Little Nkima came racing1 through the tree tops, jabbering2 excitedly, and dropped to the knee of Tarzan of the Apes where the latter lay stretched upon the great branch of a jungle giant, his back against the rough bole, where he was lying up after making a kill and feeding.
"Peace," said Tarzan. "You are a greater nuisance than all the Gomangani in the jungle."
"They will kill little Nkima," cried the monkey. "They are strange Gomangani, and there are no Tarmangani among them."
"Nkima thinks everything wants to kill him," said Tarzan, "and yet he has lived many years and is not dead yet."
"Sabor and Sheeta and Numa, the Gomangani, and Histah the snake like to eat poor little Nkima," wailed4 the monkey. "That is why he is afraid."
"Do not fear, Nkima," said the ape-man. "Tarzan will let no one hurt you."
"Go and see the Gomangani," urged Nkima. "Go and kill them. Nkima does not like the Gomangani."
"Nkima is not afraid," blustered6 the little monkey. "He will go and fight the Gomangani with Tarzan of the Apes," and he leaped to the back of the ape-man and clung there with his arms about the bronzed throat, from which point of vantage he peered fearfully ahead, first over the top of one broad shoulder and then over the top of the other.
Tarzan swung swiftly and quietly through the trees toward a point where Nkima had discovered the blacks, and presently he saw below him some score of natives straggling along the jungle trail. A few of them were armed with rifles and all carried packs of various sizes—such packs as Tarzan knew must belong to the equipment of a white man.
The Lord of the Jungle hailed them and, startled, the blacks halted, looking up fearfully.
"I am Tarzan of the Apes. Do not be afraid," Tarzan reassured7 them, and simultaneously8 he dropped lightly to the trail among them, but as he did so Nkima leaped frantically9 from his shoulders and scampered10 swiftly to a high branch far above, where he sat chattering11 and scolding, entirely12 forgetful of his vain boasting of a few moments before.
"Where is your master?" demanded Tarzan.
"Where is the Bwana, von Harben?" Tarzan insisted.
"How did he die?" asked Tarzan.
Again the black hesitated before replying. "A bull elephant that he had wounded killed him," he said at last.
"Where is his body?"
"We could not find it."
"Then how do you know that he was killed by a bull elephant?" demanded the ape-man.
"There was an elephant about and we thought that it had killed him," said the first black.
"You are not speaking true words," said Tarzan.
"I shall tell you the truth," said a third black. "Our Bwana ascended17 the slopes of the Wiramwazi and the spirits of the dead being angry seized him and carried him away."
"I shall tell you the truth," said Tarzan. "You have deserted19 your master and run away, leaving him alone in the forest."
"We were afraid," said the third black. "We warned him not to ascend18 the slopes of the Wiramwazi. We begged him to turn back. He would not listen to us, and the spirits of the dead carried him away."
"How long ago was that?" asked the ape-man.
"Six, seven, perhaps ten marchings. I do not remember."
"Where was he when you last saw him?"
As accurately20 as they could the blacks described the location of their last camp upon the slopes of the Wiramwazi.
"Go your way back to your own villages in the Urambi country. I shall know where to find you if I want you. If your Bwana is dead, you shall be punished," and swinging into the branches of the lower terrace, Tarzan disappeared from the sight of the unhappy blacks in the direction of the Wiramwazi, while Nkima, screaming shrilly21, raced through the trees to overtake him.
From his conversation with the deserting members of von Harben's safari22, Tarzan was convinced that the young man had been traitorously23 abandoned and that in all likelihood he was making his way alone back upon the trail of the deserters.
Not knowing Erich von Harben, Tarzan could not have guessed that the young man would push on alone into the unknown and forbidding depths of the Wiramwazi, but assumed on the contrary that he would adopt the more prudent24 alternative and seek to overtake his men as rapidly as possible. Believing this, the ape-man followed back along the trail of the blacks, expecting momentarily to meet von Harben.
This plan greatly reduced his speed, but even so he traveled with so much greater rapidity than the blacks that he came to the slopes of the Wiramwazi upon the third day after he had interviewed the remnants of von Harben's safari.
It was with great difficulty that he finally located the point at which von Harben had been abandoned by his men, as a heavy rain and wind-storm had obliterated25 the trail, but at last he stumbled upon the tent, which had blown down, but nowhere could he see any signs of von Harben's trail.
