18
The Fight For the Treasure
It was morning before Tarzan could bring himself to a realization ofthe possibility of failure of his quest, and even then he would onlyadmit that success was but delayed. He would eat and sleep, and thenset forth again. The jungle was wide; but wide too were the experienceand cunning of Tarzan. Taglat might travel far; but Tarzan would findhim in the end, though he had to search every tree in the mighty forest.
Soliloquizing thus, the ape-man followed the spoor of Bara, the deer,the unfortunate upon which he had decided to satisfy his hunger. Forhalf an hour the trail led the ape-man toward the east along awell-marked game path, when suddenly, to the stalker's astonishment,the quarry broke into sight, racing madly back along the narrow waystraight toward the hunter.
Tarzan, who had been following along the trail, leaped so quickly tothe concealing verdure at the side that the deer was still unaware ofthe presence of an enemy in this direction, and while the animal wasstill some distance away, the ape-man swung into the lower branches ofthe tree which overhung the trail. There he crouched, a savage beastof prey, awaiting the coming of its victim.
What had frightened the deer into so frantic a retreat, Tarzan did notknow--Numa, the lion, perhaps, or Sheeta, the panther; but whatsoeverit was mattered little to Tarzan of the Apes--he was ready and willingto defend his kill against any other denizen of the jungle. If he wereunable to do it by means of physical prowess, he had at his commandanother and a greater power--his shrewd intelligence.
And so, on came the running deer, straight into the jaws of death. Theape-man turned so that his back was toward the approaching animal. Hepoised with bent knees upon the gently swaying limb above the trail,timing with keen ears the nearing hoof beats of frightened Bara.
In a moment the victim flashed beneath the limb and at the same instantthe ape-man above sprang out and down upon its back. The weight of theman's body carried the deer to the ground. It stumbled forward once ina futile effort to rise, and then mighty muscles dragged its head farback, gave the neck a vicious wrench, and Bara was dead.
Quick had been the killing, and equally quick were the ape-man'ssubsequent actions, for who might know what manner of killer pursuedBara, or how close at hand he might be? Scarce had the neck of thevictim snapped than the carcass was hanging over one of Tarzan's broadshoulders, and an instant later the ape-man was perched once more amongthe lower branches of a tree above the trail, his keen, gray eyesscanning the pathway down which the deer had fled.
Nor was it long before the cause of Bara's fright became evident toTarzan, for presently came the unmistakable sounds of approachinghorsemen. Dragging his kill after him the ape-man ascended to themiddle terrace, and settling himself comfortably in the crotch of atree where he could still view the trail beneath, cut a juicy steakfrom the deer's loin, and burying his strong, white teeth in the hotflesh proceeded to enjoy the fruits of his prowess and his cunning.
Nor did he neglect the trail beneath while he satisfied his hunger.His sharp eyes saw the muzzle of the leading horse as it came into viewaround a bend in the tortuous trail, and one by one they scrutinizedthe riders as they passed beneath him in single file.
Among them came one whom Tarzan recognized, but so schooled was theape-man in the control of his emotions that no slightest change ofexpression, much less any hysterical demonstration that might haverevealed his presence, betrayed the fact of his inward excitement.
Beneath him, as unconscious of his presence as were the Abyssiniansbefore and behind him, rode Albert Werper, while the ape-manscrutinized the Belgian for some sign of the pouch which he had stolen.
As the Abyssinians rode toward the south, a giant figure hovered everupon their trail--a huge, almost naked white man, who carried thebloody carcass of a deer upon his shoulders, for Tarzan knew that hemight not have another opportunity to hunt for some time if he were tofollow the Belgian.
To endeavor to snatch him from the midst of the armed horsemen, noteven Tarzan would attempt other than in the last extremity, for the wayof the wild is the way of caution and cunning, unless they be arousedto rashness by pain or anger.
So the Abyssinians and the Belgian marched southward and Tarzan of theApes swung silently after them through the swaying branches of themiddle terrace.
