For months the life of the little band went on much as it had before, except that Tarzan’s greater intelligence and his ability as a hunter were the means of providing for them more bountifully than ever before. Most of them, therefore, were more than content with the change in rulers.
Tarzan led them by night to the fields of the black men, and there, warned by their chief’s superior wisdom, they ate only what they required, nor ever did they destroy what they could not eat, as is the way of Manu, the monkey, and of most apes.
So, while the blacks were wroth at the continued pilfering3 of their fields, they were not discouraged in their efforts to cultivate the land, as would have been the case had Tarzan permitted his people to lay waste the plantation4 wantonly.
During this period Tarzan paid many nocturnal visits to the village, where he often renewed his supply of arrows. He soon noticed the food always standing5 at the foot of the tree which was his avenue into the palisade, and after a little, he commenced to eat whatever the blacks put there.
When the awe-struck savages7 saw that the food disappeared overnight they were filled with consternation8 and dread9, for it was one thing to put food out to propitiate10 a god or a devil, but quite another thing to have the spirit really come into the village and eat it. Such a thing was unheard of, and it clouded their superstitious11 minds with all manner of vague fears.
Nor was this all. The periodic disappearance12 of their arrows, and the strange pranks13 perpetrated by unseen hands, had wrought14 them to such a state that life had become a veritable burden in their new home, and now it was that Mbonga and his head men began to talk of abandoning the village and seeking a site farther on in the jungle.
Presently the black warriors15 began to strike farther and farther south into the heart of the forest when they went to hunt, looking for a site for a new village.
More often was the tribe of Tarzan disturbed by these wandering huntsmen. Now was the quiet, fierce solitude16 of the primeval forest broken by new, strange cries. No longer was there safety for bird or beast. Man had come.
Other animals passed up and down the jungle by day and by night — fierce, cruel beasts — but their weaker neighbors only fled from their immediate17 vicinity to return again when the danger was past.
With man it is different. When he comes many of the larger animals instinctively18 leave the district entirely19, seldom if ever to return; and thus it has always been with the great anthropoids. They flee man as man flees a pestilence21.
For a short time the tribe of Tarzan lingered in the vicinity of the beach because their new chief hated the thought of leaving the treasured contents of the little cabin forever. But when one day a member of the tribe discovered the blacks in great numbers on the banks of a little stream that had been their watering place for generations, and in the act of clearing a space in the jungle and erecting22 many huts, the apes would remain no longer; and so Tarzan led them inland for many marches to a spot as yet undefiled by the foot of a human being.
Once every moon Tarzan would go swinging rapidly back through the swaying branches to have a day with his books, and to replenish24 his supply of arrows. This latter task was becoming more and more difficult, for the blacks had taken to hiding their supply away at night in granaries and living huts.
This necessitated25 watching by day on Tarzan’s part to discover where the arrows were being concealed26.
Twice had he entered huts at night while the inmates27 lay sleeping upon their mats, and stolen the arrows from the very sides of the warriors. But this method he realized to be too fraught28 with danger, and so he commenced picking up solitary29 hunters with his long, deadly noose30, stripping them of weapons and ornaments31 and dropping their bodies from a high tree into the village street during the still watches of the night.
These various escapades again so terrorized the blacks that, had it not been for the monthly respite32 between Tarzan’s visits, in which they had opportunity to renew hope that each fresh incursion would prove the last, they soon would have abandoned their new village.
The blacks had not as yet come upon Tarzan’s cabin on the distant beach, but the ape-man lived in constant dread that, while he was away with the tribe, they would discover and despoil33 his treasure. So it came that he spent more and more time in the vicinity of his father’s last home, and less and less with the tribe. Presently the members of his little community began to suffer on account of his neglect, for disputes and quarrels constantly arose which only the king might settle peaceably.
At last some of the older apes spoke34 to Tarzan on the subject, and for a month thereafter he remained constantly with the tribe.
The duties of kingship among the anthropoids are not many or arduous35.
In the afternoon comes Thaka, possibly, to complain that old Mungo has stolen his new wife. Then must Tarzan summon all before him, and if he finds that the wife prefers her new lord he commands that matters remain as they are, or possibly that Mungo give Thaka one of his daughters in exchange.
Whatever his decision, the apes accept it as final, and return to their occupations satisfied.
Then comes Tana, shrieking36 and holding tight her side from which blood is streaming. Gunto, her husband, has cruelly bitten her! And Gunto, summoned, says that Tana is lazy and will not bring him nuts and beetles38, or scratch his back for him.
So Tarzan scolds them both and threatens Gunto with a taste of the death-bearing slivers39 if he abuses Tana further, and Tana, for her part, is compelled to promise better attention to her wifely duties.
And so it goes, little family differences for the most part, which, if left unsettled would result finally in greater factional strife40, and the eventual41 dismemberment of the tribe.
But Tarzan tired of it, as he found that kingship meant the curtailment42 of his liberty. He longed for the little cabin and the sun-kissed sea — for the cool interior of the well-built house, and for the never-ending wonders of the many books.
