"What is it?" he whispered.
"It is Bwana Tarzan and his people," replied Mugambi. "But what they are doing I know not, unless it be that they are devouring5 your people who ran away."
Kaviri shuddered7 and rolled his eyes fearfully toward the jungle. In all his long life in the savage1 forest he had never heard such an awful, fearsome din8.
Closer and closer came the sounds, and now with them were mingled9 the terrified shrieks10 of women and children and of men. For twenty long minutes the blood-curdling cries continued, until they seemed but a stone's throw from the palisade. Kaviri rose to flee, but Mugambi seized and held him, for such had been the command of Tarzan.
A moment later a horde11 of terrified natives burst from the jungle, racing12 toward the shelter of their huts. Like frightened sheep they ran, and behind them, driving them as sheep might be driven, came Tarzan and Sheeta and the hideous13 apes of Akut.
Presently Tarzan stood before Kaviri, the old quiet smile upon his lips.
"Your people have returned, my brother," he said, "and now you may select those who are to accompany me and paddle my canoe."
Tremblingly Kaviri tottered14 to his feet, calling to his people to come from their huts; but none responded to his summons.
"Tell them," suggested Tarzan, "that if they do not come I shall send my people in after them."
Kaviri did as he was bid, and in an instant the entire population of the village came forth15, their wide and frightened eyes rolling from one to another of the savage creatures that wandered about the village street.
Quickly Kaviri designated a dozen warriors16 to accompany Tarzan. The poor fellows went almost white with terror at the prospect17 of close contact with the panther and the apes in the narrow confines of the canoes; but when Kaviri explained to them that there was no escape—that Bwana Tarzan would pursue them with his grim horde should they attempt to run away from the duty—they finally went gloomily down to the river and took their places in the canoe.
It was with a sigh of relief that their chieftain saw the party disappear about a headland a short distance up-river.
For three days the strange company continued farther and farther into the heart of the savage country that lies on either side of the almost unexplored Ugambi. Three of the twelve warriors deserted18 during that time; but as several of the apes had finally learned the secret of the paddles, Tarzan felt no dismay because of the loss.
As a matter of fact, he could have travelled much more rapidly on shore, but he believed that he could hold his own wild crew together to better advantage by keeping them to the boat as much as possible. Twice a day they landed to hunt and feed, and at night they slept upon the bank of the mainland or on one of the numerous little islands that dotted the river.
Before them the natives fled in alarm, so that they found only deserted villages in their path as they proceeded. Tarzan was anxious to get in touch with some of the savages who dwelt upon the river's banks, but so far he had been unable to do so.
Finally he decided19 to take to the land himself, leaving his company to follow after him by boat. He explained to Mugambi the thing that he had in mind, and told Akut to follow the directions of the black.
"I will join you again in a few days," he said. "Now I go ahead to learn what has become of the very bad white man whom I seek."
At the next halt Tarzan took to the shore, and was soon lost to the view of his people.
The first few villages he came to were deserted, showing that news of the coming of his pack had travelled rapidly; but toward evening he came upon a distant cluster of thatched huts surrounded by a rude palisade, within which were a couple of hundred natives.
The women were preparing the evening meal as Tarzan of the Apes poised20 above them in the branches of a giant tree which overhung the palisade at one point.
The ape-man was at a loss as to how he might enter into communication with these people without either frightening them or arousing their savage love of battle. He had no desire to fight now, for he was upon a much more important mission than that of battling with every chance tribe that he should happen to meet with.
At last he hit upon a plan, and after seeing that he was concealed from the view of those below, he gave a few hoarse21 grunts22 in imitation of a panther. All eyes immediately turned upward toward the foliage23 above.
It was growing dark, and they could not penetrate24 the leafy screen which shielded the ape-man from their view. The moment that he had won their attention he raised his voice to the shriller and more hideous scream of the beast he personated, and then, scarce stirring a leaf in his descent, dropped to the ground once again outside the palisade, and, with the speed of a deer, ran quickly round to the village gate.
Here he beat upon the fibre-bound saplings of which the barrier was constructed, shouting to the natives in their own tongue that he was a friend who wished food and shelter for the night.
Tarzan knew well the nature of the black man. He was aware that the grunting25 and screaming of Sheeta in the tree above them would set their nerves on edge, and that his pounding upon their gate after dark would still further add to their terror.
That they did not reply to his hail was no surprise, for natives are fearful of any voice that comes out of the night from beyond their palisades, attributing it always to some demon26 or other ghostly visitor; but still he continued to call.
