzan’s mate. Now, now Narda…” and he raised a calming hand to quiet her heated reaction to his term of a “minor loss.” “My heart, too, is heavy that those valiant fighters of the night did not come back. But is it not best that we lose them now, rather than lose perhaps thousands more through a long and costly civil war? With Jane in our possession, Tarzan cannot refuse to help us in wiping out the deadly troops of Lyta, the Evil! And with Tarzan and his jungle friends to help us, Lyta is doomed. Think of it, Narda.” The wily Belgian moved toward the woman, to caress her shoulder briefly as he continued to speak. “No longer will you have to remain on guard every night, lonely before Goro the Moon, helpless without your men and fearful of what the morning might bring from your sworn enemies. No longer, Narda, will you have to stay in this small chamber during the sunlit hours. You and I, your people safe and at rest, may go forth into the world. We may swim in the sunshine, walk m the fresh, warm daylit hours, and Narda …” his point had been made, as he pressed his fully fleshed lips against her curved shoulder, “we, you and I, may enjoy one another’s company without fear or hesitation.”

  Keinin had been away too long. Narda knew he was wrong, knew she should remain angered, knew even she should carry out her threat of feeding him to her army. But Narda was a lonely woman.

  Narda nodded, and kissed him passionately. Unnoticed, in the corner of the room, Pierre Sortie breathed agreat sigh of relief.

  Meanwhile, in their prison chamber, Jane and Bill Harvey talked quietly—with the quiet of desperation— trying to find a means of escape. Jane had recovered from the hypnotic spell of the great snakes almost as soon as they were left alone. As Bill Harvey filled her in on the horrors of the long night march, and the desperate race for the fortress as dawn broke over them, Jane was thankful that she had been unaware of such happenings. “Truly,” she said to Bill, Ťl do not think I could have come through such an experience with my sanity. You are a very brave man, and a true friend to have stayed by my side. My husband will be most grateful, as am I.”

  “If he doesn’t decide to kill me first,” muttered the abashed American.

  “Why, whatever in the world makes you say such a thing as that?” the gentle woman questioned in amazement.

  “I am almost certain—no, I am positive that Keinin and Sortie were somehow in on that bloody mess. They lied to me, and in turn, I lied to you. It became evident to me last night during the heat of the battle. They were not actually fighting against those demons. They were all but fighting with them. And you will recall— no,” the earnest young man shook his head in despair, “you were under that beastly spell, so you cannot remember. But they were not injured nearly as Basuli and I were by the poison venom those snake-men used to defeat us. Both of them fell to the ground screaming, but neither were strongly hit. Several times during the trek I saw Keinin at one side, talking to the leader of that vile group. And this morning, the mad dash to reach this place was led by Keinin and Keinin alone. The snakes had all disappeared. We could have gotten away, but Keinin confused you and told me we must get to safety. So, my dear Lady Greystoke, it is as I said. Tarzan may be grateful to me, if he doesn’t kill me first!”

  Jane took his hand gently within her own. “My husband is a fair man, Mr. Harvey. It is not your fault these evil men plotted against us, lying to you as well as to me and my Waziri. But John will be grateful that when you discovered the truth, you stood beside me to protect me rather than merely running away to save yourself. Do not fear harm from Tarzan. He will be grateful. Now, we must look for a means of escape. Why, what is that?” For the first time, Jane Clayton noticed the strange, light-giving dirt piled in heaps about the room. So worried had he been, Bill Harvey had not noticed it either. Walking rapidly across the room, he knelt beside one of the piles, and with amazement picked a bit of the earth, warm to his touch, from the mass of light. “Good Lord,” he all but whistled beneath his breath, “It’s the answer to the whole thing. No wonder Keinin tied up with these beasts, if they have access to much of this.”

  Jane moved to join the man, following his conversation with bewilderment. “What do you mean, Mr. Harvey? What is the answer to the whole thing?”

  “This is practically pure radium, Lady Greystofce. Why, the Curies had to sift through tons and tons of pitchblende to come up with one tiny bit of the stuff! In this room alone, there must be a fortune in it! I can even find it within my heart now to feel sorry for these Snake People. Keinin and Sortie are quite obviously using them. When they get enough of this packed up, they’ll either kill them or leave them to the gentle mercies of a maddened jungle

  “As he spoke, a faint echo sounded throughout the cave-like room. Jane’s eyes gladdened as she heard it. It was the cry of the bull ape. Tarzan would help them.

  In the chambers of Narda the priestess, the echo and sound were much more distinct. The reaction was quite different. Far from happiness, Narda knew fear. Despite his outward confidence, Keinin also was frightened. The legends of the ape-men were many. The Belgian now prayed that the stories of his love for his mate had been true. If not, if Tarzan warred against them instead of joining with them against Lyta, he and Sortie were as good as dead already. And the fortune practically within their fingertips would be lost before it was won. His twisted mind working rapidly, Keinin made a decision which once again angered Narda. “Where are the captives? I must talk to the woman at once. Alone!”

  “If you wish to talk to the woman, you may. But you may not be alone with her!”

  “Narda— “

  “Silence! I have spoken. Shall I bring her here, or do you prefer to attempt to find her yourself?”

  “All right, Narda. Bring her here. But I do not understand your demands in this matter.”

  “That is not important. I shall be back shortly. Do not try to follow me, or you will find yourself imprisoned in a hopeless mass of endless tunnels,” As she spoke, the priestess slipped out of the entrance to her chambers and disappeared from sight. The Belgian, still frightened, obeyed her last orders.

  It was almost twenty minutes before the two women arrived back upon the scene. Jane stood as proud and fearless as her captor, and looked down with scorn at the two villains before her.

  “You do not seem surprised, Lady Greystoke, to see Sortie and myself at home in these strange rooms?”

  “Among civilized persons, Mr. Keinin, if you could ever understand, it is traditional to greet a guest with welcome and a believing heart. I did so to you. It is also traditional to offer help when help is needed. This, too, I did for you. It is not, however, traditional to remain a fool with eyes closed to the truth, when that truth has become self-evident. No, I am not surprised to see you at home in these strange rooms. Nor am I a fool. Even in the hypnotic trance into which your evil friends placed me, I saw evidence of your treachery.”

  Keinin placed a restraining arm upon Narda as she reacted violently to Janets description of her people. “Quite a speech for a prisoner, Mrs. Clayton.”

  “Lady Greystoke, if you please, Mister Keinin!” Jane’s eyes flashed with true disdain and anger. “And you may be sure I shall not long remain your prisoner!”

  “That’s just what we brought you up here to discuss.” The yellowed teeth of the man shone dully as he smiled. “As you know, most kidnappers commit the crime for a ransom … for money. We need no money; our ransom is something quite different. The help of your husband.”

  “He will never pay it.” Jane paled beneath the flush of anger which had colored her face since she confronted the two betrayers of her trust. She wished now only to return to the prison she shared with Bill Harvey and plan their immediate escape. Tarzan must not fall prey to these evil men, not even for her safety.

  “We just happen to think he will. It’s well known what you mean to him. It’s doubtful, for instance, that he would like the idea of your being given to my good friend, Mr. Sortie, or to our friends the snake-men!

  Jane remained silent in the face of this vile threat. “I want you to write a little note to him … oh, no …” and the Belgian raised a hand to stall off the expected refusal. “I’m not asking that you ask him to help us. I merely want you to let him know that you are alive, unharmed, and—so far—well treated.”

  Jane shook her head by way of refusal, but again, she did not speak. Narda, still angered by the woman’s description of her men, turned to Leopold. “She will not be so brave, nor so silent once the sun goes down. I’ll have Nerag and his men take care of that for us!”

  “No, no, Narda. It is not necessary. Lady Greystoke will cooperate with us.” The Belgian put the full force of his baleful gaze upon Jane. “I am sure she would prefer to write a short, happy note to send to her husband, rather than have Pierre remove her clothing, as evidence she; is indeed within our hands.”

  Even the lustful German paled at the thought of this dishonor to the wife of Tarzan. Keinin stepped across the cavern toward Jane and placed a vein-lined hand upon her shoulder, toying lightly with the material of her blouse.

  “Take your filthy hands off me! Jane snapped, silence ripped by her revulsion of his touch.

  “The letter?” he snapped. The quiet that filled the room was ominous. Then Keinin gave a firm pull at the collar of Janets blouse, and it ripped free, taking part of the bodice with it.

  Trembling, but still proud, Jane finally spoke, “It will do you no good, and you shall pay for this insult. But give me the paper and pen. I do not intend to give you and your filthy friend any further entertainment!”