As he had grown older, he found that he had grown away from his people. Their interests and his were far removed. They had not kept pace with him, nor could they understand aught of the many strange and wonderful dreams that passed through the active brain of their human king. So limited was their vocabulary that Tarzan could not even talk with them of the many new truths, and the great fields of thought that his reading had opened up before his longing43 eyes, or make known ambitions which stirred his soul.
Among the tribe he no longer had friends as of old. A little child may find companionship in many strange and simple creatures, but to a grown man there must be some semblance44 of equality in intellect as the basis for agreeable association.
Had Kala lived, Tarzan would have sacrificed all else to remain near her, but now that she was dead, and the playful friends of his childhood grown into fierce and surly brutes46 he felt that he much preferred the peace and solitude of his cabin to the irksome duties of leadership amongst a horde47 of wild beasts.
The hatred48 and jealousy49 of Terkoz, son of Tublat, did much to counteract50 the effect of Tarzan’s desire to renounce51 his kingship among the apes, for, stubborn young Englishman that he was, he could not bring himself to retreat in the face of so malignant52 an enemy.
That Terkoz would be chosen leader in his stead he knew full well, for time and again the ferocious53 brute45 had established his claim to physical supremacy54 over the few bull apes who had dared resent his savage6 bullying56.
Tarzan would have liked to subdue57 the ugly beast without recourse to knife or arrows. So much had his great strength and agility58 increased in the period following his maturity59 that he had come to believe that he might master the redoubtable60 Terkoz in a hand to hand fight were it not for the terrible advantage the anthropoid20’s huge fighting fangs61 gave him over the poorly armed Tarzan.
The entire matter was taken out of Tarzan’s hands one day by force of circumstances, and his future left open to him, so that he might go or stay without any stain upon his savage escutcheon.
It happened thus:
The tribe was feeding quietly, spread over a considerable area, when a great screaming arose some distance east of where Tarzan lay upon his belly62 beside a limpid63 brook64, attempting to catch an elusive65 fish in his quick, brown hands.
With one accord the tribe swung rapidly toward the frightened cries, and there found Terkoz holding an old female by the hair and beating her unmercifully with his great hands.
As Tarzan approached he raised his hand aloft for Terkoz to desist, for the female was not his, but belonged to a poor old ape whose fighting days were long over, and who, therefore, could not protect his family.
Terkoz knew that it was against the laws of his kind to strike this woman of another, but being a bully55, he had taken advantage of the weakness of the female’s husband to chastise66 her because she had refused to give up to him a tender young rodent67 she had captured.
When Terkoz saw Tarzan approaching without his arrows, he continued to belabor68 the poor woman in a studied effort to affront69 his hated chieftain.
Tarzan did not repeat his warning signal, but instead rushed bodily upon the waiting Terkoz.
Never had the ape-man fought so terrible a battle since that long-gone day when Bolgani, the great king gorilla70 had so horribly manhandled him ere the new-found knife had, by accident, pricked71 the savage heart.
Tarzan’s knife on the present occasion but barely offset72 the gleaming fangs of Terkoz, and what little advantage the ape had over the man in brute strength was almost balanced by the latter’s wonderful quickness and agility.
In the sum total of their points, however, the anthropoid had a shade the better of the battle, and had there been no other personal attribute to influence the final outcome, Tarzan of the Apes, the young Lord Greystoke, would have died as he had lived — an unknown savage beast in equatorial Africa.
But there was that which had raised him far above his fellows of the jungle — that little spark which spells the whole vast difference between man and brute — Reason. This it was which saved him from death beneath the iron muscles and tearing fangs of Terkoz.
Scarcely had they fought a dozen seconds ere they were rolling upon the ground, striking, tearing and rending73 — two great savage beasts battling to the death.
Terkoz had a dozen knife wounds on head and breast, and Tarzan was torn and bleeding — his scalp in one place half torn from his head so that a great piece hung down over one eye, obstructing74 his vision.
But so far the young Englishman had been able to keep those horrible fangs from his jugular75 and now, as they fought less fiercely for a moment, to regain76 their breath, Tarzan formed a cunning plan. He would work his way to the other’s back and, clinging there with tooth and nail, drive his knife home until Terkoz was no more.
The maneuver77 was accomplished78 more easily than he had hoped, for the stupid beast, not knowing what Tarzan was attempting, made no particular effort to prevent the accomplishment79 of the design.
But when, finally, he realized that his antagonist80 was fastened to him where his teeth and fists alike were useless against him, Terkoz hurled81 himself about upon the ground so violently that Tarzan could but cling desperately82 to the leaping, turning, twisting body, and ere he had struck a blow the knife was hurled from his hand by a heavy impact against the earth, and Tarzan found himself defenseless.
During the rollings and squirmings of the next few minutes, Tarzan’s hold was loosened a dozen times until finally an accidental circumstance of those swift and everchanging evolutions gave him a new hold with his right hand, which he realized was absolutely unassailable.