"Let me in, my friends!" he cried. "I am a white man pursuing the very bad white man who passed this way a few days ago. I follow to punish him for the sins he has committed against you and me.
"If you doubt my friendship, I will prove it to you by going into the tree above your village and driving Sheeta back into the jungle before he leaps among you. If you will not promise to take me in and treat me as a friend I shall let Sheeta stay and devour6 you."
For a moment there was silence. Then the voice of an old man came out of the quiet of the village street.
"If you are indeed a white man and a friend, we will let you come in; but first you must drive Sheeta away."
"Very well," replied Tarzan. "Listen, and you shall hear Sheeta fleeing before me."
The ape-man returned quickly to the tree, and this time he made a great noise as he entered the branches, at the same time growling27 ominously28 after the manner of the panther, so that those below would believe that the great beast was still there.
When he reached a point well above the village street he made a great commotion29, shaking the tree violently, crying aloud to the panther to flee or be killed, and punctuating30 his own voice with the screams and mouthings of an angry beast.
Presently he raced toward the opposite side of the tree and off into the jungle, pounding loudly against the boles of trees as he went, and voicing the panther's diminishing growls31 as he drew farther and farther away from the village.
A few minutes later he returned to the village gate, calling to the natives within.
"I have driven Sheeta away," he said. "Now come and admit me as you promised."
For a time there was the sound of excited discussion within the palisade, but at length a half-dozen warriors came and opened the gates, peering anxiously out in evident trepidation32 as to the nature of the creature which they should find waiting there. They were not much relieved at sight of an almost naked white man; but when Tarzan had reassured33 them in quiet tones, protesting his friendship for them, they opened the barrier a trifle farther and admitted him.
When the gates had been once more secured the self-confidence of the savages returned, and as Tarzan walked up the village street toward the chief's hut he was surrounded by a host of curious men, women, and children.
From the chief he learned that Rokoff had passed up the river a week previous, and that he had horns growing from his forehead, and was accompanied by a thousand devils. Later the chief said that the very bad white man had remained a month in his village.
Though none of these statements agreed with Kaviri's, that the Russian was but three days gone from the chieftain's village and that his following was much smaller than now stated, Tarzan was in no manner surprised at the discrepancies34, for he was quite familiar with the savage mind's strange manner of functioning.
What he was most interested in knowing was that he was upon the right trail, and that it led toward the interior. In this circumstance he knew that Rokoff could never escape him.
After several hours of questioning and cross-questioning the ape-man learned that another party had preceded the Russian by several days—three whites—a man, a woman, and a little man-child, with several Mosulas.
Tarzan explained to the chief that his people would follow him in a canoe, probably the next day, and that though he might go on ahead of them the chief was to receive them kindly35 and have no fear of them, for Mugambi would see that they did not harm the chief's people, if they were accorded a friendly reception.
"And now," he concluded, "I shall lie down beneath this tree and sleep. I am very tired. Permit no one to disturb me."
The chief offered him a hut, but Tarzan, from past experience of native dwellings36, preferred the open air, and, further, he had plans of his own that could be better carried out if he remained beneath the tree. He gave as his reason a desire to be close at hand should Sheeta return, and after this explanation the chief was very glad to permit him to sleep beneath the tree.
Tarzan had always found that it stood him in good stead to leave with natives the impression that he was to some extent possessed37 of more or less miraculous38 powers. He might easily have entered their village without recourse to the gates, but he believed that a sudden and unaccountable disappearance39 when he was ready to leave them would result in a more lasting40 impression upon their childlike minds, and so as soon as the village was quiet in sleep he rose, and, leaping into the branches of the tree above him, faded silently into the black mystery of the jungle night.
All the balance of that night the ape-man swung rapidly through the upper and middle terraces of the forest. When the going was good there he preferred the upper branches of the giant trees, for then his way was better lighted by the moon; but so accustomed were all his senses to the grim world of his birth that it was possible for him, even in the dense41, black shadows near the ground, to move with ease and rapidity. You or I walking beneath the arcs of Main Street, or Broadway, or State Street, could not have moved more surely or with a tenth the speed of the agile42 ape-man through the gloomy mazes43 that would have baffled us entirely44.
At dawn he stopped to feed, and then he slept for several hours, taking up the pursuit again toward noon.
Twice he came upon natives, and, though he had considerable difficulty in approaching them, he succeeded in each instance in quieting both their fears and bellicose45 intentions toward him, and learned from them that he was upon the trail of the Russian.