A two days' march brought them to a level plain beyond which laymountains--a plain which Tarzan remembered and which aroused within himvague half memories and strange longings. Out upon the plain thehorsemen rode, and at a safe distance behind them crept the ape-man,taking advantage of such cover as the ground afforded.
Beside a charred pile of timbers the Abyssinians halted, and Tarzan,sneaking close and concealing himself in nearby shrubbery, watched themin wonderment. He saw them digging up the earth, and he wondered ifthey had hidden meat there in the past and now had come for it. Thenhe recalled how he had buried his pretty pebbles, and the suggestionthat had caused him to do it. They were digging for the things theblacks had buried here!
Presently he saw them uncover a dirty, yellow object, and he witnessedthe joy of Werper and of Abdul Mourak as the grimy object was exposedto view. One by one they unearthed many similar pieces, all of thesame uniform, dirty yellow, until a pile of them lay upon the ground, apile which Abdul Mourak fondled and petted in an ecstasy of greed.
Something stirred in the ape-man's mind as he looked long upon thegolden ingots. Where had he seen such before? What were they? Whydid these Tarmangani covet them so greatly? To whom did they belong?
He recalled the black men who had buried them. The things must betheirs. Werper was stealing them as he had stolen Tarzan's pouch ofpebbles. The ape-man's eyes blazed in anger. He would like to findthe black men and lead them against these thieves. He wondered wheretheir village might be.
As all these things ran through the active mind, a party of men movedout of the forest at the edge of the plain and advanced toward theruins of the burned bungalow.
Abdul Mourak, always watchful, was the first to see them, but alreadythey were halfway across the open. He called to his men to mount andhold themselves in readiness, for in the heart of Africa who may knowwhether a strange host be friend or foe?
Werper, swinging into his saddle, fastened his eyes upon the newcomers,then, white and trembling he turned toward Abdul Mourak.
"It is Achmet Zek and his raiders," he whispered. "They are come forthe gold."
It must have been at about the same instant that Achmet Zek discoveredthe pile of yellow ingots and realized the actuality of what he hadalready feared since first his eyes had alighted upon the party besidethe ruins of the Englishman's bungalow. Someone had forestalledhim--another had come for the treasure ahead of him.
The Arab was crazed by rage. Recently everything had gone against him.He had lost the jewels, the Belgian, and for the second time he hadlost the Englishwoman. Now some one had come to rob him of thistreasure which he had thought as safe from disturbance here as thoughit never had been mined.
He cared not whom the thieves might be. They would not give up thegold without a battle, of that he was certain, and with a wild whoopand a command to his followers, Achmet Zek put spurs to his horse anddashed down upon the Abyssinians, and after him, waving their long gunsabove their heads, yelling and cursing, came his motley horde ofcut-throat followers.
The men of Abdul Mourak met them with a volley which emptied a fewsaddles, and then the raiders were among them, and sword, pistol andmusket, each was doing its most hideous and bloody work.
Achmet Zek, spying Werper at the first charge, bore down upon theBelgian, and the latter, terrified by contemplation of the fate hedeserved, turned his horse's head and dashed madly away in an effort toescape. Shouting to a lieutenant to take command, and urging him uponpain of death to dispatch the Abyssinians and bring the gold back tohis camp, Achmet Zek set off across the plain in pursuit of theBelgian, his wicked nature unable to forego the pleasures of revenge,even at the risk of
sacrificing the treasure.
As the pursued and the pursuer raced madly toward the distant forestthe battle behind them raged with bloody savageness. No quarter wasasked or given by either the ferocious Abyssinians or the murderouscut-throats of Achmet Zek.
From the concealment of the shrubbery Tarzan watched the sanguinaryconflict which so effectually surrounded him that he found no loop-holethrough which he might escape to follow Werper and the Arab chief.