His arm was passed beneath Terkoz’s arm from behind and his hand and forearm encircled the back of Terkoz’s neck. It was the half-Nelson of modern wrestling which the untaught ape-man had stumbled upon, but superior reason showed him in an instant the value of the thing he had discovered. It was the difference to him between life and death.
And so he struggled to encompass83 a similar hold with the left hand, and in a few moments Terkoz’s bull neck was creaking beneath a full-Nelson.
There was no more lunging about now. The two lay perfectly84 still upon the ground, Tarzan upon Terkoz’s back. Slowly the bullet head of the ape was being forced lower and lower upon his chest.
Tarzan knew what the result would be. In an instant the neck would break. Then there came to Terkoz’s rescue the same thing that had put him in these sore straits — a man’s reasoning power.
“If I kill him,” thought Tarzan, “what advantage will it be to me? Will it not rob the tribe of a great fighter? And if Terkoz be dead, he will know nothing of my supremacy, while alive he will ever be an example to the other apes.”
“KA-GODA?” hissed85 Tarzan in Terkoz’s ear, which, in ape tongue, means, freely translated: “Do you surrender?”
For a moment there was no reply, and Tarzan added a few more ounces of pressure, which elicited86 a horrified87 shriek37 of pain from the great beast.
“KA-GODA?” repeated Tarzan.
“KA-GODA!” cried Terkoz.
“Listen,” said Tarzan, easing up a trifle, but not releasing his hold. “I am Tarzan, King of the Apes, mighty88 hunter, mighty fighter. In all the jungle there is none so great.
“You have said: ‘KA-GODA’ to me. All the tribe have heard. Quarrel no more with your king or your people, for next time I shall kill you. Do you understand?”
“HUH,” assented89 Terkoz.
“And you are satisfied?”
“HUH,” said the ape.
Tarzan let him up, and in a few minutes all were back at their vocations90, as though naught91 had occurred to mar23 the tranquility of their primeval forest haunts.
But deep in the minds of the apes was rooted the conviction that Tarzan was a mighty fighter and a strange creature. Strange because he had had it in his power to kill his enemy, but had allowed him to live — unharmed.
That afternoon as the tribe came together, as was their wont92 before darkness settled on the jungle, Tarzan, his wounds washed in the waters of the stream, called the old males about him.
“You have seen again to-day that Tarzan of the Apes is the greatest among you,” he said.
“HUH,” they replied with one voice, “Tarzan is great.”
“Tarzan,” he continued, “is not an ape. He is not like his people. His ways are not their ways, and so Tarzan is going back to the lair93 of his own kind by the waters of the great lake which has no farther shore. You must choose another to rule you, for Tarzan will not return.”
And thus young Lord Greystoke took the first step toward the goal which he had set — the finding of other white men like himself.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
manifestation
|
|
| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
wrest
|
|
| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
pilfering
|
|
| v.偷窃（小东西），小偷( pilfer的现在分词 )；偷窃（一般指小偷小摸） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
plantation
|
|
| n.种植园，大农场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
propitiate
|
|
| v.慰解，劝解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
disappearance
|
|
| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
pranks
|
|
| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
anthropoid
|
|
| adj.像人类的，类人猿的；n.类人猿；像猿的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
pestilence
|
|
| n.瘟疫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
erecting
|
|
| v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
mar
|
|
| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
replenish
|
|
| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
necessitated
|
|
| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
inmates
|
|
| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
fraught
|
|
| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
noose
|
|
| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ornaments
|
|
| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
respite
|
|
| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
despoil
|
|
| v.夺取，抢夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
arduous
|
|
| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
shrieking
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
beetles
|
|
| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
slivers
|
|
| （切割或断裂下来的）薄长条，碎片( sliver的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
eventual
|
|
| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
curtailment
|
|
| n.缩减，缩短 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
longing
|
|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
semblance
|
|
| n.外貌，外表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
brutes
|
|
| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
horde
|
|
| n.群众，一大群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
counteract
|
|
| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
renounce
|
|
| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
malignant
|
|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
ferocious
|
|
| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
supremacy
|
|
| n.至上；至高权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
bullying
|
|
| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
subdue
|
|
| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
agility
|
|
| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
maturity
|
|
| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
redoubtable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
fangs
|
|
| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
limpid
|
|
| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
brook
|
|
| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
elusive
|
|
| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
chastise
|
|
| vt.责骂，严惩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
rodent
|
|
| n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
belabor
|
|
| vt.痛斥；作过长说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
affront
|
|
| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
gorilla
|
|
| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
offset
|
|
| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
rending
|
|
| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
obstructing
|
|
| 阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
jugular
|
|
| n.颈静脉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
regain
|
|
| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
maneuver
|
|
| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
accomplishment
|
|
| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
antagonist
|
|
| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
hurled
|
|
| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
desperately
|
|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
encompass
|
|
| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
elicited
|
|
| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
horrified
|
|
| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
assented
|
|
| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
vocations
|
|
| n.（认为特别适合自己的）职业( vocation的名词复数 )；使命；神召；（认为某种工作或生活方式特别适合自己的）信心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
naught
|
|
| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
lair
|
|
| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |