He reined4 in his horse and watched the little party as it emerged from a concealing5 swale. His keen eyes caught the reflection of the sun upon the white helmet of a mounted man, and with the conviction that a wandering European hunter was seeking his hospitality, he wheeled his mount and rode slowly forward to meet the newcomer.
A half hour later he was mounting the steps leading to the veranda6 of his bungalow, and introducing M. Jules Frecoult to Lady Greystoke.
"I was completely lost," M. Frecoult was explaining. "My head man had never before been in this part of the country and the guides who were to have accompanied me from the last village we passed knew even less of the country than we. They finally deserted7 us two days since. I am very fortunate indeed to have stumbled so providentially upon succor8. I do not know what I should have done, had I not found you."
It was decided9 that Frecoult and his party should remain several days, or until they were thoroughly10 rested, when Lord Greystoke would furnish guides to lead them safely back into country with which Frecoult's head man was supposedly familiar.
In his guise11 of a French gentleman of leisure, Werper found little difficulty in deceiving his host and in ingratiating himself with both Tarzan and Jane Clayton; but the longer he remained the less hopeful he became of an easy accomplishment12 of his designs.
Lady Greystoke never rode alone at any great distance from the bungalow, and the savage13 loyalty14 of the ferocious15 Waziri warriors16 who formed a great part of Tarzan's followers18 seemed to preclude19 the possibility of a successful attempt at forcible abduction, or of the bribery20 of the Waziri themselves.
A week passed, and Werper was no nearer the fulfillment of his plan, in so far as he could judge, than upon the day of his arrival, but at that very moment something occurred which gave him renewed hope and set his mind upon an even greater reward than a woman's ransom21.
A runner had arrived at the bungalow with the weekly mail, and Lord Greystoke had spent the afternoon in his study reading and answering letters. At dinner he seemed distraught, and early in the evening he excused himself and retired22, Lady Greystoke following him very soon after. Werper, sitting upon the veranda, could hear their voices in earnest discussion, and having realized that something of unusual moment was afoot, he quietly rose from his chair, and keeping well in the shadow of the shrubbery growing profusely23 about the bungalow, made his silent way to a point beneath the window of the room in which his host and hostess slept.
Here he listened, and not without result, for almost the first words he overheard filled him with excitement. Lady Greystoke was speaking as Werper came within hearing.
"I always feared for the stability of the company," she was saying; "but it seems incredible that they should have failed for so enormous a sum—unless there has been some dishonest manipulation."
"That is what I suspect," replied Tarzan; "but whatever the cause, the fact remains24 that I have lost everything, and there is nothing for it but to return to Opar and get more."
"Oh, John," cried Lady Greystoke, and Werper could feel the shudder25 through her voice, "is there no other way? I cannot bear to think of you returning to that frightful26 city. I would rather live in poverty always than to have you risk the hideous27 dangers of Opar."
"You need have no fear," replied Tarzan, laughing. "I am pretty well able to take care of myself, and were I not, the Waziri who will accompany me will see that no harm befalls me."
"They ran away from Opar once, and left you to your fate," she reminded him.
"They will not do it again," he answered. "They were very much ashamed of themselves, and were coming back when I met them."
"But there must be some other way," insisted the woman.
"There is no other way half so easy to obtain another fortune, as to go to the treasure vaults28 of Opar and bring it away," he replied. "I shall be very careful, Jane, and the chances are that the inhabitants of Opar will never know that I have been there again and despoiled29 them of another portion of the treasure, the very existence of which they are as ignorant of as they would be of its value."
The finality in his tone seemed to assure Lady Greystoke that further argument was futile30, and so she abandoned the subject.
Werper remained, listening, for a short time, and then, confident that he had overheard all that was necessary and fearing discovery, returned to the veranda, where he smoked numerous cigarets31 in rapid succession before retiring.
The following morning at breakfast, Werper announced his intention of making an early departure, and asked Tarzan's permission to hunt big game in the Waziri country on his way out—permission which Lord Greystoke readily granted.