The Abyssinians were formed in a circle which included Tarzan'sposition, and around and into them galloped the yelling raiders, nowdarting away, now charging in to deliver thrusts and cuts with theircurved swords.
Numerically the men of Achmet Zek were superior, and slowly but surelythe soldiers of Menelek were being exterminated. To Tarzan the resultwas immaterial. He watched with but a single purpose--to escape thering of blood-mad fighters and be away after the Belgian and his pouch.
When he had first discovered Werper upon the trail where he had slainBara, he had thought that his eyes must be playing him false, socertain had he been that the thief had been slain and devoured by Numa;but after following the detachment for two days, with his keen eyesalways upon the Belgian, he no longer doubted the identity of the man,though he was put to it to explain the identity of the mutilated corpsehe had supposed was the man he sought.
As he crouched in hiding among the unkempt shrubbery which so short awhile since had been the delight and pride of the wife he no longerrecalled, an Arab and an Abyssinian wheeled their mounts close to hisposition as they slashed at each other with their swords.
Step by step the Arab beat back his adversary until the latter's horseall but trod upon the ape-man, and then a vicious cut clove the blackwarrior's skull, and the corpse toppled backward almost upon Tarzan.
As the Abyssinian tumbled from his saddle the possibility of escapewhich was represented by the riderless horse electrified the ape-man toinstant action. Before the frightened beast could gather himself forflight a naked giant was astride his back. A strong hand had graspedhis bridle rein, and the surprised Arab discovered a new foe in thesaddle of him, whom he had slain.
But this enemy wielded no sword, and his spear and bow remained uponhis back. The Arab, recovered from his first surprise, dashed in withraised sword to annihilate this presumptuous stranger. He aimed amighty blow at the ape-man's head, a blow which swung harmlesslythrough thin air as Tarzan ducked from its path, and then the Arab feltthe other's horse brushing his leg, a great arm shot out and encircledhis waist, and before he could recover himself he was dragged from hissaddle, and forming a shield for his antagonist was borne at a mad runstraight through the encircling ranks of his fellows.
Just beyond them he was tossed aside upon the ground, and the last hesaw of his strange foeman the latter was galloping off across the plainin the direction of the forest at its farther edge.
For another hour the battle raged nor did it cease until the last ofthe Abyssinians lay dead upon the ground, or had galloped off towardthe north in flight. But a handful of men escaped, among them AbdulMourak.
The victorious raiders collected about the pile of golden ingots whichthe Abyssinians had uncovered, and there awaited the return of theirleader. Their exultation was slightly tempered by the glimpse they hadhad of the strange apparition of the naked white man galloping awayupon the horse of one of their foemen and carrying a companion who wasnow among them expatiating upon the superhuman strength of the ape-man.None of them there but was familiar with the name and fame of Tarzan ofthe Apes, and the fact that they had recognized the white giant as theferocious enemy of the wrongdoers of the jungle, added to their terror,for they had been assured that Tarzan was dead.
Naturally superstitious, they fully believed that they had seen thedisembodied spirit of the dead man, and now they cast fearful glancesabout them in expectation of the ghost's early return to the scene ofthe ruin they had inflicted upon him during their recent raid upon hishome, and discussed in affrighted whispers the probable nature of thevengeance which the spirit would inflict upon them should he return tofind them in possession of his gold.
As they conversed their terror grew, while from the concealment of thereeds along the river below them a small party of naked, black warriorswatched their every move. From the heights beyond the river theseblack men had heard the noise of the conflict, and creeping warily downto the stream had forded it and advanced through the reeds until theywere in a position to watch every move of the combatants.
For a half hour the raiders awaited Achmet Zek's return, their fear ofthe earlier return of the ghost of Tarzan constantly undermining theirloyalty to and fear of their chief. Finally one among them voiced thedesires of all when he announced that he intended riding forth towardthe forest in search of Achmet Zek. Instantly every man of them sprangto his mount.
