Tarzan the Terrible

CHAPTER

I The Pithecanthropus
II "To the Death!"
III Pan-at-lee
IV Tarzan-jad-guru
V In the Kor-ul-gryf
VI The Tor-o-don
VII Jungle Craft
VIII A-lur
IX Blood-Stained Altars
X The Forbidden Garden
XI The Sentence of Death
XII The Giant Stranger
XIII The Masquerader
XIV The Temple of the Gryf
XV "The King Is Dead!"
XVI The Secret Way
XVII By Jad-bal-lul
XVIII The Lion Pit of Tu-lur
XIX Diana of the Jungle
XX Silently in the Night
XXI The Maniac
XXII A Journey on a Gryf
XXIII Taken Alive
XXIV The Messenger of Death
XXV Home
Glossary





1

The Pithecanthropus

Silent as the shadows through which he moved, the great beast slunk
through the midnight jungle, his yellow-green eyes round and staring,
his sinewy tail undulating behind him, his head lowered and flattened,
and every muscle vibrant to the thrill of the hunt. The jungle moon
dappled an occasional clearing which the great cat was always careful
to avoid. Though he moved through thick verdure across a carpet of
innumerable twigs, broken branches, and leaves, his passing gave forth
no sound that might have been apprehended by dull human ears.

Apparently less cautious was the hunted thing moving even as silently
as the lion a hundred paces ahead of the tawny carnivore, for instead
of skirting the moon-splashed natural clearings it passed directly
across them, and by the tortuous record of its spoor it might indeed be
guessed that it sought these avenues of least resistance, as well it
might, since, unlike its grim stalker, it walked erect upon two
feet--it walked upon two feet and was hairless except for a black
thatch upon its head; its arms were well shaped and muscular; its hands
powerful and slender with long tapering fingers and thumbs reaching
almost to the first joint of the index fingers. Its legs too were
shapely but its feet departed from the standards of all races of men,
except possibly a few of the lowest races, in that the great toes
protruded at right angles from the foot.

Pausing momentarily in the full light of the gorgeous African moon the
creature turned an attentive ear to the rear and then, his head lifted,
his features might readily have been discerned in the moonlight. They
were strong, clean cut, and regular--features that would have attracted
attention for their masculine beauty in any of the great capitals of
the world. But was this thing a man? It would have been hard for a
watcher in the trees to have decided as the lion's prey resumed its way
across the silver tapestry that Luna had laid upon the floor of the
dismal jungle, for from beneath the loin cloth of black fur that
girdled its thighs there depended a long hairless, white tail.

In one hand the creature carried a stout club, and suspended at its
left side from a shoulder belt was a short, sheathed knife, while a
cross belt supported a pouch at its right hip. Confining these straps
to the body and also apparently supporting the loin cloth was a broad
girdle which glittered in the moonlight as though encrusted with virgin
gold, and was clasped in the center of the belly with a huge buckle of
ornate design that scintillated as with precious stones.

Closer and closer crept Numa, the lion, to his intended victim, and
that the latter was not entirely unaware of his danger was evidenced by
the increasing frequency with which he turned his ear and his sharp
black eyes in the direction of the cat upon his trail. He did not
greatly increase his speed, a long swinging walk where the open places
permitted, but he loosened the knife in its scabbard and at all times
kept his club in readiness for instant action.

Forging at last through a narrow strip of dense jungle vegetation the
man-thing broke through into an almost treeless area of considerable
extent. For an instant he hesitated, glancing quickly behind him and
then up at the security of the branches of the great trees waving
overhead, but some greater urge than fear or caution influenced his
decision apparently, for he moved off again across the little plain
leaving the safety of the trees behind him.