Not having come upon any signs of the white man in the jungle or any indication that he had followed his fleeing safari, Tarzan was forced to the conclusion that if von Harben was not indeed dead he must have faced the dangers of the unknown alone and now be either dead or alive somewhere within the mysterious fastnesses of the Wiramwazi.
"Nkima," said the ape-man, "the Tarmangani have a saying that when it is futile26 to search for a thing, it is like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Do you believe, Nkima, that in this great mountain range we shall find our needle?"
"Let us go home," said Nkima, "where it is warm. Here the wind blows and up there it is colder. It is no place for little Manu, the monkey."
"Nevertheless, Nkima, there is where we are going."
The monkey looked up toward the frowning heights above. "Little Nkima is afraid," he said. "It is in such places that Sheeta, the panther, lairs27."
Ascending28 diagonally and in a westerly direction in the hope of crossing von Harben's trail, Tarzan moved constantly in the opposite direction from that taken by the man he sought. It was his intention, however, when he reached the summit, if he had in the meantime found no trace of von Harben, to turn directly eastward29 and search at a higher altitude in the opposite direction. As he proceeded, the slope became steeper and more rugged30 until at one point near the western end of the mountain mass he encountered an almost perpendicular31 barrier high up on the mountainside along the base of which he picked his precarious32 way among loose bowlders that had fallen from above. Underbrush and stunted33 trees extended at different points from the forest below quite up to the base of the vertical34 escarpment.
So engrossed35 was the ape-man in the dangerous business of picking his way along the mountainside that he gave little heed36 to anything beyond the necessities of the trail and his constant search for the spoor of von Harben, and so he did not see the little group of black warriors37 that were gazing up at him from the shelter of a clump38 of trees far down the slope, nor did Nkima, usually as alert as his master, have eyes or ears for anything beyond the immediate39 exigencies40 of the trail. Nkima was unhappy. The wind blew and Nkima did not like the wind. All about him he smelled the spoor of Sheeta, the panther, while he considered the paucity41 and stunted nature of the few trees along the way that his master had chosen. From time to time he noted42, with sinking heart, ledges43 just above them from which Sheeta might spring down upon them; and the way was a way of terror for little Nkima.
Now they had come to a particularly precarious point upon the mountainside. A sheer cliff rose above them on their right and at their left the mountainside fell away so steeply that as Tarzan advanced his body was pressed closely against the granite45 face of the cliff as he sought a foothold upon the ledge44 of loose rubble46. Just ahead of them the cliff shouldered out boldly against the distant skies. Perhaps beyond that clear-cut corner the going might be better. If it should develop that it was worse, Tarzan realized that he must turn back.
At the turn where the footing was narrowest a stone gave beneath Tarzan's foot, throwing him off his balance for an instant and at that same instant Nkima, thinking that Tarzan was falling, shrieked47 and leaped from his shoulder, giving the ape-man's body just the impetus48 that was required to overbalance it entirely.
The mountainside below was steep, though not perpendicular, and if Nkima had not pushed the ape-man outward he doubtless would have slid but a short distance before being able to stay his fall, but as it was he lunged headforemost down the embankment, rolling and tumbling for a short distance over the loose rock until his body was brought to a stop by one of the many stunted trees that clung tenaciously49 to the wind-swept slope.
Terrified, Nkima scampered to his master's side. He screamed and chattered50 in his ear and pulled and tugged51 upon him in an effort to raise him, but the ape-man lay motionless, a tiny stream of blood trickling52 from a cut on his temple into his shock of black hair.
As Nkima mourned, the black warriors, who had been watching them from below, clambered quickly up the mountainside toward him and his helpless master.
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1
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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2
jabbering
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴 | |
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3
shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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6
blustered
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| v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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7
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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8
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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10
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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12
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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13
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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14
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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15
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
spoke
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| 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 | |
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17
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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19
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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20
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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22
safari
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| n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队 | |
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23
traitorously
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| 叛逆地，不忠地 | |
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24
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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25
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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26
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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27
lairs
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| n.（野兽的）巢穴，窝( lair的名词复数 )；（人的）藏身处 | |
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28
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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29
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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30
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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31
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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32
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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33
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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34
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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35
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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36
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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37
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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38
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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39
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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40
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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41
paucity
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| n.小量，缺乏 | |
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42
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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43
ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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44
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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45
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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46
rubble
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| n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾 | |
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47
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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49
tenaciously
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| 坚持地 | |
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50
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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51
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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