"The gold will be safe here," cried one. "We have killed theAbyssinians and there are no others to carry it away. Let us ride insearch of Achmet Zek!"
And a moment later, amidst a cloud of dust, the raiders were gallopingmadly across the plain, and out from the concealment of the reeds alongthe river, crept a party of black warriors toward the spot where thegolden ingots of Opar lay piled on the ground.
Werper had still been in advance of Achmet Zek when he reached theforest; but the latter, better mounted, was gaining upon him. Ridingwith the reckless courage of desperation the Belgian urged his mount togreater speed even within the narrow confines of the winding, gametrail that the beast was following.
Behind him he could hear the voice of Achmet Zek crying to him to halt;but Werper only dug the spurs deeper into the bleeding sides of hispanting mount. Two hundred yards within the forest a broken branch layacross the trail. It was a small thing that a horse might ordinarilytake in his natural stride without noticing its presence; but Werper'shorse was jaded, his feet were heavy with weariness, and as the branchcaught between his front legs he stumbled, was unable to recoverhimself, and went down, sprawling in the trail.
Werper, going over his head, rolled a few yards farther on, scrambledto his feet and ran back. Seizing the reins he tugged to drag thebeast to his feet; but the animal would not or could not rise, and asthe Belgian cursed and struck at him, Achmet Zek appeared in view.
Instantly the Belgian ceased his efforts with the dying animal at hisfeet, and seizing his rifle, dropped behind the horse and fired at theoncoming Arab.
His bullet, going low, struck Achmet Zek's horse in the breast,bringing him down a hundred yards from where Werper lay preparing tofire a second shot.
The Arab, who had gone down with his mount, was standing astride him,and seeing the Belgian's strategic position behind his fallen horse,lost no time in taking up a similar one behind his own.
And there the two lay, alternately firing at and cursing each other,while from behind the Arab, Tarzan of the Apes approached to the edgeof the forest. Here he heard the occasional shots of the duelists, andchoosing the safer and swifter avenue of the forest branches to theuncertain transportation afforded by a half-broken Abyssinian pony,took to the trees.
Keeping to one side of the trail, the ape-man came presently to a pointwhere he could look down in comparative safety upon the fighters.First one and then the other would partially raise himself above hisbreastwork of horseflesh, fire his weapon and immediately drop flatbehind his shelter, where he would reload and repeat the act a momentlater.
Werper had but little ammunition, having been hastily armed by AbdulMourak from the body of one of the first of the Abyssinians who hadfallen in the fight about the pile of ingots, and now he realized thatsoon he would have used his last bullet, and be at the mercy of theArab--a mercy with which he was well acquainted.
Facing both death and despoilment of his treasure, the Belgian castabout for some plan of escape, and the only one that appealed to him ascontaining even a remote possibility of success hinged upon the chanceof bribing Achmet Zek.
Werper had fired all but a single
cartridge, when, during a lull in thefighting, he called aloud to his opponent.
"Achmet Zek," he cried, "Allah alone knows which one of us may leaveour bones to rot where he lies upon this trail today if we keep up ourfoolish battle. You wish the contents of the pouch I wear about mywaist, and I wish my life and my liberty even more than I do thejewels. Let us each, then, take that which he most desires and go ourseparate ways in peace. I will lay the pouch upon the carcass of myhorse, where you may see it, and you, in turn, will lay your gun uponyour horse, with butt toward me. Then I will go away, leaving thepouch to you, and you will let me go in safety. I want only my life,and my freedom."
The Arab thought in silence for a moment. Then he spoke. His reply wasinfluenced by the fact that he had expended his last shot.
"Go your way, then," he growled, "leaving the pouch in plain sightbehind you. See, I lay my gun thus, with the butt toward you. Go."
Werper removed the pouch from about his waist. Sorrowfully andaffectionately he let his fingers press the hard outlines of thecontents. Ah, if he could extract a little handful of the preciousstones! But Achmet Zek was standing now, his eagle eyes commanding aplain view of the Belgian and his every act.