  Even as she spoke, the Belgian had pulled a dirty piece of paper and a scrap of pencil from his pocket. He handed it, grinningly, to the proud woman. Jane walked across to the altar which highlighted one end of the room, and leaning upon it wrote a rapid, short note to her beloved husband. She said exactly what she had been told to say, no more and no less. She did then, just after her signature, add one short line. “My love and care to Kala.” Keinin, who had followed her across the room, frowned as she handed him the paper.

  “Who is this Kala?” He looked threateningly at Tarzan’s wife. “Why is this in the letter?”

  “She is but the wife of Basuli, the brave Waziri your men wounded so badly last night. I fear she may need a word of good cheer.”

  “Take her back to her prison, Narda. I’ll write a further message to her husband, to go with this, and we’ll lay our plans for delivery when you return.”

  Jane left the room, with wildly beating heart. It had worked. Her code had worked. For Kala was not the mate of Basuli. She. was indeed the giant she-ape who had been mother to Tarzan, and who had taught him all of his jungle lore. Kala had died to protect him from an evil person. Janets reference to Kala was her way of telling Tarzan that she too would die to keep him safe. He would not fall in with Heinin’s evil plans after he read that message!

  CHAPTER XII

  The Meeting with the Apes

  When he left Lyta Tarzan had traveled speedily through the jungle toward his home. He heard not the humming of the jungle insects nor the chattering life of the lesser monkeys and the birds. He sped through the upper terrace, ignoring the game trails beneath, even as his hunger grew again. That Jane would remain unharmed for the time being, he was confident. They would only have taken her as a means of getting to him. But he felt the need of much speed in getting home, in getting the battle lined up, and a need to call upon his childhood friends, the great apes. For once the Belgian and Narda, his priestess, learned that Tarzan would not work with them, then Janets life was indeed endangered.

  Tarzan was but an hour from his homesite when his keen ears caught the sound of men marching beneath him. This, indeed, was a strange thing. Despite the urgency of his mission, Tarzan descended from the upper terrace to discover the cause. For a moment, as he reached the thickly foliaged lower terrace, he stood in statuesque silence, listening, his sensitive nostrils dilating as he read the full-spoken clues in each passing breeze. He crept along a heavy branch which gave him both full concealment and a clear view of the path below, Within a moment Basuli walked into his view, alert and watchful. In a single file behind him, one behind the next, were perhaps forty other of the Waziri, all in full battle regalia, all armed to the teeth. Giving the same, soft call through which he had located Kam-jei, Tarzan waited for recognition from his brave chieftain. Halting, hand in air assignal to his warriors to delay their march, Basuli returned the call. Tarzan dropped from the trees, and embraced the faithful man.

  Basuli wept.

  “You could not have helped it, Basuli. They are strange, fierce enemies, and I too was prey to their vicious weapons. I know, without being told, that you battled bravely to protect my wife. Tell me, though, how came the Belgian beast to capture her?”

  “There were three of them, bwana. One, I think, was a good man. He fought as one possessed, and he killed many of those creatures defending your lady. The other two, I think are most evil,”

  “I’m sure, but … ?”

  “They arrived while we were out seeking the cause of the great silence, and the whereabouts of our runner Kamjei. I know not what large lies they told Lady Jane, bwana, but she came out to our campsite with them. It was at that time I decided you would wish me to stay with the lady rather than to follow your trail through the Jungle. Not,” and the tears welled once again to the eyes of the brave warrior, “that I was of much help to her when she was in such dire distress.”

  “Basuli!” Tarzan spoke severely. He had assured the warrior once of his valor, he would not do so again. The Waziri recognized the correction of his attitude within Tarzan’s voice, and visibly struggled to regain his composure. Tarzan smiled, then turning toward the war party asked, “‘What then, Basuli, is this? Where are you and your brave men marching? For what purpose “

  “In search of you, Tarzan. And with all of our weapons should we come across any of those vile creatures.”

  “Instruct them to turn back to the compound.”