The Belgian consumed two days in completing his preparations, but finally got away with his safari32, accompanied by a single Waziri guide whom Lord Greystoke had loaned him. The party made but a single short march when Werper simulated illness, and announced his intention of remaining where he was until he had fully33 recovered. As they had gone but a short distance from the Greystoke bungalow, Werper dismissed the Waziri guide, telling the warrior17 that he would send for him when he was able to proceed. The Waziri gone, the Belgian summoned one of Achmet Zek's trusted blacks to his tent, and dispatched him to watch for the departure of Tarzan, returning immediately to advise Werper of the event and the direction taken by the Englishman.
The Belgian did not have long to wait, for the following day his emissary returned with word that Tarzan and a party of fifty Waziri warriors had set out toward the southeast early in the morning.
Werper called his head man to him, after writing a long letter to Achmet Zek. This letter he handed to the head man.
"Send a runner at once to Achmet Zek with this," he instructed the head man. "Remain here in camp awaiting further instructions from him or from me. If any come from the bungalow of the Englishman, tell them that I am very ill within my tent and can see no one. Now, give me six porters and six askaris—the strongest and bravest of the safari—and I will march after the Englishman and discover where his gold is hidden."
And so it was that as Tarzan, stripped to the loin cloth and armed after the primitive34 fashion he best loved, led his loyal Waziri toward the dead city of Opar, Werper, the renegade, haunted his trail through the long, hot days, and camped close behind him by night.
And as they marched, Achmet Zek rode with his entire following southward toward the Greystoke farm.
To Tarzan of the Apes the expedition was in the nature of a holiday outing. His civilization was at best but an outward veneer35 which he gladly peeled off with his uncomfortable European clothes whenever any reasonable pretext36 presented itself. It was a woman's love which kept Tarzan even to the semblance37 of civilization—a condition for which familiarity had bred contempt. He hated the shams38 and the hypocrisies39 of it and with the clear vision of an unspoiled mind he had penetrated40 to the rotten core of the heart of the thing—the cowardly greed for peace and ease and the safe-guarding of property rights. That the fine things of life—art, music and literature—had thriven upon such enervating41 ideals he strenuously42 denied, insisting, rather, that they had endured in spite of civilization.
"Show me the fat, opulent coward," he was wont43 to say, "who ever originated a beautiful ideal. In the clash of arms, in the battle for survival, amid hunger and death and danger, in the face of God as manifested in the display of Nature's most terrific forces, is born all that is finest and best in the human heart and mind."
And so Tarzan always came back to Nature in the spirit of a lover keeping a long deferred44 tryst45 after a period behind prison walls. His Waziri, at marrow46, were more civilized47 than he. They cooked their meat before they ate it and they shunned48 many articles of food as unclean that Tarzan had eaten with gusto all his life and so insidious49 is the virus of hypocrisy50 that even the stalwart ape-man hesitated to give rein3 to his natural longings51 before them. He ate burnt flesh when he would have preferred it raw and unspoiled, and he brought down game with arrow or spear when he would far rather have leaped upon it from ambush52 and sunk his strong teeth in its jugular53; but at last the call of the milk of the savage mother that had suckled him in infancy54 rose to an insistent55 demand—he craved56 the hot blood of a fresh kill and his muscles yearned57 to pit themselves against the savage jungle in the battle for existence that had been his sole birthright for the first twenty years of his life.
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1
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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reined
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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14
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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16
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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19
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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29
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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31
cigarets
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| 纸烟，香烟( cigaret的名词复数 ) | |
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32
safari
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| n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队 | |
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33
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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35
veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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37
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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38
shams
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| 假象( sham的名词复数 )； 假货； 虚假的行为（或感情、言语等）； 假装…的人 | |
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hypocrisies
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| n.伪善，虚伪( hypocrisy的名词复数 ) | |
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40
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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41
enervating
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| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的现在分词 ) | |
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42
strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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43
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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44
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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45
tryst
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| n.约会；v.与…幽会 | |
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46
marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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47
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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48
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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50
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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51
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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52
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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53
jugular
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| n.颈静脉 | |
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54
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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55
insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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56
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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57
yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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