Regretfully Werper laid the pouch, its contents undisturbed, upon thebody of his horse, rose, and taking his rifle with him, backed slowlydown the trail until a turn hid him from the view of the watchful Arab.
Even then Achmet Zek did not advance, fearful as he was of some suchtreachery as he himself might have been guilty of under likecircumstances; nor were his suspicions groundless, for the Belgian, nosooner had he passed out of the range of the Arab's vision, haltedbehind the bole of a tree, where he still commanded an unobstructedview of his dead horse and the pouch, and raising his rifle covered thespot where the other's body must appear when he came forward to seizethe treasure.
But Achmet Zek was no fool to expose himself to the blackened honor ofa thief and a murderer. Taking his long gun with him, he left thetrail, entering the rank and tangled vegetation which walled it, andcrawling slowly forward on hands and knees he paralleled the trail; butnever for an instant was his body exposed to the rifle of the hiddenassassin.
Thus Achmet Zek advanced until he had come opposite the dead horse ofhis enemy. The pouch lay there in full view, while a short distancealong the trail, Werper waited in growing impatience and nervousness,wondering why the Arab did not come to claim his reward.
Presently he saw the muzzle of a rifle appear suddenly and mysteriouslya few inches above the pouch, and before he could realize the cunningtrick that the Arab had played upon him the sight of the weapon wasadroitly hooked into the rawhide thong which formed the carrying strapof the pouch, and the latter was drawn quickly from his view into thedense foliage at the trail's side.
Not for an instant had the raider exposed a square inch of his body,and Werper dared not fire his one remaining shot unless every chance ofa successful hit was in his favor.
Chuckling to himself, Achmet Zek withdrew a few paces farther into thejungle, for he was as positive that Werper was waiting nearby for achance to pot him as though his eyes had penetrated the jungle trees tothe figure of the hiding Belgian, fingering his rifle behind the boleof the buttressed giant.
Werper did not dare advance--his cupidity would not permit him todepart, and so he stood there, his rifle ready in his hands, his eyeswatching the trail before him with catlike intensity.
But there was another who had seen the pouch and recognized it, who didadvance with Achmet Zek, hovering above him, as silent and as sure asdeath itself, and as the Arab, finding a little spot less overgrownwith bushes than he had yet encountered, prepared to gloat his eyesupon the contents of the pouch, Tarzan paused directly above him,intent upon the same object.
Wetting his thin lips with his tongue, Achmet Zek loosened the tiestrings which closed the mouth of the pouch, and cupping one claw-likehand poured forth a portion of the contents into his palm.
A single look he took at the stones lying in his hand. His eyesnarrowed, a curse broke from his lips, and he hurled the small objectsupon the ground, disdainfully. Quickly he emptied the balance of thecontents until he had scanned each separate stone, and as he dumpedthem all upon the ground and stamped upon them his rage grew until themuscles of his face worked in demon-like fury, and his fingers clencheduntil his nails bit into the flesh.
Above, Tarzan watched in wonderment. He had been curious to discoverwhat all the pow-wow about his pouch had meant. He wanted to see whatthe Arab would do after the other had gone away, leaving the pouchbehind him, and, having satisfied his curiosity, he would then havepounced upon Achmet Zek and taken the pouch and his pretty pebbles awayfrom him, for did they not belong to Tarzan?
He saw the Arab now throw aside the empty pouch, and grasping his longgun by the barrel, clublike, sneak stealthily through the jungle besidethe trail along which Werper had gone.
As the man disappeared from his view, Tarzan dropped to the ground andcommenced gathering up the spilled contents of the pouch, and themoment that he obtained his first near view of the scattered pebbles heunderstood the rage of the Arab, for instead of the glittering andscintillating gems which had first caught and held the attention of theape-man, the pouch now contained but a collection of ordinary riverpebbles.