Two days later, still following up the Ugambi, he came upon a large village. The chief, a wicked-looking fellow with the sharp-filed teeth that often denote the cannibal, received him with apparent friendliness46.
The ape-man was now thoroughly47 fatigued48, and had determined49 to rest for eight or ten hours that he might be fresh and strong when he caught up with Rokoff, as he was sure he must do within a very short time.
The chief told him that the bearded white man had left his village only the morning before, and that doubtless he would be able to overtake him in a short time. The other party the chief had not seen or heard of, so he said.
Tarzan did not like the appearance or manner of the fellow, who seemed, though friendly enough, to harbour a certain contempt for this half-naked white man who came with no followers50 and offered no presents; but he needed the rest and food that the village would afford him with less effort than the jungle, and so, as he knew no fear of man, beast, or devil, he curled himself up in the shadow of a hut and was soon asleep.
Scarcely had he left the chief than the latter called two of his warriors, to whom he whispered a few instructions. A moment later the sleek51, black bodies were racing along the river path, up-stream, toward the east.
In the village the chief maintained perfect quiet. He would permit no one to approach the sleeping visitor, nor any singing, nor loud talking. He was remarkably52 solicitous53 lest his guest be disturbed.
Three hours later several canoes came silently into view from up the Ugambi. They were being pushed ahead rapidly by the brawny54 muscles of their black crews. Upon the bank before the river stood the chief, his spear raised in a horizontal position above his head, as though in some manner of predetermined signal to those within the boats.
And such indeed was the purpose of his attitude—which meant that the white stranger within his village still slept peacefully.
In the bows of two of the canoes were the runners that the chief had sent forth three hours earlier. It was evident that they had been dispatched to follow and bring back this party, and that the signal from the bank was one that had been determined upon before they left the village.
In a few moments the dugouts drew up to the verdure-clad bank. The native warriors filed out, and with them a half-dozen white men. Sullen55, ugly-looking customers they were, and none more so than the evil-faced, black-bearded man who commanded them.
"Where is the white man your messengers report to be with you?" he asked of the chief.
"This way, bwana," replied the native. "Carefully have I kept silence in the village that he might be still asleep when you returned. I do not know that he is one who seeks you to do you harm, but he questioned me closely about your coming and your going, and his appearance is as that of the one you described, but whom you believed safe in the country which you called Jungle Island.
"Had you not told me this tale I should not have recognized him, and then he might have gone after and slain56 you. If he is a friend and no enemy, then no harm has been done, bwana; but if he proves to be an enemy, I should like very much to have a rifle and some ammunition57."
"You have done well," replied the white man, "and you shall have the rifle and ammunition whether he be a friend or enemy, provided that you stand with me."
"I shall stand with you, bwana," said the chief, "and now come and look upon the stranger, who sleeps within my village."
So saying, he turned and led the way toward the hut, in the shadow of which the unconscious Tarzan slept peacefully.
Behind the two men came the remaining whites and a score of warriors; but the raised forefingers58 of the chief and his companion held them all to perfect silence.
As they turned the corner of the hut, cautiously and upon tiptoe, an ugly smile touched the lips of the white as his eyes fell upon the giant figure of the sleeping ape-man.
The chief looked at the other inquiringly. The latter nodded his head, to signify that the chief had made no mistake in his suspicions. Then he turned to those behind him and, pointing to the sleeping man, motioned for them to seize and bind59 him.
A moment later a dozen brutes60 had leaped upon the surprised Tarzan, and so quickly did they work that he was securely bound before he could make half an effort to escape.
Then they threw him down upon his back, and as his eyes turned toward the crowd that stood near, they fell upon the malign61 face of Nikolas Rokoff.
"Pig!" he cried. "Have you not learned sufficient wisdom to keep away from Nikolas Rokoff?"
"That for your welcome," he said.
"Tonight, before my Ethiop friends eat you, I shall tell you what has already befallen your wife and child, and what further plans I have for their futures64."
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1
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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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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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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14
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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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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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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grunts
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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punctuating
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的现在分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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31
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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discrepancies
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| n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 ) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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40
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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42
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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43
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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44
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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45
bellicose
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| adj.好战的；好争吵的 | |
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46
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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47
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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48
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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49
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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50
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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51
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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52
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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53
solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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54
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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55
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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56
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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57
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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58
forefingers
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| n.食指( forefinger的名词复数 ) | |
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59
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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63
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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64
futures
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| n.期货，期货交易 | |
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