  “But your lady…”

  “Do as I say, Basuli. We shall lay our battle plans in the comparative safety of the compound. And we shall need more than the Waziri weapons to protect us from the viciousness of this enemy. That venom they use. They can blind a man from yards away, before he is even aware of their presence. They have no smell. They have much evil power. But,” and Tarzan smiled confidently, “they also have a great weakness. We shall defeat them, Basuli. Have no fear. But we go into battle prepared for all exigencies! Now …”

  Basuli issued a string of guttural orders to the patiently waiting warriors. Without expression, they turned and began the long trek back to the compound. Tarzan and Basuli followed, deep in conversation. When they came to the site of the bloody battle from the night before, Tarzan looked about in dismay. His heart was sickened within, not only for the brave dead. Waziri who littered the area, but for the horror the eyes of his beloved had witnessed. To the bodies of the snake-men, he paid little attention, excepting to say once again to Basuli that he had obviously fought a brave and valorous battle.

  Once back at the compound, Tarzan showed Basuli how to prepare a face guard from the hides of deer, of which there were many on the premises. The most intricate part of the thing was the eye-slot which was cut so as to give full vision to the wearer, yet at the same time to cover his eye to all but the closest danger. This, he had decided as he swung through the upper terraces on his way home, was a necessity for his warriors in this forthcoming battle. Eating rapidly, even as bespoke, the sinewy man advised Basuli to have all of his warriors prepare masks for themselves. To this new weapon, he added that of a large, iron pointed stake to be worn on a collar about the necks of the warriors.

  “The snake-men,” he pointed out to Basuli, “when they do attack you personally, fall from trees and cliffsides upon your neck. Their most sensitive area is that skin which serves as their own necks, half human, half snake. These sharp spears, therefore, will serve us as a means of protection, or, at least, as an assurance that the assailant is wounded before the final battle begins.”

  “You are a wise man,Tarzan,” Basuli said. “Our usual weapons would mean little against such an enemy as this.”

  “They shall mean much, Basuli. But we need more than just those weapons. I go now to the land of the great apes. Assure your warriors they will be fighting with us. Your men will have nothing to fear from them.” Basuli’s eyes flashed. “But, bwana, the mangani hate my people. They have always hated us. And my people will not fight at their side.”

  “I have spoken, Basuli. Tell them, in this battle, we fight as one people. We must, or we may well be defeated!”

  Basuli was still muttering to himself as Tarzan, finished with his meal, walked toward the gate of the compound and disappeared from view.

  As the ape-man swung once again through the leafy boughs of the upper terrace, he made plans for his forthcoming parley with his childhood brothers. In the interest of time it was his wish that he meet first with one of the great apes known to him father than with one of the new breed which had grown since he’d left the home of his happy childhood. As chance was, his wish did not come true this day. As he dropped from the terrace onto the broad path which led between huge piles of crumpled ruins toward the home of the apes, he came face to face with a young hairy bull ape. As they met, the taunts and insults of others of the breed could be heard from behind the protection of the ruins. Tarzan had obviously walked into a new tribe, all of them strangers to him. But the ape-man knew no fear among these massive beasts. To. those who flung their taunts and insults from hiding points of vantage, Tarzan returned the taunts, adding a challenge of his own and calling attention to their cowardice in refusing to show themselves. The hairy bull ape moved closer toward Tarzan, in his stiff-legged, bristly fashion. His yellow fangs were bared, and he gave forth great rumbling snarls of anger and barking through his thick, angry purple lips. Tarzan answered in kind and the hairy bull watched in stunned amazement as the ape-man stooped until his closed knuckles rested upon the ground, just as did those of the bull ape. He circled the great beast, sniffing his rage, moving in the same stiff-legged fashion in which he had been approached. He gave forth the same bestial barkings and fearful growlings which had been issuing from the throat of his self-declared enemy. Tarzan knew his apes very well. The challenge from the young bull ended ashad so many previous encounters in his jungle life—with the boasting animal losing his nerve but saving his face by tak-ing a vast and sudden interest in the lice upon his stomach, or, as in this case, a leaf which fell quietly down into the pathway. As quickly as the danger had arisen, it was ended. The hairy ape reached down for the leaf, throwing Tarzan one last glance of half-hearted challenge, then retiring in stiff dignity to inspect the welcomed interrupting factor. For a moment, happy despite the desperate circumstances, to be back in his only true home, Tarzan was tempted to pursue the argument, to show this young upstart who was the king of the jungle. He swaggered forward truculently, stuck out his chest and roared another challenge to the bull. As the sound issued from his lips, he pulled himself from the memories of the past, and turned his back upon his own challenge, moving forward down the avenue toward the lair of the older apes. The young bull watched him curiously as he passed.